Well, I guess I was in a mood when I marked this topic for today. Perhaps I was thinking about writing drama, but the picture I grabbed seems to be something else. Nothing to do, but carry on. I mean, we all deal with drama to some extent. Even those who swear that they don’t. Seriously, they’re either in it, watching it, starting it, or pretending that it isn’t around. Life is drama! Can be as small as the dramatic decision to get out of bed, but it’s there. I think the term has been labeled with so much negativity that we can’t see it as anything else too. There can be good drama if it’s entertaining or leads to a happy event of some kind. Instead, we seem to use drama as a simple way of saying ‘starting shit’. Let’s get to the questions.
How do you handle drama?
Do you think every story needs some drama?
Do you feel sorry for the word ‘drama’ because of its new negative connotation?
Ciao, SEers. Last time, we discussed Dwight Swain’s concepts of scenes and sequels. (If you missed that post, you can find it here.) Remember, a chapter’s scenes can be one of two things, a scene or a sequel. Today, we’re going to go deeper into the concept of scenes.
What are scenes?
Scenes are the “proactive” units of a story. They introduce and advance goals, conflicts, and disasters. Scenes should have all three items before advancing to the following sequel. Why must they include all three? Because all three are necessary for tension. And without tension, there’s no reason for a reader to turn the page.
Goals:
A goal is simply what your POV character desires. It could be:
an object (the Holy Grail)
a position (POTUS)
a state of being (overcome an injury)
a change in status (going from captive to freedom)
Sleep hygiene is all about forming good sleep habits that can help you get a better night’s sleep. Practicing good sleep hygiene goes beyond buying a comfortable mattress. What you do during the day and into the night can greatly impact your quality of sleep.
Some examples of good sleep hygiene include exercising regularly and avoiding frequent naps during the day. Good…
Here is a part from Tribe of the Snow Tiger. I cut it off rather abruptly because it reveals something that I don’t show on the blog. Yes, there are secrets within the books that can only be found by buying and reading them. This volume has always been a major challenge because a core part of the story is the hidden past of Timoran Wrath. Definitely one of my favorite books.
Let’s all welcome Mae Clair today. She’s one of my best author friends, and a co-founder over at Story Empire. Today she has a new book to tell us about, and it’s a short read. I love short books and it’s nice to see Mae dipping her toes in that water. I read it and gave it five stars.
***
Hi, Craig! Thanks for hosting me today for the release of my Amazon 90-minute short read, In Search of McDoogal. It’s great to have a new release, and a different one at that. As a mystery/suspense author with a bent for urban legends, many of my books carry a somber tone.
Not McDoogal. This is all light-hearted fun. The reader gets to tag along as two friends try to recover a missing painting before the artist returns to town.
Brady Conrad and Declan Fitzgerald met in high school. Now, a…
You want to join
And taste sweet victory
Even for a moment
Regardless of yourself
To dive into a sea of cheers
And swim to your own dreams
*
The trend is a stepping stone
A door left open
That many have found
The frame is cracking
So there is not much time
To stake your claim
*
This is not your genre
Brutal learning curves
Old habits in the way
Yet you carry on
Sure that it will be the move
That brings you to your goal
*
Successes have racked up
Your name is known
It is time for true love
The series of your dreams
Can now be written
But are you allowed outside your box?
(Basically, this is about how some authors jump on a bandwagon to get their name out there. A good move if you can work within the trend, but it has a risk. That would be getting known for the trend and not having anyone follow you to a project that you planned first, but isn’t in that arena. So, one should weigh this possibility when looking into the move.)
I was going to post a new collection of completed puzzles, but I didn’t finish in time. Then, I thought about what to do and realized it was Mother’s Day. Don’t worry. I got a card and gift already. So, here are some funny memes to celebrate the day. Honestly, it’s hard to find ones that don’t insult fathers, but I pulled it off. Enjoy. (All found through Google Image Search)
The title is a genuine question. It was an option for tomorrow, but I have something for Mother’s Day. My head isn’t exactly in the game either, so I’m having trouble focusing on stuff. Part of the reason is I was doing well until Thursday night, which is when I’m writing this thing. Not sure what hit me, but my stomach has decided to voice a rather vicious open on the state of the my inner universe. Taking all of my energy to get this done and I’m praying I get writing done this weekend.
Let’s jump into that arena. War of Nytefall: Savagery is coming along rather nicely, which is surprisingly. I may be able to finish this in 3 weeks and that third week is only a single chapter section at the end. I’ll have to decide on what to do after that. Maybe finish a few outlines I have lying about and get the one for War of Nytefall: Anarchy ready for when I write it. Next big project is editing Ravenous and then I’ll decide on what I want to do. Still, this is good progress now that I’ve got a system down. Summer might prove to be a challenge because camp might not happen. That means I have my son all day with no schoolwork, but I might be able to do some writing. It’s why Do I Need to Use a Dragon? (Tips to Writing Fantasy) is looking like a summer project. Easier to write up the blog-like chapters than full ones during that kind of time.
In other news, school and work continued as usual. It wasn’t that bad this week, but we had some focusing issues. Think part of it was that the weather began really good with shorts even being an option. Then, it got cold again and sinuses went wild. I also made a tactical error and opened the window next to my desk. The wind blowing in was nice, but there’s an oak tree on the other side of the hedges. It gives off a lot of pollen to the point where my car is layered in the stuff. I have seasonal allergies, so I begin sneezing and coughing like mad. Not a great thing to do these days. Overall, a rather big comedy of errors.
There was one big highlight of the week and that was my son’s Physical Education assignment. We had to make an obstacle course and record him running through it. My dad built it while we were doing on Monday and that was the beginning of the end. I was lucky to get the little guy back inside for ‘Star Wars: The Phantom Menace’. Tuesday was the big event and he really wanted to get to it, but I had him wait. We changed it around after practicing too. It went:
Swing off a step stool using a rope hanging from a branch. (Ironically, he’s reading ‘Bridge to Terabithia’.)
Crab walk down a path made from plastic bowling pins.
Jump over a piece of wood held up by two shop horses.
Army crawl through a tunnel made from some type of K’nex thing. Forgot the name.
Up a ladder and down a slide.
Balance beam walk across one of those folding ladders.
Jump off the ladder to bounce off a trampoline.
Handstand
Ta-da!
Most important thing is that he had fun. Though, we’ve created a monster. I had to make a mini-obstacle course on Thursday to appease him. The rope is the only thing left, which made it really difficult. I’m going to have him go back to martial arts next week because he needs to keep that up. Think the weather is supposed to be messy too.
Not much else to talk about. I didn’t watch a lot of television beyond finishing ‘Kaze No Stigma’. I recommend that anime if you enjoy magical action and female leads with short fuses. Might go back to ‘The Magicians’ next or start ‘Black Adder’. My son and I finished what Hulu had of ‘My Hero Academia’ and are almost done with ‘Fairy Tail’. Still got ‘Naruto’ and ‘Yugioh’ going. I might have to get Funimation Streaming to keep up with the other two. I’ve been delaying and rethinking about that one because it gives me access to some shows that I really want to see. I hope to have the discipline to not go crazy, especially since it has ‘One Piece’ and that’s nearly 1,000 episodes. Good-bye to the outside world if I get sucked into that. First world problems, huh?
Seeing as my stomach is still giving me trouble, I’m calling this one. Again, hope everyone is safe and healthy right now. Good luck.
Goals:
Schoolwork for me and my son
Write more War of Nytefall: Savagery
Tinker with outlines
Finish the last of the Thomas Kinkade superhero puzzles
Watch TV when tired
Continue . . . Oh yeah!
Totally forgot this one piece of news. Not really news, but something I started doing. I talk a lot about using my stationary bike on weekends. Well, I needed something for the weekdays. I have two 8-pound weights, so I began using them for a bit in the morning. It’s only 4 arm exercises with 3 reps of 10, which is agonizing because I have really crappy upper body strength. Still, it’s something and I hope to maintain it. Not sure what it will do overall though, so I assume I’ll have a bunch of people tell me how it isn’t helpful or how I can ‘improve’ it. Everyone’s a critic.
Aurora J. Alexander is launching Demon Tracker, the third book in her Council of Twelve series.
Demon Tracker
Zepheira is the best Demon Tracker working for the Good side. With her unusual looks, her phenomenal sense of smell, and her bravery, she quickly draws ‘The Big 7’s attention to her talent. They hire her to find one of them. Leaving her familiar surroundings and regular work environment unsettles Zepheira at first. But the challenge to prove herself and to increase the reputation of her infallibility tempts her.
She is convinced she will be a great asset to ‘The Big 7’. Little does she know she will be a much greater asset in Heaven’s fight against Evil. Zepheira suddenly becomes more than a hired tracker. She finds herself an important pawn in the game of love, heat, and fire. Will her courage and sacrifice be sufficient to dance with the…
I can’t think of many titles in my series that made it through to the end. Even when it comes to the series titles, things got changed along the way. Legends of Windemere, War of Nytefall, Ichabod Brooks, Quest of the Brokenhearted, and . . . Well, Bedlam actually stuck around for the long haul. Figures that one would be the outlier. So, what were the originals? By the way, click on each title for their Amazon page. Just an FYI:
Legends of Windemere was originally ‘Cherished Dreams’.
Beginning of a Hero remained the same.
Prodigy of Rainbow Towerwas originally ‘Running the Gauntlet’.
Allure of the Gypsies remained the same.
Family of the Tri-Rune was originally ‘Behind the Curtain’.
The Compass Key was originally ‘Touch of Destiny’.
Curse of the Dark Wind remained the same.
Sleeper of the Wildwood Fugue was originally ‘Temple of Power’.
Merchant of Nevra Coil and Mercenary Prince stayed the same due to being spontaneous additions. Though, I think I called the second one ‘Delvin’s Journey’ for a time.
Tribe of the Snow Tiger was originally ‘Barbarian Honor’.
Charms of the Feykin was originally ‘Love of a Warrior Mage’.
The Spirit Well was originally ‘Lost Temple of Souls’.
Ritual of the Lost Lamb was originally ‘Fallen Warrior’ and a short story collection.
Path of the Traitors remained the same for same reason as #9’s.
Warlord of the Forgotten Age was originally ‘Blood of Heroes’, ‘Age of Heroes’, and ‘Destiny’s End’.
Quest of the Brokenhearted was originally ‘Lacarsis’ and ‘The Shattered Heart Trilogy’.
Life & Times of Ichabod Brooks was originally ‘Life & Times of Ichabod Jones’. It was a necessary character name change.
War of Nytefall was originally ‘Realm of the Night’.
Loyalty was originally ‘War Begins with Betrayal’ and ‘Evolution’.
Lost was originally ‘Confusion’.
Rivalry was originally ‘Temptation’ and ‘Queen of Apelios’.
Eradication was originally ‘Antithesis’ and ‘Durag’s Wrath’ and ‘Orb of Durag’.
Ravenouswas originally ‘Hunger’ and ‘Mistress of the Corrupted’ and ‘The Ravenous Ones’.
Savagery was originally ‘Fear’ and ‘Stronger’ and ‘Clash of the Abominations’.
Anarchy was originally ‘Children of Anarchy’. Changed to fit the one word title theme.
Eulogy was originally ‘Death of Shadows’ and ‘Clyde’.
Looking over all of my future ideas, I think I’ve got a better handle on titles. I made them after coming up with the general plot. So, I might not run into so much chaos as I did on this time around. Live and learn.
