Over the course of writing Gunslinger to the Stars, I’ve learned some interesting new things about my writing process, as well as being reminded of some of the basic lessons I learned back when I was getting started. These lessons have helped me to have some fantastic writing days, like today, where I hit 2200 WPH… Continue reading Four-part structure and the writing process
Tag: story structure
Operation SB #4: The Curse of the Lifewalker
Title: The Curse of the Lifewalker Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Word Count: 4,340 Time: 1 day (sort of) So after “L’enfer, c’est la solitude,” I was kind of in a short story mood for a couple of days and decided to bang out another one. This one is actually an adaptation from my novel Lifewalker, a post-apocalyptic… Continue reading Operation SB #4: The Curse of the Lifewalker
Trope Tuesday: The Call to Adventure
One of the first (and most important) stages of the hero’s journey is the call to adventure. It happens when the hero first confronts something outside the experience of his ordinary world that beacons him to leave it. It overlaps closely with the inciting incident, and marks the point at which the hero’s journey begins. However,… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: The Call to Adventure
Trope Tuesday: The Hero’s Journey
For the next few Trope Tuesday posts, I’m going to pick apart one of my favorite story patterns, the monomyth or “hero’s journey.” Other tropes come and go, but the hero’s journey is truly timeless. If you can get it to work for you, it can do wonders for your ability to understand and tell… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: The Hero’s Journey
Trope Tuesday: Chess Motifs
Chess is quite possibly the oldest, deepest, most well known and widely played board game in the world. It should come as no surprise, then, that it’s often used as a motif in works of fiction. The interesting thing is how well the pieces fit some of the classic character archetypes: The King is like… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Chess Motifs
Getting settled in the land of the Kartulis
About three weeks have passed since I came to Georgia, and I’m starting to feel comfortably settled in this new place. I like it a lot out here: my host family is great, I get along really well with everyone at the school where I work, the kids are so crazy eager to learn it’s… Continue reading Getting settled in the land of the Kartulis
plot vs. PLOT and an interesting serial publishing idea
Back in English 318 at BYU, Brandon Sanderson used to tell us that there was a big difference between “little-p plot” and “big-p Plot.” The first applies mostly to chapters and scenes, which he said he could teach us. The second refers to the overall story structure, which he couldn’t teach in a classroom setting… Continue reading plot vs. PLOT and an interesting serial publishing idea
Sholpan 2.0 is finished!
Today I finished the second draft of the novella Sholpan, only two days after the deadline I set for myself. Here are the stats: ms pages: 173 words: 37,466 file size: 94 KB parts: 5 start date: 1 Aug 2011 end date: 15 Aug 2011 I decided to divide it into parts because I read… Continue reading Sholpan 2.0 is finished!
New title and writing update
Just a quick update before I go to bed. After much deliberation, I decided to go with Desert Stars as a title. Thanks, Megan, for suggesting it. It’s a little short, and doesn’t exactly wow me, but I’ll try it out and see if I grow into it. The most important thing anyway is what… Continue reading New title and writing update
A Hidden Place by Robert Charles Wilson
Travis Fisher is an outsider in most places, but nowhere more than the small midwestern town of Haute Montagne. But when his mother dies, leaving him parentless and jobless in the midst of the Great Depression, his stern aunt and uncle are the only ones who will take him in. When Travis falls in love… Continue reading A Hidden Place by Robert Charles Wilson