Author: John Brown

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    LTUE schedule posted

    ByJohn Brown

    ltuelogoLTUE has posted its schedule for the upcoming conference Thursday – Saturady, Feb 12-14. I’m, of course, stoked to present and participate on the panels. But I’m also looking forward to attending some of the sessions.

    Look at this one: How a Military Unit Works in Real Life: Zachary Hill, Brook West, Robert J Defendi, C. R. Asay, Mike Kupari (m)

    Or this one: All about armor: Zachary Hill, J. D. Raisor, Kay Mildenhall, Charles B. Stanford (m)

    Or what about this one: Law Enforcement: James Ganiere, Zach Hill, Robin Ambrose (m), which conflicts with one of mine, dang it!

    Or this: Making Creatures Realistic to their Environment: Keliana Tayler, Brian Hailes, Jessica Douglas, Bryan Beus (m)

    This: Applied Biotechnology: Derrick William Dalton, Mikki Kells, Charlie Pulsipher, Chersti Nieveen, Ali Cross (m)

    This: How to Create a Language: Maxwell Alexander Drake, Dirk Elzinga, Valerie Mechling, Samuel Stubbs, Bryce Moore (m)

    And tons of others.

    Oh, and what about the keynote address on Saturday by Toni Weisskopf?

    It’s going to be a great conference. I’ll be giving these presentations.

    • How to Build an Action Plot. In this one, Larry Correia and I team up to share a model of plotting that should make developing your action story much easier. Attendees will be able to use the methods on a novel idea Larry, Joe (Larry’s son), and I came up with called Mech Runners. Basically, Larry turned to Joe and said, “What’s awesome?” Joe said, “Giant robots, bandits, and murderers.” We took it from there.
    • How to Build a Romance Subplot. In this one, I team up with romance author LL Muir to share a model of plotting that should make developing your romance plot or subplot much easier. Attendees will be able to use the methods on a story idea Lesli and I came up based on The Hobbit. It’s called My Precious.
    • Tapping into the Power of the Story Setup. The story setup is a fabulous tool that’s not only helped me drastically cut down the time it takes me to develop my ideas, but it has also helped me develop better ideas. In this presentation, I will explain what the story setup is and how you can use it to help you nail your novel.

    I’ll also be moderating or participating on these panels:

    • The Hero’s Journey & the Virgin’s Promise: Patterns and Archetypes for Better Characters:Michaelbrent Collings, Tracy Hickman, Blake Cassleman, Renee Collins, John D. Brown (m). Did I tell you I think the hero’s journey is stupid? This ought to be a fun one.
    • Action Sequences: John D. Brown, D. J. Butler, Peter Orullian, Adrienne Monson, M. Todd Gallowglas (m)
    • Self-Publishing Pros And Cons: Jared Abram Barneck, John D. Brown, Mikki Kells, Joe Vasicek (m)

    Hope to see you there!

  • Audio production of “Loose in the Wires”!

    ByJohn Brown

    starshipsofa-logoEarlier this year, Gary Dowell, an editor at Tony C. Smith’s District of Wonders,  contacted me, wanting to know if they could make an audio production of “From the Clay of His Heart”. I was, of course, delighted. Smith’s podcasts include the Hugo Award-winning Starship Sofa.

    During our conversation, I suggested that if they were looking for a shorter contemporary fantasy with some more humor, they might also want to consider “Loose in the Wires”.

    I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed writing that story.

    It all started with one sentence.

    I was generating ideas, brainstorming, and out popped this line: “Bill had two African gods in a Smucker’s jelly jar in his trunk.”

    That was the trunk of his car. And these were, of course, live gods. But what would fit in Smucker’s jar? How did they get there? What would they do? And what was going to happen with Bill?

    I loved the sound of that line, the image, the situation, but one snippet of an idea is not enough to build a story. I toyed around with the idea now and again. And then years later I was listening to O is for Outlaw by Sue Grafton. The voice of one of the characters was exactly what I needed. He was all hick. And as soon as I decided that’s what my character would be, the story began to hum with electricity. Very soon after that, I finished it. Orson Card published it in the debut issue of Intergalatic Medicine Show.

    For a long time, I’ve wanted to make an audio production, but just haven’t had the time. Well, District of Wonders decided to pick that one up too.

    The audio production of “Loose in the Wires” will be featured in their upcoming February, 17th episode.

    I’m told the production of “From the Clay of His Heart” should be done soon. I’ll let you know the date it will be available as soon as it’s scheduled.

  • Lesson 6 on writing done

    ByJohn Brown

    Theory is important, but practice trumps theory. Every single day.

    Lessons 1-5 have all been theory and helping you see how stories work and get sensitized to the effects they have on you. Now it’s time to get to work. In lesson 6, I guide you through a number of key techniques I’ve found helpful in getting me to the point where I’m ready to write the first draft. In this lesson, you’ll learn:

    • Productive creative Q&A questions for finding zing about setting, characters, and the main driver of your plot.
    • How to clarify your THOMR
    • A powerful technique to help you clarify the core of your story
    • How to figure out how many scenes you need
    • Techniques that help make potential events for your plot flood into your mind

    Here it is: Lesson 6: Develop your idea

    Enjoy!

    Edit 1/24/15 at 10:45 a.m.: Lesson 6 revised

  • On writing lesson 5 is up

    ByJohn Brown

    In lesson 5, I share insights on creativity that elude many who start down the path of writing. Not knowing them can cause a lot of frustration and convince writers to quit. Don’t be frustrated. You’re going to learn:

    • What creativity really is
    • How it actually works
    • What it requires
    • And two of the main tools that will help you practice it–hunting zing and creative Q&A

    Here it is: Lesson 5: How do you get and develop ideas?

    Enjoy!