Part of my model of the creative process is that it’s driven by questions. We come up with creative solutions in response to a problem. The problem triggers the process.
Let me give an example. Let’s say I have a character named Bill who lives out in space salvaging parts of space ships and other things. Or maybe he’s on some planet.
I don’t have a story yet. I’ve just got a dude in a general situation. I lack all the necessary parts. That lack is a problem to me as a writer. To develop the story, I state the problem as a question and begin generating options.
So I might ask, what are the threats Bill faces on a physical and social level? Are there mysteries he encounters? Who else is there? In order to answer those questions I might need to ask what’s the planet like?
At some point in time, I’ll feel I have generated enough answers for the key questions that it’s time to draft. When I begin to draft, I have other tasks or problems to solve. I might ask things like what’s the goal of this scene? What’s an interesting way to start and end it? What’s something surprising and bad that might happen as a result of the character’s action?
It’s all question and answer.
Towards the end of this week’s Writing Excuses on World Building Governments the guys share some great questions you might find fruitful when thinking about your world’s government.
I’m at LDStorymakers this weekend. Had a wonderful time yesterday facilitating idea generation for the magic systems of eight writers who all had some really cool stuff. Today I will be giving my presentation on banishing writer’s doubt, fear, and block using cognitive therapy.
And still accommodate my writing schedule and commitments
The course that’s open for applications is called Create Story Ideas That Beg to Be Written. It’s purpose is to transform you into a story idea machine.
And you can be there in six weeks. Before the end of the year.
I will be working with only a small set of people. I can’t accommodate more and give you the one-on-one feedback you need. And so you need to apply to get in.
The deadline for applications is midnight, October 27th. So contact me now to get the application instructions.
A cracking good story idea requires five critical elements. Until you have all five, you’ll struggle to plot. You’ll write a few scenes and run out of gas. You’ll feel like the story just isn’t going anywhere. And that’s because it isn’t. It can’t. A story isn’t a story without all five elements.
However, once you develop these five things, your story will suddenly roar to life. There are a few other elements that are important as well, but these five things form the core of the story setup.
In this course you’re not going to merely learn about all of those story elements. You’re going to go deep and learn what can only be learned by actually doing the work and developing story idea after story idea with personal one-on-one feedback from someone who knows what they’re doing.
When you finish, you won’t just know story theory. You will be a story idea machine. And you will be that because you have put in the work. The right work.
Again, this is not a course full of lectures and videos. This is a course where you’re going to work. And develop the insights and skills that only come from doing the work.
You’re actually going to:
Come up with story setup after story setup after story setup
And improve them with one-on-one feedback.
It’s going to:
Eliminate years of you wandering about in the story wilderness trying to figure things out on your own.
Put you miles ahead of other writers who have no idea what’s really at the core of story.
You are going to learn how to develop killer story ideas on purpose instead of on accident. Which means you’ll be able to do again and again. Reliably. Like clockwork.
Course details
Here are the details.
6-week course
Starts: November 2
Ends: December 19
One week off right in the middle for the US Thanksgiving holiday
The focus of the class is not on learning about story, although you will do that. The majority of your time will be spent on developing stories.
You can’t become a carpenter by watching videos and reading books about it. You have to get out on the work site, cut wood, and pound nails. You have to make the mistakes all beginning carpenters make, get feedback, and improve. The same goes for writing. And you’re going to work in this class. You develop 21 story setups. In fact, you develop more because the 21 are just the ones you turn into me. And with each one your skills, insights, and abilities grow.
In the beginning, your setups will be bare bones. By the end, they’ll be fully developed setups that beg to be written. Setups you can use to immediately write the first draft of your novel, whether that’s in outline or chapter form.
Here’s what you do each week.
Week 1. November 2-7
Uncover the secrets of what’s really at the heart of story and how to generate ideas.
Define your genre requirements
Create story setups 1-3
Week 2. November 9-14
Uncover the secrets to compelling characters
Create character sketches
Create story setups 4-7
Week 3. November 16-21
Uncover the secrets to formidable obstacles
Create story setups 8-11
Week 4. November 30-December 5
Uncover the secrets to interesting casts
Create story setups 12-15
Week 5. December 7-12
Uncover the secrets to managing multiple storylines and series
Create story setups 16-19
Week 6. December 14-19
Create story setups 20-21. These are your capstone projects where you apply everything you’ve learned and take it to the next level
As you can see, in this class you develop story idea after story idea after story idea. I didn’t detail it above, but each week you will also be lifting the hood on your favorite stories and actually seeing how they work. Story after story after story. In this class, you are marinated in the work of developing characters, THOMs, goals, obstacles, settings, casts, and more. And because of that, each week will not only bring an explosion of insights, but new skills and abilities.
Every week you get two private, one-on-one, live sessions with me where you get encouragement and feedback on what you’ve developed. And then we’ll work as a group, applying the principles and brainstorming even MORE ideas for each other’s stories.
At first you might feel a bit shy and worried about your ideas and abilities. But you’ll soon get over that. By the end of the course you’ll be one of those people that can generate terrific ideas easily. And you’ll be able to do that because you will have put in the work to become a different writer.
Apply now!
The normal cost of the course is $899. But because this is the first time I’ll be running through it, and we’re likely to run into a few kinks that need to be worked out, I’ve dropped the price to $599. I personally guarantee my course. You’ll be totally oh-my-gosh-I’m-so-happy-I-took-that-class satisfied, or I’ll give you your money back. No questions asked.
Now’s your chance to stop spinning your wheels. I can’t tell you how much I wish I’d had something like this when I’d started:
The secrets about the true core of story.
The secrets about how to come up with ideas.
Actual work with personal one-on-one feedback.
Laser focused on what actually matters, not a bunch of ridiculous writing rules.
When you finish, you will be a story idea machine.
You won’t know plotting. That’s a different course and set of skills. You won’t know how to write chapters. But you’ll know how to create the engine that powers all the rest of that. You’ll know how to create the core that makes awesome plots and chapters possible.
If you want to take this course, click the button below and contact me. I will tell you exactly how to apply.
I’m not going to be able to accept everyone who wants to take the class. I have a very strict limit on the number of students I can work with. So you need to get your application in before the deadline of midnight, October 27th.
This is the first “mystery.” It is the grand unifying theory that unlocks everything that follows.
The key to this mystery can be discovered in the answer to this question: which of the two pictures below most accurately defines lipstick?
Picture A
Picture B
Learn more in the writer’s section (okay, so the page is there, but where in the fricken ricken frack can you find it? I’m still learning this dang WordPress thing, so just go here)
A while ago the Writing Excuses team asked me to record with them, and last Friday I got to do it and had a blast.
We recorded three episodes. In the first podcast we talk about putting and not putting ourselves in our writing and making characters who don’t all sound like the author. As usual, the guys had some great insights. Check it out: The Anti-Mary Sue Episode.
If you write poopy-slow like me, you will finish 500-700 words of your draft in an hour. Let’s see what that means for various novel sizes.
25,000 words: 50 hours
50,000 words: 100 hours
75,000 words: 150 hours
100,000 words: 200 hours
200,000 words: 400 hours
And those requirements don’t count time you might need to spend re-imagining a piece or researching some gap in your knowledge or figuring out some knotty bit you couldn’t see was problematic when you first set out. A novel can be a big project and stretch over a few weeks, especially when you don’t have eight hours a day to write.
In this lesson, you will learn that you need to treat the draft like what it is–a project–and use basic project management techniques to help you get the work done.
I saw this today and thought of the assignments I give in my workshops. Look at what this hugely popular writer did to learn and focus her craft:
Knew what she liked and followed HER passions (she knew what rocked her).
Took 4 books she loved and broke them down to look for patterns she could use. This is exactly what Bernard Cornwell did (link at bottom).
Identified what it was she wanted to deliver to her readers. I believe her four words were “Provocative,” “Relevant,” “Creative,” and “Honest” (form follows function).
Notice also how much she loves plot turns (story cycle–surprise and conflict).
What a delightful interview. I’m going to pick up a Macomber and give her a go. Anyone have a recommendation on a title?
Part of my model of the creative process is that it’s driven by questions. We come up with creative solutions in response to a problem. The problem triggers the process.
