A report about summer camp--Lenora Worrh

I took this summer off after finishing a multi-book contract. Both my brain and my body were seriously tired. After we kind of impulsively bought a brand new house in March, I decided not to attend RWA this year. I've been every year for twenty years, so this was not a decision I took lightly. But I refused to sit home and pout. We worked on getting this house organized and furnished (and the money I saved by not going to conference helped to fund the furnishing part.) But I needed something else, something to keep my writing blood churning.

That's when I saw a need for writers to teach at Harlequin's Camp Gonnabe. It was like deja vu all over again since about twenty years ago, I wrote an article for RWR magazine about being a gonnabe instead of a wannabe.

A gonnabe learns the craft, reads in all genres and joins writers groups to learn everything about writing from plotting to characters to handling a small business. I don't like the term "I'm a wannabe." I didn't like it twenty years ago. I told people who said that "Be a gonnabe." I believe if you truly want to be a writer (and I've met many people who thought they wanted to write but they really wanted other things) then you will have to tell yourself that one day, you are gonna be a writer. Become a writer before you even pitch your first proposal.

So anyway, I decided to volunteer to conduct a workshop at the camp because it was for those who couldn't be at the RWA conference. I thought if I stayed busy that week discussing writing, I wouldn't be so lonely. And boy, was I so right! I'm so glad I took on this task.  The lovely and sweet Heather Rae Townsend was my moderator and after a brief panic on Monday morning when I couldn't get signed on and had a frantic discussion with a nice customer service person only to find out it was operator error (me), I taught my first workshop at camp. It was so much fun. I had about five or six very serious students and some friends dropping by. I wanted to discuss a lot and we did that. I tried to tell them in an Elnora way what I know about writing. Which isn't much, actually. But we got going and broke down plots, rebuilt them, twisted them and ended up with some really good ideas.

I looked forward to each day. Monday, we talked about hooks and themes, Tuesday was beginning, middle and end. We eliminated another negative phrase--the sagging middle. That is now the Meaty Middle. On Wednesday, we did Wacky Wednesday stuff such as what to do plot-wise, sensual-wise and length-wise in a Love Inspired story. Then we had Throwback Thursday where we discussed the Classic Themes and how to twist them into modern stories. On Friday, we had a wrap-up and a fun question and answer session and I gave away prizes because we had pop quizzes all week and homework, too. My girls did me proud with both so I tried to reward everyone with either an ebook or a paperback. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting these seriously gonnabe ladies and I made them promise to let me know when their stories are in print.

So that's what I did at Summer Camp. While I missed RWA, I think God put me right where I needed to be that week. He reminded of the many things I love about being a writer. And one of those things is how I love GONNABEs!!! I like serious writers, not those who are just messing around with a dream. Writing is about goals and accomplishments, not just dreams. I told my students to dream big, but set small goals. These girls were amazing. And Rae and Danica came to my rescue when I needed them. I didn't drown in the camp lake. I resurfaced and did a fist pump, ready to get back to writing again!!! Thank you, Camp Gonnabe Girls!!!

Ask Elnora--About The Seven Deadly Sins--Lenora Worth

Hello, my name is Lenora and I'm a sinner. There, I said it. But thankfully, I write books where I can analyze sin and tweak it a bit. I also write about characters who, gasp, actually don't always act in a Christian kind of way. I try to make my characters human (or at least they are that way by the end of the book.) :)

 

Today, I'll be teaching a workshop at my home chapter of RWA--NOLA Stars. My talk will be about The Seven Deadly Sins verses The Seven Heavenly Virtues. I also throw in The Seven Corporate Virtues and then add seven deadly habits verses seven caring habits. And to add yet another layer, I use seven original plots. This is like playing tic-tac-toe or working a cross-word puzzles. It's a fun way to connect the dots of plotting books. So let's say I take Pride and mix it with Prudence. Then I throw in feeding the hungry. Now I have a contemporary story set in an inner-city neighborhood or a historical story set along a wagon train trail. Or I could take Lust and pit it against Love and throw in a quest or a rebirth and now I have conflict. I might pit Anger against Courage and make it a comedy or a tragedy. Now I have to figure out that happy ending!

 

This is a good way to use Biblical principles to strengthen the threads of a plot. And we all want a strong Biblical thread running through our plots, right?

 

In my workshop, I will use an example of one of my proposals to break this down and show how I matched these elements up to create a plot. Fun stuff! But in the meantime, we can discuss this right here, right now. Do you like this plot technique? Do you hate it? Do you understand it? The way-smart Craftie Ladies here can add their own plot devices! And it's not even Third Friday Writing Day. But since I'm speaking on this subject, might as well share it here, too! What do you think?

 

Ask Elnora--About the Seven Deadly Sins?--Lenora Worth

Hello, my name is Lenora and I'm a sinner. There, I said it. But thankfully, I write books where I can analyze sin and tweak sin a bit. I also write about characters who, gasp, actually don't always act in a Christian kind of way. I try to make my characters human (or at least they are that way by the end of the book.) :)

Today, I'll be teaching a workshop at my home chapter of RWA--NOLA Stars. My talk will be about The Seven Deadly Sins verses The Seven Heavenly Virtues. I also throw in The Seven Corporate Virtues and then add seven deadly habits verses seven caring habits. And to add yet another layer, I use seven original plots. This is like playing tic-tac-toe or working a cross-word puzzle. It's a fun way to connect the dots of plotting books. So let's say I take Pride and mix it with Prudence. Then I throw in feeding the hungry. Now I have a contemporary story set in an inner-city neighborhood or a historical story set along a wagon train trail. Or I could take Lust and pit it against Love and throw in a quest or a rebirth and now I have conflict. Or I can mix Anger with Courage and make it either a tragedy or a comedy. Now I just have to figure out that happy ending! The possibilities are many and it helps when you're stuck on coming up with a strong plot. This is a good way to use Biblical principles to strengthen the threads of a plot. And we surely want those Biblical principles running through our stories, right?

In my workshop, I will use an example of one of my proposals to break this down and show how I matched these elements up to create a plot. Fun stuff! But in the meantime, we can discuss this right here, right now. Do you like this plot technique? Do you hate it? Do you understand it? The way-smart Craftie Ladies here can add their own plot devices! And it's not even Third Friday Writing Day. But since I'm speaking on this subject, might as well share it here, too! What do you think?

Plotting, planning....

Wasn't Lisa's post on characterization interesting?  I really enjoyed reading about her process, because all of us find different approaches to the writing of our stories,  our process often evolves over time, and it's fun to hear about what works for other people.  Her post on characters also made me think about my initial steps in finding the right story idea. 

We just returned from a trip to California--a business trip for my husband, but just relaxation for me.   One of the first questions people ask when they find out that I'm a writer  is, "Where do you get your ideas?"  as if that must be the hardest part of the business.  That question came up at least a half-dozen times while we were traveling!  But believe me, ideas are everywhere--in the newspapers (I love USA Today and the new, newsy format of the Wall Street Journal!), in inadvertently overheard conversations in an airport or the chatter of a friendly cab driver--- in myriad, everyday encounters.  Out of the blue situations can make a writer start to think,  "Hmmmm..... what if...." 

A cab driver told me that he was a street child in Mexico who repeatedly ran away from every orphanage, then he grew up, eventually immigrated to the USA and became a citizen, married and had eight daughters and a son.  Could there be a story  in some aspect of his life or, the life of one of  his children?  Can you think of dramatic fictional elements that could be added to make it a page turner?

An intriguing idea is only that, until one delves deep into the goals and motivation a character might have in a given situation, and the possible internal and external conflicts that could really draw a reader into the story. And then (at least for the writer who loves plotting) comes the process of working out a plausible progression of increasingly intense scenes presenting greater and greater physical or emotional risks for the main characters as they pursue their goals. I love brainstorming all by myself, coming up with long lists of things that could happen.   Some writers like to fly into the mist and don't like to do  all of that specific planning, but either way, developing a story is an exciting adventure!

Have you ever thought of writing a story?  What would you like to write?

If you are a writer already, what would you like to write that's totally different from what you've been doing?

Have  you ever read a story and wish you could change the plot?  If you could, would you change Gone with the Wind, or one of your favorite classics? 

Roxanne Rustand

www.roxannerustand.com

Keeping track of....

Some of my friends think it's quite a hoot that I'm a Tuesday gal on this blog, which means my theme is "keeping track of..." They laugh, because they seem to think I'm just a bit left-brained. I seem to be known for keeping graphs, charts, and lists for just about everything. All of that was mostly in the past, though, when I was a beginning writer. If there was ever a chart devised for any part of the writing life, I found it and put it my overflowing notebooks. Savored it. And used it. Those charts were like a safety net, lest I wander off into the vast nothingness that can exist in the middle of a manuscript when you lose your way. :) Over time, I revised. Consolidated. Tweaked. And now I use just a few charts to help keep my thoughts straight while working on a book--predominantly a calendar, a plot spine, and a subplot tracker. Since I still have a great fondness for such writers' tools, I would love to hear about what y'all like to use! Wishing you all the best, Roxanne www.roxannerustand.com