Archives for November 2011

Writing Lesson 3.14-Well! That’s Odd…

If all goes as planned, this week we’ll begin remodeling our new home. Let me share a picture that I think ties in with our writing lessons–a Spanish Mission arch on the fireplace, a Dutch door, and a Colonial mantle! This struck me as odd the first time I saw it, but I couldn’t figure […]

Writing Lesson 3.13-Adding Adventures

We started the year with a post on Story Engineering. With two contributors in the midst of home renovations, it’s no wonder if our posts about plotting a story keep drawing analogies to architecture. We’ve likened genre to architectural style. We’ve said that themes and motifs provide a sense of form and function to the […]

Writing Lesson 3.12-The Theme’s the Thing

I majored in architecture, and our family is in the process of buying and remodeling a house, so perhaps you’ll understand if a lot of things lately make my thoughts turn to building. Whether you’re constructing a story or designing a house, it’s always a good idea to begin with the end in mind. The […]

Writing Lesson 3.11-Another Approach to Plotting Mayhem

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned here that I’ve been known to use Post-It Notes to plot out a story on the back of the door to my workroom. It’s a quick trick and a handy way to get ready for NaNoWriMo (or to stay on track if you’ve already started), so let me build […]