"Daily Exercise:
Free Writing - pick up a pen and paper, or type on a computer, about any story idea you want. Don't stop to think, just write for 10 minutes. Do not write nonsensical stuff such as 'I have nothing to say' instead this free writing exercise should consist of a story. You will be amazed at what happens when you have no agenda, no ideas about perfection"
Wrote for 10 minutes on Lilly's background, her life frozen in time, her boss and mentor, and a little on her cheating x-husband. He is definitely a subplot. Lilly and her boss Morgan's interactions move the story forward and give information to tell the story.
Monday, September 6, 2010
BIAM Day 2
Drafted my 10 scene Cards
I used Chris Vogler's "The Writer's Journey, Mythic Structure for Writers", Third Edition. He condensed Joseph Campbell's outline of the hero's journey in "Hero with a Thousand Faces" down to twelve stages. I translated the stages down further into the novel's 10 major scene cards. His method was used over others because I've studied his book and heard him speak on the subject. It's familiar and a good place to start for me.
Below are Vogler's 12 Stages of the Hero's Journey with my comments of how I combined them to make my 10 major scenes:
Act I
The Ordinary World
[Combined the Call and the Refusal to one scene]
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Meeting with the Mentor
Crossing the First Threshold
Act II (a)
Tests, Allies, and Enemies
Approach to the Innermost Cave
Act 11 (b)
The Ordeal
Reward
Act III
The Road Back-(often includes a car chase)
[Second combination - the last two]
The Resurrection
Return with the Elixir
It's a start. The major scene cards give me an idea of where the story is going. So many movies use this outline, I often know what act it is by what is taking place. Some people resist this ancient outline, but it works in the telling of great stories and a story's twists and turns provide room for many limitless creative ideas and endings.
I used Chris Vogler's "The Writer's Journey, Mythic Structure for Writers", Third Edition. He condensed Joseph Campbell's outline of the hero's journey in "Hero with a Thousand Faces" down to twelve stages. I translated the stages down further into the novel's 10 major scene cards. His method was used over others because I've studied his book and heard him speak on the subject. It's familiar and a good place to start for me.
Below are Vogler's 12 Stages of the Hero's Journey with my comments of how I combined them to make my 10 major scenes:
Act I
The Ordinary World
[Combined the Call and the Refusal to one scene]
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Meeting with the Mentor
Crossing the First Threshold
Act II (a)
Tests, Allies, and Enemies
Approach to the Innermost Cave
Act 11 (b)
The Ordeal
Reward
Act III
The Road Back-(often includes a car chase)
[Second combination - the last two]
The Resurrection
Return with the Elixir
It's a start. The major scene cards give me an idea of where the story is going. So many movies use this outline, I often know what act it is by what is taking place. Some people resist this ancient outline, but it works in the telling of great stories and a story's twists and turns provide room for many limitless creative ideas and endings.
Summary of BIAM Accomplishments
BIAM Day 1
Completed:
One-Sentence Summary
Mapped Story Ideas
Began to fill out Writing Time Log
Set Writing Goals for September:
250 words a day
1,750 words a week
7.500 words in a month
keep up with Daily Reminders even if in a draft form
Continue to move through BIAM book - at least a day each weekend
Will move faster when possible
Rise at 4 a.m. to write for a 1/2 hour daily
Completed:
One-Sentence Summary
Mapped Story Ideas
Began to fill out Writing Time Log
Set Writing Goals for September:
250 words a day
1,750 words a week
7.500 words in a month
keep up with Daily Reminders even if in a draft form
Continue to move through BIAM book - at least a day each weekend
Will move faster when possible
Rise at 4 a.m. to write for a 1/2 hour daily
Saturday, September 4, 2010
VBIAM Day One Exercise
"Daily Writing Exercise:
Get a piece of fruit or a vegetable...
Look it over for a moment or two...
Now write about this fruit or vegetable for 10 minutes or so without using the sense of taste!"
1:09 p.m. - I'll let you guess what it is???
Yellow or what is left of yellow surface. Bruised, brown age spots dot the surface. Long cylindrical geometric sides, one could say it looks somewhat falic or like a long stretched out granny tit with small rough blakc nipple at one end. A yellow vine swollen with a long stem like rope or straw like looking end torn from its rooted home in a faraway place. So there is sight, other senses, there is hearing. Silence, it is still, but if I drop it there would be a soft thud and another bruise would form all the way to the creamy white insides turning them soft and brown. Sight, hearing, smell is next smells like a grocery store produce section, a certain yellow fruit, not good for canning. Smells like something sliced on breakfast cereal, or found in a brown lunch sack in the cloak closet of an old fashioned elementary school, smells like a yummy snack, or something baking in the oven on a cool fall day. Still firm to the touch although aging. The surface is not smooth, small indentations and cracks.
Thank God ten minutes is up. It was hard not to edit and I did use spell check. It's to late in the day. My editor is awake.
Get a piece of fruit or a vegetable...
Look it over for a moment or two...
Now write about this fruit or vegetable for 10 minutes or so without using the sense of taste!"
1:09 p.m. - I'll let you guess what it is???
Yellow or what is left of yellow surface. Bruised, brown age spots dot the surface. Long cylindrical geometric sides, one could say it looks somewhat falic or like a long stretched out granny tit with small rough blakc nipple at one end. A yellow vine swollen with a long stem like rope or straw like looking end torn from its rooted home in a faraway place. So there is sight, other senses, there is hearing. Silence, it is still, but if I drop it there would be a soft thud and another bruise would form all the way to the creamy white insides turning them soft and brown. Sight, hearing, smell is next smells like a grocery store produce section, a certain yellow fruit, not good for canning. Smells like something sliced on breakfast cereal, or found in a brown lunch sack in the cloak closet of an old fashioned elementary school, smells like a yummy snack, or something baking in the oven on a cool fall day. Still firm to the touch although aging. The surface is not smooth, small indentations and cracks.
Thank God ten minutes is up. It was hard not to edit and I did use spell check. It's to late in the day. My editor is awake.
VBIAM Day One
Four days behind in my goal to follow the daily
Oh well, we are all going to let life get in the way and fall off the wagon headed towards our dreams. The important thing is to get back up, sit in the chair and write. So here is the catch up for Day One of VBIAM.
Activity:
"Oneliners are mini outlines, very mini, but they should give you a sense of the story's conflict and goal."
My oneliner: Lilly searches for her runaway sister only to find her married to a serial killer.
| reminder from: | VBIAMClub Yahoo! Group. |
Activity:
"Oneliners are mini outlines, very mini, but they should give you a sense of the story's conflict and goal."
My oneliner: Lilly searches for her runaway sister only to find her married to a serial killer.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Welcome
Evening is quiet here even though the woods are filled with Labor Day campers. It's the beginning of a new month and I'm adding three personal goals for September. The focus is on writing my novel, losing weight, and supporting a healthy energetic body.
In the area of writing I've been reading "Book in a Month" by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, Ph.D. and joined her e-group VBIAMClub in Yahoo Groups over two years ago. VBIAM Club "help[s] motivate writers into starting and finishing a book in 30 days." 30 days may not be realistic for me. My ultimate goal is to achieve sustainable writing, which means I'm writing every day. So how do I support writing a draft in a year or less?
1) Read VBIAM posts daily (Doing Now for ideas and support)
2) Write a page a day (365 pages by year end) 250 words a page = 91,000 words
a) so far this year over 9,000 words
3) This month add VBIAM Daily Reminders follow the instructions and do the exercises for a month
a) four days behind
For weight lose, I've joined Weight Watchers again with the goal of becoming a Life Time Member this time around, and maintaining a healthy weight range. The goal for September is to work the program and attend the weekly meetings. Today's meeting message was adding fun exercise to your life. What am I already doing?
1) Yoga twice a week
2) 20 minute stationary bike riding, three to five times a week
3) Walking 20 minutes or more five days a week
Add Rumba on Tuesdays and Thursdays, sounds fun!!!
What I'm doing this month to maintain a healthy energetic body:
1) Acupuncture once a week
2) Vitamins and eating five servings of fruit or vegetables daily
3) Drink more water
4) Every 1/2 hour take a stretch break
5) Meditate daily
6) Breath deeply
7) Go to bed a 1/2 hour earlier
The first of September brings a little more focus and action to my areas of interest, a couple more baby steps in the direction I want my life to go. I don't remember where I saw this but the saying goes something like this, "you are either living the life of your dreams or you'rer not." Let's live the life of our dreams. What are your dreams and how are you moving towards them?
In the area of writing I've been reading "Book in a Month" by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, Ph.D. and joined her e-group VBIAMClub in Yahoo Groups over two years ago. VBIAM Club "help[s] motivate writers into starting and finishing a book in 30 days." 30 days may not be realistic for me. My ultimate goal is to achieve sustainable writing, which means I'm writing every day. So how do I support writing a draft in a year or less?
1) Read VBIAM posts daily (Doing Now for ideas and support)
2) Write a page a day (365 pages by year end) 250 words a page = 91,000 words
a) so far this year over 9,000 words
3) This month add VBIAM Daily Reminders follow the instructions and do the exercises for a month
a) four days behind
For weight lose, I've joined Weight Watchers again with the goal of becoming a Life Time Member this time around, and maintaining a healthy weight range. The goal for September is to work the program and attend the weekly meetings. Today's meeting message was adding fun exercise to your life. What am I already doing?
1) Yoga twice a week
2) 20 minute stationary bike riding, three to five times a week
3) Walking 20 minutes or more five days a week
Add Rumba on Tuesdays and Thursdays, sounds fun!!!
What I'm doing this month to maintain a healthy energetic body:
1) Acupuncture once a week
2) Vitamins and eating five servings of fruit or vegetables daily
3) Drink more water
4) Every 1/2 hour take a stretch break
5) Meditate daily
6) Breath deeply
7) Go to bed a 1/2 hour earlier
The first of September brings a little more focus and action to my areas of interest, a couple more baby steps in the direction I want my life to go. I don't remember where I saw this but the saying goes something like this, "you are either living the life of your dreams or you'rer not." Let's live the life of our dreams. What are your dreams and how are you moving towards them?
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