Write Like a Savage

Recently, I went to the movie with my honey to see Savages. I was the one who wanted to see it...Crazy, I know. Who would've thought, right? "She's a romance writer," you say. I am, it's true; but I love a good movie.
So, we went to see Savages. It's an Oliver Stone directed film about three lovers (why yes, I said three lovers), O (Blake Lively), Chon (Taylor Kitsch), and Ben (Aaron Johnson) who are uber-wealthy growing an amazing strong medicinal herb. They're perfectly happy until a Mexican drug Cartel decides they want the business and the two factions butt heads.
Things go to hell in a hand-basket fast! O gets kidnapped, lots of blood and gore and unnecessary dying of muscular ex-military hotties; Chon and O try to get her back by agreeing to the Cartel boss's terms, the  lady running the Cartel (yep, she's a super-sexy mom, like me or Vicki) tells them they can have her back in three years; they decide that won't work for them and fight back. Lots and lots more blood, violence, mayhem, and sick puppies, then...well, it ends in such a way to leave me wondering at the current state of affairs in our world...
Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh. However, I left the movie thinking it was a horrible movie. It was graphic, it was disturbing, it was too real, to violent, too extreme.
But I left the movie thinking...
Over a week ago. And I'm still thinking about it. It's one of those movies that just sticks with you. It twists up your mind, makes you question right and wrong, morals and people. I've been thinking about it, stewing about it, and I've decided not only was the movie worth watching (even though it isn't a romance), but I want to write like that. A story with that ability, the power to stay with the reader for days, weeks, months, years, to change perceptions or reinforce ideals...That's the type of story every author dreams of touching the world with...
Or I do, at least.

Our First Live Workshop (And A Promotional Gig for RMFW)

We are so very excited! Why? Well...
Vicki and Marne are presenting our workshop, "Keeping Track of Your World: How to Create a Story Bible," LIVE! It's going to be the bomb! We are doing this workshop for half an hour, and then we'll be brainstorming what is needed to create a Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' presence on the Western Slope. We want a writing group, complete with a critique group and monthly meetings/workshops, so let's see what we need to do to make that happen...

Here are the details:
Date: Saturday November 19, 2011
Time: 9:30 a.m. until whenever...
Where: 800 Colorado Ave, Grand Junction, CO 81501

So, yes, it is tomorrow. But, if you are a writer on the Western Slope area, please come support our adventures. You might get something out of the experience.

Last stop on the road to RMFW's June Education Event: Interview with Charlotte Cook

First off, tell us a little bit about how you got into the writing/publishing industry. When/how/why you became an editor.

Since I was ten years old I wanted to write and teach. Somehow the force of Story and the ability to bring people to their own realization of their talent and the opportunities of Story has always held my imagination and focus. Then in 1991 several career opportunities collided and produced a world in which I could teach writing ... and teaching writers to be better readers ... at prominent local adult schools. I began with how to write a mystery. The class was an immediate hit, drawing almost thirty people and several local well-known writers and journalists. From there my reputation grew, and I became the central writing teacher at two adult programs.

Also at that time I took a wonderful writing class from a young writer Craig Collins who found within my writing much talent and lots of bad habits. His work with me, his focus on giving me better habits in place of the naive and sometimes melodramatic ones I fostered, and his support of my writing showed me several things: A teaching style based on identifying habits and raising a writer's levels of talent by centering attention on the positive to strengthen the writer's unique capabilities, and a love of sensitive reading and how it plays an important role in writing.

Because of Craig, I entered an MFA program where I worked with excellent literary writers such as Pam Houston, Christopher Tilghman, Lynn Fried, Jervey Tervalon, and Louis Birney as well as wonderful teachers such as Ed Biglin, Carol Lashoff, and Alden Reimonenq. Pam Houston I owe a grand thank-you. She developed and reinforced my ability to read a work with the sensitivity of a reader who loves to read and therefore find more subtly and creativity in my own works. Maybe a small thing to some. To me, I learned to measure the completeness of the writing effort by the writer's ability, craft and commitment by the ability to be absorbed by the writing. 

There too in graduate school I learned that my unique contribution in workshopping was to articulate how a story stayed on target, how well characters stayed "in character," and why readers turn the page. Christopher Tilghman celebrated my talent one evening when he said, "You all aren't too sure about Charlotte's ability to get you turn pages and her comments on how you could better stay focused to do the same. Well, if you want to be published and have readers, Charlotte is the best example among you of understanding and employing what's needed to her own and your writing."

After earning an MFA, I went into the business of editing and teaching full time always being cited as a "Story Editor" for my ability to make a story "work." I taught some thousand students over the years, more than 10% of them getting published, winning awards and even getting into special programs as a result of working with me. Several even placed in the top 100 of the Writers Digest Annual Story Contest, out of some 40,000 entrants. So statistics may seem strange to cite, but my results with my students and clients are often better than more well-known editors and teachers. And recommendations often include: "If you want to write at a higher level and if your goal is to be published, maybe you should be studying with Charlotte."

Then in 2005 I was asked to start KOMENAR Publishing. I was approached by someone who wanted to be published and also start a publishing house that focused on first-time authors. The money was provided for the publishing house with the understanding that I would build the business from scratch, acquire the titles, supervise all the necessary publishing functions and story edit the individual works. Across five years we published six novels, all of them breaking industry sales records for debut novels from a small publisher and most winning prestigious awards. Also two have gained increasing Hollywood attention along with agents and bigger publishing houses showing interest in second novels from several of these authors. When 2009 economic forces drove KOMENAR into hibernation, I made plans to move on to the the part of the industry that most feeds my own creativity ... helping talented authors complete polished and publishable works. 

Then around the same time I met Jon James Miller, an award-winning screenwriter with a multi-award-winning script he wanted to adapt into a publishable commercial mainstream novel. We worked together on his manuscript through the completion of Garbo's Last Stand, now with agents. And we discovered that our love of Story made us an excellent creative and business team to write the book Adapting Sideways. We also created the business also entitled Adapting Sideways, based on being adaptable to the times, economics and talents of the industry to reach writing and publishing goals ... If you can't go straight at something, Adapting Sideways has the strategies and can find industry professionals who can still make "it" happen for the writer and project by just adapting differently to the circumstances!

As further validation for the criteria I hold dear regarding publishable books and my experience with the industry, I have twice been a major judge for an international book contest held annually in coordination with Book Expo America (BEA). This year I judged seven separate categories as well as choosing the three grand prize winners in fiction. I have done similar judging for reputable writers conferences, but this opportunity was an acknowledgement of my work along with Jon's successes with contests and judging, as the standards and process of judging evolved out of our work. As the market place adjusts to eBooks and self-publishing, I am fortunate and honored to be considered as an industry professional who can see the past, present and future in the current crop of published fiction works. 

This Saturday, you will be the presenter for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, first annual Colorado Western Slope Education Event. You presented The Final Edit fworkshop last May in Denver for RMFW and received great reviews from the attendees. Can you tell our readers a little about the workshop and what attendees can expect.

Writers don't really know what acquisition editors and agents do and think when we open a submission from a writer. My goal is to make that process as open and understandable as it should be. 

Too often people who are neither acquisition editors or agents tell writers what goes on ... but I am a former acquisition editor and now a "pre-agent," someone who matches ready work to appropriate agents and even publishers who will take unagented work. I know this process intimately across some 5,000 submissions; 1,000 clients; and 100+ published writers. And I can articulate it in practical terms and strategies to committed writers.

In this interactive and practical workshop, I will read and share first impressions, praise and suggestions to participants based on the pages they bring to the workshop. That's it. Our whole focus will be on what's in my hand and what I would do if I were the agent or publisher.

We'll discuss and question. I'll draw diagrams and suggest agents and publishers who might be appropriate. I'll also counsel patience and preparation. Basically we will increase your chances of being successful getting an agent, being published, and being rewarded with great exposure and sales based on how a publisher reaches out to readers, reviewers and booksellers. After all that's what publishing is--whether you publish your own work or Random House offers you the deal of a lifetime.

In addition to being an editor and speaker, you have a book out. Tell us a little about Adapting Sideways and how it came about

Jon James Miller and I wrote Adapting Sideways to articulate the elements that make a manuscript publishable--in this case specifically one adapted from a screenplay. But the big take-away is that a polished manuscript that your author and writer friends think is great may or may not be ready for a publisher's investment. Knowing how to insure that your work is publishable should be as major a goal to a writer at that point in time as completing a polished manuscript earlier.

We published through my old publishing house KOMENAR for timing sake. We needed to have a salable book available Fall 2010 after Creative Screenwriting Magazine published a three-page feature article on our work and philosophy for the Fall issue and that year's LA EXPO. Now we're using it as a template for a longer manuscript represented by a top nonfiction literary agent. And another book is in the works: Lights! Camera! Novel! This book combines Jon and my love of film and literature and how to use film to make novels more effective on the page. Note: We didn't say "screenplays," we said "film."

I understand your publishing house isn't currently active, what are you doing, besides presenting workshops?

My creative and business relationship with Jon has opened a new world of writers. Working with screenwriters turning to novel-writing and advising nonfiction writers on how to manifest more Story in their work has brought some amazing and talented people to us. Also we are called on to work in more industry settings to comment on the industry and impact of the changes and the chaos. But most of our clients are novelists, memoirists, and short story writers who are working to raise the level of their craft as well as complete that work or start the next one. My goals are to see strong writers polished, published and successful. So anything that feeds that need is my passion. 

KOMENAR is actually not my publishing house, but the one I co-founded and ran for five years. My ties to KOMENAR are professional and helpful but I am not an employee or shareholder. Though I do work regularly with several of the novelists and others with whom we sought to work. 

When not working, what do you do to have fun?

I am an avid reader across a wide arena of subjects, styles and eras. I am also a committed short story writer, having finished one just days ago. Literary short stories are like Rubik's Cubes to me. So much to do in a refined space of words and paragraphs. I'm most interested in the dimensions of emotional challenge and fulfillment. 

I also watch a lot of films, which I totally enjoy deconstructing with Jon because we are such Story and Structure fiends. Also we're both quite visual and metaphoric in our appreciation of Story on the page or film. Recent favorites include: "The Fighter," "The King's Speech," and surprising little films such as "Everything is Illuminated." Some films I watch over and over again. I'm currently watching "It Happened One Night." Oh, and British mysteries are so wonderful that I bought a region-free dvd player so I could watch the most recent episodes of "Lewis," only available from Amazon.uk.

Beyond that I have a husband whom I deeply love who is a scholar and bookseller. We love to travel when we can. Otherwise we love our home and family of friends as well as our pets, most central to our family being two dogs Jewel and Bella. Both are rescues and female German Shepherd mixes. One is barely 50 pounds and almost 13 years old, while the other is 85 pounds and not two years old. The younger, bigger one is a great indulgence for me as Bella is all surprises, from her mix (GS, pit bull, Doberman, and hound) to her extreme attentiveness. We all have our weaknesses, and Bella is mine. In surprise fact of Bella's pit bull heritage so staggered me that I wrote a piece published in the Oakland Tribune about how I overcame my quickly rising and very consuming fear of pit bull mixes in the face of an adorable, affectionate and very large puppy.

Anything else you would like to tell us about?

When learning to write and working to complete a manuscript, your best peers and coaches are writing teachers (from those who work in adult schools to those with degrees in grad programs), fellow writers, and authors. 

When taking that manuscript to an audience of industry professionals (from agents and publishers to reviewers, publicists, designers and marketing people) your best peers and coaches are people with industry experience publishing books, not having books published. 

The difference in the two objectives ... writing and publishing ... should alert the writer to the difference in the best populations from which to seek advice, counsel and support. That and patience ... time works for you in this industry ... will give you a writing career if not the realization of a successful project.

Does knowing too much suck the fun out?

Good morning Blogies

    Can you still do it? Can you read for the fun of it? With all the rules and tips and pet peeves floating around in your head, can you still just pick up a book and get lost in the pages?

    It’s one of the hazards of writing, I’m afraid. I should have known that. Before I started writing I was involved in theater as an actor, director, stage manager, stage hand, set builder, you name it and I did it. Well, except anything to do with music, no talent there. Anyway, the more I learned, the more critical I became as an audience member. I was ruined as a patron of the theater. Even when everything was great, I still analyzed why rather than let the cast take me to a place and show me a story. The wonder, the experience, the thrill; all gone. Crap!!

    Then, along came writing. I went to conferences and workshops. I joined a critique group. I read books and articles and blogs and forum posts and I analyzed books I should’ve been reading for enjoyment. Double crap!! I tell you right now, I vow never to pick up a book on deviant sexual behavior. You know, just in case I ever...I want it to be fun. Well, enough said.

    So, back to reading. I found myself critiquing the works of, published authors. I’d try to figure out why the author did this or inserted that? What was the authors intent? Is there some hidden meaning?  I puzzled out motivation; oh, so-and-so works at the shelter because he wasn’t allow a puppy as a child. Looked for tell-tales; and he’s going to kill the neighbor for kicking his dog. Anticipated plot twists; then he and the widow will fall in love. Agonized over internal and external goals; he wants to open his own non-profit shelter for abused dogs but really he just wants to be loved. Ditto for internal and external conflict; Oh, no, the police found his footprint in the neighbor’s garden. But worse, he doesn’t feel he deserves the widow’s love because he killed her husband.

    #@(& it! Reading wasn’t any fun. So I quit. Reading, not writing. Can’t quit writing. What reason would I give for banging my head against the wall? I probably didn’t read fiction for more than a year. I’d like to say I was in a dark and brooding place, but I wasn’t. I just had no interest in reading a novel. I read my crit partners’ stuff because that’s what crit partners do and you are supposed to analyze that stuff. I read Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader,  Ripley’s Believe it or Not and that sort of thing for distraction. But I read no books.

    Things were going along fine until my wife wanted to get a Kindle. Somehow, I ended up with one too. So I read. And I put it down. And I picked it up. Put it down. Picked it up. So on and so forth until I got lost in a story.

    Ha, this is fun. I read another, and focused on the characters, listened to the characters and it was fun again. I’d discovered the secret.

    Just read the damn book. The characters may have motivation, goals, blah, blah, blah, but the author didn’t put them there, didn’t decide anything. In fact, there is no author. The story just appeared out of the ether. The characters are the story. It’s the characters telling the story and they don’t know squat about writing. Remember that when you read. Remember that when you write. And, have fun when you do both. And that other thing too, deviant or not.

    Simple, huh? So, can you still read for fun?

Interview with author, Carol Berg

Here's the thing. Carol is my mentor. Most likely, she doesn't know that. She probably thinks I'm just a stalker. However, I have learned much by hiding around corners, friending her on Facebook and listening to her when she talks about her process. My writing is better for knowing Miss Carol. 


We have now interviewed Kirt Hickman, Jeanne Stein, Betsy Dornbusch and Carol Berg. Remember they will all be at Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers' May Education Event, which takes place this Saturday at the Renaissance Hotel, Denver. 


Marne and I will be there. Alas, Mike, Gail and Susan cannot make it, but we will bring home new information to share.

The price at the door is $85, however, if you mention this blog, I'll give you the early registration fee of $70. 


Now, please welcome Carol Berg. 

First off, tell us a little about yourself and when/how/why you started writing.

I'm a former software engineer, formerly a full-time mom, and formerly, for a very short time, a math teacher, who grew up with a book always in my hand.  Though a lifelong reader, I never imagined I could write a story.  I didn’t even like writing!  One reason I majored in math in college was to avoid writing papers.  But around 1989, a friend and I were talking over lunch about a book we’d just read.  The upshot of our book discussion was an agreement to start writing email letters in character, just for fun.  Over the next year and a half we sent 32 letters each and built a whole story.  The writing was awful, but the story wasn’t bad.  I couldn’t quit. I wrote for about nine years just for myself, never imagining anyone else would ever want to read my stuff.  I sold my first three books in 1999.  Writing gradually replaced gardening, needlework, and a lot of the other things I used to do.  In 2002, it replaced my day job.

And your books, what do you have published and what are you working on right now?

I have twelve novels published. I write epic fantasy--complex, layered, adventure stories centered on interesting (I hope!) characters.  (Nope, no elves or dwarves and not Harry Potter!)  Big stories, where the stakes are large.  Some reviewers call my stories dark – and yes, there is violence and angst and the stakes are high – but I like to think that the endings are satisfying and hopeful.

I have just completed my thirteenth.  Well "completed" in that I have a first version that I'm sending in to my editor.  It is called The Daemon Prism and is the third and final "novel of the Collegia Magica."  I call these three books my double agent murder mysteries set in a late Renaissance-era world where science is replacing magic.

Rejection letters: How many did you receive before you were published?

Not as many as some, as I never really believed anyone would want to read my stuff.  By the time I was bold enough to send things out, I had developed quite a bit as a writer.  So the answer is: 3.

You are participating in Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers May Education Event, meeting with attendees and maybe critiquing the first 2 pages of their wip. In your experience and opinion, what is the biggest mistake or misconception new writers have? Did you as well, when you were new to the industry?

Believing that one's original outpouring of words is art, and that any meddling with it is artifice.  I believe the true art of writing is blending that passionate outpouring with the hard thinking and deeper probing of revision.  The craft of writing is what we use to make our art resonate with our readers. 

Yes.  I did it, too.  I read over that first letter and thought, "Damn, that's pretty good."  And the next day, I reread it, and said, "Damn, that needs some work."  And I tweaked and rewrote, and thought that was pretty good.  A few weeks later, I reread it, and thought, "Ugh."  Etc. Etc.  I still have a lot of that early writing.  It keeps me very humble.  The cool thing is, I see good stuff in it too.  Training the eye and inner ear is critical.

How often do you write? Do you stick to a schedule or work it in around life?

Writing is my full time - and often my more than full time profession.  When I started out, I had to squeeze it in around work and kids and house and everything else.  Now I have a very supportive spouse who puts up with my long hibernations.

When not writing, what do you do?

I love to watch movies with my hubby, and with a group of old friends who've started getting together once a week.  I love to teach writing at conferences and hang out with writers.  I have three great kids who are out on their own, two with little ones.  Yep, that's very much fun.  And I love the mountains.  This year, yes, more camping!

          What did I not ask that you want to talk about?

I often get asked what I did to "learn" to be a writer.  I tell them, I read. I think reading (not watching TV or movies, though that's fun) is the single most important education for a writer.  Reading good writing across many genres, not just one’s own.  Reading bad writing, too.   Listening to the flow of words, feeling how a good writer lays in a plot, watching the writer reveal character, and build tension, and use words in narrative and dialogue.

Interview with author and editor, Betsy Dornbusch

I am very pleased to introduce to you Betsy Dornbusch. Betsy writes HOT. I've read some of Betsy stuff and you gotta be careful not to burn yourself. It is most luscious.

I love seeing all the different answers to the same questions...

Welcome Betsy.

First off, tell us a little about yourself and when/how/why you started writing.

I've been writing since I was in 4th grade. Incidentally, I met one of my favorite authors, SE Hinton then, though I didn't read her book THE OUTSIDERS until a few years later, which has so influenced my writing.  My best friend at the time got me writing and it was my distinct honor to dedicate my new novel to her. Now, years later, I'm a full time writer. 

And your books, what do you have published and what are you working on right now?

My pseudonym Ainsley has two vampire eroticas out, QUENCHED and QUENCHER. I also have a space opera erotica called SALT ROAD SAGA BOOK 1: LOST PRINCE out from Torrid in July.

Whiskey Creek Press is also releasing my mainstream urban fantasy SENTINEL: ARCHIVE OF FIRE, this year. It features demidemons who rebel against the demon king Asmodai, hot boys, and a whole lotta wicked violence. Still waiting on a release date for that one.

So as you can imagine, I'm working on sequels! I'm wrapping up the first draft of the second SENTINEL book right now: it's called ARCHIVE OF EARTH.

I'm always trying to keep up with my blog Sex Scenes at Starbucks, too. Tough to do under deadline. http://betsydornbusch.com

Rejection letters: How many did you receive before you were published?

Hundreds, easily. A word on that; I spent a LOT of time in the short story trenches, which I think is a really valid way to learn to write and to get and keep your name out there. I miss writing the short form. I'm too swamped with novels right now to write short stories. Sucks.

You are participating in Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers May Education Event, meeting with attendees and maybe critiquing the first 2 pages of their wip. In your experience and opinion, what is the biggest mistake or misconception new writers have? 

That MOST new writers' first attempts suck. Sorry to be blunt. Mine definitely sucked. (Hell, my tenth attempts sucked too). It doesn't mean we shouldn't keep on, though. And we all learn soon enough how wonderful, as a class of people, writers are. There is nearly ALWAYS a writer willing to help you. Take advantage of it.

How often do you write? Do you stick to a schedule or work it in around life?

It's my full time job, though less full time than I like. I'm always swamped and never writing fast enough! But I work a lot of odd hours, too, evenings and weekends. I try to work to word counts, generally. Right now I'm under a pretty tough  deadline imposed by the impending end of school, which means I'm writing some real drivel. I'll have to get 2-3K words a day to make it.

When not writing, what do you do?

Snowboard, punk rock concerts, read, hang with my kiddos and husband, play with my dog 

What did I not ask that you want to talk about?

I'm an editor with Electric Spec (http://electricspec.com)  and have been for 5 years. Come check us out.

Interview with author, Jeanne Stein

Thirty year old Anna Strong is a bounty hunter-- tough, confident, at the top of her game. But when she is attacked one night in a parking lot, her life is inexorably changed. She awakens in the hospital to find she has become Vampire and her destiny is no longer with the living, but among the undead. With her mentor, the vampire doctor who treated her in the hospital, she strives to make sense of it all. But then her home is burned to the ground, and her business partner and best friend is kidnapped. Anna suddenly finds herself alone on a quest to save more than her missing friend, but herself as well.

Sound interesting?  It is, and what's more, the author of the Anna Strong books is just as interesting as her characters. When you are done reading the interview, feel free to ask Jeanne a question of your own or leave a comment. Then head on over to her website and check out more information about her and her books. 

http://www.jeannestein.com/

Please welcome one of my favorite people, Jeanne Stein. 

First off, tell us a little about yourself and when/how/why you started writing.

I think I've always been a writer--but I didn't start taking writing seriously until I moved to Denver 14 years ago. I joined RMFW, found the perfect critique group and from them, learned what I needed to know about the craft and the business. I became a professional with their help and encouragement.

And your books, what do you have published and what are you working on right now?

I have six books published, the seventh coming out in August (Crossroads--the Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles) and am working on the eighth in that series. I also have stories in eight published anthologies and two new ones coming in June-- Hexed and Chicks Kick Butt. My novels are available in three foreign countries and the short stories published in the US and UK.

Rejection letters: How many did you receive before you were published?

Too many to count. Some were the good kind, offering tips to improve the manuscript,  and some just form letters. And the rejection process doesn't stop once you're published. I've pitched ideas that were rejected my agent for one reason or the other. You have to develop a thick skin if you want to be a professional writer and roll with the rejections. 

You are participating in Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers May Education Event, meeting with attendees and maybe critiquing the first 2 pages of their wip. In your experience and opinion, what is the biggest mistake or misconception new writers have? Did you as well, when you were new to the industry?

The biggest misconception I've found is thinking that once you're published, you're on easy street for the rest of your life! Lightening does strike, but generally it takes years of plugging away, slowly building up an audience, and never giving up. Since I'd been with writers in various organizations since I first decided I wanted to write professionally, I knew what to expect. It's still a hard lesson to learn.

How often do you write? Do you stick to a schedule or work it in around life?

Deadlines make it imperative I write everyday. I have a schedule that I try to stick to which includes producing 2000 words a day.

When not writing, what do you do?

Read, garden, kickbox, think about the next project.

What did I not ask that you want to talk about?

If I have to add one more thing, it would be to emphasize what I mentioned earlier. The most important thing for a new writer to understand is that persistence does more for you than anything else. To paraphrase Calvin Coolidge: Nothing takes the place of  persistence. Not talent, not education, not genius. Persistence and determination are most important.

You've been pantsed

     Not really, not even virtually. I just want to talk a little about pantsers and plotters. Sounds silly and sinister when I put it like that.

     First, I am a pantser. I write by the seat of my pants and have very little inkling as to what's going to happen next. I have been asked that very question and variations thereof, "What's going to happen...?" In order to avoid the raised eyebrows and incredulous looks from my plotting critique partners, I sometimes make up a cock and bull story but that produces its own set of problems. They then want to brainstorm the spur-of-the-moment story I just gave them because that's what plotters do, they brainstorm. Brainstorming is when two or more plotters get together and plot.

     Brainstorming is aptly named because the progression from a spot of low pressure to a hurricane is analogous to a typical brainstorming session. The force of the hurricane is entirely dependent on the number of plotters and how warmed up they are. The plotters are the ocean over which the storm will form.

     Now comes the area of low pressure that will form the eye; the problem to be solved, the idea to be incorporated, the turning point to be tweaked, the... Well, you get the gist. This is put forth with, at times, detailed explanation, and others, almost as an aside. I've seen an experienced plotter start a brainstorm with three words, "What about Izzie?"

     Once the low is formed the ocean of plotters feed it with warm moist what-ifs' and how-abouts' forming clouds of possibilities. The bank thickens amid the postulations until a what-if brushes up against a how-about and they circle one another as if sizing each other up. The ocean of plotters falls silent for the briefest instant as the clouds begin to rotate. A beat. Then a breath as consequences and permutations percolate in the plotter's brains. And-thens join he-coulds, rising up to meet she-mights and why-woulds. They spiral in toward the center. The rotation has begun in earnest. We have a plotical depression.

      Timelines, motivations and reactions circle the eye at ever increasing speeds. The wind twists and intertwines them until, at last, someone spots a pattern, a pleasing progression of events among the chaos. A satellite image is recorded and the storm blows itself out. Sometimes the storm makes landfall where the rain and storm surge wash away old prose in favor of the new. Not a bad thing really, plotters love a good storm but it involves a lot of clean-up.

     Pantsers on the other hand, not so much. Stephen King, in his book, 'On Writing' (I'm paraphrasing here) compared a story to a buried artifact to be uncovered by the archeologist writer. I think that's a fair analogy. I, myself, think of stories as floating in the ether. I cannot go into the ether to retrieve the story but my characters can. I need my characters to go into the ether and find the story. Characters, like all sentient beings, have their own take so, probably, they change things on me a little. But, what the hell, I need them to tell me the story.

     Now, I'm not advocating pantsing over plotting. If anything, my plotting friends are more prolific and have less to revise later on. I'm just musing here while I wait for my characters to come back from vacation.


Mike