Almost There

Still working on the 'Black Moment' and 'Resolution' chapters, but I was re-reading notes from the Writing Course run online - and free- by Jenny Crusie and Bob Meyer, and one section struck me which I shall take the liberty of paraphrasing here.


'Does the climactic scene show the protag and antag in direct, active conflict, fighting to the real or metaphorical death, delivering on the promise made in the beginning and satsifying the reader through catharsis?
Is the pay-off enough?
Have you run a scene analysis on it to make sure it can stand up to the scrutiny of being the most important scene in the story? Is it followed by a short resolution that returns the protagonist to a stable world?

If not, don’t give up.

But the tighter and more focused you make your narrative, the more clarity you’ll have in your storytelling and the more likely you are to keep your reader.

Remember in the final edit, it’s all about the reader. Not you, not your vision, not your deathless prose, not the stuff you want the reader to know, just the stuff the reader wants to know, the story that’s going to take her to another world and give her the emotional release she craves from a good book.

Cut away everything else. Then send it to your editor.'


For the full article go here: http://www.crusiemayer.com/workshop/she-wrote-story-editing/jenny/
Warning - since there have been lessons every WEEK so far - there is a complete library of useful material for lateral thinking on this course. It is a personal view from two very experienced authors and may not be the way YOU work, but it certainly kick starts my little grey cells, especially when developing a new story idea. http://www.crusiemayer.com/workshop/syllabus


What's playing on my YouTube right now? Jensen Ackles, Bad to the Bone. I know. And it's only 7am. The shame! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iCOoiFP69_s