Dusting Off Those Shelved Writing Projects

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Last month we talked about finishing projects we had started or have half finished but never completed. I hope you were able to work on or complete some of those projects. As usual, I didn’t get as much done as I had wished, but finishing projects is still on my agenda.

Also last month in the June article, I promised this:

“If it’s a story of your heart that you love and want to finish, but it really needs a lot of work, leave it in the closet. We’ll talk about that project next month.”

So here we are in July, the middle month of summer. Do you have writing time?

Take Out that Story You Love, Dust It Off, and Finish Writing It!

Do you have a project of your heart that’s been put on the shelf? Do you remember why you shelved it? (Tweet that!) There can be a lot of reasons. Let’s talk about why writing projects get shelved. Then let’s consider taking them down, dusting them off, and finishing the stories of our hearts that we love (no matter what others say!).

It could be you didn’t have time.

Maybe distractions — whether from life or other writing projects — drew you away until dust collected on the project and, eventually, it got put on the shelf just for a little while, just until you got your desk cleared. And, um, that was years ago and your desk never cleared.

Possibly it was simply “life” that got in the way. The business of taking care of family and jobs and responsibilities… Am I ringing any bells here?

Or, maybe it’s on the shelf for another reason. Maybe you got discouraged with the project. That happened to me.

The Story of My Shelved Writing Project

Once upon a time I had a story I really loved. It was a supernatural thriller. I worked on it. I plotted it out. I developed the characters. I really loved that story.

And then the long days came when I wrote out that story as a novel. I worked hard, starting early in the morning and working late into the night. I wrote the entire novel. And I loved it.

I dreamed of sequels. I didn’t have all the plots worked out for the next two books, but I had characters who could fill them and a basic idea.

Then things started to happen. Three things, to be exact.

1. I talked with an agent who loved the idea of my story. He was a well-known agent who had “discovered” another author, one who had been rejected by everyone else. This agent helped him and that rejected writer not only found a publisher but became a best-seller, sold millions of books, and became very famous. This was the agent who was interested in my story! He asked me to send him my book proposal and sample chapters. I couldn’t wait to send it and I did.

2. Meanwhile, a friend and critiquer asked if she could read my story. I let her, eager to hear what she thought of it. When she started sending critiques, it became clear she didn’t like my main character. The farther into the story she got, the less she liked that character. This was not good.

I remember she did not like my character because this character was not great with all the new electronics coming out in the late nineties. If she can’t keep up with the times, the critiquer said, she’s not smart.

Well… But… Wait… The character’s inability to access a password-protected web site is critical to the story.

I think the intervening years have proved that not all people can keep up with today’s electronics, don’t you? Even smart people.

Her critiques became harsh and I was devastated. Eventually I quit reading her critiques. Partly because of her words, partly because  I so strongly disagreed with them. But it was just one person’s opinion, right?

3. Then I received an invitation to join a small group of writers who would meet with a professional editor and former publisher for several days. Part of the program was that we would all critique each other’s first pages. That meant each of us would receive critiques from the professional plus the other six or so writers. We would go over our critiques in class. I accepted that invitation.

I prepared by sending my pages and reading the others’ pages, gave them my best critiques, and looked forward to hearing what they had to say about mine.

The time came for the clinic. I was the last of the writers to be critiqued. I had given the others as much encouragement as I could along with feedback I felt would help them. I had contributed to the conversation. When it came my turn, I was so nervous!

But then the unexpected: Total silence.

No one said anything. What did that mean?

Finally the professional said he didn’t think the reaction of my main character to the supernatural event that occurred was realistic. Well, um, it was supernatural. That itself might not be very realistic, don’t you think? I still think my scientific-minded character would be freaked out by this personal, supernatural event.

And that scene sets the stage for the whole book. Without that scene and that reaction, the story doesn’t work. It can’t.

I thought we weren’t supposed to argue but were to just listen to the critiques, so I stayed quiet and tried to take this critique to heart. Besides, I was too nervous to think and didn’t have a clue what to say. I was shocked by his words.

Did I not write the scene well? (To this day I think I did.) Did they not understand what I was trying to accomplish? (I thought it was clear.)

Then the other writers in the room chimed in, agreeing with the professional, basically saying, Yeah...what he said.


Oh, and about that agent? Never heard from him again. I followed up several times but got no reply. (I found out a few years later he did that to everyone, not just me. Even his clients. He just dropped out of agenting, I guess.)

These three whammies came close together, hitting me like staccato beats. Discouragement set in. (Tweet that!)

I put my project in a box and literally put it on a shelf in my closet. It’s still there to this day. More than eighteen years later.

Do you have a story like this of your own? Did discouragement get to you? Do you have a writing project you love that was put on a shelf and is gathering dust? (Tweet that!)

I told you my story to encourage you. It's not just you. (Tweet that!) These things happen. So what do we do now?

The Bright Side

Well here’s a few more things about that project.

• I still love the story. It has never left me. I think of it often. I can’t get it out of my head. I know I must write this story. It’s just a matter of when. (Tweet that!)

• In the past eighteen plus years I’ve learned a lot about writing and stories and more. I’m a better writer now, so I can do a better job with it now.  (Tweet that!)

• I’ve started screenwriting, too, which has taught me a lot about story structure. I build better stories now. And, when I look at that story I structured it well, even before I knew much about story structure. That amazes me. 

• I know more about characters now. For example, even though I couldn’t articulate it at the time back in that group, I now know the main character has to react like that because she needs a character arc. I can’t start her off at the end of her journey, the end of her character arc. Now I understand that’s what that professional and those classmates wanted. They wanted her to already know what they know, to believe what they believe. That's because they don't know the story! I do. I couldn’t answer their protests back then, about why is this scientist at odds with Christianity? It doesn’t have to be that way, they said. Now I know the answer is because that’s her character arc. To start her out as they wanted gives her nowhere to grow! It destroys her character arc and so it destroys the story. I wrote about this in my blog post back on December 1, 2015: Writing Stories: What Your Story Needs - Part 2

• I’ve developed more skills. Since I have now studied writing feature films and writing for TV, I can now write this story not only as a novel but as a movie (with series potential) or a TV, cable, or web series.

• I’ve recently re-read that opening chapter and you know what? It’s not only not bad, I still think it’s quite good. Maybe not perfect, but even after it has rested this long and my writing has grown for this long I believe it doesn't stink. Re-reading it gave me encouragement and confidence. It’s a good story. I know it, regardless of what others think. 

• It’s a new time. Things are different now in America and in the world. I truly think this story was ahead of it’s time. I thought it was relevant back then. But oh boy it is even more relevant now. (Tweet that!)

It's Time to Tell Your Story 

Maybe it’s time to take your story down off the shelf, dust it off, and finish it. (Tweet that!)

If you’re still in love with your story, I encourage you to do it. Trust yourself. Trust your writing. Trust the story you’ve been given. Don’t listen to everyone else. This is YOUR story. Trust your instincts.  (Tweet that!)

That’s what I’m going to do.

That’s my story. And I’m sticking to it.

RELATED:

• December 1, 2015: Writing Stories: What Your Story Needs - Part 2
• Visit my newly revamped web site here: www.DianneEButts.com
• Find a helpful e-book for writers here: Dianne on Amazon

Lessons in Beginnings for Writers

A swirl of books. How do you get into a story?
(VisualHunt.com)

As a writer, have you ever heard the term "throat clearing"? Over the years I've heard this term used when I met with editors at writers conferences and also in workshops. For me, this usually applied to a short piece I was showing them, like an article or devotional, but the principle applies to longer pieces like books and chapters also. The editors were telling me that I didn't really get to the heart of my piece of writing for several sentences or even paragraphs. (Tweet that!) In longer pieces, you may find your real beginning pages later.

I was reminded of this term recently by an article in the Christian Communicator:

…great beginnings often don't appear in the first draft. Or, if they do, they often aren't at the beginning. That's why the editing process is so important.

Many times you will discover that the first couple pages of your writing are no more than "throat clearing," and you get to your point somewhere around page 3. In a short piece, like a devotional or article, those first lines you type may not be the best beginning and will probably need to be deleted and replaced with a sentence currently in your fourth paragraph. 

("Your First Impression" by Linda Taylor, March-April 2017 issue of Christian Communicator, page 15.)

From my own experience, I find this principle very true for my non-fiction writing. And as I pursue writing fiction I find the same holds true. However I've learned a lot about beginnings and how to get started from working in screenwriting and making short films. (Tweet that!)

How do we get into the Story?

One of the first short films I produced was "Air Guitar." This was actually a practice film. I was preparing to shoot the first short film I produced on my own and I wanted to run through the whole procedure once just to perform the process from start to finish — including filming, capturing sound, then the film editing. I also wanted to run through the whole process with my small film crew — camera man, sound person, actors, film editor. So one day I gathered my camera man, sound, casting and acting coach with a couple young actors and we did a run-through. I'd worked with the camera man on a short film the previous year, so we both had that experience. He would also be my film editor.

In order to have something to shoot and practice with, I wrote a one-page script. It was actually a joke I'd made up and then wrote it to play it out with actors. I opened the script in a kitchen with my actors cooking brownies for a birthday party. We set up to film in my kitchen.

Then my camera man hit me with a question: Yes, it's a story about a birthday party, but how do you want to open up the film? What's our first image? What do we show?

Until then I didn't even realized that I had never considered how to get into the story. How do we get started? (Tweet that!) How do we introduce this world we're in and our story's characters. Thankfully my camera man also had a suggestion: he did a close shot of just our hands passing out festive-colored plates and napkins. In the editing he put jazzy music under the scene. And, of course, he added the title and opening credits. That's how we got started.

Had I left it as I had it, we would have just jumped into cooking and dialog. No title. No opening credits. The audience would not have known it was a party. We would not have set the festive tone with the jazzy music. My script probably would have stumbled around with some meaningless dialog — "throat clearing" — trying to get into the story.

If you'd like to see the short film we made that day, it's here: "Air Guitar" short film

Since then I've tried to think much more about how to start my stories, articles, and books — both fiction and nonfiction — as well as each chapter. How is it best to get into them?

Establishing shots

In film, it used to be popular to show what is called an "establishing shot." I'm sure you've seen them, you just didn't know what they were called. An establishing shot is usually a camera shot showing a city skyline or the outside of a building or house — something that shows, and establishes, where we are. The tone is often also given: a storm is brewing, or a sunny day, or scary bad-guy music. But there is no dialog or anything that moves the story forward.

For the film I'm currently producing, a documentary of a true-life event, so far my best thought for opening the film is to show an establishing shot of a certain street intersection in the small city where I live. Then we'll widen the shot to show more of the city skyline and mountains beyond. I'm thinking I may even superimpose the city's name, state, and population. Of course the audience won't understand the importance of any of this information at the beginning, but it's all important and relevant. It will tell them where we are (city and state). Then through the story they will learn that this busy traffic intersection is actually where the event took place, in a city of sufficient size that it's very interesting that so many people are connected to what happened that night. This establishing shot will help me introduce and get into the story. (By the way, I also plan to come full circle and end the film here at this intersection … with one important change that has taken place since the event happened.)

Films and television shows don't use establishing shots as much as they used to. In writing, it may be good to have a character in this "establishing shot" or something that moves the story forward, but that is one way to get into the story. (Tweet that!)

Thesis Statements

In non-fiction writing, whether articles or a chapter in a book, it's good to focus the piece of writing with a focus statement or thesis statement. I wrote on this topic in a previous post so you can find more help with that here:

• Keep Your Eye on the Ball: One Sentence that Can Elevate Your Writing to New Heights

The thesis statement typically goes near the beginning of the piece and then the rest of the article or chapter supports that statement. So finding an introduction that introduces or "gets to" that thesis statement is needed, and is the path to a good beginning. (Tweet that!) However finding that path is still challenging.

"Throat Clearing" is Necessary to Find Your Beginning

You may need to do a lot of writing, allowing yourself to do a lot of "throat clearing," before you find the best path into your article, chapter, or story. That's okay. Do it. (Tweet that!) Just be sure to let it rest (days, weeks if you have the time), and then go back and edit. Let it rest. Edit. It will most likely take several rounds before you get to a great beginning.


What about you? Do you struggle with great beginnings? Do you need to do some "throat clearing" in writing before you can find your best starting place? (Tweet that!) It's not bad or wrong to write this "throat clearing." I actually think it's necessary in order to find the best starting place. We just can't leave it like that. We need to edit all the throat clearing out and find our best beginning before we turn in a project or let a prospective editor or publisher read it.

That doesn't mean we can't let anyone read it. We often need the help of another writer. A friend and fellow traveler on the writing journey, because they understand what a great beginning is. And they can spot "throat clearing" in our writing far better than we can see it in our own.

Take a look at the beginnings of your previously written stories or articles. Can you see any "throat clearing" going on? How would you now edit that beginning?

Then take a look at your work(s) in progress. Have you found the best beginning yet? Or do you need to do some "throat clearing" to find a it? (Tweet that!)

When you look at your previously written projects and your current works in progress, what lessons in beginnings can you learn?

Related Article and Link:

• Thesis statements: Keep Your Eye on the Ball: One Sentence that Can Elevate Your Writing to New Heights

• "Air Guitar" short film

Helping A Writer’s Muddled Mind - Part 2

Last month I was lamenting the problem I was having getting going after the first of the year. I felt muddled during most of January and felt like I wasn’t making much progress with my writing projects. (Tweet this!) As a part of that muddle, I also couldn’t think of what to write about on this blog. When a friend suggested I write about that very topic — How to generate new writing ideas when we’re dry — and suggested others might be helped by my struggles, I gave it a go and, much to my surprise, ended up with such a lengthy blog post I’ve divided it into two!

If you wish to read about the first three causes of my thinking and writing-muddle I identified last month: 

• 1. Not Enough Ideas 
• 2. Too Many Ideas 
• 3. Distractions, 

you can find them here: “Helping A Writer’s Muddled Mind - Part 1.”

Here are the other three causes of a writer’s muddled mind that I was able to identify:

4. Things I Don’t Want to Do (But Need to Do)

It seems clear to me that whenever I get overloaded with tasks I don’t like doing or dread doing, everything slows and I can’t seem to get much done. (Tweet it!) I don’t think it matters if we’re creative people or business people or laborers or whatever, in every job I’ve ever held there have been tasks I enjoy doing and tasks I dislike or dread doing. It seems equally clear to me that we can all get ourselves to do those tasks we don’t like or dread. Because it’s part of the job.

But when everything on our to-do lists is stuff we don’t want to do, it can stall us out completely. We need a little bit of sugar mixed in, don’t you think?

I also think sometimes I don’t want to do things because there’s something else going on. It could be that I really don’t know how to do what I need to do. That’s my next point #5 below.

But it can also be that I’m stalled out on doing something I normally don’t mind doing. Such as, you ask? Last month I described how dry I was on ideas for this blog. Normally I enjoy writing this blog. I love sharing with you something I’ve learned or something I know which I think will help you.

Still, there are times when I intensely don’t want to write this blog. (Sorry. It’s true.) Why? Well that’s a very good question for me to stop and think about.

The “why” behind why I didn’t want to write this blog last month, once I stopped and gave some thought to it, turned out to be because I didn’t have a great idea that I felt would help you. I couldn’t think of anything new to share that you might need. I could think of things to write about, but not that I thought sounded profitable for you.

I was stuck. Stuck for a good idea. I needed to do it. But I didn’t want to do it because nothing sounded good to me.

So what’s the solution? If possible either mix in some things you want to do, or figure out a way through what you don’t want to do, or both.

If you’re stuck, ask for help. Ask your writer friends. Ask other friends. Ask a stranger if you must. Ask the person next to you the bus or the train or in the waiting room or standing in line.

I recently read a statement from a successful author who said that early in her career an editor advised her to ask everyone (strangers included):

“What book do you wish had been written for you to read?” 

Wow. I never thought of doing that. This author said it had served her well and had sparked many of her books. (Tweet that!)

So ask someone for help and see what you get.

Furthermore, if you’re a believer, ask God for help. He may have a great idea for you. And He just might be wishing you would ask.

5. Things I Don’t Know How to Do (But Must Do)

Sometimes I mistake a task as #4 above — something I don’t want to do — when the real problem is that I don’t know how to do it. And so I’m stuck. No matter how much I prod myself to get going, I can’t move forward. Then I realize the real reason isn’t because I’m lazy or don’t feel like doing it, it’s because I don’t know how to get over the mountain that is standing before me.

One such recent dilemma for me was this: My writing projects this spring include two film projects. I need to do a fundraiser for both of them.

Not a writer's usual work. I’ve never done a fundraiser before. I have so many questions. I don't know how to do this. I’ve observed others and therefore thought I knew how to do it and I have many ideas of what I can do to hopefully make it a success. But I kept not starting the project.

I had questions in my mind I didn’t know how to answer. Should I do this fundraiser? Should I not? I hate asking for money. What should I offer for incentives? I’m producing not one, but two, projects this spring — one with a larger crew, one with a small crew. I couldn’t see running two separate fundraisers and making them both successful, nor could I see how to run one and divide the proceeds fairly between the two. Help!

Then I asked God to help me figure out how to do this fundraiser. Before I got to bed I had an idea that could work. The next morning I spent an hour writing down all my ideas.

Incentives? Duh. I have books. And I have expertise. I can offer consultations, phone meetings with writers and filmmakers. Others on my film teams might be willing to offer the same in their area of expertise.

Which film project? I could let the donor tell me by listing the same incentive three times:

• Choose this one if you want your donation to go to the narrative film team. 
• Choose this one if you want your donation to go to the documentary film. 
• Choose this one if you don’t have a preference and I can use your donation wherever it is needed most.

This fundraiser had me stopped for a long time because it was something I could not figure out how to do. But I kept seeking an answer and it came. (Tweet that!) Now I’m moving forward, excited about my FUN-Draiser!

6. A Writer’s Worries

Finally, as I was trying figure out why my writer’s mind was so muddled that I was having difficulty getting anything done, I discovered that the more difficulties I had getting going on projects and finding answers to my dilemmas, the harder it was to sleep at night. I didn’t want to worry about these things through the night but they wouldn’t let me sleep. That just added to my muddled thinking the next day.

So what was my solution to this? One night I made a rule: No thinking about the project allowed between the hours of 9:00 PM and 7:00 AM. This is sleep time. I can’t do anything about any of it during those hours anyway. So why lay awake worrying?  (Tweet it!)

My new rule works. Mostly. I still break it occasionally but I’m better for the rule and with practice it’s getting easier to enforce it. It’s about setting boundaries around our work and our projects. It’s about keeping good boundaries so we can have a life beyond our work.


What about you? What muddles your writer’s mind? What stops you from making progress on your writing projects? Can you identify different problems than what I did? What suggestions do you have to deal with the problem so you can get going again?

Related Article: 

• Helping A Writer’s Muddled Mind - Part 1 

Helping A Writer’s Muddled Mind - Part 1

Is anyone else having trouble getting moving on writing projects this New Year? Since I slowed down for the holidays, I can’t seem to get moving again. I keep trying, but I just can’t seem to even make myself do what needs to be done. (Tweet it!)

Well wait a minute maybe that’s not quite true. When I stop and think about it, I realize I have been doing a lot. But then I’ve also been piddling around a lot.

I thought maybe I’d stop and evaluate what’s going on and why. As with anything, the first step to solving a problems is to accurately identify what the problem is. (Tweet it!)

When I did stop and evaluate, I could see that I have been working on various projects — and making significant headway in them. I can also see some of the snags that have been holding me up.

Surprisingly to me, I found six areas that have been muddling my mind and my progress. I have so many thoughts and ideas about these six that it’s too much for one blog post! We’ll cover three causes of muddle in a writer’s mind this month and another three in the March 1 post.

1. Not Enough Ideas

I know one reason why I’ve been stymied since the first of the year. I don’t have enough ideas. More specifically, I don’t have enough ideas for this blog. I have some ideas stashed, but when I reviewed them, I went down the entire list saying, “No. No. No. Not that one. Nope…” 

Why? For one thing, not many of the ideas excited me. They were ideas brainstormed during a past time when I was dry on ideas. I’ve used the ideas that excited me, leaving only the ideas that now feel old or overdone.

The ideas that might excite me I wasn’t sure would excite you. I mean, just because I’m into screenwriting right now and have a ton to say about that doesn’t mean that’s what the audience of this blog wants. Through my evaluation I got to thinking this blog started out being for writers of magazine articles and books, and the most popular blog posts are the ones where I’m sharing something I’ve learned with people who want or need to know that information. I’m not sure screenwriting topics fit in to that.

So that left me without a great idea for this month’s blog post and I just wasn’t coming up with something new to share. I mean, I’ve already shared a lot of what I know that I can think of which others might want to know or want help with. What else can I share? I’m dry on ideas. (Right now are you screaming at your screen what you need and wish I would blog about? Let me know in a comment!)

The end of January was looming and I didn’t have a single idea that excited me for this February 1 post. So I asked for help. 

I had the privilege of chatting with some writer friends and I told them my problem. Someone suggested that I write about how to get new ideas. I asked her if she realized she was asking me to write about the very thing I was struggling with and that I had no solutions for?! She said sometimes others are struggling with the same things we are and how we solve it can help them. Ah well. She had a point. So here I am, trying to figure it out and hoping I’m helping you as well as myself.

This morning I set a timer for an hour and am typing as fast as I can on this blog post. Whaddya know? It’s coming. My timer just went off and I’ve got a bunch of notes written. I just reset the timer for another hour. (Tweet it!)

And now guess what? I’ve found so much to write about I have enough for two posts!

If you’re still stuck, check out this article. It’s for screenwriters, but it might help spark something no matter what you’re working on: “5 Tips to Turn Your Script Into a High Concept Idea.” 

2. Too Many Ideas

Ironically, another dilemma that muddles my writer’s mind is the exact opposite of #1 above. When I start listing all the projects I would like to write, it can be overwhelming. 

I have a large white-board where, at the beginning of the year, I list my goals including the projects I want to write. I don’t always get them all done. But the past few years I’ve done pretty well at picking a few to accomplish that year and getting them completed — written, polished, submitted somewhere.

But I have to choose which ones I will do. I can’t do them all. I have too many ideas. So I pick one or two major projects and get to work on them. (Tweet it!)

This also means there are many projects I cannot work on. I have projects sitting in the wings waiting for my attention. It’s hard to let them sit there. Some of them really excite me. But it’s not their turn yet. (Tweet it!)

Sometimes it is best to let them sit. One of my projects I started writing back in 1999. I still believe in that project. And I still believe it was good then, even though some things happened at the time that put it on the shelf. But now, because I’m also a screenwriter now, I can envision this project on the big or small screen (movie or TV). I couldn’t have even dreamed that possibility back in 1999. 

Furthermore, the world has changed. This project will be intensely more meaningful now — with parts of it amazingly prophetic, if I may say so, given things happening in the world now. The time for this project is coming. It’s getting closer all the time. And I am far more prepared to make it great than I was seventeen years ago.

I’m still not ready to re-write it and complete it, but I can see it on the horizon! It’s moving closer. And I’m excited!

But I need to let it sit for a while longer, because if I pull it down off the shelf now when I already have so many projects working, it will just add to the muddle in my mind.

Make a plan. Then work your plan.

A Note About Brainstorming

Interestingly, I think brainstorming can create problems instead of fixing them. (Tweet it!)

I think writers love to brainstorm new ideas. It’s fun! Then some of those ideas rise to the top as really good ideas and we can’t wait to work on them. But if we brainstorm too often or too much, it can be a procrastination tool. Brainstorming can be the fun thing we do instead of working the projects we already have that need to be finished.

Brainstorming more ideas can add to the #2 problem we: Too many ideas or projects which can muddle the mind.

Are you using the fun work of brainstorming more ideas and projects to avoid doing the hard work of finishing the project you have before you? I have this Bible verse printed out and tacked on my wall in my office:

“Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.” 2 Corinthians 8:11, NIV

3. Distractions

I’ll admit it. I’m a news and political junkie. It’s not just that I like to be informed, although I do. Staying informed on what’s going on in the world also informs my writing. I write on current events whether I’m blogging on Bible prophecy in the news or am writing my fiction. 

With all that’s been going on the past few months with the U.S. presidential election, with all that’s going on now that we have a new president, and honestly with all that’s been going on the past year with the campaign…and even years before that with our former president and his decisions matched with other world events… I want to listen in and stay up on it all. I often have the radio on in the background and I’m listening to talk radio and news.

Eh-hem. We cannot concentrate on two things at once.  Yes, I know “multi-tasking” is big and many people think they are good at doing two things at once, but our minds cannot concentrate on two things at the same time. (Tweet it!) We can do mindless work with our hands (filing for example). But we cannot think on two things at the same time, like listening to a conversation in the background and thinking on a writing project in front of us. Nope. Doesn’t work. 

It may be obvious to you, but I had to be reminded that I’m not getting much done when I have talk that I want to listen to going on in the background. Either I’m listening to it or I’m not writing anything because I’m distracted by what I might be missing.

Distractions muddle our minds. The obvious solution? Turn it off. Whether your favorite distraction is the same as mine or Facebook, other social media, surfing the web, music, or other, turn it off and see if your muddled mind doesn’t focus in.

But then there’s the enjoying life factor. We do these “distractions” because we enjoy them and we don’t want to miss out. It’s one of the reasons we work from home as a writer, so we can do these things! Okay. Find a reasonable compromise. Schedule when you go online, respond to Facebook, do social media, listen to the radio, email, or do anything online, etc. Make sure it’s not during your most creative time. Protect that time and do your creative work — and only your creative work — then.

This article may help: “May I Have Another Cup of Creativity, Please?” 

Control the time you put into those things that distract you and control the time you devote to your writing project. You’re in the driver’s seat. (Tweet it!)

I hope that help you get started with your writing again. It has me. Come back next month and we’ll talk about three more things I’ve identified which have had my writer’s mind so muddled that I’m having trouble getting my work done. These three are: 

• Things I Don’t Want to Do (But Need to Do)
• Things I Don’t Know How to Do (But Must Do), and 
• A Writer’s Worries

Until next month, I hope your writer’s mind gets un-muddled and you get lots done.

The Fear of Writing

© Maxim Golubchikov
Dreamstime Stock Photos

It was one of those email newsletters from authors for authors. I had just signed up for it and got my first edition on the first of the month. I opened it. But the lead article stopped me in my tracks.

The feature article was by a well known author. I like her writing and I've even met her in person. But the title of the article screamed that I dared not write if I was "behind-the-times." If I wrote, and if I wasn't up-to-date in my understanding of how things are done today, I might as well not write or else I'll become a laughingstock!

I tried reading the article. I really tried. But the first few lines told me I was doing it all wrong. (Tweet that!)

You're Doing It All Wrong!

My punctuation. My point-of-view. All wrong.

If I'm doing that wrong, what else am I doing wrong that I don't know about? And where do I go to find out?

The idea of having to figure out how to research in order to find out all the things I'm doing wrong and learn the current "right" way to do it seemed like such a huge, mountainous learning curve. I was overwhelmed.

Then I Felt Angry

Then I felt angry. Who was this author to tell me I'm doing it all wrong? (Tweet that!) I've been writing for publication since the late 80s. It angered me to have someone telling me I don't know what I'm doing. I've fallen behind. Get out of the way and let the younger people do it right.

What about the novel I wanted to start writing? The one I've wanted to write for years. The novel of my heart. Is it going to be a waste of time? Because I'm so old-fashioned and out of date and times have changed so much that I'm doing it all wrong? Good grief. Why even start?

I don't have a chance.

I Don't Have a chance?

For heaven's sake I don't want to write the novel of my heart and then find out it has made me a laughing stock. Nobody wants to be a laughingstock, right?

Can someone please tell me where does an author go to learn the so-called "right" way of writing?

The fear of doing it all wrong stopped me. I was dead in the water. I feared writing a single word. (Tweet that!)

Never thought that would happen to me.

But I'm a Good Writer

But wait a minute. I'm a good writer. I know I am. I've been off on other adventures the past few years: screenwriting and filmmaking and all kinds of exciting things. Now that I want to come back to write one of the novels I've always wanted to write, I'm told I'll never make it because I'm "behind the times"?! (Tweet that!)

Have you ever felt like that? (I hope not.) But have you ever feared writing? (Tweet that!) Maybe you've experienced it for a different reason. Like fearing what people will think of your story. Or fearing putting yourself out there. Or fearing something else.

Fortunately I have a friend who calmed me down and offered to help. "Just write your story the way you want to," she said. "Forget all that stuff. Write it and show it to me and I'll show you how to fix whatever is needed. I'll help you."

I melted. What a relief. What a great friend.

After she talked me down off the ledge, I could see that I'm not that behind-the-times. The few things that are different from twenty years ago are easy to change. I can make the transition. I'm going to be okay!

When the Fear of Writing Strikes, What Can We Do?

Looking back on my time of fear, I can see three things that can help in our time of panic when we feel afraid to write. (Tweet that!) I hope these will help you when you need it:

1.) Find a Friend

Writing is a lonely business. Writers spend hours at a stretch alone with our stories. When we finally come up for air, we can discover others don't "get" what we're doing. Or they don't "get" our story. Or they think they have better ideas.

Critiquing is good. It's a good way to grow and learn and help each other. But we also need a friend who isn't going to rip our writing apart. We need a writing friend who can help us.

My friend and I meet regularly -- at least twice a month. (Tweet that!) We talk about what we're working on, what difficulties we're having, and what we want to accomplish before the next time we meet. We help each other. I've been helped over stumbling blocks. I've been encouraged to try big things. I've offered her ideas which I hope help her. More than anything, I'm not in this alone. Someone is there with me, struggling along beside me. And on the rare occasion when I really need it, she talks me down on off the ledge.

2.) Write it Your Way

This takes courage. It takes daring. But I dare you! Do it. Go for it. Try it. (Tweet that!)

I learned a great lesson last fall when I had a new and exciting adventure. A film crew was filming a feature movie in a town about 30 miles from me. I applied to work as an extra on the film and was hired to work two days. What a great opportunity!

The film was based on a novel titled Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf. Of course I had to find out more about this book and how it became a movie. In my research I discovered some interesting information.

The author was actually born in the city I live in now. He lived in Colorado and wrote several novels about a fictional Colorado town.

He also wrote without quotation marks.

"No quotation marks – ever. He said he liked the way it looked on the page,” according to an interview with the author's wife in The Mountain Mail (Salida, Colorado).

His wife did his editing before it went to his publisher, Vintage / Penguin Random House. I thought that meant she would put in the quotation marks. But when I ran over to Barnes & Nobel to get the book I discovered no, she did not put in any quotation marks. Nor did the publisher. There isn't a set of quotation marks in the book.

To spoof a line from the movie Back to the Future: "Rules? Where we're going, we don't need rules!"

This is what I mean when I say "write it your way." Ditch the so-called rules.

3.) Don't Let It Stop You!

The other thing I learned when I researched Our Souls at Night is that when the author wrote the book, he was dying. (Tweet that!) Kent Haruf learned it was terminal in February. Previously it had taken him six years to write a book. But he decided to write another story. He didn't tell his publisher.

By August 1 he had a draft. By September 15th he was ready to send it to his editor at the publishing house, as a surprise. In late November the publisher sent back a surprise: a mock-up of the book so Kent could see it. He died the following day, on November 30, 2014. His wife finished the final edits the next day.

You can read more about this story in the article, "'Our Souls at Night': Interview with Cathy Haruf reveals insight into author's work," The Mountain Mail, August 31, 2016.

This author knew he was dying and yet he wrote another book. And now his book is being made into a Netflix movie, Netflix's first theatrical release, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.

Now that's a writer who didn't let anything stop him.

May I Have Another Cup of Creativity, Please?

Are you still learning about yourself? I tend to think I know me and then I'm astounded (or confounded) when I discover something new. Actually it's not something new. It's something that has been there all along but I'm just now identifying it. Such was the case recently.

I have a hunch this is not just about me. My hunch is that it probably applies to all creative-type people. But you can let me know if I'm right on that. And if you're educated in this area or have read up on it, you may already know this. To me, it was a revelation.

What I've finally figured out is:  I seem to have a limited amount of creativity in me per week.   Tweet that here:
Once I've used this week's creativity, it's gone. That's it. That's all there is. No more. Until next week.

It took me a long time to grasp onto what was happening with me. It started when I noticed that every Wednesday seemed to be a "down" day for me. I don't mean down in the dumps; I mean I just couldn't seem to get anything done. I'd go great guns on Monday and Tuesday, accomplish a lot, and then came Wednesday and I couldn't seem to get anything done at all. Thursday would pick back up again and Friday could be a good day of solid work. And if I don't have any obligations for Saturday, I work that day too and so my Friday - Saturday can be as productive as my Monday - Tuesday.

But what about those Wednesdays?  What's happening there?

When I first started noticing my "down Wednesdays," I went through what I'm guessing is probably a fairly normal cycle. I scolded myself. I pushed myself. I determined to do better. I promised myself I wouldn't dilly-dally. I swore I wouldn't mess around and waste time. I bribed myself ... I would treat myself if I accomplished a certain list of things on Wednesday. Nothing worked.  (Tweet it: )

The next Wednesday would come and same thing: No matter what I told myself or tried to trick myself into, I just couldn't manage to get much done.

I have a new theory. 

It's not that I'm being lazy or goofing off. My new theory is that we can only do so much creative work (or possibly other types of work too) before we run out of ... whatever you want to call it. Creativity? Energy? Gumption?  Tweet it:

I kept asking the creativity / energy / gumption gods:

May I have another cup of Creativity, please?

The answer was clear:

No.  You may not.
You may not have more creativity. Sorry.

So I stopped scolding myself. It's a real thing. I can give myself a break. It's okay! Once I spend my creativity on something, that's it. It's gone. There is no more.

Wait until next week. Then I'll get another dose.

I meet with another writer-friend a couple times a month. Recently when we met at Starbucks I lamented, "I only get so much creativity per week. I can't force myself to conjure up any more. If I spend it all on the blog, I have nothing left."  (Tweet that!)

She nodded. She not only understood, she agreed.

So, now that I recognize the reality that I only get so much creativity per week, what can I do with that bit of information? Here are some thoughts:

Take care about where you spend your creativity.

I think sometimes we spend our best creative juice on the wrong things.  (Tweet that!)

For example, many times we work for other people. Whether it's helping out a friend with a free critique or blog post, or doing social media or other tasks for pay to make ends meet, we're spending our week's worth of creativity. Then when it's time to work on our own project -- that magazine article, book chapter, or screenplay -- we can't seem to get going on it.  (Tweet that!)

That's because we've spent our creative energy on somebody else's project. If we spend it all doing work for others, there's nothing left for us.

If this is where you are, this post may be of more help: "When Writing Makes You Feel Tired, Anxious, or Stressed."

Or we may work on our own projects that aren't the most important. I tend to do this when I think I'll do all those "other things" first, clearing the way to spend large amounts of time on my current big, fun priority project. But by the time I finished all those "other things," I've got nothing left.

Another place where I'm good at spending my creative capital is on worthy projects that require my regular attention. For example my Bible prophecy blog. I love blogging on that topic. And in these days we're living in, there's a never-ending supply of topics to write on. Each week I thought I'd quickly write the week's three posts and then move on to my priority writing project. But it hardly ever seemed to work that way. Those three posts would always take longer than I'd want them to. And when I was done, I couldn't get going on my priority project.

So I'd switch it up and work on my priority project first and then at the end of the week I'd be in an anxious panic because I needed blog posts and didn't have any prepared ... and had no energy or time to get some done.

At the first of the year I put that blog on hold. What a relief! I've learned I only have so much creativity in me and when it's gone, it's gone. Although I hated to put my prophecy blog on hold, it has been a time of rest for me since I did. And I've been able to get more writing done on my priority projects.

So, my writer friend, I encourage you to think about this. How are you spending your creativity?

Spend it wisely. It's like an allowance. That's all you get. Once you spend it, you don't get any more until next week.  (Tweet that!)

Be creative about what you do with your down days.

So if it's true that we are going to have some days when we can't get anything creative accomplished, or at least very little, what can we do with that?

For me, I'm able to do other tasks that don't require as much creativity. There are so many other things that we must do as professional writers besides writing or brainstorming or creating. We can give our creativity a rest by doing other "business" tasks.

Here are some examples of what I might spend that "down" day on:  Tweet it:  

• Catching up on emails.
• "Mindless" tasks, such as cleaning my office or needed filing.
• Reading emailed newsletters and the linked articles that sounded so interesting. These are usually writing-related, so I'm growing and learning as a writer.
• Researching those points I need to know when I go back to writing.
• Creating marketing items that don't take much creative capital but are fun (and needed), such as making a new book trailer at animoto.com or a new marketing image of a book cover at photofunia.com.
• Creating "share squares" to use on social media, such as a great quote from one of my books on a beautiful photo background using canva.com or picmonkey.com.
• Creating a new header for Facebook or Twitter.
• Loading some posts to go live in the future on my Facebook Page or on Hootsuite for Twitter.
• Updating a web site, blog bio, or Amazon author page bio.
• Going to Starbuck's and having a passion iced tea. (Just kidding.)

Anything that is more automatic or business-related rather than having to create, as in putting words on paper / screen, is much easier for me to do on my down days. The creative projects listed above are fun, not hard creative work.

There are so many other things a writer needs to do besides write, the list of non- or less-creative items we can be working on is truly endless.

What would be on your list of things you need to do when you're having a creatively down day? Why not go ahead and make a list? Why not allow yourself to work on these on your down day? Be sure to include some fun things. Our work on down days should not be drudgery or we'll not want to take a day when we really need to.

Get more done on your creative days.

I truly believe I'm getting more done creatively since I've discovered my new theory on a limited amount of creativity each week. And I'm not scolding myself when I'm not able to make progress on a priority project. I give myself a break and know I'll be able to do more the next day.

Does your creative energy ebb and flow?

Which days do you have the most creative energy? 

Which hours of the day are your best for creating words on paper / screen?

How can you use this information to boost your creative output (while giving yourself a break)?

"May I have another cup of creativity, please?" 

To Tweet this, click the birdie:

Writing Stories: What Your Story Needs - Part 2

iStock © AlbanyPictures

Last month we talked about four things that your story needs to have to be an effective story or a story that "works." This month we're going to go further in story telling and talk about Main Characters that are not effective and how to make them work. But first...

Special Note:

Before we get to this month's topic, however, I want to tell you I've found a fantastic product for writers that has helped me so much it's incredible. I'll tell you more about it at the end of this post, or if you don't want to wait, visit the new page on this blog: click the tab above or click here: Amazing Product for Writers.


Now, let's talk about Main Characters that are not effective. (Tweet that!) Last month I mentioned "passive characters" -- characters that are victims. They have sad stories and a lot has happened to them, but they are not active in wanting something. Passive characters have no movement so they don't carry the story forward.

Another problem character is the main character who is too good. For example, what if your main character has already "arrived," meaning he or she seems to already "know it all."  (Tweet that!)

One example of a character who has already "arrived" is the character many Christian writers want to put in their stories. That is, the Christian character who is already "saved." This character wants to share what they have and show the rest of the world that they need to be saved too. This is a formula for a preachy, overbearing story. (Tweet that!)

What do you need to do with these problem character to save your story?

Back Up Your Main Character

For know-it-all characters who have already "arrived," and for passive characters, you need to back that character up to a place or point in time before s/he knew that information, before s/he learned it, before s/he "arrived." (Tweet that!)

Then, let your character coming to that knowledge be part of the story. (Tweet that!) Showing your character acquiring this knowledge also allows you to show that growth in the character. When your audience sees that character learn it, they will also learn it and you will achieve the "theme" or "message" of your story (see previous post) without coming off as preachy.

Including this part of your character's story will also help you flesh out the middle part or Act 2 of your story, which is often a problem area. Some call it a middle that "sags."

How to Back Your Main Character Up

Just how do you back a character up like this? How can you use this to help improve your story and your character? What do you do with them?

Here are four ideas. This is not necessarily a "pick one" list. It may be best to do all of these!

As an example, I'm using one of my recent stories. It's a story about forgiveness. My main character could not move forward and do what she needed to do until she forgave a certain person in her life. But how does she come to that knowledge?

First, I gave her some common (but wrong) ideas about forgiveness, including these thoughts:

•  "That can never be forgiven." 
• And "Somethings are unforgiveable."

Then, I used these four ways to help her discover more about forgiveness:

1.) The Character Has a Need for It or Needs to Know It

I gave my character something huge in her past that she needs to be forgiven for, although she doesn't know that is even possible.

2.)  Another Character Models It

Then, my main character witnesses another character in the story forgiving someone else (not the main character). In seeing this modeled, the main character becomes aware that some people are willing to forgive, even though a big part of her distrusts that it's for real.

3.) The Character Experiences It for Her/Himself

Then, my main character experiences being forgiven. She is forgiven by someone other than the character in #2 above.

Had she not seen that other character (in #2 above) forgive someone else, she would not have known or believed it were possible. But because she witnessed it, the closed door in her heart opened just a crack and so when she herself is forgiven, though it is "unbelievable" (according to her former self), she believes it (this is her new, changed self).

4.) S/He Wants To Do That Herself

Because she has experienced forgiveness for that huge secret in her past, she now not only believes forgiveness -- and forgiving -- is possible, but has also experienced the unbelievable feeling of freedom from that burden. This has opened in her a freedom to love and so much more. She now knows it as only someone with first-hand experience possibly can.

With this new-found knowledge and experience, she now knows what she must do -- and she is determined to do it.

In 3-Act structure, this point is the end of Act 2 and the beginning of Act 3. This is the point where she moves forward to the climax of the story, where she puts everything on the line and everything is at stake. She will either gain everything or lose everything. But either way, she moves forward to the climax of the story and there's no looking back, no going back.


All of these different learning experiences become subplots utilizing your secondary characters to carry them out. This, then, fleshes out your story and gives strong support to the middle of your story.

If you're having trouble with your story, I suggest you take a look at your main character. Make sure that their learning and changing is ahead of them, not behind them. Back them up if you need to. Then use the four ideas above to find a way for them to learn what they need to know. You audience will learn with them. Then you can move ahead with your story!

An Amazing Product for Writers:

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• It's a software that you can put your notes into and then move them around and add to them like index cards on a cork board. (Yes, a lot like Scrivener, but...)

• It also has a series of questions that you can apply to your story that are amazing. This part, for me, has been pure gold. This is what has helped me develop my stories to a point where I can easily write them. I love this!

I've never gone out of my way to ask to be a sales affiliate of a product before, but I so love Plot Control that I actually did ask them if I could be an affiliate market for them. Disclosure: Please know that if you buy through my link I will receive a commission on your purchase.  But I believe in this product so much I really wanted to bring it to you.

I offer all my best advice on this blog for free. Any commissions I receive will help pay for my time I spend bringing helpful articles to you, so if you choose to purchase Plot Control or their other products I hope you will honor me with a click through my affiliate link.

To learn more you can click the tab at the top of this blog or click here: "Amazing Product for Writers"

To go straight to the product page to learn more about it, click here:

PLOT CONTROL

My Christmas book on sale this month:

I have a limited quantity of my popular Christmas book still available. This book makes a great Christmas study and a great gift. If you'd like one, please order through Amazon's "See All Buying Options" and choose "Connect Books":

Prophecies Fulfilled in the Birth of Jesus
by
Dianne E. Butts
Please order from Connect Books.

(Tweet this please!)

Also available, e-books for Writers:

Cutting the Passive Voice

How to Get Published

Book Signings

Related Article:

• Writing Stories: What Your Story Needs - Part 1

Writing Stories: What Your Story Needs - Part 1

iStock (c) Albany Pictures

Recently I participated in the 168 Film Project's "Write of Passage" contest as a Development Executive (DE). This is a volunteer position which is a sort of "mentor" for those participating in the contest. This is the third year I've mentored writers in this contest as a DE. Serving as a mentor has put me in an excellent position to see what stories need in order to "work." (Tweet that!)

The 168 Film Project is an organization that runs two contests: one for film producers, the other for writers. Both contests run one week (which is 168 hours, hence the name). Both contests require contestants to base their stories on an assigned Bible verse. Once the verse is assigned, that marks the beginning of the 168 hours of the contest. In the 168 Film Project contest, participants produce a short film (limit 10 minutes) in 168 hours. Teams write the script as well as accomplish all pre- and post- production. In the "Write of Passage" (WOP) contest, each writer (or team) writes a short film (limit 12 pages) in 168 hours.

In the WOP, a Development Executive is assigned to guide a group of six writers, who work individually, through the week. The DE reads and critiques their scripts multiple times throughout the week. It's a great learning experience for writers if you have any interest in screenwriting. It's also valuable for learning how to tell an effective story because story structure is crucial in a short story or short film.

I hope no one tuned out at the words "story structure." Even if you're a writer -- whether for print for for screen -- who, as they say, writes "by the seat of your pants" (meaning, no outline, no synopsis, you just follow the characters and see what they do), you still must have structure to your story for it to work. Okay, I can hear the arguments swarming, but I believe that wholeheartedly. No story structure = no effective, working story. You can argue among yourselves while I move on.

Being the mentoring guide, the Development Executive, for six writers in each of the past three years has taught me a lot about what a story needs in order to be effective, or to "work."

Now, one interesting thing is, these are things we all probably already know. We've heard them in writing classes and workshops. We've read them in books. But when you see it in practice, you learn it better. That's what has happened for me. I keep telling my writers whom I mentor through the contest that I learn at least as much from them as they do from me. It's true, whether they believe me or not.

Even so, let me share some of the things I have learned about what a story needs to have. Even if these sound familiar, I'm sure I'll say them in a different way and hopefully they will help you grow in your story telling, whether you're writing fiction for print, writing for the screen, or even writing nonfiction that uses story-telling techniques.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, or a complete formula, of what a story needs. These are just four items I've seen that a story need to have in order to "succeed."

1.) A Story Needs to Have Conflict

No conflict = no story. If there is no conflict, then it's just a list of facts:

"Johnny went to the story. Johnny saw Suzy. They went for coffee. They spent the day together..."

B o r i n g. This leaves the reader asking, "So what? Why am I reading this?" A story always has to answer the "so what?" question. Otherwise you're wasting the reader's time. (Tweet that!) The only way to have a "so what" in your story is to have conflict ... something that needs to be dealt with, a problem that needs to be overcome. That's conflict. The bigger the conflict, the better the story.

When you're designing your story (yes, seat-of-the-pants-writers, I mean you too), avoid "internal conflicts," especially when writing for the screen. Yes, there can be stories with internal conflicts but external conflicts -- meaning involving other people -- are easier to portray and to write. You can have internal dialog to convey internal conflict in a written story but, as you know, it's far better story-telling to "show rather than tell." For internal conflicts you must tell the reader what is happening by telling the character's internal thoughts. It's just better to show the story through action.

But if you are writing for the screen, you really need external conflict. Suppose I'm your producer and/or director. If all you have is internal conflict going on, how am I supposed to put that on the screen?

If you've studied story structure, you may have heard these terms:

• Ordinary World
• Inciting Incident

A story starts by showing the main character's ordinary world -- things as they are before any conflict happens.

Then something happens that changes the ordinary world and sets the story in motion. That incident incites the story.

That's conflict. Don't leave this out of your story or else you don't have a story.

2.) A Story Needs a Theme or Message

I know what you're thinking. You've always heard or been taught, "Don't start with the message." You've heard when we start with the message, the story comes off "preachy" or at least cheesy.

You know me. I tend to go rogue. So I disagree with this. If I don't have a message or a theme, what's the point of writing the story? (Tweet that!)

I'm not completely sure about this, but I think perhaps if you're writing ONLY for entertainment, then it's okay to not have a theme or a message. And it is okay to write solely for entertainment if that's what you want to do. But still, the really good stories, the ones that we love and that stick with us and that we want to see over and over, have a theme or a message.

And if you are like me, a Christian who writes to make Christ known, then why write something "only" for entertainment? It's a waste of my time here on earth. (Tweet that!)

Your theme or message answers the questions: What are you really trying to say through your story? What important points are you communicating? What is the message of your story?

You may not start with the message. Your theme/message may come out and become clear to you as you develop your story.

If you start with a message and develop a story around it, you may have to work double-hard to develop and authentic story so it's not simply preaching a sermon. But that's okay. You can do it.

I'm just saying, in my opinion, it's best to have a message. Tell it well. Through story.

And here's a hint: When you've nailed down your theme/message, have a secondary character state it early on in your screenplay. I think that might work well for novels, short stories, and novellas, too. (Watch for that in your favorite movies and see if you don't discover it.)

3.) A Story Needs a Main Character Who WANTS Something

Here's one I struggle with every time I design a story. This is something I've been learning and when I realize this is what I'm missing in my story, it helps me tremendously.

The main character in the story needs to want something. This want gives forward motion to the story. There also needs to be something that prevents your main character from getting what they want. This creates conflict. (You remember #1, right?)

Thanks Morguefile.com 

If your character does not want something, you may have a character that is too passive. A passive character is one who is not doing anything but has everything done to them. For example, the abused character, the crime victim, or the widowed character. A passive character is a problem because there is no forward motion to carry the story forward. (Tweet that!) Give your character a "want," then let them go after it.

A character's "want" could be revenge, justice, or new love. Or his or her want could be wanting to move up in his company or own her own business.

Now, this "want" is different from what they are going to actually get through the story. But what they get in the story is infinitely better for them, they just don't know it at the outset of the story.

When, through your story, the character gets this better thing instead of what they originally wanted, they are a changed character. They have changed. Which leads to #4...

4.) A Story Needs a Character to CHANGE

If you do not have a change in a character, then you do not have a story. (Tweet that!)

Most often the changed character is the main character, however in some stories the main character does not change but instead changes others around them. As I was trying to think of an example of that, I thought of the story of Jesus.

When Jesus came to earth, He wanted people to know the one true God (which He was -- God come in the flesh) and He wanted to bring salvation to the world through His sacrificial death for sin on the cross. Jesus had a lot of opposition -- both from enemies and even from His friends and family. These things could have changed Him, but they did not. Instead, Him coming in flesh changed all the people around Him -- some for good as they followed Him, others for bad as their evil hearts were revealed. In the end, And the world has been changed ever since.

This change is your story or character arc. This arc makes the story. It means it is all going somewhere. This somewhere the story is taking us gives the story meaning and purpose and answers the question, "So what?"



Next month we'll talk more about what stories need to be successful. Specifically, we'll talk about what to do when your main character is already too good or has already "arrived." What do you need to do with that character to save your story? I have some ideas and I'll share them in my next post.