the secret to stumbling accross your plot and characters

The Secret to Stumbling acrossyour Plot and Characters

This fourth and final workshop in Anna's popular writing craft series delves

into the psychology and the skill sets required to produce a complete,

complex manuscript that's destined to sell. Anna pulls the key points from her

Planning, Improvisation/Drafting , and Rewriting workshops into a 50 minute

program that highlights the executive "soft" skills you 'll need to get and stay

published in a challenging market: Inspiration, Passion, Joy and

Determination. Without these, the rest is just busy work...

Workshop HandoutsBest Selling Author, Anna DeStefano

www.annawrites.comwww.annawrites.com/blog

The Secret to Stumbling... Best Selling Author Anna DeStefano 2


Find Anna on FaceBook and Twitter!

1. The psychology of producing a complete, complexmanuscript• Plan/Draft/Rewrite—The things you know you can do. Really. Anyone Can. In

other words, these are NOT the keys to the kingdom.

We ALL stumble from there.

• A glimpse down the rabbit hole—Inspiration, passion, joy, determination. It's allemotion, once you have the ABCs (P-D-R) done solid

• Deconstructing your creative process---What inspires you, what holds youback.

My agent and I working on deconstructing the proposal, pitch, selling dynamic.Looking deeper at the comm skills and psychology of getting published.

What gets you through the spooky, magical forest and safely back home? Alice inWonderland/Wizard of Oz. Magical journeys of exploration and discovery.

• Stumble with a purpose—What was the that purpose in these two examples?Getting Home.

It's all about the journey. It's all about stumbling.

So, stumble with growing awareness, purpose and confidence.

• To summarize, before we start (here's my analytical list):

Writing something as complex as a novel is a journey.A spooky journey.Magic is required, not just craft.And the best stuff often comes when you stumble...Remember, you're stumbling home, so make the most of the journey.




2. Inspiration—the spooky mystery of writing a novel• You're going to get lost along the way.

You have to lose yourself so story and character can come alive. Resistance isfutile. Knowing this is coming makes all the difference in the world. Allow yourselfto become part of the process (stumble with determination and purpose),rather than another obstacle.

• Be inspired by the spookiness and lack of guarantee that you'll get there.

Follow the yellow bricks the little people show you. Eat the forbidden apple.Befriend the talking nut that looks like a scarecrow but can't possibly be one, or thecat with the crazy eyes or the rabbit that should be there. Eat the tea cakes...

3. Passion—this is the magic that we live for• You need passion to get through the crusty zone.

That's my term for what happens to my general appearance when I'm ondeadline. Had to scrape the crusty off to be here today and not scare anyone.Editorial revisions due Monday.

• Or think of it as being in labor. Get it out!!! Ask any published author about thedrama of getting the story out..

We're all lost at some point, and passion to get the story out and see it livingon page is what gets us through. And, the real secret...

Most of us need the drama of the process. Not just because it gives ussomething new to bitch about with our girlfriends when we call, freaked out, in themiddle of the night. But because when we feel lost we're more determined tofind our way home.

• We need the magic, the passion, that comes with being lost in story. Out of control.Unsure... Basically, we're drama queens. Wear your badge with pride.




4. Joy—in the stumbling (see the magic around you, notthe ground you're falling on)• Don't hate the stumbling. That's hating your story and characters, which is hating

yourself, because story/character/whatever—it's all you.

• Find joy in playing. Let go and see what's there. See what's you and what's notand where it can take you. Down the rabbit hole, over the rainbow to OZ.

• Easy? No, not when you're in pain with a draft or schlogging through revisions andare sure you're going to fail (and we all are). But there is joy there, because you'recreating magic and you want to share it with the world.

• Find joy, even when things are most difficult, and joy will find you: Magic Ican't imagine when I'm struggling through the more painful parts of my writingprocess. Magic that won't happen if I hadn't reached my goal and find my wayhome!

5. Determination—bringing it home• Put yourself on deadline, even if you're not writing to one.

Make yourself work. Learn how to work on your writing/stumbling, even when lifeis tripping you—picture all the obstacles Alice and Dorothy faced and keptsearching.

• Some things I've dealt with while working on looming deadline:

Hurricane Katrina relief and crisis careHusband lost job for 10 months (1st year on board)Family members in crisis or dying (three this year so far)Industry changing under my feel like quicksandMajor health problems that stop you in your tracks

And these are the non-writing/writing block things...

• Make time for the searching and the journey, but there has to be a tickingclock. You have to keep the goal in mind. Writing The End! No excuses.

• Be aware of your journey while it's happening, so you can recreate/improvethe creative process the next time. For the next book. Which you'll start as soonas you're rested...except were never really rested...see the drama queen referenceabove...basically, get back to work!

• Fight to find your way home.




6. To summarize, now that we're done:• Writing something as complex as a novel is a journey.

• A spooky journey.

• Magic is required, not just craft.

• And the best stuff often comes when you stumble...

• Remember, you're stumbling home. Keep your destination in mind, while youstumble and make the most of your journey ;o)

7. Questions

Anna DeStefanoAnna DeStefano is the nationally best selling author of classic romance for Harlequinand Silhouette, and contemporary paranormal romantic suspense for Dorchesterpublishing. She's a two-time Romantic Times Award winner, a Golden Heart winner,and she's won the Gale Wilson Award of Excellence, the Maggie Award forExcellence, and has been a finalist in numerous other awards, including the NationalReaders Choice awards, the Holt Medallian, and the Book Buyers Best Award.

Past President Advisor of Georgia Romance Writers (GRW), a group of over 200published authors and aspiring writers that meets monthly in Atlanta, Anna is GA Techhonors graduate with 10 years of experience working in Corporate IT, She applies themore analytical side of her personality to studying the craft of storytelling. Herinteractive workshops on the writing process—plotting through character,improvisation (drafting), and rewriting—regularly attract standing room-only crowdswherever she speaks. She's presented to over 60 conferences and groups, includingthe Harriette Austin Writer's Conference at the University of Georgia, the PacificNorthwest Writers Conference, and the Surrey International Writers Conference.

the secret to stumbling accross your plot and characters

Documents