Last week, I began the serious business of plotting a course for the second draft of my 2009 National Novel Writing Month manuscript. After sitting idle since sometime this spring, it’s time to put the manuscript to work again. I’m coupling story work with a second reading of James Scott …
After several days of dedicated prayer and a day of fasting, I’ve decided to give Saving Grace a sabbatical and myself a much needed break. The questions that prompted that decision still need to be answered, but they are no longer dominant. In their place is a quietness of mind …
I took an unscheduled day off serious writing today. It was a gorgeous day with bright sunshine, blue skies and temperatures in the forties for the second day in a row. After the cold and gray of the past week, it was glorious! I spent a couple hours browsing dozens …
Last Saturday, I mentioned my hopes that story design for Saving Grace would be finished by the end of that day. That didn’t happen, but the process is drawing to a close. At least I hope it is. A couple of days ago, I finished the scene descriptions front to …
It was snowing when I got out of bed this morning. Nothing major, just a nice, easy snow drifting on a gentle northerly wind. It was cold enough for snow to stick to the trees, grass, fences and cars, but warm enough that it melted off pavement and sidewalks. We …
Today presented one of those exciting, exhausting, frustrating and stimulating things: A first. I was challenged a few months ago to consider teaching a class in colored pencil (see Blizzard Babe, left). Silly me, I said, “Yeah, sure. Why not?” Colored pencil is one of my two favorite painting mediums, …
Another milestone reached! I finished Step Nine of the snowflake method of story design last night. When I began the day, I didn’t expect to get that far. There was still quite a lot to do and I wasn’t certain how some of it was going to play out. But …
Yesterday, I surprised myself by finishing Step Eight of the snowflake. When I finished for the day, the scene worksheet was complete, beginning to end, all three acts. What’s more, I placed all the scenes into the scene description document, which is Step Nine of the snowflake. All I had …
The last time I mentioned this story, I’d just finished Act One at Steps Eight and Nine of the snowflake design method and was pondering whether to begin Step Ten (writing) or proceed to Act Two at Steps Eight and Nine. As you may recall, the odds were even in …
Today was the day I was supposed to complete the design phase of the second draft of Saving Grace. You’ve already no doubt surmised that I didn’t accomplish that goal based on the wording of the first paragraph. The disappointing news is that, no, I didn’t finish the design phase …