This year at Dragon Con I attended several sessions in the writer's track. It was epic. And really difficult to decide which one to highlight here. There was a fascinating session on serial fiction which I may revisit in another post. A pg-13 panel on like, love, lust. I learned a lot about publishing, the current landscape of the big presses and indie presses, the realities of self-publishing, and some marketing tips. I also attended a fun panel on tropes, one on middle grade books (yeah! That's me!) and several on character development. I won or received over the weekend six books which I am diligently starting to read! Yes, reviews will come.
Now... to the session on "21 Days to a Novel."
I should be clear, that the material with good explanations and examples are available here.
Or visit his official website here: https://www.stormwolf.com
It is definitely worth checking out and seeing his full model. Here, in my blog, I am going to post (for my accountability as much as anything) my attempt at it. Ready? Here we go. A story I've been working on called "Runes."
Day One: Five Little Sentences (30 min)
· Write five sentences about a character (your MC). Each sentence about a different area choosing from things like job, education, love life, physical health, emotional health / mental health, hobbies, family, etc…
Mickey (Mykyta) was adopted from the Ukraine.
Mickey is smart, but because he is learning English often gets placed in remedial classes.
Mickey expresses himself in art.
Mickey shows people he loves / likes them by giving gifts.
Mickey is an outdoorsman.
Day Two: Five Little Paragraphs (45 min)
· Write two to three more sentences on each of the above sentences. Now you have a paragraph (well… 5 of them… I just wrote down two of his in-class examples)
Mickey (Mykyta) was adopted from the Ukraine. He was aopted at the age of ten and is now twelve. His parents died due to Cherynoble and he lived with a distant aunt (babushka) in a solitary farmhouse in the countryside. English is very hard for Mickey because the English alphabet doesn’t seem to have any life to it like Ukrainian / Russian letters do. Mickey thought everything in America was free because everyone had so much of everything. He has struggled with that aspect of living in a new land.
Mickey is smart, but because he is learning English often gets placed in remedial classes. Mickey never went to school, since there wasn’t one near his aunt. However, she taught him to memorize long passages and various recipes and formulas. He doesn’t know what many mean, but he is able to pretty quickly look at something and remember it. He also loves Ukrainian folklore as it reminds him of his aunt and mom. They both told him stories before bed. This helps him a lot in drawing. His adoptive parents were aide workers and his adopted dad is ex-military.
Mickey expresses himself in art. He is constantly sketching or doodling in the margins of his text books, scratch paper, desk, and even nearby walls. It often gets him into trouble. He has a knack for drawing people in such a way as they look better (like a snapchat filter) and the images often seem alive. Mickey is not only talented at drawing and sketching but also woodcarving, though he seldom has a knife and wood to work with.
Mickey shows people he loves / likes them by giving gifts. When his adoptive parents give him lunch money, he buys his friends and himself ice cream rather than his own meal. Because he is a child and has no real money, he often draws pictures of people he sees and gives them as gifts. People like the drawings and it makes Mickey happy to see them smile.
Mickey is an outdoorsman. In the orphanage, kids were always outside. Mickey’s favorite part about being outside is discovering new places. He especially likes to be around trees and woods. He is not afraid of animals and often chases or picks them up if he catches sight of one.
Day Three: Five Contrary Sentences (30 min)
· Write a single sentence in each of the above five paragraphs that is in OPPOSITION (the dark side of the issue OR if it is bad, then the silver lining)
Mickey (Mykyta) was adopted from the Ukraine. He was aopted at the age of ten and is now twelve. His parents died due to Cherynoble and he lived with a distant aunt (babushka) in a solitary farmhouse in the countryside. English is very hard for Mickey because the English alphabet doesn’t seem to have any life to it like Ukrainian / Russian letters do. Mickey thought everything in America was free because everyone had so much of everything. He has struggled with that aspect of living in a new land. While Mickey likes America ad having a family he realizes he is forgetting Ukraine and the language.
Mickey is smart, but because he is learning English often gets placed in remedial classes. Mickey never went to school, since there wasn’t one near his aunt. However, she taught him to memorize long passages and various recipes and formulas. He doesn’t know what many mean, but he is able to pretty quickly look at something and remember it. He also loves Ukrainian folklore as it reminds him of his aunt and mom. They both told him stories before bed. This helps him a lot in drawing. His adoptive parents were aide workers and his adopted dad is ex-military. Mickey’s smarts end when it comes to girls his age. He never understands them.
Mickey expresses himself in art. He is constantly sketching or doodling in the margins of his text books, scratch paper, desk, and even nearby walls. It often gets him into trouble. He has a knack for drawing people in such a way as they look better (like a snapchat filter) and the images often seem alive. Mickey is not only talented at drawing and sketching but also woodcarving, though he seldom has a knife and wood to work with. Once in a while an image will have a light not from the sun or lightbulb but bubbling up below and beneath the page itself.
Mickey shows people he loves / likes them by giving gifts. When his adoptive parents give him lunch money, he buys his friends and himself ice cream rather than his own meal. Because he is a child and has no real money, he often draws pictures of people he sees and gives them as gifts. People like the drawings and it makes Mickey happy to see them smile. Sometimes there are people he can not draw better.
Mickey is an outdoorsman. In the orphanage, kids were always outside. Mickey’s favorite part about being outside is discovering new places. He especially likes to be around trees and woods. He is not afraid of animals and often chases or picks them up if he catches sight of one. If you weren’t outside at the orphanage it usually meant you were being punished and locked in a room.
Day Four: Five More Little Paragraphs (1 hr)
· Write TWO more sentences regarding the Contrary sentences done in step #3 for each of your five paragraphs
Mickey (Mykyta) was adopted from the Ukraine. He was aopted at the age of ten and is now twelve. His parents died due to Cherynoble and he lived with a distant aunt (babushka) in a solitary farmhouse in the countryside. English is very hard for Mickey because the English alphabet doesn’t seem to have any life to it like Ukrainian / Russian letters do. Mickey thought everything in America was free because everyone had so much of everything. He has struggled with that aspect of living in a new land. While Mickey likes America ad having a family he realizes he is forgetting Ukraine and the language. He is afraid he will forget his original parents. He already has forgotten why his birth father went to Cherynoble when everyone knew it was dangerous.
Mickey is smart, but because he is learning English often gets placed in remedial classes. Mickey never went to school, since there wasn’t one near his aunt. However, she taught him to memorize long passages and various recipes and formulas. He doesn’t know what many mean, but he is able to pretty quickly look at something and remember it. He also loves Ukrainian folklore as it reminds him of his aunt and mom. They both told him stories before bed. This helps him a lot in drawing. His adoptive parents were aide workers and his adopted dad is ex-military. Mickey’s smarts end when it comes to girls his age. He never understands them. He is often confused by their questions, statements, giggles, and frequently doesn’t see when one is poking fun at his expense. There is one particular girl at his school who talks to him all the time but Mickey doesn’t know she likes him. There is another girl who is super popular and wants Mickey to draw her picture all the time.
Mickey expresses himself in art. He is constantly sketching or doodling in the margins of his text books, scratch paper, desk, and even nearby walls. It often gets him into trouble. He has a knack for drawing people in such a way as they look better (like a snapchat filter) and the images often seem alive. Mickey is not only talented at drawing and sketching but also woodcarving, though he seldom has a knife and wood to work with. Once in a while an image will have a light not from the sun or lightbulb but bubbling up below and beneath the page itself. These scare Mickey. He often feels he is tracing rather than drawing, like there is an image already engraved on the paper. He knows sometimes this is just what he looked at before transferred, though he doesn’t know the word transferred. However, sometimes he senses the image is already there, even if he draws something else on top of it. So, sometimes people he draws will have Ukrainian symbols or patterns around them (or on them like tattoos).
Mickey shows people he loves / likes them by giving gifts. When his adoptive parents give him lunch money, he buys his friends and himself ice cream rather than his own meal. Because he is a child and has no real money, he often draws pictures of people he sees and gives them as gifts. People like the drawings and it makes Mickey happy to see them smile. Sometimes there are people he can not draw better. He calls them foxes because he remembers there were often foxes in his mom and aunt’s folktales. The popular girl is one of these. Her face and hair even resemble a fox when Mickey imagines it on the paper. He has started to draw her twice and then torn up the image. He thought finishing it would be very dangerous.
Mickey is an outdoorsman. In the orphanage, kids were always outside. Mickey’s favorite part about being outside is discovering new places. He especially likes to be around trees and woods. He is not afraid of animals and often chases or picks them up if he catches sight of one. If you weren’t outside at the orphanage it usually meant you were being punished and locked in a room. Sometimes there you were not fed. When Mickey would be locked up, he wuld take a piece of chalk he always carried with him and draw the outside world on the walls so it wasn’t so scary. He still carries a piece of chalk or pencil with him everywhere. It is one reason he likes long hair, so he can keep a pen hidden in it.
Day Five: The New Kid in Town (1 hr)
· Repeat Steps 1-4 for another character. Don’t think now necessarily about hero/villain. Just another character in the story. Below is one example but you would do FIVE for the character.
Willa is the most popular girl in school. Ever since kindergarten she has sought to be the center of attention. She is always a lead role in the school play and this year became a cheerleader for the middle school team even as a sixth grader. While she is not a “mean girl,” she definitely does not want to share the spotlight. Willa also adores being a teacher’s pet. So she is always looking for opportunities to help the students who have special needs, take messages to the office, or make sure class runs smooth for the teacher’s lesson. She always gets the teachers a nice gift at Christmas and the end of the year.
Willa’s family has a lot of money. She is an only child and her parents spend much of their resources on her. She regularly has new outfits, gadgets, and accessories. She was the first girl in class to use makeup and only uses high dollar brands. Her parents regularly throw a back to school party at their home’s pool. Every kid in the class is invited and gets back to school swag. However, Willa’s father is first generation wealth and most of Willa’s relatives are very poor. Most of them work for the metal fabricating company her father owns. The others typically work construction and cash only jobs. For family gatherings, Willa’s parents usually cross town to the other family’s houses rather than meet at their place.
Willa spends a lot of time on her looks. In addition to her makeup, Willa has regular hair appointments with her mom. In fact, makeovers, salons, and such are the core activity she does with her mother. Willa regularly asks to go to the bathroom during school to check herself in the mirror. She also subscribes to several feeds on Instagram of famous models she thinks she looks like and hopes to mimic. Willa is obsessed with hentai (sp?) tattoos. She gets them anytime she can. In fact, most days she has several on her arms and legs that are peeling off or in various stages of disrepair. Her mother says it is not becoming a young lady, but Willa loves to look at them.
Willa is a reader. Reading is the activity she does with her father. He has read to her every night since she was a child and continues to do so. Currently, they are reading through his favorite series, The Chronicles Of Narnia and are on The Voyager of the Dawn Trader. On her own time she likes to read graphic novels. Because she is so popular, reading has actually become a cool thing at her school. Willa often pretends to read slower than she actually can. While she has made reading more popular, she does not want to come across as a total geek so she often intentionally stumbles over words or phrases when reading outloud in class.
Willa volunteers at an animal shelter. Once a month her parents take her to the “Floppsy Ear Animal Home” to work with the dogs. She grooms them and bathes them as well as plays with the animals. She would take them all home with her if her parents would let her. However, her mother is allergic to dogs so the only one they own is an allergenic maltese. Willa has to take her clothes off in the garage after working the shelter and run them in the washer before she can see her mother. It is a sign how much her parents cater to her that she is allowed to go to Floppsy Ear regularly.
Day Six: What Do You Want to Do When You Grow Up? (1 hr)
· Develop two short term and one long term life goal for each character. Here you want to consider goals that might conflict between characters.
Mickey: ST#1 – Get a fancy sketch pad and better pens
ST#2 – Make his parents proud of him by not getting in trouble so much at school
LT#1- Know enough English to get a role in the spring play. The school play was the first thing he saw the spring before when he arrived from Ukraine.
Willa: ST#1 – Be the first girl in sixth grade to kiss a boy
ST#2 – Be the star role in the spring play
LT#1 – Get a picture of herself in a professional model magazine
Day Seven: The Only Thing You Have To Fear (1 hr)
· What fears are keeping the character from achieving goals (what changes will he/she have to make to achieve the goals)
Mickey: ST#1 – Get a fancy sketch pad and better pens
à Afraid to ask parents for money for it after all they have done
ST#2 – Make his parents proud of him by not getting in trouble so much at school
à He is worried that when he has art ideas he will forget them. Once in Ukraine when he couldn’t draw for three days he found he had a form of writer’s block once he got to draw again.
LT#1- Know enough English to get a role in the spring play. The school play was the first thing he saw the spring before when he arrived from Ukraine.
à He is afraid when he says things in English and messes up people will laugh at him and make fun of him.
Willa: ST#1 – Be the first girl in sixth grade to kiss a boy
à She doesn’t want to be labeled as a “easy girl” or even worse a “slut” (a word she heard her dad say once).
ST#2 – Be the star role in the spring play
à She knows that Candace, everyone calls her “Kay,” is a better actress than her. If she tries out against Kay and loses it will destroy her.
LT#1 – Get a picture of herself in a professional model magazine
à Her parents say she is too young. She needs to find a way to do it without them knowing or getting in trouble for sneaking around.
Day Eight: Three's a Crowd (1.5 hrs)
Diedre Diedre : “Diedre ”
Diedre comes across as a sweet girl but really is fairly devious. At school is her safe place to be herself, away from her family. She likes that everyone there thinks she is calm, nice, and a good student. However, she struggles in English and is remedial English. She often cheats off other students. She does this almost unconsciously without any real moral examination of her motives.
Diedre ’s family get her to steal stuff from the local BuyMart. Her dad is a con artist and uses his daughter’s young personage to do some of his scams. Her mom is always looking to steal and claim “free stuff.” Diedre has learned to use her cuteness as a tool to get what she wants. Those who have caught her are usually convinced it is her parent’s fault and not hers that she is a trickster. Diedre sometimes wonders who her real self is. She spends so much time doing the cons with her parents she wonders who she would be if she was her own person.
Diedre is obsessed with comic books. She is always reading graphic novels, comics, and picking up anything with art in it. She likes to see what other students are reading, especially if it is art based. She watches a lot of Anime and draws anime faces all the time. Her parents got her a “how to draw” book a while back but half the pages had been torn out and used. People think she is really good at drawing, but she only really knows how to draw two faces. She is a bit ashamed when people ask her if the one she is doing is the same as the one they saw before. It is, but she uses colors and such to differentiate it. She is scared to try new drawings because she likes the compliments she gets and knows new ones will take time to learn. She always prefers the easy way to success rather than hard work.
Diedre is obsessed with foreign foods. She loves tacos, general Tzo’s chicken, Tai food, and Itallian but not Americanized Itallian. She always asks her parents to take her to restaurants that serve foreign food. Her parents oblige because often these are easier to steal from than ones where the management speaks English. She hates cabbage. Sometimes when dishes have cabbage in them (like Borsht) she breaks out in hives. She isn’t allergic, it is all mental.
Diedre ’s favorite things are things that have no value except to the person she steals them from. She has little interest in diamonds, money, or anything with value. She loves the feel of someone’s favorite sweater, another kid’s treasured art pens, someone’s lucky socks for play recitals, or even a teacher’s most used coffee mug. She doesn’t have anything that she keeps as a treasured possession because she is afraid someone will take it. Perhaps, that is why she likes others stuff so much, vicariously enjoying those life moments through them. Her room is cluttered with other people’s trinkets.
ST Goal: Get something from the new Ukrainian kid. She has never had something a foreigner loved in her collection. She thinks it will be exotic.
ST Goal: Find a way to get back at Kay. Diedre came to school in a shirt her mom swiped from Goodwill. It was one Kay’s parents donated from Kay’s “old stuff.” Kay asked her about it and embarrassed Diedre.
LT Goal: Do a big con all on her own rather than just help her parents.
Day Nine: To Whom It May Concern (1.5 hrs) (write a letter)
· Willa, You have pretty eyes. That’s first thing I noticed. I love to draw eyes. For sure. But you asked me to draw you. I like your eyes but can not do that. I know it seems not very nice. I mean, I draw everyone. I draw people who don’t even ask me to draw. And I give them drawings a lot. So when you asked with your nice smile and pretty eyes I thought, “Yes.” But sometimes when I try and draw faces and whole people I get a feeling. It feels like if I do this thing then something will happen. I am not sure. But I think it is a bad feeling. You may say, “He is just weird.” What is word? Superstation? Superstitches? I am unsure. But if I do it and something bad happen I would feel really bad. Especially if something happened to your pretty eyes. Please not be mad at me now. I will try again maybe. Mickey.
Day Ten: He Said, She Said (1.5 hrs) - Write a conversation between two of your characters:
Willa: Mickey. Mickey. Mickey. Hey. Don’t go down the stairs yet. I want to talk to you.
Mickey: Okay. I just going to class. Only short time before class will start.
W: Hey, I like, got your message. I sent you a text back but you never responded. What’s the matter, your parents take your phone or something.
M: I’m sorry. I can no be on phone after say nine o’clock.
W: Yeah, I have that rule too. I just sneak down like at 9:30 and get it. My mom never asks in the morning and if she does, I just tell her I woke up early and wanted to check something. You should do that too.
M: Okay.
W: Anywho, so weirdest text ever. Like, really made me L.O.L. You know, laugh out loud. What do you say in Russian? I guess it would be different letters? Maybe like D.F.J. or something weird like that. Anyway, you got nothing to worry about. This face is made for modeling and you have the best art in the school.
M: I said to you very serious thing.
W: What you said, silly, is that I have pretty eyes. Like, two or three times.
M: Um…
W: You know eyes like this don’t just like happen. I get up every morning and put my face on. That’s what my mom calls it, anyway. “Putting my face on,” is what she says. She’s cute in a dorky mom sort of way. Just like you are cute too.
M: Yes, but-
W:Yes! So you know you are cute. Good, that’s the first step to really making something of yourself. Gotta know who you are and be confident in that. My mom always says you can’t let other people tell you who you are. You define you. And I know who I am. Like, I’m the girl who gets her picture drawn when she asks. And I’m Asking Mickey. I want these eyes on that paper.
M: But I think-
W: Exactly. I think so to. That’s what I like about you. Neither of us are going to let a silly superstition get in the way. We are leaders, you and I Mickey. Those hands of yours have drawn almost every girl in our grade and I’m next.
M: You are next.
W: Exactly. And who knows, if you play your cards right… Oh, you like probably don’t have cards where you are from… if you, like do it well and stuff you just might get to see these eyes closer when these lips give you a kiss.
M: No, I-
W: On the cheek, like, of course. Anyway. You always take the bus home. Not today. Today you stay after school. Okay. I’ll skip cheer practice and you and I can go out to the big tree in the back playground. Then I’ll get my mom to take you home. She’ll do it if I ask, easy, easy.
M: But my mama told me to take the bus.
W: She’ll be fine. Remember, you and I – We are leaders. No one tells us what to do. Now, you better run or you’ll be late for Social Studies. Me, I have music. I’ll just tell Mr. Leonard I had to go to the bathroom and can be late as I want.
·
All pictures were taken with cosplayer's permission.
Day Eleven: Body Language (1.5 hrs)
· This was maybe the coolest one. You are now writing in the place of the third character. He/She can not hear the conversation written on day 10 (nor read the letter) but is OBSERVING the conversation from a distance. Think about more than just sight (and hearing… but you can’t hear the dialogue. Maybe sound effects though). Smell, touch, and non verbals.
· This is a great exercise also to do if want to write strong dialogues without adverbs.
Just as I was approaching Mickey, Diedre came out of no where. She is so bubbly and always prancing around, I’m not sure how I missed her. I can smell her perfume and hairspray long before she ever approaches. She is ever changing it, but always uses too much. Today’s smells like fresh lemons. Maybe my brain thought it was the janitor’s mop water at first. Yeah, that’s probably why I missed her smcent.
As always, she is wearing a hair ribbon I have never seen her in before. New this, new that. And now she wants to be in charge of Mickey, the newest thing at school. He is just adorable with his buzzcut and bushy eyebrows. If I’m reading them right, he is none to excited to see Diedre. Good. Maybe he will tell her to go away. I mean, enough with the over the top gestures and how she keeps patting his arm every time she swishes her hair back.
She is leaning in. Mickey takes a step backward. Another and he will have his back against the lockers. I can’t see what she is saying, but her finger wave and gritted teeth tell me… never mind … she is back to her fake, bubbly self. I don’t know why her taking his hand and leading him down the hall like some lost puppy makes me so mad. I mean, he isn’t mine or anything. Not yet.
Mickey pulls his hand back and this time his back does bump into a locker. He tries to sidestep and get away but her bouncy cheerleader feet are too swift and she mimics the movement. She takes his hand again but this time not to hold. She raises it up in hers like a championship belt at a fight. She shows it to him like he would never have seen his own hand. That is really weird. Of course, Mickey has seen his own hand. He uses it all the time to draw those silly…. She wants her portrait done. That’s it, isn’t it. Yes, I can tell by how she is waving her finger again at him.
She lets him walk and stays close next to him. As they walk by me I can still smell the tater tots Mickey mustve had for lunch. He loves those things. And girls will give him five or six servings just to sit with him and oogle. I don’t oogle. And I don’t force someone to draw me if they don’t want to. Little miss perfume shouldn’t either. Looks like I am going to have to stop her from forcing her wi on Mickey. Besides, I should be the next portrait he draws.
Day Twelve: Where Are You From? (1 hr)
· What roots the character in their world? What in their life reflects that they are a product of this world?
· If this is a new world (story about a earth guy accidently on a space ship) do this twice. Once for their home world and once for what connects them to this new world.
Diedre – Always in the new fashion. Knows what to wear and when. Heavy on perfume and quick to point out others smell. Wears a nice watch that no one her age should have to be responsible for. Indeed, there is a lot of responsibility wearing her clothes and keeping up with her other gifts. The embroidered bookbag, the new shoes, and matching socks. She doesn’t ask for them nor to be fussed at whenever they get broken or dirty.
Day Thirteen: It's a Cruel, Cold World (1 hr)
· How does the world Help and/or Hinder MC from achieving goals? How does it exacerbate his/her fears?
Mickey’s world is all new. Being adopted, he is often overwhelmed and unable to sort out what is really important and what is not. For instance, He is very confused by jeans with holes in them and why someone would be proud of that. On the other hand, he values paper and pencils and is often offended when even teachers so easily dispose of scraps. America seems to have an endless supply of new and great. He has just learned of a new pencil set for art at a local hobby store. However, unlike in Ukraine, it is much harder for a kid to work and earn money.
Willa’s biggest barrier is her parents took her out of private school. The official reason was they didn’t like the new headmistress. But Willa suspects it was either because of money or because of her borderline grades. Being in a public school makes it easy to be on top, but often seems difficult to relate to other students
Diedre doesn’t have a good home life. Her home life is an unsafe place and often results in her living out of a backpack at school each morning. She takes others breakfast and sets it in her backpack for later, sometimes hops off the bus a few stops early just to delay being home.
Day Fourteen: Making The World A Better Place (1 hr)
· How will the world change (not the character) if the character succeeds in his /her goal? What happens if he/she fails? HOW WILL THE WORLD PUSH BACK ON HIM/HER?
If Diedre can get Mickey to draw the runes on Willa then something bad may happen to Willa. This means she will no longer be the top girl in school. Diedre is by no means second chair, but maybe in the chaos of the school hierarchy being dismantled there will be opportunity. Diedre doesn’t want to be the most popular, she wants to have the newest, greatest stuff. Perhaps, if enough bad happens, she could get into Willa’s locker and score some great things.
Mickey has only one time drawn something he knew he shouldn’t. When he did, the person changed. Slowly, they became someone who became very scary. The orphanage people couldn’t control the boy and eventually took him away to another facility. He never heard from the boy again, but after that no one in the orphanage wanted him to draw them. It was the worst part of the orphanage when the directors kept him away from any pencils or paper.
Willa is all about status. If everyone is getting copies of the new boy’s drawings except her it might reflect she isn’t worth drawing. This means she isn’t model worthy. She will do anything to keep her status as the most beautiful girl in class.
·
Day Sixteen: White Knuckles, Brass Knuckles (30 min)
· WRITE THE TAG LINE AND BACK COVER BLURB FOR YOUR BOOK. Don’t worry if you are a pantser. Blurbs seldom spoil the endings, so you don’t have to know it yet.
Mickey is the new kid in school. Not only is he from Ukraine, but he is a talented artists. In fact, how he draws people changes how they feel and act. Willa is the most popular kid in school and wants it to stay that way. She is very jealous of kids who are rising in popularity after Mickey draws them. There is only one problem, Mickey refuses to draw her.
Diedre’s school life is slightly better than her home life, but only slightly. When Mickey offers one day to draw her picture she finds her entire world turning better. Her fortune has increased so much, she wants Mickey to be her boyfriend. When she finds out that Mickey has refused to draw Willa because something bad will happen, Diedre presses him to do it. After all, it would be one less person in Diedre’s way to becoming the school’s darling.
Mickey, pressured by both girls finally draws Willa. Immediately things go wrong, including several kids who go missing except their hoodies strangely hidden under Willa’s bed.
Day Seventeen: You Break It, You Fix It (2-2.5 hrs)
Interesting part of this journey – I began this assuming my main character is Mickey. However, it is Diedre who has the best story arc.
· Develop your MC’s story arc from conflict to resolution. Each arc should :
1. State the problem / how will the reader know there is a problem
Diedre’s life is horrible both at home and school. She is picked on, ignored, and generally unloved.
2. How does the MC learn there is a problem
Diedre’s mom uses her sweater to clean up dog pee and throws it back in Diedre’s laundy basket of clean clothes. When she goes to school, she is ridiculed for smelling bad. Diedre calls her mom but her mom refuses to help (drugs? With a POS bf? Depressed? Bed-ridden and on pain meds?) Willa gives her an extra shirt but this only makes Diedre madder. She swears she is tired of being looked on as trash.
3. What is the catalyst for change
Diedre watches a boy who Mickey drew a portrait of earlier. All his portraits have runes / symbols around them and on the person. . He is on the football team but a benchwarmer. In the game, he goes in for two plays and runs it back for a touchdown. He then plays the whole game as a superstar.
Diedre then watches Mickey and sees the pattern with two other classmates who benefit from his drawings.
4. How does the MC develop resources to successfully change.
Diedre gets a recipe online and makes some veranici. It is horrible, but Mickey appreciates the effort. She also lets him copy her spelling homework so Mickey can make his parents proud of his progress in English. She then convinces him to draw her. She wants two drawings. One at home with her mom and her happy and the second at school where she is super popular.
5. Is the attempt a success or failure?
Diedre’s home life is a remarkable success. However, at school she still remains picked on and looked down upon. She convinces herself it is because Willa is in the way.
6. If a failure, Repeat #4-#5 till MC succeeds or dies
-4b. Diedre must convince Mickey to draw Willa. He is reluctant. Something about a curse and a story from when he was in Ukraine. She presses him by threatening to tell everyone he has been cheating off her papers. He agrees to draw Willa.
5b. Willa slowly leaves her position as the top girl in the school. Diedre replaces her. However, Willa’s descent goes too far. She becomes violent and almost animal-like. Then students go missing and Willa is found with their hoodies in her room. The whole student body looks to the schools favorite student… Diedre.
4c. Diedre attempts to tear up the drawing and then tapes it together to have Mickey change it somehow. She is hindered by the fact his parents find out he is cheating and take away all his art tools. She helps Mickey get his supplies back and the two go out on Halloween to find and capture Willa who now has gone completely wild.
5c. Diedre regrets what she has done and convinces Mickey to draw the runes on Diedre herself, and draw Willa as Mickey had originally drew Diedre. The swap works and Diedre returns to her previous condition a does Willa. However, the two are now friends and the harder road to success is made easier with Willa’s help.
Close Scene – Return to the opening scene but now Willa’s life is optimistic because she has friends.
Day Eighteen: He Did What? (3-4 hrs)
· Identify the story arc for the other two characters. What scenes will serve to advance both or all three storylines. (ie. Where do they intersect and where will they need subplot scenes.
Mickey loves art and treasures his drawings. He is talked into drawing a few people at school in his “Russian style” with the runes. He doesn’t know what the symbols mean – they just come to him. He gains popularity as he draws and people find their lives improved. There is one girl Mickey really likes – like him she is a bit of a misfit. He asks her for help in his English / spelling hoping to spend time with her. She instead, insists he copy her answers. She shows some interest in him and he gladly draws her. It is easy, because he sees her real beauty. She changes and starts to be too popular to be his friend. In fact, she starts telling him what to do along with Willa, the school’s most popular girl. He resists as he knows her visage is very dark, but finally gives in. When he does, he regrets his decision. Willa becomes a wild animal ravaging the school. Several students go missing and Mickey confesses everything to his adoptive parents. They take away his art tools. Diedre convinces him they have to help and he does even though it means drawing Diedre as how she saw herself originally. He does, but adds enough flare that Diedre won’t be in her original horrible situation.
Willa is the most popular girl in school. However, there is a rash of others gaining popularity and taking away some of her attention and fame. She identifies the origin of their success to Mickey’s drawings. She asks him to draw her and he says no because there is something dark about her. This makes her angry and she presses harder, eventually getting an ally in Diedre. What happens next is she starts to lose control of herself. At first, she ceases to shower and comb her hair. But soon she finds she loves to run on all fours and forage in the woods. She is seen by several students and kidnaps them with her new superior strength. She hides them in a fort she made in the woods.Tearing her clothes, she wears their hoody home and it is found. She is now the lead suspect of the missing kid but has become almost non verbal. Diedre and Mickey break her out of her room and track her to the woods. There Mickey redraws her and she is healed. Thankful, she vows to help both of them, even if it costs her some of her popularity.
Day Nineteen: Again, In Slow Motion and Reverse Angle (2-2.5 hrs)
· Go back through day #17-#18. Break problem-solution sequences down and identify smaller p-s events. Ideally there should be 10-20 scenes for each character’s growth. This may be a two day event depending the genre (mysteries take more)
Day Twenty: What a Tangled Web We Weave (2 hrs)
· Take your necessary scenes and try to put them into an outline. What must happen in one character’s arc before another can progress?
· Research (briefly) things you need.
I’m a pantser. I’m not sure if I do #19 and #20 I would ever write the book. Isn’t that weird. I began twice and both times came to the conclusion that the joy for me is watching the story unfold. Writing an advanced outline would be too much like editing. In addition – I think I will run this story through Save The Cat – Dude with a Problem or Buddy Love beat sheet.
Day Twenty-one: Start Here, Go 'Til It Ends (Till you are done)
· Start Writing the novel! Do not stop to edit. Use your notes from #1-#20 to guide. If you are a plotter, use it to write as your outline. If you are a pantser, make sure you do steps #1-#20 tripple space, print it out, and write corrections as go and things change (just make sure the corrections trickle down.).
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