Gather 'round…
I have wanted to "make books" since around the sixth grade, and I published my first book when I was in my late thirties. My point is that the time in between was not wasted - submarine service, marriage, college, bringing up three kids, starting a school for them, and so forth. This kind of... Continue Reading →
I think I killed a mole this morning. This might not seem that strange. Or maybe it does. Some explanation, possibly... About four years ago, my brother moved in next door. The thirteen-lined gophers that previously inhabited his land staged a revolt. His acres of lawn were pocked with earthen mounds, and the gophers themselves... Continue Reading →
Just kidding. I'm done. Were you worried? I have to say, that Structure Series was more than I bargained for. I thought I could tinker away at it, here and there, in between things. But that was not going to get it done before my Writers' Group meeting. Thanks to a marathon of post-generation, and... Continue Reading →
We went camping this past weekend, for a little Labor Day R&R. Before we left, I was forced to endure a week without my beloved laptop. It has had some... issues... that were not resolving themselves sans exorcism. On Monday, I had ripped all of my vital data off of its beleaguered brain, stored it... Continue Reading →
Hero's Journey: Complete. Writer's Journey: Complete. Whatever you want to call it, we made it through. Wasn't too painful, was it? Yet another disclaimer, as the series comes to a close: contained herein are my notes on Christopher Vogler's work. Some it is verbatim from his book. Some of it I have taken great liberties... Continue Reading →
Time to bring the boon back to the Ordinary World. New life - for the Hero, for his world - is ever changed. The Ordinary World is no longer as Ordinary. Return with the Elixer Tying up loose ends – closing the circle New questions OK, but all old must be resolved, or at least... Continue Reading →
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz My rating: 5 of 5 stars Hi-Larious. Truly. I am a sucker for a book that can have me snorting in the lawn chair, drawing the attention of confused passers-by. Make me cry with laughter and you've really got me. The Spellman files had me. I'm a slow reader.... Continue Reading →
For a complete story, reader needs to experience an additional moment of death and rebirth similar to the Supreme Ordeal, but different – Climax (not crisis) The Resurrection Final purging and purification before re-entering Ordinary World – Once more they must change Show change by behavior or appearance, not by just talking about it Demonstrate that... Continue Reading →
New experiment: Book Reviews via Goodreads. While I've been using Goodreads intermittently for a while, I've been trying recently to be more faithful (and accurate) at logging my reading fits and frenzies. And they have this neat little app that allows my book reviews to post automatically to my blog. Woah. Sweet. Let's try it!... Continue Reading →
And now it's time to return to the Ordinary World, and leave the magic of the Special World behind. The lessons have been learned, the growth attained, the boon recovered. But we are not done yet, and neither is our Hero. The Road Back A few heroes stay in the Special World, but most head... Continue Reading →
We made it! Our Hero has survived the Ordeal, and is now ready to take possession of that which he has been seeking all along. How exciting! Seizing the Reward Survival of Death - Big Deal! Taking possession of whatever hero was seeking – Seizing the Sword Not passive – generally active, aggressive even Sword... Continue Reading →
So finally we're facing the big crisis of the story. We've got all sorts of tools on hand to give it high impact: The Ordeal Hero must die (literally or figuratively) so that they can be reborn Options: (Think Story Engineering tentpole analogy) Central crisis happens at midpoint This is halfway through Act II. Story... Continue Reading →
![[Way Back Wednesday] I am misplaced](https://i0.wp.com/kjottinger.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/img_20200118_135903.jpg?resize=40%2C40&ssl=1){kind=small}
Tales From the Nexus 