Romance Writers of America was in New York this year.  The hub of publishing.  It was an awesome conference, and I was lucky enough to be invited to speak.  This year, I delivered a Reader's Digest version of the workshop that Laura Baker and I developed, Discovering Story Magic using the movie, Good Will Hunting as a template.  Discovering Story Magic is a three-step method for creating a story they can't refuse.  The story is created from the characters up.

Now, I'm the first to admit--and those of you who read my blog know--I plan my books.  The great thing about Discovering Story Magic (DSM) is that it can be used after-the-fact to revise and fine-tune your book. I'm not going to go into the entire workshop here.  There are packets available on the Discovering Story Magic website--100-page packets that analyze several different movies using DSM.  However, today, I thought I'd provide a chart that compares several plotting methods as well as a link to the presenatation I gave at RWA in New York (especially for those who wanted the Self-Image worksheet).

I was very excited to finish the first draft of my latest manuscript, Unwilling Witness.  Of course, it is my first draft!  Over the years I've sort of figured out how I need to write, though this is constantly evolving.  I have friends who are final draft writers.  Before they move on, each sentence must be perfect.  Each emotion must work.  By the time they finish the book, they just send it in.  I wish I could write that way.  I've tried to.  Believe me I have.  

However, one of the most important lessons I've learned over time is that each writer has to learn what works for them.  When I try to final draft write, my pacing suffers.  In fact, my pacing is so slow, I fall asleep reading my own story!  I've learned that my stories are best when I write iteratively.  It's irritating, actually--my process, I mean...

This has been an interesting week for me in the writing department.  I’ve been working on a proposal for the second book in a series while editors are considering the first book.  I want to have the proposal ready to go as soon as possible, and have been working on it for a while.  The issue: they’ve been the toughest beginning chapters I’ve ever written.  Truthfully, in the past, the first three chapters usually came pretty easy for me…once I’ve plotted a story out.  So what’s my problem this time? 

Hi everyone.  Well, this is my first foray into blogging.  Until May of this year, I was finishing up my MBA and there are only so many things one can do.  However, now that my MBA is complete, I can focus more on my writing career.  I've spent the last few months catching up with life after four years of taking classes at night.

I really do love studying the craft of writing. For the last decade or so, I've been part of an amazing journey called Discovering Story Magic (www.discoveringstorymagic.com).