Cheers! Salute! A votre sante! Slainte! Prost! Ysas!

Salud! Mazel Tov! Oogy Wawa!

Come join the fun! We're celebrating Bootcamp for Novelists’ second Anniversary on February 15th, and because we’re in a celebratory mood, we want to give you an anniversary present!

During the entire month of February, all classes will be $25. Check it out at www.bootcampfornovelists.com.

It's hard to believe Bootcamp for Novelists is two years old already. And like anyone with a birthday, we’re wondering where all the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday that we were brainstorming how to share our love of writing--and our knowledge and experience in publishing--with other writers.

We started with a germ of an idea...and a shared belief that anyone can learn to write a novel if given the correct tools to do so. We wanted to share what we know through a format we wished had been around when we were beginning novelists. That format was one that would take students from the beginning idea and story structure, all the way through the advanced techniques, to the end of the novel. That was our dream. In the beginning, putting together a program that hit all the right notes was a bit daunting, but the concept was so exciting, we forged ahead. And, thus, Bootcamp for Novelists Online classes began on February 15, 2009.

During the past two years, we've been delighted to get to know many of you who've been taking our classes, and we’ve had the pleasure of reading some very excellent work. We've learned a lot, both as writers and as teachers. We learned how to work more efficiently with Yahoo online groups. We learned what to do and what not to do when posting lessons and giving feedback. We learned what classes work well and which need to be restructured. We learned from each other...and, yes, we learned from you. And that is exactly as we had envisioned it.

We were lucky. So many times in life, the greatest efforts don’t turn out as envisioned, and when that happens, it requires another look to see what needs changing. This part wasn’t too hard for us because we’re writers. Writers are constantly revising. The harder part is looking at our strengths. How often do we look at what we’re doing right? How often do we capitalize on our strengths? Not very often is my guess.

As writers, we should continue to learn and grow as artists, and part of that growing is recognizing what we’re doing right. We need to find our strengths, capitalize on them ... and then make changes. I’ve seen far too many manuscripts with a fresh, exciting voice end up sounding as if it could've been written by anyone. There’s no distinction. No personality. The magic is gone.

Don’t let that happen. It's important to know and understand the methods...and then decide how to make them work for you. Protect who you are, because the magic in any work of art is what the creator brings to it. The magic is you!

I'm curious. What are your thoughts when you’re revising or looking at feedback on a story? Do you go directly to what isn’t working...or do you look for your strengths and try to capitalize on them? Do you know what your strengths are?

Leave a comment and you’ll be in the drawing to win the beautiful turquoise bracelet in the photo. We'll be celebrating all month long, so be sure to stop by and chat both here and at Connie's bootcamp blog. Prizes will be involved. :-)


UPCOMING BOOTCAMP CLASSES:
February 11 to March 11
2B - Dynamic Plotting
2P - Deepening Characterization

March 18 to April 15
3B - Scene Sculpting
3P - Escalating Consequences

April 22 to May 20
4B - Conflicts That Sizzle
4P - Strong Plots and Subplots

We're now on Facebook! Come join us and be part of the Bootcamp for Novelists Community page. Start a discussion with other writers...or just let us know what you're up to. We'd love to see you!

BOOTCAMP CLASSES at a glance

LINDA'S FEB/ MARCH/APRIL BOOTCAMP START DATES
Continuing the Techniques of the Pros

2-P DEEPENING CHARACTERIZATION - begins Feb 11
How your character acts in any given situation is based on multiple variables. Here you'll learn what they are and how to use them to maximum potential and make your characters leap off the page. Some of what we will cover:

Character Arcs
Values and beliefs
Deep Point of View
The Driving Force

3-P ESCALATING CONSEQUENCES - begins March 18
Have you ever been so excited about a story that it almost seems to write itself...and then somewhere after the third chapter it stops dead? If so it's probably because your conflict is static. This workshop examines what makes your conflict dynamic...and what to do to make your story move along naturally...with high drama. Some of what we will cover:

External situations and internal conflict
Static conflicts vs dynamic conflicts
High Drama

4-P BUILDING STRONG PLOTS AND SUBPLOTS - begins April 22
Do you ever wonder what makes a good story great? Why we remember some stories and not others? In this workshop we examine layering and subplot development and their use in taking a story from okay to outstanding. Some points we will cover:

High concept plots vs character driven plots
Subplot structure and development
Weaving in subplots
Layering
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CONNIE'S FEB/MARCH/APRIL BOOTCAMP START DATES
Continuing the Four Pillars of Structure

2-B DYNAMIC PLOTTING begins Feb 11
Some people believe that stories come from a magical realm and simply float down to some lucky writers. But could it be possible that given a character with a goal who faces conflict that you can give them situations that make your story sing? This course shows you how.

The Story Question
Four Act Structure
Eight Major Plot Points
Making It a Page Turner

3-B SCENE SCULPTING begins Mar 11
Structuring scenes for maximum impact is the third pillar of story structure. You'll leave this course knowing where and when to place a scene and how to connect each scene for ease of flow and maximum impact.

The Principles of Cause and Effect
Control Actions Scenes, Control the Reader
Reaction Must Be Given Its Due
Transitioning from Action to Reaction . . . and Back Again

4-B CONFLICT THAT SIZZLES begins April 22
Without conflict there is no story. But what is conflict and how does it affect character and plot? It stems from the obstacles to the character's goal and from the consequences of character action. This course will focus on escalating obstacles and consequences until conflict sizzles on every page.

External Conflict
Extreme Differences
How Plot Pressures Characters
The Action Arc

All courses are 4 weeks in length. Go to http://bootcampfornovelists.com/ for more information.

Keep an eye on this blog and see how to win a prize next month!!

Words on the Page...

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have
imagined.” --Henry David Thoreau

For me, the beginning of a new year is like the beginning of a new book. The pages are blank and it’s up to me to fill them. But, alone, at 5 a.m. with only the computer monitor for light, that blank page staring me smack in the face can be scary. The thought of writing thousands of words that will somehow flow into a fresh, exciting work of subliminal prose can be daunting, challenging and/or a joyous release of creative energy. Most of the time, it’s a combination of all of the above, and how I feel about it changes as I go through the writing process.

There are as many ways to write a book as there are ways to fill our lives. How we do it, and how we feel about it, is entirely up to us. When writing, some of us fly by the seat of our pants (aka pantsers). We simply sit down with an idea and let ‘er rip. Some of us outline our plots from beginning to end and use detailed description charts of characters, setting, subplots and even word choices that fit the tone of our stories. Many of us do both... outlining just enough to get down the major elements, and then we let the story develop organically. There's no right or wrong way, and I’ve done them all.

But, after writing 13 published novels and 5 that have found better use as doorstops, I’ve developed my own writing process which is a combination of both pantsing and being somewhat OCD about outlining certain elements. I seem to follow the same pattern in life. I love to be spontaneous, to do things on a whim and let things develop as they may. But, at other times, I need to know everything, I need to organize and make plans. What I do works for me.

We all need to find our own writing process and for many of us, that takes time. It takes writing book after book. Some books won’t work no matter what you do and they should only be thought of as a reminder of how far you’ve come...and as a lesson in what worked and what didn’t. Like those books, it takes time to find a comfortable place in life. Some of what we’ve done, works. Some not so much, and we get a lesson. Like the beginning of a new book, the New Year, a symbol of new beginnings, gives us a point in time to reassess, to take a look at what worked in the past and what didn’t. It's a time to stare down that blank page in front of us and forge ahead. We decide what to do with it.

What will you do this year? Will you write the same type of story as the year before...or take a risk and write something entirely different? Will you continue to do the same things in life that will only get you the same things as you got before...or will you revise and redefine? Will you take a risk? Will you allow your imagination to soar and give your dreams the potential to become real? Will you live the life you imagined?

Our stories are up to us to do with them what we will. I plan to make mine spectacular! I hope you do the same.

Wishing you all a fabulous New Year!
Linda

P.S. I’m curious. Does your writing process/style mimic the way you approach life?