Story Magic

From Dwight Swain, author of Techniques of the Selling Writer, "The thing that hooks your reader in the opening is curiosity. The thing that holds him the rest of the way, straight through to the final paragraph, is suspense."


Some of you out there are writers. I know you are, you email me. So this post I hope will help you.

Traditionally I have always been known as a Pantster. People who do not plot out a book prior to writing it and just basically going where it takes me. This is good in that you're as surprised as anyone else at the twists and turns. Basically, your characters are running the show for you. You just write down what your muse tells you. Sometimes it works, sometimes your muse is an idiot. But it all seems to work out in the end.

Then there are those who are outliners. My friend Marge is like this. She needs to know EVERYTHING before the words Chapter One can be committed to paper. She frequently has to know the name of the neighbor's dog. Many a great author uses this style. Many do not. It's a very personal choice mostly based on your personality. Do you need a roadmap or can you go where your spirit takes you?

Well, even us Pantsters need to stop and ask for directions occasionally.

Every writer, EVERY WRITER, knows about The Hero's Journey by Vogler (here's a down and dirty freebie version I found Vogler OVerview Freebie). It's like standard issue if you ever write anything. And for the most part, it works. It's a lot of prep time but for some people that's the best part. I have always scorned Vogler as taking the joy out of writing. But recently my WIP was getting all muddled up with scenes that had no order. So I enrolled myself in the awesome Discovering Story Magic workshop Discovering Story Magicwhich was taught on-line this time. It was offered by Writers Online Classes. They are also offering some really great workshops through the end of the year and I encourage you to stop by and check it out.

Incidentally, here is a nearly PERFECT Vogler worksheet if you want to see how awesomely some people are able to plan.

Painfully Thought Out Character Worksheet (and yes it is 60 pages).

Discovering Story Magic has somehow managed to condense all of this down into a usable, even portable, dare I say easy, version. It is NOT the same thing as Vogler but it feels familiar but more accessible. And it involves a lot of Post-Its and posterboard (you'll just have to take the class). But I do want to leave you with a quote or two from the workshop that I thought was amazing and I don't believe they will mind me passing along to you.

That magic --- is THEME! Because if you can discover the theme of your story, you will find the heart of your book.

HOW MUCH YOUR CHARACTER CARES ABOUT THEIR GOAL IS IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO HOW MUCH THE READER WILL CARE!