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Designing Principle #5: Parallel Stories and Myth
The fifth category in our exploration of designing principles is the use of parallel stories and myth. In my first post, I discussed The Godfather and how it used a designing principle with an underlying fairy tale structure. In fact, the hero’s journey (aka: mythic structure) is the exact same strategy, where the major plot beats of the…
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Designing Principle #2: Setting and Environment
My second category in my series on designing principle is using your setting and environment to as inspiration for your story’s design. It’s interesting that the predominant structure we talk about is a mountain, which is ultimately a metaphor for a certain kind of movement and escalating energy to a story. In my first post…
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Story Structure Diagrams
Yes, it’s true, I’ve had story structure on the brain. I’ve also recently joined pinterest (of which I immediately became addicted). But there’s a happy side effect of these two obsessions… this post! I love visual representations of novels and narrative structure, and pinterest gave me a place to collect all these fascinating, beautiful, funny,…
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SCBWI LA 2010 – The Quick Take Away
The SCBWI LA 2010 conference was a treasure trove of information! And the goldmine is coming, but it will take a few weeks to type everything up and post it all, so keep checking back for new articles and notes. But in the meantime here’s a taste. The Digital Revolution: We are in the middle…
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Conference Junkie
This post is entitled “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Conference Junkie” or Ten Tips for Attending the SCBWI LA Conference (which I have a feeling a good number of you readers are going to be attending). So as a four-year veteran of the Sunny Side of SCBWI, I thought I’d offer the following…
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Three Great Books: Liars, Outsiders, and Sky
At every conference I go to I hear the mantra read, read, read, read, read! Okay great guru’s of the publishing industry I shall heed your word! So I’ve been piling up on the library books, audio commute companions, and book store treasures in order to stay up on the market. And as a reader…
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The Writing Gym: Use It or Lose It
Summer’s coming, is your bikini body ready? It seems spring has sprung and that means the check-out stand at the grocery store is filled with magazine headlines endorsing ten minute work-outs and crash diets. And while I’m anti-gym and pro-cupcake, I found myself wondering if my philosophy of physical fitness might have some layover in…
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June 2010 Kidlit Events In Los Angeles
The following kidlit book signings and events will be taking place in the LA area in the month of June, 2010. Go kids books! Saturday June, 12th: 10:30 am: Author Francesca Lia Block reads her Picture Book House of Dolls at Children’s Book World. Located at: 10580 1/2 West Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064…