the wolf is always at the door

Uncertainty, Trust, and Steadiness: March Status

Trust, steadiness, and uncertainty have been hallmarks of my life in the past month. But, then, uncertainty is always part of life.

The wolf is always just outside the door.

Sometimes we conveniently forget in our comfortable American lives that calamity can strike at any moment. Whether a pandemic or cancer, an economic depression or a terrible car accident, bad things happen.

Good things happen, too.

Whether good or bad, I’m resting on the rock of my faith, my faith in the salvation of Jesus Christ. How about you?

During uncertainty, steadiness and trust at home in winter

God’s got this.

With my circumstances, I’ve always had quite a few responsibilities and issues that pull me away from writing. God has resolved two of the rocks and hard places in my life, for which I’m immeasurably grateful.

With a husband who works from home, with me home writing, homeschooling, and preparing to go back to work full-time remotely, our COVID impacts so far have not been extensive. But, surprisingly, for this introvert, I’m getting cabin fever.

Writing status?

I’m actually making progress — on the novel, on writing-as-a-business, and my writing ability. I still have a long way to go on honing my writing skills, but I can recognize that I’ve “leveled up” in my writing.

I’m drafting Salvage‘s final scenes. As I write the scenes I’ve planned, more aspects of the story come to light, and more is added to my when-I-revise list.

In this section our protagonist is (mostly) out of the action, so my secondary protagonist, Emmett, is full-front in the story. It’s through him the secondary plot thread of ship dangers is revealed. As his character will not be in the next two books of the series, and his part in book #1 isn’t predominant, I need to keep him a little more shallow than Kaylah.

It’s tricky enough to handle two protagonists, but I needed both. And there are good resources out there, like this one from Jerry Jenkins about Left Behind.

Uncertainty to Certainty

I’m not branching out to writing blogs or copywriting, although I toyed with the idea for awhile. I’m focusing on my novel and on refreshing my software skills to land that full-time remote job.

Nonfiction Reads to Finish: Sandberg, Sobel, Lamont

Do you devour fiction like a hungry lion? I do. I’m slower reading nonfiction, though, rarely finishing a nonfiction book in several weeks time. I stop and start and, if I’m persistent enough, I finish the work. Below are three nonfiction reads by Sandberg, Sobel, and Lamont that I’d like to circle back around to and finish.

You can find more reading recommendations here, or check out my nonfiction articles or novel in progress.

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Visualize Your Novel: Story and Plot Diagrams

Three Act Story Structure diagram from Reedsy.com
From Reedsy.com

If you are visually-oriented and producing a novel, take a look at different ways to chart your story — with plot diagrams and more. Story charts and plot diagrams can get the creativity train moving, so take a tour of the multiple-act framework, the wheel, and more.

Other posts in this series will cover other ways to visualize your story.

Visuals in the Round

Wikipedia

The Hero’s Journey, aka the Monomyth

” In narratology and comparative mythology, the monomyth, or the hero’s journey, is the common template of a broad category of tales and lore that involves a hero who goes on an adventure, and in a decisive crisis wins a victory, and then comes home changed or transformed.[1]

Kelsey Ruger, Slideshare.net

Inspire Story Wheel

Inspired Storytelling: Engaging People & Moving Them To Action

Derek Murphy, Creative Indie

The Plot Dot

“It’s kind of a plotting journal, with lots of blank pages, so you can sketch out each of your scenes in a tried-and-tested plot outline that focuses on the major, unskippable scenes that should be included in most fiction. “

Rage Against the Page

A Round View of the 4-Act Story Diamond

February 2020 Review and Status

So, a review of February:

A review: a screenshot of Ep1, Part 4 outline of Salvage

Thankfully, I experienced productive writing time in February. I’m drafting part 4 of episode 1 of Salvage — nearing the end! I’ve also “leveled up” in writing craft, gaining a better sense of story development.

My alter-ego as a software developer can be found at CodeOnward.com

In personal news, I’m ramping up to return to software development full-time over at Code Onward. I’m hoping circumstances will allow me to pursue both creative pursuits — writing and development — in full force.

The cold winter is easing; the tulips and daffodils and surprise lilies are poking up green shoots. Can’t wait until the first blooms!

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chapter mind map

Visualize Your Novel: Mind Mapping

If you are visually-oriented and producing a novel, you may find this visual tour of ways to design and develop your story helpful.

Part 1 of this series covers mind maps, with examples and links to beneficial resources.

Mind-Mapping

Visually brainstorm story ideas, characters, plot, outline, and more, unconstrained by ordering or structuring

Character Details

From the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School Library

You can explore character details

Characters, Quick

Wikipedia, My Antonia

A quick, fast way to brainstorm characters and relationships for your story

Hand-crafted Story Map

From Caroline Lawrence via Biggerplate

For some of us by hand is quicker than software. It also allows for more flexibility in colors, curves, and more.

Detailed Story Map

From Iain Broome

Map the story in detail, even adding clipart or photos if you wish.

By Reader Journey, Per Chapter

From Biggerplate

If you’re chapter-oriented in your thinking, consider the reader impact you want each chapter to have.

Map Your Scene

From Sina Ghaffarnejad’s digital portfolio

Brainstorm your individual scenes

Mind Mapping Can Help Organize Your Writing Process

Covers different kinds of maps and briefly how to use them.

A Guide to Storytelling with Mind Maps

Specific cases from idea brainstorming to defeating writer’s block to adding layers and context.

How to Mind Map a Novel Plot

Got a half-baked idea for a novel? This article will help.

How to Mind Map

A detailed beginner’s guide to mind mapping. Generalized.

The best mind map software of 2020

Tech Radar’s take on the best software for mind mapping.

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