"Elementary, my dear Watson:
We want to pump you up!
Feb. 1, 2010
So you’re good at coming up with interesting characters. Or maybe you can describe a freshly mowed lawn right down to the chopped up tennis balls and cut-grass-mixed-with-dog-poop smell. But if all your writing mojo turns to Jello as soon as someone mentions the word “plot,” here’s a little something that might help: the 6 most important vital signs for a healthy plot.
Use this list if you’re struggling to come up with a plot and don’t have a clue where to start. Or use it to double-check an idea for a plot, see if it’s likely to go the distance or leave you stranded.
Grub Street South
Writer's Workshop
Jan. 26, 2009
7:00 - 8:00pm at Buttonwood Books, Cohasset, MA
Plot Sprints & Other Exercises:
How to Get Your Page-Turner Mojo Working.
Yes, I'm leading a one hour writers workshop sponsored by Grub
Street. The focus will be on plot: elements, concepts
and various exercises that can help experienced plot-professionals and the plot-challenged alike. A good time
will be had by all as we figure out new paths to murder, mayhem and madness.
Call Buttonwood Books at 1-781-383-2665 for more information and reservations.
Happy New Year!
Jan. 2010
Guess what my New Year's resolution was? Clean up this site!
Welcome to the completely redesigned Anatopsis.com web site. The changes are mostly cosmetic for now, but I
hope to be introducing a new book recommendation engine soon.
In the meantime, you can click on the Goodreads.com link
(here or on the sidebar) to find out what books I've been reading recently.
Mother/Daughter Book Club
Jan. 2010
The New Year is off to a good start. I got to discuss Anatopsis (as well as writing, editing,
publishing and a whole bunch of other things I'm supposed to know about) with a wonderful group of mothers and daughters
in Newton, MA.
It was a great evening, with a lot of thought-provoking questions from mothers and daughters
alike. I gather there was some wish-bone breaking afterwards, but I wasn't there to witness that. I hope everyone
got their wish!
School Visit Month
Dec. 2009
It was a busy December for me:
A visit to the 3rd and 4th grade classes at the King Open School in Cambridge, MA.
Then, the next week, back to King Open for a presentation to the 5th & 6th grade classes. The kids were wonderful,
and I'm grateful to Debbie Klein, Jennifer Mason, and Fran Hiller for giving me a chance to talk to the kids about
writing.
Also, on the last school-day before vacation, I got to visit 3 of the 5th & 6th grade classes at Brooke Elementary
School, in Medford, MA. Thanks to Geeta Jain for inviting me. The kids were so enthusiastic, I felt like Santa Claus---or
at least like something Santa dropped down the school's chimney.
