Three Disasters Plus an Ending

I just read something that might save my novel:

I like to structure a story as "three disasters plus an ending". Each of the disasters takes a quarter of the book to develop and the ending takes the final quarter. I don't know if this is the ideal structure, it's just my personal taste.

If you believe in the Three-Act structure, then the first disaster corresponds to the end of Act 1. The second disaster is the mid-point of Act 2. The third disaster is the end of Act 2, and forces Act 3 which wraps things up. It is OK to have the first disaster be caused by external circumstances, but I think that the second and third disasters should be caused by the protagonist's attempts to "fix things". Things just get worse and worse.

From Randy Ingermanson's How to Write a Novel: The Snowflake Method

You know how sometimes you know things, but you don't know that you know them until someone says them to you in a new way?

Yeah, that's what I'm feeling right now. My protagonist isn't trying to fix anything. She isn't even trying to DO anything! She's just having stuff happen to her.

No wonder I'm bored! Time to spice things up!

Online Conferences

Over on LiveJournal, a group of writers are hosting Bittercon — an online writing convention for those of us who couldn't afford to go to ComiCon and other genre conventions held over the summer around the country. Discussions are going on now.

Drop by and join the conversation if you're interested.

Another virtual writing convention is the Muse Online Writer's Conference for writers of all disciplines and genres. The Muse conference will take place in real time, October 13–19, with workshops and panel discussions exactly like a traditional writing conference, simply taking place entirely online.

Both are free and open to everyone. Let me know if you find anything exciting!

Blooks?

Editorial Anonymous tackles an issue I've often wondered about: whether or not a book published online will have trouble being published elsewhere.

This is good news for persons like me who like to write to an audience!

Tips:

To develop your secret writing self:

1. Do exercises for writers instead of just reading them.
   
2. Stop talking about your writing, how hard it is, what you are doing, and your dreams. Instead, write.
   
3. Make a space in your life — a physical box house — where no one can enter. It can be as simple as a notebook you carry around, a special pen, a time of day.
   
4. Practice being quiet. Let other people talk. Listen like you did when you were a kid, and you openly stared and absorbed everything. Be quiet. Leave some room in yourself for words to reverberate.

From Heather Sellers' Page After Page.

Word After Word

I added a new link to the list at right, to Heather Sellers' blog, Word After Word.

I read a lot of writing blogs, but I'm really excited about this one. If it contains even a few gems of wisdom like the ones in her books (which I have a feeling it will) it will be a priceless tool to add to my arsenal.