The Brazos Writers put on a plotting workshop with Mark Troy, mystery writer, this morning in College Station. All five of the members of my CG went, so we rode together. That was fun. Writers are told, “A story has to have a beginning, a middle and an end.” Mr. Troy says, “That doesn’t tell you anything. A line at the post office has a beginning, a middle and an end.” He talked about Acts I – III, doorways and midpoints. I enjoyed the workshop and feel I learned something. Another thing he said was that even if you’re not writing a screenplay, screenplay writers’ techniques are very helpful in writing a novel. His suggested reading materials:
Screenplay by Sid Field
The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler
Alexandra Solkoloff’s blog, The Dark Salon
The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman
Books/stories he suggested for analysis
“Million Dollar Baby” by F.X. Toole
The Jack Reacher books by Lee Child
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown