Profiling Your Characters

by Roger Rueff | Jun 25, 2014 | Field Notes

Putting together detailed profiles of your characters can help bring them to life in your writing mind, but doing so takes time and effort—which means less time to actually write. Is the effort worth it? It depends. Compiling Dossiers on Your Unusual Suspects To...

Finding Stories in the I Ching [Overview]

by Roger Rueff | Jun 18, 2014 | Field Notes

The I Ching ("Book of Change"), is an original Chinese classic the origin of which may lie as far back as 3,000 BCE. Is it a source of wisdom? Certainly. A source of story ideas? Now, that's an intriguing proposition. Drawing on Ancient Wisdom For thousands of years,...

Paikea, Dorothy, and Katniss—Oh, My!

by Roger Rueff | Jun 6, 2014 | Field Notes

It cannot be denied that females are underrepresented as main characters in the world of mainstream stories. Can we use the principles outlined in Discovering the Soul of Your Story to understand and fix that? You bet. The Underrepresented Majority It cannot be denied...

Finding Stories in Titles [Perfection]

by Roger Rueff | May 21, 2014 | Field Notes

Have you ever thought of a phrase and said to yourself, "That would make a good title for a story"? Of course, you have. The trick is figuring out how to grow a story from its title alone. And it's easier than you think. Growing a Story from Its Name It's not uncommon...

Finding Stories in Idioms [Numbers]

by Roger Rueff | May 14, 2014 | Field Notes

Some idioms contain a quality or value that can provide an easily extractable basis for a story theme. But even those that are merely descriptors can serve as excellent story starters if you know how to find them. Applying the grok Approach to an Expression Some...