support Iran’s people

I digress today from writing and children.
But not from imagination and creating.
The Iranian people have taken to the streets to push for their freedom.  We forget that this happened before, has  happened for years now.  Dissent has steadily grown.  Will change come this time?  Or will it take 30 more years?  We’ll find out soon.
Thirty [...]

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for writers…the end of the hero’s journey

Well, Little Shane from Maine, it’s time to Return Home. You still have a few motifs to demonstrate.
Shane wanders around and around and around the traffic round-about…

until he moseys into a warehouse, where the Unfettered Routing of Provolone Society  (URPS)

has convened for their bi-annual semi-pro invitational confab.
“Oh, the unbelievable coincidence, that I should [...]

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for writers…the hero confronts the evil one

Shane has had it up to here.

It’s time to confront the Evil One Get the supply of provolone flowing again, the way God meant it to.  He and Luigi make their way to the Evil One’s lair, or Inmost Cave.

The horror!

Luigi takes Shane to Mousealini’s office in the Palazzo del Governo, on the [...]

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for writers: the hero journeys through the magical woods and finds…motifs

Poor, poor Shane from Maine.  He’s been stuck on those Spanish steps for months.

Get up, Bucko, it’s time to journey.
First, our hero must become wise in the ways of the Magical Woods.  Like most of us, he’s got to learn through trial and error. (Better known as “ the hard way“.)  He will overcome these [...]

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for writers: the hero’s initiation in the magical woods, and 14 characters plus one he might find there

So our little Shane from Maine stumbles into the airport, his regulation-sized carry-on rolling behind him. 

He is in Italy, the Magical Woods.  With his red flannel shirt and lumberjack boots, Shane from Maine is a Stranger in a Strange Land.  Time to begin his INITIATION.
The Magical Woods does not need to be literally “magic”,

nor “woods”. 

 
It is simply a place that [...]

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for writers: crossing the threshold in the hero’s journey

Okay, let’s get our Hero going.
Shane from Maine has prepared for his trip and received counsel and his talisman.  He has given a tearful goodbye to his significant other,  Piddles, (the incontinent poodle), and is ready to proceed.
He goes to the airport and meets Stacie Stewardess, better known as the THRESHOLD GUARDIAN.  This archetype may appear at the start of [...]

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for writers: the beginning of the hero’s journey

 

 
The Hero’s Journey begins in the Common Day, veers off into the Magical Woods, and returns to the Common Day.
Simple, huh?
The first steps happen in the Hero’s day-to-day world.  This is where the writer draws the readers in, constructing a character we identify with.  This is also where the conflict starts.  Plant the seeds for your Hero’s growth deep.  [...]

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i swear i haven’t abandoned this blog

Pressing writing needs have kept me from posting the next installment concerning the hero’s journey.   I think about you often, Dear Readers, all six of you.

Now quit breathing down my neck.
I’ll be back Wednesday afternoon.  Until then…

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for writers: characteristics of the evil one on the hero’s journey

 
Yeah, yeah, I know I teased a different topic last time, but I’ve revised, okay?
Every

Needs a

 
This is one case where badder is better.  A strong and interesting hero needs a powerful and cunning foe.  Don’t be ambiguous when constructing the bad guy’s personality.  You gotta make the trip worth it.
In a Hero’s Journey, the Evil [...]

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for writers: 16 characteristics of a hero on a journey

Ya gotta start with an interesting character.
 

 
Really not what I meant.
My project ideas usually start with a premise or concept, but I can’t write the story until I have a picture of the main character.  (mc)

I wish I was like Jack London, who reputedly wrote his stories down once, in longhand, and sent them to [...]

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