Updates

Sam Morgan alerted me to 3 resources, and Dan Harmon’s story wheel is excellent. It is the 3-act structure described with highly illuminating metaphors and examples. I used it as the basis for a class on plotting as part of my “First Three Chapters” course for the Alexandra centre, and the students got a lot out of it–so did I, in re-plotting my novel.

Got great crit from fellow IFWITs at the Poor Man’s Workshop and was able to digest it and revise my story. Still needs another pass, but tons of great ideas!

Interesting conversation with Sam Morgan of Jabberwocky agency on Monday. He hasn’t picked up my manuscript, but he hasn’t rejected it, either. In fact, he likes the writing and concept, and is okay with the gender-swap! But he found a gigantic plot hole, which had escaped me and all my beta readers–but he had a solution. It would involve a fairly major rewrite, but he is willing to take a look at a revision. Super-cool!

Fantastic opportunity today to have my work critiqued by 8 colleagues at IFWA’s Poor Man’s Workshop. It is a modified Clarion-style with the work submitted in advance and 2 full oral critiques and then a 40-minute discussion by all the contributors, with written critiques from everyone. I was affirmed for most of my story, which is always gratifying, but the discussion generated tons of ideas about where I could take my world further, which was exactly what I was looking for. Some fantastic stories on the table, too–a joy to critique.

And, there was lunch!

Met with the publisher of Laksa Media today and the next anthology is coming along really well. The stories are shaping up to be awesome and the edits are going well. I think we will be following up Strangers Among Us with an equally wonderful Sum of Us!