Introducing Joely Sue Burkhart
Feb. 28th, 2009 01:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dr_pretentiousThe monthly Drollerie Press Blog Tour is swinging through town again. This time, my post, "What It Means When Writers Say, 'I've Been A Writer Since I Was Six Years Old,'" will appear sometime today over at Cindy Lynn Speer's blog, A Pen and Fire.
We've been having a fine time on the Drollerie authors email list throwing around themes to use for these monthly blog tours, and this month's is origin stories. I remember saying something like, "We can explain how we came to be bitten by our respective radioactive spiders." That this was my first interpretation of the words "origin story" tells you what sort of geek I am. I expect today's crop of tour posts will produce a lot of different interpretations.
Meanwhile, I'm hosting Joely Sue Burkhart today. If you went to track down my blog tour post last month, you may already have poked around her website and checked out her blog, Dreaming in Rhyme. Her books from Drollerie Press are Surive My Fire, The Fire Within, The Rose of Shanhasson, and Beautiful Death.
Her take on the origin stories theme is totally unlike mine, and it turns out her writing process is totally unlike mine, too. I'll stand aside and let her come through:
This month's Drollerie Press blog tour theme is "origins" and immediately, all I could think about was a parody I wrote awhile back called "Story Genesis." I've always loved to write parodies. One of my first and best pieces I wrote was a "Beowulf" parody in high school English. Mrs. Lightle liked it so much she never did give it back to me, and that was back in B.C. (before computers), so I don't have a copy of it.
Here is "Story Genesis."
In the beginning, the writer thought of a Story idea with a blurb and character sketches. Now the Story was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of plot, and the spirit of premise was hovering over the Story.
And the writer said, “Let there be premise” and there was premise. The writer saw that the premise was good, and she separated the premise from its opposite. She bound the characters to the premise and the opposite. And there was unity, and there was purpose–the first layer of Story.
And the writer said, “Let there be a static trait for each character to separate them one from another.” So the writer defined the static traits and planned how each would affect the plot and add depth to Story. And it was so. The writer used the static trait to build “characterization.” And there was unity, and there was purpose–the second layer of Story.
And the writer said, “Let the plot of this Story be gathered to one place, and let ten blocks appear.” And it was so. The writer called the whole plot “The Block” and the ten parts provided the framework for Story. And the writer saw that it was good.
Then the writer said, “Let each character have a story goal: tying theme and characterization to the premise, according to their various goals.” And it was so. The characters revealed story goals, themes and characterization, adding depth to Story. And the writer saw that it was good. And there was unity, and there was purpose–the third layer of Story.
And the writer said, “Let each character have a greatest strength which is also his greatest weakness to fully encompass his personality, called a dominant impression, and let each character possess darkest secrets and greatest fears.” And it was so. The writer combined two words for each dominant impression in direct opposition–one to govern the weakness and one to govern the strength. She also made darkest secrets for each character, and set them in the characters’ backstory to give depth to characterization. And the writer saw that it was good. And there was unity, and there was purpose–the fourth layer of Story.
And the writer said, “Let each of the ten blocks divide into manageable sections according to the Hero’s Journey: Thresholds, Inner Cave, Resurrection and Return–each according to The Block.” And it was so. The writer made the sections according to the Hero’s Journey and all the sections fell into the framework of The Block. And the writer saw that it was good.
And the writer said, “Let The Block teem with conflict, and let true scenes move the plot across the expanse of Story.” So the writer created true scenes–goals, conflict, and disasters–according to the characters’ story goals. And the writer saw that it was good. The writer blessed each character with a first-person character letter and said, “Increase conflict by describing your defining moments and darkest secrets.” And there was unity, and there was purpose–the fifth layer of Story.
Then the writer said, “Let us guide the characters through the Hero’s Journey in our image, in our likeness, human with faults and strengths, and let them show their character arcs across the expanse of Story.” So the writer created characters in her own image, with impossible failings to overcome. And the writer blessed them and said to them, “Be real and breathe on the page for all to see; fill this Story with passion, agony and joy, and cause the readers to laugh and weep and cheer at your final victory.”
Then the writer said, “I give you life, my characters, and I have defined your Story. And through all the sections of The Block and Hero’s Journey you shall carry the readers with you.” And it was so. The writer saw all that she had made, and it was very good. And there was unity, and there was purpose–the sixth layer of Story.
Thus the plot and characters were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh layer, the writer had fully set up this Story. So on the seventh layer, she began writing. And the writer blessed this Story with unity and purpose until she typed,
“The End.”
We've been having a fine time on the Drollerie authors email list throwing around themes to use for these monthly blog tours, and this month's is origin stories. I remember saying something like, "We can explain how we came to be bitten by our respective radioactive spiders." That this was my first interpretation of the words "origin story" tells you what sort of geek I am. I expect today's crop of tour posts will produce a lot of different interpretations.
Meanwhile, I'm hosting Joely Sue Burkhart today. If you went to track down my blog tour post last month, you may already have poked around her website and checked out her blog, Dreaming in Rhyme. Her books from Drollerie Press are Surive My Fire, The Fire Within, The Rose of Shanhasson, and Beautiful Death.
Her take on the origin stories theme is totally unlike mine, and it turns out her writing process is totally unlike mine, too. I'll stand aside and let her come through:
This month's Drollerie Press blog tour theme is "origins" and immediately, all I could think about was a parody I wrote awhile back called "Story Genesis." I've always loved to write parodies. One of my first and best pieces I wrote was a "Beowulf" parody in high school English. Mrs. Lightle liked it so much she never did give it back to me, and that was back in B.C. (before computers), so I don't have a copy of it.
Here is "Story Genesis."
In the beginning, the writer thought of a Story idea with a blurb and character sketches. Now the Story was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of plot, and the spirit of premise was hovering over the Story.
And the writer said, “Let there be premise” and there was premise. The writer saw that the premise was good, and she separated the premise from its opposite. She bound the characters to the premise and the opposite. And there was unity, and there was purpose–the first layer of Story.
And the writer said, “Let there be a static trait for each character to separate them one from another.” So the writer defined the static traits and planned how each would affect the plot and add depth to Story. And it was so. The writer used the static trait to build “characterization.” And there was unity, and there was purpose–the second layer of Story.
And the writer said, “Let the plot of this Story be gathered to one place, and let ten blocks appear.” And it was so. The writer called the whole plot “The Block” and the ten parts provided the framework for Story. And the writer saw that it was good.
Then the writer said, “Let each character have a story goal: tying theme and characterization to the premise, according to their various goals.” And it was so. The characters revealed story goals, themes and characterization, adding depth to Story. And the writer saw that it was good. And there was unity, and there was purpose–the third layer of Story.
And the writer said, “Let each character have a greatest strength which is also his greatest weakness to fully encompass his personality, called a dominant impression, and let each character possess darkest secrets and greatest fears.” And it was so. The writer combined two words for each dominant impression in direct opposition–one to govern the weakness and one to govern the strength. She also made darkest secrets for each character, and set them in the characters’ backstory to give depth to characterization. And the writer saw that it was good. And there was unity, and there was purpose–the fourth layer of Story.
And the writer said, “Let each of the ten blocks divide into manageable sections according to the Hero’s Journey: Thresholds, Inner Cave, Resurrection and Return–each according to The Block.” And it was so. The writer made the sections according to the Hero’s Journey and all the sections fell into the framework of The Block. And the writer saw that it was good.
And the writer said, “Let The Block teem with conflict, and let true scenes move the plot across the expanse of Story.” So the writer created true scenes–goals, conflict, and disasters–according to the characters’ story goals. And the writer saw that it was good. The writer blessed each character with a first-person character letter and said, “Increase conflict by describing your defining moments and darkest secrets.” And there was unity, and there was purpose–the fifth layer of Story.
Then the writer said, “Let us guide the characters through the Hero’s Journey in our image, in our likeness, human with faults and strengths, and let them show their character arcs across the expanse of Story.” So the writer created characters in her own image, with impossible failings to overcome. And the writer blessed them and said to them, “Be real and breathe on the page for all to see; fill this Story with passion, agony and joy, and cause the readers to laugh and weep and cheer at your final victory.”
Then the writer said, “I give you life, my characters, and I have defined your Story. And through all the sections of The Block and Hero’s Journey you shall carry the readers with you.” And it was so. The writer saw all that she had made, and it was very good. And there was unity, and there was purpose–the sixth layer of Story.
Thus the plot and characters were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh layer, the writer had fully set up this Story. So on the seventh layer, she began writing. And the writer blessed this Story with unity and purpose until she typed,
“The End.”
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no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 06:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 06:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 11:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 04:24 am (UTC)Thanks for hosting me, Sarah!
no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 06:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-02 07:10 pm (UTC)Jess