Story Sensei

This didn’t occur to me until just now, but back in July I gave a workshop on Harlequin.com’s forum boards on Self-Editing, and I featured 5 of the points on my Self-Editing worksheet for free. (I also gave feedback on homework on the forums, but the forum is now locked.) So if you were wondering if you wanted to buy my Self-Editing worksheet, head over to Harlequin.com to check out the forum. Here’s the link to the Self-Editing workshop forum. You’ll need to register (it’s free) for the Harlequin forum boards in order to read it (I think) so you can register/create a Community membership here . If you like the 5 free tips, you can buy my Self-Editing worksheet for $20 for all 11 tips. Note : If you've bought my Deep Point of View worksheet , there are some of those Deep POV tips here in this worksheet. However, the Deep POV worksheet goes into more detail and depth whereas the Deep POV tips in this worksheet are not as extensive. If you're on the fence about if you...

A writer asked me this question: I recently started writing a novel based off a couple friends and I wondering what would happen if we got thrust into a messy world of insane, chaotic, and anything considered un- or supernatural events.  I have already done a bit of tweaking to one character to make her a bit more agressive and aloof, but two other main character (out of four) are rather shy.  In real life, they don't talk much, and while they have come out of their shells quite a bit in the years I have known them, I doubt they'd ever be the type of people to rush head first into a life-or-death fight that could change the fate of the world you see in just about evrry novel on the shelves.  My question is, is it a bad idea to have them in the story?  I think with the dynamic our little group has it would be very interesting as characters, but I don't want them to be critiscized as boring or unoriginal. My feeling is that all characters, whether main or secondary, should...

Heroine's Journey worksheet $5 I was asked to describe my Heroine’s Journey many times and I even taught several workshops on it at writer’s conferences, and so I decided to write a more detailed worksheet on the subject. I read about the Heroine’s Journey from several books and compiled what I learned here in one place. This is the same worksheet I myself use for my own novels. Why the Heroine’s Journey? Because sometimes the story arc of a female character will differ from the traditional Hero’s Journey because of the affects of culture and time period upon the character because of her gender. This will create specific psychological differences in how a male and female character will respond to conflict in a story. Joseph Campbell’s original book is based on the writings of psychoanalysts and the world myths. The Hero With a Thousand Faces is a psychological analysis of the classical myth formula that breaks down the myths into a basic structure, showing the psychological...

Self-Editing tips at eHarlequin I forgot to post this earlier, but I'm posting Deep Editing tips over at the eHarlequin forum boards. I'm going over 5 of the points that are in my Self-Editing worksheet and giving some feedback. I'm only online there until the end of Saturday (sorry for the late notice) if you'd like feedback. Since I'm doing 5 of the points in my worksheet, this will give you a chance to see a sample of my worksheet in case you're still on the fence about buying it. Here's the direct link to the forum: http://community.harlequin.com/showthread.php/1441-Camp-Gonnabe-Self-Editing-with-Camy-Tang Register for my next Synopsis writing class in August I'm not doing as many online classes these days, but for those of you interested, now's the time to register for a Synopsis writing class I'm giving through the Oklahoma Christian Fiction Writers group: Synopsis writing online class ($20 (OKC member) or $25 (non OKC member)) A...

(This post originally appeared on Suite101, but it's no longer there so I'll post it here. :) Make the Character Proactive Rather Than Reactive Eliminate episodic scenes by giving the character an External Goal, Obstacles against that goal, and Forward Movement in the story. A story is more than just good writing. A story plot must have forward motion and a sense of movement that pulls the reader along. Sometimes writers will get feedback that their story “lacks purpose” or is “episodic.” What exactly does that mean? Episodic Writing is Reactive Writing in Vignettes. A character needs more than just to fall into an alternate world and face Scary Monsters. He needs to have a purpose and doggedly pursue that purpose. If he simply goes from one Bad Thing to another, the story lacks direction. When a character simply reacts to the Bad Things that happen to him, he is being reactive rather than proactive, and that can be boring to a reader. It’s also boring to read a...

Because of several writing contracts, I've decided to step back from doing critiques and coaching for most of 2013 in order to save my injured wrists and my health for my books. If you'd like recommendations of other freelance editors who can critique your work sooner, I can suggest: Fiction Fix-It Shop ( http://www.fictionfixitshop.com/ ) Moonshell Books and Editorial, Shelley Bates ( http://www.shelleybates.com/ ) Cheryl Wyatt ( http://www.cherylwyatt.com/ ) Sharon Hinck ( http://www.sharonhinck.com/ ) Just email them through their websites and let them know that Camy suggested you contact them about critiquing. Update: I’ll be teaching an online synopsis class in early August this year, so stay tuned to my blog for when registration opens. I also still have my worksheets available for download: Self-Editing worksheet - $20 New! Deep Point of View worksheet - $10 Price drop! Characterization worksheet - $10 Price drop! Structure/Synopsis worksheet - $5