An Inquisitive Mind is a Growing Mind

This blog article appeared the same day as an article on LinkedIn about “emotional leadership.” Both authors address the importance of communicating with questions. I think these articles resonate with me because I’ve often noticed that the smartest person in a room is the one with the most questions. In fact, Einstein famously said that he wasn’t smarter than anybody else, but that he was more curious than most. What questions stalk you through your days?

Primitive Optimism

Asking questions unlocks possibilities that we might not know are there if we insist on thinking we know the answers. The quote “an inquisitive mind is a growing mind” came to me as I was engaged in a discussion about the human experience with a very intelligent high schooler who is thoroughly engrossed by the Star Wars saga. This blog is inspired by that conversation.

For some asking questions poses a unique challenge that I’d very much like to understand. It’s fascinating being on the other side of the spectrum, where I love asking questions. Everytime I ask a question I feel as though my brain is gaining a new level of understanding. Regardless of the field or topic the incoming information is exhilerating.

 

If you’re one of those individuals that provides nothing but answers, and scarcely asks questions. Do you know why you communicate in this way? Do you…

View original post 119 more words

The Whole Story

When I ask readers what a book is about, they often give a description of the Lead character’s physical journey. Such answers tend to reflect our human tendency to express ourselves in terms of a physical realm, even though our emotions operate at a psychological level.

Jesse Lee Kercheval explains in her book Building Fiction^[1] that readers need to see the tangible evidence when internal conflicts are resolved. To satisfy that need, authors must manifest psychological change with physical consequences.

We’re In This Together: Celebrating Writers Who Persevere

Today I am happy to be part of Writers Persevere!, an event that authors Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi are running for the next few days to celebrate the release of their newest book, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Psychological Trauma. This book looks at the difficult experiences embedded in our character’s backstory which will shape their motivation and behavior afterward.

By the way, I wouldn’t be sharing this with you if I didn’t already use other tools Angela and Becca have designed. Their unique thesauruses for writers (like The Emotion Thesaurus, The Positive Trait Thesaurus, and The Negative Trait Thesaurus) have helped me overcome  blockages and elevate my own writing. I can’t wait to put this new one to good use.

A Story’s Five Psychological Movements

Woven into a story’s three acts we often find five psychological movements. These movements parallel Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, and actualization. Readers are most satisfied when stories help them grow psychologically alongside our characters.

The Hero’s Journey in Three Acts

No matter how unique we want to make our stories, readers need a familiar pattern to follow. Otherwise, they will likely get lost. A millennia-old recipe provides a roadmap for the Lead’s journey.

A Story’s Moment of Grace

Stories often begin to lose steam near the middle. The Lead character has worked through, around, and over obstacles for almost half the story, having made little progress. We start to worry that readers will grow impatient. We become tempted to add extra scenes solely to ratchet up tension. Big mistake. There’s another way to energize the middles of your stories.

A Story’s Physical Journey

A compelling synopsis of a story’s physical journey can help sell books, but it can do much more.

A Story’s Psychological Journey

Great stories are driven by moral dilemmas that focus on a central theme. In Cinderella, the moral dilemma (cruelty versus kindness) is fueled by two words the Fairy Godmother spoke.

What Is Your Journey About?

My 100^th blog post should be special, but whether it is isn’t for me to say. Only you can do that. So here it is. I am launching a series of posts excerpted from my recent book Transform Your Fiction. These posts spill the beans about what makes a story … well what makes a story a story.

Some of what follows in the next seven weekly posts, you’ve heard before. But not the juicy, closely guarded secret parts. The secrets are small and hard to see. You see, many secrets hide in plain sight, camouflaged by the mundane and obscured by myriad tricks and gimmicks that are supposed to engage readers. These secrets are so powerful they can turn you into a master storyteller. You’ll find the first installment below. 

Confession: I Went to a Library … I Had No Other Choice

Sounds terrible, right? I mean the “had no other choice part.” Don’t judge me so quickly. It gets worse.