The Power Of What If? and Open The Door...
The Power of "What If?”
My What If? technique takes you from I don't know where I'm going! to plot ideas that were formerly unseen. Once you get the hang of What If? you'll find that two or three of these new plot ideas, or sometimes only one, will resonate with you. But when that happens, the excitement of writing calls again and you're off and running! Many writers are most comfortable with ideas that originate in their own lives. That’s fine, but limiting. What If? opens you to your imagination… wild ideas, forbidden ideas, unique ideas that might open up a whole new storyline, or even a new universe!
Next come the characters who carry your plot forward. Where do you meet your characters? Do they have to be modeled after someone you know? Absolutely not!
“Open the Door and Your Characters Will Walk Through...”
This technique sounds interesting, but what does it mean? Just as “What If?” opens you to new and diverse ideas for your plot, Open the Door helps you find new and diverse characters. When creating their characters, it's common for writers to start with people from their own lives because they know them. But Open the Door lets others join the ones you know. Some of these characters may be unfamiliar and imaginary. Others may be variations of the people you do know.
This technique has led me to find totally unexpected characters who at first I didn’t even want in my story, but then something... a strange tickle, a huge ah-ha moment, perhaps an image in my mind or the character's refusal to leave me alone, made me let them in. Before I knew it, he or she took off! Such characters almost always change the plot in powerful ways. They're special because they came to me. They knew I was waiting for them before I knew it myself. I’ve actually had a number of these totally unexpected characters, sometimes at first glance strange or scary, jump into my own books and become stars. That’s the beauty of Open the Door.
Plot and Character are obviously the core of any novel. But where do they live?
They live in their own landscapes, sometimes ones you yourself never anticipated visiting. These landscapes then become part of your experience. When they come alive in your imagination, they do so for the reader, too. Guaranteed!
My What If? technique takes you from I don't know where I'm going! to plot ideas that were formerly unseen. Once you get the hang of What If? you'll find that two or three of these new plot ideas, or sometimes only one, will resonate with you. But when that happens, the excitement of writing calls again and you're off and running! Many writers are most comfortable with ideas that originate in their own lives. That’s fine, but limiting. What If? opens you to your imagination… wild ideas, forbidden ideas, unique ideas that might open up a whole new storyline, or even a new universe!
Next come the characters who carry your plot forward. Where do you meet your characters? Do they have to be modeled after someone you know? Absolutely not!
“Open the Door and Your Characters Will Walk Through...”
This technique sounds interesting, but what does it mean? Just as “What If?” opens you to new and diverse ideas for your plot, Open the Door helps you find new and diverse characters. When creating their characters, it's common for writers to start with people from their own lives because they know them. But Open the Door lets others join the ones you know. Some of these characters may be unfamiliar and imaginary. Others may be variations of the people you do know.
This technique has led me to find totally unexpected characters who at first I didn’t even want in my story, but then something... a strange tickle, a huge ah-ha moment, perhaps an image in my mind or the character's refusal to leave me alone, made me let them in. Before I knew it, he or she took off! Such characters almost always change the plot in powerful ways. They're special because they came to me. They knew I was waiting for them before I knew it myself. I’ve actually had a number of these totally unexpected characters, sometimes at first glance strange or scary, jump into my own books and become stars. That’s the beauty of Open the Door.
Plot and Character are obviously the core of any novel. But where do they live?
They live in their own landscapes, sometimes ones you yourself never anticipated visiting. These landscapes then become part of your experience. When they come alive in your imagination, they do so for the reader, too. Guaranteed!