Craft Geek

That's me--I'm a total craft junkie these days. In part it's because I feel like as soon as soon as I scratch the surface of some aspect of craft, I'm terrified to the soles of my shoes about how little I know. Reading craft books also feels like forward progess on the book, even if those pages aren't getting written. But at this stage I'm reluctant to commit a lot to the page unless I have some idea where it's headed. I have about a hundred pages written already, much of which I can't use. That's just not efficient for me, and it's not consistent with how I get other stuff done in life. I expect writing is no different, really. In any case, this is what I've been reading on the craft binge:

Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

I'm a little sad I missed Blake workshop at RWA this summer. It would have been interesting to hear how he modified his approach to address a novel rather than a screenplay. That said, there are a lot of great gems of advice in her. Practical advice, especially for people writing genre. I love his 15-point beat list. Just today, while I was watching the Mummy Returns while working out, I watched Evie die and said to myself, "There it is, the whiff of death!" Gotta' have the whiff of death.

Emotional Structure by Peter Dunne

This was a great book for helping with my love for all things plot. (It's good to know I'm not alone this way.) There's a lot of great material in here, although the format of dissecting an actual screenplay felt less helpful to me than the commentary around the hero's emotional journey. My only complaint is that the two charts he includes, which seem to contain lots of helpful information, are totally unexplained and don't knit well together. That said, I've managed to glean good food for thought from those charts.

I also went back and reviewed my notes from the Hague/Vogler lecture on the hero's emotional journey which I got on DVD about a year ago. They have good things to say, but it isn't as detailed as Save the Cat or Emotional Structure.

I've also been reading The Writer's Journey by Chris Vogler (now in its third edition). I'm thinking that this book might actually be most helpful to read after I've finished a draft and am looking to make things stronger. Maybe it's me, but I'm having a hard time applying the steps to the WIP. Maybe I'm just a little overloaded on craft, too. : )