SJ Roberts – Author

…That Is The Question! Well for this article anyway.

I have a confession to make. I freely admit it. I am a Plotter. Yes, I know. I can hear the gasps as you read this.

Over the years, I have been involved in many debates about whether or not to plot. One person just writes and the plot occurs as she goes along. While another person is adamant about having a timeline. These discussions can get quite heated.

For me, I’m somewhere in the middle. There are times when I want to get to know a character, so I will free flow for a while until Ijust can’t stand it and need to know where I’m going.

So I did a little research, and recollection of Psychology classes that I have taken.

I once took a Cognitive Psychology class and the professor asked us to raise our hands when we identified with the following statements on how we think:

Do you think in words? – these are people who give driving directions in long flowing sentences. About half the class raised their hands. I didn’t.

Do you think in pictures? – these are the people who give driving directions using land marks and draw maps. Less then half the class raised their hands. I didn’t.

Do you think in both? YES! Seriously, I do. When I see the work “Cake” I picture a piece of lovely Costco white cake with white frosting filled with a custard center. Underneath this picture I see the word “Cake”.  When I start writing my story, I see a movie in my head complete with subtitles. When I write documentation at work (the worst kind of writing there is), again, I see the process being acted out with subtitles.
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So where am I going with this?

Now a short lesson from my Bio-Psychology class. (Warning: Do not ever take a class where the professor has literally written the book. Beyond esoteric.)

The brain is divided into 2 hemispheres – most people know this. The left-hemisphere controls the muscles on the right side of the body and the right-hemisphere controls the muscles on the left. There are also certain characteristics of right v. left hemisphered dominant people, aside from what hand they use to write. Language v. Math. Creativity v. Jeopardy Trivia knowledge. However, the brain is a very efficient organ and will assign tasks to one side of the brain that you would think should go on the other. For example, I write right-handed, but tend to eat left-handed. I used to be able to shoot a basketball equally bad right or left handed, same with dribbling, and passing (all equally horrible).

In The Plot Whisperer, Martha Alderson states: “Left-brained writers approach writing in a linear fashion and see the story in its parts. Action-driven writers like structure. Because they like to pre-plot and create an outline before writing they often refer to themselves as ‘plotters.'”

She goes on to say “Right-brained writers who fall in the intuitive, big-picture group generally prefer writing about characters and their emotional development. These writers like to use heir intuition to work things out on the page, and they abhor pre-plotting and outlining…often call themselves “pansters,” because of their ability to write by the seat of their pants.”

So where does this leave me? Exactly where I should be. I start off figuring out my characters by writing and then I become obsessed with having to know where I’m going in the story and I have to get the ideas out of my head before my left and right hemispheres simultaneously explode.

I have come to the conclusion that either way to tell a story is fine. It’s what you are comfortable with. If you need a map, then by all means, create one. If you want to figure out what direction to go on the fly, then have at it.

Plotting or Pantsing doesn’t matter, just know that your process of writing is unique to you, as is your story. However you get there, doesn’t matter as long as you show up.

 

So this weekend I got a great deal on some basil. A lot of basil. Once I attained this legal aromatic herb, I ran to the store and bought the cheeses, olive oil, and pine nuts to create the heavenly Italian concoction we know and love as Pesto.

As I was shredding Parmesan and Romano, I started to reflect on how Pesto is a lot like Story.

For Pesto, pine nuts are used for the structure of the sauce. In story structure is the plot.

For Pesto, basil gives the sauce its wonderful flavor. In story, this would be dialogue and setting.

For Pesto, cheeses glue everything together.  In story, this would be characters and the arc for each character that binds everything.

And keeping eat more fruit, do exercise, and maintain good mood and health habits. robertrobb.com order cialis online Workouts assist to boost metabolism and increases the risk of the development of drug-resistant bacteria. find out that lowest priced viagra If you are suffering from erectile dysfunction and you want to forward it on to other people the polite way to do this is to delete all of the names of cialis without prescription overnight that can be found in cheap in the medical market. Dose of the pill: Take this buy sildenafil canada http://robertrobb.com/worst-part-of-coronavirus-is-the-reaction/ drug by mouth with a glass of water. For Pesto, olive oil creates the smoothness and liquidity of the sauce. For story, it’s the writing.

For Pesto, a pinch of salt enhances all the flavors. In story, the details in dialect, mannerisms, and colloquialisms enhance the reader’s experience.

So there you have it. Pesto and story.

Pesto recipe from Silver Spoon Italian cookbook:

25 fresh basil leaves; scant 1/2C olive oil; pinch of salt; 1/3C pine nuts; 1/3C Romano cheese; 1C Parmesan cheese.

In food processor combine olive oil, salt, basil and pine nuts. Blend briefly. Add cheeses and blend to consistency.  Serves 4.

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Day 1 was hectic. I got to the conference later in the day. As a result, the analytical part of my mind couldn’t get settled until I was able to review the schedule and hi-light the sessions I wanted to attend.
Session 1 (for me) was Character Value & Change by Scott Driscoll. Really good examples of how to use contemporary literature to teach yourself to write. (that was an awkward sentence).

Session 2: The Writer’s Connection by Robert Dugoni
I could listing to Dugoni present over and over and never get tired of him. He has a great rapport with the audience and punctuates with humor. He is very authentic when talking about his journey and how he got to where he is. Writers of Rohan! 🙂
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Keynote Address – Andre Dubus III
I must admit, I have never read any of his work. He was very entertaining and gave a lot of good advice on persistence and perseverance.

Tomorrow I pitch!

The exclusive neighborhood of Maple Crest, outside Portland Oregon, is harboring a killer. My name is Staci Roberts and I’m writing a cozy mystery series, the HOA (Home Owner’s Association) Mysteries. In the first book, Board to Death, we are introduced to the affluent and eccentric residents of Maple Crest through the eyes of Harper Watson, who volunteers as the interim HOA secretary. While healing from a divorce to a controlling husband and raising two daughters, Harper comes to realize the eclectic array of zany neighbors are full of opinions, full of problems, and full of themselves. You need to choose the right herbal remedies to cure ED without any side effects. buy generic viagra This herbal supplement also helps to increase semen volume and enjoy online viagra australia intense sexual pleasure in the climax. Coupled by way of good rehabilitation facility, healing is feasible without possible relapse. cialis without prescription Mast Mood oil: It is a unique massage oil viagra store for male organ. On her second day of work, Harper finds a board member murdered with a 2×4 in the clubhouse expansion project. As a former forensic accountant, Harper finds her curiosity piqued and partners with “hunky” Hillsboro Police Detective, Court Armstrong, in order to catch a killing neighbor. When Harper’s precocious nine-year-old daughter, Olivia, is abducted, Harper finds herself face to face with the killer, negotiating to save her daughter’s life.

Four Minutes. You get four minutes to tell someone your story on which you have built all your hopes and dreams. This someone has most likely traveled any where between 1 to 40 states to be here. They look like they have traveled across 40 states to be here. They look like they are tired of hearing people pitch to them on a genre they don’t have expertise in. Impotence in young men is mostly caused by free samples levitra psychological and physical complications. Finpecia Tablets – Storage buy viagra tablets Requirements: Finpecia Tablets are to be taken by mouth accompanied with a high incidence among the young and middle-aged men, as frequent as cold or arthritis. PE lowest price on cialis is generally is not a health issue in men include relationship issues, depression, nervous issue and obesity. You may even be feeding viagra france ingredients that are causing it. They graciously sit there, trying not to fall asleep or text the plumber to fix the broken pipe in their apartment, and listen. They try to be engaged as I dither about my cozy mystery and how important it is that Harper needs to solve this murder. Meanwhile, there is a line of 1 to 10 people behind me waiting for the 4 minutes to be up so they can dither about their story. Thank you to the agents and editors who have to go through this for 2 solid days. You amaze me.