Kathryn Comstock

@hope That’s a great point that hasn’t been brought up yet! Those sorts of instructive moments can definitely change someone. They’re a bit trickier to use in novel form since it’s really easy for that to become a preaching moment, but I think it can be done when you do it in a way that’s true to the instructor’s character. I think I discuss that…[Read more]

@hope That seems like a good character arc–I like it! I’m not completely sure, though, on what distinguishes the beginning experiment from the transitory experiment. Is it just how she applies the experiment, or are the experiments themselves different?

@anna-brie Creating Character Arcs is my favorite book she’s written so far on writing. I have both books in paperback and find myself referring to them quite frequently, so that would probably be a good investment to make.

@anna-brie Ah; I get what you’re going at then. I agree that respecting authority seems to tie everything together.

@dragon-snapper Hmm… Yes, I think you’ll want to make a couple adjustments to that. One thing about a focusing question is that I think it should be a bit broader than you currently have it. The issue with the answers you have is…[Read more]

@audrey-caylin I think that would be a good way of doing it. In that case, it would probably more be the first step she’d be taking, and one you would develop more in the sequel.

I would say the novel as a whole would still be a positive character arc even if half of it is a negative arc. If you think about it, you can really divide a novel into…[Read more]

@anna-brie Those look like a good set of focusing questions and answers. And I agree that it sounds like you really have two different (but related) focusing questions there. I think my favorite wrong answer for the first focusing question is #2 since sympathetic but wrong answers have the potential to create really complex and powerful themes.…[Read more]

@anna-brie Glad to hear that this video helped you distinguish your theme from your message! And yes, Weiland’s advice on character arcs is great for uniting plot and character. She has some of the best resources out there for that topic.

@anna-brie Haven’t read the book myself (tho I think one of Jaye’s books is sitting on my Kindle somewhere…), but that seems like a pretty good breakdown. Some themes are definitely hard to describe in one or two words. It could be that you actually have two separate themes that are being woven together as well in the book (we’re not covering…[Read more]

@anna-brie Great goal! I think most writers generally try to include theme in some form in their story, but intentionally studying theme is one of the big things that separates the beginners from the greats.

It’s probably what sold me the most on the Enneagram system since I know I tend to act fairly differently depending on my mood.

@kate-flournoy @daeus @graciegirl One other thing to add to this discussion on Enneagram theory is that one of the coolest parts of the system (at least for me) is the theory that when you are stressed or relaxed, you actually act like a different character type (hence the connecting lines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enneagram_of_Personality).…[Read more]

@daeus It’s essentially saying that while you’re predominantly one character type, you also share a lot of qualities in common with another character type adjacent to your character type in the Enneagram circle. That alternate type will then be your ‘wing.’

@graciegirl Welcome to the forum! Glad you’ve found us. 🙂 I actually just read Scandal in Bohemia for the first time last week for a college class and enjoyed it a good bit. Also, shout-out for breaking the MBTI-monopoly by including your Enneagram. 😉 I’m actually a 4w5 as well!

@graciegirl Welcome to the forum! Glad you’ve found us. 🙂 I actually just read Scandal in Bohemia for the first time last week for a college class and enjoyed it a good bit. Also, shout-out for breaking the MBTI-monopoly by including your Enneagram as well. 😉 I’m actually a 4w5 as well!

@gideon-sowdon Good question! That’s actually something that we haven’t finished yet. The worksheet, though, will essentially just be the list of questions I ask at the beginning of this thread put in a more elegant format, so I recommend you just use those questions on page one of this thread to guide you through this exercise. 🙂

@gideon-sowdon Glad to hear it! Looking forward to seeing what you submit for the homework. 🙂

@audrey-caylin That looks like a fantastic outline. Makes me want to read your book! I love how naturally those experiments flow into each other, and at least on paper, the plotting seems perfect!

The one thing you’ll want to watch out for is the fact that the story seems to be more leading from one experiment directly to the next one without a…[Read more]