desires

Of Intimacy, Revelation and Redemption…

In my recent interview with Tabitha Vinson of Praise and Worship ICU (PWICU), we discussed human intimacy, an aspect that, for Tabitha, played heavily in my recent novel, The House.

That night, it struck me that as with The House, and all good works of fiction, intimacy plays an important role in not simply the emotional narrative of a story.

Intimacy heavily contributes to the establishment of the opening of a work of fiction.

Through presenting the protagonist in a series of intimate relationships, readers get to know the personality of the central character, flaws and all.

From this we gain entrance into their yearnings.

And yearnings always relate to desires and wants, ultimately inner conflicts that get ignited once the protagonist enters the quest to achieve her or his goal.

Of Intimacy, Revelation and Redemption… Read More »

Change, Challenge and Seasons of Growth…

I’ve been gone most of the summer, first to Brussels, then to Maui where vacation each year. 



As the opening of the new school year approaches I am amazed at how it seems that just yesterday I was bidding a enjoyable and safe travels to fellow parents and their daughters and sons who attend the same school as my children.

Now nearly 2 and half months later I have received the first in a line of requests from the service that provides lunches at the school our youngest child attends the choices of entrées our child desires.

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Of Queens, Personalities, Wishes and Desires…

In chess, the Queen stands to the right of the King. Her major job is that of protecting the King. The dilemma of preventing the King’s capture rests upon the Queen’s head.

As such the Queen’s movements are central to winning the game of chess.

Establishing the major dilemma or problem in a story is essential to crafting fiction. The central problem inherently creates desire. And desire begets a series of actions that through cause-and-effect propel the narrative line–the plot.

Plot-driven stories answer the “What if?” question thereby directly conveying plot. Character-driven stories answer the questions, “Who? and Why now?”

From the personality of the of the central character rises and internal dilemma that determines behavior and reveals through a set of circumstances, often usual and common place, but no less bothersome and terrifying, a shift in way of behaving and perceiving the world.

This change or transformation emerges through a series of reactions and actions, again cause-and-effect set into motion by the protagonist’s personality, not so much the series of action themselves.

In this way the character-driven plot resembles that of the Queen’s aim and motive throughout chess. Perhaps this is why chess has been said to be the game of monarchs and aristocrats. Read the rest of this entry…

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“The House”, Kindle, i-Pads and Nooks…

In the next 3 months my second book, a novel, The House will be available for purchase. I say the next 3 months because in the vein of remaining honest, I am not certain what exact date this latest edition of The House will be available for consumers to purchase.

I must remain true to establish integrity. Integrity means more to an entrepreneur than gold.

And in working to publish The House I have become an entrepreneur.

“The House”, Kindle, i-Pads and Nooks… Read More »

Of Intermediate Regions, Hunger and Thirst…

There stands an intermediate region in the life and structure of a novel, that place between crossing the border of the opening and beginning and entering into a series of actions that lead to the penultimate center of the journey.

It lies between the edge of that vast new world of survival that constitutes the protagonist’s path of growth and transformation, the steps she or he makes towards achieving their goal. It is a land filled obstacles of varied sorts, and the ultimate crisis that manifests profound change.

This area operates much like the night before that big game, the minutes ticking up to giving one’s debut concert. For writers this can function much like reading one’s novel for those last times wherein we institute final edits towards bringing the work to its brightest hue

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Of Dark Places, Irrevocable Decisions, and Transubstantiation…

The pull to reach the summit of action in a novel or story requires the writer to look within.

More than that we must reach down into those dark places where fears and hidden joys lurk.

It is here when connecting with our those aspects of life that frighten us we uncover the yearnings and desires that motivate and drive our protagonists and supporting cast.

Of Dark Places, Irrevocable Decisions, and Transubstantiation… Read More »

The Enemy at the Gates–Guardians of the Threshold

Guardians of the Threshold, which Christopher Vogler discusses in The Writer’s Journey, Mythic Structure for Writers, may present as enemies. Yet instead they seek to test the protagonist or central character of a story, to ensure that she or he has integrated the wisdom and information provided by the Mentor. The best protagonists earn success

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