Parts of Shepherdstown where I live

This guy lives

This guy lives in the apple tree outside our family room

...but I'm not comfortable around that bear thing, he's creepy

Coolest thing I saw today

Second coolest thing I saw today, just walked in front of my camera

I love living in West Virginia

I could drive around West Virginia all day long and find things about it I love. I mean look at this; a plastic palm -cement light house beach theme on the front lawn. A train car. You should have a train car on your front lawn and of course, if you have room, bus. I love this place because these people, nice as they are, just don't a flying damn what the world thinks about them. The pursuit of happiness is alive and well in West Virginia. (To be fair, these homes are the exception to the rule. Most folks here have well kept, predictable lawns)

writers hint

 “The light house moment” a term meaning that a character in a story discovers what it is that he or she wants and declares “I’m going there!”   

Writers hint

The character has a moment of recognition; he knows what he has to do

Writers hint

In a romance quest we find what is valuable

The romantic hero always has a connection to nature

Writers hint

Agony (Agron) the struggle that shows what is valuable 

writers hint

Ask yourself, is there a call to adventure? 

Writers hint

For a story to be successful good values must be incorporated into it, nobody cares about a person with out good values

Writers hint

The romantic quest, all romantic heroes have a call, a quest

Writers hint

Is nature your characters restorative force?

Writers hint

Reveal character in what they say, what other say about them, what they do

How was the character shaped by history?

By politics, by religion or by the influences around them

Glasses hair style dress

 Any objects that are important to them

How would they behave someplace else?

What would be their favorite photograph of themselves?

Do your characters day dream?

How does their talk reveal their class?

What are their wishes for themselves?

What secrets do they have?

Do they have any major disappointments, failures or regrets?

What do they want and what’s at stake? What’s at stake should be heart breaking

What set their journey in motion?

What are the things they love to do in a moment of joy?

Do they have any goals?

What kind of cause does the character care about?

What would crush them?

What would kill them?

What would be completely out of character for them?

What is their time and place?

Where would they fit in time?

 Do they have any conflicting desire?

Do they have any inconsistencies in character?

Is there any transformation of change in their character?

Is there a moment of grace?

Is there a moment of deeper understanding?

Writers hint

Freytag das erregende moment:  “The inciting incident” What is your stories inciting incident

Writers hint

The Lost child motif and the found child motif

writers hint

Locate the ache in each character, the deep longing, the currant longing

Writers Hint

Ask yourself, what is the obstacle in the character's way?

Writers hint

Our character has to have a powerful objective (Outer, or visible) objective

Writers hint

pathemata mathemata (Greek): the character learns by suffering. 

Writers hint

Tragedy has a winter landscape in which nothing can grow, anti-fertility

Comedy is fertility