awards – Jean's Writing

A few days ago I talked about finding a misbelief for my protagonist, well seems that’s only part of the picture.

Guess I need to dig deeper.

dynamite-animal-1298947_640 — Image Source

Okay, now that I’ve figured out her misbelief, what other questions do I need to ask?

What is her deepest desire?
We’ve all heard to ask what does the protagonist want but take it a step further.
What does her misbelief have to do with her deepest desire?
Is my protagonist loveable?
Can the reader relate to her misbelief and her desire?

And before I can go any further, do I know how this story ends?

Will her desires be fulfilled or will she fail and plummet into despair?

Now that I’ve answered these questions, I’m ready to write to the middle.

I’m learning so much from Steven James in Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules, which won a won a Storytelling World Award. Unlike some bloggers who write “how to” books, Mr. James is an award-winning novelist of suspense including two Christy Awards for best suspense, The Suspense Zone’s Reviewers Choice award, Suspense Magazine‘s Book of the Year award. Mr. James also crosses genres, which gives me hope.

Hope you don’t get tired of me sharing on my blog as I learn. But I love, love this book!

What questions do you ask your protagonist?

Anything special that breathes life into your characters?

I’d love to hear from you! Click the “write me” tab or contact me on Twitter @jeancogdell,Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on, and I’m waiting.

Please remember to share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

Want to read a little bit of Story Trumps Structure? Then click on the link for a sample.

Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules by [James, Steven] — Image Souce

PS:

On a personal note, I’m getting closer to finishing my next children’s book. Just received six more images from illustrator. Fingers crossed!

jean_king-and-cape300 — A Reluctant Prince

Thank you for the honor. Scott mentioned that some bloggers do not accept awards. I am not one of them. I accept all awards, from the prestigious, to the silly and anything in-between. I love bling of any kind. Thank you Scott.

You might note that Scott suggested to send out 15 blogger awards, I am only sending out 7. Sorry but oh well. If as Scott mentions below you are not into this type of fun, please ignore. To the others enjoy. I do love reading your blogs and hope you continue writing your nuggets of wisdom.

I got nominated for the Dragon’s Loyalty Award. I was nominated by a fellow blogger and reader of this blog, Scott L Vannatter! Which according to him, the Dragon’s Loyalty Award is a combination of both The Versatile Blogger Award and The Very Inspiring Blog Award. Thanks Scott… check out his blog >HERE <.

Now with anything there are rules:

1. Display the Award on your site

2. Announce it with a post and link to whoever presented your award

3. Present 15 awards to deserving Bloggers. I follow a lot of bloggers who do not accept awards, plus, I try to get newer ones brought in, so the list will be shorter and if you are not on it and wanted to be, I am so sorry…hmm…since it’s short, perhaps you can drop me a note.

4. Drop them a comment to tip them off after you’ve linked them to the post

5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself.

The Bloggers I honor are:

Becoming French with a Texas Flair

Cow Pasture Chronicles

Lillie McFerrin Writes

The Other Side of the Story

About me:

I hate the cold and become a bit of a hermit during the winter.
I love reading scary books but don’t have as much time as I like to read them.
I’m a sweet aholic, Bluebell icecream is my weakness.
I’m crazy about my grandchildren and they have me wrapped around their little fingers.
I play the lotto, and dream of what I’d do with the winnings.
I’m the oldest of six kids.
I’ve dreamed of living in Hawaii.