Discovering Story Magic's Turning Points
 July 5-20 July 
$30

INSTRUCTOR: Laura Baker and Robin Perini

CLASS DESCRIPTION: DISCOVERING STORY MAGIC II: The Class

When you are writing:

• Have you conquered sagging middles?
• Do conflicts escalate within a tightly interwoven plot?
• Do your subplots and secondary characters broaden the scope and deepen your story?
• Do all the elements of your story—plot, characters, conflict, and theme—express a dramatic purpose?
• Do you know the bedrock truth underlying your story and know how to wield this very powerful tool?
• Do you know how to use the elements of Discovering Story Magic to create a compelling pitch (and this is just in time for the conference season)?

Take another step in the MAGIC.  This is a brand new opportunity.  Laura Baker and Robin Perini are offering to take you past the beginning and into Discovering Story Magic II.  Bring a completed character grid and you'll get a chance to build YOUR story from YOUR great characters.  With a focus on turning points, subplots, secondary characters and theme, this is your chance to really apply the nuances of the Discovering Story Magic process to YOUR story.  Take advantage of Laura and Robin's ten years of experience in creating stories with the Discovering Story Magic technique to help you create the best story you can.

Discovering Story Magic II - Turning Points, July 5 through July 20, $30.00
You must have one completed character grid to take this class.

Included in the class:

• More information on Turning Points, Subplots, Secondary Characters and Theme
• Individual brainstorming on YOUR  story
• Learn as you observe Laura and Robin assisting others with their stories

This class also offers individual, focused, guidance and brainstorming on your stories, and the option of simply watching others as the magic of creating a story unfolds real-time.  These interactive, hands-on classes give you tools and skills to make your writing more powerful from the start.  You will learn:

• Using the Character Grid to create scenes
• Creating Turning Points that really work
• Organizing scenes on the Storyboard to control the pacing, and escalate the tension of your story.
• Harnessing the Dramatic Purpose of your story through the use of Premise – the “unity of opposites”
• Between the grid, the turning points, and the theme, creating a convincing, dramatic pitch just in time for the conference season.
• And, most importantly, how to take advantage of your Vision of the story you want and need to write.

DSM works for all genres of popular fiction and for all levels of writers: multi-published, newbies, “plotters,” and “pantsters.”  All have used DSM’s flexible tools to produce salable fiction by weaving together character, conflict, plot, realization, and turning points from the beginning of the writing process through revision and even the synopsis.

Endorsements of Story Magic

“I have no doubt that the story and character development techniques I learned through DISCOVERING STORY MAGIC took my writing from passable to publishable.  For the first time, I was able to see a clear process of storytelling that gave me a path without forcing the direction of my story and provided a structure without putting me in a box.  The day after I took the seminar, I used everything I’d learned to crystallize characters and map out a plot using a story premise that had previously been nothing but a cobweb of ideas.  Within a few days, I was able to start writing and within a few months, I’d finished the book that became my first sale, to Pocket Books.  One reviewer called that book “breathtaking…a novel from the soul.”  No…it was a novel from DISCOVERING STORY MAGIC! Since then, I’ve sold 14 books to two publishers, within three subgenres under two slightly different names.  I’ve completed ten manuscripts and every single one starts with Story Magic!”—Roxanne St. Claire, national bestselling author and 2005 RITA finalist

“The techniques and grids of DISCOVERING STORY MAGIC are revolutionary.  They can help every writer understand the arc and plot development of unforgettable characters.  In fact, the format grid has become an important part of my pre-writing.  Laura and Robin have tapped into ‘magic’ and created a concept that is a must in every writer’s tool kit.”—Cathy Maxwell, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.

“As a writer, I feel obligated to provide my readers with a minimum of two things: believable, interesting characters and a coherent plot.  STORY MAGIC, used correctly, is a no-fail system for achieving that—and more.  I recommend the system to any writer, new or established, attempting to make a sale in today’s highly competitive publishing environment.”—Jasmine Cresswell, USA Today bestselling author of more than sixty novels.

Accolades from previous online classes:
“I am so thrilled with your assessment.  Your reasoning [about a character flaw] made so much sense that scenes started flashing in my mind.  I couldn’t get to the computer fast enough.  You and Robin blow me away.  I humbly thank you for helping me to sort out the grids so I can make [the story] powerful and meaningful.”

“I now know what’s been missing from this story.  I finally “feel” the layers and the textures and the plot is no longer contrived. I’m so excited!  I’m digging in, writing my little brain out.”

“Your comments—your time and effort into really thinking about our stories—Wow!  From the pantster who sees the grid as more frightening than a blank page…I’ve learned a lot and am ready to move forward!”

“I have many [writing] books.  I could never quite get my arms around all the concepts, and I have drawer warmers of (failed) copy to prove that statement.  Laura and Robin—all of the hard work that you’ve put into this presentation is obvious in your dedication to responding to every stitch of messaging with such deliberation and attention to detail.  My heartfelt thanks goes out to you for your mentoring people and furthering their dreams.  I actually have an idea about what a successful (and success producing) process is all about.  A million thanks.”

To get more information just go to www.discoveringstorymagic.com

INSTRUCTOR BIOS:

• Laura Baker: Award-winning author Laura Baker writes romantic suspense novels set in the Southwest.  From the first release, Laura's books have garnered critical acclaim and awards, including the Aspen Gold and the Daphne du Maurier (and its precursor, the Kiss of Death).  The list of national award nominations include the National Reader's Choice, the RITA, and twice for Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Awards.  Her last three books were all selected as RT Top Picks. Laura's nonfiction articles on writing have been published in the Writer's Digest, the RWR, and newsletters across the country, and she presents fiction-writing classes at universities and conferences across the country.  Twice she has coordinated the annual conference for Novelists' Inc, a national organization of authors published in popular fiction.  One award she especially treasures is the RWA Service Award. Laura and her husband own an Indian arts gallery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and have been in the Indian business for thirty years.  Her decades of experience as an Indian trader are the source for many of the off-beat characters and Indian legends in her stories.

• Robin Perini: Published in short, non-fiction, Robin Perini is a sought-after speaker on writing topics and time management.  She is a four-time Finalist of the prestigious RWA Golden Heart Contest.  She is a founding member of the Land of Enchantment Romance Authors and was on the committee that wrote, edited, designed and produced the LERA Writer's Guide, an instructional book for writers, which was the only self-published book, named as a resource in Writer's Digest's Romance Writers Sourcebook. Robin writes contemporary and paranormal romance.  Her literary agent is Pattie Steele-Perkins.  She resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico and is currently a software systems developer specializing in internet architecture, but she also uses her skills as a graphic artist and web site designer in her own business, Web Magic & More.  In addition, Robin is pursuing an MBA at the University of New Mexico.