(C) 2000 BK REEVES/THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ROMANTIC LOVE
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THE CRUCIBLE OF LOVE

Our concept of love is centered in our minds. Our human sexuality constrains us to love, and this is the crux of the male/female equation: we want to love and be loved by a member of the opposite sex. When we refer to our “hearts” we really mean our entire mind and emotions. Beyond the animal level, there is no sex vs love; only sex and love. And this is the human ideal Continue reading →

(C)1999 BK REEVES/FICTION/BEGINNING WRITERS/ADVANCED WRITERS

BEGINNING WRITERS

Beginning writers are welcome in my class whatever the level. One of the joys in my life is discovering a writer who has long wanted to write, who commits and–at last!–produces copy. However, beginning students should be aware of the differences between themselves and advanced student-writers. Continue reading →

(C) 2000 BK Reeves/THE POWER OF MYTH/THE CODE OF STORY
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MYTHIC CHARACTERS/MYTHIC JOURNEY

For the Western reader, characters based on mythic models have the ring of psychological truth.

These characters are the internally determined “roles” or archetypes (Carl Jung). They are familiar because from childhood, we have encountered them again and again in ancient myths and fairytales. Most of us are aware of such character roles only on a subconscious level. As writers, we must study these roles and archetypes and be able to use them.

These stock characters, the hero, the mentor, the allies, the herald, the shadow (opponent/nemesis/villain) and attendant threshold guardians, plus the shapeshifter and trickster, satisfy our dramatic and psychological needs whether we are reading a story or telling one. Continue reading →

(C) 2001 LEARNING TO WRITE SCENES – BASIC FICTION/BASIC STORY
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SCENES

A story is a continuum of scenes. A continuum? Something that extends continuously. (OAD) A story flows like a river from beginning to resolution but may be structured non-chronologically.

A storyteller around a campfire held his audience captive from his first words: “Once upon a time . . . ” From that moment of capturing his listeners’ imaginations, his words created characters engaged in actions and deeds, sometimes dangerous, but always exciting. The images he induced created scenes in their minds. This was an art. The villagers couldn’t produce these scenes, these stories themselves. Then, as now, storytellers were unique and gifted people.

So, that was how this particular story started. “Once upon a time, a hungry hunter named Olaaf was walking through the jungle.” That was the INTRODUCTION. Continue reading →

(C) 2001 BK Reeves/BASIC FICTION
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A DELIBERATE PATH OF NARRATIVE

Remember that narration is one of the four kinds of discourse (which is communication). The other components of discourse are exposition, description and argument.
 Exposition “exposes” facts or explains
 Description gives your reader images
 Argument appeals to the reader’s reason or emotion
 Narration is an account–the telling–of all the action or events in a story.
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DECISIONS BY THE THOUSANDS Continue reading →

(C)2000 BK Reeves/EDITING/A Process
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EDITING

I suggest you write your first draft as if it were the final version of your manuscript. You realize you’ll have to rewrite, but pretend you won’t. Format your pages: double spaced, headers left top, page numbering right top, left justification only. In other words, turn right justification off. (This makes the spacing between words correct.) Whatever format you choose, be consistent. Don’t leave such details until later. In a novel of 100,000 words, such “catch-up” items will weigh you down.

AN INDIVIDUAL PROCESS

Many writers do not proofread their first draft. They turn their internal editor off, preferring to push on to the end. These are the authors who do not write from a complete synopsis. They start with characters, situation, goal, motivation and conflict (GMC), discovering the story as they write. Continue reading →

(C) 2000 BK Reeves/BASIC FICTION/Advanced
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FLASHBACKS

There are two general types of flashbacks, and the differences between them are subtle.

(1) This is a flashback with the protagonist thinking through some problem. H/she will be alone, usually, and fall into a type of reflection. That is, he will reflect upon what is or has been happening. These scenes will follow a path of quandary, summarization, decision and action.

A. The character will be in trouble, or something is troubling her. She is in a quandary, a state of perplexity. Continue reading →

(C) 2000 BK REEVES/NONFICTION: ESSAYS, ARTICLES & JOURNALS

Once in a while I write nonfiction. These handouts are personal essays designed to instruct and to impart my beliefs about fiction writing. They evolved from my classes on writing.

Sometimes I’ll be asked to write “a piece” for a newspaper, magazine or newsletter. I always do and have an outer motive. The publishers probably won’t pay me money, but they will put my name there as author and insert a little blurb at the end, stating who I am, when my next novel is coming out. Sometimes they send me copies. That’s always nice.

That takes care of my apparent reason. My hidden or inner motive (motivation) Continue reading →