The Writers Page

Anna Michelle Page

"Follow the yellow brick road."

               The Wizard of Oz screenplay by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf; book by L. Frank Baum

    Writing - an effective teacher. Writing, though elementary, is one of the most complicated aspects of being an author.

    Despite its simplicity, many writers search for the ‘holy grail’ of story, a formula they can adhere to time over again, a yellow brick road of calculated success to the completed work. 

    Even the yellow brick road wasn’t easy to find. If you recall, Dorothy passed through a tornado and the Wicked Witch of the East threatened her. The brick road became the greatest challenge as her companions fell back in fear, but Dorothy maintained a forward approach. 

    The yellow brick road to writing with a road map to success.

1. The Writer's Compass by Nancy Ellen Dodd
• A basic 3-act structure (beginning, middle, end)
• Or, the 6-scene Structure Model (crisis, solution, creates bigger problem, solution, creates even bigger problem, resolution)
2. Plot Perfect by Paula Muneir
• A Plot Perfect Checklist
• Write to satisfy the reader by meeting their expectations (know the plot conventions for each genre - character archetypes, key events, and settings)
1. The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious by Carl G. Jung
• The persona, the shadow, the anima or animus and the self (This is is a psychology book)
3. The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler
• A road map to create a hero - The Hero's Journey
1. The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell (the foundation book of the mythical hero)
4. Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark
• The nuts and bolts of writing
5. The Little Red Writing Book by Brandon Royal
1. Powerful principals of structure, style, and readability

Like Dorothy, don't quit. Write on the yellow brick road to the end.

Turn the page,

Anna Michelle

For more advice on writing, read Savannah Gilbo's Blog: Conventions vs Tropes: What's the Difference? 

https://www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/tropes#:~:text=%5B01%3A28%5D%20Genre%20conventions,a%20story%20in%20that%20genre.&text=They%20are%20subjective%20interpretations%20of%20a%20genre%20convention.

Send your work to: ampage18@gmail.com and risk revealing your story, poem or article on the Page.  After a painless critique, learn basic tools for improvement.  Right here.  On the Page.