Debra here today to introduce to our readers one of our newest blog contributors, Patti Shene. Patti is currently on hiatus from writing while helping her husband face a serious medical condition. Once in a while, she still manages to get a few words out of her head and onto the computer screen. Patti enjoyed a thirty year career as an RN in the psychiatric nursing field. Although fascinated with all the modern technology used to improve her husband’s condition, she has retired from her medical career. Her passion now is to influence people in some positive manner with the power of words. She is published in two anthologies, Love is a Verb Devotional (http://ow.ly/q6ad5), and Angels, Miracles, and Heavenly Encounters: Real Life Stories of Supernatural Events (http://ow.ly/q6axN), as well as some local publications. As a former editor with Written World Communications, she dreams of having her own editing service some day. Find Patti at www.pattishene.com.
Patti, tell us a little bit about yourself:
I hail from Long Island in New York, but have made my home in colorful Colorado for almost forty years. I graduated from Central Islip State Hospital School of Nursing with my RN in 1972. Yep, do the math and you'll see I've reached the big 6-0! I took my first job at a Veterans Administration hospital in the Hudson River Valley, but transferred to a VA Hospital in Colorado in the summer of 1973. I have been married to husband Manuel (lifelong nickname: Speedy) for 36 years. We have one daughter and one son. Our kids always thought it was so romantic that I had to move halfway across the country to find their dad!
Patti, tell us about the book you are reviewing for us today:
The Story Template: Conquer Writer’s Block Using the Universal Structure of Story by Amy Deardon is a must read for any writer who struggles with the next paragraph, sentence, or word in their literary creation.
Amy takes her reader on a journey that begins with
preliminary ideas for the type of story you wish to write and ends with
techniques for polishing the completed first draft until it is ready for
publication. She then takes her reader a step further by giving an overview of
the process involved in submitting a manuscript and an explanation of the
different types of publishing available to the writer.
The Story Template demonstrates through examples
from well-known books and screenplays many aspects of crafting a great story,
from the general premise of building a story world and developing a plot to
creating an individual scene and employing various storytelling techniques.
Each chapter is packed with exercises that engage
the reader and challenge the writer’s imagination. The exercises build upon each
other in much the same manner that any project requires basic structure
elements followed by more detailed embellishment and fleshing out to create a
superb finished product.
Added bonuses include a comprehensive glossary of
terms commonly used in the writing and publishing world, a collection of famous
opening lines, two sample synopses from well-known published works, and a list
of writing books and self-publishing resources.
Amy is the author of the novel A Lever Long Enough, a story about a small military team that
travels back in time to film the theft of Jesus’ body from the tomb. Included
in The Story Template is a sample
passage from her novel before and after editing with an explanation as to why
changes were made.
I highly recommend The Story Template to any writer who seeks a blueprint for crafting
a successful novel.
Thank you, Patti for your review. The book sounds fantastic! For more information about Patti Shene, please check out these links:
