We are a weird species. Like other species, we have a culture. But by comparison with other species, we are strangely unstable: human cultures self-transform, diverge, and multiply with bewildering speed. They vary, radically and rapidly, from time to time and place to place. And the way we live - our manners, morals, habits, experiences, relationships, technology, values - seems to be changing at an ever accelerating pace. The effects can be dislocating, baffling, sometimes terrifying. Why is this?
The post “Challenging change” – extract from A Foot in the River appeared first on OUPblog.
If I were not already a fan of A.R. Silverberry’s from Wyndano’s Cloak, I now would be after the exhilarating adventure of The Stream. Silverberry’s masterful storytelling technique will have you hooked from the onset. So much so for me, I was unable to concentrate on anything else until the end.
The courage and fortitude of Wend from childhood to manhood will melt your heart. Life lessons are learned along the way for those open to all the glory the universe has to offer and for those who choose to live in darkness their lives are bound for a different path. The Stream is a spell-bounding fantasy and imaginative world the reader will embrace from the first sentence and will not be able to let go off until long after the conclusion.
About A. R. Silverberry:
A. R. Silverberry writes fiction for adults and children. His novel, WYNDANO’S CLOAK, won multiple awards, including the Benjamin Franklin Award gold medal for Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction. He lives in California, where the majestic coastline, trees, and mountains inspire his writing. THE STREAM is his second novel.
EXTRA, EXTRA…not only is A.R. Silverberry an accomplished novelist he writes about pertinent topics. Tomorrow he visits Write What Inspires You! with his guest post… "COPPA for Authors." I promise, it's worth the revisit!
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Best wishes,Donna M. McDineMulti Award-winning Children's Author
Connect with Donna McDine on Google+
A Sandy Grave ~ January 2014 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ 2014 Purple Dragonfly 1st Place Picture Books 6+, Story Monster Approved, Beach Book Festival Honorable Mention 2014, Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewPowder Monkey ~ May 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Reader's Favorite Five Star ReviewHockey Agony ~ January 2013 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. ~ Reader's Farvorite Five Star ReviewThe Golden Pathway ~ August 2010 ~ Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.~ Literary Classics Silver Award and Seal of Approval, Readers Favorite 2012 International Book Awards Honorable Mention and Dan Poynter's Global e-Book Awards Finalist 
Meddlesome, murky, sagging are words often used to describe the Middle of an early draft of a novel, memoir, or screenplay.
One way to support the Middle is by providing an overarching tension -- Will she or won't she? When the reader is clear there is something significant at stake, like life or death, and will be revealed later in the story, the reader is willing to wait and first enjoy a bit of a romp in the exotic world of the middle of the Middle.
More than any other part of a writing a story, the Middle is fraught with antagonists, both for the protagonist and for the writer. Will she achieve her goal? Will you? Or, will the antagonists in the Middle prevail?
Make a list of the antagonists preventing the protagonist from her reaching her goal in the Middle -- both internal and external antagonists.
Make a list of the antagonists facing you in the Middle -- both internal and external antagonists with the potential to send you off track, to stall out, to stop writing.
See how the lists are similar and how they are different.
If you're unable to surmount the obstacles awaiting you on your pursuit of finishing your story, can your protagonist? The two journeys are intertwined. Like on a plane with the use of the oxygen mask, attend to yourself first before looking after your story.
Watch the words you tell yourself.
Stop thinking so much.
Get back into your body and write.
Release as much of the overarching tension in your personal story as you can while you systematically build up the story tension.
The stronger you are, the better your story.
