My Experience with the James Patterson MasterClass (Part II)
And we're back!
Thank you again to everyone who stops by the blog for your patience last week. Both of the pups are feeling much better and no longer have to get up in the middle of the night due to stomach troubles!
Last time, we talked about my general experience with the James Patterson writing course provided by MasterClass*. (In case you missed it, you can find that post here: My Experience with the James Patterson Masterclass (Part I).
Today, I'd like to dig a little deeper, highlighting the individual lessons provided in the class that benefited me the most as an aspiring writer. One of the great things about a course like this, is that everyone who participates can take away something different. It doesn't matter if you're already an established author with a slew of published novels, or a beginner looking to learn from someone with more experience, there's something valuable for everyone.
1) I'd have to say the top lessons for me were the two segments on Outlining. Yes, the dreaded OUTLINE!
For a very brief time, I honestly tried to be a pantser. (For those who don't know, a "pantser" is a writer who writes everything on the fly! By the seat of their pants! No road map in sight!...you get the idea.) I once believed that pantsing was the answer and that I could easily write everything as the ideas came to me.
And I was...wrong.
Sadly, I am not a pantser. There are actually many successful authors who use this method of writing (Stephen King being one of the most notable), however, I soon learned that pantsing was not for me.
Enter my foray into outlines. There are several schools of thought out there when it comes to outlining, (a separate discussion that we can spend an entire blog post on later!), and I'd tried a few of them prior to taking James Patterson's class.
Mr. Patterson is a well-known outliner, he swears by them. His lesson on this subject also highlighted the benefit of doing both a "bare bones" outline (Just the facts, ma'am.) followed by a more "chapter focused" outline to fill in the key details. Once both of these exercises are done, then the writing begins, piecing each component together and editing as the story evolves.
I really gravitated towards this method because, deep down, I am a planner at heart. Now, do I necessarily follow this exact method? No, not really. I've taken some elements from Patterson's outlining philosophy and meshed it with others that have worked for me in the past.
2) The other lesson that really stood out for me, was the one on Creating Characters.
For a long time I struggled with the fear that my characters would appear one-dimensional. That they wouldn't really jump out from the page and become people that readers could relate to, even if it was on a small level.
Character building, much like plotting, scene crafting, or building suspense, are all aspects of writing that have to be honed over time. Very few writers start out with the magical ability to create amazing, memorable characters. Generally, you have to go through a few shitty protagonists before you find the one that really speaks to you and to your readers.
One exercise that Patterson recommends, is to think about five of your favorite fictional characters. (The ones you love and the ones you love to hate!) Write them down, then define five character traits for each one. From this list, choose a few of your favorite traits these characters possess, and write out what it is about them that made you choose them, what drew you in when you first read about them.
Applying this same technique to some of your own characters can really flesh out more of their personalities. I personally had one character that I loved, and sincerely didn't want to put on the "back burner", but no matter what I did he kept coming across as flat on the page. (No pun intended.) By listing out some of my favorite characters from other novels that were similar to my character, I was able to really look at what was missing from my original depiction of him.
This may not work each and every time, but it can be a great tool for determining which characters have potential and which might need to be put aside for the time being.
Well, there you have it, this concludes my review of the James Patterson Masterclass. If anyone has any other questions that I didn't answer in either of the posts, please feel free to leave me a comment below!
**This blog post was written with permission from MasterClass. Any opinions stated about the James Patterson writing course and co-author competition are my own and not to be attributed to MasterClass or to Mr. Patterson.**
Thank you again to everyone who stops by the blog for your patience last week. Both of the pups are feeling much better and no longer have to get up in the middle of the night due to stomach troubles!
 |
| All better! |
Last time, we talked about my general experience with the James Patterson writing course provided by MasterClass*. (In case you missed it, you can find that post here: My Experience with the James Patterson Masterclass (Part I).
Today, I'd like to dig a little deeper, highlighting the individual lessons provided in the class that benefited me the most as an aspiring writer. One of the great things about a course like this, is that everyone who participates can take away something different. It doesn't matter if you're already an established author with a slew of published novels, or a beginner looking to learn from someone with more experience, there's something valuable for everyone.
1) I'd have to say the top lessons for me were the two segments on Outlining. Yes, the dreaded OUTLINE!
For a very brief time, I honestly tried to be a pantser. (For those who don't know, a "pantser" is a writer who writes everything on the fly! By the seat of their pants! No road map in sight!...you get the idea.) I once believed that pantsing was the answer and that I could easily write everything as the ideas came to me.
And I was...wrong.
Sadly, I am not a pantser. There are actually many successful authors who use this method of writing (Stephen King being one of the most notable), however, I soon learned that pantsing was not for me.
Enter my foray into outlines. There are several schools of thought out there when it comes to outlining, (a separate discussion that we can spend an entire blog post on later!), and I'd tried a few of them prior to taking James Patterson's class.
Mr. Patterson is a well-known outliner, he swears by them. His lesson on this subject also highlighted the benefit of doing both a "bare bones" outline (Just the facts, ma'am.) followed by a more "chapter focused" outline to fill in the key details. Once both of these exercises are done, then the writing begins, piecing each component together and editing as the story evolves.
I really gravitated towards this method because, deep down, I am a planner at heart. Now, do I necessarily follow this exact method? No, not really. I've taken some elements from Patterson's outlining philosophy and meshed it with others that have worked for me in the past.
 |
| Honestly my favorite picture of Stephen King! Here we see him with his faithful pup, Molly (aka: The Thing of Evil!). Photo courtesy of DailyMail.com |
2) The other lesson that really stood out for me, was the one on Creating Characters.
For a long time I struggled with the fear that my characters would appear one-dimensional. That they wouldn't really jump out from the page and become people that readers could relate to, even if it was on a small level.
Character building, much like plotting, scene crafting, or building suspense, are all aspects of writing that have to be honed over time. Very few writers start out with the magical ability to create amazing, memorable characters. Generally, you have to go through a few shitty protagonists before you find the one that really speaks to you and to your readers.
One exercise that Patterson recommends, is to think about five of your favorite fictional characters. (The ones you love and the ones you love to hate!) Write them down, then define five character traits for each one. From this list, choose a few of your favorite traits these characters possess, and write out what it is about them that made you choose them, what drew you in when you first read about them.
Applying this same technique to some of your own characters can really flesh out more of their personalities. I personally had one character that I loved, and sincerely didn't want to put on the "back burner", but no matter what I did he kept coming across as flat on the page. (No pun intended.) By listing out some of my favorite characters from other novels that were similar to my character, I was able to really look at what was missing from my original depiction of him.
This may not work each and every time, but it can be a great tool for determining which characters have potential and which might need to be put aside for the time being.
 |
| Speaking of characters you love to hate....grrr! |
Well, there you have it, this concludes my review of the James Patterson Masterclass. If anyone has any other questions that I didn't answer in either of the posts, please feel free to leave me a comment below!
**This blog post was written with permission from MasterClass. Any opinions stated about the James Patterson writing course and co-author competition are my own and not to be attributed to MasterClass or to Mr. Patterson.**
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