Pollcode

I voted for Pacing the Reader's Emotions; I'm not really sure how to do it at all. I normally end up either rushing to the climax of the story but then the reader isn't invested in the characters or the story or dragging it out and then they get bored.

It was a toss up between Reader's Emotions (which I voted for) and Pacing with Theme and Structure. I sometimes wonder if my stories are more interesting to me because of my emotional investment in them.

I have picked Mentors and Guides because in the story I am currently writing every time the Mentor and Hero share a scene the Hero seems to disappear into the background. My mentor seems far more interesting to read about.

Great stuff! And thank you for letting us have imput.

I'm not sure about the difference between the Conquer and the Master modules, so consider my vote for re-including a vote for one of the pacing modules.

Pacing and idea generation (or moving it to the next step) and linking characters to an idea are what I need the most practice at. Speaking of which I'd better go practice.

Thanks Holly!

Pete

My children are beginning to refer to my book as "Brian's Novel", like the dog on "Family Guy", because I have been reworking it for years and I keep rewriting the same book, but never feel satisfied with the results. I need big time help.

It seems weird to me that all the modules I seem to need are being dropped. Then again, I've already written four novels, so perhaps I've gotten past some of the early problems (getting your butt in the chair, finding an MC that you love, etc.) I wonder if maybe the majority of the people who took the poll are newbies to writing. That's not to say those problems aren't important or difficult, but I wonder if maybe these modules didn't get as many votes because fewer of us have been writing long enough to experience more "advanced" problems. (Like, if we were gymnasts, a lot of us would be struggling to keep our balance on the balance beam, but the more experienced gymnasts would be complaining that we can't figure out how to pull off a cartwheel on the balance beam. Both different 'levels' of problems, and both obstructing us from becoming better gymnasts. Or better writers.)

I could be way off on this, but Holly, would you consider maybe having two "levels" of this course, one with newer writers in mind and one for more experienced writers? I think the second course would be a lot shorter than the first, but I'd be really bummed to see some of these great course ideas get chucked out.

I voted for Sidekicks and Comedy. These are the hardest characters for me to come up with, but such a useful tool for the writer. To use the most obvious example, think how diminished Star Wars would have been without the quirky chatter of the robots. Sidekicks are great for changing the mood. And/or pace. I'm working on a historical novel that is going to be all sturm und drang if I don't come up with some good sidekicks. Again, would we love The Wizard of Oz as much as we do without the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, or the Cowardly Lion. I need some FUNNY in my story. Holly, please help! Please don't throw out this module:-(

I would welcome more on editing, too. Everything I read stresses the importance of this but I have a real problem confining myself to just editing. Can't resist changing parts of the story as I read through my manuscripts and never sure if I've really improved the tale or not.

I just chose Grammar, etc. because I'm not a born english-speaker and I need modules like that to build my english writing.