No Wasted Ink Newsletter & Ramblecast - January 2024
a newsletter and voiceover podcast by Poet Laureate Wendy Van Camp
Welcome to the monthly No Wasted Ink Newsletter and Ramblecast. My name is Wendy Van Camp and I’m the Poet Laureate for the City of Anaheim, California. This newsletter and ramblecast is not affiliated with the city and is my own personal newsletter. All views stated here are my own.
RAMBLE
Happy New Year!
As an artist and writer, most of the January venues I participate in close due to the cold and thus a short break is always in my schedule. It is that rare time when I pull out fuzzy sweaters and leggings and wander about my house in shearling slippers. I love the coolness of winter. Here in Southern California we spend most of the year fighting the heat. Winter is a delightful contrast.
My husband is always cooking fancy dishes in the kitchen and the scent of coffee and cookies dominates each morning. Evenings are a time of hot green tea, scented candles, and snuggling on the couch with my cat. I have a chance to watch movies I’ve missed, listen to concerts, and dig into my Kindle to-read pile.
This year I’m a little more busy in January. I’m acting as a poetry judge for one of my professional writing organizations. I have around 40 books to read and critique by a winter deadline. This is my second year judging with this group. I enjoy reading such a diverse collection of poetry from all over the United States. All the books are of professional quality and the voices within them quite unique.
January is a time of resolutions. Here are mine:
Continue to expand my Substack with new offerings for my paid subscribers. I have ideas for a new poetry podcast, and will continue to add to the collection of essays and poetry offered here.
Create a new workshop and presentation to take to conventions for 2024
publish a book of poetry
I don’t know if I will meet these goals for the new year, but I feel it is always good to write them down. It helps you to focus on the goal and keep your mind sharp.
yours in poetry,
Wendy
ESSAY
Plotting and Structure: Tools for Organizing a Compelling Narrative
As writers, we are the architects of narrative, the puppeteers pulling the strings of plot and structure. But how do we navigate this intricate dance of storytelling? How do we ensure our stories remain compelling and cohesive? I have a few tricks up my creative sleeve to share with you.
Let’s begin with the art of outlining. Picture yourself as an explorer, mapping the uncharted territory of your story. Before you embark, take a moment to craft a detailed outline of the journey. See the structure and progression of your narrative, and ensure that key plot points, character arcs, and themes develop. Think of it as a skeleton upon which you will flesh out your story's bones. With an outline in hand, you can maintain a clear direction and ensure that your story remains on track as you write.
While I have done my outlines with pen and ink for decades, I find using plotting programs can be effective. In recent years, I have shifted to using software. One of my favorite systems is Plottr. You can use it on your desktop, your tablet or phone and it works with iOS, Android, and Windows. Plottr offers many traditional and custom plot templates to help you break the blank page. When completed, the outline you create can import into one of my favorite writing programs, Scrivener. There is one caveat to this import. Always import into a fresh project because otherwise you risk your previous writing to be overwritten. None of us wants that.
My old system of plotting on paper was complex. It involved ARC notebooks sectioned off with a bullet point outline, character sheets, location descriptions, and important object descriptions. I brainstormed ideas in my mind and wrote the ideas as lists. Other people like to use index cards to notate their bullet points first for organization before putting their ideas down. The cards allow the writer to shuffle each point into new positions in the story. I suppose I simply did this in my mind and that is why my outlines started as lists.
The advantage of keeping a story journal on paper was the portability. I never had to worry about finding a public power outlet at coffeehouses since I wrote on an AlphaSmart digital typewriter and kept my notes in the journal. I also found the act of putting a check mark at each bulleted point to be satisfying. Call me a stationary nerd. These days I find using a tablet or e-ink reader works as well as my old notebooks and the content takes less time to create. Pick the method that works best for you.
Now, let's talk about the power of visual tools. Storyboarding and visual mapping techniques are the artistic cousins of outlining. Storyboarding entails creating a series of illustrated panels that represent key scenes or events. It helps you see the flow and sequence of the plot.
When I was in filmschool, we would sketch boxes on paper and write our scene notes below. Inside would be a handmade drawing of what we saw in our minds. Most of those sketches were rather poor. We were budding filmmakers, not artists! This was a long time ago. Thankfully, there are options today to make more attraction and comprehensive storyboards.
When I need a storyboard to help me see a scene better, I like to use a program called Canva. If you search for “storyboards” among the templates, it will show you dozens of examples to use for your writing project. Pick the template which appeals to you. Via Canva, you can import images, elements and more to populate your grids. You can even sketch your own images and upload them into your account. Storyboarding is available to those with a free account, although you will get a better selection of elements if you have Canva Pro.
On the other hand, visual mapping techniques such as mind maps provide an overview of different story elements, relationships, and subplots. They allow you to see your story's web of connections. By employing mind maps, you identify gaps or areas in need of further development and maintain coherence throughout your narrative.
I again, prefer to do mind-mapping on paper, but there are many programs available to help you with this. Scapple is the one that comes to mind first since I write my books in Scrivener. Scapple is made by the same company and it interfaces well with Scrivener. And I hate to sound like a broken record, but Canva makes beautiful mind maps too.
Finally, don’t forget your story's "heartbeat". Every book has its pivotal moments. Those turning points that propel the plot forward, reveal crucial information, and bring about significant changes for your characters. Identify these key story beats. Whether it's the inciting incident that sets your story in motion, the mirror moment at the midpoint, or the climactic action that brings resolution, these beats are the anchors that maintain momentum and keep readers engaged. By structuring your story around these beats, you ensure an impactful narrative.
Plotting and structure are the guiding stars that illuminate the path of your storytelling voyage. With outlining, storyboarding or visual mapping, and the identification of story beats, you equip yourself with the tools needed to navigate narrative construction. So, wield your pen with purpose and your imagination with clarity. Download your helpful software to ease your workload. Your story is about to unfold!
SCIFAIKU
"Dust Storm"
morning pop of hatch reveals rusty dust on solar cells fetch a broom
This scifaiku poem first published in "Far Horizons" a science fiction literary magazine. It is part of a sequence of poems about means of powering human life on Mars. Poem is by Wendy Van Camp.
UPCOMING APPEARANCES
January 4th - Anaheim Central Library Open-Mic 5:00pm (reader)
January 18th - Anaheim Euclid Library Open-Mic 6:00pm (reader)
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Indie Author Magazine - January 2024 Issue
Two of my essays have published in the January issue. “Ten Tips: Author Events on Discord” and “Hone Your Home Writing Setup with these Easy Ergonomic Techniques.” IAM is available as either a print magazine or as an ebook/pdf. You can purchase this issue that features author Skye Mackinnon at https://indieauthormagazine.com
PODCASTS
Con-Tinual Panel Room #175 - “Time Travel and Multiverses”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LxjOmSwot8&t
ANAHEIM POETRY REVIEW
Accepting poetry submissions from January 1 to March 31st.
Are you connected in some way to the city of Anaheim? Do you live there? Work there? Do you come to the monthly poetry Open-Mics in either the Central or Euclid library branches? Then you are part of our Anaheim poetry community. Poets of Anaheim, you are welcome to submit up to three poems for inclusion in Anaheim Poetry Review 2024. You poetry should be about your memories and experiences with the city.
Send your submissions via email to: anaheimpoetry@gmail.com
LINKS TO SOCIAL MEDIA
Portfolio - http://wendyvancamp.com
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/author/wendyvancamp
Medium - https://medium.com/@wvancamp
Twitter - https://twitter.com/wvancamp
Instagram - https://instagram.com/nowastedink
Mastodon - https://me.dm/@wvancamp
BOOKS
The Planets: a scifaiku poetry collection - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z8HMPF2
The Curate’s Brother: A Jane Austen Variation of Persuasion - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OU1V45A
ANTHOLOGIES
Eccentric Orbits: An Anthology of Science Fiction Poetry
Volumes 1 - 4
Editor
https://dimensionfold.com
Anaheim Poetry Review 2023
Editor
Free to Read: https://anaheimpoetry.com
Eye To The Telescope: Quests #46 - Fall 2022
Guest Editor
https://eyetothetelescope.com/archives/046issue.html
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Good luck with those resolutions. I believe you will accomplish all of them. I LOVE "Duststorm."
Good to see you here, Angela. Thank you about my poem. It is one of my personal favorites.