Enter to #Win cool literary toys from MamaKopp!

The Holiday Season is fast approaching, and if you're anything like me, you've got a lot of people to buy for and not a whole lot of ideas about what to get.

I'm a big fan of giving gifts made by Indies of all kinds - whether they be authors, potters, cooks, or crafters. Supporting folks who are working for themselves gives me a double dose of Holiday Spirit!

So, I thought I'd shamelessly plug one of my favorite artisans and then give away a fun Harry Potter toy set appropriate for children or decorating your writing space, which is totes what I would do with it. ;)

My friend Lorilee makes Waldorf-inspired toys and has a popular store on Etsy. Check out some of  her awesome work!

This is the Harry Potter set that is up for grabs:

The giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only. (Sorry!)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stacey Wallace Benefiel is the author of the Zellie Wells trilogy, the Day of Sacrifice Omnibus, Found, Crossing, the upcoming Frayed, The Toilet Business - a collection of humorous essays, and multiple short stories. She sometimes goes by S.W. Benefiel or Reina Stowe, but knows she's not foolin' anybody. Stacey lives in an orange house in Beaverton, OR with her two kids who have old people names. When she's not writing, thinking about writing, or driving the kids around, Stacey is at CrossFit, lifting heavy things and cursing the inventor of the Burpee.

Time for a Vacation...

Everyone needs a break once in a while, right?

Right now, I'm getting mine. As you read this, I'm probably on the road - somewhere between Atlanta and Orlando. Yes, my family is embarking on The Great Road Trip of 2012!

We're off to Orlando (where the extended forecast tells me it's supposed to rain while we're there - grumph). Not to see the Mouse, but to see Harry Potter! My kids are almost 10 and almost 6 (their birthdays are mid-month) and both are dying to see Hogwarts. Me too!!!

Megg, 1979

The last time I was at Disney World, I was four. That was (let me get out my calculator - hang on a sec...) 32 years ago. I remember very little. There's bits and pieces of It's a Small World (which my mom says was the only time I stopped talking during the trip) and a teeny bit of the parade. I don't remember the parade specifically. I remember dancing in the street before it started. I guess I was cute because people were clapping for me. All I recall is the massive sunburn I had and that I was hot...and impatient, which is why I was dancing. I'm not very good at sitting still.

I know, you're reading this and you're wondering... What does this have to do with books or publishing or reading? Um, yeah, sorry, it doesn't have anything to do with any of those.

I'm on vacation so I wanted to give you one too. No deep thoughts. Just a reminder that sometimes it doesn't hurt to take a break from real life. All of us need a vacation, whether it's an afternoon off of work, holing up at the ice cream shoppe, or a weekend in Vegas. Break out of the routine once in a while. It's good for ya!

Okay, I have to prep now for wand selection at Ollivander's. When I was sorted on Pottermore, I ended up in Slytherin. I'm a little afraid of which wand will choose me... ;)

-Megg

STRUCTURE Is For the (Thunder)Birds

Writing is so much fun! It's also a process. Dan Wells, author of I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER... kidding. He's the author of the I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER series, and his latest, PARTIALS, taught an amazing class on story structure.

When writing, painting, or even packing boxes to move from one house to another, structure helps you know how to start, the path to follow, and where to end.


Here's the basics to the seven point system:

Hook

Plot Turn 1 - Call to adventure

Pinch 1 - Apply Pressure

Midpoint

Pinch 2 - Apply even more Pressure

Plot Turn 2 - Resolve to do something - The power is in you (your MC)

Resolution

Here's the system put into action with HARRY POTTER. 

Hook - sad little Harry under the stairs

Plot Turn 1 - finds out he's a wizard

Pinch - the scary Troll he and his friends battle

Midpoint - Harry sees the scary guy (I think it's voldemort) sucking on the Unicorn blood and he resolves to do something to get the bad guy

Pinch 2 - they go down the hole and his friends all get taken out by the traps (big chess for Hermoine and Ron- remember)

Plot Turn 2 - Harry is alone and he has the stone in his pocket. He realizes that the power is in him because he's pure and his mother's love is what saved him and allowed him to live so he knows that's how he'll destroy (for a bit) Voldemort.

Resolution - Harry succeeds.

So freakin cool!!! If you're interested in watching the series for yourself, here's the YOUTUBE link for the first one.

How do you write? Structure aka Plotter or Panster?