On CPs and Plotting a story

Okay so I totally had a different blog post to do today, but last night I had one of the most amazing brainstorming sessions online with my CP who is a complete plotter.

You all remember the husband is out of time again right? so in addition to one cranky wrist, I am back to single motherdom and a child who has forgotten how to sleep in (I might have to retrain him). So here I am writing the odd 250 words on my NaNo project whenever I can, when I get this gem of an idea start to float about in my brain.
I let the idea stew a bit more, I tell myself then as per usual I would write it down in my lil idea book and continue with my loosely defined writing schedule. The first inkling I had that something was not normal was when my idea started to form in my head and the 1st person I could form was my main character - a girl and she kept on growing in my mind.
I told myself "no biggie" I just have to find her an amazing dude to compliment her, so I started thinking and I got nothing, that was when I panicked.
You see odd duck that I am, I always know my hero more than anyone else, my story always starts with him - if I had my way I would write hero's POV in the whole book, so when I could not find our hero and my heroine assured me her bi-curious stage ended long ago I knew we had big trouble.
So I turned to my CP last night and said hey when you've got a minute I need to brainstorm, I have a heroine but I can't find my Hero - she being the fuzzy scarfed saint that she is jumped on my back immediately and dragged me into Plottersville.
She asked me psychedelic questions like what are his goals, conflict and motivation and me being the prettiest bubble brain in town said Hunh?
so she asked me all about the heroine and made me know her even more, we killed her dad in the process to get her motivated and then moved on to her hero, we started with jobs, what kind of jobs will fit her goal? and even talked about Samuel Adams beer, eventually after some Richard Head jokes, he took shape in my head and he came alive.
In 3 hours I got 10 single spaced outline pages and the beginnings of a migraine yesterday (skating in plottersville was hard but fun) and we have only just scratched the surface, I love this journey and now am off to research body shots and tattoos.
Ever had a WIP change your style to suit its needs?

This is Lavasina, a beautiful Corsican town with clear waters

My Line up

Okay I have exciting news for y'all, this pantsing blogger has made some plans for the month of October, okay for the last two weeks and I am excited.
First of all I am going to start a series called "in the spotlight", but instead of it being a stage spotlight it will be more like the office desk lamp in the police interrogation room. I promise I'll be nice.
I have two confirmed authors for this month and am working on getting more, I am also open to suggestions and volunteers for my spotlight project so feel free to get in touch, am on twitter and my email address is right here by your right (joannastjames@gmail.com).
Finally TGIF don't forget the Beta party blogfest over at Erica's (see yesterdays post for more details) and Kathryn at The Nut press is having a Wales Blog Party lets all turn out for the bloggers in Cymru(that's welsh for Wales) she's got dragon cakes and a blogging squirrel who does not want to share his nuts.
Thanx to chatting with my CP I also know my blog post for monday - Becoming a Writer in Residence.
ha ha I love skating close to plottersville and planning ahead.
I shall leave you with this picture, its a follow up for my Formule un craving I took this picture in Monte Carlo and it showed up in one of my manuscripts. Check out the engine on this baby.

that is the Jack Sprat I married

Storyboard 105: Lets get quirky and emotional

Yay! thanx to being forgetful I don't have to do a Saturday post. This has been fun, lets do it again sometime soon.
Today I will be examining what draws my H&h together and what keeps them apart. Other things you could also examine on your own are the obstacles they need to overcome (internal conflicts), turning points and dark moments.
Apart from Lambert's insanely good looks, Ashley is drawn to Lambert because her subconscious  recognizes him as her savior and her challenge, the day they meet she is forced to think about all the memories she has cowardly buried in the recess of her mind. To be or not be with Lambert she has to choose between confronting her fears or being a wimp.
Lambert on the other hand is attracted to Ashley because he thinks she is beautiful, different and perfect for his lifestyle.

What keeps them apart? ha ha I love this, this is where I get to play creator the obstacles they face are entirely up to me and all they can do is try to get around it. : )
most of Ashley's fears are easily recognizable and its easy for everyone including Lambert to tell her to face it which she will eventually do, but Lambert on the other hand is so complex he makes an art out of burying his fears (good luck finding them Ashley!).
I love the fact that like most relationships they both struggle to adapt to make it work, its fun watching Lambert realize that Ashley is perfect for him but not perfect for his lifestyle and what he does to rectify the situation so they can get their HEA.
The End
Did u love life in plottersville? I had fun, I might try it again.

Day 1 in my temporal single mother status ended with a migraine and my 2 year old not sleeping till 11 bcos he kept on waiting for dada to come home. We all miss him. Anybody out there in Fiji?

StoryBoard: calling all Plotters and Pantsers alike

Are you a Pantser? ever wondered what its like on the plotter's side of the fence?

Well I am a by the seat of my pants(trousers) kind of girl and I for one would like to see what life is like on the other side of the fence, sometimes it just gets boring playing with my ideas and hoping to strike gold. For once I'd like to know where am going.
So here is my plan and I hope some of you will join me - am not trying to convert you to plotterism I am just curious to see what life is on the other side, lets make a storyboard together!
the good thing about this storyboard is that u can make one even if you have not started your manuscript or you are halfway through your manuscript. Apart from this being fun it could be helpful or a lifesaver.
So we shall start on Monday, that is ample time to prepare right? tomorrow I will just do a little post about storyboards for those of us who are so pantserish we dont know what a storyboard is.

I am curious though what advantages do you think pantser or plotters have over each other?

say hello to Jane Fonda's hands at Cannes