Storytelling, “People Don’t Care…

“People don’t care about an idea, but they might care about a person with an idea.”

A fictional author on the House of Cards tv show has given me this storytelling mantra.

I must hook readers with a character. They must care about him/her from the first page if not the first paragraph or even the first letter of the first word.

Blue-eyed Ishkur
His eyes are supposed to be light green and his ears pointed.

I

Hmm, too ambitious. How about this:

Ishkur dances for life as his audience stabs and grabs. A spontaneous performance answering an ambush that interrupted the half-elf’s revere.

I’ve written as a hobby for a long time, but now that I’m publishing refining my storytelling has become essential. I can’t get by with Nanowrimo stream of consciousness. This isn’t just therapy anymore; this is business, and I need to get better at it.

First professional attempt at storytelling.My first published book.

Destiny’s Hand hasn’t caught readers’ interest. It’s been hard to see it sit mostly unread, but I am thankful for the lesson.

Storytelling trumps setting, plot, characters, and even quality of writing. It is more important than anything else to get read. Continue reading Storytelling, “People Don’t Care…

Executive Director of Portlandia Greens

A clever climb and a tumbling fall

Yggdrasilstump
Yggdrasil’s Stump, remains of the tree of life.

I started a political adventure six years ago that’s gleaned me news coverage and a facebook group dedicated to hating me.

At my height I was executive director of the Portland chapter of the Green Party and organizing a local election debate on behalf of Occupy Portland and minor parties.

At my low I allowed a recruit to sabotage our chapter’s burgeoning relevancy and then slowly let my volunteerism fizzle to a flickering pilot’s light.

It was an awesome experience that my wife never wants me to repeat. She saw me working hard without pay, often for people who didn’t respect the effort.

Now I’m being told:

(He) isn’t invited (to meetings) specifically since we pushed him out years ago for blocking action to revoke approval of some Democrats who ran against Whitten when we reconsidered the multi-endorsement strategy.

I’ve held my breath for a long time, but now I’m blowing the house of cards down. Continue reading Executive Director of Portlandia Greens