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Third video lesson Raw Ideas James Patterson’s MasterClass

 

03 raw ideas

Video 3 lesson 3 RAW IDEAS

These are just a few points that stood out. There is a class video along  with a workbook and comments section.

“The more you know about, the more likely you are to combine things into an idea that is striking.”~ James Patterson

  1. What I got from this lesson.
  2. Men see things differently than woman do.
  3. Make an idea notebook
  4. Ask yourself: Can I write a whole book about this? Will people care?
  5. Write for yourself, then
  6. Write for your reader.
  7. Keep learning new things

James Patterson is frequently asked, “Where do you come up with your stories?”

He will come up with a title or some little thing will catch his eye. He explains he has a big folder of ideas, and that he can write a story about anything.

Anything?

James Patterson tells us, that he can get an idea from something he might spot on the street.

Let me think about this one. Gum, or doggy-do? Hmmm, maybe a bit of trash can lead your readers to a mystery.   I can see this.

Jimmy weaved up to his apartment door. The sun would be rising in a few minutes. Dizzy and exhausted he dropped his keys just as the wind picked up, blowing an empty bag of chips across his bloody Rockport’s.   He scooped up his keys as the empty chip bag skipped across a patch of grass and lodged under his neighbor’s car. …Maybe the chip bag had the blood, not his shoes, even better. 

He goes on to say that you need to find an idea that ‘you’ find interesting. Patterson states, “I don’t write realism.”

One of his favorite books is Honeymoon. Which just so happens to be the book used as an example through this class. If you haven’t read it, you can get a copy by clicking that link/app over to left side page. I am reading this book, it flows quickly, I am hooked. * I plan on picking the book apart in a different post.

When you take this class. Listen and listen well. That Ah-ha moment you are looking for may not hit you right away.

“You hope the book you are writing is spectacular.”~ James Patterson

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James Patterson online class Writing on Friday

Second Lesson Passion & Habit James Patterson’s MasterClass Writing Friday

Friday’s writing . I am on lesson two in James Patterson’s MasterClass.

Video two: Passion & Habit

James Patterson starts with, “someone said, you’re lucky if you find something in life you love, and it’s a miracle if someone pays you to do it.”

Now I have heard other people say something similar, but for me, at this moment, James Patterson said it in his second video lesson.

This second video was filled with a positive, uplifting talk on his path to being a writer.

He spoke of his Vanderbilt professor, Walter Sullivan.

He tells us he stayed a week in a Trappist monastery trying to find himself {or was it the inner writer?}

Read. Read. Read! Practice! Practice! Practice!

James Patterson’s grandfather loved to sing on the way to work. His grandfather’s advice was, “…just remember when you go over the mountain to work in the morning you got to be singing.” Which, that advice, flows into ‘find something you love to do.’

Hmmm! My Grandpa’s advice was, you work until you die. Singing came with a beer, baseball and lobbing pigeon eggs at his neighbor.

James Patterson said, “Pick out what you think, you can handle and deal with…”

His first novel was turned down by thirty-one publishers. After five rejections he could have given up.

I can tell you what I learned from these video classes.

*Pick a time to write each day and write!*

This class may or may not click for you. It is possible that after listening to James Patterson’s video lessons, you will jump up and yell, Ah-ha! I got it! You will hug everyone and say, I now understand how to become a well know, well-read, rich author. Or not…

Feel like it. Get into that habit. That ritual. Make writing a joyful thing.

“Be driven by passion”

James Patterson still has the same passion he had when he started writing.

He tells us to force yourself to write whenever it is comfortable for you to write. Once it becomes a habit you won’t have to think about it.

His first book never got published. Mr. Patterson said, “that was yesterday today is today. He has been through rejection insecurities. He admits he has had a lot of rejections. He has the scars from those rejections.

Patterson said, “Keep that passion alive, it keeps you going through the hard times and makes you enjoy the good times”

Making a new habit is hard. Writing is hard. You have to open your imagination to create something new. Habits are easy when they come with immediate gratification.
For an example, cell phones; you get a new phone. Pretty buttons. Yeah, look at me with the shiny new toy. So you call, text, show it off. You feel good. So you keep using it. It feels even better than chocolate. You just developed a habit. A habit of using this phone and it started with ‘instant gratification.’

The million-dollar question is, how can I get into that habit of writing daily? A habit that comes without all the bells and whistles and a million likes. Do this; Elbows bent, hands held at shoulder level, palms up; add a slow silent shoulder shrug. That stupid grin is just for effect.

I have been trying to set a  habit of writing each morning. Ignoring the phone. Ignoring everything that calls out that isn’t writing.  Research has a tendency to pull me off track. I found that writing straight through, no editing , no wondering about details. Just writing.  I got to get rid of that delete button…

Write, write, write! Write without a pat on the back. Write without showing my stories to family and friends. Write to set the habit of writing at the same time, in the same place, every day.

Set up your habit. Do your happy dance with a song.  Pat yourself on the back. Then tell me about it?

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James Patterson online class

First Video of James Patterson’s MasterClass

James Patterson’s workbook, for his MasterClass, has the first four videos listed to be viewed in the first week. Today, I will just talk about the first video, out of the twenty-two. He does say to take this class at your own pace. *See link on top, left sidebar.*

You may be wondering why I would be blogging about this class.You may be asking. Copyright issues, aren’t they a problem? Well, they could be except in the first class I was told to:

TAKE IT FURTHER
▶ Get your friends to support your new project. Post your intentions on social media and update your status regularly over the course of the class. Identify a few interested friends who would be willing to provide feedback. We’d love to see your progress too! Share your status with us on Twitter and Facebook @MasterClass.

In this class, Mr. Patterson, has us follow along with his book Honeymoon. This way you can see how the book was imagined.

“Keep the passion alive.”

What do I expect from this class?
Well, what I want is a book contract. 🙄 And to have the talent to put together a story while lying on a beach getting burned to a crisp while having someone’s worrying over me with a fan, SPF100, a large hat, lots of water and…Come on! Realistically! I am standing at a tall table clicking away, wondering why my characters are crawling under the table and wasting away while there is a full fridge just steps away. I wonder, who is sneaking in from the hallway? Heh-heh!

“Love what you do”

In the first video, ‘Introduction’ you hear, “Hi, I am Steven King” James Patterson jumps right in telling you that first lines are important. In those four words, you see that this class “will be reverent and fun and a little jokey at times. And I know who writers like Steven King are.”

Are you good at investing time? Mr. Patterson is very efficient and lets you know he will talk about, “How to invest that time well, taking time wasting things out of the process.”

If you listen you will learn from his talks.

James Patterson tells me. “It is a daunting thing to start a book.”

In this class, he will talk about raw ideas, how to build a characters, how to create a scene, how to make a chapter work, outlines, marketing.

“Believe in yourself”

He will tell me how he writes, how he makes his writing work.
I downloaded the workbook with the Honeymoon outline.
He tells me, to get excited to write. Your first book, he says, may never get published. James Patterson’s first book was never published.

“Endure rejection”

Listen to his videos and read the workbooks, make comments, ask Mr. Patterson a question by making a video and posting it. Hmm. Now where did I put my Jane Jetson mask?

What did I get out of this first video? James Patterson’s voice. There is nothing like hearing an author talk. He is trying to tell his secrets as long as you can hear and absorb them. I can hear you saying, “What the does that mean?” {I kept the space for Hemingway}

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHDeMKOMA7E[/embedyt]

Have you watched a movie or read a book for the second time, then realized you missed so much in that first reading. Listening to someone trying to teach you something is like that. Your mind has to be open.

Is there something you want to know about this class, this video? Ask me!

‘Nuff said.

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James Patterson online class

Plans to Post every Friday about James Patterson’s MasterClass

James Patterson Teaches Writing. In Mr. Patterson’s MasterClass, there are 22 video lessons and exercises. I will be posting about each lesson, once a week, for twenty-two Fridays.

This is from the class page. ~

“James teaches you how to create characters, write dialogue, and keep readers turning the page.”

And this is from the class page:~ “100% EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

For the first time, James Patterson teaches you everything he has learned. Only available through MasterClass.”

We shall see…

I will write about the class, giving you my impressions, and some of my notes.

I had started this class last year and I was unable to finish due to a car accident. My brain was rattled. I was unable to comprehend what I was reading. Instead of giving up and not reading, I became angry and reread paragraphs. I used a blank piece of paper to cover the part of the page I wasn’t reading.

Then, I wrote… I wrote anything that came to mind. Mostly what I wrote didn’t make sense. Still I wrote.

The accident happened while my husband and I were sitting at a red light and discussing where we would stop for an early dinner. We had just left my doctor’s office. I have been seeing this doctor for years; he has treated me for two bouts of cancer. I see him every year; he monitors my blood and thyroid levels, ensuring all my numbers are in line.

The truck that hit us was in the right lane, the driver decided he wanted to get over to the far left, so he could turn on route 83. There were a few things he didn’t take into consideration. The van in front of him, the red light and the speed limit. And the rest of the cars on the road!

He slammed into a van, then pushed the van into the back of our car. The light changed just as all this was taking place. The cars in front and to the right moved forward. Metal screeching and tires squealing as we were thrown forward. Luckily my husband had left enough space between us and the car in front of us, so as we were hit, we were able to avoid engaging a fourth car in the accident.

Back to James Patterson’s MasterClass. Tomorrow I will post the first lesson. See you then…

If you want to work along with me…Click on the MasterClass widget located on the sidebar.