FICTION WRITER TO HOLD DEXTER WORKSHOP

DEXTER -- How do I write this story?

That's what many local authors are hoping to have answered Saturday when they attend Connie Bennett's "Novel Idea" workshop at the Housing Authority community room in Dexter.

Bennett, who has been a published writer of fiction since 1983, said her eyes were opened about a year ago when she was introduced to a 12-step system for structuring a plot.

"Light bulbs went off," she said. "It's a very basic plotting structure that goes all the way back to the time when the earliest man started sitting around the campfire telling stories."

Based on the 1992 book, "A Hero's Journey," by Christopher Vogler, Bennett's workshop will explore the 12 steps a plot takes in unfolding. Beginning with introduction of the main character -- the hero -- in their normal environment, leading to "a call to adventure" that progresses to a "refusal of the call," and so on to the conclusion of the story.

"There is a pattern: If you look back to the old Greek and Roman myths and back at any civilization's stories, there is a pattern to them," Bennett said. "And now it's just something that's built into the human mind; it's something that reaches us on the deepest level."

Bennett said she always has been an instinctive writer but when she read Vogler's book she found herself identifying with the stages she had progressed through without thinking about it. Now if she gets stuck in the process of developing her plot she consults her 12 steps to find where the problem lies.

"I had several books that I wish I had known this much sooner than I learned it," she said. "If I'm having difficulty, I look back and say, 'What should I have done instead? What should I be doing? What mistake have I made? When did I zig instead of zag?'

"Nine times out of 10 I messed up one of the stages of the journey."

Bennett said there are variations in the steps, but basically almost all fiction follows these guidelines. She said her workshop isn't limited to just plot development and "A Hero's Journey" also delves into character development -- called the seven basic archetypes of characters.

Bennett, who is a member of the Heartland Writers Guild and a part-time teacher of English, drama and speech, decided to have a seminar on the 12 steps after she was asked to give a 45-minute speech on the subject at the Heartland Writers Conference in August.

"I was putting my speech together and I said, 'I could type all day and not cover this adequately. How am I going to cover this in 45 minutes?'" she said. "Most of the day will be spent just exploring the 12 steps."

Interest in the seminar has been high, Bennett said, but signups have been fewer than she would have liked. She said she unknowingly picked a busy time of year. Even with the low, advance registration, Bennett said she might consider doing another seminar.

"Most writers fail to finish a book because they have a concept they don't have a plot," she said. "To write popular fiction, you need a clearly defined hero with a strong conflict and a clear finish line. A finish line is saving the world from an alien invasion, a cop catching the serial killer. But a cop doing his job is not a finish line."

Bennett said she has a detailed synopsis in mind while preparing a book, but rarely stays entirely to that synopsis. She said that is normal for her and does nothing to interfere with her writing. But by following the steps to plot development, the basis of her seminar, she's able to keep her characters pointed toward the ultimate conclusion of her story, and she hopes to point some area writers in the same direction.

"I don't think I've ever stuck to a synopsis," she said. "Your characters develop and, as you're writing, things happen. Your characters may take a different road to get to point B. Your overall plotting synopsis is, what are those major stages -- the 12 steps -- to getting across the finish line?"