Welcome to The VERB!

Kids are back in school everywhere and this ol' girl, I'm happy to say, is not. I don't know about you, but whenever I conjure images of my old classrooms, I mostly see concrete walls, painted mint green, with fluorescent lighting and underpaid teachers who were probably dreaming of some romantic getaway.

So when we decided to create a classroom here at The VERB, I had to first exorcise that horrid image from my mind—who'd want to go there?—and visualize a place that stimulated my creativity. I now ask you to do the same. What is your perfect writing spot? The beach? The forest? A cozy coffee shop? A park bench? Wherever you feel the most writerly, I want you to go there because that's where you'll find The VERB's Story Room.

A while back, I wrote about my Top Twelve Storytelling Questions that every writer ought to ask before he or she contacts another literary agency. If these questions can’t be answered in, say, five seconds, the story has problems. I received a great deal of feedback from the article, and the responses fell into three categories:

1) Yes, I can answer these in five seconds.
2) I don't know what you're talking about.
3) I think so, but I'm not sure.

Well, here's a way to be sure: enroll in our brand new class, Know Thy Story!

Based on those twelve questions, this class focuses on the essential elements that appear in all great stories. But unlike our standard in-depth Opinions, which require months to perform, this class allows you the opportunity to receive snippets of Opinion at a much faster pace.

I won't read your entire manuscript. But I will send you questions about your story. You'll send me answers. I'll evaluate those answers, from a reader's point of view, and provide feedback. The speed with which we move through the class rests entirely in your hands.

By the end of the course, after you've answered all twelve questions, you'll not only recognize the structure of great storytelling, you'll know how to incorporate it into your story. These questions will force you to stop—right here, right now—and take a closer look at your overall project. Long before you've spent hours and hours rewriting scenes that you eventually realize don't even belong in the book.

If you've completed a story, come on over to the Story Room and look around. If you have questions, I'm here. Eating a cookie.

Chicago Update: We took Son back to the Windy City, and left him there. (Sniff, sniff.) His dorm is on the 22nd floor of the historic Buckingham Building, and 8 blocks from his school. A nice breezy walk when winter comes calling. The school provided huge cardboard boxes, with wheels attached, to make the move up much easier. We had fifteen minutes to empty out all his belongings, say goodbye and get the heck out of the $16-an-hour parking lot. But we, like most parents, took longer than that, and the good guys manning the booth simply waved us on. No charge. Maybe they saw us blubbering. Son shares his home with three other guys and this is the view outside their living room windows. 

And now, without further ado... let's turn the page.

Elizabeth Guy
Editor
 

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This issue 
was published 
under the musical 
influence of...

Hans Zimmer &
James Newton Howard

BATMAN BEGINS