The Story Makers Book Club is held on the third Tuesday of every month. This book club is a challenge book club with a monthly reading challenge. Each category focuses on an aspect of writing to inspire creativity and critical thinking.
The group will look at why and how books are effective, or how they are not. This club does not include instruction, only thoughtful discussion with other writers and book lovers.
January: Nonfiction book on writing, creativity or procrastination to kickstart your writing
February: Attend an author discussion or book signing
March: An author’s first book and their twentieth book (or beyond) to illustrate how the author’s writing style develops and progresses over time
April: Book with a plot you can use as a model to plot your own novel, or a nonfiction book on plot development
May: Independently published book in your genre
June: Traditionally published book in your genre
July: A book in your genre that went viral
August: A book with a special edition or limited edition
September: A book with an interesting narrative structure or elements
October: A holiday book in your genres
November: Book you would use as a comp to your own work
December: What book most influenced your writing this year?
WIP: work in progress
Independent Publishing: when an author publishes their work on their own, taking on the expense of editing, design, printing, and advertising; often referred to as self-publishing
Traditional Publishing: when an author is represented by a major publisher that takes on the expense of polishing and producing their books and often the majority of advertising costs
Window: a book that presents characters or ways of life that are outside of the reader's lived experiences
Mirror: a book that presents characters or ways of life that are comparable to the reader's lived experiences
Sliding Glass Door: a book that invites the reader to experience ways of life that are outside of the reader's lived experiences
Genre: category of book (e.g. mystery, romance, nonfiction, etc.)
Trope: any type of literary device, figure of speech, theme, character type, etc. found across many works (e.g. the evil stepmother is a fairy tale trope)
Comp: comparable work (e.g. Percy Jackson is a comp to Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice is a comp to Jane Eyre)
POV: point of view (e.g. first person, third person close, third person omniscient, second person)
Novella: a work between 17,500 and 40,000 words
Short Story: a work less than 7,500 words