Carla Damron steps into the lab with Kristi and Beth for a brainstorming session. First, we play a warm-up game called The Book Imposter, challenging Carla to guess the real novel between a book about a retired detective on a missing-person case and another about addiction recovery.

Then we discuss getting into the minds of characters using point of view and the perks of writing multiple POV stories to unleash the chaos and humor of what’s going on in people’s minds at all times. Our story grows to include Gary, a robber with many redeeming qualities, Carl, the detective longing for a second chance, and Ivan, the criminal mastermind who’s about to pay the price for his many bad deeds.

Along the way, we touch on using humor to balance the weight of difficult subjects in our stories and the power of sensory details to create truly memorable scenes and lasting images in the minds of readers.

This is Plot Lab, where headlines become story sparks, and listeners get a first-hand glimpse of their favorite writers engaged in the creative process.

Meet Carla Damron

Carla Damron writes fiction on a mission. A social worker, advocate, and author, Damron has authored seven novels that put a human face on issues like drug abuse, mental illness, and human trafficking. She’s won multiple literary awards, including the Women’s Fiction Writers Association Star Award for Best Novel and the NIEA award for best suspense.

Damron holds an MSW from the University of South Carolina and an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte. She lives in Columbia, SC, with her husband and their unruly family of rescue animals.

More information can be found at carladamron.com.

Facebook, carladamronwrites

Threads, @carladamron

Twitter, @carlawritesfic

Books Mentioned

Carla Damron, The Orchid Tattoo, The Weird Girl

Attica Locke, Guide Me Home

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Plot Lab. From Spark to Story.