Robert Pottle has taken the writing secrets he has learned as a children's author and organized them with his experience as an elementary school teacher to create an authentic framework for story writing.

 

 

  

When Robert first started designing his Matrix Writing he planned to use it to teach aspiring children's authors. As he began developing and refining it he realized not only was this framework useful to aspiring children's authors, but also to writers of all ages grade one and up!

 

 

Because it is an authentic framework for writing great stories. Robert Pottle's Matrix Writing looks at what the Elements, Structure, and Craft of great stories are. This framework applies to stories for all ages, from "The Three Little Pigs" to Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings." Understanding the basic nine square framework is within the grasp of all writers. At the same time, each square has expanding levels of depth that can explored as the writers' skills mature.

 

 

When teachers and writers first see Robert Pottle's Writing Matrix it seems obvious, but upon diving deeper into the structure they realize that the unique organization of the concepts leads to a greater understand of how the Elements, Structure, and Craft all interact to create a whole greater than the sum of it's parts.

 

 

 

The inspiration for Robert Pottle's Matrix Writing came from reading numerous interviews with children's authors and articles by children's authors. He was amazed to find how many of them sited one thing they had learned that was their eureka moment. Once these authors mastered this lesson their writing improved and it led to their eventually publication.

 

 

There are many great writing programs out there that teach the process of writing. The writing process is important to teach, but it is just one part of creating a great story. The problem of teaching only the writing process is that a student can master the process but still be creating lousy stories. A writer needs to master the writing process AND understand what the Elements, Structure, and Craft of great stories are in order to produce great stories.

 

Yes, we need to teach the writing process, but we should not lose sight of the fact that the process is a means to an end, that end being a great story. It is that story which should be assessed. Robert Pottle's Matrix Writing provides a framework that can be used to assess the product, not the process. While a writer can master the process and still create substandard writing, it would be difficult to follow this framework and not write an interesting story.