The Writer's Workshop Lecture Series

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The Scaffolding Method for Drafting Enduring Historical Fiction

With Lindsay Marie Morris

Lindsay Marie Morris wasn't always a "plotter," but when she secured a two-book contract with just six months to submit, she needed a system that balanced historical rigor with rapid drafting. The result was the Scaffolding Method, a framework designed to bridge the gaps in the factual record and bring the human experience to life.

Lindsay will show you how to build your narrative scaffold step-by-step using four core components:

  • The Standard: Constructing a timeline that prioritizes oral histories and primary archives to anchor your story in truth.
  • The Ledger: Using narrative economy and recurring objects to stabilize your plot through cause and effect.
  • The Platform: Staging pivotal scenes that layer in cultural and social context.
  • The Brace: Strengthening emotional architecture by tying personal stakes to historical risks.
Learn how to use these tools to perform a "stress test" on each draft, ensuring your story never sways or collapses, and discover how to balance the role of Archaeologist (uncovering truth) with that of the Builder (creating narrative drive).

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Free Talk: The Scaffolding Method for Drafting Enduring Historical Fiction

Lindsay Marie Morris is a novelist and journalist based in Los Angeles, bringing a dynamic storytelling voice to both her historical fiction and her nonfiction work. Inspired by her Sicilian-American roots, her debut novel, The Last Letter from Sicily (Storm Publishing, January 2025), traces a World War II-era story of love, resilience, and family secrets that spans continent sand generations. Her second novel, Beneath the Sicilian Stars(Storm Publishing, July 2025), returns to this pivotal moment in history,following a family divided between California and Sicily whose lives are forever changed by the war, forcing them to confront questions of loyalty, belonging, and sacrifice.