Dear Unfocused Writer

The lovely Diedre mentioned in my Dear Lazy Writer post that her problem is maintaining focus. She requested that I write a post about that. Well, Diedre, ask and you shall receive!

Dear Unfocused Writer,

Keeping focus can be difficult with all of our distractions, daily life, and procrastination. I’ve done a couple of posts about these like: Dear Distracted Writer and Dear Writer Not Writing. Not being able to stay focused can be due in part to not being organized or just not buckling down.

Here are my tips to maintain focus:

1. Create a To-Do List.

Not just a list of big goals or jobs but small, attainable tasks and list them in order of priority, so the most important task is at the top. Keep this list at your desk and look at it every morning. After you complete one task, cross it off and move to the next. But give yourself short breaks every now and then to give yourself a boost.

2. Stay Organized

Keep your desk clean, your papers filed in their proper place where you can easily find them, and your email orderly. I have folders in my email for different correspondences I need to keep. Such as: Editing Clients, Beta Readers, Blog Tour, etc.

3. Use a Calendar

I have a calendar on my desk that I use to keep track of blog posts, guests, and other daily tasks I need to remember. This helps me to focus on what is important for that day. Then I move on to my to-do list.

4. Don’t Procrastinate!

If you don’t do it now, you won’t do it later because you’ll get too comfortable with putting it off. Tell yourself to do it NOW, so you don’t have to do it later.

5. Don’t Multi-Task

Do one job at a time. This allows your brain to engage fully on the task at hand.

6. Give Yourself Goals and a Reward.

Goals like “Finish Chapter One Today” is a motivator. It’s not so big that it’ll drag you down into procrastinating. You’ll want to sit down and get to work. Then when you add a reward like an hour of reading time, a piece of chocolate, or movie night, you’ll really want to complete the task to get your reward.

7. Avoid Distractions

Stay away from the Internet and mute your phone. These things hog your time and attention. SEE: Dear Distracted Writer

8. Try Meditating

Meditating for at least 30 minutes a day can help you shut everything off so you can focus easily on what you need to do.

9. Light Incense or Burn Oil

The scent of cinnamon is brain-boosting and helps the brain focus. I always burn cinnamon oil when I write. Peppermint is also good. Drink peppermint tea to boost brain function, too.

10. Listen to Music or Use Sound-Canceling Headphones

Music like Beethoven and Mozart has been proven to help people focus and to even improve mental performance. If noise disrupts you, invest in sound-canceling headphones to mute whatever is going on around you.

With these tips, I hope you are a more focused writer.

Author of Hurricane Crimes, Seismic Crimes, 30 Seconds, Ghost of Death, and Witch of Death. Blogger. Reader. Auntie. Vegetarian. Cat Lover.

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QUESTION: Which of this do you do? Which will you try?

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No Rest: Dissecting and Discovery

Books have changed and guided my life’s choices since I was a youngster. I’ve read hundreds (thousands?), enjoyed and then forgotten them. This one is different and not just because after two years I can’t get it out of my mind. 

No, the big difference is that this one isn’t even published.

I critiqued No Rest for Marcy and was struck by the professionalism, the uniqueness of the tale, and the writing. Truly, this needs agented. It is a rare example of sci-fi that isn’t stereotypical in anyway.

I want to know why it fascinates me so.

Dissection and discovery of 

No Rest by Marcy Hatch.

I paddle out, breathing evenly in the early dawn, mist rising from the water.

Action and gentle, subtle description. I cannot think of an opening sentence from a NYT bestseller or current author who can write better. This sentence places you in the moment and gives context. The room disappears and I am there.

The whole place is quiet and still except for Grandfather.

More sensory description. And we have a new character to focus on and a mental image of him. I like that he is "Grandfather" not Grandpa. It adds a formality to it and I want to know why.

He tells me to hug the shore. The oars feel light in my hands. I’ve been practicing since the ice melted and now it’s paying off. My arms are strong.

We don’t know the gender or age yet, but we know the MC is a tiny bit happy with his or her ability. It is a character trait, subtle and easy to miss when the reader begins. But your subconscious noted it and nodded.

Grandfather points and I aim for the spot, a place where the marsh grass bends to the side. The current pushes against the boat, making me work harder, and it isn’t long before I’m sweating.

The breeze waves at the grass at either side of us. It’s close enough to touch but I keep my hands on the paddle, breathing deep the mud and brine. I pull the boat into the narrow inlet.

My senses are alive with smells, sights, and sounds. Note how Marcy breathes these descriptions on to her manuscript. No gale-force wind blowing every which way.

Behind me, Grandfather is silent. I resist the urge to ask him again where we’re going even though I want to. I just keep paddling until we run aground.

Ahhh, drama and a mystery. Note the delicate touch of backstory also.

Now I’m hooked. But why?

·       When the story puts you inside the scene

·       when you connect with the characters

·       when action moves you forward

·       when you bond

I’m caught and I don’t even know it. And I don’t even know the gender or age of the MC. Probably older due to the thoughts of this person. I’m sure I’ll find out soon. *G*

Continue here

Where to Start?

A new member joined the local writing group I'm a member of. We hadn't quite started, so he was asking us all sorts of questions about writing, editing, and publishing. He joined the group because he has been working on a novel that has turned into a trilogy, and he wasn't sure what to do next.

As I listened to his questions, I realized that I haven't been spinning my wheels all this time. I've actually been learning something. From you all. From around the Internet. From books. From writing.

I guess if you plug away at it long enough, you do get better at it.

We all had different advice for our new member, and I commented that there's a lot out there on the Internet if you go looking. He had been searching, but he wasn't finding anything that was helping him. I offered to point him to some good writing sites...um...two months ago...  

When I sat down to do it, I realized there was so much. I didn't know where to start. I kind of got overwhelmed by it. And I wanted to formulate it into something that made some sort of sense.

So, this week all my posts are for him. It's novel writing and publishing for novices. And since the rest of you are experts, I'm counting on your help as well. Because he had a lot of questions, and I think we all know how it feels to wade into this thing called writing.

What do you wish you had known after finishing your very first (and/or second) draft? What's a good site for someone who is new to all this to visit?

Author Intrusion and Trust Issues

Author intrusion is one of my greatest pet peeves AND something I've struggled to correct as a writer.

What is author intrusion? Anything that pulls you out of the story and makes you remember that a person wrote the words you're reading. There are several ways this can happen, but there's one that's common in self published novels.

Meaning, the author doesn't trust the reader to make the connections and keeps beating them over the head with:

"Notice this!" 

"Pay attention because this is important." 

"Let me tell you in case you didn't understand what I just showed you in that last scene."

Have you ever done that? I wish I could find some of my early writing to show you what I mean. It was bad. I'd write a lovely showy bit and then ruin it by explaining what I'd just shown though action or good dialogue. Luckily, now that I've noticed it in other books, I'm getting better at cleaning up my own manuscripts.

We must remember that our readers are intelligent people. They're readers for crying out loud! I don't want someone to treat me like I'm stupid, and neither do my readers. 

Here are two other things I've seen that can be avoided. All of them fall under author intrusion because they can jolt me out of the story and remind me that I'm reading instead of living vicariously through the characters. 

1. Distant POV (I'm guilty here in my first drafts!) I want to see and feel right along with the hero. This means getting deep in their head, even in third person. When the writing is like a fly on the wall it's hard to really care. Make me laugh, make me cry, make me sit on the edge of the couch.

Here's a great review of the different kinds of POV.

2. Dropping in a phrase, technology, something that just doesn't fit the world. This happens in historical fiction sometimes. Modern slang or a reference to something that the character shouldn't know anything about. This could include something the reader knows from a different character that the main character shouldn't know about. 

Do your research and then comb through to make sure everything is accurate for the world or time period, as well as double checking your own facts and timeline. 

Best fix?

1. Spend more time on your novel. Don't write it and then hit distribute on Createspace. Let it sit, revise, let someone read it and listen to what they say. Revise it again! Get the picture. Self publishing is faster than traditional, but good publishing still takes time. 

2. When you think it's ready to share with the world, hire an editor. I can guarantee they will be able to help you make it better.

Helpful Links:

Close vs. Distant POV by Annette Lyon

How to use close third person to get closer to your characters

A POV Footnote on SFWA (cause you know I love scifi) This talks about a lot of other things, POV drift, saying something a real person would say, show don't tell and have sufficient motivation. 

POV chart is from another great blog post--Who's story is this anyway?

Plot Holes and Predictability

Let's learn about plot holes and predictability through more fun google images.

And just so you know, those are three of my favorite movies. 

Now, I think movies can get away with plot holes a lot easier than books. We get caught up in the visual impact of the moment and don't catch them or think about them until later. And, sometimes, as in Harry Potter, there were so many things going on that I didn't think about the time turner dilemma until someone else pointed it out. What can we learn from that?

1. You can get away with one plot hole when the rest of the book is amazing. 

2. Sometimes the plot hole doesn't change the overall plot awesomeness because it's not the MAIN thread that has a hole in it.

A really great editor can help you find your plot holes and help you determine how to fix them. They can even help you decide if that little thing you put in (that doesn't make complete sense) because you needed to get your character to a certain physical, mental or emotion place is small enough to squeak by. Or if they're really good, they can help you come up with a more plausible way to achieve the same goal. 

Great beta readers and critique partners can help with those things too, but once again I'm a big fan of hiring an editor after the betas and crit partners get finished. 

So, if predictability is boring and the path to failure, how do we make sure our stories are NOT predictable? I mean, we hear all the time that there are no new stories. That means everyone is familiar with the pattern and will anticipate the end, right?

Come on, where's your imagination? Here are a few more things I'm sure you've heard before.

Put your character up a tree and throw rocks at him.

Here's where you get to make a story you're own. Those metaphorical rocks can be anything! Every person, and therefore every character, is different. Their life experience has given them a unique set of fears and strengths. As writer, you play to those. Find ways to challenge that individual regardless of the genre or conflict formula. 

Think of the absolute worst thing that could happen and do that.

Here's the trick. Don't do the first thing that comes to mind. Those are usually cliche and therefore predictable. 

Note for romance writers:

Readers of romance want want thing to happen EVERY time. You have to have a HEA (Happily Ever After). That's what makes it romance. Make the fact that they WILL get together and have a HEA the only thing that's predictable. Try to find unique ways to keep your lovebirds apart and make them fight for every step to being reunited. 

Questions for You

What are some stories with plot holes that bugged you?

What are some stories where the plot hole didn't bother you and why?

How do you feel when you know exactly what's going to happen in the end by the first third of the book?

Helpful Links:

Checking for Plot Holes: Does your story add up?

How to fix a plot hole by Roz Morris

Why Doesn't the Dog Bark?

How to fix a plot that feels lightweight or predictable

Is Your Plot Predictable?

How to Prevent Predictable Plots

Writing Tips Week!

This year I entered the world of Indie Authors. It's been a great ride so far, but I've had many conversations the past month that got me thinking.

Why do self-published authors still get a bad rap? 

Let's face it, although there are many out there who work hard and put in the time and effort to make their novels shine, many self-published authors are looking for a "quick fix."

They are too impatient to continue trying the agent or traditional publishing route. Maybe they just haven't learned how to accept constructive criticism to improve their story. Perhaps they don't have the money to hire an editor. Whatever the reason, you can pick up free and cheap books on Amazon all the time that scream SELF PUBLISHED! I've read some wonderful stories and some not so much.

This week we are going to talk about those tell-tail signs and how we can avoid them.

Because you know what?

Being an Indie author is something we should be proud of! It's a lot of work and when done right can produce amazing stories that readers wouldn't get other wise.

Here's what we will cover this week:

• Bad grammar
• Typos
• Plot holes
• Predictability
• Author intrusion
• Poor cover art or interior design

The first 5 are good for every author to work on no matter which publishing route you are working towards. So, come tomorrow ready to jump into a discussion on one of these topics and to share the websites that have helped you in the past. 

Non-Traditional Tips for Surviving Camp NaNo: Breaks

For my final tip for this week, I thought I'd go a bit more counter intuitive on you.  

Take a Break

When I say break, I mean take a day off. Surely you didn't think my mini-goals to get ahead of par was because I want to be an over-achiever, did you? 

No no. I'm a firm believer in rest. No, I'm not lazy. But some days, you just need to slow down. Or stop writing entirely. Maybe it's because your brain feels like mush. Or maybe you have a family member who needs your attention. 

Either way, it's better to not write for a day, than to try and cram everything in at once. The way I see it, cramming just sucks. Yes, you write, but odds are you're not going to enjoy it. And let's face it. What's the point to writing if we don't like it any more? Also, writing without actually enjoying it tires you out. Emotionally and mentally. Which means that although you might manage to force yourself to write today, it might mean that you end up not writing for a week. Or if you manage to keep forcing yourself to write until you win, you might not write again for months. 

No one wants that. 

So if you're feeling a funny burning sensation in your brain (Really. That's how it feels to me in any case.), or life just gets in the way, set a reduced mini-goal or don't write. Preferably, you'll have a buffer of extra words built up. Otherwise, you just need to split the difference in between your remaining days and work it in later. 

That's actually why I didn't post yesterday. I had every intention to do so, but got knocked over by a migraine. Still feeling a bit achy, so I'm going to reduce what I want to do for today as well. Lucky me, I was two days ahead. But there's simply no way I'm going to melt my brain by writing through a migraine. 

Furthermore, I have a strict six day policy in my writing. In other words, I only write for six days a week. I always take the seventh off unless I can't resist writing. It sounds strange, I know, especially in a world where people keep shouting that we should be writing every day. But in the end, I know I'm more productive after resting than if I slog through writing day after day until I burn out. 

Anyone else doing Camp NaNo? When was the last time you took a break? 

Non-Traditional Tips for Surviving Camp NaNo: Mini-Goals

I thought I'd write about this other nifty trick to surviving Camp NaNo because I'm actually a bit pressed for time. Because of this nifty trick. 

Today's tip: 

Set small, easily achievable mini-goals. 

I don't know about you, but I used to find a 50k words in a month goal to be a daunting prospect. Especially when I'm writing by hand. See... when I write by hand, my writing speed is pretty much halved. However, the benefits to writing by hand much outweighs the disadvantages, so I've had to learn to adapt. 

One way I've adapted was to break my big goal into little goals. Usually I work something like this: Each day, I aim a bit higher than the daily average. I do it in such a way that by the time I day six, I can take day seven off. 

(And I do take at least one day a week off from writing. Even in NaNo.) 

But I don't stop there. I try to write in such a way that there's always a widening surplus of words between the goal and my writing. Because a few hundred extra words don't take all that much out of me. On the other hand I know that towards the end of the month I might get tired. So it's good to have a buffer. 

The reason is actually the same as why I set mini goals. It's actually easier to say: "Hey, today I only need to write a thousand words and tomorrow I can take the day off." Than I have to write "30k more words to win." 

Yep. It's all psychological. 

This month, I have to write 2420 words every day to stay on par. Which means I'm trying to write 3k every day so I can take one day off per week without falling behind. 

Now 3k per day might sound daunting in itself, but I've easily been able to beat it on most days. My average for the days on which I write is 3223 words per day at the moment, and I'm not done writing for the day yet. (Hence my comment from earlier.) 

How I do it: 

1) Because I'm working on seven projects, I work out how many words I have to write per book to get to my goal. This is 429 words per project. Which equates to about four handwritten A5 pages. So I aim to write five. 

Again, this is a psychological trick. "Only five pages" is easier than saying "I have to add 3000 words to my writing." 

In truth, I almost never write less than 500 words into any of my projects at any given time. And furthermore, I don't ever write in all of my projects on a single day. 

The trick is that I say: "I'm going to start writing and for now, I only need to write 500 words." My mind takes over from there and I write until the scene is done. Obviously, the more I write, the easier it becomes for me to start on the next story.

Because the amount I'll need to write in any subsequent session decreases as I write. Which makes it so much easier for me to write without really worrying about whether I could possibly reach my goal. 

2) Word sprints. You'd think that with my slow speeds I wouldn't sprint on Twitter. You'd be wrong. I do it almost as often as the sprints are happening (assuming I'm awake. Damn you time zones!). Again, it's purely psychological for me. 

Don't tell me you find the idea of writing for ten minutes daunting. Especially not when you take a five minute break afterwards. But twelve ten minute sessions add up to two hours of writing. (Math. I know.) The thing is, you're probably going to find yourself writing easier because you can keep your inner critic at bay for short stretches of time. And writing easier means writing more. 

So even if you do have say three hours available, try 10, 15, 20 and 30 minute sprints followed by short breaks to recover. 

This method also means you won't be as likely to burn out in the long term.

If you're on twitter, you can follow @NaNoWordSprints or check out #NaNoWordSprints if the account isn't active.

And that, my lovelies, is my tip for today. Trick yourself into thinking each writing session you do is a cinch, and it will be. 

Anyone else doing Camp NaNo? How are you doing? 

 

Non-Traditional Tips for Surviving Camp NaNo: Multitasking

Hey all! It's Misha again.

Usually I'm here to critique people, but I only got the memo that I'm up yesterday, and... well... in case you don't know, it's Camp NaNoWriMo.

I'm taking part, mostly because I think NaNo's awesome. Mainly though, I'm about four months behind on my writing goals, and my Camp NaNo goal will catch me up on two. (I'm aiming to write 75k words.)

Since my mind is pretty much locked onto Camp NaNo this month, I thought I'd share some tips that help me get through writing marathons. (Actually, I do them much more than you'd think.)

But be warned. I'm not going to give you traditional advice. I'm basically sharing what works for me and why.

My first tip to get through Camp NaNo (especially if you have a huge goal set):

Work on multiple projects. 

Now when I say this, I hear two camps of people screaming at me. "But I can't!" screams one side. "But the rules!" screams the other. 

Easiest will be for me to go into the rules. Basically, NaNo is about writing a novel in thirty days. And furthermore, it's on an honesty system. It makes allowance for rebels of every creed. Including but not limited to: 

1) People who started the story before and now want to finish it. 

2) Script writers

3) Poets (Kudos, if you're one.) 

4) And people working on more than one novel at a time. 

All of the above qualify as winners when they hit 50k words or whatever. 

Is any of it cheating? No. I think not. If I rebel, I'm not disadvantaging any other writer by doing so. So what do you have to lose? 

Now onto the "But I can't!" camp. I admit that some of you really can only focus on one thing at a time. And those of you who have tried and failed to work on more than one project, you'll know you're someone who really can't work on more than one thing at a time. 

However, I know from own experience that at least some of you aren't quite being honest. I also said "I can't", preferring to stick to one project at a time. Then one day I had an epiphany, where I realized how much time I wasted. See... if I only had one active project and it stalled, I'd wait for months for inspiration that would get me going again. And in those months, I often didn't write at all.

This stalling in a project can be murderous in NaNo, by the way. Because the words stop coming. So you try and force them. Which makes them less likely to come. And probably pushes the inspiration part further away. Odds are, your idea won't come back if you keep poking at it. 

Multiple projects solve this. 

It works like this. I have somewhere between three and seven (current record) fiction projects running at the same time. One is my priority project, which I try to work on every day. The others I work on at random, or as inspiration or interest strikes me. If I stall on any of them, I let it lie and move on with the other projects. (Temporarily prioritizing another book.) Believe it or not (and you'll only know if you try), this is actually a really liberating way to write. 

It's saying that I HAVE TO WRITE 50k (or whatever) while saying BUT I GET TO PICK WHAT TO WORK ON. 

This is especially useful when you have a shiny project that's diverting your attention from your current one. Write both, making the shiny one the carrot at the end of the stick. If you finish writing a chapter in your main project, you get to work on the SNI. 

Because there's less pressure on performance, I've found I perform better. Whenever my project stalls and I work on something else, it now takes a few days to revert back to form. And the whole time it was stalled, I was still productive. 

And my stats don't lie. I failed three NaNos the traditional way because I kept stalling at 30k (at most). Then April last year, I decided to try and write more than one project. I won easily. So in November, I did it again. I won while revising another book in the same month and moving house on the 19th. With all the packing afterwards. 

If you're thinking that I won't finish any drafts this year... You're right. I might not. (Although I suspect I will.) But where NaNo has a way of wiping out writers faster than you can say "I'm a winner!", I'll be able to continue writing for the rest of the year. And by next month, I'll possibly have two or three books finished instead of one. 

So if you've been feeling stuck and struggling to reach your goal, why don't you try adding one project to work on when you're tired of the first one? Could be that it'll make a huge difference to your writing.

Anyone else doing Camp NaNo? How's it going? 

Conference Recap--Voice!

LDStorymakers 2014 Writer's Conference Recap

First I need to apologize for not only being late with my post today, but for the fact that I can't find my notebook. We have lots of yellow spiral notebooks around my house, but none of them are the one I took to Utah. My guess is one of the kids grabbed it and thought it was there's. So today you are going to get  what I "remember". 

Lisa Mangum's class description--Editors, agents, and publishers all clamor for it: a strong story with a strong voice. But what is that, exactly? How do you get it? And if you already have it, how do you make it stronger? This class will focus on ways to strength your writing voice (and your character’s voice) so that your story can sing loud and clear. 

This class was probably the most fun. I still need to work on my own voice, but I feel like I understand it better.  You don't have to watch all of these two videos. I'm not certain if the second version is the one Lisa used, but it's the same idea. Watch enough (at least a minute and half) to hear the difference in Voice.
 

Which one do you believe?

The other thought that stuck with me was this:
Voice is WHAT you have to say, and STYLE is how you say it.

Those two songs used the same words but they sounded different. One of them was much easier to believe. You could FEEL that the singer meant those words.

When you write a story there must be something that you want to say. Something you or your characters really believe in. If you believe it, then it will come out in the way you write. That is voice.

Perhaps this is the problem with my writing. I've always thought that I just wanted to tell a good story. There isn't a purpose/theme/lesson that I'm trying to get across. Maybe if I find something I really believe in and then give that to my characters, my voice will become one that readers will connect to and believe as well.

What do you think about voice? What books have you read that ooze voice?

How to Write for Kids by Alicia Rivoli

I love writing for kids!  There is something very rewarding about having a child give you a compliment on your story, or the way their eyes light up as they discuss their favorite character, or my favorite. It's amazing when someone tells you their kids started a game they made up using the characters from your books.

However, writing for children isn't easy.  There are certain things you need to make sure you are doing if you choose to write for children.

1.  Decide what age you are targeting.  Sometimes I find that authors have listed their books as a Children's Book, but it's 70K words, and 25 chapters long.  This would more likely be considered a Middle Grade or Young Adult novel.

2.  Watch your language!  Children's books and Middle Grade books are targeting children under 12 years of age.  I can't tell you how many times I have put a book back on the shelf because of foul language. Just because today's society tells us it's okay to put in a few bad words, doesn't mean you should.  A lot of parents are pre-reading books before they allow their children to read them, myself included, because authors seem to forget the age they are writing for.

3.  Content!  Children love to use their imaginations.  If you are writing a fantasy or fiction book, give them something to try and figure out.  I have found the younger children can imagine the scenery better than older children if you paint a bigger picture. Don't be afraid to be descriptive, as long as you can keep the story flowing.  Don't put in unnecessary information.  Kids get bored quickly.  DO NOT ever put "romantic scenes" in a children or middle grade book! Even when writing Young Adult, less is more!

4.  Artwork is an essential part of writing for children.  The more colorful the better.  Make sure your artist knows the story. Don't be afraid to tell the artist you don't like something.  If they don't know, how can they fix it?  If you are writing a Middle Grade Novel, it will almost always be judged purely by the cover.  I have watched so many kids look at the cover of the book and if it doesn't catch their attention immediately they put it back on the shelf without ever flipping it over and reading the description on the back.  The spine font is also important.  It needs to stand out among the other hundred books it's sitting next to on the shelf.

5.  If writing non-fiction, make sure you use words that kids can understand.  I find that even ten to twelve year olds are having a difficult time with larger words that they don't hear frequently.  Sometimes it might be necessary to incorporate a definition in the paragraph.

6.  Remember who you are writing for.  You are writing for a child that probably still likes his/her parents to read them a bed time story, or tuck them in at night.

7.  And last but not least...ENJOY your writing!  If you don't like it, neither will your target audience.

I hope that I have helped.  I would love to know what you have discovered in your own writing.
What do you think are the best tips for others writing in this genre?

Alicia Rivoli is the author of the Enchantment Series. She is a stay at home mom, and currently resides in beautiful Northwest Arkansas with her husband and two sons. She enjoys reading, writing, spending time with her family, and traveling.













Rings of Enchantment is the second book in the Enchantment Series.   

Short Story Structure--And How It Can Make Your Novel Better

Many times (and many different places) I've heard that writing short stories can help you become a better novelist. For that reason and that reason alone, I've tried to write short stories. Some have been 500 words, most around 1000, and one was up to 3000 words. Every one has received the same response.

"This feels like the beginning of a much larger story."

*sigh*

Although that could be seen as a good thing, it means I haven't quite nailed the short story. In an effort to improve I continued my internet search for tips. Let's start by building on yesterday's post on Story Structure.

Sources:
Philip Brewer
Storyfix.com

So how does the short story relate to a complete story?
With short stories, the writer doesn’t have room to “show” the entire journey. It’s okay to just mention/tell/imply that parts happened so you can focus on the story you’re currently sharing. For instance, maybe your short story is simply the inciting incident, but the reader must finish knowing the road of trial and error and final resolution will come.

OR

Maybe your short story is simply the dark moment in the hero’s journey. There needs to be just enough for the reader to know that he has been through lots of challenge and failure to bring him to this point even though we don’t get to experience all of it. Here the ending needs to give the reader a sense that the hero has reached some conclusion or epiphany that will help him be successful in the next encounter with evil—even though the reader doesn’t get to see it.

The essential core of a short story needs to:

1. Require the character to make a choice,
2. show that choice by actions,
3. and those actions must have consequences.

Larry Brooks from (Storyfix.com)

"Only the short story writer has to approach the task from a different perspective. While those elements need to be there, they don’t always need to be on the page. 
Conflict. Stakes. Need. Journey. Opposition. Characterization. Setting. Arena. Sub-text. Voice.
They all need to be there.
Even if they’re not." 

In order to do all of this, the short story writer has to focus on the plot/theme/reason/purpose of the story. Why does this story have to be written? What’s the point in telling it? There must be one and the writer must take conscious and careful effort to always be working toward that goal. There’s no time to get sidetracked.

“When you do choose a sub-set of the larger story paradigm, the part you isolate should be written from an unspoken context of the entire architecture.
Which means, your character came from somewhere… something changes… they respond to that change… something else changes… they attack their problem or goal… something else changes yet again… and then things resolve.
Where you jump into that sequence is your choice as a short story writer. One that the novelist doesn’t have.” 

So that's how writing short stories can help me as a novelist.

Every word MUST do something for the story. There is no space for extra words that have no purpose. And I have to know what that purpose is from the very beginning.

Let's Practice:
Choose/make up/whatever a character and write a three sentence synopsis of his/her story based on the central core points. This is the beginning and focus to your short story.

1. Require the character to make a choice,
2. show that choice by actions,
3. and those actions must have consequences.

Share by posting them in the comments! 

Examples from my shorts:

Gareth must choose between accepting a mission to the planet’s surface alone or staying on the ship. He states he’s capable of killing the other candidates if necessary to be chosen, and after he’s chosen he steals extra supplies hoping they will help him survive on the planet. Gareth finds the earth habitable but his mission objective is waiting to deal death if he can’t answer one question correctly. (The Sleeper)

Linda must decide between continuation or dying a slow death by age. She leaves everything behind and goes to the continuation facility. Once she’s a part of the collection of human minds she learns it was never a choice and there are dark forces at work on earth. (Continuation)

Come back this afternoon to find our photo prompts and practice some flash fiction.

Story Structure--What Does it Really Mean?

It I asked you what the structure of a good story was...what would you say?

Would you draw me a diagram? Maybe something like this...

Or this...

We've all seen lots of diagrams and heard words like:

• Three Acts or Beginning, Middle, End
• Inciting Incident
• Rising Action
• Mid-point Reversal
• Dark Moment
• Climax
• Falling Action/Resolution/Denouement

But what in the world does all of that really mean?

What if I showed it to you like this? (I found the following HERE.)

Algis Budrys’s seven point story structure:

1. a character, 
2. in a situation,
3. with a problem, 
4. who tries repeatedly to solve his problem, 
5. but repeatedly fails, (usually making the problem worse), 
6. then, at the climax of the story, makes a final attempt (which might either succeed or fail, depending on the kind of story it is), after which 
7. the result is “validated” in a way that makes it clear that what we saw was, in fact, the final result. 

Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey:

1. The hero is confronted with a challenge, 
2. rejects it, 
3. but then is forced (or allowed) to accept it. 
4. He travels on the road of trials, 
5. gathering powers and allies, and 
6. confronts evil—only to be defeated. 
7. This leads to a dark night of the soul, after which 
8. the hero makes a leap of faith that allows him to 
9. confront evil again and be victorious. 
10. Finally, the student becomes the teacher.

Does it make more sense? Is it easier to put your character on one of these tracks?

It was for me. Having the diagram was great, but having a simple list like this was even better. Now I can plug my story idea in and see if I have all the parts of a complete story. Here is where I plugged in The Magic Wakes.

1. Scientist Talia Zaryn, 
2. is moving to the city from her nightmares,
3. where she knows she will meet her death. 
4. She tries to find proof of the coming invasion and clues to how to defeat the creatures.
5. But she keeps coming up empty. In the process she attracts the attention of the Royalist who believe she's part of an underground movement to take over the government. 
6. Talia finally convinces the Royalist Commander that she's not the threat and that she might actually hold the key to saving their world. Shortly thereafter, 
7. the Dragumon invasion begins and Talia uses her magical talent to focus the energy from thousands of untrained mages in order to defeat the creatures. 

This is the core plot. Of course there are lots of sub-plots and adventures along the way, but this is essentially the main story of book one in my series. There are consequences to #7, but that's an entirely different story. 

Plug in your story idea and see what you come up with. Share if you like, or simply share with us if you learned something new about your story by looking at it differently. 

critical factors

I was reading my Writer's Digest Magazine last night, and once again came across a superb article about why some novels become successful and others don't. Culprit number one, according to Donald Maass, is timid voices. "A snappy premise and meaty plot can hook us and keep us reading but cannot by themselves work that magic. It takes something extra: voice." Further, "voice in a novel is not the author's thoughts or vocabulary but the sum total of what her characters observe, think, feel and express in their own unique ways."

The fix is easy. Write your characters with strong voices. Let them speak in their own words and tell the story.

(Which is exactly what I've been doing with my latest wip! I know, great minds think alike, right? Me and Don? We are so on the same page when it comes to characters. It's scary.)

Anyway. Moving on. Culprit number two, according to Maass, is untested characters. If they don't do anything then what was the point? How compelling is it to read about a character who doesn't react? The best characters act bravely even though they're scared, jump to defend their principles and rise to face their deepest fears. They come out the other side, changed different, and so do we for reading about them.

But the last and best is culprit number three (Overly Interior or Exterior stories), which really hit home: "Certain story patterns are pretty much guaranteed to lead to fiction of underwhelming force," especially novels heavy with "delay, suffering, and being stuck." Fiction of underwhelming force is, of course, the last thing we want. The way to rectify this, Maass says, is to give interior stories "more dramatic outward events; by the same token, dramatic outward events need to create a more devastating interior impact."

Yeah. I had to underline that last part. Brilliant, right? Especially the devastating part.

And if that doesn't get you all fired up to write something then I'll give you a last gem I found, a question to ponder. Ask yourself, what's the biggest thing your protagonist could possibly do, but can't? By the end of the story, have her do it.

Hmm. I think I might.

Oh, the Assumptions We Make!

I was going to start off talking about how we can work the culture of our worlds into our stories. But then I realized that I should probably start off with the WHY of it all.

I wasn’t really aware, as a reader, that there was such a thing as “culture”, or maybe another phrase could be “world building”. I knew some worlds worked better then others, were more believable...long before I understood what it was to Build a culture, literally from the ground up. Even certain writers have worlds they seem to understand, or maybe enjoy building, better then others.

For example. Anne McCaffery does an AMAZING job building Pern. Not so great with her Petabe world. It’s almost as though the writer herself doesn’t quite buy it. Or. Maybe it’s a different problem altogether. Maybe the writer just didn’t take the time to clue us in to the rules. She left us out in the cold. She assumed we understood what was going on, when in fact, we didn’t...and therefore, her world felt flat, one dimensional, and ultimately boring.

Jim Butcher is great at world building and revealing. He throws us in head first, tumbles us around for a bit, then just when we’re starting to wonder what the hell is going on here, brings us up for air and gives us a few rules and regulations. Then throws another monster at us. Good stuff.

This started because I read a very brief article months ago in Writer’s Digest (I believe) about the assumptions that a reader will bring to your story. It glanced briefly at how if, for example, you have a pregnant woman, the majority of your readers will assume that woman has a husband. Think about that. We are so ingrained to think that A) A woman MUST be married to get pregnant. B) A woman who is pregnant must have a Husband. (Which isn’t QUITE the same thing as A.) Interesting, don’t you think?

Another common assumption? All worlds are Male Dominated. Hmm. Really? Are they?  That’s what a reader assumes, unless otherwise informed. And not only that, if you want a female dominant world, good luck! For this one, you have to really drive the issue home. Apparently a female dominant world is a hard plot point for a reader to buy.

So to build a world you have to, as the writer, understand that the reader knows nothing about your world. Nothing. That’s a very intimidating word. They THINK they know stuff about your world. But do they? Are you ok letting the reader imagine, for themselves, what type of clothing your people wear? Is it important to the story? A savvy reader can glean information about clothing type by the type of story they’re reading, absolutely. But are you ok with this? If not, you have to work this into your story somehow.

A readers assumptions are nothing to take lightly. But don’t let them get in your head. It’s all about building your world from the ground up. It’s the details. Have you ever gone to visit another state, or country, and thought you were on another planet? That’s the feeling you want to hold on to. That’s how your readers SHOULD feel. You Don’t want them to know, for a little while anyway. You want to explain it to them. You want to control what they know and don’t know. You want them to wonder about every little detail and IS it important. Are the beads he just mentioned in that guy’s hair something that I have to keep track of? Or are they just a costume detail? It’s hard getting the balance right. Not doing the ‘info dump’ of old, yet keeping the reader from filling in the blanks on their own.


What are some assumptions that readers, cp’s, random people, have made about your writing/story? Did it change how you approached your craft? Your story? Were you surprised?

Gettin' some Culture

Culture in our stories.

Hopefully it’s something that blends so perfectly that our readers don’t even notice the crazy worlds we've dropped them in. They just accept the rules we lay down as Law.  

But think about that. And the kinds of problems it presents.

Each reader, male, female, black, white, gay, straight...ect. is going to bring to your story their own set of assumptions. They don’t mean to. They just will. It’s our job as writers to set the culture firmly in our readers minds...without being too pedantic about it...so they understand the rules and can enjoy the story you’re trying to convey.

How. I mean, to you it’s obvious that the woman giving birth on the floor of the hut has three husbands and two wives and the birth of this child will determine which spouse controls the village until the next child. But have you explained this? Because your reader will (probably) assume the woman giving birth on the floor of the hut has one husband. And that husband is Ruler. For all time. Period. No matter what.

It’s the culture you’re trying to build. Just like everything else in the story, it’s a slow process, but you do have to clue your readers in on the rules so to speak.

Even those writing in Historical settings. Good gods. I can’t tell you the etiquette crap I’ve dug up on my research in the 1900’s. Honestly. How a woman ever got laid in that time I will never know. If she so much as showed her ankle, I think she was thrown in jail for wanton behavior!

So this week we will be getting all culture-fied at UB!  Art! Politics! Religion! Weapons! Clothing! Education! The meat and bones that readers don’t really ‘notice’ about your story. But if someone is carrying an iPod around in a Harry Potter novel? Yah. They’ll notice that.

How to Format (and not screw up the query)

Queries are business letters. They are your introduction to a stranger, your resume, and first impression.

Don’t screw it up.

Writers send queries one of two ways: snail mail and email.

Format snail mail using the typical business letter guideline:

Your Name     
Your Address

Date

Recipient’s Name
Their Address

Dear Mr./Ms.  Recipient:

Body of the Letter

Sincerely

Your Signature

The main difference between snail and email is the beginning. No addresses for email queries.

To: Recipient’s Name
Subject: Query 

Dear Mr/Ms Recipient:
  

Body of the Letter
  

Sincerely
  

Your Name
Your Address
Phone Number
Email

As in all else, Read the Submission Guidelines of the individual agent and their preferences. Some agents want a date on the email for instance. Others don’t. Always check interviews and their blogs for tidbits of info.

Now about tabs: Holy crap, don’t use them. EVER. They are the devil’s playground in emails and manuscripts. Avoid them like the slime balls they are.

Keep in mind that some agents download manuscripts to E-readers. Tabs and other formatting splats will gum up the works.

If you use the Word program, this trick will clean up a manuscript or format correctly:

Click on: Select, then Select AllRight Click anywhere on the shaded area.
 Click on Paragraph
 Alignment:
Left
(never Justified)
 Indention:  Inside – 0
Outside – 0
Special – First Line
By - .5”
 Spacing:Before: 0pt
After: 0pt
 Line spacing:Double
 Click on Okay.

Now search out those nasty tabs.

Click on Find and enter ^t. Rip the little buggers out of their hidey holes and destroy them.

There are variations to these formatting examples. Many writers begin with a simple salutation rather than ‘To and Subject’. Other queriers stick with the snail mail format for their emails. Just remember, agents have little time. One agent snarled, “I know my address. Don’t remind me.”

Use common sense and always research the agent’s preferences. You can’t go wrong if you follow their guidelines.

Links:

What You Need to Know to Write an Effective E-mail Query--16 points, no paragraph breaks, but muddle through it anyway. Good stuff.

Preparing E-mail Queries--Easier to read as it is broken up into sections. Talks about specific problems due to using email, such as "gibberish" when cut and pasting and how to fix it.

How to Format a Query Letter--specifically emailed ones. Once again Nathan Bransford knows how to advice and calm our troubled minds at the same time. He gives guidelines by example and then tells us to simply do our best and it will be ok. Thanks, Nathan!

And for you visual folks, it looks something like this:

Voice lessons for the writer

How unfair is it that one of the most important skills a writer can have is also one of the most vague? VOICE. It seems like almost every agent is looking for "voice" and if you've ever been told you need "more" or "better" voice, you might be feeling kind of....huh? Some people believe that "voice" can't be taught, and that's sort of true. In many ways, good voice is synonymous with good writing and natural talent does play a part. But I believe that people can "find" or enhance their innate writing voice. And here are a few ideas:

1) Think of your character's voice, not your voice - So does "voice" mean the voice of the character or the voice of the writer? Well, really it's both. But a good writer can alter their "voice" based on the chosen character POV, genre and age-level they're writing in, flavor of the novel, and so forth. Different novels may have different voice, even if it's the same writer. So to simplify things, when thinking of voice, think of the voice of your character and the particular project you're working on.


2) Write in multiple POV - If you write your novel from more than one character's point of view, it forces you to make the voice of each section distinctive (at least it should!). Unless you're writing in an omniscient distant POV (which I don't recommend) each character's section should have word choice and personality specific to that character. If you don't write multiple POV, you can do this as an exercise by writing "deleted scenes" from another character's POV or trying suggestion #3.

3) Rewrite scenes from another perspective - Take a scene in your novel and write it from another POV. When you're done, the scene should be more than different in content, it should really feel like it's from another character's perspective. Each character should speak, act, think, and view the world slightly differently.

4) Don't make yourself the MC - In both of my major manuscripts, I have started writing from the perspective of the leading lady and both times I decided to switch to the perspective of the leading man. And when I did, it was almost magical how much my writing improved. Does this mean I'm secretly a dude living inside a woman's body? I'm not sure, but I'm going to go with no. I think it works because I'm writing as someone different than myself. At least for me, writing as someone whose voice is not like mine, makes it easier for me to notice it and make it stand out.

5) Exaggerate voice - This would only be for a voice exercise, not for your final draft MS, but if you're shaky on voice, try going over the top to flex your muscles. It might make for ridiculous writing, but it will help you discover what voice is and how to make it work.

6) Write as a crazy character - This is similar to #5. Choose the most wacky, over-the-top, exaggerated character in your novel and practice writing some scenes from their perspective. Or create a character just for the exercise. Again, choose someone absolutely nothing like you.

7) Turn off your internal editor - This one was important for me personally. In my first attempt at a novel, I was so insanely focused about following rules like not using passive voice and using active verbs that I basically edited out my voice. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't follow good writing practices, but try writing your first draft like you've never heard of these rules. It may help to lower your inhibitions and let your voice shine. You can always edit later.

8) Check your work - Write two scenes with the voice of different characters, and make sure you remove any obvious give-aways, and have someone who knows your novel guess whose voice is whose.

or

Use two scenes from your novel with the voice of different characters and have someone who doesn't know anything about your novel tell you what they think are the characteristics of each speaker.

9) Be yourself - I've been telling you this whole time to be your character, so what I mean by this is, is loosen up. Like when you're going out on a first date and someone tells you to "just be yourself". Voice is the FUN part of writing. It's the creative, artistic part. And that's what we're good at right?  Don't try to write like anyone else. Be fearless and trust yourself. If necessary, write a few scenes drunk. I'm only half-joking. Obviously if you're under 21 or a recovering alcoholic, don't try this at home. But if recreational drinking is something you do anyway, try writing a scene a two with a buzz. I've done this before with a sex scene I was nervous to write. I obviously had to do some editing later sober, but I think the fearlessness still shined through.

10) Make sure you understand what "voice" is - So maybe this shouldn't be number #10, because it's pretty important, but this section takes up a lot of space, so I put it down here. :)

Here is my definition:

Voice is the personality of the writing.

Types of voice:

Voice is like snowflakes or cow's spots, no two are alike, but to give you a general sense, here are some broad categories of voice:

-Humorous
-Serious/dark
-Poetic/flowery
-Romantic
-Formal
-Casual
-Age specific (writing for MG, YA, NA, etc.)
-Technical/scientific
-Medieval
-Modern
-Sarcastic
-Genre specific (literary, commercial, romance, etc.)

Example:

Okay, so I'm going to be a little egocentric here and use my own writing as an example of voice. :) Mainly because it's easiest for me and it's mine to use. Here is a somewhat random excerpt from my forthcoming novel, THE CHARGE.

With voice:

It was 5am and still good and dark, so he couldn’t determine the weirdness level of California just yet.  The highway was extra smooth from recent repair and they had new U.S. green highway signs alongside the old Texas Empire blue ones.  Eventually he had to pee, so made his first stop on Texas Empire soil.  The gas station sold guns and liquor, plus a lot of Texas Empire themed knick knacks which were either to entice tourists or frighten them into turning around.  One T-shirt had the entire North American continent colored in with the Texas flag and said “We’re coming for you.”   Another one said simply, “Screw you, America.”  Other than being verbally abused by T-shirts, peeing at a Texas Empire gas station wasn’t that different from peeing in an American one.  They had M&Ms and Doritos and Coca-Cola and Purell dispensers in the restroom. 

With less voice:

It was 5am and still dark, so he couldn't tell what California was like yet. The highway was extra smooth from recent repair and they had new U.S. green highway signs alongside the old Texas Empire blue ones. He needed a bathroom break, so he made his first stop in the Texas Empire. The gas station was different because it sold guns and liquor and Texas Empire themed souvenirs. One T-shirt had the entire North American continent colored in with the Texas flag and said “We’re coming for you.”   Another one said, “Screw you, America.” Other than the different T-shirt messages, the Texas Empire gas station wasn't that different from an American one. They had the same types of snacks and sodas.

Check my work as I suggest in #8. From the first excerpt, what can you tell me about my main character and novel from this section alone? How old is he? What time period does he live in? What is his world like? What is he like? How do you know? What do you learn from the voice example that you wouldn't learn from the less-voice example?

Vocal exercises and definitions from other people:

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2010/07/what-is-writers-voice/
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_voice_in_creative_writing
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/understanding-voice-and-tone-in-writing.aspx
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/glossary/g/voice.htm
http://theadventurouswriter.com/blogwriting/what-is-writers-voice-creative-writing-tips/
http://www.write101.com/lethamfind.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writer's_voice