Update: editing hasn't kill me. Yet.
Neither has packing, although there was that time with the boxes of books that almost ended poorly.
Honestly, these update posts make me self conscious because I know I'm editing at the speed of a glacier. Most of my writer friends have started and finished their edits. Writers all over the blogosphere announce how happy they are to be done editing.
And still, I am revising. I'm not even done with the macro stuff yet.
I worry there's something wrong with me. That maybe I just suck, and can't edit my way out of a paper bag, and that's just it for me. But then I kick some sense into myself, and realize it's not really me, it's the book at this point. Because sweet magnolia cupcakes, this book has a lot of things wrong with it. My rough drafts are messy to begin with, but this baby was written in ten months, starting when my son was five months old and I was carving out fifteen minutes during nap time to write a few sentences. I suppose it's no wonder there's some serious issues such as structure, tone, and voice, all the way down to the minor stuff like how I fell in love with the word "just".
Or how I need to replot the entire thing. And kill some characters. And fix the plot holes. You know, the basics.
It's been very discouraging, because I feel like I'm taking too long. That I should be done now. It doesn't matter I only have about two hours a day, less lately since the son has decided to wake up between the hour and hour and a half mark from his nap. I've taken to staying up late a few nights to get some more time in. That lasts for a few days, and then I crash.
Lately, the moving thing, the whole let's go through our entire house worth of stuff and get rid of 50% of it so we can afford to move to Puerto Rico has cut into the writing time as well. My husband reports to work the first week of September, and now that our original plans of him staying in a friend's place for a month have changed, he has to get a place to stay a week after getting there (and staying in a hotel in the meantime). We're shipping our stuff over there a month earlier than expected.
So yeah, there's other stuff going on. But I still need to make time for writing, I still need to keep progressing even when that evil voice tells me I should just start all the way over. Again.
Because, here's the thing folks. Revision doesn't just teach you how to fix THIS book. I mean, yes, that's what you're doing when you revise. You're making the words not suck. But ideally, while you're revising, you're getting better at writing, so when the time comes to start a new rough draft, you're not making the same mistakes over and over again.
To do that, and to revise properly, you have to figure out what you did wrong the first time, and how to fix that.
As easy as it sounds, it can be very hard. Very mentally taxing. I find drafting emotionally draining (or rejuvenating, depending on the scene in question), but revision is mentally taxing. You're picturing the book in it's entirety and thinking about what happens if you shift this scene forward. Or you're just focusing on one scene, and reading through each line for the moment where the pacing slacks off. Either way, it makes my already tired brain tired.
So that's where I'm at, folks. I'm still editing, still toiling away. I'm making a lot of progress, don't get me wrong. I can see how each day of editing is moving me forward, and as soon as I figure out the new plot order, I can start the scene by scene stuff. But it still feels like it's taking forever and I should be done by now and I'm doomed and omg I'm just going to eat some chocolate and hide from the world.
Then I remind myself it's taken other authors years to finish their edits, if we're going to play the compare yourself to others game, and then I don't feel so bad.
So, sound off people. Where are you at in your writing? What do you do when it feels like it's taking too long?
Showing posts with label writing advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing advice. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Question: Should You Rewrite Every Trunk Novel?
My friend Joe and I were talking about rewriting old trunk novels. He's in the middle of redoing several books he's already finished, and me...well, you know me. I've done several rewrites with various results.
It got me thinking. There's trunk novels I've written that I still love, despite how broken they are. Every book really does teach you something, and if I didn't love something about it, I wouldn't have written it in the first place. I look back on them fondly, but realize that no amount of revision would save those books. If I ever wanted to unearth the premises and characters, I would have to start from scratch.
But should you?
Is it really necessary to rewrite every good idea you've ever had? A certain amount of reusing old ideas is going to happen no matter what, so parts of those books will live on. But maybe at the end of the day, it's necessary to let go of an idea, a setting, a group of characters, no matter how awesome they are, and move on.
I don't think I'm going to redo every book I've ever written. Sometimes you just have to put them in a trunk and call them done. It's sort of freeing, when you let it go like that.
What do you think? Would you go back and redo every good idea you have, or just let them be training wheels?
It got me thinking. There's trunk novels I've written that I still love, despite how broken they are. Every book really does teach you something, and if I didn't love something about it, I wouldn't have written it in the first place. I look back on them fondly, but realize that no amount of revision would save those books. If I ever wanted to unearth the premises and characters, I would have to start from scratch.
But should you?
Is it really necessary to rewrite every good idea you've ever had? A certain amount of reusing old ideas is going to happen no matter what, so parts of those books will live on. But maybe at the end of the day, it's necessary to let go of an idea, a setting, a group of characters, no matter how awesome they are, and move on.
I don't think I'm going to redo every book I've ever written. Sometimes you just have to put them in a trunk and call them done. It's sort of freeing, when you let it go like that.
What do you think? Would you go back and redo every good idea you have, or just let them be training wheels?
Monday, January 14, 2013
Reasons to Rewrite
Today we're going to talk about rewriting. I'm in the middle of a rewrite, and was talking to two of my friends about rewriting, so it seems like a good subject to bring up.
Today specifically we're going to talk about why you would want to rewrite a book.
To be clear, when I talk about rewriting in this context, I mean rewriting the entire book from scratch. When you're revising a book and you rewrite three chapters, that's of course still rewriting, but there's a big difference between a few chapters and an entire book. The sense of self loathing, for example, is much higher.
The most common reasons (that I am aware of) to rewrite a novel is because a) you're redoing a book you've already written, but it's been a long time since you wrote said book and your skills have, hopefully, improved, or b) you're redoing a premise, and substantial parts are going to change. Parts such as a point of view character, genre of the novel, and/or voice.
There might be other reasons, but at the moment I can't think of any. Feel free to suggest reasons in the comment section.
The important thing is to make sure you actually need to start over, and you're not just procrastinating editing your completed book. Rewriting is hard; really hard. You feel like a failure for getting it wrong the first time, no matter how many times you tell yourself this is not true. You despair, knowing you have write a book all over again. The newness is gone. All you have is the stubborn sense that you know how to make this book better, and you're going to do it, even if it means starting from square one.
Here's the secret. You're not actually starting over. Even if you've completely changed the premise, characters, and setting, you still have the experience of a full draft dedicated to explore these ideas under your belt. It makes a difference that's hard to describe. There's slightly less flailing about.
But this is a last ditch effort. Your first job is to make all the changes needing to be made and make sure it can't be accomplished with a serious edit. This is a judgment call, of course, but most of the time no matter how broke the book feels, it's nothing a good edit won't fix.
After a Google search, I found exactly one helpful post on rewriting by Justine Larbalestier.
What do you think? Have you ever rewritten a book before? Why or why not?
Today specifically we're going to talk about why you would want to rewrite a book.
To be clear, when I talk about rewriting in this context, I mean rewriting the entire book from scratch. When you're revising a book and you rewrite three chapters, that's of course still rewriting, but there's a big difference between a few chapters and an entire book. The sense of self loathing, for example, is much higher.
The most common reasons (that I am aware of) to rewrite a novel is because a) you're redoing a book you've already written, but it's been a long time since you wrote said book and your skills have, hopefully, improved, or b) you're redoing a premise, and substantial parts are going to change. Parts such as a point of view character, genre of the novel, and/or voice.
There might be other reasons, but at the moment I can't think of any. Feel free to suggest reasons in the comment section.
The important thing is to make sure you actually need to start over, and you're not just procrastinating editing your completed book. Rewriting is hard; really hard. You feel like a failure for getting it wrong the first time, no matter how many times you tell yourself this is not true. You despair, knowing you have write a book all over again. The newness is gone. All you have is the stubborn sense that you know how to make this book better, and you're going to do it, even if it means starting from square one.
Here's the secret. You're not actually starting over. Even if you've completely changed the premise, characters, and setting, you still have the experience of a full draft dedicated to explore these ideas under your belt. It makes a difference that's hard to describe. There's slightly less flailing about.
But this is a last ditch effort. Your first job is to make all the changes needing to be made and make sure it can't be accomplished with a serious edit. This is a judgment call, of course, but most of the time no matter how broke the book feels, it's nothing a good edit won't fix.
After a Google search, I found exactly one helpful post on rewriting by Justine Larbalestier.
What do you think? Have you ever rewritten a book before? Why or why not?
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Return to Normalcy (Sort of)
Four days shy of my son turning six months old, and I finally feel like life is returning to something resembling what passes for normal in this house.
Of course, this is the new normal, the normal that includes having a baby doing barrel rolls across the living room floor.
I've gotten into a decent routine of picking up as I go along, and taking care of housework in short bursts. Writing comes in short bursts as well, but it's a little more of a stretch for me. I used to simply write for hours, and then go off and do other things.
Now I might have fifteen minutes there, and ten minutes here. It's harder to keep track of what I was able to write, what the scene was about, and the general thread of the book. Writing's slowed down to a crawl and it feels like this book is Taking Forever to Write. The "this sucks, let's burn it and dance on the ashes" period is lasting longer as a result, and things are generally difficult.
So, in addition to using nap times, I've decided to out source for help. My mom's going to watch the baby every Monday, and I am going to get some serious writing done. Today was the first day of this schedule, and it was glorious. I wrote for hours, got some plotting done, and had time to spare to make dinner and straighten up.
You see, it's hard to justify spending money on a babysitter when I am staying home to be with the baby. I feel like it will be easier once I have an agent and a book contract, because I'll be bringing money into the house, but for now it just feels...weird.
It's just me; my husband and family aren't making me feel this way, but it's there just the same. My mom watching the baby seems to be the best solution, since she gets to spend time with her grandson and I get to spend time working on my book.
This got me thinking about what people do to make their writing feel more legitimate. I think it's really important to not only tell yourself you're a writer, and act like a professional, but practice habits that reinforce that notion. At the moment my desk is in the living space, but when we move into a bigger house, I am going to have a separate room for an office. I've arranged to have the baby looked after so I have time to work. All of these things are scary in a way, but they feel necessary to ensure that I take myself seriously.
But like anything else, this is a job, and I should act as such. It's easier, working from home, to feel like I am just playing around. There's no clear mark between when I am done working, and at home, so I have to make that mark myself. Part of that is finding a baby sitter, or once I am done with my word count for the day, walking away from the computer.
Of course, this sense of routine is going to be short lived since we're moving in November.
0_0
But until then!
What do you do to make your writing feel legitimate?
Of course, this is the new normal, the normal that includes having a baby doing barrel rolls across the living room floor.
I've gotten into a decent routine of picking up as I go along, and taking care of housework in short bursts. Writing comes in short bursts as well, but it's a little more of a stretch for me. I used to simply write for hours, and then go off and do other things.
Now I might have fifteen minutes there, and ten minutes here. It's harder to keep track of what I was able to write, what the scene was about, and the general thread of the book. Writing's slowed down to a crawl and it feels like this book is Taking Forever to Write. The "this sucks, let's burn it and dance on the ashes" period is lasting longer as a result, and things are generally difficult.
So, in addition to using nap times, I've decided to out source for help. My mom's going to watch the baby every Monday, and I am going to get some serious writing done. Today was the first day of this schedule, and it was glorious. I wrote for hours, got some plotting done, and had time to spare to make dinner and straighten up.
You see, it's hard to justify spending money on a babysitter when I am staying home to be with the baby. I feel like it will be easier once I have an agent and a book contract, because I'll be bringing money into the house, but for now it just feels...weird.
It's just me; my husband and family aren't making me feel this way, but it's there just the same. My mom watching the baby seems to be the best solution, since she gets to spend time with her grandson and I get to spend time working on my book.
This got me thinking about what people do to make their writing feel more legitimate. I think it's really important to not only tell yourself you're a writer, and act like a professional, but practice habits that reinforce that notion. At the moment my desk is in the living space, but when we move into a bigger house, I am going to have a separate room for an office. I've arranged to have the baby looked after so I have time to work. All of these things are scary in a way, but they feel necessary to ensure that I take myself seriously.
But like anything else, this is a job, and I should act as such. It's easier, working from home, to feel like I am just playing around. There's no clear mark between when I am done working, and at home, so I have to make that mark myself. Part of that is finding a baby sitter, or once I am done with my word count for the day, walking away from the computer.
Of course, this sense of routine is going to be short lived since we're moving in November.
0_0
But until then!
What do you do to make your writing feel legitimate?
Monday, August 13, 2012
Novellas!
Something awesome happened yesterday!
James Scott Bell, one of my writing heroes, posted about how to write a novella yesterday, directly quoting a comment I made a few days ago.
How awesome is that!
Also, the advice on writing a novella is much needed.
So go forth and read the article.
James Scott Bell, one of my writing heroes, posted about how to write a novella yesterday, directly quoting a comment I made a few days ago.
How awesome is that!
Also, the advice on writing a novella is much needed.
So go forth and read the article.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Easy Plotting for Pantsers and Plotters Alike
Yesterday my friend Liz posted this helpful template about how to use Dan Wells's 7 Point Plot System in addition to, or instead of, the Save the Cat Beat Sheet for Novels.
The behind the scenes look at that post is Liz and I (or Liz and Liz if I refer to myself in third person) are obsessed with plotting. We'll dissect a favorite movie, book, or TV show for hours on end. I do it because I like analyzing things and I suck at plot, and Liz does it because she sees the structure of a novel first. The end result is we've spent countless hours breaking down the 7 Point Plot System and Save the Cat so you don't have to.
Liz mentioned in her post using the 7 Point Plot System to hammer out a basic plot before you start writing, and I can tell you it's awesome for that. It's quick and dirty. You just fill in what you think happens in the story and press on with the business of actually writing the darned thing.
Here is a reference guide so you don't have to keep looking at the outline on Liz's post:
Hook
The beginning. The mirror image of the end.
Turn 1
Introduces conflict and bridges the gap between the Hook and the Midpoint.
Pinch 1
Something bad happens.
Midpoint
Bridges the gap between the Hook and the Resolution.
Pinch 2
Something even worse happens.
Turn 2
Bridges the gap between Midpoint and End.
Resolution
The climax. Everything in the story leads to this moment.
If like me, you want a short outline before you start writing, you can fill in some vague thoughts and start typing. Or if you're pantsing the entire book from start to finish with nary a character sheet, you can fill in events as you go. The beauty of doing that is you'll start thinking about the next major plot event ahead of time. "Okay, well, I just hit the Midpoint, so the next major event should be Pinch 2: Something Even Worse Happens".
But the fun doesn't stop there! I use the 7 Point Plot System to check the fiddly bits of my plot too, not just the entire kit and caboodle. Let's say you have a romance as a subplot. You can take just the events of your novel that relate to the romance, and use the 7 Point Plot System to check how it progresses.
The application for this is endless. I've plotted out the relationship between the main character and the antagonist, the love interest, important secondary characters--any character relationships that I needed to see the progression of. I've plugged in just the action bits, the arc that leads to the betrayal, anything I felt would be important to track all the way through my novel. It's especially awesome if you have more than one point of view character. You can track their character arcs and have a quick and simple way of keeping track of what they are doing in the book and when.
Obviously you should only plot out what you feel like you need to know. If doing three separate 7 Point Plot Systems for your character makes you want to curl into the fetal position, uncurl. Take a deep breath. This is simply a tool for you to use as you need.
I can tell you though, working out the smaller pieces has really helped me see the inner cogs of the plot. If you see that the betrayal, romance, and action parts all share the exact same three events, then you can really amp those scenes up with focused purpose. It can help you spot plot holes a mile away, and also give you a clue how to fix those same holes.
It also helps with pacing. I've noticed that if all but two of points happen within the first forty pages, I've obviously front loaded the book. Same thing happened with all but one of the event happened after the midpoint.
Another way to approach this is in revision. All the stuff I talked about tracking you can hold off until you're done writing the novel. Rather than trying to read through your manuscript a bajillion (bajillion is a word, I swear) times, you can simply keep track of the important arcs of the story using that nifty guide.
Something else Liz and I discussed was using the 7 Point Plot System for a series. Are you plotting a gigantic epic fantasy series? Of course you are. Who isn't? You can check to see if your entire series is progressing in a coherent fashion by plugging in the important events. Book one might just be the Hook, and book two could cover the first Turn and Pinch. It would be a handy little reference guide to stick in your series bible, that's for sure.
If you would like specific examples, click on the link to Liz's post at the beginning of this post. Liz plotted out the musical Wicked in both the 7 Point Plot System and Save the Cat beat sheet. She's also linked to Dan Wells's Youtube series explaining the 7 Point Plot System in great detail, as well as uploaded the place you can download the slides from his presentation.
If you have any questions or need clarification on something, don't hesitate to ask. Also, if you find another use for this, let me know! I love finding new ways to plot.
The behind the scenes look at that post is Liz and I (or Liz and Liz if I refer to myself in third person) are obsessed with plotting. We'll dissect a favorite movie, book, or TV show for hours on end. I do it because I like analyzing things and I suck at plot, and Liz does it because she sees the structure of a novel first. The end result is we've spent countless hours breaking down the 7 Point Plot System and Save the Cat so you don't have to.
Liz mentioned in her post using the 7 Point Plot System to hammer out a basic plot before you start writing, and I can tell you it's awesome for that. It's quick and dirty. You just fill in what you think happens in the story and press on with the business of actually writing the darned thing.
Here is a reference guide so you don't have to keep looking at the outline on Liz's post:
The 7 Point Plot System
Hook
The beginning. The mirror image of the end.
Turn 1
Introduces conflict and bridges the gap between the Hook and the Midpoint.
Pinch 1
Something bad happens.
Midpoint
Bridges the gap between the Hook and the Resolution.
Pinch 2
Something even worse happens.
Turn 2
Bridges the gap between Midpoint and End.
Resolution
The climax. Everything in the story leads to this moment.
If like me, you want a short outline before you start writing, you can fill in some vague thoughts and start typing. Or if you're pantsing the entire book from start to finish with nary a character sheet, you can fill in events as you go. The beauty of doing that is you'll start thinking about the next major plot event ahead of time. "Okay, well, I just hit the Midpoint, so the next major event should be Pinch 2: Something Even Worse Happens".
But the fun doesn't stop there! I use the 7 Point Plot System to check the fiddly bits of my plot too, not just the entire kit and caboodle. Let's say you have a romance as a subplot. You can take just the events of your novel that relate to the romance, and use the 7 Point Plot System to check how it progresses.
The application for this is endless. I've plotted out the relationship between the main character and the antagonist, the love interest, important secondary characters--any character relationships that I needed to see the progression of. I've plugged in just the action bits, the arc that leads to the betrayal, anything I felt would be important to track all the way through my novel. It's especially awesome if you have more than one point of view character. You can track their character arcs and have a quick and simple way of keeping track of what they are doing in the book and when.
Obviously you should only plot out what you feel like you need to know. If doing three separate 7 Point Plot Systems for your character makes you want to curl into the fetal position, uncurl. Take a deep breath. This is simply a tool for you to use as you need.
I can tell you though, working out the smaller pieces has really helped me see the inner cogs of the plot. If you see that the betrayal, romance, and action parts all share the exact same three events, then you can really amp those scenes up with focused purpose. It can help you spot plot holes a mile away, and also give you a clue how to fix those same holes.
It also helps with pacing. I've noticed that if all but two of points happen within the first forty pages, I've obviously front loaded the book. Same thing happened with all but one of the event happened after the midpoint.
Another way to approach this is in revision. All the stuff I talked about tracking you can hold off until you're done writing the novel. Rather than trying to read through your manuscript a bajillion (bajillion is a word, I swear) times, you can simply keep track of the important arcs of the story using that nifty guide.
Something else Liz and I discussed was using the 7 Point Plot System for a series. Are you plotting a gigantic epic fantasy series? Of course you are. Who isn't? You can check to see if your entire series is progressing in a coherent fashion by plugging in the important events. Book one might just be the Hook, and book two could cover the first Turn and Pinch. It would be a handy little reference guide to stick in your series bible, that's for sure.
If you would like specific examples, click on the link to Liz's post at the beginning of this post. Liz plotted out the musical Wicked in both the 7 Point Plot System and Save the Cat beat sheet. She's also linked to Dan Wells's Youtube series explaining the 7 Point Plot System in great detail, as well as uploaded the place you can download the slides from his presentation.
If you have any questions or need clarification on something, don't hesitate to ask. Also, if you find another use for this, let me know! I love finding new ways to plot.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Where Have All the Big Moments Gone?
Okay, maybe it's just me, but lately I've noticed there's not a lot of big moments in movies and books.
At least, not in the last few published novels I've read or movies I watched on Netflix. I know this is subjective, and I can still think of a bunch of movies and books that are exempt from this observation, so they are excused from class.
Perhaps I should explain what I mean by "big moment" so the rest of you at home can decipher my meaning.
Simply put, it's a turning point. It can be a major change of direction for the plot, or when some of what character is working towards pays off, or a major set back. The most obvious example is the climax of the plot, but there should be other, smaller climaxes.
And yeah, there were turning points in the offending books and movies, but they felt really small. Little Timmy made a B on his math test. Rhonda found her lucky penny. Events that progressed the plot, but they didn't feel like much. It was "meh" instead of "Wow, I can't wait to find out what happens next!"
Think about big moments. Harry Potter discovers he's a wizard. Po finds inner peace. A coach gives an inspiring speech in innumerable sports movies. John McClane walks across broken glass shoeless. Johnny gets Baby out of a corner. Frodo is entrusted with the One Ring.
There's a cathartic effect from these turning points, whether things are better or worse for the main character. Something important has changed, and life can never be the same again.
Not every moment in the movie or book needs to feel like this of course, but turning points should make you feel something. They should stir you, throw you towards the remaining turning points until the inevitable climax occurs and you feel the biggest release of all: the resolution (or conversely, you feel the most pissed off you spend X number of hours of your life on this piece of crap and can never get them back).
I'm not saying every turning point should be POW POW EXPLOSION OMG THE KILLER BEES ARE IN MY RACCOON WOUNDS!!!!!!!!!! but unless they are more dramatic than the events around them, they don't feel like anything at all.
I really believe that a movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat or a book that is physically impossible to put down has among other things, a dynamic plot. There's twists and turns and high and lows and you're always emotionally engaged.
But that's just me. My attention span is currently that of a coked up squirrel, so I am harder to entertain at the moment. It might be why I've noticed it more, but it's still something to keep in mind.
What say you? How you do feel about turning points and how they relate to your own work?
At least, not in the last few published novels I've read or movies I watched on Netflix. I know this is subjective, and I can still think of a bunch of movies and books that are exempt from this observation, so they are excused from class.
Perhaps I should explain what I mean by "big moment" so the rest of you at home can decipher my meaning.
Simply put, it's a turning point. It can be a major change of direction for the plot, or when some of what character is working towards pays off, or a major set back. The most obvious example is the climax of the plot, but there should be other, smaller climaxes.
And yeah, there were turning points in the offending books and movies, but they felt really small. Little Timmy made a B on his math test. Rhonda found her lucky penny. Events that progressed the plot, but they didn't feel like much. It was "meh" instead of "Wow, I can't wait to find out what happens next!"
Think about big moments. Harry Potter discovers he's a wizard. Po finds inner peace. A coach gives an inspiring speech in innumerable sports movies. John McClane walks across broken glass shoeless. Johnny gets Baby out of a corner. Frodo is entrusted with the One Ring.
There's a cathartic effect from these turning points, whether things are better or worse for the main character. Something important has changed, and life can never be the same again.
Not every moment in the movie or book needs to feel like this of course, but turning points should make you feel something. They should stir you, throw you towards the remaining turning points until the inevitable climax occurs and you feel the biggest release of all: the resolution (or conversely, you feel the most pissed off you spend X number of hours of your life on this piece of crap and can never get them back).
I'm not saying every turning point should be POW POW EXPLOSION OMG THE KILLER BEES ARE IN MY RACCOON WOUNDS!!!!!!!!!! but unless they are more dramatic than the events around them, they don't feel like anything at all.
I really believe that a movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat or a book that is physically impossible to put down has among other things, a dynamic plot. There's twists and turns and high and lows and you're always emotionally engaged.
But that's just me. My attention span is currently that of a coked up squirrel, so I am harder to entertain at the moment. It might be why I've noticed it more, but it's still something to keep in mind.
What say you? How you do feel about turning points and how they relate to your own work?
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Birth of a Novel: Stalled Novel-itis
So the update this week is I was stalled something fierce, but I think I am finally shaking loose. The word-scree is starting to fall. Hopefully I won't be crushed in the subsequent avalanche.
Rather than reenact my panic and dismay, I thought I would share with you what helped me break free of being stalled and make some progress.
And for definition, when I say "stalled" I mean "has absolutely no clue what happens next and no amount of brainstorming has helped". Most people say to just keep going, and this is normally the best advice. But it's hard to keep going when you literally have no idea what's supposed to come next. At least for me, a plotter.
So here are some tips:
*Remind yourself why you love your book oh so much:
-listen to songs that make you think of your characters
-read poems, excerpts, other novels that remind you why you wanted to write it in the first place
-look through your picture file related to the book
-Make a list of all the things you LOVE about your novel
-if you haven't done any of the above, go ahead and do something now. Make a playlist of songs. Collect a bunch of pictures that capture the mood or look like your characters.
*Read articles on the subject:
-Janice Hardy Four Ways to Fix a Stalled Novel
-Chuck Wendig Jumpstarting a Stalled Novel
-Jim Butcher The Great Swampy Middle *note You can apply most of these techniques anywhere your novel is stalled.
*Read over the book again.
Take notes on any new ideas you might have, as well as old ideas and plot threads you've since forgotten about. Review your brainstorming notes.
*Do the opposite.
If you've outlined it to pieces, throw the note cards out (at least hide them for a while). If you haven't outlined, then make some note cards.
*Skip to the part you DO know about.
In the end, that's what got me going again. I normally prefer to write in order, but sometimes it can't be helped. If you don't know what scene comes next, but you do know what scene is supposed to come 5 scenes from now, go ahead and skip ahead. You can write yourself a little note about what happens plot wise ( *Sandy and the vampires find the Demon of Doom) and move on. Then you can either keep going forward, or if you have ideas about the space you left, you can go back and fill it in. Whatever floats your boat.
*Work on something else.
Some caveats: If you know you are the type to get Shiny New Idea syndrome and abandon every idea you're working on for a new one, you probably shouldn't try this.
When you work on something else, it should be AFTER you work on the main book. You should always make the current book your primary project. Give yourself a specific word count or time limit that you have to work on your primary project. Then with the other project do the same, only make the word count goal or time frame smaller. Much smaller.
The idea is to take the pressure off of the primary book. Personally, when I get stalled it feels like the end of the world. I know it's not, but somehow my brain doesn't get that. I panic and worry and freak out and just feel miserable. Things Aren't Going Well. By turning my attention to something else for a small portion of the day, the pressure lightens up. Yes, my book is stalled and wonky, but it in fact, is NOT the end of the world. Also I tend to get more ideas for the primary project if I am off thinking about something else.
I guess I am just contrary that way. But again, do not try this unless you've tried everything else, and you know you can maintain the discipline to keep working on your primary book. Otherwise, you'll abandon the book for the new idea, and then when the new idea gets hard, you'll abandon that one for something new, leaving a string of broken books in your wake and never finish anything. Also, you'll probably die cold and alone, without a single book to your name (I made that last part up. Mostly.).
What about you? What gets a stalled novel going again? Besides loads of caffeine and sugar.
If you've outlined it to pieces, throw the note cards out (at least hide them for a while). If you haven't outlined, then make some note cards.
*Skip to the part you DO know about.
In the end, that's what got me going again. I normally prefer to write in order, but sometimes it can't be helped. If you don't know what scene comes next, but you do know what scene is supposed to come 5 scenes from now, go ahead and skip ahead. You can write yourself a little note about what happens plot wise ( *Sandy and the vampires find the Demon of Doom) and move on. Then you can either keep going forward, or if you have ideas about the space you left, you can go back and fill it in. Whatever floats your boat.
*Work on something else.
Some caveats: If you know you are the type to get Shiny New Idea syndrome and abandon every idea you're working on for a new one, you probably shouldn't try this.
When you work on something else, it should be AFTER you work on the main book. You should always make the current book your primary project. Give yourself a specific word count or time limit that you have to work on your primary project. Then with the other project do the same, only make the word count goal or time frame smaller. Much smaller.
The idea is to take the pressure off of the primary book. Personally, when I get stalled it feels like the end of the world. I know it's not, but somehow my brain doesn't get that. I panic and worry and freak out and just feel miserable. Things Aren't Going Well. By turning my attention to something else for a small portion of the day, the pressure lightens up. Yes, my book is stalled and wonky, but it in fact, is NOT the end of the world. Also I tend to get more ideas for the primary project if I am off thinking about something else.
I guess I am just contrary that way. But again, do not try this unless you've tried everything else, and you know you can maintain the discipline to keep working on your primary book. Otherwise, you'll abandon the book for the new idea, and then when the new idea gets hard, you'll abandon that one for something new, leaving a string of broken books in your wake and never finish anything. Also, you'll probably die cold and alone, without a single book to your name (I made that last part up. Mostly.).
What about you? What gets a stalled novel going again? Besides loads of caffeine and sugar.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Just So You Know...Plot Points
Yesterday I was being very good and working on my book. Problem is, I am stalled, big time. I don't know what happens next, and at the moment, I don't really care. It feels stupid, boring, and like hard, hard work.
I know a big part of this is because I haven't be able to work on my book for about a week and half (you know how I am always going on about writing the first draft as quickly as possible? This is totally why.). But I looked at my outline and make a startling realization.
I had very few plot points. And of those, most weren't even proper plot points.
Here's the thing. You can totally put "learns to accept herself" on your outline. You really can. You can put whatever you want on there. But the reality is this really doesn't help you with your story in a concrete way. I put notes on my outline like that, but only to remind myself of where I want the character to be at that point. It does nothing for me as a plot event.
Also? Settings do not make good plot points either. "Goes to a club and sees the evil monkey" doesn't really help you. You have the "sees the evil monkey" which is the point of the scene, but "goes to a club" really doesn't help you. I can almost guarantee that you will get to that point in your outline, and wonder what the heck the character is going to DO once they get to the club and see the monkey.
The really sad thing is I know this already. I know better than to jot down "sees largest ball of twine" as a plot point. But a lot of times while I am outlining I jot stuff down and never go back to add details.
Then I get to where I am now, where I have an idea of where I want my character to go, and what sort of emotional journey she experiences, but very little ideas in the way of the actual plot. So here's a friendly reminder for you:
A plot event is a concrete event that moves your character from point A to point b.
Obviously this is a basic definition, but I want it vague enough that it will apply to different people's writing styles. The important thing to remember is a specific event. Like "Sally fights the zombies that have broken into the secret lab". Or "Jonathan kisses Mabel, and Denise walks in the middle of it."
Something happens. It's usually action oriented, even if it's not guns exploding and kittens being saved from a burning building.
Hopefully this little reminder will help you guys in your plotting endeavors. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an outline to rip apart.
What litmus test do you use for your outline? Any hard and fast rules or do you just keep everything vague?
I know a big part of this is because I haven't be able to work on my book for about a week and half (you know how I am always going on about writing the first draft as quickly as possible? This is totally why.). But I looked at my outline and make a startling realization.
I had very few plot points. And of those, most weren't even proper plot points.
Here's the thing. You can totally put "learns to accept herself" on your outline. You really can. You can put whatever you want on there. But the reality is this really doesn't help you with your story in a concrete way. I put notes on my outline like that, but only to remind myself of where I want the character to be at that point. It does nothing for me as a plot event.
Also? Settings do not make good plot points either. "Goes to a club and sees the evil monkey" doesn't really help you. You have the "sees the evil monkey" which is the point of the scene, but "goes to a club" really doesn't help you. I can almost guarantee that you will get to that point in your outline, and wonder what the heck the character is going to DO once they get to the club and see the monkey.
The really sad thing is I know this already. I know better than to jot down "sees largest ball of twine" as a plot point. But a lot of times while I am outlining I jot stuff down and never go back to add details.
Then I get to where I am now, where I have an idea of where I want my character to go, and what sort of emotional journey she experiences, but very little ideas in the way of the actual plot. So here's a friendly reminder for you:
A plot event is a concrete event that moves your character from point A to point b.
Obviously this is a basic definition, but I want it vague enough that it will apply to different people's writing styles. The important thing to remember is a specific event. Like "Sally fights the zombies that have broken into the secret lab". Or "Jonathan kisses Mabel, and Denise walks in the middle of it."
Something happens. It's usually action oriented, even if it's not guns exploding and kittens being saved from a burning building.
Hopefully this little reminder will help you guys in your plotting endeavors. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an outline to rip apart.
What litmus test do you use for your outline? Any hard and fast rules or do you just keep everything vague?
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Exploratory Draft Part Two
A while ago I blogged about calling my first draft an "exploratory draft". This idea came from Laini Taylor, who blogged about the same thing here.
Today I am revisiting the idea. I've wanted to write a post about this for a while, but I didn't feel like I'd come out to a place yet where I could.
The problem was letting go. I've finished a major rewrite. I've been working on developing an idea, but no matter how hard I tried the plot wouldn't come together. Suddenly I started to feel like a failure. I started to worry that the book, tradition urban fantasy, would just get lost among the hundreds of other urban fantasy books out there.
Then I thought about my other ideas, the weird ones. The ones that are like urban fantasy but set on another planet. Or even weirder than that, the ideas that approach being considered cyberpunk. The little voice worried that a market would be hard to find for those ideas because they are so strange. And what if the book does well? I'd been stuck in the genre.
Then of course the guilt set in, because I know I should not be worrying about agents and publishing at this stage; I should be focusing on the novel.
This little cycle of emotions made me realize some things. First, writers are crazy and I am no exception. Second, my doubt masquerades itself as a reasonable voice only looking out for my future. Do you see what it did there? First my idea was too normal and then it was too weird. I couldn't win either way.
So I tried to get back to that feeling, of just having fun with an idea. Allowing myself to write a really, really crappy first draft. Of writing scenes I knew would never make it. Of exploring the idea.
It's not as easy as it sounds. There's a lot invested in the idea after all. And for me, I have to have some idea of the primary conflict before I head off into writing land. Otherwise the idea fizzles after a few scenes.
I wish I could tell you that I had a magical breakthrough and the novel is now flowing off my fingertips like water from a stream, but that's not the case. I started something last night, but I don't know what the primary conflict is. I plan to spend time today figuring some basic things out, and hopefully I can start up again.
The point is to just keep trying. You're going to enter weird slumps and phases of your writing life, and sometimes you have to get really creative with the solutions.
Anyone have any horror stories to share? What about that nagging voice? How do you manage to ignore it enough to make it go away?
Today I am revisiting the idea. I've wanted to write a post about this for a while, but I didn't feel like I'd come out to a place yet where I could.
The problem was letting go. I've finished a major rewrite. I've been working on developing an idea, but no matter how hard I tried the plot wouldn't come together. Suddenly I started to feel like a failure. I started to worry that the book, tradition urban fantasy, would just get lost among the hundreds of other urban fantasy books out there.
Then I thought about my other ideas, the weird ones. The ones that are like urban fantasy but set on another planet. Or even weirder than that, the ideas that approach being considered cyberpunk. The little voice worried that a market would be hard to find for those ideas because they are so strange. And what if the book does well? I'd been stuck in the genre.
Then of course the guilt set in, because I know I should not be worrying about agents and publishing at this stage; I should be focusing on the novel.
This little cycle of emotions made me realize some things. First, writers are crazy and I am no exception. Second, my doubt masquerades itself as a reasonable voice only looking out for my future. Do you see what it did there? First my idea was too normal and then it was too weird. I couldn't win either way.
So I tried to get back to that feeling, of just having fun with an idea. Allowing myself to write a really, really crappy first draft. Of writing scenes I knew would never make it. Of exploring the idea.
It's not as easy as it sounds. There's a lot invested in the idea after all. And for me, I have to have some idea of the primary conflict before I head off into writing land. Otherwise the idea fizzles after a few scenes.
I wish I could tell you that I had a magical breakthrough and the novel is now flowing off my fingertips like water from a stream, but that's not the case. I started something last night, but I don't know what the primary conflict is. I plan to spend time today figuring some basic things out, and hopefully I can start up again.
The point is to just keep trying. You're going to enter weird slumps and phases of your writing life, and sometimes you have to get really creative with the solutions.
Anyone have any horror stories to share? What about that nagging voice? How do you manage to ignore it enough to make it go away?
Friday, September 23, 2011
Brevity is the Soul of Wit
Chuck Wendig has a flash fiction challenge every Friday. He frequently picks out his favorite and gives them some sort of awesome prize, like one of his ebooks.
This week he's done something interesting: the limit is three sentences. Yes, he means for you to tell a story in three sentences. You can post your entry on his blog in the comments section, and or on your own blog.
You can read the entries in the comments section now, and it's really interesting to see what people do with just three sentences.
It's made me analyze what goes into a story. What absolutely has to be there. Books are thousands of words long. At first I think, "Madness. You can't tell a real story in three sentences." But as I read though the comments section, where you post your entries, I realized you can tell a good story in just three sentences. It's amazing to look at a story at the barest bones.
You'd think you need to load each sentence with words, description, action. But as I read through the entries, most of those stories don't work for me. It's too much detail. I can't hold it all in my head, and the story becomes muddled.
Then you have the really simple sentences. "A boy was hungry. So hungry. He ate the world." It's a story, sure. Problem presented, problem solved. But there's nothing else to it. It doesn't leap alive in your head. It doesn't have movement and weight.
Read through some of those entries, and you'll get an entire story. It flows towards a conclusion, even in just three sentences. There's a quickening, the words paint a tale of more than just what's there. There's subtext, and most importantly to me, it feels complete. It's not just a quick character sketch. It feels like it's as long as it needs to be.
For someone who is long winded, this is an interesting revelation for me. What if after writing a rough draft, I told myself I had to cut X number of words from this chapter? This scene? This paragraph? How would I tell the story differently? How could I make my point without bogging the story down with needless words?
It's something I want to try in the future. Not cutting away the important pieces of the story, but challenging myself and really making sure that every single word needs to be there, is pulling it's own weight.
What about you? What works and what doesn't for those very short stories?
This week he's done something interesting: the limit is three sentences. Yes, he means for you to tell a story in three sentences. You can post your entry on his blog in the comments section, and or on your own blog.
You can read the entries in the comments section now, and it's really interesting to see what people do with just three sentences.
It's made me analyze what goes into a story. What absolutely has to be there. Books are thousands of words long. At first I think, "Madness. You can't tell a real story in three sentences." But as I read though the comments section, where you post your entries, I realized you can tell a good story in just three sentences. It's amazing to look at a story at the barest bones.
You'd think you need to load each sentence with words, description, action. But as I read through the entries, most of those stories don't work for me. It's too much detail. I can't hold it all in my head, and the story becomes muddled.
Then you have the really simple sentences. "A boy was hungry. So hungry. He ate the world." It's a story, sure. Problem presented, problem solved. But there's nothing else to it. It doesn't leap alive in your head. It doesn't have movement and weight.
Read through some of those entries, and you'll get an entire story. It flows towards a conclusion, even in just three sentences. There's a quickening, the words paint a tale of more than just what's there. There's subtext, and most importantly to me, it feels complete. It's not just a quick character sketch. It feels like it's as long as it needs to be.
For someone who is long winded, this is an interesting revelation for me. What if after writing a rough draft, I told myself I had to cut X number of words from this chapter? This scene? This paragraph? How would I tell the story differently? How could I make my point without bogging the story down with needless words?
It's something I want to try in the future. Not cutting away the important pieces of the story, but challenging myself and really making sure that every single word needs to be there, is pulling it's own weight.
What about you? What works and what doesn't for those very short stories?
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
When Life Gives You Lemons
You often hear that writers should borrow from their personal lives (and sometimes the lives of others) to fuel their writing with a sense of reality. After all, truth is stranger than fiction. I've heard a lot of stories from people over the years, partially because I ask the right questions, and partially because most of the time people find me easy to talk to, so they are confessing things to me they say they've never told anyone before.
I know this shared knowledge of pain, joy, anxiety, hunger, and ecstasy helps my writing. It helps me shape characters with realistic emotions and believable problems. But for me, the best occasions that I mine for emotional dept are my own experiences.
Saturday night I went to bed having some chest pain. I figured I was just sore from work, and went to sleep. When I woke up, the chest pain was still there. Worse, even. It started underneath my left breast and cut diagonally up to my left shoulder. It felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife, and I couldn't inhale deeply, cough, sneeze, or laugh without making the stabbing pain infinitely worse.
Since I am a writer, I went immediately to the worst case scenario. "I am having a heart attack. Pain in my left arm, classic heart attack. Or it's an ectopic pregnancy." (you're thinking, how can you have a normal pregnancy (where the egg is fertilized in the uterus) AND and ectopic pregnancy five months later? But my panicked brain was convinced I'd had twins and one got stuck in my fallopian tubes. It had now ruptured, and I was bleeding internally. This makes no sense, I realize that. But when you're having weird pain, your mind wanders. And in my case, sometimes knowledge just fuels the fire.).
But on the other side of the panic, was me thinking it was nothing. Pregnancy does really, really weird things to your body, and I know that. I didn't want to be one of those woman who freaks out when she has a slight twinge in her stomach. My body is doing it's werewolf impression: ligaments and muscles are stretching. I've gained weight, and I am a tiny person to begin with. So I also thought it was nothing.
After talking to a friend of mine, I called my midwife's office. The midwife says to take some Pepsid AC and tums. Sometimes heartburn can manifest as chest pain. Heavens knows I've had some wicked heartburn lately; sometimes it feels like I've swallowed a volcano. She says wait two hours. If the chest pain hasn't gone away, then I need to go to the ER to get checked out.
See folks, chest pain is sort of a big deal in the medical community. There are plenty of normal reasons why someone might have chest pain, but there are also lots of immediately life threatening causes behind chest pain, a blood clot being at the top of the list. Especially in pregnant women, blood clots can be an issue because you literally have more blood in your system. You can increase your blood volume up to 50% of what you had prior to becoming a baby incubator.
Two hours later, it still feels like a knife has magically found it's way into my ribs. My best friend (who also happens to be a nurse, lucky me) takes me to the ER to get poked and prodded. The only upside to going to the ER is "pregnant" and "chest pain" gets you back pretty quickly. They take a bunch of blood, do a chest X ray, and then I get to sit and wait for the results.
While we're waiting, the ER doctor comes back to tell me this blood test they've done to check the likelihood of a blood clot is almost always high in a pregnant woman, blood clot or not (it's back to that increased blood volume). In the event this test comes back positive, they will recommend a CAT scan. She then says that plenty of pregnant women who have had CAT scans give birth to healthy babies.
My brain completely stops at this point. I felt like I needed to press pause or something. Wait, what? She explains there's minimal risk to the baby, and even says she's pregnant herself. The risk of having a blood clot that will rupture and kill me is bigger than the risk of all that radiation and the dye they inject into my blood stream to see the blood vessels to the baby.
The doctor leaves and I proceed to cry. I was terrified. I was between a bottomless pit opening up to swallow me, and going numb. Suddenly I had this major decision to make. I hate making quick decisions like this, especially based on fear. How much of a risk is "minimal"? The same risk caffeine poses? Or the same risk, as say, crack cocaine? Crack addicts also give birth to perfectly healthy babies, as people like to tell me when I worry about something affecting the baby. But people, I am shooting a little higher than "baby born not addicted to crack".
I left a message with my midwife so I could find out more information, but the meantime was hell. I didn't want to hurt my baby. I also didn't want to be stupid and refuse some test that might find a blood clot. I also wondered what the chances that I actually had a blood clot versus the risk to the baby was. I would feel awful if it turned out I didn't have a blood clot, and I put the baby at risk for nothing.
It was awful to realize absolutely everything that happens to me happens to my little boy. I knew that already. It's why I am taking prenatal vitamins every though the fish oil makes my burbs taste way nasty. It's why I am avoiding tuna fish, sushi, and sweet tea.
But those were all things I could personally control. I couldn't control these chest pains, they were just there.
Added to the confusion was my prior ER experiences. I've had great ER doctors. I also have TMJD and a few years ago when I yawned, my jaw dislocated itself (yes, that can happen. Fun thought!). I went to the ER where the doctor was CONVINCED it was a muscle spasm. No amount of me telling him I literally cannot close my jaw, and I know what a muscle spams feels like, made him believe me. He said wait three days and then see an Ears, Nose, and Throat doctor. He gave me some muscle relaxers (which did NOTHING) and some heavy narcotics for the pain (which made me hallucinate) in the meantime. So for three days, my jaw stays locked open. I go see the ENT guy who wants to know why the hell the doctor didn't send me right away, or to better yet, an oral surgeon who's job is to deal with TMJ.
So I also have this scenario playing out in my head as I weigh the risks and benefits of having a CAT scan while 5 months pregnant (for those of you wondering, the ENT doctor manually put my jaw back into place, which hurt like nothing I've ever felt before. I imagine labor will be worse, but until then...).
The happy ending to this story is the blood test came back normal, despite my current state of baby incubating. So I didn't have to have a CAT scan. They figured I must have pulled something at work and told me to take it easy for a few days.
It was awful to experience that sort of indecision, fear, and worry, but let me tell you, it makes great writing. You take experiences like I just had, and you give them to your character. She doesn't have to pregnant with a possible blood clot for it to work. I've never felt that mixture of protectiveness over my baby, anxiety, indecision, and fear before, but that doesn't mean a character wouldn't feel the same way when faced with a tough decision regarding her child, sister, mother, or best friend.
Likewise, you can go through your life. Did you ever make a really big, dumb mistake? How did you feel? How did you try to fix or cover that mistake? Have you gotten married? What did it feel like the exact moment you stood at the altar? Have you ever feel deeply in love with someone who didn't even like you? How did you deal with the joy of love and pain of loneliness at the same time? These are experiences that we've all felt in one way or another. You don't have to copy the exact event in your life to apply it to your character, because emotions are universal. Maybe your mistake played out okay in your life, but in the character's life it's just made everything worse.
Red Smith once said, "Writing is easy. You just sit down at the typewriter, open up a vein, and bleed it out drop by drop."
I feel like that's what he meant. You take your life, your happiest moments, your deepest sorrow, your greatest pain, and you put that in words on the page. If you do it well enough, your reader bleeds along with you.
I know this shared knowledge of pain, joy, anxiety, hunger, and ecstasy helps my writing. It helps me shape characters with realistic emotions and believable problems. But for me, the best occasions that I mine for emotional dept are my own experiences.
Saturday night I went to bed having some chest pain. I figured I was just sore from work, and went to sleep. When I woke up, the chest pain was still there. Worse, even. It started underneath my left breast and cut diagonally up to my left shoulder. It felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife, and I couldn't inhale deeply, cough, sneeze, or laugh without making the stabbing pain infinitely worse.
Since I am a writer, I went immediately to the worst case scenario. "I am having a heart attack. Pain in my left arm, classic heart attack. Or it's an ectopic pregnancy." (you're thinking, how can you have a normal pregnancy (where the egg is fertilized in the uterus) AND and ectopic pregnancy five months later? But my panicked brain was convinced I'd had twins and one got stuck in my fallopian tubes. It had now ruptured, and I was bleeding internally. This makes no sense, I realize that. But when you're having weird pain, your mind wanders. And in my case, sometimes knowledge just fuels the fire.).
But on the other side of the panic, was me thinking it was nothing. Pregnancy does really, really weird things to your body, and I know that. I didn't want to be one of those woman who freaks out when she has a slight twinge in her stomach. My body is doing it's werewolf impression: ligaments and muscles are stretching. I've gained weight, and I am a tiny person to begin with. So I also thought it was nothing.
After talking to a friend of mine, I called my midwife's office. The midwife says to take some Pepsid AC and tums. Sometimes heartburn can manifest as chest pain. Heavens knows I've had some wicked heartburn lately; sometimes it feels like I've swallowed a volcano. She says wait two hours. If the chest pain hasn't gone away, then I need to go to the ER to get checked out.
See folks, chest pain is sort of a big deal in the medical community. There are plenty of normal reasons why someone might have chest pain, but there are also lots of immediately life threatening causes behind chest pain, a blood clot being at the top of the list. Especially in pregnant women, blood clots can be an issue because you literally have more blood in your system. You can increase your blood volume up to 50% of what you had prior to becoming a baby incubator.
Two hours later, it still feels like a knife has magically found it's way into my ribs. My best friend (who also happens to be a nurse, lucky me) takes me to the ER to get poked and prodded. The only upside to going to the ER is "pregnant" and "chest pain" gets you back pretty quickly. They take a bunch of blood, do a chest X ray, and then I get to sit and wait for the results.
While we're waiting, the ER doctor comes back to tell me this blood test they've done to check the likelihood of a blood clot is almost always high in a pregnant woman, blood clot or not (it's back to that increased blood volume). In the event this test comes back positive, they will recommend a CAT scan. She then says that plenty of pregnant women who have had CAT scans give birth to healthy babies.
My brain completely stops at this point. I felt like I needed to press pause or something. Wait, what? She explains there's minimal risk to the baby, and even says she's pregnant herself. The risk of having a blood clot that will rupture and kill me is bigger than the risk of all that radiation and the dye they inject into my blood stream to see the blood vessels to the baby.
The doctor leaves and I proceed to cry. I was terrified. I was between a bottomless pit opening up to swallow me, and going numb. Suddenly I had this major decision to make. I hate making quick decisions like this, especially based on fear. How much of a risk is "minimal"? The same risk caffeine poses? Or the same risk, as say, crack cocaine? Crack addicts also give birth to perfectly healthy babies, as people like to tell me when I worry about something affecting the baby. But people, I am shooting a little higher than "baby born not addicted to crack".
I left a message with my midwife so I could find out more information, but the meantime was hell. I didn't want to hurt my baby. I also didn't want to be stupid and refuse some test that might find a blood clot. I also wondered what the chances that I actually had a blood clot versus the risk to the baby was. I would feel awful if it turned out I didn't have a blood clot, and I put the baby at risk for nothing.
It was awful to realize absolutely everything that happens to me happens to my little boy. I knew that already. It's why I am taking prenatal vitamins every though the fish oil makes my burbs taste way nasty. It's why I am avoiding tuna fish, sushi, and sweet tea.
But those were all things I could personally control. I couldn't control these chest pains, they were just there.
Added to the confusion was my prior ER experiences. I've had great ER doctors. I also have TMJD and a few years ago when I yawned, my jaw dislocated itself (yes, that can happen. Fun thought!). I went to the ER where the doctor was CONVINCED it was a muscle spasm. No amount of me telling him I literally cannot close my jaw, and I know what a muscle spams feels like, made him believe me. He said wait three days and then see an Ears, Nose, and Throat doctor. He gave me some muscle relaxers (which did NOTHING) and some heavy narcotics for the pain (which made me hallucinate) in the meantime. So for three days, my jaw stays locked open. I go see the ENT guy who wants to know why the hell the doctor didn't send me right away, or to better yet, an oral surgeon who's job is to deal with TMJ.
So I also have this scenario playing out in my head as I weigh the risks and benefits of having a CAT scan while 5 months pregnant (for those of you wondering, the ENT doctor manually put my jaw back into place, which hurt like nothing I've ever felt before. I imagine labor will be worse, but until then...).
The happy ending to this story is the blood test came back normal, despite my current state of baby incubating. So I didn't have to have a CAT scan. They figured I must have pulled something at work and told me to take it easy for a few days.
It was awful to experience that sort of indecision, fear, and worry, but let me tell you, it makes great writing. You take experiences like I just had, and you give them to your character. She doesn't have to pregnant with a possible blood clot for it to work. I've never felt that mixture of protectiveness over my baby, anxiety, indecision, and fear before, but that doesn't mean a character wouldn't feel the same way when faced with a tough decision regarding her child, sister, mother, or best friend.
Likewise, you can go through your life. Did you ever make a really big, dumb mistake? How did you feel? How did you try to fix or cover that mistake? Have you gotten married? What did it feel like the exact moment you stood at the altar? Have you ever feel deeply in love with someone who didn't even like you? How did you deal with the joy of love and pain of loneliness at the same time? These are experiences that we've all felt in one way or another. You don't have to copy the exact event in your life to apply it to your character, because emotions are universal. Maybe your mistake played out okay in your life, but in the character's life it's just made everything worse.
Red Smith once said, "Writing is easy. You just sit down at the typewriter, open up a vein, and bleed it out drop by drop."
I feel like that's what he meant. You take your life, your happiest moments, your deepest sorrow, your greatest pain, and you put that in words on the page. If you do it well enough, your reader bleeds along with you.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Link Salad
So for today I had this really awesome post planned about Spike, a character from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and how cool he is, yet how badly they mess with his character.
But then Blogger ate it.
I am still bitter, so I don't feel like retyping it. So instead, I noticed today there are some cool blog posts that really resonated with me as on the nose, or helpful, or just amusing. So, here are the links, but also my commentary.
1. Do You Limit Yourself?
I have two people I thought of when I saw this post. I have a friend who likes to read, but is always complaining about the book she's reading. For some reason, she refuses to stop reading in the middle of the book if it still sucks. She will finish that book no matter what.
I used to do that. I used to just have to find out what happened, even if the book was slow, boring, and poorly written. Now, I just don't have the time. I have too much other stuff demanding my attention, stuff I actually want to do. Also, she's the sort of person who won't watch a show because of the actor playing a minor character, and doesn't like to eat certain foods for various reasons that have nothing to do with how they taste.
You know, that's her life. She is the only person who can live it, but sometimes I see how she allows her feelings and prior experience to taint possible new experiences. She reads a bad book in a certain genre, and suddenly she can't read that genre.
What I try to do is allow myself to experience something new. Even if I've had a bad experience with it in the past. Because you never know.
Someday, I may even come to enjoy coffee.
2. Twisting in the Wind: Plotting Red Herrings
I love Janice's blog, but this post is especially helpful. Have you ever wondered how books and movies set up a twist ending that leaves you feeling excited and amazed? Well here, Janice talks about how you can achieve just that in your writing by using specific examples.
3. Shouting from My Social Media Soapbox
Tawna Fenske is always funny on her blog, but today the post is funny and very helpful. If you feel like you're lost when it comes to social media, if you're trying to make it work for you but it's just not working, I would suggest checking out her post. Even for those of you who are bending Twitter and Facebook to your will might want to check it out. The advice is very simple, but extremely insightful. It really helped me gain perspective on the whole Twitter/Facebook/Blogging thing.
And that's all I have for you today. Feel free to comment on the posts, or post your own links in the comments section. And have a happy Friday! I will be back complaining about Spike on Monday.
But then Blogger ate it.
I am still bitter, so I don't feel like retyping it. So instead, I noticed today there are some cool blog posts that really resonated with me as on the nose, or helpful, or just amusing. So, here are the links, but also my commentary.
1. Do You Limit Yourself?
I have two people I thought of when I saw this post. I have a friend who likes to read, but is always complaining about the book she's reading. For some reason, she refuses to stop reading in the middle of the book if it still sucks. She will finish that book no matter what.
I used to do that. I used to just have to find out what happened, even if the book was slow, boring, and poorly written. Now, I just don't have the time. I have too much other stuff demanding my attention, stuff I actually want to do. Also, she's the sort of person who won't watch a show because of the actor playing a minor character, and doesn't like to eat certain foods for various reasons that have nothing to do with how they taste.
You know, that's her life. She is the only person who can live it, but sometimes I see how she allows her feelings and prior experience to taint possible new experiences. She reads a bad book in a certain genre, and suddenly she can't read that genre.
What I try to do is allow myself to experience something new. Even if I've had a bad experience with it in the past. Because you never know.
Someday, I may even come to enjoy coffee.
2. Twisting in the Wind: Plotting Red Herrings
I love Janice's blog, but this post is especially helpful. Have you ever wondered how books and movies set up a twist ending that leaves you feeling excited and amazed? Well here, Janice talks about how you can achieve just that in your writing by using specific examples.
3. Shouting from My Social Media Soapbox
Tawna Fenske is always funny on her blog, but today the post is funny and very helpful. If you feel like you're lost when it comes to social media, if you're trying to make it work for you but it's just not working, I would suggest checking out her post. Even for those of you who are bending Twitter and Facebook to your will might want to check it out. The advice is very simple, but extremely insightful. It really helped me gain perspective on the whole Twitter/Facebook/Blogging thing.
And that's all I have for you today. Feel free to comment on the posts, or post your own links in the comments section. And have a happy Friday! I will be back complaining about Spike on Monday.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Why Your Main Character's Age is Important
I was talking with my friend Liz the other day about genres among other things like her cats, my baby, and our books.
She mentioned the reasons why she enjoyed writing about YA. She included things like the main character having to deal with parents, and feeling like an adult and having responsibilities, but also being stuck as a kid in many situations.
Which got me thinking about why I like to write about main characters who are in their early twenties. I like writing about character who vividly remembers being in high school (or the fantasy equivalent thereof) but now they are considered adults. They are suddenly in charge of their own lives, but often feel really unprepared. In my experience, most teenagers don't spend a lot of time learning how to budget, how to balance their bank accounts, and don't actually realize how much stuff costs.
They are in college or just starting their new job. As a senior in high school, you're at the top of the heap.
As a young twenty something, you're right back at the bottom.
Their love life can be tumultuous. Maybe they had some significant others in high school; maybe not. Maybe they are trying to reinvent themselves, as they realize no one no longer cares if you were the class geek or the captain of the football team. Maybe they still don't know what they want their career to be, and they're feeling a lot of pressure to figure it out soon.
And their family. As a new adult, they are suddenly no longer bound by what their parents say (if they obeyed as teenagers), but there's a long history of obligation to do so. Some people still fall in lock step with what their parents want, while others go in the opposite route and rebel now (this seems even more likely if the new adult didn't rebel as a teenager, and is attending college).
To me, writing about "new adults" has every bit as many interesting challenges and obstacles as writing about teenagers. It's just a different set of problems and expectations.
And I don't think it stops there. Writing about a character who is thirty carries it's own host of expectations. It says as much about a thirty year old if he's still living in his parent's basement as it does if he is instead is married with 2.5 kids, one dog, and has a house with a white picket fence.
Same goes for any character at any age. You can mine the age of the character for minor conflicts (or entire book ideas, a la Literary fiction) at any point. What's more, I feel like it makes the book a richer experience. I've read tons of urban fantasy where the main character is a woman in her late twenties, early thirties, but it feels forgettable. She has her own place, has a job, and might be dating, but there are no other markers of her age. It's forgettable.
Sometimes this is the desired result, but perhaps consider your character's age the next time you're writing. After all, why should the Young Adult authors have all the fun with the challenges that come with a certain age?
She mentioned the reasons why she enjoyed writing about YA. She included things like the main character having to deal with parents, and feeling like an adult and having responsibilities, but also being stuck as a kid in many situations.
Which got me thinking about why I like to write about main characters who are in their early twenties. I like writing about character who vividly remembers being in high school (or the fantasy equivalent thereof) but now they are considered adults. They are suddenly in charge of their own lives, but often feel really unprepared. In my experience, most teenagers don't spend a lot of time learning how to budget, how to balance their bank accounts, and don't actually realize how much stuff costs.
They are in college or just starting their new job. As a senior in high school, you're at the top of the heap.
As a young twenty something, you're right back at the bottom.
Their love life can be tumultuous. Maybe they had some significant others in high school; maybe not. Maybe they are trying to reinvent themselves, as they realize no one no longer cares if you were the class geek or the captain of the football team. Maybe they still don't know what they want their career to be, and they're feeling a lot of pressure to figure it out soon.
And their family. As a new adult, they are suddenly no longer bound by what their parents say (if they obeyed as teenagers), but there's a long history of obligation to do so. Some people still fall in lock step with what their parents want, while others go in the opposite route and rebel now (this seems even more likely if the new adult didn't rebel as a teenager, and is attending college).
To me, writing about "new adults" has every bit as many interesting challenges and obstacles as writing about teenagers. It's just a different set of problems and expectations.
And I don't think it stops there. Writing about a character who is thirty carries it's own host of expectations. It says as much about a thirty year old if he's still living in his parent's basement as it does if he is instead is married with 2.5 kids, one dog, and has a house with a white picket fence.
Same goes for any character at any age. You can mine the age of the character for minor conflicts (or entire book ideas, a la Literary fiction) at any point. What's more, I feel like it makes the book a richer experience. I've read tons of urban fantasy where the main character is a woman in her late twenties, early thirties, but it feels forgettable. She has her own place, has a job, and might be dating, but there are no other markers of her age. It's forgettable.
Sometimes this is the desired result, but perhaps consider your character's age the next time you're writing. After all, why should the Young Adult authors have all the fun with the challenges that come with a certain age?
Thursday, August 18, 2011
How to Make Cliches Work for You
Yesterday I have a mild panic attack. I blame the pregnancy hormones. While drafting my query letter for The Heart's Remains, I had this horrible suspicion that the book sounded like one big clichefest. Exorcists. Demon summonings. Summoners. Family secrets. Not exactly untrodden ground here, especially in fantasy.
This of course was not true. I know that. I'm not saying I completely reinvented the wheel (that would be impossible, since the book is a loose retelling of Snow White), but I know my book isn't one big cliche. Sometimes when you boil an idea down to it's smallest parts it can feel like that, but as we know, a lot of what makes something fresh and new is the execution.
I've talked about that before, so today I thought instead I would show you how to make a cliche in your genre work for you. I personally don't think there's anything wrong with a trope, so long as they are used sparingly, or you do something cool with them. After all, most ideas become a trope because there's something enduring about them. I think once you've thought through the cliche and used it to your advantage, it become a trope. You still need to use tropes sparingly, but not you're thinking about the elements of your idea, not just piling on a bunch of ideas that have all been done to death.
See this article here about tropes: Tropes Are Tools
And here is a good livejournal post about Trope vs. Cliche.
Let me also say that I don't usually get story ideas this way. Normally I have a vague idea for a story and where I want it to go before I start taking each piece apart. It gives me a better sense of the direction I want to take the reversal. But there's nothing saying you can't say, "Man. I love the 'Love at first sight' trope. Let's see what sort of story I can make of that!"
This requires a tiny bit of research. But it's the fun, don't let it suck you in, sort of research.
So here we go. I am going to use the trope "Chosen One" since a) It's a pretty common trope. It's considered a cliche in most stories nowadays, and b) I am developing a novel with a chosen one in it, so I've already done a lot of thinking on it.
1. Scouting
Your first defense against a cliche is research. I like to use TV Tropes.org as a good starting place. They have a vast collection of tropes and things are cross referenced.
We simply type "Chosen One" into the search box and pull up a long entry. The entry itself is also riddle with links, so you might want to check a few of them out if you're confused. There's also a long list of examples from books, movies, TV, and even webcomics. I like to skim through the examples to give myself an idea of how the trope has been done before.
Here is another trick. Scroll down the entry and you see where the "Chosen One" trope is on the trope axis. You get a lot of similar tropes to look at. "Fate and Prophecy types", "Magical Girl Tropes", "Heroes", "Archetypal Characters", "Empowerment", and "Discredited Tropes" (which means it's been done to death, didn't age well, or people have come to hate this trope).
Since my story deals more with fate versus free will, I will look at the "Fate and Prophecy types" branch. But let's say you're trying to pay homage to a traditional fantasy story. You've got an idea that you're going to use classic archetypes and then parody the heck out of all of them. "Archetypal Characters" would probably be a better branch for you in that case.
My search gives me all sorts of plays on the Chosen One trope:
*The Chosen Zero
*It Sucks to be the Chosen One
*The Unchosen One
Next, you attempt to list all the movies and books you've seen/read that used the Chosen One as a trope. Depending on the trope you're researching, you might even want to re-watch some of these to see how they did it.
In this example, Chosen One has been done so often it would be a great idea for you to brush up on how other works have used this trope. You're going to really want to shoot for something different here, especially if the Chosen One is your main character.
2. Processing
That's enough information for now, don't you think? You don't want to get too crazy with this.
Now we sit down and use our brains. Think about why this element is popular enough to be a trope or cliche if done badly. How it is used? Why has it endured for so long?
For the Chosen One, I already know why it's popular. (Mythologists speculate) it comes from ancient legends, when people were still telling tales around the campfire. Cultures needed a way to designate the hero from everyone else, so they said that destiny chose this person, or this chosen one is the son of a god.
This is also why it's almost a cliche. Because it's been done before we even invented books. Also, it's no longer a cultural necessity for us to use destiny/the gods to tell people who the hero is. We have other ways of designating the hero, and sometimes we'd rather the hero to be a guy just like us (hence the Everyman trope).
Take your list and ask yourself the following:
*What do we expect from this trope?
*What is ordinary about how I want to use this trope?
*What is extraordinary about how I want to use this trope?
You don't have to get this all in one go. I often have one place in my brainstorming document for this, and I often add to it as I think about the idea. I also place my notes underneath the trope in question, so it looks little thought trees. :D
Here's an example:
This of course was not true. I know that. I'm not saying I completely reinvented the wheel (that would be impossible, since the book is a loose retelling of Snow White), but I know my book isn't one big cliche. Sometimes when you boil an idea down to it's smallest parts it can feel like that, but as we know, a lot of what makes something fresh and new is the execution.
I've talked about that before, so today I thought instead I would show you how to make a cliche in your genre work for you. I personally don't think there's anything wrong with a trope, so long as they are used sparingly, or you do something cool with them. After all, most ideas become a trope because there's something enduring about them. I think once you've thought through the cliche and used it to your advantage, it become a trope. You still need to use tropes sparingly, but not you're thinking about the elements of your idea, not just piling on a bunch of ideas that have all been done to death.
See this article here about tropes: Tropes Are Tools
And here is a good livejournal post about Trope vs. Cliche.
Let me also say that I don't usually get story ideas this way. Normally I have a vague idea for a story and where I want it to go before I start taking each piece apart. It gives me a better sense of the direction I want to take the reversal. But there's nothing saying you can't say, "Man. I love the 'Love at first sight' trope. Let's see what sort of story I can make of that!"
This requires a tiny bit of research. But it's the fun, don't let it suck you in, sort of research.
So here we go. I am going to use the trope "Chosen One" since a) It's a pretty common trope. It's considered a cliche in most stories nowadays, and b) I am developing a novel with a chosen one in it, so I've already done a lot of thinking on it.
1. Scouting
Your first defense against a cliche is research. I like to use TV Tropes.org as a good starting place. They have a vast collection of tropes and things are cross referenced.
We simply type "Chosen One" into the search box and pull up a long entry. The entry itself is also riddle with links, so you might want to check a few of them out if you're confused. There's also a long list of examples from books, movies, TV, and even webcomics. I like to skim through the examples to give myself an idea of how the trope has been done before.
Here is another trick. Scroll down the entry and you see where the "Chosen One" trope is on the trope axis. You get a lot of similar tropes to look at. "Fate and Prophecy types", "Magical Girl Tropes", "Heroes", "Archetypal Characters", "Empowerment", and "Discredited Tropes" (which means it's been done to death, didn't age well, or people have come to hate this trope).
Since my story deals more with fate versus free will, I will look at the "Fate and Prophecy types" branch. But let's say you're trying to pay homage to a traditional fantasy story. You've got an idea that you're going to use classic archetypes and then parody the heck out of all of them. "Archetypal Characters" would probably be a better branch for you in that case.
My search gives me all sorts of plays on the Chosen One trope:
*The Chosen Zero
*It Sucks to be the Chosen One
*The Unchosen One
Next, you attempt to list all the movies and books you've seen/read that used the Chosen One as a trope. Depending on the trope you're researching, you might even want to re-watch some of these to see how they did it.
In this example, Chosen One has been done so often it would be a great idea for you to brush up on how other works have used this trope. You're going to really want to shoot for something different here, especially if the Chosen One is your main character.
2. Processing
That's enough information for now, don't you think? You don't want to get too crazy with this.
Now we sit down and use our brains. Think about why this element is popular enough to be a trope or cliche if done badly. How it is used? Why has it endured for so long?
For the Chosen One, I already know why it's popular. (Mythologists speculate) it comes from ancient legends, when people were still telling tales around the campfire. Cultures needed a way to designate the hero from everyone else, so they said that destiny chose this person, or this chosen one is the son of a god.
This is also why it's almost a cliche. Because it's been done before we even invented books. Also, it's no longer a cultural necessity for us to use destiny/the gods to tell people who the hero is. We have other ways of designating the hero, and sometimes we'd rather the hero to be a guy just like us (hence the Everyman trope).
Take your list and ask yourself the following:
*What do we expect from this trope?
*What is ordinary about how I want to use this trope?
*What is extraordinary about how I want to use this trope?
You don't have to get this all in one go. I often have one place in my brainstorming document for this, and I often add to it as I think about the idea. I also place my notes underneath the trope in question, so it looks little thought trees. :D
Here's an example:
*What do we expect from this trope?
*We’d expect the Chosen one to fulfill their prophecy right away and
always be on the side of the good guys.
But in Star Wars, Darth Vader did both. He subverted the
prophecy because he helped kill the Jedi, and then later on with the help of
Luke, he kills the Emperor and fulfills the original prophecy of getting rid of
the Sith Lords.
*We’d expect the Chosen
One to not have a Chooser, for it just to be a nebulous “fate” thing. A
prophecy, something they can’t confront.
What if instead there was a chooser? Or the Chosen One themselves was the Chooser of the fate. Valkyries, Fates, the Morrigan, Norns.
So underneath I often put what I am going to do, if anything, to address the audiences expectations of the trope. You don't have to address every single expectation. Some of those expectations are going to be fulfilled, and that's okay.
The really cool thing is thinking about each expectation often gives me neat ideas. I think the Darth Vader both fulfilling and subverting the prophecy is AWESOME. That makes me happy. I also now have cool ideas for norns and fates and valkyries. Also good stuff.
The important thing to remember is to not drive yourself crazy with thinking you're writing a terrible book riddled with cliches. Some tropes you use are just going to be there, no matter what. If the good guys win, congratulations, that's a trope. If the guy gets the girl, also a trope.
Tropes are simply what we expect from a story with a certain set up. You can have your fun though, if you think about which elements you want to subvert and twist by trying to figure how you can do things differently.
It's also important to note that context is king. If you're writing a medieval fantasy novel set in pseudo-Europe and there's an ancient prophecy where a farm boy turns out to be the Chosen one and picks up a sword to defeat the Dark Lord, then your Chosen One trope is going to feel A LOT like a cliche.
But, if you do like J.K. Rowling did, and instead set her Chosen One to a magical wizard school (also a trope) where he had to learn the ropes and had to stop Voldemort from taking over the muggle and magical world, it feels less like a cliche. Rowling did enough interesting worldbuilding and had enough clever new twists that her Chosen One didn't feel like the same old same old. Especially when she introduced the concept that Voldemort MADE Harry the Chosen One by killing his parents. How it could have been Neville instead.
So. Does anyone have any other thoughts to add? Anyone want to see me pick apart another trope?
Friday, July 29, 2011
A Brilliant Post As Written By Others
Today I was going to write a post about the journey of the writer never getting easier, but why that's a good thing. I was going to talk about the ups and downs.
But it seems Beth Revis and Elizabeth Davis have already beaten me to the punch.
Liz has a visual representation of what it's like to write a book that had me cracking up.
Beth Revis has an amazing post, complete with a graph, of why you're never going to feel like it's "good enough" and why that's okay.
So away! Feast your eyes on their wisdom!
But it seems Beth Revis and Elizabeth Davis have already beaten me to the punch.
Liz has a visual representation of what it's like to write a book that had me cracking up.
Beth Revis has an amazing post, complete with a graph, of why you're never going to feel like it's "good enough" and why that's okay.
So away! Feast your eyes on their wisdom!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Writing With Soul
I don't know how else to describe it. It's just hard. You know what you want the words to say, you know how you want the story to be. You have so very many hopes and desires for your novel. But there's this disconnect between your subconscious and conscious idea of your novel, and the actual product.
Holly Lisle once said words have weight. And it's true. An idea feels completely different than that idea fleshed out into a complete novel. The words add up to give you a sense of gravity, like a sculptor slowly chiseling away stone until a man emerges.
Sometimes this is disheartening, scary. Sometimes I feel like I bit off more than I can chew with this novel. It's steampunk, and Gothic horror, but set in a fantasy setting. There's a lot of stuff going on in the book. I've always been an ambitious person, and my writing is a place I tend to challenge myself. I am usually far outside my comfort zone in terms of the book I am writing. I am trying a new sort of character, a new type of setting, a new style of plot, and frequently, more than one of these examples at once.
It can feel daunting. Depressing. Like I'll never be able to tell the story with justice.
But yesterday on Twitter, James Scott Bell posted this video:
It helped. I like the idea of using the frustration to fuel you through your writing. That the frustration is a sign you're growing. Hopefully improving.
Trying new and scary things with your book is a good thing. It helps you grow. You spread your wings when you try. For me, I think it grows my writer's soul and maintains my interest in a book.
What about you? How do you approach your writing?
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Villainous Villains
Okay! So today we're going to talk about villains, or antagonists for the politically correct, and since there's already been a ton said on them, I am going to keep this short and sweet.
I read on someone's blog somewhere (I wish I knew where, or I would totally link it) that you should think of your antagonist as the protagonist who failed.
Let's take Star Wars as an example. Luke Skywalker is a Jedi Knight. He is learning how to use the Force for good and stop the evil empire. Darth Vader is also a Jedi Knight. He is also wildly talented, but instead, uses the Force for evil. They are mirror opposites, and when we find out *SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE OF YOU WAKING UP FROM COMAS* that Darth Vader is Luke's father, it makes their connection all the stronger. Luke's father failed to resist the temptation of the Dark Side. Will Luke be able to do the same thing?
This idea always reminds of a level in video games they sometimes make you play. You're stuck in a mirror world, and you have to fight your mirror self, often called "Shadow Link" or "Dark Mario."
That scene in The Empire Strikes Back? Where Luke is fighting Darth Vader in the cave, and then he realizes he's really fighting himself? That's how a really effective antagonist works. He doesn't have to be an evil cyborg Jedi Knight bent on destruction. Your antagonist can be a good person. He just has to show the protagonist how he's going to turn out if he fails. He sets up the consequences of failure.
In this manner, your antagonist has the most in common with your protagonist, even more so than the protagonist's friends. A cop chases after a serial killer. A cop upholds the law, the serial killer breaks the law. A doctor is fighting to save a patient from an unknown disease. A soldier is fighting enemy soldiers in a war. Each protagonist and antagonist are locked in a give and take struggle. It's what makes fiction so engaging.
Not all antagonists are a mirror of your character's darker self. Godzilla comes to mind. Some of them are just the pure evil, gonna crush you all sorts. But if if you're going for something deeper, consider how alike the protagonist and antagonist are. Consider having the protagonist seriously tempted with "the dark side".
And then show him the consequences of failure with the antagonist. This has a surprising effect of not only developing your protagonist better, but your antagonist as well.
I read on someone's blog somewhere (I wish I knew where, or I would totally link it) that you should think of your antagonist as the protagonist who failed.
Let's take Star Wars as an example. Luke Skywalker is a Jedi Knight. He is learning how to use the Force for good and stop the evil empire. Darth Vader is also a Jedi Knight. He is also wildly talented, but instead, uses the Force for evil. They are mirror opposites, and when we find out *SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE OF YOU WAKING UP FROM COMAS* that Darth Vader is Luke's father, it makes their connection all the stronger. Luke's father failed to resist the temptation of the Dark Side. Will Luke be able to do the same thing?
This idea always reminds of a level in video games they sometimes make you play. You're stuck in a mirror world, and you have to fight your mirror self, often called "Shadow Link" or "Dark Mario."
 |
| A screen shot of Nintendo's Zelda: Ocarina of Time Link vs. Shadow Link. You do not want to know how many yaoi Link/Shadow Link pictures I turned up when Googling this screenshot. It's just...wrong, Internet. Wrong. If you do not know what "yaoi" is, you don't want to know. Ignorance is bliss. |
In this manner, your antagonist has the most in common with your protagonist, even more so than the protagonist's friends. A cop chases after a serial killer. A cop upholds the law, the serial killer breaks the law. A doctor is fighting to save a patient from an unknown disease. A soldier is fighting enemy soldiers in a war. Each protagonist and antagonist are locked in a give and take struggle. It's what makes fiction so engaging.
Not all antagonists are a mirror of your character's darker self. Godzilla comes to mind. Some of them are just the pure evil, gonna crush you all sorts. But if if you're going for something deeper, consider how alike the protagonist and antagonist are. Consider having the protagonist seriously tempted with "the dark side".
And then show him the consequences of failure with the antagonist. This has a surprising effect of not only developing your protagonist better, but your antagonist as well.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Writing As a Job
Yesterday I was talking to Liz, and congratulating myself. I'd made a lot of progress on my rewrite on Saturday, enough to hit the 20K milestone. Of course, yesterday I was tapped out and having shiny new ideas distracting me.
I made like a good writer, jotted the new ideas down, and went back to work on my rewrite. But during the conversation Liz had an excellent suggestion that I've pondered ever since.
Treat your writing like a job.
Not just in the "butt in chair every day" way, but with the benefits as well. Give yourself holidays off. Keep track of your hours worked and let that accrue into sick days and vacation. Keep a set schedule of hours and work on your main project during those hours, every work day you set, just like you go to your day job.
I think this is a fabulous idea. Not just how it keeps you accountable, but how it also keeps you sane. I have issues with guilt. I have a day job, but aside from that I have a fair bit of free time. Since writing is my joy, it's what I do during most of my time off.
Normally this works out fine. But sometimes, having "work on book" scheduled in every single hour of your free time sucks. Because if I am tired when I come home and opt to veg in front of the TV instead, I feel guilty. If I am sick, more guilt. If I just don't feel like it, because I've been working on the book for hours every single day with no end in sight, I feel guilty for not working on my book.
If instead I give myself a set schedule to follow, complete with sick days and vacation time, suddenly there's structure. I spend less time flailing around for an hour, and just get right to work. I know when I need to start and when I can stop without feeling like I am slacking off.
Of course, there will probably be days where I exceed my set number of hours, but Liz has a back up for that too. When you go into overtime, you keep track of the amount of over time you spend. This accrues into time you can spend however you want. You can give yourself the day off, or use it to work on a shiny new idea.
I think writing is so hard sometimes because you can't see the end. Writing a book seems like it takes forever, and you know when you're finished you're not really done. Rewriting is hard for the same reason. There's an obvious end to the book, but the road just seems to go on and on without an end in sight. It gets hard to measure your success and progress.
If like me, you work much better when you have a set structure in place, consider doing what I will be doing today and making yourself a writing schedule.
Sometimes it's the rules that set us free.
What about you? How to you manage your writing time? How do you find the balance between your real life and your writing?
I made like a good writer, jotted the new ideas down, and went back to work on my rewrite. But during the conversation Liz had an excellent suggestion that I've pondered ever since.
Treat your writing like a job.
Not just in the "butt in chair every day" way, but with the benefits as well. Give yourself holidays off. Keep track of your hours worked and let that accrue into sick days and vacation. Keep a set schedule of hours and work on your main project during those hours, every work day you set, just like you go to your day job.
I think this is a fabulous idea. Not just how it keeps you accountable, but how it also keeps you sane. I have issues with guilt. I have a day job, but aside from that I have a fair bit of free time. Since writing is my joy, it's what I do during most of my time off.
Normally this works out fine. But sometimes, having "work on book" scheduled in every single hour of your free time sucks. Because if I am tired when I come home and opt to veg in front of the TV instead, I feel guilty. If I am sick, more guilt. If I just don't feel like it, because I've been working on the book for hours every single day with no end in sight, I feel guilty for not working on my book.
If instead I give myself a set schedule to follow, complete with sick days and vacation time, suddenly there's structure. I spend less time flailing around for an hour, and just get right to work. I know when I need to start and when I can stop without feeling like I am slacking off.
Of course, there will probably be days where I exceed my set number of hours, but Liz has a back up for that too. When you go into overtime, you keep track of the amount of over time you spend. This accrues into time you can spend however you want. You can give yourself the day off, or use it to work on a shiny new idea.
I think writing is so hard sometimes because you can't see the end. Writing a book seems like it takes forever, and you know when you're finished you're not really done. Rewriting is hard for the same reason. There's an obvious end to the book, but the road just seems to go on and on without an end in sight. It gets hard to measure your success and progress.
If like me, you work much better when you have a set structure in place, consider doing what I will be doing today and making yourself a writing schedule.
Sometimes it's the rules that set us free.
What about you? How to you manage your writing time? How do you find the balance between your real life and your writing?
Monday, June 20, 2011
Not Enough of a Good Thing
Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our one year anniversary. They weren't kidding when they said time would fly, because it feels like yesterday we were planning the wedding.
We decided to watch a movie, and I picked out The Brothers Grimm. I'd bought it used a long time ago, but hadn't gotten around to watching it yet. The movie was called things like a "gothic fantasy" and a "Monty Python-esque dark comedy".
This sounded very promising. I LOVE fairy tales, gothic fantasy, and dark comedies. I figured this movie was right up my alley, but I was sorely mistaken.
All of the right elements were there. It was very visually stunning, great actors (Health Ledger (RIP) and Matt Damon), and decent script. But halfway through the movie, I couldn't take it anymore, and shut it off. I've only shut off a few movies in my life, mostly because I need to know what happens. When I realized I could just look up the synopsis on Wikipedia, I shut off the movie. There was literally nothing that made me want to finish the movie.
So here then is a list, of how avoid some of the problem I saw in The Brothers Grimm and other movies like it.
1. You must bring balance to the force.
Your book, just like a movie, is comprised of many different elements. The characters, the plot, your actual prose. But more than that you have the elements that make up your genre. Even if you're writing regular fantasy, you still have various elements to juggle. Elves or not? Low magic or high? Medieval setting, or something more progressive? Even within the broad expanse of your genre there is plenty of room for error. The trick is to balance all of these elements so they complement each other.
With the Brothers Grimm, there was too much of slapstick silliness. There was a French torture scene that bordered on ridiculous, and not in a good way. You can't just throw in a bunch of humor and not support it in the characters and the design. The end result just made the characters look really stupid. There was too many elements out of balance in the movie to make it enjoyable.
2. You must represent accurately what the book is about.
Some of this is out of your control (cover art being an example). But most marketing departments are right on par with how to properly market your book. A summer beach read's cover looks completely different than a dark fantasy cover. We can look at the book, read the blurb, and know what to expect. Is the book going to be funny, or serious? Witty or plain? Action packed or a slow methodical journey?
You signal this to potential agents and later on, reader, through your word choice. "The Fantastic Tale of Mr. Gregory Hatchshell" as a title reads totally different than "Dark Moors". Both of them conjure different images in your mind. Match sure the image you are projecting with your book matches the actual content.
3. All the parts must fight together.
Not only do you need to ensure that you've balanced each element of your genre, you need to make sure they fit together. They must compliment each other, like an outfit.
This is tricky. Because there are such things as "dark comedy" that still work. You would think "funny" and "dark" wouldn't fit well together, but there are some instances where it works. Gallows humor comes to mind. It's not just a simple question of "do yetis fit with my alien spacecrafts?". You have to look at the entire book as a whole.
Using The Brothers Grimm as an example, most of the action and characterization was comedic. The characters acted like a bunch of buffoons. They were constantly tripping and stumbling over branches. The French general and guard were similarly acting in a comedic fashion. But most of the other characters acted more serious, which led to a disconnect with the characters.
Likewise with the setting. The setting was beautiful, and the costumes and props all complemented each other, but not the cast and plot. The setting was "gothic fantasy" and the characters and plot was "slapstick comedy". It was as though they existed as two separate parts.
The key is blending them together. If you really want your yetis in space, there should be reasons outside of the alien spacecraft that the yetis belong there. It's like a stew of elements, all mixed together.
Obviously my opinion on the movie is just that: an opinion. But I think it's a good idea to analyze what exactly about a movie we didn't like, so we might avoid it in our own work.
What do you guys think? Did you love the movie? Think it was stupid?
We decided to watch a movie, and I picked out The Brothers Grimm. I'd bought it used a long time ago, but hadn't gotten around to watching it yet. The movie was called things like a "gothic fantasy" and a "Monty Python-esque dark comedy".
This sounded very promising. I LOVE fairy tales, gothic fantasy, and dark comedies. I figured this movie was right up my alley, but I was sorely mistaken.
All of the right elements were there. It was very visually stunning, great actors (Health Ledger (RIP) and Matt Damon), and decent script. But halfway through the movie, I couldn't take it anymore, and shut it off. I've only shut off a few movies in my life, mostly because I need to know what happens. When I realized I could just look up the synopsis on Wikipedia, I shut off the movie. There was literally nothing that made me want to finish the movie.
So here then is a list, of how avoid some of the problem I saw in The Brothers Grimm and other movies like it.
1. You must bring balance to the force.
Your book, just like a movie, is comprised of many different elements. The characters, the plot, your actual prose. But more than that you have the elements that make up your genre. Even if you're writing regular fantasy, you still have various elements to juggle. Elves or not? Low magic or high? Medieval setting, or something more progressive? Even within the broad expanse of your genre there is plenty of room for error. The trick is to balance all of these elements so they complement each other.
With the Brothers Grimm, there was too much of slapstick silliness. There was a French torture scene that bordered on ridiculous, and not in a good way. You can't just throw in a bunch of humor and not support it in the characters and the design. The end result just made the characters look really stupid. There was too many elements out of balance in the movie to make it enjoyable.
2. You must represent accurately what the book is about.
Some of this is out of your control (cover art being an example). But most marketing departments are right on par with how to properly market your book. A summer beach read's cover looks completely different than a dark fantasy cover. We can look at the book, read the blurb, and know what to expect. Is the book going to be funny, or serious? Witty or plain? Action packed or a slow methodical journey?
You signal this to potential agents and later on, reader, through your word choice. "The Fantastic Tale of Mr. Gregory Hatchshell" as a title reads totally different than "Dark Moors". Both of them conjure different images in your mind. Match sure the image you are projecting with your book matches the actual content.
3. All the parts must fight together.
Not only do you need to ensure that you've balanced each element of your genre, you need to make sure they fit together. They must compliment each other, like an outfit.
This is tricky. Because there are such things as "dark comedy" that still work. You would think "funny" and "dark" wouldn't fit well together, but there are some instances where it works. Gallows humor comes to mind. It's not just a simple question of "do yetis fit with my alien spacecrafts?". You have to look at the entire book as a whole.
Using The Brothers Grimm as an example, most of the action and characterization was comedic. The characters acted like a bunch of buffoons. They were constantly tripping and stumbling over branches. The French general and guard were similarly acting in a comedic fashion. But most of the other characters acted more serious, which led to a disconnect with the characters.
Likewise with the setting. The setting was beautiful, and the costumes and props all complemented each other, but not the cast and plot. The setting was "gothic fantasy" and the characters and plot was "slapstick comedy". It was as though they existed as two separate parts.
The key is blending them together. If you really want your yetis in space, there should be reasons outside of the alien spacecraft that the yetis belong there. It's like a stew of elements, all mixed together.
Obviously my opinion on the movie is just that: an opinion. But I think it's a good idea to analyze what exactly about a movie we didn't like, so we might avoid it in our own work.
What do you guys think? Did you love the movie? Think it was stupid?
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