Category Archives: writing tip

May 15, 2013 · 5:15 am

Writing tip Wednesday: “Frankly, my plot doesn’t give a….”

WHY DOESN’T MY PLOT WORK?

by BRUCE HALE and MICHAEL STEARNS

http://www.brucehalewritingtips.com/

Getting perspective on your own writing is tougher than two-year-old Halloween caramels. You squint at the story, mull it over, and suspect something isn’t working, but it’s hard to say what, exactly.

At a recent conference, my friend and former editor, Michael Stearns, offered up one of the best cures I’ve seen for this problem. His series of diagnostic questions can help you turn your plot from wimpy to wicked-strong.

Reprinted with his permission, here’s an excerpt from Michael’s list of questions, together with my explanations.

1. Do you have something pulling the character forward?
Every character needs a powerful goal or desire. Make sure it’s compelling enough to believably motivate them.


2. Do you have something pushing the character from behind?
Add a meddlesome mom, a pursuing villain, an obnoxious rival — someone who applies pressure.

3. Have you remembered clocks?
This refers to a deadline that must be met, or else. Think of Marty McFly in Back to the Future, who must drive his time machine
past the clock tower at the right moment, or remain stuck in the past.

4. Have you made the character lie — to others and to us?
Everybody lies. And whether it’s a big lie or a little one, the truth wants to come out. This energy helps invigorate your plot.

5. Do you know your character’s motives inside and out?
Often, plots bog down when you lose sight of why your hero wants to do something. Unmotivated action rings false.

6. Does all the above apply to even minor characters?
The villain, the best friend, even the bit players have a reason for doing what they do. And when you get clear on that reason, their actions will be make more sense.

7. Have you buried the ends of chapters?
Don’t immediately resolve the issue or question that gets raised near the chapter’s end. Resolve it in the next chapter — or better yet, the chapter after that. Your readers will curse you while they keep on reading.

8. Have you been as mean as possible to your characters?
We’re talking about Job mean, Sophie’s Choice mean, evil-punk-the-reader-will-hate-you-forever mean. Don’t just give your hero grief, give her the worst day imaginable.

9. Do you always go for the extreme?
What keeps readers reading is high-stakes action. In the words of Spinal Tap, dial it up to 11. The higher the stakes, the better the book.

Michael Stearns is an agent and partner of Upstart Crow Literary Agency. You can visit his website at: http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=O8uEK&m=IsxyiV6D9FLsQz&b=7cPIzxf9UuUk28zsEYoWSw

___________

Bruce Hale

Bruce Hale

About Bruce…
Bruce Hale began his career as a writer while living in Tokyo, and continued it when he moved to Hawaii in 1983. Before entering the world of children’s books, he worked as a magazine editor, surveyor, corporate lackey, gardener, actor, and deejay.

Bruce has written and illustrated over 25 books for kids. His Underwhere series includes Prince of Underwhere and Pirates of Underwhere. His Chet Gecko Mysteries series includes: The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse, The Big Nap, The Malted Falcon, Hiss Me Deadly, and others. More at http://www.brucehale.com/

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November 19, 2012 · 10:22 am

Can I Make More Money via Traditional or Self-Pub?

An interesting blog entry that poses questions for things to consider.

For example:

If their agent shops the book and gets a publishing offer from a reputable house, but the advance is lower than the author wants, can the author reject the offer, take back the book, and self-publish it?

Technically, the answer is usually “yes” unless the author/agent agreement stipulates otherwise. If I shop a project, you are within your rights to reject any offers and take the project back. But it’s important to realize that it puts agents in the position of spending hours and weeks and months on something for which they’ll never be compensated.

Find out more at the link below.

Can I Make More Money via Traditional or Self-Pub?.

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August 1, 2012 · 1:00 am

Writing Tip Wednesday: Writing as a Transformational Tool

WRITING AS A TRANSFORMATIONAL TOOL

by BRUCE HALE

source: http://www.brucehalewritingtips.com/

When we tell stories, we hope we are touching the lives of our readers, making them laugh, cry, wonder, or ponder. But what if, by your writing, you could also touch your own life, help your own emotional or psychological growth?

To some extent, this happens organically. We’re drawn to subjects that have a certain resonance for us, after all. And if you write about topics that touch on your own traumas and past challenges, you’ll sometimes find that you feel better. But if you want to take it further, here are a couple of ways to go about this process more deliberately.

PROBING PAST PAIN
Ever had a sore tooth that you just couldn’t leave alone, even though it hurt when you touched it? Same principle here. Look back at your life, at those incidents that make you cringe even now — the time you embarrassed yourself in front of the classroom, the death of a friend, your first painful breakup. That’s your raw material for story.

Now spend some time writing about the memory that has the biggest charge on it. See if you can recall specific sensory details that make the experience come alive. After setting it aside for awhile, rewrite the incident from a fictional perspective, changing or inventing details to suit your story.

Voila — you’ve just created the seed for a powerful scene (or at least some potent backstory for your character). Now, this incident may not even directly appear in your story — you may use just the emotional tone — but you’ve managed to come to grips with something from your past while adding emotional depth to your tale.

Want an example? Growing up, I had a frequently challenging relationship with my stepdad; we rarely saw eye to eye. In my new book, SCHOOL FOR S.P.I.E.S.: Playing With Fire, I gave the hero, Max, a difficult relationship with his dad. Did I borrow actual incidents from my own life? No. But I used the feeling tone, that love-hate vibe, to deepen my story, and in some ways it has helped me feel more peaceful about my past relationship with my dad.

THE PENNEBAKER METHOD
If you want to get more directly therapeutic, you can also write in a directed way about what’s bugging you today.

For nearly 20 years, Dr. James Pennebaker has been asking people to write down their deepest feelings about an emotional upheaval in their lives for 15-20 minutes a day, four days running. In his book, WRITING TO HEAL, he states that many who have followed his instructions have had their immune systems strengthened, grades improved, or even lives changed.

The 4-day writing process, he says, helps us translate an experience into language, and in doing so, we essentially make that experience graspable. “Emotional upheavals touch every part of our lives,” Pennebaker explains. “These things affect all aspects of who we are, and writing helps us focus and organize the experience. When people are given the opportunity to write about emotional upheavals, they often experience improved health.”

Sound intriguing? Give it a try. You may find it improves your life as well. Or at least your stories.

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July 25, 2012 · 1:00 am

Writing tip Wednesday: To name or not to name

“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.”
–Juliet from the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

If Shakespeare received a nickel for every time he was quoted, he’d be able to rebuild The Globe Theatre many times over. He might even make Donald Trump envious. But that is a story for another time.

A few thoughts on naming your characters. I have known writers who called their protagonist “X” or “Mrs. Y” throughout the draft of a story or novel, because they weren’t sure what to call him or her.

Man in space suit

A character’s name can help ground her in your story’s world, no matter where that world is.

Who knows, if really stuck for a name or if your story is Kafkaesque, you might be able to use only a letter for the character’s name. But most of the time that won’t work.

Still, there are no etched-in-stone rules for naming characters, but here are a few suggestions. By no means are these all inclusive suggestions.

    1) The first name you come up with is not unalterable. Until a story or novel is accepted for publication, you can change the name. So, if you have trouble picking out names, maybe the first thing to do is relax. The mystery writer, Robert B. Parker had originally named his private detective David Spenser, but at the last minute decided to pull the first name, because he had two sons, one named David, and he didn’t want to possibly offend his other son by not have a character named after him. So, David Spenser became Spenser, with two “S’s,” like the poet.

    2) If you write in a particular genre, consider if the protagonist’s names have a certain “form” or “rhythm” to them. Turning to the detective fiction genre again, for many years the protagonists always had last names that implied the type of work they did. For example, in The Maltese Falcon, the private eye protagonist’s name was Sam Spade. Spade is a tool for digging. Private eye’s dig up information. Other examples include Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer and Ross MacDonald’s Lew Archer. By the way, Lew Archer was also Sam Spade’s partner in The Maltese Falcon. Archer was killed early on, so I guess Ross MacDonald decided to use the name since Dashiell Hammett wasn’t going to use it any more.

    3) Names can reflect part of a characters personality or indicate social strata. For example, a woman named Bunny could be somebody who comes from a well to do family. Or a family that doesn’t but wants to think it does. The other end of the scale would be naming a character Huckleberry as in Huckleberry Finn, the protagonist is the novel about the adventures of this character whose mother is dead and whose father is a drunken illiterate.

Another example might be Mrs. Kitty Warren in George Bernard Shaw’s play Mrs. Warren’s Profession. Warren as a word means a place where rabbits bread or live. It can also mean a building housing many renters in crowded rooms. Mrs. Kitty Warren is a woman who has made her way in the world by being a brothel owner. In this case, both the first name, “Kitty” and the last name “Warren” hint at least part of the nature of the character.

Remember, unlike most of us, who are “stuck” with the names our parents gave us, the names in novels, stories, plays, and other forms of writing can be changed and can be used to help round out your protagonists (and other characters) or hint at aspects of their natures.

Some sources to consider are dictionaries of first names and what those names mean. For example, Eugene means “well born.”There are even some books that talk about the meaning’s of last names. Or, as in the case of Warren above, even a good standard dictionary can help you.

So, while Juliet is correct when she says:
“Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man.”

A name – the name you select for your protagonist – can be just as important as a hand or foot, arm or face. It is, after all, a part of that character.

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July 11, 2012 · 1:00 am

Writing tip Wednesday: writerly thinking

How a writer thinks—elementary my dear

by DON WILLIAMS

During a holiday sometime back, the Williams clan, including in-laws, outlaws and assorted friends, gathered to play Trivial Pursuit.

A competitive lot, we turn such games into raucous entertainment. Lots of praise, derision and laughter pertain, not necessarily in that order.

The games were close and the questions difficult, prompting snorts and catcalls, and three of the teams had flamed out by the time my friend the writer’s turn came to answer a question.

My sister Rebecca drew a card and read:

Sherlock Holmes turned into the gate at 221 Baker St, stepped inside the door and climbed ___ steps to his second story flat. How many steps did he climb?

There was a collective groan.

“Bury that one,” a brother-in-law said, even as Rebecca was discarding the question. “He’ll never get that.”

“Hold on!” My friend held up his right hand. “I’ve only read one Arthur Conan Doyle book, and it wasn’t Sherlock Holmes, but I’ll take a shot at that.”

“No way. How are you going to guess that one?”

“Elementary my dear Watson,” my friend replied. “In the time-honored Holmes-ian way. Deductive Reasoning.”

“That’ll be the day,” my brother Tim said.

“Listen up,” said my friend. “It has to be at least 10 steps to Sherlock’s apartment, even if the risers are relatively high, say, 10 inches, because they have to clear that first-floor apartment’s ceiling. And the answer likely won’t be more than, say, 20 steps, even if the risers are short, because that would put the esteemed detective’s pad more than ten or twelve feet above street level. See? Already I’ve reduced the universe of possible answers to 10.”

“Yeah, yeah,” my brother Rodney said.

“So,” my friend continued, “the answer lies somewhere between 10 and 20. Let’s take them one by one.”

“Better hurry,” said my sister Kathleen, eyeing the sandglass.

“OK. Ten is a lazy number that would make the author appear lazy too, so a writer like Doyle would never use it. Not here. Nor can it be 11, because that’s a lucky number, mildly distracting and therefore intrusive. More importantly, Sherlock’s a deductive thinker, so the author wouldn’t suggest, even subliminally, that his detective’s success owes anything to a lucky number. Number 12? Again, distracting. Sir Doyle wouldn’t want his readers to be thinking, even subconsciously, about Twelve Apostles or even 12 months. Unlucky thirteen? Similary distracting.”

“Time’s almost up,” said Kathleen.

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Step by step deduction led to the right conclusion.

I could see my friend faintly flush, but he continued in a calm if faster voice. “Fourteen? Now there’s a Plain Jane. No writer worth his salt would dull down a book with such tasteless seasoning, even if it is red.”

“Red?”

“See? That could be a subjective thing. And 15? Again, like 10, it’s too pat and pregnant. Makes the author appear lazy.”

“Sixteen?” a brother-in-law asked, eyeing the fleeting sands.

“Like 14, another Plain Jane, even if it is black,” my friend added.

“Seventeen?”

My friend smiled. You could almost hear bells going off. “Seventeen seems random,” he said, savoring the moment, “but it’s actually quite sexy. That unobtrusive 7, peeking from behind the place-holding 1, is subtly mystical, alluring even, hardly rising even to the level of the subliminal, yet there it is.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “So, is that your final answer?” she asked in a bored voice, as she glanced at the card, but we knew her attitude was all bluff.

“Yesssss,” my friend whispered aloud, calmly assured. “Seventeen it is. By far the most interesting number between 10 and 20.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re right. How did you do that?” she asked as she flashed the card, answer-side up, on the table.

“Elementary, my dear. I’m a writer.”

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Don Williams is a prize-winning columnist, short story writer, sometime TV commentator and the founding editor and publisher of New Millennium Writings, an annual anthology of stories, essays and poems. His awards include a National Endowment for the Humanities Journalism Fellowship at the University of Michigan, a Golden Presscard Award, the Malcolm Law Journalism Prize and many others. He was recently inducted into the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame. He is at work on a novel and a book of journalism..

Need a speaker, panelist, tv commentator or teacher for your group or to lead a writing workshop in your town? E-mail donwilliams7@charter.net, or visit www.NewMillenniumWritings.com. New Millennium Writings is holding a writing contest for fiction, non-fiction, and poetry that you can still enter. Deadline is July 31, 2012.

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June 24, 2012 · 5:11 pm

Writing a novel…

Writing a novel is …

Simple.

Deceptive.

Seductive.

And an Act of Defiance.

That’s why so many feel they can do it, and why so few do it successfully.

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June 22, 2012 · 1:05 pm

Writing tip: Setting

Using Setting as a Character: a Tip for Novelists

Source: http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/06/using-setting-as-a-character-a-tip-for-novelists/

Guest Blogger: MaryLu Tyndall @MaryLuTyndall

Choosing the right setting is just as important as choosing the right characters, plot, and dialogue. Setting grounds your readers, helping them to experience the action and drama more effectively. But it does so much more than that! A setting can be so vibrant and alive that it becomes one of the characters in your story, assisting or hindering your protagonist in achieving his/her goals.

Setting as Friend

A beach at sunset or a hike to a tranquil waterfall can provide nearly as much comfort and encouragement as any good friend. If your hero has just defeated a dragon, don’t send him to a lively night club or a bull fight. Turn his setting into a place where he can recuperate and reflect, where he can hear the voice of God in the breeze.

Setting can also aid the hero in his quest. A jungle or a crowded bus station can hide the hero from his enemies just as easily as quicksand can devour them.

Setting as Antagonist

Just like a villain, the proper setting can introduce conflict, cause trouble, or thwart the hero’s plans. Consider a vicious storm, a flood, a moonless night that blinds the hero, a jungle where he gets lost, bumper-to-bumper traffic that keeps him gridlocked, an earthquake, rock slide, etc. These settings take on a life of their own, and do everything in their power to keep your hero from succeeding. You’ve heard it said that if your scene is falling flat, have someone pull out a gun. I say transport your scene to a setting filled with conflict.

Setting as Mentor

Like a wise old sage, setting can also be a mentor. Perhaps your hero must learn something before he can move on. Have him wander into a library, an old book store, a cave with ancient, mysterious writings on the walls, an archeological dig, a museum. Or perhaps your hero must survive some ordeal in order to move forward such as climb a mountain or cross a river to overcome his fears and gain the confidence he needs to achieve his goals.

Setting as a Shadow for Your Protagonist

A shadow is anything or anyone that reflects your hero’s deepest flaws. If your hero has an alcohol problem, put him in a bar where he can watch what alcohol does to others. If he’s a control freak, put him in prison. If he’s selfish, put him in a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. If he’s greedy, place him at the New York Stock Exchange. Use the appropriate setting to open his eyes to his own flaws.

Setting as a Model of What the Protagonist Wants to Be

A church, a mission trip, a charitable foundation, free medical clinic, the palace of a wise king, the courtroom of a just judge, and a loving home are all settings that can provide an atmosphere that fosters qualities to which the hero aspires.

How about using setting as a shapeshifter, a joker, a symbol of the hero’s past, a guardian? Choosing setting as a character is only limited by your imagination!

As an example: Let’s say you’re writing a breakup scene between two of your characters. Now, imagine the difference if that scene were set: at home in the living room, in a crowded restaurant, on a ship out at sea, on a ski slope, a shooting range, a fencing match. Each setting becomes a third character that determines how the scene will play out.

Setting can be a dynamic, breathing character that can either assist or hinder your hero. So, choose wisely, and you’ll add an entirely new dimension to your story.

Can you think of any favorite scenes in books you’ve read where setting is an important character? What about your own writing—how have you incorporated setting this way?

MaryLu Tyndall’s latest novel, Veil of Pearls, releases July 1 and is available for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and ChristianBook.com.

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June 16, 2012 · 7:40 pm

13 Things You May Not Know About Agents

By Rachelle Gardner

Source: http://www.rachellegardner.com/2012/06/13-things-you-may-not-know-about-agents/

1. We really hate getting bad news and we hate sharing it with you, but we trust you’re adult enough to handle it.

2. If we say we don’t want to submit a particular project to editors, we’re probably trying to protect both of our reputations (the writer’s and the agent’s).

3. While many of us do a great deal of editing and polishing of your manuscripts and/or proposals, the bottom line is that it’s the writer’s job to provide a marketable book. Agents shouldn’t be counted on to make it sales-ready.

4. We are very invested in your book and often feel like it’s “our baby” too (even though we KNOW it’s yours!)

5. If it seems like we’re too busy, it’s because the economics of this industry demand we carry a certain amount of volume to make a living wage.

6. We prioritize taking care of current clients above the search for new clients. So typically, queries and writer’s conferences take a back seat.

7. We really are interested in your long-term career, not just the size of the next advance.

8. We hate the slowness of publishing just as much as you do!

9. We want to set you up with the publisher and editor who will be best for you, not just the one who’s offering the most money.

10. When we’ve tried to sell your book but we’re not successful, we’re probably almost as disappointed as you. Not only are we often emotionally invested, we’ve put in a lot of time for no paycheck.

11. When you send us a manuscript to read, we don’t do it during the work day. We read in the evenings (our “free time”) and on the weekends. With Kindles and iPads, we may even be reading your manuscript on the treadmill at the gym.

12. We’re aware of all the new options for writers these days, and we’re doing our best to help steer each client in the right direction.

13. If your writing career keeps you awake at night, there’s a good chance it has kept us awake on occasion, too.

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June 6, 2012 · 1:00 am

Writing Tip Wednesday: 15 minutes

By David E. Booker

So, how much time to do you have a day to write? How much time a day do you spend?

I read about a noted short story writer who started out writing 15 minutes a day, between 11:45 PM and midnight. As a single mom of several kids, working very hard just to hold her family together, that was the only time she had after all her kids were in bed and before she went to bed.

I wish I could remember her name, but the point is not so much her name or even that she won awards for her short stories. It is that she wrote regularly, even if all she had was 15 minutes.

Fifteen (15) minutes.

If there is one piece of advice that I have heard over and over and over again, it is to develop a routine and stick to it. Show up for your writing just like you would for your job that you work to hold body and soul together so you can write. If all you have is 15 minutes a day, use it wisely and use it well. If you can spare more, or if you operate better by setting yourself a word quota, then do it that way.

The writer James Scott Bell doesn’t have a daily quota, but a weekly one, which he then breaks down into daily installments. He says having a weekly quota works better for him because it misses a day or doesn’t write the full amount one day, he can work to make it up on the other days and still hit his weekly quota.

Certainly, if having a daily quota, then set one. I believe the writer Graham Greene had a daily quota of 500 words a day. He would write 500 words and then stop.

The writer Harry Crews often rose at 4 AM to write before going to work as a professor. One of his students, the New York Times bestselling crime novelist Michael Connelly said recently of Crews, “The singular lesson I took from him was his simple adage that if you are going to be a writer then you must write every day, even if only for 15 minutes. The last part about the 15 minutes has served me well. I’m going on 30-plus years of writing every day, even sometimes for only 15 minutes.”

So, where are your 15 minutes?

[Editor’s note: Connelly quote taken from LA Times obituary article on Harry Crews, who died earlier this year. He was known to write from 4 AM to 9 AM and to begin each session with the same plea: “God, I’m not greedy. Just give me the next 500 words.”]

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May 30, 2012 · 1:00 am

Writing tip Wednesday: three keys to dialogue

by David E. Booker

1) It’s not conversation. In his book, On Writing: Advice to Those Who Write to Publish (Or Would Like to), George V. Higgins, known for his dialogue, advises developing an ear for dialogue, but that dialogue in stories is not simply conversation lifted from daily life and dropped into a story.

Normal speech is full of too many “uhs, ahs, and other sounds that are verbal place holders and don’t really have any place in fictional dialogue. Also, normal speech is full of “small talk.” Things like, “Hi, how are you? How’s the husband and kids? It sure looks like the team will have a good season this year.” All things meant to keep the lines of communication open, psychologists might say, but are of little use in furthering your story. In short, good dialogue moves the story forward. Asking about the family or saying the team will have a good year only keeps the story in place.

A corollary to this is the “As you know, Fred” dialogue, which is dialogue between two people who know the information being conveyed, but they are conveying it, anyway, for the sake of the reader, who doesn’t know. Science fiction can many times be guilty of this when two scientists of the same discipline, say particle physics, “converse” with each other about what a particle is.

2) It’s often what you don’t say. Subtext is the hidden force of any scene of a story or movie. As the noted script writer and teacher, Robert McKee says, “If a scene is about what a scene is about, then the scene is dead.”

Good dialogue

Often, good dialogue is about what isn’t being said.

For example, if two people are engaged in changing a tire and all they talk about is tire changing, then the scene is dead. However, if during that scene, one member is gruff to the other one and eventually says the flat was his fault for not checking the tires to begin with, then you have an emotional charge running through the scene and dialogue is then used to convey that emotional charge, the subtext is the tug of war of one person trying to blame another and how the person being blamed reacts or handles the accusation.

3) It’s okay to only use “said” and “asked.” Many writers learning their craft try to spice up a scene by having their characters express their dialogue with: he espoused, she guffawed, he trumpeted, she queried, etc. This will only slow down a scene. It should be: he said, or he asked, if it is a question. One exception might be: she yelled. But other than these, if the scene does not convey the right intensity with which your characters should be speaking, then there is something amiss in the scene, and it won’t be fixed by exchanging “she said” for “she espoused.”

In fact there are some writers, such as the late Robert B. Parker, who use only “he said” or “she said,” even where there was a question. He figured the use of the question mark at the end of the spoken sentence was clue enough.

And please note, by saying “he” or “she,” I am not saying never use the speaker’s name. particularly when somebody is speaking for the first time in a scene, it is often recommended that the text read, “Bob said” or “Alice asked.”

There are certainly other suggestions for creating good dialogue, but mastering these three will put you on your way to having dialogue that moves the story forward and adds a good boast to your writing.

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