Thinkin’ on Thursday: Picture This!

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

At times in the past, I have modeled characters’ looks, fashion sense, even personality on unknown models in magazines. I’ve even cut them out and then built characteristics for that person on the same page or on a 4×6 card. Or I’ve envisioned an old time actor (or a current one, for that matter) as my “hero,” “villain,” “sidekick,” or whomever.

I’m going to suggest another way to utilize pictures of unknowns from magazines or books to help your writing (and the above paragraph has some good ideas too: if you’ve never tried it, give it a go and see what you think). Look through a magazine or illustrated book, preferably one you haven’t read already, or an old one you’ve forgotten all about. Find a picture with at least two main “characters” on it. THINK of these two as major characters in a story you haven’t yet thought through.

Just allow them to begin interacting with each other. Don’t “plan” ahead (this will be a good one for all of us ‘pantsers’), because this is designed to give us practice in a more “organic” method of plot construction. Just start “recording” the story’s events and let them spin out in front of you. Pay attention to other props or objects that appear in the ad or picture. If there are other people in the picture, ignore them for the moment. See how or why the two might interact with the props, objects, bits of scenery, in the picture with them. Record items and events as faithfully as possible without thinking about the “rules” of story plot structure.

Once you’ve recorded the scene, note whether your characters interacted with or used any of the props, etc., given them by the picture. What did they do with items there? Twiddle nervously with papers on a desk? Pick up a coffee cup and look for a refill? Grab a hammer or bucket of paint, intending to use it as a weapon?

How did your characters interact with each other? Were they friends or strangers at the start? What relationship was forged during the scene: adversarial? Conciliatory? Pleading? Helpful? and so on.

Go ahead. This is just a writer’s PLAY ground. Have FUN in it ! ! !

(And, at the end, is there anything salvageable there? Can it be incorporated in your current WIP? Is it the beginning of a short story? An article? An editorial? A children’s book? Even a brand‑new novel?)

See you next for Saturday’s Spellbinder!

Thinkin’ on Thursday: Road Maps in More Detail

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

Last Tuesday I wrote about possible ways for Pantsers to make a road map which would help keep them on the straight and narrow with their novels. I also pointed out what can be learned simply by looking at some stats. And I made a promise. A promise to show what else I learned by taking a careful look beyond the numbers, and checking out the actual content.

This time, I put the chapter number at the top of each section. Underneath, I made 4 columns: page number, character, a single verb describing what the character was doing, and a brief description of what was done. The latter was accomplished in somewhere between two and half ‑a‑dozen words (seldom that many). Some of the pages were completed in only a line or two, most took about four, a few complex ones took more, but my first 14 chapters took only 2 pages, while double‑spacing between chapters. So keep it all short — it’s your story: you should recognize what’s going on in just a few words.

If the verb in the 3rd column was passive (that’s a problem of mine) I typed it in all caps. Here’s an example:

4          Wyndell          THINKS                     about (possibly) dead twin

Poppy            coughs                    —

Mum              rushes                    to help Poppy

Wyndell          STARES                    at tools

tells                           himself he’s NOT the One

HEARS                     Poppy saying “have to be sent…”

Those six lines encapsulated the entire page in 30 words.

So what can be learned from this? After the first 14 chapters I drew a lot of conclusions:

The story didn’t really begin until the second page

It was too long by at least half, considering all the passivity which was trying to pass as action: thinking, wondering, knowing, feeling, realizing, watching, wishing, questioning himself, acknowledging, hearing, worrying, believing — none of those were acting! (How should I deal with the fact that too often Wyndell, the main character, was by himself? How do I work in someone for him to talk to?)

I wanted to know what the reader would actually learn from these pages (in however subtle a way). So I made a list of story items revealed, such as:

An Evil Essence is threatening

11‑year‑old Wyndell is making a Luck Hat with scraps

He begins to notice Elements (water, air, earth, fire) responding to him

He wants to know what his Skill will be

His twin is missing . . . etc., etc., etc.

Then I was able to make some decisions about these chapters:

Split the first long chapter into two

Bring in the Sidekick character as quickly as possible

Let Wyndell confront his ailing father

Mix everything up by throwing in a 3rd (and important) character’s chapter

. . . and so on.

I was surprised to find that even though I was aware, in the back of my mind, that the writing was too passive, it took really listing what was going on to see how nothing much was going on outside the MC’s head. And that led me to seeing other ways to portray the events.

It was an interesting and revealing journey. I would recommend this to any of you who know you need to do some rewriting, but are not quite sure where to start. Good luck with your endeavors!

See you next for Saturday’s Softcover!

Thinkin’ on Thursday: Thinkin’ Up More Mayhem

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

Did you try it? What??? Writing tense, exciting, possibly even mayhem-filled chapter endings?

This past Tuesday, I suggested that you do so and gave you examples of several books which used this technique to carry you past the last line of a chapter and into the next chapter — whether you wanted to go there or not!

I also quoted a number of ideas which ending each of many chapters in his The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner. This set was literally a group of three books you could not put down at the end of a chapter. And THAT’s how to keep your reader, well . . . READING!!!

Here are more of Dashner’s examples ‑‑‑ but hopefully, no spoilers. I’ll name several types of events at chapter ends — not in order and not telling you which of the three books they’re from. Additionally, I’ll keep them as general as possible. Think about what you can dream up to do to your characters that will hurt them the most, that will keep the reader going, even if it IS time for dinner, or bed, or (maybe) even homework! If you end each chapter with ideas like these, you may have a real page turner, or even that page burner:

• a kid wakes up, in a huge “elevator:” NO memories of any past life (I know, I gave this one Tuesday too, but I sets the stage)
• a kid fighting a losing battle with a mechanical monster is caught in a lightning storm which morphs into an invisible power field leaving him vulnerable to a white heat
• a kid is promised a place of safety, but when a group gets there, they are met with only a sign that this is the right place: nothing else is there.
• a kid is told that all current test subjects may be given their memories back; they must choose to participate or not; then choice is taken away
• a kid discovers a small insect‑like device which spies on all of them in this strange place — meaning someone is watching them, probably 24/7
• a kid in the midst of battle is hit with a burning power equal to 1,000 bolts of lightning, falls convulsing and with a total loss of vision
• a kid finds out survivors have to go back to the beginning where they all met, were challenged, tortured, intimidated or even killed
• a kid is frequently dazed by a rapid changing of loyalties among friends: who can he really trust?
• a kid, after horrendous battles and fatigue, is warned in a dream state that things are “about” to get bad for him
• a kid sees that everyone who’s been here for a while picks on the newbies ‑‑ even a sweet little kid who becomes his only friend
• a kid is made to choose which of two friends will die immediately: he chooses, knowing the enemy will do the opposite — only he doesn’t
• a kid is attacked, seriously injured by another boy who seems to have gone completely crazy
• a kid, in an audience of survivors, is told that the rampant disease affecting and eventually killing much of the population also affects many of their number
• a kid notices frightening sounds and smells, confronts a mechanical monster with the fate of another boy in his hands

If you didn’t try to write compelling chapter endings before, get to it!!! (And how do you accomplish this kind of angst in romance? Or fantasy? Or historical? Etc., etc., etc.?)

See you next for Spellbinder Saturday!

Key words:

 

Tips on Tuesday: Distractions and Writing

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

Last April 21, AnnDeeCandee wrote a blog for Throwing Up Words (if you don’t follow this blog, and you’re a writer, you should). She’d been on vacation and was trying to recuperate from . . . the vacation. Of course. You know the drill. She was finding all kinds of reasons not to write — don’t we all? But she suggested three things to do:

1. List five things that distract you from writing.
2. List what you are going to do when these things try to distract you from writing.
3. List all the things you are going to work on with your WIP. Make a plan.

I did all three. As suggested. I even went back to her blog and made a comment thanking her for the suggestions.

Below, I’ll list the five suggestions with my answers which I wrote on April 22 (when I first saw her blog), and a follow up as to where I stand now on all points. Thanks for reading, while I try to be accountable:

1. Money worries: I should pay what I can online or with checks, stop thinking about the rest, and turn on to my story file. Current: paid all current bills, paid extra on the one that was bugging me the most and which would help the most to pay down in the long run: A+
2. Internet: stop checking the Internet first every day. Did work first, for about 2 days. Current: back to checking the Internet often — and first too many days: C‑ to D+
3. Trapped/ Confused/At a Standstill in my story: Read story aloud (R.A.) to myself and talk to myself (fingers on keyboard) until something comes to me. Current: Did not R.A., or talk to myself, but did begin writing whatever came to mind while holding off my “inner editor.” B‑
4. Clutter: desk & house: Clear desk nightly; get sufficient writing done to devote 30‑60 min to the house per day. Wrote daily, though mostly blogs and answers to emails. Current: probably giving the house the 30‑60 min. most days (though not my desk ! ! !) — but still spending more time writing blogs, journals and email answers than my books. Never fear: I have a deadline coming up and it starts now: WIFYR (Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers), and we already have assignments to do before the June 16‑20 workshop. C-
5. Appointments/interruptions to “schedule”: Get to appointments on time, keep phone, family & meals from interrupting writing flow and plans. Current: appointments have been kept (or deleted, which also needed to happen). Right about the time I read the Throwing Up Words blog referenced above, the IRS threw us a curve (which had to be dealt with), two separate family crises happened which took up a long week‑end and more, plus a long‑distance family event, with which we could only commiserate on by phone and email, caused some angst for a couple of days . . . but hey, it’s family: A‑

In all my years of public school, getting a B.A. degree, an M.A. degree, another academic endorsement and two more certifications, would I have been happy with the “GPA” displayed above (approximately a 2.5 or B-)? Not At All!!! But I am happy about some of the progress: I worked on each item to some degree. I can see where to spend my next major efforts. And I let family come before personal Plans and Goals. And that’s as it should be!

Accept the challenge to write your own worst five distractions to writing, and what you can do about them. Make your plan. Try it for a week or two, and report in — let me know how you’re doing!

See you next for Thinkin’ on Thursday!

Thinkin’ on Thursday: Thinkin’ About NaNo

Easy as A, B, C . . . by BB

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) will be coming up sooner than you think. Well, OK, not November’s event, but their summer replacement: Camp NaNoWriMo.

Anyway, it’s never too late think about good advice from known writers. How about Chris Baty, the NaNo founder? In his delightful how‑to book No Plot? No Problem! he spoke about their first year. He’d talked 20 gullible friends into joining him in an experiment: try to write a book in 30 days. They decided 50,000 words was enough for a book (a short book, but a book nonetheless). He says of the 21 who started only 6 made it across the 50K line ‑‑‑ others fell short by “anywhere from 500 to 49,000 words.” But he also says they ALL came away changed by the experience.

Some realized they never wanted to write another book again. Others wanted to apply to MFA programs in creative writing. Chris, himself, came out of it with a revelation: “The biggest thing separating people from their artistic ambitions is not a lack of talent. It’s the lack of a deadline. Give someone an enormous task, a supportive community, and a friendly‑yet‑firm‑due‑date, and miracles will happen.”

He credits the experience of the “go‑go‑go” structure of the event with lifting the “stultifying pressure to write brilliant, eternal prose . . . ” The pressure of excellence is taken away and a gift replaces it: the pleasure of learning by doing . . . of taking risks . . . of making messes . . . of following ideas just to see where they lead. Moreover, he claims, writing for quantity rather than quality “had the strange effect of bringing about both.”

Apparently, everyone who finished NaNo that first year agreed: they’d only been able to write so well because they wrote quickly and intensely. “The roar of adrenaline drowned out the self‑critical voices that tend to make creative play such work for adults.”

His take‑away from year one (1999) included:

1. Enlightenment is overrated.

2. Being busy is good for your writing.

3. Plot happens. [Trust the process long enough to get to week 3!]

4. Writing for its own sake has surprising rewards.

If you want more proof, some fun reading, and lots of inspiration, check out his book, No Plot? No Problem!

See you next for Spellbinder Saturday!

Tuesday’s Tutor: Conspiracy. Murder. Politics. Love. Sex. Ghosts. Pirates.

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB (Sorry for the lateness… we’re on the road and just got to Alabama!)

And we’re not talking today’s thrillers, but works of William Shakespeare. Author A.J. Hartley pointed out, as quoted by Writer’s Digest (July ’13), the playwright we now regard as “refined” and “literary” was considered rustic and fanciful in his time. “Shakespeare wrote for the mass medium of his day,” Hartley said.

So what can the bard teach us about storytelling? Here’s what Hartley shared:

1. “Good writers borrow. … Great writers steal.”

Most of Shakespeare’s stories originated in other source material. Hartley said there are a limited number of original tales out there. Steal—”then own the result.” Shakespeare wrote his works with his unique signature.

2. Remember: Shakespeare never went to Italy.

How could the son of a glove maker evoke settings, fields and time period he couldn’t have ever experienced? “By reading. Copiously. Diligently.” But “Never let research trump the tales. Shakespeare gives you only as much as you need to tell the story, and that’s all.

3. Get right to it.

Shakespeare doesn’t waste time getting things moving—books should do the same.

4. Story is character.

The bard’s props and costumes were kept to a minimum. His plays can be performed on a bare stage. It’s all about interaction between characters and how they speak, Hartley said. From a story perspective, a thriller shouldn’t be about explosions and car chases, but character.

5. Begin scenes late and end them early.

Just like the screenwriting maxim: start with something already happening. End without dragging the story out or “explaining” it.

6. All scenes must have external and internal conflict.

“It’s not enough for the door to be locked.” The character should have a reason not to want to open it.

7. Pace isn’t speed.

“Don’t be afraid to slow down to focus between action and event.” Hartley noted that what set Shakespeare apart was he allowed his characters to register the events that happened to them, gave them time for the emotional/spiritual consequences of things to register.

8. “Bad things happen to good people.”

Audiences expect poetic justice. In today’s works, like George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series, the author lets his readers love his characters, and then he kills them off. Result: the reader is always in fear: “. . . a brilliant, simple story strategy, [which] creates a particular kind of suspense and a particular kind of tension.”

9. Dialogue says it all.

Hartley pointed out that we think of Shakespeare as a great, wise philosopher, but “Every word in Shakespeare is dialogue. It comes from character.” We don’t know what Shakespeare thought about anything . . . and that’s what makes him so good.

10. Shakespeare was all about output.

“You want to learn from Shakespeare? Write a ton of stuff,” Hartley said. On average, Shakespeare released his great works of literature at a rate of about two plays a year for two decades. So get to it!

See you day-after-tomorrow for Thursday’s 13!

Thursday’s 13: How Does Your Story Mean?

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

 Last spring at the Life, the Universe and Everything (LTUE) conference, a panel composed of Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury, David Farland, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Peter Orullian, Scott R. Parkin, and J. Scott Savage contemplated the question “How does your story mean?”  In other words, what is the author’s message or deep meaning.  For contemplation of this idea, they needed to set up a framework:                                                           

1.  Writing isn’t linear process: this, then this, finally that

2.  It’s actually more like a mosaic—look at all pieces to see the whole picture

3.  Think of Orson Scott Card’s MICE, but don’t become a slave to it

4.  M for Milieu (setting)—Dune books emphasis

5.  I for Idea—Magic system/technology: some of today’s Steam Punk

6.  C for Character—Forrest Gump

7.  E for Event (war/disaster)—It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

8.  Every book needs a beginning . . .

9.  . . . . a middle . . .

10. . . . an end.

11.  You don’t have to write it that way, in that order.

12.  The part/parts of MICE you emphasize will reveal what you value.

13.  If something isn’t working, try changing one part of MICE.

Their answer is most embodied in item #12 above.

See you day-after-tomorrow for “Saturday’s Softcover”!

Tuesday’s Tutor: Try it—you’ll like it!

EASY AS A, B, C . . . from BB

Carol Lynch Williams, a well-known and *much-published writer and teacher in Utah, has often taught workshops, and has been the engine behind **Writers and Illustrators for Young Readers (WIFYR).  In one such workshop, she talked about a frequent question people ask her: does she ever “appear” in any of her stories.

I’m not surprised at the question.  If you’ve ever read one of her books, you’ll recognize that many are steeped in emotions of various sorts, most of which only come through personal experience.  She said that there is always “some of ‘me’ in every story.”  Further more, her presence is always tied to some emotion.

She issued a warning, however: “When your story overshadows your character’s story, you’ve gone too far.”

Wise words.

Carol then encouraged us to write down three events when our lives were changed.  Try it—you’ll like it!  In the fifteen minutes or so that she gave us to write, I ended up with eleven items, all colored with a strong emotion, when my life ‘changed’—some happy, some sad, some guilty feelings.  Each one is the kernel of a story, and can be used by another character, and in another setting.

Here are a few of the quick (embellished here for clarity) stories I wrote down:

1.  Years ago, my then-husband found and brought home a cute stray dog—but it was a “barker,” and with both of us working full time, and our children in school all day, the neighbors began to complain.  He took it to a park by a lake, played with it a while, then left.  He abandoned that dog!  He claimed it would have been ‘put down’ (talk about a euphemism!) before it could be adopted.  My guilt and sadness and anger (some at the complaining neighbor, some at him) still makes me feel a sick-anger in the pit of my stomach.  Perhaps that’s one reason I don’t want pets.

2.  In the fifth grade, I auditioned at the University of Utah for a part in a play about Tom Sawyer.  A friend of the director followed me out when I left Kingsbury Hall that day to thank me, and tell me they wanted me to know they’d liked my reading very much, but that I would not get the part of Beckie Thatcher (Tom’s ‘love’ interest) because he’d already been cast—and was much shorter than I.  Grateful for the kudos, but sad about losing the part, I cried all the way home.  It colored my life: I felt tall, inadequate, gawkie, and ugly for years . . . and a little sick to my stomach (am I seeing a pattern here?).

[As an odd side-note: years later, during high school, I had a date with a young man from a different high school, who took me to their school musical, Lute Song, starring none other than the U’s “Tom Sawyer.”  And he was still short.  Years passed, and I’d finished college, started teaching.  I signed up for a night class in writing.  When the teacher called the roll the first night, who’s name showed up but . . . the “Tom.”  During a break, I introduced myself and told him how I’d admired his portrayal in Lute Song.  He was surprised I remembered it.  Then I said I could go back even further to his portrayal of “Tom.”  He was astonished.  (Or possibly felt stalked.)  BTW, he was still much shorter than I was.]

3.  My oldest grandson, DJ, had lived with us from the time he was born.  My daughter and her husband decided to move to Idaho when DJ was almost ready to begin walking.  He was ‘my’ baby too, and it nearly killed me to ‘lose’ him.  But move, they did.  I was so afraid he would ‘forget’ Grandma and Grandpa that I insisted we drive to Idaho to see him six weeks after the move.  We met them in a park.  My daughter put him down on the sidewalk and said “Go to Grandma.”  My heart was bursting with pride and excitement, and fear.  I squatted down and reached out to him, wanting to grab him in a huge hug, but afraid I’d frighten him.  I’d been right: he didn’t seem to recognize me, know me.  When he got to me, I slowly, one movement at a time, took his hand, then held him, picked him up, and stood.  He pulled his head back, looking at me like “Who are you?”  My heart was breaking.  Then he snuggled in a bit with his little head on my chest.  All of a sudden, he remembered, and clung to me with all his might: that was the way I’d always held him.  He knew me!  My little love knew me, after all!

During the workshop, I only wrote a few words for each of these “stories,” and only go into more detail here so you can understand the impact each event had on me.  Really, this was a fantastic writing exercise, and I’m glad I have these eleven “nuggets” to mine for stories, for feelings.  Try it—you’ll like it!  If you try it, post one of your nuggets (without embellishment, if you wish) here as a comment—we’d love you to share!

*A few of Carol Lynch Williams’ books: The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson, Glimpse, The Chosen One, Miles from Ordinary, Pretty Like Us.

**WIFYR will be held again in Sandy, UT, June 17 through June 21.  It is one of the best workshops I’ve ever attended with excellent teachers as well as agents and editors from some of the big houses.  Go to  http://www.wifyr.com

Early bird prices hold through April 30.

See you day-after-tomorrow for “Thursday’s 13″

Have questions about writing (grammar, punctuation, getting published, etc.)?  Brenda Bensch, M.A., a teacher of multiple decades’ experience in Utah’s university/high school/community ed. classrooms (English, fiction/non-fiction writing, study skills, drama, humanities, debate, etc.), invites you to “Ask The Teacher” at  http://BenschWensch.wordpress.com