Saturday, May 7, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Starting from a Blank Page
My experience is that you get one thing free from the Muses. After that, it's all work.
Okay, that's accurate for a piece of writing as short as a song, but an exaggeration for a novel-length piece of writing. Still, the point is true; when you've got your basic idea, you don't sit around waiting for more ideas to pile up on their own, because it won't happen. You start working.
I start by opening my blank Word file and writing the idea as I have it, as if I am summarizing a story that is already written. This usually requires no more than a few sentences, or maybe a couple of paragraphs at most. When I've got the idea down, I keep going, adding more detail and depth. If I don't know what to write next, I type in questions that go to the heart of the story, its basic conflicts, its structure, its theme. I don't go back and edit the document to make it coherent -- it is a sort of real-time brainstorming piece, like a whiteboard in a conference room, and once I have moved beyond the document I won't come back to it, so it's not worth trying to make perfect, or even self-consistent.
To show you what I mean, I will make up a dummy story and brainstorm it in this fashion in Monday's post.
Okay, that's accurate for a piece of writing as short as a song, but an exaggeration for a novel-length piece of writing. Still, the point is true; when you've got your basic idea, you don't sit around waiting for more ideas to pile up on their own, because it won't happen. You start working.
I start by opening my blank Word file and writing the idea as I have it, as if I am summarizing a story that is already written. This usually requires no more than a few sentences, or maybe a couple of paragraphs at most. When I've got the idea down, I keep going, adding more detail and depth. If I don't know what to write next, I type in questions that go to the heart of the story, its basic conflicts, its structure, its theme. I don't go back and edit the document to make it coherent -- it is a sort of real-time brainstorming piece, like a whiteboard in a conference room, and once I have moved beyond the document I won't come back to it, so it's not worth trying to make perfect, or even self-consistent.
To show you what I mean, I will make up a dummy story and brainstorm it in this fashion in Monday's post.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
The Lion of Missouri
The wild beasts of the Great Green Wood
The bison, the sloth and the wolf
Learned to hear his footstep and light out in a hurry
His blade was sharp, his arm was strong
His eye was keen and his shot was long
The Lion of Missouri
The Teutonic Knights and the Kaiser’s men
The Hessian, the Prussian, the Turk
Felt the white-hot fire of the young Cahokian’s fury
His word, his heart and his aim were true
His iron will and his soldiers, too
The Lion of Missouri
Against sorcerers and highwaymen
Lawyers, land agents and banks
He rode as hangman, circuit judge and jury
His horse was fear, his cloak was awe
His look was death and his word was law
The Lion of Missouri
The bison, the sloth and the wolf
Learned to hear his footstep and light out in a hurry
His blade was sharp, his arm was strong
His eye was keen and his shot was long
The Lion of Missouri
The Teutonic Knights and the Kaiser’s men
The Hessian, the Prussian, the Turk
Felt the white-hot fire of the young Cahokian’s fury
His word, his heart and his aim were true
His iron will and his soldiers, too
The Lion of Missouri
Against sorcerers and highwaymen
Lawyers, land agents and banks
He rode as hangman, circuit judge and jury
His horse was fear, his cloak was awe
His look was death and his word was law
The Lion of Missouri
* * *
Another Witchy Eye chapter heading, written in the Witchy Eye world (according to the conceit) by Woody Guthrie.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Know Thyself: Abstract Plots
Another problem I have is that I tend to conjure up, as a first effort, characters with abstract needs or needs readers do not naturally relate to, e.g. strong devotions to principle or needs to grow. (This may have something to do with my awkward social life.)
Knowing that I have this tendency, I focus hard in early pre-writing stages on getting concrete plots for all my characters.
Knowing that I have this tendency, I focus hard in early pre-writing stages on getting concrete plots for all my characters.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
What Kinds of Problems?
What sorts of problems / needs / objectives should your characters have?
To some extent, the answer to this question is genre-driven. In a mystery, the detective needs to find out who done it. In a thriller, the protagonist must stop the bomb from going off. In a romance, the protagonist's big concern must be to overcome the obstacles to love. In middle reader and young adult books, the protagonist must (and other key characters may) have needs that are universally comprehensible to children: finding one's place in society, discovering one's identity, relating to adults / authority, first encounters with the opposite sex, etc.
Beyond that, I offer some observations. Needs are stronger if they are universally or nearly-universally shared or shareable. They are stronger if they are concrete and urgent. Jill must recover the vaccine and deliver it to the hospital in time or her mother will die is stronger than Bob would like to win the flower show this year, though there are stories in which the desire to win the flower show would be a fine motivation, especially if Bob needs to avenge the humiliating loss last year to a romantic rival, or has to win the flower show to keep his job. If needs are abstract (e.g., a fear of mortality), try to root them in concrete common experience (e.g., the loss of a loved one).
Conflict is generated by multiple characters in your story having pressing, urgent needs that drive them to fight for conflicting objectives. Conflict is crucial because conflict generates interest -- and interest is how you get people to read your book.
To some extent, the answer to this question is genre-driven. In a mystery, the detective needs to find out who done it. In a thriller, the protagonist must stop the bomb from going off. In a romance, the protagonist's big concern must be to overcome the obstacles to love. In middle reader and young adult books, the protagonist must (and other key characters may) have needs that are universally comprehensible to children: finding one's place in society, discovering one's identity, relating to adults / authority, first encounters with the opposite sex, etc.
Beyond that, I offer some observations. Needs are stronger if they are universally or nearly-universally shared or shareable. They are stronger if they are concrete and urgent. Jill must recover the vaccine and deliver it to the hospital in time or her mother will die is stronger than Bob would like to win the flower show this year, though there are stories in which the desire to win the flower show would be a fine motivation, especially if Bob needs to avenge the humiliating loss last year to a romantic rival, or has to win the flower show to keep his job. If needs are abstract (e.g., a fear of mortality), try to root them in concrete common experience (e.g., the loss of a loved one).
Conflict is generated by multiple characters in your story having pressing, urgent needs that drive them to fight for conflicting objectives. Conflict is crucial because conflict generates interest -- and interest is how you get people to read your book.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Know Thyself: Novelist's Gearshift
Self-knowledge is key for a writer. One reason (of many reasons) it's so important is that knowing your weaknesses is a necessary first step towards overcoming them. One of my own weaknesses (or, optimistically, "features") as a writer is something I am coming to think of as a second chapter Novelist's Gearshift.
In songwriting, a truck driver's gear shift is when the songwriter (producer, etc.) shifts the key up to keep the listener's interest. See here. This is done on purpose.
My Novelist's Gearshift, by contrast, is something I do on accident. I find that it usually takes me until the second chapter to find the right gear for a story (my wife will tell you that I drive the same way). Specifically, I tend to overwrite the first chapter (sentences too long, writing too flowery or intense). Knowing this about myself, I take extra care in reviewing and revising my first chapters to compensate.
In songwriting, a truck driver's gear shift is when the songwriter (producer, etc.) shifts the key up to keep the listener's interest. See here. This is done on purpose.
My Novelist's Gearshift, by contrast, is something I do on accident. I find that it usually takes me until the second chapter to find the right gear for a story (my wife will tell you that I drive the same way). Specifically, I tend to overwrite the first chapter (sentences too long, writing too flowery or intense). Knowing this about myself, I take extra care in reviewing and revising my first chapters to compensate.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
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