Don't Look Now

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 23:13:18 EST

[whoops! it's friday again, the sole is on the griddle, and the fellow with the words forgot to lift a few to stretch the writing musculature. So, let's get to it...]

A Sentence Start:

In one step, she went from concrete and snow and wind into forest greens and sunshine and breezes.

[who is she? did she intend to go or was it an accident? will she ever come back? how? why? where and what and who? let the unanswered questions parade around in your head for a while, form into a marching corpse of your very own, and burst into music flowing out your fingers and onto a page...]

For those who would like a little longer exercise:

1. Remember Pandora? Don't open this. Really, don't open this. And curiosity tickles and frets and wiggles until...she just opened it a little bit. And then...

So, pick a number from one to six (three cheers for dice!)

1. Don't turn off the switch.
2. Make sure you feed the pet in the basement.
3. Don't look under the bed.
4. Do leave when the alarm rings.
5. Don't look too closely at what the "makeup" counter sells.
6. Do turn off the t.v. when you go to bed.

Don't like these? Pick one of your own--maybe you want to take on the rule that real men don't wear pantyhose? or other fantastic beliefs of sexual, racial, religious, etc. parochialism? How about the well-known fact that...well, you get the idea.

2. Our hero(ine) is going to have some trouble dealing with their duty. Maybe they are tired, curious, forgetful, excited about something else, or whatever, but they are going to break the rule. They are going to put on those pantyhose and take a walk on the weirder side. The switch is going to go off, the pet is going to get hungry, the hidden secrets under the bed are going to be revealed...it's all going to be shown!

Figure out why they are going to break their promise.

3. And then comes the result. What happens when unsleeping wives make hot dogs fly? Can the neighbors deal with a hungry, angry pet 'roo out and about in the backyards? Or where do hookers go for dinner after a hard night's work?

So what happens when the borders of normal behaviour shake a little? Suppose people really could fly, they just didn't believe it...

Think a little. Then take your reader with you in breaking out. And don't forget that stuck to the bottom of the box was a little dab of hope...

Getting To A Climax

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Fri, 1 Mar 1996 11:31:08 EST

[blank it out early and then get down to some serious lack of characterization...it's FIEDAY AGAIN, PHOLKS! :-]

1. Start with someone (a character!) trying to do something (a goal!). If you like, pick a number (between one and six--a single die will do you).

1. go on vacation
2. go to a movie
3. go shopping
4. get to work
5. go home
6. have a party

2. Stop and think. Make a list of problems that might arise. Natural disasters, governmental intervention (love your local cop, fireperson, or other crisis stirrer), mechanical failures, power outages, neighbors who don't understand (being arrested for breaking into your own house is embarrassing!), family that seems bent on revenge--or at least on achieving their own goals, coworkers, the list goes on and on...

Make your list of at least five and preferably ten items that could get in the way. Pick some fun ones (my father-in-law used to tell the story of going to the movies the day of the Great Tokyo Earthquake...)

3. Now ponder how your character might overcome those petty roadblocks--and why! When the trashmaster gleefully eats the cake that has just taken four hours to bake and frost--does your character sink into a jellymold and quiver or decide to take out the kids' piggybanks and buy a leftover funeral cake? What's so important to your character about this silly job, anyway?

4. Rearrange the blocks and reactions. Start with some easy ones, then up the ante. Drop world war three interfering with the party (although several authors have used that...) and make the progression from an everyday event to serious life commitment a natural one.

5. Write it up! You can either start with "I was on my way to..." and slowly build to the fight of your life, complete with torn clothing and tight hard smiles of gritted teeth--or start with the torn clothing, then flashback to how simply and easily normal life turned into a nightmare on thursday the twelfth...right here on main street USA...in anyone's backyard...

Grow for it! A podperson in the garage? oh, my. Or just the ordinary annoyances of everyday life--a flat tire, the ATM decided to eat the bank card, the voicemail system seems to have the hiccups, and my boss--my boss has just decided to go wrestle wild bears in Canada? What else can go wrong, just trying to get through the day--or across the road?

[Oh, yes. The starter sentence crowd is muttering...how about this one?

"How could she..." he muttered, and washed his hands.

let the tension build, slowly, slowly...and WRITE!]

TECH: Getting Readers Hooked

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

(I think the shrimp, or maybe those little red eggs. Worms work pretty good, too? Oh, you don't want fishy readers, you want them warm and comfy? Does that mean you won't be using the good lines?)

How do you get the reader to start reading? There are many recommendations to hook the reader, but what does that mean?

Nancy Kress, in a column entitled Your Opening Quest in Writer's Digest, Jan. 2005, pp. 20-22, talks about ways to create compelling openings. Ways to set that hook, to raise questions and suggest change is coming.

First, try out-of-the-ordinary. "The easiest way to raise a question in the reader's mind is by opening with an action that's clearly a change from the normal or expected." Start with action, and make sure:

1. The action suggests that a change has just occurred or is about to happen in the character's life
2. The action makes the reader wonder why it is happening, what the character will do next, or what the consequences will be

Second, hook the reader with provocative details about characters or setting that suggest change is upon us. Make sure the details:

1. Are very specific
2. Promise conflict to come
3. Indicate a change from the norm - something special - for this place and characters
4. Make readers try to figure out what's going on, and then keep reading to find out if they guessed right

Third, try starting with a grand sweeping statement of universal truths or assumptions. This used to be popular, and it still grabs the attention and raises questions about the story to follow. Some suggestions if you want to try this:

1. A bit of humor helps, because modern readers are likely to see such grand statements as a bit pompous
2. Quickly get down to specifics and action.
3. Make sure the opening raises questions that will absorb the reader

"Questions that require answers are what keep readers going -- and the place to start raising those questions is with your very first sentence."

So, take a look at a few stories that you really like, and see how they get started. Then try putting that same hook-and-jerk into the starting lines for one of your own stories. Polishing that beginning - once you get the reader going, they'll come along for the ride, but if you don't snag them at the start, they aren't likely to see the rest?