TECH: 101 Tips (63)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting 2 March 2010

Writers' Digest, October 2004, pages 26 to 33, has a collection of short "nuggets of wisdom" related to getting published. Maria Schneider is the author of the compilation. Take a deep breath, and here we go:

"Successful freelancers know they have to take the details seriously. Nothing stands out in a query letter more than a glaring error, and respecting AP style is one of those editorial no-brainers." Marnie Engel Hayutin

Another piece of advice about making sure that the details are right -- so that the editors don't trip over them. Spelling, grammar, AP style or whatever style is appropriate, get the little stuff right so that slush readers, editors, and so forth don't pay attention to that. You want them to pay attention to your story, the big picture that you're trying to show them. If they trip over extra apostrophe's, miss spellings, or even, the extra, commas... they might miss a really good show!

It's that notion again of making the frame invisible. Sure, we can do a baroque or rococo style presentation, calling attention to our literary word choices and extravagant use of punctuation, but by and large, that's unlikely to sell a story. So think about polishing those details.

TECH: Turning Ideas into Stories?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting 7 March 2010

Hi, ho. Over here http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-does-intelligence-work.html Jacqueline Lichtenberg talks about where those crazy ideas come from. In other words, what is her process for getting ideas that go into stories or novels. Admittedly, she's in the science fiction romance area, which combines the trivial and ridiculous ideas of romance with the out-of-the-box crazy and pointless ideas of science fiction. But anyway, here are her seven steps:

1. Ask silly questions. (tink says I might call that challenging assumptions). In particular, look at things that people take for granted, and ask why or how.
2. Find a conflict generating emotion, a plot generating dynamic buried in that assumption. Look for fears, panic, worries and concerns.
3. Do some "What if..." speculation. Try out some variations on that concept.
4. Re-state the question. Add some details, mix in some things, and ask a question that connects the abstract thought or concept to a reader's daily worries and conflicts.
5. Look back at the original question.
6. Now take a world builder's view of what you've been brewing. Apply it to a lot of people, push it to extremes, look for the breaking points.
7. Build a series of alternate worlds, expressing various versions of your concept. Fantasy, science fiction, paranormal... here on earth, out in space, in another time and place... try it out.

So that's her process, and she demonstrates it as she walks through the seven steps, looking at the little question of "How does intelligence work?"

Obviously, you may want to try your own silly questions, and then push them through the wringer to come up with your very own worlds of what if. That's fine.

Just don't forget to write.