EXER: Do the sporting thing?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Aug. 6, 2016

Over here, Sarah Hoyt recommends practicing writing violence. You know, when the bad guy blows up the boat, or the good guy gets a chance to fight back? Or something like that.

https://madgeniusclub.com/2016/08/03/writing-violence-a-beginners-effort/

But... How do you practice that?

Seems to me a good way to practice would be to take a sporting event — the Olympics are coming up, there’s always football, soccer, and such? Or does American TV have competitions with teams of tv folks gleefully trying to climb walls, kick balls, and such physical events? Take one of these, and tell us what happens. Put us right in there, as the ball hurtles past the guards, and there… Yes, he headed it towards the net, but… It dribbled past the edge of the net, just millimeters outside, as the fans roar in frustration.

Anyway, that’s my suggestion for practice in writing violence. Write a sports event!

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TECH: Outlining Your Novel (Pt. 7)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Aug. 22, 2016

So, here's another chapter from Outlining Your Novel by K.M. Weiland. This time, it's chapter 7, with the title Character Sketches, Pt. 2: Character Interviews. Here K recommends really drilling into each character, delving into who they are and why. Like many other descriptions of how to do this, K recommends a lengthy set of character questions. You can find the list in her free ebook Crafting Unforgettable Characters: A Hands-On Introduction to Bringing Your Characters to Life.

K suggests that you probably only want to delve into this depth for your main characters, protagonists and antagonists. Maybe one or two important minor characters -- major minor characters, if you like contradictions.

The list starts with the obvious, name, and then quickly delves into such the as background, friends, enemies, outlook on life, physical appearance, personality, and greatest success and biggest trauma. There's a lengthy list, but I'm not going to put it all in here. K recommends instead of just filling in the blanks, to do some freewriting and brainstorming about important questions.

And, if that doesn't seem to be doing the trick, K suggests a freehand interview. Put the questions away, and just talk with the character. Ask questions, and see what bubbles up!

Finally, K admits that she isn't a fan of psychological charting, such as the MBTI, but that if you want to, you might try the enneagram, with its nine categories and see if that works for you.

So. Another chapter in outlining that doesn't feel at all like the old English class outlines. Instead, we're delving into the main characters and their backstory, or even sitting down and talking with them. Good stuff, but... Where's the outline?

Relax. There is one more chapter delving into the setting, and then K is going to get back to the outline. Chapter 9 is about extended or in-depth outlines, while Chapter 10 is about short outlines. And Chapter 11 talks about using outlines. I think K is helping us to develop our story, even if it isn't quite the dive into an outline approach that I might expect from the title.

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EXER: What does inexplicable mean to you?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Aug. 30, 2016

Over here,

http://rockrivertimes.com/2016/08/29/outrageous-inexplicable-situation-prompts-wnij-fiction-contest/

They are talking about a flash fiction contest. 500 word stories. And the prompt? Well, your first sentence should contain an outrageous, inexplicable situation. Then deal realistically with that for the rest of your 500 words. You don't need to explain the situation, and probably can't, but make the story good!

There's a short video, and more about the contest (WNIJ, in DeKalb?)

But for the fun of it, even if you don't want to enter their contest, go ahead and spin a story. 500 words, with an incredible beginning.

After all, once you eliminate the ordinary and the improbable, whatever is left, no matter how unlikely, is impossible? Isn't that what Mycroft Holmes told his brother?

Write!
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EXER: Guess what's in the mail?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Sept. 3, 2016

This was one of those off-the-wall comments that TV people love, that didn't get explained. See, they asked one of the young talents if they had anything unusual happen recently, and he said,

"I opened the mailbox in my apartment building, and sand poured out of it."

Everyone on the show laughed, and they hurried on to the next part. But you get to take that scene, or even just that line, and build at least a scene around it. Imagine. Your character opens the mailbox in their apartment building, and sand pours out of it. What is going on? Are the other mailboxes also full of sand? Where did it come from? What does it mean? And, of course, how does the character react to the delivery of sand?

Write!
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TECH: Outlining Your Novel (Part 8)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Sept. 10, 2016

Hah! Bet you thought I'd lost track of this. Well, yes, it had slipped my mind for a while, but... Time for the next exciting chapter! Chapter 8, Discovering Your Setting.

K. M. Weiland starts out by reminding us that all too often, we focus on characters and plot, and kind of leave setting as an exercise for the reader. But a fabulous setting helps set everything! And take a look at fantasy and other speculative fiction, where often a lot of work goes into the setting. World building! Even if you are using "the real world" you can still use techniques from the fantasy writers to make that world stand out.

Start with making the setting intrinsic to the story. You don't want your story to be in anytown, anywhere. You want them to be in a specific place and time, with buildings, streets, forests... All that stuff that feels so real that people think they can walk there.

Consider how the character views the setting. Also, what mood does the setting convey?

Be cautious. Don't overdo the settings. You want the story to be about the people, not just a slideshow travelogue. Pick your primary settings carefully, and explore them (exploit them!). Think about combining settings, and reusing them. Then consider foreshadowing your settings, let the characters talk about where they are going beforehand!

Now, especially if you are doing a speculative fiction story, consider world building. See the book for a list of points to consider, but you probably want to know at least landscape, societies, technology, natural laws, people, and history.

Second, look for unique and pertinent points. Don't drown the reader in details, but don't be too abstract, either. Try for the Goldilocks details, just right!

As usual, I don't think this is exactly an outlining chapter. More like a think through this major part of your writing project chapter. I agree with K that this is something we need to think about as we tackle a writing project. But I don't know that the result is going to be an outline, per se.

Anyway, another great chapter! Watch for chapter 9, where K gets into the process of an extended outline! Yes, we are going to put together an outline!

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TECH: Preparing for Nanowrimo?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Sept. 16, 2016

This popped up in my Google news recently, and I thought it was interesting. So here's some thoughts about it.

http://www.bustle.com/articles/183073-10-ways-to-prep-for-nanowrimo-because-november-will-be-here-before-you-know-it

Interesting. Let's see.

1. Start using a journal -- write! Notes, thoughts, bits and pieces here and there. You may like a notepad, maybe one of those nice bound journals, or even an electronic version (google docs is good almost everywhere!) The key here is to start writing and get in the habit.
2. Schedule a time to write every single day -- probably a good idea. Lots of people find a regular writing time best. That way your brain gets in the habit of writing at that time.
3. Set yourself a fun weekly writing goal. Oh, that's interesting. Try flash fiction, a specific number of words each day, drawing instead of writing, other change of pace writing challenges.
4. Join a writing club or team up with another nanowrimo participant. Support groups, people to kick you and remind you that you really want to do this, someone to gripe to about how nobody understands except your writing buddies... Social support helps. Get it?
5. Make a story outline or create an inspiration board. Outlines, if they work for you, are great. Figure out what you are going to write, then plow ahead. But some people prefer a collection of pictures, or maybe notecards (a la Save the Cat?) Heck, you could even try a ... What do they call those sketch versions of a movie?
6. Test out your novel ideas by writing a synopsis and a first chapter. Especially if you've got several ideas, go ahead and do a little test writing.
7. Get to know your main characters. Names, fears, odds and ends. Get comfortable before you and they dive into that novel.
8. Learn to shut your inner editor off. A biggie! One way or another, you need to chunk out the words and keep going when November hits. So you need to practice now telling the inner editor -- the one that wants to polish those words and go back and revise -- to sit down and be quiet. After November, sure, you can polish and revise everything. But during November, just keep going. Make notes about what you want to revise, but keep going. Words, and more words.
9. Research things now and write later. Good idea. In November, you are not going to spend time in research. So, if you want to figure out how Incan knot language worked, do it now! In November, just make a note and come back to it later. But you can certainly look things up now, find out what the back alleys of Venice smell like, check out what breeds of dog, or whatever you need now. Or do that secondary world building for the fantasy now.
10. Read as much as you possibly can. Most of us are readers as well as writers. So now is the time to stoke the reading pool. Read some books about writing, some inspirational stuff, and some goodies from your favorite genre or authors, just to remind you of what you are doing. Don't plan on reading much during November -- your time is going to be spent writing.

There you go! A preparation plan, or at least some interesting points about getting ready for Nanowrimo. Warm ups, from journal, time, and challenges. Some friends to help, shut down that editor, and prep reading. And then, more particular to your story, outlines, prototyping, main characters, and research. Get set!

Write in November!
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[Writers] TECH: Prep for Nanowrimo?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Sept. 24, 2016

Aha! Over here, Janice Hardy provides a four week plan...

http://thewritelife.com/prepare-nanowrimo-4-week-success-plan/

A four week plan (October! Only one more month, and we'll be headed into Nanowrimo!) Let's take a look.

Number one, in a few sentences, describe what this novel will be about.

First week (Oct 1-7) focus on your novel's setup. What is the beginning going to look like? You need to introduce the characters, story problem, and setting, and set up the rest of the novel. So think about:

-- How are you going to introduce the protagonist? Traits and qualities? How will you show these up front?

-- What problem does the opening scene deal with? This may or may not be the big driver for the whole story. It's not unusual to use a small, interesting problem to get us involved and set up things. How can you hook the reader and lead the plot to the core conflict?

-- What is your inciting event? This is the driver for the novel. It may start things off, or it may bridge from the opening scene (which often sets up normal life) and the start of the middle. Whichever, make sure it is clear and exciting!

Second week (Oct. 8-14) how do problems get solved in the middle? This is where characters run into try-fail cycles, working away at their problems, and learning. What should you consider:

-- How does the setup lead to the middle (opening scene, inciting event, and here's the middle!).

-- What major problem or event does the middle reveal?

-- How will the middle lead into the ending? Usually, the protagonist is down and reeling, things look bleak, but... This is when the protagonist figures out how to come back. What is going to push them to make that last effort?

Third week (Oct. 15-21) how will your novel end? This is the climax, the big showdown with the antagonist. What is it going to look like? You may have started with an idea about it (many people fit useful to think about this first) but now you really need to figure it out. Things to consider:

-- How does the protagonist I plan to defeat the antagonist? What steps do they think they are going to take?

-- How will it end? What will happen to resolve the core conflict?

-- How does this experience change the protagonist? Better, worse, what changes, what are they going to do next?

Fourth week (Oct. 22-28) what are the major turning points of your story? Go ahead and walk through the whole story, fleshing out details, adding notes.

Character-driven? What is the character arc, and what is the internal journey your character is going to take?

Plot-driven? What are the major plot points, and how are your characters going to react and solve the plot problems?

You probably want at least three major points in each of the three parts (beginning, middle, end) so nine or more points.

Final days (Oct. 29-31) write a pitch! That's right, Janice recommends writing a query or pitch for your novel. There's a link to another article about how to write a one page pitch, with a template and questions to help make sure you cover everything. Doing this before write your novel will help make sure you know who your characters are, what the plot is, and can point to holes before you stumble into them.

Okay? So ... Time to get planning!

Before Nanowrimo comes barreling across the calendar!

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