The Place For My Writers Notes

Original posting Nov. 1, 2010

Okay! It's the first day of nanowrimo, and at least here, it's pouring rain. Apparently we had a typhoon pass by, and mostly we ended up with lots and lots of rain. Which suggests something that you might want to toss into your nanowrimo words and words -- weather! Yes, tell us about the weather. Just like you tell your friends, it's a nice day, it's a rotten day, sunny, rainy, snow, tornadoes, typhoon, blizzards, all that good stuff that tells us how the weather is. And, as usual, don't just toss it off with a little word, show it to us. Have your character struggling with their umbrella as they try to get out of the car, and ending up with their pants leg drenched! A little bit of dismay as they realize that the seat of the car has also gotten a good soaking. At least it's not leather or anything extravagant, so it will just dry out in time.

While you're at it, you can always go over here http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/140129.html and take a look. November 1, 2008? Anyway, words from previous nanowrimo session suggesting that you pay attention to five areas to help fill in those words. Setting (remember the weather), senses (ha! What does a rainstorm smell like? How about wet jeans? Or that wonderful tactile feeling of walking in jeans with one dry leg and one wet, the odd stickyness and release of the wet side, and the comfort of the dry side?), Or maybe showing us flashbacks instead of just referring to them, making sure that even bit players have an opportunity to shine, and of course, letting your characters really reflect on things. Setting, senses, flashbacks, bit players, and reactions. When you fill those in, your word count is likely to go up! And that's what we're after for nanowrimo, word count.

It's kind of interesting how many different places I'm seeing reference to nanowrimo. Over here http://madgeniusclub.blogspot.com/2010/10/life-nanowrimo-and-just-doing-it.html Amanda Green reminds us to keep doing it. Make the time, keep at it, watch those distractions (shiny? What? Hey, I really needed to check that out on wikipedia, and then there were all those links, and I needed to check my mail, and... what was I saying? :-)

But mostly, quite sincerely, sit down. Put your hands on your keyboard (pen to paper, headset on, or whatever) and let those words flow. Tell us about your characters. Show us where they are, what they're doing, the problems they're running into and how they're going to try to get past them. Let us into their lives. All of which really means...

WRITE!

Original posting 10 December 2007

Stumbling toward Plot and Structure (26)

And here we go again! Sorry about last week, I was at a conference and didn't have my book. What book? Ah, Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell, of course. Where we now find ourselves about to plunge into Chapter 13, a discussion of common plot problems and cures. Or at the very least, some calamine lotion to help with the itches.

So let's get to it!

Problem: Scenes Fall Flat

Every scene needs some tension, some edge to it. Might be action - external stuff - or internal tension such as the characters worrying, but you need that spark. So what can you do if it isn't there?

Bell suggests looking for the "hot spot" -- the moment or exchange that is the focus of the scene. If there isn't one, you might consider dropping the whole scene. But if there is one, highlight it. Then back up. Is the paragraph before it necessary? What about each sentence, or each phrase? Keep moving backward, clearing out (cutting) anything that doesn't lead the reader right to the hot spot.

Problem: Flashback Blockages

Watch out for flashbacks that kill the momentum and frustrate your reader. Some hints are:

Is this flashback necessary? Is this really the best way to present the info? Could you drop it in some other way?

Is this flashback a scene? It should be just as immediate, confrontational, and a unified dramatic action as any other scene you write.

Did you trigger the flashback? Introducing and getting back from a flashback can be stumbling points. One way to keep it smooth is to provide a strong sensory detail that triggers the flashback for the character - something they see, hear, smell. Then write the flashback. Then go back to the sensory detail again to get back.

Don 't get tense in your flashback. You can use one or two "had" verbs to start, but then just use plain old past tense.

Consider the alternatives such as a backflash in dialogue or thought. A bit of dialogue can convey important background. Or a character can think about it.

Problem: The Tangent!

My favorite digression. But when you thought the story was going thataway and suddenly there's this other path, what do you do? Couple of obvious possibilities are to forge ahead ignoring the allure of the byways, confident that sticking to the plan is best . . . or swerve and take a trip into another place!

Bell suggests a blockbuster approach. Set aside your mainline effort for a moment, and in a new file (or a blank sheet) do a little free-form outlining of the next few scenes as if you had no idea what was next. Let your "inner players" free to stage what they think should happen. Summarize this, and ask yourself: if this happened, what consequences would follow?" Summarize. Take a break. Then look at the tangent and decide rationally if it is better or not.

Problem: Twisting Characters to fit the Plot

Oops. Sometimes the little metal soldiers get all bent out of shape as the author tries to force them to follow the plot. Not so good for anyone. So . . .

Some ideas include spending a little time writing free-form journal notes from the POV of the character ... go out for a night on the town with the character. Where does he or she go to relax, who does he or she talk with, what happens when someone throws mud (literally or metaphorically)? Go back and get to know the characters better, then make sure that the plot flows naturally from who they are.

Problem: the Mid Novel Slog

Your writing has gotten dull and you just don't know where this treadmill is going? Take a break, and then either go back, jump cut, or randomize! Go back? Back up to where things were cooking and then consider taking off on a little different angle. Jump cut is just that, jump ahead and perhaps sideways, and pick up there. Look for a high-conflict juicy scene that excites you and write that. Then figure out how to fill the gap.

Randomize? Bell suggests flipping the dictionary open and finding a strong word on that page. Then flip it open again and pick another. Now write something that uses those two words. What does this fragment suggest about your story?

Problem: Shutdown.

Oops. The imagination is on strike, and there is nothing doing.

Don't despair, everyone gets stuck now and then. Here are some kickstarts. Take a look, then pick one and use it.

First, you may need a recharge. If your inner editor is blocking the works, remember that you have permission to be bad and that you can and will go back later and polish. But right now you need to get it down first!

Or may be you're just feeling fraudulent? Who are you fooling, claiming to be an author? Take a break, consider what you are about, talk with a friend. I'd also suggest reading some slush or bad printed stuff -- come on, you can do better than that!

Second, relive your scenes. Go back through, and imagine yourself in the scenes. Punch up the feelings, let things dance and shift, pickup the pace. Make sure your scenes grab the reader and don't let go at the endings. Good endpoints include the moment when a major decision has to be made, just as something terrible happens, a hint at something bad about to happen, a strong display of emotion, or with a question posed but not yet answered.

In other words, tighten up your existing work.

Third, recapture your vision. Sometimes we need to step back and take a look at the over all shape and goal. Think about the meaning and there. Remind yourself of your mission as a writer. Many people find a short pithy statement of their reason d'writing to be useful.

Bell starts his exercises by suggesting you list your own major plot problems, prioritize that list, and plan how you are going to improve. Then second, he suggests looking at a novel you have read that didn't work for you. Identify that was wrong, and how you could do better.

Great! That's Chapter 13! So now we have Chapter 14, A collection of tips and bits, plus a couple of appendices to look at, and that will finish up Plot and Structure.

A couple more weeks, eh? Just about in time to ramble with 6x6.

Get those words up!

Five quick suggestions to help add more words to your nanowrimo efforts.

1. Words for the setting! Take a moment and think about what's around your characters. At least put a broad sketch in, and if you want to spend some words on details, do it. You've got 50,000 or more words to play with, don't hold back. Take a look at magazine pictures, mental images, or some other visual and then write it into your story. Put your characters in a setting, and tell us about the tree standing there with green leaves like three improbable scoops of pistachio ice cream dangling in midair.

2. While you're at it, run through the other senses of your characters, too. Is it hot or cold? Do they smell something? Are there sounds from the trucks on the highway outside the bar? What about that TV mumbling CNN headlines? If they're drinking or eating, or even chewing gum, you might have some tastes. And you definitely have stiff legs and sore backs from hunching over that table talking to each other face-to-face? Keep mixing in the senses, and adding to the word count.

3. Fill in those flashbacks! Don't just say he remembered learning that in school. Go back and show us his third-grade teacher slashing at the blackboard, dropping the chalk in a puff of dust, and brushing her hands together as she turned to glare at the class. And then she called on him, and he stood up, and stuck his hands in his pockets, and... he couldn't remember the answer. But Peggy Sue hissed behind him, "It's four." And he suddenly knew just what to say.

4. Make your little characters real. Don't just have the doorman opened the door. Make it the doorman, dressed in a color-coordinated uniform suited to an imaginary servant from 100 years or more in the past, doffed his hat with one hand and reached toward the door handle with his other white-gloved hand. He gently pulled the heavy door open, bowing slightly as they walked in. Or maybe you can have the waitress do a bit of gum-popping and joking while taking the orders? Whatever, add one or two details to help your bit players stand out -- and add a few more words to the stack.

5. Reactions. As your characters stumble, fail, learn about the new complications, run into more resistance, and otherwise find out just what kind of problems they are running into, they react. Inner monologue, dialogue, maybe even journal entries -- one way or another, let your characters explore their feelings. Let them rant! Let them interpret the situation for themself, weighing the costs, thinking it through, considering what all of the alternatives are - and making their decisions. Those inner thoughts are part of what makes us feel as if we know the characters -- and add yet a few more words to the stacks.

Settings, senses, flashbacks, little characters, and interior revelations?
Make those words rumble!
tink
(about 500 words, but who's counting?)

Original posting: Mon, 31 Dec 2001 22:00:00 -0500

(Still turning?)

Backgrounds and Projections

Let's consider more additions to what you are communicating to your audience about the turning points in your life.  First, what is it about your background that makes the turning point you selected significant for you?  Is there an event in your past, or maybe more than one, that really provides the setting for this turning point?  Or suppose you wanted to foreshadow this turning point in something that happened to you earlier -- perhaps a similar opportunity that didn't work out?

Make a list of two or three background points that lead into this turning point.  Consider whether you want to write up one of these points as a flashback.  What would be the scene, and the action, and the characters that would help your audience understand the background of this turning point?

Or, you may want to consider projecting the results of this turning point into the future.  You may not have experienced yet all of the benefits and costs involved in this decision or choice, but you may be thinking ahead, expecting that out of this will come something special.

As with the background, think about several possible future points that may come out of this turning point.  Then consider writing one of these as a flashforward.