writercises | Entries tagged with goals

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting Nov. 2, 2016

Over here, K. M. Weiland talks about backstory for Nanowrimo! It's part of her series about How to Outline for Nanowrimo.

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/nanowrimo-outlining-how-much-backstory/

Let's see. She starts out with a bit of peptalk, pointing out that while people often think backstory just kind of happens, you don't have to explore it before you start writing, that approach often leads to missed opportunities and a lot of revision. Backstory influences everything, plot, motivation, theme… So how do you figure it out ahead of time?

This is all that stuff that happened to your character and everybody else before the story. So how do you pick out the important parts? You want the things that influence the main story, right? Take a look at these questions.

1. What brought your character to the beginning of your main story? How did he get here? From two different points of view. First, what's his purpose or reason for being here? Was it intentional? If so, what got him to that point? Second, how'd he get there physically? Intentional or not, how did the character get into this place? What goal, what delivery mechanism. This is where you might use your one major coincidence. But it's better to have a good solid cause-and-effect.

2. What is your character's motivation? What do they want? Why? The backstory is the cause for this! Sometimes the motivation comes from inside the story (e.g., the inciting incident, when someone gets kidnapped, or whatever), BUT if the backstory supports it, it gets even better. Or, the primary motivation for the main story goal may be straight out the backstory. But in that case, why did they set their heart on this goal? What pushed them into it? What changed dreaming into action plan?

3. What is the Ghost that's driving your character? It's the wound in the character's backstory, something that happened and is pushing your character. A deep, dark secret, or maybe something seemingly superficial and normal, but it's the driver.

4. Which revelations about the backstory advance the plot? Having juicy bits from the backstory it is nice, but how can you use them – discoveries, revelations, flashes of insight – to push your plot? Make a list, and think about how to use each item for mystery, building tension, and revelation.

Don't get carried away with the backstory. You don't want to get buried in it, nor do you need to put every little bit of it into the story. It's context and support, but do the iceberg thing – 90% out of sight, only 10% flashing in the sun. Only get into backstory to advance the main plot or to make sure readers understand.

And may your nanowrimo stories be wonderful!

tink

Current Mood: drizzly

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting 29 Nov 2011

Interesting. It's the end of the quarter, which means the end of some classes that I'm teaching. And of course, it's the end of nanowrimo. And I find myself depressed. There's a piece of me that doesn't want to let go, to finish the classes, to stop racing nanowrimo word count, to move on.

If I stop and think about it, of course, life does go on. I have another class starting soon. The nano tale is far from complete -- more like loose shards that need sorting and connection. And there's no reason not to run MyStoWriMo in December, and every month of the year. (MyStoWriMo? My Story Writing Month! Do-it-yourself word counts, challenges, goals -- and maybe even push some out to Smashwords or other venues? Why not?)

This morning, there's a plea on one of my lists for survey software -- and I know there's free stuff out there, that just needs a little how-to guidance. There are stacks and stacks of books and articles to summarize and turn into whatever. There's lots to do!

There's no reason for a slightly obsessive-compulsive overachiever who feels best when totally swamped to get hit with depression, just because the wheel turns. Finish off the things that are ending, make yourself a list of new goals and challenges, and charge ahead, Don Quixote!

After all, there's words untold, stories unwritten, plots that need boiling, and metaphors aplenty to mix and match.

Yeah! It's the end of a quarter, and the start of a new one. The wheel turns, which means some things hit the ground, but some other things are rising. Keep your eyes on what's coming up, and what's out there on the horizon that we're rolling towards.

Time to make a list of new goals and challenges to help shake the ending blues.

Current Mood: restart

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 27 Nov 2011

All right! Hopefully, you're burping lightly from all that wonderful Thanksgiving food, and scribbling away to finish up? Just a few more days, but you too can write some more!

Actually, before we skip past it too lightly, there is that wonderful feast that some of you have enjoyed to use as a possible aid in nanowrimo. Just let your characters enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas feast, barbecue, dinner at a French restaurant, perhaps Chinese takeout -- and walk through all the courses, the smells, the tastes, the crunch of the pastry, the chewy taste of the Guinness, or whatever. In between courses, you might weave in a bit of dialogue, a little action, or even have the bad guys burst in with guns roaring... but enjoy the food, too!

Okay. From the historic files, let's see... aha! Yes, go back and look at the goals of your characters, and consider how they are going to meet them (beat them, change them, fail...). We're getting close to possibly hitting the third act, climax, or other tying up parts of your novel, right? So dealing with those dreams and schemes of your characters is getting important. Will they win the right to live their own way? Will the closing of the old factory destroy them, or will they manage to turn rural life into natural delight? Whatever goals your characters were working towards, now is the time to reconsider them and see how the action, the characters, and all that are going to make a satisfying climax.

Aha. And on the 27th, I was communing with Bradbury again. This time as he charged ahead, drunk on life, in charge of a bicycle. Writing, writing, the man just would not stop writing!

So take a wordy ride on your own bicycle, and see where you end up!

Current Mood: skipping

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting 25 Nov 2011

What? The last note was on the 13th? And today is the 25th? ARGH!

Hey, all. I've been sick. Believe it or not, I've had a cold, which for a while just meant arguing with the dictation software about whether sneezes really meant I wanted a line of "him" across the page (does a sneeze really sound like "him"? Oh, well...). Then I lost my voice!

Which may not sound like much of a problem, but if you quit typing to save your fingers, and have been using dictation software -- a whisper doesn't cut it. So I went back to the keyboard for a while. Even though it does hurt, some.

Anyway, I'm recovering, and still meeting and beating Nanowrimo into shape! So...

Let's see. Old bits and pieces...

ARCS! Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. Or as I teach my students sometimes, surprise! WIIFM (What's in it for me?), Yes, you can!, and last but not least, rewards, smiles, and other treats. That's one theory of motivation, and you can pay attention to those in your writing, too. Twists and other surprises keep the reader on their toes. Getting them engaged makes it relevant. Being fair to the reader raises their confidence. And oh, do those climaxes satisfy us. Emotional rewards galore!

Bradbury's formula! "Find a character, like yourself, who will want something or not want something, with all his heart. Give him running orders. Shoot him off. Then follow as fast as you can...." And don't forget the zest and gusto, too!

OCEAN? What's a character? Well, openness -- desire for change (or not!). Conscientiousness -- planner or not? Extravert or introvert? Agreeableness? How many friends do they have? And neuroticism, that emotional edge? Right! Make them personalties, with some warts, and see what happens.

Bradbury again? Yeah... "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you."

Go with the flow! Writing as a burst, a torrent of words flooding out. That's nanowrimo all over!

One more Bradbury notion? Aha, yes, the lists, the lists. Bradbury adored his lists, and so can you! Stop now and then, make a list of colors, of senses afire, actions, clues or whatever... and then expand on those, tell us all about them, and watch your words roll!

Ah, the metaphoric dance of the words! Yes, your neurons and mine enjoy connecting things up, so pick a number from one to seven (what, your die doesn't go that high? Okay, roll once. Odd is zero, even is one. Now roll again, and add whatever you get to your first roll. One to seven, with a bit of weight for the middle. Okay... where were we before I got distracted. Right! Pick your number and...)

Here's what you have chosen (behind door number 1, we have . . . ):

1. Taking a bath
2. Frying potatoes
3. Boiling an egg
4. Sending a letter (you remember, those funny paper things that preceded email?)
5. Untangling a ball of string
6. Learning to swim
7. Starting a car in cold weather

Now, let your mind slide. That problem, that process, the incident in your story? How would you explain it in terms of this metaphor? What relates? What doesn't relate? What if...

There you go, a metaphorical fling for the fancy!

Oh, my. Then I threw in the business metaphors? I really wanted you to scramble those metaphors, fry some words, and get cooking, didn't I? Let's see, journeys, games, war, machines, organisms, social groups, family, jungle, and the zoo. Pick a style, narrow it down a bit and pick an example, then let the correlations begin!

Filling out characters? Right! Onions have layers, ogres have layers, and even secondary characters deserve a layer or two. Goals, motivations, conflicts, some change... make those characters stand out for us!

And today's old Nanowrimo posting? All about filling in the actions. Instead of just doing a scene change to put your favorite character at the next place where they get their lumps, consider filling in all the steps of getting there. And of course, in the scene, instead of just gliding over the action with summaries, go through the actions. How does the hero fry a hamburger, anyway? With a twist of garlic? And a dash of vinegar? Huh...

These nanowrimo notes are available at length somewhere over here http://writercises.livejournal.com/?skip=30&tag=nanowrimo along with many more!

But the key right now is ... I hope you are enjoying your Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and whatever, and getting ready to slam through the finish line on Nanowrimo, coming up next week! Scribble, tap, yackity-yack!

Current Mood: scrape

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting 8 August 2011

Writer's Digest, February 1993, pages 32 and 33, have an article by Arno Karlen. Arno is talking about the simple practice of keeping a journal. It's an exercise in self-discipline, I suppose. Let's take a look at what a writer's journal does for you.

"I've been a writer, editor and teacher for more than 30 years, and that's how long I've kept a journal, diary or both. My journal is my laboratory, the workshop in which I find-to my eye, ear and language. It's both a warehouse for my imagination and a nursery for future works. Much of my writing begins there."

That sounds pretty exciting! Arno notes that a writer's journal is not a "dear diary" outpouring. Instead, it's a place to exercise imagination and craft. Your writing should improve, your ideas and observations increase in vividness, and it spills over into your other writing. However, most people try journals and then give up. The problem is that nobody says how to keep one! It needs a plan, and organizing idea and mental roadmap.

First, are you keeping a journal or a diary? The main distinction is that a diary is more private, while a journal is a workshop. Arno actually keeps both, one to talk to himself (the diary) and the journal for writing -- anecdotes, conversations, descriptions of faces and voices. Comments on public events and reading. Phrases that caught his attention, even if they don't belong in what he's currently writing. Ideas for articles, stories, poetry that need to ripen.

Arno reminds us to review the journal pages when we're looking for scenes, characters, or ideas.

Also, use your journal to practice dialogue, narrative, and description. Make yourself a constant observer.

Arno suggests starting out by committing to doing at least three months of journal writing. Along with a minimum daily production -- one long paragraph, a half of a typed page? Certainly you can write more, but decide to do the minimum every day.

To help focus your journal, Arno suggests seven steps:

1. Always carry a small notebook. Take notes everywhere. Sure, lots of times you can't write down everything, but at least make a note to remind yourself later.
2. Become a relentless observer. Colors, sounds, other people, yourself. Every encounter -- put it in your journal and make it live.
3. Set yourself a variety of assignments. There's a two-week list below -- work through it at least twice during your three months.
4. During the second month try this exercise for two weeks: each day describe a thing, person, or event in about one page. Then revise the previous day's entry, polishing it as if you are going to show it to another writer.
5. At the end of every week and every month, skim your entries for the time. See what is well-written and badly written, remember which was easy or difficult. See which strengths you've got, and what skills you need to work on. Use this to lay out future journal work.
6. For one week, keep a personal diary instead of a journal. Make it as intimate as you dare. Later, compare the diary and the journal pages. Which helped you with writing skills and personal satisfaction? What did you learn doing these two kinds? Then you can decide what you want to do -- diary, journal, or some combination.
7. Read some published journals.

After three months, answer the question: how can a journal help me to write a better poem, story, article, or book?

Arno suggests that a journal can help us practice accurate, vivid writing. It can help us with characters and events, colors, smells, the progress of events and ideas. And because we're not trying to write in a particular form or genre, the journal let you focus on particular skills or problems.

"You discover that there are no days or lives without drama, pathos and humor; there are only days and lives unexamined."

Blogs, journals, all that good stuff...

Oh -- 14 days worth of assignments:

1. Describe a person you know. Another acquaintance, having read the description, should be able to recognize the person.
2. Sit for 5 minutes with your back to a window. Using only sounds, describe everything that happens outside. If possible, do this on a rainy day.
3. Describe -- through observation -- how a number of people do one simple thing differently. You might report on how they blow their noses, full of newspapers, or study labels in the supermarket.
4. Describe an incident observed in a public place. It should stand independently, a small but vivid slice of life.
5. Describe a smell and everything you associate with it.
6. Observe all the shop signs on a block. Write a mini essay describing them and what they reveal about the area.
7. Explain what you dislike about someone.
8. Rewrite yesterday's entry, making funny.
9. Tape-record 1 minute of conversation among two or more people. Recreate it on paper as convincing dialogue.
10. Describe how a relative, friend or neighbor speaks. Catch voice quality, mannerisms and body language.
11. On a day when you can think of nothing to write, describe how it feels to have nothing to say.
12. Write a one-page description of anything or anyone, in your usual style. Rewrite it, making sure no word is modified by more than one adjective or adverb.
13. Write an opinion piece about an opinion piece in a newspaper or magazine.
14. Describe how you feel about journal writing at this point.

A way to practice observation and re-creating the worlds around and inside you in words -- and all it takes is a little paper (or some bits on your computer) and some time. Not bad!

I usually tell my students when I'm asking them to write a journal to try to do three things: describe something that happened as objectively as possible; then describe their own reaction to that -- how did they feel? And finally, what would they like to do the next time? It's a real simple framework, but my students seem to be much happier to have even that simple guidance: what happened? How did you feel about it? What do you wish you had done?

So, journal?

Current Mood: braindrain

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 2 August 2011

Writer's Digest, February 1993, pages 28 to 31, have an article by Carolyn Cutler about setting realistic goals. It starts out with some discussion of what we mean by goals -- our explicit goal such as wanting to write sometimes stumbles on our implicit goal (writing the great American novel without any effort?). I think of it as realistic planning versus just dreaming.
( rainbows and soap bubbles and other fancy stuff )
There you go. Set yourself some goals. Make them explicit -- write them down. Then hold yourself accountable.

What did you say you are going to write, now?

Current Mood: dry

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting 1 Dec 2010

Nanowrimo, National Novel Writing Month, is over again. Celebrations for those who tried, whether they hit the 50K mark or not, are certainly in order. So give yourself a cheer!

And then, before losing track completely of that feeling of accomplishment, it must be time to prepare for pewylwriti! Pronounced pee-while-rye-tie, it stands for PErsonal WYL WRIting TIme. Personal writing time? Well, yes. Not organized at the national, state, or even small group level, just what you and I decide we want to do. Writing time? Sure, not a special month, just the continuing adventures of writing.

You might want to think about Heinlein's four step program for writing. Write, Finish what you write, Submit, and Keep it Going (my short summary).

Now, you get to decide what you write, but you need to write. That can include outlining, research, all that stuff, but mostly, it means putting words on paper. Figure out how much you want to do, probably on a weekly or something basis, and make a commitment to yourself to do it. Just like you did with nanowrimo! 1,667 words a day? How about 800 words a day? Whatever, you decide, but write.

You need to finish chunks -- short stories, poems, novels, whatever you are writing, finish it! Personally, I don't think Heinlein meant toss it out without revision, as some people suggest, but simply finish the job and let go of it. It's so easy to get tied up in making it perfect, and never ever let it go. So make up your mind to finish pieces, as well as you can, and then let go of them. Finish pieces. Again, make a commitment. A story a week, a novel in X months, or whatever. And finish that piece!

At which point, of course, you submit it. This is where the commercial side of writing bites, because response times are often long, but... Submit that piece. Find the right market, check the submission requirements and method, and send it off. (Psst! Then go back and write some more!)

Keep going? That applies to writing, finishing, and submitting. Especially to submitting -- there's a tendency to take those rejections too seriously, and decide to yank a piece off the market, or rewrite, or whatever. Don't. Just send it to the next market, and put the new pieces you've written while you were waiting out there, too. Keep going.

Okay? Set yourself up for pewylwriti!

There's a hand raised in the back? Yes, you have a question? Oh, WYL?

Aha, you're right, I did forget to explain that. It's very simple, though. What You Like -- wyl. So the entire phrase is personal, what you like, writing time. And you know, I think it is hard to handle because it isn't limited and defined like nanowrimo. Nobody says here's the goal -- 50K words in a month. You have to set your own goals and times. And no-one is going to hand you a certificate if you meet your goals, or even comment if you don't meet them. Although, to be fair, you'll know. And that's important -- so set your goals, and make a deal with yourself about meeting them. Then see what happens!

Write?

Current Mood: DIY

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 26 Nov 2010

Your stuffing comes true? Anyway... Hope you all are enjoying Thanksgiving if you celebrate that, Black Friday if you prefer raw consumerism, or just lazing your way into the end of November. Whichever, as we approach the end of nanowrimo, here's a few more words about things that might help you grinding out the stories.

http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/147701.html talks about goals, motivations, conflicts -- the GMC that drives characters, which of course, are at the heart of every story. First, consider various possible categories of goals, such as artistic, attitudes, career, education, family, financial, physical, and even public service. What kind of change or achievement does your character want? When? Why? What makes them desire this, what do they think are the benefits or pay off that they are working toward?

Next, how do they plan to get there? What are all little steps along the way? What are the obstacles or competition? Why can't they just this do it now? What happens if they don't succeed?

And then there's the notion of SMART goals. Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. Realistic goals that can be achieved.

Lay out those goals. Figure out what drives the characters to achieve them. And then, put obstacles in their path. The story of how your character does in the cross-plot run to achieve their goal, that shining lamp just over the horizon... hey, that's what you want to write, isn't it?

Okay? Just...
WRITE!

Current Mood: grinding

mbarker.livejournal.com

Writer's Digest, March 2004, page 42 to 49, has a bonus section with the title, "Novel Writing Boot Camp," by Bob Mayer. I'm probably not going to summarize all of the bits and pieces, but let's pick out some of the odds and ends.

And today, we're going to look at the first couple of pages that talk about ideas and preparation and organization. Probably the first important point is the notion that writing only when you're excited or enthused probably isn't good enough. You want to make writing a regular part of your life.

So maybe start with the calendar and plan ahead. Break your time into writing projects. Give yourself weekly writing goals. Don't forget time to do research, make phone calls, or whatever information and idea gathering techniques you use. And plan on updating the calendar once a week.

Many people find a daily writing goal useful. Some number of pages, hours, or words. Set yourself a goal, and meet or exceed it. Don't destroy yourself if you don't make it, just try to make your goal the next time.

One suggestion is to use an erasable whiteboard -- write up daily objectives and then erase them as you complete them. I actually prefer notepad paper myself, there's something gratifying about tearing up the paper after I've done something.

Characters and setting. Many people find it worthwhile to do character and setting background before starting a novel. Who are all the people? Make a master character list, with quick descriptions and personal histories. And every time you use a name, right down and give a brief description, even for people you don't expect to see again. That way if you happen to run across a parking lot attendant again, you won't spend a lot of time finding her name.

Locales -- check the maps and atlases for real places. And even for places you are creating, you may want to at least do sketch maps. Any important places -- apartments, work areas, the gloomy castle, or whatever -- may also deserve a diagram or at least a description.

Outlining is probably one of the touchiest subjects, with people declaring that they are discovery writers and others insisting that they are outliners. It's an easy way to keep track of what you're trying to do, especially when subplots get involved. When you make them in your process can be very different -- some people like to make a very detailed one, working things out carefully in outline, and then writing to the outline. Other people prefer a sketchy outline, often filling it in as they work. The key point here is to use the outline to help you write. Maybe it's just key words about events and characters, maybe it's short paragraphs describing each chapter. Work out what helps you best.

That's really it. Plan your schedule. Do your background research on characters and settings. And decide how you're going to handle outlining, then do it.

Organization. When you're going to work on something for an extended period of time -- and even fast novels take time -- you need to figure out your own ways to lay out the work and keep track of it.

Current Mood: piles

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting 31 October 2008

[General Motors Car? What?]

A few days ago, someone on another list mentioned being a pantser. Since I hadn't heard the term in a while, I went ahead and looked up "plotter pantser" on Google. Plotters are the people who pre-plan their work -- outlines and so forth. Pantsers write by the seat-of-their-pants. Not that everyone buys these, nor does everyone fit completely into one or the other side, but generally, there are those who work it out largely in abstract form ahead of time and then write almost mechanically and those who are improvising as they write, boldly forging ahead.

But I don't really want to get into the discussion about which approach is better. Plotters and pantsers have pros and cons, and most of us will try both roads at different times and find out which one seems to work best for us. However, in the various links, I glanced at this one http://www.hodrw.com/ppii.htm and happened to get caught on an acronym. GMC charts? What are they talking about?

A bit of poking around revealed that Goals, Motivations, and Conflicts have been reduced to an acronym. Where is the character headed? Why do they want to get there? And what problems crop up to block them from just doing it?

So, for the nanowrimowers, let me suggest -- even while grinding out the daily quota, take time to think about your characters. What are their GMCs? Then bang them into each other, and let the words flow.

[counting down to November . . .]

Current Mood: acronymed
Current Music: These Are the Good Ole Days, James Otto

mbarker.livejournal.com

Which Way Did They Go?

Goals, motivation, conflicts -- right? That's what gets your characters moving, and provides the framework for the action, which grows up into the plot. But that goals part -- how do you set goals?

Ah, my friend, you have come to the right place. Over here on this webpage http://www.mindtools.com/page6.html there's a whole discussion about setting goals! But since I know you're busy with nanowrimo quotas, allow me to summarize some of it for you. In particular, you might want to consider the broad sweep of these categories:

artistic
attitudes (improving your behavior or changing attitudes that you don't like)
career
education (particular knowledge or skills, perhaps to support other goals?)
family
financial
physical (athletic, health)
pleasure
public service

Where does your character wants to make the biggest achievement or change? What time frame are they focused on?

Now, inside that timeframe, what are the smaller steps that they need to take to reach that?

And, for the overachievers, we've got some advice about effective goals. Their suggestions are:

express goals positively
be precise (measurable achievements by specific times)
set priorities -- pay attention to the most important ones
Write goals down
Keep operational goals small and achievable -- something you can do today helps you see your own progress
set performance goals that you control, not outcome goals that depend on lots of other factors
set realistic goals. Other people like to set unrealistic goals for us to fail to achieve, and we often set unrealistic goals for ourselves because we don't understand the obstacles or the requirements -- but achieving realistic goals feels better!

SMART goals! Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound. Something that you can do in a reasonable period of time, that means something to you, and it is specific and measurable enough that we can all agree that you achieved it.

Think about it. What goals does your character have? Are they large, long-scale ones, or are they little temporary ones? Then think about what depends on those goals? What makes the character want to open the first fried fish restaurant in the sleepy little town in the middle of Kansas? And what is going to get in the way (what, they don't have fish in Kansas? Okay, how about a fried gopher restaurant? Oh, the FDA won't like that? Well, what kind of . . . chicken fried steak? Heart attacks for everyone!)

Where were we? Oh, that's right. Lay out those goals, figure out those motivations, and spice with conflicts. Then . . .

WRITE!
tink
(about 400 words)
Dancing, dancing . . .

Current Mood: diversified
Current Music: All I Want To Do, Sugarland

mbarker.livejournal.com

[General Motors Car? What?]

A few days ago, someone on another list mentioned being a pantser. Since I hadn't heard the term in a while, I went ahead and looked up "plotter pantser" on Google. Plotters are the people who pre-plan their work -- outlines and so forth. Pantsers write by the seat-of-their-pants. Not that everyone buys these, nor does everyone fit completely into one or the other side, but generally, there are those who work it out largely in abstract form ahead of time and then write almost mechanically and those who are improvising as they write, boldly forging ahead.

But I don't really want to get into the discussion about which approach is better. Plotters and pantsers have pros and cons, and most of us will try both roads at different times and find out which one seems to work best for us. However, in the various links, I glanced at this one http://www.hodrw.com/ppii.htm and happened to get caught on an acronym. GMC charts? What are they talking about?

A bit of poking around revealed that Goals, Motivations, and Conflicts have been reduced to an acronym. Where is the character headed? Why do they want to get there? And what problems crop up to block them from just doing it?

So, for the nanowrimowers, let me suggest -- even while grinding out the daily quota, take time to think about your characters. What are their GMCs? Then bang them into each other, and let the words flow.

tink
[counting down to November . . .]

Current Mood: acronym

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 11:30:57 JST

Hi, Ipatia

I'll keep this short.

1. Outline. Then fit bits into the outline. Repeat. Each attack on the outline may be only a few words, but in a very short time you'll have a long outline. Then expand a little bit at a time again. Just like blowing up a balloon, you don't have to do it in one big whoosh, you can do it with little puffs and when you finish, no one but you will know the difference.

2. Scribble sheet. Write the extra thoughts and side issues on another sheet of paper (I keep a clipboard by the computer). Then make yourself go back to the part you promised yourself you would work on.

3. Reward yourself AFTER doing a bit. Then set your goals a little longer/higher and don't reward yourself until you hit them. That snack is a reward for not writing - which isn't what you want to do, right?

Try those three.
tink

Current Mood: one bit at a time

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting: Fri, 29 Jan 1993 16:41:41 JST

Peter, jbutcher, and Karen Lowe (at least),

First for Peter and jbutcher...

- To be honest, I was hoping for that as well as information about
- potential occupational opportunites, the writing market, etc. Is this
- kind of thing normally discussed on here?
-
- I'm interested in the writing market and how to go about getting something
- published, or what the best approach to take is with publishers/magazines/
- newspapers...I don't think I've seen anything on this list yet that addresses

Jane said...
- All you need to do is ask, and I guarantee SOMEONE will
- respond (whether it's what you want to hear or not).

I guess I qualify as SOMEONE, so let me bend your eyes for awhile:-)

I'm fairly sure the serious folks have gotten back to you. I hope so, because I certainly am interested in these questions, and am (possibly) more out of touch with the markets than you are.

You may know all this, but I can suggest you visit your library or bookstore (cripes, you have easy access to both of those with LOTS of English language books *envy*) and look carefully at Writer's Digest books - there's a big hardcover each year (Writer's Market), plus recently a stack of paperbacks for specialties. Despite drawbacks that someone will likely point out, that's probably the best general reference. They also put out a monthly magazine "Writer's Digest", and there's "The Writer" and at least one more whose name I cannot recall which you can usually find in Walden's or B. Dalton's magazine racks.

If the serious folks have something they send by email in answer to questions like this and are on bitnet, could you send me a copy, too?

This next part isn't really answers, more a series of questions I've wrestled with in regard to my writing. I hope they might help you think about "the market".

Now, I'm going to start with a funny question - are you just interested in being published, or do you want money too? I think it makes a significant difference in the markets you're looking at as to how you answer that.

Let me add one more odd question - do you insist on your article (story, poem, etc.) being published exactly the way you wrote it or can the editor change the title, rewrite the lead-in paragraph, and otherwise fit your work to their needs? How you answer that question also affects your markets.

Let me give you an example - (blatant self-plug follows) - if you look at the January 1993 issue of IEEE Software in the book reviews, you'll find a piece with my name on it. I get "paid" with two copies and the book I review (actually, with computer book prices what they are, that's not bad pay:-). But - the editor wrote the lead-in using something I had in mine, and she's never used any of my titles. She also hacked it again, even after I'd seen the approval copy. Not that I'm objecting - we've done this before, and she knows I'm not a stickler about it. In fact, her headlines are much better than my proposals, and she's trying to juggle text, ads, and noisier writers into a product against a deadline, so I don't argue when she makes last-minute changes. In fact, she's told me that's one reason she likes to use my pieces - because I do understand the kind of work she's doing, and let her do it.

The editor also enjoyed that piece because I used an extended metaphor - I said the author reviewed the field of email, and then I talked about him showing us the flowers, cow patties, and other things. Not your ordinary boring technical review, and in the cover I carefully made sure she understood that if she didn't like it, I would redo the piece.

You might say - that's non-fiction, just a book review, that's different. You should read "Grumbles From the Grave" by Robert Heinlein. This is the collected history of an "established writer" trying to get fiction published - a fascinating insight.

And yet another question to help point your self-searching - do you insist on writing fiction or non-fiction? Do you have a specific genre or specialization that you just have to be published in, or is your drive more generous with you? Again, the answer affects how you look at and attack the market.

Oh, one other very off-beat question - do you insist on having your name on your writing? Suppose the editor puts your name on some things, but leaves it off some? Or suppose the editor puts someone else's name on pieces you've written? These are critical questions, especially if you get into some of the newspaper markets.

If you don't mind doing non-fiction (you shouldn't, it's a good field and helps pay the way for many other pursuits), here are some entryways I know that used to be fairly generous - book reviews in many professional magazines (it helps if you work in that field - and then they give you books to read!), small newspapers (weeklies, etc.), your local political office/church/other social group... During grad school, I also wrote a stack of press releases which the PR people happily distributed for me. No name, no pay, and the newspapers tended to rewrite or cut like crazy, but sometimes I could tell where my words had gone. Note that these are largely zero or negative in terms of pay, but they give you practice and help build your clip book. They are also almost entirely non-fiction.

OK, Karen. I've been following the other pieces, but I wanted to comment on this...

- I'm interested in the "Rinky-Dink" Society. Personally, I usually get a
- decent response from my poetry, but am unable to compete with current
- popular forms of poetry. You may have noticed my "Victorian Poetry". I've
- decided to go the Emily Dickinson route, write tons of stuff, publish a few
- and tell the "official" critics to take a flying leap, their grandchildren
- will love my stuff. ;-) Karen Lowe.

whoa! wait a minute. "unable to compete with current forms of poetry"? Karen, I'm the bloody fool around here, you certainly beat my doggerel hands down. You even know what Randy's caesurus are, apparently.

I suppose you mean you don't think you'll make Redbook, or whatever the main mass market pub's are now? I doubt very much if my stuff (poetry, story, or non-fiction) will ever hit that kind of market, but is it important?

I'm afraid I take a little different approach to writing. I don't think there are "winners" per se, in the sense that there is one champ, with everyone else ranked below them. As in certain martial arts and other fields, the question is whether you executed your art as well as you could or not, no matter how other people look at it. Do you really think that the vast majority of marathon racers compete to win? Or do they run against themselves, whether alone or in the midst of others?

Here, do me a favor, would you? Write yourself a poem on the theme of the runner (swimmer, writer, whatever you like) whose only purpose is their own pleasure, and the feelings they have when one day someone stops them and says "You came in first". The unconscious, surprised winner, shall we say? Then, if you like, I'd enjoy reading it.

Karen, I think poets perhaps more than any other branch of writing need to forget about the normal measures for societal accomplishment. You know the plot, at least for artists - starve in a garret, beg, borrow, and steal to let themselves produce their own art in their own way. The rare comedy goes that they are discovered in the nick of time and become rich and famous. The far more common tragedy is that discovery comes too late. And the even more common reality is that (a) they manage to support themselves relatively well, usually doing something else and (b) they make the time and do what they like and (c) they make their own "discovery".

Heck - take several of your poems, and make some copies of them. Go down to your supermarket and find the manager. Point out to him (or her) that bulk natural food cereals don't have a box for the customers to read in the morning, so you'd like to help him offer them a treat - poetry to eat by. Talk him (or her) into putting up a little box, and the explanation of what this is, right beside the bulk cereal. This first set of poems is free for the store. And you have now "been published." But be patient, it gets better.

Watch - those poems will be picked up. And when the stack is nearly gone, you can talk to the store owner about paying you for the next ones (let them suggest a payment, if possible. keep the charge low, but make sure you get paid.) Figure out whether you want to do the copying yourself (to control paper quality) or let them do it. If you want to, talk them into reproducing it themselves but pay you a larger fee (since they can now make as many copies as they want, they may consider it a bargain).

You think I'm kidding, don't you? I just recently (here in Japan) saw something about a guy who's printing his short stories on T-shirts. Apparently they are selling, too.

Maybe that's not the kind of publication and market you're looking for, but please don't tell me you can't compete. You can. Get out there and go for it!

Jane also said

- Please don't be. The majority of us (let me know if I'm wrong) are,
- as yet, unpublished, so have no proof that we are better or worse
- than you (and even then, it's not really proof!) - regardless of what
- certain egotists might think. Do be prepared for some criticism
- and/or some praise, however.
-
- ENJOY!!!!!

I'm not sure if Jane will let me talk (I've got a 20 year old clipbook of newspaper articles and there are other odd bits and pieces around that have my name on them - but they're almost all non-fiction, Jane, and I sure never got paid much:-) To tell you the truth, though, I'm usually looking at my next piece - and so far, that's unpublished.

I can also state categorically from the pieces I've seen printed (and done) that publication has relatively little to do with value - a lot to do with timing, blank empty pages around paid-for ads that the editor has to fill, and other oddities. Let you in on a secret, though. If you don't write it, and don't send it out, the odds of being published are very, very low. If you follow the reverse strategy (write, submit, and keep submitting), the odds increase dramatically! Which reminds me, now I've got to get back to writing.

Heinlein's "recipe" (abridged from memory, 'cause I can't find the book)

1. write
2. finish what you write
3. don't rewrite unless an editor tells you to
4. put it on the market
5. keep it on the market until it sells

(sorry, this isn't very well organized. I got excited, and wanted to get it out this week. I managed to find hideyholes for all my files here, too.)

hope this helps,
mike

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: If I Could Make a Living, Clay Walker

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original posting: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 11:19:10 EST

At 07:57 AM 3/5/98 -0500, Faith wrote:
:)
:) What do you do when it's the day before you were supposed to have written
:) something (*anything*), and you still haven't written a word?
:)

Somewhat too late to solve this time, but perhaps these will help:

"quick" organizers:

1. Try taking the question or problem apart. Then put it back together, along with some information. Often this will be enough to do the job.

2. Take whatever information you may have about the answer or response, and build an answer based on the natural "partitions" or "areas" of the information. I.e., there is some kind of structure to the information--talk about that structure. Put it into a nice, easily remembered metaphor/analogy. Point out the areas that aren't included, or the ones that haven't been as thoroughly explored as others.

3. Tell 'em what you are going to tell them, tell it to 'em, then tell 'em what you told them. I often write the middle (in chunks, without much attention to order, with a computer). Then write an intro: I'm going to talk about 1, 2, 3... Arrange the points to make sense, then rearrange the middle blocks (and remove the extra pieces that usually collect when freewriting--I find it marginally easier to cut those golden phrases that really don't belong in this piece if I put them in a "bits" file for later use. Of course, I have "bits" files everywhere that will never be used, but the mental trick works). Now, write a closing that explains the important point(s) you have just made.

4. Try building a set of relations. E.g., what does this (whatever the topic or problem is) mean for me, my family, my community, my nation, the world? Or what did it mean in the past, mean now, and will it mean in the future? This can be a very nice way to structure your response...

5. Build a set of questions about the topic, problem, etc. What would you like to know about it? What would your friends like to know about it? How about your reader(s)--what should they know about it? What's interesting about it? What's boring?

"been there, done that, don't want to keep doing it":

6. Learn the lesson and start planning ahead next time. If you can easily write 1,000 words a day, a 5,000 word paper will probably take at least 10 days to write (allowing for the inevitable slippage, interruptions, and other problems). Depending on what else is going on, you may want to start working on it even earlier, instead of waiting for the last possible minute to begin.

Setting yourself little "deadlines" within the larger period may seem silly, but it really does work--and builds some good skills/practices for bigger jobs (*like that novel--200,000 words? Say 100 days at 2,000 words per day, plus editing/rewrite time. Work out the "little deadlines" along the way and celebrate reaching them--and the "big deadline" will be easy!*).

Perhaps others will contribute their "instant organizers" and ways to avoid getting stuck in "deadline panics?" Although, looking around MIT, there is a certain fascination among the students with the adrenaline rush of "last minute crises" (even when self-induced).

hope this helps

Current Mood: frantic
Current Music: I Love This Bar, Toby Keith

mbarker.livejournal.com

Chapter 20: Climactic Scenes

It must be time for another thrilling chapter from Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld. Are you ready?

"The climax is the high point of all the action and drama in your narrative -- where the events that began with the significant situation come to a roiling, intense head." The events in the climax are the hammer for character change, and set up the ending of the story. The climactic scene is the most intense, dramatic, powerful scene. Normally there is only one. And once the climax is over, there shouldn't be much left to tie up and finish. This is really where the whole story comes together.

Successful climactic scenes include:

opposing forces collide. The protagonist and antagonist meet and clash.
the climactic event directly related to the significant situation
a central conflict. The protagonist confronts something or someone, and changes or is changed
the stakes should be as high as possible -- life and death, relationships destroyed, kingdoms won or lost
a swift pace, but some room for emotional content

The climax is a point of no return. There's no turning back, the characters and the plot are changed permanently by what happens in the climactic struggle.

Setting up the climax. A climactic scene usually doesn't surprise the reader. It's often a relief, because finally the growing tension and suspense, the emotional drama, all of the threads are going to feed into the collision. Consequences, stress, conflicts -- this is where they are all headed, and readers expect that a climactic scene will tie things up.

So the climactic scene needs to open showing the reader that action and drama are about to unfold. Normally the scene before ends with suspense, tension, and a foreshadowing of conflict about to break out.

The climactic event. Openings of climactic scenes usually get quickly to the action. Climactic scenes build quickly and steadily, like action scenes. Don't get stuck in exposition -- make the climactic scene march right along, with specific actions, dialogue, setting details that build atmosphere, and emotional content.

"The goal of the climactic event is to bring significant situation and the resulting plot consequences to a head so that there's some kind of transformation in your protagonist's life or struggle. The climax is the moment where the protagonist is tested, tried, and permanently altered by whatever happens."

Post climactic event. When you finish the climactic scene, there's not much left to do. Don't add new plot information or create suspense. You may need to sort through what happened and show how the protagonist has changed, but you want to do this quickly.

Rosenfeld's checklist for climactic scenes:

Does your climactic scene use as many elements as possible to build a well-rounded, complex event: action, dialogue, setting details, emotional content, dramatic tension?
Is there one climactic scene for each protagonist? the fewer the better.
Is the climax event directly related to the significant situation?
Does the climax change your protagonist permanently in some way? Is it a point of no return?
Are the stakes high in the climax?
Is the climactic scene at the high point of the action and drama? Are the scenes that follow slower, more reflective, and less action?

That's what Rosenfeld has to say about the climactic scene. So this is the one scene in the plot that all the threads are aimed at, where the protagonist faces the real test, problem, conflict -- and either makes or breaks?

We're getting close to the end of the list of scenes. But in the meantime, consider taking a novel that you really enjoyed, and analyzing the climactic scene. How was it set up? Sometimes the foreshadowing for a climactic scene seems to thread all the way through the novel, with various bits and pieces pointing towards the inevitable meeting. But check the scene just before, and look at what was done to hint that here it comes! And then take the scene itself apart. How much lead in does it have, and what happens to the pace in the scene? Think of the old mysteries -- when the guy in the big chair starts laying out the pieces, he rattles and thumps and makes everyone jump, but it goes pretty darn fast. And there are twists and turns as he explains that while everyone thought the butler did it, in reality -- the maid did it, wearing the butler's shoes! And then look at where the climax sits in the whole story, and what comes afterwards.

Then consider the climax for your story. Is it really a peak for the story? How can you make sure that the reader knows it is coming, how do you push them into it and drag them remorselessly through it, and how do you avoid spending too much time afterwards tying up all those odds and ends?

'saright? Write!

"The great thing about human language is that it prevents us from sticking to the matter at hand." Lewis Thomas

Current Mood: anticipation
Current Music: Do You Believe Me Now, Jimmy Wayne

mbarker.livejournal.com

original posting: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 21:47:00 -0500

"QUESTION: What book would you like someone else to write so that you could sit back and read it for information and/or pleasure?

Why would you want someone to write the book you chose? Why hasn't someone written that book already? Who could write it? Could you write it?

If such a book existed, would it change your life in any way? Could any book do that? Would it change the lives of other people? Can any book change the way people live?" (Page 45)

A book? For me? Let's see, what would I hope it would be?

Current Mood: writhing
Current Music: There Goes My Life, Kenny Chesney

mbarker.livejournal.com

original posting: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 13:29:33 -0500

As a prelude, allow me to note that deciding what you want to achieve here on WRITERS often goes a long ways towards deciding whether you enjoy the relatively unstructured format or not. Let's face it, the listowner is a volunteer who doesn't have enough time to do a lot on the list, there really isn't a designated "instructor surrogate" (or even a reasonable facsimile of a guru. Several unreasonable carbon copies, but those aren't the same thing at all :-) Matter of fact, mostly we got some people who are learning, just like you and me, and some of us are willing to help out around the edges, which makes the list rumble and mutter and sputter along. Sometimes the sputter gets pretty damp, but we waddle through.

So, tell me, what are your plans?

From Writing As a Lifelong Skill by Sanford Kaye and

(with some emendations by moi!)

"A good way to ensure your progress in writing is to commit yourself to a realistic set of goals. Through regular evaluation..., you can adjust these goals to make the most of [your participation]."

"... this conscious decision about what you really want to accomplish and how much you think you can get done... is a contract with yourself to make the best use of your time. You can continually revise and sharpen your plan."

"Keep in mind that goal setting is only a technique to track and support your continuing development. You will need plenty of patience and a sense of humor about expectations that are subjected to the stresses and strains of real life. People who set out to accomplish a goal (especially those who feel they have to make up for something), and tend to forget that an unrealistic plan becomes still another obstacle to learning. Much of writing is experimentation: finding out what works and what does not work. No matter how wonderful the textbook... how conscientious your instructor, or how constructive your fellow students, you need a trying-it-out spirit to strengthen your skills."

"Moreover, this search, sometimes fun and often frustrating, is inherent in the medium of words. Once you feel at home with the idea that you will learn something new each time you write, you can begin to enjoy the satisfaction of doing the best writing you can."

Sanford's worksheet (p. 51) to help you think about your goals...

My demonstrated strengths as a writer:
My most important weakness as a writer:
Things that other people have told me about my writing:
My reasons for wanting to improve my writing:
My specific priorities for improving my writing:
Attitudes I hold that will help me improve my writing:
Attitudes toward writing that may get in the way:
Writing I have read that I like:
Writing I have read that I don't like:
Resources that can help me reach my goals:

Therefore, I hope to achieve the following:

(Wow! Do you really want to... huh, I never would have guessed. That much ink?

Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Pinky?
I think so, but how are we going to get a crate of fishnet stockings into the White House?
gnarf...:-)

Current Mood: committed
Current Music: It's a Great Day to Be Alive, Travis Tritt

mbarker.livejournal.com

original posting: Fri, 14 Dec 2001 07:38:14 -0500

I REALLY DON'T DESERVE THIS, BUT…

Here's an exercise that will help you write the best piece of your career. Ready?

Okay, here's the bones of this exercise (you'll put the meat on while doing it).

First, sit back, relax, and imagine that some time has passed. You've just gotten the early release of a future anthology or collection containing your best piece (perhaps it's the anniversary release of your works?:-) In other words, you've become the writer you want to be, and your work has become a part of the public consciousness, and one of your best works has been selected for this.

Now, you flip to your piece, and just before it, there's an introduction written by your favorite author, critic, reviewer of your work, someone who understands your writing and your approach and knows how to tell people what they are about to enjoy, how to lead them into your work so that they get the most possible from it.

Who is that writer? Who put together that introduction?

If your work is a novel, the introduction may be several pages long, a short story or poem may have a somewhat shorter introduction. But what are the key points to that introduction? What does it point out about your writing?

Stop here, and write down the main points of the introduction. If you want to, give us the lead sentence, or perhaps the final ringing summary that leads into your work.

Look it over. Did they miss anything critical about your work? When you write the letter thanking them for the introduction, what are you going to say?

Go ahead and bask in enjoying that introduction for a few minutes. Think about how well-deserved it is, how it leads your readers to your work, where this work fits into the rest of your writing.

Then, if you're ready, do the second part of this exercise. Sit down and write the piece (the poem, short story, essay, novel, or whatever) that they are going to introduce!

Current Mood: visionary
Current Music: That Song in My Head, Julianne Hough

mbarker.livejournal.com

Original Posting: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 23:32:00 -0500

A Japanese friend took me to an art museum, showing paintings about India by Akino Fuku.

As we sat on the floor in front of one of his favorites, entitled simply "Ganges," he pointed to the heads of the cattle swimming in the torrent and said, "Those are people." Then he asked if I knew a Japanese saying.

"Hi kurete, michi too shi."

"As the day draws to a close, the road still stretches ahead." Or maybe "At the end of the day, the road is still long."

He explained that this is a saying referring to people's lives, that at the end of their life, their goals are still far out in front of them.

And he thinks the picture of the Ganges is another reflection of that. The cattle swim, their heads just above the water, even as the evening dusk settles.

As the sun sets, the road still stretches ahead?

How would you say it? And perhaps more interestingly, can you use that saying in a poem, or a tale?

Or is there an English saying that mirrors this? I couldn't think of one, but maybe you can.

Current Mood: pensive
Current Location: at the riverside
Current Music: When I Get Where I'm Going, Brad Paisley

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