The Place For My Writers Notes

Original posting 24 September 2009

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.

First, on page 42, there's a little sidebar with the title Your Turn Know Your Idea. It says:

Write down the original idea for your book in one sentence. Try using the "what if" technique, as in, "what if a secret organization of West Point graduates has been covertly manipulating our government's policies for the past 50 years and now appears to be planning a coup against the president?" Analyze your sentence over and over until it's clear and precise. Then leave it alone. This sentence helps clarify your idea and will remind you each morning of your constant theme. It'll also come in handy when submitting your manuscript to agents and publishers, who may read only the first line of your query letter. This sentence should be that first line.

That's what Bob says. Let's consider that for a minute. Of course, you may be working on a short story, or even a poem. Still, that one line summary, that idea in a nutshell, can be very helpful. Spending some time thinking about what's the core of this work, what's the idea that I want to show to my readers, and polishing that in a very small format before spending a lot of time writing it out at length can be helpful. Whether it's zombies in a backyard, or maybe ghosts in the factory, and what happens then -- take a few minutes, write it out in one short sentence, and tweak that idea so that it's really exciting -- something you want to write about and you know people will want to read about.

You might even do several of them, and then pick out the one that is the best and expand that.

One sentence. It all starts with just one sentence. And then...

Original posting 17 September 2008


You remember the advice given to Alice? Practice imagining six impossible things before breakfast? This reminds me of that.

From What If? by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter, p.126 Stranger Than Truth

The Exercise

"A man is having an affair with his secretary. He goes to bed with her in a motel room. When he wakes up in the morning he's in the same motel room but the woman next to him is his wife."

They suggest writing up a couple pages of dialogue, with a few lines of action. Hold the description, assume it's already in place. Personally, I'd suggest go ahead and write the tale. But at the very least, put us in the motel room where the man has just woken to a mystery.

The purpose of this, by the way, is to get exercise -- practice -- at imagining an improbable scene and bringing it to life. This is a separate issue from making a story.

Go ahead. Write it up. Feel free to try some variations -- a comic approach, a tragic swerve, maybe something from the Outer Limits? You might even consider the simple linguistic switch, pointing out that sometimes a secretary is a wife, too? and then there's ... yep, make a list of variations and play that wordy tune again, Sam.

(and remember, Halloweenie Horrors are coming soon to a mailing list near you :-)