Well, I finally did it.

I read the entire Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.

All fourteen mammoth books of it.

Twenty ears ago or so, I read the first book, The Eye of the World, and enjoyed it. I started the second book, The Great Hunt, and it was just the first book all over again. Same beginning, same plot structure…I set it aside and never went back. Life’s too short to spend time reading books you don’t like.

Fast forward twenty years and now my son has read the entire series. He reads with his ears rather than his eyes, and had gone through the entire now-fourteen book series over the course of several months. He liked most of the books and encourages me to try it again. Robert Jordan passed away before he could complete the series; Brandon Sanderson has written the last three books from the copious notes Jordan had left.

I like Sanderson. I’ve read all of his books. ALL of them. I like his style: straightforward, enough description to see a scene without repeating it over and over and over. Which is what Jordan did.  You don’t need to tell me the Aes Sedai have ageless faces every single time one comes into the story. Every. Single. Time. Augh!!!

In fact, if I didn’t know Sanderson was the author of the last three books, I’m pretty sure I would’ve abandoned the series after book seven, when I wanted to throw it across the room at the “climax.” Do NOT set up the villain throughout several hundred pages, detailing his plots, throwing monkey wrenches into the hero’s path, and then, at the final battle between the two, have the hero accidentally throw some magic toward someone else and “maybe” catch the villain in it as well, killing him. Maybe. Can’t be sure.

And that was it. The entire ending of a several hundred page conflict over in a single sentence that provided no conclusion. Yeah. It took a lot of will-power not to throw that book out the window.

Why did I keep going at that point? Because I hoped to find out what really happened. To find out if the villain was actually dead. And did I? Nope. Not even discussed until several books later.

Yeah, the ONLY thing that kept me reading was the fact that Brandon Sanderson wrote the last three books.

To be fair, books ten and eleven – Crossroads of Twilight and Knife of Dreams – did get better. But honestly? Some editor really should’ve told Jordan to stop the repetition.

And no, I’m not talking about the regular repetition one has to put at the start of each book in order to bring a reader up-to-date if they haven’t read the other books that came before. Every author does that because, well, because publishers demand it. The only one who got away without it was JRR Tolkien and that was because he pretty much invented the fantasy genre with The Lord of the Rings and his publisher just took his mammoth book and hacked it into three parts.

Publishers don’t do that any more. Every book in a series has to stand on its own so that, if a reader picks up Book Three in a series, they can jump in without having to read the first two. Whether I agree with that or not is a totally different blog post.

So I didn’t mind that repetition in the series. But really? Every time the reader goes into a city, even if the characters had been there just a few chapters earlier, do you have to describe the entire thing all over again? And do I really need to know EXACTLY what every single character is wearing, every time he/she changes their clothes? Does EVERY horse have to have a name? EVERY messenger who has a single line have to have a name that I’m going to forget, probably before I turn the page?

The cast of characters is huge. And people come and go quickly. You learn a name and poof! They’re gone. But don’t forget them, because three books later, here they are again and if you’ve forgotten them and their relationship? THAT he’s not going to remind you of. THAT he expects you to remember.

But I have done it. I read all fourteen books and only skimmed some of that too much description. Detail is king in these books, and what I consider to be too much, others might appreciate. Truly, the fashion choices of each character might be important and, if Jordan had followed up on them and given a clue as to whether it was a whim or a statement, that would’ve been helpful. But he didn’t. He just changes their clothes and moves on.

And so am I. No idea what I’ll read next. Probably a light Regency just to regain my equilibrium. I am leaving the world of the Wheel of Time behind. Let the Wheel turn as it will, I’m getting off the merry-go-round.

Play safe!

Diana

P.S. If you haven’t picked up your copy of my newest book, Romantic Seas, make sure you do! It’s a novella, so you can read it in an afternoon and it won’t take up months of your time. I promise. J

The Dreaded Synopsis

When writing my erotic romances, I don't start with a synopsis, I just write. Mostly I start at the beginning, work through the middle, and find the Happily Ever After. Why? Because if I write the synopsis, I'm no longer interested in writing the story. I know what happens and the sense of discovery is gone.

With The Companion my approach was slightly different. I'd started it several times and couldn't find it's opening scene. Out of desperation, I wrote a single-spaced, two-page synopsis to give the story some shape. I then knew where to begin and to be honest, after writing that synopsis? I never looked at it again. While I knew my ending, the events that take place to get there came out of that wonderful sense of creative discovery as I wrote. The novel also ended up being much longer than expected, as I realized taking the short way I'd written in the synopsis didn't allow for any character development.

But The Companion is finished and now looking for a publisher. When I received an email from an editor stating what he's looking for in his next book to acquire, I realized I have his perfect novel. I just have to convince him of it. He wants a 2-3 page synopsis and I'm thinking, "Hey! I have that!"

So I pull out that long-ago written treatment--and discover what I wrote then and what I ended up with are very different. I need a new synopsis.

Three days later, I'm still trying to write it.

I'm coming close, but wow. I gave up my first attempt after I got to six pages and still was only on Kiera's story. Checked the editor's email again and realize he's included a link to an article he'd written on what a good synopsis should contain. For an epic fantasy, he said in the article, one should expect a longer synopsis -- up to 20 pages! Yay!

I open a new document and start breaking the story down the way it's actually written. Each book of the larger work contains three to five chapters, so I can't stick with the usual formula of summarizing each chapter into a paragraph and still remain in my page limit. So I summarize each book and get it to fifteen pages. I'm good.

Then I re-read the email and he really does seem to be expecting two to three pages. A MUCH shorter synopsis.

Sigh.

By this time, I've been writing a full eight hours and my fingers are tired. I put it away for the night and start again the next morning on a new, shorter, synopsis.

And I manage to tell the entire story in three and a half pages. There's no emotional content, it's just a "she did this and then he did that and then they did this other darn thing" sort of telling and it's dry as a bone and totally lifeless. Augh!

By now I have drafted my husband into reading through these pieces and comparing them to the request in the email and getting his feedback. He teaches Public Speaking at the college level and approaches the query letter (which I've also been trying to write) with the same approach he takes to the opening of a speech. He tells me I haven't grabbed my audience yet and I start rewriting that as well.

If you're keeping count, by the end of Day Two, I now have several discarded drafts of a short synopsis, one long one that still needs work, and a query letter that *almost* works.

Day Three dawns and it's time to take down Christmas decorations. I do laundry, take ornaments off the tree, take my brother to a doctor's appointment -- pretty much anything other than face the work I still need to do. But its in the back of my head the entire time, nagging away at me. I finally go up to my study, open the crappy, "this is what they do" synopsis and add in the emotional arc. I move from three pages to six and realize, this is just the way it has to be.

Why? Because I'm really telling not one, but TWO stories here. Martin and Kiera's stories are intertwined and told in parallel throughout the epic. I have it to three pages of synopsis for EACH story. With any luck, the editor will understand that. I hope he will!

So the query letter is written, the short synopsis ("short" being a relative term) is complete, the longer synopsis will be finalized today. I'm sending both versions and he can decide if he wants more information or not. Seems prudent to attach both files--and yes, I've explained my reasoning in the query letter -- which is also too long, but he wants specific information and I've provided it. Remember, the point of the query letter is to get him to open a synopsis and the point of the synopsis is to get him to open the first chapter and the point of the first chapter is to get him to want more -- and to buy my book!

And, of course, this is only Volume One. Trying to sleep in this morning, my brain kicked into gear with what happens next and started writing the synopsis for the NEXT book. I'll actually type that out later today, but expect that, when I finish writing Volume Two, I'll be back here again, rewriting it and fussing once more.

All right. Enough procrastinating. I'm off to make a final read-through of what's going out to the editor before I actually push "Send." Wish me luck!

Play safe,

Diana

Writer's Block

It happens to all of us. We're going along just fine on a story -- the characters are talking, doing, reacting -- and then, BAM! They shut up. They freeze in position like a photograph in time. Everything screeches to a halt. Including you.

Writer's Block.

It happens so often, we've given it a name.

I don't get it often, but when I do -- I can sit on a story for years. Yes, you read that right. Years before I can get it to move again. The order in which books are released has nothing to do with the order in which they were begun.

I'm just coming off a several-year hiatus on my current work-in-progress (wip - an apt name for how I feel about it sometimes). The Companion is a book I started back in the '90's. I wrote several parts of it, changing the name of the main character, changing the setting, changing her attitude - but it wouldn't get off the ground. If I didn't like the story so much, I probably would've abandoned it all together, but the concept really had a hold of me.

But then I got published in the genre of erotic romance and I figured, "You don't want to cooperate? Fine, I'll go write something else."

So I did. Oh, I returned to it several times. Found a new place to start the story and wrote thousands of words on that draft. Even pitched it at a conference to an editor from Avon. She liked the concept enough to ask for the first three chapters (which I had) and a synopsis (which I didn't). I wrote the second and sent it off and she. quite rightfully, rejected it. It wasn't ready. I was still stuck on those early pieces I'd written, trying to work them in so I wouldn't have wasted my time.

Of course, that time wasn't wasted. I know the main character's backstory now and that informs much of what she's planning to do in the rest of the book. Perhaps someday those scenes will get published in a "deleted scenes" type book. That means, however, that I have to finish the main story.

Except that the characters of The Companion had stopped talking. I'd switched points of view (there are three main characters and switching between and among them helped move the story forward when I got stuck in the past. I'd ask myself, "Well, what does Kiera think about all this?" or I'd move to Martin's story and let him take the lead for a while.

That worked for a long time. For 145,000 words, in fact (about 450 pages). I played with format, I played with story arcs, I played with other parts of the story and each time I did, I managed to avoid getting stuck for too long a time. I'd leave one set of characters in their photograph and visit those who wanted to show me what was happening in their lives. Then, when they got tired and froze, I'd go back to the others and (usually) they'd be ready to talk.

And, to be honest, some of the writer's block is BIC problems. BIC = Butt In Chair. Having time dedicated to writing is part of it, but then again, the pressure is on to create. Creativity doesn't always come when you say, "Okay, I'm here. The computer file is open and I'm ready to go. Let's write!" So procrastination kicks in and I clean the house (see this post for more on that), I go grocery shopping, I scrapbook -- I have lots of procrastination tools. The key is not using them and forcing myself to stick my rump in the chair and write. Even if what I write is terrible. It can be fixed later. Just get words on paper.

Neil Gaiman, in his Masterclass, said, "You cannot fix a blank piece of paper," and that has become my mantra. Get the words down and fix them in the next draft. Taking several of the Masterclasses has helped me with the BIC and with the mental challenge of writing such a large story (this is an epic fantasy - and I'm about halfway through the first of what I suspect will be two books).

Yesterday, I went back to a tried-and-true method. I'd been stuck for several days. I knew what had to happen, but I couldn't figure out how to get to that point. I had snippets in my head but no string to hang them on.

So, I printed out the last two pages, pulled out a spiral notebook, made sure I had plenty of sharpened pencils, and got myself comfy in my overstuffed recliner and worked the old-fashioned way - in longhand. I teach my composition students that the brain works differently when holding a pen or pencil than it does when typing. Yesterday, I put that into practice - and wrote over a thousand good words before I was done for the day. Sometimes you just have to go old school.

So, have writer's block? Here are several ways to work around it:

•    Set the story aside and work on something else. If it isn't working, stop beating your head against it. You'll only get a headache.
•    Believe in your concept. That will prevent you from abandoning altogether.
•    Try starting the story (or scene) in a different place or time. Take the character(s) someplace else and see what happens.
•    Change the point of view. Either choose a different character or a different voice (switch from first to third person or vice-versa to get them talking again).
•    Stick your Butt in Chair.. Get the words down, no matter how bad they are. That's what the next draft is for. Keep writing.
•    Know your procrastination tools and don't give into them. They will lead you astray!
•    Go old-fashioned and get out the paper and pen (or pencil). Use a different part of your brain.

So, go write!
Diana

Another one bites the dust!

My apologies to Queen... but I just killed another character.

This is getting to be a habit. Either that or my protagonists are going to get a complex.

Funny thing is, it was easier this time.

Granted, I didn't know this character as well as I knew the other, although this character is equally pivotal. Without his/her death, the plot stalls and the protagonists remain comfortably where they are. So not a gratuitous death but a necessary one.

Spending time away from my "normal" life has helped to jump-start this story again. The Companion (AKA The Work of My Heart) requires me to go in-world -- and stay there. When I wrote my erotic romances, I could write anywhere - and did. Mostly in the privacy of my car while my kids were at dance classes and basketball practices, but in winter that car got cold so I'd head across the street to the local pizza parlor and blissfully write while sipping Pepsi and enjoying a slice.

Because The Companion is a fantasy, however, it requires more concentration to "live" in the world. I have a binder (purple, of course) filled with notes. There are tabs for "Characters", "World Details," the "Timeline" - which is probably THE MOST IMPORTANT TAB! - and "Maps" - which are crudely-drawn approximations where the various towns are so I don't forget where I put them.

So why is "Timeline" the MOST IMPORTANT? Because without it, I'd lose track of who is doing what. There are two direct plot lines and at least two that are referenced but we only see when the direct plots intersect with them. Not only is it important to keep the two main plots on track, but I have to make sure I don't have Event D in one of the referenced plots happening AFTER I referenced it in one of the main plots.

I also have a file box with tabs for the two different countries (Splithome and Renthome). Because color-coding always worked for me in school, the people are on white cards, the named animals on white with pink borders, the places are on orange cards and the greetings on green ones (the divider cards are purple :) ).

These two, the binder and the file box, work together as my Story Bible (SB) and enable me to pick up the threads and continue my weaving after I've been away for a while. It is far easier, however, to simply stay in the world and update the SB as I go. I get far more words written that way.

To wit: I've spent ten days at my cabin in two five-day stints in the last few weeks and have written over 12,000 new words on The Companion.

12K words? That's as much as some of my novellas (This one and this one and these)!

I moved the plot forward by leaps and bounds - and I killed two characters along the way. I've added description and figured out What Happens Next (because I'm a pantser, I don't always know this. I have a big, general synopsis that I wrote years ago, so I know the BIG pieces, but how these guys get from piece to piece? Yeah, they're telling me that as I go). Did I know both these characters were going to "bite the dust?" The first one, yes, the second, no. But it happened and now the protagonists have to deal with it.

BTW, if you want to read two brief excerpts, you can go here. The painting on that page is one I have hanging next to my desk and believe me, I look at it often in my descriptions of the Stone Mountains.

I'll leave you with this earworm... Play safe!

Killing your darlings

Since retiring from teaching full-time, I've been an adjunct instructor at our local community college. I love teaching there - especially at the satellite campuses where the students are (usually) non-traditional in their ages. What's especially exciting is that the college is instituting the Freshman Year Seminar - a class students take either their first or second semester that will help them transition to the more rigorous requirements of higher education. I am honored that I was asked to design and teach one of those seminars.

Each seminar has a different focus. The science seminars, for example, might be based on some of the more controversial aspects of science research or centered on science in today's media. I'm in the Humanities, so our topics/issues can be quite broad. I've chosen "The Memoir as Self-discovery" as the title to mine.

What does that mean? It means I've been reading a lot of memoirs lately! While the students will spend a great deal of time writing their own (topics such as "How I learn best" and "How I got that scar"), they will also read others' memoirs so we can discuss style, form, and content.

To that end, I finally read Stephen King's On Writing. I know, I know - it's taken me long enough. I've only read a few of his books because I don't do well with horror or suspense. Gives me oggeta (I have no idea how to spell that Italian word and neither does the spellchecker). I've enjoyed the few pieces I have read (The Green Mile, Eyes of the Dragon) and now I can add On Writing to the list. He's blunt, concise, and pretty much right on track.

I particularly enjoyed the section on killing your darlings.

In fact, that's twice in two weeks that phrase has popped up - once in class discussion of literature and then again in King's book. In class, I spoke of how hard it can be - and how necessary. It isn't easy, they are, after all, your darlings. You created that character, that scene, that sentence. It is a part of you. It may be the most beautiful piece of writing you've ever created. If it doesn't serve the story, however, it must die.

In class I spoke of a description I'd included in the first few pages of a VERY long fantasy novel (that will probably never leave my computer. This was an early novel that holds just about every mistake a beginning novelist can make). At a workshop, I had the opportunity to read the first three pages to a group where a well-known author of fantasy would give a quick critique of our work. When I finished reading, she really honed in on the description of the flower, praising the imagery and phrasing. She then said, "I know that this flower will be very important later in the story because you spent so much time creating that beautiful image."

I thanked her for her critique, all the while cringing inside because I knew what she did not: that flower? Was just a flower. Nothing more. It never came back. It wasn't important. The protagonist bent down to smell it just because I needed to give him an action to do. Period.

But it had led at least one reader down an erroneous path. And if it could lead one...

I cut it.

Hard as it was to kill something praised as "beautiful imagery" with "excellent phrasing" - I cut it.

And I just did it again.

A different fantasy - the One of My Heart that is the Work of My Life - and I just cut an entire scene that I loved. Why? Because it didn't work. Oh, it was well-written and moved the plot forward, but I can move it forward more quickly and with better character development if I go a different route. The path has moved, in other words, and that scene is on a different branch. Sigh.

I do have to offer a disclaimer, though. Killing my darlings is never easy for me. To counteract the pain, I have a file I label "Extras" for each and every one of my stories. Not kidding. Every novel I have published? Has a file on my computer that contains writing that didn't make it into the final edit.

Why? Because every time I kill a darling, I think, "Well, I might go back and need it" or "I'll just use this later."

Want to know how many times I've put something back in after it's in the "Extras" file?

Zero.

Zilch.

Nada, not happening, never.

And yet, I keep doing it. Did it today when I put that entire chapter into the file in case I change my mind.

I wonder if Stephen King keeps all his dead darlings?

Oooh...I think there might be a story there - about a writer haunted by his dead darlings...

Play safe!
Diana

(edited to fix some typos)

No conflict? What???

What do you do when your story has no conflict?

This happened to me lately. I started the story WINTER BREAK as a Christmas Quickie for Ellora’s Cave. But I’m a pantser and the story, while set at Christmas, doesn’t contain the holiday as an integral part of the story (EC’s requirement). It also doesn’t have a lot of sex in it, which makes it more a traditional romance than an erotic one.

Finished, I sent the manuscript off to several of my Sizzling Scribes sisters for proofing/editing. I always ask them to be brutal, because I want the best story I can put out there. Many thanks to both TaraNina and Lynn LaFleur for their comments (and expertise at finding my typos!).

It was Tielle St. Clare, however, who pointed out (rightfully) that I had no real conflict in the story. It was a slice of life piece – which is fine if that’s what I meant, but she rather thought it wasn’t. You see, as a pantser, I discover the characters like to drop little clues, hints about their problems that they divulge rather early in the story. As the plot progresses, I take these clues and follow them, determining as I go which are important and which are not. In the re-write, I take out the false clues (unless I’m writing a mystery like SHOOTING STAR – those red herrings are there specifically to mislead you!).

Except in WINTER BREAK, I hadn’t done anything with the hints at something in the female protagonist’s past that might hinder a current relationship.

Now mind you, I knew what it was in my head. I knew the hero and heroine would have trouble because of it. It was all right there – the characters had told me fairly early on and then trusted me to deal with it later.

Except I hadn’t. And Tielle called me on it. This is why writers need editors!

So I’ve been rewriting the story. It’s gone from just over 10K to 14K in the past week as the conflict has come home to roost. Tara and Lynn think it needs another sex scene (grin) and it might get that as well. Haven’t decided yet. Will let the characters make their choices (although I have a sneaking suspicion what they’ll want!). If they do, it will probably end up closer to 18K by the time I’m done.

Writers need editors. Writers know the story too well to have an objective eye—we miss the obvious. Thank you to Tara, Lynn and Tielle for their editing help. I couldn’t do this without you sisters!

Play safe,

Diana

Don't rely on the Muse

A few days ago, I made a Facebook post about writing 4000+ words in just a few hours and made the off-hand comment that my Muse was with me. A former student wrote to say she hadn't seen her Muse in quite some time. We had a good conversation and I sincerely hope she can get her story moving again.

We writers are an independent lot. We write where we will, when we will, how we will. No one tells novelists what story they should write--it all comes out of our own imaginations. Yes, we get inspired by others' artworks,  music, even their stories. But our own creations are exactly that: our own creations to the point where writers compare themselves to God (don't believe me? Type "writer as god" into Google and you'll get 168 BILLION hits, give or take a few).

But there's a problem with being god-like: we don't have anyone else to blame when we can't be creative. "You're the god of your story! What do you mean, you don't know what happens next? Make it up!" We've all heard that well-meant advice from non-writers who don't understand the creative process. They don't understand that, sometimes, the ideas just aren't there.

Of course, sometimes writers don't understand that either.

And, because of our fierce independence, we don't realize that other writers have the same problem.

We've come up with ways to lay the blame, of course. Because, Heaven forbid it should be our fault. We'd lose our god-hood if we couldn't write, couldn't control the actions of our fictitious characters, characters who, in our minds, are real people. If it were our fault that we couldn't figure out what happened next or our fault that the words were clumsy and didn't say what we really meant--that would be a personal failure.

And no one likes to fail.

So we blame others. We say we have "writer's block" as if someone else built a wall between us and our imagination. Or we say the Muse has left us, as if our creativity lived outside us and had moved to someone else's house. We feel washed-up, weary, wrung out with worry--and sure that we never will write another word.

But writing is work. And all work is sometimes easy, sometimes hard. When I say hard, I'm not talking about all the procrastination tools we have to keep us from staring at that darn story that just won't move, I'm talking about the willpower to sit there and stare that page down and write something. Anything. You can cut it out later, but putting the butt in chair and forcing the fingers to type words isn't easy.

That's one way to get over the hump (another way of saying, "Not my fault. Someone put a speedbump in front of my creativity!"). Another is to walk away for a day or two. No longer! We set patterns in our lives, routines that keep us sane. Sitting down to write is part of a routine. Walk away from it for more than a few days and the routine is disrupted.

But that disruption can help. "Sharpen the saw" Steven Covey says. Go do something else and when you come back, you do so with a fresh mind. In that Facebook conversation, I suggested reading a book, doing crossword puzzles--keeping the mind engaged in some manner, but allowing the story to simmer on the back burner for a few days.

Both these methods work.

What doesn't work is throwing up your hands and saying, "My Muse has left me" and then doing nothing about it.

We are writers. We write. Period.

Play safe,
Diana

I'm not very good at this

I tried to wait two weeks, I really did.

I lasted eleven days.

The first draft was finished on the 14th of December, which means I should not have looked at it again until yesterday. Yeah, that didn't work. I started the first read-through this Saturday past (the 27th) and finished it this morning. Although, if you want to be picky, I did the comment read on the 22nd, so perhaps it wasn't even twelve days?

The first time I go back to a manuscript (mss), I take a look at all the comments I've left myself and deal with those first. For this mss, that meant finding street names for some of the locations as well as double checking some information. Concerning the street names, there's a wonderful map of the city that's recently been released and I used it often for reference. Not only has the shape of Manhattan changed as the city has been constantly re-invented over the centuries, but most of the street names were dropped after the Revolutionary War, replaced with more patriotic ones (Queen's Street, for example is now Pearl Street). I used the original names, so if you, like me, like to reference a map as you read, you'll have to use the above link, not a modern-day map of the city.

So that first pass, back on the 22nd, just involved finding information and taking care of those margin notes. Not really an edit, more of a "filling in".

But on Christmas Day, after all the presents were unwrapped, the dinner enjoyed, the merriment shared, the house quieted and I came upstairs with the intention of putting away boxes and wrapping paper.

And then it called out to me from the depths of my computer. "Look at me," it called. "Come, see what you have wrought."

I caved.

This read is primarily for continuity. For example, I have a minor character who comes in about halfway through the book and has some small action in several scenes. First he was Tommy, then Bobby, then Billy. Mostly in that order, although I did go back and forth between the two B names for a while. Reading it through this time, I decided on Tommy - and made all the appropriate changes.

I'm really not good with character name continuity. When I started, I wasn't sure of the proper address for a Baronet, so I often had people call him "Baronet St. James." Nope. Should be "Sir Christopher." I think I could even get away with the occasional "my lord," although I chose not to. Despite their loyalty to England, these are Americans after all, and it seemed some of the formality might have started to wear off. So those got changed.

Mrs. Galloway (a busybody who has lots of news to bring) was Jane to begin with, then Grace when I learned she really existed. The book is a mixture of real and fictional people, so making sure I stayed true to their names was important. Elizabeth Floyd, our heroine's best friend, for example, is a real person. Her story is partly told in this book (I'm thinking the rest of her story might be my next book - there is a fascinating tidbit about her in the footnotes of history. Don't look it up if you don't want spoilers, though!). But those historical footnotes alternately call her "Elizabeth" and "Eliza". So I made it so our heroine call her by her nickname and everyone else by her more formal name. Or by "Miss Floyd" if they don't know her well at all.

So you can see, the naming conventions alone were enough to warrant a separate read-through just to make sure I got them all. And that's not even including the military ranks of several characters who come and go toward the end!

In the process of this read, I also found places where more action or description was needed. I'm not a linear writer, so now that the story is done, I found the places where a reference could be made that set up something later in the book. Likewise, I found places that needed setting up, and wrote lines or, in one case, an entire new scene that did just that.

The first draft came in a 75,760 words. This second draft (finished this morning) stands at 76,750 words - which is 990 words longer. I took out words, sentences, sometimes entire paragraphs, and added others but the result is a slightly longer novel. At this point. We'll see what happens during the next several passes.

And what's in store for those? Habit words, I think. You can see the original counts in my last post. I'll do a second pass at them for comparison's sake before I start, but I doubt there will be any significant changes.

Off to edit!
Play safe,
Diana

Okay, I looked!

No excuses except: I have the time, so I peeked.

I know I said I wasn't going to look at REVOLUTION until next week, but I find myself this morning with time on my hands. I don't want to start a new story until I've put this one to bed, my Christmas presents are all wrapped, the house is clean...what else is there to do but edit?

First step was to go through all the comments I'd made myself and deal with them. This morning I spent looking up small details I wanted to include but needed historical references. In other words, I spent about a half an hour looking up things like, "What did young women read for pleasure in 1777 New York?" and "What is a good dock for a smuggler to use?" Fun stuff!

I had already created my Wordle, but I have other habit words I know I'm overly fond of using. So my next step today was to go through and do a quick word count of each one so I know if I actually succeed in getting rid of any instances of these words.* The counts are somewhat alarming:

was - 729 instances (includes "wasn't" but not "Washington" - which would make it 10x worse!)
back - 183
just - 191
hand - 141 (my char. are always using those darn appendages!)
one - 353
know - 149
man - 259
way - 110
thought - 151
see - 133

LOTS of editing needed here. Nothing like seeing the words in a visual format to alert you to your laziness!

I haven't highlighted the words in my mss yet. I'll do that later, after I've done a read-through for continuity and plot holes.Might as well fix those first, then go back - these word counts could get a lot worse before they get better. :(

But I like having a baseline. I'm all about the data, so, for me, this is part of the picture of the story in it's first iteration. Painters use brushes, knives, paints to create art, For me, comments, Wordles, word counts, even the story outline are all tools I use to work on my art (the manuscript).

Not going to do too much more. I'm sure there's something around the house that needs cleaning...

Play safe!
Diana

* If you want a quick tutorial on how to use Microsoft Word's feature that lets you do this, click here - the directions are in the second part of the post.

Using a story outline...or not

Yesterday I finished my NaNoWriMo novel. The working title is still REVOLUTION, but that's really a description of the setting rather than the action. It takes place during the American Revolution but the conflict is really between two people who each have their own agenda and secretly conspire to use the other as a cover for illicit activities.

I'm a pantser. I've confessed to that many times (here and here, for details). One of the things I learned during this intensive month and a half of writing is that, perhaps because I'm a pantser, I do not write in a linear fashion. I write, think of a scene or part of a scene I want to insert to set up the current scene I'm working on and go do that, then come back and move forward again. Sometimes I even write a scene totally out of context and then write "bridge" scenes to get the characters to that point.

But I don't write in a straight line, and that's something the NaNoWriMo focus on getting the story out promotes. Write the entire novel, in thirty days' time, from start to finish. I'll tell you, it was an interesting experiment.

What I found, in writing that way, was that I'd leave myself a lot more notes in the margins ("Insert Comment" became my best friend in Microsoft Word) about: 1) things I needed to look up because its a historical and I didn't want to stop the flow of writing to remember a street name; or, more often, 2) scenes I'd need to insert later or a loose end I'd have to deal with once the first draft was done. Now that the draft is finished (YAY!), I have those notes to deal with.

But I also found I started to lose the characters partway through. Not that they changed a lot, just that I gave them feelings/thoughts/ideas, that I hadn't set up in any way. Traits and sometimes words that came out of the blue. Not so much for me, because I knew what they meant. But the reader would look at that speech and say, "What? Where did THAT come from?" By the time I got near the climax, I found myself just writing stuff down to get finished so I could go back and fix all those notes. They were hanging around in the back of my conciousness, pestering, asking when I would get to them. "Fix me! Fix me now!" they would scream at me until, sometimes, I ignored them so long I totally forgot what needed fixing.

And so, late last night I started a story plot. The voices in my head kept me awake until I gave in, got up, and started it. If you're a writer, you'll understand. If you're not, you probably think I should be committed by this point.

Now, I've never done a full story plot for any of my books. I have notes on scrap paper, doodles to myself to remind me of something, but no full, honest-to-goodness, story plot. Axl Rose developed one he shared at Romanticon 2014 and, since it was in Excel and I'm good with that program, I decided to give his a shot. I didn't use all the pages he developed, only the Timeline By Chapter. He broke the timeline down into several categories, including a synopsis of the chapter, the character conflict, the story conflict and a line for a subplot.

After plotting out four chapters last night, I realized I needed another row: Main plot (romance). The sub-plot was the revolution and their secret activities. I also added a row for characters that were introduced in that chapter, more as a reference point than anything else. I tried to add a page numbers row, but Excel gave me fits at that point and kept changing my numbers to dates no matter what I did to clear the formatting of the cell, so I added those afterward by hand (more on that in a bit).

To plot out the entire 75K word story, took me about five hours. An hour last night, followed by four this morning. And what did I learn by doing this activity? Plenty.

I learned I changed the names of some of the minor characters (there's a servant who goes from Tom to Bobby to Billy. I like Bobby and will edit to fix that).

I learned I introduced characters and then let them drop without another reference. Likewise, I had characters show up out of no where who need more of a set-up.

I learned I have a bit of a timeline problem right near the end. It's clear on my calendar (yes, I downloaded a calendar from 1777 and have kept track of the action on it to keep it straight), but I don't think it's as clear in the story as to what happened to a pair of days. They didn't just disappear. Honest.

I learned that, by taking the time to go back and look at story and character arcs, I can tell where I need work on smoothing them out. Something I teach but don't always practice (slaps own hand).

I learned that I didn't write even chapters. Usually my chapters are between 10-14 pages. This book the chapters are between 6-18 pages. A little out of balance for my tastes. Will look and see if some re-dividing is necessary.

I learned that I stayed pretty even between action regarding the romantic plot and the political plot, but I do have some parts that are solely focused on one or the other. Will revisit those chapters to determine if I need to beef up one plot or the other in that area.

And I learned that, despite all the holes I found that need fixing, the story is in much better shape and is far more consistent than I thought it was. A positive! When I write without stopping, I CAN still keep most of the story in my head and stay true to characters.

Overall, this is a tool for revising more than editing. I know I tend to use those terms interchangeably, but editing is more about keeping the same character name, the same hair color, the right spelling, punctuation and grammar. Revising is more about character and plot arcs, about the organization of the story, and the balance of the action (i.e, the chapter length). While this did alert me to some editing that's needed, it really has shone a light on the revising I have to do.

So, a full, 75,000 word novel in six weeks for the first draft. I'd say that was a good use of time. I'm expecting to take about a month with the revision/editing process and then it'll be ready for my beta readers. As to the publishing? Still haven't made decisions, but I thank those of you who sent me ideas. Keep 'em coming! This is NOT an erotic romance, so EC is not the right venue. Self-pubbing is an option, but I'd like to hit a wider audience with this. Keeping an open mind!

I'll post more about using a story outline/ story board, as I go through the revisions. Suffice it to say, I learned a lot just by creating it!

Play safe,
Diana

Write the book you want to read

That was the best piece of writing advice I got and I no longer remember who gave it to me: Write the book you want to read.

That's why my current work-in-progress is a fantasy. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed writing erotic romance, and I may go back to the genre in the future, but my first choice, go-to books have always been fantasies. J.R.R. Tolkien, Katherine Kurtz, David Eddings, Diana Gabaldon (which might be more historical fiction than fantasy, but then again, the whole time-travel thing...). My son's turned me on to Brian Sanderson and my daughter to Tad Williams. It's what I read when I want to escape and find adventure.

My first novel was a fantasy. It's called Discoveries and is sitting on my computer at just over 95K words and isn't finished. It's close...probably another 45-50 thousand words will do it. Why haven't I published it? Because it was my learning novel. It needs a rewrite. Badly. If there were mistakes to be made, I made them.

I also didn't finish it yet, because Ellora's Cave bought Secret Submission. That was a book I wrote because I really wanted to explore the idea that a Master/slave BDSM relationship could also be a loving one. At the time, EC wasn't publishing anything but erotic romance, so...that's what I wrote. Yes, I read it as well, but they were "beach reads" - books I could read in an afternoon. I liked them, they made me feel just a little bit naughty and writing them was fun.

But the books I wanted to read, first choice, were still fantasies.

I started writing another one, the Companion series, about ten years ago. The pitch line:

Stuck in a partnership neither wanted, an Earth Mother and her Companion discover a pillaged farm and must find a way to work together as they defend their country from an invader who has powers they don’t understand.

Avon was interested in it at one point, but ultimately passed. Probably a good thing. I didn't have the story structure down then. I do now, thanks to Lynn LaFleur who let me bounce ideas off her long-distance and who has suffered through reading the first draft of the first third of the story.

There is some sex in it, but it isn't the primary genre at all. There's action, adventure, themes of the greater good and of Power vs. what's right to do...all the components of a good fantasy. Now that I finally have the story's structure down, this is the book I'll be working on for the next several months. It's the story I want to read.

Along the way, I'll be republishing a few stories that have been out of circulation for a while as well as putting together a new anthology of short stories (just in time for Christmas!).

Oh! And the current free stories of the 12 Days of Christmas (the even numbers) are going to be 99 cents, just like the others, come November 1st. It'll still be cheaper to buy them bundled together into one volume (that book price will remain the same).

Off to write! Play safe,
Diana

Writing style reflection

It's safe to say my style of writing has definitely been influenced by the authors I've read. Take a look at my earliest published novels (Secret Submission and Table for Four) and you'll see borrowings from JRR Tolkien, from Shakespeare, from Homer. Classic influences. You won't find word-for-word quotes, but definite style nods in the word choices and phrasings.

My middle works were more about finding my own voice, but they still show influences of more modern writers. There's a bit of Nora Roberts in Cabin Fever, some Katherine Kurtz in Frankenstein's Captain (formerly known as Kara's Captain) and some Victoria Holt in Shooting Star. I've read so many books by these authors, its impossible not to be influenced by their talents. Much the same way a painter will take a brush stroke from Rembrandt, a shading technique from Maxfield Parrish or a composition idea from Bob Ross, writers take their techniques from authors they love.

When it comes to world building, I have to say JRR Tolkien and Diana Gabaldon are the two authors whose stories suck me in the most. Each, however, does it a very different way. Tolkien focuses on plot and action -- the characters are less important than what happens in the story. When you come right down to it, Aragorn could be Any Hero with the Right Bloodline. Frodo is Any Little Guy who has a Big Job to do. While we come to love these guys, the reality is, there isn't much to them. It's the actions they're forced to deal with, the actions that move the plot along, that we focus on.

Tolkien also maintains a focus on imagery throughout his stories. He wants us to see Middle Earth in our imaginations. His descriptions are vivid and detailed, so much so that they've provided livelihoods for many artists (Howe, Naismith, Lee, and the Hildebrandt brothers, among others). These descriptions bring the world to life for us and give us a world to live in.

Diana Gabaldon's focus in creating the many worlds of the Outlander series, is on character. Yes, she employs imagery in her descriptions, but it isn't Lallybroch or Fraser's Ridge that first comes to mind when thinking of these stories -- it's Jamie and Claire. And Frank. And Dougal, Murtaugh and Jenny. We remember the events of Culloden, not because she describes the battle in technicolor gore (well, okay, she does, but that's not why we remember it). We remember the scene because it affected the characters we love. We saw a broken Jamie and our hearts hurt. We saw men we loved defeated and beaten and we cried.

Both approaches work. A focus on plot or a focus on character. Neither ignores the one for the other, mind. Tolkien has characters evolve, Gabaldon gives us plots that interweave, separate, come together again and end.

I am currently at work on an epic fantasy. I can only hope I've learned well from these two!

Activity

Which approach fits your style of creating a world for your story? Which comes first...plot or character? In your journal, take some time to think it though.

Body Language

Please welcome Nancy Corrigan as our guest blogger today. She's talking about the use of body language to express emotion in a scene. Something too often overlooked!

From Nancy:

I love using body language to build my story. Partially, this stems from my joy of people-watching. So much can be learned from how people interact with others. Here’s a little snippet from my latest release to show how Devin expresses his feelings.

Excerpt from Beautiful Mistake

He reached up and ran his long fingers through the patchwork hair. The strands fanned with the movement, settling against his shoulders. With the second sweep through the locks, he yanked handfuls of the colorful hair, a groan accompanying the rough tug. She dropped her gaze before she gave into the urge to ask if he was all right. Her fascination with him wasn’t healthy. Outward appearances didn’t make the man and this one was a dangerous predator. Big cats did not make good cuddle buddies.

She pushed her body into a sitting position. The movement tugged her abused stomach. Preparing for the worst, she glanced down and didn’t see what she’d expected. Instead of a bruised and beaten body, she saw her familiar tanned skin—blood free, without any ugly black and blue splotches.

Her shoes had been replaced by a pair of large socks, the tops rolled down to help them stay on. Scratches marred her legs from the edge of her exercise shorts to her feet but none were bandaged nor did they need to be. The only square of gauze covered the wound on her belly.

“How long was I unconscious?”

He tensed and rubbed one of those big hands over the back of his neck but didn’t turn around. She glanced away when it became apparent he wasn’t going to answer and ran a finger over a splotch of shiny new skin on her knee. Anxiety settled in her bones. A lot could happen in a matter of days.

“Few hours,” he muttered. She looked at him. His arm was folded against the wall, his forehead resting on it. “I tended your wounds. Most won’t scar.”

Picking apart the emotions

Now, Devin’s upset, guilty and stressed in this scene. He’s the one who caused Lena’s injuries and he feels horrible for his actions. So, what are his body language clues?

He runs his hands through his hair and yanks on the strands to portray his frustration, groaning as he does so. Rubbing his neck is an automatic response to his guilt, but it’s his inability to look at her which drives it home. He folds his arm against the wall, defeated and shamed while he admits that his actions left a permanent mark on the woman who will end up saving his soul and his mind.

Activity from Diana:

Okay, time to review your own writing. Go back to your current wip and take a look. Where can you add in body language? Any words you can take out and express through a character's action instead? I know this is something I struggle with. With my theatre background, I tend to focus on dialogue and figure the reader can fill in the details. This is fine when I'm writing a play where the actors like to have some wiggle room for their own interpretations.

But romance readers want to be able to see the scene in their own imaginations. And body language is a great way to help them do that.

Try it. Take a scene that needs some beefing up and, instead of concentrating on the dialogue, add in movement, stance, gestures. Go overboard. You can always pull back later.

Enjoy!

To find Nancy on the web, you can visit the following:

Website: http://www.NancyCorriganAuthor.com

Facebook (profile): http://www.facebook.com/nancy.corrigan.79

Facebook (page): http://www.facebook.com/NancyCorriganAuthor

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Nancy_Corrigan

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/nancycorrigan79

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/nancy_corrigan

What authors need from editors

In education, teachers write objectives to guide their lessons. These have to be measurable so that the teacher will know if the kid reached it or not. When I first started in the profession 33 years ago, they were all written with the starting words: "Students will be able to..." Eventually most of us reduced that to SWBAT...

But a few years back I learned another way of writing objectives and it made a whole lot more sense to me. Called by the unfortunate name KUD (we educators like our abbreviations nearly as much as the military!), the three letters stand for Know, Understand and Do. What do you want the kids to know about the subject, understand about the concepts and do with the material?

I got to thinking today about editors and what I wanted from anyone I might hire to edit my work. The KUD came to mind and so, I give you the following:

What I want my editor to KNOW:

• Proper grammar and modern punctuation rules
• The conventions of story - and when they can be broken

What I want my editor to UNDERSTAND:

• Dialect. Different geographical areas have different patterns of speech. So do different social classes.
• My impatience. At the point where the editor is getting my manuscript, my destination is publication and I want to get there yesterday.
• That egos are sensitive. Be strict but not mean.

What I want my editor to DO:

• Check for consistency (physical traits as well as personality quirks)
• Check the timeline for any mix-ups. I'm not talking historical accuracy, although that would be nice. I'm talking the timeline of the story. Make sure I didn't skip days or jump seasons.
• Identify any plot holes. All plot holes, no matter the size. I want to know where they are.
• Identify character and story arcs and note if the story veers from them.
• I have very good grammar and typing skills. Occasionally, however, I do make errors. Don't yell at me. Just fix them.

This is a work-in-progress. Please help me and add more to the comments below. What do writers need their editors to Know, Understand and Do? And yes, editors, feel free to add what you'd like to see from authors!

Diana

Reflections on process

It’s about the building, they’ll tell me. Not about the climax. It’s the journey, not the destination.

And I get that. I really do.

But I get impatient.

Whether going on vacation, reading a story or writing one, I just want to get there.

Take family vacations. Forget the scenery in between home and wherever we’re going. I’d rather go to sleep and wake up there. The time between leaving home and arriving at our destination is time to be lived through, time to occupied, usually with  thoughts of where we’ll be in a few hours – or a few days. Only at our destination am I able to move into that fully-actualized state know as existing “in the moment.”

Or watch me read a novel. The closer I get to the end of the book, the faster I read, oftentimes skimming to found out how it all turns out. The author’s taking too long and I just can’t wait! It’s the rare book, indeed, that can slow me down. Good books I’ll finish and then promptly re-read the last few chapter to pick up the details I missed in my rush to the end.

The same holds true, however, when I write a novel. Since I’m a pantser (meaning I write by the seat of my pants and without a plot in mind), I don’t know how it’s all going to turn out in the end. Heck! That’s why I write the book in the first place – to find out! I know that it will turn out, I just don’t know how.

Like I said, I get impatient. I start with the best of intentions, adding detail and fully-fleshed out scenes. The closer I get to the end, however, the more shortcuts I take. Writing sessions get longer so I can get done faster. I have to know what happens!

As a result I often end up with a rather skimpy section of rising action just before the climax of the book. All the plot details are there, but the flesh of the scenes is not. This, then, is where the bulk of my re-writing happens once that first draft is done and my questions are answered.

In fact, when I finish that first draft, I often feel as if I’ve finished a race. I feel the same exhilaration of being done, the same exhaustion.

Of course, that’s when the real work begins. Editing is where craft kicks in. Rewriting sentences, changing verb tenses to make thoughts flow more smoothly, sometimes even changing a scene’s point of view, are all done after the story’s complete. This is where I add detail and make the character’s motivation clear (why on earth did the hero do THAT?)

Potters have it easy. They can buy clay for their sculptures. They don’t have to go grub in the dirt and find it for themselves. They go to the store, buy their clay, take it home and make beautiful art.

Writers, however, make their clay from scratch. Once that first draft is done, once the mess of creation is done, only then do they have the material needed. Only then can they play around with the words, twist them into new shapes, roll them into solid chapters, spin them into art.

Once I get to this stage, my natural impatience slows. I once again can live in the moment of my novel, crafting the story and character arcs, finding just the right word, giving it a final polish.

And I do take my time here. I use word counters and Wordle to look for my habit words. I read whole sections out loud to check for sentence flow. I do a continuity check and make sure my hero’s hair color didn’t suddenly change in the middle of the story (although I’m really not good at catching things like that). But my process slows and I live not only with the story, but in the story, finding its nuances and enjoying the magic of the world.

Then, when I’ve reached a point of saturation, when to look at it one more time will show me nothing new, then and only then, is the manuscript ready for an editor.

But that’s a different post for a different day.

Activity

In your journal, write a reflective piece about your process. No judgements here, simply making note of your own foibles and processes.

Enjoy and, if you're getting anything out of these workshops, please consider a donation.

Diana

Open endings

Okay, have finished the five seasons of Chuck...the last episode made me cry! But I love the open-ended strings they left hanging for a future TV movie - or just for my own imagination - to continue their story, giving the characters new adventures. Even Jeffster has a great story arc my mind can play with!

And that, of course, got me to thinking about my own story craft. I was always taught that all plots need to be tied up in the story's resolution. No loose ends.

And Chuck did that. Each of the characters have their happily ever after ending. We know where Casey is going, even if we don't watch him go there. We understand Beckman will keep on keeping on and that the Buy More will always be the Buy More. The lead characters are together, just as they should be, and the secondary characters have pleasant paths for their lives to follow. No loose ends.

Yet...

The writers of the show give us a bunch of new plot twists that invite speculation. Will Chuck and Sarah give up the spy life forever? Will Devon and Ellie like their new digs? Will Morgan and Alex get married? Viewers can make up their answers to this and dozens of other questions. This is the hallmark of a successful series.

So what does that teach me about storytelling? A great deal.

Leaving the characters in a good place gives closure for those readers who need a sense of finality when the last page is turned. Tie up all the plot lines that have run through the three, four, five (and more!) books. That's important.

But leave room for those readers who like to dream. What happens to Middle Earth now that Aragorn is king? What kind of a dad is Harry Potter? Will Jamie and Clare's grandchildren also be able to travel through time?* Readers who can't shake off the story at the end of the last book don't want to leave the world the author created. They've fallen in love with the people and the places and want more stories set in this world.

From such desires, fan fiction is born. Different authors have different views on fan fic, but the reality is, readers want more stories and, if the author won't (or can't) write them, they'll write their own. Heck, even I started that way. I have a Star Trek fan fic that was a ton of fun to write. The original series had been taken off the air and there were no plans for ever breathing life into it again. The animated series had come and gone but the movie was still years away. I wanted more stories with Kirk and Spock and Scotty and Bones so, since Paramount wouldn't do it...I wrote my own.

But I digress.

Speculation.

The desire to create more stories for characters after that last page is turned.

This is something I need to keep in mind in my own series. I have two of them; Journey to Submission series with Ellora's Cave (although their website doesn't have the books labeled yet**) and the Jack Kariola slaves series (Mystic Shade, author). Because I write BDSM stories, I don't think either of them will get much in the way of fan fiction. But, and this is the part I need to remember, both can let the imagination run wild and invite the readers to add new adventures, new predicaments, new experiences.

I could, however, do much more for each series. Drop little hints and throw down an outside plot line that may (or may not) become important to the characters. Tie up the big plots, yes. But leave some open-ended so the readers can take those tidbits of information and play with them.

I'm working on a new Jack Kariola book now. I will definitely have to keep this in mind!

Lesson learned, Chuck! Lesson learned. :)

*Lord of the Rings series by JRR. Tolkien, Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

** Secret Submission, Submission Revealed, and Services Rendered. The upcoming release, Diamond Submission, is also part of that series

Play safe!
Diana

SL workshop

Many thanks to Andrea of Virtual Writers, Inc for the invitation to come do a workshop in-world at their Milkwood studio. I had a great time!

Below is a brief summary of my presentation and the complete list of questions I posed for your consideration. Feel free to come back to these questions as needed - for this or any future stories you write.

Workshop

Genre rules often dictate plot. Coming of age stories have an event that jump starts maturity, science has to play a large part of a science fiction story (otherwise just a ‘western in space’ –also a legitimate genre). I write erotic romance which means my stories have to have a happily-ever-after ending.

 So if the basic plot outline is already known to the reader (Polti’s 36 situations), how can you make your stories different? No two people are alike, and neither should be any two characters.

I’m a pantser, which means I don’t plot a lot of stuff out first, probably because my plot is genre-driven. I do, however, know my characters pretty well by the time I’ve finished the first thousand words. I keep a running record of information about the character as I go so I can stay consistent. This isn’t so important with a short story, but is vital for a longer work.

And that’s what we’re going to do today. You’re going to need a piece of paper and something to write with. Use your writing journal if you have one, or just scrap paper nearby. Alternately, type your answers into your word processing program or into a notecard here in SL for safekeeping.

We’ll focus on just your protagonist for now, so get him/her in your head. Write his/her name at the top of the page, if you know it, to help you focus.

Each of the questions I’m going to ask is designed to give you a fuller understanding of the person you’re creating. Not all of what you answer today will work its way into the story (JK Rowling has entire notebooks dedicated to each of her characters, MOST of which didn’t end up in the novels. But because she had a clear idea of who everyone was, she was able to write the memorable characters we’ve all come to love).

The questions are designed to help you “think outside the box” as it were. To consider parts of your character you might not have considered and that may or may not work into the story itself. Knowing this information, however, might affect how you write the character.

Some of the questions might not pertain to you or your story. Skip those and answer what’s important to your story.

***** 

Financial situation:

What social class does your protagonist belong to? Has he/she always been in this class?

How does your character feel about money? What does he/she do for a living?

Does money (or the lack of it) come into play when it comes to your protagonist’s relationship with other characters?

How does the character’s financial situation affect his/her education?

Voice

Every person has their own set of vocabulary, their own unique way of saying things. What words/phrases are unique to this character? If you don’t have one yet, make something up. What’s something he/she might say, for example, as a response to a simple question like, “How are you?”

What words does he/she use when expressing approval? “Neat-o, cool beans,” are examples.

What about disapproval?

Any pet names for people – or animals, for that matter. I’m thinking the stereotypical waitress who calls everyone “hon” or the street hood wannabe who calls everyone “bro”

Education

Staying with your protagonist, what level of education does he/she have?

How does that level of education impact his/her financial status? What about word choices?

How will that level impact his/her relationship with either the other protagonist or with the antagonist?

Values

What is the most important thing in the entire world for your protagonist?

Does he/she have it? If not, why not? If yes, how would he/she feel if it were lost?

Of the following, which is most important to your character: honesty, love, money, power?

How does knowing that about your character affect the story? Or you as the author?

What is your character’s biggest turn-on? Turn-off? Why? Come up with something from his/her past that makes them feel that way.

  

Hobbies

I’m going to give you some pairs of words. Choose the one that best fits your protagonist.

Watch TV/go to the movies (what genres?)

Watch a sport/play a sport (which ones?)

Read a book/read a magazine (what genres)

Wash dishes/dry dishes/use the dishwasher/

Make dinner/go out to eat?

*****

So what do you know about your protagonist now that you didn’t know before? 

Okay, read over your responses and choose one piece of information to focus on. Take ten minutes to write either a scene for their novel that incorporates the answer or to jot down ideas for your novel from the answers you came up with. Go!

Play safe!

Diana

Writing workshops starting up again

I know, I know. I took a week longer than I said I would. I forgot that my day job started up again last Tuesday (I'm a teacher and that was the first day of school). Should've turned the calendar to see that.

So it's a new school year, the calendar that's run my life for the past fifty-two years (both before the desk and behind it*). Other people run on a fiscal calendar that extends from July 1st to June 31st. Still others rule their lives by other calendars - religious or cultural calendars come to mind.

Our calendars dictate our days to a great extent. In early times, most people simply lived by the seasons, not having any numbering system in place to keep track of the passing of time. As scientific knowledge grew to be a part of civilizations, the days of our lives became more and more important. With the dawn of the Industrial Age and the rise of Big Business, keeping track of hours worked and days on task became even more rigid.

Today most people wouldn't think of leaving home without first consulting a calendar, either a paper one hanging by a desk or a digital one on one's smartphone. In our house, We live and die by the calendar on the fridge. Everyone's work schedules go there, doctor's appointments, book signings, art show openings, birthdays, holidays, special occasions. You will often hear me say, "If it isn't on the calendar, it doesn't exist."

And it's true. In 21st century America we schedule, re-schedule and over-schedule our days, and have for a long time.

Sidestory: I took today off because of a dentist appointment. As I was driving home, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful late summer day. But the light looked different than it had just two weeks ago. Over the summer I'm out and about during the day all the time. I know what a summer day looks like.

But I don't know what a late summer day looks like. Well, I do, but only on the weekends. So, as I drove, I thought to myself, "It looks like a Saturday out here."

The reality, however, is that it looks like an ordinary late summer day. But I work inside during the week. For seventeen years I worked in a room with no windows. Then I moved to a room with a few, but there was an old Quonset-style greenhouse just outside, so I couldn't see much. For the past few years I've taught in a room with a beautiful bank of windows--that overlook a courtyard. So I don't see how the light plays differently at the end of summer except on the weekends. Hence, today "looked" like a Saturday to me.

And that, of course, got me to thinking about my writing and how my characters might think about their days. If I've given them a job where they work inside, how would the light affect them on the weekends? What about their calendars? Do they live and die by an electronic one? a paper one? Are their days their own or do they have to march to a dictated schedule?

And that, my dear writers, is today's assignment. Take a look at your current work-in-progress or the notes for the story you're about to write. Ask those same questions of your characters. How are they influenced by the passing of time? Do they count days? Even though this is my last year of teaching, I'm not yet counting down the days. Ask me again in April, though, and you'll probably get a different answer.

Keep that in mind. A character's answer might change throughout the story. What was important at the start might no longer be important at the end (which is an entirely different workshop!), but it also applies to how they track time. Are they ruled by their calendars? Do they "build in" spontaneity? Or do they just let things happen?

Grab your writing journal and make notes about your characters and their approach to time. Above all, have fun with this!

Diana
Yes, I'm retiring in a year and soon this blog will need to be self-sufficient. Drop a tip to help it keep going!

* I wrote poems about those days here, among other topics. :)

Scrapbooking and writing

Over a decade ago, when my daughter was in Girl Scouts, her troop held a scrapbooking party. Parents were invited to attend and we each were to bring a few photos. It was hosted by Creative Memories, one of the first companies to produce not only scrapbooking materials, but to hire artistic people to help you do something prettier with your pictures than slap them on a page and write the names of the people underneath.

Kate (my daughter) and I had so much fun we got hooked. I prefer regular-sized notebooks and plastic sleeves, however, not the larger scrapbooks that many choose to use. I document all the important events in our lives, clipping articles out of the newspaper (my husband is not only an artist, but also a theatre director, so his name is often in the paper), saving documents (awards, hospital wristbands, ticket stubs), as well as photos of places we've been and people we love.

With all this, comes journaling. Did you know "journal" has become a verb? It's the act of making a written record of each item. Of telling the story behind it. Sometimes its a line or two, other times its a full page story. This non-fiction writing is an important part of the scrapbooking concept. Not only the artistic placement of photos on a page (which I'm not very good at), but the telling of the story (which I can do quite well) is important. The two forms work together to give the complete picture because, let's face it, not all our pictures are worth a thousand words.

When telling these stories, it's important to keep the future in mind. Someday someone will pick up this scrapbook, open it and look at pictures of people who are strangers to them. They will wonder, "Why keep this piece of ribbon in this book? What is it's significance? Who would care about this?"

And your stories will answer that question. Through your words, you make those future viewers/readers understand you and your times. The details you add, the point of view that is uniquely yours, the style with which you write -- all these add up to give them insights into your life and times.

(The picture is of a page I did from out trip to Alaska. The trip took 13 days and the initial plan was for one 1.5" notebook for land and one for the sea portion of our trip. I'm still scrapbooking this trip; the first notebook was big enough for the first four days. Oops!)

Ready to give it a whirl?

Activity

Choose a small set of photos. If they're digital, think about printing them out, or you can use one of several online programs that allow you to keep them in the cloud (I'm old-fashioned. All my scrapbooks are hardcopy).

Mount the pictures - be artistic or not as you choose. Believe me, I'm not the one to teach photo placement or design of the page. That's my daughter's area (she now works at Michael's as a scrapbook consultant - see where that one-day workshop led?). Arrange them as you would illustrations of a story.

Then write that story. Remember, you still want to show the event, not tell it. Make the future viewers feel what you felt. Help them to smell the smells, hear the sounds -- they can see the sights in the pictures, so concentrate on the other senses.

Above all, have fun. This is your chance to write history!

Diana

In media res

In media res. Latin for “in the middle of.”

Shakespeare successfully used this technique of starting scenes in several of his plays, most notably, Othello. Check it out. In every single scene, two characters enter already engaged in conversation. As we “eavesdrop” we learn important bits of information. Characters are developed, actions are plotted and we are engaged right from the start.

It’s a great technique.

Often writers choose to start with a description (Tolkien, anyone?) or a digression (Victor Hugo has entire chapters of these). Both are good tactics. They are not, however, the only options.

Shake up your writing a little (pun intended) and try starting a chapter in the middle of the action. Hook your reader, get them intrigued, then let the information out. This will help them stay interested in the story you’re unfolding.

Remember, YOU might know what happened before the scene, but is it really necessary for the READER to know? Are you overloading with exposition? Are you giving so much backstory that they’re screaming at you to get on with it?

In media res. Three Latin words that will become your best friends.

Activity

Go to your bookshelf and choose ten fiction novels at random. Alternately, choose ten short stories at random. How many of them start in media res? What do you think came before? As an exercise, choose one and write the scene immediately before the scene in the book. What were the characters talking about? How did they get onto this subject or in this place?

Alternate activity

If you already have a work in progress, go to the start of a chapter and determine the point where the most important information is revealed. What if you started there instead? How much of what came previous is actually necessary for the story?

Remember, digressions aren’t necessarily bad, but be aware of what choices you’re making. If you choose to start a chapter with description or a digression, both of which are legitimate techniques, choose to do it on purpose. Likewise if you start in media res.

Alternate alternate activity

If you’re staring a new piece, start smack-dab in the middle of a conversation between two of the characters (protagonist and his/her best friend, antagonist plotting to take over the world...you get the picture). Have fun and see where it takes you!

(You can also do this as a writing exercise just for fun. You never know when an exercise just might hit a home run and turn into a novel) :)

Play safe...and remember the tip!

Diana