The Ten Stages of Revision Emotions

So this year I've been diligently working on the draft of the second book in my series, MELT INTO YOU. This one is tentatively scheduled to release sometime next summer, but the manuscript is due to my editor at the end of this month.

Well, I finished the draft a couple of weeks ago and sent it to Sara to get her feedback and to make sure I hadn't suffered from the dreaded second book syndrome. *shudders* Luckily, Sara liked the book and only had a few changes she suggested.

A few. But one was a biggie. She suggested I cut the murder mystery subplot and replace it with something different. Not a huge change in word count, but a very significant change with regards to the story's plot. Hence began my journey through the Stages of Revision Emotions.

The Ten Stages of Revision Emotions

Stage 1: Shock (You want me to change what?) or a "Dammit, that makes sense"

Okay, so in the list of revisions, there is usually one, maybe two, shockers. Your favorite scene needs to be cut or something you thought was vital gets the ax. But most of the time with Sara, her suggestions resonate with me in that "Damn, why didn't I see that?" way. Or she picks out things that were niggling at me but that I couldn't quite put my finger on. That's the gift of having someone with an editorial eye. They can see things you can't because you're too close to it.

Stage 2: Blind Confidence - "I can totally fix this."

This is when you get excited. Things don't look so hard or too bad. You just need to change A B and C and you're golden. La dee da, I'm the kickass writer girl.

Stage 3: The "Oh, Crap"

You actually sit down to make those seemingly innocuous changes and WHAM! you've just blasted your manuscript to swiss cheese. Plot holes are bleeding on your pages, threads with loose ends are flapping in the breeze, your characters have been flattened to road kill.

Stage 4: Sticking Your Fingers in Your Ears and Humming

You've hit the denial phase. This can't be done. If I make this change, I'll have to rewrite the whole book from scratch. My agent/editor must be crazy to think I could change this. It's impossible. I'm just going to leave it the way it is and turn it in. I am the writer, so I get the ultimate call on revisions anyway, right?

Stage 5: Despair

This book is a giant pile of stinking baby dung. I will never be able to fix it. I'm going to fade into oblivion and never be published again. How did I think this was a good story?

Stage 6: The Muse Taps Your Shoulder

"Who the hell are you? Oh yeah, I remember you, creative genius. Where the f*#% have you been you stingy, rat bastard?"

Stage 7: The Idea - *cue angels singing*

You're lying there in bed, taking a shower, talking yourself out of eating the entire cake because you're a talentless hack. And then it hits. The Idea. The way that will fix your book and achieve what your agent/editor wanted from this revision. You suddenly see the seemingly obvious fix and realize how dead on that revision advice was.

Stage 8: Mania

This is where you realize you have two weeks to make this brilliant change and you have oh, ten, twenty, thirty thousand words or whatever to write. You eat, sleep, and breathe your manuscript. The ideas flow and you're excited about this story again. Thrilled to see it turn into something way better than what you originally had. It's a high. People may want to put you in a white jacket.

Stage 9: Peace

You finish that bad boy and turn it in. Then you eat that whole cake anyway, but this time, it's because you've earned it. :)

Stage 10: Ah, hell.

You get another set of revisions back and the process starts all over again. :)

These stages also apply to getting feedback from crit partners and beta readers. The key, for me, is recognizing that I will get there. That when it seems I just am not good enough to fix it, an idea will come. But it won't necessarily happen day one after I get my revision notes. My mind needs time to process and stew before tackling things.

So how about you? Have you been through any of these stages? Any other stages you would add?

Oh no! Melodrama! -- Avoiding the Reader Eye Roll

Photo by Joe Green

There are a lot of fine lines in writing: creating a sense of place v. bogging down reader with description, creating a new spin on an old idea v. being derivative, creating characters with depth v. backstory overload, etc. Another one that I've had trouble defining the line between is drama and melodrama.

Our stories are supposed to have conflict and drama. What's the point otherwise? However, when that story inches into melodrama we risk losing our reader. Instead of connecting with the characters and feeling part of the story, our readers start rolling their eyes. So how can we tell the difference?

This is especially difficult to determine if we're writing a teen story. I'm not going to stereotype, but looking back at myself as a teen, I was quite melodramatic. My high school was my whole world and every event and emotion was amplified. When my crush didn't like me, it was cause for tears and incessant listening of depressing and sappy music. When a good friend gave me the silent treatment for a week, I thought we would never be able to overcome such a terrible turn of events. So how do we make sure our characters and plot are authentic and believable and interesting without sending it into the realm the soap opera?

First my quick definition...

Melodrama is when emotions, plot, or actions are too over the top. My litmus test is if a scene that is intended to be emotional/heartfelt/painful would tempt readers to groan, roll their eyes, or laugh, then I've crossed over the line.

I'll use Twilight as an example since most of you have probably read it or seen the movie. In the scene at the hospital in the first movie, Edward tells Bella she needs to stay away from him for her own safety. Bella sits up, panicked, stuttering "No, you can't leave me! We can't be apart." The line in and of itself is fine, but this scene made me giggle in the theatre. Also, in the book New Moon, Bella's reaction to Edward leaving is um, intense, to say the least. Months of depression and becoming an adrenaline junkie seem a tad melodramatic to me. (Disclaimer: I have admitted to enjoying Twilight, so please no hate comments from devoted fans.)

So what can we do to avoid crossing this line?

• Beware the exclamation point! It's rarely needed and is usually a beacon of melodrama!

 

 

• Watch words like screamed, shouted, sobbed, cried, etc. Use them sparingly.

• Put yourself inside your characters. If A, B, or C happened to you, how would you react? Of course, your character hasn't a different backstory than you, but this will give you a start to find an authentic reaction. I mean, really, how many of us are actually swooning or drooling when we see a hot guy?

• Don't have your characters act contrived just to fit a plot need. They're actions must be based on realistic/logical motivations that you've developed in the story. i.e. If a character is mild-mannered throughout, but you need an emotional scene so all of a sudden she flies off the handle with no logical motivation to do so or previous behavior to back it up.

• No TSTL (too stupid to live) characters. i.e. running up that stairs when a serial killer breaks into the house, heroine believing something the bad guy tells her when she KNOWS he's the bad guy. Your readers won't buy it.

• Avoid stereotyped characters--the wise old man/woman, the evil ex-wife/other woman, the naive virgin, the bitchy popular girl, the hooker with the heart of gold, the perfect/infallible male love interest. If you use any of these, you need to make sure there is a twist on it. For example, in PC Cast's Marked series, Aphrodite starts as the stereotypical blonde mean girl, but develops into something much different as the series goes on.

• Watch out for huge coincidences. Yes, when writing, we're playing God, but that doesn't mean we can twist fate to create unbelievable coincidences. Your reader will give a big "yeah right" or "my, isn't that convenient?"

• This is related to the coincidence thing, but be careful of creating conflict after conflict after conflict to where there is no way to believe that all that would happen to one person. The best example I can think of is the first seasons of 24. Jack's daughter's Kim couldn't keep herself out of trouble. How many times can one girl get herself kidnapped or put in mortal danger? It became a joke in our house--how will Kim try to get herself killed this week?

 

And if in doubt, picture a scene through the eyes of a Saturday Night Live writer. How much rewriting would you have to do on that scene to recreate it for comedy/satire on the show? If the answer is "not much", you may have jumped into the melodrama hot tub.

So am I the only one who struggles with this line? How do you determine if you've gone too far? And what are some of your favorite melodramatic books/movies/tv shows?

*repost from 2009

 

 

**Today's Theme Song**

"Selling the Drama" - Live

(player below--go ahead, take a listen)

Is the First Line Really THAT Important

I've officially started the second book in my contemporary erotic romance series. Yay! (For those of you who have beta read for me, this will be Jace's story.) So I'm facing down that daunting task of writing the all-important first chapter. And what does that chapter start with? The first line of course.

Some writers think the emphasis on the first line is unfounded, believing that as long as your first page is strong, you're good to go. But others believe that first line is vital to hooking your reader. I tend to lean toward the latter.

In Hooked, Les Edgerton says:

Your first sentence or paragraph may be the most important writing in your story. They may well be what sells your manuscript to an agent or editor.

But even more importantly it can be the difference maker on a sale to a reader later on. I have to admit that I am one of those people that opens to the first page and reads the first line when I'm browsing in a bookstore. Even Amazon posts the opening line underneath the titles of many of their books. I read the blurb for the book too, but a great opening line can win me over.

It makes me think that this author is thoughtful--that if they took the time to come up with a rocking first line, the book is probably going to be good. So we may only have seconds to impress that agent/publisher/reader.

No pressure, right?

So what the heck makes a great opening sentence? Les suggests that the first sentence is "part of the whole" and should contain at least a hint of the end.

When I first read that, I was like, oh hell, that seems impossible. But then I thought through some great opening lines I've read and he's right. Many opening sentences hint at the theme or foreshadow future events if only in a subtle way.

I grabbed a few random books off my shelves for some examples:

Olivia Quinn knew she was losing her husband when she discovered his knockout junior partner caressing his crotch by the azalea bush.--When Alex Was Bad, Jo Davis

Just when I though my day couldn't get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker.--Marked, PC Cast and Kristen Cast

The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years--if it ever did end--began, so far as I know or can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain.--It, Stephen King

Years later Amy would remember the day she saw inside the spider house.--Nazareth Hill, Ramsey Campbell

Sybil Davison has a genius I.Q. and has been laid by at least six different guys.--Forever, Judy Blume

Great lines, right? Made me want to read more for sure. And having read these books, each one of these hints at the overall theme or the ending.

When writing a rough draft, I try not to stress about this heavily weighted line. But at the same time, I know if I can get that first line in decent shape early on, it will help guide me through the rest of the book. Will keep the theme in my head. So I end up putting a lot of time into it anyway. 

So how about you? What do you think about the whole first line emphasis? Do you wait until you finish drafting to worry about coming up with the perfect first line? What are your first lines or what's your favorite first line from a book?

*This post is a revamped version of one I did in October 2009. Thanks to Sierra, who got me thinking about this post again. 

Wordiness:The Post in Which I Discuss Reduction of the Aforementioned

I'm a wordy girl. In school, the teachers used to tell us the minimum amount of pages required for a paper. While others were trying to figure out what font would fill the maximum amount of space (Courier New, btw), I would be trying to get my paper under fifteen pages. So I know I have to watch this tendency when I'm writing.

The terrific resources on the RWA site helped me out again. Here are some things to help cut the fluff out of your manuscript.

1. Eliminate and remove redundancy.

Fluffy: She sobbed and tears fell from her eyes as she watched him walk away.

Sleek: Tears fell from her eyes as he walked away.

2. Delete intensifiers that don't intensify.

F: Generally, Mary kept her very deepest emotions hidden.

S: Mary kept her deepest emotions hidden.

(or even better: Mary hid her deepest emotions.)

3. Remove important sounding phrases that don't add to a sentence.

F: All things considered, she was thankful for the outcome.

S: She was thankful for the outcome.

4. Avoid starting sentences with expletives.

No, this doesn't mean curse words. An expletive according to Webster is : "a syllable, word, or phrase inserted to fill a vacancy without adding to the sense." That should tell us all we need to know. (it was, there are, etc)

F: It was his gaze that made her heart beat faster.

S: His gaze made her heart beat faster.

(Or better: His gaze made her heart pound.)

 

5. Use active instead of passive voice whenever you can.

F: The dishes were washed after dinner by my mother.

S: After dinner, my mother washed the dishes.

6. Reduce clauses to phrases, and reduce phrases to single words.

F: In the very near future, she would have to make a decision.

S: Soon, she would have to decide.

 

7. Remove adjective clauses where you can.

 

F: The girl who lived next door wore a dress that had pink stripes.

S: The girl next door wore a pink striped dress.

 

8. Turn prepositional phrases into one-word modifiers.

F: The captain of the football team always dated the prettiest of the cheerleaders.

S: The football team captain always dated the prettiest cheerleader.

 

9. Cut extraneous words or phrases.

F: We conducted an investigation regarding the murder.

S: We investigated the murder.

 

10. Remove cliches and euphemisms.

F: He had a sneaking suspicion his protests had fallen on deaf ears.

S: He suspected they had ignored his protests.

 

11. Weed out the "to be".

F: Sue found the children to be exhausting.

S: Sue found the children exhausting.

 

12. Avoid stating the obvious.

F: He sat down and realized it was already 6am in the morning.

S: He sat and realized it was already 6am.

 

*This a personal favorite of mine. I naturally write "stood up"--like where else can you stand but up? Grr. I do it all the time.

13. Delete meaningless adverbs.

F: She yelled at him loudly, then ran away quickly.

S: She yelled at him and ran.

 

The source that I pulled this from also has fantastic lists of

Redundant Phrases like

absolutely essential = essential

future plans = plans

Wordy Phrases

A lot of = many

Come to an end = end

And Cliches

sad but true (great Metallica song, but a cliche nonetheless)

give a damn

*This is a repost from October 2009

So are any of you wordy like me? Which of these do you find cropping up in your manuscript the most?

 

**Today's Theme Song**

"More Than Words" - Extreme

(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)

Bom Chicka Wah Wah: Types of Love Scenes

Photo via The U.S. National Archives

I promised on Wednesday that I'd post about heat levels in love/sex scenes and how to decide which level to go with for your book. This is an updated post from earlier in the year.

This information was pulled from two classes I attended at the DFW Writer's Conference on writing sex scenes--one by author Jenni Holbrook and the other by author Shayla Black.  (Great conference btw, if you're looking for a conference to go to DFWCon is coming up in February and is going to be huge. I think there are like 10-12 agents already confirmed to be there for pitches, plus the workshops are always great.)

Now on to the sex (or not as the case may be)! As most of you have figured out, I write and read sexy and erotic romance, so love scenes are an integral part of my stories.  Now, I know many of you may cringe at the idea of writing sex on the page and think this isn't for you.   But even if you're writing clean cut YA, you should know what the components are because a simple kiss IS a love scene if done correctly.

First, let's get the main rule out of the way:

DO NOT put in a love scene unless it changes the character(s) and moves things (usually internal conflict) forward.  Just like any other scene, it must serve a purpose.

Okay, now let's identify the types of love scenes (care of Jenni Holbrook):

1. Closed Door/Fade to Black

--This is where the sex is implied, but not shown.

Use this:

--When the change in the characters does not happen during the actual act.

--Think of old movies where they kiss and then the camera pans to bedroom curtains fluttering in the breeze.

2. Glossed Over Sex

--This is where a little more is shown--maybe a little touching and buildup, but then that door slams shut.

Use this:

--When the change in the character happens during the intimate moments leading up to the actual bom-chick-wah-wah.

--Ex.) Dirty Dancing (one of the hottest scenes EVAH), when Baby and Johnny dance in his room.  (YouTube won't let me embed the video, but here's the link, if you'd like your daily swoon.) They take off shirts and touch and kiss while dancing, but that is where the change happens--when she says "dance with me" and he accepts the invitation.  Then we see them in bed, kissing, and the scene fades.

3. Full Sex Scene

--This is what you'll see in many mainstream romances and other genre fiction.  The sex happens on the page, door open.

Use this:

--When the change in the characters or revelations about the characters happen during the actual sex.

--Ex.) The Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood books.

4.  Explicit Sex Scene

--This is most often used in erotic romance and erotica.  A full sex scene, like above, but everything is described and the language used is no holds barred.  (Yes, you know what words I'm talking about.)

--FYI: the difference between erotic romance and erotica is that e. romance has a primary relationship and there is a happily ever after.  Erotica is more about sexual exploration, doesn't necessarily need to be relationship based, and doesn't require HEA.

Use this:

--Just like a full sex scene, the character change happens during the act.

--If you are using kinky sex acts

--This is not for the faint of heart.  Make sure you read lots of erotic romance to get a feel for exactly what explicit means, lol.

So, how do you decide which level to write at?

1.  Comfort level has to be there.

--If the idea of writing a sex scene makes you squeamish or if you are one of those people who (*gasp*) skips past the love scenes in books, you're probably going to want to fade to black or gloss over.

--The reader will be able to tell if you were uncomfortable about writing it.

--If you think you want to write sex, then make sure you read widely in your particular genre to get a feel for what works and where those lines are. 

--And as I mentioned in the comments on Wednesday, I think it's helpful to read one level of heat above what you're planning on writing. So if you want to write sexy, read erotic. It will help you get more comfortable about what you're going to write, desensitize you a bit to the embarrassment factor.

2.  What does your character/story need?

--According to Shayla Black, if you can pluck out a sex scene and it won't change your character's arc or transformation, then you probably didn't need the scene in the first place.  Do not put it there just to have one (see main rule above).

3.  Know your audience

--You have to know what you are writing and who you are writing for.

--If you put a full sex scene in an inspirational romance, your readers would be appalled.  If you're writing erotic romance and you fade to black, your readers will want to string you up by your toes and beat you with your book.  :)

--And if you're writing YA, you have even more of a challenge.  Figure out if you're writing edgy or traditional and how far your want to push.

And one last Public Service Announcement since this came up in Wednesday's comments:

Even though it's hard, try not to let the "my mother/grandmother/father will read this" factor hold you back. I get it. I've had the same thoughts about what I'm writing BUT here's the thing--will you keep yourself from writing the story you want to write, a story that could entertain thousands of readers because of ONE or two people in your life?  If you're not comfortable writing love scenes because you personally aren't cool with it or it's not your thing. That's fine--you shouldn't do it if that's how you feel. However, if you like to read/write sexy but are stopping yourself because of what others think, then you're letting other people dictate your passion. Don't give others that much power over you.  (Just my humble opinion. Take it for what it's worth.)  

Alright, so I hope this helps.  Writing love scenes is one of the most challenging things to get right.  If you want to know more, I also have posts on sexual tension and writing sex scenes you can check out.

So, where do you fall on the levels in your story?  And are you a person who loves to peek past that door or do you skip those scenes?  (For the record, I'm fascinated by you scene skippers.  How do you do that and why? lol)

 

 

Voice, Voice, Voice

Voice.  Yes, I know it's a popular topic and I've talked about it before, but it also seems like one of the hardest things to get our minds around.

Wanting to find a strong/fresh/interesting voice seems to be the A-number-one commonality among agents and editors. It was mentioned at every agent/editor panel I attended at RWA.  However, it also seems to be one of the most elusive things to define.  Even the pros seem to struggle with pinning down a definition when asked--it's one of those things they just know when they read it.

Which, of course, makes us panic because we want everything in our manuscript to be perfect--and dammit, we want to make sure we've nailed voice, too.  But, I'm here to tell you--you already know what a good voice is. Think of any of your favorite authors.  If that author were to write a new book and someone were to give it to you without the author's name on it--would you be able to recognize who had written it?

Yes?  That's voice.  It's how the author tells the story, the word choices, turns of phrase, the humor, the writing style.  It's the personality of the writing.  So, look and see, does your story show that personality?  And is it a personality that will appeal to people?

Voice is the difference between saying:

I can't answer the phone right now, please leave a message.  

and

"I know how devastated you are to miss me, but leave a message, and I'll try to ease your agony." --Adrian from Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series. 

Yes, some of that is character voice (I talked about the difference here), but it's also Richelle Mead's snarky, fun style.

So the key is figuring out what your voice is and making sure it makes it onto the page.  And don't force a voice that isn't yours.  Brenda Chin, the senior editor at Harlequin Blaze, said on a panel that voice can't really be changed--it's too tied to who the author is--but that it can be honed.  And as with most things with writing, the only way to hone it, is to continue to write, write, write.  Your voice will show itself in time.

So do you struggle to find your voice?  How would you define your own voice?  Which author's voice do you admire?

She's a B*tch, She's a Lover: Writing a Kickass Heroine

 

Photo by Karen Ho

This week I have a special treat for you guys.  Guest bloggers!!!  

For those who missed Monday's post, my mom is spending this week with me, so my amazing crit group members have graciously offered to cover some topics that are near and dear to them while I'm "out".  All of these ladies are wonderful writers and offer unique perspectives on writing, so I hope you will give them as warm a welcome as you give me every day.  I also encourage you to follow their blogs--you won't regret it.  :)

So without further ado, I'll turn it over to Gwen...

She's a B*tch, She's a Lover

In a recent discussion on one of my loops, a group of paranormal authors began a discussion on what separates paranormal romance from urban fantasy.  As you can guess, what constitutes a sub-genre varies immensely depending on who you ask.  However, one thing that came up repeatedly was that urban fantasies usually feature a “kick-ass” heroine.  Granted, there are plenty of urban fantasies on the shelves nowadays where the main character is not female at all, but on the whole, I agree with this correlation.  Urban fantasy = kick-ass heroine. 

A similar, if not as severe trend emerged across all genres of romance around the turn of the century (wow, it sounds weird to say that!).  Most especially in thrillers, romantic suspense, and the emerging paranormal market, the helpless waif was out and the self-confident, self-reliant woman was in.  Many would call it a reflection of our times, where women have finally attained a position as equals in both the boardroom and the bedroom.  It’s empowering for us to see the G.I. Janes, Dana Skullys, and Sarah Conners go toe-to-toe with their male counterparts and in some cases save the day all on their own. 

A kick-ass heroine can come in many forms and her strength does not always manifest in the physical realm.  She can be on a crusade for her cause, fiercely protective of those she loves, enduring some immense emotional burden, surviving a cold harsh world that has turned its back on her, or simply aware of her own feminine power.  I, for one, fully support a world where the simpering Bella Swans are a minority.  But if you’re considering writing a strong female protagonist, keep a lookout for these common pitfalls.

Leave Room to Grow

One of the worst things you can do is paint your heroine as a Mary Sue.  No one wants to read about an all-powerful character who fights her way out of every sticky spot with hardly a scratch, and whom everyone else worships.  Give your heroine flaws.  Give her weaknesses.  Stack the odds against her and make sure she’s fighting an uphill battle, that way it will be that much more satisfying when she finally reaches her goal.  Don’t be afraid to knock her down a few times and teach her some lessons too – she’ll be that much more beloved by readers for overcoming those shortcomings.

Give Her A True Counterpart

Don’t surround your strong heroine with a bunch of swooning suitors jumping at the opportunity to do her bidding.  Keep it real.  In the real world, a tough woman is not all that adored by men, especially those she’s surpassed is skill or accomplishment.  It takes a strong man to stand beside a strong woman, so make sure your love interest is up to the task.  Another thing to look out for is painting a hero who loves your heroine in spite of her strength rather than for her strength – a very important distinction.

Don’t Cross the Line

There’s a difference between confidence and cockiness.  It can be as much of a turn-off for a woman to be full of herself as it can be for a man.  Snark comes with the territory when you’re writing a woman in a man’s world, but be careful you don’t cross that razor-thin line between sarcasm and sadism.  Don’t make your heroine too much of a b*tch, or even your readers won’t like her. 

Remember She’s a Woman

No matter if we’re talking about female charity workers, doctors, or fighter pilots, at the end of the day, they’re all women.  Remember to give your readers something to connect with.  Don’t write your strong alpha female like a man.  Make her girly.  Give her a chocolate fetish, or a stuffed animal, or a compulsion to buy shoes (okay, not something that cliché, but you get the picture).  It’s okay for her to have a soft, mushy, girly side, and it’s definitely necessary that you show it.  

Do you find it challenging to write the balance between tough chick and b*tch?  Who's your favorite kickass heroine?  Have you ever stopped reading a book because the heroine was too brash/mean/unlikeable or on the flipside, too weak/do-nothing?

When not studying science and philosophy at the UW or otherwise cavorting through the Emerald City, Gwen can be found at her favorite Starbucks drawing off of the shifting grey skies of the Pacific Northwest to pen (okay, type) dark paranormal stories, which don't always end happily but leave her characters satisfied none the less. Visit her at Gwen Mitchell Fiction.

**Today's Theme Song**

"Just a Girl" - No Doubt

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Face Off Friday: Writer's Block

Writer's block.  Whether you believe if it truly exists or not, most of us can't deny that there are times when the inspiration isn't coming and the words aren't flowing.  Many say that the block is just fear or insecurity playing with our minds.  I kind of subscribe to that belief, but also know that sometimes my brain simply shuts down.

I have a pattern.  For two weeks, I'm in the zone.  My fingertips fly over the keyboard, pages rack up, and I have trouble falling asleep because the scenes keep writing themselves in my head.  Then I hit the end of the two weeks and everything comes to a screeching halt.  For the next two weeks, I struggle to write and feel like the creative neurons in my brain are trying to fire through peanut butter.  I get frustrated, grumpy, and feel ready to give up on the project entirely.  (And no, I'm not bipolar.  I've just accepted that this is my process.  I'm not entirely unconvinced that this isn't tied to the cycles of the moon or some hormonal shift.)

But anyway, the question I have is: what do you do when the words aren't coming?

There are two schools of thought from what I can tell.  In the first camp are the "write anyway" people.  This means that even when you aren't inspired, you just put words on the page because eventually it will spark something for you.  This is the "write or die", NanoWriMo mentality.

The other side would say that if the muse isn't speaking then take a break.  Walk away for a few minutes, hours, days.  Let your mind relax out of it's "oh crap, I'm on the way to an epic fail" state of mind.  When we're not concentrating so hard, our mind can wander and often hit on solutions or ideas for our story.

So which path should we take if we hit a wall?  Here's the breakdown:

The "Write, No Matter What" Side

Pros:

• You keep yourself in the habit of writing daily even if the words aren't going to be used later on.
• You may be able to write your way around the block.
• You keep the story fresh in your head.
• You're developing a good work ethic.  If you eventually write under deadline, you don't have the luxury of taking long breaks.

Cons:

• You may write a lot of words you'll have to scrap or write yourself into a corner.  How many people finish Nano and say "Hey, got my 50k words, but they're all crap"?
• You may end up meandering--I'm convinced that saggy middle is due to the fact that many of us hit a block somewhere in the heart of that.
• You can end up so frustrated and put so much pressure on yourself, that the creative part of your brain just shuts down.
• You run the risk of turning something you enjoy into something you hate.

The "Take a Break" Argument

Pros:

• When you take some of the pressure off, your mind can relax and work on the story issues.  How many times does the answer to a block arrive while you're driving or showering?
• You can use the time to re-energize yourself--read, take a walk, enjoy something that has fallen by the wayside because of your writing.
• You won't be a miserable cuss during the block.
• You won't waste your time writing pages and pages that you'll never use.

Cons:

• When you take a break, it can be easy to not go back to the project because you've gotten out of the habit.
• If you take too long of a break, you'll have to reorient yourself to the story once you return
• All that free thinking time may lead to SNI (shiny new idea) syndrome and you may be tempted to move onto another project instead of finishing the other one.

So what to do?  I think a combination works best for me.  I know that for my two inspired weeks, I need to milk it for all it's worth.  Then during the other half the month, I give myself permission to take breaks and don't put a daily word count goal over my head.  But I do try to look at the story at least once a day and see if it sparks anything.  If not, I read through and do some editing on what I already have.

So what's your process?  Does your muse have a pattern?  Which method do you use to get past a stuck point?

**Today's Theme Song**

"Brain Stew" - Green Day

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Author Voice vs. Character Voice*

Photo by Ernest Duffoo

Voice is one of the most sited components of writing a great story. Publishers/agents are looking for a strong voice, a fresh voice, a clear voice, etc. Unfortunately, it's also one of the things that we as writers struggle with and stress about the most.

I think the first thing that confused me early on was the difference between author voice and character voice. At first, I thought they were the same thing. They're not.

 

Author voice "encompasses word choice, rhythm, pacing, style, tone and structure." (source)

Character voice also affects word choice, rhythm, and pacing. But in character voice those things are influenced by the character's background, history, age, education, regional location, time period, etc.

Crystal clear, right? *snort*

Okay, maybe this will help, because it definitely helped me. I attended a workshop once where the author explained author voice by saying that you could pick up any one of her books no matter what the subject/character/plot and know that she wrote it.  

For instance, I've been reading Richelle Mead's Succubus Blues.  I'm a huge fan of her YA Vampire Academy books (in fact, I all about did a dance when Spirit Bound arrived on my doorstep this week), but this was the first time I was reading any of her adult books.  The story and characters are completely different, but the quirky sense of humor and style are still there.  I could tell they were both written by the same author, so I'm "hearing" her author voice.

And you have one, too!  We all do.  You just have to make sure it gets onto the page.

My author voice is snarky and casual. My style matches that--I use deep POV, like using the occasional incomplete sentences for impact, and have a lot of dialogue.  My books will never be filled with lyrical prose and elegant descriptions.  And though I tackle heavy topics at times in my stories, humor will always be present.  

Why? Because that's who I am. I don't take life very seriously. Sarcasm is my favorite pastime and self-depracation is a way of life for me. I can't escape my voice.

So there's good news in that! Voice just is. (Read your own blog, you'll probably see your voice shining through.) We can hone it and analyze it and strengthen it but our author voice is already there. It's who we are. 

The only thing that gets in the way is when we try to imitate some other author's voice. "I want to write books just like..." It's good to study other people's writings and pick out what you enjoy about it, but be careful not to let what you "think" your voice should be overtake what it actually is.  You can never be such and such author, you can only be you.

So, if author voice is just waiting there to be discovered, what we probably need to worry about more is making sure we have an accurate character voice for each of our players. 

To do this, we need to analyze our characters, get into their head, know their history. As one of my handy dandy critiquers recently pointed out about one of my characters: she's from the south, she wouldn't say "you guys", she would say "y'all". Of course, I know this (being southern and a over-user of y'all) but I lost her voice for a minute trying to sound more proper. These are the small nuances we have to watch out for. If our characters don't sound believable, we'll lose the reader.

Well, that's my take on the whole thing, but I'd like to hear your opinions.

How would your describe your author voice?  Do you struggle to nail it down or is it one of those things that comes naturally?  Which authors voices do you totally envy?

*This is a revamped version of a post from Sept. 2009.  I decided to rerun it since over the past year "author voice" is the most popular search keyword according to my Google Analytics, so apparently a lot of people have questions about this topic.  Hope you find it helpful!*

 

 

**Today's Theme Song**

"Voices Carry" - Til Tuesday

(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)

He Said, She Said: Dialogue and Potential Blogfest

 

Photo by Ed Yourdon (click pic for link)

This past weekend at the writers' conference, I attended a class on Snappy Dialogue.  I was going to summarize what was talked about, but then realized I had covered this topic all the way back in November.  So, I'm going to post it again since I know many of you are new to the blog and haven't seen it.

However, this also got me to thinking.  There have been tons of blogfests over the past few months and I always have so much fun participating and reading others' entries, so I'm considering doing my own with dialogue as the theme.  Has that been done yet?  If you know, leave me a comment.  

If it hasn't been done, would you be interested in participating in a Sparkling Dialogue Blogfest?  Let me know.  If enough people seem interested, I'll get a rules post and linky thing ready for Monday's post.

UPDATE: Enough of you have shown interest (thanks!), so the blogfest is ON!  I'll put together details and post them Monday.  :)

Alight, now for the nitty gritty...

Dialogue is one of my favorite things to write and read. It's a great workhorse in your manuscript and can handle many tasks for you: advancing plot, building tension, revealing character, establishing motivation, and setting tone among other things. And with all these roles to play, make sure it is filling one on of them. Don't have lackluster chatter just to fill space--like anything else in your story, it must serve a purpose.

Okay, so once you have a purpose for your dialogue what dos and don'ts should you watch out for?

Red Flags

Using too much dialect.

--Regional dialects can add authenticity to your story, but too much becomes tiresome to read.

Being too formal. People don't talk in complete sentences all the time.

--"Are you ready to go to school today?" vs. "Ready for school?"

Trying to recreate dialogue too realistically.

--Yes we pause a lot and say um and uh in real life, but you don't need to put that in your writing, unless you are trying to show nervousness or something.

Addressing the person by name all the time.

--Think about how many times you actually say the other person's name when having a conversation--hardly ever. (I used to do this is my writing ALL the time.)

--"I don't know, Bob. Those pants make you look fat." "But Helen, they match my shirt."

Vague pronouns.

--If three women are talking, be careful of saying "she said" and not defining which she it is.

Having characters tell someone something they already know or would never actually discuss just so you can let the reader know.

--"As you know, your boyfriend cheated on you."

--"You're never going to catch me. As soon as I kill you, I'm going to escape to my secret house in Seattle where no one will be able to find me."

Long drawn out speeches. You're not Shakespeare--drop the soliloquies and monologues.

--Telling in dialogue is STILL telling

Going nuts with non-said dialogue tags or adverbs modifying said.

--In many cases, we're told to use a stronger verb instead of the standard one for verbs such as walked, looked, stood, etc. However, this does not apply to "said". Said is considered invisible to the reader. The shouted/muttered/expressed/pontificated stand out to the reader and remind them that they are reading a story instead of experiencing it.

--This goes for tagging that said with adverbs as well--try to avoid it.

All characters sound alike

--Even without speaker attribution, you should be able to tell most of the time who is talking just by how and what they say.

--Your male lead and female lead should not sound identical. Men and women talk differently. Men, typically, use fewer words to get a point across.

Watch your punctuation.

--Avoid the exclamation point except in rare circumstances--it's melodramatic.

--Semi-colons and colons are not for speech.

--Em-dashes can be used to show a break in thought or an interuption.

--Ellipses can be used to indicate a pause or speech that trails off (use sparingly)

 

Don't bury your dialogue when you can avoid it. I talked about this before, but here is a refresher for those of you who are new to the blog.  

Dialogue should be in one of the following structures:

Dialogue(D)-->narrative(N)-->dialogue

"Hello," she said, smiling. "What's your name?"

N-->D

She smiled. "Hello, what's your name?"

D->N

"Hello? What's your name?" she asked.

Don't do what I used to do all over the place:

She grinned at the boy. "Hello, what's your name?" she asked.

--see how the dialogue is buried in the narrative? This slows down your pacing and gives the dialogue less impact. Think of dialogue as a book end--it shouldn't be hidden amongst the books (narrative).

Make your dialogue rock:

Read it out loud or have someone read it to you. Does it sound natural?

Contractions are your friends.

When you can avoid attributions (said), do. Either take them out completely or use action beats.

--She hugged her mother. "I love you." (It is assumed that the person doing the action--the beat--in the sentence is the speaker.)

Ground your dialogue in action. Otherwise, you have talking heads.

--This doesn't have to be for every statement uttered, but people move while they are talking, they sip drinks, smile, adjust their skirt, play with their hair, etc.

--Imagine you are writing a screenplay, the actors would need stage direction to tell them what they should be doing during that dialogue.

source

So what about you? What are your biggest challenges with dialogue? And would you be down for a dialogue blogfest?

**Today's Theme Song**

Talk To Me - Buckcherry

(Player in sidebar, take a listen)

Friends Don't Let Friends Overwrite

A few weeks ago Miss Snark's First Victim had agent Nathan Bransford participate in one of her Secret Agent contests.  If you're not familiar with the site, I suggest you go check it out.  For those contests, she has people submit a snippet of their opening (250 words I believe), then she posts them for everyone to comment on, including a secret agent.  Then after everything has been commented on, the agent is revealed and he or she picks a winner--often requesting pages.

So anyway, as I was reading through Mr. Bransford's comments, I saw a recurring theme in his feedback.   On almost every other post it seemed, he was pointing out overwriting.  In some of those instances, I could see it, in others I would have never picked up on it had he not pointed it out.  So, it was really helpful to read through the posts.  Then, of course, I became paranoid--am I overwriting?

Even though I'm wordy in a lot of things (including these posts), I tend to have the opposite problem and underwrite in my stories.  I struggle sometimes with painting the scene or describing details because I want to jump right into the action or dialogue, forgetting that I need to let the reader know enough to ground them in the scene.  But when I looked through my chapters, I still had moments where I got a little heavy handed on the wordage and needed to dial back.

So how do you spot overwriting?

• Too many adjectives and adverbs.

We already know adverbs are our nemesis, but dumping in tons of adjectives is a problem as well.  Do not put in three adjectives when one will do just fine.

• Using fancy words when a simple one will do.

A lot of us can fall into this trap because most of us are vocabulary nerds.  We enjoyed studying for the SAT because learning new and interesting words is awesome.  That's why it's so hard to just use said when we could use pontificated.  However, those words are distracting and pull your reader out of the story.  If the simple word works, go with that one.

• Describing things as if you were a set designer

Long passages describing every detail of the room, setting, or what a person looks like/is wearing, etc. drive me nuts.  I skim these.  Tell me the pertinent details to give my imagination the building blocks to create the picture, then leave me to it.  If you show me the ratty couch with holes in it, I'm good.  I don't also need to know the pattern on the throw pillows.

• Simile and metaphor overload

A well-placed simile or metaphor can be a beautiful thing.  A whole butt load of them littered all over the page, not so much.  Let a brilliant metaphor or simile stand out on its own by not cluttering the sentences around it with more of the same.  I recently read a book that overused similes so much that I actually stopped reading it--it was completely distracting.

• Redundancy

This can happen within a sentence (ex. the young four-year old) or can be repeating information you've already told us (telling us the hero's eyes are blue every time you mention his eyes or describing the same house every time the heroine goes there.)

• Navel-gazing characters

Introspection is good, we want to know what's going on with the character.  But passages and passages of navel-gazing will slow down your pace and earn eye rolls.   Sprinkle the introspection in with action.

• Trying too hard

The easiest way to find overwriting is to look for those places where you thought you sounded "like a writer." Think of American Idol when Simon Cowell tells the contestant the performance was indulgent.  Those are the performances where the person chose a song and gave a performance that they thought made them look "like a singer" instead of singing something that fit their voice and style. 

Resources: Big Mistake 3: Overwriting and Five Fiction Mistakes That Spell Rejection

Alright, hope that helps.  Most editor articles I've read say that almost every manuscript can be cut by 10%, so get to trimming!  :)

So are you guilty of overwriting?  Do you ever have those moments where you think you've just written something very "writerly"?  Which of these drives you crazy when you find them in books?

*Today's Theme Song**

"Truly Madly Deeply" - Savage Garden

(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)

How Convenient! - Contrived Coincidence

Yesterday I talked about the TSTL character in a Lifetime movie I was watching.  Well, unfortunately (or fortunately--considering it provided fodder for two blog posts), the crappy plot devices did not end there.  The You've-Got-To-Be-Freaking-Kidding-Me moments continued.  But this time in the form of contrived coincidences.

Contrived Coincidence describes a highly improbable occurrence in a story which is required by the plot, but which has absolutely no outward justification

When we left our heroine yesterday, she was under suspicion for murder.  So, she had decided the best course of action was to break in and search the crime scene (leaving DNA-laden hair and fingerprints in her wake no doubt).  Well, she doesn't find much over there (although the killer does stop in the house briefly--at the exact time she's there--she hides under the bed, seeing only his feet).  But, that my friends, is not even the silliest coincidence.

Our heroine goes on and continues her search for evidence in different places, but doesn't turn up much.  However, she strikes up a friendship with the local coffee barista who tells her how every townie takes his or her coffee.  Well, fast forward, and Ms. Brilliant is being followed all around town by a mysterious black mustang (the car, not the horse, although that would have been better).  Because that's what killers do, they show you their car and follow you in broad daylight.  But anyhoo, a few days later her own car is vandalized and she needs to go buy another vehicle.

Well, lo and behold, as she's searching the used car lot, she happens upon what?  You got it.  The black mustang that's been following her.  Oh, and what's that you say Mr. Salesman?  The car was just dropped off yesterday and IT HASN'T BEEN CLEANED YET!  Well, hot damn!

So she buys the car and what is laying neatly in the floorboard of the car?  A receipt for coffee with the very order of one of the people the barista told her about.  Killer identified!

Seriously.  I'm. Not. Kidding.  That's how they wrapped this thing up.

Okay, so this is an extreme example of Contrived Coincidence, but this can show up more subtly in your writing.  Sure, coincidences happen in real life--that's why we say life is stranger than fiction.  But just because something could possibly happen if all the stars aligned, it doesn't mean your reader is going to buy it.

Some things to watch out for...

• Someone overhearing information or seeing something at the exact right moment 

--If your MC has tapped the phones and has been listening and finally comes across evidence, that's one thing.  But if they just happen to stumble upon the scene and just happen to hear the precise info they need, well then no.

• Two characters you need to get together run into each other at the perfect moment

--Make sure your characters have a reason to be in the same place at the same time.  Motivate it.

• A character bursting in at the very perfect second to save the day or stop something from happening 

--Ex.) the heroine is about to be killed but the hero shows up and shoots the villian just in time--not because anyone called him or notified him that she was there, no he's acting on a hunch or just happens by.   

--Ex.) Edward calls Bella at the precise moment she's about to kiss Jacob in New Moon--oh, and even though they are at Bella's house, Jake answers the phone and tells Edward information that inadvertently sets off the Romeo and Juliet tragedy reenactment.

• Without trying, your MC stumbles upon a key piece of evidence or a weapon just when she needs it or some outside force fixes a previously unfixable problem (this is also referred to as deus ex machina).  Oh, there's a handy wooden stake, how'd that get here? 

--Set these things up, foreshadow, make sure we know why and how that key thing showed up when it did

Reviewing all these for this post kind of makes me laugh.  I have many of these in my now buried first novel.  Live and learn, right?

So, with both the TSTL characters and the contrived coincidence, there is a recurring them.  If you motivate something correctly and set things up for your reader, then they'll go there with you.  If you don't, they'll throw their hands up and not believe you or your story.

So what movie/tv show/book has made you say "Oh, well isn't that convenient"?  Will you stop reading or watching if the coincidences are too unbelievable?  Have any of these things shown up in your writing?

**Today's Theme Song**
"I Don't Believe You" - Pink

(player in sidebar if you'd like a listen)

Hey you, reader, HI THERE!: Author Intrusion

What should be one of the key goals of an author when writing?  


To be invisible.  


Writers are the ultimate behind the scenes people.  Besides our name on the front cover, the reader should not realize that we are the ones actually telling them what's happening.  Instead, as they start reading, readers should be swept into a story told (shown) by our characters.  


The last thing you want to do is break them from the magic of the story and their "suspended disbelief" to wave a big sign in their face that says "Hey, author here!  What's up?"  Doing so is called author or authorial intrusion.  Here's a definition:

Authorial intrusion is where you express a personal opinion about a character, situation or scene. Or where you describe anything your characters could not be aware of. (source)

This technique was used often in Victorian era novels when the author wanted to state their opinion on how crappy they thought some political situation was or whatever.  It was also used in gothic horror novels to let you know something sinister was going on outside of the main character's knowledge.  However, these days, this device has gone out of fashion to the point of being considered an error except in very rare circumstances.    (I haven't read them, but I've heard the Lemony Snicket books use this device successfully.)


Now, most likely you aren't going off on long asides to share political commentary, but these AI (author intrusion) moments can pop up in much more subtle ways.  Here's what to watch out for...


Foretelling

This is where the author inserts things like "Jane had no idea that one decision would change everything." OR 

"Little did Jane know that as she curled up in bed the killer was watching her every move from his hiding spot in the closet."

*See how this pulls us right out of the story?  We're suddenly not with Jane anymore.  Instead, we're up in the heavens looking down at the scene with the all-knowing author--distant and detached.  Plus, how much more suspenseful is it if we don't know about the killer, but instead Jane hears an unfamiliar creak of the floorboards or she gets the feeling that she's not alone?*


Telling us things the character couldn't know (for 1st person and 3rd deep/limited POV)

Jane sat on the curb in the rain and closed her eyes, letting the deluge soak her clothes.  Shoppers hurried by her, huddling under umbrellas and giving her strange looks.

*If her eyes are closed, how can she know how shoppers are looking at her?*

Jane held the yoga move until her face turned red with strain.  OR A pained expression crossed Jane's face.

*If we're in Jane's POV, she can't see the color or expression on her own face.  You can say her cheeks heated because she can feel that or she grimaced because we know how to make our face do that.*

"We need to talk about this," Jane said, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at Bill.  No way was she going to let him dodge the discussion this time.  She needed closure. 

Bill stood and walked to the window to avoid looking at her.

*We're still in Jane's POV.  She can't really know why Bill walked away--she can guess, but not truly know unless she's a mind reader.  So just describe the action and let the reader assume why.  Or, you can say something with a thought from the MC like "Bill stood and walked to the window.  God, could he not even bear to look at her?"  OR show that she's guessing "Bill stood and walked to the window, apparently too angry to even look at her."


Describing things that the character would never notice.

Bob loved how the Vera Wang dress hugged Jane's curves.

*Okay, unless Bob is into fashion or she just told him the designer's name, he's not going to know or care to mention the dress designer.  Only describe things and parts of settings that your character would notice.  This is also a voice issue, but is related to author intrusion because it reminds us that someone else besides Bob is telling this story.*


This second one is the one I see most often in my own drafts and when I'm critting others.  It's sneaky and easy to miss.  We forget sometimes that we know everything and can read our character's minds, but our MC doesn't.


So have you seen yourself pop up in your manuscript with a big "hello, i'm here" sign?   Do you struggle with any of these?  Have you read any books that use this device effectively?


 
 

**Today's Theme Song**

"Invisible" - Clay Aiken

(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)

Head-hopping: How to Make Your Reader Dizzy

Photo by jetsandzeppelins (click pic for link)

Have you ever read a book that jumped from one person's thoughts to the others so quickly it made your head spin?

Most of us are writing in one of two kinds of POV.  Many of you, especially you YA writers, are taking on first person.  And then the rest of us, most likely, are using deep or limited third person POV.  Omniscient 3rd person (where the narrator knows all things and everyone's thoughts)  has gone out of fashion for the most part--except maybe in some epic fantasy stories.  This means that if you are using 1st or deep 3rd POV, the writing should be in one person's head in a scene.  

In 1st person, this is a little easier to achieve because, well, you only have one head to work with.  (Although, you're still at risk for Author Intrusion, which I'll talk about tomorrow).  But if you're using 3rd person and have multiple characters offering POV (which is the joy of writing in 3rd), then you have to be careful.  Take this example:

Jane narrowed her eyes and glared at him as he took a bite of the massive hunk of chocolate cake.  How could he be such a jerk?  He knew she was on a diet and couldn't have any.  Joe smiled and licked a glob of icing off his fork.  He could tell Jane wanted to kill him, but he didn't care.  He was determined to get her off this ridiculous diet of hers.

Okay, so my writing is stellar, I know, but hopefully the example gets the point across.  In the same paragraph we hear both characters thoughts and motivations.  This is disorienting to the reader.  If we're in deep POV, the reader is seeing things through one person's eyes.  If you keep hopping into different heads, the story becomes hard to follow.  It also will screw with establishing the voice of your characters because they'll all be intertwined.  Here is the example with no head-hopping.

Jane narrowed her eyes and glared at him as he took a bite of the massive hunk of chocolate cake.  How could he be such a jerk?  He knew she was on a diet and couldn't have any.  Joe smiled and licked a glob of icing off his fork, as if taunting her.  Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her coffee mug tighter.

When I'm critting other's work, I see this head-hopping pop up most in kissing or love scenes.  We're so excited to tell our reader what each of our characters is thinking, but that totally ruins the moment.  Tension is built out of the mystery of not knowing all things and thoughts of all people at all times.  It's okay to switch POVs, but you have to do it with thought and planning.  

Some tips:

1. Aim to keep one POV per scene for most scenes.  This will keep things clear and easy to follow for your reader.

2.  If you do need to switch in a scene, do it only once per scene and do a double return (extra spacing) in your document to show that the POV has changed.  This is common in romance, and readers know that when they see that break in lines, that we've switched to the other person's POV.

3. Be in the POV of the character that has the most at stake in that scene.

4. Pretend that when you're in a character's head, you have to put on their outfit.  So if you switch heads, you have to change clothes.  This can't be done at breakneck speed and and on a constant basis.  You have to plan a break so that you can slip into the new costume.

Alright, hope that helps, tomorrow...author intrusion.

Have you read books that head hopped all over the place?  Have you found yourself wanting to tell the reader everything?

**Today's Theme Song**

"Headspin" - Lukas Rossi

Are You a Character Driven or Plot Driven Writer?

Kidlet's and my recreation of Jurassic Park scene

When you have that shining moment where a story idea pops into your head, what appears in your vision first?  Do you think of some amazing hook or circumstance?  Or do you think of a character you want to write about?

Most would agree that the best stories out there have some combination of being both plot driven and character driven, but usually one style dominates the other in a story.  And often that is because the author has an innate preference of writing one way or the other.

For my first writing attempt, I tried to be plot driven.  I thought that what I was supposed to do.  But I struggled with that method--I was way more interested in my characters than the action scenes.  So the result ended up falling short in both areas.

So for my next book, I worked with what came natural to me.   Characters popped into my head.  So I fleshed them out, then I created a plot around them.  The result turned out much better (at least I think it did, lol.) This is also why I was able to scrap my plot last week for my new WIP and start over with the same characters but new story.  If I had been a plot driven writer, I would have had to chuck everything.  I think this is also why I still struggle with log lines, which are almost always about the plot hook not the characters. Of course, that may just be my excuse to comfort myself about my ineptitude in this area.  :)

Now I'm not saying one is better than the other.  Each can create wonderful stories and there should be elements of both in a book.  However, I think it's important to be aware of what works best for you as a writer.

So what is the difference between plot-driven and character driven?

A character-driven story relies upon the decisions and emotions of characters to advance the plot. The decisions in a character-driven story produce “chain reactions” and conflict. The events, regardless of how many people they affect, are triggered by characters within the story.

An plot-driven story relies upon external events and circumstances to advance the plot. External events may be natural or human-initiated, as long as the initiator of the events is not a central character to the story. Natural disasters and wars serve as the foundations for many event-driven stories. (source)

One of the easiest ways to tell the difference is to think about what you remember about a book, movie, or TV show.  Does anyone remember the main characters from Jurassic Park?  How about naming all the plot points in Gone With the Wind?

And certain genres lend themselves to one or the other.  Mysteries, Suspense, Thrillers, and Horror are usually predominantly plot-driven.  Although, I will say that Stephen King does an excellent job of blending memorable plot and character (think The Shining, Carrie, Misery).

Literary fiction and women's fiction are usually character driven.  I've seen Romance and YA all over the board with regards to this--although my favorites are usually character driven.

Some examples:

Character Driven:

• Lost --Yes, there's a very unique external plot, but what do you love about this show?
• Glee
• Sookie Stackhouse Books/True Blood --Charlaine Harris' books are full of plot, but I rarely remember the plots after a few weeks, but I definitely remember the characters.
• The Office
• How I Met Your Mother
• Outlander
• The Mortal Instruments series
• The Vampire Academy series
• The Silence of the Lambs (great plot, but that's not what sticks with me)

Plot Driven:

• Jurassic Park
• The DaVinci Code
• 24
• Jaws
• Halloween
• The Exorcist
• Tom Clancy books
• The Uglies series
• The Hunger Games

Because the best stories tend to combine these two, tomorrow I will talk about how to strengthen your skill at the type that doesn't come as naturally to you.  In addition, I'll discuss the pitfalls of focusing too much on one style.

So which is your tendency--to write character-driven or plot driven?  Which type do you prefer to read?  What are some examples of books/movies you can think of that do a great job of being one or the other or combining both?

**Today's Theme Song**

"I Remember You" - Skid Row

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Sagging Middles Part Deux: Pick up the Pace

Yesterday I discussed how to avoid sagging middles by making your scenes multipurpose.  But that's not the only thing to worry about.  Ultimately, the sagging middle is about pacing.  In the beginning of our book, we're usually very aware of pacing--don't info dump, jump right in (en medias res), hook your reader immediately.  But then when we hit that second act, we often forget all those components and start shoving everything in that we really wanted to put in the first act, but didn't because of the pacing "rules".  If you do that, however, you're going to drag your middle down.

I'm sure you've heard this before, but every page should have conflict on it, every darn one.  And that includes those in the middle.  And I know many of us can think of books we've read that this is not the case, where the pacing was more languid and subtle and were still great books--but that is the exception, not the rule.

Author Anne Mimi suggests that those books with the slower pacing often fall into one of the following categories:

1.  The book is by an already established author who can get away with more.

2.  The author is dead.

3.  The agent picked up the author over ten years ago or the book was published over ten years ago.

4.  The book was first published outside the U.S.  (Brits are apparently more patient with pacing).

5.  The book is non-fiction.

So, in other words, to give our books the best chance, we need to recognize that we live in a fast-paced, short attention-spanned, movie/internet/iphone/immediate gratification culture.  So even if you manage to hook your reader with a terrific beginning, it doesn't mean the person won't put your book down when things slow in the middle.  You have to make them want to turn every page.  And every chapter should end with a hook that leaves them wanting more.  If you can't hook the chapter end, then the scene probably needs better pacing and conflict.

So what happens when you realize your middle is, in fact, drooping?  First, you may want to look at why this could be the case.  Julie Moffett lists the following common culprits for the problem.

1.  You revealed too much in the first part of the book, whether that be about your characters or the plot

2.  Secondary or subplots have knocked you off course or run away with the story

3.  The conflict (internal/external/sexual) is nonexistent or weak or there is no real action

4.  You don't know what comes next so you're meandering around aimlessly

5.  The story is boring you or you realize you have major plot problems that are making the story illogical or unrealistic

Alright, so once you pick out why you're middle is dragging, what are some things you can do?  Camy Tang offers these suggestions:

1. Strive for constant change with increasing tension/difficulty--Picture your character driving down a race track, it can't be a smooth, straight road ahead.  Throw a speed bump in her way, then when she deals with that, put something in front of her that is even more difficult to manage (a herd of cows perhaps), and just when she's maneuvered around the bovine, have the wheels fall off the car.

2.  Give the character new information in small pieces--a hint there, a clue here, a fleeting expression across her friend's face that makes the MC wonder if the friend's being honest, etc.  And make getting those clues hard fought.  Don't just have the clues fall in their lap, make them work for it.  Give your reader just enough to want more, but also let them feel like he/she is closer to figuring out what's going to happen.

3.  Keep your character's eyes on the prize--You cannot lose sight of your characters' goals.  Every scene they enter needs to be striving toward whatever goal they are seeking.  Like DawnB said in the comments yesterday.  Your characters should enter each scene with a purpose--what are they trying to accomplish in this particular scene.

4.  Don't be repetitive--Do not have scenes rehash old information.  Each scene needs to add something new.  And this also goes for having scenes that "feel" too similar in setting, content, tone, etc.  If your hero and heroine are always having "let's figure out this mystery" conversations over a meal, your reader is going to get bored.  Change it up.

And one last tip from author Stacia Kane:  End your middle (or second act) with a bang.  At the conclusion of the middle, the reader should be unsure of what's going to happen and if they are going to get an ending they want.  Pay attention when reading books, this "end of the middle"  or black moment is usually easy to pick out.  In romance, this is often when the characters have a sex scene (truly ending with a bang, *snort*) that makes things worse, or the bad guy in a thriller looks like he's going to elude your hero.  Basically, the worst thing that could happen--happens.

Alright, I hope now you can dive into those middles and make them svelte and strong.  Now if these tips would only help with my other sagging middle--the one from all that eggnog and pecan pie.

So are you overwhelmed at the thought of conflict on every page (like I am)?  Do you have trouble getting each chapter to end on a hook?  Which books have you read that have been slow-paced but worked--do they fit those criteria above?
 
 

**Today's Theme Song**

"Stuck in the Middle With You" - Stealer's Wheel

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Fixing Sagging Middles: Multipurpose Scenes

I hope everyone had a great holiday.  Mine was low key since hubby is still recovering from the knee surgery (doing better now), but nice nonetheless.  I did get a good bit of writing done, I'm up to 10k in Constant Craving, so that makes me happy.  Since it is a slated for category length (55k-60k) this puts me on the brink of starting the middle of the story, which can come with its own challenges.  So, I thought for the next two posts, I would talk about avoiding the dreaded sagging middle.

Most of the time when we come up with a story idea we get a vision of two parts of the story--the beginning and how we want it to end.  What tends to be a bit more fuzzy is all that stuff that happens in between--the meat of the story.  If that middle isn't give proper attention, you'll end up with meandering scenes that drag and sag, feeding filler to your reader instead of a juicy burger.

And keep in mind for you trilogy/series writers out there, this applies to that middle book as well.  I have seen really terrific authors suffer from this.  I love the first book, am chomping at the bit for the next one to come out, then I get it and *yawn* NOTHING really happens, it's just a bridge to the third book (which typically returns to the kickass glory of the first one).  So annoying.

So what are some things you can do to avoid the saggy middle?  Be the Ron Popeil of scenes.  For those of you who have never been caught awake at two in the morning watching infomercials, Ron is the guy famous for inventing and  pitching those As Seen on TV products.  And there are a few things we can learn from him...

It slices, it dices, it does your freaking laundry!

• One thing is to make sure that your scenes have more than one purpose.  If you write an entire scene just to show your reader that your MC is daring, your reader will see through that.
• Use the 1 + 2 formula for purposing a scene:  The purpose that should ALWAYS be present (1) is that the scene moves your plot forward.  Then on top of that, the scene should serve at least two other purposes.  Here are some ideas from author Alicia Rasley:

Develop character.

Show character interaction. 

Explore setting or culture and values.  

Introduce new character or subplot. 

Forward subplot. 

Increase tension and suspense.  

Increase reader identification. 

Anticipate solution to problem. 

Divert attention from solution (but still show it).  

Show how character reacts to events or causes events. 

Show event from new point of view.  

Foreshadow some climactic event.  

Flashback or tell some mysterious past event that has consequences now. 

Reveal something the protagonist has kept hidden.  

Reveal something crucial to protagonist and/or reader.  

Advance or hinder protagonist's "quest".

But wait there's more!

• Just when your reader things can't get any more complicated for your characters, throw in more conflict.  
• Every scene should have some type of conflict.  It may be as subtle as a character warring with their internal conflict in their head or as blatant as two characters dueling with swords.  But it must be there.
• And don't forget that each scene should have it's own beginning, middle, and end.  You should be able to extract any scene in your book, look at it in isolation and be able to identify the players and the conflict in that particular scene.

And your reader gets all that for only $19.99!  Sorry, that has nothing to do with anything, just wanted to say it.  :)  Alright, I'll cover more tomorrow, but hopefully that gets your gears turning a bit.

Have you struggled with keeping your middle tight?  If so, what have you done to get that sucker into shape?  Have you read books where the middle or a book in the series sags? 

**Today's Theme Song**

"The Middle" - Jimmy Eats World

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Dishing Out Backstory in Digestible Bites

 

Yesterday I discussed the importance of knowing your backstories to avoid flat characters.  Today I'm going to cover how to share that history with the reader without choking them.  Think of backstory like a big steak--you can't swallow the whole thing at once, it must be cut up and devoured in small, juicy bites.  Ideally, these bites will blend so well with the rest of the story, that the reader will barely notice that you've slipped it in on them.

So first let's look at some choking hazards:

Prologue--These are notorious for being solely backstory, which is probably why they've developed a bit of a bad reputation.  Make sure what you have in your prologue (if you have one) can't be sprinkled in somewhere  else instead.

First Chapters--This is where it's most tempting to put in big blocks of backstory.  Resist!  Your story should start in the middle of things.  Readers don't have to know all the background yet, get them to the action so you can hook them.  Pay particular attention to chapters 1-3 in your first draft.  Many times it's where we as writers are working out the story for ourselves (which is fine as long as you go back and cut them during revision).

Alright, now for some ways to blend in that backstory...

Dialogue

This is an easy and obvious way to reveal information to your reader.  However, watch out for the traps with this.

--Make sure that the conversation is realistic and that there is a reason for it to be happening besides slipping in backstory to the reader.

   NOT "I can't believe you cheated on me six months ago with someone half my age." (the guy would already know that)

   INSTEAD "How's your new bimbo? Has she graduated high school yet?"

--Make sure the conversation comes up naturally and not out of the blue.  Something needs to trigger that discussion.

--Use action to break up the dialogue so it doesn't start sounding like an info dump.

Flashback
Where your character relives in their head a past event as it happened.  Unlike a memory, they don't filter the events through their current point of view.

--Be very careful with this one.  Many people advise against flashbacks.  But I think if used correctly and sparingly they can work.

--Something has to trigger the flashback. That memory needs to be brought to mind by some object, situation, person, etc.

--Make it clear that it is a flashback so your reader doesn't get confused.  Some people use italics to help with this.

Memory
Similar to flashback, but the memory is seen through the person's current POV.

--Sprinkle this in.  Like everything else, large chunks of prose on a memory will get tedious.

--Just like the others, the memory must be triggered by something.  Don't have your MC vacuuming and just suddenly think of how her father died (unless it was death by vacuum).

--Can build and foreshadow throughout the story, not revealing everything up front.  For instance, in my romance, my MC goes to a concert and for a moment she's reminded of a tragic night many years ago.  But all I show is that she has a sick feeling and that she remembers to the day how long it's been since she's seen a concert--which lets us know something important happened back then, but I don't say anything about what it is specifically, just foreshadow.

--Ex.) He smiled at her, and for a moment, she was reminded of the boy he used to be, the one she used to love.  (See, that tells us they had a previous relationship and that something changed along the way.  Just enough to whet the reader's appetite.)

Thoughts
Using direct thoughts instead of narrative.

--This doesn't have to be a specific memory, but can let us know that there is something there behind the thought.

--i.e. "Don't you just let go and have fun sometimes?" he asked.  She shook her head and averted her eyes.  "No." Not anymore.

Action
Sometimes you can use some event in your story to relay past events.

--i.e.  A news story comes on TV talking about a cold case murder that relates to your MC.

The easiest way for me to figure out how to put in backstory is to think like a screenwriter.  They cannot tell you things in a movie, they have to show it all.  So how would I convey this information if it were a movie?

Alright, so those are my tips, what are some of yours?  How do you sneak in your backstory?  

Backstory: Avoiding Flat Characters

Photo by AForestFrolic (click pic for link)

In an effort to think positively, I have decided to start on the second romance in the Wanderlust series.  Initially, I had moved on to a different project because I have a fear of starting a sequel before Book one sells.  But in this case, the books are meant to be free-standing stories if necessary--i.e. a character is pulled from book one but it's a different band member's story.  (For those of you who have beta read for me, this would be Sean's story.)

Plus, the characters have been poking me in the ribs demanding I let them have their own story.  So I have started doing my haphazard outlining for book two and have the concepts sketched out for books three and four.  See, I told you, I'm in positive thinking mode.  There better be something to that whole "Secret" thing Oprah's always talking about.  :)

So as I get my thoughts together on the book, I realized that one of the most important components for me is backstory.  If I don't know the character's backstory, then I have trouble starting the book.  There are writers out there that say you shouldn't worry about backstory, just focus on what is going on with the character's right now, but I don't agree.  Yes, we should not bog the reader down with all aspects of the character's history.  However, I as the writer need to know even if it never makes it in the book.  This goes hand and hand with motivation for me.  Why does the character act this way?  Because of A, B, C.  If I don't know this then I'm just writing a paper doll--a flat caricature with no shadows or depth.

So along with plotting and such, I come up with the big events in the character's history.  Think of this like Dr. Phil's "defining moments" technique.  He often asks his guests to list the five or ten defining moments in their lives--things that happened that changed everything.  Now hopefully your story is starting one of these moments, but you also need to know the ones from their past.  And they don't all need to be smack-you-upside-the-head incidents.

Maybe when you character starred in a play at school, his parents decided to go to his brother's football game instead--showing him who they favored.  Maybe that has made him fiercely competitive.

Or take inspiration from your own history.  I hate when people are late--loathe it.  Why?  Because when my dad used to pick me up for my every other weekend visit he was notoriously late--sometimes half an hour, sometimes much longer.  Sitting on that front step waiting for him made me feel like whatever was keeping him from picking me up on time was more important than me.

It is especially vital to know the history when your character has some less than admirable qualities or takes some undesirable action.  For instance, my character is in a band and has been a bit of womanizer in the past.  So I need to motivate that properly to let the reader eventually forgive him for these past actions and be open to seeing him as the hero.

Now the key to all of this is to know your character inside and out, but to be able to convey that to your reader without telling them all that background.  So, tomorrow I am going to go through some techniques of how to work in your backstory without bogging down your story.

So what is your method?  Do you start writing and develop backstory as you go along or do you need to know the history before getting started?  Or, do you believe that backstory isn't that important and that you should only worry about the here and now of the character?

 

 

**Today's Theme Song**

 

"My Paper Heart" - All-American Rejects

(player in sidebar if you'd like a listen)

Endings: How To Prevent Reader Rage

Photo by Jason Rogers (click pic for link)

Yesterday we talked about the type of endings you could choose for your story. Today, I want to look at what things to avoid so you don't have readers chucking your book against the wall or using it for kindling when they finish it.

Let's take a look at some common ending mistakes according to Edward Patterson.

1. Anti-climax

 

How to recognize it: This is the ending that when you reach it, you really don't care anymore. You're not surprised, excited, or invested.

What went wrong: This happens when the story peaked too soon in the book. The big, exciting, conflict-resolving moment was chapters ago. The only reason there is a story to begin with is the conflict, once it's resolved, you're done. It's okay to have a "afterglow"/denouement chapter, but don't drag it out.

How to fix it: Move the conflict resolution closer to the end. Or if you've resolved, say, the external conflict (yay, they've saved the world!) make sure you haven't settled the internal conflict yet. (They saved the world, but the MC still hasn't expressed her true feelings for hero, etc.) Give your reader a reason to keep reading.

2. Runaway Train

 

How to recognize it: This is where things are building up, but then toward the end, the pacing goes out of control and the wrap up feels rushed. "Wait, it's over?"

What went wrong: Sometimes this is because you, as a writer, are ready to "get 'er done" after writing the whole book, so you rush through it. Other times, this is because you didn't begin with your end in mind. You should be building toward your ending the entire time so that it's not abrupt and slapped on at the end.

How to fix it: Know what your ending is going to be so that you can work toward it throughout the book. As I mentioned in one of my beginnings post, even your first few pages should hint at the end. By the middle of the book, you should be starting to end it.

3. Contrived Endings

 

How to recognize it: This ending makes you say, "Seriously? Yeah, right." Everything falls into place in crazy coincidences, characters make decisions that don't make sense, etc.

What went wrong: This can happen if you are too tied to the ending you originally envisioned. Yes, you should know where you're going when you write, but usually your characters take over at some point and guide your story, requiring changes. An ending may feel contrived because it no longer matches what your characters and stories have developed into.

How to fix it: Know how you want to end your story, but change things organically as your characters and story grow and develop. Make sure the actions of your characters at the end are properly motivated throughout the book. And do not rely on coincidences to fix the conflicts in your story.

4. Dribble Out Endings

 

How to recognize it: This is the ending that isn't an ending at all. The story just sort of fades away and you're left wondering..."wait, what?" These are sometimes meant for the reader to be left pondering (similar to the 'things that make you say hmm" ending of yesterday) but it has no impact and falls flat. I loathe books and movies that do this.

What went wrong: The author avoided writing an ending or failed in an attempt to be profound.

How to fix it: Do not take your reader on a ride with you only to abandon them at the end. Give them something to take away--a conclusion, a lesson, something.

 5. An Epilogue is Not an Ending

Some people love epilogues and some hate them. However, if you do decide to include one, realize that it is not the ending. It is the afterglow. Your ending needs to be impactful and climactic and satisfying. The epilogue is meant to be the cuddle time after the big moment so that you can mellow after that ending high.

Have you found yourself falling into any of these traps? Or, have you read any books that have committed one of these sins? When you start writing your stories, do you have the end in mind?

**Today's Theme Song**

"It's the End of the World As We Know It" - R.E.M

(player in sidebar if you'd like a listen)