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Step one.

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What’s the hardest part of writing?

Getting started. Every day, every time.

Why? Why does it have to be so hard to get started? If I want to treat my writing like a job and understand that if I don’t show up each day, don’t put in the pages, I can’t get paid.   Just like if a plumber who is starting her own plumbing business doesn’t show up to the jobs she’s booked or advertise her plumbing business to attract new jobs, she won’t eventually get paid.

But is the plumber scared to start? Dreading it, even? Does she walk around said plumbing challenge and debate and consider other things she could do instead? Not being a plumber, or knowing any new plumbers, I don’t have an answer for this.

But for this new writer, the debate, the dread, the avoidance is all too real. WHY???

The answer is not one I’m proud to admit. But here I am. Admitting….it’s FEAR.

Fear of what? Electric shock from the computer? No. It’s fear of failure, fear of making a fool of myself, fear of wasting my time. Fear of not following through. Fear of sucking.

A favorite and telling quote from Anne Tyler:

“If I waited till I felt like writing, I’d never write at all.”

So true. It reminds me of running. I’d been dabbling with running for years, but never got brave about it. And then I decided I’d challenge myself and train and run a half marathon. I never really enjoyed the runs, but I loved having run. Good enough reason to run, no? The satisfaction of having done it, of having followed through works for me.

So, Fear acknowledged. Dread, too. But to get to the other side, what helps? Here’s what I’m doing today. And, on the days when I feel best at the end of my writing time, it’s what’s usually has been the trick.

Step one. Sit down.

 

Step two. Stay there. Don’t get more coffee or change the laundry. Laundry is the devil. It leads to the dishwasher.

Step three. Shut every other thing down. No email. No internet (but I might have to research, you tell yourself. Lies. Research later. Use the Freedom app. It’s sad, like an adult time-out. But, it works.

Step four. Set a timer. Not for five hours. For a period of time that will get you going, is realistic, and won’t kill you. Try for thirty minutes.

Step five. Open your document. Then open another. Document 2 is your Braindump page. Go back to your actual document and start. As stressors, to do lists, concerns, worries, general life come in, dump them on Doc 2. Get them out and written down. Go back to actual writing on Doc 1. Soon, the crap will subside because it’s written down and you can return later, although most of the crap do not actually need attention. The Braindump only takes a few initial minutes most days, and you’ll find your attention staying on Doc 1, your actual work.

Step five. Plan ahead. When I leave my writing for the day, I always leave myself a note of what to do next. And I leave each day with more to do, so starting the next day, after the fear dance, of course, is that much easier.

I’m fearing this blog, too. I’m behind schedule, and don’t have much time to edit or question whether I want to put this out there. But that’s the beauty of the blog. It forces the writing on a timeline and forces me to face the fear and push publish. It’s a mini exercise. And this morning, I sat down. I stayed. I wrote. And now I’m going to write a little more.

What solutions do you have for facing the fear?

 

 

 

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Conference: South Dakota Festival of Books

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Happy Fall!

One of my favorite things about living in SD is the change of seasons. Another one of my favorite things is the SD Festival of the Book, which I attended this last weekend.  The Festival shifts each year between 2 locations: Brookings, on the east side of the state, and my hometown, where it was this year, and in Deadwood, in the Black Hills, on the west side of the state, where it will be next year.

Unlike other conferences I’ve attended that are very genre-specific, the SD Festival appeals to a wide audience. There are several tracks for both readers and writers: Children’s/YA, Fiction, History/Tribal Writing, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Writers’ Support.

 

I focused on the Writers’ Support Sessions. The first session I attended was a workshop entitled “Say What? Dialogue, Tag Lines & Narrative Voice.”  It was very informative and helpful.  The presenter, Patrick Hicks, is a professor and author.  His new novel  is The Commandant of Lubizec.  Upon the request of one of the other attendees, Patrick read the first paragraph from his novel.  My first stop after class was to buy it, just based on his reading.  Gripping, to say the least.

Patrick covered several important points within the topics of dialogue and voice. We discussed narrative versus character voice, along with narrative distance. Hicks gave examples of how to use narrative distance depending on what you want to communicate about the character. New to me was the concept of Heteroglossia, which, according to my understanding, is the idea that each character has her own belief system and it’s the writer’s job to be aware of it. The writer needs to understand what each character wants and needs from life and convey this truth to the writer.  Food for thought (and revision).

Hicks also reminded the workshop group to check on whether the dialogue they’re writing is, in fact, necessary.  How do you know?  Dialogue is necessary if it (1) illuminates the character or (2) propels the story in some way. If the dialogue you’re writing doesn’t satisfy one or other of these requirements, paraphrase it. Noted and highlighted.

His presentation on internal dialogue was also quite helpful. He suggested using internal dialogue when you want to make the reader feel close to that particular character, and in the alternative, limit the internal dialogue if you don’t want the reader to feel a close connection to a character. This was immensely helpful in my current revision.  I have  a character who may have not have any internal dialogue, given my goals for the reader’s feelings about that character.

Attending conferences and festivals is an invaluable way to grow and expand your writing. Put the SD Festival of the Book on your To-Do List. Happy Fall!

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Friday 9/21 – Because Writing is only a Start to the Great Things in Life

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Welcome the weekend!  Here’s some snippets of good, or interesting (you’ll know which one can’t really be classified as “Good”) stuff:

Read:

I love this conversation between 2 impressive writers.

A writer who wrote about killing her husband is accused of –  well, killing her husband. Yikes. Not good.

Hank’s new book.  In case you missed an earlier blog, I really enjoyed it.

Impressive:

It’s homecoming time.  This senior rocked the whole thing.

Julia Roberts is awesome.  Instagram shaming response 101.

Watch:

I admire Reese Witherspoon (and am fairly certain we’d be fast friends).  A game between her, the Kravitz Family, and Jimmy Fallon is too fun not to watch.

The Great American Read.  I mean, come on.  A television series about reading?  If you’re not into it yet, there’s still time to catch up and vote!

I’m doing homecoming (my daughter is a senior), writing, and going to the SD Festival of Books this weekend.  Can’t wait.  What are you doing?

 

 

 

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Book Shout Out – Hank Phillippi Ryan’s Trust Me

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Hank Phillippi Ryan’s newest book is Trust Me. It’s a stand-alone psychological suspense/thriller. And, it’s good.  Really good.

The main character (MC) is a journalist who has lost her husband and daughter to a terrible tragedy and isn’t close to picking up the pieces of her life.

But then she gets a call (i.e. the Inciting Incident or Catalyst) she can’t refuse. She’s asked to write the “true” crime book on an accused child murderer, the child’s own mother. Hank weaves the goals and secrets of the MC and villains together so tightly, the reader is led to question the role of each. True to the logline, it’s not clear who you can trust. Is the MC an unreliable narrator? Is the villain really a villain? Is the villain the Mc’s doppelganger? These were my thoughts as I tried – unsuccessfully – to figure out the TRUTH.

The disturbing theme is timely, to say the least. The book questions how our view of the truth can be altered by the events of our lives and our own internal dialogue.

The third act twist is perfection. I actually gasped out loud. The subplot of whether the MC knew of the truth of her marriage wraps up as the main plot boils over to a fantastic finish.

In addition to being a great read, so well written, and hailed by list after list as the book to end your summer with, Hank is a kind, funny and giving author, and is supportive of other authors, especially including newbies. I first met Hank at Sleuthfest last winter. She has been kind enough to personally correspond with both Christie and I, along with many other new writers. If you haven’t had the pleasure, seek her out. You’ll be happy you did.

And my favorite part of the book? Check this out:

Do you see it?

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7 Ways to Decide if Your First Scene is a Prologue or Chapter One

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My first scene is having an identity crisis. She’s a mess. Is she Chapter one? Or is she a Prologue? She’s tried on both and is still all over the place. I’ve got to help a girl out.

So, I went back to my notes from a session at Thrillerfest by Steve Berry.  Surely, such a successful thriller writer, who has utilized a Prologue many times, would have something to offer. And indeed, he did.

Mr. Berry had 3 specific circumstances necessary to using a Prologue:

It needs to be 1) short, 2) concise, and 3) the reader can’t skip it or will be lost.

Next, I checked my email. By wonderful happenstance, I got an email from the Florida Writers Association with the subject line: To Prologue or Not to Prologue. Thank you, universe (and Louise Titchener, the article’s author).

Ms. Titchener highlights one of the benefits of a Prologue – readers understand them and know what to do with them. To take advantage of that benefit, she states a Prologue should:

4) promise a later explanation and 5) hooks the readers’ interest.

Of course, I also perused the internet. Yikes. Girl’s not alone. There about 3 million articles on the pitfalls and benefits of prologues. Many support the 5 previous points raised by both Mr. Berry and Ms. Titchener.

A Writers Digest article points out the possible benefits and pitfalls of this choice. But, it comes down to this – ask of the scene:

6) is the information included best presented in a Prologue, or could it be spread throughout the rest of the story with the same impact; and

7) does the character’s POV reoccur later in the story, and if so, wouldn’t it make a better first chapter?

Gently, I approached the scene with my gathered information. I still had no clear-cut answer for the scene, because after all, there are none in writing. But, bravely, going with gut instincts, the scene took on a new identity. Deep breath and hesitation be damned, that girl is back to Chapter 1.

 

 

 

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Friday, Sept. 7 Wrap Up – Because Writing is Only a Start to the Great Things in Life

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Tomato season is the best season. And, I’ve already mentioned my love for avocado toast. Here’s my new fav – scrambled eggs, topped with sliced avocado and fresh tomatoes. Try it now, before the good tomatoes are gone.

Gift dilemmas solved. A dear friend gave me a great birthday gift – socks and a matching pencil bag. Does she know me well, or what? Check out Blue Q. (Pic of non-edited is at the bottom…if you’re not into, don’t look:)

I’m fairly mortified to admit this, but I’ve never binge-watched anything. UNTIL now! Jack Ryan on Amazon. Great way to spend Sunday of Labor Day Weekend.

I’m a fan.  Actress Busy Phillips shut down someone with a grammar lesson. C’mon. Best response ever.

Talk about late to the party…I’m new to the whole Magnolia love affair, but I’m quickly getting it.  I just saw this garden shed from Joanna Gaines…I’m changing my goals in life.

Have a great weekend!

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Plot Weaving 101

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It’s back to school time.  I’m starting fresh, too, and revising big time. Before I start the re-write (it’s that much of a revision), I’m deconstructing my novel to find problems with my plot.

Up to this point, I’ve structured my plot based on the traditional 3 Act Structure, focusing on the 5 main plot points of: Inciting incident, Lock in, First Culmination, Main Culmination, and Third Act Twist.

The more I hear about other structures, the more I want to know. I want to go deeper – like Dark Night of the Soul deep. Like with my Logline, I turned to Blake Synder’s Save the Cat.

Here’s my 101 on Synder’s Beat Sheet:

Opening Image

This is the “before” pic (the “after” pic will appear in the final scene). It’s the starting point for the Main Character (MC) and the tone, mood, and genre are all included.

Snyder asks since the opening and closing must show the change that occurred, could someone read the opening and closing and want to read the rest?

Theme Stated

Someone, not the MC, will pose a question or make a statement to the MC that envelopes the theme of the story; it will be conversational, only understood later. The premise should be an argument posed by the writer, such as the pros and cons of living a particular kind of life. The rest of the story is the writer proving the argument.

Set-Up

(AKA Act 1)

Here, you introduce the MC, the stakes, the goal of the story, as well as all of the characters of main plot.

Snyder also adds the Show the 6 Things That Need Fixing: these are the MC’s tics, traits, and things missing in life.

Catalyst

(Aka Inciting Incident)

This is a life-changing event, often come disguised as bad news. The catalyst is not what it seems as it’s ultimately what leads the MC to happiness.

Debate

After the Catalyst, the MC must ask a question before proceeding.

I.e. When Reese Witherspoon’s character in Legally Blonde (a great back to school movie) finds the solution to getting her boyfriend back (who broke up with her in the Catalyst), which is to go to Harvard, the debate question is can she get in? The rest of Act 1 is the answer to that question.

 

Break Into Two

(AKA Lock-in and on to Act 2)

Here, the MC leaves the old world behind and enters the new world. But, it’s imperative that the MC must decide herself to proceed. She can’t be drawn or deceived into the action.

B Story

(AKA Subplot)

This is the story that carries the theme, often a love story. The characters from the B Story are usually new characters to the story.

I.e. In Legally Blonde, the B Story is Elle’s relationship with manicurist, who is an upside-down version of the sorority girls from Act One. Their relationship prompts Elle to discuss the difficulties she’s enduring and show her growth, allowing her to push through to her change in Act 3.

Fun and Games

This section delivers the promise of the premise of the story. The MC takes a break from the increasing stakes and delves into the new world.

I.e. In Legally Blonde, Elle immerses herself in law school.

Midpoint

(AKA First Culmination)

This is the threshold between the two halves of the story. The Fun and Games are over. It’s either false victory or false defeat for the MC.

Bad Guys Close In

This is the hardest part of the story to write. The MC’s team is struggling, and the bad guys regroup. It’s evident that the MC is heading towards a huge fall and must proceed nevertheless.

All Is Lost

(AKA Main Culmination)

The is the opposite of the Midpoint. It looks like either total defeat or total victory, but it’s just temporary.

Dark Night of the Soul

The MC has been beaten and must know it in order to learn the lesson of the story.

 

Break Into Three

(AKA Third Act Twist and Act 3)

The solution. This is where the Main Plot and the Subplot (B Story) meet, and offer a solution to the MC. There’s a lot happening: all the lessons have been learned, the 6 Things have been mastered, the Bad Guys are dealt with, and the new world emerges.

Final Image

The “after” pic, this is the opposite of the opening image and proof that the MC has changed.

 

I’m hoping that weaving together the 3 Act Structure/ 5 Plot Points with Synder’s Beat Sheet will help me create a stronger plot. In particular the Beats of Debate, Bad Guys Close In, and Dark Night of the Soul have helped me go deeper in my story.

Christie’s talking about plot lately, too. What plot structure systems do you find helpful?

 

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Writing a Logline for your Novel: 6 Pointers from Save the Cat!

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Here’s the reality: if you’re writing a novel, and you want others to read it, you’re going to need a logline. A second dose of reality is that loglines are hard to write. You’re trying to not only sum up your novel in one sentence, but you’re trying to entice the audience to read it.

I’ve attended 2 conference sessions and 1 online class on writing loglines. I’ve written the logline for my novel, and pitched agents using it with some positive feedback. But, I still don’t think it’s there yet. I’m just on the verge of a complete rewrite of my novel with several plot clarifications, and I’m determined to finally nail the logline.

I recently re-read the fantastic book, Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder. It’s well-known as a screenwriting book, but offers equally valuable information for novel writers.  Snyder includes spot-on pointers for writing the logline. Let’s look at 6 of them.

  1. Write the logline before you write the novel. (If possible, of course. Or, in my case, before I revise).

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this. Many writers think you should have the logline in front of you the whole time you’re writing. Here’s why—The logline is a good place to find out what’s missing.

2.  The logline must have irony. Irony gets attention. It hooks your interest. It’s emotional. Draws you in. You must offer something unexpected.

Snyder offers this example of a logline for the movie 4 Christmases:

A newly married couple must spend Christmas Day at each of their four divorced parent’s homes.

It made me think of a logline I heard on TV last week. Spike Lee summed up his new movie, BlacKkKlansman:

A black man infiltrates the KKK.

Snyder sums up the first two pointers: “In identifying the ironic elements of your story and putting them into a logline, you may discover that you don’t have that. Well, if you don’t, then there may be not only something wrong with your logline – maybe you story’s off, too.” Shivers.  Onward.

3. The logline must offer a compelling mental picture. It will tell you something about the setting and/or timeframe. The story will unfold in your mind when you hear it.

If you consider the last two logline examples, they both include elements of setting and timeframe.

4.  The logline will include audience and cost. For novel writers, this is genre and length.   A thriller of 90,000 words will have a different tone and audience than a middle grade novel of 45,000 words.  If you’re pitching an agent, they need to know if they can sell it or if it will fit their portfolio.

5.  Your logline needs to include a Killer Title. Snyder says “Titles and loglines are a one-two punch, and a good combo never fails to knock me out.”

A good title must be the headline of the story – it has to say what it is and do so in a clever, interesting way.

6.  And after all this, you’ll need to add an adjective to describe your hero, an adjective to describe the bad guy, and a primal goal.

“By examining who your hero is and what his primal goal is, as well as the bad guy who is trying to stop him from achieving that goal, you can better identify and expand the needs of your story. The logline with the most conflict, the most sharply defined hero and bad guy, and the clearest, most primal goal is the winner.”

Loglines are not easy to write, but they do force you to bring the conflicts and characters of your story into better focus.  If you write your logline in advance of your draft, hopefully you can keep your story tightly adhered to this focus.  Stay tuned, I’ll report back.

Anyone else have additional tips on what needs to be included in a logline?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Friday Wrap Up – Because writing is only a start to great things in life…

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August 24, 2018

I love Melissa McCarthy – and really loved reading about her “fists of justice.”  I’m now even more certain she and I need to have a glass of wine together.

Speaking of wine, this pasta.  Haven’t tried it yet, but it’s on the list.

A recovered de Kooning.  This story has it all.  Art theft, one of my favorite topics, quiet living, and a seemingly “normal,” happy couple.  I sense some plot inspiration.

The Crate. Watch for the author’s interview here in the coming weeks.

John Grisham’s podcast from his book tour from last summer.  He made stops at independent book stores, talked to book sellers and local authors. Great listening.  And the most recent one I Iistened to, at Bookmarks, reminded me of the need for deadlines.

My family eats a lot of hard boiled eggs.  I used to hate making them because of peeling.  Problem solved!

Speaking of eggs, I can’t get enough avocado toast lately.  I highly suggest using this topping.

In an effort to re-commit myself to daily yoga, I downloaded the Down Dog app.  It’s about as close to a an actual class as I can imagine on an app.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Conference: Writers’ Police Academy

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In front of me is a 1980’s era battered cop car.  A Crown Victoria, if I’m remembering correctly.  White with black accent panels. The kind you might find on a parts auction.  A rusty metal grate running alongside the rear passenger panel.  A second similar car, but law enforcement navy, sits next to it.  It, too, has a rusty grate attached, but it runs along the grill instead of the side. To my right is a wide open driving track in the Wisconsin countryside.   I look up to a gorgeous Wisconsin August sky and wonder what I’m doing here.

Two officers appear to make sure everyone gathered by the cars are in the right place.  “Everyone here for PIT class?”  We look at each other but say nothing.  “Pursuit Immobilization Technique?”  No objections are raised.   Heads nod.  The class is divided and I’m in the front passenger seat of the navy car.

“I can’t believe they’re going to let us do this,” I say.

The cop grins at me.   “I can’t believe I get paid to do this.  Let’s go have some fun.”

Christie and I attended the 10th annual Writer’s Police Academy in Green Bay, Wisconsin earlier this month. I first learned about this conference at a dinner table at Sleuthfest.  Hank Phillippi Ryan and Hallie Ephron suggested we look into it. We did.  (And that’s how one conference begets another.)

Over the course of two and a half days, attendees have the opportunity to attend HIT (High Intensity Training) classes and classroom sessions at the Police Academy at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.  Every session I attended was fantastic.  Here’s a sampling of what I took:

The Art of Interrogation

Pursuit Immobilization Technique

Force on Force

Martial Art Maneuvers

PTSD

Building Your Character

Car Fire

Going Deep:  An Undercover Session

For every class I took, there were four more I was sad to miss.  The teachers were of the highest caliber (ATF agents, LAPD interrogation specialists, psychologists, secret service), enthusiastic, and supportive of attendees’ writing projects.  Attendees were from all over the world and varied from newbies like myself to veterans like Jeffrey Deaver and Sherry Harris.  (Here they are talking at one of our surprise presentations).

At the Saturday evening gathering, Jeffrey Deaver revealed his process for each novel.  It takes him around 8 months to produce an outline and 2 months to write around 130,000 words.  He then performs 50 edits before his novel is done.

Nothing but inspiring.  And fun.  Turns out that I’m kind of a bad ass who can to stop a fleeing suspect with a PIT maneuver.  Me, and all the other writers in the class.

I still can’t believe they let us do what we did.

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