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Personal Motivation
 By Lynn Dean, on January 29th, 2010 Writing Your Story is Only the First Step
Ponder this quote from the blog of author and freelance editor, Maryanne Miller (http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2010/01/things-that-drive-editor-crazy.html):
“Developing the story and getting it down on paper – or stored on your hard drive – is only the first step in writing a book. The next couple of steps are crucial and infinitely more difficult – at least I think so. Rewriting and editing to find just the right words and phrases can lift an average book into the realm of good and maybe even great.”
Fess up, now. If you love to tell stories passionately enough that you are willing to endure and even master all the nit-picky “jots and tittles” we more commonly refer to as the rules of phonics, grammar, and punctuation, would it be stretching assumption too far to guess that you just might be a bit of a perfectionist? Might have trouble turning off the editor inside your head long enough to actually finish the story? And, once it’s told, might be just a teensy bit defensive regarding its pristine perfection?
Learning that writing the story is only Step One continues to be one of the hardest lessons for me. Like most writers, I’m conscientious to a fault. Just “good enough” is rarely good enough with me. I “do my best” out of habit, and by the time I let anyone else read a piece, it’s already as good as I know how to make it. If they find fault with it, I don’t know how to make it any better…yet.
That’s what’s called bumping up against my learning curve. Being a (recovering) perfectionist doesn’t mean I think I already am perfect, just that I’d like to become more perfect. And finding the weak parts in my story gives me an opportunity to learn new skills.
Here’s what works for many writers:
Turn off your inner editor long enough to get a rough draft down on paper. Proper spelling and punctuation are such a distraction to me that sometimes I even close my eyes while I’m typing a scene. Just letting the movie in my head play, I type as fast as I can to get down the best action, dialogue, and sensory/setting tidbits.
Read over what you’ve written, preferably aloud, and catch any obvious errors as you go. Spell check is my friend. Grammar check, not so much. Sometimes my computer and I disagree.
Now read the scene out loud again. This time, just listen. Do the words sing? Over time, you’ll develop a sense for pinpointing the notes that are “off.” Does a certain word or phrase show up repeatedly? Could the dialogue be snappier? Are your characters unique? Do their actions show their personalities? I have found that some issues are almost never a problem for me. That’s very encouraging. Helps to balance out the growing list of writing issues that crop up in patterns in my rough drafts. (For me, it’s usually a “pet” word. I also tend not to let my characters show enough emotion.) I am building a checklist tailored to my own weaknesses and a file of tools for fixing them.
When the scene really is as good as you can make it, that’s the time to let others read it. I have two small groups of people who read my stories. One is made up of friends and family. They give me encouraging, positive feedback and inspire me to keep writing as they hound me for the next chapter and the next. The other group, though, doesn’t let me off so easily. They’re friends, too, but the friends in the second group are other writers. They know a thing or two about the craft. They’re good at skills I’m still working on. And they give it to me straight—“speaking the truth in love,” of course. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” And when they’ve finished making suggestions, guess what?
I get to edit the scene again!
When a story is finally, finally as good as I can make it, I submit it to a publishing editor, and guess what? Yup…MORE edits!
I’ll admit there are times I’ve wanted to throw up my hands in frustration, BUT with each edit the story gets better and stronger. The bad news that a story can always be improved is also the good news. Even famous authors continue to grow and improve over the course of their careers, but it didn’t stop their earlier works from being published. With practice and experience we become better. And really, being the perfectionist I am, isn’t that a good thing? When I look at it that way, edits are almost fun.
Almost.
Point of View
By Michelle Van Loon, on January 22nd, 2010 Point of View Makes All the Difference
When you and your sibling have a disagreement and tell your stories to a parent, you learn firsthand the difference someone’s point-of-view can have on the way he or she sees the same basic set of events. Your brother’s version of how grandma’s prized antique vase got broken may not be the same as yours – even if the two of you were practicing football tackles together in the living room where the vase was displayed.
Using the power of point of view can make your writing jump off the page – and may give you an “ah ha!” as you dig into your characters’ motivations. Here’s a great point of view exercise you can try to explore the “why” behind a sibling conflict of Biblical proportions.
- Read Genesis 37 several times in order to become familiar with the flow of the story.
- Choose one of the three primary characters in the story (Joseph, Reuben or Jacob/Israel) and list the things that happened in the story from his perspective. Pay close attention to what your character knew and did at this point in his history. For example, Reuben didn’t know that Joseph had wandered looking for them from Shechem to Dothan. Joseph, of course, had no idea that his brothers were going to jump him and dump him into a pit. Jacob, also known as Israel, never would have imagined that his brood was capable of such treachery.
- Use your outline to write a first-person account of the events of Genesis 37, having your character (Joseph, Reuben or Jacob/Israel) tell the story from his perspective. Make sure he is only telling about the events in which he was directly involved in the chapter. Remember, these characters didn’t know at this point how this story was going to turn out like we do!
This exercise is even more useful if more than one person does it. If you have a sibling, a friend or even a co-op group each willing to do take different characters from the Biblical account and write about the events of Genesis 37, you’ll have an opportunity to hear the difference a point-of-view can make in a story.
Characterization, Goal, Motivation and Conflict
By Melinda Evaul, on January 15th, 2010 Creating Unforgettable Characters, Part 4
In my last post we explored Internal and External Goals. Each of us has things we value. It makes us ‘tick.’ We don’t always recognize, though, what our values or goals are. We roll on in life doing what we believe is right and never stop to ask why we act the way we do or if our actions are correct.
When you create characters, spice things up with conflict. Your story and the characters become more interesting when life isn’t normal. Giving your characters conflicting values is one way to do that.
Let’s say your hero places money above everything else in life. That may seem selfish, but it’s who he is. Money is his ‘core value’ or his ‘internal goal.’ Place him in a position to lose his money and you have a conflict. Give him a reason to spend his money on a worthy cause that he would normally ignore. You’ve created a deeper conflict. Now he’s in a position that requires a choice. It will challenge his core value and could bring about a change in the way he thinks and behaves.
Example: Mr. Rich loves his money. He meets a person who touches his heart. This person needs money and is in a desperate situation. Mr. Rich’s money would change their life. Nothing has ever tempted him to part with his money. He has a huge internal conflict. Will Mr. Rich keep his money and ignore this person? Will he follow the leading of his heart, change his core value, and share the wealth? What would it take to make him change his attitude? If he shares, will it cause a permanent change or will he go back to life as usual?
Did you recognize the story of Scrooge in the example? Tiny Tim created a conflict that forced Scrooge to make a choice. This “internal conflict” propelled the story. It forced Scrooge to make a choice and it uncovered a deeper value. He learned that people are more important than money. His core value changed. Scrooge learns some hard lessons before he lets go of his money. In his case, it’s a permanent change.
Writing lesson
Examine the internal goals of a character you’re creating. Insert something that will challenge their core value. Choose something that forces him or her to make a hard choice. Some people don’t change when the conflicts come. They remain the same and never grow. And there could be a time when their core value is correct and the conflicts they face confirm this.
Choose one of the following items for your writing lesson.
- Show by his or her actions how the conflict makes a positve change in their core value. Show how they fail to change when the conflict arises.
- Show how your character faces a conflict that proves their core values were correct. Show how they maintain that value when it’s challenged.
Dialogue
By Teri Dawn Smith, on January 8th, 2010 I love writing dialogue. When I start working on a story, it’s the things characters say to each other that begin sounding in my head.
Improving the dialogue is one of the fastest ways to make your story better so let’s look at some tips from professional writers.
All of the books I’ve read agree on two things: A.) Don’t try to write dialogue the way we speak! Leave out the boring parts such as greetings. “Good morning.” “How are you?” “Fine, and you?” (Yawn!) B.) Don’t use dialogue as an information dump. Example: “My aunt is coming. She’s the one who has the pizzeria down on Main Street where the fire was last night.” If the information is essential, find another way to work it in, but don’t dump it in the dialogue.
So what specifically can you do to improve the dialogue?
Tip #1 from James Scott Bell: Write compressed dialogue. Chip off all the unnecessary words. Instead of writing, “Would you like to go to the basketball game with me?” Write: “Let’s go to the game.” Drop words, and keep it lean.
Tip #2 from Susan May Warren: Spice up the conversation between characters with name-calling. If someone tries too hard to be funny, have a character call him a name. “Okay, Bozo, that’s enough out of you.” If someone’s suggests something dangerous, use another name. “Whoa, Superman, I’m not that brave.” The possibilities are endless and lots of fun.
Tip #3 from Jerry Jenkins: Use the simple attribution of “said” if you use one at all. Attributions are the little indentifying tags like he said, she asked. Some writers try to get clever and change the attribution: he responded, she queried, etc. Those attributions begin to call attention to the tag itself while “said” is almost invisible. Whatever you do, don’t write: “Get out,” she hissed. (Hissing requires the “s” sound which is not present in the words uttered.)
Tip # 4 from Donald Maass: Infuse dialogue with tension. Tension comes from warring emotions. It’s not so hard to come up with emotional friction between antagonists, but what about pitting allies against each other? Have them get sarcastic with each other. Donald Maass says, “True tension in dialogue comes not from what is being said, but from inside those who are saying it.” (The Fire in Fiction, page 195)
Writing Exercises:
- Go over a passage of dialogue you’ve written and see if you can cut words.
- Find places to inject name-calling.
- Use only “said” or “asked” as attributions, but see if you can get by without them sometimes.
- Look for places to ratchet up the tension, especially between friends.
Hooks
By Lynn Dean, on January 1st, 2010 Again this week, let me remind you about our first ever Annual NOVELWritingSite.com contest.
Hopefully throughout the fall semester, you’ve been trying out some of your new skills on stories of your own. Is it working?
We’re offering you the opportunity to have professional writers take a look at the first twelve pages of your story and give you some positive feedback and ideas.
I realize that may sound a little scary for some people. When I started writing, there were many stories that I didn’t let anyone read. Not friends. Not even family. Sometimes especially not friends or family. I put a lot of myself into those stories, so I was really sensitive about people’s responses. Suggestions that my story was flawed in any way made me feel like I, personally, had failed to meet approval. But who would understand those fears better than a fellow writer? It’s safe to say that your entry will be read by kind and sympathetic volunteers who like stories and like to encourage people who write them.
If that doesn’t make you feel more confident, try this: In at least the first round, no one will know who wrote the story. Names will be removed, so we won’t know who you are until it’s time to send out the results. If this is your debute, we’ll let you “sing from behind the curtain”–totally incognito.
Sounding better? 
Here’s what to do:
- Select a story that you feel reflects your best efforts–something you wrote independently.
- Make sure you’re subscribed by email or RSS Fed to www.aNOVELWritingSite.com. Only regular readers may enter, but subscribing is easy. Just follow the directions in the left side bar under “Subscribe.”
- Send the first 12 pages of your story by midnight, May 1, 2010 as an email attachment. Your submission should be typed, double-spaced with 1″ margins, in Times New Roman font (12 pitch size) and saved as a Word document in Rich Text format. Please use a header to show the title of your story and the page number on each page, but do not include your name in the header. If you know the genre of your story, you may include that information also.
- In the body of your email, please be sure to tell us your name and the name of your story. If you could tell us something about yourself, how far along you are in your story, or how long you’ve been writing, that would be interesting as well.
- Entries will be critiqued by one or more of our contributors.
- Categories will depend somewhat on how many entries we receive from writers of various ages in each genre. Winning entries in each category will receive a full critique and a copy of A Novel Idea: Best Advice on Writing Inspirational Fiction, a compilation of tips from best-selling Christian novelists. This is a really good book!
So be brave! Take the challenge! There’s really nothing to lose but your jitters. And don’t forget to subscribe to receive this blog regularly.
Best wishes for a happy new year from your friends at aNOVELWritingSite.com!
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