Tag Archives: getting started

Inside the Writer’s Head: June 7

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On June 23, I’ll be presenting the next Writer-in-Residence Workshop at the Main Library, from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Please come. We’ll talk together about your questions and thoughts. Here’s the description, in case you missed it:

This Won’t Hurt a Bit: Everything You Need to Know About Drafting a Manuscript

            You’ve decided to do it! You’re going to write a book. Come to this workshop and get  instruction on every stage of the manuscript-writing process. We’ll cover outlining, creating chapters, story arc and character development, as well as writer’s block and timelines. Discussion will include both fiction and non-fiction. Bring your questions! Will  include Q & A session for all stages of the writing journey.

Starting A Manuscript can be daunting, like climbing K-2. Same fear, same looking up at a great height from the bottom, same sense of dread and breathlessness. If we do it together, maybe it won’t be so scary. We’ll talk about the security of an outline, about breaking up a manuscript into manageable chunks, and techniques to keep yourself writing and away from online shopping. (I’m bad at this one, so someone else will have to teach that part.) Come! Let’s face K-2 together.

Inside the Writer’s Head: April 27

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Door ajarI’ve always been a private sort of writer. I prefer the writing I do to be “not about me.” I write other people’s topics, because I’m a writer who is usually commissioned. Sometimes, my name’s not even on what I write—someone else’s name is, because the work is ghostwritten. And in the past, I’ve preferred it that way. When something personal creeps into my writing, it’s usually well-disguised. A person close to me died many years ago.  I didn’t do much writing about this death. But in one of my novels, I found myself writing the death scene of a young, beloved horse. The scene spilled out of me as I was writing it. My throat was tight. I was writing about my family member, of course. Just in horse form.

Early in my residency, I spoke about a personal story I’d begun and had been unable to finish. Partly this is because writing is hard. Partly this is because I have a lot of other deadlines to meet. But mostly this is because the story is intensely personal and I’m scared of showing it to people. And if I finish it, I’ll have to show it. I mean, I do want to see it published—I guess.

What I’m really writing about in this post is fear. Writing down the scary stuff. Then showing it to people. Turning yourself inside out and letting people look. It’s embarrassing. But whenever I read something like that from a writer—where I can tell the writer is being real with me, not showing off, not cloaking herself in fancy language, but just talking to me real—I feel happy and comforted. And glad I’m reading her piece. And in the end, I feel closer to that writer. So maybe, if I finish this thorny, uncomfortable piece, I can bring a little of that feeling to whomever might read it.

Inside the Writer’s Head: April 5

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Thank you all so much for coming to the writer’s workshop on March 24! To say that I was nervous is like saying the Beatles were cute. But because of your benevolence and not my competence, I managed to get through it without total personal self-annihilation. And I hope a few of my fellow writers left feeling supported and confident.

I’m going to post my PowerPoint here on this blog, if you couldn’t make it, and for the next three posts or so, I’m going to put up chunks of the presentation, in the hopes that you will find it minimally helpful to your own writing process.

March 24 Writer’s Workshop: Killing the Mystery

Part 1: Creating a Protagonist

Creating a main character is one of the most important things you’ll do in creating a story. A main character is your everything—your driving force, your reason for a plot. I know some writers talk about making characters so real that they seem to speak to them and think on their own. I’ve been a writer for fifteen years and created many protagonists and I’ve never achieved this state. It seems pretty exciting, but I’m here to tell you not to worry too much about that. There are entire books written about creating protagonists. But we’re not going to get bogged down in trying to cover every aspect. Let’s just hit a few of the high points:

Your character has to want something.

This is the most important aspect and nothing else matters. What your character wants—and be specific—is going to be the entire driving force. He or she can want more than one thing, but it has to be clear. The plot is going to serve to drive the character toward what she wants-or away from it.

The character has to be active.

No one wants to read about passive. Your protagonist should be active, first of all, and this is something I’ve struggled with myself in my writing. No one wants to read about a character to whom things just happen. It’s much more interesting to read about someone who makes things happen. And this have to be positive—hell, it can be her very destruction. But instead of reading about someone who is kidnapped and rescued, it’s hell of a lot more fun to read about someone who is kidnapped and escapes. I’ve found myself often writing characters who seem to be wading through a veritable obstacle course of difficult other people and problems and I’ve had to ask myself what is she going to do to get out of this? How is she going to actively get what she wants?

Your character has to change.

Likewise, this is not groundbreaking theory, but it’s damn solid. You’re going to leave your readers pretty unsatisfied if they reach the end of your novel and damn if they aren’t reading about exactly the same character, right back in her room, in her bed. How boring. The character might change for the worse, for better, but he or she should be different by the end of the book. And how will he or she change—by the struggle to get what she wants. The process will change the character one or the other

Your character has to be someone we like.

Or at least we sympathize with. This is delicate ground – on the one hand, we the reader are going to be spending a lot of time with this character. So if he or she is irritating or dull or whiny, chances are, we’re going to put down the book. On the other hand, think of all the abhorrent characters in literature who somehow draw us. The ultimate example of this is Humbert Humbert, the narrator of Lolita. The man is a pedophile, a child molester and a total narcissist. Yet, somehow, he cleverly tells us his story so that we find ourselves fascinated by him. So don’t take this to mean that your character has to be Princess Pony Delight. But as a writer, we need to feel a connection with this person you’ve created.

 

Inside the Writer’s Head: March 26

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Depending on what kind of person you are, Beginning A Novel can be either intensely exciting or extremely anxiety-provoking. I tend to steer more on the anxiety side of things, so when I’ve begun stories in the past, I’ve found the following thoughts helpful:

  • First of all, don’t be afraid that your ideas aren’t original. In fact, they are not. All of the good ideas were taken long ago – like since the beginning of storytelling. Great stories aren’t about mind-blowing rethinking of literature. They’re about good storytelling. Think of that friend who can make a one-act play out of filling up at the gas station. On other hand, I once read a book by a Channel swimmer whose name escapes me—she had a great story to tell and yet, this book was incredibly boring. Who can blame her—she’s an athlete not a writer.
  • Then, set a few parameters. I don’t know about you, but I always do better with a few rules up front. It helps me focus my thoughts so I not swimming in a sea of too many choices. So first thing, decide for whom you want to write: age group, genre, and if you are so inclined, for women or for men or girls o boys. Once you decide that, you’ll have a better idea of your scope: how many words, how many chapters– especially if you’re writing for kids, where there are more rules about this sort of thing. You can decide what topic would be appropriate. You won’t be writing a slasher story for six year-olds.
  • Write what you know. This is old advice for a reason. I don’t mean you have write about system analytics—I don’t even know what those are—but I mean you should write what you feel very at home both reading and writing. What do you like to read? I love realistic fiction – all my favorite books are plotless. And I tend to write more introspective books that focus on the relationships between people. Books are plot-heavy are harder for me to write, because I don’t find plot personally as interesting. Think about what you love, where you live, where you work, where your family from, what experiences you have had that have touched you deeply. These are all solid bases for stories and you should never think that your experiences are not worthy of fiction. They are.

Fiction is a constant game of imagination. The key question is What if? What would that person reading on the bench do if I threw something at them? What would happen to me? What if I, a suburban young mom, threw something at this person and was arrested? What would a holding cell be like to a person like me? Why did I throw the loaf of bread at the person? Had I just discovered something about her? What?

Getting the idea in fiction is one of the greatest pleasures in writing. It’s like a giant game of curiosity on steroids and you have to be ready to play.