Just a quick post to link you to an interview that Tad Richards did with Jane Friedman, of Writer’s Digest. The topic is “Writers & the Recession,” something–as worrisome as it is–we should all be keeping up with. Jane doesn’t pull any punches about where she thinks publishing is going, and she always has something interesting to say.
The interview is here.
Yes, Spring is here. I know, it was official a few weeks ago, and some of you are still dealing with cold rain and snow, but the green things are trying. And out here, they’re growing and blooming.
My son’s spring break was this last week, and we took off for a couple of days of camping here and hiking here and here. It was perfect. Well, maybe not absolutely perfect for my son, who doesn’t really fitto sleep on the floor of the Vanagon anymore, but he didn’t complain, and we didn’t step on his head getting in and out, so, really, it all worked fine.
Tomorrow, school starts up again, and we head into the end of April. I hadn’t realized how much I needed a break of pretty much nothingness. Even with the sore muscles, I’m feeling seriously rested and refreshed. And ready to look at Spring with welcome. Ready to face my writing projects and say, “Bring it on!”
What will I be doing, with the sunshine bouncing off the greenery into my office window?
It’s been a tough, long winter. Not for us, thank goodness, but for so many people all across the country, and the world. I want to face this Spring with optimism. I want to stay open to whatever new things may come along.
What about you? What projects–writing or otherwise–are you gearing up for this Spring? What’s calling to you?
Well, I’ve been tweeting for a few weeks now, and on Facebook longer than that, and I thought I’d take a few minutes and do a comparison here–at least from my perspective.
Overall, I’d say I like Facebook better. I am TOTALLY open to persuasion from Twitter-folk, (like this post from WriterMomof5) as to why I am wrong and what I’ve missed about Twitter.
Here are the pros and cons as I see them.
Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
I’m wondering now, looking back at the post, if I’m whining. If you’re all thinking–then why is she out there? Well (she says with a bit of an embarrassed wince), it’s fun. Oh, yes, there’s the whole marketing thing and promotion whatchamacallit, but those are extra. I do love being connected with other writers & seeing what they’re up to (even if it IS just getting a third cup of coffee for the day).
It’s just that, you know, I want all the social networking sites to do it my way!
What about you? Are you on FB or Twitter? What’s your preference? Usually, I try and keep things mannerly here, but today is your chance to argue–convince me what I’m missing on Twitter. 🙂
Do you scratch it?
I’ve been talking a lot online about the research & planning I’m doing for my YA historical novel. It’s been going great. I’m learning tons about my characters, about their wants and their conflicts, about their back-story and their future. I know there’s more I can learn.
Except I’m itching to put all this aside and get writing.
I promised told myself I would finish Donald Maass’ Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook before I started writing. I said I would do a bit of plotting before I dug in. There are at least a third of these
that I haven’t read yet, and more I need to add to the shelf.
I can hear you all now. “Just write it!”
And here are your very good reasons:
Yep. So I’m going to write.
Soon. I’m still learning from Maass, but I’m giving myself permission to go a bit more quickly through his worksheets. I’m putting a few more tags on pages that need to wait until I have a draft to revise. And I’m letting myself relax away from the research a bit, so I can keep my actual characters at the forefront of my brain, instead of too many historical details/facts. And, since I still will have revisions to do on the critique book, I’m telling myself that any plotting I do has to be fit in between those changes. I’m not allowed to put the writing off, just because the whole outline isn’t complete and comprehensible.
When? I’m thinking June. A few other writing friends have first drafts looming, and we may all hit the keyboards together.
I’ll be MORE than ready.
So when do you start? What’s your comfort zone between knowing any/all of your story and needing to get those people on the page and moving? I’d love to hear how you do the balancing act?
Posts may be a bit thin on the ground the next few days–we’re in the middle of spring break over here. I’ll be back in force next week, though, and I’d love to start doing a little more talk about critiquing and critique groups. So if there’s a topic you’re “itching” to dig into, let me know that, too!
Years ago, I read a writing book by Lawrence Block. I’m pretty sure it was Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print. The advice I remember most from this book was that the best way to learn plot was to go out and plot a book. One you liked. By a good writer.
At the time I was working on a mystery novel (for grown-ups), and I did dig a few of my favorite mysteries off the shelf and re-read them and look for the big plot points. I probably didn’t go as far with this as I should have, but (in forgiving hindsight to myself) that book turned out to be the one that dragged on way too long and did nothing to make me happy, and I put it in a drawer when I made the jump to kids’ fiction. Someday, who knows…
Anyway, this week, I’m reading Anastasis Suen’s Picture Writing, and she’s basically giving me the same advice. In her book, she asks writers to storyboard out a few picture books–ones with strong characters. So I went to my shelf.
And just in case any of you are anywhere near being as much of a kids’ book addict as me, I’ll show you my list, so you can ooh and get all nostalgically syrupy for a moment.
Now, obviously, when I talk about form, I’m not talking about a formula. There is no formula, as much as we would sometimes like. But there is form. There is a common structure upon which every book in a genre is built–even if doing the building means taking the familiar shape and twisting or even breaking it.
An example: Suen talks about a big story problem, then three small problems that show the big one. One of the books–Bread and Jam for Frances did have the three problems, although I had to read pretty deeply to identify them to my satisfaction. Another book, though—Miss Spiders Tea Party uses eight small problems to illustrate what’s going wrong. And they both work. Between the identification of the big problem and the ending climax & resolution, the authors give the hero a strong or increasingly bad problems to deal with.
And–here was another fun difference. The Hobans and Kirk handled the last, most critical problem in two very different ways. Remember, this is the problem just before the Climax, so it has to be big, and it has to have impact. In Frances’ story, the Hobans deliver several scenes of Frances not getting any other food than her bread & jam. The authors took their time over the first two problems, but they deliver these scenes in quick succession, not giving Frances–or us–any time to recover between them.
Kirk has taken the opposite route. He gives the first seven problems a two-page spread each (one page of verse & one full-page illustration). The last problem, though, he spreads out over eight pages (four verse and four illustrated). He’s drawing out the problem, raising and dropping Miss Spider’s hopes, and seriously increasing the tension…again, to get us to the climax.
Now, I would never say that writing a picture book is easier than writing a novel. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s harder, & you’ll probably hear me say that plenty of times in the next year or ten. But…it is, I think, an easier form to study in this way–simply because there are fewer words in which to hunt for the structure.
Why am I doing this? For the same reason we should all be doing it in whatever genre we’re writing. No, we’re not out to learn that mythic formula. No, we’re not out to play “Copycat the Rich & Famous.”
We’re out to learn everything we can about the form we’re writing. We’re out to make our own books in that form the best that we can.
Andra Marquardt, who I met over on the Writer’s Market Community, was nice enough to ask if she could interview me. I (obviously!) said yes, and I loved the questions. Andra’s posted the interview here.
I’m sure you all know this feeling–just when you get your life semi-organized, something comes along–a family visit, a vacation, a writing project–that takes all your focus. For a while, you concentrate most of your energy on that thing, just pushing the tidal edge of the rest of life back far enough so only your toes get wet.
If you’re lucky.
Then, when the relatives leave, or you get unpacked from vacation, or you send the project off, you look up, and your shoes are soaking wet. Because the rest of life, all the little things that you’ve been saying, “Later” to are now saying, “Now!”
While The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide is off with my editor, I decided it was time to get my website cleaned up and add a few things. In front of you, you see the result. Over the weekend, I:
*I’ve read up on this intermittent updating thing, and it seems to be either a Twitter or a WordPress problem. This may be a bit frustrating, but at least I know it’s not me! I’ll watch it for a while and see how often it’s NOT there. If you see it totally disappear one day, you’ll understand. And if you’re on Twitter, you can always follow me at http://twitter.com/Becky_Levine . The updates also go over to my Facebook page, so you can friend me there if you’re on FB–I’m the “Becky Levine” in Silicon Valley. (Has anyone else noticed that it sounds more intimidating to follow someone than to friend them?!)
**About the blog feed. I’ve been trying to feed some of the blogs I read over to my Yahoo reader, and some work & some don’t. I don’t know if this is a problem with the feed, or with my settings. (I can only handle SO much technical stuff at once!) Anyway, I picked one of the feed apps that seemed to work more often than not and set it up here. If anybody feels like being a guinea pig (maybe without the whistling!) and seeing if they can use the link to feed my blog over to their reader, I’d love to hear the results! 🙂
***I noticed, while I was updating my blogroll, that it is highly weighted toward children’s and YA authors. Could that possibly be because I write in those genres and, even more, I read in those genres? Whatever the cause, I would love to add some links to authors, agents, and editors who blog about other genres, including just general writing stuff. If you read any writing posts regularly and want to recommend then, please stick a link in the comments. I make no promises, except to put them on my own list of blogs and read them for a while to see what I think!
The one thing I did not get to this weekend was to send out a newsletter. I try to do this quarterly, so I don’t inundate people, and I know I have newsletter readers who don’t check in here. So I am planning a Spring issue, and if anyone wants to receive it who isn’t yet on my mailing list, make sure to click over on the right, or on the Newsletter tab, to subscribe.
Well, Spring is here. How do I know? Because we’re all on our allergy nasal sprays, here in this house. Because our windshields are coated with pollen every morning when we go out to drive. And, because, when I get into the car in the afternoon, it’s actually toasty and warm from the sunshine.
Usually, to be honest, at this time of year, I’m not all that excited. I don’t hate winter (probably has something to do with living in California), and I don’t like thinking too much about the hot, upcoming summer. This year, though, I seem to be welcoming spring with unexpected, um…warmth. We’re going camping sometime in the next month, and I have dreams of laying in the sun with a book, climbing up hills under blue skies, and–yes–using my nose spray!
I’m guessing this new attitude has more to do with the gray, gloomy economy of the last few months, than with any of the gray, gloomy weather. And, so, to complement my good feelings about the brighter sunshine and warmer temps, a few tidbits of economic–if not upturn, maybe a little less downturn.
Note that I do not want this to turn into any kind of political argument about who should be doing what or where money should/should not be going. If you must go there, you must, but I won’t be joining in. This is make-nice day, here at the blog! And be forewarned–any nastiness will get deleted! 🙂
So this weekend, wake up, go outside, and smile at the sun. (Even if it’s hiding behind a few clouds!)
I don’t know about you, but my brain does strange things in the early stages of thinking about a novel. Many of those things are strange in a good way. Others, not so much.
Lately, as I spend time with my current WIP, I’ll be immersed in some wonderful, creative brainstorming about my hero or another character or a setting, and my mind starts going off in tangents about scenes that need to happen or about the big, dramatic choices my hero will have to make by the end. Fun things like that. And then, all of a sudden, I’ll have one of two thoughts. They are:
Note: Exclamation points denote panic.
Double Note: Yes, I realize those thoughts are extreme opposites. Donald Maass would love me as a character.
The point, today, is that I did spend a little time the other day thinking, again, about how to plot out that middle. How to find a way to place it–as a craft element–somewhere between a dense, overcrowded mess and a gapingly empty maw. And here’s what I came up with.
I’m getting a pretty good idea of what both the beginning and the ending of this story need to be doing. As I work, my brain goes back and forth between those two points, thinking about how they connect and what layers they share. And I’m making myself slow down a bit and think about ways to weave those threads through the middle.
Here’s an example. Let’s say I’m writing a story about a tortoise and a rabbit. No, let’s call that second character a hare. The hare challenges the tortoise to a—okay, you know the story. You’re probably thinking it’s a pretty simple plot (which makes for a good example!), but there are a few layers here. We need to show the hare’s speed, and its cockiness, and its lack of manners. We need to show the tortoise’s slowness, its confidence, and its style.
Let’s take one set–speed and slowness.
In the Beginning, speed is strength and slowness is weakness. By the End, the tortoise has reversed that valuation–slowness can be power and strength may not be so good over the long haul. (Sounds like an ode to my running, but let’s not go there.) Obviously we can’t just snap our fingers and have that change happen–that’s wishful thinking, not storytelling.
We need two or three plot points in the Middle to make the change happen. And this is where I’m taking a few minutes, to ask myself, “What could those plot points be?” And for each thread I think about, I’m making a quick list of possiblities…like this:
Anyway, you see the point. Each of these possibilities could (I’m not necessarily saying should!) be a scene in the story. In sequence, they show the progression from the hare being the one with power, to the tortoise earning the strength and support of friends and turning the tables on his long-eared antagonist. Et voila, some of your middle is filled.
What do you think? Is this a possible tool to help make that middle less scary, less intimidating? Do you have techniques you use to plot your way across the void? I’d love to hear them, because–whatever may or may not work–I’m pretty sure I’ll be trying them all in the next few months!
I just saw a post Linda McCabe did about my critique workshop at her writing club–the Redwood Writers branch of the California Writers Club. I had a great time that day–everybody was very nice and made me feel so welcome! And Linda did a great job summarizing the morning. Her post also reviews the Breakout Novel Intensive, with Donald Maass, that she recently attended.
Check out the post here.
I’ll be back in a day or two to talk about that scary place–the Middle!
Becky Levine 