Category: Writing Tools

Posted in The Writing Path, Writing Goals, Writing Tools

Leveling Up on Craft (Hopefully)

Posted on by beckylevine

I wrote this post just before the election. And since then it has felt off and unimportant and irrelevant to be sticking it up on the Internet. It felt all of that to even be prioritizing my writing. But as I talked about here, creativity is still important, even if all it does is let us fall into a good place for a while so we can step back out and do battle. And maybe it’s important for the impact it has on our readers.

Anyway, I wrote a little bit last weekend, and that did help. This week and next are regular-life-busy, and I think still having all this other crud in my head makes the focus and time commitment harder. But regular-life will settle down and I will carve pieces of time and focus out to stick with my WIP and make progress. Because…and here’s what I was thinking about way back when.

I had a realization the other day. Well, kind of a two-fold realization. The first part was that I love this WIP enough and am writing some stuff in it that, I think, means it could be–if not The Book that gets me out there–the book that takes me to the next level of my writing.

The second part of the realization was that it could just as easily NOT be. I feel like I’m at the point where I can make just about any scene work–as a scene. I can create conflict, I can pull the balance of dialogue and action together, I can polish the words until they shine in an actual good way. But…I also feel like I could be doing that into infinity and beyond, over and over and over, without somehow making the story work as a whole. I can make tension build to a turning point in a chapter, but I’m not all that sure I can do it well/right over the story as a whole. I can produce, if need be, a set of perfectly fine, even good, chapters that still don’t make a book that holds together, that engages over all the pages, that keeps people reading to the end.

And I kind of want to do that.

So this next year is about getting off the plateau I’m on and climbing to the next peak.

climbing

The first step in this path, I can identify: Finish this draft, with care. I’m on Draft 3, and it’s the first one that feels like…something. I’m making myself slow down, get to some actual depth in each scene, reach for that truth about my main character and his journey. So steady progress on this, but without rushing, that’s where I’m at.

And then…I don’t know. I know there’s a new/different kind of learning for me here, and I know that recognizing the goal is a good thing. But I still don’t see the steps of the path clearly. I will probably do some more reading/re-reading of craft books–so if you have any new ones to suggest, please stick the titles in the comments! I am looking into more in-depth workshops and learning programs–specifically, I’m waiting to hear about next year’s Nevada SCBWI mentoring program. I may end up hiring a good editor, but that may stretch the old budget a bit too far. And I will ask my critique group and possibly some Beta readers to do a whole-manuscript read, focusing on the connections and the overall story arcs.

So I expect I’ll be exploring all this here at the blog. And I’d love to hear from any of you who have found yourself at a place where you wanted to level up–what you tried, what worked, what didn’t…it’s all helpful and good to hear about!

Posted in Writing Books, Writing Tools

Reading for Writing: It’s Not Copying

Posted on by beckylevine

Years ago, when I was working on a mystery novel, I read one of Lawrence Block’s writing books. (I can’t remember which it was, and, honestly, the list of his books is TOO long to go through right now!) The most important takeaway from that book, for me, was his instruction to pick a few of my favorite (as in, written well) mysteries, and plot them. I’m not getting this exact, because it has been a while, but the idea was basically to go through each chapter & write down the important turning points of the story.

To see how it was done. How it was done right.

In other words, read to find out what the hero did, what happened to the hero to get in their way, what events increased the tension, and how the story–with all its problems–resolved itself in the end.

I still do this, and not just with plot. I talked here about Sarah Ockler’s brilliant management of the passage of time, in Fixing Delilah, and–when I get to that stage of revision–I plan to study how she did it. What she did. It’s not copying, folks, it’s dissection. It’s finding the craft behind the art–a craft the writer may or may not be conscious of, but that I do believe is there, present, for us to find and learn from.

I find myself recommending this technique to editing clients all the time. I’ll do my best to explain how goals & obstacles create tension, how middle-grade voice differs from young-adult, how dialogue beats add to the layers of a conversation or argument. And then I’ll find myself typing this: “Go by the bookstore, or your library, and pick up some books.” I tell them to look at the books they love best, to scan the New Books shelves at the library, or ask the children’s librarian for help. Find a passage (or three) that does what they’re trying to accomplish…and read it. Then reread it. Then reread it again.

One of the “downsides” of doing a lot of critiquing is that, yes, I am more critical of the books I read. In my thirties, I pretty much finished every book I started, no matter what. Now, honestly, you have to catch me in the first two pages, and I will put down a book 3/4 of the way through if the characters or story are letting me down. (And, yes, I do take it that personally!)

BUT…the “upside” of that is that, when a book stuns me, and many do, I have a resource, a tool, for my own writing. My reading eye has sharpened enough so that, as I’m being carried away, a little voice inside is saying, “OMG. Look at that scene structure!” or “That hero is totally taking the lead!” or “Do you see how that dialogue is moving the story forward?!”

I know, weird. But helpful. And, honestly, I think the resource is there for all of us, even if we aren’t realizing it the first time through. It’s why I keep the books I do keep, even with continuously shrinking shelf space–because I will reread them, and I will learn from them.

And doing so will make my writing better.  This Lawrence Block says, and this I know.

Posted in Writing Tools

Scrivener for Windows: Let’s Talk

Posted on by beckylevine

First, to all the people doing NaNo or PiBoIdMo, let me say good luck and, please, have fun!

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you probably already know that–last week–I downloaded the Beta version of Scrivener for Windows. I was debating whether to get it or wait for the complete version next year, but I’d finished that first draft, and I was kind of moping around in the transition stage (i.e. not moving OUT of the transition stage), and–honestly–I needed a new toy. And there was Literature & Latte just holding out this lovely, glittery, ribbon-wrapped present for me…

Anyway, I thought I’d talk a little bit about what I’ve done with Scrivener so far, and any glitches and/or tricks I’ve found. If you’re playing with this new version (or in love with the old stuff) and want to share problems or solutions or just all-out-adoring-love, please drop them into the comments. Everyone should benefit! 🙂

Here’s what I’ve done so far:

  • Imported a lot of the PDFs on my computer into the research file. These include things as small as a photograph of 1913 hairstyles to a pretty big book–a dictionary of dry goods terms–published in 1912. The importing went seamlessly. So far, viewing and reading the PDFs seems pretty slow, but it’s not exactly speedy outside of Scrivener. I haven’t really spent any time on this, so I can’t say for sure whether I’ll use Scrivener as a reading tool for this or not. It is nice to have them all there to just remind myself easily what I’ve got.
  • I set up a Notes folder with individual “texts” (files that you can view as a document or a corkboard index card) for different categories. Mostly, these are texts for each characters–things I’ve thought about while I was writing the first draft and since I finished. I’ve also got a text in there for random plot notes that aren’t yet attached to a scene.
  • I set up my Scenes folder and started throwing in ideas. I’ve been re-reading James Scott Bell’sPlot & Structure, and putting in ideas that he makes me think of–which, honestly, happens every time I read this book, so if you don’t have it yet, go get it. I’ve got scene texts for most of Act I, up to that first doorway of no-return. No, I’m not sure if it’s no-return enough yet, but that’s okay. Because it’s so easy to change things.

Really, I’m surprised that I feel this way about Scrivener. I’ve used Word for years, and–you know–other the standard stupid stuff it doesn’t to–I’m happy with it. I’ve got a pretty organized file structure that I use in Explorer–very similar, actually, to what Scrivener has set up for me in their software. But here’s the thing–with Scrivener, I don’t have to switch back and forth between Word and Explorer to work/see the organization.

I know…how lazy can someone be? One click, maybe two, to get a file or make a change, and now I’m whining about that being too much work. But somehow, it feels like more than that. It really does feel, so far, like Scrivener has everything I need, right there, all in one spot. And as I plot and organize and brainstorm, not having to click out of the application seems to keep my brain more focused, more still in touch with the thoughts I’m having and hope to have soon.

Now…keep in mind I haven’t tried to write a scene yet. I’ve got lots of notes, many paragraphs and bulleted-lists long, but I haven’t started to actually create any new stuff.  I know I’ll give this a try, writing scenes here, and my gut is I’m going to like it, but you’ll probably get another update when I get there.

And the software isn’t perfect yet. I’ve talked back and forth with a few other writers, and some of them have run into more problems than I did. My download and install when smooth as silk, and (I should not be saying this out loud), the software hasn’t crashed yet. I know, for some people, it was crashing and certain features were flat-out not working. I think some of these people tried a redownload and install, which might have helped–maybe they’ll chime in here and let people know if that was a good trick.

Scrivener doesn’t always remember my font/style changes. I haven’t figured out yet if this is a bug, or just that I’m not doing something consistently. Every now and then I just type too fast for it, and I have to check that there isn’t a crash. So far, no crashes; it’s just that I can’t type anything else until the software/screen catches up. I’m really hoping that, when the final version comes out, this isn’t a problem. That could be a true obstacle toward writing scenes within Scrivener. I’m still learning where I have to click within the file structure to show all the cards I want together on the corkboard, but that’s just a learning curve.

And, oh, that corkboard! It’s like the people at Scrivener knew the one thing I needed from them to get all my work into the computer, where I’m most happy to have it. I’ve always stumbled when it came to using real index cards or getting notes up on my whiteboard. The cards/whiteboard are never big enough to hold all the notes, and I’ve never been any good at writing one line for a scene and then remembering all the layers/ramifications that went went with that line. Not to mention, I cannot read my own writing quickly and easily, especially not in the notes that come flying out when I’m brainstorming.

Now I can look at the one-liner on a card and know that everything else I’ve thought about it is there, one layer down. I can delete things that aren’t working and add new material, without covering a real index cards in scratchouts and tiny words scribbled into tiny spaces. I can put the corkboard on Full-Screen and see 10-12 cards/scenes/ideas at once.

The corkboard makes me very happy.

What about you? Have you downloaded Scrivener for Windows yet? Have you been using the Mac version for years? Got any tips/thoughts to share with the rest of us? We’d love to hear!

Happy Monday and Happy Writing.