Have you ever made something? You know, sewn a dress, quilted, or even, say, built a house? I've done a bit of all these things, and while I've done my share of unpicking, remodeling, and pulling out nails, I seem to do way more editing (remodeling) in my articles and books. What's worse, I've rarely, if ever, wished I hadn't unpicked that seam or pulled out that nail, but I've frequently wished I hadn't deleted a certain paragraph or sentence so soon.
When such a scenario happened during my early writing years, my only option was to groan and move on. Not anymore. Now I keep two files up on my screen. One is the piece I'm working on, and the other is one I title, "(Name of article or book) Misc." Then, when I'm writing, or especially when I'm editing, and I decide to remove a section (especially a large section), I transfer it to the misc file and save it.
I can't tell you how much calmer and easier this simple process has made my writing life. True, "Misc" ends up being a large file of stuff I'll never use, but there have been MANY times I've pulled things--including entire scenes--from it and either reused it or reworked it somewhere else in the piece. It's been a true lifesaver.
I bet it would be for you, too. If you try it.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
What They Did Right--Rebecca Talley
A common cliche reads: "Love" makes the world go round. Maybe this is true for some worlds, but in fiction, it's not love that propels the newly created world, it's goals/motivation/the characte's personal desire. In an earlier post, I wrote:
Every well-structured story must contain two MAIN goals, or "problems"; i.e., a "surface" problem and an "inner conflict." In simple terms, this means that your protagonist must have a goal she desperately wants to accomplish, and she must grow--emotionally or psychologically--as she reaches for it.
And this is exactly one of the writer's tools Rebecca Talley did right in her latest book, "Heaven Scent." And she did it right from the get-go.
Chapter one of "Heaven Scent" begins with Talley's main character, Liza, in the middle of a dramatic experience (the inciting incident): she's a high school basketball star at the free throw line in the final second of a state championship game. Yet throughout this heart-pumping event, Liza is stressed over something more important to her: her relationship with her father, or more specifically, her father's apparent disinterest in her and her family. And when he doesn't show up for her game, as he'd promised he would, Liza's goal, in fact, the entire book's goal, becomes that she must find a way to bring her father back into her life.
This is an author's best, "opening a story" pattern--inciting incident, problem, character's goal to overcome the problem--but after that, the author must do what she can to keep that goal forefront in the reader's mind. Authors don't want readers to forget, after all, even through occasional diversions, the real reason they're reading this book, which is to find out if the character they've invested their time and heart into really will accomplish his or her goal.
I recently asked Mrs. Talley about her writing process, especially in relation to her character's goal.
Q: How close is your book/story related to your personal life? I mean, you’re tall, and your character is a basketball player. Were you a basketball player in high school?
A. My book/story is related to my personal life in that I grew up in CA and I did play basketball in high school, though I wasn’t gifted by any means. I wanted to play well and, sometimes, I did, but I wanted my main character to be the kind of player I never was.
I think everything we write is personal because we’re writing from our own unique point of view and how we interpret life. Our life’s experiences can’t help but show up in our writing.
Q. Where did you get your idea for your main character’s story goal of trying to reconnect with her father?
A. I know a lot of teenagers who don’t feel connected to their dads. The dads go out and earn the living and take care of things, but sometimes forget to forge a strong relationship with their kids. I think the kids who have a strong relationship with a father-figure do better in life.
My father passed away when I was very young and I never seemed to connect with the father-figure in my own life. I thought it would be interesting to explore that as the main storyline and use the feelings and frustrations I experienced as a teen.
A. Tell me a little about your writing process for Heaven Scent. Did you follow an outline? One of the writing tools you used effectively was giving your main character a clear story goal, regularly reminding the reader of that goal, and finally having your character “achieve” her goal in an “unwanted” way. Did you have this goal and the end in mind before you began your book?
A. I think I did the writing process backwards because I outlined the story after I’d rewritten it several times. I wanted to make sure it flowed and that there was a clear goal in each scene. After it was accepted, I outlined it again and revised it.
I knew the end long before I began the story. I’ve read Dwight Swain’s and Jack Bickham’s books and tried to make sure I followed their advice to keep the story goal very clear. The twist I wanted to put on it was that she attained her story goal, but in a unique, unexpected way.
Q. Now for the “scary” question. One writing “taboo” is to have the main character’s problems “magically,” or in your case, “heavenly” solved; and yet, your implementation of this tool did not seem foreign to me. Perhaps that’s because I, along with many readers, have experienced communications from those who’ve passed on and readily accepted such a possibility. Did you, however, have any misgivings about using this device? Why or why not?
A. Actually, I hadn’t ever thought of that. I’ve never felt the ending was a technique or a device, only what needed to happen in the story. The solution, or the help my main character receives, isn’t fictional to me because I have experienced it, though not in the same way. I know others who have had similar experiences. I knew I wanted my main character to have this experience for many different reasons, but most importantly, because I feel the connection between heaven and earth is so strong and the veil is so thin.
Thank you, Rebecca Talley. I truly appreciate the time you've taken to meet with me and my readers today. But I must also say, I agree with you. The connection between heaven and earth is strong, and the times I recognize that fact most is when I'm helping others reach for their vital, eternal goals. Even when those "others" are characters in my stories. Perhaps it's the same with you?
Every well-structured story must contain two MAIN goals, or "problems"; i.e., a "surface" problem and an "inner conflict." In simple terms, this means that your protagonist must have a goal she desperately wants to accomplish, and she must grow--emotionally or psychologically--as she reaches for it.
And this is exactly one of the writer's tools Rebecca Talley did right in her latest book, "Heaven Scent." And she did it right from the get-go.
Chapter one of "Heaven Scent" begins with Talley's main character, Liza, in the middle of a dramatic experience (the inciting incident): she's a high school basketball star at the free throw line in the final second of a state championship game. Yet throughout this heart-pumping event, Liza is stressed over something more important to her: her relationship with her father, or more specifically, her father's apparent disinterest in her and her family. And when he doesn't show up for her game, as he'd promised he would, Liza's goal, in fact, the entire book's goal, becomes that she must find a way to bring her father back into her life.
This is an author's best, "opening a story" pattern--inciting incident, problem, character's goal to overcome the problem--but after that, the author must do what she can to keep that goal forefront in the reader's mind. Authors don't want readers to forget, after all, even through occasional diversions, the real reason they're reading this book, which is to find out if the character they've invested their time and heart into really will accomplish his or her goal.
I recently asked Mrs. Talley about her writing process, especially in relation to her character's goal.
Q: How close is your book/story related to your personal life? I mean, you’re tall, and your character is a basketball player. Were you a basketball player in high school?
A. My book/story is related to my personal life in that I grew up in CA and I did play basketball in high school, though I wasn’t gifted by any means. I wanted to play well and, sometimes, I did, but I wanted my main character to be the kind of player I never was.
I think everything we write is personal because we’re writing from our own unique point of view and how we interpret life. Our life’s experiences can’t help but show up in our writing.
Q. Where did you get your idea for your main character’s story goal of trying to reconnect with her father?
A. I know a lot of teenagers who don’t feel connected to their dads. The dads go out and earn the living and take care of things, but sometimes forget to forge a strong relationship with their kids. I think the kids who have a strong relationship with a father-figure do better in life.
My father passed away when I was very young and I never seemed to connect with the father-figure in my own life. I thought it would be interesting to explore that as the main storyline and use the feelings and frustrations I experienced as a teen.
A. Tell me a little about your writing process for Heaven Scent. Did you follow an outline? One of the writing tools you used effectively was giving your main character a clear story goal, regularly reminding the reader of that goal, and finally having your character “achieve” her goal in an “unwanted” way. Did you have this goal and the end in mind before you began your book?
A. I think I did the writing process backwards because I outlined the story after I’d rewritten it several times. I wanted to make sure it flowed and that there was a clear goal in each scene. After it was accepted, I outlined it again and revised it.
I knew the end long before I began the story. I’ve read Dwight Swain’s and Jack Bickham’s books and tried to make sure I followed their advice to keep the story goal very clear. The twist I wanted to put on it was that she attained her story goal, but in a unique, unexpected way.
Q. Now for the “scary” question. One writing “taboo” is to have the main character’s problems “magically,” or in your case, “heavenly” solved; and yet, your implementation of this tool did not seem foreign to me. Perhaps that’s because I, along with many readers, have experienced communications from those who’ve passed on and readily accepted such a possibility. Did you, however, have any misgivings about using this device? Why or why not?
A. Actually, I hadn’t ever thought of that. I’ve never felt the ending was a technique or a device, only what needed to happen in the story. The solution, or the help my main character receives, isn’t fictional to me because I have experienced it, though not in the same way. I know others who have had similar experiences. I knew I wanted my main character to have this experience for many different reasons, but most importantly, because I feel the connection between heaven and earth is so strong and the veil is so thin.
Thank you, Rebecca Talley. I truly appreciate the time you've taken to meet with me and my readers today. But I must also say, I agree with you. The connection between heaven and earth is strong, and the times I recognize that fact most is when I'm helping others reach for their vital, eternal goals. Even when those "others" are characters in my stories. Perhaps it's the same with you?
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Marketing--Rebecca Talley Blog Tour
A new form of marketing has hit the electronic age: blog tours. I don't know how long this idea has been in use, but I first heard of it about a year ago. I didn't know much about it at the time, so I glossed it over as one of those "new fangled" internet gizmos I couldn't hope to understand. And now here I am, about a year later, hosting a blog tour myself. Who says you can't teach an old dog--uh-hum, writer--new tricks?
Anyway, beginning on June 9, author Rebecca Talley and her book, "Heaven Scent," will travel the blogosphere, beginning right here on The Write Blocks. During her "stay" I'll be discussing with her one of the structural elements she did right in her book: the story goal. So stop by. It should prove to be quite enlightening.
Rebecca Talley's upcoming tour dates and places:
June 9 Ronda Hinrichsen--right here at The Write Blocks.
June 10 Don Carey
June 11 Stephanie Humphreys
June 12 Nichole Giles
June 16 Michelle Jefferies
June 17 Emily Debenham
June 18 Danyelle Ferguson
June 19 Ali Cross
June 20 Karen Hoover
June 23 Heather Justesen
June 24 Kim Thompson
June 23 Kim Thompson
June 25 Rachelle Christensen
June 26 Andy Lemmon
June 27 Karlene Browning
June 30 Marcia Mickelson
July 1 Cindy (C.L., C. Lynn) Beck
Anyway, beginning on June 9, author Rebecca Talley and her book, "Heaven Scent," will travel the blogosphere, beginning right here on The Write Blocks. During her "stay" I'll be discussing with her one of the structural elements she did right in her book: the story goal. So stop by. It should prove to be quite enlightening.
Rebecca Talley's upcoming tour dates and places:
June 9 Ronda Hinrichsen--right here at The Write Blocks.
June 10 Don Carey
June 11 Stephanie Humphreys
June 12 Nichole Giles
June 16 Michelle Jefferies
June 17 Emily Debenham
June 18 Danyelle Ferguson
June 19 Ali Cross
June 20 Karen Hoover
June 23 Heather Justesen
June 24 Kim Thompson
June 23 Kim Thompson
June 25 Rachelle Christensen
June 26 Andy Lemmon
June 27 Karlene Browning
June 30 Marcia Mickelson
July 1 Cindy (C.L., C. Lynn) Beck
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