Writer Wednesday: Just Because You Can…

*This post originally appeared on Janice Gable Bashman’s site as part of my Drawn Blog Ghost Tour.

Fiction writers can create a story out of anything, and every character they put down on paper can have their own conflict, their own story line. This is both a blessing and a curse.

When writing my new paranormal novel DRAWN, I knew I was creating what, for me, was a “big book.” Up to that point I’d been writing novels that took place within a tight one month time frame. My plots revolved around my town and were populated by people very familiar to me. “Write what you know,” they say, and I knew the worlds of my first two young adult novels WHAT I MEANT… and OVER MY HEAD very well. But DRAWN was a different sort of story.

Time is slippery in this time-travel book, involving a month-long timeframe in the present, but also an eight-month long timeframe in the past. The setting is present day AND 1460 England. I’m a bit familiar with modern England, having lived there for a semester and visited numerous times, but the past? Not so much. Intensive research was required. My characters in this new novel range from Italian-Americans, to British citizens, medieval lords and courtiers and servants. Add into this mix a plot line where the past and the future continues to be altered as our heroine travels back and forth in time and, well, you have a big book indeed.

And I struggled a bit to make sure it didn’t turn into one big mess. Which gets us to the heart of this post: Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. I can’t tell you how many characters I spun out into entire storylines with their own scenes and character arcs…and some of these characters don’t even appear in the book anymore. You might think the solution is an outline, but even when using an outline it can be hard to tell just how far to go with a character’s story or to know which scenes might be important.

Sometimes the only solution is to write it through and then cut cut cut! Sure, you are doing a ton of character research by writing those extra scenes. But when the character ends up being barely a minor one, it becomes a case of TMI. You don’t need all, or sometimes any of that stuff. And by heading off here and there on wild plot chases, you are wasting time, wasting your energy, and muddying your own clear view of things.

In DRAWN, I’d created this character Guncha, who quickly became one of Michelle’s friends after Michelle moved to England. Guncha was gossipy and romantic-minded, so she was the perfect person to give Michelle the scoop on things, and to nudge her in matters of romance when Michelle finds herself stalked by an unknown guy who also, by the way, mysteriously appears in Michelle’s sketches. But when it came to Guncha, I didn’t stop there. Before I knew it, Michelle was visiting Guncha’s house, sleeping over, meeting her family, learning of Guncha’s conflicts with her traditional family. And Guncha was planning an escape with a secret and unsuitable boyfriend, etc. etc. etc. Nearly one hundred pages later, I realized that my story had naturally strayed far from its central focus: Michelle and her encounters with Christopher Newman, the hot medieval ghost with a sketchy past.

So, refocus and cut cut cut! In the final book we only see Guncha at school and at a carnival. There is no secret boyfriend. No family to speak of. And Michelle wishes she felt closer to her, but realizes that she just can’t share her own secrets with Guncha. How would Guncha ever understand that Michelle’s budding new relationship just might be with a ghost? As Guncha implores Michelle to tell, but secrets continue to build, the reader is in on the gossip instead of Guncha, which is fun. So in this case, I would have saved a ton of time if I could have decided up front not only that Guncha was going to be a minor character, but also what her true function in the plot would be. This is a biggie, because if I knew this I could have smacked my own hand every time I deviated from this mission.

Sounds good, right? But what if your extra character’s story parallels and weaves into the main plot, adding intrigue and mystery? Why wouldn’t you stray into that storyline?  DRAWN involves an ancient murder, and a chilling curse that still lingers in the town’s castle. In the book, the Wallingford Papers (based on the real Paston Letters…look ‘em up if you’re curious) are a series of preserved family letters dating back to the 1400s. They detail the history of the murder, and the heroism of the Wallingford ancestors. But are all the letters actually in the public record? And are they to be believed? This plot is essential to the book, involving the fate of the ghost and pretty much everyone in the story.

Okay, so doesn’t it seem obvious that a scholar could be at the heart of rooting out this mystery? Since the Wallingford family reputation (and much of their success) hinges on their heroic background, wouldn’t you expect that family to do anything to keep their family name clean? So, is it that crazy that I created a scholar who in the ‘50s uncovered their secrets and was about to go public with it, before an untimely death? Flash forward to the present, and I also created Mr. Llywelyn, a history teacher at Wallingford Academy (Michelle’s new school) who was related to this very scholar and who is also fighting to uncover the truth of the murder, the papers and the death of the scholar, and…

Cut cut CUT!!! Jeesh. Do you see how the fiction writer’s mind can spin and weave and deviate from the main story path, even while she is following that very same path? Yikes, it’s like entrapment I tell you. In the end I had to give a long hard look at the story elements that were most essential. Yes, I wanted a scholar who was silenced, but I decided that this scholar would have absolutely nothing to do with the history teacher. The scholar now has merely a mention, just enough to add to the danger and the gravity of the treacherous ancient secrets being kept. As for Mr. Llywelyn? Well, he’s Michelle’s history teacher, instructing the class about the very era Christopher the ghost inhabits. The teacher’s role is now limited to occasionally adding in a fact about the Wallingford Papers, about the dangers of living at that time, etc., thereby ramping up the tension for Michelle when she realizes what these facts mean to a ghost she’s starting to have spooky good feelings for. I had to focus on Michelle as the hero, as the person who solves the mystery and makes things happen. No way should this be relegated to another character and, since this is a YA title, especially not to an adult.

So again, a supposed major-player was reduced to a few lines. Lines that were necessary and served the plot. And beyond that? Well, this just wasn’t his story.

Sometimes writing a book is a process, sometimes it’s an ordeal, but it’s only successful if we give our draft a hard look and decide if scenes are moving us forward, and if our deviations are truly creating the book we’d set out to write.

As I get further along in my writing career, I’m training myself to create a clearer storyline and to force myself to stick to that path. If the story is complex enough, like DRAWN is, there is no need to deviate and take elaborate side trips into other character paths. It’s enough, while plotting, to stick to the main issues and simply ask myself: And then what? And then? And then?

The answers, surprisingly, can equal a rich and complex novel.

Writer Wednesday: On Overwriting

Overwriting.  Not the opposite of an insurance agent’s underwriting.  Nope.  I’m talking about the tendency in our writing to say something, then restate it.  And then, just in case the reader still wasn’t paying attention, we add in another example.

Another example of overwriting is when we start the scene too early.  But does the reader really need to see everything that happens before our heroine arrives at the heart of the story?  Same applies to the end of the scene.  That’s my classic M.O. I tend to continue the scene for too long after the important moment happens.  Summing up the feelings. Or following the main character out the door and into the night.  It’s in the draft form of every novel I’ve ever written.

Because I know this about myself, it’s an easy fix. In the revision stage I simply look at the end of each chapter and chop off that last paragraph or two.  By leaving the chapter in the midst of conflict or at that very moment when things have happened, I can really strengthen the story.  It leaves the reader thinking and feeling.  And readers will assume that your character will ruminate on what’s going on, or that the heroine will leave the scene and go out into the night.

So let the reader get involved by getting out of the way.

I could say more here. Restate my point a few other ways and give you a bunch of examples. But maybe it’s best if I just stop.

Or… I could tell you I’m walking away from my computer, down the stairs, to get a cup of coffee, and then into the night, where I’ll ponder the complexities of overwriting, and I’ll think that maybe now I’ll…

Agent Monday: When an Agent is Not a Writing Coach

A literary agent is someone who scouts out talent, and then connects that talent with the right editor. An agent is someone who supports her clients, and helps her clients build their careers.  An agent can give her clients some editorial direction, too. But I want to emphasize something to folks who are querying me and are not my clients: I am not your writing coach.

Look, I’m happy to offer editorial advice to my clients. But for folks who send me queries and folks who I request full manuscripts from, but who I do NOT end up offering representation to, well, please don’t expect me to tell you how to revise your novel.

Here’s the truth, if I read your full manuscript and something jumps out at me as a problem, in my rejection notice I will do you the courtesy of stating what that is. But that is a courtesy, honestly. I don’t need to say anything more than “no thanks.” If I say that there is too much telling, or that the dialogue doesn’t ring true, it is up to you (if you agree with this) to figure out how to fix it. It is not up to me to show you how.

Why am I bringing this up?  Because some writers don’t “get” this.

If you need assistance, you can turn to craft books, beta readers, a critique group, or you can even hire an editor. What you shouldn’t do is email me repeatedly asking for advice. Or Facebook message me. Or, as a rejected author has done, shoot me an email filled with derision and sarcasm and downright nasty sentiments thinking I’ll somehow apologize and offer assistance. (At least I think that was the logic behind it…You can bet I just pressed “delete” instead. Yikes!)

But what if I’ve given you extensive revision notes (beyond a few sentences) and told you that I’d be happy to see this manuscript if you decide to revise it? Well, if you need clarification about what I’ve suggested, then yeah, send me an email and ask. No problem. Yet even in this instance, the actual “how” of it is in your court.

Hey, I know that writers are hungry for guidance, and some folks just don’t understand that they are stepping over a line of sorts. Most don’t mean any harm.

Just keep in mind that if a helpful agent does offer you constructive criticism in a rejection, that’s a bonus, not a given. The rest is up to you. So always remember what an agent is and ISN’T. And play nice out there, okay?

*Agent Monday is a weekly post. To catch all of these, subscribe to this blog by clicking on the “Subscribe to Marie’s Site Here” in the upper left column.

Writer Wednesday: I Can’t Seem to Start My Novel!

I can’t seem to start my novel! Yeah, that about says it all. I don’t believe in writer’s block, so let’s not call it that. But let’s just say the writing isn’t flowing the way I’d planned.

Okay, to backtrack just a bit: I have started the novel.  If by started you mean that I’ve got a full outline. Yup. Got that (though I admit I’m not much of an outliner). And I have sat down and written a number of starting scenes…which I’ve promptly discarded.  I’ve done the whole sit-in-a-coffeehouse-and-just-do-it sessions, which didn’t do it for me.

Part of the problem is a question of where to start. I’ve written funny material with my character arriving at the train station, but no, too early in the story. So CUT. Then poignant material the moment my character arrives on scene, but no, this feel like introducing back story. So CUT. Then a crazy night out loaded with humiliation, but there’s no real reason for the reader to be there either, so CUT CUT CUT!

And that, dear readers, is how it has been going all this past month. The month of August. My Write the Novel Month. Blah. I know I should do what I tell my writing students to do: just write. DON’T REVISE. DON’T SELF-EDIT.  The thing is, I don’t feel like I’m self-editing. I feel like I’m just not latching onto the characters and voices in a way that makes me feel like the words are real and I’m in the moment.  That’s how I write. That’s my own style.  I hear the character’s voice, and know that dramatic opening scene, and I just go for it.

Not this time…

If I think of this past month in terms of words on the page, I can surely panic. But no. Because I’m not on a deadline (I’ve written a novel on deadline before…that was an experience!), I can think of this as a process.  Doesn’t that sound better than, say, a mess, or a failure? A process. And I do think this is accurate. As I’ve rejected scene after scene, I have been thinking about where I would start things. How. Why.

And If I did panic, would I be daydreaming of the scenes I needed to write? Would I let myself do other stuff and put this aside without feeling like I was failing? You know the answer to that one, right?

So, as I watch August disappear, I have to take a deep breath, and trust my writing process. As I’ve NOT written, what I HAVE done is think about the characters more, and their voices. I’ve started to hear in my head dialogue, and witness scenes that definitely should be written. I’ve picked out better names, more interesting story threads.

So sometimes, not writing is a vital part of writing.

I’ve tried to relax, even as these notions have all piled up in my brain but I’ve become too busy with traveling around and settling one child at Law School, which means the words are bubbling, but I’m still NOT WRITING. But life is a process, too. We go through phases in our lives. There was the time my kids were babies and I had to accept that there were months and even years when I wasn’t going to get the intense writing time I so needed.

Right now I’m seeing that maybe September is a better writing month for me after all. My husband has started back teaching at the University. My other daughter will soon be back at school. And my poodle is pretty quiet when she isn’t yapping at the mailman. The house, which was all summer filled with people and “what’s to eat” inquiries and piles of laundry and stacks of dirty dishes, will be under control and calm. A writing space, dare I say?

So sometimes, not writing is about waiting for your life and your head to get into a better place.

And sometimes not starting your novel is the best way to start it after all. Hm. We’ll see about that one. Stay tuned…

It’s a Myth

*This is also posted on the Liars Club blog, as part of an on-going series on writing advice…

When I think about the heart of any great novel, it goes back to the root of storytelling. To folks saying to eager listeners, “Gather around the fire, while I tell you the tale of…” And then drawing in the audience with a story so gripping, so essential, that the audience forgets the storyteller completely and enters the fictional world, becoming the main character, and embarking on an amazing adventure.

That’s why the one book I’d recommend to authors is The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler.  This exceptional text draws on the work of folklorist Joseph Campbell, who spent a lifetime analyzing the world’s mythic tales, their structures, their archetypes, and who distilled all this into an amazing volume called The Hero with a Thousand Faces.  And then there was the riveting series of talks between Campbell and Moyers, resulting in a mind-blowing book called The Power of Myth. Yeah, you’d better get that one too.

But back to writing.  The Writer’s Journey follows mythic structure in storytelling, and can guide you on a psyche-based format for laying out any novel or screenplay.  The format includes a cast of roles that accompany the hero, including the mentor, the threshold guardian, the shapeshifter.  And stages of the hero’s journey, including call to adventure, meeting the mentor, approach to the innermost cave, etc. He mainly uses examples of this structure from movies, but the wisdom is based on archetypes. And as Carl Jung would tell you if he could, archetypes are deeply rooted in all human brains. You can’t get much more universal than that. Apply these archetypes to, say, a modern novel set in an edgy metropolis, and you’ve got something shaking.

I’d like to add that studying folklore and reading fairy tales – the real, gritty ones minus the Disney princesses – should be required in any author’s training as much as the classics are…Tales passed down orally reveal primal fears and desires. Scary and revealing as hell. The stuff of legends.

We writers are all lowly storytellers, really. Beckoning our listeners to come to the fire circle and hear a tale. If we want that tale to actually mean something, to hold our listeners spellbound, then I say listen to the tales of the past and pay attention to what they are telling writers.  The Writer’s Journey can take you there.

Can we talk about dialog?

Last night at the Bucks County Romance Writers monthly meeting, guest speaker Kathryn Craft gave an interesting chat about dialog, covering formatting, punctuation, and the many things that dialog should and shouldn’t do.

And this got me thinking about the best advice I’ve ever gotten about writing dialog: Think of it as power shifts. A push and pull between characters.  I don’t remember who told me this, and I really wish I did so I could thank them.  When dialog between characters is a push and pull, you know you’ve got tension going on and plotting advancing, and your characters expressing their points of view.  It’s everything that good dialog should do.

Here’s an example of this push and pull between characters in a scene from my most current manuscript DRAWN. The book’s about a teen artist from NJ who moves to England in search of “normal,” only to find herself channeling one very hot ghost.  Of course, my character doesn’t realize at first what is going on. In this scene from near the beginning of my novel, Michelle’s sketching at the castle when some guy dressed in a cape appears yet again:

“Who sent you?” he says.

“Nobody,” I say, all too aware of the dagger he holds against me.

“Anyone who threatens the Earl is my own sworn enemy.” He nods toward my messenger bag. “Show me it.”

I hand it to him.

Keeping his lime-green eyes on me, he dumps the contents of my bag onto the ground. “What weapon is this?” He holds up my sharpener.

I narrow my eyes at him, stick my pencil into the sharpener, and turn it a few times. Pull it out and blow on the tip.

He squints at me. “What of this?”

I take my Chapstick from his fingers, pop off the top, and coat my lips. “Really dangerous,” I say.

“This?” He holds up a tampon.

“God, enough.” I push away the point of his dagger. I snatch the tampon from his hand, pick up my bag, and start putting my things back into it. “You’re nuts, you know that? Or I am. One of us is, that’s for sure.”

He looks amused and stows his dagger in the side of his boot. “You lay in wait, yet are unarmed. What manner of assassin are you?”

“Assassin? You’ve got problems. I get it. Boy, do I ever get it.” I scoop up my coins, nubs of pencils, and a pack of Conte crayons, along with the countless other little items I always tote around, like tissues, hair ties and, because I once sliced open my finger cutting a linoleum block for a print, a tiny first aid kit. Thinking about this, I automatically rub the small white scar on my left thumb. “Try taking your meds,” I tell him, stuffing my things back into my bag. “Try not wearing that cape and boots all the time. While you’re at it, why don’t you try taking up a hobby, like going to Star Wars conventions as a Jedi knight?” I hang the bag over my shoulder, and grab my drawing pad. “I’m leaving right now, and if you follow me, I swear to God I’ll scream and you’ll be in prison faster than you can say Society of Creative Anachronism. Got that?”

In her talk, Kathryn also highlighted that your dialog should always be multi-tasking. If it isn’t, you’re doing something wrong.  So, if you follow this, along with the power shifting rule of thumb, you will never have characters doing idle chitchat, like,

“So, how’s that new exercise regime working out for you?”

“Not bad. Enjoying the great outdoors.”

Unless it is tied into tension building. Like, say, your characters are teetering over the edge of a cliff, and trying to muster their courage.  Example:

“So, how’s that new exercise regime working out for you?” Brett asks, his foot sliding, sending a shower of stones down the steep cliff’s edge.

“Not bad,” Jessie says, his powerful hands clutching the sapling’s branch. “Enjoying the great outdoors.”

Yup, you want to avoid all boring stuff.  Cut anywhere that a character is recapping what has already been said in your story.  Just say: Jessica told Rachel everything. And consider it done.  And don’t have your character state the obvious.  Like if we’ve just seen her be shot, don’t have her then say, “I’ve been shot. I’m bleeding.”

You’d be surprised how many of us make this mistake over and over again. At least in drafts.

One final thought about dialog: each character needs its own voice.  Remember those people who told you stories about what he said, she said? And how they would mimic each person’s speech pattern and mannerisms to make that story come to life in the telling? Yeah, I know. It was a bit annoying, but effective as well.  I think of dialog in those terms.  I’m telling the reader what happened, and making sure that they know who is doing the talking and how the speaker moved and felt in the telling.  It all comes through in the speech patterns, word choices, gestures.  And hopefully, if you do this all correctly, it feels real.

That’s all I can say.

Burning Questions about Writing and Publishing

Hot tip: there is a new series of posts over at the Philly Liars Club site, which cover burning questions about publishing and writing. Over the next few weeks, the group’s 13 authors will answer a question posed to them, so you should check back there frequently (or subscribe to that site) to see what they have to say.  As a member of their group, I’ve kicked off their series, and I’m also including my post here, too. But be sure to check in with the Liars to see what their other fab authors say about this same question…

Burning Question #1: What one thing do I wish I knew before publishing my first book or article?

That crap happens. Honestly, every published writer I’ve spoken to has a story about how they have gotten the nasty end of the stick. This shouldn’t be such a big surprise, but somehow it is. This is partly because authors rarely talk about these nightmares openly. It’s the kind of thing we whisper to each other when swapping horror stories with a colleague. And I think this is a disservice to our fellow writers, who really should be better prepared for their future.

Writing is such a personal business. Especially with fiction. Your book is your baby in a way. You invest so much into it. You love it.  Then you have an editor who loves it. And you have this great relationship with your editor. Yeah, it’s business, but you feel really close to your editor, and you know that she will fight for your book till the end.

So, uh, how come there are so many authors with “crap happens, and it happened to me” stories? Because your book may be your baby, but in the world of publishing, nobody cares. It’s just a commodity. Not even your editor cares. Well, she does to a point, but I can promise you she cares about her job and her paycheck more. So books get accepted and then get canceled. Books come out and a publisher has already lost interest in them, so there is no publicity or support. Future books that you write may or may not be picked up by the publisher/editor who “loved” your last novel. And so it goes. It all definitely feels like a betrayal of sorts, but as Donald Trump says, “It’s nothing personal. It’s just business.”

I know, it sounds dire. But before you impale yourself on your fountain pen, think of how empowering this information can be.  Just knowing that crap happens and that it will probably happen to you should make your dealings more businesslike.  Don’t trust that an editor has talked up your book with the marketing committee, get over there and talk with them yourself.  Don’t be complacent and believe that since a publisher has accepted your book that your work is done. Assume that the rug will be ripped out from beneath you at any moment and work your ass off to promote the work you have gotten accepted, to relate to your readers and build a fan base, and to write an even better next book.  Always have projects going.  Dude, it’s survival. It’s business. And it’ll serve you well.

Sadly I’ve seen many a talented author get so distraught by what has happened to them in the publishing business that they’ve given up writing completely.  It’s killed the joy for them, and they just can’t pursue their craft anymore. It nearly happened to me. Having a book that was in final copy edits canceled, along with a host of other serious crap occurring at the same time, nearly did me in. I’m an extremely positive person, but even I felt beyond low. The only way I got through was to fight back hard promoting my book like crazy. And by sinking my teeth into more novels.

I’m a different writer now.  Paperback canceled? Okay. Passed on new novel? Fine. I’m not pleased, but I’m not devastated either. I’m too busy looking for the business relationship that will benefit my writing the most, and I’m too busy being the best writer I can be.

And I’m still loving what I do.

Notes from a Plot Party Virgin

I was a Plot Party Virgin, up until last weekend when I attended my very first plotting event sponsored by the Bucks County Romance Writers. Truthfully, I’d never heard of plot parties before, and didn’t have a clue what to expect. All I knew was that it would take 6 hours, that I needed a stack of stickees and a brand new book idea, and that at the end of it I should have an entire novel plotted out. Yeah, it sounds almost too good to be true.

In my last post, The Plot Sickens, I shared how my writer’s crit group, The Rebel Writers, struggles with plotting issues, and included some special resources we’ve been using to help our novels develop and flow.  We’d all been wrestling with plotting issues — all had the GREAT IDEA that petered out, the agonizing middle that tortured us, the unknown ending that baffled us.  And I was personally struggling with finding and fleshing out my next novel idea.

According to my online research, plot parties seem to be fairly common among romance writer’s groups. The BCRW group does a party every year, and many members told me they always come out of it with a completely plotted novel.  Sounds excellent. But since this was a romance group and I’m a mainstream author, would I end up with some bodice ripper plot I’d never set out to write in the first place? And what is it they say about “design by committee?” Isn’t that how a camel was created?

So last Saturday I showed up with some trepidation, my stickees, and my idea. A fairly vague idea at that, involving three sisters, some wonderful Italian recipes, and an unpredictable grandmother who stirs up everyone’s love lives.

There are many ways to run a plot party.  Sometimes the group comes to the party with a previously-issued list of questions about their ideas that they’ve already filled in.  Sometimes the group receives a special list of questions that they work through filling in as the party progresses. Our party, the stickee party, was thought up and led by Judi McCoy, who is author of numerous titles, including her series of Dogwalker Mysteries.  In a starred review, Publisher’s Weekly dubbed them “delightful,” and said her books were filled “with humor, quirky characters, and delicious hints of romance.”  We were in good hands.

First she had a few ground rules for us.  We sit in groups with no more than 4 people. We don’t sit with a crit partner we’ve worked with before, since we want the suggestions and ideas to be fresh. If an idea is proposed to an author and that author says, “My character wouldn’t do that,” then they give that idea away and someone else can use it in their own work, otherwise, all ideas belong to the person the group is currently helping to plot.

When we were all seated in our groupings of 4, we chose one person to be the first “plotee” (eventually everyone would get a chance), and one person with good handwriting to be the scribe. The scribe would put the ideas down on stickees, and then face those post-its down on the table, stacking them. When done, the theory was that the plotee would have a stack of notes containing all scenes from her newly plotted novel. And the writer could, of course, rearrange these scenes with ease later, simply by rearranging the stickees if needed.

I, as a virgin, was of course selected to be the first plotee in my group.  I had to give the basic plot line as I knew it, what sort of book it was to be (mainstream, literary, for a particular publishing line, etc.), basics about the hero, basics about the heroine.  And from then on, the group’s job was to ask questions, especially “why?”

I’m happy to say that for me, it totally worked. Seriously. My group (which only had 3 people), posed some interesting questions, which opened my mind to some wonderful twists and turns.  Even when they proposed something that would not work in my plot, it was helpful, because I was clarifying exactly what WAS to be in the plot.  An hour and a half into it, we were done. My modest quarter inch stack of filled-in stickees does not have scene by scene notes, but the framework is there, and I’m ready to roll. Ye-hah!

By now, frankly, we were a little burned out!  Here’s were plot party members tuck in to an impressive spread of food, vital to any successful event. And we all eat a little more than we probably should…Hey, we were working hard!

Then back to work we went. I think the stickee format was especially helpful for me, because I had a strong feel for the sort of book I wanted to do.  My other two group members were in a different position. Kate had written 10 pages of her new novel idea, a paranormal with boundless possibilities. As we worked with her, we asked her many questions, but she was unsure of the answers, so we didn’t actually plot out her novel. She did wind up with a huge stack of things to think of and consider, though.  When it came to Becky’s turn, she didn’t really have a novel idea to start with. So we spent our time asking about what sort of stories interested her most, and her life experiences, and she felt encouraged and that she would start exploring some of the ideas that we’d discussed.

So, in the end, not everyone came away with a fully plotted book, but we all left with work to do, and a feeling that this was a day well spent.  I encourage anyone to pull one of these events together.  You’ll be energized, you’ll get excited bouncing ideas around, and just maybe you’ll leave with your own stack of stickees that will set you on the path to writing your next great novel.

Special thanks to Judi McCoy, to Becky and Kate in my group, and to the BCRW for hosting the plot party.  Gotta go. I’ve got a new novel to write!

Tricks for Editing Your Novel

I’m currently in the throes of revising my YA novel DRAWN, and, wow, working with a 300+ page manuscript really presents some challenges.  Editing on the hard copy has a nice safe feel to it, but it quickly gets messy, and, let’s face it, eventually you have to go to the computer copy anyway.  But make those changes on your computer copy and they feel done.  What if you change your mind? What if you mess everything up? Gah.

Of course this is where the computer serves us all so well. I truly feel for those poor old sods back in the day who had to write in long-hand by candlelight.  Get too close to a flame, and there goes a year or two worth of writing.  So we have some definite advantages.

With this set of revisions, I’ve been targeting specific characters in my novel, and specific threads of plotline that need tightening.  So the first thing I did was to use “save as” and rename the manuscript as something like: “DRAWN – new mother scenes.”  Then by opening the newly saved file and working in that instead of in the original file, I knew that if I royally screw up everything, it was still there saved for me safe and sound.

Next I tracked my changes in the manuscript.  If you’ve never done this, you’re in for a treat.  Just click on “Tools” then “Track Changes,” and select “Highlight Changes” and check off “Track Changes While Editing.”  Now every single change you make here will show up.  I LOVE this option while editing.  It helps me see where I’ve altered things, and I can go back to these sections and easily change my mind, or even revert back to what I had there by highlighting the change, and going through TOOLS and using “Accept or Reject Changes.”  With a huge manuscript, it’s so important to see the changes in process, and to be consistent. Using the “Edit” and “Find” tabs, I can quickly find a key phrase I’m looking for, or a character’s name, and edit from there.

If your changes are major, your manuscript’s tracked edits may end up being more confusing than helpful.  What Im doing with DRAWN, since my revisions revolve around a few very different issues, is I tackle one type of revision at a time. Here’s how it has been going…First I create a copy of the manuscript labeled for that issue. Next I track the edits for that issue in that copy. When I’m satisfied with those edits, I then go into the original manuscript and make the changes in that…if there are a lot of edits, I’ll print out a copy of the edited version and use the highlighted changes there to guide me. I save the revised original version, and back it up, including emailing a copy of it to myself.  And that’s one issue tackled…on to the next.

I know, it’s a bit clunky. And I could just say “accept all changes” on my revised copy, but I’m still not sure if I’m keeping them all yet (that’s why I track the changes in my original manuscript too…until all my revisions are done, then I’ll keep ‘em). If anyone has a better idea, I’d love to hear it.  Personally, I feel there is a clarity to dealing with one plot thread or character change at a time. You’re sure to follow through the whole manuscript and thoroughly complete the change everywhere it’s needed.  And it’s truly helpful to then check that revision off the mental to-do list.

Sometimes there is a particular scene that tortures me. I like so much of what I have, yet I know it isn’t working just yet.  You’ve probably heard the phrase “kill your darlings.”  When we fall in love with our writing, we are in very dangerous territory. Writers must be ruthless with their words, cutting, slashing, sacrificing all for the sake of the story.  When I come across the fateful torturous scene, even a copy of it within the context of the story paralyzes me. How can I possibly change it? It seems to BELONG. Here’s what I’ve discovered: if I just copy that scene and put it into another file, I’m much more willing to butcher it to save the story. Remember, the original is safely saved, so no real risk, right?

So yesterday I did that with a scene, and it helped a little. But I was still getting tangled up in what was there.  The only solution was a blank page. The old-fashioned rewrite it from scratch. And when the computer screen bedeviled me, I turned to a sheet of paper, and a pen.  All that was missing was the candlestick.

All technology aside, story is about ideas, and words, and creativity.

One final thought…when I finish my first draft of a novel, I set it aside for a while, and then I use Donald Maass’ WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL WORKBOOK to help me edit the draft. The exercises in there ask the big questions about plot lines, tension, character development, etc. Great stuff.  Check it out.

Just Finished Writing a New Novel

Last week I did it. I finished revising my third novel (well, fourth if you count the one I’d written before my first novel WHAT I MEANT… was published by Random House last year).

Finishing a novel is a feeling like none other. First I’m all wrapped up in the drama of the ending, feeling bittersweet and teary, yet hopeful, just like the heroine. Then, it’s a flash of pure joy. I did it, and it’s saved multiple times in multiple locations, and therefore it will continue to exist even after I move on. I’ve created SOMETHING, and that something is a huge part of me, even though it is its own entity too (kind of like a child).

The novel (which is a young adult, like my others) is called DRAWN, about Michelle De Freccio, a teen artist from Jersey who is running from her family’s freaky past. Her dad is transferred to teach at an academy in England, and this is a new beginning for Michelle. A clean slate. How many second chances do we get in life to become what we really want to be? In Michelle’s case, she wants to be normal. But when Michelle starts channelling a ghost through her drawings, a young man who she then meets and feels inexplicably drawn to, normal soon flies from her grasp as she’s pulled into a world of conflict, mortal danger, and boundless love.

Writing DRAWN was an all-consuming experience. I fell in love, I fought for my life, I ran from madness…I became my character, all while trying to pursue my own version of a normal life with its routine of driving the kids around, and cooking dinner, and sometimes even vacuming. The moment I finished writing, I ran out to celebrate by picking up some sushi and dumplings for lunch and popping in a Bridget Jones DVD. I was free, and carefree, and blissful…for about two hours.

Then I missed my book, and my characters. It’s kind of how you feel when you read a book you absolutely love, and you so want to get to the end to find out what’s happened, but then you feel really depressed that it’s done.

Now it’s on to the next phase: critiques. This is where my amazing writer’s group gets its hands on it, and I have to wait an excruciating month to hear what they think. And this is when my two teen daughters devour it, after waiting for too many months for a read, and they report back on their thoughts. Then I’ll process their opinions, and send the shiny revised version off to my wonderful agent, hoping she’ll be as in love with it as I am.

Okay, quite frankly, this phase is a tough one. In many ways, much tougher than writing the book. What if people don’t like it? What if I’ve somehow failed to convey the thrills and drama and heart-stopping love? This is where we lonely writers have to find some way to believe in ourselves and in our vision, even when others might not. I hate doubting, but I love input. And I want my book to sizzle. I want my readers to flip the pages eagerly, and to feel as touched when they read the last word as I did writing it. I want them to set the novel down when they are finished, VERY sorry that it is done. So, as Dr. Suess would say, I’m in The Waiting Place.

I’m more of a doer, frankly. I’ve even got a twinkling of an idea for another novel ahead of me.  But in the meantime, in The Waiting Place, I’m getting to all the things I told myself I’d look forward to doing once the book was complete and sent to my first readers. I’m washing my car, and sorting through papers, and shifting away the summer clothes, and washing windows, and wishing wishing wishing I was still writing DRAWN. I’m in writing withdrawal.

I wonder if all writers feel like this. It’s been a few days. I want to create some more. And I really want to linger in that world I’d just created. Maybe I’ll read DRAWN through one more time, just for old times sake.