Process or Program?

Process or Program?

This is for all those unfortunate writers (like me) who aren’t blessed with the ability to start writing and keep writing a complete story without the need to stop and outline or at least brainstorm a plan for the flow of the plot.

Frankly I don’t know if there are many out there like that but whoever you are, you have my respect and admiration (and more than a tinge of envy).

I’m prolific out of the gate when I have an idea for a plot or a character and have started a story with as little as three random words, using the almost unlimited resources from books and the Internet for creative writing prompts. You could open up a dictionary and pick out three of four random words, although realistically they do better when referring to a character, a place, an object, and/or an event.

It’s what follows that initial burst of flowing words where I usually come to a screeching halt. What happens next? Why are these characters doing what they are doing at this place? What are they after? It’s time then to start planning, outline, and brainstorm the answers to these questions.

There are a number of ways to approach outlining, one of which is to employ a writing software application. Dramatica Pro, Wizards for Authors, Scrivener, Write Now, the list goes on and on. There are a number of free applications available for download, a few of which I’ve tried. There is a market for writing software, mainly because writers are looking for help in organizing their work, and like me, are searching for ways to write a novel or short story faster and more efficiently, minimizing the time between the germ of an idea and a work worthy of submitting for publication.

I won’t make any claims as to the worth of any of these applications. I’m sure there are writers who use them with some degree of success. I have experimented with a few of them and they all have redeeming value.

Given over twenty-five years in the IT field, I’m well aware of the work required to design, code, test, and implement these programs. The developer must anticipate the errors which might occur and the responsibility to stand by to support their product is an awesome one.

I prefer a process to organize and design a story. Software programs will do only as much as the developer allows, even if they are is a writer or consulted a writer while designing the application.

A process allows the writer to design, outline, and organize a story on a piece of paper, a Word document, an Excel spreadsheet, a whiteboard, or a chalkboard without restrictions on rules.

In the coming weeks, I will document my experience in using Excel for things such as timelines and character profiles.

My Author website:

http://jstrandburg.wordpress.com

Order Hustle Henry and the Cue-Ball Kid here:

http://www.amazon.com/Hustle-Henry-Cue-Ball-Jack-Strandburg-ebook/dp/B00BJ83O5K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385144732&sr=8-1&keywords=hustle+henry+and+the+cue-ball+kid

Order An Appointment With God: One Ordinary Man’s Journey to Faith Through Prayer here:

http://www.amazon.com/Appointment-Ordinary-Journey-Through-Prayer-ebook/dp/B00CWRZ5GI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385144792&sr=8-1&keywords=an+appointment+with+god%3A+one+man%27s

 

A Day in the Life . . .

A Day in the Life of . . .

Begin at the Beginning

 Perhaps the most popular piece of advice for writers is to begin the story in medias res (in the midst of things). Start with a significant event, something exciting to draw the reader into the story so they can’t wait to read what happens next.

Mystery writer’s typically open their story with a victim, usually a dead body, perhaps floating on the river or buried in a shallow grave in the woods. Romance writers might open their story with the discovery of a sordid affair. Science fiction writers might describe in great detail the explosion of an unexplored distant planet.

Readers want more than anything to know what happens to the main characters. They want to identify with the main character(s), love the protagonist, despise the antagonist, feel their pain and sorrow, and share in their joy. Memorable characters make or break a story and often an author’s success hangs in the balance.

Character’s lives are formed and affected by events, both historical (before the story starts) and ongoing (what happens during the story). An author might have the most interesting characters in the world, but if nothing happens, there is no story. It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George and Jerry pitch an idea to NBC for a show about nothing.

Coming up with a story idea and an effective opening which entices the reader to sit up and take notice isn’t usually difficult. A murder, an explosion, a car accident – throw in a character or two and you have a solid opening to a story.

It’s what follows the opening that sometimes bogs us down. Even more, it’s what comes before the opening, the events leading up to where your main character(s) find themselves that sometimes offers a greater challenge and often leads to the writer’s most feared adversary – writer’s block.

Most writers experience writer’s block at some point in their quest to write the Great American Novel and it comes in all shapes and sizes. You might draw a complete blank and cannot get started; staring at a blank page for what seems like hours until you finally surrender and turn on the TV. You might have a solid story line but struggle to organize your scenes and chapters. Or you know what the story is about, have a number of interesting characters standing by waiting to be cast into your imaginary world, but can’t decide what they do, and when, how, and where they do it.

Try doing a biographical sketch of your characters. They all had a life before the story began and thousands of events to draw upon. You don’t need much detail but deciding on the most significant events for your main character will allow you to brainstorm how your character dealt with, say, an abortion or a death in the family. Perhaps he or she was robbed at gunpoint or saved the life of a friend. Maybe they were bullied in elementary school and later on in the story meet one of their tormentors. Memorable events like these shape your characters and influence how they deal with life’s challenges.

I suspect most writers agree conflict is necessary to present an entertaining and hopefully unforgettable story. By brainstorming the life’s events of your main characters (by main characters I mean those contributing to the story), you can determine when and how these characters in conflict first meet and how their lives become intertwined.

I find the biographical sketch method useful in a number of ways.

1. Provides the background story necessary to keep the timeline accurate.
2. Brings your story to the point of your in media res.
3. Encourages a natural reaction to ask What if?
4. Helps to determine character motive.

What will emerge from this process is a timeline for the major characters.

For example, let’s assume your story begins with the protagonist getting death threats from person or persons unknown. Your biographical sketch reveals a few years ago he or she intervened in a hostage situation. The perpetrator was shot by police, arrested and served time, but died violently in prison. A biographical sketch of the scene determines who was there, what happened, and how the other characters will contribute to the story. You might decide a relative of the perpetrator was an accomplice during the hostage situation, was not caught, and seeks revenge on the protagonist.

From the time a person is born (the birth itself might be a memorable event) they meet people, go to school, fall in (and perhaps out) of love, experience death, travel to faraway places, and work a variety of jobs, all of which will not only provide ideas for an entertaining story but reduce the odds of the invasion of writer’s block.

My Author website:

http://jstrandburg.wordpress.com

Order Hustle Henry and the Cue-Ball Kid here:

http://www.amazon.com/Hustle-Henry-Cue-Ball-Jack-Strandburg-ebook/dp/B00BJ83O5K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385144732&sr=8-1&keywords=hustle+henry+and+the+cue-ball+kid

Order An Appointment With God: One Ordinary Man’s Journey to Faith Through Prayer here:

http://www.amazon.com/Appointment-Ordinary-Journey-Through-Prayer-ebook/dp/B00CWRZ5GI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385144792&sr=8-1&keywords=an+appointment+with+god%3A+one+man%27s

Great Books For Writers

Great Books for Writers

             Over the course of almost twenty-four years of reading, researching, and practicing writing, I have read no less than fifteen books on writing and lost count of the number of magazine articles and the Internet. I have at least ten more books sitting on the shelves of my bookcase, which I might never open.

Like many writers I suppose, we read and research tips and strategies from other writers, hoping to find the article or book magically transforming us into a best-selling author.

After a while, the information starts running together and certain themes and pieces of advice recur:

• Show, don’t tell
• Make your characters interesting and believable
• Write powerful and realistic dialogue
• Use the five senses
• Don’t use unnecessary words.

Sound familiar?

We might try to apply these suggestions and approaches and if we are fortunate we’ll find something to improve our writing.

A few months ago I decided to organize my writing space and my bookcase was at the top of the list. I reviewed my library and discarded more than a few, some I never read. I realized I subconsciously used the books as an excuse not to write while trying to convince myself I needed to read the contents to hopefully find the gold nugget – the piece of advice turning my book project into a best-seller overnight.

Of the books I read and reviewed, two made the most impact and will stay on my book shelf for future reference.

From my perspective, any book or article providing examples to support the narrative explanation earns high marks, and The Fiction Writer’s Silent Partner by Martin Roth excels in this category.

Martin Roth does a masterful job to explain the three main aspects of story – Character, Place (Setting), and Event (Plot), but goes further. His attention to detail provides the writer with templates for character profiling, the parts of the plot including but not limited to subplots, crises, climaxes, and suspense with an ample number of examples to spark creativity.

The Fiction Writer’s Silent Partner covers crime scenes and multiple genres, including the uniqueness of the particular genre. For instance, in his section on The Old West, Roth gives a list of how people traveled, Old West lingo, typical places, names, and characters, helping the writer stay focused and add realism to the story.

Roth’s book makes it almost impossible to motivate oneself to write.

My second recommendation is The Fiction Writer’s Workshop by Josip Novakovich.

Novakovich covers character, plot, and setting in much detail and provides writing samples to support his explanations.

To spark creativity, Novakovich includes very detailed exercises after each chapter.

In addition to character, plot, and setting, The Fiction Writer’s Workshop includes a chapter on point of view, dialogue and scene, how to write effective beginnings and endings, and revision.

The Fiction Writer’s Silent Partner and The Fiction Writer’s Workshop are worthwhile investments for any writer’s tool kit.

My Author website:

http://jstrandburg.wordpress.com

Order Hustle Henry and the Cue-Ball Kid here:

http://www.amazon.com/Hustle-Henry-Cue-Ball-Jack-Strandburg-ebook/dp/B00BJ83O5K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385144732&sr=8-1&keywords=hustle+henry+and+the+cue-ball+kid

Order An Appointment With God: One Ordinary Man’s Journey to Faith Through Prayer here:

http://www.amazon.com/Appointment-Ordinary-Journey-Through-Prayer-ebook/dp/B00CWRZ5GI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385144792&sr=8-1&keywords=an+appointment+with+god%3A+one+man%27s

Show v. Tell – Be Specific

Show v. Tell – Be Specific

 Fiction writers continually strive to make their words more powerful by studying creative writing books and articles, enrolling in college or on-line courses, reading articles on the Internet, seeking suggestions from other authors, or reading other published authors.

In my more than 20 years of writing, much of which has been allocated to seeking such advice, one piece of advice I’ve seen many times is to Show v. Tell. In my opinion, this should be at or near the top of every fiction writer’s revision checklist.

For example, rather than tell the reader, “Larry was angry,” show his anger in this manner, “Larry’s face turned bright red as he bared his teeth and slammed the door.”

One way to show v. tell is to be specific. This technique not only “admits” the reader entry into the story setting but is a simple and non-evasive method to make the characters come alive.

Creative writing suggestions are best illustrated by examples and are themselves a “show v. tell” approach. Below are a few examples.

Tell: After Frank finished his chores, he got into his car and went shopping.

Show: After Frank mowed and edged the yard, he jumped into his 2010 blue Ford 150 and drove to the local mall to shop for new clothes at Macy’s.

In the “tell” example, the reader doesn’t know what chores Frank finished, what make and model of car he drives, or where he shops.

In the “show” example, the reader can (hopefully) picture the trimmed yard, his truck, which characterizes Frank as to what vehicle he likes to drive, can picture a mall setting and a Macy’s department store, which reveals Frank’s spending habits and taste in clothing, even the fact he might prefer shopping at a mall v. a strip center.

Tell: After the death of his parents, William left home and went off to college.

Show: One month following the tragic death of his parents in a violent car accident, William left Tulsa to attend the University of Southern California.

In the “tell” example, the reader doesn’t know how William’s parents died, where he left from and where he went, or which college he attended.

In the “show” example, the reader knows how William’s parents died, where he lived and what college he planned to attend.

Tell: John prepared a bowl of cereal and sat down at the kitchen table, reading the paper as he ate.

Show: John prepared a healthy-sized bowl of Raisin Bran and sat down at the kitchen table, reading the sports section of the Chicago Tribune as he ate. It was the cereal of choice growing up in Chicago. He still remembered his late mother’s words, “Johnny, eat a bowl of Raisin Bran every day. It will keep you regular.”

In the “tell” example, the reader doesn’t know what John is eating or why, or what he is reading.

In the “show” example, the reader can see the box of Raisin Bran, knows John is interested in sports, lives in Chicago (or has ties to Chicago), and lets the writer expound on John’s background and the fact he listened to his mother.

Specificity can be applied to anything and everything the writer wants – think people (characters), places and location (setting), and things (objects). Most fiction writers have some form of a character profile or can find tons of examples on the Internet. My character profile in in Excel format and contains over 100 columns of information, from grade school to career, friendships, what they like to eat, how they talk, how they walk . . . you get the picture.

The next time you fill out your character profile, be at least aware of the specificity you can apply and include in the setting and locations of your story. It is guaranteed to improve the quality of your writing.

My Author website:

http://jstrandburg.wordpress.com

Order Hustle Henry and the Cue-Ball Kid here:

http://www.amazon.com/Hustle-Henry-Cue-Ball-Jack-Strandburg-ebook/dp/B00BJ83O5K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385144732&sr=8-1&keywords=hustle+henry+and+the+cue-ball+kid

Order An Appointment With God: One Ordinary Man’s Journey to Faith Through Prayer here:

http://www.amazon.com/Appointment-Ordinary-Journey-Through-Prayer-ebook/dp/B00CWRZ5GI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385144792&sr=8-1&keywords=an+appointment+with+god%3A+one+man%27s