The Three-Part Writing System

Photography by Alex Mazurov

In returning to my blog, after a six-month limbo, I'd like to introduce The Three Part Writing System, something I've been perfecting during hiatus.

It is simply this. There are three parts to writing: Plot, Story, and Craft.

What's the difference between Plot and Story? The Plot is composed of the events, by themselves, with no added decoration. The Story is made up of the color and emotion of things. If you took out a piece of the Story, it might not affect the events, but it might damage the atmosphere you're trying to create.

Let's see if I can make it simpler.

Let's say your protagonist is a young soldier in the trenches of WWI. He has crucial information that he must deliver to his commanding officer, but to do that he must cross enemy lines. He decides to bribe an enemy soldier into stealing him an extra uniform.
Those are the events. That's your plot.  That is the logical sequence of events.

But let's add a little flair. Your protag has been wrestling with his conscience throughout his enlistment. He believes the war is futile, and even considers that by not delivering the information, the war would be shortened. As he walks through the trenches, he sees the men around him, singing songs half-heartedly and clutching letters from home, photographs of wives and children.
There. That's your story. It doesn't affect the fact he has crucial information to deliver. It doesn't affect the Plot. But it does add some delightful drama and conflict.

And, finally, Craft. These are the words that you, as an artist, choose to weave together. It's all good and fine if your plot and story are amazing, but if you write in a jerky "See Spot run. Spot runs fast" prose, the book will fail. Craft is how you write it. Don't we all love those writers who write cleanly, whose words flow along, who make us not want to put the book down?

Take Frances Hardinge; "By day the villagers fought a losing battle against the damp. By night they slept and dreamed sodden, unimaginative dreams. On this particular night their dreams were a little ruffled by the unusual excitement of the day, but already the water that seeped into every soul was smoothing their minds back to placidity, like a duck's bill glossing its plumage." Mmmm. She has a way with words.

And there it is, ladies and gents. The three things that make up a book. The three things to focus on, to improve, to hone to perfection. Learning how to write won't be instantaneous. But nothing that ever came easily was ever worth it.

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Finding Time to Write Part II

Photo by Rick Bowden

I was skimming through Marc Shapiro's J. K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter when something caught my eye. Despite the pressure of being a single mother, working to stay alive, and all that "rubbish", she manage to find the time to write and completed The Sorcerer's Stone in one year. It's not as if she had unlimited time on her hands. But she prioritized her writing.

She wrote during train rides, at cafes, on scraps of papers. She rushed to finish her secretarial work so that she could use the corporate computer to write. She prayed constantly that no one would have a birthday or a meeting that she'd be obliged to attend.

Every spare moment she had, she wrote.

I know we have busy lives. I know that we rush to take care of families, work, and the occasional curve balls life throws at us. I know that writing can seem like just another thing on an already full plate.

But maybe we're just forgetting why we write. We write because we want to. No one's forcing you to do anything. So just remember your first writing sessions when writing was pulling characters from thin air and watching them walk around the page.

We need to stop dreading the blank page. If you've lost the love of writing, try free-writing every day before you write your novel. It gets your creative juices flowing before you have to tackle the novel.

In all honesty, this post title is a lie. We don't Find time to write; we Make time.

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Showing not Telling: Infodumps

At one point or another, you have to explain some aspects of your book. Even if the character knows exactly what’s going on, the reader might not. Put simply, an infodump is a large chunk of necessary information that bores the reader to death. I don’t know about you, but when I come across blocky paragraphs describing the scenery, my eyes tend to skim.
So how do we present crucial information by showing instead of telling?

Dialogue
One of the best ways to present facts is through characters talking to each other. But even this can be botched if the dialogue if nothing more than an infodump with quotations. Let’s compare;

Infodump
The alchemist selected a jar, filled to the brim with mercury. Mercury is a silver metal with a high density. It’s a liquid at room temperature, but exists in the solid cinnabar. Cinnabar is a powdery, red mineral that’s extremely poisonous when inhaled. Mercury was once thought to cause longevity. It is toxic and has been known to cause insanity. It was this material that the alchemist chose to work with.

Infodump with Quotations
The alchemist selected a jar, filled to the brim with mercury. He turned to his apprentice and explained, “This is mercury. Mercury is a silver metal with a high density. It’s a liquid at room temperature, but exists in the solid cinnabar. Cinnabar is a powdery, red mineral that’s extremely poisonous when inhaled. It is toxic and has been known to cause insanity.”

Face it; the second’s not much better. If you choose to do dialogue, make it a conversation;

Conversation
The alchemist selected a jar, filled to the brim with a silvery liquid. The apprentice craned his neck to see. “What’s that?”
The alchemist grunted and held the jar out for the apprentice’s inspection. “This, boy, is mercury.”
“And, uh, what exactly is it for?”
“Some believe it has the power to make you immortal.”
The apprentice’s eyes widened.
“Of course,” snapped the alchemist. “That’s utter rubbish. Far too many emperors have died because of that supposition. Everlasting life indeed. Mercury will kill you, boy. If it doesn’t drive you insane first.”
The apprentice looked warily as the sloshing metal. “Right. Well then, is there anything else we can use for the recipe…a substitute maybe?”
The alchemist laughed. “Closest thing you’ll get is cinnabar. But that’s got mercury in it anyway. Highly toxic. Take a whiff of that stuff and you’re a goner."

Thoughts
This only works if you’re using first person or third person omniscience POV. A character’s thoughts can be a powerful tool.

Before:
The day was bitterly cold. A crisp wind blew garbage across the street. Everyone was inside, enjoying the warmth of a fire. The entire sky was coated in white snow-clouds and it was only a matter of time before a blizzard hit. Even the queen’s palace was suffering from the icy weather, with servants scraping away at the frost-coated windows so the queen could enjoy looking outside.

After:
I marched down the slushy street, my woolen cloak wrapped tightly against the crisp winter wind. I was the only one outside. Every other sane person was indoors, tucked in a quilt by a blazing fire. But not me, I had a job to do. I groaned inwardly and kicked at a pile of frozen garbage. Blast this weather. I glanced up at the leaden sky blanketed with snow clouds. We’d have a blizzard before the month was out, for sure.
Another gust of wind sent me hurrying down the road again. I passed the queen’s palace and snickered at the poor, frozen guard on duty. The Queen didn’t much care about other people’s discomfort, evident by the army of servants scraping frost off the palace’s two-hundred-and-ten windows. Poor suckers. What was even the point of it? So that the queen could look outside and see the empty street?

Actions
The way characters behave can strengthen both Dialogue and Thoughts, and make a strong support on its own.

The alchemist selected a jar, filled to the brim with a silvery liquid. The apprentice craned his neck to see. [This reveals that the apprentice is curious and new to the alchemy experience] “What’s that?”
The alchemist grunted [Not the friendliest guy] and held the jar out for the apprentice’s inspection. “This, boy, is mercury.”
“And, uh, what exactly is it for?”
“Some believe it has the power to make you immortal.”
The apprentice’s eyes widened. [He’s naïve to believe such a myth]
“Of course,” snapped the alchemist. “That’s utter rubbish. Far too many emperors have died because of that supposition. Everlasting life indeed. Mercury will kill you, boy. If it doesn’t drive you insane first.”
The apprentice looked warily as the sloshing metal. [Now he’s nervous] “Right. Well then, is there anything else we can use for the recipe…a substitute maybe?”
The alchemist laughed. [He’s got a strange sense of humor] “Closest thing you’ll get is cinnabar. But that’s got mercury in it anyway. Highly toxic. Take a whiff of that stuff and you’re a goner.”

The apprentice’s reactions give us a clear definition of who he is without having to say, “The new apprentice didn’t know anything about alchemy and was incredibly gullible.”

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How to Create a Traitor

Traitor : A person who betrays another, a cause, or any trust. (Webster’s College Dictionary)

Betrayals are one of the most delightful plot twists. Not only does the traitor plunge everything into chaos, but can emotionally scar trusts and friendships.

True or False
The author knows thing that characters don’t. Is the traitor truly betraying their own side, or are they leading the enemy into a trap?

True Traitor
A cut-and-dry case; a traitor offers something of value to the enemy for selfish reasons.

False Traitor
Here’s where things get tricky. The “traitor” has not truly defected, but is trying to trick the enemy.
Back in 480 BC, the Persians attacked Greece. The Greeks had about 200 ships while the Persians had 700. A Greek general named Themistocles knew that unless they created a concentrated attack, the Persians would wipe them out. So he sent a trusted servant to the Persians. The servant played the role of a traitor, and he told the Persians that the Greeks were in disorder. He claimed that if the Persians attacked the Greek’s beachside camp by morning, they could take the Greeks by surprise. The Persians rushed to do battle and were ambushed by waiting Greeks.


The Offering
What is the traitor giving the enemy?
Knowledge is the first thing that comes to mind. The traitor often carries secrets to the enemy, such as locations or weaknesses. Let’s take World War II. Traitors provided information such as the whereabouts of Jews, the construction of new war technology, or the names of underground leaders.
Traitors can also provide prisoners. Oftentimes a traitor arranges to lead those who trust him into a trap. Then the enemy can swoop down and pick up his prisoners.


Motive
A character always has to have a reason for their actions. What motivates someone to commit treason?
Greed-They are basically bribed by the enemy. They are promised wealth or a high position of power. Sometimes they are threatened with death, or the deaths of those they love, so they concede.
Victory-They want to be on the winning side.
Revenge- They have a personal vendetta. In exchange for their betrayal, they ask for permission to kill so-and-so, to have what’s-his-face’s property, or to enslave that-one-guy.


Effects
Information given to the enemy can mean death for numerous people.
The traitor’s personal life is marred. Relationships are broken, their family can be torn apart, and most of the times the traitor is stabbed in the back by those he helped.
People who trusted the traitor can become bitter and angry. Some develop grudges while others only become deeply wounded and fall into depression. Those led into traps may find it hard to trust anyone ever again.

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Boring Book Syndrome: Tough Love

This post is an expansion of tuesday's Tough Love section.

This seems to be a major issue for people; what to do when you love part of your story but hate the rest. 

One of my earliest stories suffered from this love/hate controversy. I loved the world I created and spent hours working out its mechanics. The events played out like actual history, and the villain was one of the most chilling antagonists I’d ever created.

One problem though; I absolutely hated the main character. The solution seemed simple. If you don’t like your main character, change him.
He went from slave, to thief, to soldier, to mythical creature. He became a She and flip-flopped back into a He. I hated every single one.
I figured I’d change it from character-driven to event-driven. But I couldn’t find the proper opening. All the doors that led into my richly imagined world seemed like they could only be opened through a character.
I gave up. I sadly stuck all related writings and drawings in the back of my file cabinet and forgot them for years.
A few months ago I stumbled across my old rough draft. I noticed that one character appeared in almost every scene and lit up the otherwise bland novel; the antagonist.
That couldn’t be right. The antagonist couldn’t be the main character!
But I noticed something. The antagonist had goals, the antagonist had enemies. True, he wasn’t a very nice main character, but he fit the description. The key to the story was right under my very nose.


So what do you do when you struggle to write something you love?

Step 1: Identify what you hate.
What’s holding you back? Is it your setting, your characters, your idea, or your writing technique?

Step 2: Change what you hate.

Setting: is there a way to write the same story somewhere else? Does it have to be a magical world? If it’s set in your basic medieval forest, is it possible to tell your story in a lush ancient jungle or vice-versa. Don’t let setting get in the way. The place you feel the most enthusiasm for is where you should be.

Characters: What character do you hate? Can you erase him? Can you change him? If it’s the main character, can you write the story without him? Can you put someone you love in his place?

Idea: Why do you hate it? Is it because it’s unoriginal and based off a movie you love? Don’t worry about being original. Half my books start out sounding exactly like the movie/book that inspired them. With each new draft you veer away from that plotline until someday it’s entirely yours.

Writing Technique: Don’t worry about what your rough draft sounds like. Every rough draft sucks. However, if you’re so frustrated with the way it sounds that you can’t go on, try experimenting with the style. Should it be more serious? More whimsical? Should you change the point of view? Let’s say you’re writing a horror story. You’ll probably not want to sound like Junie B. Jones or Spock. It’d be hard to raise suspense through the perspective of a kindergartener or an alien who can’t feel fear.

Step 3: Replace
If Step 2 doesn’t work out for you, try replacing what you hate with what you love. Go through your draft and pinpoint things that you felt excited to write. Give the things you love center stage.

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How to Write a Short Story

The term "short" is relative. Some short stories are 3 pages, others are 100. But no matter the length or genre, short stories share a few key elements.

Step One: Problem
Notice that the word 'problem' is singular. That's right; there's only one conflict.
Define your problem. For those who write by the seat of their pants, just keep one problem in mind as you go.

Secondary Problems
It's okay to add a smaller, second problem.
Let's say the main conflict is a teacher who attacks a particular college student's beliefs. If, as a side note, the student is poor, that's fine. But their poverty shouldn't be focused on too much.
You can even use the side conflict to strengthen the main one.
This poor college student might have to move because she can't afford the rent. She gets an apartment farther from campus and must ride the city bus every day to get to school. But, horror of horrors, the teacher she hates rides the same bus every morning. She must endure his rants before she even gets to class.

Step Two: Action or Event
Characters either act to fix their problem, or an event occurs.
In Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart, the narrator is driven crazy by an old man and his "vulture eye". He takes action by killing the old man.
In Poe's The Cask of Amontillado the narrator is given the opportunity to lead an enemy into a trap.
Does your character take action? If so, how?
Does an event occur? How does it affect the character's life?

Step Three: Wrap it up
Every story, short or not, has a different way of drawing to a close. In most short stories, there is no ending. Questions remain unanswered, life goes on long after the last sentence.

A few questions to get your creative juices flowing;
How is the problem resolved? Is it resolved?
What happens to Main character? To their family? To their ideals?
What does the character learn?
Does it end without really ending? If so, is it a frustrating or a mysterious ending? (Frustrating a reader is always bad, no matter what the reading material.)

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Made to Stick for Writers: Epilogue

So if being sticky is so easy, how come people aren't just automatically programmed to think and act in those terms? What's in our way?

The Brothers Heath refer to this obstruction as the Curse of Knowledge.
An excerpt from the book:

"In 1990, Elizabeth Newton earned a Ph.D. in psychology...by studying a simple game in which she assigned people to one o two roles: 'tappers' or 'listeners'. Tappers receive a list of twenty-five well-known songs such as 'Happy Birthday' and 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. Each tapper was asked to pick a song and tap out the rhythm to a listener (by knocking on the table). The listener's job was to guess the song, based on the rhythm being tapped...
"The listener's job in this game is difficult...The tappers got their message across 1 time in 40, but they thought they were getting their message across 1 time in 2. Why?
"When a tapper taps, she is hearing the song in her head...Meanwhile the listeners can't hear the tune-all they can hear is a bunch of disconnected taps...
"It's hard to be a tapper. The problem is that tappers have been given knowledge (the song title) that makes it impossible for them to imagine what it's like to lack that knowledge. When they're tapping they can't imagine what it's like for the listeners to hear isolated taps rather than a song. This is the Curse of Knowledge. Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has 'cursed' us."

Writers are the tappers in this equation. We hear the story in our head. We know the characters by heart. We see every detail, even the unwritten ones. The key is to getting that story across the gap to the reader. Write the book you most want to read, because you are the only one can tell it.

Intro
Part 1: Simple
Part 2: Unexpected
Part 3: Concrete
Part 4: Credible
Part 5: Emotional
Part 6: Story
Part 7: Epilogue (You are here)

These posts are nothing more or less then the principles I've learned and applied after reading Made to Stick. I encourage you to read the book yourself. It might come in handy on the road to being published.

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Made to Stick for Writers: Story

Finally, something both readers and writers understand; story.

People have tried for years to classify stories by their plot. Aristotle claimed that there exist only four; simple tragic, simple fortunate, complex tragic, and complex fortunate.
Christopher Booker insists there are seven (overcoming the monster, rags to riches, quest, voyage and return, tragedy, comedy, and rebirth) while Robert McKee argues that there are twenty-five.

According to the authors of Made to Stick, successful and sticky stories can be categorized into three basic plots.

The Challenge Plot
The most basic of the Basic Plots. Character faces insurmountable odds and succeeds.
This includes most of Booker's plots such as overcoming the monster, rags to riches, and the quest.
The Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, Dracula, and Cinderella are all Challenge plots.

The Connection Plot
Two people (or groups of people) from radically different backgrounds come together. The tension in these types of plot can range from the consequences of being found out or the struggle to understand each other.
This is where you find your Romeo and Juliet, Twilight, and Titanic movie.

The Creativity Plot
The character has a mental breakthrough that allows them to deal with problems.
Stories such as Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone or Galileo's analysis of the Solar System.
But not all Creative Plots are about changing the world.
When Ernest Shakleton and his crew were stranded, members threatened to mutiny; an act that could mean death for everyone. So Shackleton assigned the whiners to sleep in the same tent as himself. His presence toned down their negativity so that it didn't spread to others.


Intro
Part 1: Simple
Part 2: Unexpected
Part 3: Concrete
Part 4: Credible
Part 5: Emotional
Part 6: Story (You are here)
Part 7: Epilogue

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Made to Stick for Writers: Emotional

We've found our core message, we've hooked the reader, dragged them in with a few concrete details, and kept the tone with credibility. Now one of the most important questions; How do we make them care?
Why should the reader care about the main character? Sure they're going through difficulties, but so is everyone else in the world.
We think we can present a huge, insurmountable tragedy and the reader will care. But people don't care about problems, they care about other people. It's so much easier to feel for someone instead of something.
So before you dish out the blows, introduce your character.

By introducing, I don't mean a flat-out description. So she has brown hair and brown eyes, huh? So what?
To get someone to care about the character, show what the character cares about. What are their personal goals? What keeps them awake at night?
If you plan on killing a character right off the bat, first spend a little time humanizing them. It will be so much more painful if a character you've grown to love dies, rather than a character you don't even know.

This is where Showing Not Telling comes in. Show whatever it is they care about.
If it's another character they care about, show them becoming more gentle, more gruff, or more shy around that character (depending on their personality).
If it's revenge or justice, something abstract, show them taking steps to reach that.
If it's something material, show why they want it so bad and what they're willing to do to get it.
And if all they're trying to accomplish is surviving from day to day, then you should probably throw another motive in the mix.

Your main character's desires should drive the book, rather than plot goals.

Intro
Part 1: Simple
Part 2: Unexpected
Part 3: Concrete
Part 4: Credible
Part 5: Emotional (You are here)
Part 6: Story
Part 7: Epilogue

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Made to Stick for Writers: Credible

For a fiction writer, trying to make your book believable can sound stupid. Of course fantasy books aren’t credible. Who’s going to believe that there’s a magical school called Hogwarts, or that people fly on broomsticks, and people talk to snakes?
Well, my sister did. When she was little, she waited patiently by the mailbox for her Hogwarts acceptance letter and asked Santa Claus for a “Harry Potter” broomstick.
But most readers aren’t five-years-olds who will soak up every tooth-fairy lie you tell them.

To write a credible book, you don’t have to utterly convince the readers that the story is true. You just have to make it believable enough that they will pause and remember that, “Oh yeah, these characters don’t exist.”

The book has to make sense. I cannot stress that point enough. You have to fill in plot holes and, above all, your character needs to act realistically. They should weep for the death of loved ones, they should have weaknesses and fears, and they shouldn’t escape their problems totally unscathed.

Use convincing details to add credibility. If I can visualize it, I can believe it. (You’ll note that this ties in with Concrete.)

If you lose your credibility, you can’t get it back. The minute the reader spots a mistake like, “Hang on…wasn’t that character severely injured the day before?” or “How did the poor village boy suddenly learn to fight?” or “I thought she left her sweater at home, how is she wearing it now?” the believability of the book goes down the drain.

For more on this subject, see Believable Part 1 and Believable Part 2

Intro
Part 1: Simple
Part 2: Unexpected
Part 3: Concrete
Part 4: Credible (You are here)
Part 5: Emotional
Part 6: Story
Part 7: Epilogue

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Made to Stick for Writers: Concrete

When I was first learning French, I would pore over my notes, struggling to hit it home that “chien” meant “dog” and “pomme” meant “apple.” But it never seemed to stick. It was hard to see one word as a literal translation of another.
Then one day my teacher shows up lugging a bag of pretend food. She held up the plastic apple and declared “pomme.”
Everything clicked. “Pomme” was the firm fruit whose taste, texture, and smell were familiar to me. She gave me something visual. She gave me a concrete definition.

That’s what a concrete story does; it latches onto the reader’s memories and triggers the five senses. The reader feels like they’re watching alongside the characters.

Studies of the human memory show that we’re better at remembering concrete nouns versus abstract ones. It’s easier to remember something you can visualize (grapefruit, train) rather than something abstract (equality, hope).

Writers constantly present the abstracted form of the noun “Pain”. To say “he cried in pain” is not enough. Don’t tell me that he’s in pain, show me.
Lois Lowry provides an excellent example in her book The Giver as she describes a broken leg;

Then, the first wave of pain. He gasped. It was as if a hatchet lay lodged in his leg, slicing through each nerve with a hot blade. In his agony he perceived the word “fire” and felt flames licking at the torn bone and flesh. He tried to move, and could not…

The description uses several concrete nouns; “hatchet”, “hot blade”, “fire”, “torn bone and flesh”. The agony feels almost real, as if we too are experiencing it.

To make your story concrete, use concrete details. Through the five senses, describe what is happening to your character. What do they see, smell, hear, taste, and feel?
Don’t tell me the house was old. Show me the bald patches of roof tile, the door with a zigzag crack running down the middle, the sooty window panes broken into jagged teeth, the stench of mildew, the creak of an old shutter in the wind, the splintered wood, the dusty air you choke down every time you breathe.

Put the reader in the story.

Intro
Part 1: Simple
Part 2: Unexpected
Part 3: Concrete (You are here)
Part 4: Credible
Part 5: Emotional
Part 6: Story
Part 7: Epilogue

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Made to Stick for Writers: Unexpected

To make something unexpected you must break a pattern. Doing so captures the audience’s attention. “Once upon a time…” is so common that the sentence fails to surprise.

In Patricia Kindl’s book Goose Chase she began with, “The King killed my canary today.”
Already we have several questions: Why did the king kill her canary? What does he have against birds or the narrator? Who is this king? How did he kill it? Was it an accident?

First of all, it’s surprising. It’s not the usual way for a fairytale to begin. Secondly, it’s interesting. We realize that we’re missing a lot of vital information and so we want to keep reading to find answers.

To be unexpected you must grab the audience’s interest and, more importantly, hold it.

Surprise
We become surprised because what we expect to happen doesn’t. In other words, our “guessing machines” fail us.
If that’s the case, then it should be easy to create a “hook” at the beginning of our stories, right? All we should need to do is write a surprising sentence. Wrong.

While our hooks need to be somewhat surprising, it can be difficult to craft one that avoids planting a red herring.
For example, if the first sentence was “Sitting in the shade of the tree early that morning, I could never have imagined that by sundown my whole family would be dead.”
What! We inwardly gasp. How did the whole family die?
We’d be curious to discover the cause and to read the, no doubt, thrilling adventure that led to their demise.

But what if the book suddenly begins describing every aspect of the narrator’s staircase. She then explains to us that her “whole family” consists of an old greyhound named Maddock who trips on said staircase and dies. Thus, by sundown, the narrator’s “whole family” is dead. It’s only after that episode that we get to the actual story, which is much less thrilling than we imagined.

You’d probably feel tricked and frustrated. The hook sentence turned out to be a red herring that did nothing but attempt to lure you into a dull story.

To write a successful hook it must both surprise and reflect the main idea, or the core, of the story. The stupid dog dying was NOT the story’s main idea and so it failed. Miserably.

Interest

Now that we’ve got the reader’s attention, how do we keep it?
Let’s talk Velcro; Velcro connects because one side is made of hooks and the other is made of loops. The hooks snag the loops and Voila! It sticks together.

We have the “hooks’, so to speak. We have the answers to the reader’s questions. But before we can answer their questions, we have to make them want the answer. We have to make them realize that they’re missing crucial information.

To do so, ask yourself, “What questions do I want my audience to ask?”

Once we know the questions ourselves, we can gently point out what the reader doesn't know by creating mystery.

“The man was killed by the king because he distributed treasonous flyers” leaves very little to become curious about.
By withholding information we can create mystery.
Instead, we could show the man being arrested by the king’s guard. We could show the guard proclaiming that, as a traitor, he will be tried.
Now we’ve got the reader asking questions; What did the man do that was so treasonous? What will happen at his trial? Will he end up dying?

Intro
Part 1: Simple
Part 2: Unexpected (You are here)
Part 3: Concrete
Part 4: Credible
Part 5: Emotional
Part 6: Story
Part 7: Epilogue

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Made to Stick for Writers: Simple

Let's get this straight; "simple" does not mean "dumbing down". It means "core".
For writers, who thrive on details, simple can seem like a misnomer. From what I can tell, the simple principle is very seldom used in the actual writing process. But it can help while planning and publishing.

Planning
Even if you don't believe in outlines, finding your core message beforehand creates focus. The story unfolds smoother.
Try to figure out the core, or main idea, by asking yourself;

In one sentence, what is the main idea of this story?

Twilight: A seventeen-year-old girl falls in love with a vampire who has a hard time not eating her.
Harry Potter: A neglected boy discovers that he's a wizard and goes to a school of magic.
The Hunger Games: A girl takes her sister's place in a cruel arena where only one person is allowed to survive.

These one sentence descriptions can later be used when you're attempting to publish your work.

Publishing
One of the biggest challenges in writing is convincing a publisher that your book will sell itself. Quoting from the book:

In Hollywood, people use core ideas called "high-concept pitches." You've probably heard some of them. Speed was "Die Hard on a bus." 13 going on 30 was "Big for girls." Alien was "Jaws on a spaceship."

So why do analogies work? Basically, it presents a new concept by tapping into a concept you already know. Take, for example, these book reviews;

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
"A delightful...debut from an author who dances in the footsteps of P.L. Travers and Roald Dahl."
-Publishers Weekly, starred review

The Dark Stairs
"Move over Nancy Drew, Herculeah Jones has arrived!"
-School Library Journal

Stormbreaker
"What if James Bond started spying as a teenager?"
-Kirkus Review

Wolf Queen
"A diverting escapade for fans of Karen Cushman's Catherine, Called Birdy and Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted."
-Kirkus Review

Piratica
"There's a taste of Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones."
-Kirkus Review, starred Review


Intro
Part 1: Simple (You are here)
Part 2: Unexpected
Part 3: Concrete
Part 4: Credible
Part 5: Emotional
Part 6: Story
Part 7: Epilogue

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Made to Stick for Writers: Intro

Every author dreams of writing a book that sticks, one that the reader thinks about long after they've turned the last page. One that captures their attention and, more importantly, holds it.

In Chip and Dan Heath's book Made to Stick, they broke down the elements of a sticky idea into six principles (the acronym spells SUCCESs. Clever, no?). The idea must be a

Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Story

How can this apply this to writing?
WriterSense presents Made to Stick for Writers.

Intro (You are here)
Part 1: Simple
Part 2: Unexpected
Part 3: Concrete
Part 4: Credible
Part 5: Emotional
Part 6: Story
Part 7: Epilogue

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Writing a Rough Draft: The Easy Way

When I start writing a novel, I get a picture in my head of the hefty two-hundred page book it will become. So I'm disappointed when the rough draft ends up around twenty pages. I add scenes just to lengthen it and bog it down with unnecessary sentences.

Well, I think I've got the solution.

Write your rough draft as if you're writing a short story.
I recently wrote a short story and it ended up about the same length as most of my rough drafts. Sure, the pacing is a little fast, but the point is, a short story gets to the point and doesn't have uncertain pauses. If I wanted, I could easily make it longer.

I don't know if you've ever read The Arabian Nights. While the stories could certainly be expounded, they are told in concise language;

"The grand vizier conducted Scheherazade to the palace and left her alone with Sultan, who bade her raise her veil and was amazed at her beauty."

This single sentence could be lengthened into several paragraphs;

"Scheherazade didn't speak; merely followed the grand vizier submissively. He glanced at her sideways. She didn't look like the rest. She wasn't sobbing uncontrollably, didn't claws at his robes and beg him for release. She had a thoughtful step and, while her hands trembled slightly, she did not seem afraid. The vizier shook his head. She was either incredibly brave or incredibly dim-witted."

See? Already a whole paragraph and we haven't even finished coloring in the sentence. We could tell how the vizier bowed once and scuttled out. We could add dialogue. We could write in the sharp intake of breath as Scheherazade raises her veil.

So, if you're having trouble fleshing out a story, write it so that you're telling instead of showing.
Write it as a short story.

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Posting Your Work Online

A topic I've always had a strong opinion about; posting your work online.
I don't know about you, but every time I browse Yahoo! Answers there's some teenager asking for people to read their novel and "tell me what u think about it? LOL, I hope its not 2 much like twilight."

Point One- Most people who post their writing online don't know anything about copyright laws or publishing. And frankly, very few of them are looking for real critique, just praise. Which isn't always forthcoming.
Point Two- Stop with the vampire stories!

But back to Point One.

In Gail Carson Levine's book, Writing Magic, she said this on internet publishing;

Not long ago a girl wrote to me, asking how to get one of her stories published. She said that I could look at the first three chapters of her story on the internet, and she gave me the website. As soon as she mentioned the internet, I thought, Oh no!...
The girl who wrote wrote to me...can't sell the exclusive right to her story  because she's made it available for free on the web. The publisher can't earn anything from it because no one's going to buy a book that's out there free for downloading.

Now, if you've written a short story that you have no intentions of publishing, sure, go ahead and post it on your blog. Just make sure that you're satisfied with never publishing it.

Now, about copyright laws. Unknown to you, people could be distributing and/or copying your work. Look at what happened to Stephanie Meyer; her first chapter of Midnight Sun was illegally posted around the internet. And she's not exactly an obscure, unpublished writer, as most of these kids who post their work online are.

Be careful with your writing. Give something to people for free, and they will take it.

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Graphic Novels and ReMIND

I've heard some people say that graphic novels aren't real books. They're supposedly for "wimpy readers" and "are no better than picture books".

Sure, it's faster to read a graphic novel. But does that make it any less of a story?
What about The Arrival by Shaun Tan? It has no words. Zip. Zero. Rien. Yet it's one of my favorite books.

Alright, Here's how I see it; It is just as hard to create plot for a graphic novel as it is to create plot for, let's say, ...a seven hundred page book.

In fact (and most of you might hate me for this) it can be harder to make a graphic novel. The Drawings alone require serious effort.

Some people would argue this; "But...but, with graphic novels you don't have to worry about showing not telling, or character descriptions, or giving detailed scenery descriptions."

Well, no, but you don't have to worry about drawing the same character every stinkin' page.

Graphic novels, when done right, bring together story and art.

And while we're on the subject, let's talk about Jason.
Jason Brubacker has been working on his graphic novel for four years. He's been posting pages of it every Monday on his blog.
The story is brilliant, the art is breath-taking, and...he's publishing it in March!

Okay, now that we've established that this Jason is a writer just like the rest of us, let's give him our support. To get 2,000 copies of his book, ReMIND, printed, he needs $3,000 more. $6,000 if he wants it done nice, like in the picture.
I'm not saying donate. I'm saying BUY.
For twenty bucks (Free Shipping!) you can get a 135-paged hardbound copy of ReMIND when it comes out. If you're not sure whether you want to actually BUY it, check out his blog, read a few pages, and you'll probably be drawn in like I was.

Made up your mind to support your fellow writer? Good. Then click here to pledge.

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Elements of Fiction: Foreshadowing Part 2

We've discussed what foreshadowing is and its most common form.
So how do we create foreshadowing?

Dialogue
What people say can hint at future events. For example in The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell;

"...Great sport, hunting.”
“The best sport in the world,” agreed Rainsford.
“For the hunter,” amended Whitney. “Not for the jaguar.”
“Don’t talk rot, Whitney,” said Rainsford. “...Who cares how a jaguar feels?”
“Perhaps the jaguar does,” observed Whitney.
“Bah! They’ve no understanding.”
“Even so, I rather think they understand one thing—fear. The fear of pain and the fear of death.”
“Nonsense,” laughed Rainsford. “...The world is made up of two classes—the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are the hunters."

This conversation rings with meaning when Rainsford later becomes the "hunted".

Events
The things that happen in the beginning can carry symbolism of what is to come.
From Michele Torrey's Voyage of Ice;

“A baby bird...”
Dexter peered into the tree overhead. “Must’ve fallen from its nest. C’mon, Nick, put it down. It’ll make a fine meal for something...”
“But we can’t let it die.”
“All things die, Nick.”
“I can feed it milk. And a worm, maybe..."
The hatchling was warm in my hands, and all the way back I whispered to it while Dexter rowed the boat and rolled his eyes.
...For two days I kept the bird alive, but it finally died as Dexter said it would. I held the cold, stiff body, thinking maybe it wasn’t really dead yet, but Dexter snatched it from me and buried it in a hole in the yard.
“It’s over,” he said, dry-eyed and looking disgusted.
I bawled my eyes out. Couldn’t help it. I visited the little grave for weeks, until it was overgrown and I could no longer see where it used to be.

Later in book, Nick shows the same compassion for life when he, and others, are stranded.

Narration
A simple sentence can allude to what's going to happen. Tucked neatly in a story could be,

"That was the last time Marcus ever saw her..." (This is a direct telling that something happens that prevents Marcus and the girl from ever seeing one another.)

"His words were kind enough, but his voice was cold. I was suddenly afraid..." (The narrator is always right, and holds great sway on the reader's opinions.)

"But it was too late anyway. No one could survive six months in Antarctica... (Whenever someone says something is impossible in a story, we usually assume it isn't. Because that's what writing a story is about; doing the impossible through a story.)

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Elements of Fiction: Foreshadowing Part 1

Foreshadowing: Giving hints to help the reader predict future events.
Okay, so why would we want readers to predict something? Aren't we supposed to surprise them? Yes and No.

Surprise is good. It can jolt the reader and intrigue them.
But sometimes, foreshadowing is far more intriguing. Let's look at the most basic form of foreshadowing; a prophecy.

Let's say that in the prologue an oracle declares that in ten years a young boy will find a long-lost sword. After the sword is used to kill his mother, he will use the sword to defeat a dark sorcerer in the mountains.

Now, why would a reader want to even read the story? They basically know the plot, right? Sure, but they are missing information and they know it.
How does the boy find the sword? How is the sword used to kill his mother? Does that mean he kills her? Why? How does he even get involved in the defeat of a dark sorcerer? How does he use the sword to accomplish that? Who is the dark Sorcerer and why should he defeat him?

I'm not saying this is an award-winning plot. But foreshadowing can generate interest and discussion. The reader will want to read, just to find out the answers to their questions.

When writing foreshadowing, think about "What do I want my audience to ask?"

This question should especially be used at the beginning of a story. You want generate enough questions that it draws the reader in from sheer curiosity. However, be careful not to overload. There is a fine line between curiosity and frustration.

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World-building: Creating a Caste/Hierarchy System

You may not be as important as you think. Throughout the ages, countries have had systems regarding who is more important than whom. Even in today's society, there are upper, middle, and lower classes. Creating such a system is essential when world-building.

Top

The top of the food chain is usually monopolized by the government. At the highest place is the leader of the nation, such as the pharaohs, tribal chiefs, presidents, and kings.
Depending on the level of religion in your world, priests tend to be next in line, followed by the rest of the government officials.
If you're "world" consists of one group, perhaps just a family or crew, there are few rules to building. However, the more experienced, useful people usually end up on top.

Middle

The people here are skilled in a way that profits them. These are the merchants, artisans, trades-people and whatnot.
It should be noted, that merchants tend to be above artisans. It seems if you don't have to get your hands dirty, that makes you higher up than those that do.
Of course, not all people here are skilled, such as the wealthy of Victorian England. The wealthy more likely than not had an ancestor who made a fortune that lasted for his future generations to sponge off. In other words, "old money".

Bottom

The unskilled, the homeless, those made poor by corrupt governments. The bottom isn't a pretty place to be and there are few countries that offer the chance to rise up from this level with hard work. For the majority of caste systems, where you're born is where you stay.

Outcasts
In some cases, societies have those that are considered outside the caste system. In India, people born into families who do "impure" jobs (i.e. leatherwork, latrine-cleaning, butchering) are known as the "untouchables". They have next to no rights and are shunned.
This group can include exiles, outcasts, and foreigners.

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