What's Your Process?

"One thing that helps is to give myself permission to write badly.  I tell myself that I'm going to do my five or 10 pages, no matter what, and that I can always tear them up the following morning if I want.  I'll have lost nothing -- writing and rearing up five pages would leave me no further behind than if I took the day off." --Lawrence Block,WD

I've never been a fast writer.  I've always let my inner critic dictate the pace because I'd languish over each sentence, editing as I wrote and then re-editing the next day before starting a new section.  I couldn't understand how anyone could write 1,000 words in a hour.  Most days I'd be lucky to get 250 words done in a hour.

After I finished the first draft of Finding Meara, I realized all the time I took to edit as I wrote didn't prevent me from having to edit and revise.  When I started the next work in progress, I decided I wanted to try writing quickly.

Courtesy of Free Digital Photos

Putting all the knowledge I've learned about myself and my writing process together with some articles I've read about increasing writing speed, I came up with the following plan.

1.  I plot.  Not just a few scenes in a row, but the whole book.  While writing FM I realized that if I sat down at the computer without an idea of where the characters were going I'd get lost in daydreaming the potentialities and not write.  By knowing what is going to happen before I sit down at the computer, I spend the time getting what I see in my head transformed into words on the page.

2.  I write in short spurts.  By writing as fast as I can for fifteen minutes and then having some time to think between spurts, I can organize my thoughts and be ready to go again after a short break.  This technique by itself has increased my word production monumentally.

3. I am learning to turn off my inner critic.  It's hard. Really hard.  I keep thinking I'm writing crap. That's why I included the Lawrence Block quote above.  If I write crap, and I tear it up or can't use it later, I'm in no worse shape than if I didn't write anything at all.  And the chances are actually pretty good I'll be able to edit at least some of the crap into usable shape later.

Trying out this new method, I have been clipping along, consistently writing 250 - 300 words in a fifteen minute block.  I tend to write more regularly, because I only have to write for fifteen minutes to get a decent amount of words down.  Also, finding fifteen minutes to write is a whole lot easier than finding forty-five minutes to an hour to write.

I know that what I'm trying out wouldn't work for everyone. Each writer has their own personality and cognitive processes that direct their creative process.  So, I'm curious! How do you write?  Are you concerned with speed, or are you content to let the words happen as they may?  Has your writing process changed much over time?  Please share!

How to Create Opportunity

Photo Courtesy klsmith77

In January I wrote a post about personal risks writers experience as a matter of being a writer called What Risks Are There in Writing?  The last quote in that post dealt with pushing limits, risking failure.  The relationship between risk and success has been heavily on my mind since I attended the Pikes Peak Writer's Conference.

"The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open."  ~ Chuck Palahniuk

At the conference, two authors (Linda Rohrbough and Kevin J. Anderson) influenced how I now perceive risk.

I attended two sessions by Linda Rohrbough. One session was how to write what is known as "the elevator pitch." It was a fabulous session, which did help my create a three sentence pitch for Finding Meara. So impressed by that session, I went to her workshop on plotting tools the next day.  Again, she delivered an excellent workshop, and gave me some ideas on how to keep my plotting straight.  She has some of the tools she showed us on her website, so you might want to check it out.

Kevin J. Anderson presented a workshop on the business side of writing with his wife, author Rebecca Moesta. Both have a long list of books, novels and screenplays they have written, edited or just plain have been involved with.  What thrilled me, though, was that they have written for Lucas Film, and Kevin Anderson wrote for the X-files and co-authored with Dean Koontz.

I attended Linda Rohrbough's pitch session first. In it she explained cognitive dissonance, which is when your brain tells you that you're nuts for doing what you're doing.  She said, and I believed her, that if your mind starts freaking out, you are most likely doing exactly what you should.

I liken it to the saying, "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." If we don't shake ourselves up, and push the limits of safety (be that emotional, financial, professional) we don't have the opportunity to experience something different.  We limit the opportunities success has to find us.

Photo Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Then I attended the workshop by Kevin Anderson and Rebecca Moesta. What struck me most in that workshop was how Kevin Anderson's career worked out.  I can't remember everything, so I hope I don't misspeak. 

What I remember clearest is that, while he had to be in the right place at the right time for the opportunities to come knocking, he didn't back away once the opportunity knocked.  Several times during the workshop, he related being invited to join a project, and even if he was knee deep in the middle of current work, he agreed to take on the new project.

He didn't do so out of desperation or because he was afraid to let the opportunity pass.  When he related the stories, he said "I thought, 'I could do that.'"  He had confidence in his abilities and what he could accomplish.

Each of those opportunities put him in the position to be in the right place at the right time for more opportunities, which snowballed into more opportunities.

I don't think any of us should run out and start committing to things we can't accomplish.  Not following through on anything is a career-wrecker, no matter what career you have.

What I did take away from the conference was to look for the opportunities, and then push ourselves a little to accept the challenge.  Be confident in our abilities to "git-r-done."  Don't wait until everything looks perfect and ready and safe.  Sometimes we have to grab life, tell our collective heads to shut up, and give success a chance to find us.  We have to take a risk.

Have you taken a risk that paid off?  Have you ever regretted not taking a risk when the opportunity presented itself?

How to Structure the Plot of a Novel by Gary Gauthier

Today, for Life List Club Friday, I welcome fellow Life Lister, Gary Gauthier, for the second guest post of the week!  Gary has a great blog called Literary Snippets, where he posts snippets (get it?) of classics, as well as pictures that relate to the snippet.  I love it because it's like an art and literature lesson in one! 

If you miss me (I hope!), after you finish reading Gary's awesome post, please stop over at Jess Witkins' Happiness Project, where I am sharing some thoughts on Positivity. 

Without any further ado, heeeere's Gary!

How to Structure the Plot of A Novel by Gary Gauthier

A New Look at the Narrative Arc

If you are serious about writing fiction, your stories can’t ramble. They need structure.  I am going to suggest to you a simple system that can be used to create a memorable work of fiction. It has the added benefit that it can help you easily sketch an entire plot with a visual representation.

Nature, in her infinite wisdom and grace, gave us the arc.

What Is the Narrative Arc?

The narrative arc is a metaphor used to describe a story’s trajectory. A plot begins with rising action that sets up a challenge; the challenge creates tension that reaches a climax; finally, the tension is released and the trajectory heads downward to a point of rest.

A smooth trajectory like the arc of a rainbow does less than full justice to the rising and falling action in the plot of a novel. Our system goes one step further and uses the arc to show rising and falling action as the plot progresses.

Narrative Structure: A Simple System That Works

1. Reduce your plot to two central events.
2. Place the first central event about 25% into the story.
3. Place the second central event, the climax, approximately 25% from the end of the story.
4. Unify the plot with an overarching theme.

The Foundation of Your Plot is the two central events you selected. The first is called a catalyst (or inciting event) and the second is the climax. The two events are related and involve the protagonist or the hero.

Here are three examples of plot foundations. 
I: Boy likes girl. The girl, overcome by a display of chivalry and bravery, falls in love.
II: Victim suffers great harm.  She exacts revenge.
III: Protagonist enters an arranged (or bad) marriage. She is transformed and leaves. 

Use an overarching theme to unify the entire plot. For the examples above, the themes can be: love conquers all, an eye for an eye, and the ugly duckling is transformed into a beautiful swan.

A Visual Representation of Our System

The two red pillars represent the catalyst and the climax. They also help to define the narrative arc.

From Point A to Point B - Your job as a novelist is to create a meaningful and memorable ride for the reader from point A to point B. Your subject matter and the genre determine whether the ride is heartwarming, inspirational, stormy, disturbing, thrilling or horrific. The big caveat is, if your story is not interesting, the reader can put the book down at any time and never finish.

A Play in Three Acts - The two red pillars in the figure divide the plot into three sections. Most plays and movies use this system. Most best-selling novels and literary classics follow this format. You can label the blue vertical supports and use each to represent a chapter or a scene. As an example, you can use the following convention: a, b, c; 1a, 1b, 1c; 2a, 2b, 2c.

Pace the Dramatic Tension. It’s not an accident that the narrative arc peaks at the inciting point and at the climax. It’s an intentional, creative act by the writer.

Tell the Story Deliberately. Start the story with action and circumstances that lead the reader to the catalyst. The reader should be vested in the story (sold) by the time he arrives at the catalyst. Begin the centerpiece of the plot (approximately one-half the narrative) after the inciting event (think: “after commercial break”) and end it with the climax. Close the story by driving the point home (reinforcing the theme) and resolving the aftermath of the climax.  

The Unifying Theme Plays a Crucial Role. The structure of your story holds the action together in a self-sustaining and interconnected plot that moves in one direction. A winding excursion leading nowhere is a waste of writing talent. If you follow the template laid out above, the characters will be woven into the theme in support of the plot. If all the action and the characters do not come together as a unified whole, your readers will be disappointed and will feel like their trust was misplaced.  

Purpose and Structure are Distinct Animals. The purpose of a bridge is to provide for safe travel from one point to the other. A traveler doesn’t care (and is only vaguely aware) that the bridge’s structure is a system of support designed to bear weight across a span. So it goes for the reader and your plot.

Stay True to Your Purpose. Let’s face it—most readers of fiction are looking for entertainment, an escape. They don’t care how you structure your story, but without a sturdy plot supported by a strong foundation, you reduce the chances of achieving your purpose.

If you end up writing a best-seller, what most readers will notice is that you wrote a great story.

Did you recently read a novel whose plot fits into the structure described? What’s your personal experience with the narrative arc?

 (Images are sourced by courtesy from Wikimedia.)

Gary Gauthier is working on his first novel, a crime thriller set in New Orleans just before Hurricane Katrina's landfall. His blog, Literary Snippets, gives him an opportunity to express and share his appreciation for art and literature. He occasionally posts articles as well. Some of his favorite writers are Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe. But this changes from time to time. Stay tuned! Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.