Secrets to Keeping Things Straight in Big, Complex, Epic Novels

I've been asked a time or three how I'm able to keep facts and events straight when I write a big, complex novel. First off, kudos to the querier because they recognize there is more work involved in such a novel. Secondly, everyone who tackles these types of novels will have their own system. Here are some hints from mine.

1. Write things down.
I have multiple files that are generally categorized as Notes and Structure. When I get an idea or a snippet of conversation in my head, I write it down. Don't leave these precious tidbits floating around in your head until you get to writing that part of the story. You'll most likely forget them by that time.

I don't always write the story chronologically or linearly. I certainly don't edit that way either. That means I have to have written notes as a backup. Granted, I have a pretty good memory for just about everything I write, but why leave it to chance?

I have backstory notes files as well. I find that the more of these I have, the richer the story becomes. Some complex novels stay within one person's POV, but not usually. Most deal in multiple POVs, and that means you need distinguishable backstories, vernacular, personalities, and quirks for each POV character. And then you have all the side characters.

I have note files and picture files sometimes to help me with my world building. It's been so handy to reach a part of the story and just pull up the description of the setting to pull from rather than try to remember or create it on the spot. Especially when you don't want to present the setting the same way each time it's shown. Setting, as I've said before, acts like a character or mood setter for the scene.

Writing things down also helps you remember them better. The act of writing, literally writing not typing, has a peculiar effect on memory in the brain. I tend to jot things down by hand and then transcribe into digital files afterwards.

My notes files tend to be twice as large as the novel by the time I'm through.

2. Chunking and Recall
Chunking is a great term I learned last January when I took a course on the human brain and how to utilize it better in order to learn. In regards to writing, chunking would be taking an element of the story and associating it with other things in order to have better recall.

For example: When I bring up the word "red," based on the series I'm currently writing and publishing, I automatically think of one of my main characters, Thssk. I also think of blood, lava, anger, fire, dominating personalities, and power struggles. These next tier words lead me to specific scenes, character development, and backstory events - most of which revolve around Thssk, but also lead and connect to other characters and their story lines.

By chunking, or associating elements of the story to other elements, it just takes one word or phrase to recall much more information at once.

3. Make lists.
This one might go up under the Writing Things Down category, but I like to treat it differently. Lists are more compact, easier to read information, the overviews of the story.

In a complex novel I will use lists for:
i. Characters
I list characters by whether they are main characters, significant level B characters, C, and so on. Writing down everyone who has a name and assigning them their role in the story lets you see if your cast is too big and if you can't combine characters to have fewer people doing more in the novel. The danger with big, complex, multiple POV novels is making it difficult for the reader to remember who is who.
ii. Places and Settings
Listing your settings down gives you a great overview of what the story is doing. Do you use the same settings over and over again? Is there variety in your settings? Do you have too many settings? How can you reuse the same setting and portray it differently to help the mood of the story?
iii. Chronological order of events
Not all stories are told linearly, in fact, many really good ones aren't. Yet, it's important to know the chronological order of events as the author to avoid discrepancies in your writing. You don't want to use the scene where character A discovers the bad guy is really character Y before the scene where character Y declares they are in love with character A.
iv. Chapter and scene orders, including a list of POV characters for each
In a multiple POV novel, this list is vital, particularly for keeping track of how well mixed those POVs are. It lets me know if I've gone on too long with one story line at the expense of another.
v. Language and dialect
This has been valuable when I'm making up the words and phrases. I'm able to keep them straight, including their spellings and meanings.
vi. Historical events
A chronological list of historical or backstory events goes hand in hand with your story chronology. Backstory fuels character motivation and plot lines. Know what happened before the story and keep it straight with a simple timeline.
vii. Nodes of conjunction
This isn't one everyone uses but I have to. Nodes of conjunction are where story lines or characters connect. Say information about character D is discussed between characters X and W that will lead the reader to understand character D's actions in the next chapter. Or, characters F and G are going to finally collide with each other, when and where does this happen and how does it change the story? By using Nodes of conjunction in both a list and in my notes, I've found my stories get fuller faster and have more vitality in character development. 
viii. What still needs to be written
I'm a to-do list sort of person sometimes, and with big, complex novels, it helps me feel like I'm making a dent in the writing if I have a checklist of what needs to be done. Completely changeable as the story develops, this checklist works hand in hand with my outline and if I get stuck, I make a note about it and move on to the next item.
ix. Inconsistencies and places that need further research and development
All writers end up with inconsistencies in their stories, especially in the early stages. When I find one, I'm usually engrossed in working on something else. It helps to make a list of what the inconsistency is and where it is so that I can go back and revisit the issue.
x. How one scene or chapter segues into the next
Another list others may not use, but I like to. When moving from one POV character to another or one story line to another, I may have a cliffhanger, but something in the scene or chapter preceding the next needs to have a segue. It can be an object, mentioning the conflict or the next POV character, or even a theme. This list has been crucial in helping set chapter order.

4. "Put it together and what have you got?"
I've made mention before on this blog about creating a Story Bible. In essence, once you've created all of the things I've listed, you have made a Story Bible. The essential ingredient to successful orchestration of a complex novel.

When really considering how I keep things straight, my most personal answer is I like a challenge. I enjoy diving into multiple character and plot lines and playing with them. I love making connections between them and exploring the results. To me, it reflects life. Our actions or failure to act have an impact on others. It's never been about creating a glut of characters, events, or settings just because I could. People are complex. We're never completely good or evil. To me a story isn't about creating one hero that does everything, but celebrating the many heroic acts happening at different levels. The same thing for the mischief and malice created by the characters bent on being antagonists.

5. Index cards
Sometimes I need a visual representation of the story, especially when dealing with multiple POVs or plot lines. That's when I get out my index cards and put down information scene by scene. By keeping to scenes it makes it possible to rearrange quickly or play with the order. Usually my card looks something like this:

(Name of Scene) (Scene #)
Setting/Date
List of key points
POV character
Ritual/Theme
Key objects

I name my scenes. In a large novel it makes it easier to refer to if I've given a short clue as to what the scene is about. The scene # relates to where I have it listed in my overall outline or Table of Contents. The list of key points is pretty self-explanatory, as is point-of-view character. Rituals or themes help me classify the scene. For example: Outward Conflict, or Barter Ritual, or Point of Humiliation. Key objects refer to literal objects in the scene that have meaning or purpose to the story. They might be a weapon, or a green dress, or a tree. They are often symbolic and reoccur in the story.

Once I've compiled all my index cards I put them up on a blank wall in my office. Usually right in front of my treadmill so that when I'm taking a break and releasing endorphins I can also be brainstorming and reviewing the basic story material.

In Conclusion: 
My love for exploring every aspect of a story makes it easy to keep things straight in my head. I like to live and relive the moments. It's not a matter of knocking off a scene or chapter in order to reach a quick writing goal and then move on to the next novel. I prefer to savor and revisit. And that is why I know my stories so well and can write big, complex, epic novels.

Have a further question about anything you've read here or regarding more info on how I keep things straight? Please, ask me. Or tell me how you keep your material straight when you write. Do you do some of the same things I do?

Fun Ideas and Tips #9: Make Your Story Newsworthy

You've written the first draft of your novel and now it's time to go back and begin revisions. Whether your first draft is thick or thin, you're going to have to do some analysis on the whole thing and see if what you wrote makes sense, needs a complete overhaul, or perhaps needs better focus.

I have a fondness for reading news headlines. They're short and to the point, giving you enough information to whet your curiosity so that you will try out the actual article. Headlines also give readers the option of not reading, if the article isn't about something they care about. They streamline the reading process. I love that.

How do news headlines factor in to revising the first draft of your novel?

By giving you another outlining option.

The pantser argument doesn't hold weight right now; you've finished the rough draft of your novel. It's time to make sure the story is solid, to tie up loose ends, expose those plot holes, strengthen your characters, and put all your story ducks in a row. An outline can streamline the process.

I've highlighted many easy to construct outlines in the past and I'm not going to rehash them or other more complex versions. No, today I want you to think like a journalist coming up with news headlines. So here's what you do:

1) Break up your story into sections. It can be chapters, or POV switches, or even by page. And don't feel like you have to sit and spend a few hours dividing up your novel for this step. You can do this as you go along reading it.

2) Write a simple, one sentence headline for each section. The rule for this is: What is the most important event, twist, or discovery in this section?

This should be more thought-provoking than it first suggests. Remember, headlines have to garner attention. What is going on in this section that would capture your readers' attention? Is this section even worth keeping in the story? Is anything happening at all?

For example, say you decide to do a headline for each page and the page you are reading is basically describing a journey, or a building, or a scientific process—you're not going to come up with a very good headline for it. What the lack of a snazzy headline does is give you a red flag that you have too much description going on in that section. There's nothing happening. You're going to lose readers' interest here. Ah hah! You mark that section for demolition or a complete make-over.

Let's say you do have something going on. Are new questions being raised by this section? A new mystery unfolds? The characters have reached a pivotal choice? Creating headlines for the section will give you a chance to lock down the exact dilemma, point, or argument this section needs to be about. Ah hah! You may find you need to beef this part up, or even play it down. Perhaps you discover you're in danger of creating a bunch of unnecessary subplots due to tangents in your original material.

Or, maybe this section deals with an action sequence. "Creating a headline should be easy", you think—or is it? "Good Guy is Attacked by Bad Guys but Comes Out on Top!" is rather bland. Ah hah! Are you putting in action for the sake of action, or does this section actually move the story forward? What is learned in this section? What is gained or lost? Have you made it too easy for the protagonist? Have you devoted too many paragraphs or pages to reporting each movement or play-by-play? Do you even need this kind of action here? How predictable is this section? It's a lot to think about. Sometimes the sections/scenes we think are done deals are the most predictable to readers and maybe need a lot more brainstorming to make them different or unpredictable.

*A further note: Don't stress about giving things away in your headlines, or about using too much hyperbole when creating them. This outline is for your eyes only. Have fun with it.

3) Make sure you are taking notes as you do step #2, whether in the document or in a separate notebook or file. Line up your headlines when you are done, in story order. Read through them. Does one flow well after the one before? Do you notice significant gaps?

This gives you a very basic outline, and a very valuable revision tool. Maybe you need to rearrange some of the events. Maybe you need to add new sections, or delete others. Really think about the overall theme and goals of the story. What exactly do these headlines say about your story, the characters, the plot, and the differences between Point A and Point Z?

If you're writing a more complex novel with multiple POVs, consider not only a master list of all the headlines, but also separate story-order lists for each POV used. Or come up with a color coding method in your master list to help you see how your POV characters are cycling. What's good about this, is you can still look to see if your POV switches are happening in the right places. Are the events or questions leading to the next section? Are you overusing POV switches for the sake of following a definite pattern? Do you need all of those POVs to begin with? Having a concise reference for the whole story can really show how well you are using multiple POVs.

4) If you want to take your headline analysis one helpful step further, as you go along making them, jot down the number of pages or the word count devoted to each section. It's a huge eye-opener. When tallied up at the end, you can see what aspects of the story you felt were the most important when you wrote that first draft. This can help you stay true to your original genesis for the story, and/or can show you your weaknesses by revealing what key story elements you put less effort into developing. This can also help you target areas for trimming or adding to your word count, all nice and neatly marked out next to your headline outline. Altogether, a handy, quick reference for your story as you go into the actual revision process.

I'm sure that anyone who tries out the headline outline will find even more good uses for it. Think of a simple outline as if it were a thumbnail revealing your entire story at a glance. It's always better to go into the revision process with access to the overall picture. Without it, a writer is like someone trying to figure out a maze for the second time; you have some idea of where it goes and how you got through it before, but you don't remember every twist and turn and you still can't see alternate routes.

I know some of you will shrug your shoulders and stubbornly refuse to even try outlining. That's okay. There are different kinds of writers, but take a second to consider what you might be missing out on by not trying a simple outline. And just because So-and-So Big-Name-Author doesn't outline, that really shouldn't be an argument, after all, you aren't them.

I've written many stories and used different methods for each one. I learn new things from each experience. However, I know now that having a simple outline can make a huge difference in the number of revision passes I have to make. I hope you'll at least try out the headline outline, or one of the others in the list below. See what works for you. Develop your own version of a simple outline. Be creative and have fun, but most of all, take the opportunity to study yourself as a writer.


Other outlining methods you can try: (Note: Some of these are for outlining before writing your first draft.)
National Novel Writing Month Preparation: The Easiest Outline Ever
How I Outline, Guest Post #4: NCB
How I Outline, Guest Post #3: Ian Isaro
How I Outline, Guest Post #2: Derrick Camardo
Fulfilling Your Promises to the Reader
How I Outline, Guest Post #1: Darke Conteur
When Outlining Breaks Down (A guest post I wrote on another blog.)
Outlining: The Simple Version
Because: One of the Most Important Words a Writer Can Use ...

Tips to Help Indie Authors Help Their Cover Artists

I used to work in travel as a tour wholesaler, which basically means I would package together travel elements such as a plane ticket, a hotel stay, and transfers to and from the airport then turn around and sell the package to travel agents, who would then sell it to the public. The most annoying part of my job was dealing with travel agents and/or through them their clients who had no idea what they wanted.

I'd get calls that ran something like this:

Travel agent: "My client wants to go to the Caribbean."

Me: "When would they like to go?"

Travel agent: "Oh anytime between June and August. When would they get the best airfare?"

Me: "That depends on where they want to go."

Travel agent: "Somewhere cheap. I'd like pricing on four, five, six, and seven nights."

Me: "I need you to narrow it down."

Travel agent: "Why?"

Me: "Because you know your client better than I do."

Travel agent: *gives a big, annoyed sigh* "Try Jamaica, Barbados, Aruba, and Turks and Caicos."

You get the idea. Often people don't have a clear idea of what they want. Dumping their vague expectations on someone else is not only unfair, but it's always bound to lead to disappointment for both sides.

If you're an indie author getting ready to publish your book, you need a great cover for your book. Sometimes this means working with an artist. It's important to do your research when selecting an artist, checking into pricing, availability, and getting an idea of what an artist's work is like. But your job isn't over once you have all that figured out and lined up.

In fact, even before you select your artist, it's a good idea to do cover research first, since that will give you a pretty good idea of what you want and help you find an artist that has that vibe or capability.

1 - Visit bookseller or reader websites. Select the genre your story is written in (or genres if you're writing a cross-genre book) and scroll through the list of books. Don't spend time reading the book summaries. Examine the covers. Take note of which covers leap out at you and make you curious to read the summary. Look for patterns in not only layout, but color, and the type of art being used for your genre. Take copious notes.

***Your cover needs to reflect the genre it is written in. A potential reader should be able to glance at your cover and instantly get a feeling for what type of book it is.***

2 - Doodle. Experiment with layouts for your cover. Use block shapes and circles. You don't have to be an artist. Doing this helps you realize how important the placement of the title and other words are, how big the images might be, and whether you have too much or too little in mind.

***Coming up with two or three possible layouts will cut down on time for your artist. Which could save you money.***

3 - When choosing elements to go on your cover, think about your novel. Maybe you want the lead character(s) featured on the front. How much of them do you want to show? How much do you want to leave to the reader's imagination? Maybe you want a setting which will showcase your world-building. Maybe you want something symbolic. What elements are going to entice readers without giving too much away? Don't throw these questions at your artist. They didn't write the book. You did. Your artist will need you to come up with the details, such as what your characters look like and what they are wearing, or what your setting looks like. Make up a list or even better, give you artist excerpts from the book to show them what you want.

Sometimes it's helpful to make up a sort of scrapbook, using pictures that have the flavor, look, or idea of what you want. Models in the right stance, people who look like your characters, scenery (whether real or made-up) that have echoes of your world, fabric or color swatches, even fonts or decorative script samples. These samples don't necessarily represent your idea in full, but they will help your artist stay on track.

***This will also save time and money. It will also help prevent your artist from having too much freedom of interpretation that could mean coming up with characters, settings, or symbols that look nothing like what you want.***

4 - If you are not purchasing a font for the words on your cover, you will need to design your own, and that made-up font will need to be embedded into the artwork. Check to see if your artist will help you design a font. Make sure that you consider carefully your word placement on your cover. Will your name or the name of the book be bigger? Do you have a subtitle? Which words will get the flashy treatment and which ones will be plainer? What colors are you going to use?

5 - Know your deadline. Make sure you give your artist plenty of time to complete the project, with extra time for revisions. Don't demand a great cover within a few days or even a week. You'll need time to discuss your ideas with your artist, time for preliminary sketches, time for them to do the actual artwork, and then revisions (there will always be revisions). Your artist may have other clients at the same time. Check with your artist to find out their timetables, availability, and how fast they can work.

***Remember, the more research and prep work you've done, the less time the artist should need to complete the project.***

6 - If you have a good rapport with your artist, and they have both the time and inclination, let them read your novel before starting on the cover. It makes a world of difference if they understand the story and where you're coming from when you give them your list of cover elements.

7 - If your novel is the first book in a series, or you plan on hiring this same artist again for other novels, you'll want to cultivate a good relationship with your artist. Be grateful for their time and work. Promote them to your other writer friends. Make sure you've mentioned them on your copyright page and in the acknowledgements of your novel. Artists, like authors depend on that precious word-of-mouth recommendation for their work.

Question for you: Do you have an artist you've been very satisfied with? What was your working relationship like? Go ahead and promote them in the comments.

Do you know of any other good tips for indie authors who will be working with an artist?

You May Also Like:
Interview with My Cover Artist, Nicolle Raty
Cover Reveal for Trefury: Mendi's Curse

NaNo Update & Tips

Days spent writing: 13
Words written: 57,136
Goal - 100,000 words in 16 days

I'm happy to report I finished writing the first book out of my 2 book goal last Thursday.

How I did it:
1 - I had a brief, loose outline of the key scenes.
2 - I didn't write in order, or linearly, I jumped around depending on what scene was clicking through my mind.
3 - I jumped into scenes in the middle of them. I didn't worry about a transitional beginning or scene setting.
4 - I jumped out of scenes when my inspiration slowed down. I had written the essentials. I didn't bother with transitions for the next scene or closing-style stuff.
5 - I followed tangents, especially ones characters led me on. I learned some fascinating things about my characters that I didn't before.
6 - I didn't go back and edit anything. I pushed forward. If a later written scene had something that contradicted a scene I wrote earlier, that was okay. The 2nd draft I'll slow down and make things align.
7 - I tried not to think about my word count while I was writing. Surprisingly, it's easy to write more when you're not stressing about meeting a specific goal.
8 - I wrote more days than I planned by snatching an hour or two here and there, whenever I could.
9 - When I wasn't actively writing, I was prewriting in my mind so when I'd sit down at my computer I could hit the ground running.
10 - I don't give a care what anyone else might think of this story. I didn't think of my beta readers. I didn't think of my target audience. I didn't think of anyone except having a good time on my own, and of course, the journey of my characters.

And I'm grateful for that journey now. It was a rush, it was emotional, and personal.

So now I'm into writing the second book I planned. I'm approaching this one a bit differently.

How this one differs:
1 - Since this story has multiple POVs, I chose one person and am writing chronologically in his head. I also chose the POV I had put less prewriting thought into so that way I could be surprised as I charged forward writing. When I get through his POV I'll go back to the beginning and write from another character's POV.

I already know this book will extend beyond NaNo and 50K words. I'm not stressing about trying to cram it all in the last two weeks of November.

Some of the reasons for failure during NaNo:
1 - Finding time and taking the time to write. The idea that you need to block out half a day is just that, an idea. Maybe that's how you work under normal conditions, but for NaNo, the game is different. Grab time, a little bit here, a little bit there. Write a snippet of conversation. Write a setting description. Write an action scene. Don't worry about having an entire chapter in one sitting. You can always splice things together later.
2 - Lack of preparation. You can't just sit down in front of that computer and expect a story to magically appear in your head. You have to know what you want to write about ahead of time. Prewriting and outlines are your friends.
3 - The internal editor is still in command. You have to truss, gag, and drop him with cement shoes in the bay. First drafts aren't about getting the story perfect. This is where pantsers have more of an advantage, they know you just run along and write what comes to mind. Prepare like an outliner, write like a pantser. Do not go back and edit. Get the story written down.
4 - Distraction. Okay, so we all like to check our email or keep up with the news. But tone down your social media during NaNo. Avoid social media sites, unless you go there as a reward after you've hit your daily word count. Sure, you'll miss out on what your friends are saying and doing. That's okay. They'll still be there when you get back. And if they are real friends, they'll understand why you've gone silent and be glad to welcome you when the month is over. It's okay to blog less, to skip out on posting status updates, to refuse to critique for someone else, or even read a single book for the month. It's okay.
5 - Family. Family is important and I certainly don't believe you have to shun your loved ones for a month. The first day of NaNo, at breakfast, I had a talk with my family about what I would be doing and my goals. I explained that there would still be time spent with them, but when I go into my office to write they need to respect that time and leave me alone. It's hard with little children, I know. Naptimes are a great, so are early bedtimes. Some people get up extra early in the morning to write. Family distractions will most likely happen than not. Again why it's important not to have that internal editor going or to be more spontaneous when you start or stop a scene.
6 - Unforeseen circumstances. That happened to me last year. I'm getting plenty of that this year, too. Each Sunday I sit down to look at my calendar for the week and it fills up pretty fast. Health issues, disasters, trips (Thanksgiving anyone? Yep, I'm going out of town for a few days, too.) Don't beat yourself up if you find you had fewer days to write or if you came short of the 50K goal. If you didn't give up, you still deserve a pat on the back.

There are many other reasons. Sometimes it's just a matter of sacrificing some of your daily pleasures and luxuries. Instead of watching TV and looking at someone else's productivity, choose to be productive yourself. If your writing goals for NaNo are a true priority, you will be able to find ways to head toward them, or finish them. Self-discipline is the key.

How do you keep on track for NaNo? What are your biggest struggles?
 

National Novel Writing Month Preparation: The Easiest Outline Ever

National Novel Writing Month is in November. The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. It's challenging and fun. I chose to do it a couple of years ago and managed to finish about a week early. I also came out with a very promising rough draft for a new story.

My strategy then was to know my story before November began. I wrote up a general summary, as I always do, and then prepared a simple outline highlighting the main plot and two subplots. I also knew my two main characters' personalities pretty well, having brainstormed for a couple of months ahead of time. The point is, I didn't go into NaNo cold turkey. I had a plan, forged through, and the results were excellent.

I plan on doing NaNo this year, only I've upped my personal stakes. I plan on working on two novels, aiming for 80,000 - 100,000 words. Yes, I'm nuts. Yes, I stand a good chance of failing. Yes, life probably will happen and get in the way. I'm still shooting for the moon.

Anyway ...

What if you aren't naturally an outliner, you want to do NaNo this year, and you want to do some prep work to keep you on course? If outlining isn't your thing, I highly recommend you don't attempt to buck your tendencies by switching courses for NaNo. However, if you want a general guideline, here's the simpliest outline format ever: chapter headings.

I once wrote an entire novel in two weeks using this method. What you do is write up a table of contents for your unwriten novel. Use fun, short sentence descriptions as the chapter titles. Think of the key scenes you want to achieve. Write up this list, brainstorm who your characters are, and then pantser-it from there. If you end up adding chapters as you go, that's great. If you end up changing up a title or two as the story evolves, it's no big deal. The point is to have a general map of the story in order to stay on track and finish it.

Are you going to do NaNo (officially or unofficially) this year? Have you done it before? Have you used any kind of outline or summary before?

When the Writing Life Has Got You Down

No, don't worry, I'm not in a state of depression and going to vent. I'm very much the opposite right now. But I have been there and I don't know a single writer who hasn't stood at the bottom of a metaphorical ravine wondering how to climb out or if they'll ever see sunshine again.

Whether it's query blues, editing issues, getting that first draft done, a bad case of writer's block, feeling alone in the social media madness, or beta reader angst, here's my method to deal with it:

First of all, it's okay to cry or get mad. We're human and we have natural human reactions. However, don't do it publicly, no matter how much you want to stand on the proverbial rooftop and share your misery with everyone else. In what should be a simple cry for sympathy, you actually get the opposite reaction if you air your grievances in public.

Why? Well, have you ever come across someone else's pity party online? It's not fun to read, often sounds like a temper tantrum, and we tend to doubt their word. Mention you're having a bad day, sure, editing's got in you in a bind, okay. But keep it generalized and simple. Don't start naming names or pointing fingers. Especially if you get a bad book review or don't see eye to eye with someone else.

After the initial passion has burst, I like to walk away from the writing life for a bit. Depending on how big the issue is, determines how long the break. Do something else and let the air clear. Sometimes getting distracted by life can help you break through writer's block or editing issues. And other times we must be reminded that we shouldn't hole ourselves up writing about life every moment of the day, we need to live it too.

Feeling ignored or unimportant? Definitely spend time with people you can see and speak to. Don't get depressed by your blog stats, your lack of followers, the fact that no one has jumped at the opportunity of reading your work, or if your email inbox is strangely empty. Remember, your happiness doesn't depend on the constant goodwill and popularity of other people. You are your own special, unique individual who has something to give. Forget about yourself and let the needy feeling slip off your shoulder. See if you can't reach out and touch someone else who may need a boost. Do a good turn, without expecting fanfare and the applause of the world. It'll make you feel much better.

If it's your story that has got you down, get out a blank sheet of paper or pull up a blank document on your computer. Then write down every reason why you love your story. Write down what other's have loved about it. Write down what your strengths are. Write down what you've learned during the process of writing. And when you think you are done, write down the things you are looking for in a story, that you want to read and that you enjoy. This especially comes in handy after a bad beta reader review or a lot of rejection from industry professionals.

Most of all, remember that your writing life doesn't embody you entirely. You have many facets, other talents, dreams, and priorities that matter. We are all part of a large community, we are individuals yes, but we are also one of many. Don't compare your life, even your writing life, to that of anyone else. There is no comparison, not ever. Anyone who says differently is probably trying to make themselves feel better, and failing.

How have you dealt with writing life blues? I'd love to read about your method.

Sonnet 29 by William Shakespeare

When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising,
From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven's gate.
     For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
     That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

Some Overdue Fun

Brainstorming. Do you love it or hate it? Is it easy or hard? Is it better to make a list of ideas, bounce suggestions back and forth with a crit partner, or do ideas generally hit you while doing some mundane daily activity?

For a little “lol”:
Dictionary.com defines the term:
Brainstorming: a conference technique of solving specific problems, amassing information, stimulating creative thinking, developing new ideas, etc., by unrestrained and spontaneous participation in discussion.

Brainstorm: a. a sudden impulse, idea, etc.
b. a fit of mental confusion or excitement.

Or you could look at it this way:

This reminds me so much of that old party game where one person starts a story, then the next person adds a bit, and so on around the circle. As long as no one purposely sabotages the story line, it's great fun.

I like to make a list of ideas for one problem, sometimes an opposites list, too. I'm usually alone, so that works for me. But when I can get with fellow writers, either in person or in chat, brainstorming off each other is a blast.

Do you have any interesting brainstorming rituals or tactics? Please share!
 

Trimming the Manuscript Part 3: Determining the Balance

Here’s a crazy-zany idea that I don’t know if anyone else has tried. Do you know the balance in your manuscript between action and non-action (description, internal thoughts, etc.)?  Maybe the story’s too huge because of an imbalance. Hm…

 So here’s what you do:

 1) Create a scene list for your novel. Any time the setting changes, there is a POV switch, or something significant happens to carry the characters into a new scene, note a scene break. Name each of your scenes (this is a lot of fun and no one else will see these.)

2) Work with one scene at a time. This is very important so you don’t feel overwhelmed or get confused. Especially if you have multiple POVs or just a whale of an epic on your hands.

3) Separate your scene into two new documents. One with all the action and one with all the inactivity. The action document will have the dialogue too. Anything strictly not action or dialogue goes into the inactivity document.

4) Now note which document is larger. You don’t have to have a perfect balance for every scene. Some scenes are meant to have more action and others little. After you’ve noticed where the scales weigh on this scene, think about that scene and what its purpose is. Is this a scene with a big reveal? A lot of subtle foreshadowing going down? A place in time marked for internal development for your protagonist? A place where the plot speeds up and takes the protagonist from Point A to Point B? What is the purpose.

5) After you’ve realized what that scene is supposed to do, look at your action document. Consider:
a) Do you need that much action for this scene to do its job? Do you need more?
b) Does your action stand on its own two feet, meaning, you don’t need a lot of explanation to help the reader along?
c) Is the action in this scene the best way to carry the story forward? Or is it action for the sake of action?

6) Next, look at your inactivity document.
Consider:
a) Based on the purpose of this scene, and what is going on, do you have places where description bogs down the narrative? Can you break it up and seamlessly put it in with the action as it comes?
b) If this scene is a turning point internally, do your interior thoughts and observations made by the character do its job? Do you need more or can you reword their thoughts for maximum impact with fewer words?
c) Are you using description, backstory, explanation, or interior monologues for the sake of filling space rather than carrying the story forward? What can wait for later or may need to be bumped up earlier in the story? Trim the excess fat.
d) Are there ways to show how the characters feel through action?

7) After both documents have gone through analysis, cutting, and restructuring. Put the scene back together. You will probably find even more ways to trim as you do. And, you may end up cutting the scene completely out because now you know it doesn’t move the story or the characters forward, or it is shallow, or where an unnecessary tangent plot begins.
8) Move on to the next scene. Repeat.

Recognizing the purpose of a scene and what focus it needs to have is a great way to shed some story bulk. Knowing how to move the story forward in that scene either through action or inaction also helps the writer watch for plot holes, character inconsistencies, and keeps minor characters and subplots in line.

You may discover that you've put too many superfluous action scenes in the story or have redundant passages of backstory, internal monologue, or description. Restore the balance.

How about you? What do you do to determine whether your story is imbalanced or bloated because of an imbalance?

Trimming the Manuscript Part 2: Too Much Plot? – It Happens

Some writers have a knack for developing plotlines and subplots. If you’re an ace outliner on top of that, you might find, as I did, that pretty soon you have too much of a good thing. And too much plot or too many subplots can contribute to an inflated word count.

For a first-timer (meaning someone not published yet) your epic-sized novel may be the reason why agents and publishers are saying “no.”

There’s a difference between an epic and epic-sized. Some stories are epic. They are also tightly written too. Having an epic-sized novel doesn’t necessarily qualify it as an epic.

So how to bring down the word count and yet still have a solid storyline?

Outline in the simplest form. First identify what your main plot is and the crucial plot points that make it happen. Don’t include all the subplots or any plot points that aren’t crucial. If you have a hard time identifying crucial from the unnecessary, get some beta readers right away. You’re too close to the story and have invested too much time into developing plot points and lines to think straight about them. You need other eyes to help you.

Once you have the basic gist of your main plotline then look at your subplots. Write a separate outline for each of them. One or two subplots are the norm for any story. If you find you have five or ten, you need to get out the pruning shears. If your story is an actual epic, there will be more subplots but still make sure you haven’t bit off more than you or your audience can chew.

Once you’ve analyzed your essential plot points in both the main storyline and the subplots, you should have some scenes or even chapters you can cut already. If this round of analysis didn’t come up a lot to trim, then it’s time to look at each scene in the story.

Is this scene absolutely necessary? If you have a scene full of action and nothing else, you’ve got room to trim. For instance, your main characters have just walled up inside a fortress while an invading army of trolls surrounds them. Now the heroes must fight to keep the fortress. It’s a necessary part of the story but watch how you tell it. Pages and pages of straight action equates to boring filler. Are you characters growing during the conflict? What’s at stake for them? Are you showing it? What can happen during this battle to spin a plotline forward? There needs to be growth and change for any scene to be necessary.

Say you have a main character that is newly arrived on a strange world. There’s the temptation to explain everything about that world right away. After all, we need to ground our readers so they don’t feel lost. And a sense of wonder is a great way to keep them reading. Don’t describe your setting, incorporate it. What will that character first tend to notice about the new place? What is going on there? It’s not always like that scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy steps out of her house and gets several minutes to examine the Munchkin countryside. Places are active, not passive. Even quiet, pastoral settings can incorporate a tone. If there is no one there for the MC to react to or act upon, use the setting as a character. Trim the info-dumps. Spread out the details according to what the character will actually notice and what will actually happen. It’s great that you made up a deadly species of squirrel, including charts and an index on all their characteristics. If the squirrels aren’t a main part of that scene don’t share all your notes with the reader.

Sometimes we can condense or tell a series of happenings as if they happened off-stage, rather than write them out. It’s a great way to save space. Say you have a group of people traveling, you can trim all the travel scenes, doing a recap through dialogue after they’ve arrived, if something interesting happened. Unless, of course, the bulk of the story is about their journey, we don’t need to read about all the interesting parts of their trip in full-blown detail. “Pick your battles” is a well-known saying and it’s applicable here. Pick your scenes and don’t fret about the rest. Again, note if there is plot or character growth during a particular scene. If there is, keep it. If not, summarize or chuck it.

Another good rule of thumb is to start a scene with the action already going and end it early. We don’t need a prologue to a scene or a miniature epilogue at the end of it. Get to the point, share what is necessary, and make sure the scene propels the reader forward. Scene prologues and epilogues give readers an invitation to put the story down.

True epics will exceed 100K words and often even the 120K. There is a limited market for these books and a devoted body of readers who can’t get enough of them. If you have a true epic on your hand, don’t freak out over all the negativity on word count. As long as your manuscript is tight, every scene is necessary, and you’ve unloaded every bit of fat possible, you’re doing it right. Finding an agent or publisher is going to be an uphill battle but that’s due to circumstances out of your hands.

Contrary-wise, don’t make the mistake of thinking your story is an epic merely because it’s got a huge girth. It’s our job to analyze, chop, tighten, and choose wisely the content of our stories. Most people fall into the trap of epic-sized rather than true epic. Beta readers/critique partners are your best buddies in this instance. They’ll point out the places where their attention wanders, the parts that aren’t necessary, and question whether you’re serious about six subplots.

And congratulations if you are good at plotting. It’s a great skill. Embrace it, but don’t overdo it.

Trimming the Manuscript Part 1: The Nitpicks Revision

Some books are epic doorstoppers. We see them all the time in libraries and bookstores. Some stories need all that girth to tell them, and many stories do not. The unpublished writer soon finds his/her biggest roadblock to publication is the formidable word count confession. Speculative Fiction writers get a little more leeway than other genres because of world-building (100,000-120,000 words usually), but even then, there are limits to most agents' patience when they're viewing your query letter. A word count of 200,000 is going to raise eyebrows, if you're a first-timer. So for the next little while, I'm going to devote a few blogposts to discussing ways to trim your manuscript to an acceptable length without sacrificing the story. As I've had to run this gauntlet myself, maybe what I've learned might help you. And if you have any relevant tips and tricks, please share in the comments.

Sometimes, all that is needed is a nitpick revision of the full manuscript. A nitpick revision is where you comb through, line by line, and look for small things to take out. A word or phrase here and there doesn't seem like much, but it really does add up and I've known writers who have cut thousands of words by this type of revision alone.

Things to look for:
1) Sentence rephrasing. Can you say the same thing in fewer words? Simplicity works best. It gets your message across with fewer "speed bumps" for the reader. Anywhere a reader might backtrack and re-read a sentence for clarity is a good place to rephrase and cut words.

2) Passive phrasing: He was going, She was walking, They were sleeping, etc. You can make a sentence active instead of passive and trim some unnecessary words by getting rid of the "was" and changing the action verb to an -ed instead of an -ing: He went. She walked. They slept.

Note: Not all versions of "was" or "-ing" should be cut from a manuscript, but that's a whole other discussion.

3) Places where someone "looks". Instead of telling us your protagonist looked down into the valley, cut to the chase and show us the valley. Show trumps tell in these cases, and can help you trim a lot of unnecessary words. We don't always need to read the action of looking at something. There are exceptions, of course. Try to use this kind of action sparingly.

4) Redundancy. Have you already described a motivation in Chpt. 3? Don't give us another explanation about it in Chpt. 5. The same thing with description or an event. It's rare that a reader needs a recap if your first explanation, description, or event did it's job. Adding to or changing something is entirely different.

5) Are you using hyphens to connect words? Some phrases are supposed to be connected and it technically cuts down your word count. Examples: nine-year-old, half-eaten, back-up.

6) Double adjectives or adverbs. Are they repetitive or too similar to each other? Cut one.

7) Adjectives and Adverbs. Do you need them? Can you use a stronger noun or verb instead? Example: "the tall building" becomes "the skyscraper" or "the castle". Keep in mind that just because a word is an adjective or adverb doesn't mean you have to cut it. Adjectives and adverbs are valid parts of speech and used wisely, enhance your prose. Make sure they are necessary.

8) Estimate how many words you need to cut per page to reach your word count goal and try to stick with it.
Example: Based on an average of 250 words p/page, to drop from 125,000 words (500 pgs.) to 100,000 words (400 pgs.), you'd need to slash 50 words p/page.

9) Keeping your pet words in mind (those you use repetitiously) do a word search and see how many you can chop out. Simple words such as: "that", "as", "and", "but", "just", "only", or short phrases.

10) Unnecessary action: "He sat down." The action of sitting implies the direction. Chop out the word "down". Look also for places where you've fallen into a play-by-play of simple action: "She woke up, rubbed her eyes, yawned, and sat up. Putting her feet over the side, she slid out onto the floor, stood, and stretched." Leave something to the reader's imagination. There's nothing extraordinary in these actions, so strike them out.

For further ideas on nitpick revising, I recommend The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White, especially the section on eliminating unnecessary words.

Fun Ideas and Tips #9: Using the Ending to Create the Beginning

A couple of people hit me with a new concept this past week. This first comes from James V. Smith Jr. in his Writer's Digest article on The Dos and Don'ts of Novel Endings. He has lots of great advice on creating a good ending for a novel but the one point that jumped out at me was this: "Do Mirror your final words to events in your opener. When you begin a journey of writing a novel, already having established a destination, it’s much easier to make calculated detours, twists and turns in your storytelling tactics. When you reach the ending, go back to ensure some element in each of your complications will point to it. It’s the tie-back tactic. You don’t have to telegraph the finish. Merely create a feeling that the final words hearken to an earlier moment in the story."

Creating those bookends, if you will, that hold in the rest of the story. If I can take a story I've written all the way through, and analyze the beginning not by itself but also based on how the book ends, can I make my beginning stronger, better, and more significant? I know it's important to make every detail you spend time on count. How much more powerful they might be if the ending echoes or expounds upon the beginning.

The other concept came from someone who is not a writer. He asked me: "Do writers ever try writing their stories backwards? You know, starting from the end and finishing with the beginning?" Of course, I couldn't answer for everyone. I knew I hadn't tried that before. I also knew that sounded like a fun challenge. To take cause and effect and work backwards with it? Crazy - yet strangely brilliant.

Not everyone knows their ending when they start out, of course. And sometimes the ending we conceive ends up disappearing along the way while writing everything else and evolves into a new creature. Sometimes it's best not to mess with that first draft or have any tightly held ideas about it, even if you outline. But on the first round of revisions? That would be a sweet spot to try these ideas out. We'd already have a pretty good idea of our ending and beginning, and now we could go back through and make sure cause and effect are working and that the beginning and ending tie-in someway.

Have you ever tried or applied either of these concepts? If so, what were the results?

Fun Ideas and Tips #8: Music Muse

Do you like to have music playing while you write? Chances are pretty good that you answered in the affirmative. A lot of writers love their mood music. Anything from genre popular music to soundtracks to classical renditions from the old masters, music is a great way to help create and sustain a writing mood.

What types of music do you like to listen to when you write?

I admit, I jump around, depending on the project. I especially love it when I find a song with lyrics that really hit the vibe I’m going for in a plot or a characterization. I’m not so much a soundtrack person because I find I channel thoughts about the movie the music came from rather than my own stories. (I don't play video games so those soundtracks are fair game, likewise with a movie I haven't seen or heard the storyline to.) Each person is different, and that’s cool.

I think listening to music while writing is one way to make the process more vivid, almost like watching a movie in your head. Of course, there are times when I have to have no noise at all.

For those of you looking for some good sound vibes for writing and who may also avoid movie soundtracks for reasons similar to mine, I thought I’d post a few links to epic music which has no definite story and can be adapted to whatever adventure you’re writing about. (And huge kudos to my blog artist for steering me in the direction of these. Artists like to work to music too.)

For a never ending supply of video game soundtracks check out OverClocked Remix.

You can do a search on Amazon.com by typing in “epic music.” Here are some gems I know of: (I link to Amazon for the sample snippets you can hear. This is by no means an advertising push to patronize Amazon.)

Reign of Vengeance (Future World Music)

Archangel; Invincible (Two Steps From Hell)

The Greatest Video Game Music (London Philharmonic Orchestra)

Epic Score: Epic Drama Vol. 1 Intros & Underscores

Epic Score: Epic Action & Adventure Vol. 1; Vol. 2; Vol. 3; Vol. 4; Vol. 5; Vol. 6; Vol. 7; Vol. 8; and so forth

Illusions (Thomas Bergensen)

Trailerhead; Trailerhead: Saga (The Immediate)

Know of more? Please share! That goes for good online radio stations too.

Cutting Down Character Count or How to Amputate 101

First off, I’m not anti-big book and I do enjoy the occasional door stopper with a cast list longer in word count than the first chapter or two combined. Yes skeptics, these kinds of books do still exist in the speculative fiction world and even in the case of some historicals. So I’d like to first disclaim any idea that I think everyone should have a set, small amount of characters. That is not the aim of this post. Got it? Great.

One of my earliest flaws as a writer was loving character creation too much. I could whip out huge casts for any given story, each with unique backgrounds, looks, and personalities. Juggling them in my mind—piece of cake. Handing those stories over to readers I discovered that I might be able to juggle lots of details and characters better than others. Which presented a problem: I needed to learn to use fewer characters much more wisely.

A year or so ago I took my current WIP (nearly done—Yay!!) and hacked down the character list. I didn’t have a ginormous cast, but there were too many names floating around the manuscript and some of my early beta readers complained. I listened.

When world-building, it’s so easy to get carried away in planning everything out: the history, backstories, places, events, rules, politics, religions, systems of magic or science, etc. Great stuff, but while immersed in all this splendid wonder of creation we don’t realize that our readers aren’t going to have all those hours of development at their fingergtips. They’re getting the finished product, which takes considerably less time to read. Therefore, they aren’t going to appreciate or get all that world-building in this smaller dose and if we, the writers, throw it all in at them—well, they don’t like it very much.

So let’s talk about having too many characters today. First off, do you have a character list or directory? No?

Step 1: Make one. Write down the name and a brief description of every single person (animal, or active living thing character) that is in your story.

*You’ll want this character list as part of your submission package if you deal in large casts of characters. Pronunciation guides come in handy here too.

Step 2: Classify each character as a:

a)      Main Character

b)      Main Antagonist

c)      Secondary Character

d)     Secondary Antagonist

e)      Tertiary Character

f)       Mentioned Character (anyone important to the story that doesn’t have an active role, say a dead person, or someone far away)

Step 3: Then assign an attribute of purpose to each character. That is, what in the world are they doing in the book? Are they a mentor, a source of information, a troublemaker, a love interest, etc.? Why are they vital to the story?

Step 4: Can you combine the roles of any of these characters? Say you have a shopkeeper who is a source of info for your main protagonist and you’ve got the blacksmith down the street acting as another source of information. Can you cut one of these characters and use only one of them for this role? Do you really need both?

Or say you have the informative blacksmith helping out the MC, might they also take on the role of double-agent? Acting as a source of info for the main antagonist as well?

Do you really need everybody in your cast list to fulfill only one purpose? Hint: a great way to make well-rounded characters is to give everyone more than one purpose.

Might the delivery boy in the beginning of the book also show up later with the missing piece to the crime puzzle your hero’s trying to solve? You don’t need to create a new character for this later role. Cycle your characters and make them count, have more impact, more purpose.

Step 5: Look for characters that are really just scenery. Drop their names and give them a generic title like: the janitor, the sage, the dragon keeper. Look especially for people in groups that hang out, work, or travel together. It’s cozy and fun to create a wide spectrum of personalities and talents to spice up a manuscript but are you really creating tangents for your readers to try to unravel instead? Scenery characters don't need names, only their designations.

Sometimes more is just more. We don’t need to know the name of everyone in a traveling troupe and not all of these people will be enjoyed (no matter how interested you, as the writer, are in them) if you try to use them all together all the time. It slows down dialogue and creates messy scenes. Sometimes characters need to be mere scenery themselves and only the important players identified.

The other fine balance to having a large cast of characters is their strategic use. The hero/heroine meets people on their way through the story. I think it’s natural for a writer to want to zap up each new person as part of the MCs retinue and have them tag along (as if they had no life of their own or weren’t already headed in some direction.) It’s okay to meet someone and let them slip away for awhile. They don’t need to be present for everything else that follows. Big fantasy novels tend to do this or stories using the heroic journey theme.

Watch out for giving characters too many designations as well. I’ve read stories where one person has a birth name, the name they go by professionally, the name they go by personally, plus a nickname, or title. It’s too much. Stick to one (or two at the most, if you have to.)

So to sum it up, evaluate your cast and make sure everyone’s got reason for being there. Combine roles if you can for more punch, and cycle your characters so they aren’t one scene wonders. If you need to have a huge cast, use them strategically and never all at once in dialogue. Avoid the magnet trap where characters drop what they’re doing or where they’re heading in order to join the protagonist’s posse. Don’t give any one character too many names or titles.

Depending on the depth of your book and how many plot layers it has, plus how much time your protagonist spends in any one place will have a bearing on your character numbers. Less is more, they say. Err on the side of the few and purposeful to make complex characters (even the tertiary ones), rather than more names for readers to juggle. It’s hard, it’s painful, you bleed inside, but the story gets better.

Fun Ideas & Tips #7: Mix and Match

Consider this one an instant writing prompt source that can be used over and over and over and over…

1. Write down the first setting that comes to mind.
2. Write down the names of three things.
3. Pick a conflict that has nothing to do with anything in either 1 or 2. This can be emotional, physical, a war, a natural disaster. Big or small, it doesn’t matter.
4. Write down the name of an idea. This can be any concept or emotion.
5. Pick either an animal or a plant.
6. Pick an occupation. It can be a hobby or a profession from any time period or dimension.

Now write a scene using all of these things together. See what crazy or inspired ideas get flowing in your head. Have fun with it.

Do you have a writing warm-up or writing block breaker you use a lot? Share your method in the comments.

Fun Ideas and Tips #6: Dialogue With Someone Else

This idea works well if you are struggling to make dialogue unpredictable or are having a hard time distinguishing between two characters’ voices.

Get with another writer friend, preferably someone who is familiar with your story or style of writing. Brainstorm the general plot of the scene you’re about to write or rewrite. Don’t get into too many details but both of you should know where it begins, where it ends, and what vital information or action needs to be revealed or happen. Then choose who will write from which character’s POV. Take some time to get into your character and remember that you can only write from inside that character’s POV.

Take turns writing out the dialogue and action. The beauty of this exercise is that you won’t exactly know how the other person is going to express their character or even exactly what the other person is thinking or going to say. It’s like a real conversation, unpredictable.

In the end read back through the scene together and maybe iron out a few details for clarity. Discuss the vision of both characters in hindsight and make adjustments accordingly. You won’t necessarily have to keep this draft of the conversation but it might give you that push you needed in order to make the scene work.

Fun Ideas and Tips #5: Find Your Truths

Going along with Tuesday's blogpost about writing what you know, here's some things to consider when brainstorming the truths you can use in your stories.

1. Write down, in detail, memories from the past that:
a. Made you deliriously happy
b. Made you furious
c. Embarrassed you
d. Caused a huge roadblock
e. Forced you to make a difficult decision
f. Gave you the most satisfaction
g. Made you feel like giving up or drove you to the depths of depression
h. Truly scared you
i. Really made you laugh

2. Write down dialogue interchanges that went with those experiences as best you can. (Hint: you'll find the ones that are worth using are easy to recall.)

3. List people from your past or present who really stand out to you. You might admire them, envy them, hate them, love them, or have a weird fascination for them. Analyze why. What makes these individuals so distinctive and memorable?

4. Write down a list of themes or causes that you feel passionate about. Pros or cons, it doesn't matter.

5. Write down a list of quirks or character traits you most often notice in yourself or the people around you. (Animals are fun to do to.)

6. Consider the places you've lived or visited. Describe them in detail. What do you remember best about them? (For example: I’ve lived in cold places so I know a lot about snow and ice. Now I can use these details to make my cold settings realistic and true.)

7. Write down the jobs, or other occupations you've had. This can be anything from a professional career to a babysitting gig, or service projects. Write down what you did (or do), what skills you need for each job, and the kinds of people you've met or interacted with.

8. Write down a list of all the things you like to read about or study. Formal education can count too, but you really want to take notice of the subjects you're passionate about. You might also want to compose a list of subjects you're itching to learn more about.

9. Write down all the things that get you riled up. What are your pet peeves? What will change you from a great mood to a bad mood in a snap? (or vice versa)

10. Write down any injuries, illnesses, or handicaps you've dealt with or the people you know have dealt with. This can be anything from wearing glasses to being stuck in bed with a broken leg or dying from some horrible disease.

The key to all of these things is passion. The strongest truths come from the strongest memories, ones that get you excited, that take you back to that moment with excruciating detail. By recalling these memory triggers you'll infuse what you know into your writing and share those truths with your readers.

Have any other great ideas for this list? Please share in the comments.

Fun Ideas and Tips #4: Act It Out

This exercise is a lot of fun, a bit embarrassing, and yet it also helps bring scenes alive. Try acting out a scene you're struggling with or having a hard time translating well for readers to visualize. Whether it be an action scene, an intense piece of dialogue, or some interaction you're not sure will work on the timing. If you can get family members, friends, or even people from your writing group to help you out it lessens the embarrassment and opens up the brain-pool.

Pick out a place and act out the scene as best you can. Play with gestures, time how events really coincide, try different inflections of tone in the voice to make sure your dialogue is spot on. Watch for places where there is awkward phrasing or too much cliche being used. Really visualize the scene, use what props you can find, and throw yourself completely into your characters' shoes.

Want to up the experience? Film it or voice record it. Then go through and listen or watch when you're back in editorial mode.

Have you tried this exercise before? Please share in the comments. If you like this idea and try it, please come back and let us know how it went.

Fun Ideas and Tips #3: POV Reversal

Writers block? Have a scene or chapter that falls short compared to all the others? Not sure what to do with a particular chapter or scene but you need the events or discussion in it to happen in order to further the plot?

Try a point-of-view reversal. Keep your original draft. Open up a new file and rewrite the scene/chapter from a different character’s POV. I don’t care if you’ve been writing in first person or close third person. You may need to look at this part of your story through new eyes. Throw yourself into a different character and write out the same action and discussion.

Why? Isn’t it a waste of time? This person doesn’t have a featured POV in the entire story!

Try it anyway.

The process alone will help strip away the barriers that were bothering you before. Then you can go back to your original and add the oomph or emphasis you lacked. It’s fun jumping into different character’s heads. This is just another draft and the change isn’t chiseled in stone. The point of this exercise is to try a new perspective, walk in someone else’s shoes, and figure out what’s been blocking your creativity.

And effectively changing POVs may not be to the first character you think of. Sometimes even a bit player’s POV can be quite illuminating. If feeling really stumped, try more than one POV for the scene/chapter and see what that does. Imagine yourself the director of a movie trying out different shots or the editor of a film picking out which reactions and emotions to show for emphasis. Play with your story a bit and have fun with it. That lackluster scene/chapter may turn out to be your favorite by the time you finish with it.

Have you tried this before? Share your experiences in the comments and tell me what you learned from the exercise.

Fun Ideas and Tips #2: Index That Novel!

This works best for writers of traditional fantasy, epic fantasy, science-fiction, and anyone writing a series.

A simple way to keep and maintain all the names, places, and even basic information or backstory is to create an index for your novel or series. It’s usually best to begin sooner rather than later in the writing process. If you wait too long it’s a pain to have to comb through your manuscript(s) to jot down the information and make sure you’ve been consistent with things like spelling or description.

Things to keep track of:

1)   Character names, titles, basic description, and background. All of this is mostly for your benefit, but for writers of larger tomes or complex series, you might be asked to include a character list as part of your submission in order to help the reader keep things straight. Put these in alphabetical order for easiest accessibility.

2)   Places. We’re world-building writers and unless your story takes place in a handful of settings or has a narrow world-view, you’ll need a list to keep track of the places you come up with. Things to include are what the place is, what is its significance in the story, and if it’s part of a larger place, eg.: village of _____, in the country of _____. Maps, charts, and such are also good to include. Having all of your place info in one spot makes it easy to find and to double-check.

3)   Your world attributes. Whether it’s a list of the deities involved, special bits of language used (and that you want to share the translation of), how your magic system works, the social/political levels involved, or the scientific info dumps you wisely left out of the narration but still want to share with inquisitive readers.

I keep these kinds of files for my stories, even the simple ones, and I can attest to how valuable a novel index is when I need to quickly check a reference or make sure something’s working right in the plot. I even go a step further and have a master name file for all the characters and places I’ve ever come up with in all my stories. I’ve made up a lot of names over the years and I want to make sure I’m not duplicating myself.

If you’re like me and have constructed more than a few simple language words or grammar rules for your story, you may want to create your own language dictionary. I put the words in alphabetical order, note how to pronounce them, any changes in spelling due to grammar, what they mean, and in my most complex case I also list the way the words evolve from one dialect to another. It’s a lot of work sometimes but the payoff has been rewarding.

When submitting your story to agents/editors, and you have complex world-building, be sure to include the maps you’ve drawn and the basic lists you’ve needed to keep things straight. If unsure what to send, take a look at what other authors have included in their books and how.

I'm sure some of you are good at keeping track of the details in your stories. If you have a method other than the one I've written about, please share in the comments.

Fun Ideas and Tips #1: A Private Table of Contents

Whether a story will officially have an actual Table of Contents (TOC) or not, keeping one to yourself while writing can help you keep tabs on quite a few things.

1. Give a title to each chapter or major section of your story. That way it's easy to reference back to it instead of trying to remember page numbers or which numerical chapter heading each scene occurs in. These titles don't have to be fantastic or permanent, just something to hit your memory buttons for optimum organization.

2. Make note of the number of pages or word count next to the chapter titles to give you an idea of how large or small your chapters/sections are. This comes in handy when you need to combine or sever chapters or when you're looking for chunky places to reduce word count.

3. Put a one or two-line summary beneath the chapter titles. This acts like a mini outline of sorts, helps with remember what happened where, and can show you where the key beats of the story are taking place. It'll reveal where flat chapters are too.

4. Switching POVs throughout the book? Your private TOC can showcase whose POV each chapter is in and how often you switch them around. Maybe you've stayed too long in one POV and neglected another. Maybe you intended to switch every other chapter and this will help you stay on top of that.

5. A private TOC is also a great place to mark demolition and completion. Need to work on Chpt. 10 but haven't figured out how yet? Put a note next to it in the TOC so you don't forget the where. Have Chpts. 1-5 polished to a glow? Celebrate by checking them off in your private TOC.

A private TOC is like a master sheet for the book. You don't have to use all five of the above suggestions. You may find other uses that will help you achieve your writing goals. Have other great ideas for a private TOC? Please share in the comments.