Brian Yansky's Blog, page 22
January 22, 2012
forget the formula
Bad Writing Advice #9: Write using a formula.
There are a lot of people out there who have story formulas they're trying to sell. And maybe they do work for some though I don't personally know any writer they work for. In most cases, I don't believe they work because writing is an organic act. You make a story come to life. Having to do X by page 49 and Y by page 61 and so on strangles the life out of your writing. This is not to say a writer shouldn't outline. Some do very well with an outline. It's not to say a writer can't plot and plan, but adherence to any formula throughout a manuscript robs it of the kind of spontaneity it needs to come to life.
You need, as a writer, to come upon surprises while you write and engage in those surprises in a way that they lead you to interesting shifts in story and character. You have to get down deep in yourself when you're writing and make connections between all the elements in your story. This requires intuitive leaps. Forget the formula.
Or so I think today.
There are a lot of people out there who have story formulas they're trying to sell. And maybe they do work for some though I don't personally know any writer they work for. In most cases, I don't believe they work because writing is an organic act. You make a story come to life. Having to do X by page 49 and Y by page 61 and so on strangles the life out of your writing. This is not to say a writer shouldn't outline. Some do very well with an outline. It's not to say a writer can't plot and plan, but adherence to any formula throughout a manuscript robs it of the kind of spontaneity it needs to come to life.
You need, as a writer, to come upon surprises while you write and engage in those surprises in a way that they lead you to interesting shifts in story and character. You have to get down deep in yourself when you're writing and make connections between all the elements in your story. This requires intuitive leaps. Forget the formula.
Or so I think today.
January 11, 2012
Plot
Einstein said something like make things as simple as possible but not simpler. Plot is rudimentary. It's what happens in a story. That's the simple version.
Jack and Jill go up the hill. Jack fetches a pail of water. On his way back to Jill he comes upon Sleeping Beauty and can't help kissing her. Jill catches them in the act. All the king's horses and all the king's men can't put Jack back together again.
I think you could complicate plot by adding that beyond what happens in the story there is what happens inside a character. The development of the character, her reaction to what happens in the story, is also a kind of internal plot, but if you want to keep it simple when trying to get into writing a story go back to the simple stories and ask what happens.
Jack and Jill go up the hill. Jack fetches a pail of water. On his way back to Jill he comes upon Sleeping Beauty and can't help kissing her. Jill catches them in the act. All the king's horses and all the king's men can't put Jack back together again.
I think you could complicate plot by adding that beyond what happens in the story there is what happens inside a character. The development of the character, her reaction to what happens in the story, is also a kind of internal plot, but if you want to keep it simple when trying to get into writing a story go back to the simple stories and ask what happens.
January 5, 2012
writing
Recently I was reading Laura Ruby's blog. Her novel, LILY'S GHOST, did very well when it came out six or seven years ago. But, as happens, it is now out of print. So she got her rights back and self-published the book (an e-book version) herself so the book lives on. That's an example, I think, of how the new world of publishing can be a good thing for writers. I know there are other writers who are having success self-publishing after being traditionally published, too. They have an audience. I think this has happened in music. Many well-known musicians who aren't "hot" enough for the big labels anymore do very well putting out their own songs or having a small recording company put them out.
Another example that I've seen discussed on-line in a few places is this situation: a first novel of a trilogy or series does pretty well but the publisher decides not to publish the second or third book because it didn't do well enough for them. It may have less to do with the quality of the new manuscript than sales and perception of the potential sales at the publisher. Why shouldn't the author publish the book if they still believe in it? The series probably already has some readers waiting for the next novel and it will be easier to publicize for this reason. Let the readers decide if it's as good as the first book or other books in the series. So in this case, self e-publishing makes sense.
And I should add I'm for anything that gives writers more power and choices. E books definitely give writers more options. However, I think a lot of writers will self-publish and find disappointment. It's hard, even with the backing of a publisher, for a book to get attention, get reviewed, and find readers. It will be even harder for new writers without any help.
And though we writers all complain about the lack of publisher support, publishers DO help every book. And they take care of all those little details and a lot of difficult non-writing work for the writer. I, for one, don't want to devote my time to the whole publishing business. I want to devote my time to writing new stories.
I don't really have any big insights. I just think it's an interesting time. Though I'm aware of the Chinese curse, "May you be born in interesting times" I think all this change is kind of exciting. Will there be more good books out there? Hard to say. For example, someone who is good at sales and publicity has a great advantage in self-publishing over someone who isn't. Their writing might not be very good but they get attention because they're good salespeople while better work goes unnoticed. So someone skilled at selling sells their book well and gets noticed and someone who isn't won't. Fair? I suppose in a business sense yes but not an artistic one. A lot of good books will still go unnoticed.
At any rate, good or bad, changes are coming. There will be some opportunities in those changes, and some disappointments. We,as writers, just have to stay most focused on writing, on the thing we love.
Or so I think today.
Another example that I've seen discussed on-line in a few places is this situation: a first novel of a trilogy or series does pretty well but the publisher decides not to publish the second or third book because it didn't do well enough for them. It may have less to do with the quality of the new manuscript than sales and perception of the potential sales at the publisher. Why shouldn't the author publish the book if they still believe in it? The series probably already has some readers waiting for the next novel and it will be easier to publicize for this reason. Let the readers decide if it's as good as the first book or other books in the series. So in this case, self e-publishing makes sense.
And I should add I'm for anything that gives writers more power and choices. E books definitely give writers more options. However, I think a lot of writers will self-publish and find disappointment. It's hard, even with the backing of a publisher, for a book to get attention, get reviewed, and find readers. It will be even harder for new writers without any help.
And though we writers all complain about the lack of publisher support, publishers DO help every book. And they take care of all those little details and a lot of difficult non-writing work for the writer. I, for one, don't want to devote my time to the whole publishing business. I want to devote my time to writing new stories.
I don't really have any big insights. I just think it's an interesting time. Though I'm aware of the Chinese curse, "May you be born in interesting times" I think all this change is kind of exciting. Will there be more good books out there? Hard to say. For example, someone who is good at sales and publicity has a great advantage in self-publishing over someone who isn't. Their writing might not be very good but they get attention because they're good salespeople while better work goes unnoticed. So someone skilled at selling sells their book well and gets noticed and someone who isn't won't. Fair? I suppose in a business sense yes but not an artistic one. A lot of good books will still go unnoticed.
At any rate, good or bad, changes are coming. There will be some opportunities in those changes, and some disappointments. We,as writers, just have to stay most focused on writing, on the thing we love.
Or so I think today.
December 14, 2011
story ideas
Ideas might come directly from character. A lot of writers start with a character and make that character move forward. What that character wants and what gets in the way of that want is what powers the story.
So let's say you have a little girl, a tomboy, and she's got a very distinct Southern voice. She lives in a little town. She has a strange neighbor next door.
Now what? Seems a little generic. If the voice of the girl is strong, though, maybe this will help the writer find her way. Let's say she has a brother and maybe a friend. They have some adventures.
Things begin to happen but if this story is just about the little girl and her friends, it might be good but it won't be great. A Southern town during the time of segregation and the Depression and a social structure that creates inequality and promotes prejudice though adds another dimension. The setting is another idea of the author and the development of that setting broadens the story. But now we need some kind of inciting event. A black man is accused of raping a white woman. The girl's father defends the black man.
I don't really know how Harper Lee began her story, but somehow many, many ideas bloomed in what could have been the simple story of a girl growing up in a small town. Harper Lee found her way to this larger story situation and then was able to write it so vividly she created a great novel.
So let's say you have a little girl, a tomboy, and she's got a very distinct Southern voice. She lives in a little town. She has a strange neighbor next door.
Now what? Seems a little generic. If the voice of the girl is strong, though, maybe this will help the writer find her way. Let's say she has a brother and maybe a friend. They have some adventures.
Things begin to happen but if this story is just about the little girl and her friends, it might be good but it won't be great. A Southern town during the time of segregation and the Depression and a social structure that creates inequality and promotes prejudice though adds another dimension. The setting is another idea of the author and the development of that setting broadens the story. But now we need some kind of inciting event. A black man is accused of raping a white woman. The girl's father defends the black man.
I don't really know how Harper Lee began her story, but somehow many, many ideas bloomed in what could have been the simple story of a girl growing up in a small town. Harper Lee found her way to this larger story situation and then was able to write it so vividly she created a great novel.
December 4, 2011
narrative current
Narrative current helps hold a story together. So many stories do a lot of things well and struggle with just one or two major things and these make the manuscript lose its power.
One of those things that is often the culprit is narrative current. Say a writer writes well and has interesting characters andmany wonderful scenes BUT somehow they don't fit together. There aren't connections between these scenes. There isn't a sense of story arc. The writer feels that it isn't quite right but doesn't know how to fix it. The story needs a coherent narrative, a current that will carry it to the right conclusion.
Usually when a writer says something like my story is about love or my story is about loss, they're talking about theme. These are big, often general or abstract ideas and while the story may very well be about these larger issues they don't, by themselves, hold the novel together. Theme or the big ideas behind your work are necessary and important but they aren't what is pulling the story along—at least not by themselves.
Narrative current demands a sense that the whole narrative is taking the reader someplace. The scenes in the story have to be constructed in such a way that the reader feels compelled to find out where this current is carrying them and not just what the scene is about. Connections are essential. The writer chooses the right details because he or she finds this current and so it puts them in the right place.
This might all sound like plot and it certainly is plot but plot is too narrow. It's not just about what happens in each scene but how these scenes fit together and the interior life of characters and their development etc… Without a narrative current the story strays off or it feels stagnant in places even if it does eventually move to a conclusion.
Or so I think today
One of those things that is often the culprit is narrative current. Say a writer writes well and has interesting characters andmany wonderful scenes BUT somehow they don't fit together. There aren't connections between these scenes. There isn't a sense of story arc. The writer feels that it isn't quite right but doesn't know how to fix it. The story needs a coherent narrative, a current that will carry it to the right conclusion.
Usually when a writer says something like my story is about love or my story is about loss, they're talking about theme. These are big, often general or abstract ideas and while the story may very well be about these larger issues they don't, by themselves, hold the novel together. Theme or the big ideas behind your work are necessary and important but they aren't what is pulling the story along—at least not by themselves.
Narrative current demands a sense that the whole narrative is taking the reader someplace. The scenes in the story have to be constructed in such a way that the reader feels compelled to find out where this current is carrying them and not just what the scene is about. Connections are essential. The writer chooses the right details because he or she finds this current and so it puts them in the right place.
This might all sound like plot and it certainly is plot but plot is too narrow. It's not just about what happens in each scene but how these scenes fit together and the interior life of characters and their development etc… Without a narrative current the story strays off or it feels stagnant in places even if it does eventually move to a conclusion.
Or so I think today
November 26, 2011
scene and summary/ show and tell
BAD WRITING ADVICE #9--always show and never tell.
Shouldn't be listened to. Really, can't be listened to. Every novel has some showing and some telling. First, there's the summary that comes between scenes, the telling that gets characters from scene to scene and summarizes events that would be tedious for the reader to experience. Sometimes this might be moving from place to place or having a person get ready for school or work or any number of things that don't need to be shown. Then there is description. Then there is backstory. I'm sure there are others, but the point is clear. Things have to be told. Here's the important part: THE WRITER HAS TO SELECT WHAT SHOULD BE SUMMARIZED and TOLD and WHAT SHOULD BE SHOWN IN SCENES. Pick right and the novel will feel balanced and will move without feeling thin. Pick wrong and--well, not good.
But there is also showing and telling within scenes. Here you should mostly show because you're trying to make the reader experience what the characters are experiencing. However, there will be times where some kind of analysis or explanation will enhance a scene. So even within a scene, there will be moments where telling can be a good thing if it isn't overdone. Here's an example from Pamela Painter's book on writing WHAT IF? This is a scene from Hempel's story "In The Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried."
"I have to go home," I said when she woke up.
She thought I meant home to her house in the Canyon, and I had to say No, home, home. I twisted my hands in the time honored fashion of people in pain. I was supposed to offer something. The Best Friend. I could not even offer to come back.
I felt weak and small and failed.
Also exhilarated.
The bold is telling and it makes clear to the reader the conflicted feeling of the narrator. It's effective.
It's the balance of telling and showing that needs to be looked at closely in everything you write.
Or so I think today.
Shouldn't be listened to. Really, can't be listened to. Every novel has some showing and some telling. First, there's the summary that comes between scenes, the telling that gets characters from scene to scene and summarizes events that would be tedious for the reader to experience. Sometimes this might be moving from place to place or having a person get ready for school or work or any number of things that don't need to be shown. Then there is description. Then there is backstory. I'm sure there are others, but the point is clear. Things have to be told. Here's the important part: THE WRITER HAS TO SELECT WHAT SHOULD BE SUMMARIZED and TOLD and WHAT SHOULD BE SHOWN IN SCENES. Pick right and the novel will feel balanced and will move without feeling thin. Pick wrong and--well, not good.
But there is also showing and telling within scenes. Here you should mostly show because you're trying to make the reader experience what the characters are experiencing. However, there will be times where some kind of analysis or explanation will enhance a scene. So even within a scene, there will be moments where telling can be a good thing if it isn't overdone. Here's an example from Pamela Painter's book on writing WHAT IF? This is a scene from Hempel's story "In The Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried."
"I have to go home," I said when she woke up.
She thought I meant home to her house in the Canyon, and I had to say No, home, home. I twisted my hands in the time honored fashion of people in pain. I was supposed to offer something. The Best Friend. I could not even offer to come back.
I felt weak and small and failed.
Also exhilarated.
The bold is telling and it makes clear to the reader the conflicted feeling of the narrator. It's effective.
It's the balance of telling and showing that needs to be looked at closely in everything you write.
Or so I think today.
November 19, 2011
bad writing advice
BAD WRITING ADVICE #8
WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW: How many times has this been written and rewritten, told and retold? The problem with the advice is inexperienced writers will think it means they have to write about their childhoods and what they had for dinner last week or their husband's or wife's new job. A writer who only writes about his or her life not only will most likely not have much to write about (sorry but most lives just aren't that interesting) but more importantly he or she will make all the wrong decisions. They'll be trying to stick to the truth of what happened and they will not allow the story to be told the way it needs to be told to be interesting and vivid.
I was in a graduate workshop once, and there was a retired policeman in the class. He wrote a story about policemen. Everyone in that workshop said the story didn't ring true. The policeman said, "But it's a true story." He was arguing that it must ring true because it was true. But it doesn't matter if something "happened" to a reader. A reader needs to be convinced on the page. The cop author picked the wrong details and didn't show what he needed to show because he was wed to what actually happened.
Of course writers use their past to show emotional truths. They use events sometimes or things that happened to them. They definitely use ways they have felt in certain situations to create vivid emotions in scenes. BUT few writers (always exceptions) stick to a literal retelling in their fiction. It's too confining.
A better way to think about what you should write about is "don't write about what you cannot know". But here's the thing: you can know most things with research, which is pretty much just an Internet connection away. So that opens up what you can write about. More importantly, you can imagine most things so that really opens up what you can write about. You need to open up to allow yourself to imagine an original story and fresh situations.
WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW: How many times has this been written and rewritten, told and retold? The problem with the advice is inexperienced writers will think it means they have to write about their childhoods and what they had for dinner last week or their husband's or wife's new job. A writer who only writes about his or her life not only will most likely not have much to write about (sorry but most lives just aren't that interesting) but more importantly he or she will make all the wrong decisions. They'll be trying to stick to the truth of what happened and they will not allow the story to be told the way it needs to be told to be interesting and vivid.
I was in a graduate workshop once, and there was a retired policeman in the class. He wrote a story about policemen. Everyone in that workshop said the story didn't ring true. The policeman said, "But it's a true story." He was arguing that it must ring true because it was true. But it doesn't matter if something "happened" to a reader. A reader needs to be convinced on the page. The cop author picked the wrong details and didn't show what he needed to show because he was wed to what actually happened.
Of course writers use their past to show emotional truths. They use events sometimes or things that happened to them. They definitely use ways they have felt in certain situations to create vivid emotions in scenes. BUT few writers (always exceptions) stick to a literal retelling in their fiction. It's too confining.
A better way to think about what you should write about is "don't write about what you cannot know". But here's the thing: you can know most things with research, which is pretty much just an Internet connection away. So that opens up what you can write about. More importantly, you can imagine most things so that really opens up what you can write about. You need to open up to allow yourself to imagine an original story and fresh situations.
November 13, 2011
revision: mad scientist...
MAD SCIENCE 24
I had three readers, my wife and my agent and an assistant at the agency where my agent is an agent, read the manuscript while I let it set. I lasted nine days before I went back to it. I would have liked to let it set longer, but I'm getting revisions back from my editor soon on my other novel, the one coming out next, and I wanted to try to get another draft of Mad Science done before I get those.
My agent is very excited by the manuscript, which makes me excited. She and the agency assistant had some suggestions for revision though and I've written these out and thought about them. I like to write them. It helps me see comments a little more clearly. My wife had pretty much the same reaction as agent and assistant but one of her concerns wasn't brought up by the other two. What I'll do is go through the manuscript with an awareness of potential problems suggested by the critiques and see what happens.
I have to stay true to the manuscript and my vision of it, of course, but every writer benefits from outside advice and criticism and so it's important to try to figure out what problems may have made your readers feel something was off in a certain place or a certain way.
At any rate, I'm excited to get back to the manuscript and see how I feel about it. Also, for me, this is one of the best parts of writing. I'm reworking sentences to try to get the "lightening" and not the "lightening bug" effect. So much fun.
MAD SCIENTIST 25
I've got through about fifty pages and though I am having a good time, I'm worried about the ending. The ending is where there are still problems and most of the questions of my readers came from the last thirty pages. There are things that aren't clear. SO I could keep going and get there when I get there, maybe a week or two at most, but I decide to do something I do sometimes—I'm going to skip up there and drop into those last thirty pages and work on them.
This lets me focus on the problem area without having worked through the whole novel which makes me fresher toward it. And I know I'll go back to p. 50 and work forward again after I've gone over these last 30 pages so I'll get the continuity I need when I do that.
Sometimes it's helpful to work on one section or one problem or character etc… when you revise rather than doing the more general revision.
I had three readers, my wife and my agent and an assistant at the agency where my agent is an agent, read the manuscript while I let it set. I lasted nine days before I went back to it. I would have liked to let it set longer, but I'm getting revisions back from my editor soon on my other novel, the one coming out next, and I wanted to try to get another draft of Mad Science done before I get those.
My agent is very excited by the manuscript, which makes me excited. She and the agency assistant had some suggestions for revision though and I've written these out and thought about them. I like to write them. It helps me see comments a little more clearly. My wife had pretty much the same reaction as agent and assistant but one of her concerns wasn't brought up by the other two. What I'll do is go through the manuscript with an awareness of potential problems suggested by the critiques and see what happens.
I have to stay true to the manuscript and my vision of it, of course, but every writer benefits from outside advice and criticism and so it's important to try to figure out what problems may have made your readers feel something was off in a certain place or a certain way.
At any rate, I'm excited to get back to the manuscript and see how I feel about it. Also, for me, this is one of the best parts of writing. I'm reworking sentences to try to get the "lightening" and not the "lightening bug" effect. So much fun.
MAD SCIENTIST 25
I've got through about fifty pages and though I am having a good time, I'm worried about the ending. The ending is where there are still problems and most of the questions of my readers came from the last thirty pages. There are things that aren't clear. SO I could keep going and get there when I get there, maybe a week or two at most, but I decide to do something I do sometimes—I'm going to skip up there and drop into those last thirty pages and work on them.
This lets me focus on the problem area without having worked through the whole novel which makes me fresher toward it. And I know I'll go back to p. 50 and work forward again after I've gone over these last 30 pages so I'll get the continuity I need when I do that.
Sometimes it's helpful to work on one section or one problem or character etc… when you revise rather than doing the more general revision.
November 4, 2011
To a Character's heart
You've probably heard this before but I'll say it again:
The way to a character's heart (and isn't that where we, as writers, are trying to get?) is through the things he or she wants/needs/desires and the things he or she fears. The acts that the character does in order to get what he or she wants and to avoid what he or she fears create character. These acts in the main characters also often drive the story.
Kind of a big deal, really.
Thinking about this in early drafts might help you decide what happens next or how a scene should work. Thinking about this in later drafts might help you select what should stay and what should go.
The way to a character's heart (and isn't that where we, as writers, are trying to get?) is through the things he or she wants/needs/desires and the things he or she fears. The acts that the character does in order to get what he or she wants and to avoid what he or she fears create character. These acts in the main characters also often drive the story.
Kind of a big deal, really.
Thinking about this in early drafts might help you decide what happens next or how a scene should work. Thinking about this in later drafts might help you select what should stay and what should go.
October 28, 2011
finishing a draft
Nearing the end of MAD SCIENCE...Since this post is behind me a little in time, the manuscript is out in the world. We'll see what happens.
Also, I've joined the MAD MAD WORLD of twitter. I'm there: BrianYansky@...I kind of like it. Seems more interesting that fb or maybe it's just new.
Also, just finished a round of edits on my second alien novel, tentatively called FIGHTING ALIEN NATION. I made some good changes, I think, I hope.
Brian
MAD SCIENCE 23
Now it does feel like the right time to let the manuscript set for a while. So I was right to wait. I just have to accept that I'll know when I've taken the manuscript as far as I can without taking a rest from it. Sure, there are always things I can do. I could go through it right now and find language things to change. BUT that's not the best use of my time. I know there are bigger problems than my using the almost right word (a big problem, yes, but for a later draft) and I need a little distance to see those bigger problems.
Right now I really love this manuscript. Why pretend otherwise? It's good. I can't see its faults. It's a great feeling. But, alas, it's not true. I need to see the faults so I can make my next revision push the manuscript forward.
Honestly, I love that I love writing. I love the moments when the manuscript feels right to me and I don't want to lose those. Delusion is an important part of writing. But it's also important to get beyond it to make the manuscript better.
Also, I've joined the MAD MAD WORLD of twitter. I'm there: BrianYansky@...I kind of like it. Seems more interesting that fb or maybe it's just new.
Also, just finished a round of edits on my second alien novel, tentatively called FIGHTING ALIEN NATION. I made some good changes, I think, I hope.
Brian
MAD SCIENCE 23
Now it does feel like the right time to let the manuscript set for a while. So I was right to wait. I just have to accept that I'll know when I've taken the manuscript as far as I can without taking a rest from it. Sure, there are always things I can do. I could go through it right now and find language things to change. BUT that's not the best use of my time. I know there are bigger problems than my using the almost right word (a big problem, yes, but for a later draft) and I need a little distance to see those bigger problems.
Right now I really love this manuscript. Why pretend otherwise? It's good. I can't see its faults. It's a great feeling. But, alas, it's not true. I need to see the faults so I can make my next revision push the manuscript forward.
Honestly, I love that I love writing. I love the moments when the manuscript feels right to me and I don't want to lose those. Delusion is an important part of writing. But it's also important to get beyond it to make the manuscript better.
