Heather Demetrios's Blog, page 24

Feeling The Burn

Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear Sara Zarr talk about her new YA, The Lucy Variations. First of all, she is so nice and down to earth. It felt like we were all just hanging out. I, of course, made several mental “notes to self” so that when I have to do readings I can be equally cool. Or, you know, try to be. Sara was very forthright about her process writing the book, discussing how she was going through a major depression while working on it, yet having to sit down and do the work despite this awfulness going on in her emotional life. She talked about prozac and alcoholic dads and crying through a draft that she could only describe as “dead on the page.”

To some extent, many of us have been there. My last book had me in tears several times. But going through a mid-life crisis and staying on deadline? Hard times.

The Lucy Variations is about a genius musician who quits playing music and then must try to figure out who she is and where music fits in her life when she’s not training to be a concert pianist. Zarr talked about how she’s sort of in a place with her writing where she’s not really sure if she’s supposed to still be doing it–writing–and how, in that respect, Lucy is quite personal for her. In fact, she said she made the decision not to sign any new book contracts right now, which I thought was a very wise decision given her current situation. Sometimes we artists forget to take care of ourselves, always putting the work first. Zarr’s story about what she went through / is going through freaked me out a little bit, as I’m a writer at the beginning of my career. I mean, here is Sara Zarr, who was a finalist for the National Book Award and has several successful books out – and she’s feeling overwhelmed to the point of taking a step back from writing.

I think sometimes we have this idea that once we get published and respected, everything’s going to be easy, or at least we’ll be super happy and content. I mean, nothing can be worse than the horrible feeling of never knowing if you’re going to “make it.” All those rejection letters, the uncertainty, the confusion over your identity (“Can I say I’m a writer if I’m not published?” Etc. Etc.). But Sara’s discussion about her struggle at this stage in her career really brought home the fact that once you’re published, there’s still all kinds of difficulty. I remember reading about this in Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird (a must-read for all writers, by the way). Read the whole book and if you’ve already read it, re-read the chapter titled “Publication.” Here’s a sampling of her take on it, written in her wonderfully Lamott-ish way: ”…eventually you have to sit down like every other writer and face the blank page.”

And that is scary as hell.

Zarr’s talk got me thinking about burnout and purpose. I obviously don’t know any personal details about her life, other than what she shared with us in her intimate reading. However, we writers are a fragile folk, in our way, and I think we don’t realize how exhausting the day in, day out of creating imaginary worlds and peopling them is. I was talking to my sister on the phone about my new book, running through some plot ideas and later, in another conversation, talking to a friend about all my book ideas that are percolating and in various stages of being written. At the end of these conversations, both people told me how tired all that brainstorming and planning and hoping was making them. Now, for me, this is a totally normal way of being. I have at least three books in my head at all times, not to mention whatever novels I’m reading for fun. Add onto that the thesis I’m writing for my MFA and you’ve got what pretty much amounts to a clusterfuck. And usually that’s okay. Some of us like to live in the crazy.

BUT…

More words of wisdom on this from Lamott: “Being a writer guarantees that you will spend too much time alone–and that as a result, your mind will begin to warp.” What I’m getting at here is that even though this feels normal, I’m wondering if going going going like this may be part of what leads to writer burn-out. Of course, you really don’t know what your limits are until you reach them. In yoga, they talk about going to your “edge,” which I wrote about in this post in relation to writing. It’s basically the idea that you push yourself, but not so much that you’re in pain. You should feel the burn, but in a good way.

Ultimately, what I’m taking from Sara’s talk is that 1. her book sounds like a good read and 2. it’s okay to admit when it’s freakin’ hard to do what we do. Sara told us that out of all her books, Lucy has been the best-reviewed. I think that’s rather interesting, don’t you? I love the idea that something beautiful came out of so much pain and frustration. The inscription she wrote in my signed copy said: “for the wonder of beauty.” It is a wonder, how any work of art comes into being. Because it’s always against odds. Art is born of struggle. It’s never easy.

Sara’s experience affirms, for me, that there is value in doing the work and pushing through, but there’s also value in knowing your limits and honoring them. At the end of the day, for those of us who choose to walk this path, we have to go back and face that blank page, hands on the keyboard, ready to fashion the world into a place that makes sense. A place that can heal us.

The cure is in your fingers. You just have to get them moving.

 

 

 

On Being A Savage

 

First, before you do anything, watch this. It’s a video of an amazing modern ballet I saw last night called Chroma. This is the Royal Ballet’s production, a bit over twenty minutes but well worth your time. Why? Because it’s transcendent and reminds me of why I call myself an artist, why I want to be part of this totally dysfunctional, beautiful, insane group of people who, day in and day out, throw their souls into the void and hope to have something to bring back into the real world as a souvenir for their troubles. And in the words of Julia Cameron (of The Artist’s Way fame, one of my all-time favorite books), sometimes we need to “fill the well” – the creative well. Otherwise, we get depleted, run dry, and then creating becomes a bitch.

Note: There is some potentially offensive language below. I don’t know why I’m writing this disclaimer since I don’t in my books, but whatever.

This post is about navigating the messiness of being an artist, more specifically, a writer. It’s in response to a letter I read in this amazing book by Cheryl Strayed, which you must buy immediately if you haven’t already: Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life From Dear Sugar. You might look at the title and think this is so not your thing – I did, too, when I received it in the mail as a Christmas present from my agent. She’d said it was her favorite book of the year, but I was skeptical – until I read the first few pages. Then I fell in love and have been buying it for people and recommending it ever since. Basically, Dear Sugar is a column written by Cheryl Strayed, author of the bestselling memoir, Wild. She’s a fabulous writer, but also a generally amazing human being, full of love and compassion and other nice things. She also keeps it real. The book is a collection of letters written to Sugar from people all over the country and of different ages, asking for advice. Sugar advises.

I read one the other night (if you have it, the letter section is called “We Are All Savages” and you can read it here) and it blew my mind and I wanted to touch on some of what Sugar said in response to the letter writer, who called himself “Awful Jealous Person.” He was writing about being jealous of his writer friends who have experienced success (he has not) and was asking Sugar how to deal. Now, if you’ve ever put pen to paper in the hopes of getting paid to do it someday, then you will understand how the Green-Eyed Monster loves to pay visits to writers. I myself, despite being pretty darn lucky as of late, have had such visitations. And Sugar was harsh with him and I was surprised, but then I realized that she was right. We are all savages – meaning, we are all capable of jealousy and jealousy is ugly. He had to get over himself. Much easier said then done. And I wanted to just sort of riff off of some of the things she was saying, because she’s brilliant and I want to sort of bask in her rays.

First off is my favorite quote, which is in response to this dude’s worry over getting published despite having an MFA and thinking his work is pretty good. I sympathize with him so much, but Strayed is relentless in her advocacy of doing the work and letting it be about the work, which is something you have to go to, again and again, published or no:

 

Before we get into it, I want to talk about what we’re talking about. We are not talking about books. We are talking about book deals. You know they’re not the same, right? One is the art you create by writing like a motherfucker for a long time. The other is the thing the marketplace decides to do with your creation. 

 

I really loved this quote because, whether or not the language offends, you really do have to write like a motherfucker. Writers (myself included) spend so much time worrying about publishing and they forget to keep themselves invested in the work. The next quote is another I underlined as I read because she really gives it to Awful Jealous Person about his jealousy. She tries to get to the root of its cause and to show how it’s pointless and hurtful, both to you and your friends who are writers.

 

…get over yourself…If you are a writer, it’s the writing that matters and no amount of battery acid in your stomach over who got what for what book they wrote is going to help you in your cause. Your cause is to write a great book and then to write another great book and to keep writing them for as long as you can. That is your only cause. It is not to get a six-figure book deal. 

 

Now, in the interests of keeping it real, I don’t know from what perspective she’s writing this, in that, had she already had her memoir picked by Oprah’s book club? Because it’s easier to say this from that perspective. However, speaking as someone who has finally gotten a book deal, this is the attitude you need to have when you’re published, too. Because there will always be someone making more than you, selling more than you, loved more than you, writing better than you, etc. So and so got a movie deal. So and so got a Printz award. So and so got a starred review. It’s about the work.

She gets how hard it is, being a writer, being an artist, though. She’s not writing from a lofty tower:

 

I know the gulf between creation and commerce is so tremendously wide that it’s sometimes impossible not to feel annihilated by it. A lot of artists give up because it’s just too damn hard to go on making art in a culture that by and large does not support its artists. 

 

Then Strayed tells Awful Jealous Person about the writers who have succeeded:

 

Most of the people who didn’t give up realized that in order to thrive they had to dismantle the ugly jealous god in their heads so they could instead serve something greater: their own work. 

 

And if you read the letter from Awful Jealous Person, he makes a point to note that he went to a “prestigious” school for his MFA. He builds a wall around himself that makes him feel better about who he is, despite his rejections and frustrations. To his insistence on building himself up, Strayed says:

 

You might…be interested to know that the word “prestigious” is derived from the Latin  praestigiae, which means “conjuror’s tricks.” Isn’t that interesting? The word that we use to mean honorable and esteemed has its beginnings in a word that has everything to do with illusion, deception, and trickery. 

 

Whoa.

 

So how do we stop being jealous of others? Strayed says:

 

You remember that someone else’s success has absolutely no bearing on your own…[And if you can't muster up good, positive feelings for your friends who have had success...these are my words, not Strayed's!]…you just stop [being jealous]. You truly do. You do not let yourself think about it. There isn’t a thing to eat down there in the rabbit hole of your own bitterness except your own desperate heart. If you let it, your jealousy will devour you. 

 

These are strong words, but I really connected to her advice because it so perfectly deals with such a big problem writers and artists have. And you want to know something fabulous that can help with this? My friends, you can buy a Write Like A Motherfucker mug! Mine’s in the mail. You should also pick up a copy of Art and Fear. A tiny book with a big impact, required reading for all artists.

Love to all of you struggling to do the work. You’re my people. Keep on with the work, savages. It’s what it’s about.

 

 

 

 

 

SOMETHING REAL

FYI, readers of the world!

My debut novel, formerly known as STREAMING, has a new *official* title: SOMETHING REAL.

Catchy, huh?

For further reading, check out my agonies over trying to come up with a new title or read a synopsis of the book here.

You’ll see it on shelves in Winter 2014. To find out about other debut novels in 2014, check out our blog here.

Yay!

When Your Love Interest Becomes A Pussy

Okay writer friends, let’s get real here: raise your hand if you or a writer you love has turned a male love interest into a pussy. Come on, be honest.

Oh no! you think. She’s SO un-PC. So what. I’m a feminist, but listen, this is the best word to describe what I’m talking about. My husband said I should make my post sound really academic by calling it “The Pussification of the Literary Love Interest” so as not to offend, but that’s not as much fun.

Let me be clear (cue Obama voice): I’m not talking about fabulously sensitive boys (re: every one of John Green’s males). It’s important that YA literature shows boys who wear their hearts on their sleeves and twist and bend our gender constructs (“unique subject positioning,” if I want to get real MFA about it). I’m talking about your hunky male lead who was, or could have been, rough around the edges in all the right ways only to succumb to a doe-eyed pushover who is about three seconds away from quoting Shakespearean sonnets when you had INTENDED him to recite the Communist Manifesto at the top of his lungs while, I don’t know, spazzing out to Rage Against The Machine. Because that, my friends, is what has just happened to the male love interest in my WIP.

He was supposed to be this:

 

And somehow, over the course of the novel, he turned into this:

 

 

Now, I love Say Anything, but can we all please just agree that if you’re trying to write a character that’s leading a revolution, a total badass who probably never bathes and wants to f*%$# shit up, then he shouldn’t be hanging outside his girl’s house holding a stereo aloft. He should be holding a grenade. Am I right or am I right?

I had fallen, like so many authors before me, into the trap of the too-perfect male who is a composite of all teenage daydreams – the boy who’s sweet and sensitive and does cute things like put intricately folded notes in your locker and pine after you and tells you he loves you all the time. That boy is awesome – but he’s not always real. I find that a lot of the badass boys of fantasy lit (my WIP) tend to start out as these caustic doesn’t-take-any-shit kind of guys who then somehow morph into a total doormat as his relationship with the female protagonist progresses. Of course, I’d rather it happened that way than the REALLY cliche way it usually does, where the supercool girl turns into a pile of sobbing female that needs to be rescued by a (male) knight in shining armor, a KISA, if you will. (Ha! He’s a kiss-ah, get it? Just use a Boston accent and you’ll be fine).

I’d give examples, but I don’t want to be a hater. Just pay attention next time you read and you’ll see what I’m talking about. This is the danger of writing in this genre and the only way to avoid it is to recognize the pitfalls in your reading and writing, then go back to your character and figure out who he is. Hone in on WHY he was so edgy and get back to that place. How can you make his emotional growth go hand-in-hand with his unique personality? And consider what’s going on with your gal proto. Have you softened your male because you’re not going deep enough with her? Maybe you’ve inadvertently made her too needy or you’re secretly afraid of raising stakes and tension by keeping things a little too lovey-dovey.

Basically, go back to the place where you started, find the spark, and keep that fire going all the way through to the end. You’ll wind up with a far more complex character that you’re readers won’t easily forget.

A couple books off the top of my head that manage this well:

Sean Kendrick in The Scorpio Races

Gale in The Hunger Games

Day in Legend 

 

 

That Niggling Feeling

Niggle: “To cause slight but persistent annoyance, discomfort, or anxiety” (Oxford American Dictionary)

Lately I’ve been thinking about something Amanda Jenkins said in a VCFA lecture about listening to “that niggling feeling” when we’re writing. Basically, she says it’s learning to pay attention to your gut and honing the ability to determine when that niggling feeling is a result of a legitimate problem in your manuscript or if it’s a result of fear. Let’s back it up: what exactly is a niggling feeling (and is it ticklish, perhaps?). Basically, it’s when you’re writing and you know that something just isn’t right. Maybe you’ve written something terribly clever and a part of you knows your character would never say that, but you’re really rivaling Oscar Wilde at the moment and you know everyone’s gonna love that line so much, they’ll put it on T-shirts, right? Take it out, my friend. Or maybe you’ve written a scene and you know it’s a bit sappy, but you love it so much that you keep it in, even though every time you read it, your eyes snag on the especially swoony parts and you feel a little embarrassed, like you got caught watching a sappy Lifetime movie. In the trash bin, amigo. But wait! You have a scene that is totally necessary because it explains x,y, and z about your character and, sure, it’s a little dumpy, it could have more finesse, but it’s so very essential you see because—camerado, you know what to do and where that scene needs to go (hint: delete).

 

The above are examples of the niggling feeling telling you when your writing isn’t up to snuff, or you’ve wandered into a grey area that doesn’t dazzle with the authenticity of your characters or story.  For whatever reason, you keep going back to that scene, sentence, or even one word that gives you pause. It takes a lifetime to develop the ability to know what exactly isn’t working (this is where a commitment to craft comes in), but it doesn’t take quite that long to start recognizing that feeling and listening to it. Try it. Go through your WIP (or a scene you already have in mind that’s been giving you the nigglies) and try to see if you can figure out what the deal is with it. Is it out of voice? Perhaps it’s you, the author, putting words into a character’s mouth that they’d never say. Or maybe the pacing is off—does it drag? Look out for clichés—something about the scene feels dry: maybe it’s because you’re using a phrase or scenario that’s been done to death. Maybe it doesn’t move the story forward—it’s a nice moment, but it does nothing to help move the plot along. Check in with your characters’ emotions—maybe you’re having them experience a feeling they wouldn’t actually be having at that moment, or not carrying the emotion from the previous scene into the current one. Whatever it is, fix it. Or delete it. It might take you several tries to get the moment right. A good way to develop this skill is to listen for the niggling feeling when you’re reading other people’s books. Notice if something stands out or a scene just isn’t working. Chances are, the author ignored their own niggling feeling. Then again, reading is so subjective – what doesn’t work for you, might work for someone else. But pay attention to what gives you that niggling feeling so that you will recognize it in your own writing.

 

Whenever I have scenes where I get the nigglies that I particularly like—ones I daydreamed about and read over and over because I loved them so much—I’m often in a state of denial. I’ll play games with myself where I keep putting it off, trying to convince myself of why that bit needs to stay in. Eventually, I cut it. But I have a little funeral (not really, but I do mourn). One way to do this without feeling like you’re cutting off a limb or sacrificing your first child to a vengeful god is to have an outtakes folder. It doesn’t feel so terribly permanent. You can go visit the scene, give it hugs and say hello. You’ll feel guilty that you abandoned it, but don’t worry: it will have plenty of company.

 

That niggling feeling might feel different for everyone. It might not even be physical for you—maybe it feels a bit like someone pushed pause on your brain for a second. For some reason, you keep looking at this scene. For me, it’s literally a gut feeling, akin to butterflies. It’s like my body knows before my mind that I’m going to have to lose something I love or do some hardcore not-very-fun writing. The latter points to that niggling feeling being about fear. It’s me looking at a scene and knowing that, damn, I have to fix that, don’t I? And it’s going to be a lot of work—all trudging through swamps and falling into quicksand and batting pythons out of the way. Oh, dear.

 

You have to gradually figure out what your niggling feeling is telling you—fight or flight? It’s one of the most important skills you can develop as a writer and the sooner, the better. It’s always hard work, but you’ll realize that if you put in the effort, your manuscript will always be better for it. Even if someone tells you what you want to hear, that it’s okay, keep that part in: obey the niggling feeling!

 

Then go eat you some chocolate.

 

Happy writing!

Falling In Love With Your Villain

What’s a girl to do when she falls in love with her villain?! This is my problem right now, since the villain in my WIP is so charming that he’s managed to pull the wool over my eyes. I’ve had several agonizing conversations in which I try to convince my writer friends, husband, and mentor that he’s really not that bad and if he does something redeeming, can’t he and my proto walk off into the sunset? I’ve had mixed answers. Some say, well, yeah, because he’s hot and dangerous and who doesn’t like that? Others are in the Aww Hell No! camp, citing my biggest fear–that allowing my proto to end up with a (formerly) abusive guy is sending the wrong message to my readers. I was also told, in no uncertain terms, that the feminist bloggers would hate me. Well, haters gonna hate, right?

It’s not like anyone’s telling me something I don’t already know – my indecision over what to do is why I’ve initiated these conversations in the first place. But, of course, I have to first listen to my characters and my story. And I have to be honest that there are way too many controlling villains out there who charm the pants off the female protagonist (sometimes literally) and then we’re left with yet another girl who says things like, “He hits me because he loves me.” I realized, though, that I’m having an excellent problem because the best villains are the ones who, despite all odds, worm their way into your heart. There are far too many villains out there who are so flat on the page, so clearly the big bad, that the reader never cares that he/she must die or be horribly thwarted. The best reading experience is the one in which the novel’s world is colored in shades of gray, where there might be some clearly defined Right and Wrong courses of action, but that even the wrong ones have some good reasons. Black and White is so last century.

One of the things I’ve used as a guiding light with my villain, in terms of hoping to garner an emotional connection from the reader to said villain, is Patrick Ness’ Chaos Walking trilogy. If you haven’t read it, stop what you’re doing right now and pick it up – it’s a phenomenal story with one of the best villains I’ve ever encountered. *spoiler alert!* What makes Mayor Prentiss such a great villain is that he clearly loves Todd. Despite everything he does, this capacity to love another person and being capable of being hurt humanizes an otherwise horrible guy. He’s also charming, with lots of magnetism. Somehow, the reader gets sucked in, right along with Todd. To have the Mayor’s affection feels like this slightly warm sunlight on your face and you guiltily bask in it until, of course, you realize that you’re getting a terrible sunburn. Even though we know the Mayor is bad, that he can’t live and that he can’t ever be truly redeemed, it’s sad when he dies. This emotional complexity gives the story depth and nuance and leaves the reader with questions and unsettling feelings.

Another villain–and this one, I have to say, is a totally guilty pleasure–is from Kirsten Miller’s The Eternal Ones series. In the second book, All You Desire, Haven Moore, the protagonist, finds herself in an uncomfortable position: she has to convince the man that’s been trying to kill her (and succeeding) for centuries that she loves him back. Okay, *spoiler alert!* Adam is the devil. Literally, I’m pretty sure. He’s bad, bad, bad. But he’s popular and charming (hmm…there’s that word again) and sexy and all my morals fly right out the window when he and Haven are together because–and this is the key here–there is nothing more attractive than someone in love. Put the villain in love with someone he can’t have and make that love real and you’re going to get romantics like me hook, line, and sinker. Haven’s conflicting feelings for Adam are what make the story fun to read. It lacks the depth of Ness’ book, but it’s still a good example of a villain we sort of want to make out with, even if he is a murdering immortal weirdo.

Okay, your turn. Who are some villains you love and why do you love them? What makes them sneak up on you and garner your sympathies?

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to convince my protagonist that making out with a certain somebody is a seriously bad idea.

 

The Waiting Game

One of the hardest things about being a writer is the waiting. Publishing is slooooooow, but the world around us is moving crazy fast so it feels like the pace is even more glacial than it maybe actually is. On top of waiting for my debut novel to come out, I now have two other projects that my agent is in the process of submitting….oh my god the agony!!! I jump every time the phone buzzes or rings or pings. I check my email obsessively. I pace. I drink. I (literally) wring my hands. I imagine my life as it would be if my editor loves these projects and wants to publish them. Then I freak out and scold myself because HELLO! Do I want to jinx myself or what?? I’m probably about two seconds away from an ulcer, but I can’t seem to calm down. This is not so good for one’s creativity. One of the ladies in my writer’s group just sent me an email today saying her writing’s gone to crap because she has a novel on submission as well and can’t stop checking her email, so I know I’m not alone.

I’ve learned to deal with the slowness once the book deal actually goes through – you just have to hunker down and work and trust that whatever they’re doing with your book is good and that deadlines are being met because, honestly, there’s not much more you can do. The whole thing is pretty much literally and figuratively out of your hands, unless it’s your revisions. There are marketing things you can busy yourself with, but that’s about it. The whole experience reminds me of that saying I used to hear in church: “Let go and let God.” That pretty much sums it up.

I wish I could say I have a Zen approach to the submissions process, but I don’t. Everything’s up in the air and you know it can all come together (or totally come crashing down on you) at any second. All you can really do is put good vibes out there, say your prayers, and keep an eye on any deadlines you and your agent have agreed to for exclusives and the like. But, basically, you just have to “sit tight” (I hear that a lot from my agent and editor – it’s quite apropos really…there’s nothing relaxed about the sitting and waiting). My poor husband has to deal with my endless hypotheticals and my worrying out loud, but I hope to make it up to him with another book contract.

Until then, it’s back to the work because that’s what it’s all about. Book contracts come and go, but the work is always there, waiting.

 

Building A Magic System

One of the hardest things about writing a fantasy is building a magic system. For the past few months, I’ve been laboring over the magic system in my WIP, trying to find a way to create magic that is logical, connected to my characters and plot, and emotionally resonant. By emotionally resonant, I mean magic that makes us, the readers, feel. There are few things better in literature than having beautiful magic described to you in a way that makes you feel like a bit of a magician yourself. Words themselves are magic. My favorite quote from The Night Circus is all about how storytelling is magic: “You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. This is your role, your gift.”

So how do you go about creating a magic system that serves your story and characters and yet isn’t derivative? It’s hard work, my friends. Harder, I think, than creating the society and intricate plot that comes part and parcel with writing a fantasy, whether it be high fantasy or paranormal. Below are a few helpful steps.

 

1. Read. A LOT. 

 

Seriously. It’s the only way you won’t accidentally bite someone else’s system or write something totally predictable and boring. Fantasy readers are avid readers and they will catch you if you phone it in. Check out my fantasy reading list and my Goodreads page for suggestions. A really cool thing that’s been happening to me with my reading is that I’m seeing how all these books are in conversation with one another (I stole that concept from Holly Black). I’ve created a word document in which I jot down notes about each book’s magic system, looking at the basics (who has the magic? how does it work?). It’s helpful because it forces me to interact with the book as a writer, not just as a reader. I also find that I’m paying a lot more attention to the magic, taking note of what works and doesn’t work for me as a reader. Also: if you’re reading a lot of fantasy while writing one, you’ll find that it’s training your brain to think on that plane and your ideas will come thicker and faster. To reward yourself for all your hard work, watch some fun TV, like Merlin, to continue your research.

Side Note: Do the research, comerados. If you’re writing about fairies or other such creatures, know your mythology. A great, absolutely fabulous place for any fantasy writer to start is Katharine Briggs’ An Encyclopedia of Fairies. Also, read adult, YA, and middle grade fantasy. See the differences and the similarities.

 

2. Make A Travel Guide, Draw A Map

 

My VCFA advisor, Coe Booth, told me to write a travel guide to my magical world. I realized that in order to do so, I had to draw a map. I did both of those things and was amazed at how much of my plotting and character work was simultaneously coming out of that exercise. It forced me to decide how much of the known mythology about my creatures I was going to use and how much I was going to make up. It gave me an opportunity to look at cultural implications within my piece as well, since I’m writing outside my own culture’s mythology. In a lot of fantasy, the magic is connected to the land and it’s always connected to society. So you have to build all of this together, brick by mother-lovin’ brick. Getting this hard work done before you write too many chapters will save you a helluva lot of work down the road.

 

3. Answer Questions

 

In a fabulous lecture on magic systems, Holly Black said that in order to create a system, you need to ask yourself these questions:

-Who has the magic? (and WHY do they have it?)

-What does the magic do?

-How do you make it happen?

-How is the user affected?

-How is the world affected?

-How are magic users perceived?

 

These were the main ones, but she also said to think about a few others:

 

-What is the cost of magic (all magic comes at a price)

-Is this an open world, where everyone knows about magic, or a closed one, where only a select few know it exists?

-Is this magic Dark or Light? (Dark tends to be more sensual – not necessarily evil, associated with feeling – it’s more mysterious (think Beautiful Creatures), whereas Light Magic tends to have a lot of logic behind it (think Cinder).

-What are the limits of your magic? (Creating limits helps with tension and plotting; you have to, as she says “calibrate the magic” otherwise it will “capsize your story”)

-What is the potential model for your magic? (She really stresses that you shouldn’t try to reinvent the wheel, because readers will respond to your story and get into it better if you give them at least some concepts they are familiar with. She suggests an essay, “The Ecstasy of Influence” by Jonathan Latham, for further analysis on this).

-What do the rules of magic say about your world (and, by extension, your world view)?

She reminds us that fantasy is always metaphor and you have to think about how the characters in your book will use magic in service of the metaphors in your novel.

 

Another great resource is from the SFWA website. There are a TON of questions here, but well worth a look.

 

4. Do Sidewriting

 

I’d never heard of this specific term before a workshop I took with A.M. Jenkins this past January, but it basically just means writing that helps you get to the writing. Interviewing your character, writing out backstory scenes so you know what happened, free-writing in a character’s voice, writing a scene from the POV of every character in it so that you can see the whole thing…Basically, it’s what John Gardner calls “jazzing around” (another term I love). This helps me with plotting and character, but it also helps with the magic system because you might not know if some of your magical elements work until you screw around with them a little.

 

5. Talk It Out, Kidnap A Gamer

 

I don’t know if it’s even possible to create a magic system without running through it out loud and bouncing those ideas off someone else. Preferably, several someone elses. Holly Black suggests getting a gamer to try to break your magic system because they are the people who are going to find all the flaws. In addition to the gamer, try to find a writer or reader friend who knows fantasy, so they can point out cliches to you that you might not have realized. Then talk to a regular person because you’ll see what holes you might have in logic that a fantasy reader might forgive you for (or not – they can be your harshest critics!).

 

Final Thoughts

 

You have to always make sure the magic is deeply connected to your character. What does their magical ability say about them? More on all of this later, but just start thinking about that. You never want to get so caught up in magic systems and plotting and world building that you forget about what really matters – your protagonist and secondary characters. The most important thing is to listen to your characters. They’ll tell you when you’ve gone off track. Don’t be so married to a system that you stunt your story.

 

I’m going to be blogging about this topic a ton, since in my life right now, it’s all fantasy, all the time. This is just the jumping off point for your magic system. The more you get into your WIP, the more you’ll have to adjust the system you’ve created.

 

Happy building!

 

What Does She Want?

Earlier this month, I went to Vermont for ten days for my second residency in the Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program. I had the ENORMOUS luck to be placed in a special full-novel workshop with Amanda Jenkins, where we worked on approaching the novel from a character standpoint (versus plot or structure). In addition to this, I’ve been matched up with Coe Booth, who is my faculty advisor for the next six months. Together, these two women made me see a huge gaping hole in the story that I was so proud of meticulously plotting out (a fantasy trilogy, no easy feat!): I had no idea what my character WANTED.

Say what?

It was such an oversight, such a rookie mistake, that I sort of sat there dumbfounded when Coe politely listened to my fabulous plot and then said, “But what does Nalia want?” Nalia, my feisty protagonist caught in the midst of a raging civil war, a coup, and a slave trade that crosses universes – Nalia, who is badass, a magical knight among other exciting things, torn between her shady master and the leader of her land’s revolution…And I had no idea what was driving this girl to do the things she does. Major duh moment. I mean, I have a theatre degree – how many times did we agonize over our scripts, trying to figure out what they wanted? (“Moscow!” for you Three Sisters fans).

I love what Coe said when I said that I guessed she wanted revenge : give her a sibling she has to rescue…or something. 

See, I thought it was enough that my character wanted revenge, but as my husband so rightfully pointed out, revenge as a motivation is boring – just look at Quentin Tarantino movies. Yeah, they’re fun, but the characters often lack depth (I have to disagree with him about Kill Bill, but that’s a subject for another day). Coe was right – Nalia needed something to fight for not against. There is such a difference between a character who has a goal that they push toward, despite it being constantly thwarted, and a character who’s just pissed off. If Nalia’s sole motivation had been revenge, we’re sort of left with a “and then what?” scenario. What a bummer way to end a trilogy! Not only that, but it doesn’t leave room for any emotional growth, unless she decides along the way that revenge isn’t the way to go.

Once I figured out what Nalia wants, I discovered who Nalia is. Everything else fell into its rightful place in the plot. Suddenly, all these fancy plot points had meaning and some of them had to be chucked out entirely because they didn’t mean anything – they were just tricks to dazzle my reader with. Once I figured out what Nalia wanted, it enriched my secondary characters, as well. Suddenly I could see places where their desires lines were crossing – lining up or maybe at odds with one another. Eureka! Now I had conflict and tension that came out of character, not out of a plot I, as god of my story, imposed on my characters.

Looking at your story from a character standpoint means having the plot come from your protagonist’s wants and needs. It means listening to them. Often in our workshop, Amanda would correct us when we said “I want my character to…” She would say, “It doesn’t matter what you want. What does your character want?” And it’s taking that leap of faith and letting your character guide you that will ultimately lead you to an emotionally resonant story and (hopefully) help you avoid some cliches along the way.

Some things she suggested to help you get there were talking to your character, asking them questions, and doing a lot of side writing that may or may not ever get into the book. She also said it could be helpful to write things out of order. Maybe if you write those scenes that are really important or exciting to you, you can work backwards to try to figure out how the character got to that point. It’s like emotional archeology. At first, I was skeptical. I’m one of those people that likes to plow ahead. But I have to say that doing the side writing helped me understand Nalia’s backstory better and my interviews with her and one of my really significant secondary characters gave me a chance to get closer to them. Asking lots and lots of questions and talking it out with my writer friends is what finally unlocked the key to what Nalia wanted. I dug deeper and deeper, finally hitting story gold. At least, I hope it is. There’s a lot of fool’s gold out there on story mountain.

So what does your character want?

Happy Writing!

 

Your Winter Fantasy Reading List: A Crash Course in the Genre

If you write fantasy, then this post is for you!

One of my biggest beliefs as a writer is that you HAVE TO READ ALL THE TIME IN YOUR GENRE. Read the classics, read what’s new, read the good and the bad. Learn from other writers and try to figure out what works for you as a reader. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve talked to writers who lament that they don’t have time to read. It’s too bad, because they could be even better writers if they made it a priority. Also, and this might be just me – how can you write fiction and not have an insatiable need to read? Don’t have time? Hard to believe. You can always snag a few minutes in the bathtub, right?

This winter I’m embarking on an intensive study of fantasy, specifically in children’s and YA literature. My WIP is a fantasy and I’m keen to avoid the tropes of the genre so that my book will be fresh and original in today’s crowded market. I also want to make sure that I’m always striving to be an authority on what I’m writing – authority in voice is so key to having good prose and story and it’s something that comes with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.

I came to fantasy late in life – yes, I’m one of those people who was weirded out by it until I read Harry Potter. I remember reading The Hobbit in junior high for a class and being pleasantly surprised, but I didn’t try out any more fantasy until my freshman year in college. Once I met Harry, I was hooked. I began to devour YA fantasy and even a few adult titles. I also started reading sci-fi (gasp!) and I love seeing the parallels between the two (Dune is a great example of this genre blending). I’m nowhere near as well read in the genre as die-hard fantasy people who have been reading fantasy their whole lives, but even I’m beginning to see some of the pitfalls. We see the same story lines again and again, mythical creatures that are so over-done that they’ve lost all their power, and flat heroes and heroines. As a reader, this can be really frustrating. I believe that fantasy has the ability to transport a reader more than any genre and yet it can be one of the stalest things out there. (How many times do we need to hear that magic “comes at a price” before it stops mattering?). I wrote a paranormal YA a couple of years ago that hasn’t seen the light of day, but it taught me how to write magic (a tricky thing indeed) and action. But now I’m getting serious about this new book and I want to start it off right. To that end, I’m working on a demanding study of the genre, both with YA, children’s, and adult titles, with a particular emphasis on YA, as that’s what I write. My goal is to discover the cliches and see good examples of stories that transcend tropes. I want to have a better understanding of magic systems and the logic that is inherently needed in stories with mystical qualities. I want to avoid the tired plot lines and discover how to bring both my protagonist and my magical world to life without accidentally falling into one of the genre’s many traps for writers.

Because I’m doing this with my VCFA advisor, Coe Booth, I’ll be writing papers on different aspects of the genre, from the use of portals to the role of feminism. I’ll be writing annotated bibliographies of every book I read (I can’t recommend this enough. It forces you to think on what you read and really figure out what worked and what didn’t). I’ll be applying everything I learn to my WIP and doing both side writing and getting creative about how I organize my plot and my world (drawing maps, writing a travel guide to my parallel world, that sort of thing). I’ll be regularly documenting what I discover on the blog and the following list is just a preliminary one. It won’t include all the many, many titles I’ve read thus far and will be heavy on newer titles or classics I haven’t read. I will try to add new titles to future posts, but you can always keep updated on what I’m reading by checking out my Goodreads Author Page. Also, if you have any must-reads, please put them in the comments so I can add them to my list. So, without further ado…

 

The following books are craft texts specifically related to fantasy:

 

The Tough Guide to Fantasyland (Diana Wynne-Jones)

How To Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Orson Scott Card)

Other Worlds: The Fantasy Genre (John Timmerman)

Philip Pullman had this book (Katherine Briggs’ Encyclopedia of Fairies) in his bibliography for his Grimm tales. Does anyone know if this was the same one Maggie Stiefvater recommends?? I feel like she suggested one, but I went through her books and couldn’t find it. Grr.

** If you’re writing fantasy, you should be familiar with Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey. I know there’s a book that someone recommended to me that is an easier read than Campbell…once I figure out what it is, I will post it.

 

I have so many fantasy favorites, but here are a few I recommend that are tried and true (I’m sure I’m forgetting some):

 

-Harry Potter (duh)

-Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series

-The Lord of the Rings (all three and the Hobbit)

-The Chronicles of Narnia (They are sometimes dull, but at least read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian…but really, read them all if you’re writing fantasy for children or young adults)

-Timora Pierce’s Alanna series

-Robin Mckinley’s The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown (fantastic!)

-Alice in Wonderland (sort of required reading, even though I don’t love it)

-Anything by Maggie Stiefvater, but especially The Scorpio Races

-Kristin Cashore’s Graceling or Fire (I think I preferred Fire, but it depends on which day you ask me)

-Holly Black’s Tithe

-A Game of Thrones (Song of Ice and Fire Book 1): I read this over Christmas and loved it. There aren’t a lot of fantasy elements in this first book, FYI, but it’s great with world building and court intrigue. It can also help those who are interested in writing high fantasy (swords and knights and that sort of thing).

-Twilight: Sorry, but if you’re writing YA fantasy, you need to know what this is all about. I’m not gonna lie – I had fun reading these books.

-Cinder: I just read this and really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to the next books in the series.

And Now…A Preliminary List of The Fiction I’ll Be Reading (in no particular order):

 

Philip Pullman’s Grimm Fairy Tales: I’ve been working through his recent translation and it’s great fun. Fairy tales are the foundation of fantasy (well, those and myths), so it feels good to be doing a thorough examination. He has excellent notes and I loved his forward.

Tales From 1,001 Nights: You have to sift through these to get to the more fantastical stories, but they are an interesting read and flesh out a true study of the genre.

A Wizard of Earthsea: I can’t believe I haven’t read this classic! It’s been on my list for a long, long time…

Lament: This first book by Maggie Stiefvater promises to be awesome. If you haven’t read her, just read everything she’s done. I can’t wait to check this out. It’s sitting on my desk, tempting me as we speak.

The Book of Three: I’m excited to finally read Lloyd Alexander. This is a classic in children’s fantasy.

Beautiful Creatures: I’m actually going to read this whole trilogy and do a study of paranormal fantasy arcs.

Peter Pan: A classic and a must-read. I’m excited to actually read the real story, since I only know the Disney movie (and the awesome ride at Disneyland)

Stardust: I’m told this is a go-to for Gaiman YA fantasy. I’ve already read Coraline, which you should if you haven’t.

Lips Touch Three Times (Laini Taylor): I love her. Her writing is gorgeous.

 

Okay, now I’m getting lazy. Here are the rest of the books on my list:

 

Through the Looking Glass (Lewis Carroll): I didn’t love Alice, but I feel like I have to read the sequel. Grrr.

The Light Princess (George McDonald): This is a classic of the genre. He is a fantasy master that C.S. Lewis loved and was inspired by. Good enough for me!

The Phoenix and the Carpet: A fantasy by E. Nesbit, Victorian children’s author.

The False Prince (Jennifer A. Nielson): A new trilogy. I just finished reading this…it has some interesting aspects, but you’ll have to see what you think for yourself.

Shadow Spinner (Susan Fletcher): One of the VCFA professors!

Shadow and Bone (Leigh Bardugo): Reading it right now…very fun!

Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan): Comes highly recommended as a fantasy must-read

Grave Mercy (R.L. LaFevers): This one’s getting lots of good press and sounds fun

Beauty (Robin McKinley): A fairy tale re-telling that promises to be good

White Cat (Holly Black): She’s a go-to for fantasy/paranormal YA

The Poison Eaters (Holly Black): A collection of short stories – I thought this could be a quick way to look at a lot of different kinds of mythical creatures.

 

To keep up with trends:

 

Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series: I like some of the books more than others, but her characters and world are super fun.

Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone series: (I love her writing and the story is really interesting. I especially liked the second book in this trilogy…#3 hasn’t come out yet)

 

 

Happy reading!