R.J. Blain's Blog, page 62
January 17, 2017
State of the Blain Address: January 2017
December 1, 2016
Book Release: Plundered Chronicles: The House Lost at Sea
November 25, 2016
A Release Announce, plus Witch & Wolf Three Novel Box Set is on Sale (Plus other goodies!)
October 17, 2016
Progress Report: Water Viper
October 13, 2016
Formatting in Scrivener: Setting Up a Basic Project
October 12, 2016
Defining ‘Strength’ in Fiction
October 10, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016: Preparing to Write Your Book
October 6, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016: Writing a Synopsis and Creating a Concept Outline
One of my favorite pet projects is a book called Memento Mori, which is an urban fantasy set in a version of our Earth where radiation does… rather interesting things to people.
Before I dive into the synopsis and outline portion of this post, I want to take a moment to share the prologue of this title. Why? This is how I ultimately began the writing process on this book. I had an idea, and I tapped out a very quick prologue for it. Then I began the synopsis process. Normally, I start with the synopsis or general outline, but my writing approach changes with every novel.
This is completely unedited drivel, so please excuse the clutter.
Prologue: Memento Mori
Of all the gemstones I could have picked, why had I fallen for the black opal’s trap?
It had lured me from my home in Twin Lakes, Colorado to the irradiated wasteland that had once been Australia. From the ruins of Sydney, I found my way to Lightning Ridge.
Like the rest of the continent, all that remained of the old mining town were scraps of bomb-twisted metal, ash, and the whispers of ghosts on the ceaseless wind. Sometimes, when I stood still and listened, their pleading questions filled my ears and chilled my heart.
Why had I survived?
Why hadn’t they?
It took me three weeks to find the stone. During the day, the pale gray ash seemed normal enough, but when night fell, it glowed with the blue-white radiance of the moon.
It was on the dawn when the sun and the moon rose together I found the stone. The black opal devoured the light, and when the first rays of dawn struck it, the stone flared to life. Blue and gold plays of color rippled across its surface.
I think it accepted me only because there was no one else for it to choose.
I wanted to believe it had something to do with my willingness to take the time to photograph the dead. I lacked the film needed to grant them the Memento Mori they deserved, but even my digital camera would capture their images.
Through me and the photos I took, they wouldn’t be forgotten. Their nameless faces would haunt my album, a reminder of everything they had lost.
I wouldn’t forget.
I carried the stone and my guilt back to the United States. To hide my theft, I fell to temptation. The warding rune was a minor enchantment meant to turn watchful eyes away from what I wanted to hide. All of the research I had done promised it was the safest of magics.
The books left out the most important detail. If I had known the truth, I wouldn’t have answered the opal’s distant call.
Once woken, magic never returned to sleep.
Spoilers Ahead!
When I write a book using a synopsis, it is not uncommon for my first two or three synopsis drafts to be completely discarded. I will take concepts from the synopsis and use them in the next version of the synopsis, so it isn’t wasted time. This is the first synopsis. It basically has ideas regurgitated onto the page with absolutely no regard to good plotting.
I’m brainstorming in synopsis version, plain and simple.
What is a Synopsis?
Before you write a synopsis, it’s important to understand the difference between a synopsis and a book description. The book description is the summary you give others to entice them into reading your book. They don’t include spoilers and give readers a general idea of what the book is about.
A synopsis is a complete detailed summary of the book, including all spoilers. Someone who reads the synopsis knows exactly how the book will end.
A lot of what is presented in this photograph has been changed for the books, and you can see where I’ve begun the process of figuring out the mechanics of this world.
When I conceptualize a brand new world, I often build characters and world at the same time, as characters are a product of the world they live in, and the world is the product of the characters who came before them.
They go hand in hand. Thinking in parallel can be difficult, but I find I end up with a much better, richer world when I muddle through it and do both at the same time.
In total, I have twenty-four sheets (Yes, 48 pages) of synopsis I’ve retained and probably an additional thirty I’ve recycled as the ideas weren’t suitable or were too much of a bridge synopsis to keep. I kept the original idea concept (image below) and the final product, carrying over the bridged synopsis information in margin notes as necessary.
As another interesting note, take a look at my handwriting quality here; it’s sloppy. When I’m conceptualizing in synopsis form, I am al lover the place. I don’t care about my handwriting because I’m just vomiting up words and making ideas happen.
I’m not putting a great deal of time into the first synopsis. My handwriting gets progressively neater as I approach what is much closer to what the book is actually about.
Yeah, it’s a quirk, but I like it.
Let’s Talk About Outlines…
Outlining is hard. It’s one of the hardest skills you pick up while working on a book. In order to outline, you need to distill your book down to the basics. That’s hard. Worse, if you’re like me, you have to distill the outline down to actionable items.
My outlines are tools to help me remember important plot devices, events, and establish timing. Some books, like Memento Mori, I write the outlines before I draft a single word. Water Viper is a book I did not do this; I wrote everything off the cuff with very limited preparation work. I outlined after the fact, and I took the opportunity to close and fix plot holes while working on the outline.
Both ways are right. Both ways are equal amounts of work in different ways.
The point here is this: do what you need to get the book written.
That’s the name of the game; you’re using these tools to accomplish a goal. There is no right or wrong way to go about it.
As I plotted everything on Memento Mori in advance, it’s important to note that I have checkboxes. When I cover an item, I check it off. I only check off the lead box as a general rule. The indented text is reference notes for me and reminders of things I need to happen. Sometimes, these notes cover more than one arc, so they aren’t checked off. Sometimes, they’re just little notes to keep me fresh on what i want to make happen.
As you can tell, I’ve made a point of dating and noting times in the outline to help keep track of things and close plot holes.
As you can tell, I’ve made some changes while I drafted, noting them in the margins. This helps me track things later when I plan on editing the book.
Unlike Water Viper, which involved a lot of going back and fixing things while I worked, Memento Mori required very little going back and fixing things–I already did that work during the outlining process. The time investment is (approximately) the same.
Facts & Fiction
One thing I really love about the Memento Mori series (yes, it will have more than one book) is the fact I have to rewrite history.
World War II changed the Earth. Everything after was colored by the destruction of many cities. People still died during the nuclear bombings, but the bombings were far more prevalent. Nuclear attacks continued… and World War III began in 1991, triggered by the assassination of the US President.
Nations of the world took sides, and a few notables didn’t choose any side at all, which colored the relationships the United States had with the rest of the world. The Vice President, now President, authorized the use of atomic bombs, targeting countries around the world. Most of the nukes used were low-radius bombs, often with a mile blast diameter and relatively limited fall out. This was done by both sides, as nuclear bombing had a risk of birthing supernaturals. Low yield, low intensity bombs would run higher chances of having survivors without strong supernatural abilities. This cut loss of life and focused the bombings on strategic targets without a high chance of giving the enemy supernatural allies.
However, towards the end of World War III, they discovered that certain types of bombs just wiped almost everyone out with very low chance of survival.
World War III ended when New York City was completely destroyed, leaving an exceptionally low survivor rate–and the birth of some of the world’s most dangerous supernaturals.
The hardest part of this process was trying to figure out just how much would change–and the policing forces required to keep supernaturals in line. While a tedious process, I really enjoy whenever I get a chance to step into this world.
This page shows the timeline for the evolution of the supernaturals following Hiroshima’s bombing, which is when Earth’s timeline takes a sharp left turn from reality.
I have have 3 pages of date notes leading up to New York City’s destruction in 2000.
As a side note, I really have it out for New York City. I keep trashing that place in my books. I have a lot of New Yorkers. Why New York?
New Yorkers are so damned resilient, which makes them such a fun populace to write about. It’s a great setting, too.
While I wish I could offer good advice for how to approach your outline or synopsis, writing is a very personal endeavor. You have to find what works for you.
These glimpses into my method are meant to show you a path, not the one true path. There is no one true path. I use multiple methods when I write a book. Why?
Every book is different, so I write them differently. Don’t force consistency in how you create a book if that’s holding you back. Just write. No matter how you get the job done, get it done.
Making the book work, making the plot make sense, and making it go from garbage to gold is for the editorial process. If you like editing while you work, do that.
Do whatever it takes to get the words on the page. But, I will say this much: my outlines, synopsis, and notes serve me well down the road, especially when I have to leave a project for a few months. It lets me jump back where I left off with little time wasted. They’re useful.
They’re work, but it’s work that pays off in the future when you need to find something important in a book.
Good luck, writer!
September 29, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016: Conceptualizing and creating a Story Bible or Concept Journal
I have written about creating story bibles before, with an emphasis on characters and world building. This post is going to expand on this, explain some of the changes I’ve made to how I develop a story bible/concept journal, and track important information for projects.
There are two ways you can do this. You can do it digitally, using a program like scrivener to form you journal, or you can do it manually, with paper and a pen. I work with paper and a pen. I never know where I’m going to be, and I never know if I’m going to have access to my laptop or not. I almost always have a pen and paper available, so I am able to take notes when needed.
If you’re going the pen and paper route, you’re going to need some supplies. I use Levenger’s CIRCA system, which is a ring binding system allowing writers to rip out and replace pages on a whim.
The CIRCA journals come in two different sizes, junior and letter. I use the junior sized for travel purposes, to-do lists, and notes when I’m out and about. My standard story bibles or concept journals are all letter sized.
You can get the journals in clothbound (as shown), pleather, leather, and flat-out cheap plastic.
I recommend anything other than the cheap plastic, although they do now have some nice rubbery textured journals that are durable for everyday use.
The journal pictured above, including paper, metal rings, and cover, cost me approximately $100 USD. Yes, it’s very expensive. But, I use these as a part of my everyday work, I need durable paper, and I need a system where I can open / close the journal in all positions easily. This is the only system I’ve found ideal for my needs. (Prices of everything, approximated: $60 for the cover, $29 for the rings, $15 for the paper.)
You can get cheaper covers at Staples. Their ARC system covers fit CIRCA rings. The metal rings are the most important bit for me. They’re machined from aluminum, paper slides over them very easily, and they’re more durable than the plastic options. The paper is also critical.
This is the paper I use. It comes in several different colors, including white, gray, yellow, peach, green, and blue. I usually get colored paper, as it lets me add a splash of color to my work. The blank space to the left is really important for my work process. Main information goes in the lined section, and I use the blank space for important notes. This comes in useful, especially when I’m conceptualizing something and I’m not really sure what the story is about.
So, I write notes. Lots of notes. Everywhere, the notes. By the time I’m done making my concept journal, it looks like a serial killer with a pen has attacked every last page of my journal. It’s often messy. That’s okay, though. When I’m done the concepts, I store (or recycle) the pages once I have all the important notes listed in a tidy format. That tidy format comes in several shapes and sizes.
First, I begin with a synopsis. This is like a back of book description, except it includes every single spoiler about the book. I am trying to figure out what the story is about, so this lets me get everything onto paper.
Second, I do an outline. Sometimes I write the outline ahead of time. Sometimes, I only write the outline after I’ve drafted the story. This lets me pick and choose if I’m pantsing or plotting the main book. Almost all of my stories have a synopsis written of some form before I begin drafting.
Writing a synopsis, for me, is very similar to writing a draft, and it’s become a critical part of my process.
Sometimes, I don’t use anything in the synopsis, but it lets me get my thoughts out and start really developing a story.
Most of my story bibles now include a chapter-by-chapter outline. The one pictured here is from Water Viper, and I use this to jar my memory about important events, emotions, and interactions in individual scenes. (Yes, this is the same story I put on Kindle Scout. You can read the first two chapters on the Kindle Scout site if you want to see how the notes relate to the actual story. P.S.: If you like it, please consider nominating it. Nomination period ends Oct 24, 2016.) Write what you will remember at a later point. These notes are for you.
For those who can’t make out the text or are on a small device, it reads as follows:
Scene one: () Jesse questions her actions & sanity.
Scene two: () Jesse travels through Miami. () Jesse travels to Fort Lauderdale.
Scene three: () Stays night in Fort Lauderdale. () Travels [] Pompano Beach [] Coach to Jacksonville [] Train to Charlotte () Arrives in Charlotte central train station
Scene Four: () Jesse prepares () Travels to Lancers’ Alliance
In the case of Water Viper, I have a lot of different types of notes for it. I use note tabs (a discontinued office product) to label them. You can find similar tabs in office supply stores, but not the same exact ones I like using. Any form of tab will do. If you’re using the CIRCA system, you can also get dividers instead of marking the pages. I prefer marking the pages, as I find the dividers eat up a lot of valuable journal space.
Behind the HD Theft Details tab is a second tab labeled ‘Synopsis.’ The HD Theft Details are technically part of that section, but I needed to reference them a great deal for a part I was writing, so I yanked them out and moved them to the front for easy referencing.
I covered up the text since it had basically every last spoiler in the book visible. But, you can get a good, up-close look at the holes for the paper. Yes, you can buy hole punches for these systems at Levenger and Staples. (The punches are cross compatible.)
The most important thing to remember, at this point, is that you need to pick a system that works for you. I’m a paper and pen fanatic, I like organization, and I need my notes so I don’t forget anything. That makes creating a story bible pretty important.
Your needs are the most important here. That said, in my next post, I will be writing about how I conceptualize an entire novel in synopsis format, how I add the notes to my journal, and how I approach what story elements I keep and discard.
Good luck with your writing, folks!
September 24, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016: Did the Chicken Come Before the Egg?
Books are complicated beasts. A good book needs a stellar plot and intriguing characters. It needs to be able to capture the imagination of the reader–and the writer–and lead them down the rabbit hole. NaNoWriMo isn’t about writing a good book.
It’s about writing a book, period. Some books written during NaNoWriMo are good. Some are great. Most are steaming piles of horse dung. That’s all right. Really, it is. For those of you who have never written a book before, now is the time to write a book. It doesn’t have to be good. It just has to be.
You can make the book good later, I promise.
The hardest part of writing a novel, especially for someone who hasn’t done it before, is figuring out exactly where to begin. It’s a chicken vs egg situation. Do you create the plot first? How about the characters? Then there’s that tone issue, and then there’s the theme issue… oh dear, what’s the conflict? What do you want from your book?!
Which one do you pick first?
I’m going to open this year’s discussion on the two big ones: plotting and character development. No matter what anyone tells you, there is no right answer. There is no wrong answer.
The only answer that matters is the one that gets you thinking about the book, planning the book, and ultimately writing the book. What works for me may not work for you. What works for Diana Pharaoh Francis may not work for you. What works for Grace Draven may not work for you. What works for Ilona Andrews may not work for you. (What? Can’t a woman shout out some of her favorite authors and people?)
My blog has a lot of resources for people to dive into. I’m going to be expanding and building on every subject discussed. I’ll also be updating some of my methods to how I’ve changed my general work process. (And I will explain why I’ve evolved my method of writing as I have, too.) For now, I’m going to offer you a foundation to read from if you want to get a head start on thinking about things.
Chicken #1: Characters
There are a lot of different types of readers (and writers) in the world, and a common desire is for a ‘character drive’ story. Figuring out the hell what a character driven story is… well, that’s only half the battle. I’m going to simplify this point. A character driven story is when every single event or plot in the story is the consequence of a character’s decisions, actions, feelings, and general motivations.
(In the case of Man vs Environment, the character driven element comes from how the character responds to the environmental event.) There are always going to be things outside of the character’s control–there should be.
The character driven part comes into play when the character is the one actively working towards a goal, actively making a difference in how the plot progresses, and actively being the one in the driver’s seat of the story.
The story is all about what the character does.
Writing a character driven story is surprisingly difficult to master, as it requires a full understanding of all of your characters, even the ones that don’t show up on the page. The antagonist’s actions should affect the entire plot, too. It’s complicated.
So, to simplify things a little, here are a list of some the blog posts I can think of that might help you create, develop, and give life to your characters. Some aren’t going to be directly NaNo related, but I hope they help.
Conceptualizing a Novel: Journaling, Plots, and Characterization
Building Quick Character Concepts: Conceptualizing a Novel, Part Two
NaNoWriMo 2014: Creating Interesting Characters
Character versus Plot Driven Stories
Character Development: Art Imitating Life Imitating Art
Journey to NaNoWriMo 2013: Creating a Character
Journey to NaNoWriMo 2013: Using Character Arcs to Drive Plot Lines
Chicken #2: Plotting & Conflict
If you are the type of individual who needs a plot and/or conflict before you can think about the types of characters needed for the story, that’s great! Lots of people build their conflict and plots first–and often develop their characters alongside the story they’ll live in.
There are hundreds of ways you can approach the plot and conflict of a book. My preferred method is to figure out some critical event I want to happen.
For example, let’s say I want to tell an action adventure story. I’ll use Rider of the Sun Horse as an example. I wanted to write a great endurance race. So, I asked myself one question:
What would stop the rider from completing the race?
I built a great deal of the novel from that one question. To answer the question, I had to answer other questions. Why would this person want to compete in the race? I figured out a motivation. Once I did that, I asked what would drive that character to have that motivation? I built the character and the plot together in this case.
But I always begin with a question, and it usually starts with what or why.
There are some very basic plot mechanisms you should probably be aware of, so I’ll quickly go over them (the way I handle my plots.)
This is extremely basic and barely scratches at the surface.
Inciting Incident: Open with something that connects, directly, with the climax and resolution of the book. In a romance, it might be the character being introduced to their future lover–or an event that brings them together in some other fashion, even if the future lover doesn’t show up for a few chapters. In a fantasy, it might be something like a hobbit picking up a very old ring with fancy words etched around it. In a mystery, the inciting event is usually a theft, a murder, or a problem being solved. It’s okay if your book takes a chapter or two to get to the actual incident, so long as the opening sequence moves them in the right direction.
Rise of action: There is a problem and someone needs to solve it. After the inciting incident, the book should start having forward motion to the solution of the problem.
Well, shit: Houston, we have a problem! Problems (read: conflict) drive things forward as much as the characters do. Characters need to face problems, rise above them, and keep going forward.
Double oh shit!: Your characters have busted their ass to get to the moment of truth… and here we are. The moment of truth is the climatic oh, shit! moment. It’s the win or the lose moment. Do or die moment. Everything in the book accumulates to this point.
Coming Down from the High: Normal people call this the resolution phase, where all the loose ends of the story are wrapped up and the story ends.
Books are complicated beasts, and you might end up with a novel with three or four Double Oh Shit! moments. That happens. It’s okay if that happens, just so long as the book keeps moving forward. It’s okay if you don’t have a straight, linear plot. Very few people have cozy little lives where nothing goes wrong… and that’s part of the fun of reading.
Don’t be afraid to screw things up for your character.
Here is a list of blog posts that might help you with all this. Yes, some are repeats from above.
Journey to NaNoWriMo 2013: Using Character Arcs to Drive Plot Lines
The Journey to NaNoWriMo 2013: Creating Conflict when Plotting
Journey to NaNoWriMo 2013: Building a Variable Plot Outline
Coping with Plot Holes
Writing a Functional Outline
The Egg: Your Story
At this stage in the game, start thinking about who you want in your book and what you want to happen. Take notes. Don’t be afraid to write down even the really crazy ideas that have no way of working. Right now, they may not fit… but later, they might.
Don’t write anything off right now. The world is yours to explore. Go with your gut instinct. Do you have a character that interests you? Start there. Got this great idea for a scene? Start there. No matter where you choose to start… just do it.
Just get started. That’s how books are born.
Thanks for reading, and I hope this helps point you in the right direction so you can write a book of your own!
On a slightly different subject, I’d like to ask for your help. Writing is my day job. I do these posts because I enjoy it, not because I get anything out of it. If you found this post useful, could you take a few moments of your time to hit kindle scout and nominate one of my books? Nominations are open until October 23, 2016. Thanks!
