Vicki Lane's Blog, page 513

Bird by Bird - FAQ

Darla asks: "In Bird By Bird, Anne has a chapter titled Plot Treatment . . .  I read it and thought "OMG that is me right now" (minus the editor, advance and potential for being published.. LOL). Anyway, from what you've written before it seems like you don't run into this because you are very linear in your writing, but do you address this type of confusion in your classes? And/or have you run into it yourself? Color me curious!" Bird by Bird is an excellent book. In the chapter Darla mentions, Lamott tells of sending a novel to her editor only to have it rejected because, in spite of beautiful writing and fascinating character, there was no structure. He suggested she abandon the book and write something else but Lamott was determined to make it work. She wrote out a detailed plot treatment -- 500 to 1,000 words for each chapter, describing what was happening in each chapter -- where it began, where it ended, and what had to happen to get from beginning to end, as well as how the ending of each chapter would flow into the beginning of the next.
With this road map (it ran to forty pages) in hand, Lamott says that rewriting the book -- shifting and adding scenes -- went smoothly and the book was one of her most successful.   In my classes, I haven't yet dealt with an entire novel -- only 20 to 40 pages. But I do recommend that the students think about what their protagonist wants to achieve; what obstacles stand between the protag and success; and how will those obstacles be overcome. That's a very bare-bones plot line. I also ask my students to come up with a brief (under a minute) coherent  answer to the question "What's your book about?" 

As for me: I tend to start with an inciting incident and a plan for an outcome and just a vague idea of how I'm getting there. About halfway through the book, I'll know more of what needs to go in the rest of the chapters and start doing a somewhat abbreviated chapter treatment.  The one time I did a very complete chapter treatment before beginniong the book, as I wrote I kept feeling I'd already done this and it was a little boring. On the other hand, I didn't waste a lot of time wandering in the wilderness.
What works for one writer may not work for another. But if you have written a lot of    wonderful scenes but suspect you don't actually have a plot, Lamott's chapter treatment method may be just what you need to help your novel soar.

Jack Frost

Recent Reading

"Foul Matter' is the publishing term (who said those guys didn't have a sense of humor?) for the marked-up, coffee stained, original hard copy  of a manuscript that the publishers return to the author once the book is in print.  From whence it can go to a box under the author's bed, a closet shelf. or a library's archives, if the author is Somebody. (Mine are in a drawer.)

Foul Matter is also the title of a wonderful book by Martha Grimes in which she does to the publishing industry what Elmore Leonard did to Hollywood in Get Shorty. A fun read for a glimpse inside.

Three more recent reads -- Deb Crombie is a favorite of mine but I put off reading Necessary as Blood  when it came out because some of the plot line was similar to my  work in progress -- female protagonist agonizing over whether to marry her long time boyfriend.  It's a wonderful novel -- as are all of hers -- with an interesting look at the international mix that is modern London and the clashes that can occur. I'm feeling like starting back and re-reading this series from the beginning.

Remarkable Creatures  by Tracy Chevalier traces the life of Mary Anning who, though uneducated, was a great discoverer of fossils in the chalk cliffs near Lyme Regis. I enjoyed the story for the setting and because it reminded me of bits from The French Lieutenant's Woman. As with her other novels, Chevalier has a website that will enhance your enjoyment of the book -- lots of pictures of the fossils described in the novel!

Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon is a kind of fairy tale for adults -- a retelling of the Little Mermaid story. Some lovely, lovely description.

Bleak . . . with a Promise

Riding the Phrog Bus

On Saturday I met in Hot Springs with most of the members of the workshop I led at Wildacres last summer. They were all eager to continue work on their books and had arranged to hire me to critique an additional twenty pages for each of them. For the past month, everyone has read and critiqued everyone else's work to be ready for this day. The group rented a house  for the weekend and we settled in for a long day of work-shopping those pages.
The group calls  themselves The Phrog Bus for reasons arising from silly jokes we shared last summer (you had to be there, trust me.)  Their novels are as diverse as they are -- futuristic, post-apocalyptic thriller, political thriller, traditional mystery, and just plain good stories about interesting people meeting challenges in their lives.

We spent about an hour on each set of pages and, as always happens in these workshops, the input of the group was incredibly useful. If, as a writer, you're particularly attached to something in your own work, it's easy enough to ignore a suggestion from one person. But if the majority of a group have trouble with something you've written, it's time to pay attention -- assuming it's your goal to reach a wide audience and you're not just writing for your own pleasure.
I was also thrilled to find that the writing had tightened up and gotten more focused since last summer. The Phrog Bus -- Dianna, Sharon, Claude, Lourdes, Joni, Rosemary, and Karen (who took the pictures and, alas, isn't shown here) -- is a hardworking group but they know how to have fun.

We took a quick break for sandwiches and then forged ahead with our work-shopping, bolstered by the knowledge that Rosemary had a special treat in store for our dinner. That sweet thing, had prepared a dinner following a menu from IN A DARK SEASON -- Beef bourguignon, parslied potatoes, a Painter's Salad, and chocolate mousse. 
Rosemary had even brought glass plates from home to serve the salad on -- since that's the way it was described in the book. And the meal was accompanied by Biltmore red wine -- 'a naive little domestic, but I think you'll be amused by its presumption' -- again from the book (though first, let me hasten to add, from a cartoon in the THE NEW YORKER that Elizabeth and I read years ago.)
What a terrific conclusion to a long and rewarding day!

A Common Thread?

Is There a Thread?

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

[image error] [image error]

Shadows

The past's long shadowsFall across today and stretchBeyond tomorrow.
All our yesterdaysWere tomorrows and todays --Shadows fleeting past. All tomorrows soonTurn to yesterdays and allPleasant dreams to dust.  But today remains Sufficient unto our time --All --no more, no less.

Ba's Banana Bread -repost

This is what you do with those bananas that have gotten too ripe. Banana bread was one of my dearly loved maternal grandmother's standards and when I make it, it's always a memory trip. I have the recipe in Ba's lovely spiky handwriting and I have her little wire racks to turn the loaves out on to cool. The smell fills the house and I'm ten years old again, a tall skinny little girl who didn't hesitate to butter a slice of the still-warm banana bread.
Some household acts are more than just cooking or cleaning -- some are sacraments.



Ba's Banana Bread

Really more of a cake than a bread, it's dense and moist and sweet. Excellent toasted with butter, delicious cold and spread with cream cheese, just fine all by itself.

Makes two loaves (freezes well)
2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter
2 c. sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 c. ripe bananas, mashed well (3 large bananas = 2 c.)
2 tsp. baking soda, stirred into the mashed bananas
3 1/2 c. sifted flour (sift before measuring)
1 tsp. salt, sifted with the flour

Prepare your loaf tins by greasing well (more butter) and cutting a piece of waxed paper to cover the bottom of the pan. Lay it in the greased pan and grease the top of the paper too.

Preheat oven to 325.

Cream together the butter and sugar. When well blended, stir in the beaten eggs. Mix well, add bananas and flour alternately till you have a well blended batter. Do not over-mix. Pour into loaf tins and bake at 325 for about an hour. A knife or bamboo skewer poked into the middle of a loaf should come out clean.

Turn out of loaf pans, peel off waxed paper, and let cool on a rack.

Silent Sunday . . . with Pictures