C.M. Subasic's Blog: What are you thinking?, page 2
March 12, 2016
On clarity and precision
In this post, I compare and contrast how writers use language to create emotional focus.
http://cmsubasic.com/blog/
Also check out my new and updated look!
Colleen
http://cmsubasic.com/blog/
Also check out my new and updated look!
Colleen
February 29, 2016
What's missing from your story?
THE MOST RIVETING ASPECT OF SOME STORIES IS WHAT’S NOT THERE.
Note: Spoilers in here for Gone Girl, The Meaning of Everything and The Circle.
What would happen if, on the first page of a murder mystery, the author exposed the murderer, how the victim was abducted, tortured and then brutally killed?
Gone would be the experience for the audience to ponder the suspects, to learn inch-by-agonizing inch where the murderer did it, how they did it, and how they tried to get away with it. In other words, there wouldn’t be a mystery at all.
What keeps us reading is the missing information — the things we don’t know. Some things are hinted at but not spelled out, other things just seem odd. Little clues are planted by the writer to keep us guessing, pondering, thinking.
When we’re thinking, we’re engaged and keep turning pages. That’s why murder mysteries are so popular: our brains go click, click, click as we try to figure out who is guilty.
But missing information isn’t just for murder mysteries. All genres, including non-fiction, can benefit from keeping secrets from the audience. In The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, the key contributor of entries politely turns down invitations from the editor to attend events or meet, yet submits volume after volume of beautiful work. Eventually the editor goes to this contributor’s address to thank him in person. At the address is an insane asylum.
Missing information is the striptease of storytelling. It creates tension and surprise. It turns the story in a new direction, or reveals the reason for odd behaviour.
In Gone Girl, Amy has gone missing. Her husband, Nick, tells us that he’s lying to the police, but doesn’t tell us what he is lying about. He admits to having a temper, to hating his wife, and never fully says that he’s innocent. Meanwhile, he has a disposable cell phone that keeps ringing. He doesn’t answer. He wants to throw it out. The missing information: he’s having an affair. He looks guilty because he feels guilty.
In some stories, the secret is not something hidden by a character, but the author. Again in Gone Girl, Amy’s journals are a fiction created by the character, but the reader doesn’t know this. She learned of Nick’s affair and is furious enough to doggedly plot and plan her revenge for months. She creates a journal that leaves a trail of clues that show her as the good guy and Nick as an angry, brutal husband. As we continue to read years of faked entries, we grow to like this fictional Amy, even if there are aspects that seem a little too perfect or a tad too cliche. Half way through the book her ruse is revealed and we meet the very sick puppy that Amy is. Someone capable of knifing herself so she bleeds until she’s faint, who plans on killing herself to enact her revenge.
The biggest piece of missing information a storyteller can create (methinks) is to serve us the bad guy as the good guy. When we discover the truth, it turns our world upside down. We’re forced to revisit all that has come before, click, click, click. It’s a trend I’ve noticed in a few novels of late.
In The Circle, for example, Mae is established as the protagonist, hired by a Google-like conglomerate in a low-level job. At first she struggles in her new role. But as the story progresses and she buys into the company’s mantra to the point of turning in friends, we realize that perhaps she isn’t the one we should be rooting for.
Turning your protagonist into the antagonist is a ginormous leap to take. You don’t need to go that far unless you have a good reason.
WHAT SKELETONS ARE RATTLING IN THE CLOSET?
Other opportunities for missing information lie in the shameful fact a character wants to keep hidden, until…. The person your character doesn’t want to face because… An unsavoury ambition, such as Amy’s goal of seeing her husband fry… A secret from long ago never shared, such as a child who was given away… A vice they’re trying to hide, such as drugs, smoking or pornography. That uncle who drinks too much and then gets in his truck as everyone in the family looks the other way. The death (or other event) that didn’t happen exactly as now told. An object with a significance never shared. Something that didn’t happen, but was very much wanted, such as the pregnancy in, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?
Look for it in positive emotions as well as bad ones. A character can be hoping for something to happen in the future, such as someone to return from the past. Do remember that a key theme of many fairy tales: Be careful what you wish for.
Your job as writer is to slowly peel away the secrets, layer by layer. To give your audience a striptease that makes them wonder what’s next, what’s real, what’s not? To yearn for more. To make them think.
The question to ask yourself: How far will my character go until they are forced to reveal their secret? Then, take the character to that place, because that’s the writer’s job.
Note: Spoilers in here for Gone Girl, The Meaning of Everything and The Circle.
What would happen if, on the first page of a murder mystery, the author exposed the murderer, how the victim was abducted, tortured and then brutally killed?
Gone would be the experience for the audience to ponder the suspects, to learn inch-by-agonizing inch where the murderer did it, how they did it, and how they tried to get away with it. In other words, there wouldn’t be a mystery at all.
What keeps us reading is the missing information — the things we don’t know. Some things are hinted at but not spelled out, other things just seem odd. Little clues are planted by the writer to keep us guessing, pondering, thinking.
When we’re thinking, we’re engaged and keep turning pages. That’s why murder mysteries are so popular: our brains go click, click, click as we try to figure out who is guilty.
But missing information isn’t just for murder mysteries. All genres, including non-fiction, can benefit from keeping secrets from the audience. In The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, the key contributor of entries politely turns down invitations from the editor to attend events or meet, yet submits volume after volume of beautiful work. Eventually the editor goes to this contributor’s address to thank him in person. At the address is an insane asylum.
Missing information is the striptease of storytelling. It creates tension and surprise. It turns the story in a new direction, or reveals the reason for odd behaviour.
In Gone Girl, Amy has gone missing. Her husband, Nick, tells us that he’s lying to the police, but doesn’t tell us what he is lying about. He admits to having a temper, to hating his wife, and never fully says that he’s innocent. Meanwhile, he has a disposable cell phone that keeps ringing. He doesn’t answer. He wants to throw it out. The missing information: he’s having an affair. He looks guilty because he feels guilty.
In some stories, the secret is not something hidden by a character, but the author. Again in Gone Girl, Amy’s journals are a fiction created by the character, but the reader doesn’t know this. She learned of Nick’s affair and is furious enough to doggedly plot and plan her revenge for months. She creates a journal that leaves a trail of clues that show her as the good guy and Nick as an angry, brutal husband. As we continue to read years of faked entries, we grow to like this fictional Amy, even if there are aspects that seem a little too perfect or a tad too cliche. Half way through the book her ruse is revealed and we meet the very sick puppy that Amy is. Someone capable of knifing herself so she bleeds until she’s faint, who plans on killing herself to enact her revenge.
The biggest piece of missing information a storyteller can create (methinks) is to serve us the bad guy as the good guy. When we discover the truth, it turns our world upside down. We’re forced to revisit all that has come before, click, click, click. It’s a trend I’ve noticed in a few novels of late.
In The Circle, for example, Mae is established as the protagonist, hired by a Google-like conglomerate in a low-level job. At first she struggles in her new role. But as the story progresses and she buys into the company’s mantra to the point of turning in friends, we realize that perhaps she isn’t the one we should be rooting for.
Turning your protagonist into the antagonist is a ginormous leap to take. You don’t need to go that far unless you have a good reason.
WHAT SKELETONS ARE RATTLING IN THE CLOSET?
Other opportunities for missing information lie in the shameful fact a character wants to keep hidden, until…. The person your character doesn’t want to face because… An unsavoury ambition, such as Amy’s goal of seeing her husband fry… A secret from long ago never shared, such as a child who was given away… A vice they’re trying to hide, such as drugs, smoking or pornography. That uncle who drinks too much and then gets in his truck as everyone in the family looks the other way. The death (or other event) that didn’t happen exactly as now told. An object with a significance never shared. Something that didn’t happen, but was very much wanted, such as the pregnancy in, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?
Look for it in positive emotions as well as bad ones. A character can be hoping for something to happen in the future, such as someone to return from the past. Do remember that a key theme of many fairy tales: Be careful what you wish for.
Your job as writer is to slowly peel away the secrets, layer by layer. To give your audience a striptease that makes them wonder what’s next, what’s real, what’s not? To yearn for more. To make them think.
The question to ask yourself: How far will my character go until they are forced to reveal their secret? Then, take the character to that place, because that’s the writer’s job.
April 11, 2015
A writer's spices
Do you remember what it was like to look at a page in a book before you could read? Letters were mysterious and powerful squiggles. Adults had the magical ability of interpreting the squiggles into language.
Like any change, when you learn something new you also lose something. You forget what it was like to not know. Once you can find middle C on a piano or tie your shoes, it’s hard to go back.
It’s this tendency to forget what we didn’t know that can get in the way of creating. You write “Uncle Fred has a warm smile” on the page, but your imagination imbues those words with so much more.
A visual artist works on her skill of stripping away what she thinks she is drawing so she can draw what is actually there. The writer has the same challenge. Nowhere is this clearer than when developing a character based on someone known.
How warm is that smile?
You may write, “Uncle Fred has a warm smile.” You fill that warm smile with your memory, which is a selective beast. What your audience sees is like a movie where several frames are missing.
If you decide to use Uncle Fred in your story, you need to look at him again, to see his spirit, not your memory of his spirit.
The spirit is revealed through actions — doing. This is where showing versus telling will be your guide…
I went a little overboard in that paragraph to demonstrate, but the point was to use all the detail types…
Visual detail
Sensual detail
Smell
Movement
Music
Rhythm
These are a writer’s spices. For special scenes, the ones where you want cinematic detail, throw them all in and see how they work. But a fine meal can be ruined by overwhelming flavours. As writer, your job is to create a balanced experience — a balanced meal.
Choosing when to show — and how much — and when to tell is one of the fine lines a writer traverses. But you know what, it’s not really up to you.
Your story will tell you when. If you listen.
Listen well.
Like any change, when you learn something new you also lose something. You forget what it was like to not know. Once you can find middle C on a piano or tie your shoes, it’s hard to go back.
It’s this tendency to forget what we didn’t know that can get in the way of creating. You write “Uncle Fred has a warm smile” on the page, but your imagination imbues those words with so much more.
A visual artist works on her skill of stripping away what she thinks she is drawing so she can draw what is actually there. The writer has the same challenge. Nowhere is this clearer than when developing a character based on someone known.
How warm is that smile?
You may write, “Uncle Fred has a warm smile.” You fill that warm smile with your memory, which is a selective beast. What your audience sees is like a movie where several frames are missing.
If you decide to use Uncle Fred in your story, you need to look at him again, to see his spirit, not your memory of his spirit.
The spirit is revealed through actions — doing. This is where showing versus telling will be your guide…
…how Uncle Fred sweeps into the room touching everyone as he goes, leaning in so close the yummy musk he wears brushes my nostrils. I can hear his warm smile in his voice, it makes me want to lean in for a hug. After making the rounds he swirls into a chair, flicking his jacket flaps back as he sticks out his chest, ready to perform as master of ceremonies. His eyes jump from one person to the next and when the glance touches me it’s a gentle caress. He speaks with a voice that rings deep and yet tender like a Buddhist meditation bell, so resonant and full every person in the room is calmed to silence by it.
I went a little overboard in that paragraph to demonstrate, but the point was to use all the detail types…
Visual detail
Sensual detail
Smell
Movement
Music
Rhythm
These are a writer’s spices. For special scenes, the ones where you want cinematic detail, throw them all in and see how they work. But a fine meal can be ruined by overwhelming flavours. As writer, your job is to create a balanced experience — a balanced meal.
Choosing when to show — and how much — and when to tell is one of the fine lines a writer traverses. But you know what, it’s not really up to you.
Your story will tell you when. If you listen.
Listen well.
October 7, 2014
Reviewing the reviewers
Should a self-published book receive different treatment from a book from a 'real' publisher?
I've seen quite a few spine-tingling reviews from some in the goodreads community. While not breaking the goodreads rules, it is quite obvious what they are: rants of venom.
I get it, sure. Where else in life can you throw something to the ground and kick it around?
For the books themselves, in some ways self-published books are fair game. These authors put their work on the shelf next to those pros, they should be expected to match quality, or go home. In other words, they have a responsibility to their readers.
But then, I also feel it's unfair to self-published authors to be so unkind. Partly because I know that behind those book covers there is no team of professionals who should be ashamed of shoddy work (e.g., copy editing, redundancies), but one individual trying their best to let their passion sing.
But there's another wrinkle here: in far too many cases, self-published writers are putting their stuff out with too little consideration. They rush it out the door without enough reflection or input from readers, substantive and copy editors, etc.
NOT SMART.
But when, as a reviewer, you sling your distaste with childish animosity at a self-published author, you are spitting nails at ONE, solitary individual standing there naked and vulnerable, not a TEAM.
Should reviewers be mindful of this? Hrm....
It's easy to be a critic. To get mad when the experience doesn't meet your needs. But when you put your words out there in public, it's not all about you. I think reviewers have a responsibility to recognize what they're looking at and treat self-published authors fairly.
It's not necessarily about being aware of an author's "feelings." It's about being aware that, despite a bad start, that writer might one day produce a work of brilliance. Unless we reviewers squash the living daylights out of their egos in our reviews.
Writing is about more than a commercial good. For the writer and for the reader, it's about a community of ideas, a journey to understanding that we're working on together. But if one side is slinging mud all the time, those on the other side of the fence might go home.
With the evolution of publishing, reviewers, such as those here at goodreads, have become the gate keepers. They can create and they can destroy with their words.
I don't know about you, but I prefer creating with others. Destroying looks like fun from the outside, but in the end, you're left muddy, standing alone wondering where everyone went.
I've seen quite a few spine-tingling reviews from some in the goodreads community. While not breaking the goodreads rules, it is quite obvious what they are: rants of venom.
I get it, sure. Where else in life can you throw something to the ground and kick it around?
For the books themselves, in some ways self-published books are fair game. These authors put their work on the shelf next to those pros, they should be expected to match quality, or go home. In other words, they have a responsibility to their readers.
But then, I also feel it's unfair to self-published authors to be so unkind. Partly because I know that behind those book covers there is no team of professionals who should be ashamed of shoddy work (e.g., copy editing, redundancies), but one individual trying their best to let their passion sing.
But there's another wrinkle here: in far too many cases, self-published writers are putting their stuff out with too little consideration. They rush it out the door without enough reflection or input from readers, substantive and copy editors, etc.
NOT SMART.
But when, as a reviewer, you sling your distaste with childish animosity at a self-published author, you are spitting nails at ONE, solitary individual standing there naked and vulnerable, not a TEAM.
Should reviewers be mindful of this? Hrm....
It's easy to be a critic. To get mad when the experience doesn't meet your needs. But when you put your words out there in public, it's not all about you. I think reviewers have a responsibility to recognize what they're looking at and treat self-published authors fairly.
It's not necessarily about being aware of an author's "feelings." It's about being aware that, despite a bad start, that writer might one day produce a work of brilliance. Unless we reviewers squash the living daylights out of their egos in our reviews.
Writing is about more than a commercial good. For the writer and for the reader, it's about a community of ideas, a journey to understanding that we're working on together. But if one side is slinging mud all the time, those on the other side of the fence might go home.
With the evolution of publishing, reviewers, such as those here at goodreads, have become the gate keepers. They can create and they can destroy with their words.
I don't know about you, but I prefer creating with others. Destroying looks like fun from the outside, but in the end, you're left muddy, standing alone wondering where everyone went.
September 24, 2014
Too many ideas, so little time
Re-reading Marshall McLuhan and looking at anything I can get my hands on about Edward Snowden and privacy to develop a play (or something) about how our technologies force us to reveal so much, but to our detriment. Or is it so?
And these two guys... they're so in their heads. Feelings buried in electrodes or between the spines of books. Nothin' wrong with that, just... thoughts don't inspire the way vulnerability does.
Should there be a follow-up to The Forty Watt Flowers about an all-woman band (in their fifties) called The Faculty Wives? It would be about how we, as women, give in too much. Sacrifice too much for our own good. About living the life you want to lead and screw what everyone thinks.
Change can't happen unless you make it happen. And there's nothing wrong with women who like sex.
(But maybe that should be kept private ;-) )
And these two guys... they're so in their heads. Feelings buried in electrodes or between the spines of books. Nothin' wrong with that, just... thoughts don't inspire the way vulnerability does.
Should there be a follow-up to The Forty Watt Flowers about an all-woman band (in their fifties) called The Faculty Wives? It would be about how we, as women, give in too much. Sacrifice too much for our own good. About living the life you want to lead and screw what everyone thinks.
Change can't happen unless you make it happen. And there's nothing wrong with women who like sex.
(But maybe that should be kept private ;-) )
September 4, 2014
The fib that Twitter reveals
I can’t recall why I decided to start tweeting as the band, but do remember when: January 2012.
I'd just arrived back from Australia and blew the dust of my book, The Forty Watt Flowers.
I'd worked on this book from 2000 to 2005. There were test readers, substantive editors, copy editors, agents, publishers from one end of the country to another. Many firm nibbles. One agent looked at it 3 times. No bites. So into the box it went.
Reading it again in 2012, I realized that it had to get out there or I'd never write again.
At the same time, I wanted to learn about Twitter. So as I was writing I used Twitter to get into my characters.
Their tweets are about music, the challenge of writing meaningful music, the joy of creation, the thrill and magic of seeing yourself reflected in the work of others.
I now have 640+ followers, many of them other bands. Some record execs even asked to hear our music! (eek!)
When the book was finally published, I changed the twitter description to clearly identify the band as "fictional."
Before doing that, whenever I tweeted about another band's music, they'd reach out and we'd connect. Now that we're 'fictional' the bands seem to take offence and stop following.
I suppose they feel cheated or fooled somehow. But we are essentially doing the same thing: hawking our art. Developing relationships with other artists is part of it.
The bands I write about in the blog about the tour love us (they get some good writing about their music they can use to promote themselves). The ones who I write about only briefly feel betrayed. Need to figure that bit out.
I'd just arrived back from Australia and blew the dust of my book, The Forty Watt Flowers.
I'd worked on this book from 2000 to 2005. There were test readers, substantive editors, copy editors, agents, publishers from one end of the country to another. Many firm nibbles. One agent looked at it 3 times. No bites. So into the box it went.
Reading it again in 2012, I realized that it had to get out there or I'd never write again.
At the same time, I wanted to learn about Twitter. So as I was writing I used Twitter to get into my characters.
Their tweets are about music, the challenge of writing meaningful music, the joy of creation, the thrill and magic of seeing yourself reflected in the work of others.
I now have 640+ followers, many of them other bands. Some record execs even asked to hear our music! (eek!)
When the book was finally published, I changed the twitter description to clearly identify the band as "fictional."
Before doing that, whenever I tweeted about another band's music, they'd reach out and we'd connect. Now that we're 'fictional' the bands seem to take offence and stop following.
I suppose they feel cheated or fooled somehow. But we are essentially doing the same thing: hawking our art. Developing relationships with other artists is part of it.
The bands I write about in the blog about the tour love us (they get some good writing about their music they can use to promote themselves). The ones who I write about only briefly feel betrayed. Need to figure that bit out.
August 16, 2014
Thank you and more
Over the past few weeks it has been so fun to watch as people signed up for the giveaway of my book. To see people add it to their "to read" shelf. To receive the addresses of people around the world and send my tome, wrapped in hope and placed in the mailbox with a slight shiver of anxiousness.
Thank you, all those who entered. I hope I've earned your trust and look forward to seeing any reviews you care to share.
The band's tour continues to be fun. I've enjoyed learning about new bands and little bits about each city they visit. A synopsis is here:
https://medium.com/how-novel-tour/9c5...
They are taking a hiatus for a week while I try to figure out how to embed those stories on the website so folks don't have to sign into Medium to view it.
Thank you, all those who entered. I hope I've earned your trust and look forward to seeing any reviews you care to share.
The band's tour continues to be fun. I've enjoyed learning about new bands and little bits about each city they visit. A synopsis is here:
https://medium.com/how-novel-tour/9c5...
They are taking a hiatus for a week while I try to figure out how to embed those stories on the website so folks don't have to sign into Medium to view it.
July 31, 2014
Stop the opera!
Aren't we all guilty of this? The first ping of an idea is a small seed. We fly with it, it grows into something our imagination can capture. Then we try to implement it and, Whoops! It's a bit too big for our small britches to carry out.
What the heck am I talking about? The How Novel tour of my band.
It's meant to be fun for me, as well as a promotion. Then it started to take over all of my free time.
And I don't think the tour was doing any good promoting the book, really. Indie bands are too busy playing gigs to read. The tour itself was unfocused, rather haphazard in its execution.
So, I've trimmed it down to a bare bones story, the occasional video, and facebook/tweets about Athens, music and the simplified story.
Another time-consuming item was connecting with the bands up front. I'll be surprising them instead. No more interview.
Check out the tour at http://www.fortywattflowers.com/#!tou...
What the heck am I talking about? The How Novel tour of my band.
It's meant to be fun for me, as well as a promotion. Then it started to take over all of my free time.
And I don't think the tour was doing any good promoting the book, really. Indie bands are too busy playing gigs to read. The tour itself was unfocused, rather haphazard in its execution.
So, I've trimmed it down to a bare bones story, the occasional video, and facebook/tweets about Athens, music and the simplified story.
Another time-consuming item was connecting with the bands up front. I'll be surprising them instead. No more interview.
Check out the tour at http://www.fortywattflowers.com/#!tou...
July 13, 2014
Those bands!
There are two challenges I've been facing in writing the story so far.
1. The bands are so excited to be involved up front. They'll send pictures, links, answers to any question. I publish a piece about the positives of their music. How the licks burst with an angry energy that we all share. Or how they find a joy we're all looking for. It is, essentially, a positive review which includes phrases they can use in promotion.
Their role is to write a Facebook post about it, or Tweet or share with friends. Trouble is, they don't.
I've been having trouble finding a band in NYC. So I think that I'll get more if I write about a few bands without talking to them and send them the piece once it's done. The surprise factor will get them to share it, which is the point.
2. I am writing without a net. Without beta readers. I believe I'm writing really well! But my confidence is scaring me.
If you're interested in reading short pieces once every week or so and giving feedback, please let me know.
1. The bands are so excited to be involved up front. They'll send pictures, links, answers to any question. I publish a piece about the positives of their music. How the licks burst with an angry energy that we all share. Or how they find a joy we're all looking for. It is, essentially, a positive review which includes phrases they can use in promotion.
Their role is to write a Facebook post about it, or Tweet or share with friends. Trouble is, they don't.
I've been having trouble finding a band in NYC. So I think that I'll get more if I write about a few bands without talking to them and send them the piece once it's done. The surprise factor will get them to share it, which is the point.
2. I am writing without a net. Without beta readers. I believe I'm writing really well! But my confidence is scaring me.
If you're interested in reading short pieces once every week or so and giving feedback, please let me know.
Humbled
I wake up and fall asleep to the talk radio. The CBC to be precise, but in foreign lands I've listened to NPR, BBC, ABC.
There is something soothing to the stream of news, interesting facts, interviews. At night it helps me to stop my circling thoughts. In the morning it teases me out of my slumber slowly (and sometimes becomes the fodder of odd dreams).
This morning Rebecca Solnit was being interviewed about her book The Faraway Nearby. I was fascinated by her fascination. Did you know there is a moth that eats the tears of birds? There's also one that eats the tears of crocodiles and one that eats blood.
She packs so much meaning into every thought.
I went onto Amazon to read the first few pages. Stunning, is all I can say. Sentences rife with ideas. Paragraphs dense with connections. A flow like honey, oozing off the page. There's both too much there to take in and not enough because I want it to go on and on.
There is something soothing to the stream of news, interesting facts, interviews. At night it helps me to stop my circling thoughts. In the morning it teases me out of my slumber slowly (and sometimes becomes the fodder of odd dreams).
This morning Rebecca Solnit was being interviewed about her book The Faraway Nearby. I was fascinated by her fascination. Did you know there is a moth that eats the tears of birds? There's also one that eats the tears of crocodiles and one that eats blood.
She packs so much meaning into every thought.
I went onto Amazon to read the first few pages. Stunning, is all I can say. Sentences rife with ideas. Paragraphs dense with connections. A flow like honey, oozing off the page. There's both too much there to take in and not enough because I want it to go on and on.
What are you thinking?
Stray thoughts on art, promotion, self-publishing, writing, philosophy.
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