Laura Whitcomb's Blog, page 8

more column teasers

Here are excerpts from my April and May columns for the Willamette Writers newsletter. (To join WW go to willamettewriters.com)

From "Advice to a stumped fan"

Perhaps every story idea has been done (I don't believe this, by the way) but every writer expresses an idea differently. Thank goodness the basic plot of, let's say, a boy meets girl story was not written only by William Shakespeare but also by Jane Austen and Nicholas Sparks and Madeline L'Engle. Thank goodness the pain of war was approached by Victor Hugo as well as by Margaret Mitchell and Kurt Vonnegut.

From "Let the Right One In"

In traditional tales of the supernatural, there are certain rules. Devils and vampires are both barred from entering your home unless you invite them in. But on the other hand, a good being (wizard, angel, fairy, good witch) might come to your doorstep disguised as a beggar and bless you with your heart's desire if you feed and house them for the night. So the trick is to figure out how to tell the difference between good and evil. As a writer you also need to know when to open your heart and mind to a project or idea and when to say no.

May Give-Away

The winner of the April Give-Away was Cymone of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Congratulations!

 

The May Give-Away will be a grab bag of pre-owned YA novels. I did this once before and it was fun. So if you are a YA lit fan, please enter the drawing by emailing your name and physical address to me via the "Email Laura Whitcomb" link on my website. Let me know if you do not want to be on the snail mail list (for bookmarks/postcards when my new books come out.) Good luck to all!

Writing Tip #18 — keep your eyes open for contests, fellowships, and free stuff

Well, the title of that tip was pretty self-explanatory, so here's an opportunity to place before your opened eyes:

A  free day at the Willamette Writers Conference in August 2011 may be within your grasp if you apply for a C. Whitcomb Conference Scholarship. Writing teachers (from accredited high schools and colleges) enter by nominating their best writing student(s). If a student wins, so does the teacher. (If you are a student, rather than a teacher, let your teacher know about this contest and that you would love them to nominate you if they feel you deserve it.) The winning student and teacher will each be awarded a day at the Willamette Writers Conference, August 5-7, 2011 at the Airport Sheraton in Portland, Oregon. For the rules go to www.willamettewriters.com

I happen to know that one of the past student winners eventually landed a three book deal! You never know when/where an opportunity might lurk.

Writing Tip # 17 — The Lamb Window

There is a certain time in the early spring when, from the back windows of my house, you can catch glimpses of new lambs prancing on the hillside. Soon the spring leaves will grow in on the trees between us and the dancing babes, but for just a week or two we have a clear view of their hopping, chasing, frolicking ways. Delightful.

There is also a window, in the crafting of a manuscript where there's enough material down to make it feel like a draft but it's not filled out so much that it's nearly done. In this window you have the perfect view and opportunity to dance and mess around a while.

What is this messing about I talk of? It's a type of freedom that allows you to do any or all of the below without feeling like you're destroying the finished product. (But, like I said, you have to have enough writing down to feel like the story already has some life to it.)

Look at the chapters and see if anything about rearranging them would make your novel more interesting and dynamic. Maybe you don't have to be chronological.
List the characters. Is there one that is not very active? Can you combine that character with one of the others? Can the old college pal and the doctor be the same person? The ex-wife and the lawyer?
Can you mess with the settings? Maybe some are boring. What would it take to make some weirder or more stunning? Could the love interest work at the circus instead of the phone company? (Okay, that may be a bit silly, but you get the idea.) Do they have to have that conversation in the hotel room or can they have it while walking to the hotel, getting caught in a downpour, huddling under the awning of a restaurant with people eating on the other side of the glass, staring at the characters through the window?
Can you make things more suspenseful by throwing in an additional problem here or there? Be bold with your imagining – you can always change your mind. Think big. It's dancing time!
Look at your characters' names and use your gut instinct. Some names feel perfect. Others feel uncomfortable. Better to rename them now while it still has some subtle impact on that character's personality rather than at the end of draft five when all you might do is search and replace one name with another. A name is truly part of a character. Be open-minded and follow your pleasure.
You have the hang of it now. More ideas will come to you.

 

So, my lambies, look for that window between hardly begun and almost done and take advantage of it. Prance about freely. It's time to kick up your heels.

Tea for the Gentry

Ah, yes, another Supernatural Tea Party — in March our tea was all about Ireland and the Little People. We talked about fairies and other wee folk, watched a documentary about fairy paths and other enchantments,  saw clips from Darby O'Guill and the Little People and also Fairytale: A True Story, and we digressed a bit as we shared about our childhoods (probably brought on by the food I served.)

We dined on tiny wee foods (most of which were delicious, indeed) — tiny sandwiches, tiny bits of sausage in pastry, fairy houses (pound cake) dusted with powdered sugar snow, two inch carrot sticks, quarter-size scones, six flavors of tiny jams and jellies, blueberries (fairyfolk like berries, I believe), miniature cookies and cakes and candies, baby rounds of cheese, very fine (as in chopped small) fruit salad and macaroni salad, and even fairy-sized s'mores (see recipe below.)

Julie brought the fairies!

A very lovely time was had by all.

Binny slept through the first part of this party but especially enjoyed a leftover tiny chocolate cupcake. He got about half of it in his mouth, a quarter on his face and hands, and a quarter in the dogs' mouths. That's the way the fairy cookie crumbles, eh?

Fairy S'Mores

Take pieces of honeygraham cereal and separate out an even number of flat ones (some are too curled) on a paperplate or microwave-safe plate.

Place one chocolate chip on each of half of these mni-grahams.

Place one half of a mini marshmallow on each of the others.

Heat them in the microwave for a few seconds until the marshmallows puff up.

Turn the marshmallow halves upside down onto the chocolate ones and give a gentle smoosh.

Let stand for a minute to "set."

The Sweet'n'Low packet is to show size.

An added touch that I used at this tea party was to get half a dozen wood toothpicks and put a mini marshmallow skewered on the end of each stick then I toasted them a bit over the open stove top flame. Very cute indeed. My one complaint I got about these treats at the tea party was that I hadn't made enough. Who knew they'd be such a hit. I made them mostly as a decoration!

April Give-Away!

Desirae of Quincy, California is the winner of the March Give-Away — congrats to her!

The April Give-Away will be two very used but personally signed copies of my novels, A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT and THE FETCH. I bought them from the web to see how good "good" condition was — the SLANT is an old library copy and the FETCH's cover is faded from golden brown to a kind of pale pink. So if you don't mind charmingly damaged used books and you would enjoy having these two signed to you (or whomever you request) send in your name for the drawing this month.

To enter please send me your name and physical address via the "Email Laura Whitcomb" link on my website. Tell me if you do NOT want to be included on the snail mail list (for freebies when one of my books comes out — bookmarks or postcards, etc.)

Thanks and everyone have a lovely weekend.

Writing tip #16 — Don't let your story slime you.

Recently I wrote down a bit of advice for a friend's son who is coming of age. We were asked to pass on a piece of wisdom about growing up and becoming a happy, healthy adult. I chose to talk about friendship. I told the young man that finding and keeping friends is an art. Choose wisely. Some people you are meant to friend and others you are meant to drift away from. Hold on to those friends that encourage and love you unconditionally.  Let go of friends that make you feel slimed or diminished. The friends that make you feel great will also probably be the ones that feel encouraged and loved by you, as well.  

 

I think this is also true of writing projects. If you are working on a project that makes you feel like crap every time you delve into it or even think about it, if that project makes you feel like a bad writer or like a failure . . . walk away. Put it in a drawer. Turn to something else.

But, you protest, I need to write it because (choose one of the below):

I told everyone I know I'm working on it

I already told an editor or agent that I finished it

I'm writing it for my ______ (loved one)

It's supposed to be cathartic

I told my writers support group I'd let them read it by June

It's what publishers are looking for right now

A psychic told me I'd make tons of money from it

 etc.

Believe me, if a writing project makes you feel terrible about yourself or your world, it's not for you. Stop until a time when/if it has a different effect on you. Life's too short to wallow in negativity. (And I'm not talking about writing projects with dark plots or characters – they can be delightful to compose and revise – they can fill the writer with glee and inspiration – I mean the gut reaction to a project is dark and that story can be anything from a sunny children's picture book to a gritty detective novel.)

Let your emotions be your guide. Do you feel stronger when you think about writing the project or weaker? Excited or depressed?

I know we all feel a little down now and then about even our most thrilling and beloved books-in-progress, but you know what I'm talking about here, right? That's a passing thing. What I'm talking about is the project that is like that friend you need to disconnect with, the one that always makes you feel just a little stupid or ugly or discouraged after you've spent a few hours with him. Gently let those friends and projects go. Turn and take a fresh breath and follow your bliss. There will always be a true friend and a new story on the path toward your happiness.

Writing Tip #15 — join a writing community

My writing tip for today is . . . join the Willamette Writers. If you live in the Portland, Oregon area it means you get to attend the monthly meetings (speaker series) for free and you get a discount on the fabulous annual conference. But even if you don't live in Portland, you will get the Willamette Writers monthly newsletter.  Not only do I write a column for this publication, my sister (screenwriter, playwright, writing teacher and President of WW) Cynthia writes a column, too. As does popular writing guru Jessica Morrell. There are also articles on self-publishing and  info on critique groups, contests, and other events. (See excerpts below from my first three columns.) To join WW, go to www.willamettewriters.com – a year's membership is only $36.00.

Another new benefit for Portlanders who join WW? The Writers House — WW bought a house in West Linn with rooms for writers to get away and get some pages down. For a low ten dollar donation you have use one of the rooms for 24 hours. See the WW website for details. And be a joiner! If not WW than a writers group in your area. It's great to be part of a community. I've been a member of mine for over a decade.

From the January 2011 column "Being Library" ~

And if library could be an adjective, was I Library? I went through my life and tried to take a reading (as it were) – I was going to the public library to check out a book. Obviously that was Library of me. And it was a collection of literary short stories – very Library — one written by my boyfriend's cousin, David Schickler – Library by proximity. AND I was listening to an audio book in my car – more Library than listening to pop music on the radio. (But I still hadn't figured out which station played NPR – that would've been Librarier.) The book on tape was a Stephen King. I know what you're thinking — not as Library as a John Steinbeck. But it was King's book on writing, so hah! Definitely Library.

From the February 2011 column "The Tesseract in the Writer's Mind" ~

Maybe after a long walk and talk with a few of my favorite authors (in my dreams) the following boring sentence might be transformed.

Me:  The day was almost over and I hadn't gotten any writing done.

Neil Gaiman inspired: It wasn't that the computer screen was simply blank; it was a sucking white sun of blankness. If it had been any blanker, the letters from nearby documents would have been pulled into the whitehole of its blankdom. Not even a hidden tab or indent command waited under the surface. The screen repelled writing like a raging, empty-bellied blankosaurus. It sweated 60 SPF writers block, enough to ward off an infinity of Hamlet-typing monkeys.

From the March 2011 column "Beware the Coming of the Spring" ~

Do not go gentle into the light. Before you celebrate the equinox and revel in the rising thermometer, think on this: Winter is your friend. Sunshine only tempts you to put on shorts, wash the car, and do the weeding. Some part of you might be longing for fair weather, but the Dark Soul of the winter is the writer's den.

March Give-Away

 

The winner of the February Give-Away (a copy of the writing book The Writer's Guide to PLACES) is Estefania of Barcelona. The March Give-Away will be a signed copy of my writing book (co-authored with my fabulous literary agent Ann Rittenberg) YOUR FIRST NOVEL.

 

To enter the drawing, send me your name and physical address via the "Email Laura Whitcomb" link on my website (Laurawhitcomb.com) and let me know if you do NOT want to be on the snail mail list for receiving bookmarks, postcards, or other freebies when I have a new book coming out.

Congrats to Estefania, good luck to all, and have a wonderful week!

Writing Tip #14 — Google it

All right, this is an especially peculiar writing tip, but if your manuscript relies heavily on its unique premise, google the idea. Some plot lines have been done a million times (coming of age, implosion of a marriage, etc) because they are character based –  it's the way in which these simple stories are told that make them stand out from one another. Which is fine.

But some storylines fall into the "that's a new idea" or "it's been done" catagories. Apparently, scores of people over the last decade or so have pitched the idea of cloning Jesus Christ. They probably all thought they had stumbled upon a slam dunk and completely fresh idea. I'm sure they weren't stealing it from each other – as cloning became more popular as a topic, the concept just popped into multiple heads. But cloning Christ's DNA is not a premise that can be repeated with much hope of success.

Here are some other "been there and done that" kind of plots:

In a new version of The Wizard of Oz the wicked witch is the good guy. (Wicked)

Two cowboys fall in love and struggle with their secret relationship. (Brokeback Mountain)

A retelling of Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice with supernatural creatures inserted. (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)

A married woman falls in love with a traveling photographer who is making a study of covered bridges. (The Bridges of Madison County)

A pig makes friends with a spider who can write words in her webs. (Charlotte's Web)

If your plot is as unusual as the made up examples below, search the web using a few keywords.

A priest falls in love with a pregnant surrogate mother on the run from the mobster who hired her. Try keywords "novel priest romance pregnant mob"

Three sisters open a tattoo parlor on the spot where a famous silent movie star was murdered and find the actor haunts their ink and needles. Keywords "novel tattoo ghost silent movie star"

A young woman writer investigates the innocence of John Wilkes Booth's physician who was hanged — she unexpectedly uncovers another mystery in his past. Keywords "novel Wilkes Booth doctor investigation girl writer"

You want to know if there is a recent and/or well-distributed novel with a similar premise to yours. If you find a close match, for example let's say you're googling the priest idea and find the following excerpt: "pastor develops inappropriate feelings for an unwed mother who is hiding from a well-known crime family" you can check out a summary of that novel, skim a few reviews, or read the whole book to see if your story is dissimilar enough. If you don't get a hit with the keywords then you're probably in the clear. What you don't want to do is write an entire draft that no one will read because it's  an unintentional copycat.

This is a good idea for titles, too. If you have an unusual title, for example "Kindly Beans and Other Emotional Veggies" you're probably fine, but google it anyway. If you find a novel out there called "Friendly Beans and Other Greens" then you'll want to rethink. Or if you have a plain and simple title (The Truth, Love Birds, Nowhere, Autumn . . . ) you'll still want to google it, but just to see if there's a very recent or bestseller book out there with the same name. If it's been years since it came out or if the other book is relatively obscure, you can probably use the title with no confusion.