Chief Editor M. Neff

Sonja, a couple things. You can write, and write well. The overall prose narrative is professional, no question, however, given the trope-ness of the subject matter (realizing one is actually a ghost), the opening action feels way too tame and overly familiar, like the opening of a TV show for pre-teens who want to watch a show about teen ghosts. If you're going to compete, I'd strongly suggest a new and radically unique opening. Consider, there are lots of writers out there writing very similar stories with similar hooks. How to distinguish yourself? Hope this helps. I'm sure it's not what you wished to hear.

Introduction to Pre-event Assignments The below seven assignments are vital to reaching an understanding of specific and critical core elements that go into the creation of a commercially viable genre novel or narrative non-fiction. Of course, there is more to it than this, as you will see, but here we have a good primer that assures we're literally all on the same page before the event begins. You may return here as many times as you need to edit your topic post (login and click "edit"). Pay special attention to antagonists, setting, conflict and core wound hooks. And btw, quiet novels do not sell. Keep that in mind. Be aggressive with your work. Michael Neff Algonkian Conference Director ____________ After you've registered and logged in, create your reply to this topic (button top right). Please utilize only one reply for all of your responses so the forum topic will not become cluttered. Also, strongly suggest typing up your "reply" in a separate file then copying it over to your post before submitting. Not a good idea to lose what you've done! __________________________________________________________ THE ACT OF STORY STATEMENT Before you begin to consider or rewrite your story premise, you must develop a simple "story statement." In other words, what's the mission of your protagonist? The goal? What must be done? What must this person create? Save? Restore? Accomplish? Defeat?... Defy the dictator of the city and her bury brother’s body (ANTIGONE)? Struggle for control over the asylum (ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST)? Do whatever it takes to recover lost love (THE GREAT GATSBY)? Save the farm and live to tell the story (COLD MOUNTAIN)? Find the wizard and a way home to Kansas (WIZARD OF OZ)? Note that all of these are books with strong antagonists who drive the plot line (see also "Core Wounds and Conflict Lines" below). FIRST ASSIGNMENT: write your story statement. ___________________________________________________ THE ANTAGONIST PLOTS THE POINT (Photo : Javert from "Les Misérables") Since the antagonist in nearly all successful commercial fiction is the driver of the plot line, what are the odds of you having your manuscript published if the overall story and narrative fail to meet reader (and publisher) demands for sufficient suspense, character concern, and conflict? Answer: none. But what major factor makes for a quiet or dull manuscript brimming with insipid characters and a story that cascades from chapter to chapter with tens of thousands of words, all of them combining irresistibly to produce an audible thudding sound in the mind, rather like a fist hitting a side of cold beef? Such a dearth of vitality in narrative and story frequently results from the unwillingness of the writer to create a suitable antagonist who stirs and spices the plot hash. Let's make it clear what we're talking about. By "antagonist" we specifically refer to an actual fictional character, an embodiment of certain traits and motivations who plays a significant role in catalyzing and energizing plot line(s), or at bare minimum, in assisting to evolve the protagonist's character arc (and by default the story itself) by igniting complication(s) the protagonist, and possibly other characters, must face and solve (or fail to solve). CONTINUE READING ENTIRE ARTICLE AT NWOE THEN RETURN HERE. SECOND ASSIGNMENT: in 200 words or less, sketch the antagonist or antagonistic force in your story. Keep in mind their goals, their background, and the ways they react to the world about them. ___________________________________________________ CONJURING YOUR BREAKOUT TITLE What is your breakout title? How important is a great title before you even become published? Very important! Quite often, agents and editors will get a feel for a work and even sense the marketing potential just from a title. A title has the ability to attract and condition the reader's attention. It can be magical or thud like a bag of wet chalk, so choose carefully. A poor title sends the clear message that what comes after will also be of poor quality. Go to Amazon.Com and research a good share of titles in your genre, come up with options, write them down and let them simmer for at least 24 hours. Consider character or place names, settings, or a "label" that describes a major character, like THE ENGLISH PATIENT or THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST. Consider also images, objects, or metaphors in the novel that might help create a title, or perhaps a quotation from another source (poetry, the Bible, etc.) that thematically represents your story. Or how about a title that summarizes the whole story: THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES, HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP, etc. Keep in mind that the difference between a mediocre title and a great title is the difference between THE DEAD GIRL'S SKELETON and THE LOVELY BONES, between TIME TO LOVE THAT CHOLERA and LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA between STRANGERS FROM WITHIN (Golding's original title) and LORD OF THE FLIES, between BEING LIGHT AND UNBEARABLE and THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING. THIRD ASSIGNMENT: create a breakout title (list several options, not more than three, and revisit to edit as needed). ___________________________________________________ DECIDING YOUR GENRE AND APPROACHING COMPARABLES Did you know that a high percentage of new novel writers don't fully understand their genre, much less comprehend comparables? When informing professionals about the nuances of your novel, whether by query letter or oral pitch, you must know your genre first, and provide smart comparables second. In other words, you need to transcend just a simple statement of genre (literary, mystery, thriller, romance, science fiction, etc.) by identifying and relating your novel more specifically to each publisher's or agent's area of expertise, and you accomplish this by wisely comparing your novel to contemporary published novels they will most likely recognize and appreciate--and it usually doesn't take more than two good comps to make your point. Agents and publishing house editors always want to know the comps. There is more than one reason for this. First, it helps them understand your readership, and thus how to position your work for the market. Secondly, it demonstrates up front that you are a professional who understands your contemporary market, not just the classics. Very important! And finally, it serves as a tool to enable them to pitch your novel to the decision-makers in the business. Most likely you will need to research your comps. If you're not sure how to begin, go to Amazon.Com, type in the title of a novel you believe very similar to yours, choose it, then scroll down the page to see Amazon's list of "Readers Also Bought This" and begin your search that way. Keep in mind that before you begin, you should know enough about your own novel to make the comparison in the first place! By the way, beware of using comparables by overly popular and classic authors. If you compare your work to classic authors like H.G. Wells and Gabriel Marquez in the same breath you will risk being declared insane. If you compare your work to huge contemporary authors like Nick Hornby or Jodi Picoult or Nora Ephron or Dan Brown or J.K. Rowling, and so forth, you will not be laughed at, but you will also not be taken seriously since thousands of others compare their work to the same writers. Best to use two rising stars in your genre. If you can't do this, use only one classic or popular author and combine with a rising star. Choose carefully! FOURTH ASSIGNMENT: - Read this NWOE article on comparables then return here. - Develop two smart comparables for your novel. This is a good opportunity to immerse yourself in your chosen genre. Who compares to you? And why? ____________________________________________________ CORE WOUND AND THE PRIMARY CONFLICT Conflict, tension, complication, drama--all basically related, and all going a long way to keeping the reader's eyes fixated on your story. These days, serving up a big manuscript of quiet is a sure path to damnation. You need tension on the page (esp in fiction), at all times, and the best way to accomplish this is to create (or find them in your nonfiction story) conflict and complications in the plot and narrative. Consider "conflict" divided into three parts, all of which you should ideally have present. First, the primary conflict which drives through the core of the work from beginning to end and which zeniths with an important climax (falling action and denouement to follow). Next, secondary conflicts or complications which can take various social forms (anything from a vigorous love subplot to family issues to turmoil with fellow characters). Finally, those inner conflicts the major characters must endure and resolve. And now, onto the PRIMARY CONFLICT. If you've taken care to consider your story description and your hook line, you should be able to identify your main conflict(s). Let's look at some basic information regarding the history of conflict in storytelling: Conflict was first described in ancient Greek literature as the agon, or central contest in tragedy. According to Aristotle, in order to hold the interest, the hero must have a single conflict. The agon, or act of conflict, involves the protagonist (the "first fighter") and the antagonist (a more recent term), corresponding to the hero and villain. The outcome of the contest cannot be known in advance, and, according to later critics such as Plutarch, the hero's struggle should be ennobling. Is that always true these days? Not always, but let's move on. Even in contemporary, non-dramatic literature, critics have observed that the agon is the central unit of the plot. The easier it is for the protagonist to triumph, the less value there is in the drama. In internal and external conflict alike, the antagonist must act upon the protagonist and must seem at first to overmatch him or her. The above defines classic drama that creates conflict with real stakes. You see it everywhere, to one degree or another, from classic contemporary westerns like THE SAVAGE BREED to a time-tested novel as literary as THE GREAT GATSBY. And of course, you need to have conflict or complications in nonfiction also, in some form, or you have a story that is too quiet. For examples let's return to the story descriptions and create some HOOK LINES. Let's don't forget to consider the "core wound" of the protagonist. Please read this article at NWOE then return here. The Hand of Fatima by Ildefonso Falcones A young Moor torn between Islam and Christianity, scorned and tormented by both, struggles to bridge the two faiths by seeking common ground in the very nature of God. Summer's Sisters by Judy Blume After sharing a magical summer with a friend, a young woman must confront her friend's betrayal of her with the man she loved. The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud As an apprentice mage seeks revenge on an elder magician who humiliated him, he unleashes a powerful Djinn who joins the mage to confront a danger that threatens their entire world. Note that it is fairly easy to ascertain the stakes in each case above: a young woman's love and friendship, the entire world, and harmony between opposed religions. If you cannot make the stakes clear, the odds are you don't have any. Also, is the core wound obvious or implied? FIFTH ASSIGNMENT: write your own hook line (logline) with conflict and core wound following the format above. Though you may not have one now, keep in mind this is a great developmental tool. In other words, you best begin focusing on this if you're serious about commercial publication. ______________________________________________________ OTHER MATTERS OF CONFLICT: TWO MORE LEVELS Consider "conflict" divided into three parts, all of which you should ideally have present. First, the primary conflict which drives through the core of the work from beginning to end and which zeniths with an important climax (falling action and denouement to follow). Next, secondary conflicts or complications which can take various social forms (anything from a vigorous love subplot to family issues to turmoil with fellow characters). Finally, those inner conflicts the major characters must endure and resolve. You must note the inner personal conflicts elsewhere in this profile, but make certain to note any important interpersonal conflicts within this particular category." SIXTH ASSIGNMENT: sketch out the conditions for the inner conflict your protagonist will have. Why will they feel in turmoil? Conflicted? Anxious? Sketch out one hypothetical scenario in the story wherein this would be the case--consider the trigger and the reaction. Next, likewise sketch a hypothetical scenario for the "secondary conflict" involving the social environment. Will this involve family? Friends? Associates? What is the nature of it? ______________________________________________________ THE INCREDIBLE IMPORTANCE OF SETTING When considering your novel, whether taking place in a contemporary urban world or on a distant magical planet in Andromeda, you must first sketch the best overall setting and sub-settings for your story. Consider: the more unique and intriguing (or quirky) your setting, the more easily you're able to create energetic scenes, narrative, and overall story. A great setting maximizes opportunities for interesting characters, circumstances, and complications, and therefore makes your writing life so much easier. Imagination is truly your best friend when it comes to writing competitive fiction, and nothing provides a stronger foundation than a great setting. One of the best selling contemporary novels, THE HUNGER GAMES, is driven by the circumstances of the setting, and the characters are a product of that unique environment, the plot also. But even if you're not writing SF/F, the choice of setting is just as important, perhaps even more so. If you must place your upmarket story in a sleepy little town in Maine winter, then choose a setting within that town that maximizes opportunities for verve and conflict, for example, a bed and breakfast stocked to the ceiling with odd characters who combine to create comical, suspenseful, dangerous or difficult complications or subplot reversals that the bewildered and sympathetic protagonist must endure and resolve while he or she is perhaps engaged in a bigger plot line: restarting an old love affair, reuniting with a family member, starting a new business, etc. And don't forget that non-gratuitous sex goes a long way, especially for American readers. CONTINUE TO READ THIS ARTICLE THEN RETURN. FINAL ASSIGNMENT: sketch out your setting in detail. What makes it interesting enough, scene by scene, to allow for uniqueness and cinema in your narrative and story? Please don't simply repeat what you already have which may well be too quiet. You can change it. That's why you're here! Start now. Imagination is your best friend, and be aggressive with it. ________________________ Below are several links to part of an article or whole articles that we feel are the most valuable for memoir writers. We have reviewed these and agree 110%. MEMOIR WRITING - CHOOSE A SPECIFIC EVENT (good general primer) How to Write a Memoir That People Care About | NY Book Editors NYBOOKEDITORS.COM Are you thinking of writing a memoir but you're stuck? We've got the remedy. Check out our beginner's guide on writing an epic and engaging memoir. MEMOIR MUST INCLUDE TRANSCENDENCE Writing Memoir? Include Transcendence - Memoir coach and author Marion Roach MARIONROACH.COM MEMOIR REQUIRES TRANSCENDENCE. Something has to happen. Or shift. Someone has to change a little. Or grow. It’s the bare hack minimum of memoir. WRITE IT LIKE A NOVEL How to Write a Powerful Memoir in 5 Simple Steps JERRYJENKINS.COM When it comes to writing a memoir, there are 5 things you need to focus on. If you do, your powerful story will have the best chance of impacting others. MEMOIR ANECDOTES - HOW TO MAKE THEM SHINE How to Write an Anecdote That Makes Your Nonfiction Come Alive JERRYJENKINS.COM Knowing how to write an anecdote lets you utilize the power of story with your nonfiction and engage your reader from the first page.

Legend has it these were written on the back of a napkin for a friend, and man, was that a big napkin! Regardless, more helpful than Papa and yet perhaps not applicable to contemporary forms of genre fiction? Our Video-Film Crit Board experts shall weigh in on this matter of enduring importance and answer at last, "Does One Size Fit All?"

A well-meaning Hemingway fan checks off his primary writing "rules" and thus provides a future meal for the Algonkian Film and Video Crit Board. "Short sentences," eh Papa?... No, Papa! Don't punch me! Stop drinking! Yes, yes, Fitzgerald was stupid! Okay!

For starters... Let's place this in a context rarely mentioned elsewhere. At such time dialogue becomes difficult or perplexing for writers to produce, it's usually because they have failed on some level to create interesting characters in the first place, or because they do not properly understand the role of each relevant character in the scene (please stop and read this article now if you've not already done so), or both. To complicate further, the writer may not actually understand the role of the scene in the novel. Put these three conditions together and artful dialogue becomes impossible regardless of other factors. KEY CONCEPTS: screenplay emulation, dialogue as art, the LED, major functions of dialogue, delivery of exposition, dialogue arc, character style, tags and ellipses, provocations and disagreements, the foil character, dialogue samples. Initial Admonitions But let's assume the first three conditions above have been met. So where to go from here? First, a few admonitions for neophytes and middle-stagers: 1. Best not to attempt dialogue until you understand that dialogue is art, not real life. Art imitates life only insofar as necessary. In the world of art, characters say what they must and always make it clear. Unless you're obsessed with David Mamet's early work, strongly recommend not placing speech on the page that mimics actual human blathering (btw, on the subject of Mamet, strongly recommend a close reading of the brilliant Glengarry, Glen Ross). 2. Do not write novel dialogue without having first read, studied, and experimented with good screenplay dialogue. Download and read over screenplays relevant to your genre, then also watch the films, or at least a few scenes that correspond to the script. This is vital. In general, the best dialogue written these days can be found in screenplays or teleplays - not that great novel authors don't produce brilliant dialogue now and then, and we'll see a few below, but a classy smart screenplay is more likely to meet the goals for our purposes here. Later you can make useful comparisons between the two forms (you'll benefit hugely from this). 3. Don't fail to realize that screenplays teach us how to the say THE MOST with THE FEWEST words. This is also vital. Again, MOST with the FEWEST. Novel dialogue should always have a reason for existence, never be gratuitous, and never overstay its welcome on the page. 4. Refrain from drafting dialogue on the novel page until you have first drafted prototype dialogue in your literary experimentation document (LED). What do we mean? Quite simply, you maintain a separate word document for the purpose of fictional experiments conducted by you prior to insertion in the actual novel. Here you sketch a sample scene that includes chosen characters engaged in dialogue. First, create a good reason for them to converse in the context of the plot line and make certain to include elements noted below (i.e., conflict, exposition, etc.) Functions and Forms in Brief Dialogue's major functions succinctly stated as follows (examples below): Advance the plot line or core conflict ("We must intervene by noon tomorrow, or we wait three months.") Serve as characterization (see examples here) Create conflict or provocation (overt or implied) Engender suspense ("...and no one has ever gone inside and lived...") Create or support minor complications ("We have a problem, people.") Deliver exposition ("The wheeled city, driven by steam and 5,432 gears, grinds now towards Belgium.") To satisfy the above requirements, for example, dialogue may acquire the following forms: Expression of fear or apprehension over a circumstance or event ("Did you see that? By the gods, we're done!") Sexual mating play: posturing, advances, overt and covert ("Kiss me, you fool.") Arguments or disagreements of varying degree ignited by viewpoint disagreements or personality clash ("Hell is too good for you.") Provocative topics introduced or continued (Dr. Yen replied to the student, "The soul, even the personality… all a fraud. They really don't exist.") Critical for Both Screen and Novel Enter late, leave early. No different than novel plotting, best to begin dialogue in media res. What do we mean? From masterclass.com on the subject of writing sharp screenplay dialogue: "Small talk is prevalent in real life, but it can be dreadfully boring to watch two people chat about the weather and other pleasantries on screen. One way to rectify this is to enter the conversation as late as you possibly can. This technique can you help you write better dialogue by allowing you to skip the boring, introductory remarks and unnecessary follow-up questions and get straight to the heart of the scene." WE couldn't have said it better! Avoid dialogue that sounds stale. Dialogue can devolve into overly familiar patterns, as if you're imitating a bad television scene. Exorcise with extreme prejudice. Best to negate this possibility ahead of time via an energetic and unique setting populated by intriguing characters. When utilizing dialogue to deliver exposition, make certain it's accomplished at a time and in a place that makes sense relative to the story flow, i.e., delivered artfully rather than clumsily. See notes on exposition here for more details. Note classic expo delivery by Jordan Baker, Robert Cohn, and Harding. Refrain from inappropriate use of dialogue, especially irrelevant dialogue, by minor characters. From screencraft.org: "Every line of dialogue in the film has to matter and move the story and characters forward. Giving lines to characters "in the room" for the mere sake that they are in the room is a very common mistake that takes away from the rest of the dialogue that should be in the script. They are there to support the lead characters and the story. If what they are saying isn’t accomplishing that, it should be cut." Like characters and plot, dialogue also has a beginning, middle, and end - it's own arc, so to speak. Consider this carefully. What must be addressed and resolved? What must be introduced, but end with a mystery? From screencraft.org: "Each scene of dialogue has to build to a climax, each story act of dialogue has to build to a climax, and each screenplay’s dialogue has to build to that ultimate climax at the end." Insofar as possible, give the leading and major secondary characters their own dialogue style, e.g., Felonious Mack is a nervous petty criminal who hesitantly speaks with lines of clipped speech in contrast to the magnificent Jezzie Belle who presents herself as flamboyant and outgoing. Punctuation purists senselessly quibble over the use of em dashes (e.g., "You should close it and -") to signify speech interruption, and ellipses "..." to signify pauses, but only in the context of novel writing. Screenplay writers use both of these, as appropriate, and it works perfectly. Truly, it's unrealistic not to include artful pauses and interruptions in the course of dialogue. In summary, do what works, but wisely. Dialogue Samples from Novel and StageFrom Freaky Deaky by Elmore Leonard. A police Detective, Chris, is staying at his father's apartment after getting kicked out by his girlfriend. This initiates an understanding of the relationship between son and father, delivers a bit of exposition, and concerns a specific topic of interest relevant to the plot line. Leonard's tags ("said") are kept simple and sparse. Also, the dialogue obeys the rule of "enter late," i.e., it opens without preliminaries, just jumps right into the subject at hand. Chris as "a lot of trouble with women." His dad said, "You seem to have a lot of trouble with women. They keep throwing you out." "I do what she wants, she comes up with something else, I don't talk to her." "I don't know what it is," his dad said, "you're not a bad-looking guy. You could give a little more thought to your grooming. Get your hair trimmed, wear a white shirt now and then, see if that works. What kind of aftershave you use?" "I'm serious." "I know you are and I'm glad you came to me. When'd she throw you out, last night?" "She didn't throw me out, I left. I phoned, you weren't home, so I stayed at Jerry's." "When you needed me most," his dad said. "I'm sorry I wasn't here." "Actually," Chris said, "you get right down to it, Phyllis's the one does all the talking. She gives me banking facts about different kinds of annuities, fiduciary trusts, institutional liquid asset funds... I'm sitting here trying to stay awake, she's telling me about the exciting world of trust funds." "I had a feeling," his dad said, "you've given it some thought. You realize life goes on." "I'm not even sure what attracted me to her in the first place." His dad said, "You want me to tell you?" From Piper Robbin and the American Oz Maker by Warwick Gleeson. Piper Robbin is having a talk with her father in their Brooklyn apartment as they prepare to enjoy take-out and a movie. Note the difference in tone compared to the Leonard sample above, as well as the more vibrant energy that makes the Leonard characters seem almost flat in comparison (detective mystery vs. science fantasy genre). Note also the topics discussed are provocative and curious by their very nature. This passage establishes relationship between the two characters, allows the reader to experience their personalities, and parcels in necessary exposition. Narrative interjection is not overdone, just enough to render appropriate imagery relevant to the characters. Tags are simple, and we have a few em dashes and ellipses. And what else? A bit of friendly conflict between the father and daughter. "Impressive in a primitive way, mon amour précieux," Edison Godfellow said of Manhattan one night while using the remote control to locate a suitably ridiculous movie on ComFlix prior to consuming Ms. Song’s khor stew, "But like a mound of ants in comparison to London." Piper rolled her eyes. "Your old magical super city, eh?" "Yes, my own Oz," he said, followed by a whimsical smile. "I spent years planning each and every molecule." "But what does that matter now?" "Next to nothing," Edison said, verging on gloom. "And how much magic to erect those evil towers, Dad?" "Enough to solve the debt of Ireland." "And how many Englishmen did you piss off?" "Thousands, but they grinned once I created flying cars." Piper gave him the Bronx cheer. "Daughter, how is it you can behave so immaturely after more than twenty centuries?" "Dad, sometimes it's you who act like a child. Think of the good you could have done in the world with all that magic... And by the way, you've spouted off about London at least five times over the past week. Do you really need to rabbit-hole your shit?" "Psychoanalysis is a long dead pseudo-science, Piper, and you should know—" Enough was enough! She interrupted him with her signature snap: small white hands palm up above her mango head, arms elbows out and pushing high, her expression a big smiley face—all achieved in a quarter of a second. In reaction, his eyebrows pinched ever so slightly, as if feeling a surge of pain. "I loathe that silly snap thing," Edison said. "Must you further enhance your preposterous role as an American?" "I'm having fun, Dad, and for the first time since jazz was invented. Can’t you see?” "But your speech, the language you damage is not—" "Brooklyn talk is dumb good. Brooklyn is my muther-f’n music that talks to me." "Please, Piper... You attempted a farcical identity restart many years ago in Hawaii. It failed miserably." "That's only cause King Kamehameha got too thirsty for my butt. He ruined everything. I couldn’t let it go." "Recall that once you lived as Grand Sorceress of the Holy Roman Empire. You commanded every room you ever entered with power and magnificence. Magicians feared you. Kingdoms groveled before you." "Yeah, yeah, and I can return to those groveling moments whenever, but it all bores me, kinda like a plate of cold putz and cheese." "Putz and cheese?" From The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (the following dialogue creates suspense as it helps define the character Laura, and her relationship to her mother, Amanda; it also supports the major complication, i.e., the problem with the social environs) "Laura, where have you been going when you've gone out pretending that you were going to business college?" Amanda asked. "I've just been going out walking." That's not true." Amanda said. "It is. I just went walking." "Walking? Walking? In winter? Deliberately courting pneumonia in that light coat? Where did you walk to, Laura?" "All sorts of places—mostly in the park." "Even after you'd started catching that cold?" "It was the lesser of the two evils, Mother." "From half past seven till after five every day you mean to tell me you walked around in the park, because you wanted to make me think that you were still going to Rubicam's Business College?" "It wasn't as bad as it sounds. I went inside places to get warmed up." "Inside where?" "I went in the art museum and the bird houses at the Zoo. I visited the penguins every day. Sometimes I did without lunch and went to the movies. Lately, I've been spending most of my afternoons in the Jewel Box, that big glass house where they raise the tropical flowers." "You did all this to deceive me, just for deception?" "Mother, when you're disappointed, you get that awful suffering look on your face, like the picture of Jesus' mother in the museum!" From Private Contentment by Reynolds Price. A man and a woman stop beside a creek to rest and talk. Elements worth noting include the value in this context of clipped speech, the lack of tags due to both characters being clearly delineated (we know who is talking), the artful delivery of exposition (about the woman), the presence of tension between the two, and the role of the man as a foil character. In other words, he exists to manifest and reflect the qualities of the woman. "Let's don't stay here, please," she said. "Got homework to do?" "Latin, but that's not why." "Scared of Nazi bombers?" "I used to be. When the war first started, I thought every plane passing over at night had me in the bombsight. Now I doubt even Germans would want this place." "Seems nice to me." "It's better right down by the creek." "I could build a fire here—" "I said I couldn't stay here." "Lead the way, lady." "Don't make fun. This is where I was miserable." "What happened here?" She walks over and kneels beside the creek bank, dips her right hand into the water. "Is it cold? he said." "No, warm for some reason. You can sit down here." "Thank you. I'm tired." "I knew you'd complain." "I just told a simple truth." "I used to love it here." "You said you were miserable." "That's why I loved it. I came here and talked to what couldn't talk back: rocks, leaves, lizards, frogs." "What would you say?" "I'd ask for things—a life like everybody else." From Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. Who are we to tell James Joyce how to write, but a few of the tags and adverbs would probably be deleted by contemporary editors; however, the presence of these does nothing to dilute the intensity of the drama. Rather than lecture on the socio-political problems of Ireland, Joyce places his characters at a Christmas dinner table and let's them go at it. Mr. Dedalus is the provocateur of the conflict that ramps up to violent frequency. As a bonus, we are treated to historical exposition concerning Ireland. Also, note the added narrative interjection to match the dinner mechanics, as well as each distinctive personality and the dynamics that bring them to life: Dante, Mr. Casey, and Mr. Dedalus. "There's a tasty bit here we call the Pope's nose. If any lady or gentleman..." He held a piece of fowl up on the prong of the carving fork … "I'd better eat it myself because I'm not well in my health lately." He winked at Steven, and replacing the dish cover, began to eat. There was silence while he ate. Then he said: "Well now, the day kept up fine after all. There were plenty of strangers down too." Nobody spoke. He said again: "I think there were more strangers down than last Christmas." He said this then, receiving no reply, remarked bitterly: "Well, my Christmas dinner has been spoiled anyway." "There could be neither luck nor grace," Dante said, "in a house where there is no respect for the pastors of the church." Mr. Dedalus threw his knife and fork noisily on his plate. "Respect!" he shouted. "Is it for Billy with the lip or for the tub of guts up in Armagh. Respect!" "Princes of the Church," said Mr. Casey with slow scorn. "Lord Leitrim's coachmen, yes," said Mr. Dedalus. "They are the Lord's anointed, Dante said. "They are an honor to their country." "Tub of guts," said Mr. Dedalus coarsely. "He had a handsome face, mind you, in repose. You should see that fellow lapping up his bacon and cabbage on cold winter's day!" He twisted his features into a grimace of heavy bestiality and made a lapping noise with his lips. "Really, Simon," said Mrs. Dedalus, "you should not speak that way before Steven. It's not right." "Oh, he'll remember all this when he grows up!" exclaimed Dante hotly. "The language he heard against God and religion and priests in his own house." "Let him remember too," furiously cried Mr. Casey to her from across the table, "the language with which the priests and the priest's pawns broke Parnell's heart and hounded him into his grave. Let him remember that too when he grows up!" "Sons of bitches!" cried Mr. Dedalus. "When he was down they turned on him to betray him and rend him like rats in a sewer. Lowlived dogs! And they look it! By Christ, they look it!" "They behaved rightly," cried Dante. "Honor to them!" ________________________________[url={url}]View the full article[/url]

Novel Development Forums, Programs, and Content Archives Novel Writing and Editing - Concept to Query Platitudes, entitled amateurism, popular delusions, and erroneous information are all conspicuously absent from this collection of detailed novel writing guides and maxims. The goal is to provide you, the aspiring novel author, with the skills and knowledge it takes to realistically compete in the commercial book market of the 21st century. Begin the journey with Labors, Sins, and Six Acts that includes an overview and linkage to the best of AAC and Novel Writing on Edge. Keep in mind that all of it is critical and pretty much non-negotiable. This forum grouping also contains some of our favorite and most useful content archives collected over the years. "Bad Novel Writing Advice" is designed to assist writers in avoiding counterproductive "advice" from writer groups, amateur websites, and other bad sources. "Art and Life in Novel Writing" provides a balance of important advice from critical perspectives, and "The Short and Long of It" from our resident sage, Walter Cummins, delivers classic perspectives on novel writing that are often neglected. __________ Quiet Hands, Unicorn Mech, Video Critiques, and More Reviews, Commentary, and Plenty of Controversy Entertaining and extremely useful novel analysis in Audrey's Corner based on contemporary best sellers and popular books in a variety of genres; Writing With Quiet Hands: a novel writing advice column by legendary agent, Paula Munier; and Unicorn Mech Suit, a diverse collection of SFF interviews and insights. And don't neglect our most popular archive forum of all wherein our resident geniuses dissect and discuss novel writing videos from a number of sources--unquestionably worth a rant or two. Just ask Stephen King who hates plotting. __________ New York Write to Pitch and Algonkian Conference Forums New York Write to Pitch and Algonkian Perspectives A forum for New York Write to Pitch alums to post samples of their scenes and prose narrative for detailed critique based on AAC guidelines. Emphasis on choice of set, narrative cinema, quality of dialogue, metaphor, static and dynamic imagery, interior monologue, general clarity, tone, suspense devices, and routine line editing issues as well. The 16-Part "Algonkian Novel Writing Program" for editing or writing the genre novel in "six act" stages, as well as the Algonkian Writer Conferences forum, FAQ, and all other things related to Algonkian.

Below are elements that all would-be narrative fiction artists should consider, regardless of genre - prior to fingers touching the keyboard, and while the fingers are tapping. These elements should be used in this forum for helpful critique as well as writer editorial purposes. Keep in mind, that aside from the notes which follow, a great story premise with a strong plot and excellent characters will keep reader eyes on the page most effectively. All else is extra but necessary recipe - cliché but true. => For those about to post a sample of their prose narrative, this forum will serve you best if you post a three or four page scene taken from your opening pages. Make certain to include dialogue, preferably at least 30 lines. Note at the top of your post where this scene takes place in the context of the plot line, and the purpose it serves, for example: OPENING SCENE - Introduces antagonist, setting, tone, and a foreshadows the primary conflict. => However, if you wish to begin this process by posting a preliminary 500 words or so, feel free to do that. Again, it's preferable if these are your first five hundred. And please SINGLE SPACE. No one here is writing notes between the lines and no one on Earth reads double-spaced pages in published novels. NARRATIVE ENHANCEMENT CHECKLIST Don't Neglect Energizing Dialogue - Nothing like great dialogue to create a page turner, especially if the characters are important to the story, and to the reader. Make it crisp, snappy, and relevant. When in doubt, dose with conflict. Dialogue - Never a Gratuitous Word or Boring Moment WWW.NOVELWRITINGONEDGE.COM Utilization of Artful Hyperbole in Dialogue or Interior Monologue - Surreal descriptions, provocative statements, e.g., suggestion that an unusual or dangerous event might occur; and what about objects that manifest a fearful or mysterious quality? "The tips of her fingers are a funny orange, like the tip of a soldering iron." "You are at a nightclub talking to a woman with a lightning bolt on her nose." "A homeless child with crazy green eyes was threatening an old woman on the subway." "It's even worse than you expected." Matters of Scenes and Sets - Have you chosen in such a manner that verve and uniqueness are potentials by default? Are they capable of producing provocative or interesting imagery? Consider a single best setting for the most energetic scene. Settings Are 60% - Maximize Opportunity WWW.NOVELWRITINGONEDGE.COM Quality of Description - Nuances and Shimmers. What will be the most vital, provocative, or unique image in any given scene? Imagine it. Be aggressive. Consider proper similes and metaphors. Also, what is the best way to render vivid descriptions, whether static or dynamic? This an art form that many fiction writers fail to master. Again, keep in mind your choice of scene and set in the first place. Articles to read: Experiments in High Impact Narrative / A Great Damp Loaf of Description / Prose Narrative Enhancer Tool Quality of Narrative in General Brilliant Fiction Narrative in Four Stages WWW.NOVELWRITINGONEDGE.COM Ruminations and Imaginings - Does the point-of-view character abstract, comment, muse, daydream? And btw, what are the TRIGGERS for these states of mind? Allow the POV character to ask questions of themselves, to doubt, to rationalize. Is the character also flashbacking to the past, fantasizing a scenario that involves them, perhaps in the future? A sexual fantasy? A fantasy of revenge, a memory of a past love, a dream world? The "setting" of the mind can often inject verve on the page if the scene set is a bit quiet. The Power of Event - Is there a defining or powerful event taking place, one capable of having impact on all present? Has a building collapsed and blocked traffic? Is a fight or argument taking place nearby? A parade, a protest? Car accident? What makes sense for your time and place? Minor Complications - Miscellaneous things that trip and confound. The immediate energy of a good minor complication cannot be overstated when it comes to overall narrative verve. Classic Authors and Irritants of Minor Complication WWW.NOVELWRITINGONEDGE.COM Protagonist Sympathy Factors in the Hook - The below is a tangent to this topic, but an important tangent. Why? Because the elements above must be devoted, in part, to the early development of the protagonist. If you're going to be posting narrative samples from the beginning of the novel (which is most beneficial) then you must take this issue into consideration. Protagonist Sympathy Factors in the Hook WWW.NOVELWRITINGONEDGE.COM Novel Writing on Edge is a time-tested and trusted source for all genres on the topics of novel writing, development, editing, and publishing.

Here we have one of the darling fairy children of Reedsy teaching us how to just slap down that blank page and type out a marketable novel outline in no time flat! Miracle of miracles. I never knew it could be this easy!

What is the Purpose of Algonkian? To give writers in all genres a realistic chance at becoming published commercial or literary authors by providing them with the professional connections, feedback, advanced craft knowledge and savvy they need to succeed in today's extremely competitive market. What is Your Strategy for Getting Writers Published? - A model-and-context pedagogy that utilizes models of craft taken from great fiction authors and playwrights, thereby enabling the writer to pick and choose the most appropriate techniques for utilization in the context of their own work-in-progress. - Emphasis on providing pragmatic, evidence-based novel writing guidance rather than encouraging multiple "writer group" opinions and myths that might well confuse the aspiring author. - Our insistence that a writer's particular genre market must first be thoroughly understood and taken into consideration when it comes to the planning of the novel, and on every level from narrative hook to final plot point--thus clearly separating us from the MFA approach found at university programs like Iowa and Stanford. - Our conviction that you were not born to be a good or great author, but that you stand on the shoulders of great authors gone before. Their technique and craft are there for you to learn, and learn you must as an apprentice to your art. Every success you achieve is based on hard work and evolving your skills and knowledge base. - Our instructional and workshopping methods, as well as our pre-event novel writing guides and assignments which are the best in the business. How are Algonkian Events Unlike Many Other Workshops and Conferences? - More than sufficient time for productive and personal dialogues with faculty. No "speed" dating-like pitch sessions. - Critical MS and prose narrative critique provided by faculty only, not attendees (no MFA methodology). - Comprehensive 86-page novel-and-fiction study guide. - Extensive pitch prep before events with agents or publishers. - As noted above, unique and challenging pre-conference assignments that focus on all major novel elements. - An event focus on market-positioning, high-concept story premise, author platform, and competitive execution. - Emphasis on pragmatism and truth telling. No false flattering or avoidance of critical advice to spare the writer's feelings. Thin skins need to go somewhere else. - No tedious lectures, pointless keynotes, or bad advice. - Faculty chosen for wisdom as well as compassion - no snobs or bad attitudes. How to Know When My Novel is Ready for a Program or Event? When is it not? The novel-in-progress, even if only a concept, is ready to be examined and properly developed no matter the stage because the process always entails approaching story premise and execution in a manner that is productive. In truth, it's a process that should have begun as soon as the work was conceived. Therefore, the stage of the novel or number of years working on it is irrelevant. Any time is a good time to begin doing it correctly. Do you Have Success Stories? Comments, Careers, and Contracts Which Events or Programs to Attend First Novel Writing Program online and/or one of the workshop retreats followed by a New York prep seminar followed by the New York Pitch Conference OR the Novel Editorial Service (MTM) followed by New York prep seminar and New York Pitch, in that order. These are best case scenarios wherein money isn't tight. We will provide an overall discount of 26% on all events in either string if payment is made upfront for the entire grouping. Contact us for more information. What Genres do You Work With? Upscale and literary, memoir and narrative non-fiction, mystery/thriller and detective/cozy genres, urban fantasy, YA and adult fantasy, middle-grade, historical fiction, general fiction and women's fiction. Our agent and publisher faculty handle all genres. How Does Algonkian Differ From An MFA Approach? Algonkian emphasizes writing-to-get-published, creation in the context of heart, wit, and market knowledge. We teach writers to think pragmatically about the development of their ms while retaining their core values for the work. Our motto is "From the Heart, but Smart." College MFA programs do not prep a writer for the cold reality of the current publishing climate. Many of our most grateful writers are graduates of MFA programs. How do Writers Interact With Agents and Publishers? The model for the pitch is a "book jacket" the writer creates with the help of the workshop leader prior to the pitch session. The process is part of a longer evolution the writer begins even before arriving at the conference. Once the pitch is accomplished, the agent interacts with the writer in a Q&A session. The workshop leader then follows up with the writer to create a plan for publication, i.e., a step-by-step post-conference process the writer must undertake in order to stand a realistic chance of having his or her manuscript published. What is the "Pre-event Work" All About? Writers are given several different types of relevant assignments, story and pitch models, as well as a considerable amount of reading on the subject of advanced craft directly applicable to their work-in-progress. The idea is to prep the writer before the event so they can hit the deck running and share with us a common language. As a bonus, the pre-event work saves us from wasting time with extra handouts. Samples of the pre-event work, readings, and guides can be found here.

Like Kara, I also don’t write sex scenes. I tried once and failed spectacularly. After listening to Jenna Moreci’s advice I understand why! If you plan to write a sex scene, I wholeheartedly encourage you to watch this video. Jenna outlines ten tips to help writers with sex scenes and provides practical how-to advice. [MORE BELOW]

Delivered with a display of abstracted and theatrical gravitas, his speech staged itself in noble fashion, puttering out with proper pauses and plenty of sincere expression. I'm unclear as to what "honesty" actually meant in the context of reinventing his writing life, unless he meant that projecting himself into a first person narrator was an act of honesty? Overall though, I would not recommend this to anyone. Just not enough substance. Course, if you're a big Gaiman fan you might marvel at his lordship's demeanor and penchant for pithy pronouncement. - Michael

Her name is Meg LaTorre. Her self-published novel can be found here: The Cyborg Tinkerer (1) (The Curious Case of the Cyborg Circus): LaTorre, Meg: 9781734601800: Amazon.com: Books

Personally and overall, I found this vid by Sanderson to be the most useful and pragmatic of all the vids reviewed so far--precisely the kind of advice I would expect from a truly successful author. My takeaways as follows: The concept of "borrowing" or getting story ideas, entire structure, or themes from other books or films can't hurt and might actually lead to publication; but I maintain you step carefully. The concept may already be overdone, a stale trope. His advised method of transposing the "structure" of one type of genre novel onto another can be productive--reminiscent of Italian writers in the old days transposing Japanese samurai scripts into spaghetti westerns. Another good example is the transposing of BATTLE ROYALE into THE HUNGER GAMES (different genre? debatable). Helpful to note plot points and/or scenes that successful stories have in common. Concept of "interviewing" your character to learn about them, is a very good one. Ask them questions, get in their heads, role play. Asking what character wants and needs, and how they're different. Careful with choice of primary protagonist viewpoint. The story needs to be personal to the viewpoint character. Partitioning a novel into three basic part: PROMISE, PROGRESS, PAYOFF. Yes, very basic, but helpful for new writers. Finally, his idea for "mind priming" before you hit the paper is a good one, e.g., you consider the ways in which you can make an important scene very visual and thrilling, and you roll it around in your head like a lozenge under the tongue. You savor it and play with it.

SEE ALSO: NWOE Bad Novel Writing Advice - Beware and Serious? Novel Writing on Edge is dedicated to the art of novel writing and assisting you to become published by a major commercial imprint or well-regarded literary press. Platitudes, entitled amateurism, popular delusions, and poorly presented or erroneous information are all conspicuously absent from this website. As the official blog of Algonkian Writer Conferences, it's mission is to provide you, the aspiring novel or narrative non-fiction author, with the realistic skills and knowledge it takes to succeed in the difficult book market of the 21st century. We tell it straight up. It's not always easy or comforting, but neither is the great task of writing a novel. Many if not most of our readers are "second stage," i.e., they've passed through the fire and entered the epiphany light to realize their initial preconceptions about the novel writing process were in error. In this context, we exist to place the horse back in front of the cart (forgive the cliché). From the beginning, we refocus attention on one crucial question, and one that often and unbelievably goes unexplored: Are you writing a commercially viable novel in the first place? In other words, is the story reasonably high-concept, as well as in the process of being developed and written in the precise way publishing professionals demand? We are here to help you provide a realistic answer. When it comes to the task of providing professional guidance on matters of methodical novel development and competitive prose narrative, Novel Writing on Edge utilizes an effective "model and context" strategy which relies on portraying models of technique, structure, or craft sampled from the best authors (both classic and recent, genre and literary). The writer is thereby able to pick and choose from these models for the purpose of creating or enhancing their narrative, characters, scenes, sets, and other major story elements in the context of their own novel-in-progress. We all stand on the shoulders of great writers gone before. You will find here an array of articles and essays on novel writing and development that gel to form an effective start-to-finish guide. Contained in this forum are many samples from that guide. Scimus via. Michael Neff Edge Editor ______________________________ Novel Writing on Edge - Development Maxims and Master Class Narrative From Algonkian NOVELWRITINGONEDGE.COM Novel Writing on Edge is a time-tested and trusted source for all genres on the topics of novel writing, development, editing, and publishing.

First of all, you're welcome Elise! My reactions to this video are mixed. Yes, understand and "love" your characters so the plot won't feel dry. Sure thing! Not sure to what extent he means "characters have to be in control"... He really doesn't explain it. That sounds like a possible flight of ruinous pantsing fancy, but not necessarily. He should have clarified. As such, it's not helpful. Referring to bowel movements and chewing gum as a form of "writing" even when you're walking through the grocery store looking for prune juice and buying your tickets to Hoboken using your iPhone while thinking about that crossword puzzle that's stumping you sitting beside the open jar of blackberry jam you forgot to seal before driving to the store to look for prune juice... No wait. I'm confused. None of these things are "writing." Is he really high on espresso? Plan and/or sketch scenes in advance? Good advice!

Alexa Donne Author of Brightly Burning and The Stars We Steal, YA sci-fi romance retellings of classics set in space. __________ First of all, agree with Kara and company on the overall tone and delivery (it WAS hard to sit through!), but I had to add a few more notes as follows. 1. The initial draft of the first novel will be pretty bad, yes, however, she neglects to add that they don't have to be. Any writer with reasonable intelligence, well immersed in their genre, and willing to learn, is able to develop and write a novel ms first draft that could well be a damn good first draft, and even a better second. 2. Nothing is original? False. The "Hunger Games" idea was original when first conceived for BATTLE ROYALE. It ceased any claim to originality once recycled into "The Hunger Games," but prior to that it was original. All story ideas currently extant were once original at one time in the past. Classic examples? WAR OF THE WORLDS, THE TIME MACHINE, HEART OF DARKNESS, etc., etc. Regardless, having seen this video, do we now assign a cutoff date for the appearance of original work? Let's say, 1986? 1973? Did all new ideas come to a final end with the appearance of a Jane Austen vampire novel? Logic alone dictates that if a plateau of human civilization were reached that resulted in a pour of new story concepts, then why not another plateau, and another, and so on? Or why not a steady stream of new story ideas? The essence of the "high concept" story is a condition of originality sufficient enough to be commercially marketable. To choose a well known super classic, TERMINATOR was in this category when compared to the old BERSERKER novel series by Fred Saberhagen, but the big T added "the once and future war" and further rewrote the Saberhagen story in other ways, enough that it achieved the pinnacle of high concept and went on to be a smash hit with endless sequels. As for television, the GOTHAM story premise, taking us back to the origins of Batman villains in Gotham City when Commissioner Gordon was only a lieutenant, was indisputably brilliant. Of course, it played off sets and characters that already existed, however, it ingeniously baked them fresh in a premise pie that soared to high ratings. You cannot maintain with histrionic "get over it" vigor that story ideas can't evolve and add parts and come up with new spins and angles, sufficient to create what can be considered, to all intents and purposes, a NEW STORY IDEA. All one need do is go to Publisher's Marketplace and read over the high-concept hooks. I finally wish to add that for new writers, this video might well lead them to believe there is no such thing as a high concept story in the first place because, let's be frank, how can you square even the existence of a high concept story with what is being said here? You can't. 3. "No one will care." This feels more like the personality working out some issues rather than being a terribly relevant matter that requires the swing of an in-your-face hammer accompanied by a loving brow beating. Same with memoirs. Yes, they are a tough sell, but high-concept memoirs, with elements the publisher is searching for, can sell. The difficulty is finding one. As for the rest, real and debilitating "Writer's Block" does exist. Denying it won't help solve it. If a writer knows so little they get stuck on a particular scene, for example, the reasons for that are usually knowable and preventable. How many times have I seen writers who are miserably inept at their craft (due to false optimism and impatience) come to a screeching halt? The block isn't imaginary, it's the result of lack of knowledge, often lack of planning, and that happens all the time. Writer's Block is a sign you need to put the blank page aside and commit yourself to learning how to write and develop a novel in the first place. Once you've achieved a certain plateau, block will vanish like a bad memory. Her notes on the publishing industry, rejection, etc. do hit home. Overall though, would not recommend this video to an aspiring author without asking them to read our reviews first.

Very good points! And I agree with the balance. In this book he trashes plotting also.

For reference, this video personality's self-published book on Amazon: THE ELYSIAN PROPHECY by Vivian Reis - Copper Hound Press ___________________________________ 1. IDEA... "With proper planning, any idea can be worth pursuing." Unfortunately, this is far from realistic. "Any idea" means literally that "any idea" or story premise has an equal chance of succeeding in it's current genre market. First of all, we'd have to discard all those ideas that are stale and overdone. Richard Curtis covers this quite well in his Seven Sins of Novel Rejection (#6). This factor alone discounts a huge number of story ideas. I can testify to his testimony in this matter. Next, we have story ideas that are middle concept, i.e., they sound like pretty good stories, not terribly trope-heavy, but they're not sufficiently high concept, therefore run the risk of thudding when compared to stories that are truly high concept, and therefore, more marketable. The video personality here also fails to mention the necessity of immersing in one's genre and sufficiently comprehending it before daring to stew with story ideas. Failure to note this important fact might lead a new writer to believe that such a strategy isn't necessary. "Any idea can be made into a great story." This is a magnification of the initial comment, and now, "any idea" can transform into a "great story"? In whose viewpoint? The writer or the agent on the other side of the table who doesn't see it that way? Does "great story" mean a story that will sell? Or just a "great story" in the eyes of the author's writer group, or their parents? The personality goes on to state that a lot of work and planning will work it's magic to evolve, by inference, even a bad story idea into a "great story." Let's be hyperbolic about this for the sake of example. Writer X has a story idea that pretty much mimics The Hunger Games... Need I continue to elaborate? After twenty years of workshops, I know this isn't unrealistic, and what is far more realistic is the fact that the vast bulk of aspiring novel authors don't have marketable story ideas no matter how many years they've put into it. One cannot finesse a bad story idea into a sale no matter how much lipstick is applied. The video personality's commentary infers that low or high concept, it all comes out the same in the story wash. Just doesn't work that way. Never has. Never will. Anyone with lingering doubt need only join Publisher's Marketplace and examine the story hook lines noted in recent deals. ______ Pantsing vs. Outline I find the monologue that follows to be a bit slapdash on the subject of pantsing vs. outline, as if she doesn't wish to offend or challenge anyone's ongoing misconception. She fails to note that publishing house editors want a rising action series of plot points--not exactly easy to create if pantsing rules the novel from start to finish. As I've noted elsewhere, a certain amount of "pantsing" under certain conditions might be okay, but when it comes to efficiently plotting the whole novel in a manner desired by professionals, no... or not without a lot of rewriting (which then invalidates "pantsing" in the first place). Writing Yes, a good way to avoid writer's block in general is to brainstorm or sketch ahead of time what will be in the scene you're writing; however, I found elaboration on this section to be overly brief, as if she were on a time clock. Editing She infers that a writer seeking traditional publication can halt the ms editorial process sooner than a writer who is self-publishing? Did I hear that right?... It's so painful to imagine she actually said this. She also notes that one should not edit in the least when writing out the first draft. I disagree. It's a good idea at the end of the writing day to go back over your pages and line edit the obvious flubs. This will create a cleaner and more productive second draft. But yes, when actually in the process of banging words on the page, don't keep stopping and editing. I'll stop here. Where's my blood pressure medication? ______

A Chris Stewart Classic from "Novel Writing on Edge." I recently ran across an article in The Guardian, where authors were asked for their personal dos and don’ts. There was no indication of how or why certain writers were chosen and most of it is repetitious drivel, but let’s go through the first bunch and have some fun, and in my next post we’ll take on a sort of companion article in Salon, about readers’ advice to writers. Here we go, starting off positive, with an open mind: Big Yes! to Elmore Leonard’s rules about ‘said’ and adverbs. Been guilty of both transgressions myself. They just creep up on you and before you know it you are ‘gasping’ and ‘grumbling’ and ‘coaxing’ and, God Help Me, ‘trilling.’ Yes, I once used ‘trilling.’ You can’t hate me more than I hate myself for that one. I love Diana Athill’s idea of looking at passages you love with ‘a very beady eye.’ She says to check which passages would be better dead. Perfect lead in for a more updated version of Arthur Quiller-Couch’s ‘murder your darlings’ (it was Arthur Quiller-Couch, not Faulkner who said this, though Faulkner did change it to ‘kill your darlings') – which passages are Better Off Dead? Think of your unhappy reader chasing after you like that paper boy on a bike, wherever you go, night and day, screaming, “I want my $14.95! I want my $14.95!” Next! I’m sorry, but Margaret Atwood is just odd. I’m not a fan of her writing (I can hear you gasping with horror – Oh shut up; it’s a free country), I only liked The Handmaid’s Tale, but that’s not really relevant. What’s odd are her first few suggestions about taking pencils on a plane and how to sharpen them and a reminder to bring paper (DUH. For heaven’s sake, are we first graders here? We can handle the writing materials part, Margaret, make yourself useful!). She wastes 5 of her 10 with nonsense, and the last 5 don’t contribute much either. Rudimentary stuff. The only useful thing: “Writing is work. It's also gambling. You don't get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but ­essentially you're on your own. ­Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don't whine.” So I’ll stop whining about Margaret Atwood and move on to whining about Roddy Doyle, who seems to have a similar brain fog as Margaret, advising us to keep the online browsing to a minimum, use a thesaurus, and give in to temptation to do household chores once in a while. Wow, this is mind blowing stuff, isn’t it? These are almost patronizing suggestions for those of us who are looking for some meat on the bone. His useful bits, “Do feel anxiety – it's the job,” and “Do change your mind. Good ideas are often murdered by better ones.” What’s odd are her first few suggestions about taking pencils on a plane and how to sharpen them and a reminder to bring paper (DUH. For heaven’s sake, are we first graders here? We can handle the writing materials part, Margaret, make yourself useful!) If you haven’t given up on writing entirely and decided to go to medical school where at least you get to dissect dead people and SEE something, here we are at #5, Helen Dunmore. I’m sorry, who? I actually know who Helen is, but at this point I’m wondering if we’re ever going to hit a really heavy-hitting, popular, mainstream writer that most people know and would therefore listen to. We need some name recognition here. Not everyone reads Orange or Booker Prize winners. (By the way I did that for a few months and was not impressed. I had to quit after Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, which was wretchedly bad and is now being made into a movie! That book had more holes than a moth-eaten sweater.) Her advice starts off promising, “Finish the day’s writing when you still want to continue,” “Listen to what you have written” (for rhythm, because jagged places could be clues to what you don’t know yet), and “Read Keats’ letters” and then fizzles out into things like: read and rewrite, go for a walk, know that you can write and have a family, join a professional organization, and more of the same. Yawn. Geoff Dyer is next and his entry is a turn in a new direction – a turning of the top 10 pieces of advice into a flash fiction piece of such edge and wit that we’ll forget we wanted to read a list in the first place and just admire him instead. Every suggestion is couched in a personal story to show how clever he is. It was entertaining, I’ll admit. His best bit, “Have regrets. They are fuel. On the page they flare into desire.” Neil Gaiman stopped at 8 but should have stopped at one. His first one was, “Write.” Is that supposed to be funny? (Brief intermission: I think these writers should have had a word limit for each answer, and maybe some 'dont's' on how to give a good list so they didn’t get so deeply mired in the obvious suggestions that everyone and their grandmother can give you.) Anne Enright does a little better, and I like her tone. She seems very sensible and down to earth and wry. The kind of person you’d like to have in your critique group. She would bring booze and brownies. How can you not like someone who says right off the bat, “The first 12 years are the worst”? I wouldn’t say her advice is earth-shattering, but there is a recognizable kernel of truth and feeling behind each one. I will forgive her #9 (“have fun”) for #10, which is rather inspiring, “Remember, if you sit at your desk for 15 or 20 years, every day, not ­counting weekends, it changes you. It just does. It may not improve your temper, but it fixes something else. It makes you more free.” Do you hear that? Weekends off everybody! Richard Ford’s list is more the kind of quote a reporter would get from someone if they caught him coming unawares out of the men’s room. It’s full of don’ts. It’s usually better to tell writers what to do than NOT do. Don’ts are easier to think of, and if you’re on the receiving end, checking them off in your head because you’re guilty of them, you pretty much lose the will to live, let alone write a book. Dos are harder to come up with and make people feel more empowered. His best, “Try to think of others' good luck as encouragement to yourself.” That’s a toughie, but it’s true. Neil Gaiman stopped at 8 but should have stopped at one. His first one was, “Write.” Is that supposed to be funny? Or is Neil giving us The Zen of Writing Lists of Advice to Writers? I will forgive her #9 (“have fun”) for #10, which is rather inspiring, “Remember, if you sit at your desk for 15 or 20 years, every day, not ­counting weekends, it changes you. David Hare. PD James. Al Kennedy. No comment. In the immortal words of a Monty Python sketch, I’d be deliberately wasting your time. Hey, they should have asked John Cleese or Terry Gilliam! Al Kennedy does give us something that I would suggest applying to these lists, "Older, more experienced/more convincing writers may offer rules and varieties of advice. Consider what they say. However, don't automatically give them charge of your brain, or anything else; they might be bitter, twisted, burned-out, manipulative, or just not very like you." I doubt that these are truly the rules by which these writers live. Maybe some of the ideas, but there’s a certain self-consciousness to writing a list like this. In compiling it, you’re not thinking of yourself only, you’re thinking of all the hungry writers who are going to print out your list and carry it around in their wallets, pulling it out on the dark nights of the writer’s soul (of which there are many) in order to cheer them, like The Little Match Girl with her matches. And we know what happened to her, now don’t we? Who wants to be responsible for that? So, no, I won’t be giving you my list. Read the article here: Advice to Writers Chris Stewart is program director for literary arts for the state Arts Council in Maryland.

Isabelle Allende says writing technique, e.g. suspense, cannot be taught. The faculty at Algonkian say NONSENSE. Is Isabelle wrong? Or does she know something we don't? Actually, she doesn't. I realize we're supposed to bow down before her god-ness... only just can't do it. She's a great writer, sure, no question, but that doesn't mean she's intellectually infallible. Unfortunately, her viewpoint isn't unique. But who does it serve? Quite suddenly, we find ourselves face down and gasping for air in the dank pond of Iowa mantra: WRITING CANNOT BE TAUGHT. If Iowa's mantra possessed any substance whatsoever, then why does it always take so many years for a novel author to hone their editorial skills, technique, and knowledge base, if not for the fact that they're teaching themselves and/or being taught? Apparently, writing is BEING TAUGHT quite often, and I might add, ALL OVER THE WORLD. Perhaps Isabelle and Iowa cannot communicate craft nuances to writers or engage them in a manner that is sufficiently instructive. But that does not mean the task is impossible because *they* can't or won't do it.

DISCLAIMER: if you believe you are part of a fruitful writer group, Godspeed you. Most likely you are not, but it's a social distraction at least. Regardless, please consider the information below as being useful for reality checking your situation both now and in the future. If any of this rings true for you, you are advised to beware, especially if you are serious about writing a publishable novel. "Traditional critique groups are looking at a work the size of a skyscraper with a magnifying glass. They lack the perceptual distance to see flaws." Before we read my own dark, embittered opinion (just kidding) on the many downsides to writer groups, let's watch a video, then include a few reviews on this topic. Reviews of Sites Discussing Writer Groups - Inherent Fallacies A writer site which shall remain anonymous due to the fact I utterly disagree with their criteria for judging any given writer group as beneficial, shall now be examined. According to them, the following five "qualities" must exist in order to judge any particular writer group helpful. As I note each category, I will also ( .. ) the fallacies inherent in each: 1. Constructive Feedback (Amateur writers by definition cannot possibly know, under most circumstances, whether or not any advice concerning any element of their writing or story is valid in the first place. The chances of the advice being counterproductive are high, especially when a groupthink circumstance takes place. Also, studies prove that humans are far more likely to accept "critique" when it flatters them or corroborates what they wish to believe about themselves or their creations.) 2. Positivity (What does this really mean anyway? At what point does advice become "negative"? Who decides? What are the group politics that define this term? Hearing the productive truth should set the bar, not what sounds or appears to be arbitrarily "positive." I can just hear one of the more erudite group members saying, "Now, Amelia, that's really not a positive way to look at Dan's work, is it?") Overall though, between being "positive" and wallowing in "chemistry," the writer group has beached itself on the Hopeless Coast. 3. Big and Small Picture Comments (Let's go back to number one above. The same logic holds. Additionally, the very act of dichotomizing the interweaving complexities of novel development into "big and small picture" is itself maddeningly arbitrary and functionally useless.) 4. Thick Skin (Yes, by all means, we know this subject well. Avoid narcissist contamination by all means necessary. Still, thick skin presence does nothing to balance out the risks and downsides.) 5. Chemistry (I understand what the author of this review of writer groups means, however, "chemistry" is yet another way of creating more risk. The more chummy the group, the less likely as a whole they will be to deliver that one "negative" comment (presuming it is also correct) once every few months that might actually do a bit of good. Overall though, between being "positive" and wallowing in "chemistry" the writer group has beached itself on the Hopeless Coast.) Review Number Two - The Slow Boiling Frog Effect This piece consists of a writer group review by a writer who seems to have plenty of experience with such groups. He loves Facebook as a source for finding groups. He goes on to name four different kinds of destructive writer group personalities (see our BAD EGG list below); however, his overall vision of writer groups is one of helpfulness and community. He fails to recognize the inherent shortcomings and risks in receiving potentially damaging advice when it comes to novel development and writing. My viewpoint on this is adequately expressed in the five points above. I know this fellow means well, but his viewpoint is almost childlike. He will Pied Piper others into sanguinely tailing along with a writer group on Facebook, or wherever, until one day they either wake up or cross the line into seeing the group as an end in itself. At least the slow-boiling frog effect will comfort them. Review Number Three - No Escaping Rank Beginners I love the title of this one on Quora.Com: "How to find a creative writing group which isn't full of painfully bad writers?" Brooke McIntyre, Founder of Inked Voices, leads off by providing generic and maternal guidance on finding writer groups. Other members of Quora follow suit. None are critical of the writer group concept in the first place. They all seem to hold the belief that the significant risks the aspiring author faces in the midst of amateur group dynamics swirling with ill-formed opinions just don't exist, or at least not enough to matter. They all seem to hold the belief that the significant risks the aspiring author faces in the midst of amateur group dynamics swirling with ill-formed opinions just don't exist, or at least not enough to matter. They recommend writing classes with competent instructors. Nothing wrong there, however, they fail to provide any kind of real litmus test for choosing one group over another other than to note being in one with similar genre interests might be helpful. But what about the credentials of people in the group? Publications? Reputations? The odds of hearing a bit of useful advice are increased in proportion to the quality of the members, especially if they're professionals (but how rare is that?). Unfortunately, the overwhelming mass of writer groups in their thousands, meeting at homes and in coffee houses all over the country, are filled with rank beginners (btw, who can still qualify as beginners after ten or more years). God bless them, they don't know what they don't know. The Author's Review For many years I've realized the futility of obtaining useful and project-evolving advice from the average writer group. In consideration of this epiphany, I recommend that writers limit any given writer group to a critique of prose narrative, and seek response in defined categories (e.g., clarity, imagery, dialogue, originality, pacing). Assuming the group members as a whole are reasonably intelligent, non-axe grinding, non-narcissistic, non-mentally ill people (and don't include the SIX BAD EGG TYPES below) as well as avid readers of your specific genre, they should, in theory, be able to provide a measure of helpful feedback to you regarding your narrative. Regardless, you must look for commonalities, and not take everything at face value. At some future point, a dedicated novel writer should seek advice from a professional. Why? Because the professional can provide nuanced advice on proper narrative composition, openings, novel hooks, etc. that are beyond the reach of the standard writer group. Substantially better advice comes from successful acquisition editors or literary agents who have been in the business for many years. Their ability, honed by experience in the ms submission trenches, and via immersing in their chosen genres, outweighs the opinions of of even published authors who can only speak from a limited frame of reference. In a recent Algonkian workshop, for example, an invited author recommended to one of the attendees that she start her novel in a car. Unknown to the author, this was terrible advice. Yes, terrible. Each year, thousands of new writers start their novels in cars. It's a running joke with agents, and I can't think of a better way to get an instant rejection than by starting a novel in a car. Even more ridiculous circumstances are created by money hungry colleges that match academic-trained literary authors as instructors with student genre writers. In a recent Algonkian workshop, for example, an invited author recommended to one of the attendees that she start her novel in a car. Unknown to the author, this was terrible advice. Yes, terrible. A good example of this is the Stanford Online Certificate Program ($7000+ for six courses). Not only will the writers get highly questionable advice from non-professional instructors not in their genre, but they will pay through the nose for the privilege (while also receiving online "critique" from a group of non-professional writers, many or most of whom are also not in their genre). From "Why Critique Groups MUST DIE": Also, editing is best done on a keyboard, or with a red pen. Not out loud in a social group, where peer pressure and weird dynamics can screw up a draft in two seconds flat. YOU MAY NOT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "HELP" AND REAL HELP. Consider. Would you try to build a livable and quite stylish home on your own without an architect and a professional home builder simply because you had the ability to hammer a few boards together with nails? Of course not. You would acquire the expertise and skills before you began. And yet, new writers approach the creation of a thing equally or more complex, such as the writing of a competitive commercial novel, in the belief they can do so because they have a story idea, can type words on a page, and have read a few magazines about writing. They consult with other new writers as ignorant as themselves and proceed to build a house called a novel, but one that will not risk their lives because fortunately for them, it is all on paper. Below are select and important views on writer groups culled from around the web. Naturally, we have chosen to keep the writers anon, cause it's safer for them. I found myself reviewing all the reasons why I hate writing groups (screenwriting or otherwise). In a nutshell, I find them to be anything but helpful to writers. Most of the participants are bad writers to begin with and have no real experience or expertise to offer other writers. Members typically are unpublished or unproduced, unschooled in screenwriting craft themselves (that’s why they’re in a group), and they almost never know how to give constructive criticism (i.e., “make the Mercedes a pickup truck”). Input from group members usually falls into three categories: empty praise, vicious critiques, or banal suggestions. I also find that, over time, familiarity within the group between members begins to undermine any real advice that might be offered, as cliques form... _________ I know I’m not in the majority when I recommend that you get involved with a writers’ group. Dean Koontz apparently loathes them, Harlan Ellison despises them, and I’ve read advice from dozens of other pros whose work I love and whose opinions I value who say writers’ groups will do everything from steal your soul to cause your writing to break out in pox. Nonetheless, I strongly recommend that you get involved with a good writers’ group when you’re getting started. I credit what I learned from my early groups (plus enormous amounts of hard work and persistence) with leading me to publication... _________ I’m also uncomfortable with the group-think I’ve seen develop whereby one person says, “This really isn’t a mystery. You should recast it as a mainstream novel.” And pretty much everyone else keeps making the same criticism, adding their own twist on it, even though you know in your gut that they are absolutely wrong. Yet the pile up continues and you start to doubt yourself. Then afterwards when you ask one of them about it, the person will say, “Oh, well, I didn’t really think that. Not really. I mean it might help, but I doubt it. You probably just need to make it more of a psychological mystery, you know?” _________ Once a week reading fifteen pages only cleans up shoddy prose. Traditional critique groups are looking at a work the size of a skyscraper with a magnifying glass. They lack the perceptual distance to see flaws. A novel can have perfect prose page to page and yet have catastrophic faults. In fact, I would venture to say that most writers are not rejected due to prose, but rather, they meet the slush pile because of tragic errors in structure. Traditional critique groups can tell you nothing about turning points or whether a scene fits properly. They lack the context to be able to discern if our hero has progressed sufficiently along his character arc by the mid-point of Act 2. They have zero ability to properly critique pacing, since pacing can only be judged in larger context... _________ I know two writers who stopped writing for years because critique groups convinced them they do not nor ever had “what it takes” (though the one of them who’s resumed writing has more what it takes than I do.) I’ve known a half a dozen writers who became obsessed with whatever the particular bugga boo of their group was, like “Don’t mix latinate and anglo-saxon words” to the marked detriment of their prose. I know writers who continue writing stuff that obviously will never sell, not because it’s what they want to do, but because their group has convinced them anything else is selling out. In fact, I’ve known more harm than good caused by writers’ groups... THE BAD EGG TYPES (from Ebooks4Writers.com) Beware these types of writer group beings. Bad Egg 1: The “expert”. Often this person joins a group that they perceive as “amateurs” and get their satisfaction from tearing everyone else’s work to shreds. They seem to have met plenty of editors and agents, and know intimate details of what they’re looking for – never what you’re writing though. When you pin them down, usually they either don’t write at all, or write badly and have never been published (or not anywhere that counts). Bad Egg 2: The “mouse”. She or he sits quietly, smiles, makes the coffee, brings cake. Is always working on something too big to bring for critiquing right now. And is way too polite to actually comment constructively on anyone else’s work. You’d almost forget they were there … except they are and you wonder why. Bad Egg 3: The “boss”. This is the person who wants the group to take minutes, to form a “society” of some kind, to have a timer so no one gets a second more than their allotted time. Oh, and s/he decides how much time you’ll get, with his/her calculator. The group ends up spending so much time on official trivia that critiquing falls by the wayside. Bad Egg 4: The “needy one”. This person means well, but their need for reassurance and encouragement leads to everyone in the group feeling like they can no longer give honest critiques. And that tends to leak outwards so that critiques generally become softer, less realistic and less helpful. Bad Egg 5: The “defender”. Even if your group has a rule (a common rule, by the way) that the person whose work is being critiqued is not allowed to respond until the end, this person will argue and defend every comment you make. They always have to explain why their character acts that way, or says those words, or what that gaping plot hole is for. This can lead to some awful scenes all round! Bad Egg 6: The “mentally ill”. Sadly, occasionally you will see this person in a writing group. When they are honest about their condition, it’s usually fine and the group can help. But often they refuse to acknowledge they have a problem, and can blow a writing group apart with their behaviour. I’ve experienced this personally, and we were lucky to save our group (and had to ask the person to leave).

Excellent points! You really nailed it though with the character backstory observation.

One last thing, if every early stage novel writer possessed the time-honed story instincts of Stephen King, a bit more pantsing might be in order, however, they do not.

I still maintain the whole pantsing thing started with Jack Kerouac's publicity stunt for ON THE ROAD. Dramatically speaking, you cannot have a protagonist or an antagonist without a plot, because outside of that context, they don't exist. You can't work from a high-concept premise without a plot. Plot evolves from the concept naturally OR IT'S NOT A STORY CONCEPT. The very basics of genre novel storytelling are PLOT BASED, naturally with a slew of characters interweaving and helping to define and push it forward. When you pitch, you don't pitch character traits, you pitch plot including the inciting incident and first plot point at a minimum. King novels have PLOT, no question. So he throws characters in bowl and plays pantsing games with them for a few days (or so he says, though his MISERY reflection totally contradicts that) or whatever, then a story emerges, BUT that story has a plot! It's inevitable, or there is no story. Personally, I think he gets the bulk of his story ideas from various sources, as he did with MISERY, but I'm sure it's a mixed bag. Whatever suits him at the time. But he can't maintain with any degree of validity that authors can't acquire great story ideas ahead of time, by whatever means, and work from there to flesh out the plot to conclusion. He already admitted he did just that with MISERY. Even novel writers with advance outlines, in one form or another, realize fluidity as the story moves forward due to the characters coming alive on the page. But a plot plan equals GOALS. Again, if the goal is to retake the mining station on Ceres, a side trip to the slave moons of Jupiter for no good reason (or that would be PLOT) just because X character decided it was a good idea, might not work so well for the story as a whole. A writer must keep their vision on the overall premise and the time-tested best storytelling ways to get there. This will prevent arbitrary character coups on the page that throw the story out of kilter and lead to rejection slips.

https://stephenking.com/works/novel/misery.html In his own words: "The inspiration for Misery was a short story by Evelyn Waugh called "The Man Who Loved Dickens." It came to me as I dozed off while on a New York-to-London Concorde flight. Waugh's short story was about a man in South America held prisoner by a chief who falls in love with the stories of Charles Dickens and makes the man read them to him. I wondered what it would be like if Dickens himself was held captive." This clearly demonstrates a plot line and characters planned in advance and executed according to that plan. MISERY was a huge book and movie deal for King. He now officially joins the club of authors who plot and plan their novels - at least to a certain degree, enough to create a best selling novel. This doesn't mean he didn't vary his approach with other novels, but it contradicts his later claims of never plotting. It's just not true and here is the proof. Realistically though, with a great story concept like this, why not do whatever maximizes the chances of writing a great novel.