Pass-along Descriptions: Anger

You know it's coming. Your characters face off. Tension builds. Hackles rise. Then comes the emotional explosion.

How would you describe what they do and what they think?

This is round two of pass-along mental and physical descriptions. If you missed the previous one on SUPRISE, visit:
http://thescribblerscove.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-12-29T18%3A53%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7

Any descriptions listed here are open for any and all to use in their work. The purpose is to have a resource of new imagery ideas for those times you're writing at 3:00 a.m. and your brain simply can't find the words.

Okay, okay. You can use them at other times, too.

Have fun and thanks for contributing!

When querying, focus on what is in your control

by Chersti Nieveen 

So for the last six months, I've been querying. There have been highs and there have been lows, but I have come to realize one thing.

Make sure you have the right focus.

So what does that mean? Well . . . you can make it your goal to (a) become a NY Times best-selling author on your FIRST novel (b) have 50 agents not only request to see fulls, but offer representation (c) get a FREAKING HUGE advance that blows not only your socks off, but your neighbor's socks off as well (d) all of the above

We all wish, right?

But think about those goals -- are any of those things in your control? Not really. So let's look at some more realistic goals.

[1] Write the best book you can possibly write. Then let it sit for a month, and go back and make that book even better.

[2] Attend writing conferences, read books about writing, and work with other writers to learn more about what you can do better.

[3] Make every sentence better. Make the prose in your book so masterful that people want to read it out loud.

[4] Think you have a great beginning? Experiment with something new -- something that might work better. [See more specifics on that challenge here]

Notice how all those goals had one thing: focusing on your craft. Let's repeat that. FOCUS on making your writing better today than it was yesterday. Make each sentence not only shine, but make each book a legacy of how you grew to become a better writer. And never end your personal quest to shine.

Becoming a better writer has become my goal for 2011. What's yours? 

Open Auditions

posted by Rebecca J. Carlson

I signed up to audition for a musical.

It was a crazy thing to do. I haven't been in a show since high school. Still, I've always wanted to be in community theater and this is the first time the opportunity came up. Besides, if I signed up, I knew I would get a few short seconds to read lines, sing, and dance on a stage. In front of lots of college students. Including some of my algebra students.Yeah, we'll see if they ever let me live it down.

I enjoyed my audition, even if no one else did. But what I enjoyed most was listening to all the other auditions. So much talent! So many of those kids were good enough for lead roles. And each one had their own unique take on the characters. I'm glad I wasn't the one who had to pick.

But still, among all those that were good enough, I saw a very few that made the characters come alive in a way I couldn't explain, or whose singing filled the auditorium with golden sound, or whose dancing was an absolute joy to watch. It wasn't hard to tell who had put in the time to train themselves for excellence in music dance theater.

That would not be me. I did not make call-backs. My preparation, which consisted mostly of sitting in the audience of a lot of musicals and wishing I was on the stage, did not cut it. If I really wanted to, I could find a vocal coach, sign up for ballet lessons, and take an acting class. If I put in the time and money, someday I might have a better chance. But it would still only be a chance.

There's not a whole lot of room on the stage.

Four years ago, I submitted my first manuscript to nine literary agents. My one request for a partial quickly turned into a rejection. No surprise that I didn't make call-backs. Up until that point, my preparation had consisted of reading a lot of books and wishing I could write one. Wishing isn't the right word. It was more an all-consuming, burning, ravenous desire. So I couldn't say, "oh well, that was fun. I'll go find another hobby," and still live with myself. Instead, I decided I needed to train for excellence.

I joined a critique group. I read books on writing. I went to a writer's workshop and came home feeling like I'd been re-born. And all the while I wrote, practicing my craft for hours nearly every day. Now, three workshops and a couple of manuscripts later, I think I finally have a chance. But it's still only a chance.

There's not a whole lot of room on the shelf.

I know that. But now I'm consistently making call-backs. That's progress. And someday, one of my books might "light up the stage" for a literary agent, an editor, and then a whole lot of happy readers.

And that's why I'm still in the game. That's why I'm going to keep coming to "author auditions."

Break a leg, everyone!

Turtle Girl

Hello everyone!

I went into hiding the first week into December from Cyberworld (but for my e-mail).

I apologize for my escapade.

I've been rethinking my networking v. writing ratio. It seems that networking is taking on the winning lead and my writing has been frowning from poor sportsmanship.

*SIGH*

Funny, but Deirdra Coppel, a dear friend of mine, says that networking is GREAT, but how can I promote my book if he's in poor condition? He's not ready for agenting!

Where do you stand in your networking versus writing ratios as of now?

What I Learned about Writing Novels from a Book on Screenwriting

Robert McKee's book Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting is amazing. I am literally in awe of McKee's wisdom about crafting stories. I can't recommend this book strongly enough - it has changed the way I think about storytelling.

You should reading all 418 pages cover to cover, because there is something to learn on virtually every page.

McKee had me from the first paragraph:

A rule says, "You must do it this way." A principle says, "This works ... and has through all remembered time." The difference is crucial. Your work needn't be modeled after the "well-made" play; rather, it must be well made within the principles that shape our art. Anxious, inexperienced writers obey rules. Rebellious, unschooled writers break rules. Artists master the form.

Throughout Story, McKee uses screenwriting terminology, but refers often to the commonalities between novels and screenplays. They intersect as different forms of accomplishing the same thing: telling a story. The story is something apart and different from the form (screenplay, novel, play, film, ancient rock carvings).

For just as glass is a medium for air, air a medium for sound, language is only a medium, one of many, in fact, for storytelling. Something far more profound than mere words beats at the heart of a story.

Story is key - McKee's emphasis is on understanding story first, then translating that to form.

Master storytellers know how to squeeze life out of the least of things, while poor storytellers reduce the profound to the banal. Story talent is primary, literary talent secondary but essential. This principle is absolute in film and television, and truer for stage and page than most playwrights and novelists wish to admit. Rare as story talent is, you must have some or you wouldn't be itching to write. Your task to is to wring from it all possible creativity. Only by using everything and anything you know about the craft of storytelling can you make your talent forge story.

McKee talks about the elements of story structure, down to the smallest beat of a scene, up to the largest sweeps of thematic imagery. He describes how structure is inextricably bound with setting, genre, and character. He lays out a plan to build story structure, from the inciting incident (and how to place that in your story) to the rhythm of each act, to the ultimate climax of the story. When McKee describes Crisis, Climax, and Resolution, for the first time I truly understood what these terms mean and how to craft a story that delivers a satisfying ending.

After talking about all the elements of a story, how to build those elements into a solid story structure, and how to attack common problems like developing dimensional characters and crafting compelling conflict, McKee finally talks PROCESS.

PROCESS is the reason I originally decided to read this book (also it was recommended by a writer I respect, which I've found is the surest way to find the gems). I wanted to do a better job of plotting my next novel, partly because I could sense some of the weaknesses of the stories I had written, but didn't have the tools to fix them.

McKee not only provided the tools, but he gives step-by-step instructions on how to use them. The method is deceptively simple: craft your story first; then begin to write. But there is much that goes into crafting, before the writing begins. This, according to McKee, is not only a speedier process, but also produces the best story. Essentially, he is a hyper-plotter who reserves the pantsing for when the story structure is already in place. This process may not work for everyone, but he makes a very compelling case for it.

He's sold me on trying this method for my next novel, but what of the stories I have already pantsed my way through? Just because I already have a strong intuitive grasp of storytelling doesn't mean that these stories cannot be improved (far from it). Writing intuitively can take you far, but having the tools to write intentionally will take you farther.

That is how an artist masters the form.

I'm excited to use the shiny new tools in my writer's toolbox - I'll let you know how it goes after the hammering is done.

Non-responders, how do you record them?

Like Rebecca, I took a break from submissions over the holidays, and have just now gone back to my files to look at what pieces are where. I've got a ton of non-response entries, and I've noticed they've become more and more common as time goes on. I define a non-responder as someone who doesn't reply within the time they say they will, or who doesn't reply within six months for a short story or query. Though I have gotten responses up to two years after I wrote the person off as a non-responder.

Now if it's a short story market or someone who wanted to review something exclusively, I always chase those. I write a follow up email or letter, and if I still get no response, I send another communication to withdraw the piece from their market so that I can resume submitting. If it's an email query, which more and more agencies prefer, I assume that no response is a rejection because they no doubt get a million queries a month and just can't respond to all of them.

What do you do with the snail mail queries, in which you enclosed an SASE? I haven't been chasing these down, though perhaps I should. I only bother when the person says that I should in their guidelines. Those of you who have chased these, which method did you use? Another snail mail? Email?

My records are getting rather full of non-responders!

Query Update

 posted by Rebecca J. Carlson

I sent my last batch of queries out about eight weeks ago, then took a break for the holidays. Thought I'd collected all the full manuscript requests I was going to get, but lo and behold, one of the agents I queried passed my query on to another agent! If someone says "very interested in reading the full manuscript" that's probably a good sign, right?

As for my querying strategy, I mentioned before that I had three categories of agents. Top sellers (while I'm dreaming), recent sellers in my genre, and personal recommendations from other writers. So how did that play out? One hundred percent of my full manuscript requests came from agents in my recent sellers category. So that means, if you want to find an agent, go look for someone who sells what you write.

I think I knew that.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! KEEP WRITING, EVERYONE!