Writing Better Part 3

USING WRITER’S BLOCK

Often, writer’s block is the mind’s way of telling you you’re doing something wrong with the story. Figuring out what is only the first step toward correcting it.

(The article - and my notes - goes on to suggest that a change of scenery (writing at the library rather than at home, for example) or learning a new skill will bring the change in perspective that will allow you to work through your block. I have also heard it suggested that re-writing - from memory - the last scene or chapter you wrote, or writing down everything you know about the character in the scene (ROMANCING YOUR CHARACTERS), will free you of writer’s block. That may or may not work for you. It doesn’t work for me.

I like to think of starting a story as being like putting your characters on a ¼ mile drag strip… there’s only one way out, and that’s to finish the story. In my personal experience, writer’s block is most often caused by the writer trying to get the story to leave the strip before it reaches the finish line. Anyone who has seen a drag race knows what happens to a car that tries to leave the course anywhere but through the end - it hits the wall, and usually explodes. My advice? Stop trying to make your characters go where you want and let them finish the race.)

 

POINT OF VIEW

CHOOSING A POINT OF VIEW

Six quick tips:

01) Use first person when the language is unique;

02) Use first person when the point of view character ruminates at length;

03) Use either 1st or close 3rd person when you want to maximize reader identification with the P.O.V. character;

04) Use either close or distant 3rd person when you describe both a character’s external action and internal thoughts;

05) Use distant 3rd person when the author’s opinions intersperse with the character’s;

06) Use distant 3rd person when you want to minimize reader identification with your P.O.V. character.

OMNISCIENT P.O.V.

Though the story goes into many characters’ minds, it should maintain consistent tone, it should be clear whose story is being told, and the prose must be as bold as the omniscience of the P.O.V..

CONFESSIONS OF A KNOW IT ALL

Omniscient P.O.V.:

01) Omniscient P.O.V. is when the author’s voice gives opinions and comments that do not come from any character;

02) Flexibility and richness are two assets of omniscient P.O.V.:

a) You can dip into anyone’s mind;

b) Contrast opinions and happenings; and

c) Introduce information the characters may not realize themselves.

3) If you use omniscient P.O.V., use it throughout. It should contribute to an overall tone or attitude toward your subject matter;

4) Don’t be too directive - leave the interpretation of the action to the reader.

ALTERNATING POINT OF VIEW

When changing between close and distant first person narration, make the transitions gradual, and use the effect sparingly. After all, in real life people rarely notice a feeling of transcendent joy until it’s past, and such moments occur only rarely. (And this effect is best used to describe such moments.)

Writing Better Part 2

FINDING YOUR EMOTIONAL TRUTH

The distressing, difficult aspects of being human are exactly the parts of the story people want to hear. It’s why crowds gather at disasters, and why people read - to vicariously experience other lives and explore the full spectrum of human emotion without risk of true pain.

To write an emotionally true story, ask yourself these questions, and then use the answers to add depth to your characters:

01) What terrifies me?;

02) What disgusts me?;

03) What news stories make me wince or change the channel?;

04) What is my biggest secret?;

05) What would I never do?

WRITING THE STORY

CHARACTERS

CRAFTING CHARACTERS

The fiction writer builds characters in a similar manner to the way people’s lives take shape: in increments.

Five rules to characterization:

01) Character is the most important element in fiction - the strongest story will seem weak if the characters are weakly portrayed;

02) Character is created through specific details - the fiction writer selects details that reveal the greatest possible amount about the minds and bodies of the characters, and which have the greatest possible connection between the characters’ lives and the readers;

03) Details accumulate meaning through the use of periodic and cumulative structures, and through the willingness of the writer to repeat details;

04) The idiosynchratic arrangement of details and the sentence structure in which they are embedded create voice;

05) Voice is everything - the strongest characters and the cleverest plots will be worthless if the reader does not remember the story’s voice.

Every sentence written about a specific character should reveal details about that character. There are two ways of revealing details in sentences:

01) Cumulative sentences - in which a simple sentence is enhanced to reveal details all at one;

02) Periodic sentences - in which a simple sentence is enhanced to reveal details slowly.

A simple sentence consists of a subject, a verb, and an object. A cumulative sentence adds detail to the end of a simple sentence, while a periodic sentence inserts details into the simple sentence.

Examples:

01) Simple: The woman walks through the woods.

02) Cumulative: The woman walks through the woods, her blond hair draping her face as she stumbles between the pines, gasping and holding the stitch in her side.

03) Periodic: The woman, whose blond hair drapes her face, walks in short steps - in fits and starts, stopping occasionally to gasp and hold the stitch in her side - through the woods, the pine sap sticking to her clothes as she rests briefly against a tree.

Which sentence structure you choose will go a long way toward defining the voice of the characters, and ultimately the voice of the story.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/search/Dwayne%20Bearup/10

Writing Better Part 1

Every good writer like st share his knowledge. We could all write on the same subjects and now produce the same work. At a writer conference in Las Vegas a group of ten attendees asked an author about having their work stolen during the submission process. Instead of giving a long lecture he passed out paper and had each person write the a brief first chapter of Cinderella. Though the story is well known, when read ten people produced ten completely different version.

This is uniquely Dwayne Bearup's work, a member of my Wednesday Writing group. I share them here with his permission. The piece is worth the investment of $2.99  to obtain the complete in depth work.

HOW TO WRITE BETTER
Published by Dwayne Albert Bearup at Smashwords
Copyright 2012 Dwayne Albert Bearup


FINDING THE STORY

BURN AND BUILD

To write fiction from the heart, you’ve got to come up with an explosion of ideas, then sort through the rubble.

Eight methods:

01) Make a list of nouns describing items from your personal past, items which resonate with emotion. Let your mind sort through the mental pictures of your past and quickly write one- or two- word reminders. Then use items from the list to brainstorm possibilities, for characterization or even stories;

02) Find the outrage - list your pet peeves, then pick one and ask yourself what sorts of characters would care about it. Put a character on either side of the issue and let them argue about it;

03) See it - daydream until you sense a sketchy sort of plot, then develop it on paper into a story;

04) Hear it - listen to music that moves you and close your eyes and see what pictures, scenes, or characters develop. Listening to that piece of music will then put you in the writing mood every time you sit down to work on that story;

05) Research - your mind will often synthesize a story out of separate bits of info, connecting plots with sub-plots almost without effort. Read up on things which add data on the topic with which your story is concerned;

06) Write what makes you burn - spend ten minutes immediately after waking following the thoughts that come to you, expanding them, then going on to others;

07) Find your obsession - make a list of what obsesses people, and pick one which fits your story to add depth and meaning to a character. (Ahab’s obsession with the whale, for instance.);

08) Open up - the first line of a story acts as the hook, but it can also suggest a realm of possibilities for expanding the plot or adding sub-plots.

Any one of the above exercises can provide a fount of ideas. Now is the time to let the head take over from the heart. Look at the pieces your creativity has generated, then put them into some sort of pattern.

For each idea, spend time on the following checklist:

01) What sort of lead character does the idea suggest?;

02) What sort of character might oppose the lead? Why?;

03) How can I make these characters fresh, exciting, original?;

04) Is there enough at stake to sustain a novel? Or might this idea work better as a short story?;

05) What plot springs from the characters? (Start with what the lead wants and why s/he can’t have it.);

06) Am I still excited about this story?

The 22 rules of storytelling. (According to Pixar)

Sometimes I can express in my own words, my thought on writing. At other times someone else has said it better than I ever could. This is one of those times.

By Cyriaque Lamar

On Twitter, Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats has compiled nuggets of narrative wisdom she's received working for the animation studio over the years. It's some sage stuff, although there's nothing here about defending yourself from your childhood toys when they inevitably come to life with murder in their hearts. A truly glaring omission.

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

#2: You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won't see what the story is actually about til you're at the end of it. Now rewrite.

#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it's not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you're stuck, make a list of what WOULDN'T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you've got to recognize it before you can use it.

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you'll never share it with anyone.

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it's poison to the audience.

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That's the heart of it.

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it's not working, let go and move on - it'll come back around to be useful later.

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How'd you rearrange them into what you DO like?

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can't just write ‘cool'. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What's the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

 

To give full creit were credit is due.

Note: This article first appeared on io9.com.

The Adam Eradication

Finally finished The Adam Eradication rewrite this evening. Final word count 145,252. Down from well over 150,000.

Second Genesis is coming along though I'm stalled again. Word count 48,893 About 1/3 finishedHave to rework the outline, the plot has taken its own twists.

Eastward Toward Eden word count only 6,536 not even 1/3 complete

The Eve Beguilement stands at 65,012 words about 1/2 complete.

From the Garden, Cast is at 7, 535. The outline for this story need a lot of work.

Now that I've completed the rewrite I can get into the first book Second Genesis and get it finished.

Then first book in my coauthored series 'Tyranny's Outpost is at the publisher for proof reading and editing.

Science Fiction My first love

As young sailor fresh out of boot camp my first (and only ship) was the USS Fulton, AS 11. A nuclear submarine tender docked at the State Pier in New London Connecticut. I was a veracious reader and wound up borrowing book from another sailor who was into Scifi. The first series was I read was E.E "Doc" Smith's Skylark series. I never got around to reading his Lensmen Series, but the Skylar series fascinated me. Richard Seaton had access to computers to do his bidding.

You have to remember this was 1968 and powerful computers were still in the realm of Science Fiction. We all dreamed of getting our hands on a real computer, but at the time that was all out of reach.

Skylark is a science fiction/ space opera, a four (4) book series. Book One, The Skylark of Space (first published in Amazing Stories in 1928) is revolutionary in the genre. A scientist discovers a space-drive, builds a star ship, and flies off with three companions to encounter alien civilizations and fight a larger-than-life villain. Skylark Three and Skylark of Valeron written during the 1930s, and Skylark DuQuesne (DuQuesne is pronounced "Du Kane"), written much later in 1963.
Though the dirst three books are close to 80 years old and hard to read given today's standards, the conflict in the stories is the part I enjoy. A good screen writer could update these stories and I believe they would make a great Scifi movie franchise.

The numerous Scifi books I've read since then entertained me, though many I've forgotten. The stories I will always enjoy the most are the ones were the technology takes a back seat to the conflict of man against the plots of men. Star wars(The original three). Star Trek (Any Series but the original show. Shatner Ugh) Babylon 5, Battle Star Galactica, The Last Star Fighter (Movie and Book). 2001 A Space Odyssey, X-Men. Early films like The Angry Red Planet, The Day the Earth Stood Still, When Worlds Collide. The list goes on.

While I get into and enjoy Fantasy Fiction, I've read "The Hobbit" and "Lord Of the Rings and other series in that genre, Science Fiction stories about man's struggle against the his fellow man will remain my first love, because it always boils down to the hero's inner conflict not to (borrowing a familiar phrase) cross over to the dark side.

Michael Clarke Duncan

The lose of Michael Clarke Duncan at age 54 saddens me.  I saw him on screen  in Stephen King's The Green Mile, the role won him an Academy Award nomination. One has but to watch a little of this great movie to see he drew his character's emotional depth from his heart not from acting classes. He appeared on the now canceled, Hart Hanson's TV series The Finder. He played Leo Knox, legal advisor to Major Walter Sherman, played by Geoff Stults. Walter suffered a brain injury from a roadside bomb and is obsessed with finding things. Duncan's as Leo was forever trying to keep Walter out of trouble by reminding his of the law's he was violating, in that deep baritone voice that was uniquely his.

Michael Bay, director of the film "Armageddon" paid this tribute to Duncan on his website, describing the actor he hired to play Bear. Bay said Duncan wasn't a natural born actor at first: "I remember looking to Ben Affleck and thinking we might need to fire him. But I told him 'Mike, I hired you for you, I want the sweet, Mr Clarke Duncan I met in that room'. I said, 'the audience is going to fall in love with you'. He looked and smiled with [his] deep voice and said 'Ok'. From then on out he became the most improved actor on the set. That was the award he got at the end of the film. Everyone loved him, his infectious spirit and great belly laugh." (Reprinted from Yahoo News)

You will be missed, Thank You Michael for being genuine.

Character Counts

I cannot help but get a little political during this season of Obamacratic (Saw the name online the other day and I like it) insanity. With morally bankrupt leadership, the Obamacrats are meeting in their convention this week. I saw this story online dealing about the character of the Republican nominee Mitt Romney and though it worth putting up here. This is not my work. It was posted on September 1, 2012 by The Godfather

Read more: http://godfatherpolitics.com/6868/the-story-that-could-win-mitt-romney-the-presidency/#ixzz25QxUIzcu

Character Counts and it seems that Mitt Romney has a life time showing his off. Not that the man will tell these stories himself. Stories of his character come from others he has served. Please read.

It’s been said by the Democrats that Mitt Romney is a murderer, felon, and tax cheat. Democrats have also maintained that Bain Capital is all about making money and destroying the little guy. As it is with Liberals, there are no facts to back up the allegations. People are supposed to believe them because the Democrats say they’re true. Here’s a story about Mitt Romney that’s been fact checked.

“In July 1996, the 14-year-old daughter of Robert Gay, a partner at Bain Capital, had disappeared. She had attended a rave party in New York City and gotten high on ecstasy. Three days later, her distraught father had no idea where she was. Romney took immediate action. He closed down the entire firm and asked all 30 partners and employees to fly to New York to help find Gay’s daughter.
Romney set up a command center at the LaGuardia Marriott and hired a private detective firm to assist with the search.

“He established a toll-free number for tips, coordinating the effort with the NYPD, and went through his Rolodex and called everyone Bain did business with in New York, and asked them to help find his friend’s missing daughter. Romney’s accountants at Price Waterhouse Cooper put up posters on street poles, while cashiers at a pharmacy owned by Bain put fliers in the bag of every shopper. Romney and the other Bain employees scoured every part of New York and talked with everyone they could – prostitutes, drug addicts – anyone.

“That day, their hunt made the evening news, which featured photos of the girl and the Bain employees searching for her. As a result, a teenage boy phoned in, asked if there was a reward, and then hung up abruptly. The NYPD traced the call to a home in New Jersey, where they found the girl in the basement, shivering and experiencing withdrawal symptoms from a massive ecstasy dose. Doctors later said the girl might not have survived another day. Romney’s former partner credits Mitt Romney with saving his daughter’s life, saying, It was the most amazing thing, and I’ll never forget this to the day I die.’

“So, here’s my epiphany: Mitt Romney simply can’t help himself. He sees a problem, and his mind immediately sets to work solving it, sometimes consciously, and sometimes not-so-consciously. He doesn’t do it for self-aggrandizement, or for personal gain. He does it because that’s just how he’s wired.


“Many people are unaware of the fact that when Romney was asked by his old employer, Bill Bain, to come back to Bain & Company as CEO to rescue the firm from bankruptcy, Romney left Bain Capital to work at Bain & Company for an annual salary of one dollar. When Romney went to the rescue of the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, he accepted no salary for three years, and wouldn’t use an expense account. He also accepted no salary as Governor of Massachusetts.

Character counts!! (and yes…that’s worth reading again!)”

This story reminds me of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29–37) in that he used his own funds to care for the man found on the road:

 ”A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands? And he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’”

Read more: http://godfatherpolitics.com/6868/the-story-that-could-win-mitt-romney-the-presidency/#ixzz25Qwm1aOe

As an added note from me. In the day the priest and levite were supposed to be the examples of strict followers of Jewish law. The master used, in his parable, a Samaritan because among the Jews the Samaritans were despised. I'm sure his message stung more than a few listeners. The answer to the question "Am I my brother's keeper?" is yes.

Writing Better Part 6

ROMANCING YOUR CHARACTERS:

17 steps to creating characters your readers can’t help but fall in love with:

01) Establish reader identification with your characters as close to the opening as possible;

02) Don’t have too many characters - combine the roles and functions of two characters into one;

03) For maximum effect and drama, create sharply contrasting characters;

04) Give readers someone to hate as well as love;

05) Give characters visual traits or tags;

06) Show, don’t tell;

07) Keep dialog in balance with narration and body language;

08) Be original in descriptions - avoid overuse of metaphors and similes;

09) Give each character an extensive history;

10) Let your characters grow, while keeping them in character;

11) Keep all characters true to time period and environment;

12) Keep character names as dissimilar as possible, and make sure the names are appropriate for the time period and geographical location;

13) Always give characters a sense of purpose, even if just to survive;

14) Give characters positive and negative personality traits;

15) Give characters a problem to which readers can relate;

16) Make each character unique, with some quirk which sets them apart from other, similar characters;

17) When you have writer’s block, try writing everything you know about your major characters.

ONCE UPON A CHARACTER:

Rather than telling readers about a character’s quirks and personality traits, showing them allows the reader to participate in the characterization process.

Faultless characters are irritating. And villains with no redeeming qualities stop being human. One of the best ways to create memorable characters is to play against archetypes.

Always create a strong first impression.

Idiosyncrasies of speech can place a character in readers’ minds more firmly than anything.

The essence of a memorable character lies in his ability to rise above his human fears and longings.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/search/Dwayne%20Bearup/10

Read 3 Chapters

I spent the day reinstalling the OS on my PC. I was able to get the PDF of the first 3 chapters of Second Genesis up on my website for download.

http://www.mesatyree.com/Links/tabid/62/Default.aspx

Please let me know what you think.