Story Sensei

Writing Conflict-Filled Scenes

2009-11-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

I'm at Suite101 talking about the classic Scene as described by Dwight Swain:

One of the most famous writing books is Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain, where he breaks down fiction writing into modules. One of his most popular techniques is Scene (described in this article) and Sequel.

Swain describes a Scene as “a unit of conflict lived through by character and reader.” The key word here is Conflict.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Author-Speak Cheat Sheet

2009-11-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
Sorry I've been MIA for a few weeks. I've been fighting off some kind of sicky that's left me really tired and headachey (and NO, I'm not pregnant! :)

Anyway, I'll kick off the week with this great "cheat sheet" by Janet Dean that basically summarizes all the major fiction writing terms that a writer might encounter from a contest judge. These are terms thrown around pretty often in the writing community because they refer to common principles which, if mastered, help a writer improve.

Author-Speak Cheat Sheet

Upon occasion, I play golf. Perhaps I should say golf plays me. Either way, there’s a language to this game. Terms that make me grunt, “Huh?” Like: “Pick the ball clean.” “Get down on the ball.” “Play your drives off your left heel.” I can’t blame my game on these baffling words of advice, but they’re not helpful if I can’t decipher their meaning.

Writing has its own language too. I call it author speak.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Marks of an Amateur - the Query Letter

2009-10-14T22:51:00.000-07:00

Really great post on edittorent:

Marks of an Amateur - the Query Letter

Are you committing any of these query faux pas?

Daily writing prompts

2009-10-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Writing even a little every day is a really good way to keep your creativity flowing and to keep your productivity up. I have always liked writing prompts because they can be just a short short story or they can turn into an entire novel!

Writing.com has a new Twitter account that tweets a writing prompt every day! Click the link below to follow their Twitter:

http://twitter.com/DailyPrompt

Getting away with it--

2009-09-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

I just read this great post on Alicia Rasley's blog. She has a very candid style which I appreciate and like. I agree with what she's saying in this about writers who want to "buck the system"--not that it's wrong, but you have to make concessions if you do:

I have noticed a sort of interesting attitude in some submitters. It's that the trick is "getting away with it". You know, say I point out that a four-page long prologue all in italics (because, I guess, it takes place in the villain's head) might be kind of annoying. (I'm making this particular issue up, as the attitude is the important thing.) And the submitter comes back with (rule #1-- don't argue when you're being rejected... it doesn't help), "But (insert bestselling author's name) got away with it!"

Click here for the rest of the article

The first page, part 10 - Proofread

2009-09-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

This is the last post of my series on things to look for in your first page.
Click here for part nine.

Proofread that page with a fine tooth comb

After you’ve worked on that first page to set up the story, showcase your writer’s voice, and wow the editor reading it, give it to your most detail-oriented critique partners or a freelance editor (like moi—sorry, I couldn’t resist some blatant self-promotion) to correct any typos, grammar errors, or punctuation errors.

You do NOT want your first page to have an error on it. Nothing spells “unprofessional” like an error on the very first page.

The editor or agent will see that one little error and it will negatively tinge his/her impression of the entire manuscript and of your writing. You don’t want even a slightly negative thought to enter the editor’s mind as he reads. You don’t want even a question of your professionalism to niggle at the agent’s brain as she scans that first page.

Now, I’m not saying that an error means an automatic rejection. But because the industry right now is so tough, you don’t want to give any bad impressions on that editor or agent whatsoever. If you can get rid of those little errors, do it. It might be the deciding factor between your manuscript and another one with lots of typos.

Wouldn’t you want the editor to request your manuscript because it’s both professional and captivating? If it’s captivating but full of typos and the editor has only limited time to read full manuscripts, she might not request your story because the typos put her off.

So spend even MORE time checking your pages for errors. If you’re not confident about your sense of grammar and punctuation, then ask for help—either critique partners whose grammar/punctuation sense you completely trust, or a freelance editor who can look at the first chapter.

To be continued.

Increase the Tension of a Scene

2009-09-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Building Peaks in the Story

Novels are a series of peaks and valleys, the ebb and flow of tension. If the story were all tension, it would tire the reader out. If the story were all tension-less, it would be boring.

A novelist should build the tension of the story in each peak and balance that with a valley.

But each peak should build to a higher point of tension than the one before.

Click here to read the rest of the article

Q&A: When to break the rules

2009-09-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Kathleen L. asked:

Hi, Camy,
thanks for this opportunity. You are one of my favorite writing teachers. Your last article on showing versus telling raised a question for me. When is it okay to break the rules? Not just for telling, but for say, using an unusual tag in dialogue. "Come here," he said. versus "Come here," he demanded. (I realize beats are the most effective. ie He stomped his foot and clapped his hands at the dog. "Come here!")Anyway, can we sometimes use an unusual tag?
Thanks in advance.

Camy here: You can break the rules whenever you want to! Seriously. It’s YOUR story.

The “rules” are there to guide you so that you don’t go overboard. They’re not there to constrain you and box in your creativity. At the end of the day, creativity wins over “rules.”

I usually suggest to writers to stick with the “rules” as much as they can, but if a particular sentence or piece of writing just “feels” better with the rules broken, then try it!

I fully believe in the power of gut instinct in writing. Many times, writers know when there’s something wrong with a scene or a piece of writing—they can just sense it. Sometimes when you’ve suffered a few hours (or days! Oy!) of writer’s block, it’s your “Spidey sense” telling you that something’s wrong with the scene you’re writing.

Same thing with breaking the rules. I always tell people to try writing it by the rules as well as breaking the rules, and then decide which feels better. Don’t just arbitrarily assume that breaking the rules is always better—test it and see. You might be surprised.

Also, realize that if you break the rules too often, it might make your writing look amateurish or unprofessional to an editor or agent who has seen literally thousands of manuscripts—several of them by writers who largely follow the rules.

Bottom line: if you break the rules, make sure you have a good reason to do it. Your Spidey sense better be smokin’! Or you can break the rules for effect sometimes, too. It’s ultimately your decision, but make sure you’re breaking rules for the right reasons—that it makes your manuscript tons better!

If you have any other questions for my Q&A series, just leave a comment and I'll be sure to get to it!

The Value of the Unanticipated

2009-09-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

Sprucing Up a Blah Scene

Many times, writers themselves know when a scene is lacking. They may have structured it well, conveyed just the right amount of information, and revealed wonderful characterization via clever dialogue.

Yet they'll read the scene they've written and know something is off. While the solution isn't always lack of conflict, many times adding a specific type of conflict can lift a drab scene to one with sparkle.

Click here to read the rest of the article

Building Toward the Climax

2009-09-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Increasing Pressure On the Protagonist of a Novel

Make the middle of the novel ramp up the tension and conflict and set the reader up for the exciting climax.

Many times, a sagging middle could be because the tension is not increasing, but remaining the same. There are several things to keep in mind to help the middle build tension and drag the reader along for the ride.

Click here to read the rest of the article

Q&A: Emotional reactions

2009-09-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Debra E Marvin asked:

Hi Camy, here's my question:

Somewhere in a judges' comment or a 'how to' book I grasped an idea that I thought would improve my work.

reaction, emotion, dialogue

meaning to me that when something happens or someone speaks, our character has a reaction that prompts an emotion and then they speak. (This done with the idea that these 'things' are part of the conflict).

Problem is, that by doing this, I now have been told that I'm burying my dialogue, because some have been at the end of a sentence or two of 'reaction and emotion'.

However, popping that dialogue to the front of the paragraph doesn't seem to make sense.

I feel like I latch on to these rules, thinking I'm doing the right thing and then . . .

Camy here:

Let me suggest a slight tweaking of that "reaction, emotion, dialogue" tool.

One of my favorite tools for writing emotion is Motivation Reaction Units, which Dwight Swain writes about in Techniques of the Selling Writer.

(Click here to read my article on Motivation Reaction Units)

Basically, you have a motivation or stimulus, then the character reacts to it.

Reactions can be many things—a visceral/physical reaction, thought, dialogue, action. A visceral reaction is like a physical knee-jerk reaction. Thoughts are, well, thoughts. Same for dialogue and action.

The difference is that depending on what the motivation/stimulus is, a person's reaction is going to be different. They aren't always going to think or feel before saying something. They may have a strong visceral reaction first before doing anything. They may act without thinking for a few seconds before their thoughts are in order.

In general, reactions go in order of least effort: visceral, thought, dialogue, action. You will probably have a gut reaction or a thought first before you say or do something. This is because it takes more synapses firing to say or do something than it takes to think or have a knee-jerk reaction.

Here are a few examples:

"Your mother is dead," he said flatly.

Sara's stomach flipped (visceral reaction). Mama dead? Could it be? (thoughts) "How do you know?" (dialogue) She clenched her fist. (action) He must be lying. (thoughts)

In the example, I used all four reactions. But the stimulus was pretty emotional. What if the stimulus is something minor? You can use one or two reactions instead of all four.

"Your mother's asleep," he said.

"Let her sleep," she said over her shoulder (dialogue) as she walked out of the room (action).

"Your mother's in the garden," he said.

Now that was strange. (thought)

"Your mother's at work," he said.

Her tightly clenched stomach released (visceral). Good. She had time to search her room. (thoughts)

The one thing to remember is to make sure the reactions are in order: first visceral, second thought, third dialogue, fourth action. You can switch them once in a while, but if you do it regularly, it creates a psychological dissonance and it distances the reader from the character's emotions.

"Your mother is dead," he said flatly.

She clenched her fist. (action) Mama dead? Could it be? (thoughts) Sara's stomach flipped (visceral reaction). "How do you know?" (dialogue) He must be lying. (thoughts)

If you compare the above with the original, you can see that Sara's reaction is a bit disjointed because the reactions are not in the proper order.

I answered your question in a slightly roundabout way, but hopefully in a way that makes a bit more sense. Let me know if you still have questions!

If you have any other questions for my Q&A series, just leave a comment and I'll be sure to get to it!

When a Scene Isn't Working

2009-08-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

Tips for Overcoming Writer's Block

Whether you believe in "writer's block" or not, there are always times when a writer gets stuck on a particular scene. It can almost feel like hitting your head against a brick wall.

Many times, the writer's unconscious instinctively recognizes when there's something wrong with the scene. While not all scenes have the same problems, there are three questions a writer can ask himself that might help jump-start the writing flow.

Click here to read the rest of the article

Avoid the Sagging Middle

2009-08-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

The focus of the middle of the novel is to push your character to the climax. If writers can keep that point in mind, it will help them craft the events of the middle section to be more driven and purposeful. Here are a few principles to write by.

Click here to read the rest of the article

Beginnings To Avoid

2009-08-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

There are many ways to start a story, and no "right" or "wrong" way. However, there are a few principles to follow that can help strengthen a novel's beginning. Here are three character traits that a writer should avoid in the first chapters.

Click here to read the rest of the article

Blatant plug: Don't forget that I do phone consultations where I can read your first chapters and give advice on how and when to start your story!

Q&A: Fictional settings

2009-08-21T15:50:00.001-07:00

From Teri D. Smith:

How much liberty are we allowed in creating a new place in our settings? I have a 3rd book of a series set in a town in California. My opening scene takes place in a park, but I can't find a park in the town that's like the one in my head. Can I make one up entirely or can I use an existing park and "plant" some trees or a place for an outdoor concert?

Camy here: It's fiction. The sky's the limit! Create new places with impunity!

Now, since you're using a real town, don't call your fictional park the same name as a real park in the town. Make up a name so your readers—if they're familiar with the real California town the book is set in—won't get jarred out of the "fictional dream" of the novel to say, "Hey, that's not in XYZ park. This person didn't do her research!"

If your setting—whether a house, park, building, or entire city—is fictional, make it obvious to your readers that it's fictional. Don't name it something too similar to what really exists.

If your setting is a real place, be meticulous with your research. There are people who live or have visited that real place, and if they spot inconsistencies or errors, they'll be knocked out of the story. And you want to keep them reading, not make them wonder if the town square really has a statue of General Jackson or if it's really President Lincoln.

This is especially true if you're writing a historical novel. If your town/place is fictional, make it obvious it's made up. If it's real, be exact on details. Historical readers, especially, pick up on that kind of stuff.

Also, don't forget that your setting should be a character in the book, not just a backdrop. When you integrate the setting into the storyline—so much so that the story couldn't take place anywhere else in the world—it makes for more vibrant reading.

If you have any other questions for my Q&A series, just leave a comment and I'll be sure to get to it!

The Decision That Starts the Story

2009-08-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

The beginning of a book is where the writer hooks the reader and reels him in. The opening page makes the reader keep reading, and then the end of the chapter is what gets him to buy the book.

While that opening page is key, so is the end of that chapter.

Click here to read the rest of the article

Promotion Routines for Writers

2009-08-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

I'm over at Routines for Writers today talking about Promotion! And before you click away, I want to stress that it's never too early to think about promotion!

Hi there! My name is Camy Tang, and I'm thrilled to be guest blogging today!

Now, before you look at the title and think it doesn't apply to you, let me tell you—I firmly believe that it's never too early to start promotion, especially if you are a serious writer, seriously pursuing publication.

Your book contract might come next week or next year or in a few years, but if you already have your promotion and marketing set up, you're a leg ahead of all the other writers submitting to agents and editors. Yes, they look to see what you already have set up in terms of marketing!

Click here for the rest of the article

Q&A: Planning a series

2009-08-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

From Sarah Forgrave:

- I've got a series idea that would follow a family with three daughters and a basic storyline for each. I'm a plotter and planner, so I'm wondering if you recommend planning out all three or four stories at once so they're intertwined? Do you have any other tips on how to approach a series?

Camy here: It depends on the storylines you're thinking of.

If you'd like each story to stand on its own (which most of my editors have wanted, but may not necessarily be true for your editors), then my suggestion is to spend time really developing each character so that you know their fears, desires, wounds, etc.

The characters' actual storylines for their novels might end up changing as you write each story, also, so this is a safe route to go--you have a good handle on the characters, but you're leaving yourself some wiggle room in terms of their stories.

If you're thinking that you'd like the stories to be strongly intertwined, then you not only have to do the character planning above, but you should also plot out each story in the series.

Figure out each characters' external goals for their stories. That way each character will have a sense of purpose for their story versus just be reactive to events.

Use a large board to plot how elements in one story intertwine with elements in another story. Map it all out so that you won't write yourself into a corner or unintentionally leave threads dangling.

This second method is considerably more work. You also run the risk that if an editor doesn't like the series premise or one of the characters, your entire series is rejected, not just one book. In this case, perseverance needs to be your best friend.

If you have a series where each book stands alone, you have a better chance because an editor may ask for revisions to the proposal before giving a definitive yes or no on the project.

For my current book, Deadly Intent, I did extensive planning of each of the three sisters' personalities before I wrote the first book. I did this so that I could know how each sister would respond and react to each other, to show the family dynamics. Those of you who have read the book will know I did some foreshadowing in terms of Monica's relationship with her father.

I also did some light planning in terms of the "crime" for each of the books, since they'll all be romantic suspenses. I deliberately chose Sonoma, California and a posh spa environment because there are three elements that are conducive to murder and mayhem:

1) Sonoma is a tourist city, so there is a lot of traffic in and out. The large number of people flowing in and out makes for a believable storyline where someone would come in and murder someone or be murdered.

2) The spa caters to the wealthy, making it a hotbed of people who might have a reason for someone to want to kill them. Also, the spa's services are in high demand, making the spa itself a possible target for competitors.

3) The Grant family is wealthy themselves, which makes the family a target for enemies who are jealous or hoards of potential suitors who want to marry into that wealth.

When you do your own series, think large-scale, solidifying motivations and conflicts. The planning stage is not the place for detailed thinking. Be visionary and look at your series as a whole.

(As a shameless plug, one thing I do in my phone consultations is help people to better visualize their series ideas so that they can plan effectively. Some people have a hard time seeing large-scale, so I can listen to their series ideas and character ideas and help them organize and plot.)

If you have any other questions for my Q&A series, just leave a comment and I'll be sure to get to it.

More Tips for How to Present Backstory

2009-08-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

The previous article on backstory mentioned this:

The key to presenting backstory in a way that is interesting to a reader boils down to one piece of advice: Make the reader want to know the information.

Aside from the points in that article, there are also some other more subtle ways to accomplish this.

Click here to read the rest of the article

Q&A: Market research

2009-08-10T00:01:00.001-07:00

From Sarah Forgrave:

- Do you have any market research tips (i.e., What are some of the ways you check to see if your story has been done before or what books might be similar to your idea)?

Camy here: Great question! Before I do every proposal, I check to make sure my story hasn't been done before. Often, I check this even before I write the story.

First I make a list about my story:
(1) Genre
(2) Character careers
(3) Villain career/type
(4) Overall theme/plot premise
(5) Setting
(6) Targeted publisher/line

Then I go online to Amazon or Christianbook.com (since I write Christian fiction, Christianbook.com is a smaller, easier database to search) and search for books similar to mine.

I will usually start with the publisher or line I'm targeting and search within that parameter for all the other things. For example, for my Steeple Hill novel, I searched within all the Love Inspired Suspense books on Amazon for any novels recently published in my chosen setting, Sonoma, California.

Since none of us has a money tree growing in the backyard, be thoughtful and pick several books to read from that publisher or line. I won't usually read all the books from that publisher. I just can't afford it. But I will choose books that sound like they might be similar to mine and I'll read them.

An exception is for the Steeple Hill books. They're very inexpensive and I got a bunch of them on ebay for a dollar a book. I also wanted to read all the books most recently published because I needed to get a feel for the line and the style of writing.

When you do market research for a proposal, you're not only looking at the obvious factors like not publishing characters too similar or a plot premise too close to what's already been released.

You're also looking to see if your writing style AND your plot premise/genre fits within that publisher's lineup.

You want to make sure your writing style fits with books already published. For example, if you write angsty contemporary romances that dabble in women's fiction, you don't want to submit to Steeple Hill because their romances are all light and positive. They do it that way on purpose to appeal to their reader demographic, which numbers in the hundreds of thousands.

You also don't want to propose a plot premise or genre that is too far out from what the publisher normally publishes. For example, you don't want to propose a chick lit to Steeple Hill because if you read the line, you'll see that they haven't published any chick lit in over a year.

So what if you discover your targeted publisher isn't a good fit? Then you research OTHER publishers to find a good fit for your story! Another option is to tweak your story to fit within your targeted publisher's lineup.

Either way, your time spent researching is just as valuable as writing that manuscript!

If you have any other questions for my Q&A series, just leave a comment and I'll be sure to get to it.

My Five Best Plotting Tips for Novelists

2009-08-07T00:01:00.001-07:00

I guest blogged about plotting on the blog of my friend Pamela James:

My Five Best Plotting Tips for Novelists

Thanks to Pammer for letting me guest blog today!

Now, just to warn you, not all of these will resonate with you because every writer is different and works differently in how he/she crafts the story. For me, sometimes every story writes itself differently! Oy! But hopefully these tips will help you if you get stuck.

Click here for the rest of the article

"Is it easier to write suspense because of the built-in conflict of a villain?"

2009-08-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

I was over at Life with Missy:

I’m so excited to be on Missy’s blog today! Missy asked me to answer the question, "Is it easier to write suspense because of the built-in conflict of a villain?"

Actually, the presence of a villain in romantic suspense makes it a bit harder to write. Suspense villains tend to have very strong motivations for the evil and mayhem they’re causing, but that also means I have to make sure that their every action and decision is logical and works toward their ultimate desire.

Click here for the rest of the article

Crossing Over

2009-08-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

I'm over at Seekerville today talking about crossover!

A few people have asked me about when I first switched genres. I learned a few things along the way, and there's also something very important I realized—whether you're a Christian fiction writer who wants to cross over to mainstream or a contemporary romance writer wanting to cross over into romantic suspense, there are a few things a writer should do to give you a better chance of success.

Click here for the rest of the post and to chime in to the conversation!

Margie Lawson's How-to Author Series

2009-07-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

Margie Lawson's How-to Author Series

Featuring: Chris Roerden, author of two how-to books for writers:

-- Don’t Murder Your Mystery -- Winner of the Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction Book!

-- Don’t Sabotage Your Submission

Wednesday, July 29th

Drop by www.fivescribes.blogspot.com TODAY!

Post a comment today – and you may win:

n Don’t Sabotage Your Submission, by Chris Roerden

n A Lecture Packet from Margie Lawson

The Basic Building Blocks of Good Story Structure

2009-07-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

I'm over at Cheryl Wyatt's blog today talking about the Basic Building Blocks of Good Story Structure:

Hey there! This is Camy Tang, and Cheryl is letting me guest blog today!

She wanted me to talk about the basic building blocks of good story structure because I tend to naturally look at stories on a structural level. When I do telephone consultations for my Story Sensei critique service, most of my clients are looking for help to fix their novels’ story structures.

Click here to read the rest of the article