Story Sensei

I wrote this article, which originally appeared on Suite101, on how to take a cliche and make it something wonderful. Tweak a Cliché Into Something Original Take a Tired Phrase and Make It Zing Utilize a writer’s voice, a writer’s brand, phrase additions, and key words to change clichéd phrases into fresh prose. The old saying, “There’s nothing new under the sun” is very true and a death knoll for writers. How can writers come up with fresh prose when it’s all been done before? How can writers avoid using clichés when sometimes there’s no other way to say something? Utilize Your Unique Writer’s Voice There is often a way you say things that is uniquely you—utilize it in your prose. Here’s an example from my book, Single Sashimi : Venus Chau opened the door to her aunt’s house and almost fainted. “What died?” She exhaled sharply, trying to get the foul air out of her body before it caused cancer or something. The last sentence, especially, people have remarked sounds v...

An old article of mine is on WannaBePublished.blogspot.com today! The Gallup Poll website is fascinating. Okay, I admit, I’m a geek. However, it’s also useful in gathering information about the book business, which is important for a writer. Click here to read the rest of the article.

To Readers of My Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine: This is Randy Ingermanson, with a special note for you. Tax Day has come and gone, and I hope you've survived. This past year has been brutal for all of us. May the next year be better! To celebrate getting past Tax Day, I'm running one of my famous super-slasher sales on my web site store. Everything is 50% off for the next 96 hours. If you're getting a tax refund this year, you might want to consider taking advantage of my 50%-off sale to invest in your writing career. For less than the cost of a month of cell phone service, you could take action that would improve your writing skills for a lifetime. This 96-hour special runs from midnight on Thursday, April 16, 2009, through midnight on Monday, April 20. (All times are California time.) Sorry, but I can't give extensions on this. When it's over, it's over. I don't run these ultra-discount sales very often. The last was in December. In order to take advanta...

Hey guys, My workshop "The Hero and Heroine's Journeys" just got accepted for the American Christian Fiction Writers conference this year! I'll be teaching on--duh--the Hero and Heroine's Journeys. If you've never used the Heroine's Journey, especially, and you have a female main protagonist, this will be a good workshop for you for characterization. The ACFW Conference is in Denver, Colorado this year, from September 17th through the 20th. Information is on the ACFW website . Registration hasn't opened yet, and only ACFW members can attend the conference (but it's only $50 membership fee for the first year to join ACFW, and believe me, it's totally worth it to join! I talk about ACFW here . If you have questions about ACFW, just leave a question in the comments.) They'll announce when registration is open for the conference on the ACFW members email loop. So anyway, I hope you (a) join ACFW and (b) take my workshop in Denver this year!

The Knight Agency is holding a Book in a Nutshell Contest Submit three compelling sentences (150 words max) about your completed, unpublished manuscript to submissions@... Write BOOK IN A NUTSHELL in the subject line or it will not be deemed eligible. One submission per project, please. Twenty of the best submissions will be chosen and requested by various agents who will then give feedback on your work...and it may even lead to possible representation. Hurry, the deadline is April 20, 2009. Winners will be notified by May 1, 2009. For more info, go to http://tinyurl.com/cnfe9d

I admit, I'm prone to info dumps in my dialogue, especially in my first drafts, and I have to edit them out in my revisions. I wrote this article, which originally appeared on Suite101, with some of my tips and tricks. Avoid Info Dumps in Dialogue Strengthen Your Dialogue By Eliminating Telling Eliminating the Info Dump in dialogue will create mystery that keeps your reader riveted while strengthening the prose. In publishing days long past, it wasn’t uncommon to find a character who starts a line of dialogue with the infamous, “As you know ...” For example: Gerald walked into the living room and announced, “Phillip, our mother is at the door. As you know, she ran off twenty years ago with the family lawyer and we haven’t heard from her since.” Today’s readers and publishing industry has moved toward eliminating this technique, which is “telling” and not “showing” the story to the reader. Emulate Real Life In real life, people don’t need to remind their listeners ...

Sometimes, in my haste to make sure the reader knows something, I'll have a character go on and on in a line of dialogue, and I'll have to edit it out in revisions. I wrote this article, which originally appeared in Suite101. Shorten Your Dialogue Improve Pacing and Add Emotion With More Deliberate Dialogue Often, shorter dialogue lines with more deliberate word choices can improve a scene’s pace and create greater emotional impact. In real life, people don’t often have long speeches. Most of the time, someone will interrupt them—maybe when they pause for breath—or the speaker will purposefully pause for a reaction from the person they’re talking to. It should be the same in your fiction. Contemporary Fiction The dialogue in a present-day novel should be more back-and-forth, give-and-take, which is what real-life dialogue is like. One person says a sentence or two, the other person responds to what they said. A character who goes on and on for a paragraph or two i...

This is continuing my series on things to look for in your first page. Click here for part four. Establish the tone or atmosphere of the story In addition to using key words to indicate genre, use key words to develop a certain feel to the writing, setting, and story in that first page. Remember, you are dumping the reader in a completely new story world. You want them to be able to know what type of story this is going to be right off the bat. If they’re expecting a gripping, emotional story and the first page is heavy with action, they’re going to close the book. If your story is going to be humorous, start it out humorously. Also, use key words that indicate whether it’s dry British humor or slapstick comedy or sarcastic chick lit. If it’s going to be a roller-coaster ride, start it out quickly. Use strong words and sharp sentences to strap the reader in for a wild read. If it’s going to be deeply emotional, start it out emotionally. Use words that evoke strong emotional responses s...

Hey guys, Sorry I've been AWOL the past week, I've been too busy! Anyway, before I continue on with my series on The First Page, I wanted to know if any of you wanted to trade blog links? I'm going to set up a Blogroll on this blog and if you already link to this Story Sensei blog, please email me or comment below to let me know! Camy

This is continuing my series on things to look for in your first page. Click here for part three. Indicate the genre When an editor opens your book, he/she should be able to tell what your genre is right off the bat. Genre does not have to be established in the first line, but it should be fairly obvious by the end of the first page. You don’t want to open your story with: The wagon train left a dust cloud that Shep could see from seven miles away. when your story is a contemporary thriller. Use key words to indicate to the editor/reader what genre your novel is. Certain words or phrases are indicative of different genres by tapping associations in a reader’s mind. “Glock” will usually indicate a suspense or thriller or crime drama. “Wagon train” will usually indicate a Western or a historical prairie romance. “Desire” in context will typically clue the reader in to the fact that the story is a romance of some sort. Another benefit of indicating genre in the first page is that it will ...

My friend Danica blogged about some Common Contest Problems , and her post might be a helpful checklist for anyone trying to strengthen those first 50 pages of their manuscript: I'm doing my civic duty and judging some contest entries today. I had really high hopes for this one. In years past, I've read such good entries that I wanted to write the contest people, begging to read the rest of the manuscript. This year, not so much. As I read each entry, I realized that they all had the same problems in common. So I thought, for the writers who read my blog, I'd share the commonalities. Click here to read the rest of the post.

For those of you writing suspense, thriller, and mystery, Pat Bertram had Katherine Ramsland on her blog. Katherine is a respected writer who has published several books on criminals, criminal psychology, and CSI. (I have one of her books around here somewhere...) We have many myths attached to serial killers in our culture, most of them from outdated studies or from fiction and film. While those early studies had their merits, they’re not, and never were, representative of serial killers as a whole. Click here to read the rest of the article

Did you know that the right character name can make your manuscript more vibrant or powerful? I wrote this article, which originally appeared on Suite101. Make Great Character Names Add Depth and Emotion By Naming Your Characters Carefully Be judicious in how you name your characters, paying attention to details and not just name meanings, in order to add color, depth, and power to your characters. When naming characters, many writers only pay attention to how a name sounds or what a name means, but there are other things to keep in mind when you name your characters. Choosing a good name and paying attention to certain details can: Add power and depth to a character Make the manuscript less confusing Make the manuscript more polished and professional Create smoother reading pace Evoke an emotional reaction in your reader Choose a Name With Meaning These days, the Internet has many resources to find names and their meanings. Any baby name site will offer almost ...

This is continuing my series on things to look for in your first page. Click here for part two. Establish the protagonist Your first paragraph (ideally—or at least the first several lines of the book) should mention one of the main protagonists by name. The first page of the book is one place where you can break with deep point of view and mention the entire main character’s name, even though technically, in deep point of view, the main character would only think of him/herself by a first name. This was not the smartest way to die. USAF Pararescue Jumper Manny Péna grunted, tensed his muscles and tried again to flare the canopy on his parachute. No go. -- A Soldier’s Family by Cheryl Wyatt It’s usually best to start the story in the main protagonist’s point of view , opening the storyworld from the protagonist’s eyes, being in her thoughts and body. Allison Stewart’s future hung in the balance. Her job. Her research. Her attempt to make a difference. -- Countdown to Death by Debby G...

As many of you know, I belong to the American Christian Fiction Writers organization, and a topic came up on the email discussion loop that I wanted to tell you guys about. Sometimes, an ACFW member will email the loop asking for a quick critique, and usually people are more than willing to take a quick look at a piece of writing. One member did that last week. In response, another member raved about his ACFW critique group, and encouraged other members to take advantage of ACFW's free critique group service. What ACFW offers for every member is their free critique group program. A coordinator will assign a member to an online critique group. The groups are usually small, no more than 5 or 6 people, and most of them are smaller than that. The groups are matched according to genre, if you prefer. You can also request a group that can keep up with your writing speed--critiquing one chapter a week or one chapter a month, whichever you can keep up with. If a group doesn...

I got this great link from Mary Connealy: Ten Mistakes Writers Don’t See (But Can Easily Fix When They Do)

(This was originally published on another blog, but I reposted it here.) Camy here, talking about the one thing I struggle against the most when it comes to writing—myself. I don’t like it, but I am a very emotional writer. Meaning, my writing motivation is often fed by my feelings. I find I write less in wintertime because the season makes me a little depressed, more sluggish, less motivated. I know I’m not alone. Other times during the year, when something happens to emotionally impact me, my writing goes out the window. High stress situations will also sap my creativity. This is not a good thing when I’m under deadline. While my editor might be sympathetic, I’m still UNDER CONTRACT to turn in a manuscript. A publishing house is a business, and I have been hired as a freelance contractor to deliver goods (my manuscript) on time. In short, I’m still struggling to find a way to write despite depression, despite stress, despite distraction, because it’s my JOB to write, and ...

I wrote this article, which originally appeared on Suite101, about how you can self-edit yourself into more vibrant prose. Strengthen Prose With Judicious Words Be Selective in Word Choices for Vibrant Writing and Strong Writer’s Voice A writer can bump their writing up to the next level and make it sparkle by being careful and thoughtful about each word used. Many times, editors will say that the writer’s “voice” in a manuscript is what catches their attention. Voice is hard to define, even for industry professionals. It’s that intangible something that makes a string of prose unique to the author, and a strong voice is what will make an editor interested in a manuscript. But one thing common to all writers who have strong writers’ voices is that their word choices and phrasing are very unique and vibrant. Whether you have discovered and developed your writer’s voice or not, here are a few tips for polishing your writing to make it stand out more with strong words and br...

This is continuing my series on things to look for in your first page. Click here for part one. Figure out where to start your story You don’t need cars blowing up or gunfights or a grotesque witch dying a horrible death to open your story (although if you do have those things, that’s a good thing, too). All you need is something different. You need something unusual happening that will perk your reader’s attention. You need something disrupting the character’s normal life. You need just the intimation of some type of change or upheaval. This means you don’t start with backstory or telling or explanations about who the character is and why they’re there and what has happened to him before this scene. You start with the action spurred on by Change in the character’s life. I’ve seen too many manuscripts that started in the wrong place. The character’s “ordinary world” is introduced, but it’s not an active, engaging opening for the story. You need to start with the change to the characte...

I'm a mentor for the Mount Hermon HeadStart mentoring clinic this year! The HeadStart clinic is a couple days before Mount Hermon Writers Conference, April 1-3, 2009. HeadStart is mostly for beginning writers (intermediate writers can take the regular Mentoring Clinic given during Mount Hermon Writer's Conference). I hope that those of you who can will come and take my mentoring class! Mary DeMuth, who's also a mentor for HeadStart, made this really cute video that gives a little more info about who the HeadStart clinic is for and what you can get out of it.