Story Sensei

I love the Edittorrent blog, and Alicia Rasley posted this one that I thought was a really good post for those of us who incorporate humor in our fiction: I was reading Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich, and I realized that one reason she's so popular with her readers is that she knows what's fun and spins it out to an enjoyable length. She doesn't just allude to it-- she exploits it. Click here to read the rest of the post

I'm at Seekerville talking about adding conflict in every line . Camy here! I wanted to talk about conflict today, because we all could use more conflict in our lives, right? Especially now that it’s December and Christmas is around the corner? (Breathe ... breathe ... I’m just kidding! I mean, I’m kidding about us needing more conflict in our lives, not about Christmas being around the corner. And if you’ve still got your head stuck in the sand of denial about Christmas—you have only nine days left, sugar. Get cracking.) Anyway, one of the best things I picked up from a Donald Maass seminar was his injunction to add tension to every sentence on the page. Chime in and add your own before and after writing!

This article that I wrote originally appeared on Suite101. Troubleshooting a Weak Climax Ideas For Fixing a Disatisfying End to the Story If the climax of a novel seems off, here are a few common weaknesses that can be fixed. Sometimes a writer’s critique partners or first readers will comment that they didn’t like the ending of a story, or that the novel didn’t resolve well. While critique is always good, a vague “I didn’t like the ending” isn’t helpful for fixing it. However, there are a few mistakes often made but easily fixed to create a stronger climax. The Character Isn’t Boxed In Make sure you have taken away all other options for the character. If the character reaches the climax but still has several ways out, or a reason to not keep fighting toward the climax, it makes the character look silly or stupid. Work on your character motivations and increase conflict so that the character is forced into the bottleneck of the climax. A good way to box the character in i...

This article that I wrote originally appeared on Suite101 Creating an Emotionally Resonant Climax How to Bring a Story to an End There are four steps that can heighten tension and reader interest in the climax of a story. The Beginning of the End is often used to refer to the climax of the story, or roughly the last 25% of the novel (in terms of word count or page count). After building the tension and conflict of the middle of your novel, now you want a strong ending that will grip the reader, then provide resolution and release of tension. Give the Character a Certain Personal Principle It heightens the emotional effect of the climax to bring the character’s principle into the mix. Tying principle with external situations gives life meaning for the character, which can help heighten emotional and psychological resonance between the reader and the character. This is one way a writer can manipulate the reader’s feelings through fiction. Have the Character Keep His Princip...

Camy here: I'm especially pleased to post this excerpt because I'm in this book, too! I have a piece on finding and developing your writer's voice, that elusive "something" in your writing that makes the piece uniquely yours. I hope you guys enjoy this excerpt enough that you'll buy the book! All proceeds from this book go to charity. A Novel Idea Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (November 1, 2009) by Various Best-Selling Authors (contributions from best-selling authors including Jerry B. Jenkins, Francine Rivers, Karen Kingsbury, Randy Alcorn, Terri Blackstock, Robin Jones Gunn, Angela Hunt and more) ABOUT THE BOOK: Best-selling Christian fiction writers have teamed together to contribute articles on the craft of writing. A Novel Idea contains tips on brainstorming ideas and crafting and marketing a novel. It explains what makes a Christian novel “Christian” and offers tips on how to approach tough topics. Contributors include Jerry B. Jenkins, Karen Kingsbur...

This article that I wrote originally appeared on Suite101 Heighten the Climax By Resolving Subplots Tie Up Threads Before the Last Section of the Novel Simplifying the plot by tying up subplot threads can make the climax more emotionally heightened. Subplots are wonderful things. They can help the reader better understand the characters by showing them in various situations and how they react. Subplots can also complicate a plot and help it take its meandering way to the climax. But there is also one trick many novelists use to make the climax of the novel more emotionally intense, and that is to tie up subplot threads beforehand. Complicate, Then Simplify Take advantage of subplots that enhance and complicate the plot. It makes for more interesting reading and your reader won’t be able to put the book down. However, as you build toward the climax of the book, strip away the subplots so that only the climax problem remains or any minor subplot threads that directly rela...

This article I wrote originally appeared on Suite101. Eliminate Repetive Scenes Rehashing Information May Cause a Sagging Middle in Your Novel Utilize a scene index to look at your novel’s story structure and identify possible repetitious scenes to beef up the pacing. Many times, writers will be able to see that their middle “sags,” or the pacing slows in the middle portion of the novel. There are several ways to avoid the sagging middle , but often the problem can be some repetition of information. Identifying it, however, can be difficult when faced with searching a 100,000 word manuscript. Utilize a Scene Index For each scene, skim the scene and jot down key elements: Pertinent information to the plot that is revealed Key character emotions that are uncovered or hinted at Changes to the character that results in different decisions New developments or plot twists New characters introduced Character backstory that is confessed or discovered Many times, writing ...

This article that I wrote originally appeared on Suite101. Writing Interesting Valleys in Between Peaks Keep the Reader Intrigued Even If Conflict Has Ebbed In lulls in the novel, narrow the scene’s focus or change things up to keep the reading pace strong. Stories are a series of peaks and valleys, high tension scenes and low tension scenes, also known as Scenes and Sequels . You must have those lulls in order to give the reader a chance to catch his breath, and also to set up the next scene. However, while you must have these low tension scenes, make sure they don’t put your reader to sleep. Use Words and Phrases to Pace the Sequel In general, higher tension scenes have shorter sentences and a choppier reading flow to encourage a faster reading pace, so for lower tension scenes, use longer sentences and more flowing grammatical structure. Obviously, don’t go to extremes. Use your own better judgment in this. However, this can be a valuable tool to clearly indicate to...

This is the last post of my series on things to look for in your first page. Click here for part ten. Use that first page with a query letter Now, many people advise not to put anything into an envelope with a query letter except for the query letter. This is good, safe, and proper. But if you are a trifle daring, why not include your first page? After all, if you’ve spent all this time working on it and revising it and making every word count. It ought to be so fantastic that an editor skimming that page will shout, “I must read the rest of this novel!” If you plan to include the first page with your query letter, that should also spur you to put more time and effort into that first page to make it worthy of that brief glance. After all, you’ll only get that one chance. Utilize your critique partners Every piece of writing could use another set of eyes to catch errors, or tell you if something you thought was clear as a bell is actually a bit muddled. Take advantage of friends to go o...

From Camy: I just saw this program being used today by a friend of mine, and I can tell you it's fantastic. Very easy to use and intuitive. If you have problems: --writing a synopsis or --structuring your novel or --pacing your plot or character arc then this program will help you with that. From Randy Ingermanson: Final Reminder: 80% discount on "Snowflake Pro" ends soon To Readers of my Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine: Just a quick reminder that my 80 percent discount on "Snowflake Pro" ends soon. As I write this, about 24 hours remain before I'll end this special. (It ends on Friday night at midnight, California time.) Snowflake Pro is software to make my Snowflake method faster, easier, and more fun. In the last few days, a very large number of you, my loyal e-zine readers, have taken advantage of this one-time special offer to get Snowflake Pro. Thanks to all of you who've already e-mailed me to tell me how much you like it. This note is just a remi...

This article that I wrote originally appeared on Suite101. Control Story Flow With Sequels The Classic Sequel as Described By Dwight Swain Dwight Swain’s Sequel can be broken down into easy segments to enable the writer to write a strong story segment that develops character and transitions to the next Scene. 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 and Sequel (described in this article). Swain describes a Sequel as “a unit of transition that links two scenes,” but Sequels tend to encompass a broader range of purposes than just transition. Reaction The Sequel following a Scene allows the writer to slow the pacing and give the reader some breather space. This can be easily accomplished by enabling the character to react to what just happened in the previous Scene. This controls the story’s tempo and flow by giving the character ...

Camille Cannon Eide asked: Hi Camy - I'm working on a substantive edit and I'm looking for ways to deepen a character, give her more dimension. What are some ways to bring out more of a character's strengths and weaknesses, give the reader more of a reason to root for her? Camy here: You’re actually talking about two slightly different things—character richness and character sympathy. Character richness: A three-dimensional character with flaws and strengths actually doesn’t just jump out of a writer’s head. Typically, authors spend a great deal of time embellishing and digging deeper into a character, whether before the book is written or as they’re editing. Three-dimensional characterization is a deliberate, concentrated effort. One of the best books I’ve found for doing this is Getting Into Character by Brandilyn Collins, chapters 1 and 2. She uses dramatic techniques to enable writers to create a richer character, just the way a good actor will create a richer charact...

This article that I wrote originally appeared on Suite101. Writing Conflict-Filled Scenes The Classic Scene as Described By Dwight Swain Dwight Swain’s Scene can be broken down into easy segments to enable the writer to write a high tension, interesting story segment. 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. Goal The Scene moves the story forward by changing your character’s situation. To do that, the character has to want something different than what he already has: the Scene Goal. Basically, what the character is striving for in the Scene. He doesn’t necessarily achieve it, but he has to at least have an idea of what he wants at the beginning of the Scene. There are thr...

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 a...

Really great post on edittorent: Marks of an Amateur - the Query Letter Are you committing any of these query faux pas?

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

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

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 r...

This article that I wrote originally appeared on Suite101. Increase the Tension of a Scene Building Peaks in the Story Build the story toward the climax by ramping up conflict in scenes. 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. Combine Conflicts Into a Single Scene Sometimes, a story will have several separate scenes, but each scene’s tension level is the same. Consider combining scenes. The addition of obstacles will make the scene worse and worse, ramping up the tension rather than having separate scenes of the same tension level. For example, a detective is searching for a lost child. In one scene, he confronts a drug dealer. In a second scene, he ...

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 beli...