The Goldilocks Zone

Today's post is about balancing description in your narrative. You don’t want too much description, or not enough description. You want to find that infamous Goldilocks Zone where the amount of description is just right.

Incorporate All the Senses

You've probably heard this one a gazillion times. That's because it works. 

Using any other sense besides sight makes a huge difference in narrative because sight is the sense most of us rely on most frequently. It's useful and necessary, but kinda boring.

The addition of sound, touch, smell and taste enhances the reader experience because those senses are used less frequently, making them stand out more.

Try to include as many senses as you can, but only the ones most important to the thing you are describing. It isn't necessary to use all the senses in every given scene.

How do you know which senses are most important? See the next item directly below.

Zoom In On Unique/Contrasting Details

• A mouse the size of an elephant
• An elephant the size of a mouse
• A wagon shaped like a rocket
• A cave that smells like laundry detergent
• Roses that smell sour
• A car wreck that sounded like guitar strings snapping
• An ice cube that burns
• Salty ice cream

Not all of your descriptions will be as contrasting as those examples, but the key is to find something so specific about the thing you’re describing that the image implants into the readers head and they begin to experience the story first-hand.

Pick one or two things that stand out in your setting or characters and describe that in great detail. (See, “Description Length”)

Filter Description Through the POV Character

When the POV character directly conveys how they feel about the sight/smell/sound/etc. they are experiencing, it makes the description more entertaining for the reader. Simple as that.

People read encyclopedias when they want a list of facts. People read stories because they want to become immersed in a world outside of their own.

Revise that info dump until it feels like something the POV character would actually think about or say in that moment. Show their personality. Express who they are on the surface and at their core. It will bring your story to life.

Skip the Mundane

We live in an age where the world is literally at our fingertips. There are some things that just don’t require much explaining in fiction. Some things are universal enough that you can mention them without going into a lot of detail about it.

You always need to set the scene, and some description is always required, but a hospital is a hospital, a church is a church, and a school is a school no matter where you go.

Of course, not all hospitals, churches or schools look exactly the same as one another. They come in all different sizes and depending on where you are in the world, they will vary in numerous other ways. Those will be the unique details you pick out to describe your specific setting.

Beyond that, readers will imagine the kind of setting that’s most familiar to them. When we read a story set inside a school for instance, we tend to imagine the school we used to attend or the school we send our children to. We imagine the hospital where we go to see our personal physician, and the church we were baptized in, etc.

Only if there is something unique about the setting as described in the story we’re reading do we begin to see a different image in our minds.

For instance, the school may be described in the story as being held in a castle with lots of secret passageways, the professors are wizards, and ghosts frequently roam the halls. (See: “Zoom In On Unique/Contrasting Details.” Also, Harry Potter.)

Description Length

It’s not the size of the boat. It’s the motion in the ocean.

Sometimes you’ll need a paragraph or more to describe something. Other times you’ll need just a sentence or two. Fantasy writers, for instance, usually need to include more description than thriller writers because of the various new concepts that are introduced in a fantastical setting.

The Goldilocks Zone is what you make it. Everyone has their own tolerance level when it comes to description. Some readers require more description than other readers do. Each individual reader will bring his or her own preferences to your story, and there’s no way to anticipate that.

Utilizing the techniques above have helped me stay within a general safe zone.

Writing 101: How To Write a Banned Book

In honor of Banned Books week, this Writing 101 post is a joint effort from both Michael and Lauren. We’ve put together some fun tips to help you write a banned book. So, fasten your seat belts, make sure your seat is in the upright position and place your tongue firmly in your cheek. It’s going down.





1. The material was considered to be "sexually explicit".

You ever heard the phrase sex sells? Well, sex also gets your book banned. The number one thing to include in your potentially banned book is “sexually explicit material”. That's not as vague a term as it sounds.


We all know that sex doesn't happen in real life. Authors make it up. It’s common knowledge that the stork brought us all here...unless you believe in other alternative theories...

There's no reason to ever include sexually explicit material in a book unless you want your book banned.


Dear author, if you want to get your book banned by the powers that be, you can’t be afraid to get down in dirty in your fiction. The key here is details, details, details. You want to include every bump and every grind. The act should go on for pages, maybe even the entire book. Go crazy. Then go crazier!


And while you’re sexing it up, consider giving readers a double wammy and hit'em with some homosexuality.

Caution: Never include anything homophobic or anti-gay because your book will never attain banned books status. We checked. (“We” being highly skilled journalists and thorough investigators of such things.)




2. The material contained "offensive language".


Have your main character and people around them swear a great deal. Real teenagers are not exposed to such depravity in their day to day lives, so the appearance of such in fiction is bound to exert a bad influence on them. Soon they will be swearing with abandon and parents nationwide will cry for the censorship of your work.


But wait, it gets better. As you well know by now, including sexual violence in your book is a surefire way to raise hackles. But if you want to really guarantee bannination, there’s one more step you can take: give that violence a name. 

Oh, yes, you know what I’m talking about. The r-word. Alright, sometimes teens get assaulted--but they definitely shouldn’t know the proper name for it! That’s just vile. Someone might read a book, stumble across that dangerous and disgusting r-word, and decide they want to try it out for themselves. Worse still, reading a book like Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson might encourage teens to, well, speak up for themselves about their own experiences. Make teens rock the boat, get your book banned. Easy.




3. The materials was "unsuited to any age group".

Your potentially banned book should be unsuited to any age group. But how exactly do you write a book that’s unsuitable for any age group? Very easy. If your book should never have been written in the first place, you’re on the right track. If that's what you have in your sock drawer, polish up that story now and get it into the first library on your block. They will be sure to ban your book for its unsuitableness.


If you haven’t written something like this yet, here’s how you do it: first you must use each and every one of the the tips in this award winning article. But you must go even further than that. You must offend your readers with every chapter, every paragraph, every sentence, every word. Shoot for a masterpiece that is entirely unreadable by any one.




4. The material was written in 1995.


According to the ALA's chart, 1995 was the year that most books were challenged/banned since they’ve been keeping track of such vital information.


Here’s what you need to do, Biff. Wait for Doc and Marty to go rescue Jennifer. Then steal the DeLorean! Make like a tree and get your ban worthy book to 1995! Tell your younger self about how crappy the future is because of climate change and that he/you should invest in Apple products.


Wait. I mean, give your younger self the banned book you’ve already written and tell him to publish it as the eBook. He’s going to say that no one reads eBooks to which you’ll respond, “Do it, Butthead! I’m from the freakin’ future.”


Hopefully, when you come Back to the Future you’ll be able to look back on your historic banned book that, by its very existence, has created an alternate reality where you’re the king of like banned books or whatever. You’ll also be married to Lorraine and have shot and murdered George McFly, and climate change will still be a reality. At least, you invested in Apple!

“Last week I was in my other, other Benz.”

5. The material contained “violence”.


Teens live really peaceful lives and are unfamiliar with the concept of violence, except for what they see on the news, TV and movies, video games, at home, at school, and on the street. The point is, it’s important to shelter them from it in fiction. Adults don’t want them to get any ideas or, god forbid, see their personal experiences reflected in what they read. Wait, I mean, what personal experiences? I think we’ve established that real teens are not exposed to violence.


So if you open that dangerous door, dear author, you are well on your way to angering adults and getting challenged. Of special note: hate crimes, sexual assault, and domestic abuse. Those are the kinds of violence society really wants to sweep under the rug.




6. The material upset governments.


Governments are actually the only entities who can ban and have banned books completely from society. They can enforce a ban legally through the court system and can punish infractors with penalties.


The only reason this item isn’t number one is because different bodies of government vary on what criteria causes a book to be banned. Usually a government will resort to censorship when there are political, religious or moral issues with the written material.


Now normally, you're a meek, respectful, and polite author. But that attitude will not get you a banned book. Your job is to upset, anger and be a down right meany-pants. You must vilify your political opposition. Your religious arguments should be one-sided and inconsiderate of the majority’s belief system. Also, don’t forget to demean the opposite sex and include other immoralistic values. Speak your dark, infested mind.


There is no one way to upset governments. So combine all of our advice in one giant smorgasbord of ban worthy material.




7. The material upset parents.


Parents always know what’s best for their children. They are never wrong under any circumstance. And children are incapable of thinking for themselves. They don’t know any better. They’ll read any old thing you put in front of them and will likely suffer a lifetime of traumatization when exposed to certain fiction.


This is where you come in dear author. You must offend these parents if you want your book banned. Parents must disagree with the value of your book in every way. You must make them take umbrage with your fiction so strongly that they have no choice but to do what's right for the entire first world and force their opinions on the rest of society, who will no doubt listen and agree.


We are all aware that there is never a choice in which books to read and which ones to simply not read. We're all forced to read every single book that has ever been written, so banning books is a great way to protect us from like the Big Bad Wolf and stuff. Not only does banning books free us of the tedious nature of making a choice for ourselves, it also scares authors away from writing great stories...I mean, inappropriate material. As a society, we’ll force authors to churn out tame fiction for the masses that never challenges our lazy minds or provokes critical thought.


Deep topics in books aren’t open for discussion and shouldn’t be. Engaging in analytical discourse is a pointless endeavor. Banning is always the answer to everything. It is not a knee jerk reaction at all. Who cares if no one's read a word of your book yet to know for sure if it's actually as bad as we think it is? If it merely sounds like it's harmful to our children--Banned! Parents are your saviors!

“I’ll tell you where you can find fantastic beasts. Not in this household!”

8. The material upset schools and libraries.


Schools and Libraries have challenged more books than any other institution between 1990 and 2010. Aren't our children lucky to have such filters?


As we’ve seen from item number 7 above, parents are very capable of deciding what's appropriate for their own children and for everyone else. However, why should schools and libraries let parents do all that hard work?


Shouldn’t parents instead rely on another entity that can make that choice? You know, the same way parents remove the freedom of choice from their children...and everyone else.


In all reality, parents don’t really know any better than their children. They’ll probably just allow their kids to read any old thing. But even if they are awesome filters for their own households, they may not catch everything. They need schools and libraries to back them up or to do the job entirely.

Plus, what libraries and schools absolutely don’t need more of is books. They’ already full of them. You can help them out by writing a book that they will surely ban. It makes total sense.


Everything you applied to parents in the above item, you must apply it to schools and libraries as well.

Topics to Avoid When Writing a Banned Book

Don’t worry yourself writing about serious topics such as abortion, anti-ethnicity, racism, or as mentioned above, homophobia, which doesn’t even make it onto any lists at all. Not that many people care strongly enough about those topics to ban them from books. People are pretty much chill on those.


Also don't try to offend Community Groups and Prisons. They are both the least likely groups to ban your book. And one is instead more prone to shanking. The other we can’t can’t even tell you about because we’ve never been to prison. But we’ve heard stories of sexually explicit violence that’s unsuited for any age group and would especially upset any parent, school or library in the year of 1995.

But Why Write a Banned Book?

Simple! You ever noticed how much publicity those things get? Word of mouth is the best way to get your book flying off the shelves, and no news spreads faster than outrage. First comes the outrage from parents, schools, and libraries at your audacity to write such a book. Then comes the outrage from “free thinkers” who don’t think any books should be banned. Before you know it, your name will end up on the news and in lists all over the Internet. And just like J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer, you will be rolling in the dough.


Another reason some people might put forth is that banned books are often so honest, raw, delightful, and painful that they make everyone sit up and take notice for good or bad. And we hear some people like to write honest books. But it’s also okay if you’re just itching to write a scene with some blood and guts flying. As we have thoroughly demonstrated by now, it’s not the thought that counts, it’s the banning!

Writing 101: Love is in the Air

So, how do you get two fictional people to fall in love?

To some writers, the answer to this question may be the most natural thing in the world. To others, it may strike fear into your hearts. Well, I'm here for you, members of the latter group! Writing about falling in love is not some magical, mysterious gift possessed by only romance writers. In fact, there are some pretty basic formulas you can follow.

Here are the three I've defined for myself. I'm naming them after boys in The Hunger Games, whose divided fanbase illustrates how different types of falling in love can all be effective for readers.


The Gale Method: Make Them Talk

For two people to fall in love with each other, first they have to know each other reasonably well. And for two people to know each other reasonably well, they'll have to talk to each other. A lot.

It can be face-to-face, online, on the telephone. It can be friendly conversation, serious shop talk, angry arguments. Come to think of it, the "conversing" could consist mostly of facial expressions and body language, provided you're really good at it!

You don't have to record all the talking in the story. In many cases, it's probably better if you don't. Time spent together can be summed up easily in transitional sentences. (Don't do this with all the talking, though, or you're telling and not showing!)

With this method, you are, in effect, creating a friendship. Yes, even if they start off hating each other and their talking consists mostly of insults--then you're showing the transition from enemy to friend.

A non-Hunger Games example of this type of romance: Oh so many, but the most recent on my mind is Bianca and Wesley in The DUFF by Kody Keplinger. An especially interesting case since kissing and sex come before friendship and love, but the transition is believable and romantic.


The Peeta Method: Make Them Go Through Crap Together

Don't have time for hours and hours of talking? That's alright. Just have them get kidnapped or something!

Intense life-or-death situations have a way of slowing down time and magnifying everything that goes on... at least in fiction. One day of fighting for their lives is equivalent to a month of pleasant chatter for two young single people. (This has been proven by science, don't worry.) As a bonus, if they are the only ones experiencing the trauma, they will likely have to rely on each other once they get back to safety.

Naturally, this method only works completely in some genres. But you can still use mini-disasters to accelerate your contemp high school romance. Take getting trapped in an elevator or a car breaking down on the roadside. (Both cliches, but it should give you an idea of what I mean.)

A non-Hunger Games example of this type of romance: This sort is often found in fantasy, such as Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon. Ai Ling and Chen Yong only spend a few days together during the book, but damn does a lot of bad stuff happen to them! There's no way they couldn't have one hell of a bond after that adventure.


The Finnick Method: Give Them Really Magnetic Chemistry

Okay, so, Finnick was never a real contender for Katniss's affections, but you probably can't deny that he sizzles with pretty much anyone he talks to. He creates chemistry.

Sometimes, two people just seem to be made for each other. You can try to keep them apart, but they'll inevitably get pulled back together. You may even know real people who have a relationship like this, the kind of bond that exists from the beginning and weathers years, decades even, of adversity. It's almost like love at first sight, but it's not based on physical appearance. It's something... magnetic.

One thing, though: this type of romance is really really hard to pull off well. There's like a 90% chance readers are going to roll their eyes. In fact, you should probably just give up now. Pull these two kissing dolls apart and have them go about things in a more conventional manner.

...what's that? You can't pull them apart? Well, okay then. You may have one of the few cases where it works. Just make sure you get a second opinion!

A non-Hunger Games example of this type of romance: Not everyone will agree with me, since readers will always react differently to a meant-to-be scenario, but my choice is Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Sam and Grace have barely spent five minutes of quality time together before they're inseparable. But it just works. I can't stand to see them apart.


And there you have three ways to make characters fall in love, from simple to elusive. Just remember that writing about love, just like writing about anything else, is part art and part science. Plan out what feels right to you, but ultimately, go with your gut. If you think it's romantic, there's a good chance your readers will, too!

Writing 101: How to Name Things

This post is not about naming characters. This is for fiction writers who wish to create original concepts, but may have trouble naming their monsters, magical creatures, alternate species, McGuffins, magical objects, futuristic devices, and anything else that doesn’t exist in real life or in any other author’s story. I see posts on forums all the time from writers asking for help naming something, and the following is a comprehensive take on the condensed input I usually offer.

Naming things comes fairly easy for me. Sometimes the perfect name will just pop into my head. But that isn’t the norm, not even for me. When my bad ass muse is taking a smoke break I have to work a bit harder, so I’ve developed a few personal guidelines that help me create new terms for my stories.

Pictured: Bad ass muse. Not Pictured: Manuscript that broke the Rules of Naming Things.

Rules of Naming Things

Rule 1: Keep your terms simple.

Rule 2: Keep your terms simple. If the fictional “thing” you've created is not much different from something that exists in the real world, always use the term most commonly found in the real world. It will be less of a hassle for you, and will simply make following your story easier on the reader. Don’t call your creature a kertobble if it’s just a rabbit. Call it a rabbit. (See Rule #1)

Rule 3: Always remember that you're writing for a modern audience with modern sensibilities. Your names have to be pronounceable, and they must make sense within the context of the story. The reader shouldn’t be stumbling over your roadblock of terms. Jumping hurdles only hinders the reader from experiencing the story as it happens thus ruining any enjoyment. (See Rule #1 and Rule #2)

About Syllables

It’s a good idea to try and keep your term(s) to 3 syllables or less, preferably one to two syllables. The least amount of syllables contained in your word, the easier the word will be to pronounce, making for a more manageable read. Remember, readers will have to repeat your madeup words over and over throughout the story. Don't make it difficult.

Let's take a look at some words commonly in the English language in comparison to terms created by other authors.


Monosyllable words

• dog, cat, bird, cow, frog, bear, mouse, snake, horse, pig, crab, fish, whale
• book, phone, car, pen, desk, chair, pan, stove, clothes, spoon, fork, knife, plate
• Fictional terms: orc, elf, warg, ent, imp, troll

Disyllable words

• eagle, lion, tiger, giraffe, rabbit, donkey, chicken
• pencil, hammer, keyboard, trashcan, laptop, paper, oven, saucer, pitcher
• Fictional terms: hobbit, dragon, kraken, griffin, goblin, centaur, portkey, quidditch

Polysyllable words

Words containing more than three syllables are fine for real life, where the average person isn't saying something like rhinoceros every few breaths. But it's not so great in a story where a reader will have to repeat it (in their head or out loud) over and over again.

Usually, they'll end up skimming over a long word if they continue to come across it. But why give them a reason to skim your story? Try to avoid using terms with more than three syllables if at all possible.

Sometimes a word with more than three syllables will fit your story perfectly though and you wouldn’t want to avoid using it. In that case, ignore my suggestion, and use what best suits your story. In many cases though, a long word will end up being an annoying burden on a reader.

If you absolutely must use a word with more than 3 syllables, consider having your characters refer to it with a shorter name. Keep the long version as the official term, while you characters use the shorter version of the name in their dialogue.

Example 1: Rhinoceros (4 syllables) becomes rhino (2 syllables). 

Example 2: Television (4 syllables) becomes TV (2 letters).

Example 3: Hippopotamus (5 syllables) becomes hippo (2 syllables).

Example 4: Tyrannosaurus Rex (6 syllables) becomes T-Rex (2 syllables).

Naming Places

When it comes to naming your locations (cities, towns, countries, etc.) you have a lot more leeway with the syllable guideline. Afghanistan, Antarctica, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, and Lithuania are all examples of real world country names that contain more than three syllables.

Personally, I don’t find most people directly referring to their country, state or city on a regular basis so it would seem reasonable if your characters didn’t mention where they are located that much. In that sense, a lengthy place name may not be too much of a bother on a reader so most of the time you could get away with those.

Still, when writing a story I suggest keeping names of locations as short as possible where appropriate. It might be officially called the United States of America (9 syllables), but it's often referred to as just United States (4 syllables), or America (4 syllables), or USA (3 letters), or the US (2 letters). My hometown of Baltimore (3 syllables) is often shortened to B'more (2 syllables). Names seem to want to be short.

You can also play around with the amount of syllables in your words to show a distinct difference of culture or class, or a separation in time. For instance, an ancient language vs. a modern language. (See “Sound & Look” below)

The Name Game

Right now you might be saying, "All right already with the syllables. I get all that. But how do you come up with a name in the first place?"

Well, there isn't just one way to create a name. Here are just a few techniques that continue to work for me:



Use a Dictionary & Thesaurus

• Look up a word that's similar to your fictional term. Steal the Old English version if it sounds appropriate. If it doesn't, try to manipulate the spelling a little bit to fit your story’s needs.
• Search a thesaurus for words that are close to your terms' meaning. When you find one that sounds about right, use that or fiddle around with the spelling. Make it look different, but sound the same.
• Utilize other languages this way as well. Search dictionaries that are in a different language from which you speak. Find a word that achieves your desired sound and look, and use that or change the spelling to fit your story.

Use Greek and Latin Root Words.

Combine roots, stems, suffixes, and prefixes as you see fit and create your own mashup terms. Don’t get too sciencey, unless you’re going for accuracy.

You’re writing fiction so you don’t necessarily have to follow real world rules when creating terms from Greek and Latin roots. Your term just has to sound right within the context of your story.

Science geeks may call you out on your inaccuracy, but they may not be your audience. If they are your audience, no big deal, you’ll just have to work a little harder and follow those rules.


Other Things to Consider


Language Is Your Playground

You're not constructing an entire language, but the same advice applies.

Study the way words look and sound, and how they feel when they roll off the tongue. As writers, we should be doing this anyway. Words are the tools of our profession. We need to know them.

You don’t have to learn a new language, but it wouldn’t hurt anything if you did. You don’t have to practice the art of calligraphy, but it wouldn’t hurt anything if you dabbled in it. You don’t have to be an expert in scrabble, but it would only help your writing if you knew a thing or two about words and how they fit together.

All I'm saying is try things out. Experiment with words. Jumble them up. Play around and have fun with them. You’re free to type whatever you want from the privacy of your keyboard. No one's going to see. So don’t be shy. Words don’t bite.


Variety

To make your fictional world feel real, you definitely want to have a variety in the terms you create. You don't want all your words to be the same length, shape or sound. Consider varying your word length regardless of the syllable guidelines above. Language is rough. It’s never perfect. It should sound that way.


Sound & Look

Have an idea of what direction you want to go with your word in terms of sound and look. Think about the effect that you want this special term to have on a reader. You may want your words to sound unearthly and alien-like or magical; you may want it to look foreign to your personal culture or similar to a particular culture; you may want it to feel ancient or modern depending on the setting. Keep those things in mind as you create.

The reader should also be able to use context clues to figure out what a term means even if they happen to miss its definition as told in your narrative.

If you create a magical creature for instance, tell someone its name but don’t tell them what your creature looks like. Ask the person if they can picture what your creature might look like just by the sound of its name. They won’t always give the description you’re looking for. But when they do, it’s a good indication that you’re on the right track with that term.

If they describe your creature in a way that isn’t what you intended, that doesn’t mean you should change the word to something different. It doesn’t mean anything really. Just thank them for their time.

The goal is to try and get your terms to closely resemble the appearance of the thing in your story by the way the term sounds.

Wookie’s look exactly like you'd think a "wookie" should look. Don’t they? That's not racist.

Everything in Moderation

Try not to populate your world with too many original creations. Readers like to be grounded in a story and familiarity helps them connect with your story’s surroundings. Too many unfamiliar things in a story may overwhelm a reader and jolt out of the story.

Unfortunately, “too many” is abstract, and there’s no way to tell what will be the limit for any reader. But if you’ve only created two or three creatures or objects, etc. you’re probably good. It depends.


Placeholders

Don’t ever allow the search for the perfect name to hold you back from writing your story. Sometimes, in order to finish your story, you may have to insert a place holder name temporarily until you come up with a better name. I’ve completed entire manuscripts only to go back to it and “find and replace” all instances of a term after I thought of a better one. Nothing is canon until it’s published.

Writing 101: How to Be Creative

Hugh MacLeod is an advertising executive who draws cartoons on the back of business cards. His manifesto: How to Be Creative is a MUST READ. It offers 26 tips on nurturing creativity. Below are 3 (of the many) gems that resonated with me:

5.

You are responsible for your own experience.

Nobody can tell you if what youʼre doing is good, meaningful or worthwhile. The more compelling the path, the lonelier it is.

Every creative person is looking for “The Big Idea.” You know, the one that is going to catapult them out from the murky depths of obscurity and on to the highest planes of incandescent lucidity.

The one thatʼs all love-at-first-sight with the Zeitgeist. The one thatʼs going to get them invited to all the right parties, metaphorical or otherwise.

So naturally you ask yourself, if and when you finally come up with The Big Idea, after years of toil, struggle and doubt, how do you know whether or not it is “The One?”

Answer: You donʼt. Thereʼs no glorious swelling of existential triumph. Thatʼs not what happens.

All you get is this rather kvetchy voice inside you that seems to say, “This is totally stupid. This is utterly moronic. This is a complete waste of time. Iʼm going to do it anyway.”

And you go do it anyway. Second-rate ideas like glorious swellings far more. Keeps them alive longer.

6.

Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.

Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with books on algebra etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the creative bug is just a wee voice telling you, “Iʼd like my crayons back, please.”

So youʼve got the itch to do something. Write a screenplay, start a painting, write a book, turn your recipe for fudge brownies into a proper business, whatever. You donʼt know where the itch came from; itʼs almost like it just arrived on your doorstep, uninvited. Until now you were quite happy holding down a real job, being a regular person...Until now.

You donʼt know if youʼre any good or not, but youʼd think you could be. And the idea terrifies you. The problem is, even if you are good, you know nothing about this kind of business. You donʼt know any publishers or agents or all these fancy-shmancy kind of folk. You have a friend whoʼs got a cousin in California whoʼs into this kind of stuff, but you havenʼt talked to your friend for over two years...

Besides, if you write a book, what if you canʼt find a publisher? If you write a screenplay, what if you canʼt find a producer? And what if the producer turns out to be a crook? Youʼve always worked hard your whole life; youʼll be damned if youʼll put all that effort into something if there ainʼt no pot of gold at the end of this dumb-ass rainbow...

Heh. Thatʼs not your wee voice asking for the crayons back. Thatʼs your outer voice, your adult voice, your boring and tedious voice trying to find a way to get the wee crayon voice to shut the hell up.

Your wee voice doesnʼt want you to sell something. Your wee voice wants you to make something. Thereʼs a big difference. Your wee voice doesnʼt give a damn about publishers or Hollywood producers.

Go ahead and make something. Make something really special. Make something amazing that will really blow the mind of anybody who sees it.

If you try to make something just to fit your uninformed view of some hypothetical market, you will fail. If you make something special and powerful and honest and true, you will suc- ceed.

The wee voice didnʼt show up because it decided you need more money or you need to hang out with movie stars. Your wee voice came back because your soul somehow depends on it. Thereʼs something you havenʼt said, something you havenʼt done, some light that needs to be switched on, and it needs to be taken care of. Now.

So you have to listen to the wee voice or it will die...taking a big chunk of you along with it. Theyʼre only crayons. You didnʼt fear them in kindergarten, why fear them now?

19.

Sing in your own voice.

Picasso was a terrible colorist. Turner couldnʼt paint human beings worth a damn. Saul Steinbergʼs formal drafting skills were appalling. T.S. Eliot had a full-time day job. Henry Miller was a wildly uneven writer. Bob Dylan canʼt sing or play guitar.

But that didnʼt stop them, right? So I guess the next question is, “Why not?” I have no idea. Why should it?
 

 How to Be Creative is a free eBook.

Writing 101: The Story Circle

A while ago, Dan Harmon (creator and head writer of Community) wrote a series of posts on his website’s forum breaking down story structure in a hilarious concise fashion. His methods were written with television in mind, but these story techniques are universal for any writer and any medium. They are based on Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, but simplified for modern storytelling. The way he breaks it down has helped me re-evaluate my own work. It’s amazingly simple.

First, you begin by drawing a circle. Divide it in half vertically, and then divide the circle again horizontally. Starting from the 12 o’clock position and going clockwise, number the 4 points where the lines cross the circle: 1, 3, 5 and 7. Next, number the quarter-sections themselves 2, 4, 6 and 8.

(The images from Dan’s posts were missing so I constructed my own visual representation of the Story Circle):

Download this if you want. Print it out. Doodle all over it.

 

Dan says:

That horizontal line dividing the circle is the first one you want to think about when creating a story. What's above it and what's below it?

Robocop: Above the line, cop. Below the line, Robocop.

Die Hard: Above the line, bad marriage. Below the line, terrorist attack.

Citizen Kane: Above the line, news reel. Below the line, truth.

MacBeth: Above the line, hero. Below the line, villain.

Star Wars: Above the line, farm boy. Below the line, adventurer.

The Incredible Talking Dog: Above the line, dog can't talk...

Back to the Future: 1985 / 1955

etc. etc.

1. You (a character is in a zone of comfort)

Dan says:

ESTABLISH A PROTAGONIST... Who are we? A squirrel? The sun? A red blood cell? America?

2. Need (but they want something)

Dan says:

SOMETHING AIN'T QUITE RIGHT… Something is wrong, the world is out of balance. This is the reason why a story is going to take place. The "you" from (1) is an alcoholic. There's a dead body on the floor. A motorcycle gang rolls into town.

3. Go (they enter an unfamiliar situation)

Dan says:

CROSSING THE THRESHOLD… For (1) and (2), the "you" was in a certain situation, and now that situation changes. A hiker heads into the woods. Pearl Harbor's been bombed. A mafia boss enters therapy.

4. Search (adapt to it)

Dan says:

THE ROAD OF TRIALS… Adapting, experimenting, getting shit together, being broken down. A detective questions suspects. A cowboy gathers his posse. A cheerleader takes a nerd shopping.

5. Find (find what they wanted)

Dan says:

MEETING WITH THE GODDESS… Whether it was the direct, conscious goal or not, the "need" from (2) is fulfilled. We found the princess. The suspect gives the location of the meth lab. A nerd achieves popularity.

6. Take (pay its price)

Dan says:

MEET YOUR MAKER… The hardest part (both for the characters and for anyone trying to describe it). On one hand, the price of the journey. The shark eats the boat. Jesus is crucified. The nice old man has a stroke. On the other hand, a goal achieved that we never even knew we had. The shark now has an oxygen tank in his mouth. Jesus is dead- oh, I get it, flesh doesn't matter. The nice old man had a stroke, but before he died, he wanted you to take this belt buckle. Now go win that rodeo.

7. Return (and go back to where they started)

Dan says:

BRINGING IT HOME… It's not a journey if you never come back. The car chase. The big rescue. Coming home to your girlfriend with a rose. Leaping off the roof as the skyscraper explodes.

8. Change (now capable of change)

Dan says:

MASTER OF BOTH WORLDS… The "you" from (1) is in charge of their situation again, but has now become a situation-changer. Life will never be the same. The Death Star is blown up. The couple is in love. Dr. Bloom's Time Belt is completed. Lorraine Bracco heads into the jungle with Sean Connery to "find some of those ants."

Dan Harmon goes on to explain:

… the REAL structure of any good story is simply circular - a descent into the unknown and eventual return - and that any specific descriptions of that process are specific to you and your story.

It's not that stories have to follow this structure, it's that, without some semblance of this structure, it's not recognizable as a story.

There are some exceptions to everything, but that's called style, not structure.

When I talk about "story structure" I'm talking about something very scientific, like "geometry." Your story could have "perfect" structure, in that it hits all the resonant points craved by the audience mind, but that won't make it a perfect piece of entertainment. Example:

Once upon a time, there was a thirsty man on a couch. He got up off the couch, went to his kitchen, searched through his refrigerator, found a soda, drank it, and returned to his couch, thirst quenched.

That was "perfect story structure." On the other hand, the story sucked.

Here's a converse example:

Once upon a time, a car exploded. A Navy Seal killed a werewolf. Two beautiful naked women had sex with each other, then a robot shot the moon with a Jesus-powered laser. The world became overpopulated by zombies. The End.

Lot of exciting, creative stuff happening, but very little structure. Again, boo, but the lesbian scene did give me a boner. What do you want? You want both. You want to be cool, but you're going to be cooler if the structure is there. Cool stuff with no structure is like that perfect scene you recorded when you left the lens cap on. "Guess you had to be there." Show me an army of zombies and I might say "cool zombies," but I'm not going to "be there."

 

Links to the full posts. All are well worth a read.

Dan Harmon - StoryStructure 101: Super Basic Shit

Dan Harmon - StoryStructure 102: Pure, Boring Theory

Dan Harmon - StoryStructure 103: Let's Simplify Before Moving on

Dan Harmon - StoryStructure 104: The Juicy Details, part 1

Dan Harmon - StoryStructure 104: The Juicy Details, part 2

Action Scene Theory

I've gotten some critiques for a wip, and one reviewer pointed out what they rightfully perceived as an issue in one of my action scenes. The reviewer didn't feel the way they thought they were supposed to feel about the scene (a sense of danger), so they naturally thought something was wrong with the scene (lack of danger). But what's interesting is that I never intended for the reader to feel any sense of danger at all in that scene. That's not what the scene was about for me when I wrote it. Aside from making me realize I had to make my intentions more clear, this scenario made me think of action scenes in general and authors intentions with those scenes and how we readers bring our own tastes and experiences to an author's creation.

What is an Action Scene?

Action scenes require a character to be in motion. A character simply entering the room is action. Not riveting action, but action nonetheless. The character is acting, is in motion, and is not static. Action scenes focus more on what's actually happening in the moment in contrast to exposition scenes where information is explicitly being conveyed.

Types of Action Scenes

Violent Action

Violent action scenes include life or death situations and the use and/or threat of violence. These usually make up most action scenes you’ll find in modern storytelling. They include, but are not limited to:

• Battles/war
• Fights
• Shootouts
• Chases

Non-Violent Action

Action scenes don’t always involve violence. Non-violent action scenes include anytime characters are in motion in a non-confrontational environment. They include, but are not limited to:

• Comedic/lighthearted situations - slapstick, wacky adventures.
• Acts of seduction/sex.
• Journeys - When characters travel from one location to another.
• Sports - Any sport that doesn't require physical contact may be considered non-violent. (football, hockey, rugby, boxing, and MMA would be considered violent because of the physical contact requirement)
• Races - When characters are racing toward a “finish line”. This is in contrast to a chase scene. Here, a single character may be late to class, and is racing to turn his report in before class is over.
• Other - non-confrontational situations that usually get summarized or skipped entirely, due to lack of tension.

Each type of action scene is combinable and interchangeable with another. There can be some overlap between them all, but there’s usually a main focus to a scene. For instance, a non-violent scene can change and become violent or contain a brief hint of violence, but it's mostly played safe.

The Heart of the Matter

The heart of any action scene lies more in the character's inner/outer struggle, and less about the threat of any abstract danger. Good action scenes have more behind it than the action itself.

Personally, I've never once read a book or watched a film and felt any sense of tension specifically from the dangerous situations depicted in the story. For me, the tension lies more so in how I feel about the character and what I want to happen to them in terms of success or failure.

The character has a goal. The conflict is preventing her from achieving that goal. Assuming we care about the character, we root for her to succeed. What we rarely ever do (or maybe it's just me) is sit on the edge of our seat thinking the protagonist has any chance of dying. Spiderman/Batman/Superman always have zero chance of dying. There would be no more movie if they died. And depending on the story, the main character could already be dead, so death wouldn’t even be a threat to him or her.

How to Use Action Scenes

At it's essence, most actions scenes seem to boil down to the prospect of win or lose. Life or death is probably the most extreme version of win or lose. You could also refer to it as: success or failure; victory or defeat.

The easiest way to write action scenes is to give your character a concrete goal to achieve. Make it a goal they cannot turn away from. They have to go after that goal or else they’ll fail gym class/lose the girl/the world with blow up/etc. Then threaten their goal with an appropriate opposing conflict. It must be a complication directly related to the goal, something that completely hinders the character, seems almost impossible to overcome, and spells disaster whether violent or non-violent. The reader wants to watch the character squirm, while rooting for them to succeed. This is what brings out the best in characters and makes for the juiciest action scenes.

Writing 101: How to Write a Series of Novels

Let’s skip conventional wisdom for a moment. Ignore the suggestion that authors maybe shouldn’t write or plan a series until the first book is published and sells. We’ll talk about that later. For now, set all that aside briefly and let’s learn how to actually write a series of novels.

Note: This post is more about writing a series of novels which is a story told in multiple volumes until completion, and less about writing novel sequences which is usually an open-ended series. The techniques described in this post can be used for both however.

Immerse yourself in your created world

See the big picture

Be both a pantser and a planner

Keep a Series Bible

Living in another World

If you’re going to write a series, you’re going to have to pack your bags, say goodbye to the “real” world and move into the world you’ve built inside your crazy little head. You’re going to have to live in this fictional world for the duration of the writing. If it’s necessary that we immerse ourselves into the world of our standalone novels, it’s even more of a requirement for a series. Is that something you truly want to do? It sounds much cooler than it actually is. I’m a little schizo myself.

The Observer: You

If you were here for our introductions last month you might remember Lauren and I made a little promise that you wouldn't go bald. This was a lie. Sorry, but you’re like an Observer now.

This guy = You…for the purpose of this lesson.

As the observer, you can see the entire picture of your story in one glance. This picture isn't complete. It's in constant flux, always changing, but you can see the changes as they happen. You can anticipate how the ripples created in the past will affect the future and vice versa. For you, dear author, God of worlds, there is no past, present or future. Only story. One story, and it all happens at once.

The words pantser and outliner do not exist in this parallel universe. You’re going to have to do a lot of both. There will be no distinction between the two concepts.

You have two goals, Observer:

1. You need an overarching story question and conflict that will connect all the books.  You must have enough story to span several novels. This is where your worldbuilding comes in. The more worldbuidling you do, the more potential story you can mine from it. Regardless of how many actual books are in your series, the main overarching story needs its own beginning, middle and end.
2. It is strongly advised that each book also has its own story question and conflict and resolution. Each novel in your series should standalone. The simplest way to think of each book in a series is each being one chapter in the whole of the main story.

Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space: Your Timeline

You must be meticulous with your list making. Always pantsing, always planning. They are one in the same. Any changes or additions you make in earlier books will of course affect the books that follow. Anticipate the ripple effect.

Don’t wanna be bald guy? Pick a Doctor then. I’m Dr. Dre.

Like the Doctor in Doctor Who you possess the ability to jump around in time. Even though you're still working on Book 1 you can still write scenes for Book 6.

When I think of new ideas that could potentially throw my off plans for the future of a series I immediately write a very basic outline of what could potentially occur in the future of the series. Example: If in Book 2 I write a new scene where my MC finds an object that stops time and I previously had never made any plans for this object, I'll go into my list for Book 5 and/or Book 7 and include the outline of how this time stopper could possibly come back into play in those books.

This works in reverse as well. Say you drum up a cool concept that would fit perfect for the plot of Book 4, which is far from being written yet. You can foreshadow this new concept in Book 1 or the current book you're writing. Go back into the list you created for Book 1 (or create a new list) and outline various ways your new concept could be foreshadowed. When you discover the method that fits your story, include it into your draft for Book 1. When Book 4 rolls around, it'll looked like you planned it...because you did.

When drafting each book I suggest approaching each of them as if the previous installment doesn’t exist. I mean that in the sense that in the same way you weave backstory throughout the first book, you should try and treat the sequels in the same fashion. No books came before Book 1, yet it has it's own history. Book 2’s past is Book 1. Pretend each sequel is the first in the series to avoid the dreaded info dump and weave necessary information from the prequels throughout the current story without calling attention to it the same way you did with the actual first book.

Recommended Tools:

FreeMind (Windows)
Timeline 3D (Mac)

The Intersect: Your Series Bible

Keep a series bible. When writing a series you’re going to need one of these. It will save your brain and your life. I’ve kept a bible for a series I began writing in 2008, and in the last three years my wittle bible has growed all up. It has enough entries that would rival wikipedia. Not really. But there’s notes in that thing that I will probably never ever write about. There’s notes that I’ve forgotten about completely. There's also notes that I've mined and was able to compile three separate series out of them.

You won’t be able to keep track of every least little thing and the worldbuilding will eventually spiral out of control. It can get pretty damn daunting, I must admit. But that’s ideal situation. More is always merry-er.

It’s all in your head. But doesn’t have to be.

Your bible will help you avoid plot holes by keeping track of:

• Characters: Not just things like hair and eye color, but also their relationships and affiliations with one another. Sidekicks, minor characters, background characters, etc. You can build several characters genealogy charts and list their individual arcs throughout the entire series. If your characters have a power/ability in Book 1 they can’t conveniently forget about it in Book 7 just because the plot hinges on it. Your story bible will remind you of things you will inevitably forget.

• Locations/Setting: History, climate and culture etc. These must be consistent between books. 

• Mcguffins/items: Reuse old objects you may have forgotten about. Easily remember which one was destroyed in the battle of whogoesit.

This is only the tip of the ice in your soft drink. There really is no limit to the information you can hoard in your bible. Clip notes from blog posts like this one and stick it in your bible. Download pictures and stick them in your bible. Any kind of research you do can and should go into your bible. It’s all about being organized in the way that works for you.

Recommended Tools:

OneNote (Windows)
PageFour (Windows)

wikidpad (Windows)

Notebook (Windows, Mac)

All the apps I linked to in this post are tools that I personally use that help make the hard stuff a lot easier. Some of the apps are free. Some cost money. Ultimately, none are required. You can do just as well with pen and paper, which worked just fine for all the authors in the past.

Things to Consider

I suggest to always place most of your focus on the current book in the series (usually Book 1) while only planning the sequels, maybe writing scenes here and there. Your first book will be considered canon to the public. Once it’s published you can’t go back and change anything, not without angering fans. You want to make sure it's a solid effort.

Book 1 has to be amazing enough that readers will be satisfied with it all by itself, but they wouldn't mind a sequel or series. If they crave more of your world and characters, then that's even better. But if readers are dissatisfied with the first book they won't be so eager to come back for the sequels. To keep the momentum from book to book, consider holding back a little. Start small and get bigger as the story goes on like an explosion.

Normally, it’s not the best idea to save ideas for later. What if there is no later? When published authors and agents advise us wannabes to not spend so much time thinking about a series because the first book may never pan out and we may be stuck with all these sequels, they are absolutely correct. If the first book never gets published there won't be a book 2. It would be a bummer to dedicate so much time, and spend all that hard work and energy on something that will never come to fruition.

This is where you have to make your own judgment call on whether you'd want to pursue the risky and daunting task of writing a series. There are never any guarantees. And we all fail sometimes. Cool thing is, we're still alive. And there’s always e-publishing…