Writing 101: The Art of Analepsis

The consensus on the Internet is that flashbacks are the devil and writers should avoid flashbacks if at all possible. Very helpful tip, Internet.

Actual footage of the Internet banishing flashbacks from existence.

I disagree with the conventional wisdom that says flashbacks, simply by nature, interrupt the current action of the story. I believe they can and do only when an author presents them that way.

I suggest writers approach writing flashbacks in the same way we approach any other scene. Flashbacks are simply scenes like any other scene.




Let's kick around a little theory on flashbacks

Technically, flashbacks are backstory, but the effect the passage has on a reader can be manipulated by how the writer approaches the writing.

If you, the author, approaches the writing of a flashback as if it's occurring in the present time, then that's the way it will come across to the reader. But if you approach the scene as if it's occurring in the past, that's the way it will feel to the reader.

Flashbacks can take place in the "present" as much as any other scene. Don't think of flashbacks as the "past" when you write them. Think of them as a part of the current story that you're merely telling out of sequence. (This may apply to prologues and flash-forward’s as well.)





Flashbacks go wrong in these key areas:

• The flashback is not as interesting as the rest of the story.
• The flashback is irrelevant to the rest of the story. Sometimes a particular backstory simply isn't needed at all and its inclusion into the story takes away more than it adds to the story.
• The flashback has no connection to the rest of the story. Sometimes the backstory makes sense in terms of sharing more information about characters, but that information doesn't play an actual role in the character's decision in the present plot.

How do you write flashbacks?

The exact same way you write the main story, with a few exceptions.

Flashbacks tend to more exciting when they begin in media res, but that doesn't mean you can't write a slow building flashback.





To Italicize or not?

If your flashback is short, you may be able to get away with writing the scene in italics, but longer flashback scenes could get annoying when italicized. Usually, it’s best to avoid long passages of italics.

My personal preferred method is to provide some sort of visual cue for the reader signifying that a flashback is about to occur. No italics are needed with this method.

The visual cue could be asterisks (***), a simple line break or a brand new chapter. In general, flashbacks tend to work better when separated from the current narrative.

Whichever visual cue you decide to use, make sure you use that only for the moment any flashback occurs. This way you don't have to announce the flashback with things like: He remembered the day like it was yesterday... (Or something like that.)

You can begin the flashback scene in media res. Readers are intelligent, they will understand that whenever they see your visual cue, they'll instantly know it's flashback time.

Also, providing a cue separates the flashback from the current narrative visually and avoids confusing the reader as you go into it.



What should a flashback be about?

I suggest to avoid trying to explain the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the character’s behavior by means of a flashback. That's not to say that you must never do it, but it is to say that the purpose of your flashback should be much more than that.

Flashbacks, just like all your scenes, should try to accomplish multiple things at once. If it’s just a scene showing the reason behind your character’s meanness, the scene is not working as hard as it could be. There should be as much drama and conflict in your flashback as there is in the current storyline.

Great flashbacks, like great scenes/characters/plots can not be removed from the story without ruining the overall experience. If you can remove the flashback without harming the rest of the story, it probably should be removed.





Cardinal rules

• Flashbacks must play an active role in the current storyline.

A choice your character made in her past must affect the new choice she makes in the current storyline; a character from her past appears in her present, etc.

• The flashback must only occur in a moment that is both realistic and during an emotional hook that connects the past to the present. 

A high adrenaline scene can't be interrupted by a flashback without feeling unrealistic. Bring in the flashback at a time when it feels natural that a character would think about his or her past. These are usually low tension scenes.

• Orient the reader. 

Flashbacks are the same as any other scene. You must tell the reader where and when they are in relation to time and space, even if, and especially if you begin in media res.

• Don't throw in a flashback scene too early in your story. 

How early is too soon?  It's not a science. There is no definitive answer. But it's a good idea to establish your character and main plot significantly before you enter a flashback. If the reader isn't interested in your character or main plot then the flashback is less likely to interest them.

The longer you spend establishing your main character/plot the more interested in a flashback the reader is likely to become. If you've successfully established your character and plot to a point where readers do care, then you can drop a flashback into your narrative at any time.

Always try to hold the flashback off for as long as you can though. If it can wait till Chapter 5 then definitely don't put it in Chapter 1.

It's very rare that a flashback works within the first five chapters. The ones that do are the exception to the rule. I would never say that you can't experiment and try new things, but when you do, get feedback from people you trust like a beta reader.

Writing 101: Don't Over-think It

A writer friend of mine who went through a bout of “analysis paralysis” prompted this post. This writer was so stuck on a part of their story that they became frozen and couldn't even begin to try to work the story issue out. Instead, they began a futile search for answers from sources outside of their self, which lead to more procrastination.

A certain level of stress builds as we bounce around the social media sphere reading blogs like this one, and recommended how-to books; as we follow agents on twitter in hopes of mining that one jewel that we can use to pawn our babies off to stardom; and as we glue our rear-ends to a chair and toil away in seclusion, never surfacing air.

Too much of that behavior can lead to over-thinking. In extreme cases, you may become paralyzed and incapable of making any decision like my friend.

Over-thinking can also lead to second guessing our choices and not trusting our gut instincts when we should; we may edit the life out of our manuscripts, and blindly follow advice that’s bad for us.

Deep down we all know how to tell stories. Storytelling is built into our DNA. Some of us can whip out those instincts more naturally than others, but it's in all of us regardless.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you writing is hard. It’s simply not true.

All the things that come with navigating the industry: prepping a story for publication, finding an agent, building a platform, getting published, and becoming the next J.K. Rowling/Stephanie Meyer/Dan Brown etc.; those things have certain degrees of difficulty. But the act of writing is easy.

Keep calm.

Write. One. Word. At. A. Time.

Don't be this guy.

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.

Flawed Perfection

There is no such thing as a perfectly written story. Even the greatest stories have flaws. Writers and publishers have to be okay with a certain level of flaws in the stories they produce.

Some readers and reviewers will gripe about everything that went wrong within a particular book, while others will rave about everything that went right with that same story. There’s a tolerance level for everything and it’s different for each person.

Or frog.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) deems dirt, hair, and non-invasive insects "natural contaminants" and are indeed allowed and present in your food.

The “Food Defect Action Levels” is a booklet published by the FDA that details what they say are natural or unavoidable defects in foods that present no health hazards for humans.

According to the FDA they are needed " ... because it is economically impractical to grow, harvest, or process raw products that are totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects."

And so it is when writing a book as well. It is impractical to write, edit, proofread, beta, or critique a novel that will be completely free of grammar issues, structural missteps, story inconsistencies, or any unavoidable oversight.

This is why you can pluck a random novel off a shelf and find some kind of problem with it, large or small. And to top it off, every story just isn’t for every reader no matter how clean the manuscript comes out after so many editing passes.

This is not to say that an author shouldn't apply that elbow-grease and try to scrub her story free of dirt and grime. It is only to say that the greatest stories shine despite their flaws. Natural errors in a story present no enjoyment hazard to the right reader. To these readers, there may not be a flaw at all.

As an author, the key is to make book’s flaws invisible by telling a great story. This is the one and only rule.

So, keep serving up your fly soup.





What is your ”Story Defect Action Level”? Do a certain number of story issues cause you to close a book? What’s your favorite story that you consider flawed yet oh, so perfect?

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: Take A Break

Taking a break is a writing technique that is often overlooked and not even considered a writing technique at all (probably because it doesn't involve any writing). How exactly can taking a break from writing help your writing?

Luckily, you don’t have to wait for her to wake up to get an answer. After all, she’s just a picture.

Back in February of this year, an unexpected life situation forced to move into my sister's basement temporarily. During that month, I took a break from a lot of things. One of those things I paused was writing. For that entire month, I didn't write anything. I swapped manuscripts with my lovely beta reader, and we critiqued each other’s work. But when I got my critique back I sat it aside and didn't immediately address its concerns.

At the end of that month I moved back home and began writing again. Suddenly, I felt refreshed, reinvented. More surprisingly, instead of feeling rusty and needing to gain back any momentum, my writing came across stronger than ever. I was able to approach my newly critiqued manuscript with a clear head and now have a better novel to show for it. Such a long hiatus may not work for every writer though. This is natural for me.

My writing tends to follow a cycle. First I go through periods of writing binges where I write every single day. I become this non-stop prose spewing beast banging on the keys for hours a day, seven days a week.

Then, after those long writing binges, I go through another phase where I don’t write anything at all for long stretches of time. It can last for weeks, but I’m never bothered by this lull because it’s always been like a recharge for my proverbial batteries. The cycle just begins again.

We writers tend to live in our heads and its necessary for us to step outside and enjoy the sunshine more than every once in a while. Shaking up your routine can sometimes, inadvertently, lead to you generating some of your best material. How many times has inspiration struck you while taking a shower? Sometimes you do your best writing when you're not even writing.

So go and take that break for a few minutes and allow your subconscious to work out your story problems. To prevent burnout, go on hiatus for a day, or a week, or a month. Do something else. Shut the computer down. Have some chocolate. Spend time with your family. Enjoy life outside of your head. You deserve it. And your story needs it.

Do you take breaks from writing? What affect does it have on your writing?

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

5 Phrases That Boil My Blood

The following are phrases that make my blood boil.


Write what you know

This is a darling we should all kill on sight. This phrase makes my blood boil for a reason you might not expect. The reason I strongly dislike this phrase is because of it's sheer pointlessness. Every writer writes what they know. It is literally impossible to write what you don't know. Mind. Blown. You just got raptured. Deal with it.


Rules of Writing

Not really a phrase that people say, but I'm a rebel. I just changed the rules on you.

For all the so called "rules" that we make such a hoopla about, they really don't exist. They're imaginary. They're all made up. They're unicorns. The truth is, we all pretend as if these things are real tangible objects. Yes, they work when implemented--Sometimes. Most of the time. If you're lucky. The rules are effective within the construct we have collectively built. Keywords: we. built.

Rules are our creation. These rules were not bestowed upon Earth before we arrived. We all just agree that things should be a certain way so it doesn't get confusing, which is great. Confusion is bad. But anything man made can be changed, manipulated, rearranged, reimagined, reconstructed, remade. We just don't bother to do it because it's really really hard work. And we human beings love our consistency.

Just to clarify: I'm not advocating that we should in any way disregard the rules of writing. Not at all. I would never suggest any writer to not follow any of the guidelines that would only improve their craft and the experience for the reader, especially if you wish to get published. However, as an artist, once we realize that all of it is an illusion, we free ourselves from the Matrix. And sometimes it's healthy to give yourself that room to experiment. Learn kung fu.

Whether or not you will end up with publishable work is another conversation, which is constantly bandied about all over the Internets, so much so that there's no need for me to regurgitate it here.

"You can not put a grade on true art." -- Lil' B

Never [insert thing you should never do]

Anytime you encounter a phrase with the word "never" in it, it's always wrong. (Unless it's something like: never wander into a Bear's home and use their furniture or eat their food. But we're taking about writing.) Never is nearly forever. That's a really long time to exclude something that is already a part of our ever evolving language.

Maybe the phrase should say: You could try this some other time, but not right now.


Only if you're a genius

It's often said around writing blogs [who?] that one shouldn't write a particular way unless you're a genius. Usually someone will say, "[Genius author] could get away with writing this way because they are a genius."

Well, I guess I have to become a genius then or else I'm screwed because everything has already been done before...by geniuses.

Example from Elmore Leonard's Ten rules for writing fiction:

9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things, unless you're Margaret Atwood and can paint scenes with language.

Why does Margaret Atwood get to have all the fun? No, I don't think Mr. Leonard was actually saying that only Margaret Atwood is capable of writing those kind of scenes. Nor was he saying that she was the only one that should write them. He was complimenting a fellow great author. But the crazy old Internets have taken this phrase to mean that only geniuses should attempt the crazy, good stuff because only geniuses can pull off the crazy, good stuff. [citation needed] And new writers get lost in the sauce, wondering whatever shall they do?

The interesting thing about this phrase is that people outside of the genius' head tend to recognize the person as a genius more so than the actual genius identifies his of herself as a genius.

Following me? Just like insane people think they're sane. Geniuses think everyone thinks the way they do until we make them aware of how primitive we all are in comparison.

Let me put it another way. Einstein wasn't going around saying, "Hey numskull. I'm a genius. Listen to everything I have to say." He simply spoke his mind, honestly and people listened to him because they recognized the genius in him.

Drawing circles like a boss!

Maybe Einstein is a bad example because he's like a super genius. (And I'm no historian. So my Einstein facts will be at least 1% inaccurate. Maybe more.)

Let's take an author you admire. Think of your favorite author, the one you think of as a genius. You love everything they do. More than likely he or she doesn't think of themselves as a genius. They simply write what they're driven to write, what they love, the story they can't not write. Your genius author probably even has doubts about their work just like we do. We're all just people, man.

I could be wrong, but I don't think that authors, like Hemingway for instance, knew he would be the great almighty Hemingway before he became the great almighty Hemingway. That would take some serious clairvoyance.

If you are a genius, you won't know it unless you hang around idiots who know a lot less than you or when people declare you a genius because you've accomplished something no one else has, just like your favorite author. But the odds are you aren't a genius. The good news is you don't have to be. Ever heard of Snooki? (That could be bad news depending on how you look at it.)


Readers know what they want

This phrase is incomplete. In it's entirety it should read: Readers know what they want only when they come across it--after the fact, and not in advance of the existence of said material.

Before Harry Potter existed, no reader was shouting, "Why hasn't anybody written Harry Potter yet?  Don't they know I want to read it? The next new author should write Harry Potter. They'll make a billion dollars."

Sounds silly, right? This is the exact reason why you can't write explicitly for readers. They don't know what they want. Readers are great at finding what appeals to them from existing material. That's it.

You have an amazing book idea right now, something I could never think of. I don't know that I want to read it yet because from my perspective, whatever it is, it doesn't exist.

Write with readers in mind, but not for them. Be considerate of your potential readers, but you can't really cater to them because authors don't know exactly what readers want either. If we did, we'd all be instant bestsellers.

There's a middle ground between writing what you love and making that reader-friendly. Find that balance. When you do, let me know where you found it. I need some of that mojo.


Disclaimer: Those tiny wikipedia links [who?]  & [citation needed] were meant as a joke. I was poking fun at my own weasel words and unverified claims. I hope you got the joke and didn't think I copied and pasted the post from some wiki article or something.

3 Inspiring Talks

We're going to switch it up on Writing 101 this week. The videos below, I've watched them multiple times and revisit them every so often. I hope these talks inspire you the way they've inspired me.

J.J. Abrams' Mystery Box 

J.J. Abrams traces his love for the unseen mystery –- a passion that’s evident in his films and TV shows, including Cloverfield, Lost and Alias -- back to its magical beginnings.

Elizabeth Gilbert On Nurturing Creativity

Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses -- and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person "being" a genius, all of us "have" a genius. It's a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

Margaret Atwood
"The Publishing Pie: An Author's View"