Kevlar

November 20th, 2009 by Sara

In the TV show Castle, the amazing Nathan Fillion plays a mystery writer, Rick Castle, who works with the police to solve crimes. Believable? No. Amusing? Yes.

Anyway, Rick Castle occasionally wears a bullet proof vest, but instead of ‘POLICE,’ his says ‘WRITER.’ My friend, and brilliant writer, Alexandra Amor recently asked me, “What writer couldn’t use one of those?”

Her question got me thinking about the public and private nature of writing stories. One day we see something, maybe a dog wearing goggles and riding around in a basket on a motorcycle. And we think, who buys their dog goggles?

Or we eavesdrop on a strange couple at a restaurant and hear the woman say to the man, “That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me all day!” and you wonder, what else has he said to her?  And poof! A story is born.

Then we go to our computers and start typing away, creating a whole world out of that one little question. This process is done in a state of delusion. The delusions that we can make people see the same thing we do. Because even if we write in a coffee shop, surrounded by people, we’re alone in our imaginations, trying to translate what’s in our heads onto paper.

So, in our vacuum, we scribble, tweak, and rearrange until everything’s as perfect as we can get it. Then we send our story out into the world. If we’re unlucky, it comes back to us, not quite right for the person we sent it to. And that hurts.

And if we’re lucky? Hundreds of people read it. Thousands. If we’re really really lucky? Hundreds of thousands. Millions even. Then we’re in real trouble.

Cause then our story, our rough translation of the masterpiece we envisioned, has to stand on its own. We have to rely on our string of words to weave worlds and speak the truth. Some people will love it and some people will hate it. And a few special people will see exactly what we saw. And for them the story will be magic and it will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

And through all of this, we, the writer, have to watch from the sidelines. All of the risk and none of the control. No wonder we need Kevlar.

Posted in Authors, Revision, Writing

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Humming Along

November 11th, 2009 by Sara

What does revision sound like?

For some people it might be the clickity-clack of typing. For others it’s the shush of a highlighter against manuscript pages. But for me it sounds like Battlestar Galactica.

Yes. My revision, at least for my current book, sounds like an epic battle for humanity. Every morning, I sit down and put on Bear McCreary’s brilliant Battlestar soundtrack. While I sip my coffee and look through email, I let my subconscious drift back to the story I’ve been working on. As taiko drums thrum through my keyboard and my pulse races with the music, my fictional world forms around me, along with the characters that I’d left, most likely in a lurch, the day before.

Then I’m ready to write.

All day as I fiddle with dialogue or hit the soul-crushing backspace button, the albums shuffle and repeat, keeping me in the writing trance. The repetition helps me weave a more consistent and vivid world. Like the trick of using 3 different senses to bring a climatic scene alive for a reader, the music helps bring the book alive for me. And like the music I’m listening to, my dark tones and themes repeat again and again, shifting and morphing through the pages.

Books don’t have soundtracks, but authors sometimes do. Writers often make playlists for their fictional characters to listen to. Or, like me, have specific music that they listen to while working on a specific story. Music is such a direct pipeline to our emotions, sweeping us up and away, that I wonder how much of the music we listen to makes it into the pages. And I wonder if my characters are humming along.

Posted in Revision, Writing

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“It’s a Wonderful Query”

November 4th, 2009 by Sara

Since last week’s blog on synopses, I’ve been busy talking with other writers about what really hooks a reader. So I guess it’s time to talk about the synopsis’ hot older sister…

The query.

She’s sexy and alluring and you wish you could get to know her a little better.

And unlike the synopsis, you don’t have to show your whole hand. Whether you want to think of it as a movie trailer or batting your literary eyelashes, what you need is a few killer lines that are going to leave them wanting more.

Or maybe it’s more like writing a personal ad. In it, you show the best possible version of you. Someone that sounds like a person you’d want to meet. But remember, if you are successful, there’s going to be a first date. And there’s no way you can make yourself (or your book) 5′6, with raven hair and silver eyes, if you’re not that already.

So, how do you do this? How do you balance information with allure? How do you sound exciting, but true to your book? As other writers and I puzzled this out, here are a few essentials that came up again and again.

-Play to your strengths.

If your book is funny, make us laugh. If your writing is lyrical, sweep the reader up in your language. If its got fighting lemurs and ninjas and pirates, make us want to pull out our throwing stars. I know this seems obvious, but when you sit down to the daunting task of boiling your novel down into a couple paragraphs or a 30 second pitch, it’s so easy to forget. Plus it’s hard.

-Use active, specific language. Shorter sentences and present tense can also give your words immediacy.

As we try to sum up our beloved books, we often unintentionally distance ourselves. We write “Little Red Riding Hood walked to Grandmother’s house.”

Instead of…”Little Red Riding Hood strides into the dark woods, unaware that each step takes her closer to peril.”

For a few extra (and, I concede, cheesy) words, I’ve bought emotional impact and characterization.

-Just like in the opening lines of a book, in queries it’s important to immediately show what your main character wants.

“Everyday, Rapunzel gazes out over the sea of trees, wishing she could walk beneath their emerald branches.”

-Lure your readers in and keep them wanting more.

Remember, you’re painting a picture, and you want it to convey a character in a specific pose, a mood, a setting. Keep your sentences relatively simple, free of complex punctuation. For the sake of clarity and emphasis, avoid names of secondary characters if you can help it. Likewise, avoid terms that are specific to your book and require explanation. You only have a few precious lines to draw the audience into your world, and you don’t want anything to break the spell.

As important as it is to give your readers enough to tempt them, it’s just as important to know when to stop. You can choose the climatic moment that plunges your character into the conflict of the story. Or you can go a little farther, alluding to the way the character might get out of their conundrum. But unlike a synopsis, in a query you don’t want to give away too many answers.

“After years of living far from the Castle, Sleeping Beauty is overwhelmed by boisterous crowds and the thunder of fireworks. She flees her birthday festivities, only to find something more disturbing waiting for her behind a closed door.”

If you can make your reader or listener really feel the plight of your character and make them wonder what’s behind that door, then you’ve done it. And a request for your manuscript will not be far behind.

So, let’s dust off last week’s metaphor, mostly cause it’s almost lunchtime and I’m getting hungry. If a synopsis is a recipe for a chocolate souffle, then a query is a free sample at the chocolate shop. Tiny, delicious, and there to convince you to buy the whole box. Omnomnom!

Posted in Hooks, Synopsis, Writing

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