Developing Plot & Your First Narrative

If you want your story to sell, it's gotta have equal parts of genius, uniqueness, and well developed story elements.  If you have the beastly ability to shape superb dialogue, but lack scene creation, your narrative will ... suck.  If you have amazing world building skills, but fail to deliver meaningful
dialogue, you might as well put your head on the chopping block.  Every element of fashioning a story must be just as strong as it's counterpart (links in a chain, braids of a rope etc ... hear Mr. Miyagi, young grass hopper!).

So let's take a look at one of the elements you might be struggling with, and don't even know it yet.  I'm talking about your plot, my friends.  You see, at first you have this bright beacon shinning inside your head with clear vision on where the story should go.  You've got the big picture all laid out, and writing it out should be simple.

And then you start ... and stop.  Holy plot holes, Batman!  What happened?  You got a few chapters in, set some things up, and now you've got no clue how to drive the story forward.  Welcome, new writer.  Grab a coffee and enjoy a muffin.  You'll be here for a moment or two.

Think about structure.  It's going to help you dramatically (pun intended) with your plot development.  Some writers are able to fly by the seat of their pants, pumping out story after well crafted story.  Usually that's because they've taken the time to master the rudimentary elements necessary to create beautiful literary works.  There are a few different ways to structure your story, and some of it may be dependent on what kind of story you're wanting to write.  Ultimately, using some of these techniques will help you learn how to develop your plot, and perhaps avoid big rewrites, inconsistencies, and plot holes.

The Basics

So what is drama and why does your story need it?  Drama in a story is that factor that makes the reader want to turn the page. There is conflict, unknown outcomes, second guessing as to where the story is gonna go.  All of it is summed up as drama.  Drama can be formed by understanding and using the following elements in your story.  I'll not explain these elements, but you should really go here and read up on them.  They are key to developing a solid plot that people want to turn the page to discover.

1.  Story Goal
2.  Consequences 
3.  Requirements
4.  Forewarnings 
5.  Costs 
6.  Dividends
7.  Prerequisites 
8.  Preconditions

Again, if these terms are completely foreign to you, go here to learn more about them (I've mentioned the same link twice, so you know it's important).  No matter what story you have, creating tension (drama) will make the story fill important.  I discovered a very simple way to do this.

Have two narratives instead of one.  One narrative if for your hero, driving them to achieve the story goal.  The other narrative is for the villains, where they have their own story goal they are trying to achieve. The villain and their plot opposes the hero in every way.  These are the forewarnings in your ultimate plot. When you work at it from these two perspectives, it is like a whirlpool of story, with tension building with setbacks (to either side) until the two forces meet and resolution must be achieved.

If you plan it out well enough, your story will be compelling.  As a beginning author, destined for greatness, take the time to learn how to formulate a plot.  This simple technique will transform you from being scatter-brained, to being a juggernaut of a story teller.

How about you?  Have you discovered a plot development technique that really helped your writing achieve a new, professional level?  Tell us about it in the comments below.  Please check me out on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr!  Share the crap out of this if you found it useful.

Dialogue Tags and Your First Novel

When you first started to write your book (look at you, on the ball!) you found the word "said" to be incredibly boring.  In a decent chain of dialogue, that word can get repeated a million times.  As you wrote your story, I'm sure you ended up going back over the parts you just read, and when you do, you see; no, you feel how repetitive "said" is.  It begins to really dig at you, and so you start to come up with some more exciting modifiers to use instead of the mayonnaise-like "said".  

Let's clarify what a dialogue tag is:

"Hello," Joe said
"What's it to ya?" muttered Henry.

There are two camps on the subject of dialogue tags.  One group of writers will say that dialogue tags should stay simple like "said" or the occasional "asked".  In their opinions (and this is mostly true) the word "said" ends up getting shoved to the back of our reading experience and almost disappears altogether.  Subconsciously it keeps the reader aware of who is speaking, but for the most part they skip right over it.  Think back to the last book you read (assuming it had dialogue); do you remember really reading all of the name tags the writer put in there?  Probably not, and that's why you should keep it simple.  Dialogue tags other than the basics will draw attention to themselves, slowing down the pace (which could kill your story), and may cause the reader to stumble over them.  Remember, you don't even need dialogue tags but every so often.  Look at it like this:

"Okay Joe," mumbled Larry, "it's time to get going."

"But why?" cried Joe.

"Because," grumbled Larry, "work is work and it's time you get to it!"

"Oh man.  Can't I just sleep in for once?" said Joe.

"Dad's gonna kill you if you do it again.  Let's go!" spat Larry.


See how I used "mumbled", "cried", and "grumbled" instead of "said"?  If you want fast dialogue, avoid the use of such tags.  Take a look at this example, this time with the tags cleaned up:


"Okay Joe," said Larry, "it's time to get going."

"But why?" asked Joe.

"Because work is work and it's time you get to it!"

"Oh man.  Can't I just sleep in for once?"

"Dad's gonna kill you if you do it again.  Let's go!"


This second time I only used enough dialogue tags so the reader can identify who is speaking.  Then I remove them altogether so that the conversation can happen quickly.  Notice how much quicker the conversation can occur when you keep it simple and use them sparingly? In an urgent scene, it will help the reader feel a sense of urgency.

The other camp will use the heck out of them when they need to.  If you open a book by Patrick Rothfuss or Joe Abercrombie, you'll see pretty quick they don't belong to any camp exclusively.  In one chapter, you may encounter a slew of intricate dialogue tags/modifiers, and the next it may be quick paced, action-talk.   That's because the use of dialogue tags and modifiers can be genre specific.  Do you know what that means?  Well, my dear friend, it means that fantasy novels and modern day thrillers are written differently.  They adhere to different rules, and don't always have to play the "quick and hard" game for the reader.  Fantasy novels are just as much about the minute details as is they are about the progression of the story via dialogue.  This is not so of modern day thrillers.

Think about your novel.  Think about what genre you are writing.  What specifics do you notice one author using that seems to contradict another?  Trust me, you'll find out a lot about stinkin' "rules" and who gets published (and subsequently who doesn't).

Don't overuse, don't under-use, and let your story dictate what it needs for it to be told.

Be weary of people that say you must stick with camp number 1.  That is poor advice, and will get it written in a corner you won't know how to get out of.  Pay attention to the authors that you enjoy, and why you enjoy them.  And for God's sake, look at how they use dialogue tags!

So how about you?  What's your novel about?  Are you locked into a genre, and if so, do you have a specific camp you feel you have to adhere to?  Let us know about it in the comments below.  As always, like it, love it, share it, follow it.

Writing the Perfect Scene: Show Don't Tell

In my last post I spoke about my first grimy introduction to literary criticism from other writers.  If you didn't read it (shame, shame) then you should probably go back and do that now.  Look, I'll even include a link to it (see how well I treat you?).  In short, criticism sucks, but it will make your writing better.  But that doesn't mean that everything another writer throws your way should be taken like the words of Jesus Himself (remember, there's a lot of unpublished writers who stick to the rules).

I wanted to discuss some of the rules that you're gonna hear in connection to your narrative.  Some of them may be worth paying attention to, or at least keeping in the back of your mind while you are crafting away.  Others might be outright dumb, genre specific, creative writing course style bull crap.  Okay, you're right; I shouldn't call it bull crap ... I insult the feces of the bovine brethren too much. Let's  take a look at one of the "rules" I found most helpful.

Show The Reader, Don't Tell 

This one seems pretty straight forward, right?  I mean, you are writing a novel after all, and the point is for your readers is to see what's inside your head ... right?  This "rule" is somewhat deceitful in it's simplicity, because it is complex to adhere to.  The heart and soul of this rule is to have the dialogue (character interactions) drive the story forward while you show the reader what's going on.  Showing people something is one of the first skills we learn as mortal creatures (like the baby on the right), but it seems to be something we lose the older we get.  Look at this example:

Telling

 John was angry because his wife was leaving him.

Showing

John slammed his fist down on the bare kitchen table.  "Why can't we fix this, Helen?" he said.  "Why won't you just try!"

"Because," Helen said with her back towards him, "you'll never change."


See the difference in the (poor) example above?  Telling the reader simply states a fact.  It's boring, uninteresting, and leaves nothing for the reader to imagine.  Showing the reader changes everything.  You don't have to spell it out for the reader; they are clever creatures, and can get that John is angry with his wife ... if you write it well enough.

 "What about back story?" you may ask.  "How will the reader know what's going on unless I give them three pages of backstory before the opening scene?"

Good question, my dear Watson!  Very astute observation, my friend (I thought about saying "boy" here, and then "girl" ... my androgynous desires won out with "friend").  This is where you will hear the phrase drip feed.  Think of it just as it sounds.  You don't want to dump a butt load of information on the reader all at once like a dense chunk of Leftover casserole (now that's not casserole that was left over from dinner last night.  I mean Leftover Casserole, as in that dish that Mom makes every Friday that includes all the leftovers from the week before).  Rather, give the reader (through context and well planned dialogue) small, delicious, nutrient-packed crumbs as you go along.  This will help add drama to your narratives, and create the page-turning desire you want your reader to have with your work.

Take a look at the example of John and his wife.  I could have said, "John's wife was leaving him because John was stubborn and violent.  After several beatings she was sick of the abuse."  Even though it's one line, there's a lot of information that can be shown to the reader rather than explained, especially if the story's focal point is why she left her husband. In the showing example, information is slowly given to the reader through context and dialogue.  The reader can get that Helen is leaving John, that John is angry about it, and that John is (in Helen's opinion) stubborn.  A clever reader (and they always are) will get that John is violent (i.e. banging the table).  Nothing should be said in your story that isn't important (is this a rule?), and if it's worth mentioning, then it's worth showing (holy Moses!  More rules!  What have I become?!)

Finally, telling your reader what's happening, or has happened in the story, is basically calling them dumb.  You unknowingly believe that the reader will not be able to draw the connections together on their own, and so you must tell them up front.  This is a lie of the adversary, the devil, to get you to write crappy stories!  Alright, the devil might not be responsible for your misstep here, but then again ... maybe (shifty eyes).

This "rule" happens to be one that I think will really elevate your work.  Maybe you're not like me, and you figured this one out pretty early.  If so, then good for you.  We're proud of you!  But for the rest of us, this is going to be something we'll have to really work hard to remember.  And you probably won't catch it the first time through.  This is one of those things you'll catch in the dreaded editing stage of your novel (good luck with that).

So what do you think?  Is this a "rule" of writing good narrative, or are there instances where spoon feeding your reader is exactly what you need to do?  Let us know in the comments below.  If you've found this information useful, like it, love it, share it, and share some more!  Don't forget to follow and subscribe!

Criticism & Your First Novel

Criticism sucks.  There I said it.

It's not fun, it doesn't feel good, and it's not going to be easy.  David Mitchell, Black Swan Green, said, 

"If you show someone something you've written, you give them a sharpened stake, lie down in your coffin, and say, 'When you're ready'." 

 If you haven't taken this critical (deplorable) step in your quest to become (que superhero overtones) the Greatest Writer in the Universe, pay close attention to this quote ... it's true, and, just like the death of Dracula, you'll feel the torture of every negative word they speak (or write).  Beware, my friends, this road you've chosen to embark upon is one filled with the flayed skin of writers, and the continual, mutalation of their souls.  Criticism to the writer is it's own kind of hell.  Beware!  You must have the skin of a German Panzer to withstand what must be endured.

And it must be endured, too.  If you don't let anyone read your work before you attempt to publish, be it self publishing or through a traditional publishing house, you will be doing yourself and your novel a great disservice.  It doesn't matter how many times you have re-written your story.  It doesn't matter if you edited the holy crap out of it and found it flawless.  Someone, somewhere will find something that needs to change within your work.  

It's Okay.

You know why it's okay?  Because people (other than mom, God love her) can pick out those places in your narrative that are flimsy and weak.  If your dialogue is too boring to keep someone reading, you need to know about it.  They (your critics) will find information dumps where you thought you had none, and stupid, dumb, inconsistencies that you know shouldn't be there.  In short, taking those criticisms will make your writing stronger, better, more efficient, and just freakin' awesome (like the 6 million dollar man).

 But at what cost?  Is there a cost (shifty eyes) ... yes.  There may be a cost involved.

The Problem With Criticism

So let's say you've already spent countless hours researching for your novel.  Now you've gotten twenty, fulfilling chapters pumped out, and have decided that you want others to take a look at it.  You're sold on your work.  You love your work.  It's your baby.  You spoon fed it it's first few days ... changed it's dirty diapers, burped the little farts out of it.  I bet you remember the day when the chapters started to fly from your fingers, too.  Wasn't that a wonderful day?  Writing became quick and furious for you, and you watched your baby grow.

Now you're letting other people hold that baby, and they don't quite think so much of it as you do.  You thought it was damn near flawless, little to no blemish.  But the critics?  Oh man, they've all but dissected it, chewed it up, spat it out, and became a little green because it just didn't settle too well (I've now moved from the baby metaphor to food ... do not eat babies, please ... unless they are scrambled with cheese and from a chicken).  

Then they will rattle off all of these "rules" of writing that you've unknowingly broken.  "Poor thing," they say, "you obviously didn't know ... why would you have written such [insert negative term referring to your writing] if you had known?"  They mention your use of adverbs, and then your dialogue tags ... oh God, what have I done?  I've used "mumbled" instead of "said"!

You've discovered there are all these rules that you should've been paying attention to, and that perfect little baby looks a little more like an Orc (Balruk, runny bowels, he is now called) than a human.  Your heart it broken; you've been torn down, and you don't think you have the courage to pick yourself back up again (one dude even said your work sucked so much that he couldn't read it all).  Perhaps, like me, you contemplated throwing it all away (if I'm that bad, why should I be a writer in the first place?).  

Your work is worth it, that's why.  All those tears, all that hatred and self-loathing ... worth it.

Because you've got a damn good book, and you freakin' know it.  Take the criticisms that are helpful.  Employ the ones that really make your work to shine.  Take the painful criticisms and learn from them.  But don't get bogged down by them.  Make sure you keep pushing forward, ever progressing to that lofty goal of being a working writer (and all the things that means to you).  

I felt like life had ended.  While writing my novel, He the Hallowed, I fell into something like I've described above.  For a day or so I thought I needed to really follow all these rules people kept throwing at me.  Was I really that bad of a writer?  Had I not paid attention to the books I read as research?  I picked up a couple of best sellers from my private library (book shelf) and flipped through them.  

Do you know what I found?

Authors who disobeyed the almighty "rules", that's what.  So be careful that you don't listen to every word that your constructive critics suggest.  What they say, no matter how they say it, doesn't make them unaltered laws that you have to follow.  I'll leave you with another quote to simmer on until next time:

"In theory it was, around now, Literature.  Susan hated Literature.  She'd much prefer to read a good book." -Terry Pratchett, Soul of Music

Okay, one more:

"If critics say your work stinks it's because they want it to stink and they make it stink by scaring you into conformity with their comfortable little standards.  Standards so low that they can no longer be considered "dangerous" but set in place in their compartmental understandings." - Jack Kerouac 

For more quotes on novels and criticisms, check this out (all of the above quotes were derived from goodreads).  Sharing this stuff encourages me to write it.  If you feel encouraged by what I write, please follow me and sp-sp-sp-spread the word!

What do you think of criticism?  Have you ran into other writers that preach "rules" like a Southern Baptist on the sinner's prayer?  Let us know about it in the comments below.

2 Things That will Improve Your Writing

Writing does not happen in a vacuum...don't get me wrong, though.  It's our world.  We do what we want in it.  No one can tell us anything different.  How would the literary genre grow if we didn't? (hint:  it wouldn't).  Some more conservative writers may call it bad practice, or poor quality(nay sayers!).  Being a pioneer in writing is a matter of perspective; to some you may be a genius, and to others...your work may not be worthy to grace their hindquarters (butts...I'm talking about butts).  What was I saying? Oh yeah, the vacuum thing:  it takes some outside forces to help mold and shape our abilities into that superhuman thing you've been wanting ever since you became serious about the pen.

Either way, there are 2 things that can really help elevate your writing experience.  They will help shape you into the writer that you want to be, and enlighten your mind so that you may discover the more intricate complexities of narrative formation.  A good writer (that's you) wants all the help they can get, and must never, ever back down from the seemingly overwhelming forces of evil (Sauron) that keeps us from moving on.  Remember:  we can always become better, but it will require hard work, sacrifice, and relationships.  What's that?  Why relationships?  Chill out, I'm getting there.

1.  Read & Take Notes

Reading is obviously part of being a writer (at least it should be).  I couldn't imagine a world where a
writer never read other narratives.  Writer's write, after all, and readers read.  But a writer always reads.  I am willing to wager that you probably became inspired to be a writer because you read someone's work and thought, "man!  I wanna do that!  I wanna tell a story like that one day!"

 The next thing you know, you've sat down in front of your computer, and started working away on that thing.  Of course, you trash the whole project two months later because you realize that it's tit for tat the plot of Lord of the Rings, or 28 Days Later (dark lords to zombies...someone should do it).  I became super inspired after watching Lord of the Rings as a child, sat down to Windows 95, and started pumping out pages.  I was a kid, so that was cool for me.  But as a mature writer (with age comes wisdom...I hope), I understand the necessity of reading for the purpose of writing.

There's the difference.  You have probably read a book for entertainment purposes, but have you picked up a few best sellers in your genre to see what makes them sell so well?  (Also, let's be honest. You're writing to sell your work so that people will read it...and so you can get money).  Look at the mechanics of how they write.  Look at their usage of punctuation, plot development, narrative structure, character usage, the tone of the story...I mean there are literally  thousands of things you can look for that can give you a boost in your writing.

Joe Abercrombie is one of those authors whose books I have picked apart mercilessly.  I love his stories, and the voice he was able to produce in his writing (The Bloody Nine...check him out).  I didn't know the first thing about writing a book (other than it would be epic), and realized that I had shelves full of professionals who could teach me the art of the craft.  Sit back with a few books and pay attention.  Take notes on things that you like, elements that work well, and those that just don't seem to fit.  You will be amazed at how much you will learn from the first five pages.

2.  Be In Relationship With Other Writers

This one might be a little tricky.  I doubt you have a ready-made pub full of writers like Tolkien and Lewis did to help them bounce ideas back and forth (but you might...if you do, I am envious).  But there are other ways to do this, thanks to the magical realm of the interwebs. Forums, groups, databases...a whole slew of sites that offer the kind of relationship you need to make things happen.

For instance, one such place is called My Writer's Circle.  This place is great.  Here, you will get all the encouragement you will ever need.  I recently joined the site (send me a PM if you join after reading this "CodyWright77"), and have found tons of ways improve my writing.  The benefits are innumerable, and I'm not going to get into them right now; I'll just mention the big one.

Critiquing.  You need someone other than Mom (God love her) to look at your work.  Family is great, but you need people who don't  know you from some other Joe.  Be warned:  those people are not there to kiss your butt and make you feel good about yourself.  They will look at your work and be honest...terribly, unashamedly honest.  Which is really a good thing.  Just be ready to take some hard blows.  But they are blows of love (butterflies, sunshine & rainbows)!  And they will teach you what a reader wants when they open your story (first lines are SO important).

Let's recap:  Writing is hard, and you can't do it all alone.  You need to look to people that have done what you want to do to get help (read books, take notes).  You should also think about letting total strangers on the internet look over it, too.  People that, truly, are kindred spirits to yourself.  This will help drive your story to the high places, unleashing your potentiality, and helping you get where you want to be.  Find those relationships, cultivate and reciprocate, and see what happens.

Have you already joined an online community of  other writers, or do you have a few buddies that get together every now and again to discuss your work with?  How about a novel you've read as both entertainment and research?  Tell us about it in the comments below.

If you found this information helpful, please share it on your social media go-to!  Others may find it useful also...but (darkness, thunder and lightening) how are they to find it unless you share!

Getting Bored of Writing Your Novel? Take a Hike!

The sun beats down on the back of your neck.  Early in the cool morning, it's rays were a welcomed friend.  By midday, though, it became a torturing little leech, sucking the comfort right from you soul, and by night you wish you could've had it's truth telling shine for just a few moments longer.  The smell of pine in a quieted forest, a top a mountain that overlooks a deep, deep canyon...the faint sound of tumultuous white water, raging down it's predetermined, ancient path.  You are in the wilderness, far from things made by the hands of men.  Only God and His work remains before you... 

If you didn't read this and finish with a mental image of yourself standing on a mountain top with the faint sound of angelic voices rising in a deafening crescendo, please read this again...okay, fine, but I hope you get the point.  In my last post I wrote about three things that inspired me to write my narrative, but only really spoke about the first two.  Today I wanted to expand on that third thing, and it's all about the activity of writing in the wilderness.  It's some kind of weird mesh up of camping, hiking, writing, and gadgetry to get you there and back again...and naturally, the inspiration of it all.

I call it "Adventure Writing" (insert Superman theme music).  As far as I can tell, it's not a thing...or it probably is, but the great oracle of the interwebs (google) could only prophecy of people writing about adventures...that is not what this is.  This, my friends, is far more active in nature (pun intended).

Hammock style on the edge of a cliff

The heart of adventure writing is getting out and away from the deadly monotony of sitting at home, staring at a lifeless screen, and "working" away on your narratives.  Let's face it:  writing a novel is A LOT of hard work, and most of it isn't what we thought of when we wanted to be novelists (I for one still have this image of a half crazed, manic version of myself bent over a laptop with feverish eyes repeating the same phrase over and over again).  Adventure writing is a weird synthesis of living out what we see in our heads, and the discovery of unknown places just outside of our comfort zones.  No one has ever gone to the places we create; we are the forerunners of a pristine, new world, and when you venture out into the wilderness, it has an odd familiarity to it.

The picture above was taken when I was out in the Linville Gorge wilderness area on one of my first overnight writing adventures.  I had spent the week before this excursion scouting out the area, learning it's maps, and figuring out the perfect place for solitude and beauty.  I hung my hammock as close as I could to a cliff on top of a ridge that dropped several hundred feet below, made a fire, and wrote until the fear strangled the last bit of creativity out of me (a baby 'squatch ate my hat, but more on that later).  It was more than just an experience; it was a fundamentally life changing event.

Go. 

 Get out there, and do it.  You will learn something of yourself, and something of your story.  Your personal, human frailty will emphasize, perhaps, that one thing missing from your character's personality.  Maybe you and I will learn some of the same lessons, and maybe you will discover something beyond beautiful.  At the very least, you'll come back loving your family just a little more.

If you want to hear more about my time in the high places, you'll have to subscribe or like, or favorite this thingy I do here...figure out some way to check back in!  Hit that google+ sign at the top right, and share the crap out of it on Facebook!

Have you ever felt like you needed a serious overhaul for your writing process?  Where did it take you?  What nuggety bit of deep fried goodness came from it?  Tell us about it in the comments below.