A recent series of guest blogs over at Agent Nathan Bransford's Blog has left me thinking about craft. Added to this initial kickstart, I've been browsing through Tony Hillerman's book TALKING MYSTERIES. The combination has resulted in something I like to call Plotting Gravy. Actually, I just made that up--and I don't like it all that much either.
All that to say, in thinking of my WIP, I've come to the understanding that the plot should be thickening at all times, kind of like a good gravy. If it isn't thickening, it just won't hold up under pressure. It will sag in the middle, it will leave you disappointed at the end.
Having come to this earth shattering conclusion, I decided I needed to do everything I could to thicken my plot in a successful manner. the logical question--at least to me--is: What can be done to create a stellar plot? How do I achieve that finely crafted story many writers dream of?
So, I've been compiling ideas and information--some original, some from published authors--about plot. Over the next few days, I will be posting on each idea I've come across, as well as different ways of applying the ideas, and pros and cons that I think are associated with the ideas.
In the mean time, I'd like to hear from y'all:
How do you go about structuring the overall plot of your books?
Monday, July 13, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Villains, plotlines, and doughy apple cobbler.
And now the moment you have all been waiting for...I will reveal the secret to making a good cobbler:
BUY ONE. Or, at the very least--DO NOT SUBSTITUTE TORTILLA FLOUR FOR REAL FLOUR. EVEN IF YOU HAVE RUN OUT OF REAL FLOUR.
Anyhow, as I mentioned in my last post, my latest WIP is a mystery set in sunny, or more appropriately, windy New Mexico.
In an effort to procrastinate writing that dreaded first draft--er--productively manage my time, I began working on my "elevator pitch" while stalling--ehem--plotting my first chapter.
But seriously. I learned quite a bit from my previous wip's: I like to get a skeleton plot out as early as possible, I like to get to know my characters, I like to be mean to my characters--thereby producing conflict, and I like to do it all as efficiently as possible. I mean, first drafts already take up an exorbitant amount of time, why make matter worse?
So, while I DO know where this story is going, having recently read that writing those one sentence, vague hook things that are at once intriguing and horribly annoying can help you keep your plot in focus (When accompanied by a short description of the story that vaguely resembles a back cover description), I decided to write one.
It looks something like this:
When three teens are murdered and one disappears,a former PI must confront her past to secure her niece's future.
Or this:
When three teens are murdered and her niece disappears, a former PI must return to the life she left to save the family she loves.
Now I'm off to do some character studies on my villains. Muahahaha.
BUY ONE. Or, at the very least--DO NOT SUBSTITUTE TORTILLA FLOUR FOR REAL FLOUR. EVEN IF YOU HAVE RUN OUT OF REAL FLOUR.
Anyhow, as I mentioned in my last post, my latest WIP is a mystery set in sunny, or more appropriately, windy New Mexico.
In an effort to procrastinate writing that dreaded first draft--er--productively manage my time, I began working on my "elevator pitch" while stalling--ehem--plotting my first chapter.
But seriously. I learned quite a bit from my previous wip's: I like to get a skeleton plot out as early as possible, I like to get to know my characters, I like to be mean to my characters--thereby producing conflict, and I like to do it all as efficiently as possible. I mean, first drafts already take up an exorbitant amount of time, why make matter worse?
So, while I DO know where this story is going, having recently read that writing those one sentence, vague hook things that are at once intriguing and horribly annoying can help you keep your plot in focus (When accompanied by a short description of the story that vaguely resembles a back cover description), I decided to write one.
It looks something like this:
When three teens are murdered and one disappears,a former PI must confront her past to secure her niece's future.
Or this:
When three teens are murdered and her niece disappears, a former PI must return to the life she left to save the family she loves.
Now I'm off to do some character studies on my villains. Muahahaha.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Summer!
Wow! The time has flown since my last post. That last paper for school really loaded me down.
As of now, I am in the process of becoming a summertime bohemian. That is, I am trying really hard to do nothing except play my guitar and write books--and other such non-"productive" tasks. In fact, I'm succeeding for the most part. Except, you know, when I have to go to work...
Anyway, I have a couple of topics I want to address today: one is my current writing project, and the other--perhaps more interesting--is BLUEGRASS MUSIC.
As of last month, the HISTORICAL FICTION project I had been working on for a few years (off and on) has been retired. I made this decision for a few very good reasons.
First, I've been working on the project off and on for a period of over five years.
Second, said project was my first book ever. I learned alot, but the book itself was not strong enough to be of any use.
Third, as I mentioned under second, I learned alot--while writing. Like, how the plot I had concocted did not contain enough relevant conflict to carry an entire novel.
Fourth, I submitted the beginning of the manuscript into a competition where several editors and published authors served as judges. They confirmed my thoughts on the manuscript. Case closed.
However...I did begin plotting my next novel during my last school semester. Although I have an interest in Historical Fiction, I've been reading Mysteries since I was old enough to read.
So, I am now writing a mystery. (You know, this plain type font can't convey my excitement about this. Hold on....just a sec...)
I’m Writing a MYSTERY!!!
Ehem...more to come on that soon.
In the meantime, I'd like to announce the completion of THE FOLEY BLUEGRASS BAND's latest CD:
THE PLACE WHERE BLUEGRASS GROWS.
Click on over and check it out...I highly recommend it!
As of now, I am in the process of becoming a summertime bohemian. That is, I am trying really hard to do nothing except play my guitar and write books--and other such non-"productive" tasks. In fact, I'm succeeding for the most part. Except, you know, when I have to go to work...
Anyway, I have a couple of topics I want to address today: one is my current writing project, and the other--perhaps more interesting--is BLUEGRASS MUSIC.
As of last month, the HISTORICAL FICTION project I had been working on for a few years (off and on) has been retired. I made this decision for a few very good reasons.
First, I've been working on the project off and on for a period of over five years.
Second, said project was my first book ever. I learned alot, but the book itself was not strong enough to be of any use.
Third, as I mentioned under second, I learned alot--while writing. Like, how the plot I had concocted did not contain enough relevant conflict to carry an entire novel.
Fourth, I submitted the beginning of the manuscript into a competition where several editors and published authors served as judges. They confirmed my thoughts on the manuscript. Case closed.
However...I did begin plotting my next novel during my last school semester. Although I have an interest in Historical Fiction, I've been reading Mysteries since I was old enough to read.
So, I am now writing a mystery. (You know, this plain type font can't convey my excitement about this. Hold on....just a sec...)
I’m Writing a MYSTERY!!!
Ehem...more to come on that soon.
In the meantime, I'd like to announce the completion of THE FOLEY BLUEGRASS BAND's latest CD:
THE PLACE WHERE BLUEGRASS GROWS.
Click on over and check it out...I highly recommend it!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Just Because...
The End.
Nice words, aren't they? They evoke images of a completed task, relaxation due to a job well done, perhaps a breathtaking sunset. You get the picture.
Only, here in university-student-ville, the words "The End" mean nothing. Nothing. The end of the semester is coming...and I have just as much work as ever, plus some. Oh, the irony.
Anyway...
As if I didn't have enough to do, I'm doubling my efforts in blog-land. You've got it; I have an insatiable urge to write something that won't be graded. So...I will. Soon. Right after I write that paper on Nostalgia, Identity, and the Transcendental Signifier...
Courtney
Nice words, aren't they? They evoke images of a completed task, relaxation due to a job well done, perhaps a breathtaking sunset. You get the picture.
Only, here in university-student-ville, the words "The End" mean nothing. Nothing. The end of the semester is coming...and I have just as much work as ever, plus some. Oh, the irony.
Anyway...
As if I didn't have enough to do, I'm doubling my efforts in blog-land. You've got it; I have an insatiable urge to write something that won't be graded. So...I will. Soon. Right after I write that paper on Nostalgia, Identity, and the Transcendental Signifier...
Courtney
Monday, March 9, 2009
So...that procrastination thing...
It's funny how things work, isn't it? I recently wrote about procrastination, and here I am procrastinating ( I have to write two papers this evening) and looking at writing jokes. Here's a notable one:
Avoid alliteration. Always.
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
Employ the vernacular.
Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
Contractions aren't necessary.
Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
One should never generalize.
Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
Be more or less specific.
Understatement is always best.
One-word sentences? Eliminate.
Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
The passive voice is to be avoided.
Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
Who needs rhetorical questions?
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
Avoid alliteration. Always.
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
Employ the vernacular.
Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
Contractions aren't necessary.
Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
One should never generalize.
Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
Be more or less specific.
Understatement is always best.
One-word sentences? Eliminate.
Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
The passive voice is to be avoided.
Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
Who needs rhetorical questions?
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
In a World Full of Manuscript Editing Monotony...There is Still Hope
If you read the title in the big, echoing announcer voice I imagined it in, kudos.
If it tweaked your interest and got you excited, even better! But I'm not writing a post today... I'm posting a link:
YOU MUST READ THIS. IT MIGHT MAKE YOUR DAY.
And now, back to midterm studies...
If it tweaked your interest and got you excited, even better! But I'm not writing a post today... I'm posting a link:
YOU MUST READ THIS. IT MIGHT MAKE YOUR DAY.
And now, back to midterm studies...
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
From: A Traveler's Tale
Although editing is a riveting, interesting, thoroughly enjoyable occupation of my time,I often find myself in the need of a reprieve.Did I say often? I meant OFTEN.
Editing can be monotonous, especially if you're also an English major and spend the majority of your time writing/editing anyway.
To break the monotony, I take breaks. Sometimes I actually do something that involves standing and looking away from the computer screen. But only sometimes. The rest of the time I spend writing more things that I will eventually have to edit. Ironic, isn't it? So, without further ado, here is one of those things:
From: A Traveler’s Tale
From thence we came perchance to find
That others, there were, like us
And mayhap we could all unite
So none could ever bind us
Straight to this work we did approach
We had no other goal
Alas, too late, we did embark
Too late to save our souls
And never more would our daring throng
Approach the foaming sea,
And never more, no never more, dream of liberty
Cruel men had bound, no chained, our hearts
Until we must obey them
Now land, and air, and even sea
Are but an ultimatum:
We must, who once roamed free throughout,
Dwell in this land so small,
Or else, like ants, be trod and tramp’d
Until they’ve killed us all.
Editing can be monotonous, especially if you're also an English major and spend the majority of your time writing/editing anyway.
To break the monotony, I take breaks. Sometimes I actually do something that involves standing and looking away from the computer screen. But only sometimes. The rest of the time I spend writing more things that I will eventually have to edit. Ironic, isn't it? So, without further ado, here is one of those things:
From: A Traveler’s Tale
From thence we came perchance to find
That others, there were, like us
And mayhap we could all unite
So none could ever bind us
Straight to this work we did approach
We had no other goal
Alas, too late, we did embark
Too late to save our souls
And never more would our daring throng
Approach the foaming sea,
And never more, no never more, dream of liberty
Cruel men had bound, no chained, our hearts
Until we must obey them
Now land, and air, and even sea
Are but an ultimatum:
We must, who once roamed free throughout,
Dwell in this land so small,
Or else, like ants, be trod and tramp’d
Until they’ve killed us all.
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