writingforyourlife

Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression.  The chasm is never completely bridged. 

~Isaac Bashevis Singer

How much of your story is missing?

When you spend hours, days, months, perhaps even years composting ideas for a novel, you’ve really created an alternate reality.  Depending on how much time you spend in this literary head-space, you may start feeling more comfortable there than you do in your own shoes.

This is great for gathering material with which to write your novel, but it makes it difficult to recognize the crucial details you may be leaving out.

Dare we call them… moth holes?  I just made up that term right now, but you know what I mean.

Just because you happen to know everything about your characters,  setting, and plot, doesn’t mean you’ve been successful in translating those details onto paper.

Sure, when you read through your draft, it all seems to make perfect sense. But then, you’re biased. Your brain is potentially filling in the missing bits.

Will an objective reader think it makes sense?

A submissions editor at a publishing company?

Best to be on the safe side.  Here are 3 ways to avoid moth holes in your story:

1. Map Motivations:  Keep track of why your characters are doing what they do and saying what they say.  Write it down somewhere and review it often.  Make sure those details are subtly woven into your story.
2. Take a Long Break:  When you finish your first full draft, put it away for a long time–at least 2 months.  You’ll have fresher eyes when you return to it.  You’ll notice things your brain glossed over before.
3. Get a Second Opinion:  Don’t get your best friend or your grandma to read your manuscript.  They’re far too nice.  Get someone honest (and someone who has good literary taste)  to read it and tell you what’s missing.

So, no need to abandon your alternate reality.  No need for those smelly mothballs either.

Just make sure your feet are on the ground when you’re editing, and your manuscript is sure to be moth-hole free.

I recently finished The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, a favourite amongst book clubs.

In the 60’s, a doctor is forced to deliver his own twins during a snowstorm.  His wife is unaware that one of the twins is born with Down’s Syndrome. The doctor tells his wife the child died, and convinces his nurse to take the child to an institution.  Instead, the nurse keeps the child and raises her as her own.

While I really enjoyed this book’s premise and plot, I thought the quality of writing was mixed.  It started strong and faded near the end.  It’s a classic choice from which to draw writing dos and don’ts.

• Do create a fascinating premise: One healthy baby, one with Down’s Syndrome, separated by 1960’s intolerance and a thrilling family secret.  
• Do create suspense:  When will the mother discover her daughter didn’t die, but was hidden from her for over 20 years?
• Do hook your reader:  Chapter one features strong writing and the premise is set quickly.
• Don’t tell… Show! :  The story covers such a long period of time, Edwards often resorts to carelessly inserting major plot events by simply saying they happened rather than showing them.
• Don’t write sloppy endings:  There is so much build up to the climax, the ending is sweet but feels rather thrown together.
• Don’t exhaust your reader:  Character development is one thing, but piling on inconsequential details can get old, fast.  Be selective.

Please don’t let my criticisms stop you from reading The Memory Keeper’s Daughter .  A writer must look at reading selections from a critical perspective in order to learn from them!

It’s worth a read, and I do recommend it to anyone who enjoys mainstream literature.

Today, we’ll be looking at Keith Gray’s Writing Masterclass Part III on Plot.

Before you watch, make sure you have a character in mind.  This should be a character you’ve created yourself, though not necessarily one you’ve written about just yet.

You’ll also want to ensure you’ve watched Part I: Ideas & Inspiration , and Part II: Character , which we discussed over the past couple of days.

Plot can be one of the most difficult aspects of writing a story.  Often an idea begins with a great character instead of a great plot.   In the following video, author Keith Gray explains the first essential building block of plot:  conflict.

Keep in mind, your story must have a beginning, a middle and an end.  It may sound formulaic, but ensuring all three parts mesh in a meaningful way isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Come back tomorrow to see Writing Masterclass Part IV: Setting.

Creating a unique plot for a short story or novel can be both exciting and frustrating.

Perhaps you have a fantastic cast of characters in mind.  Maybe you’ve thought up a great premise as well.  However, integrating characters and premise into an engaging plot can be difficult.

A good plot has many key elements:

• Introduction/Exposition
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Falling Action
• Resolution/Denouement

A novel needs many chapters or scenes to cover each of these essential plot elements.  Once you’ve written those, you may find your story works better with parts rearranged in a new order.  This can lead to a chaotic mess.

Here is a simple technique to overcome this:

1. Buy a deck of lined cue cards and a photo album with clear pockets.
2. Make a note on each card indicating which chapter or scene it will represent.
3. Slot the cards into the photo album pockets in the order your scenes are written, leaving a few empty pockets throughout.
4. Shuffle your scenes around until you are happy with the order. You can rearrange them again at any time, should you change your mind.

It would be possible to use an electronic version of this strategy—a spreadsheet or a table could work.  Personally, I prefer to have the album in my hands.

If you find this tip or any other plot organization tool helpful, please share your  thoughts.