Using Language To Evoke Emotion

Today Janice Hardy published a terrific post about how to evoke emotion: How to Set Tone and Mood in Your Scenes.

Janice gives us two rules of thumb:

1. Avoid generic words
2. Show don't tell

Avoid generic words

Generic words, even though accurate, can fail to elicit emotion in your readers because they apply to any situation.

We want words that are specific because, in general, the more specific they are the less familiar they are. The unfamiliar makes us curious.

Show don't tell

Which of the following is more interesting?

a) The man walked through the dangerous courtyard.
b) The man, hands shaking, picked his way through the courtyard littered with unexploded mines.

Or even: "The novice, hands shaking ...." 'The novice' is more descriptive because it's less generic than 'the man.'

Bob's Dangerous Trek

Janice Hardy gives an example of how to transform a passage of lackluster prose into something that has the ability to reach out and emotionally move readers.

Example 1: Dull, unmoving, prose

Bob walked across the courtyard, nervously looking over his shoulder at every noise. He knew someone was back there, he could feel it in the twisting pit of his stomach. 

That's actually not bad. I don't think Janice Hardy can bring herself to write truly lackluster prose! But it's still a good example. We see that Bob is nervous but we're not feeling afraid for him, we're not on the edge of our seat, fingers digging into the armrests, holding our breath, afraid that something tragic is going to happen to Bob.

What's the problem?

Janice writes, "the word choices here tell more than they show, and they aren't very specific."

Example 2: Better but not best

Bob crept across the courtyard, glancing over his shoulder every few steps. Someone was back there. The twisting pit in his stomach was never wrong.

Now Bob creeps instead of walks, he glances instead of "nervously looking." Also we're out of Bob's head. Instead of being told that Bob knew someone was back there, we're simply told someone is back there.

Example 3: The best

Bob slowed. Sunlight filled the courtyard ahead, chasing away the shadows and exposing every potential piece of cover. No way anyone could hide out there, but that applied to him as well as whoever was behind him. If anyone was. Crap.

Much, much, better. Right?

Janice Hardy talks about the changes she made to produce this effect, as well as about the improvements that were made at each iteration of Bob's Dangerous Trek, but what struck me right off was that the improvements to Example 3 aren't just improvements in prose but also about improvements in storytelling.

In the third example we see through Bob's eyes in a way we didn't before.

- We see where he is about to travel (the sunlight filled courtyard).
- We see the danger (sunlight chased away the shadows exposing every potential piece of cover Bob could have used to conceal himself from his pursuer)
- We understand the implication (Bob is in danger from his pursuer)
- We know that Bob knows the danger and more-or-less how he feels about it: "Crap."

Janice Hardy sums it up

How you choose to describe something and what you have your point of view character notice sets the tone of the scene. Generic words that apply to any situation do little to create a mood. Common or clichéd words and imagery give the sense that readers have seen this before, so they know how it's likely to play out. Even if you do surprise them with what happens, odds are the anticipation of that surprise was lacking, so you miss out on the emotional punch. 

The goal is to keep your readers guessing what's going to happen next so they won't be able to put down the book until they finish it.

Examples Of Books Readers Can't Put Down

In his latest post, Romance Me, Baby, Chuck Wendig asks his readers to recommend romance and erotica books. One of his commentators wrote that she and her friends read the first of J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series as a joke then got hooked. She confesses that when she bought Ward's latest release in the series she didn't sleep till she read the entire thing--in under 24 hours! Another commentator replied that she had done the same thing.

Both comments are on the first page of Chuck's post, I tried to link directly to them but couldn't.

I mention Ward's books here because I've read the first few of Ward's series and they do have the can't-put-it-down quality many writers strive for. Here is a link to the first few pages of the first book in the series, Dream Lover.

I mention Ward's series not because I want to turn you into a Black Dagger Brotherhood addict (though that wouldn't be a bad thing!) but because I think her writing is a great example of emotionally evocative prose.

And JR Ward's work is marvelous anecdotal evidence that evocative prose sells like hotcakes! Dark Lover was published September 6, 2005 by Penguin Publishing and the Kindle version, priced at over $10, is sitting at #902 in the paid Kindle store. That's better than most books do when they're first released!

Question: Have you ever been unable to put a book down until you finished it? I know sometimes we don't want to admit which books have had this effect on us, but I was like this when I read the first book in Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series, Guilty Pleasures.

Other articles you might like:

- How To Create And Maintain The Habit Of Writing
- How To Not Write Crap
- Writing Scenes: Getting Up Close And Personal; Using Sensory Language

Photo credit: "habit | 1 july" by cloth.paper.string | sarah under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

How To Create And Maintain The Habit Of Writing

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp

Beth Hayden, in How to Create Consistently Great Content for the Long Haul, calls Twyla Tharp's new book, The Creative Habit, "a powerful weapon you can use in your quest for better creative output." She writes:

Think of it [The Creative Habit] as an industrial-strength antidote to resistance, creative blocks, and stale ideas.

What is this 'amazing secret weapon'? One word: Habits.

But not just any habits. We don't want bad habits like sleeping in till 10:30 am on Sunday and then waking woozy and bleary eyed to a complete and total absence of coffee.

But I digress. Here is a summary of Ms. Tharp's system for forming productive habits for peak creativity.

1. Be organized: The cardboard box method

Beth Hayden quotes Ms. Tharp:

I write the project name on the box, and as the piece progresses I fill it up with every item that went into the making of the dance. This means notebooks, news clippings, CDs, videotapes of me working alone in my studio, videos of the dancers rehearsing, books and photographs and pieces of art that may have inspired me.

The beauty of this system is that if "she needs to put a project on hold, she can always come back to the box and pick it up again."

That said, it doesn't have the be a physical box.

Beth uses "a combination of Word documents, Delicious bookmarks, and file folders" to keep her ideas organized.

Use whatever works for you.

Myself, I love the idea of using physical containers, cardboard boxes, to organized my ideas--I could put my electronic files on a cheap thumb drive and put it in the box along with all my scribbled notes/notebooks, magazine and newspaper clippings, and so on.

The main disadvantage is an abysmal lack of space. Though my apartment feels expansive, 500 square feet won't accommodate many (additional) boxes, not when I already have so many holding the artifacts of my life.

2. Scratch out new ideas

Ms. Tharp writes:

"... I have a habitual routine to keep me going. I call it scratching. ... I'm digging through everything to find something. It's like clawing at the side of a mountain to get a toehold, a grip, some sort of traction to keep moving upward and onward."

Here's how Beth Hayden suggests we search for our next great idea:

a. Free write

Set a timer for 20 minutes and write. Use pen and paper on a word processor, whatever you feel most comfortable with. The only rule is that you don't stop writing.

If you're doing this on the computer then you could use a program like Write or Die.

b. Read

Read every day. Read fiction and non-fiction, read about everything not just the sorts of things you write.

c. Soak in art

Don't just read, "Visit an art museum, go to a dance performance, or attend a musical. Get inspired by watching the creative efforts of a fellow artist."

d. Be creative in a different way

I find that often, if I'm blocked, or am seeking inspiration, it helps to draw, paint, bind books, and so on, to engage in some other creative activity.

e. Enjoy nature

Go on a hike, walk a dog, go skiing, swimming or biking. Or "just go out and sit in the grass for ten minutes and watch the clouds."

3. Do regular creative workouts: study the craft

Just as we need to stay in good physical shape so we need to stay in top creative shape.

For writers this means studying the art and craft of writing. Specifically:

a. Read

Read critically and no just for recreation.

Read articles about writing techniques and best practises. I think it's important to read articles from a multitude of different perspectives.

b. Write

Write every day, even if, like me, you're a fast-drafter and spend most of your time editing.

Write a short blog article, or write in your journal for 10 minutes.

Or do a warm-up writing exercise to start the day.

The goal is to build a habit and I think the most deeply ingrained habits are those we do every day.

As you become a better writer, you’ll not only get better ideas, you’ll be able to execute better when you do get inspired. It’s like being in shape as a dancer — if you take classes every day and keep your body in great shape, you have virtually no limits on what you can do physically. You will be able to handle the best choreography in the world, which makes you a great artist.

Beth Hayden closes her article with a question which I will echo: What are your creative habits? Please share! :-)

Thanks to The Land of Deborah for sending me the link to Beth Hayden's wonderful article! All quotations are from Beth Hayden's article, unless otherwise indicated.

Other articles you might like:

- How To Not Write Crap
- Writing Scenes: Getting Up Close And Personal; Using Sensory Language
- The Strange: How To Hook A Reader's Interest

Photo credit: "and in that moment I missed you more than I had thought it ever possible to miss anyone ever..." by slightly everything under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

How To Not Write Crap

The Writing Blahs

Every writer is different but I think, at some point, most of us have felt we're writing garbage. Absolute drivel.

I've felt that.

The temptation is to stop writing. No one likes writing crap (or what you feel is crap, sometimes it's not).

Being honest, I have to admit that occasionally, in the past, I have stopped writing. Here are some of the excuses I've used:

- I need to read because the second rule of writing is "Writer's read (critically)".
- I need to do research on the Internet.
- I need to tidy my desk so I'll be more productive.

But what happens is that I waste a half hour, or an hour, doing something that isn't writing.

Most of the time, though, if I feel I'm writing crap, I keep writing. I keep writing because, if I don't, there is zero chance I won't write crap.

No writing = No good writing

Besides, often, I just need to push through the whispers (or shouts) in my head telling me I'm a fraud, my writing is crap, no one will buy it, I'm deluding myself.

As I write, these voices fall away, or I forget about them. A new world unfurls around me and exploring it becomes more interesting than self-flagellation.

And I write words that don't totally suck.

When this happens a few times--this process of ignoring the voices, of proving them wrong--the voices become less strident, less credible.

I think the voices will always be there, just as there will always be someone who doesn't like what I write. But that's okay. The important thing is that I'm a writer and that I write.

#  #  #

I'm not sure where that came from! Over the past week I watched the first season of Girls and most of the second, so maybe I felt it was time to do a personal essay. (Hannah, the main character, writes essays.)

Now I'm wondering if watching Girls was procrastination but, no, writers are allowed downtime. Something is only procrastination if I do it during the time I've set aside for writing. Writers needs lives or we wouldn't have anything to write about!

Did I really just use watching Girls as an example of my having a life? Wow. I need to get out today. (grin)

Before I go, let me leave you with a fantastic writing link I just discovered. Someone emailed this to me, but the link is public so I'm passing it along:

The Thirteen Weeks Novel Writing Program

I'll talk about that more later, I wanted to share it with you now because it looked like a fabulous read.

Other articles you might like:

- Writing Scenes: Getting Up Close And Personal; Using Sensory Language
- The Strange: How To Hook A Reader's Interest
- 3 Elements Of A Great Story Opening

Photo credit: "A Case of The Rainy Day Blahs" by D Sharon Pruitt at Pink Sherbet Photography under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Writing Scenes: Getting Up Close And Personal; Using Sensory Language

C.S. Lakin, in her recent article Using Close-Up Shots to Give Sensory Detail, continues her discussion of how to supercharge your novel by using cinematic techniques.

This is the kind of post I get excited about. Why? Because C.S. Lakin gives that most valuable of all things: examples!

First she tells a bad (very short) joke and uses it to show how a writer can take a basic scene and use a Close Up to "add flavor and nuance and texture".

The Joke

A man walks into a bar, accompanied by a large piece of asphalt. He goes up to the bartender and says, “I’ll have a whiskey.” He nods at his friend and adds, “Oh, and one for the road.”

I warned you it was a bad joke!

Close-Up Shot

Lakin now uses small sensory details to make the scene come alive.

I'll let you read C.S. Lakin's example in its entirety for yourself--and I hope you do--I'll just quote one small part of it to give you the gist:

The crusty old barkeep came over reeking of sweat and the sour odor of stale cigar smoke. The man’s eyes caught on the long scar running under the barkeep’s lip, but the glint in the old man’s eye told him he’d better not mention it.

Nice! Notice the sensory details Lakin added:

- reeking of sweat and the sour odor of stale cigar smoke.
- The man's eyes caught on the long scar (I can almost feel the scar's raised edge)

The passage sets a mood by helping to flesh out the characters.

C.S. Lakin reminds us:

Novelists can evoke some emotions like smell and touch sometimes more powerfully than a film can. Why? Because instead of showing from a camera’s POV, you are in your character’s head and he is reacting firsthand and personally to what he’s experiencing.

Well put and very true.

C.S. Lakin challenges us to take one of our scenes, one that doesn't have description from at least three senses, and rewrite it. She also suggests writing the description in such a way that it reveals something about the personality of your point of view character. But--in the spirit of the post--make sure it's something she can only see if she's up close!

Challenge: Take one of your paragraphs and make it more evocative. If you'd like to share the before and after versions, that would be awesome! :-)

Other articles you might like:

- The Strange: How To Hook A Reader's Interest
- 3 Elements Of A Great Story Opening
- Kris Rusch: Don't Accept A Book Advance Of Less Than $100,000

Photo credit: "Ballet 3" rolands.lakis under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

The Strange: How To Hook A Reader's Interest

I've been writing about hooks lately, especially in openings, but the fact is that we need hooks all through our story, hooks being little things that keep our readers curious, interested, wanting to turn pages to find out what happens.

Hooks build and maintain narrative drive.

In the third part of his Storytelling as a Fine Art series, writer extraordinaire, David Farland, talks about the role of The Strange in creating and maintaining reader interest. (You can find the first two parts of his series here and here.)

How To Engage A Reader's Interest: Offer Something Strange

As I wrote this post one of the songs from the soundtrack of The Lost Boys started to play in my mind: People Are Strange. It's true. And strange people are interesting. Exciting. Look at the dictionary definition:

Strange:
-    Unusual or surprising in a way that is unsettling or hard to understand.
-    Not previously visited, seen, or encountered; unfamiliar or alien: "she found herself in bed in a strange place".

I think that's the key: hard to understand. We want to be challenged, we want to read something that will make us curious, beguile us, that will make us excited. Engaged.

David Farland mentions that J.K. Rowling wrote her books at a 9th grade level when a lot of adult literature is intentionally written at a 6th grade level. That was part of their draw: readers of any age want a challenge (Robert Sawyer talks about withholding description to make reading interactive).

Here are David Farland's examples of beguiling strangeness:

Visit a strange new world, visit a fantastic setting

- I think one of the many reasons I, and so many others, fell in love with J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books was the fantastic and fabulous places he took us to, the kinds of critters--Trents!--he introduced us to.
- Recall the iconic bar scene in Star Wars, the one that takes place in the Mos Eisley Cantina. Not only are there all manner of exotic creatures but most of them are pirates and smugglers.

Offer up UNPREDICTABLE CHARACTERS

Someone who "thinks, speaks, or behaves in an unpredictable fashion". I'd Say Han Solo fit that bill nicely (he did shoot first, after all! ;).

Surprising Language

Use language in surprising ways.

- J.K. Rowling: "Muggles", "Severus Snape".

- Neologisms, modern slang, regional dialects.

Modifiers, nouns, verbs

Leslie Norris: "Try to avoid using modifiers or nouns or verbs unless they're surprising in some way."

David Farland's example: "A brief, desolate smile flashed like summer lightning across Serena’s lips."

(This is also the sort of thing I've been calling a hook. Since smiles generally aren't desolate this smile is strange, different. That makes us curious. Why is this one different?)

Less Is More

Pacing 

Sometimes you want the pace of your story to fly. For instance, in a climactic fight scene. In that case you want your prose to be spare.

Another example. David Farland gives us a scene where characters discover love. He writes:

... I’ve seen those moments where a young woman suddenly gushes with newly discovered love, and the author will seek ways to convince us that her love is purer, larger, and nobler than any love that has ever blossomed within a woman’s breast.

That’s nice, but it doesn’t work. Your goal is not to describe how your character feels, but to create an experience that makes the reader feel the desired emotion. Your goal isn’t to describe how your heroine feels, it’s to make the reader fall in love.

Very often, it is not the overwrought description of an incident that arouses the emotion, but a nice spare depiction that simply makes the reader feel as he or she should feel.

Sometimes, less is more.

How about you? Have you used the power of The Strange in your work lately?

Other articles you might like:

- 3 Elements Of A Great Story Opening
- Kris Rusch: Don't Accept A Book Advance Of Less Than $100,000
- C.J. Lyons Discusses Whether Amazon KDP Select Is Worth The Price Of Exclusivity

Photo credit: "Raiders Of The Death Star" by JD Hancock under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

3 Elements Of A Great Story Opening

1. Action

Begin with action, movement, danger.

According to Christine Fonseca in her fabulous article, Three Elements of a Great Opening, the trick is to start close to an emotional event, but not so close that the reader feels confused and can't figure out what's going on.

Also, readers need to know something about a character to truly care about them.

This is a grizzly example, but think of the difference between watching a stranger lying on a stretcher being wheeled into an ambulance and watching a friend. I would feel bad for the stranger but I would be in tears for the person I knew.

Get your readers to care about your characters and then brutalize them.

2. Characters

Have something happen (action) that makes your readers care about your protagonist. Often showing him or her as the object of an undeserved misfortune will do the trick.

3. Intrigue

You want a strong hook early in the story, preferably the first sentence (see: Different Kinds Of Story Openings: Shock And Seduction).

Your readers need to care about the answer to a question (but no need to stop at one!). For instance, here's the first sentence of Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (the first book of the HBO series True Blood was based on):

I'd been waiting for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar.

Why had she been waiting?
Who was the vampire?
Why was the vampire in the bar?

What is your favorite story opening? Favorite first line?

Other articles you might like:

- Kris Rusch: Don't Accept A Book Advance Of Less Than $100,000
- How to record an audiobook at home
- Short Story Structures: Several Ways Of Structuring Short Fiction

Photo credit: "Good morning bokeh" by Pavel ahmed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Kris Rusch: Don't Accept A Book Advance Of Less Than $100,000

Got your attention? Perhaps that title is over-the-top but Kris Rusch knows her stuff. She's been in the industry as a successful working professional for decades, as both a writer and an editor. So when Kris Rusch says, "Don't take a book advance for less than $100,000" my antenna perk up.

Kris writes:

Weirdly—from my perspective—I now believe that any writer who goes to traditional publishing for book advance of less than $100,000 is getting screwed.

"Weirdly" because even four years ago Kris worried that "new writers would give up on themselves too soon and go directly to self-publishing, hurting their careers."

The Advantages Of Publishing Your Own Work

As an example of the advantages of publishing your work yourself, of having control every step of the way, Kris writes about her book, The Freelancer's Survival Guide.

To date, the [Freelancer's Survival] Guide (and not its spin-off short books) has sold as many copies as it would have sold if it were traditionally published with the standard promotion given to a writing book or a low-level business book.

By now, if I had gone the traditional route, the Guide would have had only one edition, and would no longer be on any bookstore shelves. You might still be able to order it through an online bookstore like Amazon, but you might not. The book would most likely be out of print. It would never have had an audio version (ever), it would not have been available outside of the US, and it would probably have had a very crappy e-book edition.

It certainly wouldn’t continue to reach its intended market, freelancers who are or have started their own small businesses.

Kris' post, The Business Rusch: Four Years, is a must read, and it marks the anniversary of the 4th year of her blog.

Do you agree with Kris Rusch that unless a traditional publisher offers at least a $100,000 advance that a writer should walk away? What would it take for you to sign with a traditional publisher?

Other articles you might like:

- C.J. Lyons Discusses Whether Amazon KDP Select Is Worth The Price Of Exclusivity
- Chuck Wendig On Straight Lines, Story Structure And Why Storytellers Need To Be Unconventional
- A Pantser Turned Plotter

Photo credit: "la terrasse" by jenny downing under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

C.J. Lyons Discusses Whether Amazon KDP Select Is Worth The Price Of Exclusivity

Amazon KDP Select

C.J. Lyons, a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, describes the Amazon Select program:

In exchange for giving Amazon exclusive use of a piece of digital content for 90 days, you receive five days (any five you choose) to make your digital content available for free, and you also get paid for any of your e-books that are lent through the Amazon Prime library.

But is the price of exclusivity worth it?

Here is C.J.'s conclusion based on her experience in the program: For the two 90-day periods I was in Select, it was a virtual wash financially.

Should You Try Amazon KDP Select?

Although C.J. Lyons didn't make any money through Select, you might be able to. Here are three questions C.J. suggests you ask yourself before enrolling a book in the program:

1. Can I obtain the level of engagement I’m looking for via Select? For a standalone book with lagging sales or to bring new readers to an established series by giving away the first book, the answer might be yes.

2. Will enrolling in Select anger my readers? Know your audience and have a plan in place to gift them a version if they shop at a different venue.

3. Will this help me increase sales/make a bestseller list/grow my audience? Don’t try to do all three at once, but instead choose one goal for this particular title at this particular time.

C.J. Lyons concludes: "Keep your options open and don't be afraid to experiment."

Great advice!

All quotations are from C.J. Lyon's guest post on Jane Friedman's blog: Amazon KDP Select: Is It Worthwhile for Authors?

Have you ever used Amazon KDP Select? Would you recommend it?

Other articles you might like:

- Chuck Wendig On Straight Lines, Story Structure And Why Storytellers Need To Be Unconventional
- Short Story Structures: Several Ways Of Structuring Short Fiction
- How to record an audiobook at home

Photo credit: "I want to play a game.....me dijo el gato." by Rodrigo Basaure under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Chuck Wendig On Straight Lines, Story Structure And Why Storytellers Need To Be Unconventional

I know, in the past, I've said, "You've GOT to read this blog post, it's amazing!" I try not to say that too often because not every good post is going to be oh-my-gosh-you've-got-to-drop-everything-right-now-and-read-this amazing.

This one is (article contains adult language): How Story Rebels Against Expectation, by Chuck Wendig.

Here are some highlights.

The Heart Of Story: Avoid The Straight, The Predictable: Be Rebellious

In his most recent post on story structure Chuck Wendig writes about what lies at the heart of storytelling, it's essence.

Straight lines, he says, are predictable and boring.

The straight path is what a protagonist is on before a story begins. Chuck writes:

It is the life everyone expects of her. Or, perhaps, the life that everyone demands. The line is situation normal. The line is plain vanilla frosting. The line is office parties and yearbook photos.

The line is conservative and afraid.

But a line doesn't have to be straight. We are creators, gods, in the world of story.

A line can be any shape we want it to be. A gentle curve suggests a slow build and a slide downward. A sharp peak is a knife’s blade, a mountain’s peak, a fast rise and a quick fall.

Sometimes lines go wild.

One line falls when you think it should rise.

One line ends when you think it’s just beginning.

Some lines are the snake that bites its own tail, a spiral, a circle, looping back on itself and becoming that thing and that place it was trying to flee all along.

Some lines detonate — a plunger pressed, a dynamite choom, an unexpected gunshot in the dark of the night, a sudden collapse of an old life, a death that is life that is rebirth that is death all over again, a massive avalanche, a soot-choked cave-in, a heart rupture, a giddy explosion.

The lines of our stories and our lives should not be safe, straight walking paths.

They should be electric eels that squirm and shock. They should be the lines in Escher prints, the peaks and valleys of mountains and volcanoes, the sloppily painted strokes of a drunken chimpanzee. The right line, the interesting line, is a line that defies, ... that is shaped like a middle finger aimed squarely at the expectations of others.

The line should not be safe, it should not be predictable, it should not be normal.

This is what the emotional energy of Chuck's post was leading up to:

Storytelling is an act of rebellion. Story is a violation of the status quo.

Everything the straight line tells you to do is how you know to do differently.

When you think you have the answer, defy it with a new question.

When the path seems well-lit, kill the lights and wander into darkness.

When the way is straight, kick a hole in the wall to make a new door.

When everything seems so obvious, close your eyes and look for what remains hidden.

Seek the wild lines.

The straight line is our anti-guide.

. . . .

The status quo is a known quantity and so it does not demand the attention of our description — we know what a chair looks like, a bed, a wall, the sky, that tree. The straight line is as plain and obvious as a pair of ugly thumbs. We know to describe instead the things that break our expectation, that stand out as texture, that are the bumps and divots and scratches and shatterpoints of that straight line. We describe those things that must be known, that the audience cannot otherwise describe themselves, that contribute to the violation of their expectations. We don’t illuminate every tree in the forest: just that one tree that looks like a dead man’s hand reaching toward the sky, pulling clouds down into its boughs, the tree from whence men have hanged and in which strange birds have slept. We describe the different tree. The tree that matters. The crooked tree that doesn’t belong.

I think the best bit comes right at the end when Chuck likens storytellers to shamans, but I'll let you head over to Chuck's blog and read that for yourself. I don't like quoting extensively from another writer's article, but in this case it was just so good I couldn't resist!

Please do head over to Chuck's Website and read: How Story Rebels Against Expectation, but be aware that it does contain adult language.

What shapes are your stories? Straight lines? Triangles? Zany, death-defying, roller-coasters?

Other articles you might like:

- A Pantser Turned Plotter
- Is Writing Your Brightest Fire? Guest Post By Max W. Miller
- 6 Ways To Write Every Day

Photo credit: "red snapper" by paul bica under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

A Pantser Turned Plotter

Writer Unboxed is one of my favorite blogs, and with good reason. Not only does Therese Walsh, co-founder of the blog, write about issues every writer--whether amateur, part-time or pro--wrestles with, she does it in a way that lets her clear, fluid, writing style shine through.

Beautiful!

Therese, a died-in-the-wool pantser, decided to try her hand at plotting her next novel.

Pantser Turned Plotter ... Temporarily.

Therese writes:

Though some pantsers shun plotting, saying the story will end up stale and formulaic if it’s planned out ahead of time, I’ve seen plotters work through outlines and synopses, use Scrivener and the like, and end up with beautiful works of fiction that read as organic and authentic.

So I decided.

I’d control the second book. I’d make the characters do what I told them to do. (Notes From a Desk (2): Respecting Your Process)

Good luck with that! Whenever I try and tell characters what to do they laugh condescendingly at me and go on their merry way, wreaking havoc with my outline.

As you can guess, it didn't work out.

For me, and perhaps I'm a weird hybrid of plotter and pantser, just because I start writing with an outline doesn't mean I'll follow it!

I know that sounds wonky, why create an outline if you don't intend to follow it?

I think Mary Robinette Kowal said it best in her workshop at last years Surrey International Writers' Conference: Use your outline like a road map.

If you decide to take a road trip from Tallahassee Florida to Sacramento California--you plotted your route the night before--you can still change your mind along the way ('Oh, look! The world's largest ball of string. Only 50 miles that-a-way.') and make detours. Of course it'll cost you something. More time, more gas.

You can even change your destination, but that would change a lot of other things on the map as well and the cost would be greater. But you can do it. All a road map does is show you, at any moment in time, where you want to go and where you've been. That's it. Whether you follow it is entirely up to you and your muse.

Ray Bradbury: It's important to get out of your own way.

For some writers getting out of one's way means plotting the story in advance, while for others it means pantsing it all the way through.

Just as no two stories--and no two structures!--are exactly the same, so each writer is different.

How do you know what kind of writer you are? This is a question I had for a long time. I tried various things, read books about structure, and then, somehow, somewhere between wrenching words out of my gut and thinking about plot structure, the way I wrote slowly came together.

But it took years, and I don't think the process will ever be finished. Well, except when I'm dead! But until then it'll be in flux, evolving, the only constant being that I must write.

Well, that, and writing should be fun. At the end of the day, if you're not occasionally having fun there are other, probably more lucrative, ways to make a living.

Which are you, a plotter or a pantser? Have you ever tried to mix it up and try the other way of doing things? Any of you plotters decided to chuck the cork board, shred the index cards, and just write, destination unknown? Have any of you pantsers decided to do what Therese Walsh did and meticulously plot out your novel? How'd it turn out?

Other articles you might like:

- Is Writing Your Brightest Fire? Guest Post By Max W. Miller
- 6 Ways To Write Every Day
- How To Write A Great Opening For Your Story

Photo credit: "Stop For a Minute" by MSVG under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.