A Chance To Meet Stephen King And Help Mark Twain House

If you want to be part of a reception for Stephen King and get your own personally autographed book then it'll cost you $250, otherwise tickets are a more modest $25 to $75.

Also, if you use the promotional code, given below, you'll be able to order your tickets on the 19th rather than waiting for the 21st, when sales are open to the general public.

Stephen King In Conversation with Colin McEnroe

This is from Stephen King's newsletter:

On Thursday, July 18, at 8:00 p.m., Stephen will appear on stage at The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue in downtown Hartford, Connecticut, in conversation with WNPR radio personality Colin McEnroe. Proceeds from the event benefit the continuing educational and preservation activities of The Mark Twain House & Museum.

How To Get A Ticket

Members of the museum

Tickets will be open for purchase by members of the museum on Monday, March 18.

Membership is available by calling 860-280-3112, or by going to www.marktwainhouse.org. Members will be given a special on-sale code for ticket purchasing.

General public 

Tickets will be open for purchase by members of the general public on Thursday, March 21.

Stephen King fans

Stephen King fans are being given a special opportunity to purchase tickets before the general on-sale date, beginning Tuesday, March 19th, by using the promotional code CLEMENS.

How to make a reservation

Reservations may be made at www.bushnell.org or 860-987-5900.

Ticket prices range from $25 to $75 (additional service fees apply) with a special VIP ticket for $250, which includes a reception with Stephen King and an autographed book.

Read more about this event here: Stephen King In Conversation with Colin McEnroe.

Other articles you might like:

- The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is FREE for the next week! (offer ends March 25th)
- Story Structure
- Chuck Wendig On Story Structure

Photo credit: "Samuel L Clemens4 1940 Issue-10c" by U.S. Post Office. Uploaded by Gwillhickers. This file is part of the Wikimedia Commons.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is FREE for the next week! (offer ends March 25th)

The Da Vinci Code Is Free! Dan Brown is coming out with a new book, Inferno.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is free, starting today until Monday, March 25th, 2013. It can be downloaded from any major ebook retailer.

The following is from the LA Times:

Doubleday has announced that it will be giving away free e-books of Dan Brown's international bestseller "The Da Vinci Code" this week. The free digital download is offered in celebration of the novel's 10th anniversary (to readers only in the U.S. and Canada). "The Da Vinci Code" was originally published March 18, 2003 and quickly sold more than 81 million copies.

The free download isn't exactly a conspiracy, but it is, clearly, part marketing: Besides the best-selling art-historical whodunit, the ebook will include the prologue and first chapter of Brown's forthcoming thriller "Inferno," also featuring renowned symbologist Robert Langdon, which will be published in May. The free e-book deal is a natural digital outgrowth of teasing a sequel by including a first chapter in the back pages of a paperback.

. . . .

In "Inferno," Langdon, the hero of "The Da Vinci Code," "Angels and Demons" and "The Lost Symbol," returns to Europe to tackle a mystery involving the poet Dante Alighieri. "The Da Vinci Code" e-books can be downloaded free from all major e-book retailers.

I know a lot of folks aren't fans of The Da Vinci Code but you can't deny it has narrative drive, that can't-put-it-down quality that keeps reasonable people up far past their bedtimes.

Thanks to The Passive Voice Blog for the heads up.

Are you going to download a copy of the Da Vinci Code? Have you read the Da Vinci Code?

Other articles you might like:

- Story Structure
- How To Become A Full Time Indie Author
- How To Be A More Productive Writer: Use A Voice Recorder

Story Structure

This was going to be the second post in a series on Chuck Wendig's ideas about story structure but my muse had other plans.

What follows is a description of a story structure that I think is common to the overwhelming majority of stories I've read, watched or listened to.

Narrative

Before I read Chuck Wendig's post on story structure I hadn't thought of structure in terms of measurement. Meter. The ups and downs, the rises and falls. It's almost like breathing, it's what brings a story to life.

Scenes strung together, like beads, to make sequences. Sequences comprise Acts. Acts, taken together, tell a story.

There is a beat, a rhythm, to story. Pause a moment, listen to it, write with it in mind.

The Magic Of Three

Three acts comprise most stories.

Act One (Approximately first 25% of story)

The First Act is the setup, The Ordinary World. This is where readers meet the characters, start rooting for the hero, learn what his strength is, what he is comfortable with, as well as what his weaknesses are, the things that are holding him back from getting what he really wants, perhaps even what he needs.

Although not all heroes have an inner weakness, many do, and it's here in the setup that it will be introduced.

In the First Act the hero is issued a Call To Adventure, perhaps he even Refuses The Call and needs the guidance of a mentor (Meeting With The Mentor).

For instance, Shrek is an ogre who just wants to be left alone in his swamp. When his swamp is invaded by legions of fairy-tale creatures this acts as a call to adventure because it provides the impetus for Shrek to leave his beloved swamp and search out the king so he can get things back to normal.

This gives us an early look at not only one of the defining personality characteristics of Shrek--he wants to be left alone--but his inner weakness. He wants companionship but he thinks he can't be loved because of what he is: an ogre. So he pushes everyone away.

Act Two, Part One (Starts at about the 25% mark and continues to about the 50% mark)

At the end of Act One the hero answers the call to adventure and crosses the threshold into the Special World. Here everything is different, strange. The hero's strength probably isn't going to serve him as well here, perhaps it even puts him at a disadvantage. The hero goes through a series of tests, most of which he fails, and he meets new people. (The beginning of Act Two is often where the B Story begins.) Some of these will become his stanch allies and travelling companions, some of them will become his sworn enemies.

This time of testing is also a time of Fun And Games. In a movie this is where you have a feel-good montage. Many of the scenes used for movie trailers come from this part of the story. Blake Snyder, author of Save The Cat!, writes that this is his one of his favorite parts to write.

Soon, though, the hero must confront the villain/antagonist, and the hero prepares for his Approach To The Inmost Cave. (One thing to note is that the villain's/antagonist's goal will be such that if he achieves it, the hero cannot and vice versa.)

This part of the story will often contain a moment of bonding. If there is a romance in the story, often the hero and his love interest will deepen their relationship before he heads off to confront the villain and, possibly, pay with his life. If there is no romance, the story will likely still contain a moment of bonding, a pause, a girding of the loins, and a review of the states. What will happen if the hero loses? Who will it effect? What will result if the hero wins?

Act Two, Part Two (Starts about about the 50% mark and continues to about the 75% mark)

Finally the moment of confrontation has arrived--this is the Midpoint of the story--and the hero faces the villain. The Ordeal has begun. Since we know the stakes of the battle, we watch anxiously as the hero risks everything to achieve his goal.
 
After the confrontation, if the hero is successful, he will get a Reward. This will be, in a sense, a false victory. Something else will soon happen that raises the danger, and the stakes. The hero hasn't resolved the conflict, instead he has just made it greater.

In some stories, perhaps many stories, there is no 'win' for the hero at the midpoint, instead the stakes just get bigger; the danger becomes more immediate. Where before it was only the hero's life at stake now it is the hero's entire party, perhaps even his loved ones back home, who are in danger if he fails.

Act Three (Starts at about the 75% mark)

The Road Back is much more difficult than the one which brought him to the special world. Things have radically changed, and for the worse.

Why is this? It could be many things. Perhaps the worst happened and the hero failed in his contest with the villain. Perhaps he won but his mentor, the person he most trusted, whose advice he had listened to and followed since he was a child, who he risked his life for and the lives of his friends, betrays him. Something happens that transforms the hero's world, or his view of it, and not for the better.

I sometimes think of this, the fundamental transition that occurs at, or just after, the midpoint, as having the veil torn from the hero's eyes. He thought he knew how things were, but he didn't. He was a child and now he's an adult and the burden he is being asked to bear will most likely crush him. If only he could resolve his inner conflict, that something that is holding him back from coming into his power, his true self.

But the hero doesn't give up. Even though it seems the entire force of creation has been set against him, he rallies and devises a plan. The plan is clever but it's a long-shot and he must ask more of his friends than he ever has before and right at the moment when the little band seems to be falling apart.

Against all odds, though, it seems to be working, the plan may be successful. The allies find the strength to pull together. Perhaps the hero finds a way to work with one of his sworn enemies.

And then it all falls apart. Something happens to (it seems) finally, conclusively, crush any hope the hero had of achieving his goal. We (the audience) know the stakes, so we know this means that the worst is going to happen. But no. That was only what we thought was the worst. The villain/antagonist gleefully tells the hero that the real stakes are very much worse than he thought.

This is the All Is Lost moment that happens just before the Climax.

At this point a very important change occurs in the hero. He resolves his inner conflict, that character trait, that thorn in his side, that was holding him back from coming into his power, whatever that is. I don't mean a superhuman ability--though it could be--but whatever it is the ground must have been laid for it, otherwise it would be a cheat. Perhaps the hero is finally able to think clearly, perhaps he finally understands how someone else feels (he needed empathy), perhaps he had to release a certain way of thinking that was holding him back.

Something fundamental within the hero changes and, as a result, he is able to defeat the villain and achieve his goal. (In stories where there is no internal conflict--Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark for example--there may be no change. Instead the hero draws upon his knowledge, some characteristic that defines him, that sets him apart. His strength.)

Or not. Sometimes the hero doesn't win. Sometimes the revelation comes, but too late. Sometimes the revelation doesn't come at all.

Whatever happens, there will be an Aftermath where the audience sees the effects of the hero's efforts. How did the hero's Ordinary World change as a result of his adventure? What was his reward? Or, if he failed, what was the cost of his failure? Tie up loose ends, etc. This is the wrap up.

Caveat

I don't want to leave anyone with the impression that there's only one story structure. As Chuck Wendig says, every story has a structure and there are as many story structures as there are stories. No one can look at the structure of a story and say, "That's wrong!" just because it's different.

The structure I wrote about, above, is one I've been thinking about and working on for the last few months. I think (this is my own personal view) that it describes over 90% of the stories I've read/listened to/viewed, or at least parts of it do.

I like using story structures--structures like the above--as springboards to create my own adventures. And, sometimes, if I feel that something is wrong with a story but I just can't put my finger on it, I like going back to basics and studying various story structures as I try and puzzle out what went wrong with mine.

It usually helps!

I think that's the bottom line. If something helps you, use it, if it doesn't, then ignore it. Let your own sense of what is right for you be the bottom line.

Tomorrow we'll get back to Chuck Wendig and, as promised, I'll talk about Aristotle and his theory of tragedy, the magic of three, and how the microcosm mirrors the macrocosm.

“Story Structure” copyright © 2013 by Karen Woodward.

Other articles you might like:

- Chuck Wendig On Story Structure
- To Blog Or Not To Blog, That Is Jane Friedman's Question
- Hugh Howey's 3 Rules For Writing
- Short Story Structures: Several Ways Of Structuring Short Fiction

Photo credit: "belle&sebastian:dirty dream number two" by visualpanic under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Chuck Wendig On Story Structure

I don't know what I was doing last January, but I let this gem of a blog post fall by the wayside (adult content warning): 25 Things You Should Know About Story Structure. (As you probably know, all things Chuck Wendig come with an adult content warning, so keep that in mind before you click the link. That said, my article is 100% kid friendly; though I doubt many kids are interesting in reading about story structure!)

It's time to correct my oversight. This is the first in a series of posts--likely three posts--that will take a look at what Chuck Wendig has to say about narrative structure. Let's get started!

Every Story Has A Structure

Chuck Wendig writes:

Structure is either something you design as a storyteller or something that just happens.

Structure, on its own, could be either felicitous or infelicitous. Put another way, if a story's structure is like a skeleton, then some stories have entire limbs missing, or growing where they shouldn't.

When this happens, many authors have the gut instinct that something is wrong even if they can't sense the arm growing out of their poor story's forehead. Or something like that. Chuck Wendig's metaphor is much more colorful and infinitely more memorable.

I've often wondered if writer's block is caused by one's muse shouting that the story structure is off. Like spoiled milk just turned, there's a niggling sense of unease; something isn't right.

Structure As Story Architecture

My dad used to love eating sandwiches on the couch while he watched TV, but it drove my mother--who had to clean up the crumbs--nuts! "Father, you'll ruin the couch!" she'd say. One day, dad replied, "Dear, I was not made for the couch, the couch was made for me."

A similar point could be made about story structure. As Chuck Wendig writes,

Structure serves story; story does not serve structure.

Just as you want certain things in a couch--my dad preferred his large, sturdy and eminently comfortable--you'll want a certain kind of structure for a certain kind of story. Chuck writes:

A cathedral is built toward certain considerations: the beauty of God, the presence of God’s story, the need for acoustics, the accommodation of seating, the sacrificial altar, the DJ booth, and so on. You design a structure to highlight the type of story you’re telling. Using a non-linear structure in a mystery story is so that you maximize on the uncertainty and use the rejiggered narrative to create suspense. Structure has purpose. Structure is where art and craft collide.

Two Things Any Story Needs To Have

In practically all stories--heck, in order to have a story--something needs to happen, usually something goes disastrously wrong--and then someone, the hero/protagonist has to fix things and re-establish order.

Certainly something has to change--there has to be a change of state--and the hero must respond in a meaningful way to the change.

Try telling a story in which absolutely nothing changes to a bunch of girl scouts sitting around a campfire. You'd get pelted with half-roasted marshmallows!

Well, no, they'd probably start talking amongst themselves or walk away, and that's worse. I'd rather pick the candy equivalent of napalm out of my hair for the next two weeks than bore people.

Not that I've ever participated in a melted marshmallow fight.

Nope. Never.

Moving on ...

Chuck sums up this point by saying that two things are essential to storytelling:

a) conflict
b) a hero/protagonist who responds to the conflict.

It's important that the hero intends to respond. If someone accidentally puts out a fire that would have claimed several lives--well, that's great--but it doesn't count the same as doing it on purpose. (Some comedies are built on this premise. For example, Mr. Magoo got himself into, and out of, potentially disastrous situations all the while completely oblivious to the danger he was in.)

The hero needs to realize what the stakes are, perhaps be terrified, but he, or she, needs to act regardless.

I'll leave it there for today. Next time we'll talk about Aristotle and his theory of tragedy, the magic of three, and how the microcosm mirrors the macrocosm. Stay tuned!

Update: Here is the next and final post in this series: Chuck Wendig On Story Structure, Part 2.

Do you think about your story's structure before you sit down to write, or are you more of a pantser, making it up as you go along?

Other articles you might like:

- To Blog Or Not To Blog, That Is Jane Friedman's Question
- Hugh Howey's 3 Rules For Writing
- 7 Secrets To Writing A Story Your Readers Won't Be Able To Put Down

Photo credit: "dem bones" by Robert Couse-Baker under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

To Blog Or Not To Blog, That Is Jane Friedman's Question

Well, not really. It's L.L. Barkat's question.

Jane Friedman--web editor of the Virginia Quarterly Review and blogger extraordinaire--invited L.L. Barkat to contribute a post to her blog.

Nice, right? Jane Friedman has one of the most popular blogs in North America; its reach is enormous. So, what did L.L. Barkat blog about?

It is time, Barkat announced, for experienced writers to stop blogging.

This call did seem to possess a certain amount of Chutzpah, being issued, as it was, on the blog of an experienced writer. L.L. Barkat writes:

[I]n 2006, I started blogging. Over six years, I wrote more than 1,300 blog posts, garnered over 250,000 page views ....

But on Saturday, November 10, 2012, I suddenly did the unthinkable. I myself stopped blogging.

.  .  .  .

Is blogging a waste of time? ... For the experienced writer, my answer is yes … in 2013.

L.L. Barkat's post has, it must be said, the advantage of being unambiguous.

Jane Friedman's Response

Contrary to how it may seem, I'm not here to write about L.L. Barkat's post. No. I'm here to write about Jane Friedman's short but eloquent response.

I don't usually share another person's comment without asking, but in this case I think Ms. Friedman won't mind; it was publicly posted on her own blog.

1. Just because it's difficult doesn't mean it's not worth doing

Many writers blog, a lot more than used to even five years ago, and it has become more challenging to attract readers. But, even in this rich reading environment, it's far from impossible.

Besides, just because a thing is difficult (like, say, breaking in as a writer) doesn't mean it's not worth doing. Jane writes:

If it were, then why bother writing fiction or poetry or memoir or essay? Thousands upon thousands of writers are already out there doing it—more so than ever—but yet we all know and agree that a new voice still has the chance of finding an audience.

2. Blogging is less difficult for experienced writers

Jane Friedman writes that  if anyone should  be discouraged from blogging--and she's not saying they should--it would be new writers not experienced ones.

New writers may find it more difficult to split their writing focus between their manuscript and their blog--something I can attest to!

Jane gives us three things to think about when considering whether to try blogging:

(a) what is giving you energy rather than taking it?
(b) what will lead to career progress in your *current* situation, and
(c) do you have something to say—or a voice/personality—that's a great fit for a blog?

Jane concludes:

Blogging can help both new and experienced writers with discipline, focus, and voice development. But it is indeed a waste of time if you're doing it because someone admonished you to (e.g., to build your platform), and it's a forced chore. If you're not enjoying it, neither are your readers.

Also, it's easier for an established writer to maintain a popular blog because one's audience will also be made up of those who read, and liked, your books. Jane writes:

Established authors likely have more reason to blog than beginners for the simple reason that they have an existing audience who seek engagement and interaction in between "formal" book releases (or other writings). It may take less effort to interest and gather readers if you're known, and it's valuable to attract readers to your website (via a blog) rather than a social media outlet since you don't really own your social media profiles, nor do you control the changing tides that surround them. You DO, however, own your website and blog (or should).

3. Growing your blog

Although blogging can be discouraging, especially in the beginning before you've developed any sort of an audience, there are things you can do to attract readers.

New and experienced writers alike can grow their blogs by contributing to writing venues--other blogs for instance--that are more popular than their own. Jane Friedman writes:

Such efforts not only bring you into contact with new audiences/readers, but also drive traffic back to your existing site or blog.

I have also found that blogging regularly--whether it's once a day or once a month--helps build an audience.

#  #  #

What do you think? Is blogging beneficial for writers, experienced or not, or is it just one more thing to distract them from their works-in-progress?

Other articles you might like:

- Hugh Howey's 3 Rules For Writing
- 7 Secrets To Writing A Story Your Readers Won't Be Able To Put Down
- Review Of Grammarly, Its Strength And Weaknesses

Photo credit: "songs about buildings and trees" by Robert Couse-Baker under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Hugh Howey's 3 Rules For Writing

Because of the success of Wool, Hugh Howey has become a household name. Every self-published author has been inspired by his rocket ride to writing and publishing fame.

So when Hugh Howey gives advice to writers, especially writers interested in self publishing, my ears perk up. Below is my summary of what he had to say, but I'd encourage you to read his article in full: My Advice to Aspiring Authors.

Hugh Howey's Advice To Aspiring Authors

Hugh Howey advises writers: Don't write to become rich and famous, write because you love it.

And so my advice is geared toward helping authors get to the end of their manuscript, polish it to perfection, and then gain the widest readership possible. This is the best you can hope for. I think it’s possible for every writer who gives it their all.

Awesome! Let's get started.

1. Write

Write every single day.

To begin with, you need to write. This seems axiomatic because it is. The only way to amass a pile of words into a book is to shovel some every single day. No days off. You have to form this habit; without it you are screwed.

If you haven't already formed the habit of writing every day don't panic. Hugh Howey gives two tips on how to begin:

a. Spend quality time with your monitor 

Even if you don't write, even if you're blocked, get used to sitting in front of your monitor for however long you've set for yourself to write. If you want to write for an hour a day, then sit there, staring at the monitor for an hour. NO social media. NO email.

Eventually either the boredom will force you to type something, anything, or you'll stop trying.

Get comfortable staring at a blank screen and not writing. This is a skill. If you can not write and avoid filling that time with distractions, you’ll get to the point where you start writing. Open your manuscript and just be with it.

b. Write rough

I always knew I liked Hugh Howey, both as a fine writer and a decent, likable, guy but when I read the following he went to a whole new level of cool. I do this too! Of course it takes a lot more than writing rough to be a success but, hey, I'll take my joy where I can get it. ;)

Stop caring about spelling and sentence fragments and plot holes and grammar. Get the story down. Listen to the dialog and try to keep up with your fingers. Get to the end of your manuscript and THEN worry about the quality. If you can master the art of powering through to the end of your story, you are on your way.

2.  Self-publishing is a marathon, not a sprint

Write 10 books and don't promote them. Instead, spend your time writing more books. (This is going to sound very familiar to folks who read Dean Wesley Smith's blog! By the way, Dean's blog is great, I highly recommend it.)

My father ... wondered why I wasn’t spending all of my time promoting that first book. I told him I had my entire life to promote my works. I only had now to write. I stuck to that principle for years, writing and publishing several novels or short stories a year. I wrote a variety of genres and with a slew of styles and voices. 1st person, 3rd person, fiction, horror, sci-fi, novelettes, short stories. I also read a wide variety of works, but hardly ever in my genres. I read literary fiction and history, non-fiction and science. I try to read the newspaper every day.

My father now agrees with this approach and sees the value of having a dozen titles available. This is going to sound strange, but you are MUCH better off with your 10th work exploding than your 1st work. You’ll never have quiet time to crank out quality material ever again. And when your backlist matches the growth of your first breakout, you’ll do very well for yourself. Be patient. It’s been said by many others, but I’ll repeat it here: self-publishing is a marathon.

 3. Self publish at the beginning of your writing career

Hugh Howey advises new authors to avoid the traditional route to publication at the beginning of their careers. He writes: "every author should begin their writing career self-publishing, even if their dream is to be with a large publisher".

Here's why:

a. Your manuscript won't change

Your manuscript won't drop in quality just because you decided to publish your story yourself. It's the same book whether you publish it or whether Penguin does.

Querying an agent won’t make your manuscript better. Self-publishing won’t make it worse. It’s either a story that appeals to readers or it isn’t.

b. In self-publishing readers, not editors, not agents, are your gatekeepers

If readers had a choice between a good story or sparkling prose they'd take a good story every time.

Think about it. Think about the popularity of Twilight, The Da Vinci Code, the 50 Shades trilogy. Those aren't read, enjoyed and loved for the prose but for the story. Hugh Howey writes:

Appealing to readers is the endgame. They want story over prose, so concentrate on that (aim for both, but concentrate on story). Agents and slush-pile readers are often the opposite, which is why they bemoan the absence of literary fiction hits and cringe at the sale of Twilight, Dan Brown, and 50 Shades. You are writing for the reader, who is your ultimate gatekeeper. Get your work in front of them, even if it’s one at a time, one reader a month or year.

c. Self-published books are forever

If you self publish then your book will be available to readers for (potentially) forever. A traditionally published print book has, at most, a few months in the bookstores and then its time in the sun is over. It's gone. Unavailable. Remaindered.

Hugh Howey writes:

Working at a bookstore was a dream job but also a sad job. I saw how books sat spine-out on a shelf for six months, were returned, went out of print. That’s a narrow window in which to be discovered. If you self-publish, you will have the rest of your life (and your heirs’ lives) to make it.

d. When you self publish you can get 70% of the royalties versus 12.5%

The chances of a book blowing up like Wool are slim whether you self-publish or are published traditionally.

But IF you get lucky--and it happens--which would you rather make: 70% royalties or 12.5% royalties?

Hugh Howey writes:

If you blow up, do you want to own your rights or have someone else own them? Do you want to be making 12.5% or 70%? Remember, the chances are that you’ll never have a mega-hit. Traditional publishing will not increase those odds. With the 6-month window, I’d say the odds are 1/100th what your work might do in 50 years self-published.

e. Whichever way you go--traditional or indie--you are the publicist

Traditional publishing expects an author to have their own platform. Hugh Howey writes that he'd be shocked to learn that someone got a publishing deal "without already having a robust one":

Houses have too many authors to promote all of them. They choose a select handful based on the excitement around a debut manuscript (rare) or the perennial bestsellers (more likely, but still rare). If you want to earn a living as a writer, which I’m assuming the people asking for my advice are, you are going to have to be more than a writer. You will be an entrepreneur and a publicist. 

f. Hugh Howey is not the story

Hugh Howey is an outlier. He doesn't think we should pay attention to wild success stories like his own. Instead, we should look at how many thousands and thousands of writers are making $1,000 a month over at Amazon.

 g. Be professional

Being professional means studying grammar as well as reading critically and not just for enjoyment.

There's a saying, "It takes a village to raise a child," well, arguably, it takes a village to make a writer. We need to rub elbows with like-minded professionals, whether those elbows are real or virtual. Hugh Howey recommends becoming active over at places like Kindle Boards Writers Cafe.

#  #  #

Hugh Howey has a lot more to say about publishing, and it's all great stuff. I encourage you to read his article in full, here's the link again: My Advice To Aspiring Authors.

I'll leave you with these closing thoughts:

The key to making it as a writer is to write a lot, write great stories, publish them yourself, spend more time writing, study the industry, act like a pro, network, be nice, invest in yourself and your craft, and be patient. If you can do all of these things, you’ll earn some money.

Now that's inspiring!

Have you published any of your work? What do you think of Hugh Howey's advice? Did anything in particular stand out for you?

Other articles you might like:

- 7 Secrets To Writing A Story Your Readers Won't Be Able To Put Down
- Review Of Grammarly, Its Strength And Weaknesses
- Joe Konrath Makes $15k A Week Selling His Backlist

Photo credit: "sky on fire" by Robert Couse-Baker under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

7 Secrets To Writing A Story Your Readers Won't Be Able To Put Down

Chuck Wendig's 7 Secrets Of Withholding (alternately: 7 steps to becoming a literary tease)

Chuck Wendig has written some fine posts on the art and craft of writing, but his latest is my all-time favorite. What he says makes sense and it's doable.

Before I get into that, though, yesterday someone reminded me I should give a warning before I post a link to Chuck Wendig's blog, preferably something in large blinking neon letters saying: Warning! Adult material ahead! So, consider yourself warned. Here's the link to Chuck Wendig's article.

I know my title promised 7 secrets, but there's really only ONE secret and seven ways of implementing it. Ready? Here's the secret:

Be a tease.

I probably gave that up too quickly. (sigh)

Chuck writes that the "power of withholding is key to telling a good story" and goes on to list 7 ways you can withhold from your readers:

1. Withhold description

a. Withholding description helps make reading interactive

You want your readers to do some work. This isn't a lecture, it's a collaboration. What CW says here reminded me of one of Robert Sawyer's talks. This is from my notes:

Prose fiction is a form of interactive media. Lectures are boring, books shouldn't be. Make your stories interactive.

What is our goal? Why do we write? We want to ENTERTAIN readers. You want to engage your reader, you want to bring their cognitive functions to the story. (Robert J. Sawyer: Showing Not Telling)

In other words, your readers don't have to know every single last detail about what a protagonist is wearing, they only need to know the telling ones, the ones that show character.

And if you can convey the information by your character(s) doing something active, so much the better.

b.  Withholding description helps cut out needless information

We don't need to know what everything in a scene looks like down to the minutest detail. When I read this point I thought of something Stephen King said in On Writing:

Look--here's a table covered with a red cloth. On it is a cage the size of a small fish aquarium. In the cage is a white rabbit with a pink nose and pink-rimmed eyes. In its front paws is a carrot-stub upon which it is contentedly munching. On its back, clearly marked in blue ink, is the numeral 8.

Do we see the same thing? We'd have to get together and compare notes to make absolutely sure, but I think we do. ...

[The cage] is described in terms of rough comparison, which is useful only if you and I see the world and measure the things in it with similar eyes. It's easy to become careless when making rough comparisons, but the alternative is a prissy attention to detail that takes all the fun out of writing. What am I going to say, "on the table is a cage three feet, six inches in length, two feet in width, and fourteen inches high"? That's not prose, that's an instruction manual.

So, you heard it from the King of Horror as well: Don't get hung up on a "prissy attention to detail that takes all the fun out of writing" and, I would add, reading.

Don't overwhelm the reader. They don't need every single detail to receive get a clear picture.

2. Withhold Aspects of Character

Don't just withhold aspects of character, hint at them. Hint at possible cruelty, or a priveledged past, or uncharacteristic depths of generosity. Or pain. Or malevolence.

Tease your readers, make them curious. CW writes:

A character with unrevealed secrets or stories interests us: we’re the kids at Christmas morning tearing through a pile of presents hoping to get to the big reveal at the end (a new bike! a BB gun! a Barbie dream home! a Turkish scimitar with which to behead thine enemies!).

3. Withhold Information

By withholding information you create mystery.

Every question mark is a door that the reader wants desperately to walk through — and will do so almost to the point of compulsion, and compulsion is what we want, the compulsion to pick up the book again and again, the audience hungering to get back to the pages of the tale or to read the next issue or see the next episode. Litter your tale with unexplained mysteries big and small. The question will drive them: what does that strange tattoo on the woman’s back mean? Why did the wife kill the husband? Who is the one-eyed man? Who put the bomp in the bop-she-bop?

4. Withhold The Culmination Of A Relationship

Hold off on the big reveal, on letting the reader know if the narrator is going to die at the end of the story (Twilight), or whether one character will finally have their long fought-for revenge, or whether two characters will reconcile.  CW writes:

The audience will continue to tear through pages, hoping to see the hero and the villain have their climactic showdown, hoping to see if the two star-crossed lovers will ever uncross the stars and come together, hoping to see if the sea-king and the mer-girl finally realize that they are father-and-daughter.

5. Withhold Victory

I'm in the middle of plotting a novel and one thing I keep in mind is that things must keep getting more complicated, more dire, for my protagonist.

At the beginning of the story she's presented with a problem, a challenge, and she survives it--kinda, sorta--but her life after that takes a nose dive as the problems keep coming and escalate.

In the beginning she's only worried about saving her own life but, by the end, the lives of everyone she's ever cared about hang in the balance. CW writes:

When complicating the goals of the protagonist, withholding victory and denying her success or an escape or an answering to her own questions is key — the audience is bound up with the protagonist and they want to see her safe and happy and vanquish darkness and find love and learn the truth. But by continuing to dangle the carrot, we see the protagonist urge forward through the story and we see the audience trailing along with her.

6. Withhold Knowledge

This goes both ways. Above, in point 3, we talked about withholding information from your characters, information the reader knows, and how that creates mystery.

But it works the other way as well. We can also let readers know more about something than one of our characters. CW writes:

Withholding information from the characters but then revealing that information to the audience is dramatic irony, and makes the audience feel like they’re “in on the secret,” and further, become eager to know when the damning information they possess will finally catch up to the characters on the page.

7. Withhold What The Audience Wants

You've probably heard the saying, "Give the reader what they want." This is the exact opposite. You want to build-up interest, tension, curiosity. You want to hook your readers and you do that by making them want more. As Chuck Wendig writes,

It’s about build-up. And tension. And hesitation. And uncertainty. And fear. And lust. It’s about a trail of moist little morsels pulling them deeper and deeper into the tangled wood. It’s equal parts baited trap and Stockholm Syndrome. It’s about not giving up what the audience desires most and at the same time making them thank you for the privilege of being denied.

At the climax of your book, that's when the veil is torn down and your readers' curiosity is quenched. AT least, mostly. If you're writing a series, you'll want to leave just a bit of the mystery in place.

What do you think of Chuck Wendig's tips? Do you use the secrets of withholding to increase tension and create a riveting story, one a reader can't put down?

Other articles you might like:

- Review Of Grammarly, Its Strength And Weaknesses
- Joe Konrath Makes $15k A Week Selling His Backlist
- How To Be A More Productive Writer: Use A Voice Recorder

Photo credit: "Amber" by Stewart Black under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Review Of Grammarly, Its Strength And Weaknesses

Have you ever tried Grammarly? I'd always wanted to but since Grammarly Inc. hasn't released a free-to-try version (at least, not that I know of) I haven't had the opportunity.

That's why, a couple of weeks ago when someone from Grammarly contacted me and asked if I'd like a temporary account, I jumped at the chance!

Having played around with the service more than I should--it's so easy to procrastinate doing actual writing--I'd like to discuss what I think are Grammarly's strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths

Paper types

Grammarly can be set to various levels of sensitivity (Grammarly calls them 'paper types') depending on the kind of writing you would like to evaluate: General, Business, Academic, Technical, Creative and Casual.

For instance, when I used the Academic type to analyze text the program flagged contractions such as "isn't" as being in error, but when I used the Casual type it didn't. I thought that was a nice feature.

Plagiarism

Also, I found Grammarly remarkably capable when it came to finding parts of text that were taken from documents already on the internet. If you are a teacher and you want an easy way of checking papers for plagiarism, I would recommend you look into using this program.

Ease of use

In general, I found Grammarly remarkably easy to use. I was able to use the program to evaluate various kinds of text as well as check the text for plagiarism and, at the end, print out a concise, easy-to-read report, and all without having to Google anything to find out how to do it.

Weaknesses

Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so the perceived strengths and weaknesses of a program are dependent on the point of view of the reviewer. In other words, here's what I thought, but your mileage may vary.

Art isn't algorithmic

Writing, at its core, is art. Art that most of us are hoping will entertain others and that we'll be able to sell--one day. But writing, really great writing, often violates grammatical constraints. The writer knowingly, intentionally disregards various grammatical conventions because he, or she, wishes to produce a certain effect.

Stephen King, On Writing

For instance, here's a paragraph from Stephen King's book, On Writing:

And what about those critiques, by the way? How valuable are they? Not very, in my experience, sorry. A lot of them are maddeningly vague. I love the feeling of Peter's story, someone may say. It had something . . . a sense of I don't know . . . there's a loving kind of you know . . . I can't exactly describe it . . .

Grammarly went into conniptions when I fed it this! (And, in case anyone's wondering, I set the paper type to 'casual'.) The program found 34 issues with this one paragraph and gave it a score of 39 out of 100.

Obviously, Mr. King's paragraph is perfectly fine.

Let's not stop there, though. Here are the paragraphs that immediately follow the one above (the text contains adult language):

Other writing-seminar gemmies include I felt like the tone thing was just kind of you know; The character of Polly seemed pretty much stereotypical; I loved the imagery because I could see what he was talking about more or less perfectly.

And, instead of pelting these babbling idiots with their own freshly toasted marshmallows, everyone else sitting around the fire is often nodding and smiling and looking solemnly thoughtful. In too many cases the teachers and writers in residence are nodding, smiling, and looking solemnly thoughtful right along with them. It seems to occur to few of the attendees that if you have a feeling you just can't describe, you might just be, I don't know, kind of like, my sense of it is, maybe in the wrong fucking class.

Non-specific critiques won't help when you sit down to your second draft, and may hurt. Certainly none of the comments above touch on the language of your piece, or its narrative sense; these comments are just wind, offering no factual input at all.

Again, I wouldn't change a thing about the above paragraphs, but here's what Grammarly says:

- 1 mistake made when comparing two or more things.
- 2 mistakes made concerning punctuation within a sentence.
- 1 mistake with spelling.

4 issues were found yielding a score of 64 out of 100.

Here is a screenshot of the report Grammarly generated:

Chuck Wendig, Terribleminds

But let's not stop there. Chuck Wendig recently wrote yet another amazingly awesome blog post on the art and craft of writing. Chuck writes:

The power of withholding is key to telling a good story.

When describing something, withholding description allows for the audience to do work, to fill in the gaps, to bring something to the table and be a collaborator (at least in spirit) to the work. Further, by withholding description, you do not overwhelm with needless illustrative information. (Do we need to know what every lamp and sidetable and fingernail and skin tag look like? No we do not.) Pull back. Leave room. Do not overwhelm.

When creating characters, withholding aspects of that character (but teasing the existence of those aspects) gives us a sense of wanting to know more, more, more. A character with unrevealed secrets or stories interests us: we’re the kids at Christmas morning tearing through a pile of presents hoping to get to the big reveal at the end (a new bike! a BB gun! a Barbie dream home! a Turkish scimitar with which to behead thine enemies!).

I think these paragraphs are written beautifully, I wouldn't change a thing. Let's see if Grammarly agrees with me.

Grammary says that the above paragraphs contain:

- 1 mistake made when using articles, and how articles relate to nouns.
- 1 confusing modifier.
- 1 mistake concerning punctuation within a sentence.
- 2 spelling errors.
- 2 mistakes regarding capitalization.

In all, 7 issues were found and the text received a score of 65 out of 100. Here's a screenshot of the .pdf report generated:

Summary

I've provided the examples, above, so that you can draw your own conclusions. Whether grammarly is for you depends, by and large, on what kind of thing you write.

If I was writing an academic paper, I think I would find Grammarly a helpful tool. On the other hand ...

Well, let me put it this way. Chuck Wendig's writing sometimes seems like verbal jazz, his metaphors, the way he uses profanity and bizarre analogies to create an image in the reader's mind (often not entirely a pleasant one!).

Chuck Wendig's writing is fresh, often surprising and always interesting. I think the same is true for Stephen King. Programs like Grammarly have trouble with this kind of writing--the kind of writing many of us aspire to--but that's not surprising. There is no formula for art.

As I mentioned at the start, Grammarly isn't free. A monthly subscription will cost you $29.95 a month, but that goes down as low as $11.66 a month if you pay for a year in advance ($139.95 for the year).

#  #  #

If money wasn't a factor, I would seriously consider subscribing to Grammarly. True, when I'm zinging creatively Grammarly will give me some flack, but it also can catch the few times I do something silly. Yes, of course I'm going to send my work off to a line editor/copy editor before I publish, but still. It's nice to send off copy that is as good as one can make it.

Other articles you might like:

- Joe Konrath Makes $15k A Week Selling His Backlist
- How To Be A More Productive Writer: Use A Voice Recorder
- Writing And The Monomyth, Part Three

Other articles about Grammarly:

- Grammarly, revisited (The Economist)
- Review: Grammarly app (Emphasis)

Photo credit: "8/52 - mr & mrs 85" by PhotKing ♛ under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Joe Konrath Makes $15k A Week Selling His Backlist

Joe Konrath Makes $15k A Week On His Backlist Titles

In Backlist Then And Now Joe Konrath writes:

These past two years have been interesting, because I really haven't had a new IP of my own.

Of the last six novels I've written, five have been collaborations, and one was sci-fi under a pen name. No new stand-alones, either under JA Konrath or Jack Kilborn, and no new solo novels in my series.

And yet I'm making $15k a week.

How Joe Did It

Joe attributes his financial health to a combination of the following:

- Getting his rights returned
- Free promotions
- Paid advertising

Whatever Joe has been doing, it's paid off big! And not just in dollars.

In the ten years I was legacy published, I made about $450k. In the four years I've self-published, I've made over 1.1 million dollars.

The higher royalty rate, the control I have, and the very little self-promo I've had to do while self-publishing means I've never been happier as an author.

I'm very lucky. I get to write for a living. And I get to do it on my terms.

As nice as the money is, the peace of mind is even better.

I encourage you all to read Joe Konrath's original article, he talks at length about the early years of his career as a writer and the events surrounding his decision to put his work up for sale on Amazon.

I'm curious, how many of you were, at least partly, inspired by Joe, his words or his example? I was.

Other articles you might like:

- How To Be A More Productive Writer: Use A Voice Recorder
- Amanda Palmer's TED Talk: The Art Of Asking
- Short Story Structures: Several Ways Of Structuring Short Fiction

Photo credit: "Week #6 "Leap" [6of52]" by Camera Eye Photography under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

How To Be A More Productive Writer: Use A Voice Recorder

Elisabeth S. Craig, one of my favorite bloggers and authors, recently mentioned Katie Ganshert's post, The Secret To Writing Fast And Furious.

Katie Ganshert Used A Voice Recorder To Write Over 8,000 Words A Day

Just how fast are we talking? Katie writes:

Over the past three days, I wrote 25,000 words. By far the most I’ve ever written in so short a span.

While Katie mentions that several factors contributed to her burst of speed what she credits most is using a voice recorder. She writes:

When it comes to producing a massive output of words, this is my secret weapon.

Why?

Because I find the blank page incredibly intimidating. It is so hard for me to sit at the computer and create something out of nothing.

Walking on the treadmill and talking into a voice recorder, however, is easy-peasy.

So that’s how I started each day.

I spoke the scenes.

The beautiful thing about this method is that it completely silences the dreaded internal editor.

There’s no back space. There’s no flashing cursor. There’s no blank page. There’s no critical little man sitting on your shoulder, reading each sentence while tutting and shaking his head.

On a side note, Katie Ganshert's novel looks fantastic. Supernatural teens and Ouija boards, what's not to love?

Useing A Voice Recorder To Increase Your Daily Word Count

Elizabeth Craig, author of several mystery series, tried using dictation to increase her daily word count by speaking into a recorder when she couldn't be near a keyboard. Although Elizabeth didn't write 8,000 words a day she did add 1,000 words to her normal daily word count.

So what's Elizabeth's verdict? She writes:

I don’t use this method every day. But I’ve found that if I use it several times a week, it’s really pumped up my word count. Interestingly enough, I tend to make minor corrections (stronger verbs, better diction) when I type in the dictation…so I guess, in a way, I’m editing as I go when I use this method.

I use a free app that I downloaded on my phone. My phone is always with me (moms are the world’s emergency contacts), so I’ve always got my voice recorder with me. (Voice Recording as a Writing Tool)

I'm definitely going to try this. A friend gave me a recorder for Christmas last year, it's time I put it to good use!

Have you ever used a voice recorder, or voice recognition software, to write? Was it difficult to get used to speaking the words instead of writing them?

Other articles you might like:

- Writing And The Monomyth, Part Three
- Writers Beware of Authariam
- Chuck Wendig's Editing Plan: Edit A Novel In Four Months

Photo credit: "Misty and Daisy" by Stewart Black under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Writing And The Monomyth, Part Three

9. The Reward

As I mentioned in Part 2 of Writing And The Monomyth, the basic structure of the monomyth is that of a quest. The hero wants something and he wants it so much he gives up his ordinary life and goes in search of it. Everything, all the trials and tribulations the hero and his companions endure, have led to this point: the reward. Christopher Vogler writes:

With the crisis of the Ordeal passed, heroes now experience the consequences of surviving death. With the dragon that dwelt in the Inmost Cave slain or vanquished, they seize the sword of victory and lay claim to their Reward. (Stage Nine: Reward)

This is a time for celebration, even if it only lasts for a moment. It is an important milestone. 

A note on pacing

When I first read The Writer's Journey it puzzled me that the hero gets his reward about 65% of the way through the second act. I had always thought the hero would get his reward after the climax which generally comes 90 to 99% of the way through the story. For example, Blake Snyder and Michael Hauge's systems are like this.

I'll have more to say about this in another post.

10. The Road Back

Christopher Vogler condenses five of Joseph Campbell's stages (Refusal of the Return, The Magic Flight, Rescue from Within, Crossing the Threshold and Return) into one: The Road Back.

For those keeping track of the act structure, this takes us from Act Two into Act Three. The hero returns from the special world of the adventure grasping the elixir of life.  Vogler writes:

Often heroes are motivated to hit The Road Back when the forces they have defied in the Ordeal now rally and strike back at them. If the elixir was stolen from the central forces rather than given freely, there may be dangerous repercussions.

Setbacks/Complications and higher stakes

The hero often suffers setbacks on the road home. Perhaps his mentor dies, or perhaps he has failed the ordeal, he may temporarily turn from his quest and need to talk to someone to get him back on track, just like what happened at the beginning when he received a call to adventure.

The hero often encounters tests again, but things have escalated. When the hero first came into the special world he was playing for much lower stakes, he was practicing, getting accustomed to his new surroundings, making friends and probably a few enemies. Yes, it was potentially lethal practise, but practise nevertheless.

The hero and his band are no longer playing war games, they're going to war. People that were the hero's enemy become his allies--perhaps his grouchy, unwilling allies, but allies nevertheless. People he thought were his friends betray him.

11. Resurrection

This is where the climax occurs. The hero goes head-to-head against the antagonistic force, whatever that is, and either wins or fails. Christopher Vogler writes:

At the simplest level, the Resurrection may just be a hero facing death one last time in an ordeal, battle, or showdown. It's often the final, decisive confrontation with the villain or Shadow.

But the difference between this and previous meetings with death is that the danger is usually on the broadest scale of the entire story. The threat is not just to the hero, but to the whole world. In other words, the stakes are at their highest.

Now the villain doesn't just threaten the hero's life and the life of his companions, now he threatens the lives of the hero's family back home, the lives of his entire tribe.

Major setback/Dark night of the soul/All is lost

Often, before the Climax, there will be an all is lost moment where the hero's grand plan for bringing down the villain unravels, his powers are ripped from him and he is plopped in a dark slimy pit of despair. But the hero will find a way out and there will be a showdown between him and the villain/antagonist. Whether the hero wins or loses is up to you and the kind of story you want to write.

12. Return With The Elixir

Christopher Vogler writes:

The most popular story design seems to be the circular or closed form, in which the narrative returns to its starting point. In this structure you might bring the hero literally full circle back to the location or world where she started. Perhaps the Return is circular in a visual or metaphoric way, with a replay of an initial image, or the repetition of a line of dialogue or situation from Act One. This is one way of tying up loose ends and making a story feel complete. The image or phases may have acquired a new meaning now that the hero has completed the journey.The original statement of the theme may be re-evaluated at the Return. Many musical compositions return to an initial theme to rephrase it at the ending.

Aftermath/Denouement

Show how the hero's life has been changed as well as the lives of his allies. For instance, in Erin Brockovich, at the end of the movie she has her own office and receives a huge, life changing, bonus for her work.

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There is SO much more that can be said about the stages of the monomyth, and I do plan to return to this soon. I'm working on an outline that incorporates the various systems (Blake Snyder, Michael Hauge, Christopher Vogler, etc.) into one. Or at least that's the goal!

Do you use the monomyth to help structure your writing?

Other articles you might like:

- Writers Beware of Authariam
- Chuck Wendig's Editing Plan: Edit A Novel In Four Months
- Chuck Wendig's Flash Fiction Challenge: Choose Your Random Sentence

Photo credit: "She Was Completely Transparent With Me" by Randy Son Of Robert under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Writers Beware of Authariam

Writers Beware Of Autharium

It seems like this is the time of year for scams targeting writers. Passive Guy, aka David Vandagriff, recently wrote a blog post warning writers against Autharium, "a new British site that makes it easy for indie authors to publish and distribute their work".

Passive Guy writes:

By distributing your book through Authariam, you are giving Authariam exclusive world-wide ebook rights to your book for the full term of the author’s copyright, which PG is informed is the author’s life plus 70 years under British copyright law. British law governs this contract.

You can remove your book from Authariam, but Authariam still owns world-wide rights.

Yikes!

The Digital Reader: Authariam Grabs ALL Rights Including Audiobook, Movies, ANY Digital Content

The Digital Reader picked up on the story soon after Passive Guy blogged about it and warned that, the way their contract was written,

Not only does Autharium demand an exclusive, their definition of digital form is so broad that it arguably includes subsidiary rights like audiobook, movies, and really any digital content.

 Also,

Autharium can legally sell the audiobook rights out from under the author, and the same goes for the movie rights. Hell, that site could sell the movie rights to their entire catalog for 10 pounds and a job offer, and it would be completely legal.

Run away from this company!

Other articles you might like:

- Chuck Wendig's Editing Plan: Edit A Novel In Four Months
- Chuck Wendig's Flash Fiction Challenge: Choose Your Random Sentence
- Stephen King Talks About Doctor Sleep, Winnebagos & A Movie Prequel To The Shining

Photo credit: "Close up of a dragonfly on a Lotus Flower Bud on green background - IMG_7149" by Bahman Farzad under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.