My imagination works best if I give it time. #writetip Turning off airport, or whatever you use to access the internet, is a good step. No dings when an email arrives, no temptation to check twitter or facebook. I blog first thing in the morning, then cut myself off. If you can switch off your phone, that’s even better.
Now if only the dog didn’t need a walk, I could get to work.
Feedback can be hard to hear. #writeip Especially when it’s not positive.
I try not to react right away. I listen, and make an attempt t to stop my mind from accepting or rejecting an idea too quickly. Then I go away and mull over the comments and decide what changes, if any, I’m going to make.
I find I am more open to suggestions if I ask specific questions.
Are there any awkward dialogue moments?
Are any of the passages boring?
Are character motivations clear?
It’s hard for someone to tell you that what you’ve written is boring, but if you ask a specific question, you’re more likely to get an honest answer. Then you can write a better story.
I write mystery novels and the most important question I have for my readers is: When did the reader figure out who committed the crime? I have my readers jot down each time they suspect a character. My hope is that they suspect different characters at different points in the novel. Their notes help me determine if I’ve put too many or not enough clues. In the end I want to surprise them with the villain. If I haven’t done that, it’s time to revise.
How many times have you heard that advice? #writetip. I think it should be: write what you’re passionate about.
It’s easy to do research about something you love, but hard to do research about something that bores you. And if it bores you, think about the readers.
There will be areas in your novel that you must research but are not your main areas of interest. That’s okay. I find they turn about to be small parts of the novel.
My novels take place in a fictitious ski resort called Stone Mountain. I certainly know about ski resorts and their inner workings, but I don’t think I could write about it if I wasn’t passionate about the sport and the industry.
When I’m not sure about something, I ask an expert or do research.
You and your novel will spent many hours together. Make it about something you enjoy.
Should you create your own? #writetip A post by Kathy L. Hall made me think about how I spend my time during the day, and how I can be efficient with my time. Early on in my writing career a friend gave me the advice that I should create a style guide.
I use the Chicago Manual Of Style. So I thought, why do I need my own? I soon discovered it is a definite time saver. Being consistent in word usage is important. Do you use ‘toward’ or ‘towards’? You might use either, but I don’t think it should be changed within a novel or a series of novels.
Before sending my manuscript to my agent, Margaret Hart, I use my style guide as a reminder to check words I sometimes type wrong when I’m in the excitement of writing. Typing is not my strong point. I check that I’ve used their/there , your/you’re etc. in the right way. It’s not that I don’t know how to use them. It’s my fingers. They seem to type the letters on their own.
Do you have a scene with too much dialogue? #writetip End up with an empty stage?
An easy way to remedy this situation, for me anyway, is to keep a list of objects in every scene. If I don’t have a single object, I get suspicious of the scene. This pushes me to analyze it and see if it’s barren. It gives me the opportunity to add description into the scene after I’ve written too heavily on dialogue or action.
After a first draft it’s fun to go back and put in objects that are used later in the novel. A little foreshadowing to keep things interesting.
What to keep? What to cut? #writetip Yesterday I wrote about the first lines of a scene. Today is the day for the last lines. Sometimes a scenes just plain runs on, sort of like a run on sentence. That’s okay when writing the draft, but not for the finished copy.
My trick: read the scene, delete the last two or three sentences. Read the scene again. Are the lines needed? If not, get rid of them for good. Sometimes I remove the entire last paragraph.
I never do this before I have a first draft written. There might be something important in the lines that you don’t discover until the novel is completed. It’s interesting how the mind will plant something in a scene and it will surprise you later when you not only remember it, but need to use it in a scene.
When to begin your scene is an important decision. #writetip Have you asked yourself is there a hook? Will the reader want to go on to the second paragraph?
It’s easy to start a scene too early. Once I have a draft of a novel completed, I review the beginning of each scene and decide if I need the first line, the first paragraph and sometimes the first page. I read the scene out loud without the first few lines and see if it sounds better. Even if I think the writing is good, I cut the lines (can be hard to hit that delete button) if they are not improving the story.
I’ve actually removed an entire scene where I couldn’t find the point of the scene. I think I just liked writing it, but it wasn’t relevant to the story. Maybe I’ll use it someday…
While writing my third novel, I’ve found myself in need of information on both forest fire fighting and snow making knowledge.
Here the Panorama Fire Department protects the surrounding forest while they control a burn. Before starting the fire, the area was soaked and the firefighters continued to drench the trees until the burn finished.
A ski resort has resources that can protect the area during the summer months from an advancing forest fire. Snow making equipment can be set up to soak the trees near buildings and homes. The snow guns can deliver over 1800 gallons of water an hour. The combined knowledge of the fire fighters and the resort’s snow making team could save the area.
Part of the fun of writing is the research. Now to take the information and create a suspenseful adventure for my characters . . .
What do you think about when you are creating your antagonists? #writetip Here are a few thoughts from the Scene of The Crime Workshop.
Have the antagonist(s) appear early in your story. The reader doesn’t need to know they are the antagonist, so you can hide them among other characters.
To keep the suspense going, the antagonist can play a prominent role, focussing focus both the reader’s and the protagonist’s attention.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself about your antagonist.
Does your antagonist
– have a motive?
– have a secret?
– have at least one positive or likable trait?
Is your antagonist
– careful?
– difficult to track?
– a challenge for the protagonist?
– believable?
How can such nice people write such scary novels? The breadth of the authors making up the panel at the Scene of the Crime Festival gave the audience interesting insight into the art of mystery writing. Throughout the day, the authors were available to meet and talk with the audience.
The festival took place on Wolfe Island, a short ferry ride from Kingston Ontario.
The photo is of the panel getting ready. From left to right: Howard Shrier, Elizabeth Duncan, C.B. Forrest, Maureen Jennings, R.J. Harlick and moderator: Vicki Delany.
I thought it would be fun to put some of their comments here. I, of course, am paraphrasing and have put in only portions of the answers. The following are a selection of questions Vicky asked the panel.
Vicki Delany asked: How much time does the author spend on their antagonist?
Howard Shier said: He likes his antagonist to be complex and human. In almost all of his books, the antagonist pushed the protagonist forward or backward. He stressed for his mob characters, he did a large amount of research to get the villain to seem real.
Vicki Delany asked: Does real life inspire the author?
Elizabeth Duncan said: The idea from her first book was inspired by an article in the newspaper, and the story took off.
Vicki Delany asked: Is the antagonist influenced by the protagonist?
C.B. Forrest said: Circumstances create the hero and the villain. A villain can cause a weak person to be a hero in the right circumstances.
Vicki Delany asked: What kind of person would do a bad thing?
Maureen Jennings had the following advice when writing your antagonist: Ask yourself what was the antagonist thinking of when he/she committed crime? Was he/she born bad? Does he/she know they’re bad?
Vicki Delany asked: Does the author use non-human antagonists?
R.J. Harlick said: Her main character, Meg, struggles with alcohol, but she didn’t think of it as a creating a non-human antagonist. She felt it gave Meg character and baggage to carry around. She also uses nature. Ice storms and forests fires have a place as an antagonist too.
More to come on the workshop led by Vicki Delany.
