Character Gesture Crutches

And no i don't mean the crutches that help one to walk!
I mean their gestures, movements that are idiosyncratic to your characters.

Do you have lots of shrugging, huffing, or frowning?

Julie Coulter Bellon has a great post here about this, which she found on Jordan McCollum's blog.

One of the commenters on Julie's blog mentioned a great book "The Emotional Thesaurus" which may prove useful to help explain your character gestures, instead of restricting it to a few. I think i'll get that for my kindle (really, i just love my new kindle so any chance to get a new book for it!).

So, pull out your manuscript, read through a page or two and see if you have repeated gestures or crutches, then 'find' them all and see if you can make them better.

This is a great way for your readers to see what the characters are thinking, even if they don't say it, or say something completely contradictory!

POV: First or third person? Or, both!

I write in third person. For me it's just easier, gives me the way to hint at what the other character is thinking by describing their reactions from the main characters POV.
I have tried writing in first person, and it just doesn't sit with me.

My friend Nicole, has written her book the Arrival in an interesting mix of first person and third person. She has had many comments on how confusing it is, so you shouldn't do it.
Here is an article about how to do it, and that you can do it.

Nicole's way is not to change POV per scene but rather most of the characters have their POV in the same scene to give the reader and interesting and new way of broadening each scene.
I will admit that at first it was a tad confusing. I had told her the same, not to do it! But she was firm in her choice and i applaud her for that. I am by no means a professional, and after a few chapters it actually all came together.
That and the interesting story!

What do you think of switching from third person to first person in a single work?
If you've read Nicole's book, The Arrival (It's free on Amazon, so there's no excuse!) how did you take her interesting style?
What is your POV preference - both writing and reading!

Writing Tip: Writing to a method

I started my first novel Secrets and Lies by plotting it out. By the end of it i found that it was difficult to write because i was bored - i already knew how it was going to end and what happened next! So my subsequent novel, The Price of Passion i wrote follower the pantser method - writing by the seat of my pants and letting my characters lead me!

But, i think if you have a careful mix of the two, a general brief outline and maybe a few key scenes mapped out, this can help directionise your story whilst still giving you the chance to let your characters lead!

So, i'm testing this theory with the below method but being brief for my new single title - Suddenly Royal!. But i think it's well worth having a look at other methods and using them to your own writing style.

TEN STEPS TO THE SNOWFLAKE METHOD (courtesy of Nicole MacDonald at Damsel in a Dirty Dress)

Step One – Write a one-sentence summary of your novel.  The best summary sentence is one that includes a reference to the character who has the most to lose and the thing he or she wants most to win. 

Step Two – Expand your sentence into a full paragraph.  In this paragraph, you should include the story set-up, each disaster, and the ending.  You can decide the cause of each disaster, whether it is internally caused or brought on by external circumstances, and include those details as well.

Step Three – Next, your characters.  For each of your major characters, write a one page summary sheet that includes the following:

The character’s name

A one-sentence summary of the character’s storyline

The character’s motivation (what does he/she want abstractly?)

The character’s goal (what does he/she want concretely?)

The character’s conflict (what prevents him/her from reaching this goal?)

The character’s epiphany (what will he/she learn, how will he/she change?)

A one-paragraph summary of the character’s storyline

Step Four – Expand each sentence of your summary paragraph from step two into a full paragraph. All but the last paragraph should end in a disaster. The final paragraph should tell how the book ends.

At the completion of step four, you should have a fairly concise one-page skeleton of your novel.  (Don’t sweat it if it’s longer or shorter than one page.   The point is that you are taking your seed of a story from step one and growing and expanding it.)

Step Five – Write a one-page synopsis of the story from the point of view of each major character.  (For more minor characters, you may want to write a half a page.)  This step may seem tedious (and it can be time-consuming if you have a lot of major characters,) but it will really get you into the heads of the people who will give your story life.  You will begin to see where they agree and where they clash.  While plot is always important, honestly drawn characters are what make us lose ourselves in a novel.

Step Six – Take a fresh look at your one-page plot synopsis from step four and expand it into a four-page synopsis.  One way to approach this would be to expand each paragraph from step four into its own page.  This step gives you the chance to find the complexity in your story, discover new plot ideas that may have been inspired by your character explorations in step five, and weave in subplots.  By keeping it to four pages, you can also easily identify plot holes or problems with the story’s logic.

Step Seven – Expand your character summaries from step three into full-blown character charts.  Make sure that you not only know each character’s motivations and goals, but also the smaller details, such as the one thing they would grab before running from a burning house, or the person who has been the greatest influence on them.  This is the step where you make sure your characters are fully alive in your mind.

Step Eight – Take the expanded synopsis you created in step six and make a list of every scene that needs to be written to tell your story.  If you’re adept with spreadsheets, creating one for this task will allow you to use the columns for details such as setting and POV character.  For those of you who like to hold your writing in your hands, index cards will work just as well.

Step Nine – Using the scene list, write several pages of narrative for each scene.  If you choose to add in dialogue, that’s fine.  By the end of this step, you’ll have a miniature rough draft of your book.

Step Ten – Write your first draft!

when inspiration strikes

I have a love hate relationship with inspiration.
When i have the time to sit down and write i don't seem to have that inspiration and it turns into a hard slog until i finally get into the groove, and then my precious time is up!
But when i've got that inspiration it's just as i've gotten into bed and think i can finally sleep, or i'm in the car on the way to school drop off, or watching a movie spending some quality time with my husband... I love that inspiration because i can get a few thousand words down with a minimum of fuss, but it's always at the wrong time!

I did maximize my writing word count in January by having three WIP's on the go. Yep, 3! When inspiration struck it was for either of the 3 and i just went for it, and got the most word count (collectively) that i have ever.

What do you do with your inspiration? Do you have more than one WIP on the go? When does inspiration usually strike for you?

Authorial Intrusion - a small lesson

Well, not as you would think!

A friend and i were discussing her story that she has been working on for a while now. We both have kids the same age and have limited writing time.

We both seem to have the same writing style. Writing copious notes in the pre-writing stage, like a plotter. Character profiles, plot outlines, though i have gone away from the plot outlines as these don't work for me anymore, my brain seems to think i have written the story and it's time for a new one thank you!

She has written about ten thousand words of her story and was re-reading her notes and realised she had deviated from her original heroine profile. In a bad way. She realised she preferred how she sounded in the original and not how she was turning out in the story.

This was good as she had come across some complications in her story where her character just wasn't working and she couldn't figure out why, now she knew.

The other complication she came across was that her characters were wanting to go another direction that where she wanted them to go. Deviating from her planned plot.

This is where my lesson comes in.

Authorial intrusion can be bad. Planned notes can be bad. Sometimes you have to let your characters take the lead, let them take you on a different path and see where it takes you, it may be a surprising route! My friend was dubious but i think willing to give it a go, for now!

What do you think?

Also, i've been teaching my son to read. We've often come across that tricky thing in the English language with the e at the end of words and i've just been telling him to ignore it. "It's just silent, sweetheart." His reply, "ok mum!" so trusting!

Then we were watching cartoons while on holiday in taupo when we took them to the snow at Mt Ruapehu and i found out the actual rule! and can now explain it to him - an you if you have ever wondered how to explain it to your young ones :)

The e at the end of a word changed the sound of the vowel to it's name, not it's sound.

Example, in "pin" the i is the phonetic i, but with the e on the end, for the word "pine" you say the letter i.

Understand?

Hope that clears it up!

Method Writing

My friend, Nicole MacDonald, has written a fabulous post on her blog, Damsel in a Dirty Dress about Method Writing and it must have gotten my brain firing.

I was making my bed this afternoon - yes afternoon - we've had a busy day!! And there i was talking out loud as my character Billie! Laughing and grinning talking to my sister (her sister) about going on a date with Cooper!

So i quickly finished the bed and jumped on the computer and typed up the scene. It is the first words i have written in four weeks due to the editing i am doing, and it feels fantastic to be back into it!

I am going to try to do it everyday whilst still editing Nicole's story. Which is going to be hard due to it now being school holidays. Ah the joys of being a parent!

Do you method write?

Punctuation - a question?!

A friend and i have been having a friendly debate about correct usage of punctuation.

Where to place the full stop in the quotation marks to be specific. She found an interesting article.

Check out this link :http://www.nzwriterscollege.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=244&Itemid=34

What do you think?

Personally, i use the US English way as this is what i was taught it look right and feels natural. I'm currently editing my friend's work and she is using the British way, so it is interesting trying to curb my inclination to change it!!

Second guessing...can i do it?

So now i'm nearly at the half way mark in my draft for Ten nights Only, Wow, i'm at 25,000 words! (happy dance!!!!) Now i'm finding myself second guessing myself.

Lying in bed at night or very early in the morning with scenes in my head or conversations between Billie and Cooper - why can't i just sleep? and i'm hoping i can sustain their story for another 25,000 words. Then i start to panic and think OMG i can't do it!

My biggest goal is to finish this draft, to prove to myself that i can finish this story. In order to do that i have to piece together the scenes in my head and the conversations on have in bed and the car and on the way to the park - the kids must think i'm nuts ;) - i'm sure i can sustain it for another 25,000 words.

I am not going to go back and read what i have written just yet, though i am dying to go and delete some already, that will be done and changed AFTER i've finished.

Tell me i'm not the only one with theses doubts!

The plotter may have to step in...

Well after a really slow start and then going at a fast clip (for me!) i seem to have come to screeching granny steps.

I have my characters who are bright and very determined to have their story told, i even have scenes further on in the story jumping at me to be written, but that seems to be the problem...

Getting my characters to those scenes that they are telling me they want, need to be at is the problem. They are not ready to be there just yet where i have written to so far. I'm not writing fast enough for them it would seem so i just have to keep plodding along, but how to get there??

I think this is where a bit of the plotter is going to have to kick in. I'm not going to map out the entire rest of their story, just a few points on how to get to the scenes they want to be at it would seem, as i can't seem to get them there so far. I don't want to lose the passion of the pantser as it is working for me so far (see previous posts!), so i will not be letting the plotter take over completely.

Does anyone else have these problems?

Pen versus Computer and Writing Styles

How do you write?

Do you plan your story with pen and paper with a detailed outline of plot or a few notes on character?

Or do you use a nice white screen and type with black letters across the pages as the scene unfolds before your eyes?

I spent the week adrift with no access to a computer to keep my mother company for the last week of the school holidays, so had to use good ol' pen and paper for writing. This was not a problem. The words flowed beautifully (until the ink ran out!), the scenes are coming fast and my characters are really, really working well.

The problem i have now is that now i am home do i continue writing with pen and paper or on the computer? If on the computer i first have to type up what i have written last week - or do i? It will be a great chance to edit what i've written but that is slightly naughty as i'm not supposed to do this until i have finished the story in it's entirety.

And, if i use the computer i know i am going to be distracted by checking blogs and surfing the internet etc.

While adrift for the week i was writing approx. 1,200 words each sitting. I say approx. because there is no accurate way of counting each word except for actually counting them and i am so not going to do that.

(I do have a pen that has a battery and when you write it captures the writing and then uploads it later to the computer but the battery died and i haven't replaced it. It's one of those really small cell batteries.) No excuse and it is great, really need to replace it!

I think i liked being away from the internet. I don't have a laptop, am going to be saving so hard now - as well as for the landscaping for our new house (priorities though right!!! ;p) I really want to do my writing where i won't be distracted so i am going to have to be really strict with myself now that i know what i am capable of.

Also i have realised with this story that my writing style is a bit different. I am a plotter at heart. I thrive on a plan, have lists for everything. Detailed descriptions of my hero and heroine, their motivations and dreams. But for this story, this version at least, not the plot.

I am writing by the seat of my pants, GASP, for this story i am a pantser. The inner plotter in me is wanting me to stop and write a plan for what is happening next and what is going to go on from there etc etc etc, but the story is thriving! I am not feeling bored or getting stuck as i have found as soon i had written a detailed outline for all of my other stories.

I think i have to let myself go and let my characters drive the stories. I am excited about where they are taking me, so much so that the scenes are jumping out at me and i find myself having to jot down a note when they do out of sequence so i know what is coming up (i can't write out of sequence no matter how much that scene wants to be written!), but my characters know what is coming and they are driving it and it is so good. But the plotter in me is trying to put on the brakes i can feel her trying to stop. I hope she doesn't! I know, just know as soon as i write down the outline i won't have the passion, the drive for this story that is going. I am going to be strong. :)

So what is your writing style, your preference? What do you have to fight against to get your story written??

Revealing too Much, much too soon!

Okay, the writing is going really well now, i'm really pleased.

Last night i wrote close to 1,000 words the most i have written in a sitting for a while now, mostly due to time. I'm getting to the point where my Hero is going to reveal his proposal/demand of my heroine which is totally going to floor her, but for her own convoluted reasons she is going to accept it, with a few demands of her own of course!

My only problem now is that i find myself revealing way too much of their inner conflicts too soon. I'm only part way through the second chapter and i found myself reveal ALL of Billie's conflicts. In all of the Moderns/Heats that i've read conflicts were revealed gradually throughout the entire book sometimes not being completely revealed until the black moment. I'm so impatient and way too descriptive i find myself explaining everything, so i've had to cut and paste or just keep writing and then put huge page breaks between for use at a later date - i hate wasting what i've written (unless it is utter crap!).

Does anyone else suffer from early information overload or impatience like me, and how do you overcome this? Obviously with practice! But what else would you suggest?

Slow going, but i'm past chapter 1!

Yay, i've finally typed my characters through chapter 1! Phew that was hard going.

I really seem to struggle with getting that ground work laid out. I know what i want, have it all planned out in notes and in my head but when it comes to writing it, there go the snails....

Finally, though they are away. Though i know it will be painful when i go back to edit (won't do that until the end though!)

Hopefully it will be a bit faster from here, but i'm not holding my breath. It seems to be my way. Struggle through, but at least i get there!

Aim for a little bit at a time and at least the word count goes up steadily.

Thanks to everyone for all your encouragement, it really helps! :)

How is everyone else going?

And we're off!

I've started! 356 words for Ten Night Only rewrite. Billie and Cooper and getting their real story written at last and you know, it feels so right!

At a snails pace i'll admit it, but i've started. And most of the writing today is in note form, but at least i know where i am going and this is mostly how i write anyway.

I write the notes then fill in the detail later. Plump it up with the juicy bits of description and dialogue and when it comes to me, as it comes to me and when i get stuck go back to note form.

That way i don't get writer's block and words keep going.

Of course when i go back to re-read it is a bit dis-jointed but that is part of the fun, discovering where it needs the colour!

How do you write?