CRAFT: Even more musings
Aug. 10th, 2007 10:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shalanna"Do helicopters eat their young?"
The voice was raspy, an unfamiliar bass.
I opened my eyes. A burly, bear-like EMT loomed over me. Two more EMTs (judging by the uniform) hovered over his shoulder, one of whom held a hanging IV bag and the other of whom was trying to insert its stinger into the fold of my left elbow. I ached all over, but my right knee screamed the loudest.
"What?" was all I could think to say. Except I had to kind of gasp it out. There was something wrong with my talker. My throat burned.
"Good. Prelim Neuro assessment OK; check again later." He made a note on a clipboard. "Larry, come take her, will you?"
# # #
That opening snippet owes a lot to an EMT I used to be acquainted with; he liked to use that line on many occasions. EMTs use that line after they've determined that you do/don't know your name, the year, and who's President. You're not supposed to reply, "Yes, and they like extra hot sauce."
Anyhow. The argument goes that you have ten to thirty seconds to make that First Impression on the editor or agent who is reading your opening, so you'd better make hay before the rain starts. You can't open the way Dickens opened _Bleak House_. Run through the checklist for openings that we talked about last time to see what MIGHT work better.
Your story is about . . . SOMEONE (a hero and/or heroine or some combination/team of people) who has a PROBLEM/QUESTION/DILEMMA that leads fairly quickly into some kind of CONFLICT. It's set in a specific PLACE and TIME PERIOD (and if it ain't the Eternal Present, you'd better clue 'em in now). You've come up with an intriguing NARRATIVE HOOK that sets the bowling ball rolling towards the pins, although it may take a while to make a strike. You also need to hint at WHY . . . why are these characters willing to go through whatever it is they've got to endure in order to fight for/against XYZ, or get/retrieve ABC, or defend Truth, Justice, and the American Way? We can't really assume that just because X is the Right and Proper Thing to Do (as Ursula Nordstrom's teacher character terms it in _The Secret Language_), everyone will be able or willing to do it. In general, readers are (apparently; I mean, *I* never really worry much about this when I'm reading and enjoying the ride, but it seems that others DO) looking for a strong motivation that makes sense to them. If they think the motives are bogus, the book hits the wall.
Okay, those are the bits that have always been required in fiction. Now we have the New Age Requirements that agents/editors started prattling on about with me five to ten years ago. Your main character must have a Heart's Desire and must be moving towards it throughout the tale. Your main character must be appealing and someone we can identify with without cringing. (This rule gets waived for those with antiheroes, and you never can tell who's gonna slip the antihero past the bricks in the Wall. But it's still a general rule, because I got rejected by Dan Lazar once with the remark, "I couldn't stand to spend 300 pages with this nasty, cranky woman." *grin*)
Your main character must experience this Heroine's Journey that she's embarking upon as a series of scenes that build on each other; in other words, if one scene doesn't lead into the next, you're going to get rejected and told that you're writing a picaresque or that you don't have any goals for the character. This is problematic if your storyline is "this happens, then this happens because of something else, and the two collide in scene three, and this all snowballs into Our Main Dilemma," because no one trusts that you know what you're doing, and they think you're just rambling around. So it's best to have a structure like:
A causes B.
The attempt to clean up B causes Worse Mess C.
C causes D. We then try to correct D and find ourselves landing plunk into E, which has to be Even Worse.
This ain't as easy as it sounds, is it?
All righty, then. Your voice or narrative tone can attract a reader in, but the reason she keeps reading is probably either (1) she wants to see what happens next, or (2) she for some reason started to care about what happens to these characters as soon as the story began. I claim that some readers are only there for plot/story, and others are there to experience life vicariously through interesting characters they wish they could know in real life. Action books are for the plot/story people, I guess. But if you can do both, that's always best.
Can you do a "high concept" blurb telling us what the story is about and what the hero/heroine's goal(s) is/are? This shouldn't be a deep and complex mess right from the start, as the middle of the story is where the characters swim through events and questions in order to discover the truth of what everyone wants and why. Readers should be able to accept that Whatever-It-Is can be so important to the character that he's eager to go through all the life-changing events that will unfold as a result of his actions and investigations.
Dwight Swain reminds us that any scene must complicate the plot and/or advance the quest. The hero(ine) must make a decision or choice, and the result of that action leads into the next scene. Between scenes, the "sequels" are the thinking bits that explain what the character has learned or what he/she expects to learn next, and also serve as transitions or bridges.
When Justine chooses a path or decides on an action, from then on she has to deal with the results. Make sure that the choice makes sense for other reasons than "the script says so." Avoid the TV-episode syndrome that works the other way--I often think that "the script says so" is the only reason a character could say/do the stuff they do. The consequences and results (intended and unintended--think about side effects and accidental set-offs, like dominoes falling) of these decisions must be obvious in the next scene or within the next couple of scenes, or else you'll hear what I've heard ("This isn't going anywhere and isn't moving forward," although it WAS--it just wasn't doing it in a linear, A->B fashion.)
You don't want Justine to overanalyze why she kissed the bear, but don't ignore it, either. If that was a weird thing to do, use the sequel to have her briefly think about why or marvel at herself.
Early in the book, Justine has to get into some kind of trouble that worsens, and soon it must be apparent that this is a turning point for her life. The decisions/choices she makes from the beginning on will change her in ways she doesn't expect and perhaps can't even imagine as this ball starts rolling. This will result in character change--the character arc that every book needs in addition to the action plot. The action plot will cause the character change, ideally. You'll see the character's heart break and then fix itself (we hope) at the black moment. If not, then you need to go back and do that.
If there's an important character who won't come on the scene physically for several chapters or scenes, mention this character in passing so readers have a feeling of his/her presence. That way, he or she doesn't just drop in from the clouds. We expect him or her and we already know who he or she is.
The end of the book should circle back and relate somehow to (and resolve every question raised in) the beginning. I like to have some similarity in the first and last lines, if that works in the book. The story questions asked in the opening have to be considered at the story's climax, and must reach some kind of resolution by the end. Don't rip the reader off if you've built an expectation.
What is going to keep your heroine from achieving her goals? Some suggest that at heart, it should not be merely the villain's machinations or the physical obstacles, but one of her basic fears. Something she is scared of remembering or confronting should be at the heart of this blockage and should be in the way of her grabbing the chalice. Coming to terms with this primal fear (finally crying over her father's death when she was stoic as a teen when it happened; finally admitting that her desire to be a doctor is a pipe dream; finally seeing that her marriage is at an end; finally having to climb a bridge and confront her dizzying fear of heights) will give the emotional arc to your story that it needs to have to be memorable. The character has to give up something of herself, discover or admit to something about herself, as well as "catch the villain." In my Ari series, Ari has to admit to several of her inner demons, and Ari's sister has to come out of her self-imposed hermit state. What happens should be because of her own actions, not the hero's or some coincidental thing. If this is a romance, the hero may help the heroine face her fear(s), but typically it's stronger if she finds this strength within herself.
Again, take all this with a saltlick, as I remain a complete failure at getting anything published. This is all just . . . analysis. I think I'm all right with analysis. But don't let me steer you wrong. I wish you better luck and fewer jinxes than I've had on this journey.
???
Here's a good reading list for people wondering which books about "how to write" might be worth reading. I attended Patricia Burroughs' Collin County Community College class years ago and then repeated it, bringing a couple of friends. She teaches a few interesting techniques for plotting your novel. Anyone remember the arcane "index card stack"? There are electronic versions now.
"I am not ashamed to say it exists, this white light . . . and that I seek it."--Vincent Van Gogh, Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh; Drenthe, c. 29-2 Oct-Nov 1883
The voice was raspy, an unfamiliar bass.
I opened my eyes. A burly, bear-like EMT loomed over me. Two more EMTs (judging by the uniform) hovered over his shoulder, one of whom held a hanging IV bag and the other of whom was trying to insert its stinger into the fold of my left elbow. I ached all over, but my right knee screamed the loudest.
"What?" was all I could think to say. Except I had to kind of gasp it out. There was something wrong with my talker. My throat burned.
"Good. Prelim Neuro assessment OK; check again later." He made a note on a clipboard. "Larry, come take her, will you?"
That opening snippet owes a lot to an EMT I used to be acquainted with; he liked to use that line on many occasions. EMTs use that line after they've determined that you do/don't know your name, the year, and who's President. You're not supposed to reply, "Yes, and they like extra hot sauce."
Anyhow. The argument goes that you have ten to thirty seconds to make that First Impression on the editor or agent who is reading your opening, so you'd better make hay before the rain starts. You can't open the way Dickens opened _Bleak House_. Run through the checklist for openings that we talked about last time to see what MIGHT work better.
Your story is about . . . SOMEONE (a hero and/or heroine or some combination/team of people) who has a PROBLEM/QUESTION/DILEMMA that leads fairly quickly into some kind of CONFLICT. It's set in a specific PLACE and TIME PERIOD (and if it ain't the Eternal Present, you'd better clue 'em in now). You've come up with an intriguing NARRATIVE HOOK that sets the bowling ball rolling towards the pins, although it may take a while to make a strike. You also need to hint at WHY . . . why are these characters willing to go through whatever it is they've got to endure in order to fight for/against XYZ, or get/retrieve ABC, or defend Truth, Justice, and the American Way? We can't really assume that just because X is the Right and Proper Thing to Do (as Ursula Nordstrom's teacher character terms it in _The Secret Language_), everyone will be able or willing to do it. In general, readers are (apparently; I mean, *I* never really worry much about this when I'm reading and enjoying the ride, but it seems that others DO) looking for a strong motivation that makes sense to them. If they think the motives are bogus, the book hits the wall.
Okay, those are the bits that have always been required in fiction. Now we have the New Age Requirements that agents/editors started prattling on about with me five to ten years ago. Your main character must have a Heart's Desire and must be moving towards it throughout the tale. Your main character must be appealing and someone we can identify with without cringing. (This rule gets waived for those with antiheroes, and you never can tell who's gonna slip the antihero past the bricks in the Wall. But it's still a general rule, because I got rejected by Dan Lazar once with the remark, "I couldn't stand to spend 300 pages with this nasty, cranky woman." *grin*)
Your main character must experience this Heroine's Journey that she's embarking upon as a series of scenes that build on each other; in other words, if one scene doesn't lead into the next, you're going to get rejected and told that you're writing a picaresque or that you don't have any goals for the character. This is problematic if your storyline is "this happens, then this happens because of something else, and the two collide in scene three, and this all snowballs into Our Main Dilemma," because no one trusts that you know what you're doing, and they think you're just rambling around. So it's best to have a structure like:
A causes B.
The attempt to clean up B causes Worse Mess C.
C causes D. We then try to correct D and find ourselves landing plunk into E, which has to be Even Worse.
This ain't as easy as it sounds, is it?
All righty, then. Your voice or narrative tone can attract a reader in, but the reason she keeps reading is probably either (1) she wants to see what happens next, or (2) she for some reason started to care about what happens to these characters as soon as the story began. I claim that some readers are only there for plot/story, and others are there to experience life vicariously through interesting characters they wish they could know in real life. Action books are for the plot/story people, I guess. But if you can do both, that's always best.
Can you do a "high concept" blurb telling us what the story is about and what the hero/heroine's goal(s) is/are? This shouldn't be a deep and complex mess right from the start, as the middle of the story is where the characters swim through events and questions in order to discover the truth of what everyone wants and why. Readers should be able to accept that Whatever-It-Is can be so important to the character that he's eager to go through all the life-changing events that will unfold as a result of his actions and investigations.
Dwight Swain reminds us that any scene must complicate the plot and/or advance the quest. The hero(ine) must make a decision or choice, and the result of that action leads into the next scene. Between scenes, the "sequels" are the thinking bits that explain what the character has learned or what he/she expects to learn next, and also serve as transitions or bridges.
When Justine chooses a path or decides on an action, from then on she has to deal with the results. Make sure that the choice makes sense for other reasons than "the script says so." Avoid the TV-episode syndrome that works the other way--I often think that "the script says so" is the only reason a character could say/do the stuff they do. The consequences and results (intended and unintended--think about side effects and accidental set-offs, like dominoes falling) of these decisions must be obvious in the next scene or within the next couple of scenes, or else you'll hear what I've heard ("This isn't going anywhere and isn't moving forward," although it WAS--it just wasn't doing it in a linear, A->B fashion.)
You don't want Justine to overanalyze why she kissed the bear, but don't ignore it, either. If that was a weird thing to do, use the sequel to have her briefly think about why or marvel at herself.
Early in the book, Justine has to get into some kind of trouble that worsens, and soon it must be apparent that this is a turning point for her life. The decisions/choices she makes from the beginning on will change her in ways she doesn't expect and perhaps can't even imagine as this ball starts rolling. This will result in character change--the character arc that every book needs in addition to the action plot. The action plot will cause the character change, ideally. You'll see the character's heart break and then fix itself (we hope) at the black moment. If not, then you need to go back and do that.
If there's an important character who won't come on the scene physically for several chapters or scenes, mention this character in passing so readers have a feeling of his/her presence. That way, he or she doesn't just drop in from the clouds. We expect him or her and we already know who he or she is.
The end of the book should circle back and relate somehow to (and resolve every question raised in) the beginning. I like to have some similarity in the first and last lines, if that works in the book. The story questions asked in the opening have to be considered at the story's climax, and must reach some kind of resolution by the end. Don't rip the reader off if you've built an expectation.
What is going to keep your heroine from achieving her goals? Some suggest that at heart, it should not be merely the villain's machinations or the physical obstacles, but one of her basic fears. Something she is scared of remembering or confronting should be at the heart of this blockage and should be in the way of her grabbing the chalice. Coming to terms with this primal fear (finally crying over her father's death when she was stoic as a teen when it happened; finally admitting that her desire to be a doctor is a pipe dream; finally seeing that her marriage is at an end; finally having to climb a bridge and confront her dizzying fear of heights) will give the emotional arc to your story that it needs to have to be memorable. The character has to give up something of herself, discover or admit to something about herself, as well as "catch the villain." In my Ari series, Ari has to admit to several of her inner demons, and Ari's sister has to come out of her self-imposed hermit state. What happens should be because of her own actions, not the hero's or some coincidental thing. If this is a romance, the hero may help the heroine face her fear(s), but typically it's stronger if she finds this strength within herself.
Again, take all this with a saltlick, as I remain a complete failure at getting anything published. This is all just . . . analysis. I think I'm all right with analysis. But don't let me steer you wrong. I wish you better luck and fewer jinxes than I've had on this journey.
Here's a good reading list for people wondering which books about "how to write" might be worth reading. I attended Patricia Burroughs' Collin County Community College class years ago and then repeated it, bringing a couple of friends. She teaches a few interesting techniques for plotting your novel. Anyone remember the arcane "index card stack"? There are electronic versions now.
"I am not ashamed to say it exists, this white light . . . and that I seek it."--Vincent Van Gogh, Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh; Drenthe, c. 29-2 Oct-Nov 1883
