Sipping and Tipping: Coffee Shop Etiquette

The writer in the coffee shop has become a cliche, but there are lots of reasons for wanting to work amidst the hustle and bustle of strangers. When I lived in New York City, I generally had an itty bitty living space and several roommates, making an "office" away from home a necessity. Even now that I have a little more room, there are too many distractions at home: chores to do, pets clamoring for attention by sitting on my keyboard, video games inviting me to play them, TV shows to watch, and a comfy bed in the next room to nap in when it all gets to be too much. It helps motivate me when I have to leave my apartment to go somewhere else specifically to write.

There are also obvious benefits to having an inexhaustible supply of coffee nearby when you're working on a deadline and very little sleep. But what about the noise? Yes, coffee shops can get loud, but they can also be a great place for writers to observe other people, hear stories, and get ideas without feeling too creepy about eavesdropping. The "lonely writer" working in solitude is another old cliche, but writing in a coffee shop surrounded by hipsters on identical MacBooks fosters a sense of community, and it can be inspiring too, seeing everyone else plug away at their screenplays and novels. You start to get to know the other regulars, show an interest in each others' projects, and offer encouragement. It almost starts to feel like you have a social life.

Coffee shop writing isn't for everyone, but I think writers should be always be open-minded and try new processes, so if you haven't done it before, give it a try. But first, here are some etiquette and survival tips for writing in coffee shops:

1. Don't bring a typewriter. Try a laptop or, if you really want to go old school, a notebook and pencil.
2. Unless you actually love Starbucks coffee (and there's nothing wrong with that), consider going to a local indie shop instead. Honestly, Starbucks is super convenient — there are a lot of them and they have long hours — and I feel less guilty about hoarding a table there for long periods of time, but I also like supporting smaller businesses, and their coffee is often better.
3. Buy something. Some coffee shops will actually let you bring in (or sneak in) food and snacks from outside, but don't abuse their kindness, especially if you're at an indie coffee shop. Buy a cup of coffee — consider it "rent" for the table. If you're there for more than a couple of hours, get refills periodically or buy some pastries or something; you're probably getting hungry anyway. Don't like coffee? Try tea or chai or cocoa, or just get a soda, especially if it's really crowded and you're taking up space other customers might want.
4. Tip well. Always good advice, but if you're planning to come back often, don't be cheap.
5. Share the outlets. Power is a hot commodity at most coffee shops; if you see someone drifting around, staring under tables along the walls, point out the outlets if you already know where they are. If you have room at your table and you're sitting alone, offer to share it. I like to bring a small multi-outlet converter with me, which makes it easier to offer power to more people. Some people bring extension cords or even surge protectors, but make sure you aren't going to trip someone or create a fire hazard. (Just in case, make sure your laptop is fully charged and you have your AC adapter before you leave home.)
6. Start packing up a few minutes before the place closes, factoring in the time you need to back up your work (don't forget to back up your work!). You don't want to make anyone stay later than they have to.
7. Bring headphones/earbuds. And use them. If you need to watch a funny video when you should be writing, use headphones so you don't disturb anyone else. Sometimes when it gets too busy or I don't like the music, I listen to Pandora. I've also been using some white noise generators like SimplyRain which generate some soothing sounds that help you focus during the loudest, most inane conversations around you.
8. Bring friends. Writing dates are the best of both worlds: You're being productive while spending time with friends, and you can provide just the right amount of procrastination for each other while still feeling like you're working. It really comes in handy when you have someone else to ask "What's another word for...?" instead of Googling it or asking the snarky artificial intelligence in your phone.
9. Write. Demand silence from your friends when you really need to get to work, turn off the Wi-Fi on your computer, and make the time and money count. Write. But getting one more cup of coffee first won't hurt...

(Thanks to Jeff Hirsch for inspiring this blog post via Twitter, and shout out to two of my favorite coffee shops ever: Grounded in NYC, and the Chestnut Hill Coffee Co.!)

What's your favorite place to write? Have you tried working in coffee shops? Share your survival tips with us below.

Perfecting your opening line

I recently had the good fortune to attend a talk by one of my fave authors – the awesomely talented Meg Rosoff (How I Live Now) – at the Oxford Literary Festival. During the talk she mentioned how, for two years, she’d struggled to write her book Picture Me Gone. All she had was a lot of blank pages and the character’s name: Mila. It seemed hopeless. Until one day, when she was out for a walk, a little yappy dog bounded over to her. It’s name tag read…you guessed it, Mila. And like a glittery bolt of word lightning, the first line of her novel zapped into her mind:

The first Mila was a dog. - Picture Me Gone, Meg Rosoff

The rest, as they say, was history. Which got me thinking about the importance of first lines. What should a good first line do?

Grab the reader’s attention

The key thing a first line should do is grab the reader’s attention - we’re talking full on pom-pom shaking, tassel-twirling action. Let’s face it, we’re all guilty of flicking to page one of a book and scanning the first few lines to see if it’s worth buying –an opinion can be formed that quickly – so it’s vital your first line instantly hooks the reader. So, what makes an attention grabbing first line? I think it falls into 3 key categories:

1. The dramatic statement

One way to start your novel is with a dramatic statement, such as Andy Weir’s The Martian, which is getting uber amounts of love, here on the League!

I’m pretty much fucked. – The Martian, Andy Weir

Why is he fucked? What’s going on? Who is fucked? Instantly, we want to know more. This is a great way to hook a reader, but do make sure the dramatic statement is relevant to your character and plot! Ideally, it should sum up the main crisis in the book in one succinct line, as in the example above. The crux of the story is the character, Mark, is screwed because he’s been stranded alone on Mars.

Another great example is:

It was a pleasure to burn. – Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

Gives you shivers, right? Who or what is burning? Why is it a pleasure? It grabs you and pulls you in, demanding you carry on reading.

Or:

My mother thinks I’m dead. -  Legend, Marie Lu

Why does Day’s mother think he is dead? Why hasn’t he told her that he is alive? How did he supposedly die?! SO MANY QUESTIONS.

2. The character introduction

If your main character is the hook of your novel, then your first line should set them up and immediately tell the reader why they’re such a special snowflake. Marissa Meyer does this masterfully in her sci-fi Cinderella retelling, Cinder:   

The screw through Cinder’s ankle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle. – Cinder, Marissa Meyer

In one short line, we know what’s unique about this version of Cinderella – she has an artificial metal foot. We also know she’s good with mechanics, which plays a key role in the narrative. Masterful!

3. The world set-up

If world-building is your strength and you’ve created a setting that could be a ‘character’ in its own right, then consider using your first line to set the scene. This example combines both a dramatic statement and sets up the world:

They called the world beyond the walls of the Pod “the Death Shop.” – Under the Never Sky, Veronica Rossi   

Like, wow, right? Instantly we know she’s living in a Pod (Why? How did this happen? What sort of society is this?) and that the environment outside this safe world is deadly.

Or, here’s an example from my own work:

An air-raid siren wails in the distance, alerting Black City citizens to lock their doors and turn out the lights. – Black City, Elizabeth Richards

In this example, (I hope) you get a sense Black City is a war-torn place, where its citizens live in constant fear. Fear of what though? All is explained in the subsequent sentences:

An air-raid siren wails in the distance, alerting Black City citizens to lock their doors and turn out the lights. They don’t want to be out in the dark alone. They might meet something dangerous. Something like me. – Black City, Elizabeth Richards

Are you hooked yet? J

What are your favorite first lines from novels? We'd love to hear your views!  

Learning from the master, Joss Whedon

I am a huge fan of watching the director commentaries on shows you love as a method of improving your writing skills, especially when it comes from a writer you really love. And one of the writers I love best is Joss Whedon, because, well, he's freaking brilliant. I was on a panel last month titled "Joss Whedon is My Master Now" at Life, the Universe, and Everything with Bree Despain, Robert J Defendi, Chersti Nieveen, and Michael Young. Among geeking out about all things Joss Whedon, we talked about the things we learned from Joss that helped our writing.

Like that moment in season 5 of Buffy when she found her mom dead on the couch. When Buffy first saw her, she said, "Mom?" then "Mom?" a little more intensely, then "Mommy?" (Seen in the first few seconds of this clip.) This episode was so critically acclaimed in part because the reactions were so real. No matter how old you are, when you lose a parent, you become a kid again. It's a great example of how to write death scenes well, when the character who dies is one that the main character was very close to.

 

When Captain Mal was introduced in the pilot episode of Firefly, he was being... well, the Mal that aims to misbehave. And as a viewer, we weren't quite sure if he was the guy we were supposed to root for. I mean, was he even a good guy? He was just off thieving, after all. Then being ornery toward his crew.

Then Kaylee, the heart of the ship, gives him a kiss and says "I love my captain." And since she is who she is, and if she says that the captain is someone you should love, we immediately believe that we should. That's the beauty of supporting characters-- since they know your main character the best, we believe them when they say awesome things about them. Things you can't get across so effectively any other way.

One of the best (and most painful!) pieces of advice I've ever heard came from the commentary of Angel, the episode in season 3 called Waiting in the Wings. The episode's conception came when Joss learned that Amy Acker (Fred) was classically trained in ballet. He wrote an entire episode about the ballet with this in mind, knowing that he wanted Wesley (Alexis Denisof), who was in love with Fred, to fall asleep during the ballet, and to dream about the two of them on the stage, doing their own ballet. They filmed the scene, and it was HILARIOUS. They were both in leotards and Fred was dancing beautifully, and Wesley was, well.... not. It was a fantastic scene.

Joss (left), Alexis (middle), Amy (right). photo credit: the2scoops via photopin cc

Then, in editing, Joss realized that the episode just wasn't working. Something was wrong, and he just couldn't seem to fix it. Then he remembered some advice he got once-- If something isn't working, remove your favorite part.

Ouch.

Remove your favorite part. Ouch, ouch, ouch. 

Of course, the scene with Fred and Wesley doing ballet together was his favorite part. It was, after all, what inspired the entire episode. But he took it out, and then was able to make the changes needed for the episode to work. He said that too often, we try to bend the plot to the scene we're in love with, when that's not what the story needs. And when we are so in love with a certain part, it makes it more difficult to see what needs to change.

Excellent advice, Mr. Whedon. Painful, but excellent.

If you're a Joss Whedon fan, what episode / scene did you learn the most from? Or if you've watched any other great commentaries, who do you think you've learned the most from?

Writing the Sequel

Is it only me, or does the word "sequel" conjure up cheesy movie posters and George Lucas interviews for anybody else?  Something about the word itself gives me a feeling of low-grade anxiety, like by writing a sequel to Landry Park, I'm inviting Jar Jar Binks in for tea, and possibly some apes from Battle for the Planet of the Apes, and that we're all going to watch the third Matrix movie while we nibble on our petit fours.

So I'm trying to keep some things in mind as I write.

1) The sequel must be its own story.  Our own Leaguer Beth Revis did this beautifully with A Million Suns, the sequel to Across the Universe.  The book isn't just Elder and Amy sighing at rivets and checking their watches--there is a mystery to be solved and the clock is ticking.  A sequel needs to have its own separate arc within the larger arc of the world.

2) BUT the sequel must also continue the first story: In The Wise Man's Fear, Kvothe encounters new places, people and challenges, but his ultimate goal is the same as it was in The Name of the Wind--he has to learn about the Chandrian and find them, all to avenge his family.  The larger themes and problems introduced in the first book need to be addressed and either resolved or have had progress made on them.

3) Deal with the major problems.  The big questions introduced in the first book need to be resolved or--if it's not the final book in the series--at least make some significant progress on answering the major questions.  Harry Potter is wonderful at this.  Each book--each year--brings us closer to the inevitable confrontation between Harry and Voldemort.  The characters gather weapons, learn new information and edge closer to the final battle.

4) Don't forget what made the first thing fun.  I'm going to break one of my own rules here and speak about the fourth Indiana Jones movie, which I went to the theater and saw and wanted to love.  Oh, I wanted to love it so badly.  And to be honest, it's not the worst film ever made.  It has some good quips (got to have quipping), and Karen Allen, and some guys getting eaten by ants.  But it was missing something present in the first three films--a sense of adventure, an earnestness even.  Instead, we got overwhelming amounts of CGI and aliens.

What is the world that the first thing promised?  What is the feeling?  The atmosphere?  The sequel needs to contain the things that compelled you to write the first book and readers to read the first book.

And now with my daily procrastination finished, I'm going to tattoo these rules on my hand and get to work.

Shiny, happy ideas and miserable writers

This weekend at the Decatur Book Festival, which was fabulous btw (thanks for asking), my panel was asked a lot of questions about ideas and writing and how to make an idea into a book.  When someone asks me where I get my ideas, I try to keep my eyes from rolling back in my head and give them a good answer.  But here's the truth, and it's something other writers know all too well:

I get ideas everywhere.

And I mean everywhere.  Vacuuming my house, on the highway, in the middle of a movie, talking with a friend, eating lentil soup, cleaning the wax from my ears.

I am under a constant barrage of ideas.  Writers don't see and hear things the same way nonwriters do.  All it takes is the right turn of phrase or casual dissemination of info and our minds start whirring, grinding out a plethora of what-ifs.

This might sound great, and most of the time when that Shiny, Happy Idea comes (SHI - ooh, that's a close one) along, I flirt with it, imagine who the characters are, what the cover will look like.  This honeymoon phase lasts anywhere from seconds to days until I think of my last SHI or another SHI pops into my head.

The best SHIs get a page of notes in a file titled backburner, some even have their own notebooks.  I'm always convinced my SHIs are marinating while I work on books that are under contract or deadline.  I'm positive I can write them all THIS YEAR and then I sit down to work on them and some of the shininess and happiness fades away, replaced with lots of questions.

Who are these characters?
What happens to them?
Most often—what was I thinking?

Sometimes that marinating time doesn't work it turns out.  Sometimes a SHI is just like all those shiny, happy objects that sparkle and catch our fancy in life but turn out to be pieces of junk.  It can be a miserable feeling when you sent down with your folder full of SHIs and come away feeling deflated.

What to do?

Pick a SHI and explore it.  Look for inspirational pics on Pinterest, find one and free write for 15 minutes.  Name your characters.  The problem with Shiny, Happy Ideas is that that's all they are–ideas. Books need a lot more than ideas.  They need bones and muscle and tissue, teeth and marrow.  Books need flesh and blood.  Wannabe writers create Shiny, Happy Ideas.  Writers create books.

So when you pull that Shiny, Happy Idea out and discover it's a little tarnished, decide if you want to chuck it back in the drawer or polish it up and remember, an idea kept in a drawer never becomes a book.

Keep 'em hanging

“Just one more chapter...”

Does that sound familiar? We’ve all been there. Fifteen chapters later, it’s four o’clock in the morning and your eyes feel like they’ve been licked by a thousand newborn kittens (it's not as cute as it sounds), and yet you still can’t stop reading. What sort of witchcraft do these authors have over us? Why can’t we just PUT THE DAMN BOOK DOWN AND GO TO SLEEP? Well, chances are they’ve perfected the art of the 'chapter out'.

Chapter outs are something I spend a lot of time over when writing my novels. In fact, I won’t start a chapter until I know how it’s going to end, so I know how to build up the tension and keep the action rushing toward that (hopefully) exciting end point.

Good chapter outs should finish on a revelation, turn the story on its head, or raise the stakes (and preferably do all three), so it keeps the reader on their toes and desperate to find out what happens next. Of course, some endings are more successful than others, and I don't suggest every chapter ends on a 'dum-dum-duuuuuuuum' type cliffhanger, but it should keep the reader curious. Don't give them an excuse to put your book down and go to sleep!

In my opinion, the queen of the 'chapter out' is Suzanne Collins. She's made it something of an art form. If you don’t believe me, here are the chapter outs for the first three chapters in The Hunger Games (by the way, this next part of the post is going to contain some SERIOUS spoilers, so if you haven’t read The Hunger Games, then just assume everything I write next is life changing and awesome, and skip to the bottom...)

Chapter 1

Effie Trinket crosses back to the podium, smooths the slip of paper, and reads out the name in a clear voice. And it’s not me.
     It’s Primrose Everdeen.

(Chapter 1, Pg 24, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Scholastic Children's Books)

Holy hell fire! That’s an opening and a half.  The reader expects Katniss Everdeen’s name to be read out, so the swerve-a-rooney is not only shocking but it’s amazing character development, as it gives Katniss something to fight for, which isn’t just a ‘selfish’ need to save her own life. Brilliant. *tips hat*

Chapter 2

Oh well, I think. There will be twenty-four of us. Odds are someone else will kill him before I do. 
Of course, the odds have not been very dependable of late.

(Chapter 2, Pg 40, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Scholastic Children's Books)

By this point, Peeta is clearly being set up as the love interest, and yet Katniss realizes she’s going to have to kill him. Talk about a doomed love! The reader is instantly gripped. How is this going to be resolved, so we get our ‘happily ever after’? Is it possible that we *gulp* won’t get a happy ending?

Chapter 3

“…Haymitch can well be the difference between your life and death!”
Just then, Haymitch staggers into the compartment.
“I miss supper?” he says in a slurred voice. Then he vomits all over the expensive carpet and falls in the mess.
“So laugh away,” says Effie Trinket. She hops in her pointy shoes around the pool of vomit and flees the room.

(Chapter 3, Pg 57, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Scholastic Children's Books)

By the end of chapter 3, we have all the conflict we need to keep reading to the end: a girl being thrown into the hunger games to save her little sister; a boy who loves her but their romance is doomed; and their only hope is a drunk. How is Katniss going to get out of this situation?

It's amazing how much you can achieve in just a few short sentences, so it's worth taking the time and effort to go through your chapter outs and ask yourself:

a) Does this reveal anything about the character/situation?
b) Does this raise the stakes?
c) Does this turn the story on its head?

By getting your chapters outs nailed, you too can keep readers up all night!

Revision Tips

As I write (and revise), I keep a running list of issues and/or things I want to fix or add later. I’m a list maker and Post-it note addict. Right now, I have dozens of sticky notes and lists and lists on sticky notes floating around my desk. When I’m ready to revise, I’ll compile them into one big list and tackle them one at a time. But before I jump into this project-specific list, I look at the big picture issues. And, guess what, I made a list of them.

1. Character arcs. Look at the growth of your characters throughout the story. How does each start? What does he/she want? What epiphany do they reach? How do they end up? You may have done this before you started writing, but the arc might have changed as you wrote.
   
   
2. Structure. Outline what happens in each chapter. Jot down just the gist of each. (If you outline before you write, do this anyway. It’s a good exercise, and often, if you’re like me, the original outline bears no resemblance to the final chapter.) You don’t need more than sentence or two. Think of it as the logline for each chapter. This helps me see the structure of the book. (And if you’re really industrious, you can map items 1 and 3 against this outline.) Then look at:
• Does the order make sense?
• What’s the purpose of each chapter? How does it advance the plot?
• What does each character want in the chapter? (Kurt Vonnegut said that every character had to want something, even if it was just a glass of water.)
• Who narrates? (This is for those of you, like me, who write in multiple POVs.) Is his or hers the best viewpoint to tell this part of the story?
• Do you have any gaps—in terms of plot or character arc or whatever?
3. Timeline. Put the events of the story on a timeline or calendar. (You can do this as your outlining the chapters.) Particularly, if your plot happens over a few days or weeks, this is helpful to make sure you don’t have too many things happening on one day or don’t have two Saturdays in the week.
4. Voice. Make a list of distinctive words that each character uses. Since I do write in multiple voices, this helps me keep them straight. (Actually, my editor is better at this than I am.)

There are probably a few other big picture things I look at before diving into the project-specific list, but I can’t think of them at the moment. I’m sure my editor will remind me!

What revisions tips do you guys have?

Editing Tips & Tricks

This week’s topic is “Editing Tips and Tricks,” so see if there's anything here that can help you in your next edit.

TIP

Start your edit at the big picture. If it’s not clear what the main character wants, what the problem is and who opposes her or him, then no amount of line editing is going to help. Work on the spine of the story first. Is the structure solid? One book I like is Elizabeth Lyon’s Manuscript Makeover. She raises great questions that can help to get to the next draft. Also very helpful before or after you write your draft is Donald Maass' The Breakout Novelist.

 


TRICK

Let some time pass between your first rough draft and the first edit. This allows your brain to look at the draft with fresher eyes. The amount of time you wait is a personal choice. The longer you let it sit, the more you’ll gain the perspective to read it like your readers would. But wait too long, and you’ll be a different person. Some people wait two weeks; some wait a year.

TIP

Find a writer’s group, preferably an in-person group of supportive writers who are close to your level. They will become your beta readers and they can often shortcut the rewrite process by their honest feedback.

TRICK

If you live in a remote area, then maybe it's impossible to have an in-person writing group. You might have to make your connections via the computer. Or maybe you’ll first find these writers by meeting them at a conference or convention. Afterward, you can carry on by using email and maybe plan your own once-a-year retreats.

TIP

If you live near a University, see if they have extension program classes. Not only will you learn while taking the class, but you’ll meet other writers in your area.

TIP

After you’ve let your manuscript sit, when you’re ready to read it, try to go through it the first time without marking the pages. Allow yourself to be a reader and feel the story. If you must, make notes on a separate pad but no line notes. One of the most common weaknesses in a first draft by a beginning writer is simply this: not saying what you mean.

TIP

Once you’ve finished reading it through, this is the time to make notes to yourself about how far it is from what you first intended. Don’t worry, you won’t be alone – every artist goes through this process.

TIP

Some writers don’t want to show anyone their first rough draft and that’s fine. If you’re the type who is confident you can see what’s wrong and correct it on the next draft, do that. But most beginning writers benefit from the feedback. When you get it, listen to it. Take notes without questioning or defending, go home and type them up so they’re legible. Let the notes sit a few days or a week before you reread them. This process will take the emotional sting out of the criticism. The comments won’t seem so personal and you’ll be able to accept them more easily. Decide which notes resonate with you (especially ones that were repeated by more than one person). Learn to separate the suggested fixes from the problems with the draft. Often the fix isn’t right but the beta reader found a problem that should be addressed.

TRICK

The office supply store is your friend. Arm yourself with Post-it ™ notes and 3x5 cards because you want to be able to get down and dirty. You have to be willing to tear apart your structure to come up with something better and stronger. You might chop off the first chapter; move chapter five to become chapter one; write a whole new ending. Be brave.

TIP

Never forget that your manuscript is fluid.

TRICK

Once you have the structure the way you want it and the story seems to be working for you, get a fresh read from a couple of new readers. Repeat the process of revision until you are satisfied and your writing buddies are begging you to take it out on submission.

Don’t worry, you will be going through this process again… once you sell your project to an editor.

 

Advice for Young Writers: Live Life

I was recently asked what my best advice is for young writers. Beyond read (a lot) and write (a lot), my main advice is to live life.

Travel (even if it’s just to the next town over), meet new people (even if it’s only Starbucks employees), run (even if you can only do it for a hundred yards), fall in love (even if the other person doesn’t love you back), knit a sweater (even if it turns out hideous), do stuff that scares you (even if it’s only doing any of the things on this list so far). 

The point is, by expanding our life experiences, we can make our stories and character interactions richer and more authentic. And even if you never finish your novel (or find an agent or a publisher), at least you lived life to the fullest you could.

MacGuffins: Using them effectively

The MacGuffin, often the object or information everyone is after, is one of the most popular elements in modern storytelling. The term popularized by Alfred Hitchock, who knew his shizz, is often the foundation the story is built around. But what is a macguffin? And how can we use them as writers? Here's a few classic MacGuffins: The Maltese Falcon - some will kill for it, but is it a priceless object or just symbolic of the dangers of greed?

The Letters of Transit - first off, if you start to think about these powerful letters of transit (that can not be rescinded), you'll smell something funny. I'm sure a bunch of Nazis would bow to some papers. But that's not the point, is it?

 The suitcase - Is it his soul? Another symbol? One thing's for sure we want to see in that box.

 Also this: The bar at my local theatre (headed there this afternoon)

To really get your mileage with a MacGuffin, it must be plausible, but it should serve as a catalyst. It gets the story going, and it shows up at times to give it a boost, but we don't dwell on it. Characters don't spend whole scenes analyzing it. Cynical Rick doesn't question why the heck Charles De Gaulle would sign those papers or why anyone would care. We don't see into the suitcase. Some of my favorite macguffins come courtesy of J.J. Abrams - various Rimabauldi artifacts. Even why they're stuck on the island is a MacGuffin. It provides a structure to tell a story and build characters, but don't look too closely or you might see the smoke and mirrors. Incidentally, I think this is why some people got so frustrated with Lost.

 For better or worse, building an entire series around a MacGuffin can backfire when people expect a profound revelation at the end. I'd learned my lesson with Alias.

 The show was never about Rimbauldi and his prophecies. It was about Sydney and her relationships. The rest was MacGuffins.

So when my Critique Partner and I were discussing Alcatraz the other day and he said, "I think I'll keep watching to see what the mystery is," I reminded him it was going to be a MacGuffin.  But there you have it, four episodes in and the show has him hooked on the promise of the mystery, on the promise of the MacGuffin.

 So my advice about using MacGuffins:
1. Make it interesting, but don't dwell on it.
2. Use it to enhance your characterization and relationship building.
3. Don't be surprised or offended when someone is upset that your MacGuffin didn't pay off. It's probably going to happen and that's ok.

What other MacGuffins come to mind when you think about movies, television, or books?  Do you like them or do they frustrate you?

Adding Suspense To Your Post-Apocoalyptic (or any!) Novel

Okay, so adding suspense to a novel is difficult business. And as science fiction and dystopian authors have a little bonus--they can use their sometimes scary and tense societies to build suspense. (There is the added drawback of having to develop and explain such societies too, so we don't have it totally easy!)

Here are a few tips for adding suspense to any novel, science fiction or not.

1. Chapter endings. Now I've heard people say to end them on a cliffhanger, but I actually don't think that's entirely true. You don't have to have an explosion at the end of every chapter, or a gun going off for it to be impactful.

The best advice I've heard is to end the chapter in one of two ways: a high or a low. And it can be a plot high or low, or an emotional high or low. Both bring the urge to turn the page, and build the tension for the next chapter.

Some examples:

Plot high, from THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson: "I gaze unbelieving at my nurse, amazed at the speed with which she moved, wondering why recognizing the life in my navel would sentence a man to death."

Emotional low from VIRTUOSITY by Jessica Martinez: "The black night, white stars, and yellow house lights glimmered like fractured glass, poised above me and ready to fall with one more shake of the kaleidoscope."

Notice I didn't have to use sci fi/dystopian titles for the examples. Any reading you do, identify the high/low at the end of the chapter. Use what works for you.

2. Shorter sentences. When I'm building up to a reveal, or writing a particularly fast-paced scene, I like to use shorter sentences or paragraphs. I find myself using repeats and echoes a lot, as I think this draws out the tension before the big reveal.

The white space allows breathing room, and the shortness of the text means the reader can read really fast.

All of that adds to the tension of the reading experience, in my opinion.

3. Evil villains. I think one of the reasons Harry Potter was so engaging is because Lord Voldemort is truly evil. He's scary whether he's on the page or not. I think every book can be benefitted from having a really evil villain.

Of course, if you're not writing fantasy or science fiction, there often is no huge, overarching villain. In cases like these (see VIRTUOSITY example above), rely on the emotional impact of your story.

What techniques do you use to add suspense to your novel?

Writing Tips: How to Start Your Novel

Okay, so recently, I turned in a novel I'd written to my agent. She read it (loved it--phew!) and gave me some feedback. Her only comment? It's going to blow your mind. Are you ready? Mind-blowing tarp all set up?

Really?

She said: "It starts too fast."

Okay, stop the pony. Starts TOO FAST?? Isn't that what we're always told? Toss the reader into the action? Grip them with the first word, the first sentence, the first scene??

Now, I'll admit that I'm very sensitive about the way my novels start. I don't like it when someone tells me to start my novels in a different place. Since I don't write in order, I don't write the beginning first, and I feel like I have a really organic process for finding the opening scene of my books.

So my agent told me this particular book was opening too fast. I re-read my first chapter, and saw her point. So I read through it. Made some light edits, etc. Could not for the life of me see a different way to start it. So I did what any writer would do: I opened a blank document.

I was going to write a new first chapter, dang it!

And I did. Like 10 times. They all sucked. None of them were right. Or even close.

I could feel the haze coming, the need for sour patch kids and bacon and a good long vacay from writing.

Then the fabulous girls in my critique group gave me a book that changed my life. CHANGED MY LIFE.

I think they were skeptical that I would actually read the book. But I proved them wrong! Ha! I even filled out NOTE CARDS and MADE A FREAKING STORYBOARD.

That's right. Believe it (picture proof, FTW!). Now, those of you who've been here a while know that I simply don't do this. I don't outline. In fact, the mere thought of it makes me shudder and throw salt over my shoulder to ward off evil spirits.

Well, guess what? This book that changed my life? It showed me how to outline in a way that makes sense to me. MAKES TOTAL SENSE!

I know by now you're all screaming: How?! What book??! Spill, Johnson!!

SAVE THE CAT by Blake Snyder. It's about screenwriting--and there's something magical about relating outlining and story construction to movies. I can "see" it. I can watch a movie and "see" everything laid out in only a matter of hours. I can't do that when I read.

So I read SAVE THE CAT, and voila! Just like that, I realized the missing piece of my book: Beat One.

That's right. Out of 15 beats, I was missing the first freaking one! And since The Fabulous Blake Snyder tells you what should have in each beat, I could suddenly "see" how my book needed to start.

I wrote the first chapter the next day.

SAVE THE CAT people. It will save your sanity. Buy it for all your crit mates. Get it yourself. Read it. Love it. Cherish it.

And I made my own Blake Snyder beat sheet for novels using the resources Blake has on his website.

Do you have a book on writing that changed your life? Do tell.

**I'll admit that this is a recycled post from my own blog. Sorry! I'm under edit deadline. :)

Drafting in the fast lane...

With copy edits completed on TRUTH (the sequel to XVI), and another book with my editor (fingers crossed!), I'm back in drafting mode. Drafting mode, at least for me, is quite similar to NaNoWriMo. Or perhaps I should say it was, until I discovered Scrivener.

I love my Scrivener! I do! But, it has suddenly organized me in a way with which I am not familiar. Okay... maybe it's just organized me & I am not familiar with organization! (Yeep! Little truths leak out!)

Now, instead of scribbled post-its stuck to my computer, the wall, the dog, the cats, tea cups, and water bottles -- I have an actual area within my main document where I can put notes, names (so I don't forget who I called what), research, and other pertinent data. This kind of organization is shocking to me! Instead of three composition books (and I can never remember which has what notes in it) full of backstory, motivation, and description... well, it's all just a mouse click away - while I'm actually writing on the draft!

Right now my Scrivener document looks like this...

Main Document
Prologue
Prologue 1
New Chap 1
New Chap 2
New Chap 3
4
5

Research
Characters
Locations
Slang

Unbelievable! I can be writing away and forget what so-and-so's family name is. I click on Characters - and - Ta Da! There's the name!

This is like going from a manual to an automatic transmission! (Altho' I love me my little 5-speed!) My goal is 2500 words a day until this 1st draft is finished. And - I think I'm gonna make it!

How do you get through those first drafts? Any tricks or methods that you find work really well for you? Or is each book different? I'd love to know! I'm ready to take notes!

Writing Tips: Knowing When To Fold 'Em

Today, I'm going to start with a quote: "It's not wise to violate rules until you know how to observe them."
~T. S. Eliot

I think that any writer who spends any amount of time trying to improve themselves as a writer has heard/read some rules. You have, right?

You've been in classes, attended conferences, bought books on character and craft, maybe even read a few thousand industry blogs. The "rules" for good writing and good storytelling could fill the ocean.

For me, it's knowing when to hold 'em, and when to fold 'em.

I like this quote by T.S. Eliot because it reminds me that I do need to know the rules before I go about breaking them. Do I observe proper grammar? Hold--most of the time. Do I avoid all flashbacks? Fold--heck to the no.

As an author, we need to have adequate practice time. I have entire novels that were purely for practice. A regimen to learn the rules, so to speak. Now, when I write (and it's not for practice, because I still do that), I have to decide when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. I have to rely on my previous experience, and I have to know what kind of writer I am.

When I do that, then I know which writing rules I should keep and which ones I should release.

What about you? Are you still holding tightly to all the rules? Or have you been folding a few hands recently?

Writings Tips: Neil Gaiman's 8 Good Writing Practices

As I may have said before, I suck at writing tips. So, this time I'm sharing Neil Gaiman's "8 Good Writing Practices."

1. Write.
2. Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.
3. Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.
4. Put it aside. Read it pretending you’ve never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.
5. Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.
6. Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.
7. Laugh at your own jokes.
8. The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

Number 5 is my favorite.  Pay attention when something doesn't work for someone, but you have to find your own way to fix it.

In general, I like Neil Gaiman's tips because they're so straightforward. He saying they're no real secrets to writing. None that matter, that is. 

Check out other writers' tips in this Guardian article.  Let us know if you have any other favorites!

Pace Yourself

Okay, so I don't run, but I've heard that pacing is crucial when running long distance. The runner has to find the rhythm of their feet, and not start too early lest they burn out by the end.

Well, my friends, writing a book is very much like running ten marathons--back to back.

Just as for runners, writers have to deal with pacing, and it's very difficult. In fact, pacing is one of the things I struggle with the most. When I was querying POSSESSION, I got mixed feedback specific to the pacing. One agent would say, "I like it, but the pacing is a bit too slow." Another said, "The pacing is a bit too quick, and I'm left trying to figure too much out."

I couldn't win. (I think pacing might be an uphill battle for a lot of authors, and even when we think we've got the novel paced just so, readers might not agree.)

When my now-agent emailed to ask for revisions, what did she mention? You guessed it. Pacing. She thought the last third was too slow.

What did I do?

Cry?

Yes, okay! Yes, I did. I just DID NOT KNOW how to get the pacing right.

After I finished crying, I got down to business. I did what all good writers do: I read a book.

STEIN ON WRITING by Sol Stein, to be exact. His advice really helped me to speed the pacing in the last third of my novel, and since then I feel like I have a better grip on the pacing of my writing.

And it is about the writing, not necessarily about what happens (the plot). At least, that's what I took away from Stein's book. It's in how many words I use to convey something, whether that something be emotion or plot, dialog or narration.

I continue to use the tips in STEIN ON WRITING, like looking at every sentence and eliminating any words that aren't needed. I sometimes write in shorter sentences (or fragments) in an especially fast scene. I look at the beginning and ending of each scene, and see if I can enter it later or end it earlier. All of those things help to quicken the pacing. And I learned them all from Stein.

I'm still not the the super-bestest at pacing, but hey. I can acknowledge my weaknesses.

What are your feelings on pacing? Do you like a faster-paced story, or a slower-paced one? If you're a writer, how do you tackle the beast that is pacing?

Find Out Who You Are

This whole publishing-a-book thing has been the wildest ride of my life. I used to spend hours reading industry blogs written by agents, editors, anyone who knew more than I did. I was inundated with advice on how to write, how not to write, what constitutes a good novel, what doesn't, that outlines are required for success, and on and on and on.

And on.

And I let these blogs paralyze me. I found myself thinking things like, I'll never be successful because I don't outline. Or I'll never be a published author because I don't even know what the three act structure is.

But I'd written books. I felt like I knew how to craft a story. But I didn't outline. I didn't frame my novels. I didn't do anything all the blogs said you have to do.

Then one day, I decided it didn't matter. So what if I didn't do all those things? So what? There are all different ways to write a novel. And so my best advice is this: Find out what kind of writer you are.

Embrace that. Be that kind of writer. Let everything else melt away.

Have you ever felt like this? What kind of writer are you? What have you found that works for you?

Shiny New Ideas

Let's say that you've decided to begin a new novel. A brand new, shiny delicious novel. Where do you start?

Do you use Word or something more like Scrivener?
I've seen several posts about this recently, and as someone who's never used Scrivener--and someone who's about to begin a shiny new novel--I'm wondering if this is something I should explore. I usually just open Word, crack my knuckles, and go for it.

Do you write by hand or on the computer?
I've done both in the past. I start in notebooks, and move to the computer after a week or so, because I'm so much faster at typing.

Do you take notes first? Outline?
I'll admit that I've never done this. So I'll ask you: If you take notes, what are they about? I've been forced to outline in the past, and while I see the merit in this, it is very painful for me. Very painful.

Do you have a character or a plot point as a jumping off point?
I always have a character in mind. They begin to form with  a name, and then I start to fill them out in my head. I don't do anything as deep at character interviews or characteristic sheets or anything like that. I usually just make them up as I go. (Yes, I revise a lot afterward.)

Do you start at the beginning or write out of order?
I'm one of "those people," and I write whatever scene I have in my head. I can write in chunks, and then go back and stitch all the chunks together. I usually write the beginning scene/chapter one after I have about 60 - 80 pages of other stuff.

Do you set a goal for completion?
I always set a goal, and I always include some of my writing pals as cheerleaders. I find that this helps me stay on track, and gives me a sense of accountability.

When starting a shiny new novel, how do you begin?

Building Your World

So everyone has been giving writing tips this week. They've all said some really great things, and I color myself lucky to be blogging with them. I'm going to talk a little bit about world-building. Not like, full-blown into it or anything, but just a few tips I've learned as I've penned my novels that occur in different worlds.

1. Start slow and small. I know, I know, This goes against everything you've ever heard. But when you're building a world, it's a delicate balance. You don't want to A) drop your reader into a world they can't figure out or B) take the crucial first pages to explain everything.

You just need to give me enough to know that the world I'm reading operates by different rules. I need time to figure out how things work, so give me something but not too much.

Let's compare to the movie Monsters, Inc. (Yeah, okay, I've seen it about 40 times this week. Thank you, OnDemand.) It starts out with a child sleeping in bed. Then a monster comes in--this is a hint that we're in a different world. Then we get a glimpse of what the monsters do.

Cut to Sully. He's the top scarer. And the next few minutes are SLOW, as Mike and Sully walk to work. We learn there's a scream shortage. They "stalk" instead of "walk" across the street. And we get to see all the different monsters.

The movie starts slow and small, acclimating you to the new world. You should do that in your book too.

2. Lead me along. This is an aspect of any good storytelling, but especially when building a new world/culture. Place clues and new-world items in key spots to draw attention to them. Take my hand and lead me through the story.

Not push. Not pull. Lead.

In Monsters, Inc. I'm led from beginning to end. I don't like Randall, because he bullies Mike. I find myself drawn to Boo, because Sully is. Just as Beth said in her post, make me care about the characters. Give me world-building stuff when I need it. Lead me.

3. Assume the reader will need to be told. Again, you've probably heard the opposite of this. But when world-building, make sure that if things are important to your character, your laws, your world, that you let the reader know explicitly. We don't exist in your world. You, as the author, know much more than we do. So tell us what we need to know. Just don't tell us twice.

In Monsters, Inc. Mr. Waternoose comes right out and says that his monsters will go into children's rooms, because they need the screams to power their city. We have to be told that in no uncertain terms. Then, later, after his technician says, "We've lost 58 doors this week," Mr. Waternoose comes right out and says, "Kids these days. They just don't get scared the way they used to."

This is vital information we need to know that drives the plot forward.

Okay, enough Monsters. Have you had to write a new world before? What tips do you have to add to these?