I once had a professor who, when he critiqued my work, would always want more. More adjectives, more description, more characterization, more detail, etc. I didn't understand why he would do this, especially since my pieces were always the longest in the class. Recently I came across a few old stories he had critiqued while packing up some more of my stuff for the (hopefully soon) upcoming move. Nearly four years later, I finally grasped that what he had been trying to do was exhaust our writing abilities. He wanted us to expand, to pour out everything we had onto the page. He wanted us to give up every word we could think of, detail every event and blade of grass, explain every aspect of our characters' appearance, countenance, and inner thought process.
His class, I understood, was like a giant brainstorming session. Put everything out and don't hold back.
Occasionally, I run into similar situations with beta readers and critique buddies. Someone will latch onto a passing detail and not let go.
"I'm really interested in this coffee machine," they'll say. "When the protagonist sees it, is it something she recognizes? Is it a single cup machine, or is it brewing great quantities at a time? And what about this steam coming from behind the counter? Does she know it's normal for the machine to steam or is she worried that this giant chrome machine is going to explode? Really, if you're not going to focus on the coffee machine, I'd skip it entirely. Otherwise, the reader's mind will be pulled out of the story."
In your mind, the coffee machine was nothing but a grounding detail in the coffee shop. A little sight detail, maybe some smell, sound, and taste. Nothing more.
You never thought it'd be so important to some people.
As the writer it's your job to discern which details require your and the reader's attention. Whether it's a pushy professor or a detail oriented critiquer, ultimately, it's your job to find the pertinent details.
Are those limbo poles going to resurface later in the story in an important way? No? Then cut their half a page description.
Is it going to matter whether the coffee machine can brew one cup or multiple at a time? No? Don't mention it.
Will your protagonist's hair color really make or break this murder investigation? No? Don't sweat plopping it awkwardly into the text.
Toss the things (whether they be details of your own creation or comments from a critiquer) that aren't pertinent details. Only keep what characterizes your characters, advances the plot, or adds tension. Everything else,
yes, everything,
must be deleted.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Do You Have The Time?
Whether you're writing a mystery novel, literary, or an adventure story, time matters. The sun rises, the sun sets, and humans for as long as we've known that, have measured the time between.
The same care you give time in your daily life has to be given to the time in your story. Your characters must wake, get to work on time (or not), make their scheduled appointments (or not), and do this for weeks, months, or years.
But, being writers, we can manipulate time.
Go on, you know you've always wanted to....
That murder in your mystery novel? What was the time of death? Where were the suspects during that time?
Your literary story. Is the main event or character constrained to a timeline? How about the project he's managing? Is it still on track? Or perhaps there's too much free time in his life and he gets into trouble before anything productive can be accomplished.
And your fantasy or adventure story? How much time should pass between the inciting incident and charter 3? Is it minutes - expanded with fight scenes and description and exposition - or years due to an incredible foot journey?
Manipulate time to your advantage. Give your protagonists a limited amount of time in which to complete their task. Give them consequences if they're unable to accomplish it. Ratchet up the tension as the minutes slip past.
If you can control every aspect of it, why not play that to your advantage? Why not harness time and make it slave for you?
Go on, you know you've always wanted to...
The same care you give time in your daily life has to be given to the time in your story. Your characters must wake, get to work on time (or not), make their scheduled appointments (or not), and do this for weeks, months, or years.
But, being writers, we can manipulate time.
Go on, you know you've always wanted to....
That murder in your mystery novel? What was the time of death? Where were the suspects during that time?
Your literary story. Is the main event or character constrained to a timeline? How about the project he's managing? Is it still on track? Or perhaps there's too much free time in his life and he gets into trouble before anything productive can be accomplished.
And your fantasy or adventure story? How much time should pass between the inciting incident and charter 3? Is it minutes - expanded with fight scenes and description and exposition - or years due to an incredible foot journey?
Manipulate time to your advantage. Give your protagonists a limited amount of time in which to complete their task. Give them consequences if they're unable to accomplish it. Ratchet up the tension as the minutes slip past.
If you can control every aspect of it, why not play that to your advantage? Why not harness time and make it slave for you?
Go on, you know you've always wanted to...
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Pins Around!
Have you been following the Writing board on my Pinterest? This one. Have you? No? Really?
Here's what you're missing out on.
1. Reasons why writers are ninjas-
Here's what you're missing out on.
1. Reasons why writers are ninjas-
2. Practical snippets on character development-
3. Amazingly insightful rewriting tips-
4. Analogies, similes, and metaphors-
5. And the all important writer-funnies-
So what are you waiting for? Go check it out!
And if you ever find a great image or pin or quote I need to know about, don't be afraid to share it with me either directly on Pinterest or through the comments of this blog.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
The Snapshot Vs. The Masterpiece
Every history and art history book I've ever encountered shows images of famous artworks. Perhaps the most populous is the Mona Lisa. But no matter how many times you see the image, and no matter how well you can admire it in print or online, the image pales in comparison to the real masterpiece, right?
Why do I bring this up? Because often on this blog, when we talk about characterization, we talk about creating the masterpiece. I've shared multiple worksheets and exercises to get you thinking about the whole human your protagonist is. Their backstory, religion, food preferences, family, friends, likes and dislikes - these are all big-picture/masterpiece type questions to ponder.
But what happens when we get to actually writing the scene itself?
The scene is a snapshot - an image of the whole, if you will. And within that snapshot, the whole masterpiece can never exist. They're different entities entirely.
So, when you write a scene you must approach it differently than you do the worksheet or characterization exercises. Instead of trying to fit everything you know into one moment, think about who the protagonist is AT THIS VERY MOMENT. What does he/she want? What is most important in his/her belief system right now? What does he/she need to get across to another character?
The backstory - the masterpiece itself - must exists before the snapshot can be taken. But when the snapshot is viewed, it needs to be whole in and of itself. The lighting needs to be right, the angle accurate. Otherwise, not only will your scene not make sense, but the masterpiece will suffer as a whole.
Don't let all your hard work go to waste. Know what to include in your scenes and what is spoken more profoundly by being left out entirely.
Why do I bring this up? Because often on this blog, when we talk about characterization, we talk about creating the masterpiece. I've shared multiple worksheets and exercises to get you thinking about the whole human your protagonist is. Their backstory, religion, food preferences, family, friends, likes and dislikes - these are all big-picture/masterpiece type questions to ponder.
But what happens when we get to actually writing the scene itself?
The scene is a snapshot - an image of the whole, if you will. And within that snapshot, the whole masterpiece can never exist. They're different entities entirely.
So, when you write a scene you must approach it differently than you do the worksheet or characterization exercises. Instead of trying to fit everything you know into one moment, think about who the protagonist is AT THIS VERY MOMENT. What does he/she want? What is most important in his/her belief system right now? What does he/she need to get across to another character?
The backstory - the masterpiece itself - must exists before the snapshot can be taken. But when the snapshot is viewed, it needs to be whole in and of itself. The lighting needs to be right, the angle accurate. Otherwise, not only will your scene not make sense, but the masterpiece will suffer as a whole.
Don't let all your hard work go to waste. Know what to include in your scenes and what is spoken more profoundly by being left out entirely.
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