Getting in and then getting out

I'm going to see "The King's Speech". The movie is about King George VI, the younger son who never thought he'd be king. Hitler is conquering Europe, and the UK needs to hear from their king. George can't speak without stammering, yet he is expected to speak to his country in a radio address. (It can't have helped that Hitler was an amazing orator.)

The trailer captured me. I think many of us write because we can't get the words to come out right the first time.

Or the second.

Or the third. But I digress...

I read this article about the movie today, and in the article was a link to an interview with Colin Firth who plays King George. He says that as an actor, his job is to get in and get out: to understand his character's dilemma, but not concentrate on expressing it. Rather, he should focus on the character's determination to get out.

He argued that if an actor concentrates too much on portraying the problem (in this case, stammering) then the audience sees an actor trying act. But Colin's goal is to pour his energy into portraying his character's struggle against the dilemma. The actor's effort should be towards portraying the fight, not the enemy.

He said it enables the audience to connect with the character. Few people want to follow a character whose energy is spent getting into his personal hell. But an audience is willing to walk with a character fighting his way out of one.

I've been banging my head against the wall with revisions. I have so much to do, precious little time, and even less creativity. But Colin's point made sense to me as a writer. I'm working to figure out the tension that pulls my MC through the story. That's huge. But once I clarify that dilemma, I need to go back to my MC's fight against it.

And speaking of fights- I need to go wrestle my own dilemma into submission. I'll let you know how it goes...

Process and Emotion

I’ve been thinking about the role that my emotion plays in writing.

Now I’m not the overly emotional type when it comes to writing. I’m horribly pragmatic about it. So pragmatic that few things irritate me more than folks asking about Process with a capital P.

(This is different from process, which just means, how do you get your thoughts on paper?)

But there are those who mean Process. And that irritates me because Process implies glamour, genius, and weekly dates with your Muse who gushes about your prose and how you surprise even her.

Capital-P Process is a horrible concept because writing is really just ... writing. It isn’t glamorous and you rarely feel like a genius. In fact, you learn all the ways in which you are far from genius. Your Muse arrives only after you’ve been pounding out dreck for quite some time, hoping to discover the heart of a scene.

Even then, she’s a little tetchy and asks for a cup of coffee because you can’t expect her to look at your work until she’s had a bit of caffeine.

The process (lowercase p, mind you!) of writing isn’t always euphoric. As Nathan Bransford blogged, it's often more about willpower than anything else.

And yet...

I’m learning that the best part of my stories are the ones that engaged me on a deep emotional level. I know I’m on the right track when I’ve gone over a scene a million times, and hit the point where I care.

We all have those scenes that wrote themselves and just sing. But I also have just as many scenes- scenes necessary to the story- that are easy to leave at good enough, at merely well-written. I’m learning to do some unglamorous digging until I find that one aspect that moves me to curiosity, anger, or compassion.

Because, really, if I was bored writing the scene, why won’t a reader be bored reading it? Yes, writing is about the process of getting (and keeping!) your butt in a chair. But the point of that work is capturing scenes that speak to the heart and mind.

Writing should never be an choice between work or emotion. It should always be about both.

So what about you? What role does emotion play in your writing? How do you keep at it day after day until things are just right? I’d love to know how you do it. It’s amazing all the different ways we get our stories on the page.

Writing tips from Pixar

I'm an IMDB junkie. It's a great way to learn more about a movie- or simply figure out who that person is because you KNOW you've seen her in some other show. Anyway, they also had a link to this LA Times article that dissected the opening scene of UP.

I noticed that so much of what makes a good scene in a movie makes a good scene in a book. Here's what stood out to me:

Sometimes backstory is necessary. If UP had started with Carl floating away, the viewers wouldn't have cared as much. Why the balloons? Why then? The opening scene gives the entire movie an emotional center it wouldn't have otherwise.

Backstory needs specific action. The moments of Carl and Ellie's life in the montage were based on incidents the animators took from their own lives- and even the lives of strangers. The Pixar animators actually bought home videos and watched films posted on the internet.

Incomplete information can pull readers/viewers in. I'd forgotten, but that whole scene was silent, like other Super-8 films. At first, the animators weren't sure if they could get enough information in without dialog. But by pushing themselves, they were able to incorporate all the story that they needed to. Pete Doctor says it best:

"[...] there's something asked of you as the viewer or listener - you're actively engaged by creating this missing element, so it comes to life in your own head."

So go read the article! I'd love to know what you think. What stood out to you? What could you apply to your writing?

I have another question! Tess just commented that it would difficult to have a good, dialog-less scene in a novel. It got me thinking. Does anyone remember reading a great scene in a novel that didn't include dialog?

Details- of thee I sing

I've been thinking about details lately- and believe me, it takes a lot out of me. I am not a detail-oriented person.

However, I've learned how details make or break my writing. When I started writing, I thought deluging the reader with details would pull her into my story. As you all know, though, a flood of detail often requires the reader to wade through dense paragraphs, trying to figure out what they should attend to. Too many detail dumps and the reader will skip the page or put the book down entirely.

What, then, makes details sing? Singing details (aside from their amazing vocal abilities) do several things:

1. They reveal emotional topography as well as the physical environment.

Can I just go to one of my favorites? When I was five, I saw a live performance of The King and I- with Yul Brenner. I remember the Yul's shining head, swirling skirts from the ball dance, and the fireworks as Mom and I left the theater.

It wasn't till much later as I watched the movie that I noticed the attraction between the King and Anna. It was the moment he reaches out to take her in his arms- and she pulls back.

If I were writing that scene, I could put down paragraphs of how both of them were attracted to each other. Or, I could simply describe how the previously forthright Anna pulls back when the king attempts to put his hand on her waist. It's an amazing detail.

2. They are unusual. I remember a first pages panelist telling us we must describe something the reader doesn't expect. You could spend yourself describing a loud Marine sergeant as he greets rookies with paint-peeling language. But guess what? We expect Marine sergeants to do that. So, no matter how well you describe it, the readers won't care. You wasted space showing them something they've already seen. We need to look for the details that make our sergeants different from all the other guys yelling at the recruits.

I've been revising and revising, so I've been hunting details that sing. I sit with my eyes closed a lot, scanning a scene to figure out what a reader most needs to see.

To me, attention to important details was responsible for one of the biggest jumps in my writing. I'd never thought of winnowing through all the things I could describe to find the few that I should describe. It took a lot of work to even think that way. It still does. But it has become one of my favorite parts of revision.

I'd love to know what you think. What makes a detail sing for you? How do you choose what you describe in your own work?

In Lieu of Resolutions

Happy New Year everyone!

If I were one for making resolutions, I would resolve to write more in the New Year. Instead, I prefer to complain about what keeps me from writing.

So, I’m pregnant…not that that, in itself is a good excuse. In the first trimester it was morning sickness. It’s hard to sit down and write when you’re throwing up all the time (or eating so that you won’t throw up, or crashed out on the couch so you won’t have to be awake to feel like you’re going to throw up.)

Now I’m in the third trimester, and mostly I feel great. Hey wait, that’s not a good excuse. Um, I have a two year old who has decided that he doesn’t need to nap anymore. Poof! There goes my writing time. I still make him have “quiet time” (ha ha) in his room, but something about that rhythmic thump thump of his foot against the wall hinders the creative flow.

Also, for those of you who’ve been pregnant, you may remember that your brain is a different organ than it used to be. Seriously, the chemistry changes and you find that you can’t even think in the same way. It’s like you have to get used to thinking with someone else’s brain. Someone very unlike you. Take a moment to imagine that. Now imagine trying to continue writing the novel that you started with your normal brain. See what I mean?

Okay, what else keeps me from writing? My shrinking bladder. Really, if you have to get up every 15 minutes to pee, it’s going to disrupt your flow. And then of course there’s that diaper I forgot to rinse out, and oh, I should start a load of laundry while I’m at it. Now where was I? Oh yes, writing.

Good books keep me from writing. I like to tell myself that I’m doing research. And of course I do learn things from reading—new techniques, inspiration, etc. But really, it shouldn’t take the place of writing.

Of course, writing blog entries and reading other blogs—that keeps me from writing.

Oh, and the aliens too.

So what are your excuses? See if you can beat mine.

Okay, now that we’ve got that off our chests, let’s rise above it and write. Deal?

Travel and Writing (Not Travel Writing)

I love to travel. I love the adventure of it. I love plunging head first into the unknown. Sure, I plan a bit. I take a map. I try to learn a bit of the language. I have in mind a few must-sees. But the best things about traveling, for me, are the surprises along the way.

Sometimes it's scary—lost on country roads in France with a huge pack on my back, blisters on my feet, and not a town in sight. Then it starts to snow. It is both beautiful and terrifying. Will I freeze to death in France?

Sometimes it's just plain miserable—finding three museums in a row closed. Is there a holiday we don’t know about?

And sometimes it is magical—hacking through the jungle in southern Mexico and happening upon stone ruins and a hidden waterfall. Sunlight filters through the canopy and we lay down our machetes to rinse our sticky skin in the cool pool.

For me, writing is like traveling. The best things come when I lay myself open to adventure.
Sometimes, afterwards, I look back and think that I could have got a lot more out of Paris if I'd had a better travel plan. But then I would have missed that flock of birds rising out of a tree in front of the Moulin Rouge that I’d just walked by without noticing. Or the funny little couple that we kept bumping into.

Like anything, there's a balance to strike.

Now that I'm slogging through revisions on my novel, I sometimes wistfully think that this stage would be so much easier if I'd started with a more comprehensive outline. As is, some chapters have to be completely re-written. (I'm talking, scrap everything but two paragraphs and fill up that blank page.) But, if I'd had a more detailed outline, Annabel would have walked right by the lovely family in the woods. She never would have met Mieka and Lumi and Nana Trots. She also might never have had that vision of her mother, the one that plays before her eyes throughout the rest of the book. And I never would have written pages and pages of back-story on one supporting character that helped me understand the rest of the story in a whole new way.

So this is my homage to first drafts, to plunging boldly into the unknown, to going forward and not looking back until you have something whole to look back on.

More is Less

Since Sarah started it, I'm happy to continue the discussion about REVISION. (Somehow, it merits all caps.)

I am deep into revisions right now and it seems the more I write, the more I cut. And the characters and story get stronger the more I carve away from them. The funny thing is, whenever I cut entire pages or multiple paragraphs from a chapter, replacing them with one or two sentences, the Slushies always comment about how they like that I've included MORE description or explaination or history in this version of the chapter.

I look back at the earlier version and find that yes, indeed, I have taken three paragraphs and reduced them to one sentence, and lo and behold, my critiquers tell me I've added something.

What that tells me is that I've clarified. I've eliminated what doesn't need to be there and reduced the important stuff to its very essence. It tells me that my writing is getting better.

Good, because I don't know how many more revisions I can do. This is tough stuff.

Lately, I Feel Like a Writer

Because I don’t get paid to do this all day long, I often don’t feel I have the right to call myself a writer. But lately, I lay full claim to that title. Why? Because I’m earning it. For the past two weeks I have had my butt in this chair every day for at least a couple of hours. (I do have a job and a toddler.) And I’m not browsing the internet. (Haven’t seen a post from me in a while, have you?) I am sweating and bleeding onto the page. I am toiling over words. It feels fantastically awful and awfully fantastic, depending on when you ask me.

I’m feeling like a writer because I’m pushing through the tough parts. A few days ago, I plunged into the next chapter of revisions and found I had to rewrite an entire scene. I sat down and wrote it, and it was really, really bad.

Usually, I would be so discouraged by this initial failure that it would take me a few days to face the page again. But this time, I went right back to it the very next day. I worked it. Then I moved on. And it’s better. Not perfect, but better. I can live with that.

I’m feeling like this is my job that I go to every day without question, without stalling, without excuses. Inspiration doesn’t make me feel like a writer. Working at it every day does. Hey, I may finish this novel yet!

When do you most feel like a writer?

I hope all of the NaNoWriMo participants out there will also feel like writers very soon, if you don’t already.

Good Advice

Every once in a while, I run over to Edittorrent, a great blog about all things writing. I started reading when they had a great series of posts on log lines and pitches.

Today, they had link to RU (something for you romance writers, Amy!). The post had some great advice about incorporating action into even the slow, introspective parts of your story. Nothing terribly new, just terribly well put.

Enjoy!

The exciting life of a writer

I noticed this week that ABC is playing reruns of the first season of Castle, a show about a best-selling mystery writer who helps cops from the NYPD solve murders. I started watching it because I'm a fan of Firefly. If Captain Mal wanted to play a mystery writer, I'd go along for the ride. And then I really started enjoying the show...

But I digress.

As I washed the dishes last night, I thought about how little writing Richard Castle does on the show. Once every show, we see him in front of his computer for a few seconds. Once we saw his outline- very similar to the way cops organize their evidence. He'll discuss his aspects of the plot he's wrestling with. But for a show that claims to be about a best-selling writer, there's precious little writing.

I mean, come on! The man's a writer, let's see him write.

Then that (very tiny) light bulb in my head went off, and reminded me of what you've probably already realized.

A show about a writer writing would be the. most. boring. show.

Ever.

Seriously. Watching grass grow would be more fascinating.

Let's say you're watching me write. I sit down in the Barnes and Noble Café, get my laptop up and running, and...

I write. (3 min)

Fiddle with my iTunes playlist.

I write. (5 min)

Wonder if anyone's commented on my most recent blog post. Check blog post.

I write. (3 min)

Make faces as I try to figure out just what to do with a character.

I write. (7 min)

Mumble dialog under my breath.

I write (30 sec.)

Re-check blog post.

I write. (9 min)

Watch people walk by.

I write. (5 min)

Think about blog post.

I write. (1 min)

Re-recheck blog post. Mentally slap self on wrist. Close internet browser.

I write....

Riveting, huh? The most interesting parts where the bits when I wasn't writing.

No wonder they have Castle help the cops.

Pondering the plot lines of Castle reminded me that writing really is hard work. It's not interesting to watch. It's not interesting to read about. Sometimes, it's not even interesting to do.

It's worth it. I'd be the first to admit it. But I understand why there won't ever be any form of entertainment that focuses on the act of writing.

Truth is, non-writing activities are far more interesting. Like writing blog posts. (Slaps self on wrist. Prepares to turn off internet browser after posting.)

So what about you? What distracts you from your not-always-entertaining-but-oh-so-worth-it writing?

Nicola Morgan would kill me

Nicola Morgan had a great post today about getting one's bum in gear when it comes to writing. She argues- and I agree- that being published is more about hard work and dedication than luck.

It was exactly what I needed to read. I've been far too distracted by job searches lately.

But...

if you would like a bit of luck, take a walk outside tonight or tomorrow night. The Perseid meteor shower is ... showering. Should be lots of shooting stars to wish on.

Moving Home

Five days ago, I came back to my home town--not to visit, but to live. Yikes! I haven't lived here since the 90's. It's a small town nestled in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. There are swaths of farmland all around and mountains rising up in the distance. It's a cute town, a conservative town, but we have the first transgender mayor in the US. Go Silverton!

Moving back to Silverton inspires me to write. After all, this is where I first sounded out letters and read my first stilted sentence. This is where I first fell in love with the magic of books, where I met Miss Suzy, Harold, and Sylvester, where I was first swept away into the worlds of Jane, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Heathcliff, and Bilbo. It is where I walked down the broken sidewalks, kicked leaves in the gutter, and thought that maybe I could make something beautiful out of this world with words on a page.

Years later, I'm back, and still striving for beauty. Oh, and a little truth too.

So, I guess I'm interested in hearing: What made you a writer?

Procrastination Post

This is a procrastinating post. I'm supposed to be working on cover letters and applications. Instead, I'm ... here. 

However, my writing has helped this whole boy-do-I-need-a-new-job-that-includes-health-and-dental-by-September process along.

I think of cover letters as queries. I try to make sure the prospective employer finds the MC (that would be moi) engrossing. I include salient details, and trim everything else. I work to make every word count and keep the reading as enjoyable as possible. And I know that it will always take a while to write.

I'm applying (querying) widely.  I found my prior jobs through recommendations, so this full-tilt job search is new to me. I am so lucky, though, that I learned early in my oh-this-is-beautiful-stuff-I'm-writing-how-do-I-let-the-world-read-it* journey that I'd have to query a lot. A lot, a lot. So when my manuscript (that hasn't been worked on in over two weeks because I've been working on applications and cover letters) is finished, I'm know I'll have to beat the bushes and send out tons of queries. And I'm fine with that. I'm learning to be fine with that when it comes to applications as well. 

I just write it. You can have writer's block with applications as well. I want this one school to realize how hire-able I am, and , I swear, I could not fill out that one part that asks you to list Other Skills. I remembered what I do with my MS: just write something, 'cause it will get the blather out of the way. So, I made a copy of the application, and just wrote. It was blather, but now I know what to write. 

But enough about me. I'm need to take my advice and just write a bit more. I'd love to hear, though, how your writing helps you in the rest of your life. 

*That journey has long since been downgraded to the I-now-know-I'm-nowhere-near-Rowling-but-the-Slushies-say-I'm-improving shuffle.

Place Names

I'm on the road with my husband and two year old. We've loaded up all our worldly possessions and are off on the epic family road trip from Charlottesville, VA to Silverton, OR. No, I'm not crazy. Really, I'm not. We've made it to Owatonna, MN without anyone going crazy and without resorting to the DVD player.

The only problem is I'm not writing. At all. It makes me nervous to be away from my story and characters for so long. To assuage my guilt, I'm doing writerly things like making lists of place names I like the sound of and filing them away for later use. Here's some I've lifted directly from road signs:

Trillium
White Sulfur Springs
Summersville
Lick Creek Road
Snap Dragon Falls
Tamarack
Laurel Springs
Eagle Creek
Greenup

How do you name the places in your stories? I always have a hard time with this. If I make them up they sound too airy and fanciful, and if I lift them from somewhere they sound too, well, real. The right name is hard to find.

I came across a website recently that is a random place name generator. After clicking through about 30 names I realized I wasn't going to find my answer. Still, it's kinda fun. Here's another for fantasy names...like you need more ways to waste time on the internet.

Going there...

One thing that stood out most to me in the Richard Peck SCBWI Master Class dvd was a comment on writing about rape. He described the all the research he'd done, how deeply he'd dug to accurately depict all his main character experienced. His manuscript was 400 pages long. 

Then he realized his manuscript was so long because he didn't want to write that one scene. He didn't want his MC to be raped. It was easier to research than to write. 

Ya think?

His point was that we have to be willing to let all sorts of things happen to our characters. We have to be willing to go there.

Now, I get that from a writing-an-interesting-story perspective. Conflict=story. (That's why I never, ever liked the fiction in Highlights, by the way. The editors don't want external conflict.) 

But as much as I like a good adventure, I long to protect the people that I love. In a weird, writerly sort of way, that means I want to protect my characters as well. I don't want anything REALLY bad to happen. I don't want to wonder if it's going to turn out okay. Funny as it sounds, there are times when I'm writing a scene and I shy away from some aspect of it. I know that if I go there, the story might not end the way I wish it would. 

Then I got to thinking about some folks in my life:

My sister. She tried to help a friend leave an abusive boyfriend. She watched her friend's murder and the boyfriend's suicide.

My friend. She was in the Bosnian army when she was a young teen. Worked in a war hospital. Lived with genocide, hunger, shellings. 

A child I watch. He's 4 years old and recently had his second open heart surgery. There was no way his parents could explain to him why all those adults kept hurting him.

A girl I taught. She wasn't adopted till she was 9. She also had open heart surgery when she was tiny, but she didn't have a parent there to comfort her. No one.

Now that writerly part of me knows I have your attention. 

And my conscience knows I'd be a b**ch if I mentioned those things just because it might increase blog readership. Truth be told, I already feel slimy.

But one of the things I love about my sister ... my friend ... those children is how they responded when life took them someplace no one should ever have to go. 

My sister would do it all again. She didn't let the trauma of that experience shape her, and she's ferociously protective of women in abusive relationships.

My friend from Bosnia is one of the most open hearted people I know. She has friends who are Serbs. She works to help all sorts of refugees. She regularly tells me how lucky she is.

That little boy has a smile that- I can't describe it, but it's precious. He trusts his mom enough thatwalked with her into a doctor's office, even though in his mind  it might mean surgery all over again.

That girl who knew so little affection as a child- and certainly not during her heart surgery- has been learning how to give and receive love the past few years. She can be so tender with her younger siblings.

So here's what I think. I don't want awful things to happen to the characters I love. I hit a point where I figure the story can take a hike if it means going there. But if I've seen anything in my life, amazing good can come from the most heartbreaking situations. 

And that might be a reason to let my characters go there.

My Little Experiment

I recently conducted a little experiment (in the least scientific way possible). I wanted to see how much something being in print (like, book form) influenced the way I read a text; namely, how critical I am?

Let’s face it, we don’t read books the same way we read submissions from our critique group. When I pick up a book, I assume it’s good. After all, it’s been published, right? (Don’t even go there…that’s another blog post.) When I pick up a Slushie submission, I assume it needs work. That’s what the critique group is for.

But what if I were to pick up a book and read it with the same critical eye that I read our submissions? Yup, that’s right, they all need work.

The Phantom Tollbooth—a little more descriptive narrative when he goes through the tollbooth, please.

Eragon—Maybe it would be better if the main character didn’t go unconscious every other chapter…just a thought.

Harry Potter—watch those adverbs.

The Secret Garden—I’m just a teensy bit unclear about what’s happening here.

Yes, even The Secret Garden, a book I adore, could be improved (in my humble opinion). I read one chapter as I would read a Slushie submission, and though I found little to comment on, there were a few places where the meaning was unclear or someone appeared out of nowhere.

All this leads me to say that a book is not an equation with a definite answer. Plots can always be tightened, characters fleshed out, and words tinkered with. But you have to stop somewhere.

It also makes me realize that we Slushies are a tough set of gals; we don’t let anything get by. So the next time I’m overwhelmed by the amount of feedback on my chapter or all the suggestions for change, I’ll just remember that we would have done the same to Harry Potter.

There is a Madness to My Method

I've never been good at making a detailed outline. I've always preferred to throw myself out there, writing four or five chapters until I get stuck. Then I decide what I'm writing about and where I'm going, make a sketchy outline, and keep plowing through the story.

This method gets me into trouble--on many levels. The main trouble is that the story and the characters keep changing. By the time I reach the last chapter, most of the previous chapters need heavy revision, if not complete re-writes. Usually, as I'm writing forward, I'm at the same time going back to revise. I may be writing chapter 19 and revising chapter 10.

It was working fine for a while, but now it's getting confusing. I'm so involved in the story, working on it so much, that I have no perspective. I forget all the things I've changed, what each character knows and doesn't know.

I've been getting a lot of critiques lately that go something like this: "Um, wouldn't she be scared/surprised/angry/sad to find this out?" Oh, yeah (hand smacks forehead), I cut that scene and forgot to change the rest accordingly. I feel like I'm trying to force these puzzle pieces together; but some of them have rounded edges and some square.

I am beginning to see the wisdom of a detailed outline. But oh, I hate the idea of doing it. Part of what I love about writing a first draft is the constant sense of discovery. There are surprises everywhere--about the plot, the characters, the themes. The very thought of having a detailed outline makes me not want to write. (I am one of those people prone to staring out the window thinking and calling it writing. If I think too much, I don't write.)

I suppose every writer has this to some extent, hence the common recommendation to put the finished manuscript in a drawer for a month so you can revisit it with fresh eyes. I don't think I'm at that point yet (the first two chapters need to be completely re-written), but I'm getting there.

All I really wanted to say is that I'm discovering a part of my process that doesn't work as well as I thought. I'm overwhelmed by all the little details I have to align. But then, I can't imagine figuring out the story any other way than through the process of writing.

Any thoughts on process?

More coming on the benefits of this method...

Just Had to Share

The other night, in the wee hours of the morning, I wrote the last sentence of the last chapter of my book. I just had to share my excitement! It's a middle grade adventure story with magic stones, river pirates, steampunk flying machines and other fun stuff.

Celebrate with me, who started out as a little girl concocting stories inside while my siblings and cousins and friends all played outside. I went to school, learned a lot, published a few stories and poems. Then came years of writing as a hobby and never coming close to finishing anything.

Fast-forward to the woman in her thirties (early thirties!) who becomes a mother and finally decides to do what she's wanted to do since she formed her first wobbly letters with a thick pencil. In between changing diapers and moving across the ocean, I've managed to finish the story. Well, the rough draft at least. I know it's just the begining of the work. Now come the rewrites and the long ruminations over the perfect phrase. But I'm thrilled to have come this far.

So, please, if you need an excuse to celebrate anything...join me. Raise a glass of something good, and say, "Way to go, Lisa." I'll do the same for you.

And before I start slipping too far into acceptance speech mode (that little girl who stayed inside practiced many a speech to the bathroom mirror), I do have to thank all of the Slushbusters. This writing stuff is not something I can do alone, and they've been with me through every step. Thanks, Slushies!

Scenes with Many Characters

It's so exciting! I'm writing the final chapters of my book--you know, the ones where all the action happens and everything gets resolved. Practically every character in the book shows up for these scenes and well, I keep writing myself into sticky situations.

I find myself trying to turn each scene into a two-person dialogue and ignore the rest of the characters. They're just standing around the room watching. You'll never miss them, will you?

I think I slip into doing this because two characters, even three, are manageable for me. I'm scared of more people. Maybe this mirrors how I am in social siturations, but let's not get into that.

So, I need help. How do you juggle five, nine, fifteen characters in a scene? They all want to do or say something at the same time, but there's not enough room on the page, or in my brain.

I welcome any and all tips, tricks, advice, or thoughts on how to do it. Or examples of writers or books that do it well. How do you avoid making a tangled mess?

McDonalds and World-building

The one time I was able to travel abroad, I visited Ireland. And I needed the University of Virginia to help pay for it. (Ahhh, a J-term trip.) I was significantly older than many of the students on the trip. Since I'd been of drinking legally for quite a while, getting hammered wasn't at the top of my list.

Nor was visiting McDonald's. Yes, there was a McDonald's in Galway, and yes, some students ate there. But I hadn't come to Ireland to experience the familiar. 

What I remember of Galway is the little pub the locals attended. You had to climb a cramped staircase to reach a second story room. There, musicians would pull their chairs in a circle, settle their pints beneath their chairs, and make music your blood danced to.

There were trees enough in Ireland, but I remember the palm trees on the Claddagh that grew within view of the North Atlantic. I remember an ancient tree that grew beside an even older church. The tree had a holy spring in it, and all sorts of coins and prayers were tacked to its trunk. Tiny baby clothes were fastened there as well. (Travellers believed that leaving a sick infant's belongings at the tree would bring healing to the child.) 

So what does this have to do with writing? We've ruminated on ways to make characters compelling. How can I make my MS's world intriguing?

Bruce Coville quoted another author's observation on the Harry Potter series. He said one of the reasons the series was so popular was that the world was just plain cool- readers always discovered something. Harry didn't just snack, he ate Bertie Bott's Jelly Beans and hoped he didn't get the ones that tasted like vomit.

I have a tendency to just describe the world my characters are in: trees are here, mountains here, house here. First drafts are often mind-numbingly boring because I can look up from the MS and see the exact same things.  I'm learning that making a fictional world interesting means including culture as well. I need:

Unique customs or roles. Lisa's WIP includes magic. Witches have different roles, one of which is healer. No surprise there. But another role is that of secret keeper. Just mentioning that made me feel that I was in a distinct place. Bridget is writing a story about a troop of chimps. I didn't know that only males slept on the ground at night- but they do, and suddenly I'm interested in a little female chimp that's going to spend her nights on the ground. 

Names with history. My WIP takes place in a mountain country, so I've done a lot of research based on Switzerland. Did you know that in one valley, they had different names for three kinds of avalanches? Being that specific gives a word weight- I'm dealing with people who have observed (and avoided) avalanches for generations.

Lore. Someone once pointed out to me that America's mythology includes stories of the immigrant who becomes rich and/or powerful. We don't recognize it because we're in the middle of it, but it's true. Every country has its stories that show people their place in the world and point them towards worthy goals. So, what stories did your characters read/hear growing up?

Regions have their own stories. (Back to Switzerland research again.) Did you know there's an entire portion of (not just Swiss) folklore devoted to people who trick the Devil into building or preserving a bridge? You wouldn't get such stories on flatlands, but you'd expect them in the mountains.

What I remembered most in Ireland was the unique. I remember the pub, not the fast food joint. I saw plenty of trees, but I remember the palms. And I still wonder about the infants whose clothing was left on the tree at the holy spring. 

In the same way, I want to make my story's world unique. I don't want prop trees and mountains and houses because my characters have to be somewhere. I want to take the time to develop a real world, and I want to limit narration that describes ... McDonald's- those things my readers have already encountered. 

If I succeed with that, I think readers will want to linger in the world I've made. Any other ideas about making a world compelling?