For the next couple weeks, I'm doing one of my favorite things--studying books on the writing craft! Woo-hoo!
The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing was put together by the editors of Writer's Digest. Featuring seventy-seven essays on writing, this book appeals to my need for bite-size lessons. Gail Gaymer Martin wrote chapter forty-three, "What is Christian Romance?" Needless to say, I have an author crush on Gail!
Anyway, I recently read Monica Wood's excellent chapter, "The Plot Thickens," where she discusses complications in a novel. She explains that many newer writers mistake a situation for a complication. For instance, a bomb destroying a building our heroine just exited sounds like a complication, right? If the character runs to her car, drives to her boyfriend's house, and continues living her life with little consequence, the bomb was merely part of a situation.
Ms. Wood explains, "A good complication puts emotional pressure on a character, prompting that character not only to act, but to act with purpose."
Sometimes we come up with a great problem to throw at our characters, like the bomb above, but we fail to fully capitalize on it. We settle for letting the heroine escape with a racing heart rather than giving her a reason to act.
After I write a scene, I immediately take fifteen minutes to review it and ask a few questions.
- Did the viewpoint character learn anything in this scene?
- Did the scene answer a question? If yes, is a new question presented?
- How did the viewpoint character grow? If she didn't grow, did she regress?
- How did this scene move the plot forward?
I almost always find a way to bring the scene to a new level by doing this. It doesn't always take much to take a "good" scene to a "compelling" scene.
The questions go back to the dilemma of situation or complication. Sometimes we think we've written a complication, but when we analyze the writing, we haven't pushed our characters enough. We've either made the situation too tidy or we've ignored a potential complication in order to push our own plot agenda.
How do you turn situations into complications for your characters? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Have a terrific weekend!
Showing posts with label writers tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writers tips. Show all posts
Friday, July 26, 2013
Monday, April 2, 2012
WSG 8: Draft Systems
Writer's Survival Guide 8: Draft Systems
I rely on a number of systems for every aspect of my writing life. One system I can't live without? Keeping my draft files organized.
Maybe you're the type of writer who only keeps one draft? The current one is the best one? I save drafts at each step in my process. With computer storage growing larger each year, I don't have to eliminate any drafts even though I rarely go back to those middle versions.
When I start a project, the first thing I do is create a new folder in Microsoft Word. It is stored as a sub-folder in my master folder, Single Title Books. I also write category length romances and have a master folder for those. You could name your master folder anything you want--if you write more than one genre, maybe call it Historicals or Suspense?
I name the book's folder with the working title of the book (which sometimes changes!). If I'm writing a series, I might number the books or precede their titles with a, b, c. This allows them to show up in the order of the series, rather than alphabetically by their title.
In the book's folder, I create more folders.
- Contests
- Critiques
- Drafts
- Synopses
Since I rarely enter Contests, not every book has this folder, but when I am entering them, it helps to keep my entries straight. The Critiques folder holds every critique I receive. I always rename the files I get back from my critique partners to reflect who sent it--for example, NLOLpartialCindy. This saves time when I want to look up a file. The Synopses folder holds my short and long synopses, as well as earlier versions and later versions. I include a date in the file name--for example, NLOLlongsynop032312. If you're querying, you might want a Query folder to keep track of the various letters you send.
The Drafts folder holds all versions of my manuscript. I name them according to what draft I'm working on. My first draft is usually 1draftNLOL (NLOL are the initials of the title). When I mark the first draft up to revise, I save my comments in a file named 1adraft. To make those changes, I save 1adraft as 2draft. I continue to number my drafts until I've reached the final, polished version. The file then gets renamed with the title--for example, New-Lease-On-Love-Full-Manuscript.
Why name the final version with the spelled out name? It's easier for agents and editors to find the file with your title in it rather than figuring out a file name like finaldraft or something vague.
Another thing I do is keep my working draft in the project's main folder, not in any subfolders. This allows me to get right to work--no guessing which version is my current one. Not that I would, since I simply head to the last numbered version, but still. Anything to make life easier.
Last week Cheryl Reif shared an excellent post on making the most out of Microsoft Word. I'm linking it here, "10 Ways to Use Microsoft Word More Effectively." One thing she mentioned is to date each file as you edit it. The article is full of other great tips, so I hope you'll check it out.
How do you keep your drafts from becoming a jumbled mess in your files? I'd love to hear your methods!
Have a fantastic Monday!
I rely on a number of systems for every aspect of my writing life. One system I can't live without? Keeping my draft files organized.
Maybe you're the type of writer who only keeps one draft? The current one is the best one? I save drafts at each step in my process. With computer storage growing larger each year, I don't have to eliminate any drafts even though I rarely go back to those middle versions.
When I start a project, the first thing I do is create a new folder in Microsoft Word. It is stored as a sub-folder in my master folder, Single Title Books. I also write category length romances and have a master folder for those. You could name your master folder anything you want--if you write more than one genre, maybe call it Historicals or Suspense?
I name the book's folder with the working title of the book (which sometimes changes!). If I'm writing a series, I might number the books or precede their titles with a, b, c. This allows them to show up in the order of the series, rather than alphabetically by their title.
In the book's folder, I create more folders.
- Contests
- Critiques
- Drafts
- Synopses
Since I rarely enter Contests, not every book has this folder, but when I am entering them, it helps to keep my entries straight. The Critiques folder holds every critique I receive. I always rename the files I get back from my critique partners to reflect who sent it--for example, NLOLpartialCindy. This saves time when I want to look up a file. The Synopses folder holds my short and long synopses, as well as earlier versions and later versions. I include a date in the file name--for example, NLOLlongsynop032312. If you're querying, you might want a Query folder to keep track of the various letters you send.
The Drafts folder holds all versions of my manuscript. I name them according to what draft I'm working on. My first draft is usually 1draftNLOL (NLOL are the initials of the title). When I mark the first draft up to revise, I save my comments in a file named 1adraft. To make those changes, I save 1adraft as 2draft. I continue to number my drafts until I've reached the final, polished version. The file then gets renamed with the title--for example, New-Lease-On-Love-Full-Manuscript.
Why name the final version with the spelled out name? It's easier for agents and editors to find the file with your title in it rather than figuring out a file name like finaldraft or something vague.
Another thing I do is keep my working draft in the project's main folder, not in any subfolders. This allows me to get right to work--no guessing which version is my current one. Not that I would, since I simply head to the last numbered version, but still. Anything to make life easier.
Last week Cheryl Reif shared an excellent post on making the most out of Microsoft Word. I'm linking it here, "10 Ways to Use Microsoft Word More Effectively." One thing she mentioned is to date each file as you edit it. The article is full of other great tips, so I hope you'll check it out.
How do you keep your drafts from becoming a jumbled mess in your files? I'd love to hear your methods!
Have a fantastic Monday!
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