Giving Thanks

Good morning!

It’s the last day of what turned out to be a very eventful month. Next month will be even better, you should see the posts we’ve got planned. FUN STUFF!

Right now I want to take a moment and ask you, beloved readers, when was the last time you sent an email, a tweet, a Facebook message, whatever, just thanking the people who read and critique your work? It can be the ones who tell you not to give up, the ones who love whatever you write, your Megans, and the ones that stand by you, be it in real life or on the other side of your internet connection. You get the idea. You put your heart and soul into your work, and when they spend time reading or critiquing it, they put a little of theirs into your work too.

I know I’ll be sending an email to my special readers/critiquers today, just to say thank you for reading my novels, for never telling how much they suck or laughing too hard the silly mistakes they pick up, and then reassuring me that I can send it to them again. Ah, such suckers for punishment, my readers/CPs.

So go on, send a tweet, a DM, an email, or post on their FB wall. They’ll appreciate it.

 

Conquer the Revision Blues

   

   “Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” 
                 ~e.e. cummings

     I’m a pantser. I love to navigate the deep wells of my subconscious and let the story surprise me.

     Lately, I’ve been fighting the current and arbitrarily praying someone will toss me a life saver, or perhaps a posh Caribbean Cruise liner.

     This is what the revision process became to me- dark waters toiling with monstrous squid and piranha. And they were all hungry. My fear ran like blood. Sure enough, the big kahuna shark came sniffing. Les Edgerton, author of finding your voice dubs this big fish “Critic Nag Dude.”

     Critic Nag Dude had me right where he wanted me. I considered shelving my manuscript.

     Then, I remembered something a wise little fish once said:

                  

     And this:   “Finish your sh**.”

                     ~Chuck Wendig

     I couldn’t ignore an animated fish with short-term memory loss and the guy who tells aspiring writers,”Your jealousy and depression do not matter.” (If you love Dory, buy the movie.  If you love Chuck, read more here.)

     So, I’ve been back to work. To be honest, I know this is going to take awhile. I’ve read the blogs and author interviews in which the writer says revising a manuscript takes them anywhere from a mere two weeks to four months, on the outside. To a mewing pantser-me-that’s daunting.

     I hereby grant myself permission to do the work that needs done in the amount of time it takes to make it amazing.

     Whether you’re a pantser or plotter, I’m sure many of you’ve found that revision changes the relationship between writer and story. It’s more painful, we must kill a few darlings and come to terms with our little foibles.

     But there is a balance between the red ink, hives, and lack of sleep.

     This is the balance, the secret:

     Revision is your opportunity to crawl inside your story and live there for a while.

     I love words and I’m a poet by nature. But I’m taking this opportunity to re-examine my language and voice. I decided the most important element for me is voice-not just my own unique personality, but my main character’s voice. I went through my notes one day and found a note. It read, “Evie says she didn’t do it.” This was scribbled on a purple post-it, so I assume it was one those episodes in which I jumped out of the shower, suds in hair, to jot down a flash of an idea.

     This was a moment worthy of a head smack for me. I pulled out my first draft and read it from beginning to end. And it was in there, a mere zygote, but it was there. It reminded me why I started the tale in the first place. Evie, my main character, appeared to me before her story did. In true ghost fashion, her image haunted me. I knew what she wanted and that only I could give that to her.

     It is only now that I comprehend what pantsing means to me. I can’t fight my organic nature as a writer. I had to take a step back to realize that my first draft is more of a skeleton, with some muscular structure. Now, I can take out the unneeded bits and begin the layering process.

     And guess what, I’ve learned to love revision. I believe in my story, and myself, again. I know I’ll be a better writer when I’m done, and that new ventures – query letters, rejections, more edits-await me. I’m learning to stop comparing my own long, strange trip to that of other writers. We can offer each other advice and support, but we can’t teach intuition. It’s different for everyone.

     I read that magic happens outside our comfort zone. It’s true. I’m enjoying the show.

     If you’re thinking about putting that story in a cubbyhole, don’t. It may go to The Land of Lost Socks and never be heard from again. Ask yourself what pulled you into that world in the first place. Perhaps it’s only the bare framework, but there’s something bright and inquisitive in there, trying to speak to you.

     Keep on swimming and finish what you start.

 

Personal Perspective: Why I write 1st person POV

Over the past couple of years I’ve had the privilege of going on the most amazing adventures. You guys wouldn’t believe the places I saw firsthand, the people I met, and what I experienced while on those journeys.  Or maybe you would, if you’ve ever read a 1^st person POV novel.

2011 was an exceptionally good year for me and my adventurous nature. I was a tribute in The Hunger Games and survived to tell my kids about it. My sister was murdered in Dublin and I went to find out the truth behind it, only to discover that I can see through fae glamour to what’s beneath, and that I can do a bunch of other neat tricks(this was a favorite of mine). I got to be a half-angel, a kickass shaman, a girly girl who wears too much pink and carries a tazer with her, and a shape shifter. Those are only the things I remember right now.

This is exactly why I love 1^st person POV so much. I get to be the character, experience what he/she is going through, go to the places they go, and do things I never thought possible.

Some of you might remember I posted about tone and first lines two weeks ago. I received a comment from one of our regular commenters, bwtaylor75, who asked why I preferred my POV. I took it as a challenge. He wrote a post of his own wherein he stated why he dislikes 1^st person. I’m writing this not to prove him wrong, only to share my view.

The first three paragraphs of this post do a pretty decent job at starting my reasoning for why I write my POV. Yes, I read 3^rd person as well, I’m busy with such a novel right now, but there’s a little something extra special for me in 1^st person POV.

They say ‘write what you know’. Then they say ‘write what you don’t know’. I once read ‘write the story you want to read’ and that’s exactly what I’m doing with every novel I write, have written, and will write. And what I want to read is 1^st person POV.

This might be a little selfish, but I write 1^st person for me. I get to be this character I’ve put together and decide to torture by having her make bad decisions, sending her into situations that most likely won’t end well, and I enjoy every second of it. If I’m going to spend between 65k and 80k words with her, I’m going to make sure that not a second of that time is wasted.

I don’t write it because it’s easier, never that, each POV offers its own challenges and difficulties. I write it because of the reasons mentioned above and because it works for me. It’s my preferred POV.

I’m going to say that, and you can disagree if you want, if you think writing 1^st person POV is limiting, you’re not doing it right. There are ways to make it work and you have to find the one that works for you.

This once again comes down to personal preference. If you as a reader find 1^st limiting, that’s okay, read something else. If you as a writer find it limiting, it’s okay, writer another POV. It’s as simple as that.

You say 1^st POV has its limits. Yes, my main character can’t be everywhere and see everything BUT THAT’S PART OF THE FUN AND MYSTERY. I say 3^rd POV has its limits. No, sometimes I don’t get to the bones of who your main character is BUT I GET TO EXPERIENCE OTHER THINGS AND VIEW YOUR WORLD FROM A DIFFERENT PLACE. We work around the obstacles both provide and make them work to our advantage. How’s that for compromise?

And I dare anybody to say writing 1^st person is easier than 3^rd because I’ll say to you WHAT! Both of these POVs have their own challenges and we write the one that will work best for our stories. Mine just happen to be 1^st. Yours is 3^rd.

Taylor, you’re a kickass guy and I always love reading your comments, but I respectfully disagree with most of what you posted about the limiting light of 1^st person. I know you won’t take this wrong, and we’re having fun with this discussion. My POV isn’t one dimensional, and saying it is, is like saying the person sitting next to you experiences and sees the world in black and white with no shades of gray at all. Conflicting emotion, circumstances, external and internal situations, and problems. Those things create the shades. We as the writers have to do right and make sure those things are done correctly. Maybe you just haven’t been reading the right 1^st person POVs.

I’m just saying, have your thinking be as wide as the ocean. No limits. In YA especially, our main characters are MCs for a reason. Yes, he/she is that important. We wouldn’t have a story otherwise.

So why do I write 1^st person POV? Because I get to be somebody else for a while. I write it, and read it, for the adventures it sends me on. A little selfish? Maybe. But they also say we should write for ourselves, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.
Why do you write what you write?

 

Being a Confident Writer Before the Contracts

Last month I posted about being a new writer and the challenges we face emotionally with the daunting task of completing a first novel staring us in the face. I wish I could say after we do that, it’s all smooth sailing from there on out, but the truth is, it’s only the beginning. Sometimes the only thing scarier than the impossible (I wrote a novel) is too many possibilities (now what?). Because the question that comes after you’ve accepted you’re a writer is, “What am I going to do about it?”

I remember the very distinct shift I felt when my first draft freedom disappeared and the reality of how little I knew about novel writing settled around me in it’s place. I felt suffocated by how much needed to be fixed and how much I had yet to learn. And the question of whether or not I really wanted to go down that road. I had every right and every reason to continue simply writing for myself and my closest friends, but like you, I knew that would never be enough for me. I had something to share with the world.

Despite my enthusiasm, my confidence was shot. I didn’t need someone to tell me I sucked (though, trust me, they did). Like Kristin Lamb said in her vlog, Writing 101, people had told me my whole life I had a talent for writing so I guess I thought it would just come naturally. Ahem. Not so much. It was painfully obvious I had no idea what it took to write a novel and I went through a long period of writer’s depression when nothing I wrote felt good enough. In my mind, I was a horrible writer.

So how do I feel today? Please, put your coffee down for this one. I can say, without a single hesitation, that I am an amazing writer. Yep, I still get that swelling feeling in my chest every time I say it. And I’m not afraid to make a fool of myself by saying it here now. It may sound like I’m being proud and probably delusional but I’m not. Here’s why–

Am I a New York Times Bestselling author? No.

Am I even published? Nope.

Do I have an agent? Um…no.

Is everything I write perfect? Not a chance!

So how can I possibly be so confident in my writing prowess? For these reasons:

1. I’m dedicated to my story. I have a story inside me and I have to tell it. Remember that this is why we’re all writers in the first place–not to get published, not to make millions of dollars, not for the fame. We all write, day after day, deep down, because we have stories to tell and we want to share them.
2. I have a passion for my message. Beneath the surface of the stories I write, there’s something meaningful I want to say. It means so much to me that I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make sure I get the chance to say it.
3. I’m dedicated to learning. Because I want to do my story justice, I know I have to learn the best way to tell it and I’m up for that challenge. Not only up for it, excited about it. There is nothing more thrilling to me than growing as a writer.
4. I love writing. All planning, productivity, and career goals aside, my reward for writing each day is the writing itself. I literally want to jump up and dance after penning a great scene (sometimes I do). It gives me so much happiness and an incredible sense of accomplishment. Every day I get to write is a day worth living.

Some people think being an amazing writer means having people love your work or having a publishing contract, but it simply isn’t true. A great writer is born long before you get the golden ticket (though if you stick with it, and publishing is your dream, those emails will come). If you have a passion for writing that energizes and fuels you, and if you are willing to do whatever it takes to keep writing, you’re already an amazing writer, publishing contract or not.

Don’t be afraid to say it.

Even if only to yourself.

Photo by Enid Yu

 

Just One More Page, and Then I’ll go to Bed

Image Credit

How many times have you said, “Just one more page, and then I’ll go to bed?” when reading a book? Did you say, “A million times!”? Me too! What keeps us reading until we look over at the clock and realize we have to be at work in like, oh, three hours? Obviously it’s a myriad of things: good writing, characterization, pacing, tension, and something that often gets overlooked in the craft of writing: the very last sentence of a chapter.

The fabulous, Jani Grey did a post last week on setting the tone with the first line of a book. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. I thought I’d do a companion piece to that, because lately I’ve been studying not only the first line of the book, but the first and last line of every scene.

The last line of a scene is what keeps a reader, well, reading. They must find out what happens on the next page. This can be tricky, because as writers, we often want to wrap things up in a pretty package at the end of each chapter. Not necessarily for the reader, but for ourselves. Sometimes we don’t even realize we’re doing it. A chapter can still be laced with tons of tension and still end with the character not getting what they want, but that last line not only needs to convey just that, but it needs to convey it in a way that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat.

In Donald Maass’ The Fire in Fiction he says, “Does it matter what is the last line of your scene, or the first? Apparently, many authors do not think it does. Most last and first lines in manuscript scenes are quite forgettable. That’s a shame. Like a handshake, an opening and closing line can create impressions and expectations. They can set a tone. They can signal where we’re going or what we’ve done, or serve any number of other useful story purposes. Whatever the case, solid first and last lines can give a scene shape. Creating them deliberately is a discipline worth developing” (Maass 2009, 69).

I’m on my eighth millionth revision of my current novel, a YA Horror. That’s right, eight millionth (well, maybe not, but it sure feels like it). I’m in love with this piece. It’s the most complex thing I’ve ever written, and I’m damn proud of it. But one thing I’ve noticed during this latest revision (and after reading the chapter in Fire in Fiction), is the last sentence of some of my scenes feels flat. Don’t get me wrong, they still have a lot of tension, but it would be much too easy for a reader to say, “This is a good place to stop. I’ll pick up again tomorrow,” which tells me that it’s not good enough. They may go to bed that night thinking about my book, but it won’t be that last line. They could lose their sense of urgency to finish, and what if something happens and they don’t come back to my book?

I’ve been going through each of my chapters and doing a major overhaul on the last sentence of each scene and the first sentence of the scene directly after. I want to share a couple that I think need some work.

This is the last sentence in chapter one, told from the viewpoint of my main character, Jackson:

“Everything spins as darkness envelopes me.”

It’s not terrible, but I feel like it could still use some tweaking. There’s a lot of tension here. This is the start of Jackson’s, “Am I insane? Is that a ghost? A hallucination? What’s wrong with me?” problem and the beginning of her character arc. It leaves the reader with a lot of questions, and they’ll want to know what the hell is going on with this crazy girl. This is good.

Here’s the first sentence of chapter two:

“A faint barrage of noise travels through the broken glass.”

I’m not as happy with this one, and I’m going to change it. Jackson is waking up, but is this really the best way for me to show it? I don’t think so. I want to pull the reader in, and this is too subtle. It needs to be more memorable than her hearing noise through broken glass. Not that this sentence can’t be used directly after, or somewhere else in the paragraph, just not as the first.

We all know there are a ton of craft techniques we can use to make our writing stronger, and honestly, it can be overwhelming. If you’re drafting, don’t worry about this kind of stuff yet. Keep it in mind if you can, but focus on getting through your draft. I’ve found it easier to make a note of the things I want to work on after I’ve drafted, and then afterward, I’ll work on this kind of stuff. Everyone will have different ways of doing this, and they’re all right. Do what works best for you, but don’t think this is something you have to do immediately. I wanted to throw this out there, because I know how hard it can be to draft and think, “I have to worry about this, too?” It can be paralyzing.

With that said, have you gone through and looked at the beginning and last sentence of all your scenes? Do they leave the reader craving more? I’d love to hear some of them. If you feel comfortable, please share the last sentence of your first chapter and the first sentence of your chapter two.

 

And Then There Was One

The empty champagne bottle sits on the kitchen counter. The celebration dinner is over. The contract’s been signed. The book’s been delivered to the editor. The cover has been commissioned. No more congratulation cards, e-mails, or messages flood the inbox.  Life returns to normal. And then it hits you.

That’s it. You’ve achieved what you’ve waited your whole life to achieve. You’re going to be a published author. You’re going to hold your book in your hands. That dream you’ve had your whole life, the one that deep down you wondered if you would ever achieve, it’s not a dream any more. And the funny thing is that the very thing you wished and sweated and bleed into being should fill you with joy but you suddenly feel as empty as that champagne bottle. Drained dry.

I had been warned. My friend, Therese Walsh, author of The Last Will of Moria Leahy and blog mamma of Writer Unboxed said to prepare myself for the low after the high. I must admit that I didn’t quite believe her. But it was a mighty fall from cloud 10. And here I sit, feeling almost numb. Trapped in a state of limbo and suffering from emotional fallout.

I am a deep dark void. I am a blank page. I am a fresh canvass waiting to be filled with words of colour.  Waiting. Wondering. Doubting.

This is the point where the voices of fear and doubt creep in through the cracks, louder than they ever were before. A two book deal. More than you could wish for. And you begin to wonder if it’s a fluke. If you can do it again, but better, if you can grow as a writer, if anyone will buy it, read it, get it, if, if…

SHUT UP!

It doesn’t matter how professional,  deiciplined, or confident you are before being published, the doubt always follows you. Nothing can every truly prepare you for the big moment. The only way to shut the negative voices up is to do what we were born to do. Take a breath and reset yourself. Put words to paper, work through the self-doubt, forget about the world around us, publishing, deadlines, editors, marketing, book sales, and re-capture the magic, the joy of losing yourself in the story.

A lone writer, a blank page, a world of possibilities.  Nothing has changed. Everything is how it should be.

 

Your legacy

Change. It happens to the best of us. It can come in many guises. We all know that. Recently, I’ve had some changes. In the past four months, I’ve lost my grandfather and an uncle. They’re gone. Nothing I can do will bring them back. Would I, if I could? Yes. I’d bring my uncle back so his wife could have another day with him. In my head, they’d talk and he’d tell her he was okay. He would tell her she didn’t have to burst into tears when she sees another man wearing his favorite sports team’s shirt. He would tell her that even though he died on Christmas Eve, it’s okay to celebrate the holidays because he’s always with her.

My grandfather, I’d bring him back for just a little bit. You see, after my grandmother died, he remarried. The woman he married was someone he’d loved since the second grade. They didn’t have a long life together, but they had fun. He was in a nursing home and she was in the hospital with pneumonia when he died last Wednesday night. I know she understands that he’s gone to a better place, but I know she’d love to talk to him again and have him actually remember who she is. I’d love to have him know his whole family just one more time.

I guess that brings me around to the point of this blog. We get one life. One life to live, laugh, love, smile, and for those of us who are writers – one life to fill with the stories of many. I admire the people who say they have no regrets, but most people do. On that note, if you knew your last days were here – would you write? If so, what would you write? If you could write one story, one book that would define who you are as a writer – what would it be?

Is your current work something you’d be proud to leave as a testament of your talent? If not, why? What would you change? Some people take years to write a novel, while others do it in a matter of months. Some writers put their heart and soul into their work, while others write light and chase trends.

A lot of writers say they’d die if they couldn’t write. I realize that’s an exaggeration, however, I want to say to them – write the best you possibly can. Don’t make excuses and don’t worry about your writing colleagues and how much they’re producing.  Show the world your voice – something no one else has. Your voice and your stories are unique to you and only you can tell them. You and your voice are beautiful, take time to cultivate that beauty and showcase it. It’s okay to take the time. After reading the beginning of this post, that’s probably not what you were expecting me to say. Look at some of the most enduring stories of our age; Gone With the Wind, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Wuthering Heights, and Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland – just to name a few. What is special about these books that they’re still read so many years after being written?

They’re classics, to be sure, but look at Harry Potter – it’s not that old and yet it’s considered a classic already. Why? How can you write a book like that? Honestly, I don’t know, because if I did – I’d have done it already. But I will say this. In an interview J.K. Rowling did, she said her quickest book took a year to write (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/interview-j-k-rowling). However, look at the legend she’s left. People will be reading her series for generations to come.

Don’t be afraid to take time. Write what you want, don’t follow trends. Write the stories that matter to you. If you chase trends, more than likely, they’re going to be on the downhill slide by the time your book goes into publication. Life’s too short to be anything but true to you and your writing. Be original, be a trendsetter, but most importantly – be you!

 

A Season in Writing

     It was near this time last year that I woke from a thirty year slumber and started writing again. I wrote whatever came to mind. It’s a time in my life I’ll never forget. Somewhere between handing out popsicles to my children and their friends, and chasing my son in the backyard, I wrote.

     I felt like this very tree in my front yard, exploding out of the hard grounds of winter into sunlight. I finished a manuscript, written in a disorganized madness. I read it over, gleaned what lessons I could, and moved onto National Novel Writing Month. NaNo passed in a caffeinated, sleep-deprived funk. But like the scene outside my window- all ambers, crimsons, and smoke of burning leaves-my perspective changed.

     After all, you can’t hold onto any season for long.

     As a few readers may know, I spent the winter digging graves for all the darlings needing killing in my NaNo novel. It is cold and hungry work. I handed over my first chapter to critique partners, and though they promised I had something worthy, I knew my groundhog didn’t see its proverbial shadow. I retreated from the sunlight a little, but found there’s beauty in winter light and hard work.

     I discovered something about my own creative process. There are defining moments like this in any creative’s life- writers, artists, musicians. It’s not a matter of fitting a label- pantser vs. plotter or organic vs. organization.

     Find the process that suits you. If you can’t go over or under a block, tunnel through.

     I knew I needed to let my manuscript rest, so to speak. I’m not only a pantser/plotter hybrid, but one of those oddballs who needs to bury the story deep and let it soak in the primordial juices of my subconscious before further metastasis.

     I never walked away. I asked questions of my characters, reconstructed the plot a thousand times in my mind, scribbled notes, jotted ideas on odd pieces of paper(once on a bubble gum wrapper!) I continued to tend my little fledgling. I learned to love it more, and found its heart.

     These are the seasons of writing.

     I believe this: The harder we try to force and cultivate the process, the more our own creative capacity resists us. Just breathe and take it one word at a time.

    And while you find your rhythm, write, read, meditate, and write some more.

     Have you recognized junctures in your writing life? How did they affect your creative process?

 

Don’t take that tone with me. Oh wait…

Confession time(I like these, you’ll get used to them).

When I start a new novel I give absolutely no thought as to what tone I want to set. I never have and I never will.  You know what decides my tone?

Who my main character is as a person and the kind of challenges I’ll be throwing at her.

All my novels so far have been first person character driven because I like getting into my MCs head and figuring out her motivations, her reasons for doing anything. Even a thing as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator. She likes the exercise.

I did a little bit of research, aka searched my Google reader, and saw somebody mention that you can set the tone of a novel with the very first line. I know it does but I’ve never really thought about it.  This made me think back, and look through, all my previous novels and the first lines I gifted them with.

It’s kind of spot on. That first line sets some kind of standard that we as the writer of our story have to be true to.  While book shopping, some readers will look at a first line and judge the entire novel on what they read. I’ve seen contests where writers had to enter their first lines and were judged solely by that one sentence. Most of those poor writers’ first lines were torn to shreds by other writers and I’m sure some of the entrants still carry the scars from that experience. I just went back to that contest and scanned some of the comments on the first lines. Harsh. (a post about that at a later date)

It’s insane when you think how much weight one string of words carry. Insane! You will either grab a reader’s attention, or they will toss your work aside as being not compelling enough, not good enough, not worthy of their time. Those people disregarding a novel based on a first line will most likely miss out on a wonderful story, but it’s their loss, right? Yes, it is.

I once said, and will say it again, I will never judge a book by its first line, first page, or first chapter. And definitely not by its cover. NEVER. I’m a writer. I know what kind of work and effort, blood, sweat, and tears go into writing a novel. You put everything you have into that story, and I’m sure you leave a part of your soul there when you’re done. I will give the author and the story they wrote the respect they deserve and read at least five or six chapters. After that, if I put the novel down, it’s only because it just might not be the kind of thing I’m into, or what I expected. It doesn’t happen a lot, I can count the number of times on one hand. I’m well aware that, if I get published one day, some people might do the same with my novel, and I’m okay with it.

And I’m getting away from the reason of this post. Setting tone.

Now, I’m not claiming to be an expert in the field of tone and the setting of it, not at all. But I thought I’d share with you guys my experience with it.

A few years ago I wrote an urban fantasy, which I still love and will one day fix. It started with one of those borderline no-no beginnings. My MC was on her bed, trying to fall asleep. I know. I know. But that was only the second novel I wrote and I was still learning about the finder intricacies of opening pages and their dos and don’ts. That MC got annoyed with whatever it was that kept her awake and stormed out of her house to confront the noisemakers.

That first few pages set a tone of casualness that isn’t reflected in the rest of the novel, and I didn’t even realize it until I wanted to start querying that novel.  Somebody critiqued the first pages of that novel and told me that, even though the start is well and good, maybe it isn’t the right place to start the novel.  I sat back, mulled it over, and wrote a whole new first chapter.

It made such a difference!

The new chapter started out with a completely different tone and it amazed me. Where the previous opening had more of a casual intro and one annoyed MC, the new one showed me a whole different side to that MC. The serious one dealing with something so life changing that she has trouble thinking straight. And best of all, it reflected the tone of the rest of the manuscript. It added a whole different kind or urgency.

Since then I’ve learned my lesson and improved/adjusted the tone of each manuscript to fit what I have in mind for that story and its MC.  The first line, paragraph, page, and chapter plays such an important role, even if you remove the thought that all the abovementioned have to catch the agent’s, publisher’s, and reader’s attention.  It prepares whoever will pick up your novel for what is in store, and most of the time they don’t even know it. It’s like a personal joke between you and a friend, or a secret that you tell only your most trusted confidant.

I think this post morphed from being about tone into something about first sentences.

So tell me this, because I love reading how others go to work, how do you decide tone? Is it reflected in your first line? Have you ever had to rewrite or add a first chapter to fit the idea you originally had?

PS: Here’s my current wip’s first line.

Sebastian said he found me in a hole.

 

Chasing Plot Bunnies

For writers, ideas are prevalent when we open our minds to them. Every time we come into contact with another human being, watch a TV show or movie, read a book, or let our minds wander, ideas pour in whether we realize it or not. And for every story that is told, there are a thousand other ways it could have been told–a thousand more ideas.

Sometimes I’ll even sit down with the intention of coming up with an idea that is unique (or as unique as any idea can be in this day and age). I’ll hook up with my brainstorming buddy to flesh out these concepts and turn them into what I hope will one day be stories. Sometimes they work out and sometimes they don’t. By this point, I have enough failures and successes under my belt to understand which of these ideas will evolve into something readable and which ones won’t. I’ll tell you what I’ve discovered.

The Bunny Farm

Every idea looks shiny at first. It’s new. You haven’t had to answer too many questions about it. You haven’t had to fact-check or create a sensible timeline. You haven’t yet spent hours (sometimes hundreds of hours) going over it and over it until your brain bleeds. But there will come a time when you reach the question of, can I take this potential story any further or is “an idea” all it can ever be?

Of all the ideas I’ve had in my life, only two have turned into full-blown, novel-length stories and they both have something in common: they originated from my deep-seeded convictions about human nature. They meant something to me.

I’ve come up with tons of other ideas that hit me on a superficial level. The ones that start of with, “wouldn’t it be cool if…” or “so I was thinking…” I’ve written some fun short stories from these concepts and even attempted a couple of novels with them but eventually, the questions, timelines, and hours of going over them got the best of me and I just couldn’t take them any further. The shininess wore off and I no longer had anything to say that felt like it was coming from my heart.

Which Plot Bunnies Do You Chase?

So what conclusion have I come to? I stick with the ideas that resonate with me on a deeper level. As fun as really unique ideas may be, I’ve never managed to turn them into stories unless they’re tethered to something honest. In reality, it may not even be the fact that they originated from my beliefs, but that they were only given the opportunity to grow because my convictions behind them drove them past the point of giving them up and letting them go.

I still write down every idea that comes because there’s no way to know which ideas might strike me later or which ones might combine to turn into something real. But now I recognize which ones are merely distracting me with their sparkle and which ones will leave me with something to polish when the initial shine has worn off.

How do you decide which plot bunnies to chase?

Photo by S. Parker