Time to Write

How to write novels even if you have no ideas!

I just got an email offering to sell me an app that takes all the work out of writing romance novels. It’s the “Kindle Romance Idea Generator.”

Yes, I’m serious. The sales page tells me “Writing a Romance Novel Can Mean a Lot of Cash!” It helpfully points out that “Ideas are the lifeblood of any good book,” but the problem is “ideas are hard to come by.”

This app “Generates Endless Heroine’s (sic) for Romance Books.” Hey, what’s an apostrophe between friends?

With one press of a button, you get a full description of a heroine for your romance novel. The sample profile gives such useful information as, “she can not stand the smell of mustard,” and “her favorite hobbies include crafts and pinochle.”

For a small extra fee you also get a profile of the hero and his characteristics.  The sample description includes the fact that"his eyes are chocolate and his hair is light ash brown and his favorite hobbies include pinochle and bmx.”

Who knew that pinochle was so popular these days? Maybe if it’s a saucy romance novel they can play strip pinochle.

 The upgraded app also gives you a clue as to what keeps the hero and heroine apart. One example is that the heroine went to a trendy night club and had a one-night stand with a man she met on the dance floor. She didn’t expect to meet him again, but it turns out he’s the loan officer handling the refinancing of her home. I don’t see how that would keep them apart. In fact, probably it would get her a lower interest rate. 

If I were writing this novel, I’d make him the owner of a mustard factory. She loves him but she can’t stand the smell of mustard and breaks up with him. He opens a ketchup factory to try to win her back but loses everything due to a world-wide ketchup glut. I’d pitch it as a modern-day Romeo and Juliet…two lovers torn apart by condiments.

 See, this thing works!

 (Or you could buy my book, “Your Writing Coach,” but it assumes you have some ideas of your own.)

 

Portrait of an artist, narrated by Tom Waits

I have to admit I’d never heard of the artist John Baldessari, but I found this video, “A Brief History of John Baldessary, Narrated by Tom Waits,” interesting both for content and as a way of presenting information.

 Frankly, I mourn the passing of the idea that a “talking head”-- an interesting person talking to camera -- can be a suitable format if the person is saying interesting things. This little film is the opposite of that format, with frantic music in the background, fast editing, zooming, etc. but it embraces it so well that it works. 

 

 

Stuck on the story of your novel or screenplay? Play possible futures.

If you have the start of a story but things have ground to a halt and you're not sure where to take your protagonist next, try playing a game I call Possible Futures. 

Think of three very different paths your protagonist might take. Project each one forward one or two big steps.

For instance, let's see I've set up a story opening in which Ian, my protagonist, is a widower nearing retirement age. He hasn't managed to save much money and his pension plan just collapsed. I have a sympathetic character and a situation to which (unfortunately) a lot of people can relate. But where to go with the story?

Scenario One: When he's approached by a younger friend who says there's a way Ian could earn $50,000 for one week of work, Ian knows it  has to be something fishy. But he needs the money and decides it would be foolish not to at least hear what it's all about.

Scenario Two: Looking for an inexpensive way to have an evening out leads him to a senior citizens' social club where he turns out to be one of the very few men among a lot of widows. One quickly falls for him. She's rich and nice and would love to marry him. It would mean a comfortable retirement. He likes her but he doesn't really love her…does that still matter?

Scenario Three: Desperate for money, Ian signs up to be a subject of medical trials. When one of them goes terribly wrong due to negligence by the pharmaceuticals company, he has only one year to live. They offer him ten million dollars to shut up. He can have a dream life and money to leave to the grandchildren of his struggling son and daughter in law,  but it will mean being complicit in the coverup of the company's practices which may go on to hurt others.  

You can use the same strategy further along in the story. Let's say that you decided that Ian should go ahead and marry the widow--after all he does like her and has no intention of cheating her; he will be a good companion. But then…then we can think of three more options for what happens next:

1. She dies and he realises the rich thing was all an act. She had nothing but debts for which he is now responsible.

2. He meets another woman, and this time it IS love. But now he's spoken for…

3. He does marry her but the more he begins to actually love her the more suspicious she gets that he was after her money.

If you pay attention you'll get the sense that one of the options you generate is more right for you or your understanding of the character than the others. 

(There are some writers who have tips for you on how to create great characters and plots. Who are they? Well, they include Dostoyevsky, Dumas, and Dickens. Also Calvino, Carver, and Cather. Their advice and how to apply it to your project are in my newest book, Your Creative Writing Masterclass. It's published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)

 

 

The Before and After quick method for plotting

Trying to get the basics of your story worked out? In a previous post I mentioned that for detective stories it can be useful to work backward from the murder or other crime.

Another approach that works for stories in general is to take one major dramatic moment that you know you want to have in the story and work both forward and backward from it.

If you have several scenes or moments like that in mind, they can become the cornerstones of your story.

Usually these are scenes of major conflict. Those happen when things have built up, so when you work backward you can think about what are the elements that led to the confrontation.

Such conflict always has consequences, too, and those will determine the scenes that come afterward.

The first outline you generate using this method may be too linear and predictable but they will be the raw materials for a more sophisticated version. You can decide which of these scenes to show, which just to suggest and which to hide from the audience or reader. Sometimes it also makes sense to mix up the time frame; for instance, you can start with a dramatic moment and then go back and show what led up to it.

However, before you can play around with the order, it really helps to have the events in mind in chronological order and that’s where the “before and after” method is a big help.

 (for advince on plotting from some of the world's greatest writers, including Mark Twain, Anton Chekhov and many more, see my lastest book, "Your Creative Writing Masterclass." It's published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)

 

Do You Feel Creative? Welcome to the 25%

An international study by software company Adobe revealed some interesting beliefs about creativity, notably:

While eighty percent of respondents felt we all have the potential to be creative, they also stated that they spend only a third of their time being creative and only 25% felt they were living up to their creative potential.

So what gets in the way?

A majority felt that schools and companies don't do enough to promote creative behaviour or actually impede it.

The other big factor was lack of time. People feel so pressured to produce that they feel they can't take the time to stop and think about how to do things differently. They're on the treadmill and it won't stop.

How do you feel about whether you're living up to your creative potential? Actually, I'm not a fan of that wording--I think I'm creative, but am I living up to my potential? Probably not. I'm surprised that 25% of people said they were. A more realistic question is, do you feel you are using your creativity a significant amount of the time?

If not, here are a few tips that might help--things I try to remember to do myself (not always successfully):

* Be aware of how much of the pressure you are creating yourself by agreeing to the "rules" -- for instance, that you should be reachable via phone at all times, or that you should answer all emails within a few hours. What would happen if you broke these rules?

* Give yourself short breaks, take a deep breath, and ground yourself again.

* When you find something frustrating or annoying to do, take fifteen minutes to brainstorm how you could do it differently, convince somebody else to do it, or get the desired result by doing something else. Remember that you can apply your creativity to just about anything.

(For more tips on making the most of your time, see my book, FOCUS: use the power of targeted thinking to get more done, published by Pearson and available from Amazon or you other favorite bookseller.)

The writer's fear of revealing too much (& ep. 5 of Sherman Writes a Book)

Are you blocked because you fear revealing too much about yourself in your works of fiction? First enjoy the 5th episode of "Sherman Writes a Book," in which he has a similar fear(it's under two minutes long), then see the tips below for beating this kind of writer's block. (To see Sherman's story from the start, go scroll down to May 1 and then watch them in order.)

 

THE FEAR OF REVEALING TOO MUCH

Sometimes writers develop a block because they suddenly fear that their book or script will reveal too much about themselves. What if everybody realizes (or just assumes) that all of the protagonist's embarrassing stuff actually is the truth about the author?

First, it's true that the best fiction often reflects some aspect of the author. It's almost impossible to write anything that doesn't have some part of you in it. Of course that's not the same as saying what happens to him or her has happened to you. After all, very few writers of mystery and crime novels have actually killed anyone, yet the best are able to get inside the mind of a killer enough to do justice to that character. If they can't do that, the book won't be very good.

You have deniability! Every author is allowed to say, 'I could imagine doing such a thing, that' doesn't mean I've done it' (even if they have). 

Also, let's face it, if you have a passion for writing, that means there's something about your life and/or your thoughts and feelings that you want to convey. As for which parts of your book reflect those, you can keep your readers guessing. 

You also have the power of opt out of interviews and other forms of self-exposure. It didn't hurt the sales of "Catcher in the Rye" that J. D. Salinger was reclusive. In a recent interview, Stephen King revealed that he regretted doing a series of American Express ads that showed his face because from then on everybody knew what he looked like. 

In short, remember that people will think whatever they want to think...but they spend far less time thinking about you then you think they do.

(There's great advice from the best writers about writer's block and a myriad of other topics in my newest book, "Your Creative Writing Masterclass," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller. Not just advice from me but from the all-time best writers like Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Anton Chekhov and many more. When you get the book, you get them as your mentors.)

Overcoming writer's block (including ep. 3 of Sherman Writes a Book)

Sherman's saga began on May 1, so you may want to start there and work your way forward. Each video is under two minutes long. Below the video we look at another kind of writer's block and how to overcome it.

 

 

THE 'WHAT IF THEY RECOGNIZE THEMSELVES' BLOCK

If you're writing something that is based even loosely on real people, you may wonder whether they, like Sherman's mother, might wonder whether you're writing about them. If you have portrayed them in a less than flattering light, will they hate you? Sue you? 

Here are some tips on how to avoid that:

* Change lots of details so it's not easy to recognize your models for the characters. You can change gender, age, physical description, the setting, profession, hobbies, relationships, etc. 

* Go for hybrids. In other words, mix together the characteristics of several people so that the combination is not that much like any of them. This also gives you deniability. You can say, honestly, "No, that character was not based on you."

* Remember that actually people generally don't know themselves well enough to recognize what you've used, especially their bad traits. Lots of successful authors have commented on that. 

And if you're worried that a totally ficitonal character might accidentally be similar to a real person who coud turn around and sue you, here are a couple of tips:

* If you create somebody really hateful, give them either a common name or an obscure name. The Bill Smiths of the world are used to encountering hundreds of other Bill Smiths and they won't automatically think that an evil character with that name is modelled on them.

If you give the character a very obscure name, check Facebook and Google that name to see if anybody actually is called that. Be especially careful that you haven't give this evil character any characteristics that you spot for someone with a similar name. For instance, if your character is a sadistic dentist named Hieronymous Skitch, and you find there's a real dentist named Hieronymous Skatch, change the name totally.

Frankly, usually fears about this issue usually are overblown. Use a bit of common sense and you'll be fine.

(Want more good writing advice? Not just from me but from Charles Dickens, Anton Chekhov, and Jane Austen? It's in my newest book, "Your Creative Writing Masterclass," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from your favorite bookseller.)

 

Overcoming writer's block (including ep. 2 of Sherman Writes a Book)

Here's episode 2 of "Sherman Writes a Book," the saga that started yesterday. Today Sherman decides to get professional help... (the video is less than 2 min. long).

 

A WRITING BLOCK MAY BE JUST A PLOT BLOCK.

Sometimes when writers get stuck they worry that's it, they'll never write again. Not true. Over the next few posts we'll look at a variety of ways you can get past that block and get your writing flowing again. Today let's look at one kind of block: THE PLOT BLOCK

* Are you stuck on one part of the story? Do you get the sense that if you could solve that issue you'd be able to continue on with the rest of it? If so, you have a plot block. It may feel like you've written yourself into a corner. You don't want to give up, but you don't know the way forward.

If that's your block, here are three practical things to do:

* Take at least 48 hours away from the project. If you find yourself thinking about it, change the subject. Go to see a movie or two, or read a good book, take a long walk or a swim, get plenty of sleep.

* Then state, in general terms, the outcome you need. Take a step back from the solutions that aren't working and see the bigger picture. For instance, let's say that I have my protagonist tied up by the bad guys, it looks like there's no way for him to get away. Maybe I've been racking my brain trying to come up with some clever way for him to get free of his bonds. Now I'd step back and say what's the bigger definition of what needs to happen? He needs to get away.

* Brainstorm as many ways as you can that somebody can get away from a dangerous situation. Don't judge, just list as many as you can. These could include: fly away, get rescued, talk his way out, play dead, etc. 

* After a break, go through your entire list. Cross off the ones you know you don't want ("somebody rescues him = deus ex machina, not good). For the ones that are left, brainstorm how they could work. For instance, talk his way out. What does he have that the bad guys could want badly enough to let him go--under supervision, of course--to get it? Or what could he do to make them think he's actually on their side? Or how could they benefit by using him in some way rather than killing him now? 

* When you have a promising solution you may have to go back to an earlier part of the story to plant some additional information that pays off in this scene, and you may also need to make adjustments to what comes after this scene. 

The key thing to remember: when stuck on a story point, step back and look at the bigger picture. 

(You know who had terrific advice about plotting as well as characterization, description, setting? The great authors like Dickens, Twain, Austen, and the other 100 or so I quote in my book, "Your Creative Writing Masterclass." It's published by Nicholas Brealey and available now from Amazon or via your other favorite bookseller.)

The writer's fear of the blank page (including episode 1 of Sherman Writes a Book)

Today starts the saga of Sherman Shilmeister's attempt to write a book. Each episode is under two minutes long and is followed by some practical tips.

 

THAT BLANK FIRST PAGE CAN BE SCARY. Here are some ways to overcome that fear:

* Remember that you don't even have to start with the first page. If there's a scene later on in your book or screenplay that you know will be part of the story, jump ahead and write that one first. It may help you break the ice.

* Remember that you'll probably end up rewriting the first pages anyway. Don't try to write the perfect first line or the perfect first paragraph, page, or chapter. Just get something down that gets you rolling. You can and will come back to it later to make it better.

* Write three different openings and decide later which one to use. Having several options takes the pressure of you to come up with the 'right' one immediately.

Sherwin's journey continues tomorrow...

(And your journey of writing can be made easier with advice from the greatest writers--like Twain, Dickens, Austen, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Conrad, and many more. They spill the beans in my newest book, "Your Creative Writing Masterclass," published by Nichoals Brealey and available from Amazone or your other favorite book seller.)

The increasing need for stories you can write (zombie edition)

If you want to write for money these days you need to expand your vision of how stories can be used. Award-winning novelist Naomi Alderman ("The Lessons") turned her story-telling talent to use in helping create "Zombies Run!" 

It's a phone fitness app that motivates runners by telling them that zombies are chasing them. If you go too slow, you'll hear the moans of your brains-eating pursuers. You take on the role of "Runner 5," who has to collect crucial supplies to help save non-zombie civilisation.

You'll also hear messages from fellow survivors and there is a kind of storyline, presumably featuring the gruesome deaths of a few runners who gave up too soon. 

The first "season" consists of 24 episodes as well as plot-free sessions and season two is in progress. It works on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android, through headphones. You set the speed based on your level of fitness and how far you want to run, and you can add your own custom music playlist. 

The project was funded via Kickstarter, the crowdfunding site. You can find out more at http://www.zombiesrungame.com. 

(I've heard that zombies are especially drawn to people who haven't yet bought my latest book, "Your Creative Writing Masterclass," so if I were you I'd get it right away from Amazon or your other favourite bookseller.)