Time to Write

Writing problem? Zoom In or Zoom Out

If you find yourself stuck when you’re trying to come up with a big idea (for example, to work out the broad strokes of a plot or screenplay), ZOOM IN. That is, forget the big picture for a moment and brainstorm a bunch of details, such as information about your protagonist’s background, or where they live, or how they spend a typical day.

 If you find yourself stuck when you’re trying to come up with a small idea (such as the details of a setting, or what one of your main characters would say upon hearing a bit of news), ZOOM OUT. That is, go back to the big factors: what’s your theme? What’s the main thing this character wants out of life?

 When you’ve spent some time on the bigger or smaller picture, return to what was thwarting you and you may well find that the change of perspective gives you new ideas for solving the problem.

(If you'd like to get tips for being more creative and productive, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

My new book arrives

A copy of my newest UK book, Marketing for Entrepreneurs, arrived in the post yesterday. It’s a great feeling to actually have it in my hand and the designers have done a good job with the cover and layout.

Recently the authors in the “for Entrepreneurs” series had a meeting with the publicity department at Pearson. (The others in the series are about starting a business, growing a business, and sales, all to be launched officially on August 1.) In terms of sales, the key thing is still getting copies into the bookshops, which for the chains is very much a centralized decision these days. That’s where it helps to have a publisher with some clout.

 We brainstormed the best ways to get attention for the book and drive sales, and as we implement them I’ll give you an update and share our marketing ideas in case you might find them helpful at some stage.

 

You can pre-order the book from Amazon.co.uk (they’ll start shipping in about a week), and I’ll tell you some more around when it launches officially. In the meantime, I’ll be over in the corner smelling the fresh pages and stroking the cover…

Use a 'worry box' to develop your characters

On the Evolution self-development site, I ran across a tip to create a “worry box.” This is any kind of file or box into which you drop pieces of paper on which you have written anything you’re worried about.

 

The notion is that this will allow you to have a clearer mind, but it struck me that this could also be a great way of fleshing out your characters. In that case, it could be a “worry file” in which you jot down everything you can think of that your character worries about, large and small.

 

For instance, I’m just starting on a novel in which the protagonist is a children’s entertainer. Among his worries: running out of work, that people will think he’s creepy if he’s still doing this job when he’s older; that another children’s entertainer is going to steal his act; that he’ll be sued if a child ever gets hurt (he’s let his insurance lapse to save money)—and quite a few more (he’s kind of a young Woody Allen type).

 

Not only does knowing what he or she worries about help you understand your character better, but if you’re ever short of conflict or detail in a scene, dipping into your character’s worry file could be very useful.

The most important question about your writing

The other day I presented a workshop for a chapter of the Academy for Chief Executives on going “Beyond Brainstorming.” This covers advanced creativity techniques and it’s always interesting to see how quickly these methods yield new, practical ideas.

But what struck me this time was an exercise in which the executive said his goal was to come up with a better web site. He revealed that he’d paid a lot of money to a company that promised to get his company to the top of the Google search engine results. They did it—but very few of the many people visiting the site actually contacted the company to find out more or to buy their service. The moral of the story is:

Be very clear on what it is you really want.

In this case, they didn’t really want lots of random visitors to their site—they wanted visitors who would buy. (And we quickly generated several ways for them to attract those kinds of visitors without being number one on Google.)

Sometimes it’s useful to ask that question about our writing, too. What do you want? It could be:

• the creative satisfaction of expressing yourself through your writing;
• the money that comes with having a best-seller;
• to leave a legacy (of wisdom or experience) for your children and grand-children;
• to have a book that will serve as a calling card for other things you do, like consulting or teaching.

Each of these would lead in a different direction, but I see lots of writers who are not matching their writing practice to their real goal. For example, if you want to leave your story behind for your children and grand-children, self-publishing is a terrific solution; if you want to have a best-seller, it’s (usually) not.

What do you want to get from your writing? Are you following the best path toward that destination?

The importance of theme

In one of several interviews with author Ridley Pearson (“Killer Summer” among others) on bookreporter.com, he said this about themes:

“For the past four or five novels I've focused on an emotional theme... I've always worked on outlining my character arcs --- so each character has someplace to start, emotionally, and someplace he/she is headed. Adopting a theme for the novel has been good for me; it keeps me rooted and reminds me that the overarching emotions of these characters are focused on a particular quality, a human quality that is sometimes desired, sometimes not, sometimes achievable, sometimes not.”

Sometimes I have a theme in mind when I start a script or other project, sometimes I only realize afterward what it was.

I think knowing it can be useful, especially in the middle of a longer work when there is the danger of getting lost.

The danger is that the work will become heavy-handed or preachy but if you let the characters give you direction usually that won’t happen.

(For tips on how to be more creative and productive, sign up to my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

The importance of never growing up

Dave Howe, president of SyFy, made this observation recently on the Huffington Post:

“As children we embrace imagination and play, but as we get older, imaginative and creative pursuits tend to be quashed or stymied by the pressures and sometimes sheer monotony of adult work life. Creativity can seem like an indulgence. It's never lost on me that the child who builds a fantastical city out of Legos and makes music out of pots and sticks is applauded for demonstrating ingenuity and imagination, while the dad who jams with his "band" or reads graphic novels on vacation is chastised as the child who refuses to grow up.”

Hmm, I can relate to that—I’m refusing to grow up and proud of it. Maybe you are, too?

(If you need to recapture some of that great creativity you had as a child, subscribe to my free Brainstorm monthly e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

Writers John August and Aaron Sorkin spill some of their secrets

Great video interview with screenwriter John August (“The Nine”) on the Makingof site. He talks about breaking the formula, deciding which ideas to turn into scripts, and rewriting. The video is about six minutes long.

If you scroll down at that sight, you'll find other worthwhile interviews there, the best of which, in my opinion is the one with Aaron Sorkin. It rambles a bit, but the two things I found interesting are his statement that he’s less interested in the difference between good and bad than in the difference between good and great, and that “I try not to show the audience who the character is, I try to show what the character wants.” (If you’re pressed for time, jump to around minute six of this ten-minute interview.)

(for tips on how to be more creative and productive, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

Why timing is everything in writing success

I’m sure you’ve heard William Goldman’s statement about movies and what makes them successful: “Nobody knows anything.” I was reminded of it when I read an article by novelist Kwei Quartey in Publishing Perspectives. Here’s part of what he wrote:

“About 10 years ago, I wrote a novel set in Africa. An agent to whom I sent the first pages turned it down and told me, “There are two places on earth that no one has the slightest interest in reading about: Afghanistan and Africa.”

What a difference a decade makes: Khaled Hosseini’s smash hits The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns take place in Afghanistan, and Alexander McCall Smith’s wildly popular and bestselling No.1 Detective Ladies’ Agency series, set in Botswana, blazed a trail for new mystery writers with African protagonists. Michael Stanley’s Detective Kubu solves crimes in Botswana, and Malla Nunn’s Emmanuel Cooper is a detective in 1950’s South Africa. Following close behind is Detective Inspector Darko Dawson of Ghana on the West African coast, introduced to the world in my debut novel, Wife of the Gods.”

What made the difference? Better books? Events in those areas getting more attention from the media? I’m with Goldman—I don’t know. But it goes to show that timing is everything. And if you’ve got a book that isn’t in synch with the market today—wait until tomorrow!

(for tips on how to be more creative and productive, sign up for my free Brainstorm monthly e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

On writing to overcome your own fears

Adrianne Courters (who writes as A. Kiwi Courters) is an extreme example of how sometimes we write in order to overcome our own anxieties. According to the Alameda Sun, she started writing while recovering from a serious automobile accident. She says, “I was scared. Every time I looked in the mirror, I saw someone I didn't recognize. Between the pain and the painkillers, everything got kind of surreal."

Her appearance also scared her two young sons. She explains, "I tried to come up with stories that were scarier than my own situation, just to get out of that fear mode. And I tried to make it more comfortable for Skip and Neal. They think Mom's pretty cool now. I have more metal in my bones than (comic book and movie hero) Wolverine."

She is now free of the wheelchair and crutches but plans to continue writing as a sideline to her full-time job.

The article mentions where you can find her work: "Stalker of the Blood Red Sands" in Rage of the Behemoth, published Rouge Blades Entertainment June 1; "New Fish" in Cthulu Unbound 2, published by Permuted Press June 30; and "Duma of Valley Kifaru" in the October edition of Kaleidotrope magazine.

(for tips on how to overcome the seven main fears that can stop you from writing, see my book, Your Writing Coach, published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon and other online and offline retailers--the fears and their solutions are covered in the first chapter.)

Advice on getting your writing done, from screenwriter Don Roos

On the makingof.com website, Don Roos (“Single White Female,” “Marley and Me,”) gives good advice to aspiring scriptwriters that would apply to any kind of writing:

• Make an appointment to write
• Use a kitchen timer to make sure that you put in the time
• How to make writing progress with only one hour a day
• How to write even if you’re not sure what your story is

His method of committing to a certain period of time was not as effective for me as committing to a certain number of pages, but there’s no right or wrong, only what works for you.

(for tips and techniques for being more creative and productive, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

Are writers blind to changes in our declining industry?

In an interview on the Personal Branding Blog, Dan Schwabel interviewed Scott Shane, an expert on entrepreneurship. Here’s part of what Shane says:

“People tend to discover opportunities related to what they know. When they don’t know about something, new information on the topic is lost on them and they don’t see opportunities… If what you know a lot about is a declining industry, you are faced with a problem: you won’t see most valuable opportunities and the ones you see aren’t as valuable.  If you’re in that position, you are better off not being the “idea guy” for a new business but are better off joining up with someone who sees better opportunities than you do.”

Are we writers in a declining industry? Certainly magazines, newspapers, and traditional publishing are all declining in their current form. However, what they deliver will always be valuable, so probably what we need to most aware of is new and potential delivery systems. How will we deliver and profit from the content we create in the future?

That includes letting go of our natural resistance to giving up (or at least adding to) the delivery systems we are used to and like. For writers above the age of, say, 30, that’s probably our biggest challenge.

(for tips on how to be more creative and productive, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

(for tips and techniques for how to be more creative and productive, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

Grammar doesn't matter--or does it?

On the Screenwriters Network bulletin from Shooting People (a great organization that publishes daily bulletins for film-makers, writers, animators, etc.) someone posted a message which read, “Workshop’s start at £12, edit’s start at £17.” I made the observation, “no charge for additional apostrophes, obviously. :-)“

The response of the moderator, the estimable Andy Conway, was, “That falls clearly into Trying to Start a Grammar Flame War territory, Jurgen. You know the rules about that. Yellow card for you.”

I didn’t know that mentioning incorrect punctuation on a writers’ site was controversial, and I have no desire to start a Flame War (which means angry postings back and forth).

Of course it’s a losing battle. All around us, apostrophes are being flung around or dropped with abandon and people who think two things that work well together are complimentary instead of complementary.

My formative years were spent escaping into reading, learning to value the choice of one word over another, and even being forced to diagram sentences by the sadistic, ancient (she must have been all of 45) Mrs. McKinley. They have left their mark and I can’t stop caring about getting it right. However, I’ll try to shut up about it in mixed company.

(for tips on how to be more creative and productive, sign up now for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to [email protected])

What publishers refuse to put on covers

On the Statesman.com website, Katherine Tanney reports on attending a panel discussion on writing for young adults, including YA authors Jennifer Ziegler and Varian Johnson. One interesting tidbit:

“One thing YA writers apparently can't do is get their publishers to put young males on the covers of their books, even though, according to Ziegler, "There's such pressure on boys not to be seen holding a book with a girl on the cover."

Johnson's next book, "Saving Maddy," has a male protagonist, "but it still has a girl on the cover," he lamented.”

Hmm, I wonder whether there’s a marketing opportunity there for self-publishing YA authors—they would have an instant USP (unique selling proposition) if they had a boy on their cover.

Or maybe we should start a business selling fake macho book covers for boys who are reading books with girls on the original covers…

(for tips and techniques on being more creative, sign up for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request now to [email protected])

On Getting an Agent

A few years ago my book agent retired and for a couple of years I handled the contracts for my non-fiction work myself. However, I realized that in order to get my first novel to publishers it would be much better to have an agent so I went on the hunt again. Having fairly extensive film and TV credits and having written eight non-fiction books didn’t give me any advantage in this genre, so it was back to square one, just like when I was looking for a script agent when I was starting out in Hollywood. It’s always a humbling experience to be sent back to “Go”…

My first round of inquiries met with no success and I did what I tell my students NOT to do—give up. Well, not really, but I did pause. Eventually, though, I rewrote the query letter, polished the summary of the story, and sent out a batch of inquiries.

One of the agents requested that I send him the first 100 pages and, later, the whole manuscript, and I've just signed with him. I’ve looked over the contract, which is gratifyingly free of legalese. It’s for this book only, and there’s a get-out clause that either party can use after six months if they’re not happy.

I think it makes sense to start with that kind of contract because these things only work when both sides feel satisfied with the working relationship. Some agents offer multi-year contracts that cover everything you do, including your laundry list, and although that may seem flattering it’s a nightmare if, six months or a year down the line, you’re not getting the service you were promised.

Anyway, this agent is having two colleagues read the manuscript, too, and then collating his notes and theirs—he says he has some ideas, which I’m eager to hear, for tweaks that will help the book’s chances with publishers. Then he will take it out in September, when the summer lull is over.

It’s only a first step, of course, but an important one and I’m very pleased. In terms of passing along any lessons from this experience, the main one is persistence, persistence, persistence.

Where do you write? This time it's the bunker...

In the previous post, I described where Guillermo del Toro writes: his man cave. Today we discover that Gay Talese has a "bunker." It's described in New York magazine as "a plush cave [that word again] under the streets of Manhattan...

"There is no phone, no e-mail, no view, no sound. Along the walls there are shelves filled with brown box files that Talese has covered in collage."

The boxes contain his notes, photos, and other reference material for each of his projects incuding his best-known book, "They Neighor's Wife." They are all color-coded and carefully labeled.

Another interesting note about how he works: "He spends years reducing his research until at long last it all fits on a single piece of shirt board. And then he draws it. And then he starts writing."

(There's a chapter in my book, Your Writing Coach, about setting up a writing space that works best for you. You can get the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online and offline retailers.)