Inklings
art imitates life? beet equals dinner?
I saw something on Nathan Bransford’s blog that made me stop and think. (You know, that bigshot agent that sorta looks like Tom Cruise?) He said he often will tell an author that this or that isn’t working, and they’ll reply, “But that’s really how it happened,” or “That’s how people really talk.”
He likens reproducing life as it is to putting a beet on a plate and calling it dinner. Writers must elevate, add spice, make it hot.
What can you do to make your writing hot today?
make the leap
photo
“Substitute “damn” every time you’re inclined to write “very;” your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”
writing a synopsis
Or, How to Make Yourself Purely Insane…
photo credit
I think the synopsis is one of the hardest parts about novel writing. And judging from the whining I hear, I’m not alone. So how do you do the dreadful deed? Let’s boil it down. Maybe it will go down softer that way.
1. Are you writing a synopsis for a particular agent or editor? Find out what format they want, because it differs widely. Many agent websites specify what they want in a synopsis. If they don’t, email them if you dare.
2. Now for the long part: Write one or two sentences about EVERY SCENE in your book. You might even discover unnecessary scenes by going through this process–bonus for you. No matter what tense or viewpoint your story uses, write these sentences in 3rd person, present tense. Brace yourself. This step takes TIME.
3. Smooth and connect these sentences, adding motivations. Don’t just say what happened. Say why and what the ramifications are for the character. Use the same voice your book uses–formal, chatty, gritty, etc. Format this with single spacing, double space between paragraphs, as in a business letter.
4. Cut and condense until your document is at the length required in #1.
5. Take a nap.
cramped
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” ~ C.S. Lewis
This past weekend I attended a writers’ retreat. My own critique group, The Best In The World, officially known as the Writers’ Cramp, had its own gathering in St. George. It was completely nerdy and wonderful.
I took my camera but mostly forgot about it. But there was this:
Kendra, Caroll and Chris particpating in extreme nerdery. Me in the kitchen playing with something.
Chris trying to get lost in a labyrinth. Fail.
We had several planned activities that make sense to pretty much no one, including scouring the internet for random people who look like each other’s characters and writing scenes in which our characters meet up with each other and do strange things. Not sure how this is supposed to make us better writers but let’s not bring that up, okay?
I don’t know how Art and Nefi survived the weirdness, but they were good sports, coming along for their driving and cooking skills. And our old pal Shaughn dropped in, in between arresting bad guys for the FBI. He is quite a storyteller, that guy.
What I do know is that it is the most wonderful thing to find people who share your strangeness. What would I do without these people?
the happiest girl.
This morning I got an email I’ve been waiting for for years. Covenant has accepted my manuscript (the LDS one) !!!
I still can’t believe it.
It is tentatively scheduled for next summer. They said over the next few months I will be assigned an editor and contracts will be signed at that time. I’ve heard of them changing their mind, so I’m trying not to think about that. I’m floating!
I have a million things to do today and I can’t do anything but dance!
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