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Breaking Thru Writers Block: “Honey, where’s the kayak?”

August 11, 2011

I spent two weeks at the family cottage up north and was able to break through some serious plot points. KERPOW! I had been struggling with these various knotted, tangled plot nubs for some time, trying to massage and release them, and all of a sudden, they literally unfurled in my hands like rose buds. I got it!

And what was my secret, you ask?

Well, I simply hopped in the kayak, and paddled around the island to the marsh. There I would float, looking at all the water lilies bobbing on the water, listening to the wind in the trees, watching dragonflies land here and there (most of them copulating, one on top of the other) and slapping away the occasional horse fly…

The family cottage is quite remote and on a lake with only a few cottages. In the middle of the week, it’s dead quiet. Quiet enough that you can float in the water, hear nothing but nature, and think nothing but…plot.

The question is…now that I’m back in the big, bad city, how do I recapture that sense of stillness so that I can focus and work through the writing issues I need to work through?

Sure, there’s nature around here. I have a garden. The city has parks. But its just not the same. For one thing, it’s…noisy.

I know I am able to tune the noise out. In the past, I’ve proven myself an excellent mutli-tasker. If you need someone to cook, clean, come up with a character for a scene in 19th century Bath, while simultaneously writing an entry on Facebook & Twitter, reading a library book about a crime in ancient Rome, stopping a fight between a 4 & 6 year old over an old Happy Meal toy that neither really wants and asking the hubby what colour to paint the bathroom…then I’m your woman! I have done it. I CAN do it.

But sometimes I can’t. And locking myself in the bathroom with my laptop while shouting at everyone to BE QUIET just isn’t the way to solve the problem.

If only the kayak would fit in the bathtub…?

Posted in Mom/Writer, Plot, The Writing Life, Writer's Block | 7 Comments »

Writing The Middle: Cue the Ominous Music.

January 17, 2011

I’m in the middle of my novel and it’s a bit of a scary thing.

Though I’ve a point of departure (my beginning) and a destination in mind (my end), in between I’ve got great, murky swaths of The Unknown to traverse through.

I am in The Middle a.k.a. The Great Unknown.

Generally, I am using a previous scene to build the current scene and thus I am inching my way slowly forward through the dark. Sort of like building a bridge across a chasm with tiny Lego bricks. Little bit by little bit, I am stretching my way from Beginning to End–

And of course I am trying to ratchet up the tension with each small step forward (cue the Ominous Music).

It makes for an unnerving experience.

Because anything could happen. They’re sitting in a room and they could talk or they could fight or they could kiss.

Or a cat could jump out from a closet and scare them or they could hear a scream or they could fall asleep because their tea was drugged.

Or they could decide to eat oysters or ham or white soup or they could go for a walk.

Or they could discover the Professor stabbed in the back, slouched over a potted fern.

My characters and I are constantly in the present moment, never knowing what the next moment (or Lego brick) is until it appears like magic. Poof!

(Sort of like real life, I guess.)

Writer, is this your experience of The Middle? Or is it more of a Happy Place for you?

Personally, I’m finding it pretty freaky!

Posted in Plot | 5 Comments »

Blah Blah Boring

September 24, 2010

I’ve a character in my novel who needs to explain a few things to the heroine. He needs to tell about what happened when he went to the Red Lion Inn a few days ago…its very important to the plot, so it must be done. This information must be revealed and he has to tell her . It can’t come across in flashbacks or a dream sequence or any other writer-trick, because the book’s written in the heroine’s voice, first person. He tells her the news and she tells the reader, and, of course, she reacts and converses back at him and tells the reader all about that, too.

Sounds simple?

No.

It’s actually quite painful to write an explanation. Though necessary, the detail is tedious and it feels like it takes too long to impart. I’ve tried breaking it down into chunks, and delivering it via dialogue, interspersed with the heroines’ wry observations and her own lively reactions, but still it comes across like some kind of boring legal document, overloaded with detail after detail:

And so, in part a, subsection i, sub-subsection 1.0, the man then followed the other man down the street to the physicians.

In part a, subsection i, sub-section 1.1, the man waited outside the physician’s house for the man to reappear…

Either that, or I have a bad case of the “and then’s”, such as:

And then he followed him down the street. And then he waited outside. And then he saw a body being carried to a horse cart. And then…

ARG! How do I make this explanation less boring? Any and all suggestions greatly appreciated!

Posted in Character, Flow, Plot, Writer's Block | 7 Comments »

Determining Plot: Time For a Coin Toss?

September 12, 2010

I’m going to admit right now to a certain jealously towards writers who outline their novels. You just seem so organized and in control. Whenever I come across the seemingly sane advice to outline my plot, I think: what a great idea! That will solve my problems for sure!

Since I was stuck recently, scratching my head wondering ‘what comes next?’ I tried, once again, to outline my plot. And once again, I failed miserably. Honestly, I should just shove my head in a bucket and start hitting it with a hammer–the effect on my mind is similar…

Trouble is, I can’t seem to come up with enough detail to make the outline worthwhile! Points A and Z are well defined, but all points in between are a fog, a swath of nothingness, that mocking blankness on the page, empty, empty, empty. The map for my novel has a big, blank spot in the middle, so I just dunno what’s going to show up. Will I be trekking through mountains, swamps or desert? I dunno. Is the path straightforward or meandering? I dunno. Is there warning signs on the map: beware ye who enter here, a skull and crossbones? I dunno. I dunno. I have no idea.

While I do know where I’m hoping to go, the route I’m taking to get there is a mystery. I’m feeling my way through the dark with a lighted match–and that’s it.

So I’ve decided: its official. I am not an outliner. I’m not even a connect-the-dot-er. I like to nail down my details organically, one scene arising from the other, within a very loose and general framework. Let’s call it the ‘fingers crossed hope to hell this works out’ school of plot development. I’ve also heard it referred to as ‘pant-est’ (meaning ‘Whee! Look at me! I’m flying by the seat of my pants, baby!’)

It’s not an approach conductive to too much rational thought. It’s intuitive–and, as such, tossing a coin or consulting the Tarot to figure out a plot problem doesn’t seem like that much of a stretch. I suppose it can be considered fun and exciting, with it’s perpetual sense of discovery and surprise (oh look! My character just decided to seduce the footman. Wow!)…

But that’s also what makes it terrifying. Nerve-wrecking. Leading to shivers of self-doubt. I have to wonder if all this hap-dash slapped together and tied with bits of string will result in an obtuse, confusing, unpublishable piece of crap. Hence, my occasional yearning for a plan! An outline! If I could only nail this sucker down, I’d win. I’d be fabulous.

Luckily, I learned recently that best-selling author Suzan Elizabeth Phillips (the rom-com Queen of snappy dialogue) has a similar writing style, which she describes in the back of her novel It Had To Be You: “As you’ve probably figured out about now, I don’t do a lot of pre-planning and have a tendency to introduce characters and plot elements without any idea how to solve their conflicts.”

And her novels are best sellers. So, hurray! I guess there’s hope for me yet!

PS. How about you? Are you an outlining- pre-planning-got-details-figured-out-beforehand kind of writer? Or are you the intuitive-got-the-gist-of-it-but-making-it-up-as-I-go type? TAKE MY POLL and lets see the results!

PPS. And feel free to leave a comment too!

Posted in Plot | 7 Comments »

Watch Yer Step!

September 3, 2010

Recently, I reviewed my plot–only to discover I’ve got a few plot holes. Er. Maybe more than a few.

I panicked. I went into problem solving mode. I tried to outline. I tried to explain every thing in a rational manner–which is a good way to make an outlandish plot seem even more outlandish (well, you see…ahem…it starts with this ‘mysterious message’…).

I tried to revise old scenes so later ones made better sense. I put in a few explanatory paragraphs, even though they disrupted the flow. I thought about adding explanatory footnotes…but no, that would be taking it too far!

Finally, I had to lie down in a dark room with a cold cloth on my head and tell myself: STOP FREAKING OUT!

This is a first draft. I just need to get it out and get it down. I can smooth out the details later, I told myself. Just finish the dang thing!

I’ve been working on this novel for 10 years. I need to finish it! I need to point myself in direction of the Finish Line and just go, go, go. I can’t let a few plot holes stop me from getting a completed story on paper…it might be a flawed story, but at least it will be FINISHED!

So, sorry, no time to stop and panic. I’m just going to tape up the small holes, leap over the large ones and try not to twist my ankle when I land–and dash away–onward–to THE END!

PS. How do YOU deal with plot holes? Ignore until the end, like me? Or do you fix as you go? Or some other approach? *curious*!

Posted in Plot | 4 Comments »

It’s Bodice Ripping Time!

August 5, 2010

Well, I did it! I finally wrote a sex scene for my romantic- comedy-Regency-mystery novel.

I feel very proud of myself.

Because it’s not an easy thing to do.

Especially if you grew up as a ‘good girl’ like me and weren’t suppose to mention S-E-X, let alone think about it, let alone put it in a book, graphically, using words like ‘nipple’ and ‘erection’. But, by gosh, I’m almost 40 and a mother of 2! I’ve ‘been there, done that’—so why can’t I write about it?

I have to tell you: it was very empowering! It takes nerve & a certain fearlessness. I’ve always admired writers who can do it. Like Romance writers. As much as I might cringe at some of the conventions of that genre (such as cowboys and falling in love with your kidnapper) I nonetheless admire their ability to write erotically. And to entwine the erotic with the emotional.

A round of applause for the sassy lassies of Romance!

Because it’s not as easy as it looks.

This is what I had to do to get ready for The Big Event:

1. Read a Romance
I grabbed a Jayne Ann Krentz and settled in…because watching someone else do it helps you to do it, too…er…you know what I mean. Because if Ms. Krentz can write about orgasms and still look her mother-in-law in the eye, then so can I!

2. I Had to Make Sure My Characters Were Ready.
This wasn’t about gratuitousness or sex for sex’s sake. It had to fit right…er, feel right…er, fit in…what I mean is, the characters had to be ready for it. It had to make sense as something that the characters would do. Given that my character is a Jane Austen-esque heroine, I had to tread carefully. She’s a widow, though, not a virgin…and her overly-controlled world is being shaken up right now. It made sense that she might lose control in other ways.

And I didn’t mind turning the Jane Austen conventions upside down a bit.

3. I Had To Decide: Long or Short?
I’m talking about the length of the scene. (What did you think I was talking about?!) In my novel, I’m only at the beginning of the middle. Thus, I didn’t want to divert too much of the reader’s attention by going on for pages and pages. I only wanted a little bit of sexiness—just enough to up the ante between my heroine and 1 of her 3 male suitors. It’s a rule, it seems, in the Bodice Rippers: they don’t get everything right away. You’ve got to leave everyone wanting more…

So there, I’ve confessed it. Now everyone knows that I’ve had sex, I read Bodice Rippers and I just wrote the word ‘erection’.

And in case your wondering, yes, her bodice actually does get ripped!

Oh my, I might have to go take a cold shower now!

PS. I’d love to hear about your writing experiences in this matter. How do you handle it?

PPS. I just discovered @LisaFoxRomance and others at Elora’s Cave Romantica book sellers! Yowza! Makes my little scene look so tame! Hat’s off to you all for your daring-do and for providing timid writers like me with the inspiration to walk out of our comfort zones!

Posted in Plot, Regency, Research, Sex Scenes | 14 Comments »

I Don’t Want a Saggy Middle!

July 25, 2010

While on holiday, I finally managed to nail down my troublesome “Mr. Elliot Scene”, thereby launching myself out of the ‘beginning’ of my novel (all conflicts introduced and accounted for!) and into the ‘middle’ of my story (where the conflicts progress!).

**Moment of congratulatory silence to honor the passing of this great milestone**

Yahoo! I have never made it to the middle before! I used to just re-write the beginning over and over. Whew! That only took about 10 years to accomplish!

So here I am, hands on my hips, looking forward towards the next horizon, wondering…NOW WHAT?

Technically, I know what comes next in the story. I just set up Conflicts A, B, C & D. Now there are logical ‘next steps’ I need to take to get to W, X, Y and Z. Mind you, I don’t know all of the steps in between (I am not one of those keen outliner types, who nail down every plot detail beforehand…I like the pain…er, I mean fun…of on-going discovery…)

But I do know that for my conflict/plot to immediately progress, my main character has to do a few tedious chores. She has to write a few important letters, for example. She has to attend Mr. Elliot’s lecture. She has to have a specific talk with her aunt.

BO-RING!

I am not satisfied with these next steps! Something else needs to happen right now: something really exciting. It’s like I want a car chase (carriage chase?) or for something to blow up (the wine cellar?). I want Mr. Elliot to kiss her (but its too soon for that?) or for Lord Byron to suddenly show up in the drawing room and go on a drunken rampage, smashing all the Wedgewood china…

I started my novel in one genre (the Jane Austen-type rom-com-mystery) but I feel this urge now to stand the whole thing on its head somehow. I’m not sure what I’m meaning by this (zombies, anyone? Ha, ha!) but I’m getting impatient with my usual Regency shtick: dinner party, dressmakers, musical concerts, picnics at the country estate, carriage rides, marriage mart, etc.

Something needs to break it up a little…I don’t want my middle to sag! (As was recently discussed in #scribechat, this is an affliction which many otherwise decent novels suffer from: its the lull that sometimes happens in a story after you’ve gotten past your initial conflictual introductions.)

Honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m stuck. Stalled. (Panicking!) Mulling things over…

-Perhaps I should re-visit my outline, give it more detail
-Perhaps I should channel the darker side of the Regency period, include more elements of the Romantics, the Gothic…(Lord Byron, Mary Shelly, Ann Radcliffe, et. al.)
-Perhaps I should suddenly switch perspectives for awhile
-Perhaps I should switch to a diary/letter/story format for awhile
-Perhaps I should skip this part and go write another part
-Perhaps I should re-read what I’ve written in its entirety, get the ‘big picture’
-Perhaps I should consult the Tarot!

Do you have any suggestions, perchance?

Posted in Plot | 2 Comments »

Writer As Therapist? Discerning Emotional Patterns

July 2, 2010

I am still stuck on a particular scene in my novel, the one that takes place on the Elliot’s ‘garden patio’. It’s causing me problems partly because its such a large scene…I’ve 18 people I need to account for.

But mostly I’m fussing over it because something VERY IMPORTANT happens here.

This is where my heroine meets HIM.

This is where she meets THE MAIN LOVE INTEREST.

Now I have to take a moment to clarify. There are three love interests for my heroine in my story. Two of them are subtle…she initially doesn’t like them much, but there’s an undercurrent of attraction there which the reader is well aware of whilst she denies it…

But the third man. Well! Mr. Percy Elliot, newly returned from adventures in the Far East, is to be the most compelling, the most obvious, the most tantalizing & irresistible of them all…

My question, though, is: how do I play him?

I mean, my heroine has an emotional history. She’s got a ‘checkered past’ with not much luck in the relationship department. Is Mr. Eliot a continuation of that bad luck? Or is he the one she resolves her issues with?

Out of the three men, who does she choose? And is it for good or ill?

It’s made me realize that on top of a plot graph there is an emotional graph too. My heroine has an emotional arc which follows the series of events, and ends, presumably, with emotional resolution of some kind. Lesson learnt. (And Happily Ever After? Learnt lessons, though, are not always happy…)

I just can’t decide. I’ve tried asking my character about it but am getting the cold shoulder.

I guess it’s a touchy subject.

Posted in Character, Plot | Leave a Comment »

Conveying Character: A Few Suggestions for the Dance

June 2, 2010

I’ve been fussing about character lately and I thought for my own peace of mind I might clarify the different means by which character is conveyed. In fact, I’m going to use my own points to create a character right here, now, on the spot, just to prove that this method works! Ok. Here we go.

1. Physical description. Their looks. Height. Weight. Age. Eye colour. Hair. Dress. Etc.

I think I’ll make him short. Stout. Balding with gray mutton chop sideburns. Ruddy complexion. Beaked nose. Frowning wiry, heavy eyebrows. And jowl cheeks. Dressed in a finely tailored black jacket and waistcoat with beige breeches, all of which accentuates his significant paunch.

2. Speech. This encompasses both what the character says and how they say it. Are they loud or quiet? Do they command? Simper? Snap? Titter? Are they breathy like Marilyn Monroe? Do they speak in dialect? Have an ‘accent’? (A Scottish brogue, for instance…)

I think I’ll make this character loud, commanding, gruff & adamant. With a voice often thickened with alcohol, he says things like: ‘it’s my opinion that…’

3. Movement. How does your character inhibit space? Do they mince their steps, slam doors, gesture widely, step on peoples toes, clumsily knock over the floor lamp?

Well, I’d say its pretty clear by now that this obnoxious gentleman must park himself in the most central chair in the room, lean heavily on his cane, gesticulate with a pointed finger at whomever he’s talking to, and slap his knee whilst braying widely whenever he makes an (unfunny) joke…

Is my character starting to irritate you? He’s supposed to. I want him to be felt; visceral. And if he irritates you, he’s going to irritate the other characters he meets…and here come plot!

Sometimes my plot develops just because I’ve put two character types in a room together and then seen what happens. For instance, put this guy in a room with, say, his hot-blooded eldest son eager to gain his inheritance….or the quiet daughter who’s finally worked up the nerve to defy him…and that might be all it takes to get the story rolling…

(Watch out, though. This character might surprise you. Maybe he’ll suddenly start weeping, because ever since his wife died he just can’t cope with life very well. Or maybe not. Characters can be as deep and complex as you like. It all depends on what you need, what mix you want. And what the character will allow…It’s a dance, after all. Sometimes you lead the dance. And sometimes you don’t!)

Posted in Character, Plot | 1 Comment »