On Writing

  • More 10-to-20’s

    ByJohn Brown

    I just posted this in one of the comments sections and realized it would be useful to everyone.

    There’s another part to this that has to do with text. There will be more 10-to-20’s that go along with it. But I think I’ll be trying to create that presentation as a video for the site. We’ll see. Right now I’ve got to finish CODG. But when you finish the ones I assigned, I suggest you add these.

    1. BEGINNINGS. Go to the bookstore or library and pick up 10 to 20 random fiction books off the shelves and then sit down with them. Pick up each and read the first two pages. Note which ones pull you in and which resist you. Identify the cause. Then see what patterns you can find.

    2. 3 GRUNTS. Find 10 to 20 short stories or chapters from different books. Read them over three or four days. Do NOT read them looking for problems, but just as you would any book you’d picked up for enjoyment. While reading make a note of any section where your interest flags, the writing or story is unclear, or you just don’t believe it. These bumps are what Orson Card calls the three reader grunts. They occur when a story is unclear, unbelievable, or boring (i.e. you grunt huh? come on? or who cares?). When you’ve finished, look for the patterns that caused this response in you. ***This is one of the key things we did in Card’s boot camp that made me feel like the mists were being parted*** 

    3. ENDS. Look at the endings to 10 to 20 novels or short stories that you’ve read. Identify which you enjoyed the most and which you did not. Look for causes. See what patterns emerge.

    4. SMALL BEGINNINGS AND ENDS. Do the beginnings and ends analysis 10 to 20 chapters and then 10 to 20 scenes.

    Of course, you can look at anything this way–plot turns, magic systems, aliens, settings, dialogue exchanges. Get 10 to 20 of them. Identify which are interesting to you and which aren’t. And then try to see the patterns. But I’d recommend you start with those above.

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    John Brown will keynote at American Fork Arts Council writers conference

    ByJohn Brown

    The city of American Fork is putting on what looks to be a great writer’s conference. I’m very pleased to announce that I’ve been asked to present the keynote speech.

    Keynote: The 3 Things You Must Learn to Write Killer Stories
    When: Saturday, April 25, 2009, 9:00 AM
    Location:
    American Fork City Arts Council
    31 N. Church Street
    American Fork, UT 84003
    (801)763-3081

    This looks like a great opportunity if you’re a writer. Here’s what the organizers envision.

    We have editors from Desert Book, Covenant and Cedar Fort coming to speak as well as National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr, Kristen Langdon, Ginger Churchill, Linda Bethers, Anita Stansfield and others. The goal is to provide a space for local writers to interact with local editors and local authors for inspiration, motivation and guidance in the tricky world of writing and publishing. To that end, the editors will be holding a query letter clinic using query letters from participants, which I think will be super useful. The editors are also speaking on what they want and don’t want as far as submissions, and the state of regional publishing in 2009 given the world upheaval. The authors will all be speaking on how they got an agent, how they got a book deal, what they have learned about writing.

    More info: American Fork Arts Council

  • For the attendees of my killer workshop

    ByJohn Brown

    I think the workshop version 2.0 went very well. I had a wonderful time.  Click on the “Writing” menu above AND the category link on the sidebar to see the many blog entries I’ve made about writing principles.

    1. The 3 Things You Must Learn to Write Killer Stories Handout
    2. The Story Cycle Handout
    3. Lesson from writer’s area: Step 1 of The Creative Process: Capture the Zing
    4. Resource: Zing Hunting Methods

    Remember the 10 to 20’s. I would love to hear your experience with them.

    1. STORY EFFECTS. List 10 to 20 Stories you love. Then next to each write what you loved about it and what emotions it triggered in you. Finally, look at your answers to see the patterns. These are the effects you love, the ones YOU will probably find the most joy trying to create for others.
    2. PROBLEMS. List the main problems (threat, lack, mystery) for each of those stories. These are YOUR problem types, the one’s you’ll probably find the most joy writing about.
    3. INTERESTING CHARACTERS. List 10 to 20 characters or people you find interesting. Next to each identify what it is that makes them so interesting to you. Finally, look at your answers and identify the patterns. These are YOUR  draws. Use these when developing characters.  
    4. ROOTING FACTORS. List 10 to 20 characters your root for or against. Next to each identify what it is that makes you root for or against them. Finally, look at your answers and identify the patterns. Again, these are YOUR equity factors. Use them when developing your story.
    5. STORY PATTERNS. For the stories you identified, map out their story cycle (problem, reaction/decision, action, disaster). Your goal here is to see patterns of how the types of problems you love develop.
    6. ZING. For one week gather 10 to 20 zing each day. Try to get zing in all four areas (problem, plot, character, setting) during the week. Look at the lesson on capturing the zing and the zing hunting methods resource in the writer’s section.
    7. POWER QUESTIONS. Start a list of creative questions that are productive for you. You will want to identify power questions for all 5 parts of story. Look at the handout for some of mine. Ultimately, you’ll ask yourself hundreds of questions, but there will be 10 to 20 that you keep coming back to.  
    8. TIME. Identify how you will get 10 to 20 hours to write each week. If you can’t do 10, try to get close.
    9. WRITE. Develop and write a story. Identify the day you will start and do it.
    10. CONTACT ME. I want to hear about your progress.  Please post your findings in the comments of this blog entry 🙂

  • More Great Questions for Story Development: Governments

    ByJohn Brown

    Part of my model of the creative process is that it’s driven by questions. We come up with creative solutions in response to a problem. The problem triggers the process.

    Let me give an example. Let’s say I have a character named Bill who lives out in space salvaging parts of space ships and other things. Or maybe he’s on some planet.

    I don’t have a story yet. I’ve just got a dude in a general situation. I lack all the necessary parts. That lack is a problem to me as a writer. To develop the story, I state the problem as a question and begin generating options.

    So I might ask, what are the threats Bill faces on a physical and social level? Are there mysteries he encounters? Who else is there? In order to answer those questions I might need to ask what’s the planet like?

    At some point in time, I’ll feel I have generated enough answers for the key questions that it’s time to draft. When I begin to draft, I have other tasks or problems to solve. I might ask things like what’s the goal of this scene? What’s an interesting way to start and end it? What’s something surprising and bad that might happen as a result of the character’s action?

    It’s all question and answer.

    Towards the end of this week’s Writing Excuses on World Building Governments the guys share some great questions you might find fruitful when thinking about your world’s government.