Chris Ryan

Making it Suck Less: Rewriting is the Key to Success

Posted on August 17, 2015 by chrisryanwrites

So we’ve explored ways to get your story out of your head and onto the computer screen. We’ve agreed to quit worrying and let it suck (for now) and we’ve got ourselves a draft.

Now what?

Well, some of us will start freaking out, cursing our own birth, and ranting about how what we wrote is the worst piece of garbage ever produced in the entire known universe.

Good. Go with it. Go get all that Evil Editor nonsense out of your system. Then beat up a punching bag, go for a run, scrub something within an inch of its life — and once you are calm again, the rewarding adventure of rewrite can begin.

Let me clarify some potential misconceptions here: rewriting is NOT an admission of failure, it is NOT correcting mistakes, it is NOT punishment or detention or painful or bad. Rewriting is the art of our process, where we metaphorically utilize out best two horsehair brush, our most precise chisel, our finest sandpaper, and fine tune our work as the artists we are.

Painters do it. So do sculptors, illustrators, animators, CGI artists, graphic designers filmmakers, actors, singers, songwriters, comedians, cooks, speech writers, all creative people. As a matter of fact carpenters, plumbers, house builders, road workers, etc, they do it too. So do athletes, doctors, politicians, lawyers, businessmen, police officers, and teachers.

We all rewrite, refine, polish what we do to make what we present to the world better.

Why would writers possibly be different?

So, the rewriting process.

Here’s what I do:

First draft – Let it suck (awkward phrasing, repetitive word choice, etc. – just get the draft done).

Second draft – make is suck less (yes, a simple achievable goal will minimize freak out and let the work co to use- trust the process) – go for coherent. This is more about big picture stuff at this point. I get story beats to make sense (does someone die and then show up three chapters later?simply fix this.). I make sure the overall pacing works well (things might slow down for a few beats but never let them drag, etc). I confirm characters remain consistent, and that they aren’t too similar (this happened in a recent novel -two villains were basically interchangeable -I reconstructed one character throughout the book, which necessitated many changes that wound up being a lot of fun and caused a few surprises as I prorgressed through that draft).. So this draft addresses on big changes and doesn’t sweat the small stuff. However, if I also find a word repeating I change it whenever it sticks out.

Draft 3 – make it kind of good – all of step 2 gets polished. Here I got through the draft again (after a very necessary break – we have to walk away from the writing, go climb a mountain [of laundry maybe], paint a room, take kids somewhere nice [preferably your own kids, not condoning kidnapping here], just get out of your head and out of the book’s world for awhile. Some experts suggest a minimum of three weeks, but I can’t stay away that long. Just get physically, mentally, and emotionally away for a day to a week, so you can look at it with sort of new eyes). In this draft, I am harder on phrasing, word choice, spelling, grammar, etc, always serving the story (would that character speak this way, would she really do this, is that machine available in this time period, etc.) I crack down on repetition here. I also lock in characters, beats, pacing, and voice. It has to sound right, move forward at a strong pace, and work on most cylinders. The fun part? Mistakes in this draft stick out as we are closely reading the text. “Hey, Marv is the heroic leg breaker, how did he become Mary for this entire chapter?” Easy fix. “Since when did George Washington’s troops have Ak-47s?” Easy fix. “Joan is the lead surgeon. Why is Jessica working with Jack on this surgery?” Easy fix. And any of these situations can go toward reality, sci-fi, or melodrama and still get fixed, depending on what your story needs. The power of the story is intoxicating!

The bottom line here is, you have got this, you are the world creator and can solve any and all problems. Remember, Edison never saw a method that didn’t work as failure but as taking him a step closer to the solution, and that bad boy and his team lit up the world. Here is where you take great steps toward lighting yours.

Draft 4 – Before I do this draft I send it off to beta readers, reliable judges who are kind enough to read your work and give feedback. And kindness comes in a variety of forms:my wife is my greatest supporter and really loves what I do, a librarian friend is amazing at catching typos and gently pointing out plot holes, another reader caused me to drop four chapters and significantly improve my YA debut GENIUS HIGH by not giving away the villain at the opening a la Columbo, and then I have a friend who is a retired NYPD sergeant, and rips the work I send if it strays from proper police procedure. In my upcoming suspense thriller police procedural CITY OF PAIN, he also pointed out that two villains were essentially the same, inspiring a rebuild that turned a problem into a wonderfully out-of-his-depth character.

So that is what draft 4 is about, respectfully addressing beta reader feedback. Notice I said respectfully addressing, not blindly following. A writer must consider beta reader feedback in terms of goals of the story. One beta reader recently circled every time a character said the word “Moms” thinking it a typo until I pointed out that was part of his colloquial speaking pattern. My cop friend always wants me to drop the domestic scenes and just focus on the police work, but the story requires us to see the impact of the job on the rest of my character’s world, so the domestic scenes remain. Here I do the fixes pointed out by others if their notes are legit, but we authors have to be strong and honest with ourselves, and not defensive. Beta reader feedback cannot be seen as personal attacks, cannot be blocked by ego, we must always, always, always serve the story. Doing so leads us to great discoveries and a much stronger draft.

Draft 5 – This is both the final polish of the manuscript and where I tend to fall into the “I suck” insanity. Here I often lose all rational balance and freak out if the same word is used twice on the same page! Clearly, I cannot write worth a damn if I find one of those repetitions! I am the worst! Usually, a cup of tea and admonishing myself out loud will get me beyond this — nothing sounds funnier out loud than self-loathing. If that doesn’t work, I confess to Tina that I am a hack loser, and she talks me off the edge to the point where I can continue.

Once I am functional again, I read the manuscript thoroughly, out loud, and polish what sounds a bit off. At this point the work has gelled and this is sort of the dress rehearsal. Do things sometimes need to change at the last moment? Sometimes, but mostly it is polish.

In any event, if you more or less follow this guide, you will have gone from “I cannot write” to I have written a pretty damn good draft!” And you did it by simply letting it suck and then making it suck less. Pretty cool, right?

I hope this helps. If not, ask questions and I will do what I can to help.

Go have fun.

If all else fails, wear a goofy hat while you write.

Christopher Ryan is author of City of Woe, available on Kindle and Nook, and in print. For more info, click here.

Posted in digital publishing, ebook publishing, fiction, independent publishing, pop culture, self-publishing, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged #amwriting, #authorlife, #indypub, #writingtips | 4 Comments

Let It a Suck Series: Joyce Carol Oates and Running Through Your Story Revisited

Posted on June 28, 2015 by chrisryanwrites

Continuing a re-share of some earlier blogs that fit the “Let It Suck” Series, here’s some great advise for writing and planning.

Years ago, I attended the South Hampton Writers Conference, and one of the best speakers there was Joyce Carol Oates. What a sight; she looks like a prettier version of Olive Oil and writes with such constant quality and voluminous output that I really wanted to know her secret.

To my shock, she told all of us up front.

Joyce Carol Oates said a key to her productivity is that she she runs. Yeah, runs. More than that, she watches a movie as she runs.

No, she’s not on some treadmill viewing The Godfather for the fortieth time. Oates watches “the movie of the book I’m writing, from beginning to end.” Even more interestingly, she claims she doesn’t start writing that particular book until she can watch the movie from beginning to end without glitches during a run.

The idea is unique, magical and sensible all at the same time. Not many writers use running as a visualization tool. Fewer require themselves to be able to “view” their entire project mentally prior to beginning to write. However, the power and confidence that would give a writer is stunningly sensible.

Oates’ spectacularly interior planning method has stayed with me all these years, and while i don’t run through my books like she does hers, I do let them simmer and emerge in my noggin while prepping to write them. Many a time my wife will discuss with me some family matter while I’m off with my detectives Mallory and Gunner chasing a suspect or dodging bullets. By the time I return to the present, she’s already smirking at me and gracefully starts over.

I hope the exquisite Ms. Oates and her method inspires some of you as she does me.

Christopher Ryan is author of City of Woe, available on Kindle and Nook, and in print. For more info, click here.

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Let It Suck Series: Pacing

Posted on June 21, 2015 by chrisryanwrites

Pacing is a tricky thing. And like every other element of writing I say let it suck, at first, but with a catch.

Addressing pacing is kind of like playing along with music- you probably can’t get away with slapping a disco beat on a Metallica song.

Or a waltz. Or a country ballad. Each style has its own beat, its own feel. The same basic idea applies to pacing scenes, and, looking at the bigger picture, novels, screenplays, etc.

An action scene will have a different pacing than a romantic reunion. An argument scene will have a different pacing than a forgiveness scene. A lovemaking scene may have a very different pace than a sex scene.

Let’s look at it visually…

The Avengers battling is way different than Anthony and Carmela Soprano battling.

Likewise…

The romance in Ghost is different in tone than the romance found in Ghostbusters. Both require a different pacing (among other elements) to work.

The key to nailing what each scene needs as far as paces concern comes from Visualization. Go wash the dishes, sweep the floor, and watch the scene in your head. Once you can play it through a few times without changes,you will know the pace that scene requires, and it will be ready to write it.

Now the pacing of each type of scene is generally similar despite who is writing, but each writer’s particular talents vary it a bit. Elmore Leonard paces differently that William Shakespeare, who paces differently than Maeve Binchey, who paces differently than Stephen King, who paces differently than Jane Austen … and everybody paces differently than James Patterson. Read often and widely, and as with all other aspects of your writing, pacing will improve.

Some films are great teachers of pacing and tone (which are tightly related for me). I personally believe that Crazy, Stupid Love is a master class in pacing. While the entire movie has a general pace, scene by scene the pacing varies subtly depending on the tone of that moment.

From a relationship on the rocks to puppy love to just sex to a one night stand miscommunication to falling in love to reconciliation, this film varies its pacing in gorgeously small ways to achieve comedy and drama, loss of love, yearning, hurt, selfishness, selflessness, and shows the complexity and simplicity of love, all in one film. And while tone and dialogue and action and performance all contribute to its success, the quiet adjustments to pacing are also key to that film’s success.
Which brings us to the other thing about pacing; there is a difference between a scene’s pacing and the pacing of the entire story. While writing first draft, have a ballpark of an idea what the pacing is, but do not sweat it. During your first rewrites, focus on the pacing of each scene and whether it is right for that scene.

When you get to a place where you are pleased with the scene work, run away. Go to work for a week, or paint the house, or train for a marathon, or do anything that is not your project. When you’ve been away for awhile (I’d say a week, minimum), read it completely through. I tend to prefer a printed version for this so I can write short notes or circle typos (otherwise I get crazy), and keep going.

The goal here is to get a sense of the pacing of the entire work. After you’ve read the entire piece, ask yourself the big picture questions: Is the set up too long or too short? Does it bog down in the middle? Does the climax end abruptly? Have you achieved the balance between characters that you believe is appropriate for the work? And so on.

Once you have your answers, reflect awhile on how to address the work’s needs. Sometimes it is cutting, sometimes rewriting, sometimes entire new chapters are needed. Address the big picture needs, then work your way back to scene work and sweating the tiny details (after addressing the big picture needs, are any of the scenes no longer working? Too long now? Too short? Address each.)

Like a sculptor progressively bring her work out of the rock or clay, a writer’s story emerges progressively. Pacing is an important element of that process.

</ Ryan is author of City of Woe, available on Kindle and in print. For more info, click here.<

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Let It Suck Series: Covers Get Rewrites Too

Posted on June 14, 2015 by chrisryanwrites

We’ve been talking about leaping into writing your story and not worrying. Just getting the story onto the page or screen is a huge accomplishment, makes the rewrite process a joy. Or at least easier.

Same goes for covers.

I am about to make my YA debut with a sci-fi-tinged thriller called GENIUS HIGH. After much thought on the cover design, I narrowed it down to one concept that stayed with me: graffiti and a bloody hand print on a locker angled so we can see far down the hall along a line of lockers. The graffiti would be the novel’s title.

So I got the props I needed (dry erase marker, blood-like substance, SmartPhone with a good camera) and went to a school I know.

Here’s my first draft:

I took about 15-20 shots, and then sent the best three to my graphic designer, the always fantastic Liz Sheehan. She asked a bunch of questions, requested a blurb and some chapters, and that I write the “front matter” (all the copy that goes on the front of the book).

Here’s my first draft of the “front matter”:

“Raised IQs and better test scores, what could go wrong?

Everything.

GENIUS HIGH

By Christopher Ryan

A Seamus and Nunzio Production YA novel”

Okay, that sounded pretty good to me, and I liked the image I sent. Here’s what Liz did with it.

First version:

Pretty cool, right? She replaced my awful handwriting with a more stylized title logo, and designed the placement of the front matter to make it look good. Liz’s spacing on “Everything” really worked.

Pretty exciting, right?

But in the email, she sent another version:

The color scheme and logo changed, the tag line placement shifted, “Everything.” became “EVERYTHING.” and suddenly, there was no other choice. This cover works better than the original concept, and it is important to be open to the possibility that yours might not be the best idea. This version looked right, and to test this, I showed some students. They voted for this one 16-3-1 (the three abstained).

So we’re done, right?

Nope.

A rising pop culture non-fiction writer and friend, Caseen Gaines (who is about to publish WE DON’T NEED NO ROADS- The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy), gave some critical feedback on the front matter, rewriting it to read:

“Raised IQs. Higher test scores. What could be wrong?

EVERYTHING.”

His changed “go” to “be” intrigued me, and I wrestled with the two versions for a long time, finally seeing that “be” has wider moral implications that “go” and I wanted those implications, they gave a better hint as to the themes of the novel.

He also said he “liked the red banner at the bottom but I don’t think I’d put Seamus and Nunzio Productions on the front. It’s wordy, and I don’t usually see a publisher’s info on the front cover of a book prominently displayed like that. I’d replace the text with “A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL”.

Gaines was right again.

The challenge here is to take feedback objectively rather than personally. Even though the front matter was my writing, both of Caseen’s suggestions improved the look of the front cover. Always go with good advice! When I asked Liz, she agreed. So, the front is getting a “rewrite”.

Book covers are key to sales, so apply every “let it suck” lesson you know toward honing the image and messages on front to the very best they can be. Rewrite, redesign, simplify, clarify, and beautiful. That’s how your cover will go from suck to success.

(When the back design is done, I’ll tell that tale as well.)

Keep writing and rewriting, brothers and sisters!

</ Ryan is author of City of Woe, available on Kindle and in print. For more info, click here.<

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Let It Suck Series: To Write Better Dialogue, Listen to Craig Ferguson (revisited)

Posted on June 7, 2015 by chrisryanwrites

Pulling some of my previous blogs into the “let it suck” series. This one borrows simple advice from a great comedian to help you with character dialogue.

Here we go:

Every fiction author wants to write great dialogue. While there is almost too much advice out there regarding this topic, the best advice may come from an unexpected source – famed and respected comedian Craig Ferguson.

The most prevelant problem emerging authors have with dialogue is overwriting, tending to let conversations go on too long, burden it with too much exposition, or make it suffer from stilted, unnatural cadences.

Not to worry, Craig Ferguson is here to save the day.

Ferguson is hilarious about many subjects, but one of his more famous bits – which is actually about keeping peace in a marriage – is also helpful when writing dialogue. He says, “There are three things you must always ask yourself before you say anything. 1) ‘Does this need to be said?’ 2) ‘Does this need to be said by me?’ 3) ‘Does this need to be said by me now?'”

As funny as that is when applied to keeping relationships happy, adjusting each question slightly gives us great advice on writing dialogue:

1) Does this need to be said at all? (Can the information be presented or summarized or alluded to some other way? If so, then write it some other way.)

2) Does this need to be said by this character? (Will the story be better served if this information comes from some other character? Why or why not? Find the answer. Serve the story.)

3) Does this need to be said by this character at this point in the story? (Will it be more effective earlier or later in the narrative? Why or why not? Again, find the answer and serve the story.)

Asking yourself these questions while either preplanning your story or as you write – and being very honest with yourself (rationalization is always one of a writer’s toughest enemies) will help keep dialogue tight and lIvely and functioning at its best.

Good luck, and keep writing.

</ Ryan is author of City of Woe, available on Kindle and in print. For more info, click here.<

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Let It Suck Series: What Would Your Character Do?

Posted on May 31, 2015 by chrisryanwrites

We’ve agreed to “let it suck” on first draft, yes? Just let it rip with the writing and get a draft completed. And we’ve been discussing ways to find and refine your work during rewrite.

Now let’s let the character share the workload, okay?

I reposted a character profile questionnaire to help you really get to know your characters. Yes, it is a lonnnnnnng list of questions, but if you are serious about telling your story, discovering the answer to each of these for your characters (at least the major ones, although the more you know about everybody in your story, the more authentic your writing will be), the better informed your writing will be.

This discussion is about that process. How does knowing your character alter the telling of your tale? It is a simple case of What Would Your Character Do?

Let’s say your hero is battling enemies. Would s/he use weapons? What kind? Would s/he kill? Knowing the answers to such “questions of moment” significantly change the scene. And knowing the right answer for your character specifically makes all the difference.

How do you get the answers? The character profile questionnaire will help because, as goofy as it sounds, the more you know your characters as “real” people, the more you know what they would do (you know how a family member will react to things, or a friend, or partner, or boss, right? This is the same kind of thing).

For example, in the late 1930s, when Batman first appeared, he would toss bad guys off roofs or shoot them. But then he didn’t. Why? The storytellers made a key decision based on specifically knowing Bruce Wayne: Due to the pain and trauma of witnessing his parents’ murder as a child, Batman doesn’t kill. This one answer to a single character question has propelled this particular character on a far more difficult and rewarding road for 70 years. There have been many intriguing stories exploring why he doesn’t kill, especially someone like the Joker, an antagonist supremely worthy of death. Not killing the Joker pushes Batman into a difficult moral corner, and, as Robert McKee has said, this is where character is revealed.

To kill or not to kill is just one ongoing character question, and all such considerations help define what characters do. In the 1930s and onward, The Shadow killed, Doc Savage did not (he used the equivalent of rubber bullets, and, most often, his big bronze fists). This major difference helped define each series.

Now take this example a step further. For something like 30 years (the 50s to the 80s), no comic book hero killed. Again, this wasn’t always the case. For most of their history, comic book heroes did not kill, mostly due to the Comics Code. When creators finally began dismissing that policy as the hollow political posturing it was, things changed. Some characters got darker, some killed, and this changed comics. Books like The Punisher, Sin City, and Preacher became known for death and chaos and violence. This had a significant -and not necessarily positive- effect on the entire genre. For example, as a more or less direct result of the darker morality of comics over the last 20 years Batman has had to deal with the increasingly horrific price of upholding his vow, leading some to interpret him as being as psychotic as the villains he faces (not a theory to which I subscribe).

In film, many Marvel characters kill. Mostly, they kill people trying to kill them, but there has been unsettling collateral damage during major battles (see Man of Steel or Marvel’s two Avengers flicks) and at least in Superman’s case, it caused much heated debate about whether he fulfilled the concept of hero as a result. All of this from various creatives answering one question.
Your question may be simpler. Carnivore or vegetarian? The answer will impact a first date scene. Allergies or no? How could that alter a scene wherein a character is hiding? Liar or no? Changes dialogue. Two liars? The dialogue scene grows more complicated. Two liars who know each is lying? More complicated still.

I am currently writing a short adventure tale featuring an internationally known soldier of fortune called Blackjack, who was created by my good friend Alex Simmons. In this story, Aaron Day (aka Blackjack) goes to a ruined Egyptian city to help the survivors there defend what remains of their home from marauders. He believes they should just leave, but Blackjack does much of what he does because of a belief system passed down, in one way or another, from his father. This causes him to respect the survivors hopeless cause, and make decisions with that in mind, even though that respect causes complications and increased danger to himself steadily throughout the story.

Knowing who Blackjack is has informed my decisions throughout rewrites. The story is far more complicated and rewarding than it was in the first draft because knowing the belief systems of both the hero and the survivors made demands on how I serve the story. Further, knowing the character has also influenced dialogue (Blackjack knows some Arabic) and action (he shows patience where a character like Wolverine would have cut someone).

Knowledge is power. Thorough knowledge will empower your writing. So let the first draft suck, then ask yourself, at each step of your rewrite, what would your characters do, and you’ll see the richer writing emerge.

Art by Tim Fielder. Blackjack created by Alex Simmons.

</ Ryan is author of City of Woe, available on Kindle and in print. For more info, click here.<

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Let It Suck Series: revisiting “Write Better With Character Profiles”

Posted on May 31, 2015 by chrisryanwrites

As part of the “Let It Suck” series of posts, I wanted to discuss how knowledge of your characters informs writing decisions, and this post seems crucial to include, so I am reprinting it as a companion to this week’s new post. I hope it helps.

Here we go….

Screenwriting guru Syd Field once wrote “Plot is character, character is plot” He was and continues to be right. If we want to improve our stories, one way to do so is to improve our characters.

How? Well, the more we know about a character the more choices we will have when writing about him or her.

One great way to get to know your characters is by filling out a profile sheet on each of them.

Writers who know deep background on their character write with more authority and depth about those characters. No bit of knowledge is too small; everything informs. I’ve created the character profile below after losing a cherished profile given to me in a writing class long, long ago in a college far, far back in my memory.

Is this one complete? Probably not, but these 110 profile elements definitely will serve as a strong start and work well in getting you to really know your characters. Feel free to fill out a profile for as many of your characters as you need. The more the better.

With that in mind, open up to these questions, answer them thoughtfully, and you will find yourself knowing your characters and writing about them with significantly more confidence and depth.

Have fun.

CHARACTER PROFILE

Name

Age

Gender

Left/right handed

Hair color

Hair length

Hair style

Eye color

Vision (20/20, 20/60….)

Height

Weight

Measurements (men) chest/waist/inseam (women) bust/waist/hips

Build (athletic/flabby/thin/wide…)

Health status

Posture

Shoe size

Clothing sizes

Preferred style of dress

Style of work clothes (suit/uniform/casual…)

Style of non-work clothes (sweater/rock group T-shirt, button down, crop top…)

Financial account balances (savings/checking/credit cards/loans/stocks…..)

Occupation

Yearly salary

Benefits

Work schedule/hours

Length of time at that job

Career history

What did character want to be as a child?

What did character want to be as a college student?

How did character get from those aspirations to where s/he is now?

Favorite job and why

Worst job and why

Dream job

Nightmare job

Plans for retirement

Passions away from work

What does this person do with his/her free time?

What does s/he do most often when by her/himself?

Full current address

Birthplace

Where did s/he grow up?

What was that place like?

With whom did s/he grow up?

Best childhood memory

Worst childhood memory

Childhood friend

Still in contact with that childhood friend? Why or why not?

First sexual encounter (who? What? Where? Why? How?)

Best sexual experience and why

Worst sexual experience and why

First love (where did they meet? How did the relationship start? How long did it last? How deep into the relationship -physically and emotionally a did it go? Why and how did it end?)

How was his/her school experience?

Best school memory and why

Worst school memory and why

Favorite subject and why

Least favorite subject and why

Favorite teacher and why

Favorite quote from teacher

Least favorite teacher and why

Scariest moment from childhood and why

Funniest moment from childhood and why

Best moment with a parent and why

Worst moment with a parent and why

Parents jobs

Parents financial picture while character was growing up

Favorite teen memory

Worst teen memory

Favorite college (or early 20s) memory/moment

Worst college (or early 20s) memory/moment

What pushes his/her buttons/gets him/her angry?

Turn ons

Turn offs

Pets? Explain

Eating habits

Drinking habits

Favorite meal

Favorite beverage

Favorite snack when happy

Favorite snack when sad or angry

Is s/he handy with tools?

Workout regimen

Reading habits

Online habits

What tech does s/he use and how often/ how well/for what reasons?

What social media does s/he use how often and how well and for what reason?

Has character ever used online dating?

Ever have a one night stand?

Ever have an unusual romantic encounter?

Ever cheated on someone?

Ever been cheated one?

Any unusual encounters?

Religious upbringing

Current religious level of affiliations or reason character abandoned religion

Political affiliations or beliefs

All-time favorite movie and why

All-time favorite song and why

All-time favorite book and why

All-time favorite television show and why

Which sports teams does character root for and why

How are character’s sleep patterns?

Average hours of sleep per session?

Restful or fitful sleep? Why?

Favorite physical activity

How well can character run and why?

Does character tend to be hot, cold, or comfortable in his/her environment?

Local weather?

Describe community where character lives – country? Suburbs? City? Outer space?

Describe the environment where the character works in exacting detail

What does s/he dream of these days?

</ Ryan is author of City of Woe, available on Kindle and in print. For more info, click here.<

Posted in comics, digital publishing, ebook publishing, fiction, film, independent publishing, self-publishing, writing | Tagged #10MinNovelists, #1K1H, #Amazon, #amediting, #amreading, #AmRevising, #amwriting, #author, #authorlife, #BookBuzzr, #CanLit, #comedy, #crime, #DarkFantasy, #diversifyyourselfs, #Dystopian, #ebook, #EditGoal, #editing, #EditingGoal, #ePubChat, #eReaders, #Erotica, #FaithLitChat, #getcaughtreading, #HistFic, #Historical, #IAN1, #iGOeBooks, #IndieAuthor, #IndiePub, #indy, #iPad, #k8chat, #kidlit, #KidLitChat, #Kindle, #Kobo, #KPD, #Literature, #LitFic, #MemoirChat, #MGLit, #Mystery, #MyWANA, #NaNoWriMo, #NonFiction, #Nook, #Paranormal, #Pubit, #publishing, #RomanceWriter, #Romantic, #RomanticSuspense, #ScienceFiction, #SciFiChat, #ScriptChat, #selfpublishing, #ShortStory, #SmashWords, #Sony, #SteamPunk, #StoryDam, #Storytelling, #Suspense, #UrbanFantasy, #Webfic, #weneeddiversebooks, #WIP, #WomensFiction, #womenwriters, #WordChat, #WriteChat, #WriteGoal, #WriteMotivation, #writersblock, #writerslife, #WriterWednesday, #writestuff, #WriteTip, #WritingBlitz, #WritingPrompt, #writingtips, #WroteToday, #WW, #YA, #YALit, writing | 6 Comments

Let it suck series: Setting up setting

Posted on May 24, 2015 by chrisryanwrites

Elmore Leonard famously advised writers to “try to avoid the parts that readers skip”. This is a definite risk when it comes to describing where your characters are, so listen to the master when dealing with setting.

I tend to underwrite setting, especially in the first draft during which we have agreed to “let it suck”. Have a scene in a library? As you work through the first draft, it will probably be enough to write, “Sharkey and Mack entered the library.” Get the story down now, add in additional setting details during rewrite.

But what is necessary and what is too much?

The golden rule, of course, is you must serve the story. Once you have your draft down, walk away. Go mow the lawn, change a diaper, have a catch with your kids, toil at your day job, take a walk. And in the back of your head, ask the following questions:

What does the scene absolutely have to do?

How can this setting help or hinder the protagonist, the antagonist, etc.?

What elements of this setting can be briefly mentioned to help establish mood, foreshadow events, or payoff some plot or character element?

Live the answers so they become part of your tale.

Then review the scene’s setting in terms of the five senses; how does it look, smell, sound, taste, feel? The more of these you can use, the stronger connection you will provide for your readers.

Let’s use the library as an example. If it is old and Ivy League that is very different than a smaller, more modern suburban town library, and that difference will an effect on the story. Look at the library in the film Seven and the one used as a central location for several seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. They are fundamentally different, and create very different spaces in which to tell their respective tales.

How does the library smell? Think about how each the following answers fundamentally changes the scene: stacks of old books, a whiff of French perfume known to be worn by the killer, lilac air freshener, fire, hot buttered popcorn, way too much Old Spice, whiskey, the unmistakeable stench of decomposing human flesh. Now mix and match and you see how smell can shape setting.

Sound does similar work. How does each of the following hit a reader’s “ear” as s/he reads? The full quiet of many people working silently. The insistent tick of a clock. The quiet whimpering of one terrified person hiding in the stacks. Two kids giggling quietly. The sighs of quiet sex. The rustling of clothes being re-arranged quickly. The unmistakeable sound of a shotgun being locked and loaded.

What is the taste of a library? Stale air? Peppermints in a candy tray at the checkout counter? The copper taste of blood in the air? See how these few possibilities alter setting?

Feel is not in a character’s heart. Keep it exterior. The squish of a rug wet with blood. Thetexture of the old tome needed to save the world. The love letter’s delicate stationary in her hand. His rough palm on the frightened girl’s bare shoulder.

Get your setting down simply, then live in your setting as you go about your day. Finally, go back and fill in only the nuances that serve your story, and your setting will be an effective, crucial part of your story’s success.

Christopher Ryan is author of City of Woe, available on Kindle and Nook, and in print. For more info,click here.</em

Posted in comics, digital publishing, ebook publishing, fiction, film, pop culture, self-publishing, writing | Tagged #10MinNovelists, #1K1H, #Amazon, #amediting, #amreading, #AmRevising, #amwriting, #author, #authorlife, #BookBuzzr, #CanLit, #comedy, #crime, #DarkFantasy, #diversifyyourselfs, #Dystopian, #ebook, #EditGoal, #editing, #EditingGoal, #ePubChat, #eReaders, #Erotica, #FaithLitChat, #getcaughtreading, #HistFic, #Historical, #IAN1, #iGOeBooks, #IndieAuthor, #IndiePub, #iPad, #k8chat, #kidlit, #KidLitChat, #Kindle, #Kobo, #KPD, #Literature, #LitFic, #MemoirChat, #MGLit, #Mystery, #MyWANA, #NaNoWriMo, #NonFiction, #Nook, #Paranormal, #Pubit, #publishing, #RomanceWriter, #Romantic, #RomanticSuspense, #ScienceFiction, #SciFiChat, #ScriptChat, #selfpublishing, #ShortStory, #SmashWords, #Sony, #SteamPunk, #StoryDam, #Storytelling, #Suspense, #UrbanFantasy, #Webfic, #weneeddiversebooks, #WIP, #WomensFiction, #womenwriters, #WordChat, #WriteChat, #WriteGoal, #WriteMotivation, #writersblock, #writerslife, #WriterWednesday, #writestuff, #WriteTip, #WritingBlitz, #WritingPrompt, #writingtips, #WroteToday, #WW, #YA, #YALit, writing | Leave a comment

Let It Suck Series: overwrite the scene, then pick up the scalpel

Posted on May 17, 2015 by chrisryanwrites

As we move beyond the blank screen and into our efforts as writers, we need to deal with scene work. The conventional wisdom is “enter the scene as late as possible and leave as soon as you can”, and I agree with that, eventually.

But not during a first draft.

When starting to write a scene, focus on the characters, the moment, and then leap in. Overwrite. Start with “Hello” or “Nice weather” if you have to, just get the scene written.

Yes, let it suck.

The main idea of the scene will be expressed in an overwritten draft, and getting the main idea down is our sacred duty.

After that, we just need to trim the fat.

Okay, first we may need to chop off huge chunks of fat like “Hello. Nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?” And here’s the key: that’s okay. It is early draft stuff, not what we are publishing. Once the scene is written in basic, and maybe flabby, form, we can highlight and cut, hold our finger down on the delete button, whatever it takes to get the scene into the form it needs to have before we share it with readers.

So, how do we do that?

Again, the answer is simple. We make it suck less. Going through the written scene asking ourselves, “is this necessary”, “can this be said better, more succinctly, more efficiently” and asking the most holy of questions, “does this serve the story” will get us through most of the cuts.

Some may ask, “But what if I’m not sure about making a certain edit?” My answer comes from one of the ridiculous amount of books I’ve read about writing, and I am sorry to say I do not remember where exactly it comes from (if you do, please let me know and I will give the proper credit). Here’s the answer to editing worries: the extras file.

Let’s say we are writing the soon-to-be-legendary “The Return of Jenkins” and need to do an edit we aren’t sure about. All we need to do is open a new document, let’s name it “Jenkins extras”, and then make the worrisome edit by cutting it from our story and pasting it into the “Jenkins extras” file. Now it is safe and can be retrieved if needed. No worries.

When I first read this, I had my doubts. I thought it would create a ton of extra work as I switched back and forth from the two files reducing myself to a puddle of insecurities. However, the text I read predicted this worry and promised that 99 percent of the material put in the extras file would remain there as I saw it was unnecessary to the story. This has proven to be overwhelmingly true.

So we are all set to overwrite without worry and edit without fear until we have lean and powerful scenes and learn to write more economically by overdoing it at first and cutting back to serve the story. Soon we find ourselves starting our scenes later and leaving them earlier, and still going back and trimming as needed, and we’re on the road to becoming editorial surgeons responsible for producing excellent written work.

Congratulations, doctor, it’s a classic.

Christopher Ryan is author of City of Woe, available on Kindle and Nook, and in print. For more info,click here.</em

Posted in digital publishing, ebook publishing, fiction, independent publishing, pop culture, self-publishing, writing | Tagged #10MinNovelists, #1K1H, #Amazon, #amediting, #amreading, #AmRevising, #amwriting, #amwritingmysteries, #amwritingromance, #amwritingscifi, #amwritingthrillers, #authorlife, #BookBuzzr, #CanLit, #comedy, #crime, #DarkFantasy, #diversifyyourselfs, #Dystopian, #ebook, #EditGoal, #editing, #EditingGoal, #ePubChat, #eReaders, #Erotica, #FaithLitChat, #getcaughtreading, #HistFic, #Historical, #IAN1, #iGOeBooks, #IndieAuthor, #IndiePub, #iPad, #k8chat, #kidlit, #KidLitChat, #Kindle, #Kobo, #KPD, #Literature, #LitFic, #MemoirChat, #MGLit, #Mystery, #MyWANA, #NaNoWriMo, #NonFiction, #Nook, #Paranormal, #Pubit, #publishing, #RomanceWriter, #Romantic, #RomanticSuspense, #ScienceFiction, #SciFiChat, #ScriptChat, #selfpublishing, #ShortStory, #SmashWords, #Sony, #SteamPunk, #StoryDam, #Storytelling, #Suspense, #UrbanFantasy, #Webfic, #weneeddiversebooks, #WIP, #WomensFiction, #womenwriters, #WordChat, #WriteChat, #WriteGoal, #WriteMotivation, #writersblock, #writerslife, #WriterWednesday, #writestuff, #WriteTip, #WritingBlitz, #WritingPrompt, #writingtips, #WroteToday, #WW, #YA, #YALit, writing | 2 Comments

Let it suck revisited: the beginning of a series

Posted on May 10, 2015 by chrisryanwrites

Awhile back, I wrote the following blog, which basically advised people to push beyond fears about instant quality in writing and just “let it suck.“ I reprint it here as the beginning of a series of blog posts that focus on getting beyond fears about writing an immediate classic and just doing the work.

Here we go:

There seems to be an abundance of writing advice on social media today, for which I am thankful. To return the favor, I want to offer writing advice I give my students: LET IT SUCK.

This advice may sound odd but it is based on the soundest of principles: Writing that sucks is infinitely easier to improve than a blank page (digital or other). Simple as that. If you allow yourself to just write a draft without worrying about wonderfulness, yes, some of it will suck.

Don’t worry, the sucky parts are easy to fix.

As dumb as it sounds, just ask yourself why the sucky part sucks (without having a meltdown) and you will see that, for example, a sentence sucks because it should actually be phrased differently, or a character would never do that, she would do this, or there is a repetitious phrase, etc.

The revelation here is that none of the “sucky parts” are insurmountable, and most often you correct these issues quickly. And, most importantly, the page is no longer blank.

Once you have a quick draft done, the job is just to move to an area of suck, address that, and then go to the next area of suck.

Each fix makes the work suck less. And you, my friend are being productive.

How do you know when it is great? When you have been through it twice and know deep inside that now you are just fussing. This is when you are ready for the big test: reading it out loud.

Don’t scoff, this is a necessary step. Reading your work out loud, in a voice and at a pace you would use when reading publicly for money, will reveal all the hidden flaws your eyes and ego hid.

Don’t meltdown over this either, just mark it, and continue with your “public reading”.

I print out my copy to do this step; it is easier to mark with a highlighter and move on than to start rewriting in the middle of a “public read”. And yes, reading it again after all this new round of fixes is key to make sure your writing is as nearly perfect as you can make it.

So, let it suck, then make it suck less, and suck less, and suck less, until it is, much to your shock and delight, great.

Keep writing, brothers and sisters.

Christopher Ryan is author of City of Woe, available on Kindle and Nook, and in print. For more info,click here.</em

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