Questions for Authors
Once again we have some wonderful answers to the questions. I hope you enjoy reading the way in which writers of all kinds attack their problem spots!
The questions for this month are:
1. Are there any areas in writing that persistently give you problems -- such as openings, endings, character motivations, etc.
2. When you hit a difficult spot in a first draft, do you push through or do you put the work aside for a while? Is there anything in particular that helps you with such problems?
C. J. Cherryh
1.
Every book is different. Some are easy at inception. Some aren't easy in the middle. I had one that lagged until I inserted a troublemaker in the family. The main thing is not to follow your own plan into a quagmire. Sometimes (often) you have to give up the plan and think!
2.
The knowledge that I need to be paid is a great motivator. I push through. I practice what I call mental karate. You suck it up, inhale and exhale deeply, and BE in another world, so thoroughly in that other world that you can think in it. If you can't smell the wind and feel the sun in that world, you're not there yet. This has gotten me through deaths in the family. It can get me through anything. When you are there, nothing regarding you has happened, you know nothing about your overdue car payment, and you are the local divinity---you can walk over that hill yonder, survey your land, and then----another burst of mental karate---BE your lead character, walking in the garden and thinking about his problems. Writing is more than words. It's BEING there. "Write what you know" is nice advice, but "go there" means you WILL know what you're writing, whatever it is.C. J. Cherryh Website
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Closed Circle Publications with Lynn Abbey and Jane Fancher
Lynn Abbey
1.
Transitions involving the passage of time. Right now the genre "style" seems to be very much in favor of 1st-person POV or tight-3rd person which, for me at least, makes for intrusive and/or illogical chronological summaries and leaps. Sometimes to avoid narrative summaries, I fall back on the old three-asterisk transitional space for a visual or I'll decide to break POV and pull the "camera" back for an omniscient sentence or two.
2.
The temptation is to put it aside, but that usually just freezes everything because I'm not good at imagining two projects at the same time. Experience has taught me that "creative walls" are almost always indicate that I've got a logical/motivational error somewhere in the set-up or that I'm using the wrong "camera angles" to convey the scene. If I'm lucky, I can find the error with conscious, direct examination of the prose, but more often I need to distract myself with precision (or dangerous) activities. Lace knitting works...and firing up the power tools. When my attention is fully engaged in the "here-and-now" my back-brain can untangle the mess.Blogging at Face of Chaos
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Julie Czerneda
1.
Nothing that persists. Each book has its own special "arghs," but I learn from that for next time. For example, I used to get hung up on having to stop to name characters. Now I make up lists of suitable names and just grab one as I go. That's very helpful.
2.
Time to write can't be wasted, so I don't put anything aside. What I will do is take a quick break to exercise -- I like jogging or cycling.
Not only is that good for my body, it wakes up the brain. Almost always, what I need to do next comes to me in the shower and I fly back to the story as fast as I can.
Lee Killough
1.
I don't have persistent problems, but when I have a character running around by himself/herself (lost in the wilderness alone or being a ghost unable to interact with other characters, for instance) it can be a struggle to describe the action and not have every sentence start with He/She. It leads to a lot of sentence fragments and starting sentence with gerund phrases.
Conversely, when I have a group of characters together they tend to talk and talk until I'm yelling at them: "Don't just stand there nattering; DO something." They don't always pay attention, just shuffle a few steps sideways and go on talking. Not really a problem, because later I can come back and ruthlessly edit!
2.
When I hit a tough spot I always tell myself to do what I recommend to students, skip that part and come back later. Unfortunately I'm not good at taking my own advice. I don't want to be beaten and keep hammering at the scene. Which I know usually doesn't work. The best solution when I finally act on it, is just to go away and do something physical...mow the lawn, take a walk, whack weeds, clean house., even just wash dishes. I don't know what it is about physical activity that can unstick mental gears, but it very often does. A solution will occur to me in the middle of mowing or the walk and when I'm back at the computer, I'm ready to continue writing.Books We Love/Killough
Coffeeshop Writers
Checking on Culture, an aid to building story backgrounds
The Leopard's Daughter, a fantasy of ancient Africa
Sherwood Smith
1.
My biggest problem is always trying to see what the text actually says. Being a visual writer, I've discovered that a few sloppy words evoke the full-on sensurround for me, but for readers? Not so much, unless I work at it with a few gazillion drafts. Other than that, openings can give me fits as I have a tendency to begin too far in, and editors regularly say the equivalent of "This is chapter three. Where is the beginning?"
I sometimes have trouble with transitional scenes. Often it turns out that I need to open a trap door, and write what I'd thought could be a summary, but instead I need to reach down farther for the emotional cues to the action. This is a problem because I tend toward the Byzantine books, with high word count, though I swear I am always trying to trim and cut. But yes, I hear the ghost of Prince William Henry, about Edward Gibbon's many volume history of the Romans, "Scribble scribble, eh, Mr. Gibbon?"
2.
Sometimes I push through, knowing that I will be back over it (a lot), but sometimes I have to sit down with my trusty yellow pad and lay out the sequence of events. (I also keep maps, calendars, and a wad of notes.) Seeing the sequence of events is often a help. Other times it turns out to be one of those trap doors I mentioned above, where I need to reach behind the scene and yank forward a lot of the emotional understructure.
Michelle Hoover
1.
For some reason, I have a problem with gestures. They are so often clichéd, or at least the first thing that rears its head when I?m trying to describe a gesture seems clichéd to me. Because I?m most often interested in characters who can?t express themselves directly, who have some sort of emotional block and/or simply can?t articulate the ideas and feelings they most desperately want to, gestures are also one of the most important tools for me. That?s probably why I consider them so difficult?I simply have very high standards and wish them to do a lot of work. So I spend a lot of time watching people and filing through my mental cabinets when I?m in that chair and searching for something real. Sometimes though if I see an interesting gesture somewhere?on the street, in the bus or grocery store?I immediately go home and try to use it in a scene. I most likely find them interesting because they resonate with something my characters are struggling with at the time, so this insertion isn?t as random as it may seem.
2.
Depends on my mood and either how stubborn I?m feeling or how ready for self-abuse. But I also consider first drafts?and I mean those extremely rough early pages that are nearly unreadable?to be the place where I?m open to go wherever my typing takes me and I allow my subconscious to play. So that draft is more about freeing myself up than forcing myself into tight corners. As I continue working on my drafts, though, I get a lot harder on myself. In that case, to help with the tough scenes I simply read. I always have a great novel by my side (or two, or five) so that when my head gets tired or goes altogether blank, I can refresh by drinking in a few pages of wonderful writing. Doing so reminds me why I?m in that chair in the first place, how the best writing moves, and what kind of details and nuances I need to pay attention to."The Quickening" due out June 29, 2010
Michelle Hoover's Website
ADR Forte
1.
I find I struggle most with a story when I don't have a clear story arc. Characters come to me fairly easily. Filling in the plots and subplots around the characters is more difficult, whether I'm writing or planning. However, if I know the overall story I want to tell about the characters, if I know where they start and end up, it gives me a mental road-map to use as I work through the rest of the plot. It also helps keep me on track with character development. For example, if I know at the end my character needs to overcome his fear of responsibility, and I'm building towards that, then I can make sure the experiences he has and the way he reacts to them are moving him in the right direction to have the ending make sense. In a way, this rough idea of a story arc is a very, very, basic form of outlining. I know I need at least that much of a plan going in, otherwise my plot founders, wanders off in the wrong direction, and the story ends up stalled.
2.
How I deal with difficult spots depends on two things: why I've hit the spot and how much of a deadline is glaring at me with bared teeth. Problem areas in first drafts usually crop up because I don't have the story worked out well enough in my head. This means I need to stop writing but do some outlining or think through "what happens next?" and "how does it happen?" If I'm struggling to work things out on my own, brainstorming or talking over my ideas with someone else can help. In a pinch I'll brainstorm out loud and believe it or not, this does work!
Nine times out of ten working through the story problem is enough. Occasionally it isn't. When the story isn't the problem, I am. This means I'm either tired, ill, or have some other mental block that isn't allowing me to focus and work through the story issues. The first thing I do is figure out what the cause of the distraction is and then try to remove it: like by taking a nap or washing the mountain of dirty laundry threatening to fall on the cat. If the problem isn't one that can be resolved, like a pesky overdue bill I can't pay, I have to try to put it aside and focus on the writing. Having a deadline, external or self-imposed, motivates me not to be lazy about solving the problem- whether it's a story or a real-life issue. Of course, the challenge is not to overdo things and work too hard when I really need to take a break. There's also the counter-problem of using a genuine problem as a crutch to procrastinate unnecessarily. Every writer has to find the balance between overwork and laziness. The best thing here is to be honest with yourself about what you CAN do... and then do it!
Lazette Gifford
1.
I have a problem with openings sometimes. I start far too early -- but I've found that this has a good side. By the time I get to the actual story, I have a real feel for the world and the characters and everything is moving along quite smoothly.
I also sometimes have trouble with endings. Usually, I see the ending clearly and have no trouble. But there are cases where I just can't quite get that ending scene into focus. Ending lines are even worse. Those I'll dither over for days.
2.
I do outlines before I write. Some are short and some are long and intricate. It's in the outline phase that I'll sometimes run into problems -- and that's why I use them. I want to know a problem before I'm 200 pages into a story and suddenly see a huge plot hole that is going to take me massive rewrites to fix.
That doesn't mean I won't still hit problems in the actual writing, but there are fewer of them and usually the big ones are fixed long before I start the first draft.
When I do have a problem, I usually put the work aside and either work on another story, some editing or even some art. Eventually, the problem works out.
Liz Burton
1.
"Does all of the above" count? My experience is that any element of a work in progress can give you headaches, unless you're one of those lucky people who outlines and then sticks completely to that outline. I've had characters suddenly show up whom I then have to figure out what to do with, first chapters where every word has to be surgically removed from my brain and endings that turn out not to be. On the other hand, when such problems occur, it usually means I've taken a wrong turn, either in the planning or the execution.
2.
I'm lucky--I use Macs, so I can also use a fantastic writing program called Scrivener. If a chapter isn't working, I can set it aside and move on. If a character's being recalcitrant, I can work on their biography. If I'm stuck on some factual matter, I can find information online and import it into the working file--including video.
Sometimes, I just move on. Other times, I need to figure out why something's not working. Sometimes, I do both at the same time. I tend to plot in my down time, like right before I fall asleep, and if I can't move past a given point after a couple days of pondering, I know there's something wrong somewhere.
Darrell Bain
1.
Yes, there are. I sometimes have difficulty in the middle of a novel, wondering where to take it. Since I usually write "by the seat of my pants" without outlining, I often come close to writing the story into a corner and have trouble getting out of it.
2.
I usually put work aside when I come to a problem spot. That creates another difficulty, though: losing the thread of a novel. Occasionally I solve both the problem of extricating the story from a tangle and/or losing the thread by using a collaborator to help it on the way. That has worked out remarkably well so far.Fictionwise Author of the year Multiple Epic and Dream Realm awards See all my books at Darrell Bain Website
Darwin Garrison
1.
I used to angst a lot about openings. There's a definite need to hook your reader early on so that they will turn the page. However, I've come to the conclusion that the opening can be edited to death later.
The bigger challenge for me is actually finishing a novel. Short stories I can eventually hammer out (even if they do become novellas.) Novels, though, seem to vex me at about 40k. I hear that other writers have similar problems at times, but it's the last big hurdle that I have to overcome myself. So my goal now is to just finish out a novel.
2.
When I hit rough spots, I have to keep going. If I allow myself to bog down creatively because one passage or another doesn't "feel" correct or the way I intended, I can get hung up and never finish. One thing I've learned from doing some webzine work is that editing is okay. It's all right to start with something that has hiccups. Hiccups can be cured. I don't obsess about perfection on first drafts anymore. That's why they're called "first drafts."
Carter Nipper
1.
Openings are definitely a weakness for me. It often takes me several attempts to get something that would encourage a reader to stay with the story. The reason for that ties in closely with another weakness: backstory. I have trouble working that in effectively. I am at least aware of these weaknesses, so I concentrate on improving them at every opportunity. There is always room for improvement in my writing. That is why I value Vision so much. 2.
I used to just give up when I hit a rough spot. Now I realize that doing that does not help--those stories never get finished. I can now push through at whatever cost in the quality of the writing and realize that it can be fixed. What helps the most is to be able to see the entire story in draft form. That helps me see the problem area in context, and I can then rewrite with ideas on how that area fits into the larger scheme a how to put it right.
Jim Burk
1.
No persistent problems. Endings are probably the trickiest for me because I want to tie up the major issues but don't want to suggest that all problems are solved by the end of the novel -- it's just not realistic, but not to solve the majior problem of the book is , to me, ripping off the reader.
2.
Usually, on first draft, I sort of bull my way through and hope to be able to amend or improve on the second draft. My biggest problem is that I want the first draft to be perfect, so I write more slowly than most. Usually, if I set something aside, I never get back to it.
Jane Toombs
1.
Since I’m a plotter, and learned to be the hard way, I do a fairly detailed synopsis first. So from the beginning I pretty much know where the book is going. Not that my characters don’t surprise me now and then, but I never deviate very far from it.
This means that before I begin a book, I pretty much know all my major characters’ motivations, even though I won’t get to know them very well until I’ve written three or four chapters. By then they’ve revealed themselves as individuals.
This also means I have the plot laid out in rough form, loose enough for some deviation as events I didn’t foresee occur, The place where I may add a number of minor incidents, though rarely a major one, is in the middle of the story.
If you’re interested in how I became a plotted instead of simply writing the entire book cold, this goes back to my second agent. After I’d written two books (gothics) that, without a synopsis, sold immediately to Avon, he couldn’t peddle the third. Then he called and told me a packager needed a Sagittarius story for a Zodiac gothic series , so could I whip up a synopsis and three chapters for a partial. Novice that I was, I was forced to ask, What’s a synopsis?
To give him credit, he only paused for a best before he explained. So I wrote my first synopsis, plus three chapters and got the contract. The rest of the story seemed amazingly easy to write.
Eventually I hauled out the story that had never sold and tried to do a synopsis for it as I read through what I‘d written. I couldn’t because the plot wandered all over the place. A real AHA moment. So I did a more consistent synopsis for the book, rewrote, and it sold.
Learned my lesson. So, no, I rarely have any problem with any part of the book. Nor does it bother me that I have a general idea of where the plot is going before I begin, After all, small surprises do crop up here and there that I didn’t foresee in the synopsis, because my characters have their own ideas.
2.
I don’t do first drafts. I write Chapter 1. Before I begin Chapter 2. I go back and edit the first one, cleaning it up and adding or deleting. I do the same with each chapter as I work my way through the book, but only allow myself to go back a single chapter each time. This has the added benefit of getting me back into the flow of the story. Of course if I add something that makes me need to go back and insert a change anywhere, I do it immediately.
Using this method of writing, each chapter except the last has been edited once already. I edit the final chapter and then go back through the book, editing again. Then I set it aside for at least a few days--a week is better--before editing again.
Finally I go through with a spell check again because I’ve added a bit here and there, with sometimes a major change. Then I search for words I know I overuse and make the necessary minor changes. Final spell check, final read through and it’s good to go. Works for me.