Everlasting Vision, Ever-Changing View

I’d like to thank author and teacher Jamie Cat Callan for being our guest blogger and instructor for April. We’re looking over the contest entries and will choose a winner by the end of this month.

It strikes me as I read over Jamie’s posts and think back to the days when I studied with her at Fairfield University how important those first classes were. Those were fragile, special times when a budding writer and editor could easily have been crushed. Some of us were sharing our work publicly for the first time, but Jamie made it safe. She had a way of listening not only to what we writers of varied backgrounds and talents were saying, but what we wanted to say and often had trouble expressing. By listening with the heart, she would compliment us whenever we came up with something, anything, decent, then gently steer us out into deeper waters. Those were nurturing times and essential for writers who are starting out or starting over, with second or third or fourth careers.

Those times also were preparatory for tougher days, when competition would become stiff and sharp-edged, with no time to dwell on the writing over a cup of tea. The tea gets put aside and grows cold quickly as the many responsibilities of writing as a vocation or an avocation clamor to be met. Now it’s coffee on the go, because tea isn’t strong enough anymore, and coffee seems more portable.

That’s why it’s refreshing to rediscover the tools Jamie shared with us and the right-brain-ness of her technique. She found a way to encourage the outlandish while directing it toward something workable. She could take the threads of thought from our often tangled writing and show how they could be woven into an eclectically lovely tapestry. Then she taught us to see connections in the seeming randomness. It’s a wonderfully ethereal way to think that is easily suffocated in a puzzle piece culture where things seem like they always have to fit.

With wit and wisdom, Jamie’s ability to cultivate right-brain-ness became the essence of The Writer’s Toolkit. If you didn’t get a chance to check it out during the contest, take a look at the next time you’re in Borders. You’ll find within its quirkiness a way to approach writing that allows the work form but still lets it fly.

“My life has been a tapestry of rich and royal hue, an everlasting vision of the ever-changing view.” Carole King, from the album Tapestry.

Happy writing!

The Ah Ha! Moment

This is it, writers. You've only got 500 words to go, and your short short story is complete. Or perhaps, you've now realized you've got the beginnings of a full-length story or even a novel.

Whatever you're writing, you will now want to bring us to a moment of discovery. This discovery might lead to your epiphany—the ending of your short story. Or it could lead to a larger conflict and a bigger story. It's up to you. Whatever you decide, your readers want a "ah ha!" moment right about now.

How to do this? I would take a look at your first 250 words. Inside the text there's an image. Something a little quirky, perhaps. It's definitely sensory and a little mystery. It makes you a little nervous—this image. You've been tempted to edit it out, but it's a good thing you didn't, because now, I would like you to take this image and repeat it at the end of your climactic moment. Let it spin and twist the narrative. Let it blossom into something unexpected. Give your protagonist a line of dialogue that reveals something completely new and yet familiar.

Have fun with this. Don't stress over it. Enjoy. Breathe. And now, your story is done! I can't wait to see the winner!

With love and luck,
Jamie

Respond by sending your entry to wordforwords@sbcglobal.net. When the contest closes, we'll announce the winner and post the entry on the blog. The winner will receive The Writer's Toolbox.

This is it, writers. You've only got 500 words to go, and your short short story is complete. Or perhaps, you've now realized you've got the beginnings of a full-length story or even a novel. Whatever you're writing, you will now want to bring us to a moment of discovery. This discovery might lead to your epiphany-the ending of your short story. Or it could lead to a larger conflict and a bigger story. It's up to you. Whatever you decide, your readers want a "ah ha!" moment right about now. How to do this? I would take a look at your first 250 words. Inside the text there's an image. Something a little quirky perhaps. It's definitely sensory and a little mystery. It makes you a little nervous--this image. You've been tempted to edit it out, but it's a good thing you didn't, because now, I would like you to take this image and repeat it at the end of your climactic moment. Let it spin and twist the narrative. Let it blossom into something unexpected. Give your protagonist a line of dialogue that reveals something completely new and yet familiar. Have fun with this. Don't stress over it. Enjoy.Breathe. And now, your story is done! I can't wait to see the winner!With love and luck, Jamie

The Taste of Lipstick

Hi, Readers:

Here you are—in the home stretch. Your story is getting complicated, a little wild. Perhaps it even feels as if things are getting out of hand, and you are no longer completely in control of the narrative.

In fact, your characters are doing all sorts of unexpected things and my goodness—your protagonist is really misbehaving! It would seem that he or she has completely veered off course and is no longer following any preconceived plan that you may have come up with when you started this exercise. Things are downright crazy, and you feel as if you are lost in the forest and the sun is going down and you forgot your flashlight!

Well, congratulations! This is exactly where you should be in your story. You are reaching toward your climactic moment, the three-quarter mark. This is the time when most writers get a little nervous. And knowing that you only have one more exercise to go after this, may be leading you to want to wrap things up. Resist this urge! You will have next week to worry about tying up loose ends and creating a satisfying resolution. For now, for this moment, for this week—go wild. Allow your characters to say unforgettable/unforgivable things. Let them take action. Get physical. Push the story into dangerous places. Let the story surprise even you.

Here is your new prompt. I'm taking it from the "Sixth Sense Cards" in The Writers Toolbox. This is a visual and sensory image and you can do anything you want with it. But, be sure to have fun!

See you next week for the big finish!

"the taste of lipstick"

Respond by sending your entry to wordforwords@sbcglobal.net. When the contest closes, we'll announce the winner and post the entry on the blog. The winner will receive The Writer's Toolbox.

A New Direction

Hello, Word for Word Readers—

First of all, congratulations! You've made the big leap and have begun your story! Characters have introduced themselves to you. Situations have emerged. Complications abound! And you are in the middle of it all. What an exciting time in the process!

Okay, so now that you've done all this, it's time to push forward into a new direction. I'm about to give you a nonsequitur sentence, which is simply a transition I've randomly pulled from The Writers Toolbox. It's designed to throw you a little off course. Don't worry, it won't be painful! However, it will get you to think outside the box and take your narrative into a new direction you couldn't have possibly predetermined. This is the whole point of right brain writing—to keep your story fresh and organic. It gets the writer's critical/analytical left-brain out of the way so that your story's twists and turns will surprise even you.

Okay, so here's what I'd like you to do. Take a look at the sentence below and then just "live" with it for a few days. Let it sink into your subconscious mind. Walk around with it in your head, but wait until Saturday or Sunday to begin writing. You're going to take this sentence and add it onto the first 500 words of your story. Don't worry about whether it connects or even makes sense right away. Go with the flow. Write quickly without overthinking. Don't censor yourself or try too hard to make it make sense. This is the part of your story that is still opening to the world, so anything is possible. It's time to take some literary risks, since you're approaching what screenwriters call "the midpoint crisis," so this is no time to be timid. Let it rip! And have fun! Now here's your nonsequitur:

We were drinking champagne and losing our shirts.

Write just 500 words. I'll be back next week with another prompt to add to your story.

Respond to the prompt by sending your entry to wordforwords@sbcglobal.net. When the contest closes, we'll announce the winner and post the entry on the blog. The winner will receive The Writer's Toolbox.

Writing From the Right Side of the Brain

Hello, writers—I'm thrilled to be the guest blogger on Adele's fabulous site! I'm the creator of The Writer's Toolbox: Creative Games and Exercises for Inspiring the "Write" Side of your Brain.

Writing from the right side of the brain means writing from that part of your brain that's intuitive and nonlinear, and maybe even a little illogical. When you write from the right side of your brain, you're willing to make unexpected leaps and transitions in the narrative that doesn't always make sense—not at first glance, anyway, but later down the road, it does make sense. But all this involves a leap of faith and a willingness to take creative risks.

Actually, it's very similar to the technique improvisational actors and musicians use to create original scenes and unexpected riffs. You've seen it on Who's Line is It Anyway?, where a character playing, say, the part of a new doctor will get a line from the audience, and even though it would seem very odd for someone playing a doctor to pronounce, "There's nothing I like better than a ripe banana!" the actor makes it work, and somehow makes it make sense. That's the challenge and that's the delight of the right brain—whether you're acting or painting or making music or writing.

But rather than talking about it, let me show you. Let's get started on a game. Here's your first sentence, taken directly from The Writer's Toolbox:

Dad gave me a wink, like we were pals or something.

Now, you've got one week to write the first 500 words for the beginning of a short story. No more. Just 500 words. Next week, you'll get a nonsequitur sentence. Week three, you'll get another and, finally, a last prompt to take you to the end of your story.Oh, and have fun!

Respond to the prompt by sending your entry to wordforwords@sbcglobal.net. After the month-long contest closes, we'll judge the entries, and the winning entry will be announced and posted on the blog. The winner will receive The Writer's Toolbox.

April in Paris: Writing in Blossom, With Noted Author Jamie Cat Callan

Mention Europe and my imagination takes flight. Mention Paris in spring and, well, mentally anyway, I'm there. So who could resist an opportunity to work with witty and wonderful author Jamie Cat Callan, whose latest book is French Women Don't Sleep Alone. For the month of April, Jamie will be our guest blogger, and we're inviting you to join the fun and win Jamie's acclaimed The Writer's Toolbox: Creative Games and Exercises for Inspiring the 'Write' Side of Your Brain.

Jamie is an amazing woman whose class at Fairfield University in Connecticut was my first taste of creative writing after a many year absence. One of the most amazing things about Jamie is her ability to truly weave a story, and she aimed to teach us the same. Her writing prompts still make me smile—she would come into each class with several of them to encourage us use our senses not only in what we wrote, but as part of the writing process. I still recall one prompt in particular. Each student reached into a grocery bag and selected an item or two, then from another bag, or maybe it was a hat, we chose a slip of paper. From the grocery bag I pulled an old 35 mm film canister, and on my slip of paper were the words, "I'm not sure, but I think someone put poison in my soup."

Now, the roll of flim and that phrase may not seem like a combination a person could make a story from, but that was the point—to create story from seemingly disjointed events or words or thoughts to get us to think out of the box, if not out of the bag, and it worked. My short piece was entitled, "Strange Brew." Sometimes we wrote with music playing in the background to learn how ambiance influences the mood of a piece (and of the writer) and its tone. Every class Jamie kept us guessing, and that kept our imaginations limber.

I'm sure it's her wit and penchant for story that prompted French Women Don't Sleep Alone, which Fear of Flying author Erica Jong calls "Adorable!” And Jamie's desire to pass along the ability to tell a story is undoubtedly what prompted her to create The Writer's Toolbox, wonderfully reviewed in The Writer as a kit that enables writers of all genres and stages to jumpstart their creativity. As mentioned, for the month of April, Jamie will be our guest blogger, and we're inviting you to join the fun. With each post, Jamie will offer a writing prompt. Respond to the prompt by sending your entry to wordforwords@sbcglobal.net.

We'll judge the entries, and the winning entry will be announced and posted on the blog, and the winner will receive The Writer's Toolbox. To get to know Jamie's work in the meantime, visit her Web site http://www.jamiecatcallan.com/.

Take Down Your Scaffolding, Reveal Your Art

I’d like to thank Adele for asking me to guest blog for her. I’ve known her since we were in the Wellspring Writers’ Workshop, and I’m thrilled that she’s asked me to share what I’ve learned in my years of writing.

The topic I’m addressing is editing. Not the massive editing that happens after you complete the first draft of your novel. I’m assuming you’ve fixed the plot holes and gotten rid of unnecessary characters. What I’m talking about is much more subtle. Aspects we often overlook or excuse—things often referred to as “scaffolding.”

These instances may seem minor, and you may be tempted to think they're issues for a line editor once you’ve gotten “the deal.” That might have been true 15 or 20 years ago, but not today. Publishers and a very tight market demand nearly “perfect” writing. (We all know poorly written books that made The New York Times bestseller list, but these are exceptions, not the rule.) It’s no longer enough to have a great plot, because if the screener reading the first page of your novel spots enough “amateur” mistakes, your book goes into the rejects pile. No one will get far enough to even consider its other merits. A few days later, you receive the infamous, hateful much-copied rejection letter.

Even if you decide to hire a book editor, you need to learn how to discover amateur mistakes and get rid of them. To do this, I recommend a book called Don’t Sabotage Your Submission, by Chris Roerden. Chris is a former independent book editor for authors published by Intrigue, Midnight Ink, Rodale, St. Martin’s, Viking and others. She highlights which aspects announce that you’re a “beginner,” and gives examples of what to look for, how to fix mistakes and how to break the rules properly.

Here are some pointers I’ve discovered while editing my manuscript. One of the most important things to look for in your writing is “scaffolding.” Every writer uses words and phrases that support the story as they write the first draft. You can’t find the perfect word/phrase the first time around—you’re just trying to get the story on paper while the passion and energy are still hot. (If you struggle with this, I’d recommend Stephen King’s On Writing). But, once the story’s on paper, the scaffolding has to go. When art restorers finish their work, they have to take down the scaffolding; otherwise, the exquisite paintings are blocked from view.

Every writer has his/her structural supports, and here are some of mine. To provide the “beat” my dialogue needs, I often have the character make some physical movement. However, by the end of the first draft, there are so many instances of shook his/her heads that skulls should be rolling on the ground. And there are more look/looked/looking than I believed possible. Not to mention myriad mentions of he/she ran a hand through his/her hair. These all have to be dealt with. Often, they’re not easy to fix, because it’s not enough just to vary the phrases. The way to a beautiful novel is to replace these instances with texture. In other words, if a character is doing something, it has to have meaning—a significance that advances the plot or reveals the character. If not, it’s what I call a “cheap beat,” and it says “I’m an amateur writer” in big, neon letters. Then, you get a rejection letter before the agent has a chance to discover your bold, fascinating storyline.

If you learn to see these things in your writing, you can take them out and your story will shine through. Then, you’ll be on your way to getting that e-mail asking, “Hey, when can we talk about your book?”

For a way to put this method into action, see the top tip below. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.