Tagged: basics

Fools Rush In

r-avatarRune Skelley uses an extensive outlining process, predicated on the theory that well begun is mostly done. We devote a large amount of time up front and reap the benefits later. Kent finds this philosophy a natural fit for any kind of moderate- to large-scale project, because it’s a key tenet of best-practices software development: don’t rush into coding, because changes are much more expensive to do in code than on a whiteboard. And there will be changes.

So in fiction, don’t rush into prose. Writing is rewriting, and it’s wise to budget your heavy lifting for the places where it will pay off. Think of it this way: you’d rather spend money on an addition for your house than shoring up a sagging foundation. You expect the foundation to be solid, and if you need to work on it after the house is standing then something has gone terribly wrong.

It’s easy to imagine scrapping an entire chapter, say, once you discover where a story is going. That could happen no matter how detailed your outline was, but it’s more likely you’d be scrapping a line from your outline and never need to compose the chapter in the first place. There are more insidious traps that lack of preparation can create for you, though. Worse than a superfluous chapter is one that’s needed, and has much in it that you’re in love with, but suffers some systemic flaw. The main character’s voice finally coalesces in your head, and now there are passages that simply aren’t in that voice. The subject matter of a conversation needs to change, but you already worked so hard on that dialogue that you can’t hear it any other way.

There are people who extol writing with less structure, and there certainly are writers who have success via a totally unstructured process. Words like “fluid, creative, unhindered,” tend to get thrown around. Just bear in mind these three things:

  1. a sound plan is not the antithesis of creativity; you still need to make stuff up, and an outline doesn’t breathe life into your characters for you — you still have the opportunity to perform
  2. in the words of Dwight Eisenhower, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything,” a phrase which here means your outline will certainly undergo substantial changes once you get started writing, and that’s okay
  3. given a large enough sample of writers, you could find successful ones following any process imaginable; choose or invent a process that speaks to you, but don’t be swayed by anybody else’s results

We’re not asserting that the best writers never have to throw anything away, or he writes best who writes least. Far from it. In addition to an outline, we often generate many pages of apocrypha, prose that’s never intended as part of the manuscript. It helps us get our ear in for the voices, among other things. A lesson we’ve learned is that it’s better not to use our first chapters as the getting-acquainted phase of that relationship, for the reasons mentioned a few paragraphs ago. It’s a ton of work, no mistake, but it’s a smarter-not-harder scenario. Having a good process increases the rewards, although it won’t necessarily reduce the efforts.

How do you approach the initial stages of a new project? What level of structure works best for you?

Bad Advice

r-avatarWriters get a lot of advice. Most of it is bad.

Because of basic economics, the bulk of the advice that’s available is aimed at aspirants and novices, and that turns out to be the biggest factor in why so much of it’s awful. Some of the bad advice starts off life as good advice for neophytes, which goes bad once you progress to a more advanced level. It holds you back.

Grammar pedantry accounts for a giant pile of iffy admonitions, but as we gain confidence most of us tune that stuff out. Novices do need more structure (sorry, novices) but we should all aspire to start breaking the rules someday. On that day, you will find it’s suddenly a lot harder to locate any kind of guidance (sorry, no-longer-novices).

Some bad advice is just bad advice no matter who you are, and the beginners accept it because they don’t know any better. We were all beginners once, we all heard these toxic notions over and over, and as our craft develops we tend to keep believing — and spreading — these horrible ideas anyway. So, let’s try to not do that so much anymore.

What’s the worst advice writers get?

“Write what you know.”

If you happen to know things that are fascinating, then by all means write them. Otherwise, follow along as we think this through and see how it can drag you down. Let’s say you used to work in a restaurant, so you know the details of a working kitchen. You think you should be able to render it quite vividly, so you include it in your story. The fact that you spent all those hours in that environment actually has nothing to do with your skill in portraying it, but let’s agree that the scene-setting you produce is marvelous. Is it really all that interesting? Did your story honestly need to have a line cook character, or did it bow to your urge to write about his workplace? Readers need a reason to care about it, and “it’s a thing the author knows” doesn’t qualify.

Certainly we’re allowed to write what we know. But the better advice would be to write what you don’t know. Go learn! Stretch! Take wild guesses, make stuff up. That’s what writing is. Look outward, not inward. Write what someone else knows, letting it become something you know. And then it will become something your readers know.

 

Collabo DIY-A-Palooza Part 2: Defining Your Process

r-avatarThis is the second post in our Nuts and Bolts series.

We all have different work styles, and there’s no one right way to write. If your style conflicts with your partner’s, however, trouble is going to be the result. Nothing stalls out a collaboration better than toiling over a passage until you’re thoroughly pleased with it, only to hear from your partner that it’s not what the project requires. The upshot is, however much structure you do or don’t like in your writing life, a successul collaboration probably means you’ll need a bit more.

Because you and your writing partner are not Jen and Kent, your optimal process will not be exactly the Rune Skelley formula. But it’s a good place to start and can be seasoned to taste. So, here’s the very broad strokes of How To Do It:

  • concept development (gotta find something you’re both really into)
  • outline (can be more like a synopsis, as long as it’s organized)
  • stubs (the Rune Skelley secret weapon!)
  • composition (turning stubs into scenes)
  • successive editing and revision passes (start with structure and pacing, then tighten up descriptions and dialog, and finally polish the prose)

All of the pieces are important, and we’ll talk about each of them again at some point, but the heart of the system is stubs.

Stubs are a lot like writing prompts, albeit very formalized ones. We’ve talked before about why we like them so much. Here’s the recipe.

  • limit the scope to one scene
  • specify the setting and characters (do this even if it feels too obvious)
  • add continuity notes about clothing, how many bullets are still in the gun, etc.
  • give bland, bald, simple statements of what everyone is feeling, which secrets they do and don’t know at this point, etc. (the stub must not be subtle, nor open to interpretation)
  • summarize the scene’s job, e.g., “this is how Mary finds out Bob is dead,” or “establishes Zeke’s obsession with parakeets”

Why can’t you just jump right into writing the scenes? You can. The reason we recommend creating stubs first is the extra structure. We find stubs are an ideal way to divvy things up between the two of us, and they help us identify places where we might not have exactly the same vision before they escalate into “creative differences.”

practical, nuts-n-bolts how-to collabo diy-a-palooza Part 1

r-avatarSo you’re persuaded that a writing partnership is the right approach for you, and you’ve tracked down a like-minded coauthor. Now you just need to know how to get started. Over the last year or so, the Collaboration posts here have covered much of that, but in no particular order. Herewith, a more concrete take on the subject.

You will need workspace that accommodates both of you. In Rune Skelley’s case, that’s a single room with two computers. But if you and your partner are set up in separate buildings, even different cities, that’s fine too as long as you’ll be able to communicate frequently and effectively.

You will need a project that you’re both excited about. The project might come first, could actually be the catalyst that inspires two people to go into partnership. It might not be so spontaneous, though, so be prepared to devote some time to finding your common interests. Talk the ideas through and assess how they might allow each of you to play to your strengths. Excessive difficulty settling on an idea, or a sense that you’re “settling,” can indicate compatibility issues that might call for reexamination of the partner arrangement.

Technically, that’s all you need. Everything else you can improvise as you go along.

Realistically, there are a few other points you should address up front in the interest of a productive and efficient collaboration. It’s a good idea to understand each other’s work styles early on, because there will be differences. Some stuff is obvious, even cliched: one of you is a morning person and the other is a night owl; one of you is very detail oriented and technical while the other is an endless font of chaotic inspiration. Some of the most successful duos have contrasting personality types. Often it’s that very contrast that drives their creativity. Just keep in mind that the less energy gets spent on driving each other crazy, the more there is left to put into the work.

Future installments of this How-To will take up some of the less obvious ways you and your partner need to get on the same page. Here’s a preview of what to watch for.

  • Defining your process: you each have your own work style, but there has to be an agreed-upon set of steps when you work together.
  • Project management: which one of you sets the schedule, makes sure you have file backups, and keeps things organized?
  • Your combined voice: getting a feel for it, techniques for fostering it.
  • Edits, Critique, and Revision: divvying things up, advantages and pitfalls when working with a partner.