A few
months ago, I received my first agent rejection letter. The agent said that
while she liked my writing, my story and plot were not unique enough.
After a
trip to Dairy Queen and about two days spent doing anything but writing (ha!),
I sat down to examine what the agent had said. And you know what? She was
right.
So I
set out to correct my deficiency in plot and structure. I’ve been a member of My Book Therapy—an organization founded by award-winning
author Susan May Warren that focuses on teaching the craft of writing—for
nearly a year, but had yet to attend any of the group’s writing retreats.
I
decided to change that. Last month, I attended the MBT Storycrafters Retreat in
Minnesota.
Changed.
My. Life. (And writing!)
The
retreat was small, only about 10–15 people, and that meant I received
individual attention from Susie. That woman is amazing and just so called to be
a teacher. She truly cares about each person there and brainstorms like you
wouldn’t believe.
At the
retreat, Susie goes through the very basics of building a plot from the ground
up. There is so much information crammed into your head over 48 hours, but it
is all so valuable. You actually come away with a fleshed out story idea and
your first scene written.
I
thought I’d share with you some key points I took away from the weekend:
Character sheets aren’t enough.
Before
I joined MBT, I used character sheets to get to know my characters. You know,
the ones with details about what kind of car your character (we’ll call her
Tina) drives, her dog’s name, and her favorite color. While those details can
be important and very telling of Tina’s character and who she is, they by no
means are enough.
Instead,
think about what event in your character’s past (called the Dark Moment) shaped her. Make it one
specific event. That event then leads to the Lie She Believes. For example, in my current work in progress, my
main character Stacy’s mom broke a promise, one that leads to the death of
Stacy’s dream. The lie she believes is that no one can be trusted—that you have
to do everything yourself.
The lie
leads to the Greatest Fear, which
comes true in the Black Moment, or
the big event toward the end of the novel when all heck breaks loose and the
lie seems true.
See how
all of these things tell us much more about a character than the car she
drives? In order to figure some of these out, Susie suggested delving deeper by
interviewing your character.
Storyworld can make or break a scene.
Storyworld
is that all-encompassing something about a scene that puts us there and
practically makes the setting like another character. I have always included
little details into my scene to accomplish this, but I don’t think I was doing
enough of it. Susie suggested brainstorming the following basics just before
writing a scene. Spend about 10–20 minutes doing this and it will make you much
more in tune with your setting and what’s going on in your scene (even pantsers
can do this!):
Ask the five W's.
·
Who: What's the POV
character's emotional state in 1-2 words?
·
What: What is going on
around the character? What is the character actually doing in the scene? (This
last question really helped me because my scenes were previously filled with
lots of smiling, nodding, fists clenching, etc. Susie said to give your
characters something to actually do, like peel potatoes, get ready for a party,
etc.)
·
Where: Physical location,
but also what is significant about this place to the character?
·
When: Time of day, time
of year, etc.
·
Why: Why is the
character here?
Add in the five senses.
·
Close
your eyes and pretend like you're there. What do you hear?
·
What
do you smell? Be as specific as you
can, even giving analogies here.
·
What
do you see? Pull out little
significant details.
·
Taste can be a feeling
(like tasting guilt or regret) or an actual taste.
·
You
should only use significant touches.
I wrote
a new scene at Storycrafters and sent it to my critique partner. She told me it
was the best scene of mine she’s ever read because the storyworld was so
vibrant and alive.
So
yeah, guess it makes a difference.
First lines should put us in the character’s
head.
The
first line—and I’m talking about the first line of each scene, not just of the
entire book—is responsible for drawing our readers in. Because of that, we want
them to be powerful. Strong.
We also
want them to get us in the POV character’s head.
A great
trick Susie taught at the retreat was this: When you’re brainstorming your
scene, close your eyes and embody your character. You’ve already thought about
where she is, what she’s doing, and what else is going on
around her. Now, what is she thinking? What thought is running through her
mind?
That is
your first line.
An
example from the scene I developed at Storycrafters (technically two lines, but
you get the picture):
“How
had it come to this, singing in a backwoods joint that felt more like a prison
courtyard than the concert hall of Kacie’s dreams? Yeah, the Lizard Lounge was
definitely a far cry from the Grand Ol’ Opry.”
Your Turn: Have you ever been to a writing
retreat? What takeaways did you bring home? If not, what writing tidbits have
you been learning lately? Please share!
Since
the age of six, when she wrote the riveting tale “How to Eat Mud Pie,” Lindsay
Harrel has passionately engaged the written word as a reader, writer, and
editor. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication and an M.A. in
English. In her current day job as a curriculum editor for a local university,
Lindsay helps others improve their work and hones her skills for her night
job—writing inspirational contemporary fiction. Lindsay lives in Phoenix,
Arizona, with her husband of six years and two golden retriever puppies in
serious need of training.
