Conquering Show vs. Tell

At first, I was bummed when a few contest judges suggested my main character's motives need more show vs. tell...What? You mean my perfectly crafted fictional best friend wasn't oh so perfectly portrayed? And besides, I was finished writing the manuscript, how could I fix it now, when the story was concluded just as I wanted it. But after a few days of chewing on it, something clicked.
As I edited with pen and paper in hand (it is so much easier than editing on the computer!), I was on a treasure hunt to find appropriate places to weave a new character and new scenes giving a solid boost in my protagonist's motivation. A few things helped me do this for my Historical:

• A peek at General vs. Specific- I had to face the fact that I took a general motivation for my character, and expected the telling of this to carry the weight I needed for character growth.

My example: Her aversion to having to wed has been done countless times, but it is up to me, the author, to sculpt it into a unique fit for my story alone.

• Thought life is not enough sometimes. If the struggle is something that is pivotal in your character's make up and arc, then it needs to materialize in her/his interactions with other characters. An internal struggle that doesn't, seems flat and wasted space to a reader.

My Example: My protagonist thought an awful lot about how she despised the attitude of the men in her village, but her interaction with them barely made the page.

• Determine if a new character is needed to react with the protagonist. This will give opportunities of showing versus telling.

My Example: So, if she hates the idea of being married because her father has chosen an abusive ogre as her match, it gives plenty of showing possibilities.

• Let the thoughts you've written, spur new scenes and new dialogue. And don't be afraid to tweak those thoughts to sync with your changes.

My Example: So when she falls for the man of her dreams, I had to tackle how the big bully would weave into the plot, and not just hang out on the side for show. A battle between the two men at some point? What woman wouldn't be flattered?

In the end, this criticism about my protagonist inspired a whole new twist to the plot, giving me more active, vivid scenes that give my character's inner-self credit with the world around her.

What's Up the Street For Next Week?

Summertime is here in June
Warm in morning, hot by noon.
Fireflies and swimming pools
chase away the teachers' rules

Let's celebrate summer by finding out why some of the Alley Cats love the season so much!

Alley Cats, what is one of your FAVORITE summer activities?

Casey: My favorite summer activity would probably be lying in the shade with a good book…or mowing the lawn—when my mother lets me. (ongoing “fight” in our home) J

Cindy: Top summer activity? Hiking in the mountains, which sadly I won't be doing much of this summer. Or...eating watermelon :) That's pretty good, too!

Krista: I was gonna say the ice cream one… but someone already took that! OH! “Roller Coasters” … yes… I’m a screamer!

Angie: My fave summer activity is hanging out with neighbors around a fire pit, and watching the kids play ghost in the graveyard across five backyards...Gotta love the midwest!

Wendy: Boating
Sarah: As long as it involves ice cream, I'm there! :)

Julia: Taking nature walks with the fam and curling up with a good book and a glass of iced tea.

Pepper: All of the above :-) I mean, can't we just have them all? :-) (except mow the lawn - Case, what are you thinking? Now, walking in a freshly mown lawn sounds nice...but after someone else has done all the hot work ;-)

Do you guys have some favorite summer activities?

What's our weekly lineup?

Angie starts off the week with her contest-inspired post, Conquering Show vs Tell

On Tuesday Julia gets our attention with a post about shaking up your writing routine.

Wednesday get ready for another fabulous editing post with Sarah: Self-Editing Checklist - Repetition

Bring in your Thursday with another great writing post by Wendy.

Oh boy, oh boy - Cindy ends the week with a Happy Ending with her post Fairytale-Endings. Are they for you?

FEATURED ALLEYCAT WEBSITE:

If you have a chance this week, check out Alley Cat, 2010 Genesis Finalist, and mom of two, Sarah Forgrave's website: www.sarahforgrave.com (love the new pic, btw, Sarah)

There are some wonderful links for writers & readers, a cute bio page, AND a link to her fabulous blog.
Now...the real question for Sarah is:
Will potty training a three-year old son be her ultimate undoing?

Stay-tuned for more....

Money & Writing II: The big tax debate - WHEN

Don't ya just love taxes??  I know... dumb question... of COURSE you do! *wink*

The million dollar tax questions many unpubbed/newly pubbed writers ask are these:

When can I start writing off my writing expenses on my taxes?

and

What expenses can I write off?

While I'm no expert (my expertise is more in the payroll side of taxes vs the reporting side), I can give you a few clues and point you in the right direction!

The When (I'll talk about the what in my next post...)

As a very general rule of thumb, you can write off expenses when your writing turns from hobby to business.

WHEN that occurs is subject to a LOT of subjection!

It doesn't necessarily have to be when you are "making money" from your writing. This is when you are spending money to try to "make" money. Many writer's spend years writing their first novel, or for four novels, before they actively start trying to make money from them. So it's kinda hard sometimes to know when you've flipped over from hobby to side-job.

Questions to ask:

Do you have an agent?
Is an editor seriously considering publishing your work?
Are you writing articles and getting payments (even small) for them?
Are you actively writing on a continuous basis, not just when you "feel" like it, and tracking your hours?

If you answered yes to most of these questions (not just one...), then you might have a "business."

But then again, you might not.

The thing about taxes is this: It's not really black and white. Not this particular issue anyway. There are many things left up to interpretation, and an auditor could side either way.

So beware, if you claim your expenses as business expenses and write them off with no income associated to them, this may raise a red flag with the IRS. If this is your situation, I'd HIGHLY recommend consulting with a tax professional when filing your return, especially if taxes make you a wee bit nervous!

The other note is that you can only file a return writing off expenses with no income for a short period of time (I believe 3 out of a 5 year period...). On one hand, if you are spending a lot of money THIS year, and see the fruits of your labor NEXT year, it would stink not to be able to write off those expenses. On the other hand... writing them off TOO early might be to your detriment too (see note about IRS red flag earlier.)

Have I mentioned how much I love taxes? *grin*

Regardless of if you think you can write off your expenses yet... start tracking them NOW! Get a system down, track your hours (good proof that you are spending dedicated time on a regular basis... points to more of a business vs hobby) and keep your receipts.

You'll be much more prepared for when you DO start rolling in the dough. (Here's to dreaming!)

Discussion: Have you started to track your expenses yet? Don't you just LOVE taxes??

Writing Time Management for the Harried Home-Writer

I am the last person you would expect to see this post written by. But as a writer who can have a hard time staying focused, writes or participates in four blogs, tries to stay on top of social media, chores around the house, the last minute substitute jobs and squeeze in half a dozen book reviews a month, I might have a few suggestions.


I might not have kids, but I have enough to replace them. Ha! Someday this list of activities is going to need to be scaled back, but until then…


Here are a few suggestions (10 to be exact), but please know they aren’t mutually exclusive and you might find that NONE of them work, but you won’t know something unless you try, which brings me to number one…


1) You won’t know something unless you try

You won’t know if you can write a 1000 words in a day or edit for hours on end until you TRY. The best way to figure out what works is to just do it. If it doesn’t, maybe you will figure out what WILL work. Trial and error.






2) For the times you work, turn off all social media


During those times, no matter how long or short, turn off the social media. For me I exit out of Tweetdeck. It automatically loads a new tweet when it comes through, so I often get rid of it. I do leave the internet connected, because I’m weird and like the chocolate in the freezer, if it’s there I don’t want it.






3) Set time constraints


I literally work in 15 minute increments. I set the timer, don’t TOUCH my email during that time and edit for 15 minutes solid. I can easily be distracted when I’m editing, and this FORCES me to keep my tail in the chair and work. 15 minutes is an easy goal for me to reach and when I reach it, I give myself a little reward.






4) And no, it isn’t chocolate…


When those 15 minutes are up, I can then check my emails or blogger feed. I have set a goal for myself to get my WIP edited by the ACFW conference. At the pace I am at, that means I need to be editing at least three pages a day or more, five days a week. Which means my blogging day (Friday) has been taken over to do my edits. So during those moments between 15 minute sessions, you’ll most often find me blogging. I take a few minutes and write a post, start one or answer a comment. I have over two weeks scheduled for OEA and almost all of next week done for my personal blog. Keep these breaks realistic. 5-10 minutes at the MOST. Otherwise you can get carried away.




5) Set a writing time


This one might be harder for many moms and working writers to put into action, but I bet if you look, it’s not as hard as you think. I write everyday (or rather work on my computer) from 7:30 in the morning until about 2 in the afternoon. I blog, check my social sites a couple times and work on my writing. I try to stay off of Facebook as much as I can during that time. During blogging, I keep my time short, though I don’t view it as detrimental to my writing time as Facebook. If it starts infringing, it’s back to the bottom of the list.






6) Work in short sequences of time

This pretty much goes hand in hand with the 15 minute session tip. If you can’t find a few minutes during the day to sit and WRITE, then have the computer out in the open and give yourself permission to scribble something as you walk by. If you are going to be serious about this, then you have to be willing to write on the go. We don’t always get the perfect sit down and write time we want.






7) Set priorities


What is your goal for today? Write 500 words? Edit a page? Then make sure you do it. Because if you get too far behind on your goal, then you will be even LESS motivated to work on it the next day. No one expects you to answer an email the minute you get it. Your fiction is more important and if you have 15 minutes to work, don’t spend it checking email.






8) Keep moving


During those periods of writing, keep moving. Every hour or so stand up, move around and keep the blood moving. You are more prone to want to work longer if you take a few breaks to move around. So start the laundry and then power walk back to the computer. ;-)






9) When life happens…write anyway!


Picture this…I have a perfect day of writing planned. Then the phone rings and someone is sick and I need to sub. First...THANK GOD for the work, then…oh BEHIND ON WRITING. Some days are not going to be writing days and you have to give yourself permission to accept that. But don’t give a flimsy excuse that this will just have to be a “no writing” day. And if it is a “no writing” day, then hope you get a good day in tomorrow. If you can legitimately scrounge up even an ounce of energy to work, you need to do it. Develops good stamina for a deadline someday. ;-)






10) To avoid spending those 15 minutes staring at the screen…


Have a few notes from the previous day on what you wanted to work on today. When I start my edits, I go back and read what I changed the day before (usually five or so pages.) Fix spelling errors, awkward sentences and keep going. You’ll be on a roll. Chances are you will spot mistakes from the day before. Repeat this process every day.




What are your suggestions for writing in time crunches?

Dear C. S. Lewis

I am a fiction writer.  I take facts and imagine what if to create a story. 


Today, you're invited to share in a fictitious correspondence with C.S. Lewis. Formulated answers came from blogs, articles, memories and photos from my daughter's dream come true trip, and Lewis' books.


Dear C.S.,
Several writers have expressed an interest in your writings and would like to ask a few questions.

Dear Mary et al,
Interesting. Let me light my pipe first then we can chat. Oh, and by the way, I prefer to be called Jack. If we have time I'll tell you why later.


There. Now. How may I assist you?


Dear Jack,
For this conversation, my questions pertain to your fiction writings. Where did you find your ideas?


Dear Mary et al,
One really must write what one knows. My long term infatuation with mythology became seed for stories. I tasted Norse mythology first as a teen then ventured into Greek, Roman, and of course, Celtic.  I consumed details then analyzed and integrated the information as a fire consumes paper. My desire to learn more could not be quenched. Chronicles of Narnia, Space Triology, and other fiction works grew from this in depth repertoire of information. 


Dear Jack,
I understand you discussed ideas with J.R.R.Tolkien. How did you know each other?


Dear Mary et al,
Tolkien played an important role in my life. I had walked away from God as a teen. While teaching at Oxford, he and Hugo Dyson argued with me late into many nights until I realized the truth and chose to engage in a deep relationship with Christ. With this, my life and writing morphed into a resonance of my new faith. 


Dear Jack,
Did you meet in coffee shops to discuss or edit your works? 


Dear Mary et. al,
We formed a literary discussion society along with three other men from Oxford called ourselves the Inklings. Talks centered around fiction, especially fantasy.  From this group, Tolkien and I read each other's work and agreed to meet regularly to edit each other's manuscripts.


I understand American writers from your period meet in coffee shops to critique or edit each other's works. We, in the UK, met in pubs. Tolkien and I specifically met at the Eagle and Child pub nearly every evening to discuss, mold, prune, and enhance each other's work. His English background infiltrated my writings and my Irish background seeped into his works.


Dear Jack,
Can you tell us about the settings you each chose (re: Narnia and Lord of the Rings)?


Dear Mary et al,
We both grew up in religious homes. He remained close to his faith, but I didn't. Under the influence of Tolkien and others I truly started a life-walk with Christ. 


With Tolkien's help, the memories of special childhood places became settings for my stories. If you travel to Tintern Abbey you might just see the Wood between the Worlds. You won't hear a sound, not a bird, water, or a person talking, you'll only sense the trees growing.


Dear Jack,
What are your thoughts about marketing? I assume you didn't have to blog or FB to promote your book. Did you need to market your works?


Dear Mary et al,
One could say I marketed my books. I felt a need to correspond to readers questions. Why, I remember one particular letter from a ten-year-old girl living in Hertfordshire. She asked a question about a statement Aslan made toward the end of the Silver Chair. Quite delightful that question was, yes, indeed.  I responded to her inquiry immediately. 


Years before, in 1956, I responded to an American girl's question about writing well. Among several points, I listed:  Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.”  (C.S. Lewis, Letters to Children, p. 64.)


Dear Jack,
You certainly invested a lot of time in your writing.


Dear Mary et al,
Perhaps. However, when one finds a passion, time will be invested. I can't imagine doing anything else. Let me leave you with this thought: I sometimes think that writing is like driving sheep down a road. If there is any gate open to the left or the right the reader will most certainly go into it.  (“Cross-Examination,” in C.S. Lewis: Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces, ed. Lesley Walmsley, p. 555.)


Dear Jack,
Thank you for chatting with us. You wouldn't mind answering any questions that might pop up from comments, would you?


Dear Mary et al,
Of course not.  Let me refresh my pipe then we can have at it.

***

THE wardrobe C.S. used is in a small museum on the Wheaton College campus.  While attending the Write to Publish conference, a friend took my picture. I am the one on the left.

What would you like to ask C.S. Lewis, aka Jack?

What have you learned for past or current writers/ authors?

Plotting from Scratch

I work for an elementary school and have the most glorious summers off. Last Friday was my first day of summer and my mind began to return to that creative mode where I mulled over questions like, "What if?" or "How could it work if...?"

Needing a refresher on plot, I searched through my old posts on plot and was reminded of James Scott Bell's book, Plot and Structure. What an excellent book!

In particular, Chapter 3 has a wealth of ideas on how to gather up plot ideas. He has a Top 20 list of ways to get plot ideas that just held me enthralled. Here are just a few:

1. Flip a genre. An example of this would be the old TV show,The Wild Wild West. It is just James Bond set in the Old West.
2. Obsessions. You know, money, looks, ego, etc. Ahab obsessed about a whale in Moby Dick. Create a character, given them an obsession and see where they run.
3. Titles. Create a great title, then write a story to go with it.
4. Steal from the best. Yep, you read right. Bell says even Shakespeare took other's plots and weaved his own magic into them. We've all seen movies with similar plots. Take a plot and ramp it up, make it new, let it sing!

Bell has so many great ideas for generating great and interesting plots. Do you have a favorite way to brainstorm ideas? Do ideas come to you in your normal, everyday life? Or do you sit yourself down and get down to business?

The Pitch & Blurb

Jesus was really great at being direct - to the point. Breaking down a big idea, like God’s grace, and putting it into a concise form. For example, in only a few paragraphs he gives the entire beauty of God’s grace in the story of the Prodigal Son. A BIG idea summed up in a way we can understand.

That’s HARD. To. DO. 

Pitch and Blurb are ways writers do the same thing. (Hmm… Pitch and Blurb - sounds like the name of a pub in the U.K J

Lots of times as writers, we’re expected to create elevator pitches and book blurbs (compressing 95K words into a 50 word summary....AHHHHHH!). It can be a stress inducing activity - especially for those of us are particularly 'talky'.

In fact, last week Casey and I exchanged pitches and blurbs with our good pals, Carol Moncado and Michelle Massaro  It was a great learning experience. I came out with some wonderful tips and ideas. (Thanks so much, ladies).

Casey’s a much better pitch & blurb writer than I am. I think it has to do with my propensity toward long-windedness, but making it short is a key factor in pitch & blurb writing.

Here are a few general tips:

Pitch:

-          Usually 25-30 words

-          Basically sets up the conflict/motivation of the story

-          Strong verbs

-          Power words

-          No names necessary

Here are a few examples I’ve written about famous books/movies.

After a Kansas tornado traps her in a magical land, a young girl must find her way back home before a wicked witch kills her. (25)

An orphaned boy discovers he’s the only wizard who can rid the world of an unnamed evil before it destroys everything he loves. (23)

A disrespected historian seeks to save the Declaration of Independence from international thieves and in the process discover a thousand-year old Templar treasure that will restore his family’s reputation. (29)

Now, what is a blurb?

It’s one of the most important selling features of a book. We walk into a bookstore, pick up a book off the shelf, maybe notice the pretty cover, and…then what do we do?

Flip the book over and read the back blurb.

Blurb

-          Typically run between 100-250 words.

-          Intrigue is usually increased through questions.

-          Spoiler free.

-          A first sentence hook to GRAB the reader’s attention.

-          Try to exhibit the voice and uniqueness of the book.

-           Keep it simple, no complex storyline at this point.

-           Direct.

-          Your main goal is to ‘hook the reader’.

-          Some people pull out a great line from the book and place it here.

Janalyn Voigt has some great tips at Author Haven about pitch/blurb writing.

• “Desire -- What does your main character want? This desire drives the plot toward a specific goal.
• Problem -- A shift or change in your protagonist's life causes a problem.
• Cost or risk -- What will the solution cost? What are the risks?
• Solution -- How will your story resolve? Will your main character realize his or her goal -- or not?

Use your story problem and theme to create a pitch sentence. Be sure and add a hook -- something that sparks interest in learning more. Examples:

Story Problem: A grieving widow longs to find happiness again (desire). When a suitor presses her with his attentions (problem), she must let go of the past (cost or risk) in order to realize her goal (solution).

Theme: Is it possible to find happiness by letting go of the past?Pitch Sentence: A young widow wants to take a chance on a new suitor but what will it cost her to let go of the past?”

Isn’t that a great summary? I thought it might be helpful for getting our minds in ‘concise’ writing mode J

Another FANTASTIC site for pitch & blurb help is on CamyTang’s Story Sensei.

Here’s Camy’s example:

Character--Sydney Bristow, secret agent
Situation--Discovers she's been tricked into thinking she's working for the CIA when in truth it's a terrorist agency
Objective-- To topple the powerful organization called the Alliance by working as a double agent
Opponent--her boss Arvin Sloan, who has been a family friend for years, who lied to her about her job
Disaster--Sloane suspects her because she told her fiancé, and he had him killed.
Summary:
After discovering she was tricked into thinking she's working for the CIA, agent Sydney Bristow becomes a double agent, determined to take down the terrorist group called the Alliance. But can she fool her boss Arvin Sloane when he kills her fiancé and suspects her enough to kill her?

Here’s another great link to read related to pitch & blurb:

http://www.writethatnovel.com/novel-step2.htm

OKAY now it’s your turn!!

Any brave people out there?

I’m not great at these, but here are my examples (and you’re welcome to pick them apart to your heart’s content. I’m a lifelong learner ;-):

25-ish word pitch: A speech therapist determined to leave Appalachia must reform a cattle farmer and develop a new speech pathology program without losing her heart in the process. (25)

or

To escape her bruised past and a professional dead end, a speech therapist must transform an Appalachian cattle farmer into corporate-world material by Christmas. (24)

50-ish word pitch: To escape Appalachia, Dr. Adelina Roseland makes a daring wager to transform a rustic cattle farmer into corporate-world material before Christmas. But getting involved with this single-dad thrusts Dee into a world she’s spent fifteen years trying to forget, which may change not only her mind, but her heart. (49)

Blurb (100-200 words):

 The language of love doesn’t have an accent…
To escape Appalachia, speech pathologist Dr. Adelina Roseland makes a daring wager to transform a rustic cattle farmer into corporate-world material before Christmas. If she succeeds she can present her research at the national convention, launching her career beyond her bruised past and the professional dead-end of a small town.

But Adelina didn’t plan for the faith and friction of single-dad, Reece Mitchell. Drawn into a culture she’d been trying to forget for fifteen years, Adelina finds the warmth of faith and family healing the wounds of her heart. When Reece discovers that he’s been a mere pawn in her step up the corporate ladder, will he forgive her deceit or will their miscommunication end in two broken lives? (128)
(It's My Fair Lady meets Andy Griffith) :-)

YOUR TURN!