Talking the Talk

So my last couple of posts have been from the Shelly Beach Writer's Workshop in Cedar Falls, Iowa. I came away with a wealth of knowledge, and will give my last set of notes from the workshop.  

Holly Miller, editor of The Saturday Evening Post Magazine for 25 + years, and a published author, gave a great overview of what you should consider as you write dialogue into your novel.

She warns that bad dialogue will make an editor, “groan, laugh, scratch their head, and then reject” your ms. Dialogue is important because it shows that you can write...

Here are the 5 big problems Holly has outlined that should be considered as you write the words of your characters:

1.Dialogue that is too correct. High impact moments that have unnatural dialogue will take away from the believability. Here is my example: “Oh no. My car has caught on fire. I must quickly make a phone call and inform the police.”


2.Put too much back story in dialogue. Here is my example: “My grandmother, who struggled financially during the recession, but made some very wise investments and now is comfortably retired, is coming in town for lunch.”


3.Too much dialogue. A good exercise to see if you have too much is to highlight all narration in one color and dialogue in the other. Imagine manuscripts that have intriguing dialogue, but no internal thoughts, descriptions of setting...picture talking heads in the reader's mind.


4.Too little dialogue. Some of my earlier manuscripts have pages and pages of narration and description, and only a paragraph of dialogue. Sounds like fun reading?

5.Inappropriate word choices for Christian fiction. And I will add my own to this, inappropriate words for the time period if you are writing historical fiction. I received a few criticisms on my contest entries because of this. Webster online shows when words came into the language, so check it out if you have questions on your historical writing.

Do you have examples of any of these in your own writing?

Some Tips from Holly:

1.Jerry Jenkins once said that his first draft always sounds like him, but his second draft takes on characters' own personalities. Be sure to take the time to read through and polish, polish, polish!!
2.Always read dialogue out loud. If you need to, get someone to read with you so you can see how the dialogue sounds.
3.Start a new paragraph every time you switch speakers! :)

Hands-On Plotting

So, I have always considered myself a pantster. When I get an idea, I do a very barebones rough outline of what's going to happen and how it will end, and then I begin to type and just go with the character flow. Perhaps it's because I am more right-brained and plotting seems too structured for me, or maybe I just don't have the patience to sit down and map it out when my story is brimming to the surface, ready to be written.

But after listening to Shelly Beach's presentation on her plotting technique, I have a whole new outlook on it, and I'm eager to try it out. It's very hands on and I always like a little craftiness...but two pluses for me:

One, it is very visual: You have a giant map of your whole idea right in front of you as you type.

Two, it is workable: You can move stuff around and change things up throughout the writing process.

In order to plot this way, all you need are post-its, assorted colored notecards, and a large blank wall .


Step 1: Mapping Out Your Story

Begin to map out back story, conflict, complications, obstacles, ultimate crisis (climax), resolutions, using post it notes for each piece of information. In my very conceptual graphic, you see that you are doing a chapter by chapter outline (I only show a few chapters here, but you would go all the way to the end of your story). Be sure your points are moving the story forward and maintaining a rise in tension toward a climactic point (ch. 20 on my example). Visually doing this with your post-its helps you to remember where the story is going, what loose ends need to be dealt with, and what the stakes are at different points of the book.

Examples of what would be written on the post-its from my wip:

Spanish explorers arrive on the river

Chief thinks Spanish commander is a god

Fake god shows powerful arquebus,

Andres and Yana meet at falls...

Step 2: “Braiding” Plot and Characters

So, you have a chapter by chapter outline of what is going to drive your story-- through character emotions and situations. Shelly reminds us that “plot and character go together. Character's flaws drive the plot.”

To learn more about this, check out Robin Perini on Braiding Character with Plot.

Now, assign a notecard color for your main character's point of view and other characters' point of view. (Shelly suggests that one character needs to be your primary point of view.)

On each notecard, write what you want to show through the character's pov at that post-it point in the story.

So from my story (the illustration does not necessarily go with my wip example):

Post it: Spanish Explorers arrive on river

Yana: Intrigued by Andres on vessel

Andres: Journal entry: hardships on river, fear of people they may encounter

Post it: Chief declares fake god

Yana: Doubts in the fake god

Andres: Journal entry: fears his commander's idolatry, notices Yana's doubt

You begin to see how the characters and plot braid together by showing the character's pov in specific ways along the plot line.


A word on plot, from Shelly's notes:

“Don't let your focus be the plot, which is the series of events and situations that occur along the route of your story. The Plot is a natural outcome of the seeds of your story—it emerges from your setup of the characters, their conflicts and the setting they occur in. You'll write a more powerful, believable story if you focus on seed planting long before you worry about the harvest.”

A Lil' Query Help From Shelly Beach

I had the privilege to attend the Christian Writer's Workshop in Cedar Falls, Iowa with Christy Award winner, Shelly Beach. Although my attendance was limited because of the need for childcare (can I just give kudos to my hubby for making it work by taking time off and working out of the house? What a supporter!!), I still walked away from the sessions with a bunch of knowledge.

Can I say, the one word that makes me shudder and want to throw in the towel?

QUERY

Yikes!

Wouldn't it be great if a you could slip your manuscript under the nose of an agent or editor without having to figure out how to wow them in summaries and pitches? Well, Shelly did a fabulous job at summing up the elements of a query, so although my technical writing skill is subpar, I think I have a better grasp on my once dreaded task. ;)

Shelly defines the query as “a single page cover letter, introducing you and your book. A query letter has three concise paragraphs: the hook, the mini-synopsis, and your writer's biography.”

You want to use a professional business letter tone, but still allow your voice to shine through your query and reflect who you are.

SHELLY'S OUTLINE OF A KILLER QUERY:


Paragraph 1: The Hook

• You should get the agent/editor's attention in the first paragraph by using a hook or “one concise sentence." Shelly referenced the AQ database at www.agentquery.com You can link to agencies' websites who represent your genre and find examples of loglines of their books.

An example from The Kite Runner-- "An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the atrocities of the present." 

• This paragraph should also include the genre, title of your book, word count, and why you are querying that agent/editor...see tips below.

Paragraph 2: The Mini-synopsis
This should be around 150 words, and it expands on the hook. It should show the main character and conflict that changes the lives of the characters. You should convey the story arc in this paragraph. Your voice should be present!

Paragraph 3: Your Writer's Biography
Something I didn't realize, is you don't necessarily need your educational background here, unless it specifically relates to you as a writer or your expertise in writing for a non-fiction topic. What you do want to include is:

• Your writing background, publications
• If something in your life relates to your main character, you could mention it to show you have first-hand knowledge of what you are writing
• Contests and awards

The Closing:

And close the letter by thanking the agent or editor for their time.

SOME MORE TIPS:

• Send thank you's even if your letter is rejected, and especially if they take the time to give you input.

• Don't query unless you finish the manuscript: They want to know you can write your way out of a corner, and see the plot concluded.

• Address agents/editors specifically. Know that they can change publishing houses, so check where they are going. Let them know why you chose to query them. Read their blog, website.

• Make sure your book has a catchy, memorable title. :)

REFERENCES WITH SUCCESSFUL QUERY EXAMPLES:

Chuck Sambuchino's blog: www.guidetoliteraryagents.com

Query Shark blog: www.queryshark.blogspot.com