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!

What's Up the Street For Next Week?

If you haven't noticed we really like to celebrate around here!
And what a better way to start off June than with some partying.

Out of over 100 entries, Casey Herringshaw was picked as one of six finalists in the Frasier Writing Contest given by Susan May Warren, Rachel Hauck, and Sarah Anne Sympolec over at My Book Therapy. It's a great honor and we're super proud of our youngest Alley Cat!

Winners for the Frasier will be announced at the My Book Therapy Pizza Party at ACFW in St. Louis, MO.
Good luck, Case. WOOHOOOO!!!

More news? Congrats to Patsy. She's our winner for Jeannie Campbell's Writers Guild to Creating Rich Back Stories

Now, let's look at our week, shall we?

Gotta pitch? Stop by Monday and read a little about pitches and get ready to show off your own. Pepper has roped in the support of the other Alley Cats and is going to have a Pitch & Blurb day - so bring your best, and we'll all work on them together.

School is out for most people - and that means Sherrinda too. Stop by Tuesday and check out what she has to share with us after a full year of chaos and mental exhaustion. Writing from Scratch with Sherrinda.

Wednesday Mary welcomes in a MASTER storyteller. Or at least the sage advice of a master storyteller. Stop by for a post entitled "Dear C.S. Lewis"

Our little Frasier winner - Casey, brings you some 'time management tips for the harried home writer' on Thursday. If time is NOT on your side, or you need encouragement in the midst of life's crazy twists and turns, check out this post.

Back to the writing business, with Krista's Friday post - Money & Writing: Part II. The Big Tax Debate.

Newstand:

Sarah is giving away an Amazon card on her blog this week.

Pepper's continuing her review series with A Week's Review with Deeanne Gist on her blog.

Setting Manuscript Goals

With each new manuscript I write, I learn more about myself as a writer. I learn my strengths and weaknesses, and basically what makes me the most productive as a writer. And we all know as writers, being productive in every sense is a good thing.

So what are good goals to set before beginning each manuscript in order to be the most productive we can be?

Word Count

Before I begin writing, I estimate approximately how long I want my novel to be. It doesn't have to be exact, though a general range is a great idea. I also estimate the approximate day I want my novel to be finished, and from that I establish a word count goal I need to meet each week in order to finish that novel on time.

For my current WIP, I made a spreadsheet for the first time with Xcel. With it, I am able to simply and quickly input my progress each day and let it tally (weekly and overall) my progress. It's been a great tool to keep me on track.

Know the Story

Whether a beginner or a long-time writer, being more productive with your writing time means knowing your story. For some of us, extensive plotting is involved and for others, it's a lot more basic.

Regardless of how extensive our approach, there are a few elements of a story it truly helps to make a goal to know before beginning.

Goal and motivation for main characters - it doesn't have to be a major outline or character sketch, but at least a general sense of what our characters want and why they want it.

A general feel for the direction of the novel - major plot points and even a vague idea of the ending.

Your purpose in writing the story - to reveal a theme, to entertain, to touch readers, etc.

Small Goals

I've learned some of my weaknesses as I move from one manuscript to the next and one of my big issues is repetitive words. I've begun keeping a sheet of words I use too often so that I can either try to avoid them or be able to look for them when I'm doing the edit.

We all have our weaknesses, so being aware of them is so valuable. And...that brings me to the next goal.

Improving From the Past

Again, we learn from each manuscript we write. Becoming aware of these mistakes, whether through our own realization or through advice from critique partners or editors, is so beneficial as we continue our writing journey. We can make general or specific goals to grow from what we've learned and make every additional piece of writing better than the last.

These are just a few tools I use as I begin each new story. I'd love to hear goals you set as you begin each new manuscript, and what helps you to be as productive as you can be.

Writing at the Crossroads

I found myself stuck. In my last book, A Shore Thing, one of the supporting characters, Suz, continued to pray for her soon-to-be ex-husband, even as he sat in jail for committing a felony. In Fade to Blue (released this month), Suz became the heroine. I already had a strong sense of her character, so I began the process of asking, “What if …?” and applying those questions to this very real person in my mind. Eventually, I found myself with more questions than answers.

What if …

But just when she does …

What if …

And at about that time …

What if…

As I followed single-mom, Suz, it quickly became apparent that one aspect of the story—her divorce in the midst of faith—would become an issue. So I continued to write and plan, to follow Suz on her path of finding out what she wanted to do, and to learn if her desires matched up with her faith.

Inevitably, my heroine found herself at a crossroads.

May I be honest? If faith wasn’t a thread in this story, I could let my character do or say whatever pop culture dictated. The issue of her divorce might not have been an issue at all and some other conflict would have risen to the top of the plot point chain. In Suz’s case, however, her faith is the point on which she pivots, so how could I ignore her struggle?

As Christians who write, we have to be so careful, though. I’d never want to steer someone wrong, or to as the Bible says “cause my brother to stumble.” Yet I have no interest in sermonizing either. Instead, I want my characters, no matter what the issue, to struggle with their decisions the way we all do at times. And that means that as writers we too have to press in to those corners that we inevitably find ourselves in.

The answers don’t always come easy. If you write, maybe you’re like me, and you often find yourself listening to the voices of many more than your muse. There are readers, of course, but also reviewers, editors, sales and marketing—even critique partners—all who have opinions about what our characters should or should not do. Daunting, isn’t it? But in Jeremiah 6:16, the Lord gives this advice to savor: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”

To writers, this verse suggests standing at the crossroads with our characters. It suggests contemplation, prayer, and continuing to show up and write even through the tough patches.

With Fade to Blue, after I prayed and wrestled to the point of a near-ulcer over my heroine’s decisions, my pastor “happened” to deliver a sermon that provided the perspective necessary to taking that first step out of her crossroads—and I was ready with pen in hand. Don’t you love when that happens? No peptic medication necessary!

I love what Donald Maas says in Writing the Breakout Novel: “Some say success as an author requires a big ego: I say that it requires a big heart.” So true. Not only that, I believe that those big hearts must be softened by our experiences with God’s grace.

Next time you find yourself at a crossroads in your novel, don’t shy away, instead press in. Pray hard. Shut out the voices for a while. Instead, think about what it’s like to hold a seashell, constantly turning it over in your hand. Though they’re often tossed into the sea with nary a glance, seashells are intricately beautiful—even when broken. The more you examine your characters lives, no matter how shattered or sinful they may be—the more beauty can be found. Why? Because it’s in those dark places where God’s grace shines brightest.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

http://www.juliecarobini.com/

I grew up as Julie Navarro, in a family of truly right-brained individuals. Among us you’ll find writers, artists, and musicians, all of us willing to talk about the arts at a moment’s notice.

Over the years, I’ve published several hundred articles and stories in magazines and books, including Aspire, Decision, Expecting, Focus on the Family, Key Magazine and God’s Abundance: 365 Days to a Simpler Life. As I wrote, I found a common theme cropping up: my family, the sea, and God’s timely work in the lives of those around me.

Maybe it was time to incorporate those interests into novels, I thought.
And so I did. Not once, but twice. Both times, God shut both doors and windows. So I continued to write and dream and raise my kids with Dan. Eventually I decided to write romantic seaside novels, and that’s where I found my voice.

When I’m not writing, marketing, or editing for others, I’m driving my kids around town, imagining that my mid-sized SUV is actually a sleek sailing yacht.

Self-Editing Checklist: Characterization (Plus a Giveaway!)

Plot vs. character. Character vs. plot. The debate could give writers a headache the size of War and Peace. Lucky for all of us, I'm not going to jump in that pool.

Regardless of your approach, the content in this post assumes you've done some characterization. It might be character interviews or charts or talking to your characters while you drive your son to preschool (which I've never, ever done...*grin*).

In case you haven't figured it out yet, Point #8 in my self-editing checklist is Characterization. (For the previous 7 points, click here.) Here are some things to consider as you analyze your characters in each scene.

a) When introducing new characters, are you info-dumping every detail upfront, or are you letting their character be revealed through action and dialogue as the story plays out? This includes backstory. Are you spelling out their family history before we know who they are?

Think of it in terms of real life. If I meet you at the park while my kids are climbing the jungle gym, I'm not going to tell you about my childhood, starting with the birth canal. I'll start by talking about my current life, my kids, and my potty training battles if I see that your kid is in Pull-ups too. Then if the friendship progresses beyond an acquaintance, we'll add another layer, and so on.

Get the reader interested in your character's current struggle, and they'll be dying to peel the layers at a later point (preferably after Page 50 or even 100).

b) Does each of my characters leave a dominant first impression? Have I made them distinct enough to differentiate them in the reader's mind? This might include different strengths, weaknesses, appearances, speech, mannerisms, and attitudes. (For an expansion on this topic, check out this overview of characterization.)

c) Will readers be able to relate to my characters? Are they too perfect? Too flawed? Too cliched? Seek to find a balance between imperfections and likeability. This is a very tricky skill to learn (and it's one I'm still learning!). One book I highly recommend is Writing for Emotional Impact by Karl Iglesias.

If you're in the early stages of characterization, or if you're stuck with a difficult character, there's an amazing resource available. My critique partner, Jeannie Campbell (aka, The Character Therapist), is launching her new website TODAY! She's a licensed therapist who provides tailored diagnoses and evaluations of fictional characters, and she has awesome tools on her site.

In fact, she's offering her Writer's Guide to Creating Rich Back Stories as a giveaway to one lucky commenter! The winner will be announced in our weekend edition. Be sure to check out her site! (And no, I'm not just saying that because I think she's nice and super-cool.) :)

Your homework for the next two weeks, should you choose to accept it: Read the article I referenced and analyze your scenes for how your characters are being portrayed. If you've found trouble spots or just need ideas to move forward, check out The Character Therapist, as well as the book I mentioned above.

How do you usually develop your characters? Do you err on the side of making them too perfect or too flawed? What are your favorite characterization resources?

* Headache photo by Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
** Onion photo by Carlos Porto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net