Notes and More Notes

That's what I find littered throughout my computer. Files named "notes" or "notes on new story" or "new story" or "notes on chapter3".

Unfortunately instead of this being helpful when putting my ideas together, I find that sometimes I had no idea what I was thinking about.

For instance. Today I opened a file named "ideas" (sounds promising, doesn't it?) This is what I found.

There’s a secret in the house.

What is it?

An adventure

Sisters?

Right. Um. I think that idea needs a little more fleshing out. Like enough that I can answer the question: what was I thinking about?

And then there was this one under the name "Outline for new story" (everything is called 'new story' until I either have a main character name or a title - which means I have a lot of 'new stories').

This is what I found there:

Chapter 1

Incident at school - afterward Ally meets Stella

What kind of incident at school? Study hall and the kids are all goofing around and talking about the latest whatever – or looking up funny videos on youtube and Ally has her head in a book

To which I say. 1) this isn't an outline, not even by generous standards and 2) who are Ally and Stella and what's so important about the incident at school?

When I come up with a new idea for a story I try to put all the relevant pieces together in one place: the concept, the characters things like that. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes (as you can see above) not so much.

I have one started story I found - about a page and half and I have absolutely no idea where the story was going.

So either I ought to finish more of my stories or I ought to get more organized. How do you keep your ideas organized. Are they all in files labeled "notes" and "new story idea" like mine, or does your method actually make sense?

Kindle Auction

There's a great auction going on to benefit Diabetes' Research over at BrendaNovak.com. One of the items being auctioned off is an Amazon Kindle 2.0 donated by mamawriters.com.

I'm part of the group donating this item, so head on over and put in your bid.

Getting to Know your Characters

The characters are a pretty key part of any story (the other of course being plot, but we'll discuss that another day) and its important to know your characters - especially the main character well.

How do you get to know your characters?

I try to avoid writing an introduction to a character that sounds like an application for a date: curly blonde hair, green eyes, likes long walks by the beach and listening to soft jazz. But yet if that's what the character is like, I need to know it.

So I give my character an out-of-book assignment.

An essay.

"Who am I?"

And make them write it. Okay, yeah, I know I'm doing the writing but I let myself get totally into the characters head and write as if I were them answering the question. More than likely none of the specifics written there will end up in a manuscript - but the important thing is it allows me to really get to know my character.

Here's a sample essay from an as-of-yet unwritten story

Essay assignment – Who am I?

I hate these kind of assignments. They always assume that you know who you are and have something to say about it. Well, I don’t. But, I guess Mr. Blair won’t take that for an answer, so I better get to work. I’ll start with the basics. My name is Amy Patricia McKenzie. I was born 15 years ago on a snowy February day. It has snowed every day on my birthday ever since. My mom says that’s an omen. I’m not sure of what.

My father is Mitch McKenzie he works in an office. I don’t know what he does, nor do I particularly care. He’s always tired at the end of the day, I figure the less said about it the better. My mother is Lottie McKenzie. She teaches Art at St. Stephen’s High School. Good thing I’m not artistic or I’d have to be in her class.

I suppose I can describe myself. I have light brown hair, that sometimes looks blonde by the end of the summer, if I’m outside a lot. I have brown eyes and a couple of freckles on my nose. I’m average height and average weight. This is why I don’t like to write these kind of essays.

Let’s see, I can write about what I enjoy. I don’t enjoy writing essays. At least not this kind. I do enjoy writing poetry. I like to read. I play basketball on the school team – but I’m not very good. I like to listen to music and shop at the mall. I’m a typical teenager. So there.

Oh, and Mr. Blair, I know you know my mother, so you know I’m adopted. Why didn’t I put that first in my essay, you wonder? Because that’s not how I identify myself. I am Amy. Not adopted-Amy.

Now that I got that out of my system I guess I’ll write the real essay.

So, what would your main character say if you gave them this assignment?

Revisions Happen

Members of my critique group were discussing revisions. Sometimes it can be so frustrating to have something that you think is just right being torn apart by well-meaning readers who just don't share the vision you had while writing it.

The things is that I don't think anyone writes a perfect first draft. And sometimes it goes way beyond first draft - to second, third, fourth, fifth drafts. And on and on.

I know it's happened to me. When Mike Kissed Emma is the final product of many many revisions. Four of them in fact after I thought it was ready to submit. Two of those complete revisions were at the suggestion of an agent (who eventually passed) and the last revision was based on suggestions made by my editor at The Wild Rose Press. And of course, it paid off, because a final version will actually be available to purchase as of August 19.

And even though I thought it was perfect each time I finished it, I have to admit that it got better with each revision.

So revisions happen. Don't be afraid of them. Let those revisions move your story toward perfection.

A Hero's Journey

When PJ Hoover came to visit yesterday she talked about The Hero's Journey and how she used it in writing her Forgotten World Series, the first book of which is The Emerald Tablet. The evening event had a very attentive audience who asked tons of questions afterwards and eagerly lined up to get their copy of the book signed. My son even got a special repeat performance of the presentation later that evening, because he had to miss the beginning due to baseball practice.

The presentation was fantastic dealing with where she gets her ideas and the importance of mythology in modern life. She gave a quick retelling of Odysseus' journey in order to demonstrate a journey that a hero takes, starting with a call to action and refusing that call, through adventures that change him and finally to the end, where the hero is home again, but changed in some way.

The kids asked interesting and thoughtful questions and everyone had a great time.

But I learned more than the importance of the hero's journey in all this. I learned how important good critique group members are.

PJ and I are members of the same internet-based critique group. We read each others works and critique them. We (and the 6 other members) help brainstorm new ideas or how to make something that isn't working quite right work better.

We've gotten to know each other fairly well this way - but yesterday was the first time we got to meet in person. And she is as delightful as I knew she would be. The visit was over too quickly and will make me wish we could see each other far more often. But it did reinforce how good it is to have someone who can be a go-to person when you have trouble with a work in progress. Writing can be a solitary experience, but it doesn't have to be. And my writing life is much improved by having PJ Hoover and the other members of my critique group in it.

To Mention Pop Culture or Not in a Story

I've finished reading the revised edition of The President's Daughter, by Ellen Emerson White (and yes, I did read the two side by side the whole time - which is a bit awkward.) The experience left me wondering about mentioning any current popular things by name. Now we could all be so lucky to have our work still being read 25 years later - and find these kind of changes necessary - but is it worth it to mention hip and trendy things that a few years later might make your work seem out of date?

Some of the references that Ellen Emerson White had to change (that were all perfectly understandable in 1984)
Tab - changed to Coke
Talking Heads
Old Time Rock and Roll
Tom Cruise imitation (a la Risky Business)
Stray Cat Strut
Meet the Press with David Brinkley
"set the record to the right song"
TV references to Hill Street Blues and the Brady Bunch are changed to watching the shows on DVD
TV references to the Bionic Woman, Bewitched and Gilligan's Island and a reference to UHF are eliminated.
"soaking in Palmolive" - taken out, since the commercial reference is now obscure.

And the list goes on and on.

When I first read this one of the things I really enjoyed were all of the pop culture references that I did get. To me it just showed a book reality that existed in the same reality I lived in.

But clearly if this is to be presented as a book with a modern sixteen year old girl as the main character these things had to change. Ellen Emerson White was fortunate to have the chance to update the series and give it renewed life.

It still leaves me wondering - how much pop culture is too much to put into a story? Is it better to make up the names of TV shows and bands in order to not run the risk of the pop hero you put in the story ending up in jail before the story is published? Or is it better to be hip and mention things that your audience will recognize and enjoy getting the connection between the book world and the real world?

I once wrote a story that had my characters going to the Berlin Wall. At the time it seemed impossible that a time would come when it didn't exist. But a few years later it was torn down.

I suppose it's impossible to know all the things that will one day date your story.

Reading Revisions

I'm re-reading a book that is clearly one of my favorites (based on the fact that I re-read it and its sequels on average once a year and have since I bought it when it was first published in 1984). The book is The President's Daughter by Ellen Emerson White.

The book was recently re-released in a revised form after the fourth book in the series was published nearly 20 years after the first three. And since the fourth book takes places only a few months after the third book there were some continuity problems. Basically in the first books the internet didn't exist - but by book four it was all over the place - and lots of other technology besides - like cell phones and such.

So Ellen Emerson White had the opportunity to revise and republish the first three books. She updated them to take out archaic references and also had the chance to simply revise a bit.

I got the book from the library - because it felt funny to buy a book I already own - and I'm trying to read them simultaneously so I can see what the changes are.

And you know what? I can't read a book like that. It's getting annoying.

But I'm enjoying the new version (and starting to think I might have to own it - and the sequels). The changes she made all seem to work well. I haven't come across anything that I missed because she removed it. Okay - except the main character making her cat dance to "Stray Cat Strut" - but I'm guessing that's a song that most teens don't know these days.

What a great opportunity: to be able to revise twenty years later. I see where she added things that will come into play in later books - making it all work together in a much stronger way. I see where she made minor changes - simply because they worked better the new way (which I wouldn't have thought of without seeing the new and old together.)

And what lesson does this teach me (other than it's hard to read an old and new version at the same time)? It teaches me that revisions always work. Even twenty years later - on a book I absolutely love - she went in and made it even better. (I will admit I'm only up to chapter 3, so maybe I'll feel differently as I go further - but I doubt it)