Wing Tip #11: From Tragedy to Comedy?

"My mother wanted us to understand that the tragedies of your life one day have the potential to be comic stories the next." -- Nora Ephron

I have certainly had those moments when something dire turned to hilarious after time had lapsed.  I remember losing my temper once in the college dorm because no one was helping me clean.  In a fit of frustration I threw all the books off our bookshelf and stormed out of the room slamming the door behind me.  Our room full of girls silenced.  

Not knowing where I should go and feeling immediately ashamed, I sat down in the hallway.  After awhile, my friend rapped on the door.

"Is it safe to come out?" she asked.  

That was all it took to get me laughing. 

What about you?  Has anything that seemed important in the moment become comical in time?

Wing Tip #10: Unused Creative Power

"One of the most wicked destructive forces, psychologically speaking, is unused creative power....If someone has a creative gift and out of laziness, or for some other reason, doesn't use it, the psychic energy turns to sheer poison.  That's why we often diagnose neuroses and psychotic diseases as not-lived higher possibilities."  - Marie-Louise Von Frantz


Do you agree or disagree?



P.S.  My husband is off this week so we'll be kicking back and enjoying the sun with our kiddios.

Wing Tip #9 - Sailing Single-Handed Around the World

Jackee at Winded Words sent me a book called Walking on Alligators by Susan Shaughnessy and it's been a wealth of encouragement. (Thank you, Jackee!)  This quote gripped me this morning:


"Success is a finished book, a stack of pages each of which is filled with words.  If you reach that point, you have won a victory over yourself no less impressive than sailing single-handed around the world." - Tom Clancy


Isn't that beautiful? Sniff.


What is success to you?


Getting off to write now...

Wing Tip #8: Dig in Deeper

"Some let the dream go gracefully.  Others do not go gently, attempting to write over the years, beginning journals only to let them lapse, showing up for writing workshop only to disappear after the first session.  If this describes you, it does not mean that you lack ability, though it may mean you lack ego.  But if you can't give it up, if hearing how impossible the odds are only makes you dig in deeper, it doesn't really matter if you've got natural talent.  Your job is to marshal the talent you do have and find people who believe in your vision.  What's important, finally, is that you create, and that those creations define for you what matters most, that which cannot be extinguished even in the face of silence, solitude, and rejection." --Besty Lerner, from The Forest for the Trees, An Editor's Advice to Writers

I start a lot of things.  I don't always finish.  That thought sometimes echoes around my head.  You'll never finish this novel.

A week ago, I pulled out a box full of old school papers.  As I thumbed through paper after paper I discovered writings from my younger self.  First grade, a story about my family in which I was the princess.  Third grade, a tale with more heart.  On and on, I found papers I'd written up through college.  Two diaries half-finished and scraps of stories everywhere.  All a peek into my young mind.  And there was something warm and reassuring in those papers.

I hadn't quit.  I'm still writing.  And if anything, seeing my young dreams made me more determined to continue. I'll dig in deeper.

What's something from your past (or present) that keeps you writing?

Wing Tip #7: Micro-Movements

Ever thought "if only I had more time to write" or "I just need fifteen more minutes"?  Well, let micro-move-ments help you.  This excerpt is taken from SARK's book, Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper (Love that title!):

I invented a method that I use to get writing onto paper.  It's called micro-move-ments.  It's so simple that it appears it can't really work effectively.  Writers commonly assign themselves HUGE projects and then get discouraged when it doesn't fit into "real life".  It's so powerful it's the reason I have 14 published books.  Prior to micromovements, I specialized in "talking about writing" to anyone who would listen, until their eyes glazed over.


Micro-move-ment: 5 sec - 5 min in length
Gentle date and time written down: Gentle means flexible
This creates a "habit of completion": Your writer's mind will note that something is being done with your writing
*If you start and 5 minutes isn't enough, just keep going!

Here are some of her examples:

TUE  8 pm Sharpen 20 pencils
SAT  7 pm Meet friend for tea, discuss literature
MON 7 am Turn on computer, title File: Novel
WED 2 pm Move book pages out of bottom drawer

Sounds simple, huh?  Almost too simple.  But then I don't have fourteen books to my name.  So today my micro-move-ment is polishing my opening paragraph.

Do micro-move-ments seem appealing to you?  Why or why not?

(FTC disclaimer: Unless stated otherwise, the books reviewed have either been purchased from a bookstore or borrowed from the local library.)

Wing Tip #6: Script Your Story

Today my tip comes from a thin but powerful little book called The Business of Writing for Children by Aaron Shepard.  It's a quick read but packed with information.  It walks you through formatting a manuscript, submitting, book publishers, words that make pictures, rhythm and much more.

Script Your Story
Mr. Shepard recommends trying your manuscript as a play. If acted out onstage would the characters be talking or doing something?  Scripting helps eliminate too much telling since you don't want a narrator drolling on.  It will bring out what readers want (action and dialogue), as well as reveal where the story drags.

While this idea might seem better suited for picture books; I think it could be done scene by scene in a novel.

Have you scripted or done something similar with one of your stories?

I can be a bit salesman-ish with my gushing over beloved How-To books so I wanted you to know no one's bribing me to do this.  All these reviews are from my own library.   Valerie at Something to Write About always puts a disclaimer and now I'm going to copy her (hope you don't mind Valerie).  Here it is:

(FTC disclaimer: Unless stated otherwise, the books reviewed have either been purchased from a bookstore or borrowed from the local library.)

Wing Tip #4: Hook Your Reader

Update:  Les Edgerton commented on this!  Thank you Mr. Edgerton.

Want to grab your reader and keep them spellbound?  Here's what Les Edgerton says in Hooked:

...the single biggest reason manuscripts get rejected is because the writer begins in the wrong place.  What's ironic is that manuscripts don't get rejected because the majority of the story is good and only the beginning is flawed--they get rejected because the agent or editor never gets to the good part to begin with.  A story that begins in the wrong place won't be read much past that point.  If the good stuff occurs later on, in all likelihood it will never be reached by the agent or editor.  

Mr. Edgerton knows this because he's been an editor.

What most good hooks have in common is that they have strong inciting incidents that plunge the protagonist immediately into trouble--the trouble that's going to occupy the rest of the story.

The surest way to involve the reader is to begin with an opening scene that changes the protagonist's world profoundly and creates a story-worthy problem.

He goes on to warn against Five Red Flag openings:

Red Flag 1: Opening with a dream
Never, ever, ever begin a narrative with action and then reveal the character's merely dreaming it all.  Not unless you'd like your manuscript hurled across the room, accompanied by a series of curses.


Red Flag 2: Opening with an alarm clock buzzing
Don't open with your protagonist waking up to an alarm clock ringing, or to someone shaking her awake, or to a cute little birdie chirping from her bedroom window, or to a blazing sun shining through the window.


Red Flag 3:  Being unintentionally funny
Don't write sentences like: "Was she going to come in or stay out on the porch, he thought to himself."  It's been fairly well verified down through the annals of history that when a human being thinks, he almost always does so to himself.


Red Flag 4:  Too little dialogue
One of the primary red flags for many editors and agents is the absence of dialogue on the first few pages of a manuscript.  All editors--no matter what the material, screenplay or novel or short story--look for lots and lots of nice white space.


Red Flag 5:  Opening with dialogue
This kind of opening was popular at the turn of the last century; it looks musty now.  The problem with beginning a story with dialogue is that the reader knows absolutely nothing about the first character to appear in a story.


I love openings with the promise of great adventure and an underdog.  What hooks you?

Wing Tip #3: The Glitter of Giving

 At the elementary school where I work, a young student paused to look at me.  She wore a coy look on her cherub five-year-old face.  At first I thought she was smirking at my hat (the Santa Claus kind).  I smiled back.  She grinned and something about her eyes glittered.  It puzzled me as she walked away with her half-smile.

A few moments later, I came upon the girl's mother.

"Oh wait," said the mother.  "I've got something for you from Jordan."  She handed me a gift, a sweet little something.  And I knew this is what had ignited those glittering eyes.  She knew I'd be receiving her present.

What is it about giving to others that makes us sparkle?  How does it leave us feeling lighter, happier, and more worthy?  (Bet you can guess my tip for the day.)

Wing tip #3:  Give.
(Not that any of you need me telling you this.  You already give so much through your blogs, but bear with me.)  Give from your knowledge, your stories, and your ideas.  Share with the world what you've gleaned.  Maybe you'll help some fledgling writer learn how to format their manuscript.  Or how to query.  Or what books are the best to read.  Maybe you'll inspire a young child.

And maybe, if all of us give like Jordan, the world could be a brilliant blaze of glittery eyes.

Wing Tip #2: Thank you notes

(These are simple cards I crafted from scrapbook paper.)

As promised, I'm sharing a bit of what I've gleaned from Making A Literary Life (love this book).  The following is a summation in the author's words:

"The 18-minute version, simplicity itself, is in this paragraph:  a thousand words a day (or two hours of revision) five days a week, for the rest of your life, and--and!--one charming note (or phone call that makes your hands sweat),  five days a week, for the rest of your life."

"Why do I have to write notes?" you may ask.

"Life is a matter of courtship and wooing, flirting and chatting..." Carolyn answers.  "These notes are just notes.  You don't want to burden some poor wrench with the entire story of your life.  You absolutely don't want to ask them for a favor, as in: 'Hello, I really like you work.  Enclosed please find my 800-page manuscript on giant lizards who live under the earth--and throw massive lizard conventions!--in the state of Arizona.'  Don't offer to go and live with them.  Remember what your mother taught you about thank-you notes (if she bothered).  Be gracious.  You're entering into an emotional and spiritual courtship with the literary world that will last the rest of your life."

Learning from other writers (and my Mother), I started sending thank-you notes early--especially for rejections.  BECAUSE, those editors...they do a LOT.  And they rarely get thanked for it.  A thank-you feels like getting a present, it lifts them up.  And we want to lift them, right?  Because without editors...where would writers be?  (I know it's the chicken and egg thing--because without us where would they be, but work with me here)  This is one of those tasks that seems unnecessary, but I can vouch for what one little note can do.  I've found that I get much more detailed rejections (and acceptances) when I've been sending thank-you notes to that editor.  That's not why I send them, but I think it's worth mentioning.  They notice.

So Wing Tip #2 today is simple: Send thank-you notes.  Or "charming notes" as Carolyn See says.

Wing Tip #1: Secrets of Scene

I read almost as many writing books as I read fiction.  So I'll be sharing a tip each week (probably on Thursdays) from what I've learned.  This excerpt comes from a writing conference I attended and unfortunately, I didn't write down the instructor's name.  If I find the brochure, I'll let you know.  This is a tip on working your scenes.

Conflict - Make sure there is some sort of problem, even if it's coming from within your character.

Action - Your character must DO something.

Surprise - We all love this!  Give your reader a bit of surprise.  OR give your character one.

Turn - The main character must enter the scene with one emotion and leave with another.  It can be small or dramatic.  If nothing changes, then nothing happened in the scene.

Senses - It's good to show some of the five senses, but BEST to have all of them.

• Taste - food, gum, drink, blood, OR lack of food - growling stomach and hunger
  
• Smell - coffee, leather, smoke, B.O.
  
• Touch - even the steering wheel or the bumping of gravel when going off the pavement
• Hear - not just who's speaking but other sounds in the scene
• See - let the character see something new, familiar, disturbing, or dull

Keep all these details in mind and your scenes will pop!