All week, I've been reading James Scott Bell's book on Plot and Structure, which is excellent and accessible, probably the least daunting of all such books I've read. It's full of exercises, which I imagined I'd eschew but in fact I've enjoyed. One of the nicest things about the book is that not only did it remove my feelings of inadequacy about my skill for plotting and structure but it gave me a great boost in terms of my strengths. I CAN write great dialogue! I DO write compelling, memorable characters! These things are not easy, in fact many authors who are plot aces struggle with character and/or dialogue.
According to experts, the ability to write strong characters is linked to a laudable level of self-awareness - the better you know yourself, the better your characters. I blinked a bit at this, never having thought myself much cop in the self-awareness stakes. Then again, my stamina for this crime novel project has astounded me in the last week. I'd thought that second agent rejection had killed me dead in the water, but lo! I lived to write another day.
All this and keeping work and home happy too!
Friday, 29 February 2008
Thursday, 28 February 2008
The writer's arsenal
I'm doing my best to cultivate the twin habits of Determination and Indifference, a tip I picked up from The Writer's Book of Hope (which isn't as banal or patronising as the title suggests). I've always had more than my fair share of Determination. Call it obstinacy, cussedness, what you will. For those who believe in that sort of thing, I'm a Taurean, so bullish by nature. Indifference is another kettle of cats. It means not minding when people reject your stories, not investing too much in the submission process, caring enough but not too much what other people think of your writing, so that when the inevitable rejections come along, they don't dent your resolve or (this happened to me countless times in the last three years) stop you dead in your tracks. There's the added bonus of being pleasantly surprised by success when it arrives.
To be armoured in Indifference seems to me a crucial requirement for a writer. I'm not talking about arrogance, or not wanting a reaction from your reader, and I certainly don't mean not caring about your craft or your characters. I'm talking about riding out the waves, refusing to let the slings and arrows daunt you.
I have a project out there right now which I'm telling myself is No Big Deal. If it comes off, terrific, I shall be ecstatic. If it doesn't, pfft. On to the next one.
Detecting a note of Bluff in the above? You bet. I'm not armoured just yet. But I've got the breast-plate gleaming, and that's a start.
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Agent insights
This morning, I was lucky enough to spend forty minutes picking the brains of a leading U.K. literary agent about what's right and wrong with the current manuscript of my crime novel. Absolutely invaluable, not least because she said many positive things about my writing while being brutally (her word) candid about the problems with plot and structure. She was keen to stress that this was a subjective, personal response to the ms, but honestly? Everything she said resonated with me. And a lot of it fell under the general heading of Gems for the Aspiring (Crime) Writer. So I'm going to share an edited version of her insights, in the hope it will be of value to others. Indulge me as I record the good stuff, personal to me, by way of an investment in my self-confidence. And bear in mind that some of the negative stuff may be things with which another writer is lucky enough never to struggle.
Keys to good crime writing
“Crime is a brutally rational genre with an almost Puritanical discipline in terms of plot, motivation, evidence, reasoning and conclusion. At the same time, it has the potential for the most gothic exploration of the inner reaches of the soul.
“What makes a good crime novel is the contrast, and the tension, between the creepy and the mundane.
“Narrative tension is crucial but good plot is more important than too much plot – lose the codes and complications.
“Settle on a single strand of story and go deep – dig down into the psychology.
“The more gothic the ingredients (and gothic is good – we all love gothic), the greater the need for logic and resolution. The premise, the core of the story, has to work in these terms.
“You need to plot out a very very tight story. Take away all the trappings and work out which story makes psychological sense – focus on that story.”
Specific problems with the ms
“It was as if you’d thought what are the ingredients for a crime novel? A bit of Da Vinci Code, a bit of police procedural, a bit of Michael Connelly? Then you put them all in. There was no air to breathe.
Note: Interestingly, I didn't think this; I've never read the Da Vinci Code, or any Michael Connelly, but I will confess readily to trying too hard to deliver what I thought crime readers wanted to read, rather than focusing on the story I had to tell
“There were too many strands and every strand was twisted – I stopped believing it because of this 'clottedness'. There was too much plot and drama; just as we were settling into one strand, there are questions raised about another.
“Your mistake in trying to make it plot-driven was to introduce more plot when what you need is less but better plot. You need to slim down the many elements, tease out a simpler but deeper story.”
The bright side
“You write really really well, with genuine wit, originality and charm. Straightaway there is the sense of feeling relaxed with the text that comes with confidence in the author.
“You have the potential to write with real depth, no doubt about it – you have created great characters and dynamics between them.
“With your ability to write, and the ideas here, you have the makings of a really really impressive novel.”
Last but not least
“Revision can be harder than starting over. If you do decide to rework this story, it might be best to show the revision to someone who hasn't seen the original, but I’d be very pleased to see a new story from you.”
Keys to good crime writing
“Crime is a brutally rational genre with an almost Puritanical discipline in terms of plot, motivation, evidence, reasoning and conclusion. At the same time, it has the potential for the most gothic exploration of the inner reaches of the soul.
“What makes a good crime novel is the contrast, and the tension, between the creepy and the mundane.
“Narrative tension is crucial but good plot is more important than too much plot – lose the codes and complications.
“Settle on a single strand of story and go deep – dig down into the psychology.
“The more gothic the ingredients (and gothic is good – we all love gothic), the greater the need for logic and resolution. The premise, the core of the story, has to work in these terms.
“You need to plot out a very very tight story. Take away all the trappings and work out which story makes psychological sense – focus on that story.”
Specific problems with the ms
“It was as if you’d thought what are the ingredients for a crime novel? A bit of Da Vinci Code, a bit of police procedural, a bit of Michael Connelly? Then you put them all in. There was no air to breathe.
Note: Interestingly, I didn't think this; I've never read the Da Vinci Code, or any Michael Connelly, but I will confess readily to trying too hard to deliver what I thought crime readers wanted to read, rather than focusing on the story I had to tell
“There were too many strands and every strand was twisted – I stopped believing it because of this 'clottedness'. There was too much plot and drama; just as we were settling into one strand, there are questions raised about another.
“Your mistake in trying to make it plot-driven was to introduce more plot when what you need is less but better plot. You need to slim down the many elements, tease out a simpler but deeper story.”
The bright side
“You write really really well, with genuine wit, originality and charm. Straightaway there is the sense of feeling relaxed with the text that comes with confidence in the author.
“You have the potential to write with real depth, no doubt about it – you have created great characters and dynamics between them.
“With your ability to write, and the ideas here, you have the makings of a really really impressive novel.”
Last but not least
“Revision can be harder than starting over. If you do decide to rework this story, it might be best to show the revision to someone who hasn't seen the original, but I’d be very pleased to see a new story from you.”
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Hiatus
I shan't be around for a week. Work and play, in about equal measure. I'll be using the break to recharge the batteries and reflect on writing challenges/obstacles. See you around in seven days or so.
Friday, 15 February 2008
Thursday, 14 February 2008
Junk yard
Right now, my brain is a junk yard. I have the definite impression that there are hidden treasures lurking here, if I could only just clear the lumber and the faux antiquities, the slag-heap of yellowing papers out of the way. Something priceless might be hidden, a lost Vermeer or another of Nabokov's forgotten masterpieces. Until I start digging, I can dream.
I am in self-imposed limbo awaiting the agent's verdict, unable to begin writing anything new for fear the problems afflicting the last ms are endemic. This week, I have turned out a 300 word flash, straying back to literary fiction because it's my comfort zone in times of doubt, a place I can take cover (under a warm, worn tapestry of words) hiding from the monster, Plot.
It won't last. I won't let it. Increasingly, I don't count it as writing if it feels too safe, too easy. I suspect this makes me a fool, and possibly arrogant also. Ah, well.
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