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Thursday, 11.20.2008 |
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| Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing |
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Product Details
Notes
if you want to be a writer, the secret is to write, write, write, and keep writing
as few as 200 writers of prose fiction in the U.S. make a living at it
the average income for a fiction writer in the U.S. is $6,500
the lowest book on the USA TODAY weekly top 150 might sell 1,000 copies
the only reason to be a writer is because you have to be
not for money or fame or even creativity, but because you have no choice
discover what sets you apart and embrace your uniqueness in your writing
find out who you are by finding out what you're most afraid of
the best source of inspiration often comes from trauma, childhood or otherwise
pay attention to your daydreams and especially any day-nightmares
the ones where your subconscious pulls you into another world for a moment
the best stories choose us, we don't choose them
daily practice is essential, your ability to write can slow down with disuse
instead of an outline, try writing a conversation to yourself about the idea
this lets you do actual writing, instead of just thinking or talking to friends
type out questions to yourself when you get stuck, like "So what?" and "Why?"
try to define why an idea interests you, get into detail about what's interesting
in the same way you figure out plot, also think about structure, viewpoint, etc.
remember that most people don't read, so they won't know any of your books
even worse, they think writing is easy, and they'll tell you they might do it
and they'll pitch you their idea and say it's such a great idea that it will be huge
their idea will be too general, ideas are worthless, you need a developed plot
Don Simpson, president of Paramount, invented the term "high concept"
many great plots are too complicated to be reduced to an elevator pitch
resist the temptation to follow trends or formulas for a high concept novel
always know your character's motivation, plot is about why things happen
don't let the plot force your characters to do dumb things or unnatural things
Aristotle says the climax involves reversal and recognition
reversal is the big twist or turnaround, and recognition is the epiphany
plot equals conflict plus motivation
consider adding small details of characterization to minor characters
Hemingway's iceberg theory - use small details to hint at much larger things
while you sit at your desk writing, life may pass you by
get out and collect life experiences so that you can write what you know
write books about subjects you want to learn in life, then enjoy the research
research is a reward for picking an interesting topic, not a penance
don't believe movies or tv shows, they're often wrong in the factual details
take notes when you visit a location, and take digital photos
get your research through the internet, nonfiction books, interviews, etc.
research other novels in your genre too, otherwise you won't be unique
read the classics, again to avoid derivative ideas and cliches
if the pace drags, try cutting the first and last paragraphs of a chapter
often you don't need the setup exposition or the mini-denouement afterwards
avoid flashbacks as much as possible, even the short paragraph ones
look for areas where you use the word "had" and make a note of the flashbacks
a plot with lots of major characters suggests a shifting third-person viewpoint
test different viewpoints when starting a story, the results might surprise you
try limited viewpoint from only the main character vs. multiple limited viewpoints
dramatic irony - the omniscient author hints at something to come
second person distances the reader, while present tense draws them in
with first person, be careful to include sound, touch, taste and smell, not just sight
viewpoint should have something to do with the narrative's theme
an example of bad use of first person is when the story is supposed to be secret
if you can change first person to third without losing anything, don't use first
the first person narrator reveals himself, often without even knowing it himself
there's an unstated deeper level that the third person wouldn't create
if it's first person, ask yourself why is this character telling me this
don't use one point of view for the bulk of the book if that character dies later
the first person can end up dragging because you write all your thoughts
you need to focus more on action scenes and moving the story forward
be careful about description based solely on sight
you might get feedback that your story is "thin" or "flat" or "one-dimensional"
using the other senses of sound, smell, touch and taste draws the reader in
don't do a travelogue description of a location, assume your readers know it
only write description that adds something unique to the setting
don't describe things that are familiar or sights that are already being pictured
use details of the setting as part of the action, rather than describing the place
characters are best described by their actions, let the reader imagine their look
what does the reader absolutely need to be aware of at this moment in the story
mix description into dialogue and action, not just in exposition at the scene intro
to improve your technique, try omitting common features completely at first
like write with no speech tags, no exclamation points, or no adverbs
then gradually reintroduce them when they are appropriate and meaningful
a phone call needs references to sounds, voices and the feel of the phone
writers block usually comes from your psyche or the material being written
second novel syndrome - self-consciousness, doubt, pressure to succeed
forget about yourself the writer and focus purely on the story itself
don't strive for a perfect scene, just force yourself through it
the next scene will be a little easier, and you can always go back and fix things
make your goal to be in constant motion, let yourself make mistakes
try switching to a completely different project to avoid being too close to it
try switching from fiction to nonfiction and vice versa, try short stories
write book reviews, write a letter to yourself or someone else
motion and change are the keys when the problem is in your head
sometimes the problem is on the page, characters refuse to do what you want
you or your characters have missing or faulty motivation
you haven't lost your talent, stop thinking about yourself and focus on the plot
if you're stuck, try something drastic, change the sex of the characters
go back and write a conversation to yourself again, talking about the story
figure out what's missing, why isn't it working, think about character, plot, etc.
question the assumptions that your plot is based on, take nothing for granted
try applying neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) to solve writers block
visualize creative moments and link them with a trigger
say to yourself, "If I did know how to solve this problem, the answer would be..."
watch out for foreign rights clauses if the publisher wants a high percentage
see if the publisher wants to retain audio rights, electronic publishing rights
is there a guaranteed advertising budget, do you approve the cover design
agents usually take 15%, royalty rate is usually 10% of hardcover price
royalty rate on mass market paperbacks is usually 8%
a first novelist is lucky to sell 10,000 copies, typically the advance is under 10k
if you earn back your advance, you'll get 6-month or yearly sales statements
you want a line editor, someone who checks every detail, not a big picture editor
don't get offended by the changes suggested, they are from an objective view
the copyeditor will help you catch grammar mistakes and other details
the galleys are the initial printed version of your book
look for spelling errors and dropped sentences that crept in during printing
as a first time novelist, you'll sit in a bookstore and no one will show up at all
book sales in airports are huge, tons of books are sold there
David Morrell got a $3,500 advance for First Blood, subtract agent and taxes
the hardback publisher later secured a paperback deal for $85,000
subtract half for splitting with the publisher, deduct agent's commission
deduct federal and state income tax of 40%, which leaves $22,950
then you still have to pay self-employment taxes, and you have to pay in advance
before becoming a full-time writer, you should have two years worth of savings
you don't want to write under pressure of a time deadline or money running out
sometimes movie producers like novels, other times they prefer spec scripts
the novel has to be adapted to a screenplay, usually around 115 pages
the adaptation process of development can be costly and time-consuming
studios like to see novels in manuscript form before they are published
the producer has readers who quickly read manuscripts and summarize them
the readers are paid very little, but they have lots of power in recommendations
the one or two page summary with recommendation is called "coverage"
if your agents says a studio wants to buy the film rights, don't get too excited
first see if you have the actual contract, then check the clauses and negotiate
you may need a Hollywood agent, which your regular agent can help you find
read Publishers Weekly, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, William Goldman
two types of movie deals:
1) option to develop the screenplay over a specific period of time
2) movie rights for full purchase price, try to specify a deadline if it's not made
typically a movie might cost a couple hundred million to make
distributors, exhibitors and theaters take the bulk of the profits at first
so most of the box office take doesn't go to the movie studio in the beginning
usually the studio needs to make 3-4 times the film's budget to break even
foreign sales, tv fees and home video can help a lot with profits
for a writer, your profit participation (usually 5%) comes off the net, not gross
don't expect to make any money even if you have profit participation
for every thousand books purchased by studios, only a handful get made
most people in the movie industry don't think novelists can write screenplays
screenwriters deal primarily with sight and to a lesser extent with sound
a franchise is the possibility of sequels with the same characters
make sure your contract says you'll be paid for sequels and remakes
make sure you retain print control of the characters in your novel
you don't want someone else to do a novelization of a sequel
try reading your novel in different fonts to get a new perspective on it
keep a file to save all reviews and publicity materials related to a book
maintain a detailed bibliography of everything you've written and published
also make notes of any interviews you gave or newspaper articles about you
the goal is to have a record of your career, publishers may want this for promo
you generally only get 25 copies of a paperback and 10 copies of a hardcover
do a signing at a bookstore, then ask to buy any unsold books at wholesale
the average time for a book to go out of print is eighteen months
you should be notified if your books are going to be "remaindered"
buy as many copies as you can for a few dollars each
wait a few years, then sell them as collector's editions, priced higher than cover
assume that you'll keep writing and your later books will become bigger
then you can sell past novels online or when you travel to give talks
write something that's important to you, not to the critics |
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