|
 |
 |
Saturday, 02.04.2012 |
|
| How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II |
|
|
|
Product Details
Notes
INTRODUCTION
advanced techniques to be covered:
1) how to make characters not just dynamic but memorable
2) how to heighten reader's sympathy and identification with the characters
3) how to intensify suspense to keep the reader gripped
4) how to make a contract with the reader and stick to it
5) how to avoid the fiction writer's seven deadly mistakes
6) how to write with passion
the author goes against the beginner "pseudo-rules"
like changing viewpoint within a scene, or keeping the author invisible
CHAPTER 1 - THE FICTIVE DREAM AND HOW TO INDUCE IT
the point is to induce the fictive dream by the power of suggestion
create sympathy by making the reader feel sorry for the character
this works in cases where the character is an antihero, a bad guy on the surface
the reader identifies with the character when they support his goals
again, even if the character is bad, give him a noble goal for identification
the example is Don Corleone, who is a mob boss, but helps the little guy
create empathy by using sensuous and emotion-provoking details
this makes the reader feel the plight of the character emotionally
the final step in transporting the reader to a fictive dream is inner conflict
show both sides strongly within a character, and let the reader share the struggle
CHAPTER 2 - ALL ABOUT SUSPENSE
suspense comes from making the reader worry and wonder
start with an undecided or undetermined story question
open with a hook that lends itself to one or more questions immediately
these questions can be answered quickly, or delayed until the end
but make sure the question is relevant to the whole story, it draws the reader in
suspense can come from curiosity, but it's better to use anxiety or apprehension
do this by placing a sympathetic character into a situation of danger or menace
light a fuse by creating a deadline and creating pressure before time runs out
CHAPTER 3 - OF WIMPS AND WACKOS: MEMORABLE CHARACTERS
avoid the wimpy housewife or accountant who's pathetic
even if they overcome their obstacles by the end, it's too late to keep interest
being a wimp is not a problem, being stuck and not taking action is the problem
your characters must be driven to take action
a good dramatic character is interesting in the same way real people are
so think of what makes someone interesting when you meet them
their job, their dreams, their inner conflict and passions, their life drama
some people are well traveled, so they can talk about interesting places
some people have thought deeply about life or have strong, unusual opinions
interesting people have had rich and varied experiences, they've lived a full life
your character biography should be an interesting story in itself
competent characters are more interesting, they have extraordinary skills
consider adding wacky personality traits, imagine extreme cases just to test
a foil is a literary device for enhancing traits of one character in contrast to others
try contrasting a character with their setting also, put them in unexpected places
CHAPTER 4 - THE "P" WORD (PREMISE) REVISITED: PART ONE
premise is a statement of what happens to characters as a result of conflict
it's the story summary, it embodies character, conflict and conclusion
clearly define your premise, then you'll know if each scene is relevant
the premise relates to what you want to say about human nature and change
your story should be about some aspects of human life, not all aspects
bring out your theme by focusing on something specific you want to examine
then place this subject under a microscope and use conflict to reveal insights
a premise is not really the same as a moral or theme
a moral teaches something, but a novel can have an immoral theme
themes are recurring fictional ideas
aspects of human existence that are being tested or explored in the novel
a premise is what happens to the characters as a result of the actions taken
you can sometimes state the premise as "(human nature) leads to (condition)"
without a premise, you just get random events that don't develop or progress
if events can be reordered without changing the story, there's no premise
three types of premises:
1) chain reaction - an incident sets of a series of events leading to resolution
2) opposing forces - x vs. y = z, (human nature) vs. (human nature) yields (result)
3) situational - characters affected differently by war, poverty, religion, etc.
CHAPTER 5 - THE "P" WORD (PREMISE) REVISITED: PART TWO
a good story should have irony, surprises, and developing characters
the text can change without changing the premise
the same premise can be shown in many different ways, through different actions
watch successful films and figure the premise, it's usually strong and well proven
think of which scenes could be dropped because they don't relate to the premise
CHAPTER 6 - ON VOICE OR THE "WHO" WHO TELLS THE TALE
a strong narrative voice in fiction is created by tone and command of detail
the narrator does have personality, the author is not completely invisible
this is not "authorial intrusion" where the author talks directly to the reader
if you're not a beginner, you can choose first or third person for different reasons
forget the limitations of voice, those can be overcome, explore the possibilities
to find your voice, copy other authors and try to imitate their voices to learn
try writing the same passage is different voices to understand what works
CHAPTER 7 - THE AUTHOR/READER CONTRACT
the reader expects the novel to be of a general type - genre, mainstream, literary
start the premise right at the beginning, even if you reveal other aspects later
keep your style consistent, once the reader is into it they don't want to be jarred
if you need to break tone or voice, use a diary or journal entry or other device
you can also break the novel into parts to separate major changes, like "Part II"
play fair, give the reader a chance to figure out the end, but make it really hard
don't use coincidence or contrivances to force a cheap solution to a problem
interesting characters should overcome interesting obstacles in interesting ways
avoid cliches, cliche stories, cliche cardboard characters, cliche trick endings
avoid bad melodrama, good melodrama happens naturally, it's not forced drama
don't cheat the reader with a weak ending, make it relevant and powerful
make the climax explode, rather than fizzle to a slow and weak conclusion
CHAPTER 8 - THE SEVEN DEADLY MISTAKES
1) timidity
the drop-out rate in a hard-nosed creative writing workshop is often 70-80%
receiving hard criticism is painful, but it's the only way to learn and improve
timid writers go from workshop to workshop looking for a soft leader
it takes guts to be a writer, tough it out, get honest feedback to improve your work
either joke about criticism, or avoid discussing it, don't get defensive or argue
you can ignore the criticism, but don't openly disagree or complain to the person
also don't worry about offending anyone if you're producing strong drama
accept any tension in yourself as you're writing a tough scene, push through it
be willing to put your characters to the test, take risks and try new directions
maybe you need to torture a sympathetic character, or end with the hero dead
if the story needs it for emotional impact, give the reader the respect and put it in
don't run away from tense conflict in the story by using a flashback or skipping it
if it's a powerful scene, don't write it in summary, give it all the detail it deserves
your character might go through emotions you struggled with, explore it
30% of hardcovers go directly from printer to remainder house
don't be afraid of editors and agents, they're just regular people
don't be timid when it comes to promotion, even if you're introverted
2) trying to be literary
don't just imitate a master or use their works as excuses for not being good
beginning literati don't have the track record to break the rules like the masters
3) ego-writing
T.S. Eliot - objective correlative - reader needs to see what evokes the emotion
so if a character feels a certain way, we should see the events that caused it
if an important character dies, we should meet that character to feel their death
the "author is sovereign" viewpoint - reader be damned
lay your own identity aside and write for the reader instead of your ego
4) failure to learn to re-dream the dream
most writers have the potential to create strong characters and a good story
don't block yourself from changing a scene or throwing out huge sections
the goal is a great novel, not to save whatever happened to be written first
one idea is to start a scene earlier and give the characters new objectives
see if that takes it in an interesting direction that might improve the story
5) failure to keep faith with yourself
many people quit just before the big breakthrough, the process is long and hard
another scenario is the writer with small success who can't reach the very top
discouragement comes from envying other successful people
art is moving, dramatic, and says something important about the human condition
have faith in your art and get fulfillment from creativity, not material stuff
6) wrong lifestyle
you can't become a writer if you surround yourself with naysayers
if your spouse doesn't support your goals, you're dragging a heavy anchor
talk to your spouse about your writing goals, make sure they know it's serious
a surgeon during an operation doesn't answer phone calls or wasting time
you must organize your life around writing if you're going to do it well
writing is painful, it's hard work, so most people just put it off indefinitely
you also can't just put in the hours, you have to put in effort to grow and improve
to get better at writing, learn from life experience, write a lot, and read and study
read novels the way an architecture student would look at a great building
study human beings and the details of their lives, actions, and personalities
7) failure to produce
make the commitment to write when it's writing time, all errands can wait
writer's block allows the person to get sympathy for their problems
at the same time, it lets them say they're a genius without ever having to prove it
writer's block is being scared that the writing will not be as good as imagined
but no one's writing is perfect or ideal or as good as the scene in their mind
writing is a job, like bricklaying, just crank out the quantity and fix it later
don't edit while you're writing the draft, just crank it out first, you'll rewrite it later
CHAPTER 9 - WRITING WITH PASSION
(note this book was published in 1994)
this is the information age, and it's a great time to be a writer
technology has given us the word processor and high-speed quality printers
more than 600 colleges and universities now offer creative writing classes
small presses and self-publishing have grown huge now
the global economy means that foreign sales can be bigger than domestic
there are more than 900 literary agents in the U.S.
cable TV movies and other networks are optioning more novels for film
as a novelist, you have the power to affect people all over the world
you can add value to the world and even to people who live after you're gone
novels help us transmit the value of our culture to new readers
we teach people about honor and courage, about love and perseverance
a novelist learns a lot about themselves and about life through writing
the act of writing fiction improves focus and concentration and observation skills
the writer's high may happen sometimes, where the words flow freely
anyone with a passionate desire will succeed if gives himself to it fully
try to write a masterpiece, the first step is to confront truth
write with commitment and passion and tell the truth
show human beings and human behavior for what they are
know who you are as a writer, and what you want to accomplish
have a bold vision, make it clear, and go all out in pursuing it
if you could change people's minds about something, what would it be?
what do you hate? what do you love? what do you believe in?
where do you stand? what would you be willing to die for?
what are you about as a writer? what is your mission? where are you going?
what do you want your readers to say about you? what are your themes? |
|
|
