all write - fiction advice_ may 2012

2/23/2015 AllWriteFictionAdvice:May2012

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SA T URDA Y , 2 6 MA Y 2 0 1 2

QuantityoverQuality?Areyouoneofthosewriterswhocanproduceacopiousamountofstories,ratherlikeanunstoppableconveyorbelt?Orareyouthetypeofwriterwhoseoutputisalittlelessfreneticandrathermoresedate?

Weallfallintodifferenttypesofwriters,becausewearealldifferent.Someofusworkatapacewherewemightonlyproduceastoryeveryfewmonthsorso,orperhapsanewnovelevery1218months.OtherwritersseemtobeabletouploadanovelontoAmazonKindleeverycoupleofmonths,orbeabletochurnoutashortstoryeveryotherweek.

Butaswriters,onequestiontoaskyourselfisthisareyouaqualityoverquantitykindofwriter?Oristhequantitymoreimportant?

Canyouhaveboth?

Youmightwellbeabletoproduceahighturnoverofwork,butisittothehigheststandard?Writerscanpushoutasmanystoriesastheywantinthespaceofamonth,butaretheyreallygoodenoughforconventionalpublication?Byconventional,IdontmeanAmazonKindle(whereeditorialhighstandardsarefrequentlyignoredbywriterswhoshouldntcallthemselveswriters),butratheragentsandpublishers,thekindofpeoplewhowilllookthroughyourstoryorMSSandripittoshredsbeforetheydecidewhetheritsgoodenoughforpublication.

A LL WR IT E F I C T IONADVICE

IsBackstoryNecessary?CreatingLastingImagesTrustYourMemoriesReadingYourMSSOutLoudSortingFactfromFiction

WE LCOME T O A L L WR IT E

Soyou'veembarkedonyourfictionwritingjourney.

It'soneofthehardestthingstodocreateawhole,believableworldforotherpeopletoenjoy,especiallyifyou'renewtowriting.It'salsooneoftheloneliestjobs,especiallywhenthereisnohelporadviceorsupport...sorightheretherewillbehandyarticles,examplesandsimplestepbystepguidestohelpmakethecreativeprocessthatmucheasier.

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Wouldyourworkpasstheirexpectations?

QualityCounts

IfthereisonethingIactivelyteachanywriter,itistoproducethebestqualityworkthatispossible.Neverbeamundanewriter,beamarvellousone.Aspiretobethebestyoupossiblycanbe.Why?Becausequalitycanbethedifferencebetweenanacceptanceandarejection.

Qualityspeaksvolumestoaneditor.Theycanspotwhetherthewriterhastakenthetimeanddetailtoread,proofandedittheirworktoapublishablestandard,orwhetherthewriterhasrushedthroughitinanattempttosimplygettheworkoutthere.

Thereisanundeniablelogicaltomorehaste,lessspeed.Inotherwords,thefasteryoutrytodosomething,themorelikelyyouaretomakesillyerrors.

Somewritersassumetheyhavetopushoutasmuchworkaspossibleinordertobenoticedandtoacertaindegreethatstrue,becauseweallneedexposurebutnottothedetrimentofthequalityofthatwork,whichcommonlyhappens.

Iknowawriterwhoiswritingnovelnumberseven,aswellasseveralshortstories.Butonreadingtheworkproduced,itispatentlyobviousthatthewriterhaspaidscantattentiontotheartofcreativewriting.ThiswriterhasonlyselfpublishedonAmazonKindle,andhasneverbeenconventionallypublished.Shehas,therefore,neverbeenscrupulouslyvettedbyaneditorofapublicationhouse.

Anyonecanwrite,butnoteveryonecanbeacreativewriter.

Butdoesitreallymatter?

Ifyouareseriousaboutwriting,thenyes,itshouldmatter.

IfyourushyourwritinginabidtogetyourworkoutthereorearnasmuchaspossiblefromKindle,severalthingsareguaranteedtohappen:

Thestory/MSSwillcontainsillymistakes.Thestory/MSSwillcontainflawsandcontradictions.

measure.Iamprivilegedtohaveeightshortstories/poemspublishedinthisbook,soifyoulikeyourdamesalittledarkanddangerous,thisisthebookforyou.

NOW A VA I LA BLE ONAMA ZON

FebruaryFemmesFatalesTheBook

WISE WORDS . . .

Writingislikebeingmarriedyouhavetoworkhardatmaintaininghappinessandequilibrium,butinvariablyonealwaysendsupinthedoghouse.

A BOUT ME

AJHUMPAGE

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publishingindustry.I'vepublishedarticles,studyguides,poems,flashfiction,shortstoriesandanovel.IalsoworkfulltimesoI'mALWAYSworking.

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Thestory/MSSmightbedeficientinplot/characterisation/structureetc.Thestory/MSSmightnothavetherightbalanceofcrucialelements.Itwillshowhowillpreparedandunprofessionalyouare.

Ifyoureallywantagentsandeditorstonoticeyourwork,youshouldobservethefollowing:

Takethetimetowritedontrushyourwriting.Takethetimetothoroughlyreadthroughandedityourworkinordertoclearthosemistakes,plotflawsandcontradictionsetc.Takethetimetobalanceyourstory/MSS.Putintheeffortagentsandeditorswillnoticethis.

Donteverdoubtthatwritingiseasy,becauseitsnot.Writingishardwork.

Rememberthatquantityoverqualitytendstoproduceonesubstantialdifference:substance,orlackof.Asawriter,Icouldproduceastoryeveryday,butIknowthequalityandthesubstancewouldsufferthroughsuchahighoutput.ThatsbecauseIcouldntpossiblytakethetimetocheck,edit,redraft,balanceitandbehappywithit.

Thestarkrealityofbeingawriterishardtocrackagentsandpublishersisextremelydifficult.Thestandardsarehigh,thecompetitionisfierceandthelikelihoodofpublicationisminimal.Itsliketryingtorunthroughtreacle.

AmazonKindleisprovingquitealureforwouldbeauthorshowever,withtheprospectofsuchwideblanketcoverage,somanywritersaresacrificingqualityoverquantity.

Ofcourse,iftherearegeniuswriterswhocanproducequalitystorieseveryotherweek,ornovelseverycoupleofmonths,allwithoutbreakingasweat,sheddingafrustratingtearortearingtheirhairout,thenIdliketomeetthem.Butinalmost25yearsofwriting,Ivenotmetoneyet.

Nextweek:Tricksofthetradehandywritinghints

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POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSATURDAY, MAY26, 2012NOCOMMENTS: L INKSTOTHISPOST

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SA T URDA Y , 1 9 MA Y 2 0 1 2

FindingBalance

ManyofthequestionsaskedaboutfictionwritingsuchashowdoIknowhowmanychapterstohave,howmuchdescriptionshouldIwrite,isthereenoughdialogueorenoughconflict?canallbeansweredwithjustoneword:balance.

Storywritingisallaboutbalanceandfindingstabilitywithinthewriting.Itswhatkeepseverythingincheck,sothatwritersdontgooverboardwithoneelementoveranother,thusleadingtoanimbalance.

Whyhavebalance?

Balanceallowsthewritertokeepcontrolofmanywritingelementslikethosementionedabove.Therearenosetruleswherefictionisconcerned,butitispurelyaguideforwriterstohelpthemwritebetter.

Whetheritsdialogue,description,theamountofscenesorchapters,theamountoftensionandconflictthatisbalancedagainstthereliefandemotion,whetherthereisenoughbackgroundbalancedwithforeground,orwhetheryouhaveactionandinactionwithinthestory,thereshouldbesomedefinitivebalanceofalltheseelementstomakeupawellstructured,enjoyableandcohesivestory.

Ivetouchedonthisinpreviousarticles,butbalanceofdialogue,narrativeanddescriptionisquiteimportant,especiallyforthosenewtowriting.Toomuchofeitheroftheseelementsthreatenstheoveralleffectofthestory,andunlessthewriterisveryexperienced,theresulttoomuchofoneandnotenoughoftheotherwilllookbadlywrittenandunprofessional.Moreimportantly,yourreaderwontenjoythestoryeither.

Balanceshouldalsoexistforscenesandchaptershavingtherightamountofchapterstotellthestory,

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balancedagainsttherightamountofkeyscenes.Thisisagoodwayofkeepingincheckawriterspenchantforwaffling,i.e.writingscenesthatareunnecessaryandirrelevanttothestory(andposeadangerofboringthereader).

Knowwhatstoryyouaretelling,andhowlongitislikelytobe,thenyoucanplanyourchapters(nothavingtoomanyortoofew),alongwiththeamountofmajor,importantscenesthatyouwilleventuallywrite.

Balancealsokeepsincheckanyinadvertentpaddingthatsometimescreepsintothenarrative.Whenwritersfindthemselvesinasituationwhereastoryfallsshortoftheirintendedtargetlength,theytendtopadthenarrativewithinconsequentialscenes,whichmeansthatthebalancedratioofdialogue,narrativeanddescriptionisignoredandthestorybecomescompletelydisproportionate.

Aimtohaveagoodbalanceofallthree.

Conflictandemotionthesesounddifficulttobalance,butintruth,itsnotthathard.Foreverymomentofconflict,tensionandatmosphere,thereshouldalsobesomelightrelief,somehappier,morerelaxedmoments.Dontlettheentirestorybecomefullwithtension.Thathastobelightermoments,sobalanceconflictandtensesceneswithlighterscenes.

Backgroundandforegroundshouldhaveequilibrium,too.Butwhatexactlydoesthatmean?

Thestuffthathappensintheforegroundthekeyscenes,likeactionscenes,emotionalscenesetc,shouldalwayslendthemselvestothebackground.Inotherwords,dontforgettoinvolvethereaderwithinyoursceneswhereveryoucanimpartdetailsofthesetting,thebackdrop,theenvironmentetc.Howeversmallthesedetailsmightseem,theyhelpthereadervisualisethewholething,theydrawinthereader.

Itssurprisinghowmanywritersforgetthiscompletelyandsimplylaunchintokey/actionsceneswithoutlettingthereaderin.Forinstance,pictureConstablesportrait,TheHayWain,butimagineitwithouttheriver,thelushgreeneryandtrees,thecosycottageorthedogontheriverside.Thereisjustthehaywainandhorsesandnothingelse.

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Thereisntmuchtostimulateorlookatisthere?

Infiction,youshouldnthaveforegroundwithoutabackgroundhaveafairbalanceofbothsothatthereadercanjumpintothescene.

Whataboutactionversusinaction?Storiesshouldntsteamalongatbreakneckspeedforthedurationwithoutallowingthereadertobreatheandreflectaboutthestory,somakesureyouslowthingsdownalittle.Findabalancebetweenfastpacedscenesandsofter,slowerscenes.

Varyitsothatthereaderdoesntfeelrushedbythenarrative,or,conversely,doesntfallsleepthroughboredombroughtonbynothingmuchhappeningwithinthestory.Thatwayyouengageandexcitethereader,butneverborethem.

Findingbalancecanhelpyoucontroltheratioofdialogue,descriptionandnarrative.Youcancontroltheamountofconflict/tension/actionsceneswithsofter,slower,emotionalscenes.Youcancreateabalancedpacesometimesfast,sometimesslow.Youcangivethereaderbackgroundaswellasforegrounddetail.

Bykeepinganeyeonalltheseelements,youcanseeifoneaspectappearstobestrongerormoreapparentthantheother,andthenyoucancorrectit.

Wedontalwaysthinkaboutit,butstoriesworkbetterwiththerightsenseofbalance.Thatsbecausetheyarefinetunedandstructuredwell,butmoreimportantly,itmeanstheyareappealingtoeditorsandpublishersalike,andyoustandmorechanceofbecomingpublished(andstayingpublished).

Nextweek:Qualityorquantity?

POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSATURDAY, MAY19, 20121COMMENT: L INKSTOTHISPOST


Chapter&NovelLengthsJusthowlongshouldachapterbe?

Whatsthebestlength?Anddoesanovelhavetofitintoasetamountofwords?Thesearejusttwoo...

FlashbacksWhatisaflashback?Flashbackis

oneofthoseusefultoolsthatawritercanusetoenhanceastory.Itenrichesand,inasense,nourish...

SubplotsImoftenaskedbynewwriters

howsubplotsshouldevolve.Somewritersfindsubplotsdifficulttogettogripswhileothersareputofftry...

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SA T URDA Y , 1 2 MA Y 2 0 1 2

Chapter&NovelLengths

Justhowlongshouldachapterbe?Whatsthebestlength?Anddoesanovelhavetofitintoasetamountofwords?

Thesearejusttwoofthemostcommonquestionsaskedbywriters.TheyassumetheyhavetoworktoastricttemplateofXamountofwordsandXamountofchapters,usuallybecausemostnovelshavearound30or40chaptersandaround80,000words.

NovelLengths

Firstly,letsdispelafewmythsnovellengthsaredictatedbythestoryitself,notthewriterortheeditororaspecificwrittenformula.Secondly,writersdonthavetofittheirwordcountintogenericsetamounts.Again,thestorywilldictatehowlongthenovelwillbe.

Itsalsoworthknowingthedifferenttypesofnovelsthatworkwellwithdifferentwordcounts.Uncomplicatedstoriescontainingminimalcharacterstendtobeshortusuallyaround20,000to60,000words.Thesearecallednovellas.

Longer,morecomplexstories,whichcontainahandfulofmaincharactersandperipheralcharacters,tendtorunatabout60,000to95,000words.Thiswouldconstitutetheaveragelengthnovel.

Thesagaplentyofcharactersandacomplex,epicstorytoldovermanygenerationsthinkRootsorWarandPeaceusuallyrunatover100,000words.

Ifyouarewritingastandardlengthnovel,aimfor80,000to95,000words.Itdoesnthavetobeexact,butitstheretoguidewriters.Ifyousetyourselfatargetof85,000words,youllknowthatifyoufallshortofthataveragefigure,yourstoryiseitherlackinginsubstance,oritdoesnthaveenoughfueltobeafulllengthnovel(withoutsomeseriousediting),andwouldthereforebeanovellainstead.Ifyougowayoverthatfigureandyoufindyourselfeasilydriftingover100,000words,thenyouneedtodosomeseriouseditingtoreignthestorybackin,otherwiseyouriskitturningintoasaga.

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yousubmityourMSStoanagentorpublisherstatingwhatkindofstoryitis,i.e.athrillerbasednovelwhichisawhopping150,000wordslong,youmightgetarejectionbeforeanyonehasevenreadthefirstlineofthefirstchapterbecausethatkindoflengthforthatkindofstoryjustisntaviableoptionforthem.Conversely,ifyoustatethatyouhaveanepictaleofloveandrevenge,setinthelastcentury,whichfollowsseveralgenerationsofthesamefamily,theeditorwouldbalkatapaltry75,000words.

Inotherwords,thinkaboutthegenreyouarewriting,thinkaboutthestoryitself,andknowwhatkindofbookyourewriting.Canitbetoldinthatreasonableamountofwords?

Chapterlengths

Writerssoonlearnthattherearenoparticularsetruleswhenitcomestowritingandchapterlengthsfallintothisarea.

Newwriterstendtoassumethatachaptermustbeacertainsetlengthinordertomaintaintheaveragenovellengthofaround80,00095,000words,butintruth,chapterscanbeaslongorasshortasyouneedthemtobe.Thereisnoformula.Youdonthavetopickanumberlike80,000andthendivideitby30chapterstogiveyou2500wordsachapter(average).

IfyouhaveeverreadFaulknersAsILayDyingormanyStephenKingnovels,thenyoullrealisethatachaptercanbeasentencelong.Orjustoneword.Oritcanbe5000words.Again,likenovellength,chapterlengthisdictatedbywhatishappeninginthestory,notbythelawofaveragesandappliedmathematics.Manybookshave40,50orsometimes60chapters,allvaryinginlength.Anditsthevarietyoflengththatcounts.Theydonthavetocoformtoanypreconceivedideas.Everywriterisdifferent,soeverychaptertheywritewillbedifferentinlength.

Theonlythingyouneedtoapplywherechapterlengthsandnovellengthsareconcerned,iscommonsense.

Ifyouthinkachapterisfartooshortforwhateverreason,examineittoseewhy.Itmaybeyousimplyhaventincludedenoughdescription.Ifyourchapterseemstogo



onandon...againlookatittoseeifitisoverlylongyouriskboringyourreaderorlosingtheirattentionifitdoesntsensiblymovetothenextchapter.

Iftherewassuchathingasanaveragechapter,itwouldprobablybearound2500words.Oryoucouldsay10xA4sheets,becausethisalsoactsasavisualpromptforsomepeople.

Therearenohardandfastrules.Itsalldowntothekindofstoryyouarewriting,howyoutellit,andofcourse,atouchofcommonsense.

Nextweek:Findingbalance.

POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSATURDAY, MAY12, 2012122COMMENTS: L INKSTOTHISPOST


SA T URDA Y , 5 MA Y 2 0 1 2

WhyTitlesMatter

Thereareseveralfactorsthatmakeuschooseanovelfromtheendlessbooksavailabletous.Onefactoristhecoveritsjobistoinitiallyenticethereaderseye.Thenthereistheblurbthecoupleoflinesonthefrontcoverorthebackthathookyou.Thenofcourse,thereisthetitle.

Butatitleisntjusttheretotellyouraudiencewhatyourstoryiscalled.Titleshaveanumberofuseswhichawritershouldalwaystakeadvantageof,andtitlesmattertheyareanintegralfactorwhengettingyourworknoticedbyagentsandeditors.

Bookandstorytitlesactasalure.GreattitlesalwaysgrabourattentionthinkToKillaMockingbird.OrAClockworkOrange.Theytemptustowanttoknowwhatthestoryisaboutthereisasenseofintrigueandfascinationthatenticesus.

ButwhatiftheywerecalledScoutandJemsAdventure?OrTheDroogs?Wouldtheylureusinthesameway?Probablynot.Theycertainlywouldnthavethesameallure.Ifanything,theywouldseemratherboringbycomparison.

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Wherenovelsareconcerned,youhavespentmonthsoryearsputtingeffortintomakingitthebestyoucan,soalametitlewillnotdoyourstoryanyjustice.Youshouldbemakingastatementwiththetitleyouchoose,sowherepossible,makeyourtitlesinteresting,provocative.TrytoavoidusingThe.i.eTheTeacher,TheStreet,TheCornfieldetc.Itsoneofthosewordsthatjustmakeastorytitlethatlittlebitstaidandboring,andsometimesquitecornyandclichd.Thinkdynamicallywhenitcomestoyourtitlesmakeyourworkstandout.

SomeofthebestnovelsdonthaveTheinthetitle,andthisworkswell,forinstanceMisery,MobyDick,1984,SlaughterhouseFive,andsoon.Ofcourse,thatisnottosaythatsomegreattitlesdohaveTheinthetitle,likeTheGreatGatsby,TheCatcherintheRye,buttheideaistobedifferentwithyourtitles,andtheseclassictitlesuseThetotheiradvantagebynotgivingawaytoomuchofthestorycontent.

Thatbringsustothisveryconsideration:titlesoftengivethestoryawaybeforethereaderhasevenreadthefirstline.Whatswrongwiththat?Nothing,exceptthatGrannysDayOutortellsthereaderwhatthestoryisaboutwithoutreadingasinglelineofthestory.

Theideawithgenrefictionistokeepthereaderguessingallthetime,tokeeptheminterested,keepthemfascinated.Ifyoutelltheminthetitlewhatitsabout,moreoftenthannot,youlosesomeofthatallureandimpact.

Atitlecanhintatthestory,buttheideaisnottogivetoomuchawaysothatitinvitesthereadertostepintoyourfictionalworld,itluresthemenoughtowanttobecomeinvolvedwiththestory.

Titlesalsooftendeliberatelymisleadthereader.Thisisaneffectivetoolemployedbywriters,andisdesignedtoteasethereaderintothinkingtheyknowwhatthestoryisabout,butitturnsouttobesomethingcompletelydifferent.

ThinkGoneWiththeWindorWhereAngelsFeartoTread.

WhenIwroteUnderaVeilofRed(seecoverimagetopright)fortheFebruaryFemmesFatalesshowcase,Iwantedtoconveyseveralthingswiththetitle.Itisastory



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abouttheunderlyingprejudicethatfuelsthepursuitofavictim.IcouldhavecalleditTheChase.OrTheRunaway,orThePursuit.Butnoneofthesetitlesareinteresting,andtheytellthereaderwhatitsabout.

TheVeilofthetitlesuggestsashroud,acoverofsomesort.TheRedisasymbolicgesturethecolourofblood,whichappearsinthestory.UnderaVeilofRedintriguesbutgivesnothingawayintermsofthestoryscontent.

Anothershortstory,AStainontheHeart,publishedintheUS,dealswithintoleranceandinjusticesetduringWorldWar2.Thetitleistwofold.Itshintingatwhatthestorymightbeabout,withoutgivingtoomuchaway,andwithouteventellingthereaderitssetduringthewar,butitsalsoinformingthereaderofnatureofthecontent,andthekeywordshereareStainandHeart.

So,whenitcomestotitles,thinkaboutwhatyourstoryisabout,whatitistryingtosay.Comingupwithgreattitlesisnteasy,sothinkaboutthestory.Whatisitsmessage?Howdoesitrelatetoyourreader?Howcanyouenticethem?

Titlesdomorethanjusttellyourreaderwhatthenameofyourstoryis.

GrabthereadersattentionuseacatchytitleHintatthestoryteasethereaderDontgivetoomuchawayinthetitleifyoucan

keepthemguessingDeliberatelymisleadthereaderwithyourtitleTrytoavoidusingThetoomuchAvoidcornyorclichdtitles

Effective,provocativeandinterestingtitlescanbethedifferencebetweenagents/publishersbeinginterestedinyourstory,ornot.

Nextweek:Chapterandnovellengths.

POSTEDBYAJ HUMPAGEATSATURDAY, MAY05, 20124COMMENTS: L INKSTOTHISPOST


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