Category Archives: Writing Tips

Doctor Who and The Black Moment

Posted on May 9, 2013 by | 16 Comments

Thanks to Jennifer Crusie and Who Sundays on her Argh Ink blog, I’ve started watching Doctor Who (the new series with the ninth, tenth, and eleventh doctors). I watched the first episode, “Rose” and thought, “This is pretty good. The killing mannequins are a little hokey, but I like the characters and the show.” So then I watched the next episode and then the next, and in two weeks I’ve watched 4 seasons plus all the specials.

Someone could have warned me that Doctor Who was TV crack!

I can’t get enough. I love this show. The characters are fun, the writing is brilliant, and the situations always go from bad to worse. As I watch and wonder what clever way the doctor will get everyone out of this mess…bam!…the situation goes from worse to absolute disaster.

What? There’s no way they can get out of this! Someone’s going to die. Will it be a companion? Will it be the Doctor?

Talk about action packed fiction! Wow.

My family thinks I’m crazy watching this show…(well, perhaps it’s not the show so much as my obsessive viewing). What they don’t realize is that I’m not merely watching, I’m working. Doctor Who has actually improved my writing.

Last week, I’d been contemplating a black moment, the part of the story where all seems lost. It wasn’t working. It didn’t have the impact it should…probably because the moment was more gray than black. Watching the depth of trouble the Doctor and his gang get into, and the clever ways they get out of them helped me push further and think up a darker, better, more meaningful black moment. It worked. I’m very excited about what I came up with.

So the next time the family interrupts me with a “You’re watching this again?” I can reply, “Shh. I’m working.” ;)

Are you a Doctor Who fan? Who is your favorite Doctor? If you’re a writer, what TV shows or movies helped improve your writing? Please leave a comment, but no spoilers. Today I’ll be watching David Tennant’s last episode, The End of Time, Part Two.

~ K.M Fawcett

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Character Arc ala Michael Hauge

Posted on May 6, 2013 by | 2 Comments

A while back I wrote a blog post about Michael Hauge’s Six Stage Plot Structure, which I’ve found to be an incredibly powerful tool for plotting my characters’ inner and outer journeys, as well as the story’s turning points and black moment.

Today, I want to talk more about character arc.

A character needs to grow and change. He starts with one viewpoint at the beginning, but the events in the story serve to change that character’s viewpoint by the end. Michael Hauge says, “The character arc is the transformation from living in fear to living courageously. A character will arc when he moves from his identity to his essence.”

Identity = emotional armor (facade) worn to protect himself from some wound.

Essence = who the character is when the emotional armor is stripped. True self.

At the beginning of the story, a character will have an emotional need that he may or may not be aware of. The emotional need will probably manifest itself as a physical goal (the outer goal). But the physical goal is primarily a symbol representing the emotional need (the true inner goal).

For example, the hero’s outer goal might be to win the big promotion at work. But what does the hero truly desire? What is his emotional need? Perhaps the promotion will give him the approval he’s been seeking. Or perhaps a sense of accomplishment.

Why does this character have this emotional need?

An emotional need grows from an emotional wound. This wound creates the character’s beliefs. The character will make choices and decisions in his life based on these beliefs.

If our example character desires approval, it could be because his girlfriend’s parents dislike/disapprove of him. Or perhaps he desires a sense of accomplishment because he has failed too many times in the past.

The character’s wound will create a fear. In order to never experience that fear again, the character creates an emotional armor, his facade (his identity). If our example character fears disapproval, he may become a doormat, letting people walk all over him or take advantage of him at work. If he fears failure, he may cheat or lie in order to get the promotion

Though the outer motivation is the same–winning the promotion–each unique wound and fear gives rise to different inner motivations resulting in different story conflicts.

The essence is who the person really is or really wants to be. By the end of the story the character discovers their true essence. In a romance (which I write), the hero will chose to live in his or her essence, giving the reader their happy ending.

To sum it all up…

From a character’s wound grows a fear, which gives way to his identity (emotional armor). The only way he can obtain his emotional need is to step out of his identity and into his essence (true self).

“The character arc is the transformation from living in fear to living courageously.” – Michael Hauge

For more information, check out Michael Hauge’s website.

~KM Fawcett

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Stumped for Story Ideas?

Posted on April 25, 2013 by | 6 Comments

newspapers

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

This by far the most common question I’m asked by readers and other writers.  I’m going to share my little secret. Some of my plot ideas come from news headlines. Here’s my trick:  I don’t click through to the article. Instead, I let my imagination fill in all the details.

Obviously, not all headlines are created equal. Take the following:

First of all, we skim right through celebrity news.

  • “Surprise Proposals Shock Bachelorette”
  • “Octomom Dons Tacky Wedding Gown”
  • “Jennifer Hudson’s White-Hot Ensemble”

 Sorry, even I can’t do anything with these. Moving on to politics:

  • Senate Narrowly Passes First Budget in Four Years
  • Health Insurers Warn that Premiums could Spike

 Yawn. I got nothing.

 Next up:

  • “Crude Joke Costs Two People their Jobs”
  • “Fighter Apparently Tried to Fake Own Death”
  • “Shootout in Texas may be Linked to Colo. Deaths”
  • “Manhunt Begins in Coney Island Shootings”
  • “Congolese Warlord Arrives at War Crimes Court Jail”

Jackpot! This is what I’m talking about. Reading any one of these headlines gets my imagination rolling. My brain is already making connections and naming characters.

In fact, there are many occasions when I have a plot hole and I need an event and I go perusing headlines to find just the right one.  Using headlines and actual events to spur my fiction gives my story lines realism. The only caveat: sometimes real events are truly stranger than fiction and critics will call your “real” event “unbelievable.”

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Collaboration. Is It For You?

Posted on March 4, 2013 by | Leave a comment

If someone asked me five years ago whether I’d ever consider co-writing a book/short story with another author I’d probably have said no, because being the insecure writer I was, I didn’t think I had the skill set necessary for a collaboration. At the time, I viewed writing as a solitary endeavor. A mind bending, hair pulling, harder than heck task writer’s prefer to experience alone.

But over the past few years, I’ve attended conferences and listened to writers talk about collaborating together like Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer. And I thought, well, yeah, she’s Jen Crusie, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to write with her? Thank goodness with time, most of us change, grow, and open our minds to opportunities that we would once have dismissed.

The end result: my critique partner, and I are co-writing a novella we hope to sell sometime this year. It’s an urban fantasy, a genre, I’ve never read or given much thought to before this project. After all, I  write romance, sweet and contemporary, and urban fantasy is on the other side of the football field in writing, but after discussing it, we decided to give this co-writing thing a whirl.

Of course, we started with an outline, which we changed, revised, and changed some more, until we were both happy with the end result.  Mixing my partner’s strong editing abilities and use of emotion with my inane ability to throw down a humorous scene with sensitive characters has been a blast, and I think I can speak for both of us when I say we are having the time of our lives.

The characters in this novella are a bit eccentric, but that’s what makes this project so much fun. I’m finding that exploring a new genre is also affecting my other writing projects in that I return to them excited. This excitement increases my productivity and imagination. Although I’ve always been one of those writer’s who can work on two projects at one time, I didn’t find bouncing in and out of those books a complete brain reset like I do when switching genres.

And here’s the best part. I don’t need mental health days as often as I used to when my muse decides to go MIA.  Light bulb moment. . .maybe I’ve confused my muse. Maybe I’ve taken away her ability to rationalize, become frustrated and abandon me because jumping in and out of genre’s keeps her on her toes?

Or maybe, and more importantly, I’ve supplied her with the diversity that fuels her inner writer. Hey, I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, either way, this genre jumping is working for me and I’m grateful for that.

Have you ever thought about co-writing with someone?  Are you currently working on a project with another author and how is that going for both of you?

Best,

Cathy Tully

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Pitch Writing: An Important Career Skill

Posted on February 25, 2013 by | Leave a comment

???????I’m doing a pitch workshop at the Liberty States Fiction Writers Create Something Magical conference next month.  Nothing makes a conference goer sweat like the prospect of pitching her book. But the process isn’t something to fear. A 10 minute speed date with an agent or editor is hardly a bear sniffing your camping tent.  You’ll be fine, and the whole pitch process is a good exercise for your future career.

I haven’t pitched to an editor or agent in a few years, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t written pitches. If you think you’re done with pitching once you’ve snagged an agent or editor, think again.  Authors have to write pitches, too, except now they’re called proposals or short blurbs. Every time a new contract comes up, my editor doesn’t say, “If you send us books, we will pay you money.” No, she needs a proposal to take to her acquisitions meeting. Guess what the first sentence of  my proposal is?  A pitch.

Pitch writing doesn’t stop after a book is acquired either.  After the book is finished, cover and promotional copy has to be written.  Promo copy is pitches of different lengths, this time aimed at potential readers/buyers.

There might be slight differences in the wording or focus of the pitch depending upon the intended audience. But just like an action scene, a pitch has to grab the attention of the editor, agent, or in the case of promo copy, potential buyer.

The reader of the pitch must be hooked. In one or two sentences, you have to make them want to acquire/read your book.

I have one more use for a good pitch.  I like to pin my proposal to the bottom of my storyboard while I’m writing the book. During the actual plotting and writing process, rereading that initial pitch helps me stay focused on the core of the story.

Now that I’ve expounded on the importance of being able to pull the hook for your book from the rubble of a manuscript, I’m looking for some successful pitches from well-known movies or books to use in my workshop.  I have a few, but in my opinion, nothing explains a good pitch better than fabulous examples, and what makes that light bulb shine for one person might not work for another.

Does anyone have a killer pitch for a well-known book or movie?

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The Misplaced Muse. . .

Posted on February 7, 2013 by | 3 Comments

Funny thing about being a writer; some days I can sit down and write non-stop for hours. Other days, however, like yesterday, not so much. I sat down to write this blog and stared at the computer screen for far too long. I almost yelled out, “Muse where the heck are you? but since this was far from the first time this has happened to me I knew it would be a complete waste of energy.

I take comfort in the fact that there are dozens, probably hundreds of writers also experiencing a misplaced muse and I move on.  The first thing I do is get as far away from my computer as humanly possible. No email, no facebook, no blog…

I resolve that today will be a day I use to clear my head. Since I live in the Northeast and it is bone chillingly cold, venturing out won’t happen. I mean, it could, but it won’t.  I’m not a big fan of the frigid temperatures we’ve been experiencing.

There are tons of options to choose from for this day I’ve given myself: I could curl up with a book on the couch in front of the fire, I could set a pot of soup to cook on the stove and fill the house with that wonderful aroma of home cooked love, or I could work on a cross-stitch project I’ve been meaning to finish. All of these tasks sound wonderful, and I could  do any one of them. . .only I don’t.

You see, I have this problem. I am a perpetual neat freak, and admit my issue openly and honestly. At this point in my house, if any family members are home, they make sure to get out of my way, because I come through the place like a banshee. I rip apart a closet I’ve been wanting to get to, I run the laundry and the sheets and all the towels, I clean out the fridge, the stove, and anything else that isn’t bolted down, and I keep on cleaning until my hands actually hurt.

My husband once asked, “why are you punishing yourself?” and I laughed at him because he didn’t get it.  I’m not the kind of mom/wife that can write when I know there’s stuff that needs to get done; i.e., household chores, etc. And since he’s never scrubbed a floor, or cleaned a toilet, he won’t understand the rush I feel when I’m done, cleaning, scrubbing, washing, and it sets me free. Yup. You read that right. I get into cleaning.

My mind is clearer than it’s been in weeks. I step back and look at the finished projects with a deep contented feeling and then after a hot soak in the tub, I pass out and go into the deepest sleep I’ve experienced in months.

The most wonderful part of this process is that the next day I wake refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. I no longer dread my computer and usually wind up putting in a full day at the keyboard.

What do you do when your muse is on vacation? Do you physically throw yourself into a task? Do you relax and play it by ear? Do you turn on some music and exercise? Do you clean like a banshee? What do you do to clear your head and reboot your muse? I’d like to know because sooner or later, I’m going to run out of “stuff” to clean : )

Best,

Cathy Tully

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Keeping it Real

Posted on February 1, 2013 by | Leave a comment

What I love about teaching the occasional karate class , particularly working with newbies, is explaining and instructing basics. Good basic form and technique are the keys to strong skills later on. They are the foundation to a house of cards or the stock to a good soup. Form and technique also enable a small student able to generate more power and hit harder than someone twice her size.  So, if you want your smaller heroine to land a strong blow to your big, bad villain, it’s possible. But writers have to keep it real. This isn’t TV.

Martial arts employs the use of physics. Here are three ways to generate more power when striking.  Good use of one of these natural forces allows a small person to hit very hard. (Bruce Lee was not a big man, but he could deliver incredibly fast and powerful blows!)

  1. Gravity – Your heroine can stomp on your villain’s instep, ankle, or knee. If she does it properly, gravity and body weight will add considerable force to the kick.
  2. Momentum – She can shift her body weight forward while striking, using her forward motion on the horizontal plane to increase her power.
  3. Torque – A roundhouse kick is  one example of using torque to increase power. The kicker uses the turning motion of the body like a golfer or baseball player.

There are forces karate students learn to maximize their strengths. Size, strength, and conditioning are factors as well. But every student can use correct form to increase his or her personal power.

I leave you with a clip of Bruce Lee. Yes, it’s a choreographed scene, but he is still amazing to watch. Notice the tight efficiency of his body. No wild swings. No unnecessary motions. Incredible speed, power, and grace. He is economy of motion in action. Enjoy!

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Revisions and the Value of a Fresh Perspective

Posted on January 28, 2013 by | 2 Comments

Woman reading bookI’ve learned an important lesson recently:  I am not always the best judge of my own work.

My deadline for SHE CAN SCREAM was tight. This was my doing. I wanted to push myself and my career, but the compressed time frame didn’t for much “thinking” time, those days when I stare at my plot board and let my imagination go. Writing the first draft in 10 weeks was a huge challenge for me. Yes, I know plenty of people who can crank out a draft in half that time, but not me. I am not a fast writer.

Anyway, I finished the draft and 2 rounds of revisions. Even after my agent read and approved the manuscript, I still had concerns. (I always doubt my own writing) But the deadline had arrived. So, holding my breath, I pressed SEND.

After a glorious 10 days of not having to work on this book, my developmental editor returned it. Yay! Only one of my concerns turned out to be valid, and fairly easy to correct once she pointed it out in the document. But in reading through her comments, there were a number of remarks that surprised me, places in the book where she felt my heroine sounded cold or mean. I reread the text over and over and couldn’t see it.  As a writer, my first instinct is to reject criticism that doesn’t seem logical. But the emotional impact of words isn’t something that can be predicted with an algorithm.  If my editor was put off by these sections, some readers will surely have the exact same reaction to the text that she did.

Different people can read the same words and have completely different reactions to them. 

When people open a book, they don’t do it alone. They bring their own history and personality with them, and their reactions can be as different as the lives they’ve led.

So, I’m off to rewrite these sections of text to make sure the emotions I intended to convey are clear to as many readers as possible. And I’m thankful that this book still has two more layers of editing, with two more entirely fresh perspectives, before it goes to print.

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Fight Scene Technicalities

Posted on January 14, 2013 by | 5 Comments

How technical should an author get when describing fight scenes?

The answer may depend on who your readers are. Fans of military thrillers might have a different level of fight knowledge than fans of women’s fiction or YA. An author would be wise to take reader expectation into account when writing.

Regardless of genre, though, I would advise against getting too technical. You don’t want your fight scene to read like a training manual. Describing your fight choreography in minute detail will also slow down the action and pacing.

Karate-Kid-CraneIf you want to showcase a particular technique in the final battle scene, explain it or refer to it earlier in the story; perhaps in a training session. For example, in the original Karate Kid movie, we saw Mr. Miyagi practicing the crane technique, Daniel asked about it and we learned that, “If do right, no can defend.” Daniel practiced it on his own, and when he got into the crane stance in the final scene, we knew this awesome move would make him a winner. How about the five-point palm exploding heart technique in Kill Bill? If these techniques weren’t explained until they were used in the story, the pacing would slow, and the significance would be lost.

Fights are fast, so fight scenes should be quick reads. You want the reader to feel they are a part of the fight or at least watching it, not reading a commentary. This will help elicit the correct emotional response from the reader. He/ she should feel the excitement of the fight, not confusion over the words used to describe it, or boredom from it taking too long.

Do you have any favorite techniques from books or movies you’d like to share? Have you read any books where the fight scene reads like a how-to manual? How about books with awesome fight scenes that were handled flawlessly? I love hearing from you. Please leave your comments below.

~K.M. Fawcett

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New Year’s Resolutions And Writing Goals

Posted on January 10, 2013 by | Leave a comment

I’ve been very lucky to have attended a lot of writer’s conferences since I started writing thirteen years ago, and I’ve sat in on my share of workshops addressing the one issue I think beginning, intermediate, and advanced writer’s struggle with:  ’Finding Your Writing Voice’.

For years I tossed and turned: do I try to write the kind of story certain houses want, or do I write the stories that comes naturally to me, which are women’s fiction rather than true romance? Even if women’s fiction is a hard sell for an unknown author? I was torn because the bottom line is, I am a writer and this is a business, and when push comes to shove, I want to make a living writing.

So, I  tired to write both kinds of books.  I wrote what certain houses were asking for, trying to fit a round peg into a square hole some might say. And I also wrote the stories that beckoned my psyche begging  me to put them down on paper.

Here’s the result: the stories I wrote trying to ‘fit’ certain houses requirements, never sold, and the stories I wrote because I simply had to, did sell.  I know, you’re probably shaking your head saying what the heck were you thinking?

And I agree with you. I can only blame my hesitation and cloudy thinking process on one thing. Menopause. The big M came to visit one day and settled in for eight long years. Yup. You read that right. She slowly sucked my ability to think clearly and remember simple things such as a good friend’s name or a  recipe I’d been preparing for years. Thank God I have friends who are experiencing the same symptoms because for most of us life is hard enough.  But I regress.

My clarifying moment pertaining to my writing career came with the realization that the stories I wrote because I felt compelled to were fun, the characters made me feel something, the hooks made me turn the pages, the plots were fast-paced and more importantly, real. The sales that followed of those manuscripts helped reinforce my gut instinct. The stories from my heart, the stories I couldn’t be more delighted with, were ones editors want to read/buy.

My first book, ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE, available through Astraea Press and Amazon,  is a sweet romance dedicated to the little dog that lit up my family’s life for nine wonderful years. A very real story of how people relate to animals and how their animals can guide them through some of life’s enlightening moments.

My first novella, MARRYING MR. RIGHT, available through Amazon and The Wild Rose Press, is a reunion story about a middle- aged couple that’s legally separated and contemplating divorce. Through the planning of their only daughter’s impromptu wedding, the hero and heroine come to realize they never fell out of love with each other.

My next full-length book, TRAINING TRAVIS, available this spring from The Wild Rose Press, is a story about a divorced father who receives full custody of his fifteen-year-old daughter upon the untimely death of her mother.  The quiet lifestyle he has come to enjoy quickly changes when his daughter moves in. Renovations on his new home and  his heart begin when he hires a local Interior Designer, who was also his high-school sweetheart. Keeping distance between himself and the heroine is hard; especially since she’s all he’s ever wanted.

So, this year I’ve made a resolution: I will write the stories that come naturally to me and build my author voice in women’s fiction by staying true to myself. WOW. Not only does that feel good to say, but it feels fabulous to type : ) Happy New Year to you and may you find your true writing voice in 2013.

Best,

Cathy Tully

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