Monday, December 31, 2012

Using Interlocking Questions



A work of fiction should be a series of interlocking questions.  Think of these questions as links in a chain that pulls the reader through each scene and through the novel.  

The questions within the book should be ongoing.  Before you answer one question the reader has, you should have several more set up so the reader doesn't say "oh, now I understand" and put down the book never to finish it.  

The questions can be action questions-- Will the heroine rescue the baby before it crawls into the well?  Will the hero kiss her now?

The questions can be character questions--  What happened to Mary that makes her so nervous around men?  Why does Jim hate Bill?

The questions can be setting questions-- What is beyond the next bend in the road?  Where is the dragon hiding?  Why does the lab have smoke in it?

The questions can be plot questions-- Will Tom rescue Pam from the burning building?  How will he do it?  What did the robber steal from the safety deposit box that the Mafia wants so much?

The questions can be minor questions which can be answered in a few pages-- Will Pam say yes when Tom asks her out?  

The questions can be major questions that take the whole book to answer-- Who killed Bill and why?  

Writing interlocking questions is a complicated dance between the writer and the reader.  The writer wants to give just enough information to involve the reader and urge her forward in the narrative, but not so much information that the reader becomes bored.

The reader sees the questions and their answers as clues and reading the story is a mystery she wants to solve for herself.  The reader not only wants to know what happens next, she also wants to make guesses at what will happen next and why.    

To see the power of interlocking questions, just consider the Harry Potter series.  These books were not only good individual reads full of interlocking questions, the interlocking questions extended through the series.  People talked about these questions, they puzzled over these questions, and they argued over these questions as each book came out.  

If JK Rowling had explained everything early on, the series would not have been so popular, and the readers would not have been so invested in the characters.  

How do you write interlocking questions?  

One trick is to think of yourself as the reader.  What will the reader want to know at that moment in the narrative?  What questions can you answer and what answers can be held back?  

When you are plotting your story out, you will be thinking about the who, what, when, where, and why of each event.  Decide what information from the Five W's the reader needs immediately, and what information can be seeded through the narrative as questions and answers.  

Every answer you give to an important narrative question should lead to more questions-- Jim couldn't possibly have killed Bill, but why has he confessed to the murder?  Could he be protecting someone else?  Who and why?

An excellent way to see how interlocking questions work is to study how a good author uses them.  

Pick a favorite author who really sucks you into their books and keeps you flipping the pages.  Go to the author's website and find the sample chapter or chapters of one of their books.  Print those pages, get the highlighter out, and mark every narrative question you find.  Notice how the small questions and the larger questions work together.  

Or you can pull out a favorite book from your keeper shelf and read it while paying attention to the interlocking questions.

During all this, remember that the writer and the reader have one important question foremost in their heads as they write and read-- What happens next?

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Links of Interest


SPELL OUT YOUR STORY LOGIC:



THE TEN TRENDS IN KIDS’ FICTION NEXT YEAR:



SPOTTING DRAGGING NARRATIVE:



HARPER COLLINS YOUNG ADULT LINE:



INTERNATIONAL WRITING SCAMS, PARTICULARLY FOREIGN RIGHTS:



BRITISH WRITING RESOURCES--GRAMMAR, STYLEBOOKS, ETC.:



CALCULATING YOUR AMAZON SALES:



HOW TO SUCCEED TODAY IN SELF-PUBLISHING  (THE MOST IMPORTANT INFO IS ABOUT A THIRD DOWN THE ARTICLE.  LOOK FOR THE ITALICS):



USING DICTATION SOFTWARE TO WRITE YOUR NOVEL:



CAN CONGLOMERATES LIKE EBAY AND LIBRARIES TAKE AWAY THE PROTECTION AGAINST RESALE RIGHTS ON EBOOKS:



STEPHEN KING TALKS ABOUT WRITING SCREENPLAYS, VIDEO RUNS AROUND 55 MINUTES, EXPLICIT LANGUAGE WARNING:



THE STRATEGY IN STRATEGIC PLANNING:



THE UNRELIABLE NARRATOR:



LIST OF LINKS ABOUT PROMOTION:



SAMPLE LETTERS OF SUCCESSFUL QUERIES TO AGENTS:



FREE SITES TO PROMOTE EBOOKS:



TURNING THE PASSIVE PLOT INTO AN ACTIVE ONE:



SCHEDULE NOTE:  Since Christmas is framed by my Monday/Wednesday blogging schedule, I'm taking a week-long break from blogging.  Happy holidays, everyone!

Monday, December 17, 2012

What Christmas Songs Can Teach a Writer


"You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"  The only character greater than a villain is a villain who is redeemed.

"Oh, Holy Night"  A powerful story is often best told simply.

"Silent Night"  A few simple images can create powerful emotions.

"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"  Sometimes, something innocent can become creepy.

"The Twelve Days of Christmas"  A one-sided romantic relationship is boring.

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"  The underdog with a reviled talent makes a great hero.  

"Frosty the Snowman"  A great character often deserves a sequel.  ("I'll be back again, some day." ) 

"Carol of the Bells"  Driving rhythm can pull the reader forward.  

"Do You Hear What I Hear?"  You can tell a story through dialogue.

"The Christmas Song"  ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…." )  Setting alone can show strong emotion and story.

"Good King Wenceslas"  Sometimes, a character is remembered more for kindness than power or glory.

"I'll Be Home For Christmas"  Home and family are two of the most powerful goals within the human heart.  

"Baby, It's Cold Outside"  "This is for your good, not mine" is a great seduction.

"Jingle Bells" and "Jingle Bell Rock"  The times and tempo may change, but the story remains the same.  

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"  Sometimes, the character's emotions and the message aren't the same.  

"Santa Baby"  With the right voice, even Santa and a chimney can be made into a double entendre.  


NOTE:  Happy Holidays, everyone!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Links of Interest


HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR WORK IS ANY GOOD?



AN INTERVIEW WITH BELLE PRESS PUBLISHER:



HOW TO WRITE A BOOK REVIEW:



OPEN ROAD PAIRS WITH INGRAM TO CREATE BOOK PUBLISHING SERVICES FOR AUTHORS, SMALL PUBLISHERS, AND AGENTS:


WORDS THAT TELL MORE THAN SHOW:



A GAME PLAN FOR TACKLING REVISIONS:



YET ANOTHER REASON TO READ EBOOKS, BEDBUGS IN LIBRARY BOOKS:



MARKETS OF VARIOUS SORTS:



ESTATE PLANNING FOR AUTHORS, KRISTINE RUSCH BEGINS HER SERIES:


FORMULATING A CLEAR VISION OF YOUR WRITING CAREER:



HOW TO USE GOODREADS FOR PROMOTION, FIRST HINT, DON’T PROMOTE:



HOW TO CUT A WORK DOWN FOR A MARKET:



HOW DO YOU FIND A LITERARY AGENT?



PERFECTING THE QUERY LETTER, PART 4:



THINGS YOU NEED TO TELL AN AGENT WHEN QUERYING:



Monday, December 10, 2012

Is My Work Good Enough?



QUESTION:  How do I know when my work is good enough to send out to editors and agents?  


Part of the answer is experience.  Once our craft and storytelling abilities reach a certain level, some of us have the ability to tell when a work is working.  

For those who haven’t reached this level or want more than their own opinion, there are other options.

Craft, the nuts and bolts of writing, isn't subjective so failure at that is an obvious sign your story isn't ready for prime time.  

An experienced writer or editor can usually clue you in on that.  So can a good writing teacher who can help you improve.  

The art of writing is a bit more problematic, but finding readers who are the audience you are aiming for will help there.  

Give them a series of questions about different elements of your book so they can give you real and specific feedback.  Look at my articles on critiquing for sample lists of questions. 

I don't think anyone can tell you if your book, no matter how competent and "good" it is, will succeed in the market.  Even books that have been published by great presses and respected editors have either had almost universal pans or have disappeared without a trace.  If they can't guess at success, no one can.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Links of Interest


PERFECTING THE QUERY LETTER, PART 2 and 3:




SETTING:



ESCALATING CONFLICT:



SOME INTERESTING IDEAS OF WRITING A SYNOPSIS:



HOW TO SUBMIT MANUSCRIPTS TO RANDOM HOUSE’S NEW DIGITAL IMPRINTS:



PLOT IDEAS BY THE THOUSANDS:



REFERENCE RESOURCES LIKE STYLE MANUALS AND DICTIONARIES ONLINE:



REVIEW OF FREE SCRIVENER-LIKE FREE SOFTWARE (WINDOWS):



TOO MUCH PLOT?



THE SUPPORTING CAST NEEDS TO SUPPORT THE MAIN PLOT:



BOOK STRUCTURE AND THE COMPELLING STORY:



WRITING A FIST-FIGHTING SCENE:



GRAMMAR, WHEN YOU REALLY SHOULD HAVE A HYPEN:



STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR AUTHORS:


DEVELOPING SCENES:



FINDING A CRITIQUE PARTNER:



GRAMMAR, MISPLACED PHRASES:



SETTING IN RELATIONSHIP TO YOUR VIEWPOINT CHARACTER:



EBOOK CONTRACT NEGOTIATION:



"COSMOPOLITAN" AND HARLEQUIN IN JOIN PUBLISHING VENTURE:



NOTE:  Don't forget "Adventures in Writing" when you vote for the best writing sites of the year.

Monday, December 3, 2012

A Rewrite Checklist


It’s always good to have a checklist at hand when you are ready to rewrite your story. Below are a number of questions you can ask yourself. 

As you learn your weaknesses as a writer, this list can be changed to include questions that focus on your problem areas.

This list is also a good start for critique partners.

THE FIRST CHAPTER

Do I have a hook in the first few, or better yet, the first page?

Have I shown the main character’s goal, short-term, or better yet, for the whole novel?

EACH CHAPTER

Does this chapter advance the story?

Tell more about the characters?

Give plot information?

Does it work with the chapter before it?

PLOT 

Do the characters and plot work well together, or is the plot 
just pasted on?

Does it make sense?

Does one thing lead to another?

Has the story started at the right place?

Does the action escalate?

Are more plot questions asked before a plot question is resolved?

Does the plot fit genre boundaries?

CHARACTERS

Does each character sound different? Do they have a voice of their own?

Are the characters doing what they as characters and personalities should be doing, or are they being moved around for my convenience?  

Will the reader understand why they are doing certain things?

Does each major character have a strength and a weakness which will be affected by the plot?

In the romantic relationship, is their emotional conflict strong enough for the length of the work? Will it take more than one long talk to resolve their conflict? Does their romantic relationship work with the action plot?

In the action plot, is the conflict between the hero and his opponent strong enough? Is the opponent strong enough to really push the hero to his limits? 


POINT OF VIEW

Is the proper point of view maintained in each scene?

Would a scene work better from another character's viewpoint?

Is there only one viewpoint character in each scene?

INTERIOR MONOLOGUES

Does this interior monologue slow the scene too much?

Could this information or emotion be expressed in dialogue or action?

Am I telling too much? 

SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Do the sentences vary in length?

Does the language fit the actions?

Long sentences for leisurely, more introspective moments?

Short, terse sentences and words for action scenes?

LANGUAGE

Am I intruding, or am I invisible so the story can tell itself?

Does cause and effect happen correctly?

Am I showing rather than telling? 


WORLDBUILDING

Is the worldbuilding well thought out?

Is it logical?

Did I break my own rules?

If a myth or fantasy element is changed from common knowledge, is it a logical or understandable change? Is it explained? (a vampire who can survive daylight, for example)