Wills for Writers

When my mom died, one of her final caring gifts to the family was a huge folder filled with absolutely everything we would need to go forward with her cremation, memorial service, and the probating and closing of her estate.  

She had even written a rough draft of her obituary and the hymns and Bible verses she wanted at her service so we knew we were giving her the send off she wanted.  

Most of us with families already have our wills in order, but, as a writer, do you have a plan for your books after you die? 

Have you included instructions about your writing in your will? Or have you filled out an addenda to your will containing details about your writing? 

Some things you may want to consider are 

What do you want to happen to your books and "name" after you die. 

Do you want others to write books using your name? 

Do you want someone to finish whatever books you didn't finish? 

Do you want books you wrote years ago to be pulled out and sold? 

Do you want your notes and drafts sold or given to a university or a collector? 

Do you want someone to maintain your promotions (website, etc.) while your books are in print?

Do you want a special executor just for your writing? Most established authors name their literary agent or literary lawyer as special executor to their writing estate because writing is so specialized that people not in the business haven't a clue. 

Here's a really excellent blog on the subject by Neil Gaiman which includes a PDF form that writers can use to explain their wishes on their works.

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2006/10/important-and-pass-it-on.html

If you already have a will, I’d use this form as an addenda to your will since it revokes previous wills.  As Gaiman said, talk to your lawyer.

And while you are doing all this, remember what my mom did for us and build a large folder that includes copies of all your publishing contracts, website contracts, passwords, and all the other things you need to manage your professional career.  And keep your files in order, too, to save your family from having to sort through the useless junk to find the important things. 

Suddenly, A Pirate Ship Loomed Over the Horizon

 QUESTION: In action scenes, I use the phrases "suddenly" or "all of a sudden" a ridiculous amount of times when describing fast-paced action scenes. What other words or phrases can I use?

If you write the scene correctly, you don't need "suddenly" or any other synonym or phrase. The reader is smart enough to know the fighters in a physical battle are moving fast so everything is "suddenly" unless we say otherwise.

The trick is to get into the head of one of the characters and stay there. Let the reader see what the character sees and feel what the character feels.

You don't say, 

Suddenly, the other fighter pulled out his knife and jabbed at him.

You say, 

Sam dodged the other man's fist. The hand that should have been blocking his next blow moved downward toward the man's knife sheath. 

A flash of steel. 

Throwing himself backward away from the other man's knife, Sam slammed into the ground on his back. 

Or, if you are describing a battle of many men, you don't say 

Suddenly, a line of cavalry surged over the top of the hill toward them.

You say, 

On the hill just above the soldiers, the drumming of many horse hooves and the Rebel yell of hundreds of men warned them. 

The Yankees spun around as the Confederate cavalry charged toward them.

What Overused Words Can Mean in Your Writing

QUESTION: Readers complain I use some words too much.  “Porch” and “door” are two major offenders.  

If you overuse "porch" and “door," you may want to vary your settings, or you are writing too many useless steps when your character is moving around.  He can go from the crime scene to his kitchen having coffee with his wife without every step detailed.  The magic of transitions.  

Pro Tip from a Writing Teacher:  Over-used words say as much or more about other writing problems than it does your vocabulary.  For example, words like "suddenly" mean you really need to work on your tight viewpoint in action moments.

Emergency Planning for Writers

 I rewrite and reprint this article every few years, mainly after some event reminds me to.  Ian, other hurricanes, and wildfires are this year’s reminders.  

     Marilynn

Are you, as a writer, ready for bad weather or emergencies?

Preparing for bad weather can be as simple as having a storm alert radio that will cut on when dangerous weather approaches so you can shut down your computer before lightning fries it. The storm alert radio also doesn't interfere with writing like a regular radio for those of us who like to work in quiet. 

Are your computer and peripherals plugged into an alternate power source (APS) so it won't be damaged or your current work lost if the power goes out?   (An APS is like a power strip, but it includes a recharging battery that cuts on when the power cuts off so you have a few minutes to save documents and cut off your computer properly.)

Most alternate power source makers claim an APS with a surge protector will protect your computer and peripherals from lightning, but nothing will protect electronics from a close lightning hit. A good friend lost everything when lightning hit a transformer over a block away, and he had high-end surge protectors and an APS system. 

The safest thing to do is unplug everything, including the APS. 

Also remember to unplug your modem from the electricity and your computer. 

If you have a laptop as well as a desktop, you need to keep it charged to use during bad weather so keep it plugged in, but remember to unplug it, as well, when a storm comes. 

If you want to keep working through bad weather, remember to save a copy of your work to a flash disk, CD, or whatever to move your work to your laptop so you can continue to work. Or sync your work with WiFi or your cloud account.  

Weather preparation isn't just for a short summer or winter storm. It's for major disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and wild fires. So, always have a back-up copy of all your works in another location, or, better yet, several locations.

In the days before I wrote by computer, I had paper copies of my books at my home, my mom's beach house, and my brother's home near Charlotte. Despite being in different parts of the state, all three homes were damaged by Hurricane Hugo, but the manuscripts stayed safe. That experience has reaffirmed my determination to keep copies of my manuscripts and important papers elsewhere.

These days, I also keep a flash disk copy of my books and other digital documents in my safety deposit box at the bank so I can keep my updates recent. A flash disk or drive, if you're not familiar with the term, is one of those tiny storage units you plug directly into your USB or Firewire connection on your computer or iPod.  A SD card is another option. 

You can also store your works and your computer contents online at storage sites, but as recent outages and disasters have proven, online or “in the cloud” shouldn’t be your only storage solution.  You might not be in the path of a hurricane, but the servers for your cloud service may be.  

An external hard drive is also a good option.  

Some external drives come with software that will automatically update the drive’s contents with your main computer to keep it as current as you wish.  Macs come with the Time Travel app.  Other OS systems probably have a similar app, or you can find one.  

It's always a good idea to have an emergency bag or briefcase for your writing partially packed and ready to go in case you need to get out fast because of an approaching hurricane or wild fire. 

Things to keep in this bag include a power plug for your laptop and an updated flash drive. Also include copies of current book contracts as well as notes, etc., of what you are working with at the time.  A paper list of all your passwords is another must.

It would also be prudent to have a recent complete copy of your computer drive in case your home computer is destroyed.

If you use an external hard drive as a backup, you can pack this up very carefully.  (Motion can damage desktop innards.)  Some external hard drives are made specifically to move about so they are a safer alternative.

This bag is also a good place to store a copy of your house and car insurance, pictures of your valuables, etc., in case disaster strikes. Also include a CD with copies of your favorite family pictures, etc., in case the worst happens, and there's no home to return to.

If you don’t have links to your bank, insurance, and other important accounts on your phone, set that up.  Have your passwords elsewhere in case of phone hacking or loss.  

Make a list of the last minute things you will need to pack and stick that in the front of the bag. When emergencies happen, we tend to forget the most basic things so that list will be well worth the time.

Remember that the future you save may be your own.  

The Big Question, Part 17

NOTE:  This is the final post in "The Big Question" workshop.  Yeah!  If you have other subjects you would like me to cover, please contact me via this website or my .io group.  

USING INDEX CARDS TO PLOT A NOVEL

Now that you've completed all your worksheets and have a good general idea of what your novel is about and who your characters are, you are ready to start outlining your novel.  By outlining, I mean having all your major scenes and subplots in general order.  

Some writers use jotted notes to outline, but I suggest index cards because they allow you to change the order of events, etc., without a major hassle, and the visual quality of index cards helps many of us.

Choose whatever size note card you want.  If you're a serious note taker or fear you'll forget minor points if you don't write them down, a large one will work best, but for most of us, the 3X5 inch works just fine.

On Worksheet 4 you listed the major plot or plots and subplots as well as important events which thwarted the main character's plans.  These will help you fill out your note cards.

On each note card, put down a major scene or turning point in the central plot of the novel. Each of these scenes gives several important pieces of information on plot or character as well as moving the novel forward by causing change. Some of these scenes are obvious. The meeting of the hero and heroine, for example.

For STAR-CROSSED, my note card said, 

Mara tracks down Tristan at hospital. She is shocked at his injuries yet attracted by his unfamiliar maleness. The nurse tries to throw her out. Tristan drags himself out of his coma-like state in reaction to her. Her kindness as well as her attraction to him makes her decide that she will fight the government to keep him alive and out of the harem, whatever the cost.

After you finish the major scene and turning point cards, add cards of events that have to happen between these very important moments.  Most of these events move the plot forward by giving the reader and the character information. 

Now write the index cards for each subplot story line in the same manner. 

In STAR-CROSSED, I wanted Dorian to realize Tristan wasn't dead and to figure out that slavers attacked his ship and brought him to Arden.

Since no one outside of Arden knows what is happening, I realized that my heroine Mara would have to let Dorian know the truth in a clever manner.  

To set up this scenario, I had to give the reader a number of scenes that lead up to Dorian's decision to go to Arden to rescue Tristan.

First, Mara would have to find out that Tristan has been reported as dead to his family.  My note card said, “Mara receives an off-world scientific journal and finds Tristan's obituary.  It was written by Tristan's friend Dorian.  Mara realizes that her plan to use Tristan's fame to save him has been ruined.  She wants to tell his parents the truth but doesn't know how she can.”

The next logical scene in this chain of events is that Mara decides to plagiarize Tristan's current scientific notes and send them to Dorian under the guise of asking her scientific opinion on them.  She believes that Dorian will recognize the notes and will tell his parents.  

In other scenes which are part of the Dorian subplot, Dorian will receive the notes, research the number of ships lost near Arden, and talk to a space smuggler friend of Tristan about space slavers.  She will realize most of the truth, but she'll not realize that Mara is a good guy.

I placed these cards at logical points in the Tristan/Mara plot line.

Plotting a novel is as much a logic puzzle as it is inspiration and storytelling.  The various elements must make sense by themselves as well as in relationship with the rest of the novel.  Most will be decisions in plot logic. Some will be decisions about pace.

For example, just after the scene where Tristan and Mara finally admit their emotional attraction and hope for a true future between them, I put the scene where Dorian decides to rescue Tristan and declares her determination to marry him. This scene adds tension, not only because Tristan may be rescued from the evil harem (a good thing), but also because Dorian will destroy the heroine's hopes for happiness (a bad thing).

Normally, I write the first three chapters at this point. Here, I learn even more about my characters and plot, and I discover holes in my plot logic and have to change my note card order. After these chapters, I type out a plot summary from the compiled note cards. I find even more plot holes which I correct.

The most important thing to remember is that the note cards and plot summary aren't carved in stone. The book will change as you write it. You must decide if that change is viable to your overall concept of the book and its Big Question.

********

FINAL COMMENTS:

The most important thing to remember is to write, and if you love your story, keep writing until you finish it.  

Writing is a rough career where few of us make a living, but the profession is worth most of the grief if we love what we are doing.  Without that love, we'd be better off working at Wendy's or watching TV.

 

If this workshop didn't light that bulb above your head about creating a novel, please don't be discouraged.  Keep trying different methods with teachers or books on writing, and one day that light bulb will go off.  I know I read a lot of books on writing before my own light bulb lit up, and I suddenly understood how to create a novel with plot and characters working together.  

At the same time, you have to really work at the process of creation.  No teacher and no book can give you a magic word that will make a novel suddenly appear in your head.  You have to work at whatever creative process suits you.