Feel the Heat: Sex and Fiction. 8 Tips for Building Tension

Will your fictional characters, at some point, hit the sheets?

As most of us creative types enjoy a delicious romp in the sack in real life, it shouldn’t be too difficult to apply our trusty, book-enhancing observational skills to break down, scene by scene, moment by smokin’-hot moment, the escalating tension between our first horny thought and the ultimate coupling of bodies. Right?

Wait, should we depend on our own experiences, and are we willing
to “expose” our own life experiences on the page for everyone (hi mom) to see?

Dallas romance writer (and bewitching twitterati) Roni Loren  posted some effective advice for amping the sexual tension on her blog, fictiongroupie.blogspot.com. “From YA all the way to the steamiest of romances, this is a vital ingredient if you have any kind of romance thread whatsoever,” says Loren. “Even if a kiss never happens, you can have your reader sweating through a scintillating ‘will they/won’t they’ tension so that even if the characters grab one other’s hands, your reader will hold her breath.”

So how do we create this tension so that when you finally give your reader the big payoff–the kiss, the “I love you,” the boom-chicka-wah-wah?

Author Roni Loren’s advice for building sexual tension:

1. Make the attraction that each feels for the other obvious to the reader.

The characters are hyper-aware of all the little details of the person when he/she is around. Use all the senses not just sight. (Note: this is an
opportunity to illustrate aspects of your characters, whether those  are physical traits, or emotional: her Daddy issues, his preference for redheads thanks to an unexpected overture by a cherry-haired vixen in his youth, her need to learn to trust again, his tendency to rescue, etc. -RL)

2. No conflict = no tension

Make sure there are good reasons why these two can’t be together–internal and external.

3. Use internal dialogue

The hero may be clenching his hands at his sides, but tell us why: the urge to reach out and touch the heroine’s hair is overwhelming him.

4. Always on each other’s mind

If your hero and heroine aren’t together in a scene, then have their thoughts go to the other so that we know he/she can’t get the other off his/her mind.

5. Patience, grasshopper

Don’t relieve the tension too quickly. Frustration must build and build. There’s a reason why the first love scene doesn’t usually happen until 2/3 the way through a book. (Note: be true to your characters. Maybe it
has been a pattern of your character to hop into bed right out of the gate, but the reader must walk the long road with them as they uncover feelings of real love. -RL)

6. Here we go, wait, not so fast

Give you characters a taste of what they could have, then make them stop. This is the famous device on sitcoms where they start to kiss, but then someone bursts in to interrupt. It doesn’t have to be that obvious. One of the characters could be the one to stop (usually for some internal reason related to the conflict between them.)

7. It’s addictive

Once you do let the two get together the first time (be that a kiss or full-out lovin’), leave them wanting more. Instead of satisfying their need/curiosity/etc., they want each other even more. Now they know what they could have if not for all that pesky conflict. Damn those mean authors who put so much in their way.

8. When all looks like it’s going to work out, pull them apart again.

Romantic comedy movies do this all the time: The characters seem to resolve some conflict and get together. Oh but wait, there’s more! Some conflict wedges between them again.

Don’t resolve the relationship until very near the end. Otherwise, the reader will lose interest.

So how about you? Does your novel have a romance or undercurrent of one?

What author do you read that is a master at creating sexual tension?

Roni Loren’s debut novel, CRASH INTO YOU, will be published by Berkley Heat in January 2012! Represented by Sara Megibow of the Nelson Literary Agency. Follow her on Twitter @RoniLoren or visit her website at RoniLoren.com.

Lit Agent Laurie Abkemeier’s Advice on Connecting with Readers

The only thing better than buzz about your new book is PRE buzz resulting in pre-orders. I follow agent Laurie Abkemeier (Brian DeFiore & Co.) on Twitter, and found this blog post by Erin Reel at TheLitCoach.com featuring Abkemeier’s advice about connecting with your audience so that your book sales transcend the frontier of your family and friends.

This advice is especially germaine to me. The Ting Tings have a fabulous song, with lyrics that speak to my heart: “They call me quiet girl, but I’m a riot.” I’m not an attention hog by any stretch of the imagination, but I do love to laugh; I’m social enough and can be a little outrageous. Once, that is, I’ve come out of my shell. Connecting With Your Audience: A Blogshop with Lit Agent Laurie Abkemeier gives the required motivation to put away your shell and start building relationships with readers.

Excerpts from Reel’s article: How an author connects with their audience plays a major role in their book’s success and their overall success as an author. If you’ve been following any brand of publishing trade news you already know that the author with the biggest mouth enjoys better sales of their book (in this context, being loud about your book is a good thing). 

A large part of the effort that goes into to selling your book actually happens before your book launches – it’s called building pre-pub buzz. You want people talking about your book before it comes out. You want them anticipating it’s arrival. You want pre-orders! So how do you find your PR voice and connect with your audience before your book launch?

According to Literary Agent, Laurie Abkemeier: “During my years as an editor, and now as a literary agent, I’ve seen countless nonfiction books rise out of relative obscurity and become bestsellers. Some rode a trend, while others created their own categories, but in every case, the key ingredient to success was the author’s commitment to promoting the work. Too often, I see authors who are committed to writing the work, but when it comes time to promote, they lose steam or they have better things to do. They are too busy to contact bloggers or put together a mailing list of organizations. They don’t want to get on Twitter or Facebook or build a website or start a blog. They think that writing the book will be enough, and that people will, perhaps by telepathy, sense that the book is available. Or worse, they think that it’s the publisher’s sole job to get the word out to the largest possible audience. While expending time and energy can’t guarantee a successful publication, it is rare that an author can achieve success while also being a recluse. Even publishers know this. When editors get on the phone with authors, they often ask point-blank, “How are you going to sell this book?”

That’s why, when I work with an author to develop a proposal, a lot of work goes into the publicity and promotion sections. My authors detail their social media and online connections, their contacts at magazines and newspapers, and previous experience with radio and television. They list every friend who might endorse their work. They research the membership numbers of relevant organizations and associations. They build new websites, start a blog, and get on Twitter—long before the proposal goes out the door. Part of this is for the benefit of the editor reading the proposal; it’s important that the editor understands an author’s reach and ability to get the word out. But I also require my authors to go into this level of detail so that they can see what is expected of them, that their role in promotion is going to be critical, and that their responsibility to the publication goes far beyond the last word on the page.

1. Plan to earmark a certain percentage of your advance for promotion—whether it’s a new website, business cards, a freelance publicist, or ads in specialty publications.

2. Schedule a meeting with your agent, editor, publicist, and the marketing staff to discuss the publisher’s promotion plans. A good time for a meeting is six months before publication, when the publisher has a clear idea of what it will do, and it’s not too late for you to fill in the gaps.

3. Once your manuscript has been sent off to a copy editor, turn your former writing time into promotion time. Reach out to people about endorsing your work, keep lists of bloggers and their contact information, pitch original articles to long-lead magazines, continue to build your social media presence, and revamp your website to launch within four months of publication. (And it goes without saying, discuss your plans with your agent and editor.)

Writing a book is a big commitment, but the bigger challenge for most authors is to do the work to promote the book. Commit yourself to the long haul. Your book needs you more than anyone.”

Your action: Yet-to-be-published authors – get organized. Create a budget devoted to your pre-pub buzz efforts, NOW. You’ll be glad you did! Then, connect with your audience. Make friends. Collect emails and subscribers to your newsletter, blog posts. Gain followers to your social media accounts. Most of all, understand this takes a lot of time and focus.

Published authors: Get creative. Get together with other published authors in your area and create an event. Maybe the event has nothing to do about selling a book – maybe it’s a charitable effort, a major donation of your time for a good cause. Make sure you send out a press release…then consider holding a book signing/reading event to celebrate with your community. Have fun with it!

Originally from California, Laurie Abkemeier began her publishing career in 1992 as an editorial assistant in the Touchstone/Fireside division at Simon & Schuster. In 1994, she moved to Hyperion where she was responsible for five New York Times bestsellers and many other national bestsellers. Since 2003, Laurie has worked as a literary agent, exclusively representing nonfiction. Her talented roster of authors includes journalists, bloggers, poets, academics, and artists. You can find Laurie on Twitter (@LaurieAbkemeier) where she posts her AGENT OBVIOUS TIP OF THE DAY—the inspiration for her app, available as a free download for the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch.

Act One: 10 Essential Elements

I’m a little addicted to the The Script Lab. As I worry over and scrutinize my fiction novel, tweets about screen-writing from @TheScriptLab interject with lucid, helpful, applicable ideas. My blog is for creatives of all stripes, and ideas for good writing can come from any genre. I really like this list of elements; it reminds me of both my responsibility to me reader and also makes a handy checklist to ensure all the key pieces are visible and organized before pitching a potential agent with my first chapter.

Let’s see what we can learn about the ten essential elements of Act One today from the informative folks over at The Script Lab:

The first act is very simply: the beginning of your story.

Usually the story begins at the moment when the first character faces the difficulty that he or she has to solve, and it better be a clear difficulty, and he better realize that he must do something. Dramatic form means action, and action brings tension. So the awareness of the tension, and the clarification of what the nature of your tension is, helps to build the whole manuscript.

ACT ONE: ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS

Tone.  Very quickly you want to establish the tone: is it serious, a comedy, a fantasy, a spoof? Let people know right away that it is okay to laugh, to cry, to dream, etc.

Theme. You will also want to establish the theme – what message are you trying to convey: “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”, “The underdog triumphs”, “Good versus evil”, etc.

World of the story. As the story begins, you will introduce the world of the story – where does it take place? What is different and interesting to this world? What are the rules of this place?

Character introductions. At the same time, you will introduce the principle characters to the audience. Be specific and original. Let us know their age, how they dress, walk, talk. Give them a scene in which they stand out from the others. Let the audience know these people are special.

Protagonist weakness. The main character’s weakness(s) must be clear so that the later obstacles can attack that weakness in the second act.

Point of attack. The point of attack (or inciting incident) is the moment when the dramatic conflict announces itself. It’s the first perception of the predicament to come, and usually, a moment that is very visual.

Main tension. This predicament sets up the main tension around which the story will be built: Will they fall in love? Will they rob the bank? Will they escape alive? Will they do all three?

The stakes. The stakes have to be clear in order to show the audience how and why this tension is important to them, or – more importantly – what will happen if the character does not solve his/her problem. It should be huge – a matter of life and death.

Objective. A character’s objective or goal is what drives him. This should be very specific, very clear. How badly does he/she want something and what are the lengths he/she is willing to go to get it.

Lock-in. The first act concludes once the main character is locked into the predicament, propelling him/her forward on a new quest trying to accomplish a specific goal. Now the reader/audience knows the character, the predicament, and the objective, so everything else is about the future.

Usually the story really begins at the moment when the first character faces the difficulty that he or she has to solve, and it better be a clear difficulty, and he better realize that he must do something. Dramatic form means action, and action brings tension. So the awareness of the tension, and the clarification of what the nature of your tension is, helps to build the whole script.

Follow me on Twitter @RebeccaLacko

Self-doubt and writing: amicable partners?

It’s Monday morning, and I am dragging myself through the mud. Am I making any progress?  Is what I’m writing any good, any good whatsoever? Over the weekend, my husband and I had the rare opportunity to enjoy a date night. It was a beautiful evening, so we sat outdoors at one of our favorite places (the incomparable Watermarc in Laguna Beach) and over dinner, my husband inquired about my fiction novel, Radiohead.  He asked if I come sum it up, so I gave him my elevator pitch.

His response? Utter indifference. Struck by his impassibility, I found myself rambling, determined to convince him of how exciting the details of my story are proving to be, but the conversation continued its radical nosedive. While the storyline seemed promising and dynamic to him, in truth he really didn’t want to talk about the details of my process. Nonetheless the exchange aggravated deep-seated self-doubt I’d been struggling to quash.

“Every one of us experiences self-doubt, even the most well-established writer,” says Joan Dempsey of Literary Living. “Dean Koontz, for instance, an author who has sold more than 400 million books and is one of the most highly paid writers in the world, says ‘I have more self-doubt than any writer I know.’”

Dempsey also points to Alice Munro, the celebrated Canadian writer who’s been called our Chekhov, and how she worries every time she finishes writing a book that she’ll never write again.

“Let’s agree, then, that self-doubt is an ordinary part of every writer’s experience, even yours,” says Dempsey. “You’ll never be without it. The question is, what can you learn from it?”

Here are Joan Dempsey’s four reasons to appreciate your self-doubt.

1. Self-Doubt is a Protective Instinct

Self-doubt arises out of your own instinctive desire to protect yourself, which is actually a nice impulse that you probably don’t often acknowledge. We usually bemoan or bludgeon our self-doubt; we believe what writer Sylvia Plath famously claimed, that “the worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”

I beg to differ!

You can be more creative if you welcome and examine your self-doubts.

It’s true, though, that we writers allow our doubts to keep us away from our work. Why? To protect ourselves from pain. Author James Baldwin says we’re good at fooling ourselves because we don’t want to get hurt. “We don’t want to have our certainty disturbed,” he said.

Psychologists call this self-handicapping . If you stay away from your work you’ll never have to face the pain of writing poorly, or you can fool yourself into thinking you’ll be a great writer if you do get down to work.

The problem with that, though, is that you’ll never really be a writer. Baldwin believed that the trick is to know when you’re fooling yourself.

The best writers live an examined and therefore honest life, and that includes scrutinizing your self-doubt.

2. Self-Doubt Sounds an Alarm

Not unlike a smoke detector, self-doubt alerts us to the presence of fear, the typical cause of our doubts.

Thich Nhat Hanh, a well-known Buddhist teacher (and celebrated author), advises us that because fear is a natural and constant presence in our lives, we’d do well to welcome it rather than fight it:

It is best not to say, “Go away, Fear. I don’t like you. You are not me.” It is much more effective to say, “Hello Fear. How are you today?”

The next time you feel self-doubt, don’t despair or fight – look around to see what might be smoldering; be grateful for the alarm.

3. Self-Doubt is a Call to Action

Dean Koontz is notorious for obsessively polishing his paragraphs. “I began this ceaseless polishing out of self-doubt,” says Koontz, “as a way of preventing self-doubt from turning into writer’s block: by doing something with the unsatisfactory page, I wasn’t just sitting there brooding about it.”

In Koontz’s case, feeling uncertain about his abilities actually motivated him to take an action he might otherwise not have pursued.

4. Self-Doubt Provides Fresh Perspective

If you keep your doubts to yourself you’re missing a valuable opportunity. By sharing your doubts with friends and writing colleagues you’re bound to get a fresh perspective. Others often don’t see your failings or uncertainties in the same way you do.

By sharing your doubts you’ll likely learn something new about yourself, feel companioned, hear a helpful cheer, or receive a much-needed boost to your self-esteem.

James Baldwin, in discussing why he writes, says he does so to describe. What he means is that by describing something in detail you come to understand it intimately. Describe your doubts in writing, or through dialogue – either way, your new understanding can help disarm your doubts.

The next time self-doubt keeps you away from your writing, try this:

• Review these four reasons to appreciate your doubts;
• Say “Hello, self-doubt, how are you today”; and
• Get to work.

What have you learned from your self-doubts?

Joan Dempsey is a writer and the founder of Literary Living, an online program for serious, aspiring writers who want to overcome resistance and self-doubt to create a unique writing life. Sign-up for more information, a free audio interview with Leo Babauta, and a free e-book, The Power of Deliberate Thinking: 5 Strategies for Staying at the Writing Desk (Despite Your Self-Doubts)

7 tips for aspiring children’s writers from author Audrey Vernick

For many years, New Jersey children’s author Audrey Vernick wrote literary short fiction, where a big success is “selling” your story to a literary magazine that pays you with free copies of the magazine. Honored twice by the New Jersey State Council of the Arts with its prestigious fiction fellowship, Audrey has published seven children’s books and now gets to hang out with cool and funny kids at readings. Good call.

Vernick has figured a few things out along the way. “I also continue to make the same mistakes over and over,” she quips.

1. Apply for fellowships and grants. I always thought fellowships were for other people, like second homes and well, clean homes. Until I applied for a fiction fellowship and actually got it. That fellowship, more than any single other milestone, made me feel like a writer. Do not think a fellowship or grant is beyond you. I’ve also served as a juror for an arts foundation, evaluating manuscripts, and trust me: your work can definitely stand up to the rest.

2. Find good readers for your work. I always have a few people read my work before I send it to my agent. I’ve been lucky to meet people along the way who get what I’m trying to do and point out when I might be missing the mark. Time and experience have taught me to gratefully accept the suggestions that work for me and cast aside those that don’t. This did not come easily, naturally, or quickly. See #3.

3. Do not let critiques hurt you. I learned this with tears and pain and possibly a voodoo doll or two. Maybe you can do better. My first workshop in graduate school nearly killed me. I’m not sure there’s a way to protect yourself from that pain. If you’re writing honestly and earnestly and someone is nasty, it can hurt. As I’ve gotten older and nastier myself, however, I’ve gotten better at dealing with it. Remember that this whole business is subjective. Find the readers who get you; try to disregard the rest.

4. Don’t underestimate luck. I think it’s vitally important to continuously work at craft, to improve, to revise with vigor. But on the publication side of things, I can’t get over the amount of luck one needs. Maybe it’s a combination of luck and timing. This year’s hottest trend might have been rejected two years ago as too out there. I advise having good luck, not bad.

5. Obsession doesn’t help. I’m not completely sure this is true, as I think I’ve willed some things into being. But I do know that checking one’s email more than three times a minute is not healthy and won’t make an agent respond faster. And I learned this month that there’s a correlation between descending into pure madness and watching your Amazon ranking. That said, I think obsession is, by definition, kind of hard to stop. So take note of it, make fun of yourself, and try to work yourself down to checking your email twice a minute.

6. Keep learning. Whenever I can, which isn’t that often, I take a writing class. I always learn something. I seek out classes taught by writers I admire. I also learn by reading, but I assume all writers are voracious readers.

7. Everyone wants to write a picture book. I don’t think I have yet met a person who hasn’t told me about the picture book he is going to write. Or the one she wrote that’s going to be published as soon as she sends it out. It makes sense. There are so many bad picture books, and invariably, those are the ones our children want to hear over and over. It’s reasonable to conclude that if you write one that’s not bad, it will be published. But I’m not sure it works that way. Still, I smile and wish them luck. And you, too.

Have you written a children’s book manuscript? Submit your story to MeeGenius!

As a writer, Audrey Vernick shares her books and stories with readers and aspiring writers of all ages. “I have spoken to small and large groups at elementary schools, public libraries, book fairs, and writers’ conferences, and have conducted numerous writing workshops.”

Vernick’s presentations touch on New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania Core Curriculum Content Standards, including comprehension skills and students’ response to text. In particular, I focus on drawing conclusions, genre, retelling, and plot/character development.

Email audrey@audreyvernick.com for information on rates and availability.

Television as Teacher: 5 things we can learn from TV writers and their characters

A few weeks ago I attended the Writers Faire at UCLA. There were over 45 seminars on the craft of writing, presented by a humbling variety of the nation’s finest authors, poets and screenwriters—who just happen to teach at UCLA. (I’m salivating as I write this. I live just a few hours south–too far to attend classes in person, yet close enough to be heart-broken by this geographic tragedy. However, I will take advantage of the faculty’s 1-day and 4-day programs… and possibly its online offerings. More on that later.)

What I discovered at the event was an unexpected illumination of creativity spawned by the screen-writing instructors. I’d attended to learn more about the art of novel-writing, but ended up rapt by the pace and passion offered by the screenwriters, and have since been more open to finding inspiration in unexpected places.  Janice Gable Bashman, co-author of the new book Wanted Undead or Alive: Vampire Hunters and Other Kick-Ass Enemies of Evil (Citadel Press, 2010) and contributing editor of the Big Thrill (the newsletter of the International
Thriller Writers) suggests we writers look to television of all places to learn more about shaping more captivating scenes, characters and storylines. Here is her advice:

1. Jump Right In—Television shows start smack in the middle of the action to grab and hold our attention from the get-go. This method discourages the viewer from flipping the channel to find something more interesting. Once we’re hooked, backstory is revealed. Tune in to any drama or even the news and you’ll see this method in action. Today’s readers expect the same from their books. They want to be hooked after reading that first paragraph, the first page, the first chapter. They want a book so exciting that they can’t put it down, a story that captivates their hearts and souls and fires up their imaginations. They want a story that pulls them into a new world and threatens to hold them there until the very last word. It’s up to writers to hook the readers, to keep them interested enough to keep reading. And it all begins with the first scene. Make it exciting.

2. Use Hooks and Cliffhangers—What keeps us hooked to television shows when the distractions of home,

family, friends, work, the Internet, etc. threaten to pull them away? It’s simple really. Good storytelling. But it goes beyond that. Just because it’s good doesn’t mean viewers will stay tuned, especially once a commercial comes on. Television shows tease us when going into a commercial or ending the show. They leave us hooked with an unfinished question or scene that makes the viewer want to know more and makes us wonder what will happen to the characters in the future. This process is a deliberate effort to keep us watching the shows. And it works. For writers, it’s important to begin and end a scene with a hook. It can be an unfinished question, a line of dialogue, or a bit of action—anything that grabs the reader’s attention and make the reader wonder what comes next. The hook compels the reader to turn the page and read more. As readers, we’ve all experienced that book that keeps us up well into the night when we have to get up early the next day. What keeps us reading each page, each chapter, when we know we should really go sleep? It’s simply a good story combined with great hooks.

3. A Break From Writing Is Not a Waste Of Time—We’ve all seen the television character who can’t solve a problem but who is then hit with a great idea while fiddling with the remote, hanging out with friends, playing basketball, or cooking. Some of the best ideas come to us when they’re least expected. Some writers believe that writing is the only way to find new ideas or resolve problems, but sometimes taking a step back from the process yields wonderful results.

4. It’s Not Always Best To Brainstorm Alone—Ideas don’t occur in a vacuum. Television cops don’t work alone, the women on “Army Wives” solve problems together, and the creative group on “Mad Men” is just that—a group of individuals who work together to brainstorm ideas. Many of the ideas are terrible and are rejected, but then a unexpected gem emerges from the give and take among the group members. When stuck for ideas or for solutions to plot problems, writers often stew in their chairs, surf the internet, knock out chores, or play games on the computer with the hopes that the solutions will magically appear. Sometimes it does; sometimes it doesn’t. Shooting an idea past a colleague or brainstorming with a friend can be just the thing to bring freshness and excitement to your work.

5. Diversification Is Key To Success—How many good television shows have gone stale? They show the same twist on an old story line over and over again. As a result, we become bored, abandon the shows, and find new ones to watch. Also, have you noticed how advertisers don’t focus on only one market? They diversify among television, print, radio, and the internet and adjust their advertising to each market to achieve the highest success rate and to reach the widest audience. As writers we must diversify in order to succeed in this ever-changing industry and to ensure our work is constantly in demand. If we focus on only one market and that market becomes stale or fails, we’re out of work. But if we diversify and continually look for new opportunities in untapped markets, the opportunities are endless.

What forms of media have inspired your writing, and how?

Better your writing with a little help from your friends – 5 ways

All writers have at least one friend who can be trusted with their babies–both their actual child AND a writing-in-progress. Perhaps you are blessed with an arsenal of buddies, pals, and mentors who are avid readers, writers, editor,s or English majors? Fabulous. You know who turn to when the words have been written. But can your acquaintances, family, Facebook “friends” and other relationships be a stepping stone to making your writing richer, more realistic and ready for an audience?

Writer Kolina Cicero, who maintains an engaging blog here, says, “I have recently discovered just how useful my friends and family are when it comes to writing. Whether it’s their opinion on my characters or their cheerleading skills, they have helped me every step of the way in my writing process.”

Here are Cicero’s five ways to take advantage of your circle without making them mad:

5. Survey them

I agree  with Kolina on this; I recently had a small crisis over some character names. I used this blog, my Twitter (@TheRJLacko) and Facebook accounts to see how my readers respond to names, and they gladly helped me sculpt my characters.

4. Enlist their services

If they are your true friends, they’re interested in what you’re working on. Ask them to read over your work and provide them with a short list of questions: Can you tell he’s angry even if he doesn’t say so? What would make a better story, ending A or ending B? Does this sentence make any sense?

3. Base characters from your friends’ quirks

From habitually over-watering their plants to never wearing two matching socks, your friends have some oddities to them that are among the greatest resources for character development.

2. Use their support

When you feel you’ve hit a roadblock or that your piece isn’t worthy of being published, confide in your loved ones. They’ve seen how much time and effort you’ve invested in your writing and they won’t let you give up.

1. Listen to their dialogue

Dialogue is the ultimate tool when forming characters. If you pay close attention to the way your friends speak, you will better understand how specific personalities communicate and, as a result, formulating your dialogue will be an easier task.

How do you draw on your friends to help you with your writing? Practical or inspirational? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Crafting the Perfect Outline Identifying 5 Major Plotpoints

We can all agree on one thing: there is no one perfect recipe for cooking up a good story. The same goes for crafting an outline. Trust me, I’m elbows deep in it, and everywhere I seek advice, I’m given a different perspective. I am a big fan of Dramatica‘s approach, but at the same time, it requires a thorough understanding of the software to achieve a concise result. Whether you think of your outline as the “best-laid plans” or a treasure map leading to the pot of gold (a satisfying ending) The Script Lab offers a blueprint: How to Write the Perfect Outline.

Let us also agree on another thing: It is downright foolhardy to write anything–a screenplay, a novel and non-fiction book–without an outline. The necessary web of plot points weaved with multiple layers of character development, place, time, mood and dialogue demand detailed forethought if we are to begin, work and complete a piece that makes sense, that presents and resolves a conflict, that satisfies both the writer and the reader (not to mention the agent, editor and publisher).

According to The Script Lab, “nothing is universally perfect. Some writers put together comprehensive 20 page point outlines, plotting in every scene, even tossing in lines of potential dialogue. For other writers, breaking down the broad strokes of the eight sequences and making sure there is a clear central obstacle within each sequence is enough. But still others simply clarify the five major plot points.

“A movie, I think is really only four or five moments between two people; the rest of it exists to give those moments their impact and resonance. The script exists for that. Everything does.” – Robert Towne

Regardless the many variables, however, The Script Lab argues that the most rudimentary outline must include these FIVE CORE ELEMENTS:

1. INCITING INCIDENT

Often called the point of attack, the inciting incident is the first premonition of impending trouble, dilemma, or circumstance that will create the main tension of the story. It usually falls at the end of the first sequence. But it can sometimes appear in the first few minutes of a film.

2. LOCK IN

The protagonist is locked into the predicament that is central to the story, which occurs at the end of Act I, This lock in, therefore, propels the protagonist into a new direction in order to accomplish his/her new objective throughout the second act

3. FIRST CULMINATION

The first culmination generally occurs around the midpoint of the second act and is a pivotal moment in the story but nat as critical as the Lock In or Main Culmination. Consider the first culmination as the second highest or second lowest point in Act II, the second highest hurdle to be faced.

4. MAIN CULMINATION

The final culmination occurs at the end of the second act and brings the main tension to a close while simultaneously helping to create a new tension for the third act.

5. THIRD ACT TWIST

The twist is an unexpected turn of events in the third act. Without a twist, the third act can seem too linear and predictable. It can also be the last test of the character of the hero.

Hungry for more? Check out 8 points to consider when writing your synopsis

Follow me on Twitter @RebeccaLacko

Browse the Best Books of 2010… so far.

Free Your Pen — Eric Maisel’s advice for “Wishing”

Have you ever read a book on the writing process that could not simply be read, savored and applied to your practice? Unable

to sit quietly on your bookshelf amid other volumes of writing advice, certain publications stir your inner creative force and cry out to be shared. (If you would like to tell us your favorite book on writing, click here!)
Writer Jes Davidson has one such hot property and she is ready to spread the good word. The blogger for Free Your Pen, Ms. Davidson  won the Euroscript Screen Story Competition with her screenplay THIS OTHER EDEN in 2008.

The Brighton, UK, resident’s winning screenplay is pitched as follows:  “A reclusive carpenter leaves his isolated shack in the woods to embark on a horse-drawn odyssey through the wilds of Northumberland on a quest that will reawaken his heart, transforming his life forever.”

Davidson recommends FEARLESS CREATING by Eric Maisel, a guide to the creative process, packed full of advice, support and exercises. “It’s written for artists,”he says, “but what he means by that is anyone who creates. Creating is a powerful and scary activity, and I find myself returning again and again to this essential book.”

Eric Maisel sets out six stages of the creative process. The first stage of the creative process is about nurturing your dream, your desire to create something. Eric Maisel calls this stage WISHING. It’s where you go looking for ideas and inspiration, stories to obsess over, dramas to enact. This section also resonates with me as I continue to wrestle with my outline. I’ve received plenty of helpful advice from experience writers (and readers) but in the end, I must sit quietly and allow the story to unfold in my imagination. Here are excerpts from Jes Davidson’s review of the book:

The Desire to Create

To feed your desire to create you must be still – inside – give yourself space to allow what wants to be created to come out and play.

As you quiet down inside, hold the idea in your mind, turn it round, look at it, let it breathe. What does it want to be? Who is this character? Don’t force it or second guess. Let your imagination go loose, let it play, see what happens. Write it down.

Hungry Mind

The anxiety of this stage is called Hungry Mind anxiety. This is where you can get overwhelmed by all the possibilities and ideas running around in your head – where do I start? What is it anyway? It might be nothing. It’s a lot of work.. You start to argue with yourself about whether or not the story should be written, before you’ve even worked out what it’s about.

This swirling chaotic mess in your head is a good sign. It means you want to create something and it’s absolutely normal. This is the kind of anxiety you will have to accept if you want to spend your time creating anything. Get used to it. The worst thing to do in the face of this anxiety is to shut down, turn away, switch on the TV. You need to feed your creativity.

Appropriate Feeding (of your mind/creativity)

Follow the Work – do what the story requires of you. I spent hours at the beach with my camera whilst working on the first draft of Bluebird. (A psychological thriller set in the surfing community at Tynemouth.) I walked the streets my protagonist walks, stood in the sand and watched the surf, and noted how moods change with the light. I’m sure it’ll end up in the script somewhere.

Plant Seeds – give your imagination something to work with. I keep a folder full of ideas, scraps of paper covered in scrawl, clippings from newspapers, half thought out possibilities. Every now and then I sift through what I’ve collected. Something will always surprise me.

Think by Feeling – this one’s for the intellectual types: don’t over-think everything. Keep in touch with your feelings by feeling them – laugh, cry, live. You are not feeling when you’re talking or thinking about your feelings. As Bruce Lee says in Enter the Dragon, “Don’t think, feel.”

Eat with Two Hands – dig deep into research for the work. Obsess over it, dream it, devour it. Let your story penetrate every pore, every nook and cranny of your life.

Find Masters – return to and relive books and films that have inspired you. It will fan the flames of your enthusiasm. Remind yourself why you wanted to write in the first place.

Serve – share your enthusiasms and your joy. Teach others what you need to learn. This is partly the motivation for this blog.

Hush – be still, be silent. Surrender to the trance of working. Let the writing take you, let it lead you where you need to be.

Think Well – analyse what you’re trying to do. Think about life and art. What have the masters taught you, what do you know from experience? Think about why you think the way you think. Why do you write the stories you write? Why this story? Why now?

You will need to be able to combine systematic, left-brain type thinking with more free-flowing, imaginative right-brain type thinking – and jump back and forth between them. It is possible to do both simultaneously on different levels, as it were. Your head runs through the permutations while your guts and heart let rip with intuitions and inspirations. It’s a matter of being willing to stop and start thinking, change gears mid-sentence, jump from image to words to sensations to sounds – mix it up.

The important thing at this stage is to affirm your desire to create. Do everything in your power to support that desire. The more you undermine yourself at this stage the more likely you are to give up. And you know you’re not a quitter.

What do you think? How do you feed your creative urges? Share your best advice in the comments below..

To find out more about Eric Maisel and Fearless Creating go here

Jes Davidson is currently working on a new screenplay, BLUEBIRD (A psychological thriller set in the surfing community in Tynemouth. A young woman fights to free herself from the past and find the perfect wave); and a novel, ADDLED (Zoë Popper thinks she’s losing her mind, but reality could be stranger than she realises. Addled is the story of her search for enlightenment, true love and the perfect chicken kebob.)

8 points to consider when writing your synopsis

As I regrettably procrastinate over writing my novel synopsis, cherished writing time slips through fingers that ought to be on the keyboard. There simply isn’t time for procrastination, either. This summer ought to be my most incisive lesson on focus; with my children’s wildly varied summer schedule requiring me, your humble fiction writer must perform duties of activities director and chauffeur. The time I can grasp for myself–for my book- are precious indeed.

Tomorrow evening is the Pen On Fire event, and I am very excited indeed! (Thank you so much to everyone who helped critique chapter One.) While it will be a casual meet-and-greet with literary agents, I don’t want to be caught empty-handed under any circumstance.

So, I am completing a one-page synopsis of my story. The beauty of this task lies in my synopsis’ multi-use value; For as important as it is for me to clearly express a persuasive outline of my story, it will be both motivating and clarifying to revisit it throughout the writing process, checking to see that I am on the correct track, focused (there’s that word again) and remaining true to my vision.

I found Chuck Sambuchino’s excellent blog “Guide to Literary Agents” and his easy-to-understand advice for writing a synopsis. Here are eight pieces of Chuck’s useful advice with helpful links.

1. A synopsis can sell your story. Agent Caren Estesen discusses why you need a good summary.

2. The advice “show, don’t tell,” doesn’t apply to a synopsis. Author Diana Peterfreund explains why.

3. Here’s how to write one. Agent Nathan Bransford shares his guidelines on writing the synopsis.

4. Ask yourself five questions. Writer Beth Anderson asks five questions in order to write a tight synopsis. Find out what they are.

5. Keep it simple. Romance novelist Brenda Coulter suggests dropping the pretense and just tell your story.

6. A writer answers common questions. Writer Sally Hanan answers commonly asked questions about the synopsis.

7. Grab readers, even with a synopsis. Romance Author Meredith Bond believes you have to “grab them by their eyeballs and don’t let go” and that’s just the first paragraph.

8. See examples of fiction synopses. On this very GLA blog, you can see many posts related to synopsis writing – including several actual examples of synopses in all genres.

Hungry for more? Check out Crafting the Perfect Outline Identifying 5 Major Plotpoints

Follow me on Twitter @RebeccaLacko

Browse the Best Books of 2010… so far.