New agent alert: Brooks Sherman

Brooks Sherman is now an associate agent at FinePrint Literary Management. He is actively seeking a range of both fiction and nonfiction projects. You can find him on Twitter at @byobrooks. Details here.

Happy Halloween fellow writers

The scene outside my door on Saturday. I hope you have a fabulous Halloween. Have fun and be safe.

Writing scenes with Tom Huang

Today I sat in on a webinar with Tom Huang, Assistant Managing Editor for Sunday and Enterprise at The Dallas Morning News and Ethics and Diversity Fellow at The Poynter Institute.

Tom talked about reporting and writing scenes. While the focus of this seminar was non-fiction, I think many of my fiction writer friends will find what he had to say helpful.

Here are some bullet points.

·    Scenes are the building blocks of dramatic storytelling
·    A story is a string of pearls, think of it as a sequence of dramatic scenes
·    Scenes involve strong characters, action and dialogue
·    Think about turning points, moments of discovery. Bring protagonist face to face with a dilemma. Know what the complication or main obstacle is
·    Scenes can help develop a story’s larger theme
·    Scenes reveal aspects of a protagonist’s character (ie, motives)
·    Scenes come to life with details that transport us into the stories. Writers use sights, sounds, smells, tastes to bring people into this world.
·    Show don’t tell
·    Evoke emotions, stir memories
·    Using details in a very spare way allows reader to add some of their own experiences
·    Action is comprised of strong verbs and active voice
·    What we gain from the scene is not information but experience
·    Scenes help readers feel what it might have been like to be in that situation

Elements of a scene
·    Characters
·    Actions
·    Dialogue
·    Sense of place
·    Details
·    Emotion
·    A range of views, from wide angle to close-up

Character
·    People want to read about people. They want to hear their voices, see them, etc. Ask yourself if your characters grab the reader in some way.
·   Keep narrative “camera” on your main character for most of the story

·   Don’t pack the story or scene with too many characters
·   Show protagonist’s physical details, mannerisms, movement, let reader  “hear” protagonist’s voice

Action
·    Wants and needs of character drive plot forward
·    Use strong verbs
·    Use active voice
·    Start scene in middle of the action
·    Pay attention to how characters move and interact

Dialogue
·    Dialogue advances narrative while quotes delay it. When you read a quote, you step out of the narrative flow. Dialogue happens within the narrative flow.

Sense of place
·    Story needs to have a geographical heart
·    You want to leave a sense of place, not just a laundry list of details
·    Allow time to roam around a place to get to know it better
·    Research history of the place
·    One suggestion if reporting from a place is to stay in a locally owned place (think bed and breakfast) as opposed to a national chain.

Details
·    Be highly selective
·    Use details that reveal something important about your character or moves the plot forward. Also, details that are important to the larger theme
·    Spare details stimulates memories
·    Show don’t tell
·    Use spare, simple language
·    Reveal person’s emotions through their action

How to select which scenes to include
·    Which scenes have the most dramatic potential
·    Watch for turning points (ie. successes, failures, etc.)
·    Start with a scene that has main character in it
·    Good scene causes subsequent scene to occur

Where's the man going?

I’m constantly wondering about everything. For example, if I see a plane in the sky, I wonder where it’s headed. I wonder who’s inside the plane. Then I start to pick a destination and form images of the passengers based on where I’ve decided the plane is going and the time of year.


For example, if I decide that the plane’s headed for Disney World and it’s summer, I’ll usually picture the plane packed with moms and dads and kids wearing shorts and sneakers.

Are you like this? Sometimes it drives me insane because I can’t help wondering and thinking and that leads to creating, which can become extremely detailed and that takes time.

The other day, I was driving home from the store. I saw a man with a backpack and a wooden walking stick trudging along the side of the road. So where do you think he was headed? What was he doing? Give me your most creative answer. And let your imagination run wild. Think outside the box.

Quote of the day

"I'm often asked if writing classes are any help, and my immediate and enthusiastic answer is always, Yes! Writing classes are wonderful for the writers who teach them and can't make ends meet without that supplementary income. They are also good places for unattached people to meet, talk about books and movies, have a few drinks and possibly hook up. But teach you to write? No. A writing class will not teach you to write." --Stephen King

What a set-up, eh? But what a punch he delivers.

Story ideas fighting to be first

Three new ideas for middle-grade books popped into my head. I like them all. When this happens, how do you decide which idea to pursue? Or, do you pursue each, perhaps a chapter or so, and see which one gets legs? Or, do you outline each to see which one feels right?

We've talked before about outlining, and I generally don't do it. My latest YA was different. Because of its nature, I absolutely had to outline to keep track of everything. But generally I know the beginning, know the ending and some of the plot points along the way. The story goes where the characters lead me. So outlining all three ideas wouldn't work for me.

How do you handle this situation? So far, my ideas are jotted down on scrap paper. I've been thinking about all three and no one in particular seems to have an advantage. Thoughts? 

Quote of the day

“If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.” – John Maxwell

Creating beautiful trees

Some days I question whether I’m doing what I’m meant to do. Do you ever feel like this? So sure of what you’re doing one day and not so much the next? I’d say that I’m a pretty confident person, but still.

I’m grateful for the gift God has given me – to be able to create beautiful trees with just a seed of an idea. But even after the tree is standing tall, it is open to the fickleness of the world. Maybe it’s not good enough or strong enough. Heck, maybe I’m the only person who loves it. But, dang it, I can’t give up on my tree. On any of my trees. I must keep believing, keep pushing forward. I must battle the wind and sleet and freezing rain that threatens my resolve.

So today at church, I asked God to give me strength and patience. To guide and direct me. That if writing novels is what I’m meant to do, to send me a sign. I believe in myself. I know that my agent believes in me. And I pray that God believes in me, that I’m using His gift in the way He wants me to.

Google Doodle honors Gumby creator

I grew up watching Gumby and Pokey. I loved those guys! So it was totally awesome to see today's animated Google Doodle that honors Arthur “Art” Clokey, who created these characters. Art was a pioneer of stop motion clay animation. He was born on Oct. 12, 1921.

Besides Gumby and Pokey, there were the Blockheads, who were troublemakers; Nopey, Gumby's dog; Gumba, Gumby's mom; Gumbo, Gumby's dad; Prickle, a yellow dinosaur; and others.

I wish I still had my bendable Gumby and Pokey figures. (Sigh)

For more info about Gumby and gang, check out Gumby World.  Also, on Wikipedia.

Which is your fave Art Clokey character?

Some other cool Google Doodles
Happy Birthday Google
Jim Henson
Albert Szent-Györgyi
Freddie Mercury
Jorge Luis Borges
Lucille Ball 100th birthday
Gregor Mendel
Summer Soltice
Les Paul playable Google Doodle
Martha Graham
Royal wedding
Earth Day
Charlie Chaplin
First human space flight
200th birthday of Robert Bunsen
Jules Verne
John James Audubon

Here is an archive of all of the Google Doodles throughout the world. It's really neat to see ones that appeared in other countries.

Noted: cross-posted with Buffy's World

Quote of the day

"You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we're doing it.” -- Neil Gaiman

Chance to win Guide to Literary Agents

Don't miss your chance to win the 2012 edition of Guide to Literary Agents. All you have to do is comment on Chuck Sambuchino's post to get in the drawing. Good luck to all who enter.

Papergreat: A great blog

Hey fellow writers, check out my friend's blog, Papergreat. Chris Otto's blog has a lot of really cool content on it. I love the old books he finds and all the cool stuff he discovers inside them. You will, too.

What is the most unusual item you ever found tucked inside a book? Could have been one you picked up at a yard sale or borrowed from the library.