To Start...Start

Recently, I’ve read many posts on social media that all equate to the same dilemma:

• Plotter, planner, or plotster?
• Should I edit as I go?
• Crit group or MFA?
• What writing software should I use to write my first-ever novel?

 

The answer to all of those questions—just start—is just that easy and just that hard.

 

I’m not saying that tools and strategies won’t help you revise, track, and organize your book—they will. Crit groups are great for constructive feedback as well as developing editorial skills to apply to your endeavors. MFAs will…not keep you from writing your book.

 

However, no sheepskin, gang of ink-stained miscreants, or software will do the most important job for you:

 

WRITE THE BOOK

 

Oh, and if it’s not clear, editing as you go isn’t efficient. It’s avoidance. Get the story down. Rough, illogical, damn-near incoherent—get it down, “Once upon a time...” to “...something-something-ever-after.”

 

Is the book done? Certainly not. 

 

Once upon a time Science Fiction visionary, Philip K. Dick spoke on a writing panel that included the following exchange with Judy-Lynn del Rey, the mother of modern Science Fiction (and patron of PKD’s work). Obvs, I paraphrase, (badly).

 

“On speed, [amphetamines] I can write 6000 good words a day,” —Philip K. Dick

 

“Well, not good words…” —Judy-Lynn del Rey

 

The point is once you’ve completed your story it isn’t “done.” That is good news! It’s not etched in stone. It’s not good. It’s not terrible. It is complete.

 

It’s a draft and a draft is not ready for submission. It’s not ready for editing. It’s not even ready for a crit group. It is, however, EXACTLY what it has to be—a completed idea, illogic plot, atrocious grammar, bad breath and all.

 

The artistry, the real writing, is in the revisions. You may find that the middle is actually the beginning of the story. The (former beginning) is now a truncated flashback or a charming interlude between drug-fueled shootouts. You may end up with more endings than a “choose your own adventure” book. All neatly organized with that spiffy software that you now have a purpose for.

 

But you can’t get to that until the bones are laid down. Until the draft is completed—beginning, middle, and end—you don’t have a story. You have an idea which will never be anything more than a passing whim without some ugly work put in.

The photo above is free for use by Tumisu on Pixabay.

Stick-Figures, Drawings, and Outlines

 

Pencils, pens, and paper have always been my favorite toys. I could (and did) take them everywhere I went. Not appropriate to roll Hot Wheels cars across the restaurant table? No Shogun Warrior robots allowed in class? No room for a Millennium Falcon on the tiny desk in my old man’s office behind the bar?

No problem, I’ll draw them.

But that’s not where I started. Like every other kid who puts pencil to paper to draw their favorite TV/movie/book character, I started with stick figures. My stick-cowboys had hats. The stick-horses had tails. The stick-spacemen had fishbowl helmets.

I forsworn drawing stick-spacewomen after getting into trouble for my first attempt. Different story, different time.

Stick-figure drawings were not simply rudimentary attempts at art, they were fast and allowed me to act out the story—to get to it.

Pantser

(noun)

A scribbler with NO idea what they are doing.

(see also: lost explorer)

I’m pretty sure that most writers start as pantsers for the same reason I drew stick-figures; to get to it. 

The writer seated at the keyboard/typewriter/notepad—flying by the seat of their pants, knocking the story out fast and free—is a compelling image. No notes, no outline, no doubts. Pansters love the freedom of writing in the direction inspiration carries them, listening to their characters and taking direction from, rather than direct them to, a plotted course, toward a plotline goal.

No plan. No outline. Just writer and medium and voilà! Completed book.

The hardest bit of writing always comes at the 30,000 word mark. Keep going. After 50,000 the hill slopes in your favour. —Matt Haig

Except a lot of writers, (self-included) don’t knock the story out. Rather, most flame out at 20K or 30K words, unsure where to go next. My first efforts didn’t make 15K words.

Upside, just as stick-figures are starting points for 98% of cartoonists and comic-book artists, the failed draft is where writers begin. Just as the artist is the one who disciplines themself to study and practice and develop, the writer is the one who tries again after the failed draft.

Plotter

(noun)

A scribbler with everything they need—neatly organized—to avoid actually writing the story.

(see also: yeah, yeah, I see the iceberg, just let me rearrange these deck chairs… )

What I learned from those failed books, (aside from which genre I should be writing) was that I needed a plan. It also helped that among the flashes of ideas I had for my codeine-addicted car thief was the opening and the ending.

Before you begin to write your novel, write a detailed outline and character backgrounds first. So many unpublished first (or second or 44th) novels begin halfway through the book because the writer spent the first 150 pages giving us the backstory instead of starting with THE STORY. —Melissa de la Cruz

My plan—calling it an outline would be delusional—was more a list of scenes I devised to get from A to B. A stick figure outline. Yet, as ~ahem~ slim as my plan was, it proved useful in ways I could never imagine.

As the quote above conveys, a lot (most?) new writers fall into the backstory trap. The plan allowed me to weigh scenes/turns as a sentence on a list. In more than one instance, I discarded a sentence on its face before committing hours to fleshing out a scene only to realize it didn’t work.

Most importantly, the plan kept me on point when work or school, (don’t ask) or cancer took me away from writing for weeks months. It gave me somewhere to begin and direction forward. I didn’t have to completely re-conceptualize my story. All I had to do was expand the next sentence into a scene.

And then the one after that and then the one after…

If you do enough planning before you start to write, there's no way you can have writer's block. I do a complete chapter by chapter outline. —R.L. Stine

PLEASE NOTE: I’ve never had writer’s block. Work-for-pay drudgery, the lack of a just/humane world—the fothermucking evening news—all give me MUCH to write about. However, I have been completely overwhelmed with doubt and indecision. Again, an outline can help with, “okay, this is the item on the list to write, so I’m writing this item on the list,” clarity.

All that said/typed, it is important to point out what an outline won’t do.

As much as NO amount of inspiration and good ideas will write your book, NO outline will write your book for you or even eliminate wrong turns or faulty logic, flat dialogue or flat characters.

I don't plot my books rigidly... A novel mustn't be a closed system—it's a quest. —Kurt Vonnegut

Which brings us to the trap of outlines. First, the outline can become an end to itself. What does that look like?

Oh, I can’t start my book, my outline isn’t finished...

Until my outline is perfect, neither is my book...

My draft is a mess, I need to throw it out and start over…with a new outline...

The book is the objective. Outlines, spreadsheets, vision-boards, spears/magic helmets, are all tools or gimmicks. It either serves the objective or it might as well be cat videos because if it doesn’t serve the objective, it’s a distraction.

Plantser

(noun)

A scribbler who doesn’t know whether they’re coming or going—but knows she’s gonna get there.

(see also: “winging it” is the plan… )

Obviously, there’s no sure-fire method that works for every writer. I mean there is that whole writing thingy to contend with.

Find what works for you. Maybe you don’t have a day gig, kids, household responsibilities—or you have all of that but you also have supreme focus, discipline, and the fortitude to ignore stacks of dishes as well as the partner’s disdainful expression that comes with. And if the latter is the case, yay-you! Go balls-to-the-wall pantser. Knock out that book in 6 weeks. Revisions in another 2-3 weeks. Stephen King ain’t got sh—tuff on you.

If, like the rest of us—work, school (don’t ask) and family are necessary parts of your life—you need a plan.

The plan need not be iron-clad. It cannot be perfect. That’s the job of your (final) draft. But it must exist or your book isn’t likely to. Ever.

Mostly, find your way. However you do it, just finish the damned book. We’re waiting over here to read it.

I own the image at the top. Who else would claim it? 

Crime Report: The Blue Bar

 

This week, we’re taking a look at Damyanti Biswas' fantastic new book, The Blue Bar.

An introduction in situ, we follow Tara, a bar girl on assignment through a crowded Mumbai train station. We also meet the city itself, loud, steamy, and chaotic. The electric tension that will be our companion through the book shadows Tara’s footsteps.

A city of islands, Mumbai is a perfect central character in a crime story with disparate people, each an island to themselves. More than a setting, The City of Dreams is in turns squalid and seductive, sinister and sophisticated. And always as shocking as Tara’s low-slung saree. 

Police Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput arrives, fittingly at a crime scene, a little later. Called to a construction site after the discovery of a headless, handless body, Inspector Arnav is both appalled by the attitudes toward the victim yet quietly resigned to another day on a tough police beat. 

Then one body leads to two others.

As daunting as the specter of a serial killer might be, Arnav must also contend with pressure to reopen a connected developer’s construction site as well as administrative pressure to put the case of headless bodies to rest. Instead of complying, Arnav pushes harder and his investigation quickly escalates from minor annoyance to major impediment. 

Consequences stack up in a political town with deep party roots and deeper political bloodlines. When Arnav ignores not-so-subtle warnings that the investigation may impact his advancement, the powers-that-be amp up the pressure. Yet as the vice tightens on him, Arnav intensifies his hunt for the killer and end the slaughter. 

The Blue Bar of the title is a venue where women dance to “lewd Bollywood songs” for money. Most, if not all, of the women are there due to no fault of their own. Many have been victimized based on caste and/or economics.

What sets The Blue Bar apart from the standard potboiler is the author’s insight. Biswas illustrates social norms that contribute to a shrug-and-tsk-tsk acceptance of violence against women without resorting to stereotype, classism, or easy answers. Everyone has a part in the tragedy.

And, just as seen in similar establishments in the west, the step from dancing to prostitution is more skip than leap.

The ultimate villain here is misogyny, bar girls to office girls to Bollywood actresses, women are treated as commodities for trade. Just as often they are discarded as trash for the crime of existing. Blamed for the way they dress, the work they do, or simply being out of the house, their only real provocation is bringing a moment of light or joy to otherwise mundane lives.

In genre’s best tradition, Biswas raises questions of social responsibility, (here, it’s how we treat women) but leaves the answers to us. Echoes of her opening lines on beginnings and endings run through my thoughts as I type this.

If not readily apparent, The Blue Bar is a deeply affecting story without benefit of spoon-feeding or the burden of preaching. 

Two years ago, I had the good fortune to find Damyanti Biswas’ excellent crime novel, You Beneath Your Skin. That book absolutely captivated me and I still think about Anjali Morgan, Jatin Bhatt, and the crew at the Vigil. The Blue Bar not only measures up to the standard set by that first effort but exceeds it. If possible, Biswas’ skill has developed even more and her prose are even more fearless. I have no doubt that The Blue Bar will stay with me just as YBYS has. 

Indeed, Biswas infuses Mumbai with the same life that she so deftly revealed in the New Delhi of YBYS. When Tara reflects that she would neither leave Mumbai nor would she want to, I feel her sentiment in my deep love of cities. Even as we are elbow-to-elbow with Arnav while he hunts the killer, I feel the love for a wondrous place full of danger but also of vibrant life. The sweltering heat, the “tinny songs,” and food-stall aromas brace us as we slide in the direction we want to go (justice?) while the throngs carry us along but not entirely as intended (resolution?). 

In short, reading Damyanti’s latest is like catching up with an old friend or making a new friend all over again. You can find The Blue Bar here. Check it out.

The photo at the top is used by Damyanti Biswas' permission.

Pets in Fiction! with Sue Coletta

This week, I've handed the reins over to the lovely Sue Coletta. Enjoy!

~ Fiona














Ways to Include Pets to Enhance Your Fictional World



I love writing pets into my stories. Not only is a great way to show a killer’s soft side, but they become important family members for the main characters. In my stories, I’ve used a Rottweiler, mastiff, and St. Bernard (MARRED and CLEAVED), a calico, tabby, and

all-black cat (Wings of Mayhem), pet crows (Blessed Mayhem), and a black bear (A Sultry Abyss in SCREAM). I’ve even borrowed a friend’s Bulldog for Black Out (RUN), but I felt so responsible for him, I couldn’t include him like I’d originally planned. God forbid I returned him emotionally scarred from the experience. It’s much safer to use fictional pets.

Need a way to show your character’s quirky side? Include a bearded dragon, snapping turtle, boa, tarantula, or exotic bird.

Is your character adventurous? Give him a pet moose, lion, leopard,

or tiger to love. How ‘bout a pet elephant? When writing about pets let your imagination soar.

Fit the pet to a specific character to cue readers about their personality. By using well-thought-out animals, it can say a lot about who they are, where they live, or even, their state of mind. It’s also fun to juxtapose. Give a tattooed biker a Chihuahua or toy poodle. Readers will love it!

A few things to keep in mind when writing pets into fiction...
If you kill the pet, you better have a damn good reason for it, a reason readers will understand.

For example, Bob and I watched John Wick recently. [SPOILER

ALERT] I fell in love with the Beagle puppy his dead wife sent him. When the bad guys murdered him I almost shut off the movie. If my husband hadn’t begged me to keep watching, that would’ve been it for me. Turns out, this moment kicked off the quest (First Plot Point in story structure). Not only is it an important scene, but if it didn’t happen there’d be no story. See? Understandable reason why he had to die. John Wick would not have gone ballistic over a stolen car. The puppy was the only thing left he cared about. It had to happen.

The safer option is to not harm the pets.
Why Does the Character Have That Specific Pet?

Like I mentioned earlier, you need to know why the character chose that pet. Is he lonely? Does a couple use their pets to fill a maternal/paternal need? Are you using that pet as a way to show the character’s soft side? Does the pet become the only one who'll listen to their fears, sorrow, or hidden secrets? In other words, for an introverted character, pets can assume a larger role in the story so your character isn't talking to him/herself.

As the writer, you need to know why that dog, cat, bird, lizard, or bear is in the story and what role they play in the plot. Does a K9 cop track criminals? Did your criminal character train a horse to be the getaway driver? Does the killer feed his pet hogs or gators human flesh? Why that fictional pet exists is crucial.
What’s the Pet’s Personality?

Animal lovers know each pet has his/her own personality. If you’ve never owned the pets you’re writing about, then I suggest doing a ton of research till you feel like you have. For example, while writing Blessed Mayhem I needed to know how crows communicated and how people could interpret their calls. What separated a crow from a raven, what they felt like, what they smelled like, what foods they enjoyed most. In order to make the characters real I spent countless hours of research into the life of crows. They’re fascinating, by the way. I now want a pet crow of my own. :-)
What Does the Pet Look Like and How Does S/he Act?

First, you’ve got to know the basics…their markings, voice, breed, habitat, diet, etc. Then delve deeper into the expressions they make when they’re happy, content, sleeping, aggravated, and downright pissed off. Every animal has their own unique personality, mannerisms, and traits. Evoke the readers’ five senses. Don’t just concentrate on sight. By tapping into these deeper areas, our fictional pets come alive on the page. It can really add a great deal to a story, too. A scene where the hero or villain cuddles with a pet can add a nice break from the tension, a chance to give the reader a moment to catch their breath before plunging them back into the suspense.

Plus, they’re fun to write.

Does the Basset Hound snore so loudly he keeps the rest of the family awake? Is he now banished to the garage at night? Does the German Shepherd's feet twitch when he's dreaming? Does the Bulldog throw his owner the stink-eye when he can't reach his favorite toy? (Waving at you, Otto!)

Let's talk dogs. They do more than bark. Use their full range of grunts, moans, groans, happy chirps, and playful growls when your character plays tug-of-war. For cats, nothing is more soothing than a purr rattling in their throat as your character drifts asleep. Soft claws can massage their back after a brutal day.

Years ago, I had a pet turkey who used to love to slide his beak down each strand of my hair. This was one of the ways Lou showed affection. I'd sit in a lounge chair with a second lounge chair behind me, and Lou would work his magic till I became putty in his beak. He knew it too. After all that hard work, I couldn't deny him his favorite treats.

Read Sue Coletta's ThrillWriting interview where she tells us what it's like to hang out in a barrell, hiding from the bad guy. HERE

Go to her Amazon page HERE

Her web page is HERE

Schizophrenia for Writers - Her Problems Are All In Her Head

___________________________________________________________________________________

English: Image showing brain areas more active in controls than in schizophrenia patients during a working memory task during a fMRI study. Two brain slices are shown. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In several of the books that I have read recently, schizophrenia has played a key role in the stalking and attacking of the stories' heroines. The volatility and changeability seen in the villains mental health make for interesting plot twists.  

When I worked as an emergency interventionist for the courts, I had a few clients who were diagnosed with schizophrenia. They were all non-compliant with their medications for varying reasons. This made some of my clients very scary individuals - but not all.

Schizophrenics do not all have voices in their heads telling them to "Kill her! Stab her! Hurt her!" Indeed, people with schizophrenia are not all violent towards others or themselves. But schizophrenia is fluid and changes in symptoms should be expected. This means that one never knows if the schizophrenic with whom they are interacting is safe or not.

If you are writing a plot line in any genre that includes someone driven by mental health issues, here is some information to help you develop a character with schizophrenia.

Characteristics of schizophrenia  include: 
* Delusions
* Hallucinations
* Disorganized speech and behavior, symptoms that cause social or occupational dysfunction.

Diagnosis can only be assessed after  symptoms have been 
* Present for six month
* Include at least one month of active symptoms.
   Video Quick Study (1:48) real footage of a mental health schizophrenic breakdown
   Link Quick Study (7:04)  Aileen Wuornos killed seven men and was executed. Look at her eyes.
   You can see the sclera  (whites of her eyes) all the way around. This is a KEY SIGN of high stress.
   

English: A schizophrenic patient at the Glore Psychiatric Museum made this piece of cloth and it gives us a peek into her mind.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Schizophrenia symptoms are typically separated into 2 categories:

Positive symptoms: 

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* Extra feelings or behaviors that are usually not present.
* Delusions - believing that what other people are 
   saying is not true  - often leading to paranoia.
   This is the person who wraps their room in aluminum
    foil so the microwaves can't effect them,
    or thinks that the government has put tracking devices
    under their skin.

* Hallucinations - Hearing, seeing, tasting, feeling, or
   smelling things that others do not experience.
   

   So for example, one of my clients presented with a
   friend who happened to be a dragon. This dragon

   would fly around the ceiling. She didn't like to stand up
   in her house and would often duck down and drag

   me with her because the dragon was flying around and trying to hit her with its wings. On occasion, the

   dragon would become angry and frighten her; she would take all of her medications at once to make

   the dragon leave her alone. She'd call me to tell me - then we had to have her stomach pumped. She

   was very sweet and in my experience never caused harm to anyone else, but she was tormented by the

   images - no sounds - just the very-real-to-her image of the dragon.

   Video Study (14:00) TED Talk about a woman's  experience with auditory hallucinations. She was not
   violent or suffering - but this is her story of medical intervention.
   Video Quick Study (6:36) a first person view of various hallucinations - very interesting.
   Audio Quick Study (3:38) auditory hallucination simulation
   Video Quick Study (9:53) schizophrenia simulation
   

* Disorganized speech and behavior
   Video Quick Link (9:22) four patients experiences various symptoms of schizophrenia talking. 
  

Messages covering the windows of a house from a patient with schizophrenia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Negative symptoms: A lack of behaviors or feelings that usually are present, such as:
* Losing interest in everyday activities, like bathing, grooming, or getting dressed. Many of our homeless

   have this attribute.
* Feeling out of touch with other people, family, or friends
* Apathy - Lack of feeling or emotion.
* Having little emotion or inappropriate feelings in certain situations
* Having less ability to experience pleasure

Notice that many of the NEGATIVE symptoms mimic depression. LINK to Depression for Writers 
I was recently listening to the blogger/writer from a blog I read who was speaking on NPR. She was diagnosed with depression and was discussing her episode. She said that her anti-depressants were helping. But to my ear, boy did she sound like she was exhibiting negative signs of schizophrenia. She described her utter lack of emotion. The only piece that prevented her suicide was the idea that her husband would find her body. This was the only feeling she could conjure up. Depression and schizophrenia diagnoses often overlap. 

weird place! tries to reproduce what it's like to have Schizophrenia. Don't stay in there too long. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

* Schizophrenia affects different people differently and
   symptoms can vary from person to person.

* Some people may have many symptoms, while others
   may only have a few.
* Men diagnosed with schizophrenia usually start to
   show symptoms between their late teens and early
   20s.
* Women usually develop symptoms during their
    mid-20s to early 30s. LINK

It used to be that schizophrenia had sub-types like paranoid schizophrenic, but in the the new DSM V (the psychiatric bible) these have been done away with because the illness is so fluid and changeable that these specifications were not helpful to the treatment. They are now noted as displayed symptoms.

Want to see this article in action?
Check out this Fiona Quinn novel Chaos Is Come Again

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