Before Starting A Story

Most people I’ve talked to, after they hear that I write stories, begin to ask questions about what I write.  If course, they ask other questions too.  As I talk to them, it soon seems clear to me, that they believe, that I wake up with an idea in the morning, and the story magically appears as a published book the next day.  They think that I must possess some kind of magic that they do not have.  It is as if it would be work for them, where it is automatic for me.  They don’t see the amount of work that went into the story, before I even start. 

It is hard work to figure out what to start with.  Once I finally do come up with an idea that satisfies me, then the real work begins.  The more clearly I define the story the easier and quicker it is to write it.  The story which took the longest for me to write, took me 10 years.  The shortest, took me 6 days.  The shocking thing about that fact, was that the one with the most number of pages between the two, was the one that took me 6 days to write.  It was the one I did the most homework for, before starting.  From start to finish, my path was very clear to exactly where I was going to take the story next.  There was also no wandering around, which would cause a lot of deletions and rewrites.

The most important part of writing a story, is thinking up a story line or plot, (screenplay writers call this a log line).  That is the backbone of any story.  Sometimes people will ask me how I come up with my ideas.  For me, ideas are too easy.  I get them as I watch people.  I make it a practice to try to visualize those people out in their daily lives.  The ideas explode.  In fact, watching any one person will produce a dozen story lines.

It is amazing when we think that people are pretty much the same, the world over.  Our stories are very similar.  The situations and our particular circumstances may be different, but love, loss, virtues, vices, health challenges, feelings of danger and mortality are much the same for all of us.  It has been that way since the beginning of history to the present day.  I suspect that those experiences will always be something we can all identify with, no matter whose stories they are.  It is because we have all had those feelings to a certain degree.

Good writing, is the art of telling a story in a way that people can feel and see the tale, as if they were participating in it.  A good writer has to tell it in a way that they themselves will feel those emotions.  If the writer doesn’t feel it, then the reader won’t.  If the reader doesn’t, they will not be able to relate to the story and will be bored.  If they cannot relate to our characters or what those characters are going through, our audience will not finish reading the story.  They will probably not pick up one of our works again.

So when I write, I try to find a basic story that I believe other people will be interested in.  Of course it has to interest me too.  As a writer, I must become passionate about it, or it will become as laborious to the audience, as it does to me.  If it doesn’t excite me, it won’t excite them.  Reading books and watching movies to see what others are interested in, is very helpful.  Just look to see what is selling well, and you will find what people are interested in.

One fact that a writing class will probably not tell us about, is if we want to sell the story, then we have to write something that others will want to buy.  Whether we are writing for book publishers or the movie industry, the cold hard fact is, it is all about the money.  Publishers and movie makers really don’t care about how good the story is, but whether or not it will sell.  Of course, it won’t sell unless it is an interesting story which will grab the audience and it has to be written well.  So as I write, I try to keep that in mind.  I have to write something that will appeal to more than just me, while remembering that it has to make money for the publisher or movie maker.

If we are writing for our own vanity, there are many out there, ready to accept our money to put it into print.

After I come up with a story idea, then I figure out a new way to present it.  I am hoping to present it in a way that the feelings written are felt more strongly.  It is important so the audience has a good connection to our characters. 

To write a love story taking place in a small town, is not necessarily a good start.  However, if one of the people is blind, now that creates a whole different way of approaching it.  Already we have a certain amount of empathy for both characters and we haven’t even started writing.

To write about someone flying in an airplane, sounds boring.  However, add a hijacker, or knock off an engine, or cause a leak in the fuel tank while flying over an ocean, and we start taking a better hold on the armrest of our chairs. 

There are writers who have a glimmer of an idea and sit down and just start writing.  Some people are really good at that, because they have the whole story mapped out in their minds.  I used to think that I was good at that.  Most of my early work was done this way.  It is true, I was able to come up with some pretty impressive writing.  At least it was impressive to me.  The reader may or may not be that impressed.  The problem with that strategy is that most people, (me included), will have a tendency to wander.  Our stories become 700-1,000 pages, when we could have told the same story more effectively and more movingly in 300-500 pages.  Most publishers won’t even look at a manuscript that is longer than 350 pages anymore.

There are even famous authors who have sold a lot of books, who have obviously just started writing without really knowing where they were going to go with it.  It’s bad enough when it is a stand alone story, where there is nothing to measure it against.  But if they do it as a series, then they get into trouble.  People come to expect certain things from an established character.  If the character suddenly changes from what the readers have come to expect, it causes a disconnect.  A writer wants his character to grow over time, but if he is a completely different person over night, and we don’t see the changes developing, then as an audience we are turned off.  The character is no longer believable.  It will taint the whole story.

What would happen if James Bond suddenly became an elementary school teacher and never went back to the spy business?  We would all feel betrayed.

We have all gone to movies, or read books where we have experienced that disconnect.  The recent movie entitled “The Lone Ranger” is a good example of that.  Everyone had expectations of the ranger.  They expected him to be the hero.  They expected Tonto to be the side kick.  The movie lost big, because they didn’t meet the expectations of the audience.  That was because people had already become acquainted with the characters.  I suspect everyone’s experience and the financial outcome would have been different, if the movie had been entitled “Tonto.”

So, back to the point.  Now days, I start by making certain that I know what the story is supposed to be about.  Then I decide on a beginning or an opening.  Then I decide how I want it to end.  Then I mark out the major steps or conflicts along the way to get from the beginning to the end.
I quickly map out a very brief path for my characters to get there.  I will also decide what characters I am going to need.  I try to develop a bio for them, so I know who they are.  I want to make certain that they are the characters I need to advance my story from one end to the other.  I need to make certain that they are the ones who will create the emotional investment that will hook the audience.

This whole process can take as little as a day, or as long as a month or two to complete.  It depends upon how complicated the story is.  It also depends upon how much research I need to do to create a believable background.  The better I do this, the more believable my story. 

Because I just sat down and started writing without the preparations, I’ve written a few stories that need extensive overhauling.  We don’t want to make our main character an expert on roses, but as an author, we don’t know the first thing about roses.  We cannot assume that our audience is as ignorant as we are.  If we write about the sights and sounds of the flower garden, and start to describe plants or our actions, our ignorance is immediately exposed, making the whole story suspect.  Describing an ocean voyage, without ever seeing water, let alone riding on a ship...

There are some things that you can easily get away with, being abducted by aliens is not common, so our audience will not be able to compare that with their experience.  Traveling in space has been done, and though we may not have experienced that, others have and have described it.  Video has been taken so we could see it.  If you pour out a pitcher of water in space, does it soak your feet?  Gravity is a problem.

So for now, mapping out my story line, and a brief outline are the steps I’m working on.  I’ll get back with you, once I have worked on my plot line, and figured out the kind of story that I want.  Then I will start by sharing how I come up with characters.

Until then, may ideas come to you easily.

Jene

Writing Habits

When it comes to writing habits, everyone is different.  While working for myself in the print shop, I was putting in crazy hours.  There were never any set hours for me.  Owning your own business had its advantages, as well as its disadvantages.  For me, the disadvantage, was that I couldn’t have a regular schedule.  The print shop had deadlines.  Many times it required that we were working until the job was done.  Sometime that was late at night, or sometimes I worked until late the next night.  It was not unheard of to go for three or four days, with only catnaps here and there.

Even with that disadvantage, I still did a lot of writing.  I use to write whenever I was not working at the shop, and was still awake.  I learned the hard way that I had to pace myself. Writing has been described as a lonely activity.  Some people have to do it in very quiet secluded places, other wise they would be distracted.  Others find noisy places, so they will not feel the loneliness.  Others find places where there are people to observe and get inspiration that way.  Others listen to music.  I don’t think it matters where you write.  There are no rules.  I think a person can do whatever helps them do their best work. 

Myself, I can write, no matter what else is happening, however I prefer to listen to soft music while I write.  I have written in hospitals, trains, planes, at camping, while others are watching television, or in the still of the darkest loneliest night.

Now that I write pretty much full time, I treat it like I would any job.  My back and neck will not allow me to sit still for as long as I would like to write, but I still get in about 10-12 hours a day writing.  There are days, when some of that time is spent researching between scenes.  Some of that time may be spent making notes of what I’ve written and how I will tie it into the next scene.  Sometimes I listen to inspirational messages and music, I pace while meditating, and I read. 

However, most of that time I’m usually writing.  If I am in the zone, and things are coming quickly, then I stick with it, even if my spine doesn’t like me.  When thoughts are coming fast, I don’t even notice the clock.  I usually try to knock off about the time my wife comes home.  Sometimes that’s easy, and sometimes I’m in the middle of a streak. 

I’m blessed with a wife that isn’t bothered when I stay with the story from time to time.  It doesn’t happen very often, but it does happen.  I do most of my heavy writing in the morning.  I do projects and blog writing in the afternoon or evening.  I try not to let trivial things interrupt my story writing until afternoon.  That doesn’t always work, but that is my intent.

That being said, it is doubly important to me these days to rest up.  I try to get to bed at a decent time, eat right, get some regular exercise and spend some time each day to read or listen to scriptures or uplifting spiritual messages.  I find the results are more and better ideas.  When I feel good, my writing flows better.  When I’m in the zone, and I’m rested, I have been known to punch out 300 pages of story or more in a week.  Many times I may only have to change a few things, when editing it. 

On the other hand, when I’m not in the zone, or if I’m not feeling well, and I go ahead with the story, I may need to change 100 pages or more at a time.  There have been some stories that I have scrapped everything and started over.  Health can play a big part, so I don’t disregard it.

I write for business 6 days a week.  I leave it alone on Sunday, although I will write letters and notes then.  Everyone needs a day to rest, energize and be spiritually recharged.  Without it, we get stale and boring.  We feel that way too.  A person can burnout without that recharge.  I believe the only times I have had “writer’s block,” has been when I’ve allowed myself to become tired or spiritually drained.  The audience can feel the unease in our story.  I can feel it when I read over what I’ve written before.  It’s painful, but I’ve learned that it is better to go back and rewrite those places, after I have spiritually recharged.

The most important thing for me, when I’m starting out on a new project is to organize my self and my surroundings.  I clear my desk, sort through my drawers, get rid of useless notes, rewrite notes so they are legible, (if they are applicable.)  File any old stories, or current stories that I am writing on, and make certain that everything is in its place.  Then I start pondering new ideas.  It’s like getting a recharge, as if starting out completely brand new.

Well, I need to get to work straightening up.  I’ll get back with you when I’m ready to start.  I hope you are better at preparing than I am.

Until next time.

Jene

Why Write?

When I was in 3rd grade, a man by the name of Wilson Rawls came to our school to plug his new book, Where The Red Fern Grows.  (He also authored Summer Of The Monkeys.)  Our teacher asked us to write our own stories.  I took that assignment seriously.  After writing it, my mother (always a good sport for that kind of thing), typed up all ten pages, careful to include all of my spelling and grammatical errors.  My teacher was somewhat shocked by the lengthy nature of the story.  (3rd grader stories are rarely more than a single paragraph.)  She told me that I had a knack for such a thing and encouraged me to keep writing.  I was happy to do just that, as I enjoyed writing stories very much.  I have been writing stories ever since.

I have written over 50 full length novels so far, several more short stories and I have hundreds of ideas waiting in line to be written.  I’ve self published 4 books as an experiment.  I wanted to know if they were good enough to sell.  They were the very first stories that I wrote as a youth.  I’ll have to admit, they have done better than I expected.  Of course, I still have not found a way to effectively market them, but I think I have found a few ideas that will change that.

When leaving college, I imagined myself as a great author, but the need of a regular paycheck took priority.  Between work, family and other pursuits, that vision of becoming a well-known author faded.  However, over the years, I have read what I could about writing, and I continued to write whenever I had a spare moment.  It was my hobby, my escape and my therapy.

Now my life has changed again.  The children are grown and gone, my back and neck are  a daily challenge.  Writing is now once again a priority.  However, since those early days, I have learned much about writing a story.  I have gained a great deal more life experience, and I understand people much better.  Most importantly, I have gained a greater desire to write than I have ever had before.  I have opened myself to other types of writing than just books of fiction.

I believe there are a lot of people out there who dream of one day writing a book.  Most of those people, who envision writing that next great novel, doubt that a book is within their capability.  I am a guy with dyslexia.  I seem to be handicapped at spelling and following grammatical rules.  If I am able to write a book, then anyone can.  Fiction requires more creativity, but even that is possible.

From time to time people ask me how I can write a whole book.  The best answer I can think of, is to tell them, that it is done one word at a time.  A book is hard work.  Writing a good book takes vocabulary, ability to be understood, patience, discipline and planning.  If you can do that, a book is possible.  Today the computer has magic functions like spell check and a grammar check. 

If you start thinking of the average book of 350 pages, that might seem intimidating.  However, to think of 500 or 1,000 words, it is not so bad.  This post is already 900 words.  A book is a cumulative thing, one page at a time.  However, the last thing that we should be worried about is the length of the story, (unless it is too long).  Telling the story should be the focus.  After all, people don’t ask book reviewers if the book is thick enough.  They only care about the story.

Years ago in that little classroom, Wilson Rawls told us that he was a hillbilly who had once had a couple of dogs.  He said that he was not a writer.  He told us that he married a school teacher, or he could never have made his story make sense.  He held up a huge stack of paper to show how much he had written, in order to get that single book finally acceptable.  It occurred to me, that if he could do it, I could. 

A few years ago, I renewed my interest to publish, when I copyrighted my first book.  I was shocked as I scanned over the copyright records.  Wilson Rawls only wrote two stories.  He wrote several studies about those two books, but he never wrote another story.  Or at least he never published any others.

On this blog, I will be offering a few thoughts, which might help someone else burning with the desire to write.  Perhaps they can avoid pitfalls and obstacles that plague most writers out there.  I will not claim to be some kind of expert.  Don’t expect to find any books or programs to purchase on the subject of how to write a story.  Any writing hints, or any word of wisdom about the subject of writing, is absolutely free here.

This blog will come with thoughts, ideas and samples.  If your desire is writing, I hope you will find this blog interesting.  I’m just days away from starting a new story.  I thought I would take you through each step along the way, as I begin the writing process.  So, I’ll post again in a few days.

Until then, may your ideas be plentiful.

Jene