doug-lewars

[doug-lewars]

Chores

There is nothing like having to do household chores to make you really appreciate the time you can relax and write.

[doug-lewars]

Change

Do you like change? Some people do and some don't. Personally I don't care for it although I have to concede various somewhat forced changes in my life have worked out for the best. However, when something changes, there will be those who benefit and those who lose out. Take for example a change announced recently in Canada. The government has announced the elimination of sales taxes over the Christmas period. Consumers will benefit. Goods and service providers will remain neutral, and government budgets will suffer. Seems fair, however, if provincial governments decide to stick with their budgets by cutting services the people benefiting from them them will lose. Alternative the debt will increase and over time, young people will lost because they'll be the ones who have to pay it.

I mention this because noting a change, figuring out who the winners and losers will be, and then dramatizing it is a good method for plot development. And such losers and winners will exist for ANY change.

[doug-lewars]

Timing

Scenes with sensitive timing can be tricky. These can occur in any novel but are more common in mystery. A number of characters need to interact with one another. Someone needs to kill the victim, and then they all need to appear to have alibis. There are times you need to plan right to the second. One way to accomplish this is create a timeline in a spreadsheet, list all the actions you need to have happen, and then order them along with the actual times. This way you can keep track of many people doing lots of things in different places and how they might either encounter of just miss one another. Those who don't like planning when they write can have difficulty with such complexity.

[doug-lewars]

Planning

Planning a story can be difficult. I tend to over plan with the result I'm well over the 40K word mark before reaching the midpoint in terms of scenes. Then I either write a book which is longer than optimal or try to abbreviate the action. Neither option is attractive but I usually choose a longer book.

[doug-lewars]

Distractions

Distractions can make writing difficult. Friends or family interrupting you, someone playing loud music, a television set or even just movement can throw you off. In addition, if the room is too cold, or too hot, you may find yourself paying more attention to your discomfort than to your story. Yes, it is possible for force all these nuisances to the back of your mind and direct all your focus to your story; however, if you have a choice, try for a calm, quite, comfortable place to write, possibly with a nice drink nearby - tea, coffee, soda, fruit juice - depending on what you like. And while this may be heresy to suggest, consider turning your phone off.

[doug-lewars]

Laziness

Being bone lazy is a definite asset for a writer. If for you, sitting in a comfortable chair with your laptop writing a scene or even editing seems much better than yard work or house cleaning, you'll get a lot more of your book written. Mind you your house and yard may not look so great but in terms of literary output you'll be among the leaders.

[doug-lewars]

Jargon

Use moderation when incorporating technical jargon into a story. Some adds authenticity. Too much will frustrate your readers.

[doug-lewars]

More and More Editing

Friday afternoon and I've finished writing for the day. I have NOT finished editing. In fact I think have enough to keep me busy for years; however, it provides an incentive to stay alive just so I can catch up. In fact, if I keep writing faster than I can edit, I might manage a new longevity record.

[doug-lewars]

Danger

Your main character is beset with something dangerous. If you're writing fantasy it might be some horrible creatures rising from a swamp. Whatever the case, you want to make your reader feel the fear. This is when you want to call upon all five senses. Let your reader see the slithering monsters. Let them hear the hisses or screams they make as they attack your protagonist. Perhaps he smells a fetid odour, but use a simile, compare it to something unpleasant but familiar. Most of all, focus on what he or she is feeling, a tightening in the stomach, a racing heart, weakness in legs and arms, even the loosening of bowels and bladder. The more you use sensations with which the reader might be familiar, the scarier your scene will be.

[doug-lewars]

Born to Write

I've been reading John Irving's, 'The Last Ski Lift'. In it the MC is a writer and believes he has a 'writing gene' in his DNA. I never thought of that but looking back, I enjoyed amusing my friends with made up stories back when I was quite young so maybe there is something to it. (Mind you looking back those stories were pretty awful so while I seem to have the inclination, my abilities were sorely lacking. Fortunately my peers at the time were not harsh critics.)

[doug-lewars]

Small Grammar Point

If you have two complete statements - subject, verb and predicate - separate them by a period of semi-colon, not a comma. Comma splices, also known as comma faults, just look weird.

[doug-lewars]

Development

If you write humour, and encounter something making you laugh in a story, there's a good chance you won't want to stop to record what it was; however, such books are worth a second read so when you come to the scene in question, you can stop, figure out what the author did to make it funny, and add the technique to your authors' toolbox.

[doug-lewars]

Horror

Too many authors seem to think writing horror means writing blood, blood, more blood and bits of goo. Good horror is not just messy, it's scary. When you write horror you want to leave your reader hiding under the bed and quivering; otherwise, the story just isn't working.

[doug-lewars]

Lack of Flow

There are times the words won't come. This is not necessarily a case of writers' block unless it is chronic. More likely you are either distracted or tired. In either case, set the writing aside while you do something else or even lie down for a brief nap. I find a short pause along these lines does wonders to get me going again.

[doug-lewars]

Not A Seer

My ability to make incorrect predictions remains unblemished.

I didn't think Trump would win the nomination in 2016. He did.

I didn't think Hillary Clinton would win the nomination in 2016. She did.

Having won the nomination, I thought she would go on to defeat Donald Trump. She didn't.

I didn't think Trump would win this past election. He did.

I'm four for four.

[doug-lewars]

Cool Politeness

A difficult scene to write is on in which two or more characters are forced together despite not liking one another. The conversation will be cool, rather forced, and the silences long. One way to handle this is to fill the scene with sound, the ticking of a clock, traffic noises from the street, the sound of a furnace starting or AC if it's summer. In addition a couple of eye rolls or raised eyebrows can assist. Even character movement such as crossing or uncrossing legs, a slight straightening of spines, possibly just a hint of shifting away from one another. You can even leave a question hanging unanswered in the air to add to the tension.

[doug-lewars]

Easy Material

The real winner of the US election tomorrow will be writers. Whether you write drama, thrillers or comedy it's all there.