IWSG: Killer Openings

Firstly, I would like to apologize, and apologize in advance, for my busyness, for not posting regularly or visiting my buddies' blogs. I've been moving to a new place, looking for a second job, and working through various other life issues. I may need to take a blog break soon (but hopefully not for too long and definitely not until after I'm done the Game of Thrones read-along!).

Now, down to business. I want to talk about killer openings in novels. And when I say killer openings, I don't mean awesome beginnings, I mean the kind that will kill your novel because readers will stop right there and move on to something better.

Here's a top 10 list I've compiled from some writers' and literary agents' opinions (combined with my own). Some of these are general and some specific to sci-fi or fantasy.

1. The dream
Starting with a dream is not shocking any more. It's been done and people expect it. If you're going to try to toy with my mind, do it in another way, I beg of you!!

2. The backstory
There's nothing that will make me shut a book faster than the info dump. I want to be thrown into the action, not have the world explained to me.

3. The looking in a mirror
There has to be a more creative way to explain what your main character looks like.

4. The dialogue
Too many people talking at the beginning just gets confusing, and it can be boring if I'm not invested in them (which I'm not, because I just met them).

5. The getting sucked into a portal
Narnia did it, and it was neat. Do it in a new way and I'll be impressed.

6. The gathering herbs in a forest
I remember a literary agent I'm familiar with complaining about how sick she was of reading fantasy stories that start this way. Don't. Just don't.

7. The educating
This a no-no particularly in YA and MG, but I'd argue for adult too. I don't want to be aware that I'm being taught something... I want to read a good story! Take me straight to the action.

8. The battle scene
This is a problem because, once again, I am not invested in the characters yet and I don't know what's at stake. Why should I be interested?

9. The distant, third person narrator
In fantasy, often the Boy or the Old Man. I also dislike the narrator we first meet disappearing after a chapter or two to be replaced by the main character. Just start me out with the main character!

10. The prologue
Vastly debated among amateurs and professionals alike, I am definitely on the con-prologue side. I've never read a book that had a prologue and couldn't be started at Chapter 1 without missing ANYTHING important.

And there you have my list. What do you think is important to avoid and important to get right in a first chapter?

This Twitter thing

I don't know if a piano clobbered me on my way to work the other day and I've forgotten about it or what, but for some reason I decided to give Twitter a go.

My friends tell me it's awesome. I'm not sure why.

But how much time can it eat out of my life, really, if I'm limited to 140 characters per post? ha. I bet I will eat those words.

But it might be fun, which is why I'm giving it a try.

Are you on Twitter? What do you use it for? Why do you think writers should be on Twitter, or why do you think I have made a horrible mistake? Feel free to share your Twitterly wisdom in the comments!

And if you want to follow me on my spiffy new page, my username is  @geekbanter (Kudos to Tyrean Martinson and Tara Tyler for already following me on my inactive page. Impressive, most impressive that you found it.)

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event! 

BLOG UPDATES:
You may have noticed there's been some construction going on here. There is now a handy menu up top, some shiny new buttons on the sidebar, and as if you couldn't stalk me in enough ways already, you can now see not only what I'm reading, but the video game I'm playing and the TV show I'm watching. Did I miss anything?

Happy Wednesday!

IWSG: Fantasy Cliches

As I am plotting a new fantasy novel, I keep worrying that I'm not telling anything new. Now, I know that there's nothing new under the sun, but even if the story is familiar, I still want to tell it differently than how it's been told before.

This got me thinking about cliches, and which ones I'd like to avoid. Some cliches are okay--beloved, even--but others I could do without. Here's a list of a few:

• The orphaned hero -- Sometimes the parents should be alive, darn it! The orphaned hero does make the reader feel sorry for the character, I suppose. (examples: Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, Spiderman)
• Talking animals -- I can live with this one, though I don't know if I'd use it myself. (examples: Smaug, Charlotte, Aslan)
• The chosen one -- I get tired of prophecy telling people what to do. I want the character to choose to be awesome, not have it chosen for him/her! (examples: Harry Potter, Rand al'Thor, Shea Ohmsford)
• The villain who's evil for evil's sake -- Give them some good back story, I say! (examples of great villains: Voldemort, Zuko, Saruman)
• The wise, bearded wizard -- I like this one, but it is used a lot. (examples: Gandalf, Dumbledore, Merlin)
• Enchanted swords -- Ah, the good old sword that can save the world... (examples: The Sword of Shannara, The Sword of Truth, The Blue Sword)
• Good vs. Evil -- Sometimes it's not all black and white.
• Alternate worlds -- There has to be a really interesting spin on it for me to read another story about a kid falling into another dimension. (examples: Narnia, Wrinkle in Time, The Sword Bearer)
• Ugly evil faction -- Evil can be pretty, you know! (examples: orcs, trolls, Voldemort's minions...)
• The large, often fuzzy, friend -- Okay, who doesn't like this one? (examples: Hagrid, Chewbacca, Fezzik)

Which cliches peeve you in fantasy fiction? Which ones are you okay with?

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event!

IWSG: Motivation

Lately, I've been really frustrated with the books I've been reading. I find myself getting bored halfway through (often sooner), and starting to skim, sometimes giving up completely.

I've been trying to figure out what it is about the stories I didn't like. Bad writing? Boring plot? No and no.

I think I finally figured it out. It's character motivation--or, rather, a lack of it. The latest book I read had an interest plot, wonderful world building and a variety of unique characters, but it fell flat because the heroine didn't desire anything; she was just along for the ride. She had a stubborn personality, did some daring things, and was very likeable, but she didn't want anything. Nobody's that altruistic!

As an example of how to do it right, take Fullmetal Alchemist. Ed and Al are totally driven to get their bodies back. Plenty of other things happen to them, but that is the force behind the story, and you keep watching episode after episode because you want them to succeed too. (And, of course, this is combined with fantastic world building, loveable characters, and fascinating plot.)

I also think of the Hunger Games, where Katniss's driving force is her love for her sister and her desire to keep her safe. Or Lord of the Rings, where Frodo must destroy the ring to save the Shire.

This is the kind of motivation that I want my characters to have, and what I've been working on in my WIP; the kind that keeps people reading and that keeps my characters going.

What are your characters motivated by?
 

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event!

Psychology of Writing

I am not making a long post, because I have writing projects to work on! But I have not forgotten you, my IWSG friends. I leave you with this thought from Calvin and Hobbes.

 Sometimes, coming up with a crazy good story is worth being sent to the psychologist's office for, agreed? :)

 



This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event!

Point of View

Don't forget to sign up for the Level Up! blogfest on February 20 where we are posting about a favourite game! It's gonna be awesome.

I've got more of a discussion starter than an insecurity today, but I bet Alex will let it slide :)

There are distinct advantages and disadvantages to different kinds of points of view. Some authors pick one and stick to it, because they find they do best with a certain type. What are the advantages to each?

First Person
I find it interesting that a lot of authors favor first person and find it easier than third. I certainly don't. I find it difficult pulling it off, for some reason. It can be constricting not being able to jump to someone else's point of view in the story. That being said, you can have first-person multiple POV, but I've only seen this done well once, in the Song in the Silence series by Elizabeth Kerner. In most cases, as a reader, I find it jarring jumping between heads, but Kerner managed it really well. I do like a lot of books written in first person--The Hunger Games and Divergent come to mind--and it tends to be popular in YA.

The thing I love most about first person is the distinct narrative voice and personality that can be projected through it. Sometimes snarky thoughts are funnier than comments made out loud.

Second Person
Has this ever been done well? Not in any book I've read. I always thought second person was limited to tell your own adventure stories where the "you" is actually supposed to be you, the reader, but I recently read a description that said the author is talking to someone else, describing that person's actions. I think I'd get tired of hearing the narrator telling me what I was doing all the time, if I was that someone.

Third Person
Third person is my favourite for reading and writing--third person limited in particular (who wants a narrator that knows everything, I ask you? That's no fun). I like how J.K. Rowling does it in Harry Potter. HP is told in third person, but you are only ever in Harry's head. It's simple and it's easy to get close to the characters this way. I do admire epic fantasies that change point of views in the blink of an eye--Wheel of Time, for example--but I don't pretend to ever be able to write like that and I find as a reader that it is hard to get close to any one character in those stories.

What point of view do you like to write in? What do you like to read in? (I'm curious if your answers are the same for both). Happy Wednesday, everyone!

IWSG: Revision

With the end of NaNo, those who got down 50,000 words are perhaps starting to rewrite and revise. For some authors, this is their favourite part of the writing process. It is not mine because it means I have to face the plot holes and gaps in my story and come up with magical solutions to fix them. However, I am rolling up my sleeves and getting ready to reorganize my tangled mess, because I am attached to this story I created and I want to know what happens to the characters.

Once I have revised it and got down a full, organized draft, I will send it off to my critique partners, and then the process of revision will be begin again after I have their feedback. (Why do you need critique partners, you ask? Why can't you just finish a story on your own and get it published? Whoo boy, well that is a whole other topic post. Trust me. You need them.)

For those of you beginning the revision process, here are some words of advice from Terry Brooks' Sometimes the Magic Works:

"If you are ever completely satisfied with something you have written, you are setting your sights too low. But if you can't let go of your material even after you have done the best that you can with it, you are setting your sights too high" (196).

How do you know when to stop revising and pronounce your story done? I don't have an answer, but I think I'll know the place when I get to it. Best of luck in your writing, and have fun with your revisions, friends!

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event! 

In other news: Join me at TV Geek Army today where I'm posting about Once Upon a Time and Disney, a topic I briefly touched on here a few weeks ago. If you're watching the show, stop by and say hi!

First Scenes

Well I posted my insecurities about not having time for NaNo and crazy November on Monday (thank you for all your encouraging responses!), but I don't want to skip an Insecure Writer's Support Group post. I am still very behind on NaNo, but I do have some words down. That's still something, right?

Here's my question for you: How important do you think your very first scene is, and how much do you end up re-writing it? I think first scenes are super important, because they will be the first thing the editor, literary agent, or reader sees. It should have some kind of tension, should introduce the characters and plot but not dump tons of info on them.

For interest's sake, here's the first 160 words of my NaNo project. You tell me. Would you keep reading? 

“We’re not supposed to be in here,” Anasta said, glancing around the low-lit storage room that gave off a comforting hum as it was right above the engine room, the heart of the ship.

“I’m telling you, I traced the power glitch to this room,” her brother, Taren, replied, tapping commands into his datapad with one hand while holding it with the other.

“It was just a little glitch,” Anasta persisted. “Harley can fix it tomorrow.”

Taren, his grey eyes the same changing shade as hers fixed on the screen, didn’t appear to be listening to her any more. She sighed. Why did she always let him get her into trouble? On the other hand, he probably could fix it. Possibly without even leaving a digital trail for Harley to find tomorrow so they wouldn’t get in trouble for being in there. Her fifteen-year-old brother knew the Anemo’s systems almost as well as the thirty-year-old techie did.

How is your NaNo or other writing project going? Is your first scene what you hoped it would be?

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event!

Pantser or Plotter?

I mentioned I was a pantser working on becoming a plotter to some of my friends when they questioned how my writing was going, and they laughed in confusion and asked what that meant. I guess that is writing terminology at its finest!

I find being a pantser is a lot of work. I have to write, then rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. This is okay for short stories, but I wrote a draft of the novel I'm working on and it is a mess. So I want to try writing a detailed outline and then rewriting it. A lot of writers love being pantsers and that is just what works for them, and that may be the case for me too, but I'm going to give this a shot.

I am actually participating in a neat online class this month with paranormal author Suzanne Johnson where she shares her method of plotting. I am sure I will learn a ton, though even if I don't, it will still get me working on that outline, which is great! The unfortunate truth is that sometimes I need accountability to get anything done.

What about you? Are you a pantser or a plotter?

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event!

Why I Like Scrivener

Dear fellow writers, when I got this writing program it just made writing easier. Suddenly, I wanted to write more often. I wasn't having as many problems concentrating as before. My head was constantly in the clouds of imagination and creation, and I got so much done.

Hahaha. I can't even type that with a straight face.

No, Scrivener will not magically help you to write more or increase your desire to write. But it is a really handy program, and I will tell you why I now use it instead of Word for my works in progress.

One of the things I found annoying using Word was that I had to have separate files for my manuscript and research, so I didn't have to keep scrolling up and up and up to find my character information or my page of place names. Also, when the document gets long, it is hard to find a particular spot that you are looking for because, again, you have to scroll through many pages.

In Scrivener, you can divide your work into sections; I like to divide them into chapters. You can also have separate pages for your research and open the document in a split-screen view so you can see the chapter you are working on AND your research pages. Everything is handily located at a menu to your left for easy access. And don't worry, when you are done, Scrivener will compile all your chapters into one document.

One of my other favourite features is you can take a snapshot of a section that you want to rewrite, and then it will always be there in the file after you have made changes if you ever want to go back and look at the original version. Nothing is lost.

There are a ton of other cool things you can do with this program, from tagging sections to tell you whose point of view they are from, to marking the status as complete or in progress, to adding summaries to sections to keep yourself organized.

No, it will not make you a better writer, but it is extremely handy at keeping you organized. You can get it here or download a trial version if you want to check it out. The tutorial is helpful in learning everything it can do.

What do you use to write? A different writing program? Word? Plain old pencil and paper?

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event!

Rejection

Have you ever submitted a piece of writing somewhere that you knew was not your best, because then if it gets rejected, you can say "Well, that's okay. It wasn't my best work"? I have done this before. I don't feel so bad about those rejections, because I wasn't writing in the genre I love, or I didn't take the time to make the piece really shine. If I had sent them my best work, they would, of course, have been blown away.

And behind that reasoning is the fear that if I did ever send my best work away, it would be rejected too, and then I might really feel bad about myself because I don't have any excuses to hide behind.

How do I get over this insecurity? I'm not sure, but I send my best writing out despite that feeling because I know my polished writing is good and someone, somewhere is going to enjoy the stories that come from my crazy imagination.

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event!

Books on Writing

There are two types of writers who read books on writing: people who want to improve their work, and people who are procrastinating and want to do something, anything, associated with writing to make themselves feel better. I have read books on writing for both these reasons, and my advice is this: do not be the second type of person. Read books to improve your writing, to inspire you to write, to learn how professional authors write, but not in place of the act of writing. That being said, here is a list of five wonderful books that have inspired me and helped me to become a better writer.



On Writing by Stephen King

I am not a fan of Stephen King (I don't mean I dislike his writing; I mean I have never read any fiction by him), but this book is a fabulous compendium of writerly wisdom, tips, and life stories from an experienced author. Every writer I know who has read this book has loved it.







Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Lamott has a refreshing way of encouraging writers through her stories and humour. I especially appreciate her advice on "Shitty First Drafts," and now I don't feel guilty when my writing sucks at first. It is nice to know professional authors have these problems too.

 The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White

Don't argue, just read this book if you haven't already. At about 100 pages, it is short and won't take you long. You won't regret it. This is a handy resource that I keep on my desk at all times as it concisely describes the elementary rules of usage, composition, and form that every writer should know.

Fiction Writer's Workshop by Joseph Novakovich

This is an excellent guide for writing fiction that includes advice on setting, character, plot, point of view, dialogue, voice, revision, and more. It also has exercises at the end of each chapter to help you practice the techniques discussed.







Sometimes the Magic Works by Terry Brooks

I like this one simply because Terry Brooks is my favourite author, so I am interested in learning more about him and how he writes. He tells about the lessons he learned with specific references to books he's written, and highlights the importance of outlining, showing instead of telling, and developing believable characters.






This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event! 

---

There is also still time to enter my giveaway to win a book by Terry Brooks! Enter by commenting on the post below.

Write What You Love

Wanting to please people too much is an annoying trait I often find in myself. When I am working on a novel or a story, sometimes I wonder if it would please so-and-so, or if so-and-so would approve. Here I am, writing an action-adventure story; it's not deep enough; there's a little violence; it's for a younger audience so my older friends would find it too juvenile. So-and-so would surely disprove of this. Maybe I shouldn't write it. Maybe I should write something else that would please everyone better.

These are terrible, terrible thoughts. And if you find yourself thinking them, stop! My reasoning is this: I will never be able to please everybody. Even fantastic books like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter get bad reviews. Also, if I don't write what I love--the story that is taking up space in my brain and demanding to be let out--I am not telling the best story that I can. Readers will notice that I am not in love with my story; they're pretty clever, those readers.

I recently read an article by C.J. Henderson, in which he wrote: "Many a great idea has died without ever seeing the sun because fear stopped its heart from ever beating. If you want to write vampire adventure romantic comedies that take place within a Buddhist monastery, then do it. Either your unique perspective will create the very thing the world has been waiting for... or at least you'll get the damn lunatic notion out of your system once and for all. Either way it will be good for you as a writer" (The Bulletin of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, "Are You to Embarrassed To Be a Professional Author?" p. 6).

These words are great advice, I think. I still struggle with this, but I am working on writing what I love no matter what others might think (and, anyway, the problem is actually more what I think others might think, not even what they actually think. Sheesh. Sometimes I think we writers torture ourselves for no good reason).

Do you struggle with wanting to please people? Got words of wisdom for those who do?

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event!

Writer's Block

What does one do when wanting an excuse for not writing today? One goes to Calvin for advice.

 

I've been having a bit of a dry spell with my writing, what with being busy, sick, and just not feeling like it. But I've started plotting a new novel, and am excited to get back into it. Hopefully won't be needing Calvin's invention for much longer. So that is my advice to you and myself, short and sweet--take the writer's block off your desk and get to it, even if it is only a few hundred words a week!

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check the link for some of the other blogs participating in this event! 

Making Time

These days I am swamped with school, a job, and life. I'm finding it hard to make the time to write every week (notice my wording here--I did not say I don't have time, because I do. It's just a matter of using it wisely). At the end of the day, I just want to kick back and do something brainless; I often don't feel like struggling with the holes in my plot or managing the development of my characters. To be a successful writer you have to write constantly--not just when inspiration hits. This I know. So how do I kick start my brain into gear?

I know I'm not the only one who's busy--in fact, I'm sure all of you are. So what do you do to keep yourself writing every week? Tips? Tricks? Suggestions? Struggling with this yourself? Do share.

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check out some of the other blogs below participating in this event!

On Being Tough and Admitting Failure

When I submitted a first story to my writers' critique group, I was so excited. The story was perfect. I had amazed myself with my own creative genius. The plot was flawless, and the characters honed and three-dimensional. (Do I hear some laughing in the background? That's okay. I'm laughing too.)

Then my crit partners proceeded to tear it apart, and showed me exactly what was wrong with my poor story, and how blind I had become in the excitement of putting words down on the page.

I have since learned that in order to be a member of a writing workshop you have to learn to be tough. You have to admit that your first draft has failed and let others point that out to you. You also have to accept that failure is okay, and that it's part of the process of getting to the perfect story.

I love being a member of a critique group. Having someone tell you exactly what is wrong with your story hurts at first, yes, but it is incredibly valuable to the writing process. I get so close to my story that I have trouble seeing its faults, and I need someone to point them out to me. I have become a much better writer by getting critiqued.

If you are not part of a critique group or workshop, consider joining one as a goal for 2012. There are plenty of online groups if you don't know of any close to you. It takes being tough and admitting failure, but it's worth it.

This post is part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. We post the first Wednesday of every month. Check out some of the other blogs below participating in this event!

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

I am joining Alex J. Cavanaugh's innovative blog hop, where writers can post their fears or offer encouragement to other writers. We post the first Wednesday of every month.

As I just finished my NaNoWriMo sci-fi novel, I have two worries looming over me.

1.That as I am taking a couple weeks break from the book to get some distance from it, that I will fall into the pit of procrastination and never come back to it. I keep telling myself that I love the story and characters too much to let it sit there forever. But still, I worry... Procrastination is so easy.

2. Once I do come back to it and start the re-write (which I will. I WILL, I tell you!), I will not be able to do the characters or the story justice. They are so perfectly formulated in my brain... but how to transfer that perfection onto the page? The tales spinning in my head always come out differently when I put the words down. Not worse, just different. I have to learn to live with that.

Do check out some of the other blogs linked below for some inspiration, encouragement, or writing rants.