Writers in the Storm

by Jenny Hansen

Earlier this week, Karen DeBonis did a post here at WITS about finding your writing process. In the comments, I confessed that finding mine took a long (LONG) time. I’ve tried a gajillion tools in my quest to get a book off the ground and finished. Fast Draft, W-Plot, Snowflake Method. . .and I have a confession to make. They all helped me be a better writer, but none of them got me to "The End."

The only thing I've found that can get me to the end of a story is to embrace my inner scene writer and let her lead the way. This post describes what that actually means.

What is a scene?

First, you have to understand what a scene really is. I love how Margaret Dilloway says it in her amazing post, How to Outline a Novel: 60 Index Cards Method. She explains it like this:

Each scene is an event that changes the character’s situation in a meaningful way.

• Every scene needs something to happen.
• Each scene produces a change achieved through conflict.
• Each scene shows how the character responds under pressure.

If the scene does not meet these criteria, take it out.

Note: I love my plotting and pantsing pals equally! The linked article above explains how Dilloway outlines using a 60 scene method. There is wiggle room in the number - think 60 to 100.

What does it mean to be a "scene writer?"

All those cool linear "big picture" methods I mentioned above aren't forgiving enough to help me finish books. My busy brain says, "Ooooh...GLITTER!" And I'm off doing something else, instead of writing those 60 scenes that make up a book.

Basically "confessions of a scene writer" and "the angst of a slightly ADD writer" aren't very far apart.

The only thing that gets me to "The End" is putting my butt in the chair and writing one scene at a time. The scenes don't even have to be in order, they just have to be finite. If I don't stay completely immersed in the moment and the scene, it's an open door for "Ooooh...GLITTER!" That's the way busy noggins like mine work.

Most scene writers make a list of all the things we know, create a loose structure, and then write to it. Writing a book this way is a little bit like a to-do list.

I didn't really know how to describe my writing process until one of my crafty relatives said, "Hey, you're a story quilter!" It turns out, she was right. Each scene is a piece of the pattern and it all gets stitched together later.

It was Diana Gabaldon who shined light on scene writing as a possible writing method.

I read some articles about Gabaldon and how she wrote the Outlander series. She sees the story as a movie and re-constructs that movie in her head, scene by scene, until everything is on paper. Then she shuffles them all together into the books we know and love. While I won’t pretend to be anywhere near Gabaldon’s league, we both do books in short little pieces. Perhaps it has to do with being a busy mom.

When I read about Gabaldon, a light went on in my head. I finally accepted the truth.

I’m a scene writer. 

I stopped trying to write from beginning to end like all my friends and accepted that I'd be walking a different path. Some of us are "story quilters" and that's the way we're made. (The very thought of it gives my organized linear pals hives.)

My scene-writing process in a nutshell

1. Like many writers, each book usually starts with an idea or a scene that comes into my head fully formed. I write that scene to get it out of my head and onto the page. I keep writing until all the initial scenes are out of my head. Usually, there are between 5-10 scenes that come with the initial idea.

2. Near the beginning of the process, I bat some ‘what if’s’ around with my writing peeps and decide on the overriding theme for the book and the internal and external conflicts for the main characters. I might be wrong, but it gives me a place to start.

3. If I’m really lucky, the turning points get decided in advance too. At the very least, I take time with my critique group to discuss what I think the turning points are to see if I’m remotely on target and if it all sounds believable.

4. I make a list of all the scenes I know and I write whatever I can see clearly until they're all done. If I get stuck, I just go down the scene list. If I get really stuck, Margie Lawson gave me the brilliant idea of writing scene prompts down on slips of paper and picking the day's scene out of a hat. She's so smart.

In my old life (that's the life of creating unfinished stories that taunt me) whenever I'd get stuck, I'd stop. I'd stare at the page, clean my kitchen drawers, come back to the page and stare some more. Sometimes there was crying. Almost always, after a few weeks, I'd give up and start another story.

Now I just pick a new scene and write it and the pantser half of my brain works the problems out. Most important, this method lets me keep writing. That immersion is what keeps most writers engaged with their story.

5. When I'm deep in story mode, I try to write at least five days a week as it keeps my brain open to receiving new scenes. When I let more than a week go by without visiting my story, I start to lose focus.

6. I use a timer. My deal with myself is I have to do at least 30 minutes of work on my fiction for those 5 days a week. While it doesn't sound like a lot, it really makes a difference. If I'm digging it that day, I go way longer than 30 minutes. If I'm not digging it that day, I know "I only have to do this crap for 30 minutes."

Must-Haves for the "scene writing" approach

You don't have to have every one of these mastered, but it really, really helps if you at least have the first one. I use them all, especially in the editing process.

You must have a good grasp of 3-Act Structure.

Otherwise you end up with a pile of scenes, or "story blocks," you can’t use. It also helps to know the 12 steps of the Hero’s Journey. Here’s a great link I’ve found on the hero's journey. I work with 3-Act structure because I can keep track of it better in my head.

Two words – Conflict Lock.

If you don’t have a conflict lock, you don’t have a story. So says Bob Mayer, author of Warrior Writer and co-founder of Cool Gus Publishing. Here’s a blog from Shannon Curtis to tell you more.

Scene-dissecting tools like Margie Lawson's EDITS system.

If you don't have tools like the ones Margie teaches you, it's difficult to figure out where you missed with a scene, especially if you're a pantser. Invest in yourself with classes or lecture packets from Lawson Writers Academy...you'll be glad you did.

Understand your story's DNA (theme) before you get too far.

I think hard about theme pretty early in my process for an important reason. If you have a strong visual of your story's underlying message, you automatically write to it. That story DNA will inform every scene choice you make because it has to. John August, the screenwriter for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Big Fish, says it much better than I do in this post.

Pros and Cons of Scene Writing

And yes, these are all going to be completely subjective. However, if you're on the fence about your process, I thought it might be helpful to see why you might like or dislike this writing method.

The advantages

1. I never get writer's block. There's always another scene to write or edit.
2. I'm able to write fast and stay immersed, because it's "only one scene."
3. Scrivener allows me to store scenes separately and move them around.
4. The story theme is naturally interwoven when you write this way.
5. I'm able to move between fiction and non-fiction pretty easily.

The disadvantages

1. I need objective eyes to tell me when the story is "really done."
2. Continuity edits are a must for long works - I need to know that all the loose ends got tied up.
3. Scene transitions bug the crap out of me (and I'm pretty sure I'm terrible at them). The story quilting method stitches those glorious scenes of yours together with those transitions, so if you're not good at them, run the work by other writers or an editor.

Final Thoughts

Before I close this out, I want to pause and reiterate something. Like underpants, writing process is personal. You'll find out what fits YOU the best by trying it on for size.

I'm only sharing my process here because several of our commenters asked me to. At the end of the day, the only writing process you have to care about it is your own, and the only writing process you need to embrace is the one that allows you to finish your stories.

Where are you at in your "process journey?" Do you have a method that resonates with you? What do you do when you get stuck? Please share with us down in the comments!

*  *  *  *  *  *

About Jenny

By day, Jenny provides corporate communications and LinkedIn advice for professional services firms. By night she writes humor, memoir, women’s fiction, and short stories. After 20 years as a corporate trainer, she’s delighted to sit down while she works.

When she’s not at her personal blog, More Cowbell, Jenny can be found on Facebook at JennyHansenAuthor or at Writers In The Storm.

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Create unique character voices by varying how they communicate with other characters.

I’m one of those writers who needs to put my characters through a first draft before I figure out who they really are. Tossing them into trouble and watching how they wrangle their way out of it helps me get to know them. Their dialogue and voices are usually interchangeable at first. It’s more about what they say than how they say it, or even why they say it.

The voices usually come to me as I write, and by the end of the first draft, I’ve written snippets of voice that let me see and hear the characters. On draft two, I develop those snippets into fleshed-out characters. 

Since I don’t hear my characters first (like many writers do), I make conscious choices about their voices, and craft them same as I do a setting or the plot. Which keeps my authorial nose out of my character’s business, and lets them be who they are—not extensions of who I am. Characters who all sound like the protagonist or the author is a common first-draft issue for a lot of writers.

The author’s voice sometimes gets in the way of the character’s voice.

The characters themselves might be fully fleshed out and different as can be, but their voices aren’t. That’s only natural since the author is writing the novel. All their vocal quirks and mannerisms sneak in, which can lead to every character in the story sounding more or less the same. They all ask questions the same way, they react to trouble the same way, they greet each other the same way. If you took out all the dialogue tags, it would be hard to tell which character was which.

Character voices that reflect their personalities not only help readers remember them, it helps them connect to those characters as well. When a reader connects to a character, they care, and when they care, they worry what will happen to that character, and bam—you’ve hooked them in the story. Now they’re invested.

Here’s a five-step plan for creating unique character voices for your novel:

Step One: Pick a greeting that reflects their personality.

How a character greets people says a lot about where they grew up, where they live now, and how open they are toward others. A shy character might offer a soft “Hi,” while an always-the-center-of-attention character might shout, “The party train has arrived!”

For example, imagine one character is waiting outside a restaurant for another. When they approach, the waiting character greets them with:

• “Good afternoon.”
• “Yo, whassup!”
• “Hey.”
• “Oh my gosh, it’s so nice to see you.”
• “You’re late.”

Did you picture a different character for each of those greetings? Each greeting hints at the type of personality that character might have, from formal, to rude, to enthusiastic.

Step Two: Decide how they answer questions.

How someone responds to a question can tell you a lot about them. If you establish a character as a shy, introvert who has a hard time opening up, it might not ring true if they start giving speeches when asked a question. A non-stop talker is the right character to go to if you need to convey information to readers—just make sure they’d know that info so it doesn’t come across as an infodump.

But a character acting out of character can pique reader curiosity. A chatty gossip will raise eyebrows if they suddenly start giving one-word answers to everything. Why are they so quiet?

For example, what kind of characters do you picture based on these responses to… “Did you go to the movies last night?”

• “Yep. Any pizza left?”
• “I did. Jo and I went to that old art theater they just remodeled on Main. They’re showing these cheesy old westerns. It was a total blast.”
• “Stay out of my business.”
• Shrug. “Nothin’ better to do.”
• “Oh dear, I should have called you. I’m so terribly sorry.” 
• “Yeah, with Juan.”

These answers do more than just answer a yes or no question. Many of these answers lead to more questions. Is character one trying to change the subject? Why does character five feel so guilty about not calling?

Step Three: Decide how they respond to problems and situations.

The true face of a character appears when things go wrong and there’s no time to lie or consider what they’re saying. How do they react? Do they ask questions or make statements about what to do? Do they try to help or shift blame? Are they naturally defensive or do they jump to resolve the issue?

If a character is thoughtful and analytical, their voice will reflect that, and their response to a problem will be thoughtful and analytical. A hot-head who never thinks before they speak will probably gush out all kinds of suggestions—often aggressive options—without thinking them through. Someone who doesn’t care might offer bland platitudes or the most obvious and generic solution.

For example, say a character comes to your protagonist for help. Their response might be:

• “Okay, walk me through the problem. Exactly what happened?”
• “Screw that—here’s what you do.”
• “Just tell them you can’t do it.”
• “I don’t have time for your crap.”
• “Sucks to be you.”

The character’s personality will show in how they react to and interact with others. It’ll also show in how they handle their own problems.

Step Four: Let their vocabulary reflect their education.

Education plays a role in how we communicate. Is this character someone with a large vocabulary who likes to use it, or someone with a limited vocabulary who uses a lot of slang or clichés? Take it a step further and think about why they speak as they do. Are they self-conscious about their Ph.D. and purposefully try to sound dumber to fit in (or hide something), or are they a smart person who never got past high school and tries hard to sound more educated?

Maybe that boisterous greeter who makes statements instead of asking questions is really insecure about their lack of education and overcompensates by always acting like they know what to do or what's going on. Or the meek greeter asks questions because they’re not sure they really understand what's happening and doesn't want to appear dumb. Or the friendly greeter asks a lot of questions to determine the best course of action because they truly want to help and has the smarts to offer good advice. (See how these all build upon each other?)

For example, if one character makes a mistake, how does the character respond?

• “Jeeze, ya made things worse.”
• “Well, that exacerbated the situation.”
• “Out of the frying pan and into the fiery pits of despair.”
• Scoff. “Dumb f@#$.”

No matter what level of education or intelligence the character has, readers (and other characters) will make assumptions based on these different responses.

Step Five: Use words and mannerisms to reflect where the character came from.

Different regions have different dialects, slang, and terms. Saying pop versus soda, crayfish versus crawdad, everyone versus y'all. Where someone grew up affects not only what words they use, but how they interact with others.

A Southern genteel upbringing could mean the character is polite and sweet, yet aloof (cause good folks don't pry) or a terrible gossip (cause prying means caring, don't ya know), an inner-city survivor might take control of every room they walk into because that's what it took to survive. The suburban kid might do the opposite of what everyone expects because they’re tired of conforming.

For example:

• “Sweetie, I don’t mean to pry, but you look sadder than a soaked kitten.” She patted the couch beside her. “Come now, tell me all about it.”
• He squared his shoulders as he tread into the room, then met the hard gazes of each man at the table. No backing down. No looking away. He nodded once. “Hey.”
• She tossed her head and her multitude of tiny braids swayed, free as branches on a tree. “You just don’t get it, man,” she told her mother, dressed in a suit that cost enough to feed a starving village for a week. “You can’t think in that designer strait jacket. I gotta be me. I gotta be free.”

Personality plays a large role in how a character sounds. Their voice will reflect that personality and color both their dialogue and internal thoughts.

Don’t stress over making it perfect early on.

Just getting the information down is fine for a first draft. It can take time to find the right voice for a character.

Play with word choice and how that specific character with that specific background and personality would speak and think. Odds are you have hints scattered in the manuscript to help guide you, so look for anything that feels like it captured the character—especially any positive feedback you received from crit partners.

For fun, follow these steps and share a snippet of conversation between two of your characters in the comments (or make up two new ones). If you’re stuck on what to write about, have them answer the “Did you go to the movies last night” question.

About Janice

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author and founder of the popular writing site Fiction University, where she helps writers improve their craft and navigate the crazy world of publishing. Not only does she write about writing, she teaches workshops across the country, and her blog has been recognized as a Top Writing Blog by Writer’s Digest. She also spins tales of adventure for both teens and adults, and firmly believes that doing terrible things to her characters makes them more interesting (in a good way). She loves talking with writers and readers, and encourages questions of all types—even the weird ones.

Find out more about writing at www.Fiction-University.com, or visit her author’s site at www.JaniceHardy.com. Subscribe to her newsletter to stay updated on future books, workshops, and events and receive her book, 25 Ways to Strengthen Your Writing Right Now, free.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Indie Bound

by Karen DeBonis

For those who were born with the instinct to write, you probably figured out your writing rhythm—the ebb and flow of your writing practice, and the beat and tempo of your unique voice—early on. I wasn’t one of those kids who filled notebooks with short stories, or wrote under the covers at night by flashlight. As a teen or young adult, I never aspired to write the next great American novel or publish my prose in a magazine.

In other words, I’m not a born writer. Latecomers like me often write to the beat of someone else’s drummer until they discover their own rhythm.

Writing with a purpose

When I stepped on the writer’s path twenty years ago, it was because I had a purpose: to write a memoir about my young son’s struggle with a brain tumor. And it wasn’t even my idea—as often happens when someone experiences a life-altering experience, friends told me I “had to write my story.”

So, I began.

I wrote, took classes, read memoir, joined critique groups. It wasn’t a bad start, but I definitely took the long road to The End. This was 1999, when computers and the internet were as new and intimidating as a colicky baby.

I didn’t read writing magazines or books on craft, and I abandoned the first writing conference I attended in 2001. After only two days, I was overwhelmed with the sadness of my story.

I stopped writing. The book became a “Someday Project,” last in line behind a day job, a needy old house, and raising two sons. One of those boys was recovering from a brain tumor.

Fifteen years later, after a medical retirement, it was time to finish what I had started.

Better late than never, right?

Advice from the pros

The depth and breadth of information available to new writers is overwhelming. It’s often difficult to know where to start. Blogs like WITS, Janet Hardy’s Fiction University, Jami Gold’s and Kristen Lamb’s blogs, Elizabeth Craig’s Writer’s Knowledge Base, and Writers Helping Writers have an amazing amount of helpful information and all of them are searchable if you are looking for some specific how-to.

Take notes, bookmark pages, or print out what’s useful and put it in a notebook, but search out the tips that work best for you.

Here are the pieces of advice that many writers follow:

• Write every day
• Set daily and monthly word count goals
• Participate in timed writing sessions
• Play music before your writing session to inspire you
• Write in a crowded coffeeshop, or outdoors, or pull the shades indoors, per Stephen King, to eliminate all distraction
• Don’t edit as you write
• Avoid adverbs, passive voice, unnecessary “thats,” and starting a piece with dialogue.

I tried all these tips (and failed at many). But recently, I’ve come to understand my own writing rhythms—what works and doesn’t work, what I can accept and what I can improve as I create a more harmonious life of writing.

Below are my seven – you will likely have your own.

My 7 Writing Rhythms

1. I don’t write every day.

My husband is retired, so I tell him, “I’m going to work,” when I head to the dining room, as a reminder not to read me the news headlines or his Home Depot list.

“Work” may mean writing and revising, but more often, it refers to myriad other tasks necessary in becoming a published author: reading, engaging on social media, working with critique partners, developing programs offered through my website. I usually “work” a few hours every day, but it’s not always writing.

2. My best writing happens in my head.

Creative nonfiction writers will often say they write to know what they think. I’ve experienced this, but my ah-ha moments don’t happen until my final revisions.

In the meantime, if I don’t have a good idea where I’m heading, I end up with pages and pages  of crappy writing. It doesn’t even achieve that first draft status. If I spend the time allowing story ideas to percolate in my head, there is much more clarity to those initial drafts and the work is more productive.

I’ve concluded I’m not a “pantser” or a “plotter.” Instead, I’m more of a “planner.”

3. I overthink everything.

As a memoirist, overthinking is a gift. I can unwrap deeply complex and often universal truths, as long as I have 80,000 words in which to display them. In a blog or personal essay, however, it feels like reaching into my tornado of thoughts to pull out a toothpick. I’m still learning how to be selective and brief in how deeply I dig.

4. I’m a slow writer.

In part because I overthink things,  and because I’m relatively new at my craft, it takes me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to finish a piece. I can easily take 24 hours to write a 1000-word blog, and I don’t mean it’s done in a day. I mean 24 in-my-chair hours logged over days or weeks.

Fortunately, I don’t rely on writing for income.I write mostly on spec, not on deadline, which helps my stress level enormously.

And I know speed (without sacrificing quality) is a skill I can develop.

5. Silence is my muse.

Music, coffee-house chatter, people in my vicinity, even buzzing bees outdoors are distractions. I function best indoors in as much silence as possible. But, unlike Stephen King, I need visual distractions: my lavender orchid, the tray of candles I seldom light, a view of the outdoors. Like setting a scene, I arrange the room with details that move the story forward.

6. Moving my body gets me unstuck.

When I’m searching for the perfect word, or metaphor, or physical disruption to convey confusion, I can’t sit still. I have to leave my writing table to make a cup of tea or walk around the house or sharpen pencils—anything to get my body active. While I’m moving, my mind is busy (see #2 above.)

7. I break rules

When I completely eliminate the passive voice, gerunds, and adverbs, my prose seems stilted. Editors: feel free to disagree. But I recently read this article about friendships by a literary agent I follow.

I loved it so much, I read it twice. Then I realized the author broke some rules with her very first sentence: “‘You know what really drives me crazy?’ Silvia was saying…”

Not only did she open with dialogue, but, “was saying?” Should’t that be, “said,” according to the pros? And yet, the conversational style captivated me.

It’s okay to break some rules if the writing is fresh and it feels right. Editors: feel free to cut.

The benefits of tuning in to your unique rhythm.

Tuning in to my writing rhythm has been a process of self-discovery. Owning your process, whatever it may be, is empowering.

It helped me to embrace that I am a writer who doesn’t write daily, who jumps out of her seat, who overthinks. This open-minded acceptance of my  own writing path helped clarify that all-important question: What is my book about?

It’s not about my son’s brain tumor after all, at least not entirely. It’s about me. It’s the story of my deeply ingrained need to please and the life-threatening consequences for my family. And it was the months and years of overthinking that opened the door to the real story.

What are your unique rhythms of writing? How did you discover your process? Please tell us about it in the comments!

About Karen

Karen began writing twenty years ago after her eleven-year-old son was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Those early pages are now a real-life medical mystery about a mother who must overcome her toxic agreeability if she's to save herself and her son. The manuscript is currently available for representation.

A happy empty-nester with her husband of thirty-nine years, Karen lives and writes in upstate New York. You can find out more about her journey at www.KarenDeBonis.com.