Writers in the Storm

by Tasha Seegmiller

There are a lot of people out there who believe writing is a solitary affair. And to some extent, they are right. As someone who is in her final MFA semester, I can tell you that there are many times when people have asked how they can help and my answer is always they can’t. I have to do the reading. I have to do the writing. The drafting and outlining and brainstorming and editing and revising? That’s all on me.

But there is no way that I write a book on my own. Not even close. No one does.

All you have to do is flip to the acknowledgements section of a book to realize that the act of creation is a collaborative one. Much like the ending credit of a movie, the acknowledgments are where authors share how people helped hone their books (this is also a good place to see who is representing/editing work if you are at that stage of your career).

In order to write well, in order to write authentically, in order to create a story that hits all the markers we hope for, writers need to assemble their villages. I have a few suggestions for how to start or improve a novel’s village.

Writing Neighbors

I have the good fortune of having a writing group in my town. We’ve been meeting *almost* every two weeks for NINE years. We have grown together and our critiques have helped each other with lots of projects, many of which are and will soon be published. These are my critique partners, the ones who help with everything and anything from outline to name choice to diction and tone to plot holes. They are there to help see if the story is on track when I’m writing, to give feedback of where I’ve wandered, to help me see that no, I cannot skip over that moment just because it’s difficult to write.

I have a dear friend who I met through Women’s Fiction Writers Association who I have talked to about all the writing and life things off and on for several years, and we just started working on a “let’s remember how to have fun with writing” collaborative project (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, that’s okay. Those of you who do know, find a project/person to have fun with again).

And then there are beta readers. These are the kinds of people who help writers by reading through a whole manuscript. Some may make line edit kinds of notes, others may point out plot holes. If you don’t know this, please understand that when someone betas for you, you automatically owe them a beta. Neighbors don’t take a cup of sugar, they borrow one, acknowledging that it needs to be returned in kind. Be a good neighbor.

Expert Neighbors

I think most people who have been writing for a while know about the writing neighbors. There are also members of a novel’s village who might be our real-life neighbors, online friends, work associates, casual acquaintances who have a specific set of knowledge or skills that will allow characters to be more authentic.

Right now, I am building my current novel’s neighborhood with a friend whose a therapist, one who has an Instagram shop making custom polymer clay earrings, one who is raising a gay child. I have had heart to heart conversations with friends who came out in high school as a character in my book experiences this and I want to make sure their story is told authentically.

In previous works, I talked to a divorcee who placed a baby through adoption, two people who live with MS, a couple women who have wrestled with infertility, and an organic soap maker.

But not every book or topic needs a person who is an expert. I needed to check a timeline for a high school play production – that’s something I can just throw out on social media to get a pretty good ballpark.

I wanted to see if women of a certain faith felt a strain in their roles as women so I put together an anonymous google form where people could both select a multiple choice option and provide written feedback.

I’m following several people on twitter who are going through life experiences similar to what I intend to have a character go through. Leaning into what they are saying is allowing me to craft a more authentic reading experience.

Some people may categorize these neighbors under research, but for me, research is making sure I’ve got the information correct. This kind of immersion reaches further and deeper – it’s what makes people more interested in watching/listening to Hamilton than reading the biography. It brings the research into 3D.

Nurturing Neighbors

I’ve heard of the elusive individual who can write 8-10,000 words a day, who thrives in creating, who just has stories flow from them with ease.

I. Am. Not. That. Person.

In Elizabeth Gilbert’s well-known TED talk “Your Elusive Creative Genius,” she talks about how she is like a mule, trudging through the work. If ever there was a way to describe my process, it would be that. Writing brings me joy and a sense of accomplishment that little else in my life ever has, and it has brought me frustration and feelings of inadequacy just as often. I have wanted to quit. And I have endured more than one writing crisis.

I have a couple very close friends who are in the same trenches, though maybe at different places. These are people I can talk to when I am certain I’m a fraud, that I’ve wasted so much time and money, that I never had any business pursuing this writing thing in the first place. These are people I can reach out to when the publishing world is hard (it is), when I just don’t understand why something is progressing like I think it should (more than I’d like).

They know that the answer might be “Let me bring you some chocolate” or “Let’s go get a Diet Coke.”

They know the answer might be “What have you got so far?” or “Where are you stuck?”

They know the answer is also “If you weren’t a good writer, would you have experienced ______?”

These kinds of people are those who are neighbors in every novel’s village. They travel from project to project with me because a writer isn’t just an author once (generally). They nurture the progress of the book by helping with the needs of the writer.

Moving Neighborhoods

While there are a few people who help as neighbors in lots of books, if a writer intends for each book to be a little different from the previous one, there is a necessity to rebuild a novel’s village with newcomers as well. Anytime I come across a character who I think could be interesting but who is reading as flat, I start to think about who I know that is similar in some way. And sometimes, I see something or someone in a book, TV show, movie, social media or at the grocery story that makes me wonder. Jot it down, let it set for a while, and the start creating the new cast along with the experts needed to have them come to life.

How have you gathered information to help strengthen your characters or plot? What questions might you have about how to start such a conversation?

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About Tasha

Tasha Seegmiller believes in the magic of love and hope, which she weaves into every story she creates. She is an MFA candidate in the Writing Program at Pacific University and teaches composition courses at Southern Utah University. Tasha married a guy she’s known since she was seven, is the mom of three teens, and co-owner of a soda shack and cotton candy company. She is represented by Annelise Robey of Jane Rotrosen Agency.

by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Deep point of view is a style of writing that aims to immerse the reader in the story so they share the character’s emotional journey as though it’s their own. This is achieved by removing the author/narrator voice from the writing, which is easier said than done. Deep POV is very popular in some genres and is growing in popularity in others as readers increasingly search for an experience in addition to being entertained.

I was asked by my students if I would create an FAQ for deep POV, and this is the first post towards that goal. These are some of the more frequent questions I get asked on my blog and in my free Facebook group Going Deeper With Emotions In Fiction.

1. When Can I Use Italics In Deep POV?

Typically, in deep POV you don’t use italics for internal dialogue or self-talk. Most readers can figure out when a character is thinking without the he/she thought tags or using italics. Where italics is used in deep pov is if there’s telepathy or mind-speak involved (looking at you paranormal and fantasy authors) to distinguish when a character is thinking from when they’re speaking to someone without words.

2. Is First Or Third POV Better In Deep POV?

You can use either effectively. When writing in first person, you are not automatically writing in deep pov though, so keep that in mind. This becomes more a choice of personal preference and genre/audience. Some genres seem to trend more towards one than the other.

3. Is Deep POV Better In Past Or Present Tense?

Same answer as above. Both can be equally effective so it’s more about personal preference and genre.

4. What Are Some Books That Use Deep POV?

I have read most but not all of these. My students will sometimes ask me about a particular book and I’ll use the Look Inside feature on Amazon to read the first few pages. These books are or seem to be written entirely in deep POV and represent a wide variety of genres.

The Help – Kathryn Stockett
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
Divergent – Veronica Roth
Water For Elephants – Sara Gruen
Her Galahad – Melissa James
Paladin of Souls – Lois McMaster Bujold
Dreamlander – K.M. Weiland
Cry Wolf – Patricia Briggs
ROOM – Emma Donaghue
The Last Seers – Lisa Hall-Wilson
Cross My Heart – Pamela Cook
Cursed Wishes – Marcy Kennedy
Tough Road – Elizabeth Safleur
The Ladderman – Angela Archer
Because Of Dylan – Erica Alexander

5. Why Can’t I Use Emotion Words In Deep POV?

Most of the time, writing that the character is mad, happy, depressed, anxious, etc. is considered telling. With deep pov, we want to write as though we are the character experiencing this story in real time. We don’t label emotions in our own minds very often, we FEEL emotions. This creates the immersive effect readers crave. For those who are aware of this rule in deep pov, what more often happens is showing AND telling.

Steve kicked the can down the street, hands shoved so far down his pockets he might’ve pulled up his socks. Too depressed to go home, he trudged past home and headed to the park.

Steve kicked the can down the street, hands shoved so far down his pockets he might’ve pulled up his socks. He trudged past home and headed to the park.

6. How Do You Anchor The Beginning Of A Scene In Deep POV Without Telling?

Sometimes it’s telling, often it’s author intrusion, but making sure the reader is rooted in who, when, where, etc. at the beginning of a chapter is a challenge for those new to deep POV. When done well, you can set aside this rule in deep pov if you’re able to become the character – inhabit their skin so to speak for a bit – and let the character feel their way through a scene.

It was five days later when Jerry sat down for breakfast.

Jerry slumped onto the only uncluttered chair at the table with a bowl of granola and the week’s stack of newspapers under his arm. He opened the oldest paper and spread it across the table. He had five days of news to catch up on. 

7. How Do You Remove Filter Words Like Felt, Saw, Or Heard In Deep POV?

These filter words are considered telling in deep pov but are totally acceptable in other styles, and it can be hard to shift the mindset to write without them. Try to write it as though YOU are the character and the character has no audience. Don’t write as though the reader is listening in. Write so that the reader feels like they’re right there next to your character living out this story with them.

She felt herself drawn to the last door on the left. <-- Instead of telling me she feels something, just write what she feels.

She stared at the final door, the light shining out from beneath like a safety beacon on a dark night.

She heard twigs snapping behind her in the dark. <-- don’t tell me she hears things, just show me what she hears.

Twigs snapped behind her and she spun towards the noise.

8. How Do I Write In Deep POV And Not Give Away The Character’s Whole Plan?

In deep POV, you have to rethink your ideas on tension and conflict. In other styles of writing, keeping the reader in the dark is one way to build tension for readers, but you can’t keep secrets from the reader in deep pov. If your character knows what’s about to happen, the reader knows what’s about to happen.

Instead, think about surprise. If your character is able to create a plan and fully execute it without alteration maybe you need to be harder on them. Let the reader in on what the character expects going into a situation – and now make life harder for them. Whatever they’re expecting – what if it doesn’t happen, or happens at the wrong time? If the reader knows the stakes going in, how much of their plan depends on one element, then the reader is leaning in and cheering for the character to succeed.

These are the short answers, of course, but sometimes that’s all you need. *smile*

Do you have a deep POV question I could add to my next deep POV FAQ post? Please share it down in the comments!

About Lisa

Lisa Hall-Wilson is a national award-winning freelance journalist and author who loves mentoring writers. Fascinated by history, fantasy, romance, and faith, Lisa blends those passions into historical and historical-fantasy novels. Find Lisa’s blog, Beyond Basics for intermediate writers,  at www.lisahallwilson.com.

by Leigh Cheak

As a writer, your ideas are all in your head, and the job is to wrangle them out and get them onto the page for other people to read and experience. But all writers know that it’s not that simple.

Sometimes, you have to hook those ideas and pull hard. Sometimes, they come out like the slow drip from a faucet. And sometimes, they roar on out with the force of a waterfall. It’s tangled and messy, and first drafts are usually awful. (“Shitty”, according to Anne Lamott.) And sometimes, we need to get out of the muck and see our work from a different perspective.

I like a road map to help with arranging my writing. I like to see where I’m going and plot my course. So I grab a pad of sticky notes. Whether you’ve got ideas but don’t know where to start, you’re waist-deep in a story and can’t figure out where to go from there, or you’re at the end but it’s just not adding up, the answer (at least for me) is sticky notes.

I believe sticky notes can save your writing at any point in the process.

Let me explain.

1. They’re small, so you can only write main points/details. This forces you to summarize and only write the important stuff.
2. They’re sticky. You place them down somewhere, and they stay put. No wind or animal tail sweeping it off your workspace.
3. They keep their sticky pretty well, so you can move them around and stick them elsewhere.
4. They’re colorful. If you’re a color-coding champ, you can use different colors for main points, specific details, certain characters… your imagination (or ability to organize) is your limit.

Why bother with sticky notes?

When you’re in the story or an essay, it’s easy to get lost and not know where you’re going. Using sticky notes helps to pull that focus out and see things from a macroscopic viewpoint. From there, you can see the progression of events/ideas and decide how to best arrange them. And the wonderful thing about this organizational method is that you can use it to start writing, while you’re in the writing, or after as an editing tool. By pulling out and viewing the progression from an aerial perspective, you can make more informed decisions about where the writing is going and what makes the most sense to go where. You can see potential holes, or disconnected ideas, and figure out how to patch them in or circumvent them. You can also decide which darlings need murdering.

Because they’re small and sticky, it’s easy to manipulate them into new configurations to try new things. Feel free to play! You can easily undo anything that doesn’t work out. It’s not so easy to do that with Word or written pages.

And the sticky means that you can plot your storyline, leave it be, and then come back to it in the same arrangement (unless little goblins mess with it while your back is turned). You can even use wall space to organize your notes because gravity has less jurisdiction with the sticky. Space-saving and writing-saving—sticky notes really are unsung heroes!

When in doubt, use stickies

Stickies can help you decide if you want your story to be linear, or if it’s best to jump around in time and/or perspectives. And if you have a new idea, slap it on a new sticky and find a place for it. The size of your sticky web is limited to you and how many pads you have.

Need to get somewhere, but there’s no clear transition? Lost sight of the conflict? Boom. Sticky. Write your ideas down. Crumple up the ones that don’t work. Or maybe just move it elsewhere and come back to it. I like to keep a sticky graveyard for ideas, just in case one happens to have good resurrection material. Especially if it’s a long piece that I’m working on over a lengthy amount of time.

When I use stickies, I feel like I’m assembling the pieces of a puzzle and then making them fit. I enjoy the tactile pieces and moving them around to see what makes sense where. It’s a fun way to manipulate your story without being trapped by the blank page.

Two Camps: Plotters and Pantsers

I totally stole these two terms from my dear friend, Justine Bylo, who’s also written for WITS. We both identify as Plotters, and we like to use sticky notes from the get-go. We’re also type-A perfectionists (surprise!). When it comes to writing, we like to know where things are going and make logical moves from point to point until we get to the end. I know many other writers are the same, and like to have things thought-out and organized while writing. It’s comforting to have an outline and know that we’re writing towards the next pit-stop instead of the very end of the journey. Using sticky notes help us to line up our plots and chart the course. We make small steps of progression until the end.

Our opposites are Pantsers: writers who fly by the seat of their pants. These writers often have no idea where a story is going, but trust that they’ll get where they’re meant to be. I sort of envy these people, because they can have some wild adventures along the way. They’ll find sticky notes helpful in the middle or end of the writing, when they’re stuck and need direction, or when they’re looking at a tangle of words they need to make accessible for readers.

For Pantsers, sticky notes can get them out of the thick of things so they can see the map and that can guide them to streamline things to make the most sense. They might not need help getting started—they know they’re in for something amazing—but they might need some help with putting the ideas in the most logical order, or finding the holes that can trip up readers.

So whether you’re a control-freak plotter or a free-writing pantser, sticky notes can help you anywhere in the process.

Final Thoughts

I recommend you use the KISS method with your stickies: Keep It Simple Silly. Make sure each sticky only has one point/idea. You want to be able to move the separate parts around. And remember, just because it makes sense in your head does not mean that it will make sense to your reader. Arrangement is key. If a reader can’t follow you through the journey they’ll likely give up, no matter how awesome your dialogue, action, or description.

Are you a Plotter or a Pantser and what stage of writing would you find using sticky notes most useful? Have you done something similar to help with your writing? What’s the most challenging part of writing for you? Let me know down in the comments!

About Leigh

Leigh Pierce née Cheak is a poet/writer and editor living just outside of Nashville, TN with her new husband and her two fur-babies, Mila and Misha. She obtained her MFA in Creative Writing at Western Kentucky University. Her poems have appeared in The Poetry Gymnasium, 2nd Ed.; Wildflower Press’ Anthology: Wild Voices, Vol. 2; The Windhover; The McNeese Review; and Beecher’s Magazine, among others.

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Top Image by RitaE from Pixabay.