Writers in the Storm

Turning Whine Into Gold

by Kathryn Craft

It was 2001 and as a dance critic, I’d been getting paid for my published writing for eighteen years. I had this writing thing in the bag! I just needed an agent to get my recently drafted novel out into the world.

(Experienced authors: I hear you. Quit laughing.)

In search of that holy grail I went to my first meeting of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, nearby in southeastern PA, to learn from other seekers.

I got there early. The preceding board meeting hadn’t broken up yet, and the agent/editor chair for the upcoming conference was talking about which agents she’d contacted and whom she might yet approach, tossing names around like she knew these people.

A swirl of emotions ran through me.

1. Jitters: Would any of those agents think my manuscript was good?

2. Overwhelm: I had so much to learn about the industry.

3. Desperation: I wanted that knowledge.

4. But…I had no idea how to get it.

That agent chair knew, though, so before that meeting had let out, I had joined the organization and, knowing my way around the newspaper biz, volunteered to play a small public relations role in putting on the conference. Working side-by-side with other writers—some much more experienced, others pressing first tentative words to the page—I started to get a sense where I fit in on the road to publication.

The realization came like a slap: I wasn’t nearly as far along as I had originally thought.

That kind of early ego pummeling created fertile ground for my first true step in the right direction: setting aside hopes of overnight stardom and creating a base of knowledge on which to build a career.

In a few more years I would hear an agent say, “Give me a so-so story that is beautifully written and I won’t be able to do a thing with it. Give me a great story that is written so-so and I can make a best-seller out of it.” The all-important feedback I received in my early years of critique groups, workshops, conferences, and even agent rejection told me I was weighing in on the wrong side of that equation.

I had thought that my 18 years of arts journalism would give me a leg up. It did not. While I was indeed a wordsmith, I did not yet wield the storytelling craft that could make me a published novelist.

From then on, while deepening my commitment to both organizational and personal goals, I created programs that brought me the teachers I needed, all the while learning the ins and outs of the ever-changing publishing industry. I ate up everything I could learn about the power of story, improving my novels while unknowingly laying the groundwork for what would become my developmental editing specialty.

During this time I made a promise to my husband: if I couldn’t get a novel published before my youngest left school in five years, I’d give up my fantasy and get a full-time job.

All too soon, my time was up. But I couldn’t possibly quit now! I felt like I was standing with my toes at the very edge of a diving platform, weight tipped forward in anticipation of the signal to dive in. I revised the promise to my husband: I’d really meant that I’d give up “when they left college.”

I stretched that as far as I could. Eventually my youngest son finished a five-year engineering program; after a gap year, my eldest finished a two-year master’s degree. But look what I’m holding in his graduation picture from 2012: a newly minted advance reader copy of my debut novel.

The photo was taken one year after I’d gotten an agent (on query 113). By then I’d heard it takes ten years to make a novelist, and apparently, I would add my name to those who would prove that saying right.

So what had changed during those years?

I was no longer operating from my emotions, but from knowledge.

1. Due to my intense study of storytelling, I no longer wondered if an agent would think my manuscript was good—I knew it was well-crafted. I just needed to find its perfect advocate.

2. Due to all of the tips I picked up while attending conferences and networking events, I was no longer overwhelmed by the submission process.

3. Due to leadership roles I’d taken on for various conferences, I could toss around the names of agents and editors as if I know these people—because many of them I’d met, hired, corresponded with, picked up from the bus station, moderated on panels, or pitched to in person.

4. Due to those relationships, I saw agents and editors as like-minded spirits: entrepreneurs who want to see great stories put it into print.

Comparing the two lists in this post, you’ll see that once my feet were planted on a firm foundation of knowledge, I was ready to contribute as a team player.

Because the first step toward an author’s life isn’t getting an agent.

It’s gathering all the knowledge you need to produce a great story, and then learning how to step up as an equal partner in its publication.

If you are on the road to publication, tell us about an action you took that netted a huge boost, or about someone whose support you feel you could not have done without. Those of you self-publishing: how does this post relate to your journey from writer to author?

Laura Drake

There are SO many things that I wish I'd known in the beginning (or even yesterday). We all could use help/encouragement, and some advice is just too good not to share. Like my all-time go-to: If you don't know who's POV to be in in a scene, choose the character who has the MOST to LOSE!

You know me and memes—I'm going to include some writing gold here. Please share your best advice in the comments, so we all may learn from it!

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The second in Laura's Chestnut Creek Series, Home at Chestnut Creek, released July 2. It's getting fantastic reviews! Just click on the photo to get more info.

Angela Ackerman

A common frustration for Pantsers is being told that the way they write is “wrong” and what they should do instead is plan more so their first draft will hold together better. This happens because Plotters are focused on ensuring their first draft is structurally sound so revising will be easier. They don’t realize Pantsers have a different goal than they do—to write a discovery draft which allows them to get to know their characters organically. This lets them discover their character’s needs, goals, and the story by letting imagination and intuition to lead the way.

Is one method better than the other? Yes.

Which one that is depends on you though--you are an individual with your own process. Plot and outline if you like. Pants your way through a discovery draft if that works better for you. Or try a bit of both. Basically, if it works for you, do it. But if you find yourself struggling, don’t be afraid to experiment with other ways to create.

In my case, I used to pants exclusively but I grew frustrated because I couldn’t always nail down what was motivating my character and so it was hard for me to choose story events that would reinforce what they wanted, needed, and were afraid of. I began studying story structure and character arc and the value of knowing structure resonated with me. Now I do more planning and because I adapted, writing is even more enjoyable for me.  

The only time our chosen creative process can limits us is if we close our minds to other ideas because of pride or principle alone.

Being open to ideas is how we grow, and Pantsers & Plotters can learn from one another. Pantsers may not want to outline but understanding story structure helps them develop their intuition, resulting in stronger drafts. And plotters who experiment with freewriting will strengthen their ability to write fresh premises and unique characters.

One issue I sometimes see with Pantsers is a wariness to use tools that focus on planning and organizing. They worry it will suck the creativity out of the discovery draft. Almost any tool can be adapted to be used by Pantsers though and this can really help them when they hit the revision trail. I’d like to demonstrate how with One Stop’s Character Builder.

Some of you know I build tools at One Stop for Writers with my partners in crime, Becca Puglisi and Lee Powell but you may not realize everything we create is for Pantsers and Planners. The Character Builder is by far the most powerful tools we’ve created, taking all the character description we’ve created over a decade (on character traits, emotions, emotional wounds, skills & talents, fears, motivations, physical attributes, and more) and combining it so writers can cherry pick whatever ideas they need for a character. The long and short is you can plan a highly detailed character much faster. Even better, the tool has built-in intelligence and will pull together certain pieces of information details you’ve brainstormed to show you what the character’s arc is in the story. GREAT for planners, right? But how the heck can a Pantser use it?

Well, let me show you.  

Before sitting down to write, most Pantsers know a few details about their main character. In my case, I’d typically know what my character looked like, get a sense of their voice (which gave me an idea of their personality traits), and I might know their past emotional wound. The rest I’d uncover during the discovery draft.

This is the Character Builder. As you can see that while I could go through every tab and create a full character in the brainstorming stage, I don’t have to. Instead I can move around and fill in a detail here or there (like the character’s physical appearance and their wound) and leave other sections alone. But notice the area outlined in red? Each Tab (BACKSTORY, PERSONALITY, etc.) has an area just for Pantsers, where they can jot down ideas rather than do that deep dive.

So, I can leave my ideas if I want. A few words for now about Paul’s behavior, or his personality, just to keep my ideas organized.

Discovery draft writing is a lot of fun. You’ll write, directed by intuition…and then it happens: an epiphany! You realize something about your character that you didn’t know before. For example, I knew my character Paul’s wound was that his wife left him after realizing she was gay. It messed him up bad as you can imagine and made him not want to lose his heart to someone again. I wanted this story to be about Paul moving on. But how? When? With who?

Outside my office window, a motorcyclist roared past on the highway and I realized something: Paul was into the open road. He rode a Harley! I jumped to the Hobbies section of Paul’s profile as a flood of ideas hit, and I wrote them down:

This epiphany led to another: his love interest would be someone he’d meet on the road. I didn’t want to go with another biker—too nice and neat. I wanted something fresh, so I thought about what he’d see on a ride.

When I am on a road trip, I always notice the old graveyards. The history. The generations of stones. The overgrown grass and wildflowers and low picket fencing. What if Paul stopped at one of these and she happen to be there taking photographs for a magazine?

When the right idea explodes in your brain, it’s so magical. I immediately went to the love interest’s profile (Adina) and after I updated her image to include a camera, I added a new skill to the ones I already knew about her:

(See what I’m doing? Discovering characterization and documenting it as I go!)

When I connect the dots on something else (Adina’s past boyfriend was abusive and she’s determined to not get involved with someone again) or (Paul is quite promiscuous because one-night stands are a good way to keep women at a distance) I just add those details to the right profile and then get back to writing.

If I do this throughout my discovery draft, I end up with a pretty complete character. And remember that Character Arc Blueprint I mentioned? I can use that story structure to my advantage because it works behind the scenes. Once I finish the draft, I can look at the blueprint and see what it pinpointed for their arc journey. When I revise, I can use it to make changes that will push Paul in the direction I need him to go, and to help me see what complications I could add to challenge him on the path to his goal.

(If you are interested to see how Paul turned out using the Character Builder, go here. Not every character has to be this detailed, but this gives you an idea of how deep you can go if you need to.)

So please keep an open mind about tool, my pantsing friends. In fact, I’ve rounded up a few character-focused ones that focus on creativity to help you:

Character Creator: Create a visual of your character. Experiment, try new things, follow your imagination.

Vision Boards: Create one that shows what your character likes, what they are interested in, what they value, what they look like, and what they believe in. (Pinterest can also be terrific for this.)

Word Storm: If you are trying to understand your character better, note all the words that you associate with your character–good and bad. Once you have your word storm, read each word. Do you get a feeling about a certain word, like there’s an idea there? Follow your intuition. And if you find yourself with writer’s block or you accidentally write the character into a corner during the discovery draft, word storm possible ways out of the situation, from logical to out-of-the-box. If this doesn’t work, go backward in your draft and find the last scene you feel solid about. Word storm ideas on where the plot could go from that point.

Timelines: You can use this tool to explore a character’s backstory, to track events as they happen in your discovery draft, to capture a sequence of places the character visits, to collect the decisions your character made that led them to deeper trouble, or even just a light planning of “beginning-middle-end” ideas that can serve as a loose roadmap if you find yourself going too far afield in your discovery draft.

And finally, Jami Gold has a terrific post that looks at how she develops character as a Pantser,here.

Are you a Pantser, Plotter, or a bit of both? What tools do you use?

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Angela Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, (now an expanded 2^nd edition) as well as six others. Her books are available in seven languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world.

Angela is also the co-founder of the popular site Writers Helping Writers, as well as One Stop for Writers, an innovative online library built to help writers elevate their storytelling. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.