NaNo Workout: Coming in for a landing, aka Beat Sheet It!

Okay, so I meant to keep up with my NaNo AND blogging about NaNo, but that second part seems to have gotten away from me. As if doing NaNo isn’t ambitious enough on it’s own. And life has a tendency to place things in our way sometimes (like getting sick or having to go to WORK or make a birthday cake for a family member, sheesh.).

Hopefully, most people are “coming in for a landing” this week and have less than 10,000 words left (If not, this could still work. you can still do it. Just buy lots of snacks and frozen meals, hole yourself up somewhere, barricade yourself into an Internet free zone and leave a note for your family not to disturb you until Dec 1).

By the time the end is in sight (somewhere around 3/4 through), usually my story looks not much like my original outline/beat sheet. So, even through I’m still glancing at it for reference, it’s pretty useless.

When I’m looking down at the last bit of hiking trail, but the trailhead still seems pretty far away, I do what I call an “in story” beat sheet / outline. I find that this gives me the last bit of energy, insight, and momentum I need to finish the story. It makes the ending, and how to get there, more clear. And it makes it all seem possible.

I think it works best when you’re leading up to the climax of your story. That part can be a little intimidating b/c we so want it to bring all the elements together so perfectly.

All this means is taking some time to write out the beats until the end of your story INSIDE your manuscript. So simple, yet so effective.

So, go to the last thing that you wrote, and just type out the rest of your story in beats. Don’t worry about full sentences or punctuation or anything like that. It’s basically just a list, in chronological order, of the things that have to happen in the rest of your story. If inspired to do so, add a few notes to yourself (I usually put these in parentheses)

Then, as you write, just follow along, fill in the details, etc. It’s very inspiring to be able to see it all laid out in front of you. Yes, it takes a little bit of your NaNo writing time to do it, but I guarantee it will be worth it.

It might look a little something like this:

-The two warring planets come together and threaten everyone on the asteroid, pull it out of the neutral zone with a tractor beam (see! idoLL says, I knew someone had invented that)

-IdoLL can’t sit by and watch her friends get destroyed (she feels guilty, responsible for the whole thing)

-She contacts the Rethulans and says to take her, and her alone, instead – they agree.

-idoLL and the princess have a bonding moment in the shuttle (first time idoLL hasn’t been an asshat to her) while they’re floating towards the Rethulan ship

-idoLL punches “auto pilot” and they get stuck in a space stalemate

-idoLL’s parents show up! and negotiate with Rethulans, yay! they are very diplomatic (Queen has soft spot for AIP’s)

-idoLL takes princess to TREND to show her “something” (i.e. the purple planet)

-Jettison meets them there, she’s depressed because she now thinks she’s a fraud

etc. etc. etc.

Like I said, once you have this typed out into your manuscript, it makes getting to the end see doable. I always find it gives me that last motivational push to plow through to the end.

NaNo on!

Weekend Workout: Handy Dandy Fallback Exercise

Weekend Workouts are exercises that I use on a regular basis when writing and in the classroom when teaching.

*  *  *

Because of my screenwriting background, I always think of writing in terms of scenes and sequences. I think it’s a very useful way to write because it breaks things down into manageable chunks.

A “scene” is something that takes place at a certain place at a certain time. If you change locations or go forward or backward in time, it’s a new scene. If a character has an argument with her spouse in the kitchen, and then in the next paragraph she’s fuming in the car while she drives to work, it’s a new scene.

A sequence can contain several scenes and involves a larger change in status quo. i.e. at the beginning of the sequence, the spy enters the compound, at the end of the sequence, she has been captured and put into a cell. The end of a sequence might be the end of a chapter, or at least a pause and breath of some sort. (To learn about the “sequence” approach to writing, CLICK HERE).

If you’re ever up against an important “scene,” one you’ve been avoiding (That argument in the kitchen!), or just the next scene you want to work on, this handy exercise is a great way to start. It works for me every time, and being a competent procrastinator, it’s a super way to get me back into the story.

Set your timer for 5-7 minutes and begin with this line:

The scene that needs to be written is . . . (or is about)

(You can vary this, such as: The scene that comes next . . . The scene I want to write next is about . . . )

Write without stopping, editing, or judging – whatever comes to the page (even if you stray into other parts of the story – what needs to come out will come out).

When you are done, fun stuff, go to the CENTER of this piece of writing and pull that sentence out (it’s your exercise, if you aren’t excited about that line, chose the one above or below it). Set your timer for another 5-7 minutes and use THAT line as your next start line. Do this a third time if you can. Each time you do this, you’ll go a little deeper and discover a bit more.

After you’ve done this three times you’ll be itching to write that scene and it will come to you much easier. Plus, you’ll probably write the next scene, too.

Weekend Workout: Make Your Characters Messy

One of my pet peeves as a reader (and movie goer) is characters that are too perfect. Who can relate to that? Humans are not perfect. We are messy. We carry a lot of baggage, have fears and secrets, do the right things for the wrong reason, the wrong things for the right reason. We sabotage ourselves, hurt the ones we love, and agonize over decisions.

It doesn’t matter whether our characters are 16 year old vampires, robots, or train conductors (or all three). Whether you’re writing steampunk, a contemporary romance, or a future fantasy it’s your characters who bring the work to life. When we care about the characters, when we sympathize with their bad decisions, we care about the story.

Good people can do “bad” things. And it’s when our good* hero does something wrong due to fear or ignorance that brings about their own undeserved misfortune that we empathize most of all. This leaves the opportunity for our heroes to redeem themselves, which is ultimately satisfying.

(*what I mean is “striving toward goodness” – that we see the good in them, even as they behave badly, or even as they don’t see the good in themselves)

In the Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, the protagonist Tally struggles with doing the right thing under tremendous pressure, educated in a society controlled by propaganda, and ends up betraying everyone she cares about through her own actions. It makes me angry with her, but I still sympathize, and am moved later when she redeems herself through a great sacrifice. Ultimately, a satisfying emotional roller coaster ride for the reader.

On a subtler note, but just as emotionally satisfying, one of the most heart-breaking scenes in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (the only movie I’ve ever liked better than the book, both written by Peter Hedges) is when Gilbert hits his younger, mentally disabled, brother. Throughout the whole story, Gilbert is constantly striving to be good and to support his dysfunctional family. He has a lot of pressure, for a teenager, to take care of them all. All the while we’re rooting for him to somehow escape the mess. He loves his brother, has taken care of him over the years, and threatens anyone who even jokes about doing him harm. But the tension builds up so beautifully in this story until Gilbert acts in a way he never thought himself capable, so that when he strikes his brother we actually feel sorry for Gilbert!

And btw, it doesn’t matter if you’re writing comedy or drama. Comedy is generally one undeserved misfortune after another!

YOUR WORKOUT:

Timed writing exercises, goodie! Set your timer for 7-10 minutes. Using any (or all) of the start lines below, allow yourself to develop your character’s messy bits through your writing. Just write as fast as you can. Don’t worry about complete sentences, run-on sentences, or proper grammar. (You know the drill! No stopping, no judging, no editing, no crossing out!)

My protagonist’s deepest fear is . . .

My protagonist’s fatal flaw is . . .

My protagonist’s fatal flaw stems from . . .

My protagonist doesn’t want his friends to know . . .

My protagonist feels guilty when . . .

My protagonist causes his/her own undeserved misfortune when . . .

In order to redeem himself/herself, my protagonist must . . .

Have a great weekend!

Weekend Workout: Unsticking the Stuck

At some point during a rewrite I always get stuck. Some momentous *thing* must happen, some important mystery revealed, some great payoff has to come for the set up and it’s got to be just right. It’s got to be satisfying.

Having notes from the publisher and a deadline (woosh – there it goes!) does not mean the answers come any faster, but through my rewrite of The Ruins of Noe, I’ve developed a little trick and, so far, it’s worked every time. But it takes discipline.

In the past, getting nervous about my story meant procrastinating to the page. Sometimes I’d end in a stuck place and resist coming back to it the next day.

In the last few months, though, I have become much more disciplined with my writing routine. I write first thing in the morning (well, after a little coffee and personal time), and if I’m in a stuck place (and sometimes even when I’m not), I start with a pre-writing brain dump.

When I free-write like this, there’s no commitment to what comes out. If I don’t like the idea, it stays in my notebook. But exploring all the ideas is what leads to the answer.

I keep a big blank spiral notebook on my desk and at the point of stuckness, I turn to the next page and write the person, magical item, plot point, whatever it is I need to figure out at the top of the page and put a box around it. (Later, after I’ve finished my draft, I’ll go through this notebook and add any pertinent information into my World Book)

For example, this is the one I did today. Sometimes it takes two or three pages until I get there. Today, it came pretty quickly, which was extra super.

(NOTE 1: this won’t make much sense to anyone but me, but you’ll get the idea)

(NOTE 2: a little spoiler alert for anyone who doesn’t want to know anything about Book Two)

The Whisper Light

Narine’s energy was dispersed into the 5 whisper lights. The one that appears @ Mabbe’s is the one to open the purview in Noe. It now speaks to Brigitta – but what does it say? Somehow she realizes Mabbe is an Ancient b/c of it. Dos she have a vision instead of hear a voice? Does it have a message for Mabbe? Does Mabbe recognize Narine’s energy? Do they both exclaim “Narine!” (is Narine mentioned before? This could definitely startle Mabbe) Does Narine speak through the whisper light? What would she say? The Ancients have not abandonded you. Gather your energy my faerie kin. Narine has not abandoned you. Narine has come. Narine is back. “I’m back” Brigitta says, not realizing. “We’re back”? Strange voice. Mabbe trembles. “Narine?” She asks. “Impossible!” There was something else – something that belonged and didn’t belong.

You’ll notice I ask a lot of questions. That’s extremely helpful. I also use shorthand and run everything together, not even worrying about paragraphs. Whatever emerges, emerges as it does.

If you ever have trouble starting, a “What if…” list is a perfect place to begin.

Write until the answer comes. Don’t stop, don’t cross out, don’t edit.

Circle what works. Get back to your edit and go for it!

THE WORKOUT

Pick a number of days you want to commit to writing IN A ROW. Let’s say 10. For 10 days in a row, when it’s writing time, start with a new blank notebook page, put the “scene” you are working on at the top of the page. (I always use the term “scene” for whatever is happening in a certain place during a certain timeframe)

Then write: In this scene… and simply free write (no stopping, no crossing out, no editing) about it, asking as many questions as  you need to get what you want to know. Throw in some “What if’s…” if you are unsure what’s about to happen. Keep writing until the AHA light comes on. DING!

Booktrailers Are Us!

When I first decided to create a live action book trailer for my accidental novel Brigitta of the White Forest, it was at a time when book trailers were still pretty basic. Most were made by “panning” over still shots and overlaying words on the stills or inserting them as separate title cards. There are websites you can use to put these together with stock images and stock music.

I just did a quick search and found these:

SQUIDOO’s BOOK TRAILER TIPS and TOOLS

How to Create Your Own Book Trailer for Free

Because I come from a film background and love to direct, when I think of “trailers” I think in movie trailers. I knew right away that if I were going to do a book trailer it would be live action or not at all.

Since the inception of the idea, I have found more and more publishing companies coming out with book trailers with much higher production value. The bar has definitely been raised.

This one cracked me up:

This is by far one of the most interesting book trailers I’ve seen:

For those self-published or small press published authors, it might seem like you can’t compete with the flashy new trailers larger publishing companies are putting out. But really, you can give something higher production value with little extra cost. Having little money is not a barrier, it simply means it’s time to get creative!

Here’s a very simple book trailer that I think still packs a punch:

And this very intriguing video that chronicles the making of the cover for the steampunk novel Blameless isn’t really that complicated at all. It’s basically time-lapsed stills of photoshop pages and some haunting music:

We just wrapped production on our trailer and will reveal it as soon as it’s ready.

In the meantime, if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a teaser we threw together before my tour:

I’m Baaaaaaaack! Highlights from Book Tour

Wow, it’s been over a month since I’ve blogged! I shall do the blogger walk of shame (it’s a kind of meandering skulk)…

My intention was to “live blog” my book tour as it went along. Guess what? I discovered that I suck at live-blogging. Plus, who knew that a book tour could be so crazy-hectic? (Okay, the last week of the tour wasn’t crazy or hectic, but that California sunshine was awfully distracting)

For those of you not following along on Brigitta’s FaceBook page (because really, what else do you have to do?), I’ve included a few highlights below.

I participated in 26 events over the course of 27 days. The book tour was really about the release of the accidental novel (Brigitta of the White Forest) but I included a few poetry gigs along the way. Couldn’t help myself. Poetry, she just keeps sneaking back into my life.

On my tour I visited seven elementary schools (putting on 5 assemblies, 2 workshops, and 2 classroom visits). My first assembly was at Pierpont Elementary in Ventura, CA.

Pierpont Thunderbugs

Here I am getting the kids all amped up doing a Thunderbug Symphony. (thunderbugs are large bright flying bugs with drum-beat producing bums. no wonder kids love ‘em)

I love teaching my Imaginary Worlds workshops, which are all about how to create imaginary worlds from scratch as a jumping off point for endless story telling. I teach them to both adults and children

Here I am at San Rafael Elementary school in Pasadena working with a select group of inspired students.

Alyson Beecher, the principal, took the photos and blogged about the workshop.

Another wonderful workshop (for adults and kids) was the Faerie Felting workshop that I co-facilitated with Borbala Arvai - a brilliant felting artist. (see her BoriDolls site).  I read from Brigitta and introduced the class to the different kinds of elemental faeries and then Borbala wove (er, felted) her magic and taught us all how to make our own felted faeries. Ta Da! My very first felted faerie. Thanks, Borbala!

It’s difficult to say which was my favourite event, they were all so unique. But I have to say that poet, Art Predator, and wine-blogger Gwendolyn Alley and I had a great time creating a workshop that started out on the beach and ended with wine-tasting activities at the gorgeous Old Creek Ranch Winery. What’s not to like!

Danika, Joan, and Beverly (the chicken) write poetry at the Channel Islands Visitor Center (photo by Gwendoly Alley)

It was also Take Your Chicken to Work Week, so we complied by bringing one along wherever we went.

There were so many other fabulous stops on the tour I can’t possibly include them all.

There were book store readings, workshops at the Ojai Word Fest, the book fair at OWF, book launch parties, a poetry slam (I took 2nd place – Gwendolyn Alley came in 1st), and numerous visits with family and friends. I even snuck in a trip to Disneyland.

Kids (and adults hiding behind them!) colour in Destiny Markings on their faerie wings at Time Tested Books in Sacramento

Thank you to everyone who loaned me a couch or bed to surf on or bought me a fish taco or margarita!

Yay Book Tour! Yay Book Trailer!

I am loopy from lack of sleep. Giddy for the excitement. And nervous about doing 26 events in 28 days!!! Yup.

I have been working on this book tour for 6 months and recently it’s been pretty much a full time job. I knew it was going to be a lot of work, but it was honestly harder than I ever thought it would be. The novel may have been accidental, but this side of it has been serious planning all the way.

I kick off my Imaginary Worlds Tour this Monday with a reading and book signing at University Books in Seattle, WA.

The tour marks the launch of my “mainstream” edition of Brigitta of the White Forest (en theos prerss)

For more Imaginary Worlds events, visit my Brigitta of the White Forest events page on facebook.

I will also do my best to blog about the experience along the way.

We’ve been working on a live-action book trailer and put together a teaser with some of the initial footage:

10 Hours to Raise $670 for our LIVE ACTION Book Trailer

I have been negligent here as I gear up for my book tour, which starts in 10 days and includes 25 separate events. I’ve been a marketing machine (and my creative side has been sorely neglected).

In the middle of all of this, we’ve (me and a team of talented film people) been working on creating a LIVE ACTION book trailer for Brigitta.

We’ve got 11 HOURS left to raise $670 on Indie Gogo! Not sure if we’re going to make it (especially since a few people were having trouble getting their donations to work on the site), but we’re going to try, even if it’s $10 at a time!

We’ve cast our two faeries, Prop Guru made a fabulous stone sprite, and we shot Hrathgar Evil over the weekend

Yvette gets her Hrathgar on!

(more photos on the UPDATE section on the campaign page).

We’re cutting a “teaser” now and shooting the rest of the trailer in April (due to my long book tour in between), but we have to raise the money now to get the rest of the props built. Everyone is donating their time and talent – the funds go towards prop building, make-up, equipment rentals (monitor, sound, etc), and food for happy crew members.

Every bit helps and if you’re not in a position to donate, your happy good vibes juju and cheering help too! We like that.

http://www.indiegogo.com/project/widget/17162?a=14363

Monday Potes ~ A Room of One’s Own

Moving my belongings into the old shed / new office space was overwhelming. I’ve uncovered things that have been boxed for over 5 years. Items I had thought lost or had forgotten about entirely, stirring both melancholy and joy.

Inspired by my own creation, I stepped back to write about the space, remembering the lines of Virgina Woolf’s essay A Room of One’s Own that I read 20 years ago as an English major: A woman must have money and a room of her own in order to write fiction.

I haven’t had a room of my very own in over 7 years. I know there are women (and men) out there who may never have this privilege, so I feel quite blessed. If you haven’t carved out a room (or a space if en entire room is impossible), I highly recommend it. And when you do, or if you have, just sit in silence with it for a while, then write whatever comes.

A Room of One’s Own

Virginia Woolf knew
how we would sacrifice our selves
daily to keep the world running
behind the scenes

The space I have staked has her ghost
prints all over it

Sometimes I shut myself inside
and cry for every injustice my world
has conceived

Sometimes I just breathe and watch
the imperfections of my cocoon
assume my humanity

I speak with inanimate objects because
I choose to believe gods are everywhere
one moment after another we choose and live
until we don’t

I have unopened every box
and scattered the remains of
lovers     punishments   and sin

I have ordered my papers and colours
by categories of want
instead of should and could

I have retread and retraced
every floorboard every pebble-path
of strangled enlightenment

In the quiet cold
every object stretches and
opens its eyes in a brilliant
cacophony of years

Screenplay: The Frenzy – Always Start with an Exercise

Even when I’m in the middle of a screenplay I’m excited about, when I start out writing for the day, I still find myself procrastinating to the page.

I have found that by far the best way to work on a screenplay each day is to start with warm-up exercises. It makes sense, right? It’s like stretching before running.

It’s tough to just start working on the script where you left off. Warm-up exercises not only get your brain cells moving, they can inspire that next scene, help you discover something about your characters that you didn’t know before, and help you to find deeper meaning in your story.

The most exciting thing about warm-up exercises is when they surprise you. When that AHA seems to come out of thin air. It’s magical.

I was introduced to timed writing as far back as junior high school (although I admit I didn’t appreciate it as much back then). I’ve used them for years when teaching poetry. Jack Remick and Bob Ray (of Weekend Novelist fame) are timed writing fanatics. They’ve got some great tips, start lines, and exercises on their website as well.

A really simple timed writing exercise to start your day is this:

Set your timer for 5 minutes. At the top of your page, write The scene that needs to be written is . . . and see where it takes you. Don’t stop and certainly don’t edit, just write and write and write. Don’t try to make it into anything, especially not a scene. Don’t try to control it. Even if it sounds like complete nonsense, just ride it out!

EXAMPLE:

The scene that needs to be written is the one where Tibby witnesses the murder only I’m not sure if the murderer IS her father or her father gets murdered. Which is worse? To watch your father kill someone or be killed. Tibby’s dad is involved in the water controversy, whatever it is it has to be big, unethical, taking of water from the people who can’t afford it like Ben and Bruce and Danny. The densers are being ripped off but why can’t they unite and complain and who would do anything about it and how is Danny’s mother involved? I know that water matters. I know that clean water matters in this. I know there were water wars… ETC

When that 5 minutes is over, go to the MIDDLE of that piece of writing and pull out a sentence. Use THAT sentence to start your next timed writing and this time make it for 7 minutes.

Repeat this again, drawing a line from the middle of your 7 minute writing, and setting your timer for 10 minutes.

After you have completed the 10 minute one, write the next scene of your script.

You’ll be amazed what can happen when you just let yourself go like that with no commitment, no inhibition, nothing to prove. It it not only a great tool to warm up for the day, it’s a great tool when you feel mentally blocked. Just go on your gut.

If you are short on time, try it in 3, 5, and 7 minute increments.

Jack and Bob would sometimes alter the STYLE of the writing. Such as:

-write in short sentences (no complex/compound sentences)
-write in one looooong sentence (no punctuation, every thought connected by “and” or another conjunction)
-use a technique called “chaining.”

Chaining is a great way for your mind to be tricked into going in unexpected directions. Chaining means the the last word of one sentence becomes the first word in the next sentence.

EXAMPLE: Carole didn’t know what to do about her daughter. Daughter who now mocked her because she was weak. Weak for men, weak for love, never standing up for herself. Herself now an empty shell of the passionate artist she once was. Was not long ago when she could wake up feeling strong and confident. . . etc.

Hope your Script Frenzy week is going well!

Danika’s script page count: 10 out of 100 pages.