When My Muse Gets Scared

My muse hates to be beat up — she has a self protection mechanism. (Yes, she's a Lemur.) When I get to a point in my writing that's difficult or takes real courage, she points me toward other projects, ones that are more fun and with have less emotion invested.

Rambling of a Muse

For example, I'm on the last pages of script I really like. This means soon I'll get to face producers, agents and studio folks who are going to trash my story as it's currently written and tell me to rewrite to fit their vision, and if they don't like what I write they'll give it to someone else to rewrite — and that's if I'm lucky and they like my script.

So about now I get scared and my muse coming up with other cool projects besides marketing my script (or evening finishing the script at all), like launching a new web-based magazine with my husband and friends.

Muse is painting some pretty sweet pictures to steer us away from being potentially beat up by Hollywood.

"What's the worst that can happen?" she asks. "We can fail and lose some money? That's better than having our story rewritten and our ego smashed in the process."

Pep Talk

It'll be an ongoing battle from here on out, but I make the good argument.

"All this writing was done for a reason. It would be easier to submit a script that we didn't care about. But who wants to see that movie? We gotta get in there and not crap out." I'm on a roll.

"They may like it. They may hate it. We have no control over their responses. We just have make sure we're proud of it. Gees . . Man up!"

I think my Muse is handing me a taser.

Write on the Sound, Writers Conference

If you're looking for a writer's conference this fall, you may want to pencil in the 24th Annual Write on the Sound Writer's Conference. It will be held October 2-4, in Edmonds, Washington.

Blake Snyder had originally been scheduled as the keynote speaker, but as many of you know, he recently passed away. He's been replaced though by award winning filmmaker, Brian MacDonald.

If you've never been to this conference, you should check it out. It's $137 for two days ($112 if you pre-register) and the classes cover a wide range of topics — character development, dialogue, genre, marketing, freelancing writing, maintaining a successful writing group, just to name a few.

The brochure is online. It's a fabulous selection this year. Plus, downtown Edmonds is gorgeous. You can't miss with this one.

di

Dreading The Pitch

It's hard enough to write, but now you've got to pitch.

Every time you go to a writing conference or seminar, all they talk about is the PITCH!

After a year of pouring heart and soul into your story, you now have to "pitch" it — basically spend two minutes in front of an agent convincing them you have the next blockbuster or bestseller. It's do or die.

I understand the necessity to pitch, but I dread it. In fact, I'm dreading it right now just knowing someday a pitch awaits me. I'm a terrible public speaker and because of a couple personal tics I may be my story's own worst enemy.

A Couple Personal Tics

First off, I speak with my hands. My mom says she could always spot me in a crowd. If I was talking, my hands were flying all over the place. When I get nervous they flail. Someone outside the conversation would swear I was swatting away rabid bats.

Second, and worse, when I get nervous I randomly replace "nouns" with "longer nouns".

For example, you might ask me, "Where were you yesterday afternoon at 3 p.m.?"

If I had been at a "bowling alley", I might nervously reply with something like, "I was at that place with the big black balls that hit the white things." And, of course, I would tell you this while I was swatting at bats.

So, you can see why I dread my future pitch. I need to start practicing now. Better yet, I need a pinch hitter.

di

Crazy or Creative?

When I'm really getting into a story, I enter what I have just decided to call my "Story Zone". My family uses "Your seeing things", which I've never liked because it has a "crazy" ring to it. But I have to admit, it's accurate. Once I'm in the Story Zone, it's like everything looks like something else. It's like I've stepped halfway into my story.

The Story Zone

Yesterday morning I was trying to sneak out of the house without waking my husband. When I got to the door I stifled a scream because a strange guy was standing there, which seconds later turned out to be a coat hanging from the coat rack. Still catching my breath from the scare, I stepped outside and there was a tapestry stuck in the fence that upon closer examination turned out to be blackberries vines. Then I was sure I'd spotted a mini armadillo (rocks can take about any shape).

Some people at this point would probably check themselves in. Not me. The Story Zone is wonderful and fleeting. And it's a place where anything is possible and I'm going to take advantage of it today and write!

. . . or, of course I could also be crazy.

di

Are We Shooting Yet?

I'm getting nervous. The movie I wrote the script for was supposed to start shooting in late August. Well, it's about as late into August as you can get and I haven't heard a word.

"Don't they keep the writer informed?" you might ask. No. It doesn't really work that way.

A Screenwriter is Like an Architect

Being a screenwriter I've found is much like being an architect. Your job is to design a story in the form a screenplay that an actor, director, producer, etc. can work from. You're just like an architect who designs plans for a house that a builder, plumber and electrician can all work from.

Once you buy the house plan, you don't want the architect around anymore — especially if every time you want to add a window or take out a door the architect stands there screaming, "You ruined my vision!"

It's the same with screenwriting.

You Will Lose Control

Screenwriting is commercial work. You're an architect of stories. What they do with your scripts is ultimately out of your control -- unless you never sell them. There it is. (But it beats working at WalMart!!)

But back to my original point -- they haven't told me when it's shooting. I'm nervous. I better call someone, because no one is going to call me.

You know You’re Procrastination When . . .

I sat down last night to write the final, action-acted scenes of my script. In my head they were cool, funny and exciting. I could even see a shirtless Ryan Reynolds playing the lead (OK, I can always see a shirtless Ryan Reynolds playing the lead).

Unfortunately, I knew some of the "cool/funny/exciting" in my head probably wouldn't translate to paper, so I procrastinated.

I'm a professional procrastinator, but last night I hit a new low — I elected to change the cat box instead of writing the ending. I mentally regrouped as I scooped. No matter how my ending turned out, it had to be more satisfying than cleaning a cat box.

Let's face it, it's not like I had procrastinated by helping out at a food bank or volunteering at Habitat for Humanity. This was a stupid cat box, and it wasn't even that dirty. I had to really hunt.

My coaching teacher says you’re supposed to swap your negative thoughts with positive ones (cognitive therapy I think it’s called). He has these cool examples like, "Replace 'I don’t think my ending with be worthy,' with 'I will write a entertaining and satisfying ending.'”

In reality, my thoughts aren’t as glamorous. But he’ll be proud that today I’m swapping . . .

“The cat box needs changing,” with “Go write that *$(#*!!@ ending!”

Writing Exercise - Find the Story

I'm a sucker for writing exercises. My bookcases are filled with titles like, Pen on Fire, Writing Down the Bones, What If, Page after Page, the 4 a.m. Breakthrough, etc.

One of my favorites though is one I've been having fun with since I was about 5 years old. I call it Find the Story.

How to Play

Trust me, you've played this before, it just might have been a while.

The rules are pretty basic — see if you can spot a story.

Di's Xray Story

For example, I was waiting to get an xray yesterday and in the waiting room there was this pudgy guy, tan, about 50, with is german wife, who I couldn't help but notice was wearing some wildly expensive diamond earrings. The couple looked like they'd just got off a sailboat — happy and casually dressed. In fact, they seemed to be in almost too good a mood for someone in need of a an x-ray.

I had found my story: The man, Stuart, had accidently swallowed one of his wife's (Anna's) diamond earrings last night, when it fell into an iced gin and tonic. It was a big joke now, one they hoped to tell friends when they got back to California. But later today, when they were sailing out of the Sound, that earring was going to get lodged in Stuart's intestines and Anna was going to have to perform emergency surgery.

I could see it was going to get dicey because Anna had already downed a couple gin and tonics and her poor English was going to make it hard to call for help . . . not to mention I sensed a storm was coming in.

You get the idea . . . you see people and make up stories. It's the most basic thing writers do. Not to mention it's a hell of a fun way to pass time while you're waiting for an xray.

Did you see any stories today?

Self Publishing? Consider ADI

Self publishing comes in a lot of forms — novels, cookbooks, family albums, memoirs, you name it. And if you're considering self publishing your book, make sure to give Applied Digital Imaging (ADI) a look.

I've worked with online companies like lulu.com, iuniverse.com and booksurge.com. They all have their strengths and weaknesses (FYI, Lulu.com has the most weaknesses). Then I met the guys ADI at a recent conference. They are a small company out of Bellingham, Washington — the right combination of state-of-the-art equipment and friendly people to help you throughout the process.

I stress "throughout the process" because we just finished a job with Lulu.com and the company has made the bold decision to save you money by removing the human element at their end from start to finish — including anyone involved with the help line. It was a nightmare!

I looked through a sampling of ADI's books and was amazed by the quality and the price. Also, you can just print 1 book for your mom or 100,000 of your best seller.

I don't want to sound like a commercial, but I do, don't I? They're cool guys. What can I say? Anyway, if you're considering publishing for yourself or a client, check them out at www.applieddi.com.

Editing Your Novel

Hi,

I was reading literary agent, Rachel Gardner's blog about how to Tighten Up Your Manuscript.

Her advice was just good, general advice for anyone self-editing their novels — specifically writers trying to cut out the fat.

Possible Things to Remove

1. Adverbs — especially those with “ly” endings. Ask yourself if they’re necessary.
2. Adjectives — often people use two or three when one or none is better.
3. Gerunds — Words that end in “ing.”
4. Passive voice — Over-use of words like “was,” "were" and "that" indicate your writing may be too passive. Reconstruct in active voice.
5. Overly descriptive passages — these include not just scenes, but characters' thoughts and feelings in too much detail (i.e. long sections of narrative or interior monologue).
6. Passages that tell the reader what they already know.
7. Unnecessary backstory.

Some writers have a hard time cutting, but it can be fun. Think of the words dropping away like pounds on the diet. With each word your manuscript is leaner and meaner.

Once you've trimmed the fat, you'll notice the difference. And so will your readers.

di

National Novel Writing Month

So are up for a little mental boot camp?

Someone just turned me on to National Novel Writing Month, or I guess it's referred to as NaNoWriMo. (Does this sound like something Mork work say, or is it just me?)

This is where writers all over the world are challenged to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. You sign up on their website, and then on November 1 you write like mad until the end of the month. (Not quite sure how they tell if you got an early start though.) You submit you novel on the last day of the month.

Incredibly, there are a number of folks who have had their NaNoWriMo novels published . . . no doubt after a great deal of rewriting.

This feels a little like the book How to Write a Script in 21 Days. I tried it back in the day and was happy to have a script at the end of the three weeks, but spent the next three months rewriting. Still, churning out a decent script in 4 months isn't too shabby.

So I'm up for the challenge. What the heck? What do I have to loose . . . except for some sleep.

Anyone else up for it?

Writers Block and Mr. Bubble

I just talked to a friend who writes about 20 hours a week. He’s got a full-time job and an active family, but still has no problem finding 20 hours during the week to write.

I talked to another friend who doesn't have a full-time job, has no kids, and carving out even an hour a day to write seems like chore.

So how do you move from unmotivated to highly productive?

Getting In the Zone

When you’re in the zone — in the middle of a story and the words are coming fast a furious — suddenly finding the time isn’t hard. It’s like running down hill and you’re trying to keep up with your feet.

When the story isn’t flowing and the plot needs work or the characters seem flat, writing feels more like climbing up a steep hill, in 90-degree weather, with a 50-pound backpack, and a Barry Manilow song stuck in your head . . . you know the one.

Getting Over the Hump

How do you climb over the top of the hill and start running down the other side?

My trick is a mild form of self-hypnosis. Or some might say I’ve turned myself into one of Pavlov's dogs. Whenever I run a bubble bath, I take a pad of paper with me. I ALWAYS write in the tub, and I've never had writer's block with Mr. Bubble. (Yes,I should probably buy stock in Mr. Bubble.)

In fact, it's gotten to the point that whenever I see a bottle of Mr. Bubble I'm suddenly frantic for a pen and will write on anything that's flat.

Unfortunately, Mr. Bubble isn't always available. I should have been smarter up front and used something a little more conventional like a special rock or a candle. But I’m stuck now.

So, that's my story. It weird, but it works. I’m curious, how you switch on the writer when the words are hard to find? Fess up!!!

One Tip for Better Dialogue

I struggle with dialogue. In fact, a professor once read my story out loud to the class to demonstrate how bad it could be. I wanted to crawl out of the room when he held up my paper and said, "Listen up. This is what you don't want to do."

If I can save anyone this kind of humiliation, I've done my job on this planet. So here goes.

Good Dialogue

Characters aren't just giving the reader information when they speak. Good dialogue moves the story forward and communicates everything from character development to plot points.

There are all kinds of tips for improving your dialogue:

• listen to other people talking

• understand your character's background

• don't make lengthy speeches and make it brief.

• etc., etc.

My question always was . . . but HOW do I make my already terrible dialogue better?

Speak Up

What ended up helping most was reading it out loud.

If you want to be adventurous, you can get your friends to take different characters and have them read it out loud. This is really effective for screenwriters.

But you don't need buddies. Just belt it out and see what your characters sound like. If it's bad you'll be glad you did it solo. My dialogue has been so bad at times I thought I would get craps from so much cringing.

Listen Up

When you're speaking, listen to yourself closely. Do the conversations sizzle, push the plot forward and expand the characters? Or do the characters sound off? Stilted? Similar? Are they saying things you've never heard another human being say?

If you're a natural, that's awesome (and we'd prefer you not rub in our dialogue-challenged faces). If you're like the rest of us dialogue dorks, just keep talking. It might take a while, but you'll start hearing a difference. The dialogue will become smoother and the characters will start to sound more natural.

It may take a while . . . but what do you have to lose. It beats having your professor read your paper in front of the class.

The Winner is . . .

Hi,

This will be a quick post because I'm off to celebrate my anniversary. I'm not only lucky to have a fun, intelligent and creative work partner, but I'm doubly lucky to have the guy as my husband too!

But I digress. What I wanted to say was "Congratulations" to Charlcee Davis for winning the Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA) screenwriting competition.

I'd like to think it was due to all the great feedback she got from myself and our writers group, but Charlcee is an extremely talented writer and it's going to be fun watching her continue to excel and reach great heights.

There was a lot of interesting discussion that came up at the conference this year and I'm looking forward to blogging about it. But right now, I'm off to celebrate.

Until next time, write on!

di

Live from the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference

The PNWA conference seems to be a success this year — at least that's what I'm hearing from the writers who are filing past my table.

One of the big draws this year is the huge number of agents and the chance to pitch to them.

I've been watching the post-pitch reactions. Some writers are all smiles and it's easy to guess the agent has asked to see their manuscript. Then there are others who look like they've been hit by a buss — I'm assuming that these folks got a "no". Then there are the stunned and confused writers

Stunned and Confused

I talked to one of the "stunned and confused" at little. The agent liked his story, but had given him a list of things to work before on. Once he'd made these changes he should give her a call. The changes included things like: getting into the story faster, creating move tension for several of the characters, etc. The writer was ready to do the work, but not exactly sure how to do some of these things.

As a story editor (actually standing at my story editing table) I wanted to say, "Hey, that's what I do! I help writers figure this stuff out. Let's talk."

But I've stood in those shoes before and sometimes you just need to go home and digest all the information. You're feeling half rejected, half inspired, and not sure what to do with all this information someone has just handed you.

Today I'm bringing more chocolate. After these agent sessions, I think the writers need more comfort than advice.

More to come!

Diane