M. B. Weston to be Featured in Kerlak Publishing’s Dreams of Steam Steampunk Anthology

Posted on August 3, 2012 by M. B. Weston

M. B. Weston has entered the world of steampunk! Kerlak Publishing has officially accepted her short story, “The Survivor,” for publication in Dreams of Steam III, the third book in their award-winning Dreams of Steam steampunk anthology series.

Stay tuned for more information, including the release date of the series and a possible sneak preview of Weston’s story.

Click on the pictures below for more information on previous books in the series:

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

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The Writing Process: Part 5 – The First Draft (B) Description

Posted on August 3, 2012 by M. B. Weston

 

Few weeks ago, a friend of mine asked via Twitter: “Mrs. @mbweston, what’s your writing process?” To answer his question, I’ve been writing a series of blog posts about how I go about my personal writing process. So far, we’ve covered:

You’ve written your pre-draft. You’ve gone t fixed the logic loopholes, made a few scenes more fluid, etc. You’ve got your rough cut. Now your story needs some polish. That’s where description comes in.

Description makes your story come alive in the reader’s mind. It’s what separates the good stories from the great ones. It’s what leaves your readers begging for another book in your series. I don’t have time to cover description the way I would really like, so I’m going to cover the most important issues. (And I’m going to try to do it in 1000 words or less…)

First, focus on the goal of good description: You want your story to come alive in your reader’s imagination. Your story and the world you created should “haunt” your reader. It should follow your reader after she closes the book and leaves for work. Well-crafted description can make that happen.

To really nail description, we must understand how we human beings experience the world: the five senses.

  • Sight
  • Sound
  • Smell
  • Touch
  • Taste

In real life, if we can’t experience something through at least one of those senses, then we don’t experience it. Likewise, your readers won’t truly experience your story unless they too are experiencing it through their five senses.

This means two things:

  • We must try to include sensory details—all five if possible—in our writing.
  • We must eliminate instances of telling and instead show the reader—through the five senses.

Include sensory details—all five if possible—in your writing. After I write my scenes, I take five highlighters—one for each sense, and I highlight the instances where I used some kind of sensory detail. When I look back over my work, the frequency of each color tells me what senses I need to add in. Yes, it sounds formulaic, and it probably is. However, it helps me realize what I am putting in and what I am leaving out.

I also try to “get into my main character’s head.” I ask myself “What does he feel? What does he taste? What does he smell? What does he hear? What does he see?” At first, this will seem foreign, but if you do it enough, it becomes such a habit that you will find yourself including sensory details on your first run through because you can’t help it.

Here are a few sensory details this I either added or refined to the pre-draft scene I posted earlier. I’ve italicized the sensory details:

  • I shoved a piece of bread speckled with mold into my mouth. I convulsed as I chewed and forced myself to swallow. [Sight, touch, taste. Notice, I don’t say, “The bread tasted moldy,” but that is implied and shown when Peter convulses—also a “touch” sensory detail.]
  • The patrons’ voices and the soft clinking of silverware comforted me. [Sound]
  • I had not bathed in weeks, and my tattered clothes—once a dress-shirt and pants—reeked of perspiration and filth. [sight, smell, and touch if you count the implied griminess in the clothing]
  • Though it was only late afternoon, the December air hovered near freezing. [touch]
  • Glass shattered at the end of the alley. [Sound. Note that it is a scary sound, which affects the audience’s mood, but that is a different blog post.]
  • Only my breath turning to fog betrayed my existence behind the dumpster. [sight, and adds to the touch sense of cold weather]
  • My body tingled with adrenaline. [touch]
  • I ran my hand down [the tomcat’s] fur, ignoring the fleas and dirt. [touch, sight]

Most of these are the big three: sight, sound, and touch. You will use taste and smell less—especially taste. Please don’t make your writing sound forced by putting taste into your story when it really doesn’t fit.

Eliminate instances of telling sensory details and show them instead (i.e. show don’t tell). Why tell the reader, “It was cold outside,” when you can show it in a unique way? Someone’s breath turning into fog implies cold, and it brings your story to life. It’s an added detail your reader probably did not picture until you mentioned it.

In my second novel, Out of the Shadows, my hero, Davian, is imprisoned during the prologue. I wanted readers to fear the dungeon, but saying, “This dark and scary dungeon was someplace Davian didn’t want to go because terrible things happened inside,” is telling, not showing. I wanted my reader to experience the dungeon the same way Davian experienced it.

Here are a few sensory details I used to imply the horror of the Dungeon of Enbed.

The mornachts dragged him inside the mineshaft, beating him until he collapsed in a pool of mud [sight, touch]. The cracks of other whips echoed [sound] deep inside the shaft, followed by screams [sound], more whips [sound], and then silence [sound]. A moment later, Davian heard only water running along the wooden beam above, dripping in a puddle next to him [sound, signt]. A cool drop hit his forehead [touch].

“Drink it now, Seraph,” hissed one of the mornachts. “That’s the only water you’ll get in here.”

Davian obeyed, letting a few grimy drops hit his tongue [taste, and the grime implies touch].

The mountain creaked [sound] once more. The mornachts cackled [sound] and pulled him to his feet, forcing him to watch the door swing shut. The last sliver of moonlight disappeared [sight], and the sound of the door colliding with the mountain thundered [sound and touch with the implied vibrations] through the shafts.

Do I add this many details in each scene? No, definitely not. Your use of these details depends on the purpose of the scene. Here I wanted the reader to feel fear. In other scenes, I might only want to deliver information about whodunit or simply show action. My tip at this stage is to put it in now, because you can always take it out later during your final edit.

So get those highlighters out, start getting into your character’s heads, and give your readers a sensory experience they won’t want to forget!

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

 

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Today’s Writing Muse: Nature’s Claw

Posted on August 2, 2012 by M. B. Weston

Do you need some inspiration for writing? Do you need a story starter or something to keep your novel going? Take a stroll outside and see what you can find in nature…

As I was walking home after my jog the other day, I noticed this branch (left) sticking out of the bushes. Out of the corner of my eye, it looked just like a make-believe claw from a tree in an enchanted forest. (Or if you are into science fiction, it could belong to an alien… Your pick.)

This, my friends, is today’s muse. Grab your pens or your computers. Ready? Set? WRITE!

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

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The Writing Process: Part 5 – The First Draft (A)

Posted on August 1, 2012 by M. B. Weston

A friend of mine asked via Twitter: “Mrs. @mbweston, what’s your writing process?” To answer his question, I’ve been writing a series of blog posts about how I go about my personal writing process. So far, we’ve covered:

You’ve had your initial inspiration. You’ve figured out your central conflict. You’ve got a basic idea of your plot points, and you’ve finished either your Pre-Draft (pantsers) or your outline (plotters). Now it’s time to begin your First Draft.

First things first. Get down on your knees and say a quick thank you to Steve Jobs and Bill Gates for making the computer available to individual idiots like us. Otherwise you’d be retyping the whole darn thing!

Now it’s time to get that First Draft ironed out. Before you can start, you need to know what you’re dealing with. This means you’ll have to re-read your Pre-Draft. Grab a red pen and a legal pad or your 5-Subject notebook dedicated to this particular manuscript and start reading. When I find a problem on a manuscript, I write a number next to it and enter notes with the corresponding number in my notebook. Examples: 1) make sure Gabriella doesn’t seem so ditzy. 2) Marcus is too angry here. It’s not in his character. Tone it down. 3) Picante’s bow is currently in the human dimension. Gabriella can’t grab it in her dimension. Fix this. 4) This is the 4th time on this page that Davian has crossed his arms and frowned. He needs a new way to express his anger. 5) The nickname “stinkers” is sounding really childish for RSO’s. Change it.

While you are reading, this is what you will be looking for:

  • Logic Loopholes. Real Life Example: In A Prophecy Forgotten, I originally had Davian drop his knife up in the command bunker. He then chased the villain into the munitions cellar, got himself involved in a nice little wrestling war, and threw his knife at the villain. That’s right. The same knife that was currently lying upstairs in the command bunker. And I didn’t even catch that one. Someone else did. That’s a logic loophole. These will plague you even after you send the thing to the editor, but try to catch as many of them as you possibly can.
  • Character Development Issues:Character Development is in a tie with Plot as the most important part of the story. If you character doesn’t stay in character, your audience will sense it. If you are like me, your characters will become more clear to you as the story develops in your Pre-Draft. You need to make sure 1st Chapter Marcus is the same as 30th Chapter Marcus (aside from Marcus developing and changing through the story). You also need to make sure you have rounded your characters out and given them time to show themselves.
  • Storyline Issues: Maybe you now realize your prince needs the help of the frog to find the princess. Maybe you’ve decided that the climax will be much more fun if you disable the spaceship. Pay attention to your story. Does it make sense? Does it flow? Did you leave something out? I’ll give you an example of a huge storyline issue that I discovered in A Prophecy Forgotten: Marcus didn’t exist. Yep. No Marcus. I read through my pre-draft and figured out that I needed to develop more of a team with Davian, Eric, and Snead, and I created Marcus and Josephi. Talk about a re-write. This is the toughest part of turning your Pre-Draft into a first draft, but be glad you’re doing it now with just the skeleton of the story than with a full-length manuscript.
  • Scenes that don’t make sense or need to be deleted/added: Now that you’ve looked through your pre-draft, you will see things that are missing and things seemed really cool when you first started but now don’t really make sense. Check out your scenes and make sure they work. I could take an hour just talking about how to know if you should keep or delete a scene, but I am running out of words. Here’s the cardinal rule: Each scene should 1) move the plot along and if possibly 2) show character. If it fails in either one of those areas (especially plot), fix the problem or eliminate the scene.

What you aren’t looking for:

  • Grammar Mistakes. You will find and fix those later. If you see them, fix them, but don’t avidly seek them out. You will spend a week just finding grammar mistakes at the end of the process. You’re not there yet.

Once you have finished taking notes, now it’s time to start wading through that pre-draft, fixing the brackets, filling in the blanks. Your Pre-draft (or outline) was stage directions, emotion, and dialogue. Fill in some of that prose. Other characters may be in the area. Let them chime in. Flesh it out. Fix the dialogue to make it sound more realistic. Get rid of cliches. Make it read like a First Draft.

Note that this process might take you three to four run throughs. That’s okay. I have two storage boxes devoted to old drafts of A Prophecy Forgotten and two for Out of the Shadows in my garage. Editing is what makes your writing sparkle.

You are still missing one vital part of the process: sensory details, description, and landscape. I add those in once I’m comfortable with my plot, and we’ll be talking about that next.

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

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The Writing Process: Example of a “Pre-Draft”

Posted on July 31, 2012 by M. B. Weston

Yesterday, I blogged about the writing process and discussed a bit about pre-drafts (click here to read). I figured today I would post and example of one. This is the pre-draft prologue to a short story I am writing for an anthology for Kerlak Publishing. As I continue these writing process blogs, I’m going to show you how I took this pre-draft and turned it into a final copy. (Thank goodness I kept all my notes!)

Note that I’m not striving for perfection here. This was my pre-draft–my glorified outline. I’m focusing on stage directions, emotion, and getting a feel for my characters. A plotter would think this stuff and write it in an outline. I skip that step and just type as I think. I try to let my characters do as much of the work for me as possible. It tells me what they’re made of. This guy, Peter, is pretty tough. Note that it’s written in first person, which is rare for me, but that’s how it came out. I couldn’t stop it.

I fought back my gag reflex [sdt] as I took a bite of the moldy piece of bread. I hadn’t eaten in a week, and moldy bread seemed better than no bread, even if my instincts told me otherwise. I hung back behind the dumpster, near the warming glow of the restaurant door. I probably should have backed away, but their voices gave me the comfort of human interaction I had not enjoyed for months. I listened quietly, wishing I spoke Romanian. I think it was Romanian. Was I still in Romania? I moved closer to the door, enjoying the warmth. I didn’t worry about the patrons or employees spotting me—one whiff of my ______ or the sight of my rags would be enough to scare anyone away.

Something crashed down the alleyway. I crouched in behind the dumpster and peered out. My heart beat fast [clichéd]. Was it them?

They lost your trail in Italy, I reminded myself.

But they could have picked it up again. So reassuring, the other side of my mind.

What about THEM?

“They can’t touch me,” I reminded myself. [breathing heavy. Breath turning to fog.]

My heart pounded [repeated], and I watched the scraps of metal and wood near the dumpster for a sign of movement.

An old tomcat, the cause of the noise, hobbled past, winding around my leg. My heart rate slowed. Stupid cat.

I took the last bite of bread and shook the few crumbs off my matted beard. It tasted stale. I was getting tired of stale bread. Again, I twirled my Princeton Class ring around my finger, tempted [again] to pawn it. Keep it, I told myself. I needed something to remind me of my former life. [Too much identification.]

Through the alley, I saw the street lights flicker on. I crept back into the dumpster’s shadow. Night would come soon [use better word]. I needed all my senses working correctly if I was to outsmart those who were hunting me. Please understand, of all those who have been hunting me, it’s humans I fear the least.

A few things to note here:

Remember how we discussed getting your story idea from an image that stuck in your brain? This story idea started with an image of a white rider on a white horse that hit my brain the moment Kerlak Publishing asked me to write an angel story for one of their anthologies. Remember that your image is your jumping point to brainstorm–not necessarily where you start.

Note that the writing sucks.  I mean, “I listened quietly”? Of course my character is quiet when he listens! Redundancy! I’m using the same words over and over, adding in cliches, and not following through on thoughts. But that’s not the point. Right now, I’m constructing the skeleton of my story. This passage had not been touched with my red editing pen yet. (It has now, but I’ll share that later.) It’s supposed to suck. Your first round of writing will suck, too. Remember, Hemingway said, “There are no good writers. Only good editors.”

Notice my use of [brackets]. I use brackets to indicate notes to myself regarding things I don’t feel like writing. During the pre-draft stage, I often use my brackets to indicate sensory details that I will add later. Another great thing about brackets: You can use the find/replace function in MS Word to find all of them when you are turning your pre-draft into your first draft.

The first bracket you will see is one that says [sdt]. That stands for “Show, Don’t Tell.” I don’t want to tell the audience, “My character has a gag reflex,” which is what I’m doing right now. I want my readers to feel the gag and want to puke up whatever this guy is eating. I knew when I came back to edit I would adjust this sentence, but when I wrote this pre-draft, I was concentrating on stage directions and emotion. Also, notice my [breath turning into fog] note. I didn’t want to take the time to develop it but I needed to remind myself it was cold. Telling the reader that my character’s breath turned into fog is much more exciting and creates a better picture than saying, “It was cold outside.”

As we go through the writing process, I will show you how I change this introduction scene into the final draft. For now, I wwant to point out a few things I put into this pre-draft when I first wrote it and why:

  • My character is homeless and in Europe. He’s not sure what country he’s in. He’s on the run. He’s eating moldy bread. I’m doing two things here. First, I’m making him a sympathetic character. You sympathize with this guy because his life sucks. Second, I’m building your curiosity. Why is he hiding in Europe? Why is he homeless? Why doesn’t he know where he is? And who is he running from? Remember the cardinal rule of introductions: NO INFORMATION DUMPING. I’ve told you nothing about this guy except that he is in trouble. I’m hoping you will want to know more and keep reading.
  • The Princeton class ring tells the reader a few things. Peter is intelligent. He was once successful. The fact that he still has his class ring shows that he is hanging on to some element of hope that he might get his former life back.
  • Night noises scare him more than they might scare others. I’m putting this in as foreshadowing.
  • He hasn’t talked to many people in a while, and he’s starting to talk to himself.
  • And I added in, “Of all those chasing me, it’s humans I fear the least,” just to get people to keep reading. It’s my “hook.” I might take it out. I’m not sure yet…

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

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The Writing Process: Part 4 – The “Pre-Draft”

Posted on July 30, 2012 by M. B. Weston

A friend of mine asked via Twitter: “Mrs. @mbweston, what’s your writing process?” To answer his question, I’ve been writing a series of blog posts about how I go about my personal writing process. So far, we’ve covered:

As I mentioned in “Getting Your Inspiration,” all of us are different, and therefore our writing processes will be different. This is how I write. You need to write in a way that works for you.

You’ve got your inspiration. You know your main conflict and possibly a few sub-conflicts. You understand the formula of a good plot. Now you’ve got to write the thing, or at least get something started.

Basically, there are two types of writers: plotters and pantsers. Plotters like to outline their stories and novels scene by scene, chapter by chapter, before they start writing. (We call this “plotting.” No, I’m not being sarcastic here.) Pantsers write “by the seat of their pants.” They take an idea and start writing the story without an outline and figure it out as they go along. Bear in mind that many writers fall somewhere in between these two extremes. My personal opinion is that writers who lean toward “plotting” are more plot driven, and writers who lean toward “pantsing” are more character driven.

Whether you will “plot” or “pants” is also determined by:

  • Genre: Mystery writers have to plot. They need to know whodunit, and they need to know the clues they are going to divulge to the audience. Other genres have more pantsing freedom.
  • Publisher’s desire: If you are writing a formulaic romance or if you are ghost writer, plotting is a must.
  • Length: If I’m writing a 1,000 to 2,000 word short story, I plot. 2,000 words isn’t enough time to experiment. For a 9,000 word short, my process changes.

I am a “modified pantser.” I write by the seat of my pants, but because I write fantasy/suspense, I have to put some brainstorming into my writing. After all, I have to create the world my characters live in, from its history and sociology to its physics and magic.

I write my first draft in layers. Some writers like to write each scene and take the time to edit it perfectly before they progress to the nest. If this is your style, go with it. However, it’s not my style. I do this mainly because 1) I’m a pantser and 2) I simply refuse to spend a lot of time on a scene that might end up changing anyway. My first draft is not actually what I would call a first draft. It’s actually a “pre-draft:” my wordy version of a glorified outline. The Pre-Draft is the skeleton of my story. It has more detail than an outline and it gives me a chance to explore my characters and plot. It also gives me a chance to think about thematic elements of scenes without wasting words in case the scenes get cut at the chopping block.

Here are a few things to think about when writing a great Pre-Draft.

  • You may not know your plot, but you should at least know 1) Your Inciting Incident and 2) your climax. Note that these may change as your write, but you need to know where you are going. My original idea for the ending of A Prophecy Forgotten was to have Gabriella get hit by a car while saving Tommy’s life. I wasn’t sure if she would live or die or change back into an angel before the car hit her. The scene obviously never happened. (Mainly because Davian took over. Hey, don’t look at me like that. If Davian was one of your characters, he’d take over your story.) However, I had an idea of where I wanted to go and that idea gave me movement. 
  • Your Pre-Draft will not be great. In fact, it will suck–and it should. Like I mentioned before, my pre-draft is a glorified outline. It’s not supposed ot be amazing.
  • Concentrate on two things: Stage Directions and Emotion: A story is all about action and emotion, so those should be what you concentrate on. The essence of any story is about what’s happening and how your characters react to it.
  • Your level of detail will vary. When I write, I watch the characters in my head–kind of like watching a movie. As I’m watching, I write down what I see. Sometimes I see the scene clearly with beautiful detail (in HD, ha ha ha). Sometimes, I don’t see much; I just know I need to get my character from Point A to Point B. The level of detail I put into a scene depends on what I see.
  • Things you may not know: Names, exact locations, words, how things work, who characters really are, etc. Remember your goal is to plow through this thing. Put an _____ if you’re unsure and keep going.

Sometimes, examples make better explanations. Click here to read what was my original pre-draft for a short story I’m working on.

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

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Writing Villains: Lessons from Bane and The Dark Knight Rises

Posted on July 28, 2012 by M. B. Weston

A writer’s work is never finished. Ideas, inspirations, to-do lists, and drafts flood our thoughts and our time. The act of writing should not stop when we turn off our computers. We can draw inspiration and instruction on writing from anywhere, and movies are full of examples of the how-to’s and how-not-to’s. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises gives us a few of both with the villain, Bane.

DISCLAIMER: I promise not to spoil any plot points, but I will be discussing a few things about Bane. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, read at your own risk.

Regarding character development and villains: your villain MUST scare your readers–especially if you are writing epic fantasy, horror, or paranormal fiction. Remember the number one rule of fiction writing: Conflict & tension turn pages. Fear of your villain will increase the tension in your readers, forcing them to keep reading even after they planned to stop. Consider The Dark Knight‘s Joker. We feared the Joker, and that tension helped propel the movie to greatness. Other examples of feared villains include: Harry Potter‘s Voldemort, Star Wars‘ Darth Vader, and The Lord of the Rings‘ Sauron. Imagine if these villains had been less feared, and ask yourself if the series would have been as successful.

Bane’s character has a few qualities that make him a formidable super-villain to be feared:

  • He has a group of mercenaries who are 1) loyal to him, and 2) willing to sacrifice their lives for his cause. A villain’s henchmen increase his power. Hitler had his SS, a mafia lord always has underlings who do his dirty work, and Voldemort had his death eaters. Bane’s mercenaries are tough people you don’t want to confront. They also display a frightful level of loyalty to him. In the first scene, he tells one of them to stay behind on the crashing plane because the authorities will need a body. The man agrees without hesitation. We know from the beginning we should fear Bane because his groupies will do anything for him. Mercenaries can also create a physical barrier between your hero and your villain. After all, “one does not simply walk into Mordor.” What kind of “mercenaries” have you given your villain? Who protects him or her? Increase your villain’s fear factor by tinkering with those who follow him.
  • Bane himself is powerful. Few men could defeat him in a fight to the death. Bear in mind, a villain does not need to be physically powerful—like Bane, but he or she needs to display power in some form. In The Devil Wears Prada, Miranda Priestly has no fighting skills. She would lose in a fight to the death, yet she wields such power in the fashion industry that her words can make or break a person’s career. In Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, Professor Moriarty’s personal power comes from his intelligence (among other things). Think about your villain. What power does he or she wield, and how do they wield it? How can you boost that power?
  • Bane has the will to do what many won’t do. The will to do evil can create fear. Is this person willing to destroy a reputation, imprison the innocent, or unleash a nuclear bomb? Your reader needs to fear your villain because the question “How far is this person willing to go?” has an uncomfortable answer. The will to do evil makes Bane a super-villain and Harry Potter’s Draco Malfoy just an annoying presence at Hogwarts. Because I don’t want to spoil the movie, I will say only that Bane is willing to um… mass destruct. Malfoy is willing to destroy reputations, buy his way onto a sports team, use mean spells on Harry, and get Harry in trouble–arch-villain material for a mainstream, middle-grade novel. (Always keep your audience in mind when it comes to your villain.) However, Malfoy is sickened by the thought of a dead bird showing up in the vanishing cabinet, he can’t bring himself to kill Dumbledore, and he won’t turn Harry in when it actually matters. Malfoy lacks the will to do ultimate evil, and that makes him someone we pity or feel annoyance with–not someone we fear. You must show that your villain has the will to do evil if you want your reader’s heart to speed up during your ultimate showdown in the climax.

Bane has many super-villain characteristics. He also displays one characteristic that makes him less feared than his predecessor, the Joker. I mentioned it this week when I posted a movie review on the Misfit Politics website (Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises | Misfit Politics):

…while Bane has everything we want in a super villain: a bulky physique, the ability to fight, and a following of crooks, he has one shortcoming: his voice. His higher-pitched, voice sounds like an eighty-year-old German professor’s voice. Truthfully, I kept thinking of Hellboy II: The Golden Army’s elderly German agent, Johann Krauss. Imagine Darth Vader saying, “And bring me the passengers, I want them alive!” in Bane’s voice. Star Wars would have failed.

While a few people disagree with me, Bane’s voice made it hard for me to take him seriously–especially because my mind kept forcing a picture of a feeble old man into my head, and that affected my view of the movie.

While all villains need weaknesses (another blog post altogether), make sure your villain does not have a disconcerting weakness that will distract the reader or make your villain’s power seem unrealistic. If a few of your beta readers have a problem with your villain’s weakness, you might want to consider a rewrite.

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

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The Writing Process: Part 3 – Plot: Your Story’s Skeleton

Posted on July 27, 2012 by M. B. Weston

A week ago, a friend of mine asked via Twitter: “Mrs. @mbweston, what’s your writing process?” To answer his question, I’ve been writing a series of blog posts about how I go about my personal writing process. So far, we’ve covered:

Before we delve into writing a story, we must understand how stories work. Bear in mind that my writing lectures about plot take me an hour. I’m only allowing myself around 1,000 words here, so I’m abbreviating.

A well-crafted story is like the human body. The human body has:

  • A skeleton
  • Muscles, organs, connective tissue, etc.
  • Skin and hair

A story has:

  • A plot, which is the skeletal structure of the story
  • Characters and character development, which make up the story’s muscles and connective tissue
  • Sensory details, great description, and vibrant settings, which make up your story’s skin and hair

When you look at a human body, you don’t see the muscles or the bones (unless you’re looking at a supermodel), but you know they are there. Now, imagine a human body without bones. I know, ick. It would be flopping around, kind of like Harry Potter’s arm in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

A written work without a plot is just as effective as a body without a skeleton. It flops around all over the place, and no one really wants to look at it. (If people often drift off into La-la Land when you are telling them an exciting story about your day, you may want to pay attention…)

If you want people to actually read your story, it must have a plot. Please don’t think you can get all artsy and just create stream of consciousness mumbo jumbo. Well, you can create it all you want, but no one is going to buy it from you.

Fortunately, storytelling has been with us for centuries, and other people have already studied the art of plot and given us a basic formula. Yes, you heard me correctly. There is a formula for a plot. Yes, you have to follow it. Trust me on this. This formula wasn’t created by English professor or the publishing industry. It’s a formula created by storytellers, and it’s based on what a story needs in order to grab and keep an audience’s attention. Don’t worry. The formula is quite simple, and if you do your job right as an author, no one will see your formula because you will have covered it with muscles and flesh.

Here is the basic formula for a story. Please note that the times are guidelines. They don’t have to be exact unless you are writing a screenplay:

1. The Introduction (the first 1/4 of your story):
The first 1/4 of your story is your introduction. Here, you:

  • Introduce your characters to the audience
  • Give a little background
  • Establish a few character traits that will cause your hero big problems later.
  • Give the audience a hook: something that draws your reader into the story but isn’t your main conflict. An example of a great hook: When Dumbledore and Professor MacGonagal discuss Harry Potter while he is a baby. MacGonagal says, “Everyone in our world will know his name.” Dumbledore responds saying that’s why they need to let the muggles keep Harry. This is not the central plot of The Sorcerer’s Stone, but it is the hook. It grabs the audience’s attention.

2. The Inciting Incident aka Plot Point 1 (happens 1/4 of the way into your story):
The inciting incident is the point that gets the story going. Generally, it establishes your central conflict. It’s often an exciting part of the story, but sometimes it’s the part where the character makes a decision. Examples:

  • Men in Black: Will Smith sits on a bench all night thinking and decides to join MIB.
  • The Hobbit: Bilbo Baggins decides to go with the dwarves on the adventure.
  • A Prophecy Forgotten (gotta put a shameless plug in there somewhere): Gabriella jumps off the cliff to save Tommy, which incites change in both our world and hers.

3. Rising Action (the next 1/2 of the story):
Rising action takes up most of your story. Note: it’s called “Rising Action” so the action and tension should rise. Your inciting incident got your story moving. Rising Action keeps it going and increases its speed. I could spend an hour on Rising Action, but I have to conserve words, so I will leave you with this. Rising Action is about conflict. It’s about tension. Nothing should go right for your protagonist. Make his or her life miserable. Trust me on this. Your audience will love you for it.

4. Plot Point 2 (3/4 of the way into your story)
Plot point 2 is not the climax. It’s the point that spins your story off into the climax. Through the rising action, your audience has been feeling gradually more tense. Plot Point 2 begins the climactic journey, and after Plot Point 2, tension should increase exponentially. Examples of a Plot Point 2:

  • Saving Private Ryan: They decide to defend the bridge against the Germans.
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Harry and the gang decide to defend the sorcerer’s stone on their own, which requires stunning poor Neville.
  • A Prophecy Forgotten: Davian returns to Heaven’s Realm and discovers that Azernoth has been assassinated.

5. Climax
Remember that initial central conflict we talked about back during the inciting incident? The climax is where it’s resolved. Someone wins: either the protagonist or that which he or she was fighting. Examples.

  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: Aslan kills the White Witch.
  • Star Wars: A New Hope: The Death Star Explodes.
  • A Prophecy Forgotten: Sorry, you have to read the book!

6. Falling Action
In falling action, you wrap up lose ends and sub-plots. Make it short and sweet. You had the audience at “Hello” so don’t keep them listening to your dribble.

Ooh, that’s 985 words! Just under 1,000! Now that you know the basic formula for a story, we’ll discuss what to do with it in tomorrow’s post.

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

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The Writing Process: Part 2 – The Conflict

Posted on July 25, 2012 by M. B. Weston

A friend of mine, via Twitter, asked me what my writing process was. I quickly discovered that describing my writing process in 140 characters or less would be impossible, so I decided to blog about it. If this is your first time on my blog, you may want to check out these previous posts about the writing process because I will be referring back to them:

Okay, you’ve got your inspiration and you have your Ah Ha Moment.” Now it’s time to flesh out that Ah Ha Moment and turn it into a story. It’s time for you to develop:

THE CONFLICT OF YOUR STORY

The Conflict: All stories need one thing: conflict. “A Day in the Life of M. B. Weston” just isn’t an exciting story unless it begins with something like: “I never knew putting diesel in my Camry would result in so much trouble.” (Yes, this has happened…) Conflict turns pages. Conflict creates tension in your reader. Conflict is the group of bones that make up the skeletal structure of your story. All stories, from flash fiction to novels, have one thing in common: a central conflict.

Before you can start writing, you must figure out the central conflict of your story. This conflict may change as you build your story, but you have to start with something. I’ve found that the best way to develop your conflict is to continue fleshing out your initial inspiration.

Let’s take a look at how I developed my conflict for A Prophecy Forgotten:

  • Initial inspiration: I started with an image of a girl jumping into a river to rescue a boy.
  • Fleshing it out: After getting bored, adding a blizzard, and making the river raging, my girl (Gabriella) hit her head during the rescue and woke up with amnesia.
  • My Ah Ha Moment: The boy, Tommy, kept insisting she was his guardian angel, but she couldn’t remember her past to prove otherwise. Suddenly, BING! I realized she was his guardian angel, and that she became human and jumped into the river to save the boy’s life. Why? Well of course… Because Tommy was prophesied to save the world.

I started with this scene and developed it into a story 1) with a special operative guardian angel protagonist named Davian that 2) was actually about warfare, treason, and the attempt to brainwash a society in order to take it over. (Wait, you didn’t catch that last theme? You’d better read Out of the Shadows, then!)

I arrived at this new story by fleshing out my initial inspiration through until I hit on a central conflict for a story. Here are the abbreviated steps I took:

  • Gabriella as Tommy’s guard, had to come from a world that wasn’t Earth. I knew I needed to develop that world. The details could wait, but I knew one thing. Someone in that world needed to know that Tommy had been prophesied to save the world.
  • I knew if all the cherubians (what I called my guardian angels, click here for more info) knew about the existence of Tommy, 1) The story would get really boring and 2) the mornachts (my bad guys, click here for more info) probably knew about him too. That would make the story unworkable. (See how I’m using logic to figure out my story? Use logic for yours. Think things through. Make sure to write it all down.)
  • Therefore, Tommy being the prophesied child needed to be a secret.
  • Why would it be a secret? Oh boy. I had to really think about this one. If he was the prophesied “savior of the world” (the how didn’t matter at this point), then that implied the existence of a prophecy. But why didn’t everyone know about it? I decided on 3 things: 1) The prophecy would have to be cryptic. 2) What if the cherubians had stopped believing in the prophecies and had ignored/forgotten them? There’s that what if again. So important when it comes to developing your story. Note that my title is A Prophecy Forgotten. 3) The cherubians in the know would have to keep Tommy’s existence secret, both from the mornachts and from other cherubians since a secret shared with too many people doesn’t stay secret long. My conflict was starting to take shape into a “protect the kid no one knows is important, and keep it that way.”
  • Note also that as I developed this conflict, I continued to rely on knowledge of human nature. As writers, our writing must imitate life. Therefore, our characters must behave realistically. Study humans. Understand how they behave This will make your writing realistic.
  • If Gabriella was human, she was no longer guarding Tommy. Someone had to guard Tommy,especially since he was going to save the world…somehow. Hmmm, who would those who knew about the prophecy send to guard such a special child. He had to be the best soldier ever. With that, Davian became Davian. I figured he would be in enemy territory on a mission, and I needed to get him out–quietly. Picture me rubbing my hands together. The challenge! The adventure! This is why I love writing!
  • At this point, I started getting bored again and wanted to raise the stakes. I had enough conflict for a small novella but needed something more. I needed a bad guy who wasn’t a mornacht. I needed a traitor. A traitor indicates treason, which meant that the government of Davian’s home country must be in danger. He he he. No, I’m not going to tell you who he is. You’ll have to read the book.

At this point, I finally had enough of a conflict to start piecing a story together: Protect the child. Save the homeland. And oh yeah, Gabriella is pretty cute, so let’s add a little love triangle in there to spice things up. I also realized that if I continued to flesh out the conflict, I was actually looking at a trilogy with one central conflict for the first book and another central conflict (Davian saves his homeland and clears the way for Tommy to save the world) for the whole series. At that point, I knew I had a long way to go, but I was looking forward to it!

That’s how I created my conflict, by:

  • asking myself more what if questions
  • filling in the gaps with logic
  • raising the stakes (ie making it more exciting) when I got bored

If you have your inspiration, get out that pencil and paper and start filling in those gaps until you are comfortable with a central conflict that can carry your story. Remember, I have an accounting degree with no language arts background at all. If I can do this, so can you!

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

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The Writing Process: Part 1 – Getting Your Inspiration

Posted on July 23, 2012 by M. B. Weston

At the beginning of this year, a friend of mine asked via Twitter: “Mrs. @mbweston, what’s your writing process?” I answered with a series of blog posts that I have decided to repost.

Since describing my writing process in 140 characters or less is impossible, I’ve decided to write a series of blog posts about it. I must admit that my personal writing process has been inspired by Stephen King’s book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, which I think anyone who wants to write fiction should read. I also recommend Strunk & White’s Elements of Style.

Before I describe my writing process, I want to stress that all of us are different, and therefore our writing processes will be different. I say this for a reason. I have sat on panels with authors who have listened to the writing style of other authors and shouted, “That’s insane!” with venom dripping down the sides of their mouths, choosing to forget that the author they are yelling at has a much better history of sales. So please, if you disagree with my writing process, chalk it up to differences in personality and move on. Also, my writing process might not work for you, and that’s fine. You’re an individual just as I am.

With that, here’s the process I when I write fiction:

The first thing any writer needs is what we call *insert “Ah Choir” here*:

THE INSPIRATION!

The Inspiration.You can’t write a story without first thinking one up. But how do you start out with nothing and end up with a trilogy? Your first stop is the initial inspiration or idea. For instance, C. S. Lewis had an image of a faun holding some packages under a lamppost that wouldn’t leave his brain until he wrote Narnia. Think of it. A simple image of a faun with packages and years later, a series of stories and movies!

My story ideas come from all over the place, but most come to me the same way they came to C. S. Lewis, from an image or series of images that I can’t get out of my brain. Here are some examples:

  •  A Prophecy Forgotten, my first novel, started with an image of a woman jumping into a river to save a little boy. Later on, I added snow and made her an angel… And think about this: Davian wasn’t even part of the picture yet! (Like the pun? Picture. Image? Okay, it was bad, I’ll admit. We’ll move on.)
  • I’m currently writing a short story spurred from the image of a rider clothed in white on a white horse. (It’s a paranormal thriller that started as an angel story.)
  • I have a podcast/speaking series (soon to be uploaded) that started with an image of a stone dragon moving its head during a thunderstorm. (Dude, that moving statue scared me! If I have tingles going down my back…)
  • I have another series in the works that started from a picture of a man with matted hair stuck in a dungeon.

My point: Don’t think you have to think up an epic adventure at once. Start small. Let your mind start wandering and see where it takes you.

Well? What are you waiting for? Do it! Close your eyes and get your image! This blog post will still be here when you open them.

Okay, I have my picture. Now what?

In tomorrow’s blog post, we’re going to discuss the conflict and concept of your story. However, before you can start thinking about those things, you need to figure out a bit more about your “image” first. In the writing world, we call this “fleshing out.” As you flesh out your inspiration, remember that it’s okay to let the image play in your head for a while. Let your character/s get himself/herself out of trouble (or into trouble). Let your mind turn your image into a short movie.

Start by asking yourself what our elementary school teachers called “question words”:

  • Who? As in, who is this dude (or dudette) who won’t leave my brain? No, don’t look at me for answers. It’s your image. Your story. Only you can answer it. And the good news is that whatever you figure out, you will be right!
  • What? For instance: What is going on here? What is that? What on earth? Wait, this isn’t Earth… Image exploration can be so much fun!
  • When? Time period is very important for initial inspiration. You don’t need an exact year, but remember if your character is using a cell phone, your story probably won’t be about Steam Punk.
  • Where? You might not know exactly where, but you need an idea. You at least need a vision of the landscape. You might have to think it through for a while. For instance, you might need to get your character out of the dungeon and see where he ends up once he opens the door. (Remember when you were a child and used to play “pretend?” That’s what you’re doing here. Pretend away, baby!)
  • Why? Ooh, this one is really important. Why did she jump in the river? Why is he in jail? Why did the stone dragon move it’s head, and why is my 11-year-old protagonist outside in the middle of a rainstorm?
  • How? How is he going to get out of his predicament? Wait a minute, how did that stone dragon move it’s head?
  • What if? This is not a question word sanctioned by elementary school teachers, but it’s the most important question you can ask yourself as you develop your story. What if the prince is actually the beast? What if this moisture farmer is actually the son of a Jedi?

By the way, you’ll probably want to do this exercise with a pen and paper. I actually get a 5 subject spiral notebook for each novel I work on so I can keep my notes together.

(NOTE:Keep doing this exercise until you reach the “ah ha moment“. That’s the moment where something makes you go “Ah Ha! I have a story!” You’ll know when you get there.)

Here is an example of how this works using my first series, The Elysian Chronicles:

I started with my image of a woman jumping into the river to rescue a child:

  • Who: I wasn’t really sure what her name was at first. Gabriella came later when I realized she was actually an angel turned into a human. The name didn’t matter, but her initial “spirit,” her personality did. Obviously, Gabs (my pet name for her–yes I give my characters nicknames) was someone willing to jump in the river for a child she did not know. She had heart, courage, and some form of athletic ability. Those qualities gave me a feeling for her. And who was the child? At the time, I didn’t know Tommy was going to “save the world.” (I actually didn’t know how he would do it until after A Prophecy Forgotten was published.) All I knew about Tommy at the time was that he was seven and rambunctious enough to get himself into a world of trouble by falling into a river.
  • What: What is going on? I let the story play some more in my head. Gabriella ended up rescuing Tommy, but she hit her head and got amnesia… (It’s very dangerous to be one of my characters.)
  • When: They were both wearing modern day clothes, so I knew it took place in the present.
  • Where: Easy. Mountains. With woods. Ooh, now the river is raging! Oh let’s add snow! Dude, what on earth is she doing, jumping in a river during a blizzard? And why are they both outside? (See how the story is starting to come together?)
  • What if? I let the story continue to play in my head. Gabriella got amnesia and woke up in Tommy’s house. Tommy kept saying, “I’ll bet you’re my guardian angel!” I thought it was cute. Tommy thought she was his guardian angel, and she couldn’t remember who she was to prove him wrong. Suddenly, BING! The idea hit me:

What if she WAS his guardian angel?

That my friends, was my “ah ha moment!” My mainstream story turned into a fantasy, and I was able to answer my other questions:

  • Why: Why would she jump into the river? Well, if she’s his guardian angel, she could only do so if he was really important. What if he was prophesied to save the world? Oh, let’s explore this!
  • How: Well, guardian angels must be able to turn into humans somehow.
  • Well, if she is his guardian angel and she’s human, who’s guarding this little boy who is supposed to save the world? Two Words: Enter Davian! With that, my hero was born.

At this point, I began what we call “world building” (that’s another blog). I needed to figure out what world Gabriella lived in, how the two worlds were connected, etc.

Once you get your “ah ha moment” keep working with it. Make sure you have lots of paper to write down your thoughts as you brainstorm. (I use 5-Subject Spiral Notebooks for my brainstorming notes. One for each novels.) Ask yourself questions, and always allow for the “what if” question.

Have you got something? Have you had your “ah ha moment?” Awesome! Tomorrow, we’ll discuss turning your inspiration into a story.

Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.

Posted in The Muse, Inspiration & Story Ideas, The World of Writing, The Writing Process | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments