Cool Links Friday

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Last week I skipped out on Cool Links Friday for a very good reason. I was beta reading an AWESOME YA novel and couldn’t put it down long enough to blog. The good news is you’ll be able to read it one day. It’s the sequel to a book that will be published and I’ll be announcing the news soon. *does happy dance*

Anyway, because of that, I’ve combined both this week’s and last week’s Cool Links.

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Characterization

I love psychologist and writer Sarah Fine’s posts, but this one is especially great. It talks about attributions of intent. I’m not going to try to explain that. She does a much better job than me. 

Plotting

Mooderino talked about writing too much onthe nose and how plot shows characterization. 

If you haven’t read Save the Cat (Blake Synder), the brilliant book on story structure, Lydia Sharp presented the summary for the major beats (and did a great job). And once you’ve read part one and two, check out Laura Pauling’s analysis of a book using Save the Cat (part one and two). 

Now that you’ve finished your first draft (or any draft after that), read author Janice Hardy’s post on leavingbreadcrumbs behind. (Yep, you’ll have to read the post to find out what it means.)

Page Turning Books

Want to create page turning books (and who doesn’t)? Then check out author Jody Hedlund’s post on how to make your bookplay out like a movie.

Setting

Darcy Pattison had a series on setting the scene: panorama, zoom, and scan. Also, read her post on writing strongersetting details.

YA

Loved this rant on relationships in YAnovels.

Paranormals

Author Lisa Gail Green talked about lendingrealism to paranormal stories. A definite must read if you write this genre.

Awesome Writing

DL Hammons shared on less is more. Very wise words.

Andrea Mack discussed how to use smells andtastes for powerful writing.

Marketing

L. Diane Wolfe posted on setting up a blogtour and conducting one.

Author Jody Hedlund shared a tip forgetting discovered by readers.

Author Shelli Johannes-Wells discussed marketing to the different kidlit markets.

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Writing Kickass Action Scenes: Part Two

I’d like to welcome back S.J Kincaid, author of the upcoming YA dystopian novel for boys, Insignia.

If you missed part one of her post on writing action scene, click here. Her analysis is based on the book Watership Down.

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BIGWIG AND WOUNDWORT, AND THEIR VERY PERSONAL HISTORY:

Bigwig infiltrated General Woundwort's frightening warren. Woundwort was impressed by his size and his ferocity, so he imbued Bigwig with some measure of authority. When Bigwig helped a number of rabbits escape Efrafra, and his loyalty to Woundwort was revealed as a ruse, this was more than a heist-- it was a personal betrayal of Woundwort. When Woundwort and his rabbits close in on Watership Down, he's determined above all to exact revenge on the traitorous Bigwig. There is serious bad blood between these two rabbits.

THE STAKES OF THIS BATTLE:

By the time Bigwig faces down Woundwort, the very survival of Watership Down is at stake. They are in the middle of a battle for their very existence. Their free warren is the last bulwark against Woundwort's fascist, rabbity empire, and the entire battle comes down to whether Bigwig can hold a critical tunnel for his side. Bigwig believes even his dead body will block the run long enough to save the day-- as long as he doesn't let the larger General Woundwort shove him backward out of the tunnel. These are the highest stakes you'll ever get here.

CLEVERNESS/SURPRISES DURING THE FIGHT:

I can't recall off the top of my head whether the reader is in on this or not, but Bigwig knows Woundwort is too large to take in an open fight. So he plants himself in a critical tunnel, where Woundwort won't have room to navigate, and buries himself in the dirt. Woundwort starts down the tunnel, certain he's about to win the day, and then out springs Bigwig, taking the clever General by surprise. Clever tactics are employed, surprises are there, and these all hold my attention as a reader.

HIGH EMOTIONS:

There are many instances of this in the battle. This fight is the climax in the Bigwig/Woundwort relationship. Woundwort, more fearsome, cannot overcome Bigwig, who fights out of sheer conviction. Bigwig is determined to die if he must, and Woundwort's bloodlust shifts to a dawning realization he may not win a battle against a rabbit as determined and ferocious as Bigwig, even if he is larger and stronger than Bigwig by far. 

There are other small aspects that are extremely well done. In one moment, Woundwort, faced with the first true challenge of his life, demands to know why Bigwig won't just surrender. He offers him his life. Bigwig refuses and informs him 'his chief rabbit' has ordered him to hold this tunnel.  This is when we get one of the most satisfying moments of the book: the invincible General Woundwort feels a moment of true fear. We find out he’s always assumed Bigwig was chief rabbit of his warren, and now he envisions a 'terrible chief rabbit' lurking in the tunnels somewhere who is larger and stronger than Bigwig. (We, the readers, know that the chief rabbit, Hazel, is smaller than Bigwig, and has a lame foot, to boot. In fact, General Woundwort had already seen him, and dismissed him without a second thought as insignificant. That's why it's fun to be in on a secret.) Until now, we have only seen Woundwort as a terrible tyrant feared by all. In this particularly striking moment, we get to see Woundwort experience his first true doubt, and it’s wonderful to read. 

These emotions throughout the battle, the moments large and small, keep a reader hanging on every word.

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Part three (the final part) will be posted on Monday.

Writing Kickass Action Scenes: Part One

If you want to know about writing action scenes, who better to ask than an author of action-packed YA stories for boys. I’m excited to welcome S.J. Kincaid. Her YA dystopian novel Insignia (Harpercollins) is due out July 10. My son and I can’t wait to read it!

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Thanks for letting me guest post, Stina!

Okay, the truth is, I dread writing action scenes. Given the sheer number of action scenes I included in INSIGNIA, this assertion may strike those who have read the story as odd, but it's true. As my manuscripts approach those moments I need to have violent clashes, I always feel a terrible reluctance to proceed, like I'm about to head to the dentist or attack a sink overflowing with dishes.

I dread writing them because the best action scenes must be set up a long time before the action actually takes place, and there are a lot more considerations to keep in mind than just the technical aspects of throwing punches, or the coolness of giant explosions.

I'm going to focus here on an action scene I think is absolutely awesome: the climactic fight between Bigwig and General Woundwort in the middle of the final battle of WATERSHIP DOWN, by Richard Adams. There are some awesome moments in the battle between other characters, but I'm just going to zoom in on these two.

BASICS:

Any writers querying agents have probably read the conventional wisdom: "Never start a novel with a fight scene." Why is this? Because we don't know the characters, we don't know the antagonists, we don't know the stakes, so we're not sure why we care about this fight. This same line of reasoning explains why we do care when we encounter fight scenes: because we know the protagonist, we know the antagonist, we know the stakes. With that said, let me go into why the fight sequence of Watership Down is awesome.

BIGWIG, THE GOOD GUY:

By the time of this battle scene, the reader is firmly attached to Bigwig. He starts off as an off-and-on antagonistic character to Hazel (the main character), and Fiver (his brother), but they've formed a solid bond of trust by now, and through that bond, we’ve bonded with Bigwig. Bigwig's immense size and strength render him a critical source of support for Hazel, who is now chief rabbit of the new warren, Watership Down. He's also exhibited his humanity (er, rabbit-anity?) on several occasions, most notably when rescuing a tortured rabbit, Blackavar, from the grasp of General Woundwort, and when befriending the seagull, Kehaar. We want Bigwig to live, and we’ve seen enough deaths of other rabbits to realize it is not a given that he’ll survive.

GENERAL WOUNDWORT, THE ENEMY:

From the moment of General Woundwort's introduction, it's clear he's the largest, most frightening rabbit in existence. He's the leader of an almost fascist network of warrens, he survived on his own in the wild (unheard of), his sheer size is staggering, and even the closest thing the Watership Down rabbits have to a WMD (the seagull Kehaar), is batted contemptuously aside by this fearsome rabbit. By the time Bigwig and General Woundwort are ready for their huge brawl, we've learned to fear this rabbit through the other rabbits who know of him. This is a worthy enemy for Bigwig.

Part 2 of the post will continue on Wednesday.

Do you enjoy writing action scenes?

On My Writerly Bookshelf: Symbolism

On Monday, I talked about weaving symbolism into your story. No matter how small the detail, symbolism can enrich your writing. 

In the post, I mentioned the book Symbols, Images, and Codes: The Secret Language of Meaning in Film, TV, Games, and Visual Media by Pamela Jaye Smith. I recently discovered this book and love it. If you’re looking for a deep book on the meaning of symbolism in our culture (or anything along this line), this book isn’t it. If you’re looking for a reference book to help you pull more symbolism into your story, this is what you’re looking for. Or at least it’s a good starting point.

Pamela divides the book into twenty-three categories. These include:

Astronomy and Astrology

Composition (i.e. the concept photographers, cinematographers, artists consider, and you will too after reading this section)

Numbers

Codes

Earth

Air

Fire

Water

Animals

Color

Anatomy

Clothes

Architecture

The book begins with a brief introduction on how symbols, images, and codes work. Each chapter (category) is then broken down according to: 

• What the symbol means. For example, air means freedom, spirit, superhuman power, and understanding.

• How it’s been used in history, myth, and contemporary times.

• Examples found in movies, along with explanations as to how it worked in the movie.

• How to use it in your story. There are all kinds of cool ideas listed. Some are more appropriate for certain stories verses others.

• Written descriptions. Words that are great for creating powerful prose and imagery.

• Cinematic techniques. Not relevant to most of us, but this section is really cool too.

At the end of the book is a section that lists different emotions, situations, and concepts, and provides a list from the above categories that are applicable to each. You select the symbol that will have the most power at that point in your story. Remember, some will speak to your reader at a conscious level, and other will speak to them at the unconscious one.

No matter what genre you write, this book is a great resource. 

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If you want to know more about writing symbolism in fiction, I have a very special guest post coming up in a few weeks. This author KNOWS about symbolism. 

(How’s that for suspense?)

Weaving in Symbolism

One way to create a richer story is by weaving in symbolic subtext. This is also a great way to reveal the story’s theme. 

Subtext works both at a conscious and unconscious level. When we read a book or watch a movie, some symbols will jump out at us, especially if the creators have done a good job drawing your attention to it. With other symbols, you won’t stop to analyze it. For example, if the scene takes place in a room with green walls, you won’t be thinking that the director wanted to reveal the subtext of life. But you can guarantee someone behind the scenes purposely picked that color because of what it symbolized and not because it was her favorite color. 

In the first season of Criminal Minds, there was one episode (Compulsion) in which fire and the number three were important elements. Among other things, fire represents anger and divinity (Symbols, Images, Codes: The Secret Language of Meaning in Film, TV, Games, and Visual Media by Pamela Jaye Smith). It was eventually determined that the unsub was starting fires based on the need to test her victims. If they survived the fire, they were free of the wrath of God. The number three (or rather the triad of the number three) would set off the unsub. The creators could have randomly selected any number, but three (like other numbers) has a symbolic meaning. In Christianity, it represents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  As the unsub lined up the three bottles of flammable liquid, before dousing her three victims with them, she made reference to the bottles as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 

In the book Where the Heart Is, author Billie Letts used a tree to represent life and growth. Pregnant seventeen-year-old Novalee is abandoned by her boyfriend at a Wal-Mart store. With nowhere to go (since her mother ran away with a guy many years ago), she secretly moves into the store. A woman mistakes her for a young girl she once knew and gives Novalee a Welcome Wagon gift of a buckeye tree. As can be expected, the tree starts to die. Novalee tries to return it to the woman, who suggests they plant it in her garden, but only if Novalee comes by regularly to take care of it. This is the turning point in Novalee’s life. These are the first acts of kindness she has experienced in a while, and under the guidance of Ruth Ann, Novalee turns her life around. This is only one example of what the tree symbolized in the story.

In the second example, the meaning behind the symbolism was obvious from near the beginning of the book, and was woven throughout. In the first example, it was only obvious at the end of the show, when the Behavioral Analysis Unit solved the crimes. 

The two resources on symbolism for writers I recommend are Symbols, Images, Codes: The Secret Language of Meaning in Film, TV, Games, and Visual Media by Pamela Jaye Smith (I’ll be reviewing it on Wednesday) and the blog The Bookshelf Muse. 

Have you woven symbolism into your story to highlight theme and to be use as subtext?

Cool Links Friday

Yesterday, I finally started the first draft my YA horror novel. *does a happy dance* 

Does anyone else have any happy news to share? How's Friday the thirteenth treating you so far? 

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Openings

 If you’re struggling to figure out if you’re starting at the right place in your story, try out this exercise by Author Janice Hardy.

Here are 25 reasons why readers will keep reading your story.

Plotting

Misha Gericke shared some tips for plot twists everyone will love.

Backstory

Does backstory stump you? Author Janice Hardy has some advice for you.

Scenes

Author Traci Kenworth talked about the inciting incident.

Man, was Janice Hardy ever on a roll this week. Learn how to poke your dead scenes with a stick.

 Marketing

Author Shelli Johannes had a five part post on marketing your novel:

Don’t be afraid of the M word

Get Your Brand On

You are Your Platform

Discovering Your Target Audience

The Biggest Marketing Bang for Your Buck

Author Jody Hedlund talked about how authors can get their books in bookstores.

Author Roni Loren shared some tips on guest blogging etiquette. This is for those of you who want to host guest bloggers and those who want to be guest bloggers. 

Friends????

I don’t know if you’ve already heard, but there were several incidences last weekend on Goodreads. A few of them involved well-meaning friends who ended up potentially hurting their author friend’s career by attacking a reviewer’s comments. In some cases, it got nasty. 

Sarah Fine talked about what happened. It really does show you that the old proverb is so true: With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Secrets of Subtext

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Fiction is like an iceberg. Only twenty-five percent of it is visible (the words on the page). The other seventy-five percent is known as subtext. It’s the part that is tricky to convey, but when you do it right, it makes for a compelling story. 

Last week, I told you about the Toyota dude and the issue with my van doors. He didn’t tell me he was nervous when I calmly asked my question, again and again. His body language gave him away. I interpreted, based on what he didn’t say and how he acted, that Toyota had never inspected the doors during the regular maintenance, even though they knew there was a design flaw.  But maybe I was wrong*. Maybe he was shifting on his feet and looking at his coworkers, who were busy staring at their computer screens, because his bladder was about to explode due to a super large latte he recently consumed. Maybe he was hoping someone would come to his aid so he could go to the bathroom before he humiliated himself.

Okay, I didn’t believe that either, but it does show you how things might not always be as they seem. That’s the beauty of subtext. It can add an element of suspense. You can have your character screw up by thinking the subtext means something else and misdirect your reader. But make sure it’s believable. If your reader can guess the truth behind the subtext, your misdirection will come off as contrived and your character will sound like an idiot. 

It isn’t always necessary to spell out the subtext for your readers. Often it’s more satisfying if you let them figure it out for themselves. That’s the beauty of fiction. It exercises our brains. However, if the subtext is confusing and is going to frustrate the reader, then definitely have a character spell it out. 

One thing to avoid is the mistake director Catherine Hardwicke made in Twilight and Red Riding Hood. In Twilight, she wanted to show Edward’s eyes, which changed color depending on when he last ate blood. In Red Riding Hood, she wanted to show that the werewolf had human eyes. Fair enough. But in both movies, the close-up shots of the eyes filled the screen, and the camera stayed zoomed on them for way longer than necessary. In Red Riding Hood, Catherine then focused on everyone’s eyes so we could examine them (not necessary, if you ask me). Except, I doubt Amanda Seyfried (Red Riding Hood) was leaning that close to the individuals, and for that long, to check out their eyes. At one point, my eleven-year-old said in an exasperated tone, “Yeah, yeah, we get it.” 

Lesson: don’t underestimate your readers’ intelligence. They won’t appreciate it. 

Do you use subtext to misguide your readers?

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I’ll be talking more about subtext next week. 

(*I wasn’t wrong. Toyota never inspected the doors until I complained about the noise. And by then it was too late.)