Moving along this week with our writing exercise... what did you do with your dog(s)?
Obviously, as a writer, you need to be able to tell the story from some perspective; usually through the hero/ine's eyes. That is sometimes considered POV (point of view) and we'll discuss that later. Right now we want get to know who our main character(s) will be.
We have a dog, well, really two dogs, so this is going to be an animal story. Hey, just go with the flow.
Dog 1. I stated last week that he was a mongrel, a canine familiar with the streets. So what kind of mixed breeds do we want toss together? How about a mix of long-haired shepherd and Char Pei -- yeah, a lovely dog with the stately build of a shepherd but with the wrinkly, extra skin hidden under a gorgeous coat of light brown hair. He's even got a nice, plumed tail and brown eyes that suck you in so quick you don't even realize it. Yup. That's our hero. And, like all good heroes, he's got to have a great name so we'll call him Fozzie Bear, or just Fozz for short.
Dog 2. This one will be the female; the love interest. And like any female worth going after, she has class. Yes, this dog will be a registered pedigree. She is a gorgeous American Eskimo, all white, fluffy and quite the prancer. Of course, she will have an exotic name: Natashia, but we'll call her Tasha for short. Being pedigree, she will be the family dog and therefore will have a beautiful purple collar with white and pink rhinestones. Every girl deserves bling.
See how quickly I have created my characters. Of course, there will be other characters in this story. A house dog always has neighbors and Tasha will have two friends; a beagle named King and a poodle named Antoinette -- after all, you need somebody with an accent.
Our street hero, Fozz, now he has the street gang and it is a very large group and they will have some extremely colorful names. We'll get to them later as we decide what is going to happen.
Of course, with animal stories there has to be humans involved. The owners of Tasha are a lovely young couple named Craig Smiles and his beautiful bride, Jennifer Smiles. They own a two story colonial home and Tasha is their pride and joy. Newlyweds... sigh.
And Fozz is not without his human counterparts either. The local butcher, Leo and two of the finest restaurants in the neighborhood; La Italia and Maxine's. I'm sure you see the characters already in your mind's eye. Leo is a nice, rotund man and ... would you believe, his brother, Mario, is the owner of La Italia. Now Maxine is owned by none other than Maxine and she is not a pushover type gal; nope, she's got spunk.
Now we need a villain. Who could that possibly be? Enter the dog-catcher. Oh, wait, that is so cliche. Okay, we'll add a couple more: a mother-in-law, a cat (maybe 2) and some sort of vermin.
I'm sure your mind has already created a colorful image of the mother-in-law and probably some cartoonish image of the dog-catcher. The cats will be finicky Persians and I'm still not sure about the vermin aspect... that can wait a while.
Just how strong do your characters need to be? A wimpy character means a wimpy tale. Your characters need to come alive, be bigger than life and grab the reader and hold them at the edge of their chair. Fozz will be a strong dog, a fearless leader and totally incorrigible, while Tasha will be the demure débutante, the overly protected waif. King the beagle is a hunter and Antoinette is so French and so prissy.
I don't want to boggle your mind too much so more next week. We're just getting started on characters. After all, they are the mainstay of your story.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Ignition!
So following last week's thoughts -- where writer's get their ideas. Today (and over the next few weeks) I will share with you how it goes from thought to a full blown work to be published.
The writer had a spark of an idea; some marvelous epiphany to see something that perhaps others haven't seen. S/He takes that minuscule, itty-bitty, infinitesimal spark and works it into something that will ignite. The ember of this idea will intensify and glow and soon become a major thought of imagination igniting your mind to a story.
Remember last week I ended with 'a dog is walking down the street, it stops...' and believe it or not, that was your spark. What did it do for you? Did you see something? Did you think it was just a phrase for me to end with? Wrong. I was 'sparking' your imagination!
So, we had 'Concept' and now we need to move forward. From Concept we go to what I call 'Capture' and what it involves. You had a thought and that thought caught your attention. Why? What was there to make you stop and go 'hmm?'
You were 'captured' so now you need to explore and explode that idea to capture your reader. Writing is about entertaining the reader. A boring dissertation on the sex life of a cabbage head will definitely NOT make your reader go 'WOW' and rant about your story. BUT, if after dark, the cabbage head spreads open all its leaves, spins in the ground or walks about the garden - maybe the dissertation will be, shall we say, very interesting. Your imagination is the only limitation.
Back to the doggie thought. Let's work the stream of thought and play the 'what if' game to see where it goes. It stopped. Why? It sees another dog? A dog who has a collar and family. Our dog is collarless and fancy free. Give it some thought. The family dog wants to be, just once, a free spirit like the our dog and our dog secretly desires to have a family; a sense of belonging.
There, you have the beginning of a story. You've added just a couple of ideas and already have your capture. Your reader wants to know how each of the dogs will realize their goals and how those goals will be met.
Wait a minute... your dog didn't see another dog? Okay. What did your dog do? Share...
The writer had a spark of an idea; some marvelous epiphany to see something that perhaps others haven't seen. S/He takes that minuscule, itty-bitty, infinitesimal spark and works it into something that will ignite. The ember of this idea will intensify and glow and soon become a major thought of imagination igniting your mind to a story.
Remember last week I ended with 'a dog is walking down the street, it stops...' and believe it or not, that was your spark. What did it do for you? Did you see something? Did you think it was just a phrase for me to end with? Wrong. I was 'sparking' your imagination!
So, we had 'Concept' and now we need to move forward. From Concept we go to what I call 'Capture' and what it involves. You had a thought and that thought caught your attention. Why? What was there to make you stop and go 'hmm?'
You were 'captured' so now you need to explore and explode that idea to capture your reader. Writing is about entertaining the reader. A boring dissertation on the sex life of a cabbage head will definitely NOT make your reader go 'WOW' and rant about your story. BUT, if after dark, the cabbage head spreads open all its leaves, spins in the ground or walks about the garden - maybe the dissertation will be, shall we say, very interesting. Your imagination is the only limitation.
Back to the doggie thought. Let's work the stream of thought and play the 'what if' game to see where it goes. It stopped. Why? It sees another dog? A dog who has a collar and family. Our dog is collarless and fancy free. Give it some thought. The family dog wants to be, just once, a free spirit like the our dog and our dog secretly desires to have a family; a sense of belonging.
There, you have the beginning of a story. You've added just a couple of ideas and already have your capture. Your reader wants to know how each of the dogs will realize their goals and how those goals will be met.
Wait a minute... your dog didn't see another dog? Okay. What did your dog do? Share...
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Sparks!
Welcome back. Today I am going to answer the age old question everyone asks writers.
Where do you get the idea for your stories?
This is a deep, dark secret writers have kept to themselves over the years and it is now time to throw back the veil of mystery.
Writers get their ideas everywhere. Anything that can spark the mind. A woman shopping with two incorrigible children - no, wait, that is a small shoplifting gang of a man dressed as a woman and two dwarfs dressed as children.
It isn't magic. It isn't voodoo. It's 50% imagination; 50% quirk, and 50% drive. A writer needs to put more than 100% of him/her self into it. Writing is NOT something you do on a whim because it is easy. Writing is NOT easy. People have typed for years before getting published. Oh, sure, there are those who get discovered overnight, but think about it - that is less than 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of the population. Very small.
This 'getting an idea' is called Concept and is the very first step in the writing process. Without some form of concept you are just slapping a lot of words together for no coherent or apparent reason.
Now back to where do ideas come from. Michael Crichton wrote "Jurassic Park" using today's headlines - taking blood from a mosquito encased in amber during the days of the dinosaur. He did a "what if" and the rest is history.
I was on a flight from LA to Chicago. The woman next to me got a mixed-drink and told me she thinks it is the tonic water that makes her tipsy. I wrote a short story about an alien posing as a human getting drunk by just drinking tonic water. Uh, by the way, the earth was saved by the puny human giving it to her.
Even poetry can be written on a whim's thought; and usually is. It was a beautiful summer day at the lake, I was sitting under some pines, listening to the wind whistle through them above my head. Suddenly I had goose bumps as the wind curled around my neck. Moments later I watched the wind ripple the surface of the lake... like goose bumps. I wrote a poem entitled "Have You Touched the Wind" from that experience.
So what is the magic formula for writing? What is the catalyst that creates the momentous thought for your story? It can be anything: a small news article, a scientific discovery, your neighbor's bad day, this morning shaving in the bathroom, a person you see in the park, rain sleeting across the road, a sunrise, a mispronounced word, the moon, and the list can go on and on. Just add a 'what if' and start...
I said it was 50% imagination. Maybe I was a little short there. Make it 75% imagination, 50% quirk, and 100% YOU. Your math teacher may not like my numbers but this is writing, not math.
There is a dog walking down the street, it stops and...
Now, WHAT IF?
Where do you get the idea for your stories?
This is a deep, dark secret writers have kept to themselves over the years and it is now time to throw back the veil of mystery.
Writers get their ideas everywhere. Anything that can spark the mind. A woman shopping with two incorrigible children - no, wait, that is a small shoplifting gang of a man dressed as a woman and two dwarfs dressed as children.
It isn't magic. It isn't voodoo. It's 50% imagination; 50% quirk, and 50% drive. A writer needs to put more than 100% of him/her self into it. Writing is NOT something you do on a whim because it is easy. Writing is NOT easy. People have typed for years before getting published. Oh, sure, there are those who get discovered overnight, but think about it - that is less than 1% of 1% of 1% of 1% of the population. Very small.
This 'getting an idea' is called Concept and is the very first step in the writing process. Without some form of concept you are just slapping a lot of words together for no coherent or apparent reason.
Now back to where do ideas come from. Michael Crichton wrote "Jurassic Park" using today's headlines - taking blood from a mosquito encased in amber during the days of the dinosaur. He did a "what if" and the rest is history.
I was on a flight from LA to Chicago. The woman next to me got a mixed-drink and told me she thinks it is the tonic water that makes her tipsy. I wrote a short story about an alien posing as a human getting drunk by just drinking tonic water. Uh, by the way, the earth was saved by the puny human giving it to her.
Even poetry can be written on a whim's thought; and usually is. It was a beautiful summer day at the lake, I was sitting under some pines, listening to the wind whistle through them above my head. Suddenly I had goose bumps as the wind curled around my neck. Moments later I watched the wind ripple the surface of the lake... like goose bumps. I wrote a poem entitled "Have You Touched the Wind" from that experience.
So what is the magic formula for writing? What is the catalyst that creates the momentous thought for your story? It can be anything: a small news article, a scientific discovery, your neighbor's bad day, this morning shaving in the bathroom, a person you see in the park, rain sleeting across the road, a sunrise, a mispronounced word, the moon, and the list can go on and on. Just add a 'what if' and start...
I said it was 50% imagination. Maybe I was a little short there. Make it 75% imagination, 50% quirk, and 100% YOU. Your math teacher may not like my numbers but this is writing, not math.
There is a dog walking down the street, it stops and...
Now, WHAT IF?
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Why Do I Exist?
Good question. I originally started The Writer Haven to be a BE ALL/DO ALL site for ALL writers. Hmm? Perhaps I spread myself too thin? I just couldn't get a grip on exactly what I wanted to share. Obviously I am NOT the Great and Wonderful Oz, nor am I the Oracle of Delphi. So what am I? And why do I exist?
I am a writer; a published author. I am an editor and edited several books, some now published. I am a speaker, lecturer, the guy standing at the front of the room babbling on. I want to share my knowledge and skills with others who are still banging on the wall trying to discover themselves.
Epiphany time.
Published authors still can learn but, for the most part, have very little use or time for such sites, like this one. So let's eliminate them from the mix.
So what do we have left? The struggling writer. The "I want to be a writer but haven't got a clue or even how to start" person.
Great! I now have a demographic. My aim is to guide those who are behind me, not ahead of me so much -- but if they want to glance back to see the competition, please feel free to do so.
Therefore I exist to share my knowledge with those who want to be like me -- published.
It is now my time to 'give back' to the community. Get ready. Take notes and absorb... OR come and get it, grasshopper!
----------------------------------------------
You want to be a writer. Great. You have no idea. Being here, reading this, is a good start in the right direction. I'll share secrets... at least what you think are secrets but, in reality, are just common things you learn.
To write you need an idea. A spark of a thought. It can be a simple sentence, image, sound, smell, even taste. It is something that makes your mind go 'Hey!' and you act upon it. How can a sound, a smell, a taste be the start of a story? Easy.
Cherry pie. You can smell it baking. Your mouth drools at the thought of those luscious red balls of... Remember grandma's house when you were a little kid? Out at the farm? Did you hear the horse, maybe some cows or chickens? There is a memory there and if so, there is a story.
Memoirs are a big seller to a lot of hometown newsletters or the "Mother Earth" types. They are looking for those quaint stories about growing up in rural America. Even a little girl growing up in the boroughs of NYC can share a tale - a day in the country.
So, you sitting there wanting to write something. Take that thought and build a few words around it, then add a few more. Stand back; read it aloud. A little rough but even you realize that there is a story to be shared. Work with it. Clean it up. Then, and only then, let somebody -- preferably a writer -- read it. Your mom, Aunt Sue, brother Tom or even one of your kids are not going to be totally honest. They will hail it as the next great American tale to rival Stephen King. Trust me, it won't be. A writer friend will judiciously read and edit your story -- and trust me, it will have a lot of needed corrections. They are NOT some jealous monster out to destroy your creation.
Fix the problems. THEN slowly read it aloud, pronouncing each syllable with care and you will hear any awkwardness or killer wrongs.
Finally, the most important step - this is the step I avoided for over 20 years - you must submit. If you don't submit your story to anyone... First, it won't have a chance to be published. Second, you won't get positive feedback. By the way, a rejection is valid feedback so don't take it as an affront or slap to the face. They don't hate you. All they are saying is a) not the type of story they are looking for; b) we just ran a story like this; c) not our genre; d) super crappy writing.
Okay, they really won't put option D down unless you really don't have the skills to write, so don't fret D.
You received a rejection; send it back out the exact same day to another publisher UNLESS the editor gave you some valuable feedback, not just a simple rejection form. IF you got hallowed words from a publisher, read them and think deeply over what he or she said. Most editors do NOT say a lot on a reject. Save the rejection, fix what you were told, THEN mail it out to the next possible place to publication.
Oh, wait. Maybe the editor asked for a fix and re-submit. Do it.
And, while you're waiting for that acceptance or rejection -- what do you do?
Start another story!!!
A writer writes.
I hope you found this useful; let me know. Until next time...
I am a writer; a published author. I am an editor and edited several books, some now published. I am a speaker, lecturer, the guy standing at the front of the room babbling on. I want to share my knowledge and skills with others who are still banging on the wall trying to discover themselves.
Epiphany time.
Published authors still can learn but, for the most part, have very little use or time for such sites, like this one. So let's eliminate them from the mix.
So what do we have left? The struggling writer. The "I want to be a writer but haven't got a clue or even how to start" person.
Great! I now have a demographic. My aim is to guide those who are behind me, not ahead of me so much -- but if they want to glance back to see the competition, please feel free to do so.
Therefore I exist to share my knowledge with those who want to be like me -- published.
It is now my time to 'give back' to the community. Get ready. Take notes and absorb... OR come and get it, grasshopper!
----------------------------------------------
You want to be a writer. Great. You have no idea. Being here, reading this, is a good start in the right direction. I'll share secrets... at least what you think are secrets but, in reality, are just common things you learn.
To write you need an idea. A spark of a thought. It can be a simple sentence, image, sound, smell, even taste. It is something that makes your mind go 'Hey!' and you act upon it. How can a sound, a smell, a taste be the start of a story? Easy.
Cherry pie. You can smell it baking. Your mouth drools at the thought of those luscious red balls of... Remember grandma's house when you were a little kid? Out at the farm? Did you hear the horse, maybe some cows or chickens? There is a memory there and if so, there is a story.
Memoirs are a big seller to a lot of hometown newsletters or the "Mother Earth" types. They are looking for those quaint stories about growing up in rural America. Even a little girl growing up in the boroughs of NYC can share a tale - a day in the country.
So, you sitting there wanting to write something. Take that thought and build a few words around it, then add a few more. Stand back; read it aloud. A little rough but even you realize that there is a story to be shared. Work with it. Clean it up. Then, and only then, let somebody -- preferably a writer -- read it. Your mom, Aunt Sue, brother Tom or even one of your kids are not going to be totally honest. They will hail it as the next great American tale to rival Stephen King. Trust me, it won't be. A writer friend will judiciously read and edit your story -- and trust me, it will have a lot of needed corrections. They are NOT some jealous monster out to destroy your creation.
Fix the problems. THEN slowly read it aloud, pronouncing each syllable with care and you will hear any awkwardness or killer wrongs.
Finally, the most important step - this is the step I avoided for over 20 years - you must submit. If you don't submit your story to anyone... First, it won't have a chance to be published. Second, you won't get positive feedback. By the way, a rejection is valid feedback so don't take it as an affront or slap to the face. They don't hate you. All they are saying is a) not the type of story they are looking for; b) we just ran a story like this; c) not our genre; d) super crappy writing.
Okay, they really won't put option D down unless you really don't have the skills to write, so don't fret D.
You received a rejection; send it back out the exact same day to another publisher UNLESS the editor gave you some valuable feedback, not just a simple rejection form. IF you got hallowed words from a publisher, read them and think deeply over what he or she said. Most editors do NOT say a lot on a reject. Save the rejection, fix what you were told, THEN mail it out to the next possible place to publication.
Oh, wait. Maybe the editor asked for a fix and re-submit. Do it.
And, while you're waiting for that acceptance or rejection -- what do you do?
Start another story!!!
A writer writes.
I hope you found this useful; let me know. Until next time...
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