January 2011 Archives

This weekend I've seen two pieces - one stage, one film - each of which dealt with an artist losing his creative way because of the demon drink. I caught the last matinee performance of 'The Country Girl' and that evening settled down on the sofa to watch 'Crazy Heart', eating pizza as I pondered that great unponderable:

For most of us, it may not be a cloud as heavy or penetrating as alcoholism but we all have to juggle not only the daily demands of life, family and work - but demons of our own. Everyone has one. Lack of confidence? Fear of success (or failure)? An inability to commit? 

The challenge we have here is that we may not even recognise these shortcomings in ourselves. How to deal with crippling shyness if you've always masked it with over weaning arrogance? When to tackle the sticky subject of your fondness for adverbs if you're blind to them in your text? How do you know you're being argumentative with an editor if you believe you're just enjoying a healthy debate?

Knowing yourself is possibly one of the greatest challenges a writer faces, and there are no easy routes to self-knowledge. Is this why some of the best writers arrive at publication later in life? Do we need experience before we can hope for a royalty cheque? That doesn't seem fair or even accurate - there are plenty of young, fresh talents out there being published and handling it all well. 

I suspect the answer lies in two things.

First, honesty. Be honest with yourself - look yourself in the mirror and face up to what's holding you back. Be honest with your agent - let her know what some of the challenges may be in representing you. (An inability to 'pitch' well or fear of public speaking? Nervie sweats or limited budget for travel to meetings? Your agent needs to know everything.) And I'll let you in to a secret. The ability to admit to failings? People love you for it.

Second, hard knocks. Yep, we all hate them - and we've all experienced them. Every writer has experienced rejection once at the very least and usually several times over. Most will have endured something that took the shine off different publishing experiences. But if you want to learn something about yourself, get through the tough times. I will guarantee you'll surprise yourself that - look! You coped! You'll have learned something about those close to you and you'll have soaked up valuable lessons about the industry you're becoming part of. Good friends and loyal professionals emerge from the most surprising corners of life. With honest words of their own, they'll help you plane smooth the sharp corners of your ego and become a better writer.

Okay, I'm going to add a third. The good times. We all have those too, remember? Do you share them or crush them to your chest? Do you shout your successes from the rooftops or celebrate quietly? Whichever path you choose, enjoy these moments and learn. Don't just indulge in them - take stock and see what they tell you about yourself. Because the good times can come with their own challenges. Blanket review coverage is good, right? Right...? Yeah, as long as you don't mind the occasional stinging review. Publication is an odd creature. If you're a control freak, you may not enjoy all aspects of it.

Nothing about this vocation is easy, but writer - know thyself. Because when success arrives at your door, you'll need a rock solid sense of who you are. (By 'success' I mean 'publication' - and not everyone may agree with this definition of writing - much more a vocation than a career.) Author tours, launch parties, online promotion, smiling faces and books to sign. Okay, if you're lucky you'll get all that - if you're really lucky. But even the sniff of this dream can turn a person's head. 

As Jeff Bridges sings in 'Crazy Heart':

'I used to be somebody, but now I am somebody else.

Who I'll be tomorrow is anybody's guess.'

Don't be somebody else. Be you. Otherwise it's curtains.

I first met Inbali last summer at a writers' retreat organised by The Scattered Authors Society. We shared a lift to Oxford with each other, craning round the car seats to introduce ourselves. The retreat was fabulous - as always - and it was inspiring to hear all about how Inbali juggles two demanding careers as a children's author and in the law profession. What very different worlds.

She's not alone in managing dual identities - very few authors can afford to dedicate their lives to writing. Some would argue that thus it has always been. It's certainly not getting any easier for authors, but speaking for myself, I enjoy having more than one career. I'd like to say it keeps me sane and well-balanced - well, apart from when deadlines crash into each other! 

Inbali's book launch was well supported by Waterstones:

Phew! Feeling under pressure? Well, don't worry. There's quite a lot of craft around chapter endings - and craft is the part of this writing business that can be learned. Here are some of my tips for creating your own cliffhanger chapter endings:

Eh? Shouldn't each chapter wind towards its natural conclusion? Well, not necessarily. Take a look at your WIP. Scan each chapter ending. See how it might look if you take away the last few lines and move them to the start of the next chapter. Ooh, that's interesting, isn't it? Many chapter endings can benefit from moving the last few crucial pieces of information to the start of the next chapter. The reader turns the page because they want to find out what you know and they don't. It's called suspense.

Try not to end with description, objects, minor characters, or scenic views. Tie your chapter ends back to your main characters - the emotional heart of the story. Your reader will stay with you because they want to know what happens to the people whose hearts are beating, not because they want to see how that sunset plays out. A single line of direct thought or direct speech from your hero can draw a dramatic line under the end of a chapter. To which end...

Don't make life easy for your characters or your readers. Don't supply all the answers. If you leave your main characters at the end of a chapter with unanswered questions - Who Shot JR? - your reader will surely want to know if they've come up with the right answer. And the only way they'll discover that, is if they keep reading.

These are a killer. The surprise piece of information that no one saw coming or the twist in the plot. Bobby didn't die after all. Dirty Den's the dad. Don't allow these key nuggets of juicy information to become lost in the middle of a chapter - save them for the end! You know, right before the drum roll of the closing credits kicks in...

Deadlines are great for dramatic suspense. Either a clock ticking, an imminent arrival or departure, a knowledge that something is about to change for ever unless... As your plot's deadline creeps closer and closer, remind readers at the end of your chapters. Not by telling them - show them.

"Sacrilige!" some of you will cry. "Those thousands of words that I've sweated over? I'll not take a carving knife to them." Think again. Take a look through your manuscript. How long are your chapters? Go on, count the words. Are there some extra-long chapters in there? Would they benefit from shrinking? Think about cutting them into two chapters, or chopping and changing the chapter breaks. You'd be surprised what an improvement a fresh eye can sometimes make.

Don't just rush from one chapter to the next. Chapter ends are one part of the writing process that have to be analysed - your opportunity to manipulate the reader. Manipulate. It's not a nice word, is it? But it's all part of being a writer. Make your chapter ends work - hard. They should 

These are often the chapter endings that suffer the least attention. The writer (you) is so relieved to get to the end of the draft that you canter towards the finish line: Nearly there, nearly there, there! All tied up with a neat bow, thank you very much. Well, go and have a coffee and then come back to your desk. Take a look at that last chapter end again. Does it pack the emotional punch that rewards your reader for staying with you? Are all unanswered questions in the manuscript finally answered? Have all the loose ends been tied off and are your main characters in the emotional place they deserve to be? If not, go back and do it again. And again. Don't skip over this last, crucial stage of the process. Editors will be checking...

Remember, crook those fingers, people. 

Today I spent the day plotting. I followed one of Julie Cohen's blog posts, using post-it notes to sketch out the structure of a story. Julie follows this process once the first draft has been written, and I can well see the use of pausing at this stage and assessing. But I needed something to help me decide where my manuscript was going before I fully plunged in.

Julie uses up to six different colour post-it notes. I was nowhere near a stationery shop, so had to make do with three different colours and torn up bits of paper. But it really did the job. A different colour for each of the main characters, a third colour for sections where their stories overlap and a fourth colour for plot points the reader can see but they can't. Keeping up?

I wasn't at all sure about this process; after half an hour I was a convert. What makes it so good?

If you have to summarise a plot point in ten words or less, it really throws a spotlight on any lack of credibility. If you find yourself wincing when you write it on a post-it note, you know it's not going to work. Move on!

If your table is covered in patches of yellow or swathes of pink, you know you have a problem with the balance of the story. But you usually don't even get to that stage. As you move through the story, you sense when it's time to move to a different colour post-it and the creative part of your brain starts thinking ahead.

If you're stuck with the writing, turn to this process. It allows you to feel back in control. Grappling back ownership of your story is a good reason for pulling out the post-its.

Writing a concept document is hard enough. Returning to those several thousand words to remind yourself where you promised the story would go? Even harder. But glancing at a collection of coloured post-it notes with a minimum of words to trawl through - much easier. This becomes a really good reference tool as you keep your novel on track, or at least try to. 

Last, but definitely not least:

Faced with the sight of a writer furiously scribbling, sucking the end of pens and - in my case - slapping a wooden ruler against a palm in deep thought, makes others in a household leave you alone. You'll notice them backing out of rooms, turning the telly down or even sliding a steaming mug of tea onto the table for you.

At the end of the process, I transferred all my post-it notes into a notebook for future reference: