Visualization

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm a movie lover. Always have been. Perhaps my love affair with film is the reason I write the way I do. When I write, I visualize my scenes and my characters. In fact, when I start a new project, one of the first things I do is to search the Internet for photos of actors that I feel would be perfect for the characters’ roles in the film. Before acquiring my Macbook and Scrivener, I used to print the photos out and tape them to the wall in my writing area. Life has become simpler with new technology and now I’m able to import them into my Scrivener resources folder so I can look at them any time I wish. It’s kind of handy and inspiring to gaze into my character’s eyes when I’m wondering how he or she would react to certain situation.

In addition, at the very beginning I try to create an “establishing shot.” Just like they do in Hollywood! This is like the opening scene in the movie version of your book. It provides a description that will help to put the reader into the scene by offering all the sensory input they need in order to be right there with the characters involved in the scene. Filmmakers did this much better back in the 40s and 50s than they do today, in my opinion. But, as a writer, if you can create a dramatic and dynamic establishing shot, you can pull the reader into the scene rather than leaving them on the sidelines as a casual observer. (And this is directly related to our earlier discussion on opening lines from some time ago.)

Admittedly, creating a perfect establishing shot is sometimes not the easiest thing to do, and it requires practice. A lot of writers want to give the reader a lot of backstory. Film directors don't typically fall into this trap. In film, it's all about action. So take off your storyteller's hat at the opening and put on your director's hat. If you can create a dynamic establishing shot, your writing will come alive from the very start and grab the attention of your readers. True, it's not easy, but it's actually easier for a writer than it is for a film director. As a writer you have the ability to bring in not only the visual images and the sounds, like in film, but you can also add the senses of smell, taste, and touch.

Once you've created the establishing shot, you still need to play the film director when you're switching scenes. Transitions are critical in keeping the reader’s attention — especially at chapter endings. And doing them well is the difference between a good writer and a great one. If you can leave your spunky character with a bit of a sticky wicket at the ending of a scene (chapter) it will encourage page turning. Which is exactly what we're striving for, isn't it?

As a final thought, I'll leave you with this. Sometimes it's helpful to listen to some audio. If you're writing a spooky scene, the right orchestral arrangement can add to your creativity. If it's a love story, violins usually do the trick for me. So keep that in mind as you write. If you add a little sensory input, it can help create a little more sensory output. 

I hope I've inspired at least one of you to think like a film director and try to create a dramatic establishing shot. Let me know what you think and what works for you. Other readers would like to hear your tips, tricks and (ssshhhh!) secrets. We're all in this together.

Creativity and Observation

Writers, along with musicians, artists and actors, fall into the category that most people classify as "creative." How wonderful for us that we're placed in such a special category. But before we start feeling so very special, we need to remember that creativity is not dished out only to those who work in those fields. Mothers can be creative when they come up with a new game to play with their children, or a new recipe to share with their family. Fathers can utilize creativity when they figure out a way to stretch the income to cover the bills. Even children can be creative, and sometimes quite quickly, when questioned about a broken vase or a spilled drink.

Whatever creativity is, it's floating through the universe at this very moment and landing on everyone in varying degrees at various times. It's a bit like the "Dust" that Lyra Silvertongue was obsessed with in The Golden Compass. And even though it may be everywhere, like money, some people just seem to have more of it than others.

So how does one go about tapping into that well of creativity? How do you get some of it? Maybe those with a large amount of it have had some experiences that the rest of us haven't had. Perhaps some event in the life of Suzanne Collins, something that may now be no more than a faded memory to her, provided the basis for The Hunger Games. What did Stephen King experience that gave him the embryonic idea that resulted in the creation of Needful Things? And where did that lightning bolt scar on Harry Potter's forehead have its basis for J.K. Rowling? I could go on with more examples, but you get the point.

Perhaps everything that happens in our lives leaves a footprint in our memory. Some prints may be deeper than others. Many may be fleeting things, events or thoughts that leave little or no impact and a very shallow mark in the sand of our gray matter. But even the lightest footprints leave a mark. At least temporarily, and sometimes permanently. Most of those events might never be called upon for future use, but one of them may be a catalyst that causes other thoughts to rearrange and finally gel into a unique combination that results in a best-selling novel.

Life goes on. Things are happening around us. Some of them happen to us, and have an impact, either good or bad. Other events are merely changes in the landscape we're passing through, and we are nothing more than observers of the action as it unfolds. We're witnesses to small snapshots of life as it continues. Those snapshots are like pages in a family album, each a single frame in time and in a life that goes on after the event, usually.

There are stories behind those snapshots. Some are frightening. Some are funny. Others are heart-warming and bring tears of joy. And any one of those may be a story that someone with a little creative talent can write. The great news is that the shutter is clicking continually, every second of the day, everywhere. We're all on a level playing field as far as the input is concerned. The only variant is in how observant we are and how creative we can be in putting the story together.

We need to be watchful. Look at that child, sitting in the grocery cart and crying as her angry young mother pushes the cart down the aisle. What's the story behind that? See that older man leaving the office building and loosening his tie as he shuffles toward his car? Did he just get fired? What will he do this evening? Is that dog running across the highway going to get hit before he makes it to the other side? Did someone dump him? Why is that police car sitting in front of my neighbor's house? Have they had another fight? And why is the ambulance there?

There are a million stories out there, and they're happening every day.

And on we go - at the one-third mark.

By now, those of you who have joined in on the Nanowrimo project are probably nearing the 10,000-word mark. If so, that's fabulous! Truly. If not, that's still okay. You have ample time to pull it together before the final bell sounds. And even if you don't manage to write those 50,000 words by the deadline, that's STILL okay, because you're writing, and that's the important part of the whole project. Obviously.

So, let's take a brief respite and relax for a few minutes. I mean, really. You can't pound those pesky keys every minute of every day. Seriously. This little break will hopefully recharge your batteries and give you the will to go on (just in case you're starting to waiver and your original enthusiasm is beginning to fade like an old bleeding Madras shirt from the sixties. Remember those? But I digress.)

Here's what I'd like you to do —
Write a comment to this post and answer one of the following questions:

1. My Nano project is going great, and the next thing my MC is going to do is . . .
2. My Nano project is sucking right now because I can't figure out what to do about . . .
3. I'm not sure how my Nano project is going because I just keep writing. I'll figure it out later. But I am a little concerned about . . .

There you go. Leave a comment and tell us where you are on day 10.

Happy writing!

Macbook Acquisition

Okay. I considered it for months, not wanting to spend the money but knowing that, in the end, that gorgeous aluminum clad laptop was going to come home with me. So, on the way home from work last night my car turned into the parking lot and parked itself in front of the Apple Store in Leawood, KS. An hour later I was driving home with a beautiful new Macbook Pro sitting in the passenger seat. And so far, I'm loving it. It's quite obvious that Apple builds quality into their products.

I opted for the iWork software rather than spending the money on Microsoft Office. The Apple word processor is called Pages, and it seems like this is going to be a better option than Word, actually. Apple has built a ton more features into their word processor than MS did with Word. Plus, you can still save your documents as .doc or .rtf or .pdf files.

The next phase is going to be to download Scrivener. That's probably a task for tomorrow. There are a great many video tutorials on this product online, and I've been spending some time this evening listening to a lot of them.

So, being a new user on both the Mac and the iWork Pages software, I'd love to hear comments from fellow users. Any tips, tricks, secret things you've discovered? I'm all ears.

Update after Day One!

How did it go? How did you do? Do you have an idea? Do you have a story? Do you have a first chapter, or a first paragraph?

I'll begin. I have an idea. Not a complete idea, but a start. An idea that takes off and gives us a setting and two characters and something that's going to happen. Nothing is etched in stone yet, but it's a starting point. I missed the required number of words for today, but I didn't get started until late, so I'll try to make it up in the next couple of days and get back on track. Currently at 1,015 for day one.

Unfortunately, I'm one of those who can't help but edit as he goes. It's a habit and it's my writing style. I've always done it that way. I did it that way last year, but still had my 50,000 words by day 10. That probably won't happen this year unless this idea takes off during my sleep and points me in the right direction.

So what's your story. Leave a comment and tell us what's going on with your Nano entry. We want to know.

What's your story?

It has begun. Nanowrimo is underway.

If you've signed up, you're probably too busy writing right now to read this, but if you've taken a break, let us know what your story is about. Talking about it might spark other ideas of where to take it, in case you don't know.

We'd love to hear the details.

And if you haven't signed up, here's the LINK.

The Novel You're Going to Write

It's almost November! And anyone who's familiar with the old writing calendar knows that November means NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). It's an annual event, and if you've never participated, and you've always wanted to write that great American novel, this is the time to do it.

You can join thousands of other writers all across the world in creating those individual works of fiction. As a matter of fact, someone may be writing the next bestseller in November of this year. So screw up your courage and give it a try. Rather than regurgitate all the facts, I think I'll just type the link here and you can get it straight from the horse's mouth.

http://www.nanowrimo.com/

Nathan Bransford, our good buddy and agent over at Curtis Brown, has been posting about the event this week on his excellent blog. If you're not a follower, you really should be. Check it out HERE and plan to visit often, because he always has some great stuff.