The “brain science” part in the title might make you think this is a dry, analytical approach to story construction, but Lisa Cron peppers this book with plenty of humor, often painting herself as the target, as she details a very specific approach to outlining and planning the story that will drive a novel. The brain science is basically recognition that humans are hardwired to enjoy a good story, due to how important stories were to the survival of early humans. Cron explains this better than my glib rundown would suggest, but don’t mistake this for a book about brain science. It’s not, it’s about writing a novel.
She comes down hard on so-called “pantsing” where a writer just grabs an idea and then wings it, hoping that over the course of 300 or so pages it all somehow works out (hint: most of the time it won’t and the writer will abandon the story. I can vouch for this by my amazing tower of unfinished stories, now in the running as one of the wonders of the modern world). Instead, she favors an approach where you, as the writer, are always asking questions about your story and its protagonist, the most persistent question being,”Why?”, followed closely by “And so?” The latter is asked at the end of a scene, to prompt the writer to explain how the end of the scene leads into the next. The questions prod the writer into thinking through the character’s actions and motivations before committing to the actual writing. No winging it allowed!
Cron is also an advocate of what she calls Scene Cards where each scene of the novel is explicitly detailed on a card (she recommends virtual over physical), with items like the Alpha Point, the plot (cause and effect), the consequences and so on. She rightly observes that writing software like Scrivener is pretty much tailor-made for the level of organization and planning she advocates.
You might think all of this planning would result in a story that is so predictable as to be rote and not especially fun to write, but Cron notes that there is always plenty of room for developments to grow organically and take off in one of several directions–as long as those directions continue to work in service to the protagonist and her motivations/beliefs.
I’m not sure I could commit to the level of planning Cron suggests, but I can’t deny that a writer who does is bound to come up with a story that is solid and able to pull a reader through to the end. In a way the approach reminds me of bestsellers that are derided for the quality of the writing (Shades of Grey, Dan Brown novels) but are successful due to other strengths, such as the storytelling (I’ll admit to never having read a Dan Brown novel, so I’m assuming there’s something other than the prose that compels people to read his books). Even if you don’t write deathless prose, following Cron’s method may still produce something people will enjoy reading.
Story Genius is made more entertaining as Cron enlists one of her friends and fellow author/writing coach, Jennie Nash, to follow Cron’s technique in developing a new novel. The reader gets to watch the development of this novel’s protagonist (a woman who refuses to get close to others for fear of getting hurt and ends up kidnapping a dog and, well, it gets complicated) and how all the parts of the story–background, supporting characters, motivations and so on, come together to create a compelling whole. I was a bit disappointed that the end result of Nash’s work was not made more clear.
All told, this is a meticulous approach to novel-writing and one that will likely bear fruit for the writer who is willing to commit to the techniques described. Heck, even only following some of the techniques, like always asking why, or compiling Scene Cards in the way Cron describes, will likely result in a stronger story. Recommended especially for people who love plotting.
Or what you do when your preferred writing application goes subscription-only.
I love playing around with software, so looking for a new writing program is kind of exciting in a geeky sort of way. At the same time it can be a convenient excuse for not actually writing, so I am determined to make a choice as soon as I can.
Now that I have eschewed Ulysses (see here for more) I need to pick another piece of writing software to use for all my writing needs and desires. The first thing I need to establish are the must-have features this software will have:
Must let you type words into a computer and save them to disk or “the cloud”
Must work on both a MacBook Pro and Windows 10 PC or more broadly speaking, it must work in both macOS and Windows environments *or* support a file format that is natively supported in both OSes without requiring magic or witchery to work properly.
Must please me in somewhat arbitrary and ill-defined ways
Must not require a subscription. Paid or donate to unlock all features is okay.
Now, let’s review the criteria:
1. Must let you type words into a computer and save them to disk or “the cloud”
This one is easy as literally any program except whimsical comp-sci projects will pretty much let you do this. This does not narrow the criteria down in any way whatsoever, so my inclusion of it here was simply to start the process with a little levity. A tiny smidgen, if you will. Moving on…
2. Must work on both a MacBook Pro and Windows 10 PC or more broadly speaking, it must work in both macOS and Windows environments *or* support a file format that is natively supported in both OSes without requiring magic or witchery to work properly.
This is where it gets trickier. There are some programs that work across both platforms and these are my preference. However, if I opt for a common file format such as text (.txt) then I can write in different programs and the actual work will be the same in each. The biggest downside to this approach is probably the mental shift required when switching off between programs that could potentially work very differently even as they ultimately accomplish the same thing.
3. Must please me in somewhat arbitrary and ill-defined ways
This category covers “nice to have features” that aren’t strictly required but in a way actually are. For example, the ability to set a writing goal is pretty essential for National Novel Writing Month and some of the major programs like Microsoft Word do not feature this, because they focus more on making the writing look pretty, rather than the actual process of putting the words down.
built-in support for cloud services like Dropbox, OneDrive or others
and other things
4. Must not require a subscription. Paid or donate to unlock all features is okay.
This is pretty straightforward, unless the chosen program does what effectively amounts to a bait-and-switch by changing their pay model after you purchase the software (as happened with Ulysses, which went from a traditional paid program to subscription). There is an increasing move toward subscriptions (boo) but enough options exist outside the model to allow me to steer clear of it for now.
With the criteria set, let’s look at the pros and cons of some candidates.
Microsoft Word
Pros:
supports Windows, macOS, iOS
integrates nicely with OneDrive
offers web version in a pinch
familiar
supports indents
.docx format is widely supported
has a full screen mode
Cons:
no options for setting goals
no focus mode
no easy way to move scenes or chapters (it can be done, just not easily)
the WYSIWYG approach can lead to fighting the formatting
no built-in support for markdown, though it will auto-convert some markdown to formatting, such as using asterisks for italics.
about the complete opposite of a Zen writing program
WriteMonkey
Pros:
supports Windows and macOS (Mac version is currently beta-only and not feature-complete)
supports cloud services for saving
supports indents (Windows version 2.7 only)
can auto-generate backup files to a specific location
supports distraction-free/full screen modes
has focus mode
allows you to set both overall and immediate goals, with visual aids
word count is always visible
many options to customize the look and feel, along with theme support
supports markdown and in version 3 offers good visualization of markdown in the editor
saves in simple .txt format, making it easy to load its files in other programs (this changes a bit in version 3 but is still possible there)
Cons:
Mac version is in beta and lacks some essential features, such as indents, meaning cross-platform support is not really there yet. The workaround for now is to use version 2.7 on a Mac running wither in Bootcamp or through a VM solution like Parallels.
UI is a bit fiddly and can be difficult to work around (I’ve gotten past this particular hump, though, having used the program for several years now)
FocusWriter
Pros:
supports Windows, macOS and Linux
clean interface without billions of distracting options
can save to .txt format for maximum flexibility
supports setting goals
supports indents
shows word count
customizable themes, including different wallpapers and sound effects for distraction-free mode
can save to cloud services without issue
will start up with the last opened document to allow you to jump right in
Cons:
no real markdown support, though it offers one tag as a divider to separate scenes or chapters
maybe a bit too Spartan
Typora
Pros:
supports Windows and macOS
supports indents (awkwardly, as it has to be implemented by editing a theme file)
Cons:
doesn’t offer anything that isn’t also available in FocusWriter or WriteMonkey
focus is clearly on technical writing, not fiction
Scrivener
Pros:
supports Windows, macOS, iOS
supports indents
supports goals
offers focus mode
offers distraction-free/full screen mode
shows word count
highly customizable
allows for easy shuffling of scenes or chapters
excellent community support
can easily handle large projects
Cons:
UI feels dated and can overwhelm with options
offers poor cloud support due to the way it saves projects as collections of files. This can lead to corrupt projects.
Windows version perpetually lags behind Mac version in development (though files always remain compatible between the two)
weirdly forces you to name your project before you can start writing
No indent support
As mentioned above, supporting indents is crucial for fiction writing because a dialog exchange between characters woulds requiring hitting the Enter or Return key all the time and looks weird, as illustrated below:
“Hi John.”
“Hello Sally.”
“How are you?”
“I am swell, how are you?”
“I broke the Enter key on my computer.”
“Oh, that sucks. How did it happen?”
“My preferred writing program doesn’t support indents.”
Both John and Sally cried and bonded over this horrible tragedy.
It turns out that a lot of markdown editors lack support for indents, which was one of the things that made Ulysses so nice.
Here are programs that might have been considered but are ruled out because they lack support for indents or are platform-specific or both:
iA Writer
Bear
Editorial
Pages
MacDown
plus about a billion more
The Big Decision
In the end there are only a few reasonable choices.
Choice 1: WriteMonkey
My preference is to use WriteMonkey because I am familiar with it and it has worked well for me in the past, despite some rough edges on the UI. The main issue here is the beta version works well but lacks any way to use indents, so if I’m writing on my MacBook Pro I need to use a different program that saves to .txt format or I have to use Parallels/Bootcamp.
As it turns out, I’ve actually set up Parallels and while the Windows 2.7 version of WriteMonkey works well enough in it, something about the arrangement makes me nervous. Still, this remains a viable option.
One workaround is to use FocusWriter when on the Mac, as it has a native version of the program. I’ve tested and haven’t noticed any weirdness when switching between files created in WriteMonkey and then edited in FocusWriter and sent back to WM again. FocusWriter doesn’t support markdown but it also doesn’t do anything with markdown in the body of the document, either, so it’s still there in WriteMonkey.
Once WriteMonkey 3 is out of beta this should be a much stronger choice but it’s being developed by a single person, so work is not surprisingly proceeding at a slower pace (the first public beta came out in September after a private beta that ran most of the year).
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 indents
Choice 2: FocusWriter
FocusWriter’s strength lies in its simplicity and its native support for both Mac and Windows platforms. It doesn’t support markdown but perhaps because of this, it offers more fiction writer-friendly features.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 indents
Choice 3: Scrivener
I spent enough time using Scrivener, including writing NaNo novels with it, to learn most of its quirks and workflow. Then I stopped using it for long enough that I’ve forgotten most of that.
If you are simply typing words into the editor it’s pretty easy to use. It gets complicated as soon as you do anything else. The UI is bad.
The good news is its getting a major revamp to version 3. The less good news is that it’s not out yet, though the Mac version is expected by the end of 2017, with the Windows version coming in early 2018.
My biggest issue with Scrivener, though, is the way it saves files. By default it saves after two seconds of inactivity, which is nuts. This can be changed, but still, it seems like a recipe for introducing file corruption by invoking near-perpetual writes.
Along with this, the cloud support is very bad. It can work decently with Dropbox but people are actively told to steer away from OneDrive, iCloud and Google Drive. OneDrive is my preferred place to save things in the ephemeral cloud, so being told it’s not a good idea is a bit of a put-off.
I also lost a large chunk of a NaNo novel a few years ago when I botched the local/cloud saves while using Dropbox. This is mainly on me, but I felt it likely wouldn’t have happened in a different program due to the way Scrivener bundles projects into a multitude of files.
Rating: 3 out of 5 indents
Choice 4: Microsoft Word
The ubiquity of Word is probably the best reason to pick it. Its supported everywhere. You can probably run Word on your toaster now. But it offers few features for a fiction writer that are very nice to have. It lets you write the words and make them look pretty. It doesn’t do much beyond that.
Rating: 3 out of 5 indents
Darkhorse possibilities
There are some web-based editors that can usually work in offline mode if you lose connection (your work is automatically synced when the connection is restored) but I’m very leery of going web-only for my writing.
I could also just use a typewriter. No one ever lost a save file on a typewriter. The trick would be to find one. Plus I hate using typewriters because I’m not Harlan Ellison.
Finally, there’s always a notepad and pen. The very thought is causing my hand to spontaneously cramp, so no.
In the end it looks like the best candidates are:
WriteMonkey
FocusWriter
Scrivener
My plan, then, is to do some testing as follows:
Write a small project in WriteMonkey 2.7 (Windows version) and edit it on the MacBook Pro using both the same version in Parallels and through FocusWriter and see if anything screws up and also if the workflow actually works. I’ll use OneDrive for saving in a specially made folder for testing.
Create a Scrivener project in Windows and make changes back and forth in Windows and Mac. I’ll save in a specially made Dropbox folder (in theory OneDrive should work if the folder/files are set to be available in offline mode but I can’t be bothered jumping through this many hoops. I’m not a good hoop-jumper).
After the week of testing I’ll commit to my decision and go on to great writing glory. Hooray!
In 31 days National Novel Writing Month will begin once again, challenging writers to complete a 50,000 word novel in 30 days (that’s 1,667 words per day).
My success rate with NaNo has dipped below 50% since I started in 2009 and this is the first year where I’ve seriously considered not participating. However, my writing has largely stalled over the last two months, thanks to a combination of vacation time getting me out of the habit, an unfinished short story leaving me flummoxed and frustrated, and my preferred writing program suddenly and obnoxiously switching to a subscription model, leading me to dumping it.
They’re all excuses, really. I could have kept writing because the writing program (whichever one I may use) is just that, a tool. I have a plethora of options to choose from, so saying I can’t find a good replacement for the one I’ve stopped using would be like saying I couldn’t use a particular keyboard because it wasn’t the right color (I was originally going to say typewriter instead of keyboard, but a lot of people probably don’t even know what a typewriter is anymore, except as a prop sometimes seen in old timey movies).
The problem is the usual lack of discipline. I mean, look at me right this moment–I am once again desperately cheating my way through that one-post-per-day thing by attempting to write nine posts in one day so I’ll have 30 for the month (this post will bring me up to 25). The reason I’m doing this is because I lack the discipline to write one post per day (a simple and relatively easy task as I’m not exactly writing thesis papers here) and instead must cram in many posts on the final day (a not-so-easy task that may result in posts of less than great ambition and/or quality. See: the next post, which is going to be a haiku).
NaNo is a great way to reignite discipline, assuming the chosen novel keeps on rolling instead of smashing into a brick wall on the third day. I tend to write NaNo novels that feature roads dotted with random brick walls.
I can make this deal with myself: If I don’t get my writing back on track by the end of October, I do NaNo. If my writing is on track, I skip NaNo, because interrupting a project humming along to start another that may crash and burn in short order does not seem like the best plan.
This means I’ll have to start thinking of ideas, too. I hate this part.
I’ll report back in one month with my decision, possibly with a new keyboard in hand. But probably not.
On August 10 the company behind the markdown writing application Ulysses announced that the program was switching to a subscription model and that people who had already purchased the Mac and iOS software would get a lifetime 50% discount on the subscription rate (offer available for an unspecified limited time). You can read a lengthy explanation for the switch in this Medium story (the first paragraph contains the line “Our users expect a continuously evolving high quality product,?” which suggests the company is somewhat clueless about what people want from a writing program.
The regular Canadian yearly rate is $50, so I would qualify for a $25 rate or roughly $2 per month.
$2 per month is not much money. It’s the same I pay for a medium steeped tea at Tim Hortons if I throw the dime I get as change into a donation tin (which I do, I’m not a big hoarder of dimes). My decision to sub or not to sub, then, is not based on ability to pay, but willingness to pay.
After thinking it over for some time I finally came to an answer: I’m not paying.
I’ve stopped using Ulysses and will only keep the apps on my iPad and MacBook Pro long enough to move over the projects I’d been working on. The main one, my 2014 NaNoWriMo novel Road Closed has already been exported back to WriteMonkey, the program I originally used to write it back in the olden days of three years ago.
I really liked Ulysses. The interface was clean, effective and it had just enough features that I was sure it would be a good fit for this year’s National Novel Writing Month. It supports markdown, it has a very clean interface, with various ways to eliminate distractions and provide focus. It allowed you to set goals. Like Scrivener, it let you move around scenes or chapters easily. It offered customizable themes and could export to a variety of formats. It had seamless behind-the-scenes integration with iCloud. I never thought about saving, it just happened in the background, and I never lost a word or experienced any corrupted files in the time I spent using it.
There were problems, too. Macs render I-bars (used for selecting text) as thin black lines and Ulysses offered no options to change this, meaning it was surprisingly easy to lose the cursor if you used a theme with a darker background. I also found moving files around was prone to glitches, with nesting sometimes being hit or miss. There’s also no Windows version and the company behind Ulysses made it clear it wasn’t in the works.
Mostly, though, Ulysses worked well. As a simple markdown editor and writing tool, it did what it needed to.
Why am I unwilling to cough up a measly $2 a month, then, to continue using it? A few reasons:
I don’t want my writing locked to a subscription where some glitch or oversight suddenly means I only have read-only access to my projects. I have Microsoft Word as part of Office 365–a subscription service–but if I want to, I can buy a single license copy of Word and never have to worry about losing write access (ho ho) to my work.
Poor value. Even at $2 a month this is a middling to poor value. I get access to all of the major MS Office applications for free through my Office 365 work account but prior to that coming into play I subbed to the Office 365 University edition. It costs $80 and gives you four years of access–$20 per year or about $1.66 per month–less than Ulysses for a full office suite and cloud storage. But even if I went with the full singe user version (Office 365 Personal) I’d be paying $69 per year or $5.75 per month. This is slightly higher than the non-discount rate for Ulysses but instead of access to a single writing program, you get access to a range of products and services. The value comparison (regardless of whether you think Office is the best or worst thing ever) is incredibly lopsided. Office 365 gives you all of this:
Word (word processor)
Excel (spreadsheet)
Publisher (desktop publishing)
Outlook (email)
Access (database)
OneNote (cloud-based note-taking)
1 terabyte of storage on OneDrive (cloud storage)
60 minutes of monthly calls on Skype (web video phone conferencing)
Ignoring the competition. There are a lot of markdown and distraction-free/zen writing applications out there. Most of them are either free or have a one-time and relatively low purchase price. Even when it was a buy-once program Ulysses was expensive, separating itself from the competition in a negative way (but at least that high price was only extracted once). My favorite payment scheme is probably the one used by WriteMonkey. The software is free to use but if you want plugin support you need to donate. Plugins offer some very nice bonus features but the program itself otherwise works fine. The author is essentially engendering good will in the hope that you will donate and get some nice extras. And it worked, I donated.
Ignoring all of the other subscription software and services. Microsoft and Adobe can get away with it because they are big companies that sell to corporate users and can provide updates and services across an array of products and services. At some point people will draw a line and say no more to the next app they like that demands a subscription for use. I pay for Office 365 but I’ve bailed on my Adobe sub because I don’t get enough value from it and cheaper alternatives exist. I pay for Netflix and a few other services, like my mobile phone plan and internet, and I’ll pay for stuff like ad-removal in phone apps I use regularly. But I’m pretty close to the limit when it comes to adding more subscriptions to my load. A single-use program that is already complete and functional just doesn’t rank.
A writing app doesn’t need a subscription. Microsoft can add or change functionality across seven programs and its cloud service, as well as web-based versions of the same. The Ulysses team can…update Ulysses. But as a writing program it is already feature-complete. If I was pressed I could make up a list of “might be nice to have” features but none would be essential. I can’t begin to imagine adding enough stuff to make me say, “That’s worth $25 (or $50 for most people)” a year.”
Several other competitors to Ulysses, such as the teams behind Scrivener and iA Writer, have said they have no plans to go to subscription. I wish them continued success.
As for Ulysses, I would never wish the company ill, but I hope that it doesn’t pan out for them and they switch to a different kind of payment scheme, whether it’s “pay to remove ads” or “pay for infrequent major releases” (the Scrivener model) or something else. I really don’t want to see single-use software continue down the road of constantly dinging the user for marginal value.
This, of course, leaves me looking for a writing program to use now that I’ve stopped using Ulysses. I’ll cover some options in another post.
As the weather has improved I’ve noticed attendance for the weekly write-ins has gone down, with only three of us in attendance today. People are no doubt vacationing and such, but I think there’s also a bit of that “Do I really want to sit in a room and write for three hours when I could be lazing in the sun/swimming/[random sporting activity] instead?”
I once more attempted tackling my Camp NaNoWriMo 2017 project, a 5,000 word short story that would be “spooky.” After a few minutes I tried something I’d done before (but failed to get any traction on): write a story about someone having trouble writing. I even gave it the same title, the ever-so-imaginative “Writer’s Block.”
But this time something clicked and I managed over 2,400 words with a premise that promises to be all sorts of Twilight Zone creepy and out there. If I stay on pace I could conceivably finish the story next week, then have another week to polish it to a brilliant shine. Or at least polish it so its edges can no longer gouge innocent readers.
In all, a successful session and weirdly it wasn’t nearly as cold in the store as the previous session, though both of the other attendees agreed it was still cold.
Also, this particular Waves store moves/removes furniture every week for no reason I can fathom. It’s strange and could be the basis for a weird tale all its own.
Today’s writing group was well-attended despite some SkyTrain shenanigans that delayed the arrival of some. A fire or something fire-like led to service being closed between New West and 22 St. stations, meaning anyone at Columbia had to take a special bus to Edmonds station. For those not familiar with the SkyTrain network, this is what qualifies as a major pain in the butt, especially since we meet at the Waves Coffee one block away from, the New West station.
I only faced the minor inconvenience of getting off at Columbia and having to walk a few extra blocks. I was first to arrive and apparently the drizzly weather was a major turn-off for people as the place was empty (business picked up as we moved into the afternoon).
We had seven total, though one had to leave early for a spontaneous house-viewing (don’t you hate it when that happens? I’m speculating because I never knew such a thing could happen.)
My plan today was to write the chapter where Christian goes to his first AA meeting but despite turning out over 2,000 words he has yet to attend because I found myself putting him through mind games instead. Specifically he can hear what may be the tinkling of the beer bottles in his fridge calling to him. He dismisses the thought and heads off to a local bakery…where he hears the tinkling again.
Then Rachel–from the house party–shows up. I’m not sure what happens yet but I’m eager to find out.
He’ll eventually get to that AA meeting.
I have been subtly reshaping bits of the story to create more ambiguity on whether Christian is actually experiencing things or merely thinking he is because his drinking and current mental state are such that he can never really be sure.
In all, a productive outing. I am still amazed at how gigantic most of the others’ laptops are. One person has a purple Dell laptop that I’m pretty sure you could land a Cessna on. I still think my MacBook Pro at slightly over three pounds could be lighter and these behemoths probably cause permanent damage to your muscle tissue if you actually try placing them on your lap.
Still, if the tool works for you, it works for you.
While the weather was an uncertain mix of cloud, sun, and “will it rain?” (it didn’t, hooray) my writing was a lot more focused and I’m now confident that the first draft as written so far, at around 66,000 words, is basically where it should be, with inconsistencies smoothed over and scenes that no longer fit removed (but put in safe storage for possible use later). The only major piece still left somewhat unresolved is the whole piece that the novel currently takes its name from, namely the closed road and the mysteries of Miller Woods.
Ultimately I don’t want Miller Woods to seem more important than it really is. It’s where the murder victim was buried and another person dies but beyond that it doesn’t serve much purpose in the story. It’s almost a red herring of sort as it stands now, with Christian and Kevin investigating it, trying to find answers, while also grappling with who or what Wendy is.
On the other hand I currently have Christian receive secondhand information from Wendy urging him to go there to find clues to a “dark past”–what he interprets as a possible clue or clues to her murder. And indeed there may be clues there that help lead him to the killer and ultimately closure for Wendy–should he survive (himself).
Anyway, all good food for thought and I’m comfortable with writing the rest of the novel, wrapping the first draft and then letting it sit for a few weeks before plunging back in again.
As for the actual group, two of us were early, three more arrived and it was a quiet but productive session, with lots of typing to be heard. We only had two hours instead of the usual three, so maybe that egged everyone into doing more with the time we had.
I’ve missed making a post or two for the writing group so I’m switching to titles referencing the date as it’s easier to keep track of by my small yet manly brain.
Today I had a case of the blahs. I got there first and early, a second person also showed up early and eventually, we had four, with a fifth arriving midway through.
I read the last few chapters of Road Closed and got caught up on the story, making a few minor tweaks to wording and fixing a few more small continuity errors (I’m pretty sure Wendy now consistently dies in the same year). I got all of this done with plenty of time left in the three- hour WOW (window of writing) but couldn’t muster any real enthusiasm. I switched for a while to rereading some of my last NaNoWriMo effort, Last Exit, but that only left me equally unenthused about it. I read a smidgen of Weirdsmth and nope, still wasn’t feeling anything.
I surfed a little. I went to the bathroom three times. I figured out (again) how to convert straight quotes to smart quotes and actually documented the process so I’ll have reference instead of needing to figure it out all over yet another time.
In the end, I almost wished I had gone for a run instead, as overall it would have been a more productive use of my time. Still, it’s important to keep the habit going, so ultimately it was worth it, if just barely. I did think about inventing an excuse to leave an hour early, though, an option I may keep in mind should I hit a big fat wall of ennui again.
We got into the meeting room early today, yay. Three of us were there at the start, with two slightly late arrivals and one arriving halfway through. Using my amazing math skills, we had a turnout of six.
I came in with no specific plan of action, only knowing I would be fixing more things in Road Closed. Somehow I managed to fix one of the last big remaining lumps in the carpet I’d created. The one vexing me this week was the spooky room in the old house that Christian visits twice for house parties, the first time alone (and drunk), the second with Kevin (and sober).
Initially, I had him discover a room that appeared to be a study, complete with very old Remington typewriter sitting on the desk. He hears or thinks he hears a voice telling him to leave. Spooky.
On the second visit, he meets Brandon, the son of the owners of the house. Brandon tells him the room is Grandpa’s study and Grandpa died a long time ago. The room has been sealed as a kind of memorial. He agrees to unlock it so Christian and Kevin can have a look but refuses to go in himself. Still spooky but it didn’t feel right.
I pondered and then it came to me rather obviously–I had to ditch both Grandpa and the study. Instead, the room becomes a bedroom, one occupied twenty years earlier by Brandon’s aunt–his mother’s sister. Christian doesn’t know it at the time, of course, but he has literally come across Wendy Kerr’s residence and effectively gets her spirit attached to him by entering the room. The proverbial ghost magnet, just as he laments later on in the story. Perfect.
The next lump in the carpet is what to do with Miller Woods. Right now I have it as the place where Wendy was buried and where Simon meets his end. Is there more to it than that? Early parts of the story suggest it has some significance but now I’m not so sure.
Once I resolve the Miller Woods dilemma (MWD) I will have smoothed out everything that seriously bothers me in the first draft and can jump back into finishing the first draft proper. I am cautiously optimistic.
I’m a sucker for “how to write a novel” books and when How to Grow a Novel was on sale, I picked it up as I was interested in Stein’s perspective not just as a writer but also as an editor and publisher.
There’s some good stuff here and the advice is practical and precise, if sometimes contradictory. Stein both advises writers to read their own work aloud–and to not do so (because novels are read, not heard). He offers some genuinely interesting glimpses into how the book publishing business works (or at least worked, as the book was originally published in 1999, predating the rise of self-publishing through e-books).
I enjoyed the use of specific excerpts to underline the points being made but was less enthused with the self-promotion. The book Stein recommends the most is his own. At times he makes Stein On Writing sound better than this book, perhaps hoping to net a few more sales.
By the end, I found How to Grow a Novel more interesting as a reflection on the book publishing industry and less on the actual writing of a novel. A beginning writer could do worse (the stories of six-figure advances may be depressing in a way Stein didn’t anticipate) but could also do better, especially if looking for help that more readily mixes nuts and bolts advice with inspiration.
In a highly unusual turn of event the sun came out today and temperatures almost reached seasonal levels. Almost.
Energized by the weird glowing yellow ball in the sky, five of us showed up 15 minutes early, which naturally meant the group in the already in the room was tardy in leaving.
In all, we ended up with eight, which is just enough for everyone to sit at the table. One more and we would have chosen someone to be the outcast sitting on a chair in the corner, Lottery-style. And given the gargantuan size of some of these laptops, I would not want to subject some of my fellow writers to actually using their computers on their laps.
The writing session went fine, too. I immediately jumped in and fixed the problematic house party. Changes made:
the first house party now has Christian actually go into the basement. It’s no big thing and is thus dealt with as a plot device. I may go back and remove the scene altogether in the second draft.
the second house party, previously fleshed-out, is now further expanded, by having Christian meet the son of the house’s owners, a young and pensive young man named Brandon. He willingly gives Christian a key to enter the study but refuses to go in (or to say why). I have not finished this scene but it’s clear things are not quite right in the study.
I’ve still got some further work to do in aligning other parts of the story, notably Miller Woods, which comprises a good chunk of it, but I’m confident that even if I don’t come up with fixes that will stay, I’ll be able to get the story as is on a proper course so that I am comfortable expanding it beyond where it leaves off now.
Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel by Lisa Cron