Advice for Character Creation and Plotting - Keep It Real

I have been reading a ton of submissions lately and one of the comments I have found myself making time and time again is that the story is simply forced. Either the plotline or the characters are coming across as far from being real. It seems as if the writer is trying too hard to make everything come together in the story.

The problem lies with one key factor. The writers have not looked at what is happening in their stories in a "real context." The truth of the matter is that, in the real world, these stories would probably never happen? The writer has piled on so much to the story or focused so much on individual scenes that they failed to see if something like this would likely happen.

Now, for all of you who write sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal, don't think you are out of the conversation here. Your characters and the way they act have to be human like as well. I don't care if it is a vampire, we have to, as readers, believe something like this would happen.

The key to the success of a book is the ability for the reader to be drawn into the story and to relate to the things that are going on. Even in horror, readers want to relate to the characters. There are, in fact, numerous communication theorists who have noted that people watch these movies to "live out their fears" in a safe environment.

When you are writing, you have to always stop and examine what you are doing. Sure the scene may be great. Sure the concept you might be throwing out there may be unique and fun, but is it something that truly would happen in the real world and would the characters actually do it?

Just something to think about over the weekend.

Scott

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Creative Writing Programs Need To Change Focus

Teaching creative writing courses is a lot of fun. This is a chance, as an instructor, to really get out there and watch people, who haven't been corrupted by money, who haven't been told they can't write, who haven't seen a rejection letter, really thrive and grow. Creative writing classes truly are places where we can see the human experience coming alive on the page and in front of us.

With that said, I do believe that many of these programs need to find a way to make some small tweaks in how they approach the business. This is especially true for many of the MFA Writing programs out there. What seems to be missing in many of these programs is the element of reality. Writers going through these programs, more often than not, are seeing a world through rose colored glasses. In an effort to encourage creativity and writing, programs are forgetting the reality of what it takes to survive in the world of professional writing.

I do want to stress that not all teachers and programs are bad. I am however, looking at the big picture and seeing too many missing the mark.

I started thinking about this as I sat next to a couple of adjunct instructors at a community college I do some work with. These two were talking about the MFA programs they were part of the works they were crafting. The enthusiasm and excitement was incredible. Their passion was over-flowing as they talked about the "novels" they were writing. The problem I head though, was the sense that they knew, the combination of this MFA and the completion of their novel would equal immediate success in publishing.

Wow!

I had the opportunity to teach a creative writing class last year and I was equally as shocked when I saw the textbooks assigned for the course. As you know, I am always saying there is no one right way to do something. Your story will dictate the course of action you need to take to get the message across. And yet, the curriculum being taught focused on stressing there really is only one way to do something. Along the same lines, the curriculum even went so far as perpetuating the myth that if you have a plot, character, setting, conflict and so forth (note I didn't say quality here) then the story would be good.

I would also add that many of the creative writing programs are being taught by instructors that might not necessarily be prepared to teach the class. Universities have professors who are published, but the works they are creating are being published within their own university presses. They already had someone who was going to "buy" the work because of their contracts. Others are using POD programs or even programs that many in the publishing industry refer to as rip-offs and scams. Students see these instructors as "being successful" however, and then translate that to their own writing.

As someone who has been on both sides of this equation - someone who works in professional publishing and someone who works in academia - I would call for these creative writing programs to reconsider their approaches. No, I don't want them to eliminate the creative element, and the drive to bring in the human experience, but please, add some reality.

Scott

Remind Yourself Why You Write

Every now and then, a reader needs to sit back and really think about what they are doing and why they are doing it. I am always frustrated when I hear writers, who once had a great passion for writing, suddenly forget that whole element. Now, it is all about the money and the glory.

I was listening to a great story on NPR yesterday about the Chelsea Hotel in New York. I've put the link here in case you missed it. I think what amazed me the most, no, maybe the word is inspired me the most, is that these residents truly keep that perspective of what they do at the forefront of everything.

NPR ARTICLE

I think part of the reason I like working with new authors is that they have not be ruined by the thoughts of money and glory. They write because they like to create. They love storytelling. Don't get me wrong though. These authors are not just throwing their writing out there without a desire to get something for what they do, but the focus is not on the money.

I do believe this is one of those reasons why I am frequently against many (please note I did not say all here) writers who dive into the lure of the self-publishing model. I do believe that many have forgotten why they write. They have forgotten the desire to produce a great piece of writing. What is motivating them is not the creation process, but "seeing their work published." Again, sure getting published is the thing we are all shooting for, but the question to all of this is simple.

"Do you write to create or do you write to make money?"

You can do both. But what is the driving purpose?

Just something to contemplate today.

Scott

Don't Rush Your Submissions

Every now and then I will receive multiple submissions from a single author either all on one day or in several consecutive days. I personally don't have any problems with the multiple submissions, but the author is making a huge mistake and really (in most cases) wasting a huge amount of time. The problem is simple. The author has not waited to hear back from the first submission.

After an author submits a story to and editor or agent, make sure to take the time to wait for a response. Each editor or agent has a time period that they say you should hear back from them. WAIT! The rationale is simple. If you get some comments back, you can either adjust your new submission to meet those parameters, or decide that the other projects may not work at all for what the person was looking for.

This last week, I had an author submit three projects to me. The first project wasn't romance or women's fiction, so therefore, it was an automatic rejection. The next day, the author submitted two more projects. I still hadn't responded to the first one so this author really didn't know that the next two projects were never going to work. Hmmmm? What does this say.

Now yes, I do understand that following this guideline does rely on whether or not the agent or editor sent you a response that wasn't a form letter, or even sent you one. Still. you can save yourself a bit of time.

There is another factor though that you should consider. Due to human nature, if we see multiple submissions showing up like this, we start having negative thoughts about your approach to submissions. If you are sending these out in this rapid fire approach to me, are you doing the same with other editors or agents? Along the same lines, if you are doing this, what does this tell us about your knowledge of the business? Regardless of the answer to those two questions, you are starting to leave us with some questions and some doubts over how much work you might be as a client.

The stronger approach is simple. Take what you learn, adapt to it and then show me that you learned and mastered my comments in the next project. Doing so will demonstrate to that editor or agent that you can take critique and apply those revisions to your future projects.

Scott