Sunday Smatterings
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Happy Sunday, friends! It’s the time of year, when my brain, trained from years of schooling, turns on. It’s remarkable, actually, how ingrained the habits of September are for me. The second there’s a chill in the evening air, everything shifts, and by the autumnal equinox, all is locked in. My habits are reformed, my days gain structure, the work seems easier. I loved going to school with the fiery passion of a thousand suns, so somewhere in my lizard brain, I suppose it carried over into adulthood. My reading slump seems to have passed, and I’m writing again, though I’d promised myself not to worry about trying to work in the middle of all the craziness that is moving.
But story has a way of surfacing, whether you want it to or not. For those of us who’ve been called to storytelling in its many forms, trying to control the when and where falls under the category of Man plans, God laughs. When the characters start talking, you’d best get out a pen and paper and record the conversations.
I’m approaching this new book in a different manner. I went to a great writer’s retreat last November, and I came away with a craft gem from my friend, author Mary Beth Whalen: don’t start your book until you have 40 scenes fleshed out. This was an earth-shattering idea for me, the pantser.
It struck such a chord because when I talk about characters speaking to me, they do so against the backdrop of scenes. It’s very visual, like movie set pieces. I see what’s around them, and while I’m recording the conversations, I’m also taking note of where and when they are: interior or exterior, weather, night or day, other people around, etc.
Transfer my “conversations” or snippets of dialogue into a more fleshed out “scene” and do it forty times before I start? OK. I can do that. It’s not outlining, so my school brain doesn’t fight against it, it’s just setting the stage properly.
Yesterday, I sat down and offloaded the snippets that have been floating around, and lo and behold—19 scenes already before I’ve even really started fleshing out the actual story.
I’m also studying Truby at last, at the behest of another brilliant author friend, Ariel Lawhon. Before I start writing in earnest, I’m looking at the bigger picture, the themes, symbols, and structure. I already know the theme of this book, and that’s really helped me set up for the word-making to come.
If you have any craft questions you’d like me to address, please leave them in the comments below (instead of on Facebook or Twitter, if only so I don’t have to go looking for them.)
Oh, one last thing. If you haven’t watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix, you really should. It’s incumbent upon all of us to band together to make social media work for us, instead of the other way around.
And with that… Onward!
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Don’t forget: Goodreads is giving away 25 Advanced Reader Copies of HER DARK LIES! (US only.)
THE LAKEHOUSE by Joe Clifford
THE LAKEHOUSE has everything I love in a crime novel--complex characters, small town dynamics, secrets simmering under the surface, and a fresh, unexpected conclusion. Clifford’s raw, edgy voice makes him the heir apparent to Chandler. An excellent must read.
What are you reading?
That’s it from me. Don’t forget to change the batteries on your fire alarms and sensors, pile up some leaves for jumping in, break out the sweaters, and I’ll see you next week!
Peace and hugs,
J.T.
