To think like a writer, you must learn to write in scenes as one of the basic creative writing prompts. A scene is a set of contained actions and most writers have sort of an idea about how it goes. But they go wrong in several ways.

Pillow Fight or Pillow Talk: Both type scenes need action - reaction.

This means that you must devise a series of actions for your scene. This is sometimes called a beat sheet, with each beat one action. The actions do not have to be large, it might be something as simple as turning your head in the direction of a sound. But it can’t be thinking about the sound. Yes, you can include an action, a thought, then the reaction; but the emphasis is on the action.

Many scenes go awry when the character slows down to think things through. Yes, that’s a variation of how a scene might go. But think about how that would look on the big screen in a movie. In the middle of Mission Impossible, a character stops to think about what might happen if he doesn’t fight the villain in front of him. Right. Character is dead. That’s an extreme example, of course, but it illustrates what I want to say. Keep the action going! After the scene is over, spend a couple pages if you want of explanation about why this happened and back story and flashbacks and memories. Just keep it out of the scene itself.

Action. Thought or emotion. Reaction. Thought or emotion. Action. Thought or emotion. Reaction. Thought or emotion.

You can also add in a description or two, here or there, of course.

Opening scenes are particularly susceptible to being weakened by the author’s need to set things up with explanatory narrative, flashbacks or long descriptions. Keep the balance light and the pace quick. There’s time enough later for the reader to learn about what your character did at age five and why they are so aggravated with the friend who is pulling them toward the lake.

Today, practice writing a scene. Start with these basics.

• What is your character’s basic goal in the scene?
• What complications will keep the character from reaching that goal?
• What disaster will end the scene?
• Why does this scene matter?
• Where does this scene take place?
• List possible beats, small actions that could keep the scene moving.
• Is there a place where the scene’s dynamics seem to shift, a fulcrum point where possible success turns to disaster? If not, can you plan one.

OK, NOW, you can write your scene. If it is an opening scene, I absolutely forbid you to put in any back story, narrative explanations, or memories. Put me solidly in a scene, give enough details that I am never confused about who, what, when, where and keep the pace moving. Think like a writer: think in scenes.

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

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I’m on a 4 day streak, after messing up a 36 day streak of writing daily on 750words.com. Sigh. Why did I mess up? Too many family issues going on.

If you’re writing 750 words daily, too, part of the goal is to learn to think like a writer. Character relationships are important to establish, but the relationships must be natural. In order for that to happen, you must not put too much on top of the text. In other words, you must have subtext.

Subtext is the real topic of discussion, whatever is going on in the relationship.
For example, a couple might be making apple pie together, peeling apples, mixing up and rolling out pie crust, popping it in the oven. Their dialogue might be:

This green apple is sour.
That’s why I got half green, half red.
It’s too sour.
Then add sugar?
Yes. Sometimes you need to sweeten things up a bit.

Straightforward, talking about apple pie. But the subtext could vary. Maybe they had a fight that morning and when one says “sour” they really are talking about the fight. When the other offers to add sugar, maybe it’s a subtle apology.

This green apple is sour. She hesitated, waiting for him to speak.
That’s why I got half green, half red.
It’s too sour.
He took the knife from her hand and turned her around.
Then add sugar? He bent to kiss her.
Afterward, she said, Yes. Sometimes you need to sweeten things up a bit.

The text is still talking about making apple pie, but the subtext is the couple making up after a fight.

What if it is two brothers?

His mouth puckered: This apple is sour.
Tight lipped, his brother said, That’s why I got half green, half red.
He shook his head and dropped the apple in the trash: It’s too sour.
His brother pulled it out again and slammed it onto the counter and glared.
Quickly now, hoping to avert the anger, he stuttered, Th-th-then add sugar?
Yes. His brother’s eyes gleamed red and he rolled up his sleeves and flexed his fist. Sometimes you need to sweeten things up a bit.

You get the idea. It’s not the dialogue, per se, that carries the weight of a relationship. Sometimes, it’s the subtext. Often that is in the dialogue itself, but often it is in the beats or actions, thoughts and emotions responding to the dialogue. Think like a writer: what is really going on in a relationship?

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

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If you’re doing NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month, you’ll be starting at midnight tonight or first thing in the morning. You’ll be opening your story with a great scene, right?



Here are resources for those first lines, opening chapters of your novel.

1. 10 Opening Line Strategies, illustrated with the top 100 opening lines of novels.
2. 4 Goals of Opening Chapters
3. 5 Ways Openings Go Wrong
4. Backstory’s Emotional Weight, or Where Do I Put the Emotional Backstory if It Doesn’t Belong in the First Chapter–Which it Doesn’t
5. 4 Ways to Deal with Narrative Summary, Or How to Deal with Another Common Opening Chapter Mistake
6. Still trying to decide on the POV for your novel? 5 Questions About First Person POV
7. Round-up of Links for Opening Chapters
8. Prophetic Openings: Foreshadowing the Story’s Ending in it’s Beginning
9. Improve Your Weak Opening. No, you’re not revising yet, but read this one to see what to avoid.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

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Writing for Kids? It’s easy, right? Recently, I’ve talked to several beginners and here’s some of the most common advice I give.

Main Character to Relate to and Identify With

What age are you writing for? Adults? Then, you need an adult main character. Teens? Then, you need a teen main character. Elementary age kid? Then you need. . . In other words, your audience needs a main character they can relate to and identify with.

Yes, I know. Fairy tales are about old dudes like Rumpelstiltskin. And Pooh Bear is, well, a bear. Yes, there will be an odd book about a grandparent as a main character. But those are harder to pull off and best left till later in your career. Create a main character a bit older than your audience. It can be an animal–which is generally a kid in animal clothing. But any time you move far off from your audience’s age and general characteristics, you will have to work harder to make the audience care.

Basic Writing Skills

Yes, there are basic writing skills and you need to master these. They include sentence structures and punctuation. For this, I suggest you work through The Art of Styling Sentences. It’s a simple, fun way to review basic writing.

Basic Fiction Skills

Ah, but after you brush up your basic writing skills, you need to learn some basic fiction techniques. Do you know how to punctuate dialogue correctly? Do you know how to Show-Don’t-Tell a story? Do you understand that fiction is about conflict, that you can’t create a plot which has no obstacles and simple obstacles makes for a simple, but boring plot?

I always recommend two basic texts for writing fiction:

• Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and Dave King.
• The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman

If you study these two books on fiction writing, you’ll be far ahead of the gang.

Ask for and accept help!

Advice from the Sage One

Worry about the words, not the art.

Finally, if you are writing a picture book, worry not about the art. Worry only that your words soar.
The publisher, editor and art director will match you with a fantastic illustrator. You don’t have to find an artist, indeed, it will cut your chances of a sale in half if you do. They WANT to and EXPECT to contract an illustrator for a picture book. Worry about the words. That’s your job.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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Read about the two essentials of a virtual book launch in my guest blog for DearEditor.com: Guest Editor Darcy Pattison re: Virtual Book Launches

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Wise Men Give Writing Tips

For the last few years, Fiction Notes has offered writing tips from famous holiday or winter characters. In keeping with that tradition, we offer this year 7 writing tips from the 3 Kings.

Happy Holidays!

Previous Holiday Writing Tips

Frosty the Snowman’s Top 6 Writing Tips
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer’s Top 5 Writing Tips
Santa Claus’s Top 5 Writing Tips
The Gingerbread Man’s Top 5 Writing Tips
12 Days of Christmas Writing Tips
Download the FREE pdf of Winter Writing Activities.

We Three Kings

1. We three kings of Orient are
   Bearing gifts we traverse afar
   Field and fountain, moor and mountain
   Following yonder star

   Orient the reader. Character, setting and goals are immediately set up here. We know WHO (Kings), WHAT (bearing gifts and following star), WHERE (afar – over many different terrains), and WHY (to follow the star and deliver gifts). When you write, try to orient (pun intended!) your readers right away, so they aren’t confused about what is happening in the story.

2. O Star of wonder, star of night
   Star with royal beauty bright
   Westward leading, still proceeding
   Guide us to thy Perfect Light

   Verbal Play: This refrain or chorus is playful and fun to repeat. Try to find places to play with language as you write.

3. Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
   Gold I bring to crown Him again
   King forever, ceasing never
   Over us all to rein
   (Repeat Chorus.)
   

   Specifics: It’s important to be specific in a story and give details, The next few verses will give specifics of what gifts are being brought to the newborn King: gold, frankincense and myrrh.

4. Frankincense to offer have I
   Incense owns a Deity nigh
   Pray’r and praising, all men raising
   Worship Him, God most high
   (Repeat Chorus.)

   Use Sensory Details: Even in a song, the writers recognize the importance of including sensory details, things you see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Here, the smell of incense is highlighted. Make sure you highlight other senses, too!

5. Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
   Breathes of life of gathering gloom
   Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
   Sealed in the stone-cold tomb
   (Repeat Chorus.)

   Summarize when space is limited–but do it with verbs. The summary of the life of Jesus is amazingly compressed into about nine words. Notice the importance of the verbs in this compression. Verbs hold much of the action of a story and by emphasizing verbs, you can strengthen almost any writing.

6. Glorious now behold Him arise
   King and God and Sacrifice
   Alleluia, Alleluia
   Earth to heav’n replies

   Epiphany/climax: The word ephiphany originated in religious literature as a moment when God/heaven is revealed in a splash of light and glory. Singing about the resurrection of Christ is indeed an epiphany moment. In your story, did you actually WRITE and climax of your story? It should change everything for the characters involved. Here, Christ’s resurrection changes the world as he offers a new way for men to have a relationship with God and the response of the song is, “Alleluia, Alleluia.” A true epiphany.

7. O Star of wonder, star of night
   Star with royal beauty bright
   Westward leading, still proceeding
   Guide us to Thy perfect light

   Denoument: A final repetition of a chorus is a fitting end. It repeats the verbal play, while replaying for the reader/singer the travel of the Magi.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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Publicity: Top 5 Things Every Author Should Do When a New Book Comes Out

This guest post is by Barbara Fisch & Sarah Shealy, Co-owners, Blue Slip Media, a children’s book publicity and marketing agency www.BlueSlipMedia.com

1. Current Contact List. Publicists at the major publishing houses are overworked and underpaid–they will welcome anything you can do to make their job easier. Chances are you sent a list of contacts who should see your book to your publisher in the past, but it’s important to send that list every time you have a new book. Publishers tend to work by season, so while the list you sent for your spring 2008 book might still be perfectly valid and up to date, it’s going to be a bit of a hunt for your publisher’s publicity department to locate it. Sending a fresh list with each book will also insure that your list gets back on the publicist’s radar screen. Remember, the average publicist at a publishing house is working on 20-30 books a season. The best way to get your book to the top of the pile is to provide complete information on your contacts list so that the publicist will know this is an easy one to do quickly and cross off her ‘to do’ list.
   

   Tip: Consider sending personal notes to go along with each book to contacts you know well so that all the publicist needs to do is pack and ship to those addresses.

   Tip: Make it easy by including all pertinent information (your neighborhood for local papers, or graduation year and major for your college alumni magazine) in your contacts list.

2. Unusual markets. Think out of the box about potential markets for your book. Sometimes surprising niche markets can be a major source of publicity—and special sales—for a title. For example, if your book is about a ballerina, approach dance supply stores, professional ballet companies, ballet academies, performing arts magnet schools, dance teachers, etc. Are there trade shows for dance professionals? Unions? Consider buying a list of ballet schools nationwide and sending them a postcard about your book. Don’t expect that your publisher can do all of this for you. An outside publicist can help but you can probably do much of it on your own as well through internet research. You need to be willing to pick up the phone and send e-mails. You very well may get a “no thanks,” but it’s worth a try to see if a non-traditional book outlet might be interested in telling their membership about your book.
   

   Tip: If you’re hoping to garner sales in non-traditional book markets, be sure to include accurate ordering information as well as a contact in your publisher’s sales office on any printed materials.

3. Share publicity expenses with publisher. Consider asking your publisher to meet you halfway. Marketing and publicity budgets are slim but if you’re really keen on making a postcard to advertise your book and it’s not in your publisher’s marketing plan, see if they will consider putting $100 toward your cost if you make the postcard yourself. Often this is an attractive compromise for them. And it’s not usually something they’d offer to you unprompted; they have to be asked.
   

   Tip: Keep timing in mind. It’s best to ask for something like this when your book is new. Don’t wait till it’s a backlist title.

4. Court your local bookseller. You need a great relationship with your local bookstore and a new book is a great opportunity to say thank you for all of their hard work on your previous titles. Your local bookseller is tapped in to the book scene in your community – pick his/her brain! What’s hot right now? Which publishers offer the best support for books? What local schools are best with author appearances? What themes seem perennial? What brings customers into their stores the most – events? Advertising? Book reviews? Being savvy about your industry is always an asset.
   

   Tip: Take your local bookseller out to lunch.

5. Be nice. This one may sound simplistic, but you’d be amazed at how many big time authors forget it: Be Nice. Let your publisher know you’d like to be an asset to their marketing and publicity plans, and always be flexible and willing to listen. As the saying goes, “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Let’s face it, publicity and marketing personnel at every publishing house have favorite authors for whom they’re happy to put in a little extra effort. You can find yourself on that ‘favorites’ list by being kind and helpful and not petulant and demanding. It’s as simple as that.
   

   Tip: Send thank you notes.

Best of luck to you!

Barbara Fisch and Sarah Shealy have over 20 years experience (each!) working for major publishing houses. Prior to opening Blue Slip Media, they were Associate Directors of Publicity at Harcourt Children’s Books.
619-938-3193

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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One of the key things I check when revising a picture book manuscript is page turns. Have I given the reader any reason to keep turning pages, or does each page stand alone and the reader doesn’t care if s/he finishes the book?

5 Ways to Make the Reader Turn the Page

1. Stop a sentence in the middle and carry it over to the next page.
   Stop a sentence in the middle and carry it over to the next page.
   From What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?

   What do you do with a tail like this? (Page turn.)
   If you’re a lizard, you break off your tail to get away.

2. Use only half of a compound word on one page and the rest on the next page. For a masterful use of this concept, look at Rick Walton’s book, Once There Was a Bull . . .(Frog).
   

   Once there was a bull. . .(page turn) . . .frog who had lost his hop.

3. Use key transition words. Then, When, But, And, Until. . .The ellipsis (punctuated with the three spaced-out periods) works here to let the reader lengthen the transition word, until the page is turned, revealing a new illustration, and the thought can continue.
4. Visuals. Strong page turns can be created with visuals – a tail (page turn) the rest of the animal. Or, provide a close up on one page and on the next page, pull back to see the whole picture. There are lots of variations on using visuals to create an effective page turn. In general, the writer can’t insist on the visual, but you can hint at it with your text.
5. Cause-effect. Of course, the final way to get readers to turn the page is to write an exciting story. If the plot is exciting, then readers will turn the page to find out what happens next.

ACTION POINTS

Evaluate your manuscript. Are there ways to make the reader anticipate the page turns? If yes, revise. If you answer no, go to the next lesson.

How to Write a Children’s Picture Book A Fiction Notes Ebook 110 pages packed with information. Everything in one, easy-to-read format. Instant access!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Write a Stronger Novel

You’re writing a novel, a fictional story, that runs a rather long length. What’s the difference between a novel manuscript that sells and one that doesn’t? Details.

Here are 30 fast Novel Revision tips.
30 Easy Novel Revision tips.

Get regular updates from Fiction Notes

30 ONE-MINUTE Tips for strengthening your novel

Titles
Subtitles
Chapter Divisions
Character Names
Stronger Settings
Stronger Setting Details
Characters That Count
Take Your Character’s Pulse
Connecting Emotional and Narrative Arcs
Unique Character Dialogue
Character Description
Begin at the Beginning
Scene Cuts
Take a Break
Power Abs for Novels
Angel Moments in Your Novel
Powerful Endings
Tie Up Loose Ends
Find Your Theme
Theme Affects Setting
Theme Affects Characters and Actions
Choosing Subplots
Knitting Subplots Together
Feedback
Stay the Course
Revise Again
The End
The New Beginning

MORE tips on Stronger Novels

More on Writing a Novel

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win