Hello, writers. Many thanks to leading literary light Tara the Antisocial Social Worker for her excellent Write On diary last week on earning your ending, which you should read if you haven't. We haven't talked about endings much here on WO, though we have talked about “earning” stuff.
(If you weren't around: "earning" something in writing means providing the evidence earlier in the story which justifies what happens later. You "earn" a big revelation by giving hints of it, you "earn" a fight scene by showing the rising tension, etc.)
I was away last week at a writing conference, a gathering of working children's book editors, authors and illustrators. I'd never been before, but will certainly go again if I get the chance. (Admission is by lottery.) It was great to have a chance to meet and talk with other people who write children's books.
In all the conversations and workshops, there were a few themes that kept coming up again and again:
- writing is 99% revision
- this is the long haul
- dig deeper
We've discussed the first of these items on WO! once or twice before. But I picked up some new tips for revision at this workshop. Someone mentioned reprinting their manuscript in a different font so as to be able to look at it with new eyes. A couple people said they write all the possible endings for a story to see which one worked best. People talked about reading the manuscript aloud, of course, but one writer mentioned having your computer read it to you. (Macs will do this, apparently. I don't know about PCs.)
“The long haul” means not just this book, or this series, but a writer's whole lifetime. Seen from this perspective, not only does a bad review not matter, but an entire bad book doesn't matter. You move on. You write the next story. If the market changes, you write something different.
(Thinking of all the published and unpublished writers I know, one of things that most distinguishes the former from the latter is how consciously they write for the market.)
But by far the most got said about the last item. One way or another, everyone seemed to be talking about digging deeper. We've talked about this on WO! before. It means writing about the 17th thing you think of instead of the first or second. But what several people mentioned this past week is that it also means confonting your fears... writing about what scares you.
I need to think about this some more. I have a feeling I already write about what scares me. (Personal relationships, feelings, and werewolves.)
How about you?
Tonight's challenge:
Choose one of the scenarios listed below (cribbed from Tara's diary last week). Write a dialogue, a description, a bit of action... but make it about something that scares you.
- Belinda must save her beloved Lord Postlethwaite-Praxleigh (pronounced Puppy) from the nefarious Adelaide, who wants to get her hands on his jeweled sash.
- A callow youth and his/her stout companion must face a terrible obstacle in their quest for the Jewel of Togwogmagog.
- Detective Scotty Blaine hears from the local mob boss after refusing to help the mob boss’s son get out of jail.
- Private investigator Celia Spunk is hot on the trail of the Chainsmoke Killer when she meets....
- International superspy James Buns and his unfortunately-named girlfriend have been captured by....
Try to limit yourself to 150 words.
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