WriterInside.com Blog

Do you ever find yourself driven to do something that you just can’t find the time to do? I know, I know, I’m the one who’s supposed to tell you that if you have enough drive to do something then you’ll MAKE the time; but that advice is easier to dole out than it is to follow.

As you have probably noticed, website updates have been infrequent lately. This is because I’m currently wrestling with a full time job while trying to build up a freelance web design business. And I’m doing all of this in an effort to pay off some high-interest credit card debt. (Credit cards are evil, ladies and gents, don’t be deceived!)

This doesn’t leave much time for writing.

Now, if one of you had said this to me, this is the point where I would jump in and tell you that if you really want to write, you’ll stop making excuses and DO IT. Even if it means only writing a couple of pages per week, you must do something.

And that advice is perfectly sound.

So I’m calling on YOU GUYS to help me! Whenever you get a chance, drop me an email by going to our contact page. Check up on me, tell me to get busy, motivate me, inspire me, tell me why you love to write . . . anything to give me a good, solid kick in the literary rump.

And I’m always here to do the same for you.

P.S. And if you’re feeling extra generous, feel free to explore the “click here to donate” button on the right side of the page.

Where and when does your story take place? This question needs to be answered in as much detail as possible before you ever put pen to paper. If you don’t have a good idea of the time and place of your story, then neither will your readers. And the setting for your story should be considered as seriously as though it were another character . . . because in a way, it is. So here are a few tips for fleshing out your setting:

1. Spend some time there yourself. Whether your story takes place in a real place or an imagined universe, you need to set a solid foundation for your setting. You can do this by spending time there yourself. If the place you’re writing about is real, go there. If you’ve never been there, or if you can’t afford to go, you need to either change the setting or do a lot of research.

If the place you’re writing about doesn’t exist, then your job is a little bit easier. You won’t have to deal with all the locals who complain that your descriptions aren’t accurate. On the other hand, you job can also be a lot more difficult, because even though the place doesn’t exist, you have to make it seem so.

So spend some time there. Close your eyes and walk through the forests, wander up and down the streets, shake hands with the locals, visit all the local sites. Pull out a pen and paper and draw detailed maps. Immerse yourself in the environment until you almost start to believe it’s real.

2. Don’t get too caught up in details. It’s important to know and understand your setting, but don’t get caught up in explaining every street crack, every tree and rock, and every stop sign. In the course of your writing, include only the things that the characters would notice.

3. Include all of the senses. If your character is wandering through a suburban neighborhood on the 4th of July, what kind of things would he see, hear, taste, touch, and smell? He might smell fireworks or barbecue. Maybe he sees kids running around and hears laughter and fireworks going off. If it’s a typical 4th of July in Texas, then he probably feels the heat of the sun baking the back of his neck. Including the senses can add a whole new dimension to your narrative.

4. Has it been invented yet? If your story takes place in 1930, make sure your character isn’t carrying a gun that was invented in the 1940’s. Little details like this can destroy your credibility as an author for any of your readers who are picky enough to catch your inaccuracies.

5. Is that what it really looks like? If you’re writing about a place you’ve only seen pictures of, then interview someone who’s actually been there. At the risk of being annoying, ask them very specific questions about WHAT they saw, how it made them FEEL, what they might have noticed that you would only notice if you’ve been there.

There is plenty to consider concerning your plot. Don’t sell a potentially great story short by neglecting to understand and build your setting properly. Remember, your environment is almost another character in your story. Think about how this idea relates to movies such as The Princess Bride, Ocean’s Eleven, Hidalgo, and Star Wars. If the time and place for any of these these stories were less specific or poorly thought out, then the entire story would be remarkably different.

So before you send that manuscript out, take a moment to consider your setting. Have you given it the attention it deserves?

On Fridays, I usually meet a couple friends (who also work from home) at Starbucks, and we work from there for a few hours before heading back home. And I didn’t realize just how bulky my laptop was until we started our Starbucks ritual.

You see, both of the aforementioned friends have Mac laptop computers, and I’ve got a bulky HP that sits more than an inch high when the screen is closed. At our little Starbucks table, my laptop takes up most of the table top real estate. (As a side note, that’s one reason I’m trying to switch to Mac.)

So, what does that have to do with writing? Well, it’s been a while since I’ve gotten any real writing done, but when I DO write, I usually pack up my laptop and head out to the nearest Starbucks, away from the distractions of home. I know a lot of writers prefer to be hermits, locked away in a dark corner of their houses, but as I mentioned before, in my full-time job, I work from home, so by the end of the day, I need a change of scenery.

Anyways, if you’ve ever tried to pack up a 17″ HP Pavilion zd7000 laptop and take it to Starbucks, then you know what a hassle it can be. By the time you’ve packed it up at home and unpacked it at Starbucks, you’ve wasted a good 5 minutes that you could have spent writing. Now 5 minutes may not seem like much, but when you’ve got as little free time as I do, 5 minutes is a treasure!

If only I had a Mac Book Pro! They’re so much lighter and faster and easier to transport!

So, what’s my point? Am I trying to get everyone to buy a new Mac? No, of course not! My point is that when you’re writing, you need to examine all of the things that hinder you from getting that done . . . no matter how small they may be. If there are any little things you can do to increase your productivity, it will definitely be worth it in the long run to get rid of those obstacles. Even if it just gives you 5 extra minutes of writing time, won’t it be worth it? Think about it, if you write 5 days a week, then adding 5 more minutes of writing time per day will give you 25 extra minutes per week, 100 extra minutes per month, and 21 EXTRA HOURS of writing per year!

As I was was playing my guitar this afternoon, I was reminded of an important aspect of songwriting — variety.

Variety should be prevalent in every aspect of a well-written song. The melody should be infused with a wide variety (or range) of notes, or else the song gets repetitive, often sounding monotone and emotionless. If the rhythms are too repetitive, the music begins to sound robotic and stiff. If the chorus sounds too much like the verse, the entire song becomes monotonous.

And it hit me that it’s no different with writing fiction. If you open up any of the classics, you will find that the authors use a great deal of variety in every aspect of their work, from broad themes all the way down to sentence structure and word choice. Without this sense of variety, a written work doesn’t flow properly. Take sentence length, for example. If every sentence in a work of literature were long and verbose, bleeding across half a page, complex in structure to the point where you no long remember where the sentence began, then it becomes a very tedious read, and you quickly find yourself moving on to something else. Likewise, if you have too many short, five-word sentences in a row, then it begins to sound very choppy and broken.

On the other hand, if you employ variety in the length and structure of your sentences, then you will notice a more pleasant flow. When you read it out loud, it will sound natural, almost conversational.

But it doesn’t stop with sentence structure. Variety needs to be infused into your word choice. Don’t repeat the same words or phrases over and over again in the same sentence or paragraph. Also, consider the length of your paragraphs. Don’t make them all long, but don’t make them all short, either.

On a broader scale, use variety in your setting and plot. Unless it’s absolutely essential to the story (such as in the Tom Hanks movie, Cast Away), don’t keep your characters in the exact same spot throughout the entire narration. If it is essential, then provide variety in other ways, such as the weather or the threats that are being faced.

Add a variety of themes (always staying consistent with your overall theme, of course), plot twists, moods, and dialogs. If all your characters speak the same way, using the same word choice and sentence structure, then ALL of your characters will start to become flat, no matter how much work you’ve done on their back stories.

I think you get the point. If something doesn’t seem quite right when you’re reading through your manuscripts, take a step back and consider whether or not there’s enough variety in the story. Adding a little variety may just give your story the spark you’ve been looking for.

But before I wrap it up, let me also say that there may be times when you purposefully want some repetition and monotony. Going back to the idea of songwriting, if you’re composing a funeral dirge, then you probably won’t have as much variety in harmony or rhythm as you would for a song of celebration. But as an overall rule, try to mix it up a little.

As I type this post, I’m watching an episode of the fourth season of the hit TV show, 24, and reflecting on one of the most popular characters in television history–the seemingly indestructible Jack Bauer.

What is it about ol’ Jackie Boy that has so many people glued to their screens to watch him?

The answer is easy — he’s complicated!

Jack’s a good guy. He’s brave, he’s dedicated, he’s loyal, and he’s got some mad fighting skills. No matter what he’s going through, whether he’s being shot at or being tortured within an inch of his life, he never shows fear. He never balks. He never betrays the people or the values that he cares about.

But that’s not what makes him an interesting character. If Jack consisted of nothing more than his noble character, he would be a flat, 2-dimensional paper doll that would be impossible to relate to. He would be nothing more than a comic book hero.

What draws us to Jack–and this is very important to pay attention to if you want to write believable characters–is that he also has a dark side. He’s willing to do whatever it takes, no matter how dark, in order to serve the greater good. Even if it means shooting one of his own coworkers in the back of the head in order to satisfy the demands of a maniac who is prepared to kill millions of people, Jack is willing to do it.

And we can see it wearing on him, tearing him apart, destroying his relationships.

When you write, give your heroes strength. Give your heroes courage. Infuse them with the ability to move mountains (metaphorically speaking, of course). But don’t forget to give them flaws. Give them a dark side. Give them impossible decisions, but make them decisive. Whether their decisions are right or wrong will be revealed in the long run, but make sure your characters aren’t flat.

If you character has to choose between bad and worse, don’t always give him an easy way out. Make him choose, and give his decision a consequence.

Oh, and one more thing. I mentioned before that Jack was “seemingly indestructible.” And it’s true. No matter how many close calls he’s had, he always comes out on top. But it’s very important to make your readers believe that the hero could die. Even though I know there’s a season 5 and a season 6, this show has kept me on the edge of my seat, and there were moments where I couldn’t imagine how Jack was going to get out of the mess he was in.

That, my friends, is good writing.

Your thoughts?