A story and a sentence walked into a bar together...

Guest post by Kristen James

They both noticed a woman with long, dark hair and an inviting smile, so they sat at the bar, four stools away from her. She glanced over at their entrance before turning back to her conversation with her friends. Sentence told Story, “Watch this. I’m going to wiggle my perfect construction at her. She won’t be able to resist!”

Story watched as Sentence tried to catch the woman’s eye. The woman and her friends gave Sentence a few polite glances, but they weren’t interested.

When Story had enough, he announced, “My turn!” He walked around Sentence to sit closer to the woman and gave her a nod and a wink. The woman immediately moved down the bar three seats to talk to Story.

“Your characters are amazing! How did you come up with this idea, anyway?” She leaned closer and tilted her head back to tease him with a half smile. “And the twist at the end! I didn’t see that coming, but then it made perfect sense. Please tell me there’s a sequel. Does Jake ever win Kathryne over, and does his father ever forgive him? Is there another mystery to solve?”

Story motioned for another round of drinks and murmured, “I’ll tell you everything if you have a few hours…”

Sentence sulked in his seat. What had he done wrong?

“Sentence” missed the simple fact that readers don’t go into bookstores and online retailers to buy groups of sentences. There aren’t any reviews that read, “This book is full of perfect sentences! Check out the metaphor on page 82. The sentences were so wonderful that I forgot about the story and highlighted the comas and semicolons. This author knows how to vary sentence length! Wonderful!”

Readers often say a novel is well written, and they might mention the imagery or fresh use of language, but that alone won’t win readers. Personally, I don’t want to throw a reader out of the story with a impressive sentence. I want the plot and characters to pull the reader in so she’ll keep reading past her bedtime. Of course, I don’t want poor writing to distract the reader either, but I know the point of the novel is the story.

As an artist, do you want others to see the picture you’re painting or the brushstrokes?

Do you need to write well on a sentence level to write good stories? Yes, of course! But are the sentences more important than the story you’re telling? Not in my opinion. Aren’t authors selling stories, not sentences?

Writing well is very important. I don’t mean to argue that point, but it really bugs me when I hear someone put down a mega bestselling author for their writing. It’s usually on a sentence level: “Look at all the clichés, passive voice, and simple sentences! A fifth grader could write better.” It could be true–the given book might very well be full of sentences that could be written better. Maybe their modifiers don’t line up. Maybe they like using clichés as shortcuts in certain places. Maybe they choose choppy or run on sentences over proper grammar to show the character’s thoughts and emotions. But, if the writing really is that poor, then the author must be doing something else right. And that “something else” really sells copies. Millions of readers are buying those books. Despite what people say, you can’t sell a book month after month on marketing alone. If it’s not a good story, people complain. They won’t tell other people about the book.

Readers want an experience away from their life. They want to get sucked into a great story that makes them forget everything else for a few hours. They want to connect with the character and see the world differently. They want to experience a great story. They want to feel.

So, yes, please learn to write sentences well and play with language. Study English, spelling, and grammar. Create fresh images and strive to be original. Learn how to write well so readers can understand what you’re saying. And if you want to sell that writing, remember your job is to tell a damn good story.

Kristen James has written over twenty books and ranked in the top 100 Bestsellers in Kindle US, UK and Canada, #1 in ten different categories, #1 in Movers & Shakers, and #1 free rankings.

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Celebration of the Arts by PK Hrezo

This past Sunday was the 87th Academy Awards. Did you watch? I love the Oscars and always put it on my schedule. Why? Because it's not just about celebrities and glamour--although it's a big part of what makes it entertaining--but the entire show is one hundred percent devoted to celebrating the arts.

And the biggest prizes go to the best stories.

That's right, STORIES.

That's what films are, and they don't get awards for being action-packed. They get recognition because a writer or writers put their heart and soul into the story. Sound familiar? That's exactly what we do.

Screenplay writers, adaptation writers, directors ... they all have a vision, and bringing that vision to life to make people feel something is what the arts are all about.

Then there's the makeup artists and costume designers and graphic artists. They create based on the writers' ability to create an image using words. It's all so amazing that they really deserve to be celebrated.

But that's not why I'm writing this post. I mean, it's not like the Oscars need more recognition, right? ;)

Watching the award show always inspires me to get back to doing what I love--crafting a story! And dreaming up characters and worlds and conflict Because a celebration of the arts of Oscar magnitude gives me such a rush of hope and possibility. Maybe we can reach that point one day. Maybe one day, it will be one of us sitting in that audience because an actor was nominated for playing the role of a character we created. Or because the adaptation of our novel to film has just won Best Picture.

Who knows! Watching the Oscars reminds me that art is important and people love it--they NEED it. And we have the ability to offer more of it. It's not beyond any one of us.

Do you remember the movie Juno? The screenplay writer was just an average woman making her way through life and craving experience so she'd have something to write about. She won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Wow!

There are plenty more success stories like that, too. The Oscars prove that there is room at the top for everyone and anyone who works hard enough and is dedicated to their art.

Consider the actors and actresses for a moment. Receiving an Oscar nod is one of the biggest accomplishments of their career, and actually winning is another ball game entirely. Their resume is forever impressive to whoever glances upon it. What an achievement!

But think about what it took for the actor to get there. Many of them started at the very bottom. Like writers, there is a slush pool of aspiring actors out there. I would imagine it's as hard to get a talent agent as it is to get a literary one. And many start with commercials and low-budget films or TV shows. It's a lot like us writers starting out with manuscripts that will never go anywhere because our writing hasn't reached a publishable level. Just as a brand new actor doesn't receive a starring role in a blockbuster film.

We have to work our way through the artistic trenches and earn our ranks.

All part of the process. So next time you feel like your writing sucks or your stories aren't up to snuff, think of the worst commercial you've ever seen and imagine the actor(s) in it. Think they're proud of their work?

The only thing NOT to be proud of is giving up.

By the way, if you missed the Oscars this year you can see the replay on YouTube with a search.

Celebrating the arts is so important. Storytelling is so important. Pursuing our dreams is so important. If you ever start forgetting that, pull up an old Oscars award night and just watch.

Tell me, do you make it a point to watch award ceremonies like the Oscars? Why or why not? Do they inspire you? Can you see yourself at the Oscars? 

Pixar and High-Impact Fiction

A lot of writers know that the people at Pixar are master storytellers. For starters, there's a list that discusses 22 Rules of Storytelling according to Pixar. They've also been mentioned previously here at Operation Awesome, and I explained on my other blog, The Writer Librarian, how Wreck-It-Ralph helped me learn about plot and character motivation. (Wreck-It-Ralph was officially "Disney," but was produced by John Lasseter, the chief creative officer at Pixar.)

And, in starting a new manuscript for the new year, I stumbled upon this video from Michael Arndt, one of Pixar's screen writers. This gem helped me work through the beginning of my story:


After watching this video, I figured out that my main character was a perfectionist, and that was the motivating factor that led into her journey. And as Michael Arndt so brilliantly points out, "the seeds of failure have to be planted in the beginning." So even though I'm only about 12,000 words in, I know exactly what happens next, and how it will affect my main character later in the story. 

It was a reminder how Pixar's storytelling has been a key element in their success. 
In reading submissions for a literary magazine, I've come across a lot of pieces that were well-written, but there was no actual story involved. Just a bunch of vignettes where nothing really happened, and the characters weren't really changed by the end. 
On the flip side, a lot of commercial fiction (particularly YA) is thought of as plot-driven only. I've definitely run into this as a YA writer in my MFA program, and luckily for me, my cohorts are supportive of what I write, and don't try to steer me in any particular direction. 
But all that aside, there's room for storytelling in all facets of fiction. Literary agent Donald Maass talked about this in his book Writing 21st Century Fiction, regarding what he called high impact fiction. "High impact comes from a combination of two factors: great stories and beautiful writing" (2). 
So, think back to other Pixar movies you've watched (or Disney movies that had obvious Pixar influence, like Wreck-it-Ralph, Meet the Robinsons, and Frozen). What kept you watching? What made the movie memorable? What seeds were planted in the beginning that showed up throughout the story?
Now think about your own current Work-in-Progress, and ask yourself the following:

• What does my character want more than anything? How will this get in his/her way?


• What are the bad choices my character will make, and how do I get the audience to root for him/her in these decisions?


• How will my characters change as a result of their journey?

Feel free to watch a Pixar movie in the meantime, if it helps. Even Pixar/Disney movies that didn't do as well are informative, because they're examples of stories that might have been lacking.
What about you--what have you learned while crafting your own stories?

Save the cat? Kick the dog? Deciding overall story changes

On the second draft of my current WIP, revisions are proving to be somewhat brutal. I really liked Becky's recent post about revising, and it got me thinking about big picture changes I want to make in my novel.

But where to begin? Some scenes read fine while others need a ton of fixes, and it's difficult to refrain from line edits at this stage. I need to meld together story elements that work, and discard those that don't.

Knowing what to cut and what to keep isn't always clear. In concentrating on overall big picture problems, I've consulted the Periodic Table of Storytelling by James Harris.


 
Photo from: http://designthroughstorytelling.net/periodic/

While this is mostly directed at screenwriting, a lot of it can be applied to novels.The table divides elements into overall story structures, settings and plot, story modifiers, plot devices, etc. It even includes character archetypes and villains. It's tons of fun to play with.

Lots of us have probably heard the phrase "Save the Cat."(On her blog, Janice Hardy has used it to discuss overall plotting.) While not included on the Periodic Table itself, I found this page that discuses "Save the Cat" on tvtropes.org, where the table derives a lot of its material.

"Save the Cat" didn't truly sink in for me until my fiction workshop last semester, when I discovered my main character didn't show a lot of empathy. This made it harder for readers to get invested in her story, so I found opportunities where she could feel sorry for others. Sometimes the "saving" part doesn't have to be literal.

There's also  "Kick the dog," a useful tool for fleshing out villains. Since we all know villains need to be three-dimensional, there's also "Pet the dog" (acts of kindness) and "Adopt the dog" (a shift from evil to good).

Photo credits: freeimages.com

And there are other ways. I determined one of my villains is what's known as "The Chessmaster." He's using my protagonist as his pawn to accomplish what he wants...and when she figures this out later in the story, it allows her an opportunity to turn the tables on him.

Finally, the table includes "story molecules" (the circles at the bottom), which show how some story elements can fit together. Examples include well-known stories like Star Wars and Firefly (also demonstrating what's been overly done and how you can make your story different). In studying the table today, I've already figured out how to add more emotional depth in one scene and heighten the tension in another. And I hope, when I'm done with this pass through, the scenes gel together a little more cohesively. 

For those wanting an even simpler analysis of overall plot structure, we can always count on Kurt Vonnegut: 



 So: when revising, what methods do you use to fix big picture issues and link events together in a significant way? What overall story elements stand out to you in your current WIP?