Karinwritesdangerously

« Don’t tell readers what to feel. Show them the situation, and that feeling will awaken in them. Writing is not psychology. We do not talk ‘about’ feelings. Instead, the writer feels and through her words awakens those feelings in the reader. The writer takes the reader’s hands and guides him through the valley of sorrows and joy without ever having to mention those words.”  Natalie Goldberg, writing coach

Wise advice!

In my playwriting class, our instructor Mick would say, action precedes explanation—another way of saying, “show don’t tell.” A play unfolds in time and space: it’s action oriented. It doesn’t have a narrative flow, so you have to use action to convey information.

Even if you’re working on a novel, where narrative drive carries the story forward, it’s still important to go for drama rather than too much exposition. How can you master moments through drama? A few ideas:

Don’t sit outside your story: As writers, we’re observers; we stand outside the action and we describe it. And because we’re omniscient observers, we’re bigger than the action we describe — we encompass it. But we also have to step inside the action and describe what’s happening, not just from the outside in, but from the inside out. As Natalie Goldberg puts it, we need to “breathe the life into it.”

Don’t edit: When you’re in draft mode, stay with your first ideas, the first flashes of word play and inspiration. These flashes come from the deep-feeling part of you and they have emotional energy a reader will connect with.

Be there: Put yourself in the moment you’re writing about — see it, taste it, touch it, hear it. Use the language of the senses to capture its emotional flavor.

As we bring more immediacy to our writing through showing, take heed of Lee Child’s advice about not getting too hung up on the “show, don’t tell” writing rule. Showing too much can slow a story down. Strike a balance between the two in a way that feels right. And write on!

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Let’s launch this Memorial Day weekend early with a moving meditation about heroism:

American Hero
by Mary West Jorgensen

“Our history is studded with heroic names. These names compose a world roster from which almost every nation may choose one and say: He is ours! We produced the clan from which he sprung. See how he spells his name! That is how his family spelled their name years ago, here, in this land.

“The tale of heroism runs true from Valley Forge to Gettysburg, from
the Argonne to Guadalcanal. How is it possible to select one and say
of him: He is the bravest of all?

“Therefore, I choose one who lies in Arlington beneath the inscription: ‘Here rests in honored glory, an American soldier, known but to God.’

“Of him we know three things: he was an American, he died for freedom, he sleeps in the comfortable keeping of the Lord of Hosts.

“He is a symbol of heroic qualities, of the vision of Washington, of the humanity of Lincoln, of the courage of MacArthur, of the faith of Rickenbacker, of the sacrifice of Kelly. He is, moreover, a symbol of the common man who dies daily in order that freedom may not perish from the earth.”

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded every minute of every hour of every day. Blessings upon those who keep this silent hero safe and upon all those who have protected us and who even now stand watch and face danger to keep us and America safe. Their tales are so important to share and remember.

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« The smallest flower is a thought, a life answering to some feature of the Great Whole… » Honore de Balzac

Born today, May 20, back in 1799, Honore de Balzac is still read and relished for his keen character studies and observations on the human condition. May his words of wisdom light our way today:

“All happiness depends on courage and work. I have had many periods of wretchedness, but with energy and above all with illusions, I pulled through them all.”

“God is the poet; men are but the actors. The great dramas of earth were written in heaven.”

“There is no such thing as a great talent without great will power.”

“When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt.”

“There are two histories: the official history, lying, and then secret history, where you find the real causes of events.”

“All human power is a compound of time and patience.”

“Life is simply what our feelings do to us.”

“Forgetting is the secret of strong and creative lives.”

“An unfulfilled vocation drains the color from a man’s existence.”

“One hour of love has a whole life in it.”

“Talent is a flame, but genius is a fire.”

“Love is the poetry of the senses.”

And now, inspired and emboldened, let’s all write on!

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« You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an inner exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world. » Sheila Graham 

« Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. » Pamela Vaull Stark

It’s 2010, and Scott Rudin, the Tony award-winning theater and film producer, is worried. He’s developing a new musical called The Book of Mormon, and things are going wrong, horribly wrong. A week-long workshop reveals some show-stopping flaws in the production: the main character is stuffy and unlikable; the story line is weak and confusing; the humor lacks wit and verve. The show’s writers, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the two minds behind the popular South Park series), seem to be out of creative gas. 

It’s crisis time. The show is adrift and seems headed toward Off Broadway and a lackluster run. What to do? What to do? 

Instead of running for cover, Scott Rudin took the more dangerous, far riskier path. “Since the guys work best when the stakes are highest,” he decided the show should go straight to Broadway without a tryout. It was a decision with a multimillion dollar price tag.

Here’s Scott’s rationale: “In most of the things that I’ve been involved with that turn out to be good, there is a moment when you have to face your maker. You either sink or swim. This was the moment.”

So the show’s creative team turned its back on Off Broadway and aimed for the brass ring: a Broadway opening. Galvanized by this make-or-break decision to shoot for the stars, the creators pushed relentlessly to ready the show by making much-needed changes. Less than a year later, it opened to rave reviews and garnered 14 Tony nominations!

What’s our takeaway here? Sometimes, when a project is losing steam, the only solution is to turn up the heat: to put yourself under pressure, aim higher than you ever dreamed you could, and then push yourself until you get there. Write on!

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“Writing is visual — it catches the eye before it has a chance to catch the brain.” William Zinsser, On Writing Well

On Writing Well a classic writing guide. While it focuses on nonfiction, it also offers wisdom aplenty for those of us creating fictional worlds. A section devoted to paragraphing was full of useful tips for us all:

Ponder length carefully: As a long-time journalist, our boy William is fond of short paragraphs. As he puts it, “Short paragraphs put air around what you write and make it look inviting, whereas a big chunk of uninterrupted type can discourage a reader from even starting to read.” Gadzooks! The last thing we want to do is to “discourage a reader!” And yet, William is quick to add: “A succession of tiny paragraphs is as annoying as a paragraph that’s too long….Actually, they make a reader’s job harder by chopping up a natural train of thought.” So choose your paragraph length carefully: let the thoughts you’re conveying dictate how long or short you go.

View paragraphs as building blocks: According to William, “good nonfiction writers…think in paragraph units, not sentence units. Each paragraph has its own integrity of content and is rounded off to serve as both an end and a springboard to what’s coming next.” I love the idea of thinking of the ending of one paragraph as a “springboard” to the next — what a dynamic, forward-driving concept! 

Use paragraphing as a dynamic tool: In William’s view, paragraphing is a “road map” — a way of constantly orienting your readers and showing them the path that your thoughts are taking. Think of each paragraph as a “logical unit” — one that carries the reader along on a smooth, satisfying mini-journey. 

Not surprisingly, William suggests that we analyze the prose of elegant nonfiction writers, E.B. White among them, to see how they marshal their paragraphs into fulsome, satisfying stories. Surely a fruitful idea — and one that we can bring to our fiction reading — and writing — as well. In the midst of reading O Pioneers! by Willa Cather, one of my all-time favorite authors, I’ve been struck anew by how lean, yet emotionally charged, her writing is. I’m going to check out her paragraphing more closely — might offer some clues to her style. Write on!

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Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened.
Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading.
Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

—Rumi

Commitment. Confidence. Consistency. In a Success Hotline message (973.743.4690), my friend and mentor Rob Gilbert identified these three C’s as the building blocks of a successful endeavor. Let’s explore their meaning to us as writers:

Commitment: In my mind, a commitment is a promise we make to ourselves — something we take a stand on that’s important and motivating to us. We reach deep into ourselves and decide that whatever we choose to do simply has to be done, without exception. We say to ourselves, “I can, I will, I must” — and we make it happen.

Confidence: This “can do” feeling springs from our belief in our work. Whatever the challenges, we feel equal to them. Confidence is a belief in our innate ability to achieve what we set out to do — to find our way. Yes, there will be obstacles. Yes, doubts will assail us — but like the wind that blows through the branches of a tree, our doubts may shake us, but we will stand strong and they will pass away. 

Consistency: Staying power — the willingness and steadiness of purpose to sustain our commitment through the daily rounds of life. To fulfill our commitment and bolster our confidence, we need to persevere and build momentum through sustained action.

I’d add three C’s to this list:

Concentration: One-pointedness. The ability to screen out distractions and turn all our mental powers to the job at hand. When we concentrate fully, we are in flow: Time stops and there is only now.

Creativity: We have everything we need inside us — a boundless wellspring of ideas we can tap into when we are relaxed yet focused, when we let our work lead us where it wants to go. Relaxed alertness is the open door to creativity.

Courage: The strength and resolve to be bigger than our fears — to see them as paper tigers and break through the self-imposed barriers we build for ourselves. The courage to both dream and do, to fuel our passion with discipline.

When we bring all these to our work consistently, we create “C” Changes—we magically transform ourselves into the writers we want to be. These six qualities and the changes they trigger are the coin of the realm for us. Let’s seek them and spend them wisely as we all write on!

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Whether we’re crafting a short story, novel or play, one of the most powerful — and trickiest tools — in our kit bag is dialogue. Dynamic dialogue makes a story sizzle and gives it forward momentum; lackluster dialogue limps along. How can we inject drive in our dialogue and avoid rookie mistakes? An online story offers some tips:

Keep speeches short: If a character is delivering a pivotal speech, then an extended chunk of dialogue makes sense. But dialogue blocks should usually be pithy and concise — often no more than a few sentences. You can say a lot with a few well-chosen words.

Make each voice unique: Well developed characters will usually have subtle speech patterns that make them distinctive. While you can go overboard in giving each character a verbal tic, it’s important that the reader can easily spot a character’s way of speaking. 

Use dialogue to suggest action: Instead of interrupting a chunk of dialogue with stage directions, you can use a snippet of dialogue to indicate actions. This keeps the story moving and doesn’t interrupt your story or readers’ attention.

Be dramatic: Dialogue is often the perfect vehicle for delivering a big insight or surprising confession, so use it to amp up the emotional drama in your story. But don’t make every speech a “To be or not to be” moment or you’ll wear out your readers. Make those big moments stand out and sparkle.

A few “don’ts” to steer clear of: 

Too many adverbs: They can undercut your dialogue. Avoid sentences like, “I hate my life!” she said gloomily: You’re saying the same thing twice.

Getting creative with dialogue tags: In most cases, you want dialogue tags to just melt away, not attract attention. That’s why it can be best to stick with he or she “said” most of the time. Using tags like “moaned” or “laughed” can be problematic because people can’t talk and moan or laugh at the same time. You are either doing one or the other. On the flip side, using “said” constantly can be annoying. A reader should be able to figure out from the dialogue who’s saying what most of the time.

Using dialect: Unless you’re a master at this, it can backfire. Use it sparingly. A quick turn of phrase may be all you need to signal a speech pattern.

The words we put in our character’s mouths matter. So let’s choose them with care as we all write on!

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“Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.” Daphne Du Maurer

Today, May 13, is Daphne Du Maurier’s birthday—she was born in 1907. Perhaps best known for her amazing novel, Rebecca, she also penned other well-known novels and short stories that have stood the test of time. Reading Rebecca after seeing the classic movie, was quite an experience. A few thoughts on it that might spark your own muse.

The story begins at the end: The novel begins with several pages of description just dripping with decay. Du Maurer describes Manderley, not in its glory, but in its decline. Naturally as readers, we want to know what happened. Why is Nature encroaching on a place that was once alive with human activity?

Place becomes a character: As we are taken back in time and visit Manderley in its heyday, it quickly becomes clear that it is not just a setting, but also a character in the novel. It seems to live and breathe and have a life on its own, and to affect the people who live there in strange and unexpected ways.

A sense of foreboding creates confusion: From the very beginning of the novel, people begin doing and saying things that seem jarring and disquieting. They seem to be living on the surface of life, while all sorts of emotions roil around just below the surface. This keeps you as the reader, fascinated and engaged. Who are they really? What do they really want? Why aren’t they being honest? As a reader, these are some of the questions you ask yourself. Naturally, you keep on reading.

Everyone has something to hide: As the story unfolds, you realize that everything, even the naive heroine, has something to hide. Nothing is really as it seems. You begin to wonder when the truth will surface, when what’s really happening will be revealed. This keeps you off balance as a reader, which is both enticing and unsettling.

The plot twist at the end is earned: When the story shifts at the end and we see more clearly what’s really going on, we don’t feel cheated. We feel as if the writer earned that ending, because she dropped clues all along the way. And now, as we look back, we see everything in a different light. We see what we didn’t see before. Masterful plotting!

It’s so much fun to read the novels of a masterful writer! There’s so much to admire and to learn. Check out Rebecca—what an amazing, atmospheric novel. Write on!

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“Train Your Brain to Thrive from Nine to Five from the CenterforBrainHealth.org offers some techniques for venturing into our day with “renewed mental vigor.” Renewed mental vigor — sounds great, doesn’t it? Here is a simple strategy for getting the most from a day. It’s an approach we can easily apply to the writing life:

• The night before, identify one or two of the most pivotal tasks you’re facing — tasks that will require deep thinking and advance your longer term goals/vision. (Note: I do this all the time. I have a small pad by my bed and before going to sleep, I jot down a question about a scene or thorny plot point I need help with.)

• Then simply “sleep on” the question or priorities without any effort, relaxing into the belief that it’s in “good hands” and the answer will come to you. By priming your brain the night before notes the report, “you are likely to have unanticipated, new, and productive ideas. Our brain is always working for us especially during sleep when our rhythms slow down. Your brain consolidates your previous ideas into flashes of new insights that can jump-start your big goals for the day.” In short, “just sleep on it” really works!

• In the morning, as you get ready to begin your day, make it a point to keep your environment quiet except for meaningful conversations. Don’t turn on the TV or radio. Try not to make any calls or even listen to music. Just let your brain continue focusing without interruption on the tasks you gave it the night before. 

• When you start to work, don’t get distracted with email or other small tasks. Jump right into the ones you set for yourself the night before. Give them “prime brain time and stick to these top one or two priorities until you make progress.” Start with 15-minute intervals of concentration and work up from there. “You will achieve more in 20 to 30 minutes uninterrupted than you will in over two hours when constantly interrupted.’

• Give yourself regular “brain breaks.” “When working on “mentally challenging activities for more than 25 minutes at a time, take a five-minute break. Your brain quickly resets and recovers from fatigue when you step back. As an added bonus, new visions are likely to arise regarding your task.”

What a promising approach! It works! Just by jotting down a question before I go to bed and then just relaxing and trusting that my mind will work on it, I’ve awakened with some great ideas and solutions. A relaxed mind is a creative mind — this is so true. Why not try this technique? I’d love to have you share the results. Write on! 

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