@NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #30)

Okay, so technically this 30th NaNoWriMo post comes to you on December 1. (Even if I pretend that I’m writing this in Honolulu, we are still minutes into the last month of the year.) So I’m opting for flexible and sending out congratulations to all who wrote their way through November. Hopefully, depending upon where you are in the world–catching up on your ZZZZZZs, watching the sun rise, or midway through your day–you are celebrating your accomplishment. There is more writing to be done, more drafts of your novel (more screenplays, essays, short stories, memoirs). We writers write, rewrite, edit, …

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#NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #29)

I’m finishing some work at my desk tonight, listening to Eva Cassidy’s gorgeous cover of Cyndi Lauper’s aching “Time After Time”. Cassidy performed this version at the Blues Alley club in Georgetown, DC, ten months and one day before her death. She was 33 when she died from melanoma in 1996. “Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick, And think of you …” Lauper’s song and this recording by Cassidy overflow with yearning. Writers understand there is no story without yearning. Take five minutes to listen to Cassidy’s recording. It’s hard to listen only once. Look up Lauper’s lyrics …

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#NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #28)

When I fall in love with a book it is because I experience the story as if it lives and breathes inside me; I can summon and recall the evocative and pivotal images as clearly as if I’d been there. Because I am there, each time I dive into a story I love, I participate as a reader and the most powerful images are a dance of the visual and the visceral. Make wise use of the pivotal images of the story you are writing. What is the opening image of your story? Visualize your hero just as the story …

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#NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #27)

If you’re participating in NaNoWriMo2015 you might be feeling down to the wire–and maybe in need of the ROCKY theme song. Today’s reminder is to celebrate your small victories even as you set your sights on the gold ring! For many of us it is easy to focus on all the things we didn’t get done–while we overlook the myriad things we did. So take a few minutes during your day to acknowledge the moments of kindness you shared with others, the words on the page however raw and rough they might be, the bill you paid, the errand you …

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#NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #25)

Yesterday I wrote about approaching the end of writing the first draft of your novel and the various emotions that will inevitably be stirred up inside of you. In a previous post I wrote about the fact that the fears that arise around writing your book must, in their deepest nature, be connected to the fears of your primary characters. This is simply so. So, now, as you near the end of this draft, do remember to find the way from your fears–their deepest, most primal nature–to the fears of your protagonist. They will be heightened by the approach of …

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#NaNoWriMo2015–Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #24)

Five days to go for 2015’s National Novel Writing Month! I was conversing with a writer today about what it means to finish a first draft. We went over the nuts and bolts of what happens after you write the last line of the first draft of your story. I told him I always put aside my manuscript for several weeks or more. When I am ready to pick up my manuscript and read from cover to cover over the course of a day or two or three, I know that my goal is to read like a reader. I …

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#NaNoWriMo2015–Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #23)

If you are a fan of the classic 1983 coming of age/holiday film, A CHRISTMAS STORY, scenes come vividly to mind when I cue you: pink bunny suit; Scut Farkus; Santa and his elves; soap bar; leg lamp; Red Ryder; the dogs and the turkey. Today’s post is a day late and my only excuse is that a version of the ‘dogs and turkey’ scene unfolded in my home yesterday. This morning, I am still carrying around three different brands of carpet cleaner, still sweeping up broken glass and scrubbing butter from the oddest places, still highly miffed at certain …

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#NaNoWriMo2015-Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #22)

If you started writing your novel on November 1st, you are fast approaching your final week!  Kudos for those of you who pushed the edge of the envelope (and filled the pages) this month. If fear kept you from beginning, continuing, completing your first draft, acknowledge your fear and sit with the feelings. Take a few minutes to free write to see if you can focus in on the nature of your fears: Are you afraid of failure? Afraid of writing total crap? Afraid of actually finishing? Afraid of success? Afraid of attention? Afraid of being seen? Afraid of not …

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#NaNoWriMo2015–Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #20)

I spoke with a client today who is moving from first to second draft on her historical fiction. She is reading one of my novels and she commented on the quick pace and the fact she enjoys reading my scenes. Her question of the day: How do I make my scenes sharp, whole, and compelling. Here are a few quick tips: 1) When possible keep the scenes to 2 or 3 primary characters. 2) Know what each character wants going into the scene. If you’ve ever taken an acting class, you know that each actor has a scene goal — …

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#NaNoWriMo2015–Get to the Heart of Your Story (writing tip #19)

Okay, for today’s tip, here I go again, talking about staying curious about what your protagonist wants. And, remember, our fictional heroes are extreme–they go after what they want with an intensity that can be frightening and invigorating and freeing. They are bigger than life and we can watch them slip and slide and struggle and push and yearn and obsess to the extreme, whether their story is a tragedy or a comedy. So back to the want. I wrote a very personal blog post a few years ago about going through the death of my marriage and how the …

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