In the Zone

Ever have this experience... You're driving down the road, la-de-dah-de-dah, when wham! A brilliant new plot twist pops into your mind in all it's Cinemagraphic glory. Is it too good to be true? You're not sure, so you think on it, detail by detail, heart racing because you suspect that yes, possibly, this could be the best-ever story that's been written in human history!

And then a voice from the back seat says, "Mom, where are we going?"

Face it. Sometimes, writers are freaks. We get in the zone and totally check out from reality...which has it's pros and cons.

ZONE PRO's
- Fantasy is oh-so-much less stressful than the real world
- Staves off Alzheimer's by working your brain muscles
- It's this quirk, this ability to completely immerse yourself in story that gives you the tools to finish a manuscript

ZONE CON's
- You can end up in an entirely different state if this happens while driving
- Non-writers think you just might be psychotic
- Other tasks on your to-do list don't get checked off, and seriously, how many nights in a row can you get away with feeding your family frozen pizza?

What to do? If it's an inopportune time when your mind slips into creative mode, here are a few tricks out of the writerly bag:

• Send yourself a voicemail with your idea
• If your hands are busy, have someone else write down a few key words so you'll hopefully remember your fantastic idea later
• Excuse yourself and write down a SHORT outline

Be thankful for your zone moments but be sure to keep them on a leash. You don't want to end up reading this blog from the psych ward.

Umm...The Zombie Ate My Synopsis

Are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse? I'm not. Shoot, I'm not even prepared to make dinner tonight. I've got more important things on my mind, like should I stick to my synopsis or deviate in a whole new direction even though I'm 2/3 of the way finished?! Don't smirk. This is a serious crisis. 


What do you do when you suspect your storyline might be one of the living dead?


First off, don't panic. I never do. Oh, I did on the first 3 or 4 manuscripts, but now I see a pattern. I get bored with my own story. Yeah, I said that out loud. And newsflash: If the author's bored, the reader will be bored. It's a valid reason to stray from your original outline, but there are a few other reasons you might want to consider when deciding if you should revamp or ditch your plan altogether.


You might want to change your synopsis if:


1. You thought of a better idea for an ending.


2. A new character shows up and takes center stage.


3. You realized an angle to turn the story into a series.


4. You came across information that makes your original idea not only implausible but outright impossible. 


Remember, a synopsis written before a story is finished is really more of a guideline than a legal contract. It's okay to change things up, unless you've already got a contract on the piece. Then you'll have to clear it with an editor first.

Too Many Plots Spoil the Soup

DAY 60

Word Count: 38,179

Sentence of the Day: She stiffened, hating the uncanny way he always made her feel like a half-wit.

One of my readers brought up a great point the other day, one that's worthy of an entire entry. The question is:

What if my plot is just like a story that's already out on the market, but it's set in a different era? Is that kosher or not?

Short answer: don't worry about it.

Long answer: don't worry about it and here's why...

There are only so many basic plots to choose from. In fact, people smarter than me argue all the time over what that magic number is. Some scholars say there's only 1 basic plot. Set-up / Conflict / Resolution. Strip away the glitz from any story and yeah, that's what you're left with.

Then there's the 3 plot school of thought (taken from The Basic Patterns of Plot).

Plot 1: happy ending, results when the central character makes a sacrifice for the sake of another.

Plot 2: unhappy ending, when the central character fails to make the needed sacrifice.

Plot 3: literary plot, one that doesn't hinge on decision but upon fate, the critical event takes place at the beginning of the story rather than the end and what follows is inevitable and often tragic.

And let's not forget the 7 Basic Plots we all learned in second grade:

1. man vs. nature

2. man vs. man

3. man vs. the environment

4. man vs. machines/technology

5. man vs. the supernatural

6. man vs. self

7. man vs. god/religion

I've got a book on my shelf that says there are 20 basic plots. In fact, sometimes I look at it for inspiration before I begin a new piece. Check out 20 Master Plots, which goes more in-depth on the following:

1. Quest

2. Adventure

3. Pursuit

4. Rescue

5. Escape

6. Revenge

7. The Riddle

8. Rivalry

9. Underdog

10. Temptation

11. Metamorphosis

12. Transformation

13. Maturation

14. Love

15. Forbidden Love

16. Sacrifice

17. Discovery

18. Wretched Excess

19. Ascension

20. Descension

And for those of you who are really list crazy, check out The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations, wherein you'll find...wait for it...yes...36 different plots.

So, what's my point with all this? I'm going to side with King Solomon. There's nothing new under the sun. Your story may very well be 'just like' another one on the market. Notice, however, that I didn't say identical. Even if I gave 10 writers the exact same plot line with the exact same characters (which I do in my creative writing class), I'll end up reading 10 very different stories. What makes the difference?

VOICE!

God created each of us uniquely. No matter what story you're writing, it's going to sound like you. So go ahead and write with wild abandon the story that's on your heart. Even if one like it has been published before, yours hasn't.

And if God wants it out there, believe me, it will be.

Lessons from Downton Abbey: Plot

From Pamuk's death to...well, I suppose I shouldn't give any spoilers in case you've not seen the second season yet. Let's just say from start to finish, Downton Abbey keeps the action moving right along.

Here are 5 plotting tidbits I've gleaned from the series that can be used for writing in any genre.

Start out with a bang.

Downton Abbey begins with the sinking of the Titanic and takes off from there. Where does your story start? More often than not, think of your first few chapters as a warm-up and be willing to toss them aside. Your opening scenes have to grab the reader by the throat and/or the heart.

Do the unexpected.

Who'd have known Bates was married? Not me. That was a great surprise. Predictability is a deal breaker for most readers. As you're writing, try throwing in a completely random line of dialogue from a secondary character. Or have your hero find a brow-raising object in a drawer. Mix it up a bit. If you don't surprise yourself as the author, how do you think your reader will feel?

End each chapter with a cliffhanger.

Who didn't wonder which family members would die from the flu epidemic? That was a for sure gotta-see-the-next-episode kind of season ending. Do that with each of your chapters and your reader will have no choice but to finish your book. And remember, cliffhangers don't always have to be physical danger. Emotional works just as well.

Subplots rock.

I'll admit it...I care every bit as much about Bates and Anna as I do for Matthew & Mary. Why? Because the writers of Downton Abbey wove their story in throughout the main Crawley saga. And they did it by leap-frogging...tossing out an enticing scene focusing on Lady Mary, cut to something about Bates & Anna, then went back to Mary. Great technique.

Create extra tension with consequences.

So yeah, having a Turk die in Mary's bed was pretty intense, but when her sister found out and wrote to the Turkish embassy, that certainly upped the consequences...like potential ruination for Mary. Don't just keep cranking out tense situation after tense situation. Use the scenes you've already created to increase the drama by playing out their logical consequences to the Nth degree.

There you have it. Give these tips a whirl, and you just might have a Downton Abbey blockbuster on your hands.

I'm Dreaming Of A...

Nope, not a white Christmas. Actually, I'm kind of glad it hasn't snowed. Less shoveling. No idiots spinning out on the road from driving too fast. And I can still wear cutesie shoes instead of Sorrel boots.

What I'm talking about is that I had a snippet of a dream just before waking up this morning. Not a full-fledged scenario. More like an emotional image that left behind an oily residue...which sounds yucky and somewhat creepy, I grant you, but oh what fodder for a manuscript!

Did you know that's how the Twilight series began? It all started when Stephanie Meyers awoke from a particularly vivid imprint of a dream.

Pretty much anything can be used as an impetus to propel your story forward. Some ideas other than dreams are:

- song lyrics

- kids books

- sermons

- bits of eavesdropped conversations (I know, naughty, but it works)

- e-mail or Facebook nuggets

- obituaries (sad but true...don't tell me they don't make you wonder)

And those are just a few. So go ahead, extend your writer antennas. You never know where your next fantastic plot idea might come from.

Plot Whispering

DAY 3

Word Count: 0

Sentence of the Day:

Yeah, still at a big fat zero, and probably will be for at least another week or possibly two. Coming up with story ideas isn't that hard. It's the ironing out of details that wrinkles my brain. So my goal by the end of this week is to have 2 separate trilogies mapped out (already had a start on one of them from a year ago). We'll see if that happens.

To spur me on, however, I read a book over the weekend. The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of Story Structure Any Writer Can Master by Martha Alderson. A few takeaways:

- A story is about a character transforming her weaknesses into strengths.

- Writing is a process. Get the words down. Later you can go back and be brilliant.

- The beginning of any entertaining and well-crafted story foreshadows where the character will be at the end.

- A villain is always an antagonist, but not all antagonists are villains.

Good fodder for thought, especially when thinking out a synopsis.