Linda's Blog

Macro-Tension, Micro-Tension and Surprise Surprise!

Something to Consider:

Here’s something to consider:  pacing and tension in fiction. I’ve been assigning my university students some young adult novels to read every semester.  YA fiction is generally shorter than adult fiction and has all the elements of adult fiction—character development, plot structure, point-of-view, style, themes, and pace/tension.  This semester, I assigned my students the first book in the HUNGER GAMES trilogy. Every student devoured this book.  One student read the first book and, within a week, she had read all three in the series.  Another student told me she almost cut one of her classes just to keep reading.  One student didn’t really want to read YA, but admitted he hadn’t read any YA since high school—so, he gave it a try.  After reading HUNGER GAMES book one, he decided he actually liked YA.

But, here’s the point.  It makes no difference whether or not a book is YA or adult.  It’s that this book leaps out of the shoot and never slows down. There’s no sense of rushing, however.  It’s just that the surprises keep coming and the tension never releases—surprises and tension quicken the pace of any novel.  HUNGER GAMES BOOK ONE doesn’t have a saggy middle—one of the major problems of many novels.

This book has more than tension in the basic plot, it has tension in every scene.  That’s the way to write a successful novel—to maintain tension in every scene.  That’s the challenge.  If there’s tension in every scene, there will be no sag in the middle.  Wow—that’s a challenge indeed!  That goes for dialogue too.  Tension in every block of dialogue.  Okay, the challenge just got bigger!  Go writers!

Here’s another interesting things about HUNGER GAMES BOOK ONE:  The writer, Suzanne Collins, stated that the idea for the book came from the Greek myth of Theseus and Minotaur AND from reality TV.  Unbelievable!  Who would think Greek Mythology would merge with reality TV to create a contemporary best-seller?

Goes to show ideas for fiction can come from anywhere.  Good sources include: newspaper articles; magazine stories; family stories; histories; people, people, people; dreams; photographs; imagination; and all kinds of images.  The list could go on and on.  Anything and everything can be material for a short story or a novel.  Combinations of things can also lead to great fiction—as in Greek Mythology and reality TV.

Another Conference:

Looking for a really BIG conference?  How about BACKSPACE 2011.  New York City, May 26-May 28.  The “faculty” includes eighteen agents, several editors, and at least a dozen authors.  The agenda includes agent panels, query workshops, opening pages workshops, and mixers.  The Backspace Conference follows the gigantic Book Expo America.  So, if you want to go to NYC a day or two early, you can also take advantage of Book Expo—an extravaganza of writers and publishers promoting recent books.  Check out BACKSPACE 2011 via an internet search or by going to www.backspacewritersconference.com 

I attended the BACKSPACE CONFERENCE in the fall of 2011.  It’s big stuff.  Critiques are by agents.  Very tough!  Not for the faint of heart!

  ENOUGH!  GOOD WRITING!  GOOD READING!  HAVE A GREAT THURSDAY!

 

Devilish Details and Upcoming Events!

Here’s something kind of fun:

Over the years, some have argued that there are only six plots and fiction writers recycle these.  Others argue that there are ten or perhaps fifteen.  In 1945, Georges Polti published his THIRTY-SIX DRAMATIC SITUATIONS (still available on Amazon) in which he argued that all of literature can be characterized in one of these thirty-six basic plot structures.  The highly prolific writer, Robert Heinlein (check him out on Amazon and you’ll see how prolific) argued that there are only three basic plots.  In 1993, Ronald Tobias published 20 MASTER PLOTS: AND HOW TO BUILD THEM.  Well, are there three, or six, or ten, or fifteen, or twenty?

Ahhhhhh!  There is BASIC—as in basic plot structure—and there is SPECIFIC.  For the fiction writer, the devil is in the SPECIFIC!  But, I love to think about, talk about, write about, and teach all issues related to creative writing.

Couple of more conferences and festivals:

The Montgomery Book Festival is this weekend, Saturday, April 16, in Montgomery.  Just a few of the writers who will be there include:  Rick Bragg, Mark Childress, William Cobb, Roy Hoffman, P.T. Paul, and Michael Knight—forty writers all totaled.  These writers will read and discuss their works. Also, count on music, good weather, food and fun!  I’ll bet there’ll be some T-shirts too!  Poster artist, Amos Kennedy, will also be on-board.  His posters are nothing short of small treasures!

Check out the Indiana University Writers’ Conference—the 71^st summer writers’ conference for IU.  When:  June 5-10.  Where:  Beautiful Bloomington.  The conference is divided into lectures, workshops, and readings.  I’ve attended three of these and have loved them.  It’s a short conference, but well organized.  I loved staying in the Memorial Union.  All events take place in the Union, so this makes the conference sooooo convenient.  For more info, search Indiana University Writers’ Conference on line or go to www.indiana.edu/~writecon  

Recognize good things:

This semester I have had great students in my creative writing class at the University of South Alabama AND great students in The Writers Loft at Middle Tennessee State University AND several great private students.  I feel fortunate, privileged, grateful, elated!

Upcoming:

Soon, I’ll be announcing some new courses (non-university) I’ll be teaching in my own Writing Center here in Mobile.  Some of the first courses will be on basics of fiction writing and other courses will be specifically on plot development and character development.  We’ll have other courses taught be other writers too.  One of those writers is P.T. Paul.  P.T. has some courses on poetry in the works and at least one on writing creative non-fiction.  Watch for more announcements about this.  Coming soon!

Excalibur Press:

Finally, we are getting a good go on SWEET ANGEL OR DARK MUST:  THE WRITING LIFE.  The deadline for submissions was January 15.  A bout of pneumonia knocked me flat for about five weeks.  We are rolling now.  If you submitted, we’ll be back with you very shortly.

        GOOD WRITING, GOOD READING, AND HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

A Hundred Days and Still Journaling

Yesterday, Sunday, April 10 was the 100th day of 2011.  Yep--one hundred days.  We're not far from having used-up one third of 2011.  My mother told me recently that not just a year, a month, a week goes quickly, but to her a day goes quickly.  Yes--time passes on fleet feet.  Have journaled every one of those hundred days.  Have found the process of journaling a good way to keep focused and to gain insights into everything--family, work, writing.  A hundred days, and yes I have something to show for it.  Have crawled out of bed early these past hundred days and wrote for about four hours.  Gotten into a routine.  At my desk early and at my desk late.  Seems to work.

Here are a couple of conferences to keep in mind: 

--Rosemary Beach Writers' Conference, Rosemary Beach, Florida, May 11-14.  This conference includes:  morning writing exercises; craft classes; manuscript consultations; and evening readings.  Featured writers include:  John Dufresne, Lynne Barrett, Laura Lee Smith, Cindy Chinelly, and Michael Lister.  I attended a very similar conference in Seaside, Florida with John Dufresne some years back.  John conducted the morning writing exercises, and they were terrific.  Nearly every writer on site got up early for the writing exercises!

--Alabama Writers Symposium, Monroeville, Alabama, May 5-7.  This is primarily a speaker's conference.  Writers speak on panels and read from their work.  Some of the luminaries include:  Sena Jeter Naslund, Sonny Brewer, Roy Hoffman, Michael Knight, and Joshlyn Jackson.  Monroeville is a small town, but the conference is big!

--If you like to plan travel a little farther out, consider reserving October 14-15 for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator's conference in Birmingham, Alabama.  Go to the Southern Breeze Writers' Conference web site to get more information on this--www.southern-breeze.net.  The SCBWI conference is already shaping up to be a dynamite event!

Two movies not to miss this month include:  WATER FOR ELEPHANTS and ALABAMA MOON.  The movie release of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS brought the novel back to the number one slot on the NEW YORK TIMES best-seller list last week.

               READ ON!  WRITE ON!    AND, HAVE A HAPPY TUESDAY!

 

 

READINGS EQUAL "REAL WRITERS" and TITLES ARE HARD TO COME BY

Some of my students and I read this weekend at the Gulf Coast Creative Writing Teachers Conference in Fairhope.  What a fun experience!  Polly Pope read from her terrifically good story, "Eugene's Baby."  She did a masterful job of editing the piece for the 10 mimute read and totally preserved both the dramatic arc and the emotional arc.  Superb!  Jennifer Foreman read a piece of creative non-fiction from her collected works in process--sketches about people and events in Doeville, Alabama.  The piece Jennifer chose was hillariously funny!  She stepped away from the podium with the audience still laughing.  Professor Mavis Jerrell (not a student, but a colleague) read several poems--two of which were fabulously funny.  Jennifer got the laughter started and Mavis continued the good time.  She clearly demonstrated that poetry can be fun!  P.T. Paul read a wonderfully poignant piece from her collection TO LIVE AND WRITE IN DIXIE.  Finally, I read from a YA novel in process.

What made this program so much fun was the variety of pieces--a short story, a humorous piece of creative non-fiction, a dramatic piece of creative non-fiction, several pieces of poetry, and a piece from YA literature.  Getting out to writers' events refreshes the spirit!

I told my students that when a writer stands up and reads his or her work, that writer has accomplished something.  Going public with your work means you are really a writer--yes, REALLY A WRITER!

Talking about refreshing the spirit and going public with your work--I attended Roy Hoffman's reading last Tuesday night  at Page & Palette in Fairhope.  Roy read from his new book, ALABAMA AFTERNOONS, which is a compilation from his creative non-fiction published mostly in the Mobile Press Register.  ALABAMA AFTERNOONS was published by the University of Alabama Press and is a great example of creative non-fiction.  Roy did a superb job--held the audience (a good-sized crowd) in the palm of his hand.  I highly recommend ALABAMA AFTERNOONS!

Tonight I'm thinking about titles I love.  Here are a few:

THE DISOBEDIENCE OF WATER--a short story collection by Sena Naslund.  Water is truly disobedient--so is life!

JOE--a novel by Larry Brown.  I like that title because I NEVER forget it.  So simple--JOE!

HOTEL AT THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford.  It sounds philosophical and wise!

THE LADIES NO. 1 DETECTIVE AGENCY by Alexander McCall Smite.  That's intriguing!  Who are these ladies, and is that agency really number 1?

CHANGE ME INTO ZEUS' DAUGHTER by Barbara Robinette Moss.  Another intriguing title!

WILL JESUS BUY ME A DOUBLE-WIDE ('cause I need more room for my plasma TV) by Karen Spears Zacharias.  Holy smokes--got to read that one!

Here's a little piece of advice:  Good titles are hard to come by.  So--if one comes to you, even if it's 3 A.M., sit up, get out of bed, and write it down!!  You just might forget it by morning.

HAPPY WRITING!

 

 

Manuscript Reading & Marathon Reading

Some of my students from the University of South Alabama will read at the Gulf Coast Creative Writing Teachers annual conference in Fairhope, Alabama this Saturday--among them, writers Polly Pope, Jennifer Foreman, Maddy Hatch, and May Laughton.  Our reading is slated for 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.  Come on over and join us if you can.  We'd love to have you!

My marathon reading of YA books continues.  I'm well on my way to completing 100 YA books.  Some of the books are for middle grade readers and some are for young adults.  This marathon is one of the most enjoyable reading experiences EVER.  I've recently discovered Kate DiCamillo author of two drastically different books--THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX and BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE.  THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX reads like a fairy tale--a French fairy tale, very stylized, imaginative, and more than a bit over the top as are all fairy tales.  BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE reads like a good ole work of southern fiction.  Two radically different books by the same author.  Both books have been award winners--THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX was a Newberry Medal book and BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE was a Newberry Honor Book.  Both have been turned into movies. 

ALABAMA MOON by Watt Key is now out as a movie.  If you haven't read that book, you've cheated yourself.  Like any great novel, it's loaded with surprises!  That's one of the key ingredients of good fiction--surprises that seem totally organic for those characters in that particular place.

Also, just finished HUNGER GAMES book two, titled CATCHING FIRE.  This post apocalyptic series is surprising in every way.  I'm surprised at some of the material in the book.  I will say this:  YA literature is not what you'd expect!!  It's not what your mother or father read in school--in fact, it's not what most of us read in school!

HAPPY READING and HAPPY WRITING TO ALL!!  READ ON!  WRITE ON!