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#1
11-10-2007, 08:49 AM
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Who is Karen Wiesner?
Karen Wiesner is an accomplished author with 47 titles published in the past 9 years, which have been nominated/won 58 awards, and 19 more contracted for spanning many categories and formats. Named a "leading romance writer" in The Writer Magazine, Karen's many series' include the Gypsy Road Series, the Angelfire Trilogy, Dare to Love Series as well as the newest, Wounded Warriors Series, from Hard Shell Word Factory http://www.hardshell.com. Her fiction from Hard Shell have been nominated for Romantic Times' 1999 Reviewer's Choice Award, the Frankfurt Award and multiple EPPIE's. Karen's first paranormal, Sweet Dreams (originally published by Avid Press, LLC), which was a Reviewers' Top Pick for 2000, received a coveted 4 ½ star Top Pick review from Romantic Times Magazine and was a finalist for the prestigious 2001 Daphne du Maurier Award. It was re-released by Hard Shell in June 2003 with a new cover painted by her husband. Waiting for an Eclipse, Book 2 of the Wounded Warriors Series, received a 4 ½ star review from Romantic Times Magazine, took 2nd Place in From the Heart Chapter of RWA’s The Lories 2004 Best Published Contest, was a finalist in the 2005 EPPIE’s, and was nominated for the 2004 Romantic Times BOOKreview’s Reviewer's Choice Award (Best Small Press Romance). Karen’s new release from Hard Shell, Wayward Angels, Book 4 of the Wounded Warriors Series, is her first full-length inspirational women's fiction novel. Karen designed the cover for the book herself.
Karen also writes police procedural mysteries with award-winning author Chris Spindler of Auenwald, Germany. The first book in their Falcon's Bend Series, Degrees of Separation, was originally published in limited edition hardcover from Quiet Storm Publishing (through 6/1/05). Degrees of Separation received a 4 1/2 star, Top Pick review from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. Degrees of Separation was re-issued by Hard Shell Word Factory in trade paperback and electronic formats in November 2006. Falcon’s Bend Case Files, Volume I is now available in trade paperback and electronic formats also from Hard Shell. One of the stories from the Case Files anthology, “Fixated”, finaled in the L-edit Slip Contest (Best Short Story). Falcon’s Bend Case Files, Volume I was a 2007 EPPIE finalist in the Mystery category. Tears on Stone, Book 2 of the Falcon's Bend Series, is also now available. Karen designed all the covers and the series logo. Look for The Fifteenth Letter (Book 3, coming July 2008 in electronic formats; August 2008 in trade paperback), Romantic Notions (Book 4, release date TBA) and Falcon’s Bend Case Files, Volume II (release date TBA) in coming years. Join Karen and Chris' Falcon's Bend Community at http://www.falconsbend.com, where you'll find a giveaway and information about the series. Karen has sold an 11-book romantic action/adventure/suspense series called the Incognito Series to Whiskey Creek Press http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com. The following are now available: No Ordinary Love, Until Death Do Us Part, Bounty on the Rebel’s Heart, Dead Drop and Under the Spell. Upcoming releases include: Renegade’s Rose (March 2008), Undercover Angel (October 2008), Hard to Handle (March 2009), Dancing in Shadows (October 2009), Hypnotized (March 2010) and Mind Games (October 2010). Books 1 and 2 were finalists in FTHRW’s 2004 Lories’ Best Proposal contest. In the L-Edit Slip contest, No Ordinary Love and Until Death Do Us Part both took 3rd in separate categories while Dead Drop took 2nd place. No Ordinary Love won the 2007 EPPIE in the Romantic Suspense category and was also a 2006 CAPA nominee in Romantic Suspense. Until Death Do Us Part was a 2006 Ecataromance Reviewer’s Choice Award. Dead Drop and Under the Spell received 5 angel reviews and FAR Recommended Read Awards. Karen designed all the Incognito Series covers herself. Karen’s contemporary gothic romantic suspense with an inspirational twist, The Bloodmoon Curse, published by Samhain Publishing http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/karen-wiesner, is now available in trade paperback and electronic formats. The Bloodmoon Curse was a 2006 Ecataromance Reviewer's Choice Award nominee and a 2006 Dream Ream Award finalist in the horror category. Karen recently sold the first book in a new inspirational romance series, Family Heirlooms, to Samhain. Baby, Baby will be published in electronic and trade paperback formats June 2008. Check Karen’s website for more information about this release. Karen’s first writing reference title with Writer’s Digest Books www.writersdigest.com, First Draft in 30 Days, is now available wherever writing reference titles are sold. It was a Writer’s Digest Book Club http://www.writersdigestbookclub.com Main Selection in March 2005. Visit the First Draft bonus website, where you’ll find articles and supplementals to the book, at http://www.firstdraftin30days.com. Karen has also sold a second offering to Writer’s Digest Books. Cohesive Story Building, a companion to First Draft in 30 Days, will be available in the Fall of 2008 and will also be a WDBC Main Selection. Check Karen’s website for more information about this release. Karen is also the author of Electronic Publishing The Definitive Guide {The Most Complete Reference to Non-Subsidy E-Publishing} and Weave Your Web. The Guide was a finalist for the 2000 EPPIE and won the 2001 EPPIE for Best Non-fiction. It was excerpted in the 2001 Writers Digest Novel & Short Story Market and made the 2001 Inscriptions’ Books of the Year list. eBooks N’ Bytes chose the Guide to be their first winner of the eBooks N’ Bytes Award of Excellence for Epublishing Book of the Year (2002). The Guide was also a finalist in the 2002 Indie Awards. Weave Your Web was a 2004 EPPIE finalist. Note: Please note that Karen will has discontinued these books and both are currently unavailable. THE POWER OF PROMOTIONAL GROUPS is Karen's newest nonfiction which details how published authors can set up a promotional group (like her own, Jewels of the Quill). The book is available now in electronic formats from Twilight Times Books http://twilighttimesbooks.com/. Karen writes children’s books under the pen name Karen Sue Wiesner for Writer’s Exchange E-Publishing http://www.readerseden.com. Releases include: · Taking Responsibility Builds Trust (Making Good Choices Series); illustrations by Robert Beers—2004 EPPIE Finalist! · Taking Care of Your Things (Making Good Choices Series); illustrations by Robert Beers—now available! · Cody Knows with Linda Derkez; illustrations by Candace Hardy—2004 EPPIE Finalist! Karen’s first book of poetry, Soul Bleeds The Dark Poetry and Other Wanderings of K.S. Wiesner, finaled in the 2002 EPPIE’s and is available from Atlantic Bridge Publishing http://www.atlanticbridge.net. Karen has won the Inscriptions Engraver Award for best on-line columnist two years in a row, the Year 2000 for eXcellence in E-publishing Award: E-author from ebookadvisor, was a two time recipient of the E-Pub Ambassador Award, and was a two time recipient of The Simply Charming Award for outstanding promotion of e-books. She was also nominated for the 2000 EPIC Florence Moyer Service Award. Karen is the founding member of Jewels of the Quill www.JewelsoftheQuill.com, a promotional group of women authors who write in a variety of genres. The group has monthly spotlights and giveaways at their website, a newsletter with almost 700 subscribers, and was featured in the September 2003 issue of Romantic Times. Jewels of the Quill has sold several anthologies to Whiskey Creek Press http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com. · Tales from the Treasure Trove, Volume I was released September 2005 (with Karen’s traditional romance “The Amethyst Angel”). It received a 4 1/2 star review and was a September 2005 Top Pick from Romantic Times BOOKclub,was a Romantic Times’ 2005 Reviewers’ Choice Award winner (Best Small Press Romance), an EPPIE 2006 winner, a Love Romance’s Golden Rose Reviewer’s Choice Award winner as well as an Ecataromance Best Book of the Year (2005) winner. · Tales from the Treasure Trove, Volume II, which also received a 4 ½ star review from Romantic Times, is also currently available. (“The Amethyst Star” by Karen Wiesner, futuristic romance). · Also a recipient of a 4 ½ star review from Romantic Times, Tales from the Treasure Trove, Volume III is also available (“Revenge in Amethyst,” Adventures in Amethyst Series, Book 2, by Karen Wiesner, romantic thriller). · Tales from the Treasure Trove, Volume IV will be released in March 2008 (“Blood of Amethyst,” Woodcutter’s Grim Series, Book 2, by Karen Wiesner, romantic horror). · Tales from the Treasure Trove, Volume V will be released in September 2009 (“Behind Amethyst Eyes,” Kaleidoscope Series, Book 3, by Karen Wiesner, contemporary romance). Jewels of the Quill will also be doing annual holiday anthologies with Whiskey Creek Press. · The first anthology was Christmas-themed and titled Small Gifts (available now and including Karen’s inspirational romance “A Home for Christmas”). · Treasures of the Heart is a Valentine’s Day anthology (available now with “A Rose for Romeo,” the first in Karen’s Adventures in Amethyst Series). Treasures of the Heart was a finalist in The Romance Studio's 2005 Cupid and Psyche Awards for best contemporary romance and also in the 2006 CAPA’s for best anthology. · Shadows in the Heart is a Halloween anthology (available now with “Papa,” romantic horror, the first in Karen’s Woodcutter’s Grim Series—Classic Tales of Horror Retold). · Christmas Wishes is the groups’ second Christmas anthology (coming September 2008 with “Perfect Cadence,” contemporary romance, the first in Karen’s new Kaleidoscope Series). · Magical Kisses is the groups’ second Valentine’s Day anthology (coming February 2009 with “In Cahoots With Cupid,” contemporary romance, the second in Karen’s new Kaleidoscope Series). Karen edited Tales from the Treasure Trove, Volume I, and co-edited each subsequent group anthology. She also designed all the Jewels of the Quill book covers. In addition, Karen’s Jewels of the Quill anthology stories will be packaged in the following collections: · Dame Amethyst Treasures, including “The Amethyst Angel,” “A Home for Christmas,” “The Amethyst Star” and a bonus, never-before-published romantic paranormal novella called “Creatures of the Night” (available now from Whiskey Creek Press). · Adventures in Amethyst Series collection, including “A Rose for Romeo” (Story 1), “Revenge in Amethyst” (Story 2) plus two bonus stories never before published “Reckless Rose” (Story 3) and “Christmas in Amethyst” (Story 4), available now from WCP. Adventures in Amethyst Series received 5 angels and a FAR Recommended Read Award. · Woodcutter’s Grim Series—Classic Tales of Horror Retold collection, including “Papa” (Book 1), “Blood of Amethyst” (Book 2), plus 2 bonus stories never before published: “Dancing to the Grave” (Book 3) and “The Amethyst Tower” (The Final Chapter), coming September 2008 from WCP. Karen is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) http://www.americanchristianfictionwriters.com, EPIC www.epicauthors.com, Sisters in Crime Internet Chapter, BooksWeLove.net www.BooksWeLove.net, and World Romance Writers www.worldromancewriters.com. Karen is represented by the Three Seas Literary Agency, which is currently shopping around Karen's romantic inspirational cozy mystery titled Retired and on the Rocks, the first in her Denim Blues Mysteries series.. For more information about what Karen’s working on, visit http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/WIP.html. In addition to writing, Karen enjoys designing websites and graphics for her pages. Currently, she designs and maintains her own site, children’s author Linda Derkez’s website www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/linda.html, the Jewels of the Quill’s website, and the Falcon’s Bend Community. Karen also enjoys designing cover art and logos for books. You can view her designs at www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/KarensCoverDesigns.html. Find out more about Karen by visiting her website at http://www.karenwiesner.com. If you would like to receive Karen’s free e-mail newsletter, Karen’s Quill, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KarensQuill or send a blank message to KarensQuill-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Look for Karen's next post, describing her forum today. Feel free to submit questions at any time! Karen will be standing by to answer them. Last edited by karenwiesner; 11-10-2007 at 08:51 AM. Reason: Formatting errors |
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#2
11-10-2007, 08:54 AM
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Karen Wiesner’s Writing Reference Titles
I consider myself a layman’s teacher of solid, efficient writing, so I never enter writing nonfiction from the frame of mind of “college vocabulary or official writer textbook.” If you’re looking for straightforward, easy to understand and infinitely doable, that’s the kind of nonfiction I write. I also try to provide reference titles that will be beneficial to all writers, not simply a select or small portion of the writing community.
For many years, I wrote annually updated volumes on royalty-paying, non-subsidy electronic publishing. These books are now out of print. I also wrote books for authors who don’t know how to promote their books. Find out more about my newest, The Power of Promotional Groups, here:http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/nonfiction.html. This one teaches published authors—whether traditionally or small press and e-published—how to jumpstart their careers by advertising in long-term, affordable ways within the safety and strength of a promotional group. These authors accomplish together what few can do alone by sharing the cost of promotion and market their releases individually and as a group. It’s really a groundbreaking reference, unlike anything else on the market. My writing reference titles—First Draft in 30 Days (available now, http://www.firstdraftin30days.com) and Cohesive Story Building (coming Fall 2008 from Writer’s Digest Books, http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/nonfiction3.html), were written in response to a need I saw in writers’ reference. Many writers that I knew—whether published or unpublished—were writing endless pages of a novel, only to find themselves slaving to fix those hundreds of pages. I suspect some of them stumbled upon one of those workshops that cater to writing a novel in 30 days, then spending the next year revising it into something publishable. Having done the same thing myself for so many years, I learned how to make the outline of my novels the first draft of the book—and it’s within this outline that I do the majority of my editing. What this means is having a strong foundation for a book before you begin writing it instead of slapping together a story that’s weak and painstakingly trying to shore it up so it ends up something decent. Since an outline is only 1/4th the size of a completed novel (in general), it makes sense to do the hard work in revising a book in the outline stage, leaving the easy work of polishing for the first (and many times final) draft. This became the basis of First Draft in 30 Days. Cohesive Story Building stemmed from my own analysis of how—in my books (and in all the quality books I read)—the cohesion of characters, plot and setting are the essential ingredients to creating a story that absolutely can’t be put down. The books that don’t have that trinity aren’t as strong, and subsequently, not as exciting of a read. Since this was such a huge epiphany for me, I realized other authors might not be aware how pivotal making these three aspects cohesive are to a breath-taking story. The method has resulted in turning many of my average novels into something extraordinary—and that’s what all writers are striving for. |
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#3
11-10-2007, 08:55 AM
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Tips from First Draft in 30 Days by Karen Wiesner
There’s no wrong way to write a book, but there are ineffective ways of writing.
A writer who does little or no pre-writing on a novel starts with an idea—an idea that may or may not be terribly well-developed in his head. Generally, there’s a lot or a little brainstorming involved in this process. One day the author sits down and starts writing. Chances are, the first three chapters will come easy because these are the ones he can see very clearly and will have no trouble getting down. After that, things become foggy and he may find that he’s often writing blindly, following any road he manages to happen onto in the haze. A draft of a novel will take anywhere from four months to a year or more to write, depending on how many road signs become clear in this writer’s gung-ho brand of writing. What does this author do now that he has that first draft? Well, now he starts on the hard part of this whole writing process. He got the easy part of the way and left himself with the torturous work of untangling, organizing, re-shaping, revising and polishing up 300 or more disjointed pages. Many an author who employs this method of working may need to do multiple drafts or revisions to get to an editor-quality manuscript that is consistent and mostly coherent. Also consider that most authors obsess over every word, before they write it, while they write, and after they write it. They’re revising and polishing pretty much all of the time! I’d venture a guess that writers like this do a hundred percent more work than they really need to. Now, let’s look at how the process of writing a novel should be in the ideal: The author has spent a considerable amount of time—maybe, hopefully, even years—brainstorming on a particular idea for a story. He may have also written quite a few notes on this idea and they’re bulging from his story folder. Now, it’s time put it all together. He outlines his story in the way that makes the most sense of his ideas and will allow him to begin writing immediately afterward. His outline will probably be approximately a quarter of the size of his completed novel. It includes every single one of his story threads, unfurled with the correct pacing and the necessary tension from start to finish. All of those story threads develop and conclude logically, and, best of all, they’re wonderfully cohesive. Because of this guide he’s created for himself, he’ll never have to face a sagging middle, deflated tension, a poorly constructed story thread or weak characterization because all those problems are fixed during the outlining process. Like a builder does when he’s working on a building project, he revises his “blueprint” until it’s completely solid. Only then does he dare start the actual work. This efficient author writes his first draft. With Chapter One at the top of his page, he uses his outline to decide what needs to be in that particular scene. He writes Chapter Two based on his outline…and so on. As he’s working, his outline is expanding considerably, taking on layers of richness, complexity, depth and cohesion. He’s fleshes out the scenes with characterization, dialogue, introspection, action, descriptions and appropriate tension in all its wondrous forms. This author worked out the kinks in his story in the outline stage and secured for himself that the writing and revision of his novel are the easy parts of the process. He did his hard work first, so he won’t have to rip his novel apart in order to get in the solid foundation he should have begun building on right from the start. Nor will he need to duplicate any part of the process with numerous drafts. A first draft developed through the use of an outline or some other sort of guide is much more polished than the first draft that most authors dash off the top of their heads. In fact, this kind of first draft is close to a painstakingly crafted manuscript that’s been through many drafts and revisions. The clearer a writer’s vision of a story before the actual writing begins, the more fleshed out that story will be once it makes it to paper. Imagine an outline that makes it possible for you to do less work, not only reducing the number of drafts you have to do per project, but possibly even reducing it to a single draft. Imagine viewing an outline as a snapshot that captures everything the novel will contain on a smaller scale. Imagine “airbrushing” the outline instead of the novel. Imagine using an outline so complete, it may actually qualify as the first draft of the novel. Imagine making your muse an assistant to the writing process instead of in charge of it. Imagine plotting your career in such a way as to 1) allow you to accurately predict down to the day you'll complete each book, and to 2) allow you to get ahead of your sales or releases. First Draft in 30 Days provides a six step process for outlining a complete novel over the course of 30 days. It also helps authors plot their careers so they can be more productive. |
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#4
11-10-2007, 08:56 AM
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What makes First Draft in 30 Days different than other books on the same topic?
There are tons of writing reference books available devoted to how to outline (or how not to outline and still write a book). The thing that makes First Draft in 30 Days unique is that it works well for any writer—in whatever stage of his of his career. Published, unpublished, twenty books already under his belt or not even one. It can used be on novellas or novellas (or anything in-between). It’s also so flexible, a writer can incorporate the parts that benefit him into his own way of working.
Of all the traits of the successful writer, the one thing I believe everyone must have to reach goals and achieve success is discipline, and that goes hand-in-hand with efficiency. If writers don’t have that, they might achieve a degree of success for one book, but momentum is extremely important to any success, so if writers aren’t disciplined enough to keep the momentum moving steadily in their careers, they probably won’t succeed in the long run. I believe First Draft in 30 Days gives writers every single one of the tools required to obtain both discipline and efficiency in their careers—simply put, there are few other writing reference books out there that offer both. Starting out on your own schedule (or an attempt at doing it in 30 days), you can learn how to make your muse work with you. Superstitiously, writers believe if they don’t leave everything in the hands of their muse, the words they covet will be taken away for ever. How to master the muse and making it bend to an author’s needs, or—more precisely—to assist is a secret that all writers should be told. First Draft in 30 Days gives writers all the tools required to take the reins and master self-discipline in their writing. This leads us to efficiency. By using an outline before writing the novel, you’ll be able to revise the outline instead of the novel. This allows you to save time, effort, and many, many intense rewrites. You’ll also be able to write more “final draft” novels a year, rather than a half dozen that need another overhaul. To give you an idea how my efficiency has increased using this method over the years, here’s an overview of my accomplishments each year for the past 5 years: 2003: -wrote 3 novels -outlined 3 novels -revised and edited 12 books 2004: -wrote 1 novel and 6 novellas -wrote 2 proposals for novels and 2 novellas -wrote 1 partial of a proposal for anthology -outlined 3 novels and 2 novellas -outlined a couple of chapters on a novel and a novella -revised and edited 5 novels, 5 novellas, and 1 writing reference 2005: -wrote 3 novels and 6 novellas -wrote proposals for 2 novels, 11 novellas, 1 series, and 5 Jewels of the Quill anthologies -outlined 4 novels and 3 novellas -revised and edited 10 novellas, 5 novels, and 3 JOTQ anthologies 2006: -wrote 5 novels, 6 novellas and 1 writing reference -wrote proposals for 2 novels, 1 writing reference and 2 Jewels of the Quill anthologies -outlined 2 novels and 4 novellas -revised and edited 8 novellas, 8 novels, 1 writing reference, and 4 JOTQ anthologies 2007: (so far) -wrote 3 novels, 4 novellas, 1 writing reference -wrote proposal for 1 writing reference and 2 anthologies -outlined 3 novels and 8 novellas -revised and edited 4 novels, 3 novellas, and 2 JOTQ anthologies, and 2 writing references |
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#5
11-10-2007, 08:57 AM
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Tips from Cohesive Story Building, Karen Wiesner's Upcoming Follow-up to First Draft
A builder knows the best supplies to use to produce a sound house, just as a plumber and electrician follow the guidelines and regulations of their professions. And a home decorator would never put together elements that are grossly at odds. Her job is to create something that’s both pleasing to the eye and perfectly suited to the individuals in the home. In the same way, the three main story elements of character, plot and setting must be cohesive and work together in such a way that taking away a single element would be impossible because they’ve seamlessly become a part of each other. They complement and strengthen each other. The process by which a writer builds cohesion like this is one of layering and building up and bringing together the strengths of all aspects within his story.
Without layering, a story is one-dimensional, unbelievable, boring. Layers mean stronger plots, suspense, intrigue, emotions and motivation. Layering has another definitive component in that it produces cohesion of all elements. The elements the story are made up of might be invisible, but they work together in symbiotic cohesion. It’s as if some elemental force draws each part of a story together and then fuses them until they become one and are unable to be separated. Characters must blend naturally with the setting the writer has placed them, just as plot becomes an organic part of character and setting. If a story doesn’t work, it could very well be because one or more of the character, setting and plot elements aren’t cohesive. Cohesive Story Building shows how each element hinges on the other two and how to mix them until they fuse irrevocably. Set within the framework of comparing the process of building a house to the process of building a story, Cohesive Story Building gives a solid plan of action from start to finish through in-depth examples and exercises, and finally leave-no-stone-unturned checklists that will help writers take the plan into their own writing. Many who have read First Draft in 30 Days will find Cohesive Story Building a perfect companion to that book. |
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#6
11-10-2007, 08:58 AM
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What makes Cohesive Story Building different than other books on the same topic?
To my knowledge, there isn't another writing reference available that stresses the importance of cohesive characters, plot and setting in crafting a novel that will absolutely haunt readers from start to finish and long afterward. I also think Cohesive Story Building goes a step further than First Draft in 30 Days in emphasizing how crucial it is to begin a project with a solid foundation.
Most, if not all, builders wouldn’t even consider building a house without a blueprint. Working without them would cause unending problems. Imagine a novice builder without a formal plan, without the crucial experience to do the work. Working sans a blueprint of some sort, he’ll end up with a finished product that the big bad wolf will have no trouble felling with a few wisely placed huffs and puffs. Ask nearly anyone, and they’ll tell you that the mere idea of someone building a house without a blueprint is downright laughable. Unfortunately, the idea of an author writing a story without some sort of plan is acceptable, even encouraged, and prevalent. Don’t get me wrong, those authors who have been through the process of writing a book many, many times have a blueprint regardless of whether it’s formally written down or not. Their own experience in the process is guiding them. An author who’s written nothing or only a few books and works without plans in one form or another to get him started may end up with unstable, disjointed stories that reviewers love to rip to shreds. Building a house without a blueprint implies that just anyone can throw up walls, cover them with paint, put in a floor and carpet, add some comfortable furniture, and then settle back believing the work is done. But imagine when—yes, when, not if—problems crop up. In house-building, there are only three options for fixing a house with major foundation problems: 1) do nothing and pray mightily that someone buys it anyway, 2) jack up the house and lay in a new, solid foundation (which doesn’t fix the problems that occurred because of the weak, original one), or 3) scrap the house and start new with an absolutely solid foundation. Story building is no different. The right elements before the first draft is begun will prevent endless rewrites and non-cohesive stories. The purpose of Cohesive Story Building is to show writers the three distinctive layers of a story and how to build utterly solid, cohesive story elements with them. Cohesion needs to start immediately, while brainstorming, and it’s crucial throughout the pre-writing and outlining of your story. Characters must blend naturally with the setting you’ve placed them, just as plot becomes an organic part of your character and setting. If a story doesn’t work, it could very well be because one or more of your character, setting and plot elements aren’t cohesive. In this book, I’ll show you how each element hinges on the other two and how to mix them until they fuse irrevocably. Where you’re really going to see the miracle of wonderfully tangled up character, setting and plot is in the writing of the first draft. To set the stage for that, the major tool in Cohesive Story Building will be what’s called a story plan checklist that ensures cohesion between characters, settings and plot. The story plan checklist is so versatile, you can use it for every single genre of fiction, no matter how short or long your work is. What appears to be a very simple checklist is really the entire plot of your novel in consolidated form. For this reason, when working up a proposal to submit to a publisher or agent, this same story building checklist can be used as a full synopsis with little effort! Examples of story plan checklists for bestselling novels are included along with exercises designed to help you create and hone cohesive story building muscles. Using a story plan checklist is a layer in strong building breathtaking unification of a story. |
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#7
11-10-2007, 08:59 AM
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What keeps writers from success?
I see three major issues that keep writers from success in publishing: 1) Allowing the muse to be supreme ruler instead of assistant. 2) Not grasping the need for self-discipline, and also not realizing that writer’s block, procrastination, burn-out—all of these things are curable and avoidable. 3) Not working in stages.
During my early endeavors as a writer, I always went with my muse’s flow and I suffered from writer’s block every couple of weeks. I often burned out and took several weeks or months off from writing because I couldn’t face it. Reining in my muse with self-discipline measures and making it assistant instead of ruler helped greatly. Over the years, I’ve come to grips with the fact that a good portion of self-discipline is working in an organized fashion, and ultimately, I think the greatest percentage of creativity blocks are best resolved by starting every project with a roadmap. Call it an outline. Call it pre-writing. Call it whatever you want. Writers who use some kind of map spend more time writing a story than searching for one. Most authors need that structure to produce anything worthwhile. If you work with an outline, you know exactly what you need to write every day and you’ll sit down to your computer ready to work. You don’t need to worry what needs to go on that harrowing blank page. You’ve already figured it out by completing a scene-by-scene outline. And, if you’re using goal sheets for the year and for each project, you know exactly what you need to complete each day in order to make your annual and project goals. You leave yourself with no excuse. Burn-out occurs from working ourselves into the ground and it can hit even the most careful if you’re not keeping the soil in your brain fertile. Take regular breaks, read voraciously in every genre (and not simply the one you write in!) and allow your mind to recover and become rich again, so that you’re constantly brainstorming. Constant brainstorming is a cure-all that helps you avoid both writer’s block and burn-out. There are several, very distinct stages in writing a novel. They include: 1) Brainstorming 2) Outlining 3) Setting the outline aside 4) Writing the novel 5) Setting the novel aside 6) Editing and polishing the novel Working in stages is essential for many reasons. Brainstorming should occur, most ideally, over a period of years before you’ll have enough details accumulated to begin an outline. Once the outline is completed, allowing it to sit for a couple of weeks—or even months—before writing the first draft is absolutely essential. The next time you pick up your outline, you’ll have a fresh perspective and can evaluate if it really is as solid as you believed it was when you finished it. You’ll also see more of those connections that make your story infinitely cohesive. Another reason for setting projects aside between stages is that writers always reach a point where their motivation runs out and they may simply want to get away from it as fast as they can. With every single book, I get to rock bottom and I’m convinced that if I ever see it again, I’ll tear it to shreds. Setting it aside between the various stages the project goes through really gives me back my motivation (and love!) for it in spades. I’m always amazed at how much better I can face the project again when I haven’t seen it for a week or even a month or two. I fall in love with it again. The next stage in the process becomes easier, too, and that helps my writing to be much better. Also, the more books I have contracted, the more I seem to need these breaks in-between stages, or even when I feel a project isn’t working. If I put it on a backburner for an extended period of time (as long as I can possibly allow and still meet my deadlines), amazing things happen over a low flame. By the time I return to it, I find myself bursting with new ways to fix the problems I couldn’t pinpoint when I was too close to and sick of it. |
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#8
11-10-2007, 09:06 AM
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I stand by today, awaiting your questions!
 I'll be around most of the day, if anyone wants to post comments or questions. I look forward to taking with everyone. Remember, at the end of the forum, I'll be giving away a copy of First Draft in 30 Days. Below, I'm posting information about each of my writing reference titles: THE POWER OF PROMOTIONAL GROUPS by Karen S. Wiesner http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/nonfiction.html Writing Reference Twilight Times Books http://twilighttimesbooks.com/ ISBN: 1-933353-36-8 (electronic) Available now Most authors—regardless of whom they’re published with and how long they’ve been published—use a loose-cannon approach to promotion. They fire at anything that appears in their marketing scope. They live for the moment promotionally because the moment is a lot cheaper than the long haul. While the author who promotes nada makes nada for royalties, the author who promotes as much as possible but can’t afford either the time or money to do it long-term still makes considerably modest royalties. The author who promotes heavily over a long period of time either goes broke or sees a surge in their royalties. Successful authors have two things in common: Their marketing is focused and long term, and they have an irresistible lure. So how do authors get their books into the hands of readers all year round without breaking the bank? THE POWER OF PROMOTIONAL GROUPS will teach authors how to jumpstart their careers by advertising in long-term, affordable ways within the safety and strength of a promotional group. These groups of authors accomplish together what few can do alone: they share the cost of long-term promotion and market their releases individually and as a group. No other book currently on the market comprehensively explains how authors can set up a promotion-specific group. The innovative plans for group and individual promotion included are both flexible and affordable for nearly any budget. THE POWER OF PROMOTIONAL GROUPS also makes full use of the most valuable promotional resource available to all authors—the internet. Nearly 700 links to Websites where authors can find promotion are included, along with dozens of unique marketing ideas. Promotional groups offer authors the means to gain focused, irresistible promotion—indefinitely! FIRST DRAFT IN 30 DAYS by Karen S. Wiesner http://www.firstdraftin30days.com Writing Reference Writer's Digest Books http://www.fwbookstore.com/category/writers-digest ISBN: 1582972966 (trade paperback) Available now Finish an outline so complete it reads like a first draft—in just 30 days! Say goodbye to writing and rewriting with no results. Starting—and finishing—your novel has never been easier! First Draft in 30 Days provides you with a sure-fire system to reduce time-intensive rewrites and avoid writing detours. Award-winning author Karen S. Wiesner's 30-day method shows you how to create an outline so detailed and complete that it actually doubles as your first draft. Flexible and customizable, this revolutionary system can be modified to fit any writer's approach and style. Plus, comprehensive and interactive worksheets make the process seem less like work and more like a game. This invaluable resource also includes: -Itemized and flexible schedules to keep you focused each and every day -Dozens of detailed worksheets to guide you through the outlining process -Completed sample worksheets inspired by best-selling novels -Tips for outlining projects already in development -Brainstorming techniques to keep you motivated -Goal sheets for getting—and keeping—your career on track Many aspiring and experienced novelists toss out hundreds of pages (and waste valuable time) before they have a workable first draft of a novel. You don't have to fall into this category anymore. With First Draft in 30 Days, you'll have the tools you need to write your masterpiece! COHESIVE STORY BUILDING by Karen S. Wiesner http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/nonfiction3.html Writing Reference Writer's Digest Books Coming in trade paperback in Fall 2008 A builder knows the best supplies to use to produce a sound house, just as a plumber and electrician follow the guidelines and regulations of their professions. And a home decorator would never put together elements that are grossly at odds. Her job is to create something that’s both pleasing to the eye and perfectly suited to the individuals in the home. In the same way, the three main story elements of character, plot and setting must be cohesive and work together in such a way that taking away a single element would be impossible because they’ve seamlessly become a part of each other. They complement and strengthen each other. The process by which a writer builds cohesion like this is one of layering and building up and bringing together the strengths of all aspects within his story. Without layering, a story is one-dimensional, unbelievable, boring. Layers mean stronger plots, suspense, intrigue, emotions and motivation. Layering has another definitive component in that it produces cohesion of all elements. The elements the story are made up of might be invisible, but they work together in symbiotic cohesion. It’s as if some elemental force draws each part of a story together and then fuses them until they become one and are unable to be separated. Characters must blend naturally with the setting the writer has placed them, just as plot becomes an organic part of character and setting. If a story doesn’t work, it could very well be because one or more of the character, setting and plot elements aren’t cohesive. COHESIVE STORY BUILDING shows how each element hinges on the other two and how to mix them until they fuse irrevocably. Set within the framework of comparing the process of building a house to the process of building a story, COHESIVE STORY BUILDING gives a solid plan of action from start to finish through in-depth examples and exercises, and finally leave-no-stone-unturned checklists that will help writers take the plan into their own writing. Many who have read FIRST DRAFT IN 30 DAYS will find COHESIVE STORY BUILDING a perfect companion to that book. Last edited by karenwiesner; 11-10-2007 at 09:07 AM. Reason: Formatting errors |
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#9
11-10-2007, 10:04 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Hi, Karen! I've been hearing about your "First Draft in 30 Days" for awhile now. Thanks so much for taking the time to share the basics of your philosophy.
I had one question...you mentioned that a story must stew in your head for several years before it is ready to be outlined and worked on. However, you have managed to write many, many books in a year. Does that mean all of these book ideas have been around for years? And that you are thinking about 10 or 12 or 15 books all at the same time? Has there ever been a book you've written that has taken less stewing before you feel prepared to write that outline?
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Kris Eton Arctic Heat 1, 2 & 3 on sale now at Cobblestone Press The Opal Hunter now available from Liquid Silver website|blog|myspace|newsletter 
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#10
11-10-2007, 10:17 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Wow, thanks so much Karen for all the information!
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-Sable
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-Sable Grey  Publisher, Cobblestone Press http://www.cobblestone-press.com SableGrey website: www.sablegrey.net |
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#11
11-10-2007, 10:30 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
You're speaking in broad strokes about the importance and total usability of an outline/pre-write/etc. I also believe an outline makes writing the book sooooo much easier and more cohesive as it relates to the final product (for me anyway!). Plotters UNITE!
 My question is this: the pre-writing takes 30 days, or the actual draft of the book takes 30 days? Or the whole process of both takes 30 days? Also, are you going to go into much detail on each step involved in this 30 day process? I look forward to reading it!! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this workshop.
__________________
Moira Reid (aka Debra Moore) Hawkes Abandon, Cobblestone Press Pay Dirt, Cobblestone Press Paid in Full-The Valentine Chronicles Sunlight, The Vampire Oracle, Cobblestone Press Seduction 101, Samhain Publishing Deep Cover, LooseID FREE EBOOK DOWNLOAD: http://readmoore.com/books.html#Freebie www.readmoore.com |
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#12
11-10-2007, 10:35 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
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Ideally, a story should begin years before it's ready to be outlined and worked on, but you can certainly do it much sooner than that--especially if it's literally trying to jump out of your head onto the page! I love it when that happens!  The fact is, I do have about 50 stories in my head, brewing and developing. In First Draft in 30 Days, I talk about creating story folders for each one and jotting down notes about the story when they come to you, inserting them in the folder, and making it possible for you to have a huge amount of ideas to with when you finally take a story out to outline. All of my ideas have their own story folders. I make notes as necessary, but, for many of the stories, they're simply in my head growing. However, if you don't have a great memory or even the desire to do this, the story folders take the place of having to remember everything. But I will say that brainstorming in your head on a story for years is the key to writing. Terry Brooks says in Sometimes the Magic Works that dreaming [what writers refer to as the back and forth process of brainstorming in the mind] opens the door to creativity and allows the imagination to invent something wonderful. It happens when your mind drifts to take you to a place you’ve never been so you can come back and tell readers about it. It's what makes writing so exciting. You've got a movie going on in your head for you alone to see, and you're in complete control of the direction it takes. All that said, I've been known to get an idea and bang it out right then and there. But that's when a story is easy--it's basically already written in your head. You just have to transfer it to paper. That doesn't happen all that often. Usually, a story is in pieces, and you're the great puzzle-master who must not only create the pieces from scratch, but also put them together in the right order. Brainstorming, brewing, stewing--whatever you want to call it--that's where the pieces come from. Karen |
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#13
11-10-2007, 10:47 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
And I thought I was crazy for having maybe 3 or 4 stories going on in my head at any one time! Wow.
However, I have noticed that the more I use my creative brain, the more ideas I have. I keep virtual story folders on my computer. Ideas that come to me. Sometimes I come back to them a year or more after I've written them down. Some ideas slap me in the face and are ready to go in just a few days. I am *so* not a plotter/outliner type. I've tried to do it, and it just doesn't work. Or maybe I just get too excited to write that I jump the gun. I have wanted to buy your book to see if I can learn how to outline with some guidance. I think it will be added to my Christmas list. I look forward to checking back throughout the day to read the rest of the comments!
__________________
Kris Eton Arctic Heat 1, 2 & 3 on sale now at Cobblestone Press The Opal Hunter now available from Liquid Silver website|blog|myspace|newsletter
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#14
11-10-2007, 10:49 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
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Once upon a time, I was the least disciplined person in the world. I wrote by the seat of my pants and almost never finished anything. The secrets to turning all that around are contained in First Draft in 30 Days. If I can do, anyone can do it. My schedule is also impossible most of the time, considering the number of contracts I have (20 to complete) plus all the other books I'm doing on the side, promotion... Too much to do and too little time. But my writing comes first. It has to! It's how I make my living. Yes, I do have the luxury of being a full-time writer, so it probably is a little easier for me than it is for those with full-time jobs. However, it can be done, and I'll let you in on a secret to making your writing a priority, even with a busy life around it. But you do need to have the discipline to commit yourself to what you decide for yourself is doable every day. Armed with that, you can accomplish great things. So, you're committed to getting something done. You need a plan. The best way to have one is to outline your stories (the scene-by-scene outline is a necessity to accomplishing things!). If you work with an outline, you know exactly what you need to write every day and you’ll sit down to your computer ready to work. You don’t need to worry what needs to go on that harrowing blank page. Your outline contains every scene of your story, and therefore you know what you need to write. Also, you don't have to worry about a story not working in the end because you worked out the kinks in the outlining stage (ideally). Next, use project goal sheets. Since you have an outline that has every scene in the book, you can decide what you can achieve each day. Let's say you're going to commit yourself to writing one chapter a day. You have 60 chapters in the book. It'll take you 60 days to complete the book writing one chapter a day. Put a date by every chapter and commit yourself to writing that each day. It's doable, and you'll leave yourself with no excuse. In this way, you make writing a priority and you make progress every single day. I do this with every single project, and I try to make an annual goal sheet that includes my deadlines. I've also managed to get a year ahead of my releases this way, so deadlines don't stress me out anymore. First Draft in 30 Days talks about all of these things in great detail. Good luck! |
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#15
11-10-2007, 10:58 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Quote:
The 30 days idea was my publisher's, not really mine, but it provides a usable goal for beginners to use when getting started. For me, the outline takes about a week to complete, sometimes less, sometimes more. Writing the story once I have the outline takes about a month--and that really is for a long story. I've been known to write a 60,000 word book in 2 weeks. The reason for that is because all the kinks are worked out of the book during the outline stage. Writing the book is the easy part after that. Everybody is going to do this a little differently because it all depends on how much research you do (though I do recommend that you do specific research between projects as much as possible, and I also recommend that you research in the outline stage, since the strength of your story is tested in the outline stage), how long the book is, how much time you have to work each day, etc. All the steps in pre-writing (basically character, setting and plot sketches), then putting together a scene-by-scene outline are contained in First Draft in 30 Days. Let me know if you're looking for more specifics, Moira, but the best way is to read the book. There's so much in it, I couldn't do it justice here. Oh, and be sure to check out the First Draft website at http://www.firstdraftin30days.com because it contains a ton of bonus extras that didn't end up in the book.  Karen |
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#16
11-10-2007, 11:04 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Thank you so much for answering my question! 14 days for a first draft of a 60k book is extraordinary! That outline business is some good stuff!
Here's hoping I *win* the copy of the book!! Woohoo! (If not, guess I'll just have to break out the old wallet...)
__________________
Moira Reid (aka Debra Moore) Hawkes Abandon, Cobblestone Press Pay Dirt, Cobblestone Press Paid in Full-The Valentine Chronicles Sunlight, The Vampire Oracle, Cobblestone Press Seduction 101, Samhain Publishing Deep Cover, LooseID FREE EBOOK DOWNLOAD: http://readmoore.com/books.html#Freebie www.readmoore.com |
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#17
11-10-2007, 11:12 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Quote:
It sounds like you already have a system to brainstorming in place, and that's fabulous. My problem is that I write a book and ten more ideas come to me while I'm writing it. So I'm the queen of series, lol. The thing about First Draft in 30 Days that makes it so usable is that it's contains something for everyone. You might not be able to come up with a scene-by-scene outline, but you might find a way to do it that works with your own methods. Like I said to Sable, I used to be the most undisciplined writer in the world. I couldn't outline to save my life. I learned a way that worked for me...and it was based on something someone said here, something someone said here, and I refined these methods to my own ways of working until I found the secret to my success. Isn't that what all these writing reference authors are trying to teach us? A way to get the writing process to work for me. But I believe that there does come a point where you're doing this stuff (like pre-writing, etc.) by experience and you no longer need to write it down to achieve the same effect. Stephen King says he doesn't believe in outlining, or pre-writing, whatever. I think when he started out, he did need to do some outlining or pre-writing. But he's been through the process so many times now, he doesn't need to do it formally. His experience in writing so many books has taught him how to do these things instinctively. Instinctively learning how to write solid books is learned by pre-writing and outlining. You might have to do it for ten years or more before it becomes instinctive. Unless I have major problems with an aspect of a story, I never pre-write anymore. I outline the story, instinctively incorporating character sketches, setting sketches, etc. and I come out with something solid. Kriseton, you're still excited about each of your books. Sounds bad, but I don't always feel that way, though I do know my stories continue to be quality, but I miss that excitement I hear in you. You "jump the gun" in writing without an outline because of that excitement. That's common. But it makes for a lot more work than you need to go through to get a solid story. In your post, it sounds like you are looking for more guidance in this process, so I do encourage you to try outlining. Or you can start by outlining and writing in tandem, a method I talk about in First Draft in 30 Days to jumpstart a story but also keep it on a solid track. Good luck!  Karen |
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#18
11-10-2007, 11:13 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Quote:
It sounds like you already have a system to brainstorming in place, and that's fabulous. My problem is that I write a book and ten more ideas come to me while I'm writing it. So I'm the queen of series, lol. The thing about First Draft in 30 Days that makes it so usable is that it's contains something for everyone. You might not be able to come up with a scene-by-scene outline, but you might find a way to do it that works with your own methods. Like I said to Sable, I used to be the most undisciplined writer in the world. I couldn't outline to save my life. I learned a way that worked for me...and it was based on something someone said here, something someone said here, and I refined these methods to my own ways of working until I found the secret to my success. Isn't that what all these writing reference authors are trying to teach us? A way to get the writing process to work for me. But I believe that there does come a point where you're doing this stuff (like pre-writing, etc.) by experience and you no longer need to write it down to achieve the same effect. Stephen King says he doesn't believe in outlining, or pre-writing, whatever. I think when he started out, he did need to do some outlining or pre-writing. But he's been through the process so many times now, he doesn't need to do it formally. His experience in writing so many books has taught him how to do these things instinctively. Instinctively learning how to write solid books is learned by pre-writing and outlining. You might have to do it for ten years or more before it becomes instinctive. Unless I have major problems with an aspect of a story, I never pre-write anymore. I outline the story, instinctively incorporating character sketches, setting sketches, etc. and I come out with something solid. Kriseton, you're still excited about each of your books. Sounds bad, but I don't always feel that way, though I do know my stories continue to be quality, but I miss that excitement I hear in you. You "jump the gun" in writing without an outline because of that excitement. That's common. But it makes for a lot more work than you need to go through to get a solid story. In your post, it sounds like you are looking for more guidance in this process, so I do encourage you to try outlining. Or you can start by outlining and writing in tandem, a method I talk about in First Draft in 30 Days to jumpstart a story but also keep it on a solid track. Good luck! Karen |
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#19
11-10-2007, 11:14 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Quote:
 Remember, post a question or comment, and you're automatically eligible in the drawing. Karen Last edited by karenwiesner; 11-10-2007 at 11:34 AM. Reason: Addition |
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#20
11-10-2007, 11:42 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Karen --
Hi. I, too, am a dedicated plotter. It's great to have a road map to write to ~ sometimes I write the story to the outline...and sometimes I don't. Many times I've spent a week writing my outline and sit down to write the story and it just doesn't work the way I planned. For instance, I'm currently writing a time travel. I had intended for the hero to shoot forward in time...but instead, the heroine has gone back. I've revamped the outline and it has much stronger tension and better motivation for the villian. I know from talking with other writers that this is quite common. Does the 30-Day plan have a short cut of how to get from the old to the new plotline...or do you start back at square one. Thanks -- Ericka (hoping for that elusive short cut!) |
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#21
11-10-2007, 11:46 AM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Hi Karen - Thanks for sharing with us. I have a questions. I have "plot block" . Any suggestions? I have the general idea in my head, but I'm having trouble getting from head to scene. For example, in my wip my character finds a db on her windjammer cruise ship. Now my problems are the intricies of the plot to get to point in the novel to point, from the jumbled mess in my head. Hope this makes sense.
Thanks, Mary Ellen www.maryellencarmody.com |
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#22
11-10-2007, 12:14 PM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Quote:
An outline is an absolutely ideal place to explore new characters, story threads and revised and all new ideas. Use your outline to explore any angle you want. If new characters crop up, wonderful! Include them. If they’re not right for the story, getting rid of them won’t take you much time at all. Explore a new or revised story thread—follow wherever it takes you. If it’s a logical thread, keep it. If it’s not, delete it. You’ll only lose a little time, and your story will be stronger for it. If you realize halfway through or even all the way through outlining a book that some of your ideas aren’t working, it’s just a matter of deleting the offensive scenes and starting again in a new direction. This is a change that probably won’t take longer than a few days instead of months or even years of writing only to realize a novel doesn’t work. When I was working on the outline for the fifth book in my Wounded Warriors Series, Until It’s Gone, after of a period of about a week, I managed to craft dozens of scenes. This was a story I’d been building for long years. During this week of outlining, I’d completed scene-drafting up until the final ones in the book. It was than that I ran into problems because I was starting to see I had a secondary character playing a major role he didn’t fit in and that my main plot thread wasn’t working the way I hoped it would. I entertained some ideas about going in different directions that would make the story stronger. I spent a good amount of time brainstorming on how these might work. It meant that I’d have to cut maybe two dozen scenes I’d already outline. This sounds major, but it wasn’t really, since everything around the scenes was good. The next day, I went into my outline file and quickly deleted the unworkable scenes (I had all of this printed out, so if I needed to “take something back” I’d be able to). Then I started laying in my new story threads and getting down the groundwork for the revised role of the character I’d decided to retain and shape properly into a major character. By the end of this day, I had the outline back to the same point it’d been at prior to realizing that some of it wasn’t gelling. The next day, I kept going over my outline, filling in the areas that’d been fuzzy with new ideas that fit the revised portions. I kept on until I was down to the last bit of the book, which I’d had nothing for previously. The end of the book came together much easier because everything else was now meshing in the story. I lost maybe a day or two backtracking by deleting bad ideas and coming up with new, stronger ideas. If I’d skipped the outline and went directly to writing the book, I would have spent at least a month (probably a great deal longer) getting three-quarters of a 50,000 word book written and then having to delete most of it because it wasn’t strong enough. Endless pages would have been scrapped in a revision that would re-shape some of the book from scratch. And, yes, First Draft in 30 Days has a ton of ideas for doing this, as well as more generally plotting new stories and revising old ones that didn't quite work as is. Hope this helps, Ericka.  Karen |
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#23
11-10-2007, 12:19 PM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Hi Karen,
Thank you so much for holding this workshop and sharing your expertise. My question pertains to characters: I am taking a children's story writing course, and I want to develop a series around a particular character or character(s). Are there differences in character-building/planning for a series than for a single book or story? thank you, Vicki (hoping I win the book!)  |
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#24
11-10-2007, 12:44 PM
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Re: Tips from First Draft in 30 Days by Karen Wiesner
I have played around with writing for years, but could never get far because I didn't have a plan that my super organized personality could follow. Recently I decided that I AM going to write and shortly after that I came across First Draft in 30 Days. This is the book that I have been looking for for so many years. I am so glad that you wrote it (and that I found it)! It is the perfect book to help take me step by step through the writing process.
I was thrilled to learn that you were doing this workshop today. Thank you for taking your time to talk with us. In chapter 1 you talk about making a project soundtrack, and I can see the benefits of having a project soundtrack. Can you elaborate or give some examples as to what songs you might put together for a romance or a murder mystery, for example. Approximately how many songs do you have for a project soundtrack? How do you go about finding the songs for your project soundtrack? Again, thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions! Rebecca |
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#25
11-10-2007, 12:46 PM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Quote:
The most obvious answer is that you haven't done enough brainstorming on this story. As I said before, it's absolutely ideal to brainstorming on a book over a period of years. Remember, you're not just putting together a puzzle, you're actually creating the pieces of it. To do that, you need to put in endless hours of brainstorming. Second, have you started a story folder for this one? If you haven't, do that because you'll find it a big help to you. Pre-writing "things" to include in your story folder: character sketches (including pictures of your characters, which will help you visualize them more and make you feel as thought you know them much better), setting sketches, research you might need, miscellaneous plot ideas, any writing you've done previously on this story, etc. This story folder, worked on over a period of months or years, will grow with your ideas for the book, and eventually it should help you create the pieces you need to puzzle out your story. Take a look at Chapter 5, page 96 in First Draft in 30 Days (if you have a copy, that is!). There's a section called "Outlining and Writing in Tandem." When I first started using an outline (which was NOT natural for me at all), I used this technique to help me get going. Basically, start your outline, get as many chapter drafts written as you can, and if you hit a roadblock, write the first scene outlined in your story. If you can return to the outline, great. If you can't, write the next scene. Doing this helps your mind really focus on your characters and the plot, get to know them better, and it should help your mind to brainstorm enough that you can push forward in the outlining. After you've used this method a few times, you should get the point where you're able to outline straight through without writing a word of the actual novel (which is really your goal), but this might keep you from losing steam. See the section in First Draft for more details about this process. If your outline is flowing, don't break it up by starting the writing. See the outline through. Your first draft actually writing the book will be 100% better and stronger. Only if you lose your enthusiasm for the story or hit a roadblock (can't finish the outline at any point), try the writing and outlining in tandem, always trying to get back to your outlining exclusively. Next, when writers are working on a novel and we have been working on it for a while, the worst thing we can do is continue on it non-stop until we're so sick of the thing, we'd rather die than ever look at again. LOL. Dramatic, but unfortunately an accurate assessment. Once again, this why I always recommend you work on multiple books in stages. Here's what I suggest for each project: 1) brainstorm (preferably for years) 2) research (gathering, reading and identifying) 3) preliminary outline 4) research (transcribing and consolidating) 5) completion of formal outline (your first draft of the novel in the sense that it contains every single scene your novel will--and detailed scene information on how to go about constructing it) 6) set the outline aside (preferably for a few months) 7) just prior to writing the book, go over the outline again (this is an excellent time when you've had adequate time away from the outlined story to gain fresh eyes. If you have questions about certain aspects, you will more readily be able to identify what additional research or thought needs to be done) 8) complete a draft (the second, technically) 9) set aside the book (preferably for a few months--the last thing you want is to feel sick of viewing this book, now, when you're so close to finishing it) 10) revision 11) send the book out to critique partners for feedback 12 ) set aside the book (preferably for a few weeks) 13) go over the feedback from your critique partners and do the final editing and polishing In the course of a year, I alternate my time between novels or novellas in the various stages of completion mentioned above, and I can write at least 10 outlines and books per year (frequently, quite a bit more). Check out my WIP progress to see how I manage this setting-it-aside method throughout the course of a year: http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/WIP.html. My set-it-aside-between-stages recommendation is really all about getting rid of that lack of motivation for (I call it sick to death of a book) or progress on a project. Setting it aside between the various stages the project goes through really gives me back my motivation for it (and my love for it!) in spades, and also helps me move forward with it. I'm always amazed at how much better I can face the project again when I haven't seen it for a month or two. The work becomes easier, too, and that's definite progress. About a month ago, I started the outline for the 7th book in my Incognito Series, Undercover Angel (coming October 2008). This is a story that's been brewing in my head for the past 2-3 years, so I had some ideas about where the story would good and had solid ideas about the characters. I managed to outline about 13 chapters and do a lot of research for the book. However, the story was coming hard, so I set it aside, and I know when I pick it up again next month, I'll get even further with it, possibly finishing the outline this time. And, because I'm working so far ahead of release, I can take my time with the outline and let it develop over time. I know the outline will take much longer than the writing of the book, since I'm creating story pieces and putting them together in the right order during this stage. When I go to write the book, it won't take longer than a couple weeks. Between the outlining, writing and revising, I'll take sufficient breaks so I can ensure a quality story when I'm finally done with it. And, without going into too much detail since Cohesive Story Building won't be out until next year, your problem might be that your characters, setting and plot aren't cohesive. This is an example of cohesion that I like to use to really show the necessity of cohesion in story elements: Let's say that, when she was young girl, you heroine was kidnapped and held captive in the woods. Now she's grown up. She's a cop. While she may think she's put her kidnapping as a child behind her, her life will show what she's gone through (maybe she holds herself away from everyone, not trusting anyone, even the hero who may or may not be her partner at the station) and her fragile emotional state will come into play when a little girl is kidnapped in the present, the heroine is the cop on the case, and the trail eventually leads to the woods. Imagine the heroine's emotional state. She intimately knows what this little girl is going through, and the urgency the heroine feels to rescue her will be so rich and tense. Plus, the woods has become a place of terror for her. Look at the cohesion of character, setting and plot threads here. Everything is so tangled up, the story you come out with has to be utterly solid. It'll also be wonderfully emotional and filled with suspense. Check your cohesion. Maybe you're putting your characters in a setting or plot that doesn't fit them. Or maybe your plot simply isn't bringing out the right qualities in your characters. If none of this works, start a brand new project and see if you can come back to this incomplete one later. I'm finding myself coming back to projects I started, never finished, ten years ago and now I'm doing something wonderful with them. Time away from a story idea can really turn it around. Keep it on a low backburner in your 'creative coffeepot', and I bet your mind will go to work unknotting the kinks. When it starts percolating again full-steam, you know you're ready to put the story in outline form. Good luck, Mary Ellen! BTW, if anyone is curious what a full, scene-by-scene outline looks like, see the First Draft website for the outline of my paranormal romance novel, Sweet Dreams. Karen |
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#26
11-10-2007, 12:59 PM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
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I think it's fabulous that you're thinking so far ahead. Because, yes, it's important that you do so now. As someone who writes countless series', I find it absolutely necessary to start a binder that I keep my research in, my character sketches...basically anything that will help me work from book to book in the series. Your characters need to be consistent from one book to the next, obviously, but at this early stage, you need to decide how you're going to incorporate each character. Will all the characters be in each book, or will each subsequent book spotlight one of the main characters? That's a major decision because it really does focus each book in a solid direction at the get-go. In only one of my current series' do I have the same main characters go from one book to the next. Usually, I spotlight different main characters mentioned in previous books and provided connections between these characters (as in, establish a relationship, meeting, whatever). For instance, in my Wounded Warriors Series, all the main characters were incorporated into the first book in one way or another, and in various degrees in their roles. But I really set the stage for Book 2 in the series by making the main character in Book 2 a major player in Book 1. Same for Book 3--the upcoming main character had a larger role than other characters in Book 2. I've continued that for every book in the series so the readers get excited about seeing this character in the spotlight for the next one. For my Falcon's Bend Series (written with Chris Spindler), the main characters are the detectives at the local police department. So these two have personalities that must be consistent but constantly developing and growing based on their experiences. However, in Book 2, we introduced a new character through a few references that stood out to interest readers. In Book 3, this new character became the spotlight character (those the two detectives still play lead roles). It requires a lot of foresight to manage a series, and it always works best to plan it beforehand so you don't have those embarrassing glitches that readers notice. Best of luck, Vicki. Hope this helps.  Karen |
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#27
11-10-2007, 01:07 PM
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Re: Tips from First Draft in 30 Days by Karen Wiesner
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 I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I've been too busy to continue this, though I still think it's a wonderful idea and I wish I had time to do it for each book. And, hey, I just keep collecting music, so it's not as if I don't have enough to choose from to do it. I'm an eclectic music fan: I love heavy metal, hard rock, pop rock, classical, jazz, blues... Basically, everything but rap. I also absolutely adore soundtracks from movies because you get such a wide selection of dramatic music, love songs, you name it. So I keep my ears open for songs I love, especially when watching a movie. Then I'll buy that CD when I can afford it.Here's how I used to do it: Whenever I'd hear a song that seemed to fit a particular character, couple or book, I'd write it on the list for the soundtrack I planned to create for that book. I have 1000+ CDs and tapes, so I can always find something. When I really want to brainstorm on a story, I create the soundtrack--I include as many songs as will fit on 60 minute tape (usually 6 or 7 per side). Then, when I take long drives, when I outline or I'm doing something else, I listen to the soundtrack and it never fails to get me thinking about the story. I miss doing this! Hope your soundtrack inspires you like crazy, Rebecca. Karen |
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#28
11-10-2007, 01:28 PM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Karen,
You've posted a fantastic wealth of information here in the Forum. I'm curious about a couple of statements (though I'm sure as I reread your posts I'll find more to ask!) First of all, you emphasise outlining. As an unpublished writer currently in the throes of NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month), we're encouraged to basically free-write our novel, not worrying about editing, polishing, or revision until later. I would think that would apply to not outlining as well. So what would be your take on this kind of writing: to forget this and to outline first, as you strongly recommend, thereby avoiding the extensive revision headaches later on? Second, I notice you say that a mistake of aspiring writers is to treat the Muse as the creative controller rather than as an assistant. I'd like to hear more comment on that. I've always been a pantser and just these last few months I'm trying to change that and learn to be more productive by outlining, plotting, etc. I'm aware of many writers who believe that just letting "the Muse" roll on is the way to go, though.  Thanks so much, Montgomery |
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#29
11-10-2007, 02:08 PM
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Re: Plot Block
Karen - thanks so much for you insight. There is a lot to think about there. I'll be getting right on it. Thanks again.
Mary Ellen www.maryellencarmody.com |
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#30
11-10-2007, 02:10 PM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
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There's a lot here to talk about! Thanks for joining me. The basic principle of NaNoWriMo and similar methods is completely against my own method of writing in First Draft in 30 Days. It's like writing a novel backwards. Why write 175 pages, conceivably much more, of a novel that you'll mostly likely have to scrap in part or in full when you can write a fully useable outline of a novel in a month? First Draft in 30 Days way, it's all good. NaNoWriMo and other just-get-it-down ways, it's all uncertain. Write it right from the start, and you'll save yourself a ton of blood, sweat and tears to get something wonderful instead of something that will take you ten times as long to fix. So yes, I'm taking a stand againt poor writing and story building just to get something slapped onto a page. To me, if a writer starts something without a solid foundation, the only way to fix it is to tear it apart and ultimately start from scratch. You can't rewrite something a hundred times and hope to make an unworkable story workable with a bad foundation to drag it down each and every time. Do it right the first time, and you'll have a quality story to show for it--that's my motto! : ) However, you could use NaNoWriMo to write a story you've already outlined. This could be a great incentive for getting the story written. My advice is to get the outline done, and only then join something like this to motivate you to finish. The muse... I'm going to post an article about it next. Karen |
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#31
11-10-2007, 02:13 PM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
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The Four Myths Your Muse Desperately Wants You to Believe © by Karen Wiesner I don’t know about you, but I didn’t always believe my muse was working with me. When I first started writing, I was convinced my muse was a sadistic taskmaster who enjoyed having enormous power over me. He (apparently my muse is male) could make me happy, he could make my life everything I could ever want,...and he could make me utterly miserable by working me to death, leading me every-which-way just to get a finished book, or leaving me altogether just when I needed him most. It was all under his power, and I believed I had to accept the situation or he’d take the words away—maybe for good. Now, most writers are stereotypical hosts: They believe if their muse leaves them, they must have done something horribly wrong. If the muse comes and guides them on a magical journey of enlightenment, they feel utterly blessed. They accept whatever their muse throws at them simply because the muse has exactly what they need. The words, the words! We need the words! Anything to get them! The muse likes to withhold its favors from us because it gives it even more power over us. It likes to lead us in the wrong direction or make us slave endlessly, —working and re-working the same things over and over—to make us realize just how dependent we are on it. Who created writer’s block and spread the rumor that a writer’s dirge will be played if we defy our omnipotent muse? Guess. This article takes a stab at the all-powerful muse and shatters some of the myths it leads us to believe are the truth in order to keep us in line. Myth One: You have to be a slave to your muse. Writers who are slaves to their muse are positively on fire for their craft...when the muse has them in its fickle grasp, that is—then and only then. When the muse is withholding favors, these writers may feel they have no sense of purpose or direction. When they’re in the grip of writer’s fever, they’re the happiest, most fulfilled people in the world. When they burn out like a comet in the night,—and it is always that dramatic—they’re miserable. They write day and night for a couple weeks or months solid, conceivably producing anywhere up to fifty or more pages a day. Writer’s block and burn-out are constant fears. Muse-driven authors may or may not finish a project. If they’re unpublished, more often than not, they don’t finish. They tend to write in a non-linear, chaotic fashion, heeding the muse in whatever direction it calls. There is no feeling of control over this creative urge they have. These authors are terrified of their muse; they, essentially, worship it from afar, not daring to get too close and disturb the Almighty Bard. They are willing, superstitious slaves to their muses. Does this describe you at this point in your writing? Don’t worry. Almost every writer starts out this way and may continue because she’s been told it’s the only way, or she’s superstitious and deathly afraid of defying her muse. During my years as a slave to my muse, each book I wrote required a minimum of twelve drafts (read: start to finish overhauls). I never used an outline; I couldn’t even imagine how any writer could see far enough ahead to use an outline when I couldn’t see the present scene before I wrote it, let alone see these things in detail. I wrote by the seat of my pants, never knowing what would happen from one scene to the next. Frequently, I ended up with a thousand pages of useless drivel, too. Other times I at least came out of the book knowing what was right and what was wrong with the project. I could then set it aside for awhile and come back to it fresh later, ready to start all over again with those “right” parts. After writing a dozen books like that, I got better at the whole process of writing and I could write four of these overhaul drafts instead of twelve, coming out with a fairly clean novel. It still wasn’t as efficient as I wanted to be. Let’s face it, it’s exhausting and intimidating to go into writing a book thinking you’re going to have to do this at least four times before you get it right. I had my life happen to me all at once when I was twenty-nine—I had my first child and my first book accepted for publication almost simultaneously. A fickle muse wasn’t what I needed. I was forced to make a decision about how I was going to juggle everything, and quick. Myth Two: If you try to master your muse, it’ll leave you forever. Like most writers who write based on the whims of their muse, I used to believe if I tried to master my muse, he’d punish me by leaving me forever. But I had to make a choice: I either mastered him and made him my assistant, risking the chance that he’d leave me forever, or I let my muse win, and I went into what had now become a career allowing him to direct me, if and when he deigned to. I took a gamble, and I decided it was worth losing my muse if I could be the one to make the decisions in my career. My gamble paid off—in spades. So how did I become a master of my muse? With self-discipline. I made goals, and I stuck to them religiously. I also started using outlines for every project. I had no opinions about outlines before I tried one, outside of simply believing I couldn’t learn to use one. I forced myself to try using an outline—my own version of an outline—for a novel I’d already written numerous drafts of. First I sketched out a couple chapters of the book, then I started writing the book once more. I completed the outline about midway through writing the first draft of the book. Not long after that, when I used an outline for a brand new project, I found myself brainstorming, productively and constantly. I was able to outline six to eight scenes of the book without writing a word of the actual novel. With the outline complete well ahead of the novel, I was able to revise the outline instead of the novel. A wondrous thing happened in this process: I could now see the entire novel from start to finish, in one condensed place—including all the workable parts and all the unworkable. All I had to do was fix the unworkable elements in the outline in order to strengthen the book. Now when I write a novel, I always start with a complete outline, which I can revise as many times as I need to. Writing a book has almost become a simple process, requiring only one draft and a final edit and polish (for most projects). I save time, effort, and many, many intense rewrites. I can also write more “final draft” novels a year, rather than a half dozen that need another overhaul. There’s a big difference between authors who are slaves to their muses and those who have mastered it. Authors who have mastered their muses have left behind many of their monomaniacal ways and have re-directed their energies in more productive ways of accomplishment on each project. Some projects capture them more than others, but quality work continues regardless. They don’t wait for a fickle muse to bless them with divine inspiration. They set their course with determination and purpose, and they don’t detour from it. These writers not only plans ahead project by project, but frequently plans their careers by the year (or more!) with challenging yet attainable goals. They seem very satisfied, almost laid-back with themselves and their work because they tend to finish what they start, a couple pages or a chapter a day. Generally, they write in a linear fashion. Writer’s block and burn-out are rare since the muse has become an assistant rather than the supreme ruler. These authors are nostalgic when they remember those day-and-night writing sessions, but a part of them is also relieved that they no longer have to rely on the whim of something so unstable to accomplish anything. Authors with muse assistants love their work just as much—possibly more—than a muse-driven author. The author and muse have formed a cohesive team, each respecting the other and working harmoniously with the common goal of wanting to produce the best book they possibly can together. Your first instinct after reading the vast differences between muse-driven and muse-assisted is probably that there is one wrong and one right way to creating a book. In fact, it’s not about that at all. The first year or more of committing yourself to becoming a writer will be one of the most definitive in the life of any author. This is where you learn the very foundations of being a writer, where you learn what you can do. Your goal during these formative years isn’t to be a productive writer or even a published one. Writing, re-writing and re-writing some more is how you grow. All writers deserve to give themselves the time they need to refine and learn to love their craft in whatever way works for them—even if it’s crazy, to believe in themselves enough to take the next, crucial step. There is a time to move beyond that wonderful stage, if you believe you’re talented and ambitious enough to succeed as an author. I think you’ll know when the time has arrived for you. You’ll have at least one near-perfect, complete manuscript that you believe in with all your heart. Quite possibly, you’ll have many more than that. You’ll also feel a strong urge for direction and discipline as you approach each project. That is the time to rein in your muse, to train it to assist you instead of control you, and to get down to the business of becoming a productive writer who sells that near-perfect manuscript of your heart. It’s a very different world for me than when I first started writing. I no longer believe in superstitions. They never got me anywhere except face-down on the ground, cowering. There are so many writers who believe that the muse is a magical being who either blesses us or curses us. Imagine believing your muse is your assistant in the process of writing. Imagine a world where it’s no longer up to the power-hungry bard you possess whether you write, when you write, how much you write, or how you feel about any of it. Now is the time to take control of your writing, if you’re willing to gamble (and possibly wrestle until one of your concedes defeat) with your muse. Myth Three: You have to dig for plots blindly. The writing process has been compared to many things since the beginning of time: A series of epiphanies exploding all around you. A spiritual journey. Currently, the most popular analogy is that stories are discovered by digging around in the creative dirt, and then you as the writer are supposed to unearth whatever it is you think you’ve found. How many authors believe this fossil-in-the-ground philosophy? Countless. Let me tell you, my friend, that’s exactly what your Master Muse wants you—its loyal, cowering slave—to believe. The single biggest flaw in this digging-blindly-for-plot theory of writing (and similar analogies) is that it doesn’t take into account that the writer may start digging for his story a hundred miles in the wrong direction! If you haven’t done all the necessary preparation to begin work, you have no idea whether or not there really is a story beneath the soil you’re unearthing. You may dig endlessly and never find it…or you may find it quite a ways down the pike from where you started, and nothing that has come before has any or much consequence and worth. How many authors believe outlines are a last resort? Sadly, too many to count. So many writers attribute far too much of a project to some magical, cataclysmic explosion which somehow takes you from the first page of a novel to the last, with little or no premeditation involved. I don’t discount the magical element—because it is there in some degree, but I simply can’t buy into the spiritual intuition way of writing. How can a brand-new, never-written-much-or-anything-before writer have this kind of intuition? With an outline and clear-cut goals, you know there is a story down there, you know where to start digging, and you know exactly how far to go down. Everything you plot from start to finish is good and worthwhile. Now I’m sure archaeology has changed radically in the last five or ten years, becoming what archaeologists believe is more of a science than treasure hunting. Do you think archaeologists feel less like archaeologists because of these changes? I doubt it. In fact, they probably feel more like worthwhile scientists because they spend more time uncovering what they’re after than in seemingly endless searches for it. Likewise, writers who use an outline spend more time writing a story than searching for one. Myth Four: Outlines and setting goals stifle a writer’s creativity. I went online and conducted an informal poll with authors about the use of outlines in order to see an interesting slice of the writing life. I asked participating writers if they use outlines to write novels. The majority of the 76 authors who responded to this poll were published. Thirty-eight percent of them said they always use an outline, 38 percent said they sometimes use an outline, 28 percent said they never use an outline, and one percent said they’d like to use one. Then I asked authors how many drafts they write to get to a final, polished, salable novel. Forty-seven writers voted, 98 percent of whom were published. Forty-seven percent of the authors said they had to write four or more drafts of each book, 15 percent had to write three drafts, 30 percent had to do two drafts, and only eight percent need a single draft. These poll results, while obviously not conclusive, nevertheless astounded me. Thirty-eight percent of published and unpublished authors said they do use outlines in some form; 28 percent said they never use outlines. In contrast, 47 percent of mostly published authors said they have to write four or more drafts to get a final, polished, salable novel! Only eight percent of them do one draft to get the same results. Based on the many interviews I’ve read in writing magazines with published authors, I believe my informal polls do show a fairly accurate picture of writers these days. It seems that even the household-name authors follow a spiritual journey of manuscript writing rather than an organized system or solid road-map. How can this be? I think we can all agree that the publishing market these days is in a major state of chaos. New writers are finding it harder and harder to break in for the first time. Those who have broken in—mid-list and established authors—are finding it difficult to keep selling, even to their own publishers. Even more thwarting is if those authors can only write one book a year. In this current state of publishers folding, changing hands, and concentrating mainly on their prolific, best-selling authors, it’s absolutely essential that writers learn how to finish quality novels and to do it fast enough to keep the momentum of their careers rolling steadily. Published authors who want to compete in a totally chaotic market need to learn to write fewer drafts because they can sell a proposal “on spec,” which generally translates into selling more in less time. I’m not suggesting in any way that authors should crank out inferior novels simply to sell. Too many writers already do that, and their fans will eventually catch on to it. I’m suggesting that the best time to learn to create a fantastic novel fast, to learn to “write tight”, is during a writer’s unpublished years. As soon as you finish your first novel and submit it to a publisher or publishers, start a second because you never know how much time you have once THE CALL comes. For the published writer, many established authors would agree that the ideal way to keep rolling along is to write at least one or two projects ahead of your contracts. (If you’re unpublished and still in the formative stage of being a writer, don’t let this scare or intimidate you—let the creative process take you where it will.) I would venture a guess that the authors who are selling like hotcakes and making the New York Times Bestseller List are using outlines in some form, they’re writing more than one novel a year, and they have specific goals that encompass years in advance. There is no wrong way to write a book. I’ll be the first to state that emphatically. I’ve talked to hundreds of authors, published and unpublished, and all of them have their own, unique ways of working. There’s no wrong way, but there are very ineffective ways of writing, especially after you’re published. John Berendt says, “Don’t make an outline; make a laundry list. The very idea of an outline suggests rigidity; items on a laundry list can be shifted around. Don’t lock the structure in too early. A piece of writing should evolve as it’s being written.” Never mind the fact that I don’t have a clue what a “laundry list” is (something like a grocery list?). The point is, I hear the same thing from almost every writer I talk to, whether or not they’re published: Writers like outlines about as much as a homeowner likes termites. The word can actually make some writers cringe and do a full-body shudder. The idea of an outline doesn’t inspire them, sounds like too much work, seems too confining, absolutely unappealing, necessitates the ability to see far ahead in a novel, I can’t possibly work that way! Now I can hear the questions arising in a tumult: Is it possible for an outline to be flexible? To take into account my individuality as a writer? Can I continue to be creative using an outline? Can I use an outline for writing any fiction genre? Can using an outline reduce the number of re-writes I have to do? Can it really take me less time to complete a project from start to finish using an outline? Many authors are seeking something to give them direction and embrace their individual way of working without robbing them of the joy of creating. They want something that will streamline the process in order to make them more productive, so they’re not digging up endless, empty holes. They want something that will help them work more productively before they ever start writing a word of an actual book, and do it in a way that won’t rob them of the joy of their craft. They aren’t aware that a full outline can achieve all this because someone has, however sincerely, led them to believe a writer’s job has to be an ethereal, intuitive journey, which means they have to stay firmly under their muses’ controlling thumb. An outline can be flexible, can be so complete it may actually qualify as the first draft of a novel. An outline can also make it possible that writers, in fact, do less work, not only reducing the number of drafts they have to do per project, but possibly even reducing it to a single draft. More books finished a year and quite likely more sales to publishers. The clearer a writer’s vision of the story before the actual writing, the more fleshed out the story will be once it makes it to paper. We’ve already established that countless writers believe outlines are rigid, unmalleable creatures which hinder them in the quest of true and righteous creativity. But there is another way of looking at them. Instead of viewing an outline as an inflexible, unchangeable hindrance, imagine it as a snapshot of a novel. A snapshot that captures everything the novel will contain on a much smaller scale. A snapshot that can be “airbrushed” and rearranged until it’s smooth, strong, and breathtakingly exciting. Now, in the same vein, imagine revising 50 to a 100 pages instead of 250 to 400 pages. That, you must admit, my fellow writer, is an ideal place to begin. Remember, anytime you as a writer gain control over an aspect of your writing, your muse is reined in, and—if you’re determined enough to succeed—eventually your muse will have to accept the task of being your assistant rather than being your master. Someday your muse will even realize it enjoys its role as an assistant and will rise to meet every challenge just as eagerly as you do because you’re a team who respects each other and the two of you have mutual goals. Just as children thrive under gentle yet firm direction from their parents or caretakers, so, too, will your muse. Are you willing to take the risk of battling with your muse, author? Do you believe the benefits of taking that risk could be well worth it in the end if it meant becoming a productive writer with an assistant (your muse) to die for? Would you be willing to take the risk if it meant you could start a project and complete it, easily and quickly, without wasting time in possibly fruitless searches, meandering aimlessly as you wait for divine inspiration? If you’re willing to take a leap of faith and commit yourself for the long haul, using an outline that tracks your novel from start to finish can be the very thing you need. |
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#32
11-10-2007, 02:14 PM
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Re: Plot Block
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 Karen |
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#33
11-10-2007, 04:12 PM
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Re: Who is Karen Wiesner?
Sable and I would like to thank Karen for visiting us with Main Street today and answering questions about FIRST DRAFT IN THIRTY DAYS.
The winner of an autographed copy of the book: Montgomery Sword The winner of the Cobblestone Press contest is: Moira Reid Both winners will be PM'd privately for details concerning their win. For those of you who are interested in purchasing Karen's book. You can find details on ordering from various outlets here: http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswi...on2.html#order |
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