Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Turning Points: Don't Panic
When I plot my stories, I start with turning points. I establish at least three instances in the story where my characters outlooks or situations change, throwing their worlds in disarray.
Usually the first one happens when the H/H meet each other. So, in the first chapter. Best to toss them to the wolves right away, I think. Usually the easiest to write because this is where my ideas start.
The second one usually happens at about the 1/3 way mark. Then there are either one or two left, with the last one being the black moment.
A week or so ago, Hal and I lamented our most recent writing stall-outs. We’d hit the 20K-30K marks of our respective works and we both were spinning our wheels. And then I get an email from her and she says, you know, we’ve done this before. We stopped here last books around.
So of course, being the plotter/spreadsheet-maker that I am, I looked back at my notes, at my word count spreadsheet (Yes, I keep a word count spreadsheet that monitors how much I write each week… don’t make fun) and I realized with each of my last MS's, I’ve stalled out somewhere between 20K-30K of the way and then again somewhere between 60K-70K.
More interestingly, these spots just happen to coordinate with where I place my major turning points.
Sure enough, this time I’d stopped as I approached a major change in my H/H’s dynamic. At 24.5K. I knew how my heroine was going to react, but I’ve been poking and prodding at my hero to find out how he’s going to deal.
I think I figured it out and this week I started writing again. I guess I haven’t written much over the last couple weeks, total. Last MS, I stopped for an entire month (maybe longer). The first manuscript, I believe I stopped for 2-3 months. Both times, I railed at my MS, I whined to Hal and my other CPs. I banged my head against the computer and cursed my muse for abandoning me.
Worse, I doubted myself, my ability, and my story.
This time, I just waited. I thought about my hero. I tried to get in his head. I free-wrote him a little, tried to imagine him in a multitude of unusual situations. I hashed out more of his back story.
What I didn’t do was doubt that I’d get going again. The lack of panic probably saved me two or more weeks of paralyzed anguish.
Sure enough, one morning I woke up and went, huh. Maybe he’s like (this).
And I started to write again.
I’m not citing some new writing maturity for this development. Chances are I’m just too damn exhausted and worn out to stress that much. But this has taught me a valuable lesson.
Don’t panic.
I may get more done in the rest of my life when working in stressed out conditions but, with my writing, the best approach is slow and steady with as little personal hang-ups as possible.
So tell me. Do you use turning points in your stories? Have you found that you stop at any particular spots in your MS to angst? Do you panic over your writing and if so, why? Wanna share any of your personal hang-ups? Because seriously, you’re good enough, your smart enough and gosh darn it, people like you. I swear.
PS, anyone have a good April Fool's Joke for us? I'm not very good at that stuff, but I always like a good laugh.
Usually the first one happens when the H/H meet each other. So, in the first chapter. Best to toss them to the wolves right away, I think. Usually the easiest to write because this is where my ideas start.
The second one usually happens at about the 1/3 way mark. Then there are either one or two left, with the last one being the black moment.
A week or so ago, Hal and I lamented our most recent writing stall-outs. We’d hit the 20K-30K marks of our respective works and we both were spinning our wheels. And then I get an email from her and she says, you know, we’ve done this before. We stopped here last books around.
So of course, being the plotter/spreadsheet-maker that I am, I looked back at my notes, at my word count spreadsheet (Yes, I keep a word count spreadsheet that monitors how much I write each week… don’t make fun) and I realized with each of my last MS's, I’ve stalled out somewhere between 20K-30K of the way and then again somewhere between 60K-70K.
More interestingly, these spots just happen to coordinate with where I place my major turning points.
Sure enough, this time I’d stopped as I approached a major change in my H/H’s dynamic. At 24.5K. I knew how my heroine was going to react, but I’ve been poking and prodding at my hero to find out how he’s going to deal.
I think I figured it out and this week I started writing again. I guess I haven’t written much over the last couple weeks, total. Last MS, I stopped for an entire month (maybe longer). The first manuscript, I believe I stopped for 2-3 months. Both times, I railed at my MS, I whined to Hal and my other CPs. I banged my head against the computer and cursed my muse for abandoning me.
Worse, I doubted myself, my ability, and my story.
This time, I just waited. I thought about my hero. I tried to get in his head. I free-wrote him a little, tried to imagine him in a multitude of unusual situations. I hashed out more of his back story.
What I didn’t do was doubt that I’d get going again. The lack of panic probably saved me two or more weeks of paralyzed anguish.
Sure enough, one morning I woke up and went, huh. Maybe he’s like (this).
And I started to write again.
I’m not citing some new writing maturity for this development. Chances are I’m just too damn exhausted and worn out to stress that much. But this has taught me a valuable lesson.
Don’t panic.
I may get more done in the rest of my life when working in stressed out conditions but, with my writing, the best approach is slow and steady with as little personal hang-ups as possible.
So tell me. Do you use turning points in your stories? Have you found that you stop at any particular spots in your MS to angst? Do you panic over your writing and if so, why? Wanna share any of your personal hang-ups? Because seriously, you’re good enough, your smart enough and gosh darn it, people like you. I swear.
PS, anyone have a good April Fool's Joke for us? I'm not very good at that stuff, but I always like a good laugh.
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43 comments:
I stall in the middle and as I approach the end. Sometimes, I think the middle is because I want to know my story and get going to the end...but as I approach the end I don't want to say goodbye to my characters!
I panic at revisions. Doubt myself like crazy...once I get going, I'm fine if I don't let myself stall out. I have to regulate myself to so many pages a day.
So I stall out at the same spots, but like you, the realization that those spots are turning points is new to me. Before reading this, I was sitting here staring at my white board my current MS, looking at the turning points. And yep, I'm at the first major one, and trying to figure out how Jo will react.
I think I figured out last night what to do with her next. I think it's a really cool idea. We'll see.
Chance - I have the same response about coming to the end. It's always so bittersweet. I want them to be happy but then I'm sad to be leaving them. :(
And ugh, revisions. I think I'm becoming a proponent of revise, then walk away for a few weeks/month, then try to revise again. I'm not sure there's an easy way, that's for sure. Or one that's easy on the esteem.
Hal - I was just thinking about the whole turning point thing yesterday. I hit where Belle has left London and now she's got to deal with who she is after all that's happened. And this guy who won't let her bury within herself.
I can't wait to see what happens to Jo! Keep me posted.
She's currently being held underground at gun point. It's all spooky and creepy!
Ohhh... Funnnn..... *rubbing hands together and smiling maniacally*
I think everyone uses turning points in their novels--whether they choose to call them that or not (Sin)--but not sure if everyone stalls out.
I mean, I do stall out there. Now that you've brought it up and gave me a word count approximation--and I look at my excel file of the same thing (boy, are we nerds?)--I'm around the 23K mark, trying to do the Turning Point I need and it's like trying to pull donkeys up a greased hill. And the problem is that I know I need to get to this TP, so I can get to the mid-point TP, and it's just not coming fast enough. I'm not being interesting. And no one will want this book either.
I need both of my heroes to decide to find dates using Match Made in Heaven dot com, which their mentor is opposed to. Right now I'm in the mentor's POV; and I'm like on the cusp of them deciding to go that route, but not quite there. It's making me crazy.
However, last night wasn't a total wash. I made Chicken Marsala and it was HEAVENLY. And I finally made a decision about what I wanted as my 10 year anniversary gift for work (work gives gifts to the workers at 5, 10, 15, et al.) I picked a piece of jewelry that was very pretty and that I think I would actually wear. (No watches. They had those options LITTERED in the brochure. Ugh.)
Gah. Revisions are trying to kill me. It was nice knowing you, pirate wenches. It's been a real thrill--
Okay, I had to get the self-pitying whining out of the way first! LOL
This post is great to think about -- where the "stall out points" are. Since I'm a pantser, I don't have this stuff in an Excel sheet until later, when I'm renovating. LOL
But it makes sense that my brain would stop at those points, to kind of catch up. Like when you watch a TV show on the computer, and there's that "buffer" area and sometimes it pauses while it's downloading---does anybody but me know what I'm talking about? LOL
Okay, I'll be back in periodically -- just so I don't go insane. OR to demonstrate that I HAVE gone insane!
And I should note, this is the first time I've gotten past 100 pages on any WIP. LOL! So, I'm also denying that I have stalled in the past at the 100p mark. :)
Sorry, busy morning. I do use turning points, but then once I start writing, I stop thinking of them that way. My brain basically goes "This happens and then this happens and then this happens."
Now and then I'll stop and think, "I'm gonna need something else to happen between that happening and this happening."
So far, no stalling as long as I have my trusty storyboard. But I'm only on the cusp of 25K. My trick so far is that I don't think of anything as the middle. I have this board filled with about three dozen post its and really, everything between block one and twenty-five is the middle.
So I just don't think of beginning middle and end. Denial is a powerful thing.
I like that "not thinking of anything as the middle". I think I'm stealing that!
What does Sin call her turning points?
Hells - First, I love your descriptions. Pulling donkeys up a greased hill? LOL!!
Match Made in Heaven dot com? What a cool name. And who's their mentor? I hope you figure it out. I know I hate running against these walls.
I LOVE Chicken Marsala. The DH doesn't like mushrooms so I don't make it. But when I'm out, I get things with mushrooms all the time. Yum... fungus. :)
And hooray for your new jewelry.
Lucifer is the mentor. He's not helpful. He's like an anti-mentor actually. But in a comical way.
Awh, Donna! Good luck finishing these revisions. Hang in there.
I always wondered how pantsers do that. If they stop subconsciously or if the reason I stop is because I'm aware of the whole turning point issue and stop on purpose. (Does that make sense?)
I love the buffer analogy though. :)
Bo'sun - I'm so glad you haven't stalled out. That's great! Maybe I need to swim in Denial too....
And I love not thinking of beginning middle end. I just wish I could stop.
Steal at will, Donna!
I tend to have more trouble with the scenes that are between the turning points. They are more subtle, harder to keep interesting and make them have a purpose. It's getting better, but it's more where the action isn't that I struggle.
I've stalled out, but not because I'm at a turning point. Nope, it's because I HATE Maria. Yep, she's my villain and I hate her, so I have a hard time writing from her POV. My CPs love her, and what she adds to the story. I cringe every time it's her turn and then I struggle to put words on the page.
*sigh* Does anyone else have this problem, or is it just me?
Di
Lucifer as a mentor. LOL! I should have guessed. I could see how that'd be the anti-mentor. LOL!!
Di - In my last MS, I wrote from the villain's perspective. He was a demon. It was hard. And towards the end I got that way, where I didn't want to write him anymore. I felt all dirty just getting in his head.
I've debated adding my current villain's perspective. Not a lot, but a little. I'm going to wait and see.
I have a villain, but only in the "he's a jerk who is working against my heroine" kind of way. Nothing diabolical and I never write from his POV. Not sure I'd enjoy doing that with a really bad guy/gal either.
My villain is a bad bad guy... he's my heroine's benefactor at the beginning of my story. He's a traitor to the crown, a murderer, and he abuses my heroine.
An all around horrid fellow.
I meant to say, that don't panic bit might be the most important here. The panic gets in the way of so much, for me anyway. The story and characters have to simmer in my head. Things don't always just come to me. The panic serves as a bag of ice on my simmering, brings the whole thing to a halt.
Which brings us back to writer confidence. Or for me, the every truthful "Fake it until you make it."
Even if that voice is shouting, "This is total shit!" you smash that pillow over her face and keep on moving. LOL!
I agree Ter. Panic paralyzes me. I think everyone else feels like that. It's hard to write through panic. Because panic starts that downward spiral. And before you know it, there's all that, "this sucks" and "you suck" and "this'll never sell" or "you don't make any sense."
Only ugliness comes from there.
Panic causes paralysis. You don't do anything, which is the worst thing to do.
You need to harness your fear (whatever kind it is) and gallop that baby over the finish line.
I feel a Melissa-Talladega-Nights-Pep-Talk coming on.
oh dear....
Here, I'll start....
"And here you sit--thinking! Well, Ricky Bobby is not a thinker. Ricky Bobby is a driver. He is a doer, and that's what you need to do."
Well, we pantsers tend ta do our outlineing afterward, when we have ta write the synopsis. And it do halp with revisions. I took that W Platform class and it terrified me when it came ta using it before I'd written...but afterward? What a great way to figure out the synopsis! And figure out what is missing for revisions!
Ter says I do plot. Just a bit a' freeform plotting... I swear!
I can't remember if it was Renee or Melissa--but it cracked me up. I copied and pasted the speech, then framed it for my office. *LOL* Everyone, feel free to substitute your name for mine and motivate yourself!
It’s because it’s what you love, Hellie. It is who you were born to be. And here you sit, procrastinating. Well, Pirate Hellion is not a procrastinator. Pirate Hellion is a writer. She is a doer. And that’s what you need to do. You don’t need to procrastinate. You need to write. You need DISCIPLINE, COMMITMENT. You need to go out there, and you need to kick your muse in the ass, or yourself. You need to fire him up. You need to grab a hold of that line between sanity and chaos, and you need to wrestle your muse to the ground like a demon cobra! And then, when the fear rises up in your belly, you use it. And you know that fear is powerful, because it has been there for billions of years. And it is good. And you use it. And you ride it; you ride it like a skeleton horse through the gates of hell, and then you win, Hellie. You WIN! And you don’t win for anybody else. You win for you, you know why? Because a woman takes what she wants. She takes it all. And you’re a woman, aren’t you? Aren’t you? Well DAMN IT! I Am WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR! Let me hear you ROAR, Hellie. Let me hear you!
I think a lot of plotting is more useful after the fact. *LOL* No worries, 2nd.
I remember that one. I'm pretty sure it as Renee. And that is AWESOME. LOL!
Just thought of two things that seem to be helping me keep moving lately. The ability to be honest with myself and the willingness to change direction.
I'm sure everyone is by now aware I have a touch of pig-headedness. Man, that gets in the way of writing. Sitting back, really looking at what's not working, and then honestly admitting if it's good or needs to change makes a huge difference.
I've tried to keep scenes just because I liked them. I added a funny anectdote that would make the reader laugh. Or cry. But with honest eyes, I had to admit this stuff had to go. Hard at first, but I'm getting used to it.
Well, we all know I'm a nerd and like numbers (not good at math but I'm decent at finances) and spreadsheets are one of my loves. I love spreadsheets. I don't keep any for my writing, nothing like seeing a big fat 0 for a week to make me more depressed about my writing than I already am. I never think about turning points. I'm one of those writers that will be writing and feel bored and all of a sudden blow up something, kill someone or kidnap a main player. I love problems in writing. I love making problems worse. Turning points are always fun.
Chance - Spreadsheeting afterwards. Pantsers. *shaking head* LOL!! Unruly lot. :)
Hells - I love that one too. Good stuff.....
Bo'sun... I don't know. Why does all clever stuff have to thrown out just because it doesn't force the plot forward? Can't it show the reader that there is humor at a certain point? Or show the reader that character A is an imp, or something? I mean...the penis discussion in the JD Robb book I finished yesterday did nothing but make me chuckle and giggle like a fool...
Granted, she's Nora and can do anything she wants, but I love it when there is something clever in a book... As a reader.
I'd find a way to make the scenes connect with the plot or character developement or SOMETHING! If it's good writing, it stays. That's my motto.
Ter - That honesty thing is rough. I've had to cut scenes I love too. Talk about pain, but I think you're right. Just cause they're good on their own doesn't mean they work for the story. But boy is that a rough lesson to learn. You're good. It took me much longer to figure that out.
Sin - You are an anarchist. :) I love that about you. "I don't need to plot no stinking turning points. I will insert where I see fit. I blow sh!t up at random! Muhahahaha!!"
Love it.
And I didn't come to spreadsheeting easily. DH (the accountant) keeps showing me all these nifty things I can do. I'm always like, "I"m an English major! They don't teach us this stuff in my literature classes!!"
I'm getting there....
Marn - It's hilarious...two of the newbies for RT have plotted out the entire convention of spreadsheets... Made me roll on the floor laughing.
Mainly because RT is well-known as a place where nothing starts on time and things are always mucked up differently than the schedule. I have this vision of ladies pointing at their printed spreadsheets and looking confused at clocks...and back a their spreadsheets...
But then again, the DH tried to teach me spreadsheets and I just shuddered. My writing persona just runs away screaming at this sort of organization.
Well, and the rest of me runs at most any other sort of organization.
Chance - that sounds like me at last years RT!
You know, I saw Janet Evanovich's Hero at Large at the grocery store yesterday and I really want to read it. I'd love to see how her 1st book ever published compares with her stuff now.
I remember! All those loverly color coded pages...
*snicker
Maybe one of the reasons I enjoy RT. Anarchy.
(Nah, we exagerate, ain't that bad...usually. Gonna miss you this year, Scapey!)
LOL! I haven't been to RT yet, but that's hilarious.
And you're as much of an anarchist as Sin is. I bet Sin took that as a compliment. It might be...
*Waving at scapegoat* I haven't read more than One for the Money. Anyone else read Hero at Large.
No, I haven't read the Hero book. Admittedly I've not read her since #13, in which I decided I'd read something else for a while.
I wish I was going to RT -- I went to one about a hundred years ago, and it was so much fun. All that man-candy. . .sigh. After a couple of alcoholic beverages I got up enough nerve to go over and ask to have my pic taken with Fabio. LOL
Did I just say all that out loud? Dang. I better go back to my revisions again! LOL
Donna - There's a picture of you and Fabio somewhere? Do share! :)
How's revising?
Marn, luckily I've moved so many times over the years, I have NO idea where the pics are! I do know HIS hair looked way better than mine at that time. LOL Mine's probably better now though!
And the revising is actually going pretty good. I'm feeling happy about it (and not just because I'm taking a break from it -- LOL). Hopefully just another couple more days and I can say it's done.
Oh! I sure wish I could take credit for that Talladega-Nights-Pep-Talk. Was it Renee? It is awesome. :)
The only writing I've done lately to panic over is a paper on the Cold War. Yeah, I did panic. And it was my only experience of writing a happy ending actually...we didn't blow up the world!
Oh! And as for an April Fool's joke, well I can't tell it right, but I was fooled this morning when the radio announced that "Google was changing it's name to Topeka." There was this whole serious report about it being as some kind of reward for Topeka, Kansas and I was totally buying every word and going, man is that stupid. The "April Fools!" at the end got me. I hate April Fool's Day. *sigh*
Actually, I met my future husband on April Fool's Day in 1987. We divorced 10 years later...so that was a really delayed "April Fools!" LOL
I hate practical jokes so it's fortunate no one I know or work with is into the April Fools thing. I'm sure I'd get in trouble for beating the crap out of someone before lunch.
After lunch, all bets are off.
Chance - It's a fact of the writing life, it can't all stay. But I will try to ponder out how to twist it up to make it work before I delete completely. However, the me being clever for the sake of being clever doesn't typically make it.
I did a spreadsheet for the first RWA. Even had all the handouts organized in a binder. Yeah, I'm a geek. But I've learned. I didn't plan ahead at all last year.
Donna - I attended the booksigning event at RT last year (dragged the ENTIRE family there - they live in PGH) and used my kiddo as an excuse to ask a covermodel for a pic. Told him she was too embarrassed to ask for herself.
Yeah, SHE wanted the picture. Sure.
I have a friend who used to plan elaborate April Fool's Day tricks on me... I swear, and she got me every bloody year!
"You're moving where?"
"You're dog ran away and got caught where?"
"I'm gonna shoot you now..."
I'm sure she's driving someone insane in Tennessee right now!
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