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Hut, Hut, Write!
As some of you may know, it's football season. I grew up watching the game though I haven't watched it much in recent years. However, I'm back into it this season and I realized if I approached writing the way these guys approach football, I might be more successful.
Training Camp – This is where we line up all the important players. See who is working and who isn't. Weed out the weak ones, find our strengths, and spend a few extra hours watching game footage. Otherwise known as reading as many books in our genre as possible and diving into a craft book or workshop.
Preseason – This is where you try out your characters. Put them to a couple of light tests, see if your voice is working. Are the players talking to you? Do they have chemistry with each other? Are they willing to follow the play book or are they going to go rogue and drive you apeshit?
Regular Season – This is the murky middle. In football the challenge is a new one every week but the basics are the same. Move the ball down the field with every play. A team must be successful every week if they want to get to the playoffs and eventually to that HEA – the Super Bowl. As writers, we need to move the story with each scene, build in every chapter, and do it well enough to get the reader to stick around to the end.
Post Season – This is where the odds go up. Everything is on the line. The last thing any team wants to do is choke in the playoffs. And the last thing a writer wants to do is get to the black moment and blow it. You might think you've made it this far, you can relax. But no. This is where you have to bring your "A" game. Step it up, slap on that cup, and break those hearts!
The Big Game – It all comes down to this. It's you and the characters. Less than a minute …err… a chapter to go and your hero made a terrible fumble five pages ago. You've got to find a way to give the reader the HEA they expect and deserve. But you can't just walk it in and say they lived happily ever after. You have to throw the Hail Mary, make it believable, make the reader sigh.
Who'd a thunk all these dudes banging into each other could teach us anything about writing a Romance novel? But I think this could work. Even if you're a pantser, you simply drop back and call an audible every chapter. If you're a plotter, then you have a complete play book before the season starts and pray your players can execute. Either way, the bottom line is always make progress. You can't win if you don't play. And you can't finish a book if you don't write.
Where are you in this football analogy? Are you still in the preseason (like me) or are you stuck in the middle of the regular season and worried you're team is going down in flames? Have you gotten to the big fumble and realized it's more like a non-event? Or have I lost everyone and am about to be voted off the ship for daring to talk sports?
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44 comments:
Terri,
I love the football analogy, even though we don't have that particular brand of football here in Australia. The good news is that it works with other codes of football and, more importantly, romance writing!
You've given me a whole new perspective on the process I've just gone through in writing my book, and then revising with editorial input (not quite sure where that fits in the metaphor, but I could DEFINITELY relate to your comments on black moments and the end!).
Off now to see if I can start assembling a brand new team for the next season (story)!
Cheers,
Annie
Very good Terri.
But I've always written stories this way!
You forgot the wounded hero. That would be Becks missing a penalty in the world cup.
The anti-hero would be Maraddona using 'the hand of God' to score against England....never seen anyone induce as much hatred on a soccer pitch!
The HEA could be the England team hugging each other after finally winning the world cup.
The unexpected twist could be Pele using his banana shot and the red herring could be Stan Mathews or Creuf dribbling and weaving through a defence before selling the killer dummy.
Terri you're the tops....you bend it like Beckam! I just can't resist soccer authors 8)
Annie, I think the Aussies are better at cricket. Now that Shane has retired we (England) will be collecting the ashes next time we visit! I'd better not start on that again or I'll be walking the plank in no time. *g*
Quantum, please don't mention the S word! Have to say he's not my favourite cricketer. But it's nice to give you guys a chance at last (he, he...).
Annie
(who's always wondered what that 'hut, hut' business is about)
You are talking to a woman whose husband was captain of his high school football team, played at the college level at Rutgers, coached for years and is now glued to the TV set. He has been known to veer off the road when we are driving when he sees kids practicing on some strange field. So BOO to football, even though your post is VERY clever!
I'm in the regular season, with 30,000 or so yards to go. The heroine keeps dithering and dropping the ball. It's time for the hero to sack her.
Very nice football analogy Ter, I'm chuckling. Football is actually one of the only sports I can stand, so thank goodness you're not talking hockey or baseball. Then again, I do like soccer too so I'm okay with Q's version.
My husband is an ardent football fan so the sports analogies are familiar in our house.
I've made it through the big game, but I'm tangled in preparations for the playoffs/post seasons (revisions).
I have been making more progress lately, but it's moving slow.
Great blog, Ter!
Annie - Around here we have what are known as "Armchair Quarterbacks". Those are the guys who point out all the bad decisions the coach and the quarterback made during the game and talk about how much better it would have been had the team done things their way. That's where your editors come in. LOL! Only in writing, that's usually a good thing.
Thanks for stopping by!!
Q - After I posted this last night, I realized you would be taking it in a totally different direction in your interpretation. LOL! But I'll take that "bend it like Beckham" compliment anytime! It really is too bad he has the voice of a squeaker toy.
Maggie - I love this part...
It’s time for the hero to sack her.
LOL! I didn't even think of that one, but yes, sometimes a sack is necessary. Whatever happens, don't let the heroine call a time out!
JK - I could maybe make a baseball analogy, but hockey is a mystery to me. Even when I watched it pretty regularly several years ago (read: lived in Pittsburgh when they were winning and it was FORCED on me), I still never figured out all those crazy rules. But it is fun to watch them slam each other against the boards.
Marn - The finesse of the game is not always about how fast you move the ball, but that you're moving it! Forward motion and all that. I know you'll make it the Big Game and we'll all be here to pour that giant cooler of rum flavored Gatorade down your back! LOL!
Football's a touchy subject around here these days. We're still in mourning over Georgia's humilating loss to Alabama. :( I admit to being a football fan. I grew up watching my brother play from Little League through SEC. I taught at football-mad schools. Now I'm watching the grands begin.
I love your football analogy, Terri. It even extends to the fans, the readers, who can get the coach fired if they stop buying tickets. LOL!
As for my writing, I'm trying to play three games at once now--with each game at a different stage. That is insanity!
Janga - You of all people know it takes focus to excel at this game. Maybe you need to hire some assistant who can help out. And I bet it's fun to watch the little ones just starting out. I can't remember ever not watching football but neither of my little brothers played so that would be new to me.
And great bit about the fans. That's so true. You gotta put the fans in the seats just like you have to make the books fly off the shelves. And all the promotional stuff and endorsement deals sure can get in the way of the main task.
I grew up with football running through my veins too. I even live with an ex-football player but he's still massive. That's what we did yesterday was watch football (well, and every Saturday and Sunday). Football, for me, is all about how many people you can run over before getting to the quarterback and making his life miserable. Of course, I shouldn't want this. The quarterback to writing is the writer him/herself. The offensive line are your characters. The patterns your receivers run are your plots weaving in and out of your storyline. And the storyline itself is the entire game. You never know how a particular game will play out until you get the the triple zeroes in the 4th quarter- the end.
Great blog!
Where am I? I am on the bench, deer-in-headlights look, going, "F*$&, no one told me we'd have to talk football!"
I do like that "move the ball down the field with every play." A sort of reminder that you don't have to write the entire book in an afternoon. Just keep doing ten yards, then ten more yards until you get down the field to touchdown. I have that horrible tendency to write like I diet: all or nothing. Just because you "screwed up" on Tuesday, doesn't mean you get to have a feeding frenzy free for all until Monday rolls around; just because you didn't write on Tuesday, doesn't mean you get to screw off the rest of the week as well. Write something, every bit counts.
Hellion - I didn't even think about being on the bench. That would be one nice thing about writing. When you get exhausted and can't go on, another writer takes your place while you sit it out for a while. LOL! I'm sitting it out, but alas, no one is taking my place either.
And that's an important thing to keep in mind. I'm sure it's something you've said before. Keep the goals short and realistic. Then they aren't as overwhelming. All you need to do today is finish that scene that accomplishes so and so. No need to worry about anything that comes later until you get there. One play (scene!) at a time.
That last note is for me, by the way. LOL! I AM going to get to the end of this. Really. Maybe. Possibly....
Sin - leave it to you to take the defensive side of things. LOL! But it really does not behoove us in this analogy to think about stopping the forward progress! LOL! And my ex was a football player in HS. I think he was the entire offensive line. Too bad he blew out his knees at the end of his Sr year and was never able to follow his dream to college.
That's another thing, don't give up before you get to the end and then spend the next twenty years talking about that time you were writing a book were your glory days.
Football is almost as big as lacrosse in my house (and being in Maryland, where lacrosse rules all, that's saying something!)
Great analogy Terri! I'm currently in the off-season. Looking back to see what worked/didn't work last year (revising) and drafting all my players for the coming season(next book).
Sin - I'm loving your analogy too. Gotta watch out for that slippery defense of plot holes and external stuff crashing into our offensive line and knocking them down to get to the writer *g*
Haleigh - how did I forget the off season?! That's where I am. Only it's more like I'm on the injured reserve. The game is still going on, it's just going on without me. Which means nothing is getting done. *sigh*
How is your draft going?
I'm in the preseason , but already know my characters are going to go rogue and drive me apeshit. It wouldn't be a typical writing experience for me without the chaos.
Great analogy, Ter!
Terri - If you're on the Injured reserve list, it means the front office and coaching staff haven't given up on you, and are expecting you back in fine form very soon *g*
My revisions are slogging along - faster now that I have the beginning re-written and am happy with it (finally!!!!! It only took a freakin month!)
Hilarious analogy, Terri. It actually made sense to me which is scary cause I'm not a big football fan. The rest of my family is though so I suffer through. The DH is also on several Fantasy Football Leagues! UGH Talk about "Armchair Quarterbacking" - I have to listen to him scream at the TV and/or computer for 5 months. Not fun. So, I'm kind of with Maggie on not being real thrilled with the whole football season.
I would probably still be in Training Camp. Trying to work out all the kinks and get as much knowledge as possible.
I might not know other analogies but I know football. I can talk football relating to writing all day.
I rather like pre-season play. You play games that don't really count against your regular season. Just practice. I'm in pre-season right now. Once we hit our stride we go into the regular season and when you get to the end- playoffs baby. All the way to the Super Bowl!
Kelly - you may be in the preseason but you're no rookie. LOL! And you know how I embrace my chaos.
Haleigh - What a lovely way to look at it. And very encouraging. I wonder if a cortizone shot in the keister would help the recovery? LOL!
Wait - did I just admit to gambling? Oh yeah...pirate.
Sin - can you tell I'm in the football pool for the weekend? LOL! Everyone has to keep their fingers crossed tonights game is high scoring. If the total points scored is 56 or higher, I'm $50 richer!
Irish - I once did the fantasy racing thing with Nascar but found it was no fun. Can't imagine dealing with the fantasy football thing. And I was amazed a couple of weeks ago when I realized ESPN had entire blocks of program devoted solely to fantasy leagues. WTF?!
Making it to training camp is a huge accomplishment. You've committed to the goal. You've declared yourself a player in this game of writing, and that's the first step on the road to the big dance! WTG, Irish!
LMAO. Who is playing the Monday night game? I can probably tell you 56 points isn't going to happen in an NFL game but you never know.
Always take the under if it's higher in NFL. Always take the over if it's college.
Yikes, Vikings and Saints. I think Brees has been hit and miss this season and they've got a lot of injuries. But Adrian Peterson could really run up the board for the Vikings. You might make your point spread.
Sin - I got my picks in late and most of the other scores were taken. So I was left with the high numbers. And it doesn't matter who wins, as I'm tied with another guy and we both picked the Saints to win. It'll all come down to the score.
I hope you're right about the Vikings. As long as someone scores on every drive, I'll be happy. LOL!
Wait, the writer is the quarterback? Not the coach? I'm lost! (Though my characters have certainly made the sack...hee, hee.) And seriously do wipe me out now and then... I think I'll stick to being the coach.
I would say I'm at training camp. Or since NASCAR is more my sport, I'm the rookie.
And my head is full of the image...of cheerleaders with eye patches, peglegs and raised swords...
You know, I like it!
Oh, 2nd Chance, Nascar is really my favorite sport. But I was watching football when I was grasping for ideas for this blog. LOL!
I'd definitely say I'm in the "testing" phase in Nascar. I'm no where near being race ready!
My car is so nice and shiny and new, great paint scheme... After watching yesterday... I am certainly not ready for Taledega!
Wonder how a NASCAR analogy would work? There is testing; road races, ovals; crew chiefs, mechanics, support crew; commentators, pit reporters; numerous trophies, the Race for the Chase; the Chase... Not to mention fans. I might want to play with this...
Not sure how it would pan out. Football would be easier to draw parallels, certainly.
I like watching the America's Cup also...one man overboard and that's it! An apt analogy for pirate writers...
The race for the chase has got to be once the book is done and everyone is competing to sell. Or it could even be the Golden Heart. Crew Chiefs are the CPs, commentators are the contest judges, and the little contest wins are all the trophies. The ovals are when the writing is going really well and the road courses (my least favorite) are when it's not going very smoothly. But then having a few twists and turns in the story can be a good thing.
I've been to Talladega in person twice. It's a blast but that dang "big one" took out too many of the top guys yesterday. Twice!
*whispers* man overboard is not something we like to here around here. LOL!
Man over the wall?
Only ever attended a road course, in Sonoma as that is my nearly local track. Only three hours away.
The problem with ovals as when things are going well? Can get a little boring... At least road races can be tricksy. We likes tricksy.
Yeah, Cousin Carl...dear Carl. From boomarang kid to *oops!* Darn.
I'm hoping Carl wins the entire thing. What he thought he was doing pushing in the corner, I have no idea. Biffle can win for all I care, just not Jimmy!
LOL!
Ah! A pirate after me own heart! The Bif would be fine by me. But Carl? Oh, stellar! Ever see him on that Men's Health cover? Drool...serious drool. Though it's his smile that wins me over...no, really!
I could write with Carl's attitude... "I'm in the lead? Really?" Eyes on the moment, day by day, page by page...
Terri said of Becks "It really is too bad he has the voice of a squeaker toy."
*g* When I first saw him interview on TV he came across as the shy nice boy from next door who could play a little soccer. I guess that has stuck and he gets rather overshadowed by Victoria.
I know next to nothing about American football but it looks a rough tough game from the TV glimpses that I have seen. It would be closer to our rugby football than to soccer. The latter of course is a game of pure skill and timing, played (mostly) by gentlemen. A game where the little guy can hold his own against beefy giants. Its also far more popular than rugger in the UK.
Perhaps rugger and American football are more models for medieval romances whereas soccer is better for the Regency era.
Terri and 2nd Chance - don't forget the spotters! The one who keep an eye on the whole big picture, warn you when you're about to crash and burn, and navigate you through the smoke when the mess on the track gets ugly *g*
2nd Chance - I've seen Carl on the cover ESPN magazine. I had no idea he was hiding that six pack under the uniform!
Q - American football is much more like Rugby. Only I'm guessing those Rugby dudes would say our guesses are wusses because they wear pads.
Haleigh - Totally forgot about the spotters. Would that be the agent?!
I love the analogy, Terri.
I grew up with ten brothers. Yes, ten!
So, it was Rugby and American Football. And the "All Blacks" do hail from New Zealand. *drooling* And most of my family don't think American football is just "wussy" because they don't play without pads--but they also think that Rugby Players have more STAMINA. I'll let you think about their last statement.
I'm the "water girl" in this analogy. I lend support; pass the towels; whisper words of encouragement; or just plain kick someone in the butt, to get back in the game and finish the job. I get the benefit of traveling with the team, without actually having to be in the field.
Although, cleaning up the locker room after the game is disgusting work. *smile* But it'll ALL be worth it. Hey, atleast, I can say, "I knew those guys back in the day. I KNOW what their jockstraps look like." *grin*
IG!!!! There you are!!! You do know there is a special place in heaven for you just for putting up with all those smelly boys? And I love that last line. LMAO!! You can be my water girl anytime!!!
MWAH!
i dont usually comment, but after reading through so much info i had to say thanks
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