Group Writing by Karen Fainges

Last week I spoke about fan fic. This week, I would like to cover writing within a group. There are a few ways to do this. One is group writing where each person writes a line or paragraph before handing it on to the next writer – and the next, around the circle. There is also writing as one character of a group plot. Many times, these are also done as fan fiction, as the group can share a common world easily. However the group writing is done, the question has to be, why bother?

In a rapidly shrinking world, we no longer tend to write for just one region. Even if we restrict ourselves to one language, there are huge differences between, say, the US and Australian markets. Writing with online groups allows you to discover what works and what doesn’t when dealing with people from all over the world. For example, for an Aussie, a thong is worn on the foot. In New Zealand, the same type of footwear is called a jandle. Elsewhere, a thong is worn much higher up the body and is a lot more sexy. Finding these things out amongst friends is a lot less embarrassing than getting letters from a confused reader that has paid for your novel.

Group writing can be done face to face, in chatrooms, via email, whatever works for your group. The main thing is to have fun learning where the differences lie.

The Importance of Research by Christine Duncan

Writers need to do research before they write. This statement seemed like a no-brainer to me until I met a writer at an open critique once who told me that she had no idea what her character (who was a doctor) should do in some emergency situation, so she just synopsized.

Unfortunately, the reason the subject came up at all was the fact that it was just not the place for synopsis. She had led us all to this big juicy climax and as a reader, I felt beached when she just summed up the action in a few short sentences. I told her she needed to call a few doctors and figure out what the character should be doing. She wasn’t a happy camper–calling someone and asking them questions about a scene you’re writing means telling someone are a writer, which as we’ve discussed in this very place can be difficult. But she did it and her work was better for it.

I’ve heard every excuse in the book for not researching from–”It’s fiction, people!” from a woman who couldn’t be bothered to get the direction of a well-known Chicago street right, to “I invented this world.” from a Sci-fi writer whose world didn’t conform to the laws of gravity. This kind of laziness does not hold up, folks.

On the other blog I write on, Make Mine Mystery, we had a guest blogger this week talking about witnessing an autopsy to add realism to his writing. Let me make it clear to you folks, I have yet to go that far in my search for realism.

I do believe in research though so I have called the fire department (many times) to get help with a fire that broke out in the battered women’s shelter that is the setting for my books. I have attended a citizen’s police academy and shot guns–something this pacifist never thought to do. I have ridden on ride alongs with my local police,(my city lets any citizen do this a couple of times a year.) and I have spoken with an FBI crime scene expert (the husband of a writer in my local writer’s group) to get advice on blood spatter.

I won’t kid you–some of the research was more fun than the writing! And some of it was darned depressing. But when you are writing about something that you are sure about factually, you come across more easily. And there is no substitute for that.

Non-fiction hepled by fiction – by Karen Fainges

Well, the being on Facebook has another benefit I didn’t put down in my last post.

I was scanning my friends statuses and I came across a great tip. My thanks to the friend of a friend that offered it.

When having a problem organising your thoughts for a non-fiction article, try having a fictional character ask questions about it. What would they want to know? How would they ask the questions? Would a different character ask different questions?

It could be a great way to put yourself in the reader’s shoes.

Brainstorming

Sometimes I’m a bit uptight about getting things ‘right’.  This uptightness strangles my creativity.  There is a simple solution.  Brainstorming.

Mind you, I can easily transfer my rigid thinking to brainstorming but I’m slowly learning to catch myself and let go.

So yesterday, I finished editing my novel.  The edit was successful in that I’m loving the story as it stands but it’s now about 20,000 words short.  What to do?  Brainstorm new endings of course.

Here is a list of my brainstorms of possible endings.  They appear in the same order they came out, note how ridiculous and short the first couple are…an indicator of a good brainstorm session in my opinon.

Emily could jump off a bridge

Emily could get pregnant

Chantal could lose her mind

Eduardo might get called away

They might meet up in Los Angeles, go to Jan’s and then Emily gets pregnant

They could meet up in New York, go to the Jay Leno show and Eduardo proposed on TV

They could meet up in San Diego, go to a ball game and Eduardo proposes.  Emily says no, they go their separate ways and then meet up in Sydney and get back together. 

Of course, I’ve not included the actual ending that i’m going with – that would be telling.

 

 

Editing Update

I’m going to keep my post brief this week – mainly because I don’t have an awful lot to share.

I’m still editing my manuscript on the train each day.  That is working out unbelievably well.  I’ve found that even when I’m really tired – like on a Friday afternoon - I jump onboard the train, open  my laptop and start work.  It’s really not negotiable.

This method of editing is working out so well I’m considering booking a ticket on a country train and taking a longer journey one weekend.   

An unexpected bonus to all this train editing is that working on my book me an emotional and spiritual boost.  That means twice a day I receive an injection of creative satisfaction and a feeling of being centred.  Bonus indeed. 

Oh, and I’ve finally come up with two new titles for the book.   I’d be happy with either and am just weighing up the pros and cons now. 

Yes, it’s been another productive week here in Narelle-ville.  I hope the same is true for you.

Genre

Georgie B wrote a blog post this past Wednesday that got me to thinking.  (Georgie B has a way of doing that.)  He wanted to know how we as writers got started writing in our genre. 

I can only compare genre fiction to television.  You know those folks who tell you they never watch TV?  They just don’t have the time to waste.  You know darn well they probably Tivo their way through the week, but they just want to look superior. 

    Genre fiction is the same way.  It  can really be looked down upon.   ”Oh you write commmercial fiction,” they say with a sniff. Or they talk about how something that “transcends” genre.  Worse, it can be disparaged in such polite tones.  “Romance?  (Or mystery or horror or S/f) How interesting.” This is always said with one of those looks that let you know that the person saying it would never pick up a romance novel.  Meanwhile, you’re just itching to examine their closets because you are sure that there is a bag full of Danielle Steele in there somewhere.

   Because, you know, genre is a reflection not only of the writer or the reader but of life.  It tells you something about the society we live in, what we hope for, what we believe in.  We believe in “Space, the final frontier.”  And what about those frontiers anyway?  Those cowboys were strong, and courageous; we’re proud of those guys.  We believe in love and romance, and that all the bad guys, or scary monsters will be caught in the end.

    I told Georgie B that I don’t think writers really choose their genre and I really believe that.  When genre works–when books touch hearts –it comes out of somewhere far deeper.  We writers, when we are writing something that really works, have to be willing to relive the experience, to feel what we want the reader to feel.  That’s what makes it genuine. I’m proud to be a genre writer.

At least that’s my two cents.  What do you think?

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

No-one has ever actually asked me this question. I think because the heroine of my mystery is a counselor in a battered women’s shelter people automatically assume they know where I got my idea.
But you know a novel isn’t just one idea, it’s bunches and bunches from sub-plot to plot, characters to setting. It’s all imagination and as to where it comes from, come closer. Let me tell you a scary secret.
I HAVE no ideas. I don’t outline. I don’t pre-plan. I sit down, close my eyes and start pecking the thing out on the keyboard. My heroine tells the story to me, and I pass it on to the reader.
There! My shameful skeleton in the cupboard is out. Real writers, or so I’m told, get their ideas from experience, or the newspaper or a friend tells them a story and their imagination takes off. Real writers outline and plan.
I’m published. But I’ve never been able to outline. I never know when I start a book whodunnit. Sometimes I don’t know when I start the last chapter. The first book in my mystery series, Safe Beginnings, did come about because a battered women’s shelter here in town burned down as it was being constructed. But no one was in the place and as far as I know it was burned down by kids just messing around. So I sort of know where the germ for the idea for that book came from. But I’ve no clue where the character of the heroine came from or anything else for that matter. At present, I’m writing book five in that series, while book two is just out and I’m peddling book three and editing book four. And I’ve no clue where any of it came from.
So go ahead. Tell me how I’m doing it wrong. You won’t be the first—or probably the last. I don’t have ideas, outlines or an undisclosed plan. I just write.

“The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning, and does not stop until you get into the office.”  -Robert Frost

Whig posted this quote on his blog–and I am trying to trackback but in case it doesn’t work.  http://kvpalumproject.wordpress.com/2008/06/28/just-a-cool-quote/trackback/