Short and Simple and Not So Easy
Who hasn't looked at something other than what you're writing and thought, “Why am I not writing that?”
I’m not talking about the shiny new idea that tempts you while you’re slogging through the Act II doldrums. I’m talking about the writing equivalent of staying up all night memorizing reagents for your Chem final while your roommate, the Radio TV Film major, watches movies for her homework.
Whatever this thing is, it’s shorter than what you write. It’s simpler. It has less parts. So you ask yourself, “How hard can that sci fi short story/romance novel/sitcom script be?”
When I signed on to write a contemporary romance novella (Passionate Persuasion, available now at any ebook retailer for the low, low price of 99¢), I thought: Only twenty thousand words? Only one plot line? That will be easy.
The muses laughed.
Not because my books share shelf-space with Twilight, or because I’ve won the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award. (Do you like how I worked that in there?) I know that writing romance is just as challenging as any other genre.
But it turns out that writing short and streamlined is hard.
Keeping it short: Shorter may be easier on your carpel tunnels, but it’s not necessarily a rest for your “little grey cells,” as Hercule Poirot would say. Every word has to count.
Think about writing a Tweet describing a funny encounter you had at the grocery store. In 140 characters, paint a picture of what happened. Now make it entertaining, with some kind of satisfying take away. There’s a knack to making more with less.
Keeping it simple but satisfying: With a small number of words to get the job done, you need a very straightforward through-line. I learned from watching Top Chef that if you throw in too many ingredients into one dish, nothing stands out. And who wouldn’t prefer a well-cooked meal of bacon and eggs than poorly prepared Eggs Benedict with reconstituted hollandaise sauce? (Now I’m hungry.)
Simple, like short, takes a lot of discipline. It doesn’t sound difficult--just come up with a great idea and don’t smother it! But then I ran into the next thing.
Keeping it what it is. Writing a realistic story is not easier just because it has fewer elements (i.e., mystery and supernatural) to juggle. In fact, as much as I love to write sexual tension and romantic banter, I found it very challenging to keep the tension high when all I had to work with was the characters and their baggage. Normally when energy sags, a ghost shows up, or the intrepid girl detective gets hit on the head. Heroine getting on too well with the love interest? Gosh, I hope he’s not secretly a vampire.
Genre plots supply complicating elements. But in a contemporary romance, the conflict has to come from the hero and heroine’s situations, psychology or backstories. The hard part is not keeping the couple apart, it’s making sure their primary conflict isn’t stupidity. (I imagine a literary story has it’s own unique problems within the constraints of reality.)
All characters need realistic and relatable motivations, of course. But in the limited space of a short story or novella, you don’t have the luxury of more plot elements or extra chapters or surprise vampires. (Well, maybe surprise vampires.)
The answer to “How hard can it be?” then is, “The same amount of hard as anything else.” Writing is a challenge but (hopefully!) rewarding, and every project—short, long, genre, literary, whatever—has unique challenges. So go conquer them!
--Rosemary Clement-Moore, DFWWW member since 2005
www.readrosemary.com
photo credit: Kathleen Tyler Conklin via photopin cc
I’m not talking about the shiny new idea that tempts you while you’re slogging through the Act II doldrums. I’m talking about the writing equivalent of staying up all night memorizing reagents for your Chem final while your roommate, the Radio TV Film major, watches movies for her homework.
Whatever this thing is, it’s shorter than what you write. It’s simpler. It has less parts. So you ask yourself, “How hard can that sci fi short story/romance novel/sitcom script be?”
When I signed on to write a contemporary romance novella (Passionate Persuasion, available now at any ebook retailer for the low, low price of 99¢), I thought: Only twenty thousand words? Only one plot line? That will be easy.
The muses laughed.
Not because my books share shelf-space with Twilight, or because I’ve won the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award. (Do you like how I worked that in there?) I know that writing romance is just as challenging as any other genre.
But it turns out that writing short and streamlined is hard.
Keeping it short: Shorter may be easier on your carpel tunnels, but it’s not necessarily a rest for your “little grey cells,” as Hercule Poirot would say. Every word has to count.
Think about writing a Tweet describing a funny encounter you had at the grocery store. In 140 characters, paint a picture of what happened. Now make it entertaining, with some kind of satisfying take away. There’s a knack to making more with less.
Keeping it simple but satisfying: With a small number of words to get the job done, you need a very straightforward through-line. I learned from watching Top Chef that if you throw in too many ingredients into one dish, nothing stands out. And who wouldn’t prefer a well-cooked meal of bacon and eggs than poorly prepared Eggs Benedict with reconstituted hollandaise sauce? (Now I’m hungry.)
Simple, like short, takes a lot of discipline. It doesn’t sound difficult--just come up with a great idea and don’t smother it! But then I ran into the next thing.
Keeping it what it is. Writing a realistic story is not easier just because it has fewer elements (i.e., mystery and supernatural) to juggle. In fact, as much as I love to write sexual tension and romantic banter, I found it very challenging to keep the tension high when all I had to work with was the characters and their baggage. Normally when energy sags, a ghost shows up, or the intrepid girl detective gets hit on the head. Heroine getting on too well with the love interest? Gosh, I hope he’s not secretly a vampire.
Genre plots supply complicating elements. But in a contemporary romance, the conflict has to come from the hero and heroine’s situations, psychology or backstories. The hard part is not keeping the couple apart, it’s making sure their primary conflict isn’t stupidity. (I imagine a literary story has it’s own unique problems within the constraints of reality.)
All characters need realistic and relatable motivations, of course. But in the limited space of a short story or novella, you don’t have the luxury of more plot elements or extra chapters or surprise vampires. (Well, maybe surprise vampires.)
The answer to “How hard can it be?” then is, “The same amount of hard as anything else.” Writing is a challenge but (hopefully!) rewarding, and every project—short, long, genre, literary, whatever—has unique challenges. So go conquer them!
--Rosemary Clement-Moore, DFWWW member since 2005
www.readrosemary.com
photo credit: Kathleen Tyler Conklin via photopin cc
March Dance Card: Full
Spring break, college basketball, St. Patty’s Day, Mardi Gras....
March is a busy month, but don’t let it keep you from some amazing literary goings-on in the metroplex.
On March 11, The Dallas Museum of Art is hosting B.J. Novak (most notably from the show The Office). He’ll be presenting his topic “Crafting Comedy,” and will also read from his debut short story collection. Did you know he graduated from Harvard? Neither did we. Tickets are $35. Click here for more info.
SMU is hosting a LitFest March 18-22. The annual three day event is to be held on the SMU campus, and will include author readings, student conferences and book signings. All events are free and open to the public. Click here for more info.
Wordspace and Poetry Slam is hosting Brando Chemtrails in Dallas on March 21. He has an eclectic resume (Slam Nuba National Championship team member, author, performer). For $5, you can hear his genius in person. Click here for more info.
Finally, the piece de resistance, on March 27th Carve Magazine puts on the Dallas Literary One Night Stand. From 7-9 pm you can mix, mingle, listen to some readings from local literary magazines, and participate in Q&A. Best part – it’s free (excluding the spirits). Click here for more info.
photo credit: thefoxling
Make it Rain
We like this one, so we feel compelled to mention it…
You could win a $10,000 fellowship with the first 50 pages of your manuscript, and here’s how:
The James Jones Fellowship Contest is put on by Wilkes University, and even the runners up get a nice cash prize and recognition. To enter, you’ll need a track record of being unpublished, a novel-in-progress, $30, a postage stamp, and some moxie. March 1, 2014 is the deadline.
If you're a DFWWW member, chances are you have 50 pages lying around waiting to earn its keep. If entering gets you writing, then you can't lose!
More details can be found at the following link: http://www.wilkes.edu/pages/1159.asp
photo credit: Jonathan Kos-Read
You could win a $10,000 fellowship with the first 50 pages of your manuscript, and here’s how:
The James Jones Fellowship Contest is put on by Wilkes University, and even the runners up get a nice cash prize and recognition. To enter, you’ll need a track record of being unpublished, a novel-in-progress, $30, a postage stamp, and some moxie. March 1, 2014 is the deadline.
If you're a DFWWW member, chances are you have 50 pages lying around waiting to earn its keep. If entering gets you writing, then you can't lose!
More details can be found at the following link: http://www.wilkes.edu/pages/1159.asp
photo credit: Jonathan Kos-Read
O' Fickle Muse
I never have more ideas, really good exciting ideas, than when I'm stuck on a project. Right now, for instance, I should be writing my novel about a modern office worker caught up in the machinations of the gods of Olympus. Instead, in the past few days I've had a really great idea for a short story (finished), four children's books (three of which I finished…the fourth languishes because I'm having trouble coming up with monsters that grade-schoolers would recognize for every letter of the alphabet), and two other novels (which I'm trying really hard to ignore).
I also have ideas for a bunch of craft projects, and an urge to redecorate my bedroom. (‘Redecorate’ implies that it was ever decorated in the first place, which might not be altogether accurate.)
Basically, I'm inspired to do just about anything other than figure out the plot snarl in chapter 15 and finish the dang novel.
And that's because inspiration is (to paraphrase Thomas Edison) only one percent of creation. The idea is the easy thing. When it's shiny and new, all made of potential and dream-stuff, it’s fun to hang around with your creative endeavor. But trying to turn that dream into reality is HARD. The words don't come out right. The plot you thought would just flow onto the page instead dribbles out in contradictory fits and starts. The characters you hoped would practically write themselves turn out to be cardboard cutouts with no motivation. And you can't remember how to spell ‘volunteer’, or whichever other word you can never remember how to spell. Bonus points if it's one spell-check doesn't recognize.
Here's the part where you were probably hoping to find a simple, easy solution for this conundrum. But you no doubt realize that if I had one, I wouldn't be writing this essay. I'd be writing my novel, which is what I'm supposed to be doing. Or better yet, I'd have already finished my novel since I have a simple, easy solution for overcoming writer’s block. Then I'd slap together a book on how to write your novel in six easy steps.
All I have is persistence, and I don't always have that. You're never going to get past the block by ignoring it or fleeing from it. I try really hard to write every day, and at least some of that time I try to work on my book. Some days I get a little done. Most days, I get practically nothing done. Every once in a while, my muse graces me with her blessing and I get one of those days where my inspiration overwhelms my keyboard buffer. Those are beautiful days, all the more so because they're so rare.
Most days, it's a hard slog with little reward, just like anything else worthwhile. Writing, if you want to be good at it, is hard work. It's not always fun. It's hardly ever easy. But at the end you get to turn your dreams into reality so other people can experience them.
That's worth a little existential agony.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I should be getting back to my novel. It's not going to write itself.
--David Goodner, DFWWW member since 2012
photo credit: _Untitled-1 via photopin cc
I also have ideas for a bunch of craft projects, and an urge to redecorate my bedroom. (‘Redecorate’ implies that it was ever decorated in the first place, which might not be altogether accurate.)
Basically, I'm inspired to do just about anything other than figure out the plot snarl in chapter 15 and finish the dang novel.
And that's because inspiration is (to paraphrase Thomas Edison) only one percent of creation. The idea is the easy thing. When it's shiny and new, all made of potential and dream-stuff, it’s fun to hang around with your creative endeavor. But trying to turn that dream into reality is HARD. The words don't come out right. The plot you thought would just flow onto the page instead dribbles out in contradictory fits and starts. The characters you hoped would practically write themselves turn out to be cardboard cutouts with no motivation. And you can't remember how to spell ‘volunteer’, or whichever other word you can never remember how to spell. Bonus points if it's one spell-check doesn't recognize.
Here's the part where you were probably hoping to find a simple, easy solution for this conundrum. But you no doubt realize that if I had one, I wouldn't be writing this essay. I'd be writing my novel, which is what I'm supposed to be doing. Or better yet, I'd have already finished my novel since I have a simple, easy solution for overcoming writer’s block. Then I'd slap together a book on how to write your novel in six easy steps.
All I have is persistence, and I don't always have that. You're never going to get past the block by ignoring it or fleeing from it. I try really hard to write every day, and at least some of that time I try to work on my book. Some days I get a little done. Most days, I get practically nothing done. Every once in a while, my muse graces me with her blessing and I get one of those days where my inspiration overwhelms my keyboard buffer. Those are beautiful days, all the more so because they're so rare.
Most days, it's a hard slog with little reward, just like anything else worthwhile. Writing, if you want to be good at it, is hard work. It's not always fun. It's hardly ever easy. But at the end you get to turn your dreams into reality so other people can experience them.
That's worth a little existential agony.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I should be getting back to my novel. It's not going to write itself.
--David Goodner, DFWWW member since 2012
photo credit: _Untitled-1 via photopin cc
Martin Madness
Phew. It’s hard to keep up with DFWWW member Jenny Martin and her crazy schedule. But if you try, you’ll be better for it.In the near future, you can catch her at the YAK Fest (Young Adult Keller Book Festival) on January 25th. It will feature over two dozen YA authors, including our very own Jenny. Details can be found on the website, and it looks like it will be a fabulous event.
If that date doesn’t suit you, then swing by and see her speak on Monday, January 27, from 7:00 to 8:30 at the Richardson Public Library. The Texas Writer’ Guild of Texas is hosting her, and she’ll be talking about finding and strengthening your writing voice.
If all else fails, and you can’t make any of those offerings, just swing by her blog and read her latest musings. This will have to hold all of us over until her book’s much anticipated release!