Craft | onewildword

Jul 26

Obstacles can illuminate your characters’ strengths

Obstacles. Life is full of them. And so is a good story. Obstacles in storytelling not only keep your readers reading but, according to author Robert Dugoni at the recent Pacific Northwest Writer’s Conference, obstacles show us our characters’ strengths.

Think of Harry Potter and all the obstacles he encountered. Through these obstacles we see that Harry is smart, loyal, honest, brave, and a good friend.

Just as important, we believe the end of Harry’s journey because we’ve seen him shine in action.

Ask yourself: What obstacles confront your characters? What do these obstacles show about your characters?

Jul 25

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Agents and editors speak: What you should know about submitting your manuscript, part 1

You have written a draft, revised, edited, revised some more. Now you’re finally ready to query an editor or agent. Do you want to improve your chances?

Here is what you should know based on feedback from editors and agents at the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association Conference July 19-22.

Follow the instructions on their websites. You would be surprised at how many people don’t follow the submission guidelines, some going as far as using odd colors and funky typefaces. Do you want to stand out? Submit polished writing and format and send your manuscript according to their instructions. Read more

Jul 20

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Three books for your writing bookshelf

At the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Conference in Seattle this weekend, I attended author Robert Dugoni’s Novel Writing Seminar. During the course of his talk, he mentioned several books on writing that have a prominent place on his bookshelf and that he looks at repeatedly, including:

Sol Stein’s Stein On Writing

Lawrence Block’s Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print

Stephen King’s On Writing

Dugoni said that if you’re concerned that your character is too boring, you may be playing it safe. Many writers fear their readers will think they’re writing about themselves, that the author is really the protagonist in disguise. You have to let that fear go.

Stephen King once said that you can’t write honestly if you have someone on your shoulder watching you. Good advice from the master.

Jul 19

Tap into your imagination with this one technique

“Vision is the art of seeing things invisible”— Jonathan Swift, author

In the movie, “The Magic of Belle Isle,” a single mother and her three children befriend their neighbor, a curmudgeonly wheelchair-bound writer, Monte Wildhorn.

When one of the daughters, 9-year-old Finnegan O’Neil, finds out Wildhorn (played by Morgan Freeman) is a writer, she hires him to give her lessons in finding her imagination. Read more

Jul 18

Using difficult emotions to make your story stronger

Seven months into the year, and I realize I’ve been through so much: the passing of my mother, our two-week remodel that turned into nine-weeks, a mini-family reunion, and both expected and unexpected travel. I’ve had many different stressors and felt a gamut of emotions: sadness, grief, fear, love, joy, fatigue (well, maybe that last one isn’t exactly an emotion, but it should be!)

As I work on my next book—imagining my story and going deeper into my characters—I realize that my seven months have been a blessing, in more ways than one. Read more

Jul 12

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Find writing magic in your favorite movies and books, part 2

As I write my next book, I find it helpful to think back on what has excited me about other stories or characters.

In my last post, I shared a few of my favorite scenes or ideas from the movies. Below is my list of recent in-print favorites. These are either scenes, images, objects or themes that have stuck with me and made me wish I’d come up with the them.

Novels:

Karen Marie Moning’s “Fever” series. In her fantasy world, “Death-by-Sex” Faes can turn their powers off and on, capturing a person with lust. One of these Faes uses a pearl necklace in a very erotic, highly charged way. It’s one of the most unique and memorable “sex” scenes (there’s no actual sex) I’ve ever read. This is one of those scenes I wish I’d written. I’ve written more about this in my post, “How to Write a Good Sex Scene.” Read more

Jul 11

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NPR’s Ira Glass on storytelling

I know more than a few people who told me that they wanted to write a novel, but their sentences didn’t match up with the image in their minds. So they quit. This video is for them and for all of us who need to remember that it takes daily practice to realize our “vision.”