Monthly Archives: January 2014

Research! You Can Do It!

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Students, writers, scientists, journalists, phd candidates, and shoppers all have something in common: RESEARCH.  Whether you are going to get fully into the trenches as you prepare a historical fiction novel or make your contemporary fiction glimmer with realism, research must be done.

There are two arguments I have heard.  The first says write what you know (which for some of us is seemingly limited) and the other says write what you want to know more about.  Yes, that’s the one for me.  As a Chicago native, I was always interested in the mystery of Chicago’s greatest disaster.  That led me to buy my first book on the Great Chicago Fire.  I thought it would be a fascinating setting for a children’s historical novel and that someone should write one.  But as a very busy teacher I certainly didn’t have the time or the know-how to do it.  Time rolled on by about a decade and I became a SAHM (stay at home mom) and my brain felt like was becoming mush.  I picked up another book on the Chicago Fire and wondered if I might be able to write something.  I read and read and read and the truth of the event could not be imagined.  The stories, the oddities, the humanity and lack of it, all stunning.  It’s a story that must somehow be told.  The research was molding the story.

SOURCES

Internet: Who doesn’t start here?  It’s a bit of a black hole and an enormous amount of time can be swallowed by looking for the information you seek.  But it will lead to many other great resources and pearls can be found.  It must all be measured, however, by other sources.  Anybody (ahem) can get online these days and write something!

  • One of my favorite web pages (more can be found on the Chicago Fire page of this website) comes from the Chicago History Museum.

Books: Put that library card to work for you!  There are books written on just about any topic you are interested in learning about.  If your library doesn’t have it, often you can get a hold of it with an interlibrary  loan.   (Just make sure you pick it up in a timely fashion or they will send it right back!)  And there’s always amazon and bookstores if you think it’s a book worth owning, or if you are an active reader that needs to highlight, underline, and write in the margins.  But don’t forget about cookbooks, almanacs, high school yearbooks, and titles that are popular to the locale of your story.

  • One on my bookcase: The Great Chicago Fire in Eye Witness Accounts

Newspapers: Holy Toledo how newspapers have changed over time!  In my review of articles from the Chicago Tribune in 1871 I was taken aback by how full the pages were and the great variety of stories I would happen upon.  Of course there was plenty of news, but there were also vignettes, etiquette lessons, humor.  News then was like news today, have to take it all with a grain of salt, but it definitely allowed me to tune into language and culture.

Interviews: incredibly intimidating for some, but one of the best sources for personal perspectives.  Thanks to Skype and the like, interviewing someone across country is easy.  I certainly had no survivors of the fire I could interview, but I sat down with a fireman, a horse aficionado, and historians for two prominent buildings in my story: The Palmer House and Old St. Pat’s Church.  It’s important to do as much research ahead of the interview as possible so that you can find out what you don’t know and ask educated questions.  Don’t make the person you are interviewing do all the work.  Bring something to the table, they are giving you their time as it is.

Travel: It makes all the difference in the world to go to the location your story will take place.  (If it is an invented setting – of this world – try to go somewhere that has similarities, it will give you a new perspective.)  I have spent many hours at the Chicago History Museum, but also writing on a bench outside of Union Station along the river – the locale of the first 10,000 or so words of my story.  I walked my MC’s neighborhood and got a sense of distance and noise.  I had to transport myself back in time, take away the concrete and highrises.  I’m still thinking about challenging myself to walk the path my MC takes.  I’ll need to do some training first.  I joke that my story is Pursuit of Happiness meets Backdraft.  My poor MC travels (mostly by running) somewhere between 15 and 20 miles over a three day period.  Should I walk in his shoes (minus the fire of course)?

TOOLS: apps that help

This is the first 4 rows of notebooks I have in the stack on research on the Chicago Fire.

This is the first 4 rows of notebooks I have in the stack on research on the Chicago Fire.  From Noteshelf

Noteshelf – by far my favorite app for recording research.  What I like about it: I literally use it like a collection of notebooks.  I can use a stylus or type.    As I researched, it’s hard to know what information I would find out and where it would lead me.  This made it incredibly difficult to organize my notes.  Reorganizing a notebook or stack of notebooks is a cinch.

Nine of the nineteen pages from my notebook on the Lull and Holmes fire.

Nine of the nineteen pages from my notebook on the Lull and Holmes fire.

There are a lot of pen colors, highlighters, and symbols.  There is also a nice variety of notebook covers and types of paper to use.  Every page of a notebook could have different paper if you wanted it to.  Make a stack of a series of notebooks to save space on the shelf.

On one page I can use a variety of colors, writing tools, graphics. From Noteshelf

On one page I can use a variety of colors, writing tools, graphics. From Noteshelf

The only thing that either I haven’t figured out

or isn’t possible is how to copy text or pictures outside of noteshelf into the app.  But that’s why I also list the next two apps.

Evernote – I have used very little, but it does allow me to paste pictures and text from the internet.  For information on how to get organized using Evernote check out this blog by Michael Hyatt.

Trello – I just discovered this one.  It seems like it will be really great once I get the hang of it.  Positives: You can add other members to a board and they can add things to the research.  Great for projects that are collaborative (ie – co-author, or if you have an assistant – it’s nice to dream, isn’t it?).  You can have checklists, hyperlinks, upload video, moving cards between boards is super simple, the sidebar lets you see what others have done without going hunting.  And it’s free.  The negatives: I haven’t used it enough yet to know.

That’s it for now.  I would love to know other tips for research.  What works for you? Click on the comment link on the META side bar!

Next time, I’m going to take a break from writing about writing and share some interesting goodies from my research bag.

Til then,

Enjoy Playing with Words!

MRUs, they are nothing like MRIs

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Motivation-Reaction Units! oooh!

In last week’s post I shared about a strategy about how to analyze your scene/sequel structure.  Every chapter contains scene-sequel cycles, my chapters average 2 or 3.  But within every scene and every sequel are motivation-reaction units.  (This phrase is used by Dwight Swain in his book, Techniques of a Selling Author and is well-summarized in the blog Writing the Perfect Scene.   Where I lack creativity, I make up in resourcefulness!)

The nuts and bolts:

Motivation: What your MC sees, hears, feels, tastes, or smells.  It is observable and objective.

Reaction: begins internally and may end internally or externally.  The MCs reaction should mirror real life.  Initially, we react to things emotionally, something we can’t control, and to varying degrees depending on the motivation.  Sometimes the emotion is followed by a knee-jerk reaction.  Again, something we can’t control.  This happens usually in more dramatic or surprising situations.  Sometimes we skip the reflexive response and have a thought, or say something, or do something.  And there are some situations when all three occur.  When that happens, it usually follows: emotional reaction – reflexive reaction – thoughtful reaction.

Common sense, isn’t it?

As you are analyzing your scenes and sequels for their larger structure, you can mark down the side of the page when you are reading a motivation or a reaction.  This reveals story parts that are not motivation or reaction, and therefore don’t belong.  I have read nearly a full page in which my character is not reacting to anything.  A full page of motivation is too much.  The reader has identified with the MC and wants him to be engaged, not just an observer.  I also noticed, despite Swain’s suggestion that Motivations and Reactions alternate paragraphs, that my writing often had one, sometimes two, MRUs, within one paragraph.  (I’m not usually a rule breaker, but I’m okay with this one.  Especially since I have looked at other children’s books and noticed that accomplished authors have done that too.  Nonetheless, MRUs fill their pages.)

The only place that I ignore the MRU pattern is when I am establishing setting.  For the sake of my reader, this needs to be done swiftly and the action needs to get going again.  There are certainly more patient readers who like a thorough picture painted for them.  Know your reader and their attention span!

An example from the bookcase: Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Velchin

     I’m almost at the first floor when I hear the door open upstairs.  It’s my aunt.  (motivation – M).  I stop and wait for her to catch up.  I knew she’d come, (Reaction – R) and she does, arms reaching out and pulling me in.  (M)  With her face so close, I see she looks like my dad.  Though my dad never cries, of course. (R)

     “He’s wrong,” I say.  “My dad’s not an enemy of the people.  You know that, don’t you?” (Still R)
     She nods and pats my head, or tries to arrange my hair (M) – I don’t know which (R).  “I’m sorry, Sasha,” she says  “If we take you in, they’ll arrest us, too.  We just had a baby.  We have to stay alive.”  (M)
     She pushes something into the palm of my hand, folds my fingers over it, and runs upstairs (still M).  I know it’s money.  I’ll need it.  I’m grateful.  When I look, it’s not much, but at least in the morning I can take a streetcar to school (R).
 While alternating paragraphs for motivations and reactions is clearly not followed here, the MRU pattern certainly is.  Study some text for yourself.  Pick a favorite book off the shelf and see if that author uses MRUs.
 Well, January is research month for me.  So next time I will share some research tips I’ve picked up along the way.
 
Til then,
Enjoy playing with words!

Revision Process: scenes and sequels

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First off, where have I been?  I noticed my last post was in October.  My apologies.  I spent October and November in revision and took December off to focus on my primary job: SAHM (stay at home mom.)  But a new year is here with brand new motivations.

Pre-published authors are keenly aware that we are not to submit our work to agents until we get it as good as we can.  To perfectionists, that is a cruel task.  So we have to learn to let go of ascertaining perfection on our own (if ever), establish a plan, and stick to it!

In brief – the steps that got me this far:

  1. Write the rough draft like a crazy person.  Finish the darn thing and celebrate.  Really celebrate.
  2. Take a month away from it and read a craft book.
  3. REVISE: see this blog on what you can do in the first revision.
  4. Rewrite – time to fix all those things you didn’t allow yourself to look back at during the frenzied rough draft.
  5. Get eyes on it.  Yep.  Be brave!  Do you have a critique group?  They are the perfect people to do this.  They have willingly sacrificed hours of their time to read your writing and critique it because they know you will do the same for them.
  6. While your critique group has it start the next revision.

That’s what this post will focus on.  My process, in general, is an inverted triangle: start broad and become more narrowed through the revision.  Every writer has a process.  This works for me, for now.

On the first revision I was focusing on story arc, plot, characterization, what chapters can go – big picture stuff.  Now, I am getting more narrowed.  I am breaking the chapters into scenes and sequels and I am looking for specific elements.  And what I’m doing is not original.  I have taken what I have read in craft books, learned at conferences, and researched online to synthesize my process.

This step of my process was largely taken from a blog that was summarizing a book.  The blog:  Writing the Perfect Scene (beckons all perfectionists!)  The book: Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain.  (Admittedly, I have not read it yet.  As a SAHM my writing time is very limited.  But perhaps that will be the craft book I read after my next rough draft.) Refer to either or both of these for expanded information.  I will hit the highlights.

Tools: 3 different colored highlighters, a fourth marker of a different color, a red pen, green pen, tablet with Index Card app (By the way, this is a revised method.  My first was even more involved and I quickly realized I was working harder not smarter.)

Each chapter is compiled of scenes and sequels.

In a scene there is:11170843-highlighter-pens-in-desk-organizer-for-home-business-back-to-school-projects

  • a goal: the MC (main character) goal for just this little moment in time, which ultimately is somehow tied to the big goal/story arc – when I identify the goal I highlight it in blue.
  • CONFLICT! – internal or external, obstacles stumbling blocks the MC is dealing with in the scene. (I uses yellow highlighter – like warning road signs)
  • DISASTER!!!! – the thing that keeps the MC from reaching the goal (I like a pink highlighter for his one, it’s close to red. – I know, I am a very deep thinker!)

After the disaster the sequel begins:

  • Reaction: an emotional response that follows the disaster, will probably include dialogue or internal thoughts. (back to blue highlighter)
  • Dilemma: the MC is in a situation with no perfect solution that will allow him to reach his initial goal.  The MC sorts out his options. (yep, yellow highlighter!)
  • Decision: MC has weighed his options and chooses a path, therefore a new goal.  (red again. though sometimes it is also blue for my next scene.)

Most of my chapters have between two or three scene/sequel cycles.  Some had just one, the most was probably four.  Keep in mind. my chapters run about 9 or 10 pages.  So what I’m calling scenes may be what someone else calls a beat.  I’m not going to get hung up on vocabulary.  The important thing is that I am analyzing my text for the good stuff it needs to have.  My book is also an action story, fast paced.  Stories that are slower paced or focus more on building suspense or scene setting may have longer chapters or fewer scene/sequel cycles.  With my target reader in mind, I need to keep the pace up!

The purposes for the other tools:

  • Purple marker: noted flashbacks, internal monologue, and transitions (all of which were used SPARINGLY!)
  • red pen, to do what red pens always do!
  • green pen – to record MRUs – ooooh what’s that? I’ll get into that in my next blog.
  • Index Card app: After I completed each chapter I recorded for each scene: the number of the scene, the chapter it belongs to, the act it was from, the headline, the goal, conflict, disaster, the number of words and MRUs (oh! there it is again!) and humor.  And for each sequel I did the same thing, but recording the reaction, dilemma, and decision instead.

What good did it do?

I quickly realized when I was missing key components.  Sometimes an entire sequel was missing.  I have at least 5 scenes or sequels that need to be written – and one entire chapter.  And the opposite is true too.  I am able to see what isn’t a scene or sequel that is moving the story forward and can be discarded.  Repetition, lack of scene setting, drifting from the plot,  wordiness – it all stands out more.    I noticed my habit is to often skip past a reaction by the MC to the disaster.  And I’m sure there is more too.  Thankfully, it’s all recorded on my index cards!

Next time – MRUs. They are nothing like MRIs!

Til then,

Happy Writing!

By the way, what it one thing you always include on your index card when you are analyzing your story?