Progressive Book Club: Save the Cat

M. L. Swift is hosting this monthly book club event. To learn more about it, click here. This month we're discussing, Save The Cat! by Blake Snyder.

I wanted to get excited about this book, especially after some friends gave it such glowing recommendations. However, I approached with caution. There are so many books and movies I haven't enjoyed and yet people have raved about them. Would this be the same, a lot of streamers without the cake?

Well, I can assure you there is cake!

Blake Snyder starts by explaining why his book is not just another book on screenwriting. His approach, unlike many other books out there, is far more practical, based on knowledge gleaned from actual industry experience, rather than glossed up theory.

This personal trumpeting would normally turn me off, but Snyder's passion for what he does shines through. He cares about storytelling. In fact, he does the very thing he advocates through the entire book. He 'saves the cat' by showing me his human side, therefore making himself likeable and relatable.

"…liking the person we go on a journey with is the single most important element in drawing us into the story." Blake Snyder, Save the Cat

It seems the theory works in non-fiction as well as fiction because I immediately became more willing to listen to what Snyder had to say.

I found it interesting that he started the book with the importance of knowing what the story is about and being able to express it in one line. Many of us writers will write the book and then work out what it's about.

I recently told my new hairdresser that I was a writer. She asked what my book is about. I wasn't prepared. I stumbled and stuttered and came up with the lamest line in history. I told myself, it's okay. I haven't finished the manuscript yet. I have a few months before I need to think about pitches and querying. Wrong!! If I don't have a clear enough idea of what my book is about, then how can I expect to write it?

While Save the Cat is written in a how-to format it deals best in explaining concepts instead, which is part of a how-to, but not all of it. Occasionally I found myself asking the air, 'But how?' I 'get' the concept but I'm not a hundred percent sure how to implement it. Or perhaps I'm a little thick and missed some of the references because I was reading this for novel writing rather than screenplay writing.

It's a book with so many gems that it needs to be read many times, just as a reminder, to soak it all in, to get those ah-ha moments and hold onto them.

If you've read Save the Cat, what did you think of it? What other great books on writing have you read?

I'll be back in full swing for the A-Z challenge! Woo hoo!

5 Things A Writer Can Do to Evolve

Today I have the lovely Angela Ackerman here as a guest. Angela is a Canadian who writes on the darker side of Middle Grade and Young Adult. A strong believer in writers helping writers, she blogs at the award winning resource, The Bookshelf Muse and is co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression. Angela is represented by Jill Corcoran of The Herman Agency.
Take it away, Angela!

A difficult time for me was the moment I decided to pursue publication as opposed to writing for myself and wondering if I was talented enough to do it. It meant peeling off the rose colored glasses and admitting to my flaws. To become a professional writer, I had to come to terms with how much I didn’t know. Like many others, I knew zilch about the publishing industry, how to approach agents and editors, and most importantly, how to hone my writing to get it where it needed to be.

I’m still learning and growing, but looking back at what helped me evolve to the point I’m at now, five things stand out the most:

Embrace Learning: This is the hardest and most important ‘mind shift’ every writer needs to go through. We all come into the journey believing our writing is good, special, something that will become great with some polish. The truth is that we all need a lot more than a spit shine. Once we own up to that, we can begin to learn from others. Opening myself to learning allowed me to set my ego aside and start thinking long term for publication, rather than believing my writing was almost ‘there’ now. I read a ton--both on craft and fiction--and made a tower of notes!

Find a Critique Group/Partner: Making the decision to share one’s writing with others is a biggie. It can be scary to ask writers for honest feedback. You want them to love it and say it’s great, but what you NEED is for them to point out the problems. Accepting constructive criticism was a skill I needed to learn, and I found that by taking emotion out of it I was able to see that the feedback wasn’t personal. It took time to develop thick skin, but finding critique partners who were strong in areas I was weaker in was one of the smartest things I did! If you are looking for a safe and helpful critique sites, The Critique Circle is one of the best. I’ve been a member there for almost 10 years!

Conferences: Going to a writer’s conference is an excellent way to build relationships with other writers, interact & learn directly from professionals, and find out real information about how the publishing industry works. They can be expensive, unless you’re lucky enough to have one close by, but still worth it to save up to attend one or two as you are developing your career. The most important thing to do when choosing a conference is investigate. You want a conference that suits your current needs as a writer. If you are looking for an event that centers on writing craft improvement, going to a conference that is heavy on book marketing and industry information won’t help. Likewise, if you are a fantasy writer looking to connect with and pitch to editors and agents for your genre, attending a romance-focused conference will leave you dissatisfied. Attending a conference that is a perfect fit will leave you feeling rejuvenated, and give you the creative energy needed to go the distance.

Network: One of the best things about writers is this: they are EVERYWHERE! Connecting with other people who love to write will help you to build a support system that will help you at every turn. Search for writing forums, blogs, facebook groups and twitter hashtags (#writing #writersroad), and you’ll find writers looking to reach out to others for mutual support and knowledge sharing. A new place to check is WANA Tribe. If you feel intimidated by jumping into something when it seems like everyone already knows each other or you’re looking for something new that focuses on sharing, supporting & learning from other creatives, Kristen Lamb’s WANA Tribe is a great emerging community to try.

Find Freebies! Another beautiful thing about writing is that so much of what you need is FREE. Writing blogs, forums and websites are troves of useful help and info. There are a ton of great FREE writing opportunities out there , too! Organizations like Muse It Up and Write On Con offer free online conferences. Sites like Miss Snark’s First Victim and Adventures in YA & Children’s Publishing offer free writing/critiquing workshops. There are free monthly opportunities to win critiques, pitching contests to mystery Agents and lovely free vlogs from incredible Writing Gurus like K.M Weiland & The Plot Whisperer. (The links I provided here are only a few of the great FREE resources out there, too!)

Tell me, what steps have you taken to evolve as a writer? What websites, groups or information sources do you recommend to writers? 

The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression is a writer’s best friend, helping to navigate the challenging terrain of showing character emotion. This brainstorming tool explores seventy-five emotions and provides a large selection of body language, internal sensations, actions and thoughts associated with each. Written in an easy-to-navigate list format, readers can draw inspiration from character cues that range in intensity to match any emotional moment.

10 Tips Writers can Learn from Bad Movies

Today is Alex J Cavanaugh’s Worst Movies Ever Blogfest. Being the rebel that I am, I thought I’d put a spin on it and write up some tips writers can learn from bad movies.

1. Stories must be credible. ‘Unknown’ is a movie which proves this point. The story events stretched believability to the point where I wanted to throw popcorn at the screen.

2. A good ending is just as important as a good beginning. ‘9’ is a beautifully animated movie. The characters are wonderful, the art is visually splendid, and the concept is original. This movie, however, fell into my list of the worst movies of all time because the ending was terribad. It ruined the whole movie for me.

3. Avoid the cheese. Some might say ‘The Blob’ is a classic. I’m not one of them. This horror film comes across as cheesy from start to finish. It is in fact so cheesy that it makes a great comedy, though I don’t think the makers originally intended that.

4. Write outside the formula. ‘I Am Number 4’ is an example of formula gone bad. It is one thing writing inside a genre, another thing writing to formula. It seemed obvious to me that many scenes in this movie were simply included because they were what the makers believed fit into the teen formula. They had no other reason to be there.

5. Kill your darlings. This is a phrase many writers hear because it’s so important to remove any scenes or characters that don’t drive the story forward. In the case of ‘Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace’, the fans dictated the inclusion of characters and scenes to the detriment of the plot. (And don’t get me started about Jar Jar).

6. A good story takes time to write. ‘Your Highness’ gave me the impression not a lot of time went into the story or its humour. It was clear a lot of money went into the making of the film, but money, scenery, and special effects aren’t enough to make a good movie—or a good book.

7. Don’t set up false expectations when marketing. Because I heard ‘The Perfect Storm’ was based on a true story, I had certain expectations when I went to see it. Those expectations shattered when I realised the movie was based almost entirely on guesses. I felt cheated purely because of the way the movie had been marketed.

8. Strong dialogue is crucial. I love dragons and fantasy, but I fell asleep while watching ‘Eragon’. Not only was the acting wooden, but the dialogue was painfully weak. 

9. Pace is just as important as plot. Some might disagree with me on the example I’m going to use for this point, but I wanted to poke my eyes out with a fork while watching ‘Eat Pray Love’. Even though I liked the concept of this movie, it felt painfully slow and self-indulgent because the pace wasn’t right. 

10. Sequels should be consistent to the original. ‘Highlander 2’ is probably the worst movie sequel in all of history. It totally threw away all the ‘rules’ set up in the first movie thereby alienating it’s fan-base.

What would you consider to be the worst movie of all time?

WriteOnCon

Just a quick note to say I will be spending most of my time at WriteOnCon, a free online writers' conference. It's a huge event, not to be missed. I will be back here on Friday.
Amendment: Make that Monday.

How to Get a Foot in the Publishing Door

One of the big struggles with traditional publishing is getting noticed by agents and publishers and staying off the dreaded slush pile. During the Sydney Writers’ Festival I attended a workshop run by Hazel Flynn. She is a successful freelance writer, editor and broadcaster. She offered many suggestions on how to get the proverbial foot in the door. Below are just a few:

1. Personal connections. It does sometimes come down to who you know in the industry. It’s not a guarantee of publication, but it will help your manuscript get read.

2. Get a literary agent. In Australia writers can go directly to publishers, however, manuscripts coming from agents will be read. Often unsolicited manuscripts will end up in slush piles if accepted at all.

3. Attend festivals and conferences. You never know who you will meet and there’s so much to learn at these events.

4. Do writing courses. This is a great way to get a sense of whether your writing is working. It’s a great way of honing your craft.

5. Check the acknowledgements in books similar to your own. This will give you an idea of who helped the author get published.

6. Self publish. Many popular authors started with self publishing.

7. Show flexibility. Be willing to accept advice. If an editor suggests changes, then it’s in your best interest to listen.

What other ways can you suggest to get a foot in the publishing door? What are you currently doing to get published?

5 Ways to Gain the X Factor in Writing

Ever notice how some writers seem to have a talent that stands above the rest? We love their novels, their characters have a special something that make them likable and interesting, and their stories stay with us for a long time after we’ve read them. These writers have the x-factor. So, how do we gain our own x-factor?

Is it something we either have or we don’t? Can we learn the x-factor? I say yes, it can be learned, but it might come more easily to some than others. Below I’ve listed some basic ways to gain that elusive x-factor:

1. Read a lot. Read, read, and keep reading, and don’t forget to be analytical while you read. Work out what it is you like about the stories as well as what you don’t like.

2. Write a lot. You won’t find the x-factor if you don’t practise writing. It’s as simple as that.

3. Voice. Find your voice and develop it until it’s yours and yours alone. This might take some time and a lot of experimenting, but it’s worth it in the end.

4. Learn the craft. Oddly enough this might be the most neglected of all the elements that lead to the x-factor, and yet this is one of the most crucial. Sure, anyone can write. Do you want to be thrown into the ‘anyone’ class, or do you want to shine above the rest? Then, learn the craft.

5. Passion. Remember your passion for the story despite the number of revisions or rejections. Passion shows through our words.

Can you think of other ways to gain the x-factor? Who are the writers you think have the x-factor?

Note: This post is part of the A-Z Challenge. To learn more about the challenge click the image on my sidebar.

Photo: I had no idea what image to use for the x-factor, so I chose a pic of Melbourne at night. What can I say? I'm a sucker for pretty lights.

How to Know when to Break the Rules

First and foremost, to know when to break the rules of writing we must first learn the rules of writing. If the thought of all that grammatical gobbledegook makes your brain leak out of your ears, get over it and learn it anyway. You want to be a skilled writer, don’t you?

Secondly, we have to be sure to break a rule for the right reason. If we break it out of ignorance, laziness, or the elusive search for cool, then we should think again. There’s no point breaking a rule for the sake of it, or because it’s all the rage. There has to be a valid reason. Below I’ve listed a few possible reasons to break the rules:

For Clarity
The writing rules of grammar and punctuation are put into place to clarify meaning. Without them sentences often become ambiguous. For example: ‘Let’s eat Dezmond.’ Without a comma before Dezmond, that sentence means we want to eat the poor guy. Of course, if we gain more clarity by breaking a rule, then we can break it.

For Emphasis
A broken rule will often stand out in text and emphasise a point we might want to make. Be careful, however. Overuse of broken rules will quickly lose any impact we hoped to achieve.

For the Rhythm
For the sake of the music of our prose, it’s good to break a few rules. For example: A series of fractured sentences create a clipped, sharp rhythm which can add a certain agitated vibe to the prose.

For the Art
When I worked in a bookshop I had so many returns on one particular book because the readers misunderstood the artistic opening. The book started after twelve blank pages and, on the thirteenth, the first word was a lower case ‘and’. People thought the book had been misprinted. The author took a risk. Personally I thought it was genius.

Which rules do you like to break? Which rules do you break too often?

Note: This post is part of the A-Z Challenge. To learn more about the challenge click the image on my sidebar.

Reminder: I’ve entered my blog into the People’s Choice Award as part of the Sydney Writers’ Centre Best Australian Blogs Award 2011. If you haven’t already, please vote for my blog here. It is listed under W.I.P It: A Writer’s Journey -- Lynda Young.

Notoriety and Nominations

Notoriety
Have you noticed how many of the popular books in today’s market aren’t masterpieces of literary fiction? Have you wondered how these writers have gained notoriety despite their heavy use of passive sentences, clichés, and inconsistencies? It’s because they know how to write fantastic stories.

We could grumble over their success, we could whine about their popularity, but it wouldn’t get us anywhere. Instead we could study how to construct a good story. We could remind ourselves the importance of research: there’s no point slaving over a novel if our story lacks originality or a place in the market. And then we could do one better than those popular authors – we could learn to avoid those clichés, passive sentences and other cringe-inducing elements.

What do you think makes up a good story?

Nominations
As some of you have already noticed, my blog has been nominated for the Best Australian Blog 2011 Award. There are apparently 570 of us nominated. The Sydney Writer’s Centre is offering $7500 worth of prizes. One of the awards is the People’s Choice Award and that’s where you come in.

Please, if you think my blog is worthy

VOTE for me HERE

My blog is listed on the third page under ‘W’:

W.I.P. It: A Writer’s Journey – Lynda Young

I really appreciate your time and your vote. The winner will be announced on Friday 6 May 2011.


Note: This post is part of the A-Z Challenge. To learn more about the challenge click the image on my sidebar.

Education: The Secret to Success

Many make the mistake of thinking that anyone can write. Well, yes, anyone can write, but not everyone can write well. The key to success as a writer is education.

We need to learn proper sentence structure. We need to learn the markets and the industry. We need to learn grammar and punctuation. We need to build our vocabulary. We need to know when and when not to break the rules. We need to attend workshops and conferences. We need to read copious amounts of books on the craft as well as read mountains of fiction. And we need to continue to learn throughout our careers.

What are you currently doing to improve your writing? What's your favourite book on writing?

Note: This post is part of the A-Z Challenge. I will be posting Monday-Saturday during April corresponding to the letters of the alphabet.

Is Near Enough Good Enough?

Have you ever grown so frustrated or bored of the revision stage you’ve thought, ‘That will do’? I know I have – and then I sent it to someone to read and they came back with comments on sections I knew deep down I should have fixed.

Have you ever caught yourself asking, ‘Why bother with all this work when an editor will change it anyway’? It’s true an editor will likely change your text for the better, but what if they don’t? And worse: what if you don’t even make it to the editing stage at a publishing house because your manuscript didn’t shine with a glossy polish? I’ve seen it happen all too often.

Leave out an essential ingredient from a cake and the cake will fall flat. The same goes with writing. One essential ingredient of writing a good book is the sweat of hard work. We can’t expect a first draft to be the last draft. We have to work hard to order our thoughts so our readers don’t have to order them for us.

Let’s strive to do our best. Let’s always work towards improvement. Let’s sign up for those workshops and conferences. Let’s find quality critique partners and helpful beta readers. Let’s not give up, but keep going until we get it right.

Would you pay a professional editor to go over your work before you started querying?

6 Tips Public Speakers can give Writers

The majority of the population dread the thought of public speaking. The mere thought of it will send us into a sweat. Pushing the jitters aside, however, there’s a lot we can learn from public speaking. Below are six public speaking tips relevant to writers:

1. Share the passion. A dead-pan speaker will lose the audience. So too, a writer needs to share the passion in the stories she writes so she can engage her readers.

2. Keep it relevant. When a speaker rambles off on a tangent, their listeners will drift away on daydreams. As writers, we also need to keep our writing focussed and relevant to the story.

3. Know your audience. There’s no point talking to a group of emus about how to soar. (Believe me, there’s nothing worse than an angry rabble of emus flapping their non-existent wings). As writers we need to know who our audience is so we can write relatable stories.

4. Be confident. We’ve all felt sorry for the nervous speaker. It’s rare they get invited back. They lose their place in their notes, they stutter and sweat and fail to get their point across with any conviction. Writers also need to be bold. The work of a confident writer shines through.

5. Learn how and practise. Not just anyone can stand up in front of a crowd and speak well. Not just anyone can write well. We need to learn the craft and practise it often to improve.

6. Presentation is important. The best speeches are about more than just the words. They're also about how the speaker presents herself. They're about timing, body language, professionalism. The same goes for writers. Correct formatting makes our manuscripts presentable. Professional behaviour makes the author presentable.

Can you think of other tips a public speaker might offer? Have you ever done any public speaking?

14 Lies We Tell Ourselves about Writing

Every writer has done it at some time: we’ve lied to ourselves about our writing. These lies might bring us much needed confidence, they might set us up on lofty heights, but they will soon get us into a tangle and hold us back. Below are some examples:

1. I can only write when I’m inspired.
2. If it’s acceptable to break the writing rules, then I don’t need to learn the rules in the first place.
3. I know all I’ll ever need to know about my craft. 
4. Reading is an indulgence that wastes my time when I should be writing.
5. I don’t need to go to writing conferences or workshops.
6. I don’t need a critique partner. 
7. I don’t need to build a network. My writing will speak for itself.
8. I can finish a novel in just two drafts.
9. Editors don’t know what they are talking about. They just want to change my work for the sake of changing it.
10. Marketing? I don’t need to know about marketing. My book is so great it will fit into the market without the need for research.
11. I don’t need to check the submission guidelines. I know the manuscript format agents and publishers want.
12. Single spacing my manuscript saves money and the environment. The publishers will understand.
13. Blogging is only good for promoting my own work.
14. Once I get accepted for publication I can finally sit back and relax.

Have you told yourself any of these lies? Can you think of other lies writers tell themselves?