Lines from Linda

Do You Suffer from “Finishphobia”?

In the chapter titled, "How to Finish What You Start," of David Fryxell's book, Write Faster, Write Better, Fryxell offers a short quiz to determine whether or not you are phobic about finishing. Without plagiarizing his words, here's the gist of his quiz:

1. Do you have half-finished projects lying around your house?


2. Make a list of projects you've completed in the past six months. Of projects you've started but that are still "works in progress." Which list is longer?


3. Are you impulsive or driven?

To learn more about how to tune-up your "completion drive," check out Fryxell's book. That chapter goes on to give not only psychological explanations as to why we procrastinate, but offers a practical plan for getting past our hangups, therefore allowing us to complete those tasks that are nagging us and press onward toward success.

Remember, this is the book I accidentally purchased twice. Leave a comment this month on any of my blogs to have your name placed in a drawing for my extra copy. The drawing will take place February 29.

Busting Editing Myths

Please welcome today's guest blogger: Sally Bradley.

Sally Bradley runs Affordable Novel Critique Service where she offers economical editing services for writers at any level. She and her family recently moved from Chicago to the Kansas City area where she’s adjusting to bugs and snakes in the summer and ice storms in the winter.

There’s often a debate amongst writers as to whether hiring a freelance editor is a waste of money or a learning opportunity. When I hear this debate, I often find that there are some myths involved...

Read the rest of this post at Fiction Fundamentals.

Wish I’d Said That!

Back in the days before online ordering and skyrocketing printing & postage costs, we actually sat down and poured through pages of catalogs. No waiting for the browser to paint the screen, all the while bemoaning the fact that DSL hasn't reached one's neighborhood -- these were REAL books, complete with glossy, full-color pictures of everything an American household could imagine.

Not only were catalogs fun to flip through, but my parents found a plethora of ancillary uses the instant the expiration date arrived, such as kindling for the fireplace, booster seats for toddlers (this was of course during the era before boosters were mandated by the government and served their true purpose -- to get kids to hush their whining because they couldn't see out the car windows on long road trips), instant step ladders to reach items from the top shelf of the kitchen cabinets that no one had seen for two generations, and, of course, creating decorative angels. (This is a minimum four-year process that requires folding the top and bottom of each and every page at an angle and painting the entire book gold. No, I don't know why gold when every biblical angel was described as being arrayed in white. To be honest, a typical Readers Digest makes a much better angel than a big catalog and takes about half the time. But don't tell my mother I said that.)

The primary purpose of catalogs, or at least the catalog of choice among children -- the Sears Christmas catalog -- was wishing, which is likely why they dubbed it "The Wish Book."

I've come up with my own wish book of sorts. Instead of page upon page of items I know my parents would never consider buying me, my current wish book is a more practical piece -- it's a record of things I wish I'd said, or rather, written. For example, all mothers have wrestled with children through grocery shopping and discovered unplanned purchases upon arriving home. But who would've thought posting a long, drawn-out (albeit hilarious) play-by-play of the outing on eBay would launch a writing career for the harried mother? Some of us writers have worked for years to become an overnight success, and with one Pokemon card battle, this woman lands a half-dozen book offers and probably an invitation to Oprah.

I won't bore you with my entire wish list, but you (especially you writers) get the idea. I've also jotted down ideas of things I hope to write as ideas pop into my head. And perhaps someday, one of you will read something (preferably something brilliant) I've written and mutter, "Wish I'd Said That!"

12 Steps to a Great Critique

Note: This post is an article I wrote for the October 2007 issue of American Christian Fiction Writer's Ezine, Afictionado.

Multi-published author Ginny Smith never studied writing. She credits her success in print to her critique partners. While some may cringe at the word “critique,” Ginny explained that evaluating another writer’s work is not only an act of service, but also benefits the critiquer. But she adds a caveat: If it’s done correctly. “Because,” she said, “critiques can range from the good, to the bad, to the really insulting.” ...read the rest of this post on Fiction Fundamentals.

Brainstorming Tips

The world is full of distractions that can prevent us from losing our focus. God knew this when He inspired the psalmist to write, "Be still, and know that I am God." In order to write clear, concise copy, however, we need to maintain that focus. But often, my poor brain needs help.

Karen Wisner, in her book First Draft in 30 Days, suggests that not only do we need to brainstorm an idea at its conception, but at each stage of the writing process. (If you're not familiar with this book, the link I've inserted in the text goes to Karen's web site and has a lot of information included in the book. If you click on the book cover, that link will take you to Amazon.com's purchase page for the book.)

Brainstorming is important whether you're writing a novel, a magazine feature, a devotional, or even a blog post. While Karen's book deals with novel writing, the brainstorming prompts she suggests can be used in all genres of writing. She lists over 25 brainstorming exercises--here are just a few:

1. Make a soundtrack for your current project. Choose songs that fit specific parts of your book or the theme of the whole book. Listen to your project's soundtrack while driving, walking, or exercising. Each time you hear a song from your soundtrack, it will inspire you to brainstorm more.

2. Get out of the house--go anywhere--and people watch. Observe those around you to get ideas from gestures, movements, hints of an overheard conversation, or even just the way people look.

3. Write a letter to one of your characters (either from you or from another character within your story) just to see where it'll take you, or interview one or more of your characters.

4. Write with a partner on separate projects in the same room, then read to each other what you've written. Not for the sake of critique, but to uplift and energize your muse.

5. Go outside and lie on the ground. Admire the clouds, birds, and nature with all its sounds and smells. Imagine your character doing the same thing in his or her setting and try to describe it from that character's point of view.

What are some of the brainstorming techniques that YOU use? Share your tips with the rest of us.

Breaking Bad Habits: Cutting Cliches

Desperate to pad my ailing word count, I stared at the blinking cursor and typed a sentence. I re-read the newest eight words of my WIP and, like a scene from Secret Window, muttered, "No bad writing." This frightened my daughter, who remembered how bad writing affected Johnny Depp’s character.

How bad was it? Well…to set up the scene, a 15-year-old girl has just witnessed a flash of light on her neighbor’s property that could rival a nuclear explosion, yet no sound accompanied the flash. She has no idea what could have caused the blast, or if her neighbor, who is also her classmate and friend, has been harmed or killed. Not only is she concerned about her neighbor, but what if it happens again–where she’s standing? I wanted to convey the sheer horror this girl feels, so I typed the following words...

(read more at Fiction Fundamentals.com)

Using Dialogue to Show Character Emotion

For someone who started talking at the age of 15 months and hasn’t stopped yet, I’ve had a lot of difficultly creating speech on the page. In fact, while revising one Work in Progress, I found one page with ELEVEN euphemisms for the word "said." My characters interjected, deduced, screamed, hissed, muttered, and spat words at each other. The big problem here is that using a word such as hissed "tells" the reader what’s going on instead of "showing" the character in action.

(Read more at Fiction Fundamaentals...)

Do-Re-Mi

While the coffee pot is giving up its last gurgle, let's talk about where to go next. You've bought a notebook and jotted down your story snippets. So, what do you do with them? What direction should you take? The Do-Re-Mi song from "The Sound of Music" claims that the beginning is a very fine place to start, but, (quoting another song here), the theme from "Love Story" asks a great question: "Where do I begin?"If you browse through a bookstore's "how-to-write" section, you may find a debate equal with the chicken/egg dispute: "Which comes first--the character or the plot?" I say both. The quote, "Everyone has a story," sums it up pretty well. Everyone being character; story being plot. The two are inseparable in life and in fiction.

The best way to get started is to simplify your thoughts, just like reducing a fraction down to its lowest denominator. And, when simplified, three elements drive fiction:

1. The main character's goal.


2. The reason the character must attain this goal (often referred to as "motivation").


3. The obstacles that prevent or delay the character from attaining his/her goal (conflict).

Debra Dixon's book titled GMC (Goal/Motivation/Conflict), which belongs in the library of every aspiring fiction writer, suggests beginning with a chart, listing the character, the character's main story goal (note: the character will likely have other goals along the way, but your story's premise contains the main goal), the motivation to reach that goal, and what prevents her from reaching it. Then, develop a premise statement from those items. For example:

A young girl (main character) travels through a wolf-infested forest (conflict) to deliver soup (main goal) to her ailing (motivation) grandmother.

Every story can be simplified into such a sentence. If you wish to see other examples, check out the one-sentence descriptions from sources such as The New York Times' Best Sellers list. Practice picking out the goal, motivation, and conflict from one-sentence summaries.

If you haven't read Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method, I highly suggest you do so. He is a master at distilling a story into into a premise statement. Don't let the "deranged physicist" logo scare you. He really knows his stuff!

So, you've recorded your story ideas so you won't forget them. Now, take those perhaps jumbled thoughts and organize them into a sentence including your main character's main goal, motivation, and conflict.

Happy Writing!

Let’s Go!

For the time being (at least through the Grand Opening week), I'll be posting simultaneously here with the same content I've posted on my new site Fiction Fundamentals .

You have an idea for a great story, so now what? The first step (don't "duh" me here, okay?) is to write it down. You'd be surprised how many writers I've heard who said they've forgotten as many ideas as they've completed because they didn't write them down.

Some may think they have to have the latest, fastest, smartest computer; a secluded cabin by the lake in which to write (or at least a nice desk chair); and fancy software to collect their thoughts. If you feel you must make a purchase before beginning your story, buy a notebook. Yep, a notebook. You can get whatever kind you want, decorated with green & pink polka dots or pirates or a plain one, but get one you can carry around.

Keep your notebook with you. Jot down your ideas as they come. Maybe a certain scene has flashed through your mind, but you're not sure how (or if) it will fit into a story. Perhaps a bit of dialog has haunted you, and the characters are inside your head, nagging you to release them. Can you close your eyes and envision the perfect setting for a story? Write down these story snippets the best way you can so you'll have these ideas to refer to when the time comes.

As you jot down your notes, don't just put "haunted house" as your setting idea. Put as much detail as possible. Close your eyes and picture the place. Hear the stairs creak and the loose shutter banging against the building. Is it wooden? Stone? Crumbling? What color is the paint, if any? Faded and peeling? What do you smell? The stench of death? (Ah, a murder mystery in the making!) Or something unexpected, such as the aroma of fresh-baked bread? Who would be baking in there? And why?

No matter what your story idea, record every detail you have come up with thus far before getting bogged down into technical things such as structure and format and grammar. All those are important, of course, but without the STORY, they are useless. Save your story idea first. We'll get to all that other stuff soon enough.

Seth suggested that NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) be added to our resource list (which I did--thanks!). The entire concept of NaNoWriMo is write now, edit later. The point is to get the story idea down. Another fundamental learned through the NaNoWriMo program is to write every day. Make it a habit, a part of your life. Just as your body needs exercise, so does your writing muscle. Use it or it'll become flabby.

So, before we get any further, get your notebook and get those ideas down!

Happy writing!

Queries, Proposals & One Sheets–Oh, My! Part III

If you Google the word "synopsis," it's amazing how many times the word "dreaded" is used to modify it. Writing a synopsis is a challenging project, but the word should convey excitement, not dread, for there are basically two purposes for writing a synopsis:

1. You've got a great new idea for a novel and you want to get it all down and get started.
2. You've finished (or nearly finished) a novel and you're preparing to pitch it.

Both of those are exciting, positive concepts. So, let's not dread writing the synopsis!

The synopsis begins with a hook, just like your query letter. Some authors use the same opening paragraph, and why not? If it caught someone's attention enough in the query to get an invite to submit an entire proposal, you probably have a great hook.

The hook should pique the reader's interest and pose the story question. In fact, some authors put their opening sentence in the form of a question. If you've seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," then this hook will be familiar to you:

"Can a Greek ugly duckling find happiness with her WASP prince charming, in spite of her colorful, interfering family?"

In one sentence, that hook introduces the main characters (Greek ugly duckling, WASP prince charming), as well as the three main story elements: Goal (prince charming); Motivation (find happiness); and Conflict (Greek/WASP cultural differences, plus her colorful, interfering family). As a bonus, that hook also introduces the reader to the supporting cast. It even gives us a glimpse at the whimsical tone of the story.

For examples of great hooks, read the log lines on movies. There are a number of movie databases online to browse. Another place to browse hook examples is an online bookstore. There are also a number of those.

As you're reading hooks, (yes, this is a homework assignment!), watch for the introduction of Goal, Motivation, and Conflict, the main characters, perhaps the setting, theme, and/or tone.  Pick some good ones and label those elements. Share them with us in the comments if you'd like.

Next we'll discuss other parts of the synopsis, but the hook is definitely the most important. If you don't hook 'em with that opening, they won't need to read any further.