A Day with Steve Berry

So, I spent Tuesday morning and early afternoon at a workshop in Bridgeport, CT led by international thriller writer, Steve Berry. For those of you who have been following me for any length of time, you may have picked up that Steve is one of my favorite authors. For the genre, I would say he is the top of my list. It was nice to know someone besides me and my parents thought Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol was horrible. Steve said you could read it as what not to do in writing a novel. So, I've decided to recap what Steve lectured about and a few interesting answers to some questions from the Q&A session.


Story Structure (the 6 Cs)

A story can be broken up into essentially 3 Acts. Acts 1 and 3 compose roughly 5% each of the novel while Act 2 comprises the remainly 90%. Additionally, each has a set of Cs of structure one must follow.

Act 1 has Character, Conflict and Crucible. Obviously, you need to introduce your characters in the first part of the novel, including the antagonist. This will come into play more when we discuss Point of View but there should be 2-5 characters that you introduce at this point in time. You also need to introduce the main conflict for the story in the first act. It's even better if you introduce the conflict as early as you can. One way to do this, Steve suggested, is to start the story as close to the end point as possible. Finally, you need to have the crucible. This is more difficult to work out. It's the thing that makes your character (even your antagonist) act a way they would not normally act. It's basically, if I understand correctly, their motivation.

Act 2 has Complications. This where the meat of things happen. You also start weaving subplots in during this part of the novel. It's important that the subplots tie into the main plot. Just throwing a romance in for no good reason (or for filler words) is pointles. If it doesn't tie to the main plot, and resolve by the end of Act 2, then you need to either lose it or find some way to tie it in. Try not to have too many subplots. Two or three is more than sufficient.

Act 3 has the Crisis and the Conclusion. The crisis is the high point of the drama. The bad guy and the good guy are facing off and shit is about to hit the fan. Generally speaking, this should happen at the beginning of Act 3. And finally, you have the conclusion. Keep the 'duhs' to yourself. You need to end the story, not just let it sit there. Wrap it up.

Point of View

There are mainly two general points of view novels are told in; first person and third person. First person is far more difficult than one might imagine. Believe, I've done it and I much prefer third person.

First person can have the charactere either actively participating in the story be more passive. But since I don't write often in first person, there isn't much else to say.

Far more common, is third person (or omniscient). There are four types of third person narration; none, one, some and all. No narrator is generally done where there is only dialog and sees rather difficult to pull off. The moment you have the need for some kind of description, then you are no longer in no narrator. The second type of narration is one narrator. This is much like first person in that it's only shown through one character's perspective and can be difficult. Of course, it can be done and may be better for some types of novels than others. The most popular and used type of narration is some (or multiple) narrators. This usually is 3-5 characters and you guessed it, they happen to be the characters you introduced in Act 1. The last type of narration or point of view is all where you are in every character's head. I wouldn't recommend it and neither would Steve.

A few other things to remember regarding point of view. Throw away POVs are lazy writing. These are characters who you toss in for no other purpose than to show them getting killed off. Just don't do it.

Another interesting POV thing is psychic distance, how far away from the character the reader is. This is a completely new ocncept that I learned at the workshop. You want to be as close to the character as possible beause that keeps the point of view tight and there's less chance of accidental head hopping. So keeping things as s/he or I (depending on first or third) does this for you. One way to establish POV in a chapter is to start the chapter with the character's name and use s/he the rest of the chapter. Call other characters by name the whole time. You can throw in the POV character's name as a reminder if it's needed but only if it's really needed.

Dialog

Dialog is far more important than one might think. It helps to advance the plot, provide comic relief, maintain suspense/tension and/or illustrate character development. You want dialog (and every scene in fact) to do at least two of these things. Try not to use dialog as a giant info dump. There are plenty of ways to get the informmation out rather than a big long conversation. The best kind of dialog to use is oblique. It doesnn't have many direct questions and answers or yes and no or even hello or goodbye. I'm trying to do this as I revise my own manuscripts and it's kind of difficult. But, like anything, if you keep at it, it gets easier.

There are a few other things one needs to know about dialog; tags versus beats. Beats indicate movement and can come either before or after dialog and remind the reader who is about to speak. A tag is "said". And as much as it pains me to say this (no pun intended), use said 99.9% of the time. Occasionally you can toss in asked. But generally, avoid other qualifiers. Don't use exclamation points. That's just lazy writing. You can show the reader how the character is speaking with a beat.

The 10 Rules of Writing

1. There are no rules as long as it works
2. Don't bore the reader
3. Don't confuse the reader
4. Don't get caught writing
5. Don't lie to the reader
6. Don't annoy the reader
7. Writing is rewriting
8. Shorter is always better
9. Story never takes a vacation
10. Must tell a good story

Here a few questions I'd asked him that I thought had some interesting answers.

Q: Do you work on more than one project at a time.
A: I'm actively writing one and plotting two more. So there's always 3 stories in my head.

Q: Do you write daily and if so, how often?
A: I write four to five hours a day, usually in the morning. I spend the afternoons working on the business of writing.

Q: Do you ever wish you could write another genre?
A: I'd love to write historical fiction but moving between genres (unless it's a completely different audience) will make you lose your audience.

So that is everything I've learned from Steve. He's a delightful guy and I'm ready to implement his knowledge in my own writing.

I'm That Sort of Man

Hey, everyone. Nothing really new on the writing front other than I've finally hit 20,000 words (halfway) on PHARAOH'S LINK and I'm stedily working through chapter 2 of THE MONTICELLO DIARY.

I wanted to stop by and share with you another guest post I've written for More TV Please! This time, we explore the three Modern faces of Doctor Who.

(Sometimes) Rude and (Still) not Ginger: The Three Faces of the Doctor

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. I have to say I'm so happy I decided to check out Doctor Who. Not only does it shed some serious light on Torchwood but it's just genuinely a fantastic series.

Oh Happy Day!

So I've had an interesting week so far. I'd totally intended on powering through PHARAOH'S LINK this weekend but it didn't end up happening. Instead, the muse decided to wack me over the head with 3 other ideas. So I gave in and am starting a couple of them.

I'm really hoping to get a few chapters in on this one project, an historical thriller, before July 6. Why you ask? Because I'm going to a writer's workshop led by Steve Berry and I'm hoping to get his opinion on a few things. Plus, I'd like to be able to send the material to Roger to get his feeling on the project.

I also have some other good news. I was very concerned that I had lost my scholarship for school. I received a letter in the mail today congratulating me on keeping it! I was SO happy. You have no idea. I'd been pnaicking for weeks that I'd not made the grade to keep it. I'm so relieved now.

I also recieved another rejection on EUTERPE'S SONG yesterday. And it was quite the lovely rejection. The editor praised the premise and a lot of the situations but they felt it wasn't quite right for their imprint, which focuses on character driven work. And they were concerned that any new work that has a heavily Greek mythology bent will obviously be compared to Percy Jackson and it may not hold up. But the editor assured me (and my agent) that we'd probably get a taker and that they would have the perfect vision to get my characters on the shelves.

Now this may seem like, oh they didn't want it because of the competition. Which, to be fair, is true. But what I like about this is that it shows the editor took the time to carefully consider my work. That to me, speaks volumes.

And hopefully I'll be back next week with some writing progress updates for you. And who knows, I may have read another book by then. We'll see.

How Music is Like Writing a Novel

So I thought I'd bring you all a little post about something other than just general updates this week. I was thinking last night about how creating music and writing novels are similar.

As I listen to the new Hanson album (Shout It Out) (don't judge me), I'm reminded what it is that I love so much about the band. No matter what the music sounds like, it always evokes in me a renewed sense of admiration. I've grown up with the band since the beginning in 1997. And the core of their music making hasn't changed. They still have their trademark 3-part harmonies and soul and '50s-'60s rock n roll feel.

So how, you ask, is music like writing a novel? It's simple. Both novel writing and music making tell a story. The real heart of music is communicating a story to your listener. Musicians, especially songwriters are really poets in disguise. They weave tales with beautiful lyrics just as a novelist crafts a story with the right words. It's about sharing a piece of the musician's soul with the wider audience. And isn't that what we, as novelists, do as well? We take a piece of ourselves and bare it to the world in what we write. Sure, it's sometimes difficult to pinpoint the piece of the creator in the finished product but it's always there, regardless of whether you can see/hear it or not.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that music can serve as great inspiration for other creative endeavors. As I continue to work on my various projects, I let the music I listen to fill me up and inspire me to greatness.

Thank you Hanson for 13 wonderful years and many more to come!

Another smattering of updates

So sorry I haven't been keeping to my weekly posts. Last week was busy with starting work and this week is busy with my boyfriend visiting.

Not a whole lot to report. Nothing new on the EUTERPE front sad to say. But that's the nature of the biz. I have set an absolute deadline for myself for finishing PHARAOH's LINK; Sunday June 20th. Even if it kills me, I'm going to stick to it!

Work has been really interesting so far. I've got several big cases I'm working on for several different investigators. I've been drafting interview questions for a 2-day onsite interview process for one case. I'm quite excited to atually go and participate in the questioning. How cool that they let us just dive in? Been doing some statistical analysis on another case. One thing I've learned fairly quickly is that even if someone seems sympathetic from reading their statement, you have to remain impartial and not take sides.

I sat in Tuesday and yesterday on a hearing for a Dept. of Agriculture case. Very fascinating to see the dynamic between the attorneys (who knew each other for quite some time) and the various witnessses. The judge is probably one of the most awesome people in the office. Got to sit in just by chatting with her at the copy machine on Monday.

As for keeping up with the blog this summer, I think I may work a little something out with Jen over at More TV, Please! about doing a TV rewind series on a show (probably a shorter show...like Merlin season 1). I've got the DVD set but haven't rewatched any of the episodes yet.

Well I need to head off to work...such is the life of the grown up (or summer intern).

General Update

So now that finals are over, I'm back! I've got a few days until I start work at the EEOC in the Enforcement Division. I'm quite excited about it. I'll be doing something good and it will be a totally different experience from anything I've done before.

As for writing, I'm slowly getting back to PHARAOH'S LINK. I'm still on track to finish the draft by the end of the month. I'll be sending it to betas and submitting it to my agent by sometime in July (whenever I finish my beta edits). And then I'm not really sure what I'll be doing.

I've read a couple of really good books the last couple weeks. Death's Daughter and Cat's Claw by Amber Benson. For those of you who've been following my blog, you know that I adore Amber. Her novels are both very good and I'd recommend them if you like fun urban fantasy with some mythology thrown in. I'm definitely awaiting the final installment in the trilogy.

I'm currently working my way through Timothy and the Dragon's Gate by Adreinne Kress. And next on the list is A Wizard of Mars by Diane Duane and The Red Pryamid by Rick Riordan. I'm quite enjoying being able to read something other than law textbooks.

Torchwood anybody?

Hey everyone.

As I'm in crunch time for finals, I've put writing on hold. Well, almost. I did take a little time to write up a guest blog on More TV, Please for Torchwood. You can find it at the link below.

TORCHWOOD: Why Brits Do It Better

It recaps my five favorite episodes of the series. I will be back after the 17th with hopefully some writing updates.