Develop Your Narrative Voice By Stealing From Bestselling Authors

Would You Like To Develop Your Narrative Voice?

Would You Like To Develop Your Narrative Voice?

“A real writer learns from earlier writers the way a boy learns from an apple orchard — by stealing what he has a taste for, and can carry off.”
― Archibald MacLeish, American poet, writer and Librarian of Congress

Have you ever singled someone out in a crowd because you liked what they were wearing?

Did you go home and try to recreate the outfit with what was in your closet?

Did you wear it better than they did?

Or did you tear it off vowing never to wear the clothes that way again?

Modelling writing is kind of like that, only instead of figuring out how to make a statement with your clothes, you do it with your words.

I spent years developing my narrative voice, that unique way of telling a story that was particular to me.

How I found my voice was by “stealing” from other writers, trying on different points of view, tones and styles until I found one that was my own.

Note: Modelling, which is what I mean by “stealing”, is very different from plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization, and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own.

 

How To “Steal”

 

1. Borrow the structure: Does the passage below remind you of something?

“Once upon a time there were two cities within a city. One was light and one was dark. One moved restlessly all day while the other never stirred. One was warm and filled with ever-changing lights. One was cold and fixed in place by stones.”

The first line of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities reads: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

In the passage above, taken from A Graveyard for Lunatics, Ray Bradbury “borrows” Dickens’ structure in its comparison of light and dark imagery.

 

2. Use the setting: Another way you can model is to use a setting from popular literature.

As you read these passages, see if you can spot the similarities:

“A large cask of wine had been dropped and broken, in the street…the cask had tumbled out…the hoops had burst, and it lay on the stones just outside the door of the wine-shop, shattered like a walnut-shell…The rough, irregular stones of the street, pointing every way, and designed, one might have thought, expressly to lame all living creatures that approached them …Some men kneeled down, made scoops of their two hands joined, and sipped…Others, men and women, dipped in the puddles with little mugs of mutilated earthenware, or even with handkerchiefs from women’s heads.”

And…

“The driver had been coming out of the turn on the inside when the wagon had tilted and gone over. As a result, the kegs had sprayed all the way across the road. Many of them were smashed, and the road was a quagmire for twenty feet. One horse…lay in the ditch, a shattered chunk of barrel-stave protruding from its ear…Wandering around the scene of the accident were perhaps a dozen people. They walked slowly, often bending over to scoop ale two-handed from a hoofprint or to dip a handkerchief or a torn-off piece of singlet into another puddle. Most of them were staggering. Voices raised in laughter and in quarrelsome shouts.”

Did you catch the comparisons?

The rural setting? The overturned cart carrying spirits? The road made swampy by the spill? The people trying to sop up as much of the spirits as they can with whatever materials are handy? What about the shattered walnut shell mirrored in the second passage’s lame horses and shattered skulls?

The first passage is from a scene in Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, the second from Stephen King and Peter Straub’s The Talisman. In the modelling of this passage, King and Straub use Dickens’ setting, making it their own by serving it up with the dark and graphic horror their readers know and love.

 

3. Break with convention: I recently started reading the Kathy Reichs’ Temperence Brennan series and her use of dialogue tags intrigues me. Here’s an example:

“Which gives the chapter location.” Ponytail.

and

“Warm-hearted ladies, all.” Kuricek.

When writing conversations between more than two people, Reichs often drops the dialogue tag (i.e., said) and gives only the name of the speaker. This helps keep the conversation fast and the reader on track, without having to read repetitive tags.

In my example, a boy (Kal-El) is on a bed, listening to a conversation. Delirious, the boy imagines he is Superman recovering from a confrontation with Kryptonite:

“What is he?” Lois.
“A boy.” Jor-El.
“But he’s not…human.”
“He was once.”
“But not now?”
Kal-El swallowed.

The style worked for me in this scene because in his semi-conscious state, the boy would not be fully aware of his surroundings and might only have the presence of mind to identify the speaker and nothing else. In this case, the break from traditional dialogue tags fit, and I kept it in my final product.

 

4. Steal style: Things like simile, metaphor, and alliteration (the repetition of sounds) are hard to do well.

Stealing an example from a bestselling author in order to model it is a great way to practice. Here’s an example from Raymond Chandler’s The Little Sister:

“I was as dizzy as a dervish, as weak as a worn-out washer, as low as a badger’s belly, as timid as a tit-mouse, and as unlikely to succeed as a ballet dancer with a wooden leg.”

And my modelling of it:
“I was as bouncy as a ball, as happy as a hosed-down hippo, as high as a misty moon, as loud as a loon, and as unlikely to keep quiet as a ticking bomb nearing zero.”

In my modelling, I steal the repetition of simile, sounds and comparisons as well as the structure to create an entirely new passage.

 

How to “Steal”

 

  • Keep a journal. Begin one (if you haven’t already), with paper and pen or digitally.
  • Read voraciously.
  • Every time you find an interesting passage, make note of it in your journal. You might choose Richard Castle for his hard-boiled narrative, or Janet Evanovich for her conversational tone, Kathy Reichs for her attention to detail, or Anne Rice for her dark mood.
  • Then, on days you feel abandoned by your muse, go to the orchard that is your journal, pick an apple and take a bite.
  • Study the passage to find the one thing that made it stand out for you in the first place. Then steal by modelling it.
  • Finally, similar to the apples in the orchard, cultivate it over time, mixing and matching it with other styles until you create a narrative voice that is distinctly your own.

You can try to connect it to your current manuscript, or write an independent passage to use later.

If you’re lucky, you might figure out where your taste lies, and set down the roots for a future project.

Here are three wonderful passages to get you started. Don’t forget to share your modeled passages in the comments!

“Moon. Glorious Moon. Full, fat, reddish moon, the night as light as day, the moonlight flooding down across the land and bringing joy, joy, joy. Bringing too the full-throated call of the tropical night, the soft and wild voice of the wind roaring through the hairs on your arm, the hollow wail of starlight, the teeth-grinding bellow of the moonlight off the water.”
-Jeff Lindsay, Darkly Dreaming Dexter

“This meal happened to be a make-believe tea, and they sat round the board, guzzling in their greed; and really, what with their chatter and recriminations, the noise, as Wendy said, was positively deafening.”
–J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

“He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin, like the stuff of a fantastic candle burning too long and now collapsing and now blown out. Darkness.”
–Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

 

About the author:

Elise Abram is an English teacher, former archaeologist, and published author and blogs about the writing process, popular culture and its ties to literature and literary elements. 

Image: Woman eating apple courtesy of Bigstockphoto.com

Writer’s Block: Overcome It By Following The Map

Overcome Writer's Block

Do You Want To Overcome Writer’s Block?

Why does writer’s block wipe out more than just the ability to write?

Not only are you unable to string a few words together, but you also can’t seem to remember any advice on writing, plot or character development. It’s as if everything you knew has been obliterated.

The more desperate you get, the more omnipotent the block seems to become.

There’s your character, sitting listlessly, waiting for you to come up with something, and all you can do is stare back at him.

What was it Anne Lamott said in Bird by Bird?

Didn’t Kurt Vonnegut make a useful suggestion at some point?

Can’t Google get creative and tell you what to do?

You know there are specific ways you can think about character and plot development that might get the words flowing, but even as you try to remember them, it seems too late. The blockage has taken over everything.

Wouldn’t it be ideal if you had a map you could follow? A map to help you overcome writer’s block; one that tells you what to do when you get stuck?

Well, here it is!

Got-Writer's-Block-2-2

You have a character that isn’t working. Have you tried making him want something – badly?

That was what Vonnegut advised: “Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.” What could your listless fellow want?

What about that stubborn plot issue? Consult the map again.

Why don’t you fast-forward to several scenes ahead – even through to the end, if necessary? Having a clear idea of where you’re going can often show you where you are.

The map reminds you to try various approaches to find solutions to diverse problems.

So the next time you find yourself staring back at a character, locate the map. Check whether you’ve considered other ways around that seemingly intractable problem.

You might find your way out of the Land of Block much sooner than you expected.

Give it a try and share your thoughts and experience in the comments.

 

About the Author:

Natasa Lekic is a freelance editor at NY Book Editors, a New York-based team that offers editing and copyediting services to writers. If you’d like to get more editorial advice, subscribe to their email editing tips at www.nybookeditors.com.

 

Image: Overcome Writer’s Block courtesy of Bigstockphoto.com

5 Key Questions to Ask as You Write Your Novel

Key Questions to Ask

Key Questions to Ask

As a professional manuscript critiquer and copyeditor, I ask a lot of questions.

Sure, I also give a lot of suggestions and fix badly constructed sentences. But it’s the questions that get to the heart of the story.

Asking authors questions helps them think about what they’re writing and why.

So much important information seems to be missing in so many novels, especially first novels by aspiring authors.

Novel writing is tricky; there are countless essential components that need to mesh cohesively to reveal the heart of a story.

Questions Create Story

Starting a novel is asking a question. What if . . .? What would someone do if . . .? What if the world was like this, and this happened . . .? These initial questions lead to more questions, which shape and bring life to characters and story.

Questions are the key.

After thousands of hours of critiquing and editing hundreds of manuscripts, I’ve noticed there are some questions I seem to ask a lot.

These are five key questions you might need to ask as well, while writing or rewriting your novel.

  • Where is this scene taking place?

    I shouldn’t have to ask this, right?

The writer is thinking, “Isn’t it obvious? I know where this scene is taking place.”

It may surprise you to know that readers can’t read your mind. The biggest problem I see in novel scenes is the lack of sufficient information to help the reader “get” where a scene is taking place. Just a hint of setting, shown from the character’s point of view, can do wonders.

And what’s usually missing is not just the locale but the smells and sounds, a sense of the time of day and year, and exactly where in the world the action is taking place.

  • How much time has passed?

    So many scenes dive into dialog or action without telling the reader how much time has passed from the last scene.

Scenes need to flow and string together in cohesive time. It’s important to know if five minutes or five months have     passed, and it only takes a few words to make that clear. Don’t leave your reader in confusion.

  • What is your character feeling right now?

This is a biggie. It alternates with: How does your character react to this?

So many times I read bits of action or dialogue that should produce a reaction from the point-of-view (POV) character, but the scene just zooms ahead without an indication of what the character is feeling or thinking.

For every important moment, your character needs to react. First viscerally, then emotionally, then physically and finally, intellectually. Often a writer will show a character reacting with deep thought about a situation, when their first natural reactions are missing.

If you get hit by a car, you aren’t going to first think logically about what happened and what you need to do next. First, you scream or your body slams against the sidewalk and pain streaks through your back.

Keep this adage in mind: for every action, there should be an appropriate, immediate reaction. That’s how you reveal character.

  • What is the point of this scene?

This is a scary question. Not for me—for the author.

Because if there’s no point to a scene, it shouldn’t be in your novel. Really. Every scene has to have a point—to reveal character or plot. And every scene should build towards a “high moment”.

  • What is your protagonist’s goal in the book?

If she doesn’t have a goal, you don’t really have a story.

The reader wants to know your premise as soon as possible. This involves your main character having a need to get something or somewhere, do something or find something. Or some variation of that.

That goal should drive the story and be the underpinning for all your scenes. That goal is the glue that holds your novel together. It may not be a ‘huge’ goal, and in the end your character may even fail to reach that goal—you’re the writer; you decide. But have a goal.

I actually ask a whole lot more questions than these. And many are just as important to crafting a powerful novel. I’ve found when writing my own novels that if I just keep asking questions—the right ones—I’ll find the answers that are right for that story.

If you can get in the habit of continually asking questions as you delve into your novel, you may find it will lead you to the heart of your story.

What are the questions you ask? Please share in the comments.

About The Author:
C. S. Lakin is the author of thirteen novels and works as a professional copyeditor and writing coach. Her new websites are dedicated to critiquing fiction and instruction and encouragement to help you survive and thrive in your writing life. 

Image: Key Questions to Ask courtesy of Bigstockphoto.com

Could You Write the Next ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’?

fifty shades of grey

Could you write a raunchy novel?

It’s titillating, it’s full of taboo subjects, and it doesn’t even come with brown paper wrapping.

I’m not referring to the latest issue of Penthouse – I’m talking about Fifty Shades of Grey.

The Fifty Shades trilogy has certainly shifted our perceptions of housewives – rather than fitting neatly inside the June Cleaver mold, today’s women are confidently talking about a book filled with S&M. What’s more shocking than this shift is the fact that many didn’t see it coming. Many were instead asking, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Creating a Product for People Who Don’t Think They’d Want It

In a society full of polar opposites – the U.S., for example, is home to both conservative Christians and liberals fighting for gay marriage reform – it wasn’t expected that a series on erotica would find such mainstream appeal. Fifty Shades of Grey is credited with boosting Barnes & Noble’s sales, setting new records in Britain, and launching lines of everything from sex toys to cookbooks.

Oscar Wilde said, “There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book; books are well-written or badly written.” This is the distinction many publishers and reviewers failed to make. People have always been interested in things considered inappropriate for polite society. The presentation is what piques consumers’ interest. It’s debatable whether the book sold because of its eloquent writing, but immoral it is not. E.L. James has simply made talk of hardcore sex a little more acceptable in common conversation; a frowned-upon act has become a little less dirty.

B. Cameron Lee, a writer of horror fiction, admits, “People may be scandalized, or pretend it, but still, they have interest. If you want to write something that really sells, you wrap it in ‘mummy’ porn.” Even if people were embarrassed about reading it, they did it anyway – or at least did so behind the cover of a magazine.

Easing Yourself in

It’s easy to understand that people will gobble up dirty subjects; it’s another thing to write about such subjects. If you venture down this path, you’ll undoubtedly find yourself confronting some of your own discomforts. Are you comfortable writing a play-by-play of oral sex in a bathtub? Here are some simple ways to ease yourself into the process so you can write what you know:

    • Use humor: Everyone laughs about sex. It’s a topic we find funny at 13, and it still amuses us at 50. “Humor allows you to relax with the subject,” says Dr. Jacobo Schifter, who’s written more than 20 books on sexuality. The more relaxed you are, the more honest and relatable your writing will be.
    • Make it easy-to-read: Academic jargon, although comfortable to fall back on, turns readers off. Including facts is important, but make them relevant. Don’t insert data that pulls away from your story – tell your story. The author of Fifty Shades doesn’t use flowery language, but writes in the simplest of terms: “Grey gives me a wicked grin, the effects of which I feel all the way down there,” Ana says when she and Christian discuss having sex for the first time.
    • Become the character: Slide in and become the character, as Lee does. What would you do if you were Ana, experiencing her first sexual encounter with someone more experienced than she was, 15 times over? Arrange the story to fit your morals, experiences, or imagination.
    • The point is not that you need to be comfortable with a topic, but to become comfortable with the concept of research. Many readers don’t know what it feels like to be whipped by a flogger, and in order to describe that successfully, we imagine that James had to do some “research”. Don’t let yourself be stiff with the subject – no pun intended – or your audience will have a hard time relating.

Writing to Your Audience

Half the writing journey is about what you have to share – but the other half is about the people who will read your work. How do you find a Fifty Shades of Grey-caliber audience? How do you talk to them? What would they like to read about? In this case, it’s something they don’t know much about or have little experience with: dominatrix-oriented sex.

Try to speak to them as individuals. While this is always a good idea, it’s particularly vital when touching on taboo subjects. “Write as if you are having a conversation,” says Diane Carter, a digital publisher and marketer. “Make a connection, one person at a time. In reality, you are connecting one-on-one; everyone who reads your book reads it differently.” Ana is a shy, inexperienced and caring character, making it easy for readers to relate to – and connect with – her.

You don’t have to dilute your message to appeal to a large group. What makes work appealing is its ability to confront what we find awkward, cringe-inducing, sexy or exciting. You can unload your deepest thoughts on dirty talk – if you’re thinking it, someone else is too.

Selling Yourself

One thing that set Fifty Shades of Grey apart was its willingness to find an audience. To accomplish the same goal, you need to think of yourself as an entrepreneur, not just a writer.

Research your competition via Amazon or Barnes & Noble, as Carter advises: What other books have Fifty Shades’ readers purchased? What did reviewers like – or dislike – about the series? Who are similar authors? Assessing the marketplace will help you develop a niche in both writing and marketing.

You also need to have some minimal marketing tools:

  • A blog or website, particularly one with a specialty URL
  • A Facebook fan page
  • A Twitter account
  • A LinkedIn account

These tools will help you connect with existing readers, garner new ones, and inspire conversations. (You’d be surprised how vocal people will be when they can talk about taboo subjects behind a computer screen.)

It’s not hard to establish a Fifty Shades of Grey-worthy reputation; it’s harder to get out of your own way and really delve into the topic so what you say has resonance. Break down your own barriers, reach out to your audience, and start thinking of yourself as an entrepreneur. You may not sell as many copies of your book, but you’ll likely develop just as loyal a following.

What are your thought about this? Please share in the comments

About the author:
Nicolas Gremion is the CEO of Paradise Publishers, Inc., and founder of Foboko.com, a social publishing network where members get support writing their books from peers and connect directly with readers.
Image: Woman courtesy of Bigstock.com

Character Emotion: Is It Written All Over Their Face?

How to convey emotions?

The face is the first thing we notice in real life, and the focal point during any conversation.

We connect to a person’s gaze, paying attention to how their eyes widen, squint, focus inward or dart. We also watch their mouth, noting lip presses, teeth flashes, frowns, smiles and pursed lips. Eyebrow lifts, the forehead crinkling and relaxing…each facial micro movement is a message, a clue to what the person is thinking and feeling.

So as writers, is it important to maintain a strong focus in this area when we set out to describe character emotion?

Actually, it’s more the opposite. While the face might offer hundreds of micro expressions in real life, these split-second gestures do not always translate into strong emotional description.

Don’t get me wrong…the face is important! When a new character enters the scene, facial description is often the first beat of connection a reader has with them. A woman’s soft grey eyes, her rounded face, how sunlight glints through her curly auburn hair as she moves…these details help readers form an image.

But while face-centered description helps to paint a physical picture, it should not be relied on to also provide an emotional one. Instead, more descriptive ‘weight’ needs to be given to what the character’s body is doing.

By sheer mass, the body can provide thousands of possible movements, gestures and actions that will show readers what the character is feeling. Why? Because all readers (all people!) are body language experts. Ninety-three percent of communication is nonverbal, so we are constantly being fed messages through body movement. What we sense as we interact with others will dictate how we feel ourselves, and our behavior toward the other person.

Readers naturally apply this skill to what they read, and recognize body language on the page. Often the way a gesture or movement is described reminds them of how they used a similar one themselves when experiencing an emotion. This ‘shared experience’ is what powers up that empathy link between the reader and the character. Add this to emotion-rich dialogue, and, if the POV allows, snippets of the character’s thoughts and internal sensations (visceral reactions), and we can convey a powerful emotional moment!

Why doesn’t this body language skill apply to reading micro expressions?

Interpreting facial and body language is largely visual, and our readers are not seeing emotion being expressed first-hand. Instead, they are relying on their own imagination to work in tandem with the writer’s ability to create vivid description. Micro facial shifts happen quickly, and often several at the same time. Trying to break down these movements and describe them accurately can create a mechanical feel and slow the pace. There are larger, more recognizable expressions that work well as emotional cues (frowning, smiling, etc.), but they are often overused. Because of this, describing the character’s facial expression to show how they are feeling is something that should be done in moderation.

So the next time you have to show your character’s emotion, think beyond the face.

Instead, look at what the body might be doing. Delve into your past, remembering when you experienced the same emotion. What did your body do? How did it express itself? What did you feel inside–a heaviness in the chest, pain twisting your throat? Light-headedness from a surge of adrenaline? Skin sensitivity? Recreate the emotional moment and allow your senses to take over. Then, write it down.

Observing people in real life and in movies is another great way to build up a ‘store’ of body language to draw upon. There are examples all around us of unique ways to express emotion, and all we have to do is look. :)

When you think about what body language movements to show, dig deep. The more work we put into crafting fresh body cues, the deeper the connection we forge with readers. Above all, readers read for the experience, so make sure to give it to them!

Your turn! Do you find yourself overusing facial cues to describe how your character feels? What do you struggle with when it comes to showing emotion? Let me know in the comments!

About the author:

Angela Ackerman is one half of The Bookshelf Muse blogging duo, and co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression. Listing the body language, visceral reactions and thoughts associated with seventy-five different emotions, this brainstorming guide is a valuable tool for showing, not telling, emotion. 
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