Storyworld First

In this episode, I . . .

Talk about one very popular type of story. The retelling. This is when you take the plot structure from a well-known story and use that to tell your own tale, like the movie Clueless did with Jane Austen’s Emma. Or you tell a different version of the same one, like Marissa Meyer did with Cinder. Or you use well-known characters to tell a new story, like Wicked did with the characters from the Frank L. Baum’s Wizard of Oz books.

The biggest examples of this type of story are fairy tales, but there are lots of retellings of classics, ancient myths, and superhero stories as well.

 

Why do it?

Because readers love them. They’re familiar tales. They bring about nostalgia. Some authors find it fun and challenging to tell them from a different angle. To use a familiar plot with a new point of view character, or to write a familiar point of view character in a new plot.

 

How do you do it?

* Make sure it’s legal. Do this before you get too far writing so you won’t waste time on something that you can’t use. More on this in a bit.

* Read the original. If you’re reading one of the Grimm stories, you may be surprised how dark they are and how short.

* Make sure you understand the original story. Most classic fairy tales were cautionary tales that made a lot more sense to people during the time than they do to us today. If you’re writing a retelling or a more contemporary story, you still want to know the story well so that you don’t upset die-hard fans.

* Read, read, read as many retellings of the story as you can. It’s important to know what’s been done so that you can do something unique. You can’t know that just from reading descriptions on Amazon.com. Dive in and see what’s out there already.

* Take notes. As you study the original and the retellings, be thinking. Is there a character or plot point that intrigues you? Was there a question left unexplored? Write down notes as you read so you won’t forget the ideas that come to you.

* Write a history of life before the original story and a future telling of life after it. Does this exercise spark any ideas or where you could take your story?

* Make a plan. Your retelling must be a solid story on its own. How do you want to come at the story? Which characters will stay? Which will be cut? Do you want people to know it’s a retelling or not? Will you tell a parallel of the original? Or take a minor character and branch off? Which elements of the original story must remain in order to please fans?

 

What you can and cannot do, legally.

Now for the boring part. You can only rewrite books that are in the public domain. You can’t write your own Superman story or Diary of a Wimpy Kid novel because that material is protected under copyrights. You can write fan fiction for fandoms like Harry Potter and Doctor Who all you want and post it for free online, but if you want to publish a story and sell it for money, you can only use material that’s in the public domain.

I’m no lawyer, but here is what I’ve learned over time and from Googling things. If you’re serious about writing a retelling, you need to do your homework and make sure you’re legal.

Here is what I found:

Works Published before 1923: No copyright protection. Part of the Public Domain.

Works Published between 1923-1963 without a copyright notice: No copyright protection. Part of the Public Domain.

Works Published between 1923-1963 that had a copyright notice but did not renew the copyright: No copyright protection. Part of the Public Domain.

Works Published between 1923-1963 that had a copyright notice and DID renew the copyright: Copyright lasts 95 years after the publication date.

Works published between 1964-1977 that had a copy...

In this episode, I . . .

Share ten tips to becoming a better writer.

Tip #1– Read, Read, Read

One of the easiest ways to learn great writing is to read great writing. Pick up books like the kind you want to write and read them. This will help you learn what works and what’s being published.

Tip #2– Know Your Reader and Your Genre

Decide who you’re writing for and what you’re writing. Picture books for kids? Chapter books for beginning readers? Contemporary stories for middle graders? Young adult fantasy? Historical romance for adults? Pick a genre and audience and stick with it for a while. You can always change your mind later, but if you’re seeking publication, you’ll want to brand yourself in some way.

Tip #3– Point of View

Decide which person’s head you’ll be telling the story from. I suggest telling the story from one person’s head, or point of view, at least for your first book. Head jumping can be frustrating for readers. If you want to use more than one point of view, switch with new chapters, or at the very least, at scene breaks.

Tip #4– Problem?

I’ve read books where I was in the third chapter before I knew what was happening. A story must have a plot. The easiest way to do this is to give your main character a major problem to solve. Readers need to know as soon as possible what the character wants. If you don’t have a problem, you don’t have a story.

Tip #5– Show, Don’t Tell

This was a great mystery for me when I started out. You’ll hear it over and over in your quest to becoming a published author. The best way I can explain this is to pretend you’re a camera man filming a movie and the viewer knows nothing that you don’t film, or show them. A sentence like, “Courtney felt scared,” is telling. To show this, you’d need to describe what that video camera is recording. For example: “Courtney stepped onto her front porch, gaze fixed on the opened front door. From inside, a thump. Breaking glass. Her heart rattled. What to do?”

Tip #6- Delete Adverbs

An adverb is a part of speech that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. For example: “She was beautiful”; “He drove perfectly”; “They played very well.” Adverbs are often formed by adding ‘ly’ to an adjective.

Adverbs are “telling” words because they tell the reader what to think. Practice your new showing skills by trying to rewrite the adverbs in your book. Not every adverb, but most of them. For example: “She was beautiful” doesn’t really show us much. The reader would rather see her beauty. For example: “She was small-boned, with big brown eyes and lashes that seemed to blink in slow motion. Her hair fell in black coils over her shoulders and down her back.”

Tip #7– Be Specific or CUT, CUT, CUT!

When you’re writing your first draft, just write. Give yourself permission to stink and plow through. Then when you go back to edit (because you must edit!), look for passive, dull, inactive words that mean nothing of interest.

For Example: John climbed the tree and looked at the mountain.

This tells us the facts and not in a very interesting way. Let’s see if I can replace the boring, non-specific words with concrete, vivid ones that help the reader see what I want them to see.

John shimmied up the swaying willow and gazed at the monstrous, craggy peak of Mt. Denali.

This gives us more information. We get the motion of the swaying tree and geography: we know he’s in Alaska.

Good writing is using the right words in the right place. This takes practice.

Tip #8– Get Rid of, or Make Simple, the Said Tag

This is one of those places where an agent or editor can take one glance at your manuscript and know if you’re an amateur or professional. The dreaded said tag. And even worse, the dreaded said tag with the even more dreaded adverb attached.

For Example: “Get out!

In this episode, I . . .

I answer the question: “What do I do when I run out of ideas for my story?”

When you’re trying to write a novel and get stuck, here are some ideas to help you:

1. If you’ve never written a novel, you might try to complete shorter stories first. Once you get good at shorter stories, you could work on writing some longer ones.

2. Ask yourself some questions:

-“Who is my main character?” Make sure you have a clear main character that the reader can root for.

-“What does my main character (my hero) want?” You need to know what your main character wants in the story to be able to know how he will behave in each scene.

-“What is the story question (story goal)?” Your main character needs to have a goal that will last until the story is done. Frodo making the decision to hold onto the One Ring isn’t “story goal” enough. It’s when he decides to carry the ring all the way to Mount Doom to destroy it that we have a strong story goal. It’s important to define the story goal early on so your readers know what to root for as they read.

-“What are the stakes?” What happens if your hero fails to achieve the story goal? It needs to be something worse than getting a failing grade in a class. You don’t have to put the fate of the world at risk, but do keep in mind that the higher the stakes, the more invested your reader becomes.

3. Examine (and strengthen) your plot structure. It could be that taking a look at your plot structure will help you see where you have plot holes.

4. Get to know your character better. You can’t write much about a person you don’t know very well. Dig deeper into your hero’s backstory. Create parents, siblings, friends, a boss, habits, likes and dislikes, lies he believes . . . make sure you come up with all the ingredients you need to create a character who feels read to your reader.

5. Spend more time building your storyworld. If you’re writing fantasy or science fiction, sometimes you can get stuck when you don’t know enough about your world. Depending on your plot, you might need to spend some more time brainstorming a certain storyworld element, like: government, history, weapons, magic, culture, creatures, etc.

6. Use Try/Fail cycles to keep things moving. Try/Fail cycles can help you get un-stuck by answering a simple question in one of two ways. First, define what your character wants. Then ask whether or not he will succeed? The answer is one of these two: “Yes, but . . .” or “No, and . . .”

For example: My character wakes up late. Will he make it to school in time?

Yes, but he misses the bus and has to walk.

OR

No, and he locked himself out of the house, so now he’s stuck outside.

You can continue this cycle by again asking what he wants, then answering the question of will he succeed with the “Yes, but . . .” or “No, and . . .” replies.

7. Try Stephanie Morrill’s index card trick in which you make three stacks of cards, one with character names, one with settings, and one with plot situations. Then shuffle and draw one of each until the combination sparks an idea for a new scene.

I hope these ideas help you find a way past where you’re stuck and get you back into the story.

Keep on writing!

Jill

In this episode, I . . .

Talk about how to define your target reader.

-When you write a book, you want to write it for a specific reader. The more specific the better.

-It helps if you have an actual person you’re writitng for.

-Share a story with the editor or agent of who that reader is and why you decided to write your book for them.

-You can also make up and imaginary reader and get detailed about what his or her life is like.

-If or when you have actual readers (fans), you can start writing for them.

So put some thought into it. Try and be specific, not vague. While many people might read your book, you will write a better book if you have a target reader in mind.

In the next video I’m doing my first Q & A Live. I’ll be answering the question, “What to do when you run out of ideas when writing your story?”

Keep on writing!

Jill

 

In this episode, I . . .

Talk about how to pick a genre for your novel.

-Sometimes you just know. My friend Melanie Dickerson writes fairytale romances. John Grisham writes about lawyers in trouble. Both authors are known for their respective genres. Their readers trust them. But their success has earned them the right to try something different. Melanie had to take her Regency Spies of London series to a different publisher. John Grisham wrote a stand-alone novel here and there, one of which, Skipping Christmas was made into a successful Christmas movie that was retitled Christmas with the Kranks.

-Choosing your genre depends on your goals for publication. Those seeking to sell their book to a traditional publishing house might choose differently than those seeking to self publish. The point is to classify the book so that it will appear in a place where readers can find it. If you’re publishing traditionally, that means knowing where it would be shelved in a bookstore. If you’re self publishing, that means knowing which categories to list the book so it will appear in searches.

-If your book is so unique that you are unable to decide where it would be shelved or in which category to list it, know that you are taking a risk. Unique books can break out, but most often they sell poorly because they don’t fit into a place where they can be sold.

-If your novel could fit into a few genres, you need to decide where it best fits.

-If you choose the wrong genre, you will likely either be rejected by an agent or editor, since the story you gave them is not the story they thought they were getting. Or with indie publishing, the book might not sell well or at all—or it might garner some negative reviews if readers were expecting one thing and got another. For indie authors, you can always go in and switch the categories to see if the book does better in another. You can’t do that if you sell your book to a publishing house.

-Study genres well so that you can be sure you call your book the right thing. Go to bookstores, look around, and write down titles of books similar to yours. Google lists of genres and subgenres to help you see what’s out there. That will also help you find lists of published books within those subgenres. Then read lots of those published books to figure out where your book best fits.

Until next time, keep on writing!

 

In this episode, I . . .

Give you a brief overview of genres, subgenres, and genre mashing.

-A genre is a category of fiction. (Adventure, romance, historical, western, women’s fiction, mystery, fantasy, science fiction, horror, picture books, etc.)

-There are genres, and then there are age groups or target audiences like children’s, middle grade, young adult, adult, women’s, men’s, etc. These categories are not technically genres but the audiences you are writing for. No matter how you set out to publish your book, you will need to choose a target audience and a genre.

-A subgenre is a subcategory within a particular genre. (Historical romance, epic fantasy, legal thriller, sports fiction, paranormal, cyberpunk, hard science fiction, urban fantasy, dystopian, etc.)

-All of this can get quite subjective depending on who you talk to. Different publishers have different ways of looking at genres. Some consider fantasy and science fiction to be separate supergenres of fiction, each with their own lists of subgenres. Others say they are both subgenres of the speculative fiction umbrella.

-Similar confusions arise within the mystery genre. Are mystery, suspense, and thrillers each their own supergenre? Or do the latter two fall under the mystery genre? Again, it depends on who you talk to and what your publication goals are. If you’re trying to sell your book to a publisher, simply decide which section of the bookstore it would be shelved in.

-Genre mashing—also known as genre mash-ups, cross genres, or hybrid genres—blend together themes or elements from two or more different genres. (Historical fantasy, magical realism, fantasy romance, sci-fi romance, sci-fi thriller, time travel, space opera, etc.)

-Some authors consistently write in a very specific cross genre. And some authors—who are loyal to their genre or subgenre—sometimes blend another genre into their plot or theme. An example of this would be an epic fantasy novelist writing a fantasy novel about an apocalypse, making the story a mash up of epic fantasy and the apocalyptic subgenre. The same author might write another fantasy novel in which there is a murder to solve by the end of the story, mashing epic fantasy with the mystery genre. This can be a fun way of writing outside your genre without actually doing so.

-My lists of genres were by no means exhaustive. I highlighted a few in each example. If you want to find more, google “list of genres or subgenres or genre mashing” and you’ll find huge lists online.

In the next video we’ll talk about how to choose a genre.

Keep on writing!

In this episode I . . .

Talk about how to pitch a story.

This has never gone very well for me. Most writers are introverts, and talking about our stories to a stranger is a terrifying ordeal. I usually babble incoherently and embarrass myself. In fact,  I did this once when pitching my book Replication. The editor finally stopped me and asked if I’ve been published. I said, “Oh, yes.” And I pulled out a postcard with my first book cover on it and said, “This just won a Christy Award.”

And she said, “You really should have started with that.”

I told this to my agent and she told me I was never allowed to pitch again. (Though I did make a video after she sold Replication, which is titled “What I should have done.” I’ll link to it in the bottom of this post.

In my opinion, there are three ways to pitch a story.

1. Start with your assets (if you have any). If you don’t, that’s okay. Most beginning writers don’t have anything.

2. Start with your logline, a tagline, or a high concept. Something to hook the listener enough that they want to hear more.

3. Start by telling the story of how you came up with this idea. This is a nice, casual way to start a conversation that doesn’t include you trying to recite something you’ve memorized. Reciting anything you’ve memorized often comes off very stiff–and many authors minds go blank and they forget what they’d memorized when facing an agent or editor.

So, practice. See what works for you. Do what you can to turn the pitch into a conversation. You’ll be a lot more memorable that way, it will come off more naturally, and you’ll be far less stressed.

Good luck!

PS. Oh, and here is a link to my “What I should have done” video for pitching Replication. It’s a bit grainy, but you’ll get the idea.

 

In this episode, I . . .

Define the term logline.

A logline is a one-sentence description of your novel that hooks the reader and tells them what the story is about. You don’t really need a logline until you are ready to sell your book, but having one can help you stay on track as you write.

Logline ingredients:

1. Inciting incident.

2. A hero + an adjective that describes him or her.

3. The hero’s (primal) story goal that conflicts with his or her nature.

4. What’s at stake obstacle or a worst-case scenario that the hero wants to keep from happening.

A logline sentence might look something like this:

When the ____(inciting incident)____ happens to ____(adj. + hero)____ s/he struggles to ____(achieve the story goal)____ before the ____(what’s at stake obstacle)____ happens.

Here is an example from JAWS by Peter Benchley.

When residents of his seaside town are killed (inciting incident), a land lubber sheriff (adj. + hero) fights to kill a giant shark (achieve the story goal) to keep his family and others from getting eaten (what’s at stake obstacle).

Here is another way your logline sentence might look:

A(n) ____(adj. + hero)____ does/experiences the ____(inciting incident)____ and must face the ____(story goal)____ before the ____(what’s at stake obstacle)____ happens.

Here is an example from The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill:

An outcast teen (adj + hero) finds therapy writing her enemies into her story (story goal), but when her novel is published (inciting incident), she must face the consequences of using her pen as her sword (what’s at stake obstacle).

Another method to craft a logline is the “Who, Wants What, Why and Why Not?” method. You need:

Adjective and a Who (Ex: a blind dancer)

What the Who wants (Ex: to attend Juilliard)

Why does s/he want it? (Ex: to prove that disability isn’t weakness)

Why can’t s/he have it? (Ex: because she is deaf and can’t hear music)

Then you put it all together.

Ex: A blind dancer wants to attend Juilliard and prove that disability isn’t weakness, but her deafness keeps her from being able to hear music.

Tips to help you:

1. Your character description adverb should help show how your character is flawed in the worst way to face the challenge before him.

2. Choose active verbs that depict a battle.

3. The obstacle should feel insurmountable. The problem should be BIG.

4. The goal should have high stakes.

5. You don’t have to stick with any formula. As long as your sentence has a hero, a goal, and an obstacle, you’re good.

A logline is not a tagline, which is often used on the back cover of a book or on a movie poster. Most taglines hook interest along with an image but don’t reveal the conflict that would move the story along.

I hope this information helps you come up with a great logline for your story.

In this episode I . . .

Talk about high concept ideas. Having a high concept idea can greatly increase your chance of success. A high concept puts a fresh twist on a universal theme. It appeals to the masses. The moment you hear about it, you think, “I want to see that/read that/buy that.”

Why should you try and write a high concept idea?

-It can help you find out what the story is all about.

-It can help you explain your idea quickly.

-It can open a lot of doors.

-It will make marketing easier once you’re published.

How do you come up with a high concept idea?

1. A high concept is universal, which means it resonates with everyone.

2. A high concept is unique. It hasn’t been done before, or it puts a fresh twist on an old idea.

3. A high concept must involve a sympathetic character with a BIG problem to solve.

4. A high concept can be summed up in a few words that gives a clear picture of what the story is. Here are some examples of high concept movies and books:

Hunger Games: 24 teens fight to death on national television.

Toy Story: What if your toys were alive?

The Shack: A man meets God in a shack in the woods.

Smallville: Superman in high school.

The Lightning Thief: What if a boy found out he was a demigod?

National Treasure: What if clues to a treasure were hidden by our forefathers?

Jurassic Park: Dinosaur theme park.

The Vow: Would you stay married if your spouse forgot your life together?

The Fault in Our Stars: Two terminal teens fall in love.

Cinder: Cinderella as a cyborg.

5. A high concept has a short title that says what the story is. Ex: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

 

Test Your Idea

1. Is your idea universal? Have you found something that all people can relate to?

2. Does your idea have a unique twist? Have you taken something familiar and added something strange?

3. Is your protagonist likeable or relatable? Can we identify with him? Learn from him? Follow him? Root for him?

4. Are the stakes big enough? Are they primal?

5. Can you summarize your concept in a few short words?

6. Does your title capture the spirit of your story?

People are always saying there are no new ideas out there, yet brilliant books are published year after year. So don’t give up. You never know. You might come up with the next big thing.

In this episode, I . . .

Talk about how ideas evolve. My first published book, By Darkness Hid, evolved in many ways.

-The first nugget of story came from a science fiction-like dream I’d had.

-I started brainstorming the storyworld and made the decision to go with fantasy over science fiction.

-Another huge piece of the story was inspired by a half-burned tree I saw while on a walk with my then toddler son.

-A character in Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Theif series inspired a big change in Vrell’s character.

-I drew a map of the world filled with interesting places that helped.

 

The combination of all those things are what really combined to make the Blood of Kings story what it ended up becoming.