Writing Wednesday—Reminders
27 January 2010
I talked some a couple weeks ago about how I’m reading and totally digging The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell. One of the things he does is posts “reminders” for himself about writing tools. He posts four at a time and rotates them. I came up with my initial four, and here they are:
Stop flapping
The Unexpected Connection
No secondary characters
How do you feel about that?
They’re “reminders” so they’re just meant to be thought triggers for me. Here’s what they actually mean:
Stop flapping
We watched an amazing DVD in church a couple years ago. I can’t remember the guy’s name, but he used to be (or maybe still is?) a photographer for National Geographic. He’s also a fabulous speaker, and had all kinds of spiritual insight, especially in relation to art and Christianity.
He lives in Hawaii, and apparently he was watching these birds fly to one of the other islands. He noticed that they don’t flap their wings, that they just ride the wind, and he felt like God was saying to him, “Stop flapping.” Basically, stop pushing so hard to make something happen. At the time, I was a new mom (we had McKenna in service with us, so she was only a month or two old), and I was trying to figure out how to do the writing/mom thing. The “stop flapping” message really spoke to my soul and helped me relax. For a day or two anyway.
There’s a lot of stress in the writing life. I like having the reminder that often times, the best thing is to “stop flapping” and just rest in God.
The Unexpected Connection
This is something I first started doing when I read The Breakout Novel by Donald Maass. I write out a list of all the characters and start drawing random lines between them. And then I try to come up with some kind of unexpected connection that can link the two. This exercise has given me some of my favorite plot twists. (And for those who’ve read Out with the In Crowd, you saw this in action with the Heather/Aaron connection.)
No Secondary Characters
This is simply a reminder to myself that the world doesn’t revolve around my main character. Every conversation with her best friend can’t be about my MC, and the other characters need to have lives going on as well. They can’t just be sitting around waiting for MC to call them up on stage.
How do you feel about that?
One of the most common editorial notes I receive from my darling editor is, “Can we get some insight here as to how Skylar’s feeling?” So during scenes that aren’t working, or don’t have the emotional punch I want them to, I’ve started examining each character and how they feel at that moment. I know it sounds kinda cheesy, but I think it really enriches scenes.
That’s all for today. Happy writing!
Comments
Sounds like these would be great “reminders” for life. Stop flapping and let God carry me; what’s the connection/relationship I have with other people; I am not the center of the universe – there are other people that God is concerned with; and I need to honestly examine my feelings, motivations, etc. Thanks for sharing. Makes me want to read the book.
Posted by Debbie McCool on 27 January 2010
These are awesome reminders, Stephanie, especially “stop flapping.” I just read something this morning that was similar—a reminder that our lives are seasons, or even waves, and that that includes periods of rest and lull. It doesn’t mean that nothing’s happening, but rather that God is saying, “Rest, my child. Evaluate where you’ve been. Prepare for what’s coming. Be where I put you.”
Posted by Roseanna White on 27 January 2010