How to Spice Up the Boring Parts in your Novel-- A little less talk and a lot more action

So during my month-long blogging break, I managed to squeeze in another revision for my current WIP, The Unhappening of Genesis Lee. This was mostly because my crit group had a deadline to critique our full novels, and I wanted it to be in the best shape possible. The first half of the book has suffered from pacing problems since the first draft, and I wasn't sure what to do about it. It just didn't feel like much was happening for several chapters.

Then, by some miracle, I found this blog post from agent Kristin Nelson: Big Reveals Shouldn't Happen in a Conversation. You should definitely read it, but basically, it states the simple (and obvious) fact that your book should not consist of a character running around and talking to everybody. Bo-ring.

And, well, yeah. I took a look at my problem chapters and went, "duh!" They all contained important points, but they all involved long chats-- and very little else. No wonder they were boring and the pacing was slow! It was a little embarrassing it took me so long to figure that out.

At that point, I had four days til the crit group deadline. So I turned on lots of movies for the Kiddo, ignored lots of dishes, and feverishly rewrote large sections of the first 150 pages of my book. It's not perfect, but it's much better. Here's what I did:

1. Look at each chapter/scene and determine what needs to be communicated in that scene.
Especially in first drafts, it's common to have that important information come out in conversations as you the author try to figure it all out. And it is important! There are better ways you can relay that information than long conversations, though. So I went through my chapters one by one and wrote down what the goals were of each one. I didn't want to lose important things just to insert an action scene. I made a sort of outline for each chapter as it currently stood.

2. Determine how you can still achieve those scene goals in some way OTHER than conversation.
By having my little outline in front of my eyes, it was a lot easier to think of new ways to achieve those goals. Instead of having a "meeting" where everyone discussed a potential bad guy (I know, ew), what if the group went out to spy on this guy to find out if he was the bad guy? And then...this thing could happen...and I could even bring in this other bad thing that would happen...and people could be running and fighting and getting caught...yeah. Much more exciting that sitting in a restaurant discussing "is this guy a suspect or not?" And still gets all the necessary points across.

3. Write out another outline of what changes need to be made so you can integrate it into the existing story.
I know, I know. Outlining. A lot of people hate it with a passion. But when I was trying to work in new stuff and figuring out what old stuff to keep, it helped to just write out short descriptions of "this happens (new)" and "move scene 1 of current chapter 5 here." Then I had a plan, and could plug in all the new bits, move old bits around, and do it quickly without too much confusion.

4. Write it!
Funnest part, of course! You get to take all those new ideas and make them come alive, bringing new and exciting things to your story. Don't be afraid to go beyond the outline if you get a better idea as you write. And, though it made me sigh a little, don't be afraid to cut, either. I had to cut one of my favorite scenes because it no longer worked with the rewrites. Just remember, it's for the ultimate good of the story.

So, my friends, have you ever had this problem? How did you inject "a little less talk and a lot more action?" (And yes, I'm humming that Toby Keith song right now...) How is your own writing going?

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Story Structure Tips for Pantsing-- and Plotting-- Your Way to a Better Novel

I've been yammering a lot lately about the amazingness of plotting/outlining. Most of this yammering comes because, after hearing Larry Brooks speak at the LDStorymakers conference, I read his book Story Engineering and it changed my life. I kid you not. Best writing craft book I have EVER read. I highly recommend you go buy the book for yourself.

Today, let's talk about how learning the story structure mentioned in this book can change your life even if you're a pantser. I know, it seems at odds-- structure? Pantsing? Never these twain have met. Or have they? In essence, pantsing is a way to create a long, rambling outline for your book. I was a pantser for quite a while, and found this to be true. And whether you plot or pants your novel, in the end, we're all striving for the same thing: an engaging, fabulous story.

One of the best ways to do this is using the three-act structure. In order to achieve that story and structure, there are certain plot points you MUST hit. Go watch your favorite movie, and you'll find all of these points exactly where they're supposed to be. Being aware of them can help you either outline beforehand, or guide you as you pants, so your novel can be more satisfying to readers. I'll do a post on Friday outlining all of these points in a well-known book, but for today, let's look at the basics.

There are FOUR PARTS to a story separated by THREE POINTS, and they fit roughly into the typical three-act structure.

Part 1 (Act 1): The setup. This is where you explore what the character's life and world is like before the story starts. You set the stakes-- what does the character have to loose? Obviously, you don't want to ramble on about the random nothings of their life. You want a HOOK-- a compelling moment that hints at the inciting incident and the first plot point. You want an inciting incident-- a moment that can help launch the story. You want specially chosen moments and details that lead up to the point where they get a full-frontal view of how their life will change. And that point is called...

Plot Point 1. Plot Point 1 is where the goal, the journey, and the conflict all become clear-- the first full-frontal view of the conflict, stakes, and opposition. This can be, but doesn't have to be, the inciting incident. The inciting incident is more often earlier in Part 1. The key here to determining that is to look at what the character learns when the inciting incident takes place. If the inciting incident is an intriguing moment that sets the character on a new path that they and the reader don't quite understand, then it is NOT Plot Point 1.

Also keep in mind that PP1 come approximately 1/4 of the way through the story-- about page 100 in a 400 page novel. And yes, the timing is important. If it comes too early or too late, your reader, who has unconscious expectations of when certain moments will come, will either be confused or bored. Moving on, PP1 launches the beginning of

Part 2 (Act 2): The Response/Wanderer. It's important to remember that this is a reactive, not proactive stage. This is where the hero is running, or floundering in some way as he or she responds to what they learned at PP1. It generally covers about half of Act 2, and transitions to the next stage at the

Midpoint. The midpoint is, predictably, right in the middle of the story (about page 200 in a 400 page book). This is where the hero learns something new and empowering in the context of the story. This new thing gives them what they need to start fighting against the antagonist, therefore launching

Part 3 (Act 2): The Attack/Warrior. The character can now jump in, guns blazing, and start attacking, acting the warrior. Here's the thing, though-- they can't win yet. They don't have enough information to defeat the antagonist. They can try, but inevitably they fail simply because they are missing a vital piece of information. And that moment comes at

Plot Point 2. This is where the hero learns that vital piece of information that will allow them to triumph over the villain. It's the moment that launches the final conflict, which takes place in

Part 4 (Act 3): Climax and Resolution. At this point, no new information can enter the story-- it all must have been hinted or foreshadowed at previously. The hero can now take everything he/she has learned and meet the villain for the final showdown. Because of what he/she has learned and how he/she has changed, they are now able to triumph. After the triumph, they have a short resolution time to tie up loose ends, and then their story has come to a heroic end.

You'll also notice two smaller pinchpoints. These are moments right in the middle of Part 2 and Part 3 that remind the reader and the hero of the threat of the villain. They can be small or large, but they also are important to the flow of the story.

So, my friends, questions? Comments? Concerns? Did that help you understand story structure? Is there a structure you yourself like to use that's different than this one? Are you opposed to structure and want to explain why?

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JuNoWriMo Lessons: The Joys of Mid-WIP Discovery

I've kind of eased up a bit on JuNoWriMo this week. I've still hit my goals every day but one, but I haven't been quite so nazi about it. It's funny how it gets done all the same-- and this way, I'm a little more relaxed about it so it doesn't wear me out so fast! I'm coming up on 50,000 words, which means I'm about three-quarters finished.

Something interesting happened as I wrote this week. First, you should understand that on the Pantser-Plotter Scale, I have gradually slid from complete Pantser to over-the-halfway-mark-to-Plotter. I plotted TUGL more extensively than anything I've ever done. BUT. I don't think I could ever plot out each individual scene, like some people can. I actually tried, but when I start writing, the story takes on a bit of a life of its own and veers away from some of that plotting.

And while I fully advocate as much planning as you can manage (and maybe even more than you think you can), that pantser part of me is a wonderful thing. As I wrote one scene, I was surprised to discover a new "thing" in the middle of my scene. It led to creating a whole new scene, one that enhanced the world, deepened my character, furthered the plot, and (crazily enough) gave me an idea of a sequel.

AND THEN. Several scenes later, I had a moment where something terrible had to happen. I hadn't known exactly what that something terrible would be, but as I wrote the scene, it just flew out my fingers. I WOULD DESTROY THIS NEW THING. It would be emotionally traumatic for just about everyone in my story. In fact, I was so horrified with myself, I actually had to stop writing and convince myself that yes, this thing must be destroyed. As horrible as it is, that scene was so poignant and painful that I actually got choked up writing about it.

It was a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself. And it all came because of being willing to discover new things in the midst of all my planning. I've got to say, being a pantser-plotter hybrid is the best thing I've ever done for my writing.

So, my friends, what have you discovered in the middle of your stories that you never saw coming? Are you a total pantser, total plotter, or somewhere on that sliding scale in the middle?

P.S. I've added some new pages off to the right. There is now an index of my most popular/helpful writing posts, as well as an index of all the books I've reviewed! Feel free to check them out.

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The Writing Process: The Outline and First Draft

Today is the What's Your Process Blogfest! Be sure to check out all the other great entries below to learn more about how other writers work their magic.

As mentioned in this post, I have to have some idea of my characters before I start a draft. I also have to have a basic plot outline. I use a tool called Freemind to map out my plot (see image). I have one main "bubble" with my title that leads to three other bubbles-- Act I, Act II, and Act III.

Act I leads to 2 bubbles: 1) snapshot of hero's old life/opportunity offered, and 2) hero resists opportunity.

Act II leads to: 1)Learning about new life/villain setup, 2) build to climax/try-fail cycles, and 3) climax and ultimate fail.

Act III leads to: 1)Ultimate climax and success, and 2) wrap-up

Then, under each of the bubbles listed above, I write a basic paragraph of what happens in that section. VERY basic. I've been known to write such epic statements as "more bad things happen."

Once that's in place, I begin the writing of my first draft. It usually completely terrifies me. I write from beginning to end--I can't jump around and write scenes out of order. The outline gave me an idea of how to structure the plot, and now I let the actual events of the story work themselves out. It tends to be very messy, but not nearly as messy as when I have no outline to give me a general plot arc.

Sometimes I get a quarter or more through the writing and realize I'm telling the wrong story-- it happened with Devs. So I go back and rewrite it. Sometimes I'll write a scene and realize I took the story in the wrong direction, so I'll cut and paste it into a "cut scenes" document and write a scene that goes somewhere else. Yup, sometimes I edit in my first draft. No point in finishing a story that's wrong, right?

I write in Microsoft Word, and I turn on Document Mapping as I go. I create chapters that at this point mean nothing except as navigation points. For each scene I write (sometimes there are several per chapter), I write a brief description of what happens and put it at the top of the scene as a header. I use Heading Styles so the descriptions show up mapped in order to the left of my document. This makes it easy to jump around to certain points in my document.

It also serves another purpose-- when I'm done with my draft, I take each of my scene headings and make an outline of them in Freemind. There, I can see my storyflow from beginning to end, and see how I need to fix it.

But that's a discussion for the next post-- rewriting.

Now go check out what everybody else has to say. And enjoy!

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