I've just started writing my next book, The Queens of Dragon Town, about my year in southeast Asia. No matter how many times I've done it, putting pen to paper to start writing a book is an intimidating undertaking. Frankly, it scares the shit out of me. So by trial and error, I've mapped out a 2-part process the makes the whole thing more manageable. Your process may be totally different, but I wanted to at least share it with you in case it helps . Good luck - and look out for the sharks.

***

Part I

1. Brainstorm a list of details.
I make a master list of details – the little nuisances and idiosyncrasies that absolutely make the book. They can be anything; nicknames, events, sayings, food I ate, how the sun felt, what street I lived on, the mangy dog on the street, or just about any items of verisimilitude I’ve observed and remember about my story world. Those are pure gold and a whole storyline or the destiny of a character can change based on a few treasured details you remember. I open and save a Word document dedicated to this list of details, and one for each of these next steps. 

2. Separate the actions.
I separate out a list of the actions – things people are actually doing. Something needs to happen in your book, there needs to be movement and conflict and competition for limited resources, whether that’s money, power, survival, love, redemption, etc. Just like in life, nothing and no one stands still. As the author, your job is to essentially have 5 characters and 4 chairs and start playing some music as they circle around. Start and stop the music and document the chaos that ensues. By the way, 3 chairs for 5 characters is even better.

To make your story flow logically and smoothly, I like to set up a cause-and-effect chain. A happened so this character did B, which led to C and then D, etc. It will give cohesion to your plot.

3. Profile your characters.
I make a list of interesting, fun, picturesque, and very quirky human beings that are a part of my story. I document their values, their dreams, how they’ve been hurt, what they want, what’s holding them back from that, and take a lot of time with their flaws. I give them names and histories and mothers and fathers and funny sayings and nervous laughter and cracked teeth and mismatching shoelaces. Then, I scratch about half of them off the list because it’s only worth keeping essential characters. You’d rather have too few than too many but you can’t ever really have too few.

The rest of them could make appearances but keep it tight. Some of the best advice I’ve read is that your best and most interesting character should also be your hero, or main character.

One of the most important – and most forgotten – aspects of characterization is defining the character web. Put a lot of thought into how these characters live and breathe and act in relation to each other. That will bring out conflicts, problems, alliances, misunderstandings, love affairs, unlikely allies, and other relationships that add a level or richness and depth to your story.

4. Define each character's weakness and need.
All characters – but definitely main character and main opponent – should have well-defined needs and weaknesses. This is the genesis of all conflict and action that sets everything in motion throughout the story. They need something and also want something (sometimes they’re different,) and the whole story is the quest to achieve those goals, but something is holding them back – a moral or character weakness as well as external circumstances.

5. Plan the story timeline.
How will the story in the book proceed? Note that this isn’t a chronological list of how it all went down in real life. For instance, usually you don’t start a book at the very beginning and go step by step from there. Usually you start somewhere in the middle in the midst of a crazy and important scene, then catch the reader up with backstory, and then proceed until you come full circle and finally resolve (or not) the story. I write in critical junctures of the storyline like where it will jump off, where the reveals and surprises are lurking, where the battles and conflicts will occur, and finally the timing of epiphanies and moral decisions. Like everything, you’ll tinker with this. I use an Excel spreadsheet because it’s more conducive for moving things around and even mapping out simultaneous or overlapping storylines or events.

6. Map out a list of scenes.
Once you have your actions and story timeline mapped out, you can start filling in a list of the scenes. Remember that a good writer zooms in and zooms out – at times you’ll document the most intimate scenes between a few people in a very confined space and time, the reader hanging on their every guilty pause and bead of sweat on their brow. I think of these scenes so up close, personal, and isolated that it’s like writing about people stuck on an elevator. Other times, you’ll zoom out and assume a 10,000-foot high view to so you can see all the chess pieces on the board at once. These zoomed-out scenes are usually when summary or exposition occurs. They are necessary, but don’t have too many of them, and be careful about jumping too far ahead in time or you’ll lose the reader. By the way, most of the good stuff in your story will occur when your characters are stuck on the elevator.

7. Write the first line of the introduction and first chapter.
This is the fun part, crafting the knock out punch you’ll throw at the reader the moment they open your book and their eyes touch the page. But with that importance comes pressure - and far too many writers have written crappy first lines because they’re “trying too hard.” So I recommend have a separate Word document just with first lines for your introduction and your first chapter. Brainstorm, write different versions, try totally new alternatives, but never edit your work. If you do this throughout the whole writing process, you’ll know without a shadow of a doubt what your first lines should be when it comes time to put together a final manuscript. And I’m betting that a few of the opening lines you don’t use show up in the beginning of other chapters.

8. Who are the opponents?
This is where so many writers get it wrong and their stories become flat and unbelievable. In real life (non-fiction or well-written fiction) your opponents aren’t necessarily purely evil people, villains who sit around twirling their mustaches while plotting how to off nuns and baby seals. A good opponent is actually just like anyone else – just like the main character – with good qualities and lots of flaws and good reasons for doing things based on their past and often do bad things for good reasons. Make your opponents real and likeable by making them just as balanced and complete as human beings as your main characters. It’s just that they have different agendas – in fact, the only thing that makes them the main opponent in your book is that they’re in direct competition for the same goal as your hero! Or, they’re goal intersects and inhibits your hero. A good opponent could very well be the hero in someone else’s book.

9. Designate a narrator.
Who is telling the story? Will it be written in first person or third person? How omniscient or biased is the narrator? And are they the main character? (Usually.) How involved are they in story? What’s their relationship to the other characters?

10. Form a general premise.
How could you wrap up the theme of the story in a couple sentences?

11. Summarize.
When it comes to your story, crawl before you walk before you run. Writing 500 pages with grand, eloquent, and complex happenings will fall apart like a house of cards if you can’t identify the real foundation of the story. No – that’s too general – you need to carefully place your cornerstone, first. So I summarize my book in one sentence. I think about a couple in bed at night and the wife finish my book, closes it, takes off her reading glasses, put them both on her nightstand and turns off her reading lamp, turns to her husband and says, “That was a great book, it was about…” Whatever comes next is what you’re book is really about.

But once I have that one-sentence summary – that cornerstone – I can move on to a one-paragraph summary. And then a summary about one page long. After that, you’re just writing chapters.

12. Determine who knows what.
Of course you want a lot of things happening in your story, but that all doesn’t need to be new information. A fantastic way to enrich your plot is to map out what a particular character knows – or doesn’t know. Sometimes the most devious antagonists are just going off of incomplete or incorrect information – or protecting a secret. All of the action doesn’t have to be new occurrences; it can come in waves with revelations as past truths are put together like pieces of a puzzle. It’s fun as hell to see your characters absorb juicy new info and respond, accordingly.

13. Propose a moral argument.
What are you, the author, trying to say about the world with this story? If you don’t have a moral argument – a commentary on human existence that gives your work a greater meaning – then it’s not worth writing. But moral arguments don’t have to be (and shouldn‘t) be patronizing lessons wrapped up neatly with a bow. The author’s exploration of morality should be a conversation about two equal and opposing choices with no one clear, prescriptive answer. That’s preaching, not writing. As an extension of the author’s moral argument, the main character(s) will have to make difficult moral choices within the story.  

***

Part II

Write. 
Write a lot.

And forget Part I, completely.

As I’m starting a book, I find it impossible to just begin at the beginning and start writing it all out from A to Z, especially if my head is ringing with mechanical thoughts of structure. My writing comes out completely contrived and lacks any authenticity as I try too hard. (Basically, it sucks.)

Instead, I journal. I have a Word document and I commit about one half of my dedicated morning writing time to this journaling. I start writing and I don’t stop. There’s no agenda or rules or structure – I just write whatever comes to mind in stream-of-consciousness form. I consider that no one will ever see this writing and none of it will be used in the actually book. I’m not allowed to stop or edit or erase anything. I journal about anything I want – the bird outside my window if that’s what’s on my mind – but usually my thoughts start circling around the storyline, like sharks circling a lone stranded swimmer. At first, it’s all excruciating. My ego and conscious mind want to take over the writing process and make sure its good and clean and makes sense, blah blah blah. But after a week of journaling, it gets easier to let go and just unburden my subconscious about everything and anything that has to do with the storyline. I document scenes, memories, smells, sounds of laughter, whole frivolous conversations. It becomes a pleasant form of self-hypnosis. The sharks start moving in, bearing their teeth.

I journal about the characters, writing about their lives and who they are, while comforting myself that 99% of it probably won’t appear in the book so there’s no pressure or judgment. But just by doing all this, there will be richness and depth to your story, like the reader only sees the tip of an iceberg though they know there is something far more monumental below the surface. You’ll start liking and even loving some of what you write. The rest of it? Who cares? You just won’t use it. You’ll feel free, arriving to the point where some of the phrases and descriptions and dialogue will probably be used later on in the book. And then whole scenes. And before you know it, one day you’ll look up and realize you’ve started your book. You’re actually doing it.

Now, you can forget everything about Part I and just write a damn story. I guarantee you that you’ll refer back to all of the structure of Part I to make sure the story works and you’re on track. But I also guarantee your story and even your characters will change drastically through the process of writing. That’s good. That’s how it should be. That’s how you know your story is coming from your heart, not just your head. The sharks have moved in for the kill and there's no stopping them until the thing is done. 


-Norm  :-)

His acoustic guitar floating with him, Hadfield’s well-rehearsed version did falsetto justice to the Bowie original:

“This is Major Tom to ground control,
I’m stepping through the door,
And I’m floating in the most peculiar way,
And the stars look very different today…”

At face value, the 1973 hit by iconic rocker David Bowie was a futuristic sci-fi ballad about Major Tom, a lone astronaut in space, but the deeper themes are about exploration of the human condition, the courage to be different, and the conflicting emotions of the detachment it takes to truly be free in this universe. 

Of course Hadfield left out the part where Major Tom reports problems to ground control, and even inserted his own name in the song a couple times.  Since its release and worldwide popularity, the whole team successfully came back to earth and Major Tom, err Chris Hadfield has retired from the space program, as planned.  Just like in the song Major Tom makes it back to earth and is celebrated by the press and his fans as a hero, but the real reward was a few solitary moments orbiting the earth and the view from the dark starry heavens that belonged only to him.  

My friend told me about this video last night and I was immediately moved by both the vulnerability and depth of it.  Coincidentally, I began listening to Bowie’s classic a few weeks ago as I write as an eerily-dreamy reminder that no one ever accomplishes anything important by keeping their feet on the ground.  

What really fascinates me is how unique Hadfield’s solo-above-the-stratosphere truly is.  He did something that no one, and I mean NO ONE, in the history of the earth has done.  That’s remarkable when you consider the thousands of years of mankind’s modern history and the fact that there have been 100 billion people on earth.  Think about that – there are infinite possibilities to create, to do something different, to be the conscious ground control in the mission of our own lives.  As time goes on you’d think that we as a race of artists and dreamers and explorers had LESS ideas to launch, but instead inexplicably we have more, exponentially it seems.  What a pure, weightless experience; to summon the courage to be an innovator and let your imagination soar into its own orbit.  Art, writing, music, creation, ambient knowledge - they keep expanding into previously dark and empty corners of our existence to give us warmth.  The democratization of ideas, our social web of conscience, people helping others a world away who they’ve never seen and will never know - interconnectedness like never before.  Somehow the world is getting bigger and smaller at the same time, spinning out of control but also hugged tightly by a gravity much bigger than ourselves.  

Have you ever seen an old war movie?  There's always a scene when a group of soldiers is pinned down by the enemy, surrounded by hostile gun fire and trying to escape against all odds.  There always comes a point when they make a break for it (and someone yells "Cover me!") and always one guy who leads the rally.  He charges the machine gun nest, throws himself on a grenade, or launches his body across the rolls of barbed wire so that his brothers in arms can make it through.

Writers - I want to be that guy for you, the one who throws himself onto the barbed wire so you may get on.

I hope this doesn't happen literally, of course, but I do want to help you go from Point A with your writing (wherever you are starting) to Point B (wherever you want to go with your writing, OTHER than having the sole goal of being on the Oprah Show.)  And no, I'm not selling you anything.  I swear, nothing at all, no hidden agenda - there's too much of that bullshit in the world already, I just honestly want to help you.

Why the hell do I want to do that?  Good question. 

When I was coming up as a writer and didn't know my ass from my elbow (and I'm not so far removed from that) it all seemed so overwhelming.  On a strict education budget (of 0$) I Googled every single article and blog I could find about writing.  There was some great info, but most of them were selling some form of book coaching or marketing plan.  I get it, we have to eat.  But when I tried to reach out to other authors, I was met with so much pretension and snobbery it sickened me.  

I mean, it's just ART, right?  Creation.  No matter how inexperienced or technically unaccomplished you are, or God forbid if you choose to self publish, if you have something to SAY, a human story to tell that SOMEONE will enjoy, then fuck all the ivory-tower attitude bullshit.  

Luckily, I had an amazing amount of help from the self-publishing firm I went through (I'm not even going to mention their name so you don't think I'm selling something, but hit me up if you want a recommendation.)  I won some and lost some, actually I lost a lot more than a won by about a 1,000 to 1 margin, but stumbled forward to a very humble modicum of acceptance for my work, and also a budding career as a pro blogger.

I now get emails and Facebook messages from people all the time saying they are considering writing a book, too.  Go for it, I say.  I support you 100%, and I'll even tell you everything I've learned (for free) so you may have a smoother learning curve than I did.  I will, essentially, throw myself onto the barbed wire for you, so that you may get on with it.

One caveat - if you want to be a writer or write a book, you have to write.  Not just talk about it, but do it.  Every day.  If you want to be a planner, not a writer, then I can't help you.  

So I've put together a small catalog of the blogs I've documented about writing.  Granted, I'm not the best writer you'll ever meet, and surely there are much smarter and more accomplished teachers out there, but you won't find someone who cares about OUR art form and encourages you to write your heart out more than me.  So dig in, and enjoy.

Norm  :-)

10 reasons why authors should love one-star reviews.

I'm more excited to write this morning than usual because I just received my first one-star review for South of Normal.  Yes, I do mean I'm excited in a good way, and no, "one-star," is not a typo.  Let me explain why, and offer how one-star reviews are actually nothing to stress about as an author.

I checked into my Amazon.com page this morning and saw a new review had been posted.  That’s usually a good thing, but this reader gave the book one star.    

The review was titled "horrible on EVERY level..."

10 TIPS TO WRITING BOLD, FUN, AND LOVABLE CHARACTERS...DOWN TO THEIR SHOELACES!

Of all the elements of a good story, none are as important as your characters. They are so essential to your story taking life that every single sentence in your story needs to do one of two things:

1) Advance the action, or

2) Develop the characters.

Confessions of a d-bag book marketer. (Best-seller lists explained.)

First off, let me correct that title.  It should read: Confessions of an Amazon.com Best-Selling d-bag book marketer.  That’s because, as of 8:14 am EST on April 26, 2013 AD, the year of our Lord, I joined the ranks of Amazon’s best selling authors.  

I know what you’re thinking: “Who gives a flying shiznitt?”  And I totally agree, but please grant me two seconds anyway, so I might be able to provide you insight into the highly suspect nature of best seller lists.

Ethical Considerations When Writing Memoir.

Writing a memoir can be a fun, exciting endeavor, and cathartic for the author to get their version of real life onto the page.  It also has the capacity to piss off a lot of people.  

I ran into a few complex ethical questions while writing my second book, South of Normal…

15 Tips to Rewrite Your Work to Greatness (part 1)

I am a firm believer that you write a book, but you rewrite your way to a good book.  Ernest Hemingway rewrote the last page ofFarewell to Arms 39 times.  When asked by a reporter what technical issue he was struggling with, he replied “Getting the words right.”  Well said, Big Papa.  

Personally, filling up the pages is not a problem - I can bang out about 5,000 words a day…but the problem is that only a few of those lines are actually readable!  So to craft my writing into clear, effective communication geared toward other human beings it takes me a tremendous amount of proofreading and editing. 

15 Tips to Rewrite Your Work to Greatness (part 2)

As a writer, it’s healthy to lose that image of yourself as a special prodigy who can summon other-worldly prose from the ether.  Instead, think of yourself a blacksmith.  You grab those words hot out of the fire and pin them to your work station, hammering mercilessly with all of the sweat and muscle you can muster, so you might just forge them into something useful.

Writing Your First Book?  3 Questions to Ask Before Your Get Started.

One of my biggest thrills is getting an email from an aspiring writer, who asks for advice on how to start their first book. Some of them are bright eyed and optimistic, some seasoned and cautious, but whether they’re penning a business book or the next great teen-zombie-thriller, there’s one question they all have in common:  

Where the hell do I begin?  Great question! 

The Basics of Story Structure.

All stories follow a three-part structure: the beginning, middle, and the end.  That may seem simple, but they each part requires different elements of the story at different times in order for it to work right.  When this is done well in a book or a movie you, the audience, don’t even notice.  But when something is out of place, it just feels wrong, and the whole story is uncomfortable or even objectionable.

11 Tips to Adapt Your Book Into a Blockbuster Screenplay.

Have you written a book and you want to adapt it to a screenplay?  There are a lot of commonalities to telling a good story, but other than that it's a completely different animal.  Let me walk you through some movie-making basics that aren't too technical.  

Hate Mail Can Be Fun!!!

Yesterday I was the lucky recipient of a comment on one of my blog posts, expressing mild displeasure with my new book, South of Normal.  And displeasure with my existence here on earth.  And any chance I might have of chillaxing in heaven one day.  

Granted, the comment was eloquent, passionate, and succinct, a good piece of writing in its own right.  It said:

"FUCK YOU AND YOUR FUCKING BOOK.  BURN IN HELL YOU SONOFABITCH"

10,000 Hours.

Talent is a myth. I know, we all lionize the story of someone who comes out of nowhere and is “discovered” on natural ability alone.  That’s the plotline our media keeps feeding us, whether its on shows like American Idol, our cesspool of unreal reality shows, and even in old movies like the Natural.  But, more often than not, those overnight successes were years in the making.  So if it’s not God-given talent, what is the secret to success?  Hard work.

On Writing, My Beautiful Failure.

A few years ago, when I started down this path, I wanted to be a WRITER. It all seemed glamorous – living in the tropics and banging out a best selling novel in between rum drinking contests, bull fights, and answering fan mail from exotic female admirers.  

Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Not even a little bit.  

Story Structure

All stories follow a three-part structure: the beginning, middle, and the end.  That may seem simple, but they each part requires different elements of the story at different times in order for it to work right.  When this is done well in a book or a movie you, the audience, don’t even notice.  But when something is out of place, it just feels wrong, and the whole story is uncomfortable or even objectionable.

There are several ways to explain these three parts:

1. Beginning - setup.
 All man characters and their situation are explained and a problem is introduced, which spurs the story on.

2. Middle – conflict. 
The bulk of the story, starting with an inciting incident, or catalyst, that begins the character on a quest for something. This is where characters face the majority of their struggles and develop as a result, called the character arc.

3. End – resolution.
The problem, conflict, and struggle all come to a boiling point and explode. The characters are forced to deal with it and make choices how to overcome and move on.

Another way to describe it:

1. Beginning – character gets lost. 

2. Middle - character struggles to find their way.

3. End – character reaches a conclusion, either finding their way and getting what they want, or failing.

Or…

1. Beginning – background and inciting incident and outcome of experiencing that.

2. Middle – escalation of conflict and struggle.

3. End – climactic conclusion, and ease down.

So every story is just a quest for SOMETHING or maybe more than one something, literal and/ or metaphorical. In the first act we get to know the character and like them (very important).  We find out what they want more than anything in the world, clarified by an inciting incident, and then either deny them that or take it away.  

It can be further broken down because along the way there are a handful of“Tent Pole Moments” that hold up the story.  They are high points where we check in with the character and revisit the structure of their basic quest, so we know the story is on track.  Think of them as big mile markers in a marathon, where we can clearly track emotional growth/change/learning of the main character. 

Those mile markers are sometimes described in eight parts.  Note: do not write INTO those eight parts or it will be too formulaic, write your story and THEN lay the translucent map of these eight points over your story to see how well it’s structured, and make changes as needed or to divert it back on track: 

1. Stasis
2. Trigger
3. The quest
4. Surprise
5. Critical choice
6. Climax
7. Reversal
8. Resolution

Stasis
A description of the everyday life and the world in which the story will take place. 

Trigger
Something major happens to the main character spark the story.  

The Quest
The trigger results in a quest.  It could be a quest to return to status quo because something bad happened or was taken away, or a quest for some great and wonderful achievement, or a quest for inner happiness, etc. 

Surprise
This takes up most of Part 2 – the middle of the story, and holds the series of struggles, disappointments, obstacles, and derailments from that quest. These obstacles shouldn’t be too predictable nor too random.  A reader should feel something is coming, but then be surprised by how/what happens.

Critical choice
Throughout the Middle the tension rises until something has to give, and the story explodes from the pressure.  As that build up occurs, the main character scrambles around to keep up and stay on their quest, but eventually they are overwhelmed and need to make a critical choice.  They have to decide what actions to take in the midst of that out of control rock bottom explosion, and that choice reveals more about their character and personality and desire than anything else in the book.  It doesn’t have to be perfect – just authentic.   

Climax
Due to the critical choice the character made, all of the conflict and struggle from the quest comes to a climax.  This is the peak of tension in the story. 

Reversal
The character has made their choice and the story has already exploded, and now we see how it all falls to earth.  Something happens because of that choice, and this shows the emotional growth and change in the main character.  The story reversal needs to be inevitable and probable.    

Resolution
The resolution (also called dénouement) is just the wind-down into normal, regular life again, but a new statis that is different than before because of everything that has happened and how the character changed.  

Other notes on structure:

Think of your story as a stew of ingredients that you want to stir every once and a while to keep them from burning.

So as you write, mix up (in order of priority): 

1) Action
2) Dialogue (including inner dialogue)
3) Narrative 

For instance, if you have a long portion of dialogue, have the characters take off their coat and sit down in the middle (example) to break it up with some action.  Or if you’re going through a portion of narrative when you (the omniscient writer) are thinking about your life and explaining, break it up with a line of dialogue from someone around you.  

What else?

-Mix between scene and summary – like a movie camera zooms in and slows down, but then pans out and shows the big picture.

-Control the pace of your story.

-Keep building tension.

-Sprinkle it with flashbacks to connect us with the touchstone of the character’s essentials.

***
I hope that helps!  Put the right ingredients into the pot at the right time and keep stirring the stew and your writing will feel well balanced and keep moving for the reader, and never burn!

Happy writing, and drop me an email to say hi and tell me about your story!

Norm :-)