For many of us, there was one book that affected us deeply at a very impressionable time in our lives, adolescence. This book both signaled the autumn of our innocence and spoke to us profoundly about the hopes and disillusionments of life to come. That book is Catcher in the Rye. Considered one of the best novels every written, the story of its reclusive yet genius author, J.D. Salinger, is still shrouded in mystery. Many people don't realize that Catcher in the Rye was the one and only novel Salinger ever published, that he lived the second half of his life in complete isolation, or that the cultish-popularity of its character, Holden Caulfield, was the twisted inspiration behind the murder of John Lennon and the assassination attempt of President Ronald Reagan.

Here is the remarkable story of J.D. Salinger and Catcher in the Rye;


Early life.

1. Jerome David Salinger was born January 1, 1919 in New York to a comfortably affluent family of European and Jewish descent.

2. He went to an elite private high school, where he was an average student, then New York University and later Colombia University later on.

3. He started calling himself “Jerry” in high school, while his family always called him “Sonny.”

4. In 1941, Salinger dated the young debutante Oona O’Neill, daughter of the famous playwright Eugene O’Neill. Salinger was head over heels in love but later on she abandon him for Charlie Chaplain. They got married, though he was her senior by many decades, Salinger was embarrassed and crushed.

5. In November of that same year, Salinger sold a story called “Slight Rebellion Off Madison,” to the New Yorker, which featured the character Holden Caulfield. However, it was shelved when the war broke out and editorial needs changed, and wouldn’t appear in the magazine until 1946, after the war. A few other stories featured Holden Caulfield, even 10 years before the Catcher in the Rye was published.

Wartime.

6. J.D. Salinger’s comfortable, safe, and predictable world was shattered when he was drafted into WW II in the spring of 1942, only a few months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

7. His first action was during the D-Day Invasion at Utah Beach.

8. He served all the way through to VE Day (Victory in Europe Day,) including fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, where he saw the heaviest of combat and most of his units slaughtered.

9. Salinger actually started writing Catcher in the Rye as he served during the war, and he carried 6 chapters of the original manuscript with him as he rushed the beaches during D Day. He later said that the will to preserve those chapters is what kept him alive.

10. Friends of his from his unit always joked that they’d get nothing done when out on patrol because Salinger always insisted they pull over so he could write more of Catcher in the Rye.

11. The one and only photo of Salinger writing his only novel comes from while he was serving overseas in the war.

12. During his time fighting in WWII, he arranged a meeting with Ernest Hemingway, a big influence of his, who was working as a war correspondent. Hemingway was impressed with Salinger and his writing and they remained in correspondence.

13. In April 1945 as the Germans surrendered, Salinger’s unit liberated a Nazi concentration camp in Dachau. What he saw there changed him forever. He later told his daughter, "You never really get the smell of burning flesh out of your nose entirely, no matter how long you live."

14. He was sent to a psychiatric hospital after the war for combat stress reaction.

15. After the surrender, Salinger stayed in Germany for six months where he was assigned to work with the Counterintelligence Corp during the “Denazification” of the country.

Post-war.

16. In Germany after the war, he met a young woman named Sylvia Welter. Even though she was a former member of the Nazi party, they fell in love, were married, and she came accompanied him back to the U.S. But the marriage lasted only 8 months until it was annulled and Sylvia returned to Germany.

17. After the war, Salinger wrote with renewed gravity and determination. He was obsessed with the New Yorker Magazine and submitted numerous short stories to them, all to be rejected. He was published elsewhere but considered the New Yorker his manifest destiny.

18. He was finally published again by the New Yorker in 1948 when his story, “A Perfect Day for Bananfish,” was released after a year of editing. The story hit it big and Salinger was vaulted to national prominence.

19. In 1949, a movie version of his story, "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut" was released, called “My Foolish Heart.” The movie was a flop and Salinger hated it, vowing never again to allow a film to be made from one of his stories.

Catcher in the Rye

20. Catcher in the Rye was released on July 16, 1951 by the publisher Little, Brown and Company.

21. It was an immediate success. Within two months it had been reprinted eight times, and Catcher spent 30 weeks on New York Times bestsellers list.

22. It was J.D. Salinger’s one and only published novel.

23. It’s been translated into all of the world’s major languages and sold around 65 million copies. It still sells about 250,000 copies per year, even 63 years after its release.

24. It’s considered one of the best American literature, along side “Of Mice and Men,” by John Steinbeck and “Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain.

Backlash.

25. However, it’s attracted its fair share of criticism. In 1960, a teacher in Oklahoma was fired for teaching the book in his class. Between 1961 and 1982, the Catcher in the Rye was the most banned book in the U.S.

26. It’s been estimated that there are 237 uses of the word "goddam" in the book, 58 of "bastard," 31 of "Chrissake," and six of "fuck."

27. It also contained subject matter pertaining to sexuality, homosexuality, suicide, and defying authority. That was all extremely controversial subject matter for the 1950’s (and 1940’s, when it was written.)

28. In 1978, it was banned in high schools in Issaquah, Washington as part of an "overall communist plot.”

29. By 1981, it was both the second-most most taught book in U.S. public high schools and also the most banned book.

Reclusion

30. In 1953, Salinger moved from his apartment in New York City to a simple house on a mountain in Corning, New Hampshire, where he’d live the rest of his life.

31. Salinger lived in seclusion in Cornish, preferring a life of total privacy though he kept careful tabs on the outside world.

32. After the initial success and critical acclaim of Catcher in the Rye, the book’s popularity hit a lull in the late 1950’s. However, in the 1960’s the book experienced an explosive revival, as it became the manual of youth rebellion for the counterculture generation.

33. After that, he had many young readers, soul searchers, malcontents, voyeurs, photographers and reporters seek him out, though he unceremoniously dismissed almost all of them.  

34. Salinger became an avid follower of Buddhism, and later a practitioner of Zen Yoga, Hinduism, and even Dianetics.

35. While he lived in Cornish, he produced mostly short stories and some novellas, with the New Yorker Magazine holding a first-right of refusal for all his work.

36. He went through several relationships with much younger women, which usually ended in disaster as he treated them poorly and alienated them completely, preferring the solitude of his typewriter and the characters he created.

Dark days.

37. Salinger became a victim of his own fame as Catcher in the Rye reached iconic status. He withdrew more later in life as there was speculation he never fully recovered from his experiences during the war.

38. He dealt with numerous lawsuits to suppress unauthorized biographies, tell-all’s from past flames, and scathing memoirs, including one from his own daughter.

39. Producers in the movie business never stopped hounding him to make a big screen adaptation of Catcher in the Rye. Jerry Lewis was obsessed with playing the part of Holden Caulfield and over the years, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Tobey Maguire, and Leonardo DiCaprio all tried to make the film adaptation, though Salinger never wavered.

40. On December 8, 1980, Mark David Chapman gunned down John Lennon of the Beatles in front of the Dakota Hotel in New York City. At the crime scene, Chapman was found with a copy of Catcher in the Rye he’d bought that day. Inside was the inscription, "To Holden Caulfield, From Holden Caulfield, This is my statement." He later professed that he killed Lennon because of the book.

41. In 1981, John Hinckley, Jr.'s shot President Ronald Regan and others in his entourage. He stated that he attempted the assignation to impress actress Jodie Foster, who he was stalking. When they searched Hinckley’s apartment, they found a well-read copy of Catcher in the Rye.  

42. In 1989, Robert John Bardo stalked and then shot to death actress Rebecca Schaeffer at her Hollywood home. He was carrying a copy of Catcher in the Rye when he was arrested.

Later in life.

43. J.D. Salinger published his last original work in 1965 and gave his final interview in 1980.

44. On January 27, 2010, J.D. Salinger passed away of natural causes at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire.

45. But his story continues; in his will, Salinger left specific instructions to publish the bulk of his unreleased work on a timetable between 2015 and 2020. There is speculation that very well might include a follow up to Catcher in the Rye and Holden Caulfield. 

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  :-)

As a blogger and lifelong bumbling marketer, I look to articles by people who are “Internet famous,” in order to advance my craft.  One of the best I’ve found is Seth Godin; 20-time author, marketing philosopher, and ultra-cool über-nerd with funky eyeglasses.

I signed up for Mr. Godin’s blog and receive his wisdom in my inbox every morning.  To be honest, when I read his first blog post, it was so short, I thought it was a mistake. 

Maybe he was having a busy day and didn’t have time to write much?  I envisioned him hacking away at his iPad as his taxi was stuck in New York City gridlock, only to jump out, slide across the hood action-hero-style, throw the cabbie a 20 and say “Keep the change, Joe!” and sprint uptown toward his office, his assistant racing to keep up without spilling his boss’s latte.  Then again, I don’t even know where Mr. Godin lives or if he’s got an assistant or even likes coffee, but that’s how I picture the life of this dazzlingly-successful entrepreneezy. 

But day after day, the lack of length was confirmed:
Seth’s blogs are short. 
Ridiculously short. 
Comically short. 

In fact, the first thing you think when you see his posts (without reading them,) is, “Wow, that’s really not a lot of words.”  I actually started counting.  His word count can be anywhere from 60 words to 360, with most posts averaging less than 200 words. 

That’s remarkable in this day and age when writers tend to prattle on (I’m guilty, your honor!)  Most blog posts reach 700-800 words, and there are too many that look like an endless sea of words.  But Seth Godin’s blogs can be washed down in one easy gulp.

I’m here to tell you, that’s awesome.  And the more I learn about him and his work, I doubt it’s an accident.  Why? 

• A blog is supposed to be one thought.  That’s it.
• The point of a blog is to get the reader thinking, not tell them what you think.   
• No one ever reads Seth’s blogs and says, “Gosh, I wish there were more words.”  
• Written messages are unique in that the less you write, the more perceived value the reader attaches to them.  
• In fact, I find myself rereading Seth Godin’s posts, to let the content really sink in.
• Brevity conveys the author values the reader’s time and intelligence, not busying them with fluff.
• You never close out one of his posts because you've lost interest.  
• If anything, you end it and wonder if there’s more.  That’s the first rule of show biz – always leave them wanting more.  The reader is more apt to pay attention and pay the ultimate tribute – click through to is website. 
• How wonderful that we can differentiate ourselves with what we don’t write.  We can give the reader the gift of space to think and breathe.  
  

But I’m afraid I’ve said too much, already- over 500 words!  So to wrap it all up, I’ve learned a lot from Mr. Godin’s ridiculously short blog posts.  And Mr. Godin; if you ever need someone to run behind you in traffic while holding your latte, give me a call – I have a lot to learn.

-Norm  :-)

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.  

Writing and publishing a book can be overwhelming enough, but when you're done and feel like sitting back and relaxing, it dawns on you that someone has to market the damn thing - and that unlucky someone is you!  

But with the proper know-how, some focused time, and a lot of hard work you can set up a solid marketing campaign and sell a bazillion copies. The good news is that it doesn't have to cost you much, or anything at all.

When I wrote my first two books I was broke even by starving artist standards, living with the locals in the Third World countries of Costa Rica and Nicaragua with no possessions. But I had time, and a lot of hustle, so I compiled this list of free marketing tools:  

1. Build a website – I prefer one with an integrated blog, analytics, etc. like Weebly.  They have a free membership, or an inexpensive upgrade to a pro account.  To see an example, click here.  Cost: $0

2. Set up a PayPal account – Set up an account so you’ll be able to sell books right off of your website, from your blog, or even by sending an email link.  Cost: $0

3. Mailing labels – These will come in handy if you are sending out books yourself.  There are organizations who will do a sample roll, as will Vista Print.  Cost: $0

4. Order business cards – Vista Print will give you 250 one-sided, full color cards for free if you don’t mind their logo on the back.  Cost: $0

5. Offer to speak – Organizations like your local Rotary, Kiwanis Club, and Chamber of Commerce are always looking for speakers.  Talk about the topic of your book, without blatantly trying to sell books.  Cost: $0 (and you might even get a free lunch out of it!)

6. Contact your public library – Most libraries will provide a forum for authors to do readings and book events for free, and often do a good job of promoting it.  They may even highlight your book if you are a local author.  Cost: $0

7. Make a video trailer – A fast paced, fun video with great music will engage people and promote your book 100x better than simple text.  I use iMovie, and my existing songs from iTunes, my photos, and voiceovers.  There are even ways to download existing videos from YouTube and edit out parts and use them in your video (with permission, of course).  Cost: $0  (Check out the videos for my first book, and the second)

8. Shoot author videos – I love shooting short videos talking about my book, the topic, or even reading.  A cool technique is to shoot a video of you (the author) saying thank you for buying the book, which you can host on YouTube, and then every time someone buys one you can post it on their Facebook or email them the link.  Cost:  $0  You can see my thank you video here.

9. Sign up for Pinterest – If you are looking for a demographic of 80% women who are educated people and make over $100,000 in the household, Pinterest is for you!  You’ll need some really clever images or infographics to use, but we’ll talk about those later.  Cost:  $0

10. Sign up for Instagram – This is another great photo site to spread awareness and create interest for your book.  Cost:  $0

11. Get a Twitter account – Twitter is the number one way to expand your reach much further than your local community and friends, and if you have some good information and value to offer, not just try to sell, the results can be explosive!  (read a fun case study of a blog I wrote that went viral on Twitter and got me 13,000 website hits within 48 hours)  Cost:  $0

12. Sign up for a Facebook Page – You’ll want a fan page for you as an author, and also one for the book.  Cost:  $0

13. Write a bio for the book – This will be used for the back of the book (usually 300-400 words), but also to post on all of these sites.  Also write a much shorter bio for introductions by media or on places like Twitter that only allow 140 words.  Mine is: South of Normal is a gonzo blast of laughter and adventure about a year living in the tropical paradise of Tamarindo, Costa Rica.  Cost: $0

14. Write an author bio – Same thing as the book, you’ll want to write a longer, and then short bio of you as a writer.  Make it fun, fresh, energetic, and use the active, third-person voice.  Cost:  $0

15. Set up your Amazon page, Goodreads page, and Barnes & Noble page – Now that you have a description of the book, a bio about the you, videos, and pictures, you can build author and book pages on these book distribution sites.  Cost:  $0 

16. Get a Wikipedia page – One of the coolest things is to have your own Wikipedia page!  You can’t write one for yourself, and there are specific rules for how to submit information, but it makes you feel like you’ve official arrived!  (for that reason I’ve yet to set mine up!)  Cost: $0

17. Write a press release – You’ll want a clean, tight, professional press release to send out to media.  I recommend drafting one that highlights the local angle for your hometown and home state, and a national release that is more topic-driven.  You’ll want to get this right, so do some research.  Cost:  $0

18. Cover image – You can take an amazing photo yourself and use it as your cover image (as long as it’s high enough resolution) or go to the stock image sites and buy one for cheap.  There are plenty of programs that will add your title and text in a variety of fonts, or you can post this job for a low cost on eLance.  Cost: $0 (though this is one I spend money to have professionally created)

19. Infographics – Social media sites are flooded with fun infographics, which have both an image and are stamped with your book title and website.  You can build these yourself with your images or graphics and then adding text.  I set mine up in PowerPoint and then save them as Jpegs.  Cost:  $0

20. Reader photos – Here’s nothing more fun than seeing a cool photo of a reader holding your book!  It’s a great marketing tool, too, because you can share it on every social media site, and other people will wonder what it’s about (and what they are missing).  I started a tradition with readers taking wild, creative, and fun photos of them holding the book.  It was a blast!  You can check out a small number of them on the slideshow here.  Cost: $0

21. Banners for Twitter, Facebook, etc. – Several sites have cover images that lay out horizontal, so it’s worth having an image of the book cover set up like a banner.  The individual sites will tell you the perfect size, and then you can manipulate to those specifications in your photo program.  Cost: $0

22. Email signature – Build an email signature with a signature, your contact info, a clickable link to your website, and a cool photo of you or the book cover.  Cost:  $0

23. Custom email – Set up a custom email address for you as an author or the book, so you won’t have to use a .hotmail or .yahoo or .gmail address (nothing looks less professional).  When you register your domain or sign up for hosting they offer a few email accounts for free. (For instance, mine is [email protected] but I also use a [email protected] for professional interaction)  Cost: $0

24. Blog through your website – You’ll want to write a blog often (though it doesn’t have to be daily) to fill the search engines with valuable information about the topic of your book, tips and guides, and content from the book. This will get your name higher in the search engines and establish yourself as an expert, drive people to your site, and ultimately allow you to collecting email addresses of people who want to read your book.  Note – always allow for comments on your book and end with a question, welcoming feedback to engage your readers.  Cost:  $0

25. Send a weekly email letter – Once you have an email list of loyal followers, reach out to them via email with announcements, cool blog posts, giveaways, samples of the book, etc. to reward them.  I use MailChimp, which is free if your list is under 2,000 people.  Cost:  $0   

26. Free book giveaways and raffles – Host free giveaways and raffles for copies of your eBook or a coupon to a local business (and team up with the business so it doesn’t cost you anything).  Set them up on your blog and share them on Twitter and Facebook, which will help you capture more emails and build excitement.  Also I like offering a free download (like of the first three chapters) on your site.  Don’t require an email address for that – it’s like a free advertisement, and if people like it they will email you and want to buy the rest of the book.  Cost:  $0 

27. Join discussion groups and comment on other blogs– Instead of always focusing on bringing your target market to YOU, go to where THEY hang out – blogs, forums, and chatrooms about the topics.  Engage them on “neutral turf” with genuine discussion and value, building relationships, without overtly selling your book.  It will pay off in the long run once you earn their trust.  Cost:  $0

28. Ask people to test-read – There’s no better way to get people involved and interested in your project than to ask them to test read it ahead of time and offer their feedback.  I would recommend only giving 2-3 chapters to each person.  They’ll be allies in the project and help you market.  Cost: $0

29. Collect all feedback – Whenever someone says something good about your book, or about you as a writer, save it.  I like to take a screenshot and highlight and save their comments.  Save them all and you’ll be surprised how quickly they’ll add up to dozens of testimonials, encouragement, and a fun marketing tool.  Cost:  $0  

30. Reach out to your schools – Call or email every single school you’ve ever attended, from pre K all the way through college.  Share with them that you’ve written a book and offer to send them a free advanced copy for review, (but that you only have a PDF or eBook).  They may write you up in the school newsletter, involve you in alumni events, or even have you in to speak!  Cost:  $0

31. Mobile payment processor – You’ll want a way to take payments other than cash in person, so a processor like Square can be plugged into your iPhone.  It costs $10 BUT they will credit you back $10 once you sign up with their service because they charge a small fee on each transaction.  Cost:  $0

32. Presell your books – there’s nothing wrong with offering your book for sale a couple of months ahead of time on your website.  You can offer them something of value if they order pre-sale, like signing their book, include a free ebook, emailing them a bonus chapter, etc. This will help pay off some of the publishing or marketing costs.  Cost: $0

33. Book release party – This is the fun part!  Contact a local bar or restaurant and ask if it would be okay if you brought in 50 or 100 new clients on some night.  Ask for drink specials and even free appetizers for your party guests.  Set up a Facebook event page and invite everyone and spread the word.  Contact the local media to cover it, and post the link to the event on all of those blogs and groups you’ve been chatting in.  Have a sign-in book to collect emails and sell books right on the spot.  This is your time to shine!  (And once it's done shoot a little video thanking everyone, mixing in music and photos of them at the event, and email it to them and post it on their walls)  Cost:  $0  

To see the video of the book release party for my first book, click here.
DOES THAT HELP? EMAIL ME TO RECEIVE MY FIVE TOP TIPS FOR BLOGGING TO SELL MORE BOOKS:  [email protected]

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, a nonfiction account of the year I lived down in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.  As I navigated the tangled jungle of ethics within that book, I decided to document and share a few points that might help other authors, as well:

Get their feedback – If characters will be recognizable and you actually care what they think, be respectful.  Send an email letting them know that you are publishing this project and offer to have a conversation with them if they have any issues or concerns.  Be open to listening to their point of view and making any non-essential changes  

Never compromise someone’s safety - As I wrote “South of Normal” I reached out for a friend, unfortunately a main character in the book who is locked up in a Third World prison.  He requested that I excluded certain details about his case for security reasons, and of course I complied.  

Chose your words carefully – Even changing one word can alter the whole context of a paragraph.  Showing actions or documenting a character’s dialogue straight from their mouth is a great way to show “the dirt” because the writer’s not telling you what to think, they make up an opinion for themselves.

Be fair with each character – Show the good and bad in your characters to balance them out.  Great people often have great flaws and people who do bad things are usually just misguided or hurt, not evil.  Making the bad guys likable and vice versa will also add depth and humanize your characters.

Don’t write angry – Ranting against someone and settling scores in your writing is a horrible thing to do.  But it’s also fun, and better than blowing up their car in real life, so I recommend doing it through the lens of humor, and show some sort of redemption or coming to peace with them afterwards.  Angry does not write well, and usually reflects more poorly on the writer than it does the subject. 

Hold yourself to the same standard – Bash yourself.  I mean really rip into your flaws, misdeeds, and moral struggles.  The readers will see themselves in you and love you for it.  Again, humor is a great way to expose your foibles.  

Want vs. Need - Make sure private and revealing details about characters are necessary – as a rule of thumb anything that’s written should either develop characters or move the story along with action.  

Change names – the easiest way to insulate yourself against the backlash from characters in your book is to alter their names, and even relevant details.  Once that is done you’ll sleep easier telling your truth without softening the blows. 

Get it in writing - Document Facebook messages, texts, and emails with information with the characters and situations in your book.  Having written documentation is your bulletproof vest against libel suits or flat out denials.  

The dark alley test – Ultimately who’s right and wrong becomes irrelevant at a certain point.  If you still have to work or interact with these people on a daily basis then ask yourself if what you’re writing is worth it if you happened to meet them in a dark alley.    

Sometimes real life is just more important than your art.  I have a dear friend in Tamarindo whose friendship I value above all else.  She is a pivotal character in the book and goes through a difficult, emotional journey, though her growth is one of the main victories by the end.  It was important for me to get her blessing, so I asked her to read certain parts of the manuscript before it went over to the publishers.  I was pleasantly surprised that she suggested only one small change, but other than that really liked it and thought I did a good job.  You never know how people will respond emotionally to their private lives being documented, so just ask.   

Some people will love their portrayals in South of Normal, some will be less than thrilled.  But I’m confident I found that small patch of terra firma where I treated everyone fairly but also didn’t set out to assassinate anyone’s character, while still staying true to the heart of the story.  Wish me luck, and I’ll see you in a dark alley soon.  

If you have any questions, suggestions, or writing experiences, I'd love to hear!  

Email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @NormSchriever for updates.  

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. 

I used to hate rewriting, but as I kept doing it I learned the tricks of the trade, noticed patterns, and practice led to proficiency.   And guess what?  

I still hate it.  

But I do see its glowing effect on my finished manuscript.  I actually think that rewriting is more important than the first round of writing, and I dedicate about 75% of my time invested into a book into that process.  I’m coming to realize that this tedious hard work is the barrier to entry that truly separates the indie amateur from the professional wordsmith.  If you want to earn your place within that pantheon, put in that time.  

When I was inexperienced and naïve and didn’t know my ass from my elbow about writing (which was Wednesday) I studied books on theme, plot, conflict, dialogue, developing characters, suspense, emotion, etc. ad infinitum, but I couldn’t find a good book about editing and rewriting for a layperson like me, who slept through most of high school English class. 

A search for writing on Amazon (my new favorite thing to do is research target markets and competition on Amazon), 542,802 results come up.  However when I add those two important letters and searchREwriting, only 1,973 results come up - in the whole civilized English-speaking world!  Including some parts of New Jersey!  

That’s the secret.  THAT’S what professional writers understand that novices don’t.  When you are green and intimidated by writing a book you think developing enough content is the real mountain to climb, and therefore you spend three pages describing what the waitress at the diner looks like.  Who cares?  Certainly not the reader.  Just tell them that Flo came over and poured black mud into your cup and they’ll fill in the gaps with their own imagination.

You can write one page a day and have a sizable manuscript by New Year’s Eve, so content is the easy part. (Note:  if you only can write one page a day you’re either using a blunt crayon or you’re holding on way too tight and you need to drink some wine, crank up the music, and let it go.)  But I assure you that no one has EVER started out with a polished draft.  

I’ve kept copious notes as I chug along with my red pen, struggling and failing fantastically, and here are the first 10 tips on rewriting to get you started.  (I’ll give you the other 5, including the Holy Grail of rewriting, in part 2). 

1. Never use two words when you could use one.  Chose the BEST word.

It was a hot, humid night.  (If your story starts with those lines, burn in.) 

It was a balmy night.  (Still sucks, but there’s less of it to suck)


2. For strong sentences place your subject and verb at beginning of the sentence.

As the sunlight faded, we walked down the street.

We walked down the street as the sunlight faded.  (much better, right?)


3. Trust your words, and don’t over-explain.

A good example of that?  Look at the sentence I just wrote.  I should have written, “Trust your words.”  That would have been far more effective.  Beginning writers try to bury you in an avalanche instead of letting one snowflake drift down and land on your nose.  


4. Adhere to the rhythm of three.  

In writing, three is the magic number.  A list of three is always stronger than a list of two or even four!  There is a rhythm to three items.  It’s a fundamental tool of humor writers, who use the first two items to set and reinforce a pattern, and then deviate from that expected pattern in the third item to create humor.  


5. Adverbs suck.

Do a Word search for words that end with -ly and erase your adverbs.  They are useless for the most part, don’t read well, and are a symptom of lazy writing.

She walked across the room, silently and carefully.

She tiptoed across the room. 


6. Avoid “filler” words.

Really, very, big, small, quickly, slowly, basically, actually, about, just, truly, some, all of, then, that, some, literally, both, other, for, I think, started, I believe, strongly, etc.

I could write a whole blog just on filler words (and maybe I will!).  But until then, feel free to email me[email protected] if you want the list I've compiled. 


7. Cancel out redundancy and duplication.

See what I did there?  You only need to say something once when you’ve said it correctly.  


8. Think ‘build up and pay off.’

This is the conscious tool of writing humor, drama, suspense, or emotion – blow up a balloon with conflict and then pop it with the resolution


9. EVERY line has to either advance story or build characters.

Anything else should be removed with extreme prejudice.  Your sentences may sound cool or be written well, but if they don’t reveal the character or jolt the story along, they have no use to you, or the reader.


10. “Murder your darlings.”

Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, wrote in On the Art of Writing, that you need to “murder your darlings,” meaning that you’ll have to cut out lines and scenes and even whole chapters that you love.  Kill them.  It doesn’t matter what YOU love, the only thing that matters is getting the reader from the starting line to the finish line.  If you’re rewriting correctly you’ll have a lot of funerals for dead content, and then move on with a better story.  

***
Read Part 2 of this series, where I reveal the final 5 ways to rewrite a great book, including advice that is Holy Grail of writing!  

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.  

How important is rewriting?  Neil Simon, maybe the most prolific American playwright and screenwriter, penned over 60 successful works in his career, winning him more Tony and Oscar nominations than any other writer.  In 1998 he released a memoir of his life and career.  What do you think he called it? Rewrites. 

To be a good writer, you’ll have to edit with ruthless abandon.  Put your words into the coliseum and let them fight it out to see who is victorious.  They are the gladiators and the lions - let them wrestle in the dust for survival.  You’ve done so much already by giving them a life on the page, but that’s your only responsibility; from there they need to exist on their own merit.  

Here are 5 more tips to rewrite well:

11. The 10% Rule.

I learned from Stephen King, in his awesome book, On Writing, (a must read) that my goal is to clip 10% of my content every time I go through it.  Wait, does that mean if I went through 10 times there would be nothing left?  Obviously I’m a writer, not a math major.  


12. Reread with an agenda in mind.

Every time I proofread I have an agenda in mind.  One time it’s to focus on dialogue, the next time on characters, then action, etc.  Of course you catch other things along the way, but it’s a little overwhelming trying to polish the whole manuscript at once without a specific focus.


13. No humor is better than mediocre humor.  

86% of the population thinks they are funny, but only 127 people actually are.  There’s really no such thing as “mediocre humor” – it’s an oxymoron.  It’s either funny, or it’s not.  Likewise, if you are funny, you can study and work your ass off to create funny writing, but if you are not funny, none of that will help. Reading badly written humor leaves a taste in your mouth like chewing on a towel at a public pool, so understand your strengths and weaknesses.


14. Pay attention to the passive vs. the active voice.

Strong writing is written in the active voice, no matter what tense you are using.  You’ll slip with a lot of these, but catch them as you proofread. 

I was going to the store to meet her. (passive)

I went to the store to meet her.  (active)


15. Show, don’t tell. 

This is the Holy Grail of writing advice, which you’ll hear so many times from ‘experienced’ writers, as they look down their long, aquiline noses at you and apply hand sanitizer liberally after shaking.  I’ve had plenty of people tell me to “show, don’t tell,” but almost no one ever told me HOW to do that, because, of course, they don’t know either.  

It’s simple – follow this checklist when you have something you want to convey to the reader, in order of effectiveness.

First: Can I reveal it in Dialogue?

Second: Can I reveal it by showing the character doing something?  With Action, that would show well in a movie?

Last Resort: I, the writer, tell the reader in my Narrative voice.  

So… if I’m trying to say that a female character is sad because her boyfriend broke up with her, I can do it these three ways:

Narrative: She was sad that he broke up with her.  (sucks)

Action:  She saw a couple walking into the movie theater holding hands, and looked down at the ground.  (not bad!)

Dialogue:  “Sundays mornings are always the hardest,” she said.  (sniff sniff, I’m reaching for Kleenex)


Does that help?  I hope so.  What other rewriting advice do I have for you?  

Have fun.  Knowing that you’ll polish everything later frees you up to let go and write from your subconscious, not your rigid, outcome-obsessed brain.  Let it fly.  Get in the zone.  Write through the crap, because it takes sorting through a lot of coal to get to a diamond.

And take notes.  Keep a Word document open as a “slush file” while you write.  Use it like a clipboard to store new ideas, a style sheet for names, sayings, dialogue quirks, what you’ve covered, outlines.  Also clip and paste everything that you take out, so you might be able to use it somewhere else later on.  You’ll be amazed what comes out of that slush file – including ideas for later projects, like maybe a book about rewriting?  Hmmmm….

You won’t feel so bad about putting your words in the arena to get slaughtered if you know they might live to fight another day.  

Drop me a line some time to share your writing tips and experiences with the pen and the page:  [email protected]

Read Part 1 of this blog.

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 process of writing a book, and then sharing it with the world, can feel so overwhelming that it may drive you to drink (as if writers don’t drink enough already). Even a simple Google search about ‘writing a book’ will bury you in an avalanche of information, at times so diluted, confusing, and contradictory, that it’s kept many a talented writer from getting started.

Of course, you can begin like I did – wasting time on Facebook and calling it “marketing”, daydreaming about groupies (who never appeared) and choosing actors for when Hollywood called about the book (which never happened). But might I recommend a better way?

I truly love coaching brand new writers, doing my best to simplify and clarify the process for them while encouraging them to take the first step, so this is how I respond to their inquiries:

Here are three questions to ask yourself BEFORE you start writing your first book:

1) What are you trying to achieve with this book?  
What are your goals with this book? Your expectations? Is it to sell a certain number of copies? (The average self-published book sells about 250 copies!)  Do you want to make a specific amount of money? Or is it to get great reviews, have as many people as possible read it, and entertain them? If you are planning on quitting your day job and pouring yourself into writing 100% then your goals will be much different than if it’s just a passion project. I do a lot of ghost writing for entrepreneurs and business people who want to put out a book as a way to establish themselves as an industry expert and engage new clients, not necessarily contribute to the field of literature, so obviously their goals are different. Furthermore, are you planning on starting a series of books or are you one and done? Will you be doing speaking engagements? Workshops? Are you trying to get your name in media?  

There is no “right” answer to this question, but knowing what you hope to ultimately achieve will help you focus on reaching that outcome as you write.  


2) How is YOUR book going to be different than every other book out there?  

Right after I released my first book, Pushups in the Prayer Room, a friend of mine, a media-savy gal who is a producer for the Amazing Race and Survivor, was giving me some advice. She asked me the ultimate question: “Why should the reader care about your book? How is YOUR’S different?!”  

I was tongue-tied, taken aback, and a little bit offended for about five minutes, until I realized that she was right, and that was the best question any writer could ask.  

With almost 300,000 new books in print every year and 7 million books in existence, it's a VERY crowded market. To have a snowball’s chance in hell of competing you have to have some specific niche, remarkable story, or unique proposition that clearly separates you from the hundreds of thousands of others in your genre. Unless you have something DIFFERENT, BETTER, or MORE VALUABLE to say, you’re just being redundant and creating noise. 

I’ve written a lot about constructing your book so it will find its target market as efficiently as possible.Email me and I'll be happy to send you a case study on target marketing for book sales. 


3. When a reader puts down your book, what do you want them to say?  

Picture this: a wife and husband are lying in bed, reading. She finished your book, closes it, takes off her reading glasses, turns to her husband and says….?

You have some control over what happens next. I’m not just talking about her assessment of the book’s quality, which is subjective, but what specific message she conveys to him. And then again on Facebook to her friend the next day, and he might tell his coworker about it, who tells his wife, who is in a reading group, and…etc. That is how books get sold – recognition and then word of mouth (or social media) sales based on a clear, concise “advertisement.”

Have you ever heard of an ‘elevator commercial’ in business, the 30-second script you would use to describe who you are, what you do, and why someone should remember you? The whole story of your book, even if it’s 500 pages, should fit neatly into a brief pitch line similar to an elevator commercial.

For my new book, South of Normal, my written pitch is: “A gonzo blast of laughter and adventure about a year living in the tropical paradise of Tamarindo, Costa Rica.”  But of course no one would ever say that. They’ll probably say “It’s about a guy who got rid of all of his stuff and left his life in the U.S. and moved down to Costa Rica, to live by the beach and chase his dream of being a writer,” or something like that. All the high points are covered, and it’s easy for people to pick that up and pass it around.

***

Start with those three questions before you roll up your sleeves and write your book in earnest. You’ll be laying the tracks that lead exactly where you want to go, and then all you have to do is run the train down ‘em!

Norm :-)

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 :-)