How To Increase Writing Productivity Part 1

This week, I'm sharing my notes from the keynote speaker at this year's StoryMakers Conference, Kevin J Anderson. I'm sure most of use struggle to find time to fit in our desire to write, or maybe that's just me. Kevin had some great ideas that I'm passing on, then next week I'll add my own (at least what has worked up until now). :)

Kevin J Anderson

Writing Productivity

You have to make it for yourself. Find the time & make the most of it

Tips for increasing writing productivity

(He began my gives us these ideas to think about and figure out where we fight into the numbers game.)

Writing one book per year, it’s virtually impossible to make a living.

“Be prolific or starve”

part-time writer=one bk a yr

1-2 hrs

10 hrs

full-time writer=8 hr, 7 days

9 wks

5-6 bks a yr

FAST writing doesn’t mean BAD writing

A Christmas Carol—6 wks

As I Lay Dying—6 wks

A Clockwork Orang—3 wks

on the Road—20 days

Fahrenheit 41—9 days

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde—1 wk

Now for the tips:

1—shut up and write (carve out time, let people know you’re at work, go into the “office”) focus mode in Microsoft

2—Defy the Empty Page (If you’re stuck, move on, fill it in later)

3—Dare to Be Bad (at first) then fix it, It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does have to be finished. It’s easier to fix existing prose than to write a perfect prose to begin with.

4—Know the Difference Between WRITING & EDITING, you can always go back and make changes, don’t go back while you’re going forward

5—Use Every Minute. Learn to write at the drop of a hat, you never know how much time you’ll get. Think about stories when you have the time. Plot out, think about then you can write when you have a chance

6—Set Goals for Yourself and Stick to Them. Set realistic goals, set one you can achieve,         Writers of the Future Contest.com

7—Work On different projects at the same time, projects in different stages

8—Create your best writing environment (noise canceling headphones) look at your set up so you don’t hurt back, arms, wrists, arms 90 degrees, neck not down, back straight

9—Think outside the keyboard, digital recorder, talk to yourself, walk until you have a chapter dictated

10—Get inspired, go places, do things, take classes, learn things

11—Know when to stop.

HAPPY WRITING!

Outlining Part 2--How to Beat Out Your Novel

By Bonnie Harris

So, my journey to figure out how to outline continues. If you missed my intro to this journey, you should check it out, as well as Part 1.

This particular process I learned about at the LDStorymakers conference this past May. Elena Johnson shared how she’s adapted the Blake Snyder method for screenwriting to writing novels. I thoroughly enjoyed this class and learned some very valuable points. Here are my notes, (hopefully they make sense) as well as some links that may help.

Elana Johnson

Beat Out Your Novel (Adapt to how you write)

write the book out, then do the outline or beat it out

do a mix

For this presentation, I read, pored over, and loved SAVE THE CAT and SAVE THE CAT STRIKES BACK both by Blake Snyder. There is a third book in the series, SAVE THE CAT! GOES TO THE MOVIES, which I have not read as it seemed more for screenplays and less for general structure and writing.

That’s right. Structure. Seems strange in this class that’s sort of against outlining… But structure is necessary!

You can only take so much weirdness at one time. 

Three Acts, Fifteen Beats, One Board

ACT 1

• the world as your hero knows it (normal)
• theme stated—choices, careful what you wish for
• a catalyst pushes us into Act 2, MC freely chooses to move to Act 2

ACT 2

• Antithesis to Act 1—the normal world turned upside down

Start with 2

Opening Image

starting point

“before” snapshot

intro MC

Closing Image

proof that change has occurred

give yourself a destination

Opening and closing should be OPPOSITES

a plus and a minus

showing dramatic change from beg to end

SET THE MAJOR TURNS

Break into 2

moment we leave the old world

must be DISTINCT

hero must decide

Midpoint

an “up” or a “down”, false

stakes are RAISED

no turning back

pace increases

Break into 3

use B story characters

fusion of B story and hero finding a solution

synthesis at hand

Acts should stay the same length, Act 1 (25%, 50%, 25%)

ACT 1

Opening image 

Theme state

Set-up

Catalyst

Debate

Break into 2

THE BLAKE SNYDER BEAT SHEET*

PROJECT TITLE:

GENRE:

ESTIMATED WORD COUNT:

1. Opening Image (1): the normal world, characters

2. Theme Stated (15):

3. Set-Up (1-30): hook the reader to continue, can use relationships, worlds, events, plant flaws in characters that will change @ end, intro most characters in A story,

4. Catalyst (36): the world explodes, something that shows their different, forces characters to change, not good news, what leads the hero to happiness

5. Debate (36-75): do I go? do I stay? fear of the unknown

6. Break into Two (75)

7. B Story (90): love story, get to know person, doesn’t always have to be romance, relationship story—emotional story, provides a breather

8. Fun and Games (90-165): promise of a premise, get to see what you promised readers, must deliver

9. Midpoint (165): false up or down where they succeed or collapse, answer question are you real hero or fake hero? not one scene—many pages

10. Bad Guys Close In (165-225): bad guys regroup and send in the forces, doubt desinagrates bad guys team

11. All Is Lost (225): false defeat, looks like they’ve lost, something about dying, whiff of death, takes away mentors, could be secondary characters

12. Dark Night of the Soul (225-255): dark before the dawn, in the moment they have no idea what to do, utter defeat

13. Break into Three (255): blending of two worlds, new way of thinking, new hero, new person

14. Finale (255-330): Gathering the team—he’s alone, gather the team, break him out, rallying of allies, amend things, usually a plan

Executing the plan—they might actually do this

High Tower Surprise—finds out the bad guys knew he was coming, no princess in tower, reason the plan false, plan may actually be a trap, whatever hero has done may not be enough

Dig deep down—the whole plan is revealed, hero gets new plan, not exactly what reader expects, no back-up, go into new world with faith unseen

Execute the new plan—the answer comes from a place that we all hope exists, hero trusts themselves enough to use what we hoped was there, then he wins

15. Final Image (330): hero in new world, opposite of beginning

1. Beat Sheet—can switch with write novel (good driving destination)
2. Write novel
3. Board it out—flip over paper
4. Revise

Stories that have all fifteen beats are what we want to keep reading and watching

The 15 beats can use for synopsis

Act 1 can be used for query letter

*Adapted for novels from www.blakesnyder.com by Elana Johnson.

Happy Outlining & Writing! :)

Outlining, Part 1--The Hero's Journey

The Hero’s Journey

Welcome to part 1 of my journey to outlining. If you missed my intro, take a look here.

The Hero’s Journey is one type of outline that I have taken classes on several times. It has always made sense, but I’d never understood how to apply it to my writing. Honestly, I wasn’t ready for the information.

Now, the more I learn about the Hero’s Journey, I can see how it can be useful in my writing. However, everyone is different and you have to find what works for you. I, myself, thought that this would be the method I would try. After the last conference I attended, I’m not so sure about that. I think I may use bits and pieces from a few different methods and make my own.

So, I am going to share my notes from the most recent class I attended on The Hero’s Journey from Annette Lyon (Thank you Annette for a great class!) at the LDStorymakers conference in May, as well as some links at the bottom of different versions of the Hero’s Journey.

Hero’s Journey

Annette Lyon

The Hero

• audience has to ID with him/her
• hero must grow
• involved in most of the action
• Must have a flaw
• must sacrifice—maybe even be willing to sacrifice his or her life

The Mentor

• teaches the hero
• often gives hero a gift
• motivates hero—may calm fears of give them a kick in the pants
• can be a shape-shifter

Threshold Guardians

• Anything/one who stands in the way of your hero
• person, event, physical object
• blocks hero’s way
• tests the hero
• can be good or bad

The Herald

• issues the Hero the challenge
• announces coming change: all is not well
• gives Hero motivation to go on the adventure
• person, object, or event

The Shape-Shifter

• not what they appear to be
• revealing “real” self creates big change.
• good or evil
• can be combined with another character

The shadow

• the villain
• tests hero’s abilities/worthiness
• forces hero to rise to the challenge
• often appears beautiful
• elegant or good
• Often a shape-shifter

Trickster

• comic relief
• brings things into perspective
• often a sidekick to Hero

The Ordinary World

• whatever status quo
• into story question
• foreshadows special world
• meet the Hero & problems

Call to Adventure

• herald (in object or character to)

Refusal of the Call

• hero refuses the call
• why: fear or other excuses, maybe noble ones

meeting with the mentor

• usually before the hero’s commitment
• gets story moving
• provides hero with training and/or helpful object that will help in the quest

crossing the first threshold

• leaving ordinary world/entering special world
• shows hero’s commitment to quest
• for reluctant hero: quest is pushed on him
• first threshold guardian
• life will never be the same

tests, allies, and enemies (bulk of the story)

• hero adjusts to the New World
• hero gets tested in many ways
• hero meets people (often in “watering holes”) must determine enemies vs. allies
• gets sidekicks
• gets rival

approach to the inmost cave

• hero prepares for test, which will get him ready for the final ordeal
• illusions, threshold guardians
• hero uses lessons learned to get through
• often enters a NEW special world

The Ordeal

• Hero’s final exam
• hero battles shadow
• hero faces greatest fears
• hero shows what’s been learned
• hero must be willing to sacrifice something huge and/or die
• hero often appears to die, or something or someone does die

Reward—seizing the Sword

• hero captures or finds the treasure (elixir) or accomplishes whatever th point of the quest was
• celebration (“campfire” scenes)
• epipany: hero understands something he’s learned

The Road Back

• not in a lot of stories
• hero heads back to ordinary world w/elixir (object, wisdom, etc)
• shadow may not be totally defeated, could still try to defeat the Hero
• common time for chase scenes
• hero runs into setbacks

Resurrection

• hero has an ordeal that pushes him to the limit-often showdowns w/villain, a death and rebirth scene, etc
• the ordeal has changed the hero in some big way, and we see that change in the resurrection scene
• often the climax-hero overcomes final problems, defeats villain

Return with the Elixir

• the story’s wrap-up denouement
• characters receive rewards or punishments
• wrap-up of plot threads, but often a surprise shows up
• circular vs open endings
• hero may leave; no longer belongs
• elixir may be knowledge gained

So What?

Applying the H’s J to YOUR story

• what’s your genre
• character-type holes
• moving the plot
• boosting conflict
• developing characters

See you next Saturday!

The Hero’s Journey: Summary of Steps

The Hero's Journey Outline from the Writer's Journey

The Hero's Journey from Read, Writer, Think (interactive)