What I Learned at LTUE 31

If your first question is, "What the heck is LTUE?", then maybe you need to start out at our group blog: www.writersramble.com. That saves me from the redundancy of explaining it twice.

LTUE this year was fantastic. Even after four years of attending this conference, I'm still learning new things about writing, publishing, storytelling, sci-fi and fantasy in general, and networking. I got to chat with and learn from several of my writing mentors such as Tracy Hickman, David Wolverton/Farland, Eric James Stone, and Brad R. Torgersen. I met several new authors like, Dan Willis and Eric Swedin. And I got to hang out with my writing group friends and make new friends as well.

I attended some very interesting panels on things such as What You Need to Know About Writing Sci-Fi and Fantasy, Space Travel without Warp Drive, and How to Write Humor without Slapstick. I intend to post articles in the coming weeks and months about each of the subjects I learned from at LTUE, but decided to start off by sharing what I learned from a panel called: Everything I Need to Know About Writing I Learned From The Matrix, by J. Scott Savage.

I love the Matrix. It's arguably one of the best science fiction stories of all time. Just the original, mind you. The sequels are arguably some of the worst sequels of all time. But the original story is brilliant. On this panel, Scott Savage broke down what makes this story so great, not by breaking down each scene or beat, but by looking at the structure of the tale and how it captures our hearts and minds.

The first thing that Scott talked about was starting your story with a conflict. Most new writers today don't follow this concept. They want to show their protagonist in everyday life to give us a sense of what's normal before the conflict arises, or they want to build up the world before they introduce their characters, or they want to give us a history lesson to "properly" frame the tale. This is inevitably boring for the reader. The author may find it fascinating because they spent so much time creating this world, but we, the readers, just don't care.
 
You start with conflict to draw the reader in. If your story isn't built to begin with your protagonist in conflict, then put someone else in conflict first. The Matrix starts with Trinity getting cornered by the police. There is a quick fight scene, a chase between Trinity and the Agents, and it ends with Agent Smith smashing the phone booth Trinity was just in with a dump truck, though she mysteriously escapes. This creates intrigue. This hooks the reader. And this all takes place before we ever meet Neo.

As mentioned above, you may have an encyclopedia of backstory and world history that you've developed for your story. Don't tell it all right up front. I know you may be anxious to get it out, but the more you can hold back from the reader, the more intrigue you will create. The best way to withhold this information is to keep your characters busy, keep them constantly moving forward so there is no time for them to sit back and study the situation. They have to learn on the fly and thus so will your readers.

Success and Failure cycles are very important to a story. The best way to make your protagonist's successes emotionally powerful, and therefore the story emotionally powerful, is to first make them fail. A lot. Over and over. The more they fail, the more we root for them. And it creates believability. Most people don't succeed the first time. If you're a writer, you already know what I'm talking about. And some people never succeed. Make the reader accept the possibility that the hero might fail. It keeps the reader on guard and makes your story unpredictable. 

Take every opportunity to increase the tension in your story. The more tense it can be, the better. Scott gave a list of six ways to ratchet up your tension:

1. Isolation: Isolate your character physically, emotionally, or psychologically, so they feel alone in some way. At the end of The Matrix Neo gets cut off from everyone else when Agent Smith shoots the phone line just after Trinity escapes.
2. Disorientation: Put your character in a situation they are not familiar with. Your character needs to discover the world around them. No one in the story is less familiar with the Matrix than Neo, even the little kids at the Oracle's place.
3. Misdirection: Get the character to focus on something other than what is really going to happen. Ask yourself, What do I want the reader to see, and what do I want them to miss? The Oracle tells Neo he's not The One, so he (and we) don't think he is until Morpheus tells him the Oracle was telling him, "...exactly what [he] needed to hear."
4. Bigger Obstacles: Give the character an impossible obstacle, then make it stronger, or increased in numbers. Neo is told that fighting one Agent is akin to suicide. Then at the end, he faces three.
5. Time Limits: An artificial time limit can increase the tension greatly. This doesn't necessarily mean a ticking bomb. Neo has to get back to the Nebuchadnezzar before the Sentries tear it apart.

Finally, Scott pointed out something that in all my years of attending writing conferences, workshops, lectures, and writing groups, I’d never heard. And that is the idea of Tracking Your Characters’ Decisions. The best way to show what type of people your characters are is through the decisions they make. You can spend an entire story telling your readers that someone is good, or bad. But until they see that character decide to do something good, or something bad, it’s just words. 

Cora was a good person, in every way possible. She stood for justice and fought corruption wherever she found it. Thinking about this, she smiled as she cut the rope from which dangled the whimpering Senator Daye. As the senator plunged to his death, she knew she was doing the tax payers, even the world, a great favor.

See? I can tell you all I want that Cora is a good character. But her actions speak for her as she murders the good senator. Now this is a pretty simple example, but it also speaks to another point. Both your hero and your villain need to be anxiously engaged in a noble goal. Yes, even the villain, though what may seem like a noble goal to her, such as killing a corrupt politician, may still be viewed as evil by the hero and/or the reader.

If you haven’t seen The Matrix, and even if you have, go watch it. Watch for these elements throughout. Then watch some of your other favorite Hero’s Journey style stories such as Lord of the Rings or Star Wars and see if you can pick out these same elements. I guarantee you they’re there.

Writing Groups; The Good, The Bad, and the Wary

One year ago this month I was at the writers’ conference, Life, The Universe, and Everything down in Orem, Utah, sitting in the main conference room awaiting the start of the next panel discussion, when author Dan Wells stood up and loudly asked everyone in the room who was interested in joining a writing group to raise their hand. Many of us responded, to which Dan replied, “After this panel, all of you go into the next room, meet each other, and form your writing groups.” I met most of the members of my writing group that day. A few have dropped off, and a few more have joined, but overall, the core of our group came from that meeting.

Since the idea for our group blog, The Writers Ramble, came from our writers group, we decided it would be appropriate for our first discussion to be about writing groups; what they are, how they work, what purpose they serve, and what you should be wary of.

So, why join a writing group? I heard it said once that the first draft of a story is for you, the second draft is for your readers. If you’re someone who writes simply for the enjoyment that you get out of writing, and you have no intention of ever publishing your work, then a writing group may not be necessary for you. However, if you have aspirations of publication, it’s imperative to learn how to write for others.

Now, that doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice your style or taste to please the general masses. That’s selling out. Write what you want to write. However, if you want your tale to reach a vast array of people, then you need to learn how to craft a story that will move someone’s heart, stimulate their mind, or some combination thereof. For that, it’s best to have a group of people who can read your work and give you feedback on what touched them, what bored them, what made them laugh, and what offended them.

How does it work? Our group, affectionately nicknamed the Word Vomit Writers’ Group, meets once a week to discuss stories or chapters submitted the week before by our members. These meetings can be done in many different ways. Some groups like to meet physically, others submit works to each other via email or other means. They then critique the work and send it back. Our group meets online in a Google Hangout. This works for us because we get that face-to-face time, but in the convenience of our own homes.

So what are the pros and cons of a writing group? I've put together a list of five reasons to join a writing group and three warnings.

The Good.

1.      Feedback

      The best way to improve your writing is to share it with others and gather their opinions. Based on the feedback you get, you can add or remove aspects of the story to make it a stronger piece. This doesn't mean you must change everything that someone suggests. It's your story. But if several people comment on the same issue, it would be wise for you to consider revising it.

2.      Knowledge

You can learn a lot about writing from books, blogs, school, or just practicing your writing in general. However, there is not enough time in the day for you to read every book, blog, and lecture out there on writing. By meeting regularly with a group of people also focused on learning the craft of writing, you can tap into their knowledge and learn from the books and lectures they've learned from, thus increasing your own knowledge.

3.      Networking

A good friend of mine, and a member of my writing group, Jayrod Garrett, once pointed out that, though we can attend different writing conferences and workshop to meet successful authors and network with them, it is the other aspiring authors around us who will be our peers in the future as we all grow and become published. Spending our time together, helping each other to improve our craft, will help lift us all up together.

4.      Friendship

This last year, as a member of our group, I have formed some wonderful friendships that I believe will last for years to come. I've met new people through these friends, thus making more friends. And if there's one thing we can all use a little more of, no matter who we are, it's friendship.

5.      Fun

We have a blast at our meetings each week. Typically we spend the first hour—when we are supposed to be having some sort of writing activity—chatting and goofing off, sharing things we've read or seen, and just having a good time. I look forward to our meetings every week, and only some of that excitement has to do with the writing.

The Bad.

1.      Un-productivity

As I said, one reason to join a group is to learn from the other members. And if you are still a fledgling writer, with a lot to learn, it’s to your advantage to join a group of people whose skill is greater than your own. However, as you grow and learn and improve in your writing, you have to avoid groups where the other members have nothing to teach you. If you are the most skilled writer in your group by a long shot, then all you’re doing is teaching writing, not learning about it. And that’s very noble of you, but you may not be growing from it.

Currently, our group is all about the same skill level. We are learning a great deal and sharing that information, so our meetings are very productive. If this ever ceases to be the case, it will be time to consider leaving the group.

2.      Mismatched Members

When I first began searching for a writing group I was invited by someone I met at the meeting of a local chapter of a writing club to join her group. I was honored and pleased to be allowed in. The first week I was a member, I received the submissions of a few other members for review. I’m almost ashamed to say it, but I hated every piece. It’s not that the writing was bad (though few were gems), but the subject matter was so far outside of my own interests that I couldn't begin to allow myself any emotional involvement in the tales. I realized that I would not be a productive member of that group because I couldn't advise them in ways to improve a story that I held no interest in.

You need to seek out people who share common interests and probably write or read in the same genre as you. However, you should also have some variety in your group. If you all write the same stuff, you will limit yourselves on what you can learn. Our group has writers of sci-fi, high fantasy, urban fantasy, contemporary fiction, horror, and even some historical fiction. 

3.      Stagnation

As I keep saying, the great thing about writing groups is being able to learn from its members. Eventually, however, you will all have learned what each other likes, thinks, expects, etc. You will run out of ways to productively help each other. This stagnation will only hurt your writing. Either you will cease to improve in your writing, or you will begin to write specifically for the members of your group, for which your writing will suffer.

The bottom line is that a writing group can be a wonderful thing if you find the right group of people. Look for people with interests and skill levels similar to, if not greater than your own. Try to offer constructive advice on the other members’ works and be gracious in accepting criticism of your own writing. Be a productive and contributing member. And if/when you feel you are no longer gaining anything from your group, politely thank them for the time you've had together and begin the process of searching for a new group that will suit your new needs.

Writing Action and the Betrothed Daughter of a King

This week's discussion on writing is going to be about how to write action. I'm taking the main points of this post from the LTUE2012 panel on Writing Action by action master and self-proclaimed gun-nut , Larry Corriea. Larry is the author of several action packed series of novels, from the Monster Hunter International series to the Grimnoir Chronicles. Check him out of you haven't already.


So, why do we put action in our stories? Is it not enough to say, Boy meets Girl, Girl plays hard to get, Boy persists and eventually wins Girl's heart, Boy and Girl live happily ever after? 


Instead we say, Boy meets Girl, Girl plays hard to get, Boy wins Girl's heart, but leaves to seek his fortune to support her, Boy gets killed by Dread Pirate, Girl is agrees to marry Prince, Girl is kidnapped by Thugs and subsequently rescued by Dread Pirate who she later discovers is actually Boy, Prince-who plans to murder Girl to start war-pursues Boy and Girl, Boy and Girl get lost in Fire Swamp and must fight quicksand, fire bursts, and ROUS's to survive, Prince captures Girl, sends Boy to Pit of Despair, Boy is rescued by Thugs and revived, Boy and Thugs storm palace, kill Prince, and rescue Girl, Boy and Girl live happily ever after.


Ok, so I didn't exactly make that up on the spot, but did you see the difference? Even though the second plot summary was much longer, it was also tons more interesting. We write action into our stories to build suspense, to keep things interesting, and just because it's downright fun.


So how do we do it right? Well, according to Larry Corriea, the first rule of writing action is: If it sucks, don't do it; if it's awesome, do it. If you don't enjoy it, your readers won't either. You can get away with almost any action scene you want in a novel, no matter how ridiculous, provided you set it up right and make it as plausible as possible. In the first book of Larry Corriea's, Grimnoir Chronicles, Hard Magic, the finale of the tale as Larry puts it is, "...a teleporting magic ninja fight on top of a flaming pirate dirigible." It sounds ridiculous, but since Larry took the time to set it up right in the novel, it not only works, but is dang awesome.


Another tip Larry gives is to do your research. If you're going to have a gun fight, make sure you know how guns work, how people react around guns, how bullet wounds affect people, and what residual consequences there may be from your shootout. For example, if your characters are fighting indoors with black powder rifles, make sure to take into account the vast amount of smoke put off by a single muzzle blast. Take recoil into account; and ammunition. Unless you are writing and Arnold Schwarzenegger action film, don't give your characters bottomless magazines. People will notice.


If you don't know anything about guns, talk to someone who does. Visit a shooting range. You'll find many people more than willing to share with you their immense knowledge of firearms.  The same goes for any action skills; martial arts, para-trooping, scuba diving, midget wrestling, sword fighting, car chases, or curling. Chances are, whatever you are writing about, someone in the world is an expert at it. Google them.


Another tip is to not just write action. You have to break up your story into high points and low points, the high points being action, suspense, etc., the low points being your plot and character development. Now that's not to say you can't develop both plot and characters within and action scene, you very much can and should. But if your entire story is high points, all action all the time, then the suspense level ten you've built up will begin to feel like a suspense level three. If it's all action, then it gets boring, you'll lose your readers. 


Along those same lines, you have to vary your action scenes in order to avoid monotony. If every action scene is a gun fight, then your reader will begin to expect and even predict the outcome of your action scenes. It will become dull. Break it up. Start with a shoot out, then have a car chase, then a sword fight atop a tank, then an all out assault on an ice-fortress. Whatever your story is, make sure to vary your action.


Avoid writing a checklist in your action. "I (or he/she) did this, then I did this, the I turned and did this, then I did this..." Again, variety. "He did this, then this happened. Moving over he saw this. This happened, then this. This happened suddenly and it forced him to do this..." As Larry said, "We're not choreographers, we're writers." 


And don't worry too much about avoiding cliches. If it's cool, it's probably been done. That's ok. Remember Rule #1: If it sucks, don't do it, it's it's awesome, do it. If it's a cliche action, twist it a bit to make it your own, but as long as you set it up right and write it well, no one will care. However, if your reader expects something to happen, that might be a good time to subvert the narrative and pull the rug out from underneath them.


Finally, to use a Star Trek reference, don't be afraid to kill bridge crew. If you kill a main character early on, then it shows the reader that you're not afraid to kill anyone in the story, and that helps immensely in keeping up your tension.


Challenge Accepted:
No one responded to the writing prompt last time, but it's ok. It was kind of vague anyway. And technically I cheated. So here's a simpler one for us all to try, relating to this post: 
Write an action scene that makes curling interesting. 
Challenging, I know. Don't forget to do your research, you can't write about curling if you don't understand it.

Short Stories and Tomato Surprises

Well, I've decided that since my work is currently focused on short stories in my continuing effort to win a place in the coveted Writers of the Future contest, short stories would be a good place to start my blog on writing. Not to mention the fact that I have yet to actually finish a novel...

The notes for this entry come from the panel "How to Write a Good Short Story", from LTUE 2012. The panelists for this panel were, Eric James Stone, Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury, Heather Frost, Suzanne Vincent, and Dan Willis. Please visit their sites if you haven't already as they are each a vault of knowledge and wisdom.

Ok, so how do you write a good short story? Let's first look at what makes a short story good, or interesting. Why do we read short fiction? Is it simply that in our ever-increasingly hectic lives fiction that can be read in one sitting is all we have time for? Or is short fiction all that our shortened attention spans are interested in? Although I do think there's some truth to these ideas, they're not the whole truth.

One thing I personally love about short fiction is the immediate setup and payoff. A novel is a serious investment of time and energy. Most people don't read a novel in a day or even a week. It takes time to introduce the characters, to develop a relationship between them and the reader, to develop the setting and plot surrounding the characters, and to show those characters' emotional and sometimes physical growth throughout the story. And, after all this, the reader expects the story to have a satisfying conclusion.

In short fiction, the author can sort of cheat. There are many short cuts that can be taken to skip some of the time consuming events I just listed. One of the ideas presented by the panel was the idea of Unity. Unity in a short story is the concept of One; one character, one problem, one setting, and perhaps even one effort. To expound on these:

•  One Character doesn't necessarily mean only one character in the story, but only one Point of View. In short fiction you barely have enough time to get to know one character, let alone several. It's best to stay focused on one person's thoughts and actions. If you split story time between characters it can get confusing and also make your characters shallow.
• One Problem could also be listed as One Plot. If you have your character(s) facing too many problems or subplots, it will not only make your story too long, but also will make it more challenging to reach a complete and satisfying conclusion.
• One Setting, like Character, doesn't mean only having the story in one room of a house, or even one town or city. You can visit different places in your story, but remember that the more complex you make your setting, or any of these points, the longer your story will be and the harder it becomes to close it all up satisfactorily. Typically my short stories have been focused within the personal bubble, as it were, of the main character. (I couldn't find an appropriate term for "personal bubble", but it is essentially the idea that everyone lives and works within so many miles of their home and rarely venture out from it. If anyone knows a term for that area, please let me know.) In most of my short fiction, the setting is within the characters' job, home city, or family. But that doesn't necessarily limit the locations. In one story, the setting is a college campus, with a few different dorms and offices used. In another, centered around a space race, the setting is within the protagonist's space ship. The setting may cover lightyears of travel, but still only takes place within one setting, the ship.
• One Effort for the most part means forgoing try/fail cycles. If you're unsure of what this is, it's the idea that, in order to build tension in the story, your protagonist(s) must try to solve the problem and fail at least a few times. Only when it seems like there is no other way for them to accomplish their goals, and then they do, is the ending as powerful as you want. In short fiction there often is not time for try/fail cycles, or perhaps only one. Unlike in a novel, a short story protagonist can solve the problem on the first try, provided the story is setup properly and maintains its interest.

In short fiction you can often skip essential elements of a novel such as backstory. (This can be done in long form as well, but is more difficult and more suited to short works.) In short form you can simply start at the climax of your story and leave the backstory to the imagination of the reader. In fact, this is one of the more provocative ways to tell a short story. Don't get caught up trying to fill the reader in on everything that has happened to lead the protagonist to this point. Simply provide the essential details, and leave the rest for the reader to dream up on their own. This creates a certain collaboration between author and reader and can make your story more powerful.

Some tips on writing short stories well:

• Enter scenes late and leave early. This means to start the scene at the exact moment of decisive action for the protagonist, and end the scene before the calm settles in.
• Trust your reader to fill in details you don't supply. We read to feed our imaginations, set the reader free as often as you can.
• Cut down on the number of scenes, characters, and subplots.
• Reduce the complexity of the main plot.
• Tell, don't Show, SOME of the story. This goes against everything we are taught as writers to Show, don't Tell the story. But in short fiction sometimes you have to just info dump the important parts so you can get on with the current scene. But, be as concise as possible in this. Remember, in a short story every word has to count. As Orson Scott Card said, everything in a story has to fight for the right to be there. If it doesn't have the right, it is unimportant and uninteresting, cut it.
• Finally, start the story closer to the end and just fill in backstory. Or, as we have already discussed, leave the backstory to the reader unless it plays an important role in the plot.

During the panel the question was asked, How do you know when to begin and end your story?

Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury explained one way to know is to use Orson Scott Card's M.I.C.E. Quotient. This is a list of four categories that are present in every story. Most of the time, one of the four dominates the story, but all four are always present. They are:

• Milieu - This is the setting of the story; location, family, the world, weather, etc. A Milieu driven story is one where the setting is the main problem or antagonist to the characters. An example of this is Pocahontas/Dances with Wolves/Fern Gully/Avatar. Yes, these are all essentially the same story. A Milieu driven story begins when the protagonist becomes involved in the setting and ends when they either find a way home or choose to stay and join the setting.
• Idea - This is the idea of the story. An Idea driven story is one where a question is presented and the characters must figure out the answer or solution to that idea. Most mystery stories are Idea stories. An example of an Idea driven story would be The Game. What is the Game? Is it really a game, or a life and death con? The Idea story begins when the question or idea is presented and ends when it is answered or solved.
• Character - This is the character(s) of the story. A Character driven story is one where the protagonist is challenged in some way and must find a way to grow and overcome his/her personal challenges. Rudy is a good example of a character story as is the Lion King. The Character story begins when the character either decides he/she wants to change, or is changed by their circumstances and ends when they either make the change or accept it.
• Event - This is a change in the status quo of either the world or the character's life and must be righted. Most disaster stories such as 2012 or Armageddon are Event stories, as are epic adventures like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. The Event story begins when there is a change in the status quo and the main character decides to get involved and ends when either the status quo is returned, or a new status quo is established, or in some cases, when the characters fail.

As I said, all of these things are found in every story to some extent. But most stories carry one in the forefront that drives the plot, while the others are simply there to flesh out the story. Especially in short fiction you will have one of these four things driving the story while the others may barely be touched upon. This a good way to keep your story focused. Decide what kind of story you are telling and make sure to keep the story centered on that.

The last thing I want to discuss about is what to avoid when writing short stories. I've already discussed things like keep it short and simple. Don't let your plot get too complex, don't let your characters run away with (or from) the story. Keep it focused on the type of story you want to tell. Also, avoid what is known as Tomato Surprises. No, this is not a recipe with eggs, milk, and breadcrumbs (though if you Google it that is mostly what you will get). A Tomato Surprise is withholding some vital detail from the reader that, if it had been revealed at the beginning of the story, would take most, if not all, of the tension out of the story. It is used often to pull the rug out from under the reader and turn the entire story into a one-line joke. 

Not to say that the Tomato Surprise can't be done well; it's just very difficult. Two movies that come to mind where this is used effectively are The Book of Eli and The Sixth Sense. Both stories have a reveal at the very end that completely changes the meaning of the story. Unfortunately, most of the time when authors try this trick it does little more than confuse, disappoint, and upset the reader who feels deceived rather than satisfied by the twist. 

That's about all I have to say on the subject of short stories at this point. I think the most important thing I've learned about writing short fiction is that you have to start with the interesting stuff. With novels, you typically have one to two chapters to engage the reader. In short fiction you only get one to two paragraphs. A short story has to have a hook. Even if it means starting in the action and flashing back occasionally to set it up, start with the hook and work your way from there.  

I'm still toying with the idea of including a writing prompt at the end of each post, and then following it up with my own works based on that writing prompt, but with this subject, the writing prompt seems pretty straight forward: Write a Good Short Story. And since that is vague and well, stupid, I think instead I'm going to post an old story of mine written in college as a bad example of a Tomato Surprise. I guess if you want, your writing prompt could be: Write a Good Tomato Surprise Story. 

Feel free to share your writing prompt results with me, either by emailing it to me at joshmorreywriting@gmail.com, or you can post it in the comments on this blog. I look forward to whatever you come up with. Also, as this is my first blog ever, feel free to bombard me with ideas and suggestions on how to improve this blog or my posts.

That's the end of my first blog. Until next time, write something.