We’re going to throw something different into the mix today: a post about screenwriting mistakes. This is an important post for all writers to read, including novelists, because the same advice can easily be translated to your fiction stories as you set out on the query trail.

For those who know us well and have read our books, especially The Positive Trait and Negative Trait Thesaurus books, you know we are huge supporters of writers learning from screenwriters and screenwriting structure techniques. One of our favorite instructors is Michael Hauge in fact, so much so that we’re bringing on a Story Structure tool that incorporates the 6-Stage structure model over at One Stop For Writers. (You can find out more about that incredible bit of news [and sneak-a-peek at what it looks like] HERE.)

All right, time to hand things over to our guest today, Norman Arvidsson. Please read on!

 “The Play’s the Thing” – Unless You are Committing These 10 Errors

90% of the scripts registered with the WGA are never completely read by script readers. They are rejected early on by readers who are overworked and pretty intolerant of basic errors that would-be screenwriters make. If you want to be in the 10% that get fully read and receive that call for further discussion, then don’t make these 10 fatal errors.

1. Poor Development of the Main Character(s)

There are several potential goofs in the area of character development.

• First, don’t write physical descriptions of your main character(s). You may have a picture in your mind of a character, but first readers don’t want that picture. They want to develop their own physical picture as they read the script. It can be irritating to a reader to have a physical description forced on them in the beginning.
• Second, the character must face at least one issue that is big enough, even in comedies. If s/he does not, then there is no way the script can ever be translated into a full length play or movie.
• Third, the character has to stay in character. Yes, events may change his/her mind about something, but the basic personality has to stay.

The way to avoid problems with consistency of character is to have your entire plot at least outlined before you begin to write page one. If you develop your plot as you go along, then you are trying to make your characters “fit” into a plot you are continually developing. It never works.

2. Poor Structure

If you are writing a script, it is assumed that you understand the components. You have to include each of those components in sequential order, and the readers has to be able to locate them as the script is reviewed. Of course, you know that you have to have an initial incident or conflict, followed by that initial turning point, the mid-point, a second turning point and then the climax and resolution. If you cannot identify these elements in your own script, something is wrong. The best way to avoid this is to have a storyboard before you begin to write. You are then able to label each plot section, know that your sequencing is correct, and see that each component is actually there.

3. Too Long/Too Short

One of the first things a script reader will look at is the length. These people know what you should know too. A script has to be between 90 – 140 pages. If it is too short, you have either left out important plot elements or truncated some of the scenes. If it’s too long, you have irrelevant content and scenes are too long. When scripts are not a reasonable length, the issue is usually poor structure. Return to your storyboard, take each section, read through that section of script and determine its “tightness.” If your script is too long, are you be-laboring dialogue by repeating a characters thoughts? If it is too short, do you need to develop an element further through more dialogue? The other possible problem, of course, is that the issue/conflict is not complex enough for a full-length script. Then you are back at square one.

4. Giving the Reader too Much Character and Scene Description

Script readers are very good with “filling in the blanks.” And they want to read something that lets them get their own mental pictures. So dump the long descriptions of the settings and characters. Descriptions should be minimal – just a couple of phrases. If you want excellent examples of this, pick up a copy of a Shakespearian play and read the descriptions at the beginning of the scenes.

5. Bad Writing (avoid writing mistakes)

Script readers are pretty much well-schooled in grammar, word usage, spelling and punctuation. They are happy to forgive a few typos, and of course there are grammatical and agreement errors in the dialogue of characters who are supposed to have them. But beyond that you really need to avoid writing mistakes. Script readers are easily irritated by these types of errors, and that irritation will carry over to their overall feeling about your work. If you struggle with grammar and composition, find someone who is more expert to edit your script.

6. Unoriginal Plot and/or Characters (Derivatives)

Of course you have your favorite authors and playwrights. We all do. But your love for a particular character or story line cannot carryover to your writing. Find inspiration for characters elsewhere – life is full of them. Use combinations of people you know or have known, unless, of course, your work is based upon some prominent real person. Script readers are looking for originality and they can pick up derivatives pretty quickly (so can an audience).

7. Tired Dialogue

What no one wants to read or hear is dialogue that is filled with tired and overworked phrases or clichés. It’s not fresh and original, and you work will be in the 90% rejection pile. As you write, flag those parts of dialogue that seem “tired” or worn and move on so you don’t disrupt your flow. You have time to think about fresh ways to say something later on. Go back to those flagged pieces when you are finished, get some ideas from other creatives you know, and freshen up those spots.

8. Characters Who “Tell”

The whole point of a screen play is to tell a story through the actions and dialogue of the characters. When a character says, “I am really angry with you” to another character, you are boring an audience. When characters say, “I love you” too much to each other, you are boring an audience. These things need to be shown not told. If you have a character who is angry, in love, in crisis, etc., go back and study movies or plays in which characters had these emotions and issues. Get some ideas about how to show them through dialogue and nonverbal behaviors.

9. Not Resolving Every Conflict/Issue

This is known as “fudging” and it does not work. If you have not resolved everything by the end of your script, do not submit it. You cannot just gloss over stuff and hope it is not detected. It will be detected, your story will not be complete, and your submission will be rejected. You have to wrap everything up and “tie a bow” on it. Go back to your storyboard. Find every conflict and issue. Then mark on that storyboard where it has been resolved. Resolution of all means you have a “tight” plot, and this is what script readers must see.

10. Format Issues

Don’t have your script rejected because you failed to follow proper format. If you don’t understand format for submissions, then get thee to a website that explains it or check with someone who is “in the know.” This is the easiest error of all to correct.

There are lots of reasons why scripts are rejected. Don’t count on a script reader to provide the details for why yours has been. S/he doesn’t know you personally and does not have the time to give feedback unless there is interest. Screenwriting is a creative art to be sure, but there is also a “science” involved. These 10 errors are part of that “science,” and they are critical.

Norman Arvidsson is a freelance web developer with more than two years of experience behind him and also a contributing blogger.

He is interested in web-design, web development, motivation, online education and personal growth. You can contact him through his Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or LinkedIn.

Have any questions about these 10 error to avoid? What would you add to the list? Let us know in the comments!

The post Why Scripts Are Rejected: 10 Screenwriting Errors To Avoid appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

Our February workshop will open for entries on Saturday, February 6 at noon, EST. We'll take the first five Middle Grade, Young Adult, or New Adult entries that meet all guidelines and formatting requirements. Click here to get the rules. I will post when it opens and closes on Adventures in YA Publishing and on twitter (@etcashman), with the hashtag #1st5pages. In addition to our wonderful permanent mentors, we have author Brian Katcher and agent Christa Heschke!

February Guest Mentor – BRIAN KATCHER

Brian, a Stonewall Book Award-winning author, is the author of THE IMPROBABLE THEORY OF ANA AND ZAK, ALMOST PERFECT, EVERYONE DIES IN THE END, and PLAYING WITH MATCHES. Brian’s worked as a fry cook, a market researcher, a welding machine operator, a telemarketer (only lasted one day), and a furniture mover. He lived on an Israeli military base one summer, and once smuggled food into Cuba. When he’s not writing, he works as a school librarian. He lives in central Missouri with his wife and daughter.

THE IMPROBABLE THEORY OF ANA AND ZAK

The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak is Stonewall Book Award-winning author Brian Katcher’s hilarious he said/she said romance about two teens recovering from heartbreak and discovering themselves on an out-of-this-world accidental first date.

It all begins when Ana Watson's little brother, Clayton, secretly ditches the quiz bowl semifinals to go to the Washingcon sci-fi convention on what should have been a normal, résumé-building school trip.If slacker Zak Duquette hadn't talked up the geek fan fest so much, maybe Clayton wouldn't have broken nearly every school rule or jeopardized Ana’s last shot at freedom from her uptight parents.

Now, teaming up with Duquette is the only way for Ana to chase down Clayton in the sea of orcs, zombies, bikini-clad princesses, Trekkies, and Smurfs. After all, one does not simply walk into Washingcon.

But in spite of Zak's devil-may-care attitude, he has his own reasons for being as lost as Ana-and Ana may have more in common with him than she thinks. Ana and Zak certainly don’t expect the long crazy night, which begins as a nerdfighter manhunt, to transform into so much more…


Purchase it at your local bookstore, or online. And add it to your shelf on Goodreads!


February Guest Agent – CHRISTA HESCHKE

Christa started in publishing as an intern at both Writers House and Sterling Lord Literistic, where she fell in love with the agency side of publishing. Christa has been at McIntosh and Otis, Inc. in the Children's Literature Department since 2009 where she is actively acquiring for all age groups in children’s. For YA, she is especially interested in contemporary fiction, thriller/mystery, and horror. She is always on the lookout for a compelling voice combined with a strong, specific hook that will set a YA novel apart in its genre and the flooded market. She is open to all types of middle grade and especially enjoys adventure, mystery, and magical realism, whether in a voice that is more light and humorous or one with more of a timeless, literary feel. For both YA and MG, she is particularly interested in unique settings and cultural influences, interesting storytelling structure, complicated romances, diverse characters, sister or friendship-centric stories, and stories that feature artists of any kind.

Our February workshop will open for entries on Saturday, February 6 at noon, EST. We'll take the first five Middle Grade, Young Adult, or New Adult entries that meet all guidelines and formatting requirements. Click here to get the rules. I will post when it opens and closes on Adventures in YA Publishing and on twitter (@etcashman), with the hashtag #1st5pages. In addition to our wonderful permanent mentors, we have author Brian Katcher and agent Christa Heschke!

February Guest Mentor – BRIAN KATCHER

Brian, a Stonewall Book Award-winning author, is the author of THE IMPROBABLE THEORY OF ANA AND ZAK, ALMOST PERFECT, EVERYONE DIES IN THE END, and PLAYING WITH MATCHES. Brian’s worked as a fry cook, a market researcher, a welding machine operator, a telemarketer (only lasted one day), and a furniture mover. He lived on an Israeli military base one summer, and once smuggled food into Cuba. When he’s not writing, he works as a school librarian. He lives in central Missouri with his wife and daughter.

THE IMPROBABLE THEORY OF ANA AND ZAK

The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak is Stonewall Book Award-winning author Brian Katcher’s hilarious he said/she said romance about two teens recovering from heartbreak and discovering themselves on an out-of-this-world accidental first date.

It all begins when Ana Watson's little brother, Clayton, secretly ditches the quiz bowl semifinals to go to the Washingcon sci-fi convention on what should have been a normal, résumé-building school trip.If slacker Zak Duquette hadn't talked up the geek fan fest so much, maybe Clayton wouldn't have broken nearly every school rule or jeopardized Ana’s last shot at freedom from her uptight parents.

Now, teaming up with Duquette is the only way for Ana to chase down Clayton in the sea of orcs, zombies, bikini-clad princesses, Trekkies, and Smurfs. After all, one does not simply walk into Washingcon.

But in spite of Zak's devil-may-care attitude, he has his own reasons for being as lost as Ana-and Ana may have more in common with him than she thinks. Ana and Zak certainly don’t expect the long crazy night, which begins as a nerdfighter manhunt, to transform into so much more…


Purchase it at your local bookstore, or online. And add it to your shelf on Goodreads!


February Guest Agent – CHRISTA HESCHKE

Christa started in publishing as an intern at both Writers House and Sterling Lord Literistic, where she fell in love with the agency side of publishing. Christa has been at McIntosh and Otis, Inc. in the Children's Literature Department since 2009 where she is actively acquiring for all age groups in children’s. For YA, she is especially interested in contemporary fiction, thriller/mystery, and horror. She is always on the lookout for a compelling voice combined with a strong, specific hook that will set a YA novel apart in its genre and the flooded market. She is open to all types of middle grade and especially enjoys adventure, mystery, and magical realism, whether in a voice that is more light and humorous or one with more of a timeless, literary feel. For both YA and MG, she is particularly interested in unique settings and cultural influences, interesting storytelling structure, complicated romances, diverse characters, sister or friendship-centric stories, and stories that feature artists of any kind.

Hi everyone–I hope you had a terrific weekend and are in the mood to learn. Today I’m handing over the blog keys to Rachel Starr Thomson, one of editors who have jointly written 5 Editors Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing. I’m excited about this venture of Rachel’s as the book  features more than sixty detailed Before and After examples of flawed and corrected passages to help authors learn to spot flaws in their writing. Seeing real examples is a great way to elevate your writing.

The Fatal Flaw of Underwriting

Fundamentally, when we write a story, we want to connect with readers’ emotions. Engage emotion. Elicit it. Give readers a story they don’t just learn but one they feel and will never forget.

Yet emotion is one of the story elements most commonly underwritten—and underwriting in general tends to harm emotional connection the most.

Underwriting is just what it sounds like: it’s the failure to put things on the page that need to be there. When somebody picks up a gun and fires it off, and we didn’t know there was a gun on stage, that’s underwriting. When someone makes a decision completely out of the blue, leaving us not so much surprised as confused, that’s underwriting. When a story just plain doesn’t make sense, it’s probably underwritten.

And when no matter how hard you try, you just can’t give a damn about the characters? Most likely underwriting is at fault.

Why We Underwrite

The dirty little secret, though? Underwriting is sometimes (often) a direct result of following editorial advice like “show, don’t tell,” and “make sure your scenes are active and full of conflict” and “don’t info dump or fill your scenes with backstory.”

As an editor who also writes stuff (a lot of stuff), allow me to eat humble pie and tell you that sometimes we push you to strip so much out of your story that it ends up gasping for breath, struggling to hang on to a shred of character or conflict that anyone cares about.

I’ve been there. I once misinterpreted “show don’t tell” so horrendously that I thought it meant everything had to be conveyed through action and dialogue alone, and I was never allowed to include thoughts or backstory. Talk about gutting a book!

Connecting

Underwriting hurts emotional connection so badly because it turns everything 2D. We lose contact with really essential parts of our stories, settings, and characters when we fail to include what needs to be there.

In particular, these three often-underwritten areas can make or break connection:

Process. When your character goes from decision point A (“I will not go to the ball”) to decision point B (“I will go to the ball”), and we didn’t see any of the decision process, it’s impossible to feel invested in the question. The Rule of Three is helpful here: in a decision of midlevel importance (meaning it’s more important than “I think I’ll brush my teeth” and less important than “I think I’ll marry the hero after all”), show three stages of the decision-making progress.

I will not go to the ball.

1. But then I just learned my best friend is going.
2. If my best friend goes, she will exceed my popularity.
3. If she exceeds my popularity, I will lose the interest of the prince.

I will go to the ball after all.

Reaction. In my clients’ manuscripts, it’s amazing how often something will happen that ought to get a reaction from the POV character … and it doesn’t. I mean, somebody’s mother might have just died, and we get crickets. When you’re in POV you always always always have to react. Even if you don’t react, it has to be because you’re being so darn deliberate about not reacting. If the temperature drops, shiver. If someone dies, cry. If someone says something provocative, have an opinion about it.

Many times, I’ve had a client return a manuscript after revision, and simply by adding reaction—usually in the form of a thought, shown through deep POV—they had absolutely transformed the story. A character who responds to things is alive, and through that character, the story can be experienced at far greater depth.

The Thoughts Behind Emotion. This is a biggie, and it’s where “show don’t tell” can be so incredibly damaging when misunderstood. We know not to write “She was angry.” So instead, many writers revert to writing “body emotions”: “She ground her teeth.” “She turned red.” This makes for a lot of odd and sometimes unclear images, but it doesn’t connect us to the character’s emotion at all. We see her feeling something; we don’t feel it. The best way to convey emotion, it turns out, is to write thoughts. We feel in response to things we’re thinking. So do our characters. If you can show what they are thinking, nine times out of ten you can make an emotional connection with your readers.

Words are the stuff of our worlds. Without words to translate into vivid images, actions, thought processes, emotions, settings, and more, none of those things can exist. So underwriting is actually as great a danger to a novelist as overwriting—perhaps even a greater one.

Thankfully, underwriting not irreparable. In fact, when we go and fill in the gaps, we might just discover the missing heart of our own stories.

Rachel Starr Thomson is the author of eighteen novels. As an editor and writing coach, she has helped writers achieve their best work for over a decade—so she’s thrilled to contribute to The Writer’s Toolbox series, which gives fiction writers everything they need to know to create compelling, solid stories, with 5 Editors Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing.

You can check out all Rachel’s books at her website.

Which of these three areas of underwriting do you struggle with? Let us know in the comments!

The post The Fatal Flaw of Underwriting appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

Writers! This is a post you will definitely want to bookmark! Writer and MFA student Tracy Gold joins us today to share a wonderful list of those little words that creep into our documents and slow down our reader's experience. Use this list and your "find" key next time you're in edit mode. And be sure to check out Tracy's entry in Pitch Wars!

43 Words and Phrases to Search for While Polishing Your Novel, A Craft of Writing Post by Tracy Gold

If you're like most writers I know, you just LOVE revisions and edits. ;-)  So you'd probably appreciate some good ideas as to how to make the process less painful. Skylar Dorset, author of The Girl Who Never Was, is here with us today to share how she turns the process into an enjoyable game!

Having Fun with Editing: A Craft of Writing Post by Skylar Dorset

As writers, we all love revisions...right?!? If you're not a revision-loving geek, or even if you are, author Katherine Locke is here to share with you some of her lightbulb-flashing ideas from her own revision process. I especially love the "but" and "therefore" method she shares. And be sure to check out her newest release, Finding Center, below the post.

Reverse Outlining and Magic Post Its, A Craft of Writing Post by Katherine Locke

We are thrilled to welcome Alex J. Cavanaugh to the blog today as he provides a glimpse into the writing authors face AFTER the deal is done! Alex first made waves, or jumped into hyper-drive, with his Cassa Trilogy, which landed on the Amazon bestseller list. He is also the founder and leader of the wildly popular online Insecure Writers Support Group. Surely that wouldn't describe anyone of us, now would it? Be sure to check it out as well as Alex's newest release, Dragon of the Stars, below.

Writing Doesn’t Stop When the Book’s Finished, A Craft of Writing Post by Alex J. Cavanaugh

source

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About the Book:

About the Author:

Few writers approach revisions with as much love as the initial creative process. But not author Elizabeth Langston. She joins the blog today to give us a fresh, and much appreciated, perspective on how to really dig revisions. And we get to help Elizabeth celebrate the cover reveal of her upcoming book. Congrats, Elizabeth, on a fabulous cover for Wishing for You! Check it out below!

I Heart Revisions: A Craft of Writing Post by Elizabeth Langston

• borrow a proverb (“slow and steady wins the race”)
• use a movie quote (“there’s no place like home”)
• fill-in-the-blank (“[protagonist] discovers that _________________”)

     I wanted to be part of my mother’s solution. I wanted her children to be the reason for the miracle. “Why does it have to be a stranger who helps you get better?”
     “Grant isn’t a stranger.” Her voice sounded weary. “He doesn’t remind me of Josh.”
     It was the first time I’d heard her use my stepfather’s name in months. “What does Grant do that I haven’t done?”
     “Nothing. It’s just different with him.” Her fingers reached out to smooth my hair. “You don’t get to be a kid anymore, and I can’t even promise when that’ll change.”

     I wanted to be part of my mother’s solution. I wanted her children to be the reason for the miracle. “Why does it have to be a stranger who helps you get better?”
     “Grant isn’t a stranger.” Her voice sounded weary. “He doesn’t remind me of Josh.”
     It was the first time I’d heard her use my stepfather’s name in months. “What does Grant do that I haven’t done?”
     “Nothing. It’s just different with him.” Her fingers reached out to smooth my hair. “I’m sorry, baby. You don’t get to be a kid anymore, and I can’t even promise when I’ll be able to be the adult again. I’m just…sorry.”

1. Grant; Mom; brother; best friend; former crush: All of these relationships had clear arcs. I only had to tweak and smooth.
2. Estranged friend: Lacey remained estranged from her best friend Sara—start to finish—in the first draft. I decided to bring them to more a civil place by the end of the book—which required 2 new scenes.
3. Deceased stepfather: Lacey is angry with her late stepdad for leaving a mess in her lap. In the first draft, her anger never went away. But really, she needed closure. I added a new chapter so that Lacey could release her pain and remember how much she’d loved him.

About the Author:

About the Book:

Hi everyone! Welcome back from a wonderful break. I imagine, like us, some holiday rest and relaxation was just what the doctor ordered, but now you are getting a bit itchy, ready to jump back into the fray. To start things off right in 2015, we are diving right into the thick of writing technique with a guest post by author Raven Oak, who is joining us to talk about the successful pattern of Scene and Sequel.  This is a must read, especially for those who do not know about this technique. Trust me, your writing will thank you!

Scene and Sequel

When I began writing seriously—not the scribbles in a notebook of plots I’d write someday or the half-started, never-finished stories I cranked out, but the “I want to write novels for a living” point in my career—my first completed book felt juvenile. Portions dragged. And those that didn’t, sped through the action without anyone stopping to smell any proverbial roses. So how does one develop solid pacing through a novel while building tension, developing characters, describing setting, and advancing plot lines? The answer is a little trick called Scene and Sequel. Why? Because humans like patterns.

Scene and Sequel is a technique developed by Dwight Swain in his book, Techniques of the Selling Writer. (If you haven’t checked it out, I would strongly suggest doing so as he covers a wide range of simple tricks writers can use to develop better stories.)

Readers pick up a work because they want a powerful and emotional experience. It’s an escape from the drudgery of the real world and a way to live vicariously through others. As a writer, you must create and maintain an illusion strong enough to fool the reader. Pacing helps create and maintain this illusion.

Novels are typically comprised of chapters, which are often made up of scenes. To keep the ebb and flow of a novel going, each scene should then be identified as being a scene or a sequel.

A scene has the following pattern:

1. Goal—what the character wants. Must be clearly definable
2. Conflict—series of obstacles that keep the character from the goal
3. Disaster—makes the character fail to get the goal

And a sequel has the following pattern:

1. Reaction—emotional follow through of the disaster.
2. Dilemma—a situation with no good options
3. Decision—character makes a choice (which sets up the new goal).

To understand how this works, let’s look at A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

 Chapter 1 is a SCENE

1. Goal—Scrooge wants money and to be left alone.
2. Conflict—When the charity solicitors and Scrooge’s nephew visit, they stir up feelings in Scrooge and memories of his sister, Fran. As Scrooge arrives home, he sees his old business partner’s (Marley’s) face in the doorknocker, and then later in the pictures in his fireplace mantel. Scrooge tries to dismiss the conflicting emotions/thoughts this stirs up.
3. Disaster—The disaster is when Marley’s Ghost arrives to warn Scrooge that three ghosts will visit him. Each one has a lesson to teach him. If he doesn’t heed their lessons, Scrooge’s afterlife will be full of pain and misery.
4. Scenes tend to be full of action and tension that push the plot forward. Remember, every scene you write must further the plot and/or further the character development.

 Chapter 2 is a SEQUEL

1. Reaction—Scrooge’s initial reaction is to write off Marley’s visit as the result of some bad food. When the Ghost of Christmas Past arrives, Scrooge tries to send him away. He claims he doesn’t want or need the lesson, but having no choice, Scrooge accompanies the ghost into the past.
2. Dilemma—As Scrooge journeys through quite a few joyful and painful memories, he begins to doubt the decisions he’s made. Scrooge faces a dilemma: whether or not to believe himself guilty of bad judgment and humbug, or whether to continue avoiding Christmas, its joy, and his family as he has for many-a-year. Neither are good options, so he picks the option he thinks he can live with.
3. Decision—Scrooge decides the past is too painful, because it’s made him doubt himself. In anger, he decides to extinguish the light given by the Ghost of Christmas Past, and thus, his own light. At least momentarily.

 What a sequel does is give our character(s) an opportunity for reflection and self-introspection. The decision will lead us into our next scene, where the character(s) develop a new goal. In the case of Scrooge, Chapter 3 (scene) begins with a new goal: Scrooge reacted rashly in extinguishing the light. At the sight of the Ghost of Christmas Present, he decides he will go with him willingly and see what there is to see. And if necessary, think further on his own attitudes and prejudices. He’s not ready for a huge change yet, but change is happening—as change should be happening to your characters as well.

Scenes and sequels should continue to alternate the entire length of the novel, and in doing so, they’ll create a natural flow for both plot progression & character development. Many authors plan or outline the sequence of events using scene & sequel on index cards before writing.

Just about any novel you read will follow this rhythm. It seems simple, but structure usually is. Pick up a book and give it a flip through—I bet it follows the pattern!

 Do you use Scene and Sequel, or is this something you’re planning on testing out? Let us know in the comments!

Guess what? Raven’s Epic Fantasy has just released, so please enjoy this blurb, and if you like, add it to your Goodreads List, or snag a copy from Amazon.

Her name was Adelei, a master in her field, one of the feared Order of Amaska. Those who were a danger to the Little Dozen Kingdoms wound up dead by her hand. The Order sends her deep into the Kingdom of Alexander, away from her home in Sadai, and into the hands of the Order’s enemy.

The job is nothing short of a suicide mission, one serving no king, no god, and certainly not Justice. With no holy order to protect her, she tumbles dagger-first into the Boahim Senate’s political schemes and finds that magic is very much alive and well in the Little Dozen Kingdoms.

While fighting to unravel the betrayal surrounding the royal family of Alexander, she finds her entire past is a lie, right down to those she called family. They say the truth depends on which side of the sword one stands. But they never said what to do when all the swords are pointing at you. 

Want more Raven? Catch her on Twitter, Facebook or visit her at her website!

The post Writing Patterns Into Fiction: Scene and Sequel appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, there are a number of reasons why I may toss a book aside and never pick it up again. Clichéd characters, dragging first chapters, too much going on…the list, sadly, is long. (For my own personal list of what NOT to do in the opening pages of your story, check out the What Killed It For Me series.)

One of the things that most certainly WOULD kill it for me is when there are problems with the logic. If the author contradicts himself or something happens that totally doesn’t make sense…I don’t have much patience for that, and I don’t think most other readers do, either. Luckily, you don’t see much of this in published books because editors catch those mistakes. But it’s an issue I see quite a bit in manuscripts, and these little problems can slide your baby right out of an editor or agent’s inbox and directly into the circular file. None of us want that.

So I’m excited to welcome Harrison Demchick today to talk about something we’ve never discussed before at Writers Helping Writers: logic problems in manuscripts and how to avoid them.

Have you ever read a scene in a novel, or seen one in a film, that flat-out did not make sense?

Giacomo Spazio @ CC

I’m not talking about flying humans or talking animals or time machines. In their own contexts, there’s nothing illogical about any of these things, or for that matter anything else you can imagine. What I’m talking about are those moments where the protagonist says something he would never say or does something he would never do. Or those revelations that directly contradict already established fact. Or Halloween taking place two weeks after the Fourth of July.

These are logic issues, and if you remember how they made you feel when you spotted them, you know how your readers feel when such problems emerge in your own work. Logic problems remove readers from the world you’ve created. They take from you your narrative authority. They undercut conflict and tension. And if not identified and fixed, they will ruin your manuscript.

So let’s take a look at four different kinds of logic issues, where they come from, why they’re a problem, and how they can be resolved.

Type #1: Rule Violation

What it is: An apparent contradiction or inconsistency relative to the established rules of your world. 

Some might suggest that there are no rules in fiction, but that, of course, isn’t true at all. When it comes to establishing the world of your novel, there are two sets of rules: the rules readers bring to the story and the rules you bring to the story.

What readers bring to the story is common sense. That’s why you don’t have to explain concepts like restaurants, Sundays, and love and hate, and also why you don’t need to tell readers that someone who falls into the Grand Canyon is probably going to die. You, on the other hand, provide basic context—the particular rules and concepts that differentiate (or don’t) your world from the real one. If, in fact, it is not lethal in your world to fall into the Grand Canyon, or if the bottom of the Grand Canyon is an enormous trampoline, then you need to establish this.

Common sense and basic context comprise the rules of your novel, and when those rules are ignored or changed without explanation—for example, a human having an intellectual debate on Tolstoy with a box turtle in a world previously depicted as ordinary Victorian-era England—then we have problems.

Why it’s a problem: In a world without rules, nothing has meaning. Imagine your protagonist dangling off the edge of the aforementioned Grand Canyon. The tension in such a scene emerges from readers’ understanding that an ordinary man who falls into the Grand Canyon will die. But if there are no rules—if rules are added or changed or removed on a whim—there can be no tension. Maybe the character will die, or maybe he’ll bounce, or maybe he’ll fly away. Readers don’t know. And most problematically, very soon, they won’t care.

How to resolve it: Establish the rules early in your manuscript, ideally before the inciting incident. This is more difficult in some genres than others—it’s hardest for fantasy and science-fiction, which require a lot of basic context—but generally speaking, you want to establish the status quo before you change it. And ideally, this is done through showing rather than telling. Convey from the beginning a world in which turtles can talk with humans and that Tolstoy debate will read just fine.

Type #2: Continuity Violation

What it is: A contradiction or inconsistency relative to anything that has happened in your manuscript up to any given point.

This one is pretty simple. Everything that happens in your manuscript—not just every event, but every detail established in every sentence—is part of your continuity, and when you contradict that, you violate continuity. A character established as twenty-two can’t be twenty-five the next day. She can’t live in a trailer park on page 12 and a studio apartment in Greenwich Village on page 60. She can’t be lactose intolerant, then eat a giant bowl of ice cream without consequence.

Why it’s a problem: When readers invest their time and energy in your manuscript, you essentially promise them that you’re the world’s leading authority on the story you’re telling. Continuity violations break that promise. For readers, this is intensely frustrating, because if you seem not to know what you’re talking about, their time becomes a wasted investment. When you lose your authority, you lose your readers.

How to resolve it: First of all, be vigilant. Most continuity errors are simply mistakes. You forget what you wrote before, and thus accidentally contradict it. We all do it, and it’s not a big deal—just read carefully, and have someone else do the same if you know continuity to be a problem.

But you might also consider foregrounding. Foregrounding is addressing the continuity violation head-on, in the process making it part of the story. If something doesn’t make sense, but you or your characters acknowledge that it doesn’t make sense, readers will stick with you and accept it as either an intentional detail or something that will be explained later.

Type #3: Inconsistent Chronology

What it is: Inconsistency in the established passage of time in your manuscript, or lack of clarity and logic in when events occur relative to other events.

We know, as part of common sense, that night follows day and that there are five days in a typical school week, but this doesn’t mean that time passes automatically and logically in your manuscript. I’ve edited three different young adult novels in which school weeks lasted seven days or more, all because the authors referred to “the next day” and “the next day” without keeping track of how many next days had passed. I edited another novel in which, due to overuse of “several months later,” winter lasted for more than a year.

Why it’s a problem: Continuity will frustrate you, but chronology will kill you. You can’t make your climax the Thanksgiving Social if only two weeks have passed from the start of the school year. You can’t have two characters start and end a journey at the same place and same time when one’s adventure lasted three days and the other’s a week. Inconsistent chronology can result in impossible plot points, and these issues are very difficult to unravel.

How to resolve it: If chronology is a concern, timelines can make a huge difference. Create a separate document keeping track of the passage of time in your manuscript. Know for yourself exactly when anything happens relative to anything else. If you write it down and make it a point of focus, you should be able to keep such problems under control.

(Note from Becca: For cool possibilities in timeline software, check out Aeon Timeline, or download Timeline for Microsoft Office or TikiToki for Macs.)

Type #4: Rationalization

What it is: Pushing your characters or plot in the direction you want them to go even when other logic issues make this unlikely or impossible.

The killer strikes in broad daylight even though she’s previously only worked at night, and the only reason is that we’re nearing the end of the novel and the author wants her to be caught. A caring uncle abandons his niece and her friends because the author wants the protagonists to face the villain alone. These important moments are guided not by the needs of the story, but rather the needs of the author, who will spend paragraph after paragraph trying to rationalize her decision.

Why it’s a problem: I sometimes call this 2 + 2 = 5. It doesn’t matter how much explanation an author provides: two plus two will always come out to four, not five. Readers know that, and at heart, authors know that too—that’s why they’re working so hard to convince readers otherwise. Problems with rationalization make fundamental plot points impossible to believe.

How to resolve it: You can’t fix this one with foregrounding, because the explanation is often the problem. Instead, remember that you control both sides of the equation. If you can’t get two and two to equal five, change one of the twos to a three. Find another way to get where you want to go. Instead of forcing something that will never make sense, create something that will.

While logic alone will never create a great manuscript, you can’t create a great manuscript without it. Don’t give your readers a reason to put your book away. Mind your logic.

Harrison Demchick came up in the world of small press publishing, working along the way on more than fifty published novels and memoirs, several of which have been optioned for film. An expert in manuscripts as diverse as young adult, science-fiction, fantasy, mystery, literary fiction, women’s fiction, memoir, and everything in-between, Harrison is known for quite possibly the most detailed and informative editorial letters in the industry—if not the entire universe.

Harrison is also an award-winning, twice-optioned screenwriter, and the author of literary horror novel The Listeners (Bancroft Press, 2012). He’s currently accepting new clients in fiction and memoir at Ambitious Enterprises.

HEADS UP:

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The post Four Logic Problems that Will Ruin Your Day (and Your Manuscript) appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS.

Becoming an author doesn't come with an instruction manual. It should, but if it did, it would be about 2,000 pages long. And no author would actually have time to read it. Because author.

Seriously. There are all these delusions about what we do. . . . We all have them.


They begin as we think that because we took English classes and own enough books to open our own bookstore, that qualifies us to write.

• Ask questions that help ensure that what is in the author's head is actually on the page for the reader to see.
• Force the author, often kicking and screaming, to dig deep, understand the story, understand every aspect and element of the story, and understand how all those elements best come together.
• Distill the story, characters, and themes to a format and structure that best conveys what the author wants to say.
• Orchestrate the story so that the story, characters, and other elements best work together so that they help convey what was in the author's heart.
• Clarify the language so that it communicates the story most poignantly and appropriately, and at a pace that will keep readers reading.

Yes, that's a Georgetown Cupcakes, cupcake. Yum!

Unique Mythology and Challenges (What makes the series different?)

My Writing Process and the Writing Factions

Are YOU Divergent? 

The Writer's Toolbox

Which Faction Are You?

Previous Stop on the Tour

The Exceptionals
by Erin Cashman
Hardcover, 2/1/2012
Holiday House

Born into a famous family of exceptionally talented people, fifteen-year-old Claire Walker has deliberately chosen to live an average life. But everything changes the night of the Spring Fling, when her parents decide it's high time she transferred to Cambial Academy--the prestigious boarding school that her great-grandfather founded for students with supernatural abilities.

Despite her attempts to blend in, Claire stands out at Cambial simply because she is normal. But unbeknownst to her new friends, she has a powerful gift she considers too lame to admit. Suddenly, the most talented students in school the Exceptionals begin to disappear. In an attempt to find out what happened to them, Claire comes across a prophecy foretelling a mysterious girl who will use her ability to save Cambial students from a dire fate. Could she be that girl? Claire decides there is only one way to find out: she must embrace her ability once and for all.

Purchase on IndieBound | Purchase on Amazon | Add to Goodreads

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