Fiction Writing: The Passionate Journey

Inspiration and the Proverbial Apple Cart

2013-04-04T08:58:00.002-05:00

Inspiration is like the runners high: it only comes after you’ve put in the miles. Sometimes inspiration is a glorious ride, but more often, inspiration is a gift that turns over the proverbial apple cart. Inspiration opens the door to possibility and opportunity.

The Power of Image for the Writer

2013-04-01T17:59:00.001-05:00

Many writers have the misconception that words drive writing, that in order to begin you have to have the right first sentence or paragraph. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you begin with words, that's where you'll end up, lost in a quagmire of words. Why? Because words reside in the left side of the brain, which is the home of judgment, evaluation and the Inner Critic. You know that voice inside your head that says, "If you're going to be a writer than you have to write this, not that. Not too much sex or violence. Don't be boring. Write a page turner or don't bother..."
"Have to, have to, have to!...should, should, should!" Whenever you hear these words, take note. Your Inner Critic is controlling the show. What you want is for you Inner Writer to step forth. Then you can really start writing.

How do you do this? Stop thinking. I know that's hard. But whatever down on the paper or computer. Even if it makes no sense. Write nonsense. Write without thinking.

Call forth an image. Any image. Close your eyes and ask your Inner Writer for an image. Use the image as a prompt, even if it makes no sense.

Remember, the image is the bridge into the unconscious! Doesn't make sense. Stop thinking and you will embrace the universe.

What Does Creative Success Mean to You?

2013-03-20T17:55:00.000-05:00

Lets explore the affects on our writing when the need for outer world success becomes a driving force. Notice I used the word need, which arises out of the ego desires and not the creative source within us. When this happens, the endless loop of thoughts may run something like this:

If only I finish a story, I'll be happy.

If only I get an agent, I'll be happy.

If only I get the book published, I'll be a success.

If only I get a decent advance, then everyone will know that all this time I put into my writing has been worth it...

When I get on the best sellers list, well then I'll have reached my goal...

Winner the National Book Award would surely be nice...

Of course then the pressure would really be on to write another great book. I wonder if I can hit the jackpot twice...

Oh, God, that will never happen... who am I trying to kid. I might as well give up now....

We've all been through our own version of this scenario, most likely countless times! It clear that enough is never enough to satisfy ego and calm its fears of inadequacy!

It is, important, nonetheless, not to discard the ego's need for outer world success. First of all, in our private world, the ego doesn't let up. The ego will have its say. Sometimes its relentlessness can cause us to give up in despair. Other times, it can be a deciding factor in pushing us to complete. The key is to know, deep in your being, that true success, creative satisfaction and joy come from answering the mysterious call of creativity.

This call is always a great challenge, and cannot be answered by the faint of heart. Its path demands great leaps of faith. It is filled with magnificent surprises that more often than not feel threatening to the ego. For me, the greatest and most freeing gift of the creative life is finding out that I am much more than I ever dreamed I was. I have hidden strengths, a wild imagination, a fierceness and ability to fly. Most important, I am on a journey in life that is constantly unfolding.

Some of this I learned from my characters, who showed me sides of myself that surprised challenged and grew me. Some I learned from the numerous times I stumbled and fell and found within me the wherewithal to pick myself up and move on. And yes, I've lost my way, too many times to count. And yes, I still battle the demands of the ego and fall victim to my inner critic's badgering and false view of me and life. But I have also learned that I have a fearlessness in me that ultimately shines through and supports my journey and my creative life.

Explore The Fiction Writer's Journey

Looking for a writing coach? Explore what Emily has to offer.

2013-01-30T08:18:00.001-05:00

Thought for the day!

"When you're a writer or an artist, nothing is wasted. Even the most painful and difficult experience in life can be recycled into material for a project, and it's the artist's job to be awake, aware, and opportunistic. This attitude might sound a bit cold and calculating, but it's not. Quite the opposite. Art, when it comes from dark and difficult places, gives us a means to fully feel out most powerful human emotions and transform our suffering into something meaningful."

Ruth Ozeki, from an article in Shambala Sun Magazine.

2013-01-15T09:24:00.000-05:00

Which is more important — plot or character? Although this is an often asked question, it's the wrong question for the fiction writer to ponder.

Why? Because both character and plot are vital to storytelling. A better question is: Am I a plot driven writer or a character driven writer?

The answer comes down to this: To which you are more intuitively drawn? Character? Plot? Knowing the answer gives you an understanding of how the creative process finds expression through you.

In this 2 session teleSeminar series, we will explore:

•How to know whether you are character or plot driven?

•How does knowing help me become a better writer?

•The strengths and the pitfalls of the character driven writer.

•The strengths and the pitfalls of the plot driven writer.

•Character and plot are dance partners, but who leads first?

Most writers are naturally stronger in either character or plot, and you can learn to be strong in both. This teleSeminar series will show you how.

Register: $40 for 2 teleSeminars

Can't make the TeleSeminar? No problem... the program will be available as a download to everyone who signs up, whether or not you attend.

Explore more about character vs plot on this blog

Are You Fool For Your Creativity? You Better Be!!!

2012-05-21T20:32:00.000-05:00

"My imagination makes me human and makes me a fool;

it gives me all the world and exiles me from it."
Ursula K. Le Guin

Creative Success: Sale on Audios and Ebooks through May 31, 2012

2012-05-14T20:18:00.001-05:00

Creative Success: What Does It Mean? How Do We Attain It? No matter how much the creative spirit calls and feeds us, we set impossible standards when it comes to measuring our creative success... and somehow we always fall short.

This 4 session audio series is for writers and anyone looking to deepen her or his understanding of creativity, how creativity works and nourishes you through your artistic pursuits and all of life. Listening to this series will change the way you determine creative success and thereby give you more creative freedom than you dreamed possible!

Each audio runs about an hour and a half.

Session 1: The Gypsy Dances, includes an e-book, Calling Forth Your Gypsy
Explore how the visceral quality of creativity supports your artistic endeavors and your life's journeys.

Session 2: Don't Be Afraid to Fail, includes an e-book, Failure, Discipline and the Magic Five
Explores the powerful and freeing aspect of "failure" and why, as creative people, we cannot do without it.

Session 3: 'You are so weird!" he said. "Thank you very much!" she said.
Explores why the most creative aspects of our personality are most threatening to our Inner Critics, as well as the language of creativity and the importance of being part of a creative community.

Session 4: Talent: What Does It Mean? Why It's Important? Should We Really Care?
How should we evaluate our own "talent"? How much emphasis should we put on talent? And, perhaps most importantly, can we develop our talent or is talent the gift of the gods?

Purchase the Series

50% Saving on the The Art of Fiction Ebook Thru April 13

2012-03-03T18:56:00.000-05:00

Purchase the Ebook of The Art of Fiction Writing or How to Fall Down the Rabbit Hole Without Really Trying from Smashwords.com and save 50%. Now through April 13, the Ebook is only $4.50. Read on your ebook reader and ipad.

Order from Smashwords.com
When you Check out use this Coupon Code: QK22N
Expires: April 3, 2012

The Art of Fiction Writing is a course in creating flesh and blood characters from the imagination. Easy-to-use techniques, prompts and exercises along with 5 audio "journeys" that deepen the work and make you feel as if you are in a private coaching session with Emily.

A prompt as we near the Winter Solstice

2011-11-28T17:31:00.000-05:00

As we go into the dark womb time of the earth, where dying is the promise of new life, I think of this by Goethe:

And so long as you haven’t experienced

This: to die and so to grow,

You are only a troubled guest

On the dark earth.

As I look my life from where I am right now, I feel.....

Please feel free to post your writings on the blog!

Who Is the Real Character?

2011-05-15T11:16:00.000-05:00

Do you inhabit your characters or do they inhabit you?

What does the question and its answer mean to you?

How does the question make you feel?

Post your answers below!

Fearless Creativity: A Woman's Wisdom Circle

2011-05-11T10:13:00.001-05:00

Defining Personal Success: Embracing Fearless Creativity, A TeleSeminar SESSION 3, Sunday May 15 , 7 pm ET

We all have our definitions of what it means to be successful with our creativity. All too often, those definitions are based upon the insatiable appetite of the ego for outer world recognition.

Not that there is anything wrong with outer world success. There isn't! Outer world success can be fun, remunerative and reduce, for a while, one's anxiety about "just how talented am I really?"

Problems arise when we buy the ego story that outer world success is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Even if we chance to dip into that pot, its riches are never enough for the insatiable ego; thus any perception of loss acerbates feelings of failure and sends us on a desperate search to redo the success and, should that fail, to give up.

When we hand over validation of our creativity to others, we become victims of their judgments.

Creativity in its infinite expressions is our most vital experience of the life energy and the adventure of life itself. When we answer creativity's call, we give our self one of the greatest gifts that life can offer.

We give our self... there is tremendous power in those words. For what we give our self, no one can take away, unless we allow them to. The creative part of you will never give that gift away, but the ego will and does.

In Sunday's Fearless Creativity session we will explore the ego's obsessive search for the pot of gold at the end of the illusive rainbow and reclaim and honor the true gifts of creativity, its challenge and sustaining passion and joy.

Each session of this series stands alone and you do not have had to attend other sessions of Fearless Creativity to attend.

REGISTER: Single Session, May 15, 7 pm ET: $30

The session runs at least 2 hours. Recordings of the session will be available to participants. There is no prerequisite to joining the telecircle.

The Greatest Gift of Writing

2011-04-18T15:47:00.000-05:00

The greatest gift of writing is discovering who you truly are. Not the small you who gazes with fear and longing outward into the world, but the expansive You, who talks in dreams and ignites your imagination through a summer breeze, a raging storm, a war torn landscape and the touch of love.

This is the You who guides the pen and gives your fingers their flight across the keyboard.

This is the You who calls you to the most challenging of life's journeys.

Imagination is more powerful than the workings of the mind. When you sit down to write, don't think. Put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and write.

"We are all guilty of the great crime of not living life to the full. But we are all potentially free. We can stop thinking of what we have failed to do and do whatever lies within our power. What those powers that are in us may be, no one has truly dared to imagine. That they are infinite we will realize the day we admit to ourselves that imagination is everything. Imagination is the voice of daring." --Henry Miller

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking for a way to open to your imagination? The Art of Fiction Writing or How to Fall Down the Rabbit Hole Without Really Trying shows you how. The Art of Fiction Writing is now an ebook for only $8.99! Explore the e-book.

Fearless Creativity and an Audio

2011-04-07T09:04:00.000-05:00

SESSION 2

CREATIVITY AND AWARENESS

Accepting Where You Are On the Journey,

Moving Into Endless Possibility

This Sunday, April 10, 7 pm ET

What is creative failure? What is creative success? What is creative freedom? These are some of the questions we explored and wrote about in our first session of Fearless Creativity on March 10.

This Sunday we explore how to develop and sustain a non-judgmental relationship to creativity. We will work with a exercise that turns down the volume on stories that "define" creative success and failure, and open instead to a channel that supports creative flow and expands creative possibilities.

I have excerpted two sections from session 1 and created an a 9 minute audio that gives you a sense of the last session. The audio clip includes a discussion failure and creativity as well as an interaction that I had with one of the participants on the question: "What part of yourself is creativity asking you to die to?"

2 Sessions: April 10, May 15. 7 pm ET. Includes, the audio from Session 1: $60
Single Session, either April 10 or May 15: $30

Each session runs about 2 hours. Recordings of the session will be available to participants. There is no prerequisite to joining the telecircle. A few opening are left.

REGISTER

The Benefits and Pitfalls of Outlining in Fiction Writing

2011-03-07T19:52:00.000-05:00

The usefulness of outlining in fiction writing depends on how and when you use it. As I said in an earlier post, plots, like characters, are living things. Plotting can be a delicious left brain activity that can lead you down the rabbit hole into places you never expected to go. That said, some people are completely overwhelmed at the thought of writing a plot outline. If this is you, don’t worry; outlining is not essential, and you may get some insights from reading on.

An Overview of Outlining: What Works and What Doesn’t

A carefully determined chapter and scene outline that becomes the writer’s bible. This is definitely a horse before the cart method, one that I never recommend as something you do before you’re really into writing of your story. The big danger is that outlining, a left brain activity, ends up defining characters and plot. This is a sure fire way to end up with flat characters.

However, this method can be a helpful exercise when you have lost your way in the writing, or are feeling overwhelmed with too much material. Making an outline of what you already have can help you focus and get a view of the story line as it is already written. Using outlining in this way might help you see openings to both plot and characters that you missed.
A story board. Can be fun, might help. The danger is that you have the illusion of being productive and creative even if you haven’t done much writing. Better to use this when you have a good first draft. Also story boards are helpful in film scripts and any kind of writing that is formulaic.
Writing a one or two page overarching view of plot. This can be very helpful for a plot driven writer who needs to have some sort of roadmap before writing. The benefit of a sketchy outline is that it leaves plenty of room for change!
A fascination with figuring out and revisiting the plot in your mind. This can be fun and very helpful, especially if you allow the plot to play on the inner screen of your mind like a movie. There are many times when we need to settle down and spend quality time working on plot.

A plot driven writer has the option of figuring out and revisiting plot on paper and through the mind’s eye. For a character driven writer, it is usually preferable to work out plot through talking to others, bouncing around ideas, or seeing the story line and the what ifs through movies in the mind. I do this a lot when I am walking, driving, trying to fall asleep or during that wonderful half sleep before waking up.

Personally, I find this vital to my process of plot development. Once I was so confused and lost in trying to figure out who the bad guy was, in desperation I handed the job over to my character, who worked out a very detailed overview that he called, On the Trail of Akimov. He figured out the plot and he wrote it down on paper! On the Trail of Akimov actually became a section of the book, just as he had written it, and became a key in uncovering the identity of the bad guy!

The BottomLline On Plotting and Outlining

Do what works for you while being aware that outlines are meant to help, not imprison. Successful plots are ultimately driven by characters: what characters say, do and how they react. The more developed your characters, the more compelling the plot.

In writing a work of fiction, anything can happen!

*** Special Offer ****

My workbook course in writing, The Art of Fiction Writing or How to Fall Down the Rabbit Hole Without Really Trying, is now an e-book. The week of March 6-12, you can purchase it at Smashwords for only $4.50. The e-book is normally $8.99 and can also be purchased from Kindle.

For this week only, the ebook is an amazing $4.50 at Smashwords!

Purchase the e-book for your Kindle for only $8.99

If you love the feel of a real book, while the sale is on, the original printed book and CD are available at a special sale price of $29.95. That's $20 off the original price.

Writing, Teaching and the Passion of the Journey & a Link to Spring/Summer Writing Offerings

2011-03-01T08:42:00.000-05:00

This morning I had an inspiration to write about the writer's journey from a somewhat different perspective. I was thinking about how dearly I love both writing and teaching. And I realized that, after a lifetime of passionate writing, I enjoy coaching writers and leading workshops as much I do writing.

My own writing life has never been just about writing fiction. I've always been a keen observer of my process. The teacher in me was always watching and learning and journeying with me! Perhaps she knew long before I did, that her time would come.

For over thirty years, I've been helping others navigate the often tumultuous waters of the creative process, then standing back and, with joy and pride, watching the brave ones take off and fly!

Flying is really how I've experienced my writing: soaring above the confines of my physical self into other realms, other experiences of being and other landscapes that expanded, challenged and changed me -- all for the better!

Which doesn't mean being a writer is an easy journey. On the contrary! I think writing is as risky as sky diving, psychically that is. It asks us to journey into the unknown. It asks us to give ourselves over to characters and mysteries that we didn't even know lived within us. Then it asks that we be a fool for love — love of our great passion for writing.

What fuels this great passion? I believe as writers we have an insatiable hunger to explore the human condition, and we explore it all: folly, brutality, tenderness, love, sex, death, toil, the broken heart, the lost opportunity, the heroic and the courageous, the cowardly and mean spirited, the beautiful and the ugly, god and the devil.

We want to make sense of this strange journey called life; we want to find the resolution that often slips through our fingers. We want the human spirit to triumph! We do this through all kinds of writing: mainstream, memoir, humor, thrillers, children's, chick lit, detective stories, fantasy, horror, science fiction...

Because this is so primal to my passion for writing, I work with writers who sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously, are willing to take the leap of faith into the unknown. This leap is difficult, and the journey demands great stamina. Writing takes time — writing, tossing away, rewriting, tearing out one's hair, laughing, crying, dancing, taking long naps...

So, I'm asking you to take a journey that I myself have taken, and onto which I've led countless others. The path inward is well trodden by the millions of creative people who've journeyed before us. Sometimes we need a light to show the way, and a tool bag that makes the going easier. For those of you who have worked with me and will work with me in the future, I hope I can be that light and carry that tool bag, until you're ready to shoulder it yourself.

If you like the sound of this, please read more about my offerings for this Spring and Summer and join me on this journey.

Fearless Creativity: A Women's TeleCircle

2011-02-21T09:27:00.000-05:00

Artwork by Frank Howell

I have been offering these Creativity TeleCircles for women for several years now and, after an hiatus, I am happy to say we are beginning again with a new series: Fearless Creativity.

In this series, we will explore the insights, wisdom and concerns of being that lie beneath the surface of our conscious mind.

With awareness, compassion and a sense of freedom and flight, we will uncover old, self-perpetuating stories that limit our creativity while devouring our happiness.

Using fiction, poetry and intuitive writing, we will access the playfulness, perception and wisdom of our unseen Self.

"In our daily lives we connect with others by sharing stories. In the Sunday circle we share ourselves, our souls, the truth of who we are; not what we are! We can call them stories of the souls, and today, each person’s soul story has touched me, has taken root in the corner of my being, and will grow within me. I am grateful to those who plant their beautiful seeds in my garden." ~ Louise Easton

3 Sessions: March 13, April 10, May 8. 7 pm ET.
3 Sessions $60
Single Sessions: $30

Register

This new series starts on Sunday, March 13 at 7 pm eastern time. Each session runs about 2 hours. You can join from anywhere around the world! Recordings of the session will be available to participants.

There is no prerequisite to joining the telecircle. Participation is limited to 10.

Explore Emily's Coaching

The Journey of the Plot Driven Writer

2011-02-16T08:27:00.000-05:00

Plots are great, no doubt about it. We all love a page turner, and as writers, we love it when we come up with a great plot twist. Murder, mayhem, love found, love lost, love found again, political intrigue, family secrets, science fiction, fantasy... plots go on and on....

It’s also been said that there are only 10 basic plots, and all plots are but variations on one of the ten. I don’t know if that’s true, but there is certainly truth to the statement. This is also the answer to the question: “I have a great plot but what if someone steals it?”

I don’t believe that anyone can steal your plot because it’s not the details of plot that make a book successful; it's the writer’s passion for his characters and story and her ability to develop characters, story line, settings, emotions, dramatic tension, flashback, mystery and weave them into a creation that is uniquely hers.

Another way of saying this is give five people the same prompt, even the same plot, and you will come up with five very different stories and levels of success.

In a Pinch, Character Trumps Plot

You can have a very intriguing and successful book with a straight forward plot and fabulous characters, but a book with great plot but weak characters won’t hold most reader’s interest for long. To my mind, that's the kind of book where the reader eventually jumps to the end to find out what happens and, curiosity satisfied, dumps the book in the trash.

Characters are not stick figures that can be moved around like chess pieces for the sake of plot. A clever plot twist can lead you smack into a stone wall if it doesn’t fit the personality and the will of your characters. During your first and second drafts, at least, both characters and plot must remain fluid.

Playing with plot, planning and then watching plot rise and fall depending on the words and actions of characters is a fascinating process, sometimes maddening and often a lot of fun. Being comfortable enough with plot to allow it to shift is a great asset, and something that both plot driven and character driven writers need to embrace.

Plots, like characters, are living things. They can be a delicious left brain activity and are ultimately driven by characters: what characters say, do and how they react. The more developed your characters, the more compelling the plot. In the journey of the writing a work of fiction and in the life and drama of your characters, anything can happen!

Hey, Plot Driven Writer ― Forget About Plot!

A plot driven writer can actually forget about plot because, at some level, his mind is always working the plot anyway. So play around with plot as your characters reveal themselves. You love doing it, and nothing can you stop you from doing it anyway! Just don’t let the plot steal you from your characters.

Coming Next: The Pitfalls of Outlining and Two Stories about Two Writers and Their Journeys with Plot and Character

Journey Into the Imagination: A Spring Writing Weekend in Litchfield, Ct. April 30- May 1

Writing, Creativity and Ritual, A Retreat for Women in Glastonbury, England. July 25-August4

Explore Emily's Coaching and Workshops

2011-02-09T21:26:00.000-05:00

Early Registration Ends March 1, 2011

Save $200

Glastonbury awakens a magical place within me.... A place where I found a creativity lost to me for decades. It is a place where I delved deeply into my soul, found stories within, and set them free. I am returning to the retreat in Glastonbury for the fourth time in 2011. ~ Mary Jane Taxter

The Retreat in Glastonbury is a pilgrimage into an ancient landscape... a fabulous adventure!

This is the 5th time my Writing, Creativity and Ritual Retreat fior Women is returning to the Abbey House in Glastonbury, England. This retreat has always been my most popular retreat. Here are just a few of the reasons:

Living for 10 days in the 18th century Abbey House with its glorious, sunny meeting room overlooking the Abbey Ruins, its private entrance to the Abbey Ruins and its peaceful and beautifully landscaped property.
The town of Glastonbury, just steps away from the Abbey House, is known as "the holiest site in England" since pre-Celtic times. Today it is a vibrant mix of New Age and the Church of England spirituality and culture.
There is an amazing array of unusual shops, pubs, bakeries, eateries, bookshops and healing centers. You will find esoteric books in Glastonbury you can't find any place else! A visit to a special collection of esoteric books is being arranged for us by the Abbey House!
A landscape dotted with sacred sites: Glastonbury Tor, The Chalice Well,The Glastonbury Thorn Tree, the Abbey Ruins and more...
The ancient isle of Avalon, land of priestesses, the Goddess, King Arthur and the Grail is Glastonbury! The "mists of Avalon" can be seen most early mornings in the dense fog that surrounds the Tor. King Arthur, priestess, grail legends and Celtic lore abound.

Explore the Retreat in Detail!

Early Registration Ends March 1. Save $200

Pitfalls of the Plot Driven Writer

2011-02-07T18:10:00.000-05:00

As I said in the last posting, the major pitfall of the plot driven writer is thinly developed characters. This pitfall is, however, symptomatic of a greater challenge, one which arises out of the natural inclination of the plot driven writer to begin a story with plot and story arc. To do this, he calls in linear thought and critical thinking, which puts the cart before the horse.

The creative process finds is origins in images and feelings, both of which are decidedly non-linear. The first stage of the process is often quite chaotic. Anything is possible.

Linear thought, however, seeks patterns and solutions. Its movement is toward order and completion, both of which are integral to the development of any creative endeavor, but not at the beginning.

Overcoming the Pitfall Without Creating Writer's Block for the Plot Driven Writer

In my experience, asking the plot driven writer to start the process from other than his home base can bring on writer's block. The more staunchly analytical the writer, the more destructive this can be. For such writers, the plot twists and action are the driving forces of the story. What characters feel and think may not even enter the mind of a plot driven writer. For them, characters are there to support the plot, when just the opposite is true.

As William Faulkner said, “The problems of the human heart in conflict with itself... alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the sweat and the agony.”

Does this mean that the creative process is unfairly harsh on the plot driven writer? Or that the plot driven writer is doomed to starving his characters? Absolutely not! As I said in an earlier posting on this blog, I know many a character driven writer who are green with envy at writers who find plotting easy and fun!

What is the plot driven writer to do?

I believe that a writer should never try to change how she instinctively approaches the writing process on first or even second drafts. Begin writing what is easiest and most fun for you. If that means plotting and planning and outlining, then do it! Your mind will never give you peace until you do. However, do it with the understanding that there is nothing sacred about the plot and outline you first devise.

Once the outline is finished, at best only sketched out, it’s time to let go of plot and fall into character. This isn’t as easy as it seems. The mind that loves to organize and control doesn't readily fall in the messiness of character and the chaos of the unknown.

In the next postings, I will explore ways for the plot driven writer to overcome these challenges and quiet the mind's need to be in charge. For now, I suggest you go back to the beginning of this series and explore the pitfalls of the character driven writer, because they apply to you, too!

The Plot Driven Writer

2011-01-28T15:09:00.031-05:00

So far in this series, I have been exploring the strengths and pitfalls of the character driven writer. Now it's time to exlore the journey of the plot driven writer.

As we do this, remember that both character and plot are necessary in fiction writing. Most of us are intuitively stronger with either character or plot ― but that strength can become a weakness if it overwhelms the writing process.

For plot driven writers a sign that your strength has overwhelmed the writing process is when the plot surges ahead, but your characters are undernourished. End result: you write a page-turning plot, but the reader doesn’t care about the characters. At best, this is the kind of book where a reader skims pages just to “find out what happens.” At worst, the reader simply doesn't care and puts the book aside.

Becoming aware of your strengths and learning how to develop areas in which you are not strong is a challenging task that has huge payoffs!

Strengths of the Plot Driven Writer:

1. You focus on logical thinking and rational analysis.

2. You have strong plots and can see the arc of the story.

3. You love action and suspense, and have an ability to make action come alive.

4. You have a strong desire to see the process through to the end and that helps get the job done!

Next: The Pitfalls of the Plot Driven Writer.

Falling In Love: The Great Romance Between Writer and Character

2011-01-20T09:07:00.000-05:00

(This is an updated version of an article published in 2006)

Recently, I was considering the question of peace, which doesn't happen often while writing fiction. There's all that drama, love, hate, desire, envy and so on. Peace, with any luck, comes at the end of the novel. I was considering this aimlessly as I lay with my head on Phoebe's warm flank one cold winter's day. Phoebe, being the sensitive, intuitive creature she is, immediately tuned into my musings and suggested we consider the question of love instead, which she quite rightly observed was a precursor to true peace. As she is an expert in both, I decided to go with her feelings.

"It can't be mushy love, all slurpy with wet noses and such," I reminded her. "Not that I don't love your slurpy, wet nosed kisses, but these are writers I'm writing for. Love, hate, war, peace, birth, death — the human drama — we can't be too obvious."

She turned away and began to slowly, lovingly lick her paw.

"Characters," I went on, scratching her behind her ear so as to get her attention. When I finished scratching, she glanced back at me with, well, the only word I can think of is love. I got all gushy and warm and silly and put my arms around her. We rubbed noses and I buried my face in her fur. She stretched out and I laid my head on her warm neck.

"Struggle," I went on. "Writers struggle a lot. It's not a dog's life, you know, being a writer. We write, we struggle, our passion ignites, unleashes the white heat that drives the pen without thought. But then, the door closes, we struggle again, scratch a bit, make tea, feel sorry for ourselves, maybe take our dog for a walk in hopes of inspiration returning."

WALK! She sat up, her tongue lolling with a the giddiest of grins. WALK! It was the rapid tail wagging that gave her away.

"Calm down, sweet girl," I told her. "I have an article to write. Then we walk."

The tail wagging wound slowly down. She turned on her back so I could rub her tummy. It was then that inspiration passed between us and I exclaimed, "That's it! The emotional roller coaster ride of being a writer. The waxing and waning of inspiration!"

Phoebe groaned and turned away in preparation for one of her long naps. I could see I was losing her.

I explained, "The answer is both simple and complex, Phebes. Because so long as we write and take risks with the writing, the journey never ends..."

She was beginning to snore. Kissing her softly, I returned to the computer and began to write:

For the writer, where life ends and fiction begins or where fiction ends and life begins is never quite clear. And that is, I find, one of the great joys of writing fiction. For the life inside me, the possibilities of experience, adventure and understanding that exist in the depths of my imagination, just waiting to step forth, are not only endless but endlessly exciting, mystifying and enriching.

Who will be my next cast of characters?
To what new landscape will they take me?
Who will step forth as my darkside character this time?
With whom shall I battle?
With whom shall I fall in love?

Falling in love — it always comes back to that! (Phoebe is right, you see!) How we writers love our characters, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly! Love is the beginning and the end: love of the characters, love of the process, love of our self that comes when we journey inward to discover a person we never knew we were, whether it be a hero, voyager, dragon slayer, shaman, or storyteller.

"There is no reality except the one contained within us. That is why so many people live such an unreal life. They take the images outside of them for reality and never allow the world within to assert itself." ~Herman Hesse

WE'RE TALKING TRUE LOVE, NOT A ONE NIGHT STAND

Taking your time developing the romance between writer and characters, writer and story, is pivotal. It takes a lot for this romance to flower. And like any great romance, it takes not only passion but also will. The will of a lover who is there for the long run. The will of a lover who refuses to give up when the first flush of romance is over and the work of the relationship begin. The will of the lover who knows the relationship is worth the struggle. Because we're not talking about a one night stand. Writing is not about instant gratification. No writer I know escapes without struggling with characters, story and most of all, self. But the payoff is better than anything you might imagine. For writing is a life journey. Unlike athletes, we never grow too old to play the game. We never grow too old to imagine, to struggle and to fall in love.

PS from Phoebe: May many soft, wet noses and wise creatures great and small come your way.

Sibyl Magazine Poetry Contest

2011-01-19T11:04:00.000-05:00

I'm passing information of this poetry contest around. Deadline is April 20th.

SIBYL Magazine's 2nd Annual International Poetry Contest

SIBYL MAGAZINE --- For the Spirit and Soul Of Woman
Incorporating Mindfulness and Compassion Into Everyday Living

- If you write poems, proses, song lyrics ...

- If you've got poetry that needs dusting off ...

- If you have a friend that writes poetry ...

Go online for further details and to view last year's 4 winners and what they say

about winning this contest! www.SibylMagazine.com

Pitfalls of the Character Driven Writer: When Your Characters Won't Open Up!

2011-01-17T12:54:00.000-05:00

Despite a fascination with the human psyche, a character driven writer can find it difficult to get a character to open up? This is all the more challenging when your start off running with a character and suddenly you feel as if you've slammed into a stone wall. No matter what you do, your character feels one-dimensional. You thought you knew who she or he was, but suddenly they seem like a stranger.

Antidote: The character interview for fiction writers. Explore the character from the inside out, not from the outside in. There is a difference, and a very big one between the two.

When your character won’t move, beware doing a “fill in the blank” character questionnaire such as:

What is your full name? What are your parents’ and siblings’ names? What is your favorite food? Are you married? Divorced? Do you have children? What are their names and ages? What is your job? What do you spend your money on? Do you travel? What does a typical day in your life consist of? What is your character’s hair color? Eye color? What kind of distinguishing facial features does your character have?

The problem with such "fill in the blank" questions is when the answers become a snapshot of the character that arises from your mind’s perception of what is true about the character's life. Imagine if someone else filled out such a questionnaire about yourself. Would the answers give any real sense of you, the inside, depth you? Would the answers give any insight into your life’s journey? Probably not.
Bottom line: you can't just fill in the blanks and presume know your characters. This is looking at the character from the outside in.

Carl Jung speaks to this when he says: The work in process becomes the poet's fate and determines his psychic development. It is not Goethe who creates Faust, but Faust who creates Goethe.

This powerful image speaks to what that I believe is one of the driving forces behind the writing of any work of depth. We find out who we truly are when we stop defining and controlling our character and, instead, become our characters. When we become our characters, we are exploring character from the inside out. We become our characters. We feel what they (not we) fell. We see the world through the character’s eyes, not our own.

What make this journey so difficult is that we are being asked to give up control and allow our characters to take the lead ― even if we don’t like or “approve” of everything the character does and says. When we do this, the dazzling power of being a character driven writer becomes ours!

Easier said than done, you might be thinking. And that is true. Giving up control is never easy, not in life and not in our writing, which our minds often confuse with real life! However, there are techniques that make it easier to give up control. One of the most powerful is basic to good storytelling: show, don’t tell. And the easiest was to do this is to write in scene.

The prime mover of the scene is point of view. (The character’s POV ― not yours!) To this end, I have developed a very powerful technique that I use with my students called Character Interviewing. There is information on the blog on this writing technique and I also offer it in private Character Interview sessions.

Next Posting: Falling In Love: The Great Romance Between Writer and Character!

Pitfalls of the Character Driven Writer. Posting # 2 in the Series: Plot or Character? Which Is More Important?

2011-01-14T12:13:00.000-05:00

In the previous posting, I explored the strengths of the character driven writer. Today I am exploring one of the pitfalls many character driven writers face:

You get overwhelmed by the chaos of creativity into which you so easily find yourself.

Antidote: Don't give up. Understand the power of creative chaos and learn to swim in it.Trust that you will not drown so long as you go with the tide, even if when draws you into whirlpools!

How is this played out with our characters?

Quite often, our characters turn out different than who we expect and want them to be. Following characters into uncharted territory feels daunting and/or dangerous. Following them feels like being thrust into chaos. The answer again is trust: trust your characters and follow them wherever they want to go. Don't try and force them to be someone they are not! This get easier the more you do it. And it makes writing more fun!

In the next post, I will explore this more fully. For now, consider whether or not you trust your characters to be fully themselves. If you are stopping your characters from being who they truly are, there is a good chance you are afraid of the chaotic unknown into which they might lead you.

Learning to swim in creative chaos is difficult for everyone, both the character driven and the plot driven writer. If you are interested in learning to swim in creative chaos, listen to the first 10 minutes of my teleseminar: Creative Chaos: Its Call, Its Difficulty, Its Freedom. You can also purchase the entire teleseminar on Creative Chaos for only $10.

In the next post, I will explore What To Do When Your Characters Won't Open Up!
If you'd like to get this series delivered to your email, sign up for the email list.

Writing about your relationship to creative chaos and allowing your characters to be who they are, good, bad and everything in between is fascinating to explore. If you do write about your experiences, please add the writing to the comment page here on the blog.

Plot or Character? Which Is More Important? Posting #1

2011-01-12T16:05:00.001-05:00

I am beginning a series that will continue over several weeks or more that explores the question of which is more important: Plot or Character?

Although it is an often asked question, I think it's the wrong question for the fiction writer to ponder. Both character and plot are vital to storytelling.

A better question to ask is this: Am I a plot driven writer or a character driven writer.

I suspect that you know instinctively which you are. It comes down to which you are more intuitively drawn: character or plot? There's no right or wrong answer. It is, however, quite helpful to know which you are. Knowing whether character or plot draws you when you are first developing a story gives you a better understanding of how the creative process finds expression through you. It will also focus in on areas in your writing that need more or less attention.

I'm going to begin by examining character driven writing. In my thirty years of coaching writers, character driven writers outnumber plot driven writers four to one. Again, no value judgment here. You have to learn to do both!

Strengths of the Character Driven Writer:

You depend more readily on intuition, emotions and the right brain as the entry way into your writing. This is helpful because the first part of the creative process depends heavily on intuition and right brain processing.
You are more at home in the chaos of the first part of the creative process, where you are basically flying without radar and anything can happen.
You see more readily through the lens of your characters. Thus you allow your characters to drive the story .
You are more at home with the unexpected. You may like roadmaps for your characters and story, but these roadmaps tend not to be detailed and are easily redrawn by the moods, actions and dialogue of your characters.

If you have any questions or thoughts on character and/or plot, please leave them in the comments and I will either answer them directly or incorporate the answers into future posts.

Next Posting: Pitfalls of the Character Driven Writer. You can receive these posting in your email by filling in your email below and clicking submit!