Canadian Prairie Writer: PlainText

Review of Act Two by Kimberly Stuart

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:38:00 +0000

Perhaps it's because I once intended to be a musician, but ended up a farm girl, that this novel rings true.

Kimberly Stuart's portrait of a haughty New York diva at the apex of life—the controversial, powerful age of forty—is utterly lovable. Her descriptions of the music world, from professional rehearsals to student breakdowns, are cleanly sketched and picturesque. There are a few moments when the novel simply pauses to breathe—at an attic window filled with coloured sky, in a small-town bar as a slow dance ends—and you are there.

Reminiscent of Thackeray or Austen's delightful conversational address to their readers, you are in a dialogue with Sadie Maddox. You quickly learn that her sarcasm isn't bitterness, but genuine amusement at human nature. There's much more to her than the shallow cattiness of the artistic world.

If you don't know the words to the song “Simple Gifts,” do an internet search for them; find yourself a copy of the Aaron Copland arrangement before reading the book. After finishing the last page, I sat back, and the closing words mingled in my mind with those of the song Sadie heard. It's the theme of her life story.

My complaint with this book is the same one I have with the majority of Christianish novels. While there are church-based themes and a Bible verse thrown in, the sum of the so-called spirituality is the implication that all sincere churchgoers eventually make their way to heaven. Regardless of the man-made traditions they may hold as their faith, any variety of belief will pass. A verse suffices to convince the main character that God is directing what she was already clearly motivated to do. Relationship with God is murky and undefined, the spiritual content awkward and ill-placed. The book would have fared better without any attempted epiphanies on the part of the main character.

If you're content with solid technique and evocative storytelling, by all means, enjoy. This novel is an amusement for churchgoers, not a signpost for seekers—religious or non-religious. Given the level of her craft, I'm looking forward to the potential for deeper meaning fleshed in the frame of Stuart's art.

Backstory...Or Not

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 07:25:00 +0000

So, when is it backstory, and when is it . . . well, not?

The problems of a less-than-founded story (voice of experience talking):

Characters whose motivations are confusing because they're a function of multiple complex past influences.
Awkward dialogue that exists only to sketch those past influences, which is just another way of breaking the show-don't-tell rule.
A plot that seems shallow without full development of the past conflicts which drive it.

Yes, the rule of thumb is to tell only what's necessary. But there is a time to tell more, rather than less.

Knowing that the work was going "clunk" without more of a foundation, I decided to take some time to write out all the backstory that was clogging my thoughts. A whole new story shape emerged.

It organically solves so many problems—plot arc, characterization, creating depth—that I'm inclined to believe I just started in the wrong place.

It means more supporting characters and a couple more POVs. But the result is a story with far more layers and far more development.

Sometimes backstory isn't.

It's All About Your Standards

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:39:00 +0000

The question is not whether extrabiblical resources should be used, but how they should be used--and evaluated before being chosen for use. I believe every Christian writer should aspire to be found acceptable by this standard:

"The Bible records in Acts 17:10-11 that the Apostle Paul commended the Bereans for comparing what he taught and said to Scripture. Rather than taking offense at what others might consider to be 'criticism,' Paul encouraged them to compare everything he was teaching to the Word of God. He did not regard those who sincerely measured what he said by Scripture as 'difficult,' or 'divisive,' or having a 'critical spirit.' He understood that for truth to prevail in the Church, everyone's teachings--even his own--would have to be proven by the Word of God. He echoed this in 1 Thessalonians 5:21: 'Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good.'"

(Deceived on Purpose, 2nd edition, p.18; Mountain Stream Press, 2004)

--Warren Smith, B.A., MSW
speaker and author of The Light That Was Dark (Moody Press)
Reinventing Jesus Christ: The New Gospel (now as a free e-book)
and Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Church

How Not to Communicate Effectively

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 19:02:00 +0000

In an interesting serendipity, PyroMarketing author Greg Stielstra stopped by to comment on my concerns about the methods he advocates. While I didn’t expect to find us in agreement, the resulting email conversation could only be described as disappointing. Without express permission to quote from private correspondence, I don’t feel comfortable paraphrasing the dialogue; it would only be my perspective on it, leaving you readers with no chance to evaluate the conversation, and particularly Greg’s side of it, on its own merits.

In a past life, ideas were more important to me than people. Ideas could be used as weapons when I felt people failed me, or even just when they became annoying. The focus of my life has changed in the years since trusting Christ. Surrounded by primarily non-Christian loved ones, increasingly becoming aware that life is finite–short, even–people have become more important than ideas. This doesn’t make ideas unimportant; it’s simply a re-ordering of my personal priorities.

Part of that human value is the right to think what one chooses to think. People are fascinating creatures, and their ideas are formed in fascinating ways. People are precious and beautiful and worthwhile. They are the only thing you can take with you to heaven, and that’s what takes top priority for me.

People’s prior assumptions are built through life experience, exposure to the thoughts of others, and exposure to the thoughts of God. Whether consciously or subconsciously, people place differing weights of importance on each of these factors. Those inward priorities colour the fabric of our information filtering system. They create a pre-existing context for handling the random information that constantly flies at us in daily life.

God offers us His word as a pre-existing information filter, designed to give us holy and heavenly perspective.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ...” (2 Cor. 10:3-5)

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

However, on a daily basis, I communicate with people who don’t necessarily share that view of Scripture’s pre-eminence as an organic framework of logic and life-interpretation–nor its authority to make those interpretations. They bring their own assumptions to the reading of those passages. As a result, their sense of logic is going to be different than mine; their beliefs are going to be different, their sources of authority will differ, and so will their attitudes and actions. In essence, their pragmatic faith and their ideology are going to be different than mine.

But in discussion, it’s not a “better or worse” battle at that pre-values, filter-formation level. It’s a learning opportunity, a chance to refine and correct my own preconceptions. Or it should be.

Differences shouldn’t be grounds for interpersonal combat. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12)

Differences should be grounds for real communication–not just batting ideas back and forth like weapons, but taking interest in how other people’s ideas have come into existence. That’s always valid. The fastest way to be an ineffective communicator is to try to force someone to use another person’s preconceptions and wording to explain themselves. It’s a way of saying, “I’m going to enforce my interpretations on your words, regardless of your intended context.”

Unfortunately, I found myself feeling that I was being forced upon, very quickly. Disappointing.

But that’s just one side of a situation.

Christianity: Faith, or Ideology?

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:01:00 +0000

Ideology: ...a system of ideas...characterizing a party, class or culture.
-Webster's Dictionary

Faith: Now faith is the substance of things not seen, the evidence of things hoped for. -Hebrews 11:1, KJV

...Or, to put it in the New American Standard Bible's wording, faith is an assurance and conviction of unseen things. Both expressions are encompassed in the original language. Again, looking to Webbie's, to "carry conviction" is "to bear irresistibly the stamp of truth."

Hebrews Chapter 11 is devoted to a list of people and the way their actions were changed because of their conviction of something unseen. Likewise, the book of James states, "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone." In other words, you can't see a person's inward heart-only their outward actions. James devotes considerable time to the idea that if we truly believe something, it will show up in our actions.

Suppose, for instance, that I give a nod to Christ as an important historical figure, a vital spiritual teacher. Nevertheless, the idea of Jesus as God seems-frankly, a little overboard. Therefore, I will take his teachings as having some divine stamp on them, but disregard the consistent linkage of his name with Godhood in New Testament and Old (where the specific name of Jesus is linked to the Messianic promises over 100 times). Matthew's Gospel account has the angel putting it to Mary and Joseph thus: "You shall call his name Jesus [Hebrew: Yeshua, Salvation], for he will save his people from their sins." (Matt. 1:21) Isaiah wrote, "God is my Yeshua, I will trust and not be afraid." (Isa. 12:2) Rather than take this literally, I will assign it an abstract meaning. I will spiritualize it, make it into a principle or a lesson rather than a tangible reality. What principle? What lesson? That depends on how it speaks to me, right?

After outlining an empirical process of Scripture verification, as if in a court of law, Peter wrote, "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation..." (1 Pet. 1:20) Psalm 12:6 says, "The words of the Lord are pure words..." How then should I take them? What effect should I allow them to have on me?

Is faith tangible? Is there anything concrete to it at all? James says yes. "Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead." (Jas. 2:26) It's natural to think of the spirit as being the faith, and the works the body. After all, the actions are the concrete part. But that's not what James said. He said the faith is the visible body. The actions are the living, breathing spirit. And without that living action, faith is dead.

Is my faith visible to those around me?

Commitment to the idea of Jesus Christ is not faith in the way the Bible uses the word. It is only ideology, a system of ideas that characterizes a certain culture. And that's one difference between a merely cultural Christian and a person who will see heaven. If we truly seek to build the faith of others, what we are actually seeking is to see change in their actions. Not just in their language. This is what makes belief in the Bible a dangerous faith, both for those who live it and those who despise it: It transforms.

I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. -Romans 12:1-2

Lord, I do believe; help my unbelief. -Mark 9:24

The Dark Side of Christianized Entertainment

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 11:23:00 +0000

“The techno-political thriller and the romance serve as antidotes to the imagination, rather than stimulants to it . . . . By shutting down the imagination, genre novels perform a useful service to the anxious air traveler by reducing his or her ability to speculate.” -Charles Baxter, The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot

To sum it up: There is nothing "unknowable" in pop fiction.

I recently began reading Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Her thesis is that it has become corporate and government policy to exploit public shock immediately post-disaster for capital gain. Therefore, it is financially advantageous to maintain a sense of instability in the public psyche.

She links this to the corporatization of government and the privatization of war in the Middle East (unfortunately, she does so from a vastly anti-Semitic framework, and even feels the need to lob a couple of un-journalistic verbal grenades at conservative evangelicals, in spite of an otherwise consistent exclusion of religious factors from her argumentation).

At the same time, I’ve just read Chris Anderson’s The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More. His book explains how the internet provides access to a large market share scattered across an infinite number of product choices. Each of these choices will only sell a few items within their niche. But due to the low cost of digital storage, Internet marketing can leverage a large number of low-volume sales into a sizable profit for companies like online retailers Amazon.com and eBay.com, self-publishing platform Lulu.com, and so on.

However, traditional retailing relies on mass appeal, and thus on more generic content, to create high-volume sales of a small number of product choices. Given this reality of the market, we can understand that the most popular, high-volume sales in the Christianized fiction niche will be those which are most spiritually generalized. There are a lot of denominations out there, so only the most generic spiritual basics will have broad appeal. I have heard the advice that one should never name denominations in fiction, whether in a positive or negative light, because any display of preference risks turning off the other 90% of the Christianized marketplace.

Since there seems to be a general trend of increasing popularity for this generically Christianized product, it begs the question of what people are getting from it. This is not spiritual meat. In fact, to have the largest appeal possible, it’s best to leave out the message of salvation entirely. To simply “holify” the secular world’s themes of thriller or romance.

Something clicked as I read about mass markets, the increased fear factor that has gone with the “war on terror,” and the ability of genre fiction to “[reduce people’s] ability to speculate.”

Is it possible that Christianized fiction, with its black-and-white good and evil and its relatively simple triumphs over the direst personal travails, appeals for less-than-idealistic reasons? This might begin to explain the popularity of such vague religious overtones as can be translated through almost any Judeo-Christian filter. Could that appeal have more to do with a culture’s psychic retreat from the fearful unknowable? Less to do with a genuine search for the very, very narrow-niche product we call Jesus Christ?

How Staged is Your Writing?

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:27:00 +0000

This is not about staginess, but staging. If the plot arc is the skeleton of a novel, then staging is the moving, active muscle which signifies the presence of a soul.

Staging: “the micro-detailing implicit in scene-writing when the drama intensifies and takes flight out of the literal into the unspoken.”
–Charles Baxter, The Art of Subtext: Beyond Plot

I’ve been studying through Baxter’s book, both taking notes and creating writing exercises for myself. I’ve used unloved but necessary scenes from my practice novel, as usual. Taking a technical book like this and using it as a study guide to redrafting can be highly refreshing, as well as challenging.

Baxter sums up pulp/genre fiction in this way:

“absolutely opposed to ongoing mystery and to the unknowable . . . . The techno-political thriller and the romance serve as antidotes to the imagination rather than stimulants to it.”

Baxter’s definition of staging presents a certain unique question to the Christian writer. Particularly for myself, since I adhere to a self-expository, self-explanatory and “knowable” reading of the Bible. That is, I’m no mystic. Since I believe that the Infinite can be known in a personal way through Jesus Christ, Baxter asks me to examine what that really means: What, then, is my paradigm of the unknowable?

Here are my answers:

Anything infinite–God’s attributes of love, justice, wrath, compassion, peace, unity, sovereignty.

Anything “fractal” (a different, self-contained sort of infinity)–infinitely detailed, such as biology, cosmology, etc.

Anything unique, since there is no scale of context for it–individual people, or anything that takes on an anthropomorphic quality; snowflakes; rare species; certain geographical locations; ancient technologies and cultures within their original context.

Finally, it’s my contention that anything absolute is unknowable in human experience. The key feature of life as we know it is the inability to experience absolutes as truly absolute. Yet we reference the absolute even in saying, “There are no absolutes!” Is that an absolute fact? If so, it’s a self-falsifying one.

Given that my faith defines God as the Absolute, and the source of those things we characterize as absolutes, the use of literary subtext to express an understanding of God strikes me as being full of powerful potential. To touch the face of God, as the poet put it, we must take flight “out of the literal into the unspoken.”

What's your paradigm of the unknowable?

....

Why Are You Lying to Us?

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 05:28:00 +0000

I saw the arc of a man’s life tonight. My friend, writer and analyst Carl Teichrib, was the guest speaker at our church’s Christmas banquet.

You’d have to know Carl to catch the shining curve of divindipity I saw. This is a man who has run self-organized stealth missions on the secret hideouts of cults. He has privately infiltrated and publicly monitored a variety of organizations, groups and movements which pose threats to democracy, national sovereignty, and–most importantly–religious freedoms. He is a trend-watcher, plotting the direction of politico-religious activity with a global-scale compass: the Bible.

He is a man who’s well-rumoured to be unafraid of death or consequences. I’ve heard the stories, although I’ve also heard his side of them. He has learned from defying his own human limitations–learned that human limits are much farther afield than most of us dare to imagine. Hunched into the wind at one hundred miles per hour on his motorcycle, he rests in the hand of God. Outwardly, Carl is the definition of an immortal mortal. He will die when God chooses. No man can stop him from doing it.

Tonight, he spoke about what Christmas is–and is not. He began by talking about one of his earliest memories of Christmas. In Grade 2, he said, the teacher sat them down and began to read Santa stories to them. Christmas, apparently, was all about Santa. Carl stood up and said to the teacher, “Why are you lying to us?”

So. He’s always been that way, I thought.

“The teacher asked me to sit down,” he said. “I didn’t.”

I began to smile. Ah. He really has always been that way.

“I kept asking her why she would tell us lies,” Carl said. “By the end of it, I was in tears. My classmates were in tears. My teacher was in tears. She gave me the boot out of the room...Christmas isn’t really about the tree, or the day, or the gifts. In fact, most knowledgeable scholars would agree that Christ wasn’t born at this time of year.”

Carl went on to sketch a picture from the Old Testament. He talked about the detailed, specific rituals surrounding the Holy of Holies, a picture of heaven. Of the one intercessor, the high priest, who was allowed to enter that place. He talked about the scapegoat, on which the sins of Israel were symbolically laid, and how that sin-carrier was driven outside the camp to die rejected, cast out from acceptable society.

“To understand this,” he said, “You have to go to a hill called Golgotha.” He spoke about a day when the sky turned to black, about an earthquake so powerful that the stones cracked.

“And then,” he said, “Christ died.”

The veil in the temple was torn in two, allowing all of us free access to that forbidden place–to heaven. The way is open, due to Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. As my dauntless friend unfolded this picture to us, once again, he was in tears.

When speaking, Carl is always analytical; always cerebral. To see this caught me off-guard and brought tears to my eyes as well. If only there were more men like that. That is the most godly and manly thing he could do.

His message seemed to end too soon, with a tang of things unsaid. He returned to our table, wiping his eyes with a quick, apologetic smile. “I hate it when I do that,” he muttered.

I saw the shining arc of God’s pen tonight, writing a light-filled script on an earthen vessel. When Carl broke, that light blazed through the fractures in his soul. Today and always, he is still the child he was, full of a powerful innocence that brings him to his feet when things don’t ring true. Always driven to ask again, “Why are you lying to us?”

The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

Godspeed, seeker of truth. And may you have a truly, truly beautiful Christ’s season.

The 1500-Word Refiner's Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 02:30:00 +0000

So a mathematician meets a gargoyle at a New Year’s Eve alumni gala, and discovers the universe is flaky. As in multidimensional snowflake fractals. It’s a cute premise, but cute premises are not enough.

The glory of the short-story format is the requirement of quick character and plot development within few words. If you really, really, really want to write a novel (and I’m still not convinced it’s on my to-do list), short story is a great way to master the art of making every chapter interesting.

The point is to clarify everything down to crystal-clear: What the man wants. What the gargoyle wants. What the danger is. What the rewards and fake rewards are. What could happen if you choose to believe you can walk on the outer rim of the universe, somewhere in the fifth or sixth dimension(s). And, of course, the implications of the existence of snowflakes.

Each of these falls into a category of storytelling. Character motivation. Plot structure. Premise. Symbolism. In a novel, it’s possible to have multiple elements for each. In a short story, less is more. It’s a snapshot, not a movie.

Thinking of a photograph (a good one, not just a round-the-house candid shot), composition is key. Themes of shape, colour and texture tie the image together. There is a line of perspective, a depth focus and an angle which can sharply affect the meaning of the picture.

What is the POV character’s perspective? Think about this narrow field of view and how the plot challenges it. One human being’s perspective is not going to be a huge field to work with. That’s the way we are. In a picture, the line of perspective leads the eye through the image and unifies the elements. In a story, you can do the same. Character and plot have to mesh very closely, or too many words are wasted. Choose only character elements suited to the particular incident in your short.

How deep does the story go? Similar to poetry, every external detail has to count towards the deeper meaning. If it doesn’t, kill it and put something else in its place. There is no room in a short for surface-only writing. Every minor detail should exposit the plot.

What is your angle as a writer? Are you looking down on your character from above, making him/her seem deceptively small? Are you looking up at your character from below, crafting a hero archetype? Straight on, as a peer? In profile? Are you deliberately skewing the angle, forcing the audience to see something mundane in a whole new way? Think about why you choose a certain angle, and the potential of other possibilities.

How do light and darkness interact in your story? Where do they fall on the character? Where does he/she reflect them, and where does he/she blend into them and become part of them? How aware is your character of the light and darkness around them? I'm speaking metaphorically, but you could look at it physically as well, if that's your choice of symbolism.

Learning to create successful short stories leads to creating successful chapters. Successful chapters have development in every phrase. Through short story work, you can train yourself to tighter writing and save tons of pain and effort on editing your longer fiction.

Don’ Write de Accents, Mon

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 20:07:00 +0000

The rule of thumb is not to write the accents of ethnic characters into the dialogue. The sheer stereotyping of this post title should make it clear why not. But I believe an amendment should be made to that: Don’t write the accents into the final draft.

Regional variances make characters unique and help to initially define them by tapping into (and/or challenging) the reader’s presuppositions. If you know the sound and speech patterns you’re looking for, it may help to “write an accent” while drafting.

With those visible inflections removed from the page, it can be harder to keep the word patterns and regional slang in mind during a speed-writing creative burst. There is nothing wrong with being privately cheesy while in draft, if it helps to fine-tune and flavour the final work. Find-and-replace tools on word processors make it relatively easy to clean things up during redrafting.

I talked with an experienced writer on my crit group about this. She writes Canadian Mennonite characters. Low German speech has a lovely, subtle lilting feel to it that can’t be communicated by writing in an accent. Her advice was to use colloquialisms and pay attention to word order in ethnic speech. Oftentimes, grammar transfers from the native language to English. I have the same problem at times when I speak French, because the patterns of the languages overlap in places and diverge in others.

Sometimes, phrasings are crossovers from the native language. One of my faves from my husband’s Mennonite roots is, “Make de door ope.” To nail these down, some familiarity with the non-English language and culture you want to express is required. If you get it wrong, you will look really dumb, and possibly like an ignorant Anglo-supremacist. Cultural sensitivity and respect are a major requirement for creating a truly multicultural cast of characters.

The easy part is, people are people, wherever you go in the world. I had to laugh when I heard that some African cultures exchange lengthy genealogies as a greeting. What an exotic, tribal, primitive custom, right? Well, only for those who haven’t lived in small-town North America. Or the Mennonite side of my family.

TVs, internet and high-volume consumer economies don’t change human nature. Neither does surviving by the skin of one’s teeth in the Third World outback. Culture informs our worldview, but it doesn’t change our humanity or our ability to hope and dream.

Accent is a signature of regional culture, which informs character. Regionalism can be a shortcut to defining some parts of a character’s worldview. But it’s just a small part, not the defining trait. So the rule makes sense: Don’t write the accents–in the final draft.

Raar.

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:34:00 +0000

Gracias, Michelle, for the "Powerful Words" award, which began here:

The Shameless Lions Writing Circle: A Roar For Powerful Words !

Now I have to think of 5 people to pass it on to. I will do that later, when my internet isn't tying up my phone line in the middle of calling hours.

Choosing to Give Up?

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 17:48:00 +0000

What does it mean if I deliberately choose not to finish my NaNoNovel?

Well, it means I don't want to write a novel right now. Right now, it's not where I am.

The avowed point of NaNoWriMo is to get people writing every day, whether they feel like it or not. I never don't feel like it. (What a sentence.) In fact, I have been writing most days. Just not on the novel.

NaNoWriMo has made me realize a few things. For one, I tend to be of the persuasion that there are enough novels out there, and they shouldn't substitute for real brain food. Like, I mean, educational stuff, y'know? I do think people should keep educating themselves throughout their lives.

A novel can be brain fodder in some respects. But, to quote my church librarian, "I need something to challenge me." Now, that's a librarian who loves to read. So I don't feel so bad for feeling the same way.

For another thing, I'm not interested in taking on the time commitments of a novel right now. I don't mean the writing of it. I've written two and a half full-length manuscripts before. I know I can do that. I also know I can edit them, get them critiqued, jump through all the hoops to make them actually readable and enjoyable.

It's the stuff that comes after--the publication process, the marketing process. It's a lot of work, and this year has been about shedding the extra work. Our family's not in need of anything except more time together right now.

What am I doing, then? Reading short stories and practicing their craft. Examining some article ideas. And still freelance editing. Even if full-length fiction isn't my goal or my destiny, the writing world is full of possibilities and opportunities. There is a niche for everyone.

....

Ode to a Pomegranate

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 07:54:00 +0000

It is 2 a.m., and I am sitting here eating my first pomegranate ever.

There are things I will jump in and try. Like NaNoWriMo. However, new foods are not among them. Therefore, the pomegranate is a symbol of bravery and bold venturing forth. I will immerse myself in my fictional world, which is frighteningly like my real world–which makes it, oh, so much harder than I expected. I will rack up the word-count. I will not be distracted by the bazillion more fruitful and productive things one could be doing . . . at 2 a.m.

I will leave my NaNo page sitting there in the next window, reminding me of progress slowly made. 5,000 words in the last four days. Not really goal-achieving or record-setting. (My personal record is 20,000 in six days.) I will flex my puny muscles and feel them burn as I climb that mountain.

I will sit back and do some self-examination. Because this story is relatively true-to-life, I'm balking emotionally. There is something to be resolved, something to make peace with. Like a pomegranate seed, untried. Ah, the game is afoot. Excuse me while I get introspective and narcissistic. Ta ta for now!

Over the First Hill

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:21:00 +0000

No, I'm not referring to my age. Not this time, anyway. Having officially broken the 10,000 word count on my NaNoNovel, I find I'm not very happy with it. In fact, I'm bored with it. There are only so many country mishaps I can find humourous, before it becomes too realistic.

However, I've survived my real life by categorizing it as amusing. I suspect I'll survive the NaNoNovel in the same way. The kids are appreciative, anyway.

Fellow author S.M. Kirkland is within reach, for the moment, at "only" about 2,000 words ahead. However, I'm gunnin' for Michelle Gregory, who likes to finish ahead of time, and is steaming along at 30,000 and counting. I have no idea how I'll ever catch up, except to actually finish.

Book Review: Faith Awakened

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:42:00 +0000

Faith Awakened
By Grace Bridges
ISBN: 978-1-4303-1111-9
Genre: Christian Sci-Fi

“Then it began. It was sudden and violent. One day, the City lay waiting; the next, the people lay groaning in every direction as the fresh sea breezes brought destruction to our shores. There was no cure...”

A book of two interwoven halves, Faith Awakened combines the fictional journal and the first-person experience of a woman who loses the will to live, yet finds herself embroiled in a battle to save the human race from certain death. The tale is haunted by judgement-and-redemption themes of Biblical proportions, catapulted into a devastated future world racked by the human lust for power. From the first pages, undercurrents of desperation drive the story as heroine Mariah plunges her few surviving friends and her beloved Peter into a cryogenic stasis. Two alternate realities unfold and gather momentum, reaching for each other with irresistible rhythm.

In terms of audience, the idea of faith in God is approached with the assumption that the readership will already have their own understanding of it, not as if to explain it or to convert non-Christians. The book includes second blessings of the Holy Spirit, visions and prophecies, female preachers and a miraculous cure. There is some mention of adult intimate relationships, including a question from a non-believer about the virtual world’s functionality. These are treated with discretion and brevity, and purity of pre-marital relationships is expressed in Mariah and Peter.

Initially, Bridges eloquently captures the stream of consciousness which undergirds the unfolding story. As Mariah’s journey continues, some aspects of the writing style may leave the reader wishing for more immediacy and more detail. If the book lacks anything, it’s a deeper dive into the world it presents. However, the plot soon begins to clarify the reasons behind the author’s structural choices. The unorthodoxy of Bridges’s narrative quickly becomes addictive. The conclusion to Mariah’s struggle through emptiness of world and soul compensates for any perceived lack of depth in the earlier parts of the book.

Throughout, the underlying themes of abiding regret and reawakened hope demand thought and introspection, drawing the reader into a contemplative interaction with the author. Bridges gives generously of herself, sharing her heart and her life experience with her readers. On par with Bill Myers’s Eli and Ted Dekker’s Circle Trilogy, but with a better premise than both, the setting strips away common conceptions of what it is to live. Bridges examines the deeper realities of the heart and soul through a bleak, richly textured storyworld that offers a fresh approach to the question, “What is reality?”

The compelling jacket design of Faith Awakened is an accurate signpost of the vivid, unusual journey within. If you’re a fan of strong leading characters, tense plotting with a few good twists, and long, deep chords of redemptive renewal, Faith Awakened is an invigorating step off the beaten path.

My Bestest NaNoWriMo Buddy

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:39:00 +0000

My nine-year-old has signed up for the Young Writers' Program with NaNoWriMo. Her enthusiasm is boundless. We read the "day before NaNo" email together yesterday. When we walked in last night from Wednesday Bible Study, she said without preamble, "The only way I could stay up till 12:01 is if you let me..."

I laughed. "So you're thinking about it too, are you?"

She grinned. "Yeah, I'm excited."

Her novelling goal is 5,000 words. She has a great premise, a great title, and it promises to be a fascinating journey together. In her excitement, I have had to encourage her to talk to her siblings less about the story and write more of it. However, she's over halfway to her daily goal already, which we set at 200 words. She's writing it in a special notebook, and then I'm typing it up for her and we're checking the word count together.

Once again, I find that anything done with my children takes on ten times the vibrance and interest. I never thought I'd wonder what I'll do with myself when they've left home. Those thoughts have officially started to occur to me.

....

Outlines Never Killed a Story

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:52:00 +0000

For some writers, outlining a story’s plot, characters or themes is natural. For others, it’s unthinkable.

I fall somewhere in between. It’s freeing to sit down and write, with nary a worry over where it will lead. On the other hand, when you have a goal and a deadline, the outline can really help you get there quicker.

There is an argument among those who fly by the seat of the pants that trying to plan and outline squishes the creativity. Actually, I think it’s just a foreign method of brainstorming. There are times when the rough drafting process is more information-rich. There is a certain kind of mind which views the rough draft in the same way that others view the outline. But there’s a time to lay groundwork for the rough draft as well.

From my own experience, I suspect that the problem with the outline method is not that it kills creativity, but that the SOTP writer is prone to bogging down in the outline’s details, or fussing over what point should really be in what order. The linear order feels too confining.

The difference in approach is that linear thinkers view their story as a series of events, while relational thinkers view their story as a global group of interconnected circumstances. There is another type of diagram to use for this, called a web.

Webbing consists of making a circle in the middle of the paper and writing the most important point in it. Around this, related points, characteristics or events are placed in their own circles. These come in no particular order. Lines are drawn to connect all circles that relate to each other or affect each other.

To overcome the linear-ness of point outlining, I’ve ended up using a process of filling in the points in a non-linear fashion. I will do all my main points first. Then I’ll do the first sub-point for all headings, and continue to fill it in from there. It allows me to think about the overall story, rather than getting hung up on the first point and all its potential sub-elements, and whether they really are sub-elements or important points in their own right...and so on.

What we’re taught in class about organizing information is a set of tools. When we’re graded on our ability to conform to the prescribed method of tool use, the tool becomes our master.

This is only temporary. As one of my music professors told me, “First learn the rules, then we’ll worry about how to break them.” Once out of the classroom, the tools are the servant. The writer is the master of them, not the other way around. We shouldn’t be afraid to take organizational tools and adapt them to our own unique ways of thinking.

After all, the mental image of what flying by the seat of one’s pants would look like is a little disconcerting.

When the Plot Thickens Into Sludge

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 22:12:00 +0000

Some of the more organized among us use diagrams to keep track of plot elements and story progression. Others, who may possibly organize from finish to start, keep a mental tally of what needs to happen to reach the end. Either way, it’s not always easy to narrow down the possibilities that throw themselves at you.

What do you do when all the threads tangle? It can result in despair. Actually, I think it’s a good problem to have, as it indicates a bountiful supply of ideas. I’ve quit with the NaNo practice now, but I’ve reminded myself of a few things.

Pick something and run with it. I can sit there telling myself, “If this happens, then that has to happen, and then I have to go back and rewrite the other.” But, no, I don’t. Not on a first draft.

Most word processing programs have a “highlighter” option. Even better, MS Word has a “track changes” and “comments” function that allows you to leave notes to yourself. You can do the wrong thing, leave a note, and fix it later.

Never mind plot and subplot. One thing I’ve noticed about under-edited manuscripts (and this includes some self-published and lower-quality small-published books) is that the plot elements are all there. The writer often has the right idea. But the diamonds need to be gotten out of the rough.

For myself, I tend to focus the first draft on character and backstory, rather than plot and dialogue. When I go back, I can refine and recreate ideas to make the story tighter and more interesting. This often means switching the relative importance of different plot elements.

Start a whole new scene. Or switch points of view. Or hurl the characters into a totally different setting. For instance, I once discovered that Africa worked better for me than England. I don’t know why. Maybe because East Africa is rife with danger and desperate circumstances. Not that I know much fact about it, just plenty of opinion. That’s okay too, in the rough stages.

Research and write, or write and then research. Depending on the type of work, sometimes it’s better to have all the pieces in place before writing. The reality can be the driving force behind the fiction. Other times, it’s possible to use the first draft to determine what factual details need to be added. I’ve done both.

I think my preferred option is to do both at the same time. As I find out facts, they change the way I look at my story line. They may even change the whole story. A great example is Stephen Lawhead’s Hood. His knowledge of the British Isles’ history and ancient geography changed the whole stereotypical Robin Hood story into something far more fascinating.

Eat chocolate. Unless you hate it. I have met a few such mutants, one of whom is an offspring of mine. I do not know how this happened, but I suspect he was switched with an alien at birth.

And that concludes today's post. T minus two and a half to NaNo. God bless us, every one.

NaNo Practice

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:41:00 +0000

NaNoWriMo begins next Thursday. I am now wondering if I'll forget it or something. It's amazing how many doubts a person can find with which to inflict self-torture.

So, before tackling NaNoWriMo, I wanted to know a few things about myself. I took a professional development week. I started writing something entirely silly and pointless (*cough* romance). It is my least fave genre, to read or to write, because of its formulaic nature. I spend more time figuring out how to mercilessly smash the annoying, schmoozy mold than molding anything. It is not my NaNoscript; just a random scenario pulled out of a hat and hacked together.

I wanted to know how long it takes me to pull together 2500 words, since that's my daily goal during November. I then wanted to know what my maximum words per minute is. Not typing. Visualizing action, plot and thought, thinking through description, synthesizing into sentences, and translating onto the keyboard. I found out it varies.

So, I wanted to know how it varies by time of day. I'm sort of rooted in a night-owl routine, but don't like it. It would be great if I could get up a bit earlier in the morning, write my 2500, then
jump into my day.

My conscience doesn't work that way. Having been awakened at 4:30 a.m., I spent more like 6 hours, rather than 2. The breakdown is:

De-grogging.
Finding myself written into a corner, in need of big fixes.
Meandering through the empty passageways of my imagination.
Looking up quick facts on a character's cultural background.
Checking email, because I can take care of those communications before the day starts.
Logging into ShoutLife, because I can take care of those communications before the day starts.
Calling the dentist to cancel an appointment.
Listening to my 11-year-old kill his alarm and go back to bed three times, never to rise again till I went and threatened him awake.
Eventually finding a groove and running in it, after everybody was already up and in need of my assistance to remember how to complete complicated tasks like clothing oneself, eating cereal, and placing used dishes in an appropriate location.

This just did not work. I was distracted, thinking of the day ahead. The time I took cut too much into that day.

Slightly better is working while the kids are doing their schoolwork. There are many interruptions, but I'm a pretty good multi-tasker. The downside: My frustration level gets cranked up, and I still feel like I should be doing other things.

Contrast that with working after everyone's in bed. Then, I hit 21 WPM, and got nearly three days' worth of work done in about four hours. I did not have the rest of today hanging over me, and apparently, that's a big deal to my subconscious.

For all the good I've been today, I might as well have slept in till lunchtime. I'm not sure how to cut a compromise on that, as sleeping in till lunchtime makes me cranky, and everyone else disorderly. But something will come to me.

I'm sure NaNo will provoke much more self-evaluation once I get into the real deal. I expect to find it quite interesting.

NaNoWriMo

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:42:00 +0000

Ah, the inspiration! The encouragement!

The panic.

National Novel Writers’ Month is actually an international for-fun, not-for-profit pseudo-contest to see how many authorial hopefuls can pull together 50,000 words in 30 days. Or less, if you’re super-disciplined. I plan to take part for the first time this fall.

Why NaNo?

Well, in my case, I intend to brutally murder and bury my internal editor, although it will certainly resurrect sooner or later, like a vampire sucking the lifeblood of my creative flow. The purpose is to remind myself how to write. Just write, not second-guess or self-edit or restart.

I intend to use NaNo to create a first draft of a project that's been tempting me. It’s a humourous small-town sketch with a lot of true-to-life anecdotes mixed into the inspirational sauce. I have been quietly laughing at things around here for long enough; it’s time to let others in on the hilarity.

Where you get dese laughs? Let’s see. There was the time I bashed the mice to death with a pitchfork handle; of course, there have been the cattle. Garden hoses are among the most dangerous critters on the farm. And, if writer's block strikes, I can just go to town and say hi to a few people.

It should be fun. It will be bad writing. But that’s the point. Bad writing is a good start.

What Constitutes Content: Uh, Content.

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:20:00 +0000

After digging through the mess of links and graphical showcases, we finally get to the information. Hopefully, if nothing else, you can see the mental dexterity required of web readers just to sift down to the information level. What will you present to them?

Probably, as writers, we mostly know what needs to be on our pages. But here's a list, just to remind myself and anyone else who wants to double-check their focus.

1) Who y'are. Bio and any applicable experience and/or education.

2) Writing samples. Article clips, first chapter of a manuscript, list of published titles.

3) Intellectual meat. Give fresh, regular information focussed on your niche, whether it be writing in general or a particular focus. The inevitable Randy Ingermanson mentions in his newsletters that non-fiction ties into reality; so should fiction, whether it be the math behind the sci-fi premise or (in my case) the hilarious and lovable rural culture.

Application: Put your information first, not third. Put it in your title; make sure any cool applets focus the reader on the information, not away from it; put it front and centre in your text. The web is flabby these days; be in shape, in season and out of season.

Book Excerpts, Dressed Up to Party

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 01:55:00 +0000

Last time, I briefly mentioned PowerBullet. This is a Flash-designing freeware that doesn't require knowledge of the code. You assemble your pictures and text via a browser-style interface. It writes the code behind the scenes. This offers authors the option of creating an Amazon-style book preview for their website or blog.

Note the navigation arrows at the bottom of the applet. These are an optional setting, pretty important for letting a reader page through at their own pace. Otherwise, the program will move to the next slide after a default number of seconds.

A Flashy Display
Just to display an excerpt? It's pretty much cool for the sake of cool. People are unlikely to pirate an excerpt. However, it demonstrates a commitment to the integrity of the work when posting other people's intellectual property, as in Amazon's case. One application that comes to mind is marketing a short story anthology with several authors.

I can see it more for educational materials, such as homeschooling products where the author wants to demonstrate what a colouring page, map, chart or page of cutouts looks like without worrying about people repurposing the image.

However....

Grabability
Viral marketing campaigns featuring video teasers for books are becoming popular--"Post this on your website! Here's the code!" This is obviously an option with the Flash app as well. If you don't have the money, time or creative resources to create a video teaser, or you want something that doesn't take as long to load--or you want to provide a direct taste of your content--this would be an option.

What Constitutes Content: Layout

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 20:33:00 +0000

When browsing, blog titles are the filter by which I choose my random paths. But what keeps me there or scares me off, between clicking and reading?

The layout. This is becoming an increasing pet peeve for me. As the Internet becomes more multimedia-laden, people are seduced by the tools without much attention to their best use.

On the web, graphic design has to be about accessibility and on-screen readability, not just colour-coordination and coolness. Web pages are not like scrapbooking or making videos. They're interactive, and that makes it a bit more complicated. They are a tool, not merely a presentation method.

Information Barrier 1: Fluffiness
Some prime examples would be women’s webspace. Women seem more inclined to pull an interior-decorator routine on their pages. They will shell out actual money for graphic layouts to make their blogs look sweet, homey or dressed-up beyond belief. Then they will blog about what they ate for lunch. The colour scheme has become more important than the quality of information.

Sometimes the information is so buried in digital bouquets, kittens and "All About What I'M Like" BlogThings plug-ins that it can't be readily located. After a certain (short) time-lapse, I will gag on the schmaltz and navigate elsewhere.

Information Barrier 2: Gimmickiness
Other prime examples would be men’s webspace. Guys are prone to invoking the latest cool software tools, such as Flash intros that make the page seem like racing or swordfighting or explosions. Or, there's the inevitable YouTube embedded video clips that have nothing to do with anything but the site owner's personal entertainment choices.

Better yet, there are the websites done entirely in Flash. All the sinister black buttons have a chrome shine that passes over them in the wake of the mouse. Or whatever. If I'm there to read a sample of your writing before interviewing you, I want a site that loads instantly and doesn't waste my time or distract me from my purpose.

The exception to gimmick minimalism is when you have content that you absolutely don't want pirated off your site--for example, Chilean/Canadian harpist David Ogalde uses Flash to provide his music to site visitors. For writers, you can use the PowerBullet freeware to create something your users page through, similar to Amazon book previews.

Examples:

1) I've really enjoyed Cindy Rushton's webinars for moms. But I have trouble sensing the intuitive order of her website. There's a relatively high proportion of furniture to navigate around. Oh, well, love her anyway.

2) I think Realms is a cool publisher, but I was hoping for informational meat when I got there, not a Gothic dartboard. However, they did their dartboard right. Look at the Flash. See the "Skip Intro" button? If you insist on Flashing me, *Woe Is You* if you do not include a Skip Introduction button.

A Word is Worth 1,000 Pictures
Why is image-based communication so trendy? Entertainment value, image, pride of ownership.

There is a push to deeply integrate the Internet with multimedia. The goal is to make the net an Experience. For those attracted to gimmicks and decorations, it's a deadly road of doom. Cool looks quickly overtake good information and focused site design.

Why is image-based communication a problem? Because pictures are subjectively interpreted. They have no objective, standardized meaning, unlike the words of a language. There is no dictionary to define them. They're culturally interpreted, subject to trends, paradigm shifts and the interpretations of various subcultural groups.

On the other hand, good written information is simply either relevant or irrelevant to your reader, at a fraction of the cost of complicated graphic design.

Using The Powers of Layout For Good
If you want to take this a step further, the way your page is visually structured (especially navigation) can also make a huge positive difference. Check out A List Apart for literally tons of great advice on everything web design.

Application: Thou shalt not fret over graphics and web toys. If you are a written-word communicator, those are just packaging. Keep it clean and simple (your default blog template is probably a great example).

Put your information front and centre. It’s not as retro as it seems.

What Constitutes Content: Titles

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 15:33:00 +0000

Having mentioned my love of browsing, let me say that I don’t read everything I come across. I have an established habit pattern that I use to eliminate material, just to save me time. When I browse, I start with the link name (blog title).

The Hook
I will follow links to blogs or sites with interesting titles. Plays on words, if fresh and original, are an instant indicator that the author understands something about wordsmithing. The clarity of the title also counts–if it describes the content accurately, and I know I’d get something from it, I’ll visit.

The Irrelevant Hook
I don’t follow certain links, however clearly-titled. For instance, you won’t find me going to something like "The Anglican Writer" (substitute Baptist or Calvinist, if you prefer). The problem is not that a niche is specified; that's good. The problem is that the two niches--denomination and writing--have nothing to do with each other in their technical aspects. The niche mentioned in the title should be writing-related. Or denomination-related, if that's the primary topic.

The Un-Hook
I also won’t go to something vague, like "Miranda’s Meanderings" (apologies if that’s actually someone’s blog, I just pulled it out of thin air), because it doesn’t specify the nature of the content. I'm still working on improving mine--give me another year.

Good Title Examples:

1) Encyclopedia Kevinannica. I definitely had to have a read.

2) Not Ready for My Burqua. Um, yep, that says it.

Bad Title Example:

1) My former title, Somewhere Between Dreams. (Shrug) Couldn't think of anything better that day, I guess.

Application: When submitting to webrings or exchanging links, specify a blog title that’s an information hook, not just a hook as in "catchy-sounding." Specify your unique slant, but make sure it doesn't take attention from your main topic. Unpoetic as it is, “Canadian Prairie Writer” covers 3 of my 5 W’s: who, where and what.

Re-Titling the Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Zookeeper Cat) — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 17:03:00 +0000

I've never been completely happy with the name of this blog. Too vague, too long, too indefinite. So I shortened it.

It's now cheesier (yes, I live in the plains), but covers a bit more of the W5/1H: At least, I've got the who (Canadian), where (Prairie), what (Writer) and why--implied, anyway. Let's be plain in our use of text. More on blog titles next time around.