[Tutorial] On Writing

[DeletedUser3]

Known only to some in this community, writing is my passion and has been so for about 15+ years. That's not to say I didn't write before, but it wasn't until the late 90's that I truly fell in love with it. Since then I've worked at journalism, op-eds, legal arguments, technical & instructional writing, poetry and, of course, fiction.

In this time I have come to a few realizations, not the least of which is that chance favors the prepared mind. And that's really what writing comes down to, chance. It is by chance that I find myself in the right mindset to write, by chance that I become inspired by events around me or on the news, by chance that I find the time to write. Thus, to increase those windows of opportunity, increase the likelihood that chance will favor me, I prepare.

Now, don't misconstrue this. Preparation should "never" take a front seat to chance. When chance hits, you take it, you run with it, you make that earth-shattering New York Times bestseller and don't look back. Now, preparation helps, even feeds the mind with ideas so the opportunity to write becomes far more common and writers block becomes a rarity. So preparation is important, particularly if your writing just doesn't kick. And that's where this write-up comes into play. In this, a tutorial, I will discuss the essentials to preparation, the things that will help you bring the best of your best to the forefront and get you closer to writing that earth-shattering story.

Now, you don't have to be an English scholar, nor a grammar guru. Granted, it helps, but writing is just as dependent upon the spirit of presentation as it is about the clarity of communication. One without the other and the material falters, which is why, if you're lacking in grammar or punctuation, get a good editor. But, let's face it, no matter how good your grammar is, how eloquent and verbose your sentences, spirit of presentation simply must come from the writer. An editor can't infuse it, a reader can't assume it, and you simply can't infer it. You just gotta have that 'magic.'

Right, okay, so on to the tutorial:

1. [jumpto=creation]Creation[/jumpto]

<note: additional sections will be added in due time>

 

[DeletedUser3]

[jumpfrom]creation[/jumpfrom]For those of you who have had an opportunity to write, I’m sure you've found it fun. But, I’m also pretty sure you've found yourself running around and not getting anything accomplished, then getting flustered at one thing or another (usually some tidbit dialog or event inconsistency) and finally just putting it away and moving onto some video gaming. Hehe, I've been there.

So, let me offer you some ideas to be able to get a story done. First, we'll start with creating the world(s), of which there are four main elements: Content, Ambiance, Details, and Continuity.

• [jumpto=content]Content[/jumpto]
• [jumpto=ambience]Ambience[/jumpto]
• [jumpto=details]Details[/jumpto] <pending>
• [jumpto=continuity]Continuity[/jumpto] <pending>

 

[DeletedUser3]

[jumpfrom]content[/jumpfrom]In this installment, I will discuss Content in 10 easy steps:

1. Turn off your computer (umm... do this after you read and print this entire message... ).
   
2. Grab a pen and paper. Time to sketch things out (yep, in archaic pen and paper):
   
   • It is imperative that you spend the time to create your world in advance before attempting to write about it.
   • By sketching all the details out, you will be able to approach your storyline in an organized fashion
   • Posing it in pen and paper will provide a more concrete, if not altogether pretty, personal understanding of the backdrop for your story.
3. Create a skeleton of the necessary parts to your content:
   
   • Settings (forests, hills, plains, cities, towns)
   • Basic map
   • Populations
   • Main characters and locations
   • Conflicts
   • Storyline start point(s)
4. Sketch the Settings. The most important initial thing to figure out is 'how big' do you want to make your story? First rule of writing content is to design big, but focus small. What I mean by this is to create very expansive maps but, initially, only detail a certain few sections of your maps (like near the storyline starting point) and sketch it out further during storyline development.
   
5. Sketch the Basic Map. Detail your basic map with the various settings and note the populations of different areas, including the populations of any nonstandard (alien, elvish, etc) settlements.
   
6. Sketch the Populations. Determine general populations. Make sure you don't unbalance populations, or some of your conflicts will look ill-conceived. I.e., don't make a settlement of 20,000 orcs near a settlement of 200 humans. That just doesn't work too well when it comes to trying to explain how the 200 humans weren't wiped out years ago.
   Also, it's a good idea to figure out basic settlement fundamentals, such as their trading strengths and weaknesses. I.e., are they a mining town or a fishing town... etc? This will count more when creating ambiance.
   
7. Sketch the Main Characters. It is essential to have a healthy mix of opposing alignments and agendas with your main characters. Also, when determining your main characters, it is a good idea to consider who will be your readers, your audience. If you are planning on bringing in previous readers to your new material, then it is a good idea to include a few 'memorable' characters from previous stories. In this way, you link your past work with the present and give your old readers a feeling of being in a special club. As well, it is a good idea to make most, if not all, your main characters reasonably potent, safeguarded, and/or secure, so as to demonstrate why they haven't been killed off by overzealous malcontents (or do-gooders) before the story even hits print.
   
8. Sketch the Main Characters' Locations. Indicate where main characters will be encountered or situated (main characters may be encountered in more than one location). The reason for this is to maintain continuity. If characters are in transition, on the move, map out their intended paths. *
   
9. Sketch the Conflicts. Main characters are the primary motivators for storyline development. It is essential that there be conflicts between various Main characters. This is why having a good mix of opposing alignments is so essential, as they offer opportunity for very obvious plots. If all your Main characters were of similar alignment, and/or agenda, you would only be left with subtle, usually petty, plots.
   But conflicts are not merely between characters. Conflicts can (and should) also exist between various settlements/regions/groups.
   For now, all you need to figure out is who has a problem with whom. Exactly what that problem(s) is will be handled in the detailing phase.
   
10. Sketch the Storyline Starting Point(s). This may sound trivial, but I consider it to be important. If your characters are going to be brought into your story (and not merely be inferred-upon figures), it's best to give a reason and not simply have them 'plop' onto your world at some randomly determined starting point. After all, they weren't just born as an army sergeant, there's some sort of history and where you start them has to coincide with that history. Starting point examples are that of slave pens (they're slaves), shipwrecks (castaways), a town (they're from the same town), militia quarters (they're all soldiers), etc., something that ties all (or many of) the initial characters together. If you have multiple starting points (different storyline threads), same rules apply. **

* An example of multiple character placements is a cowboy called Lone Ranger standing with his horse named Silver who is encountered all over the friggin' place. By setting up an area in which this person "ranges" and determining timeline preferences, this Lone Ranger character will be found resting his horse here, there, everywhere, within the indicated region. You may even pose this character riding past other characters within the storyliune, without any actual interaction (thus serving as backdrop and feeding the ambience). Backdrop use is especially effective if the character is from previous stories, once again feeding that "special club" a morsel of privy information and will help to bring them further into the the new story.

** As an example, I started one story out on the coastline next to a shipwreck and provided a sort of "Gilligan's island" baseline (this was similarly applied in the television series, "Lost.") Okay, it's not that original, but it does help bring the characters immediately into the scene without having to educate the readers on the surroundings. Such settings are particularly effective for short-stories or novelas.

 

[DeletedUser3]

[jumpfrom]ambience[/jumpfrom]Ambience is about creating consistency to the various settings and immersing the readers by introducing themes and stimulating the readers’ senses.

Although you can conceivably start designing your story with just the information provided by the content phase, it would simply be a mass of banter and backdrops with no atmosphere. As well, if you don’t organize how you wish to present various areas, you will only succeed in combining various visual and sound elements to create a confusing mass of signals to your readers. Therefore, it is essential that ambience is determined beforehand. After all, you want your readers to become immersed in your plots, don’t you?

Before traveling far and away with discussion on introducing the senses to a story, I want to spend a little time discussing themes. As I hinted at before, a collage of sights and sounds without a theme creates confusion in the readers. Each and every element in a story is a signal to your readers, which can be misinterpreted if not presented logically.

Presentation
If, in real life, you enter a store that says, “candle shop” and there are no candles, do you assume the store is incorrectly marked, assume they are out of candles, assume they only make candles to order, or assume the store is out of business? Because of a ‘sign’ posted in front of a building that conflicts with the content of that building, you are left to come to your own interpretation of the evidence before you. You are lost, distracted, possibly even put-off by a simple contradiction. More than likely you won’t even ask the owner where the candles are, you will simply walk right out. Just as likely, your readers will walk right out of your story.

How these signals are interpreted is just as important as how these signals are presented.

Interpretation
If, in real life, you enter a Japanese cuisine restaurant and find the walls plastered with paintings of ancient Greece, the chairs covered in plush velvet, the waiters dressed in cowboy outfits and the radio playing 60’s oldies but goodies, you would be a little disoriented, your meal won’t quite taste as good, and your comfort level would be significantly diminished. You won’t ‘feel’ like you’re in Japan. In fact, you won’t ‘feel’ like you’re anywhere! What you will feel is out-of-place. This is what you want to avoid, your readers feeling out-of-place in your story.

Atmosphere
So, how can someone feel out-of-place when all the elements of your story are of the same timeline and/or setting? Well, it’s not that cut and dry. In a city alone, there are rich sections and poor sections, merchant quarters and living quarters, there are dark alleys and bright festivals, rowdy bars and quiet taverns. If you make a collage of these in one small area, the readers will be unable to immerse in the atmosphere because there is NO set atmosphere.

Forests are another great example. There are dark and foreboding forests, sylvan forests, ancient forests, young forests and a hundred other types of forests. Combining these forest elements, in one forest, just doesn’t work. You need to choose one theme for your forest and stick to it.

Theme
But don’t create just one theme for your entire story (or even for particular story sections) or your readers will quickly be bored. With all the content you already decided upon for your story, run through all your settings and give each a separate theme, a description of just how you want the ‘readers’ to feel when they adventure through that setting. Because, really, even though they'll be reading the adventures of the characters, it will be 'them' in the adventure.

Consistency
Ambience is just as much about consistency as it is about immersion. Consistency is largely maintained by feeding the readers' senses in a consistent manner. For, although you can create a theme for a setting, without involving their senses you will fail to immerse your readers and, if you vary in sensory input, you lose consistency. The atmosphere breaks down and the theme dissolves without consistent sensory input.

Immersion
The trick to immersing your readers into your settings is by feeding their ‘six’ senses of sight, sound, smell, touch, taste and intuition. By presentation of a theme, you can directly create sight and sound effects. But, these are not enough. In fact, although these are the most utilized of senses, they are also the ones most often taken for granted by readers. Thus, if you truly wish to bring in your readers, you must involve their other senses.

But how? Obviously a book can’t produce smells (other than burning pages) and it’s not likely you will be able to convince the readers to lick the cover. So, how do you involve their other senses?

You involve their senses by creative writing and selective use of sensory triggers.

Triggers
When you pick up a well-written book and read it you can often subconsciously smell the scent of aromatic flowers or the acrid stench of rotting corpses described in its pages. You can intuitively feel the impending doom or taste the just-plucked and ripened apricot. And when you watch a movie, other senses besides sight and sound become involved. Or have you never had your hair on the back of your neck rise? That is touch, as well as intuition.

By describing items in the story, setting triggers of ‘surprising’ sounds or sights, by feeding ‘intuition’ through descriptive triggers or sudden atmospheric changes (lighting, mood, etc), by describing how something feels when it is touched or what is smelled, you will bring your characters ‘into’ your world.

How It's Done
So, how do we approach all this? Well, it’s pretty simple:

1. Give your setting a description (gothic, parody, chivalric, etc).
2. Grab your content and give everything a separate theme.
3. Sketch examples of elements you can introduce which would involve at least three of their senses for each theme.