"Four Myths about Outlining Your Novel:" Craft Article by Yours Truly :)
Published today (12/12/17) at Women on Writing's awesome blog! Enjoy.
"Four Myths about Outlining Your Novel"
By Melanie Faith
photo by: Danielle MacInnes
Here comes a new year, and with it goals you'd like to accomplish in your writing. What better time than now to write your novel? One of the best ways to begin a novel is to prepare an outline or series of outlines first.
Let's smash some commonly-held myths about beginning with planning:
Myth 1: Following an outline will kill my creativity and take the fun out of writing.
"There's an outline for each of the books that I adhere to pretty closely, but I'm not averse to taking it in a new direction, as long as I can get it back to where I need it to go." ~ Justin Cronin
Some of the most creative, amusing excerpts my students have written were outlines of their characters and their proposed plots. Outlining uses many of the same muse-muscles as drafting and is part of a fluid writing process: tapping into the subconscious and making connections between settings, conflicts and characters, while compressing those elements for ease of exploration.
I've been the writer who delved in--and ended up writing 45 pages of a book to figure out what my conflict was--only to have to scrap the first 44 pages and begin rewriting from that point. Had I paused to craft outlines, I could have pinpointed my characters' motivations and the main conflict much, much sooner. I also could have enjoyed exploring relevant details about my characters' lives first, rather than cluttering up my draft with interesting but inessential information that appeared in my first drafts.
The other great, creative facet of outlines is that they are not written in stone. They are meant to be seen at a glance yet developed over time. You can easily pull up the file and edit. Go ahead: add, change, move, or omit details as you learn more about your characters and plot, without scrolling through numerous pages and extraneous details.
Myth 2: Outlines are so boring! All of those Roman numerals and indentations--no, thanks.
These ain't your high-school English teacher's outlines. There are numerous ways of outlining your novel--mapping, using images from online to create a picture map of a setting or a character, using a White Board to create giant lists, making a photo roll on your mobile device, you name it. I've had students submit Pinterest pages relating to their characters as a weekly outline, which was an ingenious way to visually collate ideas about their protagonist. Others created a brief Power Point presentation of four or five slides about their plots. Use whatever organizing principle you find most compelling, whether that's a traditional, numbered outline or fill-in-the-blank workbook exercise or a more modern approach.
Myth 3: Outlines should describe the entire plot, setting, and conflicts and detail every character, yet I don't know all of this information yet.
Guess what: you'll get glimpses of your characters' lives, motivations, fears, and joys as you go. Most of the students in my outlining course begin with one or two characters and a setting and, through the process of outlining, other elements pop up and surprise them as the story develops and they chase new threads of narrative. Students are welcome to return to amend their outlines at any time.
Myth 4: Outlining is a waste of time. Wouldn't it be better just to dive in and see where it goes?
"The more work you put in on your outline and getting the skeleton of your story right, the easier the process is later." ~ Drew Goddard
Actually, pre-planning actually saves you time, especially in the long run. Remember those 44 pages I mentioned earlier? Had I done pre-writing with my characters and plot, I could have saved at least 10 hours of writing time--and gotten to the same place with more focus and energy: the opening scene.
My outlining course that begins on January 12th. Consider signing up or sharing with writer friends: Outlining Your Novel with Ease
"The Impact" Published at Lost River :)
I'm thrilled to announce that my short story, "The Impact," was published in the Fall 2017 issue of Lost River. Check out page 46 to read, like, and share the entire work. Here's a teaser to enjoy:
“Put down your phone. It’s Listen Time, Dad.” Her green eyes twinkle.
You have to chuckle when your kid parrots you back to you. Molly’s a good kid. Gets good grades—better than I ever did, does the drama club thing, has a part-time job at Fancy Feet. The eyebrow ring I’m not so fond of, but I got a Hammer Time tattoo at sixteen, so it could be worse. Far worse. Like that dude who drops by and sits on the porch, waiting like a puppy for her return. Even if I’m sitting there.
I chuck my phone into the cup holder. “Ok, Molls. What’s up?” I grin, “Let me guess: you broke up with Kadence.”
Molly rolls her eyes. Pretty and green, like Sarah’s always were. Still are. Still are, I think with a sigh.
“No, I am not breaking up with Kadence.”
Read the rest of "The Impact"
Photo by: Andrew Worley
Fourth & Sycamore Published a Photo of Mine Today :)
One of my photos, "Atom in the Sun," was published today at Fourth & Sycamore Literary Journal. The photo is from my "In the Green" series, with more photos forthcoming in future issues.
"Atom in the Sun" accompanies an awesome poem by Valerie Ruberto. Check it out!
Fourth & Sycamore
Moments Series Photography Published :)
More great news! Two of my photos from my "Moments Series" have been featured at the current issue of Sediments Literary-Arts Journal.
These photos were my experimentation with meaningful double-exposure work.
Special thanks to my talented, knitting sister for the fun trip to the yarn store that led to the yarn purchase and this combinatory idea. Am I the only one who could read the names of yarn hues all day? ;) Enjoy!
Sediments
"The Project"
I'm pleased to announce a flash fiction of mine was published this week at Typishly, a stylish and innovative literary venue.
Care for a teaser? Here you go:
"The photo shows a man, neither tall nor short, neither stout nor thin, in a pale blue button-up shirt. He is somewhat younger than middle-aged, but based on the receding hair line and gray at his temples and in his goatee, not that much younger. His tie is perfectly straight, but his eyes are half-closed. The silver top of a small belt buckle on his trousers glints. Because of the sun, there’s a reflection of the man’s face in the glass, like he’s staring at his doppelganger, or looking into his future self with a serious expression. A cleaned-off mahogany table beside him. On the walls behind him, some kind of wooden, built-in cupboard, doors closed. In his hands: a pink-and-blue vase."
Read the rest at: Typishly
I'm Guest Blogging at createwritenow! :) Check it out.
Wonderful news! I'm thrilled to have my craft article: "3 Tips for Creating a Fulfilling Writing Practice," published today as a guest blogger at createwritenow with Mari. Always fun to share some writing advice along this creative journey.
Check it out, and many thanks to the talented Mari! Check out her fantastic books and resources for journalers while you're there.
In a Flash--Cover Reveal Time!
Super excited to share the cover of my forthcoming book, In a Flash.
Many thanks to my multi-talented designer and publisher, Jessica Bell. She took a photograph of mine and made it into a gasp-worthy cover. I couldn't be happier with this gorgeous cover!
Can't you just picture it on your desk or coffee table or in your classroom?
Give the Gift of Zora
For most of us writers, literature has made a huge difference in our lives. Let's share the joy!
A wonderful friend of mine from grad school teaches at a high school in Baltimore and wants to give this experience to her students. She's currently running a Go Fund Me page so that she can purchase new Zora Neale Hurston books so that each 11th-grade student can have his/her own brand-new book and a highlighter. Right now, they only have enough copies so that multiple students will have to share and not take the books from the classroom.
Please consider stopping by her page to read more about her fantastic work and her awesome students and consider a donation if you feel so led.
Many thanks for your consideration and kindness. These new books will make a huge impact in the lives of her students and will be much appreciated. Let's not stop until there are 50 new books and smiling students aplenty! :)
Best,
Melanie
The Power of the Prompt: A Craft Article
My article about prompts was just published this week at Women on Writing (WOW!). Hope it inspires. Enjoy!
The Power of the Prompt
By Melanie Faith
Marathoners have running shoes and dancers have footwear of the tap or ballet variety. Cyclists have bikes, equestriennes have horses, racers have zoomy cars. What do writers have that motivates and facilitates our writing practice? I introduce, my friends, the prompt. Or perhaps you're already well-acquainted.
What is a writing prompt? What is the purpose of it?
A writing prompt is a short statement or series of pithy statements meant to trigger words on a page or screen. Prompts may be as simple as a famous quotation that you reply to, either directly or indirectly. Sometimes they ask a question directly, such as whether you agree or disagree with an idea. They may be themed. They may have a tone in mind--humor or seriousness or sappy love--or they may be general enough that a writer could give the resulting writing many possible tones. They may be focused on one genre, say poetry or fiction, or meant for multi-genres of writing (or even other forms of art).
Most writers first encounter prompts in middle or high school English classes and university creative writing classes. Other authors get hooked on prompts in workshops and writing seminars, where they often either open or cap the day's discussion of writing skills the group is practicing. Speaking of which, that's another benefit of prompts--you can use them alone, in pairs (literary lunch, anyone?), or in groups however small or large. Prompts can be shared or kept private. Often, authors employ them like pianists and vocalists practice scales--to warm up for the writing of another, unrelated project. I've also had many students who were uninspired to write or unsure of what to write next take a prompt for a spin and then continue to develop that prompt long after, which is another excellent use of prompts. However one chooses to use prompts, their aim is creation, pure and simple.
Where can I find prompts to use in my writing practice? How do I choose a prompt?
Great question! Classes, seminars, and workshops abound with them, but you can also seek out your own prompts. There are prompt collections for genre writers and themed prompts. You might do a search online for prompts that relate to a specific type of writing you'd like to practice by entering key phrases, such as "seasonal poetry prompts" or "mystery and horror writing prompts." There are whole books of prompts written by genre, such as journaling, as well as wonderful websites that list prompt resources, such as Create Write Now with Mari. If you're interested in a series of inspiring prompts you can use again and again, I've designed a deck just for writers.
Yet, what if you don't have a certain project or even genre in mind? You just want to write, dang it! No worries--there are whole collections of general prompts for just this purpose, such as 1,000 Awesome Writing Prompts by Ryan Andrew Kinder at online book retailers. In a general collection of prompts, you can either do a quick perusal of the table of contents (they are often organized by theme, genre, or style of writing) or, as I often do, let serendipity reign--thumb through the book and let the pages open where they may.
Whichever prompt you choose, the content isn't as important as the way of thinking it encourages. Prompts have a marvelous way of freeing ideas like soap bubbles from the depths of our memories, coaxing sentence after sentence to the surface where you'll be off and running.
Try this prompt!
You (or your protagonist) have been asked to showcase a little-known, unusual talent at a community fair's talent contest. Begin on stage and show not only the performer but also the crowd's reaction to this talent unveiling. Go!
