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Novel Workshop notes (belated)
Notes from the Oregon Coast Professional Writers Novel Workshop, Sept. 10-12, 2004
The following are all notes scribbled down while Dean Wesley Smith talked about novel-writing as well as during the critiques of novels. [I thought I'd post these here so people can compare David D. Levine's experience at the most recent workshop, which he details over in his journal.]
Dean spoke for an hour before the first critique (which was my novel!). He suggested that everyone work on developing a group of "first readers" that you can trust for quick and useful feedback on your novels. This could include people from this workshop or previous workshops. He and Kris, obviously, work as first readers for each other, but they also have other readers.
Always be willing to throw out your current draft of your novel and start over. It's all about "The Next Novel" – constantly improving and pushing yourself.
Learn how to sell books – you can sell your novel by writing a better proposal. None of the proposals at this workshop were all that great. And proposals are what sell books more than almost anything else these days. You've got a lot of people to impress, not just the editor – there's also the sales force and art people and so on. Once your book is written, stop thinking like an artist and start thinking like a salesman.
Excitement sells a book. Editors and agents get excited about a book's subject matter, the author's history and personality, the book's presentation, the author's professionalism. The focus is less on writing style, more on telling a damn good story. Make the editor's job easier and write a strong proposal (which is the same thing as a synopsis or an outline – it's a sales tool).
And you need to get excited about your own book. Make your excitement spill over into the proposal.
"Authors control publishing." You have complete control over what you do with your writing and who you send it to and whose advice you follow (or don't follow). Without writers, the industry shuts down. Look at how JK Rowling's lateness on Harry Potter 4 almost shut down Scholastic Books.
Authors get paid exactly what editors/publishers think the book will sell. It's all a computer program, and they plug in the numbers based on the predicted "bigness" of a book. Your advance is exactly what they think you'll sell. Do better and you can expect a bigger advance on the next book. Do less than well, you may be screwed (start thinking of a good pseudonym!).
What makes a book big? Tackle a big topic, wide in scope, push boundaries of the field. Some big books explode, while others are grown, as in Kris Rusch's Smoky Dalton series (Dean expects her next book to break out big). In a series, the big breakout usually occurs in the 5th book of a series, because author keeps improving and upping the ante with each novel in series, plus you build an audience with each book. Note to self: write a series!
The industry continues to evolve – you can't do much business at conventions anymore. Editors too swamped, plus all book-buying is done by committee. Cons are more like going on vacations these days – a good excuse to get together and drink with other authors and editors. In a way, this is a good evolution of novel-submitting, because you're not getting published because of your wild and crazy convention-going personality, but on the basis of your writing, your professionalism, and your knowledge of how the business works.
Also, query letters are getting rejected almost all the time now, unless the proposal worked (this is a new trend from the past 1-2 years). You've got to use the short "elevator pitch" in your cover letter to get the editor excited, and include a compelling proposal.
Query includes a cover letter (with credentials and one-sentence hook for novel), first 50 pages of novel (no more than 50 – don't piss off editor with more), and proposal.
The proposal must tell the story of the novel "in miniature" – using same voice,tone, exciting, not just a list of "this happened, then this happened." Use dialog, action, lines from novel itself, etc. Tailor each synopsis for each book, depending on its strengths and focus – you may need to prove to editors that you have a strong grasp of the SF scene, for example, so you may include comparisons to other novels out now, or you may just want to tell the story and hook them that way. Some proposals start with a comparison to other books, others with an explanation of the book itself, some with the story right away. Never be negative in a proposal!
If you're doing a series of books, only discuss the 2nd and 3rd books in the series in your proposal, and then only a sentence or 2 (sell the first novel first!)
Send your proposal and 3 chapters or just a query letter (read their guidelines!) to both agents and editors. Agents are now slush readers for novel editors and publishers (agents are the ones making the most $, which is why more editors are leaving and pursuing other areas, like agenting).
Novels need strong openings – the novels at this workshop took too long to get going. "Open with an explosion." Put your main character in the story's setting right away, and give the reader strong details to ground them in the story. Get inside your protagonist's voice. Give a good sense of some of the protagonist's problems, but don't overdo the backstory (1 sentence laced in here and there, giving your character a history with infodumping it all on the reader).
One possible way to overcome this fumbling with the openings – write a "draft and 50." As soon as you type "The End" on your first draft, go right to re-drafting your opening 3 chapters. Many of the books in the workshop hit their stride in the last 100-150 pages, once the author had found his or her voice, and it would make sense to continue that voice into the 2nd draft of the opening. Get inside the protagonist's head from the start, and stay there, damn it!
Ask yourself "Why does the novel start here? Should it start earlier? Later?"
Have characters make bad choices, do unexpected things, make them imperfect, give them neuroses and bad behavior.
Avoid "false tension" – hiding info from the reader to create mystery or suspense – just tell them! Otherwise they'll get annoyed and stop reading.
Hook the reader early, make 'em trust you – it's all about "reader mind control." Don't ever give the reader a chance to doubt your authority as an author. A good novel is all about the choices you make – you decide how best to tell the story. That's why it's a good idea to step back from your first draft, and let it sit for a few weeks after your done, so you can see it with fresh eyes – reread your whole novel as a reader, then read it again as an editor.
Read those 1st 50 pages out loud and nail the voice.
Your opening has to be perfect, otherwise your novel will never get read.
Voice – get inside the head of your protagonist! The protagonist is the filter for everything in the book, so all descriptions are biased, based on this person's view of the world. Avoid passive verbs (forms of "is") and passive characters. Don't push the reader out!
Details – stay one step ahead of the reader, answering any small questions they may have and not frustrating them. Mystery is good, reader frustration is bad. Answer questions with details first. Ground your world with so much detail that the reader has no choice but to believe in it. Show the reader that your novel has a "spine" (a structure) that all the various sub-plots and PoV characters are branching from.
Take chances. "Get out of your own way" – don't edit yourself, just write.
Asimov's rule: only one fantastic thing per story, and the rest must all be believable and realistic.
Viewpoint: don't use "he thought" or "she thought" -- cut them. Every time you use them, you distance the reader from the story. Also, use the protag's name once, and then use "he" or "she" – use name only to keep from pronoun antecedent confustion. Remember, every verb and noun choice is colored by the protag's views and beliefs and feelings. Don't be passive or lazy!
Play with readers' expectations – lead them one way, then go the opposite to keep 'em guessing. Hook them and take them with you right away, then explain later.
Miscellaneous Stuff:
Tip on SF: Science Fiction is no longer taking on big issues like overpopulation (SF writers saw the writing on the wall, and realized they couldn't fathom writing about it anymore).
Tip on Reviews – start a file of all your positive reviews, especially those that mention your name (not specific to any one book or story). Good for future blurbs when the books starting rolling off the press.
Tip on Romances – Romances are all about the emotions, and have very little plot. Guys who write romances have way too much plot. Should be all characters, less actions. And no whiny heroines! People read romances to pretend to be the heroine, so her situation should be appealing, and she's got to be a strong, interesting person. In a romance, neither character wants to give more than what they think the other is giving (even if they are attracted to one another).
Tip on Structure – Find books similar to what I'm writing, read them once for pleasure, then take them apart to see how author handled the opening and structure and character motivations. Dean did this over and over to James Patterson's most recent book, charting them on a whiteboard to figure out how the heck Patterson hooks readers. A good way to highlight plot and twists and how author can mess with your head. All goes back to reader mind control.
Tip on Mystery – You can use 1st person in a mystery only if that protagonist has a very strong, distinct voice. Look at classics (Hammet, Chandler, as well as new stuff – Dresden Files by Jim Butcher). This rule probably applies to 1st-person narrators in other genres as well, I'd say.
Tip on manuscripts – make them inviting! No long, long paragraphs (form follows function – short paragraphs for action, longer paragraphs for slower scenes), start chapters half-way down the page, keep everything active, not passive.
Final Tip – it's easier to sell a novel than a short story – more markets, and fewer people finish novels than short stories. Write a killer proposal and a flawless opening 50 pages, and you'll have editors and agents knocking on your door. And long before that first novel is sold, you should be working on novels five and six, if not seven...
The following are all notes scribbled down while Dean Wesley Smith talked about novel-writing as well as during the critiques of novels. [I thought I'd post these here so people can compare David D. Levine's experience at the most recent workshop, which he details over in his journal.]
Dean spoke for an hour before the first critique (which was my novel!). He suggested that everyone work on developing a group of "first readers" that you can trust for quick and useful feedback on your novels. This could include people from this workshop or previous workshops. He and Kris, obviously, work as first readers for each other, but they also have other readers.
Always be willing to throw out your current draft of your novel and start over. It's all about "The Next Novel" – constantly improving and pushing yourself.
Learn how to sell books – you can sell your novel by writing a better proposal. None of the proposals at this workshop were all that great. And proposals are what sell books more than almost anything else these days. You've got a lot of people to impress, not just the editor – there's also the sales force and art people and so on. Once your book is written, stop thinking like an artist and start thinking like a salesman.
Excitement sells a book. Editors and agents get excited about a book's subject matter, the author's history and personality, the book's presentation, the author's professionalism. The focus is less on writing style, more on telling a damn good story. Make the editor's job easier and write a strong proposal (which is the same thing as a synopsis or an outline – it's a sales tool).
And you need to get excited about your own book. Make your excitement spill over into the proposal.
"Authors control publishing." You have complete control over what you do with your writing and who you send it to and whose advice you follow (or don't follow). Without writers, the industry shuts down. Look at how JK Rowling's lateness on Harry Potter 4 almost shut down Scholastic Books.
Authors get paid exactly what editors/publishers think the book will sell. It's all a computer program, and they plug in the numbers based on the predicted "bigness" of a book. Your advance is exactly what they think you'll sell. Do better and you can expect a bigger advance on the next book. Do less than well, you may be screwed (start thinking of a good pseudonym!).
What makes a book big? Tackle a big topic, wide in scope, push boundaries of the field. Some big books explode, while others are grown, as in Kris Rusch's Smoky Dalton series (Dean expects her next book to break out big). In a series, the big breakout usually occurs in the 5th book of a series, because author keeps improving and upping the ante with each novel in series, plus you build an audience with each book. Note to self: write a series!
The industry continues to evolve – you can't do much business at conventions anymore. Editors too swamped, plus all book-buying is done by committee. Cons are more like going on vacations these days – a good excuse to get together and drink with other authors and editors. In a way, this is a good evolution of novel-submitting, because you're not getting published because of your wild and crazy convention-going personality, but on the basis of your writing, your professionalism, and your knowledge of how the business works.
Also, query letters are getting rejected almost all the time now, unless the proposal worked (this is a new trend from the past 1-2 years). You've got to use the short "elevator pitch" in your cover letter to get the editor excited, and include a compelling proposal.
Query includes a cover letter (with credentials and one-sentence hook for novel), first 50 pages of novel (no more than 50 – don't piss off editor with more), and proposal.
The proposal must tell the story of the novel "in miniature" – using same voice,tone, exciting, not just a list of "this happened, then this happened." Use dialog, action, lines from novel itself, etc. Tailor each synopsis for each book, depending on its strengths and focus – you may need to prove to editors that you have a strong grasp of the SF scene, for example, so you may include comparisons to other novels out now, or you may just want to tell the story and hook them that way. Some proposals start with a comparison to other books, others with an explanation of the book itself, some with the story right away. Never be negative in a proposal!
If you're doing a series of books, only discuss the 2nd and 3rd books in the series in your proposal, and then only a sentence or 2 (sell the first novel first!)
Send your proposal and 3 chapters or just a query letter (read their guidelines!) to both agents and editors. Agents are now slush readers for novel editors and publishers (agents are the ones making the most $, which is why more editors are leaving and pursuing other areas, like agenting).
Novels need strong openings – the novels at this workshop took too long to get going. "Open with an explosion." Put your main character in the story's setting right away, and give the reader strong details to ground them in the story. Get inside your protagonist's voice. Give a good sense of some of the protagonist's problems, but don't overdo the backstory (1 sentence laced in here and there, giving your character a history with infodumping it all on the reader).
One possible way to overcome this fumbling with the openings – write a "draft and 50." As soon as you type "The End" on your first draft, go right to re-drafting your opening 3 chapters. Many of the books in the workshop hit their stride in the last 100-150 pages, once the author had found his or her voice, and it would make sense to continue that voice into the 2nd draft of the opening. Get inside the protagonist's head from the start, and stay there, damn it!
Ask yourself "Why does the novel start here? Should it start earlier? Later?"
Have characters make bad choices, do unexpected things, make them imperfect, give them neuroses and bad behavior.
Avoid "false tension" – hiding info from the reader to create mystery or suspense – just tell them! Otherwise they'll get annoyed and stop reading.
Hook the reader early, make 'em trust you – it's all about "reader mind control." Don't ever give the reader a chance to doubt your authority as an author. A good novel is all about the choices you make – you decide how best to tell the story. That's why it's a good idea to step back from your first draft, and let it sit for a few weeks after your done, so you can see it with fresh eyes – reread your whole novel as a reader, then read it again as an editor.
Read those 1st 50 pages out loud and nail the voice.
Your opening has to be perfect, otherwise your novel will never get read.
Voice – get inside the head of your protagonist! The protagonist is the filter for everything in the book, so all descriptions are biased, based on this person's view of the world. Avoid passive verbs (forms of "is") and passive characters. Don't push the reader out!
Details – stay one step ahead of the reader, answering any small questions they may have and not frustrating them. Mystery is good, reader frustration is bad. Answer questions with details first. Ground your world with so much detail that the reader has no choice but to believe in it. Show the reader that your novel has a "spine" (a structure) that all the various sub-plots and PoV characters are branching from.
Take chances. "Get out of your own way" – don't edit yourself, just write.
Asimov's rule: only one fantastic thing per story, and the rest must all be believable and realistic.
Viewpoint: don't use "he thought" or "she thought" -- cut them. Every time you use them, you distance the reader from the story. Also, use the protag's name once, and then use "he" or "she" – use name only to keep from pronoun antecedent confustion. Remember, every verb and noun choice is colored by the protag's views and beliefs and feelings. Don't be passive or lazy!
Play with readers' expectations – lead them one way, then go the opposite to keep 'em guessing. Hook them and take them with you right away, then explain later.
Miscellaneous Stuff:
Tip on SF: Science Fiction is no longer taking on big issues like overpopulation (SF writers saw the writing on the wall, and realized they couldn't fathom writing about it anymore).
Tip on Reviews – start a file of all your positive reviews, especially those that mention your name (not specific to any one book or story). Good for future blurbs when the books starting rolling off the press.
Tip on Romances – Romances are all about the emotions, and have very little plot. Guys who write romances have way too much plot. Should be all characters, less actions. And no whiny heroines! People read romances to pretend to be the heroine, so her situation should be appealing, and she's got to be a strong, interesting person. In a romance, neither character wants to give more than what they think the other is giving (even if they are attracted to one another).
Tip on Structure – Find books similar to what I'm writing, read them once for pleasure, then take them apart to see how author handled the opening and structure and character motivations. Dean did this over and over to James Patterson's most recent book, charting them on a whiteboard to figure out how the heck Patterson hooks readers. A good way to highlight plot and twists and how author can mess with your head. All goes back to reader mind control.
Tip on Mystery – You can use 1st person in a mystery only if that protagonist has a very strong, distinct voice. Look at classics (Hammet, Chandler, as well as new stuff – Dresden Files by Jim Butcher). This rule probably applies to 1st-person narrators in other genres as well, I'd say.
Tip on manuscripts – make them inviting! No long, long paragraphs (form follows function – short paragraphs for action, longer paragraphs for slower scenes), start chapters half-way down the page, keep everything active, not passive.
Final Tip – it's easier to sell a novel than a short story – more markets, and fewer people finish novels than short stories. Write a killer proposal and a flawless opening 50 pages, and you'll have editors and agents knocking on your door. And long before that first novel is sold, you should be working on novels five and six, if not seven...
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