30 Years of Advice
After a successful career in the movie business, I decided to expand my practice to include novelists and memoirists. Here’s a list of the most valuable advice from me to you!
Embrace Structure. All my writers can write well. They have a great vocabulary. They can turn a phrase. They understand grammar. What they don’t know is Basic Story Structure. Which is too bad, because it is so simple and it is easily understood and it holds the key to a successful, happy life. If you do the research and learn how to craft a good story with the turning points in the right place, you will save yourself hundreds of writing hours.
Be Stingy with Backstory. So often, writers want to cram everything they know about the main character into Chapter One. Don’t do this! Tell the reader what they need to know when they need to know it. Think of Chapter One as a cocktail party. You meet someone new. What do you want them to know in the first half-hour? What happened to you that time in fifth grade that ruined your life forever? Where your grandmother was born? Why you hate your ex-husband?
No.
Tell them about your day. What do you do at work? What do you like to do for fun?
Just like a new friend, a reader might want to know a little bit about you. Going through an ordinary day for yourself or your Main Character will provide opportunities to drop in a few little clues. Those nuggets will entice your reader and make them turn the page to find out more.
Writing is about providing information, and it’s also about withholding information.
Set Realistic Goals. I worry about the writers who post about writing X number of words per day. Writing just doesn’t work that way. Better to commit to writing every day, even if it’s only for fifteen minutes while you’re waiting to pick up your kids from school. Better to promise yourself you’ll at least read over what you wrote yesterday. When I mapped out the time for my memoir, I promised myself one chapter a month. By the end of a year, I had a first draft that consisted of twelve chapters. I then broke those chapters up into what became thirty fleshed-out chapters.
Be Kind to the Reader. Remember that you’re building a relationship with your reader from Page One. Don’t give them too much to handle. Ease them into the story. Just because you and/or your Main Character suffered, doesn’t mean they have to suffer too.
Develop an Effective Voice. Depending on the point of view, your story will demand a specific voice. It should be engaging and likable. Avoid writing in a formal style. Use all the tools at your disposal: Fragments. Run-on sentences. Italics. Have fun with the personality of your story.
Create a Likable Protagonist. There is some debate about whether a protagonist should be likable. Because of my background in the movie business creating popular entertainment, I say YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES. Remember, you’re asking the reader to go on a long journey with this character. For details, check out my blog post The Four Traits of a Hero.
Keep it Moving. Most of us can write very well. We can write description. We can use proper grammar. We can look up fancy words in the thesaurus. But only a few can really structure a story properly. Learn the Must-Haves: Ordinary World. Inciting Incident. First Threshold. Midpoint. Dark Night. Epiphany. Master these elements of storytelling and you will be at the head of the class.
Let Go of the Past. Here’s a piece of advice I direct to memoirists. Resist the urge to exact revenge on those who have hurt you. You are writing this story to discover something about yourself. What do you learn about your character? How do they learn, change, and grow throughout the course of the story? Super important: this is not about payback. Not your job to get back at the bad guys in your life story. Besides, it’s boring.
Have Some Laughs. The Greek philosopher Epictetus claimed, “He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at.” Humans are funny creatures. Even as we think very highly of ourselves, we make huge mistakes. Beware the protagonist who never gets it wrong. Not credible!
Listen to People. The world is filled with people who love to read and love to give their opinion. Build your circle of beta readers. Learn how to receive feedback. (Pro Tip: Just listen. You don’t have to agree with what they say. You get to decide later). Part of the journey is to gather information from your readers. Did they get the message you intended to deliver? Also, go beyond your circle of friends. Join writers groups on Facebook and Twitter. Get as much information as you can from as many resources as you can.
Keep Going. Whatever you do, keep writing. It takes days, weeks, months, years of work to master your craft. Tap into the part of you that loves to write. Loves to edit. Loves to get feedback. Loves to edit again. And again. And again. Aren’t we lucky we have something we love to do?