The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell

As I've said before, I love books on writing and one of my favorite "how-to" authors is James Scott Bell. So naturally, when his latest book on writing came out earlier this month, I just had to have it. The Art of War for Writers didn't disappoint either. Divided into three sections, there are tactics and strategies for writers of all levels from the newest novice to the grizzled veteran.

Section 1, Reconnaissance, gets us into the right mental frame of mind with pointers on discipline, self-motivation and putting one's heart into their writing along with admonitions against worry, desperation and fear.

Section 2, Tactics, starts by encouraging us not to settle for "mere fiction" then gives us the tools needed to take our own writing to the next level. From "write hard, write fast" and "edit slow, edit tough" to "utilize the Q factor" you'll find tips and techniques for dealing with dialogue, backstory, characters, pacing exposition and the all important starting point.
Section 3, Strategy, guides us through the day to day, business side of writing. Practical tips include goal setting (which I plan to put into practice real soon), when to start the agent hunt and how to get the best results. I especially appreciate his advice on query letters and the synopsis.

The Art of War for Writers is stuffed full of great advice and I see myself returning to its pages again and again. And while I say this is one for the keeper shelf, I have the feeling it won't be spending much time on the shelf.

You can download a free sample of The Art of War for Writers here.  I found my copy at Books a Million but you can also purchase online with Amazon.

Plot

This week we're going to be talking plot. Now, I'm sure most of you know plenty about plot so I'm not even going to try to explain it other than a basic definition.

Plot is more than a series of events...it's like the frame of a building with the building being the novel. Plot moves chronologically, it begins in one place, moves through time to another. Events are related to each other. For a plot to be effective, the intensity of each event must be greater than the last.

If we wish our plots to have a feeling of increasing intensity then we have to make our readers care about our characters. The character's problems must be serious/significant and they can't just be solved with no effort on the character's part. There needs to be struggle, defeat and them some more struggle.

So...as you start thinking about your story's plot, make notes about what your character wants, what events can take place to hinder your character's journey and give your character some challenging.

In How To Write A Breakout Novel by Donald Maass, he says something to the effect of find out the worst thing that could happen to your character...then make it happen.

And while I know this is very good advice, I have a hard time torturing my characters. What about you? Do you find yourself protecting your characters or do you torture them?

Oh, for more on plot, check out the book Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell. This is an excellent book and has exercises at the end of each chapter to apply what you learn.

Getting Started...

I've been studying story structure for a while now and it's really very interesting. When you get right down to it, it's sorta like a jigsaw puzzle that just has to be put together properly.

I'm not going to even try to do a post on structure. I don't know enough about it myself and others have done such great jobs explaining it that anything I'd add would only take away.

So...here's a great series on structure. StoryFix It's an eleven part series and he really breaks it down into easy to understand bites.

There is a LOT of great information on the StoryFix site. Next week, he's doing a seven part series on the art and craft of characterization.

Also...Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell. I LOVE this book. It's one of my favorite writing books and has a special place on my keeper shelf. Though it does spend quite a bit of time in my stack of books I'm reading. This on is really nice because it has lots of examples along with exercises at the end of each chapter to put into practice the things you learn.

Remember to set your daily writing goals and make the writing a priority. If you don't take your writing serious, no one else will either.

I am responsible...

I read a LOT of books on writing.  From basic craft issues to revising to promoting and while I may not use every suggestion, I do take a little from this book, a bit from this other book and some from that one over there and a smidge from this one here.  I then add it all together and get what works for me.  And that's what you should do too.

One of the books I've read lately is Get Known Before the Book Deal by Christina Katz.  I really like this book.  It discusses how to use your personal strengths to grow an author platform.  And it's actually something that we can start thinking about now so I highly recommend the book if you are serious about a career as a writer.

One thing I that really struck a chord with me is the fact that I am 100% responsible for the success of my writing career, 100% of the time.  There are so many things that I can control in my quest to become the best writer possible.  Yes, there are things I can't control such as the market and what's selling and what's not but my job is to write the best book possible, then find the right agent or publisher for it. 

If I've done the writing part correct, selling will take care of itself.

James Scott Bell wrote a post on The Kill Zone about this very thing not long ago.  Check it out when it get the chance...and if you write mystery or thrillers, then add this to your favorites list.  They have a LOT of great info.

My thought for the day is...decide what you want from your writing.  Do you want that brass ring, best selling novel or will you be happy with a small press or even self-publishing?  Set some goals.  Then, make your writing a priority.

Set a daily word count quota as mentioned in the last post.  Then stick to it.  Figure out when your best time to write is and set an appointment with your computer and write.  Tell those who would distract you that you have to write.  Don't let the day to day things rob you of your writing dream.

Discipline...ewwwww!!!!

I have to admit, I don't do discipline well. I think it has something to do with the time I spent in the military. I'm not very organized either, though I've gotten better in the last several years.
What's discipline got to do with writing you ask?

Just this…if you want to write a novel within a reasonable amount of time, you have to be disciplined. This means writing on a regular basis. It's one of the things that serious writers have in common. They write on a schedule. They make their writing a priority.

I had problems with this. Call it procrastination or call it lazy but it isn't a good thing. So, followed the advice of many writers and decided to make writing a priority for me. To make it something important in my daily routine.

About this time, James Scott Bell tweeted about completing his Nifty 350. Meaning, his goal for the day is 350 words, written in the mornings. I took this idea and ran with it, so to speak.

I decided on a "First 500" and put my self on an internet diet. Harsh yes, but it's really working. I take my laptop into the bedroom so first thing in the morning, I can fire it up and get to writing.

The first couple days, it took about 4 hours to get those First 500 words. Now, I'm one of those writers who tend to write, edit, rewrite and then revise each sentence as I go along so that's not a long time for me.

After the first week, I found myself looking forward to writing first thing in the morning and the word counts rising and not taking as long to get on the page. I've only been doing this for a little over a month now but for several days I've managed to get between 1,000 to 1,500 words in the same 4 hours.

I also learned that the internet won't wither up and blow away if I'm not there. I discovered that many of the things I did online, once thought of as necessities, really weren't.

And I've discovered I like writing more than reading many other writing blogs. Sure, I still have a favorite few I read on a regular basis but now I've gotten my priorities in the right order and when I spend some time online, I don't feel guilty because I haven't written.

I don't have any books to recommend to you however, if you have a problem with procrastination, check out Procrastinating Writer.

Then, take a look at your schedule and make writing a priority.

Got Plot???

Plot is the "what happens" in your book and for most readers, the reason they continue reading. They want to see "what happens" to the characters they've connected with. They want to experience those events through the character.

When readers connect, they can become secret agents on a mission to save the world, or the hero who rescues the princess or, closer to home, the person who finds true love when all seems lost.

The thing about plots though, they have to go somewhere. They have to take the reader on a ride. Plots can't just lay around and do nothing. Plots have to challenge our characters, make them grow, cause them to doubt and usually, in the end to overcome an obstacle that seems unconquerable.

One of my favorite movies that shows a great plot is Dante's Peak. If you haven't seen it, you really should. The main idea is that the volcano is about to errupt and the town needs saving. Harry (our hero) and Rachel (the mayor) have to get her kids from home so they can leave town. Simple right?

But it seems the kids have gone up the mountain to get the stubborn grandma. (Personally, I'd have left her but I really didn't like her.) Okay, again no big deal. But the bridge is blocked with traffic so Harry drives through the river. (His vehicle has snorkle so it's cool.) But he gets stuck and water is coming in the truck. A car follows him, floats into his truck, bumping him enough to get unstuck. They drive out of the river, get back on the road, a helicopter crashes ahead of them, ash is falling like a grey blizzard, rocks and trees roll down the mountain in front of them and then the whole road behind them is wiped out in a landslide.

Eventually they get to the grandma's house but the volcano is spitting lava by now, which has flowed down the mountain and wiped out the log cabin and all the vehicles. Their only option is to take to the lake in a metal boat. However, all the volcanic activity has turned the lake to acid and the boat is leaking. Soon the propeller on the motor is eaten away.

I won't give away the end but you can see how each plot point builds on the previous one. The viewer is kept on the edge of their seat to see how
Harry is going to save them all.

We need to craft our plots in a similar fashion. We need to keep the reader engaged and caring about what happens to our characters. If Harry and Rachel had gotten home, picked up the kids and driven out of town...big deal. BORING!!! And not much of a movie either.

Plot is tied with structure in a big way and we'll get to that soon but this month, when you watch television or read a book, think about the plot and how it moves forward in the story.

I once heard someone say that plot is getting your character up a tree and then throwing stones at them. I kinda like that. Of course, it's often hard to throw those stones at characters we love but in doing so, we make them stronger, along with our plot and give the reader another reason to keep on reading.

I only have one book on plot and it's probably one of my most favorite books on writing. It's called Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell. I think this should be a must read for every writer.

A special welcome to those who just joined us. So glad you are here. Take a moment, say hi in the comment thread and let us know a bit about you and what you like to write.