Believe me, it takes true grit to write every single day.  And it takes a double dose of grit to revise a manuscript and turn it into a finished product.

I mean there is that first draft.  I struggled through that with my current book, Tessa and Claudine, and then I plodded along on a second draft, and still I found myself saying to no one in particular, “Who wrote this drivel?  Surely, not I.”

Now, I’m back at the drawing board with revision number three, and with the help of an insightful leader and encouraging cohorts in a novel writng workshop, I finally see the scenes coming to life. 

I love dialog.  It’s comes natural to me.  However, I get so involved in relaying my story via conversation that I forget to let the reader inside my protagonist’s head.   I need to pause and slow down the action.  I’ve been told that I need to blow up the balloon.  My readers need to relate to my main character.  Is she hurting?  Is she ready to make  a decision?  Is she gaining ground or losing?   Does she feel abandoned or loved?   Is she hiding her true feelings?  What is she learning?

It takes true grit to keep on revising, and it take a double dose of grit to plod along when you and your characters are running into brick walls.  But, the more you face  the truths inside the characters, the easier it gets.  And the reward will be a better finished product.

I’m beginning to like this idea of  blowing up the balloon. 

Happy writing and Happy New Year.   By the way, I saw True Grit on New Year’s Eve and loved it.   Any other movie recommendations? Perhaps this year’s blogs will revolve around movie themes.  Who knows?

I love it when I’m reading a book and I come across dialogue, especially after I have plowed through several paragraphs of description and exposition.   All of a sudden the characters are talking to one another, and the story really rolls along.  I feel so good because I get to listen in on the conversation.  I’m anxious to hear what the characters have to say.  I never want to know too much about what they are thinking about.  I just want them to spit out those wonderful words.  

And, I want the characters to sound like real people.   If they speak in long sentences, it doesn’t work for me.   People don’t talk that way.   Really good dialogue sounds clipped.  It includes both what is said and what is left out.   What is not said allows me to wonder.  I learn a lot about the characters by noting the way they speak. 

Often in good dialogue, I can tell that one person is not listening.  Instead, just like in real life, they are thinking of what they are going to say next.

As for me, what I am going to say next, is that it’s time to go back to revising my novel, Tessa and Claudine.   Tessa just gave her sister, Claudine, a tongue lashing.   As usual, Claudine ignored her. 

Bye for now.

I’m a workshop junkie.  I attend these gatherings to get a critique of my work.   I used to come home, look at all of the pen marks on my chapter, and then begin to make changes.  I don’t do that anymore.   Now, I return home and mull over the questions my workshop leader and others in the class asked about my protagonist, about the relationships between my characters, and about the structure of my story.  I check to see if certain scenes move my story line forward.  I remind myself to trust my reader.

The next day, I work on the next chapter of my novel, and get excited thinking about the new directions in which my plot can flow. 

I also begin to correct small changes in my critiqued chapter but save major changes for down the road, when I can see where the story line is taking me.  I make notes in the margin and clip or stick-on notes regarding changes I’m not exactly sure about.   And, eventually it all comes together.

I find that, after a critique session,  taking time to think about revision is valuable.   I learn more this way.  I often take a walk and rehash my story.  I focus on the scenes and recall the constructive comments I’ve received.  That’s when the creative juices begin to flow. 

Sometimes, when I go out to dinner with my husband, Doug, I still have the juices flowing.  He gives me this look and says, “So how many characters are out to dinner with us tonight?”

“Only a couple,” I say with a sly grin.  “And they don’t eat much.”

Here we go –  more about emotion in writing:

In my last workshop session, I once again got margin notes indicating that I needed to add emotion.  I must be a slow learner.

This professor doesn’t mince words.  In one spot, he said, “Make your character speak like a 16-year old, humanize her or else the reader will close the book.”   He’s slap-you-in-the-face direct and admits it but says he knows we can take it.  We can.

In my revision.  I’m using more internal thought, and  I’ve eliminated some surface statements which do not show Tessa’s feelings.  If the reader doesn’t understand what she’s feeling, they won’t relate to her.

For instance, the day Tessa goes out the door to leave town with her sister, Claudine, and her mother, she wants to tell her stepfather, Luke, goodbye.  But, she doesn’t.  I don’t explain why nor do I give the reader the visceral sense of the scene.  As you can see, I have some deep revision to do.

By the way, I’d like to report that further along in this same chapter, the professor actually pointed out a few pages that he thought were “great. ”  He said what I’d written worked well because I’d not only let the reader see the scene, but the reader could also feel the emotion.  (Whew, it felt good to tell you something positive for a change. )

I hope my revision tips have been of some help.  Keep on writing.  I  write because I honestly don’t know how to stop writing.   It’s kind of like breathing for me.

And you?  Why do you write?

Lisbeth

Hello all.  Glad you stopped by.   I got my chapter back from the 3rd the summer workshop session, and it was covered with a gazillion pen marks. 

It turns out that I’m only touching the surface of my main character’s emotions.  Stephen King says in his book, On Writing,  ”Don’t stop writing a scene because it’s hard emotionally.”   I think that’s why I’ve been simply skimming the surface.   (Twenty lashes with a wet rag for me.)  When Tessa’s sister, Claudine, goes after her boyfriend while she’s lying in a hospital bed after getting her front teeth knocked out in a car accident, I don’t show her emotions.  I’ve got to let my readers know that she feels like she’s been stuck in the gut with a sharp knife.  And it hurts like hell. 

A second critiqued comment was about my tendency to jump into a journalistic mode.  I did just that in a scene where Tessa’s friend Lisa comes by and insists Tessa get her butt out of the house where she’s been  hibernating while her face heals.  The teenagers walk downtown.  I have a golden opportunity to show character in this scene.  Instead, I give a journalistic report.   In my revision, I plan to let the reader see the buildings, smell the doughnuts in the bakery, get a glimpse of what other shoppers are wearing, hear the clerk comment on Tessa injuries and Lisa’s trendy outfit, have Tessa see her face in a store mirror and get teary-eyed, and listen to the two girls share their thoughts.   Tessa may even notice the sawdust on the floor of the remodeled drugstore when they stop in for a milkshake.  These are only ideas, but it will be a real scene, not a newspaper report.

I hope my ramblings have helped you realize the importance in digging deep for emotion and in setting a scene in your writing.

Happy writing.  Have a good day.

I’ve got more writing tips.  The good news is that there weren’t as many pen marks on my manuscript at the second workshop.  There are two things I want to pass along.

1.  Let the reader SEE the scene.  In other words, show don’t tell.  I know you’ve heard these words over and over.  But let me give you an example.  In my novel Tessa and Claudine, Tessa is in the hospital and her Dad shows up.  Sounds fairly normal, right?  But it isn’t because she’s sixteen and hasn’t seen her dad since she was a toddler.  Her parents are divorced.  She’s a mess after an accident, and she;s shocked when he comes to visit her.  He’s about to leave, and I jump in and tell the reader why he’s leaving.    It turns out that this is a bad move.  I need to let the reader see the scene instead.  It’s better to  show the action, indicate just what the Dad is doing at this point  — after all he has to feel uncomfortable around her.

2.  Next tip.  Do not undermine the tension.  Okay, now I have a tense scene going.  Tessa’s Dad has just left her hospital room, and she hears a loud commotion in the hallway.  It’s her mother yelling and screaming her head off at her dad for coming to see the daughter he barely knows.  I slow the story down by throwing in a line about how the nurses tell her mother to keep her voice down.  (My workshop leader says NO, don’t do that, “It undermines the tension.”)    The  mother needs to walk into Tessa’s hospital room as if the confrontation with her dad never happened.  Great advice, I think.

I’m learning a lot by having my work critiqued and by listening to the critiques of others.  Stop in after my July workshop for more  tips.

Right now I’m spending hours revising my novel, but hey, it keeps me out of trouble.  It’s good and hot here in Savannah, but I love it.  I think those summers  growing up in Southern Illinois without any air conditioning prepared me for the hot, humid South.  

Happy writing to one and all.  And safe travels if you are hitting the road this summer.

Lisbeth

I went to the first meeting of my summer writing workshop.  When the first chapter of my novel, Tessa and Claudine, was critiqued, our workshop leader pointed out several instances where I’d stepped out of the narrative to explain something.   He emphasized the importance of character development and staying in the character’s voice.   He showed where I’d listed details and explained how it would be better to filter in the details by showing them.  I did some backdooring, meaning I tried to stick in info I wanted the reader to have.  He said to be patient. I could tell the reader later on when it worked better.   “It’s a novel,” he said.  “You have plenty of time.” I did a bit of overwriting.    The good news is I came home and spent hours revising this chapter. 

.My main tip from the first workshop is this:  watch out for those times when you are simply telling the reader something.  It stops the narrative.  Trust your reader and keep the narrative moving.  I found that to be such good advice.  I’m often afraid the reader won’t understand the narrative, so I stop to explain.  DON”T do this.  I hope you won’t  step out of the narrative either.  (Nobody said novel writing was going to be easy.)

(By the way, a few other tidbits from our workshop leader  regarding my manuscript, “This is nice.  Great line.  Another great line.  Perfect line.  Cut.  Cut.  And, what does this mean?”)

If this helps only a few writers, I will be delighted.  If you have any tips for me , I’d love to hear them. 

Cheers, Lib

www.lisbeththom.com

Hello readers and writers.  So glad you stopped by.   I’ve got exciting news to share. 

I visited the Library of Congress  in Washington D. C. this past week.  At this absolutely gorgeous building, I actually got to check out my own book , Row Away From the Rocks, in the main reading room.   It was SO exciting.  Sorry to toot my own horn, but I can assure you it was a grand experience.  The main reading room is a such a beautiful place with this marvelous high ceiling.  The Library of Congress gets 20,000 books each day.  They select about half of those, and most books go to various other buildings in Washington D. C. (The leftovers are donated to various libraries.)  Some books make it to the Library of Congress.  I feel so honored to have my book there. 

So you writers, keep on writing.   If you also get a book in the Library of Congress, you will need to apply for an official Library card at the Madison Building, across the street from the Library of Congress.  You will be required to fill out some forms and have official ID with you.  The card you receive is then good for two years.   You readers may go through the same process and check out a book at the nation’s library.   Try it.  It’s a fabulous experience.  And if you go, let me know what you think of this gorgeous building. 

Now that I’m back home, Tessa and Claudine, the two sisters in my novel in progress, are clamoring for my attention.  I’m still working at getting them to form a bond.  There are times when I think it’s simply not going to happen.  I start a new writer’s workshop on June 7.  I’m taking along chapters of Tessa and Claudine.I will let you know how the critiques go.  In the meantime, I wish you would let me know when you stop by.  I keep telling Tessa and Claudine I have blog fans, but they don’t believe me.  Sometimes my characters are a pain in the butt.

Lisbeth

          I love March Madness.  Here we are almost to the end of the NCAA tourney.   I’m still revising TESSA AND CLAUDINE and my main character, Tessa, has become a big basketball fan now that she’s moved to Indianapolis, a big basketball state.  In fact in a recent chapter she attended a high school tournament at the Butler fieldhouse, so in light of that I’m rooting for the Butler Bulldogs.  I know it’s a long shot, but Tessa wants me on their side.

          The fun part about writing fiction is that the characters slowly come to life as the story progresses.  At first, they are like paper dolls.  I can get them to do what I want.  But, not for long.  The characters soon start driving the story forward on their own.  I remember the time, when I was writing my first book, ROW AWAY FROM THE ROCKS, and my husband invited me out to dinner.  (I think it was because he came home from golf at dinner time and I was still working on the computer).  

          At dinner, he said, “So how’s your book coming along?”

          “Okay, I guess,” I said, “but I’m so angry at Carrie, my main character.  She always has to have everything her way.   I’m getting sick of her attitude.”  

          My husband rolled his eyes and looked at me like, oh man, she’s really gone over the edge.   As for me, I got excited because at that moment I realized that my character had become real.  

           And now my characters in TESSA AND CLAUDINE hve reached this stage.   Each time I sit down to redo a chapter, I reread the chapter before making changes and wonder just where some of the scenes came from.   I suppose I have my characters to thank for some of the fun surprises.

           Well here’s hoping we have some plenty of surprises in the tournament next weekend.  Obviously, we have four dynamite teams– Duke, Michigan State, West Virginia, and Butler – vying for that top spot.

We went on this fantastic Western Carribbean cruise  — Cayamo,  A Journey Through Song and LOVED it.  We listened to concerts day and  night  for five days- it was great.  The musicians:  Lyle Lovett, Brandi Carlisle, Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Steve Earle, Shawn Mullins, Chuck Cannon (my favorite), and a host of others wowed us.  I went to a songwriters workshop and ever since I’ve been playing with words night and day.  

TESSA AND CLAUDINE – REVISION TIPS:  I’m rolling along with my novel, revising each chapter, making sure the reader can see the scene, and cutting out parts.  I may like a certain paragraph, or scene, but I ask, “Does this relate to the  overall story?”  If the answer is no, then no matter how well it’s written, I push the delte button.  It hurts, but it has to go.  I remember a writing instructor saying, “If you’re writing about an Indian, then everything you write must in some way relate to the Indian.”

I’m sharing chapters with a cousin who’s writing a memoir.  We read and critique.  It works well.  She catches things I can’t see.  I recommend this type of back and forth critiquing with one person you trust to do a good critique.  Sometimes we get too close to our work that we can’t see the small mistakes.  Knowng my cousin is going to want to touch, taste, see and feel what is going on is helping me to make sure I appeal to the senses.

On the cruise, I saw lot of families.  I visited with sisters traveling together.   Often the sisters seemed so different in personality, but there they were laughing, singing, having a great time together.  It gave me hope that I could get my two characters back in touch with one another.   

My sister, Charlotte, and I had our many differences, but we both liked to cook.  She loved my chicken enchiladas.  I’m going to add that recipe today.   Let me know if you like it.  (Look under Recipes for the chicken enchilada recipe.)

Any other Cayamo fans out there?