Day 168 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author, Dane F. Baylis

IT'S ABOUT GETTING YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW

OR

ANYBODY SEE WHERE I PUT THE DUCK TAPE?

 

 

 

I'm the first to admit that it can take me quite some time to figure some things out. Take for instance the physical construction of fiction. That's something I spent a lot of time trying to get right (mostly because I'm from the crash and bash school of literature), and even when I finally did, well, there weren't a lot of definitive works out there that said, "That's it!"

 

One of those things nobody spends a lot of time on is the composition of a chapter. We all know what they are, the building blocks of longer literary works intended to break the whole into bite size pieces. But what constitutes a bite?

 

I have one of those obsessive natures, the kind that tears things down into their component parts just to see what makes them work - kind of like a pit bull with a throw pillow. It was while I was dissecting some longer works that it occurred to me that chapters are really short stories. They can have all or most of the same parts as a short story: Title, beginning, middle, end, setting, characters, point of view, and theme. They introduce or amplify the conflict in the longer work. They illustrate the setting and characters, they define the major and minor dramatic questions, they contain plot and sub-plot and, above all else, they create the type of dynamic tension that impels you through a story with enthusiasm.

 

Truly effective chapter construction is like reading a serial collection of short stories. Each one picks up where the last left off and ends with you wanting more. This was a highly popular style of writing in the hay day of the major magazines, before television and the Internet began to replace them. Television had some of these same qualities until the producers began to doubt the attention span of their audience and the Internet has tried to reinvent some of it with the proliferation of blogs.

 

But think about it. What was the reason you couldn't put a particular book down? I'll bet that, as each chapter ended, there was a feeling that you had been left hanging. The author had taken you into a situation and, even if the major conflict in that chapter had been resolved, you were left waiting for some other occurrence that you knew was around the corner. It might have been something as simple as the revelation of some information needed by the main character to continue on, or the introduction of a character you knew was going to be the monkey in the wrench works.

 

Whatever it was, it was done artfully and with attention to how the pieces fit together. What is one of the prime killers of a reader's enthusiasm? The chapter or subtext that doesn't really seem to contribute to moving the story along. The minor character without real purpose, the subplot that could have been an aside, but should never have been an entire chapter. Just as each word should be weighed to produce the most effective sentence, each sentence should be considered for its contribution to a paragraph, and every paragraph should be seen as igniting the motion and tension of the individual chapters. Thus, every chapter should be a vital story within the overall construction of the super structure of your novel.

 

It is this type of construction that is the hallmark of really good mysteries or thrillers. But it is also the secret to improving any form, whether romance, adventure, science fiction, young adult, or whatever else you write. If you learn to treat your chapter as a serial short story, you will develop a powerful avenue for improving your writing.

 

 

In the meantime...live, love, write.

 

 

Want to follow or subscribe to this blog? There are gadgets for that on the right side of the page. You can leave comments in the form below. I can be reached directly at dbaylis805@gmail.com . You can also find links to some of the sites I visit from time to time on the right. I'm also looking for submissions to the Your Work/Your Love page. Authors retain all rights.

 

 

Tomorrow,

 

Dane F. Baylis

Author. 

 



Day 167 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author, Dane F. Baylis

CONQUERING THE GREAT WHITE ABYSS

OR

FACE IT, EVERY STORY BEGINS WITH A BLANK SHEET OF PAPER.

 

Everyone of us has that moment. You sit down to start writing and, ugh, where are the words? It's the Sargasso Sea of stalled, the Bermuda Triangle of terror. You want to be a writer and you can't seem to do the one thing it takes to make that happen. Write! You need a plot, a theme, HELL, even a character will do. But there's nothing there. What's with that?

 

It's stage fright my child, pure and simple. You're center stage in your new role as author and the moment has overwhelmed you. Maybe you've been at it a while and gone stale? Or you're coming off a triumph (No, not the motorcycle! Sheesh!) and can't see how you might top it. Do not get out of that chair! Take deep breaths, then put your fingers on the keys and type, "I am sitting here in front of this screen because..." and run with that thought. Write something about the writing you want to do. Write something that examines why you're not writing what you think you should. Write about that time you had to read that paper you wrote in front of the class. Talk about terror.

 

Well, what do you know, you are a writer. Nope, it's probably not that "Great (you supply the nationality) Novel" you feel you should be writing, but at least your brain's engaged and your fingers are moving. That epic treatise on the entire four and a half billion years of planetary history can wait a bit.

 

The greatest cause of literary constipation is pressure. Most likely you can handle the external variety, (Come on, you know you procrastinate right up to a deadline with the rest of us), but the self-imposed stress is what will ice up your imaginative wings and send you spinning into the dirt fastest. It tends to go like this, "I have to get out ten pages a day." or "My quota is twenty five hundred words daily. MINIMUM!" or "For my first project, I'll write a novel." Later, it tends to go like this, "Why did I ever set a stupid goal?"

 

So how do you get to this state of constantly hammering keys? By sitting down and writing something every chance you get. One word at a time. Some of it can be in blog. Some of it can be in a variety of notebooks and yellow pads. I carry a thumb drive everywhere and take a laptop on the road. (Outside of writing I have very little life, but my writing life is my passion.)

 

Occasionally you'll get stuck. So drag out a notebook or a how-to on writing, or the newspaper, and flip through until something lights the bulb. The vast majority of this is crap, but that's what first drafts are for. In there, you'll find the ideas and inspiration you're looking for. Oh, if you're waiting for the muse? Good luck, she's a fickle bitch. She might be off blowing into your competitors ear right now.

 

That's the other truth. We are all competing. With whom? Look at every face you pass on the street tomorrow. That's them. Everyone of them will tell you that they could have written it better than you did. The difference? You're sitting in front of a keyboard right now, writing about why you can't write. They're still walking down the sidewalk.

 

Over the next week or so I'll be looking at some of the mechanics of short fiction. These are things that can be applied pretty much to any length and I'll address that along the way. I hope some of it will be useful for you. 

 

 

Meanwhile...live, love, write.

 

 

Want to follow or subscribe to this blog? There are gadgets for that on the right side of the page. You can leave comments in the form below. I can be reached directly at dbaylis805@gmail.com . You can also find links to some of the sites I visit from time to time on the right. I'm also looking for submissions to the Your Work/Your Love page. Authors retain all rights.

 

 

Tomorrow,

 

Dane F. Baylis

Author.

 



Day 166 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author, Dane F. Baylis

GOING ONE STEP BEYOND

OR

CROWD SOURCING YOUR CRITIQUES ISN'T WORTH THE PAPER THEY'RE WRITTEN ON.

 

 

 

 

Isn't being a writer on the Internet so spiffy? You never have to deal with anyone face to face. You can throw anything you want up, at any stage of development. Then you can sit back and wait for all the praise. Doesn't it give you such a warm snugly feeling to know there are so many writers out there, so unsure of their own abilities and talent, that you get praise heaped on you for whatever you do? Then, later on, you can do the same for them, and, if somebody does mention any little shortcoming, why you can just point to all those glowing comments you received, like, "Great", "Wish I'd thought of that", or the ever satisfying, "Touching" with one finger, while flourishing another at the screen.

 

Here's a little test, mostly dealing with perception and comprehension. The next time you post something creative, ask the first three commenter's what it was they found so stirring in your work. Don't be surprised if the answers come off a bit like, "Uh, well, um, you know, the words were, like, pretty and kind of uplifting."

 

Now, when someone does say something critical, instead of pointing defensively to all your glowing reviews from Mrs. Darwinkle's third grade class, ask the critic what they mean. Likely you will get something a bit more substantive than, "It, like, didn't really touch me, I mean, there was no back beat, you probably couldn't dance to it." Perhaps you will get the, "I just don't like poetry", "Gothic novels aren't my thing", or "I'm more of a historical fiction type", and these are worth the time it took to type them. But, you also might find yourself in a serious, and informative, discussion of art and craft.

 

Take it from someone who has sat through a number of workshops as a participant and a facilitator. All the empathetic drooling will not make you a better writer. It's all about the work. After the initial burst is done, it's time to rewrite and revise. A good editor is priceless at that point.

 

So, what's a good editor? One who will respect your message and emotion but be willing to tell you when something is just plain wrong. A great editor is one who will compel you to want to improve the piece and offer you multiple avenues for accomplishing that.

 

The editor you should hope to find is the one who, despite all the horror stories, is not trying to make your work theirs, but is trying as hard as they can to make your work the best you are capable of. One who will sit through all your artistic bullshit arguments and still be willing to work with you because you know a little more than how to spell that word.This doesn't happen immediately. It is a process that could take a great deal more time than the original writing.

 

So, the next time you post, and someone takes exception to your genius, ask them why? Sure, you may walk away thinking, "What the hell was that? That person really didn't get it!" Or you might just find yourself in an alliance that produces a level of artistry you didn't think you were capable of. But then, this is just my humble opinion.

 

 

Meanwhile...live, love, write.

 

 

Want to follow or subscribe to this blog? There are gadgets for that on the right side of the page. You can leave comments in the form below. I can be reached directly at dbaylis805@gmail.com . You can also find links to some of the sites I visit from time to time on the right. I'm also looking for submissions to the Your Work/Your Love page. Authors retain all rights.

 

 

Tomorrow,

 

Dane F. Baylis

Author. 

 



Day 165 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author, Dane F. Baylis

WHICH CAME FIRST? THE SENTENCE OR THE STORY?

OR

WHEN DO YOU FINALLY BEGIN TO WRITE?

 

Being an anomaly in Southern California, a non-ocean type, I do the vast majority of my surfing on the web. Some of it is in search of inspiration, and some of it is for helpful articles produced by other writers. I was fishing around for something pertinent to my own process when I came across an article by Janet Fitch. Janet is a published novelist and teaches at the University of Southern California. As an aid to aspiring writers, she posted on her blog, "10 writing tips that can help almost anyone." There was so much great advice in it that it was reprinted, in its entirety, by the Los Angeles Times.

 

I didn't even make it past the first tip, "Write the sentence, not just the story." What great advice! How many times do we find ourselves so wrapped up in the story we are trying to convey that we stop paying attention to how we're conveying it? The rhythms? The similes and metaphors? The way the sentence actually sounds when read aloud?

 

Her suggestion to read and analyze good poetry as a help for the fiction writer is priceless. As a poet first and a fiction writer second, it has been my habit to try to find the music in the words. I use short sentences to break up paragraphs. Longer sentences are employed to examine and explore moment and motivation, or to set theme and mood.

 

Let your characters talk. Let them describe the setting. Let them interact with each other and bring their own and other's personalities into focus. Don't tell me about their nature, let their actions show it to me.

 

The question that was asked of Ms. Fitch in a rejection written by Jim Krusoe, editor of The Santa Monica Review, is one we should all ask of ourselves. What makes my sentences unique? What makes them, not just readable, but lyrical and compelling? What is it in my writing that makes me stand out from everyone writing in that subject or genre?

 

When you begin to answer that question, you stop being another member of the flock. Your words become a journey and adventure. Instead of a reader saying, "Oh, another one of those", they turn to someone at a party and say, "Have you read that great story by, (your name here), I couldn't put it down!" So, why not slow down a bit and listen to the sound of your words. Are they singing or just talking?

 

 

In the meantime...live, love, write.

 

 

Want to follow or subscribe to this blog? There are gadgets for that on the right side of the page. You can leave comments in the form below. I can be reached directly at dbaylis805@gmail.com . You can also find links to some of the sites I visit from time to time on the right. I'm also looking for submissions to the Your Work/Your Love page. Authors retain all rights.

 

 

Tomorrow,

 

Dane F. Baylis

Author.



Day 164 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author, Dane F. Baylis

SO, WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?

OR

IF YOU DON'T KNOW, HOW WILL ANYBODY ELSE?

 

 

You're at a party and, out of the blue, someone you've never met walks up and asks, "So, what do you do?"  Without thinking, what's your reply? "I'm an accountant." "I'm a middle school teacher." "I'm a housewife and mother." "I'm a recent college graduate with a Liberal Arts degree trying to find a job." Why not, "I'm a writer"?

 

Even if you have never published a damned thing, if you're sitting in front of a keyboard, pouring your heart into whatever path you've chosen on a daily basis, you ARE a writer. After all, what does a "writer" do? They write, right? The only difference between you and Stephen King may be he's published a couple of things. So that makes him a published writer. If you've read anything he's written about his early career, you know it took him a while to get off the ground and find his stride.

 

Now, the next time someone asks, just say it. "I'm a writer." Why? Because, until you begin to regard yourself as a writer, how do you expect others to? Ask yourself, "What does it mean to be a writer?" Sure, it means writing. It might also mean taking classes and attending workshops with other "writers" to improve your skills. It might mean reading books on marketing your writing or researching possible outlets for your work. All of this will help you develop a better sense of your writer persona.

 

What if you get asked those dreaded questions, like, "Have you got anything published?" "Have I read anything of yours?" "Are you signed to a publishing house or are you self-publishing?" Could you see your reply being, "I have a novel, self-help book, volume of poetry in development." Or how about, "I'm in talks with a couple of agents but haven't decided on who I'll go with yet."

 

The point being, if you create the opportunity for others, but mostly yourself, to see you as the writer you are, the more valid your persona becomes. The more time you spend writing, developing your skills, creating a network, and defining your dream and goals, the easier it is for the rest of the world to accept that is who and what you are.

 

Does this instantly confer on you a career with all the promises and perks built in? Nope. It gives you the chance to earn those things. Once you begin to reap the rewards, it becomes your obligation to continue to produce and improve. Why? Let's look at it this way: In ancient Rome, whenever a general returned to the city after a great victory, he would ride through the streets on a chariot, accompanied by a slave. The slave held a wreath of laurel leaves above his head, and whispered, over and over in the general's ear that all glory is fleeting. It was a reminder that, past glories are past and there is always somebody waiting in the wings to hijack your ride.

 

 

Just a helpful hint from your Uncle Dane.

 

 

Meanwhile...live, love, write and stand in front of the mirror once in a while, repeating, "I am a writer!" ten times in a row.

 

 

Want to follow or subscribe to this blog? There are gadgets for that on the right side of the page. You can leave comments in the form below. I can be reached directly at dbaylis805@gmail.com . You can also find links to some of the sites I visit from time to time on the right. I'm also looking for submissions to the Your Work/Your Love page. Authors retain all rights.

 

 

Tomorrow,

 

Dane F. Baylis

Author.

Day 163 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author, Dane F. Baylis

THERE ARE DAYS YOU FEEL YOU SHOULD LOOK LIKE THE ROCK OR ARNOLD SCHWARZENNEGER

OR

IT'S ALL HEAVY LIFTING AFTER THE CREATIVE PART.

 

 

I really do try to avoid getting this late a start. Until the second half of fame and fortune kicks in, I have to be mindful of sticking to my schedules. Up early, work, tend to business, blog, write. Unfortunately, the business part took a bit longer tonight then I normally allow.

 

You see, I was looking for a new 'possible' home for a piece of short prose. This wouldn't seem to be too much of a problem. You find someone who deals in that genre, offers a decent payment, and claims to be able to turn things around in a reasonable amount of time. No problem, right?

 

Okay, I heard the snickers! They started with decent payment and peaked somewhere near reasonable turn around. You might as well get the whole guffaw out because, if you've learned nothing else about yours truly, genre driven I'm not. I've been called everything from quirky to eclectic, with occasional reference to stubbornly pig headed when it comes to my style and subject matter. So, when it's time to size up a potential relationship among the ever shifting constellations of publishers...Well, I get a bit frazzled.

 

Let's face it, the academic journals are really - well - academic. The vast majority of the main stream outlets want what, in my world, amounts to 'flash fiction'. Come on, guys. Nothing over three thousand words? Then there are the politically, sexually, scatologically correct. Let's not forget the ones that insist the story be placed in a certain narrow geographic location or time or galaxy or dimension. I mean, it does limit my choices, and makes finding a venue a bit like trying to see a black hole with the naked eye.

 

Awe, if only the business part was more like the art part, huh? You know...You write that story and set it aside for a week or so. Then you rewrite it, and ask someone else to give it a look. Then you agonize over their list of suggested changes. Finally, you cave in and spend a week or four rewriting it to incorporate the changes that, in the end, you admitted were right. Then you ask someone else to read it...That last individual generated too much work!

Then comes the market research. Formatting it the way the publisher you decide on wants it. Polishing the bio. Putting together the cover letter. Proofreading EVERYTHING for the umpteenth time...Aaaahhhh!

 

Okay, it's all heavy lifting, I admit it. After a while I look forward to the workout like an endorphin junky. Anyway, it gives me an excuse to eat dinner at the terminal and moan about how hard this whole thing is. Think I'll go work on the novel. At least that character's only under guard in a psych ward.

 

 

Meanwhile...live, love, write.

 

 

Want to follow or subscribe to this blog? There are gadgets for that on the right side of the page. You can leave comments in the form below. I can be reached directly at dbaylis805@gmail.com . You can also find links to some of the sites I visit from time to time on the right. I'm also looking for submissions to the Your Work/Your Love page. Authors retain all rights.

 

 

Tomorrow,

 

Dane F. Baylis

Author.

 



Day 162 of the 365 Days of Blogging

The author, Dane F. Baylis

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

OR

EVENTUALLY YOU HAVE TO ASK THAT QUESTION. I TRY TO LIMIT IT TO A DOZEN OR SO TIMES A DAY.

 

 

What is this all about? This whole writing life? The blogging about writing and the business of art? The challenges to meet everyday - posts, word counts, new pieces, revisions and rewrites, submissions - making it to readings, signings, releases, the constant networking, workshops and meetings? Why not be satisfied with the fact I've got a retirement check in the not too distant future and am looking forward to losing my watch and calendar?

 

Well, the writing part is probably the hardest to explain. I've always done it. I did it when I didn't know what the hell I was doing and I did it later, when I still didn't know what I was doing. I've walked away, and back, a half-a-dozen times. Away because I couldn't accept the fact that some other pretty damned talented people found what I was creating noteworthy. Back, because I always reached a place in the road where I had to make a choice between this life or one in the middle of the herd. You know, the one I don't speak very highly of most of the time.

 

The rest of it...this string of advice I keep unrolling from a ball of bits and pieces carefully tied together over the years... is something I wish I'd had 'way back when I was trying to feel my way ahead. Insights and experiences that were never written down anywhere, to be passed on at odd moments, usually in alcohol fueled lectures delivered by some of the most memorable artists and word manglers I could have wished as friends and acquaintances. A place where someone tried to lay out his or her thoughts after a life in this magical carnival of similes and metaphors without sugar coating it all.

 

What's the pay off? Mostly, I have to actually sit here and consider my own motivations. I have to decide what parts of my ravings are real and what parts are just absolute bullshit. Luckily, I have help in that department from those of you who take the time to read what I have written here and in other venues. Those who return to tell me that I helped them in finding their way through this rat's maze of the business of art and the art of business. And others who have thanked me for a comment or critique in regards to something they've had the courage to give to the world.

 

That feedback is part of what I have recorded in this near stream of consciousness and later returned to and read as if I were not the author. I try to see the words as you have and to comprehend what they have meant to you. In this way, your comments become an addendum that clarifies what I have tried to impart all this time. I thank you, one and all.

 

In the end, I look forward to, hopefully, a long and productive run. Part of accepting the challenge has been to return to that manic drive I had when I was a much younger man with far less control and an ego the size of Antarctica. As I've aged (sort of like sun dried leather) I've let go of those beliefs that I was always so damned good, or right, and learned the discipline it takes to move forward with resolution and recognize when I haven't a clue where I'm going...Still.

 

 

Meanwhile...live, love, write.

 

 

Want to follow or subscribe to this blog? There are gadgets for that on the right side of the page. You can leave comments in the form below. I can be reached directly at dbaylis805@gmail.com . You can also find links to some of the sites I visit from time to time on the right. I'm also looking for submissions to the Your Work/Your Love page. Authors retain all rights.

 

 

Tomorrow and, once more, thanks,

 

Dane F. Baylis

Author.