I need the silence

Please allow me to expand.

I can't talk about what I am writing with my loved ones. I have a few friends that sort of know what is going on. My husband has a vague reckoning but hasn't heard any passages read out loud or anything. Every now and then, I'll let him know a bad guy has rolled into town.

My family knows something is up. After all, they drove me to the airport when I went to the SiWC. My aunt drove me to the building each morning and picked my up each afternoon. For her, I made up some poor excuse of a title I said I gave whenever someone asked if I was writing something: "Broken in Three Places: The Story of [My Aunt's Name]'s Leg." I'm still working on that one. A real tear-jerker.

They're not dummies.

I just can't talk about it.

Why is this?

I care about their opinions too much and if I let them tell me their opinions about this story, I may never finish this book. I'll finish a different book, but not this one.

So we don't talk about it. Sometimes, when I am typing at my computer, someone will ask what I am doing and I will respond, "Writing things down." That is enough for all of us.

For now, this book has to be for me. I can mess around with scenes, backstory, dialogue etc... and not worry about it being stupid. It can have stupid parts, because I am the only one reading it. Once I have most of the stupid parts out, they can go to a critique partner. Once they help me drag away most of the remaining stupid, perhaps I will be able to send it off to an agent, editor, publisher, etc...

Then, I may feel ready to show my loved ones. Then I will feel it is completely not-stupid and ready for someone else. Because although I completely respect critique partners, agents, editors, publishers, etc... (Believe me, I do), they aren't the ones who make me soup when I am sick or the ones who will be stuck paying off my student loans if I get hit by a bus.

That is why it shocks me most when I hear query letter advice about not telling a prospective agent that your family and friends love your book. I would have never crossed my mind.

Its my quiet little secret.

I need the silence

I know, this isn't facebook, but I need it right now.

Researching dialogue

When I was a girl, my mom used to put my hair in a ponytail to keep me from hiding behind my hair. Every morning, the first thing I'd do when I got to school was rip out that scrunchie.

There is something comforting in the ability to hide behind one's hair, when necessary. The feeling of hiding in plain sight. It works too. People feel more comfortable talking amongst themselves when you aren't staring them down.

The best part is, you end up coming across little gems like this:

I was at the book store, picking up Jeaniene Frost's new book (whoop! whoop!). As the lady behind the counter was ringing my order through, the boy at the till beside her suddenly got all flustered. A girl was walking out of the store.

Boy (to Lady): What's she doing here? Why is she leaving?

Lady: I don't know. Why?

Boy: I don't like her leaving when I didn't even see her come in.

Boy (to Girl): What are you doing here?

Girl (mumbling): Just checking to see when I work next.

Boy: I'd more likely believe you were checking the contents of my locker. If my Dora the Explorer alphagettis are missing -

Girl: I was hungry!

It was beautiful.

Dialogue Research Tips

• Don't be creepy. If you are listening to someone, don't look at them. That's creepy.

• If someone says something funny, don't laugh. You are technically reading the sign taped to the lamp-post.

• Don't jump in half-way and offer advice.

• Don't spread the gossip. Seriously. If someone knows you are an eavesdropper, they will avoid you. You never heard what was said.

• In line at the movie theatre works. Just shuffle around in your wallet / purse / look for your car keys.

• You don't have to do this with strangers only. You can listen at family dinners etc. Participating in the conversation has a bit of a nulling effect though.

• Walk on the safe side: listen to the radio.

More tips? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Jack Whyte at SiWC

Jack began his presentation as follows: "Dialogue with the master. Heh, I don't feel very magisterial at the moment." Good times ensued.

Workshop Description:

Dialogue with a Master. New York Times bestselling author Jack Whyte shares his secrets of believable communication on the page.

On one character talking over several paragraphs: put opening quotes on each paragraph. Don't put ending quotations until they are done speaking.

Don't over-explain.

Show physical body language. It carries the message. You don't need a bunch of said, answered, etc. A twitch of the eyebrow, a nod of the head registers engagement, conviction, confidence.

3-4 people in a conversation. There is a great example in Robert McCammon's The Queen of Bedlam. (Main character walks into a room of strangers. 6 or 7 people sitting around a table. They talk to each other, the main character, there is cross-talk in front of him).

Greetings - Have someone do a general greeting. You can say it happened without using dialogue.

THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT BOREDOM ON THY READER

You provide the blueprint - need to have worked out every idea in your head. Ex. If the character crosses the room, you had better give the reader warning this is happening. They can't just flash from point to point.

If there are several smells in a room, 1 will be a primary smell and the rest will be secondary, etc... 1 will overwhelm the other.

Accents - same language, same words, different way of holding mouth. Overtones are nuance.

Early, establish time introducing a character. Paint a picture of them. Put in standard english with the occasional vowel difference. You can use sentence structure as a tell.

Britain - dialogue changes from town to town.

It is not the way you speak, it is the words you use. Ex. trunk vs boot.

Maybe write an author's note or a simple glossary.

Historical writing - be aware of modernity. Ex. Measuring distance, time (moments, not minutes). Be constantly on guard!

Inside dialogue, use contractions. Outside of dialogue, DON'T.

If it is boring or doesn't move story forward, cut it. Throw it out.

What the story is doesn't matter. Your responsibility is to make it as absolutely limpidly clear as possible.

Dialogue is for character sharing, not information. Hear voice. That is when events begin taking place. Parts of character become etched into place. Good parts, flaws.

You don't have to say how many cavities the character has. Give a brief description and imagination does the rest.

Recommended Reading:

The Queen of Bedlam

Robert McCammon

The Religion

Tim Willocks (Harrowing siege and battle scenes)

John Irving and Pat Conroy

Great dialogue. Deal with strange family situations.

Dickens

You may learn more about Jack Whyte and his books on his website.

kc Dyer and Diana Gabaldon at SiWC

kc Dyer, author of youth-oriented books and Diana Gabaldon, author of adult literature have something in common (probably more than one something, but anyway)... The use of time travel in their books. How they differ is in how they make use of time travel. In this presentation, they discussed some of the principles of and rules behind using time travel in a novel.

Workshop Description:

Travel Through Time with Diana Gabaldon and kc dyer. Enter into a lively discussion as these award-winning authors examine the intricacies of traveling through time when writing for adults and children.

Time travel

• Can you change time? Should you change time?

• Steven Hawking believes it is possible.

How does it work?

• DG - Genetic

• Everybody can - access to time machine.

• kD - Constraints - serious consideration to time travel. Drug induced? Portal?

• It must be integral to the story (framing) - not just everyone bopping around.

• Be consistent with the rules. What happens with clothes? Glasses? Pacemaker? Prosthetics? etc

• Operate by the customs of the past.

• kD - Doesn't read books in era she is researching. Doesn't want to mix up what the place looks like - doesn't want to inadvertently use someone else's description of the place.

Language

• DG - Depicting lower class with a cockney accent is very jarring - don't use.

• Suspend disbelief!

• Use a very light hand with writing accents.

• When in doubt, revert to standard, formal english. This gives a universal tone to the book.

• kD - James Harriot does a great job of handling the dialect of the Yorkshire dales.

Recommended reading:

A Connetticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Mark Twain

Time Machine

HG Wells

The Doomsday Book

Connie Willison

Websites

kc Dyer and Diana Gabaldon

Blogs

kc Dyer and Diana Gabaldon

Anne Perry, Jack Whyte, Robert McCammon, Diana Gabaldon Moderator: Anthony Dalton at SiWC

All right, here is a new game for you. Take five amazing writers. Put them in a room and let them talk with one another. See what sort of notes you come up with.

Here are the results from the first time I played this game:

Making History. Non-fiction author Anthony Dalton moderates this panel of historical fiction superstars as they share their secrets of bringing real history to life in fiction. With authors Diana Gabaldon, Robert McCammon, Anne Perry, and Jack Whyte.

DG - Her favorite book is the one she is working on.

JW - History has unchanging elements. The writer must demystify it. They need to make it relevant to current readers.

Do you need to write a glossary?

JW - Have to do it for editor.

AP - Having a street map is useful.

JW - (On writing accents) Change as few vowels as possible to differentiate each accent for character. Write in normal, idiomatic english otherwise.

DG - Loch Ness smells like cold mud and dead fish.

Maps, small alleys, bylanes. (Not sure. Describe them? Get historical maps to be more accurate? I don't know.)

JW - Nelson's navy in the 16th and 17th century cut down (clearcut) the oak forests in the Highlands to build the navy. They never grew back.

On including real people in historical fiction

Allow real people to cross the street in front of fictional characters, etc. Otherwise, unless you know they do it (it is written down somewhere), don't make them do it.

And this is all I wrote down.

It would appear I ignored Robert McCammon. I didn't. The man was absolutely spell-binding. He spoke quietly and everyone leaned forward in their seats to catch every word. What I found most interesting is what he didn't say. He took a ten year break where he did no writing. Then he started again. What did he do during these ten years? He went for a lot of walks.

Then he wrote The Queen of Bedlam, a book Jack Whyte described in a later session as a book so beautiful (I'm paraphrasing here), it spurred him to invite Robert to the SiWC. A book with an amazing example of the use of dialogue in one of the opening scenes.

I know they discussed editors. I know they answered questions from the audience. I doubt I blinked more than once a minute through the entire sitting. Like all the other SiWC seminars, it was a truly amazing experience. Bravo to the SiWC planning committee and if anyone is still on the fence about whether or not to attend, I vote you do. You are taking votes, aren't you?

Websites

Anne Perry

Jack Whyte

Robert McCammon

Diana Gabaldon (Did I mention I love her podcasts?)

Bob Mayer at SiWC

Bob Mayer aka Robert Doherty is someone I would define as a writing machine. He has written over 40 bestsellers. He has written both fiction and nonfiction, including the Black Ops series and the Area 51 series. He has also written 2 books with coauthor Jennifer Cruise. His most recent book is Who Dares Wins: the Green Beret Way to Conquer Fear and Succeed.

Workshop Description:

Original Idea and Conflict - The Heart of Your Story and The Key to Selling Your Book: Can you say what your book is about in 25 words or less? This is essential to both writing and selling a tight book. Join bestselling author Bob Mayer to discuss ways to find and state your original idea so that you stay on course while writing the book and with which you can excite those you tell it to when trying to sell it.

Again, there was a handout provided and I am going to go by the Pirate's Code of Honor and only provide my own personal notes.

On social media, such as facebook, twitter, blogging, etc: Social media can be a time suck.

Content is critical.

Title must invite the reader into the book.

Put yourself out there. You are never going to see anyone reading your book.

At the beginning of the book, if the protagonist were to go through the climax, they would fail.

Keeping secrets from the reader does not create suspense.

Conflict should occur at two levels in each scene. Ex. Being chased and arguing with each other.

Tip: Put every scene up on a white board. Mark every one that has struggle between two characters. Every scene should have some character vs character.

The main character must have some sort of flaw to make them seem real. Something in the nature of the character must cause a problem.

Negative protagonists need a redeeming quality. Ex. Grumpy, but will go out in snow to save senile old lady.

No one thinks they are a sidekick or a minion. Remember this when writing your story.

Flamingoes can't be left alone. They will go crazy. (This isn't some trick to make sure you are paying attention. I actually wrote this down. I also felt I would understand this in the future, as there is no other explanation.)

If a thing is an antagonist, put in a person who represents the antagonist.

Reading a finished draft of a book

Time 1 - What happens.

Time 2 - Watch the characters. Watch the secondary characters. Ex. In Deadwood (season 2)- the antagonist becomes the protagonist. Have to spark a redemption here and there.

A 1 page synopsis should contain 3 names - the protagonist, the antagonist, the supporting character and a bit of story.

You may learn more about Bob Mayer on his website and his blog or about Bob Meyer and Jennifer Cruise at their website.

Bob's book The Novel Writer's Toolkit: A Guide to Writing Great Fiction and Getting it Published contains in greater detail the information presented in this blog post and much more.