Location Scouting!

 Carol Tanzman checking in!

In a previous post, I talked about writing thrillers. One of things I enjoy when reading contemporary thrillers is that so many of them have a city as a “character.” There’s something about the realistic depiction of place that helps give a thriller an extra “zing.” It most definitely can up the ante. In dark paranormal or dystopian fiction there is some sense of remove. On some level, the reader knows that this cannot happen to them in this moment. But when the setting is an actual place, in the here and now, there is no remove. What happens in the story could happen to you—and that can be more terrifying that a herd of zombies (do zombies hang in herds?).

In both Circle of Silence and dancergirl, the city is Brooklyn, NY. I always go “location scouting” during the writing of a contemporary to find those details that help create the real world. For example, here’s a photo I took of the inside of the gate at Promenade Park, one of the locations in Circle of Silence.

When I visited, it took me awhile to unlock the gate because the latch is on the inside. I then ended up using it in the novel. My main character, Valerie, is investigating a story for the school’s TV News program about a secret society, called MP. She is set to meet an unnamed source inside the park at night. Excitedly, she shows up at the appointed time.

The final minute is taken up with trying to open the gate. Did MP screw up? Did the city lock it early? Finally, it occurs to me that I have to reach through the metal bars, twist my hand and slide the latch from the inside edge.

It’s a tiny, tiny moment but the photo helped me add that extra frisson of confusion in the scene.

Another photo was lucky happenstance. Meandering around the area of Brooklyn known as Red Hook, I snapped this picture.

The painted graffiti has two sayings: Some walls are invisible (to the left) and Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere (on the right).  The entire wall felt so Brooklyn, I knew I’d use it. In my first draft, I described it in great detail: the colors, the actual drawing on the wall.  In a later draft, I had to cut it down because all that detail slowed the pace. So… it’s a bit tricky. You want details but sometimes too many is just...too many. Here’s what I ended up with:

Peeling paint in doorways, overflowing garbage cans. This part of Red Hook is especially sketchy. A graffiti mural proclaims SOME WALLS ARE INVISIBLE.

However, the scrawled sentence resonated far beyond that particular scene. It became a theme that I went back to, not physically, but in the main character's mind. Definitely a happy “accidental discovery!” (Note: The Red Hook I was writing about is the same Red Hook that was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Definitely NOT a happy discovery).

This last photo is a view that can only be found in Brooklyn. The picture was taken in a small park bordering the East River, with the Statue of Liberty in the background.

Earlier in the chapter, I describe the view of the Statue and the fence. With a bit of dramatic license, this is how I “used” the picture in the book:

Low laughter gets my attention. Finally! Somebody’s shown up. My heart beats fast. Carefully, I peek around the plant. False alarm. A couple of fishermen, dressed in bulky coats and earflapped hats, carry buckets and poles. I’ve never understood why anyone would eat fish caught in the dirty East River, but it doesn’t seem to bother the men. Casting poles into the water, the two settle onto a bench, content to watch the sun sink into the horizon.

Had I not visited and taken this picture, I probably would not have realized that people fish from that particular part of Brooklyn. It's real, it happens, and I like to think that when readers are reading, they take the leap: if the fishermen are real, what is happening to the characters are "real." So, even though these are short passages, it can give you a sense of how location, location, location, helps create the necessary reality your writing might need!

Giving Characters Opinions!!

Carol Tanzman checking in.

Pixar Story artist Emma Coates  tweeted 22 story basics that she’s learned from working at Pixar. You may have seen some of these tweets; they’re great.

I particularly liked:

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.

It’s something I haven’t ever actually verbalized to myself—but I realized I’ve been unconsciously doing exactly that in the my latest YA novels from HarlequinTeen. In dancergirl, Ali is passionate about dance. She has opinions about her teachers and their choreography, as well as her own dancing. What’s working for her–-and what isn’t. Her opinions grow out of a deep commitment to the art of dance. What she is willing to do, how far she is willing to go, as well as discovering where the limits are––all grow out of her opinions and beliefs. It definitely makes her a more three-dimensional character that was fun to write.

Valerie Gaines, in Circle of Silence, is equally, if not more, opinionated. Val’s passion is TV news. She fights to be the Producer of her TV news crew, she fights to get to the bottom of the mysterious story that is the main conflict of the book (“Who—or what––is MP?”) and she fights her team, at times, in trying to figure out exactly how to report that story. Valerie’s opinions, which do change, don't come out of a vacuum. As a high school student, she learns from the Campus News teacher. She does her own “research” and watches her idol, Emily Purdue, a professional news reporter on TV, to gain tips for her own broadcasts. She also critiques the rival crew’s stories in Campus News. All to further her ambition--which is to be the best reporter she can be.  

One thing that I especially like about Valerie is that her friends are also opinionated. Because the rest of her crew is just as into TV production as she is, they have their own ideas of how to do things. It makes for some interesting scenes as the crew members argue over the best way to do something. The tenser the situation, the more opinions they have. Having characters with specific, and differing points of view, I believe, tends to make the writing feel very realistic. It also helps to keep things from getting too preachy, as if the author has a specific ax to grind.

And, while conflict may not be the most pleasant thing in one’s personal life, in literature it is exactly the thing that leads us all to turn those pages! As Emma Coates noted, having opinions creates not passive characters, but interesting ones that deepen the story you are telling!

"Those words!"

Carol Tanzman here!

Ah, yes. It was bound to happen. Again. A researcher at Brigham Young University, Sarah Coyne, did a study on profanity in YA books. She checked the top 40 children’s books (ages 9 and up) on the NY Times bestseller list  (for the week 6/22-7/6 2008) and—gasp––found 1,500 instances of profanity (which included sexual words, excretory words, strong and mild curse words). All but five of the top-selling books had at least one instance of profanity.

So what does Ms. Coyne want to do with this information? Create a rating system for books, of course. As if this won’t turn out to be a form of censorship. As if this does not get into First Amendment issues. As if this has worked for the film industry.

The latest example of “fail” in terms of ratings is the documentary “Bully” (which follows 5 students that have been bullied). The movie was originally given an R rating (you must be at least 17 to see this on your own) because there were two uses of the f word. Really? One is okay, two is not. This means that most of the target audience for this movie, ages 13-17 would not be able to see it unless they went with a parent.

Watch the trailer for Bully. Do you honestly believe that students 13-16 should be banned from seeing this?

After numerous meetings, and student petitions, the MPAA ratings board would not budge. So the Weinstein company “bleeped” the word to get the PG-13 rating. Guess what? Everyone knows what the bully was saying anyway because you can read his lips. What did this end up accomplishing? Nothing!

Yes, I am concerned. The readership for almost every book that ADR3NALIN3 authors write is for that same YA age range. Many of us strive to write authentic books for teens –which may mean use of profanity.

We authors do not use those words, or any word, lightly. We are not trying to shock for shock’s sake with our language but to write the world as teens live it. 

Death, mayhem, horror, violence, creepy paranormal, stalkers-––those are the dark YA books we write. According to Ms. Coyne, all of that is all right as long as an author doesn’t type a dreaded curse word. As if any teen who lives in this country, and probably all countries of the world, haven’t heard or used profanity at some point in their lives. It is a rite of passage–-and it means nothing.

I say that again. Using a curse word, in and of itself, means nothing. It is a way of blowing off steam, trying to sound cool, showing frustration. The real importance is intent. If a character calls someone the B word, it can hurt. But one character can hurt another character just as deeply, if not more, without using that specific word. If you censor an author from using a word—and that word is meant to wound, well, our characters will find another way to wound. Just as deep. Just like with the movie, nothing is accomplished.

It’s a slippery slope. Who will make the rules? Are libraries or book stores going to “card” readers in the Teen section? Will one word be okay, like in movies, but not two? And why are so many adults upset by profanity? Profanity is not a gateway drug—if you read “those” words in a book, it doesn’t mean your entire vocabulary will consist of curse words for the rest of your life.

Both the upcoming Circle of Silence and dancergirl have characters that occasionally use profanity. It is not gratuitous, and it’s always in a situation that, if it happened to you or your friends, there is a great likelihood you would say exactly what my characters say.

If a book has too many swear words for a reader, or if the content is too upsetting, a reader will put the book down. This is a known fact. So… let the writers write, Ms. Coyne. Let the readers speak, by choosing what they want to read. Not you, their parents, an anonymous ratings board or the government. Let the First Amendment work the way it has worked for over two hundred years!

Lose yourself…in a novel.

@CarolTanzman here.

I just read about a most interesting study by researchers at Ohio State University. They were studying the way fictional characters affect readers.  (The complete study will be published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology).

We all know how wonderful it is when you lose yourself in a book. Being fully transported to another time and place, “experiencing” another life so deeply that you don’t want the story to end. It’s what the twitter-universe has taken to calling #unputdownable. These are the books you tell your relatives they absolutely must read, the books you talk about at lunch with your friends. The novels you just can’t wait to read again.

What struck me about the article, though, is that the researchers were studying how and when “losing yourself” in a book translates into actually changing your behavior and thoughts to match that of the character you are reading about.

It’s a process they call “experience-taking” as opposed to “perspective-taking.”  Perspective-taking, as the researchers define it, is when the reader tries to understand what someone else is going through without losing sight of their own identity. Learning about others by becoming more emphatic, if you will. It is a worthy goal and one that is the most-often cited reason for the existence of literature over the last oh-so-many-centuries. The first book that I clearly remember “perspective-taking” was To Kill A Mockingbird.

As a New York kid, the experience of reading about the South, and the book’s take on both racism and true courage, definitely showed me a different perspective.

Experience-taking is a term I’ve never heard before.  Lisa Libby, assistant professor of psychology at the university and co-author of the study, describes it as “much more immersive––you’ve replaced yourself with the other.”

Wow! Read a book and get so into it, you become the author’s character! But hold on, writers, before you get too excited, it turns out that it’s not so simple. Libby states that you can’t plan for it. Experience-taking happens spontaneously.  For the most part, readers don’t even realize it’s happening—which is why it’s so powerful.

During the experiment, if subjects were given something to read in a mirrored room, they couldn’t get out of themselves enough to “experience-take.” That means that some of the losing of oneself in a book has to do with the actual experience of reading, which obviously an author cannot control. I imagine that the mirror could be replaced by emails, Facebook, tweets, or any of the myriad multi-tasking activities one does in-between page-turning. Just like love, there may a better chance at truly immersing yourself in a book when you give into it totally.

I grew up in a family of four rambunctious kids. It was a loud house, to say the least. From the time I was eight, I learned to shut out the noise around me whenever I picked up a book. To this day, if I am reading or writing, I do not hear anything else. The TV could be on, I have no idea what’s happening on that screen. My own children can—and have—yelled, “Mom!” and I don’t respond. It’s why I don’t play music when I write; I’ll only tune it out.  It never occurred to me that what I’ve been doing is trying to create my own “experience-taking” situation. An echo-chamber in which the only echo is that of characters speaking and living fictional lives.

There were other interesting points the study made, but there was one that related specifically to me as a writer. When I first started writing dancergirl, I wrote in third person: Ali said, she thought. After several chapters, writing the novel that way felt very removed. I changed it to first person: I said. I thought.

About halfway through the book, I still wasn’t happy. The immediacy that I was hoping for still wasn’t there. I rewrote chapters, I cut scenes. Nothing worked. One morning. I woke up and thought: present tense. Although I’d been writing in first person, it was still past tense.

I went through and changed everything to I say, I thought.  Eureka! The tension grew exponentially because it felt like the action was happening right here, right now. Since my upcoming book, Circle of Silence, is also a thriller, I began writing in first person, present tense––and never changed.

It turns out that what I’d discovered by trial and error has a basis in the science of reading. To quote Libby again: “When you share a group membership with a character from a story told in first-person voice, you’re much more likely to feel like you’re experiencing his or her life events. And when you undergo this experience-taking, it can affect your behavior for days afterwards.”

Writing in first person, of course, is not the only way to get readers to reach experience-taking nirvana. It would be a boring world if every book was written the same way. Readers will soon tune out.  But for the kind of contemporary YA thrillers that I write, first person, present tense is the easiest way for a reader to truly feel the story.

There is also literature that does not want you to experience-take in any way. Stories that need distance. The most famous example I can think of is the work of Bertold Brecht, who wanted his plays to “alienate” the viewers. Here is a clip of Meryl Streep in Brecht’s play, Mother Courage and her Children. 

So, keeping perspective, alienation, or experience-taking. Is one really more powerful than the other? Regardless of the answer, it’s a fascinating way of viewing, and understanding, literature! If you have examples of books, or plays, that gave you any of these experiences, I’d love to know.

Serial Monogamy, Open Relationships and Speed Dating—a writer’s world.

Carol Tanzman checking in! 

The other day, a writer friend, Jennifer Bosworth, posted on Facebook that she was starting a third Work in Progress  (WIP). I responded by saying that I thought reading three books at once was a lot!

I am a serial monogamist with regards to writing. I can only work one manuscript at a time until a draft is done. I wish I could juggle a couple of them. Conventional writing wisdom, if there is conventional writing wisdom, says that having a couple of projects in the hopper at any one time is good. If you get stuck on one, you can switch to the other.  I imagine it’s like the new TV show Awake.

The main character appears to live in two realities at the same time (which is the dream world, which the real?) and is a cop in both. So he’ll use a clue from one reality to solve the crime in the other. Talk about working all the time! You’d get so much done, so much faster.

Sadly, I can’t do that. My greatest luxury in life is having more than two days at a time to write. It always takes me a couple of hours, after being away for "real life", to get back into the world of a book. I want to be open to my characters so they can whisper their secrets—which for me, means not having other characters vying for my mental attention.

And then, of course, there is the “solving the problem” problem.  Oh, how tempting it is to think that if I worked on something else, the problem in the first project would somehow be solved. I know that happens for other people. Alas, not for me. I need to work it and work it. Try this, try that… come at the problem from a different POV or a different angle. I do have a trick or two (here’s my post on the 20 Stupid Things List that does help) but it all takes time. Time in which my mind has to be focused exclusively on one manuscript.

I don’t listen to music when I write. Unlike my friend Leigh Purtill, I don’t struggle with whether or not to unplug (her post here). I learned early on to shut off the internet and twitter whenever I’m working. The world can wait. My plot cannot!

Perhaps it’s my theatre background. Whenever you go into the rehearsal room, that’s it. Shut the door, rehearse! There’s nothing but the text, actors and sometimes the playwright to interact with. Although not as lonely as sitting at your desk with only your computer for company, the idea is the same: you are in a sacred space, for a limited amount of time, in which your sole job is to create.

What’s your process? Are you a serial monogamist—staying with one project until it’s done? Or do you have an open relationship where you can see others? Perhaps you are a speed dater, trying out different ideas to see which one you really want to spend the next year of your life with.

Let me know. I really am curious as to how others do it…

Guest Post: Unplug Yourself!

Carol Tanzman checking in. Today, I'm excited to introduce you to my awesome friend Leigh Purtill. Leigh is truly multi-talented. Both a YA writer and a ballet teacher/choreographer, she's choreographing the absolutely fun Zombie Ballet. You can see an excerpt in this first, decidedly low-tech book trailer for DANCERGIRL. She was also a dance consultant for the book, making sure that the dance combinations I described were actually danceable! 

Without further ado, meet Leigh!

I’m not addicted.  I can quit anytime I want to.

~Leigh Purtill

A few years ago, when my first two novels, LOVE, MEG and ALL ABOUT VEE were published, bloggers and readers would often ask me the same question: “Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?”

Without fail, I would respond: “Just finish it.” Finish the first draft, don’t worry about how messy it is, and then rewrite.  For years, that was just about the only piece of advice I had to offer anyone.  I can’t tell you what to write about or how to write it, but I can suggest you do that one thing.  Finish the darn thing.  Only then can you go back and start the real work, which is rewriting.

But now, I can offer a second bit of wisdom: “Unplug yourself.” Close your browser, turn off the wireless, and shut out the noise of the ‘Net. Well, finish reading this blog first and then close it all up. Sounds simple enough but it’s hard - harder even than finishing that first draft. But if you don’t, you won’t.  That’s even more simple.

When I first began writing novels, I was working a full-time job (I watched television for a living so it was a cool job but still, full-time is full-time).  I didn’t have a laptop computer so on my lunch hours, I would write in a steno pad that I could carry to a park bench or a bus stop or anywhere I could find an empty seat.  I’d scribble for an hour each day, five days a week, and then on the weekends, I’d sift through my horrible chicken scratch and type it all up.  That worked really well for me for seven years.  Then I left that TV job and began working as a ballet instructor which gave me a far different schedule.

It also gave me the opportunity to write indoors on my laptop.  So very close to my internet. As writers, we do a lot of research so naturally, I would keep the ‘Net open behind my document so I could quickly look things up (what’s the street value of a prescription drug? What’s an overdose look like? And more fun, lighthearted things like that.). But I have a hyperlink habit. I see blue-highlighted hypertext and I can’t help but click on it.  One click leads to another and another and soon, I’m at Huffington Post laughing at cat videos.

I continued to write, of course, and getting my words per day regularly. But I never realized what writing in bits and pieces was doing to my story until I didn’t have internet access.  I was down for over a week, with very limited ability to get to email and Facebook.  This left me with big chunks of time to just write.  I finished my draft in days.  Thousands of words flowed out of me; I never once stopped because I had to look something up.  I just kept on writing. Before the week was up, the draft was done. 

And then I discovered the second best thing about no ‘Net access: the work itself was more cogent.  I felt more in touch with the material and I could see connections between characters and plot points that I hadn’t seen before because I was always writing a few words or a sentence at a time. Because I had been getting my word count each day and was progressing enough to give my writers’ group pages regularly, I believed I was actually writing. When I stopped internetting, though, that’s when it all started to make sense.

Some addiction experts say that when you are serious about quitting something - like smoking or eating a bag of Fritos in the middle of the night - you should tell people.  That’s exactly what I did.  I told my friends how much cutting out the internet helped me finish my draft (and finish this blog post, too) and asked them to remind me if I began complaining that I was behind on my work.  They are free to use profanity if necessary to get me back on track.

HINT: If, like me, you find yourself constantly “needing” to do research, keep a list of what you need by the side of your computer.  Jot down, “Find ‘R’ name for brother character.” And, “Miles from Alaska to Seattle.” Use placeholders for the missing details and then when you’re finished for the day, spend some with Google.  Just keep the flow going.

So my draft is done and it’s about addiction, ironically enough.  It’s got a touch of the supernatural, too, and some ghosts.  I have to rewrite, of course, and when I do, I’ll be unplugged.

Remember: Friends don’t let friends hyperlink.  But before you unplug, check out my website: www.leighpurtill.com.

FAT GIRLS IN LA is the story of Veronica May, a plus-size actress with plus-size talent who moves to Los Angeles to become a star.  But in LA, no one notices Vee's talent, only her size. Can she stay true to herself and navigate Hollywood on her own terms? Or will success and love elude her? (First in a trilogy.) 

After a dozen years in the film and television industry, Leigh Purtill left the business to write and teach ballet in Los Angeles. Her first two YA novels, LOVE, MEG and ALL ABOUT VEE were published by Penguin/Razorbill.  She is independently re-releasing her novels along with a slate of brand new books. When she's not creating, she's bored.

 

Go Ahead-Make my (early Valentine's) Day!

Carol Tanzman checking in!

Today is Valentine’s Day. First of all--Happy V Day to you all. I hope you get lots of chocolate, flowers, jewelry…and books! (I’ve spent many a Valentine’s Day curled up, alone, with a good novel—but that’s a whole ‘nother story!)

For me, V-Day came five days early this year. February 9^th to be exact. That’s the day my publishing company, Harlequin Teen, chose to reveal the cover for my next book.

As Ilsa coincidentally discussed yesterday, (this seems to be cover week on ADR3NALIN3) seeing the art design for your book is one of the most exciting days a writer can have. We spend so many hours alone: writing, imagining scenes, characters, settings, and the plot. We struggle, we try every trick we can think of to solve the problems that come up in the manuscript. And yes, we also spend fun time trying to visualize the book cover. We're just like musicians. Ask any band member what their first (or second) album cover will look like—and immediately they’ll go into a monologue with pretty much every detail sketched out.

Getting a book cover right is tricky. Even though we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, secretly, many of us do. Both Circle of Silence and dancergirl are contemporary thrillers—so it’s especially challenging to nail them. Paranormals, horror, romance—we all sort of know what they should look like. Not specifically, of course, since each book is different, but generally. If you see a romance novel, with it’s gorgeous girl or hot guy, you know what to expect. When you look at a paranormal, either a traditional ghost story or the truly dark, twisted kind, you know what you’re in for. Check out the covers by the authors on the bottom of this blog (and Ilsa's post yesterday) and it’s clear we’re not writing warm and fuzzy. Still, there are differences—and they are subtly reflected by the cover art.

Authors do not design covers. To many readers’ surprise, they may have little, or no input. However, Harlequin Teen showed me various drafts of the covers and my comments were always welcome. This is something authors definitely appreciate.

For dancergirl, the challenge the Harlequin Teen design team had was to take a teenage heroine who loves to dance and give the reader the sense that something scary is happening. It’s two contrasting themes in the book––and figuring out a way to incorporate them both had to have been a challenge.

Let’s look at the elements. The book designers added the tagline “The videos went viral” to locate the book in the contemporary world. Then they used an extreme close-up image of a girl and cropped it so that it’s asymmetrical. That alone is somewhat disturbing. She looks….upset? Concerned? Distraught? The viewer doesn’t know precisely—but what we do know is that this is not a happy camper. Over this image, lines are superimposed. Low-resolution video lines? Open venetian blinds, as if someone’s staring at her from outside her window? The sophisticated technique leaves it open to interpretation. As the writer, I love that!

The title is hot pink, which by itself doesn’t read as creepy. Yet deep purple shadows under the girl’s eyes and on her lips undercuts any notion of a carefree dancergirl. Overall impression: something disturbing is going on to someone who does not deserve it. It’s a lot of information to convey, and the design team nailed it.

Now for my early, and fab, Valentine’s Day present: the Circle of Silence cover. Oh, yes, Art Director Erin Craig and Designer Tara Scarcello know the way into this girl’s heart! Different than dancergirl, yet somehow tied to it. Exactly the way the books are. Each a stand-alone, yet both take place in the same high school with appearances by various characters in both books.

Again, I’ll start my personal deconstruction with the tagline. “The story turned deadly.” The main character is a reporter on the Campus News team—and the line clearly hints at that. It also tells the reader that this story is going to get very tense, very fast.

The image of the girl is not in as extreme close-up as with dancergirl. In this case, the expression on her face, and the way she looks over her shoulder, is what tells the viewer that she is worried. Concerned. Creeped out. Who, or what, is behind her? That’s the question we ask as we look at the cover. It’s also the biggest mystery in the book. Literally, who is behind the events at school that keep turning ever more sinister?

Instead of lines superimposed over the face, this image is actually made of letters…the title of the book, over and over and over again. Circle of Silence. Who is in this secret circle? Who is not? The questions haunt Valerie, the main character. Over the course of the book, certain events also loop obsessively in her mind—just like the title. Once you read the novel, you'll understand why this visual representation is both so compelling and so brilliant!

One last note: the title color. It’s in the pink family. Almost the same as what's used on the dancergirl title––but not quite. It’s a little darker, which just may signify that Circle of Silence is also a little darker, a little creepier.

It’s obvious that I’m thrilled with the cover design. It’s sophisticated. It has resonance to the book in both literal and metaphoric ways. And yes, just like the first book, it’s very, very cool. Thank you so much, Erin and Tara for making my (early Valentine’s) Day!

What do you think about the covers? Or my deconstruction of them...

The “Twenty Stupid Things” List

Carol Tanzman here.

You’ve heard of The Bucket List. That’s the movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in which two men go on a road trip with their wish list of things to do before they “kick the bucket.” I’m going to tell you about a different kind of list that I sometimes create.

My “Twenty Stupid Things” List.

In the last post I wrote, I told you I’d talk about a trick you could try if you get stuck writing your story. I heard about this technique only a few years ago and used it the next time I got really stuck, which happened to be when I was writing dancergirl. And then I used it the next time… and the next… well, you get the picture. It goes like this:

Let’s say you’ve written your character, Miranda, into a metaphorical, and literal, corner. The bad guy’s attack dog is well, about to attack, and you can’t figure out how to get her out of the situation. You take out a blank sheet of paper, or start a new document, (I like paper and pen for this one but you can use the computer). You literally title it:

20 STUPID THINGS MIRANDA CAN DO TO GET OUT OF THIS SITUATION

Then you put number one on the page and you write down the first idea you get. NO MATTER HOW STUPID! Because, see, the title says, “Stupid Things.” So you can write:

1. She spits her bubblegum at the dog.

Good. That’s nice and lame and couldn’t possibly work.

2. She reaches into her pocket and all she has is a paper clip and she throws it at the dog.

Also lame. Excellent.

3. She kicks the dog.

Maybe she’s wearing combat boots and she’s a martial artist. Could work but Miranda has on sneakers and likes to draw. She’ll probably end up getting her leg bit. Another stupid idea. Great!

4. She starts to sing the National Anthem and she has a terrible voice and the dog howls and runs away.

Ummm.. lame again. Very good. BUT

5. She starts to sing the National Anthem because she realizes this dog has been trained so that when he hears that particular song he will sit down and salute. Hmmm, that’s actually weird but sort of … interesting.

6. She starts to sing the National Anthem because she knows that the song is a signal for the dog to roll over. That’s not in the story but what if I go back into Chapter Three and add it to the scene when she first meets the bad guy and his dog, (when she didn’t know he was the bad guy,) and she saw the dog do that…

Now you might like this idea. Maybe number five is the one you think is more fun. You’re pretty sure you could make it work, and it would make the story more interesting. You can add that the bad guy was in the military. Or Uncle Fred was in the military and he once told Miranda that he and a bunch of guys trained a group of Dobermans to salute whenever they heard the National Anthem…

You can stop there, keep dreaming on the idea…. or, what I like to do, is KEEP GOING. Just in case…

7. She notices a bottle of perfume on the table next to her. She opens the bottle and tosses it at the dog’s eyes. Lame.

8. She conjures up a piece of meat and tosses it way across the room. Good, except Miranda isn’t Hermione, Harry Potter’s friend, and she doesn’t know magic.

Sometimes, I’ll hit upon an idea I like better at number 11, say, or sometimes, I just can’t stop thinking about number five so I give up at number 8 and excitedly start to figure out how to make number five work.

It doesn’t matter. The point is that by giving yourself permission to come up with as many stupid ideas as you can, an interesting, workable idea usually shows up!

Let me know what you think about this – or if you have any ways to get yourself out of the metaphorical corner of your story. Unlike an old dog who just has to salute at the sound of the National Anthem, I’m always eager to learn new tricks!

Why Write?

Carol Tanzman checking in!

There’s a section in my new thriller dancergirl where the main character tries to figure out why she dances. In a way, that came out of both Alicia’s story ––and my own life. Sometimes, in the dead of night, or the bright light of a sunny Saturday afternoon, when I could be napping or hiking or doing any number of fun things, I might just ask myself: Why write? Why do I drive myself crazy trying to get it all just right? Why not chuck this manuscript into the ever-present trash can on the bottom of my screen—which is always there, taunting me with its siren call: I will take this draft you are struggling with and dispose of it so you never have to look at it again. I can make your plot problems go away with a satisfying crunch….

Of course, I never actually do that. The most I’ve ever done is move the manuscript into a folder and put that folder somewhere in my documents file where I don’t have to see it whenever I open the laptop lid.

A few days, maybe a week, or, as is the case with dancergirl (when I lost faith in my ability to make it work), several months go by. I work on something else, or I put a little extra effort into my rewarding day job as a drama teacher. But the day comes when there’s been enough space or distance or the brain freeze inside my head thaws…and the manuscript calls to me. I’ll start reading--and that’s when I realize, hey, it’s not so bad. Or…there! That’s where the problem is. If I change this…and then that…suddenly, I’ve gotten myself off the wrong path onto the right one. It’s going back with a fresh outlook, an open mind that lets me to find the place where the energy in the book seeped out—and allows me to close that gap.

I’ve been thinking about this because something happened a few weeks ago that truly makes all the hard work worthwhile. dancergirl published in December. I went to NYC for both the holidays and to do some book events: signing at some bookstores, a couple of school visits, and the Teen Author Read at the castle-like Jefferson Market Library in Greenwich Village.

I used to live around the corner. That library was “my” library when I was directing Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway theatre. Before I ever considered writing books. Before I decided to try writing books. And way before I began those six steps Ilse wrote about on January 2nd. Last week, I walked back into that library with a published book in hand and sat onstage alongside other writers. It was fun. But it did not truly answer the question, Why write?

I’ve heard others answer. Many say: “I have no choice. I must write.” “I have stories to tell and things to say.” “The challenge is what drives me”.” “I want to make a ton of money” (Good luck with that!) or…or… There are as many answers as there are writers.

My answer walked in with a white cap worn over dark curly hair––and a smile that lit up the room. Kristin is her name. She writes a book blog and she reviewed dancergirl. When she saw a tweet about the event, she immediately sent one back: You are in town? I am so there! Kristin came down from the Bronx in the bitter cold of a winter night. After the reading and the Q&A was over, she introduced herself. I took a picture of her with the book I’d just signed and we talked.

She told how much dancergirl meant to her—and why. I told her how much that meant to me­­–-and the answer to why I write became crystal clear. Despite being an author, I’m still the theatre director I once was—I write for an audience. To make the invisible connection that goes from fingers typing on a page to reader reading.

And so, on those frustrating days that all writers have, I will remember Kristin—and all the possible Kristins in the world. I’ll go back to my manuscripts with the knowledge that by dint of hard work, perseverance and butt in chair, I will figure it out. (In a future post, I’ll write about a method I’ve discovered that can help.)

I’d also like to ask the same question of you: Why do you write? What drives you? The answer may be simple, it may be profound, it may be funny. It does, however, have to be your answer. Ultimately you are the one who has to put butt in chair!