Completing Your Novel: Three Keys to Avoid Distraction

I hate distractions!

Oh, look. It’s snowing.

What? Again? Noooooo!

Sorry. 

Where was I? 

Oh, yeah....

One of the greatest problems of completing fiction projects is the constant intrusion of distractions. No, not the weather; not the Terrible Trio of Chores, Children, and Chaos; but the inherent distractions of the the writing process itself.

Each new character, each new setting, each complication you encounter in the composition process can send your thoughts spinning off into all sorts of unintended directions that can alter your whole plot and purpose. Returning to your original intent can take days, weeks or months of diligent crafting and problem-solving that can prove either miraculous or disastrous. 

How does one avoid these unnecessary trips into potential oblivion? One of the best ways, is of course, outlining.

Outlining focuses your story and I highly recommend it…as long as you follow your outline better than I follow mine. 

For a great guide into the process of writing and using outlines, I highly recommend K.M. Weiland's Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success.

As instrumental as outlines are, though, Weiland and the authors she interviews caution us that becoming a slave to them has its dangers, most significantly the stifling of inspiration. 

A second key, then, is to be flexible, keeping open to the urging of your muse. For example, sometimes a small but insistent voice tells you it is imperative to kill one of your favorite characters, not because you dislike him/her/it, but for all the possibilities that the character’s demise opens up for tension, complication, or resolution. Here's a hint: Do it!

If you cling to your original outline, those doors remain forever closed and the story will remain dull or flat. Listen to the voice and let the story develop in ways it must. The excitement of discovery will engage your mind so strongly that all diversions will vanish.

So key #1 is plan or outline and #2 is to be flexible. Those are pretty common and easy-to-recall rules. Right?

There is a third key, however, that came to mind today only when the park behind the house disappeared under a veil of thick, sloppy, white gunk. It is also one of the most important lessons any parent can teach a foot-stomping, frustrated five-year-old. Remember this conversation?

“Mom, when am I gonna grow up?"

“A little while longer, dear.”

But, Mom, I wanna grow up now!”

“Don’t worry, honey. It will happen sooner than you know. Just remember: Patience is a virtue.”

"I don' wanna be patient. I wanna be big!"

As time goes on, we discover the truth of our mother's admonition. Adulthood comes soon enough, as long as we patiently endure.

For the purposes of the writing life, the same advice applies. Patience is not only the key to enduring childhood; it is the third key to avoiding the distractions preventing you from finishing your novel. Particularly when the ending seems so far away.

Yes, ideas build on ideas. Subplots divert and expand the theme. Revision leads to more revision. The whole story devolves into an incomprehensible mess...or so it seems. But patience and diligence can and will guide your story through the baffling and exasperating labyrinth to a logical and satisfying conclusion. 

Just like they will get us through this incessant winter. 

At the risk of becoming tedious and boring, today, in the middle of April, it’s snowing yet again. AGAIN! 

It’s frustrating! I want to claw out my eyes and bite off my fingers, but that's not a totally bad thing. Seriously. It reminded me of Mom’s words from long ago: “Patience is a virtue.”

Heeding her lesson, this morning I turned to a writer whose poems and essays never fail to calm the turmoil of the moment, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Grabbing my worn and highlighted copy of his collected works and also scanning his numerous maxims on Brainy Quotes, I found the following:  “Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience.”

I took a deep breath, swallowed, and claimed the virtuousness of composure. 

I closed the curtains and resolved to apply the same restraint and sense of calm to finishing my latest project.  I decided even though the end seems far away, I will write! I will sit at my keyboard and type until the story is completed.

And I will complete it.

I’m pretty sure.

Some day.

When the snow stops.

I hope.

More Than Normal: Cultivating Fascination in the Commonplace

If I ever needed confirmation that there is wonder in the ordinary, I found it this week. 

Everyday, we adults are exposed to a multitude of repetitive events and sensations, so many that we barely notice  them any longer. 

Somewhere we have lost the joy in discovery we had as children. That is unfortunate. 

Remember the days when you wondered why the sky is blue? The days when you chased lightning bugs at twilight? The days you tried to flush your sister’s Barbie dolls down the toilet just to see if you could and what would happen if you tried?

Okay. Maybe that was just a warped thing.

The point is we all used to wonder why things happen. 

Everything. Even the objects and processes we say every day.

But then we grew up and learned to ignore what didn't slap us upside the head and say, "NOTICE ME!"

What we as adults now fail to realize is that the commonplace is not as simple as we think it is. Just because we have experienced grass growing or spring snowfall innumerable times does not mean the occurrence of either is simple or dreary. As adults, especially for us writers, it is important to acknowledge and celebrate the complexity of simplicity. 

Take thought itself, for example. 

When was the last time you thought about thinking? It’s something we all do daily––or claim to. In fact, we think so often, we fail to consider the intricacy of the process.

This week, I picked up a book that has been sitting unread on my shelf for some time: Escaping the Matrix by pastor Greg Boyd and psychologist/therapist Al Larson. What I found there about brain function at once fascinated and frightened me––fascinated because of the sheer enormity of the process and frightened because I realized how much I miss of what happens around me.

First, the fascinating numbers. According to Boyd and Larson, "The average adult brain consists of more than 10 billion neurons communicating with one another through more than 10 trillion synaptic connections....[T]he number of possible connections in the brain is more than all of the stars in the known universe (approximately 50 billion galaxies with an average of 10 billion stars each). Although the average dendrite is a fraction of a millimeter in size, if you were to line up all the dendrites in your brain, the line would circle the globe five times!”

Ack! And that’s in just ONE average adult human brain. And right now there are over 7 billion humans on earth! How many dendrites are there? How many have there BEEN? 

My head hurts.

But that’s just what is IN the brain. How can all those components operate at all? 

Evidently, quite well Boyd and Larson continue: "[T]he brain communicates much faster than you can possibly count, and it operates along millions of neurological pathways all at once. Were this not the case, it would take several lifetimes to think a single thought!”

The most overwhelming part of thinking, however, is not what the brain obtains. It is what the brain discards. Boyd and Larson explain: "During this process, you're being impacted by an estimated 100 million bits of information per second. The reticular activating system of your brain deletes 98 percent of this while the rest of your brain filters the remaining 2 million bits of information. From all of this, your brain brings to your conscious awareness only five to nine pieces of information per second it believes is most relevant to you at the moment.”

So the main function of the brain is…forgetting? Huh? I guess my brain works better than I thought it does.

But, more importantly, how much more should I know? 

And how much more is there to know? Now, my head REALLY hurts.

The point of all this for writers is, if all of this is going on when we think––one of the most commonplace occurrences––how much more is happening in other activities like growing, eating, loving, or simply existing?

There has to be a story there. Or two. Or a billion...

Which means everybody, every occurrence, every time is fodder for exploration, explanation, and exposition. Tapping into the childlike fascination we once had is the best start.

I wonder what else is on my bookshelf.

Credit: Boyd, Gregory A. and Al Larson. Escaping the Matrix: Setting Your Mind Free to experience Real Life in Christ. BakerBooks: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2005. 31.

Wonder: The Sixth W

"The death of journalism is at hand!"

Despite that dire warning, despite having a steady job teaching and coaching, and despite a mountain of self-doubt, I decided to regroup and peruse a life change. News writing seemed a perfect fit for somebody with a degree in both English and social studies. What I didn't realize was that the switch would require a return to square one.

Journalism 101.

Lesson #1. Writing the news is not writing a research paper. Short paragraphs (1-2 sentences) are required. The inverted pyramid style (most important information first) is mandatory. Most importantly, the length of the story depends on the news hole (the amount of space left over after allotting advertising space).

Which leaves what?

The 5 W’s and the H. Get those down and move on.

Who, what, when, where, why, and how? That's it?

That's all they want. Just the facts.

Creativity? 

Dissuaded. 

Concise, sterile, and clinical?

Please. 

Stale and downright dull?

The purpose of the news is first to inform the reader of who did what to whom when and where. If there is space in the news hole, include how it was done with maybe a paragraph/sentence/phrase indicating why it was done or why the reader should care. 

Anything else we leave to the feature stories, not the news.

That was when I decided that I preferred to write features and fiction.

After I made that my goal, I discovered that the 5 Ws and the H were not enough. Features and fiction require a sixth W, an ingredient relied upon by scientists and theologians–– wonder.

Wonder has too often been ignored in the name of objectivity, when it is actually the foundation for discovery and innovation, philosophy and art. All we as a species originated with a fascination with the unknown. As Socrates explained succinctly, "Wisdom begins in wonder." By the way, Socrates was a pretty smart guy.

Consider this about your favorite books or stories: How often do you want the author to simply tell you the hows and whys of the plot? The old adage "Show, don't tell" originated from a common trait readers share: People want to discover. 

As writers, then, we must first generate wonder, sparking the reader's curiosity and desire for knowledge. That wonder can arise from all aspects of the story: characterization, setting, conflict, and complication.

How then do we create wonder? The answer comes from an unexpected source, Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. He said, "Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand."

That does not mean that we should all be writing crime novels with staggering body counts and unfamiliar motives, however. What we need to do is trigger questions, ones like "Where are we?" "Why did that electrician say that?" "Why did my favorite character die in the first twenty pages?" "How did this boss become such a weenie?"

To be fair to your readers, be sure to answer these questions...eventually. Note, however, that the wonder materializes from waiting for the answer. Gratification is a good thing, but delayed gratification is excellent. 

Action excites. Humor entertains. Sex sells. But wonder...

Wonder captivates. It entices. It enthralls. 

Wonder transform reading from a hobby to an addiction. Questions lead to answers. Answers give knowledge. Knowledge leads to more questions, more knowledge, more questions....The reader cannot and does not want to stop. 

Without wonder, a book is simply prose. With it, the book is art. As Albert Einstein (another really smart guy) said, "Wonder is the source of all true art and science."

From a business viewpoint, wonder sells; dry dusty prose...not so much.

Maybe that's why J.K Rowling has proliferating disciples and the Washington Post has vanishing subscribers. Is it any wonder? 

Okay, I promise not to use that 6th W again...at least until I can't remember where I put my thesaurus.

For more quotes on the word for the day (wonder) check the 17 Quotes on Wonder page.