How To Write Magical Words: A Writer's Companion Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Introduction

  Foreword

  IN THE BEGINNING:They’re Not Rules, They’re Price Tags

  Getting Started

  Visualizing The Story?

  High Concept Stories

  Holding Lightning/The Big Bang

  Storytelling Tropes: Belief

  Knowing What You Write

  On Research

  Metaphors, Similes, and Analogies, Oh My . . .

  Scope

  Short Fiction Revisited

  Juggling

  CHARACTER, DIALOGUE & POINT OF VIEW:A Rose By Any Other Name . . .

  Ordinary People

  The Importance of Wanting in Fiction

  Befriending Your Characters

  I Know Who That Is!

  Creating Characters in Small Spaces

  Hello, Mary Sue! Goodbye, Plot

  The Great Satan: Part 1 (Antagonists We Love to Hate)

  The Great Satan: Part 2

  On Writing Dialogue

  He Said, She Said: Thoughts On Dialogue

  Oh No, She Didn’t!

  Binding Character and Narrative: Point of View

  Point of View: Single vs. Multiple

  Again With the Point of View Stuff . . .

  BUTT IN CHAIR:Deadlines

  The Great Plot Synopsis Project

  How To Title Your Story — Or Not

  Great Expectations — No, Not Dickens

  Trusting Your Reader

  Developing Your Voice

  Finding Your Voice

  Getting Started: First Lines

  The Opening Pages

  Wave Formula

  Swing Thoughts + Writing Tips = Swing Tips

  Swing Tips: Part 2

  Swing Tips: Part 3

  Swing Tips: Part 4

  Swing Tips: Part 5

  Lasagna and Info-Dumps

  Conveying Background While Avoiding Info-Dumps

  Word Choice and Pacing

  The Leading Edge of the Slog

  Getting Started . . . Again

  The End Game

  The Beginning of the End

  The Final Words

  ON WRITING FANTASY:Making Magic

  Creating Magic

  Wrestling the TMP

  Snap Thy Holy Fingers

  With Worldbuilding, Every Detail Counts

  Fantasy Language

  How Far Is That Again?

  Writing Action Scenes

  Writing Action Scenes: Part 2, Battles

  SELF-EDITING:The Editor Can Fix That . . .

  Developing Your Internal Editor

  Revisions: Cutting Words

  Writers’ Crutches: Words

  More Writers’ Crutches: Style

  Revising Dialogue

  Revisions: A How-To Guide

  You Know What I Mean?

  BIC and Rewrite Tips

  Turns Out, Length Really Does Matter . . .

  Slotted Spoons and the ABC(D)s of Beta Readers

  Revisions: When is Enough Enough?

  THE BUSINESS:Artistic Choices and the Market

  A Conversation With My Editor

  The Presentation of Your Submissions

  Bait and Hook

  One Step Shy

  Networking

  Con Tips

  So There I Was, In the Elevator, And Who Walked In?

  The Ideal Editor

  Business Realities for the Beginning Writer

  Royalties

  Wow, That Must Have Cost A Lot!

  Who Pays Whom: Part 1, Agents and Editors

  Who Pays Whom: Part 2, Vanity Presses

  Who Pays Whom: Part 3, Print on Demand (POD)

  Creating A Web Presence

  Terms and Definitions Every Writer Should Know

  A WRITER’S LIFE:The Gregorovich-Feister Idea Farm and Fresh Market

  Things I Did Wrong

  Self-Determination

  Why Bother?

  Balancing the Tribal

  Changes in the Light

  Five Things You Ought To Know About Writers

  Writing On Instinct

  Writing Organically

  Write What You Love

  Writing Is A Solitary Business

  About the Editor

  About the Contributors

  How to Write Magical Words:

  A Writer’s Companion

  Essays about the craft & business of writing by

  David B. Coe

  A.J. Hartley

  Faith Hunter

  Stuart Jaffe

  Misty Massey

  C.E. Murphy

  Edited by Edmund R. Schubert

  HOW TO WRITE MAGICAL WORDS: A Writer’s Companion

  eISBN 978-1-933523-79-8

  Copyright © 2011 by Edmund R. Schubert

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For more information contact Bella Rosa Books, P.O. Box 4251 CRS, Rock Hill, SC 29732. Or online at www.bellarosabooks.com

  All comments taken from MagicalWords.net are used by permission.

  Also available from Bella Rosa Books in Trade Paperback:

  ISBN 978-1-933523-80-4

  First Print Edition: January 2011

  First eBook Edition: March 2011

  Cover photograph by David B. Coe

  BellaRosaBooks and logo are trademarks of Bella Rosa Books.

  "This is the best idea for a writing book that I’ve ever seen. It’s like sitting in a room full of professional writers, and after each one delivers a riff on one aspect of writing, the others weigh in to buttress, amplify, refine, or add to what was said. It’s an extended conversation with writers who know what they’re talking about—and what matters in writing fiction that really communicates with readers."

  — Orson Scott Card

  Introduction

  It goes without saying that the book you hold in your hands is the product of a tremendous amount of work. If you spend even a few minutes reading from among the one hundred essays contained in these pages, you’ll quickly realize that writing books is hard work. This book, we hope, will make it a bit easier for you to write the novel percolating inside you.

  But this volume, How To Write Magical Words: A Writer’s Companion, is also the product of forces that were . . . well, magical. It was born of kismet, inspired by years of camaraderie and a shared passion for the written word, and forged in the combined energies of a group of committed, talented people who we are proud to call our friends and colleagues.

  MagicalWords.net, the web site devoted to the craft and business of writing, and the place where all the material in this book originated, went online in January 2008. It began as the brainchild of the original three contributors: Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, and David B. Coe. People talk about networking all the time, but sometimes networking isn't a plan. Sometimes it just happens. Sometimes you attend a conference, take one look at a person, or in this case a couple of people, and tsunamis start. Professional tsunamis, friendship tsunamis—it’s not always easy to tell where one ends and the other begins. But when they happen, writers have choices—they can swim away, they can be overwhelmed and swallowed whole. Or they can ride the wave. When Faith, Misty, and David first met it was like that—instant, indefinable energy, powerful and intense.

  We began by bringing the wonderful C.E. Murphy into the mix, and, after Catie left us, first we added A.J. Hartley and Stuart Jaffe, and then Edmund Schubert. But no matter the personnel, the energy has remained and Magical Words has thrived—thanks in large part to our growing readership and the willingness of th
ose who visit the site to join in our online discussions.

  Since our first post, Magical Words’ regular writers and guests have contributed over six hundred essays dealing with everything from business contracts to worldbuilding. The roster of writers and guests has changed and expanded to include not only bestselling authors, but also agents, editors, and other professionals in the publishing industry. The appearance of the page has evolved and grown more sophisticated. Traffic at the site has increased at a rate of over thirty percent a year. But always, Magical Words has remained a labor of love for all of us.

  And that original tidal wave of energy has continued to build. In the spring of 2010, during a convention in North Carolina, all of us—Faith and her husband Rod, Misty and her husband Todd (our wonderful web guru), David, A.J., Stuart, and Edmund, and of course our beloved minion, Beatriz—gathered in Faith and Rod’s RV. Though we came together to speak of the future of Magical Words, none of us knew what to expect. But maybe that’s when magic is most likely to strike.

  What began as a night of laughter and fun, turned into something else entirely. It’s odd to think of an RV as a setting for the brainstorming session to end all brainstorming sessions. But it was. The space positively crackled with creative energy. And out of that night came the idea for this book.

  There are more Magical Words projects in the works—we intend to put together an anthology of original short fiction by our regular contributors as well as some of our guests, and at some point we might put together a follow-up to this volume. And of course, the site—MagicalWords.net—goes on.

  Through it all, even as we find ourselves moving in new directions and welcoming new faces to the MW family, the fundamental forces that drive us remain the same. Creativity, friendship, our passion for stories and storytelling, and our desire to share with others the joy that we get out of this crazy business. Each is powerful on its own. Blended together they become something truly remarkable.

  But don’t take our word for it. You have the book in your hand. Turn the page and start reading.

  — Faith, Misty, and David

  Sept. 2010

  Foreword

  No matter what genre you’re interested in writing, the basics are almost universal. Good dialogue is good dialogue. Proper use of Point of View is proper use of Point Of View. The smartest way to approach an agent or editor is the smartest way to approach an agent or editor. With many aspects of writing, genre truly verges on the irrelevant. If you want proof of that, all you need to look at are the publishing credits of the members of Magical Words. Although each of them has written in various subgenres of fantasy, many have also written mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, romance, non-fiction, and more.

  As a compilation of essays, comments, questions, and answers from the Magical Words blog, this book distills almost three years worth of advice into a single, portable volume. It could have been much, much longer, and though matters of space may have dictated otherwise for the printed version, the internet is not bound by any such limitations. All of the raw material that went into this book (and much more) is still available online. If you want to read the whole, unedited version of any of these essays, you can. If you want to read more questions, comments, and answers (and you’ll find them worthwhile reading), you can. Other essays that the full-length essay referenced but the reference had to be edited out because of space limitations? Links to other sites that are also worth exploring? It’s all there at MagicalWords.net.

  Although my intention with this book was to create something akin to the experience you would have had if you were a regular reader of the blog, what we actually ended up with was something much like what you would find at a pricey writing conference. About the only thing a traditional writing conference could give you that this book can’t is a) the opportunity to network, and b) the privilege of paying as much as $1,500 to get in the front door.

  Aside from that, though, what you will find within these pages are essentially workshops and panels covering a wide rage of subjects. The presentations even come complete with counterpoints from other authors, questions from the audience, and, yes, the occasional bad joke. As I said, it’s a writing conference on paper, minus the networking and the steep price-tag.

  If you’re already a MW regular, you know what I mean when I say the blog and the community that has grown up around it is a special place. If, on the other hand, you haven’t discovered the site yet, read and enjoy the book; take notes (seriously, we won’t mind if you mark it up with a pen or highlighter); and when you’re done, come visit us at MagicalWords.net.

  We’ll look for you there.

  — Edmund

  They’re Not Rules, They’re Price Tags

  Edmund R. Schubert

  Never write in second person.

  Always start with a powerful first line.

  Never change POVs in the middle of a scene.

  Eschew adjectives. And adverbs.

  Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah . . .

  How To Write Magical Words is devoted to helping people write better, and there’s a lot of great advice to be found here.

  And it’s all negotiable.

  Seriously. There isn’t a bit of writing advice here that someone, somewhere (probably multiple someones and multitudinous somewheres) hasn’t broken, and broken really damn well.

  So should you listen to what Faith and David and A.J. and Misty and Stuart and Catie and everyone else says about writing? Of course you should. They’ve been doing this for a long time; they know what they’re talking about.

  Well, then what the heck are you talking about, Edmund?

  That would be a logical question.

  What I’m talking about is this: I’m replying to a certain question before it’s even asked, a question I hear all the time. The minute any writing conversation turns in the direction of "rules" or "guidelines" or even just plain old "advice," it inevitably crops up.

  That question is: "Yeah, but what about ____x____?"

  Because yes, there are exceptions to every rule. In fact, those exceptions are usually exceptional. People hold them up as shining examples of why the rules don’t apply. They do so wrongly, but that doesn’t stop them from doing it.

  That’s why I want you to stop thinking of them as "rules" and start think-ing of them as price tags. Even the rules of grammar and punctuation. They are all price tags.

  Why price tags? Because there is a price to be paid for breaking the rules. If the gain outweighs the loss, then it’s worth doing. If not . . .

  Let’s start with the rules of grammar and punctuation; they seem to be the most immutable. You want to break those rules? Generally, the price you pay is a lack of clarity and, as a result, a lack understanding. There’s a great book that came out several years ago called Eats Shoots and Leaves that talked about the importance of punctuation. Just punctuation. That subject alone filled an entire book. But look at the difference one little comma (or the lack thereof) makes in the title. If you say "eats shoots and leaves" without the comma, you’re talking about a panda’s diet. What do they eat? Bamboo shoots and leaves. But add one little comma so that it reads, "eats, shoots and leaves," now you’re talking about a mafia hit man who sits down in a restaurant, eats his dinner, kills the guy at the next table, and then walks out. A panda bear and a mafia hit man—and all that differentiates the two is one single comma.

  There simply aren’t a lot of good reasons to mess with punctuation. Period. But grammar is a little more flexible. Look at the second sentence in this paragraph, the paragraph you’re reading right now. That’s really not a sentence, is it? "Period." There’s no verb, there are no independent or dependent clauses; it’s just one word, sitting there, all alone. It’s—gasp—a sentence fragment. And doggone it, it’s not the first one that’s been used in this piece.

  What price did I pay? Not much of one, because there was no loss of clarity. I knew when, where, and how to use them. What benefit did I gain? That fragment
carries extra emphasis. It makes it perfectly clear that I think there are very, very, very few reasons to mess with punctuation. And that’s what fragments do best: narrow the focus down so as to emphasize a point. But you still have to be careful to construct. Them properly. Because the sloppy. Unintentional use of sentence fragments only causes confusion (see my previous sentence-fragment mess, right before this sentence; yes, that was intentional. And ugly.).