Killer Geisha with Knife Fans

Photograph by JackiePix

I took a writing class a few years back and our teacher had us do a weird mind game to get us thinking about our plot threads.  He put a bunch of random situations in a basket and we had to draw two out. Now the situations were not similar in any way.

For instance I got: A boy gets stabbed in an empty lot and The villain's dollar bill was on fire. 

This in and of itself can be a great prompt, but he added a genre to it. So he gave us either fantasy or science fiction or what not. What was great about this type of prompt was that it corralled the action, but left the circumstance wide open.  If you've read any of my blogfest entries in the past, you'll know that I actually used this years later in a novel I finished a few months ago.

He also had us take well known passages from famous books and turn them into sarcastic rants. For instance, Elizabeth Barrett Browning's love poem to Robert; How Do I Love Thee -- you know the one where she counts the ways, is actually quite funny when you put a different spin on it.

Photograph by Klearchos Kapoutsis

One of my favorite things was our "Cool Stuff That Never Happens" notebooks. Its where we write down really strange scenarios that we've seen in movies and read in books.  Things like a dirigible chase or swimming under an iceberg's craggy underbelly.  I have over a hundred such scenes, my personal favorites include running ahead of imploding catacombs and killer Geisha's with knife fans.  That always makes me laugh.

The point was to get you thinking outside of the normal action scenes. How might a car chase look with crappy cars or while running out of gas? What about a villain with an accent so terrible that you can't understand his threats and he ends up pantomiming?  Original ideas can come from simply asking yourself...what if?

I came away from the class feeling like I'd grown creatively because he taught us that thinking outside of the box wasn't really all that hard. If I could do it, then so can you.  Tell me...what kinds of mental exercises do you do to get the creative juices flowing?

Until next time...Go Write!

Publishing Business Low Down

Photograph by KellyB

A number of interesting things are happeing in publishing this month. Specifically 'General Market' or secular publishing but we see the effects trickle down into other markets.  Publisher's Weekly reported that Dorchester, a publisher of mass market romance, has dropped its print publishing business in favor of an e-book / print-on-demand model.

This ties in with something Terry Burns wrote in his blogpost for From the Heart, Heartline Literary's webiste, an excellent post explaining the difference between self-publishing and print-on-demand.  It seems that the idea of e-books being a growth market is catching on big time.


Speaking of technology. Writer's Digest recently posted an article on the Anatomy of a Writer's Website that was timely in its advice. They likened the author website to a business card and that it shows editors and publishers that you are a professional that can be reached by readers, or for assignents like articles and speaking engagements. 


The article goes on to list some of the mainstays of the do-it-yourself web domains and some 'for hire' professional sites.  The thrust of the article is clear though...Your blog and your book website are two different things meant for two different audiences. I urge you to take a look at the post.


Over all the trends in publishing and technology aren't unexpected. No one is hailing the reign of the e-book just yet or predicting the demise of brick-and-mortar retailers anytime soon. Small steps in the direction of more effiecient, less costly ways of doing business are the order for now.  For writers, the message is clear. Keep honing your craft and refining your work because no matter what the venue...it still is all about the quality of the product.


Until next time...Go Write!

***update***


Judging from the comments, there seems to be some confusion over what the article says.  The writer suggests using BOTH sites, the blog AND the book site, to complement each other.

I don't think its a matter of choosing one over the other, only recognizing the different audiences.

Breaking the Rules - Memorable Characters

Photograph by tibchris.

We are taught that the elderly are wise and frail, princesses are beautiful and helpless, and monsters are evil and should be slain. We grow up with these archetypes in our fairytales, our movies, and in witness to real life.  Its an unspoken rule that a babe is innocent and should be protected, a gangster is ruthless, and heroes win because they do what's right...right?

Sometimes great stories break the rules and the character is better for it.  Think of your favorite type of character and give them an unexpected twist in the opposite direction.  You may end up with a beautiful milkmaid that is cruel or an assassin that risks his life for a child. Sound familiar? These are famous takes on heroes and villains that made us remember, root for, and talk about.

What about changing an expected outcome on its ear like a monster attack making someone stronger, or a hospital that is intentionally killing people? These types of changes give you as the author a whole new set of conflicts to throw at your characters. If your thug is afraid of guns or your village elder is an idiot then that makes for a great set of circumstances that can be delightfully unexpected.

Characters like this allow for story threads not available to their traditional counterparts. They give your novel originality and with a market saturated with similar themes, memorable takes on the tried and true set your story apart.

Think about what you could do with a cowardly knight, a dare-devil granny, or a wicked angel. Your character twist doesn't necessarily have to be opposite either, just unexpected. A favorite blogger of mine uses well known literary and historical figures in his supernatural thrillers with rivetting results.

So give it a try. Defy convention - break the rules. You may be pleasantly surprised. How do you keep things fresh in your writing? What tricks to you use to avoid stereotypical characters?  I'd love to hear your secrets.

Until next time...Go Write!