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mary rosenblum
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Hi, all. Hope you had a great
week!
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mary rosenblum
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Winter has officially started
here in the Northwest, with our first Pacific storm moving onshore.
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mary rosenblum
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So far pretty tame as they go,
but we'll get snow in the mountains tonight. :-) Hood may be white when I
wake up...assuming I can see him.
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mary rosenblum
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Just a note to you all.
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mary rosenblum
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I found a question when I
showed up here...someone must have posted it after I left, last forum.
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mary rosenblum
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If you want me to answer a
question at a Forum and you can't make it...
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mary rosenblum
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you can try going to the
auditorium and sending a question to the stage.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll have to test that and see
if they'll appear when I next 'turn on' the stage.
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mary rosenblum
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But do email me questions if
you can't make the Forum.
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mary rosenblum
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You can always send a question
as a reply to the announcement of the Forum topic.
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tkat_2
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winter won't hit us for a few
more weeks. I'm wearing shorts for the moment.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, I WAS a few days ago...
:-) Not cold, just rainy and windy.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. Today we're talking about those pesky 'middles'. If you're new here,
remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word
bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to
ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask
and type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for
you..
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birdonawire
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Mary how do you get an editor to
look an article on a very current topic for publication while it's still
hot? ie sooner rather than months down the road?
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mary rosenblum
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Hopefully, Bird will read the
transcript!
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mary rosenblum
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It's a good question but you
don't have to do anything, actually.
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mary rosenblum
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The editor nearly for sure
(unless he/she's out of the office) will scan the query when it comes in...
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mary rosenblum
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because a timely piece is
worth moving on..
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mary rosenblum
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and editors do leave 'wiggle
room' in magazine issues so they can swap in something pertinent.
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mary rosenblum
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they may not REPLY for ten
weeks or so, but they'll sure give it a glance.
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mary rosenblum
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And by the way, I posted a
couple of new markets on the website today in New Market Updates.
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zubbycat
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Is it a good idea to add a
character or subplot when you find your middle falling flat?
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, let's talk about those
middles! :-)
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mary rosenblum
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well, Zubby, it depends on
whether you're writing a novel or a short story.
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mary rosenblum
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I wouldn't add a new character
to either, actually...at least not a strong character...
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mary rosenblum
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because that's a big late for
a strong character to enter, generally.
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mary rosenblum
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(I'm talking novel here).
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mary rosenblum
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But you might bring in a
'spear carrier' who evokes some kind of conflict in your main character's
life.
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mary rosenblum
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So how do you decide what to
do?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, the best thing to do is
to look at your main character, whether you are dealing with novel or short
story.
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mary rosenblum
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What is going to cause that
person grief.
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mary rosenblum
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Since you have a main plot
already...
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mary rosenblum
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you can often figure out a
secondary internal conflict that can blow up in the middle of the novel...
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mary rosenblum
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or in the middle of the short
story and get resolved either at the end or before the end...whatever
works.
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mary rosenblum
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Your characters should ALWAYS
(aha...one of those rare absolutes I don't usually offer!) have more than
one...
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mary rosenblum
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weakness or imperfection or
skeleton in his/her closet.
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mary rosenblum
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Keeps them interesting AND..
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mary rosenblum
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gives you the potential to
bring that middle to life.
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mary rosenblum
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Ah...notice how many things in
writing come back to characterizaiton? Funny about that, huh?
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mary rosenblum
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These are the real reasons
that 'two dimensional' characters are not a good idea.
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mary rosenblum
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Not only do they not seem
real, they don't offer you much help when you need some fresh conflict.
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mary rosenblum
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I actually did that very thing
in one of my published mysteries.
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mary rosenblum
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I had a slow spot in the
center and since the book was short and my editor wanted me to add more
words...
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mary rosenblum
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I realized that I needed to
create a new peak of conflict in that middle.
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mary rosenblum
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This is my landscape gardener
who ends up solving mysteries. So I gave her a quarrel with her mother that
erupted into a battle of wills...
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mary rosenblum
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and ended up with them doing a
sort of one-upping car chase that got them both stuck on a back road.
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mary rosenblum
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It made them realize that
they'd been kind of tense with each other and the tow truck driver's
reaction to their predicament added a bit of humor at the end.
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mary rosenblum
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It ended up adding a fun
little peak of tension, increased the characterization of the pair some,
and picked up the pace in that slump.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. Today we're talking about those pesky 'middles'. If you're new here,
remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word
bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to
ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask
and type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for
you..
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zubbycat
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What are some tips for getting
out of the "middle blahs" when the writing/plot is fine, but the
dreaded block is setting in?
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mary rosenblum
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If YOU"RE feeling bored
or blah, then so is your reader. :-) So go PLAY.
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mary rosenblum
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What would wake you up and get
you paying attention again?
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mary rosenblum
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Hey, this is YOUR universe.
Just because you didn't originally intend to put this in, doesn't mean you
can't do it now.
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mary rosenblum
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And later on, if you find that
it's too much, or over the top, or doesn't fit...take it out. The novel is
done by then and you're past your block.
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mary rosenblum
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Make something happen.
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mary rosenblum
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Your MC is on the way home and
stops to get a cat out of a tree for a tearful young girl...
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mary rosenblum
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who then steals his cell phone
while he's up the tree....
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mary rosenblum
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He can chase her and you can
do LOTS of stuff here.
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mary rosenblum
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She can get away and he can go
on to the next scene feeling like he's been 'had'...
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mary rosenblum
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he can catch her.
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mary rosenblum
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Now what? Well, maybe she's
turning into a cool girl, and you like her.
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mary rosenblum
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Okay, she's living on the
street with her little brother, a runaway, stealing to feed them...
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mary rosenblum
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and he can get them into a
shelter or dump them on a friend who 'rescues' kids or take them home...
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mary rosenblum
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and suddenly you have a new
subplot to the novel.
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mary rosenblum
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Some of my best secondary
characters have showed up because I had a slow spot that needed some vivid
activity.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember, you are not carving
stone here.
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mary rosenblum
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I have brought in characters,
decided they were too heavy or were going to complicate the plot too
much...so I take 'em out and start over.
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mary rosenblum
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A tip here:
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mary rosenblum
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If you are going to do a major
addition like that, try saving a 'backup' of your original before you begin
adding that new stuff.
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mary rosenblum
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If you don't like it...revert
to your original copy and you don't have to take out all the changes you made.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. Today we're talking about those pesky 'middles'. If you're new here,
remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word
bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to
ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask
and type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for
you..
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mary rosenblum
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Take a look at your pacing.
Why is the middle slow?
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mary rosenblum
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Have you had lots of action
and confrontations and now we're just on a journey from here to there?
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tkat_2
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Would a flat character work to
liven up a sagging middle?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, I"m not sure what
you mean by a 'flat' character, tkat?
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mary rosenblum
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To me, that means a lifeless
character without any dimensionality.
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mary rosenblum
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And that won't liven up
anything! :-)
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mary rosenblum
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But you can have a vivid
'spear carrier' who shows up and causes trouble or catalyzes events...
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mary rosenblum
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and we don't have to know that
person's life history or care about him/her.
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mary rosenblum
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You could have a classic
sleezy horse trader who begs the caravan to let him join because someone is
trying to steal his horses...
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mary rosenblum
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and he drives your MC nuts for
some reason, perhaps precipitates a fight...
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tkat_2
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That's what I meant.
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mary rosenblum
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Minor characters should never
be 'flat' as in cardboard. If anything, try making them a bit 'over the
top'...but watch out for the stereotypes.
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mary rosenblum
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Our horsetrader, for example,
verges on the stereotype of the 'sleezy used car dealer' only he's dealing
in four footed cars...nly he's dealing
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mary rosenblum
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so I"d probably give him
some details that give him more human depth.
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zubbycat
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Do you have any special
techniques that will help in plotting the middle before we start writing
it?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure zubby. Graph it.
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mary rosenblum
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I really do this.
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mary rosenblum
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Get a sheet of paper.
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mary rosenblum
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Turn it on its side, so it's
wide. :-) Start at the bottom left hand corner...
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mary rosenblum
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now DRAW your scenes as you
plot them.
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mary rosenblum
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Our caravan leaves the
oasis...flat (this is a novel and we're setting the scene), but we have a
small peak when a stranger hurries after them claiming he was invited by an
absent member.
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mary rosenblum
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Then the caravan is attacked
first night out by weird creatures..BIG peak...
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mary rosenblum
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next day is full of
squabbling, accusations. everybody blames the straggler...we're higher than
our start point, but this is a low place again...
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mary rosenblum
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and then they meet a group of
raiders who seem to be after their straggler...another peak...and the MC
decides they will defend him but has to fight the antagonist who wants to
give him up...another peak...battle and surprising victory...another
peak...
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mary rosenblum
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and now you're plenty ready
for a bit of a slack spot to let the readers catch their breath...
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mary rosenblum
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maybe they shelter in a cave
and find interesting magic artifact. ;-)
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mary rosenblum
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Gee...if I keep going we'll
have a whole novel here.!
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mary rosenblum
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But by drawing the shape of
your dramatic arcs, you can tell if you have a huge desert in the middle...
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mary rosenblum
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and if you do, see what you
can create to complicate life for your characters.
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mary rosenblum
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What is going on? On a trek
like this, you can bring in outside dangers...
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mary rosenblum
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An attack by Harpies might
have nothing directly to do with the main plot, might just be one of those
things you risk, crossing the desert, but hey, it adds a peak of action...
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mary rosenblum
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and we get to see our MC in
action again, deepening the characterization.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember, though, if you add
scenes to pick up your flat middle...
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mary rosenblum
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that scene should do THREE
things.
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mary rosenblum
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1. Advance the plot (in our
caravan story, they have to survive the Harpies in order to get where they
need to be)..
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mary rosenblum
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And maybe they suspect the
attack was not an accident!
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mary rosenblum
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2. Deepen the characterization
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mary rosenblum
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We get to see MC as leader and
learn more about him during the battle.
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mary rosenblum
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How someone reacts in danger
is revelatory.
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mary rosenblum
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3. enrich the scene.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, we get to see lots of
vivid images as harpies stoop on the caravan and horses and cames panick.
LOTS of fun there!
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mary rosenblum
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Remember.
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mary rosenblum
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Writing is really more like
carpentry coupled with archetecture than pure archetecture.
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mary rosenblum
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We're sort of split
personalities as writers...
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mary rosenblum
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the visionary and the hammer
and saw craftsman.
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mary rosenblum
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We get to envision that
Gaudi-esque tower...
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mary rosenblum
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but then we have to measure
the two by fours, plane the joins, and make sure that the windows are
weather tight!
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mary rosenblum
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Stories are NOT magic entities
that pop full blown into our heads. I wish!
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mary rosenblum
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The idea can pop in full
blown, but as you work to keep your huge audience of diverse readers
equally immersed in your universe...
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mary rosenblum
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you're going to be sweating
with that hammer and saw, believe me!
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mary rosenblum
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Middles become a REAL
challenge when Nothing Much Happens.
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mary rosenblum
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My last story in Asimov's,
'Skin Deep' was one of those challenges. It is very internal, nothing
happens much after the first scene, action wise...
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mary rosenblum
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and I SWEATED for ways to keep
the reader engrosed all the way through!
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owlybear
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you make it sound so easy...
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mary rosenblum
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Well...It's fun.
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mary rosenblum
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Or it should be.
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mary rosenblum
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So I suppose that sort of
makes it easy.
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mary rosenblum
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I tend to think of things that
I don't much enjoy dong as 'hard'.
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mary rosenblum
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Hey, here's your chance to
read the novel you'd love to read!
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mary rosenblum
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yeah, you have to write the
words down as you go, but so what? Isn't that cool? That you get to read
just the exciting book you WANT to read?
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zubbycat
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Another question from me - do
you usually write through the middle start to finish, or do you skip around
to scenes that you have planned out ahead of time and go back to fill in
the blanks?
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mary rosenblum
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Zubby, if I don't know how to
make a scene interesting or I know I don't have enough yet, I will just
skip over it. Why write something I'm going to dislike and delete later
anyway?
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mary rosenblum
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Sometimes I do a place
holder... [insert dinner conversation here] because I know that this
scene...
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mary rosenblum
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has to be intense and I"m
just not in the headspace where I can DO an intense and interesting
conversation right now.
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mary rosenblum
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Sometimes, when I have an
upcoming action scene that will be SO fun to write...]
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mary rosenblum
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I just don't have the patience
to painstakingly work out the details of an intense interaction between
characters that will brighten a 'slow' spot...
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mary rosenblum
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so I do the action scene I'm
dying to do and come back later.
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mary rosenblum
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Sometimes knowing what will
happen later helps you come up with the intensity you need to add a
dramatic peak to that desert.
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mary rosenblum
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I just finished the first
draft of a short story and I knew that the front is slow...
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mary rosenblum
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but I didn't come up with what
I needed to liven it up until almost at the end...
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mary rosenblum
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now I can go back and add some
foreshadowing that will also liven up that start.
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mary rosenblum
|
This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. Today we're talking about those pesky 'middles'. If you're new here,
remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word
bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to
ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask
and type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for
you..
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mary rosenblum
|
jael want to send me the rest
of your question?
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jael
|
Have you ever been stuck in the
middle and decided to back a
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jael
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go back via flashback to rewrite
the beginning and therefore
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jael
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move your first beginning to the
middle? Hope makes sense
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mary rosenblum
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Lots, jael. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Not so much anymore, because I
have a lot of experience at this point, and I can usually figure out where
my story really begins...
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mary rosenblum
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but when I first started
publishing, the final draft rarely if ever started where the first draft
started.
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mary rosenblum
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We ALL start before the story
really begins at first.
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mary rosenblum
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Often, what you think is a
good start is better brought in as a flashback or information that comes
out through later conversation.
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mary rosenblum
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Even in novels!
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mary rosenblum
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I critiqued a novel workshop
in Texas this summer...
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mary rosenblum
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was reading first three
chapters and the synopsis.
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mary rosenblum
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And one book really needed to
start with chapter three.
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mary rosenblum
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The first two chapters were
nothing but back story and chapter three really rocked!
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mary rosenblum
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Often you'll decide on your
beginning after you complete draft one.
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mary rosenblum
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Especially if you don't really
know how your story goes when you start.
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mary rosenblum
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What seems to be an
appropriate start may not be by the time you type 'the end'.
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mary rosenblum
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One of the things that seems
to happen...
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mary rosenblum
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is that when we sit down to
write a novel, we are fired up...we have that great start and our
characters race into the story, fuelled by our excitement.
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mary rosenblum
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We see our end in the distance
and like a mountain on a clear day, it's close enough to touch.
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mary rosenblum
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Then...a few scenes
later...that 'strong start energy' peters out, we are facing either a few
or many pages depending on whether we are writing a short story or novel...
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mary rosenblum
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and we realize that we have
this sort of chasm between here and the end.
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mary rosenblum
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Now sometimes, a simple break
will fix the problem.
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mary rosenblum
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Often you are simply TIRED.
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mary rosenblum
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It is nearly impossible to
keep up that 'starting' rush all the way through a story or a novel.
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mary rosenblum
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If you think you've got plenty
of action/events/character conflict but it just feels 'blah' to you right
now...
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mary rosenblum
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don't beat your head against
the screen. Bad for your head. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Go do something else. It won't
go away. The market will wait for you.
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mary rosenblum
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This is why I work on multiple
projects at once.
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mary rosenblum
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I think I have about five in
various stages of creation right now. Maybe six.
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mary rosenblum
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When one feels flat, I go work
on something else.
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mary rosenblum
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When I come back to this, I am
fresh and if it still feels flat, then it IS flat.
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mary rosenblum
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But often, I come back with
renewed interest, energy, and frequently inspiration about how to do what I
need to do.
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mary rosenblum
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You will often hear that you
should finish a project before you begin a new one...
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mary rosenblum
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but unless that is your way of
NEVER finishing ANYTHING, I don't agree.
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wolf122
|
Can you ever have a race from
the start that meets the race to the end at the middle? Or should you
definetely 'spread' the middle out a bit more?
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mary rosenblum
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You can, wolf, but some
'valley's are helpful, too.
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mary rosenblum
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You can have a single long
steep rise to your climax...
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mary rosenblum
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but if your characters are all
busy reacting to danger, fighting, arguing, and doing other intense
things...
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mary rosenblum
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we don't get a chance to see
the character revelations that occur when characters are NOT stressed.
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mary rosenblum
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And think about
desensitization on your readers' part.
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mary rosenblum
|
Fifty seven chain saw murders
in a novel are going to eventually bore readers no matter how graphic the
details.
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mary rosenblum
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One stabbing in the shower can
have a MUCh greater impact.
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mary rosenblum
|
Think of a roller coaster...
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mary rosenblum
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it is the contrast between the
slow uphill climb as we anticipate...and the RUSH to the bottom once we get
over the top.
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mary rosenblum
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Driving along at 70 isn't
nearly as exciting and the coaster might only hit 60 on the down slope.
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mary rosenblum
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What you don't want are peaks
and valleys and a huge flat desert in the middle.
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zubbycat
|
How do you get away from telling
too much backstory in the middle and dragging the middle down? You don't
want to dump it all at the beginning and slow the story.
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mary rosenblum
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Don't tell it in the middle,
zubby. That is the cause of flat middles in many short stories! The back
story gets dumped there as a huge, steaming expository lump.
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mary rosenblum
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Give us a little back story
with every paragraph.
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mary rosenblum
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That is how you find out about
your new co-worker... a bit at a time.
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mary rosenblum
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So you are mimicking reality.
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mary rosenblum
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MAKE your characters reveal
their backstory.
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mary rosenblum
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When they talk to other
characters...what they say, their tone, the words that reveal their world
view and prejudices.
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mary rosenblum
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As they act...what they do and
do not do tells us a lot about them.
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mary rosenblum
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What I do see quite often in
novice ms..
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mary rosenblum
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is a really strong dramatic
start (they read all the books on doing starts right...)...
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mary rosenblum
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and then two pages of narrated
back story. The story then jerks back into motion on the far side of this
expository bog.
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mary rosenblum
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Unfortunately, your reader
sank out of sight in it, leaving only a few bubbles on the surface...
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mary rosenblum
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Too bad.
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mary rosenblum
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If you need to get backstory
across and need to liven up that middle..
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mary rosenblum
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ask yourself a couple of
questions.
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mary rosenblum
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What does my reader really
need to know?
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mary rosenblum
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And how can I force my
character to reveal that information?
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mary rosenblum
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Say we need to know that the
MC's younger sister was killed by a kidnapper when he was ten and he has
always felt it was his fault.
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mary rosenblum
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How can you do something to
liven up that middle and force him to reveal that? Any suggestions?
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mary rosenblum
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There's no wrong answe and a
hundred ways to do it.
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mary rosenblum
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through what, lordjaw?
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mary rosenblum
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I have the first two parts of
your question... :-)
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info
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maybe he has nightmares about it
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mary rosenblum
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Sure! That's a good one.
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mary rosenblum
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Dreams and nightmares are a
great way to handle a needed flashback and add dramatic action.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor. I've published seven novels and
more than 60 short stories and will do my best to answer any questions you
have. Today we're talking about those pesky 'middles'. If you're new here,
remember that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word
bubble' next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to
ask a question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask
and type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for
you..
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lordjaw
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How often and what methods can
be used to keep the descript
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lordjaw
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description of characters in the
reader's mind through the m
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mary rosenblum
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I don't have the whole
question, but enough to go on, I think.
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lordjaw
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middle of the story
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mary rosenblum
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Ah. Thanks!
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mary rosenblum
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You don't need to, Lordjaw...
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mary rosenblum
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Once you have painted in the
main details for the reader, each reader will create his or her image of
the characters.
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mary rosenblum
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If your character is tall she
will act tall..
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mary rosenblum
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she will look over peoples
heads, grab jars off top shelves..
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mary rosenblum
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but you don't need to remind
us over and over that she has black hair and blue eyes.
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mary rosenblum
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Fiction is interactive. My
heroine doesn't look like your image of my heroine!
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info
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maybe he sees something similar
that reminds him of what happen
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mary rosenblum
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That's a good way, too, info.
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mary rosenblum
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And they can both liven up
that desert.
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mary rosenblum
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What if he sees something that
LOOKS like a kidnapping and nearly gets arrested for interfering with a
father and his son?
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zubbycat
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Another idea - maybe he goes
home for Thanksgiving and seeing the family brings back the memories
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mary rosenblum
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That works...or he gets a
letter from someone, or runs across an old clipping...
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mary rosenblum
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and if you need him to be
somewhere else or do something else, that might work as a lever, too.
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speckledorf
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Do you think we fall back too
often on the flashbacks or dreams to fill in backstory instead of forcing
our characters to tell us?
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mary rosenblum
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Some writers do.
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mary rosenblum
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Yes, readers will recognize
that opening nightmare for what it is...back story. :-) It's like having
your character look into the mirror.
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mary rosenblum
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But if that dream is exciting
and a great hook, do I care that you're feeding me hints? Nah.
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mary rosenblum
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Just make 'em work.
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speckledorf
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What about a situation where you
have a great beginning, a dynamite ending but have no idea of what happens
in the middle, or how to get to that wonderful end?
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, you're going to hate me
for this answer, speck.
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mary rosenblum
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Ready?
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mary rosenblum
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Make something up.
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mary rosenblum
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REAL specific, right?
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mary rosenblum
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But I"m not kidding.
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mary rosenblum
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Throw darts.
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mary rosenblum
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Roll dice.
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mary rosenblum
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Car accident. Dog attack.
Flash flood. Burglar. Number each one, roll a dice and decide how to make
that fit.
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mary rosenblum
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All kidding aside, pick
something exciting and then figure out how it ties into your plot.
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mary rosenblum
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You're likely to find a way,
you know.
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mary rosenblum
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Okay, she's going to be
driving home and see someone get sideswiped and go into the ditch.
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mary rosenblum
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She stops and helps. Now what.
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mary rosenblum
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Maybe this person has some
connection to the crime she's investigating..
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mary rosenblum
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but she doesn't know it yet.
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mary rosenblum
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(And neither do I)...
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mary rosenblum
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so how can she stay connected
to him until I can figure out how to use the connection and also entertain
the reader?
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mary rosenblum
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Hmmm...he's hurt and she takes
him to the ER...
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mary rosenblum
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vivid scene of activity and
blood. :-) She maybe acts a bit heroic even if nobody knows but her...
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mary rosenblum
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we are entertained...and
something about his half-conscious babbling rings a bell...
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mary rosenblum
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so she'll go back later and
visit him....OR....he shows up later to thank her and she discovers the
connection then.
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mary rosenblum
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If one scenario doesn't work,
roll the dice again. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Starting with a little
dramatic event gives you a launching point.
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birdonawire
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This is a little off topic... In
the middle of an article I'm writing, I am quoting from a newspaper
article, and on-line news article, and a research report. Do I have to a)
just mention the source in the body of the article; b) add a bibliography
at the end; c) get permission d) some or all of the above?
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mary rosenblum
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You need to get permission,
bird.
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mary rosenblum
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Someone recently offered a
great illustration of why...
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mary rosenblum
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if you steal Bob's hundred
dollars is it okay if you tell the clerk where you spend it, that it's
Bob's hundred dollars?
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mary rosenblum
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You will almost always get
permission. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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If you are not quoting from
the sources, but merely refer to them...
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mary rosenblum
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then you list your sources for
your editor and maybe include a bibliography as a side bar.
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zubbycat
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would a good way to liven up a
sagging section be to use the dream thing again - but a foreshadowing
nightmare rather than something from the MC's past?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, you can do that, but I'd
be a bit careful you don't open a can of worms here. Does that mean that
this person has prescient dreams? What are the rules here?
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mary rosenblum
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Arousing too many 'off-topic'
questions can hurt you rather than help you!
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roe
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maybe he comes across an old
photo, or newspaper article about the incident when he's cleaning out a
closet, drawer, whatever
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mary rosenblum
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That's a good way.
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mary rosenblum
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And if you can couple that
with a dramatic peak, you've added back story AND waked up your middle.
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mary rosenblum
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make it a game.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember...banging your head
against the monitor is bad for your monitor!
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mary rosenblum
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And they're expensive.
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mary rosenblum
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Do the dice roll thing.
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mary rosenblum
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List twelve dramatic events,
and never mind whether they are probable, as long as they are possible.
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mary rosenblum
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Roll the dice and start asking
questions.
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mary rosenblum
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What will happen?
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mary rosenblum
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What might happen next?
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mary rosenblum
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Go ahead and extrapolate...you
can dump it!
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mary rosenblum
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Don't feel you have to do it
NOW...
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mary rosenblum
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play with it for a couple of
days.
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mary rosenblum
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If the event and extrapolation
feel cold, try another one.
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mary rosenblum
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Sometimes just contemplating a
bunch of possibilities is enough to shake you out of that 'what happens
now?' stall.
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mary rosenblum
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The big danger, I have found
over the years, is feeling that there is ONE path and that you must find
THAT path.
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mary rosenblum
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Not so. There are many many
paths.
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mary rosenblum
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Go get lost and see where you
end up. Keep the original copy so you can trash anything that doesn't work.
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mary rosenblum
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and PLAY.
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mary rosenblum
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Often you really will find
some gems along the way.
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speckledorf
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I found a good way to come up
with "what if" ideas is to brainstorm with a writer friend...she
had ideas I never considered. Really helped my middle.
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mary rosenblum
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Oh yes.
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mary rosenblum
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One of the greatest values to
ME with writers groups is the brainstorming aspect.
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mary rosenblum
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Those 'what if' sessions are
great!
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mary rosenblum
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The informal chat sessions
here are wonderful for that.
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mary rosenblum
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I've gotten two good story
ideas that way in the past few weeks...just finished the first draft of
one.
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roe
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I like that and PLAY. I think as
new writers we sometimes take this too serious.
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, lord, we are WAY too
serious!
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mary rosenblum
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Hey, guilty as charged, back
then!!!
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mary rosenblum
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It takes you some success and
exposure to the 'behind the scenes' world of writers and editors to
realize...
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mary rosenblum
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that you are NOT judged by a
single story, that they are like bunches of grapes or pumpkins.
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mary rosenblum
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Some bunches are gorgeous and
some have a few withered grapes...
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mary rosenblum
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does that reflect on YOU? Nah.
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birdonawire
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I think that staying away from
the cookie jar is a good way to help my middle!!
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mary rosenblum
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I'm laughing, bird!
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mary rosenblum
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Actually stuck middles are
where I put on weight. I go eat!
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mary rosenblum
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But I lose it all when I'm
doing revisions. Then I forget to eat, LOL
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tkat_2
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I think this is why there is a
hatred of writing.
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mary rosenblum
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It is. We really forget that
this needs to be FUN.
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mary rosenblum
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Lord, I sure don't make enough
money to do it for the pay! LOL!!!!
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mary rosenblum
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I'd BETTER have a good time
doing it.
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mary rosenblum
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And I do.
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mary rosenblum
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I'm always sad when I finish a
novel.
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mary rosenblum
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I love playing in my worlds.
And I DO play.
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mary rosenblum
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If I'm bored, I find something
to make the scene more fun.
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mary rosenblum
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Take risks!
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mary rosenblum
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Try something utterly
improbable and see if you can make it work.
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mary rosenblum
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Bring in a really over the top
character.
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mary rosenblum
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If you don't like it...you
have your original remember.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, this has been a fun
Oregon Hour and Annie the Wunder Puppy has been a sweetheart about sleeping
through it once more, on my sweatshirt at my feet. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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She's getting this Form thing
down nicely. Not bad for nine weeks.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll post the transcript in
Writing Craft: Forum Transcripts.
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mary rosenblum
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Any requests for Tuesday or
next Friday?
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wolf122
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next friday--the exciting world
of editing--the inside scoop?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure wolf...good one.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll do that, including what
you can expect to have to do after you sell that draft.
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zubbycat
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Something on self-editing would
be nice!
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mary rosenblum
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How about 'Cutting and
Tightening'...the basic how to? Can you make Tuesday Forums zubby?
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zubbycat
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I have a day job so I can only
make evenings. :(
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mary rosenblum
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I'll do it the friday after,
then.
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roe
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How about an open brainstorming
for Tuesday
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mary rosenblum
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Hmm...bring an idea? See where
they go? How about that?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, I'll go post this to the
Forum Transcripts.
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mary rosenblum
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See you all on Sunday!
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mary rosenblum
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Drop by for our casual
chat...same time as this forum.
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mary rosenblum
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Good night all, thanks for
coming!
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mary rosenblum
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Have a good weekend, all!
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