What can we learn from Stephen King?

One of my favorite books (maybe my very favorite) about writing, is Stephen King's, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Below are some of the highlights:

What do you think of this advice? What tips do you have for writing? What's your favorite book on the craft?

 

Tweet this: What's your favorite book on writing?

Karla Akins is an award-winning, prolific writer of books, short stories, plays, poems, songs, and countless nonfiction articles. Her biography for middle grades, Jacques Cartier, went #1 in its category on Amazon. Her first fiction novel, The Pastor's Wife Wears Biker Boots, was released in 2013. Her short stories have been published in several magazines including Havok and Splickety. When she's not reading she's writing. When she's not writing she is zooming along on her motorcycle looking for treasure. Learn more at KarlaAkins.com.

Too Cliché, or Not Too Cliché… That Is the Question

Clichés. They're so common that finding them is easy as shooting fish in a barrel. In fact, because we're so used to clichés, people take to using them like a fish takes to water. However, I want to caution you against them. Avoid clichés like the plague. Don't touch one with a ten-foot pole! After all, amateur writers use them most often, and since birds of a feather flock together, you won't be able to pull the wool over any editor's eyes if you use them, too. 

So, what exactly is a cliché?  In essence, any time someone begins a phrase, and the listener (or reader) knows exactly how the phrase is going to end, that’s a cliché. A cliché is almost like a joke that is as old as the hills. The punch line of an overused joke is light as a feather. Likewise, the original clever wording of a cliché no longer rings like a bell. Its oomph is simply gone with the wind.

“Oh, I would never use clichés,” you might think. Well, don’t be too quick to blow your own horn about it. (And if you make that claim, I’ll have a bone to pick with you.) These expressions try to creep into the pages of even seasoned authors. In order to spot them in your manuscripts, you will need the eyes of an eagle and must be sharp as a tack. You’ll need to keep your shoulder to the wheel, your nose to the grindstone!

However, don’t be discouraged. After all, every cloud has a silver lining. If you’re willing to go the extra mile in exterminating these lazy expressions, you won’t need to run around like a chicken with its head cut off when it’s time to revise your manuscript for submission. In fact, right off the top of my head, I can think of several reasons why a personal war on clichés will make you happy as a clam. For starters, cliché-ridden stories are automatically dead as a door nail in the eyes of a literary agent or editor. (Any wannabe writer who disagrees is simply barking up the wrong tree.) Clichés make a manuscript ugly as sin, but if your stories don’t have any, then your manuscripts will be clean as a whistle, which will certainly be a load off your mind. So, looking before you leap will make you appear as wise as Solomon in the publishing world.

“Oh, let sleeping dogs lie,” some might blurt. “Don’t open a can of worms,” others suggest. However, I suspect those who say such things have already been caught red-handed. They are guilty of this very crime, and here I am, rubbing salt into the wounds of writers who have a chip on their shoulder.

“It’s a nice rule, but rules are made to be broken! You’re just beating a dead horse.” Yeah, right. The ones who complain this way might believe they march to the beat of a different drummer (with a superior tune). That’ll be the day. It’s high time they wake up and smell the coffee instead of resting on their laurels. If they truly believe that, then they have a few loose screws and simply are not playing with a full deck. Instead, what they truly need to do is bite the bullet and take the bull by the horns in an effort to jump on the bandwagon to improve their writing skills. Yes, yes, I realize this decision will keep them busy as a bee. It might even make them feel as though they have bitten off more than they can chew on this wild goose chase we call writing for publication.

However, look on the bright side. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. But, good things come to those who wait. So even though time is money, a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Take that first step and resolve to eradicate the clichés lurking in your writing. No more Mister Nice Guy, because nice guys finish last. 

When he's not rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off, Rick Barry is the author of over 200 published short stories and articles, plus two novels. Visit his personal blog at http://rickbarry.blogspot.com.

The Reader's Journey

By Rick Barry


The older man grinned a funny grin, as if he were about to make a confession. Then he quietly said, "Whenever I read a book, I kinda pretend like that's me in the story."

My senior citizen friend didn't need to confess. Without asking, I already knew. How did I know? Because whenever any reader begins a novel, to some degree that reader becomes the main character. Sure, the protagonist might be named Ishmael and sail aboard Captain Ahab's Pequod. Or the hero might be an Amish woman who pulls an unconscious pilot from a crashed airplane. But regardless of the gender, location, and time period, whenever a reader follows--word after word--the adventure of a character in a book, that reader begins to identify with the hero. Questions arise. Am I missing clues to the serial killer? What would I do in that situation? In other words, the hero's journey also becomes the reader's journey.

I believe this fact helps to explain why relatively few men read romance stories written from a woman's point of view. Not so many men care to "become" a woman who is falling in love with a guy. That's simply not a journey they care to take. However, take the same male reader and give him a copy of The Hunger Games, and yes, he just might join the tomboy Katniss as she stares fate in the eye armed only with her bow and arrows.

No story universally appeals to everyone. However, when you keep in mind that the reader becomes the hero and joins the journey, you begin to understand why certain books appeal to various readers. People who read fiction often long for an experience of transcendence. That is, they want to belong in some other place, if only for a while. For some, that longing might be for a simpler life in a small house on the western prairie, or perhaps an Amish community. For others, that longing might be for action. Their yearning could compel them to pick up a novel that places them in the thick of battle, or on the bridge of the USS Enterprise. Others yet find satisfaction in "joining" imaginary friends on a dangerous trek across Middle-earth.

The goal of a story might be to win something, or to escape a situation, to retrieve a valuable object, or simply to stop an event from occurring. However, regardless of the actual goal, the writer who keeps in mind that he or she is penning the reader's journey (as opposed to just a story) stands a far better chance of hooking a reader's attention and holding it all the way to THE END.

Rick Barry is the author of over 200 published short stories and articles, plus two novels. Visit his personal blog at http://rickbarry.blogspot.com.

What inspires you?

Source: Wikimedia Commons

As imaginative writers, many things inspire us: sunsets, mountains, romantic candlelight. Maybe it’s a memory of our childhood, a nightmare, or our latest trip to the mall. We're constantly people watching, thinking up new plot lines, creating “what if” scenarios in our minds.

We go to conferences to learn the logistics of fashioning a book,meeting agents or networking with publishers. We spend valuable time on group emails, building an online platform, and gathering friends on Facebook. There’s nothing wrong with doing these things. It’s part of the job. We need to be the best that we can be and  fellowship with other writers to feel inspired, encouraged or validated.

Sometimes, though, we look too hard for inspiration, when as Christians, we have it inside of us. Sadly, we may forget it’s there, or worse, ignore it.

Job was someone in the Bible who got a lot of advice. He was surrounded by “encouraging” nay sayers who shared their expert opinions: “Quit! Give up! Die!” 

But Job knew where to look for inspiration. He knew Who to listen to:

“But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment” (Job 8 & 9, KJV).

As writers in these last days, we need to work smart, not hard. It’s tempting to take the hard road of going to and fro picking up tidbits here and there. We can wear ourselves out being afraid we might miss some morsel of a publishing secret or writing trend, when all we need to do is get quiet and listen.

To Him.

“What is it you want to say today, Lord? What words do you want on this page?”

I wonder sometimes—do we hurt the Holy Spirit’s tender feelings when we ignore His ideas? His inspiration? How would we feel if we were telling someone the perfect way to succeed but they never took our advice? What makes us think we have better ideas than God?

I am often inspired by thoughtfulness, grief, and the spirit of the overcoming soul. Courageous athletes, cancer survivors, pianists playing Rachmaninoff—these folks receive my awe and attention. But I must remember that my most powerful inspiration comes from the Holy Spirit. He knows better than anyone what needs to be written. He knows better than anyone Who needs a message that God has put me on this planet to write.

He longs to inspire us. He patiently waits for us to listen. All we need do is follow Job’s example, and obey. Obeying His voice is much better than all the sacrifices we make going hither and yon for inspiration. For it is written: “…to obey is better than sacrifice…”(1 Samuel 15:22).

Karla Akins is a pastor's wife, mother of five, grandma to five beautiful little girls and author of O Canada! Her Story. She lives in North Manchester with her husband, twin teenage boys with autism, and three silly dogs. Her favorite color is purple, favorite hobby is book-hoarding, and favorite food group is cupcakes.

"I don't care."

Last night, after I finished page 244 of a 378-page novel, I came to a decision: I wouldn't finish this novel. Why not? Because the author had created a hero who left me apathetic. After 244 pages, I realized, "I don't care what happens next."

Please understand, I do enjoy reading. Finding a novel that grabs the imagination like Velcro and keeps your mind engaged all the way to "The End" is a sweet experience. Unfortunately, the author of the novel that I abandoned failed to do that, at least for me. Since I have far less time for pleasure reading than I'd like, there's simply no reason to waste pleasure-reading time on books that don't capture my imagination.

I pondered the cause of my apathy. Was there no action? Sure, there was action, including a a couple chapters with explosions, a chase scene, a kidnapping, the sinking of a boat, and other dangers. Was the grammar or other style flawed? No, the grammar, punctuation, and style were all fine. I never spotted a single error in mechanics.

The shortcoming was in the main character. Although the hero was handsome, intelligent, and brave, the author had given no reason for me to cheer for this person. I had no reason to care whether he survived or not. What were the hero's goals and aspirations in life? Beats me. What did he think about? Again, no clue. The reader simply followed this guy from one page to the next, watching him face problems and escape dangers, but never truly caring about him as a human being. On the screen of my mind, I "watched" his exploits, but the author gave no insight into the character's mind and soul.

I'm thankful for this experience. As a writer, I too must bring my characters to life in such a way that readers will care, will want to know whether they succeed or fail, whether they live or die. If we writers fail to accomplish that, then we will have no readers. Our fiction will become pointless.

Have you ever read (or at least started) a book that you purposely decided not to finish? If so, what did you find lacking?


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Writing on the Run

Gone for me are back to back hours to write. These days I’m learning to write on the run. (I’m pursuing another degree.)

Agatha Christie got her start writing that way. During World War I she worked as a nurse and later at a dispensary. She spent every spare moment during her down time and in between patients writing.

I may be getting a degree, but I find that first and foremost, I’m a writer. There are too many stories in my head that I’ve got to get out, so I plot and write during boring lectures. While I’m waiting in lines or doctor’s offices, I pull out my notebook and begin to write where I left off during a dull class. When I’m in the car and Mr. Himself is driving, I pull out the notebook and take up where I left off while in the doctor’s waiting room.

I’ve found some advantages to these writing spurts:

• When I rewrite it on the computer, I do an immediate rewrite.

• It gives me a new perspective when I’m typing it out – I think of new things to add or delete.

• My brain is able to slow down and think deeper when I’m writing long-hand on paper than when I’m typing a story. (Of course, the flip side to this is that I can’t write as fast as I can think.)

• I’m becoming an expert cryptologist as I work to decipher my scrawl.

I do miss having long delicious hours to languish at the keyboard and write. But to be honest, writing for long blocks of time can sometimes be frustrating. Writing in small spurts is really fun. I never have writer’s block. And when I have to stop, my brain is more free to ponder what I’ll write the next time I get to pull out the notebook.

What about you? How do you write on the run?

Karla Akins is a pastor's wife, mother of five, and grandma to five beautiful little girls. She lives in North Manchester with her husband, twin teenage boys with autism, and three crazy dogs. Her favorite color is purple, favorite hobby is shoes, and favorite food group is cupcakes.

Taming the beast

If you're gonna write seriously, there's a monster you're gonna have to tame.

This horrible creature lurks in every writer's space and is itching to get under your skin. He's called Inner Editor. He shows no mercy and has an uncanny gift for spreading fear. In order to get past the barriers Inner Editor creates, you're gonna have to tame him and train him. (Or her. My Inner Editor monster happens to be a guy.)

You can't hire it done. You gotta do it yourself. Only you know his quirks and how ruthless he can be.

It's really not as hard as you think. But it does take courage. Courage is the most important weapon to acquire. Courage sedates Inner Editor and puts him into a light dream sleep. But it takes a bit more than that to tame the beast completely.

I don't know what Inner Editor does to you, but in my writing space, he taunts me even before I

open the page.

With venomous, drooling rage, he stalks around my office, steals space in my head and drowns out my inspiration: "You are stuck. You can't pull this off. You're writing drivel. Give it up. Get over it. Move on. What makes you think anyone wants to read what you have to say? Who do you think you are?"

His words have a paralyzing affect.

But if I pick up Courage and keep writing through the taunts, the doubt, the fear, I find Inner Editor backing off. He's really a lot more bark than bite, and like any bully, he backs down as long as I stand up to him.

Here are some other practical weapons I use to fight this merciless monster:

1.I put my butt in the chair and write every single day no matter how I feel, what I'm thinking, and how discouraged I am. I refuse to let Inner Editor win.

2. If I'm stuck, I write anyway. Eventually, without fail, I break through.

3. I remember that untamed, Inner Editor is a liar unless I'm the one controlling him. Once he realizes who's boss, I can bring the gentled monster out of his cage to help me with my second draft (and the third, and the fourth, and the fifth...)

4. I ignore Inner Editor in the first draft and lock him away until I'm sure he can come out and play nice.

5.I refuse to let him win and I refuse to quit. I truly believe it's not the brightest or even the greatest writers that get published. It's the most determined and persistent.

6. I stop my writing session when I'm in a good spot with enough ideas to get started next time. That way I don't freeze and listen to the taunts. Hemmingway used to stop writing when he was excited and didn't want to stop. I think that's a good idea, too.

What do you do to tame the beast? How do you turn off your inner editor?


Karla Akins is a pastor's wife, mother of five, and grandma to five beautiful little girls. She lives in North Manchester with her husband, twin teenage boys with autism, and three crazy dogs. Her favorite color is purple, favorite hobby is shoes, and favorite food group is cupcakes.

Point of View - a Study in Voice

I recently read a publisher's website that stated they did not want submissions in the omniscient voice and it got me thinking about that. Who does that? Would I like it? Maybe they're throwing the baby out with the bathwater on this one. Now, I understand about no head hopping in third person, handle with care first person (The Snowflake - my Christmas novella due out in October is my first experiment with first person) but what exactly is omniscient pov? And is there really anything wrong with it?
A few days later, down another rabbit hole, I looked up one of my childhood favorites - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and there it was . . . omniscient narrative:

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled
Jo, lying on the rug.
"It's so dreadful to be poor!" sighed Meg, looking down at
her old dress.
"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of
pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy,
with an injured sniff.
"We've got Father and Mother, and each other," said Beth
contentedly from her corner.
The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened
at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly,
"We haven't got Father, and shall not have him for a long time."
She didn't say "perhaps never," but each silently added it, thinking
of Father far away, where the fighting was. (This appears in Jo's pov)
Nobody spoke for a minute; then Meg said in an altered tone,
"You know the reason Mother proposed not having any presents this
Christmas was because it is going to be a hard winter for everyone;
and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure, when
our men are suffering so in the army. We can't do much, but we can
make our little sacrifices, and ought to do it gladly. But I am
afraid I don't." And Meg shook her head, as she thought regretfully
of all the pretty things she wanted. (Now we're in Meg's pov)
"But I don't think the little we should spend would do any
good. We've each got a dollar, and the army wouldn't be much helped
by our giving that. I agree not to expect anything from Mother or
you, but I do want to buy UNDINE AND SINTRAM for myself. I've
wanted it so long," said Jo, who was a bookworm. (Jo's pov if she's the person we are in their head, if not omniscient)
"I planned to spend mine in new music," said Beth, with a
little sigh, which no one heard but the hearth brush and kettle
holder. (Omniscient pov)
"I shall get a nice box of Faber's drawing pencils. I
really need them," said Amy decidedly.
"Mother didn't say anything about our money, and she won't
wish us to give up everything. Let's each buy what we want, and
have a little fun. I'm sure we work hard enough to earn it," cried
Jo, examining the heels of her shoes in a gentlemanly manner. (Back in Jo's pov or omniscient)
"I know I do--teaching those tiresome children nearly all
day, when I'm longing to enjoy myself at home," began Meg, in the
complaining tone again.
"Don't peck at one another, children. Don't you wish we
had the money Papa lost when we were little, Jo? Dear me! How
happy and good we'd be, if we had no worries!" said Meg, who
could remember better times. (Omniscient)
"You said the other day you thought we were a deal happier
than the King children, for they were fighting and fretting all
the time, in spite of their money."
"Birds in their little nests agree," sang Beth, the
peacemaker, with such a funny face that both sharp voices
softened to a laugh, and the "pecking" ended for that time. (Omniscient)

Okay, lots of head hopping going on here, but really it doesn't feel as if we're in any one's head. It feels as if the camera is zoomed out and giving us an overall view of the scene. I find I don't mind it. It gives me information about each character and what they think and feel, who they are. If we were only in Jo's pov it would be quite different, wouldn't it? How she views her sisters. But, wait a minute. That kind of comes through after all, with the way it is written. It's Jo we end up identifying with in Little Women as the main character/narrator and maybe that's because the omniscient view isn't really omniscient after all. Maybe it's Jo's way of telling a first person pov story. Now that's confusing! And interesting to me.

Thoughts?

Jamie Carie
www.jamiecarie.com

FRESHEN UP THAT PROSE!

Write fresh, we’re told. Be creative—but be concise! Don’t slow down pacing with too much description. Use colorful, active verbs. Slash adverbs. Don’t dump too many beats into dialogue. And above all, above all, avoid clichés like the plague! *oops*

So what’s an author to do? I swear I could write a book in the time I sit and ponder and deliberate and brood and contemplate and mull over a new way to write a simple but worn out phrase.  But I’m learning. Using a Thesaurus helps with alternative word choices (like ponder, above). And reworking clichés can be fun. Instead of “quiet as a mouse” you can say “quiet as a sleeping mouse” or “quiet as the Night Before Christmas mouse” or “quiet as a Romano cheese stuffed mouse.” Hmmmm, *sigh* guess you gotta work on those too.

My favorite way to be creative is with similes and metaphors. They are truly jewels—precise, evocative, delightful to the reader’s taste buds (okay, that’s a mixed metaphor: jewels and taste buds have nothing in common—really, I just wanted to give a an example of what not to do!) But don’t go crazy and use them too often or they lose their beauty and become irritating (like the author is trying too hard and drawing attention to herself instead of letting the story flow). Space them out—maybe no more than one per page, at the most.

The Scriptures are full of similes and metaphors, especially in the psalms. Look at the power these simple images convey, and the emotion they evoke:

Psalm 59:14-15 And at evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city. They wander up and down for food, And howl if they are not satisfied. [The Wicked]

Psa. 61:3 For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. [Protection]

Psa.63:1 My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. [Joy in fellowship]

Psa. 69:1-2 Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, Where there is no standing. [Troubled]

Psa. 72:6 He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth. [Messiah’s reign]

Psa 75:8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, And the wine is red; It is fully mixed, and He pours it out; Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth Drain and drink down. [Judgment of the wicked]

Proverbs 25:11 says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Yes! That’s what we want—fresh writing, words fitly spoken! Similes and metaphors are wonderful, pithy vehicles for creativity, loveliness, power, emotional impact, and uniqueness. Do you use them?

Steph Prichard