These are notes I took from a wonderful writing symposium called Life, the Universe, and Everything. We have a lot of talented people in Utah and visitors with a great deal of knowledge. Any Misinformation is the fault of the note taker.
– What tools do you use to start deciding how to tell it?
– Short fiction is like the Olympics. You can watch everything about the Olympics. From preparation, the event, and after the show an exit interview. That’s a novel. Short fiction YouTube watched the flipping event. Think about what the core or nugget is of the story. First three sentences where we are, who we are with and something on the genre.
– What is our conflict and how to get the character to that conflict? The amount of conflict to a goal will determine the length.
– As a discovery writer will just start writing. What if a mermaid lives on land and discovers she is a mermaid.
– When writing a story an idea will divert the story in a different direction.
– Some writers do that and then need to incorporate that subplot into the story.
– Some write an outline and then things will change the idea and the writer will change their outline to cater to the new idea.
– The outline is used to hold parts of the story that won’t hold in your memory.
– First 13 sentences have the first conflict. Shows half a page. The sooner the conflict the faster-paced the story feels. Must have the conflict.
Q: how to use words for the plot, conflict.
– Setup of the story to be in the first paragraph. Who is the character, what their conflict is, or what happens they are not expecting?
– Try to nail the tone in the first to second paragraphs.
– Try to not put everything in. You need to leave a mystery to turn the page.
– Try to have a character interact with the environments around them. Show emotional response illustrated by how interacting with the room.
– Description through action. What are they doing? Make sure you are in the head of your character.
– Action driven opening: character doing something
– Voice drive opening is driven by the narrative voice. Using rich language that reflects the tonal quality of the character.
– It was the silence of three parts> beginning of a story. Name of the wind first line.
– https://www.reddit.com/r/KingkillerChronicle/comments/7tv0gn/what_is_the_silence_of_three_partsspoilers_all/ –
– The first line is to give an insight into the character. Steel heart by Brandon Sanderson example: I’ve seen steal heart bleed.
– Beginning voyage of the Don Tredder. (I may be wrong)There was a boy
– If you were a dinosaur, my love, you would be a T Rex.
– Favorite opening: Larry >monster hunter > he the chance to live the American dream. He was able to throw his boss off a 14-floor window.
– Don’t want the opening to be overly wordy. You want to have a word appropriate to convey the message.
Q: how make the promised made by the opening line is fulfilled by the end of the story/ book?
– Start with something very powerful. Carry snarky character and based on personal8iyt want to carry that personality through and explore that character. Write it and then review it to see how to character developed.
– Flash fiction: like when an author can take the first sentence and reference that line at the end of the story. The word does double duty. The beginning has more meaning when reading the end.
– James Bond opens the scene with action and using technology used to help on his mission. You need to think of the kinds of conflict.
– When something is sagging> how did you know?
– Critique partners can help find sagging spots.
– When coming to those parts > need to increase the tension or increase the conflict between characters. The sagging moment can be caused because everyone is getting along.
– The fastest way to find out something is slow is when you get bored.
– Read the scene and see if skimming or feel drowsy, there may not be a reason to care about the character.
– Each chapter needs to have its own plotline or objective and climax to keep the story moving along. Do this by having each chapter ends with a cliff hanger.
– For discovery writers. Nancy crest will junk the entire manuscript and will write it over again. Takes the first draft to figure out what the story is about.
– Started writing a book using Namo. https://nanowrimo.org/
– Need to know what needs to be done for a certain beat. Then revise it to fix plot holes, and another revision to deepen the characters. Four reviews to make the text be pretty.
Tools to fix overwritten?
– 10% of techniques cut pros by 10%. 100 words cut by ten words. It forces you to concentrate on what words are important. She walked away when revised, could be: she retreated.
– Another technique is one sentence for a concept. Look at a long test highlight the concepts that you just have or the story will break. And then pull out the essentials can help in certain sections of the book.
– For short stories and looking at short story calls and have word count guidelines. To submit have to put down the text to fit their guidelines.
Use of tension
– Tension does not have to be a fight. It can be internal where someone has to make a choice. Or someone is put into a situation where they are not comfortable with.
– Big fan to giving the readers a chance to rest. You need landings in the stairs to give the person a chance to rest. Notice the things in the beginning. Put rest spots in the middle of the chapter.
Q: How does the nature of your revisions change based on what portion of the book.
– There is more drinking at the end of the book.
– Do a large structure pass first. Make notes where changes need to be made so it doesn’t shift the focus of the book.
– Want to be tighter at the end of the story for tension and pacing.
– After writing a book sketch out the outline to see what are the high points, which area sages, or where are too many intense scenes?
