Mixing the Strange with the Normal

Okay, so it's almost Halloween, and that seems like a good time to be mish-mashing parts together to create a monster.

Or, in this case, mish-mashing ideas together to create a unique story.

BTW, I'm totally stealing this from a talk Dan Wells gave at this Book Academy thing I went to last week. He said that the best story ideas are born from one normal thing, and one strange thing.

And for the life of me, I couldn't identify the "normal" thing or the "strange" thing in my WiP. So then, as per my usual, I started panicking. Now, don't get all alarmed. I panic if I leave my phone in the car. So yeah.

I didn't really panic. I may or may not have had a tiny bit of fear creeping its way up my stomach. You know the kind. Oh my heck. What if my story sucks? What if I should've outlined it first? Or at least thought about it? You've got 30K, girl, and IT ALL STINKS. DELETE IT! DELETE IT NOW!

You know. That kind of fear.

But I veer off-topic, as I'm wont to do.

So Dan said to mix something normal (say, buying a dog) with something strange (say, the dog has the ability to give people special powers when they pet it).

He challenged the Book Academy attendees to start keeping an idea journal, where we're supposed to write down 5 story ideas each day.

I'll freely admit I haven't done that. Not even for one day. But I'd like to. I'd like to start seeing if I can come up with some strange bedfellows and create them into a story.

What do you think? Do you mix the strange with the normal? Do you keep an idea journal/file? Wouldn't you love a dog that could give you the power to snap your fingers and have dinner ready? I mean, seriously.

How to Write a Synopsis

Okay, so I've spent some time on how to write query letters. I've had some people request that I give some secrets for writing a synopsis.

Sadly, I suck at synop's just like everyone else on the planet. But I do have a skeleton system that I use.

First, everything I say from here on out will make a heap more sense if you go to Author Dan Wells' site and read his Seven Points of Story Structure. (I've met Dan and he's written two AMAZING novels, so you should get and read those too (I Am Not A Serial Killer and Mr. Monster), but most of all, click on his video or powerpoint for these seven points.)

Once you've gone through the powerpoint and wondered how on earth you've written a book without this information, you're ready to write a synopsis. Now, don't freak out, but you're going to start with a 7-sentence synop.

So sit down, crack your knuckles, think of your story, and write ONE SENTENCE for each of these areas:

• Hook - how the story starts
• Plot Turn 1 - introduces the main conflict - moves the story toward the midpoint
• Pinch 1 - introduces the villain/pressure to force action
• Midpoint - the point at which your story moves from beginning to ending
• Pinch 2 - more pressure/problems, so many that the situation appears hopeless
• Plot Turn 2 - the MC has what they need to overcome the main conflict - moves the story from midpoint to ending
• Resolution - how your story ends

In fact, Dan advises that you actually think about all these things BEFORE you write your story (Hey, don't look at me! You know I don't do this), which means that technically, you should be able to write your synop before you write the novel.

So give it a try. I especially like slide #46 as a means to write the skeleton of your synopsis. Okay, so go, write, conquer.

Coming up next week: How to fill out your skeletal 7-sentence synop.

What do you think? Isn't Dan amazing? Can you write a synopsis in only 7 sentences?

Don't Be A Shlumpy Underachiever

Yeah, so I went to a conference last weekend. I presented. It was pretty good, but I had to condense 2 hours of stuff into 50 minutes. I didn't get to tell as many jokes or go off on as many tangents. I did keep the picture of Legolas. *swoon*

But this is not a post about THAT.

No. This is about rising above the shlumpy underachiever. Dan Wells (I Am Not A Serial Killer -- go read it, stat) gave a presentation on story structure. I've heard it before, so I just sat back and relaxed.

And you know what? He's pretty funny too! One of the things he said was "shlumpy underachiever."

I LOL'ed. (The poor people next to me.)

So I'm here today to tell you how to avoid becoming a shlumpy underachiever. Some pointers:

1. Take showers. This will eliminate your physical shlumpiness, thus giving the persona of non-shlumpy. Hey, at least pretend, right?

2. Recognize that you have the Force. This will allow you to become Neo ("I am the One.") or Luke ("Use the Force, Luke!") but in your own special way. You might need to pen a motto for yourself. Mine? "Hey, at least I didn't kill anyone."

3. Share your awesome. This will help you realize that there are a lot of other people out there trying to be less shlumpy too. (I'm dishing on why I write YA here. And I'm one of the prizes in a pretty cool contest thingy here. No, I won't come home with you, but we can Skype...)

What are you doing to avoid becoming a shlumpy underachiever? What could you do better? Me? You expect me to confess? Well, all right. I seriously need to get on the treadmill or I'm going to d-i-e when tennis starts in oh, two weeks. Yikes.