Putting Chubby Checker in Your Story

Okay, I know it’s physically impossible for me to do it now without doing damage to my body (and the eyesight of people viewing me), but I used to do a mean Twist. Baby Boomers remember the dance that threw your body into a human spiral pasta.

Nathan Fillion as mystery writer Richard Castle

I was reminded of the Twist in an episode of ABC’s new show CASTLE. It was just a matter of time before I thought of a way to blog about this show. It stars Nathan Fillion, late of the ill-fated FIREFLY series, the movie WAITRESS, last season’s hero in DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, and the DR. HORRIBLE online show. I LOVE Nathan Fillion–he twinkles, to me, the way James Garner did in his younger years. (If you love Jimmy, you know what I mean.)

Anyhow, back to the Twist. Fillion’s character is a best-selling author who shadows the NYPD homicide detectives as he gets inspiration for the new lead character in his murder mystery series. He plays cards with James Patterson and Stephen Cannell in the first episode and is distracted by the case the police think they have solved. As Richard Castle recounts the details of supposedly solved murders as if they were part of the plot of a book, Patterson and Cannell ask, “Is that it? Where’s the twist? There’s no twist.” Applying the principles of story-telling to police work, Castle realizes that the murders have all been solved too easily and that there must be a twist. (Take a peek at the superstar writers’ game here.)

All of this is to say (besides saying to watch CASTLE on Mondays on ABC), remember to put the twist in your story–the surprise or truth that the reader isn’t expecting. If your story goes in a straight line, it’s going to be boring and abandoned by the reader. But your twist has to be believable and logical in the framework of your plot. To read a bit on how to decide on a twist for your story, read James Bell Scott’s PLOT & STRUCTURE, pp 106-107.

In the meantime, just write CHUBBY CHECKER on a piece of paper or print out his picture and hang it in your work space. It will be a visual reminder to make your story interesting and memorable!

Poems Bloom During Poetry Month

It’s spring–or at least it’s supposed to be–and that means Poetry Month is right around the corner.

Starting on April 1, Robert Lee Brewer of Writers Digest will host a Poem-a-Day Challenge on his poetry blog. Participants will be able to post a poem a day and the top poems each day will be considered for the top spots for the month. Thirty of the best poems will be published in an eBook. It doesn’t sound like money is involved, but it frequently isn’t where poetry is involved.

Everyone who completes the PAD challenge will receive an e-certificate and an online badge to post on their blogs or websites. Check it out on Robert’s blog.

Putting It All Together

My *Year of No Excuses* has turned into, well, a year of detours. After my mom came home from the hospital earlier this year, I still couldn’t get myself back into my writing routine. I took a detour to do taxes and my son’s FAFSA (where do they think you’re supposed to get all of this money, huh?), but still wasn’t ready to write. So over a week ago, I took two actions I hoped would get me back to work.

1. I bought a timer. It’s just a simple wind-up timer I got at the grocery store, but I can use it to keep my non-productive web time under control. An hour to check and answer mail, look up any burning questions, and search for whatever goofball thing I’m hunting now should be ample.
2. I decided to make a purse.

Okay, let me tell you upfront that I have NEVER in my life made a purse. But I’ve been searching for a new purse since the longevity of my Vera Bradley microfiber bag was relatively short and the only bag I found that was the right size, the right shape (I like east-west crossbody bags), the right color, and had the compartments I like was over $150 and it was far too pretty to use everyday. So to end this madness and get on with my life, I decided to make my bag.

Putting the pattern together

I used to sew all of the time so I had all of the equipment I needed. I just needed a pattern, which I found was not that easy. So I ended up cobbling together instructions from blogs, a purchased pattern, and handbag craft books. I improvised on the way. When one pattern didn’t do what I wanted, I jumped to another one. When I didn’t think a fabric strap would hold up, I borrowed a heavy duty strap from a bag I wasn’t using. Along the way, I figured out a million things I would do differently if I ever did it again. But I also had time to think about my MG novel that had been in hiatus and eureka! I figured out something wrong in the plot, and also got the idea for the follow-up novel that I didn’t even know I would write. Sometimes getting the creative juices flowing with one endeavor can benefit your writing.

Besides giving me a purse, a plot fix, and a sequel, the whole process reminded me of more than one important thing about writing. The most significant thing was a reminder to take my time. Haste makes waste in sewing and a similar thing happens in writing. Taking the time with the little things can pay off big time.

The other thing is that there is no formula for good writing, just as I didn’t have a pattern for my purse. A lot of newbies will come to conferences and programs looking for the template to publication. There is none.

My Asian-influenced quilted patchwork crossbody bag!

How one person works is completely different than another. Make it up as you go along. Don’t get upset that you don’t write a quota of pages every day. Don’t get upset that you write your first draft long-hand and not on the computer. Don’t get upset that someone in your group got published ahead of you. Take the time you need to put it all together–your vision, your research, your genre reading, your character studies, your rough drafts, your critiques, and your revisions–to make the best book you can.