Baseball Bats

“Teach Yourself By Your Own Mistakes.” William Faulkner

Annie, my eight-year old piano student came to see me today for a lesson. Normally, a very enthusiastic student, she’d had a bad week. A new piece had become intimidating. Her mother said, that Annie couldn’t stand all the mistakes she was making and had stopped practicing. I was gearing up for the “how to practice through the hard times” pep talk, but Annie didn’t look frustrated at all. She was in a great mood and couldn’t wait for me to show her how to play the song. With a huge grin on her face, she said, “I beat my inner critic over the head with a baseball bat to get him to go away!” (“inner critic” her words, not mine).

“Really?” I asked, trying to act as if I heard this every day. “Did it work?”

“Yes,” she yelled, jumping up off the bench and clapping her hands together.

We went on to have a delightful conversation about the various ways to dispose of the inner critic, (she favored putting it on a spider and dipping it into coffee).

I’ve been a songwriter for twenty-five years. A novelist for three. One thing for sure is the ongoing opportunity for making mistakes. Big mistakes. But what exactly is a mistake?

If I define a mistake as not getting it right, then I get discouraged and I’m tempted to give up. If I define a mistake as, “I learned something new, or, as is often the case for me, “I did THAT again!!?, then mistakes can become an interesting challenge.

So how do you cultivate a more positive relationship to your own writing issues? How can you step into a place where you believe that finding a bazillion mistakes in your manuscript will make you a better writer, and you are inspired to forge ahead- avoiding all temptation to shred your manuscript?

Like my student, each of us has to find their own way to relating to mistakes and frustration. Here are a few things I’ve learned over the long years of writing.

-I always make sure to have at least one “YES!” person on my creative support team. They don’t have to be a writer, just someone who loves my work no matter what. (Yes, mothers do count!) Someone who loves my first draft just as much as my last. Once I’ve got uncritical support to help placate the inner judge, I make sure I’ve got a strong critique group. Preferably people who know as much or more about writing than I do.

-Then, I LISTEN to what they have to say. I have a rule that I started years ago when I was a newbie songwriter. The person I played a new song for was required to say “I LOVE this! It’s your best song ever!” (No matter what they really thought). Then and only then, could I hear any feedback-and I was fine with whatever they said. If they gave feedback first, no matter how good or constructive, I often put the song away. This little trick ALWAYS works for me.

-When I moved into novel writing after all those years of songwriting, I had to let go of knowing anything about technique! I was a sponge for new information. Now I understand a lot more about craft and my own writing habits. Still, there are major holes in my writing technique, and probably always will be. So when I get hooked by these issues, I go back to back to something that was easy to do when I was just starting. The Buddhists call it, “Beginner’s Mind”. For me, it’s about taking it one step at a time. It’s about forgiving myself for what I don’t know, and being very gentle with resistance and negative judgement. It brings me back to why I’m writing. Because it’s what I do. Because I love it.

-I try to stay curious. I’m curious about why my writers’ group doesn’t like my chapter, or my dialogue, or my description. I welcome differing opinions. Although finding out I have a recurring “bad” habit in terms of craft is no fun, (You mean other writers DON’T do that??), it’s also liberating. I realize I’m one tiny step further in my quest to be a better writer.

-I’m reminded of a New Age turned high tech platitude (I HATE to use cliches, but this is so true): “Turn your mistakes into opportunities for growth and change.” What’s the point of writing if it isn’t stretching me in some way? The creative process at its fundamental core is about stepping into the unknown. How can I dance with my muse if I stay in my comfort zone? She will get bored and leave me to dance alone. I must admit, it’s the thrill of creating that drives me. Otherwise, why bother? This is HARD and I could be spending my time eating chocolate. (Okay, I eat chocolate anyway, but you know what I mean!)

-When it gets really tough, I try to put things in a bigger perspective. I remind myself of the fact that I have a life in which I have time to write. That, in and of itself, is a great luxury and blessing. I don’t take it for granted.

-I’m also considering getting a baseball bat and putting it next to my computer.

Read it; Learn it

by Leni Checkas

I read at least a dozen children’s books a month, even though I was born before the moon landing. Some might question why a grown woman would read books that her youngling enjoys. Well, when you write books for children, you can learn a lot by reading the competition.

I can already hear the moaning and complaining in response to this statement. Well, I can at least guess the excuses anyway, because I’ve used them all myself.

• “I don’t want to accidently steal someone else’s work.”

Aside from copying word for word, you won’t be stealing; you’ll be gleaning ideas and making them your own characters, situations, and scenes.

• “I don’t want to be influenced by other people’s writing.”

Yes, you do. Rock stars aren’t asked in interviews, “How did you do that all by yourself?” They’re asked, “Who were your influences?” There’s always a long list in response. As a writer, you need to build your own list of influences.

• “I want my work to be 100% unique.”

Good luck with that one, because Shakespeare already used all of the ideas, quite a few of which he borrowed.

• “I don’t have time to read.”

A great time to read is when you are stuck, especially between re-writes. I particularly like to tackle books on tape while I handle my most detested household chores.

A few years back, I reached a point where I got past the excuses. I picked up one of the Newbery books, and I learned. I picked up more and more variety of kids’ books, and kept learning, things like:

• The difference between modern kid’s novels and classic stories that might not make it past a slush pile today.

• How to analyze books to discover what works and how the author influences my reactions.

• What’s unique about my manuscripts and what is formulaic.

• Great examples of how to show and when to tell.

• How and when to create a scene.

• Real instances of that elusive “voice.”

Most importantly, I’ve learned what kind of books I like to read. Knowing this fact will help me write the kind of book I would buy myself.

So, try it out for yourself. Go to the kid’s section at your local library. Don’t worry if you are older than the first appearance of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Pick out a bunch of kids books, set aside the ones that you didn’t like, analyze the ones you love. Discover your internal editor through this simple exercise. It will help your writing, guaranteed!

Simplifying Plot Complications

Typically, when I read writing craft books on creating or fine-tuning the rising action of a plot, I read phrases like "raise the stakes," "now make it harder," "now turn the screws even more," "now create an even bigger challenge."  And I think, I know it has to get worse!  But how?  Telling me to go even further in a direction that I don't even have in the first place isn't helpful.

Some people have a knack for engaging, escalating plots.  What I love about writing is character development.  I love the psychology of my characters, the development of their relationships.  I love experiencing their world.  In fact, I don't need anything to happen in the story to keep me interested in writing it.  And frankly, I love my characters and don't want anything bad to happen to them!  But, I'll be the first to admit that you actually learn a lot more about a person by how s/he responds under pressure as my friend, Will, discussed in his previous post,"Characterization vs. Character".  

So, content or not, my plot has to actually progress toward a climax.  

We've all seen the traditional plot chart in English class.  It's typically a smooth upside-down check mark like this:

The dots along the spine indicate new complications in the story.  As a reader, this is fine.  My problem as a writer is that I just don't see the point of the various dots along the rising action line.  As I said, I'm fine just hanging out with my characters.  But children's author, Eileen Ross, created a breakthrough for me by suggesting that I think of plot complications as mini-plots in and of themselves.  Ahhhhh!  Now, that I can do!

So now, my plot chart looks more like the jagged back of a dinosaur, and my character organically gets to tougher and tougher challenges for character arc and overall plot development.  Notice how those dots that used to rest on the spine are now lifted up as the climaxes for each mini-plot:

If you feel like a driving plotline isn't your strong suit, I'd encourage you to try this:

1.  Get the Big Picture.  

Think of the beginning and the end of your story (if you have them).  Where does your character begin and end up?  This can be emotionally, physically, socially, anything.

2.  Dissect the Big Picture.  

What has to happen internally and externally to get your character where s/he needs to be?   What's on your character's "to-do" list to accomplish that final chapter?
For example:  Does she need to learn to make friends?  Does he need to learn to recognize his strengths?  Does she need to respect others?  Does he need to lose all his money?  You're creating a to-do list for your character to get where they need to be.

3.  Write the Small Stories.  

Now, structure your mini-plots.  Whether it's emotional, physical, social, or anything else, you can structure your complications so that they follow the same structure of a traditional plot diagram, but over the span of a scene, a chapter or a few chapters.  

1. Start with where they are (this will obviously change as you get deeper into your plot/character's experience).  
2. Write down where they need to be by the end of the mini-plot.  
3. Write down what the BIG (climax) moment (whether it is a success or failure) of the cycle is.  
4. Next, determine the little "to-dos" that must happen to achieve that big moment from where the character started in the mini-cycle - those are the mini-complications in the mini rising action of your mini plot.

This exercise has dramatically helped the development of my rising action and enrichment of my character.  If you're looking for more depth and authenticity in your complications, give this a try!