Debra Dixon, GOAL, MOTIVATION & CONFLICT, and Plotting

This last weekend I was lucky enough to attend a workshop headed by Debra Dixon and hosted by the Southwest Florida Romance Writers.

For those of you who are writers, you probably know who Debra Dixon is. She wrote GMC: GOAL, MOTIVATION & CONFLICT, from Gryphon Books for Writers. I consider this to be an essential text for writers, and especially those writers just starting out.

When I first started writing fiction, I was finishing my BS in Geology, starting my Masters in Writing Popular Fiction, and perpetually broke. Buying GOAL, MOTIVATION & CONFLICT at that time, a hardcover book at $20 a pop + shipping, was a splurge for me. But I had heard it referenced time and time again by writers, so I took the plunge and bought it.

Thank the void I did!

No writing book is a bible. No one book will give you all the answers. As writers, we’re all looking for a formula, a magic bullet, a 1, 2, 3 step-by-step guide to best seller fiction.

That does not exist. (Sadly!)

However, this book is one of the VERY BEST tools you can add to your writing toolkit.

I have read it cover to cover at least 4 times over my writing career so far. That is the max number of times I have read any writing book.

What I love about this book:

• Basic language, very approachable. It is not wrapped up in theory.
• Excellent examples that perfectly illustrate the concepts Dixon is preaching.
•   Worksheets. I’m a sucker for something tangible I can take away from a book, and Dixon’s GMC worksheets are excellent.

I have used Dixon’s GMC worksheet on every character, minor or major, in every book I’ve written or worked on, since I first read GMC. It’s not a magic formula, but it is a great jumping off point.

“But, I’m not a plotter, I’m a pantser! This book is useless to me!”

Not true! Dixon takes no concrete stance on whether you need to do this first, mid-book, or when revisions start. She just lays out a basic formula that resonates with the human experience (based on Joseph Campbell’s and Christopher Volgler’s works on storytelling and myth).

The idea of GMC is worth considering no matter what stage of the draft you’re at.

The book is now (finally) available in ebook, if you want that format. Otherwise, if you want the physical book, like me, you want to go directly to the publisher’s website: 

www.Gryphonbooksforwriters.com. It’s cheapest there.

 Now here I am, a decade after I started out as a very poor college student writer, and you can bet your sweet bippy that I STILL have that book, and that I very proudly, like the fangirl that I am, got it signed by Debra Dixon.

Go Forth. Read GMC. And Conquer. 

Quinton Hoover Died???

The homework for the first week of drawing class was to pick a favorite artist and draw a replica of something of theirs. Now, I’m a reader/writer and gaming nerd, not an art history buff, so my favorite artists are all book cover artist and Magic: The Gathering card artists. So, it’s no surprise that Michael Whelan, Quinton Hoover and Rebecca Guay.

I decided against Michael Whelan b/c, while he might be my favorite, what I love most about his book covers is his use of color. For instance, look at this gorgeous cover series for Tad William’s Otherland.

Quinton Hoover was probably an easy first choice because he illustrated one of my all-time favorite MTG cards, Archangel:

That had waaaaaay too much going on for me to draw though, so I looked at some of Rebecca Guay’s stuff. I love her style, it’s very flowy and feminine, but I feel like the power of the image is so color-based that drawing it really wouldn’t look like much.

Quinton Hoover’s style is more graphic, imo. So while I was looking at some of my favorite cards of his, I learned that he had died!!! I had no idea!! He was only 49 when he died. Here’s a great article about Quinton Hoover.

I was heartbroken, and decided that of course I had to draw one of Hoover’s cards! I debated between many, but in the end I settled on Pixie Queen.

Quinton Hoover’s Pixie Queen

My pencil drawing of it, week 1 of class.

Obviously, my Pixie Queen eats a little better than Hoover’s does ;-) She likes her sweetmeats! But overall, for having zero training, I’m pretty happy with it. It’s not 100% done, but I think I’m calling it “done.”

Confessions of a Writer -- A Game of Tag!

 I’ve been tagged by the famously talented J.L. Gribble to participate in the “Confessions of a Writer” game of tag. J.L. Gribble is a fellow graduate of Seton HillUniversity’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program and a great speculative fiction writer. Her debut novel, Steel Victory was released earlier this year by Dog Star Books.

The “Confessions of a Writer” tag is a game of great fun! Especially if you want to know a little bit more about your favorite authors.

To read the original rules of the Tag, go here.

Here are my answers to the questions:

The Questions:

1. When did you first start writing? Was being a writer something you always aspired to be?Nope! I wanted to be a scientist. I have always loved animals and the outdoors. I got my B.S. in Geology and Environmental Science at UMass Lowell. I had never written a thing until my senior year in college, and then I discovered that I had a fantasy novel that I HAD to write. When I was looking at grad schools for Geology, I realized that my “true path” (if you will) was writing genre fiction (I have always been an avid reader) and I got my M.A. and Writing and I haven’t looked back since.

Although, I still love rocks and mineralogy. Igneous petrology will always have a place in my heart. J

2. What genre do you write?

I write speculative fiction (SF), meaning I write across the entire science fiction-fantasy genre. (I am afraid of the dark, so I tend not to write horror, which is part of SF) J I am currently writing Space Opera, but my first love (and next planned series) is High Fantasy.

3. Can you tell us a little about your current work in progress? When did you start working on this project?

I am writing the second book in TheEmpress Game trilogy, published by TitanBooks. It is tentatively titled Cloak of War, but don’t quote me on that. It’s Space Opera in the vein of Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy, with a kick-ass female protagonist and an empire on the line.

4. What was your first piece that you can remember writing? What was it about?

An easy one for me, because it wasn’t until my senior year of college. I had zero training in writing. I had always believed English to be my worst subject, b/c I received C’s in middle school, so I never took AP courses or Honors courses in English in high school, only the sciences, and avoided it in college.

Once I realized that after a lifetime of reading fantasy novels, I wanted to write one, I had to train myself to be a writer, but there is a TON to know about craft. An amazing amount. I had the fantasy story that I wanted to write in my head, but I didn’t want to “waste” the “Book of My Heart” on the process of learning how to write, so the first thing I wrote was actually a Historical Romance. (Regency, if you know the genre)

I enjoy reading them for their clever dialogue and they have a predictable structure, so I was able to focus on the craft of writing while working within a set structure/plot. That way I didn’t have to learn everything at once. Once I learned a lot about the craft of writing (and had been critiqued) and finished that novel, I applied for the SHU Masters program and wrote the Book of My Heart, an unpublished High Fantasy novel titled Sworn Sword.

Side note: The historical romance did get published with a small press. As a starter book, I’m still proud of it, since I learned so much while writing it.

5. What’s the best part about writing?

Rewriting. I absolutely HATE writing first drafts. But rewriting? That’s where the magic happens, the rough sketch becomes something beautiful and the language can be refined. Ideally, I’d like to do 3 passes on a manuscript (with time in between) as a revision process. Sadly, the publishing schedule (and my slow writing speed) doesn’t allow for this.

6. What’s the worst part about writing?

Lack of oversight keeping you on task. I have a lot of experience working from home and keeping myself on task, and I still prefer working on a clock to being in charge of my own time. Sometimes it’s hard to force your butt in the chair when no one else is watching you or keeping track of your efforts.

7. What’s the name of your favorite character and why? 

My fave character of all time is Tae, the protagonist of Sworn Sword, the high fantasy Book of My Heart. The entire reason I gave up my career in Geology and became a writer was to tell Tae’s story. She is amazingly tough, driven and focused. But she is tortured, haunted, driven by demons. She has risen to the top of her profession as a swordfighter but it will never be enough for her. She can never be good enough to make up for what she failed to protect in the past. I loved exploring her drive versus her prejudices versus her trust issues versus her warped self-image. She’s an amazingly pained character that I’d like to get back to some day.

8. How much time a day/week do you get to write? When is the best time for you to write (morning or night)?

I prefer to write from the moment I wake up until I run out of steam in the afternoon. I mean I directly roll out of bed, get dressed, grab my bowl of cereal and eat it while starting writing. I can be at the desk and writing in less than 5 minutes after waking up.

I worked full-time as an editor while writing full-time as well for 4 years. It was killing me slowly. Or, perhaps, not so slowly.

Once I got my 3 book contract with Titan Books and needed to be writing a complete novel in one year (I had been taking 2 years per book before that) I realized that I couldn’t do both. Luckily for me, I have the most supportive husband in the world, who has been encouraging me to quit my job and write full time for the last 3 years. I finally made the leap and as of a month ago, I now write full time (all day). I tend to be useless as the evening rolls around.

That’s what Netflix is for, right??

9. Did you go to college for writing? Or if you haven’t been to college yet, do you plan to?

My undergraduate degree is a B.S. in Geology and my masters degree is an M.A. in Writing Popular Fiction. Before I went to grad school, I had no formal training in writing. I highly recommend Seton Hill’s Writing Popular Fiction program (now an MFA program) for anyone who writes genre fiction and wants to take their writing/career to the next level.

10. What bothers you more: spelling errors, punctuation errors, or grammar errors?

Couldn’t care less about any of them. Only bad writing and ridiculous/unbelievable motivation bother me.

11. What is the best writing advice that anyone has given you?

“Writers write.” It’s that simple and that hard. If you’re creating stories and characters, putting words on the page, you’re a writer. Doesn’t matter if you’re getting paid or recognized or any of that. If you’re writing, you’re a writer.

If you’re just talking about being a writer but not actually putting stories and words to paper, you’re not a writer. If you published years ago, have 5 doctorates in the subject, but never intend to put pen to paper again? You’re not a writer. You were a writer.

12. What advice would you give to another writer?

“There’s no such thing as writer’s block.”  I believe this wholeheartedly. If you’re sitting at your desk, fingers poised over the keyboard, waiting for words to come and nothing happens, you don’t have writer’s block, you have “only trying one method” block. Writing is not a one-process affair.

People talk about “plotters” and “pantsers” and the truth is, there’s no pure thing. Every writer, whether they realize it or not, is using an amalgam of techniques to push their way through. If you’re staring at that blank page and thinking “I have writer’s block,” what you need to do is try another technique.

When the words won’t come for me, I switch to a different arena for working on the story. First, I try to outline the scene instead of writing it. I ask myself, “what am I trying to accomplish in this scene?” “what does this scene need to do?” “Where am I headed?” and I start to rough out an idea of where I want to go and what I want to happen.

If that doesn’t come to me, I look at character goals. Where are they headed? What does the character want? I will work on Goal-Motivation-Character sheets, learned from Debra Dixon’s excellent book called Goal, Motivation, Conflict. (Not surprisingly).

If filling out and re-evaluating those sheets doesn’t help, I turn to my whiteboard. There I outline the major plot points I’m carrying through the novel. Where am I trying to get to? How do all of these plot threads relate?

If that doesn’t work I go for a power-walk. While walking (yay Vitamin-D and exercise!) I open my mind to anything. I work on a different subplot, I go over a new character’s backstory. I get away from my current block and just let the creativity flow. When I get back home, I write down whatever I’ve learned, planning to use it later. Often, that’ll direct me to where I want to go with my current scene.

If that doesn’t work, I take a break and read a book on the craft of writing. I actually rarely finish these b/c as soon as I start reading, I get ideas for how to apply their teachings to my current problem.

If that doesn’t work I talk to my critique partners (who read my rough draft as I go along). Jen Brooks and Diana Botsford. If I’m stuck I ask them where they see the novel going. What they envision, what they expect from what I’ve written so far. Usually I disagree with all of it, but it gets me thinking on what I DO what to write.

Jen Brooks, Author of In a World Just Right

Diana Botsford, Author of Four Dragons and The Drift

So, in summary, when you say “I have writer’s block” what you’re really saying is, “Sitting at my desk and staring at a blank page isn’t getting it done.” Writers have to be flexible. You have to be willing to try ANYTHING to move forward.

If none of that works? Maybe you need a break. Take a nap. Have a glass of wine. A brownie. Clean your house. Spend time with your family. Just remember that that book is there, waiting for you, and it’s up to YOU to figure out how to tap into it and get it written.

14. Besides writing, what else do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies?
    
    Not surprisingly, I read a great deal. Perhaps surprisingly, I read almost entirely outside of my genre. A lot of famous minds will tell you that if you’re not reading everything current and historic in your genre, then you’re not doing your job as a writer. Me? I think that’s crap. I have a lifelong love of SF and grew up devouring it. Once I started writing in the genre, however, I reduced my reading of it.

Oh, I still read the biggies that everyone is talking about, but more often than not you can find me reading suspense, thrillers, historical novels and even romance. Reading is my escape and writing SF is my love/job. When I read, I want to take a break from work.

Beyond that I love to spoil my rescue bulldog, Grace.

We live in Florida and I love to go to the beach and snorkel every chance I get, especially if we can escape to the Florida Keys for the weekend. I’m also a big-time gamer, getting hooked with Neverwinter Nights and Elder Scrolls back in the day. I never played Everquest, but I am a horrible WoW junkie.

15. What is the best book you’ve read this year?

Heidi Ruby Miller’s yet to be released STARRIE.

It’s a fantastic Science Fiction Romance with the most amazing pacing. The action kicks in on page 1 and never lets up. I was asked to review and ARC of it and very happy for the chance to do so!

Here is the blurb I wrote for it:

"With explosive action, kick-ass heroes and romance that hits all the right notes, STARRIE gives fans of science fiction romance everything they want—at a breakneck pace. Plan to stay up all night finishing this one, it’s impossible to put down!" 

16. What is the best movie you’ve seen this year?

I’ve seen ExMachina and you’d think that would be my fave. I’m going to stick my neck out and say that I enjoyed the lower budget The Machine better than Ex Machina. (Don’t tell anyone!)

However.

The best movie I saw this year was just after Christmas, when I was home with my mum and family, and my husband James was horribly ill. We watched Maleficent with Angelina Jolie and I was blown away. I cried. My heart hurt after watching it. For me, that is a moving tale, and heroine worth cheering for.

Side note: I am a life-long Disney AND Angelina Jolie fan, so, it might as well have been Rhonda-crack.

17. What is your favorite book or series of all time?

No brainer. Melanie Rawn’s TheDragon Prince trilogy, every time.

18. Who is your favorite author?

This is almost impossible to answer. I honestly enjoy the work of my two crit partners, Jen Brooks and Diana Botsford so much, that I am one of those lucky author/fans who gets to work with her fave authors on a daily basis.

Beyond that?

Melanie Rawn will forever hold that place in my heart. No matter who writes something “better,” her works of “The Dragon Prince” trilogy and the unfinished “Exiles” trilogy hit me in my formative years, and the deep emotion and ties of loyalty in those books helped me to become the person, sister, daughter, wife and writer that I am today.

If I could say one thing to Melanie Rawn it would be “thank you.”

If I could say two things it would be “OMG finish the Exiles trilogy!!!”

19. What are your plans for the rest of the year in terms of your writing?

I just, as of today, finished the rough draft of the second book in my space opera trilogy The Empress Game. From here, I want to do as much revision as I can before the book is due to my editor on November 1^st. Then I’ll get right to work on book 3 in the trilogy.

20. Where else can we find you online?

I probably use Facebook the most: https://www.facebook.com/RhondaMasonWriter

The second best place to get info is my website: www.rhondamason.com

And I am sporadically on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RMasonWriter  

In the spirit of the game of tag, I am tagging the following:

Christina Westcott: http://www.christinawestcottauthor.com/

Jen Brooks: http://www.jenbrookswriter.com/

Diana Botsford: http://dianabotsford.com/

Calico Writes: http://calicowrites.com/

Tonya Burrows: http://www.tonyaburrows.com/

Theme in a Novel – Does Your Choice Really Matter?

I’m not a person who thinks a lot about theme in a novel. When I dissect why I did or did not enjoy a book, you usually hear me discuss, above all things, believable character motivation. (And a decided lack thereof). Many books suffer from the “why didn’t they just do XYZ, which would have been SO much easier and more straightforward?” syndrome. The author answer is, sadly, “Because then there wouldn’t have been a story, silly!” but that’s just terrible. Honestly, I’ll follow any rickety plot if you convince me that the character is realistically motivated to make the plot decisions they’re making.

After that, I’ll critique plot holes, pacing (for sure!) and the writing. But you’ll never hear me say, “I thought the theme was weak” or “I don’t think the author made full use of the theme.” For me as a reader, theme is only working on my subconscious. (Which is not to say that there aren’t books that have totally NAILED theme. There are tons of them. I just don’t notice that element.)

So when I started to work on a broad outline for The Empress Game’s books 2 and 3—using Libbie Hawker's book on plotting called Take Off Your Pants—and it called for coming up with a theme, I was a little stumped.

This recalled me to a recurring discussion about theme that I keep having with one of my critique partners, the lovely and talented Jen Brooks. She has a fantastic YA contemporary fantasy novel out this year, In a World Just Right.

She wrote an introspective and generous blog post about the difference between a “romance novel” and a “love story.” (Don’t get me going on this debate! We disagree ;-) But her great post is here)

She asked me once what I thought the theme of her novel was, because she constantly struggled against her publisher’s classification of her novel as a “YA Romance.” (She considers it a SF novel with romantic elements). I love the book, but I have to admit, I agree with the publisher. To me, the principle motivator of Jonathan’s actions in the book is his love for Kylie. He wants to do what’s best for her, even when it goes against all of his best interests.

When I told her that, though, she told me what her actual theme was, what message she wanted to get across. It was a great theme, don’t get me wrong, but I have to admit, that wasn’t the message I got from the book. I obviously took my own personal experience and viewed the book through that lens. What I saw was profound, but, as I learned, very different from what the author intended.

This brings me to my 2 points. (And what Take Off Your Pants got me thinking about.)

1)      The only person who really knows what the theme of the book is, is the author. Which, being a fact, is why I don’t enjoy the literary analysis side of English degrees. (And why I mastered in “Writing” instead of “Literature”)

More importantly, to me, is the thought occurring to me today:

2)      It doesn’t matter what theme the author intended. It only matters what the reader takes away from the story.

In the end, you can’t control that. You can try, but everyone’s filters are so strong that invariably your theme will be washed through the experience of your readers’ lives until it (sometimes even) becomes unrecognizable to you.

And that is perfectly fine. After all, as commercial authors, we write to share our stories with others, we don’t just write for ourselves.

I recently met a friend of James’s, and he said that his wife had written an SF novel but she was so shy about it she wouldn’t even let him read it. I offered to help her with the insanity of starting on an agent search and tell her what I’ve learned about the business so far, and her husband said she wasn’t even sure if she wanted to try to sell it. I told him, without any doubt, that I knew, without even meeting her, that she wanted to sell it (or share it at least).

We don’t write a story down for ourselves. We already know the story. It’s in our mind, it keeps us awake, we live and breathe the characters. The reason we slave to capture the essence of the story and these characters on the page is because we are storytellers, yarn-spinners, and we long to share to story with at least that one soul who will “get it.”

I’ve gone totally afield from my topic of theme, but, welcome to the workings of my brain. ;-)

Writing Process Blog Tour

This week the fabulous Jen Brooks tagged me in to do a post on my writing process. Check out her answers to the questions here: http://www.jenbrookswriter.com/2014/07/21/mywritingprocess-blog-tour/

And here are the questions!

1)      What am I working on?

I am working on the sequel to my debut novel, a space opera titled Empress Game. This will be the second in a trilogy and is called Cloak of War. It follows Kayla and her family of psionics in their fight to free their homeworld from occupation by the Sakien Empire.

2)      How does my work differ from others of its genre?

In a genre with ray guns, plasma rockets, ion pistols and so forth, there can be a lot of shoot outs. I like to bring the more personal elements of fighting into the action, and include gritty hand to hand combat in my novels. I like to showcase martial arts and the use of a good old-fashioned head butt to bring immediacy to the character’s struggles.

I also have kick-butt female protagonists, willing to sacrifice everything in their dedication to their goals. Now if only the men could keep up with them! ;-)

3)      Why do I write what I do?

I write speculative fiction (and space opera in particular, in this case) because it gives me freedom to explore any plot I want because the world-building is in my hands. If I want to see how a character would react to sudden freedom of choice after being the victim of mind-control for 5 years, I can create a sci-fi world in which that kind of set-up is possible. (Cloak of War is exploring that very topic!)

I also write kick-butt female heroes because a) there are just too few of them in literature/movies, b) I love to explore the strengths, mental and physical, of women, and see what they can do when driven to the edge, then past it. I have a lot of strong female role models in my family, and that’s just what comes natural to me, writing a character strong enough in her own way to meet and master any challenge.

4)      How does my individual writing process work?

Oh man, I could write a book on this topic! Honestly, and I suspect this is true of most writers, my processes is an amalgam of all types.

I do my best writing when I’ve already outlined. I love outlining. With an outline in hand, I can tackle a scene and only worry about the words, not also having to come up with the plot at the same time. Ideally I’d outline all the time.

But, I’m impatient, and a little lazy. Sometimes things don’t come to me. I have no idea what happens in the plot next. In that case, the only way to shake loose the story is to write. I put one word in front of the other, painfully sometimes, just typing and telling myself, “I can always rewrite this later.” I say, “Okay, write 500 words and see what happens.”

Sometimes they’re crap and I get nowhere ;-) But usually, it gets me going and slowly the wheels of plotting start to turn again. There’s no such thing as writer’s block. If you’re “blocked,” then you’re just not being versatile enough in your process. If one avenue isn’t working, attack it from a different direction: outline, free write, take a walk while musing on it, listen to suitable music, do a mock interview with your characters, read a book on writing craft (this usually gets me crackin’), try word association, write a list of things you don’t  know yet, and start thinking of the answers.

I like that last one a lot. Don’t ask yourself “what happens next,” ask “what would happen if she just gave up here?” or “Why is my villain so angry?” or “How does the nanovirus I’ve created actually work, on a scientific level?” Thinking of these details gets you going on how they affect the plot.

In the end I’d say my process is outlining whenever I can, and knowing that I need to utilize every other process at some point in the creation of a novel to keep me going.

Want to hear what two other great authors have to say to these questions? Check out:

Diana Botsford

Writer/Producer Diana Dru Botsford's work runs the gamut from novels to the screen including several Stargate SG-1 novels, the Star Trek TNG episode, "Rascal's" and the award-winning science fiction webseries "Epilogue."  She most recently contributed to the up-and-coming Stargate short story anthology, "Far Horizons," due from Fandemonium this fall. Check out her answers here: http://dianabotsford.com

And fellow Southwest Florida Romance Writer Patty Campbell

Patty Campbell has just finished the second book in her military romances, and has begun hero number 3's story. Her fascination with the USMC is part of family history. Check out her answers on her blog: pattycampbellauthor.blogspot.com