The UnWorkshop—Free Support and Writing Instruction

The last six months I have been preoccupied with selling my home and building a new one; therefore, my writing was put on hold. I miss it and am looking forward to getting back in the groove.

Scroll down and find an earlier blog entry titled Organizing and Managing Your Book Manuscript, where I talk about a very helpful class I took from Doug Kurtz at Lighthouse Writers Workshop. Doug provides an opportunity outside of Lighthouse Writers Workshop that is free to anyone who wants to participate. I tried it out for the first time earlier this month and will definitely participate in the future, whenever I am able. It is called the UnWorkshop and is held on the first and third Mondays of each month, from 6PM-7PM Mountain Time. Doug uses a teleseminar format, so anyone from anywhere can participate; all that is needed is a phone. The workshop is designed as a support group for writers of all levels. The session in which I participated was Writing Environment, Rituals, and Practices. You can listen to a recording of this session to decide if it is something that you would find helpful.

The one thing I have learned from all the classes, seminars, and books I have read about writing is that there is no one correct way to approach the subject. What works for one person may be quite different from what works for another person. As I listened to Doug’s teleseminar, I interpreted his points to fit my own particular style and needs. Here are my notes to myself. Once you listen to Doug’s talk, you may draw completely different conclusions for yourself.

1. While I have always had an office, my new home will have a room that is even more conducive to serious writing. This is a mindset as much as a physical configuration. In anticipation, I mentally picture myself in the room, sitting at the computer and writing.    
2. I am a very organized person, which I find helps me in all aspects of life, but I need to remember not to be so organized that the process takes up so much time it actually gets in the way of putting words on paper.
3. Some people are able to find short periods of time in which to write, but that does not work for me. To be efficient, I need large blocks of uninterrupted time where I can allow my thinking to “get in the zone.” Therefore, I need to create those large blocks of time. I need to turn off the phone, close email, and close Facebook. I cannot write with sounds in the background; therefore, no music or voices.
4. Each day I need to schedule a time to write, just as if it were an appointment. Because of other things going on in my life, it is not practical for me to schedule the same time each day; nevertheless, I need to find some block of time. Each night, I create a “to do” list for the next day. I will schedule my writing time as I create the list for the next day. That way, I can find the time period that will work best for me.
5. Different people find that they write best at different times of the day. The times that I know don’t work for me are first thing in the morning, late at night, and at meal times.
6. Caution to myself: Once I start writing it can be difficult for me to stop. It is best if I don’t schedule a time to write when I need to stop abruptly to go to an appointment.
7. I write best when there is organization and balance in my life. My house needs to be clean, and I need to have a regular schedule of exercise, piano practice, reading, and writing. 

I recommend that you sign up for Doug Kurtz’s UnWorkshops. If you are interested in tuning in to future sessions, sign up here. There is no cost, no obligation, and no spam.

Family Heirloom Project

I recently completed a writing/photo project for my two grown boys that you might want to consider for your own family.

It’s no secret that I am getting older. I have quite a few items, large and small that have either been passed down through the family or have special memories. Eventually, my children will inherit these items. I wasn’t confident that they knew the stories behind each of the articles, and I wanted them to know those stories. I also wanted them to understand which of these objects has financial value and which ones are just sentimental.

I began by purchasing two photo albums—one for each of my boys—and filled those albums with pictures of each item that I considered important. I labeled each photo with a number, then created a key for the pictures. In the key, I explained everything I knew about the piece, where it came from, and its significance. I also included family stories where appropriate. 

For Christmas, I gave each of the boys an album along with a notebook filled with the documentation for each picture.

Here are some examples of entries.

#14

Spinning wheel

This hand-made spinning wheel was brought to the United States from Norway by my mother’s, mother’s mother (your great-great grandmother), Mathilde Hansdatter Bangsund. She entered the United States two different times: 1889 and again in 1906. I don’t know for sure which time she brought the spinning wheel. It appears that she was married when she first entered the U.S. but she didn’t stay long, leaving in about a year and leaving her husband behind. Somewhere along the line the two must have been divorced, because when she came to the U.S. the second time, she married the same man again. My mother told me that Mathilde also had a loom that was brought from Norway. In later years, both items were stored in my mother’s mother’s attic.

I don’t know what ever happened to the loom, but since there was no appreciation for antiques for a long time, it probably wound up at the dump.

Apparently, my mother had been told at one time that she could have the spinning wheel. My mother did not always get along with her mother and my grandmother refused to let my mother have the spinning wheel. Alice was very upset by this. One Mother’s Day, to console her, my father bought her a spinning wheel at an antique store. It was a very nice gesture on his part, but it did not fill the void that my mother felt for the original family piece. Eventually Grandma conceded and let Mom take the treasured spinning wheel.

#15

China doll

My mother said that relatives in Norway had purchased this doll to give to her, but never sent it over to the United States; instead, they sent it when I was born. I understand the hair is human. In 1985 I took the doll to a store called My Favorite Dolls in Denver. There I was told that the china doll is an Armand Marsailles #390, made in Germany. At that time, it was worth about $375.

When I was still a child, I remember I picked the doll up and all the limbs fell apart. I was horrified. The bands that hold the limbs together had rotted away. We took all the parts to a doll hospital and they fixed it just like new.

#71

Ice cream maker

This was one of the ice cream makers at the cabin and it has many fond memories.

A couple of us kids would take the row boat over to Walt Bunn’s place and get a block of ice, which we would place in a large metal washtub on the bottom of the boat. The ice was cut out of Hungry Jack Lake every winter (sometimes we helped with the work) and hauled to the ice house that Walt had built into the side of the hill close to the lake. The blocks of ice would be covered with sawdust and they would last all the way through the next summer.

Peaches were in season in August, so my mother would follow the recipe for peach ice cream and pour the liquid into the center metal container, put in place the wooden paddles, then fasten it in the green bucket, with the crank in place. We would use an ice pick to chip away at the ice block until the pieces were just the right size. The chips were placed around the metal container, alternating layers with rock salt. Then we would all take turns turning the crank. It was easy at first when we were mixing the liquid state, but as the ice cream began to freeze, it was harder and harder to turn the crank. Finally, when it was very difficult to turn, the bucket was covered with a towel and allowed to sit.

Dinner that night was always very exciting as we were each given a bowl of the world’s best ice cream.

In exchange for the block of ice, Walt Bunn made sure that we also brought him a bowl of the treat.

A Different Way to Look at Character Types

       

 

Rather than think of traditional character types as protagonists, antagonists, etc., let’s look at characters a different way.

There are three types of characters:

• Those who influence, or change others
• Those who are changed by others
• Those who change within

Thinking about these three types of characters has caused me to think about my own role in life as well as the roles of those who are close to me. My guess is that, for most of us, our own roles change over time and circumstance, but for some, one of these three types of character is dominant. Think about yourself , others who you know well, and famous people who you have come to know through various media. Who are the people who cause change in others? Who are those who change because of the influence of others? Who do you know whose personal thoughts and characteristics have changed dramatically through introspection?

I need to consider how I will demonstrate these character types in the fictitious individuals in the writing that I create.

Organizing and Managing Your Book Manuscript

I literally have boxes full of files of writing ideas and find the idea of organizing all that material into a novel to be daunting. Therefore, I am always searching for methods that might help me put all my ideas together.

When I wrote Raising a Gifted Child: A Parenting Success Handbook, I found it very challenging to keep my writing organized. I wanted to include a lot of information, but also didn’t want to repeat myself. I know that there are better methods than the one I used of keeping each chapter in a separate file.

Because of these dilemmas that I have faced and currently face, I am always looking for advice from others. Recently I took a three-hour class at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop titled The (not so) Dreaded Outline and taught by Doug Kurtz. It was helpful. I like to summarize the classes that I take on this blog both for my own use and, hopefully, others will find it useful as well.

In this workshop, a concept of outline was used that is far different from what I was taught in school, where we used Roman numerals, letters, numbers, etc. to plan in detail and in advance what would be written. Instead, Kurz taught the concept of outline as interactive and ever changing, going back and forth between a planning tool and a means to modify and validate the organization of spontaneous writing. This “new” organizational tool allows the writer to

• Plan the overall plot and individual scenes
• Check if writing that has already been done can be logically outlined to make certain it flows properly
• Go back and forth between the two, using the process to refine one’s writing

Kurtz builds his outline around the scenes of his story. He sees each scene as an arc, with a beginning and end.

Each scene (much like a brick in a wall), is integral to the story. These “bricks” are the “show me” parts of the story, held together by the “tell me” transitional material (much like mortar). As examples, Kurtz cited Virginia Wolf’s stories as heavy on mortar, while Dan Brown’s are heavy on bricks.

The individual scenes, when joined together, create the plot. A scene (usually a chapter) has the following characteristics:

• Setting
•  Emotion—this is what really helps the reader identify with characters and must always be included
• Moves the story along
• Develops both characters and conflicts, creating changes in the storyline
• Moves the story through “doors” that cannot be passed through again—just as we each make choices in life that are often impossible to change

Each scene arc with beginning, development, and ending, overlaps with the preceding and following arc. Since each scene contains new conflicts or changes, it sets up the succeeding arc with the necessity to respond to that conflict—thus, the overlap.

Conflict or tension may be a struggle within or with others. It is what drives the story and may be portrayed in several ways:

• Internal
• External
• Inter-personal

Each scene has a goal/desire or want/intention, with something standing in the way. It involves a complication or obstacle and is driven by action and emotion.

The plot has an overriding goal that is made up of many scenes, each with a sub-goal.

Kurtz uses the software Scrivener to outline, organize, and write his books. My research on the Internet found many positive reviews for Scrivener. While I have not yet purchased and downloaded the program (very reasonable cost), I have emailed the company a couple of times and have been very impressed with the quick response, which has been thorough and individual.

Using Scrivener, the writer is able to maintain several outlines for a story at once and can be organized according to individual needs.

Concepts to include in the outline for chapters/scenes might include

• Point of view—from which character’s point of view is this scene written?
• Setting—brief description
• Timeline—day, date, year, time of day
•  Summary
• Goal(s) of the character
•  Initial emotions
• Complications
• New emotions
• New goals—this sets up for the next scene
• Section to contain revision notes—what the writer needs to go back and fix later 

Notice that Kurtz does not use any Roman numerals, letters, numbers, etc. He does not plot out every little thing and the exact order in which it will happen; instead, he merely lists his objectives for each scene by category, and it does not need to be long and detailed. It just gives him an idea of where he is going and why.

Because the backstory (a literary device that provides history and background for the story) bubbles up into each scene, its pieces should have a separate outline. This is part of  the narrative summary or “mortar” of the story. Outline elements might include

• How will it be used as a transition device?
• Threads—little stories that wind through the bigger story
• Stakes—why does your character want/need something?

Scrivener also allows you to color code various sections if that would be helpful.

I think that the methods Kurtz uses will be helpful for me. I am still not sure if I will start with a big idea (plot) or if I will write many scenes and then see how I will weave them together. Learning about the methods that successful authors use has taught me one thing—there is no one correct way to construct a book. I appreciate seeing the many choices that are out there and then either picking one that will work for me or even creating an original organizational method of my own.