The Confabulator Cafe

Author: tboone

  • Active vs. Passive

    Some of the most common advice fledgling writers receive is: use active voice not passive voice. By using active voice, sentences become clearer, verbs become more powerful, and the overall writing style gains energy and forward momentum. It’s excellent advice, and something I constantly work on while writing. It is not, however, the advice I’m about to share in this post. Seriously, if your 5th grade creative writing teacher didn’t teach you about active vs. passive voice, then creative writing is not for you.

    The best advice I’ve ever received regarding writing fiction is related to active versus passive voice. The scope of the advice is just a bit…broader. One very astute reviewer of one of my rough drafts noted, “You never let your protagonist make her own decisions.”

    This probably sounds obvious to many people. But for me, it was not. Or rather, I didn’t realize that I was not letting my main character make her own decisions until I received this comment. I read back through my current manuscript, and then, dismayed, read some of my earlier manuscripts as well. Sure enough, my protagonists were not decision-makers.

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  • Subplots: Dogs on a Hike

    Moose in BreckenridgeThis morning my wife and I woke up at 6AM, ate a hearty breakfast, and then took our four dogs on a three mile hike along Blue Lakes in Breckenridge, Colorado. Three miles isn’t a particularly long hike, until you add in the vertical climb (around 1500 feet), the dangerous terrain – slippery scree fields, narrow single track through alpine scrub, and boggy marshland near the headwaters – and the altitude of more than 11,000 feet. Combine all those factors, and three miles feels more like six. Or nine.

    It’s one of my favorite hikes though, for all of those reasons. It’s challenging. It varies greatly from one stretch to another. It’s beautiful. And it’s not particularly well known, which means we usually have the entire trail to ourselves.

    What does this have to do with this week’s topic: subplots? Nothing, yet. The hike I described is much like a good story: it varies, it has high points and low points, it has a great climax, it feels rewarding after you’re finished. And, like most of my manuscripts, it manages to do all these things in relatively short distance!

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  • Knock ’em over

    Does writer’s block exist? Yes, absolutely.

    Can it be defeated? Again, absolutely.

    As a Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo, I often act as coach for fellow writers that are struggling to keep up the minimum pace necessary to complete a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Sometimes they’re just moving slowly, but other times they’re not moving at all. And some of them are moving backwards. Over the years I’ve gleaned lots of interesting tricks to break through writer’s block, whether it’s the morass of slow writing or the whiplash snap of a complete block, doesn’t matter: I gots tricks.

     

    One of the best tricks I’ve ever learned was shared with me by Dave deHetre. His answer to writing, not just during NaNo, but during the entire creative process, is to promise yourself to commit to writing 500 words every day. 500 words is an arbitrary number, but it’s a good one. It’s more than just a paragraph or two, but not necessarily an entire scene or a complete chapter. 500 words can be written in 10-30 minutes by most writers, depending on how smoothly and effortlessly the words are flowing. And 500 words can often serve to break through the logjam of writer’s block, and lead to many more words to follow, and at a much greater pace. (more…)

  • Angry Levi (Flash Fiction)

    “Who’s our first volunteer for bear patrol?” Mitch asked.

    Huddled next to the fire eating mushy baked beans out of a tin plate, I exchanged covert glances with my fellow rookie scouts. None of the four of them looked anxious to volunteer. They kept their faces buried in their food bowls.

    Mitch snorted. “So much for Helpful, eh Joe?”

    Joe barked a laugh. “Untrustworthy lot we got here, looks like.”

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  • What Rhymes with “Blech”?

    Poetry? Ugh. Not a fan.

    Which is ironic, given that I was known to be a reasonably skilled, and somewhat prolific poet in high school (if I’m not being modest, and…I’m not). And looking back on some of my juvenile efforts more than two decades later, some of it isn’t half bad.

    So, here’s the thing. I had a tolerance for writing poetry, mostly because it served as a release valve for an angst-written teenager with lots to say and no one in particular to say it to. My teachers and my cohorts were very appreciative of my efforts, which was extremely gratifying. But even when I was writing poetry regularly, I had zero interest in reading anyone else’s poetry. Traipsing through someone else’s obscure metaphors and fanciful allusions? No thank you! Does absolutely nothing for me at all.

    It took me a long to come to this conclusion, but I eventually realized, “If I don’t want to read anyone else’s poetry, why should they want to read mine?” As soon as I reached this epiphany, I stopped writing poetry.

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  • A Matter of Definition

    So, before I get to the question of the week, I’m gonna stand up on my soapbox for a second. I’m gonna stand up here and glare at everyone else that’s standing on their soapboxes, telling people what they should and shouldn’t do, must and mustn’t do, and politely but firmly tell them to fuck off.

    How’s that for setting the tone? Yes, I’m grumpy. Strap in, dear reader.

    The question that many people seem to be asking/answering when addressing the submission/publication question is: What is a writer?

    Is it someone that earns a living with their writing? Because if so, there are next to no writers left on the planet. Even the most successful, prolific authors in publication today would likely tell you that their novels do not pay their bills. Their books serve as a supplemental income to their careers as scientists, teachers, cashiers and cubicle dwellers. Sure, some authors strike gold. Unfortunately, some of the authors that do manage to earn a living wage writing fiction are…not very good.

    Does being a writer mean you’ve been published? Uh…self-publication is so easily accessible in the year 2012 that describing oneself as a “self-published author” is roughly equivalent to saying, “I use the internet.” Yeah, congrats. So do the rest of us. Go sit back down. (more…)

  • Wis[h/t]ful

    I began my long-form writing efforts early in my career as a college-level educator. I am very fortunate: my job provides me with ample extra-curricular time, and my wife and I take full advantage of our situation by traveling to interesting places every year. I’ve traveled all over the United States, including most of the major cities on both coasts as well as multiple trips to many of our amazing National Parks. I hike in the Rockies every summer with my dogs. I’ve also been able to take vacations to Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Europe. I love to travel, and I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to do so.

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  • Gravity (Flash Fiction)

    “You’re dropping down the well?” Lisbeth asked. Glyphs fluttered in agitation around her head, broadcasting confusion and disappointment, anger and bitterness. Beneath her halo, Lisbeth further punctuated the sentiment of her glyphs with a mildly furrowed brow. The effort marred her otherwise placid expression.

    “I am,” Ji said with a smile. Glyphs of confidence and comfort blossomed above his head. He reached a tentative hand towards Lisbeth’s arm, but she flinched away from his touch.

    “Why?” she demanded. Her face returned to perfect calmness, but the agitation of her glyphs continued.

    “Aren’t you curious?”

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  • ex ante, in praesenti, ex post

    I’m about to get all Latin up in this place!

    Q1: When do I feel good about my writing?

    Ex Ante

    At least once during the conception phase of my writing experience, I’ll have an “Aha!” moment. If I’m lucky, it’s more than one of those moments for the particular manuscript I’m contemplating. And every once in a great while, it’s a series of Aha! Dominoes, where a new idea generates another, or resolves a dilemma, or presents a completely different take on a story.

    My “before” moments are spontaneous and adrenaline-inducing. Unfortunately they’re rare, but when they happen…whoo boy.

    In Praesenti

    While I’m writing, I will occasionally describe a scene, jot down a line of dialog, or wrap up an action sequence in such a way that I sit back from my computer and just start grinning. A clever turn of phrase, tidy summation, or witty repartee between characters will just feel right while I’m writing it, and give me a warm, fuzzy feeling. I live for these moments during NaNo, and revel in them (as evidenced by my prolific contribution to the “favorite passages” forum threads during November).

    Ex Post

    After November is over, my manuscripts typically languish in the “written but not edited” pile. It’s my major stumbling block to getting my work out to publishers and agents – once I’m done with my zero draft, pursuing it to a more coherent state is just not very appealing to me. However, I will sometimes muster the gumption to at least read whatever I’ve written a few months after I wrap up. I’m almost always shocked by what I read. The injection of time provides a more distant perspective, and that more often than not results in a feeling of foreignness to my writing. I’ll read an action passage and think, “When did I write this?” It’s very strange. Fortunately, the mystery writer that contributes to my manuscripts when I’m not looking does a pretty good job most of the time. I treasure those moments of surprise when reading my own stuff.

    Q2: What are my strengths?

    Competentia

    I feel like I’ve gotten reasonably good at writing believable, interesting dialog. I think I’ve managed to write stories that get out of their own way and let the reader just enjoy the experience. And I’ve worked hard to cultivate a motto: “If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong.” I let that mantra steer both my attitude towards writing, and my actual writing itself.

    Postscript

    Look, a lot of what I’ve posted this week is old material. I’m a firm believer in leading by example. As a municipal liaison for NaNo, I feel obligated to have a framework for successfully pursuing a November novel year after year. None of what I’ve written above is anything new for me. It’s tried and true material I’ve used to motivate my WriMos for years. I’ll let you decide how much is the truth, and how much is…creative interpretation of the truth. 🙂

  • Little Engine (Flash Fiction)

    “I think I got everyone.”

    “Are you certain, little one?”

    Of course I was certain. Then, curious, I decided to check again. Two thousand and forty three instantiations had completed their tasks and returned before timeout. I rechecked the logs, comparing checksums and reviewing routing histories, and concluded, just as before, that integrity had not been compromised on any return packets.

    That left five outliers. Three instantiations had dead-ended on dropped hosts. They’d dashed themselves to pieces in their attempt to gain access to systems that were no longer online. When their pingbacks faded, I’d dutifully sent collectors and retrieved the entirety of their remains. To further satisfy my growing curiosity, I reconstructed the remnants. In each case the rebuilds were perfect instantiations of the originals, marred only by a few unflipped bits which indicate a failed search.

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