Writing Workshops

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Last DragonCon, Charley and I spent a lot of time going to writer's workshops. We went to many given by Michael Stackpole, which were fantastic. We went to others as well, though I felt the Stackpole workshops were particularly informative. In this thread, I'll copy over the notes that I took.




Part I
The Rules of Writing
Michael Stackpole

*Don't quit your day job*



1) Show, don't tell.
a) Want to engage the reader
b) Show significant, Tell trivial

*Editers ding on Passive sentences
- Eliminate verb 'to be' and 'was'
- Rule can be broken in dialogue


2) Write before rewrite
a) KEEP GOING


http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh126/silancy/Untitled-1.png (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/silancy/media/Untitled-1.png.html)

*An imperfect whole is better than a perfect chapter 1*


3) Never settle for easy way out
a) Have to go for the hard stuff
b) TV and movies have low-hanging fruit
c) Tease with obvious, turn around at reveal



4) DOUBLE DUTY
a) Info dump - AVOID
b) Give info in service of characterization
- Able to learn more about characters in this process
c) Use emotional reactions
- Connects and engages reader
- Emotional contrast
d) After action reaction(s)



5) Continuity
a) Sets built with words
b) Why have discussions in 3 places rather than 1?
- Could do multiples by engaging reader with environments
c) Lets reader know there is a world beyond

* Not just about environments, but secondary characters also
- Sense of passing time and a living world



6) HE SAID/SHE SAID
a) Not necessary
b) Dialogue runs much more smoothly
c) Word choice and sentence length help to distinguish who is talking
- 12 words = avg sentence length
- 8 words = avg for action
d) Regional words
e) Occupational jargon
- Addressing in dialogue
f) You can use HS/SS on endings of chapters



7) Do research and choreograph
*Get your shit right*
a) Significant - Get it right
b) Insignificant - Can get away with fudging
c) Choreography
- Get up and move through to see if it can actually be done
- Acting out the action further helps you describe what it's like for the characters

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

In this workshop, Mr. Stackpole let us do a group creation, so the inclusion of magic and fantasy settings are touched on here.







Part II
Worldbuilding
Michael Stackpole



1) CONSEQUENCE TESTING


Make sure can't be broken
Once you posit something, make sure it can't be broken
Be precise
Geography, environs, people, etc




2) NEVER SAY NEVER


State all facts as someone coming from your world
Never state facts as narrator
Never reveal facts you won't use




3) CYCLICAL DEVELOPMENT


Always be developing/creating





*Write as you worldbuild*



4) WORLD AESTHETIC


Color Palette
Feel (does this fit)
A few positives/light ELEMENTS OF CONTRAST
Too much of one thing will make you tire of it
Where do you start
Dynamic




*Ability to make a both young and old world*





Toss out hints the people of your world know but readers don't
Weight and value of things that happened are invaluable




5) INFLUENCES


Geography impacts everything, influences everything
Early maps emphasized rivers, roads, railroad tracks (means of moving goods and trade)
Ecological/Environmental disasters
Rivers > Agrizones > Valleys > Mountains
Peoples moved/raided.etc for resources




6) SPECIES


Tropes like elves, trolls, dwarves, fairies, etc
If you use these, change them
Also create something new - when you do this, it will be memorable
Multi-dominant species
Dominant > subservient species
Sub-species within the main




7) ANIMALS


Ecological role in the world
Does the ecological consequence/action make sense




8) CULTURE


Thrive on Power
Power focused at top
If base dies away (famine?) civilization collapses




9) MAGIC


How prevalent
How common
How high/low
Capacity (handle a lot/not a lot)
Trained?
Different types across the different races




10) RELIGION


Means of social control




11) LITTLE DETAILS


How many words for 1 thing in our world? (for example, coinage. different pictures on different coins could mean different names for different coins)
Slang

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Part III
Amazing Worldbuilding
Sharon Ahern and A. J. Hartley



1) What do you think are the fundamental aspects/traits of your world


2) What will create immediacy for reader (believability, etc)


Items
Familiar aspects




*Human nature may be generally the same, but you can certainly play with this notion due to its' complexity*

*Culture/familial*

*You can use these to help build up or tear down parts of your world*


3) Parameters that hide in the background


4) Fine line of what we want to put in our story/world and what readers want


Don't be afraid to put in what you are interested in





*Write what you know and/or can learn*



5) Reach down to the practical


Details are what make your world rich




6) Don't have to immediately share everything; let it come in organically


Generally 5% seen, with the rest under your thumb/in metered docket for eventual revealing




7) Intrinsic to plot


8) Characters can tell us where to go/what to do at times


9)You can write in the action immediately to preserve the heat of the moment, then go back and correct locations/etc if need be


TIMELINES AND HISTORIES


10) Series?


Don't close doors or pin down too many things/details unless you want to expand on those at a later date
Don't infodump; rather, salt
Terminology in back




11) If it's not bad enough, make it worse before giving up after painting yourself into a corner.



**BACK YOUR SHIT UP MULTIPLE TIMES**



12) Perspective and points of view can provide ALTS


13) Writers block?


Go back to worldbuilding
Kill a character (whether established char or a new one)
Don't need to write sequentially
Write cursory bits, then when you get writer's block, go back and fill in the fluff/body
Power through it, but also step away for a short bit of time
Work on another part of the story




14) Building a world around the culture


15) Starting a story


Figure out the climax, then start as close to it as possible
Get in as late as possible, out as early as possible




16) If you are worldbuilding around another race or culture, tread carefully

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Great notes! I love Stackpole - and the writing track at DragonCon is great. :D

[Madeleia]

:D Awesome notes. I've taken a Creative Writing course some time back and the first thing I recall is her telling me to, "show, don't tell". I definitely understand that point as it allows the reader to take that journey along with the characters instead of learning about it after the fact. Keeping the plot moving was another point she stressed instead of getting bogged down with something that really didn't matter in the end. I definitely love writing and wish I could do it for a living, but... lol

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Glad you guys like these :) I have more to copy over; one more about world building and character development ones :)

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Part IV
Worldbuilding: Beyond the Basics
This was a multi-person panel, and I can't remember the presenters, sadly


Constructing a world to serve your story and characters



The Basics


Setting
Influences
Research
Rules need to be established - what can and can't be seen
Ask 'what if' and 'why'








BEYOND...


Guiding Star


What are the themes of your story
How does your world communicate the themes of your story



Creating Your Culture


What constraints
What ppl value / establish values
Cultural expectations
Customs
Tropes



Culture is dictated by the constraints of the setting


What is abundant
What is scarce



What is the value system of the culture(s)


What is good
What is bad
What is ambiguous



How do cultural expectations affect your char's life


How do they influence the story?
The conflict?
The resolution?



What are the customs in this culture and why


How do they influence the story?



Remember to identify and research your tropes


What are the common patterns in your story?
What can you do different



Build the physical


What are the conflicts in this world
What is the geography like
How does said geography affect story and characters
What do your char's eat and how do they get it



What is extraordinary vs impossible in this world


Make rules of the world consistent



Establish shades of grey


People, cultures, and groups are not 100% good or 100% bad
Every society thinks they are the good guys against the rest of the world



Common Mistakes


Overwhelming with infodumps
Magic/tech with inconsistent rules
'Good' and 'Bad' societies
Not thinking out the consequences of your rules and world
Not having a sense of place







USE YOUR SENSES
sight
sound
smell
taste
touch





How to organize


Wiki's
Tiki-toki (sp?)
Small notebooks
Back-ups



Population sizes


No real set-in-stone guidelines




... and this is when the time for the panel ran out and we were all asked to leave ^_^;

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

CHARACTERS




Part I:
Advanced Characterization
Michael Stackpole


+Plots come out of characters+



Seven traits of memorable and enduring characters



1) Some mystery; don't know everything about character(s)


Not telling everything about character at once
Helps to avoid trapping yourself



2) Worthy of redemption


Some spark of hope
Has something that might be salvageable
Without something salvageable, is an abstract



3) Score high on either loyalty or treachery scale

4) Internally consistent and reliable, but have capability to surprise


Humans tend to behave this way
Justifying why we broke our internal 'rules'



5) Score high on self-sacrifice or selfishness scale

6) Have a love story associated with them


Not just romantic love - sibling, duty, country, child, etc
Emotionally active



7) Can do something we can't


Provide us catharsis



++DON'T NEED ALL OF THESE; FOCUS ON A FEW++





Expand emotional content

Where are they going


Who am I
Who want to be
Who need to be



The answers to those questions provides conflict


Need challenges in growth cycle

Who do they...


... think I am
... want me to be
... need me to be



Solutions have blowback for all parties

Imperfections generate conflict and plot

What things in their lives make them happy/sad


Pick something and break it / fix it



Negative story/growth arc


Start high, but progressively fail/refuse challenges
Tearing character apart and pulling them down bit by bit
Destructive to not just the character, but all around - Going to need to get other (3-5) novels under belt before doing this
Don't need to hint at redemption necessarily - may not return to former glory, may not return FULLY, only partially



Betray Character


Unknowingly living a lie
Been fooled
Provides and injustice done to character
Be sure not to overuse

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Part II:
Creative Ways to Kill Characters
Anthony Francis
John D. Ringo




We kill characters because we shouldn't kill people




1) To raise the stakes in our story; if it doesn't further the story it's just gratuitous.


2) Use your readers own chemistry to get them addicted to your story/books.


3) Character Capital


Build char. up, then kill them
Secondary (mentor, BFF, etc)




4) Doesn't need to be graphic; let the reader visualize in their heads and imaginations.


Minimalizations




5) No such thing as limited disposable characters; ALL char's are disposable


6) The fake-out kill






*RESEARCH*




7) Change the lives of the other characters.


8) Catharsis.


9) Evolved to live with constant, unrelenting violence.


10) Do it for the story, not to 'prove' you're a 'badass' writer.


11) Space out the deaths to allow breathing space


Rollercoaster, not dropping reader down a well.
Cutting pain with laughter


1 - Soothe
2 - Complication
3 - Humor
4 - Ram hard
5 - Bring down/soothe

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Part III:
Fantasy Assassins
Can't remember



NUANCED







1) We like the clever char's.


The 'smart play'




2) Just happens to make money by offing people.


Want to explore the 'heart of gold'







*Is, but doesn't necessarily want to be*
*Stain on the soul*





3) Code


Own laws
Unwilling to cross certain lines
Layers like an onion




4) Fear is an awesome motivator


5) Grey morality


Writing dark is great, but moving toward light is also very very good and enjoyed by readers.




6) A truth in the farce


Accepting without question because it's just a part of society.




7) Kills


Long - sanitary
Short - messy and personal




8) What is?


Pay
Another person's motives




9) Torture can be used to illustrate the abhorrent.


10) Consequences


Can you exist without killing
Only game you know




11) Society saying 'you took the risks!'

12) Killing in "X's" name


Don't mess with "X"
Motivator




13) Heads of state


Captured in battle, ransomed back




14) How much is too much


Rare is cool?




15) Willing or forced upon this life





*Greatest atrocities committed by those following orders*





16) Trap - worrying about doing something wrong


17) POV


Most important tool in your arsenal.
You are writing a person




18) Avoid Token-ism


19) Find their passion




*Let char's evolve over the course of your writing*

[Mu Satach]

This is the best thread ever.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Thanks for sharing this good good advice :D

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

So glad you guys like :)

I have one more that I need to copy over from the workshop I went to just this last Dragon Con.

[Untaaura Verratoa]

Thanks for sharing these. Glad to be able to review the material from time to time

[Pasquale]

This is just amazing, Loklorien. I'm so looking forward to my first DragonCon. I'm going to do my best to attend as many workshops as I possibly can!

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Glad you liked!!

DragonCon is a lot of fun for so many different reasons. Charley and I will be going to this year's DC, so definitely keep in touch because I'll be going to more workshops and we might be able to attend together :)

[Maggewetok]

It's also nice learning things from those who are already published and have a really good idea on what works. :)

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

It really is. That's why I like going to Stackpole's workshops; yeah, they cost money, but they're so worth it. They're the only workshops I put down cash for. There are other writing panels that are free, but if you want the most bang for your buck when it comes to the pay workshops, his are the ones to go to.