Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Today I finished reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

I read Ender's Game because it had been used as an example of How-To write a novel in several books I've read.

I got so wrapped up in the storytelling that I probably missed what I was supposed to see.  A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Art and Craft of Story by Victoria Mixon

Today I finished reading Art and Craft of Story by Victoria Mixon.

This is a great book with a lot of good stuff I wish I knew by heart.

I rate the book 4 stars.  Its really, really good.

She lays out the three act structure as:

Act I: Hook containing HOOK and CONFLICT #1
Act II: Development containing  CONFLICT #2 and CONFLICT #3
Act III: Climax containing  FAUX RESOLUTION and CLIMAX

The new thing she brought to the table for me was breaking down each of these six PARTS so that each part has its own Hook, Conflict (1-3), Faux Resolution and Climax.  This is an over simplification of what she's teaching.  I see it as a very useful and powerful tool in developing structure.

Scenes vs. Sequels - The Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

I am trying to get my head wrapped around a writing technique that employs two kinds of scenes.  One is based on action with scenes have three parts: 1) a goal; 2) conflict; and 3) disaster.  The second kind is based on reaction.  Its three parts are: 1) emotional reaction; 2) dilemma; and 3) decision. 

The action scene with goal, conflict and a disaster seems to be taught widely by almost all of the books I've read on how to write a novel.  The idea of following the action scene with a scene that deals with the emotional reaction to the previous action, a period of review, logic and reason which leads to a choice of how to proceed, is not widely taught.

In 2010, I began following Randy Ingermanson’s blog Advanced Fiction Writing.  One of the unique writing techniques he described was the concept that there are two kinds of Scenes (with a capital “S”).  The first is a Scene where action is responsible for movement through the Scene.  The second is a Scene where reaction is responsible for movement through the scene.  In his blog he called these MRUs motivation-reaction units. 

Ingermanson gives credit to Dwight Swain credit for ‘inventing’ MRUs.  The concept is discussed at length in Techniques of a Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain, 1965.  I read the book and thought it was interesting but I didn’t have a clue how to implement the technique.

In 2012,  I began following the blog, Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors, by   K.M Weiland.  Ms. Weiland has recently been writing an excellent series of blog posts on this concept of action vs. reaction Scenes which she refers to as scenes (with a small c) and sequels.  It is an excellent series and I recommend it to all interested in learning more about the use of action scenes and reaction sequels. 

In one of her posts she mentioned the author, Jim Butcher, in connection with scenes and sequel.  I've gone back to try to find where she led me to Butcher, but I couldn't retrace my discovery.  She perked my interest in Jim Butcher, who was then unknown to me.  

I did some Googling and found that he was a New York Times Best Seller List author of fantasy novels.  I also discovered that back in 2006 he posted to a blog, Jims Livejournal useful instruction on scenes and sequels.  He really makes the technique seem simple and easy to do.  He said that that is the way he has written every novel he has written.  A scene followed by a sequel.

Butcher writes in Jims Livejournal:

“Sequels are what happens as an aftermath to a scene. They do several specific things:

1) Allow a character to react emotionally to a scene's outcome.
2) Allow a character to review facts and work through the logical options of his situation.
3) They allow a character to ponder probable outcomes to various choices.
4) They allow a character to make a CHOICE--IE, to set themselves a new GOAL for the next SCENE.

Do you see how neat that is? Do you see how simply that works out? 

1) Scene--Denied!
2) Sequel--Damn it! Think about it! That's so crazy it just might work!--New Goal!
3) Next Scene!

Repeat until end of book.

See what I mean? Simple. And you can write a book EXACTLY that way. Scene-sequel-scene-sequel-scene-sequel all the way to your story climax. In fact, if you are a newbie, I RECOMMEND you write your book that way. You can always chop and cut the extra scenes (or sequels) out later, and you will have a solid bedrock structure for getting your book done.” 

Today, I finished reading Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher.  It is wonderful fantasy novel.  I thought if I read this book and study it I’ll be able to see how it is when you write a scene followed by a sequel.

The book is about 500 pages in length.  It’s a good story and I hated to put it down.  Maybe that’s why I couldn't see the lines of demarcation between scene and sequel.  In those 500 pages there was only one sequence that I could point to and say this is the scene and this is the sequel.  It was seamless and it was wonderful.

Now, I’m torn between putting my analytical hat on and tearing each chapter apart to find how he buried the sequels so naturally.  Or, buying the next book in the series and really enjoying myself. 

If you like fantasy, add Jim Butcher to your list of must read authors.

Turning Angel by Greg Iles

Today I read Turning Angel by Greg Iles.

Turning Angel is the second book in the Penn Cage series.  It is set in Natchez, Mississippi.

The first book, The Quiet Game, was a delightful read so I was looking forward to the next book in the series.

Also, my work in progress Bon Secour is set in South Alabama.  I am a Southern boy and I imagine that all of my books will be set in the South.  I want to be an authentic Southern writer.  It is important for me to read contemporary Southern authors to absorb their style.

The story is a great read.  I enjoyed it thoroughly.  I'm looking forward to reading Devil's Punchbowl, the third book in the series.

The greatest praise for a book is, "I can't wait to read the sequel."

The Racketeer by John Grisham

Today I finished reading The Racketeer by John Grisham.

I really enjoy Grisham's novels.  They are delightful, easy reads.

I thought this one is one of his best recent novels.  The plotting was superb.  I didn't see the twists coming.  And that makes for a great read.

Telling Grammar by Kat Duncan

Today I read Telling Grammar by Kat Duncan.

After I finished writing my short story, They Went to Biloxi, I began to think about whether to engage the services of an editor to look over my story.  My daughter writes romance fiction and she has used Kat Duncan for editing.  She sings high praises for Kat's editing skills.

I searched the internet for Kat Duncan and found her website.  I noticed that she had written Telling Grammar and that it was available as a Kindle book.

I bought the book to read thinking it would be a good way to learn more about Ms. Duncan's writing skills.  I found them to be first rate.  I've been exposed to everything grammar-wise that she covers.  But, like some of my other life lessons this exposure didn't stick very well.  I'm guilty of many grammatical errors.

One of my problems is that I don't think it's that important for me to use a Past Present Participle properly.  I think it's more important to tell a good story.  I think if I do most readers will forgive me.  Mainly because they don't know the rules either.  But I have doubts.  So, I'm thinking about using an editor.

The book covers the rules of grammar from a storyteller's view which is unique.  It tells you when something is incorrect but acceptable in a novel.  I like that sort of not so up-tight thinking.

The magic in the book for me was when it began to cover what I'll describe as the ART of wording.

When I learned to fly, the rhapsodic, emotional feeling of soaring with the birds that many pilots rave on about totally escaped me.  To me, flying was a mechanical skill to be learned and practiced.  I never felt like a bird.  I never wanted to be a bird.

I've read a quotation by Truman Capote to the effect that he wrote for the pleasure of hearing the words as he wrote.  That emotional connection with words escapes me.

Kat Duncan's Telling Grammar has a wonderful section on sentence structure with tremendous practical examples of sentence wording to achieve emotional results.  For the first time, I think I'm beginning to understand why you might spend effort on perfectly saying something.  As opposed to simply letting it flow from your unconscious onto the paper.  For example, is it better to say "on saying something perfectly"?  :)

Powerful stuff to consider.

I recommend the book.  It's a great source for grammar rules, but it is much more.

Story by Robert McKee

Today I finished reading Story: Substance Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee.

I have seen advertisements for Robert McKee's seminars on screenwriting in several writing magazines.  The seminars are usually held in locations which would involve considerable expense in time and money to attend.

When I realized he had written Story, I purchased a copy and then looked at it sitting on my bookshelf for a year or so.  I started reading Story about six months ago.  I started, stopped and started again many times.  It's not that it's a hard book to read.  It is just so full of stuff I think I need to know.  It's deep.  At times, too deep for me.  I think it's the type of book that becomes a reference used many times.

I love being organized.  I'd rather organize what I'm going to do than to do it.  I've studied structure as taught by several authors.  I thought this was going to be a book about screenwriting structure.  And, while the subject is covered, that's not what the book is about.

Simply put, the book is about telling a story.  What works and why.  What doesn't work and why.  While his perspective is from the movies point of view, isn't this what all novelists, playwrights, and screenwriters want to do, to tell a good story.

p237 "To tell a story is to make a promise:  If you give me your concentration, I'll give you surprise followed by the pleasure of discovering life, its pains and joys, at levels and in directions you have never imagined."

Yeah, that's what I want to do.  I think this book has taught me many things that will help me accomplish this goal.

I rate this book as five stars.