Plotting Along: A Diagram of Key Plot Points

I have always had trouble with plotting, so I’m a big fan of collecting working solutions to planning the plot. Today I’m posting the latest in my personal collection of plot diagrams, something I’ve put together based on the best plot diagrams I’ve found and used. Here it is with some explanation…

The black line at the top is, of course, the classic Aristotelian 3-act structure, where Act 2 is twice as long as Acts 1 and 3, and the form is set-up, confrontation, and resolution.

Below that in green are the stages of the Hero’s Journey as outlined by Christopher Vogler in his now-classic writer’s guide The Writer’s Journey, based upon the research of Joseph Campbell.

In brown are the turning points defined for screenplays by the late Syd Field; they also apply perfectly to novels. You can find out more about these points in his books and DVDs here.

In blue, I’ve placed the plot line defined by Martha Alderson in her Plot Whisperer books and workbooks. What I particularly like about this plot line is that it shows how tension increases to two high points, the Crisis and the Climax.

And in red, I’ve added the 14 “Signpost Scenes” defined by James Scott Bell; check out his Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure. I like the way that these signpost scene definitions are more colloquial than Vogler’s and add a few nuances, like “care package” and “pet the dog.”

I hope this diagram and these links are useful to you!

Footsteps: Revision

A few weeks back I gave out some practical revision ideas, but today I want to examine a more nuanced way to look at revision.

My walk in the summer and fall.

Every day I try to take a walk. Usually I’m taking the same walk, retracing my footsteps. It’s a good walk, part exercise, part meditation; I use my walking time to let my brain ruminate on my current project, and more often than not, that rumination is fruitful.

In fact I find that I reach a breakthrough idea at about the same point every walk - that must be the place where my brain relaxes into my physical exertion and my internal editor goes on vacation, because I come up with my best ideas as I reach that rock, that tree.

Today, while walking this route, I could see the imprint of yesterday’s walk in the fresh snow. I put my foot in the same imprint at times; at times, I moved away for easier footing or a more direct route. Sometimes I moved even further, if I heard or saw something of interest that I could incorporate into my walk, weaving a deer sighting or a wolf track into the thread of this walk and into memory.

Winter dawn at my new Bozeman house...just because.

This is how I see revision. I walk in the footsteps of my previous work. Sometimes I work to make something more direct. Sometimes I clarify. And sometimes I find an entirely new thread, a new path, or a new and exciting interest.

I love revising, almost as much as I love walking. The generation of work is exciting, just as walking a new route can be a thrill. But walking the same route every day is a pleasure of a different kind – awakening my senses and sharpening my focus.

So I’m off to revise...right after my walk!

Guest Post: Andy Sherrod on Boy Readers

Today I have the honor of hosting my Vermont College of Fine Arts fellow grad Andy Sherrod. Andy is not only a talented writer and all-around nice person, he's also made a close study of how boys read and why many don't, and how we as writers can appeal to so-called "reluctant readers."

Here's his research - I'd love to hear what readers think!

It’s Not Just About Gender

Many boys lose interest in voluntary reading around the age of ten or twelve earning them the label “reluctant reader.” I prefer “aliterate reader.” An aliterate reader is one who CAN read but chooses not to engage in voluntary reading because he thinks books are boring. Here’s how I know:

A national survey conducted by the Young Adult Library Services Association asked boys, an average age of 14, to list their top obstacles to reading.

39.9% said reading was no fun.

29.8% said they were too busy.

11.1% liked other activities better.

7.7% said “I can’t get into the stories.”

4.3% said they just weren’t good at it.

The top four responses, a whopping 88.5%, are essentially saying “books are boring.” Then along came Harry Potter…Hmm, they aren’t reluctant after all, they are aliterate.

So what makes for a good boy book?

Many believe that a good boy book MUST have a male protagonist. One study shows that, yes, boys prefer it by 61.7% but there is another dynamic at work. In a study by researchers at the University of Georgia, preschool children were read four stories.

1.     A male protagonist engaged in a stereotypically male activity (playing with trains).

2.     A female protagonist engaged in a stereotypically female activity (playing with dolls).

3.     A male protagonist playing with dolls.

4.     A female protagonist playing with trains.

The boys’ number one pick was the male protagonist playing with trains. However, coming in second was the GIRL playing with trains pointing to the fact that the ACTIVITY is as important as the gender of the main character.

In an article by Thomas Newkirk entitled “Misreading Masculinity: Speculations on the Great Gender Gap in Writing”, he cites research that analyzes the reading and writing differences between boys and girls. Here’s the conclusion:

In their own writing, girls keep their main characters in familiar surroundings, they are connected to a community (friends), and the conflict involves relationships.

Boys, in their own writings sent their protagonists “out there” away from the familiar, they acted alone (sometimes in isolation) to conquer physical challenges.

Many children’s books written today have both genders acting in concert with a friend or in groups, staying in a familiar place and dealing with relationship issues. No wonder so many boys think books are boring.

Here’s the take-home message. When selecting a book for an aliterate boy reader, do NOT consider the gender of the protagonist ONLY. Choose books where the main character:

1.     Acts alone

2.     Takes off somewhere

3.     Must overcome physical challenges.

If you do, you have a better chance of capturing the interest of an aliterate reader.

Adrian Fogelin Chats About SUMMER ON THE MOON

When a mutual friend sent me a copy of Adrian Fogelin's SUMMER ON THE MOON with the note "you must read this!" I did. And I was delighted that I did. SUMMER is a rich story of growing up in difficult circumstances, and has an authentic "boy" voice that is a marvel of craft in a rich, layered story. I had to invite Adrian to appear on my blog. Little did I know that she is not only a talented author but a songwriter with a band! Here is our interview:

Hi Adrian! Can you summarize SUMMER ON THE MOON for readers?

Sure—although writing a summary of a book has got to be harder than writing the book itself, but here goes!

Socko and his best friend Damien have just finished their last day at school and are looking forward to a boring summer in their hot inner-city apartment building where the local gang, the Tarantulas, will probably add the only excitement they can look forward to—and not the good kind—when Socko gets an unexpected get-out-of-jail-free card in the form of an offer from a great grandfather he's never met. The General, as he likes to be called, will buy a house for Socko and his mom if they keep him out of a nursing home.

Socko's mother, Delia, quickly takes the old man up on the offer and selects a house in an only partially-built housing development. What she doesn't know is that the subdivision is going bankrupt and that they are the only ones who have purchased a house in Moon Ridge Estates.

At first it seems that Socko’s summer will be spent keeping  his cranky great-grandfather company while Delia goes to work, but as he explores the wasteland that is his new neighborhood he begins to claim the territory as his own, just the way the Tarantulas claimed the old one. He turns the empty community pool into his own personal skate park and walks the beams of half-built houses.

But always at the back of his mind is the unfinished business in his old neighborhood—how can he save the best friend he left behind from being engulfed by the gang?

This book ends with a splash. Socko, who is now the guy who knows the territory, tricks Rapp, the gang leader, into putting his Trans Am in the swimming pool (now full) after a chase through the empty streets of Moon Ridge. When Rapp doesn't get out of the car Socko has to decide whether to save his worst nightmare or let Rapp drown.

A most excellent summary. Do you write from personal experience?

There is always some of my own life experience in my books. In the case of Summer on the Moon, the setting was familiar. I grew up in a brand-new subdivision a lot like Moon Ridge Estates. The only trees were planted by the developer, one on either side of the driveway. Each cast a shadow as thin as a pencil. The water for the subdivision was still a work in progress. Some days it was pink, some days blue. Standing behind my house at one end of the block I could see the houses at the other end with nothing green in between.

But personal experience played a smaller role in this book than usual. Summer on the Moon was built around a shared experience: the economic recession. Socko’s neighbors in the apartment building are all losing their jobs, in the new neighborhood he finds a homeless family squatting in one of the unsold houses. The recession affects everyone in the book, just as it has affected many of the readers I hope will pick up this book.  I wanted young readers to see their own hard times in a story and maybe open the topic for discussion.

I love the General. Please talk about how his character came to be.

The General is a member of the generation that fought in WWII—my dad’s generation. Tough and practical, they survived the Great Depression, fought in a global war (often in their teens), went to college on the GI Bill and raised families. Those that remain are in their eighties and, like the General  who is about to be surplused to a nursing home, are often dismissed for being old, cranky and irrelevant—or as Delia observed “past their pull date.”  

Before they fade into history I wanted to portray the grit and wisdom of what Tom Brokaw labeled “greatest generation,” so I created the General.

You’ve written a number of highly acclaimed books (CROSSING FORDAN, ANNA CASEY'S PLACE IN THE WORLD). What is your process? Are you a pantser or a plotter? Do you write every day?

Pantser?  I love it! The term I’ve coined for my method is “blurter,” and yes , the seat of my pants is always involved. I have come to trust the process, even though I sometimes have no idea where I am going when I write page one. Scenes, like the pages in a pop-up book, open up as I need them. Something below the surface of my brain must be working awfully hard coming up with that next scene, but by the time my conscious mind is aware of it the scene appears as a detailed picture. All I need to do is find the words to describe what I see.

As for every-dayness, I do some kind of writing every day, even if it is only journal-keeping, but most days I am churning out pages for a novel and waiting for the next scene magically appear.

What’s up next for you?

I've just completed a draft of the next book in the Neighborhood series. So far this series goes like this: Crossing Jordan, Anne Casey's Place in the World, My Brothers Hero, The Big Nothing, The Sorta Sisters.

The new book revolves around a fedora, long forgotten in a closet.  It was left by the mysterious Uncle Paul who has not been heard from in three years. When Cody Floyd finds and begins to wear the hat it seems to give him magic powers. At first the older kids in the neighborhood make fun of Cody and his “magic hat” but when the hat finds them an abandoned garage deep in the woods, the perfect clubhouse, they begin to listen to Cody and gradually come to depend on the magic of the hat. The story is told in the course of one week, the week before Cody's seventh birthday, a birthday he shares with his vanished uncle who will unexpectedly reappear on their shared birthday.

What an engaging idea! Is there anything else you’d like to tell us – secret dreams, childhood favorite books, how you got started as a writer...?

One thing I always mention is the library my neighbors and I started at the house across the street from mine. My father lived there until his death in 2007. Because I didn’t want to sell the house I needed a good excuse to keep it (who needs two houses?).  The best excuse I could come up with was to turn it into a library for the kids of Seminole Manor Neighborhood. We now have more than 2,000 cataloged books and run programs for the kids every Sunday.  I put a link below if you would like to visit the Front Porch Library.

Secret dreams? Okay, but remember that “dream” is the operative word here. One of my favorite forms of writing is songwriting which I do collaboratively with my singing partner, Craig Reeder. I’d love it if we could write a hit—you know, the kind guys who have giant busses with their names on the side play for crazy-big audiences.

My more realistic dream is to continue to write and have my novels published and read. I am lucky to have worked for a dozen years with Peachtree Publishers, a great independent house in Atlanta. I wish every writer could find a home for their work that is as supportive. The “peaches” feel like my second family.  

Thanks for helping me keep the dream of reaching readers going Janet!

You are more than welcome! Please give readers a way to find out more about your books and you. And thanks!

My author website: www.adrianfogelin.com

My books through my Publisher:  http://peachtree-online.com/index.php/author/adrian-fogelin.html

My blog for adult readers: http://slowdancejournal.wordpress.com/

The Front Porch Library: http://thefrontporchlibrary.wordpress.com/

Literacy music video made by my band, Hot Tamale and the kids of The Front Porch Library:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjaX0pA2CBY

My band: http://hottamale.weebly.com/index.html

Mima Tipper: Part 3 "When Characters Speak"

***Spoiler Alert*** This blog post contains story spoilers. Read the full version of my YA short story “Waiting for Alice” in the first issue of Sucker Literary Magazine at http://suckerliterarymagazine.wordpress.com/

Can You Hear Me Now? When Characters Speak Through Revision, Part Three

(In which Mima finally hears what Alice has to say)

I thought about the story more, about Mia more and, as the following bits from my writing journal prove, obviously more and more:  

September 16, 2008…What is it with Mia? Should I change her name to Alice so I can really look at her with fresh eyes?

…September 19, 2008. How crazy to be afraid of my writing, like it will bite me.

…October 4, 2008. Some days I am a little freaked out by “…Alice.” I just finished M. D. Bauer’s collection of gay-themed YA short stories, and it scares me a little to have imagined what I’ve imagined… (Tipper Journal)

My journal shows me having finished the Bauer collection, so I know that the October 4^th entry occurred after I had my library-epiphany. What I also know is that the moment I began writing Mia (now Alice) from the perspective of a young girl struggling to understand an unexpected development in her growing sexuality, the story, now titled “Waiting for Alice,” came to life. As did the revised ending:

Three girls come in. They smile at you in that way that says they don’t know you. It’s true. They don’t know you. There’s a whole world out there that doesn’t know you. You look beyond them to the door.     

Mom and Stacey—your best friend Stacey—are out there somewhere, waiting on the other side. 

The dream dark waits, too. Black and soft and velvet as falling. How much easier it would be to go back there, stay there. Blink—what’s it going to be, Ali-girl, Ali, Alice?   

You can’t do it.You can’t stay in that empty, lonely, not-true place. 

But there won’t be any falling or diving or jumping. Just one step, and then another. 

Out. (“Waiting for Alice,” Sucker Literary Magazine, Winter, 2012)   

Examining the two endings I’ve included, the style and structure of them is not that different. In truth, the style and essential structure of the entire story didn’t change much from the first bit in my fantasy novel. The meaning, however, changed not only dramatically, but also in a way far beyond any intention. By the time I wrote the first of the drafts titled “Waiting for Alice,” it was as though I was channeling Alice as opposed to creating her. 

What writing “…Alice” has revealed to me as a writer, is that a story concept, even a full first draft, is one piece in the larger part of writing a story. I’d always thought of writing and revising as a linear process, draft after draft leading in a line toward whatever the initial inkling of the ending would be. When Alice spoke to me on that library day, I understood that revision is not just part of writing a story, it is writing the story.  That writing is more like a big puzzle, where the writer begins placing pieces—some fitting, some not—to see what the picture is. And if a writer is open to the picture becoming something entirely different than presumed, the process of revision will create magic. The kind where a protagonist will speak, as if sitting at the table, and tell an unexpected whopper of a story.  

Thanks for listening, everyone, and for sticking with me and Alice!


Thank you, Mima, for such a great story!

Works Cited:

Kaplan, David Michael.  Revision.  Cincinnati: Story Press, 1997.

Krishnaswami, Uma.  Letter.  6 May, 2008.

Leavitt, Martine.  Letter.  28 August, 2008.

Tipper, Mima. “Faerie Games.” Ms.  VCFA, 2007.

---. Journal. 2008.

---.  “Peer Pressure.” Ms.  VCFA, 2008.

---. “Mia’s Letter.” Ms.  VCFA, 2008.

---. “The Alice Effect.” Ms. VCFA, 2008.

---. “Waiting for Alice.” Sucker Literary Magazine, winter, 2012.

This series ran originally on the Hen & Ink Literary Studio blog last January at http://henandinkblots.wordpress.com/. Also a freshly updated version of my interview with Sucker’s editor-in-chief, Hannah Goodman, is up this week on Through the Tollbooth at http://www.throughthetollbooth.com/ and I’m also guesting on Lindsey Lane’s blog for “Quotable Tuesday” this week at http://www.lindseylane.net/blog/


Mima Tipper spends as much time as possible writing stories and novels for kids and teens, and recently had the tremendous good fortune to earn an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Along with being mad-proud that her YA short story “Waiting for Alice” is in the premiere issue of Sucker Literary Magazine (live now) she is thrilled that another YA short story, “A Cut-Out Face”, was a Katherine Paterson Prize finalist in 2010, and appeared in Hunger Mountain’s online Journal of the Arts’ Art & Insanity of Creativity issue, Fall, 2011. Mima lives in Vermont with her family, is represented by Erzsi Deàk at Hen & Ink Literary Studio http://henandink.com/ , and can be found @meemtip on Twitter. 

"Advanced Plotting": All You Need to Know and More

Not long ago fellow kidlit author Chris Eboch invited a bunch of us to submit articles for an ebook she wanted to produce: Advanced Plotting. The book is now available for download, and, what's more, she's given us permission to offer it *for a limited time* for free. (Not to worry...if you read this article too late for the promo, you can buy the ebook for an easy-on-the-pocketbook price of $0.99. See below for the promo.)

Chris is author of the blog Write Like a Pro! and often has valuable tips and topics, so I would urge you to trot on over and have a look.


I've struggled with plot quite a bit - it doesn't come easily to me - and as a result have found myself reading mountains of books that have helped me through the thicket. In my contribution to Advanced Plotting I outlined what I consider to be the crucial plot turning points. Here's some of what I wrote:

Traditional plots contain turning points, or transition points – points in the plot at which your protagonist’s problem-solving action turns in a new direction. Turning points are important because they serve to increase tension and thus reader interest.

Put it this way: turning points are the significant moments of change in your story.

Beginning with Aristotle, who defined three-act structure, a number of writers and critics have identified these points and where they usually occur in the plot and given them names and relative value. There are seven especially important turning points. In order of appearance they are: the inciting incident; plot point one; pinch one; midpoint; crisis; plot point two; climax.

Before I discuss where these turning points occur in the plot, I’d like to explain what I mean by how the protagonist’s action “turns.” Your protagonist has an identifiable goal and must surmount a number of increasingly difficult obstacles. Each time she thinks she’s closing in on her goal, some new obstacle arises and forces her to “turn” to a new method of solving her problem. Until the climax of the story, she is unable to resolve the problem, and with each turn the stakes are raised.

In the article that follows this intro I outline each turning point, noting where it should fall (roughly) in the plot, and giving an example to demonstrate.


Here's how I close:

When I finish my first drafts I use a plot chart to see whether I’ve placed these seven turning points roughly where they should be according to page count. (Let me emphasize the word “roughly”. A plot template should be used to help guide you, not constrain you.) I divide my manuscript into the three acts and then note where the turning points should be by page count. I also note whether their relative values are correct – if plot point two has higher tension and drama than my climax, I’d better revise.

The thing to keep in mind is that all major points in your plot should be characterized by change. Change in your protagonist is what generates tension and thus holds reader interest. And engaging reader interest is your first goal, always.


There are tons of great articles in Chris's book, and until September 3, you can download a copy for free! Go to this url and enter the promotional code PS76M. I hope Advanced Plotting advances your work in every respect.

Shifting Gears: The Pause that Refreshes

For about eight months solid, I've been working on my next YA novel Moll (out in early 2013.) That's a bunch of drafts, spelled only by various working trips. I finally got it to a place where I thought my editor could look at it, and when we spoke by phone she had exactly the same issues as had been mentioned by my brilliant new critique group.

I feel good, because they are issues I can easily tackle, especially if I give myself a little distance.

So I'm giving the novel a rest. Taking a break. But as anyone who knows me can tell you, that doesn't mean I'm not writing. I'm kind of obsessive that way.

Ann Patchett and friend

I write every day. Maybe not for long, maybe not much that's any good, but I do write every day. If I get two pages done that I'm reasonably happy with, I feel good. Ten pages and I feel like a winner. And for me, I like to shift gears completely, and work on something totally new.

Not long ago I saw a quote from Ann Patchett, who says she only works on one project at a time, not heeding the siren song ("Write me! Write me! I'm going to be so much easier to write than that piece of you-know-what you're working on now!") of a new idea until she's finished her current project...and then thinks the new project through for months, even years. I adore Ann Patchett's work. But that's just not my style, which I think is just fine.

So for the next few weeks, until I get written comments, I'm working on a middle grade fantasy that couldn't be more different than my historical YAs. Think angels and imps, talking animals and monsters. I'm having so much fun, and I know all my work will be better for this shift in my POV.

Maybe you're like Ann Patchett and must be immersed in your current story until it's done. But maybe you're a shift-gears kind of person, too. I think it's fine to discover your best way to work - which also may evolve over time or change with each project.

Give yourself permission to play, to break the mold, to try new approaches.

All For One, And One For All: The Beauty of the Critique Group

I have been blessed with marvelous critique groups. I've had two, one in Texas, and now a new group in my new home in Montana, and both have brought depth to my craft.

Before I introduce you to my partners, I have gathered 10 thoughts about critiquing in general, and should you be thinking about joining or starting a critique group, I hope these comments help.

Me at our recent critique retreat...more about that below.

1. How do you find a critique group? Start with your local SCBWI or other local writer's organization. Go to meetings and conferences. Chat with people. When you find a like-minded person or two, ask if they'd like to partner. (That's how I've found my first group - I met the members at an SCBWI conference and admired their writing.)

2. Don't be afraid to try out the group and decide it's not meshing and won't work. You are all making a great commitment of time and energy, and everyone should be invested equally or it won't fly.

3. Create a regular meeting time/place. Wherever best suits the entire group works. I like to meet at least twice a month for a couple of hours. Less than that and it's hard to make progress with everyone's work.

4. A critique group is an intimate circle, and the relationship is like a marriage. You must be willing to commit your time and energy for the benefit of the group and not just for yourself. Sometimes (as you do with your spouse) you just have to bite your tongue; but most of the time you should be honest, open, and sincere.

5. The best critique groups function symbiotically. No one dominates; no one is allowed to hide. Comments are given free reign to build; often this free-flow conversation generates new ideas and insights for the writer - and the critiquers.

6. Being honest (see #1) does not give you permission to diss another's writing. Ever. If you truly don't like something a partner has written, find a reason for your negative reaction in the context of why it doesn't work - is it the voice, the character, the plot? Or do you just not like the genre (in which case try to divorce yourself from that response and analyze the writing alone.)

7. If you are receiving the critique, other than asking questions, it's best to remain silent. Don't try to defend your work. Trust me, your work is never that perfect.

8. The more you can assess your partners' work in the context of craft, the more you will learn. See the critique you provide as a part of your learning curve. Searching for craft issues or strengths is the best way to see whether you are applying them correctly in your own work.

9. Spend a little time becoming friends. It's okay to stray into conversation about family, life, etc. Just don't let it eat too much into your precious critique time.

Kathy, me, and Shirley

10. Never feel jealous of another's success - there is always more bookshelf space, and your book may be next up. Take pride in the fact that you've helped your partner accomplish her goal.

My two groups? In Texas I was lucky enough to have a group that lasted, if I'm doing the math right, over 8 years. I met Shirley Hoskins and Kathy Whitehead at an SCBWI workshop, and when we shared our work, I was awed by their talent. I sucked in my breath and asked each of them in turn - and they said yes. We met weekly for most of those 8 years, and I'm proud to say that all three of us began as unpublished writers, and now we are all published. I feel that the combination of their wise insights and those weekly deadlines (ten pages each week!) grew me as a writer.

Bailey Jorgensen, Sandra Brug, me, Kiri Jorgensen, Maurene Hinds (Elaine Alphin behind the camera) on our way to our retreat.

When we moved last summer I was at a loss. I almost couldn't function as a writer without my partners. I floundered until last spring, when I was invited to join a group here in Montana. And I couldn't be more thrilled. They are insightful, talented, and motivated. We just came back from a four-day writing retreat (picture: remote mountain cabin with all the amenities; six women spread out in the open spaces; the clicking of keys; coffee brewing; relaxed and delicious meal sharing; laughter; walks; more writing; a couple of hilarious movies. Heaven. Highly recommend.)

Now here's the best part about a critique group that works. When I talked with my editor today about my WIP, my critique partners had already nailed the big issues. I had a handle on what I needed to do to improve my novel, and I had it from their comments.

So, yes, a great critique group is a beautiful thing.

Reading Like a Writer: Character in Maggie Stiefvater's LINGER

Fangirl moment: I attended KidlitCon in Minneapolis this past October, and to my great delight Maggie Stiefvater was the keynote speaker. I’d read Shiver and loved it; I bought Linger at the conference. Maggie is unpretentious and supremely smart, and her keynote was inspiring. I knew she was a good writer. After reading Linger, I’m convinced she’s an exceptional writer.

Linger (aside from being a rollicking good story, with a plot that grabs and won’t let go) is a study in character. The story is told in alternating points of view, each from the first person. Stiefvater labels each change of POV; but her characters are so richly conceived that I really didn’t need labels, I knew just who was speaking. How does she do it? By understanding what makes each character tick. By giving them such unique personalities that their voices resonate through language, recollection, and action.

The story (and I’m not giving anything away here) is the love story of Grace and Sam, and their relationship is central to the action. Grace is gentle and giving. Sam is gentle and lost. Sam is a poet:

Without Grace, I was a nocturnal animal. I stalked ants in the kitchen, waiting by the insufficient light of the recessed bulbs with a glass and a piece of paper so that I could transport them outside.

Grace is the “good” girl captured by love:

Could you outgrow your parents?

But it is Stiefvater’s secondary characters who steal the show. With Isabel, Stiefvater has created a character both sure of herself and vulnerable, yet unwilling to let her vulnerability show. She’s the ultimate cool teen:

I sighed. I didn’t know if I wanted to know. It seemed to me that knowing would be more work than not knowing. But it wasn’t like we could really put the genie back in the lamp now that it was out, could we?

Snide, snarky, quick, Isabel falls for her perfect alter ego Cole, who has been there and done it all:

I looked down at him, and suddenly anger bubbled up through me. It shouldn’t have affected him this badly. It was just a damned bathroom. It was he who was making me this cruel – I hadn’t done anything to him except shown him a damned tub. I wasn’t that person he thought I was.

Oh, but Cole is the way Sam thinks he is - damaged, yes, but not truly cruel, and this is what he must learn - with Isabel's help. And Isabel must learn to trust, and what better teacher than Cole?
Isabel: It seemed like he always sprang honesty on me when I least expected it.
Cole: I felt like I had been a balloon getting larger and larger, waiting to pop, and she had come in and burst herself first.
The story may be Grace’s and Sam’s, a Romeo and Juliet thwarted love story - and, by the way, ever so much more than a werewolf story – but the interplay of these two damaged souls, Isabel and Cole, is what kept me reading. I can’t wait for Stiefvater’s third book, Forever.

Reading Like a Writer: Pacing

Lately lots of people I know seem to be talking about pacing in novels. Pacing was the topic of discussion on kidlitchat a few weeks back, about the same time that a thread opened on my Vermont College of Fine Arts discussion board. These conversations were roughly coincident with the release of the final installment of Susanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. Perhaps that was accidental; but because I think Collins has mastered the art of pacing, I’d like to take a closer look at the topic and peruse Mockingjay for examples.

I searched for a definition of “pacing” in a few of my favorite craft books, and was surprised at how few make specific mention of it. John Gardner says only “the efficient and elegant writer makes each scene bear as much as it can without clutter or crowding.” Janet Burroway reflects simply, “Drama equals desire plus danger.”

Personally, I think pacing and tension are linked, but I'm still trying to discover exactly how.

It seems that pacing is an art that must be mastered as we craft scene after scene after scene, making each scene work to the max, and bridge these scenes with perfect transitions that let the reader rest...but not long enough to put the book down.

In Mockingjay, when Katniss confronts the damaged Peeta for the second time, the scene is relatively quiet, especially when compared with the action packed scenes that comprise most of the novel:

I’ve just reached the door when his voice stops me. “Katniss. I remember about the bread.”

The bread. Our one moment of real connection before the Hunger Games… “So, what do you remember?”

“You. In the rain,” he says softly… “I must have loved you a lot.”

Now, how does Collins move out of this scene without putting the reader in a doze? By upping the emotional ante between Katniss and Peeta, by not letting them out of the trap they are in:

“…Did you like kissing me?” he asks.

“Sometimes,” I admit. “You know people are watching us now?”

Huh? Why did Katniss say that? Well, clearly, she’s thinking that maybe Peeta’s thinking about kissing her right then, and she wants to discover whether he would and whether it matters that they are being watched – in fact, she wants to discover his heart and whether it still belongs to her. Does he offer it up?

Not if you are Collins:

“…What about Gale?” he continues.

My anger’s returning… “He’s not a bad kisser either,” I say shortly.

…Peeta laughs again, coldly, dismissively. “Well, you’re a piece of work, aren’t you?”

And with that, Katniss and Peeta are emotional enemies, and Katniss is not going to settle into contentment with him (yet), promising the reader more drama (desire plus danger) as clearly spelled out in the closing lines of the chapter:

Finally he can see me for who I really am. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly.

And I hate him for it.

Collins is a master at manipulating pacing. This scene is less than 3 pages long. It acts as an interlude but it gives up nothing in the way of tension - and I think that's because she twists and turns in her characters' thoughts, just as we all twist and turn whenever we argue with those we love/hate.

Do you have any thoughts about pacing versus tension? What other novels do you hold up as examples of good pacing?

Reading Like a Writer: Introducing a New Craft Series

A few years back, Francine Prose (can you imagine a more perfect writerly name?) wrote a terrific book titled Reading Like a Writer. In it she asserts that in order to learn how to write, a writer must first read – read analytically, read critically, read everything. At Vermont College we have a craft session on reading like a writer in which we analyze books through on-line discussion; during our first two semesters we’re required to write numerous analytical essays that force similar examinations of others’ work.

I’m beginning a new segment on my blog – an occasional segment in which I’ll analyze some aspect of contemporary middle grade and young adult fiction, and invite you to chime in with comments.

In my first analysis, after I return from my Vermont College graduation (yay!) toward the end of July I’ll compare two recent novels:

Jandy Nelson’s The Sky is Everywhere, and

Holly Cupala’s Tell Me a Secret.


These novels contain similar themes and plots, which they both handle successfully, but they are quite different in style and tone.

 

For now, I’d like to review a few of the ideas that Prose puts forward.

·      Reading like a writer requires close reading. Every word, phrase, image, everything in a piece is important. This is not the “character analysis” or “plot summary” kind of reading, but specific reading.

·      Certain writers endure. Certain works endure. We may not all like Jane Austin, but there’s no doubt that her novels endure. The question is…why?

·      If a writer is struggling with how to create a certain mood, scene, or exchange, it is beneficial to look carefully at how other authors handle the same tricky material. How does dear Jane handle party scenes? How does Hemingway use dialogue?

I hope you’ll join me in my quest. If you have books you’d like to see analyzed, let me know. If you have ideas you’d like to see me pursue, have at ‘em.

Look for my first post on "Reading Like a Writer" toward the end of July.

How I Plot (For Now...)

My friend Mikki Knudsen (in my "class" at Vermont College - her debut novel The Dragon of Trelian will be out April 14) asked me recently how I plan and plot. Whew! I'm still trying to figure out a method that works, which suggests that there is no one right method at all. However...I've recently been toying with that very issue and this is, more or less, what I said:

About the planning and plotting...who knows if my method works??? Only time and readers will really tell. But I have discovered that I tend to work organically from the ground up. Yes, once or twice I've had an idea for a story and the idea came with an ending, but that's not the usual thing for me. I start with a germ - a tiny seed. Sometimes that seed is a phrase, sometimes a potential title, sometimes just an image. Then I start writing. And along about page 25 or so I've discovered one or more of my main characters. At that point I do a character analysis - sometimes a really detailed one. That may take days, and is constantly undergoing scrutiny. Then I write a little more.

Suddenly I'll grab the heart of the story. I start to write and rewrite at the same time. Along the way, I may think of a scene or two, and I've discovered that the most efficient way for me to remember them is if I write them in short-hand on post-its and put them on a board, like a storyboard, so I can mix them up. Eventually I write to the end of the story. And THEN.....I need to sit back and analyze the whole thing and what it means and who it's about. And I start all over again. I've never yet had the courage to ditch the ugly, messy first draft entirely; but I'm considering it. Just chucking it out and starting again. I'll let you know when I get that brave.

Usually scenes pop out of nowhere; sometimes entire plots have to be revised to fit what happens; and pacing can be a problem that I have to deal with (I often get deep into the scene and flower it up). But, generally, my work grows like a tree. Organically.

Laughter!

One of the lectures I attended at VCFA was presented by graduating student Lisa Doan, who addressed writing humor.

I find writing humor difficult. I think it takes a special personality to create believable humor. I also think it can't be forced. Lisa pointed out that it really comes from character - and this was a true "aha!" moment for me.

She talked about the character who has a "skewed world view" - that is, a character who spends time thwarting society's expectations. The further "out" the character becomes, the more we find that character's behavior funny (think "There's Something About Mary"). Lisa said:
"To invent a skewed world view, define society's view, define the exact opposite, then back it down into something workable."

Wow. I was really taken with her ideas (and there were many more like this one). Suddenly I totally got why I find The Wednesday Wars or Holes so funny. I expected one thing, and the opposite happened. Actually, and more importantly, the characters expected one thing, and the opposite happened.

So the next time you are working on humor, think "skew".

Home and at 'em

Okay, so I'm back and nobody here understands me. I'm not complaining, just remarking. Some of us in my VC class are talking about having been pulled into a cult-like thing there...and I'm totally with that. It's all-encompassing, this experience.

But now for some craft issues! I thought I might share a little taste of the lectures. Give you a sense of the people and ideas.

I'll just march into lecture 1, given by Sharon Darrow. It was really cool how the entire day (that was Thursday the 10th) had a thread, and that thread was: look inside, deep inside, look at what made you, how you grew up, your family, your experiences, and be really true to those experiences. Sharon called it a "clothesline". When she was little she remembered hanging out the wash, running through the clean linens, following the flapping shirts, racing out to take up the laundry before the thunderstorm. And the image is apt, because don't we all try to hide our "dirty linen"? Don't we all keep secrets, buried so deep we keep them from ourselves as well as the rest of the world?

Well, dig 'em up. That was Sharon's message - because as children's writers, we are really writing for the child we once were. I know I am. And there are some dark little things in there I need to face, and when I do, I think I'll be a better writer for it.

Back to person(s)

We've got some discussion about first person versus third person, which I think is interesting, so let's string it along.

So, my debut novel is YA, and when I turned it into first person, it came alive. Now, however, I'm writing a middle grade, and when I tried first person it was flat as a board. My YA protagonist is 16; my MG protagonist is about to turn 13.

Now, they are also slightly different genres - the YA is historical/mystery; the MG is contemporary/realistic fantasy. And the voices are vastly different: in the YA, as historical, my protagonist speaks with more formal dialect (she's upper class), and in the MG that contemporary voice can come across as slangy.

The other issue may be character - in the YA, I had to really dig her out. In the MG, she's more alive for me right off the bat.

I'm interested to hear what folks think!