October Newsletter

By Jessica Page Morrell

The Power of Description

Common Sense ãNothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing.ä Ralph Waldo Emerson ãCommon sense ainât common.ä Will Rogers Back when I was in high school I wrote essays where Iâd open the with a dictionary definition. My first paragraph would quote Webster and then Iâd launch into my homily about freedom of speech or our God-given right to wear mini skirts. I thought myself clever starting with a definition, although this technique was, and is, as worn as Lincolnâs nose on Mt. Rushmore. But although this technique is dated, letâs spell out a meaning for common sense that we can all live with, and then suggest how common sense relates to the writing life. The dictionary claims that common sense is unsophisticated and the ãunreflective opinion of ordinary men.ä But in reality, it is NOT unsophisticated or unreflective or ordinary. It is a bedrock of wisdom that we can use as a foundation for our writing career. Choose your own metaphor here, because common sense is the compass, the North Star, the guidance system, the rock upon which we build. Without a plan that is sensible, profound, and detailed, writers often: a) waste precious time b) live a fantasy, not reality c) do not truly commit to the writing process. Iâve been longing to write about this subject since I attended an impromptu after-movie gathering with a group of people, mostly writers. What has lingered in my memory is a brief conversation I had with a man that evening. It came on the wings of a number of manuscripts I had worked on this past summer and pointed to something lacking in many writers: common sense. And the odd thing is, that most of the writers Iâve been working with are bright, articulate and thoughtful people. They have succeeded in demanding careers, raised families, ran marathons, and even managed to retire young. The gentleman at the table on a rainy Sunday evening was an aspiring screenwriter who was also writing a childrenâs picture book. He was asking the person seated next to me, another writer who makes a living as an illustrator, if he could create illustrations for him to accompany his manuscript. Well, call me obnoxious, call me nosy, but I slipped into the conversation and explained that publishers generally did not accept illustrations along with a manuscript. That the usual practice is to submit a manuscript alone, and if itâs accepted, a publisher will pair writer and illustrator. Without blinking, he discounted my information. I asked him the age group he was writing for and his answer was, ãI donât know, five to ten.ä Well, at that point, I starting worrying about him. Childrenâs picture books are an extremely difficult market to crack and they are highly segmented and age specific. I asked him if heâd ever read any childrenâs books and he explained that heâd gone to a bookstore and spent three hours reading them and was amazed at the variety and sophistication. I made a few more suggestions, all which were ignored. By this time, I was realizing that not only was my advice unsolicited, but also unwelcome and exited the conversation as he went back to inquiring about my friendâs rates. A week later, after reading a nearly 700-page manuscript, I met with the writer who had spent eight years working on this true crime manuscript. His topic is as compelling as it is frightening and he knew the subject better than anyone because heâs a retired detective and the case has consumed him for many years. Heâd hired a typist and a proofreader, but his obsession did not extend to understanding the demands of the genre. He admitted that AFTER heâd written his manuscript, heâd read a few true crime books and thatâs where his research into the genre ended. There were a number of issues that needed to addressed in the manuscript, but mostly it required a deep understanding of how a true crime story is told. He needed to learn when to invent and when to stick with facts, how to weave facts into a narrative, how to uncover themes and truths, how to transform case files into a story. In August I met with a client who is writing a novel, but has never read a book or taken a class about fiction technique. So although he has a terrific idea for a plot, he doesnât know what it is supposed to look like on the page, there are too few setting details, he has no concept of how a scene is constructed, and he hasnât bothered to include any details about fifty years of the protagonistâs life. And although the plot is set in a well known, 2,000-year-old institution, he misspelled or misused most of the words relating to it. In July I met with another client, a bright and talented women who spent several years writing a suspense novel but had never read any. This lack of understanding was apparent in the failings of the manuscript. In fact, she spent so much time in the villainâs point of view that there was no suspense. We discussed this oh-so necessary ingredient in ALL fiction: chapter and scene hooks, cliff hangers, high stakes, the sense of time running out, red herrings. But perhaps one that works best in this genre is delay÷you put off telling readers information until they absolutely need to know, which helps creates an urgency, a forward motion to the plot. Most fiction is based on secrets revealed, and while it sometimes works to reveal early in the story, if you go this route, you must add other elements to pique the readerâs interest. These people, all who displayed common sense in other areas of their lives, simply have not applied it to their writing. And if you couple a lack of common sense with arrogance, as so often happens in writers, youâve created a recipe for failure. I hear again and again about the difficulty of breaking into publishing, but it seems to me, that if any writer applies a lick of common sense to his or her career, you overcome the main obstacles. The writers I know who succeed spend their time learning and listening. They sit at the feet of masters, or at least in their classrooms. Writing requires the same depth of knowledge as medicine, law or science or auto mechanics. I recently met another woman who works as a free lance editor. Sheâs spent years in executive editing positions at publishing houses and years in Hollywood producing movies. And I discovered, that like the writers who I respect, she is always polishing her skills. I am reminded of a comment Michelangelo made in his last weeks: ãI am still learning.ä We are fortunate to live in a time where information is everywhere÷in fact itâs too abundant. Fill in the blanks in your writing knowledge in order to compete with writers who are willing to work hard at their writing careers. You owe a great responsibility to your art. Make a methodical study of the genre youâre writing in. Learn how the publishing business works. Make contacts. Develop techniques for writing characters a reader has never met before. Analyze the plots, the themes, the beautiful sentences made by writers you admire and apply this knowledge to your own work. Itâs only common sense. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Another change of season and fall has arrived with a sweetness, a settling down feeling. People write about the nostalgia of freshly sharpened pencils this time of year, but for me fall is encountered at the farmerâs market among the smells of roasting peppers and dried leaves. Pumpkins and squash, the last berries and peaches of the season, tomatoes and dahlias pouring from stalls. I lug my basket home planning meals, happy that I can again turn on my oven, that the heat of summer has finally left town. The north end of this property is lined with oak trees. Birds I havenât seen in months have returned a woodpecker, a pair of blue jays and another traveler I can only identify by his wide, plaintive call from a neighborâs pear tree. It appears that theyâve arrived for the harvest and the jays are busy swooping over my lower deck and dropping acorns to crack them. I sweep up leaves and acorn hulls. I walk in the parks to watch the colors shift, spotting more red and orange among the green. A few weeks ago, I visited the Pacific coast to sit again, to write again before the endless expanse of blue, and to experience dusk that settled over sky with shades of pink, lavender and red. At night we built a fire and from time to time, stepped outside to watch the latest night show, an impossibly vast sky with enough stars spangling the night sky to make us believe in endless possibilities. Are you a common sense writer? Do you write during your peak hours? Do you squeeze in writing time on weekends if you work full time? Do you affiliate with other writers? Do you write down your goals? Are your goals realistic, attainable? Do you write even when youâre not in the mood, discouraged, or not clear about the next steps of your project? Do you receive feedback on your work? Do you read widely? Do you read like a writer, that is, scrutinizing how authors practice their craft? Do you develop strategies to block out distractions? Do you study books on technique and craft? Do you study markets, understand trends, track whatâs selling in your genre or field? Are you clear about how to format and submit your work? Have you learned to accept criticism gracefully and gratefully? Do you reward yourself for successes and accomplishments? Do you consult with experts and professionals about your next steps? Do you associate with people who believe in your writing dreams? Do you also write just for fun or practice, simply to experiment and stay limber? Do you read poetry? Do you edit ruthlessly? Do you take rejections personally or professionally? *************************************************** Inspiration ãThe rules weâve all heard so much about are not really rules at all. Theyâre gentle guides that you need to be aware of, but not necessarily conform to, especially when they fall in direct opposition to your natural voice. When handled with skill and talent, breaking the rules is one the best ways to distinguish yourself.ä Lori Foster ãYou have to approach writing with a sense of humility and understand that people are not really interested in your story and you no mater how painful or funny it is, unless you give it to them in a way that they can absorb. And they can absorb it when you deal with just the humanity and the simplicity of it.ä James McBride ãI firmly believe most books sell once you have taken the time to clearly define your market, set your goals and are committed to taking daily action.ä Jim Donovan ãBecause fiction needs to be visual, analyzing films and trying to write a scene or two yourself can be helpful. Even if like me youâve never held a movie camera in your life, by studying the techniques that filmmakers use to create scenes, youâll be able to see through the eye of a camera as you write.ä Janice Eidus Show, donât tell. Often in nonfiction I know what I want to say, whereas in fiction Iâm working from only a bare emotion or raw image. And then I have to work to make some sense and shape from that image or dramatize the emotion.ä Rick Bass © No portion of this newsletter may be reprinted without permission.