Dancing Word Writers Workshop

with Brandilyn Collins

 June 5, 2001

 

Hosted by: Anne McDonald

Dancing Word Publisher/Editor

*This chat has been edited for clarity

Anne McDonald: Let's get started with a word of prayer. Father, thank You for the blessings You shower us with every day. Thank You also for the little surprises you tuck into each day. Be with us tonight, and bless our time together. Let us be a blessing to others and to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

I'd like to introduce one of my favorite writers and teachers, Brandilyn Collins.

* AnnieM leads the applause...

Brandilyn Collins: Thanks, Annie.

* AnnieM turns the podium over to Brandilyn and dives for the nearest chair

Brandilyn Collins: Okay, anyone have a question to throw out to get us started?

Anne McDonald: What are some of your favorite methods for getting over the middle of the book blues.

Brandilyn Collins: You need to tell me more. Are you in the middle of the book and are you blue? If so, what's happening with your plot at the moment?

Anne McDonald: This is for another writer. She likes how the beginning of the book started, and it's been flowing nicely...but now it seems to be taking a turn she wasn't expecting and she's discouraged.

Brandilyn Collins: What's the turn mean? Something a character has done that she didn't expect?

Anne McDonald: No, the plot idea seemed to dry up.

sassy: If I get stumped in the middle I wander around outside and just take in surroundings and some weird and wonderful thing will drop into my mind.

Brandilyn Collins: Okay. Well, you probably know what I'm going to say, Annie.

Anne McDonald: Yes, but it's best for you to type it out. She wants to hear from you.

Brandilyn Collins: Writing a book is like, say, building a tower. If your tower is getting fairly high, and it starts to lean and looks precarious...How do you fix it? You look for where it started to get off kilter. In other words, you have to back up some.

I know I've said it before...But I always tell writers to go back to the very beginning. What is the main character's Desire? Where is that Desire taking her/him? If you understand where your character is headed, even if he leads you in some new paths along the way...

You will know the conflicts that will arise the stand in opposition to his Desire. Annie -- I know this is not new to you or some of the others? Do you want me to continue here, or move on?

Anne McDonald: Can you address the issue that many writers feel like failures at this stage?

Brandilyn Collins: Okay. Really, however trite it sounds, you need to press through. Although I'm one who usually writes a scene just the way I want it...I'm learning that when I'm feeling frustrated, the best thing to do...is to just get the scene down. I can always come back and make it better.

Or here's another thing to try...If you know a scene later on in the book, one which is clearly in your head and excites you, skip and write it. It will simply be a shot in the arm for you. The writing of this scene may also show you new conflicts to include as you move your character toward this pivotal scene.

Another thing to do is to employ Emotion Memory, which we've talked about some before. For those new to the concept, basically Emotion Memory is the memory deep within you that can unlock the feelings that your character is experiencing in a certain scene.

Sometimes a scene or a portion of the book is hard to write simply because we cannot FEEL what the character is feeling. We can't connect. Once we establish that connection, things begin to flow.

Annie, I've mentioned numerous things here. Any thoughts at this point?

Anne McDonald: Just that writers need to realize that writing is a process. You won't get it perfect the first time...realize that re-writes are a part of the business.

Brandilyn Collins: Amen! Are there other questions to throw out?

sassy: Is it healthy for the writer to have no plot outlined.... Write by the seat of your pants so to speak.

Brandilyn Collins: All writers are different. Some write with little plot; Some write with full plots. I don't tell writers which to do, because I know both can be done. I do tell writers who are seat-of-the-pants types to at least know the Four Ds of their story. Especially the first one -- the character's Desire. You'd be amazed how well this work for the no-plotters. As long as they understand a character well enough to know what the character Wants, they can write the story.

sassy: What are the 4 d's

Brandilyn Collins: Okay, Four Ds for those who have not heard... First D = Desire. State your character's Desire in the form of an action verb.

For example, Jessie wants: to enjoy a quiet summer in Bradleyville before leaving town to follow in her mother's footsteps of serving the poor. Notice how very specific the Desire is. When you pinpoint your character's Desire, the second Ds come naturally into place.

The second D = Distancing. These are all the conflicts that arise in opposition to the Desire. Notice the various parts of Jessie's Desire. First, she wants to enjoy a quiet summer. So -- all kinds of conflict can arise which keep her summer from being anything but quiet. Then she wants to leave town. So -- conflicts can arise to keep her from leaving easily. Then she wants to follow in her mother's footsteps. So -- conflicts (internal) can arise to keep her from doing that.

The third D = Denial. This is when it seems that all is lost in the story.
No way is the character going to achieve her Desire. It has been Denied.

The best and most exciting stories go to the fourth D. Devastation. At this point, the character is even worse off than when she began following her Desire. She's facing something so bad she never had even imagined its happening. From this point on, she'll need to use all her forces to their utmost to turn things around.

One more thing. When you pinpoint your character's Desire, you can figure out the story's "Answering End." At the "Answering End," your character will either achieve her Desire or she won't. Or perhaps she'll have it within her grasp and realize she doesn't want it after all. In other words, you'll have the beginning of your story, and its end.

The Distancing Ds fill in the middle until you get to the Denial. From there throw in even greater conflict until you get to the Devastation. These basic plotting points are very helpful to those who don't WANT to plot.

They show the main points of the story, but leave plenty -- and I mean plenty! -- of room for seat-of-the-pants writing.

Anne McDonald: (lol, my kind of plotting.)

Brandilyn Collins: If you are a pre-plotter, you can use these Four Ds to outline the basic points of your story, then fill in between them. Sassy, have I answered your question?

sassy: yes thank you

Anne McDonald: A writer ended up throwing out a plotline she had because she couldn't get any further. She's thinks she's a failure. I told her she's merely going through the learning process. In your writing career have you ever thrown out a plotline or characters?