What's in a name - part II - odd writer's block.

I've written about the importance of names on this blog before (-> here <-), but in working on my current WIP - New Bohemia - I noticed something else about names.

 Now, a bit about how I write to put this in context. I don't outline. My attempts to do so have failed. When I start a story, I usually know my main characters, their history, and their major story arc, and the ending. While I don't outline, I do a lot of pre-writing (a David Farland term, or at least one I learned from him). I spend a lot of time imagining a scene before it ever hits a page.  When I don't have a character's name or a detail I need to research I use "XY" as a placeholder. During the first round of edits, I search the document for "XY" and fill in the missing information. Using XY instead of a character name has never been a problem. Until now.

But in working on New Bohemia, I had to write a scene where a character (May) gets a phone call that changes the direction of the story, and places another obstacle between her and happily ever after. Now, I knew who was making the call, what her history was, how she was going to impact the rest of the story, the reconciliation needed between the two women, and what she had to say during this particular call. What I didn't have was her name.

The story languished for two weeks without more than a few words being written each time I sat down to work. I couldn't figure out why. It wasn't really writer's block. I knew what I needed to write, and most of the dialog. So why was this so tough?

Turns  out, I couldn't write because the character, who is a fairly major one, didn' t have a name. But I didn't realize that yet.

First, I chalked up the inability to progress on exhaustion. The day job was frantic and the kids were back in school adding another dimension of crazy to my life. Sleep had climbed up higher on the need list after all. Still, catching up on sleep and wrestling control of my docket didn't get me writing again.

Figuring I was missing knowledge I needed for the following scenes, I paused and researched avalanche rescues, and whether an entire town has ever been lost to an avalanche. Turns out there was a large avalanche, triggered by an earthquake, that flowed into a town. Thirty-four people died. It was a horrible, and unexpected disaster. Now, I had a real world basis for my catastrophe. Content, I sat back down at my keyboard.

And. . . still nothing.

Fine. Maybe, I'll flip through Sherrilyn Kenyon's Character Naming Sourcebook and  see if I could fill in some of those XYs while I pondered the full stop in my forward momentum. I knew my character was from Wales but had grown up in the household of Indian natives living in England. So, I flipped to page 381 of the book where Welsh names start. About twenty minutes later, Tegan Brice was born, or at least named.

Guess what? I finished that scene, the first one she appeared in, half an hour later. Having a name let me fill in other details that I hadn't considered yet.

So, what's in a name? Sometimes everything.

The Terror of the Blank Screen

All right, it's 100 degrees for the like 100th day (okay, it just feels that way) here in Virginia. So, my brain cells are a bit fried. One hundred degree heat with a "feels like" temp of over 120 means it's even too hot to go to the pool for long. Ugh.

There are times when nothing is more intimidating than staring at the computer screen and knowing I have to get words onto it. It's not truly writer's block since I often know what I have to say, it's often more of an issue of finding the desire to start. Or, as in today's case, an issue of limiting the thoughts running through my head to form a coherent statement.

This weekend's writing to-do list included:

(1) Preparing applications for my new firm to be hired by the debtor in three bankruptcies;
(2) Preparing about 20 new client agreements with the new firm;
(3) Finishing a friend's novel and sending him back comments;
(4) Reading about 60 stories in my slush pile;
(5) Writing 5 essays for a grant applications;
(6) Preparing the regular blog post for this blog and three posts for other sites for Jack Gorman Got Cut By a Girl; and
(7) Write at least 1000 words on my WIP.

It being 100 degrees out meant I could delete my "outside chore" list without any guilt. But the above list was still pretty formidable. About half-way through the list and I hit the "wall." The computer became my enemy. I wanted to go out, but it was too hot. I prowled the living room. Poked into the kitchen looking for something, but not knowing what. Time to try something else.

So, in trying to break through and focus so I could hunker down and finish another section of my list, I turned to James Scott Bell's The Art of War for Writers, as always Bell's little book didn't let me down - Entry 13 - A writer must always be prepared to break through the "wall."

Bell advises against "scotching" it. He uses "scotch" to mean either (1) give it up, or (2) drink it to oblivion. Instead here are some methods (some his and some mine) for getting past the "wall" or the terror of the blank screen:

(1) Write anything
Sometimes the idea of writing X (whether its an appellate brief or a short story) is more than I can bear. Fine. Give heed to that emotion. I hit a point where I'd rather rot than write another word on a particular project. This is not a productive state of mind. Instead of trying to power through and write another essay earlier, I put it aside and drafted another representation letter, a mostly rote process. Having taken a break from the "bad" writing, I was able to clear my head and get back to it.

(2) Write a rant.
A week or so ago I had to write an opposition to another party's request for payment. For reasons I can't go into here, the mere concept that this person had the nerve to ask for money enraged me. Because I had too much emotion tied up in what I needed to write, I couldn't write it. Finally, I gave into the emotion. I spent an hour writing what I thought about the request without censoring. The one page rebuttal violated every rule of civility the courts and legal community impose. But, damn it felt good. Having cleared the emotion out, I could then write what I needed to for my client.

(3) Exercise.
When the weather allows, taking a walk through the woods behind my house is a great way to clear my head. My phone has Dragon Dictation on it so if brilliance strikes, I can still capture it. But getting out of the chair and moving my body does seem to help me hurdle the wall when I resume the seat.

(4) Randomize.
This is a James Scott Bell suggestion that I've yet to try, but am intrigued by. Bell suggests taking a book at random, opening to a random page, and typing the first complete sentence on the left side of that novel into your story. The "borrowed" sentence starts your next scene. Once you finish the scene go back, delete the "borrowed" sentence and substitute your own.

(5) "Behold, _________" it.
This one just makes me laugh. Bell notes that when Ray Bradbury was stuck and facing a deadline for the screenplay version of Moby Dick, Bradbury woke up one morning, looked at himself in the mirror and said, "Behold, Herman Melville!" He then finished the script.
Bell suggests taking an author in the genre you are writing, look in the mirror and then say, "Behold. __________!" Then sit down and write.

So, I'm off to write more for my WIP, The Nocebo Effect.

"Behold, J.D. Robb!"

I feel better already.

Lessons Learned from Legal Writing

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I wanted to write about a seminar I attended on Monday, April 16, 2012. Bryan A. Garner, a U.S. lawyer, lexicographer, writer, chief editor for Black’s Law Dictionary, and founder and president of LawProse, Inc. http://lawprose.com, offers writing seminars for lawyers. If you are going to learn good writing skills, Bryan is someone you want teaching you.

* * * *

Good legal writing is just good writing. But law school teaches bad writing. There. I said it. It’s on the internet. It will never go away. Law school teaches you how to be a bad writer.

Readers can tell the writing’s quality within the first few sentences. Judges may only have a limited time to consider your case. Just like other writers, lawyers have to “hook” their audience (the judges) to obtain more judicial attention and pursuade. Below are a few of the principles I took away from the seminar that apply to all writing.

(1) The Best Writing is Clear and Concise.

Lawyers are enjoined to write clearly and briefly. But we often miss the point. Some fiction writers never climb out of that messy slush pile for the same reason. The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White mandates: “omit needless words.” But brevity doesn’t mean “make the story short.” It means use the best descriptive words possible without sacrificing clarity. If anyone can read– and the best legal briefs tell stories about real people and real consequences -, understand, and be moved by the story, the writing has done its job. To let the story shine, you need to follow Stephen King's advice in On Writing and “kill your darlings.” Mr. King and Bryan both say the same thing; ruthlessly parse your words.

“Well, then, what’s a needless word?” you ask.

To me, an unnecessary word is one you can strike or streamline without changing your meaning. Why say “they brought an adequate number of sleeping bags” when you can say “They brought enough sleeping bags?” I’ve removed three words from the sentence without changing the meaning.

“But wait, what if my quirky character is overly verbose?” you challenge.

That character’s dialog and point of view only can use grandiose terminology. Everyone else should speak like a real person and not a thesaurus.


(2) Good Writing Builds on Resonance.

Lawyers are taught that they should make their argument three times. And it works. Well, sort of. Your writing has a theme. It should be reinforced throughout the narrative without being repetitive. David Farland, writer of the Runelords series and frequent lecturer on fiction writing technique, talks extensively on building resonance in fiction so I won't elaborate here.


(3) You Must Use The Space "Above The Fold" Well.

Use the "above the fold" space to connect with your reader - whether a judge or a novel reader. Journalists strive for placement of their articles “above the fold” meaning, literally, the space on the front page under the paper’s name when the paper is face up i.e. above where the paper is folded. For the internet the space the reader can see without scrolling is “above the fold”. In a novel or legal brief, your first two hundred and fifty words are often all that shows on that all important first page. You must use that precious space to build credibility in your writing and storytelling abilities to convince the reader to turn the page.

An advocate needs to be the first to make an impression on the judge. Bryan’s “tell the reader why you win up front” sounds a lot like “hook your reader on page one.” Why? Because the “above the fold” maxim holds true for all forms of writing.

As a writer, you must hook your readers. Generous readers may give you a page to accomplish this, but more likely you only have the first few lines. A good opening paragraph introduces a character and gives some flavor of the work to come. In your first paragraph, you make a promise to your reader about what’s to come. Do this well and the reader will turn the page to read on.

(4) The Story Must Be Compelling.

A compelling story is interesting with a precise wording, vivid descriptions, a clear plot line, and active characters. Does that sound like another way of phrasing “show, don’t tell”? It should.

(5) Third Party Feedback Is Necessary To Determine If You Are Writing Effectively.

As a final point, most of us are too close to our words to edit effectively. While familiarity might not breed contempt, it does breed blindness. We sometimes forget to put necessary information in the prose because we’re so familiar with it. If you have to explain to someone reading the work for the first time, you’ve left something out. You can only figure out if you are "missing" something by letting someone else read what you've written.

No manuscript should be sent to the final decision maker (whether judge, agent, publisher or editor) without others reviewing it first. I've written on this blog before about editing, and the process is invaluable. If you can take ego out of the process (and it’s hard), you’ll find that the feedback helps you clarify and deepen your writing.

If you have the opportunity to hear Bryan Garner speak on writing, take advantage of it. Take your writing lessons where you find them because at the heart, all good writing follows the same dictates.

Write the cleanest, clearest and most compelling prose you can. If you follow these directives in all your writing, the maxims become second nature. Your writing will improve, and people will want to read your story.