Shooting for the Stars

 

[goal for the new year: source]

I've been blogging on how to write in a more literary fashion.  This post is more about writing in general.  As we approach the new year, a lot of our minds turn to setting resolutions.   One of the most important things all writers must do is set specific goals in order to achieve what they want for their writing.  

[SMART goals: source]

Remember to make your goals SMART, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.  If you don't set a specific time or daily amount, an amount that is achievable, and realistic, it's less likely to happen.  Many writers have said over the years that writing every day is a must if you are to achieve your dreams.  One of those main goals is to record how much you'll write daily.  A paragraph?  A chapter?  10 pages?  50?  It doesn't matter what it is, as long as you continue to achieve it.  It's far too easy to fall off the wagon if you don't set a goal and stick to it.  If you're rewriting, how many pages do you need to edit each day to get it done?  

[calendar: source]

It may also help to have a holistic goal.  If you're shooting for, for instance, an April deadline for yourself, divide the number of pages you need to write or rewrite before then in order to complete it on time.  The big thing is to know what you want.  Keep that goal forever in your mind.  Write it wherever you have to in order to get it done.  

[make it happen; source]

Reward yourself every time you achieve a big or even a small goal.  Remember that the difference between a wish and a goal is writing it down, and the best way to keep yourself going with those goals is to make it feel worth it.  You're sacrificing time.  Now, reward yourself for a job well done.  

Setting the Mood

[music: source]

Intro: 

 I've been blogging about how to write more literarily.  A lot of people listen to music to match or alter their mood.  If they're depressed, they may listen to something depressing or maybe something soothing or happy. Part of what they seek may be in the rhythm and music, but the other half of the equation is language.  When you write a book, you don't have a soundtrack (well, other than an audio book).  All you can do to invite the mood (or in literary terms, tone) are the words.  This time of year, people invite the holiday feeling, whatever that means to them, with the words they're listening to.  You, too, can control the tone of your piece through your careful use of language.  

[writing; source]

Mr. Editor:

You can think of what tone you're seeking as you write the first draft.  Many people carry a mood with them that automatically translates to the page with everything they write.  But most people have to really work on this for the second draft.  However you write, just get that first draft out.  You don't even have to think about mood or specific language detail until later.  For me, if I let Mr. Editor in the door when I'm working on that first draft, I'll never get anything done.  So the mood/tone has to wait.  

[Macbeth-source]

Consistency: 

The second draft, you decide what kind of tone you want either consistently throughout for, say, a thriller, a romantic tear-jerker, a chipper kids' book, or something else.  Dr. Seuss's books are consistently whimsical.  A bodice ripper may drip with passion and lust.  A thriller may exude tension and excitement.  Or you may just take decide with each scene.  Think of Macbeth.  In one scene, Macbeth murders the king. The tone is dark.  The next, two porters are telling knock knock jokes.  The two moods juxtaposed are part of what makes this play so classic, so respected, so complex.  The lighter tone is there to lighten the mood after an intense scene, before you're once more plunged back into darkness. 

[Seuss Trufula Trees-source]

Schlumping Borfins:

After you decide on a tone, you make sure each word in that scene or book matches that tone.  If you're going for a kids' whimsical book, make sure each word, each line, brings in that spirit. Does it bring joy?  If not, you may want to trim or change it.  Also, techniques like rhyme, assonance, and alliteration can enhance that whimsy, or whatever your tone.  How much fun would a Seuss book be without rhymes like, "So don't you feel blue. Don't get down in the dumps./You're lucky you don't have a Borfin that shlumps"?  We don't know what a Borfin is or why it schlumps, but we delight in it along with kids because the whimsical mood carries us.  

[Blonde-source] 

Word Choice: 

Word choice is the primary controller of tone  Think of light brown/dark blond hair, for instance.  If you're going for something like a fairy tale, that hair color can be described as pure as gold or simply golden.  If you're writing women's fiction in which the main character doesn't feel good about herself, that same hair can be called mousey or just light brown or nondescript.   If she's a murderer, you may think in terms of emphasizing the darkness of that blond hair or mention blood red highlights.  If you're talking about dark blond hair with blood red highlights in a whimsical kids' story, your reader will be distracted by how that does not match the tone.  

What tone do you need to make your piece work?  Choose the tone then read your piece carefully.  Is there anything that needs to change?  Is there a moment or scene that will be a tonal mismatch?  

Juxtaposition

[writing: source]

 Introduction: 

I've been blogging about how to make any writing more literary.  One thing that can make something stand out or be thought-provoking is to put two things together in an unexpected way, a way that makes you take a fresh look at both.   This is called juxtaposition, and it invites the reader to compare and contrast them in a thought-provoking way.  Doing this can make your work more literary and bring greater depth into your piece.  

["Snow White": source]

In Characters:

There are multiple kinds of juxtaposition.  One example of juxtaposition many of us have noticed is character foils, where the protagonist and antagonist are so very different in so many ways, but the ways in which they're similar can turn them into mirrors.  I've talked about foils in a past blog.  They're not entirely opposite, nor entirely the same.  When one watches Disney's "Snow, White," it's easy to think of the naive, humble princess as a simple opposite of the worldy-wise and vain queen.  

[The poisoned apple; source]

However, a reader of the more literary Grimms Brothers' "Snow White" can see that the princess gets herself in trouble with the disguised queen when they're both dressed as something they're not, peasants, and the queen offers to sell the princess something that appeals to her vanity, laces, ribbons, and combs.  When the princess has a hand in taking out her antagonist by having her dance to death in burning shoes, she is symbolically defeating the part of herself the queen represents.  The juxtaposition of these two characters shows greater meaning and depth in both.  

[Harry Potter; source]

The article linked to above says, "The foil character can then be a way to show what would have happened if the protagonist had made a different choice or had started off in a slightly or completely different condition." For instance, Tom Riddle (aka the young Voldemort) and Harry Potter are shown to be so very similar, yet one chose to bring death, while the other chose to lay down his life to save others. 

[T-Rexes; source]

In setting/plot: 

Fairy tales commonly feature the dark, wild woods contrasted with the domesticated city or town life.  The forest is wilder when contrasted with the tame life, while the city or town is tamer by contrast with the town.  Red Ridinghood and many others leave the safety of town and domestic life and venture into the dangerous wilds of the forest, where they face possible death. This very contrast shapes the plot.  The same contrast between safe civilization and the dangers of the (human-manipulated) wild also forms the plotline of "Jurassic Park" (movie and book.)  The differences between a big city and the countryside are highlighted in humble fairy tales like "City Mouse, Country Mouse" and great literary works like "The Importance of Being Earnest."  Think of what you can do with a story in two settings or plot events that become more significant and meaningful in their juxtaposition to other settings or events.  

[Dickens' books; source]

In language/metaphor: 

Many of the cliches we use everyday use juxtaposition, like "make a mountain out of a molehill," "all's fair in love and war," and "better late than never."  Each of these phrases puts together opposites or seeming opposites in order to connect and contrast the two, a mountain from a molehill, love vs war, and late vs. never.  We use these so often that we scarcely notice them anymore.  But if you put together your own turn of phrase, your own set of opposites with thought-provoking commonalities, you can bring out deeper meaning in your stories.  Poets do it all the time.  In the article linked to above, the author points to the juxtapositions in the first lines of Tale of Two Cities and beyond, as juxtaposes "the best of times," "the worst of times," and the doubles the represent darkness and light within Dickens' famous text.  

Now, it's your turn.  How can you make more meaning in your writing with juxtaposition?  

Genre Mash

 

[Merging genres--the woman in the trees--source]

I've been blogging about how to write anything in a more literary fashion.  A lot of people think of genres as unique, stand-alone categories.  Yes, people pair up sci-fi/fantasy, sometimes even think of space westerns like "Star Wars" or "Firefly."  But a lot of people think of sci-fi as a genre based on power gleaned from science, of horror as a genre whose power is based in thrills and chills, of fantasy as any story where power comes from magic alone, of literary fiction as the literature without genre and with depth of meaning, and so on.  In the publication world, these things are carefully defined and often kept apart.  Yet some stories stand out because they are willing to mix genres in new and interesting ways.  

[Millenium Falcon--source]

When "Star Wars: A New Hope" appeared on the scene, producers were leary.  It was something new, something different.  It did, indeed, seem a western in space, full of sci-fi samurai/space wizards/superheroes who used magic without a scientific basis (until the prequel trilogy).  It had been given a very limited budget because it was so different.  One producer believed in him, which is what carried the day.  This was a story that spanned multiple genres.  We all know it hit so big and continues to affect the culture across generations.  And this is all because George Lucas crossed genres and created something new.  

[Shakespeare-"The Storm"--Source]

When a lot of people think Shakespeare, they think of greats like Hamlet or Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet.  But yet, one of his most famous plays as well as his last play, The Tempest, combines the depth and classical themes of Shakespeare, the format of a Greek play, and tropes and themes most commonly found in the fantasy genre.  It's the merging of tradition and something new.  It's one of the most commonly shown plays because it does resonate with modern audiences because of the popularity of this merging of fairy tales, fantasy (a genre that didn't exist until later), and classical Shakespeare.  

[One ring to rule them all--source]

When asked about popular fantasy series, most people think of JRR Tolkein's Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  His works merged mythology, fairy tale, 18th and 19th Century fantastical yarns, linguistics and so much more to create something new, something that has inspired generations since.  Most modern fantasy traces its genealogy back through Tolkein's works.  

[robots-source]

Merging genres to create something new has been a technique used for a while, yet many shy away from it.  Think about what you like to write, what genres suit your writing.  If you love horror and fantasy, you can read some dark fantasy stories to see if you can create a world of your own there.  If you love mainstream literature but also have always enjoyed science fiction, is there a way you can merge those?  If you love fantasy and reality, you could see what some authors have done with magic realism, where everything seems normal and mundane except one fantastical element.  See what others have done to merge genres then see what you can do.  

Using the Three-Part Structure

 

[story]

Introduction: 

I've been blogging about how to write in a more literary fashion, no matter your genre.  One important writing technique that has come to my attention recently is the 3-act structure.  You may have heard of this or the 7 plot points or even the 12-point structure.  Aristotle first broke down the three-act structure of a basic story.  The 7 plot points expand on that.  Joseph Campbell came up with the hero's journey, which is the basis of the 12-point structure.  You can use them all or decide for yourself which may work best for you.  One way or another, it's a good idea to be sure your book hits the major points to make it work for the reader.  

[source]

Act 1: 

My books are short and simple, so I've decided to focus on the 3-act structure.  The first act starts with your character's background and normal world.  This is where your reader learns what they need to know about your character.  Just beware of long, boring info dumps or flashbacks that sweep the reader away before they've even established themselves in the current world.  This is your character's comfort zone.  

There may and probably will be some level of discontent, something from their past that makes their world less perfect.  Think Luke Skywalker with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.  Think Hamlet, whose dad recently died.  Think Katniss in her childhood home with her depressive mother and the looming specter of the Hunger Games.  This is where you're learning who and what reality they are used to.  It should take roughly 1/4 of the book.  Toward the end, they hit the inciting incident/call to adventure wherein they're invited to/pushed to leave their comfort zone.  Obi Wan tells him he needs to join the rebellion, Hamlet's father's ghost tells him to kill his uncle, and Katniss's sister is selected to participate in the Hunger Games.  Quite often, their first act is to reject the call to adventure.  

[source]

Act 2: 

The character is launched into the second section with the first plot point, which is the decision to act on the call to adventure.  Basically, they make a choice that forces them out of their comfort zone and into the rising action, the adventure, itself.  The reader gets to know the protagonist, sidekick(s) and antagonist better.  This is the choice to join Obi Wan and Han in leaving Tatooine as they head into space to answer Leia's call for help.  This is the section wherein most of Luke's first adventure in space occurs.  This is Hamlet's internal struggle as well as his struggle against his uncle, the king's machinations and attempts to have him killed.  This is the Hunger Games, themselves.  The protagonist tends to react rather than act this section.  This section usually takes up about half the book.  

It's during this time the midpoint occurs.  A significant event occurs here, usually things getting worse.  This is the hardest challenge yet for the protagonist.  For instance, Katniss has to stop running and start fighting her enemy tributes.  This part throws the protagonist out of their groove.  

[source]

Act 3: 

This part is triggered by plot point two.  The character has started to become more proactive and less reactive.  They become a master of whatever they were struggling with in act 2.  Luke embraces his role in the rebellion and willingly goes to war.  Hamlet has embraced his destiny and challenges his uncle and his uncle's minions.  Katniss attempts to protect Rue and Peeta.  

This part starts with a conflict between protagonist and antagonist.  This is the pre climax.  The angagonist's strength will take the hero off guard. There should be some doubt about whether or not the protagonist will triumph.  

[source]

Climax

The climax is during this this section. This is the part the whole book has worked toward, the moment of emotional fulfilment.  It's the final conflict, when the hero, who has just been knocked off guard, is back and ready for action and overcomes the antagonist.  This is Luke's use of the force to take down the Death Star.  This is Hamlet fight with his father and his father's minions.  It goes badly for him, but tragedy can be part of the climax as well.  Katniss challenges the Capital's power and triumphs, saving Peeta and herself with her plan.  The climax often involves a decision and embracing the abilities the protagonist has spent the rest of the book developing.  

[source]

Denouement

This act ends with denouement, which answers final questions and finishes the narrative.  This is where Luke and Katniss claim their reward, and the story wraps up after Hamlet and everyone else has died.  If the climax doesn't achieve the protagonist's goal, this is where that happens.  In this section, the writer is tying up loose ends, underscoring the theme, and releasing tension.  It should not get so long it feels boring nor so short that you don't finish everything that needs to be done. Look over the three acts and decide where you can apply them to your books.  

Starting a Blog

 

[source]

I usually blog about how to make anything you write more literary, but I've had a lot of comments on the blog on my website (tamarapaxtoncopley.com).  Many of these are asking about how to start a blog, so I thought I'd go ahead and answer this question for the general blog reader.  It's not hard to start a blog.  

[source]

1. When I decided I wanted to write a blog, the first thing I did was think through things I know or have experience with that may help others.  The first thing I decided I wanted to blog on was mourning.  In part, it was because I wanted a way to cope with the immense and unimaginable agony that comes with blogging.  I'd heard that writing through and generally finding a way to express the pain can help.  Also, I knew that I wasn't alone in this experience.  Other people are going through this and can benefit from my experience either because they, too, are going through this or because they know someone who is and may want to understand the mourning experience.  

[Source: my photos of the cat]

After that, I decided to write on a cat's experience because I know how very popular cats are on the internet.  I have had cats since I was little and have spent many years trying to read cats' thoughts.  At first, I really just started because my girl wanted me to do it, and it was her cat.  But after I started, I found the voice of this saucy cat and decided it was a lot of fun to write from within her unreliable narrative voice.  It's been a great exercise and has helped me flesh out a character inspired by her for my books. 

[Source]

Lastly, I decided to write on writing simply because I've been training to be an English major since I was in third grade.  I got both my BA and MA in English.  I decided to share what I've learned with those who are interested in learning about how to write in a more literary fashion.  I also have been getting more serious about getting my writing career going, so I've been keeping readers up to date on what I've been doing.  Think through what your strengths are.  Most people don't read blogs just to find out what's going on in someone else's life.  They want to learn something that would help them in theirs. Having done four blogs for 5+ years, I recommend you stick with one blog and do it as often as you can.  

[source]

2. Once you have a topic, you choose a blogging host.  Most are free.  I went with Blogger.com (Blogspot) because I'd heard of it before.  I started my webpage with WordPress but found it a little hard to figure out.  Besides, to have a self-named webpage, it does cost money.  You choose a background or import one from elsewhere.  They have several built into the site.  

[Source]

3.  You then just write.  Think in terms of a 5-paragraph essay where you start with a hook (interesting first line), give some context, then wrap up your first paragraph on a thesis or point.  Each of your body paragraphs start with with a topic sentence that states your argument that paragraph.  You then give evidence.  Your conclusion wraps up the blog post and makes it somehow applicable to the reader.   Every time, I first brainstorm my theme for the week.  If I'm writing about writing, have I heard of a technique recently?  Have I used one?  If not, I may surf for ideas.  If I'm writing about my cat, what has she been interested in over the last week?  If I'm blogging on mourning, what has happened in my life related to mourning?  What's coming up?  What may be happening in the world or a friend's life that may relate?  

[source]

4.  It's best to write directly to your reader, to focus on how your particular theme for the week may apply in their lives. How can this writing technique help them?  What is it like for me or my cat to experience this event, and how can I make it funny and/or entertaining?  What can this blog do for the reader?  It's also good if you invite the reader to participate in a conversation and answer your questions. I'd recommend you end on some kind of invitation, even if it's considering what you've done recently.  

[Source]

5. Once you have your written text, run it through Grammarly, grammar/spell check, or some other checker.  Readers will be more impressed if your writing is polished.  Impressed readers are more likely to return next time, which will lead them to be more interested in whatever you're selling or advertising. 

[source]

6.   You then add headings and/or images.  It needs to be broken up, so it's not one big block of text.  Images tend to make your writing more attractive or interesting.  If you're blogging on events in your life, you can take your own pictures.  If not, you can always look up websites like Pixabay.com that give you brightly colored and free images to illustrate your blog.  All pictures in this blog came from Pixabay.com.  There are several such services if they don't have what you like.  Then, add your search terms/labels and post the blog.  

[source]

7.  You'll also want to share the link with your friends and followers on social media.  If you don't put the word out, no one will know you even wrote something.  

There are multiple blogs out there on how to craft a meaningful blog.  If this post doesn't give you what you need, I recommend you Google some of them.  Do you have a blog that lacks magic or followers?  Go through this list and figure out what you need.  Figure out what your blog is for both in terms of your needs and (more importantly), in terms of the reader's needs.  What does your blog need?  Once it gains widespread appeal, you will get a following, even if it's small.  Good luck.  

Foreshadowing Revisited

[source]

I've been blogging about how to make any piece of writing more literary.  I've mentioned foreshadowing as a key to building up what is important in a piece of writing, but it's been a long time.  I figured it was worth revisiting because it is such an important technique. 

[source]

 

Good writing builds toward a meaningful end.  Every book and so many moments within the Harry Potter series foreshadow and foretell the ending.  The same is true of Shakespeare, Austen, and just about any good piece of writing you can name.  It keeps the series or book unified and helps the reader keep guessing what is coming, which propels the reader forward in the text.  Foreshadowing builds suspense and makes the reader eager to know what happens next and why.  For instance, throughout Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare is always foretelling the end from the prologue with sentences like, "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life."  The reader knows the end is coming, which enhances the weight of every scene, every action as we build toward that ending.   Keep in mind foreshadowing can come in the form of phrases, prophecies, symbols, or other hints of what's to come without (for the most part) coming out and telling the reader exactly what's going to happen (unless you're Shakespeare).  Watch for foreshadowing as you read through your favorite books.  

[source]

You can't really do this very well with your first draft.  Some writers outline their books and know precisely what will happen ahead of time.  That kind of writer can build in moments of foreshadowing and foretelling to prepare the reader for what comes next.  But even when one outlines a book, one doesn't know everything that will happen until it's written.  A writer can then go back through and find places to put foreshadowing to enhance the dramatic tension the reader feels as they read.  If the reader knows too much of what will come, they may lose interest.  However, without foreshadowing, events will seem to come out of the blue and won't necessarily tie into the rest of the story well.  If no foreshadowing, meaning, and tension had been built up toward Romeo and Juliet's death, the reader may find two teens offing themselves for a short-lived romance kind of ridiculous.  However, with the way it is built up as a monumental occurrence and the result of years of family feuding (and with even the laws of nature representing the stars disapproving their connection), it seems like the only logical end and what must be.  They become lambs to the slaughter in an inevitable occurrence.  

Where do you have foreshadowing in your book?  If you don't have it yet, what meaningful events at the end of your book need to be built up?  Where can you put the signs, portents, or other symbols of what is to come?  

Period Writing

[source]

I've been blogging about literary writing. A very popular area of writing (not even a genre since it's wider than that and can spread across several genres) is period writing.  I'm not talking about faux period writing, meaning, for instance, fantasy set in a medievalish setting, one of the most popular kinds of fantasy writing.  There's nothing wrong with that kind of story, but that's a separate subject.  This is about real period writing set in a real time period.  This kind of story requires a lot of research. 

[source]

There are many pitfalls one can fall into when it comes to writing about a period of history.  The most common would be to skip the research.  The hardest part could very well be really understanding the period about which you want to write.  Experts know this period. A poorly researched piece that purports to be about one period but uses anachronistic hairstyles, setting, fashion, technology, or other detail will throw the astute and well-educated reader right out of the narrative.  My husband tried reading Braveheart but could not take it seriously when someone lit a match long before matches existed.  If you want to skip the research, it's time to build a new world, which is an entirely different skillset and headache.  The first step in period pieces is always research, lots and lots of research. Long before Lacey can meet Juan, you need to know if those names could exist where and when you want them to live and love.  What could they wear?  What would they do in a day?  What tools might they use?  If you don't know the time, you can't know any of this. 

[Plague Doctor: source]

Even more important than the trappings of the period, how would someone who lives in that time period think?  Modern feminism would be a foreign concept to a woman of the Renaissance.  Environmentalism would not necessarily be the first concern for a pauper from Dickensian England.  Know the thought processes, the theories, the basic understanding of the world of your character.  Don't just tack your thinking onto their faces, or it won't be convincing. If you're going to write about a doctor living during the late middle ages, research what medical theory would have looked like.  Would he have even washed his hands before performing surgery?  Why or why not?  You need to know that because a historian reading your piece certainly will.  And if you can't convince your reader that your setting is real, all the deeper meanings in the world won't mean anything to your readers because you've already lost them.  They're not your readers anymore. 

If you have a period piece from any period, do you know enough about your time period?  Do you understand how your character would think, live, and love?  If not, it's time to research some more. 

Why Make It Literary?

[from Pixabay.com]

I've been blogging about how to make your writing more literary.  I guess I should have started with WHY make your writing more literary?  I usually don't get very personal with this blog, but for me, it all started when my baby died.  I had gotten my master's.  I knew how to make my work more literary, how to add meaning to a story because I'd spent four years of my bachelor's degree and three years of my master's degree learning how to dissect other people's work.  The next logical step would be to add what I'd learned to my work.  But WHY didn't strike until I lost my baby in a tragic accident.  Suddenly, writing for the sake of writing and telling a cliched story just because I'd made it up, and it was in my head felt like a hollow pursuit.  Unless you know why you're writing and for whom, there is little point to adding more writing to a world already bursting with words other people have written. 

[source]

I guess I should back up and explain what literary writing is.  Literary writing simply means writing that brings more meaning to the words on the page.  Non-literary writing might have a guy walking into the room, sword drawn.  Literary writers are keenly aware of the symbolism of the sword (manliness, power, anger, intent to cause destruction, display of his psyche reflected in that one item); the meaning of his features (the color of his skin or eyes or hair and what that might mean about his culture or ethnicity), his wardrobe (armor on body and head meant to block out the world and protect him from danger, mental and physical; blue because he's been depressed since his wife died in childbirth), the symbolic meaning and foreshadowing presented in the room he is leaving, and the suspense the reader experiences as he passes through the portal and over a threshold with any number of symbolic depths, and the meaning of the future held in the room he's entering.  A literary writer doesn't just write words on a page to show stuff is happening but imbues actions, clothing, setting, items, characters, etc. with symbolic power, with meaning beyond just what is presented on the page. 

[source]

A lot of people think of literary writing as just what is canonical, just what you read in your English class because you have to get a good enough grade to get your mom off your back or open doors in your life.  It's all boring stuff that is too dense to be interesting and meant for stuffy scholars in institutions closed off to outsiders.  But literary writing can be everywhere.  The Harry Potter series is rife with symbolism of childhood and the coming of age, birth, death, and resurrection, and magical items full of not just in-world power but also power to enter the mind and transform into something beyond what they are.  Many other fun and popular pieces, such as the Percy Jackson series and almost everything by Rick Riordan, Roald Dahl's pieces for children, Mark Twain's works, particularly Huckleberry Finn, anything by Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters, the Lord of the Rings series, Edgar Allen Poe, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm, books by Robert Louis Stevenson or Alexandre Dumas, stories by Ernest Hemingway, poetry Emily Dickensen, and so many others you may pick up just for fun have been written with attention to meaning beyond the surfaces and can and have been dissected for greater understanding by students in classes around the world.  

[symbols-source]

I'm not saying that your work has to be the kind that students the world round will study in their English classes.  But if you can instill meaning beyond the surfaces, bring themes and symbolism beyond what you put on the page, you're actually doing something that may open minds and make people not just enjoy but think.  People of all ages like to be challenged.  Have you considered meaning beyond the surface in your work?  What kinds of themes or greater meanings are already present in the novel, short story, poem, etc you just wrote?  If there aren't any, can you put some in?  Can you turn that chessboard, handkerchief, hat, or pocket watch into something that makes a reader think of the character's past, present, and future all and once and make the reader think and feel just with the presence of one symbol?  I'd recommend reading some of the great literary works to see how they do it.  Poe's work,  Emily Dickensen's work, and the fairy tales aren't very long.  You can read them in a few minutes and you can find them everywhere.  What meanings do you see?  How can you do the same?  Feel free to review this blog and many others for ideas.  

Listening to the Music

[source]

I've been blogging about how to make any piece of writing more literary.  This week, it will be about just general writing advice. One of the most important steps of revision is reading aloud.

[source]

First off, when you read a piece of writing aloud, you can listen to the rhythm of your writing.  If it's good, it will read smoothly.  Probably, your first read-aloud will be about cleaning up the language, fixing mistakes.  If you can read aloud with someone, they can listen as well and catch confusing bits.  This is the step during which you may hear overwriting (she trotted on her horse can be cut to just say she trotted), redundancies, incorrect usages, and other issues not caught by your grammar/spell-check.

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As your actual writing smooths out, you can start listening for other things, not just to avoid sounding bad but actually to make it sound good.  Keep in mind that even unrhymed poetry or regular prose can become poetic when you pay careful attention to sound.  You can enhance assonance and alliteration, or achieving unity through using similar sounds, when the events of the story are going well. You can also use longer sentences and chapters.  When things start to be intense, you can use harsh sounds, short sentences, and short chapters to make the prose mimic events of the story.  Cut out as many adverbs as is possible when you can use a powerful verb instead. Why walk angrily when you can stomp instead?  Experts say use said, whispered, or shouted as much as possible instead of other dialogue tags and cut out adverbs in dialogue tags because dialogue tags are just for making it clear who said what.  Are there places you can use an action instead of a dialogue tag?  If you have a program like Autocrit or Grammarly, these can help with your editing and proofreading. 

Once your language sounds good, and the prose is as strong as you can get it, you may be ready for a writer's group and/or beta reader, someone who can give you feedback.  Few people can succeed in writing without a good reader who can give them feedback.  You're getting there. You can do this. 

What's in a Name?

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I've been blogging about how to make a piece more literary.  A lot of authors just randomly choose names.  It feels right, or it's personally meaningful to the author.  They randomly choose it from a phone directory.  They arbitrarily choose it because ... fill in the blank.  Literary authors do very few things randomly and without meaning.  Yes, some have randomly chosen names.  But if you want your piece to feel meaningful, start by giving careful thought to your major characters' names. 

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Think through classic works. Willy Loman is the main character of Death of a Salesman.  His name tells you right away he's not high status that, in all ways, he's a low man.  Think of Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird.  She's always exploring the world around her, socially, emotionally, and physically.  She is always asking questions and scouting out the truth.  Luna's name from the Harry Potter series brings to mind the moon and its associations with the word "lunatic" because she's both dreamy and pastel like the moon but also a bit nutty.  These names suggest to the reader a meaning that helps enhance and enlighten their character and their place in the book. 

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Alternatively, you can use a character's name as a literary allusion.  If you were to name your character Peter, James, John, James, Mary Magdelene, Adam, Eve, Gabriel, Moses, Noah, or a host of biblical names, you'd want to know the figures from the Bible in order to make your character more meaningful, to draw on a source that much of the modern world knows.  Peter from the Narnia series is noble and heroic, a leader like Peter in the Bible, for instance.  It's one thing to name your character Gabriel and have him be just a guy named Gabe.  It's yet another to make a sly and clever biblical allusion with a character who is by action or calling an angel.  The author should know exactly what he/she is doing with the name and what kind of literary history he or she is referencing.  The same is true if you use any literary name.  If you name your character Darcy, Perseus, Lizzy, Hamlet, Emma, Don Juan, Alice, Anne (with an E), Cordelia, Juliet, Miranda, or any other name your reader will automatically recognize, use it carefully.  A literary name is a quick and easy way to call on a wealth of literary allusion, but only if you, the author, know the history of the name. 

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Then again, you could use the name for ironic purposes.  Your character may be named Chastity and yet be a lady of the streets.  Suddenly, her name means more and makes your reader want to know more.  What if you had a Lucifer who sought to live in an upright and kindly way, while his neighbor, Jean Baptiste, is stealing from him and smearing his name?  Such irony (as in defiance of expectation) can be used to make a statement, bring in some other meaning, or for humor.  In the series "Sleepy Hollow," a character started to pray, "Jesus..." The other inmate in his cell responded with something like, "Yeah?  What do you want?"  The name is automatically humorous because of how it's used in the story.  But if you use a character's name for humorous or ironic purposes, that should be clear.  This use of literary names should result in a clear addition of humor or meaning.   Otherwise, a reader could easily consider your choice of a name a poor one and question your skills as a writer. 

Think through the names you're using for your characters.  What do they suggest right away, just with the word associations therein?  Is its meaning appropriate to the character?  Does your character's name bring to mind another literary character?  Does it work?  How can you bring out more meaning than you already do?  If it doesn't work, is there a better, more meaningful name you can use?