NaNoWriMo Movie Night!

Only two more days before NaNoWriMo!

Get ready to make the most of the next month by having a NaNoWriMo movie night. Watch two or three films based on bestsellers in your genre. Make scene lists as you watch. Be sure to select movies that closely follow the plotlines of the novels on which they are based. Do this, and you’ll understand structure in a much deeper and comprehensive way. Most importantly, you’ll be preparing your sub-conscious for the storytelling marathon that is NaNoWriMo—and laying the plotting groundwork to pound out those pages.

So do yourself a favor, and have a NaNoWriMo Movie Night tonight! It's good for your plot, and a lot of fun—and the only NaNoWriMo homework that goes with popcorn.

For more plotting help, use code PLOTPM, good for an extra 20% off on purchases of your book in the WD shop through end of month. Here’s the link: http://www.writersdigestshop.com/plot-perfect

NaNoWriMo Prep Tip #1

I love this poster by Grant Snider, which I have hanging in my writing room. (To get your own, go to http://www.incidentalcomics.com/p/poster-shop.html.) I find it helps me plot. But there are other tricks to plotting as well. Here's one of my faves, just in time for NaNoWriMo:

Enhance Your Logline

Create an enhanced logline for your project, one that incorporates the main action of your story, its emotional impact on the reader, and what sets it apart from other stories in the same genre.

Here’s one for Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn:

Gone Girl is a thriller about a wife gone missing, and the husband held responsible for her disappearance. Is she dead—or just pretending? Is he a murderer—or just a cuckold? [main action]

Told from alternating his and her points of view [what sets it apart], this twisted love story reveals the terrible truths about an ordinary marriage—the tie that binds, for better or worse. [emotional impact]

Use this enhanced logline as your beacon as you navigate your way through your story during NaNoWriMo. It will help you stay on track as you pound out those words every day.

Go for it!

And for more plotting help, use code PLOTPM, good for an extra 20% off on purchases of your book in the WD shop through end of month. Here’s the link: http://www.writersdigestshop.com/plot-perfect.

Top Ten Things You Should Never Say to an Agent

1.         I’m calling to tell you about my story.

Don’t query by phone. Or text. Email queries, referrals, and conferences are the best ways to approach an agent. But you should check an agent’s website for submission and query guidelines, and follow those to the letter.

2.         Dear Sir/Madam,

This tells me immediately that you have no idea who I am or what I represent.

3.         Dear Paula Munier,

This tells me immediately that you know how to do a mail merge, but not that you know how to write. For more, see #1.

4.         Dear Paul,

This tells me immediately that you have no idea who I am or what I represent, right down to my name and gender. It also tells me that I can expect a careless manuscript full of typos, inconsistencies, and inaccuracies.

5.         I know you don’t represent “insert genre I don’t represent here,” but mine is different.

Most agents specialize for a reason: Namely, they know what they can sell, and what they can’t. Why would you approach an agent who doesn’t sell what you need selling?

6.         You can sell my 210,000-word story as one big novel or seven 30,000-word books in an epic series.

Ignoring word-count guidelines is the quickest way to discourage any professional from reading your work.  If you don’t know the word-count guidelines for your genre, look it up.

7.         All my beta readers love it.

This is almost the same thing as saying that your mother loves it. For all I know, it could actually be the same thing, as your mother may very well number among your beta readers. This means less than nothing to me, unless your mother and indeed all of your beta readers are bestselling authors in your genre. In which case, you have most definitely buried the lead.

8.         I’ve attached my full manuscript as a word doc.

Agents have overflowing inboxes. And attachments can be computer viruses waiting to happen.  Do not include any attachments in your queries unless specifically requested to do so.

9.         I’ve attached my entire manuscript as a pdf.

Microsoft Word documents are the industry standard. Submitting a pdf screams paranoid aspiring amateur author and/or (perhaps justifiably) paranoid screenwriter turned novelist. Neither (necessarily) inspires confidence.

10.      Here’s my book on a flash drive for you.

Save your time and money. Flash drives may be lighter than hard copies, but they are just as likely to get lost or tossed.

Post Script: It goes without saying—but it happens often enough that I’m going to say it—that you should never insult the publishing professionals you meet on your quest to get published, agents included.  It’s a small world, and what goes around comes around. I’m just sayin.’

The 90,000-word Sweet Spot

Right now, when it comes to word count, it's all about 90,000 words. Virtually every book I try to shop by a debut author that's any longer than that--regardless of category--receives the same response from editors. In short, it's just too long. "No more than 90,000 words" seems to be the editor's mantra these days. So I've asked several of my clients shorten their stories--and am happy to say that we've won contracts when I shopped the shortened versions, often to the same editors who complained about the length of the original stories.

How to reach that 90,000-word sweet spot? Here's a neat trick I came up with that's proved useful for my clients and that may work for you as well.

Here's how 90,000 words (which is 360 pages at 250 words per page) breaks down by act:

Act One: 90 pages (22,500 words)

Act Two: 180 pages (45,000 words)

Act Three: 90 pages (22,500 words)

With that in mind, write out your  basic storyline in Major Plot Points only: Inciting Incident, Plot Point 1, Mid-Point, Plot Point 2, Denouement.  (If you need more information on plot points, take a look at my book Plot Perfect. )

Now, using the word counts by act as a general guideline, cut anything you can cut to the word counts outlined above. Anything that does not get you from plot point to plot point MUST GO.

Happy cutting!

Copyright Paula Munier 2014

The Write Gifts for 2015 (And They’re All Free!)

The most common New Year’s resolution for writers: Write that novel.

But before you start (or finish), give yourself a break, and give yourself the three things you’ll need most to keep that resolution:

1)      TIME. Time is the writer’s most important—and neglected—asset. Use it wisely—and generously. No matter how busy you are, you can find the time to write most every day. Whether it’s thirty minutes at dawn or your lunchtime at work or 90 minutes at night after the kids go to bed, making the time to write is your first gift to your creative self.

2)      SPACE. For your inner writer, writing is a sacred act—and so you create a sacred space in which to do it. Dedicate a studio, a guest room, even a corner of your den to your work—and equip it with the tools and talismans that will inspire you to write every day.

3)   PERMISSION TO PLAY. Remember, the resolutions we keep are the ones we learn—sooner rather than later—to enjoy. So allow yourself to have fun.

Happy writing in 2015! May all your fictive dreams come true.

Top Ten Writings to Give Thanks For

"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Thanksgiving! In the spirit of the season, I'd like to give thanks to books, my friends old and new. Here are the top ten writings for which I'd like to give thanks for. What are yours?

1. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, by Dr. Seuss

The first book I could read all by myself. I can still quote most of it verbatim.

2. The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris

Especially Chapter Two, which taught my 12-year-old self all I needed to know (at the time) about sex. It was a big hit at all the slumber parties.

3. Self-Reliance, by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sister Esther introduced this essay to me when I was a sophomore in high school, and I fell in love with Emerson and the idea of nonconformity: "Whoso would be a man would be a nonconformist.". For an Army brat, this was a revelation--and a revolution.

4. All the President's Men, Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein

The news story that informed my adolescence--and the reason I was proud to be a reporter, back in the day.

5. Eye of the Needle, by Ken Follett

This taut novel marked the beginning of my lifelong fascination with spy stories.

5. Heartburn, by Nora Ephron

Which proved to me that my grandfather was right when he said, "It doesn't matter what happens to you as long as it makes a good story later." 

6. A Midsummer's Night Dream, by William Shakespeare

My introduction to the Bard, the writer who keeps on giving.

7. Two Happy Lovers Make One Bread, by Pablo Neruda

My favorite poem among many. I read poetry like some people read the obituaries--because it makes me feel alive.

8. Angels in America, by Tony Kushner

Because it's brilliant, and reminds me what art is supposed to do.

9. Emma, by Jane Austen

The Jane Austen novel I've read the most times--with the possible exception of Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility or, well, you get the idea. Between Shakespeare and Austen, you can learn all you need to know about writing great characters.

10. Anything by Anne Lamott

Who reminds me that the best writers are as hard on themselves as they are on their subjects. And that humility--however hard-won--can be very, very funny.

Of course, there are countless works and writers to be thankful for--too many for this blog or a million blogs. But if you had to choose: What are your top ten?