I originally posted this blog as an mcslist at Love Conquers, the blog of the American Title V finalists. Since the blog is now close and people have asked me about psychic distance in the last few months, I decided to repost it here:

You can see the original post and comments here.

I am quite a geek in the way I become a fan of musicians, films and other famous people. For example, I am currently quite obsessed with musician Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails, the Lara Croft movies and author Caitlin R. Keirnan.

John Gardner (1933-1982)

In my quest for learning more about writing, I became a a huge fan (in a obsessive way) of John Gardner and his two crafts book, The Art of Fiction and On becoming a Novelist. I just love his take-no-prisoner approach and how he urge the writer to write daily and focus on constantly improving his writing , on not be satisfied with the mediocre. One of the concept I learned from him is the different ways Point of View (POV) can be used.

Yes, we have 1st and 3rd person POV (and in some strange instance 2nd person) but we have also various psychic distance within one POV. Most people are so into the very close POV, that they are telling us we cannot write in an omniscient POV, that we are bound to fail if we do and that modern commercial fiction must be strickly written in 1st and 3rd very close POV. I dare you to pick a Julia Quinn novel and start reading with POV in mind. What is it?

Hard to tell. Probably 3rd, but also close to omniscient in the very beginning. She usually quickly shift effortlessly to a close 3rd POV and we don’t even notice. That is because she is a modern master at playing with psychic distance, first telling us generally about the heroine, then slowly getting into her head. Then going back and forth (closer and further in psychic distance) during the story.

I would love to be able to do that, but so far, I have been very cautious and stayed with the very safe close 3rd POV. But I hope I can learn. For my list today, I leave you with John Gardner’s example of various psychic distance in writing, where at first we are very far psychologically from the character’s mind then go deeper and deeper into his mind.

1. In was winter of the year 1853. A large man stepped out of a doorway.
2. Henry J. Warburton had never much cared for snowstorms.
3. Henry hated snowstorms.
4. God how he hated these damn snowstorms.
5. Snow. Under your collar, down inside your shoes, freezing and plugging up your miserable soul…

(The Art of Fiction , John Garner)

I’m reading an excellent book for writers called The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell.

I love his Plot and Structure book and this new one is the perfect pick me up when I feel all alone doing my thing and just need to get both a kick in the back side and being told all will be fine.

Somewhere in the book, Bell suggests to write a simple list of things to remember when the writing feels flat. A little list of how to make that scene more better (as my son would say).

He suggest to post that list somewhere near our writing space.
So here is my own list:

Make it sexy

Make it spooky

Make it both

Make it cool

Make me cry

There…. my writing the way I like it.

Added 500 words yesterday and 1400 today! Getting there!!

Blessed Be

Winter Mists by ~DeheartedNature on deviantART

by Marie-Claude Bourque

I decided to start taking notes on the novels I read these days, just to get a grip of things I like and things I don’t like from various books.

I’m only sharing what I like because, full disclaimer, this is not a review but just my attempt at learning how to write.

Here are my notes of what I liked in J.D. Robb SALVATION IN DEATH:

1. I like how she keeps coming back to the theme of salvation mostly through one of the villain but also through other character. I also like how the murder case is reflected through both Roarke and Eve’s apst. It’s a clever way to give us some backstory and it gies more depth to the hero and heroine.
2. I think the mystery is done well. I want to keep reading to find out who is the killer.
3. I like how Robb set-up the characters to be appealing with small details. It makes us feel/root for them and we are satisfied when they get exactly what they deserve at the end, both good and bad or something in betweem
4. She also makes the one evil character really evil by comparing her to Eve herself. We see how the villain had a choice in life and chose the wrong path, unlike Eve. So her evil is explain, yet cannot be accepted. It is a good way to contrast the heroine’s choice with those of the villain.

by Marie-Claude Bourque

I am at Musetracks today, hosting New York Times bestselling author C. L. Wilson, author of the fantasy series the Tairen Souls. She talks about worldbulding strategies for authors.

Check it out! 

by Marie-Claude Bourque

I am at Musetracks today and delighted to have host  historical romance author Anthea Lawson aka writer couple Anthea and Lawson.

They share the FIVE ESSENTIAL STEPS ON THE PATH TO PUBLICATION.

They are kind enough to giveaway a copy of their first novel PASSIONATE.

Please visit and comment at Musetracks

by Marie-Claude Bourque

Some of you know I was at Steamcon last week in Seattle. Now it was not all about me squeezing into a corset and searching for the perfect pair of googles (did that thought! Awesome googles!).

No I also attended two great pannels/meeting with Steampunk authors that got my brain in gear. The first was with Tim Powers (author of  the classic novel THE ANUBIS GATE) who basically took all kinds of questions from the audience. The second included Cherie Priest author of the latest steampunk novel BONESHAKER who discussed the post-apocaliptic nature of some Steampunk stories.

Cherie was quite frank. First, she said, if you are not having fun while writing your steampunk novel, then you’re not writing steampunk. And she was also very open about the liberty she took in rewriting history a little bit. This is fantasy. Her civil war is a little longer than reality and that’s ok.

In fact, “Steampunk needs historical accurracy like an airship needs a goldfish” was the motto at Steamcon (and I have the t-shirt to prove it!)

Tim Powers however had a great method for his research and inspiration and it was quite different.

In fact, Powers told us that he loves to read biographies. He just keeps reading all kinds of biography from interesting people and with an eye on the quirky, looking for small details that may be unusual and… perhaps caused by some supernatural or “spooky” little glitch somewhere.

Then his imagination does the rest.

The next step is what caught my attention and fascinated me. Once he found the biography of interest, say Einstein, and some key events of interest in the life of his subject, he researches what is going at the time, day by day. Let say Einstein makes a particular discovery one day, then Powers will look at all that was happening in the world on that day, and perhaps that time period (or even at the hour timescale if applicable.

He may add some contemporary of Einstein and line up the dates. Then he makes connections. So and so had a accident on that day, another important person died on that day and so.

Then it’s only a matter of connection the dots and with a little imagination, all these events are not random, but caused by one thing.

I thought that was particularly clever. I am not so good at research (unlike our own research queen Jenn) and I am paralyzed at the though of writing historical romance. But I though Powers methid might be one more tool for the writer’s tool box.

Hope this sparks your imagination as well!

Notable links of last week!

At Witchy Chicks, a good take on Nanowrimo with “Not now, write more”

Scott Eagan on Teacups and Toasts!

How not to act as an author/writer by Susan Adrian

A really sweet candid must-read about the whole Angela James saga (from Samhain to Quarter and her great new job!) In her own words at Dear Author

and of course support our own Candi, if you like her stories, please please go tell Leah Hultenschmidt at Romantic Reads to help Candi make the cut as a finalist in the Best-Celler Dorchester contest!

by Marie-Claude Bourque

I find this whole process of trying to write a book in a month, or at least 50K out of 85K , quite interesting, and probably not in a good way.

I did struggle at the beginning, trying to squeeze in a good 2K a day, hoping to get 2 1hr-sessions in my day, two scenes  and I found myself writing flat. Really flat.

The best compliment I ever received is someone who commented on Barbara Vey’s blog at Publishing Weekly that I wrote with all my heart. And I’ve also had my writing called melodramatic by contest judges but that only made me smile. I was actually happy by the criticism.

I don’t mind being melodramatic, who knows maybe it’s because I’m French. The the truth is I don’t want, absolutely don’t want to write flat.

The problem I find with trying to fill the Nanowrimo quota is that, no my heart is not in it. It feels like I’m just writing a laundry list of she did this, then that. They went there and he did that.

I like to daydream between writing scene. I walk or take the bus everywhere, and before in RI I drove a lot. Always listening to music (NIN, lately Abney Park for the Steampunk story that shall be written) and images come to mind, just like scenes out of movies. Everything is always dramatic in my daydreams. Characters scream their pain, express dark and untold desires, gather unearthly powers to find their enemy in storms and deady winds.

I daydream the scene, then take the hour as I just woke up, still in the sleepy dreamy state, to write that scene I have been dreaming about for 24 hrs.

The problem wih Nano and pushing the work counts and that, one, I didn’t have enough time to daydream the scene of the day and two, I force myself to add settings and small details to get the high word counts, stuff I usually worry about on the second draft.

So my writing partner Jenn Bray Weber liberated me when she wrote her take on Nano in her “Nanowrimo lite” post at Musetracks.

I’m following her lead. No longer pressured the word count competiin, I am back to the constant dream state, attempting to write those bigger-than-life moment I see, hoping they’ll translate.

 But when the tears are near after those words are down, regardless on how many I wrote, I know I’m doing okay.

by Marie-Claude Bourque

I was blogging at Musetracks today! Here is what I had to say:

Career Track: Frantically writing away to finish Nanowrimo (hopes: career author!); Volonteering at the local high school (hopes: High School Math teacher!); catering and running after two little boys (reality: mom!)

Let’s Brainstorm! So here we are all of us Candi, Jenn and I attempting to write 50,000 words in 30 days during the National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo). It is my first and if I am not wrong it is also a first for both Candi and Jenn (although every month is Nano month for our very prolific Candi it seems!)

To prepare for the month, I spend last week brainstorming. And even though I am a very analytical (polite way of saying anal) plotter, my brainstorming is anything but organized. I crank up the music (Nine Inch Nails and Tool work real well for me), walk around Seattle and daydream!

And I make lists, scene lists usually.

It is still a shock to me that I sold my fist manuscript but I have to say that if I hadn’t found THE brainstorming weapon, that manuscript mat have turned pretty flat. My favorite brainstorming tool is Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by agent Donald Maass. And I specify the workbook because that is what is most useful to me. Tons and tons of page full of questionnaire from how to make your character bigger then life to how he/she sees the settings and how to create more tension.

The workbook is also a great tool to define all your plot, plot layers and subplot. I never realized what all those meant until I read and work with this book.

So there I was last week, taking the path of least resistance and just answering question.

Last month, I wished I had more of those types of chart to fill out and, miracle, Mary Buckman and Dianna Love new book Break into Fiction came out. With a foreword from Sherrilynn Kenyon, I knew I couldn’t go wrong. I took some workshop with Mary (she is awesome!) and her workbook really didn’t deceived. I love it.

It starts with questionnaires on characters and conflict and move on to climax and turning point. I found it a great complement to the Donald Maass book. So if you are like me (slightly lazy) I do recommend starting with Breaking into Fiction, then moving on to Writing the Breakout Novel. It’s easy, it’s fun and you might get some real cool ideas!

SOME USEFUL READS FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE, LAST WEEK:

• On themes by agent Nathan Bradford
• Why agents ask only for 3 chapters by agent Scott Eagan
• How Unpublished Authors Can Build Name Recognition by editor Leah Hultenschmidt at Romance University
• How not to act by writer Susan Adrian

MUSETRACKERS NANO STATS – Nov 2th:

• Jenn (The Bruised Sky): 413 (Hey, she just had a baby!)
• Candi: (On Lupine Ridge): 4,227
• Marie-Claude (Ancient Secrets): 3,017

Today, I decided to share one more list that I find useful. In fact, I’ve shared this list so much on various loops and to writer friends that I find myself writing it over and over. So, since people have found it useful, here is my synopsis recipe.

Slushpile at Tor/Forge

This post was originally posted last year on the now retired LoveConquers blog but I have to redirect so many people to it that Idecided to repost it here.

Please keep in mind that I am not published just a debut author, so my recipe is not guarantee to keep you out of the slush pile or to make you win that contest. But it didn’t get bashed around too much in the various RWA contests I entered and it got me into the American Title V contest.

(BTW, don’t forget to vote for your favorite entry at: http://www.romantictimes.com/news_amtitle3.php) Contest now over.

So here we go: a synopsis for either a one or three-page synopsis, perfect for contests and submissions to agents and editors :

(1) First paragraph is the hook, a short 2-3 lines of what your story is about in a way that grabs the reader.

(2) Second paragraph is a heroine description. Make sure you mention a striking quality and a way to define her (like in ANCIENT WHISPERS, my heroine is a sensible pediatric nurse) and her “Goal, Motivation and Conflict” (what she wants and why and why she can’t get it.

(3) Third paragraph is the hero’s description just as for the heroine (my hero is a bold sorcerer). I usually have the hero before the heroine, but that’s just my own style of writing.

(4) Fourth paragraph is optional. If you have a genre story, describe the genre here, for example, the world building, the paranormal conflict, the suspense conflict, the historical setting.

(5) Add here three to four paragraphs about the high moments and turning points of the story. Look at those parts that are really crucial to the story and advance the main conflicts (focus on no more than two plots and leave out the rest. For a one page synopsis, just summarize the story in one paragraph.

(6) Second to last paragraph, the climax. The big high moment, this is a good place to showcase your voice or writing style.

(7) Last paragraph, the end. Describe how ends your main plots (those in section 5).This is not the time to leave the readers on a hook, tell them full ending of the story.

Voilà! You’re done. Hope this help

For original post and comments got to:

http://loveconquers.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/mcslist-did-you-say-synopsis-an-easy-recipe/