How Do I Use an Outline? (and a Smashwords Coupon)

Since everything I’ve written up until now has been short fiction, I felt no real need for an outline – oh, I would occasionally jot a couple of notes to remind myself where I was heading at a given time, but I rarely know how a story is going to end when I start it (and if it’s only going to take me a couple of weeks to write it, I could keep what passed for an outline in my head.

This spring, when I was trying to decide what I wanted to write for my first novel, I took the three ideas I had and created outlines for each. (from what I’ve heard, this was almost like trying to sell a book proposal to a publisher – except the publisher was me.) I became sold on writing Swordsmaster because there was so much more detail in the outline (to me this meant that I had a better idea of where the story was going.) The fact is, I also had more passion about the story, which was what helped beef up the outline.

Armed with this outline, I began writing.

Everything was okay at first, but part of my method is to let the story go where it wants, I had 4 major plot milestones that I knew would have to happen. The first was very close to the beginning, and so I was able to enter and exit that scene as planned, with little interference from my “creative process.”

Before I arrived at the second milestone, several unanticipated supporting cast members appeared, along with some sub-plots and events I had not considered at the beginning. But when I arrived at the second milestone, the basics were still intact, and again the story exited the scene pretty much as I expected it to.

And then things began to seriously diverge from what was planned. How things wound up happening changed as cool (and better) ideas grew from the continuously evolving story elements. Characters that didn’t even exist when I created the outline took on more significance; plot holes developed and needed to be filled in. I just passed the third milestone, and how I got there and left it was different enough from what I had mapped out that I hit a brick wall, and I couldn’t see over it for almost a week. My outline didn’t help me – I was trapped.

How did I get past the roadblock?

I re-outlined. It would appear (at least for me) that an outline is NOT set in stone; it is a living, breathing document – a tool to help me get from start to finish, but not the be-all, end-all that defines the story. It helps me to define (and redefine) my next objective, but it should never tie my muse down.

There were so many unknowns when I initially outlined – characters (who seem to have a will of their own), world-creation elements that impacted what could and couldn’t happen in the story, the needs of sub-plots, all gain traction and increase in impact the further I get into the story. I don’t think I could ever create an outline that this wouldn’t eventually happen to – at some point I will need to stop and reevaluate. Generally, my stories go where they want (where would the fun be in totally controlling the process?).

Other writers are probably more able to stick with their outline than I am. Maybe I could learn to hold myself to my initial roadmap.

Nope. It’s just not me.

Just saying…

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My featured work this week is “Close Enough” (a little light romance while mining an asteroid and dealing with government incompetence) - here’s the link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/478156?ref=NoTimeToThink

Use coupon code ZP24S to save 50% off the list price at check out on smashwords (that’s right – only a buck!) The coupon is good through September 7^th. Enjoy!

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William Mangieri’s writing (including his latest ePublication “Endangered”) can be found in many places, including:

• His Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008O8CBDY
• Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/william-mangieri?store=book&keyword=william+mangieri
• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NoTimeToThink
• Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/pub/simplesitesearch.search.do?sitesearch_query=william+mangieri&sitesearch_type=STORE

To connect with him, go to

“William Mangieri’s Writing Page” on Facebook (and LIKE and FOLLOW), at: http://www.facebook.com/NoTimeToThink

Or his Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6893616.William_Mangieri

Or on twitter: @WilliaMangieri

Why Am I Writing a Novel (and Giving You a Smashwords Coupon)?

For the last month this question has entered my mind repeatedly – in that small voice that most writers know (but don’t recognize until too late) as the early symptoms of writer’s block. The voices in your head that are whispering the story to you are talked over by the ones telling you “you don’t know what you’re doing”, “this will never work”, and “Fuhget about it.”

The main thing that is hamstringing progress on Swordsmaster is my knowledge that finishing the first draft won’t be anywhere near half the work. There will be reviews and revisions, and actual REWRITES (which I almost never do in my short stories – I do a couple of minor revisions, but that’s pretty much it.) I am so intimidated by the imagined quantity and scope of the work involved that I catch myself trying to make them unnecessary by writing the perfect thing NOW. This is impossible (and always will be) – I need to just write and worry about the revisions later. Stay in the moment. Let the story write itself now – clean it up later.

I started out my musical “career” on trumpet, and through a series of transitions wound up playing trombone. Funny thing was, when I went back to playing trumpet, there were advantages I had gained (a larger mouthpiece forces development of more control of your lip, for instance) that made me a better trumpet player. Different, trombone-inspired techniques came into my playing, like an artist working with oils carries different techniques with him that inform his switch to watercolors.

Everything we do in life comes into play in what we do after – that’s part of where the unique voice you see in an author’s work comes from. It’s augmented by role-playing that happens while working out dialog, where I even carry some of those personalities around with me in the real world until I’m done (just like when I used to act.)

So I will be forced to do rewrites, and by that learn to give more depth to my characters – more vibrance to my details. Find ways to stay on track when the work spans months instead of days. How will this impact my short-stories? It will improve my craft. It’s like a cross-pollination – if I do it right, I create a hybrid with the strengths of both.

Almost makes the process worth looking forward to.

Just saying…

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I am prepping “Endangered” to be ePublished this Friday (August 28^th) – Like and Follow my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter (see notes below) and you’ll see the notice when it goes live.

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My featured work this week is “The Red Barrens” (Mabel is forced to play her part in terraforming a resistant planet with the same Agent Purple that killed her husband. But there are things that are worse than death - things that could drive her over The Edge and into The Barrens…) - here’s the link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/474160?ref=NoTimeToThink   

Use coupon code BE25C to save 67% off the list price at check out on smashwords (that’s right – only 99-cents!) The coupon is good through August 31^st. Enjoy!

<<<>>> 

William Mangieri’s writing (including his latest ePublication “Reflections”) can be found in many places, including:

• His Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008O8CBDY
• Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/william-mangieri?store=book&keyword=william+mangieri
• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NoTimeToThink
• Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/pub/simplesitesearch.search.do?sitesearch_query=william+mangieri&sitesearch_type=STORE

To connect with him, go to

“William Mangieri’s Writing Page” on Facebook (and LIKE and FOLLOW), at: http://www.facebook.com/NoTimeToThink

Or his Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6893616.William_Mangieri

Or on twitter: @WilliaMangieri

Oh. The Humanity. (And a Smashwords Coupon)

One of the interesting things about SCIENCE FICTION is that you can get people to think about concepts by placing them in a setting / situation far removed from “reality”. It helps us to understand what it means to be HUMAN. By distancing the reader from the material, they can see the truth that is normally hidden behind our own personal investment in real situations.

Sometimes it’s horribly heavy-handed, like the original Star Trek episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", where the tragic absurdity of racism is illustrated by two alien antagonists who are both half-black and half-white, but hate each other because it’s on opposite sides of their faces.

I’m currently watching Humans on AMC, which is ostensibly about Androids developing consciousness, but is doing a wonderful job of exploring not only what makes a human, but also death, abuse, slavery, dignity, life, love, understanding, debasement… it’s loaded. It isn’t just about how we might treat our machines, but how we treat our fellows.

The fact that something like this is still considered worthy of exploration is encouraging – the fact that we can be made to feel for other beings. Even those that WE’VE CREATED, shows that empathy has not been removed from our species yet. We are still HUMAN, and can see the humanity in others.

Sometimes we explore the ethical quandaries brought about by social or technological changes that are visible over the horizon. I remember growing up with a lot of stories involving clones, questioning the ethics of how they would be treated, whether they were people or property, and whether they should be created at all.

Soylent Green dealt with the notion of a society that devalued human life and encouraged suicide, as though killing yourself was a more acceptable way to behave than holding on to life (heck, Belgium removed the age restrictions on this last year.) At least that’s the way it was sold to the populace – no one ever bothered them with the profit-based side-effect of having all these bodies to use as a resource.

A frightening, disgusting concept, isn’t it – the notion that we would kill human beings and then use their bodies for profit? We should all be glad that this is only Science Fiction, and that nothing like this could happen in real life.

Except that it has, and it still is.

If you only get your news through the mainstream media, you may have no idea about a series of undercover investigative videos by The Center for Medical Progress, in which they expose a number of practices by Planned Parenthood that run the gamut of callous, disturbing, disgusting, unethical, immoral and illegal, but can be summarized as altering abortion techniques to optimize the harvesting of baby parts for sale.

If you think I’m overstating the human nature of aborted infants, that you are one of those people who believes this is just tissue, after all, I challenge you to watch the videos. Be warned - this is not for the faint of heart – even the portions where all that’s happening is people with no conscience and seeming to be HUMANITY DEFICIENT are discussing harvesting techniques over a glass of wine are a bit much to take, but there are also images of the END PRODUCT they are talking about, so be prepared.

You could not create a work of science fiction that would illustrate the horror and INHUMANITY of this more effectively.

An interesting side issue here is why the videos (six at this writing) have gotten far less coverage on network news shows than the death of Cecil the Lion. Do you suppose it is because how we treat animals is far more important than how we treat the human lives WE’VE CREATED?

It is good that we still care about other living creatures, but it seems that our priorities are a bit skewed.

Just saying…

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My featured work this week is “The Wolves Will Come” (Old warrior Bear refuses to abandon his heart’s home, so instead he waits for his tribe’s enemies to find him - or will age and the wolves get to him first?) - here’s the link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/463511?ref=NoTimeToThink 

Use coupon code CM25R to save 67% off the list price at check out on smashwords (that’s right – only 99-cents!) The coupon is good through August 24^th. Enjoy!

<<<>>> 

William Mangieri’s writing (including his latest ePublication “Reflections”) can be found in many places, including:

• His Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008O8CBDY
• Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/william-mangieri?store=book&keyword=william+mangieri
• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NoTimeToThink
• Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/pub/simplesitesearch.search.do?sitesearch_query=william+mangieri&sitesearch_type=STORE

To connect with him, go to

“William Mangieri’s Writing Page” on Facebook (and LIKE and FOLLOW), at: http://www.facebook.com/NoTimeToThink

Or his Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6893616.William_Mangieri

Or on twitter: @WilliaMangieri

The Art of the Vague (and Another Smashwords Coupon)

What makes a work of art transcendent?

Part of what you want to do as an ARTISTE is find a way to connect to the largest number of people possible. To create a work that has such UNIVERSAL APPEAL that it touches on the feelings (that’s right – the best art is about feelings, not thinking or techniques) of a broad swath of diverse people.

In writing, we use similes and metaphors because we are trying to describe something so that everyone can understand it, so we compare it to something else that is more widely known. It’s especially useful in science fiction, when you’re trying to help your readers see something that doesn’t even exist (yet?), so you use familiar – REAL - concepts to get the point across.  

Being too specific doesn’t quite cut it. I happen to like the band U2, so I’ll use them as an example. They have some songs that are either very vague on details, or use metaphors to broaden their meaning. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” isn’t talking about one man’s struggle to find something – it’s about the universal search we all go through. When songs are written about a specific event (“Sunday Bloody Sunday”) they become harder to identify with.

Bear in mind, I’m talking about LYRICS, not the music. Music without words goes directly to the emotions – a song can have the most idiotic garbage for lyrics and still make you feel things. I have problems distinguishing the lyrics when I’m listening to a song, so at first I’m just listening to the qualities of the music itself – the vocals, the arrangement, the melody, the instruments. It’s not until I’ve listened to a song multiple times that I start catching onto what the lyrics are saying, and there are many times that I find myself repulsed by the specifics and refuse to listen again.

Vagueness can be powerful, and it isn’t just done in THE ARTS. Obama’s Hope and Change campaign was full of empty rhetoric that let others lay their own interpretation on top of it. It seemed so great when it was vague and non-specific; now that it’s become a living, breathing thing – not so much… And what else could explain how both negotiating sides on The Iran Nuclear Deal seemed to think they had won? Once they start talking about the specifics, they can’t agree on what those specifics are or mean, like they were listening to two totally different songs.

Is this why abstract art somehow works? I can’t think of anything more vague and non-specific than a smear of colors, and yet…

Just saying…

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My featured work this week is “The Re-Entanglement of Grant Decker” (Grant’s never been one to talk to himself, but maybe it's time. How else will he know if his life is coming apart or coming together?)- here’s the link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/457080?ref=NoTimeToThink

Use coupon code HQ93G to save 50% off the list price at check out on Smashwords. The coupon is good through August 17^th. Enjoy!

<<<>>> 

William Mangieri’s writing (including his latest ePublication “Reflections”) can be found in many places, including:

• His Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008O8CBDY
• Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/william-mangieri?store=book&keyword=william+mangieri
• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NoTimeToThink
• Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/pub/simplesitesearch.search.do?sitesearch_query=william+mangieri&sitesearch_type=STORE

To connect with him, go to

“William Mangieri’s Writing Page” on Facebook (and LIKE and FOLLOW), at: http://www.facebook.com/NoTimeToThink

Or his Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6893616.William_Mangieri

Or on twitter: @WilliaMangieri

Google Permalink:  http://williammangieri.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-art-of-vague-and-another-smashwords.html 

Swordsmaster is Beyond (30,000) Words (and Another Smashwords Coupon)

I’ve ramped back up on Swordsmaster (after my forced hiatus to write “Pipes”), and it’s now crossed the 30,000 word barrier. My plan was for the first draft to come in at around 75,000 words, so I’m 40% of the way there, and from what I know is going to happen in the story, I will probably hit that mark before the rough  draft is complete.

And ROUGH is an understatement. As I’ve mentioned before, this is my first serious attempt at a novel. I consider myself to be a decent short fiction writer, with the one caveat being that I have not been able to master the HOOK – that trick of writing that grabs a hold of the reader on the first page and gets them to continue on, and even BUY a story because they just HAVE TO know what is going to happen. Whether this is through a lack of ability, or pure stubbornness, I am not certain, but I do know that I put very little regulation on my “muse” – I write the way the story comes to me, and I don’t try to commercialize it afterwards. On occasion I’m lucky, and the hook appears as part of my natural writing process, but it isn’t something I try for. As much value as I put on making a sale when I’m done, I should be willing to work that hook. I am not every agent’s dream…

One of the differences between short and long fiction is that you have more time to develop that hook, but you still need to develop it. When a reader knows they have a full length novel ahead of them they may give you a little bit longer to capture their interest, but you don’t want them to wonder why they’re reading this… stuff.

I am getting a lot of enjoyment watching how Swordsmaster is becoming a novel, but it would be lying if I didn’t admit that the task is becoming more and more daunting the further I get into it. I have already mentioned in an earlier posting how, instead of the two quick clean-up sessions I normally do in a short story, I know I’m going to have a host of single-purpose clean-ups and several out-and-out rewrites. Tere will be individual passes to make sure that Petron, or Dragor, or Ursul, or Marissa, or Filian, or any other character that appears in more than one scene speaks and behaves consistently. I’ll have to compare each time a particular setting is used to make sure I haven’t changed how long a street is or how tall a building or how far they have to travel to get somewhere. And tons of fleshing out descriptions that I wouldn’t have even needed if this was short fiction.

There are two serious problems with rewrites. The first is that they are a black hole that many stories (and writers) enter and never escape from. In many cases, it is a convenient excuse to not have to finish your work and actually let someone read it because “it just needs this one little tweak.” The roads to novels are littered with perpetually altered and discarded pages.

The second problem with rewrites is homogenization. When a story first comes out of your left brain (the creative part), it has a particular character – a unique voice. You can cover material that has been done before by others, and yet the voice itself can make it worth reading. Once you start to rewrite, your right brain takes over (the part with all the rules inside), and then there is a real danger of muting that voice by trying to make it conform to the way you are SUPPOSED to write. It may only be a tiny bit at a time, but too many rewrites and the story will sound like any other story written by anyone else. And once that happens, why would anyone want to read it?

(You may not be able to tell from all this, but I really am enjoying writing this story. Just saying…)

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My featured work this week is “Mutiny on the Star-Bound” (Martin Henshaw, a humble digital mechanic, is shanghaied into the middle of a mutiny on a Transgalaxian colony ship) - here’s the link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/439441?ref=NoTimeToThink

Use coupon code YF28L to save 72% off the list price at check out on smashwords (that’s right – just 99-cents.) The coupon is good through August 10^th. Enjoy!

<<<>>> 

William Mangieri’s writing (including his latest ePublication “Reflections”) can be found in many places, including:

• His Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008O8CBDY
• Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/william-mangieri?store=book&keyword=william+mangieri
• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NoTimeToThink
• Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/pub/simplesitesearch.search.do?sitesearch_query=william+mangieri&sitesearch_type=STORE

To connect with him, go to

“William Mangieri’s Writing Page” on Facebook (and LIKE and FOLLOW), at: http://www.facebook.com/NoTimeToThink

Or his Goodreads author page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6893616.William_Mangieri

Or on twitter: @WilliaMangieri