Posts by Writer Unboxed
Therese and I are pleased to present the second half of our interview with noir/crime fiction author Jason Starr. Starr has garnered raves and awards for his edgy novels laced with biting wit and a ripping pace, but, as he noted in Part One of our interview, the road to publication was neither easy nor quick.
Q: After college you wrote plays. Do you think being a playwright was helpful in crafting novels?
JS: Absolutely. I’m not the only crime writer who started with playwriting–I know Charlie Stella and some others started in the theater as well. In a play, you are forced to tell an entire story with dialogue. The dialogue has to be strong, gripping, all the way through, or you lose your audience. In novels, of course, plotting is very important, but I think for learning how to build tension within scenes playwriting is great training.
Q: Could you elaborate a bit about the kinds of plays you wrote and how that taught you to milk the scene for tension? Were there other lessons you learned from crafting plays other than dialogue-driven action?
Read MoreTherese and I are beyond pleased to have interviewed award-winning crime fiction novelist and screenplay writer Jason Starr. Not only is Jason refreshingly real and unpretentious, but his books are insanely addicting. I happened upon an ARC of his latest release LIGHTS OUT (it’s a trade secret how that happened), and I read it in one gulp. Blistering pace, razor-sharp characters, a creeping sense of dread and a wickedly funny voice sets Starr’s work apart, and it’s easy to see why he’s considered a rising star in noir/crime fiction.
Jason had just returned from a book tour in Australia (where his highly-regarded debut COLD CALLER is being developed for a film adaptation) when he kindly granted an interview with WU.
Update: LIGHTS OUT has been selected as a Book Sense Notable Selection for October, 2006.
Q: Tell us about your road to publication.
Jason Starr: It was a long and winding road. I received so many rejections from agents and editors that any sane person would have thrown in the towel. But I was working as a telemarketer at a time and we telemarketers are a stubborn bunch–when we get rejected, we keep going. Finally my break came when No Exit Press in the U.K.–God bless them!–published my first novel.
Q: Did you get any meaningful feedback from the rejections that kept hope alive? Or did you just know it your guts that you were going to make it? Also, did you sub the novel to No Exit with or without an agent? Do you feel that the UK market is more open to “riskier” projects
JS: That’s a really good point, because it’s always important to recognize a real rejection and a bullshit one.
Read MoreWelcome to the new home of Writer Unboxed!
Kathleen: We are excited about our new digs, and we hope you will be too. We decided to move to a WordPress platform because it offered flexibility that the Blogger bloghost could not. In a nutshell, we were boxed by Blogger.
Therese: Isn’t the new site purdy? Aside from its beautifimous look, we now have a slightly different organization that I personally love.
Kathleen: Me too. You’ll notice our posts are tagged for your convenience. You’ll see subtags under the headers of Craft, Research and Real World. Check them out! We’ve also added a new sidebar feature, Craft Corner, which features books on fiction writing that have been road-tested and vetted by WU.
Therese: And we’ll be adding new craft books as we discover them. We’ve kept our old favorite bits, like Word of the Day and all our links, now listed under a new header…
Read MoreTranslating foreign works is a tricky business, and not just because the magic of a foreign author’s work must be lovingly preserved. In part two of our interview with Anthea Bell, we learn more about how she works, the challenges she faces when language itself becomes a barrier, and which recently translated books she feels have the potential to become best sellers as they enter our markets.
Part 2: Interview with Anthea Bell
Q: How do you receive the text? What is your process?
A: When I have the whole text in its final version – and it is going to be a big, long book again, a really satisfying read – I’ll set aside time in my schedule to get straight down to it. I know I can ask Cornelia any questions as they arise, and in fact we’ve already been discussing names in English for some of the characters. Most have already appeared in Inkheart and Inkspell, but there are a few new ones. Then she and her agents and the publishers will all see it, and the publishers’ editors will comment too.
Q: Does much change after the agent, editor and publisher comments? Can you give us an example of what may pose a “sticking point” for them?
Read MoreWe’ve first got to say that it’s been a long time since we’ve read a book as trippy, disturbing and exhilarating as Hal Duncan‘s debut novel, VELLUM. It’s a thriller, gay erotica, SF/F, a historical, horror and character studies all amalgamated within a postmodern stylistic structure. Recently, Kathleen and Therese chatted with Hal about his literary style, the evolution of VELLUM, and the challenge of multiple narrative weavings and controversial plot points.
Part 1: Interview with Hal Duncan
Q: Tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind VELLUM, some of the style choices you made, and why you wrote this book.
HD: The original idea dates back to when I was at university, and reading about Lovecraft’s Necronomicon one day, Borges’s Book of Sand the next. If you take the two of those and fold in the I CHING (which I’d picked up by way of Philip K Dick’s THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE) and the mediaeval Books of Hours (which I’d learned about in History of Art lectures), well, it isn’t hard to see where the idea came from for the Book of All Hours, the metafictional / fantastic conceit that underpins VELLUM: this ancient tome said to contain everything ever written and everything never written, the names of every angel or demon, the deeds of every human, the future history of reality itself.
I think those books of mystery and wonder, fictional or factual, all combined into the core idea after a weird experience in the university library. I’d decided, out of curiosity, to check their database for Nostradamus, and found that, yes, they had a copy in the Special Collection in the basement. So I wander down into this room walled with glass-doored bookcases and I’ve only just walked in when the curator asks me what I’m looking for. Not having computed yet that this is where they keep all the extremely valuable and extremely fragile antiques, I tell the curator what I’m looking for, and he gives me a card to sign before disappearing. Five minutes later he returns with this leatherbound volume of Nostradamus, foam cushions to rest it on, and kid gloves for me to wear. I’m too embarrassed to tell him that, actually, it was just idle curiosity brought me down here and there’s no good reason a time-waster like me should be let near the crumbling pages of this precious object.
Read MoreFirst, a big thanks to Inkygirl Debbie Ridpath Ohi for permission to snag her super-cool comic. (Debbie creates original comics weekly for her other blog Will Write for Chocolate. This week she posted a comic that’s sure to be appreciated by all writers but especially book-signing authors.) Second, Kath is still beaching it up, but Therese is slipping into her seat again to deliver some linky goodness (wow, comfy seat…and buttons all over the place).
The Smart Bitches offer not only a fun madlib but entice our inner artists to let loose inThe Big Kahuna Contest, creating original cover art using the Bitches very own, very fertile synopsis…Results from the 2006 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest are in. Treat yourself to a visit and read Jim Guigli’s winning burrito-inspired entry…Ray blogs about the importance of maintaining the tension created with your story’s inciting event, at least in the first chapter…The Alphabet Girls offer a Wednesday Workout for your characters on stress…The Publicity Hound blogs about how to get the best photo session for your publicity shot, and points us to the original article here…The New York Times published an Opinion piece by author Katha Pollitt, who thanks us all for the sales bump she got after a reviewer dissed her book (ht Book Ninja)…Sephera Giron at Storytellers Unplugged reminds us how important it is to MOVE. “Ass out of chair for at least an hour a day,” says Giron. Not only will you have a healthier body for moving around, you’ll have a pumped mind–better to storytell with, my dears.
More after the jump…
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Through the magic of blogging, you get to see where Kath is right now, destroying a few skin cells on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Linktopia is in Therese’s hands for a few weeks (brawhahahahaha!)…but she’s also already feeling somewhat lonely (sniffle).
Alrighty, on to the good stuff:
Melly blogs about the differences between Canadians and Americans after her trip to the Finger Lakes (hey, you were in our neck of the woods, Melly!). The Alphabet Girls blog up how eavesdropping can help your wip…really! Cavan blogs about why it’s still cool to write on paper…and even lets us peek at his notebook. Bookslut announces the publication of their 50th issue and talks up “buttonhole books,”–the books you basically force feed to all your friends and family (fwiw, for me this is Niffenegger’s Time Traveler’s Wife). Booksquare whaps reporters over the e-head and offers them this breaking bit: it’s not news to announce there’s sex in romance novels. Doh!
More after the jump…
Read MoreYesterday, Therese and I got in a heated discussion over the revelation that JK Rowling has killed off at least two of her characters in the eagerly-awaited Book Seven. Putting on our storyteller’s cap, we’ve made several guesses. Below is Part 2 of our analysis.
All artwork featured is by the talented Ayne Greensleeves and comes from her website.
TW: So it’s going to be someone big. Possibilities: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, Lupin, Tonks, Snape, Mr. and Mrs. W., Ginny, the twins, Neville, Luna… From that list, I’d say killing Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, Ginny, the twins, and Luna don’t add conflict to the story or seem able to further it in a meaningful way, leaving the Prime Suspects for Death as:
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Therese and I are about to reveal a shameful secret.
We are Harry Potter-aholics. Big ones.
I know, I know. But Faulkner and Proust ain’t got nuthin’ on Rowling, who has taken children’s literature to new (and lucrative!) heights. She’s the Beatles of genre fiction, which is to say she proves a writer can deliver a story that neatly fits on big-box store shelves and still pushes the craft to new levels.
In a recent interview she revealed that she killed off two characters in the penultimate Book Seven, and had plans to kill off another but issued a reprieve. Therese and I got into a big IM discussion (because we don’t waste enough time blogging) about who she chose to kill, using our knowledge of storytelling to support our arguments. We’ve reprinted and amplified our discussion below.
All the cool anime-style fanart is by Ayne Greensleeves and can be found on her website . Used with her kind permission.
KB: So who do you think she offed? My sense at this point is that she hasn’t gotten to the part where Voldemort suffers his just desserts. I’m going to guess Molly and Arthur Weasley, and the one she reprieved, Ginny. From a storytelling point, their deaths will give the maximum impact to Harry (they were his surrogate parents), and shock the reader. What do you think?
Read MoreAll good things come to an end. As it was with Peter Jackson’s gripping interpretation of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, so too with the lessons we pulled out for writers of genre fiction. Jackson and crew are the ultimate unboxed thinkers, and we are but his humble admirers.
We hoped you enjoyed our series of lessons and will find them useful for your own wips! Here are the final two tips.
9. Try a story scramble
Die-hard fans of Tolkien know that the fearsome scene between Frodo and Shelob, an enormous spider, happens in the second book. When appraising the films for pacing, however, it was decided the second film had enough tension without the arachnophobic scene, while the final film needed an extra dollop of Frodo. Easy as a slash mark, Shelob was cut from film two and spun into the movie’s final installment.
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Yesterday we posted Part Three of our article (co-written with author Elena Greene) on lessons writers could draw from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies. I’m too lazy to link the trackbacks, but a simple scroll will get you to Parts One, Two, and Three.
Sigh. As I revisit the lessons, I grow nostalgic for the heady days when the movie-goer impatiently waited for the next installment of these Acadamy Award-winning films. Now that’s good storytelling. On to the next two tips!
7. Find the right blend of external and internal conflict
Pacing has been the downfall of many writers. One way to control it is to alternate action and dialogue, which reads “faster,” with a scene showing internal conflict or introspection. But how much to use and why? Though that decision is part and parcel with the alchemy of writing, lessons can be gleaned from the filmmakers, who were masters of pacing.
Wearing viewers out with big chunks of battle sequences was a real risk, but the filmmakers solved it by varying the action with a plethora of internal conflict scenes: Gollum debating with himself over what to do with his hobbit companions; Aragorn interacting with the besotted Eowyn; Frodo struggling to hold on to hope; Faramir weighing winning his father’s respect against sending his men into a hopeless battle.
Flashbacked moments of the romance between Aragorn and Arwen were used broadly and achieved a twofold purpose: slowing the pace while reminding the viewer what was at stake should Aragorn fail. The viewer was also granted a respite of beauty and peace before being thrust back into the carnage of war, sharpening the emotional response to both.
Readers cannot sustain interest in page after page of breakneck action or breathless dialogue. How’s your mix?
Read MoreTherese, Kathleen and their writer buddy Elena Greene had their article, Lessons from The Lord of the Rings published last November, and now they’re freeing it to share with the world (in part because Writer’s Digest doesn’t take reprints – bah).
But don’t start reading the article in the middle, my preciousesss, because we’re already up to tips 5 & 6. Here’s part 1, which contains a cheat list in case you need to know who’s who…and here’s part 2. Enjoy!
5. Find new twists for stale conflicts
To portray Frodo as the victim of his circumstance throughout three epic-length films would’ve become tedious to watch. The filmmakers mixed it up, though, emphasizing a different jagged edge in each movie. In the first, Frodo is a young and naïve hobbit whose conflict is clear: he doesn’t want to be the ring bearer, but there is no one more suited for the task. He also knows if the Ring isn’t destroyed, the Shire—which he loves more than anything—could be.
In the second film, Frodo’s original conflict still simmers on the backburner, but we see him increasingly agitated over the Ring and what it’s already done to one of its previous owners—Gollum. “I have to believe he can come back,” Frodo says as he fights to help the deranged Hobbit-beast, and we understand that he fears the Ring’s power to destroy not only his homeland, but the very fabric of his being.
In the final installment, the Ring’s toll on Frodo becomes marked. Their relationship slides into a drug to junkie dynamic. Frodo moves like an addict, is sleepless, jumpy and paranoid; he snaps at Sam for offering to “share the load” and carry the Ring for a while. (Even here the conflict is multi-faceted, because Frodo wants to protect Sam from the corrupting effects of the Ring, too.)
When you’re writing, think about how your conflicts can evolve, and how your characters can and must change to keep the variance fresh and alive.
Read MoreYesterday we posted Part One of our published article LESSONS FROM LORD OF THE RINGS (co-written with author Elena Greene). Today we post the second part of our article. Warning: though hard-cord nerdiness is helpful when reading the following, it is not essential. Good writing transcendes the genres.
3. Tap into sources of inner conflict to create character arcs
The filmmakers made controversial changes regarding the character of Faramir. Denethor does not appreciate this second son, a less outwardly bold man than his brother. While guarding the eastern border, Faramir waylays and questions Frodo and Sam, who are on their way to Mordor to destroy the Ring. Taking this powerful object seems to offer Faramir not only a chance to save his beleaguered country, but also to win his father’s respect. In Tolkien’s version, Faramir allows the hobbits to continue their mission, saying he is “wise enough to know that there are some perils from which a man must flee.”
The filmmakers made a different choice:
Read MoreTherese and Kathleen readily embrace their “inner nerd” when it comes to The Lord of the Rings. They, along with fellow nerd and writer buddy Elena Greene, even wrote an article about Peter Jackson’s movie version of the story, focusing on choices he made that all writers can learn from. The following is the first part of that article.
Lessons from Lord of the Rings
Even if you’ve never read the books or seen the films, you’ve undoubtedly heard of The Lord of the Rings. The 1,000 page story is so complex and broad in scope that even the author of the books, J.R.R. Tolkien, said they could never be translated to film; word is he sold rights to MGM for a mere $10,000. There are many people, including the three of us, who are elated he was proven wrong.
As a writer, it’s practically impossible to read or see interviews with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, the triumphant triumvirate who adapted the book for the big screen, and not take notes. Copious notes. (Henceforth, we’ll refer to Jackson, et al., as ‘filmmakers,’ though we feel it’s about as adequate as labeling Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean as ‘passably handsome,’ not to mention Elijah Wood, Karl Urban and David Wenham…not that they have anything to do with our love for the movie. Ahem.) So much of what the filmmakers did in creating and then editing their work is what we writers strive for when polishing a manuscript: pinpoint the heart of the story and stay true to it, cut what can be lost, and always direct conflict and pacing.
Okay, how did they do it?
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