Another great Coffeehouse this month. Jonathan Maberry was out at a conference, so Peter Clines (NYT Bestselling author!) stepped in for hosting duties.
Clines' style of running the Coffeehouse (he’s been running the one in LA for 4-5 years now) is a little more freeform than Maberry’s, but even without a strong structure, we had a lively, respectful discussion that covered a lot of ground. I even got a couple of my own questions answered, about some things I’ve been struggling with.
I’ve posted my notes below.
Thanks to Clines for hosting, and to Mysterious Galaxy for letting us use their space!
Notes:
- peter clines has the Conn; he's been running the LA coffeehouse for 4-5 years; subbing for jonathan while he's at writer's festival
- his method: 1st half writing craft, 2nd half publishing side
- thinks it's better to not have a social media account than to have one that looks abandoned or run by bots
- whatever you do, if anything, it's critical that you be honest and authentic, even when crafting a public persona
- small trick: switching the font for third or fourth draft can make different things pop out at you, help you find errors
- libby hawker: making it in historical fiction
- also: read wolf hall and see how hillary mantel does her description and world-building
- random nugget from shane black: plot is what happens outside the characters, story is what happens inside the characters
- clines: used to follow writing guidance slavishly, reading writers digest, doing what it says; has become more skeptical over time, especially as he's figured out what works for him, and how that differs from what works for others
- pantsers: can be very helpful to have a timeline, even after first draft; one writer found 12-yr gap in her book (!)
- tip from mystery writer: even if you're not going to have a big "gather the characters together so sleuth can layout the clues" scene, write it anyway; it'll solidify everything in your head so you can confidently write the mystery itself (with dropped clues, red herrings, etc)
- chapter to chapter: have something driving the characters from scene to scene, either internal or external, so the reader has a reason to move forward; even placement of flashbacks needs to be driven by the story
- prologues are fine, but make sure they have a payoff within a few chapters, or cut them altogether
- relevance is key: even if your planning a series, make the nuggets you put in the first book relevant to that book
- "start with action" can be a trap: if you begin with volume at 11, you've got nowhere to go but down
- recall the punches of humanity and comedy in the midst of horror or action: the terrorist grabbing a candy bar while setting up in die hard, etc
- don't discount the freedom you get by not being published yet; enjoy the fact that you have no deadlines and no pressure to finish
- beta readers: seek out at least one or two people who read mostly outside your genre, to make sure you don't have too much inside baseball
- the 50% rule: half of all submissions can be rejected on pg 1: wrong format, wrong genre, etc; following the rules and sending a polished manuscript to the right people can put you ahead of 50% of others
- one step beyond read it out loud: have someone else read it out loud to you, and see where they stumble or hesitate or pause
- short story tips: damon knight's book on writing short fiction
- one bit: if you have a first-person story, write it in a different pov and see if the main character vanishes; if so, you don't have a character you just have a viewpoint
