Avoiding the dreaded DEAD END

As mentioned in a couple previous posts, I'm wrapping up my Novel-In-Progress. This has been a long, somewhat traumatic process, but it's getting done. About two weeks ago, I realized that I had to scrap the ending entirely. Why? Because my ending wasn't The Ending.

Confused? Let me clarify.

To be a good ending to a novel: 1) there has to some resolution to the major problems faced by the central character/s (this doesn't mean there is a happy ending, just that you see things are settled); 2) the conclusion should share the themes addressed at the beginning of the book (even if it's to turn the initial beliefs of the characters on their heads); 3) the end should be consistent with the details and personality brought up earlier in the novel; and 4) the reader should feel satisfied that they didn't waste their time.

While some books have many possible "Endings" that flow logically from what precedes, there are also many "endings"--dead ends that leave the reader disappointed. You can't expect a reader to be satisfied by the last minute introduction of a character (never before seen in your novel) to save everyone from destruction. Unless you're trying to be funny, it probably won't work for a character to act like their personality has been switched with the hero of a different story entirely. Consistency helps your world become believable to the reader.

The ending I wrote in my outline was replaced long ago with another. However well this ending resolved the characters' dilemmas, it didn't really address the same themes as the initial chapters of the book, nor did it satisfy the readers. Everyone who read my first complete draft seemed to sense that I was holding back certain details of how the book should finish. The truth was, I was afraid to write the Ending the way it should be written, because I was afraid it would become unpublishable.

What do I mean by "unpublishable?" All publishing houses use a style guide. Normally, this governs mechanics like punctuation, capitalization, use of American English vs. British English, and the like. However, Orthodox Jewish publishing houses have an additional level of what words, topics, and the like that they think are appropriate to include in their books. Truly, other kinds of publishers have similar guidelines, just must less stringent ones. Then magnificent Ending I have just written has just crossed a few too many of those guidelines most likely to be found at an Orthodox press. However, the book is VERY, VERY Jewish. Like probably wouldn't make sense if you didn't have a sound foundation in Yiddishkeit.

I think I have now written the Ending the way it should be, but it's just as unpublishable as I feared. Seeking sympathy and advice, I spoke to the ladies from my writing group. They think I should keep the new conclusion, since it is after all the Ending.

And so now, I will have to revise yet again, to see if I can make this book into something someone (other than myself) would publish.

Picture courtesy of http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/68000/68050/68050_123_W14-1_b.htm

I Feel Liberated!

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Last week, I finished the charming and very wacky Larklight by Philip Reeve. This sci-fi adventure for kids 10 and older follows the Mumby family as they try to stop a mysterious race of giant white spiders for taking over the solar system. The novel takes place in a wonderfully-articulated alternate Victorian history, where Newton started the space race and all scientific discoveries after his time have not occurred or occurred differently than they did in our true-life universe.

Interestingly, G-d (and praying to Him) is referred to on several occasions as the ultimate Creator of the universe in this book. This is in keeping with the time period of the setting, and also very appropriate in the context of one particular character. The book does not refer to a Christian-specific deity, just "G-d" in the generically monotheistic sense. The mentions are mostly in passing, and are certainly not the focus of the novel, but I can't think of any other mainstream sci-fi or fantasy books that actually include one character telling another, "Oh, yeah, G-d created the universe." I was blown away.

This is such a change from the atheism, animism or paganism that has permeated the sci-fi fantasy genre for years. Some of these books go into elaborate detail about how to practice a fictional variety of avodah zara. These books appeal to tweens and teens, who gravitate towards them. One of the reasons that I started writing sci-fi and fantasy material is because of the dearth of such stories that nourish the neshama.

I've written a new (and, I fear, completely unpublishable) ending for my current Novel-In-Progress, and I've started to think ahead about the next project. About six months ago, I thought of a Jewish steampunk/alternate reality book, but I've wondered if the Orthodox book publishers would find it acceptable. Would it be yet another arduous project with an unpublishable result? I started to outline it with the Snowflake method over the weekend. I have transformed the original idea into a fantasy that is not Jewish--but does firmly establish the world I'm creating as created by G-d. I had contemplated this before (as a possible solution to my publishing issues), but felt discouraged due to the lack of such books in the mainstream YA market. Reading Larklight has empowered me to take the leap. Thanks Mr. Reeve!

Another existential crisis in the life of my Novel-in-Progress

So, if there was any one thing that every single person I've had read the Work In Progress has said, it's this:

You call this an ending?

Otherwise known as: time to find another way to end this book.

I've been avoiding this issue a bit as I've been rewriting, because I'm still not sure what would be a better ending. However, I'm almost done resolving the other issues in the book. My new ending must be found. Preferably soon rather than later.

It's not that I don't know where my story's going. Or at least the general neighborhood. It's just the details.

I've been looking for some inspiration online, and have found a few great links to help me out. I'll share them with my readers, in case any of you are in the same corner as me.

Post from The Other Side of the Story with Janice Hardy http://blog.janicehardy.com/2010/03/end.html

Post from the Creative Penn http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2010/08/09/how-to-write-the-ending/

From How to Write a Book Now http://www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com/plot-development.html

Article by Holly Lisle http://hollylisle.com/how-to-finish-a-novel/

The two easiest ways to write books yet

 

Picture credit:
http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/24300/24305/snowflakes_24305.htm

For a while now, I've been a believer in the Snowflake Method. It was invented by Randy Ingermanson as a way to build your novel in a structured, yet streamlined way, and it does just that. I came late to it, as my novel had started off as a short story, then had expanded to much more than that. I wish I'd got to the Snowflake Method sooner--it would have prevented me from floundering about quite as much. There are other ways to create a novel with discipline and skill--but this has always seemed to me just about the easiest. There's even a computer program that can help you with the method.

However, there's new tool that makes creating a book possibly even easier. Building on a successful blogging format, the folks at PressBooks have designed a online tool that adapts the WordPress platform for the purpose of making a book. The writing process becomes as easy as managing a blog, using the same familiar, simple tools.

The webware is free, and can be used collaboratively (multiple authors can have access to your book-in-progress at once, just as with a blog). Each post is roughly one chapter. You can take your document and covert it to a PDF, epub, etc. It can also be used for a POD (Print On Demand) service, if that's what you want to do. The design of the book is reportedly much more refined than in most do-it-yourself POD products.

I'm skeptical about its utility for novel-writing (although if you want your final product to seem like a fly-by-the seat-of-your-pant serial, where what happens next might surprise the author as much as the reader, it might be okay). It's too linear, where a good novel is usually built in layers. However, if you are working on a non-fiction book project with colleagues, I imagine it would be outstanding. Check more about it out at: http://pressbooks.com/about

Everything I need to know about Styling, I learned from LuLu

Picture credit: http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/18900/18980/book_18980.htm

Okay, okay, so my title is a bit of an exaggeration. Here's the story:

I get lots of questions from new writers about how to format manuscripts for submission. My first piece of advice is always to follow the specs articulated by the periodical or book publisher you are submitting to. However, if you don't know where you're sending it to, I've always preferred to use a sans-serif font like Arial or Helvetica for titles and author info, followed by a double-spaced body written in a simple serif font like Times New Roman or Courier. (Serif fonts have those little crowns and tails, sans-serif do not.) You can always reformat later, thanks to the magic of Microsoft Word. And don't forget to insert a footer with a page number and your email address on every page.

In the past, that magic formula has always worked. But now that I'm working on something longer--in fact, an entire book-- things have gotten complicated. It's simply harder to be consistent across more than a hundred pages. I can't remember how I numbered the chapters (with numerals or the numbers as words), if I put in an extra line after each chapter heading, or what size and font I used for each. Sometimes I paste in pieces from other documents and the font and size may differ. My document was turning into a mess. And don't even ask me what happened when I went back and started to rewrite!

That's where LuLu stepped in. You see, I was doing a lot of research last week and the week before regarding e-publishing (hence a couple blog posts wherein I mentioned it). If you publish an ebook through LuLu, you have to use a very specific format. Or, rather, you Style instead of Format.

Most of us look at the Style menu in Word and have no idea what to do with it. We write using the Format menus, sometimes just out of habit.  Even if you don't plan to use LuLu, your editor will still be much happier if you use Styles. Doing so can save you time, but it also will increase consistency throughout a document and prep it for conversion into other document formats like Adobe InDesign or ePub. In fact, if you use LuLu, you have to use Styles, because that's what triggers page breaks for chapters and creates your table of contents.

Some people hate the way the Styles look, or object to the fonts and spacing used. That's okay! With a little practice, you can create your own Style and apply it throughout your Word document. Want to learn how to do this? Here are some links that can help you:
http://floridawriters.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/tool-time-using-styles-in-word-to-help-with-your-formatting/
http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/04/authors-keep-formatting-when-they-should-be-styling/
http://daiya.mvps.org/bookwordframes.htm

I doubt I'll go the LuLu route, but I owe the company a debt of gratitude. My reStyled document looks beautiful and is perfectly consistent and organized. Now if only I can finish my rewrite...

Fun story about Picture Books on Aish.com

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My teacher and neighbor Emuna Braverman wrote a piece for Aish.com this week about picture books and how they teach us about the parent-child relationship. http://www.aish.com/f/mom/Instructive_Childrens_Books.html

Picture books are amazing not only for kids, but for their parents. We experience them on a daily basis at bedtimes and sometimes they leave a lasting impression. I'll never forget when Rebbitzen Shira Smiles used Goodnight Moon to illustrate a point in a shiur I once attended many years ago.

If you haven't seen them already, here are a few more articles on the same theme, this time by yours truly on  MetroImma.com:

Where The Mild Things Are
Most of us remember the childhood classic, Where the Wild Things Are. In it, the mischievous Max trashes his house and terrorizes the family pet until his mother sends him to his room. Once there, the boy fantasizes about a voyage to the land of the Wild Things. In this marvelous isle, he can be as rowdy and ferocious as he wants. 
More . . .

Our Very Hungry Caterpillars
About 2 hours before a recent Shabbos, my 3 year old daughter and I
watered the container garden in the back of our apartment building.
Alternating waves of heat and rain here in 
More . . .

Your Mother is Coming!
At this time of year, we all need some strategies with which to
fight our ultimate enemy. But where is a busy wife with little kids
supposed to turn for weapons to fight this war? More
. . .

Sometimes even Mommies
have bad days
If you have ever read the book Alexander and the Terrible,
Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day, you may remember the page.
Alexander finally adjourns to bed at the end of his terrible,
horrible, no-good, very bad day. He sounds resigned, yet also
comforted. Why? Because his mother has just informed him that “some
days are just like that.” 
More . . .

With Chanukah just over...

If Chanukah is over, it means just one thing in the Klempner household: time to prepare our annual Purim Spiel. Traditionally, a Purim spiel is a play, but in our household, we've transformed it into a pseudo-newspaper. Our friends and neighbors always enjoy receiving our Purim Spiel, and we put a lot of work into it to make it as wacky as possible.


Picture credit: 
http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/63100/63192/63192_men&paper.htm

My husband, eldest child, and I actually collect material for our fake news stories and ads all year round, but it's only after Chanukah that we start fleshing the ideas out and laying them out to look like a newspaper. I start collecting all the little bits my husband has emailed himself and scour my journal for bizarre thoughts I've scribbled (off-the-wall shaggy dog stories to make people groan, truly terrible puns that would make great names for sham products, off-beat reflections about life in L.A., and so on). As Purim gets closer, we usually mix in more time-sensitive material that's based on current events.

As much pleasure as our readers get, we also get the pleasure of  knowing that we're using our talents for goofiness to brighten people's Purim. (Plus, I love the voicemails people leave for a week after Purim telling us which parts were their favorite.)

What's really strange is that the more I write for professional purposes, the harder the Purim Spiel gets for me. I noticed it last year, and this year the feeling's even stronger. It's still fun to make (especially as it's a family endeavor), and I still enjoy our readers' reactions, but my energy is differently directed these days. Luckily, I have family members to keep me in line. We'll get it done even if I'm distracted, IY"H.