(This post is a handout for a panel I was on Saturday about The Writer's Life at Peace College in Raleigh, for the spring conference of the NC Writers Network. Instead of actually handing out these sheets, I've placed them here, for anyone who might be interested.)
How to find the book(s) hidden in your journal
*Look for the quest. A story is one main character in search of something specific and crucial, the efforts to reach the goal, and the obstacles that get in the way.
*Let your journal entries jog your memory. Remember the events you didn’t write down…the little details, bits of conversation, things that might not have seemed important then but in retrospect might turn out to be a significant part of the story.
*Let the writing in your journal be the starting place for deeper exploration. Even if you already told all, ask yourself: what was really going on then? what was I trying to do? what was my most urgent motivation?
*Remember that it’s the obstacles that make the suspense in the story. And that it’s the hero/ine’s efforts, rather than a perfect outcome, that create a satisfying tale.
*As you continue writing in your journal, be sure to put down sensory information, and specific details. That’s what will bring the experience back full force. To say “this afternoon was nice or dreary or amazing” does not take a reader to a particular day with particular weather, it doesn’t recreate how it was to be there. But if you say that rain was pouring off the edge of the roof, the house smelled like gardenias and burned cookies, and you just heard a sputtering that sounded like a motorcycle shutting off in your driveway, then you have the material to recreate how it was that day, whether for a book or your own memories.
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4 comments:
It's funny you just posted this - I printed out the first 126 pages of the novel-in-progress this morning, still what I consider first draft material, though I've been doing little bits of editing as I read back through to keep on track with where I'm headed with it.
I went to a favorite mountain camping spot in April and made notes that I knew would end up in the book - those visceral little details that make it real.
It's so interesting to me how, not consciously thinking of my book while I was there, I nevertheless managed to take notes that slid perfectly into place in the world of the novel when I arrived home.
There's a little mountain town I have to go visit, b/c it's in the book and I've never been there - and I love those little trips in search of details that bring the story to life.
Sort of reverse of what you're speaking of, but mostly the same thing. :)
Thanks for sharing this good stuff from your workshop!
Ilove this kind of "sensory" research too. That's what I spent three months doing in Varanasi for research for the setting of Sister India.
Right now I'm doing a different kind of research--for a biography. Trying to figure out how to get the growing pile of books and notes organized. I think it's going to require a new table for my office--for one thing.
Sometimes a 'place' to put things lends just right amount of organization and holding space for the idea/work/etc.
I had a dream about your new office space last night - it was huge and winding and quite lovely, and you were hosting a salon of sorts. Artists and writers were milling around, sharing energy and ideas. I gave someone some feedback on their pages and he said "I don't have anything to offer in return but I could bake you a really fancy chocolate cake." I accepted, of course!
It was definitely the dream version of being at one of your workshops. At the end you had to leave and told several of us to be sure to lock up. We were preparing to do so when I realized we needed to put out all the candles that were lit, so I started walking around doing that. And then I realized how very many of them there were! Tiny ones and big ones and tall ones and the pillar ones... and I said "How in the world does Peggy get all these candles lit every day when she comes in to write?"
It was quite a lovely dream. :)
If you get overwhelmed with books and notes, let me know... I'll bring over a fancy chocolate cake!
A salon with chocolate cakes sounds terrific. What a lovely dream! I've always loved the idea of an artsy salon anyway.
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