Moving Forward

When I was in high school, I ran on the Cross Country team. In Cross Country we ran five kilometer races (that's just over 3 miles). I guess it's not a long race compared to an ultra marathon, but 3 miles is plenty long for me.

I've found there are many comparisons that can be made between distance running and writing. Both are endurance events, both require dedication, and a little bit of insanity. Here are a few more.

Beware of the rabbits: 

At the beginning of the race, there were almost always runners who we called rabbits. Rabbits were runners who started out at a dead sprint. Sometimes they were just inexperienced runners, but sometimes they were sprinting on purpose to mess with our heads. What happens in a race, when you're competitive, is that you want to win. So when someone else is running faster than you, you might be tempted to feel bad, compare yourself to them, or even try to beat them. Don't be fooled.

Here's what always happened in the races - the inexperienced runners would try to keep up with the rabbits. The'd disappear around the first corner. And then they'd reappear on the second or third stretch, then I'd pass them.

Healthy competition can help you improve. But when you're writing, you've always got to go at your own pace. I'm sure you've met a writer (or someone working on another project) who started out strong and then just stopped. When you're writing, learn your pace. Push yourself with your goals, but beware of setting unobtainable goals that will discourage you. Don't be afraid to ignore the rabbits and write at your own pace. Just make sure you write.

Keep Your Eyes Fixed:

Another thing about long distance races is that they're long. If I started thinking about the ending, (e.g. "I will be sooo happy when I'm finished.") then I would often find it harder to motivate myself. I'd find myself thinking more along the lines of, "It's sooo far," and I'd be tempted to give up. If, on the other hand, instead of looking at the end goal I concentrated about 50 yards in front of me, then I always knew that I could make it. Even if I'm tired I can force myself to run 50 yards.

In writing, we sometimes get caught up in wanting to be finished. Sometimes that can distract us from where we are now. I like to set checkpoints for myself. In fact, before I write I sit down and mentally prepare myself just for the scene that I'm writing. I forget the end of the story (not really) and concentrate on something I know I can write. Like many of you, I've got a full time job. I work all day and only get about 1 hour to write on weekdays. If I am always concentrating on the cool thing that will happen in chapter 34 or wishing that I could just be done, then I start to lose my nerve. Instead, I periodically check in with my end goals while focusing on the immediate scene or arc that I'm working on right now. I have confidence in my writing ability. When I get to chapter 34, I'm confident I'll be able to handle it. But right now I'm on chapter 5 and I need to write it before I can get to chapter 34. (Exception: Sometimes I actually do write chapters ahead of where I am if they are so compelling that I can't get them out of my mind. I write them, and then when I get back to that point in my regular writing, I use what I've written and adapt it to any changes I may have made along the way.) Don't look too far ahead. Be aware of your ultimate goals, but remember to keep your eyes fixed on the next thing.

Don't Give Up:

Last of all, writing is hard. There's a saying, "It takes ten years to become an overnight success." Most writers write for many years before they get published. There are exceptions, but no matter what it's a lot of work. Running a distance race it's easy to get discouraged. Your body is tired. Your muscles want to stop working. And mentally you are at your limit. Think of your writing as a master's degree. You've got to refine your talent, hone your skills, and get tons of words out on paper. Put in the work. Try to get to the end soon if you can. But don't get discouraged. Writing, like running, takes determination. Don't give up. Even if you're not going as fast as you wanted. Even if you have to stop running and walk. Keep moving forward. In the end that's the only way to finish a race or a book.

Exposition: An Introduction

I've been reading a manuscript my friend is working on. He's an experienced technical writer, but doesn't have experience writing fiction. When I gave him feedback I mentioned exposition. He had no idea what I was talking about. So I'm posting this in the hopes that I can give a basic explanation of what exposition is and perhaps give a few tips on how to avoid some common pitfalls.

What is exposition?

Exposition is information that you give to the reader so that they can take part in your story. More precisely, it is information about setting, characters, and relationships that your reader needs to understand the actions, ideas, conflicts, and events as your story moves forward.

Think of the phrase, "Once upon a time..." This phrase is a cue that the narrator will now explain where/when the story takes place, and who is involved. It may help to look at events without exposition.

Example: The man shot the gun three times.

In order to understand this sentence, we need more information. That information is called exposition. It's information that sets up the story-it sets the stage.

What is not exposition?

Although everything you share with your reader should inform them, it's not all always exposition. Dialogue is not always exposition. Descriptions are not always exposition. Events are not always exposition. Action sequences are not always exposition. Good news though. Each one of these tools can be used to make exposition more palatable.

Problems with exposition.

In many traditional models of plot, exposition comes first. Next comes rising action, which leads to the climax, and then the denouement (the resolution).

One complaint with this model is that exposition is placed at the beginning. When exposition is clumped together in one large block of text it's called an exposition dump. When exposition is poorly explained through dialogue, it's called "maid and butler".

The goal is to have a balance between telling your audience information they will need to understand the story, and actually telling the story.

Solutions

So how can you share exposition without boring your audience? Here are a few ideas:

1. Spread it out - Instead of explaining your setting, characters, and conflict all up front, share it as you tell the story. Just make sure that your reader has time to absorb the info before they need it to understand the story.
2. Dialogue - Let your characters say something (or think if your writing gets into your characters' heads). But be careful to make sure it is something the character would actually say. As a rule, you could probably avoid starting sentences with "As you know..."
3. Action Scenes - Have something exciting happen and tell the reader little details on the way.
4. Description - As you describe the scene, you can easily include details that set up the story. When you describe your characters, talk about that scar they got because they're excitable and can never turn down a good fight.

You might get the gist here that exposition can be told just about anywhere. It can also be told after the fact, depending on the type of story you're telling (e.g. a mystery where a murder takes place and then we find out who dunnit later). Just make sure that the exposition flows with the rest of the story. It should always compel the reader forward. If it doesn't, then you should find another way to let the reader know.

Here are a couple more links:

Brandon Sanderson Talks about Dialogue

A definition of Exposition

Wikipedia

Old Stories and Cliches

I often read criticism about a book, movie, or a game that includes a jab at ideas that we've seen before. The hero's journey arc, the love triangle, a destined hero. These are cliches, or tropes. Something in a story that has been used over and over again. If they're so bad, why do they even exist. Because once they were new. Once they worked. But here's the secret. They still do work.

A story is only derivative or cliche if you've read the same kind of story over and over again. If your favorite food is macaroni and cheese it's very possible that eating macaroni and cheese every day you'll get tired of it. Familiarity breeds contempt. But that doesn't mean that there's necessarily something wrong with macaroni and cheese. It hasn't changed. You have. The novelty has worn off, and now you can see the flaws that you missed before.

Critics are especially prone to cliche overload because their job is to watch everything under the sun and then point out what's wrong. Some critics can appreciate the fact that their tastes are going to be skewed. They realize that even though they've seen a certain theme played out, not everyone has. They can criticize the weaknesses of the work (prose, concept, execution, etc.) and still see the value the work provides especially for someone outside of the business.

Everyone's a critic. We all expose ourselves to a certain kind of story. Some of us seek out the familiar. Some of us want something different. All of us have our own preferences. And when we see something that we've seen before, it necessarily has less impact than it did the first time.

But here's what gets me. Cliches worked. They were new and novel once. The first time I saw bullet time in The Matrix, all of the right emotions fired. I thought it was cool. But most of the subsequent movies that use bullet time are less impressive...at least less impressive in the novelty factor. Sometimes I still see bullet time and I enjoy it. I realize that I'm enjoying something old in an interesting way.

Don't worry so much about avoiding cliches. Blue is a color that has been used in millions of paintings. That doesn't mean Blue is cliche. If you have an idea that someone else has used, present it in the best way you can. Explore cliches and see what made them interesting in the first place. If it was just the novelty, then you can probably skip it. But if there's any basis there that touched your imagination, then you can use it again. Tell that story your way. We're a society that thrives and celebrates novelty. But some of the best stories never die. They are repeated and retold with hundreds of small variations. Be wise about cliches, but worry about telling a a good story first.