Layering Your Story Line Using Braiding

Posted on Monday, April 22, 2013 by Kelly Leiter Leave a comment


I’ve recently made it to the middle of a story I’m writing and it didn’t take long for me to realize that I didn’t know how to handle keeping the story going. So I looked to one of my favorite author’s on writing for guidance.

Heather Sellers wrote two of my favorite books on writing, “Page After Page” and “Chapter After Chapter.” But what I am going to refer to today is from a chapter she wrote in Writer’s Digest, “Crafting Novels and Short Stories,” where she says, “To get across the middle you must involve some element of discovery--something you have to figure out as you write.” Otherwise, your writing will feel canned, preplanned, flat. Like stale popcorn. This is where braiding comes in.”

Introducing Layers In Your Story Through Braiding

Ms. Sellers explains braiding like this:

“Braided books (or articles or stories) are made up of three or four strands. (Like in hairstyling). Instead of slogging though one story line and then flattening somewhere in the middle, braids help you mix it up. You work in small, manageable sections, folding in new material. Things stay fresh and lively.”

Happy Accidents

She goes on to say:

“You need more than one thing going on at a time. You don’t need to know how everything will work out. When you braid, happy accidents will occur.”

This is really good for me to hear because I don’t really know how my story is going to end. I have an idea, and I have outlined some of the major scenes I need to tell the story I want to tell, but I don’t know exactly how they are going to lead to the ending I have in mind. I’m trying to work that out in my writing journal.

The Best Way To Write A Book

Ms. Sellers says:

“The book teaches me what it is about as I write it. That’s the best way to write a books: to follow a structure that allows you to discover wise insights, images, and a natural organization as you go along.”

“If you are concerned about organization, try dividing your book into three substories, or three subthemes. You can write each one straight through. Or you can divide and conquer, working on each strand a little at a time.”

“Good writing has layers. It does more than one thing. It leaves room for the reader to go, Aha!

What do you think about braiding? Let me know in the comments.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

-Kelly





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Link Round-up For 4/19/13

Posted on Friday, April 19, 2013 by Kelly Leiter Leave a comment


I can't believe another week has gone by already! And with the bombings in Boston, the explosion in Texas, and now one of the Boston bombers being killed, it's been a very dramatic week. I've been keeping one eye on the news and one eye on my homework for days now.

But now it's Friday, and in case you don’t know, every day I scour the internet looking for articles that are helpful to me as a beginning writer. When I find something, I will share it over Twitter. Each Friday, I will post what I call a link round-up of all the helpful articles I found that week.


I don’t have quite as many articles to share this week. I spent so much time working on my latest English paper (I got a 100%!!)  that I had very little time to devote to blog reading. But the ones I did find are great...and here they are!


The Shy Writer In You By C. Hope Clark

Continued Learning By Allison Brennan

That's it for this week! Have a great weekend everyone!

-Kelly

(image by Matt Hamm)

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Saving Acorns: Being Prepared For What Comes

Posted on Monday, April 8, 2013 by Kelly Leiter Leave a comment


Hello, everyone! Time goes so fast doesn’t it? I’ve been meaning to get a post up here for weeks now but I just kept getting overwhelmed by schoolwork. That also means I haven’t been writing though. (Aside from class papers, that is.) But even though I am not writing, I still have ideas and inspired moments about the project I have going. And I always have ideas about future projects that I know I won’t be able to get to anytime soon.

Sage Cohen, author of The Productive Writer, tells us that even though we can’t be seated at our desk with notebook open and pen poised every time an idea hits us, it is realistic to have fast, efficient systems for “capturing the seed of an idea and storing it for later.” She calls these little vessels of future writing, “acorns.”

In her book, she gives us some possible systems and strategies for being prepared for what comes and getting it down quickly. You may only need one of these, or maybe a mix of them, depending on when inspiration hits you.

“Index Cards: This old school tool is one of my favorites because it’s easy to use and I am comforted by seeing my own handwriting. I stash index cards where I sleep, where I work, eat, and travel. So any time I have an idea, there’s a fast and easy way to write it down.

Voice Recorder: Voice recorders are faster than writing and being rapidly more accessible. Your cell phone is even likely to have one. Just keep in mind that there’s a transcription step that involves committing your spoken notes to pages.

Notebook: For years I did my freewriting in plain, cheap notebooks so I wouldn’t feel pressured to write “important” stuff. These days, I prefer prettier, more substantial journals, but I keep the same idea with myself. Don’t be too precious with them. Just let ‘er rip. The important thing is to make sure  you’re comfortable with it and likely to write in any style you choose.

Digital Notes: Your cell phone, PDA, and/or computer are all great places to type up a fleeting thought, depending on where you are.

Sticky Notes: Sticky notes are a useful way to capture something fast and stick it somewhere prominent. Some people enjoy digital sticky notes, but I feel they get buried behind what I am working on.

Whiteboard: If positioned proximate to your moments of genius, whiteboards can be a great temporary home for a fleeting idea.

Computer Document: I have a single computer document titled “Acorns,” where I type all ideas that need to land somewhere. I always type my most recent idea at the top of the document.”

What do you guys think of Ms. Cohen’s suggestions? Do you have a particular place you keep track of your ideas? Let me know in the comments.

Also, wish me luck. I have a big project I am handing in today for my English class. I worked really hard on it and my teacher is kind of tough, so cross your fingers for me!

-Kelly

(Image by Jacqueline-w)

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Link Round-up For 3/29/13

Posted on Friday, March 29, 2013 by Kelly Leiter Leave a comment


Hello! I’m back! In case you’re curious where I’ve been, I started college a couple of months ago. I’m going for an Associate of Arts degree and then I am going to go to University for a Bachelors in Creative Writing. I was able to go back with the help of Vocational Rehabilitation. They are paying for everything. 

Going back to college is a dream come true for me. I never thought I would be well enough mentally to go back, and even if I was, I didn’t think I could afford it. But so much has changed and I am so happy and proud to say that so far, I’ve gotten a 100% on both my English papers! I also got a B in my math class, which for me, is very good. I’m terrible at math. I’m glad that course was a hybrid class, which means it was only 8 weeks long. Now I don’t have to worry about math again until next semester.

I’ve collected so many great links lately that I thought I would come back today with a new link round-up.

In case you don’t know, every day I scour the internet looking for articles that are helpful to me as a beginning writer. When I find something, I will share it over Twitter. Each Friday, I will post what I call a link round-up of all the helpful articles I found that week.

So here we go...



Embrace The Naked By Robin Lafevers








That’s it for today. I’ll see you again Monday!

-Kelly

(image by ~llse)

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Link Round-up for 1/18/13

Posted on Friday, January 18, 2013 by Kelly Leiter Leave a comment


It’s time for another link round-up!

In case you didn’t know, everyday, I scour the internet looking for articles that are helpful to me as a beginning writer. When I find something, I share it over Twitter.

Each Friday, I post what I call a link round-up of all the helpful articles I found that week.

I found a bunch of really great articles this week! Hopefully they are as helpful to you as they were for me.

Four Ways To Pre-write Your Scenes By Janice Hardy

25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing By Chuck Wendig

The Ultimate Guide To Writing Better Than You Do By Colin Nissan

Turning Off Your Inner Editor By Karen Woodward

Six Things You Need In Order To Be Creative By @Tannerc

Endings By Talia Vance

Dealing With The Passage Of TIme Between Scenes By Janice Hardy

How To Get Organized: Seven Steps Writers Can Use To Reach Their Goals By Jurgen Wolff

On Being A Slow, Imperfect, Inefficient Writer By Jessica Shea

That’s it for this week! You can follow me on Twitter @KellyLeiter.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

-Kelly

(image by Jez)

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Order From Chaos: On Structure and Plot (Part One)

Posted on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 by Kelly Leiter Leave a comment

To the shapeless chaos of life, the fiction writer brings order.
-Peter Selgin

In fiction, many of us begin with characters, feelings, and events from our own lives. But lives are messy things and the events are often only loosely related (if at all).

Writer Peter Selgin says, “Such events are certainly the fodder for fiction, but only after they have been endowed with that interconnectedness that only dimly exists in everyday life--but which, in fiction, however quietly hidden under the surface of things, should be constantly felt.”

He’s talking about the difference between plot and story, which is summed up perfectly by E. M. Forster in Aspects Of The Novel.

“The King died, and then the Queen died” is a story. The King died and then the Queen died of grief” is a plot.

The word grief provides the missing link, their interconnectedness.

What Is Plot?

In his book, On Cunning And Craft: Sound Advice And Practical Wisdom For Fiction Writers, Peter Selgin explains that when we’re talking about plot, we’re talking about what happens in a story.

A good story raises questions and then answers them. And sometimes, those answers only provoke more questions. We read with the expectations that those questions and answers will lead somewhere, that they have some kind of purpose.

Many new writers believe that simply withholding information will keep people reading. They’ll write paragraph after paragraph before revealing vital information about characters, such as their names, occupations, and so on. But this is more likely to frustrate readers, make them throw in the towel, and toss the novel in the trash. Finding answers to those withheld questions can’t be the only point of reading.

Mr. Selgin tells us that the best plots are born of the conflict(s) between characters or between characters and setting, with protagonists supplying motivations, and antagonists providing conflict and obstacles.

He gives us an easy recipe for plotting a story. (1) Put your protagonist up a tree; (2) Throw rocks at him; (3) Get him down. Conflict, development, and resolution.

I hope that was helpful to you. Next week, in part two, I’ll be focusing on the structure of plot, because it’s nice to know that plot contains those three elements, but we also need to know how the story contains them.

Until then....

-Kelly

(Image by TempusVolat)

Link Round-up for 1/11/13

Posted on Friday, January 11, 2013 by Kelly Leiter Leave a comment

Today’s Friday, so that means it’s time for another link round-up!

In case you didn’t know, everyday I scour the internet looking for articles on writing that are helpful to me as a beginning writer. When I find something I will share it over Twitter.

Each Friday, I will post what I call a Link Round-up of all the useful articles I’ve found over the past week.

I didn’t have much time this week to browse for good articles but the ones I did find are really good.

Without further ado...

How I learned To Write, and How You Can Too By K.M Weiland

How To unlock Your Creativity And Stop Feeling Like A Failure By Bryan Hutchinson

Help With Character Development By Elizabeth S. Craig

Take Comfort: In Order To Really Write, It’s Futile To Avoid The Mess By Meredith Gordon Resnick

39 Great Books On Writing By Bryan Hutchinson

Too Much Of A Good Thing: Over Plotting Your Novel By Janice Hardy

Which Point Of View Is Right For You By Karen Woodward

The Mistakes Of  A Newbie Novelist By Scott D. Southard

That’s it for this week!

You can follow me on Twitter @KellyLeiter (if you’re so inlcined)

Have a great weekend!

-Kelly

 (image by Matt Hamm)

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