I’m off tomorrow for a vacation and should be back on November 12. I’m taking way too much to read and write. But I’ll lay it aside at the drop of a hat and enjoy this time off.

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There are two good ways to look at the overall shape of a manuscript: the shrunken manuscript and spreadsheet plotting. When do you use which?

Both are ways of compressing information into a manageable format. The main difference is that the shrunken manuscript is more visual, while the spreadsheet plotting is text based.

Advantages of Shrunken Manuscripts

Shrunken manuscripts are a visual look at the overall shape of a story. They are particularly good at showing the proportions of a mss that deal with your issues. Because you mark/highlight entire chapters or passages, you can see–at a glance–how much space deals with your issue. Often, it’s not enough just to mention Character X; instead, the reader needs fully developed scenes that take place over extended time in order for X to be memorable. Spreadsheet plotting doesn’t show this as easily; you can include a column on the number of pages, but it’s not visual.

It’s also easy to see multiple issues at a time, by using different color highlighters, or sticky notes. For example, you can check on interactions between X & Y, X & Z, etc. and see if they are spaced where you want and if they last long enough.

Advantages of Spreadsheet Plotting

On the other hand, spreadsheet plotting allows you to check the actual content of scenes/chapters. For this reason, it’s easy to scan a column of plot points and see if the narrative arc builds over the course of these actions. Or, scan the column of emotional points and see how the emotional arc builds. Try sorting columns: as long as you use consistent terminology, you can check, for example, how many times you place scenes in a haunted house.

For me, these complimentary methods of looking at the overall shape of a novel are the most helpful tools.

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Note: This technique was recommended by several readers and after I’ve tried it, I’m a convert! Thanks for the suggestions!

Some writers like to keep a running inventory of their story by doing Spreadsheet Plotting. Choose your favorite spreadsheet program and open it. I totally ignore the line numbers at the left. Choose any line at the top and type in the novel’s title. Skip down a couple rows and set up columns. Typical columns include these:

1. Act. This helps track the act to which this scene belongs.
2. Chapter/scenes. This helps me divide the story into chapters/scenes.
3. Headlines. This isn’t a summary of the scene’s events, but headlines of main events of the scene with emphasis on how it affects the main character(s).
4. Time. Time of year, time of day. This helps me track passage of time and keep events in order, or deliberately out of order for flashbacks.
5. POV or Characters present. This column helps ensure that each character has a proper amount of exposure. I use the colored initials for each character for at-a-glance evaluations.
6. Setting. This lets me track movement. I know I want to reuse setting for narrative patterning (explained later), and I want characters to move around.
7. Action. Similar to Headlines, but with a different function. The Headlines puts the event in context of the main character, while the Action can be more specific or give a context. For example, one Headline reads, “Jamie sees Road Whiz for the first time.” The Action column reads, “The Greyhound Adoption Services presents information at the summer fair.”
8. Pulse. This highlights the emotional tension driving this scene.
9. Words. If you want to track the length of the manuscript, you can add a column for the number of words/chapter and set up the spreadsheet to keep a running total

.

The beauty of a spreadsheet is the ability to sort. If, for example, I want to know how many times, I’ve had my characters visit Baby Beach, I click the top of the Setting column. It sorts the entries into alphabetical order and I see that they’ve only been to Baby Beach twice, once in Act I and once in Act III. It tells me that I need to send them there sometime in Act II.
A big advantage is that you can customize it by adding columns to look at whatever issues you need. For example, if you know that setting is your particular weakness, then you definitely use this column. But if it comes naturally to you, maybe you want to skip that column. Or you can obsess over emotions with these columns, going from general to specific: Overall emotion of chapter, main emotion of scene, emotional beats of scenes, emotional reactions of various characters, etc. The flexibility of this approach is a real advantage.

Overall the Spreadsheet Plotting gives you an ongoing Inventory for a look at the Big Picture of your story.

Tomorrow: Spreadsheet Plotting v. Shrunken Manuscripts

How can you be original in your work?

It’s a question I’ve been exploring all year as I worked on picture book ideas especially. Last year, many of my pb rejections said, “This is well written, but it just doesn’t stand out in a crowded market.”

Of course, that made me mad! And when I get mad, I think hard and try to do something about it. Enter, Friday Ideas. The idea was to create as many original, different picturebook ideas as possible. I’m not totally consistent in doing it, but most weeks I’ve created 5-10 new picture book ideas. Out of those, I’ve written eight picturebooks and I’m working on two more. Let’s say 30 ideas/week, 120/month. Out of that, one finds its way to the top and gets written. Yes, I’m submitting those and so far, I’ve not gotten that dreaded comment about no originality. I get other comments, now, but not that one.

How to be original? One answer is to generate lots of ideas and let the cream rise.

But I’m sure there are other answers. I’m working on an article about this topic. If you’ve done something specific to jumpstart your push for originality, please email me or leave a comment. I’d like to talk to you about your strategies.

I’m working on a revision right now and after several false starts, I created a voice that I really like. It’s heavily dependent on a narrator and is pretty informal. It’s worked well for most of Act I.

But as I enter Act II, I’m finding it hard to judge whether I strayed from the voice or not. Part of the problem is that I’m trying to use what I can from the previous draft and not TOTALLY rewrite. Not sure that strategy is best. I may be losing the voice.

I’ll have to stop this morning and read aloud the first couple chapters and then the last one I did and either rewrite totally, or tweak. Here’s hoping that tweaking works!

I did some Grammatik analysis and the last chapter seems to be slightly more complicated, with reading level going from 3.6 to 5.3. Overall the story (so far) hits a 4.1 reading level. It’s not helpful in revising, but it does confirm the red flag that I need to pay attention here.

How do you make sure that the voice stays consistent over the course of a novel? Any strategies, ideas, tools besides reading aloud?

“They murdered him.” Opening line from
The Chocolate War (Readers Circle)by Robert Cormier.

I remember reading The Chocolate Wars for the first time. I was fascinated by the rivalries set up and by the ultimate price paid by the main character. Then, Robert Cormier came to Little Rock to speak and I went back and took another look. That opening line set up the ending.

In the opening scene, the main character is playing football, in spite of being too skinny, too small. He gets smashed into the ground, hence “They murdered him.” But in the end, the Chocolate gang literally beats him up. The opening contained the ending in encapsulated form.

At the Seattle retreat, we focused on these Prophetic Openings as a way to get into the imagery of the story. For example, one writer took her characters to Florida so the brother could participate in dolphin therapy for his muscular dystrophy. However, the opening lines talked about how dolphins assist in the care of their young. “Dolphin aunts” often nudge a newborn to the surface for his/her first breath.

Wow, that’s a great opening. But–what does that have to do with muscular dystrophy? If the muscles are the focus, then something about the dolphins muscles would be more appropriate.

Ah–but what if, the brother had cystic fibrosis instead of muscular dystrophy? Then, the image of helping a newborn breathe takes on new meaning in the story. In this case, the writer wasn’t wedded to the idea of muscular dystrophy and chose to go with the new breathing disorder. If MD had been her focus, though, she could have changed the opening imagery.

Likewise, another writer had a story the incorporated farming. We talked about various imagery she might use: firing a field to get it ready for planting and then continue fire as a cleansing image or as a home fires image; taproots of native grasses that sink twenty feet into the ground, making the prairie able to withstand all sorts of disasters; farming tools and implements, such as a plow.

In other words, look at what you’ve already got in your story and see if there is imagery available to use. Keep it integral to the story elements but bring it forward some to create imagery and symbols that hold power within your story. Craft a prophetic opening that sets up the ending.

I got back from Seattle at midnight Sunday, and got up the next morning early to attend the Arkansas Governor’s Arts Award banquet, where I was the recipient of the Individual Artist award for my work in children’s literature. Previous recipients are sculptors, painters and architects (E. Fay Jones), so it was amazing that they awarded this to someone who writes stories for children.

Here I am with my husband, Dwight, and my friend and fantastic author, Carla McClafferty, who nominated me for the award.

And here is the pottery, designed and made by an Arkansas potter, that was the award.

In the instructions from the arts council, they said that they didn’t expect any recipient to make a speech, just accept the award. So, I was startled when everyone in front of me made short acceptance remarks, most of which focused on doing art in Arkansas. When it was my turn, then, I managed to say something about how amazing it is to live and work in Arkansas–and yet, touch the world. In fact, El Buscador de Caminos (the Spanish translation of my novel, The Wayfinder) is still selling well in South America. And one of the best-selling versions of my picturebook, 19 Girls and Me, is the Arabic translation for an Egyptian publisher.

It is amazing that our words can literally reach out and touch the world.

Wow! What a trip to Seattle!

I got to meet Mitsy, the Dragon who guards the entrance to the Mirrorstone Books office. And of course, I also met with Nina Hess, the Senior Editor Extraordinaire.

Then, I almost got swept off my feet with the windstorm that hit the city, sending fall leaves blowing. I had a great evening that included supper with author Susi Fowler from Juneau at the McCormick & Schmick seafood restaurant, along with a visit to the Seattle Art Museum.

Friday morning, before our hosts picked us up, I had breakfast with the fabulous Denise Fleming–what a woman! Her energy and passion for her art challenged me all weekend, as she taught the picturebook retreat that was parallel to my retreat. BTW, it hailed that morning.

Finally, I got to meet Jolie Steckly and Sara Easterly, Co-Regional Advisors for the Western Washington SCBWI, who set up this Novel Revision Retreat, and illustrator Jaime Temairik.

We drove up in the mountains to the Mt. River Lodge in Easton, WA, where it snowed on us! It was the earliest snowfall they’ve known, beating the record of October 31.

I finally met Meg Lippert, the efficeint retreat director, who had put all this together. And then, there were the writers. Twenty-four fantastic writers had worked hard to complete the homework assigned, including reading three other works-in-progress novels from their group members. We laughed, ate chocolate, talked, watched the Pirates of the Carribean movie, ate chocolate, and talked children’s literature and novel revision all weekend. Great people, great fun.

Rain, wind, hail, snow. Art, words, encouragement, inspiration. Thanks Washington for a great retreat!

Someone recently asked, “What is flap copy?”

Flap copy is the blurb that appears on the flap of the dust jacket for a book. It’s written like a “hook,” trying to persuade the reader that they will enjoy reading this book, so go buy it!

Sometimes, it’s referred to as jacket copy. Basically, writers don’t have to worry about this, because the publisher will write it, with an eye toward their market. Sometimes, though, writers play around writing flap copy as a way to help focus a story. It’s also good to think about marketability before you send the mss off to an editor.

The last Harry Potter book, as published in the US, was remarkable for the absence of any flap copy. They didn’t need to persuade the reader to read the book with teases about the story. Those who would read Harry Potter were going to do it anyway.

Fall Schedule

• October 19-21 Novel Revision Retreat, Washington SCBWI, outside Seattle, WA at a retreat center.
• October 22 Arkansas Governor’s Arts Awards Luncheon. Rogers, AR. I will be the 2007 recipient of the Arkansas Governor’s Arts Award for Individual Artist for my work in children’s literature.
• November 2-3 Self-Editing Workshop, Hawaii SCBWI, Honolulu, HI
• November 15 IRA SW Regional Conference, Little Rock, AR.

Obviously, I’ll be traveling! I’ll post if I can from WA, but will take a break from blogging on November 1-11. Look for more postings on November 12. The best way to not miss anything is to sign up for my RSS feed. That way, your RSS reader will let you know when I’m back.

If you’re interested in hosting a Novel Revision Retreat in your area, please email me at darcy at darcypattison dot com. More information is available here.

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