Lights, Camera… ACTION!
How does your book idea first appear to you? Do you see an image which kicks off an idea? Do you read something that flashes across your brain?
For me, my fiction stories appear in my head as a slow motion movie. I see the characters move, interact, and speak. I can describe every bit of the background, setting, and dialogue. It’s as if I’m the director of my very own movie!
When the movie begins, I race to my computer and to get it down. I sit transfixed watching my story play across my brain.
Then I start typing furiously.
I am convinced that the words I’m writing are as vivid as the images I’m seeing.
Filled with excitement, I read them.
Ugh.
What happened? How can the images be so vivid and the words so flat?
Should I panic?
No.
First drafts are supposed to be, well . . . UGH.
Now comes the fun part: Revising.
Wait? Revising is fun?
Believe it or not my favorite part about writing is revising. I know. That seems weird. Most people hate revising. Not me. It gives me a chance to watch the movie over and over in my head until I get it just right.
Where do you start?
I like to pretend that I am a brilliant cinematographer and I am out to create an Oscar-winning movie. (Yes. . . I know. But it is my dream, right?)
So as I pick up my pen, or in this case, hunker down in front of my keyboard, I focus on molding my writing to the image in my head.
I ask myself the following:
1. What is the mood of this piece?
--Will it be “shot” in black and white? Meaning does the story have drama, intrigue, mystery? Maybe a film noir like Casablanca?
--Is this story to be in color with vivid characters that leap off the page? Will it be chock full of excitement, action-adventure, and danger, like Indiana Jones?
2. How will my manuscript focus on the characters?
-- Will there be a close-up of just one character throughout – like first person or third person limited?
-- Will there be a narrator who is omniscient? Like Ralphie in The Christmas Story
-- Will the focus be on a group of people – second person or third person objective? Like the astronauts in The Right Stuff
3. How will the scenes flow?
-- Will they be fast and furious like an action movie?
-- Or slower and more descriptive like in a drama?
-- Will it take place all at once or be drawn out over time?
4. What is the sequence or flow of the manuscript?
--Will there be long introduction of characters?
-- Or will you just jump right into the action?
-- How long will the sequence be? Each sequence has a beginning, middle and end, so they are like subplots. They need to move the story along but not spend too much time with each one.
5. Will there be a sequel and how will you handle the overall plot line?
As I revise, I go over and over my copy, layering in each of the above items.
Yes. Over and over.
Revision takes time.
Sometimes lots of it.
The first couple of revisions may still not look at all like the movie in my head.
But eventually, the images become words on the page.
Finally, what I’m reading invokes the same dramatic images that are in my head.
And as they say in show business, That’s a wrap!
Thank you Jen!!
Jen is giving away a picture book critique to one lucky ReviMo'er! Comment on this blog post for a chance to win. Happy revising everyone!
Jennifer is an award winning author of over 20 nonfiction and fiction books for children. Her books in the “How Things Work” series by The Child’s World were named to the 2012 Booklist’s Top 10 Books for Youth: Series Nonfiction. She has received awards from the Pennsylvania TriState Young Adult Review Committee, The Moms Choice Awards, and The Dove Foundation. Top reviews include a starred review in Booklist, and recommended reviews from School Librarians Workshop, Library Media Connection, and the National Science Teacher Association. http://jenniferswansonbooks.com/
69 comments :
Excellent post! Thanks for the inspiration! Books are the best movie adventures ever!
Rewrite, revise, rewrite, revise and it might be a masterpiece...or not...but it gets you closer to your masterpiece, so stay calm and carry on!
I loved this post! Love how you see a story like a movie in your head and work to really capture that with words. I liked how able you are to step back and look at the big picture questions. I'll be using these!
Great reminder on how so many elements matter. Thanks, Jen and Meg.
Jen, thank you for sharing how you visualize your book before writing and the importance of revision.
You had me at Harrison Ford, Jen. ;) Love the way you create...my process usually starts with a title...then a theme/takeaway...then the story unfolds.
Thanks for the encouragement about how long it takes...I, too, enjoy revising...but occasionally I revise down, not up...and the story loses its magic...then I have to backpedal and return to what I had.
What a good idea, to imagine that you are the cinematographer asking yourself all those questions. Will have to remember that.
Thank you
What a great post. I'm all inspired now :o) Thank you!
This is a great method to try for sprucing up my revision process! Thanks!
Jen, I'm with you on enjoying revisions! Building a world can be challenging, but a beautiful thing when structurally sound.
Sometimes my revisions take so long, that if I were Cinderella, my gown would be too small to wear to the ball.
I love the idea of playing the PB over and over in your head until you get it right :-)
I usually start with a glimpse of an idea - sometimes a title- and then sit and do a brain dump on all the possibilities the story holds. I used to just dive right in and begin writing, seeing where the story took me. But then I noticed that I was rewriting the entire story over and over- quite time consuming and discouraging. Now, I'm much more deliberate about my process and revising is much more enjoyable and productive! Thanks for your post!
I love the idea of seeing images and of scenes and characters that unfold before the author's and then the readers' eyes. Thanks, Jen.
I love
I love this post. I also love to revise. This is where the true artistry of writing takes place. Thank you for this post!
Great ideas for revisions!
revising gives me the "permission" to completely re-vision my story. Sometimes I rip the whole thing down to the bones to see if the skeleton is strong. Sometimes it just needs some patching up, and other times I need to grab the chainsaw for serious pruning. But always an adventure - and something stronger emerges.
Awesome comparisons. Thanks.
This really helped me "see" stories in a new light, thank you!
Thank you for sharing your ideas, Jen! I love the imagery and examples you provided. I don't love revising, but playing the story over and over may help.
Great post - and ideas!
That is so true. I'll have this idea I think is just wonderful, but when I get it on the page, it isn't quite as I imagined it. lol. I enjoy revising, too. Great article! Thanks so much, Jennifer. Thanks, Meg! :)
Love this! I am revising my YA fantasy right now and I need to take a more - ahem - enthusiastic approach!
Glad you all enjoyed the post. Happy Revising everyone!! I'm off to "re-watch" the movie in my head and make it fit the words on the page. (I hope) :)
Thank you for the reminder that revision takes a LOT of time and revisions before a manuscript sings. I, too, like Vivian, usually start with a title that tickles my brain and then work the story as I imagined it happening, discover how very awful it is, and start the critique and revision process...again...and again...and again. Happy ReViMo everyone! :)
Wonderful post and thank you for all the different ways to approach our revisions! Great advice and thank you for sharing your time with us!
Hi Jen and Meg, thank you for helping us start our movie-making. It does take lots of time and layering to get the movie in the head to be the movie that's on the page and the movie that the reader will "play" over and over like Frozen.
Very helpful information and ideas. Thanks, Jen.
Loved the photos used with this post! Ready to revise!
I think I missed this somehow. Great post, but I'll have to watch my emails more carefully.
What a fun way to describe the process, Jen!
Great way of looking at it- sometimes you need to have a revising theme and this is certainly a creative inspiring one. Thank you! Rebecca fleishman fleishman1@comcast.net
I love the cinematic approach. Thanks, Jen!
Lol! Revision a favourite part of writing process? Not mine, but thanks for sharing your enthusiasm. For me, revision is like exercise. I don't like it at the time I'm doing it but I like the results:)
Fun post -- thank you! Happy revising to all!
Great post! Thanks for sharing your thoughts as you revise!
Great post! Thank you for the information!
Thank you for this great post, Jen! I love the examples you included!
This was great reading the process of how you write & revise! Thanks for sharing!!
Terrific post!
Thanks, Jen I needed something to get back into the flow, and this was just the ticket - a great, inspirational post!
Thanks Jen for a new way to look at our picture book mss. Who would have thought that something as simple as a picture book would have so many layers and ways to unfold? I'm pleased that I took the time to read your ideas. I hope they will translate into making my mss better and better. Thanks again.
Nina
This is a great reminder - and some super pointers. Thank you SO much, Jen AND Meg!
I really love this. Thanks.
Thanks for the post. Gonna go write my movie now :)
Thanks, Meg! Perfect timing. I was dragging my feet a bit as I draw closer to a "problem chapter" in my book. Thanks for providing the motivation I need to get through it. Thanks, Jen!
My ideas come more as a thought, snippet, title, or theme. Fleshing each one out takes lots of revision. Sometimes lots of first drafts as I try one track and then another. Thanks for the perspective on layering book elements with each revision. I'll have to try that!
This was very insightful. Thanks!
Enjoyed this blog, I have so much more work to do, but seeing all the comments and reading all the steps lets me know I am in excellent company!
What a great post! Thanks so much Jen and Meg!!!!
I love revising. Sometimes my first draft is like a skeleton. I have to go back and put some meat on his bones and then I have to go back and put clothes on him and then I have to spot check to make sure everything is just right.
Great post! I actually like revising also. I feel like my first draft is a piece of clay, and with good revision, I can actually make it into something at least recognizable!
Great post. I woke up with a revision path, but had to finish with a small meeting and hope to revise soon.
It's always nice to consider a fresh approach to revisions!
Great post, Jennifer! Thanks for sharing your revision process. I love the idea of looking at it as a movie to be played over and over again until the images in my head mesh with the words of my manuscript
I hadn't really thought about it, but I've come to love revisions too. I'm so glad you said that Jen! Awesome post!!! :D
So glad to know that others view there stories as scenes in a movie. And boy howdy, my story looks NOTHING like what I visualize in my head. AND when written, my scenes aren't exactly technically correct. So I am thankful for this post. Your insight is instructing me to layer in the tools you mentioned. Love the post.
I can totally relate to seeing it play out like a movie. I have a background in theater so I tend to see my stories unfolding as action as well! I love your ideas. thanks for sharing your process!
Great Post! Love how you outlined it. Thanks for sharing.
Great advice! I love movies, so this comparison is perfect for me!
Thanks for the great post! Thanks Jen and Meg!
Jen thank you for giving us a movie analogy to improve our writing! Revision is so critical to improving our writing. Thanks for providing a helpful tips!
It's interesting to read about how others experience the creative process. I usually start with a title, a character, or a concept. I also revise by layers. Thanks for sharing!
Jen, thank you for this way of viewing revisions. I love your comment -
"-- How long will the sequence be? Each sequence has a beginning, middle and end, so they are like subplots. They need to move the story along but not spend too much time with each one."
I have few sequences I am tweaking in a book and this really helped me focus on what was wrong in one of them! :-)
Great to see writers can be visual thinkers too and run that movie reel in our heads.
Enjoyed this post. I like visualizing my stories too and I love seeing how others think during the process
Great post! Thanks, Jennifer!
Post a Comment