The Book Plotted Itself - Latayne C. Scott (guest blogger)

Okay, I mentioned to you all that I'd asked some friends of mine, "How do you know an idea you have is 'novel-worthy'? What is your process for taking a germ of an idea and turning it into a novel?"

My good friend Latayne C. Scott (we are part of a wonderful six author blog -

Novel Matters), author of Latter-Day Cipher (and the non-fiction The Mormon Mirage), shot me an e-mail with a remarkable sketch of how she took a handful of characters she loved and turned them into a book.

It's interesting to note that she began, not with a story gem, but with characters. Imaginary people who, when she woke up in the morning are already wide awake and waving at her, ready to get to work. It's lovely when that happens, but problematic when the author has no story for them to jump into (and dangerous if Luigi Pirandello is to believed).

Latayne said,

"Here's how I plotted a novel recently:

I had the characters in mind. I started with, "What if?" for each of them.

Then I said, "Well, if that, then this...."

"Which would certainly lead to this......"

"And no one would expect this, but would see how it could have, and should have happened......"

"And then this would have to happen to deal with that...."

"And for me to be satisfied with the ending, I'd have to resolve these issues."

And it plotted itself, no kiddin' !"

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This is a wonderful breakdown of the keys to good plotting. It is a logic thread that can sometimes get lost in the myriad of layers and subtext. Great novels have plots we can follow and understand logically. This grounds us as readers, and helps us trust the author when the story goes in an unexpected direction, or gets emotional, or tense, or whatever else happens.

I love this simple, effective, no nonsense sketch. We should all print it out and put near our computers or our bookshelves!

I bid you good writing.

Idea to Novel - Guest Blogger Rick Acker

I asked some writer friends of mine to share their process of taking an idea and turning it into a novel. Everyone is different, and has a different process, but one thing all novelists have in common is lots of ideas running around our brains. How do we weed out the merely interesting in order to nurture the truly compelling?

Rick Acker is here today to share a bit of his process. He's the author of Blood Brothers and Dead Man's Rule. Rick has been on the blog before, and he and I had a chance to yak and break bread at Mount Hermon this past April. It was great to get to know him a bit better - for a guy who works for the justice department, he wasn't the least big scary! You can find out lots more about him and his books at his web site.

Rick Acker writes while commuting to

and from his "real job" as a Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice. He is the author of four published suspense novels and has a fifth under contract. Only one of his story ideas has failed to sell after reaching the proposal stage, though lots have died before then.

Story creation is (for me anyway) a lot like pearl creation for an oyster. It starts off with an irritating little idea in the back of my head that won't go away. If it doesn't get rejected during the process of adding layers to it, it eventually becomes a book. Here's how that layering process works:

Story summary. I try writing up a short informal synopsis of the plot. This is short--roughly 300-500 words. If I can't turn it into something that "sings," I know it's probably a dud and I drop it.

Partner review. Next I find out whether my idea sings to my wife and writing partner, Anette. Anette has a very good eye for stories that work--and those that don't. She's also perfectly willing to "speak the truth in love" when an idea doesn't

quite make the cut, which is absolutely invaluable. But if she likes the story, I know

I've got something worth taking to the next step.

Agent review. If Anette likes my idea, I turn the synopsis into something longer (ca. 1-2 thousand words) and more formal. I also do a little market research to make sure the story I'm proposing hasn't already been written. Then I send it to my agent. He'll let me know whether he thinks I've got a "big book" idea--one that's not just publishable, but has a "wow" element that will make it stand out from the rest of the market.

Proposal. The final layer (short of actually writing the book) is creating the proposal. If the story still looks like a "big book" after two or three sample chapters and a marketing analysis, my agent starts pitching it to publishing houses.

BTW, fewer than 1 in 10 ideas make it all the way through this process and wind up as proposals. But well over half of the proposals sell.

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Fewer than one in ten? Gak! That gives us an idea of how many ideas are swimming around that brain of yours, Rick. And this post gives all of us a window on the need for outside perspective for our ideas. Writers can lose perspective easily - we can get lost in the possibilities and swim in our ideas believing they are vast as the ocean when in fact, we are splashing in the kiddie pool. Having a team of bright minds around us help us see the larger landscape by asking questions and forcing us to focus on the aspects of the idea that simply won't work - or are too shallow or short to carry a novel.

Thanks Rick!

I bid you good writing.

Guest Blogger - Gail Gaymer Martin - From Idea to Novel

Everyone has a process - a way of looking at the world, translating it in his or her mind and then articulating the experience to others. Writers are always looking for inspiration, but they also know its rare for a singular incident to give rise to an idea rich enough to become a book. Often, the writer pulls together various bits of information and knits them into a whole.

I love the way today's guest blogger, Gail Gaymer Martin explains how her process works.

Gail is a multi-award-winning novelist and author of Writers Digest, Writing the Christian Romance, she writes women˙s fiction, including romance and romantic suspense. She has 42 published novels with 3 million books in print.

Gail is a full-time novelist, popular keynote speaker and workshop presenter across the United States and abroad. Visit her website at www.gailmartin.com and her Writing Fiction Right blog at www.writingright-martin.blogspot.com, and look for DAD IN TRAINING in stores the month of September, 2009 and MONTEREY MEMORIES released in November, 2009.

Let's dig into the mind of this hugely popular author:

HOLES IN MY HEAD
I have holes in my head. I like to call them niches. When something triggers a story nugget, often not even an idea, it lands in one of these holes. What causes the nugget can be many things---an article in a newspaper, song lyrics, a Bible verse, observing a person, hearing someone's adventure or experience, a location, a photograph. I'm stimulated by many things so this becomes the beginning. These niches in my mind have little "magnets" and when I have another thought or experience and realize it might fit with the another nugget, it filters into the right niche. These ideas are like a jigsaw puzzle that finally begin to pull together and I begin to see an image or a picture. As the nugget grows to an idea, then scenes, a movie runs in my mind and I continue to add scenes and more nuggets. Eventually, the story fills my mind. My "hole runneth over" and I know this is a story that needs to be told.

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I can picture it, can't you? Reaching into the niches in her mind, examining the contents. Love the images.

How about you? Do you have holes in your head? I'd love to hear about them.

I bid you good writing.