Writing Tip #5: Be Open to Serendipity

When I am stuck in the snowdrift of writer’s block on a book that I am either writing or revising, I will reach for some non-fiction to read that seems unrelated. I think of it as a temporary distraction, something to take my mind off the frostbite that has gripped my imagination. But—when the muse is smiling on me—whatever I’m reading will trigger an avalanche in my brain that completely changes the landscape of my own work.

This happened with my forthcoming book Invisible Lines (Egmont USA, October 2009) in a big way. I was giving up on my novel, and I happened to read Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World by Paul Stamets, and the avalanche began.

Thankfully, inspiration comes at unexpected times, from unexpected sources.

Writing Tip #4: Offering a Critique

A playwright and dramaturg for Charter Theatre, Richard Washer emphasizes that instead of telling a writer how to fix a manuscript, it’s more useful to simply tell the writer how you experienced the story (or play, or poem). What did you picture in your mind as you read/heard the story? Were any parts unclear? What popped out? Summarize the story that you read/heard. This more than anything will help the writer to understand what he or she has actually communicated. Through Charter's open-to-the-public reading series, I have been able to participate in this type of critique firsthand, and I try to remember it when I am asked to critique a writer's work. Richard points to Peter Elbow’s book Writing Without Teachers as his inspiration.

Writing Tip #3: XXX Marks the Spot

If I'm revising a novel, chances are that I'm not revising it straight through from beginning to end. I'm jumping around a lot, because changing one factor will have a ripple effect on the book. Sometimes I'm working on a scene in the middle; sometimes I'm struggling to get an ending right; and sometimes I'm going back to some dialogue at the beginning. One thing is true: When it is time to quit for the day, I always put an "xxx" wherever I have stopped. In the morning when I begin work again I search for the "xxx" and start there. Otherwise, the temptation is to keep starting over at the beginning of the story every day, and that can get me into trouble. If I keep perfecting the first chapter of a novel, I'll grow too attached to it and that will make revising so much harder.

It's a funny thing: You really can't be attached to your writing if you want to be a writer.

Writing Tip #2: A Character with a Sense of Humor Can Lighten a Serious Book

I think of my book The Naked Mole-Rat Letters as a serious book (it’s about a girl coping with her widowed father’s first romance) and yet fans write to me about how much they were drawn to the book because of its humor. Serious books need humor. Seriously.

I just finished revising my ninth book, Invisible Lines, which will be out in October 2009. It is a serious book about a 7th grade boy who is one step away from homelessness. My first draft was too depressing for anyone to want to read. I decided to give my main character, Trevor, a sense of humor, and that vein of humor that now runs through the story won over my editor, even though the draft she read had many plot problems. She says she “fell in love” with Trevor.

As soon as I decided that Trevor would take pleasure in being funny, I began to “hear” his voice more distinctly. Here it is in Chapter One: “If there’s one thing I’m good at it’s making my mom laugh because when I’m standing up I’m what you call a Stand-up Comedian and when I’m sitting down, I’m just plain funny.”

I often tell my students if they are struggling with a story that is dark, make sure to look for the light. Often simply giving one of your major characters a love of being playful or funny can be just what the story needs.

Writing Tip #1: Carry a Writer's Notebook

A student in a class I'm currently teaching on writing humor for children asked if there were any great exercises to generate ideas. The best "exercise" that I know of is to carry around a writer's notebook with you all the time. And I mean all the time. Get in the habit of being continually open to ideas. I get my best ideas when I'm taking walks. Of course, sometimes that means I bump into trees!