When Fact and Fiction Collide

All writers get their inspiration from real life. Even if you imagined your new WIP out of thin air, chances are, you can trace those thoughts to a real life trigger. Suzanne Collins got inspired to write The Hunger Games while channel surfing. As a fan of non-fiction, I love when the writer can take an actual event and turn it into a gripping story. They delve deeper and find hidden meaning in the facts. Here are some of my favorite examples of clever uses of fact in your fiction.

Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare (Broadway play)
plot: A black con-man charms his way into the homes of uber-wealthy Upper East Side couples, passing himself off as the son of Sidney Poitier.
How much actually happened? 75% Con man David Hampton did charm his way into high society homes in the early 80s. Some of his marks were Gary Sinise and Melanie Griffith. John Guare's friends also fell victim. They let Hampton stay in their guest bedroom, and they found him in bed with another man the next morning. (That exact scene made it into the play.)
Where fiction took over: Guare took this news item and turned it into a play that explored race, class, and the inter-connectedness of the world. Six Degrees revolved around fictional couple the Kittridges, who were profoundly effected by their night with Paul, even as they turn him into an anecdote they tell at parties.
Where fact and fiction diverged: In the play, Paul is eventually arrested and nobody knows what happened to him, or even what his real name was. In real life, Hampton went in and out of jail for the next twenty years, conning families from NY to Seattle before dying in 2003.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (novel)
plot: On an ordinary day in sleepy Holcomb, Kansas, the entire Clutter family is murdered without warning or reason. The book traces the investigation, capture, and ultimate execution of the two killers.
How much actually happened? 100% Capote transcribed conversations with dozens of people involved in the case, and the killers, too. Every word is true, he claimed.
Where fiction took over: All the events and conversations were fact, but Capote's brilliant, beautiful writing kept it from sounding like a news article.
Real-life inspiration: Capote first read about the murders in a 300-word blurb as he casually flipped through The New York Times one day. His desire to learn more, to understand who would do such a thing, prompted him to travel to Kansas and begin his research.

Mean Girls by Tina Fey (movie)
plot: New girl in school Cady Heron gets adopted by popular clique The Plastics and its evil, yet seductive leader Regina George, whom she both idolizes and plots to destroy.
How much actually happened? 10% The movie is based on a self-help book for mothers of teenage daughters called Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughters Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence by Rosalind Wiseman. Fey took real-life examples from the book and wove it into her screenplay. The scene, for instance, where one of the Plastics explains to Cady the rules for eating at their lunch table, was transcribed almost verbatim.
Where fiction took over: The characters and plot are all made up, yet they are inspired by the factual examples laid forth in Wiseman's book.

What are some of your favorite non-fiction works or "based on a true story" works?

Good Dialogue is like Flirting

The best advice I ever read about writing was this: If the scene is about what the scene is about, then you're in deep sh*t. In other words, it's all about subtext. Without subtext, you have no book. Dialogue is where subtext is needed the most. And to write good dialogue, the characters must be flirting.

This doesn't mean that all your characters must be trying to jump each other's bones.

On the Nose is a popular expression when discussing bad dialogue. It means that the character is saying verbatim what the writer is trying to express. That equals bland dialogue. Nobody talks like that, and your readers won't enjoy it. For dialogue to snap, crackle, and pop, there must always be subtext. What's going on beneath the words. If what the character is thinking and what they're saying is the same, then there is no subtext, no hidden layer for the reader to relish. In other words, you're in deep sh*t.

We don't talk like this in real life when we're gabbing with our friends and family. We say what's on our mind. The main time when we immediately switch to talking with subtext is when we flirt. Have you ever seen two people flirt? On the surface, they are having a regular conversation. But their body language is having a different discussion, and it's all about sex. What they are talking about has very little to do with their objective. That's something to strive for in your dialogue.

Which scene is more entertaining to read:

"You're very pretty and I want to kiss you," Guy says. He runs his fingers down Girl's arm.
"You're also cute and I want to make out right now," Girl says. She blushes and interlocks her fingers in his.
They kiss.

Or...

"I heard that it rains in Seattle ten months out of the year," Guy says. He runs his fingers down Girl's arm.
She blushes and interlocks her fingers in his. "Doesn't it ever snow there?"
"I guess not."
"So no white Christmas for them."
"Sad but true."
They kiss.

Both scenes accomplish the same thing and have the same description. But which was more entertaining to read? The first conversation had no subtext. Their words and body language were in sync. In the second scenario, their conversation has nothing to do with what's going on between them, and yet it works. If this were just smalltalk, it would put readers to sleep. But here, talking about the weather only increases the tension, making for an exciting read.  

Not all scenes you write will be as exciting as a kiss scene, but that's not an excuse to write bland dialogue. If the scene is about what the scene is about, then you're in deep sh*t. Jot down what your characters' objectives and feelings are in the scene and write their dialogue as far from that as you can. Remember, we are creatures of contradiction. We push people away when we need them the most. We are cordial to people we loathe, and rude to the ones we love. Our friends' happiness can make us miserable. That's what makes us interesting.

Let's Write Crap!

Two weeks ago, I didn't do much writing of any kind. Not even blogging. I barely rewrote one chapter of my WIP. I would think about said chapter, make notes about said chapter, but when it came time to rewrite said chapter, barely anything came out. I rewrote it in fits and starts, deleting chunks and redoing it, inching my way through the chapter. Until Saturday, when I decided to go ahead and write crap.

Writing crap felt wonderful! I crapped my way through it. I knew what I was writing wasn't great, but writing crap is better than not writing at all.

-It provides a base. You can always revise crap; you can't revise a blank page.

-It illuminated bigger problems. There's a reason I couldn't make my way through this chapter and instead wrote crap. If the scene is set up well, with conflict and reversals and clear motivations, then I shouldn't have had such an issue. I will address my crap on my next round of revisions. Noted. No more dragging my feet. Now I can move on and finish my draft.

-Maybe it wasn't crap after all. Upon rereading, my crap wasn't as crappy as I thought. At first, it was bad, but then the crap gave way to semi-decent writing. It's not my best chapter, but that's primarily because of the bigger problems mentioned in point #2. The actual words aren't an abomination to the English language. That's good to know.


So next time, when I'm sinking into procrastination mode, I just have to tell myself to charge ahead and write some crap.

What's Old Is New Again (Or in 3-D)

This weekend will be a blast from the 90s past. In theaters is the re-release of Titanic in 3-D and American Reunion, the fourth movie in the American Pie series (not counting the directly to video sequels). I am particularly excited about American Reunion. The whole cast comes back together for the 10th high school reunion. The movie is obviously a cash grab and shamelessly banking on moviegoers' nostalgia. Well, it's totally working on me.

I was in college high school when the first American Pie film came out in 1999. I still laugh and cringe at the infamous pie scene. I know I'll be flooded with memories from that era while watching this one. The same thing happened with Scream 4 last year -- which despite it bombing at the box office was a good film. Also this week, the Farrelly Brothers announced a sequel to Dumb and Dumber, and Ah-nold said there might be another Twins movie. Who says Hollywood needs any original ideas?

It got me thinking about revisiting characters I love from books and movies. I wonder what they're up to, what happened after the last page/final credits.

What book or movie do you wish there'd be a sequel to?

For me, it's The Truman Show. That movie was fascinating, enjoyable, and freakishly ahead of its time. The ending feels complete but also open-ended. Every time I watch it, I'm always dying to know what happens after [SPOILER ALERT] Truman leaves the studio. How is he adjusting to life in the real world? Did he meet up with Sylvia? Did he ever see with Marlon or his mother again? I want more! Maybe with the way Hollywood is going, I might get my wish.

Lucky Seven Meme

Hey guys!

The wonderful and talented Kristin Lynn Thetford tagged me for an awesome Lucky Seven Meme (or Lucky Number Slevin Meme for you Josh Hartnett fans). She tagged me LAST WEEK, so I apologize for the delay. I had a rough writing week last week and got through it with perseverance lots of procrastination which gave me inspiration for a forthcoming blog post.

Kristin tasked me with posting 7 lines from my MS. Like her, I’ve never posted an excerpt from my novel on my blog, but 2012 is all about the end of the world getting my stuff out there.

Here are the rules:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS

2. Go to line 7

3. Copy down the next seven lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they’re written. No cheating

4. Tag 7 authors

5. Let them know

I will be giving you 7 paragraphs. Luckily, I write very short paragraphs :)

----------------------- 

        When I get home, I find an email from Mr. Towne waiting for me, tapping its foot in my inbox.

            I need a progress report. Let’s chat.

  

I roll my eyes at the email. Is he my dad asking how my homework is coming along? None of my clients have required a progress report. They have faith in me that I’ll get the job done.

“Things are taking a little bit longer,” I tell him on video chat. “But I am making progress.”

His baby blue eyes stare coldly into the screen. He leans back and rests his arms on his gut. “It’s been almost two months since we last spoke. You can’t give me radio silence like that.”

Trust the process, I want to tell him. Couples weren’t destroyed in a day. Still, I nod in agreement. “I’m sorry. I’ll keep you updated.”

--------------------------------

And now I shall tag 7 lucky writers:

1. Michael Offutt

2. Alledged Author

3. Sarah Pearson

4. Angela Brown

5. Alicia Gregiore

6. Jenna Cooper

7. Nancy Thompson

I totally understand if you can't participate right now, though L is for Lucky Seven Meme has a nice ring to it...Either way, these are great blogs to check out!

Dialogue vs Description

What's a good balance between dialogue and description in novels? (Note: Description here refers to all non-dialogue.) One of my insecurities as a writer is that I write too much dialogue and am light on description. I have a cut-to-the-chase style of writing. I picked it up from writing screenplays before transitioning to books. In scripts, it's suggested that you never have more than 3 lines of description at a time. It's a well-known fact that people in Hollywood don't like to read. Blocks of description turns them off. Also, scripts are used more as a blueprint for the director and actor. Description tells them what's happening, but they will use their own interpretation to create the tone and feel.

I am incapable of writing long passages of description. That's why I like YA. Kids like having a good mix of white space on the page. They feel they aren't reading a textbook that way. Do you ever cringe when you turn a page and it's a block of description? I sometimes do. When I read, I want description that's long enough to just give me a sense of what's going on. I don't need painstaking detail about physical description, a play-by-play of the characters' thoughts, or a journalistic recounting of backstory. Make it succinct; my mind will fill in the rest. I always think to that scene in Pleasantville when the kids discover blank books. Reese Witherspoon vaguely describes what a book is about, and the pages fill in with text. I would rather reveal information via dialogue.

On the same token, I don't like dialogue that goes on and on. Writing dialogue is fun, but it also needs to have a point. It must move the story along. I tire of scenes with dialogue that goes nowhere. Pulp Fiction is a famously talky script, but it's all leading somewhere. Characters don't talk just for the sake of talking. Long stretches of dialogue reveal character and explore the movie's theme: what does it take to be a righteous man?

Recently, I read The Giver by Lois Lowry and loved it. I devoured it in two days. It's an award-winning book, and I was surprised at how dialogue-driven it was. Most of the description are action lines. As I kept reading, I realized that the writing style echoed the colorless, emotionless world of the story. Still, I got a very clear sense of the main character and place. When Lowry does switch to more description in the end, they are short and sweet. They tell us where we are and what Jonas is doing. She did an amazing job at conveying so much in a few lines.

Which do you tend to write more of: dialogue or description/action?

In Defense of Katy Perry...and Revising

This week, two famous women reinforced two important facts for me:

1) I have a new article posted at In Our Words Blog. ch ch check it out!


In Defense of Katy Perry

When doing my research for this article, I discovered that Perry's been kicking around since 2001, but she didn't hit it big with "I Kissed a Girl" until 2008. In that time, she was signed and dropped by two record labels. She recorded an album with one of the biggest music producers, which then got shelved. So people may not be a fan of her music, but nobody can claim she doesn't work hard. She's been at it for 11 years! It just goes to show that there is no such thing as an overnight success. Everyone pays his/her dues.



2) On Tuesday night, I went to a book signing and reading from author Carol Anshaw for her new novel Carry the One. The book sounds amazing -- and they served cupcakes! During the Q&A, I asked her if she is a plotter or a pantser. I called it a fly-by-the-seats-of-your-pantser, in case she wasn't up to date on the lingo. She said she does do outlines, but she mostly considers herself a Reviser. Before my question, someone else had asked how long it took her to write the book. She said she spent as much time revising as she did actually writing. Anshaw is a big proponent of revising, and it's nice knowing that great books don't just fall out of the sky. Aspiring author, published author. Doesn't matter. Everyone revises.