Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
My client’s mind must be awash with conflicting ideas about her manuscript. Here’s what happened: I love Marissa’s novel and received nice enthusiasm for the idea when I pitched it to editors. But this is the tally of how editors have responded:
- 2 didn’t like the setting
- 2 didn’t like the theme
- 1 didn’t like the protagonist
- 2 didn’t like the way the story was told
This range of reasons to turn down a manuscript creates cacophony in a writer’s brain. How does she move forward in light of such varying opinions?
Another client, Alice, has been searching for what to write next. She’s passed probably 10 ideas by me, and I’ve responded, “Meh” to each one. I’m not seeing anything original, fresh, or that stands out from all the other ideas editors see everyday.
Marissa and Alice, although each in a different phase of creating a manuscript, must answer the question, How do I find what is “true” inside me? Locating that deeply held passion is the path to figuring out what’s next.
No less a writer than Ray Bradbury was a firm believer in writing from that place of passion. His path to that spot was surprisingly simple: he created lists of nouns.
In a Paris Review interview he said that we all hold three things in our heads that provide us with what he calls “fabulous mulch” from which to come up with ideas–whether to fix a manuscript or to start a new one.
Your mind holds:
- Everything you have experienced since birth.
- How you reacted to those experiences at the moment they occurred.
- All the art experiences you’ve had, the things you’ve learned from other writers, artists, poets, film directors, and composers.
But how do you pull out what is true from this mulch? Bradbury turns to lists.
Here’s his recounting of how that works for him: “I did it by making lists of nouns and then asking, What does each noun mean? You can go and make up your own list right now and it would be different than mine. The night. The crickets. The train whistle. The basement. The attic. The tennis shoes. The fireworks. All these things are very personal. Then, when you get the list down, you begin to word-associate around it. You ask, Why did I put this word down? What does it mean to me? Why did I put this noun down and not some other word? Do this and you’re on your way to being a good writer….You have to write the way you see things. I tell people, Make a list of ten things you hate and tear them down in a short story or poem. Make a list of ten things you love and celebrate them. When I wrote Fahrenheit 451 I hated book burners and I loved libraries. So there you are.”
In another example of how lists worked for him, he observed, “These lists were the provocations, finally, that caused my better stuff to surface. I was feeling my way toward something honest, hidden under the trapdoor on the top of my skull.
“The lists ran something like this:
“THE LAKE. THE NIGHT. THE CRICKETS. THE RAVINE. THE ATTIC. THE BASEMENT. THE TRAPDOOR. THE BABY. THE CROWD. THE NIGHT TRAIN. THE FOG HORN. THE SCYTHE. THE CARNIVAL. THE CAROUSEL. THE DWARF. THE MIRROR MAZE. THE SKELETON.
“I was beginning to see a pattern in the list, in these words that I had simply flung forth on paper, trusting my subconscious to give bread, as it were, to the birds. Glancing over the list, I discovered my old love and fright having to do with circuses and carnivals. I remembered, and then forgot, and then remembered again, how terrified I had been when my mother took me for my first ride on a merry-go-round. With the calliope screaming and the world spinning and the terrible horses leaping, I added my shrieks to the din. I did not go near the carousel again for years. When I really did, decades later, it rode me into the midst of Something Wicked This Way Comes.“
List-making may not have the same magical effect for you as it did for Bradbury, but every writer has to find ways to shut down the chorus of others’ views of their writing and find true ideas in their noisy heads. For when a writer can find that nexus of passion, others (not everyone, but many others) will recognize it for the beautiful, honest work it is.
What method(s) do you use to find your muse or to solve a gnarly writing problem?
TWEETABLES
How writers can find true ideas inside their noisy heads. Click to tweet.
Lists are provocations that caused my better stuff to surface. –Ray Bradbury. Click to tweet.
Great subject to start the week! And a nice bit of information about Bradbury – it’s a method that would not have occurred to me.
I guess my mouse finds me when I need to be found. “Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart” began with passing a roadside memorial cross every day, and wondering about the story. No way of knowing, so I made one up. Including a combat veteran with over twenty dogs. Imagine that.
“The Last Indian War” came from thinking about the archetypal “wounded healer”; a man taken from his home and culture, discovering he has the ability to heal…and finding that it’s not necessarily appreciated.
“Heroes One and All” came from reading about a Marine who turned down the Medal of Honor, and looking at the nature of perceived and actual courage.
“Magic Dragon”, a nascent WIP, came from a story a Vietnamese veteran (who flew Spookys we transferred to the VNAF) told me, and asked that I might one day retell. I may now be up to the task.
And “Emerald Isle” may have something to do with personal experience.
There is something of a thread of personal experience running through these, and I guess that is necessary – for me – to have an authentic voice.
Andrew, I think novelists have to draw on what they’ve experienced, even if their protagonist responds differently than the writer did. As Bradbury pointed out: we have our experiences, we have our reactions, we have art. The cross on the side of the road is, in my opinion, a type of art that led you back to your experiences.
I like seeing some of the ‘why’ behind your stories, Andrew.
Nostalgia, what was, and what could have been. I believe these are huge behind-the-scenes players whether we realize it or not.
I’m reading “Draw the Circle” (inspired by a recent discussion on this blog), and today’s lesson there applies to today’s topic here. Batterson calls prayer our 6th sense, the ability to see with spiritual eyes things “imagined by the Holy Spirit.”
I am learning to discern those imaginations of the Spirit, whether it is the broad outline of a book or the perfect word for a difficult sentence. The best ideas come from there, if only I can quiet the other noise in my head. To quote Batterson, “It’s more than coincidence; it’s providence.”
Thank you, Lord, for the providence of Janet’s topic and my Circle lesson for this day, making words from a blog and a book come together into a revelation regarding the source of my words. It is more than I can ask or think!
I’m touched to have been part of your circle today, Shirlee.
I enjoyed this post, Janet, and plan to try it.
I use two methods. One: I have a folder of pictures I’ve ripped out of magazines. Been doing that for over 20 years. I purposely do not organize them, so when I’m stuck, I flip through it. In 2010, it helped me when participating in NaNaWriMo.
Two: I find a thrift shop, pawn shop, or antique mall to walk through. Doing that this summer gave me the occupation of my protagonist’s father when I found a turquoise model car. Of course, I had to purchase it then.
Melodie,
Pictures are great springboards. I’ve used them as well for my own writing and to help my writing students get ideas. It’s always fun to do it with the students because it’s amazing how many different ideas can come from one picture.
Thanks for sharing your two techniques, Melodie. I wouldn’t have thought about a stroll through an odds-and-ends kind of shop, but I can see how stimulating that might be.
Love this post, Janet! Seems a great strategy for passing through the mind-morass congestion and traffic jams that can leave the writer feeling befuddled and lacking clear direction.
Listening to instrumental music, being in nature and looking at photographs are all helpful for me. At the same time, the noun list approach just might be a key to connecting all these little creative tidbits into into a meaningful–and fruitful–end result.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Well, if it worked for Bradbury, it might just work for you too. Who knows where the exercise could lead?
Thank you, Janet. I love Ray Bradbury’s writing so It was interesting to hear how he approached coming up with ideas.
As I read your post, I realized that a few of my pieces of writing had their origins in lists–and they are three of my favorite pieces. The first, a MG short story about a boy and his pesky (girl) cousin started from a listing exercise that I had read about.
The exercise was to choose between five to ten words at random out of a dictionary, then write a story using all of those words. I was amazed at how quickly the random words coalesced into a story.
My first novel came from my writing a list of a few memorable (and disconcerting) experiences I was going through at work. I was in my early twenties (specifically 20 / 21) and I was a nurse on a neuro floor that also, at times had psych patients. One thing on the list was something a patient had said to me as we (two nurses, a male aide, and a security guard) put restraints on him and tied him to the bed. He looked at me and said, “They bury the bones at midnight, don’t they.” Well, I already felt guilty about tying him down, so that did me in! One other thing on the list that ended up being the botttom line springboard for the story was a young schizophrenic woman whom I had as a patient over a weekend, then transported to a new unit. She was (during the two days I took care of her) an engaging, likable, vulnerable person. She told me she had been missed diagnosed, something to the effect of “They think I’m crazy but I’m really not. Working as a store manager just is so stressful, it is enough to give anybody a breakdown.” I felt so badly for that woman and (although I did believe her diagnosis) I thought how terrible it would be to be labeled as a psychotic if you actually wouldn’t. After all, once you were labeled, who would believe you even if you sounded sane? Of course, people aren’t diagnosed with a psychosis lightly. Numerous tests and observations are done, but the question started my creative juices flowing.
Finally, my current WIP has its origins in a list. I sat down one day and just wrote names. I still have the file “Names for Fantasy Lit. Characters” in my laptop. I wrote down names for people and for places then, after setting the list aside. A few days later, I read back over it, chose three personal names that I really liked, and sat with each name, asked myself questions. “Who is this person?” “What is she like?” “What does she do?” Two names led to the novel. The first was Keira Nightsinger whom I felt, because of her last name, had to be a banshee. I also really liked the name Shiobhan Willowshee. Because of the “shee” in her name, I decided she had to be a fairy, then I imagined her as Keira’s daughter. “What would it be like,” I asked myself, “to be the daughter of a banshee?” The current novel has a considerably different focus and the names Nightsinger and Willowshee are long gone. Still, the novel’s main character is a teenage Faerie named Siobhan Bla h’Eithne and her mother (who is a tertiary character) is a banshee named Keira n’Gaela. Although the novel doesn’t focus on what it’s like to be a banshee’s daughter, the questions and the name led me down the path to discovering a complex character and her dangerous quest to find out who she really is.
Have a good Monday everyone!
Christine, thanks for recounting how lists have stimulated your creativity. Working with people in the psych ward would be distressing but also likely to send your thoughts in all sorts of creative directions.
I miss Ray Bradbury.
Something Wicked This Way Comes was my first exposure to Bradbury. I knew immediately that was the book his carousel list of nouns was describing. Isn’t it amazing to realize that novel was born from a noun list? That list obviously tapped into deep issues.
I started with his short stories and fell in LOVE with Dandelion Wine. I still think it’s one of the most perfect things I’ve ever read.
I needed this, Janet. Thank you.
When I write, I try to mentally lay myself down before the Lord. I beg Him for guidance, for just a glimpse of what that person is enduring. I usually stand up with tears from the journey and a heartfelt smile of gratitude for God’s faithfulness, for His glory.
And music and movies inspire me.
Watching a classic movie over the weekend, I noticed that two characters were married. They weren’t the main characters. But I wondered about “their” love story. Then I wondered, is it even possible to used a section of a classic for a novel? How does one go about that? Does one need permission? Surely. Got me curious. 🙂 Seems like I’ve heard of others doing this, but I know nothing about it.
That’s a great question, Shelli. I’d like to know the answer too. There certainly have been books that are well-known stories (from Cinderella to Frankenstein) told from a minor character’s point of view. You have a different take, though, in wondering about a side story (the story of other characters that is their story, not the main plot). That came up for me in a critique group a few months back. The group was critiquing a part of my WIP novel (which they had followed from the beginning) and someone wanted to know more about a tertiary character’s backstory. It would have been a disservice to the plot to have done much of a detour into that character’s past, but since the whole group then expressed a desire to know more about her and her relationship with a secondary character, I added a little bit about it in the novel and promised to go into it more fully in the next book (which I had already planned to have the secondary character as the protagonist). It’s fascinating how a minor character can spark the interest of an audience.
Yes, a disservice to the plot … and I think that is why this relationship wasn’t touched on much. At the time. But today … would be interesting! 🙂
Shelli, I don’t know much about the legal issues involved in using a character from a classic film, but unless the film were REALLY old, I suspect it’s not a possibility.
With books, I have a clearer grasp of what can be done. If the book is no longer copyrighted, you can use any character in any way. Hence Longbourne could have minor parts for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice characters. And a mashup can be done on Pride and Prejudice–Pride and Prejudice for Zombies.
Janet, the movie is based off a novel. But the movie is what got me thinking. So one would actually be using a section of the novel from the 1870s to base the spin-off story.
I’ve never thought to do this, but I like the idea. I’ll have to try it. Sometimes, I mull over the writer problem and wait for the answer to come. Sometimes I have to call in the reinforcements and brainstorm with a friend or two to talk through the problem. Without fail I get a new perspective that usually moves me forward.
I’m definitely a plotter. And when I have an idea of where the story is going, my muse usually shows up when I sit down to write. 🙂
I found it interesting that Ray Bradbury seemed solitary in the way he created. He looked to the “mulch” in his mind for ideas. I suspect today we’re more prone to play around with Google in search of an idea that propels our creative jets.
I love the idea of lists and am going to try it the next time I’m feeling stuck, which will probably be this very afternoon, lol.
A writing teacher once instructed us to look at an old photograph drawn at random from a stack and to write the story we saw there. I drew a photograph from about 1910 of women working in a laundry: some young, some older, some hardy-looking, some frail. I came up with a few good ideas just thinking about how each woman came to be working in the laundry and what the future held for her.
On my first job in an office in downtown Chicago, I used to spend lunch hours in the old Marshall Field department store, admiring merchandise I couldn’t afford. I’d look past all the neon spandex (this was the 80s) and admire the gracious architectural details from an earlier age, and wonder what the store was like then and who worked there. That gave me the seed of my first novel.
Photographs are a great way to cause our minds to start imagining possibilities. And it was the art in the architecture that jump-started your first novel. Bradbury would have suggested you generate a noun list for that Marshall Field idea. Wonder what path you might have taken…
I haven’t heard that idea before in relation to coming up with good book ideas, but I have used a similar technique in mentoring. When people ask me how to figure out what they’re called to do in life, I encourage them to make a list along the following lines:
1) What do I love?
2) What do I hate?
3) What brings me the most joy?
4) What makes me angry?
Figuring out your life calling may feel pretty intimidating, but anybody can answer these questions with a simple list. After they have their list, it usually becomes pretty obvious what the common threads and unique gifts are.
Those are great questions. I especially like the one, What makes me angry? That takes the responder right to his or her passion, but from a different direction.
Thus far, the stories have found me. And, thus far, I have more of them begging to be told than I probably have days left for the telling. I don’t believe all of them will appeal to readers as much as they do to me. Which is one very good reason to have an agent–to help tell the one from the other.
That’s my struggle, Lori. This whole writing for publication business keeps me focused on the stories at hand while I’m itching to write another story altogether! Of course, it also gives me a reward when I finish a draft or an edit. NOW I can write the next story clamoring to get out of my head. That’s what I get to do over the Christmas holiday–Merry Christmas, indeed!
Yes! I have a Jan 15 deadline for my 4th contracted book, which I’m editing and polishing now. Then I can’t wait to jump into writing another story that’s been waiting in the wings for over a year now. It’s clamoring louder these days. I love to feel that pull. While it’s hard to resist, it’s also tremendously reassuring that it’s there, isn’t it? And energizing, inspiring, exhilarating even. Though it’ll wind up being just as much a mountain of work as every other novel I’ve written has been, I love reveling in that initial glow. Have fun with your new story over Christmas! 🙂
Sarah, you and Lori both are basking in the glow of first love. How fun! It probably takes that initial enthusiastic momentum to get you over the plot-character hurdles that await.
The stories found me when I was researching New Mexico history, merely for my own curiosity. It was an article, accompanied by some very old photographs, that set the ball rolling. The pain and misery in the photos was obvious, but the “what if?” jumped out and grabbed me.
Even now, when I’m stuck, I pull out some of my South West and Navajo history books and peruse the photos and chapters.
Photographs seem to figure large for many commenters today. They do speak a thousand words–and different words for each viewer. That makes them great sources for stories.
My local writing teacher/mentor used to call it “your junkyard.” That part of our brain that stores all the memories and experiences. She was forever telling us to use our junkyards for material.
I like the Bradbury list method. I’ve also been playing with Scapple for some brainstorming and making connections.
Thanks for the great post!
One of my favorite YA authors is Ally Carter. I was a regular reader of her agent’s blog when that agent first got her pitch for “I’d Tell You That I Love You But Then I’d Have To Kill You.” She’d already written two adult novels, but the agent had gotten a bunch of editor requests for more YA. So she wrote all her authors and said “write some YA” so Ally instantly made up a list of 10 or so YA novel ideas and sent them to her agent. Her agent wrote back and said that none of them would work. Then Ally watched some TV, wondering if she had it in her to write YA. She saw an old episode of Alias and wondered “Where did Sidney learn all this stuff…what if there was a boarding school for girl spies????” and boom! A new York times best selling series was born, all because her agent said no to that first group of ideas. I love that story…and man would I love to duplicate it someday.
Wonderful article and I’ll give this a try. I love to brainstorm, and this is kind of brainstorming with oneself. It deserves a good try. Thanks, Janet, for brining thsi to us.
Ane, you’re welcome.