It was a little more than three weeks ago that I sat down to read Freedom with the highest of hopes. I loved the title. I liked what I’d heard about The Corrections. I liked the flap copy and loaded the novel onto my Kindle hoping that this was one of those books that would hold me spellbound from page one and take no more than a day or two to get through so I could get back to this infatuation I have going with the talented (but sometimes maddening) Henning Mankell. 

While I wouldn't say that I was outright disappointed by Freedom as a story, I was surprised by it, and not entirely in a good way. Franzen is an intelligent and very engrossing writer, whose insights on human nature I quickly came to enjoy and value. But Freedom to me in some ways felt too much like a vehicle for his thoughts and observations and too little like the gripping story I had hoped for. That said, it’s a very interesting book, in part because of the ways it manages to entertain and engage while going against the grain of many solid points of novel craft. 

I’ve had some great experiences pitching and having projects pitched to me since first arriving on the convention scene in 2005. In the last year alone I've taken pitches at The World Horror Convention in Austin, The Bram Stoker Awards in Long Island, and KillerCon in Las Vegas. Pitching a project is not the mysterious dark art most make it out to be, but it is your one chance to make a strong impression with an agent or publisher. I'll be taking pitch sessions for Cutting Block Press and The Editorial Department at The World Horror Convention 2012 in Salt Lake City and am always on the lookout for the next big thing in the horror/suspense genre. Introductory Critiques, Manuscript Evaluations, and Query Submissions Packet Evaluations are a great way to make sure your work is pitch-ready, but the face-to-face pitch is up to you.

Here are a few cautionary Do's and Don’ts I’ve learned over the last few years, making it from one side of the pitch table to the other. Whether you've already booked your convention registration, or are just considering attending a writing conference, these tips will help you present the best possible pitch, and give your project a chance to stand out from the convention noise.

It's Harry Potter time here at The Editorial Department, and in honor of the final movie release (well, Part One of it) we're looking at what can we learn from JK Rowling's popular series that will help us in our own writing endeavors. We've talked about two different aspects of plotting - holding some information back while still preparing readers for the big surprises. Now we're ready to look at characterization with Principle Number Three:

Heroes have hormones.

Harry Potter is a classic hero - young, idealistic, brave, and very lucky. He fights his darkest enemy for the first time at age eleven and wins. He hops onto a broomstick and becomes an instant jock. He, literally, slays dragons. And he does it all with modesty and two faithful sidekicks.

If that was the only Harry Potter we found on the page - calmly accepting challenges, coming to irrefutable conclusions, and waging war, he would have been a good bloke to watch for a book, but then the romance would be over. Harry Potter would be boring. A perfect character, one who always has the right answer and never makes a misstep, quickly becomes a caricature.

This week we're talking about Harry Potter. No, not the much-anticipated movie that's releasing this week (although I, for one, already have my ticket). We're talking about the books that started it all, and the lessons that authors can apply in their own Works In Progress.

Principle Two: Chekov had a gun; Trelawney had a prophecy.

Being patient and letting a story unfold does not mean that a writer should hold back major plot twists until the last minute. Within writing there is a literary technique called Chekov's gun - an element is introduced early in the story, but its significance does not become clear until later. "One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it," he wrote.

There aren't many guns in Rowling's tales, but readers quickly learn that seemingly offhanded comments prepare readers for unexpected revelations. Hagrid's mentioning Sirius the night Harry's parents died prepares readers, almost without their noticing, for the inclusion of Sirius into the story later; they have already crossed a certain barrier of plausibility about his involvement because they have known for some time that he was there.

This week-and probably for weeks to come-everyone will be talking about The Boy Who Lived. It's hard to believe it's been thirteen years since we first met Harry Potter, the wizard hero of JK Rowling's epic series. In anticipation of the movie that launches the quest for the Deathly Hallows, I decided to re-read the entire series, all 3407 pages (in the Bloomsbury editions) spanning seven books. I found not just a captivating, imaginative story, but lessons in great storytelling applicable to all writers who are creating novels of their own.

We'll explore five ideas over the next few days, and look for applications to your own writing.

I wrote my first National Novel Writing Month novel in 2002, and the t-shirts for that year were emblazoned with "No Plot? No Problem!" (later the title to Chris Baty's excellent how-to guide to NaNoWriMo). I always wear that shirt a few times during November, so I may be biased here, but I feel that many NaNo participants put far too much focus on plot.

NaNoWriMo participants often define themselves as Pantsers or Plotters. Pantsers are the "seat of the pants" writers who dive in to writing with only a wisp of an idea. Plotters take the more organized approach of planning their characters or story arc before writing. I'm a pantser with plotter leanings, but I think there is merit to both approaches. Unfortunately, most of the pre-NaNo chatter seems to revolve around plot, plot, plot. "Do you have a plot?" "What's your story about?". Bloggers everywhere are offering advice on how to plot your story, how to outline, and how to organize your pre-writing research. That's all well and good, but I think many people spend so much time obsessing on plot that they forget the most essential element of their stories: the characters. A plot is only as exciting as the characters who carry it, and if you don't have compelling characters, no amount of plot scheming will save your story.

A few years ago, I was fortunate to stumble upon a 5-week writing class at my local community college. I had a B.A. in English with an emphasis in creative writing, but I learned more from this little class than in all four years of college. The best lesson of the class can be summed up in eight words, and it completely changed my approach to writing.

I'm a veteran of many writing classes and I've learned that there are two pieces of advice I can count on hearing on any class: "Write what you know" and "Write what scares you". Both seem simple on the surface but can be anything but simple when it comes to putting them into your work.

 

This isn't about facing your writing fears (that's a topic for another day), but literally writing about what scares you. Like zombies and vampires, you ask? Well, those are extremely popular now, but I'm thinking a little more realistically. Take a minute and think about what scares you. Public speaking. Losing your job. The 3am phone call letting you know a family member is in the hospital (or worse). Focusing more tightly, fears can be more pedestrian, but no less crippling in the moment. Overcooking the roast when you're trying to impress guests. Hoping your thrifty significant other won't notice you went a little nuts at the bookstore. Having to keep a secret that you're dying to share.