Four women meet at a children's writing workshop.  They hit it off and agree to continue to critique each others' work.  Then they think it might be fun to start a blog.  Sound familiar?

Well, guess what?  It's not us!  It's First Novels Club, a fabulous blog on all things kid lit.  And more.  Donna, Sara, Frankie and Janine blog about writing, books, TV and conferences.  They do book reviews, have guest bloggers and conduct interviews with some of the most fascinating writers in our industry.  And every week, they do a recap of the Vampire Diaries.  Seriously, the blog is worth reading just for that.

These ladies also blog live from conferences -- most recently the Writers Digest Winter Conference.  They are worth following.  Really.

So check out the blog.
Follow First Novels Club on Twitter.
And twitter follow the ladies themselves: Frankie, Donna, and Sara.  Hopefully Janine soon?

In yesterday’s post we talked generally about sequences and how they can be used in a three act structure to give your plot a framework.  I ended with discussing the general concern that if you follow the traditional three act structure your writing might start to appear formulaic.  This is where your talent and artistry come in.  You can vary the pacing, or even vary the structure (think Pulp Fiction or Memento).  But even if you follow the three act structure to the letter, you can still have a unique and original piece of work by having unique concepts, characters and voice.

Don’t believe me?  Let’s look at a recent film that a lot of people (including me) found fresh and innovative, INCEPTION.  SPOILER ALERT- do not read further if you don’t want some (or all) key plot points revealed.  This movie follows the three act structure and its major components almost perfectly.  In Act II and III the sequences are so identifiable that they’re actually created and identified by the characters in the story- the levels of the dream the characters are infiltrating.  Let’s break it down.

Act 1- In Act 1, we’re introduced to Dom Cobb and his partner Arthur.  The first sequence consists of Dom and Arthur attempting to extract a memory from Mr. Saito’s dream.  The dream takes place on two levels and is interrupted by Cobb’s wife Mal.  Through the dream sequence, we learn that Cobb and Arthur are dream extractors and are introduced to the concept of infiltrating dreams to extract ideas. The second sequence of Act 1 is the call to action, as Mr. Saito makes Cobb an offer he can’t refuse: infiltrate the dream of Fischer, a young corporate heir, and plant the idea to sell off his father’s company.  Arthur is initially resistant, believing inception (planting an idea versus extracting it) to be impossible, but Cobb knows it’s possible.  Saito convinces Cobb to do the inception by promising to clear him of his wife’s murder so that Cobb can return to the United States and see his children.   This is the point of no return- Cobb decides to do the inception.

We now know the main character (Cobb), and the primary problem of the story (Cobb must infiltrate Fischer’s dream and incept the idea of selling his father’s business so that Cobb can clear his name and see his children).  

Act 2, Part 1- Having decided to do the inception, the first sequence of Act 2 is a combination of the common Act 2 elements of gathering the team and training.  Cobb assembles a team consisting of an identity forger (Eames), an architect to design the world of the dream (Ariadne) and a chemist with a powerful sedative to allow the team to go deep into the layers of the dream (Youseff).  The “setpiece” of this sequence is a scene where Ariadne and Cobb enter a dream and Cobb shows Ariadne how to design and manipulate the architecture of the dream.  

With the team in place, they plan how they will approach their target and infiltrate his dream.  The second sequence involves putting the plan into action, trapping the heir on a cross-country flight and infiltrating his dream.  The key emotional turn at the halfway point involves Cobb’s confession that he can no longer be the architect of a dream because his dead wife always infiltrates his own subconscious and destroys the dream.  Ariadne realizes that this weakness puts the entire team in danger, but keeps Cobb’s secret.

Act 2, Part 2- Once inside Fischer’s dream, the sequences are readily identifiable, each sequence tied to a specific level of the dream and a location unique to that level.  In the first level, the team finds itself in a city during a rainstorm.  The team must evade a security force, capture Fischer and manipulate a scene with Eames posing as Fischer’s mentor.  Once this sequence is complete, the team enters a second level of the dream in a van while on the run from Fischer’s security detail.  Mr. Saito is shot in the first level of the dream, and it’s revealed that if he dies in the dream he will be stuck in limbo, the deepest level of subconscious dreaming- putting a time constraint on the dream, as they must get out before Saito dies within the dream.

The next sequence takes place in Arthur’s  dream, while Youseff stays behind to drive the van.  Arthur's dream takes place entirely in a hotel.  Here, Cobb approaches Fischer and convinces him he’s on his security detail.   Youseff is still driving the van erratically in the first dream sequence, and the effect begins to alter the architecture of the hotel, forcing the team to get Fischer to the third and proposed final level of the dream, which is Eames’ dream level, a compound atop a snow covered mountain where Fischer’s father is on his death bed.

Act 3- the third act consists of two sequences.  The first sequence is the third level of the dream on the snow covered mountain.  Time is running out as Youseff drives the van in the first dream level off a bridge, creating a chain reaction of events in each dream level that will “kick” the dreamers awake.  Just as Fischer gets the idea to sell off his father’s company, he is shot by Cobb’s wife Mal, who appears in the dream to destroy it. This scene fulfills the "plant" or "promise" of the Act 2, part 1 revelation.

The second sequence of Act 3 involves a decision by Ariadne and Cobb to enter a fourth level, limbo, to rescue Fischer and Saito who dies on the mountain.  The climactic scene involves Cobb facing off against Mal just as Ariadne rescues Fischer.  Cobb confesses that his wife killed herself because she believed her life was a dream that she needed to wake from, an idea that Cobb successfully incepted to convince her to return from limbo to be with their children.  Through this confession Cobb finds peace, and he elects to stay in limbo to find Saito.  He does find Saito and reminds him of their business, giving them both the courage to die in limbo so they can wake in the real world.

The movie ends with all of the dreamers waking up on the plane with Fischer.  Fischer makes the decision to sell off his company and we know the inception was successful- thus the primary external plot is resolved.  The final scene shows Cobb about to see his children, this is the resolution of the interior, emotional arc of the story.  The scene mirrors a scene we’ve seen in his subconscious before, and its left open ended whether Cobb has returned to real life, or whether he is still dreaming.

With INCEPTION, the stakes are continually raised through each sequence, culminating in the life or death climax with time running out.  The story follows the three act structure almost perfectly, yet the plot is complex, surprising and original.  The three act structure is often vital to complex, non-linear plots, because it helps the reader to follow the action and keep track of what’s going on.

Think of the three act structure as the foundation on which your story will be built.  We may all start with the same six inch slab of concrete, and use the same materials to hold our stories together, but like buildings, each story will be unique.

So if you follow this blog, you might know that I have developed a lot of very methodical, analytical systems for tackling different aspects of writing, but I'm still working on a system to help me get through the first draft.  Last week, fellow muse Veronica sent me a lifeline when I really needed one- a link to Alexandra Sokoloff's wonderful blog which features screenwriting tricks for authors.  Alexandra talks a lot about how writers can use the three act structure used in movies to craft a well plotted novel.  I'm familiar with the three act structure, and even some of the components within it- the inciting incident, the call to action, complications, reversals, the climactic scene-  but Alexandra was able to break it down further, providing me with a structure that seemed manageable and clicked with my linear brain.

I set to work plotting using the index card method.  This is a freewheeling brainstorming session where you just start jotting down ideas for scenes within your novel, one per card.  At this point you're not trying to organize the scenes in any order, you're just brainstorming ideas.  I always start every novel with a few of the major scenes in my head, so I wrote those down first.  Then I started imagining others.  What conflicts to the hero and heroine face that keeps them apart?  What plot problems do they solve together? 

Once I had a fair number of scenes on cards, I started playing with order, moving them around on a giant corkboard.  After two days work, here's what I had-

As you can see, there's lots of scenes lined up in a neat order at the beginning.  There's another neat row of scenes that connects the dots at the end.  But the middle was still- murky.

Don't worry, I had a detailed synopsis of the entire plot by the next day.  How?  By thinking of the book in terms of sequences and setpieces.  Turns out the three act structure isn't just three acts, it's really four.  And within those four acts are eight sequences of three chapters each (2 sequences per act).  And each of those sequences revolves around a key location or event that all of the scenes relate to.  Each sequence leads to a setpiece, one of the key scenes in your novel. This made perfect sense to me.  I didn't need to come up with 30 scenes at once to fill my murky middle.  Thank the heavens for that because just writing about having to come up with 30 scenes to fill a gaping hole in the middle of the book is making me nervous.  Instead of one big, overwhelming middle, I just needed to figure out the key scenes and the build the sequence that would lead up to it.

I am going to paraphrase what I found most useful, but you can do your own crash course in plotting by reading Alexandra's website.

Imagine a novel as four acts:

Act 1- we meet the characters, discover the problem the main character must solve, and see the character initially resist getting involved, but ultimately come to the point of no return where the character must take action.  This section should make up approximately 25% of your novel, and may include  two sequences of three chapters each, with each sequence leading to its own revelation or mini-climax.  The sequences will likely include a primary location or event that the scenes relate to or take place in.

I realized I already use sequences in my writing, I just never thought of them in that way before.  In BANDIA there is an opening sequence involving a series of scenes that take place at a party, a party where the main character's life is altered by a series of events and chance meetings.  In SPIES, I have a shorter sequence that takes place around a surveillance of a cheating husband that leads to a discovery of a much more personal nature.

By the end of the second sequence of Act 1, there should be no turning back for the character.  Indeed, this setpiece is often referred to as the point of no return.  By this point, the reader should have a good idea of what the book is going to be about.

Act 2, part 1- the next 25% of your novel is the first part of Act 2.  This is always the trickiest part of the book for me. This is where the character takes active steps toward solving the book's primary problem, but is thwarted by obstacles and failures (hopefully involving the antagonist).  In this section, you might have a training sequence (think the Karate Kid) or a series of scenes where the main characters are gathered (think the Blues Brothers or even the A-Team).  This a great place to plant things that will pay off later, such as important knowledge or skills your character will need in the climax.

For my romantic plots, this part of the book will showcase the growing awareness between the hero and heroine, while still moving the mystery plot forward.  The climax at the end of the second sequence of Act 2, part 1, is the midpoint of the book.  At this point, the setpiece should be a key revelation that changes the main character in some way.  Ms. Solokoff describes a common variation of this scene in screenwriter vernacular as "sex at sixty," because it's not uncommon for the change to be the main character realizing he or she has romantic feelings toward the love interest (60 is the midpoint of a 120 page screenplay).  I've dubbed it "kiss at 150" for my purposes.

Act 2, part 2- the next 25% of your novel is a continuation of act 2, with escalating conflict, bigger obstacles and bigger failures as your character hurtles towards act 3.  Here, it is not uncommon for the main character to fail so badly that it appears all is lost, leading to a crisis of faith.  Act 2 usually ends with the main character regrouping and coming up with a new plan of attack.

Act 3- the final 20-25% of your book is the final showdown in which your character solves the primary problem or changes goals.  The first sequence in act 3 often involves getting to the showdown in time to prevent something bad from happening, and the second sequence will usually be the showdown itself. 

And ta-dah!  You have a book!

I know what you're thinking.  Won't my writing feel formulaic if I follow this structure?  That's what I thought too. But they say you should know the rules before you break them, right?  And you don't have to follow this structure exactly.  There's lots of room to deviate.  I found it extremely helpful when I needed to plot a book in a hurry.  I'll use it again whenever I need a jump start when faced with a blank page.  When you have no idea what comes next- try thinking about your book in terms of acts, sequences and setpieces.

Elevator Pitch.  Logline.  Single sentence synopsis.  They are not necessarily the same thing, but all boil down to one essential problem:  How to distill your 80,000+ word novel into a single sentence?  30 seconds.  140 characters.

Conferences are coming up (and many have already happened), do you have your elevator pitch ready?  No?  Why not?  Because it's impossible?

I always thought so, too.

I have a confession to make.  I never had one.  Not for one single conference I have ever attended.  Not for queries.  Not for unintentional run-ins with editors.  Not for Twitter.  If anyone asked what my book was about, I would say:  Well, it's the story of the fifth wife of Henry VIII told from the point of view of her best friend.  Yawn.  Good thing only my friends asked.  At least they pretend to be interested.

But lucky for me I now have a brilliant editor in Kendra Levin, and a few weeks ago she shared with me  some ideas for writing a logline.  She learned it herself at an SCBWI conference.  This is what she said:


--Try using "what if" statement.  As in, "What if an ordinary girl became the Queen of England?"


--Logline formula:  "After [inciting incident], a [character description, without name] must [primary action] or risk/while risking [stakes] in order to [end goal].


--The parts of the logline can be juggled around in an order that suits the statement/story


Using the formula and a few insightful suggestions from Kendra, I came up with the following logline/elevator pitch for GIRL IN A DIAMOND COLLAR:

When her best friend marries Henry VIII, a previously disregarded maid-in-waiting must learn to walk the fine line between secrets and treason, knowing her life and that of the Queen could be threatened by any wrong word spoken (and those left unsaid).

Still a bit wordy, perhaps.  But much more interesting.  I found that having a formula -- and thinking precisely about what is most important to the story -- helped me get over my fear of the single-sentence sales pitch.  This can then be tweaked to fit your needs more particularly -- add the character's name, the objective of the quest, etc.  Play with it.  Sure, it's not as fun as the 80,000 words, but for me it wasn't nearly as dire as I expected it to be.  

Good luck!  And if you want to, post your logline in a comment!  It will earn you another entry into the Prep Your Pages contest! (so will just commenting, of course).

Since this month's theme is manuscript prep for all those wonderful summer conferences out there, this week we've decided to focus on the details - the nuts and bolts - of completing a manuscript. I'm veryveryvery close to finishing my WIP, but I tend to hit "send" too early. This time I'm trying my best to be patient and make sure it's really ready to go. It's hard. Here are some of the nuts and bolts I'm working on to get that polished product:

1) Nail Down the Character Detail. I sort of knew what my characters looked like, but I needed more detail and specificity. One reader's comment was, "but what does she LOOK like?" and, when i thought about it, I honestly didn't know. I also needed consistency with my character descriptions. On page 11,
the best friend has blue eyes, but on page 58, she has brown eyes. So, off to the store I went for glue sticks, post it notes, poster board, and teen magazines. I selected pictures to represent all my major and minor characters, and created a Character Board for my desk (in the picture). Now, I'm double checking every name with the board to make sure the descriptions of each character is richly described and consistent throughout.

2) Spice Up the Stew. I tend to write short. Especially on the first draft. Right when I was struggling with this very issue, I found this wonderful blog post by YAHighways' Lee Bross. These words of wisdom came at just the right time and, if this is one of your issues, I urge you to read the whole post!

"So if you are struggling as I am, to add wordage to your MS, start at the beginning and go through with only an eye on catching those little sentences that need just a little more salt. Trust me, when you reach the end, you’ll have more words than you expected, and a perfectly seasoned WIP that’s ready to tantalize the taste buds of your beta, agent, or editor."

3) Enlist the Help of Beta Readers. The Muses (and other cherished writer friends like Bret Ballou, Kathi Appelt, and Debbie Leland) are currently reading the "finished" WIP. The feedback I've received so far contradicts, encourages, challenges and expands what was on the page. I wouldn't have considered these ideas had it not been read by others before I hit "send." Sure, there are decisions to be made on my part now, but I already have a better manuscript than the one I thought was finished.

4) Pay for Editorial Services. Hiring a professional editor is a financial commitment, but the line-by-line track changes provided by an experienced editor (like Lorin Oberweger) is like having your very own private, individualized writing class on the things that give you the most trouble. By studying the editorial comments, patterns and trends emerge that, hopefully, help me become a better writer, not only on this manuscript, but with many more to come.

So what are the nuts and bolts that give you problems on that countdown to hit send?


And don't forget to check out our Prep Your Pages Contest for prizes and critiques!

A week ago, we announced our Prep Your Pages contest -- the deadline for which is May 14th.  We have now upped the ante!  Please read the updated contest information below:

As you may know, we met at a conference in 2009, for which we are forever grateful. As a result, we have a soft spot for conferences, and all that they bring to a writer. This year, we would like to pay forward some of our gratitude to other writers out there who are looking to form the right connection.

We’d like to help you prepare your selected pages for critique sessions, and/or evaluation at a conference. Even if you aren’t planning on attending an event, we hope you’ll still enter. We take pride in the intensive feedback we offer each other, and will extend that same helpful hand to our winners.

The prizes are as follows:

Grand Prize: a critique of the first 15 pages of your manuscript by all four YA Muses – you’ll get to see how we critique each others’ work, and build on each others’ strengths.

Four First Prizes: a critique of the first 15 pages of your manuscript by one of the YA Muses. Each winner will get a different Muse. Drawing will be random.

The contest is open internationally (electronic submissions and critiques).

Every day this week through May 14th, you can enter by:

Becoming a new follower (one entry)

Commenting on any post on YA Muses blog (one entry per comment per day)

Tweeting about the contest or any other YA Muses post using the @yamuses mention, or the #prepyourpages (one entry per tweet or retweet per day)

Enter one day or every day!

Winners will be announced Friday, May 20^th.

Thanks and good luck!