By: Jason Evans
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Was
your holiday restful? Was it crazy and fun? Did you have to put out a lot of
dysfunctional family fires? Regardless of whether or not you enjoyed your holidays, they are now
over. Time to get to work on that book. More importantly, it’s time to start
working on that book of historical
fiction.
Over
the course of 2017, I will blog about my process of writing a historical novel.
It could be action, romance, mystery or any genre grounded in the history. We
will cover ALL the steps required to finish your novel. From concept to
research to organization to publication. We will cover it all.
In
addition, if I bring up something here that you wish I could discuss further,
simply cross over to www.jason-evans.net
for further details. On my website, I will go into further details about all
the stuff you’ll read here, first. But enough of my shameless self-promotion!
YOUR
BIG IDEA.
Have
you ever watched a television show or film and thought, hey! That’s an interesting character! I want to learn more about her!
Or, have you ever read a magazine article and thought, Wow! That was a really fascinating time period! I wonder how they would
have reacted to ________________?
These
are the beginning of story ideas. Ideas that you can chew on in your head and
develop into novels that other people will read.
Stephen
King was working a custodial job at his high school when he was asked to help
out in the girl’s locker room. He saw the little metal boxes for tampons in the
shower stalls and thought, What would
happen if a woman had her first period, here, in the shower stall? From
that Carrie was born.
Lin-Manuel
Miranda was on vacation and read Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton,
which inspired the hit Broadway musical, Hamilton.
Inspiration is all around you.
Maybe
you only have a character in your head. A scrappy young heroine, or a grizzled,
bitter veteran of a thousand campaign. Maybe you have a setting that excites
you, like Mexico City as the U.S. Army is about to attack it in September or
1847. The intrigue! The tension!
Maybe
you only have an event in your mind. You see a sad woman all dressed in antique
white lace about to put a veil on and walk down an aisle. Why is she sad? Will
she marry for duty? Does she wish a loved one was there to see her marry?
What’s going on?
Whatever
kernel of a story you have, at least it’s a beginning. There is something about
that character, that event, or that place that excites you, gives you the
flutters, and motivates your story. Now it’s time to tease it out.
Before
I go on, let me just say I am a BIG fan of Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat trilogy of screen writing books. I will refer to his
wisdom often during our writing journey. Here is my first ode to Save the Cat. You gotta have a log line.
A
Log line is a simple couple of sentences or short paragraph that describes what
your story is about. It is really important you have this down before you go
writing, willy-nilly. Let me explain why.
Chiefly,
I don’t want you to get excited and go write a kernel of a story. I want you to
write the whole blasted thing. Writing your log line will help you create an
antagonist, a conflict and a hero’s journey.
“But Jason,” you say, “I’m not a planner, I’m a pantser! I don’t
organize anything when I write.” My response is this: “I’m just asking you
to write 3-5 sentences, so you can anchor your story, give it some depth. I’m
not asking you to write a five-page outline with subplots detailed out and 50
pages of written back story. Writing a log line will help focus you as you
write the opening chapters of your book. But there’s another reason why you
should write your log line.
I
want you to go up to people you know and read them the logline. Do they get as
excited as you do? Do they think it’s a good idea for a book? If so, you
probably have something workable as a story. If you don’t, figure out why. Is it because your ideas aren’t fully formed or is it because you weren’t clear
about how awesome your story is?
Both
are fixable. But do you want to know the REAL reason you should write a
logline?
If
you pitch to editors and agents, you’ll have to come up with a logline, anyway.
A quick way to give them a synopsis of your book. It is better to do it now,
before it’s written, then to do what I did and write it afterward.
See,
I was so proud that I had written a book. So proud of my dialogue, my subplots,
and my twists, that I blathered on about the characters and the challenges they
faced. I talked about the minor characters, the historical events it surrounds,
and everything but the conflict, the heroes, and the road they walked.
Don’t
be like me.
If
you write the logline now, then it
will act like a compass, a beacon, that will guide you back to your book’s true
purpose. If you feel like what you’re writing is true to your logline, but you
just don’t like it, then change your logline to better reflect the story you
want!
A
logline should have the following:
An
adjective to describe the protagonist
An
adjective to describe the antagonist
A
compelling goal we identify with as human beings
It
should offer the most conflict in the situation
Show
the protagonist has the longest way to go emotionally.
Proud Farmer’s daughter (adjectives describing protagonist) Elizabeth mean girl Sue always picking on her. (adjective describing
antagonist,) But the Founders Day picnic
is coming up and Elizabeth has the fastest horse in the county. She’ll show
Sue, she’ll show everyone when she wins the blue ribbon. (Compelling goal:
vindication, revenge, respect of peers,) There’s
only one problem, Elizabeth’s father won’t let her compete. (Most conflict:
How can I win if Pa won’t let me?) He
says such competitiveness is sinful pride, that Elizabeth should love her
enemies. But Dad doesn’t understand. Will Elizabeth defy her father to save her
pride, or allow Sue to humiliate her again? While Elizabeth chooses, she learns
what true respect and love really are.
I
hope this has been helpful. Next month, we’ll talk about organizing, shaping
and sanding out your story so all your characters have depth, your conflicts
are intense and the stakes are high.
Come
over to my site at www.jason-evans.net
if you want to learn more about the logline and how to twist your story concept
so it’s more compelling. There, I’ll also explain how I got inspired to write
my first unpublished novel, The
Gallowglass.
About the Author: Jason Evans always wanted to be a writer, he just
didn't know it. He grew up in Pasadena, California, in the 1980s where he
watched way too much television, but was introduced to literature by his
grandfather and his favorite middle school and high school teachers. He wasted
his youth working at the So Cal Renaissance Faire (a dangerous place because
it’s the gateway drug to other historical costumes,). In his leisure time he’s
an educator, a writer, and a bon vivant. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara,
with degrees in History & Renaissance Studies, a teaching credentials from
CSU Los Angeles, as well as a graduate degree from the University of Colorado,
Denver. He currently resides in Denver with his wife, the fetching Mrs. Evans,
their three dogs and a mischievous cat who calls him his thrall.
You
can visit Jason at his website at www.jason-evans.net
You
can like his author page on Facebook at Jason Henry Evans
Follow
him on Twitter @evans_writer
