If you missed part 1 (HERE) and part 2 (HERE) of our WU Un-Con recap, please click through and catch up. Below is part 3 — the final recap of the WU Un-Con. 

Wake up, Writer Unboxeders. Day 3 awaits. #WUUncon pic.twitter.com/3Ot0P4nNUa

— CG Blake (@CGBlake1) November 6, 2014

Don Maass, How Good Manuscripts Go Wrong

What welcomes us into a story?

For Don, it’s engagement with the protagonist that matters the most.

This is usually the first way that good manuscripts go wrong.

Think about your protagonist. There are three different kinds:

1. Everyman or everywoman.

People like you and me. Extraordinary things may happen to them in the course of the story, but their circumstances otherwise are regular.

Work out a way in which the reader can experience this quality of this character on page one.

2. Genuine Hero or Heroine.

Characters whose live or occupation put them in the way of danger or cause them to do extraordinary things.

Write down one way in which this character is perfectly ordinary, regular and human, just like everybody else. Work out a way in which the reader can see this quality right on page one.

3. Dark Characters.

Suffering wounded, carrying a burden. Inhuman or unhuman in some way. If your genre begins with “para” you’re probably working with a dark character.

When dark characters work, there is something compelling in their suffering–there is hope–from the start of the novel. @DonMaass #WUUnCon

— Erika Robuck (@ErikaRobuck) November 6, 2014

Middles

Need to give the reader ongoing reasons to care for the character, things he experiences all the way through. What is one thing your main character can do that no one else can?

What unique ability does this protagonist have that no one else has?

What’s one benefit of having this ability or gift? What’s one thing it makes possible that others might not get?

This gift also has a cost. What is the cost?

Write down a point in the story when the character’s gift will backfire.

Most manuscripts don’t need less happening, they need more happening. You don’t want the character’s gift failing all over the place, maybe only once, but you want lots happening through the middle of the book to avoid losing steam. Most middles are malnourished. Tension, events, relationships, theme—don’t worry about overpacking your story. What feels overdone to you is probably just about enough to keep the audience going.

There's a hierarchy of what is dramatically effective. Physical manifestations of interior transformation: most powerful. @DonMaass #WUUnCon

— Erika Robuck (@ErikaRobuck) November 6, 2014

What is one thing that happens in the story, one provocative thing, that can cause your character to lose it?

What is the moment when your protagonist can rise above what is happening? When he finds an inner serenity, an inner perspective? When there’s a provocation, a temptation that’s irresistible, but your protagonist turns the other cheek, takes a step back? Decides to be patient. When is your character tested and passes that test? Exceed expectations, be their best selves, be the person that we all would like to be.

All of these are tools to reinforce the connections that readers feel to this protagonist.

Porter Anderson, When to Listen and What to Hear

Things to Ignore in Criticism

The oldest reason to ignore a review: emotional testimonial. “I loved it.” “I threw it across the room.”

What’s even less important in your book review: people instructing the consumer. “Don’t read this book.” “If you don’t read another book this year, read this one.”

Recommendations in Handling Reviews

1. Scour them for specificity.
2. Ignore emotional reactions (positive or negative)
3. Duck “buy” or “don’t buy” messages
4. Pay as little attention to the symbolic ratings (stars) as possible
5. Watch for consistent reviewers, readers who turn up to review more than one of your books (they’re good ones to pay attention to)

"Scour reviews for specificity. Ignore emotional reactions. Pay little attention to symbolic ratings (stars)." @Porter_Anderson #WUUnCon

— Erika Robuck (@ErikaRobuck) November 5, 2014

Remember that a major portion of the review coverage you get today—maybe the majority of it—is not for you. It’s for the customer.

Heather Webb/Catherine McKenzie, Hating on the Draft

Beginnings

It needs to grip you on some visceral, emotional level, or you’re not going to have enough fuel to get through the work of the writing.

The beginning doesn’t need to be perfect to move on.

Get your butt in the chair, set a schedule, set goals. That’s how you get a draft done.

Tip for setting goals: Block off times. If you have to get your story done by writing only 30 minutes a day, whatever it is, put it in your schedule as if it’s an appointment. Set a tough schedule for yourself, and don’t let yourself get around it.

Put writing in your schedule like an appointment; set a tough schedule and do it, even when tired.@msheatherwebb #WUUnCon

— CG Blake (@CGBlake1) November 6, 2014

Self-Editing Techniques

Lots of people are in critique groups; you have to figure that out for yourself—do you need a complete draft before you let someone else in?

You also need to learn to look at your own work. Reading aloud can help, or having someone else read it.

Another suggestion is editing your chapters out of order. It’s like a television show—there’s a season arc, but each episode needs a beginning, middle and end. Those are chapters.

Edit in layers. First, mostly for dialogue. Then voice, and then thinking about one issue in the story, one theme, and strengthening it.

[pullquote]Another suggestion is editing your chapters out of order. It’s like a television show—there’s a season arc, but each episode needs a beginning, middle and end. Those are chapters.[/pullquote]

Drastic measures: when to hire an outside editor.

Audition the editor. One who’s not good might change your voice; you don’t want that. You need someone who can step into your voice and work within it. Get the smallest package at first, 50 pages or whatever it is, to make sure this person “gets” you.

Even when you’re traditionally published and have an editor, you still might sometimes hire an outside editor before submitting.

How do I “Know” I have a Good Product to Begin With?

Reading all the time, comparing your work, is important. It gives you a sense of what will sell. You know what you want to write, now you have to figure out how you can make it fit into the marketplace… spend an hour in your section at a bookstore, see how they set up the first chapters, look at the types of titles, the covers, the types of stories. Who publishes what. Envisioning your product in the marketplace is important, and especially now, since the market is flooded.

Don Maass,  21^st Century Fiction

 

In the 21st Century, literary and commercial intents are converging. Novels that combine great story and beautiful writing can become top best sellers (in trade paperback) for one to two years or longer. (By contrast, hardcover thrillers hit the list for only a few weeks.) Commercial storytellers have techniques to benefit literary writers, and literary writers have tools useful to commercial types.

To grow this way, literary writers must stop thinking of “plot” as a four-letter word and embrace strong story events. Conversely, commercial storytellers must stop thinking of “beautiful writing” as useless pretty imagery and recognize that it is actually a collection of many things that any writer can do without blushing.

Do you want to give yourself an easier time or give your reader a harder time? I urge for the latter. @DonMaass @WriterUnboxed #WUUnCon

— SalemLitFest (@SalemLitFest) November 7, 2014

It starts with writing personally, which in turn leads to methods of constructing protagonists’ inner journeys: their arc of change and transformation. These can be built in many ways. Creating step-by-step inner conflict is one. Another is to build in secrets, shame and a need for healing. (This requires deep backstory work.)

"A story is universal because of its specifics. Nobody does anything in general."–@donmaass #WUUnCon

— Writer Unboxed (@WriterUnboxed) November 7, 2014

An inner journey can be customized, too, out of long-term reversals; say, a difficult climactic task, a firm conviction about the world or self, and so on. Set up your protagonist, test his articles of faith, then reverse (or refine) them. The trick is not to make it a simple moment of realization at the novel’s end, but rather an ongoing, novel-length struggle.

Strong events can be made by identifying the main (outwardly visible) problem and making it worse, worse, worse…and finally so bad that your protagonist actually fails. Authors of character-driven stories can pause at any point of inner awareness or turning and externalize it. Put duct tape over your protagonist’s mouth, shut off the interior monologue feed, and make your protagonist visibly show us what’s going on inside.

Good manuscript that's not getting positive attention? "Nothing exactly wrong, just not enough right." – @DonMaass #WUUnCon

— Therese Walsh (@ThereseWalsh) November 6, 2014

Beautiful writing is not only pretty imagery but also associative devices such as parallels, reversals, and symbols that suggest and amplify the story’s meaning. Detailing a story’s social classes and era also gives stories larger significance.

Every author starts in a box built of expectations. To the extent you stay in that box, your story’s impact will be low, because what we read will be what we expect to read. Break out of the box and your stories can have greater impact and maybe do it all. All you need are the right tools.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the recap!