A carpenter uses a specific set of tools—hammer, straightedge, marking pencils, saws, etc.—in his line of work. Your doctor employs wholly different tools; stethoscope, thermometer, tongue depressor—and sometimes hammers and saws. What kind of tools do writers use when they write?
I’m not talking about computers, Scrivener, or pen and paper, though those can be essential. I mean the strategies and tactical devices used to create fiction. Your fiction.
What tools do YOU rely on when you write?
Everybody has their writing strengths and weaknesses. Some are plotters, some are pantsers, and the vast majority are a mix of the two. But each leans on different writing techniques, developed over time.
As for me, I lean on Goal-Conflict-Disaster scene structure, with accompanying physical and emotional reactions, leading to a decision for the next goal and next scene. Not exactly a classic plotter, I nevertheless have a character arc for all the main characters, and a backstory for even secondary characters. My protagonist has to have some kind of innate inner conflict that drives him/her on.
Whether first or third person, immersive is my preferred viewpoint (the character experiences, not just sees, all the elements), digging past his/her first level, surface emotions, into the hidden emotions underneath, and sometimes the surprise emotions that reside on the third level.
Conflict and tension are as essential to fiction as water to a fish. You can NEVER have enough. Micro-tension—planting subtle seeds of disquiet in the reader’s mind—is the Great White Shark of the fiction “sea.”
Layering of plot problems, personal problems, and petty problems is a tool I’m working to develop. Description through the emotional senses of the viewpoint character, and making small details represent the big picture are elements of my settings.
And in all things, it is better to err on the side of too much than too little. Anything “over the top” can be cut back in revision.
Like arrows in a quiver, these are the first things I reach for when I write. But there are other, specialized tools in my toolbox, such as symbolism, foreshadowing, dialect, and mirror moments.
And a fiction toolkit should not be limited to writing devices, but include techniques for igniting creativity, for plotting, and for revising.
Scene cards that outline the characters, goals, beats, etc., keep a lot of writers on track by keying in on the fundamentals of each scene. There are innumerable different versions, often developed from a template by the author, and can be as detailed or Spartan as the individual writer sees fit.
Many writers read their stories aloud. Some review scenes or the whole story by starting at the end and reading to the beginning. One suggestion is to play 52-card-pick-up with the pages of your novel, (or use a random number generator on your computer) so you can read them randomly for tension on every page.
If I’m stuck, writing exercises help ignite my imagination, as well as hone my writing skills. Some people prime their pump by clearing their head with a little meditation, and then follow a prompt to write free verse.
Do you talk to your characters? I do. I don’t set up opposing chairs and leap back and forth between them—though I’ve known writers that do. I question my characters, particularly my protagonist and antagonist. How do you feel about the story? What did I leave out that should have been included? What should the reader know about you that I missed? What did you want to say that I left out? Did I overlook, or mistakenly include, something in your relationship with X? Where have I failed you?
Writing tools abound; these are just a few I know of.
Where does one find these tools? Many of my ideas come from workshops, conferences, and lectures. I’ve gleaned many more from books on, and study of, the craft. And I’ve garnered more than a few tools from using my author’s eye to analyze the fiction of other skilled writers.
Writing fiction is a process, or an experiment, if you will. There is no right or wrong answer, only what is useful to you in telling a story that will evoke an emotional response in your reader. Feel free to adapt from any of my tools, but by all means seek out others to create your own toolkit.
