Maybe You Should Just Scrap It!

No, I'm not suggesting what you think. The alternate title of this post could well be, "In Praise of the Three-Ring Binder." A three-ring binder with divider tabs is my favorite writing tool, outside of the handy-dandy computer, of course.

For my fiction books, I have sections for plot, themes, place (local color), background research, a section for characters, etc. I keep my character profiles in the character section. As you begin writing, you will find that your characters will further develop. Having all your profiles in an easy-to-access place makes it easy to add notes.

For our non-fiction books, my wife and I will use up to a dozen binders. Many of the binders contain our research materials, but we have other binders as well for: Marketing, Publicity, prior outlines and drafts.

If you are prone to writer's block, just flipping through your three-ring binder can disassemble the block, or point you along a path that perhaps you had overlooked or not previously thought of before. If I have been away from the novel for more than a week, the first thing I do is pull out the binder, re-read all of the character profiles, plot outline, "place" notes, and so on.

I also keep a scrap book to collect and organize random thoughts that I think might one day be useful. Sometimes I will find a photo of a person that is so unusual, or so striking that I clip it and post it to my scrap book. If I have an idea for a future novel, but do not have time to work on it, I will post it in my binder.

When I meet people in my travels, I often ask them what they do. My follow-up question is, "What is the most surprising or unexpected thing about your job?" For example, there is a friendly gentleman who performs maintenance for the apartment building I live in. He is very heavily tattooed.

I told him that I was a writer and asked him if I could ask questions about his tattoos, many of which are Korean language characters. He told me that the tattoos cause people to judge him and for others to be uncomfortable around him. Asians, he said, are prone to grabbing his arms and twisting them about so they can read the symbols and determine if he is a "good" guy or a "bad" guy. He said that when this happens, it is very disconcerting to him.

I asked if he had it to do all over again would he get the tattoos. He pondered for a moment and answered in the affirmative. He said that each of the tattoos symbolized a major turning point or important event in his life and that he would not go back and change anything – even though he realized that certain jobs would forever be "off limits" to him because of the tattoos.

People will generally open up to you if you are respectful – and not too pushy. I've had instances whereby people have declined to answer questions and then days or weeks come back and provide an answer.

So, what is so revealing about the responses provided my friend with the tattoos? A couple of things stand out. Rightly or wrongly, his tattoos now define him to others. They also set him apart and limit his movement within society. In other words, there were long-term consequences for his decision to apply tattoos to much of his body.

In a prior blog, I wrote about characters (and their actions) driving the story. When your characters take an action, there should always be a corresponding reaction. Think of it as the physics of story telling. For every action there is a reaction. This is not exactly Mr. Newton's law of motion, but it is close -- and your story must always remain in motion.

Your goal is to develop character actions that are reflective of the opening break shot in a game of pool. One action sets off other actions which in turn… Well, you get the idea.

Homework Assignment: Let's say your main character decides, after a night of heavy drinking, to get a string of tattoos in a language he or she does not fully understand. What chain of events could this action cause and how would these actions drive your story?

Happy Writing!

Bob