R. L. Stedman

Writer

A Writer's Life

How this Reluctant Plotter Learned to Plot

By

Panster – or Reluctant Plotter

True confession: I’m a pantser. I discover the plot of my novel by writing it – I am a very, very reluctant plotter.

This makes the writing process compelling; I never know what will happen next. However, it can also make the process extremely time-consuming. There’s been a few times that I’ve had to back up the truck (so to speak) and delete irrelevant sections.

It’s taken about seven books (and a lot of wasted energy) to figure out a process that works for me. Here it is.

Reluctant Plotter Process:

  1. Go for a long walk
  2. Decide on the main premise.
  3. Discover the main characters (also called MCs). Because it’s a romance, Born in Blood has two MCs: Brett and Madison.
  4. Jot down your story arc
  5. Summary outline
  6. Write the darn thing

Main premise

The story I’m writing at the moment, Born in Blood, is about a vampire Hunter who falls in love.

To write Born in Blood, I had to understand my MC’s backstories, hopes, wounds. I had to know where they lived. What their hobbies are, and what they look like. Most importantly, I had to understand their thought processes and the language they used.

Fictional Characters

Side note: It’s not easy to develop fictional characters. For Born in Blood, I wrote short stories; scenes of pivotal moments in their lives. This helped develop Madison’s voice and revealed her motivations. Crazy, I know – given she’s totally fictional, and thus a creature of my imagination, but hey, until your characters begin reacting by themselves, you won’t have a story.

Here are some other ways to create believable characters.

Once I have a handle on my characters, the story is a whole lot easier to write. Because then I know how they’ll respond to the many conflicts and pains that they’ll soon be facing.

Madison and Brett don’t know it yet, but they’ll be under stress through the whole entire story.

A story is putting your characters up a tree and throwing rocks at them.

Story Arcs

Once I know how my characters will respond, I cement their reactions into a story arc.

Master Class has a neat little summary of the classical story arc. :

  1. Exposition
  2. Rising Action
  3. Climax
  4. Falling Action
  5. Resolution

Traditionally, this is done in three acts (also called the three-act structure) .

I write my story arc on a large piece of paper (I like an A3), and using a black marker, I scribble what needs to happen to meet the arc’s requirements. Some people use post-it notes, others use a whiteboard. Some writers use a spreadsheet – that to me, is too far 🙂

Because I’m not a massive plotter, I find the action of writing/drawing/making a mess on paper helps.

history of publishing

Outlining

Once I know the basic elements of the arc, I create the plot outline. Because I’m lazy, I use a template: a list of the key scenes used in a particular genre.

For Fantasy/YA, I use the Hero’s Journey  For romance, I use Gwen Haye’s Romancing the Beat. At the moment, I’m exploring with a mash-up: action/adventure plus Romance.

Plot points

I put the arc on a piece of A3 paper, and write next to the key moments that will form the main events in the story.  I call these events ‘plot points’ and I write all my scenes toward a plot point.

Some folks call these ‘beats’ – but to me, a beat suggests movement; a rhythm that drives the story. Not an actual scene. That’s why I use the term ‘plot points’, because to me, these points hang the story together.

It may take a few scenes to reach a plot point. Usually, to reach each plot point, there’s a build-up scene, a connecting scene, and finally a scene where the whole plot point takes place.

I try to structure each scene so it, like a story arc, has a lead-in, dramatic event, and conclusion. The dramatic element doesn’t have to be high action (although often it is!) – it might be internal transformation.

When plotting, don’t just think about the events that happen in the story. You also need to be mindful of your character(s) internal changes. To create a truly satisfying story, your MC(s) have to transform.

writer's notebook

Software

After my rough, paper-based draft, I input the outline into  Plottr.

I’m still learning how to use this tool. Not being a dyed-in-the-wool plotter, I’m not totally in love. To be honest, I prefer a pen and a big sheet of paper. BUT the software helps keep a handle on characters, settings and action points, so I don’t have to hold every person in my head.

I’ve also found it useful for continuity. After I’ve finished a chapter, I add the key events into the software. This helps me remember who said what, when. Saves character’s repeating themselves or mentioning something out of sequence. (I could export the plot into word or scrivener at this point, but as yet, I haven’t bothered.)

Some writers use Scrivener to help them outline – plus, they write the story directly into Scrivener. This product hasn’t worked for me, but as it comes with a free trial, you may find it worth a try.

Starting to Write

Obviously, the best outline is nothing without a story.

I write in Word (MSOffice 365), and I turn on the ‘view navigation pane’ to help move through the story. This helps keep track of where I am in the story.  By the time your novel hits 70,000 words believe me, you need to be able to move around the story quickly.

Here’s a video on how to use Word’s navigation pane:

Word can be buggy, especially if you muck around with the formatting. That’s generally because of a style error. If you’re not sure of how to use Word styles, here’s a blog post that may help.

By the time I’m 10,000 word in, I’ll usually have both the Style guide and the navigation pane visible.

And finally…

After that, it is simply a matter of writing the words onto the page.

Ha! that’s the hardest part.

How to Create a Writing Place: The Story of Zeph

By

Every writer needs a special writing place, where their imagination can soar. This is mine.

Meet Zeph. He’s a 1977 caravan. We bought him about 16 years ago, when our kids were little. Here they are, still small, when Zeph was looking pretty cool.

Zeph the Caravan - My Writing Place

I started writing in Zeph about 10 years ago. The first story I wrote was A Necklace of Souls

The track led steadily downhill towards the cliff. Just when I feared that we would fall over the edge it turned, descending through daisies and yellow bracken towards the sand. Breakers pounded, spray drifting in a white mist. The ocean’s roar blended with the wind, so it seemed the world was all noise.

++++

Then came Inner Fire, set in Devon. We didn’t take Zeph to Devon, it was too far, but I wrote these words inside him, much later:

‘Look.’ Rowan said. ‘See? A stone circle.’

And now I could see it — flat rocks placed upright in the shape of a ring. It was fairly atmospheric, with the mist and the gray sheep and the silence. There were … I counted the stones out loud … twenty stones.

‘Count it again.’ Rowan sounded amused.

So I did, going back the other way. Which was widdershins? And was widdershins good luck or bad? While I was trying to work this out I forgot which number I was up to. ‘Twenty-two,’ I said. ‘I think.’

He counted too. ‘Twenty-one.’

‘You must have left one out.’

‘And how could I do that, with the stones here in front of me?’

‘And how could I do that, with the stones here in front of me?’

Inner Fire

He grabbed me, pinning my arms to my sides. ‘What do they say?’ His face was close to mine.

‘Just … that they can’t count properly.’

He smiled, and kissed me full on the mouth.

Oh. My. God.

(Can you guess what genre Inner Fire is? 🙂 )

++++

Another visit, another story. This time, based in Berlin.

GS 0793-Peralta.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolperstein#/media/File:GS_0793-Peralta.jpg

These are Stolperstein – literally ‘stumbling stones’: small bronze plaques placed in the cobbles outside the houses of those taken by Nazis. They’re speckled throughout Germany, especially Berlin, and we stayed in the Jewish Quarter, so you walked over people’s names and the dates of their forced removal and death every day.

I wrote this story, staring out at the rain-streaked windows of the old caravan:

In Berlin, the sidewalk marks the dead. Small bronze plaques, set into the cobbles, remembered those who’d once lived here. … Fatima took up her violin and laid her empty case, open for stray coins, near the Kessler family. They had been murdered in various camps over 1943, so at first, Fatima had felt guilty for choosing this spot. But it was a good place because the pavement was warmed by the train station underneath, and anyway, the Kesslers didn’t mind. If anything, they seemed to enjoy her music.

Alice
Alice: A Short Story

++++

Over the last few years, Zeph’s been deteriorating. We’ve been using him less and less for camping, and I’ve been writing at home, where it’s been warmer and dry-er.

Zeph - ugly caravan writing place

Last year, we decided it was time to improve Zeph, to take him out of his old paddock and make him pretty. Plus, the kids have just left home, so we needed a project.

We’ve been doing Zeph up over the last year.

++++

It’s been difficult to find the time to write, but I have managed to squeeze one story out – it’s coming out in the ODT this summer.

Petra always finished her run at the Esplanade. Here she’d treat herself to a take-out espresso from the café beside the shark bell, sipping the hot coffee slowly while she watched the surfers dancing with death on the tops of the waves.

She watched for sharks, too, but never saw any. They were out there though, because next to the bell was a memorial to the surfers taken by Great Whites, over forty years ago.

Petra liked to think of the enormous killers, swimming silent through the deep. They were apex predators. No-one messed with sharks.

++++

And – finally …

Here is Zeph, all bright and shiny new. We have just finished! He came home on Thursday night.

Now he’s ready for new stories.

Pretty caravan writing place

Here’s to Zeph, and more stories to come!

P.S. This blog post was first given as a talk at Wild Imaginings Hui, 2019

How to Make the Perfect Chocolate Cake …

By

Recipes for Writers

This recipe never fails! This chocolate cake is also called Dana’s Chocolate Cake, so of course it’s perfect for me, because the heroine of my SoulNecklace Stories is Dana, and she’s strong and feisty, just like … this cake? Actually, I’m not sure about that analogy. But whatever, this is a great recipe.

This cake is based on a recipe by Sophie Grey at The Destitute Gourmet – check out her website and books for more ideas.

Dana’s Chocolate Cake

  • 1 2/3 C flour
  • 1 1/2 t backing soda
  • 1 1/2 C sugar
  • 2/3 C cocoa
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1 1/2 C skim milk
  • 100 g melted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 t vanilla
  • 1 t instant coffee (granulated is best)

Pre-heat oven to 180 C. Line a large cake tin (about 30 cm) with baking paper.

Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl, mix well.

Then add melted butter, milk and vanilla and eggs (preferably in that order, otherwise the eggs begin cooking), and mix well. The resulting mixture will be quite wet.

Pour into cake tin and bake for approx 40 mins.

Don’t overcook this cake: it’s quite dense, so you can take it out a few minutes early and it will continue cooking on the bench.

Frosting

  • 50g butter, softened
  • 1/3 C cocoa
  • 1 C icing sugar
  • 1 t coffee
  • 1 t vanilla essence

Cream butter and icing sugar. Add other ingredients and mix well. If too dry, add a smidgeon of milk. (Don’t overdo this, or you’ll be left with wet gooey icing.) Add cream cheese or marscapone and decrease the butter if you want a creamier flavour.

This cake is perfect for birthdays!

Variations: Sometimes I bake this cake in two smaller cake tins – this makes the cake go a little further. (Decrease the cooking time if you do this, or both cakes can end up too dry.)

How To Make the Perfect Pavlova …

By

Recipes for Writers

Over the last few months, I’ve been posting recipes out in my newsletters, and my readers love them! So I’m posting them here on my blog too. Hope you enjoy.

Recipe based on Nadia Lim’s Blueberry and Lemon Curd Pavlova

In the 1920s, prima ballerina Anna Pavlova toured Australia and New Zealand. In honour of her visit the pavlova was invented: a meringue-based desert with a soft, caramel-like interior and crispy exterior.

There’s ongoing debate over which country was responsible for its invention. Me, I think it was New Zealand. I’m not biased. 😀

Today there’s many variations on the pavlova: my stepmother used to make a gorgeous one with coffee and walnuts. But usually a pav has a plain, creamy-coloured base, topped with whipped cream and fruit.

This particular pavlova is ideal for Christmas, as it looks somewhat like a wreath, with these beautiful seasonal colours.

The trick to a good pavlova is to separate the eggs correctly – the recipe will fail if there’s even a hint of egg yolk. And place it in a HOT oven, but allow the pav. to cool for ages – preferably overnight – before removing.

Recipe

  • 6 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 C caster sugar
  • 2 t cornflour
  • 1 t white vinegar

To serve:

  • 1 – 2 C whipped cream
  • 1/2 t vanilla (or vanilla seeds)
  • 1/4 C pomegranate seeds
  • 1 punnet blueberries
  • 1/4C sliced almonds
  • fresh mint leaves, to garnish

Preheat oven to 200 C. Line a baking tray with backing paper and mark an 18 – 20 cm circle on it. (You can use a plate or a bowl as stencil.)

  • Whip egg whites with electric beater until stiff peaks form (they must be really stiff)
  • Add caster sugar while beating.
  • Continue beating on high speed. The meringue mixture should be thick and glossy.
  • Beat it cornflour and vinegar.
  • Spoon onto circle on baking paper. You can smooth the top to look like a ballet-dancer’s skirt, or keep it rough, to form the idea of ruffles.
  • Put it in the oven and TURN THE OVEN OFF!
  • This is very important. Do not let anyone else open the oven, not for any reason. Not even your children, and especially NOT your husband. You may need to stick a sign on the door of the oven.
  • Leave the pav in the cooling oven for as long as possible, ideally overnight. Do not worry if the surface cracks, this is totally normal and will add to the homemade authentic look. Besides, you can fill up these imperfections with cream.
  • Once removed from the oven, and cooled, decorate with generous amounts of whipped cream and fruit, as in the picture above.
  • Alternatively, top with whipped cream and fruit of your choice.

An untopped pavlova will keep in a dry container for a while, so you can make this a few days before serving. But once it’s smothered in cream, keep in the fridge and eat quickly.

Nutritional information: best you don’t know.

How to Make Spicy Carrot Soup …

By

Recipes for Writers

Don’t you hate it when you discover limp carrots at the bottom of your fridge? Well, here’s the perfect way to use them up! This is a really healthy soup, keeping you warm and toasty in the cold months when you’re trying to write.

Spicy Carrot Soup

  • 3 carrots, peeled
  • 1/2 cauliflower, cut into florets
  • Onion, cubed
  • Garlic, chopped
  • 1 T cooking oil – I use coconut oil
  • 1 t grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 t red curry paste
  • 1 C chicken stock
  • Salt, pepper and seasonings to taste
  • Chilli flakes and sesame seeds for garnish

Saute onion, garlic, ginger together and add curry paste. Once aromatic, add chicken stock, carrots, and cauliflower. Cook until vegetables are soft, then blend with a stick blender. Add seasonings to taste.

I top with chilli flakes and sesame seeds, but fresh-chopped coriander would be fine too.

Nutritional info: Replace chicken stock with vegetable stock for a vegetarian recipe. Can be gluten free if gluten-free stock and curry paste are used. Dairy-free.

Diversity Matters: Why It’s Important to Write Diverse Characters

By

Ten days ago, during Friday prayers, a man entered the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch and began shooting. There are two mosques in Christchurch, so after a time he drove across town and did it all again. By the time he’d finished, 50 worshippers were dead, and 50 were injured.

The first I knew about this was a message from my son: ‘Is everyone okay? There’s been a shooting!’

Mass Shootings

From time to time, mass-shootings happen. Some idiot goes on a rampage, kills a few random unfortunates. Horrifying, and sad. But this felt different. It was hate-filled; targeted. At first, no-one knew there was only one person. Could there be more men with guns? Were there bombs? And my family lives in Christchurch.

Messages began flooding in. ‘We’re fine. We’re at the hospital…We’re at school … We’re okay, we’re okay, we’re okay.’ We are used to urgent communications, in Christchurch. After the earthquakes.

The police put the city on lock-down. No-one was to leave their house, no children were to leave their schools. The injured were ferried to Christchurch Hospital. The hospital was surrounded by police with guns, because perhaps the hospital was another target.

What about Dad, we thought. Could he have been near the mosque? Dad was fine – at home, unaware of was going on. (Dad plugs into the interwebs at specific times. He upgraded from dial-up a few years back and doesn’t follow twitter or Facebook or news sites. He doesn’t need to, because he gets the paper and he has the telephone. I kind of envy him.)

WTF

Two policeman decided to see if they could find the shooter. Surely, he’d try and get out of town, so they drove along the main exit roads, trying to spot him. Their hunch proved correct. They rammed their vehicle into his car. The man carried bombs and ammo: they took a calculated risk. Afterwards they rang their boss. Sorry about the car.

In Christchurch, parents returned home; kids were let out of schools. Slowly, information emerged.

Turned out, there was one shooter. A white Australian living in Dunedin. Probably, he’d originally planned to target the Dunedin site. But there’s only one small mosque in Dunedin, and I guess he wanted to make a statement. So he tooled himself up and drove the four hours north to Christchurch. I wonder what that drive was like?

The shooter lived not far from me. I may have met him, at the supermarket, or the post-office. On the beach.

Local and Global

I know folk who go to Friday prayers at Dunedin mosque. I’m grateful they were spared. Like Mohammad, the owner of the pharmacy up the hill, who tells me about his Mum and how she’s doing after her stroke. Hafife, who runs cooking classes and sells incredible baklava, and helps integrate Syrian refugees into their new lives.

My sister’s Moslem friend had an anxious wait because her daughter was supposed to be at the mosque in Christchurch. (Fortunately, she’d skipped prayers that day).

A post shared by RL Stedman (@rlstedman) on

There are only five million people in the whole of New Zealand, and a lot less in Dunedin and Christchurch. We all know someone directly affected by the shootings. We feel a collective guilt; a collective responsibility. How could this have happened? How could someone shoot children, old men, people at prayers? These worshippers, they have names; they are people. They are our people. Our friends, our colleagues, our schoolmates.

Diversity: A New Buzzword?

Diversity is the new buzzword. A black hero? How wonderful! A female superhero, how profound. A Korean heroine? Yes please! What about disability? Could we have a character in a wheelchair?

But as soon as we label someone as disabled or black or Asian or whatever, we label them as ‘other’. To paraphrase Martin Luther King: It’s not the colour of their skin that matters; it’s their character that’s important.

How do I write diverse characters? (Oh, a mixed race heroine, how clever. A character in a wheelchair, how brave!) Well, here’s a tip: I try to write about people. And guess what, people come in all shapes and sizes and colour and religions.

Some kids are too scared to go to the mosque for prayers. So the last two Fridays I, and many others, have stood outside the Dunedin mosque. It’s not a big building, and you can see through its green paint the words ‘Dunedin Orphan’s Society.’ Its black wrought-iron fence is currently covered with bunches of flowers. Bright balloons (three stars, two as hearts) bob in the wind.

So now, in Dunedin, if anyone wants to take a pot shot at the worshippers inside the mosque, they’ll have to shoot a lot more folk outside first.

Why Diversity Matters.

Hate speech turns people into groups; and labels that group as other.

Such words are dangerous. Why? Because it is easy to fear the ‘other’. The other becomes shunned; the other is not worth of protection; eventually, perhaps, the other is killed.

“Carefully watch your thoughts, for they become your words.

Manage and watch your words, for they will become your actions.

Consider and judge your actions, for they have become your habits.

Acknowledge and watch your habits, for they shall become your values.

Understand and embrace your values, for they become your destiny.”

Mahatma Gandhi

But we belong not to one group, but to many. We are school friends, colleagues, members of sports teams, church groups. Citizens; friends. In truth, there is no ‘other,’ only a collective ‘us’.

We each have unique names, faces, stories. This uniqueness is as varied and diverse as the colors of a rainbow.

Diversity is about valuing differences; about seeing the beauty in the variation. About treating people as people.

Embed from Getty Images

This image, from Getty Images, is of New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, visiting Wellington’s Kilbirnie Mosque after the attacks.