Review: Novel Shortcuts by Laura Whitcomb

A few months ago, I made a goal for myself to read at least one craft book per month. Um, that's craft as in writing craft, not as in arts and crafts. Unfortunately, I don't have time for those kinds of crafts these days. Anyway, I started by trying to re-read Donald Maass' Writing the Breakout Novel and the accompanying workbook, but they weren't really grabbing me. I'd already read both a couple times and wanted something new, so I kind of fell off the wagon.

But staying up on our craft is important. We can always improve, right? So I promised myself I'd get back into it. As mentioned, I've been reading Novel Shortcuts: Ten Techniques That Ensure a Great First Draft by Laura Whitcomb - my June craft book of the month. Because we're all short on time and don't want to waste what little bit we have on useless craft books, I thought I'd share my thoughts, to hopefully help you. So...here goes.

What I Liked About This Book:

• Real techniques you can use - Whitcomb doesn't just share theory and ambiguous ideas to help improve your writing. She provides real tips and methods to put into practice right away. The "shortcuts to a scene" method, for example, which, as I said, I found quite useful.
• Examples that we're familiar with - I've picked up a few craft books where the author shares examples of their ideas from books I'd never even heard of, let alone read. I'd not only heard of the vast majority of Whitcomb's examples, but I'd either read them or, at least, was familiar enough with the story to understand what she was saying. I didn't feel like I needed to add a bunch of books to my already teetering TBR pile to ensure I understood a key point.
• Easy to read - Whitcomb isn't trying to impress us, other writers, with high brow theories, prose or vocabulary. Rather than using our brains to figure out what she's saying, we can use them to figure out how to apply what she's suggesting to our own writing.

What I Didn't Like About This Book:

• "Shortcuts for first draft" idea - Maybe it's just because I'm more of a pantser, but I couldn't see myself using any of these techniques for writing the first draft. I've actually used outlines for my current two WIPs and have come to like them, but the techniques in this book are so specific, I just don't see how you use them before you even have a draft to work with. For example, she suggests identifying the "crosshairs moments," the main ones that are turning points for the story, as well as the minor ones - the turning points for each chapter. In fact, she says to even identify the crosshairs sentence in a chapter. Well, maybe for a few scenes, you already know in your head what that phrase is, but otherwise, how can you know it for each chapter until you've written it? So, to me, this is more a book for the second draft.
• Poor examples - Okay, so I just said I liked the examples, but for that, I meant the books she referred to. Here, I mean the specific examples she provided to show a before and after. In many cases, I didn't see the point or didn't see how the after was much improved. It was different, sure, but not necessarily better. Maybe this is a style thing. I don't know. I just wasn't impressed.

My Favorite Parts
Since this is a book about techniques, here are my favorite ones:

• Crosshairs Moments - As mentioned, these are the turning points of your novel and of each chapter. You should always be writing toward that moment or away from it. Identifying the crosshairs moments - the big ones and little ones - should help you see whether a scene or paragraph is even necessary.
• Shortcut to the Scene - I wrote about this and put it into practice with impressive results.
• What to Do When It Stinks - Whitcomb provides some excellent ideas for improving the draft...obviously after you've written it.

Recommendation: Yes, I'd recommend this book to any writer needing some new ideas for either the first draft or revisions. Is there anything groundbreaking? Meh, probably not. Is it among my top recommendations? No, not really. But if you sometimes just need to hear something differently or want to know what works for other writers, this is a good book to have on hand.

Let me know if you've read it or if you do. I'd love to hear your thoughts and reactions.

It Worked!

My little experiment worked! Or at least, something did. I finally finished draft two of Genesis.

Will I use this method before the first draft, as Whitcomb does? Meh, probably not. I'm too much of a pantser to use it for every scene, especially if not written yet. But it is a new tool to add to my writer's toolbox.

Maybe it'll help you, too. Let me know if you give it a try. I'd love to hear your results.

Have you discovered any new tools lately? How did they work out for you?

Oh, the Pain and Suffering!

Okay, maybe the title's a little melodramatic. Then again, maybe not. I'm in the midst of the second draft of GENESIS. Uh, yeah, the novella that's supposed to be out in a few months. And I really need to get it to crit-partners ASAP if I'm ever going to make that deadline.

I'm at a point, however, where I feel like I've been cut open and my insides have been pulled out and twisted around, kind of like that scene in "Braveheart." Except they're also being stuffed back in, but won't fit. Yes, it's quite painful! Not to mention gross. This is also where I am with revisions of DEVOTION - the reason I put it aside for a while to focus on GENESIS.

Both have a couple scenes that just aren't working. They need to be completely rewritten with different scenes that accomplish the same goals as the originals, only better. But if I make them too different, characters' behaviors and reactions to those scenes will change, causing a ripple effect throughout the rest of the book. Other parts would need to be changed as a result. Changes I don't like. I don't think. I don't know. And that indecision just causes more pain and suffering and indecision. It's an evil cycle, I tell you.

You probably know, having gone through it yourself. So I'm giving a new approach a try. I'm reading Novel Shortcuts: Ten Techniques That Ensure a Great First Draft by Laura Whitcomb. She's developed a process for herself called "shortcuts to the scene" that I'm going to give a try. I think it's a little too structured for my pants-favoring self, at least to do before the first draft, but I think it will help me write these scenes. Here are the steps, using a blank sheet of paper or screen:

1. Write a paragraph about what must happen in this scene - "the goal, the conflict, what will remain unresolved." This includes both internal and external actions.
2. List what must be said - the dialogue. You don't have to write it word for word, but get down what needs to be said. Don't use tags, just initials for who needs to say it. Whitcomb suggests making this a different font (or color, if doing this by hand) or, at least, bold it.
3. Do a ten-minute "heartstorm." It's like a brainstorm, but using the heart, not the head. "Feel the scene, the emotions, the sensations, the wonder.... Think of the emotions involved, the smells, tastes, scents, textures, sounds." Like brainstorming, this isn't a time to judge or censor. Just get it out. Then you highlight or bold 10 or more of your favorite phrases, making them stand out.
4. Now print (if you did this in Word), lay the page (yes, it should be just one page) next to your keyboard and use it as a cheat-sheet. She calls it a "menu" - she orders something from one of the three parts to open the scene and then pulls together the pieces she needs to write out the entire scene. The dialogue, in its different font or color, stands out so she can refer to it easily. The key phrases she wants to use from the heartstorm are also easy to see.

I don't know if it'll work well for me or not, but I think since I already know what must happen in this scene because of what's already happened in the rest of the book, it just might be what I need to get beyond this indecision. I hope. I'll let you know how it goes.

It would be nice to feel comfortably whole again, intestines intact. 

Are rewrites as painful for you as they are for me? Do you have any special process or technique that helps you get through them? If so, please share! What do you think of Whitcomb's "shortcuts to the scene"?