On Hopepunk, and the Importance of Unhappy Endings By J.R.H. Lawless

I’ve recently had the opportunity to chat with some readers of my two adult SF humour novels, ALWAYS GREENER and THE RUDE EYE OF REBELLION, and their thoughts highlighted something I’ve been thinking about for a while: why, especially in sub-genres like Hopepunk, which my books are firmly part of, we need more stories that don’t have a tidy, happy ending.

The three act structure and beat sheets like Save the Cat exist in books and movies for a whole pile of very good reasons. And yet, they also have a lot to answer for, in that they push creators firmly towards stories that end with a third act dénouement where the main character resolves the conflict or conflicts of the story and mostly everything works out for the best. This is a core genre expectation for anything other than purely adult stories, and even in adult fiction, it is such a dominant dynamic that it is hard to come up with many examples of stories that don’t finish on a happy, or at least mostly happy, ending.

There are perfectly good reasons for this as well, starting with the fact that happy endings make for happy readers, and happy readers leave better reviews and buy more books. At the end of the day, we are selling an entertainment product, and if that product leaves the reader (or the viewer, for a movie) unhappy or unsatisfied with their expectations of a happy ending after they’ve spent hours with you and your characters, then it stands to reason that you haven’t done a particularly good job as an entertainer.

But the key flaw with that premise are those « expectations of a happy ending ». Since childhood, we’ve been formatted to expect and demand that satisfying, happy resolution by the end of the story. It is essential, in fact, since all of Act Two of a modern story or movie is spent torturing the main character and ramping up conflict, and at that point, we are always so prompt to tell our worried children not to worry, « everything will be fine in the end ».

Just looking at a weather forecast these days is more than enough to show us that reality doesn’t work that way. There is and always must be hope—we can and must do better as a species and a global society—but that shit doesn’t just happen because we’ve suffered through Act Two and have reached Act Three of the story we’re starring in. It takes a whole lot of work.

Beyond the other quirks I’m perhaps excessively fond of in my little novels, such as my tongue-in-cheek etymology footnotes, the fact that some readers absolutely love the rough endings in ALWAYS GREENER and RUDE EYE, while some others are clearly put off by the absence of a happy ending might be my new, favourite thing about the feedback from my books.

To me, Hopepunk means always fighting for a better future—in the case of my books, a direct democratic one that breaks with the short-sighted corproate world-state that is a mere projection of where we are today—but also always facing the realities of the crap we have put ourselves in today. And a major part of that reality is that the stories lie, and happy endings don’t magically work themselves out. 

It’s up to each of us to keep striving and making the world a better place, happy endings or not.

If you enjoyed this piece, please follow on J.R.H. Lawless on Twitter @SpaceLawyerSF.

Writers Blocking Writers Block By Winter Krane

If you've been a writer for a while, I'll assume you've been around the block. The curse of creatives everywhere. It makes pencils hesitate and cursers blink. 

Let's batten down the hatches, sharpen our pen nibs, and fight back against the blank-page monster, together!   

Writer's block is notoriously tricky, but part of that comes down to the block being a symptom, not a cause. Usually, we need to test a few different possibilities to identify our specific block before it gets worse and turns into its more deadly form, procrastination.  

 In this post, I'll share five types of writer's block and ways around them. Let's start with the most common.  

Writing when it doesn’t feel right. 

You're dutifully tugging your story along, filling the page, but your fingers falter. You grumble away, muttering things like, "What happens next?" or even "What would my MC do?" but your protagonist doesn't answer.  

Usually, that's because they already did earlier on in your story. But you didn't listen. 

A school of thought in the writing world says you shouldn't look back at your old chapters. That can be true if you're habitually re-creating your previous work instead of moving on, but the problem might be behind you when you can't move ahead.  

If you can't imagine what your character would do, chances are they already did something they wouldn't have done, getting them locked in a situation they can't work out of. And if the issue is with the plot, you might be stuck because you didn't see that you wrote yourself smack-dab into a hole, a plot hole, that is. You see, your brain is far more brilliant than you give it credit for. Sometimes it can't go on because it's trying to tell you the story is bunk. 

So, take a deep breath, back up a chapter or more, and see if you can find your problem.  

Oh, you're back already? Let's try this one next… 

Writing when you're really an imposter.   

Imposter syndrome is a complex cup to chug. Especially when so many agents ask questions like, "Why are you the best person to write this book?"  

If you're navel-gazing more than a broody YA love interest, you know getting your head back to the page is no small task.  

Many people have written about this topic, and I've read what many of them said, but no one helped me more than a critique partner of mine that flat out told me—of course, you're an imposter! You're a writer!  

It sounded simple, but it was just the smack-up-the-side-of-the-head I needed. We always make up stuff, sitting alone like a hobbit in our cave. It makes sense that connecting these made-up worlds with people would feel like a fake check we expect to bounce. When my brilliant critique partner called me on it, I stopped trying to run from that identity and let it win. Yes, I am an imposter, and I'm going to be as good as it as I can be. Catch me if you can.  

Oh, you're not struggling with that? It was only me, huh? Oh, no, that's fine. This isn't awkward… let's move on. 

Writing without meeting your mind’s needs. 

Discovery writers write by the seat of their pants, not knowing what comes next. Outliners carefully cultivate a story, planning the book before they begin writing, making the two opposites. We all know that, right? 

Shhh! Lean in close for a secret—Ready? Discovery writers and outliners are just people who get stuck on different parts of writing.  

Never mind, let me shout this: Everyone has story stuff to discover! Otherwise, their story would already exist. So, we're all discovery writers. But hold up, outlines too! People who "pants" their novels do the outlining in the moment, with their first draft, and outliners do it in a document they conveniently call an outline.  

We're all the same in this matrix! 

So, maybe you're getting stuck in the process because you're telling your brain to do a stage of writing it's not ready for OR already finished!  

Easy—I'm kidding, it's going to take work—fix, is backing all the way up with your story and looking at it hard. Is this a story that flows out of you when you let it? Or is it a story that needs to be cultivated before it's out? 

Bye! Take your time on that one, okay? I need to get back to work on my book. It's kicking my butt right now, and… are you still here? What do you mean you want the next one? Ugh! You're worse than the Avon lady ignoring my no soliciting sign.  

 Writing when your well is dry.  

Sometimes, (Especially when people won't leave you alone because they expect you to finish a blog post when you really SHOULD be writing, but they're all whining, saying, 'No, Winter, you said there were five types, but you only did three!')  

Ahem! Sometimes, you feel like your brain is all dry. Brains are squishy wet things full of fat, electrons, veins, and other…brain stuff. Not a doctor here, but in my expert opinion, brains don't like being dry. 

Kind of like when a well is dry. (Ah! See how I tied that in! Be impressed!)  

So, congratulations, you have contracted the most fun type of block. You have well-block! Only the best for you, Darling! And the cure, get this, is to feed your head! 

Movies, audio dramas, audiobooks, physical Books, comic books, manga, and video games with good storytelling—or bad! You need to see other people tell stories. Inject them into your crumbling gray matter.  

Okay, so there is a bit of homework, though. You can't just let stories happen. You need to ask yourself questions as they go.  

Things like: 

Why did the writer include this character?  

If I wrote this part, what elements would I focus on?  

What made them decide to start the story here?  

It can be helpful to get a pad of paper and keep track of your answers as you go. 

Dog trainers encourage owners to play with their dog before training so their dog's brain is calmed down and ready to learn. Your brain is under-fun-ded too. It can't handle writing all the time. Let it have some fun! 

Yes, this is dangerous. You could end up becoming an entertainment glutton. We tested a few other possibilities first because it's easy to ignore the hard stuff and jump to dessert. Still, overeating isn't a reason to stave yourself, and over-entertainment is the same. Usually, when I'm well-blocked, it only takes a few stories to dose me up. And when I finish writing something, I go wild, devouring every story I can cram in before I'm left to hibernate through another first draft.  

So—keep your wells full…unless you need a plot device for Timmy to fall in.  

Here, in your head, it's no help.  

Writing when your mind is the enemy. 

I don't want to talk about this one. I want to go back to the last one because it's fun and easy. Getting to tell writers to enjoy books? Simple! But this one isn't something I can joke about. Especially when one of the telltale signs of this block is that you can't read or appreciate a movie. Even simple tasks like that are too much.  

What's this block? Sometimes it's mental health, like depression. Sometimes it's an inability, like a chronic sickness, that land you in a brain fog.  

This is the hard stuff that no one wants because it's ugly.  

What's the cure? I don't know. No, I'm not going to leave it there, I've been here, and I can't ignore a writer struggling in this place. But, here's the thing: you shouldn't fix this block instantly. 

You know how those little masks fall in an airplane, and attendants tell parents to put theirs on before their kids? This is like that.  

If you try to take care of your book baby while struggling to breathe, it'll be worse for both of you. But if you take care of yourself and then come back to writing, even though it takes far too long and you hate the way life is going—when you do come back—you have something to write about.  

 I try (oh dear Lord, how I try) to think of these times as growth. This is its own well, a well of sadness that often overflows but is necessary for me to write about hard, important truths. I wish this well was more of a trickling tap instead of the waterfall flood it usually fits, but since it's there, know you can use it once you're back to yourself.  

Just please, take the time you need. Then, when you're ready, we can keep fighting the block and fill the world with stories, together. 

If you enjoyed this piece, please follow Winter Krane on Twitter @WinterKrane.

Writing While Working a Full Time Job By Mark E. Gelinas, Sr. (@Elderac)

A question I see frequently on Twitter is, “How do you write while working a full-time job?”

The answer takes more than one Tweet will allow. This is how I do it but it is not a definitive list. As they say, your mileage may vary.

Select Your Priorities

Time is the most critical factor in this effort. There are certain things we must do like commuting, working, eating, and sleeping. While we may be able to adjust these some, we cannot trim too much time without t causing problems.

Most of us do not live alone, so spending time with the people in our lives is important as well. How much or how little this may be varies with our individual relationships. 

Other things we do and not mandatory. Such things include watching TV, playing games, and surfing the internet. These are areas we can reduce or eliminate to carve out more time during the day for writing. 

Set a Time

Setting aside a time to write, whether it is daily, weekly, or something in between provides a structure to our writing efforts. It is a way of saying our writing is as important as our other activities. Then, when the appointed time arrives, start working. 

It is unrealistic to expect that there won’t be situations when we can’t start at the appointed time. However, if the situations happen too often, we need to re-evaluate the time we have set aside for writing.

Start without Them

Once we have sat down to write, we need to get to it. Staring at a blank screen is counter-productive. On a podcast, I heard the quote, “If you are ready to write, and your muse hasn’t shown up, start without them.”

If the words aren’t flowing in your WIP, try opening a new document and write something else. I am not suggesting that we start on a new project, but the process of writing something, anything, gets our brains into the writing mode. It could be stream-of-consciousness, but if we can bend our writing to thoughts of our WIP, all the better. This method is also good for overcoming writer’s block.

Stay Focused

Once we are writing, we need to keep our minds on the work at hand. We should avoid checking e-mail or social media accounts. These are things that can take a few moments when we are not trying to write, but if done while we are writing, it takes our thoughts away from our WIP. Then when we come back to it, we have to spend precious time figuring out where we were and what we are wanting to say.

Avoid distractions as much as possible. I like to listen to music when I write, but it must be instrumental. Anything with lyrics distracts me. 

As we write, we need to make a mental not of what takes us out of our WIP and then see if we can reduce or eliminate those distractions. Some cannot be which may cause us to re-evaluate the time we have set aside for writing.

Seek Efficiencies 

As we grow in our writing abilities, we should seek ways to write better. By this I don’t mean improve grammar and spelling, although those are important, too, but rather finding ways to get the words on the screen. 

The word processor I use will offer to take me where I left off. I find this convenient. However, as I type, I tend to backspace and correct those underlined words. It would be more efficient if I waited until I was done with the section and then do a spell check.

Being efficient may be as simple as having a dedicated computer with our WIP on it. It may be turning off the WiFi on our laptop. It varies with everyone. The key is to improve the process so the time we spend writing is more about writing than getting to writing.

Self-Care

It is perhaps counter-intuitive to list this. But there are times when we get so caught up on what we are doing, we let self-care slide. Finding more efficient ways to do self-care is acceptable, neglecting self-care will eventually come back to haunt us. 

Summary

Writing while working a full time job is all about time. Finding ways to make the most of the time we have will help us get those words down.

If you enjoyed this piece, please follow Mark E. Gelinas, Sr. on Twitter @Elderac.

Frilly, Fluffy, Romantical Writing By Gillian F. Barnes

The other day, I took an online course about plain writing. In essence, how to write in a straightforward, simple manner… and let me tell you… I disagree with it, almost violently.

The type of writing has noble roots. Even the government created legislation about it. The United States passed the Plain Language Act in 2010 “to improve the effectiveness and accountability of federal agencies to the public by promoting clear government communication that the public can understand and use.”

There are Federal standards that it follows to help users: 

• Find what they need

• Understand what they find

• Use what they find to meet their needs

But here’s the thing… these standards eerily mirror popular writing teaches aimed at online marketers who want better readership and therefore ranking. The reason? People don’t have enough time or don’t have the attention span for lengthy writing anymore. They consider all “fluffy” or “frilly” writing to be convoluted. 

Yes, yes, yes, I know. As a professional writer I get that a blog article is not a novel (I could certainly say a lot about overwriting too…), but should it really be plain? Shouldn’t some online writing remain artistic? Plain writing enthusiasts will tell you plain doesn’t mean boring, but to me, it is a good deal more technical, and a bit lacking in soul.*

I've been both watching and listening to versions of “Anne of Green Gables” for about a month now and that character is singlehandedly making me love words again. She is delightfully complex and she sees her world in a similarly elaborate way. For example, she takes every opportunity to call things scrumptious, tragical, and romantical. She lives her life to the fullest by describing worlds both real and imagined. If there is a long way to say something, I dare say that Anne will find it. I love that.

Even when I first began reading chapter books, I loved finding words I didn't know. I decoded them with context clues or a handy Dictionary (not online) and then added them like gems to my proverbial mental savings bank. Each was a treasure to be spent at the ideal moment. 

But I find that not many people feel the same these days… they want content served by an algorithm in five seconds or less. They want a quick hit. They want to get it over with. 

While I have less time in my life as of late, I don’t want to get writing and reading over with. I don’t want to treat them like tasks to be checked off a laundry list or inconveniences I’d rather not have in my life. Words are beauty. I want to enjoy them…

So in summation, dear readers, I implore you to seek out online writing and novels that challenge you. Do not settle for pure, simple, plain writing alone! It has a place, especially in educational posts, but that is not the only reason to read. Read for the love of the thing! 

Enjoy prose like a layered cake, complete with sugared synonyms and similies, overtly, ostentatious adjectives, candied conjunctions, frosted, iced interjections, and the perfect sprinkling of nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adverbs.

Gosh, I’m starving. 

*Not all plain writing is boring and not all writing should be flamboyant. I do not mean to insult plain writers… instead I endeavor to show the world that there are still people who read deeply and do not mind an extra word or two.

SO…UM…WINTER? YOU SELF-PUBLISHED…? By Winter Krane

If you read my Please Reject Me blog, you'd know I'm a big fan of traditional publishing. So, it's probably surprising I struck out on my own. But if you haven't, I'll make this clear- I've had a lot of respect for self-published authors, but I didn't have any interest in taking on all the extra tasks associated with publishing a book. With five kids and an autoimmune disease—I wanted all the help I could get.

What happened?

Well, Dreaming in Subtitles happened.

Let's back up. When I shelved my last (rejected) book and started writing another, I had every intention to repeat the process. Nothing went the same, though. The first oddity was my beta readers were extremely positive. Now, positivity is nice and all, but I try to cultivate beta readers that are willing to lovingly rip me to shreds. It's never a good feeling to be torn down, but I view it as a necessary part of the process. I did get some excellent (gut-wrenching) notes, but they were more straightforward to fix than usual.

I was still in the midst of the (perplexing) process of getting hard feedback when I got an email congratulating me on winning the Kay snow award from Willamette Writers. The first chapter of my book landed me a chance to go to the Willamette Writers Conference- an experience I would not have been able to afford otherwise. Even now, I can't express what a dream come true that was.

This is where I had my first chance to pitch my book to agents. And where I first discovered Dreaming in subtitles had a big problem—the same one that, later on, seemed attached to many of my rejection letters.

This book was impossible to categorize.

Was it YA? The protagonist lives her life again as a teenager—but you "can't" have a 30 something as a YA lead. A crossover is a hard sell to convince the industry on. What category was it in? Time Slip? No-that falls under the Sci-Fi umbrella. Alternate history? No, it can't be because the time changes aren't on a large enough scale. I felt like it was closest to Magical Realism, but even that was hard to explain.

In short, I'd written a well-received categorical failure.

My beta readers were still coming through with praise, and I was quickly aware that this book wasn't going to do well with anyone but readers.

Easy fix--shelve Dreaming in Subtitles, write the next book, and possibly come back around to publish it once I'd become more established. But DIS was about a 30 something woman going back to the '90s. If it came out in twenty years, it wouldn't feel right to the readers. Plus, I couldn't see how the book would be rewritten when the MC was older due to the book's scope.

Not just a categorical failure, but a ticking time bomb.

It's one thing to write a bad book, another to write something people like and still be dead in the water. The worst part? How could I be sure the next few books I write wouldn't have the same problem?

The funny thing is, I already had a cover. I always draw as I write, and I'd hoped that my art would go along with my book as a package deal in some way. I knew I'd be assigned a cover by a publishing house, but I hoped to ask if they could use my art anywhere, even if not in the book, maybe just on my website.

I also have a wildly supportive husband who took me by the hand said we could save up for an editor.

And who was I writing for? The industry or readers?

No matter how I dug my heels in, it looked like being an indie author was the best fit.

That's how it all got started. It took two years, but we hired the perfect editor for my book. Then, finally, I was joyfully overwhelmed with a wonderfully marked-up manuscript that I could sink my teeth back into.

I still think self-publishing is a harder route if you're looking for pre-publication rejection like I am, but in the end, what works best for the book is the most important part.

So yeah, I self-published! Even punishment gluttons like myself can be Indy authors.

If you enjoyed this piece, please follow Winter Krane on Twitter @WinterKrane.

Rules of Writing By KL Forslund

My wife took several art classes in college for her degree. The students and teachers fixated on abstract art and called anybody’s work that looked good “commercial.” I quickly gleaned that this was coded speech for “we suck and call it abstract to mask our lack of skill.” Thus, I am wary when somebody says there are no rules in writing. Do whatever you want. Let’s rethink that.

The Obvious Example

If you randomly press keys and hand that in as your magnum opus of our time, you’ve failed to write because you’ve failed to communicate. You can’t claim the following makes any sense:

Fhskjdfh gdfgsd dfgsdfg sdfgsdf adfsg erge tr hty jtjytjtyu jytrt eryret ejtjh jeythe.

We need to use words that the reader knows. Maybe some words get new meanings, or go out of fashion, but comprehensibility is a hard rule. The idea that there are no rules is thus quashed. Clearly, there’s at least one. It’s the rest that might be negotiable.

Another Metaphor

I like woodworking. I’m no master, there’s no heirloom furniture coming out of my shop Though somebody’s going to inherit some odd pieces one day because they’ll last that long. In the old days, a master craftsman would take on an apprentice. The fledgling woodworker would follow directions and build basic things. They didn’t have the skills and attention to detail to make perfectly fitting joints and baby bottom smooth sanded surfaces. So they had to follow the rules and measure twice before they cut. Once they improved, then they could deviate and do things on the fly and still have it turn out great.

Best Practice Not Rules

Let’s move the goal post. The reason I might tell somebody to avoid passive voice or adverbs is evident in their work. If we mark that stuff yellow and then go blind by how brightly marked it is, they’re gonna get told that. The “rules” exist because a lot of somebodies overdid it. The rules are really best practices. What the pirates might call “guidelines.” Only a true pedant will mark up a lone adverb on a page. Ignore that guy. Most of the rules are like sanding and polishing a block of wood. Nobody wants to get a splinter or feel an uneven piece.

All those rules and tips folks might give you are about improving your chances of having good work. Yes, a master can break the rules, but that’s craftsmanship. The rest of us aspire to that, but in the meantime, we want to sell work and have it read.

Pablo Picasso

Back to that story from the beginning. Pablo Picasso made a lot of funky art. Abstract some might call it, though all his pieces had a basis in reality. Before he started down that path, he had studied with the greats and mastered the techniques. His brushstrokes are perfection and control, not random and sloppy. This is what those hacks from our university lacked. So it is with writing. Study the rules, get used to how they work and why. Master them. Then the training wheels fall off and you can get funky.

Dues Be Due

The life lesson here is to pay your dues. More old folks get published than young. For one reason, they’ve been writing longer. Now anybody can figure out their craft sooner. Age is not a requirement. But time in the chair, honing the craft is. Whether its fan-fiction, bad poetry, or another novel, keep at it. And keep learning what the rules are and see how they affect your work. By applying them and seeing the difference, you learn and become a master.

Epilogue of Craft

It can take a while to find a teacher or a place where you can learn your craft. Later in life, my wife attended classes at the local community college. There she learned figure drawing and how to approach drawing, painting, and sketching. You can find her work on Twitter and Instagram as @Faerywing.

If you enjoyed this article, follow KL Forslund on Twitter @KLForslund.

Walk Away from Your Keyboard By Renée Gendron

No matter which genre, authors strive to create interesting and relatable characters. If your readership can’t empathise with your main character, they’ll put down the put. There are many ways of improving your craft and walking away from the keyboard is one of them. 

I encourage authors to take writing lessons, join writing associations, and form critique groups. It’s important to have a community of practice around you who understand the struggles of stringing together words into compelling sentences. These are all critical behaviours to success. Let’s not forget time management to ensure you have a regular writing schedule. 

The often-overlooked component of excellent writing is understanding human behaviour. You might not be writing about humans, but observations of domestic animals, wildlife, and humans can help flesh out credible characters. 

Through interactions and experiences, writers gain content for their characters, the punchline of a joke, the subtle mannerisms that shape a character, and the push-pull of conflict. Conflict drives character growth and the plot. 

Realistic details into speech patterns, facial expressions, how people move about, the inflexions of their voices, and behaviour provide an author with material for compelling writing. We can all write: he chuckled. However, that gets boring and tired. An author observed someone might write: he chuckled, the same shy chuckle he had when he was put on the spot. The author can add context to the chuckle because they have insight into someone’s personality. 

Here are some things to observe: 

• Body language (position of torso, legs, feet, how they walk, how they sit, where they place their hands) 

• Language (word choice, degree of vulgarity, type of accent and if it thickens if the person is emotional or drunk or interacting with someone from the same region)

• How often the person speaks, what they speak about, how long their sentences are, how confident their voice is 

• Interactions that made you laugh

• Interactions that made others laugh 

I’d like to distinguish between research and non-writing experiences. I, like many authors, will spend hours reading about historical events and technical terms for a profession and watch how-to videos on Youtube. Some authors will also take a course or interview an expert. These are critical components to creating a realistic world and showing the competence or incompetence of a character.

Low-cost ways of doing research: 

• Library (books and documentaries and guest speakers) 

• Youtube (verify the credibility of the presenter)

• Ask people around you for subject matter experts to interview or spend time observing what they do or as expert critique partners for specific passages/excerpts 

• Follow experts on social media for advice and insight. It doesn’t hurt to send them a message with a question. They may or may not respond, but at least you reached out 

In addition to this research, I encourage authors to have activities other than writing. Such activities may mean sports, other creative pursuits, spending time with family and friends, and travel. If you’re always in writing mode, it’s hard to gain perspective on a tricky transition, a flat character, or a plot that lacks tension. 

Allow yourself to walk away from the keyboard and roll those observations into your writing. Your characters will be more interesting, the world more developed, and your readers will thank you.

If you enjoyed this piece, please follow Renée Gendron on Twitter @ReneeGendron.