The Writer's Connection(sm),
a publication of The Virtual Writing Coach(sm)

"The Creative Process of Writing is a
Liberating and Therapeutic Experience"

virtualwritingcoach.com
June 2003

In This Issue:

1. Preview
2. Publisher's Note
3. Creating the Story: Plot and Hook
4. Getting into Action

1. Preview

The Writer's Connection explores the creative process of writing and the interplay between thoughts, feelings, and actions. We are an interactive community of authors and readers who share ideas to enhance our knowledge, skills, and experiences in writing fiction in any genre, but our emphasis remains mystery and suspense thrillers.
Published monthly, the Newsletter offers writing tips for authors, coaching suggestions, editing, and marketing information.

Topics are presented from the perspective of Keith Barton and represent only his ideas on producing your first manuscript, and are provided to the general public. Because we are an interactive community of writers, other viewpoints are welcomed and may be printed in future monthly newsletters with permission from Keith Barton.

2. Publisher's Note

June, 2003

Dear Writer's Connection Subscriber,

This issue features creating the story for mysteries and suspense thrillers with the two most critical elements being the plot and hook.

3. Creating the Story: Plot and Hook

Story lines come from many sourcesmovies, personal experience, conversations, books, magazines, plays, storytelling, and most directly, from one's imagination. I'm often asked (as many of you are) how one comes up with an idea for a story. Many of us let an idea "stew" for a time before we jump in front of our laptops. Writing is the result of one's passion. Just as our stream of consciousness unfolds into reality, does one finally see what might make for a possible story. Authors are an intuitive lot and derive their ideas from this interplay of conscious and unconscious. Although there is a formula and technique for writing mysteries, the plot is perhaps the most important element. Good fiction is an exaggeration of real life. All one needs is to glance at the headlines and sound bites to see the unmistakable confluence of fantasy and reality. It is becoming more difficult to weave a good plot without the reader being drawn to the events of 9-11, the Middle East, crime, abuse, greed, corruption, and cover-ups. Nevertheless, we owe our readers the unique opportunity to become a part of our imagination and to entertain them for a few hours in our age of video streams, DVDs, and instant messaging.

To give you a sense of how stories are created, I would like to take you back to 2002, on a trip to the "garden island" of Kauai. My wife and I were vacationing on the north side of the island near Princeville. I've always loved the water, being a 'navy brat' and having lived on the water most of my life. For many of us, water is a source of inspiration and nourishment. The idea for my last book, The Kauai Connection, was born out of the beautiful island setting of Kauai, like many of my books. For me, I want to take the reader on an adventure to exotic places. That means researching the area, people, customs, and living and becoming more of the landscape. The opening scene of the "lone, prostrate figure atop the NaPali coast" was conceived by my actual hike up one of the many trails on the northwest side of the island. A helicopter ride over this magnificent coastline provided the inspiration for a story that I wanted to tell. But I had not yet found a suitable plot to keep the reader glued to the story. Without a plot, my writing would have been merely a travelogue--a reminder of an old Wendy's commercial tag line of "where's the beef?"

It was on my final departure from Honolulu after visiting the sacred site of the Arizona Memorial and reading the plaque of those brave men who remain entombed in those waters in Pearl Harbor, that my plot was born. I wanted to pay homage to our servicemen who gave their lives on that fateful day. I am a World War II nut, and grew up with war movies; what else are you going to see when you spend your first twelve years on a naval base? My father served on a naval destroyer in the South Pacific from 1943-45 and many of his stories still resonate with me. From a historical perspective, I was also interested in how FDR was able to finesse our entry into WW II. I was drawn to Robert Stinnett's non-fictional account in his book, Day of Deceit, which is listed in the Afterword of the book. My challenge was to fictionalize a scenario preceding the attack on Pearl Harbor, involving the protagonist. As the story unfolds I use scene shifts to transport the reader back fifty years and use Jack's (the protagonist) father as the back story for the plot. As I'm writing each chapter becomes a scene and has a beginning, middle, and end point. The transition between chapters (or scenes) takes place at the end of the preceding chapter or beginning of the current chapter. Frequent shifts occur to keep the reader absorbed in the plot. Many authors use this technique, called shifting, to change point-of-view, or to control pacing in the story. I use the scene shifts to keep the otherwise bored reader challenged and entertained, hopefully. It's also more exciting for the writer and eliminates the tedious attention to detail to create a scene (like Michener or Clancy) rather than allowing the reader to fill in the gaps. I typically write from a stream of consciousness on the first draft and let my editing provide the linkages and even flow of the story.

Critical to any good mystery and suspense thriller plot is plausibility. If the reader doesn't buy it, then he/she won't read the book. Simple as that. You cannot insult the reader. Most are ardent fans of storytelling and you have to establish a credible plot early in your storytelling. The remaining element in mysteries is to have a "hook" that keeps the reader involved and forces the reader to turn the page. A "hook" should occur in the first three chapters or your reader will put the book down for someone else to read. The formula is thus to have a believable plot, beginning hook, imaginative setting, and protagonist to whom the reader is drawn (also works for the villain or antagonist).

In the next issue we will discuss tempo and pacing.


4. Getting into Action

"Getting in to Action" is a monthly feature of The Writer's Connection. In this section of our Newsletter, we will discuss action steps the writer can take to improved his/her knowledge base in writing novels.

"This Month's Recommendation(s)"



1. Look at James Patterson's novels and notice how quickly he engages the reader. In his latest book Four Blind Mice a brutal murder of three women occurs in the first five pages.

2. In Michael Crichton's book, Prey, the reader is drawn to what went wrong at Xymos. The reader is quickly drawn to the tension between husband and wife. Look at other thrillers that hook the reader in the first chapter. Ask yourself the question: do I want to spend the next few hours with this book?

3. Write an opening chapter that catches the reader's attention with something mysterious, unexplained, brutal, or counterintuitive. Let a friend read your opening paragraph and ask him/her if they would want to see another chapter.


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Contact Information

Keith Barton, Ph.D.
Voice: 281-893-5405
Fax: 281-893-1735
Web: http://www.virtualwritingcoach.com
E-Mail: keith@virtualwritingcoach.com
(c) Copyright 2003 A. Keith Barton, Ph.D.
All rights reserved.

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Republication of The Writer's Connection (sm) in paper media is encouraged and permitted by individuals, organizations and associations, as long as the issue is reprinted in its entirety, without change, and includes the contact information.

With advance permission, we are happy to edit an issue to fit your space requirements. Republication also is encouraged under other circumstances. However, the advance permission of A. Keith Barton, Ph.D. must be obtained in the event that changes in the text are desired.

The Writer's Connection Mission:

The Writer's Connection is dedicated to helping first-time authors create their first manuscript for publication and to offer an exchange of ideas and opinions from our readers who might be interested in becoming authors.

The Writer's Connection™ is a publication of The Virtual Writing Coach and Keith Barton, Ph.D. and a registered trademark.

We would like The Writer's Connection to be as interactive as possible. If you have feedback, comments, topics you would like addressed, or can suggest additional resources to benefit us all, please email us at any time. Send your e-mail to
keith@virtualwritingcoach.com.

Please forward this issue to anyone you think would find The Writer's Connection interesting and beneficial. Your recommendation helps us keep growing, and ensures an excellent exchange of information and techniques.

Archives

You can read previous issues of The Writer's Connection at our archive at http://www.virtualwritingcoach.com/archive.html.

About Keith Barton, Ph.D.

Dr. Barton received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of Texas at Austin and has been a practicing therapist for over thirty years. He is currently enrolled in MentorCoach and is accepting new clients. He has been an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina, consultant to Fortune 500 companies in executive development, founded and managed Texas Community Living Ventures, Inc., in 1986 for providing group home services to persons with mental retardation, and for the past 13 years founded and runs a clinical practice in Northwest Houston. He writes part-time with the goal of completing one novel a year. His desire to coach others derives from his passionate interest in helping others become attuned to their creative powers of storytelling.

Dr. Barton has training in coaching, cognitive and family therapy and health psychology. He has published articles, made presentations and conducted workshops about:

Anxiety and achievement
Stress management
Self-esteem
Communication skills
Marital/relationship enrichment
Wellness issues
The relationship between psychology and spirituality

© 2003 The Virtual Writing Coach and Keith Barton.