How to Weave Plot Threads Without Going Insane

September 28, 2015October 4, 2015 / Eve Messenger / 8 Comments

Recently, I’ve had to face the cold, hard fact that I do not write simple plots. Very “not simple” plots, though I will stop short of calling them complicated. In coming to terms with this, my first instinct is to get very, very nervous, as in: how in the hell am I going to weave all these plotlines together into a cohesive story? Sure, the plot makes sense in my head, but piecing it all together on the page is another matter entirely.

So how do I avoid getting tangled up in plot threads? Since I don’t personally know any professional writers To ask, I turned to my good friend Google for advice.

One of the first things that pops up is “Calendaring Your Story,” an article by writer Mindy Obenhaus. One of the things she says that really pops out at me is that she is “a visual person, not to mention somewhat detail-oriented.” That’s me, too. I am most comfortable processing information visually, so when it comes to plotting a novel, it makes sense to create a visual representation of my plotlines, a timeline that shows all the major plotlines side by side.

But how?

Obenhaus apparently uses a calendar, a large, desk-sized one. Other writers create Word tables or Excel spreadsheets. Still others use flashcards, a different color for each plot thread. And there are surely plenty of other methods crafty writers have come up with for calendaring their plotlines. (If you have any ideas you’d like to share, please feel free to comment.)

Then I remembered that at a company I once worked for we entered departmental events into an online calendar, with each department displayed in a different color, a multi-person event calendar, something like this:

Maybe this could work for calendaring plotlines, thought I.

So I tried it.

First, I found a decent online multi-person calendar at TeamUp.com, a free version that allows you to calendar up to ten different people/plotlines.
Then I got to have fun deciding which color best represented each of my major characters/plotlines.
After that, I started entering major plot points and, right away, the process got me thinking about my novel in new ways. For instance, I realized that my original plan didn’t logically allow enough time between a couple of key events.

Now the “heavy lifting” begins. I’ll need to really think about each major milestone and decide precisely when it should occur so I can put it on a calendar. I KNOW (as hard as I try to resist this) that calendaring my plot lines will make me much less confused than I was with my first two novels. As convoluted as those first drafts were, I’m thinking surely this will be an improvement.

Top Time Slip Movies – Ranked Best to Worst

September 22, 2015October 19, 2025 / Eve Messenger / 6 Comments

Redemption, magic, nostalgia, revelation, danger – what’s not to love about time travel movies? If you’re a time travel movie buff like me, you’ll probably enjoy this list of 40+ time travel movies and maybe agree or strongly disagree with their rankings. Most of these films feature characters who slip through time on some sort of cosmic magic (rather than building their own Wellesian time machines), so a more accurate term for them would be “time slip” or “time loop” movie. Enjoy! And please let me know if there are any other great time travel movies I should add to the list.

1. Groundhog Day – A masterpiece. Harold Ramis and Bill Murray achieve the perfect balance of comedy and drama.

2. 12 Monkeys – The concept, look, and acting are brilliant. In true Terry Gilliam fashion, this is a one-of-a-kind film. Also made into a 2015 Syfy series.

3. Terminator 1 – Sarah Conner and Kyle Reese might just have my vote for all-time favorite movie romance.

4. Donnie Darko – A masterfully dark film with brilliant acting. Real-life siblings Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal play siblings in the film.

5. 13 Going on 30 – Pure fun. Love the ‘80s references and the magic.

6. Somewhere in Time – Heartbreakingly lovely film score and perfect location: the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Before she got into selling heart necklaces, Jane Seymour was a stunning and talented actress, at her most exquisite in this film. I would have gone back in time for Elise McKenna, too.

7. Source Code – Exciting, surprising, with first-rate acting. Vera Farmiga is, as usual, a revelation

8. 9 Times – I’ll admit I cheated with this one since 9 Times is actually a Korean miniseries, but I love it so much I had to include it.

9. Butterfly Effect – Dark, intriguing, underrated. 113 minutes of screen time with Ashton Kutcher is never a bad thing.

10. Fetching Cody – Indie, quirky, loved it.

11. The Family Man – A lot of heart, excellent redemption movie.

12. Back to the Future – Classic fun.

13. About Time – Sweet, romantic, totally worth watching. Domhall Gleeson is the perfect everyman.

13b. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once – This action-packed, absurdist 2022 film starring Michelle Yeoh and amazing newcomer Stephanie Hsu, is outrageously creative. Surprise: it’s not based on a book. The film’s somewhat low-budget look and instances of bathroom humor are its only detractions.

Ambitious, Outrageous 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' Is All That and More | Vanity Fair

14. Idiocracy – Great commentary on reality TV society.

15. Looper – Big budget, compelling. Some sci-fi purists are put off by how this movie breaks time travel rules, but I was happy to suspend disbelief, especially since I’m a big fan of Emily Blunt’s. Incidentally, three movies on this list star Emily Blunt — maybe she likes time travel movies, too.

16a. The Time Traveler’s Wife – Well shot and romantic, but couldn’t live up to the beautiful book by Audrey Niffenegger.

16b. The Way Home. A Hallmark series done right. Another time slip story with Andie MacDowell in the cast. This has a lot of heart.

17. The Edge of Tomorrow – An exciting film that would have been much better with a different actor in the lead role.

18. Peggy Sue Got Married – Cute, worth watching

19. It’s a Wonderful Life – A classic and the only black and white movie on this list.

20. Hot Tub Time Machine – I’m not too proud to admit I like silly movies, especially those involving time travel–like this one.

21. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure – A classic romp and actually kind of educational.

22. Deja Vu. Denzel Washington is always great. The plot is a little weak, but the movie has a good time slip concept. Best of all, it stars the always great Denzel Washington, buff James Caviezel, and a great ensemble of actors playing the science/tech crew.

21a. Happy Accidents. Marissa Tomei.

22b. The Adjustment Bureau – Creative concept. Would be better if Matt Damon and Emily Blunt actually had on-screen chemistry.

23. Safety Not Guaranteed – Totally indie, mostly in a good way. Aubrey Plaza is hilarious in every role she plays.

24. Sliding Doors –Interesting ideas. The alternate realities were edited together well.

24a. Sound of My Voice – Compelling docu-style indie flick. Rough around the edges with something troublingly beautiful at its heart.

24b. Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel is another film on this list tied for 24th place. FAQATT stars Chris O’Dowd, who’s always fun to watch. The film has an overall goofy feel, but there are dark and shocking moments as well. Anna Faris was a refreshing surprise.

25. Twice Upon a Yesterday – Has an uneven tone but is worth watching. Recognize the brunette on the right? Yep, that’s Lena Headey (AKA Circe from Game of Thrones).

26. Millenium – Great concept based on a John Varley short story, but the 1989 movie looks out of date. This is a movie that must be remade.

27. Minority Report – Slick. Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick.

28. Time Bandits – Not my cup of tea, but some people love it.

29. Heaven Can Wait – A classic that might feel slow-paced for modern moviegoers.

30. Shuffle – Indie, troubling in a good way, a little disjointed, but that happens sometimes in time travel movies.

31. The Philadelphia Experiment – Typical ‘80s dick flick. Some conspiracy theorists claim this film is based on a true story, as in an entire naval ship really did disappear.

32. Frequency – Some people really like this movie, but it didn’t really do it for me.

33. The Lake House – Interesting concept but didn’t have much life.

34. Heart and Souls – Unique and sustained my interest, but like many of early Robert Downey, Jr. movies there was something a bit off about it.

35. Primer – Indie, good concept, realistic, but maybe a little too much testosterone and technical stuff for me because I kept falling asleep.

36. Touchback – Sweet if not a little too simplistic.

37. From Time to Time – Good cast but slow.

38. A Kid in King Arthur’s Court – Cute.

39. Bedtime Stories – Adam Sandler is in it and there’s magic; that’s about it.

40. I’ll Follow You Down – I had high hopes for this one, especially since Gillian Anderson is in it (“Fall,” anyone?). The movie looks good, but it really disappointed in the time travel department.

More Time Travel Movies to See:

Me Myself I with Rachel Griffiths

Erased, based on the Japanese manga

What Makes a Character Likable?

September 19, 2015December 15, 2015 / Eve Messenger / 23 Comments

Lately, I’ve run across way too many YA book reviews that decry the extreme unlikability of main characters. Are writers making their protagonists too unlikable? Sure, writing an engaging main character is a complex process–we like our protagonists flawed and thus more interesting, but isn’t it also important for them to be likable enough to root for through an entire novel?

With fictional characters–as with real people–“engaging” and “likable” are subjective, to be sure. In Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train, for example, some readers find the protagonist Rachel so incredibly flawed that she’s just too pitiful to root for; others, like me, find her compelling and sympathetic in her way. The truth is, no characters in The Girl on the Train are heroic in a classic sense, but the story still works. That’s just good writing, so kudos to Paula Hawkins.

So…what makes a character likable? Here’s my list. Tell me if I missed anything.

What Makes a Character Likable?

1. Must feel extremely passionate about something.
2. Has at least one person she’s willing to fight for.
3. Isn’t too perfect.
4. Has a troubled life.
5. Isn’t overly whiny about her troubled life.
6. Has a special talent, skill, or exceptional personality trait.
7. Sees the world in a unique way.
8. Is aware of her own flaws and grows or changes in some way. (added by blogger eclecticscribblings)
9. BONUS: Has a sense of humor, especially about herself. (added by blogger Aedifice)

In other news, I’m falling madly in love with my latest work in progress, a contemporary YA with time travel and a ghost. Had to share. 🙂

— Eve

New Writing/Publishing Terms – What Do They Mean?

September 9, 2015October 10, 2015 / Eve Messenger / 6 Comments

To further my mission to become a successful published author, I’ve been delving more deeply into the online world of writing and publishing (mostly through blogs and Twitter), and have learned a lot, especially about agents, query letters, and great new books to read. Along the way, I stumble across unfamiliar terms, so I decided to post some of them here for the edification of newbies like me and for the amusement of pros who’ve probably known them for years.

Agent/publisher time – This always means U.S. East Coast time, as in, if an agent tweets, “We’ll be answering questions on #askagent at 2pm,” s/he means 11am PST. (I learned this the hard way.)

ARC – Advanced Readers Copy. (By the way, I recently and happily won my first free ARC, Hide and Seek, by Jane Casey.)

#askagent – highly informative twitter hashtag for writers wishing to ask agents questions in real time

HEA – Happily Ever After

Klout score – the reach and engagement of your social media platforms

OTP – One True Pairing. Yeah, it’s a romance thing.

PB – picture book

SimSubs – simultaneous submissions, as in when a literary magazine allows writers to submit stories also being shopped to other publications.

TBR – to be read (as in, “I’m really excited to read the books on my TBR list.”)

TSTL – Too Stupid to Live (in regards to the characters that are just, well, stupid, or weak)– added by blogger Michelle

Upmarket – literary fiction with commercial potential.

WF – women’s fiction.

Okay, tangent alert: what is it about the label WF that is so wtf? While I’m usually one who blindly grab books off fiction shelves regardless of genre, I do appreciate the need for genre classification and have been known to look up genre tags to see if a book is something I might be interested in. However, “women’s fiction?” Really? Human conditions portrayed in literature by men are never categorized as male fiction, so why the sweeping label on women’s fiction that does the same?

I find the sweeping genre classification of the last term, WF, somewhat troubling, so I explore that here a bit beyond a simple definition. I’d be interested to hear your views on it, too. Feel free to share any other writing/publishing acronyms you’ve run across.

Author Randy Susan Meyers intelligently explores this question in ‘Women’s Fiction?’ ‘Men’s Fiction?’ ‘Human Fiction?’ I highly recommend it.

This Summer’s Three Favorite Reads and What They Taught Me

August 25, 2015August 25, 2015 / Eve Messenger / 5 Comments

My three favorite reads this summer were The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, and The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black.

Neil, Rachel, and Holly, thank you – you not only captivated, thrilled, and entertained me with your wonderful stories but, by your example, you proved to be wonderful writing teachers. Here’s what I learned.

Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
Omniscient POV

– Make sure there’s tension with very high stakes from the get-go.
– Cleverly reveal characters and events in ways that allow readers to put together clues and figure out for themselves what is happening, like an inside secret between author and reader.
– Do a little historical research then let your imagination soar.

Rachel Hartman – Seraphina
1st Person POV

– Know your world so well you don’t have to explain it. Start the story in a way that reveals your alternate world in all of its differentness without confusing the reader.
– Have a clear understanding of the desires and weaknesses of each of your characters, not just the main ones, so that each one shows growth by the end of the story.

Holly Black – The Darkest Part of the Forest
3rd Person POV

– Set up the story in vivid detail, making the reader think they’re stepping into a normal teen world but then gradually revealing that this is not, in fact, a normal world at all. That kind of creeping revelation is so satisfying.
– Be a keen observer of human nature.

Rejection Letters – Save them or Trash Them?

August 21, 2015August 21, 2015 / Eve Messenger / 6 Comments

b&w art by Steph-lol – DeviantArt.com

Why save a rejection letter?
It’s an example of my tenacity! Evidence that somewhere in the world, someone has read my work.
But it’s a rejection letter, a generic one at that.
Rejection – dejection. The editor didn’t think your story was as amazing as you did.
A rejection letter is evidence of my ineptitude.
But some response is better than none at all. I’ll save it in a computer file.
Why? In saving a rejection letter, am I hanging onto something negative that might taint my writing in nearby files?

Or maybe…
I’m thinking about it too much.

On to writing the next piece, plotting the next novel, submitting the next story.
I’ll deal with what to do with rejection letters the next time I receive one.
I’m okay with that.
For now.

Progress, Reflection, and Peggy Lee

August 16, 2015August 18, 2015 / Eve Messenger / 9 Comments

Peggy Lee was at her most beautiful when she sang.

When chanteuse-poet-businesswoman Peggy Lee was still just little Norma Delores Egstrom from Nowhere, North Dakota, she carried around a piece of paper on which she’d written: “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon . . . must inevitably come to pass.” She was maybe all of ten years old at the time. I’m much older, but that is also what I am doing: vividly imagining, ardently desiring, sincerely believing, and enthusiastically acting on my dream of being a successful published author of many bestselling novels.

This summer, while on break from my job as a music and language teacher, I’m throwing myself more into writing than ever, and I’m educating myself on how to break into the publishing world. In between bouts of plotting and writing novels and short stories, I’m “attending” Google University in earnest, blogging, tweeting, and happily connecting with other aspiring writers. I also purchased a Duotrope subscription to more easily find markets and track short story submissions, and I’ve been researching literary agents.

When I feel defeated, frustrated, worried, nervous, or especially when I compare myself unfavorably with great writers, I tell myself that there are all kinds of books, all kinds of writing, all kinds of writers, and I’m writing, writing, writing to improve and move myself forward.

Since starting summer break in late July, I’m proud to report that I’ve gotten a lot done. I wasn’t sure if I should include all this navel-gazing in my blog, but here goes.

Completed fourth draft of YA fantasy novel and sent to freelance editor for developmental editing suggestions. This was big, people; SO many hours went into completing that fourth draft.
Half finished researching and plotting new YA time travel novel, Firefly. 4,000 words written. Super excited to write this because it’s my first time travel story, but I’m nervous because I think it’s going to take me to some emotionally dark places (but in a good way?).
Recently submitted two short stories, Tilly of Lurra and The Girl I Choose to Write About, to print publications. I started with the most prestigious literary magazines, where competition is the stiffest, so I’ll let you know if I hear anything back.
Researched numerous literary agents, narrowing down to top 20, including three dream agents.
Thanks to shark/agent Janet Reid’s blog, I tried my hand at a couple of flash fiction pieces, one of which got an honorable mention in her blog.
Completed rough draft of a new short story, tentatively titled August Days, for eventual submission to “On the Premises” contest.
Outlined a new short story, We Were Vaudeville, to be submitted to Brilliant Flash Fiction Magazine.
Coming up: three short stories I wrote during last school year, Thorns, Hi-Fi in Eastern Kentucky, and 17 You-Me Reality Planes, will need a couple more revisions (and probably new titles – I’m titling impaired, unfortunately) before they’re ready to ship out to short story markets.

If you’ve read this far, thank you! I really appreciate being able to share my progress with you.

Eve

Writer, How Do You Reward Yourself?

August 13, 2015August 15, 2015 / Eve Messenger / 4 Comments

In the amorphous, potentially unstructured existence of a writer, it can be easy to fetter away precious writing time with distractions around the house, catching up on our favorite literary agents’ tweets, researching story tidbits, getting our slippers on just right, you name it. Before you know it, writing time vanishes and it’s time to interact with humanity, do chores, earn a paycheck, whatever.

Enter: goal-setting. Setting goals, and rewarding myself when I achieve them, has made me a much more productive writer. Goal-setting certainly isn’t a new idea — tons of prolific authors do it. Crime thriller novelist Elmore Leonard wouldn’t allow himself a cup of morning coffee until he’d put in an hour of writing. That’s dedication. ::sip::

GOALS

Having a prioritized list of writing goals on hand really helps keep you focused. Some examples from my writing to-do list include:

[ ] write next two chapters of WIP

[ ] spend 30 minutes outlining next book

[ ] edit new draft of short story

REWARDS

Along the way, as you accomplish your writing goals, it’s important to reward yourself. This, I think, is the part a lot of people overlook. Here are some examples of rewards I give myself. I’m always on the lookout for new ones, so if you’ve got good suggestions for rewards that cost little to no money, please post in the comments.

green pens – I don’t really have writing superstitions or inclinations other than this: I love editing in green ink.
small notebooks for jotting down story ideas where cell phones aren’t convenient or allowed.
online subscriptions to sites like Duotrope and QueryTracker
allowing myself to spend time on social media, blogs, author sites, etc.

I hope this helps you in some way. Happy writing!

10 Favorite Questions for Writers and Readers

August 8, 2015August 8, 2015 / Eve Messenger / 4 Comments

Literature lovers, come on in and try your hand at answering any or all of these fun questions about writing and reading. Here’s a cup of tea to sip on while you consider your answers. (Your favorite kind of tea? What a coincidence.)

1. What’s your favorite book cover?

2. Do you read books more than once? Which ones?

3. What’s the scariest thing about writing?

4. What is the most amazing thing about writing?

5. Where is your favorite place to write? To read?

6. When’s your best time of day to write? Why?

7. What are some of your favorite words?

8. What’s one thing that would tell you you’ve “made it” as a writer?

9. In terms of writing or reading, what’s the best thing anyone could say to you right now?

10. Insert your own question here and then please answer it (because I couldn’t think of a tenth question).

11. Have you ever been published? Where? (I did come up with a tenth question, oh well.)

Three Books. Which Should I Read First?

August 7, 2015August 7, 2015 / Eve Messenger / 25 Comments

My first mistake was to get, not one, not two, but three delicious novels all on the same day. Each has exactly the kind of lyrical, sweep-me-off-my-feet writing I’m in the mood for. Each features a fabulous opening passage and is highly recommended.

Now for my quandary: Which novel do I read first? Fellow bibliophiles, you haven’t steered me wrong yet. The nominees for first book to read are:

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater – Though I’m not usually a reader of werewolf stories, Stiefvater’s artsy tweets tipped me over the edge.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman – I’ve read so many fabulous reviews of this book, just had to get it.

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood – Can you believe I’ve never read a Margaret Atwood book? Not even the Handmaiden’s Tale. It was time.