Putting Flesh on Bone: Building a Novel

As a writer, one of the most common questions I am asked is: "Where do you get your ideas for a novel?' People seem to be fascinated with the initial part of the writing process, the conception of a story. 

Authors, like the rest of the folks on the planet, are as different as grains of sand on a beach. Yet we share commonality as well. There seem to be two basic categories of novelists, Pantsers and Outliners. As I start my third novel, I am transitioning from one to the other.

Pantsers, as the name implies, are authors who write by the seat of their pants. They get an idea or concept for a story and sit down to write. This is exactly how I wrote my first two novels. My first novel, "The Best Dark Rain: A Post-Apocalyptic Struggle for Life and Love," began as a serial. I was writing at least one chapter per week. The chapter was then uploaded to a website where my Beta-Reader Dark Army could read it. Woe betide me if the chapter was not complete.

My second novel, "Blood Rust Chains," was written for the Nanowrite novel competition, which is held yearly in the month of November. The Nanowrite challenge is to write an entire first draft of a novel in thirty days. I was challenged by a friend of mine, also a writer, to participate in Nanowrite. The result, after a grinding thirty days, was a 65,000 word first draft. The idea for the novel came from a dream. From there, I simply tried to hammer it into a story in the allotted thirty days. Of course, that first draft was not a final, polished story. It was, however, an achievement that I am proud of and will probably never attempt to repeat.

Being a Pantser has its joys and sorrows. The joy comes from the organic process of simply beginning a story and tearing into it. The sorrow comes from dead-ends, corners written into, and not knowing exactly where the story is going to go. When I was writing the serial that would become my first novel, what was already uploaded for readers had taken on a life of its own. There was no turning back. To paraphrase the old saying: The Novel Must Go On.

Stories take on a momentum and life of their own. While I was learning the brutal lessons of marketing my first novel, a pile of ideas and notes was growing. This little pile became a file on my laptop, the icon where scraps of characters, ideas, and random thoughts were pigeon-holed. The file, in the upper-left corner of my desktop, continued to nag at me. It was forlorn and feeling forgotten. The nagging is a good thing, a sign that things are moving forward. So it was with this, the Working Title file. And so began my transition to being an Outliner.

An Outliner is, obviously, a writer who builds an outline. This is the antithesis of the Pantser. One saving grace for aspiring writers is that writers love to write, and writers love to write about the process of writing. I did a lot of homework on various methods and tools for outlining a novel. In so doing, I stumbled across the Snowflake Method espoused by Randy Ingermanson. The basic idea of the Snowflake Method is that the shape of a novel begins very simply. Write the novel in one sentence. This is a lot harder than it sounds, but it is a great exercise. Then expand that single sentence into one paragraph. Then expand each sentence of the paragraph into another paragraph. The idea is one of building a series of simple shapes that, when overlaid upon each other, become a complex shape: a snowflake. Thus began my outline.

Here is a link to Randy's website and his super-informative "how-to" on the Snowflake Method.
Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method

My start date was the First of January. I am not a resolution person, but that is just how things worked out. Following the step-by-step directions, I built my outline. Over the next three weeks, I worked with diligence, following the Snowflake Method to the letter. As the sentences became paragraphs, and the paragraphs morphed into a concise list of scenes, I watched the entire story begin to take shape before my eyes. What emerged was the skeleton of a complete novel, consisting of thirty-four chapters and one hundred thirty scenes.

When I was a boy, I had a precious book. The book was "101 Elephant Jokes." I used to torture my father with these jokes, which I thought were hilarious. One of the jokes went something like this: "How do you make a statue of an elephant? Simple, get a ten-ton block of granite and chip off anything that doesn't look like an elephant." This corny joke is, for me, at the core of being a Pantser. Now, as an Outliner, I am working from a totally different direction. Instead of reducing a giant pile of words into the shape of a novel, I am attaching words to a skeleton, adding the muscle and fiber of the story to the bones that support it. 

The act of writing is, if nothing else, an amazing journey. There are many paths to the mountain, with the only caveat being: Tell a Good Story. How one arrives at that story is just a part of the process. I am very curious to see how this process will unfold as I hang the flesh of my tale onto the bones that will, hopefully, support it. 

The outline is now complete. I will begin writing the first draft on Tuesday. One hundred and thirty scenes, each consisting of a thousand words or so, becomes a novel of 130,000 words. I hope to have the first draft completed by the end of April, or about one hundred writing days from now. That's it, that is how it happens. Wish me luck, please, as I will need it along the way. And, as always, thanks for reading.

Marco Etheridge lives and writes in Vienna, Austria, where he is currently at work on his third novel. His first novel, "The Best Dark Rain: A Post-Apocalyptic Struggle for life and Love," is available on Amazon at:

"The Best Dark Rain" on Amazon

Marco's second novel, "Blood Rust Chains," is scheduled for publication in May of this year.

For updates on current novels and projects, please visit Marco's Author Website at:

Marco Etheridge Ficition

A Citizen of the World Replies

Chembra Peak, Western Ghats, Kalpetta, India

I think of myself as a citizen of the World. As a citizen of the World, I am saddened when anyone disparages folks from other countries or cultures. This kind of hateful speech is far worse when the person dispensing cultural slander is a so-called leader of the free world. To use derogatory terms when speaking of other nations, other peoples, or other cultures, is to speak from ignorance and fear. This, then, is my response to words spoken out of ignorance and fear.

I am an incredibly lucky human being. Over the course of my life, particularly the last fifteen years, I have traveled about the world. My motto has become: "Wherever, whenever." During these wanderings, I have trod the soil of more than thirty countries on four continents and the odd sub-continent. The planet has become my playground, an enormous sandbox, with all of the folks in the world for playmates. Some of the places to which I have traveled would be considered incredibly poor, at least when measured by the ruler of 'First-World' standards. Yet everywhere I go, I am treated with generosity and kindness. The lesson that is reinforced for me, journey after journey, is that the human beings on this planet share a great deal more commonality than they do differences.

I meet all sorts of folks whilst traveling. The people I meet hold all manner of beliefs, customs, and favorite local cuisines. These are peoples of all races. Despite the superficial differences, however, what I have discovered is that human beings all over the world want the same basic things. Folks want food to eat, clean water to drink, a decent place to live, a safe place for their family, and a better life for their kids. What I learn, time and again, is that there are far more similarities between people than differences.

Shopping, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

As I wander about, I begin to learn more about other people and more about myself. For instance, folks all over the world love to laugh. They like to sit around and tell jokes, pull pranks, and have a good belly laugh. Sometimes you might find yourself to be the subject of a joke, which, given the differences in language and culture, can be a tricky thing. My experience has been that if I cut loose with my own big laugh, we all end up falling about the place and having a rollicking good time. Therein lies another universal human trait: we all love folks who can laugh at themselves.

Shopping, aquatic style, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Another seemingly universal trait amongst human beings is taking pride in what we do. Folks are pleased when someone expresses an interest in their livelihood,  their profession, or their work. Time and again I have been invited into workshops, stalls, and garages, simply because I expressed an interest in what folks were doing and how they got it done.

Proud Butcher Stall Proprietor, Southern India.

Across the globe, folks like to splash in the water.

Human beings love to play games. And what greater fun than to invite the goofy foreigner to join them in whatever the game de jour might be? I have been invited to join in pickup games of cricket, füssball, sepak takraw (Thai foot badminton), and even Old-Lady aerobics on the public promenade in Cambodia. Go ahead, join in the game. As long as one remembers the rule about being able to laugh at oneself, all will be well. Play well with others, and they will play well with you.

Gecko, Zadar, Croatia

Sometimes there might be critters who live in close proximity with humans. Get used to it, it'll be okay. Besides, they eat the pesky bugs. 

Village Wedding Party, Isaan, Thailand

Folks around this big green globe of ours love to party. Any excuse for a party is probably excuse enough. Folks really love it when a foreigner abandons reticence and joins the fun. Eating, drinking, and dancing are things all human beings can identify with. I have been lucky enough to take part in Independence Day in Panama City, Carnival in Cartagena, 500th Anniversary celebrations in Quito, and village parties in Thailand. Join in, dance, get sweaty, revel with your fellow human beings. Laugh like a maniac when you get squirted with water, colored with crazy dyes, or find yourself dancing with a seventy year-old granny in a bustier on the streets of Panama City. It's all part of the grand pageant, and the sidelines are for voyeurs.

 

People Love to Dance and They Love to Help  

Whether you are a Pooh, a Piglet, or a Christopher Robin, don't forget to shake your booty like there is no tomorrow. And do not be surprised when help comes in unexpected ways. When I stupidly ran out of fuel in the jungle of northern Thailand, it was poor villagers who helped me, not only refusing any money in return, but making sure that I had a cold drink as well. When no one could find my bag in in India, it was a young Hindu kid who searched it out, despite the officials saying it was not there.

Everybody Loves Grub

Folks love to eat, and folks are proud of their local cuisine. Half of the fun of travel is treating your taste buds to exotic new flavors. Take the plunge, belly up to the counter or plant yourself on the rickety plastic chair at the street stand, and dig in. You might not like everything, but the local people will certainly like it that you tried everything.

Indian Shaman Woman, Cuenca, Ecuador

I have found it very important to remember that just because something is not of your culture, this does not mean that it is without value. I received a thorough tune-up from an Indian Shaman in Ecuador. She beat me with a bouquet of flowers and herbs, rubbed an egg all over me, sprayed me with a milky-white fermented drink (sprayed out of her mouth!) and rubbed charcoal on my forehead. Crazy right? I admit that it was. I am also here to tell you is that afterwards I felt great, all tingly and alive. Varied experiences broaden my mind, allowing me to incorporate new and different ideas and customs. Thus my world becomes both larger and more familiar.

Inca Highlands, Ecuador - or - People Love Photo-Ops with the Goofy Foreigner

In conclusion, my experiences across our shared globe have been those of commonality with our fellow travelers. The human beings who share this amazing planet also share the same hopes, dreams, and basic needs. I would ask you, dear reader, to try the following experiment. The next time you hear someone spouting hateful garbage about other countries, cultures, or peoples, ask them if they have a valid passport. 

Thanks for reading! Travel often, travel well, and play nice with others.

The Reverend Squeaky-Eye

Marco Etheridge

Vienna, Austria

January 2018

PS: If you like what you read here, please feel free to pass it on. Sharing is caring. We are all in this together.

Amazon Giveaway

The Best Dark Rain
"Fun and Exciting..."
"This one has legs."
"Gripping with excellent writing"
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"Once you start, you won't want to stop."





The Amazon Giveaway for The Best Dark Rain: A Post-Apocalyptic Struggle for Life and Love ends at midnight tonight, PST.  That means you have less than two hours to enter for one of five chances to win.

Sending a Novel into the World -- or -- A Babe in the Woods

 This post was originally published as a guest post on Amber Gregg's Blog "Judging More than the Cover"        Click here for the original Post

This is a guest post by Marco Etheridge.

You might be someone who dreams of writing a great novel, a novel that will hold readers spellbound. Taking up paper and pen, or more likely laptop and keyboard, you begin to write. Perhaps you are lucky enough to have some beta-readers, friends and family whom you can torture with a first draft. Fueled by their encouragement, you grind through the rewrites, the editing, the proof-reading. Then comes the happy day when you have brought forth a completed novel, a new and sparkling creation into which you have poured your heart and soul. Your baby, this fondling novel that you have created, is now ready to venture out into the jungle of publishing. Poor thing.

For an author, the completion of a novel is but the first step on a long road. In the halcyon days of my youth, back when double-spaced sentences were the norm, there existed the Golden Myth: The Big Contract. Advances! Royalties! Talk-Shows! The thing is, sometimes, for the very lucky and the very few, it actually happened. There were writers at the sharp tip of the iceberg, breathing the rarefied air of the NY Times Bestseller list. These literary lions had publicists and agents, marketing gurus and hotshot editors. At the heart of the Golden Myth was the debut author rocketing to a place amongst these giants of literature. What a lovely fable it was.

In the less-mythical world of modern publishing, the process is normally not so meteoric. Should you desire a traditional publishing contract, you will need a great pitch, a lot of research time, and a very thick skin. Several hundred query letters later, and possessing a file fat with polite rejections, you may have to consider other options. 

There are approximately 500,000 authors selling books on Amazon, and that is just one platform. Therein lies both the salvation and conundrum for debut authors. For salvation, it is quite possible for a debut author to publish on Amazon, Smashwords, and other eBook sites. The process demands determined editing, proof-reading, and hard-won lessons in formatting, but it can be done. For conundrum, your novel is now one small tree amidst a forest of other novels. Using a very conservative figure, more than 100,000 English-language novels were published in 2017. Thus your new novel, whether traditionally or self-published, is wandering in a densely packed jungle of other books, each one crying out for attention.

During those first intoxicating days following publication, you watch your novel’s progress into the world. As friends and family buy your book, hope wells in your heart. Electronic publishing allows almost instantaneous views of one’s book sales, which is both a blessing and a curse. There comes a day, alas too soon, when the friend and family pool runs dry. Sales of your book languish. Your infant novel is now truly on its own. 

Welcome to the world of modern-day publishing. Gone is the era when authors wrote and publicists publicized. It is now the authors who must do the selling, the trench work, the pimping. Publishing houses and agents want authors who have built a "Platform" of online presence, social media marketing, author websites, and the like. It matters not whether you are fortunate enough to have a traditional publishing contract, or are self-published. For both new and established authors the mantra of publishing is: "We are all in Sales.”

The reality of selling your book is that you must become an entrepreneur. The path of the Author becomes the journey of the Author-Entrepreneur. It is a journey full of new and bewildering twists and turns. Meta-Data, Categories, Giveaways, and Search Engine Optimization are just a few of the lessons that lurk along the way. The entire process can be boiled down to one simple question: How can I get my novel noticed by potential readers?

Lest I paint too dark a picture, new authors take heart. There is hope! The nuts and bolts of self-marketing a novel far exceed the scope of this blog post. Fortunately, there is a plethora of information available on how to market one’s book. Writers love to write, and they love to write about the perils of writing.  There exists a wide array of books, articles, blog posts, and podcasts, all dedicated to helping aspiring Author-Entrepreneurs. A simple internet search will reveal many tricks of the trade, tricks that will require diligent work, but which will yield results for your novel. I am obliged to extend my deeply heartfelt thanks to all of the writers out there who have so graciously shared their experience and knowledge.

Authors take heart! Thank you for writing new books. The world needs books, now more than ever. So write a book, publish the book, repeat as needed. Be well, be happy, and keep writing. 

  

An ex-resident of Seattle, Marco Etheridge lives and writes in Vienna, Austria. When he isn’t creating great fiction or being a good Hausmann, he explores the world with his lovely wife. If the sun is shining too brightly, or the birds are too chipper, Marco studies German grammar to create a suitably dark mood for creativity. Marco’s debut novel, The Best Dark Rain: A Post-Apocalyptic Struggle for Life and Love, is available on Amazon.

Click here to go to The Best Dark Rain on Amazon