Working backstage on writing · 9:30pm Sep 1st, 2014
(Note: This is the first of my weekly blog posts. I'll try to alternate writing advice and pony/fandom topics, so there's a little something for everyone.)
I am a lazy writer. Not in terms of not spending a lot of time writing-- I actually do write a lot, even when I’m not publishing (you don’t want to know how many half finished stories I have.) No, I’m a lazy writer in terms of trying to push myself on a story. My goal is to have written a story, preferably something resembling the story I imagined, and as long as that happens I don’t worry much about improving my vocabulary so I know the perfect word to use, or trying to write an atmospheric fic so that I get better at it.
To that end, I’ve figured out how to write something entertaining and surprisingly competent without having to, ya’ know, work. I mean, other than thinking about a story and writing it down. Can’t get around that part.
So, when I’m writing a story, there are two parts to it: The stage, and backstage.
The stage is the story as I imagine it-- what I’d like for the reader to eventually see. Obviously there’s a bunch of thinking that goes on when constructing this part: I need an idea, I need to figure out how the characters work out the central problem (and how long it should take them), I need to make sure that the idea and solution and everything inbetween is in character for the characters I’m using. I think every writer knows this kind of thinking about a story, at least everyone I’ve spoken to-- most of what I talk about with other writers is stuff like “but why would Rainbow Dash have a sewing machine at her house?” or “how long do you think Applejack and Twilight would fight over the organization of booths at the festival they’re planning?”
This can be frustrating, especially when you hit a snag that just doesn’t seem to work itself out. Brainstorming with other people can help, often someone else can offer just the idea you were looking for, or help you take your idea back a few steps to make it something that works. (Basically, if you’re trying to figure out why Rainbow Dash would have a sewing machine at her house, maybe the problem is that you’ve somehow gotten yourself into a position where you need Rainbow Dash to have a sewing machine. If you back up, maybe you can change the story so that instead of Rainbow Dash needing the sewing machine, she takes the thing to Rarity.)
Anyway, that seems obvious to me (is it?) and the stage is what I think of naturally when I think of writing a story. Messing it up tends to lead to the most obvious and objective problems with a story: continuity errors, out of character actions, unrealistic plots or scenes. Usually there’s not much to argue with here, and even if it takes going back to the drawing board, you’re better off doing that than trying to charge ahead straight through a plot hole.
But the stage isn’t all of the story. When we talk about writers we love, often the stage, the story, isn’t really what we’re talking about… most stories could be told in a way that’s interesting or boring, it’s really rare that just the events of a story are so clever that they deserve credit on their own. What tends to make a story really special to people are the decisions made backstage.
As anyone who’s ever worked on a play knows, a lot of what you see onstage in a play is there because of something that happened backstage, which often has nothing to do with the actual story the audience is seeing. People get cast because they fit the giant dragon head, or because the guy they really wanted couldn’t make Thursday rehearsals. No one could find a jelly jar big enough to see from the back row, so that’s really a pickle jar filled with Jello. The theater’s lighting set up is hard to switch around, so scenes that are supposed to be outside all have to take place stage right.
As a writer, I have talents and limitations. I have a limited amount of time to write, and I can only write so many words a minute. I have characters I like writing, and characters I don’t. I like writing scenes of dialogue, I like emotional speeches, and I hate writing action and description. I write on a fanfiction website with a certain kind of audience, and I like pleasing that audience. And I’m not alone in this; every writer ever is working under their own set of conditions that have nothing to do with the story they decided to tell.
Those conditions cause their own sets of problems. For example, I have a weirdly specific habit of thinking of stories that involve pegasi athletic competitions. There’s nothing wrong with this on the stage, they fit with the plot and characters. The problem is that if you’ve ever tried to write an athletic competition, you might have noticed that they’re primarily action and description. As I mentioned above, those are my least favorite things to write. And as I mentioned farther above, I’m a lazy writer who doesn’t like working on things I don’t like to write.
So, if I want to tell a story like that, I have some backstage work to do. Specifically, I have to figure out how to do as little of what I don’t like as possible.
This involves more brainstorming, and in some ways it’s harder than the story kind. When there’s a problem with a story, a solution usually either works or it doesn’t-- the story makes sense or not. When there’s a problem backstage, there might be plenty of solutions that might work on stage, but not all of them are possible given the writer’s limitations.
Often it’s hard to think outside the box here. The story calls for a certain scene, or a certain length, or a certain character; that’s the story, how can it be told without that?
Here’s how:
First, know your limitations. Know what it is that you’re trying to avoid, or what it is about a scene you wrote that you just can’t fix.
Sometimes this is obvious; if you have no idea how to write Applejack’s accent, and you’re having trouble making the dialogue seem right in a scene where Applejack has a lot of dialogue, guess what the problem is likely to be? But sometimes the problem can be more subtle, like a scene that you’re avoiding writing because it puts you into a weird headspace, or something you didn’t realize you don’t like writing because you never tried it before.
When I was writing Maidens Day, I was dealing with one of those pegasi athletic competitions I seem to be so very fond of. I wrote it and it was awful; both boring and too short because every fiber of my being was resisting writing the action showcase a scene like that should be. I did not want to fix that scene, so I got almost the whole story done, then I stopped. It sat, almost finished, for several months.
Someone finally pointed out that I should finish the damn thing, so I looked at the scene again and admitted to myself that I just didn’t want to figure out how to write all that action in a way that would work. Something would have to be done if that story was getting published.
So, once you know there’s a problem backstage, you know you need a work around. The best way to do that is to figure out what you’re good at, and what you like to do.
Now, what you like to write might seem like it has nothing to do with your problem scene. You don’t like writing AJ’s accent, and you’re good at evocative descriptions. How does this help you? That’s the puzzle to figure out. Maybe you could cut the scene down to a bare minimum dialogue, and use a description of how the conversation before and after is happening? Maybe with some brilliant, character defining description people won’t notice or care that the dialogue it surrounds isn’t the most definitive depiction they’ve ever read?
There’s no right answer, because every situation and writer is different, and because any problem might have several solutions that would work. But when you figure it out, suddenly the scene isn’t work, and lazy people can get it written.
With that scene in Maidens Day, I remembered that I like dialogue. I wound up cutting 2/3rds of the events in the scene and adding a different scene where Rainbow Dash tells Twilight and Fluttershy what happened. Rainbow Dash could bring an appropriate energy level, all the details I was worried about establishing could be mentioned, and I was down to one action scene that I could focus on doing moderately well (and hoping that if I didn’t, no one would really notice.)
No one commented on it, so I guess what ended up on stage looked good enough!
Now, there is a danger to this method: It’s distracting and annoying when it becomes obvious to the reader that you wrote something the way you did just to avoid writing something else. That usually happens if you’re really, really bending over backwards to avoid writing it, or if you just straight up tell people on stage that you didn’t feel like writing it.
If I had tried to cut out the whole competition in Maidens Day, and have the characters talk about the whole thing, that would have been obvious. One specific event from that competition was important to the plot, and stuff like that has to be shown or you’re cheating the audience. Or with the AJ’s accent example, giving AJ laryngitis for the whole fic so that she never has to speak when it has nothing to do with the plot will probably tip people off that you don’t know how to write her, which isn’t going to make them confident in you as a writer.
On the other hand, most things you write will be the first thing you think of. You’ll write it the most obvious way, because it was obvious. Working around will often force you to write something in a way that most people wouldn’t. If it succeeds, it’s likely to be both good (because you’re playing to your strengths) and more interesting, creatively, than your original idea. I’m not saying it’ll be genius, it’s just not how most other people would have done it.
Of course, you could always work at your writing and try to get better at everything. Let it never be said that the non-lazy route doesn’t work. Sometimes it’s even better than being lazy. You can actually write the stories in your head without having to bang your head into a wall trying to think your way out of boxes.
Also, some people seem to think all of this thinking and banging your head against the wall is more work than just learning to write a damn action scene. That might be true, if you’re not the type of person who’d like to sit for three evenings, staring at a word doc and trying to figure out how to Macgyver a work of fiction out of your personal flaws and hang-ups. All I can say is that if you’re not willing to put the work into being lazy, you’re going to have to get to work.
This was the first of my weekly blogs, sponsored by Jake R, Kiro Talon,Maskedferret, Singularity Dream, bats, Merc the Jerk, nemopemba, Everhopeful, and Diremane. Thanks, you guys. If anyone else wants to help me out, get mentioned, and get other vaguely cool things from me, check out this post for details!
This was very nice. I think the reason I like Skywriter so much is that not only is what he writes amazing, but how he writes it.
Awesome post. I had never considered this concept before.
"So, Rainbow Dash, why did you have a sewing machine in your house?"
Rainbow thought about the secret cloud compartment in back of her thinly occupied closet, and the hoof-sewn Wonderbolts outfit she had hanging there. True, the outfit had more than a few places that puffed out where ponies puffed in and there may or may not have been five legs sewn on it, as well as a number of holes for however many tails a pony might have, but it was her own creation, and she was proud of it.
"Eh, I just had one from some stuff I bought."
Just not proud enough of it to share.
2420946 now I want to see this as a story where sweetie belle and rainbow dash bond over the fact that when they try to see stuff they both end up making clothing with 5 legs.
It must be strange having such a clear idea what you like writing and what you're good at writing and what your limitations are. That's a crazy level of self awareness. I almost can't imagine looking at a scene and saying, 'I'm not going to write it like this because I like writing like that.'
Can't sponsor, but for what it's worth, hope you're holding up alright.
Oh wow...this was nice.
Hey, you spelled my name wrong! :P nice blog post. this is a topic I discussed a lot with my sister when she started writing, and I agree with HoofBitingActionOverload, that you do seem incredibly self aware on this topic. Definitely a good thing though. I liked that you mentioned what you did in Maidens' Day, because I remember being disappointed that we didn't get to see the actual competition. I felt better once rainbow started talking though, so the dialogue was good enough to distract from the missing action, which seems to have been the point anyways.