How To Write

Written by Michael LaRocca


LEARNING HOW TO WRITE Copyright 2004, Michael LaRocca

As a student of Spanish, my goal was to think in Spanish. Skiprepparttar word-by-word translation so I'd haverepparttar 129049 necessary speed to speak and listen. I know words in Spanish that I'd be hard pressed to translate. Usually profanity, I confess. Chingow!

For years my students here in China have studied grammar, and know it better than you or I. They read. They write. But speaking involves moving faster than that. In conversation, we don't have time to write it first and make sure it's all grammatically flawless, then read it aloud, perhaps after a bit of rehearsal.

So, I try to give them a chance to practice putting words together onrepparttar 129050 fly, rules be damned. The rules they've internalized will kick in and keep them comprehensible, which will build their confidence in their ability to keep creating conversation that way.

This is not unlike what we go through as authors. First we study rulebooks, perhaps take some classes, and conclude just about everything we're is doing is wrong. So many rules to memorize. We might dread sitting down to write with all those constraints.

But really, it's not about memorizing rules at all. It's about internalizingrepparttar 129051 rules, following them (or not if you prefer) without being consciously aware of what they are. They're there, but inrepparttar 129052 background.

The story's what matters. You're supposed to be having fun, not "working." At least not duringrepparttar 129053 creation phase.

The One-Plot Wonder

Written by Michael LaRocca


THE ONE-PLOT WONDER Copyright 2004, Michael LaRocca

Back inrepparttar mid to late 1980s I was a security guard. The pay was lousy, but it gave me many hours in seclusion to write short stories and novels. However, I usually worked over 80 hours a week. No one can write that much. Well, at least not me. Thus I discoveredrepparttar 129047 joys of my local libraries.

Recently, I decided to look up an author who gave me great pleasure in those days. Most of his books are now out of print, I've learned, evenrepparttar 129048 one that became a movie.

I found that two of his were books available, so I ordered them. One I'd enjoyed before. The other was a straight thriller fromrepparttar 129049 days before he createdrepparttar 129050 "Appleton Porter" spy spoofs, re-released in 2001 in POD. I didn't know this before it arrived at my home in China.

Since I'm giving away THE plot spoiler, I won't identifyrepparttar 129051 author or title.

A man who deeply loves his wife buys her a hotel outside London. She is very happy there, at first. This is a fine suspenseful read as she notes oddities and eventually appears to be losing her mind and such. Suicides, an eventual murder. Finally, her husband pays a doctor to kill her.

The husband arranged all this, we learn atrepparttar 129052 end, because she was dying of a horrible and incurable illness. Rather than let her sufferrepparttar 129053 indignity, he tries to give her some final days filled with wonderful memories. He never realizes that he ended her days with a living hell.

The writing was fine, aside from some stupid typos ofrepparttar 129054 sort common in unedited POD titles. He's obviously a sincere, hard-working, talented author. The plot was wholly consistent and everything "worked."

So why is it a weak book? Becauserepparttar 129055 plot I described is all there is. It's a one-plot wonder.

As an author, if you find yourself floundering, if you find your work-in-progress failing to make progress, ask yourself. Is it a one-plot wonder?

Here are some best sellers I've read overrepparttar 129056 past thirty years.

Duringrepparttar 129057 Cold War, a Soviet commander steals a top-secret submarine and tries to defect torepparttar 129058 US with it. A good and idealistic young law graduate accepts a job too good to be true, only to eventually learn he's working forrepparttar 129059 Mafia. An alcoholic ex-author and his family become caretakers at an old Maine hotel, alone duringrepparttar 129060 winter, and he eventually goes nuts. A US President declares war on drug dealers, a "clear and present danger" to national security. A crippled author is kidnapped byrepparttar 129061 ultimate fan.

I choose these titles because all were made into movies I've seen. None of my plot summaries are wrong. But with some of those novels, there are many more plots and subplots at work. These arerepparttar 129062 novels that didn't always translate well torepparttar 129063 big screen due to time constraints and/or loss of non-objective voice.

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