Audible.com Listening Club – Reviewer of the Month

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Michael Cavacini

Today, the Audible.com Listening Club named me its “Reviewer of the Month” for my blog post about Steven James’ audiobook, Placebo. I’m always honored to receive an award, and this is a great group. If you love audiobooks, make sure to check it out.

Steven James’ Keys to Organic Writing

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Michael Cavacini

At ThrillerFest VIII I attended Steven James’ CraftFest session on organic writing, (i.e., writing without an outline). Following his presentation, James provided the audience with a handout summarizing his advice. For those interested in writing, below are highlights from the handout.

Keys to Organic Writing

Let narrative forces rather than formulas drive your story forward. Imagine a giant ball of clay being held by a group of people. As one person presses against the clay it changes shape.

The clay is your story; the people surrounding it represent the narrative forces pressing in on it. For example:

Believability: The characters in your story need to act in contextually believable ways. All the time.
Causality: Everything that happens in a story will be caused by the thing that precedes it.
Inevitability & Surprise: The end of every scene must not just be logical, but, in retrospect, the only possible conclusion to that scene. Scenes will end in a way that’s unexpected and yet satisfying to readers.
Escalation: The tension must continue to escalate, scene by scene, until it reaches a climax after which nothing is ever the same again.
Scenes & Setbacks: If nothing is altered, you do not have a scene. If your characters solve something without a setback, you do not have a story – you have a setup for a story, an event, but that’s all.
Continuity: Think of pace as the speed at which things are happening, think of narrative energy as the momentum that’s carrying them along.
Story & Genre Conventions: Readers enter a story with expectations based on their understanding of story and of the genre they’re reading. You need to know the principles of storytelling and be familiar enough with genre conventions to meet or exceed your readers’ expectations without resorting to using cliches.

When you know the right questions to ask, your story will unfold in unique, unpredictable and fulfilling ways.

Escalation:

Does this scene ratchet up the tension of the one before it?
How can I make things worse?

Believability:

What would this character naturally do in this situation?
Is he properly motivated to take this action?

Causality:

Is this event caused by what precedes it?
How can what I want to happen bow to what needs to happen based on the context?

Inevitability & Surprise:

Does this scene end in a way that’s both unexpected and yet inevitable?
How can I assure that readers don’t see the twist coming?

Scenes & Setbacks:

Have I inadvertently included scenes just for character development?
Is there an interlude or moment of reorientation between each scene?

Continuity:

Do my revelations happen at the right moments within the story?
Have I used foreshadowing to eliminate coincidences, especially at the climax?

Story & Genre Expectations:

What requisite scenes are inherent to this genre and to this story?
How can I render them in a way that’s not cliched?

Book Review – Placebo by Steven James

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Michael Cavacini

Placebo by Steven James is a very good thriller that’s worth your attention. I recently completed the book and was impressed by many elements of the story. I found Jevin Banks to be an extremely likable protagonist who matured as the story progressed, and the supporting cast was equally memorable. James’ ability to jump between characters, even those who aren’t in the same room during a scene, impressed me. Character hopping can be a hard thing to pull off without disorienting the reader, but James handled it extremely well; and by doing so, he ratcheted up the suspense during tense moments and sustained a brisk pace throughout the novel. The plot itself was an interesting one that despite being sometimes bogged down by moments of expository scientific dialogue, made me think critically about the pros and cons of the pharmaceutical industry. And being from Philadelphia, I loved that a good portion of the novel was set in the City of Brotherly Love. It seems every book and movie takes place in New York City, so whenever someone wants to shake things up and pick a different locale, I’m all for it. Overall, Placebo was a highly enjoyable read that I blew through in just a few days, and I highly recommend it.

Stay tuned for my interview with Steven James, as well as my review of his upcoming novel Singularity, the second book in the Jevin Banks series.

Synopsis

While covertly investigating a controversial neurological research program, exposé filmmaker Jevin Banks is drawn into a far-reaching conspiracy involving one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms. After giving up his career as an escape artist and illusionist in the wake of his wife and sons’ tragic death, Jevin is seeking not only answers about the questionable mind-to-mind communication program, but also answers to why his family suffered as they did.

ThrillerFest VIII – Day 2

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Michael Cavacini

Hanging out with the best-selling author of the terrific Henry Parker series, Jason Pinter.

Today is the second day of ThrillerFest, and it’s been great so far. Not only did I meet the man who created John Rambo, I also ran into one of my favorite authors, Jason Pinter. Below are photos and highlights from some of the sessions. Enjoy!

Andrew Gross

Andrew Gross – 10 Ways to Keep the Reader Turning Pages

Use short linking dramatic chapters to keep the reader hooked and wanting to know what’s next.
In every scene eliminate what does not directly advance the story.
Your writing cadence should reflect what’s happening in the book.
Don’t bog the narrative down by showing off, being boring or using unnecessary description.
Try to eliminate the parts that readers tend to skip.
Remove extraneous words.
Don’t provide too much information – decide what you need, and cut it in half.
Orient the reader quickly when you begin a scene to avoid taking the reader out of the narrative.
Know what each chapter or scene is trying to deliver and don’t do more.
If all else fails, use a larger font.

Steven James

Steven James – How to Discard Your Outline and Write Better Stories

Root yourself in what a story really is.
Let the narrative forces, not formulas, drive your story forward.
Trust the fluidity of the process.
Follow rabbit trails – you have to explore.
Write obligatory scenes.
Make a promise or keep one – explain what the desire is, what’s at stake.
Re-evaluate where you’re going – to understand the reader’s point of view.
Ask those three vital questions that solve any plot problem (see below).
Take the time to meet your characters.
Give readers what they want or something better.

Three questions to solve any plot problem you encounter:

What would this character naturally do?
How can I make things worse?
How can I end this scene or story in a way that’s not predictable?

Meeting David Morrell, the author of First Blood.

David Morrell – Setting

“Be a first-rate version of yourself and not a second-rate version of someone else.”
“Writing is a vocation, not a profession. It’s the history of our souls.”
“Forget about sight and concentrate on feeling.”
“Writing can be one of two things: stained glass or Windex. Readers can either be aware that they’re reading a book or, like a window after being wiped down with Windex, they can see right through it and be completely absorbed. There’s a place for both.”
“Use stealth description, so the reader isn’t aware of it.”