TED TALKS TECHNIQUES CAN HELP WRITERS

POST 8

MaryAnn

TED TALK TECHNIQUES CAN HELP WRITERS

Carmine Gallo's book, "Talk Like Ted" is a great read. It came as a surprise to discover that the techniques used to improve public speaking can also benefit writers. I'm sure Carmine Gallo never expected that reaction, but I think the formula popular with TED talk speakers can be used for writers of fiction and memoir. I've taken the liberty of demonstrating in this blog post how the Nine Public Speaking rules can benefit writers.

1) Unleash the master within. Carmine Gallo says passion leads to mastery and mastery forms the foundation of an extraordinary presentation. You can't inspire others unless you're inspired yourself.

NOTE FOR WRITERS: You must have passion to write.Writing is hard work. If you love the process of writing and are motivated as a writer, you will inspire others and have a much better chance of writing a successful book.

2) Tell three stories. Gallo says telling stories reaches people’s hearts and minds. Stories stimulate and engage the human brain. This helps the speaker connect with the audience. Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg's original TED talk was going to be “chock full of facts and figures, and nothing personal.” She told three stories and ignited a movement.

NOTE FOR WRITERS: In order to win the hearts and minds of readers, we must get personal with a deeper point of view. The "rule of three" is important in story: three sentences of description, three interconnected characters, three obstacles, three wishes, three trials, three rings, three in a series, etc. A character's backstory can be brought to the forefront through dialogue, internal monologue, and actions.

3) Practice relentlessly. Gallo says Harvard brain researcher Dr. Jill Bolte-Taylor had this "stroke of insight"that has been viewed 15 million times on TED.com. Dr. Jill rehearsed her presentation 200 times. Practicing relentlessly and internalizing the content allows you to deliver the presentation as if having a conversation with a close friend.

NOTE FOR WRITERS: Revise relentlessly. Edit relentlessly. Critique relentlessly. Practice makes perfect or nearly so when it comes to refining content and literary style.

4) Teach your audience something new. Gallo says the human brain loves novelty. An unfamiliar, unusual, or unexpected element in a presentation jolts the audience out of preconceived notions and offers a new way of looking at the world. Robert Ballard an explorer who discovered Titanic in 1985, told Gallo, “Your mission in any presentation is to inform, educate, and inspire. You can only inspire when you give people a new way of looking at the world in which they live.”

NOTE FOR WRITERS: Readers search for universal truths in stories. This connects them, informs them, and helps them look at the world in a different way. Whether writing fiction or memoir, we need to include these universal truths and wisdom. We need to dig deep to understand ourselves, and we must do the same with our story characters. Our mission as writers is to inform, educate, and inspire.

5) Deliver jaw-dropping moments. The jaw-dropping moment that scientists call an ‘emotionally competent stimulus' can be anything in a presentation that elicits a strong emotional response: joy, fear, shock, or surprise. Gallo reminds us that such a moment grabs the listener’s attention, making the presentation memorable.

NOTE FOR WRITERS: A strong emotional response is important in story. We must strive to build that emotional connection through strong character development and an awesome surprise or two. Books and films that are remembered and discussed all have these jaw-dropping moments.

6) Use humor without telling a joke. Humor lowers defenses, Gallo says, making your audience more receptive to your message. Educator Sir Ken Robinson makes humorous, often self-deprecating, observations about his chosen field, education. “If you’re at a dinner party and you say you work in education—actually, you’re not often at dinner parties, frankly, if you work in education…” Robinson's humorous anecdotes and asides endear him to the audience. Lighten up.

NOTE FOR WRITERS: Humor can reveal character and alter perspective in story. A light moment can offset pages of terror in a mystery, put lovers at ease in a romance, and catch readers off-guard and allow them to come up for air.

7) Stick to the 18-minute rule. A TED presentation can be no longer than 18 minutes. Eighteen minutes is the ideal length of time to get your point across. Researchers have discovered that “cognitive backlog,” too much information, prevents the successful transmission of ideas.

NOTE FOR WRITERS: Too much information is a frequent complaint from editors. TMI means we've used manuscript pages as an information dump. We've included a ton of backstory, author intrusion, and Wikipedia research. Stick to Hemingway's "less is more" rule.

8) Favor pictures over text. Gallo says no matter what the software speakers use, there are no bullet points on the slides of the best TED presentations. Even though there are pictures, animations, and limited amounts of text, they are not cluttered with line after line of bullet points.

NOTE FOR WRITERS: As writers, we paint pictures with words. The scenes we write should not be filled with strings of adjectives, adverbs, or weak verbs. Concrete nouns and strong verbs are better. Avoid redundancy. The use of sensory detail is extremely important and paints a picture for the reader.

9) Stay in your lane. Gallo says the most inspiring TED speakers are open, authentic, and, at times, vulnerable. Researcher Brené Brown gave talk on vulnerability and how her research led to her personal journey to know herself. Opening up paid off big. Oprah discovered Brown on TED.

NOTE FOR WRITERS: We all have strengths and weaknesses. As writers, we need to know our strengths. Is it in writing dialogue, description, point of view, word usage, or plot development? We have vulnerabilities; so do our story characters. Staying in our own lanes can also mean finding our niche in writing and sticking with that particular genre until we excel.

"Make no mistake," Carmine Gallo says. "Your ability to persuasively sell your ideas is the single greatest skill that will help you achieve your dreams. Follow these nine rules and you’ll astonish, electrify, and inspire your audiences."

By reading Gallo's book, "Talk Like Ted," you'll be inspired to follow techniques used in public speaking to improve your writing skills.

-MaryAnn Easley

RESUSCITATE A DEAD CHARACTER

POST 7

MaryAnn

RESUSCITATE A DEAD CHARACTER

It happens to all of us, I'm sure. The point of view character is too flat, too boring, too cardboard. Dead.

Readers love books because of an emotional bond to a character. There have been arguments about what is more important, plot or character, and character wins 99% of the time. What's GONE WITH THE WIND without Scarlett O'Hara? Whether it's Michael Connolly's Harry Bosch or J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, it's the character that drives the story forward with his or her actions and those actions taken are caused by the character's needs and desires. A dead character lies there on the page and no one cares. In other words, she's too boring to drag a reader through 350 pages.

How do we revive a dead character if our first readersyawn, set the draft aside, and say, "too unlikable" or "couldn't relate" or "not very interesting" and we've got to put on the gloves and give that lead a personality transfusion?

I've discovered two ways to resuscitate a character.

1) JOURNAL. You may have tried journaling because there are many benefits. I teach journaling, in fact, and have seen lives transformed. It's a way to heal, make decisions, express gratitude, rant, sort out problems, deal with grief, be thankful, and discover the deeper, creative, inner you.Journaling actually improves physical, emotional, and psychological health.

But have you ever experienced journaling from your character's point of view? Write in third person as your character and watch her blossom. Allow her personality to emerge. Discover her likes and dislikes, her fears and dreams. Let her tell you who she is and how she feels. Ask her what she wants to happen in the story and how she wants to be portrayed.

Journaling as your character enables you to get into her mindset and discover all sorts of new things you didn't know before. You'll be surprised when you start hearing her voice in her head because you'll be the conduit for this personality to come alive.. I think you'll like her better when you know how she treats animals or talks on the phone. This technique will help you during revision. You will improve your character's overall health.

2) ACT. Become your protagonist in an improv scene. Grab a friend and read a page of dialogue together. Sit the way your character would sit, eat as she would eat, and try to get into her frame of mind.

Many authors I know get out of their chairs while writing and act out a scene they are struggling with, trying to get a character's words right and how those words are said spot on.

Have I tried these techniques? You bet.

I did a bit of improv recently while writing a fight scene inCHANGED IN THE NIGHT, my new YA novel. Pretending to be my protagonist, I stood up and took some swings with an imaginary sword. Doing that helped me get the scene written. I got on my hands and knees to shootmarbles as a ten-year-old when I wrote KNUCKLE DOWN. That helped me better understand, not only the game, but my character's state of mind. I journaled as an 8th grader while writing a first kiss scene in WARRIOR'S DAUGHTER. My character willingly expressed in the journal exactly what she thought and how she felt, and why the scene wasn't working. Talk about collaboration! It can be almost magical at times.

If emergency help is required on a dead or dying character, try these life saving and story saving techniques.

THE BENEFITS OF CRITIQUE GROUPS

POST

MaryAnn

We form critique groups to 1) find other writers, 2) identify weaknesses in our writing, and 3) receive constructive criticism.

Establishing a critique group is easy with these simple guidelines:

1) No one should dominate and take all the time. Pages should be distributed to all present and be limited, single-sided, double -paced, 12-point font. The author or someone else reads the sample aloud while others make notes for comment.

2) Those critiquing point out strengths before tackling weaknesses. Strengths might be strong dialogue, good transitions, an active voice, or a well-defined character.

2) Suggest ways to fix problem areas. Weaknesses might be passive voice, redundancy, author intrusion, point of view shift, poor word choice, meaningless dialogue, inaccurate facts, too much information, and/or grammatical errors.

3) Focus on the writing sample, not on the author. No one should get personal, no one should judge the genre, and no one should take offense. Group members are there to support one another and offer honest critique.

4) Those being critiqued have the final say about their writing. The author resists the urge to over-explain or defend her work. A group critique is a chance to hear how our writing sounds when read aloud. Any comment offered is only reaction and feedback.

5) For a professional critique, seek an outside editor or peer coach. In the network of writers in your area and at the libraries, universities, and community programs, you will be able to get references. Shop around and compare costs.

Don't stay home from a critique group simply because you have nothing to share. I've learned as much from critiquing others as I have from any class or book. Suggestions I often give others have later been applied to my own writing. In critique, we assume an editor's role. This practice makes us more objective when looking at our own writing.

Although writing is a solitary act, we can benefit from brainstorming and discussion. In a writer's critique group, we inevitably form bonds and learn from one another.

HUMBLE TIPS FROM ME TO YOU: BOOKS I HAVE FOUND HELPFUL

POST 8

Kristen

HUMBLE TIPS FROM ME TO YOU: BOOKS I HAVE FOUND HELPFUL

Books I’ve found very helpful

•

The Art of Character by David Corbett

•

Writing Between the Lines by Jessica Morrell

•

Wired for Story by Lisa Cron

•

On Writing by Stephen King

Podcasts* I’ve discovered

•

Inside Creative Writing (very good, but only 15 episodes)

•

Fiction School (so-so.  A little ‘goofy’ and off topic at times)

•

Write 2B Read: Self Publishing tips (the host not so good, but she some of her interviews are interesting)

*Podcasts:  It’s a purple app on your phone.  Go to the “search” and type in either the title of the podcast (above) or a general topic “writing”.  Check the reviews—esp how many—and the number of episodes.  Under “details” it will give the title of the podcast topics and the year.  It’s great in the car or when you’re walking.

Personnel Writing Tips

•

Connect with a writing group!  Keep attending writing classes, seminars, writing projects, writing retreats, Meet-Up Groups, any and every opportunity for ideas.

•

Delete.  Sometimes the purpose of that portion (the-to-be deleted part) of your book is to take you to the next level.  Even when I know it’s great and I love it, I try to think of it asa planted seed that may need to be ‘weeded’.

•

Read it out loud. Especially the Dialogue. Or have it read out loud to you.

•

Let it percolate. When I feel like I’m forcing the story forward and it doesn’t want to go there, I put it aside for at least two weeks and then come back to it with fresh eyes.

•

Write a character backstory sketch. I just did this for my current project and it’s made a huge and noticeable difference in my story.  

•

Select your ‘stopping place’. When you can choose a “stopping place” chose a place where you will excited to continue, not always a point where you are ‘stuck.’

Kristin Orloff

American Wings, Iranian Roots (narrative non-fiction of a gold-medal wrestlers who defects from Iran in 1982 and later returns to rescue his sisters. )

Harmony (fiction; An OC family endures the 2008 meltdown)

​

Both works are available in print and as an e-book on Amazon.  

Contact me anytime at Orloffwrites@gmail.com or kkorloff@outlook.com

MY THREE MUST READ BOOKS

POST 6

Kristen

My Three Must-Read Books:

The Art of Character by David Corbett

Part of my love for this book, is where I purchased it—The Strand Books ‘Paradise’ in Greenwich Village.  It is an enjoyable read with excellent voice and humor.  Every page has a golden ‘take away’ and brilliant contemporary examples.  Above all, I learned to write people, not plot puppets.  

Between the Lines by Jessica Page Morrell

This read is incredibly useful in infusing the subtle elements of fiction from backstory, to pacing, to suspense.  My copy is so highlighted and tagged, that is feels like an old friend.

Wired for Story by Lisa Cron

A fascinating look at how to write through the lens of our human-nature driven need for story.  Cron breaks down the brain’s desire to know what will happen next and connects to our purpose as authors.

What do three memoir writers, two young-adult science fiction writers, one romance writer, a biographer and writer of fiction, a skilled oral storyteller, and a talented artist have in common?

POST 5

Elaine

What do three memoir writers, two young-adult science fiction writers, one romance writer, a biographer and writer of fiction, a skilled oral storyteller, and a talented artist have in common?

These nine women comprise the SMCC, otherwise known as the  Saturday Morning Coffee and Critique. Ranging in age from 80 to 47, they gather every-other-Saturday to discuss the nuts and bolts of writing. Some are native Californians. Others hail from the Midwest, and one was born in Greece. There are teachers in the mix, the musically inclined, one who lived on a sailboat, and the prerequisite dreamers. Underdogs are their heroes; also, vampires, outer space aliens, and real-life mountaineers. They've authored books about difficulties overcome through determination and grit, and chronicled life changing events worth celebrating.

Stumbling upon the SMCC in mid-2010, I was thrilled when they took me into the fold. Being the “new kid on the block,” I tiptoed over their threshold. Since all writing groups are not created equal, I entered with bated breath. As writers we're supposed to be thick-skinned, but having suffered through my share of miserable critiques, my skin couldn't have been any thinner.

At the time, I was in the process of eeking out my first attempt at a novel. The group shared their input, and I listened. I found their feedback to be edifying; their gentle suggestions gave me just enough food for thought without inciting a flare-up of gastritis. I returned to my keyboard with a renewed eye, grateful for their insight and wisdom.

It has been said that writing is a lonely craft; also, that writers should resist the urge to share their work with spouses or significant others. To discover a group whose love of writing parallels my own is a dream come true. “We are all interwoven and create each other's universes.” So says author and teacher Natalie Goldberg in her book, Writing Down the Bones; Freeing the Writer Within. I believe that a writing group should be a positive resource, creating a universe that's conducive to the craft.

I don't think it'd be much of a stretch to declare: the SMCC is all that and more.

WRITING SHOULD GET PERSONAL

POST 4
MaryAnn

Writing Should Get Personal

Each of us is the hero of our own story.

We each have a hidden need. Maybe it's fear of social situations or loving money more than family, or maybe we're simply broken-hearted and need to get over it.

This hidden need hurts us, and it also hurts people around us.

In order to resolve this hidden need, we must take action.

Action causes conflict, and conflict is what makes story.

There is no life without conflict.

It's the same with story. The hidden need—goal or desire—of the protagonist sets the story in motion. This need is so important that it hurts not only the protagonist but the secondary characters as well. There is no story without conflict.

It boils down to cause and effect or the domino effect. Need leads to action. Action leads to conflict.

Consider Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is lovesick, in love with love. Spurned by one lovely girl, he catches sight of another, Juliet, and falls head over heels. She's the sun. He must have her; his ardent pleas arouse her interest and soon she must have him as well.

Too bad they're from families who despise each other. Bad news, right? Wrong.

It's good news for plot development. The more conflict the better. Too bad everyone around has to hear about this star-crossed romance. Too bad they also have to suffer andthere's danger, death, hand-wringing, decision making, and tears, lots of tears.

Bad news, right? Wrong.

And in the end they both die.

No worries. It's all so self-sacrificing and romantic and that's all good news for story and a best seller for Shakespeare.

Think about your own personal story and the hidden needs you've experienced. Perhaps some of those desires ruptured your family, created tension, destroyed relationships, caused a financial loss, ended in unbearable grief, bore terrible guilt,d caused isolation, or resulted in estrangement

Face it.

We've all hurt someone and we've all been hurt, and usually it comes from not having enough of something: love, money, status, possessions, friends, popularity, confidence, support, power, and a hundred other things. We don't have it, we want it, and we go out and get it, often hurting someone along the way. Or we don't have it, we want it, and we sit around and mope about it forever, making ourselves—and everyone else—miserable. Consider the ramifications of moving across country to a new state or the result of a divorce that splits family, friends, and kids. Everything we do in life affects those around us. I know. I've hurt people I didn't mean to hurt, and others living their own life stories have hurt me. Hurt is a personal part of life, and hurt deepens the characterizations and plot in a story.

It all begins with that hidden need.

People read books in search of universal truths. They want to know how to live their own lives. They relate most with stories that get personal.

Dig into your own life story to come up with ideas forfiction. Ask your protagonist what he or she really wants in life and must have at all costs.

Revelation is what brings characters to life. When we write from a deep point of view, the story takes on a whole new dynamic. Whether it's fiction or memoir, get personal. Yourreaders will be grateful.

-MaryAnn Easley