This Thursday I'll be giving my ScripTips lecture on outlining novels using Hollywood scriptwriting techniques at the Pelham Writers Workshop. The usually one hour session has been increased to two hours so that I can drill down and give the complete lecture. I will be signing Frostborn (Thrones and Bones) afterwards.

As part of Wake County Public Libraries' Write On @ Your Library series, Vampire Empire authors Clay and Susan Griffith discuss five questions to create a great story.
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Writers, take note:

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The second part of my appearance on the fabulous, vital Roundtable Podcast is up today. This is the part where a volunteer writer brings in a story idea, and the guest host and two regular hosts - Dave Robison and Brion Humphrey - dispense sage wisdom and/or useless advice. Here's what they have to say about the show:

Lou Anders – Editorial Director at Pyr, the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Prometheus Books Publishing – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to help workshop a story idea by podcaster, writer, and former Guest Co-Host Doc Coleman. Doc’s idea inspires a wealth of Literary Gold as Lou walks us through some exceptional insights into the storytelling craft (he even assigns homework!). (and if you’re STILL hungry for more writerly goodness, then check out Lou’s Showcase Episode!)

I am a guest today on the fabulous Roundtable Podcast. We talk about Hollywood, TV sets, screenwriting, publishing, and the most famous black blade in fantasy fiction.

I'll be returning to the podcast on November 6th, for their Workshop Episode, where we live-improve a writer's pitch (or perhaps just muck it up horrendously).

I am feeling special this morning. After all, how many people get an episode of Writing Excuses just for their benefit. This morning's podcast, "Writing Excuses 7.41: Seven-Point Story Structure," is "on behalf of Lou Anders."

You may recall that I was on the podcast back in episode 6:18, talking about applying the "Hollywood Formula" to novel plotting. Writing Excuses Dan Wells (he of PartialsandI Am Not A Serial Killer)has his own screenplay-derived system called "Seven-Point Story Structure."

I know my Hollywood Formula and Dan's Seven-Point system are two approaches to the same result, but I have been studying Dan's and trying to reconcile them without success. Or rather, I understand the 7-Point system but don't seem to be able to apply it in practice the way that I can my own system.

So on today's Writing Excuses, Dan helpfully explains the Seven-Point system again, then Dan, Howard Tayler, Brandon Sanderson, and Mary Robinette Kowal very helpfully construct a plot using this system.

Thanks to the whole Writing Excuses crew. I know it isn't really all for my benefit, but it's still nice to start off the week with this pleasant surprise. Howard also makes a passable Lou stand-in.

I'm all for change that benefits the consumer--after all I'm a big consumer myself--but only to the degree that it doesn't impact the creator. Tor's move to remove DRM is laudable and, more to the point, probably inevitable. Hachette's attempt to pressure authors to demand it be restored isn't great PR. But Hachette is correct that they will see sales erode in their territory from Tor books sold into non-US countries. This will increase pressure on other publishers to dispense with DRM. But another side effect will be pressure on publishers to only acquire World English rights to a title. This will be good for publishers and good for readers. But it will be bad for authors and agents, who will see an additional revenue stream go away. In an age of shrinking advances, our creators will be paid less. Of course, the ability to sell the ebooks unrestricted across multiple territories may see higher royalties. Or will it? See yesterday's thoughts about book sales. I'm frequently told, by pirates, that they *had to steal* the book because it wasn't being offered in their territory. Now that it is, will they pay for it? We need to make sure we support our creators adequately if we want them to go on creating.

You don't get to be a master thief by walking through a succession of open doors. You get to be a master thief by learning to pick a succession of locks.

I did it! 50,000 words in 30 days. This was my second NaNoWriMo experience. I completed it in 2009 as well. I finished today, hammering out the last 2,272 words for a total of 50,367. That's not the whole book. 2009's 50,000 words eventually ended up as a 103,000 word novel, and was rewritten six times across 2010 and 2011. It's now with my agent, I'm pleased to say. I've no doubt that this one, which I'm estimating will come in at around 75,000 words, has a lot of rewriting ahead of it too.

But the value in NaNoWriMo is in getting you to write a lot, in a compressed time. Having done this twice now I must say that I find NaNoWriMo an incredibly valuable experience. So many people start novels and never finish them, endlessly rewriting openings or crafting new openings. We all have draws full of great initial chapters. 50,000 words is a sizable enough chunk that it forces you to turn off the self editor and the procrastinator both and break past those 1-3 chapter abandoned drafts. If you can write half a novel, you can write the second half. Also, writing is a muscle and muscles improve by being exercised. Even if nothing worth saving comes out of your 50,000 words, you are 50,000 words deeper into honing your craft. Also, it makes the solitary pursuit of writing something communal. And finally it gets your butt in the chair.

Yay to all us participants. Also, I could not have done it without the patience of my long-suffering wife.

Sandra Wickham interviewed me yesterday for the Inkpunks blog. She titled the interview "The World According to Lou," which really tickles me. I don't think she knows that it was The World According to Garp by John Irving that first made me want to choose this writing/publishing life. Anyway, I'm grateful for the interview, but please ignore her when she suggests that nonsense about my giving away my beer. Check out the whole interview, but here's a sample:

What must-have qualities would you say an author needs to become published and keep being published in the industry?

Talent plus perseverance. I recently asked a group of authors how many times they rewrote their novels before they saw publication. Seven was the average response. And I heard N.K. Jemisin say recently that she had worked on The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms for around ten years before it saw publication. Do you remember that old board game where you pulled levers out until all the marbles but one dropped away? I have probably just dated myself horribly, but that’s how I see a career in the entertainment arts. Banging your head against the wall until the wall collapses, because you sure as hell aren’t going to. Artist John Picacio describes this as, “There’s Plan A. And if that doesn’t work, there’s Plan A. And if that doesn’t work, there’s Plan A.” (Note: He’s not talking about being unrealistically inflexible. He’s talking about never giving up the goal of being a working professional.)

I'm back on episode 6:20 of Writing Excuses to talk about "Endings." They describe the episode thusly:

Lou Anders joins Dan, Howard, and Mary for a discussion of endings. We begin by talking about how important it is to “stick your landing” at the end of the book, and then recap the Hollywood Formula to point out how endings work there. We get examples from Mary’s upcoming novel Glamour in Glass, Dan’s upcoming novel Partials, Howard’s work-in-progress short story, and Lou Anders’ award-worthy, dot-matrix printer.

Blackdog"Something Greater--an Epic Discussion of Epic Fantasy, Part 2" by Jeremy L.C. Jones is up at Clarkesworld Magazine. This is a mammoth discussion of epic fantasy by those who write it, with comments from such notable names as James Barclay, Elizabeth Bear, Terry Brooks, Trudi Canavan, Rowena Cory Daniells, David Anthony Durham, Kate Elliott, Steven Erikson, Ian C. Esslemont, Lynn Flewelling, Ed Greenwood, Erin Hoffman, John Jarrold, N. K. Jemisin, K. V. Johansen, J. V. Jones, Paul Kearney, Juliet McKenna, Robin McKinley, Peter Orullian, Robert V. S. Redick, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Gaie Sebold, Michael A. Stackpole, Victoria Strauss, and Gav Thorpe. I'm honored to have a quote in the opening paragraphs of both part one and part two.

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