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SCENE Magazine
An interview with Barbara Kyle by Lori A. May
for 'Scene' magazine of London, Ontario
on April, 2003.
This interview focused on my full-day workshop “Writing Novels That Sell”.
Lori A. May (Q): In a one day workshop, can writers really gain valuable information about how to better their publishing odds?
Barbara Kyle (BK): Absolutely. I have found that new writers hunger for concrete information, and that’s what I deliver in my workshops – a distillation of what I know after writing five novels that have sold throughout the U.S. and Canada. First, I explain how the book industry works and how writers can optimize their chances of getting published: how to correctly format a manuscript, submit a manuscript, find an agent, and what kind of books agents and editors are really looking for. Then I focus on how they can sit down the day after the workshop and make writing choices that produce a sharper story with that “page-turning” quality – the kind of story that excites agents and editors. The workshop’s focus is on how to write a novel that is compelling and marketable; if your book is not both, your chances of getting it published diminish. The good news is, there are proven techniques for accomplishing this, and participants of the workshop take them home: practical tools they can use immediately.
I’m not a professor; I’m a working writer. My five novels have been published by Penguin USA and Warner Books, New York, and I’m presently writing my sixth. What workshop participants learn from me is how they can get control of the writing process and maximize their efficiency. My first book took over three years to finish, and I want to save new writers that distress – labouring endlessly to finish their manuscripts. My heart goes out to people who’ve been struggling for years on a work of fiction. Apply the techniques of this workshop, and you’ll finish your novel faster than I did!
Q: Will writers within all levels of skill be able to benefit from your workshop? Beginners who have never attempted a novel to those who have been working on a number of manuscripts?
BK: Yes, writers at all levels will benefit from this workshop. I give beginners the specific tools they need to focus their plot lines, power up their scenes, and enrich their characters into people the reader cares deeply about. And caring deeply about characters – whether a powerful sociopath like Don Corleone in THE GODFATHER or a struggling Maeve Binchy heroine – is what’s at the heart of all popular fiction. That’s what makes learning the writing craft so exciting: when you apply these tips and techniques you see your characters spring to life, and your plots take on a dramatic depth and urgency. To more experienced writers, the workshop offers fresh perspectives about such concepts as “controlling idea” (screenwriting guru Robert McKee’s phrase), honing your story’s over-arching dramatic question, and writing big scenes around reversals – all of which, of course, are indispensable concepts for beginners to master as well. And, for writers at every stage, I offer an intensive examination of the five essential elements of compelling story structure.
I find that compelling story structure is important to stress to Canadian writers (I’m Canadian myself) because the literary tone of so many Canadian novels skews people’s perspective of what actually sells. Overwhelmingly, most people don’t read literary novels, they read popular stories. And with good reason: from Dickens’ DAVID COPPERFIELD to Margaret Mitchell’s GONE WITH THE WIND to Larry McMurtry’s LONESOME DOVE, popular stories are the ones that move us and excite us most. I like to emphasize this fact to writers who may be stuck in the restrictive no-man’s-land of literary writing, and want instead to produce a book that has wide popular appeal.
Q: What can workshop writers realistically expect to improve in a short amount of time? What do you suggest writers do after the workshops? (i.e. Further training, extensive reading, etc)
BK: Anyone who participates in this workshop will immediately take home tools that will help them make smart, efficient writing choices. These tools include, among others: learning the invaluable process of outlining and how it will tighten and enrich your story; understanding the difference between surface characterization and the deep character that’s revealed by the choices a character makes under pressure; and a checklist for how to start scenes and end chapters to create suspense.
I reinforce the precepts I teach by offering for sale during the workshop several books on writing that I consider indispensable. One is by my New York agent, Albert Zuckerman, who has been “midwife” to dozens of blockbuster novels, including Ken Follett’s EYE OF THE NEEDLE and Eileen Goudge’s GARDEN OF LIES. Absorb Al’s wisdom and you’re well on your way to producing a terrific story.
Q: What do you find most writers have trouble with when working on a novel?
BK: The beginning, the middle, and the end!
Seriously, there are pitfalls in each facet of the writing craft that can swallow the novice whole. The good news is that these pitfalls can easily be avoided, once you know the terrain. It’s a matter of getting control of the craft, which is very do-able.
For example, most new writers have difficulty taming point-of-view – that is, deciding which characters’ heads to “get inside” in depicting a scene. Beginners often use a poorly focused omniscient narrator style which dissipates the energy of the story by jumping between characters. The goal is to be in complete control of making POV decisions, and a good rule of thumb, in every scene, is to stick with the POV of the character who has the most at stake. It’s all about being in control – and this workshop shows you how.
Q: Tell me why the “Biz” section of the workshop is so important?
BK: Most writers are not good at the “business” side of things. Not surprisingly, they’d rather be writing. But it’s essential to get a grasp of how publishing industry professionals work, because nothing turns off an agent or editor faster than an improperly formatted manuscript, or a hesitant query letter pitch. The writer’s business is not only to write a terrific book, but also to get that book in front of an agent who will sell it, and an editor who will buy it. I want to save writers from slaving over a manuscript that has intrinsic marketplace strikes against it. All of these tips are covered in the workshop.
I also advise writers in the workshop on how to find an agent. Publishers today rely almost totally on agents to stream books to them; agents are now the industry’s gate-keepers. This is not a bad thing for the writer, as agents offer invaluable editorial advice and career guidance, and they have contacts the writer does not. A good agent is worth their weight in gold.
Q: Does your workshop apply to the Canadian publishing market and the US market equally? Are there differences in these markets a writer should be aware of?
BK: My workshop does distinguish between the Canadian and the U.S. publishing market for one reason: the American market is huge and the Canadian market is small. The center of the North American book publishing universe is New York. There is no mass market in Canada, whereas all U.S. publishers consider Canada as virtually part of their domestic market, and sell into it as such. I advise writers to think of the larger market, and pitch to it. Why restrict yourself?
Q: What can writers gain from your workshop that they cannot gather from How To books or internet research?
BK: Lunch.
Seriously, nothing compares with face-to-face interaction with an author who sells. It’s a great way to learn. When I was learning the craft I took every opportunity to “pick the brain” of my mentors and other established writers; I still do. Writers can learn from my workshop, and also from the excellent advice of other experts in How To books; it’s not an either/or situation. Participants at my workshops have expressed how much they’ve gained from asking direct questions. Giving them precise, informative answers is what I’m there for. It makes for an entertaining and informative day.
Q: How do you feel your acting background has helped you develop story ideas and characters? And how can those without an acting background tap into some of those methods?
BK: My acting career has definitely taught me lessons about dramatic structure: as an actor, you live and die by the quality of the script. One technique actors use is called “playing an objective” – that is, make sure your character wants something in every scene, is always going after something. Like life, that’s often not what the character says they want. Figure out what that true objective is, and the scene plays well. This absolutely applies to writing. Keep focused on what your characters want, what they’re after, in every scene. Give them obstacles to overcome in the pursuit of their goals, obstacles that challenge them to go after what they want with ever-increasing ingenuity and determination. That’s the driving force behind all great stories.
Another tip I learned from acting in film and TV is the screenwriters’ maxim for tightening every scene: “Go in late and get out early”. Novelists need to apply the same principle: start scenes as late in the action as possible, and end them as early as possible, preferably with an implied question to keep the reader hooked.
Q: What were some of your challenges in developing novels that you can help speed the process of for other writers?
BK: Without question, the most important thing I’ve learned in writing five novels is the importance of outlining. Outlining your story not only speeds up the writing process by allowing you to develop ideas efficiently, it also lets you be bold in trying plot lines and character development choices. In my workshop I discuss outlining in depth, and how it can help free the writer from the drudgery of revising lengthy drafts – or worse, settling for poorly developed plots and characters just because the drudgery of revision is too onerous. Don’t get me wrong: revisions will always be necessary. But revision in your second and subsequent drafts should focus on polishing, not creating. Outlining is for the creation. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this step, and I’m always pleased to see participants of my workshops come away energized by a fresh understanding of the outlining process.
Q: How can writers who attend your workshop benefit from long-lasting results? Are there post-workshop seminars or resources you provide to assist those who need it?
BK: The best advice for achieving long-lasting results is to write, write, write. It’s the only way to master the craft. I also advise my workshop participants to study several books on writing that I recommend during the workshop. I offer these books for sale at the workshop, because I feel they are so useful.
Q: When you come across a struggling writer who has been working at their craft their whole life, but just cannot develop any further or get a break in publishing, what do you tell them? For a struggling writer, when is the right time to quit?
BK: Write for as long as it’s what you want to do. Don’t quit because of rejection; tales abound of the many successful writers whose works were initially rejected.
Q: Why do you have two writing names? Barbara Kyle for romantic suspense and Stephen Kyle for thrillers? How was this decision made and have there been any pitfalls to having two identities? Do you discuss the issue of pseudonyms at your workshop?
BK: I chose a male pseudonym for my thrillers simply because I wanted to attract male readers as well as female readers. There are few women authors writing “big canvas” thrillers as I do, and I wanted mine to appeal to that broad demographic that reads Ludlum and Clancy and Crichton. I chose the first name “Stephen” because that’s my husband’s name. That’s all there is to it.
NOTE: I’m presently half-way through the first draft of my new novel (working title: SPIRIT CREEK) and yesterday I hit a snag. I wrote a scene that covered all the necessary bases of action and plot development, yet it still felt flat. As I cooked dinner, I couldn’t think why. What was lacking? I mulled it over in bed, and asked myself the questions that I tell my workshop participants to ask – a kind of checklist for judging how elements of a story can be fixed or improved. That’s when it struck me: I had not built the scene around a reversal. Bingo. As soon as I knew that, I knew how to fix it. The scene now works. Thank goodness I followed my own workshop advice!
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