Guest Post with Josh Vogt

Today I'd like to welcome Josh Vogt to the blog. His latest novel, The Maids of Wrath, comes out on April 11th. Read on to find out why he writes about janitors and maids, how outlining works for him, and which author he'd like to have dinner with.

You've written books featuring dwarves, janitors, and maids. What draws you to 'every day' characters as opposed to larger-than-life characters?

I like taking what we might think of a “ordinary” or mundane people and either stick them in strange situations or shift something about them to make ordinary situations somehow weird or twisted out of true. Partially, it’s just how my mind works. When I see normal people and scenarios, I tend to imagine how things might not be exactly how they seem. Also, it’s just fun to throw a wrench in the reality we’re familiar with and see exactly how much it smokes and sparks.

With the Cleaners, in particular, I enjoy how much their supernatural sanitation company actually fits with modern society. In urban fantasy, a big question is “If there’s magic or mythical creatures in modern day, how do they go unnoticed?” This is my answer, that they conceal themselves in roles few people pay much attention to out in the real world. They’re everywhere, and everyone accepts they have a right to be.

How do you manage your freelance work with fiction writing and other activities? Are there any time management skills you'd like to share?

Actually, I’ve moved back to a full-time job as an editor for Paizo, which publishes the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game (and one of my debut novels, Forge of Ashes). I still do a little game freelancing, but otherwise I’m now re-learning how to manage my personal writing around a day job. The structure of it actually help, because I know exactly when my free time is, morning and evening. So if I’m working on a novel, I can set a word count goal for the final draft, a deadline for finishing it, and then I can determine how many words, minimum, I’d need to write in a week or per day. Having deadlines and concrete goals definitely help me.

Plus, having at least an hour or two a day committed to nothing but writing helps me keep that blocked out. I also use programs like Freedom and Anti-Social to turn off levels of internet connectivity if I find myself getting too distracted.

On your website you said you've used The Snowflake Method for virtually every novel you've written. How do you keep your WIP fresh and exciting after outlining it in detail? What do you think is the biggest benefit from outlining, and what do you think is the biggest pitfall?

When I outline, yes, I know the intended plot from A to Z, with all major and a few minor characters sketched out. However, when I get into actually writing it, I may come to a scene on the outline that says “Character A argues with Character B, which gets them captured.” I won’t necessarily know what they’re arguing about or how they get captured, so there’s plenty of discovery and wiggle room left in the process that keeps it fun. I still give myself the ability to go off-track a certain amount, shift scenes around, introduce unplanned characters, and the like. But the biggest benefit of outlining, for me, is focus. I know where I’m aiming to reach next in the story.

As far as the biggest pitfall? I’d say inflexibility. Not giving yourself enough breathing space to adapt on the way. To me, an outline is a general map, but it’s not chiseled in stone.

You can have dinner with any author, living or deceased. Who would it be, and why?

Tough one. It’d have to be Ray Bradbury or Terry Pratchett. Bradbury inspired me with his themes of hope, joy, and dreams, with characters who felt so incredibly real and raw. Pratchett, on the other hand, is the only author who has ever made me weep from laughter. He inspired my love of writing humor, which I now bring into a lot of my stories. At the same time, he wrestled with very real issues, making people laugh while see things from new perspectives at the same time.

You can go back in time to when you first started writing. What advice would you give to your past self?

 

Don’t let your first three novel manuscripts be a trilogy. Don’t invest in a series until the first one is under contract, and even then, try to make it as standalone as possible. Back then, I figured since most fantasy books were becoming trilogies, I should see if I could actually write a full one. But that’s two whole extra books written for something that never actually got published (and, yes, for good reason). I could’ve moved on and played with unique ideas in that time. Nowadays, unless you’re planning to self- or indie-pub your own series, never assume the first book selling is a sure thing.

***

Author and editor Josh Vogt’s work covers fantasy, science fiction, horror, humor, pulp, and more. His debut fantasy novel is Pathfinder Tales: Forge of Ashes, published alongside his urban fantasy series, The Cleaners, with Enter the Janitor and The Maids of Wrath. He’s an editor at Paizo, a Scribe Award finalist, and a member of both SFWA and the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. Find him at JRVogt.com or on Twitter @JRVogt.

What I Discovered About Outlining

I've been toying around with outlining recently, trying to find what works best for me. A couple of weeks ago, I finished the rough draft of a fantasy novel, which came in woefully short in the word count department by the time I reached THE END. But if I could count all the words I tossed out while trying to find the right beginning, it would have been the perfect word count.

Know what I discovered while outlining? It just doesn't work that well for me. There, I said it. I've tried it because it's supposed to be good for you (like broccoli), but in the end, I'm just not that crazy about outlining (or broccoli, but I drown in it cheese and eat it anyway). My first draft is my outline. It's an exceptionally long and detailed outline, but still an outline nonetheless.

While writing this particular novel, I finally put aside the outlines after about three failed attempts at the beginning, jotted down the major plot points, and then simply started writing. At last I could write past 15K or 30K words and keep going, carried by the initial excitement that had me wanting to write this particular novel in the first place.

I think outlines work. I think some people thrive on them. But for me, I discovered I need to jot down a few key ideas and plot points, research, maybe do some Q & A to discover what makes the character tick (if it's somebody new), and then go for it. Then let it rest. Give myself some space so I can look at it objectively. I did that by writing a new short story and critiquing. I critiqued three pieces for World Con and two for one of my local writers' groups. It's definitely gotten me in 'editor mode' and ready to look at the rough draft with fresh eyes.

I plan to start revisions some time this week. I already have ideas for expanding a couple of the subplots. I know I'll be writing new scenes and adding huge chunks to the novel now that I know where it was all going.

Four Ways to Outline a Novel

If you're a writer, the word "outline" might bring to mind all sorts of images, some positive, others not so much. For me, it often takes me back to high school English class, carefully making bullet points using capital letters, number, little letters, etc, and then trying to figure out where to plug things. It's awful. The word makes me shudder. I despise those outlines. I don't use them when planning a novel or a short story. That sort of outline zaps all the creativity right out of me (as well as zapping all my joy and sending me spiraling back to high school). No, thank you.

I prefer to think of the planning process as just that... planning. Brainstorming. Sorting out major points before I get down to the nitty gritty. Ah, that's much better. I'm feeling calmer already. Maybe you're like me, and the idea of doing an outline makes you want to run screaming. But still, you're tempted to try it. Maybe you rewrote that last novel five times and you're sure there's a better, lazier more efficient way. Well, there are ways to outline and still have some fun and spontaneity.

Mind mapping might appeal to those of you who are the most averse to the idea of rigid outlines. I like using it at the very beginning of a project when I just want to get down any idea that springs to mind. You can use different colors for different ideas or characters. I like to get one of those huge drawing pads at the arts and crafts store and settle down with my markers and just fill the paper with ideas. Also, the finished project is art in and of itself. Some mind maps look like dendrites to me.

If you have an idea of who your characters are, but you have no idea what's going to happen to them, you can sit down with a series of questions and sketch out a novel outline in an hour. You spend up to five minutes on each question and end up with your character's goal, what's at stake, potential sources of conflict, and a character arc. Not bad for an hour's work. I like to type this one up as I type way faster than I can write by hand. I end up jotting down any and every idea that comes to mind, then going back over the questions and adding details later or throwing out what doesn't resonate with me.

If you're looking for a more traditional method of outlining, the three act structure might appeal to you. Now, plenty of people have described the three act structure, but none, to my knowledge, have ever compared it to spanx, at least until recently. This is actually a great, simple description of three act structure, and the post also includes a few cute pictures in case you're more of a visual learner. I'm not the biggest fan of the three act structure, but somehow my stories end up fitting the mold if I don't plan for a different structure ahead of time.

Yet another method of outlining is the seven point structure. I first heard of this when I watched this video, the first in a series of lectures given by Dan Wells. You can also find out more by googling "seven point story structure," but I really enjoyed the lecture and took notes as I watched it. However, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for planning a novel ahead of time. Instead, I think it works better when you're getting ready to edit and you want to make sure the story you've already written hangs together well. But, it's still good to have in the back of your mind as you're planning and writing.

And now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to pull out some blank paper and my markers.