A Writer's Agency

 

“This here story is all true, as near as I can recollect. It ain't a prettified story. Life as a river rat is stomping hard, and don't I know it. It's life wild and woolly, a real rough and tumble. But like Da said, life on the river is full of possible imaginations. And we river rats, we aim to see it through in our own way. That's the honest truth of it.” – Big River’s Daughter (Holiday House, 2013)

 

A common writing term explored in many workshops in that a character needs agency. A character’s agency is a concept that is easy to understand – whose story is it, after all? – but not always easy to execute. In my current WIP,  I’ve paid particular attention to my character’s agency, recognizing that readers identify and care about characters who have ownership of their journey.

Lorin Obergerger (Free Expressions) offers that agency is the character’s drive and desire to affect change,  a change that happens because of their active choices rather than a passive reaction to external forces. That a character is likely to act with agency when they are driven by both internal and external goals.

But as I continue to dig deeper into my protagonist, I’m beginning to think there’s more to agency than just character.  I’m beginning to think it is as much about the writer (me) as it is about the character.

Anyone pursuing a creative career knows that, by definition, such a career is full of risks. Living with uncertainty is routine and fear is commonplace. Doubt  becomes heavy and nerve-wracking. Rejection feels personal. It seems too often creatives survive on the whims of outside influences: the volatility of an  industry that favors the bottom line, craxy politics, whimsy trends and reader expectations. Oftentimes, the stakes are high and feels like an all-or-nothing setup. 

No wonder creatives give up.

Isabel Sterling (Real Talk for Writers ) has a wonderful talk that brings this discussion into focus. As she states: “Effective goal setting is just the first step of a successful year. Actually keeping those goals in mind, letting them guide your decisions, and staying committed through all the ups and downs of writing, publishing, and life is the hard part.”

In other words, having agency means redefining success – and failure. We may not have control about the external forces impacting our career, but we can actively choose how to navigate those forces to make the journey our own. And one important strategy is setting and processing our goals.

Key questions you want to consider short and long-term goals:

Why are you living this creative life? Why does it matter to you? What are your priorities overall and how does this creative career support (or not) these priorities? How does this help to define success for you?

As you redefine success, assume that success is available. Don’t think about the risks or the competition. Believing that you can achieve success encourages you to show up.

Just as important, question your assumptions about what’s required of you to achieve this success. Whether it’s a marketing plan or establishing social platforms, what works for one may not work for another. There are no rules that a creative ‘must’ do. Assume that it is possible to experience success on your own terms and do what’s best for you.

Another important factor as you think about short-term and long-term goals, consider how you feel about each of these. Focus on how you spend the journey rather than the end-result, the destination.  Easier said than done, of course, but by recognizing how you feel, or want to feel, about your creative process strengthens that internal agency for your journey. You are no longer struggling with the whim of the shifting industry and reader expectations; rather, you are discovering your purpose in a journey of your own making.

In other words, success redefined means that it is a journey, not a destination. The doing is most important, the outcome is simply chocolate frosting.

Wishing you a successful journey for 2026!

-- Bobbi Miller

 

Something New About Turtles and Micro-tensions

 Teaching Authors starts a new topic, our “Something New I Learned and Can’t Wait to Share!” It’s been a long minute since the planets aligned just right, allowing me to take a writing class. And this one is a doozy, sponsored by Lorin Oberweger and Free Expressions. This six-week course -- The Breakout Novel Intensive -- explores the principles outlined in Donald Maass ‘ book, Writing the Breakout Novel (2001). As a story nerd, I thrive on taking deep dives into the story engineering process, and this is as deep as it can get. This class is bloody brilliant. The lectures offer a deep dive into concepts. I so appreciated the discussions into creating emotionally complex characters. The one-on-ones took a further dive into my work. I had so many "ah-ha" moments when everything came together. One of the best ah-ha moments explored micro-tensions.

This type of tension isn't in the action itself, but in the psychology underscoring the action. To make this happen, the narrative uses dialogue and exposition to highlight the emotive presence, build tension and expand the plot that leads to an emotional payoff.

As a working writer, I consider my job is to write. As such, I dutifully and gleefully do my job, sometimes hours at an end. I LOVE my job (writing, that is)!

Except, unexpectedly, these days I find myself rather spent after only an hour or two. It's not just writer's block. And not just exhaustion. Something else bubbling just beneath the surface.

For example, I went about doing some errands. I kept squirming because my running shorts didn’t seem to fit. O no, I bemoaned. I already have enough old lady fat. Turns out, I had put my britches on inside out AND backwards. And yes, I went out in public like that. (You can’t take me anywhere.)

And it’s hot outside. Too hot to sleep. My garden is decimated. Bees are dropping off the petals, their little wings burned. I even feel sorry for the wasps, those evil little buggers. The heat index has reached over 100 for several days, and there’s no end in sight. Combined with the high humidity, I feel like a toad swimming in boiling water. And toads do not like to swim.

You may remember that I am the ultimate Doctor Who superfan. I’ve been watching the show since it first aired in 1963. In other words, my relationship with the Doctor has outlasted two husbands, four dogs and three cats. And yet, when the finale for the Fifteenth Doctor finally aired, I fell asleep. What? What? WHAT?

You may also remember that I live in the middle of Red Hat County. Politics are posted everywhere. I’ve learned to ignore it. Mostly. True, one neighbor did rant on about 800,000 dead people who voted illegally. I had to admit that zombies are just the worse. Another neighbor railed about how we are a republic and not a democracy. I told him that he reminded me of some of my good friends. Perhaps he knew them: John Adams, James Madison, my personal favorite John Jay, and that upstart Alexander Hamilton, who all argued the very same thing for years. I told him, he could read all about it in the Federalist Papers. Granted, with 85 long-winded essays, it’s thicker than a comic book.

The stakes are rising. Everyone brags about how many guns they collect. One man rants about shooting a coyote (in the middle of a neighborhood?). Meanwhile, the school down the road had gone on lockdown a couple of weeks ago. And a couple blocks away, a high school student shot his neighbor.

You may remember, too, that I’m counting the days to when I no longer have to teach. At long last, I can choose which classes, and when, to teach. Or not. After forty years, it’s a daunting decision. By the way, I hate WorkDay, with those online forms you have to fill out, all those fecking buttons and columns, and rows and arrows and … it took longer for me to fill out one spleeny form than to grade two weeks of class. (Yes, it’s God’s greatest joke to the universe that I teach online classes. But I am not laughing. I remember that movie when computers took control. It didn't end well for most folk.)

By the way, the water pipe burst. What a MESS. And it’s messing with my internet.

I think I'll go for a walk, and get some ice cream. Chocolate. Better yet, chocolate fudge, with chocolate sprinkles. I'll go to the local pond and count the dragonflies and watch the turtles. At least turtles make sense. And no worries, I will put my britches on the right way. Not that the turtles will care. And when I return, I’ll get back to that bothersome scene.

By the way, see what I did there? I used micro-tensions to illustrate how micro-tensions can be used to add tension to an otherwise very ordinary, if not downright bland scene.

And of course, you want a big emotional payout at the end of such a scene. Take this, for example:

 

For more information about the BONI and many other excellent seminars, webinars and classes at Free Expressions, check out their website. 

 Thank you for putting up with my micro-tensions!

--Bobbi Miller

Don't Forget to Celebrate!

 

Recently, a friend shared his wisdom when another said that writing is hard, and asked if there was a way to make it easier. To this, my friend said, describing his approach to writing fiction, “Write it from inside the characters. Allow the characters to grow their own story and follow their lead. When it is complete and you are seeking opinions about how well you wrote it, leave your ego at home and allow the comments --- even the foolish or misguided ones --- to penetrate because they are talking about a book, not about you. Even a fool is correct once in a while! The goal is to create a work of art that will speak well of you. Any hack can cobble together 80,000 words, but most of that kind of writing can put a shark to sleep.”

Every term, my MFA students lament this very thing. I have to remind them that every writer carries similar worries at every stage of their career. In some part, it's the nature of the business itself. But it's also a function of human nature.

It seems the core of these worries are defined by a lot of shouldas and couldas, accompanied by a strong belief in several sacred myths about writing and writers.  Myths, they hope, that carry the secrets to and serve as a compass for how to succeed as a writer.

Myth: Writers only write when they are inspired.

I’m too old to wait around, hoping for some magical muse to show up. The truth is, writers write. It seems to me that curiosity is much more important.

Recently I’ve been going through a phase in which I really like Australian TV. The scenery. The intersection of history between indigenous and penal colonies. The Māori (and the Huka!). A common plot device is cricket – whether it’s baking, mystery, supernatural or comedy, there always seems to be a leather ball and a flat bat involved. To understand the context, I started researching cricket. And watching Australian cricket. (Baggy green is now my favorite color! What a sticky wicket!) This led me to research certain cricket personalities, then cricket history, which led to reading more about British colonialism. Which led to reading about the mid-Atlantic slave trade and the middle passage and the slave narratives. Which led me to Caribbean uprisings. While it sounds like a rabbit hole that Lewis Carrol might envy (and it was), I began noticing a seed for a story. This seed soon developed into a premise. Then it became a character. Then it became a draft.

More often it is through the act of reading and writing itself that inspiration finally decides to visit.

Myth: Writers are introverts.

There may be some truth to this. I prefer long walks to parties. I prefer languorous conversations with my flowers. Albeit, my granddaughter is pretty good at discussing the secrets of dragonflight. Others travel, attend literary events, participate in writing and reading groups, join online discussions. Sometimes I pop into one or two events.  Given my luddite nature, my relationship with social media is rather wobbly. (The irony that I’m writing a blog isn’t lost on me. But I did handwrite this first!) Some may be energized and go full steam into social events, while others find it exhausting. In the end, writers need diverse perspectives and connections to enrich their writing, but ultimately, it’s more important for you to be you.

 Myth: Method X is better than Method Y.

I’m a nerd about the writing process. I find it an endlessly fascinating topic. While I have more than a fair share of degrees and certificates in the writing process, I still attend classes, workshops and lectures given by the best in the business. If you have the chance, I can’t recommend enough the classes given by Emma D. Dryden, Harold Underdown and Eileen Robinson, and the many offerings at Free Expressions, sponsored by Lorin Oberweger and company, featuring such lecturers as Donald Maass, Chris Vogler and many others.

Whether it’s plotting versus pantsing, the hero’s journey versus the snowflake method, or saving the cat versus the three-act narrative, editing while you go or hammering out an SFD, everyone has their own way of engineering a story. My own process tends to follow four steps:

1. Research to get an overview of historical and social contexts. Besides, I like to read. You never know what treasure you’ll find.

2.  Outline, because I tend to work with a cast of characters as well as historical/social elements that require careful staging.

3. Write that SFD, usually by hand first.

4. Revise, then revise again, then revise again, because this is where the real magic happens.

What makes it work for me is that I set time apart for my writing and treat it like a job. I know how busy life becomes, having worked as a single parent maintaining a household. But it is still my job to write.

Myth: Writers are excellent spellers.

Yea. Right.

Myth: Writing is easy.

Does any of this sound easy?

Just as an engineer relies on a structurally-sound blueprint – one that, according to Larry Brooks in his book, Story Engineering, requires a plan based on proven physics and structural dynamics -- to build something that will bear weight and resist the elements, so must a writer engineer a story using the literary equivalent. The technicality of the story is fundamental to its creativity. The master writers make it look easy, but behind the scenes, it’s all sweat, blood and a few tears.

There are no easy answers. I tend to like what  Margaret Dilloway suggests in The Writer Unboxed, that you have to give  yourself the permission to write, and you have to give yourself your own approval and authentication, instead of depending on external sources. As she states,  "Nobody else can do that for you. You have to take that power and confidence for yourself.”

Most important, remember that it's important to celebrate the little things. And the big things. And the wicked goggly things, too.

 Celebrating the completion of my SFD! You know, shitty first draft! Only 99 more to go!

Thank you for reading!

-- Bobbi Miller

 

Prompting Possible Imaginations

I happen to agree with Esther when it comes to writing prompts. I’m not a great devotee of prompts.  

We’ve all heard those success stories of debut authors. (I hesitate to use the qualifier “overnight’, as it tends to negate the work that went into the writing.) J.K. Rowling. Veronica Roth. S.E. Hinton. Christopher Paolini self-published his first book, Eragon. He sold thousands of copies, when Random House took notice and bought the rights, and the rest is dragon history.  Emma Cline, who wrote The Girls, was offered a three-book contract with a reported $2 million deal.  

The real success stories – and the real champions -- are not the lucky debuts but we the sloggers, the majority of us who get up every morning and do what we do. We don’t define ourselves by rejections, nor by successes. We write. And if we’re lucky, we have a friend or two who send reminders, wrapped in chocolate, with a note: Yes, rejection sucks. Eat chocolate. Now get back to work.

But getting back to work is not always as easy as it sounds. I’ve written about my own trials in finding an agent many times, including here.  This week, news broke out about events surrounding New Leaf Agency (See Publisher’s Weekly article here), bringing into stark relief how excruciating the business of writing can be. Despite having seven books, a few award-winners and several short stories published in major venues, I've faced my own challenges to find an agent. And this in stressor certainly impacted my writing process. I mean, what’s the point?

After parting ways with my third agent, I stopped submitting to focus more on the story engineering process, taking classes from some of the best people in the business. (I highly recommend classes from the indomitable Emma D. Dryden, from the master editors of Eileen Robinson and Harold Underdown at Kid's Book Revisions, from Lorin Oberweger's Free Expressions.) Taking classes from such great teachers kept me in the flow.

 In 2023, one editor finally made an offer (shhhh, it’s not official yet. But watch this space! Unless, of course, change happens.).  Another editor invited me to create a proposal for a multi-book project. Who-op! The proposal was accepted and made its way up the chain. With these several manuscripts in hand, I was able to connect with my current agent.  

Still, we remember that things can change on a dime. That’s what it means to have a career in writing: the business of publishing is always in a state of flux. And so it happened again, the proposed series was rejected. Historical fiction is a hard sell.  What's next? Well, my agent and I are working on it.

If there’s a prompt to be had, perhaps the only one that matters is: 

Write what you love. Write your passion. 

 I write historical fiction. As Liz Trenow states (Writer’s Digest, April 2023): “When I discovered historical fiction, I loved the way it opened up worlds I knew little about, led me into researching eras of history, even took me traveling to find out more.” 

For me, history is my inspiration.  I grew up reading historical adventures and watching Doctor Who (a show that bent history into a wibbly wobbly adventure, to be sure!) Of course, it was the boys who were having all the fun. I wanted to know about those other stories, plain and ordinary girls like me. 

I also love to research. I enjoy reading diaries of those who experienced the events. When writing Girls of Gettysburg (2014), I walked the battlefield four times, watching re-enactors create this moment in history taht took place one hundred fifty-one years ago. I stood in the very place where twelve thousand Confederate forces gathered along Seminary Ridge. Almost a mile away, at the end of an open field, a copse of trees marked the Union line standing firm on Cemetery Ridge. When the signal was given, the men marched across the field. The line had advanced less than two hundred yards when the federals sent shell after shell howling into their midst. Boom! Men fell legless, headless, armless, black with burns and red with blood. Still they marched on across that field. And in the middle of this gruesome battle, the bloodiest of the Civil War, were my girls of Gettysburg. 

My characters also broke the rules and norms of their period as they struggled to take control of their destiny, although I was careful to provide context.  This focus reaffirmed the theme that underscores all my writing: Doing right wasn’t always easy, and sometimes it could be dangerous, but it could also change the world. And, in reading my stories, young readers are empowered (hopefully) to do the same.

For me, historical fiction tells the story of a living past, illustrating the continuity of life. Humans by their very nature are difficult, complicated, short-sighted, and at times, tragic. And yet, there is hope, grounded in human experience and perspective, all of which has been the driving force of my storytelling.

As my protagonist in Big River’s Daughter (2013) said, “This here story is all true, as near as I can recollect. It ain’t a prettified story. Life as a river rat is stomping hard, and don’t I know it. It’s life wild and woolly, a real rough and tumble. But like Da said, life on the river is full of possible imaginations. And we river rats, we aim to see it through in our own way. That’s the honest truth of it.”  And therein is the hope of River’s journey: if one perseveres,  life can be full of possible imaginations.

So, the question -- or the prompt -- becomes: Why do you like to write, and what do you love about your writing? 

-- Bobbi Miller

How To Engineer A Revision

 

What does it mean to engineer a revision?

In my current WIP, I am working with two distinct points of view moving through simultaneous timelines against a hefty historical event. The challenge was making these points of view distinct without compromising either  timeline, while still making sure that the event – a coming together of complex social and political systems – was easy enough for young readers  to follow. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Not.

So how does one weave together all of these elements into a cohesive story? I first came upon the term “story engineering” in Larry Brooks’ excellent book, Story Engineering: Mastering the 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing (Writers Digest Books, 2011). Story engineering is not just about planning or outlining, but certainly that’s a part of the process. In the same way that engineers really on blueprints to create a structure that bears weight and resists the elements, writers arm themselves with a strategy to create an equally structurally sound foundation upon which all the literary elements may rest.

Looking for information on how to engineer two points of view at once, I went to my go-to for information on writing strategies. Lorin Oberweger’s  Free Expressions Seminars .

And –of course – I found the perfect workshop: Non-Linear, Dual-Timeline, And Multiple POV Plotting with Donald Maass. No one does it better than Donald Maass. During the almost two-hour workshop, Donald offered step by step instruction, citing examples from ‘break-out’ fiction to support his process.

Returning to my WIP, I began to engineer my two points of view and their plotlines. (This is a basic step by step that fits my particular narrative. For more information, especially as it relates to your project, you must check out Donald Maass’ workshops at Free Expressions.)

First, I divided the draft by points of view. It’s like having two (or more, depending on how many POVs are used) separate stories. The parallel narratives need to be so tight, and so relevant, that one cannot exist without the other. While the two points of view need to be pronounced, and distinct, they need to be connected by theme.

Next, I reviewed the carryovers (transitions) between chapters to make sure the story of each point of view flowed.

Next, I reviewed both timelines to make sure the scenes connected to the broader plot.  This includes adding research as needed to make sure each scene was complete.

I then combined the two stories into one, aligning the events to strengthen the timeline, reinforcing the causal chain. This means quickly establishing the narrative pattern, in which the points of view shift between the characters. It also means noting where additional chapters might be needed to complete the timeline.

Finally, To keep the reader oriented, I review each points of view to make sure the characters are distinct, reinforcing certain literary devices. These devices include vocabulary, sensibilities (world views), personality traits, and specific artifacts (such as pets or songs!).

Now the foundation is set, and the real work of revision can begin!! Allons-y!!

-- Bobbi Miller