Notes from a master class with John Marsden

Hi everyone

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend a writing master class led by John Marsden. If you are unfamiliar with his work, he is an amazing Australian author with forty books to his credit, the best known being the Tomorrow When The War Began series.

The class covered a lot of interesting and practical ground, and I thought it would be worth sharing some of my notes with you. Note: THIS IS NOT VERIBATIM. I’ve filled a lot of gaps, so if anything stands out as odd … that was me. If you see something, yell in the comments and hope you can fill in the context.

Right. Here we go.

**Voice**

Voice is an essential part of making your characters real.
Each character must have a distinctive voice, and the most powerful tool we have to make a voice distinctive is vocabulary. Subtle distinctions can make big differences: rhythm of speech, colloquialisms, key phrases, and tics, to name a few.
If you give a character a trait that is unusual or distinctive, it’s generally a good idea to find a way to demonstrate that it was a deliberate decision by the author rather than lazy writing. An example Marsden gives is a teenager who says “God.” “Gosh” is not part of the typical vocabulary of an Australian teenager. But if you tackle it, make a second character comment that says “She’s the only person I know under the age of eighty that God says” highlights the trait and makes it a natural building block for a cautious and conservative character, instead of feeling like The author doesn’t know how teenagers talk.

There are a tremendous number of things that affect the way a person talks.

A writer needs to think about the effects of gender and age differences, as well as the geographical origin of the characters. An Adelaide boy drinks water from a fountain, while a Melbourne boy uses a bubbler.

“I like” and “it goes” are common substitutions / jargon among younger people, but they give a different personality to the dialogue that is otherwise the same.

“And then he said, absolutely not, and I said, well, I’m out of here.”
Vs.
“And then he leaves” absolutely not, “and I go” well, I’m leaving here. “

Gender also plays a role in a character’s voice. In the absence of any other information, there are phrases and gestures that can clearly feel masculine or feminine, and it’s important to think about that when you’re writing a dialogue. In the example above, “like” tends to be more of a feminine mannerism, while “goes” is more of a masculine. Another example:
“I’ll just put your name on the list before I go back.”
Vs.
“I will put your name before I leave.”

This isn’t a perfect example and it’s not a perfect science, but it’s worth considering when building your characters.

Real-world experience is important in creating a dialogue that fits the type of character you are trying to create. Listen to the people around you and assimilate the different speech patterns and phrases that different groups of people use.

**Body language**

Break dialogue with action. Actions give a feeling of realism and can be a very good way to communicate other pieces of information: the physical and mental state of the characters and the space around them.

The unconscious mind of the characters is an important part of their composition, and it shows in their actions. Unconscious body language, dreams (although dream sequences can be tedious), and Freudian slips are ways to illuminate the deeper composition of characters.

The unconscious mind is also evident in the way people relate to each other. A person may have a trait in himself that he finds intolerable in others; a bad sport complaining that others don’t play fairly, for example. It can say a lot about its deepest dynamics.

**State**

It is important to maintain an awareness of the status of your characters.

State differences can create tension and have a significant impact on how a character behaves in a given situation.

For example: a student has been called to the principal’s office.
The principal has a high status: he can make the student wait, he can interrupt the student, he acts with authority and generally takes command of the situation. Her body language is safe.
The student has a low status: they are more likely to apologize, speak only when spoken to, accept, and defer to the principal. His body language is submissive: hunched over in the chair or sitting rigid with anxiety.

But what if it is reversed?

What if the principal is new and suspicious of his role, or if the student has blackmail material, or has wealthy parents who could threaten to withhold much-needed donations?

The principal now has a low status: he is more likely to apologize to the student, less demanding and more questioning, even pleading. Body language is reserved, perhaps a nervous tic appears.
The student now has high status: he could be rude, demanding, able to take control of the conversation. Body language is safe, perhaps even arrogant or aggressive, which really brings home its high status.

Monty Python got a lot of good comedy playing relative state.

As it is in the language of a character, geography is also a factor in the state. Some countries have a much more formalized hierarchy of status, for example England, Japan and India. This hierarchy is much less obvious in countries like Australia, but it is definitely still there.

Let’s say a recruiter is interviewing applicants for a job.
“Yes, I would like to work for you.” and “Yes, I am interested in the position.” they will result in very different assumed states, and thus will evoke very different responses from the reader.

State is also worth considering when it comes to your dynamic protagonist / antagonist. A low-level hero fighting a high-status villain can create fantastic tension, but it’s hard to get people to root for a high-level good guy who fights a low-level bad guy.

The romantic genre often plays around with this too: the low-status girl falls in love with a high-status boy or vice versa.

Faking a state can make the character look at an interesting angle, forcing the author to use internal reflections, subtle (or non-subtle) thoughts and behaviors to indicate how comfortable a character feels with the voice / state he is using.

**Plot**

Creating problems is easy. Finding convincing solutions is difficult.

Typically, you will have to find multiple solutions throughout a book: Having a variety of small and large obstacles to overcome gives the story the energy it needs to move on.

Occasionally there are novels where there is no solution, which is also perfectly legitimate. Characters who cannot confront the realities of their behavior or the problems that remain open. It’s a good idea to get to know your audience before releasing something like this, because it can be very frustrating if you don’t expect it or if it’s done wrong.

** Four approaches to writing **

There are a hundred different versions of this, but here are four different approaches to writing.

The Bricklayer: Crafting a story sentence by sentence making sure each is perfect before moving on to the next. (not much editing)

The architect: The story is extensively planned before the first draft is started, and the story adheres to the predefined structure

The Water colorourist: the magical setting in which everything goes right the first time almost unedited (very rare)

The oil painter: writes and rewrites, produces millions of words and goes through large amounts of editing and cleaning

Marsden used to follow the bricklayer approach, but found that he constantly started new projects and never finished existing ones because he got bored of spending a lot of time editing. Now favor the oil painter’s approach: download it all and don’t do an edit word until the first draft is finished, then work until it reads how you want. There is often less editing to do than might be expected. It does not tend to use character notes.

** A two minute writing lesson, or “How to get your writing from D to B- in two minutes” **

Here are three sentences.

We went to the beach.

We lunch.

We went home.

They are terrible, right?
But there are a couple of easy steps you can take to make them compelling.

1- Identify nouns and pronouns

In this case, the nouns are We, We and We, and the pronouns are beach, lunch and home.
Now be specific. The sentences become:

Nick and I went to the beach in Torquay.

We had a couple of chicken papers for lunch.

We return to Sally’s house.

2- Identify the verbs

Verbs are where the true power of writing comes from.
Change the generic verbs (was, had and was) to something more realistic and descriptive.

Nick and I went to the beach in Torquay.

We had a couple of chicken papers for lunch.

We take a trip back to Sally’s house.

Specifying nouns and bringing verbs to life makes your writing much more real. Now to go into more detail:

3- adverbs

You are better without them.

They are almost always tautologies, and almost always they say, they do not show.

4- Never use any expression that you have seen or heard before (this is difficult to follow, but it is worth trying).

Anything like “she was as cold as ice,” “the hair on the back of her neck stood on end,” “she felt chills down her spine,” etc., will not have the impact she is looking for because she is so overused

Find something that seems realistic or appropriate to you and work to find better expressions, even if you are careful not to go too far. It can take two and a half days to write an expression, but you must take the time. A reader with cliches won’t be interested.

5- Choose your words carefully

Avoid words that you only use in writing. “Usually” doesn’t usually appear in conversation, but you see it everywhere in writing.

Cut “alone”, “very”, “really” wherever you can. They are often unnecessary: ​​modifiers tend to awaken statements to emphasize, that is, “I was very tired.” vs. “I was tired”, “the party was very loud”. vs “the party was loud”. There are times when too many words can sink a sentence. Use them wisely.

And that is.

Class is over.

** Extra question: **

We were wrapping up when someone in the back asked the classic question “So when do you think the best time to write is?”

Marsden says he does his best work between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. with the TV on in the background. It’s not a practical scenario when you have to work, but you do what you can: always tried to get 1000 words per session, unedited until you get to the end of the first draft.

Just do what works for you as long as you write something.

Hi everyone

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend a writing master class led by John Marsden. If you are unfamiliar with his work, he is an amazing Australian author with forty books to his credit, the best known being the Tomorrow When The War Began series.

The class covered a lot of interesting and practical ground, and I thought it would be worth sharing some of my notes with you. Note: THIS IS NOT VERIBATIM. I’ve filled a lot of gaps, so if anything stands out as odd … that was me. If you see something, yell in the comments and hope you can fill in the context.

Right. Here we go.

**Voice**

Voice is an essential part of making your characters real.
Each character must have a distinctive voice, and the most powerful tool we have to make a voice distinctive is vocabulary. Subtle distinctions can make big differences: rhythm of speech, colloquialisms, key phrases, and tics, to name a few.
If you give a character a trait that is unusual or distinctive, it’s generally a good idea to find a way to demonstrate that it was a deliberate decision by the author rather than lazy writing. An example Marsden gives is a teenager who says “God.” “Gosh” is not part of the typical vocabulary of an Australian teenager. But if you tackle it, make a second character comment that says “She’s the only person I know under the age of eighty that God says” highlights the trait and makes it a natural building block for a cautious and conservative character, instead of feeling like The author doesn’t know how teenagers talk.

There are a tremendous number of things that affect the way a person talks.

A writer needs to think about the effects of gender and age differences, as well as the geographical origin of the characters. An Adelaide boy drinks water from a fountain, while a Melbourne boy uses a bubbler.

“I like” and “it goes” are common substitutions / jargon among younger people, but they give a different personality to the dialogue that is otherwise the same.

“And then he said, absolutely not, and I said, well, I’m out of here.”
Vs.
“And then he leaves” absolutely not, “and I go” well, I’m leaving here. “

Gender also plays a role in a character’s voice. In the absence of any other information, there are phrases and gestures that can clearly feel masculine or feminine, and it’s important to think about that when you’re writing a dialogue. In the example above, “like” tends to be more of a feminine mannerism, while “goes” is more of a masculine. Another example:
“I’ll just put your name on the list before I go back.”
Vs.
“I will put your name before I leave.”

This isn’t a perfect example and it’s not a perfect science, but it’s worth considering when building your characters.

Real-world experience is important in creating a dialogue that fits the type of character you are trying to create. Listen to the people around you and assimilate the different speech patterns and phrases that different groups of people use.

**Body language**

Break dialogue with action. Actions give a feeling of realism and can be a very good way to communicate other pieces of information: the physical and mental state of the characters and the space around them.

The unconscious mind of the characters is an important part of their composition, and it shows in their actions. Unconscious body language, dreams (although dream sequences can be tedious), and Freudian slips are ways to illuminate the deeper composition of characters.

The unconscious mind is also evident in the way people relate to each other. A person may have a trait in himself that he finds intolerable in others; a bad sport complaining that others don’t play fairly, for example. It can say a lot about its deepest dynamics.

**State**

It is important to maintain an awareness of the status of your characters.

State differences can create tension and have a significant impact on how a character behaves in a given situation.

For example: a student has been called to the principal’s office.
The principal has a high status: he can make the student wait, he can interrupt the student, he acts with authority and generally takes command of the situation. Her body language is safe.
The student has a low status: they are more likely to apologize, speak only when spoken to, accept, and defer to the principal. His body language is submissive: hunched over in the chair or sitting rigid with anxiety.

But what if it is reversed?

What if the principal is new and suspicious of his role, or if the student has blackmail material, or has wealthy parents who could threaten to withhold much-needed donations?

The principal now has a low status: he is more likely to apologize to the student, less demanding and more questioning, even pleading. Body language is reserved, perhaps a nervous tic appears.
The student now has high status: he could be rude, demanding, able to take control of the conversation. Body language is safe, perhaps even arrogant or aggressive, which really brings home its high status.

Monty Python got a lot of good comedy playing relative state.

As it is in the language of a character, geography is also a factor in the state. Some countries have a much more formalized hierarchy of status, for example England, Japan and India. This hierarchy is much less obvious in countries like Australia, but it is definitely still there.

Let’s say a recruiter is interviewing applicants for a job.
“Yes, I would like to work for you.” and “Yes, I am interested in the position.” they will result in very different assumed states, and thus will evoke very different responses from the reader.

State is also worth considering when it comes to your dynamic protagonist / antagonist. A low-level hero fighting a high-status villain can create fantastic tension, but it’s hard to get people to root for a high-level good guy who fights a low-level bad guy.

The romantic genre often plays around with this too: the low-status girl falls in love with a high-status boy or vice versa.

Faking a state can make the character look at an interesting angle, forcing the author to use internal reflections, subtle (or non-subtle) thoughts and behaviors to indicate how comfortable a character feels with the voice / state he is using.

**Plot**

Creating problems is easy. Finding convincing solutions is difficult.

Typically, you will have to find multiple solutions throughout a book: Having a variety of small and large obstacles to overcome gives the story the energy it needs to move on.

Occasionally there are novels where there is no solution, which is also perfectly legitimate. Characters who cannot confront the realities of their behavior or the problems that remain open. It’s a good idea to get to know your audience before releasing something like this, because it can be very frustrating if you don’t expect it or if it’s done wrong.

** Four approaches to writing **

There are a hundred different versions of this, but here are four different approaches to writing.

The Bricklayer: Crafting a story sentence by sentence making sure each is perfect before moving on to the next. (not much editing)

The architect: The story is extensively planned before the first draft is started, and the story adheres to the predefined structure

The Water colorourist: the magical setting in which everything goes right the first time almost unedited (very rare)

The oil painter: writes and rewrites, produces millions of words and goes through large amounts of editing and cleaning

Marsden used to follow the bricklayer approach, but found that he constantly started new projects and never finished existing ones because he got bored of spending a lot of time editing. Now favor the oil painter’s approach: download it all and don’t do an edit word until the first draft is finished, then work until it reads how you want. There is often less editing to do than might be expected. It does not tend to use character notes.

** A two minute writing lesson, or “How to get your writing from D to B- in two minutes” **

Here are three sentences.

We went to the beach.

We lunch.

We went home.

They are terrible, right?
But there are a couple of easy steps you can take to make them compelling.

1- Identify nouns and pronouns

In this case, the nouns are We, We and We, and the pronouns are beach, lunch and home.
Now be specific. The sentences become:

Nick and I went to the beach in Torquay.

We had a couple of chicken papers for lunch.

We return to Sally’s house.

2- Identify the verbs

Verbs are where the true power of writing comes from.
Change the generic verbs (was, had and was) to something more realistic and descriptive.

Nick and I went to the beach in Torquay.

We had a couple of chicken papers for lunch.

We take a trip back to Sally’s house.

Specifying nouns and bringing verbs to life makes your writing much more real. Now to go into more detail:

3- adverbs

You are better without them.

They are almost always tautologies, and almost always they say, they do not show.

4- Never use any expression that you have seen or heard before (this is difficult to follow, but it is worth trying).

Anything like “she was as cold as ice,” “the hair on the back of her neck stood on end,” “she felt chills down her spine,” etc., will not have the impact she is looking for because she is so overused

Find something that seems realistic or appropriate to you and work to find better expressions, even if you are careful not to go too far. It can take two and a half days to write an expression, but you must take the time. A reader with cliches won’t be interested.

5- Choose your words carefully

Avoid words that you only use in writing. “Usually” doesn’t usually appear in conversation, but you see it everywhere in writing.

Cut “alone”, “very”, “really” wherever you can. They are often unnecessary: ​​modifiers tend to awaken statements to emphasize, that is, “I was very tired.” vs. “I was tired”, “the party was very loud”. vs “the party was loud”. There are times when too many words can sink a sentence. Use them wisely.

And that is.

Class is over.

** Extra question: **

We were wrapping up when someone in the back asked the classic question “So when do you think the best time to write is?”

Marsden says he does his best work between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. with the TV on in the background. It’s not a practical scenario when you have to work, but you do what you can: always tried to get 1000 words per session, unedited until you get to the end of the first draft.

Just do what works for you as long as you write something.

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