Topics we've covered so far:
Memoirs: Should you write one? Should you hire a ghostwriter?
What is collaboration--really? How does it work between a ghost and a client?
Legal things: Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), Contracts, Fees, Credits and more
Working with a ghostwriter on a novel
The road to publishing. Should you self publish or go the traditional route? What is the "traditional" route? What are the pluses and minuses of each?
Finding a literary agent
How the ghostwriting/client process works and why it works so well
The music of good writing begins with how well we think--both of us
What's it feel like to write in another person's voice? Getting into character
Visit my main website for more information and answers: http://www.theghostwriter.net
Robert Bruce Woodcox
Writing, life, and other important things.
See my full website for more answers & information at http://www.theghostwriter.net
Monday, May 21, 2018
What's it like to ghostwrite another person's memoirs, life story or novel?
Most ghostwriters have their own techniques for writing everything from memoirs to business books. I have always been lucky to be able to mimic other people (in writing, not as impersonator). I don't know where this ability came from, but it has served me well as a ghost.
Before I do any writing, I interview my client, his or her family and friends and get to know as much as I can about them. Most of this "getting to know you" interviewing is done in the first few of weeks after we begin the project.
During these interviews, I observe the nuances, body language, vocabulary, quirks, favorite words and phrases, philosophy, demeanor and a number of other attributs of the client. This is all done second nature as I also listen carefully to his or her story, emotions, and semi hidden agendas (people really like to get things off their chests).
Once I feel I know this person better and feel I have them "down," I begin to work on our outline, i.e.: Where should I begin, at the beginning, or with a dramatic entry that comes later in the client's life? What is the style of this writing going to be? Will it be creative non-fiction (meaning it will be true, but it will be written to sound more like fiction)? Will it be in the first person, or third person narrative (most memoirs are written in the first person, but not all). These questions, the vision I have of this person and my understanding of the overall story are what lead me to my decisions of how I will capture the client's "voice" and write the story.
There is also the question of what is more or less marketable, but that is for another blog. When I've decided exactly how I'm going to approach this and reviewed that with my client, I put all my notes in a drawer and walk away from the project for several days. When I return, I've fully inculcated the person, the style, tone, pace and rhythm that I think will serve to tell the story best.
Once again, before I touch any keys on my computer, I review my plan and story line. I envision the opening scene and the subsequent ones after that. I remind myself what it is we are trying to say in those first ten pages or so, what mood do I want to leave the reader in? My preference is usually to start with a bang, something to really wake up the reader, but that isn't always the case.
Next, before any writing, I sit quietly thinking about my client in the flesh, sitting and talking to me again beside my desk. I remember that slight accent or the way she mis-pronounces Philadelphia as Philadelthia. I think about who he or she is down at their core and what they would act like if they got into an argument in a grocery store with a clerk, or what they would be like when their mate returns from a long businss trip, whatever traits I feel I know well at this point.
Then, each time before I write, I take five minutes to get into character just like an actor does on stage or before the cameras. However, I find that pretending that I am going on stage as the character of my client works best for me. I focus for nearly a half hour on my character, how he or she looks, walks, talks in several different situations, but most importantly, the one scene that I am going to begin with. It's like putting on a mental costume. I leave my own personality and ego outside my office.
Once all of this is done, I start writing. I tend to write quickly because I think and type quickly. I find that typing or hand eye coordination is a kind of music. There is a physical rhythm to it just as there is a ryhthm, tone and beat to the words on the paper. Over the last 25 years, I have developed an ear for the music of words and it serves me well. I hear it when it's smooth and intended to be that way. I hear the hiccups, when it doesn't work, or the sound of an "off" note. I also hear a beautiful melody when it works well. The sounds of words strung together, when they are on or off, come naturally to me. I liken it to what it must be like for someone to be able to play the piano without knowning how to read music. It's just there.
There is another reason for speed and that is to keep up with the mental energy of the story line and the character's (my client) energy. I don't worry about typos, grammar or anything much else except what the character is doing in the scene and where the plot is taking me. This is most creative stage of the writing. I must get it all out of me, drain myself as the character, before I can take a break. I have a favorite saying, "We only write as well as we think." And that is what happens in all good writing. It isn't just a studied background in grammar, syntax, spelling and sentence structure that makes good writing. It's the clarity of thinking that goes behind it that makes all the difference. I always say, "You can hear the "smart" in it. And so, there is a musical rhythm in well chosen words as well as structure of thoughts that make perfectly good sense, in some cases, better sense than we could have sorted out ourselves in our readings. That is when we enjoy a passage more. It is when we learn AND are entertained.
This writing in character, being in character, may mean several hours at the key board non-stop. When I feel I've captured what I set out to portray, I stop. Push away from the desk, take a short walk and return to review everything I've just written. I'm my own worst critic when it comes to a client's "voice" or what they would sound like in written words. I step back to make sure it is her voice, not mine that is coming out of not only the diaglogue, but from her body language, mood, observations of others. In the beginning of my career, when I'd only had a couple of clients, I practiced all this with Hollywood actors I liked and watched frequently. Since I knew their "character's" personalities, gestures, language etc., so well, I could create a new character in my practice writings based on them and then test those out on friends to see if they could guess who it was.
After I've rewritten whatever needs it, I put the manuscript away for the day and start out the next morning fresh with another read, where I inevitably find fixes and rework them first before working again. This is a continual process throughout the entire book because I do not want to rewrite the entire book when I'm done. Some people do. I don't. More extensive work will be done when I am finished writing and I turn it over to my editor for fresh eyes and fresh fixes. This process is done in tandem between the two of us and again, only after a period of walking away from it.
Once I've completed about 20 pages, I stop and send the work to my client. This is when I hold my breath. The purpose is to see if he or she thinks I've captured not only their voice and demeanor and character, but to see if I've accurately transmitted the story, the names, dates and places and the other characters.
This is where the rubber meets the road. Every day is torture waiting to see if I've nailed it or not. It also gives the client the opportunity to make comments and changes and to give me the okay to proceed in the same vein.
Most often the answer from my client is, "It sounds exactly like me----only better!" That is my reward. That's when I can breathe again. That is when all the work is worth it. I know I've found my client's inner voice and am portraying it honestly, but in the way she hears her own voice (which is essentially her own personality).
From that point on, I only add to my knowledge and finess of this person. There are also times when I detect flaws in their personalities and have to make a decision whether or not to include them. If they enhance the story and it is an honest portrayal the client can abide, then it stays. Otherwise, I find another way to deal with it. In all fiction, the characters are always flawed, especially the hero. It is what makes him or her human. It is what helps the reader invest her time and emotions in him and want to continue to know what happens to that character. We want the reader to root for our clients but they won't do that, if the client or character is perfect--that isn't reality and readers will not abide a phony hero.
In my next blog, I'll be talking about memory and how it isn't anywhere near as accurate as we all think.
Thanks for reading. If you have any questions or want more details, please visit my home site at: http://www.theghostwriter.net
Most ghostwriters have their own techniques for writing everything from memoirs to business books. I have always been lucky to be able to mimic other people (in writing, not as impersonator). I don't know where this ability came from, but it has served me well as a ghost.
Before I do any writing, I interview my client, his or her family and friends and get to know as much as I can about them. Most of this "getting to know you" interviewing is done in the first few of weeks after we begin the project.
During these interviews, I observe the nuances, body language, vocabulary, quirks, favorite words and phrases, philosophy, demeanor and a number of other attributs of the client. This is all done second nature as I also listen carefully to his or her story, emotions, and semi hidden agendas (people really like to get things off their chests).
Once I feel I know this person better and feel I have them "down," I begin to work on our outline, i.e.: Where should I begin, at the beginning, or with a dramatic entry that comes later in the client's life? What is the style of this writing going to be? Will it be creative non-fiction (meaning it will be true, but it will be written to sound more like fiction)? Will it be in the first person, or third person narrative (most memoirs are written in the first person, but not all). These questions, the vision I have of this person and my understanding of the overall story are what lead me to my decisions of how I will capture the client's "voice" and write the story.
There is also the question of what is more or less marketable, but that is for another blog. When I've decided exactly how I'm going to approach this and reviewed that with my client, I put all my notes in a drawer and walk away from the project for several days. When I return, I've fully inculcated the person, the style, tone, pace and rhythm that I think will serve to tell the story best.
Once again, before I touch any keys on my computer, I review my plan and story line. I envision the opening scene and the subsequent ones after that. I remind myself what it is we are trying to say in those first ten pages or so, what mood do I want to leave the reader in? My preference is usually to start with a bang, something to really wake up the reader, but that isn't always the case.
Next, before any writing, I sit quietly thinking about my client in the flesh, sitting and talking to me again beside my desk. I remember that slight accent or the way she mis-pronounces Philadelphia as Philadelthia. I think about who he or she is down at their core and what they would act like if they got into an argument in a grocery store with a clerk, or what they would be like when their mate returns from a long businss trip, whatever traits I feel I know well at this point.
Then, each time before I write, I take five minutes to get into character just like an actor does on stage or before the cameras. However, I find that pretending that I am going on stage as the character of my client works best for me. I focus for nearly a half hour on my character, how he or she looks, walks, talks in several different situations, but most importantly, the one scene that I am going to begin with. It's like putting on a mental costume. I leave my own personality and ego outside my office.
Once all of this is done, I start writing. I tend to write quickly because I think and type quickly. I find that typing or hand eye coordination is a kind of music. There is a physical rhythm to it just as there is a ryhthm, tone and beat to the words on the paper. Over the last 25 years, I have developed an ear for the music of words and it serves me well. I hear it when it's smooth and intended to be that way. I hear the hiccups, when it doesn't work, or the sound of an "off" note. I also hear a beautiful melody when it works well. The sounds of words strung together, when they are on or off, come naturally to me. I liken it to what it must be like for someone to be able to play the piano without knowning how to read music. It's just there.
There is another reason for speed and that is to keep up with the mental energy of the story line and the character's (my client) energy. I don't worry about typos, grammar or anything much else except what the character is doing in the scene and where the plot is taking me. This is most creative stage of the writing. I must get it all out of me, drain myself as the character, before I can take a break. I have a favorite saying, "We only write as well as we think." And that is what happens in all good writing. It isn't just a studied background in grammar, syntax, spelling and sentence structure that makes good writing. It's the clarity of thinking that goes behind it that makes all the difference. I always say, "You can hear the "smart" in it. And so, there is a musical rhythm in well chosen words as well as structure of thoughts that make perfectly good sense, in some cases, better sense than we could have sorted out ourselves in our readings. That is when we enjoy a passage more. It is when we learn AND are entertained.
This writing in character, being in character, may mean several hours at the key board non-stop. When I feel I've captured what I set out to portray, I stop. Push away from the desk, take a short walk and return to review everything I've just written. I'm my own worst critic when it comes to a client's "voice" or what they would sound like in written words. I step back to make sure it is her voice, not mine that is coming out of not only the diaglogue, but from her body language, mood, observations of others. In the beginning of my career, when I'd only had a couple of clients, I practiced all this with Hollywood actors I liked and watched frequently. Since I knew their "character's" personalities, gestures, language etc., so well, I could create a new character in my practice writings based on them and then test those out on friends to see if they could guess who it was.
After I've rewritten whatever needs it, I put the manuscript away for the day and start out the next morning fresh with another read, where I inevitably find fixes and rework them first before working again. This is a continual process throughout the entire book because I do not want to rewrite the entire book when I'm done. Some people do. I don't. More extensive work will be done when I am finished writing and I turn it over to my editor for fresh eyes and fresh fixes. This process is done in tandem between the two of us and again, only after a period of walking away from it.
Once I've completed about 20 pages, I stop and send the work to my client. This is when I hold my breath. The purpose is to see if he or she thinks I've captured not only their voice and demeanor and character, but to see if I've accurately transmitted the story, the names, dates and places and the other characters.
This is where the rubber meets the road. Every day is torture waiting to see if I've nailed it or not. It also gives the client the opportunity to make comments and changes and to give me the okay to proceed in the same vein.
Most often the answer from my client is, "It sounds exactly like me----only better!" That is my reward. That's when I can breathe again. That is when all the work is worth it. I know I've found my client's inner voice and am portraying it honestly, but in the way she hears her own voice (which is essentially her own personality).
From that point on, I only add to my knowledge and finess of this person. There are also times when I detect flaws in their personalities and have to make a decision whether or not to include them. If they enhance the story and it is an honest portrayal the client can abide, then it stays. Otherwise, I find another way to deal with it. In all fiction, the characters are always flawed, especially the hero. It is what makes him or her human. It is what helps the reader invest her time and emotions in him and want to continue to know what happens to that character. We want the reader to root for our clients but they won't do that, if the client or character is perfect--that isn't reality and readers will not abide a phony hero.
In my next blog, I'll be talking about memory and how it isn't anywhere near as accurate as we all think.
Thanks for reading. If you have any questions or want more details, please visit my home site at: http://www.theghostwriter.net
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Topics we've covered so far:
Memoirs: Should you write one? Should you hire a ghostwriter?
What is collaboration--really? How does it work between a ghost and a client?
Legal things: Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), Contracts, Fees, Credits and more
Working with a ghostwriter on a novel
The road to publishing. Should you self publish or go the traditional route? What is the "traditional" route? What are the pluses and minuses of each?
Finding a literary agent
How the ghostwriting/client process works and why it works so well
The music of good writing begins with how well we think--both of us
What's it feel like to write in another person's voice? Getting into character
Visit my main website for more information and answers: http://www.theghostwriter.net
Memoirs: Should you write one? Should you hire a ghostwriter?
What is collaboration--really? How does it work between a ghost and a client?
Legal things: Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), Contracts, Fees, Credits and more
Working with a ghostwriter on a novel
The road to publishing. Should you self publish or go the traditional route? What is the "traditional" route? What are the pluses and minuses of each?
Finding a literary agent
How the ghostwriting/client process works and why it works so well
The music of good writing begins with how well we think--both of us
What's it feel like to write in another person's voice? Getting into character
Visit my main website for more information and answers: http://www.theghostwriter.net
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