Propelling Deep Into the Story

photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

It takes a lot to pull me deep into a book, so deep a family member's voice in the room startles me into reality.

One of my favorite Bible stories, found in Jeremiah, has that affect on me. The events from this story continue to impact others today.

Jeremiah had the strength to speak, but others had the power to punish. The princes tired of Jeremiah's warnings of impending doom. They begged king Zedekiah to get rid of him. The wimp Zedekiah gave them open permission to do what they wanted. 

To hush Jeremiah's voice and let him have a taste of the torment he put them through "they lowered him down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. And Jeremiah sank in the mire." Jeremiah 38

The princes had a vague idea about the place where they put him. Without having been inside the dungeon, they'd smelled the stench rising to the surface and heard the horror stories, enough to rank this particular dungeon number one to torture Jeremiah.

The princes didn't want to kill him. Killing a prophet would not be wise. If Jeremiah tumbled into a well so deep the bottom couldn't be seen he might die. What torture would that bring?  No. Jeremiah needed to survive. He had to experience sinking hopelessly into the swampy mire. The mire had to be reasonably deep, perhaps as high as his neck to give the torture effect.

This dungeon was secluded, any cry for help would vanish in empty space. There were no prison cells nearby. He was alone.

An Ethiopian eunuch heard what the princes did. He ran to the king and said, "My lord, these men have done evil by casting Jeremiah into the dungeon. He is likely to die from hunger."

Zedekiah said, "Take thirty men with you and lift Jeremiah out of the dungeon before he dies." 

Seriously? It took thirty soldiers to get Jeremiah out? What did this dungeon look like?  

Take a minute with me. Pull your shoes off, close your eyes, and transport your mind to a swamp. Step away from the waist high grass on the shore into the squishy, muck. Your feet slip and slide, yet sink into the brownish-black sludge. It's thick. Gooey. You step again and feel yourself sucked down, uncomfortably deep. You didn't know about the hidden drop off covered by the mirky water. Reach out-try to grab water-grass, cattail, anything to hold your balance. Your arms flounder in the dark, it takes your breath. You're cold, yet sweat beads on your neck. 

The water rises against your skin, first to your knees then hips, waist, shoulders and settles at your neck.  Mosquitos pierce your eardrum with irritatingly high-pitched noises. You dare not move to swat them away else loose your balance and sink, down, further, closer into the sludge.  You cherish the next breath and pray for another.

Fear impulses send your heart into rapid rhythms, bah boom, bah boom, b-b-b bah boom. Cloud coverage blocks the sun. A wall of black covers the sky. Darker. Deeper. Your feet are pulled, no yanked with unbreakable power by a mucky suction. 

This resembles Jeremiah's situation. This deep well from which thirty soldiers were needed to rescue him.

Did you go with Jeremiah? Did you feel the dungeon? Did you leave the comfort of your chair, become soaked in his place of torment, and now feel the need to take a shower . . or a few deep breaths of air?

1. Like Jeremiah, we also have messages to convey. Not necessarily prophetic, or God breathed Scripture, but books with something to touch the life of each person God leads to our work. The story must be captivating, powerful, engaging. Stir a pot then offer resolution.

2. Don't laden your work with adjectives. Rather, embed your work with strong, descriptive nouns. Nouns that carry the effect of quality paint on a canvas. Thick. Rich. Colorful. Storyful.

3. Realistically let events play. Irritated with Jeremiah, the bullies, played by the princes, used physical force to convey their message. Back off Jeremiah. God made the eunuch aware of the situation and directed him to point out Jeremiah's lack of food, not the torture to the wimpy king . . . who probably would have let Jeremiah sit in the mire longer, just to please the princes.

4. Raise the dander of the locals. In a positive way :) A woman recently wrote a fictional book offering what might have happened to Princess Doe before she was murdered. Her book stirred the locals, revived the investigation, and advertised not only the missing woman but also the book on a television program. In our story today, the eunuch's dander flared causing him to tell the king and spark a change. Changing one person is not enough. What will they do with the felt change? Will they go and tell someone so they too can have an experience?

The book I read for this last reading challenge was Borders of the Heart by Chris Fabry. This masterfully-crafted book put dust on my tongue, sand on my shoes, and sticky-blazing heat against my skin. Each time I set the book down I grabbed a water bottle. 

I moved from the comfort of my living room chair into the pages and experienced several scorching hot day on an Arizona ranch located near the Mexican border. It wasn't setting only, or dialogue which sucked me deep into this story. It just felt so real. The phone startled me. Time move in accelerated motion. 

What can you add, take away, or sharpen in your story to cause a reader to loose track of time and be sucked into the story?

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This blog post is by Mary Vee

Mary lives in Montana with her husband and loves to hear from her three college kids. She writes contemporary Christian fiction with a focus on the homeless population and loves to pen missionary and Bible adventure stories on her ministry blog, God Loves Kids.

Visit Mary at her website www.maryvee.com

Step into Someone Else's World

Ministry blog to families: God Loves Kids http://www.mimaryvee.blogspot.com/

Email: mimary_vee@yahoo.com

Is Your Voice a Full Symphony...

Or does it blend in with the choir.

Voice can easily take a good book and make it memorable.

Or lack of attention to voice can make a well-plotted novel seem humdrum.

I recently listened to Kaye Dacus' workshop on Voice from ACFW's 2010 conference. Dacus lamented the fact that much of CBA fiction is beginning to sound the same. Sure, we've followed all the rules to a tee. But perhaps the cost has been too high, as in some cases we are losing our voice, our very distinctiveness. It is an excellent CD I can highly recommend.

 (Oh and by the way, if you haven't done so, be sure to read Kaye's Writing Series Index. Its chock-full of great writing advice on nearly every topic imaginable).

I had recently finished a book that had disappointed me. The writer had seemed to follow many of the rules we have learned about through countless writing books. Keep it fast-paced. Avoid passive voice. No adverbs. Show, don't tell.

I talked to my husband and finally found out what was troubling me. There was nothing that made this book unique. This book could have been written by anyone in my mind.

Recently I read another book by an author, Chris Fabry, who I think of as an armchair author for me. After reading several of his books I feel like I'm getting to know his voice as a writer and there's a comfort in that.

Another author I have recently read is Ginger Garrett. Her genre and style of writing are quite different from Chris', but she has a distinctive voice of her own that I love reading. Garrett is a storyteller who serves as a familiar travelogue on journeys through biblical lands, or early American history. She immediately captures my attention.

Another favorite of mine for voice is Laura Frantz. She is one of the rare historical fiction authors who has mastered the voice of the time period she writes in. Her beautiful prose is old-fashioned in a way that uniquely distinguishes her.

A common MFA in Creative Writing exercise I'm told is to imitate your favorite authors' styles. While I have no doubt there is value in this exercise...let's remember we're not called to be the next Willa Cather, L.M. Montgomery, or whoever else it is we admire.

Let's not forget that we can offer what no one else can...our voice.

Who are your favorite authors when it comes to voice? How would you describe their voice? Or how would you describe your own voice?

Julia enjoys writing women's fiction whenever she can find a chair free of smushed peanut butter sandwiches and lego blocks. She is a wife and homeschooling mama of two littles. She also enjoys reading and reviewing books for The Title Trakk, a Christian review site.

Guest Blogger: Chris Fabry on the Journey of a Writer

When are you a real writer? When do you know you’ve reached the moment when you can put “writer” under your name on a letter or a business card? I used to think it was upon publication. Maybe an article in a big magazine. Or after you sign a book deal or finally hold the idea you had in your head in your hands. That bright, beautiful book with your name in bold on the cover and the spine.

I was fortunate enough to have my first book published in 1995. I still remember driving to the publisher about 20 minutes away with my wife and children. I picked up a box from the receptionist and walked to the car, my kids clamoring for a peek inside. We stood there with the Illinois cloud cover and I ripped off the packing tape and handed out the first copies. I had dreamed of that moment for many years. I read every Writers Digest Magazine, read Dean Koontz’s book on bestselling fiction a hundred times, wrote for my local paper, journaled, scribbled stories in the basement of our home—words that no one will ever read. I prayed, begged, and cajoled God to let me do this.

Holding that first book in my hands, the culmination of so many dreams, I had one thought: “When will I hold book #2?”

I didn’t feel like a “real writer” after book #1. Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe the publisher just showed bad judgment. And if anyone actually bought the thing, well, it showed how bereft they were of their literary scruples. The book sold pretty well, but it didn’t make me feel like a real writer.

Book #2 came out the next year. Book #3 followed a year later. Another contract brought another two books. Then, I had the opportunity to write children’s fiction with Jerry Jenkins and Dr. Tim LaHaye. I furiously wrote 35 books in the Left Behind: The Kids Series. Following that were 20 more children’s books, two as-told-to biographies of football legends, and now my first three books of adult fiction. Almost Heaven, my latest novel, is my 70th published book.

A couple of weeks ago I had a meeting where my sales history was put forward in black and white. Undisputable numbers. I gulped. What would the numbers say? I flipped to the last page. The total at the bottom was nearly 4 million copies sold.

And still, as I sat there, that number didn’t confirm that I was really a writer. A typist can sell a lot of copies.

What I’ve learned through this journey is that I was every bit as much a writer BEFORE I was published than I am now. In my heart was a burning desire to communicate through the written word. I couldn’t NOT write. I had to get to the page. Whether anyone read it or not, this was part of the way God made me. No one can tell you you’re a writer. No sales figure will confirm it. Not even your name on the cover of a book will give you the feeling. It’s something you have to believe deep inside. Writing is something you do. Being a writer is something you are. You work at the craft, you progress, you fail and you fall and you pick yourself up each day and put one word behind another.

If God has put that desire in your heart, he’s done so for a purpose. Create. Pour out the pain and love and truth. You can’t control if you’ll be published. You can’t control how many people will read what you write. You can only be faithful to the pulse beat of the heart of a writer.

About the Author: Chris Fabry is the author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books for both children and adults.  His book, Dogwood was the 2009 Christy Award winner in the contemporary standalone category.  He is also a host for the daily radio program Chris Fabry Live! and co-host for several other radio shows. 

Please keep Chris Fabry and his family in your prayers this November.  Check here for updates: Fabry Family Updates.

Also, don't forget to download Chris' latest book, Almost Heaven, currently available FREE from Amazon Kindle. 

What's Up the Street For Next Week?

Characters!

Seen very many this weekend? Okay, I’m not talking about the ones who live in your house on a daily basis, I mean the ones coming to the door in the autumn ritual of peddling for candy :-)

It’s nothing new to me – and if you’re around kids, dressing up is a daily affair. I mean, where would little boys be without capes? Where would little girls be without tiara’s and ‘clappy’ shoes?

Oh, and let me just tell you, kids aren’t the ONLY ones who love ‘becoming someone else.’ Adults can have just as much fun – putting on their own disguises.

Isn’t that one of the things we do as authors? ‘Become’ other people? We may or may not use masks, but the heart of it still applies. We ‘dress up’ as our characters, so to speak, and travel about imaginary worlds – then come back to describe them to people in this world. :-)

Around my house costumes, cardboard, and capes are daily essentials….as you can probably see.

And why not?

Creativity breeds inspiration, and visa versa :-)

Of course, as authors, we know that sometimes our characters do things we don’t expect…just like kids do. So – what’s been your favorite costume? Do you have one?

Leave a comment and we’ll place you in the drawing for Steven James’ newest thriller, The Bishop…page turner and MAJORLY intense.

Winner of Wanda Brunstetter’s novel, Betsy’s Return is Mosi Esme. Congrats – send your snail mail to pepperbasham(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Now, what’s going on next week?

Monday – A picture’s worth a thousand words? Hmmm…Start the week off with Angie as she talks about Creating Word Pictures

Tuesday – Ready to learn more about Storyboarding…and affordable storyboarding at that?!? Stop by for Julia’s post called Storyboarding on a Shoestring: FREE & Cheap Software Options

Wednesday – Step into Sarah’s world with her post How a CPA Writes a Novel (Because I Know You're DYING to Know!)

Thursday - Bad guys? You want talk about bad guys? Well, Wendy isn’t afraid. Join her today for her post called Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf

Friday - Cindy's post for next week is about Secondary Characters - Side-Kicks, Friends/Family, and Recipes for Conflict

Did anyone else see the Followers count? 190!!! 10 more and it’s PARTY TIME!!!

Speaking of parties – The Alley ShopKeepers have a birthday today. Give a shout out to Wendy!!! Happy Birthday, Wendy. In honor of your birthday, we’re serving your choice of German Chocolate Cake, Chocolate swirl Cheesecake, or Chocolate Chip Cookie Pizza.

Any or all can be served with ice cream…and a smile.

Newstand

Oh boy, check out Mary’s news.
Mondays during the month of Novelmber, Mary has some special guests on her blog. Check out her wonderful lineup!
Paul McCusker, 11/8,
Lori Scott, 11/15,
Chris Fabry, 11/22;
Bryan Davis, 11/29.
Come read their Thanksgiving stories.

Also, Cindy has a giveaway of a contemporary Christian romance novel (a choice of one of three) on her blog, Stop over by Thursday for your chance to win.

Pepper’s blog, Words Seasoned With Salt, features authors Margaret Daley, Erica Vetsch, and Siri Mitchell. Stop by and find out what they have to say about ‘Falling in Love’.

Enjoy creating and being a character! We are all certainly created for a purpose.

As Hazeem from Robin Hood: Prince of Theives says, “God likes great variety.”