The Story Gardener and Character Motives

I have gotten in a groove with writing. And it's like a supple garden box that is taking in all the elements needed to yield intriguing produce!

Praise the Lord!

As I grow my characters from the deep soil of their back story, amidst the elements of their present climate, and toward the sunshine of their future (um...well, my story is a little less sunshiny in the happy dance kind of way), I have discovered how to nurture each person with the right balance of motives..to give them the best chance to contribute to the garden...er...story.

Yeah, I love analogy!

The Soil: Or the back story. There must be something in the character's past to motivate them to either move forward, or pull back...usually it is all wrapped up in the seed of the lie, sprouting it's ugly roots and hindering the character like an overgrown weed. But it can also be the values, morals, personality of the character too...you know, all those nutrients that
that contribute to the wellness, or lack thereof, the plant!

The Potential/Sunshine-y future?  You know when you first plant that baby tomato plant, and you dream of plump red fruit hanging from its delicate stems? Well, same with your character, there has to be a dream or potential to drive their motives...and you must remember this throughout the story because it will keep you, the author, and your character going toward the goal...reaching for the sunshine...growing!

The Present Climate: Once the story is going, you'll start nurturing and weeding the character to escape the lie and grow toward the abundance of harvest. Now, storms may come, and you must remember that with each storm, their is a shift in the motive--not the overall motive--but a new motive to survive that present climate. These become little sprigs of new growth that hint of the underlying potential (or dream), and keep the reader asking the question, "what happen's next?" Every time you write, you should remember, what's the immediate motive my character?

Once those motives overcome the present climate, and the character pushes toward its potential, you'll have a mouth-watering story that has your reader pulling up to the table ready to harvest the produce. You as the author might feel more like a juggler than a story gardner at times, but if you remember to give your character plenty of sunshine, those motives will shine through and tempt the reader forward!

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Angie Dicken is a full-time mom and lives in the Midwest with her Texas Aggie sweetheart. An ACFW member since 2010, she has written five Historical Romance novels, has a Historical underway, and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency. Angie also spends her time designing one-sheets, selling Jamberry Nail Wraps, and drinking good coffee with great friends. Check out her author page at www.facebook.com/dicken.angie and her personal blog at angiedicken.blogspot.com 

The Writer's Alley Weekend Round-Up

Mid-November, people! It's almost time to thaw the turkey, make a dozen pies, and put the Christmas lights on the house. Is anyone as panicky as me? Nah...I'm not really panicking. I'm pretty good about going with the flow, but the last few months have just flown by and I need to get organized. I don't want to procrastinate and be harried this Christmas. I want to enjoy the season between Thanksgiving and the New Year. So who's with me? You? Okay, great! Now that we have that settled, let's find out what's up the street this next week.

The Weekly Line-Up

Monday - Angie will be talking about Past, Present, Future...Motives of Your Characters.

Tuesday- Julia's post is entitled Dealing With The Waits of the Writing Life

Wednesday - Karen  is sharing Part 2 of How to Grow Your Blog Platform.

Thursday - Ashley has something up her sleeve and it will be something worth stopping by for.

Friday - Amy is hosting the fabulous Amy Matayo!

The Awesome Link Round-Up

This Simple Trip Can Will Help You Overcome the Inertia of Perfectionism (Copyblogger)

4 Piece of Well-Meaning Advice to Beware Of (Positive Writer)

7 Ways to Keep Writing When You Feel Like Giving Up (Write to Done)

The Great Twitter Debate: Should You Follow Back? (Writer unBoxed)

Beyond Fancy Clothes and Funny Foods - Creating the Culture of Your Story (Go Teen Writer)

#NaNo Tips: "Stealing" Writing Time (Kaye Dacus)

36 Writing Tips to Put Your Butt in the Chair (Positive Writer)

Is "Finding Your Voice" As A Writer Just Plain Laughable? (Write to Done)

Losing One's Marbles (Writer unBoxed)

Have A Great Week!

The Future of Publishing

Publishing is far from being a consistent landscape. We have always known this. But it’s often when we get down into the trenches that we see just what is changing about it. From a reader’s standpoint, we’ve always had books to read, will always have books to read and in many cases too many to grab our attention.

Employed in a well established literary agency, spending time with writers and working as an author’s virtual assistant have gleaned me a fair bit of insight over the last few months.

It’s no longer about breaking into publishing. In fact, in comparison breaking in is actually relatively easy. It’s staying published that is proving to be the challenging position. Because no longer are publishers looking at your platform and how well you can write, they are looking at sales. And sales—or lack thereof—can truly make or break a writer.

Publishing seems very much to be stuck in an old paradigm, with a shifting viewpoint. There aren’t just the big houses anymore. We have smaller presses, print on demand, and ebook only houses that for the fact that they don’t have many marketing dollars, don’t move a lot of copies of books.

Their authors are fantastic writers. Their readers love them. Books are being sold. Word is trickling out to other readers. The author earns out their advance, but not a lot of copies were moved.

Publishers look at sales. They like the writing. It’s an author they want to work with. But if sales aren’t there…sorry. No dice.

I recently had a lunch with a handful of established, upcoming and previously published authors. There was a definite tone and understanding throughout the entire crowd: publishing is changing. Traditional publishing isn’t what it used to be. Authors are expected to do more—if not all—of their own marketing. And established authors from smaller houses can’t get picked up because of their sales numbers.

We can have ideas for how we’d like publishers to look at the numbers, to want to invest and grow an author, but the truth is that’s not really happening. So what can authors and newbie writers do to adapt?

You can’t go into publishing expecting it to be all done for you anymore. What are the benefits of going with traditional publishing? You don’t put all the costs into the cover, editing and interior design—to name a few. You will however play a huge part in your own marketing, which many writers don’t relish or enjoy. 

Publishers aren’t paying a lot of money for a book anymore, but you’ll have the backing and reputation of a publisher behind you—which is important to a lot of readers.

You have to expect change in the journey. Or your publisher doing—or not doing—something the way you would like or expect.

We can wish publishers would look at things differently. That they just wouldn’t look at sales, but see the history and the track record the author has in the industry. But publishers have to protect their bottom line too—often to the frustration of authors.

The exciting prospect of publishing for writers right now? There are so many different options. We’re not just restricted to what traditional publishing can do for us.  We have that choice for the direction we’d like to go for a quality product in either respect—something we haven’t really had before. It’s a decision we have to make with eyes wide open and an open knowledge of what this changing landscape looks like now and what it could look like.

Would you consider indie publishing? Or traditional publishing? Why or why not?

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She is a total country girl, now living in a metropolis of Denver, Colorado. 

Beyond the Novel

I dare say most people reading this are working on that great American novel (or the second or third or twentieth one....)

God has called us to write, and write we shall!

But writing a novel is not the only way to fulfill the calling that is "writing," although it certainly is one of them!

Let's take the Alleycats for example.

EVERY single one of us blogs... here and many of us on our own personal blogs. Have you checked them out lately?

Mary blogs at  LET'S TALK and a fabulous blog for kids at God Loves Kids.

Amy blogs at The Writer's Break Room.

Pepper has this fab blog here.

Ashley gives us a big of her Southern Grace on her blog.

Angie is Taking It All In over at her place.

Casey is being her usual self and Writing for Christ.

Sherrinda is, well, Simply Sherrinda. (but really, there is nothing simple about this awesome lady!)

Julia is a contributor at Wonderfully Woven

Karen shows us all up on her AWESOME blog, A House Full of Sunshine, that is just taking off like CRAZY!

Laurie is full of awesomeness herself on her blog here.

And then of course there's little ol' me. I blog about finding Joy in the Journey (although I think about 70% of my readers just want to hear Annabelle updates, LOL!)

There are many of us who also contribute to other blogs such as www.inspyromance.com and www.wordservewatercooler.com and I know I'm missing some others! (Alleycats, feel free to add in the comments!)

Then we have the fabulous Julia who writes articles and reviews for The Library Journal.

The amazing Ashley who had her first short story published in one of A Cup of Christmas Cheer this year!

And yours truly is trying her hand at novellas this year starting with A Side of Faith, so that is super fun!

But you know?

It can even be simpler than these various ideas.

My daughter came to me the other day and wanted to do a monologue in a talent competition where one of the categories was dramatic monologue. But she didn't want to just do a monologue, she wanted ME to write her one.

*gulp*

So I tried my hand at it. I've never done anything like that before. It's a fairly short one, but I'm decently pleased with the outcome. And it was a little reminder to God that there is more to this writing thing than just novels. He wants us to use our gifts in LOTS of ways, and to limit the reach to just that next novel probably isn't the best use of our talents.

I'm not telling you to go start a blog. Many people have NO interest in doing so, and that is perfectly fine. I'm just saying to think outside the box a little, or at least erase those lines and let God show you other places he might be wanting to use your writing.

Discussion: What ways do you write that don't include writing that big novel?

Six Ways To Become a Unique Writer

Photo Courtesy

I want my manuscript to move from the beta reader's slush pile, the stack on an agent's desk, the buried email in an editor's inbox to SOMEONE who will notice! 

Right?

Sometimes, sigh, this seems impossible. Like, totally.

But, we can't give up! Our manuscripts can make it to the great beyond known as publication. WE can be a success.

So, what is the key to breaking down the barrier?

I've heard editors and agents say they wanted something fresh, but I must admit, for the longest time I didn't fully understand what they meant. Do you? Isn't each story we write fresh...to us?



I have since figured out the answer. What the editors and agents want--and for you indie writers--what the buyers of books want is: to read a unique story which can only be written by a unique writer.

Sounds like a tall order? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe the idea simply needs to be broken down into doable suggestions.

Here are some ways YOU can become a unique writer:

But first, this brief commercial message brought to you by the editors/agents/mentors/beta readers/crit partners you know and love so well and the readers who will hopefully soon know and love you so well. Ready?  Study--study--study. Learn everything you can about writing: technique, editing, flow, etc. Search the books you love to read and figure out why you love to read them. These are the tools every writer needs to begin.

And now I return to the scheduled post ;) 

Six ways to become a unique writer:

1. Be Me. As I write my story am I basically being a performer? To imitate other works I've read, (examples from textbooks, rules, instructor's advice, etc,) is to perform a story. The work will read plastic, unfeeling, and lacking depth. Sure, I need to learn from others, but at some point, I need to let go--show the feelings, my voice, my ideas, my writing, my calling.

2. Write in Story Waves. To capture a readers attention, I cannot write a sweet serene story (yawn) or a power-punch-never breathe action adventure. Every story, no matter the genre, needs to flow in waves to continually engage the reader. An examples of flow can be:
slow, medium, fast, really slow, fast. 

Slow does not mean boring. Slow includes the greatest of emotions that jar a person to think, ponder, consider, plan, walk, sleep, breathe, set the setting, change character's POV, building foundations, etc. A story needs to start with a hook, but we need to be wise. The hook cannot be an unexplained explosion (war? car accident? gas leak, etc). Hook the reader in with masterful writing that shows the stage where the action is taking place.

3. Be Bold. Every writer has a strength (description, dialogue, plot, character development, layering, subplots, etc). Every writer also has a weakness. If I only write using my strengths, my story will be lacking in crucial areas and become a flop. To be a unique writer, I need to be bold, identify my weakness and purposefully develop these portions to the point of perfectly balancing my story. 

*  A. What is your strength? (I think mine is dialogue)
*  B. What is your weakness? (I think mine is spilling the beans too soon--one person in my crit group says "Slow down, Mary. Take them on the journey.")

*  C. Balance- How can you raise your weakness to balance your strength? (I need to perfect the speed of storytelling to match the level of dialogue. I plan to focus on this specific area until I've mastered it.) 

4. Dive into emotions. Think about the main character's message. As he moves through his journey on the pages he should be talking to himself, to others involved, and to God. The reader needs to be inside the MC's skin. That is when the true message gets real. 

5. Show restraint. Writing needs to be more about conveying raw emotions than showing off a writing skill. I need to show restraint from flowery sentences, over-the-top emotions, dramatic-sappy scenes, forced dialogues, and anything written that is more than what is needed to engage the reader.

6. Let your personality show through. Better yet--let it shine through your writing. I say I am a hermit, but I laugh at what others say and do. I say I like to be alone in the woods to think and write, yet I love family celebrations. 

What is my real personality? 

I don't need a test or quiz to find out. I know. The answer is: it depends on the day, weather, and a hundred other things. I don't have a distinct personality.

No. This is not true. I may respond differently to a situation given the day, weather, and a hundred other things, but my personality remains the same. 

Answer these question: *  What is your personality? (Mary is a fun-loving child of God who loves to laugh, listen to people talk, teach, and breathe the fresh air.)

*  How can you infuse your personality into your writing? (I can weave in fun loving scenes, humor, dialogue, a character who changes in their journey, outdoor activities)

*  Where have you successfully infused your personality into your writing and how can you do it again? (I've added humor, outside chase scenes, a comic relief, a character who changes in her journey)

The unique writer is the one who will sell her books, 

get contracts, and convey her message. 

Which of the six points have you mastered?
Which area would you like to improve at this time?

I'll start, from the list above I have the best handle on: emotions.
I would like to improve on: being bold by stepping out to strengthen my weak areas

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If you found any typos in today's post...Mary Vee, (that's me sheepishly grinning), is waving her hand as the guilty party. 

If you have questions or would like this topic discussed in greater detail, let me know in the comment section. I'll gladly do the research and write a post...just for you :)

Mary has moved to Michigan with her husband, closer to her three college kids. She misses the mountains of Montana, but loves seeing family more often. She writes young adult adventure Christian fiction, is honing marketing and writing skills, and loves to pen missionary and Bible adventure stories on her ministry blog, God Loves Kids.

Visit Mary at her website and her ministry blog to families: God Loves Kids. Or chat on Facebook or Twitter

The Number One Hindrance to Writing A Fast First Draft {Guest Post + GIVEAWAY by Jessica R. Patch}

Wow! It's so great to be here hanging out with the amazing Alley Cats! Thanks, Laurie, for having me today.

Many of you are in the throes of Nano! Are you feeling the heat? Have you been feeling it since Day 1? Are you over the 10K mark and thinking, "This is the worst piece of poo I've ever written." 

Ready to throw in the towel? 

Please don't! Keep writing. You can do this thing. I know it. 

I know what it's like to feel the stir of excitement as a story takes shape. The characters burn in your heart and their witty dialogue fills your mind at neck-breaking speed. You barely have time to catch your breath let alone jot it all down. You forget to take your kid to school and realize it when you pull into the parking lot at work (maybe that's just me).  

The blank page awaits. There'll be no "dark and stormy night" here. 

One month. I can do this. I got this. 

And then...

This happens. 

(Check out the Charlie Brown clip, we're about to learn something.) 




You're on top of the world, but the voices come fast and hard overlapping the other.

You're ruining it! 
I told you to get rid of those adverbs. 
Does this scene drive the plot forward? 
Did you offer up any new information?
Show don't tell!
Tighten that sentence!
Do you want to end up a hack? 
You'll never write like _____________ (fill in the blank).

You slow down to fix everything every writer has ever offered up as solid advice. Instead of pushing ahead, you're slashing scenes and begging your neighbors to bring you chocolate and coffee. 

The biggest hindrance to finishing a fast first draft (or any draft) is insecurity.

I've been known to let all those voices into my head. And then I begin to doubt. Maybe I'm not a writer after all. No, I'll never be like (insert favorite author here). This story is drivel. Maybe I should go back and fix it here...and here...how many times can they sigh? Smile? Frown? Raise an eyebrow? I have no plot. I have no real goal. No conflict. I can't keep shooting them. Eventually I'll have to hit them and not miss. No one can be that bad of a shot. 

Take heart, my friends. Every single writer has flaws. We're people. We all make mistakes. Even Stephen King. Even your favorite author.

This is when we pull a Linus.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Point the finger (preferably index, but it's your hand) Lay those voices out! Show them who is on top of the house! 

Yeah, you aren't following all the rules. You're overusing words and phrases. Adverbs come like pelts of water on a hot pavement. Maybe you didn't drive the plot forward in that last scene or share new information.

This is still a fabulous story. And you can come back through in revisions and fix it. Who knows, maybe in the scene that didn't drive the plot forward, a new emotional layer formed. Maybe in the scene that didn't offer any new information it did offer a few zingers that you can place somewhere else later. 

And hey, these days deleted scenes aren't time wasted. They're called bonus material, outtakes, and a way to drive traffic and readers to your website. Maybe you can laugh at yourself and call those scenes your blooper reel. Readers won't berate you, they'll love you for being real. They'll get a kick out of your process. 

Because it is a process. Take a deep breath. Let it go (and now I'm singing the song from Frozen. Fabulous). Don't give up. Don't let the internal editor and voices of doubt hinder you from writing the story of your heart. 

Notice when Linus asks, "Are any of you secure?" the only one who is, is the one barreling through and kicking up dust. 

PigPen isn't scared of getting messy. And he sure doesn't care what others think of him. 

I leave you with one more nugget. Linus found his security in a blanket. For us Christian writers, our security is Jesus Christ. Let Him wrap you up and hold you close as you plow through the hard ground of a first fast draft. Dream. Revel in the newness....and kick up some dust! 

You can always fix it in January when you allow the internal editor to come out and play, or crack the whip! Now go get your NaNo second wind on and write! Celebrate. You. Are. A. Writer.

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Jessica R. Patch writes inspirational contemporary romance and romantic suspense. A passion to draw women into intimacy with God keeps her motivated, along with ice-cold Perrier and adventurous trips in the name of research. When she’s not hunched over her laptop or teaching the new & growing believer's class at her church, you can find her sneaking off to movies with her husband, embarrassing her daughter in unique ways, dominating her son at board games, and collecting recipes to wonderful dishes she'll probably never cook. She is represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary Management.

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Subscribe to Jessica's newsletter/email list and receive her FREE Christmas novella, Hope Under Mistletoe. Here's a peek:

A rowdy bar owner. A widowed pastor’s wife. And Christmas Hope that brings them together.

After widower Eden Snow’s church almost burns to the ground, she’s compelled to find a temporary place to hold services and Christmas cantata practices.

Has-been hockey player, Knox Everhart, has a reputation for being fast on the ice and with women. Except Eden. She’s always been a fascinating mystery to him, which is why he agrees to let her use the back room of his bar—with one rule: No converting his customers.

But when Eden brings the church to the bar, it offers something the bottle can’t. Hope. And he finds himself falling in love with a woman and a Savior he feels unworthy to pursue.

Also check out her Hope Under Mistletoe Pinterest board and meet the "cast" as well as stroll through the fictional town!

You can also connect with Jessica on FACEBOOK and TWITTER. 

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Your turn: Instead of focusing on insecurities, what's one of your writing strengths? Don't be shy! Leave a comment and then enter below to win a $20 Amazon gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pinterest for Writers Part 2 with Guest Author Sarah Forgrave

I’m so excited to be back on the Alley today!

In my last post, I shared my newfound enthusiasm for Pinterest and included ideas of what authors can pin to connect with their intended audience. In this post, I’ll share specific tips to help you find that audience.

Here are some ways to get started:

1)      Follow people with similar interests and repin their posts. In my experience, this doesn’t always guarantee a follow back. (I still haven’t figured out Pinterest’s notification system, but I will say it doesn’t seem to be as effective as Facebook or other platforms in making people aware when I’ve followed them.) All that said, some will follow you back. And even if they don’t, it’s worth sticking with them if they post really great content that relates to your interests and platform. Which leads to my second tip…

 

2)      Focus on pinning really great content. Pins that link to excellent blog posts, words or ideas that move you – basically anything that is worth someone’s time to read or follow. The more value you bring to others, the more they’ll want to follow you.

 

3)      Find boards for book lovers and contribute your voice. In the Christian fiction world, there are a few large boards where hundreds of people can participate by sharing their favorite Christian fiction books. These are avid readers who have no vested interest in writing and just love to share books they love.

One way to find these boards is to check out authors you admire or know and look through their boards. (There is a small icon of three people at the top right of group boards.) Once you join or follow the board, interact with pinners who’ve pinned books you like or that are similar to yours. Comment on those pins by stating how much you loved the book and/or what you loved about it. Follow the reader pinners in those groups and repin their book posts. Not everyone will respond or follow back, but I’ve made some awesome connections with future readers who have no connection to the writing

world whatsoever. Hopefully when I’ve published a book in the future, those friends will be thrilled for the chance to be an influencer for an author they “know.”

 

4)      Pin a lot. Now, I say this with caution. Go back to Point #2 and make sure you run everything through that filter. But there is something to be said for higher volume. The more you pin great content and prove to be an expert on a topic, Pinterest takes note of that and starts including you in their “recommendations” emails. This takes time, so be patient with it. But just be aware that it does make a difference over the long haul.

 

5)      Take advantage of hashtags. Yep, just like Twitter and Facebook, Pinterest allows hashtags. I’m still figuring out the best hashtags to use on Pinterest, but when I post books I’ve read that would appeal to my future audience, I usually add the tag #ChristianFiction. I’m not sure how actively people seek out that particular tag, but I’ve had some repins and interaction as a result. Play around with this—do searches on Pinterest, etc.—until you’ve nailed down the hashtags that draw the most traffic for your topic of interest.

Most of all, HAVE FUN!

If Pinterest isn’t doing it for you, don’t force it. Don’t let yourself get paralyzed by these suggestions or think you can only post things related to your books. Like I said in my last post, people want to connect with you as a human being, so share who you are.

Connect with people in an authentic way. Truly care about what they like and who they are. By doing so, you’re building a solid foundation for success.

What are some ways you connect with readers online? In what ways do you see your favorite authors connecting with readers online? What tips can you add to my list?

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Sarah Forgrave is a work-at-home mom who feels blessed to do what she loves – raise her two children while writing stories that inspire. Her work has been featured in Guideposts’ A Cup of Christmas Cheer, as well as the webzine Ungrind and the Pearl Girls™ book, Mother of Pearl: Luminous Lessons and Iridescent Faith. When she’s not writing, she enjoys teaching fitness classes, shopping the produce section of her local grocery store, and hanging out with her family in their Midwest home. To connect with Sarah, you can find her online at her website, her Facebook page, and, of course, Pinterest.

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Bulletin board photo by pakorn/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Book heart photo by patpitchaya/FreeDigitalPhotos.net