TipfulTuesday: The Hidden Promise In Our Stories

I confess. I am one of "those" shoppers who walk through a bookstore, glancing at covers and titles, seeking one to pick up and peruse.

The huge Barnes and Nobel in my mall put up a new display for "new releases". I glanced through the forty books beautifully shelved. Sadly only one cover caught my attention. I walked on to the next display.

My point today will not be that a great cover sells. Although it sure helps.

My point also is not the title, back cover, and/or the first page enhances sales...although they seem to.

The key to a fabulous book is this: If a reader is enticed to buy a book, then takes it home and snuggles up in their comfy living room chair, opens the cover and doesn't read the whole story in her normal time, she will set down the book with the fabulous cover, amazing title, enticing back cover, and intriguing first page and most likely not pick it up again.

One writing instructor (sorry can't remember which one of the many I've heard) said:

We the writers make a contract with the reader, 

promising a story that will follow a course so compelling

she has to turn every page until the last.

This year, let's focus on ... not so much fixing a sagging middle, although this too is important--

But a growing overarching story that, like blowing up a balloon, expands, becoming with each word. Becoming what? Why the next recommended book by very appreciative readers.

For this reason, I chose today's photo. Colorful, cheery, glass-blown balloons floating in a Venetian store.

Some pitfalls to watch for:

1. While your MC should have a problem that gives the story purpose, she must be likable. Think Cinderella. We love her and feel for her plight from the beginning. Had the stepmother been the MC we probably would have put the book down.

2. When adding backstory, be careful not to repeat. Even when sprinkling in this essential information, as we are taught to do, readers will remember what was said before.

3. Shake up the beats. Lordy, lordy, do people really cry so much? Smile so much? Laugh so much? Instead, use setting, sounds, nature, anything that "is" to shake up those beats. Expand this essential storytelling time to bring meaning to the scene. Help readers see.

Let's aim for stories that "Become" until the last page.

~Mary Vee
Photo by Mary Vee

Link to Mary's books: https://amzn.to/2Fq4Jbm

Christmas is Mary Vee's favorite holiday. She loves to travel to places like New York City and Paris. Mary has been a finalist in several writing contests and writes for her king.  

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

When Introducing a New Character...

#TipfulTuesday

Of all the zillions of characters introduced since the first book published eons ago, several probably stand out to you. You could probably rattle off several, right? Sure.

On the other hand, we've read--and probably have written--some characters that have evaporated from readers' minds the second the page was turned. 

I'm thinking about the many characters who are introduced like this: a man wearing blue jeans a brown jacket and round glasses ...and blah, blah blah...his hair was brown, walked into the room. 

Usually, these character introductions droll on for a whole paragraph, and sometimes more. I'm bored. Seriously, the unique glasses did not help me see this guy as anyone interesting.

**Authors don't need to specifically describe a character when introducing them. A character simply needs to stand out from the crowd.**

Say my established characters are sitting in a restaurant and a waitress enters the scene. She is important (after all she is the one who killed the detective, but the readers won't know this until page 273.) She is wearing the same uniform as all the other waitresses in the restaurant, so why bother mentioning her black pants, white shirt, and company tie? She also has her hair pulled back like all the other waitresses and has a name tag that no one can read until she stands at the table. All of this can be summed up with a waitress burst into the room. 

What makes her interesting is the tattoo above her wrist. Ah, now we know which waitress. Your turn. Tell me what the tattoo looks like. Where have readers seen similar markings before? Uh-huh. Now you have it. The seed introducing this waitress has been planted. 

Such a unique description initiates a good character introduction. What other striking details say something about the waitress's personality? 

While the reader is distracted by the action, he/she later remembers the way this waitress scanned the restaurant. A typical waitress focuses on her tables, her orders, her food that is ready to be delivered, but the waitress with the tattoo kept tabs on the entire restaurant. Why? Now that the clues are all in on page 273, we remember that it was the waitress with the tattoo who kept tabs on the entire room who happened to pick up a steak knife from the floor, twirled it around to sit point side out on her tray. Like a knife pro.

Since this is a suspense story, we, the writer, will let this waitress, the one with the tattoo, fade after the introduction, not totally disappear from the storyline. She will make tiny, periodic appearances before page 273, so insignificant the readers will be shocked in the discovery, aghast they hadn't seen the clues laced in story after a fabulous introduction. muwhahaha. 

I am a suspense author. You may write a different genre. You too can introduce characters in a memorable way. Look back at the moment when your hero or heroine first stepped on stage. He may seem like the amazing handsome hero...but aren't all heroes? What caused the heroine to take notice of him and only him? What helps the hero notice the heroine over all the other girls. Something is different. What is it?

~Mary Vee

Photo by Mary Vee

Mary Vee's newsletters take readers on virtual trips to various places. No umbrella. No packing. No passport. Explore something new in each letter! Sign up today at http://eepurl.com/dITkz5 The next newsletter hits email boxes on November 15.

Sylvia's Secret. A Christmas Story. I have a new book release! 

Fifteen days before Christmas, the staff at Sylvia Duvet's mansion discover she is missing. Her daughter arrives at Detective Carhill's office in a panic, concerned the gossipers and media will create their own story, embarrassing the family name. After all, a wealthy widow only disappears if...she simply can't bear to think of the possibilities.  

Click on the link below to read more.

Link to Mary's books: https://amzn.to/2Fq4Jbm

Christmas is Mary Vee's favorite holiday. She loves to travel to places like New York City and Paris. Mary has been a finalist in several writing contests and writes for her king.  

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

#TipfulTuesday - A New Way to Deepen Your Story

#TipfulTuesday New Year topic: A New Way to Deepen Your Story. 

This year, consider deepening your story by adding characters of different cultures. This is not easy and will require a bit of work, but your labor will not be in vain. Trust me. 

Nearly every city across the world has a dominant people group. Among them are men and women from other cultures, skin colors, religions, etc. Therefore, our stories should not solely be built on any one people. We should include in our cast of characters men and women representing others who live in the same community.

The setting for my novel, "Daring to Live", was New York City. Ah, perhaps you understand now. NYC is a potpourri of cultures, races, genders, ages, etc. To make my story strong, my cast of characters included Hispanic (which I drew from experiences on mission trips to Mexico and Honduras), African American (I lived in inner-city Detroit for a time), Cowboy (I lived in Montana and spent time on ranches), military (I have several family members who were in the military), urban, suburban, foster care, and more. All of which have been a part of my life at some time. You probably have had a taste of Americana as well.

Including characters from other people group that are not your own is not easy to write. We must be respectful. Not typecast. A huge key to writing these characters is not to use labels. For example, I should not say, Brian, a white man wearing... These characters deserve the same respect you would want.

So how can this be done? You might be surprised how much you already know. My experiences have helped me include unique local islander language in one story and inner city jargon in another. Think back to your school days. A time you went on vacation. Shopped at a mall (not so much anymore, eh?). 

You have been around other people groups. You know what they might wear. What they might choose to say and how they might say it. Expand your reading to include stories about Middle Eastern characters, Asian, and more. These are fascinating people. Men and women who have also moved to your community.

I play a game of sort with my critique partners and beta readers. I purposefully don't include character descriptions like skin color unless done in a creative way, no name clues either. Instead, I write the character as true as I can to their culture. Then I ask those readers to describe the character for me. No answer is incorrect. Their imagination and background filled in the picture in their mind.

So, what do you say? Will you choose just one novel that has characters representing a group other than your own? Will you include at least one in your current or next WIP to deepen the story? 

~Mary Vee

#amwriting #characters #TheWritersAlley #TipfulTuesday #writing #multiculture

Photo credit: Pixabay

Mary Vee -  Mary Vee - Rock climbing, white-water rafting, and hiking top Mary’s list of ways to enjoy a day. She was homeless for a time, earned her MA in Counseling, and married an Air Force vet.  Mary has been a finalist in several writing contests and writes for her King.

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

BOOK LINK CLICK HERE

#TipfulTuesday: Steven James and Characters

#TipfulTuesday

Today on the Writer's Alley, we focus on character. No matter the genre or the age of the audience, these tips will benefit any writer.

Author Steven James teaches this principle:

To initiate your story, your protagonist will either

1. lose something vital and try to regain it

2. see something desirable and try to obtain it.

3. experience something traumatic and try to overcome it.

Any of these scenarios will set up tension for your story. Whether you write a love story, a mystery, a historical, a children's book, whatever, your main character MUST have tension. A problem to solve. A period in his or her life that we the reader are compelled to turn pages to see what happens next.

When a book's opening pages draws readers into the story and compels them to feel an understanding, a compassion for the Main Character facing the tension, questions are asked. Pages are turned to find out if the character will be safe. Not just physically, but in all manner: emotionally, mentally, spiritually, etc. Will she find their true love? Will he escape? Will she overcome her barrier and get a job? Will the kids at his new school like him? Will she find love, joy, peace, etc?

To put this on a simple scale, think of children's book, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." A staple for all home libraries. The title alone draws readers to open the cover. And yes, Alexander's day does not get any better for many pages. Tension mounts as we read. Our compassion grows for a little boy who is having one of "those days". The kind we've all experienced. We even laugh, because, yes, we completely understand what he is going through. I won't spoil the ending. You'll have to read the book to find out what happens.

Other great character tension examples can be found in: Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind". Joseph's story in the book of Genesis. Frank Peretti's "Monster". Across the board. Every genre. Every age audience. A great book can be defined by the tension the character experiences and the compassion a reader can't help but feel.

So, test your manuscript. Ask a beta reader these questions:

Do you love/are drawn to the main character?

Do you feel compassion for the character?

What caused you to feel this compassion?
(If the answer to the last question indicates a moment of tension, then you have done your job.)

Mystery/suspense, Christian Fiction author, Steven James taught several classes and spoke as the keynote for one night at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer's Conference #BRMCWC last week. He will also be the keynote at #ACFW this year. This is a speaker you will not want to miss.

~Mary Vee (photo by Mary Vee)
#TipfulTuesday #TheWritersAlley

Your thoughts?

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Mary Vee -  Mary Vee - Rock climbing, white-water rafting, and hiking top Mary’s list of ways to enjoy a day. She was homeless for a time, earned her MA in Counseling, and married an Air Force vet.  Mary has been a finalist in several writing contests and writes for her King.

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

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION 

Mary's new release, Daring to Live, is a new release on Amazon.

So You're on Vacation. Guess What Trouble Your Characters Are Causing...

There have been a decent supply of movies about authors/writers the last couple of years. I must admit, I enjoy watching some of them. A new-to-me movie popped up in my Netflix list recently. It was hilarious and spawned the idea for this post. (True Memoirs of an International Assassin)

The topic is so perfect for this week between Christmas and New Years.

I mean, here you are, Ms or Mr. Author, enjoying the fat of the land, cookies, candies, Christmas dinner, etc. Admit it, the scales went up a pound or two.

You've laughed with your friends and family by phone, social media, at church, in your home, or at parties. 

You've opened some pretty awesome gifts and watched others open ones you've given.

Yeah. You've had a wonderful time.

Uh huh.

So, You've barely thought about your characters, eh?

And what are your characters doing while you're away? You know the saying...while the author is away, the characters will play.

They saw you when you put in your passcodes to your programs.

They know when you're asleep.

They know if you've been bad or good

And so they've taken liberties to -- 


Wait, MC just sent this text: 

MC: Sorry, Author, I have to leave. I can't sit around another minute. Don't worry, I've come up with a great replacement. She's a bit dorky and hasn't brushed her teeth in a week, but I'm sure you can fix her up. 

Your phone dings the message and you panic first then send this reply:
Author: You can't leave. Please. I have your whole journey planned out. Ups. Downs. Crises. That kiss you've always dreamed of. Remember the kiss? I could write it in sooner if you'll only stay.

MC: No way. You've teased me long enough. And what about the days before Christmas when you left us to go present shopping and now New Years is four days away? Four whole days? You think I want to just sit on this page with nothing to do while you have fun?  Uh, no. Me and Vil, yeah, I found out about him. He isn't so bad. He came up with a great mutiny idea. One for the whole cast. We are taking our own vacation, away from you. Maybe Miami. Or Italy. Someplace warm.

Author: What if I buy everyone pizza, will you stay?

MC: Vil says you're a Scrooge. 

Author: Scrooge, eh? I could change. I have you on my schedule for, let's see, tomorrow.

MC: You...change? Right. The one who goes crazy with the power of the pen? Ha! Tell you what, you meet with The Three Friends, first. Each will pop in at your holiday party at one hour intervals. If you pass the test, we'll consider coming back.

Author: Who are these three friends?

MC: Have you ever, even once, told me something in advance? I don't think so. You'll know them when you see them. The first will show up when the bell tolls one.

Author: But I go to bed at ten.

MC: One.

MC doesn't respond to any more of your messages. You panic. Stay away from the filet mignon, mustard, and cheese served for dinner. Insure the potato is fully cooked. And you laugh at anything to avoid grave topics. No matter what you do to remain calm, the marrow in your bones tremble because you know MC and the rest of the cast could really leave.

You wildly search for something to keep you awake and remain standing at the party. The coffee can is empty. You rummage through the kitchen, under the Christmas tree, in the secret snack drawer. On chocolate, on Mountain Dew, on energy drink, on tea, on hot chocolate, on caffeine all. But alas, they have dashed away, dashed away, dashed away all.

You start at the sound of the first bell. There, on the other side of the room is a stranger. He flows through the crowd as though as they're invisible. His eyes fix on yours. 

Author: Wh-wh-who are you?

Unknown First Friend: I am the Disaster Rejection Friend. At this very moment all the disasters you've planned for your characters past, present, and future are actively being prevented. Extra feet are added to cliffs to prevent falling. Remedies seasoned with poisons. Bullets impenetrable. Fires snuffed. You name it. The disaster is thwarted.

Author: But if you do that my MC won't have any problems.

Disaster Rejection Friend: Yeah. So?

Author: The story will be boring.

Disaster: Precisely. Like you weren't boring your characters by taking a vacation?

Author: I said I'm sorry to MC. I promised I'd changed. Leave notes, flowers, chocolates. 

Disaster: Yeah, well, MC doesn't believe you. 

Just like that Disaster Rejection Friend fades into thin air. In his place Resolution Allergy Friend appears. 

Author: Let me guess. MC will never find a resolution to her problem if you stay.

Resolution Allergy: Yep.

Author: Got it. I'll talk with her first thing in the morning.

Resolution Allergy: No. You can't give in that easy. I'm melting. Melting. Melting.

Never had anything disappeared that fast. Not in all of time. Sadly, Author knew all the wishes and dreams could not keep the third friend away. 

Nothing could be that easy. And it wasn't. For before his very eyes did appear Rabbit Hole Infestation Friend and a herd of bunnies. Thousands. Maybe millions. Author looked to the left and the right. Rabbit trails in both directions. Author looked in front and behind. More rabbit trails. The more Author looked, the more rabbit trails appeared.

Author: No, Friend! Oh no no! I will honor my characters with my time. I will not abandon MC to blank pages for days. I will not shut out the lessons that the three friends have shown me this evening. Oh tell me I may sponge away the legion of rabbit trails before me.

In author's agony, Author clutches the cell phone. It dissolves in form becoming the writing laptop.

Author swooped up the laptop and squeezed it. The Three Friends had done everything in one night!

Author was so fluttering and glowing with good intentions that scarcely a word could be heard.

Except by MC. 

Before Author's eyes MC and the cast appear.

To live.

And struggle yet another day.


And so Alley Cat pals, friends, and neighbors, What have your characters been doing while you festived your Christmas time? (and yes, I have created the verb, festived. Because I am a writer. I get to do that.)



I can't wait to read your comment(s)!

Help others--tweet or FB share this post

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Mary Vee -  Rock climbing, white-water rafting, zip lining, and hiking top Mary's list of great ways to enjoy a day. These activities require lots of traveling, which is also tops on her list. For some crazy reason, the characters in Mary’s young adult mystery/suspense fiction stories don’t always appreciate the dangerous and often scary side of her favorite activities. Unbelievable.

Mary studies marketing and writing skills, and pens missionary and retellings of Bible stories on her ministry blog, God Loves Kids. She has been a finalist in several writing contests.

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

All subscribers to Mary's newsletter will receive her novella, an intriguing suspense/mystery. Come, read a good story. To get your free gift, sign up for the newsletter at Mary's website  Never Give Up Stories. Join the adventure!

Creating A Memorable Story World: A Lesson from WDW

***Happy Monday! While some of us are sitting in the stark, and maybe wintry blizzard weather, I chose to re-share a fun post inspired by sunny Florida from last March. Aaah...enjoy!***

Last week, my husband and I braved the Spring Break crowd and took our kids to Disney World! It was the first time they have been, and it was something I wasn't sure that we would ever do. But the stars aligned for us to visit the most magical place on earth! 

My writerly senses went haywire as I walked into a story-land perfectly crafted for the audience. I just knew that I would have to post about something I learned in the kingdom of fairytales and storytelling...and you know, it really wasn't that hard to find material! Let's just say, Disney sure has a knack of getting to the heart of their audience, just like we (as authors) want to do with our own readers. 

So, what does Disney have to teach the writing world? Here are just a few things I found as we took boat, bus, and monorail to Cinderella's castle, Ariel's grotto, and Pizza Planet....

ENDEARING CHARACTERS:

There were characters, characters, EVERYWHERE...and they acted their parts to the FULL! Each character, whether an oversized Donald Duck or an exotic Princess Jasmine, played their part with every mannerism and expression they could muster to get it right. And the thing is, as an audience member, I could easily believe that they knew their part and played it well.

As writers, we should strive to make our characters so well-defined in the mind of the reader that they could pick them out in the crowd (without a bulky costume) and know exactly how they would stand, talk, and react to the world around them.  Here is a fun video of the Princess Anna from Frozen, greeting my little girl on her birthday. I was convinced she came right out of the story!!

POWERFUL DIALOGUE:

Yes, most of us can belt out those Disney songs, like “Let It Go”, and “Never Smile at a Crocodile”...and let me tell you, Disney World pumps those songs into your head the entire stay. But something that was super fun, was sitting in an audience watching a show when all of a sudden, the whole room—regardless of country, creed, or culture—recited an awesome one-liner, like, “Just keep swimming”...or... “That wasn't flying, it was falling with style"...or..."To infinity and beyond!"

As writers, we might not have catchy music filling our readers' ears, but we have the capability of creating beauty and memorable language in our books. I love seeing the popular highlighted lines in novels on my Kindle. That's what I want to see in my books one day--to know that my words have caught a reader's attention, enough to highlight for memory-keeping's sake. Our words can be powerful, be sure to put a punch to what you write!

WARM AND FUZZIES:

So not all of us want our books to leave the reader with a "Disney type" Happily Ever After, but we want to leave the reader with...something...and it has to be impactful.

Do you consider the aftermath of your work on the reader's heart, memory, and world view?

Disney obviously has given many millions of people the satisfaction of a happy ending and a long-lasting memory which starts as they leave the theater, to years of life, and then as they step into their theme parks, not minding one bit to re-live their stories through rides, shows, and displays. Each movie, story, and character gives the audience the same warm and fuzzy they got that very first time the story was told. And THAT, is a very big thing we should all hope to give our readers...

An everlasting sense of our unique story that will last long after 'The End'.

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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, and drinking good coffee with great friends. Check out her author page at www.facebook.com/dicken.angie and her personal blog at www.angiedicken.blogspot.com  or head over and say hello on Twitter, @angiedicken

Make BELIEVE in Once Upon A Time (and your story!)

Who would ever believe that Rumplestiltskin's son and Snow White's daughter have an illegitimate child after Pinochio slacks on his duty to care for said daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, and later on the daughter meets up with other well-known characters like Peter Pan, Jack and the Beanstalk's Giant, the Wicked Witch of the West, Little Red Riding Hood, Robin Hood..and even Elsa from Frozen--all just a car trip away from her loft apartment in Boston??

Eh?

You'd never believe it. And I'd never thought it could be done, until my kids and I started watching the hit T.V. series, Once Upon A Time.

Wowsers, the twists and turns of the series take a fan's breath away and spin them into new levels of believability in almost-ridiculously impossible situations.

Even tonight, during a commercial break an ad came up about the Paddington bear movie, and my twelve year old says, "Oh geez, another movie about talking animals. How un-real." UM...Child-o-Mine was on the edge of his seat waiting for the next twist in Once Upon A Time!!

It is when a writer (novelist and T.V. writer alike) takes their audience like a dog on a leash following every twist and turn without question and wanting more, that the writer has truly accomplished a very grand and successful feat: making the Impossible seem Possible...enough to MAKE the audience BELIEVE the fiction! YIKES!!

I'd like to humbly dissect how they do this. (And I am certain my terminology could be replaced by more sophisticated writerly language). I will also share a bit about how this has helped me in my current novel.

1. Characters worth investing in! The good guys are truly human--with hopes, dreams, motives, flaws, mistakes...you name it, they are someone you want to befriend at times, or slap upside the head at other times. If a character seems to step out of line of their true self, you know the motive behind it and it does not seem "unbelievable" because they have truly been shaped into a person you want to route for....
And the bad guys are truly broken--they aren't all evil...they are products of their environment, situations, or tragedies...and so they, believe it or not, usually become a character worth investing in, too. From ashes comes beauty, right? Well, the complexity of these characters gives you a sense of... believability and very possibly human in the most fairytale sense of the word.

"You have literally seen my heart. You know it's not untouched. You are not all evil and I am not all good. Things are not that simple."--Mary Margaret, Once Upon A Time

What I Have Learned In My WIP: It's not all black and white. Wouldn't it be easy to say that this character is all bad and this one is all good, and the tension is clear cut between them? But that's cookie cutter fairytale world. And let's just say, Once Upon A Time has given fairytale world as we knew it, a pretty two dimensional reputation. I now look at my characters from several facets, AND, I am more willing to take the risk of throwing a wrench in their paths to make them dig deeper in their arc...even if it seems like an impossible task.

2. Intricate Backstory: Once Upon A Time is really a weaving of Historical and Contemporary. The historical mainly unfolds why the characters are the way they are in present day...and how they are connected to the characters who we really would never believe would come together (see my first paragraph). Some authors utilize flashbacks in their stories to help firm up their character's present-day motives or unveil a secret that will affect the rest of the story...but even without actually flashing back in writing, I now realize how important it is to KNOW MY CHARACTER'S PAST! If the past is fuzzy, and their is no solid reason to explain why the character does what they do, why the character knows who they know, or why the character views the world in a certain way, then an author is asking an awful lot of their reader to take the author's word for it and just believe that's who they are.

From FanPop

"Once I saw the man behind the beast. Now there's only a beast."--Belle, Once Upon A Time



How I Have Applied This In My WIP: While I have taken the liberty to weave in some flashback scenes in my novel, I have also used dialogue between my present characters to reveal their past stories. And it is when I have worked out the kinks in their past stories that my eyes as an author have been peeled back to reveal clearer motives and twists in the actual story.
Plot twists become more complex and intriguing when the characters are acting out of deeply-rooted fibers of their being.
And if an author hasn't shown the first growth of that fiber in some way or another, then the twist won't be so much of a page-turner but a book-closer.

Just like this hit T.V. series, I hope to have a "hit" some day too...and I am willing to create those characters worth investing in by developing the backstory needed to give them a present story worth reading...what about you?

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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