The God Effect in Stories

Even as writers we don't always see details or truths or influences flowing in our books. 

Not all readers will either. 

BUT there are the many who will notice amazing details that spark their interest, cause them to think and respond to ... well... us, and their friends, and ... others.

This week I posted a photo. My thoughts: this is a dreamy place. A dock reaching out to a lake surrounded with trees. The unique aspect from my pov: part of the dock is underwater. This looks good... I thought. It was a photo story.

More than almost any other photo I've posted, this one sparked many responses. A few responders mentioned the dreamy doc setting. BUT the majority noticed a detail I had not.

In the foreground, small, and not in my thoughts, was a tool my husband uses. It rested on a wooden plank. Underwater. Although silver, it didn't especially stand out since the sun didn't reflect the shiny surface. Commenters asked questions that grew into conversations. 

How odd, I thought. I didn't even see it there when I took the photo.

As writers called by God to tell stories, we describe scenes, use interesting dialogue, explode action on the page, and develop relationships. Behind the scenes, God is using our work to touch lives in ways we don't even realize.

If this isn't incentive to set aside time to write, edit, and write more, I don't know what is. Our stories are important in ways we don't understand.  A tool used by God to impact someone we may not know...for His glory. Perhaps the story you have written or are writing is God's tool to impact your life.

So, friend, ready to write?

Has a reader pointed out something amazing in your story you didn't see?

#story #writing #behindthescenes #MaryVeeWriter #Godeffect #thewritersalleyblog

~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

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

Sifting Through The Words To Find Your Story

On freedigitalphotos.net by Sura Nualpradid

It was a temporal treasure—the fine white sand in her plastic colander. The work she exerted to dig deep with the blunt edge of the tool and gather up millions, billions of grains of the powdery stuff only to sift it through tiny holes and release it back to the beach again.

What a waste.

But, when the last specks fell through, a treasure appeared. Tiny shells of coral, silver, and white. Perfectly sculpted by the sea. The sand fell away, and the beauty remained.

Is it not the same as when I write a story? I try so hard to keep hold of the millions of words I've so diligently dug up from deep within my soul. I go through and “edit”, plucking out the bits of debris—the obvious rubbish of clunky words and awkward sentences. But often I stop sifting—editing—and call it “done” way too early to showcase the gems of the story. Sometimes, I even leave those gems hidden because I rush to a self-imposed deadline and don't realize there is something deeper in the story that needs to be revealed.

on freedigitalphotos.net by Keerati

Right now, I am in the sifting process of my latest WIP. With the help of an amazing editor, I have discovered not only the obvious things that need changing, but this sifting has revealed treasures in the story I did not even know were there—character qualities, subplots, motives, twists—and instead of rushing through to get on with it and empty my “colander” for the next story, I continue to sift, brush off those treasures, and make my story shine like never before.

on freedigitalphotos.net by Mister GC

Have you ever had an a-ha moment as you edit, revealing a piece of the story you didn't realize was there?

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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 angiedicken.blogspot.com 

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