Show Me--Don't Tell Me

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Hello Alley Pals! I'm traveling right now to sunny Southern California for a few days with my family, so I've cheated and pulled a post from my archives. Show vs Tell--something we can all struggle with, am I right? Chat with you on the flipside!

Don’t you just hate that phrase? There is something so abstract about the entire statement that it’s hard to wrap your brain around it. But it’s also one of those phrases that the less you think about it and try so hard to make it fit, it will actually start to make sense. One of the greatest compliments I NEVER expected to receive was from a published author who read my work on critique (and they weren’t be paid to be nice, if you know what I mean. ;-) and told me I was actually quite good at showing instead of telling.
 

Could have knocked me over with a feather!

So how do you know from a first or second glance that you are telling when you should be showing? (btw, this is also a great way to really dig into deep POV)

Are you addressing the emotion (ie: she was sad) or are you taking a walk in the character’s shoes? Ask yourself a question: how would your character respond to being sad? What physical action would she go and do? Stop and think in those terms for a minute. Not only will you dig deeper into your character and mine her for a stronger reader experience, you’ll also be showing instead of telling.

When you describe a scene in front of your character, especially a landscape scene, dig into the five senses. What metaphors can you use to describe the scent of freshly fallen leaves or the crunch of gravel under the tires? Take a moment to close your eyes and embrace all your senses. As you stand on the balcony of your hotel room, what are you hearing? What are you smelling? What are you seeing? Don’t just list these things, put them on a first name basis with the reader.

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When she stands on the railing is she remembering her wedding night gone wrong? Does the honk and bustle of traffic below remind her of the cheap hotel they stayed in and were kept awake all night because of the noise? Maybe this shows a layer of her discontent—maybe with life? Maybe with her marriage? That’s up to you to decide.

Tie the scene into your character’s emotions and their past. Where they are right now.

When you purposefully try to weave all these layers together it can seem so daunting and insurmountable. But it’s possible. Don’t think long and hard about it. Stick yourself in the character’s shoes. Make their emotions and their thoughts your own. Now superimpose those things onto the character’s surroundings.
 

The secret to showing instead of telling is…well, at least from where I’m sitting, there is no secret. It’s a matter of storytelling. Something that you learn only by doing and once you start doing it, you realize just how easy it can be.

My best advice? Stop trying. But not if you’re always searching for that “golden nugget” that will give you the promised solution. :- ) Live and breathe through your characters. Everything will fall into place and one day you’ll have a friend read your work and tell how awesome you did in showing. 

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She is a country girl now living in a metropolis of Denver, Colorado, employed as an administrative assistant at Wordserve Literary.

How to Brainstorm The Novel That Sells

The scenario: You just finished a manuscript, have some free time, and notice on FB several friends chatting about getting to work on the writing. This is a good idea, maybe you should be, too. "I'm in," you post. Except your mind is totally blank. 

Not a word comes to mind.

Nothing.

It's like being invited to play with all your friends on the playground only to see there aren't any swings left. 

An idea pops in your head and for a moment, seems like a great novel to write. 

Wait--step back to when you were a child on the playground. Picture yourself playing in the wood chips or sand near the swings. It's just not good enough.

What you want is the idea that causes you to leap--for real. Get physical about it!  Get in someone else's face, and blurt out the rough ideas and say, "Isn't this an awesome idea?" The smile on your face will grow even wider as more details pop in your head. Spill a few of those words to the friend--and before you finish your sentence you'll run to your computer and start writing.

Wait for it--step back to the playground scene again and watch yourself running to the monkey bars. You giggle, and swing to the next bar. The friends on the swings look your way and say--"Wait for us!!"

Are you pumped? Ready to get started? This was our warm up for today's brainstorming session.


Although I would love to have a brainstorming partner, (you, too?) there isn't always one available. I must admit, I was jealous of Beth Vogt's FB posts about her brainstorming sessions with Cathy West. Apparently, they were able to take a vacation together and, while there, plotted out Cathy's next book. Sigh. You and I will have to book the next trip. Until we have a fabulous opportunity like that here is a plan B for you to brainstorm with yourself.

1. Start with the easy part. Your genre. Most likely you will stay with the same genre. This is what you know. You've read other books in your genre and know what has been done. BUT, a close friend of mine recently had a burning desire to dabble in a different genre. Dabbling is good. It helps renew your energy, drive, ideas, scope, perspective--and will take you on a whole new adventure. Dive in, the water's good.

2. Since the whole idea is to sell the novel you are about to write, working towards a fresh take is essential. Let's look at the three most important components that can make a story "fresh": characters, setting, and theme. 

a. Characters - Consider switching up the norm. For example-How would the Cinderella story change if she was a boy? Scarlett O'Hara was a man? The villain was the hero? The hero was the villain? Meranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada was reserved but yet still had her job? Jack Ryan from Tom Clancy's books was a chef instead of an analyst?

Perhaps some of these seem ridiculous--yet Despicable Me (villain turned hero) was a blockbuster mostly because of the fresh ideas.

b. Settings - Consider setting the time and place away from where most stories go. I have seen a lot of big city and small town. Can't say I've seen many desert, ocean, everglade, cave, etc. settings. I have heard editors say they prefer not to buy stories set in foreign lands--BUT books about characters who have started in the States and ended up in another country have been published. 

Readers enjoy books about places they dream of going. Take your characters to the bucket list places: Paris, Denali, Mt. Everest, Shanghai, Jerusalem, the Fjords, Bahamas, North Pole, the Amazon, etc and let the characters do what the readers wish they could do: bungee jumping, scaling a mountain, skydiving, fly a glider, see Santa, swim with sharks, deep sea dive, pick a cocoa bean, play in a band, etc. And the best part--don't let MC be an expert. The readers aren't either. Bungling through an experience brings humor, tension, joy, sorrow, etc.

c. Theme- Consider a really important point you would like the character to discover, learn, master. What is something you wish you could figure out? This seems to be the best choice for a current novel. By helping your character conquer and learn, so hopefully will you--and your reader. You'll have the passion to write this one.

For example: I wish I could make better use of my time. I give my potential character this problem. As a result, she misses something very important, losses a crucial piece of paper, gets lost in the wilderness, burns the meal she intended to serve the president of the company, has to pay more for her airline ticket--and she doesn't have the money--so she has to beg her worse enemy--and...

Once you have settled on these three items, the rest is going to start flowing. Yes, there will still be days when the blank screen stares at you. We'll have to dive into that form of brainstorming another time. For now, lets move up the ladder from the ground floor.

Michelle Lim from My Book Therapy has written a book on this topic, Idea Sparking (Click here to see her book)

What questions do you have?
How can we help you?

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

photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net and modified for this purpose.
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If you found any typos in today's post...sorry about that. 

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 mystery/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

When Mamas Create

Have you listened to the podcast Magic Lessons with Elizabeth Gilbert? The bestselling author who's had Julia Roberts star in the movie version of her book (Eat, Pray, Love)? She's on a mission to help artists get past their fears so they can do their thing once and for all.


I've only listened to the first episode, but was inspired by what was there. Obviously I can't quite endorse it yet because I've only heard the first one, not to mention we have very different views on life and faith. But in the episode, Ms. Gilbert interviewed a woman who had the nagging desire to write. She became an English teacher instead and later had two children, shelving the dream and refining her craft in the meantime. Now that her kids are in school, she can't ignore that niggling desire anymore. And she's out of excuses, but she just can't seem to get started.  


In Ms. Gilbert's advice to her were some very important points that resonated with me in my current relationship with work and art and writing:

Mothers need to be given permission to do the things that ignite their souls. 

And fear shows up as perfectionism, insecurity, guilt, procrastination, and anything else that keeps them from doing those things.

I'm going to say this up front: The number one person who needs to give a mother permission to create is herself. The mom on the podcast is one example of so many who are riddled with guilt that their desires and attentions are pointed on anything but their children. They second guess any compromise involving their kids and often err on the side of sacrifice.

But children notice things. When Mama creates, they will either see her guarding her time, protecting her art, working hard, and investing in becoming the best version of herself. Or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, they will see a martyr-mother and become conditioned to letting duties delegate dreams to the back seat -- both hers and their own.

Yikes. The reality of that possibility makes me cringe.

The truth is, children of a certain age can learn to be self-sufficient during that pocket of time designated for your writing. They can learn to be creators themselves, if not in words or art, then in opportunities. Even if they're not natural creatives, per se, they'll live in a climate that encourages them to nurture their own dreams, give them feet, and pursue them unrelentingly. 

Ms. Gilbert compared the guest caller to a plane on a runway. She's spent plenty of time refining her craft, starting a blog, and building momentum, but she's reached the point where it's either run out of gas from excess taxiing, crash and burn into the neighboring field, or take off. 

This is my commission, not just for moms, but for anyone with that chance within them that's begging to be taken. It's time to stop letting fear (and its various disguises) sabotage the passion God has given us. It's time to take off, to do and create, find the healthiest balance, and discover the best version of ourselves so we can give more freely and love more deeply. 

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Laurie Tomlinson is a wife and mom from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who is passionate about intentional living, all things color-coded, and stories of grace in the beautiful mess. Previously a full-time book publicist, she owns a freelance copywriting, editing, and PR consulting business. 

She's a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and received the Genesis Award in 2013 (Contemporary) and 2014 (Romance). 

Her work is represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary.

You can connect with Laurie here:

Facebook - AuthorLaurieTomlinson

Twitter - @LaurieTomlinson

Web - www.LaurieTomlinson.com

Tools for Developing Character!

There is SO much to know about creating a believable and compelling protagonist out there. Loads. So today, I'm going to try to brag about a few helpful tools and tips about character development that I've used now and in the past.

Some of the things I’m learning:

I’ve been studying different temperment types by using Keirsey’s Temperments. He lists four basic temperments and each have four subcategories. His lists are helpful in giving some detailed information and examples about each temperment. www.keirsey.com

Along with this, I’ve looked at Personality Plus by Florence Littauer. Again, there are four basic personality types listed here, with a detailed description of each and then the four types are blended into various other combinations to reveal other personalities. It’s a pretty simple and enjoyable read and gives some basics.

Laurie Schnebly Campbell’s website is very helpful and has FREE printouts :-) She employs many tips I’ve learned from other writings. Such as, interviewing your character – and she even gives a list of 20 questions to ask him/her; A History/Characteristics Sheet – or detailed description about your character (looks, past, interests, hobbies..etc).

Laurie discusses Enneagrams (Any-uh-grams) or the nine personality types, and what’s most interesting about these descriptions is that they express the ‘flaws’ within the personality. Laurie’s site is http://www.booklaurie.com/

As I’m completing the Workbook, Donald Maas is pushing me to create a three-dimensional character. One who will leave the reader thinking about them long after the last page. Knowing your character is the key, and studying personality types to develop a detailed protagonist is helpful in developing a deeper knowledge about your characters.

So…when I write a dialogue between two characters, they don’t sound like the same person.
When my protagonist does something unusual, it still fits within her realm of possibility and doesn’t make the reader want to toss down the book with, “No way, she would NEVER do that.”
When my readers are sorry to finish the book or feel like they’ve completed a wonderful journey with a friend (my protagonist), then I’ve developed a character with meaning….

And it’s tough work, or at least I think it is, but it’s SO worth it. When I read now what I wrote back then, I’m thankful my stick-figure protagonists are starting to grow some skin. Hope these tips will help you build more believable, three-dimensional characters.

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Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor. She’s a native of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a mom of five, a speech-language pathologist, and a lover of chocolate. She enjoys sprinkling her native Appalachian culture into her fiction whenever she can and loves annoying her wonderful friends at her writing blog, The Writer’s Alley. She is represented by Julie Gwinn and her debut novel, The Thorn Bearer, released in April 2015. Her first contemporary romance novel, A Twist of Faith, released in December. You can connect with Pepper on her website at www.pepperdbasham.com, Facebook-  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pepper-D-Basham or Twitter at https://twitter.com/pepperbasham

Let's Collaborate! *GIVEAWAY* guest Post with Amy Matayo

Last November I attended a writing retreat with a few friends—some I knew well, and some I had just met. The lake home where we stayed was sprawling and beautiful and on lots and lots of land, but the bedroom situation required roommates. I had three: one who lived near me in the great state of Arkansas (Jenny B. Jones—a good friend whom I had known long time), and two who lived in Dallas (Nicole Deese—my “writer wife” who encourages me through every book I write, and Tammy L. Gray—whom I had just had the pleasure of meeting).

            So one afternoon the four of us were all sitting on beds and working quietly when Nicole said this: “We all seem to get along well and like the same kinds of books. What if we all write one together?” We all looked up from our computers, sat there quietly for a second, collectively shrugged and grabbed notebooks, and then headed to the local Starbucks.

            Thirty minutes later we sat around a table with lattes and pens.

            Two hours after that, we had a plot.

            The next morning, we shot a bunch of author photos together by the lake.

            The next week, we talked book covers.

            And a few weeks after that, we traded finished stories, read through them, and then sent them all off to two very gifted editors.

            Six months.

The whole process took six months from the first idea to the publication date. To say it was a busy time is like saying Mt. Everest is kinda hard to climb. But it was worth it. The stressing and the writing and the crying and the wanting to jump off a building (or maybe that was just me?). It was worth all of it, because I love our stories. I love knowing it’s possible to work with other authors, navigate through different ideas and writing styles, and come out challenged and better for it in the end.

But why am I telling you this?

Because a big part of being a writer is learning how to wait. Waiting on story ideas. Waiting on writer’s block to pass. Waiting for the story to come together. Waiting on editors to tell you how good or bad your manuscript actually is. Waiting on query letters to be read and answered. Waiting on offers from agents...from publishers. And when you’re lucky enough to finally get a contract, waiting on publication dates that seem forever on the horizon.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. It’s what we all do because it’s what we’re all used to.

But maybe you shouldn’t always wait. Maybe you should shake things up and jump in with both feet and try something you’ve never done before. Don’t have a story idea? Write anyway and see if brilliance will strike while you’re typing. Have writer’s block? Scratch out some sentences—even if they’re awful—and push your way through it.  Not sure where to go next? Grab a friend or three and talk it out together. Who knows? If you try those things, maybe you’ll have a book ready to go in just a few short months. The only thing I know for sure is that nothing much happens if you’re just sitting there waiting for inspiration to strike. Inspiration happens at the weirdest times.

At a writer’s retreat. At a coffee shop. Who knows?

Just get to writing. It’s a pretty good way to pass the time.

-Amy Matayo

****TRIPLE GIVEAWAY****

STEP 1: Share this post on Facebook to help spread the word about Nicole, Tammy, Amy, and Jenny's fabulous new collaboration! 

STEP 2:  Leave your email address in the comments section here AND if you can think of one, name one of your favorite authors you'd LOVE to collaborate with!

STEP 3: I (Amy Leigh Simpson-your AlleyCat Hostess) will draw three names out of a hat and gift the winners an e-copy of JUST ONE SUMMER! The perfect summer read! If we can get a bunch of traffic here I'll bump it up to FIVE WINNERS. Go forth, spread the word! And please, if you read, make an author's day by leaving a quick review. <3

 

--Four Best Friends. Four Love Stories. Just One Summer. Four college girls, best friends since childhood, have found one constant in their ever-changing lives--summer. Every June the girls choose a destination to reconnect, only this summer is different. This year, each one must face life's challenges on her own, overcome fear and failure, and learn the beauty of falling in love for the first time. --

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Amy Matayo is an award winning author of The Wedding Game, Love Gone Wild, Sway, In Tune With Love, and A Painted Summer. She graduated with barely passing grades from John Brown University with a degree in Journalism. But don't feel sorry for her--she's super proud of that degree and all the ways she hasn't put it to good use.

She laughs often, cries easily, feels deeply, and loves hard. She lives in Arkansas with her husband and four kids and is working on her next novel. www.amymatayo.

                                       Twitter: @amymatayo            Facebook: www.facebook.com/amymatayo

 

Award-winning, best-selling author Jenny B. Jones writes romance with sass and Southern charm. Woefully indecisive, she writes YA, New Adult, and women’s romance. Since she has very little free time, Jenny believes in spending her spare hours in meaningful, intellectual pursuits, such as watching bad TV, Tweeting deep thoughts to the world, and writing her name in the dust on her furniture. She can be found at www.jennybjones.com.

 

 

Nicole Deese is a lover of fiction. When she isn’t writing, she can be
found fantasizing about “reading escapes,” which look a lot like kid-free,
laundry-free, and cooking-free vacations. Nicole is a Kindle best-selling author of The Letting Go series and A Cliché Christmas, book one in her new Love In Lenox series. She writes clean contemporary romance with an inspirational twist, and
lives in beautiful north Idaho with her swoony husband and rambunctious sons.

 

Tammy L. Gray is the kindle best selling author of the Winsor Series and Mercy’s Fight. She writes modern Christian romance and clean YA/NA romance. She believes hope and healing can be found through high quality fiction that inspires and provokes change.

 

Her books are about flawed characters who struggle in today’s world. She loves writing stories that offer hope to the broken, with the intention of taking the readers on a journey where they both cheer for and want to shake the hero/heroine. She aims to depict culturally relevant settings while presenting an uplifting message that will stay with readers long after the book is closed.

 

When not chasing after her three amazing kids, Tammy L. Gray can be spotted with her head in a book. Writing has given her a platform to combine her passion with her ministry. 

Reframing Your Writing Perspective

I spent the day today picking out a variety of frames at TJ Maxx, then filling them with adorable pictures of my newborn son. It's a work in progress, as I can never get everything quite where I want it... do you have that problem too? I find myself shifting pictures around and putting the frames in all different places in the house. This got me thinking--sometimes we need to take a time out to reframe our writing lives as well.

Photo from freedigitalphotos.net by adamr

We've all read the blogs and heard the chatter about the CBA market changing. Maybe your publishing house has recently stopped printing fiction, or you're feeling the pressure of harder-than-ever competition for unpublished writers (can I get an amen?).

Let's get real. It seems that lately all the conversation about the publishing industry--unless you happen to write category romance-- is really quite negative. The number of hopeful writers targeting any given publishing house is on the rise, while the number of available slots for books seems to be ever decreasing. We all know about Family Christian Bookstores and have read the effect the closure of brick and mortar stores is having on the industry. Many of us have had our hopes raised by conferences, only to be later dashed by the realities of how hard it really is for a new writer to break in.

After a while, this process gets discouraging. And if we're not careful, we forget our joy. We forget why we create and imagine in the first place. We forget why we're hopeful, and we forget the magic of writing.

That, friends, is a dangerous place to inhabit.

I want to encourage you--as writers and writers of fiction-- to stop believing that your story doesn't matter. Stop listening to those discouraging voices in your mind that no editor would buy a story that starts in such a unique way, or that the success of your book is all about sales numbers of awards.

Our calling is so. much. more.

Reframe your perspective. 

As Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

If you stop running your race, who else will run it? If you stop writing your story, who else will write it? If you don't fight for your readers, how will they ever hear the message God has given you to share?

I get it. I get how hard it is. But creativity makes a hard ministry. We all knew that going in. We as inspirational writers have got to shrug off the victim mentality and realize that if we are called, we are equipped. We do not have to buy into the lie that our stories don't matter.

Maybe it will take you three months to get your first book published. Maybe it will take five years. Maybe it will take fifteen. I am not immune to the struggle of this process. I really thought my favorite story would be published by now. I started writing novels five years ago, and have invested prayers, tears, laughter, hopes, and fears into this ministry. There are days when the dream feels very, very far away.

But the thing is, maybe our stories were never about ourselves to begin with. What if we're called to be stewards rather than owners? What if we reframe the way we look at writing so that we see a ministry that's a gift rather than a failure?

Today, I want to challenge us as writers of Christian fiction to stop bemoaning all the things that aren't going our way, and to stand up for the beauty of our art. If God called you, it matters. Let me say it again. If God called you, it matters. The pieces will come together, even if it's not in the way you expected--and when they do, you'll see an even more beautiful landscape than the one you'd envisioned and grieved. Let's let go of our expectations, friends, and our perceived "rights," and instead, let's learn to write freely.

Let's hear from you! Have you been feeling discouraged lately with all the negative talk about CBA? How do you respond to it and protect your heart for your stories?

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Ashley Clark writes romance with southern grace. She's dreamed of being a writer ever since the thumbprint-cookie-days of library story hour. Ashley has an M.A. in English and enjoys teaching literature courses at her local university. She's an active member of ACFW and runs their newcomer's loop. When she's not writing, Ashley's usually busy rescuing stray animals and finding charming new towns. You can find Ashley on her personal blog, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. She is represented by Karen Solem.

Growing Patience & Self-Imposed Deadlines

I have written about self-imposed deadlines at the Alley before...I am pretty sure it's a struggle for many aspiring authors. We aren't held to a contract or have an editor pushing us along. But we are anxious to get this writing career going and want to get the submission-ball rolling. At least, that's how I feel most of the time.

Self-imposed deadlines are great goal-setting tools. I enjoy writing toward something; holding myself accountable to my writing time; keeping in mind that near future date so I stick to the story and don't allow non-writing things get in the way (well, the non-important non-writing things like Facebook and retail therapy).

There is another benefit to self-imposed deadlines, though. And that is the flexibility to change the

date if need be. Recently, I surprised myself after a decade of my publishing pursuit, when I met my self-imposed deadline with a complete manuscript...and then..I didn't hit send on that date. I wanted to be sure it was where it needed to be, not when I wanted it to go out.

You know your patience has grown when you pass up a self-imposed deadline to get it right.

It's a fine line to know when to hit send and when to pause for another read-thru. Sometimes, we peck our stories to death and tweak and tweak and suck the joy—and perhaps the voice—out of the story. There's a lot of fear and guts and vulnerability in hitting send. So those self-imposed deadlines can give us that courage.

But, sometimes, that self-imposed deadline should become more of a checkpoint than an end. I took another week after my last deadline and did a read-thru and more tweaking. I am so glad I did. That fear and vulnerability died with my cut lines and deleted commas.

How about you? Do you set deadlines and ever pass them up to get it right?

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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 six historical novels and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency. Angie also spends her time designing one-sheets and drinking good coffee with great friends. Check out her author page at www.facebook.com/dicken.angie, her personal blog at angiedicken.blogspot.com and connect at:

Twitter: @angiedicken
Pinterest: pinterest.com/agdicken