Naomi Dawn Musch

What sort of novel would you read twice? With so many new books releasing every day, it's not often I consider giving a book a second go-round. Yet, some stay on my shelf because I hope to revisit them someday.

I did that last week. I'm a big Angela Hunt fan, especially when it comes to her historicals. I first read Afton of Margate Castle at least ten years ago, and it's one of those books that will always remain in my library. But when it recently turned up as a free read for Kindle, I couldn't resist downloading. I took a glimpse, remembering the characters rather quickly, and before long I was hooked again.Caught in the story of a young, innocent girl dealt a harsh, evil hand, I was as bound by the tale as if I'd never read it before.

Why? What magic does Ms. Hunt imbue in her style that can hook a reader two times around?

Hunt is one of the reigning queens of Christian fiction, yet Afton of Margate Castle was her first novel written for adults. She'd spent previous years writing in other venues.

So how did Hunt so successfully craft Afton's story? She followed the first two rules of great story-telling.

***Hunt finds what is great and strong in her characters and shows it in large or subtle ways at the onset. Then as she continues rounding out their lives, giving them even further dimension, she drops them into bigger-than-life situations that are seemingly beyond their ability to handle. But the situations serve to nurture those seeds of greatness inside them and force them to grow.

Here is young Afton, a simple villein and eldest sibling in a large family on her lord's estate. Only a child, she is proven to be sweet natured, uncomplaining, and hard working. But her uncommon beauty and poise have caught the eye of the earl's wife, Lady Endeline, who desires to raise another child, a little girl. She takes Afton from her family, as is her right, and raises her as a companion to her own plain, stubborn daughter. But the lady's desire for Afton soon turns to jealous aggravation as Afton's noble nature doesn't seem to rub off on the true daughter, Leinor. On the other hand, it does catch the eye of the mistress's son. But Lady Endeline will not allow a bond to form between her son and the daughter of a plowman. The woman's desire for Afton soon turns to bitterness toward the girl, and before Afton is even a teenager, she is thrust into forced marriage to the town miller, a jealous, brutal man.

I don't want to give anything away. If you haven't read it, you should. But the point is, Hunt's characters are like gladiolas in a sea of dandelions. They stand out. They're vibrant, developed, alluring. Most of all they have strengths that may seem small or common, but dropped into tenuous circumstances, traits such as industriousness or compassion become determination and honor.

***The next rule of good story-telling Hunt follows once she drops her characters into a sea of untoward circumstances, is to send out scenes in rippling waves -- cresting, receding, cresting, receding. Each and every scene moves the story forward, but just as the protagonist seems to balance on the brink of certain joy, Hunt plunges her again into the abyss of misfortune. With each betrayal, heartache, and yearning, we care more and more so that we must keep reading, we must keep riding those waves, hoping for a favorable outcome.

As young Afton is enjoying both the familial chores and joys of carefree childhood, she is ripped from her home to live in the castle and her loving mother is forced to reject her. Then, as she learns to trust lady Elendine and love her son, Elendine casts her into a terrible marriage and her son is sent off to the crusades. When Afton finally finds some measure of peace and joy in raising her own child, Elendine interferes yet again.

And it doesn't stop there. Wars, revenge, secrets and betrayal, the passing of years -- all keep Afton from knowing forgiveness, trust, and true love. As each scene wave brings us closer to the shore of resolution, our tension grows.

Angela Hunt is known for her ability to bring the unexpected to her readers.

More, of course, is required to make a novel sing, but by hinting at greatness in her characters, and by moving the story forward to climactic moments within each scene then pulling back to leave readers breathless with anxiety and hope, the first two rules and perhaps the biggest are accomplished.

May we all learn such craft and technique as we--

Write On!

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Readers tire quickly of protagonists that are either too perfect or too ordinary. Have you ever read a book and thought, something about this book seems familiar, as if I've read it before, only to discover that yes, you have read that very book before, but it had been so entirely forgettable that you felt like you were experiencing more déjà vu than a real memory? On the other hand, have you ever had a novel, a character, a plot, stick with you for years and years, right down to its fine nuances?

If you've had either of these things happen, which you probably have, what made the difference? A casual reader might just say that one was more interesting than the other. But what made it interesting? What made you, as a reader, bond with the character of Book A, while the protagonist of Book B dissolved into the mists of memory?

I submit to you that it had something to do with the way the author displayed the character's secret strength within the first few pages of the book.

We hear a lot about "hook". I've written about crafting hook on this blog. But a huge part of making that hook sharp enough to grasp a reader by the vitals is to present a protagonist that has a secret strength. She can be a victim, or he can be an anti-hero, but no matter what, there has to be some compelling part of their core being that reaches into our hearts and burrows a root of strength.

Maybe the protagonist is a bank robber, but he has a special fondness for his young nephew who he likes to spend time playing with at the park. Maybe she is trapped in a dangerous relationship, but she has a huge imagination that helps her to escape it mentally, and eventually, physically.

Have you ever seen the 1999 movie The Straight Story? In it, an elderly Alvin Straight played by Richard Farnsworth is sadly ordinary. He's old. His adult daughter played by Sissy Spacek is challenged and still somewhat dependent on him. He's not allowed to drive a car anymore, and his overall health is in question. All he has is a riding lawn mower that barely runs and his small, non-descript home. His friends are old codgers like himself who seem content to sit around waiting to die. But Mr. Straight is determined. He's very determined, in fact,to see his estranged, 75 year old brother once again. While those around him think he's cracked, Straight rigs his small lawn tractor for the journey from Laurens, Iowa to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin. His determination to make amends with his brother is the strength that takes him from ordinary to extraordinary.

If we want our protagonists to resonate with readers past the finish of the book, then we need to reveal what makes them strong, even if they seem weakened by circumstances. We need to plant in them some seed of human vigor and that keeps them going in the face of adversity.

Think long and hard about this when you're working out the characterization of your novel's protagonist. What is his or her secret strength? How are you going to clue your readers in to it?

Write on!

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Art Edwards in his essay This is (Not) My Beautiful Life (The Writer/ Sept.'11) said, "No matter the form, readers are voyeurs. We always want what's on the page to generate subtext, implication, rumor. We want to know what the author doesn't want us to know."

The responsibility to generate such subtext couldn't be more important for Christian writers, not only in regard to writing of spiritual matters without sounding "preachy"or "heavy-handed", but as to writing realism without offending our own and others' sensibilities.

Lack of realism has been the complaint of readers for ages in regard to "Christian" fiction. While this is changing, writing from a Christian world view still remains a challenge because we Christian writers don't want to write graphic depictions of sex and gore peppered by foul language. We long to tell stories about life's harsh realities while at the same time being able to pass them off to our grannies and grand-children to read. We've even invented our own brand for some of our fiction to say, "Hey, we're not avoiding the gritty stuff" and labeled it "edgy". But edgy is hard to define and to some is quickly becoming cliché.

Thus it remains true that much of our writing is done in subtext. And to be honest -- much of any good writing should be done that way. It is our responsibility to craft scenes that allow our readers imaginations boundless freedom to roam and create. A job well done, in my humble opinion, doesn't need to spell out the hideous details of a rape, murder, or adulterous affair. It doesn't need to revel in the titillating highlights of a romantic or sexual moment. But these scenes can be created to arouse intense emotion and clear implication without any of the graphic images being relayed on the page in minute detail.

Two examples that quickly come to mind are Amanda Cabot's Scattered Petals, wherein she tells the story of a woman raped by stagecoach bandits -- a shocking thing to read about in Christian fiction, yet done with extreme taste while allowing the reader absolute understanding -- and April Gardner's Wounded Spirits, wherein she tells the brutal story of an Indian raid on a fort with only enough graphic picture to establish what such a horror would have been like, and yet did not offend, but allowed a canvas for readers' imagination to paint the full picture.

In my own series, I've written about spousal abuse, an adulterous affair, and even a woman facing the possible horrors of life spent in a brothel. But while these topics may have been taboo in past days of Christian fiction, I am finding ways of writing their details in subtext. With subtext less is more. Telling is wiped away. Scenes are centered more on the characters' emotional state rather than on all the physical details. We rely on writing with senses besides the visual to create an impactful moment.

The same applies to spiritual truths. We learn to think and view our characters' situations through the eyes of unbelievers or fallen individuals, writing their thinking onto the page instead of our own. We sift our telling to make sure it doesn't ring of Christianese.

As you write, try this. Forget about writing "Christian" literature, and just write literature -- as a Christian. Allow your characters freedom to express their hearts and morals without your omniscient POV overpowering the scene. Capitalize on those specific moments to craft subtext that peeks through the story without painting a broad stroke of telling detail.Therein lies art.

Write on!

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Myriad of methods exist for writers to organize plot and arrange notes. Some programs are free, some are offered for a fee. The Snowflake Method, BubbleUs, Simplenote, iA Writer, Evernote,Wunderlist, Scrivener, and more, beckon us. And most of them work very well, depending on what you want your tool to accomplish.

If more computer programs aren't your cup of tea, you can still use old fashioned household tools to sticky note, story board, story file, or just spread papers all over your office, hoping to find the elusive all-important detail you want when you need it.

I'm not going to endorse any particular system, but as a hands-on approach works well for me, I'll tell you what I do. I've tried some of the above systems, and found them useful when I'm first developing a plot, but for my basic note organization, by favorite system is still the use of notebooks. Old fashioned, colored compositions books in college rule to be precise.

Every time I start a new novel, I pull out a new notebook. Inside the front cover I list titles of resource book I'm using in my research, including the library's dewey decimal number so I can find it quickly again if its borrowed. My notes from these books go on separate pages in the notebook, and at the top of where those pages begin, I repeat the reference information in case I have to look it up again.

I also put the date I began the notebook on the inside cover so I can chart how long it's taking me to write the book. Beneath the date, I even jot my goal, such as write this novel this year, or 2000 words per week, or 100,000 words this year -- whatever the goal is.

On page 1, I blaze the WIP's working title across the top; then I state the Story Goal and Story Themes. Of course, new themes will evolve, or one theme will take priority as the story develops its shape. But by having the story goal and theme clearly stated at the onset, it's easy to remain focused and avoid meandering all over the place. I refer back to page 1 often during the course of writing.

On the following pages, I begin fleshing out characters. NOTE: Here is where I incorporate other programs or character-building plans I've garnered from fellow writers. I write down the basics on these pages, but I do fuller fleshing in a computer program -- even simply in a word processor file. But in the notebook --  one character per page -- I highlight the basics: eye color, age, personal quirks and tics, character goal. On the computer file I fill out their full goals, desires, black moments, all in finer detail.

After the characterization pages, I use a page that simply summarizes the previous pages with all the characters' names, ages, and a basic timeline. This is invaluable when you begin more books in your series. You'll want a quick way to look back and remember how old a character was in Book One, so you'll be able to age them appropriately in Book Three. You'll forget who was related distantly to who, or the names of minor characters making only momentary appearances. LIST THEM so you can flip back quickly and find them. I sometimes transfer this page to a computer file that I can keep open alongside my WIP.

Now I put a sticky note in the notebook as a marker. Here I begin my actual outline. I outline in scenes, dialogue fragments, as well as brainstormed and then this happens... notations. There's not real clean way that works for me. If you plot at all, do it in a way that works for you.

Sometimes, as scenes and plot points are accomplished in the WIP, I cross them out in the notebook. It's easy to forget if you're writing a long novel, or especially if you're writing a series, whether you've covered a certain story point or not, especially if it's a small nuance you intended to slip in.

I also mark off a section of the notebook with a sticky note for jotting down scenes that come to me out of the blue, stuff I might want to develop later. I cross them out once -- or if -- I use them and also if I decide to scrap them.

Half way through the notebook, I mark off a section (with another sticky note) for all my historical or other research notes. Page after page of research gets jotted here. I star sections that I absolutely have to use in the story. I ask myself questions about it as I go, making notations along the edges. My notebook is both organized and messy at once -- kind of like my brain.

SERIES NOTE: Starting on the very last page of the notebook, working backward, I jot notes that come to mind for the next book in the series. I'm not really ready to go there yet, but sometimes a little something will hit me as an idea I don't want to forget. When I buy the next notebook and begin the process again, I transfer those back page notes into thenew notebook and begin the whole process again. For instance, while I was writing The Red Fury, I discovered that collecting roses became popular during Victorian times, and that was also when giving a flower based on the meaning of its color was in vogue. I jotted brief notes about it in the back of my Red Fury notebook, along with websites to refer back to. This worked perfectly into what is now becoming my next book, The Black Rose.

This may sound complicated, but it works great for me. You have to organize in the way that works for you. The point is to do it. Writing a series, or even a single novel, isn't something that you can really do without a good system of organization -- even if you’re a panster.

One more thing:

As I write the actual novel, I keep another computer file open containing a few of the details from my notebook, like I mentioned earlier. They might be the characters names & ages, the timeline, a few things like that. In the actual WIP, at the bottom of the scene I'm writing, I write a very short outline of where I'm heading so that each day I can remember how to pick up. This is extremely helpful during those times when several days pass between writing bouts. This might be short points, or a paragraph synopsis -- just a little something for quick reference to keep me on track from one scene or chapter to the next.

Whether you're writing a single novel or a series, a good system for organizing your notes will keep you on a path through the chaos of creation.

Write on!

Come investigate my series!

http://www.naomimusch.com/empireinpineseries.htm

Book One is on sale for $.99 ONLY through December!

There's nothing very mystifying about unearthing themes for your series. Sometimes theme emerges out of the plot, setting, or period elements naturally. At other times it is the very idea that first churns up a story in your imagination. For instance, in the latter case, after someone you know tells you of the twists and turns they faced with foreign adoption, you may have an idea burst upon you for writing a story about the myriad issues involved in foreign adoption, thus beginning with theme. On the other hand, if this theme were to emerge later, from the plot, it might work more like this. You may think, I want to write about a childless couple who longs to adopt. Then, later you realize, they'll adopt from a foreign country. Oh... there are issues surrounding that!

Usually, when it comes to discovering a theme, you don't have to think much further than the situations and ideals that stir your heart right now.

Your concerns, those passions that are dear to your heart, those struggles you've faced and lessons you've learned are the best source of inspiration for choosing theme. I often find that when a Sunday sermon pricks my heart or thrills my soul, a story theme won't linger far behind.

Most often, new themes emerge in each book one writes. But when writing a series, I've noticed it's entirely likely passions will still be at the same stage from book to book because I'm still engrossed in a continuing saga of recurring characters. As I move from one book to the next, however, I don't want to keep repeating my themes.

Thankfully, universal themes -- grieving loss, discovering love, suffering spiritual or relational disillusionment, paying the demanding cost of pride, and so on --each have a hundred different spins to them that can make them truly unique. As a writer, your job is to take these universal themes and reflect on how you are affected by them in your own life. What conflicts have they been known to  produce? What outcomes? What lessons?

Love is probably the most written about of all the universal themes. Think of the myriad ways it is expressed, won, lost, and sought after. When I wrote The Green Veil, Empire in Pine Book One, I thought of how we are often encouraged to follow our hearts in seeking love. But this produced a conflict in my reasoning, because Scripture tells us that our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and that we can barely know or understand our own hearts. So what happens, really, when someone blindly follows his or her heart? Or at least, what might happen? This is the primary theme that emerged in the plotting of that novel.

Themes give stories their layers.

The really cool aspect of this when writing a series is that you can start to see those layers developing further in each book, thus producing a series arc. I realized as I wrote books 2 and 3 in my Empire in Pine series that the women in a particular family all disliked sewing. It's a generational series in which an impatience toward the craft was apparently passed down. On the other hand, these gals were crafty and artistic in other ways. By the time I reached Book 3, The Black Rose, on which I'm doing re-writes now, I discovered that this simple character trait resulted in a theme -- a poor self-image -- feelings of being unaccomplished and inferior. I'm working now on exploring that theme further.

So, are some themes over-used?

To answer, let's look at the theme of faith, or lack of it. Writers settle on exploring aspects of faith again and again. The entire genre of inspirational fiction is built around it, in fact. Because issues of faith are universal, it can never be overdone as a theme. People will continue to struggle and either search for faith or draw away from it. Therefore, it becomes the characters themselves that make the theme unique. As writers we create characters whose personalities, hopes, sorrows, and situations resonate with readers. In any of a thousand different combinations, the theme develops and finds its sticking place in readers' hearts.

So, explore your passions. Allow yourself to hope and dream and feel anguish. Read and grow and agonize. In all of your zeal and new understanding, you'll unearth themes that weave their way into your series.

Write on!

I just finished reading Susan May Warren's terrific WWII novel Sons of Thunder from her Brothers in Arms series. It's a compelling story, fraught with tension, layered like a theme-and-character-deli sandwich, and structured on an aching love triangle involving a pair of brothers and the woman they both love.

Interestingly enough, I began reading this as my own novel The Red Fury is about to release from Desert Breeze Publishing (10/15/11). It's also a story spun on the heels of post-war trauma, of past regrets, of searching for meaning --and most similarly -- of a love triangle involving a pair of brothers and the woman they both love. http://tinyurl.com/3qkt4c9

The love triangle is a center-piece theme found often in fiction, whether it's women's fiction, romance, suspense, or just about any genre you can come up with. Why? Because it works. It's a natural ramp to tension. We're told there are only so many plots in the world, and since this one is a biggy, the real trick is to write it in a new way that will make a reader's heart sizzle.

Sons of Thunder and The Red Fury both tackle the classic problem of torn love. While the reader may understand the direction the love relationship ought to go, he or she should deeply feel the plight of all involved. It isn't really a love triangle if one of the parties doesn't truly ache with love and commitment.

Picture a physical triangle for a moment. An object with three straight sides and three angles. The sides and angles don't have to be equal,or they could be. Triangles can be shaped as differently as story plot itself. Character relationships can differ in degrees of love, passion, faithfulness, yearning.

But the closer they are to being equilateral, the bigger the quandary of the characters will be. Building a love triangle's shape will depend somewhat on how you intend to solve the problem -- pulling out one leg (character) of the triangle and allowing the other two legs to fall together and intertwine.

Ways to solve the love triangle problem vary. They might include:

• The death of one lover
• Distraction of one lover by another party
• Unsolved - One party merely goes away, perhaps finds love in another book

Whichever means you use to solve the love triangle problem, it has to make sense. It has to be satisfying. It shouldn't be plainly expected. And it must tear at the heart.

Option #1 - You know how it is when you kill off a bad guy in a book. Sometimes it causes rejoicing. But sometimes the bad guy is redeemed or at least reconciled to the opposing characters, and you feel a sort of sorrow in killing him off. Well, if the death of a bad guy can cause an emotional bump, think of the emotions likely to roil if you're killing off a party in a love triangle. It's going to be a lot more wrenching if he's likeable or heroic. So give him those qualities. Give him some redeeming feature that will help the lover feel the stab of his loss while at the same time finding even greater solace with the love interest that remains.

Option #2 - If the choice for one party in the love triangle is to become distracted by another party (a new love) it shouldn't be that the party being left is utterly relieved to not have to make a choice. Make the reader care that something important has been lost, even though something new and good can now grow. That's just how it is in real life. Seriously, haven't you ever been an eye-witness to the heartache of a true love triangle? Letting go is hard, even if there's someone else to help ease the pain. Pieces of broken heart can mend, but they can never be returned.

Option #3 - It can be compelling if one character simply goes away to nurse his/her wounds. It peels at the heart to watch someone lose at love if they have no other love to turn to. In series stories this is a likely option because it helps readers see growth and maturity in a character who will likely find even greater love in another book.

Writing the love triangle and solving its nuances takes some delicate balance and a real ability to see the situation from all angles. And that, of course, is what makes it so much fun to write.

Write on!

All the new Facebook changes certainly have created a mild uproar. As we try to understand the new navigation features, it's easy to feel a little bit lost and confused. Friends whose statuses we enjoyed perusing might now get lost in the muddle. The real-time ticker on the side of the page can scroll us into information overload. But there is a way to better manage what you see and thus use your Facebook time more effectively.

Use the lists feature on the left hand side of the home page.

With lists, you can see only your close friends' feeds, or just your relatives', acquaintances, or perhaps fellow workers or classmates. There is even a "Restricted" List. This is where you put those friends whom you only want to see the posts and profiles you make public.

Those are some of the basic lists. You can also click on "more" (which highlights when you slide your cursor over the word "lists"). There you can create even more lists. These could include friends associated with your publisher, church friends, a club you're involved with, or -- here's one I like -- Writer Friends.

One tip: For your own privacy control, be aware of who is seeing your posts by using the buttons on your status bar. By creating lists, you can post statuses that only people on a specified list will see. If you want to make a comment to your church group, for instance, you can select that privacy setting from among the clickdown lists in your status bar. (The button usually says "Public", but if you click on it, you will see the menu of choices.)

When you start a list, you will be given suggestions for people to add to the list. If there's someone not suggested whom you wish to add, you simply type in their name.

Another tip: Don't cross post many people to different lists if you don't want to read their feeds all over the place. I do have a couple of people on more than one list, but I've decided that in the future I probably won't do that much so as not to clog up my lists.

If you have several hundred friends, lists make organizing them -- and actually getting to interact with them -- more doable.

Write on!

Have you written your book's back cover blurb? How about a tagline? Tackled that synopsis yet? What about a book endorsement? Still trying on that query letter? There's a whole lot more to being a fiction writer than writing fiction. It seems that the closer you come to publication and beyond, the more you must develop a variety of writing skills.

I was pleased recently to be asked for my endorsement on Lisa Lickel and Shellie Neuemeier's new book A SUMMER IN OAKVILLE just released a few days ago from Black Lyon Publishing. Many novelists are old pros at this, but, while I'd endorsed books before through my own reviews and blurbs, I'd never written an official endorsement designed for potential cover use.  

It's kind of like a mini-review though, right? Well, sort of. More than a mini, it's a flash review, really. What could I say about the book that best captured my impression in a mere capsule of words?

If you're writing an endorsement or any other short piece designed to instantly draw a reader's attention, a lot of the grip lays in using strong verbs. An endorsement doesn't really mean much to areader unless it can immediately offer them the promise of an emotional experience. Excitement. Comfort. Laughter. These kinds of emotions and reactions come to mind. Readers want to know what the book will do for them. The rest means pulling out an impression that impacts the reader with the story's core meaning. 

As I reflected on A SUMMER IN OAKVILLE, what really struck me was how this group of 4 stories representing four people, struggling together to save the family farm, could speak to the way families understand one another, or completely misunderstand.

There's a tempted wife whose estranged marriage already hangs by a thread; her grown daughter striving to find purpose and love but falling for the enemy; a widower afraid to let go of the past and begin again; and his son, a young man trying to right his world gone rebelliously wrong.

We can all relate to such dynamics. Here are 8 words I used to describe the impact:

“A SUMMER IN OAKVILLE transports readers deep into the soul of family.”

From there, I wrote another couple of lines, but I spent time carefully crafting this first statement using the very specific verb "transports" because readers are hoping to be carried into a story, and I wrote "the soul of family" because, to me, the novel took a group of people and knitted them together into one unit, one entity, one soul. And anyone who has experienced the complications yet oneness of family knows what that feels like.

One of the best ways to get a feel for writing endorsements is to study them. Watch for verbiage and emotional impact or gut reaction. There were a number of other well-written endorsements for Lisa and Shellie's book. You can see them on the Black Lyon website:

http://www.blacklyonpublishing.com/A%20Summer%20in%20Oakville.html

Write on!

Book 2, THE RED FURY, coming October 15, 2011

Once upon a time, stories -- big novels, really -- were written with long, winding beginnings. We were given dozens of pages, chapters even, to slowly become drawn into the story set-up, the event that changed everything for the character. I used to read lots of these kinds of books, and I enjoyed them.

But nowadays, readers are less patient, or simply have less time to commit to a novel. Thus writers learned that we have to create an almost immediate story hook which will engage readers quickly. But that doesn' t simply mean writing a scene to put readers on the edge of their seats. It means we have to establish a story question in their minds, one that they will want to follow through to the end in order to discover the answer or outcome.

Establishing a story question begins with

• a crisis situation
• the main character's reaction to it
• that same character's statement of intent to try and "fix" the situation

The Crisis

This is the opening action or primary hook. The terrible dilemma. The unquenched desire. The sudden doom. In my upcoming release, an 1890s historical romance called The Red Fury, Elaina Kade finds herself being jilted -- again. This is the third man she's lost in two years. One of them, the one who died, truly had her heart. The two that followed couldn't handle her strong-willed nature. In a fiery, opening, break-up scene, Elaina comes to the conclusion that she has really become an unmarryable shrew since her first love's death, and that the future holds only spinsterhood and local gossip about her many faults.

The Reaction

This is the outcome of the crisis. If the character merely wanders off to wallow in pity, and things begin to happen to them, then you end up with a passive character. It's hard to draw readers into a committed relationship with a passive character. If possible, avoid things happening to the character. Instead, have the character act as the catalyst for what happens next. The character's response to the crisis should come in some physical as well as emotional way. In The Red Fury, Elaina would like to dash her fiancé, Jed's, heart against the wall. Since that's not quite possible, she throws whatever is available. In her case it's a hard piece of quartz (like Jed's heart) and a mirror which shatters into shards (like her heart) -- a little symbolism there. She wants to rant, run away, crawl into a hole, freak out all over him -- something! Readers relate to her pain by seeing it. Her reaction engages readers with her strong personality and establishes more of a connection with her character.

The Statement of Intent

This is the critical turning point in the opening of the story and where the story question becomes firmly established. Once readers have seen the crisis and the character's reaction, they begin to wonder where it is leading. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! As the character states his or her intent, whether in so many words or in their actions, the reader is able to latch onto the story question -- the question that will finally be answered at the end of the story. This is an almost "ah-ha" moment for the reader as they are now on track with the story and become ready to nestle into it. As to the story question itself, readers may, perhaps, have a good idea of the answer. For instance, in the case of a romance, boy meets girl and conflict ensues, but the reader is fairly certain that their issues will resolve, and boy and girl will finally be together at the end. BUT, in such a case, the story question will be less of What will happen, and more of How it will happen.

In The Red Fury, Elaina's statement of intent comes in the form of two personal decisions. The first is to get away. When she discovers her brother is going to be sent on business to Chicago, she determines to go with him, thinking she will temporarily escape from both her heartache and the local gossip. Her second decision is a mental and emotional one. Elaina decides that since she is meant to live life on her own, she will do it her own way. So she sets off on a plan to ignore social constraints and do whatever she pleases, going from one adventure to the next without concern for consequences. Her decisions set in motion the stage for future conflict, which multiplies ten-fold when she meets a pair of disillusioned civil war veterans, brothers whose love for one another is the only thing they still cling to after the horrors of war. When the personalities of these three major characters intersect, the combination of a love triangle and living life on the edge becomes nearly combustible.

So these three elements set up the story question. In The Red Fury, Elaina is about to step off into a great unknown where readers know something is bound to happen to her. And because of the previous crisis, it is implied that she may discover whether or not she is truly as unlovable as she believes she is.  Will she figure it out? How? With whom?

Does your story's opening clearly establish a story question?

Write on!

THE RED FURY - EMPIRE IN PINE - Book Two -- Coming October, 2011!

Seeking God's will is sometimes a matter of simply doing the next thing. The essence of discovering His greater purposes lies in vigilant prayer while also learning to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's promptings.

This weekend I attended an annual retreat for board members of Living Stones News http://www.livingstonesnews.com an award-winning Christian publication focused on sharing the testimonies of those whose lives have been impacted byJesus. Our goal at each year's retreat is to plan, celebrate, and pray over the focus and direction of LSN. One of the things we do on our first evening together is to gather around the campfire to discuss what God is doing in our lives individually. This year we all addressed the topic of His individual call, and where we each were on that path. As it turned out, we were each in various stages of trying to figure out His will. Even our prayer requests reflected that many of us desired direction and guidance from God, be it over family matters, our writing, our day jobs, or our personal goals.

The difficulty in discerning God's will is usually a matter of our natures struggling with His. We want to know it all. We want the entire plan laid out where we can see it. We want the promise of success. But God doesn't operate that way. He does have a plan, rest assured of that. But He desires our trust. He often only shows us a tiny bit of what lies ahead. "His Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path," (Psalm 119:105).  It's like He's telling us, Don't worry. Just follow the light I'm showing you. Sometimes His beams are on high (the path) and other times on low (just at our feet). It's when those beams are bent only a step ahead of our toes that we simply have to do what God is showing us to do today -- the next thing.

We writers (like everyone else, I suppose) obsess about God's will and calling sometimes. We want to feel Him guiding our stories and leading us on to publication. My struggle circled around whether or not I should concentrate on writing fiction or non-fiction since I have passions toward both. So I kept doing the next thing. Then one day He shone a beam on my path. I realized it didn't matter about the fiction or non-fiction. It mattered that I told stories about changed lives. That was His will, the genre didn't matter.

So whether God's headlights are lighting your path or merely your feet today, do the next thing. Pray often. Listen to His voice. Trust. "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path," (Proverbs 3:5).

Write on!