Writer's Nudge: View from the Kitchen Window

Looks peaceful, right? I'm sure you're old enough to know, as the old saying goes, looks can be deceiving. Something is about to happen outside this window. What? Why? Who will be involved? How does it end? Will it affect the people who live in the house? By the way, who lives here? If you're eight-through-fourteen years old, write on! Be sure to post your writing by clicking on  "Comments." I love to read your work, and others will, also.

Write on!
Because of Jesus,
Miz Sharon

Building a Town (No Legos Involved)

The Roost and Crow Café, at the corner of Main Street and Apple, is the focal point of Mt. Vista, Indiana, population 931-and-a-half (Mr. and Mrs. Pfennigan are expecting their fifth baby). Leora Frumple is chief cook and owner of the restaurant, well-known for its black raspberry pie and strong coffee. Daughters Dorsy and Gertrude help their mama out.

Across the street is Earl and Bett London's Candy Kitchen, open from April Fool's Day through Thanksgiving Eve, and Wildman's 5 & 10. Before the Depression set in, Earl's brother Bill owned London Department Store, but he had to sell out. Now it's the Mt. Vista Public Library, though the sign over the door still reads London Department Store.

* * *

Is Mt. Vista a real place? Depends on how you define "real." It's real to me. And to the folks who live and work there, including Matilda (Tillie) Rose Pickle, main character of my third middle-grade novel, The Daddy Letters. 

I'm doing the pre-writing grunt work right now--drawing out the plot, planning the dastardly deeds that plague Tillie, giving a pulse to the people in the story, and building the town. This is fun stuff.

Tillie Pickle's house.

In my two previous stories, the protagonists interact with a limited number of secondary and peripheral characters. They're both set in very rural areas. In this third work, Tillie and her family live on a small farm just outside the town limits of Mt. Vista. On her rusty green bike it takes three minutes to get from her house to the "Welcome to Mt. Vista" sign. Another five minutes and she's past the "Thanks for Shopping in Mt. Vista! Please come back!" sign and on her way to Pearlie June Firkins's place. Pearlie June--poor thing--is Tillie's number one best friend.

Did I happen to mention that this is fun stuff? Feel free to leave comments. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Because of Jesus,

Miz Sharon

Fiction in Baby-Bites ~ Three: Part 1

Do You Know Those Characters?

When I began my second novel, I didn't really know the characters. I knew about them--something of what they looked like and how they related to one another, that sort of thing--but they weren't quite real to me. If your characters aren't real to you, they won't be to your readers, either.

I hear you. "But they're people I made up," you say. Yes, but they must have--are you ready for a really big word?--verisimilitude. That just means they must be very similar to real life.

When you write, you're creating a world peopled by your characters. You don't want them to be one-dimensional.   They won't seem real if they're all bad, all good, always funny, always sad or mad or . . .  anything. People aren't like that. You're not. Neither are your readers, so your characters shouldn't be, either. A character who is all anything is called flat. We want our characters to be rounded, or mufti-dimensional. 

Figure 2

Here a Quirk, There a Quirk

You can breathe life into your characters by adding one or two idiosyncrasies, little quirks, habits, or pet words they use. Leah, the main character in one of my novels, doesn't curse, of course, but when she's frustrated, she says, "Oh, snap!"

Notice your friends. What little habits do they have? What word or phrase keeps popping up? Caution! These quirky tidbits should be used sparsely. Too many will jerk the reader out of your story because s/he'll pay too much attention to the quirk.

Figure 3

Picture This!

I'm a visual person. Yes, I can visualize in my mind what a character looks like, but I find it helpful to go on the internet and search for faces. It makes me feel as though I'm casting for a movie of my story. That's fun! Pinterest.com is a handy tool for that. I, like a lot of my writer friends collect pictures of people, places, clothing, etc., that fit a book we're writing. Most of the pictures in this post are of my characters. Figure 5 is Leah. Figure 4 is her friend Trevor. Figure 6 is the man who shoots Leah in the leg. What do your characters look like? It helps to know.

Talking to the Invisible

Another way to get well acquainted with your characters is to interview them. Crazy, I know, but it works. Come up with a list of questions for your main characters. Most of the time, you'll know the answers in advance, but sometimes they surprise you. For example, I interviewed Trevor. His dad died heroically while serving in Iraq. Okay. I knew that. But Trevor knew more details. His dad had thrown himself on a grenade to save the lives of his soldiers. In a valiant act that reminded me of Jesus, Who died in my place on the Cross, Trevor's father had willingly given his own life for others. I hadn't known that. In my interview with Leah, I found out why she is angry with God. All of that sounds a little crazy to people who aren't writers, but character interviews are a common tool we use.

Blogger is acting a little weird today by not letting me type or place photos where I want to, so I'm cutting this post short. Check back in a few days, and I'll post an interview I did with a character. It will give you an idea of what I'm talking about. 

Write on!

Because of Jesus,

Miz Sharon

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Fiction in Baby-Bites~TWO

Lay Out the Bones

I say in my writing workshops that the plot of a story is the skeleton--the bones without the details. The plot keeps the writer on track. Some writers claim that they don't plot, but they probably do, even if it's not down on paper. They have at least a general idea of where they're going. If a writer doesn't know where she's going, how will she know when she gets there?

Some writers make a formal outline, the kind you learn to do in English class. Others use a type of outline called webbing. I know writers who simply list the book's chapters and tell what main event happens in each. Experiment and find out what works best for you. Keep it as simple as possible.

Mark the High Points

Somewhere early in your story, plot an inciting incident, also called a catalyst. This event launches your main character (protagonist) on his adventure. It's an event that changes everything. Life is normal. Then...BANG! Something happens. Does a parent die? Does the MC discover a caged tiger in the woods? Perhaps he finds a peculiar square egg. Maybe the MC's family decides to become Amish. The action of the story will in some way reflect back, or be the result of, this incident.

Considering the inciting incident, what does your protagonist want more than anything in the world? He may desire several things, but what's the biggie--the one he's willing to take risks for? Once you know that, the story becomes a focused quest Who or what is working against this goal? Is it a person or a group of people? Or is it an internal conflict, something inside himself that keeps saying, "You can't do it. You're not smart enough. You're not strong enough, You're not popular enough. You're not [fill in the blank] enough!" The conflict may also come from nature or some fantastical being.


At some point very near the end of your story, the MC will reach the climax, the high point of the plot, that spot where it's do or die, where he must overcome the big problem--the source of the main conflict--against all odds. Think of your plot as a mountain. The climax is the tip-top of that mountain. But prior to reaching that point, other problems occur at strategic spots up the incline, each one a little worse that the last. I know. You want to protect your protagonist. You don't want to see him get hurt. As one writer told me early in my fiction writing journey, "You've got to beat up your darlings." If nothing bad, hurtful, or disappointing ever happens to him, you don't have much of a story. He must overcome.


Following the climax is the descending action and resolution. Loose ends are tidied up. As the writer, you get to decide whether or not the protagonist fully reaches his main goal. It's okay to leave the reader wondering or speculating based on the information you've given. Readers' interest begins to wane after the climax, so don't drag out the last part. Leave them wishing the story were longer.


Any questions or comments? As always, I love to hear from you.


Write on!
Because of Christ,
Miz Sharon



 

Fiction in Baby-Bites~ONE

Hook 'em! Hook 'em good!

Your BFF loves your story idea. Your dad's convinced you're a literary protégé. Grandma's boring her friends at the senior center with stories of your prowess with a pen. You have a plot. You know what's going to happen in the story--kinda, sorta. Now it's time to put that golden pen to the paper (or, more likely, those pink little fingertips to the pc keyboard) and write.

Where to begin. That's the real question. Some smart aleck might say, "At the beginning." That's not the best answer, Mr. Aleck. The beginning can be really boring, full of back-story explanation and description. You can work that in bit by bit later on, but first  hook that reader. Make 'em care. Propel them to read on.

One way to get the job done
 is to plunk them down smack-dab in the middle of the action. (The fancy, writerly term for that is in medias res. That means "in the middle of things. It's Latin.) In other words, something important already has happened. Something so big, the life of the main character (MC) will never be the same.

"How do I write something like that?" you ask. I heard you. Check out first lines and first paragraphs of good books, books that have won awards, books that you really like.

Consider these:

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Now, that one's from my all-time favorite author: God, a.k.a. Yahweh, etc. Doesn't that line just grab you by the throat? It's simple, easy to understand, and to the point. It makes readers ask, "Then what?" He goes on to tell the then what. The Book is hundreds of pages long, but it's so captivating that we have to read on. What big thing happens? Everything is created by the Book's MC, and nothing will ever be...nothing again.

Here's another:

"Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids." In medias res. The world's at war. The children are in danger from air-borne bombs, and they have to leave all they've ever known, all that's familiar. 

And another:

"That morning, after he discovered the tiger, Rob went and stood under the Kentucky Star Motel sign and waited for the school bus just like it was any other day." We guess that Rob is the MC, and though the line is delivered in a mundane way, a boy's discovering a tiger somewhere near a school bus stop is extraordinary. So then what happens? As a reader, that line hooked me--hooked me good. The book lived up to the promise delivered in that first line. BTW, the author's work has won many awards. 

And:

"'Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents,' grumbled Jo, lying on the rug." What has happened? We don't know yet, except that this Jo is facing a giftless Christmas. (Can she ever endure such horror?)

Finally: 

"My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog." Is there a big change in the MC's life? Oh, yeah! Will anything ever be the same? Probably not. Is it a good hook line? Uh-huh. Good enough to entice some film producers to turn the award-winning book into one of my favorite movies. Do you know what it is?

It's your turn. 

• Check out the hook lines of some of your favorite books. Choose the three you like the best, click "Comments," and tell us all.
• You know the first Book I've mentioned above is the Bible. The others are from what books? If you think you know, click "Comments," and show how brilliant you are.

Read on! Write on!
Because of Christ,
Miz Sharon

P.S.: Be sure to read the "Letters" page before you leave QUIRKY QUILL.
P.S.S.: Be sure to click the "Join" button. 
P.S.S.S.: Keep checking back on QUIRKY QUILL. I'm planning a contest!

Do You Write?

Shortly after I learned to read (and, by the way, that took awhile), I started writing. I loved it! The magic of putting on to the blank page my thoughts and imaginings fascinated me. Trouble was, too many of my stories sounded a lot like the latest horse novel I'd read.


Then one day I read in the Bible that there's nothing new under the sun. That includes plots (story lines, what I call "tale bones"). We writers make a plot our own by looking at old tale bones from different angles. We put new flesh on old bones by adding characters, actions, colors, feelings, places, problems, times, and dragons. Okay. So we don't always include dragons--but we can if we want to.


Back to my lead question. Do you write? If so, check out these sites listed in the inaugural issue of ACFW Journal, The Voice of Christian Fiction:

  

Aletheia Writing Magazine

Go Teen Writer  

Holy Worlds

Kingdom Pen

NextGen Writers 

Pekazoid Prophets

Writing for the Teenage Author

Written World Communications

ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) also recommends these books for youths who write (like you!):


A Teen's Guide to Getting Published: Publishing for Profit, Recognition, and Academic Success by Jessica Dunn


Seize the Story by Victoria Hanley


Spilling Ink by Ellen Potter


Rip the Page!: Adventures in Creative Writing by Karen Benke


In addition to those, I recommend any book about the craft of writing by James Scott Bell.

What do you write? Click on the "Comment" button below and tell me. If you have any questions about writing, leave those, too. I'll answer you.