All Things Bright & Shiny Tell a Story

The Very, Very Basics of Writing Anything*

There are three fundamental elements of every piece of written work—including film, non-fiction and grocery lists.

These three elements must be present or there is no point in proceeding.

In non-fiction, the three elements forming the basics of a book are:

1. Idea – the Topic
2. Reason – Information or Add Information
3. Goal – to Educate or Refute Previous Thinking

Before my publisher, Honno, agreed to consider Parachutes & Petticoats, which I edited with the renown feminist historian, Deirdre Beddoe, we had to convince the board of directors that 1) the Topic, Welsh women’s experiences during World War II, was worth the effort; 2) we could find enough material to make a full volume of women’s autobiographical memoirs; 3) the information we gathered, written by the women themselves, was of sufficient interest and relevance to warrant the expenditure, effort, and examination required to bring a collection of essays by unknown women to fruition.

The resulting request for autobiographical essays brought in hundreds of submissions from women in Wales whose experiences had never been heard. The book was published in 1992, reprinted in 1994 and 2003, with a fourth reprint in a smaller format with minor editorial additions appeared in 2010. The essays that we couldn’t include in the volume were submitted to the National Library of Wales (Llyfrgell Genedleithol Cymru) to become a part of the national archive. Next year, 2017, will mark Parachutes & Petticoats’ 25^th anniversary. Though neither edition is still in print, the book is still available at bookstores and online book retailers.

For fiction (of any kind, in any genre, in any medium) they are:

1. Protagonist – the Hero
2. Antagonist – the Villain
3. Purpose – the Goal

For example, in my most recent published novel, Nights Before: The Novel (originally published as a novel in six installments), the above structure works like this:

1. Protagonist – Jocelyn Tavers
2. Antagonist – Jason, her ex-boyfriend
3. Jocelyn’s Goal – to find a replacement boyfriend before the end of the year

Those three elements will not, in themselves, make a full sized story, let alone a full length novel but without them, there’s no beginning, middle or end. Jason also needs a goal to combat Jocelyn’s efforts to reach her goal. And Jocelyn needs a lot more than a boyfriend to make the essentially girl-meets-boy, girl-loses-boy, girl-finds-new-boy story something more than just that.

Though Nights Before is a romantic comedy, there had to be some depth to the story and that called for a secondary goal. This is usually something hidden, even from the protagonist—a long buried pain that has left a wound that will not heal without more pain. Enter an absent parent or two, conflicting potential new boyfriends, torn stockings and a lobster feast, a demanding employer, a car accident and abandonment issues.

With my upcoming American historical novel, Pavane for Miss Marcher, the three elements are shared between the Hero and Heroine, both of whom have Goals and Antagonists out to get them:

1. Protagonists: Cathryn Marcher / Rupert Smith
2. Antagonists: Susan Miller / Jericho Colson
3. Goals/Conflicts: Staying in Maine / Moving to Wyoming

Both Cathryn and Rupert have Deuteragonist supporters who get in the way for the best reasons and enemies who get in the way for the worst reasons.

The story is set in Maine five years after the end of the American Civil War and I am currently researching and reading on both sides of this terrible conflict in our history. Keeping faith with our nation’s past has complicated the process, especially with such an emotive background that plays an enormous part in our lives 151 years after the conflict came to an end.

With family members from the southern states and a strong New England heritage complicates the story on a personal level as well but I believe a writer’s duty is to write the story that comes from their own heart, regardless of possible consequences. As my mother always said, "Be true to yourself."

Pavane for Miss Marcher is scheduled for publication in 2017. 

*These insights were first presented on Everwriting.WordPress.com

Snappy Answers to Writers Questons

by Gina Ardito


I understand that writing is one of those careers that piques people's interests. And I do love meeting readers (and prospective writers) who are fascinated by the process. Writers are like zoo animals in many ways, odd creatures that live a different life from "normal humans." I'm always happy to answer questions from interested parties at booksignings and social events. But, over the years, I've heard some questions I'd really like to forget. Others...? Oh, how I *wish* I could give the answer brewing behind my tongue! 

Here are some of those questions, the answer I'd like to give, and the "real answer" I usually fall back on.

Q. How much money do you make?
A. How much money do you make?

(Real answer: No, really. How much do you make?)

Q. Where do you find the time to do all that writing?
A. I have a Tardis in my kitchen.

(Real answer: Seriously? I make the time. When you're watching television, I'm writing. When you're gossiping with your coworkers at lunchtime, I'm writing. I get up early and stay up late when I'm on deadline. It's all about priorities. I make "time to write" one of my priorities.)

Q. Do you personally research all your love scenes?  
A. Yes, but I have a partner for those. What I need is someone to help me with the grisly murder scenes. You look like a healthy specimen...

(Real answer: My love scenes are more emotional than physical so the research is colored by my life experiences. But when researching THE BONDS OF MATRI-MONEY, about two people handcuffed together while competing in a "Survivor"-style game show, I *did* spend time tied to my husband to figure out what was physically possible and impossible to do.)

Q.Where do you get your ideas?
A. The Idea Fairy comes to me every night and bops me on the head with her magic wand.

(Real answer: They come from everywhere: dreams, conversations I've overheard, past experience, etc. Let me ask you: what do you do when you're stuck at DMV or in a traffic jam? I'm already plotting stories about the people around me: who they are, where they're going, etc.)

Q. When's the movie coming out?
A. Just as soon as the studio comes up with the million dollar advance I'm demanding. I hear they have a bake sale planned for next week. You might wanna stop by and purchase a dozen cupcakes or a Bundt to push them along.

(Real answer: I wish!)

Q. If you've got so many books published, why are you still working at a day job?
A. To support my habit.


(Real answer: To support my habit. In all honesty, most authors don't get those million-dollar-contracts you read about. Those big deals go to celebrities and authors with a bestselling track record. The rest of us don't earn enough to quit our day jobs. Ink, paper, marketing, cover art, editing, etc., all costs money. We work to pay those expenses and invest our earnings right back into our writing.)

Q. If you don't make a lot of money, why do you write?
A. To get the stories out of my head and because I love it.

(Real answer: To get the stories out of my head and because I love it. And for my readers who love what I write.)

If you're a reader, I hope these answers help. Got a different question, ask me! I'll be happy to answer. If you're a writer, feel free to share your odd questions and the answer you'd love to give!

Music and Writing

  

When I first thought about submitting a sweet romance manuscript, I knew the emotions of the characters had to be  felt deeply by the reader. This was the challenge; make the reader feel every emotion we wanted them to feel using only words. 

Love, hate, fear, passion, sadness. I think I can safely say we all have gone through something in life and have felt these basic emotions to some degree to be able to express them in our writing.  But we write about so much more – Revenge, betrayal, terror, unrequited love, abandonment, ecstasy, rapture. How can we experience these at the time we need to write about them?

Enter music.

Music is an easily overlooked, yet incredibly important tool to help us write.  Music is so fundamental to us we often don’t even consciously acknowledge how much it actually affects us.  Music is sticky.  From a simple, but catchy jingle to a brilliant musical movie score, music surrounds us and gets locked in our minds to be recalled over and over again.

Would JAWS be as scary without the tension created by the theme song that signaled impending doom?  Do you immediately picture Indiana Jones running through cobwebs holding the crystal skull in his hand when you hear the theme song from RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK?  Do you feel the pain when Lancelot seals his fate and Guinevere’s when he sings If Ever I would Leave You  in CAMELOT?

Yes to all of the above.  Because of the music.

Using music, we can experience emotion almost on an as-needed basis.
Music is a powerful medium to express and experience emotion. It recreates aspects of lives that are recognizable and can be experience to some degree just by listening. By recreating patterns associated with human emotion, it recreates the emotion. Then listening, we are able to grasp the emotional content, and react emotionally to it. As an embodiment of the emotion, we are able to perceive it directly.
 
For instance, a piece of music may be quick moving, expressing energy, purposefulness, or excitement. When we listen to a piece like that, more often than not, we can feel it.  When we feel the emotion, we are more able to put it down on paper in a way that can be felt and experienced bu our readers  through our writing.

I know you all have a particular song that makes you cry, or gets you to remember certain periods in your life. Take those songs and stash them in the USB drive in your mind. When necessary, hit the play button and use them next time you get stuck in a scene that is flat and lacking the emotional response you need to get the reader to turns those pages.

I’ve listed a few of my favorite songs that help get me from blank page to emotional genius. Well, maybe not genius; maybe just not one dimensional.

Here goes –
Abandonment - ­I Who Have Nothing by Tom Jones
Loving someone from afar – Invisible by Clay Aiken
Pain of Loss – Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton
Love – Let Me Love You –Tim McGraw
Passion – Keep Coming Back - Richard Marx
Intense Attraction – Touch of Heaven – Richard Marx
Despair – Unbreak my Heart – Toni Braxton
Lost Love - Even Now - – Barry Manilow
Questioning your Heart – Measure of a Man – Clay Aiken
Losing a Love – Somewhere Down The Road – Barry Manilow
The First Time – Somewhere in the Night – Barry Manilow
Unrequited Love - – Melody for a Memory – Hall and Oates
Hopelessness – What About Now – Daughtry (Chris Daughtry)
Regret – I Go Crazy – Paul Davis

All oldies, but all I need sometimes to remind me what one of my characters need to feel.

When you have time, take one of your favorite songs and listen for the emotion. Tag it, bag it, and save it for an emergency. You’ll be glad you did.

Kathye Quick has been writing since the sister’s of St. Casmir’s School in Shenandoah, PA gave her a #2 pencil, ruled paper and taught her what vowels and consonants were.   Now she is the author of fifteen books with a lot more stories still stuck inside her head.

Visit her at www.kathrynquick.com .

PEOPLE WHO INSPIRE AND PEOPLE WHO DON'T

by Zelda Benjamin

"Pain is Temporary. Quitting lasts Forever."

Lance Armstrong

Almost every morning my husband and I ride a 5 mile loop on our bikes. We stop at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and tea before circling back. The other morning as we rode by the drive-thru I heard a man say to the lady next to him,  "I should go home and ride my bike."

Wow - I had just inspired someone to go out and exercise. Little did he know he inspired this blog post.

In nursing (my day job) there is a generalization that nurses eat their young.

It's true that many seasoned nurses believe intimidation toughens new nurses when in reality it decreases confidence.  I can vividly remember when as a new nurse I was initiated by fire. I also remember the nurse who took me under her wing and helped me develop my skills and confidence. The kind nurse is the one I have tried to emulate. 

When I started to take my writing career seriously, I took the advice of a writer friend and joined writing groups. First I joined Romance Writers of America (RWA). At my first conference, I was amazed by the people I met. Strangers openly shared their experiences, encouraged my aspirations, and offered advice on everything from the start of my story to being published.

The other group I joined was my local chapter, Florida Romance Writers (FRW). 

To this day the group has been wonderful. We share each others accomplishments, no matter how small. Rejections are dealt with with chocolate and inspiration to move on. 

On a smaller scale, my critique group is made up of a group of kind and talented writers. I would have given up writing a long time ago if not for them. 

Alyssa Maxwell, CynthiaThomason, Karen Kendall, Nancy Cohen, and Sharon Hartley 

We continue to celebrate events, share our knowledge, and inspire each other.

Wishing you inspiration, love, and chocolate.

www.zeldabenjamin.com