All posts tagged Writing

C. S. Lewis once said, “Any amount of theology can now be smuggled into people’s minds under the cover of fiction without their knowing it.”

In Jesus’ tale of the prodigal son, he begins with these words. “There was a man who had two sons.” I am immediately drawn into this tale, wanting to know more. I can relate to both sons on a certain level, but it is the father’s heart that touches me most. If I close my eyes, I am there on the rich estate, seeing the son ask his father for his inheritance. Perhaps such a request came after a fight with his father or maybe the son just wanted out, to live his life his own way. The Bible doesn’t tell us the reasons, perhaps because there can be so many.

As the story progresses, I can feel the heat of the desert and smell the slop of the pig’s pen with the wayward son. When the scene changes, I can see the father standing at the edge of his estate, hand shading his eyes, straining to see into the distance. I can feel him praying that the next person rounding the bend will be the son who is so lost to him. Then I sense his heart skipping a beat when he blinks, sure he must be seeing things, yet no! There he is! He hurries down the steps, tucking his long robes into his girdle as he runs. And then my heart hears the gut-wrenching sobs coming from both father and son as they embrace.

Jesus’ story brings us into the world of his characters, but on a subtle level, he is inserting theology into the hearts of his hearers. He addresses themes such as rebellion, anger, grace, and forgiveness. He even had an understated message aimed at the men who wanted to kill him. Some of them got it right away, but if they understood, it was because the story focused on the characters and what they were going through—people Jesus’ listeners could relate to.

The prophet Nathan told a similarly powerful story to King David (read it in 2 Samuel 12). You could say Nathan had an agenda. He had a message for King David straight from God and it wasn’t pretty. He also knew that preaching at the king wasn’t likely the smartest way to reach his heart. So he told a story, letting the characters, the rich man, the poor man, and his little lamb, first evoke David’s emotion. Then he preached. And the message God intended for David was well received.

Novelists are, in a sense, teachers. The words we put forth in a story will invite our audience to believe in our characters and engage in their journey, learning along with them. What our hero learns, our reader learns, and perhaps in the end they will see the world a little differently than they did before they read our book.

The thing to remember as we write is that the best stories are not agenda driven or even plot driven, they are character driven. The challenge is to do as C.S. Lewis suggests and as Jesus and Nathan did so brilliantly, and that is to express our theology, themes, or topics without preaching, to smuggle truth into the reader’s heart without their knowing it. The message will come through for those who are seeking.

Happy writing~

What is an Idea Board? When I mention my use of them, some people mistake them for storyboards as they are used in film making. Storyboards are something altogether different. Storyboards are sketches that tell the story (movie) frame by frame, showing each scene to be filmed. They give the director a specific idea of how to shoot the film, to keep him/her on track.

The term Idea Board is not mine to claim. I borrowed it from author friend Deborah Raney, who writes Christian Women’s Fiction, and have used them for every book I write since she first introduced me to them.

So back to my original question…an Idea Board is a poster board filled with photos—pictures of people I cast as the characters in my novels. For my biblical novels, I Google search Jewish actors and actresses for most of the characters and Arab actors and actresses for a few of the others, like Hagar and Ishmael in my current WIP (work in progress). I’m looking for faces that are similar to the character I envision. (This comes in handy when the publisher asks for book cover ideas. The Jewish actresses I “cast” for both Michal and Abigail and the upcoming cover of Bathsheba have come very close to the models they found to pose for their respective covers.) For my novels in other genres (unpublished) I found pictures in clothing catalogs. (The picture example is my Idea Board for Abigail. The two different pictures for Abigail’s character are to show one of her younger and one older—for my benefit—though the actresses aren’t the same.)

Once all of my characters are “cast”, I look for photos of place. Archeological sites of ancient Israel are great, along with pictures of artifacts or anything else that gives me a feel for the setting. I’m a visual learner. I need pictures to stimulate my imagination most of the time. Research books like pictorial dictionaries or cultural atlases are too nice to cut up, so I get most of my pictures off the Internet and print them for the Idea Board. I love making them! Maybe it’s the kid in me getting to play with scissors and glue and pretending I’m artistic, but this is one of the fun parts of writing!

Another option to add to an Idea Board is to make Character Trait Cards and tact them to the bulletin board on either side of the Idea Board. Brightly colored (or white if you prefer) 4×6 or 3×5 cards work well. Put the name of each character at the top, then list their characteristics below their name. Things like: hair and eye color, weight, build, age, birth date, career, favorite food and color, and how they were related to other characters in the story. Depending on your genre, you can get pretty detailed with these things, and making such a list does come in handy when you go to write. It helps to know the character’s eye color doesn’t change from blue to green because we forgot what we wrote the first time thirty pages earlier. And editors appreciate having such a list when they read through your manuscript to make sure you stayed consistent.

Idea Boards hang in my office as inspiration. If you find yourself stuck as you try to write your own novel, perhaps such a visual reminder will get you going again.

Happy writing~

“The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it.” Benjamin Disraeli British politician (1804 – 1881)

Last time we talked about writing what you love, on the topic that excites you. But once you understand your passion, have figured out what you want to write and know enough about your subject to begin the work, then what?

Some authors will tell you to outline the plot of your story first—that it will save you a lot of grief if you work all the details out before you begin. One author friend has developed what he calls the Snowflake Method, which works great for those who love structure. (Check out his website on how to write a novel using the Snowflake method here.)

Other authors will tell you to first create your characters and get to know them inside and out before you even type a word on your computer screen. Is one way more right than another?

Stories do need a good plot and structure. Most fiction typically starts with an inciting incident that plunges the hero onto a journey that will change their life forever. As the story progresses the journey grows increasingly difficult until the hero reaches the point of devastation when all seems lost. At this point of no return, the hero must risk all to accomplish his goal. In the end, we must see that the character has changed. If he comes out the same person he was at the beginning, the story will have had no purpose.

Characters need goals. The stronger the goal, the better the story. Luke Skywalker’s goal in Star Wars is to become a Jedi like his father and help save the universe from the evil empire. Edmond Dantes’ goal in The Count of Monte Cristo is to exact revenge on those who stole his freedom. Kathleen Kelly’s (played by Meg Ryan) goal in You’ve Got Mail is to save her shop from being put out of business by the giant bookstore around the corner. (I picked movies as examples because I learned more about plot from movies than how-to books on writing.)

Aside from a great goal, characters need strong motivation to reach what they want and lots of conflict to stop them from getting it. The higher the stakes, the greater risk to the hero, the better the goal, and the more you will keep your reader interested.

So, once you know what you want to write, the next step is to develop three-dimensional characters and a well-structured plot to help tell your story. The task can be a little daunting, so here are some suggestions to help get you started:

Read good books on the craft of writing. Some recommendations are:
Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell
45 Master Characters (a Writer’s Digest Book)
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
Goals, Motivation, and Conflict by Debra Dixon
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Rene & King

Read omnivorously. Analyze parts of stories you like and try to figure out how the authors did what they did.

Watch movies with the same goal—to analyze plot structure and character development.

Just write.

“The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn’t behave that way you would never do anything.” John Irving US novelist (1942 -)

I’ve met a number of people who tell me they plan to write a book someday. They talk like writers, go to conferences, read books on craft, but they never actually write. Too many people want to “have written” rather than actually do the writing. So write!

How you go about writing, be it plot first or characters first doesn’t matter. As long as both are well drawn in the end, that’s what will keep your readers reading.

Next time, I’ll tell you about my Idea Board and other writing tips.

Happy writing~

A friend once asked me, “I want to write a book and was told I should write what I know. Is that correct?”

My immediate answer to him was no. Since that conversation, I discussed the subject with one of my sons and would revise that answer to be “yes and no.” But let me explain:

If authors wrote only about the things they know on a personal level, books would be boring because most of us don’t live the most exciting lives. Fantasy and Sci-Fi would be impossible to write because there are no real goblins or living dragons or teleportation devices that can whisk us to planets far and wide. To “write what you know” would make biblical and historical fiction stale because no living person can testify to how things really were back then. But we can learn those things through study and educated imagination. You can always learn what you don’t know.

So no, don’t write what you know in the practical sense. Write what you love.

Passion for a person, era, or subject will drive you to seek the information you need to write a compelling novel. If you don’t love your story, no one else will either. The desire has to be yours alone. The drive to write must come from deep within you. Sometimes people want others to hold them accountable, to push them to accomplish their goals. But the truth is a goal will never be reached unless it is yours at a personal level, a longing to complete a task (in this case to write a novel), and to do whatever it takes to learn how to do it.

Write what you love, not what you know.

On the other hand, yes, write what you know at an experiential level. One thing that is true of writing is that the more life you have lived, the more you will have to say, and hopefully, the more wisdom you will have gleaned. Experience is a great teacher, if we have allowed God to mold us and teach us through life’s journey. If we have never known love, then writing romance will not have an honest ring to it. If we have never known loss or pain, how can we create believable characters that are suffering under trials? A writer has the distinct advantage of looking at life and seeing ways to apply their own joys and hurts to their characters.

So yes, write what you know, drawing on the joys and sorrows of your life to infuse believability and realism into your characters.

The next question every writer needs to answer is, “What do I love?” What story am I passionate about telling? And do I love it enough to do the work it takes to learn the craft in order to tell it well enough so people will read it?

By the time a book is in print, the author will have read and reread the story at least half a dozen times, probably more. If you don’t love your story, you’ll get sick of it fast. So what do you love? Have you created some characters that seem vivid and real to you? Or are you fascinated with an era in history that you research every chance you get? What books do you enjoy most? If you can answer these questions, you’ll be well on your way to discovering your own story passion and what it is God may be calling you to write.

Next time – So you know what you want to write, now what?

And looking ahead – Idea Boards and How do we avoid writing preachy fiction? – along with some tools of the trade that might be of use to you.

If writing fiction is your goal, perhaps I can help you take one step closer to reaching it.

Happy writing~