FEEDING THE HUMAN SPIRIT and IMAGINATION

I had barely completed last week’s blog—which focused on True-Story-Real-Life nonfiction—when I recalled a marvelous novel that has continued to feed my spirit and imagination for years. It comes from the genre of fictionalized history (or True Stories that read like fiction). The title is The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican, first published in 1967 by J. P. Gallagher. Even though it is a true story  this book crosses multiple genres from Biography to Social Issues and The Vatican/Christianity. It also has all the hallmarks of a best-selling fictional thriller: espionage, conspiracy, a struggle against evil powers, and undercover work by dark of night. The author presented the story of it all and because of his passion for the real characters and his research into the facts, this novel has inspired the human spirit and imagination around the globe. When a nonfiction (or fiction) book leaves the Reader with “What if I were in that situation” the author has crafted a great piece of work!

Now back to my original idea for today’s blog. I have another favorite category that nurtures my human spirit and that is stories about our animal companions. Yes, these pull on my heart-strings. But that is an excellent marketing tool that authors should not
underestimate. My most recent discovery in this genre is titled: High Trails of High Adventure by Karl Kronfuss. When I saw a promotion that this book is “Snappy satire that meets swashbuckling bravado…and leave you laughing with a new appreciation of the wondrous creature known as The Pug,” I had to take a look. The cover photo opens the “plot” in ways that I could never have imagined—with several moments that lift the human spirit.

Why am I talking about Pet Stories? Publishers Weekly gave us an interesting statistic in January 2015 presenting the fact that Animal Stories rose in sales by 19% in the 2013-14 publishing year. Example: the New York Times Bestseller, A Street Cat Named Bob. This stray cat story was on England’s bestseller lists for 52 consecutive weeks and sold well in 26 countries around the world. You see, there is something almost miraculous about the power of love between humans and animals. The connection lifts our human spirits and peaks our imagination as we personify the thoughts and actions of the animal companions in our lives. Mac The Pug is seen as a “diplomat, a conqueror of all he sees with towering intelligence, athletic prowess and undaunted courage.” Bob, the stray street cat, was just looking for a warm place to sleep when he met the human named James. Both had been living hand-to-mouth for a long time. Then the healing began—in both their lives.

I’m hoping you’ll catch the vision of these very different genres and their authors. The character traits they built into their humans and animals are an excellent way to pull our writing-selves out of the ruts or blockades we face when creating our books. I’m certain you can recall several such novelized histories and/or pet stories that have impacted your life. Pull them out and read them again. Use them as enjoyable lesson plans for excellent story development. And remember—the things you are passionate about have meaning in the lives of a whole lot of other people who don’t have the gift of writing that you do. They can’t express what they see and feel, and hope and dream. You can! And if you need more plot and character development specifics take another look at previous Friday Conversations blogs. They’ve been written to inspire your Writer’s spirit and imagination. ⚓︎

ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.

FEED MIND, IMAGINATION AND SPIRIT

There are few things in my life as special as walking the aisles of my local library. This is where book-scents and muffled conversations create an environment that feeds my imagination and prepares my mind to function at peak performance. Here are the comfy chairs where I open book after book to explore research topics that support my clients—and my own writing projects. This is the place where I enjoy the unique whispered quiet that lifts my writer’s spirit and encourages me to get the job done—in spite of the tumult that circles the globe.

Today my focus is on feeding the writers minds through reading non-fiction. I’m not talking about the chemistry or political science textbooks of the university kind, although they can be an excellent resource for mystery and science fiction writers. The topic today is the category are the True Story genre—authentically written life events that offer perspectives for me (as a person and writer) and for the characters I am developing in my work of fiction. One such True Story is titled: A JOURNEY TO MANHOOD, The Village that Raised the Boy by Ty Burton. This is Mr. Burton’s first book and it is written with passion and acknowledges the value of teachers, coaches, mentors and friends who step-up to make a difference in someone else’s life. It gives readers the opportunity to understand “the high stakes that hang in the balance of every action we take.” Mr. Burton holds dual Master’s degrees in Administration of Justice and Human Resource Development. Although he did the University work to obtain these degrees, reading his book reveals that much of his education came much earlier in life.

The second book I’ll mention today is titled: 17 HOURS: Tracking Down Our Runaway. This True Story is getting a lot of attention because of the “eminent threat” all young women must be aware of in the world we live in today. As the book cover states: “No family is immune to the dangers of sex trafficking.” The author, Diane Bassett, is one of many Moms whose beautiful daughter had been drawn into a dark world operating in local parks, a world that pushes naive girls into such no-win positions. Bassett’s story details their 17-hour journey to save their daughter’s life. The book also places a Tip Guide in the hands of every reader with resources that will help locate a runaway child.

This non-fiction genre of True Stories holds many teachable-moments for writers of every genre. Here are the key-concepts I believe help us improve our skills as well as Reader appreciation:

• Before sitting down to write prepare your mind to function at peak performance. If you need to set up your personal writing station in the library—or close your office door and relax with a cup of morning tea or coffee—then do it.
• Write the story and the characters (real or imagined) with the passion that your hold within. Let the world hear their voices and feel their experiences as if you and each Reader are living it.
• Keep your project (chapters) balanced. Non-fiction, real-life stories can be intense. Our reading audience today lives pretty intense lives themselves. However, learning about other people who have survived, is a valuable tool to encourage us all. So balance the heart-pounding moments with lighter events—tender moments with family and friends—a pillow fight with other children.
• A major aspect of real-life stories is exposing the “eminent threats” that could very quickly impact our lives. These books can—and do—make a real difference especially when helpful resource information is also provided. As you do your research—keep a list and consider adding it to the back of your book.

The last checkmark on this list is to GET THE JOB DONE! Your non-fiction, Real Life True Stories need to be on library bookshelves, in bookstores and online! This genre is a big part of what inspires future generations to step up and make their own “difference” in the world. So don’t give up! Complete your book! Get it PUBLISHED! ⚓︎

ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.

OH the INTRIGUE, SUSPENSE

and MYSTERY OF IT!

Since the days of my youthful adventures into reading, I’ve identified the magnifying glass with the concept of discovering clues to solve a Nancy Drew or the occasional Hardy Boys Mystery. Although my science teacher preferred that I focus on discovering the elements of the amoeba, my English teacher encouraged the “growth of logical thinking” that these mysteries developed. Following that logic I will use some examples of just how versatile this genre can be.

Each author of the following books incorporates the elements we’ve discussed—characters who are risk-takers, secrecy of past lives and current circumstances, choices that both effect and affect every character in the book, and a puzzle-pattern of clues that must bring resolution to each thread of conflict between truth, lie and deception—unless, of course, the author is preparing Readers for the second and third books in a series.

In the first blog this month I mentioned the novel The Teeth of The Tiger by Tom Clancy. This story (and many of his other books) creates a bridge to the genre categories of the Readers who seek the adventure of Mystery, Thriller/Suspense, Spies & Politics, and Espionage/Terrorism. Today, more authors are developing their writing skills to incorporate multiple genres in their story plot/outlines. However, there are those who have a natural ability to build these complex and enjoyable stories. To all of them, I tip my hat! I want to learn from their expertise, and hope that new generations of writers will do the same.

Many Readers are familiar with the creative works of Sidney Sheldon. He is a writer of blockbuster over-the-top Best Seller novels and is considered one of the most popular storytellers of all time. His first book (yes, his 1^st book) was acclaimed by the New York Times as “the best first mystery of the year” and received an Edgar Award (named for Edgar Allan Poe). Since then many of his novels have become major feature films or TV miniseries. Sheldon has always keyed-in to the benefits of writing to Readers in multiple genres utilizing a foundation in Mystery/Suspense/Thriller with a twist of Contemporary/Women (main characters) and moving forward into Action/Adventure, Spies/Politics and Psychological Thrillers (see Are You Afraid of the Dark).

Another author you’ll be familiar with is one of the greatest authors of all time: J.R.R. Tolkein. His THE HOBBIT/LORD OF THE RING series is the most widely read fantasy novel in U.S. and Britain. With the skill of a master surgeon, Tolkein utilizes each of the Intrigue, Mystery and Suspense genre techniques to the max! Plus, his books cross over into the Literature/Fiction category because of his eloquent use of words. This provides Readers with a jumbo rollercoaster ride of Mystery/myth, Intrigue and Suspense like no other author.

I cannot close this blog without reminding you of possibly the most famous Mystery/Suspense/Intrigue author of them all—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A prolific writer who not only created the characters of Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger and the mystery of Mary Celeste, he also wrote fantasy and science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels. Utilizing his own educational background and researching very specific details his collected works have bridged numerous genre groups.

What do we all learn from these gifted authors and the genre they love? Like their characters they are writers willing to take risks—or rather, willing to develop characters who take a variety of risks. They are also writers who tackle known “truths,” belief systems from ancient mysteries to present-day terrorists and their plot scenarios cover the potential for extreme profit and/or unimaginable destruction of one individual or the world. If you’re one of these author-risk-takers who is already writing a Mystery Novel, I encourage you to complete it quickly and GET IT PUBLISHED. There are multi-genre Readers waiting for you! ⚓︎

ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.

INTRIGUE Plus SUSPENSE

Strengthens The TAPESTRY

To draw more fans to your club add threads of suspense to your novel and then blend with intrigue. Most of us who love Suspense/Intrigue genre of novels have read the books of John Grisham. Many of them have been made into movies and, for the most part, they remain close to the original plot and characters of his books. However, the real fun comes when I allow my imagination entrance into one of his novels as my heart beats to the rhythm of the detailed events he portrays.

From my years of creative writing perspective, here are some of the elements that weave suspense and intrigue together.  Much of it finds foundation upon the plot diagram one of my early elementary school teachers drew on the chalkboard. For the novel writer, these plot-points are repeated multiple times throughout the story and, as more suspense/intrigue is introduced, the points crisscross at very strategic places.

Intriguing/interesting character development: There are almost as many methods of doing this as there are authors of novels. Before you do a google search and follow the 5-7-12 steps in someone else’s process, jot down your own ideas about WHO this person is—inside and out. My favorite thing to do is close my eyes and imagine this character acting out one of the scenes I’ve placed in the outline (plot). As that image develops, and I begin to see the character, I stop and do an online search for actors that fit that image. Then I build my inside-out scenario of this person’s character traits keeping focused on making her/him as unique as I can: unique name and/or nickname; exceptional skills and/or knowledge; extraordinary strength or weakness; distinctive physical characteristics; etc. A quote from author Don DeLillo—that gives the Reader multi-level insight into one of his characters—is this: “He speaks in your voice, American, and there’s a shine in his eyes that halfway hopeful.”

PLOT the Plot: I’m one of those writers who likes to know a LOT about my characters before I work too hard in developing a novel outline—or plot—for the story they’ll be living.  However, it really doesn’t matter whether you’ve created your plot first, after or during the character development process. It is always good to RE-think the plot from this one main perspective: HOW MUCH RISK is each character taking as the story evolves. At every point on your plot/graph where a conflict occurs (whether between characters, within a character’s thoughts, or from outside sources) they must make a choice—how much of themselves are they willing to risk. THIS IS WHERE THE SUSPENSE BUILDS. Their resistance in making the choice that most Readers will want them to make will keep your Readers turning the pages. Some of these choices may be major life-changing events. Some choices may effect and affect many others with little consequence to the one making the decision. Continuing this process increases the Suspense and engages your Readers as they consider what they would do—what logical choices they would make—if faced with these circumstances.

Are you feeling the excitement of writing in this genre? Imagine that Plot Diagram (above) also being used to develop each of your characters. Imagine the point(s) when a circumstance seems to be resolved for them—then suddenly they fall apart leaving your characters with a whole new set of choices to make. IMAGINE!  Keep imagining! Before you know it your novel will become reality and you’ll be ready to PUBLISH! ⚓︎

ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.