Character Traits: Why Does Laura Grace Bake?

The characters who stick in our minds the most are the ones who have identifiable actions and traits that are unique to them in the story. Some characters run their hands through their hair when upset or worried. Others fiddle with their glasses. Finding the right trait for a character is as important as their name and more important than hair and eye color.

A writer has to ask themselves: what makes my main character stand out? I got lucky with FRIENDLY FIRE'S main character--Laura Grace Chandler. She showed up in the very first scene I saw her in with her identifiable trait--her delectable baking.

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“Isn’t it great, Laura Grace?” A grin crinkled my friend Jen’s eyes as she looked around the room, then she turned to me. “I didn’t expect so many foster kids, but we have enough goodies for an army. And it wouldn’t be a party without your teacakes.” 

I piled my cookies closer to the edge of the tray so the little ones could more easily reach them better. “Glad they’re a hit. You had a good idea to give the foster parents with a bit of respite.”

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I've been asked many times what exactly what type of baked good tea cakes are. ;-) So, I thought you'd enjoy the recipe for Laura Grace's Tea Cakes. Thanks to my sister, Thea, I have a copy of the oldie, but goodie tea cakes we enjoyed as children.

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3-4 cups self-rising flour

Mix all ingredients except for the flour. Gradually add flour until the dough is stiff enough to roll out. Roll out and cut. Be sure to roll it out between 1/8 to 1/4 inches thick.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Don't cook until the cookies are brown. They will be too crisp and burnt on the bottom.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies depending on what shape cutter you have. Ice if you wish. Our family loved butter cream frosting.

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Laura Grace has somewhere between 50 and 75 different fun cutters. Butterflies, birds, fish, leaves, Christmas trees and bells...you name it and she has it. 

Have fun baking and save me a cookie. ;-)

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Thanks, Charlotte Rains Dixon, for this new mantra: Process is everything. Product happens. ;-)

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Next Week: Snips and Poetry Week!

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Barbara Rogan's A DANGEROUS FICTION is on sale today in paperback! Check it out HERE.

Blurbing, and how to do it...

Many readers think that writers just tell stories. Writing books takes a lot of time, effort, diligence, and craft to get the story down on paper so that readers can enjoy it.

But writing doesn't stop there. Once a book is written and polished, a writer has to sell it to agents and publishers, not to mention to readers. ;-) Doing all that requires many hours of painstaking work writing in very different forms. Query letters must be constructed to catch agents' attention. Synopses are written to show the scope of the story to publishers. And if all those obstacles are overcome, writers must construct blurbs or back-cover copy to catch a reader's eye.

Ruth Harris says it's never too early to start on a blurb. Check her 8 Tips for Writing That Killer Blurb. for more on her methods. Harris describes good blurbs as a "...little bit act, a little bit craft, a little bit commercial poetry.

Joanna Penn's How to Write a Back Blurbs for Your Book  uses examples to help explain what blurbs must do.

Mark Edwards explains that a well-written blurb/product description helped his book rise to #2 at Amazon.co.uk. Check out his five steps here: Product Description: AKA The Blurb

And Marilynn Bylery's Writing the Back Cover Blurb for genre-specific hints.

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So, now for my turn. Here is a first try at a blurb for FRIENDLY FIRE.

Our deepest wounds  come from those who should be our greatest protection.

At least that's what Laura Grace Chandler wishes were true, but she knows the look of a child whose parents are MIA from her many years of teaching. And though she thinks her time binding up the wounds is over, she finds herself caught at ground zero when she looks into Samantha Smith's eyes. 

And now, Laura Grace must act, do whatever it takes to heal the abuse Samantha has suffered. Just when she has finally won her battle to adopt Samantha, she finds her biggest and most devastating battle is yet to come. 

Let me know what you think. Does this hook you? Of is it too wordy?   Come on, be brutal. I can take it... ;-)

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Be sure to check out award-nominated author Lori Benton's latest book--The Pursuit of Tamsen Little John  that goes on sale today. Lori is a finalist in The Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Book Awards for 2013 in Inspirational Romance for her debut book--Burning Sky--and a finalist in the ECPA's 2014 Christian Book Awards for Burning Sky. Be sure and check out this up and coming author. I interviewed her August 20, 2013.

Laura Grace's Summer Garden

I'm still on a high from the house party. What a ride it was! Not only did I get to know Tom Chandler, I got to experiment with a young Laura Grace. The two are made for each other. ; )

Since I've written so much in the last week, I thought I'd give you a glimpse into Laura Grace's summer garden. All of these just finished blooming, are blooming now, or will be shortly. I've also added a bit of shade for the hot summer days.  Enjoy! ; )

(All photos Zan Marie Steadham copyright 2010)

Old Yoshino Cherry Tree

lantana

Rose

Lollipop lilies

hydrangeas

Maple tree

Star Gazer Lilies

Laura Grace's Spring Garden

My MC, Laura Grace Chandler is known for her award-winning baking, but she has another talent--gardening. Setting can be used to create insight into characters. That's the nature of Laura Grace's garden. As a careful nurturer, she has, along with her deceased husband Tom, created a palette of perennials that bloom from late winter into late autumn.

Here's examples of what you would see in her garden from early to mid-spring.

(All of the photos below are the copyright of Zan Marie Steadham 2013.)

Cherry Hill, GA, Laura Grace's hometown, is know for its many namesake cherry trees.

Narcissus

Spring bulbs and flowering shrubs are also some of Laura Grace's favorites choices for her garden.



Iris

Azalea

Dianthus may be small, but their large,
spicy scent makes them a presence.







I hope you've enjoyed a tour of a southern garden in full bloom. ; )

How do you use setting to show your characters' traits?



What Did You Say?!?

This is post 99. I still need five more followers to hit the magic number of 200. When I get them, I'll post the Celebration Blogfest with four prizes to be shared among three winners. ; )

~~OUCH! OH! S*!# D#*%
What do you say when you hit your finger with a hammer? Does it matter? New research says that cursing actually helps reduce the pain. Don't believe me? Try this ARTICLE for the latest news on pain and cursing. Will that give you permission to say a few four-letter words the next time you hurt yourself? What about your characters?

~~I've been thinking about this as I write lately. The main character in FRIENDLY FIRE is a church-going, widowed, retired teacher. In rough draft scenes Laura Grace  has said shit and damn, but I find that in editing, she finds some other way to express her pain. On the other hand, my murdering sex abuser, Craig Ellis, is more likely to find more cuss words to say in the rewrites. It's all about the character's voice and how they relate to the world.

~~For what it's worth, I've never had a character to say the F-word. Especially not Laura Grace. I think Cherry Hill would explode if she did. ; )

Keep watching the Shade for the upcoming Celebration Blogfest.

House Party? Am I invited?

~~The short answer is yes! You're invited to travel to Cherry Hill, GA, the setting of my novel in progress.
~~The long answer takes some explaining. ; ) I'm a member of the CompuServe Books and Writers Forum and an active participant in the Writers Exercises folder. My fellow members and I do writing craft exercises every month and every few months, we hold an online house party in the setting of one of our works in progress. This time, my Laura Grace Chandler is hosting over forty characters that range from contemporary to historical and fantasy to scifi. Twelve different writers are adding to the running story that started late Thursday night and will continue into the coming weekend. They are from all over the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. We trust each other with our characters and, as the story evolves, we can find our creations doing all sorts of strange and wonderful things. The greatest thing about a house party is that, as you write by the seat of your pants, you have to respond to suggestions and situations you could not have thought of by yourself. Characters have a way of deepening and stretching in reaction to the scenes and the writer's grasp on the person that inhabits their stories deepens with it.
~~If you would like to sample the story go to:
http://community.compuserve.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ws-books&tid=68081
You do not have to be a member of the forum to read the story. But a word of warning: It is wickedly fast, well over 200 posts long, and no where near to completion. You just might find yourself hooked. ; )
If you want to get a glimpse of how we communicate with each other outside of the story, try the commentary thread here:
http://community.compuserve.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ws-books&tid=68082
~~Happy reading! ; )