Earthquake!

Have you ever taken a class, read a craft book, or discussed your WIP with someone and felt the earth shake under your feet when you realized that you've missed an important facet of your plot? Well, this week has been that sort of week for me. As I understood my pot until this week, I only saw one facet of Samantha's reaction to the abuse she has had to endure. She was a withdrawn child, quiet unto eeriness. Now I realize that her journey is fraught with a much more explosive reaction and, therefore, so is Laura Grace's.

Donald Maass is the President of Donald Maass Literary Agency and a premier agent. He's written Writing the Breakout Novel, The Fire in Fiction, and conducts many writing workshops every year. Last week he lead the member of the WFWA on an intensive look at Writing with Emotional Power. He has a book in process on these very topic and used some of the exercises from it for our workshop.

Don began the week by telling us that our genre, Women's Fiction,  is different from others in some specific ways. For one thing, there are more internal passages in which the protagonist moves through emotional reactions to the events and problems around her. For another, the protagonist's journey will necessitate more telling passages. Women's Fiction feels deeply--character and reader--and it takes telling/showing, inner/outer, and implicit/explicit emotions to do it. Effective WF fires the heart and uses small, throw away emotions and details. Small events can cause big emotions His aim was to teach us how to craft and control the reactions, shape emotional effects, and intentionally get a specific reaction. The MC must have room to have angst, but the proper use of internal narration and telling passages is a must, so that the story will be as griping and intense as any thriller, suspense, or mystery. The question becomes: Will the protagonist grow enough to handle the thrill ride of her life? There has to be room for doubt.

So, how do you accomplish those twin differences without boring your reader to tears? (Unless it's tears you want at that point ;-) Don has specific answers for that question.

• Lesson 1 How to Transform Blah Scenes with Inner Turning Points: Every scene must have change and the protagonist's emotional reaction to that change is the story. How does this change affect the MC? Is it good or bad? How does it affect others in the scene? What does this change mean to the MC's journey throughout the story?


• Lesson 2 How Actions Provoke Or Not and How to Judge: How does your MC react to a difficult choice. Making the choice visible using unique details for the setting and recording the reaction of the MC is key. Once you let external action speak to the internal reaction, you bring the reader into the key turning point moment.


• Lesson 3 Emotional Surprise and How to Achieve It: If your MC always reacts emotionally the way the reader expects, the story becomes boring. So, drill down into the second and third emotional reaction layers to create a strongly felt event. 


• Lesson 4 Constructing Extended Passages of Telling: Telling isn't always bad if it is constructed in a way that pulls the reader in. In places where your MC is stuck, self-doubting, morally offended, etc., the writer should dig down for those interior reactions, the bedrock of the character's life.


• Lesson 5 The Emotional Arc of Your Audience: Finally, a writer must control and direct the reader's emotional journey, too. We took a secondary character and plotted out what we wanted the reader to feel in the beginning, middle, late middle, and end. In one of these stages, we had to go for the opposite reaction than what the reader expected. And this is were FRIENDLY FIRE was rocked off its foundation for me. ;-) Samantha is a little hellion, not all sweetness and light as I saw her before. Now Laura Grace must earn her stripes as a mother against much higher odds. Before I saw the story as Laura Grace vs. the world in her fight to protect Samantha. Now, I realize I must let Laura Grace face  the challenge of mothering a disturbed teen.

To be completely open about this, I have to admit that John has been trying to get me to see this for over a year. Yep. That long and I've been reluctant (he says stubborn) to see the need. Well, now I do.

So, what does that mean to my strive to complete the FRIENDLY FIRE MS this month? It means that I have a complete overhaul coming instead of a celebration of completion. And you know what? I'm good with that. It's going to be a much better story, a more gripping read--one that will stick with the reader longer. Wish me luck!



Don Maass Workshop, FRIENDLY FIRE Update, and a Reminder

It's a busy week and I'm learning so much! This is the week of WFWA's Don Maass Workshop on Inner vs Outer – Writing with Emotional Power. The description is:

What’s the best balance between inner vs. outer, telling vs. showing, emotions vs. actions? This hands-on writing workshop by master craft instructor and agent Donald Maass will equip you with the techniques that give manuscripts high emotional force.

Mr. Maass has retooled his trademark ideas for Women's Fiction specifically, and I'm going to soak it up and then apply the new craft to FRIENDLY FIRE. Just answering the Introduction Questions helped me fine tune my WIP already. Check them out!

1- What do I want my readers to feel most strongly as they read my novel.
Determination, love, and triumph: My MC must overcome depression, grief, and fear of aging. The determination to accomplish this is key to her growth. Love is the reason she finds the determination to reach out and help an abused foster child. And finally, triumph from making a child's life better and facing the wounds from both of their pasts.
2- What do I like best and least about my MC?
I love my MC's ability to rise up out of depression from losing her husband of 30+ years and the long-time grief of childlessness. Even though she is getting older and slower, she still has the strength to put herself on the line--heart, mind, body, and soul--to help a sexually abused foster child. Though she thinks she no longer has the strength to do much, still she tries. Once she has a plan to help, she isn't easily deterred.
3- Pick a blah scene.
Oh, there are many to choose from! I have narrowed it down to her dark hour when she thinks she must give the child up to her newly released from prison father. It's a tough scene where she tries to come to terms with relinquishing her desire to be a mother yet again.

If I'm a bit absent around the blogosphere, you'll know where I am. Working hard on my assignments for this workshop.

FRIENDLY FIRE Update: I'm nearing the halfway mark in my reread/edit/hole filling mission. Some of the scenes have been good, but others are horrid. ;-) That's the way writing is, isn't it?

Easter Reminder: Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. If you'd like a Lenten devotional, AN EASTER WALK is now available as an ebook.

 Here's the blurb from Amazon:

Need to get ready for Easter? Along with the new spring clothes, candy eggs, and lilies, take a walk with Christ to Jerusalem and the Cross. Join the crowds at the Temple and the Last Supper in the Upper Room, and find His message of peace and hope. Preparing for Easter is the focus of the Season of Lent. Many see it as a time of repentance for sins committed during the year and reflection on Christ’s sacrifice. An Easter Walk from Palm Sunday to the Ascension provides forty devotions and is a great way to contemplate Christ’s purpose and mission and to consider the importance of following Christ’s steps throughout the year. An Easter Walk is a companion volume to A Christmas Walk.

Zan Marie Steadham is the author of An Easter Walk and two books on church history. She is a 2009 Georgia Author of the Year Nominee. She writes fiction, devotions, and poetry and is a member of a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and the CompuServe Books and Writers Forum.

I hope you have a fun and productive week of writing, reading, or just relaxing. ;-)

The Creed all Writers Need

Here it is--the Creed we all need to take into if we're serious about our writing.



Writer's Rebel Creed

Thanks to S A Larson, we have not excuse this year. None. Join the crowd, the determined, the writers who will succeed. And check out SA's to-dos to be a Writer Rebel in 2014.

I would be honored for you to join me in committing to this CREED. All you have to do is add your name to the linky list below. There are two optional commitments you can also make:

1. Copy the CREED Badge and paste it on your site, encouraging others to join us.
2. Write one post a month somehow related to your journey in following the CREED. Choose a day and time to your liking. Just include the badge in your post, linking back to this post so others can join in. Share your post via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or however!

Remember - neither of those are required, only suggested. Best of luck with the CREED and keep in touch! Last year we had 99 writers commit. Let's see if we can double that or even more, this year! 

Now how easy is this! Just join us.

For my sharing I'd like to tell you the two steps I'm taking to up my game, to prove I'm serious about my writing.

• Starting March 2 I'll be taking a Don Maass Workshop sponsored by the WFWA focused on Inner vs Outer – Writing with Emotional Power
• May 1 is the start of the first WFWA contest--The Rising Star Contest for those who haven't previously published a WF novel. I'm working on polishing up my first 35 pages and preparing a 2-3 page synopsis. Wish me luck!

What about you? What are you doing to prove you're serious about your writing this year?

FRIENDLY FIRE Update: I finished editing Part 1 on Saturday. The first thirty-five pages are out with some beta readers and getting good reviews from those who have reported back already. Thea, my big sister, my reader-in-reserve, really liked it and wants to read more. What can I say? I'm excited and gratified. On I go. Next stop, part 2 edited and filled in. ;-)

Winter Weather in Cherry Hill

When I created Cherry Hill, Georgia, it came with all the winter weather I grew up with and this winter has been a particularly cold and snowy season. Here are some pictures from last week. This week will be in the 70s several days.

As the saying goes: if you don't like Georgia's weather, stick around three days, it will change. ;-)

Enjoy the photos.

First Baptist Temple through the cherry limbs

Icy roads with ice and snow covered trees

Nandina berries

Cherry limb coated in ice and layered with snow

FRIENDLY FIRE Update: I'm still plugging along, averaging a chapter a day. On I go to a complete draft by the end of March...I hope. ;-)

Blog Blitz! (and an Update on FRIENDLY FIRE)

DL Hammons has created one of the most intriguing and ongoing blog blitzes ever. Click on the link below the Blog Blitz badge to see the most amazing way to spread good cheer and encouragement among bloggers. Remember, we're all in this together.

Blog Blitz

Since March 11, 2013, DL and his merry band of blitzers have spread support, condolences, and shared in joys. There's no better way to tell your fellow bloggers that what they do really matters.

Join our band and help us reach 500 blog blitzers team members. You know you could use a random drive-by blitz. I know I could and I've been thrilled to do it for others. ;-)

FRIENDLY FIRE Update: I'm working back through the entire manuscript, seeking out rough places and holes. So far, I've had to do major surgery on two chapters and minor surgery on all the others. Eight down, fifty-seven to go. ;-)

Another Way to Connect

Writers in this day and age of social media are encouraged to create platforms were they can interact with readers. It's a bit daunting when you're 58 and learning how to connect through all the new forms of media. I mean, Twitter anyone? I've just scratched the surface and I'm still very lost. ;-)

I've been blogging here at In the Shade of the Cherry Tree for nearly five years. I don't have the biggest following, but I do enjoy the comments.

Facebook hasn't stretched me too far. If you haven't checked out my author page yet, try this LINK.

I'm very new to Twitter, though. I've been tweeting about a week and a half. The limits of 140 characters is still constraining. Add all the @ and #, and I'm a babe in the woods. Here's where I am-- @ZanMarieS. Have any of you got a simplified way to explain it all? ;-)

And now the newest one of all--I have a Goodreads Author Page.  I've only had it up since Saturday.

So if you can't find me one place, surely I'll be somewhere. Just tweet, fb me, comment on the blog, and say hello. ;-)

And one more thing. Have you noticed the new background picture? It's the actual cherry tree in my yard that inspired the name of my blog and is part of the setting on my novels. How's that for inspiration? ;-)

The Rules of Writing

You know you have to sit and stay to write. But so many things call you away--the clothes dryer buzzer, the timer on the stove, the phone ringing, that annoying beep that sounds when you have another post on Facebook, etc. etc. etc.


Source


So how do you stay put and do the job, the words, the edits, that writing requires? Is it a to-do list, accountability partner, a critique partner who demands to see what you're working on now, or is it just sheer determination?

What motivates you to write? The story? The characters? The theme? I'll admit to all of these. My Cherry Hill books are about family, pain, loss, abuse, wounds, and how people cope with them. Without the people of Cherry Hill, I wouldn't have a story. Once I learned who they were, the themes jumped out and grabbed me. Research has expanded my compassion for those in the same situations. Writing has made me a better person.

So back to you. What makes you Sit! and Stay! for the job? How do you keep working on your WIP?

Besides if all else fails, try this option
How I Stopped Procrastinating
LOL! I'll try the rules, thank you. ;-)

Announcement! My buddy Elle Druskin got me on Twitter. Check out the neat message for AN EASTER WALK she posted HERE. You can follow me on Twitter @ZanMarieS.

Write-A-Thin Check In

 

 

One month. One goal. That's the plan at least. The Women's Fiction Writers Association sets aside January to focus on one goal--rewriting, revising, editing, writing. Whatever the member needs to do, we all fall in to help and congratulate each other on achieving that goal.

 

My goal is to add rough, new words to the nine known holes in Part 2 of FRIENDLY FIRE.

Here's my initial list and where I've gotten on it.

1. A Few Days Later
2. Meeting with Manuel Nunez to talk about Samantha's abuse--First pass has been done. There's notes on what to do with it later
3. Rosemary on Samantha and Eric
4. Cassie Attacks--first pass has been done
5. Need general life with Samantha, maybe folded into Violent Violet and Comfort foods, etc.--First pass has been done.
6. Birds and Bees after X-rated and New Year's Eve--first pass has been done with notes on what to do with it later
7. Laura Grace's birthday? This is a possible cut
8. Getting out of the hospital
9. Paying to Parent/Possible cut or image folded into another place--folded into Violent Violet and first pass done.

 

I'm also one of the Program Coordinators for this year's Write-A-Thin. Along with my partner Cathy Vignolini, we have been keeping everyone on track. We have eleven days to go. ;-)

 

 

If my plans work, I hope to announce that I have a complete draft of FRIENDLY FIRE sometime in March to mark the sixth anniversary of the idea that have become, not only my current focus work-in-progress, but the start of a series of stories about a family and town who live in my mind. Cross your fingers. ;-)