Writing Prompt

As a group, we authors are a unique bunch. I have no fear in sharing my latest book idea with my critique partners as it would never be the same in the hands of these creative types. Mine would remain fingerprinted as my own just as each of theirs would be indelibly thus identified.

So, from my brainstorming stash of various words and ideas that stir my imagination, here's just three to churn up a new tale at best or an enjoyable exercise at worst. Have fun with this, people. Whether you like to mind map on teal legal pad pages with glittery crayons or via a computer, or prefer verbal sessions with your writing buddies, or need to stare out the window into your backyard as the tumblers fall into place, get started.

Take this trio and use it to generate a flash fiction story of ~250 WC (about one double-spaced page) using all the necessary plot points to carry you through the three-act process.

• Play "Somewhere Down the Crazy River" by Robbie Robertson or "Bright Lights" by Gary Clark Jr. or your choice of music to set the proper mood for that elusive piece that is still floating around in your subconscious but wanting to become physical, tangible, evident in print. Or, if you are more visually oriented, check out Pinterest for destinations or homes or famous people or whatever you desire. Don't get lost over there. Remember to come back here. Ha!
• Make a list of your top ten button-pushing issues, like: bullies, manipulators, people who abuse power, uninvited solicitors who bother you while you are trying to work from home, people who refuse to listen to you or don't respect you and your decisions. Choose the one that fires you up the most, which should give you plenty to say.
• For this particular project, pick one word from these offerings: toady, nimiety, sozzled, yarborough, oeillade (or one of your own choosing, but make it seemingly unrelated to either of the above).

Now prepare to stretch that gray matter. Set your timer for fifteen minutes and create a composition with valid motivation of (un)likable characters. Continue nonstop, even if you have to write How can I make this work? until something jars you out of your stupor. If you are fast enough, reveal it one way and then the second time go in an opposite direction, as in the good girl and bad girl viewpoints.

And to reiterate my opening paragraph of this post, as many people as do this homework assignment, there are as many variations of same. My fantasy CP will no doubt create a work of wonder, while my shockingly strange-yet-funny horror-writing CP will twist hers into something surprising. Mine will have a happy ending with the good guys winning as justice and fair play prevail in the end.

If this first draft works for you, use it as an outline for a longer book. If not, add this attempt to your scrap paper box.

Now get ready to do one of your own. Pick your three personalized writing prompts. Go!

"If your vocation isn’t a vacation, then quit, leap, change careers."

Denise Barker, Author, Blogger, Copy Editor
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What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you give someone a book, you don’t give him just paper, ink, and glue.  You give him the possibility of a whole new life. Christopher Morley
The best inheritance you can leave your kids is an example of how to live a full and meaningful life. Dan Zadra

Plots, Shlots

For pantsters everywhere, you will rejoice.

For you plotters, you can carry on, just with a different focus. Or not.

This post is borne out of a recent discussion in one of my CP groups. Hope it helps you as it freed me.

Here are a few foundational elements to my theory I'm about to propose:

1. I'm a character-driven author and reader. If you give me an interesting character, I'll follow them just about anywhere. Examples from books: Eve and Roarke from J.D. Robb's In Death series; Stephanie Plum from Janet Evanovich's bounty hunter series. Examples from TV: Jessica Fletcher (from Murder, She Wrote); Alan, Charlie and Don Eppes (from Numb3rs) and all the Gallaghers from Showtime's Shameless.
2. People are basically curious. We want to know what the Joneses next door are doing in their lives. What makes them happy, successful. Individually and in marriage. We want to know what Brad and Angelina are up to. What exciting and interesting things they have done. What (remote, unfamiliar?) places they have traveled to now. What else explains the sales of the gossipy magazines at the checkout lane in the grocery store, even while most consider them to be filled with invalid info? Other than possibly living vicariously through the people made the subject matter therein.
3. Those different sections in a (physical) bookstore are about the emotions they evoke: horror, love, mystery, wonder, humor, adventure, suspense/intrigue. This is often espoused by fantasy author Dave Farland.

So, if readers want emotions and interesting characters, we should focus on that, right?

And this therefore is my theory: It's not about plot. It's about the character arc. So while you may continue to create your requisite plot points, just think of them as hanging off the ultimate bell curve: your character arc.

In Robert McKee's Story, on pages 319–331 in the hardcover edition, he gives examples of his Principle of Antagonism, which deals with themes and emotions. I agree. Add communicating it well, being at least as smart as your sophisticated reader of today so there are no flimsy, faulty holes in your reasonings as to cause and effect, or human nature, etc., and you are set.

So, to put my theorem in a more usable format, here's the new revised "fought points" that I'm working from, at this point forward, to keep me focused on the correct nexus (repurposed from Campbell's original Hero's Journey):

• Ordinary World. Our hero/heroine (H/H) with their individual secrets, their individual fears and, whether they know it yet or not, how that may conflict with each other's set of secrets/fears, or circumstances or internal compass; H/H are familiar with this stage, representing the known, the stilled waters; whereas the unknown evokes more fears and could involve change(s) which may be unpleasant to go through.
• Inciting Incident. Thrown into the stirred waters, our H/H's secrets are threatened, or their fears are put to the test, either by circumstances or the other main characters' actions or internal guilt, regrets, depression, whatever you can imagine to put them through.
• (At least) Three Try/Fail Attempts. This represents our H/H's experiments to get out of the bad place they find themselves and back to the old one, until they grow enough to envision a better one.
• Climax. The "light bulb" moment where the H/H figure it out; their character has been changed, self-growth achieved.
• Denouement. Resolution, tying up all the loose ends of minor character arcs, or any remaining questions revolving around the main character arc and—taking this next part from most of the beloved long-term TV shows—ending on a relaxing, regrouping moment of personal reflection or introspection into their new, improved self and resultant life. And successes, hopefully.

As with any theory, this is a work-in-progress, subject to subsequent experiments and failures and more tweaking. I've always considered myself plot-impaired and now I see why. My focus was off.

Anyway, if this resonates with you, give it a try.

If this is not for you, disregard my abstraction and continue carrying on. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Denise Barker, author + blogger + copy editor

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Emotions in Writing

Two research projects intersected into a wonderful revelation for me. While I was studying one of Nora Roberts's free short stories downloaded from her official website--to search for why her writing so mesmerizes me--I also made a list of some of my fave movies to look for the similarities--to see what I both sought and found in those books and films--as that is most likely my writing niche.

But I was looking at genre and situation and plot and other such elements trying to find that unifying cord that screamed, "Denise, this is your (one) true place, theme, genre."

I know. Seems I should already be aware of this as I understand me best, right? Not so much here with this specific insight. Plus, I wanted the clarity. All the goal-setting tips say so and, as an author, it helps to have a guiding principle. Both for writing in general and for each special project. I read somewhere that a problem with a story is either tied to the author or the tale (or maybe a little of each). Having a target in mind should clear the way from both angles.

Yes, I write romantic suspense novels with some wry humor thrown in for good measure--although one of my CPs just the other week described my writing as more mainstream and not strictly romance. Good! After all, Nora Roberts is my mentor, my hero, my benchmark. She changed the landscape of the romance genre, expanding it, incorporating elements from the other categories.

Plus she elevates her imaginings from the superficiality of sight-based-only romances to dig deeper, sharing beautiful insights into humanity and psychological glimpses into her characters' minds. It is not about who is merely beautiful and rich; Nora adds layers fully fleshing out her characters to become alive and yet real with foibles and insecurities and fears as well as goals and dreams.

I believe she's covered all basic genre themes while under the romance umbrella writing as Nora Roberts, or under the futuristic police procedurals writing as J.D. Robb. Luckily for me, her brand of horror is lightly handled and swept away fast (the child incest/molestation, the graphic murders), which allows me to keep reading her stuff over these speed bumps of utter disgust.

More than one of her stories has magic, paranormal elements, mystery, women's fiction, action, adventure, glitz, police procedure, murder, mainstream psychological insight, comedy/humor, love and some horror; appearing in contemporary, future, western and historical time frames; from domestic settings to foreign; on land or on sea or on another planet.  Did I miss anything?

Which brings me to this post about my revelation.

Certain emotions are tied to certain genres: such as fright with horror, HEA love with romance, wonder with fantasy, humor with comedy, etc. But with new crossover books and universal authors like Nora, we have blending going on, such as paranormal romantic suspense and chick lit and steampunk and new combos brewing even now.

Here's my latest light-bulb moment: We seek more than just one emotion in our movies, in our reading. The particular films and fiction we choose--and still like after viewing and reading--hit those spots we want to have stirred up. Those "bad" selections are simply markers of entertainment focusing on another set of feelings we do not wish to relive.

For me, it is horror in the strictest sense. I do not like to be surprised or scared. Yet, The Mummy (movie remake with Brendan Fraser) doesn't frighten me in the least, no matter being branded as a horror. But I refuse to see The Silence of the Lambs or Hitchcock's Psycho--even though I already know both punch lines.

Another particular taboo is sad movies that make me cry. And cry. And cry some more. I'm not a crybaby. Life can cause enough tears and sadness which we cannot control. Who needs more of our own election?

Still, one of my favorite movies is P.S. I Love You which is a real tearjerker. Somehow I can occasionally rewatch that flick. Maybe because the love overshadows the grief by a tad? Yet, there is another big-name author whose books have been made into movies and the sadness is to such an intense level that I cannot handle it.

Death is another element I avoid. Yet I love Murder, She Wrote and J.D. Robb's In Death series. Probably because we don't even know the dead guy.  I'm emotionally separated enough from the deceased stranger to care only about justice, a theme, instead of knowing the victim and harboring personal thoughts of revenge for the death of my best friend, my lover, my family.

It is okay if I learn more about the unknown person as long as it is in dribbles throughout the tale, well after the initial murder, as in the case of J.D. Robb's books.

But my same CP mentioned above said I should do more with the characters who die in my books. No. Not my main genre. Not my style. Not my forte. I am not so equipped. I'll leave it for others to handle artfully.

So the death of one of my major characters in a current WIP is a footnote basically.  I've led my readers through two hundred pages getting to know this person and they will be hit hard by the death, even though we all know it is coming.  But is in the background.

My psyche can only process it that way.

Therefore, if you are looking for gory deaths--with chapters full of details on how the villains tortured and mutilated their victims, the bad guys' anger increasing after they pushed their punishments too far, causing their playthings to die, bringing to an abrupt end all the other wonderful pain and misery the evil ones had planned to inflict--you won't find that in my books.

However, if you are like me and crave love and action and adventure and suspense and comedy and wonder and mysteries--whether regarding murder or learning something (think House, M.D. or Numb3rs or the Discovery Channel)--then that is what you should write as an author and read as a fan.

Incorporate all those elements you seek in your entertainment within your own creations.

It is not about one genre, even a crossover.

It is about emotions. In multiples.

Once I made that link, I'm now seeing it vividly as I again enjoy, yet like a first timer, my beloved TV shows, fave movies, endearing books.

My empirical data proves my own theory.

This new praxis frees me from the rather restrictive genre definitions or even various plotlines. Too narrow. My focus is on a higher level. A universal bond. Through emotions.

I can now easily dissect Nora Roberts aka J.D. Robb while remaining within her storytelling spell.  She evokes sympathy, empathy, love, jealousy, anger, while stirring up themes of justice, love conquers all, the good guys win at the end. Right in line with my own thinking.

It shouldn't amaze me, but it does.  Something this elegant, this . . . simple, yet grand--well, it boggles my brain. As discussed on this blog before, a mind once opened to a new distinction, a nouveau idea, has had its boundaries stretched, never to go back again.

Wow!  What a wonderful discovery . . . To my readers, this may seem like a "Well, duh!" moment.  And they usually are. What seems complex is simple. Our answers are hidden in plain sight.

Wow.

Denise Barker, author + blogger +

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