by James R. Preston

Welcome! Welcome to another exciting installment of Writers in the Storm.

This episode promises, thrills, chills, journeys to foreign lands in search of writing glory, as well as encounters with writing history and deadly foreign bacteria! And, Gentle Reader, there is a Moral to this story.

That’s An Invitation . . .

Writing is sometimes exhilarating, but most often it’s lonely and painful — and the latter can be on a good day.

You must learn the craft, practice, find your voice, practice, complete manuscripts and send them out. See the Notes at the end of this essay for a way to find those steps in detail.

And through all of that, when you wake up at 2:00 am and think, “Am I any good?” even if you answer that with, “Bah! Humbug!” you must, must find the courage to keep going. You must avoid the impulse to say, “I suck! This is useless. No one cares.” If you are a regular reader of this blog (and if you’re not you should be) you have heard reasons to keep going. I’ve contributed some of them.

Well, here’s something new.

At a low point in my writing career the Universe, God, fill in your own idea, stepped up and spoke to me. Here’s what happened.

. . .to Make a Reservation

It was an age long ago, in the distant past, 1978 to be exact. Some college friends, my wife Nancy, and I went on vacation to Great Britain and France.

I’d written book reviews and a magazine called The Pacific Northwest Review Of Books seemed to like my work, or at least they didn’t hate it, so I wrote them and pitched an idea for an article about antiquarian bookstores in London. They wrote back saying they might be interested and could I supply pictures? Sure! (I had a camera, so how hard could it be? Don’t answer that.)

I looked up three London bookstores and about a month before we left, wrote to them, sort of “Oh hi, I’m coming to London, can I talk to you?”

None of the bookstores answered the letters, but no matter.

The first bookstore on my list was Peter Eaton, Ltd. I showed up and met a nice man, and was convinced he’d have everything I’d need, until he said he’d never heard of me. I showed him the letter. He said it must have gone to the owners, who rarely came in to the store. I could try calling back later. He couldn’t talk to me.

Next was G. Greer. This time — good news — they had received my letter but it would not be convenient to talk to me. At all.

Then there was Magg’s. The older gentleman said I could try calling back for an appointment with the owner, but he didn’t come into the shop very often. He couldn’t talk to me.

So I tried a new approach — wandering aimlessly into bookstores to ask about business and see what happened. The kids working the cash registers were about my age and they could tell me how to ring up a sale. The owners, if they were there, basically said, “You want what?! An interview?” when they spoke to me at all.

Dying to Take Me Away

Okay, I was bummed. No joy. Snake-belly low.

So it was all a waste, right? Not just a waste, humiliating. Not only a humiliating waste of valuable vacation time, but also a black mark against my name at a magazine that liked me.

But, of course, this True-Life Adventure story has a happy ending, right? 

Well, England is cold. Apparently even in the summer. And, uh, well, actually I got pneumonia, then turned out to be allergic to the ampicillin I was prescribed, and then didn’t know what was happening so I kept taking it. Later, when I was writing medical training scripts one of our staff nurses heard this story and explained that the germ was foreign and I had no immunity. I had no chance at all once those nasty bacteria got ahold of me. And the allergic reaction? I could have died. Next, most of the friends we were traveling with left Nancy & me behind and went to off to Wales. We later dubbed this the “Eat the Weak” vacation. Yeah, they ditched me. I didn’t blame them; I just waved weakly at the car as it drove away.

But it wasn’t a waste. Here’s why.

They’ve Got Everything You Need

We visited Stratford-on-Avon, yes, that Stratford-on-Avon, home of Shakespeare. And while we were there I saw a framed poster advertising a production of “The Merry Wives Of Windsor” to raise money for restoration of the building.

One of the stars of the charity event was Charles Dickens.

Yes, that Charles Dickens. He was donating time to help save the home of one of his favorite writers. I realized there was this long tradition of writers helping each other as they created stories to entertain and enlighten, a chain that goes back past Beowulf to campfire tales to cave paintings.

And in one of the few true epiphanies I have ever experienced I realized that I was part of that same tradition. A small part but a link in that chain nevertheless.

And you are, too.

It didn’t matter that no one liked my sf novel. It didn’t matter that my article was a disaster. I’m not alone. Neither are you.

Back home, after the rash that covered my back and chest cleared up and I had for the most part stopped coughing, not letting a minor detail like I didn’t get any of the interviews I’d promised to deliver stop me, I wrote the article anyway. Content? We don’t need no stinkin’ content. “Let’s Not Talk About Old Books in London, or, Opening the Mummy’s Tomb” was sent off to the magazine which promptly rejected it despite the catchy title and a nice picture of the front of one of the bookstores. 

Forty years later I remembered Stratford-on-Avon and that Dickens poster and I thought of sharing the story with all of you.

Because, unless you are Stephen King, you will hit low spots. And like all those who came before you, you will have to find a way to suck it up and keep going.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

I can tell you, dear reader, about the adventure and hope to provide a chuckle and — in a way — the article lives. 

There is value in your work. No matter what, there is value in your work.

In 1848 Dickens helped save Stratford-on Avon. A hundred and thirty years later that act helped save my writing career.

Remember, always remember, you are part of that tradition. Some writers are 33rd Degree, we may be 1st Degree, but we’re members of the same lodge, the fraternity of ink-stained wretches, and when you are sitting there at 2:00 am wondering “What happens next?”, thinking “Bah! Humbug! Why am I doing this?” and you feel like Tiny Tim on crutches hobbling through the snow, remember Dickens scribbling notes on a scrap of paper held on his knee as his carriage races through the foggy London night.

If you feel like you’re part of the tradition, share with us the writers you’re proud to be associated with. After all, we’re in this together.

God bless us every one. Happy Holidays!

Have you had a vacation experience, domestic or international, that might appear in one of your novels? How have you worked through those times when you ask, "Why am I doing this?"

Notes: 

Thanks to Robert A Heinlein for articulating the “33rd Degree” idea in his wonderful YA novel, Space Cadet.

Google Heinlein’s Five Rules for Writing for all of them spelled out.

For the Stratford-on-Avon restoration story do a Google search. It’s a great tale, with P. T. Barnum actually trying to buy the building and move it to his collection in the U. S. I’m not making this up.

Even King wondered if he was selling only because he was Stephen King and were the stories any good, and that led to the “Bachman Books.” They sold well. They’re good.

James Preston survived the Attack of the Alien Virus and went on to write the multiple-award-winning Surf City Mysteries. His most recent work, however, is not part of that series. It’s a novella called Buzzkill, a historical thriller that Kirkus Reviews said is “enriched by characters who sparkle and refuse to be forgotten.” For more about the stories, check out his web page, www.jamesrpreston.com. He can be reached at james@jamesrpreston.com. His next appearance will be a panel on January 26 at the Fullerton Public Library.

By Piper Bayard & Jay Holmes

Firearms . . . Love them or hate them, they often turn up in our fiction. Sadly, they often turn up in fiction in fictional ways that leave readers throwing books against the wall. To keep that from happening to WITS readers, let's take a look at the firearms that most often turn up in espionage and crime fiction—the revolver, the semi-automatic, and the automatic. When it comes to handguns, specifically, only revolvers and semiautomatics are usually used by intelligence professionals in the field, as the vast majority of automatic weapons are rifles.

Before we get to the differences in those types of handguns, though, we need to address the most common firearm misnomer of all time -- the "clip" vs. the "magazine." Time and again in fiction, shooters are reloading their "clips" into their "automatic" pistols, when they should be loading their "magazines" into their "semiautomatics." Let's take a look at the differences so that you savvy folks will never make that mistake.

Clip Vs. Magazine

A magazine has a spring that force-feeds the ammunition as the shooter fires. A clip does not have a spring or a feed mechanism. It simply holds the ammo and attaches to a magazine or inserts directly into a firearm. These are examples of "clips."

Image by Piper Bayard

On the left half of the picture, we have an empty M1 Garand clip, an M1 Garand clip loaded with eight rounds of 30-06 ammunition, and the brass from a 30-06 spent cartridge. On the right half of the picture, we have nine rounds of 7.62x39 ammunition loaded onto a "stripper clip" and an empty stripper clip. This stripper clip holds ten rounds. The tenth 7.26x39 cartridge is just above the loaded clip. The clips are plain metal with no springs or gadgets of any kind that assist in feeding the ammunition through the firearm. Once the cartridges have been fired, the clips can be reloaded. However, in combat that is highly unlikely. A clip would normally be discarded and a new clip loaded into the magazine or the magazine well, depending on the firearm.

The vast majority of firearms made after WWII do not use clips.

Extremely few modern weapons that use clips are being manufactured today unless they are replicas of old weapons. One rare example of a modern weapon using a clip is the Smith & Wesson 9mm revolver, which uses a moon clip. So unless your character is using a historical weapon or one of the rare modern firearms that take actual "clips," the terminology is a fiction.

Next we have "magazines." Magazines are widely used in both handguns and rifles. They can be detachable or not. They hold cartridges and can be quickly and easily reloaded. There are springs in the magazines that assist in feeding the ammunition through the firearms.

Image by Piper Bayard

The larger magazine in the picture is an “extended grip” 9mm SIG Sauer magazine, and the smaller magazine is from a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380. These magazines fit into the handles of the pistols shown. Magazines are made of metal or plastic and can be reused countless times. They don’t get “used up” just because all of the rounds are fired.

Writing Tip: If you’re writing historical fiction, you might, indeed, have a weapon that uses a clip. If you are writing anything post-WWII, your weapon, unless it is a revolver, will likely have a magazine. We recommend you do a bit of research on the specific model of weapon in your manuscript, including the year it was made.

Revolvers

A revolver is so called because the cartridges reside in a revolving cylinder. Almost no revolver ever made has an actual manual safety mechanism. Like the semiautomatic, one trigger pull equals one shot. However, the brass shells are not ejected automatically. A shooter must open the cylinder and eject all of the shells simultaneously and reload. A shooter can hasten this process by using a “speed loader” to insert all of the cartridges with one motion. The legalities of revolver ownership vary from state to state, but revolvers are generally the most legally accepted of handguns.

Piper with Holmes's .44 Magnum revolver, posing for the remake of Dirty Harriet

Things to remember about revolvers:

1. Ammunition is loaded into a cylinder.
2. Revolvers virtually never have manual safety mechanisms.
3. One trigger pull results in one shot.
4. No brass is ejected.
5. Legal in varying degrees according to state law.

Semiautomatics

With a semiautomatic, ammunition loads into a removable magazine that usually fits into the pistol grip, like the ones pictured above. To reload, a shooter drops the empty magazine out of the grip and snaps in a full magazine. Most people are able to drop a magazine and snap a new one into a semiautomatic faster than they can reload a revolver; however, a skilled shooter is just as quick with a speed loader. Like the revolver, one trigger pull always equals one shot. Unlike the revolver, the brass is ejected with each shot. Also unlike the revolver, a semiautomatic often has a manual safety device.

Semiautomatics are legal in all states, but only to varying degrees in different places. In a few states, they practically come as prizes in the bottom of Cracker Jack boxes, while in others, they are more difficult to obtain than a straight answer from a politician.

It is extremely common for a semiautomatic to be inaccurately referred to throughout media, movies, and TV as an “automatic” weapon. No matter how hot the journalist, movie star, or soap opera star might be, it simply isn't so. If you make that mistake in your own writing, you are sure to get a bursting inbox full of corrections.

Things to remember about semiautomatics:

1. Ammunition is loaded in a magazine.
2. One trigger pull equals one shot.
3. Often has manual safety mechanism.
4. Brass is ejected, usually to the right of the weapon, every time a shot goes off.
5. Legality varies according to state. Some states make semiautomatics difficult to obtain, or they restrict the size of the magazine. Other states have the Cracker Jack Box standard.

Automatics

With an automatic weapon, the cartridges load into a removable magazine. The weapon is called automatic because when a shooter pulls the trigger, it automatically fires repeated bullets until the shooter takes their finger off the trigger. When the shooter fires, the brass shells of the cartridges are ejected from the weapon at high speed.

Gunner's Mate 1st Class Montrell Dorsey with
M240B automatic weapon
Image by US Navy, public domain

Modern automatic weapons are generally illegal for private ownership without special government procedures—emphasis on “generally.” There are three ways an individual in America can obtain an automatic weapon. . . .

The Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 made it illegal for private individuals to acquire fully automatic weapons without special permission from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Private gun owners can still obtain one of the pre-1986 fully automatic firearms if they fill out a form, wait several months, secure a tax stamp, and purchase the firearm for an exorbitant amount of money—exorbitant because, according to the National Rifle Association, there are only around 150,000 pre-1986 fully automatic weapons in private ownership.

The second way private individuals can obtain an automatic weapon is by going through the intense process of obtaining a license to manufacture Class III/NFA firearms. Once the individual has this license, they can secure a conversion kit to modify a semiautomatic rifle to make it fully automatic. With the hassle and expense, though, we recommend using the money for a nice beach vacation rather than pursuing one of these weapons.

The third way to obtain an automatic weapon in America is the timeless and ever-popular method known as theft. If your characters try this method, especially with anyone who owns an automatic weapon, that owner might remember to use it on your character.

Things to remember about automatics:

1. Ammunition is loaded in a magazine.
2. One trigger pull equals multiple shots.
3. Likely has a safety mechanism.
4. Brass is ejected as the shooter is firing.
5. Illegal for private owners everywhere in the United States except with a very detailed, expensive process.

Other Factors

It’s worth noting that different types of ammunition and barrels impact accuracy and are used for different purposes. For example, Bayard & Holmes use hollow point cartridges for self-defense because the bullets are less likely to pass through the target and harm someone behind them. Different barrels with different types of rifling are also used depending on the purpose at hand. Firearms experts have written treatises about the many subtleties of ammunition and barrels. If you discuss types of ammunition and barrels in your fiction, we recommend you read one of these treatises before you commit your writing to stone or Kindle. If you make a mistake, firearms experts will call you on it, and they can be pretty rough about it.

Writing Tip: Be aware that no matter how much you research, there are firearms aficionados who will write to you about the rarest and most obscure exception to whatever you say and tell you that you’re stupid. Don’t let that bother you. It’s what they live for. Be reasonably diligent in your vocabulary, hit the big things like “revolver,” “semiautomatic,” “automatic,” “clip,” and “magazine,” and you can be pretty sure the vast majority of your readers will be satisfied. As for the rest, don’t feed the trolls.

Do your characters carry or use firearms? Which firearms do they use? What are your firearms pet peeves in fiction? Do you have any questions for us?

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Piper Bayard and Jay Holmes of Bayard & Holmes are the authors of espionage tomes and international spy thrillers. Their latest release, SPYCRAFT: Essentials, is designed for writers. It addresses the functions and jurisdictions of the main US intelligence organizations, the spook personality and character, tradecraft techniques, surveillance, the most common foibles of spy fiction, and much more. It is available in digital format and print at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

Please visit Piper and Jay at their site, BayardandHolmes.com. For notices of their upcoming releases, subscribe to the Bayard & Holmes Covert Briefing. You can also contact Bayard & Holmes at their Contact page, on Twitter at @piperbayard, on Facebook at Piper Bayard or Bayard & Holmes, or at their email, BH@BayardandHolmes.com.

by Colleen M. Story

 When the money doesn’t come flowing in or when the market ignores your book, it’s easy to lose the joy in writing. Fortunately, you can get it back.

What Rewards are Writers Seeking?

In almost everything we do, there are two types of rewards involved:

1. Extrinsic rewards are those we get from the outside world, including money, recognition, prizes, and praise.
2. Intrinsic rewards are those we get from inside ourselves, including a sense of accomplishment, personal satisfaction, mastery of a craft or skill, or simply the pleasure of pursuing something we enjoy.

Though both methods can be effective when you’re pursuing a goal, it depends on what kind of goal it is. Some research has suggested that extrinsic rewards—particularly money—may in some cases be detrimental to creative goals.

In one experiment, for example, scientists asked elementary and college students to make “silly” collages. Teachers then rated the projects based on creativity, and found that the students offered money came up with the least creative results.

In another related study, researchers asked creative writing college students to write poetry. One group was given a list of extrinsic reasons for completing the project, including making money and impressing teachers. The other group was given a list of intrinsic reasons, including self-expression and the enjoyment of playing with words.

Twelve independent poets then judged the poems. Results showed that participants given extrinsic reasons to write not only wrote less creative poems, but also created less quality work than those given intrinsic reasons.

“The more complex the activity,” wrote lead author Teresa M. Amabile, “the more it’s hurt by extrinsic reward.”

Researchers have some theories as to why this may be:

• Extrinsic rewards may make us feel less autonomous in pursuing the activity, and lead us to believe we’re now controlled by the reward, making the activity less enjoyable.
• Rewards encourage us to complete the task as quickly as possible to receive the reward, and to take few risks, reducing creativity.
• Extrinsic rewards may simply make the task seem more like a “job.”

Signs You’re Thinking Too Much About Extrinsic Rewards

To discover if extrinsic rewards are causing you to lose the joy in writing, ask yourself these three questions:

1. What are you thinking about when you’re writing?

While writing, do you notice thoughts like, This book isn’t going to be as good as my last one? Do you worry the reviews will be lackluster, or that this book won’t get the green light from your publisher? Are you secretly hoping this book will the one to garner you the publishing rewards you long for?

All of these types of thoughts are centered on extrinsic rewards, and even if they occur only sporadically during your writing time, they can derail your focus and sap your motivation. When you find yourself thinking something like this, let the thought go and bring your focus back to the story, alone.

2. How much pressure are you feeling?

Perhaps you’re trying to “write quickly” so you can get more books out there and make more money. Maybe you’re trying to please an editor so you can hang onto a multi-book contract. Maybe you’re trying to prove that the time you spend on writing is really worth it by getting the story done and published, already.

Feeling stressed and pressured quickly takes the joy out of writing, and stress and pressure usually come from focusing on outside rewards. Try to think back to why you started writing in the first place, and see the blank page as a place for fun.

3. How do you feel about yourself as a writer?

It’s amazing how many of our feelings about ourselves as writers are tied up in outside approval. When children create, they do so simply for the fun of it, until they start to get the idea that it matters what others think about their projects.

If you’re feeling down about your writing or about your ability as a writer, you can probably trace it back to something outside yourself—a bad review, negative comment, lost contest, or publishing rejection. Remind yourself that the emotions you’re feeling are because you are seeking approval outside of yourself.

When to Use Extrinsic Rewards to Your Advantage

Sometimes extrinsic rewards can be beneficial to a writer. Think about those writing-related tasks you don’t usually enjoy. Scientists have found that extrinsic motivation works most effectively for them. So if you don’t like promoting your work, for example, you may find more success by providing yourself with extrinsic rewards each time you complete any marketing-related task.

Put together a successful book launch? Give yourself a weekend away. Update your website? Take yourself out to dinner. Write a series of guest posts? Get yourself that new outfit you’ve had your eye on.

“External rewards can be a useful and effective tool for getting people to stay motivated and on task,” says Kendra Cherry, author of Everything Psychology Book. “This can be particularly important when people need to complete something that they find difficult or uninteresting, such as a boring homework assignment or a tedious work-related project.”

Restore the Joy in Writing

If you’ve lost the joy in writing, it may help to remind yourself of the many intrinsic rewards you receive by doing it. Here are just four examples:

1. Writing promotes healing self-expression.

In one 2005 study, researchers found that those individuals who had experienced an extremely stressful or traumatic event who wrote about the experience for 15 minutes four days in a row, experienced better health outcomes up to four months later than those who didn’t write.

“When we express our feelings honestly,” says writer Nadia Sheikh, “we are better equipped to deal with them because we actually know what we are feeling instead of denying it….we feel more in control of our thoughts and feelings, and we understand them more clearly.”

2. Writing creates personal satisfaction.

How many people can say they’ve actually completed a poem, short story, or novel? As writers, when we finish a project, there is a blissful sense of satisfaction. We may re-read the words later and wonder, “Where did that come from?” or “How did I do that?”

This sort of satisfaction seems to be even more delicious when the project is difficult. If you had to bang your head against the wall to get through the middle of your novel, but then you figured it out and finished it, that creates a feeling that’s hard to match with any other sort of activity.

“An immense amount of pride and self-satisfaction follows a completed, perfected, edited, and published novel,” says bestselling novelist David Perry.

3. When writing, you can create your own world.

For some writers, the craft provides a sort of sanctuary, a place to go no matter how chaotic the outside world may become. For others, this immersion into another world stimulates a state of “flow”—that sense of being completely absorbed and lost in one’s work to the point of losing track of time, which has been linked to increased happiness.

“Writing is like being in a dream state, or under self-directed hypnosis,” Stephen King says. “It induces a state of recall that—while not perfect—is pretty spooky.”

4. Writing makes us feel more like ourselves.

Writing can bring us peace, and make us more comfortable with who we are. That may be because it helps us understand ourselves and others, because it relieves stress and anxiety, or because it allows for that self-expression that helps us make sense of our own jumbled thoughts.

Freelance writer and sci-fi/fantasy storyteller Rand Lee said it well when he wrote:

“I have to face the appalling truth that I have to stop worrying about fame and fortune, and focus upon writing pieces that, first and foremost, produce within me a sense of wonder and delight. Rereading my works with this in mind renews my enthusiasm for the creative process and gets me back in the saddle.”

What rewards do you enjoy from writing?

Sources

Amabile, T. M. (1985). Motivation and creativity: Effects of motivational orientation on creative writers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48(2), 393-397. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.48.2.393

Baikie, K. A., & Wilhelm, K. (2005). Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 11(05), 338-346. doi:10.1192/apt.11.5.338

Bramley, C. (n.d.). Cathy Bramley's 5 favourite things about being a writer. Retrieved from https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/on-writing/why-i-write/2017/aug/the-best-things-about-being-a-writer/

Cherry, K. (2013, June 3). How Does Extrinsic Motivation Influence Behavior? Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-extrinsic-motivation-2795164

Coleman, T. K. (2018, January 17). 5-on-5: The Challenges & Rewards of Writing Every Single Day | Praxis. Retrieved from https://discoverpraxis.com/5-5-challenges-rewards-writing-every-single-day/

ER Services. (n.d.). Incentive Theory of Motivation and Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation | Child Development. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-hostos-childdevelopment/chapter/incentive-theory-of-motivation-and-intrinsic-vs-extrinsic-motivation/

Kohn, A. (1987, January 19). Studies Find Reward Often No Motivator - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/motivation.html

Lee, R. (2018, March 22). Rewards of a Writing Career - Curiosity Quills Press. Retrieved from https://curiosityquills.com/rewards-writing-career/

Perry, D. (2015, August 3). The Rewards of Becoming a Writer - David Perry Books. Retrieved from http://www.davidperrybooks.com/2015/08/03/the-rewards-of-becoming-a-writer/

Positive Psychology Program. (2017, October 26). Writing Therapy: Using A Pen and Paper to Enhance Personal Growth. Retrieved from https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/writing-therapy/

Sheikh, N. (n.d.). Self-Expression and Creativity: Managing Feelings. Retrieved from https://www.smartrecovery.org/self-expression-and-creativity-managing-feelings/

Stuckey, H. L., & Nobel, J. (2010). The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature. American Journal of Public Health,100(2), 254-263. doi:10.2105/ajph.2008.156497

ABOUT COLLEEN

Colleen M. Story is the author of Overwhelmed Writer Rescue—a motivational read to help writers escape the tyranny of the to-do list and nurture the genius within. The book was named Solo Medalist in the New Apple Book Awards, Book by Book Publicity’s Best Writing/Publishing Book, and first place in the Reader Views Literary Awards.

Colleen is also a novelist and has worked in the creative writing industry for over twenty years. She is the founder of Writing and Wellness. For more information, please see her author website, or follow her on Twitter (@colleen_m_story).

by Fae Rowen

Last week I was writing a character study for my WIP. The character is persistent, never giving up, even when the cause seems lost. At times she's like a small child who keeps asking "Why?" and driving the adults around her crazy. I had more than a half dozen adjectives in my list, but something seemed lacking. I added perseverance.

On my trail walk, I thought about persistence versus perseverance. If I were in a hurry, I would have stopped at persistence. But as I mentally detailed the difference between the two words, persistence took on a more negative flavor. At home, I used the thesaurus and found these words for persistent: perseverance, tenacious, determined, obstinate, stubborn, pushy, relentless, insistent, continuing. The words for perseverance included: determination, insistence, stubbornness, doggedness, diligence, resolve, drive, purpose, tenacity, dedication, devotion, tirelessness, pushiness.

When you compare the two lists, the words are very close in meaning. But the diligence, resolve, drive, dedication, devotion and purpose in the perseverance column, convinced me that I made the right choice in labeling my character as exhibiting perseverance.

As writers, taking the time to drill down to the finer meaning of the words we choose can help us better define characters, their goals and motivation, and our stories. Think of this exercise like an artist painting a color wheel. The primary colors are placed within the wheel, then the artist must mix the paints to move from red to red-orange to orange to orange-yellow, and finally yellow. All the gradations between red and yellow are shown in the small space on the wheel.

If we became adept painters with our word choices, we can convey more depth to our readers without having to resort to telling them what we want them to know.

Let's look at another word pairing. Do you want to humble an arrogant character or do you want to humiliate him? When someone is humbled, their pride or rank is lowered. But when you humiliate a character you shame him, usually in public. That character loses self-respect and the respect of others. Again, as writers the careful choice words we use to describe the humbling or the humiliation can help us convey the feeling we want the reader to experience. There's a big difference between calling a lover a "boy toy" or a "friend" or a "sweetheart" or a "partner."

I've been guilty of using my thesaurus to find a synonym quickly. A good thesaurus can do much more than that, if we're aware of the gradations of meaning as we look for a "better" or "fresher" word. A partnership can be an association, a connection, a collaboration, or an alliance. By choosing a more descriptive word, we can subtlely convey more meaning without having to spend precious word count to explain what we're trying to say.

You don't need to be tied to a dictionary or thesaurus to be mindful of your word choices. And you don't need to do this for every word in your story. But the important words, the words that describe your characters' emotions, their character traits, the turning points, deserve extra time and thought. 

Taking time and care with critical words is like using the right tool for the job. When you have the best word to describe a situation, that word does your work better than a paragraph of explanation ever could. The pace of your story isn't slowed with exposition or back story. The reader builds and fills in details that enrich their experience and make that experience unique to each reader.

Take a few moments to think about how you could describe a plain Jane character on the first page, using one word to convey much more than the cliched plain Jane. Don't turn to a thesaurus. Picture the character. Watch her. Make up a backstory for her. Then sift through words until you find the best one to describe what you want a reader to know about this character.

You'll find this gets easier, and it will help you hone in on your characters' important traits. And an added side benefit: you'll find yourself writing fresher descriptions, combinations of words you haven't seen before.

Do you have an example of a refined word choice that you'd like to share?

Why did you choose one word over the other?

ABOUT FAE:

Fae Rowen discovered the romance genre after years as a science fiction freak. Writing futuristics and medieval paranormals, she jokes that she can live anywhere but the present. As a mathematician, she knows life’s a lot more fun when you get to define your world and its rules.

by Donna Galanti

We all must let go eventually.

Sometimes it’s letting go of a friendship. A husband. A career. A child. A parent.

The toxic friend who suffocates you and puts you down. The husband who can’t commit. The career that stresses you out. The child who needs to learn from his own mistakes. The parent who dies.

Or letting go of the parts of your book you’re writing that work–until they don’t work anymore.

Some people call it “killing your darlings” like William Faulkner noted. He said, “in writing, you must kill all your darlings.” He also said, “a writer needs three things: experience, observation, and imagination, any two of which, at times any one of which, can supply the lack of the others.”

Your imagination lets your words fly free. Your experience enables you to harness them. Your observation arms you with the weapon to indeed kill those darlings. I like to call it “letting go” (I enjoy doing enough killing in my fiction).

At a writer’s retreat lakeside in Northern New York long ago (led by editor, author, and friend Kathryn Craft) I read from one novel-in-progress. A strong theme of the novel was about finding peace in life through balance, emotional vs. physical. My fellow retreaters pointed out that several of my characters had disabilities.

A one-legged girl. A bald-headed lady. A young man with a club foot. A young woman with lopsided breasts. I was told that unless this was a novel about circus freaks, it was too much.

Uh, yeah. 😊

I had to laugh. They were right. I needed to decide what would stay and what to let go that no longer served the purpose of the story. I had to find the one select physical character issue and let that shine throughout the story arc. And I realized that a character’s imbalance need not be physical, it could be on the inside–a flawed internal imbalance that he has to face.

I was comforted also by the fact my fellow retreaters told me that letting go of what doesn’t serve your story is the sign of maturity in a writer.

And this is what writing a first novel draft is about. Writing it all in, and then letting go. What we start out with is not what we end up with, and it can’t stay the same if it’s going to work. Like life. We must let go of what no longer serves us.

And in the creating of that which we may let go, we develop the skills needed as a writer–and we absorb these skills along our journey, often without knowing it. We’re building a bridge that may get disassembled and moved to another location, but we would never get to that final location without the first bridge. We let that first bridge go, in order to gain.

In my novel, A Human Element, my publisher sent back edits on the villain, X-10. She said it was enough that he was a murderer. He didn’t also need to rape and be incestuous toward his sister. Having him be all three didn’t strengthen the story. It was overkill and took away from the complexity of his character and derailed the emotional scene at the end. I agreed and–I let go. And it worked. Many readers tell me that that X-10 is their favorite character and they feel sympathetic toward him, even with all the vile deeds he does.

In Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit she notes that what all successful artists have in common is that “they have mastered the underlying skills of their creative domain, and built their creativity on the solid foundation of those skills.”

Tharp also writes that “skill is how you close the gap between what you see in your mind’s eye and what you can produce.” And that is what letting go in writing is, closing the gap between a new idea and a refined one.

I remember the first time I let go of my son’s hand years ago and let him run out in the wide open spaces. He jogged crookedly across a vast field. His toddler legs carried him wildly as he headed into the great unknown. I knew it was time to let him go for a bit. I could still see him and that would have to be enough. But anxiety gripped my heart until his small hand was back in mine, warm and gripping.

My son in later years at 10 started biking to school by himself. His friends were all doing it. It’s only half a mile. Down the path. Over the bridge and through the woods. Across the road. I could see his route. We had walked it so many times. And I signed the school form giving him permission and I waved goodbye as he left for school. A letting go that hurts. But I know now that these letting go’s won’t always hurt. My son doesn’t need saving from all the scary things in the world, he needs encouragement to embrace his freedom. He can be his own hero. I hope I can too in the wide open spaces of my writing.

What we start out with is not what we end up with. And it can’t stay the same if we want to move on. In writing. In life.

I let go of my mother in past years. I held her hand. I said my goodbyes. I cherished the time. She drifted away. And then I let go.

No regret.
Just peace.

The blessing in letting go is to let go with no regret. It makes the experience all worthwhile. An experience that shapes you. Changes you. Matures you. Makes you a better person. Makes you a better writer.

What have you let go of recently, in writing or in life?

Did you do it without regret? What did you learn from it?

About Donna:
Donna Galanti is the author of the bestselling paranormal suspense Element Trilogy and the children’s fantasy adventure, Joshua and The Lightning Road series. Donna is a contributing editor for International Thriller Writers The Big Thrill magazine and regularly presents as a guest author at schools. She’s lived from England as a child, to Hawaii as a U.S. Navy photographer. Donna has long been a leader in the Mid-Atlantic writing scene as a workshop presenter and is a writing contest judge at nycmidnight.com. Visit her author website at donnagalanti.com.