Writers in the Storm

by Laurie Schnebly Campbell

Imagine a book like this.

First page: We see Alex being crowned Ruler of the Empire, it’s thrilling!
Second page: Alex is kidnaped by terrorists from Alpha Centauri, terrifying!
Third page: Alex escapes and an hour later wins the Nobel Prize, amazing!
Fourth page: College roommate leaves Alex a baby to raise, life-changing!
Fifth page: Baby is diagnosed with incurable leprosy, devastating!

When the back-and-forths come this thick and fast, readers can be forgiven for wishing things would—well, just slow down a bit.

Why? What’s the problem with this story?

After all, it’s full of good action, good drama, good suspense, good ups and downs... but you see what’s missing?

We have no idea what makes Alex tick.

Until we have an idea who Alex really IS—both the appealing features we’ll enjoy watching through various situations, and the not-so-appealing ones that’ll lead to trouble until some kind of change takes place—we don’t have a whole lot of incentive to be interested in Alex’s life.

No matter how many back-and-forth, up-and-down events and emotions there might be.

But once we’ve got an idea of who this person is? We’re THERE.

That raises the question of how to show readers who this character truly is. Not just how they’re dealing with the situation at hand, but what got ‘em to that point in the first place... and what they’ll need to change in order to come through Okay (if not a Nobel Prize-winning ruler of the empire) by The End.

Most of us have a quite a few systems for discovering what makes someone tick. There are all kinds of good processes out there, some of which I’ve studied and then either tried or discarded, same as you’ve probably done over the years.

No matter which system/s we prefer, though, they’re all aimed at creating ways to move a character forward and back. Back and forward. Not always in that order, but with enough variety that the story isn’t a constant uphill climb nor a constant downward slope.

There are changes. There are drops. There are heights.

And everything in between.

We know that on this person’s way to their happy ending, they’re gonna face all kinds of hurdles. There'll be setbacks and advances, triumphs and disasters, and at the end they're gonna be a little more battered, a little more wise, and a lot more deserving of whatever their final triumph might be—or their final defeat if they're the villain.

Why? Because they've taken every step, sometimes up and sometimes down, from beginning to end. They've reached the top of what I view as their “personality ladder.”

In real life, of course, we're all climbing ladders all the time. We climb from infancy to childhood; from childhood to adulthood; from irresponsible student to responsible worker; from carefree party-goer to committed spouse...life is full of ladders.

But the ladder our characters climb ISN'T a lifelong one.

It lasts only from Chapter One through The End.

Maybe it's a three-day period of thrilling adventure. Maybe it's an eight-month saga of blooming love. Maybe it’s a twenty-year mission of colonizing a new planet. But regardless of length, it's a ladder these characters climb all the way from the bottom (stasis) to the top (triumph) during the course of this book.

Everyone's got their own seven steps to complete, scene by scene and chapter by chapter, on the way to becoming a stronger and better person who deserves a happy ending. And where they start depends on what kind of person they are at the beginning of the book.

Take a minute and think about your main character. What's this person’s greatest strength? And how is the reverse side of that strength gonna create problems for them at some point (or probably at several points) during the story?

Let's say, for instance, your hero is all about Excellence.

If so, his strengths will be...what? Doing a fabulous job at whatever he undertakes. Refusing to settle for second best. Getting the job done at all costs. Delivering a stellar performance in every conceivable area (OR in just one vitally important area). Being the best he can be. Leading the field. Top of the heap, no matter what the heap might be. And so on.

You can see what the corresponding weaknesses will be too, right? Lots of possibilities: Ignoring others on his quest for excellence. Driving himself too hard. Not taking on anything unless he knows he'll be great at it. Never stopping to smell the roses. Lacking the ability to forgive anything less than perfection. And so on.

So whatever this guy’s heroic strength and troublesome flaw might be, he’s gonna have to climb all seven steps on his personality ladder to reach the victorious finale at the top.

He’ll have to cover each step...

... from Stasis
to Change
through Misdirection
to Recovery
through Reversion
to Realization
then Triumph

This gives you enough back-and-forth, forward-and-back action to keep readers engaged...without feeling like there’s too much melodrama, nor too little credibility.

They’ll get to witness every step of this climb, and celebrate a happy ending for someone who’s not only earned it, but who’s made them root for it because they’ve seen who this person IS. They’ve seen what makes ‘em tick.

Prize Drawing Question
Who’s a character YOU found yourself rooting for every step of the way? If you recall their name, or even their title / author’s name, mention that here and give all of us readers the chance to enjoy remembering (or discovering) some fabulous story!

Somebody who comments will win free registration to “His Personality Ladder,” a November 6-17 email class on the seven steps. On Tuesday evening I’ll have random dot org draw a name and post it waaaaay down at the end of the comments. (Because after all, our characters start their climb at the bottom!)

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About Laurie

After winning Romantic Times’ “Best Special Edition of the Year” over Nora Roberts, Laurie Schnebly Campbell discovered she loved teaching every bit as much as writing...if not more. Since then she’s taught online and live workshops including the one at groups.io/g/Ladder, and keeps a special section of her bookshelves for people who’ve developed that particular novel in her classes. With 50+ titles there so far, she’s always hoping for more.

Top Image by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay

by Ellen Buikema

Humor is an interesting concept. The goal is to be funny, but responses may differ. What makes some people laugh out loud may make others cringe.

In part two of the series on how to write comedy, we’ll take on verbal comedy—the art of comedic dialogue. Check here for Part 1, Physical Comedy.

Writing Verbal Comedy

The Pun

One of the most common forms of verbal humor, a pun, is a play on words, multiple meanings, or a word of like sound but different meaning, used to make the joke.

• Math pun - Without geometry, life is pointless.
• Science pun - I dropped an electron somewhere! Are you sure? Yes, I’m positive!
• Post-kill pun - In The Last Action Hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character, Jack Slater, blows up an enemy in an ice cream truck. Schwarzenegger says, “I just iced him…to cone a phrase.”

Innuendo or Double Meaning

An innuendo is an indirect hint, drawing attention to an alternative meaning. 

The speaker seems innocent, although not always, and it’s up to the listener to make sense of the words. The second meaning, often achieved through a pun, is intentional.

The multitalented Mae West was known for her sexual innuendos.

• Between two evils, I always pick the one I've never tried before.
• Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?
• I speak two languages: body and English.

Damon Knight’s short story, To Serve Man, provides another example of double meaning. The tale begins with a group of aliens coming to Earth with a book called “To Serve Man.” Everyone is thrilled that the aliens want to serve them, believing this means they wish to perform services for them. But the book turns out to be a cookbook—the aliens’ plan is to serve man for dinner. Gruesome!

Mixed Metaphor

Mixed metaphors are the delightfully funny result of combining well-known clichés.

• We can talk until the cows turn blue.

This metaphor blends two clichés: “talk until the cows come home” and “talk until we are blue in the face.” Both mean to talk for a long time without agreeing.

Here are some politically inspired mixed metaphors.

• “I conclude that the city’s proposal to skim the frosting, pocket the cake, and avoid paying the fair, reasonable, and affordable value of the meal is a hound that will not hunt."
  (a labor arbitrator, quoted by the Boston Globe, May 8, 2010)
• "I don’t think we should wait until the other shoe drops. History has already shown what is likely to happen. The ball has been down this court before, and I can see already the light at the end of the tunnel."
  (Detroit News, quoted in The New Yorker, November 26, 2012)

Here are examples of Mixed Metaphor Examples, How to Write, Tips

Paraprosdokian

A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech where the last word, phrase, or sentence causes the reader or listener to reinterpret the earlier part.

The unexpected ending of a paraprosdokian creates comic effects, a linguistic U-turn. One example is the one-liner, a statement ending with a surprise. The two-part one-liner is a simple setup with a payoff joke:

• “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.” - Groucho Marx
• “If I could just say a few words … I’d be a better public speaker.” - Homer Simpson
•  “He taught me housekeeping. When I divorce, I keep the house.” - Zsa Zsa Gabore

Paraprosdokian in Literature

“Trin Tragula – for that was his name – was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher or, as his wife would have it, an idiot…” The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams

“Contemporary man, of course, has no such peace of mind. He finds himself in the midst of a crisis of faith. He is what we fashionably call ‘alienated.’ He has seen the ravages of war, he has known natural catastrophes, he has been to singles bars.”  My Speech to the Graduates - Woody Allen

Timing 

Regarding standup comedy, timing may not be everything, but it is an essential part of verbal comedy. Standup comedians develop routines, practice in front of audiences, and adjust as needed. A bit like a recipe.

They don’t want to rush into a punchline because people need a moment to be ready for the full impact of your surprise ending. If they are too slow, people may lose interest or get distracted. Knowing where to put the starts, stops, and pauses makes good performances. Think of the series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel—fantastic timing.

Timing in Writing

My editor once asked, well actually asked several times, for me to slow down some scenes. I wasn’t giving the reader enough time to be satisfied and fully appreciate the events.

The following can help with timing:

• Pauses in the form of commas and ellipses.
• Additional dialogue in a scene.
• Sound of clearing throat (ahem) or whisper (psst).
• Rhythm of sentences.
  • Long and short sentence length alternation.
  • Sentence fragments.
  • One-sentence paragraph.
  • One-word paragraph.

A little humor goes a long way.

Here are some ways to sprinkle ‘funny’ into the mix:

Make chums with your Thesaurus.

Find funny-sounding synonyms.

• Bustle, scamper, or skedaddle instead of hurry.
• Pandemonium, brouhaha, or hullabaloo instead of chaos.

Use the Rule of Three.

 A popular humor writing technique based on the setup and punchline formula begins with two “straight” items, with a surprise twist third. This technique can consist of a list of three words, phrases, or sentences.

• “I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.”
  – Jon Stewart
• “I can’t think of anything worse after a night of drinking than waking up next to someone and not remembering their name, how you met, or why they’re dead.”
  – Laura Kightlinger
• “writer, actor, and tall person” — John Cleese, as part of his bio
• “The heart of a mother. The soul of a reader. The mouth of a smartass.” — Mother Reader, tagline.

Try Exaggeration.

The more extreme the exaggeration, the better.

• “We worry that if we get just one variable wrong, we will find ourselves facing a wrathful spouse, who is holding up a garment that was once a valued brassiere of normal dimensions but is now suitable only as a sun hat for a small, two-headed squirrel.” — Dave Barry
• “It only got worse after I turned 50, as my metabolism seemed to have taken an early retirement. I now have to jog five miles just to work off a tic-tac I ate in the 90’s. The only things that fit from my earlier years are my earrings.” — Judy Carter on the Psychology Today blog

We probably won’t become comedy writers overnight. But we can use these techniques to create comedic dialogue.

Do you use verbal comedy in your writing? Who is your favorite comedian? What, in your opinion, makes good comedy?

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About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents, and The Adventures of Charlie Chameleon chapter book series with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Works in Progress are The Hobo Code, YA historical fiction and The Crystal Key, MG Magical Realism/ Sci-Fi, a glaze of time travel.

Find her at https://ellenbuikema.com or on Amazon.

Top Image by Tumisu from Pixabay.

by Eldred “Bob” Bird

Fall is once again in the air, and you know what that means—Halloween! ‘Tis the season to carve the pumpkins, don our costumes, and break out the scary stories. Or in our case, it’s time to write them. This is the perfect time to talk about our fears and how we, as writers, can exploit them.

Whether you write horror, terror, thriller, or let’s face it, even romance, fear is one of the most powerful emotions you can tap into. Fear and panic can override logic. It can make people do things they normally wouldn’t do or freeze in place and do nothing at all.

Once we establish an emotional connection between a character and the reader, the game is on. When we play on the fears of our characters, we’re playing on the fears of our readers as well. So, let’s talk about how to use the power of fear.

What is Fear?

A simple definition of fear is an anxious feeling, caused by our anticipation of some imagined event or experience. Notice it says anticipation and imagined. Fear is not the monster or creepy-crawly creature under the bed, fear lives in our own heads. It’s the thought of what might be lurking under the bed.

Fear isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Our sense of fear developed over the generations as a survival mechanism. It’s the thing that stops us in our tracks and makes us look before we leap. Fear keeps us alive.

The Five Basic Types of Fear

There are an infinite number of things we can fear, but according to Dr. Kari Albrecht in his Psychology Today article they can be divided into five basic categories: Extinction, Mutilation, Loss of Autonomy, Separation, and Ego Death. Let’s take a closer look at each one.

Extinction

Put simply, extinction is the fear of death. It’s the feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you stand too close to the edge of a cliff, or the panic when you hear a strange noise as you walk down a dark alley alone. The anxiety we feel when our life is threatened is there to try to keep us among the living.

Fear of death is one of the primary tools of horror and terror. It can be a powerful fuel for the emotional engine driving your story. Once you have the reader feeling empathy for your character, put their life in peril. If done well, the reader will experience the same emotion as the character.

Mutilation

Mutilation is probably the next favorite fear of the horror and terror genres. It’s all about violating the body’s boundaries. You may think this is just about the fear of mangled or lost body parts, but it also includes things like pain, infections, infestations, torture, bugs, and bites of all kinds. You’ll often find this fear coupled with extinction fear, as it can easily lead to death.

Want to really make a reader’s skin crawl? Send your character down a dark hallway covered in webs or roaches or drop them in a pit full of snakes. Maybe lock them in a room with a rabid raccoon and make their only escape require running barefoot through the glass of a shattered window. It’s all up to you. Have fun with it.

Loss of Autonomy

The loss of autonomy is the fear of being imprisoned, paralyzed, immobilized, or otherwise restricted in some way that is beyond our control. Again, as with separation anxiety, there can be a physical or emotional component, making this a good tool for many genres beyond horror and terror.

Fear of the physical loss of autonomy is just what it sounds like—being afraid of something or someone physically restraining you. It can be anything from being tied down or chained up, to being drugged, sat on, or trapped in an elevator. The latter plays on claustrophobia, the fear of enclosed spaces.

The fear of emotional loss of autonomy focuses more on social and personal interactions, as well as relationships. This fear can be quite useful in creating tension between characters in a broad range of genres. The fear of being trapped in an abusive relationship might hold a character back from seeking companionship. This fear includes being afraid of getting lost in the crowd or not having your voice heard.

Separation

One fear that’s useful in almost any genre is that of separation. This is the fear of abandonment and loss of connection. I’m not just talking about being physically separated from others, but emotionally as well. That’s what makes this particular fear so universal.

We’re all familiar with physical separation in stories. Characters can fear getting lost in the wilderness or their group getting split up, whether by design or by unforeseen circumstances, giving an antagonist the opportunity to pick them off one by one. Then there’s also the anxiety brought on by the thought of outright abandonment—just being left alone to fend for yourself.

On the other hand, emotional separation can be trickier to use, but very powerful. It can be used in any genre to amp up the anxiety. Remember when I mentioned you romance writers out there? This is one of the fears I’m singling out for you. How many times have you read a book where a character is denied by the object of their desire, or shunned by the in-crowd? The fear of this type of rejection can cause a character to put up walls that will have to be torn down later to reach their goals.

Ego Death

Our final category, ego death, is another type of fear we can use across all genres. Ego death is the fear of humiliation, shame, or any other mechanism that leads to self-disapproval and threatens a loss of integrity or self-worth.

This one can be a strong emotional driver for your characters. Think of how paralyzing it is when you’re afraid that your actions may make others see you as less capable, less intelligent, or even less loveable.

A good example of this fear is social anxiety. As authors, most of us probably felt it the first time we were asked to talk about our books, especially to a live audience. Take that firsthand knowledge and transfer to your characters. Odds are you’ll have the reader feeling it as well.

Bringing it all Together

While some fears can easily fit into one of these categories, many will overlap. The fear of one thing may lead to another, and that to another, forming a chain of anxiety for both character and reader. This is where pacing becomes super important.

Once you play on the reader’s fears and have their heart racing it’s time to turn it up a notch and keep the pressure on. Too much description at this point could slow the story down and give the reader a chance to breathe. Keep your language active and choose a few words that pack a lot of punch, rather than long strings of words that may paint a more gruesome picture but lose the emotional impact.

Of course, you may want to slow things down at some point to lull your victim into a false sense of security…right before you swing the axe!

How do you use fear in your writing? What genre do you write? Let us know in the comments.

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About Bob

Eldred Bird writes contemporary fiction, short stories, and personal essays. He has spent a great deal of time exploring the deserts, forests, and deep canyons inside his home state of Arizona. His James McCarthy adventures, Killing Karma, Catching Karma, and Cold Karma, reflect this love of the Grand Canyon State even as his character solves mysteries amidst danger. Eldred explores the boundaries of short fiction in his stories, The Waking Room, Treble in Paradise: A Tale of Sax and Violins, and The Smell of Fear.

When he’s not writing, Eldred spends time cycling, hiking, and juggling (yes, juggling…bowling balls and 21-inch knives).

His passion for photography allows him to record his travels. He can be found on Twitter or Facebook, or at his website.

Top Image by Enrique via Pixabay