Writers in the Storm

by Lynette M. Burrows

When you ask a writer what they do, the answer is often “I write” or “I write stories.” But that’s not entirely true. Writers create and solve problems, we create characters, a time, a place, a mood, and more. All of those things are parts of a story, yes. And they come together as a story, but the story in your head, the words you put on paper (electronic or otherwise), only sets up the rules of the story. Your reader accepts those rules and interprets the story in her own way. 

What are the Rules?

There are rules about how to construct a story. Rules about when to introduce characters and who comes first. There are rules about genre and pacing and all the other parts of the story, but those aren’t the rules of your story.

The rules we’re talking about aren’t about how the story is constructed. The rules of your story are in the words you put on the page. Words that describe character, tone, theme, time and place, conflicts, strengths and weaknesses. Your reader picks up on the rules as she reads. How your reader interprets your words tells her what these rules are. 

 Be warned, if you don’t follow those rules, you will lose your reader. 

Writing is Not the Reverse of Reading

Much of what a reader experiences when she reads a book is not on the page. Read that sentence again. 

It has been scientifically proven that when a person reads fiction, it causes changes in the left temporal cortex of the brain. The left temporal cortex is an area of the brain associated with responsiveness to language and the primary area of nerves that involve both sensory and motor functions. 

These changes caused by reading fiction are called embodied cognition. More simply, the neurons in the brain trick the mind into thinking it’s actually experiencing the story. 

That mind-over-matter trick our brains play when we read changes the words you’ve written into a story the reader experiences with details supplied by her memories and associated feelings. The words you’ve written trigger those memories and feelings, but they are not the same as the memories and feelings you experienced or thought of as you wrote the words. Nor are they the same as any other reader reading those same words

Set the Reader Up

What is a writer to do when the reader makes the rules? You  prime the pump, set the stage so to speak. In my post “Create a Compelling Plot with What-But-Therefore” I take use the story Rumpelstiltskin as an example. It’s a good example for reader’s rules as well. 

Example Set the Stage

The first lines of Rumpelstiltskin by the Grimm Brothers:

By the side of a wood, in a country a long way off, ran a fine stream of water, and upon the stream there stood a mill. 

How do you see that in your mind’s eye?

Does the “wood” surround the mill, stand beside it, behind it? A country a long way off may mean somewhere in Europe to someone in the US. But if you’re in Europe, do you see Great Britain or China or the US? What about if you’re in Australia?

A fine stream of water can be narrow or wide, deep or shallow. The word mill could mean a water-powered mill, a wind-powered mill, or a mule-powered mill. Where is the stream in relation to the mill? 

Now you may be thinking, how vague that is. But it’s a fairy tale that has lasted through the ages because it allows the reader to fill in the details around a timeless story. You’re probably thinking I’m writing something else. How vague do I need to be?

Write your first draft as something you enjoy reading. If you like a lot of descriptive details, include a lot of description. Prefer more action? Put in more action. 

Your second draft is where you want to be selective with you reader in mind. Don’t beat her over the head with an image you see. Select a few things that are important to the action or cause a deeper resonance with the theme or the character or the situation. Remove any details that don’t add something to your story.  

Example Set the Theme, Characters, and Problem

The miller’s house was close by, and the miller, you must know, had a very beautiful daughter. She was, moreover, very shrewd and clever; and the miller was so proud of her, that he one day told the king of the land, who used to come and hunt in the wood, that his daughter could spin gold out of straw. 

The author of this tale, as the Brothers Grimm set it down, is sparse in the details he gives. Yet, by the third sentence, we know or infer a lot about this world, the time period, the relationships between the king, the miller, and his daughter. And we have a strong hint of what the story problem is. There are no extraneous details. The reader is left to imagine what the characters look like. She infers that the miller loves his daughter. She muses that the miller has some kind of relationship with the king because he told the king about his daughter.  Suspicions swirl in her head that the miller’s pride in his daughter will get someone in trouble. Finally, because the tone and the words in a country a long way off, the reader expects this to be a folktale or fable.

Example Set the Tone

Every word you use in your story, helps set the tone. In Rumpelstiltskin, we’re told the king is greedy and he sends for the daughter and says if she values her life, she’ll spin a pile of straw into gold 

It was in vain that the poor maiden said that it was only a silly boast of her father, for that she could do no such thing as spin straw into gold: the chamber door was locked and she was left alone. 

The reader takes those words and envisions the beautiful, shrewd and clever daughter begging the king to understand. The reader can feel how distraught the daughter is when she sits down in one corner of the room and bewails her hard fate.  

Note the word choices, in vain, silly boast, chamber door, locked, and left alone. They all convey tone that builds the tension in this story. There are no extra words to fill in the details. Yet, the reader sees this story in her mind’s eye. If she’s hooked into the story, she experiences embodied cognition and lives the story.

Trust Your Reader's Interpretation

The modern-day reader is typically more sophisticated than the original Rumpelstiltskin audiences. They may or may not be hooked enough in the Brothers Grimm version of the story. But the lesson this tale gives is that the writer must trust the reader to pick up on the set up you’ve penned. The original author of this tale set up the action and the conclusion of this story in such a way that their readers are willing participants and satisfied readers.

The miller’s daughter becomes queen and the droll-looking little man who spun the straw into gold for a price returns and demands her first born child. She shrewdly makes a deal, if she guesses the little man’s name within three days she shall keep the child.

She sends out messengers to find names. The first day guesses all the names she could remember. The second day she guesses comical names. Finally, a messenger returns with a story and a name. 

The reader knows the queen has won the bet and keeps reading for the victory.

If the originator of this tale had the daughter convince the king that the straw into gold was a boast, or she didn’t become queen, or as queen she gave up her child, or if she had the king’s men kill the little man, the rules of the story would be broken. This tale would not have survived as a spoken tale and never made it to the written tale we know. 

Never Break the Rules of the Story

The rules of a story have to do with reader expectations, genre tropes, and reader interpretation.  

The reader expects a story to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. She expects the miller’s daughter to be shrewd and clever, expects to feel a growing threat, and expects a shrewd and clever queen to win the day.

Your reader picks up your story because something about it intrigued her, made her believe that this book could transport her to a place and in a way that will entertain her. She absorbs the rules of the world, character, the problem. 

Your job as a writer is to never break those rules. An out of place detail, a poorly chosen word can jolt your reader out of the story. Don’t make your characters act in uncharacteristic ways (without a compelling reason). Don’t have a story solution appear when your main character hasn’t won a hard-fought battle, or lost something, or learned something. 

Edit for the Reader

The first draft is yours. It can be all the things you want it to be.

Your second draft is for the reader. The story is no longer yours (unless you never intend to publish it). Take off your my-story-my-baby “writer” hat and put on a more objective, best-version-of-the-story “editor” hat. 

Edit away any of your first draft hesitations. If you think a particular line or scene is very clever, re-examine it. Does it add value beyond cleverness? If not, cut it. Cut ruthlessly. Add judiciously. And always keep the rules of your story and your reader in mind.

Mold your story into a version that allows your reader to experience the story her way. 

How Does the Writer Know the Reader’s Rules?

A good writer’s group that critiques in a constructive way can help you figure out when something doesn’t ring true. The group may identify a specific thing as wrong but it’s important for you the writer to look at how that fits with the bigger picture. 

It’s also important to get feedback on more than a few pages at a time. First readers willing to read the complete manuscript and give you feedback can be invaluable in helping you see where you’ve bent or broken the rules of your story. Value the questions they have. Evaluate the places they say are slow, difficult, or unbelievable. 

Honor the reader. Honor the story.  Remember that whatever you show in the beginning of the story establishes the rules of the world and the characters of that story. Create rules that invite your readers to immerse themselves in the story.

Your story should be a gateway, a road map, not a catalogue of details. Set the stage with the right rules and sensory detail and your story will set your reader’s neuron’s alight and she’ll experience your story in the best possible way. 

Have you read a story where the author broke the story’s rules? Did you finish that story? 

How do you ensure your story’s rules are never broken? 

About Lynette

Lynette M. Burrows is an author, blogger, creativity advocate, and Yorkie wrangler. She survived moving seventeen times between kindergarten and her high school graduation. This alone makes her uniquely qualified to write an adventure or two.

Her Fellowship series takes place in 1961 Fellowship America where autogyros fly and following the rules isn’t optional. It’s a “chillingly realistic” alternate history and a story of unimagined heroism. Books one and two, My Soul to Keep, and  If I Should Die, are available everywhere books are sold online. Book three, And When I Wake, is scheduled to be published in 2024.

Lynette lives in the land of OZ. She is a certifiable chocoholic and coffee lover. When she’s not blogging or writing or researching her next book, she avoids housework and plays with her two Yorkshire terriers. You can find Lynette online on Facebook, or Twitter @LynetteMBurrows or on her website.

Image Credits

First image by Yuri from Pixabay

Middle collage by Lynette M. Burrows with photos by Enrique, Daniel. and Alfred from  Pixabay

Final image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay

by Colleen M. Story

Few things in the writing life are absolute. What kind of book should you write? It depends on your interests, passions, and skills. How should you market your book? There are many ways. You have to choose those that work for you.

After over 25 years of making my living writing, however, I’ve learned a few things that I know you shouldn’t do, no matter what kind of writer you are. Here’s hoping these will help save you a few decisions, anyway!

1. Never sit—or stand—at the computer for too long.

Sitting too long is horrible for your health. It’s been linked to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even early death. Standing is no panacea, either. If you stand too long, you put yourself at risk for leg pain, circulation issues, back pain, joint problems, and more.

What’s the solution? Move…a lot. Or at least, more than you are now.

Tip:

Set a timer and every 30 minutes or so, switch up your position. I have a standing option at my desk and a regular office chair. I stand for 30 minutes or so, then sit on the office chair, then go back to standing. About every hour, I go get a fresh glass of water and walk around for a minute. Later in the day, I’ll work on my notebook computer in the easy chair, which offers a third position.

You may have other options in your writing area. Make use of them all. The key is to move, shift, and change positions.

Note: While standing, avoid shoulder pain by making sure your keyboard is low and slanted away from you. (Read more about that in my post, “How to Stop Your Computer from Hurting Your Shoulders.”)

2. Never worry about how you “should” write.

Some writers outline, some writers don’t. We’re plotters or pantsers, they say, and the general idea is that we should all live and let live.

But I have attended workshops where reputable teachers declared outlining was the “only” way. As a result, I spent considerable time questioning my own “pantsing” writing process.

It was only when I heard about successful writers who eschewed outlining—including Stephen King and Margaret Atwood—that I realized my approach was okay. What a relief!

You have to work with your own creative process, whatever that is. Don’t waste time trying to write like someone else writes. Learn all you can about story structure, plot, characterization, etc., but when it comes to actually doing the thing, just to get the words down on paper however you can.

Tip:

Write in a way that makes writing fun. You’re likely in this for the long run, so you want to be sure you’re enjoying the ride.

3. Never allow others to determine how important your writing is.

Several writers have told me that they struggle to find time to write because someone else in their life (significant other, family member, friend) fails to support them.

These "others" see writing as a hobby or trivial activity. They may interrupt the writer during her writing time, put the writer down for investing time in such a “useless” activity, or otherwise discourage the writer from pursuing her dreams.

We can’t expect others to understand the desire to write or the dream of being a writer when they don’t share those same desires and dreams. We can be grateful for those people in our lives who do support us, but we can’t allow those who don’t to stop us.

In the end, the person whose support you need most is staring at you in the mirror. Don't let that person down.

Tip:

If you have someone in your life who doesn’t support your writing dreams, stick to your guns. Establish a writing time and don’t allow it to be interrupted. Don’t feel like you have to explain yourself. How you spend your time is up to you!

4. Never stop pursuing your own path.

One of the magical things about having a creative career is the immense freedom that comes with it. You get to determine the direction of that career. You can use your strengths and skills to fashion a unique niche that is all yours and continue to build your brand throughout the rest of your life.

Believing there are only two or three paths to success is shortsighted. There are countless ways writers have created success for themselves. Some focus strictly on writing books. Others write books and do other things like teach, present workshops, coach, freelance, and more. Still others put their writing to work for nonprofit organizations or find ways to combine their love of writing with other types of art like photography, painting, and music.

What works for you? It takes a lot of experimentation, but that’s half the fun!

Tip:

Focus on what you do best. Put your unique talents, skills, and interests together to create an author platform that will attract readers to your work. Stay open to how your career can grow and expand. (For more tips on using your strengths to build your platform, see Writer Get Noticed!)

5. Never expect too much from your writing.

When we first start writing, usually it’s because we’re drawn to it. It’s fun, therapeutic, a creative outlet, an escape, or a way to better communicate with others. For a while, we’re okay with that.

But then somewhere along the way, we start expecting our writing to do more for us. It has to earn money— not just some money, but enough so we can quit our day jobs. It has to bring us attention and recognition. It has to soothe the wounds inside us. It has to make us feel better about ourselves.

That's when the problems start because there's no way that writing can do all of these things. When we expect it to, we set ourselves up for disappointment. That path leads to writer's block, discouragement, low energy, and slowed progress.

Tip:

If you find yourself getting wrapped up in sales, marketing, awards, publication contracts, fame, numbers of subscribers, and all the rest to the detriment of your writing, give yourself a month to let it all go. Forget about all that stuff and just get back to writing for the fun of it. Remind yourself of why you started writing in the first place.

6. Never neglect exercise.

It’s not easy to consistently find time to work out. But as a long-term health writer, I know one thing for sure: exercise is the one thing you can do that will help you stay healthy, disease-free, and creatively sharp for years to come.

Exercise not only keeps your body in shape but your mind as well. Whenever you exercise, you get the blood flowing, which feeds your brain what it needs to focus.

Research has found that regular exercise helps improve thinking, memory, mood, attention, and more. It also gives you energy, so if you’re often fatigued, step up your daily walks! And if you want to keep your fingers flying over those keys until you’re 80 or older, make sure you’re exercising at least 30 minutes every day.

Tip:

If you’re having trouble exercising, take more mini-walks during the day. They can last only 10 minutes as long as you get at least three of them in (more is better). Try walking for 10 minutes first thing in the morning, on your lunch break, and after dinner.

7. Never underestimate how challenging it can be.

I don't think any writer, when first starting out, can imagine how difficult the journey is likely to be. She starts to learn as she begins to experience the bumps in the road, and then the potholes, and then the nasty roadblocks. It's the way it goes for most of us and we get through it. The problem comes when a writer thinks, "It should be easier than this.”

I get it. You see other writers succeeding out there, and it seems like you should be able to do the same thing. What you don’t see, however, is how hard or how long those other writers worked to get where they are. You don’t see the skills they developed, the mistakes they made, or the challenges they overcame.

Imagine what it takes to succeed at any other career: to become a doctor, a lawyer, a professor, or a scientist. It takes years and years of education, commitment, and hard work. It takes just as much if not more effort to become a successful writer. In many cases, writing requires more of us, as there is no clear-cut path to the top. We have to flounder around, experiment, try and fail, and try again before we figure it out.

It’s not easy. Expecting it to be so only causes angst. Instead, expect a hard, long, arduous journey, but one that is well worth it for most writers.

Tip:

Carry your struggles with pride. Another rejection? Welcome to the club. Bad review? We’ve all been there. You’re part of the group. You’re amassing your scars. One day, you’ll tell stories about them. Hang in there. Don’t give up.

Do you have things you think writers should definitely not do?

Note: Get a free report plus free chapters of Colleen’s award-winning books for writers here!

About Colleen

Colleen M. Story is a novelist, freelance writer, writing coach, and speaker with over 20 years in the creative writing industry. Her latest novel, The Beached Ones, was released with CamCat Books on July 26, 2022. Her previous novel, Loreena's Gift, was a Foreword Reviews INDIES Book of the Year Awards winner, among others. Colleen has written three books to help writers succeed: Your Writing Matters, Writer Get Noticed, and Overwhelmed Writer Rescue. You can find free chapters of these books here. Find more at her author website (colleenmstory.com) or connect with her on Twitter (@colleen_m_story) and YouTube (@ColleenMStoryteller).

Top Image by Kai Pilger on Unsplash

By Lori Freeland

There are many crucial parts to putting a story together. But most writing teachers will tell you the key to catching and keeping readers is to build an emotional connection. One way to make  that happen is through authenticity—of your characters, their arcs and relationships, and how they react to the world around them. Write characters who feel like real people. This includes who they are, the way they interact with others, and how they handle relationships and events.

3 Quick Tips to Create Authenticity:

1. Keep your character in character, or give them a reason not to be.

Once we’ve gotten to know someone, we expect them to act certain ways. It’s the same with characters. If they do stray from what a reader expects, show us why. Your character can do almost anything—as long as you give them believable and credible motivations. Readers go along with what they understand and see for themselves. 

Example

Setup: Sue’s neighbor John asks her to watch his dog. The reader knows Sue dislikes John and believes she’ll say no to anything he asks.

Instead, she says, “Of course, I’ll watch your dog.”

Without motivation, it feels like the writer made a mistake in not being consistent with Sue’s character. In this case, a little internal thought from her goes a long way.

Try this easy fix:

“Of course, I’ll watch your dog.” The dog wasn’t the problem.

Remember to limit internal thought to your POV character. The reader can only be “in the head” of the character telling the story in that scene. For more on POV, see P-O-What? Understanding Point of View.

How do we believably show a non-POV character acting out of character?

We can go back to Sue (the POV character) and her perception of what’s happening with John (our non-POV) by giving him actions, expressions, or voice cues to help her and the reader figure out that more is going on behind his words. This is called subtext. For more information, see Margie Lawson’s post Know Subtext? Got Subtext on the Page?

Setup: John asks Sue to watch his dog. The reader knows John hates Sue. His ask feels off unless we see that things aren’t normal.  

Try this fix:

Sue looked up from the book she’d been reading on her front porch to find her annoying neighbor John standing in her yard.

“I have to go out of town tonight. Last-minute.” The words rushed, he glanced down. Back up. Shoved his hands into his pockets. “Could you possibly keep my dog?”

Her response should be a dismissive no. Except, he looked haggard. Worn down. Totally unlike his usual, annoying, whatever-happens self. The fact that he was even in her yard felt off.  

So the word that came out of her mouth instead was a soft “yes.”  

2. Keep your character credible.  

Ask yourself this question. If my character was a real person in a real situation, how would they respond? Be careful not to just throw in how you would respond. It’s not about you. 

Example: If a man comes home and finds his wife dead, he isn’t going to shower and have dinner like nothing happened.

Unless… he paid someone to kill her, and he’s planning to admire the handiwork before he disposes of the body.

Example: If Tina’s house burns down and her family dies, she’s not going to be at a coffee shop the next day laughing with friends.

Unless... she set the fire and has a major mental illness.

3. Keep your character in the moment.

Sometimes writers are absorbed in moving the story along, and they don’t stop to think about how someone would appropriately react to events, triggers, words, or turning points in a story.

For the most part, people react in this order:

• they feel emotions/visceral reactions/physical sensations (sinking feeling/pain)
• they act (fall into a chair/lash out at someone/step back)
• they think (this is not happening/what am I going to do)

Depending on what a character’s reacting to, you might only need one of these. But if it’s important news, a trigger, a major event, or a turning point, you might have all three. Using the correct order helps the reaction feel less “clinical” and more real.

Example

Here’s an unrealistic reaction.

Set-up: Shy teen Jess wrote a love story that went viral even though she’s never been kissed. When an escalator in a hotel lobby dumps her into desperate TV heartthrob Gabe—and his spotlight—he decides she’ll be the perfect escape from his fans.

Heat from his palms sizzle through my dress. He leans so close his mouth grazes my ear. “Do a desperate guy a favor?”

“W-what?” The smell of fresh laundry and the hotel shower gel combine into kryptonite that buckles my knees.

His hands hold me up, but he pulls back, and I can see his face. His fifty-watt grin comes with its very own set of to-die-for dimples. “Baby,” he says. “I’ve missed you.” Then tilts his head, closes his eyes, and presses his mouth to mine.

And hijacks my very first kiss.

The last line (in bold) skips her reaction entirely and disappoints the reader. This kiss is a big deal. It won’t be a big deal to the reader if we don’t show it being a big deal to Jess. The way she feels, what she does, and what she thinks will depend on who she is as a person.

Try this instead:

My world slips sideways, and I know I’ve written Sara and Dante’s first kiss in Haunted all wrong. I never mentioned the shivers that pour over Sara’s skin at the same time her body flushes. I didn’t describe the flutter in her stomach as Dante’s lips brush hers. I left out the very real urge for her toes to curl when he flattens his palms against her back. I’d given their kiss a paltry paragraph when it deserved an entire freaking page.

Because up until now, Jessica Thorne—the girl who’s penned thousands of words and hundreds of pages of romance—has never, ever been kissed. Not even once.

Writing authentic characters that connect with readers doesn’t have to be hard. It just takes thought and practice. Being aware that there may be an issue is the first step.

Take out your work in progress and find a place where your characters should react. Are they believable? Credible? Do they feel real? If yes, way to go! If no, here’s your chance to sharpen your writing skills and make that interaction stronger.

Let me know if you think writing authentic is hard or easy. Do you have any tips or tricks? I’d love to know. Leave me a comment.  

About Lori

Lori Freeland wrote her first story at age five. It wasn’t good. But it left her with a firm belief that everyone has a story to tell. An author, editor, and writing coach, she holds a BA in psychology from The University of Wisconsin and lives in the Dallas area. She’s presented multiple workshops at conferences across the country and writes articles, novels, and everything in between. When she’s not curled up with her husband and dogs drinking too much coffee and worrying about her adult kids, she loves to mess with the lives of the imaginary people living in her head. You can visit her at lorifreeland.com or lafreeland.com.  

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Some accidents were meant to be. 

Gabe isn’t a werewolf. He just plays one on TV. 

Jess isn’t a guy magnet. She just writes about teen romance. 

TV heartthrob Gabriel Wade has never met a party he couldn’t rock, a problem he couldn’t dodge, or a crowd he couldn’t play. Homeschooled Jessica Thorne has never met a party she couldn’t wallflower, a problem she couldn’t stress over, or a crowd she couldn’t escape. But they both know what it’s like to lose someone—someone who’s still here. 

After a hotel escalator dumps Jess into Gabe’s spotlight and he unknowingly hijacks her first kiss, he decides she’ll be the perfect decoy for the paparazzi—if he can convince her to play his “girlfriend of the week.” Jess wants nothing to do with TV’s Hottest Hairball or his Hollywood ego. And by the time she figures out he isn’t who she thought, it might be too late to admit she needs him as much as he needs her. Even if he wants her for real. 

Buy it on Amazon today

Lori Freeland author/editor/writing coach   lorifreeland.com (young adult & contemporary romance fiction)  lafreeland.com (inspirational blog & resources for writers)  Buy Now | Amazon Author Page

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Top image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay