Writers in the Storm

by Christina Delay

Ten years ago I was newly married, living in a new city, sans kids, and alone a LOT as the hubs was starting a new business. My community existed of my husband, a betta fish named Albie, and a hyper puppy named Trogdor the Burninator.

I turned to writing. 

In the past ten years, my writing has turned from a hobby to a career, led to starting a creatively driven business, and most important of all, opened the floodgate to a tribe of friends that I am eternally grateful for.

Writing does not have to be lonely. 

In fact, it’s much better when it’s not. 

How to find your writing tribe

[Note: You might call it a community, team, posse, clan. Insert your favorite word for your peeps as you read on!]

First of all, you kinda have to leave your house.

I know, I know. Introverts Unite. Trust me. Totally get it.

While you can find people to connect with online, and that’s exactly how one of my strongest tribes started, eventually, you need to be in the same room with your tribe.

Some suggestions:

• Join a writing association near you
• Attend a writing workshop or conference
• Try an in-person critique group
• Invite a writer in your community to do writing sprints in your local coffee shop
• Take on a new writing buddy on a trial-only basis
• Join online Facebook groups of other authors with either similar goals or similar genre—and start a local meet up once a month
• Start with a small group that you can connect with (it’s why I keep our Cruising Writers Retreats small!)

Benefits of a writing tribe

I’ve been reminded about how grateful I am for my writing tribe recently. 

With the release of my new book, Song of Destiny, they not only cheered for me, but they ran contests and giveaways, invited me to post in and takeover their reader groups, wrote cover blurbs for me, shared my release with their readers and friends...all without me even asking.

They also helped me work through some major issues I’m having with a book I’m drafting. And went with me to visit a grave.

The grave and the book are related.

When you’re facing writer’s block, self-doubt, dead-end plots, self-doubt, cliche storylines, self-doubt, creative burnout, self-doubt, your tribe will be there for you. And you’ll be there for them.

They’ll remind you that you can actually write and that you don’t have to struggle alone.

• They will visit cemeteries with you.
• They will love you through your comma deficiencies.
• They will be up from brainstorming, with very little bribing (coffee, tea, wine, and chocolate are all usually acceptable bribes).
• They will cheer for you when you win.
• They will cry with you when you don’t.
• They will big your biggest cheerleader (and if they’re not, they’re not your tribe).
• They will share writing experience—what worked for them, what didn’t.
• They’ll be real with you.
• They won’t be afraid to tell you that YCDB—you can do better.
• They will lift you up with them.
• They will read your pages and re-read your pages and re-read your pages and re-read your pages. 
• They will make this writing journey unbelievably life-affirming, joyful, and fun.

Do you have a tribe like that? If not, don’t worry. They are out there.

Take the next step and kiss your fears goodbye

Finding a writing tribe can be a trial and error process spread over many years. For most of us, it won’t happen overnight. It takes a lot to learn to be vulnerable with people, from our selves to our stories. 

Just remember, the first step of any journey is often the scariest. But take it, and it’ll make the rest so much easier. Here's a link to a fun, motivational video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d05jHfRVuKE

If you’ve already found your writing support team, congratulations! Would you be willing to share how you found your tribe?

About Christina

Christina Delay is the hostess of Cruising Writers as well as an award-winning author of Young Adult Fantasy and Adult Suspense. She may also have a new series out under a pen name. When she's not cruising the Caribbean, she's dreaming up new writing retreats to take talented authors on or giving into the demands of imaginary people to tell their stories.

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About Cruising Writers

Cruising Writers brings writers together with bestselling authors, an agent, and a world-renowned writing craft instructor writing retreats around the world. Cruise with us to the Bahamas this November with Alexandra Sokoloff of the internationally-renowned Screenwriting Tricks for Fiction Authors, Kerry Anne King—Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author, and Michelle Grajkowski of 3 Seas Literary.

Oh, I know there are those of you who won't agree with me. You'll say plot is more important. I'll make my case with the beginnings of two popular plot-heavy stories.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

"When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth, but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course she did. This is the day of the reaping."

I love this opening - it tells you so much. About the character, setting and even a foreshadowing of what's to come. The whole first chapter lays out the world, and so much about Katniss, just by showing how she interacts with it. Brilliant.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis

"ONCE there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids. They were sent to the house of an old Professor who lived in the heart of the country, ten miles from the nearest railway station and two miles from the nearest post office. He had no wife and he lived in a very large house with a housekeeper called Mrs Macready and three servants. (Their names were Ivy, Margaret and Betty, but they do not come into the story much.) He himself was a very old man with shaggy white hair which grew over most of his face as well as on his head, and they liked him almost at once; but on the first evening when he came out to meet them at the front door he was so odd-looking that Lucy (who was the youngest) was a little afraid of him, and Edmund (who was the next youngest) wanted to laugh and had to keep on pretending he was blowing his nose to hide it."

ALL character.

Only two examples, but you get the idea. So WHY is it so important to start with a character?

Imagine this. You're on your way to to work, and you come upon a car accident in an intersection. Two cars, head on. Glass and debris scattered everywhere. What do you think/feel?

• Hope no one has been hurt
• Has someone called 911?
• There's a bad start to someone's day
• Great, this is going to slow me down
• Where are the cops?

But what do you think/feel if you recognize one of the cars - it's your best friend's! BAM! Whole new level of stress, right?

That's the difference with starting your scene with 'crisis' as opposed to 'conflict'. Conflict is always better (conflict requires character). Think about it: If we don’t empathize with the character, we don’t care what happens to them.

And it only takes a detail or two.

Example:

 Alarm jangling, she cranked the wheel right to full-stop, but the river still expanded in the windshield. Shit. She was going in. There’d be no help; she was the only one stupid enough to be out in an ice storm. But her swelling eye care of Brad’s fury made that impossible. When you decide you’re finally leaving for good, you don’t check the weather first.

Are you invested in this character getting out alive? Yes. Why? You have empathy for her situation. In one paragraph, you understand her motivation, goal and conflict. It's not hard to do - see how a few details make all the difference?

When I'm writing, I always start from character. I may even have a scene in my mind, but the character comes first - that way, I'm assured constant conflict. Because the plot becomes making them face their worst fears, right? I've written:

An orphan who learned early and well, not to trust her and her sister's lives with anyone. After she has to turn her sister over to mental health professionals, the only opportunity she has is for a career where she has to rely on others for her safety. Days Made of Glass

A former Army medic with PTSD can't work with soldiers in pain anymore. She cares too much. She takes a job with Sports Medicine for the Professional Bull Riders, because she'll never care about spoiled, overpaid sports stars. Except her logic doesn't work. Sweet on You

A damaged young woman, running from a Cartel, takes a job in a small town where she meets a Navajo who's determined to help his tribe and keep his bloodline pure. She can't stay - he can't let her go. Home at Chestnut Creek

I promise, if you start with character first, you'll always have enough conflict to last the entire book.

Do you start with plot or character when you start a story? Why?

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The second in Laura's Chestnut Creek Series, Home at Chestnut Creek, released July 2. It's getting fantastic reviews! Just click on the photo to get more info.

by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Deep point of view is powerful and engaging though many find it difficult to do well. The basic techniques of deep point of view have been simplified in blog posts that will heap loads of overconfidence on newer writers. 

The difficult part of learning deep point of view is in knowing when and where to go deep and which tools to use to create the desired effect. In my 5-week course and in my 16-week critique group on learning deep point of view, the phrase I write probably more than any other in my feedback is “go deeper.” 

Start With The Why!

What does your character want? What do they want/desire/crave/seek so desperately that they’ll go to the very edge of sanity and safety to achieve? This can’t be a nebulous “I want to be happy” or “I want to be successful.” This has to be personal, specific, and powerful. This has to be measurable in a tangible way and the stakes must be high. Jami Gold likes to say, “Can they hold it in their hand?” Can you hold happy in your hand? Can you hold success? No. Go deeper.

Lisa Cron calls it the “live wire” of the story. James Scott Bell has a book about starting from the middle and working backwards to find the core desire – what I call their WHY. Donald Maass calls it the girding of the story structure. Find a teacher who explains this in a way that makes sense to you and figure it out character by character. 

Deep point of view is all about the WHY!

Surprise The Reader

Nothing is worse for a reader than predicting how the story is going to go. Snooozefest! Find several key places that you want to be emotional gut-punches for the character. Usually, these line up with major plot points. Write out 3 – 5 different ways the character could react to that situation.

(There’s no right or wrong answer here, don’t get caught up in that mindset.)

The first couple of responses are easy. Keep going until the character gives you an emotion that surprises you. Explore that. Ask them why they feel that way. Why do they feel justified in feeling that way? How would a better/stronger person feel – and what does that say about the character? How would their father/mother react or feel in this situation – why do they feel like they have to follow/avoid that feeling? How would they have reacted to this situation 6 months ago, a year ago, ten years ago – what’s changed?

You might not use that surprising emotion in that scene, but I’ve always learned something important about the character I didn’t know before that I use elsewhere. 

Having said all this, sometimes you employ strategic telling, or a narrower point of view, to give the reader a sense of losing track of time, time passing quickly, out of body/mind experience, seeing life flash in front of their eyes, etc. To know which to use, you have to know what you want to convey to the reader and then use the appropriate tool.

Are You Willing To Go There?

Any emotion your character feels, probably – mostly likely, you’ve also felt. We’ve all been angry, frustrated, betrayed, disappointed, grieved, etc. You know how those emotions feel, learn to amplify that emotion to the situation your character is in. The difficult part of deep pov is reliving those hard emotions with enough intensity to write them authentically. Ask yourself: How did it feel? How does my body react when I let that emotion well up? Am I tense or stiff? Where? Where does the emotion sit – would it be the same for my character? What chain reaction is set off if that emotion is left unaddressed? What does society say about expressing that emotion?

This is where writers check out, in my experience. Most of the time, writers don’t go deep enough into their own emotions. They hold back for fear of being too vulnerable or too dramatic, don’t realize how crucial it is to explore, or can’t be bothered. Your character is not you, but your willingness to explore an emotion you’ve felt adds authenticity that grabs readers by the throat.

Always be safe, particularly if you’re exploring emotions associated with past traumas or hurts. Take a break when you need to. Talk about it with a friend or spouse. Go for a long walk, a run, an intense workout for an emotional reset. Be kind to yourself. 

Be Honest To The Journey

I think writers have a duty to portray emotions and emotional journeys authentically. Not only so that it rings true for readers, but to also to let readers step into another’s shoes for a moment. For instance, you don’t need to have PTSD to authentically write a character who does, but don’t skim. Don’t cheapen the emotional journey or experience of that condition.

“Fiction Is The Truth Inside The Lie.” Stephen King

**brings out soapbox**

For instance, touch may play a part in helping someone with PTSD feel safe or keep them grounded, and that’s authentic to capture for readers, however – the problem is in having the dysfunctional aspect of PTSD “cured” by a few good sexual encounters. Capture how touch helps solidify the trust or acceptance your character feels, that they feel safe (safer) with that person, show how that person helps them stay grounded or helps them shake off a nightmare, explore how touch intensifies the emotional connection – but I’ve not read anywhere that sex cures PTSD. To write a story where it does cheapens the experiences of those who actually struggle with this and cheats those who read your work and think it actually works that way. I’m picking on PTSD because awareness of it has risen in recent years as well as the popularity of it among writers, but when proper research isn’t done it comes off as a trite condition and it’s not. 

**puts away soapbox – clears throat**

The truth is in the details as much as the devil! Writers sometimes write too much detail (the devil), but many times with deep point of view, strategic use of detail (the truth) is what delivers the emotional gut-punch you’re looking for. The difficult part comes in learning to see whether you’re writing truth or giving the reins to the devil in any given scene. 

Once you go deep, there’s no going back. *grin* Is there one of these aspects of writing in deep point of view that’s more difficult for you than another? 

Make sure to join my free 5 Day Deep Point Of View Challenge group on Facebook (make sure to answer the questions to get in). The next challenge is in October 2019 – get personal and specific feedback from me, plus lessons on deep point of view – for five days! No strings.

About Lisa

Lisa Hall-Wilson is a national award-winning freelance journalist and author who loves mentoring writers. Fascinated by history, fantasy, romance, and faith, Lisa blends those passions into historical and historical-fantasy novels. Find Lisa’s blog, Beyond Basics for intermediate writers,  at www.lisahallwilson.com. 

Join Lisa’s deep point of view challenge group. Three to four times a year, participate in free training on writing effectively in deep point of view – https://www.facebook.com/groups/5daydeeppovchallenge/