Writers in the Storm

by Charlotte Carter

As a writer, we all want to write a satisfying ending that will leave the reader sighing with pleasure. So here are a couple of tips to help you get to The End.

The ending of a story starts at the beginning of the story.

1. A character’s weaknesses and fears are established in the opening chapter(s). During the book the character will grow emotionally. At the black moment he fails to demonstrate that he’s learned his lesson, his character arc is not yet complete. The climax follows when he does make the right choice, (makes a sacrifice, takes a risk) he makes a leap of faith that shows he has learned his lesson, and his arc is complete. The resolution is showing that he’s okay with this new decision.

2. Close the story circle by making the ending a reflection or a mirror image of the beginning; the characters have changed and grown but the framework of their existence remains the same. Their reactions/success change in part because of who they have become.

In my book,  Between Duty and Honor - the impetus for the story is a firefighter dying in a warehouse fire (prior to opening). The hero of the story was unable to save that firefighter and subsequently falls in love with the deceased's widow; the ending swirls to its conclusion when the hero is able to save the heroine's child from a fire in the same derelict building.

In my runaway bride story (everybody writes one of those), in the opening scene she's trying on a fancy wedding gown; in the closing scene she's marrying someone else in a modest dress and the gown is en route to Goodwill.

I had the pleasure of writing THE END this morning to my upcoming book from Love Inspired, Big Sky Family (11/2011) and sent it off to my editor. In this case Arnie, the hero, with the help of a 'mentor,' comes to realize that despite the fact that he is a paraplegic, he is worthy to marry Ellie, the heroine. (Yes, I know it's a romance; in a romance the guy and gal always get together. That's the promise we romance authors make to our readers. It's how they get there that is the creative part.)

Happy endings to you all!

Books that leave you smiling by Charlotte Carter
  from Love Inspired:
    Big Sky Reunion, 4/2011
    Big Sky Family, 11/2011

Laura Drake

We all have them.  Things that make us crazy, whether we’re reading a novel for pleasure or critiquing a colleague’s work.  We’re readers first, and I believe these peeves are forged by what we’ve read; like Chinese water torture they fall, drop by drop, until you notice them and continuing until you can’t see anything else and want to throw the book across the room.

Mine?  I only have two.  But they’re so prevalent in genre fiction that they make me crazy!

First - adverbs.  Sadly, happily, quickly, slowly, hardly, completely – please, just stop!

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes in the middle of a quick-paced action scene, it’s all you can do.  But I’ve read published works that use at least one adverb per sentence, and that’s just lazy.

You don’t agree?  Let’s look at it.  I’ll use my own words as an example.

“She quickly hopped into the bed of the truck as the cattle trotted up, curious.”

First, you can’t physically quickly hop.  Hopping takes as long as it does – you’re in the air most of the time, right?  Try the sentence without the adverb.  Does it lose anything?  I don’t think so.

Do a “find” in one of your chapters for “ly” and highlight them all.  You’ll be stunned by how many there are.  Go through them one by one.  Is the adverb needed?  If so, consider rewriting the sentence to convey the meaning some other way – perhaps with body language.  It’s much more compelling.

My second peeve is dialog tags.  The ONLY time a tag is needed is when more than two people are present, and the reader wouldn’t be able to tell who is speaking without the tag.  Many times, your character has such a distinctive voice that the reader will know from his dialog who is saying the line.  Don’t believe me?  Check it out in your writing.  You may be surprised.

I know - the pundits say, “he/she said” is invisible to the reader.  But if so, why put it in?

Please, please, don’t get me started on adverbs in dialog tags!

“Can we leave now?” she asked hopefully.

Do not go there.  I’m a big girl – I can take you out.

What are your pet peeves?  I’d love to hear your rant.

By Sharla Rae

Most of us know author Charlaine Harris for her famous Sookie Stackhouse books which evolved into the True Blood series on Television. But she’s also written other series, the Harper Connelly Mystery series and the Lily Bard Mysteries. I just finished Grave Secrets, her 4th and possibly the last installment and on the Harper Connelly Mysteries.

Since being struck by lightning in her teens, Harper Connelly is capable of finding dead bodies. She receives an odd buzz in her head when she’s around them, and can tell how they died and when. She and her step-brother, Tolliver travel the country helping people find their lost loved ones and occasionally helping the police.

As Harper performs her cadaver-finding job, her horrible family background of trailer-trash, drug-dealing parents is gradually revealed. She doesn’t know if her parents are responsible for her sister’s long-ago disappearance or if the girl was the victim of rape and kidnapping. Nevertheless, she believes that just as she finds other dead bodies, she will one day be find her sister’s.

As in most series, there’s a common thread running through these books. Actually, in Harper’s books, there are two. The first thread is Harper’s missing sister and the quest to find her. The lesser thread is the growing romance between Harper and her stepbrother. These threads keep the reader guessing and panting for the next book.

I’d describe the Harper books as a spooky page turner in a “quiet” way. That doesn’t mean there’s less action. It means that as a reader I was invested in the characters more than the other elements. They are more real, more layered. I know them! Thus I understood their quests, their ups and downs, and their quirks. They suspended my beliefs and allowed me to exist in their world for a little while. And thank you Charlaine Harris for that!

In the 3^rd book, Grave Secret, the threads are tied up in a neat bow, all mysteries solved, romance resolved. So is that the end? Though I have no way of knowing for sure, I think not. Why? A psychic called Manfred emerged in the second book and reappeared in the last. He’s tantalizingly weird and funny and definitely deserves his own series. Maybe I’m psychic because I foresee great plots surrounding this character. We’ll see, I guess. Wanna take bets?

Visit Charlaine Harris at: http://www.charlaineharris.com/

PS: Just read that CBS is planning a TV series for Harper Connelley called Grave Site!