Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Dry Spell

Am I obsessed with the rain? Well, actually I'm not talking about that today. It's more writing thoughts.

You see, some people think of writing as a hobby, or an easy thing to do. Ha. They must not have ever sat down to write a 400 page novel. Now, that takes work.

How, you say?

Let me explain a little.

  1. How do writers come up with their ideas?
Examples from my own writing life:

My romance series: I needed an idea. I'd written other genres, but not strictly a romance. I kept thinking and praying about it, for about a month. One day, I thought about three friends in a small town.

Now that's really unique, huh? So what could I do to spice that thought up? Hmmm.
Here's what I came up with:

A modern claw hammer

First friend: Italian, loves to cook, loves antique cars and simplicity. She inherited from her father the love of wood and his carpenter business. The man? A new, just moved to town, history professor/writer who is both set in his ways, a little bit grouchy, and anti-women because of a previous bad marriage that ended with his wife's violent death.

Chefs in training in Paris

Second friend: Stunning, elegant woman who studied to be a professional pianist but was sidetracked by her first husband. She'd thought he was a dream, but he turned out to be a nightmare. With the insurance money from his death, she opens a semi-classy restaurant. The only thing, she can't cook. Her man? A British chef who is both charming, talented, and a flirt.

Musical box with dancing Ballerina

Third friend: Country girl who considers herself plain, but doesn't make the best use of what she has. She co-owns, with her brother, a junk/unusual/antique shop that she loves. Inside the shop is a ballerina music box that she thinks resembles her life: forever spinning, but never going anywhere. She loves to write plays and her secret dream: a knight who rides up and sweeps her off her feet. Her man? A gentle, talented, local artist who she does not want.

See? Three stories all character driven. Without these six characters (the men play a huge part), there can not be a story. Sure, I have setting and plots, but the characters are what makes the stories.

From these three simple, basic descriptions I developed three shorter novels that I love. Didn't think I could do it, but they're done and the third and last one will be sent to my agent this week.

There you have No. 1 of a possible scenario to building a novel.

That's enough of that. If you're not too bored, they'll be more later . . .



Quote:
Faith that the thing can be done is essential to any great achievement. --Thomas N. Carruther



Blessing

2 comments:

Belinda2 said...

Your perseverance will pay off!!!

Caroline said...

I hope so! I try to trust God for His timing, although I want it NOW. LOL

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