The wisdom of Samwise Gamgee

Frodo: I can't do this, Sam.

Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?

Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.”  

In watching Lord of the Rings, Samwise Gamgee taught me three things.

1. Never forsake a friend, no matter what.

2. There is always hope, even when things seem the darkest.

3. To always have strength in the face of adversity.



"There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tower high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."

When I first began writing my novel, I had no plans for my characters. I was thirteen and just writing a story for fun. It was going to be full of adventure and suspense and awesome battles and duplicity. It was only until after I had finished the book and began growing up myself that I discovered there was more to a story than just great plots.

Heart.

 

 

 

 

Embedding personality, appeal, and emotion into my characters proved to me more of an adventure than all the plotlines together. At first I had no idea what kind of personalities I even wanted them to have or what I wanted those personalities to accomplish.

 

"I don't know how to say it, but after last night I feel different. I seem to see ahead, in a kind of way. I know we are going to take a very long road, into darkness; but I know I can't turn back. It isn't right to see Elves now, nor dragons, nor mountains, that I want - I don't rightly know what I want: but I have something to do before the end, and it lies ahead, not in the Shire. I must see it through, sir, if you understand me."                

 

 

 

 



Gradually as I began to understand the development of characters in other books, movies, and people around me. The more I recognized certain quirks, traits, and behaviors, the more I was able to map out what kind of person I wanted to create in each of my characters.

 

When I first watched Lord of the Rings, I was struck my Samwise's part in the Trilogy. Basically, with no Sam, there is no story. At least, no story worth telling. Pretty sure it would all be doom and despair, because Frodo would have given in to the Ring and everything good would have been destroyed.

 

And I began to want to create characters like that. Characters that are indispensable. Irreplaceable.

 

It's quite fun.

 

:D

 

 

BACKSTORY

Backstory is important. REALLY important. It sets the stage for your characters and makes them who they are. It shows you why they are to be pitied, gives them loveable personalities, or legitimate reason to be scared to death of what’s going on in the world. Every character will have their own backstory, with its own purpose.

How do you create a backstory?

 

Take a look at your character. Do they have weaknesses? Desires? Do they understand something so deeply it’s uncanny? Pull them out of their shells and figure out why they have these traits. And create a story about it. Is Miguel terrified of escalators? Perhaps he tripped and fell out of one once. Does Brianna evidence strength, when we know she is not? Maybe she was hurt before and tries to protect herself by pretending to be strong.

Backstory as a history.

There is also the side of backstory that creates a better comprehension of the setting, the personality, or the way the character interacts with others.

It is usually slipped in during a part of the story where things won’t make sense unless you KNOW why a character is doing something or love/hates another character. And it will be important for the rest of the story. 

EXAMPLE of backstory being slipped into the present story: from In the Shadow, my current WIP.

Setting:

Ancient Rome, during the reign of Emperor Nero.

Two slaves, Cyrus and Merrie, whispering together in the dark of the stable.

Cyrus is trying to convince Merrie to share important information she has learned with their master. Merrie is scared to death of their master and doesn’t want to do it.



Word count: 415

© Pure Grace

 

Cyrus’s hand felt cold against her shoulder.

“It is the only way. You must see that! If you cannot go to Messalina and you do not want to speak to Claudia, you have to go to their father.”

Merrie’s breath streamed out and fogged in the damp stable air. “It won’t work,” she protested.

“You just have to try. Trust me. Very little works in Rome, when you are a slave.”

Merrie glanced at him sharply. He had not spoken like that in a long time. Almost since she had met him. She still remember the day he had been dragged into the Antistius courtyard, rough, angry, his raggedly uneven black hair blown over his forehead and into his eyes, wrists bound behind him, a spitting, red-hot flame burning in his eyes. She had been with Messalina, preparing to go to a party, and their litter was late. She had watched silently as he fought against the men who struggled to haul him toward the center of the courtyard, where Kaderus awaited them. Then one of the men struck Cyrus, sprawling him on his face. Blood gushed from his nose. Merrie had seen enough. Grey eyes large with distress, she had sprung away from Messalina and skidded to her knees beside the wild boy, covering his head and shoulders with her body.

“Out of the way, child!” one of the men shouted at her.

“Don’t hurt him!” she plead, helping him to his knees.

“Hotheads will get what they deserve. We will deal with him.”

“He won’t cause any more trouble.” She had looked up into Cyrus’s eyes and watched the flame slowly flicker, fighting against her, and then gently give up.

“Nay,” he had whispered huskily. “I won’t cause any more trouble.”

She had helped him to his feet, wiped his bloodied face and elbows with her clean sash, and then skipped back to Messalina, feeling light and exultant inside. His eyes had trailed her until one of the men prodded him in the ribs, reminding him to move. From that day on, they had been best friends.

“You just have to try,” Cyrus leaned back in the hay, wincing slightly as a straw pricked him. “It is your only chance.”

Merrie paused, trying to make sense of the mixed fear and longing inside her. She wanted to tell someone, so badly! Yet she dreaded facing Antistius. The darkness pressed around her. She stood up and planted her feet. “What you say is impossible.”

Backstory can be very pretty. It can impact you and help you feel more familiar the character. It can leave you feeling grief for them, make you relate to their anger, dig deep in your heart, or cause you to laugh at their outrageous stupidity.

But it can also be used unwisely. It can tell too much, solve too many plot intrigues, and explain more of the characters faults or virtues than need to be yet known. Sometimes too much is explained away too early and there is no more desire to read because we have all the answers about why the character is behaving the way they are.

Personally, I love a good backstory. I enjoy learning about the characters and feeling more akin to what is going on. I really like backstory that draws me into the character, and makes me wish things hadn’t happened, or at least happened differently, even though you can’t change them {and you know it’s just a story and can’t help wishing it had ended up different}. Stories such as Katniss’s father in The Hunger Games. You hate the fact that he died. When you read slips of the past slide between passages of compelling story, you cannot help but feel the depth of meaning behind what is happening.

How to construct backstory.

First of all, you have to feel the need. Is something missing from your character? Is there a trait that is unexplained or a part of the story void?

Then you need to decide what kind of backstory will fill it. Do you want the readers to be saddened by what happened? Confused? Maybe angry? Or maybe you need them to laugh. Create the backstory according to your hole.

A few weeks ago, I was editing a portion of In the Shadow. I was in chapter 17 {over half-way through the book!} and reached a place where a character was telling his own backstory. The purpose for the story was to make my MC feel a greater contempt for another character and a consuming pity for the storyteller. The backstory was neither compelling nor humorous. I ditched it, did my research, and came up with a story that is powerful, frustrating, and breathtaking. Something that will leave you in as many tears as the MC. {But I can’t share it, or else I will spoil too much. ;)}

Where to put your backstory.

Most of the time backstory will flow out of the story itself. When that moment arises that you need an explanation or emotion for your characters OR readers, it will just fit in. But other times, you may already have a backstory planned for your character and just pitching it in will confuse the reader. It will feel like a misfit and as much a throw in as it is.

First, decide what the backstory fulfills. What is its purpose? Why is it necessary? Then find out where in the story that need arises. Where does the character face that need? That will be the place to put it.

Making backstory captivating.

The best way to make your backstory interesting is to interrupt it. Fling the reader into the middle of a great history and then cut it off short by springing them back to the present. So, just as they get to the reason for the character’s pain, or distrust, or any other purpose for the backstory, it is cut off and unanswered. Not only will they be frustrated fascinated, but they are going to want to know what happened and why, how it was solved and who did it…and keep reading.

And that of course, is every writer’s goal. ;)

Because backstory is so important, it has to be done well. Be careful about what you chose to put in and where. In most cases, you can feel safe in taking more out than leaving more in. Too much story can destroy the book. Too little? It might confuse your readers, but it will not take away from the story.

 

I hope you have fun creating your backstories!



Do or Do Not

Sometimes there are days when you just don't feel like writing. It has nothing to do with writer's block, headaches, business....or anything at all. You just don't feel like it.

I've been having one of those weeks. Or was it two?

Nothing seemed to be extraorindarily inspiring. I did some writing on my book here and there, but I just wasn't there.

I'm at that stage where all I am doing is editing. And editing. And editing some more. And if I don't feel like it, I don't do it.

Ha.

I tried made myself work.



And then discovered when I write by compulsion...its pretty much appalling.

There is a fine line to writing. You can't just go do it. You have to be able to feel what you are doing, get the flow, the mood. It's not something to be done by force.

Yes, I know. There are days when you just need to stick your rear in the chair and write because you are merely procrastinating.

Yet, there are days to take a break. Writing is exhausting. It takes talent, time, and energy. It can't be whipped up by throwing inspiration, words, and a few sketchy plotlines into a blender. {Wouldn't that be nice though!!!}

So I have learned that it's better to wait, sit back and take that break. The desire will come back.

Because if you don't enjoy what you're doing....no one else will either. And what a pointless piece of work it would be!


That all came because of my lack of activity here on Stories in the Mind. I was just....empty of words. At least relative ones. I think that is gone now and I am finally back. I will get back into the swing of things and have the guest post and linkup again next week. I hope you all enjoyed my absence.



The Importance of Eyes

Have you ever noticed how much care photographers take about the eyes of their subjects? Whether it be a baby, a senor photo shoot, an elderly man, a pouting toddler... they focus in on the eyes.

I have always been captured by eyes. The color. The expression. The beauty and delicacy and emotion encompassed in two small orbs stuck in your face. It is incredible. No matter who a person is, I look at their eyes. I can see a lot about them just by what they look like. How they glance around. How they avoid contact. How crinkles fold at the edges when they laugh. Eyes are beautiful. And speak so much.

 

 

 

 

There is a beauty found in the human eye that you can't express. And I think it is important to capture that in writing. It is a hard thing to do. Eyes are visual. Not just because they are literally what we see through, but because their expression is something we see. And to be able to convey it in a story is something both necessary and hard.

 

And when done right, powerful.

 

Ways to describe eyes vary. You can display shock by widening them. Anger by narrowing them. Pain with tears.

 

 

 

 

And still, there is more to it than that. I find this quote by Leonardo da Vinci covers it pretty well.



 

 

 

Eyes speak the heart. You can see love shining, hatred simmering, anger churning, pain screaming...oh, it goes on and on. But it boils down to one thing. Eyes are important, to humans and the way we interact and contact each other, and need to be used. Finding the perfect way to do that is tricky. But when you can do it, you capture something that cannot be put into words. Just seen.

 

 





Want books? Get books.

I can't believe after all this time, I have forgotten to introduce you all to one of the BEST websites in the world!!!!

*slaps hand on forehead*


Paperbackswap.com is one of my favorite websites, ever. Because it is all about me, getting books. For free.

No joke.

No catch.

No problem.

Basically, it is one big swapfest. What you do is go onto the site and set up an account {which is free and painless}. Then, "post" books that you own that you don't want, care for, or need. {Yes, even I do have books that I don't like or want.}

To post books, you can go under the "Post books" tab on the sidebar, look up the book directly in the search box, or type in the isbn. When you find the book you own, click on the blue button that says "Post this book" beside it. If it says "Order this book" already, it means it is in the system and you can click on the book, go to "More options" and then click on "Post this book". It is actually very simple... :D

If you post ten books when you sign up, they will automatically give you two credits to search all the shelves and find books that you want. If you find one you want, check and see if the box beside it says "Order this book" or "Post this book". If it says "Order this book" click on the button and follow the instructions. There, you got a book for free. If it says "Post this book" you can add it to your wish list and as soon as it is available they will send you an email notifying you that it is now on the site. It is a first come, first serve basis, but they will hold a book for you for 48 hours. Then it is available to all PBS members.

When a book is requested from you, all you have to do is print out the address to the person who asked for it and send it off in the mail {usually about $3}. That is all the cost you will ever have. Once the person who asked for the book gets it, they will mark it as received and you will get another credit to find more books with. {Make sure to mark books YOU get as received too.}

And there you have the exchange. There is a lot more to the site too. You can write reviews, add shelves, put books on your books I read shelf, and more.

I don't do much of that...mostly just trade books. This month alone I have received 5 or more books and sent out as many. It is fast, simple, and cheap.

So, the books are "free", but it costs you the shipping of a book you have sent out to get a credit. All in all, you end up getting your books for an average of $3 or $4. So I guess it's not really free. It just sounds nice, lol! And it is super cheap. And I have gotten some old classics and brand new paperbacks on the site...books that are normally $15 or more!!!!!

They also offer hardbacks, audiobooks, and more. Every book on the site will tell you what it is, paperback, hardback, audiobook... They have a cd and movie site too {you can find it on the main page}, but I haven't gotten into those cause I don't have spare movies lying around, lol!

So go check it out! And let me know if you sign up so you can become my friend!!!

It is worth it. 100%.



Guest Post by author Mime Drews

And it's time to be back!!! The blog is looking a bit more normal again. We're getting back into routine after all the holiday buzz and, ahem, silence... :D Today's guest post is by my friend Mime from Notebook Sisters. Enjoy!!!!



Dialogue is my favourite part of reading. And writing. Maybe In my opinion, a snappy, realistic, or heart-wrenching dialogue can tilt the scale from ‘another book on the shelf’ to ‘good old favourite.’

Some books just nail it. Like Ranger’s Apprentice (John Flanagan). The plot is... not exceptional for most of the books. You could even say it’s Lord of the Rings come general fantasy/medieval-ness. And yet... I still have fond memories of reading all eleven books. Why? The dialogue. The characters are great, sarcastic, and tease each other mercilessly. That’s exactly the sort of humour that appeals to me—I love sarcasm in dialogue.

 



Also, a normal voice helps. I am awed by people like Tolkien who can have extensive dialogue passages in “thee’s” and “thou’s” and really long sentences. I think they must be very patient. But personally, I prefer reading normal, conversational tones. This usually comes across with more modern books—contemporaries, dystopian, or just ones set in the current/future world. The Gallagher Girls series (Ally Carter) is a perfect example. Every girl in the spy school talks like a normal teenage girl. It makes the book easy to read, and I identify with the characters better.

But that’s not to say you have to have your 18^thcentury courtiers talking modern slang. In Johnny Tremain (Esther Forbes), they manage to speak clearly and understandably. The sentences don’t go on forever, and even though it feels a bit more old-fashioned, you still get the same love for the characters’ voices.

To me, dialogue needs to be spread throughout the book generously. It’s so much fun to read. While you can’t have the whole thing being dialogue, I think it makes things come across easier than a lot of narrative, which I tend to find quite boring. Too much narrative, and I yawn, and say, “I’m sorry, but I got lost a while back.” Dialogue can make me laugh or cry, or just plain enjoy the book more. Of course, on the flip side, if there’s too much dialogue, I say, “What is going on here?” There’s a good medium, and it’s different for every story.



Dialogue’s important for letting the reader get to know the characters, particularly in 3^rd person. The way someone talks tells a lot about them—the way they were brought up, the way they think of things, their common phrases, their nationality, or their amount of talkativeness. I know that if there’d been no dialogue in Detectives in Togas (Henry Winterfeld) I would have had no idea who was who. Dialogue defines characters, and that, I think, is why it’s really important.

I think the trick to good dialogue is making sure your character's voice is strong, and that their personality shines through the way they talk.

What are some of your favourite books for the dialogue aspect?

 



 



Writing Historical Fiction

I began writing historical fiction at age 7. My first novel, scrawled out in a small pink notebook {yes, the one pictures} and titled, The Princess Travels, was set in the 1800’s {don’t ask me how I got a princess in the Midwest; I managed very well, thank you}. My favorite books from the time I could first read {at age 3} until I was 18 years old were all historical fiction. In fact, I read history books just for fun.



I was {I guess I must admit still am}, what you call, a history nerd. Or geek, depending on whether you are my sister Brisa or my sister Abrienne.

And I love it.

So, writing historical fiction. . . Me? 

Historical fiction {HF} is not easy. You cannot just sit down and pound away at your keys and expect a historical fiction to come to life beneath your fingers. HF takes work. Lots of it.

From accurate settings, to correct mindsets, to what analogies you can use, historical fiction is like no other genre, just as they are not like historical fiction. And what makes it unique is what makes it awesome.

History itself is incredible. To flip through the pages of cultures, lives, and empires who once dominated this world of ours is as enchanting as it is almost scary. There are so many people, so many cultures, so many indescribable things from those other times, other places, and it is incredible thinking about them, knowing they were once real, life to someone, just the way things were, and now . . . now it is gone.

 

The world in which your character moves is as important as the character himself. You can paint the most believable, realistic, heartrending protagonist imaginable. But if his world does not fit around him, he is detached and we lose contact with him. Your setting will be whatever culture you decide to write about, and it means more than just the kind of clothes and rooms and wars that encircle your character. It is everything. From the stream trickling through a dark Sherwood Forest to a sparkling goblet in Queen Hatshepsut’s throne room to the dull, lifeless cap flopped on William Bradford’s head. It is the kind of dialogue and ways of expression between your cast. Can you see the picture, see the room, see the world where your character lives? That is his setting and his life. And it has to be real. It has to be his setting. Throwing a great, big medieval sword into your Egyptian pyramid is not going to create a very easy or authentic picture for your reader to imagine. It just won’t feel right.

Analogies are so important in writing. They describe, evoke, imagine, so much of your character and their feelings and the understandings of the world around them. And it is important to get them right. If you are writing a story set in medieval times, it would not work for you to use this analogy:

 

Rosamund felt as though everything around her was spinning like tires on black ice.

As you and I know, there was no such thing as tires OR black ice during the Medieval Ages. And our poor Rosamund would have no idea what it felt like to be spin like that.

Aah, and then you have correct mindsets. I must admit, this is one thing I find the most misused by HF writers. We tend to like and want to write in the mentality of our own culture. And that is a big mistake.

First of all, I think a part of the charm of an ancient culture is the ways the people thought, the things they did, and why. To destroy that by bringing very Western ideas into a HF novel is as good as burning your book before you start. It devastates it authenticity.

I know it is almost heresy for me to say this, but I must, because it is true. In most of the ancient world, education was not looked upon as important to anyone but the upper class. In fact, most of the time, the people believed they were incapable of learning. So it would be inconsistent to create your main character a peasant boy and give him great learning {no matter what scheme you come up with to give it to him}. Your story had better be good if you want to tempt to mount that social barrier. And it is better not done. I rather enjoy the thought of getting to know a fellow who is just as smart in common sense as you or I without an education ~ and who doesn’t even care to have one.

 

 



 

See, the charm of historical fiction is not in how many rules you can twist to get away from the real ethnics of that time and make it desirable to this culture, but how many rules you can fit in and still capture your reader. For therein lies the desire of every HF writer. We want our readers to fall in love with the richness of the history of our story as much as the people of our story. And if they don’t, we have not succeeded. If they don’t want to run away to ancient Incan ruins or towering Italian cathedrals, we have failed.

Historical fiction will always be my favorite genre to both read and write. It is just one of those things, something that touches a trigger inside me and boils a passion and a desire for it. I will always find myself buried deep within those cultures, wondering just what it was like, just who would have lived, and what sort of things they might have done. And you will always find me curled up with a blanket and a good HF for company.

 

 

Memory

Memory. 

An element of mystery. Of suspense. Of agony. Of hope. And love.

Memory is a tricky thing. It teaches you things about yourself, about how you feel about things, about who you are and why you are. Memory sets the backdrop of a person’s mind. It is what drives you, what guides you, and what crafted you into who you are. The lessons of yesterday rule the actions of today, so to speak. And without them, you are nothing.

Your character’s memory…

What your character remembers is key to creating a powerful setting: 

The room made her think of her long-gone father, something whimsical and pensive contained in its vintage furnishings and warm colors, bringing back moments when her imagination had been spurred by his dreams.

The dew reminded her of sunny mornings spent walking with her favorite book tucked beneath her arm beneath a trellis of forest branches needle-working above her.

The electric shock of the air invoked the anger that he had tried to forget.

Memories twist in the darkness, forbidding, like a chasm that could suck me up if I delved too far.

When you remember something pleasant about something, it usually means you have good memories linked to it, whether it is another person, a kind of food, the couch, a city, family member, the tree outside your window...

Bad memories can be powerful motivators. They put us on instant defense and we pull up our guard to protect us against the thing we remember hurting us.

When I am writing and I want to bring out a specific emotion to my readers, I have found one of the most reliable and beautiful ways to express it is in my character’s memory. Whether it is good or bad, it will draw them out, help the reader picture them better, give them a depth and meaning to the emotion, and causes sympathy or joy.

Memories can be beautiful. They can be painful. But no matter what kind of memory you have, it is interlocked with all the emotion of your heart, and it can draw you in more than anything else.



But the best part of all is creating your character's memories, giving them scenes to replay over and over in their mind, things that will connect the reader to their hearts. Memory can unlock so many doors. It can refuel love. It can tear down doubt. It can build confidence.

But most of all...it makes your character real.

 



 

Let's face it

I'll admit it. Most of the time, I think my writing sucks, and that no one in their right mind could really like it. I read it. And read it again. And look at the words, little black marks on a big white screen, and say: "Can I ever make it? Will I ever be among the names that people think of as great writers, or will I live on in eternity as the girl who tried but never made it."

It is those moments when I stop and glare stare at the little black marks and want to cry. Hard.

The trick is, to not give up.

 

 

It is so easy to just say it isn't good enough, no one will care, and it will never work. It is simple to let the dream fade and erase the passion of yesterday on today's blank walls (or pages). But I can't. I can't let go.

 

I think this is something we all go through, that feeling of insecurity, of not being good enough, of seeing all that is out there and going: "How can I fit into that?"

 

The thing is, I doubt any of those famous writers ever dreamed they would be the next hit, the star of the century, with fans reading their books centuries after they are dead. Some of them never even got to see their glory. Some of them never witnessed the day when their passion grew to be other's too. But the point is, they didn't give up. They didn't stop. They didn't let the discouragement drag them down.

 

What is your wall? Where do you sit when you can't face the little black marks again, knowing what they are?  Can you ignore the water pooling in your belly that threatens to put out the flame of your passion?

 

 





 

 

The truth is I will all always feel inadequate. I will always feel like a failure. Nobody ever was fully satisfied with anything. That is why we always strive for better, work it again, change it around. The power of words is you can use them over and over and over again ~ the very same ones ~ and they can be varied into a hundred different ways!

 

So the key is to find satisfaction in my craft. It won't be perfect. I can't look at it expecting it to be. I am human. It is my nature to fail and to be flawed.

 



It is time to look at my work and see the beauty of it.

 

 



 

 

I am the worst person for critiquing my own writing. I type it out and then mash it up into tiny bits, analyzing each word, working out every sentence, changing all the nouns around a million times until my poor brain is so frazzled I leave it in an unreadable mass.

 

I groan. I type it again. I die. Then I delete it. I press undo. I change it again. I rearrange the structure, thinking maybe if I start it with a clause, or maybe a interjection, it might be better. I hate it. I write what I started with again.

 

Some day, I'm going to learn to just accept it for what it is. The imperfect ramblings of an imperfect girl. And that day will be glorious.

 

For now, I will weep. Tear my hair out. Trash my novels. Agonize over each little word. Teach myself to breath deeply and not scream. Spend days trying to figure out if I look good in wigs and wondering if it might just be best to delete the whole thing.

 

But the good thing is (am I in my write mind?), so will you.

 

And together, we can learn to let our writing be just that. Our writing. It can be beautiful just the way it is.

 

 



 

 



Writing styles: what style do you want?

First off, we’ve all heard this fancy word. But have we ever stopped to think about what style is? And just how it relates to our writing?

I took the liberty of looking it up and here were four different definitions that popped up.

 

arts distinctive form: a distinctive and identifiable form in an artistic medium such as music, architecture, or literature

·  a facade in the neoclassical style

·  a different style of jazz

 

way of doing something: a way of doing something, especially a way regarded as expressing a particular attitude or typifying a particular period (often used in combination)

·  a hands-on management style

·  old-style politics

·  Confrontation just isn’t his style.

 

way of writing or performing: the way in which something is written or performed as distinct from the content of the writing or performance

 

publishing: publishing conventions: the ways in which written material is presented, usually in a particular publication or by a particular publisher

·  editing text into the publisher’s house style

 

Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2004. © 1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation.

 

“What counts as good writing varies from culture to culture and even among groups within cultures.  In some situations, you will need to become familiar with the writing styles – such as direct or indirect, personal or impersonal, plain or embellished – that are valued by the culture or discourse community for which you are writing.” A Writer’s Reference, Diana Hacker; Fourth Edition

 

 



 

 

In my opinion, styles are like accents. You can pick and choose among a million different ones.

 

They may all sound nice, cool even, but you can’t mix and match. You will end up with a manuscript that is painful to read, just like hearing a man switch from Scottish to Russian to Australian to British to French accents within one sentence would be painful to hear ~ and a little confusing. (If you can understand what he said, I’ll give you a star that says genius in big gold letters!)

 

That is why it is important every writer knows right off that you have your individual style. You are native to only one. You have to settle with the one you are most comfortable with, the one that flows out of your blood. It is your own, and no one else’s. It may fall under different categories, systems, or “personalities” of writing. But it is who you are, what you have created, not what you have heard. It is what makes him unlike all other writers.

 

You can learn to write this way or that, but it doesn’t mean it will sound real. If you are painstakingly writing every word, the reader will know it. A good reader can smell out a fake after a first few sentences. Writers talk on and on about making sure the reader falls in love with your protagonist and your story right away. But they forget that the very means to do that is through the way you write it. Your style.

 

So what makes your style anyway?

 

Think about all of the great writers. Dickens. Tolkien. C.S. Lewis. Louisa May Alcott. Writers that everyone can identify. What do you think of when you hear their names? What is it that makes them stand out, different, from anyone else? That is their style, their voice, what makes them who they are. And this is our goal.

 

So maybe it is a certain use of words.      

 

The way you create your dialogue.

 

The personalities of your characters.

 

Or even the varied descriptions or unique analogies.

 

Whatever that part of you is that you bring across to the reader. THAT is your style. And that is what will make you who you are in your writing.

 

Dangerous business

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." ~ LotR, Bilbo


Writing a book is an adventure. But more importantly, it is your adventure. Each and every book in the world holds bits and pieces of its' author. It is the soul, the child, and masterpiece, of all they want to accomplish. Nobody ever started a book for no reason.

Books tell a lot about an author. They define the struggles, the aches and pains, the turmoil, in one person's heart. It glimpses the passions, desires, and longings that surround them. Pictures of rosie sunsets come on days when moods are high with excitement. Thunderstorms roll over the horizon of your world when days are gloomy and tears are hiding behind quivering eyelashes. This is not something a reader can know about. It is something only a fellow writer can feel and explain.

I know one thing is true for me. Every mood I am in sets the course for what I am writing. If I am angry, I write an angry scene. If I am excited, energy all round! If I am in pain, my poor character can expect a wound. This is not something I do just because it relieves me. I do it because, when I am mad, I can make sense of anger. When I am excited, my joy leaps to the skies. When I am hurting, I can describe the pain. Writing what you feel about something is a way to not only make it real, but make it alive.



Your own books are not the only ones that will speak to what you feel and write. The kind of books you read, the kind of books you like, are going to define your writing. They will shape and influence your style. And they will master the ideas and adventures that fly through your imagination.

I don't think anyone can claim to be a writer and not love to read books, to sit with them, to loose yourself inside them. Books are the end work of all we are trying to accomplish. If you cannot appreciate what another writer has completed, how can you except to find others to value yours.

I think it is good to surround yourself with an eclectic mixture of books, both for the development of your mind and your writing.

Find books with great plot structure. Find books with solid, flesh and blood characters. Find books with great dialogue, intriguing twists, and fantastic adventures. Find books that are different, books that are touching, books that are creative. Don't just read fantasy. Don't just read historical. Don't just read point-of-fact, news, or inspirational. Take every book for its own merit.

This was a bit of a rambling post, but I think it more or less spilled out what I wanted to say. *_*



Guest Post by author Mary Ruth Pursselley

This week I contacted my dear friend Mary about doing the guest post on writers' quirks. She has done a fabulous job! I hope you all enjoy it!!!

 



Writers – Weird and Loving It

Anyone who’s a writer knows it. Anyone who knows a writer knows it. The fact is, writers are weird.

I’m sorry to have to put it so bluntly, but it’s the truth. Our brains just aren’t wired like everyone else’s. It has to be that way—it’s what allows us to do what we do—but it can still get tiresome and even stressful from time to time, and a lot of writers struggle with it. “Why can’t we just be normal?” they moan.

Well, the fact is, if you were ‘normal’, you wouldn’t be a writer. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles, and there’s nothing we can do about it. So my advice is to enjoy the humor that comes in the wake of your weirdness. Learn to laugh about it.

I know, laughing at yourself isn’t always easy—we writers do have our egos, after all—but if you can learn to do it, I think you’ll find that the writing life just got even more fun. And there’s rarely a shortage of hilarious writer moments to laugh about.

Not convinced? Let me give you a few examples of weird but hilarious moments from my own writing life.

 

My brother once walked into the living room to find me hanging onto the top of a doorframe with my right hand while waving a sword with my left. After a moment of staring, he asked “Do I want to know?”

I smiled sheepishly and responded: “Choreography. For a fight scene while the character is handcuffed to the ceiling.”

He shook his head and walked off. “Wow, you’re weird.”

 

Another time, as I was working on story ideas while sitting in the car next to my mother (who was driving), I was suddenly struck by the horrible realization that two main characters from two completely unrelated story ideas had the same name. Horrors! Without thinking I gasped and said “Oh no!”.

Mom, who was driving through an intersection at the moment, gasped and looked around frantically, no doubt anticipating something along the lines of a dump truck smashing us. When she realized no such thing was happening, she turned to me and demanded “What is it?!”

My memory chose that woefully late moment to remind me that the characters didn’t actually have the same name, just similar ones: Nyah and Nira.

Unfortunately, Mom didn’t really appreciate the gravity of my almost-disaster, and was rather put out with me. In all fairness, though, I probably deserved it that time.

 



On yet another occasion, while still writing my first novel, one of my very favorite characters died. I was home alone when I wrote his death scene, which was fortunate because I bawled my eyes out and it would have been embarrassing to do so in front of my family. Scarcely had I managed to dry my tears and pull myself together (more or less) when my brother returned home and offered to help me make supper. We were in the kitchen listening to Christmas music, and one of the songs on the CD featured a solo on the Spanish guitar. During said solo, my brother took it upon himself to perform his impression of traditional Spanish dancing (both the male and female roles).

Still emotionally fragile from my earlier meltdown, and watching him spin around the kitchen in an imaginary sombrero while waving imaginary skirts over his head, I lost it completely. Within seconds I was totally disabled, collapsed in the kitchen floor and laughing too hard to move or even breathe. My brother finished his impersonation, then stood by staring at me calmly while I pulled myself to a sitting position… and burst into tears again. (Yeah, it was a rough day.)

 

I haven’t said all this just to show off my own peculiar case of writerly weirdness. (Remember what I said about a writer’s ego? Well, I’ve got one too, and some of this stuff is still embarrassing to me.) I’ve said it in the hope that it might encourage other writers—particularly young or new-to-the-field writers—who might be finding it hard to be ‘the weird one’. I know it’s hard. It’s extremely hard sometimes. But our weirdness is just one side of a fantastic gift: the ability to create and convey stories that thrill and enchant other people.



And remember, you are not alone. You’re not the only one who gets mad at imaginary people. You’re not the only one who can’t get people and events you created to cooperate. You’re not the only one who listens to music and tries to make every song fit into a character’s perspective or a story’s plot. You’re not the only one who carries on multi-sided conversations out loud with yourself to make sure characters’ dialogue sounds natural. Whatever it is you do and are sure you’re the only one who does it, however quirky and crazy it is, believe me there are others who do it. Call it a shared bond, if you will.

And, since we’ve all got it, can’t get rid of it, and, deep down, wouldn’t want to get rid of it if we could, we might as well learn to laugh and have some fun with it.

So here’s to weirdness. Write on!

Mary is a homeschool graduate with several works published. She's a dyed-in-the-wool Ozarks hillbilly girl who lives on a ranch in the beautiful Ozark Mountains along with her family, a pack of dogs, a swarm of chickens, a lazy horse, and a herd of cows. She comes from a devout Christian family. Her faith in Jesus Christ is everything to her. She's been making up stories in her head for as long as she can remember, and writing them down since she learned how to hold a pencil. The early ones, written almost nightly, were usually embellished versions of whatever imagination game she and her Yorkie Terrier Ezmerelda had played that day. Oddly enough, she was thirteen before she realized that she was actually going to be a writer when she grew up. But since then her writing has come a long way (now with the help of a new Yorkie Terrier sidekick named Cricket). She blogs at The Writer's Lair.

 

P.S. This week, the Once Upon a Time... linkup will be for: forgiveness.
Come back Wednesday and check out all the links and add your own!!

Guest Post by author Jack Lewis Baillot

I asked Miss Jack over at However Improbable to do the second guest post here at Stories in the Mind! She has done an excellent job and I can't wait to share it with you all! Enjoy!!!

First off I'd like to thank Grace for asking me to guest post. THANK YOU, GRACE!

 

Second, I hope you don't mind I call you Grace.

 

Third...John says hi.

 

Fourth, let's get down to business..to defeat the Huns. Did they send me...oh, what? No Huns? That's sad.

 

Okay, serious now. Grace asked me to do a post on Developing New and Creative Ideas for Plots. I'm probably the last person in the world who should be attempting this. Why, you ask. You see, I don't come up with new plots. I plan something out and my characters change it half way through. However, I've learned a few tricks I will share with you.

 

 

One. Let your characters tell the story the way they want. They will end up anyways and usually they have great ideas, but don't tell them this or they will get a big head.

Two. READ. A lot. I'm not going to say read everything you can get your hands on because a lot of books out there aren't that great. But look for unusual books. Lemony Snicket is a good example. Look for things with new plots, things you've not seen before. (It is easy to find books with the simple plot of, “Girl is hiding from past. Meets boy hiding from past. Two don't like each other. They are forced to work together for some reason. They fall in love. The end.” If you want to stretch your imagination, you have to find stories without the typical plots. Movies help too, if you are a visual writer. Again, try and find something with unpredictable plots.

 

Three. Think outside the box. You want to write a story about a girl and a boy going on a quest. Well, that is done a lot. Even throwing in a dragon is very common now. So try something new.

 

I'm soddy at this without using examples. I've mentioned Lemony Snicket. He took a typical plot found in a lot of children's books. Orphans having to cope without their parents. But he put them in a world we are never really sure what it is like. Even the whole world is shrouded in mystery. Then he put in a villain who is evil and greedy and scary. Later he adds more mystery when the children realize that maybe their mum and dad weren't as perfect as they thought. And at the end, he adds a final twist with Count Olaf and Kit.

Even using a new setting helps. Another series I read which is a good example is the Larklight series, this series took another typical plot and added a new twist by setting.

 

The plot is basically a brother and a sister realizing the kingdom is in danger and it is up to them to save it, and along the way they met a dashing boy pirate who is running from a painful past. (Look in the book store, this plot is almost everywhere.) However, to make it new and interesting, the author took said brother and sister, moved them to space, set them in the Victorian Era, added some Aliens from Jupiter and Saturn, and put a floating house in the middle of it all – then he added new elements to the pirate which I cannot talk about without giving a lot away. Now his typical plot was new, exciting, and unlike anything else in the world.

 

Scot Westerfeld. He took a historical story and put a twist on it. WWI, the start of the war, the assassination of the Archduke of Austria. We know about this from school. However, he added in living airships, tank like things which moved by legs, not wheels. Even though he uses another typical plot idea, a girl disguised as a boy and a prince on the run, he added in so many new ideas that this typical plot isn't dull and boring.

 

Basically, you can, you HAVE to use basic plot ideas. All plot ideas are pretty much the same. It is what you add into them which makes them new and creative. And for that you have to stretch your imagination.

 

So, think up the story you WANT to write. Don't worry if it sounds like all the new books coming out. Once you have the basic outline, think of ways you can make it different. (You've seen all the books out there. Go look online at teen books coming out. Most of them sound the same.) But, if you add in a dragon slayer who befriends a dragon – no, I'm not thinking How to Train your Dragon – and said dragon saves his life, and everyone sees, what is said dragon slayer to do? His reputation is ruined! Does he kill his new friend? Or does he swallow his pride and find a new profession? What if his pride is too big to swallow and he tells everyone he will slay the dragon for them all to see?

 

Or you could take a myth, or an event from history, and add your own twist to it. Look at the TV show Merlin.

 

What if a time traveler goes back in time and accidentally saves the life of a man who originally died?History is all messed up now, but to fix it, the man must make sure the fellow he saved dies...but they've become friends.



 

So, I hope this gives you new ideas. But remember, if you have characters like me, don't become too attached to your ideas...because your evil characters will likely just change everything anyways.

 

Thank you again, Grace for the chance to guest post!

Allons-y!

Jack Lewis Baillot is not impossible, just a bit unlikely. She is the author of Haphazardly Implausible, owns a pet hedgehog named John, and blogs over at However Improbable.