A Keeper

I’m currently in the process of writing my fourteenth novel. I adore the early stages of crafting a story. I’ve also learned to pay close attention to an idea when the faucet transitions from a drip to a steady flow. In the past few months I’ve brainstormed several unique concepts for future novels. Most don’t stick. But there are those that do. These are the ones worth exploring for me.

One question I’ve pondered over years and years of writing is how I know when a story is a keeper.

How do I know when an idea is a keeper?

When the story begins to tell itself.

I wake up with character revelations. I go to bed with dialogue running through my thoughts. During conversations with friends I draw mental connections with what’s going on with my characters. I can’t shake the plot. It infiltrates my life—until somehow it’s become this undeniable thing I must address.

I trust I’m to pursue an idea when the characters begin telling me their story.

So, have a seat. Tell me, how do you know when you’ve begun something worth your time and investment?

Which Came First, The Concept or the Character?

Which Came First, The Concept or the Character?

Chicken, egg. You’re with me.

It used to be that characters were the first to introduce themselves to me. Generally, a woman. She’d tap lightly on the door of my imagination, then peek through the windows of my cortex until I took notice. She’d often linger around my synapses, dropping a line here and there for me to write down or memorize. I’d hear her as I fell asleep or in the midst of a conversation with a friend. And she grew familiar to me, as familiar as family. At some point I’d invite her in to stay. And her story would, at that point, unravel into a novel.

But that’s not always how it’s played out. There have been concepts that have found their way to me first. A notice in the doctor’s office. A picture in an ice cream shop. The inability to identify your own face. An infallible memory. These concepts, much like spring flowers releasing their potent aromas, practically insist on being trimmed and brought inside. Or if you’re a foodie, picture old cartoons when Bugs caught the irresistible scent of cooking meat. He had to follow. So it is with a concept that lingers and conjures that no-turning-back-now pull. I’m hooked. And another completed novel results.

Writers, here’s a fun question to ask yourself if you’ve yet to do so—which comes first for you, the concept or the character? Is it the same every time?

 

*Check back next Monday to be a part of a MAJOR GIVEAWAY!

Six Qualities that Entice Me to Read More

By this point you probably know that I’m a writer. But did you know I’m also an avid reader? I try to keep track of everything I read on Goodreads but each month I miss a few.

I’m not afraid to start a book and 10, 20, even 50 pages later, put it down.

I thought I’d share with you today the qualities I find in the books that keep me reading all the way until the end.

{Warning…I’m about to do a ton of name dropping—or make that title dropping in this post.}

Fascinating Characters

Immediately Mudbound and The Poisonwood Bible come to mind. Such expert delineation of multiple voices in these works.

I also got quickly attached to the characters in Belong to Me. Introduce me to a curious, engaging, or witty character, likeable or maybe not so likeable, to start and I’m hooked.

Plot That’s Going Somewhere

Stories like Defending Jacob and Sister had me turning pages faster than my fingers could move. A strong plot has an exceptional pull that’s nearly impossible to resist.

Rich Concept

Uh…The Giver, anyone? I have no idea what took me so long to read this wonder of a book, but the moment I finished the last page I felt like I stumbled upon a majestic treasure. I felt thrilled the rest of the world had the opportunity to be in on it and in a strange way sad. The Gollum in me wanted to stroke the book and say, “Mine, all mine.”

I also enjoyed The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. The conceit for this book was right up my alley. A sheer delight of a book (liked it so much I recommended it as my choice for one of my book clubs).

Make Me Feel

Give me at least one character I can empathize with, someone I want to root for and I’m all yours. Front cover to the last words of the acknowledgements.

I adored Swede in Peace Like a River and felt a strong sense of empathy for Victoria in The Language of Flowers. The authors of these books succeeded and then some in making their stories come alive.

Emotional Depth

Go deep or go home. I’m not much of a fluff reader. I just don’t have the patience for it. When I’m reading a book, I also want to experience it. I crave for it to instigate reflection. Marley & Me and The Art of Racing the Rain tugged and tugged hard. Not just because the main characters were hooked to leashes throughout the pages, but because these stories tapped into the great feelings of being a pet owner, a mom, and a human being.

Seamless Flow + Word Choice

Jamming two in one. I know, guilty as charged. But there’s something to be said for a novel when you forget you’re reading—when you’re so swept up in the story world you’ve metaphorically crawled inside the book to nest for as long as it takes to finish it. An almost musical, carefully worded flow can accomplish this. Word choice matters. This is why The Book Thief won my heart and Night by Elie Wiesel. And I still remember powerful lines from Water for Elephants.

A magnificent novel finds a way to take each of the above and knead it into a miraculous ball of dough that balloons into the unforgettable.

*Fun announcement ~ Enter my Goodreads Giveaway for THEDELICATE NATURE OF LOVE for a chance to win a signed copy. Enter by March 1^st!