Writing about Current Events

As authors, we often walk a fine line between including current events in our writing or excluding them. On the one hand, references can date a book. Things that are "current events" today, are "old news" tomorrow. 

When "the pandemic" hit nearly five years ago now, writers were scrambling. Should they include it in their books? It affected everyone's lives. How could you write a contemporary novel without making some sort of reference to it? For the most part, I think authors shied away from it, much in the same way they shy away from natural disasters. Any reference to it can produce highly charged responses from a reader. There's also the stance that in the midst of it, we didn't have a resolution. Much like my blog post from last week, you can't write a happy ending to something you are still living through. For many people, the ending wasn't so happy. It was an ugly period in time. 

The pandemic has become a part of our history. With some distance from the worst of it, I have made a reference to the pandemic in my latest work in progress. It is now a part of our past, and for those of us that came out alive, we can look back on the events that came along with it. Kind of like this generation's "where were you when... (insert moment in history)."

Society changes. The books I grew up with reflect different social values. Different ways of thinking. The ideas of what a family looked like were different. The contributions people made to society were different. I have a collection of books by a favorite author on my bookshelf that I go back to from my teen years -- old friends. The last time I pulled one down, I was actually shocked at how the heroine in that particular book responded to a negative situation. The message was if a man isn't paying enough attention to you, make him jealous. Talk about making a bad situation worse. Not all of her books are written that way, but this one is definitely one that will not be on my "read it again" list. Heck, when I wrote my first book 20+ years ago, there were some misogynistic messages in it. It's what we grew up with, what we were taught, what we knew. I have since updated my first book to reflect a more contemporary viewpoint. 

At the end of the day, current events don't remain current. There are constants that remain, and trends that change. As an author who hopes to withstand the test of time, better to stick to the constants than jump on a trend that can change tomorrow.

What if you're not in the mood to write?

Loaded topic. 

When I started writing seriously, I was in a danger zone with my marriage. Little kids. Husband who worked in the middle of the night. Time on my hands while everyone else was sleeping, so I spent it at the keyboard. It should be noted that the writing and the danger zone were not intertwined, it was just coincidental. HOWEVER, the emotional roller coaster affected my writing. As the marriage unraveled, I couldn't clear my head enough to focus on writing. 

There is a hypothesis that you can't write real emotion until you've been through deep emotion. I'm not sure how much I subscribe to that, but I can tell you that although I completed that first book, my marriage fell apart while I started working on Book 2 (because you can't sell just one book, right?). I had to prove to myself that I could write another one, that one book wasn't a fluke. Neither one got published during that tumultuous time, and I certainly had a ton of emotion to invest into my writing. 

That first book wouldn't be released until life leveled off--two years later. It isn't uncommon for first books to take years to work through. Learning the process. Learning what to do with your final product. Perfecting the craft. 

Returning to a clearer frame of mind.

I continued on with a third book, because I was still convinced a publisher would want more than one book, and probably a three-book deal. The time it took to write those three books was the longest stretch of time I ever spent between books, and a lot of it had to do with emotional roller coasters coupled with challenges at the day job. I took a promotion that, quite frankly, they expected I might fail at. (Spoiler alert. I met the challenge and did NOT, in fact, fail.)

So much emotion. 

Certainly, I'd reached that hypothetical threshold of emotion required to compel readers to take a journey with me. Those were certainly some of the most emotional years I'd lived through. But something else happened. I found writing helped me work through some of the darkness and the challenges by virtue of taking me out of my everyday life and -- this is funny -- out of my head. Wait. Isn't that where the stories come from? 

Writing had become a vacation.

I did write from some very dark places. I killed off a nightmare boss in one of my books (yes, that's really a thing). I escaped from overthinking by writing characters who had to overcome personal challenges. By comparison, my life seemed like small potatoes. 

Here's another tidbit --writing about personal challenges in fiction is rarely a good idea. Unless you have a resolution to those challenges, you can't stick the landing. You (and your not-so-fictional character) are stuck without the happily ever after ending. 

So is it a good idea to write when you're moody? When the world is crashing around you? Yes and no. Yes, because it gives you an escape from the world, but no if that crashing world sneaks into what you're writing. 

As I've been writing this next book, I found myself sliding into sad, dark places. It happens. Lack of sunlight. Health issues. If you've lost people close to you, you miss them sometimes. The holidays often highlight that they're missing. The mood came through in my writing. My characters were unlikeable. After a swift kick in the backside, I pulled myself up by my bootstraps to remind myself what I have rather than what I've lost - a conscious mood shift, if you will. The result is more likeable characters. I'm still molding them and still working through the next story, but the mood adjustment was definitely needed in order to proceed with something someone else might actually want to read. 

Moods can be tricky things. They aren't always easy to kick out of, especially when life "piles on." Writing can be cathartic, and it can take you away from the troubles--at least for a little while. As an author, the rule is to write, even if you're writing crap. You can always fix it later, which is what I'm doing with the story playing in my head. 

Happy New Year!

Here we go again, starting over in a New Year. Like hitting the reset button, except not everything resets. 

Not gonna lie. The weather here has been icky. Gray. Rainy. No sunshine. That makes it hard to keep a sunny disposition. It's too easy to fall into despair for so many reasons, but one thing I've learned over the years is to look on the bright side...

I have a trip coming up to warmer/sunnier climes with friends. Something to look forward to. 

I have ideas percolating on a new book, but progress has been slow. Hoping that reset button gets me back in the groove. I've had lots of distractions -- too many -- but after spending many years juggling the day job and the writing, certainly I can manage the current state of affairs. 

Lab results (yes, there have been health issues) came back with good outcomes. One of the things that reset? The insurance deductible. NOT a positive to have to start over, but with the positive outcome, hopefully I won't be rebuilding those out-of-pocket expenses.

Resolutions? Rather than "make" them, mine are ongoing. I've taken time to enjoy the holidays, and with those behind, I need to jump back into positive routines. 

In order to overcome the gloom and doom it would be so easy to wallow in, I'd love to hear what bright spots you see in the coming year. What's your bright side for the new year?

Happy Holidays

I'm still hiding away for the holidays, fighting off days in a row of fog and gloom and staring at my beautiful Christmas tree, recalling past memories. The tree is a light in the darkness. A symbol of peace and love. Schmaltzy as it may be, I speak from the heart.

Popping in to let you know DARK SHADOWS has finally made it to Audible if you are an Audible user and have been waiting. Don't know why it takes them so much longer than everyone else to list it, but there it is!

For whatever holiday you celebrate, allow me to wish you happiness and the peace of the season. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. 🦃 

Even in the Quietest Moments

From the #MyLifeIsAMusical column...

Did you know I almost titled one of my books with this song? Instead, it ended up being Mist on the Meadow. It was inspired by a moment - a deer coming out of the woods at just this time of year, its breath coming out in puffs of steam in the chilly morning air. It was a "moment of grace," when the world around me stopped so I could appreciate something beautiful. Is it just me? Or have those moments become fewer and further between?

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a different type of grace. I'm proud to say the band inside me has packed up and gone home, but one of the things I've been practicing is making the world around me "quiet." This is a challenge these days, but a necessary part of my recuperation. Call it meditation if you like.

Because of the season, I've been using Christmas carols (okay, shoot me, but there are several that are quiet and reflective), and as I sit there with my eyes closed trying to quiet my mind and my body, a picture came to mind. 

Years ago, when I was dating the rock star, I'd been triggered by something (my own personal baggage that still creeps up to this day), and went for a walk alone on a dark, winter's night. I went to a place that had always brought me joy - the local tennis courts (fun fact, when I was young, my life's ambition was to become a professional tennis player). As I stood on the corner, fighting my inner demons, it began to snow. The soft, gentle flakes you see in those Hallmark movies. There's something peaceful about snow (which is why Hallmark uses it as a cliche). I turned my face to the sky and absorbed the moment of grace, and that's the moment that has been coming to me now. The silence of the snowflakes. The quiet of the world around me. I don't remember much about the rest of that night - I think I went on to the movie theater and the rock star met me there. I didn't think he would, so it was another happy moment in what started out as a tumultuous night.

I've been taking a hiatus from the writing after the release of DARK SHADOWS. I'd meant to take a hiatus after the previous one, but when the editor prompted me, I figured I had to follow the path she sent me down. Despite having dozens of ideas floating around inside my brain at any given time, I haven't found the motivation to snag one and put it into words. I can't help but wonder if that moment of grace I experienced years ago is asking for its turn considering how often I've thought of it over the past month. Inspiration is everywhere if you're willing to look. But I also need the quiet time right now, the same way I needed it that night lo, those many years ago.

I'm planning a blogcation over the holidays. Taking time out to enjoy the world around me while I still can rather than hide in my office creating alternate realities. Never fear, I'll be back in January, hopefully refreshed and ready to write. Maybe even about the moment of grace that I've been holding onto all these years as a way to quiet my mind. I may be back before the end of the year if sparks ignite. In the meantime, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving next week and if I don't see you before then, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays (whichever you celebrate).

 

Focusing your writing

When I first started seriously writing, I had this brilliant idea. I wanted to write a quest for the holy grail, and off I went.

I did research. I took writing classes to sharpen my craft. I read books on writing. In the end, I let the story carry me away, and boy, did it ever.

Research can take you down all sorts of rabbit holes. While I was learning, I learned MORE interesting things, things I wanted to incorporate into the story. As a result, early versions of that novel were quite scattered, even if what I was learning and trying to convey was So Interesting. But it became a runaway horse. The story got too big and got away from me.

I went back to the craft books and learned about theme. Focus. What's this story about? 

Theme

First off, you need to figure out what your story is. Every chapter should move the story forward, one step at a time and not wander off the path. 

A well-known author I've read wrote several books where she liked to show off her research. It dragged the pace way down, and ultimately, I was interested in what she showed, but I would have appreciated her more if it had been presented in a separate book addressing a different theme. There was literally a third of the book that wandered away from the theme to provide the background/history - like "100 years ago..." That deserved its own book. As she wrote it (and it was a voluminous tome) it distracted me from what was happening in THIS book. Theme.

I learned about theme writing my first book. In my "quest for the holy grail," I ran across different interpretations of what the holy grail actually is. Then I discovered different aspects to those interpretations. They are wide and varied, and some are quite interesting, but rather than speculate in my story about all those variations, I needed to focus on one. The history surrounding all the players was fascinating, but is it relevant to what I'm writing? Choose what you want to portray and stick with it. For instance, Knights Templar. I learned so much about them and wanted so badly to use all that I'd learned, but none of it related to my character or her quest. The only thing that mattered was one of the secondary characters (well, two) continued the traditions. It wasn't about them. Avoid things that distract your reader from where you're taking the story. 

Moving the story forward - goals, motivation and conflict

While I was writing, I'd been hoping to write something to rival Indiana Jones. In the end, that's not my area of expertise. I grew up reading romance and horror (odd combination, I know, but it is what it is). My story developed as a romance, with part of the reason being I didn't know what to do with the grail once I found it. Stick it in a storage room, like Indiana Jones? I think not. I suppose I could have written a whole series on a grail keeper and their adventures, but again, that isn't my strong suit. My story turned into a romance, with the grail quest as the theme. My character's goal was to find the grail. Part of the conflict was "does it really exist?" Her motivation was to do something for herself. Chase her dreams. Fulfill her father's wishes for her. Everything she does is in pursuit of that goal, until the romance derails her. More conflict. She has to break rules to pursue her goal. More conflict. The point here is it sticks to the theme. In this case, the grail quest, and not all the possibilities. Even if the goal changes, don't lose sight of the focal point - the theme.

Figure out which details are important and which ones aren't

Again, using my quest for knowledge as the example, my scattershot approach produced lots of avenues that didn't move things forward. They didn't add to the story, but rather distracted from it. With that being said, I was able to include some of those peripheral ideas in my example. My main character is on a quest for the grail. It only makes sense she's not the only one. All the research I did helped me determine which details I could use and forced me to consider which things to cut. Indiana Jones was in competition with the Nazis. My character is in competition with religious zealots - some of those folks that turned up in my peripheral research. I was able to use some of that peripheral research and turn it into important details that all came together to tie my theme up. There are those who pursue the grail for "good" and there are those who pursue the grail for "evil" or greed. Waxing poetic on the details for what powers the grail might originally have possessed are also side quests. What's relevant is whether any of those show up in this story. Speculation detracts. 

Other miscellaneous details. I learned about the region my character was visiting. The vegetation. The population. The culture. Things that are unique to that part of the world. It helps to add "color," although not everything is pertinent to the story. I was able to incorporate certain details that highlight the theme. Some of those details were "oh, that's interesting" but didn't have a place in the story. 

At the end of the day, your story has to have focus. A beginning, a middle, and an end. Set the stage for your story at the beginning. Is there an inciting incident? Something that spurs the character on? As they are spurred on, what obstacles do they encounter along the way? Everything should move toward a climax, when that goal is achieved, or changed, or "all is lost." From there, it should move toward a resolution. All of this should tie into your theme. If I want to explain all about the Knights Templar along the way, even if they're related, those Knights need to have a reason to be in the story. Or if I discovered the grail had magical properties, the divine miracles that happened when it was first "blessed," telling that story probably isn't relative to the present quest. 

Theme is important. It keeps your reader focused and provides a more satisfying reading experience.