Writing in the Christian market pushes us to go beyond the realm of this life to find meaning and purpose for our characters. While we are not writing sermons and devotionals set in fictional places with fictional characters, we are imitating life. For the Christian author, Jesus is very much a part of our every day life. We want to express Him in some way in our stories, through the lives of our characters. But often our stories sound hokey, canned, full of Christianese. How we talk in the foyer at church, or in Sunday school class does not translate into fiction. Remember, our goal is to write great stories about great characters. Our goal is not agenda fiction where we pound the pulpit so to speak about some error of […]
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The Power of Voice
At the recent Academy of Country Music awards, Carrie Underwood sang a “Walk This Way” duet with Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler. What a contrast, you know? Young, blonde, beautiful, seemingly innocent Carrie Underwood jamming with long time, hard core rocker from the ‘70s, known for his drug abuse, partying and sexual exploits. They sang Aerosmith’s most famous song, “Walk This Way?” Pardon me while I post the lyrics. backstroke lover always hidin’ ‘neath the covers till I talked to your daddy, he say he said “you ain’t seen nothin’ till you’re down on a muffin then you’re sure to be a-changin’ your ways” I met a cheerleader, was a real young bleeder oh, the times I could reminisce ’cause the best things of lovin’ with her sister and her cousin only […]
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Quick Skills: A tip to discovering your Voice
The concept of author Voice is so elusive, it’s can feel like a loose football, bouncing around the field (she says as she watches the Giants and 49er’s chase the ball). Just when we think we have a grip on it, it wiggles out of our hands. Voice, easily expressed, is your storytelling style. Words and plot and character – and how you weave these together. Much like an actor dons a role, bringing their own style to a script. Although we can work to recognize Voice and even analyze it by finding great style in other works, we don’t really discover our Voice until we put the pen to page. Until we write words that make our own hearts sing. Here’s a trick I’ve used to develop my voice: […]
Read the RestConversations with an Aspiring Novelist: What is voice and how to you find yours?
Outside, the wind howled, the thermometer dropping to a bracing negative nine degrees as I waited for Sally to arrive for our Monday Morning conversation. I had hoped she’d found a story question as she thought about the themes of her story. Ironically, I’d been thinking about marketing my new book, and had to return to the storyquestion of that book to create the right marketing and PR campaign. I blew on my hot cocoa, glad I’d opted for a large as Sally came in, wrapped in a scarf and hat, the icy blast dragging in behind her. Anne already had her coffee ready. Sally set a stack of books on the table as she retrieved her coffee. I looked at her choices – Jane Eyre, the movies Pearl Harbor […]
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