During the September 2007 ACFW conference in Dallas, I (Rachel) presented a continuing session on writing Lits. The Book Therapists are bringing those sage lessons to you. 😉 It started with Chick Lit in ’96 with Helen Fielding’s popular “Bridget Jones Diary.” Wilkipedia defines chick lit a genre which features hip, stylish female protagonists, usually in their twenties and thirties, in urban settings (usually London or Manhattan), and follows their love lives and struggles for professional success (often in the publishing, advertising, public relations or fashion industry). The books usually feature an airy, irreverent tone and frank life themes. The genre covers the breadth of the female experience which deals unconventionally with traditional romantic themes of love, courtship and gender. In the USA, lits expanded to Mom Lit, Lady Lit, […]
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Dr’s Notes: Sympathy is not enough
By all accounts, I should love the new television show, the Bionic Woman (Jamie Sommers). I enjoy seeing a woman who knows a few self-defense moves, and someone who faces trouble head-on. The creators have even built in “sympathetic” devices — a little sister who Jamie has to deal with, the death of her boyfriend, the loss of her baby, the changes in her body. That should, in theory, make us feel for her. Even, like her. Except, I don’t. As I was watching episode 2 this weekend (had it on TiVo), I realized that the reason I can’t engage in the show is because I don’t believe this character. I am not connecting with her. Why not? I think it’s a lack of realistic emotions. What am I talking […]
Read the RestAsk the Doc: How do I decide what scenes to put in the book?
Rachel here: Have you heard “let the action unfold on stage” while studying the craft of writing? If not, you have now. (smile) On stage means “on the page.” As you write your story and plot your scenes a critical choice you face is deciding what must happen on stage, and what can happen “behind the scenes.” I’m starting a new book, “Love Begins with Elle” and am in the place of choosing my on stage scenes. What is important for the reader to invest in? No enough on stage action, and the readers don’t care. Too much, and I’ve bogged down the story with every little detail. The major scenes are easy. Like when the heroine meets the hero, when the heroine is proposed to, when the heroine realizes […]
Read the RestPrescriptions: Listen To Me! Ephiphany Week 4
By now, you should have figured out how to make your character suffer, and what his Black Moment is going to look like (and if not, that’s okay – just go back over the past three weeks of prescriptions and dig a little deeper). Today, we’re going to talk EPIPHANY. What is Epiphany? It’s the moment, right at the darkest in the plot when the character wakes up to the truth that has been dogging him the entire book and goes, AHA! (Accompanied by a little hand-to-head thump). It’s the moment when they figure it out, or perhaps the moment when they reach DEEP INSIDE to gather up the strength – physical or emotional that they didn’t know they had, to complete the task. How do we find that? Hint […]
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