Tag: fiction

Must Read Monday: My Foolish Heart (I’m giving away a copy!)

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

“But perhaps that’s what love was–foolish. After all, God loved most foolishly. He came into the dark world to rescue people who might never love Him back. Maybe, in fact, the foolish heart was the perfect heart.”

Love is always a risk. Fear of rejection, failure, pain. Issy Presley has fears. One of them is leaving her home or backyard–but she wants to. She’s tried. She’s prayed. Fear keeps her locked away.

She works in the backyard, taking over her mother’s garden after she died tragically and she’s the secret host for a night time radio talk show–My Foolish Heart–where she gives advice on romance and dating. Don’t settle for a man who isn’t a perfect 10 on your list! She’s never met her perfect 10. She’s never dated at all.

Enter, Caleb Knight–an ex-college football star, and a wounded ex-soldier. He wants a normal life in the small town of Deep Haven and hopefully the high school football coaching position. He isn’t looking for love, but when he meets his next door neighbor–Issy–things change. He decides to enlist some help from a woman he hears on a late night radio show. Miss Foolish Heart. She has all kinds of advice to share with him to win his next door neighbors heart.

So what did I think?

I think I love me some Susan May Warren! The characters became my friends. Deep Haven became my home. I laughed and sighed at the romance. Pitter-patter sweet romance. The sub-plot with her friend Lucy and the ex-boyfriend coming back to town was just as good as Issy and  Caleb’s.  A great book. I appreciate Tyndale House for giving me a complimentary copy to review!

Spiritual truths
Perfect love casts out all fear.  Enough said.

Here’s a teaser:

Susan May Warren
My Book Therapy
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“Unknown to her tiny town of Deep Haven, Isadora Presley spends her nights as Miss Foolish Heart, the star host of a syndicated talk radio show. Millions tune in to hear her advice on dating and falling in love, unaware that she’s never really done either. Issy’s ratings soar when it seems she’s falling in love on-air with a caller. A caller she doesn’t realize lives right next door.
Caleb Knight served a tour of duty in Iraq and paid a steep price. The last thing he wants is pity, so he hides his disability and moves to Deep Haven to land his dream job as the high school football coach. When his beautiful neighbor catches his eye, in a moment of desperation he seeks advice from My Foolish Heart, the show that airs before his favorite sports broadcast.
Before he knows it, Caleb finds himself drawn to the host—and more confused than ever. Is his perfect love the woman on the radio . . . or the one next door?”

To WIN a copy of this book, please click “follow” and hang out with me every MWF, if you don’t already, and ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:

Who would play YOU if your life was going to be made into a movie?

Frivolous Friday: Okay, so I’m a Stalker. It’s for Research!

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch



Me and “Jane”

 I believe in being thorough when I take on a project. Any project.  From cleaning the toys after nursery duty on Sunday to wearing my character’s skin like a glove. Okay that was too Silence of the Lambs weird. “Put on the lotion!” eeew.

Before I unravel my freakish mind before your eyes, let me preface everything with this: I don’t mock or make light of individuals who have experienced some of the things my fictional characters do or endure. In fact, some of my research came in the form of tragic experiences in my life.
I wrote a blog last Friday asking if some research was going too far? No one said it was.  Please read my prelude to today’s blog HERE!

I’m not a lone researcher and when I need to do something a little off the wall or unorthodox, I enlist my BFF, “Jane.” Refer back to “here” to read about why!

Let’s take a look at a few things I’ve done to get into my characters’ heads. It’s called Deep POV. You can read a great article on Deep POV here, by my friend and one of my crit partners, Michelle Massaro.

We stalked someone for about a month. I chose a man because I didn’t want to scare a woman half to death if I botched it and got caught. (which I didn’t)

 * I have changed this man’s occupation, where we found him, and his name to protect him, although he really doesn’t deserve it.

I chose a local hardware store and we scouted. Bingo!
We looked at each other, eyes glazed over– drunk on our mission and laughed, “Bwhahahahahahahahaha!”

I sent “Jane” inside to gather information while I casually walked near his car. You can find a lot out about someone from what’s in their car. Kids? Organized? What they read. Music they listen to. Please don’t ever look in my mini van!

At about 2:45 p.m. I get a text: Name: Joe. Married. I saw the ring. OMG he saw me looking at him! What do I do?
I text back: Look away???
Jane’s text: LOL I smiled. OMG I hope he doesn’t think it’s a come-on
I text back: Get a grip.
Jane’s text: over and out
I text back: We’re not truckers

…and thought to myself, maybe I should have done this alone.

The next morning I pulled into the lot at 8ish. She climbed in the van. “Did you bring coffee?”

“No.”

“I thought we were supposed to drink coffee and eat donuts?” She pouted and frowned at me.

“That’s a stake-out. We’re on the other side of the law, remember? Stalkers. Stalkers don’t drink coffee and eat donuts.”

“Well what do they do while they watch?” She folded her arms across her chest, clearly disappointed she wasn’t getting free breakfast.

I gave her a pointed look. “Nothing we’re gonna do. I’m not getting that deep into character.”

She giggled. “Wish I had coffee. Oh! There he is!”

“Stop bouncing! Lay low.”

She scooched down in her seat.

“Oh for the love! Like that’s not obvious. Sit up!” I sighed and put my sunglasses on, looking out of my peripheral vision.  I can tell by his car that he’s organized, clean.  He’s well dressed. and he’s conscious about his looks. He totally primped in his rearview. Jane falls into fits of giggles. “Hush.”

“The windows are up.”

I laughed at myself. “Oh, right.”

Ten seconds later another car pulled up and a cute little brunette stepped out and handed him a coffee. “Who’s she?”

Janes studied her. “I don’t know.”

“Guess we better find out.”

On Thursday, Jane came over like every Thursday and we did some serious researching. We found him on facebook.
Then we discovered the female was his friend on there–not his wife– and her banter seemed a little too friendly, or maybe we were trying to turn it into something it wasn’t. It would take more stalking, well, now private investigating to see.

“No, we’re still not getting donuts and coffee.”

“Fine!”

We spent the next week watching the two walk into work together. He sat in his car on the phone, a few minutes later she would pull up–on her phone, and then they would hang up and get out of their cars.

Jane looked at me with wide eyes. “You think they were talking to each other?”

“Nah, coincidence.”

“Really?” she asked surprised.

“No,” I responded flatly, “not really.”

 “What should we do?”

“Well if his wife was paying us $200 an hour, we’d take photos and tell her, but since I’m pretty sure we might be breaking the law, we do nothing.”

She stepped out of the van and got in her truck. “I’ll text you.”

“Do that.”

We had one more mission. We knew where he worked out, his hobbies, his favorite sports  and where he attended college–thanks to facebook and the gym bag in the back seat of his car.  But where did he live?

We needed to follow him. One, to find out if I could without getting caught and two, well there is no two.

After his shift, Jane jumped in my van and we followed him to the gym–where he worked out for an hour. Jane walked across the street to the gas station and bought snacks. They didn’t have donuts.

An hour later, he’d obviously showered, he got his hair cut, ran through the drive-thru, Oh, Joe, there went your excercise routine.  We drove to Wal-Mart. Yes we went in, yes we followed.

Two nights later we decided to go out at night and rummage through his trash. Jane met me at the house and we hopped in the trusty van. We eased down the street–lights off– and I decided, maybe we shouldn’t dig through his trash. I looked over to tell Jane about my reservations and lo and behold all I saw was her eyes.

Just her eyes and mouth. “What the heck are you doing?”

“I don’t want to get caught!”

 “Unless that mask has invisible powers, which I doubt, you can still get caught! We’re not robbing the guy!” I try not to laugh; it’s ridiculous.

“We’re taking his trash,” she counters.

“No, we’re digging through it. I don’t wanna take it.”

“Hey, remember that movie with Ashley Judd and the stalker dug through her trash and knew when it was her time of the month?”

“I doubt we’ll know when his time of month is, but yeah I remember it.” I rolled my eyes and put my head against the seat. “I think we might be going too far. I mean, Tim will kill me if he has to bail me out of jail.” I was pretty sure I could get away with it, but just in case…”Take that mask off. You’re freaking me out.”

She took it off and we headed home. No trash digging. But I found out, I could stalk easily. Sometimes, morbid I know, it was exciting. I also found out people are disappointing. I have no doubt after the few weeks we spent that Joe was involved with the little brunettte who brought him coffee and rubbed his back a little too intimately on the way into work.

Did we violate his privacy? I don’t think so, since, he doesn’t know it. And I didn’t blackmail him or prank call him. I do suggest you check your privacy settings on your social networking pages if you want to keep some things private. Since he didn’t, I can only assume it was for the whole world to see. Are you offended? I’m sorry.

 I’ve retired my stalking days.  Doesn’t mean I haven’t moved on to other things.

I have.



Yes, this is me in “Jane’s” vehicle

“Jane” has abducted me and drove around town. 

“I need you to tie me up, blindfold me, and drive me around.” That’s how I answered the door one Thursday morning.

She set her six-string down. “Okay. Can I pee first?”

I want you to know, it isn’t like the movies at all. You can use your feet to brace yourself, but when a turn is made, you lose it and roll around like a can out of a grocery bag. It wasn’t scary…at first. My point in wanting to do this was to see if I could get out of the binds (which I couldn’t–Jane is married to an ex-boyscout and she knows how to tie a knot) and I wanted to know if I could keep up with the direction and turns. (I couldn’t)

When I realized I had no control at all, I panicked and it reminded me of a incident that almost happened to me when I was 22, when I really was almost abducted. That did freak me out. My head hit something hard several times and the turns made me dizzy and disoriented.

Then at the end, she got a hair brain idea that she was going to “run from cops.” With NO warning, she sped up and started making crazy turns and slammed on her brakes over and over. I hollered for her to stop.

When she finally pulled back in my drive, I was nearly in tears. She opened the hatch, pulled off my blind fold–smiling–“Well, did you get your story?”

“I think you dislocated my shoulder and broke two of my fingers. I said ‘stop!'”

She helped me out. “Oh, I thought you were in character.” 

“No. No I was not.”

Apparently, we need a “safe” word. I know we sound morbid and maybe even insensitive. We’re not. Really. Just look at us!

What’s your favorite Easter Candy? (has zip to do with the blog, I know)

Enjoy your weekend and have a wonderful Resurrection Sunday! He’s alive! For the Passover parallel, you can click here.

Must Read Monday: Listen by Rene Gutteridge

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

“We humans can tame animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue.”

Rene Gutteridge tackles the tongue and the effects of words in her novel, Listen. It begins intense, with a teenage girl hanging herself over words that have hurt her.

It covers the life of a decent sized town probably a lot like the one you live in. Gossip runs rampant, and someone starts posting private  conversations on the internet for everyone to see. Fights break out, friends grow apart, and someone goes so far as to murder another.

What’s interesting is the gossip is mostly taking place by those who confess to be Christians. The sad truth is, slander and gossip does race like wildfire in our church. I’ve been on both ends. I bet you if you’re truthful, you could say the same.

What spoke to me the most?

The question is asked, Is what we say when we are in private okay? Kinda of like when the tree falls in the forest. If no one hears it, does it make a sound? 

There are things I’ll say to my husband and my best friend that I wouldn’t share with the ladies at the salon, but what if those words got on to the internet? Then how would I feel?

 It’s true– the power of life and death in the tongue. I don’t mean “name it and claim” prosperity preaching. I mean lifting and encouraging to bring life to someone’s heart and cutting them into worthless bits inside– breeding death.

It’s definitely opened my eyes to what I’m saying and who I’m saying it too.

Do I recommend the book?
Yes! Not only was the message deep and powerful, but her dialogue was witty and entertaining. The storyline was believable and interesting.

Here’s a teaser:
“Someone is listening…

The quaint, close-knit community of Marlo was the ideal place to live…until someone started posting private conversations online for everyone to read, word-for-word. Now it’s neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, as careless comments and hurtful accusations turn the town upside down. Violence and paranoia escalate, and the police scramble to find the person responsible before more people get hurt, or even killed.
But what responsibility do the residents of Marlo have for the words they say when they think no one is listening?”

What do you think? Does what you say in private effect others? Or is it okay to to  say whatever you like about someone as long as they can’t hear you? I’m interested to hear your thoughts!

Also, I’ll be interviewed tonight at 4 pm Pacific time at Romance Writer’s on the Journey! Stop by and say hi. I’m giving away a $10 Starbucks card, so leave me a comment to enter for a free drink  to sip on while you read your favorite book!

Frivolous Friday: How far is too far when researching?

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
 
 

So does anything look different? I know, right? I’m not savvy on the computer. I built a dummy blog trying to make this what I really envisioned, but I stink at it. Key word–dummy.

I have to give a big shout out to my friend and crit partner, Sheri Salatin, for her amazing skill to take my biz card and turn it into a great site, imo! Check out Sheri’s blog here.

Now, on with the show…this is it!

I’ve always taken dares and been adventurous–thus the many groundings. I blame my sister for the big stuff! Since she doesn’t read my blog because she suffers from adult ADD and can’t sit still long enough–ahem excuse–(I’m totally rolling my eyes right now), I can say what I want about her, and she is to blame. 🙂

I think God made me this way to be a better researcher for my books. Okay, I might be stretching here to justify some of the ridiculous things I do, but it’s working for me so…

I wrote a blog about some of my research adventures–ones I take “Jane” on because she’s easily influenced and I like to surround myself with people I can make do things. I’m kiddng! I’ve had a ton of coffee and I haven’t put my net under my mouth to catch my sarcasm or filter anything yet this morning, so you’ll have to be patient and endure. See, I’m making you do things! Well, trying anyway, some of you are stubborn.

 

Back to the blog I wrote. I haven’t posted it because I started to think, “What if someone gets offended over a few of them?” Some of things I’ve done to get the feel for a character really happened to someone, and they may not think my research and the humorous disasters they became are funny.

I could be overthinking, but that generally never happens to me! I tend to do and then say, “Ooops.” I’m a WIP. Aren’t we all?

I’ve never done anything I know to be illegal while researching nor have I been convicted by God or a court of law.

What do you think? Care to share some things you’ve done as research for a character in your novel?

Have a great weekend and stay out of trouble!

Frivolous Friday: Visceral Villains

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
 

Heeeeeere’s Johnny! (Jack Torrance, The Shining)

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. (Michael Corleone, The Godfather Part II)

I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti. (Hannibal Lector, The Silence of the Lambs.)

I’ll bet you didn’t even need my help with naming the movies or the villains that made these quotes famous, well infamous.

Villains /antagonists, whatever you want to call them have to exist to make a story work. Someone (or something but for the sake of this blog, it’s someone) has to stand in the way of what a protagonist/hero wants to get to.  Peanut butter to the jelly. Oatmeal to the cream pie. Chocolate to the milk. You get it and I might be hungry.

Villains aren’t hard for me write. I revel in them. I know, I’m a Christian and evil is bad–but it is real. And if I’m going to try and convince a reader of that, plus show God triumph then I need to dive into the villain. Here’s a few things that I’ve found work well when creating a believable bad guy.

1. Make your villain normal or even above average.

 

Not all villains look like the picture above. In fact, the more “normal” (relative term) you make them, the better the story.  Does Ian Somerholder look like an evil bad guy? Not so much, but boy does he play a bad guy–well vamp–in Vampire Diaries. (Don’t judge me!)

2.  Distort your villain’s mind in order to motivate them into becoming your protagonist’s obstacle.

Ian Somerholder’s character, Damon, does twisted things out of his love for Elena. Half the time, you’re asking yourself why he would do something off the wall. That’s not love. That’s just making more trouble. Well yeah, but look who’s mind it is!

An average bear who’s jilted smashes a wall with his fist or drinks himself stupid. He doesn’t make it his quest to kill everyone the jilter loves. But a distorted mind will. Now we have a story. The jilter has to fight for the ones she loves and stop the villain.

Besides, distorted minds are interesting. Look at the True Crime market. Everyone wants to know, “Why do they do that?”

3. Don’t always save the villain.
Literally. As Christians, we want to redeem everyone! However, realistically and tragically, not everyone accepts salvation. If you write a story about a serial killer and you redeem him, I’ll give you a heinous review! 😉 Can they be? Anything is possible, but not likely.

Let’s take a  revengeful man who tries to manipulate his high school sweetheart and ex-fiance into marrying him– again. He has a underlying agenda.  What is his motive for this revenge? Abandonment, hatred for her family after he found out a secret–which most people would just be mad about and bitter–but if we distort his thinking and use Mr. Hotty as an obstacle to what the heroine wants, we’ve got an intriguing and mysterious story with layers of complexity and fun twists.

Circumstances ie backstory + distorted thinking= motivation to do heinous things normal people wouldn’t. But now you have a story.Is he redeemable? Absolutely. Will we redeem him? Nope. We’ll resolve the heroine’s conflict and leave him bitter, without peace, and alone.  There’s a biblical lesson to learn, it stays real, and we can end happily ever after for our heroine. Reader satisfaction guaranteed.

4. Amp up your villain’s complexity by giving him/her at least one good trait. (this does not apply to sociopaths or psychopaths–they fake good qualites but don’t really have any)

 

The ex-fiance wasn’t the revengeful snake before he found out the secret (circumstances ie backstory). He still has some tender qualities that pop out from time to time that relate to the woman he’s seeking revenge on. It’s an internal tug-of-war.

He hates her and then remembers when he first met her or kissed her. He softens, rethinks what he’s doing…then remembers why he’s doing it which is the secret he discovered about her family that has a direct tie into his abandonment. Distorted thinking, “she deserves to pay and have a happy life snatched from her too”gives him new motivation to make her life miserable without her realizing what he’s up to.

It also makes the reader play internal tug-of-war. She’ll hate him, then feel sorry for him when she doesn’t really want to–if you flesh him out and write it well. Which is every writer’s goal.

*note* We don’t always want the reader to have mixed feelings for a villain, but in this case we do. It depends on the story you’re writing.

If you’re a writer, how do you create a great villain and do you enjoy it?
Readers, what makes a good villain to you and do you have a memorable one from a book you read or a movie you watched?

Have a great weekend! On Monday, you’ll meet author, Susie Brown.

Oh yeah, I’m a finalist at Clash of the Titles for most emotional scene! I’m being interviewed over there, so come by and say hi! 

Must Meet Monday: Michelle Massaro

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

I’ve decided to add a new feature to my Mondays. Why? One, because I can. Two, because I know so many incredible people and have met tons of amazing writers on-line and I want you to meet them too.

So…

Mondays have now become Must Read or Meet Monday. Today, I’m excited to introduce Michelle Massaro.

Crazy story…

I was bouncing around some ideas for a book title and wondered if what I was looking for had been used. When I googled it, it led me to a youtube. I watched the book trailer and then found Michelle’s blog. I saw she was a member of the CWG (Christian Writers Guild) and facebooked her. By the way my current WIP is not Beauty for Ashes. It’s Eye of the Beholder.

We started chatting online and became friends. We had the chance to meet in person at the CWG Writing for the Soul Conference in Denver. How cool is that? I know!

Everyone, meet my friend Michelle.

     Tell everyone a little about yourself!

       I like slow walks along the beach… ahem… I met Mike in eighth grade and we’ve been married almost 16 years.  I’m mom to four kids ages 2 to 15. I’m the Assistant Editor for Clash of the Titles, where one of my duties is overseeing the Blog Alliance, sort of my baby.  Currently, I’m working on a new draft of my first novel, Beauty for Ashes. I also sing on my church’s worship team. 
    How did you know you wanted to be a writer?
      For a long time, I denied it.  It sounded too lofty for me. (I’m very pragmatic). But being so introspective makes me imagine wild situations and think “what if”, and storylines birth themselves.  I’m also a tough critic, and would often think “hey, I could do better” when reading (lol, if only it were so easy). So I finally opened up a Word doc and began my journey.
She is a tough critic. I should know!
  Why do you write the particular genre/material that you do?
      I’m a deep thinker and feeler.  I want stories that resonate to the core.  My passion is evangelizing through fiction.  As for genre (Contemporary) there are two reasons: 1. There’s less research (ha!) and 2. It’s a world I can relate to.  The bills, the traffic, the speech, even the state of the church.
     What do you love most about writing? What do you love least?
      I love watching a story come to life.  Watching characters go from faceless shapes to complex human beings.  Writing a scene that makes me cry. I least love coming up with a new plot line. It’s scary for me, when those characters are fuzzy and the premise isn’t fleshed out. There’s nothing unique yet to give me validation as a writer.  Is that bad, to need validation as a writer?
     How do you come up with story ideas?
      Prayer!  I want to give God my pen, and to do that I know I must seek Him for what message He wants me to convey through my stories.  I wrote an article about this very thing: 3 Steps To Writing a Christ-Centered Novel here 
    
 What do you love in a good book?
      A spiritually and emotionally rich experience.  Sweep me up in your story world and leave my soul changed.  I love depth in a book.  Give me something real.
     Who is your favorite author and why?
      Francine Rivers, hands down.  Nobody can touch her as far as putting you in her characters’ world.  Her Mark of the Lion series had a huge impact on me.  From the opening line of A Voice in the Wind—The city was silently bloating in the hot sun, rotting like the thousands of bodies that lay where they had fallen in street battles.—you are smack-dab in her story.  I dreamt of her characters, I longed to spend time with Hadassah and glean from her faith.  Francine inspires me to write stories that will elicit the same response in my readers.  I’d love to meet her one day.
    What’s your favorite writing snack?
      lol, I can’t help but giggle at this.  I’m all over the place.  Usually some form of candy like Reese’s pieces (love!) but I have to be careful or I mindlessly eat the whole bag (and not the snack-sized ones!)  Other times I have no snack and might forget to eat my meals altogether.
     If you could be one hero/heroine from a book who would you choose and why?
      Hmm. Good question. I’d have to go with Lucy from the chronicles of Narnia.  I’d love to dig my fingers and bury my face in Aslan’s mane.  And who wouldn’t want to live in a world with unicorns and mermaids, in a castle, with a magic flask to heal all wounds?
If you could be one villain from a book who would you choose and why? Goodness me! A villain?  Well… I guess I’ll say Cinderella’s wicked stepmother because I wouldn’t be doing my own housework.
  What is your current book titled? Share what it’s about! 
My WIP is a Contemporary Women’s Fiction called Beauty for Ashes:
John Douglas’ faith in God dies with his wife and daughter. His despair drives him to the bottle and then into the bed of a paid stranger. Broken by shame, John finds restoration in Christ and rebuilds his life.
But when his past comes knocking on his door, his future is shredded. He must decide whether to bury his secret, or risk his new life—and love—by revealing the truth. Can God make the tattered pieces of his life into something beautiful?

  What advice do you have to give others who want to write fiction.

 My advice if you want to write, first of all, is start! But also, take time to learn the basic skills before you begin a full-length novel.  Read blogs like this one, find articles on the writing craft, meet other writers. Get familiar with terms like POV, pacing, voice, and hooks.  It’s much harder to apply skills to a manuscript after the fact.  Trust me on this.

Here’s how you can connect with Michelle!
Watch the trailer: here 
 Find me on facebook twitter (@mochashello), and my blog Adventures in Writing  Drop by any time and say “hello”.

     
Oh! One last thing– what question would you like to ask the readers? (and thanks so much for coming by)
My question for readers is what was your favorite read in the last year or two.  Also, what do you look for in a novel? 

 Feel free to answer the question or leave a comment! Have a great Monday, friends!

There is a Method to My Madness: But Not Really

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
 
 
I’ve been asked to share my method of penning a story.
 
Here it is:

…there really isn’t one.

But this is how it works for me when I’m writing contemporary romance (with suspenseful elements). I also write romantic suspense and the plotting is different.

1. Inspiration Hits

 

Generally, it smacks me in the face during my early morning time with the Lord. I’ll see a face, hear a voice and a scene of some sort pops in my head. For example: When I wrote the Precious Gems Saga, I was reading Isaiah 54. “And I will make your pinnacles of rubies (Pigeon’s Blood was born) your gates of crystal (Crystal Gates) and your foundations of sapphire (Sapphire Foundation).” Each female character paralleled that particular jewel. I studied the stones and as I did, the characters developed.

After I wrote those three books, I knew it wasn’t finished. The characters weren’t ready to say goodbye just yet and new stories formed–with their children. The Wayward Children Trilogy, was born. 

2. Plotting

 
 

Plotting happens while I’m on the treadmill walking. Not when I run because I have to consciously remind myself to breathe. But when I’m walking, characters tell me who they are, what they’ve been through, what they want and how they think they should get it. I don’t alway agree with them, but what do I know? I see these things happen in live scenes. Like watching a movie in my head. The kind of music I’m listening to at the time sets the pace of the scenes I see.

 

I don’t always write the scenes down because I remember them, but sometimes when they say something very smart-alec or profound, that I can’t come up with on my own, I jump off the treamill and scribble it on a post-it. Or if I’m cleaning, I stop (great excuse to put the Pledge down) and find my post-its.

I rarely get the beginning scene right off-the-bat. The middle and ending happen first. Once I  have the basic structure and know who my characters are (because they tell me), I research anything necessary– which is always– and then I write.

3. Writing happens

Why yes, that is
my pink snuggie! Convenient
for writers who get cold!

 

Not really, I wish. I have to make it happen. I used to sit in a double size chair in our den with my laptop and skull candy. That’s where I wrote most of my manuscripts. I now have a sweet writing desk in my bedroom.
 
 I don’t need solitude, but I like it. I stuff my skull candy in my ears, crank up the music I’ve seen the scenes to and I disappear. Sometimes, I’ll play one song over and over for hours at a time. Writing is the only time I forget to eat.
 

I write all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I’m home and my kids are at school. On MWF, I get to come home at noon and write till I get the kids. I don’t usually write on weekends unless everyone goes to bed and I can’t sleep. Then I may work until 1 or 2 in the morning, especially if I’m nearing the end.

 
 
Somewhere in there, when it comes time for the twist, I stop and outline the rest of the novel. Just a paragraph for each scene to walk me through where I’m going, which will keep me organized, and then I bring it on home.
 

 

Now, my FBI Hornet’s Nest series is a whole other brand of cereal. The plotting is very different and more structured because it has to be in order to keep up with everything. I’ll write about that another time.
 
Have a great weekend!

 * The winner for Gray Matter, is Terri Tiffany! Congrats!

 
If you’re a writer, what’s the method to your madness? If you’re not a writer, what book are you curling up with this weekend?
 

Close Quarters + People = CONFLICT

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch
 

“Get out of my way!”

“I was here first!”

“Mom!”

“Don’t you snitch on me. I didn’t do anything!”

“That toothpaste smell is gagging me!”

“Mom!”

Our mornings usually begin quiet and peaceful. Until my children have to share the bathroom. Bailey is primping and flat ironing her hair and Myles just needs to “water his hair” and brush his teeth.

Two minutes together. Tops.

I’m usually in the kitchen, feeling good after my morning with the Lord. I’m at peace. Quiet inside. Full of love…

“If I hear you screaming one more time, I’m going to come in there and give you a reason a to scream!”

Ever wonder how that happens? I can just see my flesh inside–crawling, gearing up to be let loose. Itching. Come on, I just need one tiny prick…where are those kids when I need them!?

They’re in separate rooms. That’s where.

 

Close quarters bring conflict. Bank on it. You fight most with the people you live with, or maybe work very closely with. It’s why you can go to church on Sunday and practically lick the syrup off folks’ faces. It’s easy to be sweet to people you see once a week.

Conflict is key in writing stories. It’s what keeps readers turning pages. Do you read? Would you agree? If there is no conflict there is no story.

In real life, I don’t want any drama. But in a book, where I’m not the target or stuck listening to whining and droning…I want drama! Lots of it!

 

There are many ways to inject conflict into a story.  The most obvious would be external conflict.

Miss thang here, well, she’s got herself in some kind of physical predictament that seems hopeless. Someone or something has literally put her up against a wall.

I see this picture and I think, “How did she get in this situation?” ie…backstory (that doesn’t need vomited onto the page) “How is she going to get out? After all, her best friend can’t save her…she’s strapped right up there with her.

Add some dialogue:
“I can’t believe you got me into this, Baby.”

“Me? Me? Duckie, you’re the one who said we should follow the bread crumbs.”

Duckie quacked and tried to point her wing, but the duct tape pulled at her feathers she’d just had trimmed and tipped, “I always say that! It’s like you always asking for a cookie! I tune it out! Now figure out a way to get us down!”

 

This bring us to Internal conflict. What’s going on inside of her? This is where writers get to be therapists. “How does that make you feel?” Then we get to be patients. “Well…stuck?”  Internal conflict is as important to a story as the external conflict.

 

I happen to love odd conflict. Inner and external. For example, this cartoon. This man is afraid of butterflies. I’m certainly not making fun of the fear of butterflies or phobias that people have. I have a few of my own.

I’m terrified of driving in heavy traffic. I don’t drive for a living, but take that fear and put it inside a truck driver. Now that’s good stuff! You may be asking, “Why would a guy become a truck driver if he’s scared to drive?”

Maybe it’s not a he. Maybe it’s a she and she is a single mom about to lose her children. What choice does she have? This may be the only thing she can do to make the money she needs to keep them. External conflict and internal. 

And of course, I have to have a little humor and duh, romance! She’s going to need an instructor, so she can obtain her CDL (a special license). This man has to ride along with her. He might even be a little chauvinist–but it’s probably a facade (his wife had an affair while he was on the road; he’s bitter).

Can you see her trying to use both foot pedals and shift that big ole’ rig with a burly (hot) guy glaring at her–ticked off because he’s stuck with some female who wants to drive a truck. She’ll kill them before she ever gets out of the parking lot!

We just amped up the conflict, ladies and gents!

 FYI, I just thought this up while writing; none of my stories are about a single mom becoming a truck driver. However…

 

In suspenseful stories (which all stories should have some suspense), a sneaky fox can add conflict. I like to call this Devious Mind conflict.

Someone who seems innocent, but secretly thwarts the plans of the hero/heroine in the story–or both. Maybe the reader knows this up front. If it’s a mystery, probably not until much later in the story. I write about serial killers in my Hornet’s Nest Series. I keep my killers a mystery–until the last “act.” and even then it’s about the end of the story.

I love characters that are crazy like a fox…or is that hungry like the wolf??? Oh well…either-both. Whatever, it works. 

 

 

One of my all time favorites, is the love conflict. Man loves woman, woman loves man. But they can’t be together. It’s the glue of a great romance novel. Who wants to read a book where a couple fall in love in chapter one, get married in chapter two and live a ho-hum decent life the rest of the book? If you do, sorry. But I do not!

Rejection in a relationship fuels me to keep reading. Nothing tugs my heartstrings like a woman or a man rejecting the other when I know they really love each other. But it takes, what to keep them apart? Conflict. Internal. External.

 

Mix it up with odd conflict, sneaky conflict or, just stick them in a bathroom together for about two minutes. I know first hand that works.

Either way, you can’t erase conflict from a novel. You don’t have one if you do. And you can’t erase it from your real life.

 

Thankfully, there is conflict resolution. His name is…God. That’s why I love writing Inspirational Fiction. I can show the world how God can be the conflict resolution in any situation. I get the pleasure of extending hope to readers who might identify with some of my characters–even single mom truckdrivers.

Does every situation end beautifully in real life? No. In fiction? Most times.

But, real life and fiction do have something in common when it comes to conflict resolution. The availability for God to resolve inner conflict is always there. The same hope you read about in fiction, is very real in the story we call real life.

You can’t change some of your circumstances. You don’t always ask for conflict, but God is always ready to bring peace to your inner conflict first. He cares more about the condition of your spiritual life, than your physical.

So…talk to me. Tell me what kinds of conflict you enjoy reading about? What keeps you turning pages?

Have a great weekend.  Join me on for Must Read Monday! I’m sharing about a book you can get for free! If you don’t have a kindle, I’M GIVING AWAY A BOOK! TELL YOUR FRIENDS!