I haven't been writing, but I have been thinking. A lot.
I'm preparing to start a new book, the first in a new series, and I've been feeling for a while that I want this series to be different somehow. I just haven't been able to define different. I feel like I need to write something more. By that, I mean something with more depth, more to say. Maybe. The problem is, I still want romance, and I still want mystery. I don't want to switch from genre fiction to literary fiction.
This urge might have something to do with my general overall mood. When I wrote Unwritten Rules, I was a new empty-nester, work was going great, and I had life by the tail. I could try to be funny. For the past couple of years, humor has eluded me. I really struggled with the final book in my female bodyguard series, and while I love the final result, I know it isn't as funny as the previous two.
In an effort to find the right tone for the new series, I've been re-reading Donald Maass's brilliant book, Writing the Breakout Novel. I'm not trying to "break out" in the way he means--signing with a top agent, scoring a six-figure contract--but I am looking to add depth to my work. Several years ago, I attended one of his day-long workshops based on this book and found it very instructive. He puts into words many of the principles most of us sense about writing but never mange to articulate. The book was published in 2001, so some of the advice is dated, but much of it is still pertinent. I recommend you read it for yourself, but I thought I'd share some of the highlights I hope to incorporate into my next book.
Premise
A breakout premise has plausibility, inherent conflict, originality and gut emotional appeal.
Stakes
High stakes start with high human worth. Honesty, integrity, loyalty, kindness, bravery, respect, trust and love of one's fellow men are all measures of high human worth.
Breakout novels combine high public stakes with high personal stakes.
To raise personal stakes ask, "How can this matter more?"
To raise overall stakes ask, "How could things get worse?"
Characters
Breakout characters are deep and many-sided.
Larger-than-life characters say what we cannot say, do what we cannot do, change in ways that we cannot change.
Plot
Conflict in the breakout novel is meaningful, immediate, large-scale, surprising, not easily resolved and happens to people for whom we feel sympathy.
This all sounds pretty lofty, especially for what may turn out to be another quirky romantic mystery, but it has helped me think about my characters and my story in a new, deeper way.
Alison
https://www.alisonhenderson.com
And suddenly you know: It's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings. ~ Meister Eckhart
I rarely find myself starting a new story in January; in fact, I can't think of another year my schedule worked out that way. Usually I'm in the middle of a project and spend January trying to get back up to speed after losing momentum during the holidays. Well, one of the big positives of my current project is that it allows me to start a new story every month!
I've mentioned before that I'm working on a collection of Christmas short stories, inspired by our Roses of Prose stories, to be released next fall. So far, I've written five of the ten planned stories. My schedule allows me one month to write each story. That way I'll still finish in plenty of time even after life intrudes and I invariably fall behind.
The best thing about writing this collection is that I get to experience the magic of beginnings over and over on the same project--that heady rush of creating a new setting and new characters with a whole new set of problems. Talk about keeping the creative juices flowing!
As a confirmed plotter, I've found I have to do a significant amount of pre-writing even for a short story. Creating a fairly detailed character list before I start helps me understand my characters, and a brief outline of the three 1,500 word acts makes sure I have an actual plot. If I try to skip this step, writer's block grabs me by the throat and shakes me like a rag.
But why would I want to skip it? Pre-writing is one of my favorite parts of the process--the time I can let my imagination run wild. As I write this, I'm beginning my sixth story. This is what I know so far:
- It will be entitled NO ROOM AT THE INN.
- The heroine Charlene (Charley) owns The Foxborough Inn, a B & B in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley
- The hero Joe is a building contractor (i.e. a carpenter) from the Washington, D.C. area
- Joe arrives at the inn on Christmas Eve during an ice storm with a very pregnant teenage hitchhiker named Maria, who's on the run from a trio of Mafia hitmen (i.e. wiseguys), only to find the inn booked up with a Christmas wedding party.
- Despite a few intentional parallels, this is a comedy--not a re-make of the original Christmas story. Charley doesn't put them up in the stable. (They stay in her cottage with her.) And the baby does not arrive on Christmas Day.
I have some ideas about what will happen, and I won't start writing until I've decided on the basic plot points. That should help the actual writing flow smoothly. Fingers crossed. I've also created this mock-up cover to inspire me as I work. Hopefully all the new beginnings will help this project zip right along until I type THE END.
Alison
