Love and Chocolate Anthology Giveaway

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More than 100 pages of poems, recipes and short stories, including my short story "Caroline's Gift". It's yours. It's FREE. It's perfect reading all year long.

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NECESSARY GOALS

What one how-to write book is a must on your bookshelf? Why?

I was recently asked the question by Deanna Jewel as part of an author interview. My answer, along with the complete interview, will appear on her blog on March 3rd.

However, while every writer strives to keep her readers in suspense, I have no intention of making you wait three weeks for my answer!

The book is "Techniques of the Selling Writer" by Dwight V. Swain.

It’s an invaluable resource that offers something for the beginning writer to publication and beyond. If you write fiction and do not have a copy of this book, get one ASAP. Make it a top priority. Better yet, make it a 2011 writing goal.

Speaking of goal, every character in your story must, should, ought to have a goal, and they should have a goal in every single scene. Otherwise, there is no story.

I love the simplicity of Swain’s definition of goal. The character, he says, wants "something. That something always falls into one of three categories:

(1) Possession of something...a girl, a job, a jewel: you name it.

(2) Relief from something...blackmail, domination, fear.

(3) Revenge for something...a slight, a loss, betrayal.

In DEFENDING GLORY, first of the Piedmont Island Trilogy series, the heroine wants to build a retreat. The villain wants her to stop construction and leave the island. The hero, of course, is determined to complete the retreat AND protect Glory. Three distinct characters. Three diverse goals that carry the story to the end.

My question for readers: What is the goal of the main character of the book you are currently reading? Why do you think it is important?

My question for writers: What one how-to book is a must on your bookshelf? Why?

USING THE BEST & WORST OF LANDSCAPE

“An author knows his landscape best,” Tony Hillerman once said, “he can stand around, smell the wind, get a feel for his place.”

Piedmont Island, the location for my debut novel, DEFENDING GLORY, as well as the setting for books number two and three, may be an imaginary place, but like Tony Hillerman I know every detail of that incredible landscape. After all, I created it! But make no mistake, this is a place based on truth. Located in the north eastern part of beautiful Minnesota, I have kept Piedmont Island well within the framework of its geographical location.

That means there is not a swaying palm tree, desert cactus, rain forest, or snow capped mountain in sight.

There is, however, a wide woodland expanse of pine, maple, spruce, cedar and birch trees. Four distinct seasons bless these rolling hills, tranquil meadows, and quiet streams and ponds. Surrounded by the world’s largest fresh body of water – Lake Superior, Piedmont Island is also home to a lighthouse still in use to warn captains of lake freighters and small pleasure craft alike to be wary.

Why do I mention the lighthouse? (The picture above, by the way, is of Minnesota's Split Rock Lighthouse, located just south of Piedmont Island.)

Because even fictional places should be based on fact. My research indicates there are 49 documented shipwrecks along this rugged stretch of Minnesota coastline.

Although I have not yet made reference to that imaginary lighthouse or those very real shipwrecks in my books, I expect I soon will. Why? Because Piedmont Island is a small community where troubles outnumber inhabitants. Bad stuff happens to good people. How else can I keep readers up at night turning the pages?

One reader confided this past week she read DEFENDING GLORY in a single day. I was thrilled. That meant I’d done my job as a writer. My story held her interest to the exclusion of everything else that was going on in her life that day.

Another reader emailed to ask where I get my ideas. Each of my stories begin as a grain of sand that through trial and error transforms into a full length novel. I tend to start with a murder. The scenes that follow are determined to a large extent by the characters themselves as they do their utmost to stay alive long enough to solve the crime, but setting does play a significant role in what happens next.

Back to Piedmont Island. Imaginary or not, summers can be cold or wet or they can be hot and humid. Thunderstorms can, and do, appear off Lake Superior with sudden terrifying fury. As do hailstorms, strong northerly winds, and perilous choppy waves. Winter blizzards can be particularly treacherous and deadly, especially if they cause a power outage. But standing there, facing everything Mother Nature throws at it, is the lighthouse. A monument to time. A beacon of refuge and safe haven.

Or is it?

A lot can go wrong there. The heroine could be held hostage or trapped inside the lighthouse. The villain can use it as a hide out, or a vantage place to shoot at the hero. The staircase up to the top of the lighthouse is a great place for a chase scene, and again, all sorts of things can go wrong. Especially if the hero or heroine is afraid of heights.

Hillerman was correct when he said “an author knows his landscape best.” I believe an author should also know the worst of that landscape. And not be afraid to use it. Thoughts?

WINTER WEATHER PERILS

It’s mid January and it’s cold outside. Whether one uses the Fahrenheit or Celcius scale doesn’t matter. The bottom line is it’s freezing. Below zero. Gosh, darn C-O-L-D.

The extreme weather extends all the way to Piedmont Island.

Okay, I’ll admit Piedmont Island is a fictitious island off Minnesota’s northeastern coast. A figment of my imagination, it is nonetheless a remote place of rugged beauty with robust residents who have more than their fair share of troubles. The island is also surrounded by the largest fresh water inland body of water in the world - Lake Superior.  But, make-believe or not, Piedmont Island WILL be cold this time of year.

Acknowledging that simple climatic truth can work to a writer’s advantage.

How?

Think of setting as a main character. Like the heroine or hero it will have traits, flaws, virtues, and vices. It can be used to up the stakes, equal the playing field, dictate types of events, etc. It can also eliminate a sagging middle or even solve writer’s block.

James V. Smith, Jr., explains it best in his book You Can Write A Novel.  “When you write about the setting, give it personality, involve it in the action. An inanimate setting might not have goals and motivations, but it definitely imposes rules of conduct on all characters equally, and they defy these rules at their peril.” 

I’d like to repeat that last little bit. “Setting…imposes rules of conduct on all characters equally, and they defy these rules at their peril.”

Pick a setting for your story, and then use it. Exploit it. Capitalize on it.

January on Piedmont Island is naturally cold. It's winter. Bleak, harsh, relentless winter.

That means below zero temperatures, winter storm warnings, 100-mph gusting winds, white-out road conditions, streets and sidewalks covered with thick, treacherous ice. Any and all of these conditions pose potential problems for villains and protagonists alike. It may even force them to alter, stop, start or rethink their actions. And that can be a very good thing for you, and your story.

Remember too, that setting can influence a character’s mood. A person who enjoys cross country skiing, snowshoeing, or snowmobiling will be ecstatic at news of an impending record snowfall. An individual who prefers tropical drinks served with paper umbrellas and likes to lounge outdoors on the deck or patio will react quite differently to that same news. Put someone between a rock and a hard place and then throw everything Mother Nature has to offer at them, and you the writer can sit back and watch them, and your readers, squirm.

Thoughts?

SMALL TOWN / LESS TROUBLE?

One of the joys of writing a romantic suspense series like the Piedmont Island Trilogy Series is the setting itself. It plays a significant role, and in many ways is as important as the main characters.

Choosing a small, fictional island community on the northern tip of Minnesota was an easy decision for me. The state is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and is situated next to the largest fresh water body of water in the world, Lake Superior.

Mother Nature has blessed the region with majestic pine trees, rugged rock cliffs and outcroppings, spectacular dawns, glorious sunsets and the ever present rush of waves lapping at its shores.

Piedmont Island, however, is also a community where troubles outnumber residents. (I _DO_ write fiction, remember!)

In DEFENDING GLORY, the first book of this series, the heroine and hero resettle on the island to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. They also want a fresh start. A new beginning. In short, they want the American dream.

Do you think the size of a community has any bearing upon personal happiness?