Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Found in Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain

First let me say this is one of the best books I've read on writing and I've used it since I began writing. The first copy of this book was loaned to someone who never returned it so I bought a new one. I learned so much about writing from the book and also from the editors who, years ago, made comments on my stories and sent me back to re-write.

There is a little thing I've used when writing gleaned from this book. For me it usually comes after the rough draft is completed or when I try several first chapters that go no-where.

It is a statement followed by a question and sums up the entire book to keep me on track. So I'll show you how it works for me since it's being used in a story I'm currently writing.

When Rafe Marshall returns to take the position as Director of Nursing at Fern Lake General, he encounters Manon Lockley MD, the girl he deserted  on the night of their senior prom because of threats voiced by her father. Will he be able to convince Manon that he loves her when she believes the lies she has been told?

Here we have the focus character Rafe and the situation. At first, I thought Manon was the focus character, but this wasn't working. Then the reason hit me. Rafe has the most to lose and to gain in the story. The situation is addressed by his return and the why of his return is given.  The goal or objective is stated and the opponent is named.  Also the potential for disaster is named. Once I had this down the story has moved ahead rapidly.

I've been using things gleaned from this book for my weekly tips and have sort of jumped ahead but wanted to share what put me on track.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Feelings #amlearning

I've always connected feelings to emotions. Is this true or false? Are there layers to Feelings I haven't explored. While re-reading Techniques of a Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain, one of the best books on writing I've ever read, I came across this bit about Feelings. "Feeling is a thing you build through manipulation of motivation and reaction." Mr. Swain says there are a number of steps to building feelings in a story. I've found them of much interest.

The writer has to decide what is good and what is bad. This took me a lot of thinking and I thought about mysteries I've written where death plays a large role. Death can be good or bad. Death brings feelings among the created characters. An expected death when a person has been suffering could be a good death. In some stories I've read, a character has sacrificed theit life for another. This could be considered a good death. Murder on the other hand can be considered a bad death. Or is it?

How does one decide? What about the facts? Are they things we read in books? Yes. Are they things we have been taught that others around us believe? Generally. So what doe facts have to do with feelings? Much depends on the person viewing the facts and this is where character creating comes into play. Using a character's reaction to a fact can deepen his character. While the character might not react to the fact the same way as the writer has, the writer must stay true to what the created person would believe and act. This can be difficult since it means the writer must put themselves into the character's shoes. That becomes the second stage of showing Feelings or emotions.