Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Poem #Decisions #Writing

Meander 1 Poem - Untitled since I couldn't come up with one

Butterfly kite high
Spies fir tree spears, tugs winding
Lines pulls to touch spring.

Puppet kite I you guide with knotted strings.
Mt rough grasped rope holds you in struggle. Bends
As I husband you with elastic cords
And thinning strings cut tight into my hands.
Whisper strings snap and you are free to go.
I dangle vanished ties and wonder why.

Swoop in eagle dance.
Find new currents. Ride the wind
Butterfly kite high.

Meander 2 - Decisions - This past week I've had to make decisions I didn't want to make. I had to use my Power of Attorney and my Health Initiative my husband gave me three years ago. Hopefully I've made the right decision. He is feeling some better today but he's still not well. All I can do is hope.

Meander 3 - Writing - Moving along with the rough draft of the newest story Tangled Dreams. I must get the CAF done and off to Jude in the coming week. I believe I know enough about the characters to do this.

Meandering On Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #BooksWeLoveLTD #Poetry #Invitation #amwriting

Meander 1 - Invitation - Poem

Come with me. Ride the wind.
Let your mind flow free.
Send your thoughts to the farthest stay
Or let them enter life.
Imagination's a wonderful thing
You can be me and I can be you.

Meander 2 - Decisions - Sometimes one has to make hard decisions, even ones political. Lately, there's been the #MeToo movement. I've managed to pretty much avoid having to shout me, too. That's good. Once, I was a nurse and in an elevator. From behind me someone pinched my butt. I reacted with an elbow heading back into the doctor's midsection. Nothing was said but it never happened again. There's also been another school shooting and mental health has become the issue. My problem is why someone with mental health issues could buy a gun. Puzzles me. Also, why could someone who can't vote buy a gun? Puzzles me. Puzzles a lot of other people.

Meander 3 - Writing - Moving forward with my story and am not working on shaping the last four chapters into shape. There's still a lot of writing to do but I will have this finished before the deadline. The Leo/Aquarian Connection will be finished so I can start the last book in that series.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - More on Voice #MFRWauthor

Decisions help hone an author's voice. The first one to look at is - Are you an Objective or a Subjective writer. Today, subjective seems to be the choice of many writers. Exploring the emotions and inner thoughts and reasons for actions seem to abound. The objective writr tells the story as it in and doesn't dig much into the whys of a charcters actions. They do have all the basic elements, character and plot but there's not much exploring the character's heads.

The voice is embroidered by the way a writer uses exposition, description, narration and action. Each writer uses these in different ways, ways that are natural to him, her or to the kind of story he writes.

Now we come to the problem of imitating. That means trying to duplicate another writer's way of story telling. We've all read stories that shout imitation. Using a writer's style and trying to make it the writer's own. Sometimes it troubles me when I hear someone say I write like John Smith. That's when I know I'm doing somethign wrong and pushing too hard for an effect. But often a writer admires a particular writer and makes a study of this writer's work. Certain bits will creep hinto his own writing. Think of the writers where you have read everything they wrote and you will find you use some of their elements but in your own way. What the writer does is use bits and pieces that speak to him and he adapts them in some way that makes that bit his own.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Decisions and Sequels

Last week was a look at Scenes and Disasters. Something hasto follw or the story will end in disaster for the character or characters essential to the story. Following a disaster or an event that doesn't end as the focus character of the scene wishes, this character must make some kind of a decision. Will they continue to pursue their goal or will they change goals? Will they continue on the path they've set forth on to reach their goal or change the path but keep the original goal in view?

This is the decision moment and is designed to lure the reader forward. The sequel begins with a reaction. This can be an I'll never succeed sort of time, rather like a minor dark moment, The object of their affection has walked away. The murderer had struck again. The evil wizard has negated the spell. The attempt to escape being drawn into the worm hole has failed. Any number of disasters for the hero, heroine and perhaps even the villain.

Once the focus character reacts her or she must weigh their options. What am I going to do now? Each examination of choices will be different depending on the nature of the focus character. No matter how long they debate with themselves or others, they must take the next step.

This is a decision and that means moving forward. This could be a flight or fight reaction. This could be a stubborn moment but this will lead to the next scene where they are the focus character or not.

This sequel can be short or long but remember it's the bait you're dangling before a reader hoping to hook them to continue to read more. So after the big dramatic scene, don't forget the sequel. Dangle your bait and lure the reader to read on and hopefully they will want to read more of your stories.

Many thanks to Dwight V Swain and Techniques Of The Selling Writer for helping me understand what I sometimes forgot to develop in my stories.

Writing Tips -- The End

The ending of a story must be satisfactory. Yes, a happy ending is essential to some genres and some stories but not all stories have a happy-ever-after ending. The last part of a story must lead a reader to say yes, I can see that's the way it had to end.

But there are things leading to the ending of a story. There is the black moment or the crisis. This is when one or both of the main characters believes all is lost. The hero or heroine feels they will never gain love. The detective believes the criminal will go free. That's the sort of emotion the black moment brings. Following this the character or character must come to a decision and see what changes must be made so they can attain their goal.

Some books are hard for a writer to end. The characters have become really alive and it's like saying goodbye to a friend. One way to solve this is to do a sequel. When I was writing The Quest For The White Jewel, the editor thought the ending was all right but wanted me to do a bit more. That was the moment when it hit me that the story wasn't complete. Though the White Jewel had been found there were other jewels without Holders and there were also some of the baddies still running around. That was when I started the second book and untimately there was a third.

Here's a bit about epilogues. I generally don't write them because the ending I've written satisfies me, In romances, especially, an epilogue is often used to show the hero and heroine really have managed the happy-ever-after. I'm not sure this is necessary.