Wednesday's Writer's Tip - More on Defining the Basic Conflict #MFRWauthor

The character's environment has a lot to do with how they react to other characters and helps the plot progress. Last week five were mentioned. Here are five more.

The character is placed in an environment he wants to escape. I can think of a number of places. Some are evident and some not. Right now I'm working with a hero who wants to escape the hospital. He was shot and he wants to make light of his reason for being there. A patient could want to escape prison. In all genres there can be a character who wants to escape a particular environment and each will go about this in their own way. Think of some disaster like a forest fire. The character might want to escape poverty or a dozen other reasons for the character to want to escape.

What about the character who finds him or herself in a place where he or she isn't wanted. This could conjure a number of kinds of stories. The girl who wants to play baseball and is good. Imagine her on a boy's team. The debutante who must help in a soup kitchen. Think about putting your character where no one wants them and how do they act or react?

How about one for which the character is unsuited? The character must come to grips with things he doesn't understand. How will he act or react to the situation and to the people who are suited to this particular environment?

A change in the character's status quo in an environment could be the basis of a good story. This is usually based on a decision by the character to act in a different manner. Refusing a promotion could be one. Not wanting to continue on the path the character has taken. Take the dancer who decides she or he can't dance any longer. Why was this decision made? How will the change sit with the other people in their environment?

A change in the status quo of the environment. An earthquake, a war, some disaster could change the environment and thus the characters who exist in that time and place.

So study the character's environment and use one or more of the environmental situations and you'll have the seeds for a good story.

Tuesday's Inspiration based on a quote from Lajos Egri #MFRWauthor

"What is a character? A factor whose virtues have not yet been discovered." Interesting quote with a lot of meaning in a few words.

When I or any other writer sets out to start a story, much may be known about this character. Reams of material have been jotted down, a character sheet may have been written, characteristics taken from life, psychology, or even Astrology. But the character is still unknown.

Until the character acts and interacts with other characters, with the environment, with his inner fears, the character is unknown. Those characteristics, those lists written down may no longer be what the character is. These traits may have changed as the character changes during the writing of the story.

So to know the character he must be presented with a problem and shown acting and reacting to the character. I never know my characters until I've gone through a story in a rough draft and perhaps even a second re-writing of the story. Suddenly the character develops into a person I know. He is no longer a factor. I have discovered his virtues. He becomes the same and yet different that the man or woman who first leaped onto the page.

Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor

Meander 1 - I sort of had a hallucination but not really. Visiting my husband at rehab center and waiting for him to be ready to head to the dining room. There is a huge window in his room. I turned my head and gasped. What looked like a snow blizzard filled the window. Now I'll admit this winter was a snowy one with snow continuing into spring but this is May. Then realized what I saw was a storm of white blossoms from nearby trees.

Meander 2 - Lists. I am back to making lists to make sure I finish everything I need to do. List really are fun and crossing things off makes one feel as if they've accomplished something. The one problem I find is that often when one item is crossed off another one takes its place. Sometimes there are two. Take bills. Pay bills was on my list and I sent them off before the mail came. There was a bill or two tucked into the junk mail. So the crossed off item returned. Do you keep lists and do they grow rather than shorten?

Meander 3 - Writing is moving slowly but that's what happens around here. I'm waiting for 2 books to come back from the editors so I can do the final proof. Divided Dreams is going well. I'm to the next to last chapter and it's the one where exciting things happen. Let's hope I can pull it off. And part of writing is promotion and keeping one's website up to date, What I have to do is have my web mistress remove 6 books and add 8 plus the two that are coming.

Sunday's Book - Lines of Fire by Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #BooksWeLove

To honor a promise made to his dying father, Alric trains as a Defender. For some reason the Swordmaster wishes him gone and his first two bondings end in failure. A failed third one will see Alric banished. His meeting with the older daughter of the Swordmaster reveals a double heart bond, but she has been promised to Petan, the Swordmaster’s favorite. A duel is fought and though Alric can read Petan’s lines of fire, the other dueler cheats and nearly kills Alric. Petan is banished but he knows secret ways into Defenders Hall. Kalia, his now bondmate’s lines are tarnished. Not only do Alric and Kalia need to find Petan, they must learn how to cleanse her lines.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good story January 20, 2013

By C. C. P.

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

This was a good story. I liked the characters and the world created. The "lines of fire" was an interesting concept. I especially liked this idea and how it was revealed and used within the story. However, this book could have been so much more. I would have liked the characters to be fleshed out more and with greater emotion. It needed more explanation of the background details. Sentences were choppy and hard to follow at times. Characters had little physical descriptions and that drove me crazy as I always work to create a picture of them and the world they live in as I read. Truly, this is a good story and a good read. I do recommend you read it. 

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's a hero you can fall in love with July 19, 2014

By Debbi Cracovia

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

Everything you would expect from a Paranormal romance. 

Saturday's Blurbs - Books by Vijaya Schartz

BELOVED CRUSADER (medieval fantasy
romance):
http://amzn.com/B00W3T24PK 
1096 AD - To redeem a Pagan curse,
Palatina the Fae braves the Christian world to embark on an expedition to free
the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem from the Turks. Pierre de Belfort, Christian
Knight of Lorraine, swore never to let a woman rule his life, and doesn't
believe in love. Thrown together into the turmoil of the First Crusade, on a
sacred journey to a land of fables, they must learn to trust each other. For in
this war, the true enemy is not human... and discovery could mean burning at the
stake.

CURSE OF THE LOST ISLE - Boxed set - Books 1 - 4 (medieval fantasy
romance)
http://amzn.com/B00VGMYSCM 
From history shrouded in myths, emerges a
family of immortal Celtic Ladies, who roam the medieval world in search of
salvation from a curse. For centuries, imbued with hereditary gifts, they hide
their deadly secret, stirring passions in their wake as they fight the Viking
hordes, send the first knights to the Holy Land, give birth to kings and
emperors... but if the Church ever suspects what they really are, they will be
hunted, tortured, and burned at the stake. 5 stars on Amazon "Edgy Medieval,
yay!"

ANAZ-VOOHRI - Ancient Enemy Book 1 (action sci-fi
romance)
http://amzn.com/B004A90FZM 
In Vijaya Schartz' "Anaz-Voohri"
published by Books We Love, the Anaz-voohri have returned from the stars after
eight hundred years, to claim the planet of their ancestors... a blue orb named
Earth. Since he witnessed the abduction of his baby sister by an alien creature,
Zack will stop at nothing to rescue her, even if it means joining the Special
Forces. But Tia Vargas, the reckless Amazon training the secret unit for a
highly classified mission, has no use for this handsome, rebellious recruit, at
least not on the battlefield, until Zack's farfetched stories prove to be true,
and tragedy strikes...

ALIEN LOCKDOWN
http://amzn.com/B00495XUT0 
The year
is 3033, and deep in the bowels of the underground galactic prison, something
has gone terribly wrong. Rhonda Alendresis never wanted this prison job. When
the civilians vanish and an earthquake damages the nuclear reactor, she must go
down to repair it with Captain Perfect himself, Cole Riggeur, who always plays
by the rules and never trusted a woman in his life. But deep in the underground
penitentiary, the most wicked convicts in the Galaxy are loose, and a
treacherous shape-shifter plans his revenge. Disconnected from the Garrison,
against impossible odds, Cole and Rhonda now face their greatest challenge...
trusting each other in order to survive.


Below is my 
--
Vijaya Schartz

Blasters, Swords, Romance with a Kick 
http://www.vijayaschartz.com  

http://www.amazon.com/author/vijayaschartz

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/vijaya-schartz  

https://www.facebook.com/vijaya.schartz  
https://twitter.com/Vijayaschartz  

Friday - Vijaya Schartz Talking About Heroes, Heroines and Villains #MFRWauthor #BooksWeLove

 
 
1. Do you write a single genre or do your fingers flow over the keys
creating tales in many forms? Does your reading choices reflect your writing
choices? Are there genres you wouldn't attempt?
I write all over the place,
because I like to read different things. Like when I read, varying the kind of
stories I write prevents me from being bored. My inspiration flows better when I
alternate. In my case, it's science fiction, medieval fantasy, or contemporary
romance. I also vary the lengths, novels and novellas, sometimes an entire
series.
 
2. Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write?
Does one of these come easy and why?
I love my protagonists, of course, but I
also have a reputation for writing the worst (and by worst these reviewers mean
the best) villains. I enjoy developing and refining my bad guys. I make them
believable, strongly motivated, and intelligent. I believe the stronger the
villain, the more heroic the hero or heroine will have to be to defeat him (or
her).
 
3. Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain
imagination create the man you want every reader to love? Do they come before
the plot or after you have the idea for the story?
Before I start writing, I
know my hero from the inside. I know his motivations, his strengths, his
weaknesses, and what makes him tick. What he looks like will be determined by
the genre, and what I discover along the way, whether it's his birth place, his
race (or species if it's science fiction) his occupation, etc. A young business
executive will not look the same as a seasoned medieval warrior, a Native
American shape shifter, a Chinese super Ninja, or a genetically enhanced Space
Marine. Once I know what he looks like, I do search for corresponding pictures
on the web, and I use them for inspiration. Sometimes I create picture boards
for my book. Depending on the publisher, some of these pictures might end up on
the book cover.
 
4. Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or
imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for? Do they appear
before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?
I try to vary the
looks of my heroines. Again I know them from the inside when I brainstorm the
story. They are always strong, often wear a uniform or carry guns, swords,
blasters. With very few exceptions, they kick butt. By the time I look at
pictures on the web, I already know what she looks like, and finding a picture
to represent her is often a challenge.
 
5. Villains or villainesses or an
antagonist, since they don't always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be
a person opposed to the hero's or heroine's obtaining their goal. How do you
choose one? How do you make them human?
This is a trick question for me,
because not all my villains are human. Sometimes they are of a different species
(alien or part alien), and sometimes they are immortals, even gods. Yet, no
matter what we are, we all have deep motivations, and I make sure theirs are
clear and easy to understand for the reader. We can all relate to the thirst for
power, the lure of riches, pride, revenge... my secret is, that in his mind the
villain is the hero of his own story. In the Archangel series, I have the
reptilian devil himself being harassed and belittled by his nagging wife. It was
fun to write.
 
6. What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and
or the villain?
BELOVED CRUSADER is Book 6 in the Curse of the Lost Isle
medieval fantasy romance series. The hero is a Christian Knight who embarks on
the first Crusade in hopes of erasing his Pagan origins. He swore never to be
like his father, who let a woman rule his life. The heroine is Palatina the Fae,
seeking redemption from a curse. She is immortal, and Pagan. An erudite, she is
curious by nature. But in this Christian world, discovery could mean burning at
the stake. I have two villains in this story. One is the Great Goddess herself,
who turns against the heroine for disobeying and questioning her faith. The
other villain is a Naga shape shifter, half serpent half man, an instrument of
the Goddess, and possibly the Prince of Darkness himself. This is the first of
my villains to be irredeemably dark.
 
7. What are you working on
now?
Something shorter, lighter, a contemporary romance novella titled "Asleep
in Scottsdale" featuring a young CEO with a sleeping disorder. The heroine is a
sleep therapist. The villain is... well, I don't want to spoil the read, since
it's a bit of a mystery and the twisted bad guy is only revealed quite late in
the story. Still, you can expect danger at every turn, a strong, intelligent
heroine, and sizzling romance.

Then Book 7 in the Curse of the Lost Isle
medieval fantasy series will feature yet another sister, Meliora the Fae, whose
curse is to live as a recluse on Mount Ararat, with only a magic hawk for
companion, forever forbidden to love... Since it's a romance, you can see where
this is going.
 
8. How can people find you?
            Website
http://www.vijayaschartz.com 
            Blog
http://medievalnovels.blogspot.com/ 
            Twitter
https://twitter.com/Vijayaschartz
            Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/vijaya.schartz

Thursday's Heroine - Jenessa from The Aries - Libra Connection by Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #BooksWeLove

With a flourish, Jenessa signed her name to the nurses’ notes on a fourth chart. She picked up a stack of papers and the brown bag containing the lunch she hadn’t had time to eat. All day, the pace in the Intensive Care unit had been hectic. Two Codes. Three admissions in five minutes, all of them critical. Instead of twenty-seven, she felt more like seventy.

She waved at the night nurse. “See you tomorrow.”

“That’s two extras in a row,” one of the women called. “Are you some kind of glutton?”

Am I?   One more thing  and I’m out of here. She straight-armed the door and headed for the stairs. After stopping on two other units to collect protest forms, she entered the stairwell.

Voices, eerie and distorted, drifted from below. The echo-effect made her wonder if the speakers were male or female. “Don’t worry, if we just push them a little harder, they’ll walk.”

“You’re right. Who could resist…”

Who were they talking about?   She leaned over the railing, but shadows hid the speakers. The voices faded. A door slammed. She frowned and headed to the fifth floor where she entered the Nursing Office.

Lorraine Rodgers, one of the evening supervisors, looked up. “Again?  Don’t you get tired of making waves?”

“Is that what I do?  I thought I was fulfilling my role as a good union member and a conscientious nurse. The contract gives us the right to protest unsafe working conditions. I just make sure they’re collected.”

The middle-aged woman shook her head. “We all know this is your personal crusade. Can’t you put the past to rest?”

Jenessa’s hands clenched and she felt the muscles in her shoulders tighten. “Could you?”  She fought a barrage of memories. “See that Ms. Wallace gets these. Not that she cares.”

“You could give them to her. She’s in the house. The Board’s meeting to select the new Director and we all know who that will be.”

“Maybe they’ll choose someone else.”

Mrs. Rodgers laughed. “Do you really believe that?  She’s been angling for the job since she arrived. We’ll have to learn to live with her.”

“Maybe.”

“Another petition asking for Sandra’s removal?”

Jenessa shrugged. “See you tomorrow.”

“You’re on again?  Do you work all these extra shifts just to log complaints?”

“If I don’t, who’d be here for the patients?”  Jenessa strode away.

Fifteen minutes later, in her apartment across the street, she stood in the shower. Hot water uncoiled her tight muscles, but not her thoughts. Would the hospital Board really name Sandra Wallace, a woman disliked by most of the nurses, as the new director?  With Jim Bishop as Board president, the choice seemed likely.

After pulling on an over-sized blue tee shirt, she headed to the kitchen and zapped the spicy chicken dish she should have eaten for lunch. Though  she considered working on her Master’s thesis, she felt too tired to read the stack of articles on the desk.

The apartment door slammed. She looked up and saw her roommate. Megan kicked off her shoes. “Are you ready for a bomb?  Guess what the Board has done.”

“Sandra.”

“Is out.” Megan grinned. “Josh and I were at the Cove for dinner. Sam introduced Eric Bradshaw. Would you believe he’s the new Director of Nursing?  And what a hunk he is.”

Jenessa pushed back long strands of dark brown hair that had come loose from her braid. “You’re kidding.”

“Not one bit.”

“It’s a ploy. Can’t  you hear Mr. Bishop’s laughter?  We’ll give the girls a man to drool over. That’ll shut them up.”

“Come on, Jen. At least they didn’t name Her.” Megan headed across the living room, discarding pieces of clothes as she walked. “He’s every woman’s dream. Tall, blond, broad shoulders. I positively drooled. He’s got the greatest dimples. That’s because he’s a Libra.”

Trust Megan to ask his sun sign, Jenessa thought. Her roommate’s description confirmed her suspicions of the Board’s motives. “Sounds like you’re adding him to your string.”

“Wrong. A Libra and a Pisces. Odd couple material.” Megan’s blonde curls bounced with the force of her denial. “He’s for you, my Aries friend. Remember what I always say. An opposition can be exciting.”

Not again, Jenessa thought. For the past year, Megan’s attempts at matchmaking seemed designed to drive her crazy. “Megan, no.”

“You can’t be alone forever.”

“You’re surviving.”

“Alone I’m not. My problem is too many and being unable to hurt anyone.” She shrugged. “Give it a shot.”

Jenessa frowned. Megan and she had been friends since they were five, but there were things she couldn’t tell her…Things about Chuck and the marriage.

“I’m union. He’s management. Can you see me falling for someone from the opposition?”

“And what will you be when you finish your Master’s?”

“Not here. I’ll work for a doctor. Head to the city. Become a consultant.” She followed the trail of clothes and gathered them as she walked. “With my reputation here, they won’t promote me.”

“Your reputation is undeserved. Just because you organized the union, sent a petition to recall Sandra, started the protest forms, negotiated the contract --”  The click of the bathroom door cut off Megan’s words.

Jenessa dropped the clothes beside the door. She entered the bedroom and stared at the red brick building across the street where she worked in ICU. She liked Eastlake Community. For nearly three years, the hospital had been her refuge. She didn’t want to leave.

She returned to the hall just as Megan emerged. wrapped in a blue bath sheet that nearly reached her toes.

“...use someone who plunges to the center of a problem and won’t give up until the next one appears. You are kind of blunt though. He’ll weigh his decisions. Libras do. What’s on the agenda now?”  She stumbled over the heap of clothes. “I know. In the hamper.”

“The contract. Monday, I’ll demand a meeting.”

“Why not give Eric Bradshaw a chance to settle in?”

“Why?  They said they’d talk once they hired a new director and they have.” Jenessa headed to the kitchen.

“Let him size things first.”

“Do you really think a new D.O.N. will help us?”  Jenessa paused at the end of the hall. “Do you know how many extras I’ve worked this summer?”

“That’s your punishment for demanding thirteen hour shifts. They can’t ask me to work seven days a week.”

“How many doubles have you pulled since Sandra took over staffing?  Sometimes I think she wants to drive nurses away.”

“Why would she do that?”  Megan followed Jenessa into the kitchen. Her knee length yellow tee shirt was the same bright color as the walls.

“Who knows?”

“Jen, give the guy a chance. How would you like to be in his shoes?”

She laughed. “I’d love it. You know, if I could transfer my credits, I’d be out of here.”

“It’s the same everywhere. Don’t you pay attention to the letters from the gang?”

“There are hospitals where the problems are addressed.” Jenessa picked up a fork. “Around here no one admits there are any.”

“I’m not sure there are answers. The health care system is in flux.”

“If the Board would sit down with us, we could try.”

Megan grinned. “Do I see you, sword in hand, leading the charge?”

“Don’t make fun. This is serious.”

“I’m sorry. I know how important adequate staffing is to you.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to get a decent contract.” Jenessa bit her lower lip and fought a storm of memories and guilt.

Megan opened the refrigerator and poured a glass of juice. “Letters from the gang are in. Did you do yours?”

“What do you think?”  The idea for a monthly exchange of letters between the members of their clinical group from the nursing program at Grantley was Megan’s project.

“When are you going to write it?”

“How about after the softball game Saturday?”

“I’m mailing copies tomorrow.” Megan raised her hand in a gesture of surrender. “I’ll write yours...About the game. Will we win?”

“We’d better. Softball is the one place where Nursing stands a chance against the other departments who, with one whimper, get everything they want.”

“He’ll be there.”

“Who?”

“Eric Bradshaw.” Megan left the kitchen. “Night.”

As Jenessa loaded the dishwasher, a slow grin built from deep inside. He’d be there. So would Jim Bishop and Sandra Wallace. The annual hospital picnic might be an interesting event.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Defining the Basic Conflict #MFRWauthor

 Since the environment and the hero, heroine or multiple characters interact with this forming a basic conflict let's look at the ways this can happen. Of course there can be more than one kind of environmental episode in a novel.

There can be a change in the character's environment that causes a reaction. Think of a child when a younger sibling in born. Or perhaps someone has been killed. A new marriage. All kind of changes can occur to make the main character or characters react.

The character can be moved to a new environment. Moving can be difficult. What if a child has moved many times. How does he form friendships. A job may take a character from a familiar setting to one that's different from what they have known. This change could be beneficial or the worst thing that's happened to the character. Lots of meat for thought here.

What about an environment in conflict with another environment. Can the character bring these settings together or will the attempt destroy him or her. Families can experience this kind of problem. Think of the man who loses all his money or the family that suddenly has riches. The environment they know is in conflict with the one they must enter.

What if the character decides he wants to change the environment where he lives or works. The woman fighting to progress in her career. The man who wants to see a fair shake for his co-worker.  The nurse thinks a union will be the answer for her colleagues. The administrator who things the status quo is the right one. Brings the characters into conflict.

A character who wants to conquer the environment where he or she dwells. This can also be a physical boundary. The person who needs to conquer the jungle to live. The student who wants to be the best and the first. Conquering becomes the force behind the story.Five more possibilities will be explored the next time.

Tuesday's Inspiration based on a quote by William Saroyan #MFRWauthor

When I read this quote, I laughed. Yet it is so very true. "The best way to begin being a writer is to come right out and admit that one is a crackpot. After that the going is sure to be a lot easier." William Saroyan.

There are times when I think I'm crazy to stick to writing but then I realize it really is a lot of fun. What about you? Wondering if what you're doing by putting words on paper and hoping they make sense is kind of a crackpot idea. Of course when someone reads what you've written and gets the meaning, you can smile. Maybe I'm not really crazy.

Wanting and needing to express yourself no matter what form of fiction you choose is a big step. The moral is not taking yourself too seriously. After all you've admitted you are a crackpot. Just like me and the hundreds of others out there. Not everyone is going to get rich. Not everyone is going to write a great book. That's where the fun comes in. Putting two or more people in trouble and finding ways to get them out should be fun.

So I'll admit I'm a crackpot. What about you? Are you one too?

Meandering On Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor

Meander 1 - Too many hats- These days I feel like I'm trying to do too much at one time. I'm trying to finish several books and start new ones. One is a right's back one that while it connects to the other two, there are problems that may not be able to be corrected. I'll need to talk to Jude about this. Not really talk but email talk. There are books on sale I need to promote. That's the second hat. Then there's the house and it does need some help. Plus closing down my husband's office and visiting him nearly every day. Makes life interesting and sometimes I feel stressed out. I will survive.

Meander 2 - Have been reading a few books and the new Kindle allows me to rate them without going onto the author's page and taking a lot of time. That's good, except they wanted me to make comments. I am not good at this. I am at rating. The other problem I'm having is how to get the books off the Kindle after I've read them to make room for more.

Meander 3 - Writing - Am moving forward with Divided Dreams featuring my Cancer heroine and my Gemini hero. This will make four books in the series and I only have to do eight more. This one is longer than the others but I'm happy with the way it's going. Several more chapters to rewrite and expand and then the last two bits of editing and then it will be on to the next book. That will be Mages of Fyre and the ideas are coming slowly but they're coming. I still need a name for the hero, the villain and the mentor. They will come. I also need to build in the stuff for the final book in the series. The Children of Fyre. But there are other books to write between times.