It's all About Setting...

Where it All Happens

Ahhh...Hawaii. So beautiful. So peaceful. I still can't believe we were actually there in Maui! I remember sitting on the sandy beach listening to the waves come in thinking, "This would make a terrific setting for a story!"


Well, every story needs to have a setting, but does it really matter where a story takes place?

You betcha!


Setting

Today I taught my students about Setting as they begin to brainstorm for their original narratives. We discussed what Setting is in writing and why it is important to begin there.

Setting is the time, place, and environment in which a story takes place. The setting should have a connection to the main characters of the story.

For example...

In "The Hunger Games" we have Katniss living in District 12. This district is set in the mountains surrounded by trees and wildlife. The forest is a lot like Katniss: beautiful, tough, harsh in that it can kill you in an instant, and yet it is soft and gentle at times, too.

Contrast that with The Capitol. This setting glistens in the sunlight, has tall buildings that sparkle, and it has beautiful people painted in bright colors. The Capitol appears to be magical, but we learn it is all a facade.

Do you think the author created these settings by accident? Of course not. The forest setting reveals something about the protagonist and the Capitol setting reveals something about the antagonist. How would the story have been different if during the games the tributes dealt with a blizzard? Think about the challenges. That's why setting matters.

In my book, "The Children Under the Ice" I set my story in a small town in northern Minnesota at the end of fall. Gee, what happens in Minnesota in the winter? I needed my murder mystery to be set in the cold, dark, brutal winters to contrast with my protagonist's dreams: he hates the cold, he hates hockey on the frozen pond, and he longs for the greens of summer! How does this all reveal something about my protagonist? His mom left him and his dad alone (a cold harsh reality of life). His dad cannot cook (another harsh reality of divorce). So Mikey dreams of the backyard cookouts in the summer time surrounded with his mom's delicious food, green grass, and warmth of family and sunshine.

We see the importance of setting in Dicken's classic "A Christmas Carol" which is set on the streets of London in winter. Dickens, a child of poverty who had to work at age 12 to help his family, knew the cold harsh reality of the streets in winter. The setting's harshness mirrored the cruel darkness of Scrooge's heart in contrast with the joys and bright colors of Christmas that most of us understand.

See the contrast? See why it matters?



Once Upon a Time...

When your story takes place is just as important as where.

"The Hunger Games" works well for the reader because it is set in the future. Suzanne Collins wanted to send a message to her readers that perhaps the actual government plan is for teens to figuratively destroy one another as they dream of that perfect life of fame and fortune. We see it all the time: young people become famous then destroy themselves and each other. Sad truth.

I set "The Children Under the Ice" in 1976 because, as a child of the 70's, those were the times I remember well. Times when kids could stay out late without worrying about strangers...or could they? Was that feeling of safety just an illusion?

See how it works?

The setting of you story isn't just about a place, but a period in time. It's about the people, their customs, the way they behave.

The setting of your story should connect to your protagonist and antagonist. It should reveal something about the characters. The setting should reveal something about the author's tone. We sense this in "The Hunger Games". We sense Collins' feelings about government. We sense the tone of Dickens in that Scrooge is rich and powerful, lording his power over the poor. Was Dickens trying to tell his readers something about his feelings for the rich?


Now, before you write your story, think about the setting. Why is it set there? Why is the story happening in the past, present, or future? What are the connections between setting and characters? What does your setting reveal about your characters? About your tone?

You should be able to answer those questions for your readers in your story. If not, your readers won't bother to keep turning the pages of your book.

And no writer wants that!




Blessings,
Ruth

Dwell on LIFE!

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"

Matthew 6:25

LIFE

People today are terrified of growing old. Our society worships the youth and their culture. We color our hair (I know I do!), get plastic surgery or Botox, try to keep up with the latest fads in clothing or music, watch the latest shows or movies, all in vain attempts to stay young.  

But the truth is: We all are getting older!  

No one wants to think about getting older or death, especially the young. I didn't want to think about it when I was in my teens or my twenties.

But I was forced to...

1990

In 1990, my husband was preparing to ship overseas. As a result, the Marine Corps set up an appointment with people to help us complete our Last Will and Testament. Imagine being 22yrs old and filling out a will. Who thinks about death at age 22? We weren't prepared for it, but the reality was, Scott was in the USMC heading overseas and he could die far from home. 

But the young don't want to think about death that awaits us all. 

Jesus came to us as a baby who grew into a man. He came to die for us and conquer death once and for all.

But He also came to LIVE for us!

His word doesn't tell us to dwell on death. It doesn't tell us to dwell on our youth.

His word tells us to dwell on LIFE in Christ! Amen.

Yes, we are all growing older and our bodies will start to fail us. However...

• God is still good.
• He is still there.
• And His promises are still YES in Christ Jesus! 

Life is so much more than what's all around us. So when you find yourself dwelling on the things all around you, when you find yourself caught up in your circumstances, STOP! When you find yourself worshiping the youth and their culture, STOP! And when you find yourself dreading the fact that you are getting older...stop. 

"Do not regret getting older. It is a privilege denied to many." -anonymous

LIFE is far more than food, clothing, and circumstances. 

Dwell on LIFE in Christ! Hope eternal.

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."  -Jesus Christ

Your turn: Do you find yourself wanting more youthfulness? How do you deal with the fact that you're growing older?

Blessings,

Ruth

Word of the Year

"...But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one."

1 Thessalonians 4:10-12

Most of my friends have started thinking and praying about the "word of the year" for this new year. I have, too.

My word for 2013 was endurance.

Boy did the Lord hear my declaration last January, that's for sure! 

• I had to endure finishing up my first year teaching. I made many mistakes and it was humbling.

• I had to endure a summer of repairs to our home and vehicles.

• I had to endure surgery that set me back.

• I had to endure a nail-biting experience with the publishing industry as I waited for my second book to come out.

• Finally,by choice, I had to endure strenuous training for my first Ultra marathon culminating in the race itself.

Aspire

Yes, my year was stressful and I had to endure much, but it was also a blessed year. My family is healthy, we have a wonderful church family, we have a home, food and clothing.

God is good!

So my word for this year is aspire.

I aspire to please God with my thoughts, words, and deeds. I aspire not to gossip  but to speak words of life. I know it won't be easy but with Christ it can be done.

I aspire to listen more and speak less.  I aspire to walk in the spirit and help others to do the same. I aspire to be more like Christ.

So what is your word for this year?

Blessings,
Ruth

Check the Foundation

"...But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
Luke 6:49

Foundation

Today a friend who is from the Philippines was asked about family members who may have been hit by the typhoon recently. She gladly exclaimed that no family members were hurt by the storm.

She did go on to tell us that when Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were leaders of the Philippines, they built many high rise hotels and buildings on a foundation of sand. They did this for outward appearances only. They wanted the world to think that Manila was an important tourist destination open for business to those traveling around the world.

Now that the worst typhoon on record hit the islands, the truth is out: the buildings are dangerous because they have a weak foundation.

Crank

This story reminded me of another story told at a writers conference recently by author, Ellen Hopkins.

As Ellen began to tell her story, she used the remodeling of her home as a metaphor for what she and her family had been through over the years.

She was a successful writer of children's non-fiction. She traveled all over the country and met interesting people while doing research for her books. She wrote and sold many books and reaped the rewards of her efforts. As a result, she was able to remodel the home she shared with her husband and children. Life was good.

And that's when the contractor informed her that the house they lived in had no foundation. 

You can imagine her shock! Immediately, the workers began remodeling from the bottom up.

Ellen Hopkins related to us how she thought her life had a solid foundation, too. She thought her life could withstand any storm that came. And that's when everything hit...

One weekend, her fifteen year old daughter went on a camping trip with friends and on this trip she met The Monster. An older boy on the trip introduced Ellen's daughter to crystal meth. The Monster revealed that her family had no foundation and would need to be remodeled from the bottom up.

As a way of dealing with the tragic events that would unfold, Ellen Hopkins wrote the book, Crank. It went on to be a hugely successful novel...the novel she had always dreamed of writing...and led to many sequels.

Now she is rich beyond her wildest dreams, but her family is forever shaken, her daughter remains in prison, but Ellen has learned a powerful lesson: always build on a solid foundation.

"...he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built."
Luke 6:48

How's the Foundation?

Her story and the story of the Philippines got me thinking this morning. I realized I needed to check my foundation. Was my life built on sand trying to appeal to people with outer appearances only? Or was my life built on the solid foundation of rock?

You see, I may not have the fame and fortune that Ellen Hopkins has as an author, but I do have a solid foundation in Jesus Christ, the Cornerstone that aligns everything in my life. This Rock cannot be shaken even by the most powerful storms.

I may not have that beautiful mountain view Ellen Hopkins has when she looks out her living room window, but I have a mansion in glory awaiting me and when Christ returns, I shall see Him descending from the clouds. I'd rather have that view than any other!

I don't know if Ellen Hopkins has Christ as her foundation today, but I do know that Christ is the only solid Rock that we should build our lives upon.

That's where my comfort and security come from...no matter what the storm. My foundation will hold.




You turn: On what is your life built upon? Christ warned His children not to be like those who built on sand. How's your foundation?




Blessings,
Ruth

My books and many other Christian books
are available through my publisher, OakTara. 

Inciting Incident

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, 

but what we are unable to say.

  ~Anaïs Nin

Inciting Incident

I love talking about inciting incident with my writing students, because you can see the thought process happening right before your eyes once the term is explained. 

So what is meant by "inciting incident" in writing?

To me, that's the most creative part about writing: the one BIG thing that happens to your protagonist that will change their life forever. 

Think about the plane crash in Castaway. Or the space debris hitting Sandra Bullock in Gravity. Or how about in books when Ishmael decides to go "shipping" aboard a whaler in Moby Dick. Or when the father dies in Sense and Sensibility. 

But not all inciting incidents are tragedies...

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the inciting incident is when he receives an invitation to Hogwarts and discovers he's a wizard. That's a wonderful thing! 

In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, it is when Lucy enters the wardrobe. In The Lord of the Rings, we see that when Frodo volunteers to take The Ring to Mount Doom, his life will never be the same again. Finally, in my book, The Dragon Forest, the inciting incident happens when Prince Peter enters the Dragon Forest...

What about your story?

Stop and think about the inciting incident in your own story. Is it a major incident that will indeed change your protagonist's life forever or just for the time being?

I had one student say that he doesn't want to have an inciting incident in his story. He just wants his character to lead a nice quiet life. Who wants to read a story like that? No one leads a nice quiet life...that's what makes it life.

So, I told him about a man who also wanted to live a nice quiet life. He worked hard and endured a world war so he had earned the right to that quiet life. He was about to retire form the Army when Pearl Harbor was attacked. As a result, this man was now thrust into yet another world war and that nice quiet life would have to wait many years because after serving in that war, he went on to be President of the United States long before he retired to a nice quiet life. As my student contemplated what was General Eisenhower's life, he realized that a good story requires an inciting incident, otherwise it isn't much of a story. 

Without WWII, Dwight Eisenhower would have disappeared into history unknown to the world. Perhaps, looking back, he would've preferred that.

Boom!

That's how the inciting incident should affect your story. It should interrupt the usual and ordinary life of your character. 

Go back and read your inciting incident. It should occur somewhere near the end of Act I of your story. Some stories begin with it, but most end Act I with the inciting incident leaving the reader/viewer wanting more. 

Does your character encounter a life changing event like winning the lottery or falling through a portal into another universe? If the incident isn't that big or doesn't have that much of an impact on your character, you need to revisit it. 

Life happens. It should happen to your character. Look at your own life. You have probably encountered many inciting incidents in your own life:

• marriage
• birth of children
• death of a loved one
• new job
• being fired
• moving across country
• serving in war
• loss of a child
• loss of a parent
• divorce
• remarriage
• new home

...and on, and on, and on. Some incidents were wonderful! Some, not so much. Such is life.

And So it Goes...

After looking back over your own life, you can see how that one inciting incident moved you forward and changed things forever. That's how it has to be for your protagonist. If it isn't that major, that powerful, that REAL...then your readers will yawn and put down your story.

Make it real for your readers!

Your turn: what's the best inciting incident you've read in a book or saw in a movie? What made it so powerful to you?

Blessings,

Ruth

Book Release Event

After three years of writing and revising and more revising...the day had come.
My second book, The Dragon Forest II: Son of the Oath was released in late September, 2013!!

So, it was time to celebrate with family and friends.

Book Signing/Reading Event

This past Saturday I hosted my book release event at the Foothills Branch Library in Glendale, AZ.

It was such a gorgeous day out and we had many friends and family stop by.

The books were set up and we were ready to go!

I spoke about the inspiration for my Dragon Forest trilogy...

...and then read a chapter from the book. I am so nervous reading for adults! I'm not used to it.

One happy author right there! Relieved that people actually showed up!

Time for cake!  My friend, Catherine, made me a dragon cake.

My wonderfully supportive husband slicing my dragon cake. It was yummy!!

So grateful for the Foothills Public Library. They are very supportive of new local authors.

Celebrating with good friends!

At the end, we relaxed at dinner with family. I had a chilled glass of wine. That did the trick!

It takes so much time to complete a book. It requires patience and dedication to edit the book down. Most of all, it takes faith in God to wait for that book to come out!

I am grateful to ALL who make it possible: my husband for helping and supporting me, my AWESOME editors for sharing their talents, knowledge, and skills, my publisher for believing in a new author and seeing potential in my stories, and my friends for listening to all my whining and complaining!

I am eternally grateful to the Lord for bestowing on me this little gift of seeing my books in the hands of readers. No bigger thrill than that!


Thank you all who took the time out of a busy day to share in my joy!

Blessings,
Ruth

Voice in Writing

Writing isn't easy...not with so many voices in your head!

Voice 

What is meant by "voice" in writing?

I began teaching this concept to my students using a lesson based on reading a story out loud in order to find the use of voice, or emotion, in writing.

Voice is the evidence of the writer behind the work. Voice is the enthusiasm, personality, or charm of the writer behind the work. Voice is also how the writer tailors the work toward the audience.

Finally, voice is also words used to evoke emotion in the work.

The Voice of God

While sitting in church listening to a sermon, I was drawn to re-read the voice of God found in the story of Job. 

When God addresses Job, it is obvious that God Himself is speaking. As you read, you can hear the distinct personality of God compared to the voice of Job in chapters 38-40.

However, when you read through scripture, you are fully aware of the voice of the author. You can see and hear the Voice of God as you read through the Psalms and Proverbs even though He used human writers.

And since we were made in the image of God, it is no wonder that we desire to do the same when we write. 

Creating Voice in Writing

How does one create voice in writing?  It begins with locating voice in writing and analyzing it, which is what I had my students do this week.

We began by reading the book, "The Memory String" by Eve Bunting. I highly recommend this lovely and moving book about a little girl dealing with her mother's death and her dad's remarriage. 

But we read the book as a print out of the words only...no images. 

As a result, we focused on the words and the way the writer evoked emotion from the readers. My students did an excellent job of finding the emotion words the author used. For instance, to show us that the cat was bored (an emotion word), the writer simply stated:

"Whiskers yawned." 

How simple is that? My students did an excellent job of identifying the voice in the writing. Now, they are learning to create voice and evoke emotion from their own writing. 

What about you?

How do you go about creating voice in your writing?

This is something I struggle with in my own writing. When writing a fantasy adventure, I used a stronger more formal voice and tried to include more rigorous vocabulary, detailed descriptions, and emotion from my characters. But when writing my mystery/suspense novel for middle grade, I decided to use a more informal relaxed voice and had my characters use the slang terms found among middle school kids. 

I tailored my writing toward the audience. 

Because we are created in the image of God, we use words to communicate as He did. We desire to communicate our emotions and feelings just as He did in His word. We long to leave our readers with an impression of who we are...just as God has done in His writing. 

Now that you have an idea of what voice in writing is, go back and read your work. Did you "show" your readers emotion rather than simply "tell" them?  If not, try this exercise:

• How can you show your readers your character is bored? What does a bored person do? 
• How can you show your readers a character is nervous? What might a nervous person do or look like?
• How can you show your readers a character is embarrassed? What does an embarrassed person do or look like?

Try this with the following words:

• Greedy
• Ambitious
• Jealous
• Guilty

It's a fun way to add emotion and voice without "telling" your readers. Let them see the voice of the writer for themselves. 

Your turn: Is voice in writing something you struggle with? What do you do to add your voice into your writing?

Blessings,

Ruth