Double O, No! What about the Kids?

Imagine what it would be like to wake up one morning to the news that your next door neighbor, the guy who borrowed your hedge trimmer last week and has yet to return it, has been arrested for being a Russian spy. Chances are pretty good you won't be getting the trimmer back. And isn't this the week his wife is supposed to drive the kids to soccer practice? Well, she's been arrested, too. What about the kiddos? Where are they? What's happening to them? Who are they? Apparently, they weren't born where they thought they were. If you think you're confused, try to imagine what it's like for them. It's challenging enough to be a teen without learning that you've been living a lie--one contrived by your very own parents. Or are they? Is that part of the lie?

As a mother, grandmother, educator, Sunday school teacher, former kid, and regular compassionate person, my heart cries out to those children. I wish I could somehow shelter them from all the flashing cameras, probing news reporters, and uncertainties they face.

But as a writer of middle-grade fiction, my imagination slammed into overdrive as soon as the story broke. What fuel for a series! I'm not the one to write that collection. I know that. But I'm absolutely certain that some writer out there already is drawing snowflakes and plotting scenes, fleshing out characters and developing minor and major crises.

Open wide the back door and kick out the vampires, pseudo-angels, wizards, zombies, and ghouls. Here come the spies!

The Birth of a Book

~Gran'ma, where do books come from?~

~Well, my child, sit down and I'll tell you. First, the spark of an idea is conceived long, long before the book can be held in your hand. It could take months, years or even decades for the idea to germinate, incubate and grow. The idea might spring from a feeling in the air, a random memory sparked by the fragrance of wisteria or night-blooming jasmine, a child's giggle as he somersaults through a bed of spearmint, a random comment overheard in the grocery check-out line--or an old photograph such as these.~

Dear fellow writers, from whence come your ideas? Have you ever looked into the face of someone in an old photo and been inspired to write about that person, known or unknown? Please leave a comment describing that time.

Hot Bookish Summers

"No more pencils! No more books! No more teacher's dirty looks!"

We all chanted it as we erupted out of the school building, final grades clutched in our sweaty hands, and into the sunshine on the last day of school. Summer spread before us like an unsullied sheet of Goldenrod paper, an adventure story yet to be written. But reading, writing, and Goldenrod paper were far from our minds as we escaped the building.

I spent most of my elementary school days living in a cramped three-room apartment on the third floor of an old building at the corner of Broad and Fourteenth streets--one of the two main intersections of my hometown. The nearest other child lived two blocks away. We never had a telephone, and I was in fifth grade before we got a television set, a boxy Philco console--used, of course.

Hey, don't feel sorry for me. Two blocks from that little flat was the New Castle-Henry County Public Library. And I had my very own borrower's card. The library opened at 8 a.m., so at 7:45 on the first full day of summer vacation I showed up, waiting impatiently under the mulberry tree
 for that click that would indicate the unlocking of the door.

"I want to join the book club," I said to Miz Catherine Day, the children's librarian.

"Of course, you do, Sharon. Do you think you can read 20 books this summer?" She struggled to keep her round face from splitting into a grin. "That's how many segments are on the bookworm."

I think I rolled my eyes. Discreetly. Of course.

In those simpler days, they didn't have "summer reading programs" with lots of prizes, refreshments, jugglers, and face painting. No fancy themes, either. They had books, and that was enough. Miz Day handed me a sheet of paper on which was printed a smiling, cheesy-looking bookworm.

"Every time you read a book at or above your grade level, you get to lick and stick on a segment of the worm."

"I know."

"I know you know." She smiled ever so slightly. "Be sure you read them, because I'll question you about them."

"I know."

"I know you know. I just have to tell everyone that."

By week's end, scores of papers just like mine were displayed behind the circulation desk. Apparently there were a lot of kids from all over Henry County, Indiana, who liked to read. I was a competitive little cuss, so I kept a close eye on the other bookworms.

At least once a day throughout the summer, I went to the library, lugging towers of books--orange Bobbs-Merrill biographies, Andrew Lang's color fairytale books, The Black Stallion and its sequels, the Bobbsey Twins series, books about different countries and cultures, and more. I completed my bookworm quickly.

One summer, Miz Day departed from the bookworm idea. We collected author cards, instead. I liked that better than the larvae because once I had all the cards, I could play the game. Further, I learned about some of my favorite writers.

Miz Day has been in the presence of the Lord for many years now. (I hope she's not trying to categorize the glories of Heaven according to Dewey.) Those hot bookish summer days live as sweet memories to this writer and raconteur.

How I would love it if one of these days some child would walk up to a children's librarian somewhere and say, "I read Up the Rutted Road. Can I put a sticker on my sheet?"

I would hope that the librarian would ask some questions:

"Who is the author?"

"Sharon Kirk Clifton."

"Good. What terrible thing happens to the girl in the book that causes her to run off into the mountains?"

"Oh, that's easy. Her--" Shhhhhh, child. Don't give it away.

[Gentle reader, what are your memories about summer reading? What whetted your appetite for books? What were some of your favorites from childhood? How have the books you read then influenced your life now? Please click on "Comments" and share your answers.]

Synopsis: I Did It!

Well. At least I think I did it. Knowing me, I'll continue to peck at it, snipping out this word or that phrase.

I wrote the book. That was hard. I wrote the query letter. That was harder. I wrote the synopsis. That was the hardest.

Why makes synopsis writing so difficult? In the first place, it's a challenge to write tight, tight, tighter while retaining the essence of your style and the tone of the work. Throughout the writing of the novel, we are adjured, "Show; don't tell." Suddenly it becomes, "Tell; don't show," because there's no room for the latter. Beloved similies and images end up on the surgery room floor, bleeding and mangled. Even some alliteration is left lying lifeless alongside the other carnage.

Secondly, advice contradicts advice. Some say single space; others, double. (So I compromised with 1.5 line spacing.) Some say the synopsis should be written in present tense, regardless of the tense of the tale; others say past. (The former gets the most votes, and that's the way one normally writes about literature, so I went with present tense.) It seems that every "expert" has his own way of formatting the first page.

One thing that most agree on is the importance of the synopsis. The majority of editors and agents require one. A critique partner who makes a habit of placing highly in prestigious writing competitions says that the value of the synopsis is that it allows the powers that be to see if the writer has a strong plot line to hold the story together.

My conclusion, after perusing many articles and guidelines, is this:

• If the agent or editor to whom one wishes to submit gives specific guidelines, follow them to the letter. Heed the jots and tittles.
• Do your homework. Read guidelines and advice columns, realizing that they will contradict one another. Adapt what you learn to make it work for you.
• Write tight. Then revise it to make it tighter. 
• Format it so that it reflects the professionalism of the writer.

Here are some links to jump-start your research:

• "How to Write a Synopsis" by Marg Gilks
• "Writing a Novel Synopsis"; Fiction Writer's Connection
• "How to Write a Novel Synopsis" by Chuck Sambuchino, Guide to Literary Agents (Editor's Blog)
• "Mastering the Dreaded Synopsis: Condensing Your Novel" by Lee Masterson, Fiction Factor

Visit the blogs I list in the right column, also, since several of them discuss synopses.

Fellow writers, editors, and agents, if you happen to do me the honor of a visit to this blog, would you be so kind as to click on "Comments" and leave some of your own advice for those of us who struggle with the dreaded synopsis writing? Have you gleaned some jewel from a conference, workshop, or article? Please share. (By the way, I've never heard anyone say, "Synopsis? Piece o' cake!")

Write on!

All in the Name of Research

Wednesday was an ordinary day down on the banks of the Ohio in southeastern Indiana. The sky over Madison was a brilliant cyan punctuated with puffs of cloud. A gentle breeze carried the fragrance of southern magnolias down the historic streets, through secluded courtyards, and around early nineteenth-century homes.

It would have been a perfect day to stay home and clean the bathroom, catch up on the laundry, brush up on my transformational grammar, and dust doodads, indeed, but I felt compelled to leave all that behind. After all, I'm a hard-working writer with research begging to be done. So I collected a couple companions and we headed off for the river town to visit the library, locate a good site for a second-hand bookstore for the aunt of my protagonist, get a feel for the neighborhood, and take some reference photos.

Enjoy some of the photos that will hopefully enrich the sense of "place" in The Second Cellar, my middle-grade historical fantasy in progress. (If you've followed this blog for long, you've already seen several reference photos for both of my manuscripts.)

I selected this cream brick home across from the library to be the site of the used-book store.

Kristi Rice, Photographer

Just a Brief Note about LOST

 When Lost first began, I was a fan. It was a captivating concept. The literary motifs intrigued me. I watched until the scriptwriters incorporated illicit affairs among some of the characters. In other words, I didn't watch it for long, though I continued to maintain a distant interest in the general storyline.

Dystel & Goderich Literary Management cites an interesting article on today's blog. Please follow this link to the article:
'Lost' Reading List: the show's creators discuss literary influences from Stephen King to Flannery O'Connor

I noted motifs from classical literature such as Homer's The Odyssey and the Holy Bible, as well.

Mama's Got Rhythm

This past Saturday, "Jack's Mama" told her far-flung, homespun highland tales at the Ohio River Valley Folk Festival in Madison, Indiana. (Jack's Mama is my pioneer mountain woman character through whom I tell stories from southern Appalachian oral tradition.)

At the conclusion of one set, two young men, probably in their early 20s, told me how much they enjoyed the show. "I love to listen to you tell," one said. "There is a rhythm, a cadence, to your speech. I love your pacing."

No one has ever said that before, but I really like it. The rhythm comes naturally to me, I suppose, but I do consciously pace the story. As a raconteur, I am very interactive with my audiences, working to draw each one into the tale. Pacing, working in tandem with the rhythm, is an important tool toward that end.

After the men left, I sat enjoying the balmy breeze coming off the river, and I thought about how storytelling compares with writing.  Rhythm and pacing are essential to our writing, as well. If a sentence is grammatically and mechanically flawless but is choppy or awkward, it may give the reader pause. Of course, there may be times when we want to slow the reader down.

The storyteller knows when to speak slowly and deliberately for dramatic effect. The writer can accomplish the same thing by making each sentence a separate paragraph, for example. Or she may incorporate alliteration, a well-placed dash, or longer, more complex sentences.

At the high point of the action or scene, the storyteller's sentences may become very short, little more than a series of phrases or clauses. The writer does the same thing. Whether spoken or written, such techniques achieve the same results.

Many have told me that I use dramatic pause well. I can tolerate silence. And nothing grabs an audience's attention more quickly. Whether I speak softly or crescendo just before the pause, I have the full attention of each one when I fall silent and just look around at them, eyeball to eyeball.

Compare that effect to the writer's hook lines, particularly at chapters' ends. (Did those last two words slow you down a bit?) Christian writer Ramona K. Cecil presented a wonderful workshop in which she said we should not try to write a good hook at the end of a chapter, but, rather, we should end the chapter at a good hook. That statement helped me tremendously as a writer. Those hooks are the dramatic pauses of writing. Why dramatic? Because the listener/reader can hardly wait for the pause to end so that the story can move on. In the case of the reader, she wants to get that page turned as quickly as possible.

What a compliment that young man gave. Mama's got rhythm. Do you? Dear fellow writers, I hope you'll leave a comment telling about how you consciously incorporate rhythm and pacing in your writing. Examples are welcome.

Write on!

I'm Back!

Dear Readers,

I've been on the road for awhile and unable to blog, but I'm back, so I will post a new entry, Lord willing, early this week. This one will be called "Mama's Got Rhythm!" Be sure to stop back, y'all.

Because of Christ,
Sharon

A Chat with Jennifer Hudson Taylor

An interview with the author of Highland Blessings

1. What intrigued you about fifteenth century Scotland so that you chose it as the setting for Highland Blessings?

I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed history, but there is something romantically intriguing about the late Medieval period and the clan system of the highlands. I’m amazed at how the clans can fight among themselves, and yet, fiercely defend each other against the English and any outsiders.

2. How did you choose the setting?

The setting of the loch where Akira nearly drowns is from an area in a park where I used to practice running. I was on the Cross Country team in high school and ran several miles a day. The rest of the scenes were a combination of my research of Scotland and castles and my imagination.

3. Does the story line of this novel parallel a particular Biblical account?

No, if there is a biblical parallel, it was not a conscious decision on my part. I originally wrote Highland Blessings as a secular novel in 1998. I didn’t convert it to Christian fiction until 2006 after I discovered Kathleen Morgan’s novel, Embrace the Dawn. Once I realized there was such a thing as a Christian fiction Scottish Medieval, I was elated and determined to try and get mine published.

4. Which comes first, the plot, the place, or the people? Why?

The people. I can’t write a story unless I’ve created a character sketch of the main characters. I can create a plot around the characters, but I think it is the people that make the story. I think that is why I tend to love character driven novels like Jane Austen’s stories.

5. Which novel was the more difficult to research, Highland Blessings or Beloved Liberty, your book set in early nineteenth century South Carolina?

Beloved Liberty required the most research. The story idea is loosely based on my real family history from the actual genealogy research I conducted on my Hudson line. Then I had to research slavery laws for 1810. It takes place during the Regency period of England, but the setting is on a rural plantation in SC. Most of my southern plantation knowledge is either during the colonial period before 1800 or much later in the Victorian period between 1840-1865, so I had to do extensive research for 1810.

6. How did the research between the two differ? The writing?

The writing is very different as the two books contain different cultures, accents in the dialogue, and time periods. The vocabulary for Highland Blessings in 1473 is extremely limited compared to 1810, so in that regard Highland Blessings was harder to write. I had to keep looking up alternative words for those words that were not yet in existence. It was difficult to verify some of the clothing in 15th century Scotland. There are so few authentic references and most date from the late 16th century. For instance, the Scottish kilt as we know it today was not in existence until around 1725, nor wore the family clan tartan colors.

7. How do you develop your characters?

I develop a character sketch that includes physical traits and personality traits. Each character must have at least one spiritual flaw, and one personality flaw, if appropriate, even a physical flaw. In Highland Blessings, Akira MacKenzie is extremely tall for a woman, and she isn’t very fond of her auburn hair. In Beloved Liberty, Catherine Oakes has a mole on her cheek that she thinks is hideous, but the hero views it as a beauty mark. The last thing I establish is their background, their goals, and why they want to achieve them and how they will go about achieving those goals based on their personality and character.

8. How do you name your characters?

Names are very important. I use the Character Naming Sourcebook, and I sound out first and last names aloud. I run them by my husband. I even look up street names and small towns in the areas where the novel is set. I do this because lots of streets and towns are named after the local people and families in the area.

9. What is your writing regimen?

I don’t have a set schedule because I work another full-time job. I squeeze writing in between lunch hours, doctor visits, evenings, weekends, road trips while my husband drives, wherever and whenever I can. Sometimes I fear that my writing won’t be as good as others who have the opportunity to sit down and really concentrate and work on their novels throughout the day. Then I quit feeling sorry for myself and just deal with it.

10. What has surprised you most about the whole process, from inception of the idea to release of your debut novel?

When I first received the contract offer, the release date was a whole year and half away. I’m surprised at how fast that time passed.

11. What have you learned about God through this journey?

I’ve learned that God will help me in ways that I never imagined. He is with me the whole way and He inspires me through loved ones, inspirational verses, and dreams.

12. What advice do you have for unpubbed writers?

Never give up. Persevere and press through.

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to chat with us today. May God bless you with much writing success. We're really looking forward to your next novel.

Jennifer Hudson Taylor's Novel Debut: HIGHLAND BLESSINGS

Publisher: Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN

Release: May 2010
299 pages; includes discussion guide

Back Cover:

Scotland, 1473. Highland warrior Bryce MacPhearson kidnaps Akira MacKenzie on her wedding day to honor a promise he made to his dying father. When he forces Akira to wed him, hoping to end a half-century feud between their clans, she struggles to overcome her anger and resentment. Yet her strength in the Lord becomes a witness to Bryce. But there is a traitor in their midst. . .and murder is the ultimate weapon.

First Sentence:

Akira MacKenzie willed her knees not to fail her.

I confess to a penchant for tartan historical romances. As I open the cover and turn to the first page of the first chapter, the bagpipes of my imagination begin to play and the bodhrans to pulse in some ancient Gaelic rhythm. And so it was as I opened Highland Blessings, Jennifer Hudson Taylor’s debut novel, and settled in for a good read.
But Taylor gives no quarter for such complacency. While the pipes begin their drone, the bodhran takes over, beating faster and faster until it sounds like the pounding of horses hooves—Bryce MacPhearson’s destrier, to be exact.
Bryce is an uninvited guest who invades the wedding party of spirited Akira MacKenzie and swoops the lass on to the back of his horse, as an eagle might rapture a field mouse. It is not love that inspires Bryce’s kidnapping, however, but a promise forced upon him by his dying father, chieftain of the MacPhearson clan, to fulfill a covenant with Akira’s father, the MacKenzie clan chieftain. The two clans have been locked in a bloody feud for half a century, and the patriarchs hoped that a marriage between the ruling families would quell the fighting.

The journey to the MacPhearson castle is a difficult one for Akira. Bryce’s men show their respect for him and their disdain for her. Bryce himself makes it clear that she is merely a pawn, an unwelcome obligation. Once they arrive at the castle, Akira is treated no better. MacPhearsons consider her presence an intrusion and demonstrate their hatred and distrust at every turn. Seeking solace, she finds her way to the chapel, where she can be alone with God. Even as she prays to return home, she submits to God’s will—whatever that may be.

Bryce, being the middle son, is not the intended bridegroom. Akira is to wed the MacPhearson chieftan, Evan, the oldest son, but when Evan meets an untimely death, the responsibility falls to Bryce. Akira refuses to consent to the marriage, so Bryce exercises his right to marry by proxy. Akira awakens one morning to learn that she is now the lady of the manor. Despite the circumstances of the marriage, Akira pledges her allegiance first to God and then to Bryce as her husband.

Though murder, deception, and betrayal stalk the halls of the castle, and a traitor who is no respecter of clans threatens the hard-won, tenuous peace between the MacPhearsons and the MacKenzies, Akira’s courage builds a bridge between fear and faith and woos Bryce to want to know more about the God she serves. She is a Christ-like figure in that she is willing to sacrifice herself to avoid further bloodshed. At one point, she performs an incredible act of forgiveness when she pleas for the life of one who nearly ended hers.

This fast-paced story left me gasping for air on more than one occasion. Taylor’s authentic descriptions of the highlands and life in the fifteenth century reflect meticulous research.

I thank Jennifer Hudson Taylor and Abingdon Press for the opportunity to review Highland Blessings, and I eagerly await the sequel Highland Sanctuary, slated for release on October 1, 2011.