Why Should A Writer Bleed On The Page? Isn’t It Time To Open A Vein?

 

… continuing part III of What Do You As A Writer Bring To The Page?

Picture of my parents above ... winter of 1954, my father was leaving that day. He's a Korean War veteran. My mother was not happy. You can see it in her face here.

Until I met my husband, pursuing the passion and dream of writing was something I did alone. He afforded me the time to devote to my craft, which I soon realized was not enough.

As storytellers, surviving life’s heartaches and hardships leave the residue of so much conflict to write about. Without the struggle, we do not possess the understanding and compassion, the inward fortitude to pursue our dreams that often seem so out of reach.

And for all of this, you need to put a smile on your face today. My purpose for this post is to offer encouragement. To help you separate the sheep from the goats. The wheat from the tares. The bland, “so-what” writing of telling and not showing. It’s time to pull emotional appeal out of your gut, from your heart, and raise the stakes. Time to create an original and unique voice that will live long after you are gone. Time to bleed on the page.

“The question isn’t  who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand

Be a fearless writer. Make the decision you’re going to do whatever it takes. Sometimes ... you just got to open that vein.

What are the events in your life, or in others lives with which you are intimate, that possess powerful magic to influence the stories you create?

I wrote Southern Fried Women during different eras of my life. Growing up in a Pentecostal fundamental congregation, I experienced a world reaching from the backwoods and hollers of West Virginia into the great and grand cathedrals of several high-tech megachurches. Living through my own dark days in televangelism, it inspired me to weave religion, spirituality, and the unexplained into my stories … stories that hint to an ancient bridge where the real and the supernatural meet. The biblical kind of supernatural that exists in all deep-rooted religious families.

In the beginning, I wanted to inform and enlighten the minds of my readers, but I learned something about myself in the process of writing my stories. I learned that what I wanted even more was to kick-start their hearts. For me, faith and spirituality have a way of doing that like nothing else.

My point is that as I look back, the horrific darkness I went through gave me a keen insight into the mind and life of struggling and desperate women. Women that I began to write about. The sparks of passion to develop my stories became a burning and all-consuming flame. As I wrote, the blinders lifted off my eyes and my ears became unplugged. I heard myself laughing, crying out, screaming and whispering secrets through the characters I created.

It seems no matter what I write, I draw from those times of tragedy and of triumph. Of horrific and hilariously funny times when all I could do was cry or laugh.

I strongly suggest you draw from your past, from the dark places you don’t want to think about anymore, of love lost and of love sought and found. From those desperate times you will find the words needed to fully develop the characters you were meant to create.

Nobody’s life has been a bowl of soft rose petals spread upon a fine, feather mattress. Somewhere you have experienced pain. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. It comes to us all. So use it. Draw from your own well. Your stories will deepen, strengthen, and yes—matter! At the lowest point in my life, my faith and the ability to write it down became my life preserver. It changed me, as woman, and as a writer.

Draw from your darkest hours and your fondest memories. Life is too short for too many regrets. If you want to be a successful writer, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it.  I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but I can promise it’ll be worth it.

Blessings to you and yours.

What Do You As A Writer Bring To The Page?

I write fiction steeped in religion, mystery, and the paranormal. I write memoir, and thrillers, and offbeat quirky women’s fiction. And, God help me, I write Christian fiction mixed with horror. But I also write romance. A hopeless romantic, I have discovered sparks of love and lust in the whitest of ashes, the darkest of night skies, and within the deepest oceans of despair--and lived to write about it. Romance is the buttery, rich frosting inside my novel, Televenge.

I find most writers cross genres at some point. We do ourselves a great injustice to pigeonhole our writing into one solitary category, and yet … it is for the love of romance that I find myself driven to write this particular series of posts.

“It is not merely enough to love literature if one wishes to spend one’s life as a writer. It is a dangerous undertaking on the most primitive level. For, it seems to me, the act of writing with serious intent involves enormous personal risk. It entails the ongoing courage for self-discovery. It means one will walk forever on the tightrope, with each new step presenting the possibility of learning a truth about oneself that is too terrible to bear.” Harlan Ellison.

The all-too-often question asked of many of us is this. “Why do you write?” I’m sure you’ve got your standard answer. One that will satisfy your listener. But I’m going to ask you a different question. “What do your bring to the page?”

As a writer, I've often wondered what do I offer my readers? What do I have to say that anybody wants to hear?

Some write lofty volumes of prose, delivering profound messages, soothing to the ears. Some keep you spellbound with intrigue or humor. And then some carefully perfect the craft of curling the hair on our neck as we quickly turn the page to discover the killer. There are writers who can transport us to exotic places we’ve never seen, and hold us there.

Is there a writer who you have read recently, or years ago, that you remember vividly? A writer who created characters that still linger and come to your mind at the strangest times. A writer whose novels haunt you for days, weeks, years? A writer who consistently moves you like few others? What in their voice gives them the edge? What common thread weaves their unforgettable stories to the cloak of your memory? How do they do it?

Besides constantly polishing your writing craft and striving for the title of great storyteller, I'm finding there's another element to this writing thing we do.

How do you share knowledge, life experiences, and enlightenment within the context of a story?

 

How do you make it matter to your readers?

I’m going to talk more about this in the coming days … be prepared to think.

Blessings to  you and yours.

What Do Romance Readers Want And Why?

I recently asked readers in my circle, a group of church-going women and more than a few professed agnostics, their thoughts on Christian fiction, romance, and where you draw the line. I've also been reading opinions, post, and blogs to discover once and for all ... what do romance readers really want? It's been a fascinating revelation.

I found that although a few enjoy the "Calgon-take-me-away-moments" in fluffy, funny, happily-every-after novels, the majority demand the guts and glory of the story to show them something they've never seen, learn something they didn't know, take them somewhere they've never been. It's a daunting task for the writer.

At the end of my three-week research, I got a clear picture from the mostly 35+ women I spoke to. They have to see the stakes raised on every page to keep them immersed in the pages.

I've been told most publishers believe women who read romance don't want to be challenged, inspired, or enlightened. That women don't want to think. They want to feel. I don't know about you, but that's insulting to me. (Okay, Okay. With one exception: if I'm relaxing in a bubble bath with a few lit candles on the tub and glass of Merlot within arm's reach, I need something soothing and well written. I don't need to read anything that'll cause me to drop my Kindle in the soap suds.)

But with that said, more than 50 % of the women don't want graphic material or sex kitten fantasy: They want reality-based fiction. No matter what they're reading.

I questioned two women who poke their noes in a romance novel only on occasion. They find them silly, trite, predictable. However, when I asked them if they've read the, oh, so popular 50 Shades of Grey, one told me she honestly felt embarrassed for the author. Her words, not mine. The other's face reddened and said, "I had to. I wanted to see what the fuss was about. But I threw the book away when I finished it. I didn't want my daughters to find it."

Other readers I spoke to and heard from want to be transported to the point they have to look up from the pages to remember where they are. They need to feel the raw emotion as tears on their faces. Listen up romance writers, readers are wanting more. Are we prepared to give it to them?

They want to see their hero and heroine fight against insurmountable obstacles to be together, even if they don't end up together in the end. Readers don't care about unrealistic expectations. We all have them; our lives are plagued with them, so why shouldn't the character's lives be full of unattainable goals The readers told me they still, indeed, rooted for them.

I've been told by those in the industry that truth is stranger than fiction because it can be. That fiction has to make sense. It can be as fantastic as you care to make it, but it must have an inherent logic to it at all times.

My question is -- logic to whom? What is logical to me is not logical to someone else. What is plausibility? To whom must it be plausible? The readers I spoke to agreed with me, the whole issue with logic and plausibility lies in the lap of the reader.

So go for it, writer.

But no more Barbie and Ken characters. Readers want a flawed protagonist. Inside and out. She may have gorgeous blond tresses and wear stilettos to work, but she's a recovering drug addict. He's a firefighter with chiseled cheeks and a hard body, but he's fighting an incurable disease. Readers don't buy perfection. Not anymore.

I'll write more about Christian fiction tomorrow ... you wouldn't believe what they're asking for.

Blessings to you and yours.