THE CRAFT OF WRITING: The Big C

by Anne Hamilton 

Man overboard! I was planning to write a fourth post in this series on narrative hooks, but I decided to abandon ship. Still I’m valiantly striving to keep my nautical metaphor.

The plan went awry after reading a fascinating section in Lisa Cron’s book Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence. That’s the book which explains how the brain is wired to interact with storylines and gives you clues about how to write in an engaging, compelling way.

Cron talks about conflict. The Big C. It should go without saying that conflict, conflict, and still more escalating conflict is the basis of western literature (though not necessarily of eastern — if ever you’ve tried to make sense of a Japanese novel or a manga series, you’ll know that evocation of mood is of ultimate significance there). Still, conflict is often missing in the manuscripts I assess. Increasingly it’s missing in books I’m recommended, particularly by friends of self–published authors.

Cron explains why: the reader craves conflict situations in a story because this is a simulated learning experience for the brain. In real life, however, most of us hate conflict. So many authors can’t bring themselves to put their fictional darlings through the wringer. 

However, this wasn’t what intrigued me. Cron mentions eight different types of fictional conflict that the brain craves according to research in neuroscience. The last one made me sit back in my chair and think hard. It’s this: The antagonist vs mercy. 

The opportunities for Christian writing here are just fantastic, the potential enormous. The average person wants to know when to exercise mercy and one of the things a reader desires in a book is a template for that process. And by template I mean a thoughtful exploration of forgiveness that does not trivialise the wounding. Often Christian novels present forgiveness in a way that seems so unbelievable it’s almost trite. The heroine is suffused by peace and the struggle is over. 

Do we do anyone any favours by creating idealised ‘too good to be true’ Christian characters? Yep, we’ve fallen into the trap Cron identifies: as authors we want to minimise conflict for our darlings. 

Yet, have you taken a look at the book of Acts lately? Peter might have taken some huge leaps forward but he was still fallible and more than a touch hypocritical. Paul was so unforgiving he had a huge row with Barnabas and they split up. 

In our rush to wind up the story with a happy–ever–after of forgiveness and mercy, it’s important not to forget truth and justice. The mercy conflict in Christian terms is the perennial and age–old question of how those two opposites — justice and mercy — can both simultaneously be satisfied. Only a story wrestling with these ancient questions can ever truly hope to satisfy what both our brains and our hearts crave. 

Anne Hamilton is the author of the award–winning children’s fantasy, Many–Coloured Realm. She’s just checked the final word count of her forthcoming children’s fantasy Daystar: The Days are Numbered Book 1 to make sure it really is 77,777 words long and also to be certain the mercy conflict is quite prominently featured.

THE CRAFT OF WRITING: Reeling in your Reader

By Anne Hamilton

Every second about 11 million bits of information scrabble for your brain’s attention. And every second, your brain filters out all but a handful of them as irrelevant to the present moment. 

Neuroscientists think we choose out of this mind-blowing datastream according to our moment-by-moment judgment of whether the information pertains to survival or not. 

So, they’ve wondered, what makes us turn off all the switches and curl up with a good novel? If the brain devotes so much effort to personal survival, why on earth does it risk throwing all its work away by encouraging us in the dangerous pastime of reading fiction? 

Because it’s beneficial, of course. Andrea addressed some of the issues in Why Bother? And Iola addressed still others in On Christian Romance. 

I’m going to look at other factors. As neuroscientists have analysed brain function while a subject is reading, they’ve discovered the brain is hardwired for story. When we read about fictional events, neural pathways turn on in our brain — the same neural pathways as those which would indicate we are actually experiencing the event.

In other words, fiction teaches us how to navigate through a new experience by allowing our brains to thrust us in a virtual ‘simulation’. Now, generally speaking, we know this. We know that a good story makes us feel the emotions of the protagonist, walk in their shoes, have empathy for people we’d otherwise avoid. 

It also helps us survive. Maybe the storytelling of ancient man was all about raw survival out in a brutal world, but the social world today is no less brutal. Story puts us into all sorts of different social situations where the main character survives, giving us the hope that we too can make it through without gaffe or embarrassment. In fact, a good story gives us clues on just how to do this. 

Ahh, good story. That’s the key. Lisa Cron’s book Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence emphasises that the brain responds positively to a sense of urgency in story (no matter how badly it’s told) and switches off if the prose seems to be meandering and pointless (no matter how beautiful and inviting the style is.) 

Yep, when the story starts, it’s all about narrative hook. I’m thumping my favourite theme yet again. Grab the reader’s attention and hold it. 

Lisa Cron has some excellent questions to ask yourself about your opening paragraph. Here are just four of them but they are sufficient to get you going. 

(1) Do we know whose story it is? If we can’t see the world through the protagonist’s eyes from the start, then we’re missing more than the hook — we’re missing the whole boat. 

(2) Is something happening? Don’t set the scene for later conflict. Jump into the conflict. 

(3) Is something at stake? And does the reader have clues as to what it is? 

(4) Is there a sense that ‘not all is as it seems’? 

I highly recommend the book and going back to your narrative hook (now that you’ve worked on it for the last few weeks) and seeing how it shapes up in the light of your answers above. 

It’s not just about the narrative hook, it’s about the kind of bait you’re using.

Anne Hamilton is the author of the award-winning children’s fantasy, Many-Coloured Realm. She’s just finished reading Wired for Story and looking at her next children’s fantasy with critical eyes, wondering just how well the opening paragraph works, after all.

THE CRAFT OF WRITING: Bait and switch (plus a book giveaway)

by Anne Hamilton 

The ads are everywhere: cut down on 1 kg of belly fat each week with this 1 weird diet tip. 

It sounds too good to be true. And it is. It’s a con. A lure to pull you into the world of health supplements and diet foods, vitamin regimes and alternative weight loss programmes. Now personally I have nothing against any of those things. However, I object to the advertising methodology: bait the customer with a simple tantalising message and, once you’ve got them hooked, switch the pitch.

That said, in the world of writing, there’s a lot to be said for the old switcheroo. Last week we looked at the ‘Narrative Hook’ and two of its styles—the puzzle and the hint.

This time we’ll look at two more styles which offer the prospect of presenting the reader with a tempting enough morsel to draw them into your book. They’re my two favourites: atmosphere and interruption. I like them both so much, I usually combine them. 

‘Murder?’ Holly whispered. She frowned, turning aside to look out of the bus window at the sun-scorched fields and the blurring heat haze on the distant mountains. The roadside went up and down but the sleepy drone of the bus’ engine remained undisturbed by each bump and jolt. 

‘It’s true,’ Reece insisted. ‘That’s what she said she saw.’ He lowered his voice. ‘By midnight tonight, he’s going to be arrested for murder. Our murder.’ 

This was the opening of my debut novel Merlin’s Wood, published ten years ago today. It was the heyday of ‘bait and switch’—the truly explosive, gruesome, intriguing or spectacular opening paragraph that often seemed unrelated to the rest of the book. I sometimes felt someone other than the author had written those spell-binders.

It was kind of like a MacGyver effect—if ever you watched the show, you might been sucked in, as I often was, by the thrilling opening scene—which would then turn out to have nothing whatsoever to do with the episode. Terry Nation, famous for introducing the Daleks in Dr Who and developing Blake’s 7 moved to Hollywood and made an excellent living writing those MacGyver hooks. 

I’d resisted the idea of a narrative hook for a long time, lulled into a false sense of security by beta-readers who liked a slow build-up of tension. Finally, after a long series of rejections, I decided to bite the bullet on the issue and see what happened. With cold calculation, I thought of the most dramatic word I could to start a children’s novel. Let’s try, hmmm… murder… 

The story was picked up the very next time I sent the manuscript out. The publisher even told me right up front it was the first fantasy he’d ever read. But he couldn’t put it down because he was so intrigued by the opening. From that moment, I was sold on the narrative hook.

Yet, as I’ve looked across my shelves and plucked dozens of Christian novels down to find examples, I’ve seriously struggled to find any.

Perhaps it’s time for us to be more intentional about them. There’s a good reason why it’s used—because they work so well. 

In the meantime, if you know of any examples of the Interruption or Atmosphere styles of narrative hook, I’d love to read of them. 

And a reminder: over at Omega Writers, this month’s writing challenge is to craft your manuscript’s opening paragraph – either fiction or non-fiction – so it has a nifty narrative hook. 

Deadline for entries is 20 December 2013. Entry is free for members of Omega Writers and $5 for non-members. A cash prize of $25 plus 3 new books from Light the Dark and a cool award for your CV awaits the winner. 

Send your entries to registrarATwordswithwingsDOTnet 

Anne Hamilton is the current President of Omega Writers, a support group for faith-based writers across Australasia. Today she’s celebrating the tenth anniversary of the publication of her first book, Merlin’s Wood. If you’d like to win a copy of this historic momento, we’ll draw a few winners from those who comment a week from today.

Print book giveaway, 3 winners: 1 Australian reader, 1 New Zealand reader, and 1 international reader. 

THE CRAFT OF WRITING: Are you a fisherman or a landscape artist?

By Anne Hamilton

Every nine seconds, the celebrations begin: fireworks go off, the party poppers explode, the streamers fly skyward and yet another email campaign begins as another book is launched onto an unsuspecting world! 

Yes! Every nine seconds! Maybe significantly less by now. The stats I found to figure this out are a few years out of date. Even global publishers with their multi-million dollar budgets are finding it hard to get any cut-through. 

While selling books is tougher than ever and many bookstores are closing down, it’s not necessarily true people are reading less. There are more books than ever before being produced annually. It’s estimated over half the books available in the USA alone today are effectively self-published through some avenue such as CreateSpace or Smashwords or Lulu. 

However consumers are getting more savvy. The reputation of Smashwords is falling dramatically as readers find it hard to find the cherries amongst the slush. Many readers are growing increasingly like the commissioning editors at big companies who discard a manuscript before the end of the first paragraph: if you don’t have a hook to engage them by that time, your chance of being picked up is gone.

Of course, if you’ve got JK Rowling’s reputation, you don’t need to worry at all about your opening paragraph. But until you reach that mega-stellar status (or if you decide to follow Rowling’s lead and use a pseudonym such as ‘Robert Galbraith’), you might want to consider a ‘narrative hook’ to reel your reader into the following chapter. 

Two styles are illustrated here: the puzzle and the hint. Often these overlap as in the following examples where an intriguing flavour immediately pulls the reader beyond the first sentence: 

It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea. 

‘Mortal Engines’, Philip Reeve 

Prince Kaspar Kandinsky first came to the Savoy Hotel in a basket.

‘Kaspar’, Michael Morpurgo 

Ever since Jack’s funeral, Sandra had been covered in glass.

‘Knitting’, Anne Bartlett 

Expect the worst! Phil re-read the text twice. Oliver must be exaggerating. It can’t be that bad.

‘Motive Games’, L.D. Taylor 

Heidi Jordan preferred to make resolutions at the start of each new month.

‘Heidi’s October’, Penelope McCowen

When my workday is over, and I have closed my notebook, hidden my pen, and sawed holes in my rented canoe so that it cannot be found, I often like to spend the evening in conversation with my few surviving friends. 

‘A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Carnivorous Carnival’, Lemony Snicket 

In general, these are not new examples from recent books. Beginning a story with a description of the landscape around the protagonist went out about a century ago. If you’ve got a tendency to be a landscape artist in that opening paragraph of your writing, it’s time to change professions. Become a fisherman. 

If you know any great hooks of the mystery or hint type, I’d love you to share them. Old or new, it doesn’t matter. (But don’t be tempted to offer that famous Kingsley Amis one. If you know it, you’ll know why. This is a G-rated blog.) 

Over at Omega Writers, this month’s writing challenge is to craft your manuscript’s opening paragraph – either fiction or non-fiction – so it has a nifty narrative hook. 

Deadline for entries is 20 December 2013. Entry is free for members of Omega Writers and $5 for non-members. A cash prize of $25 plus 3 new books from Light the Dark and a cool award for your CV awaits the winner. 

Send your entries to registrar (at) wordswithwings (dot) net 

Anne Hamilton is the current President of Omega Writers, a support group for faith-based writers across Australasia. She is an award-winning author and the Australian sub-editor of the popular devotional, The Word for Today.

Genre: Romance

By Iola Goulton

The biggest genre is romance: biggest both in terms of the number of books published, and the number of books sold. Romance novels, according to Romance Writers of America, have two defining qualities: they have a love story that is central to the plot, and they have an “emotionally-satisfying and optimistic ending”—the Happy Ever After, or HEA. If it only has one of the two, it’s probably be Women’s Fiction, not romance. There are several major sub-genres within romance:

Contemporary

Contemporary romances can be set any time after World War II, but are usually set in the present day. They can date very quickly, both in terms of the technology (cassette decks or dial-up internet) and in terms of the social norms they espouse. There are numerous sub-genres within contemporary romance: military romance and cowboy romance are currently popular, as are books set in small towns with old-fashioned values of friendliness and community.

Romantic Suspense

Romantic suspense novels are more plot-driven, and usually feature the hero and heroine working together to solve some mystery (or may feature one trying to rescue the other from evildoers). One or both protagonists usually work in either law enforcement or serve in the Armed Forces (FBI agents and Navy SEALs are especially popular). Note that for a novel to be considered romantic suspense, the love story must be central to the plot. If the suspense is more important than the love story, the novel is likely to be a thriller/suspense with romantic elements. The same holds true for other romance sub-genres.

Historical

Historical romance can be set in any period prior to World War II. The most popular period in Christian fiction is probably novels set in the American West in the late 1870’s, while both Regency and Victorian England are popular in general market romance. Edwardian fiction is gaining traction in both markets, probably due to the popularity of Downton Abbey. The key challenge for authors in historical fiction is blending historical accuracy with modern-day sensibilities, particularly around sexist or racist attitudes.

Chick-lit

Chick-lit isn’t really romance, as the heroine’s relationships with family and friends are often as important as her romantic relationships. The origin of the phrase is chick (young woman) lit (literature). It’s not chic lit. Classic (!) examples include Bridget Jones’s Diary, and these exemplify my issue with Chick-lit: they often feature and glorify infidelity and promiscuity.

Chick-lit has a slightly different meaning within the Christian market: it refers to novels that are humorous or ‘light in tone’ with a colloquial voice. Examples include Sandra Bricker and Lisa Wingate. This was popular in the 1990’s, but has now fallen from favour.

Edgy

Most Christian romances maintain a standard of purity around sex and sexual feelings. Those that choose to address sexuality more directly are often referred to as 'edgy'. While I understand those who prefer to read Christian romance because it provides a clean read, I do believe there needs to be a place in Christian romance to acknowledge the physical feelings associated with love, and to provide readers with a godly way of dealing with those feelings. 

Bonnet Romance

Romances featuring Amish or Mennonite characters. Amish romance is a genre quirk: it’s a hugely popular sub-genre of Christian fiction, but not in the general market. It is usually contemporary, set in one of the various Old Order Amish communities in the United States, and often features a teenager falling in love for the first time as she struggles to come to terms with the rules of her faith.

Do you write romance? How do you describe what you write? What do you feel are the essential ingredients in a romance novel?

Next week we will discuss some more common genres: mysteries, suspense and thrillers. I hope to see you then.

I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction, and you can find out more about my services at my website, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. I love reading, and read and review around 150 Christian books each year on my blog.

The CALEB Conference for Christian Writers

By Iola Goulton

The CALEB Conference will be taking place on 11 and 12 October at Riverglenn, Indooroopilly, Brisbane. The conference is arranged by Omega Writers, a group of Australasian writers writing faith-inspired work. You can find out more about Omega Writers and the CALEB Conference at the Omega website. Bookings are still open, but you’ll need to get in quick.

The conference is now less than two weeks away. The airfares and accommodation are booked, the presentation is finished and I’m itching to pack my bags and leave.

Why?

Writing (and editing) are solitary pursuits. Most of the time that suits me, as I’m an introvert by nature. But it’s not good for man (or woman) to be alone. A writing conference, especially a Christian writing conference, provides an opportunity for us to step out of our comfort zones and connect with other Christian writers across Australia and New Zealand as we meet at Riverglenn, Indooroopilly, Queensland, for two days of fun, fellowship and learning.

I’m going for a couple of reasons. The obvious reason is that I’ve been asked to contribute: I’ll be leading one session on self-editing (A Fine Cut), co-leading another session on Techniques of Fiction with the amazing Anne Hamilton, and will be offering one-on-one Book Doctor sessions for authors who want a little more personal help with their manuscript (for anyone who is interested, I still have some availability on Friday. Details are on my website). And there’s the opportunity to meet some of the people who publish Christian books in Australia and New Zealand.

But that’s not my only reason for going.

I’m looking forward to the face-to-face connection with like-minded people. The internet connects us globally in ways we never would have dreamed of twenty years ago, with email, Facebook, Twitter and blogs. But the internet can be very impersonal.

Attending a conference is personal. It’s a way to cement existing relationships, and form new ones. It’s a way to encourage others, and to be encouraged. It’s a time to celebrate our individual and collective successes at the CALEB Award dinner.

And I’m looking forward to learning. Reading books on the craft of writing or reading blogs like Australasian Christian Writers is a good way of learning about the craft and the industry, but there’s nothing like having the opportunity to ask questions and learn from both the session leaders and your fellow attendees.

There are some excellent sessions on the programme, from Masterclasses in writing romance or fantasy/YA fiction, to research for writers, to speaking for writers (no, that’s not a contradiction in terms). There are sessions on poetry, drama, and marketing. And there are sessions on some of the emotional and spiritual challenges of writing.

It’s going to be a great conference. Will I see you there?

I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction, and you can find out more about my services at my website, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. I love reading, and read and review around 150 Christian books each year on my blog.

Why are genres determined by reader expectations?

by Narelle Atkins

I write in the contemporary inspirational (Christian) romance genre but I love reading books in other genres. A genre can be defined as a category of literature. Fiction genres include Romance, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Historical, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Paranormal, Horror and Young Adult. Each fiction genre may contain multiple sub-genres and also cross over between genres. Historical Romance has many sub-genres defined by the time period and/or setting. For example, a regency romance is usually set in England, 1811-1820. 

Why is genre important? If you’re writing for your own pleasure, then genre really doesn’t matter. But if you’re writing to publish, you need to find a market for your books. Your market consists of readers and genre definitions are a marketing tool that helps readers choose between different types of books.

For example, in a romance novel the story will focus on the developing romantic relationship between the hero and heroine. Romance readers expect the story to have a happily-ever-after ending for the hero and heroine. They read romance to journey with the characters as they struggle to overcome obstacles in the story to achieve their happy ending. If a book is marketed as a romance but the hero and heroine don’t meet until three chapters before the end, or the hero and heroine go their separate ways at the end of the book, the reader will be disappointed because the book does not meet their expectations of a romance book.

The book market works on the principle of supply and demand. Publishers and authors supply books to meet the demand of readers. Publishers will go bankrupt if they don’t supply books that readers want to buy. They pay attention to the consumer behaviour of readers and strive to supply books that meet the different expectations and personal tastes of readers.

Books are not a ‘one size fits all’ generic product and I’m going to use the analogy of McDonalds burgers to explain my point.

McDonalds offer a wide range of burgers. A customer who orders a beef burger but is given a chicken burger is not going to be happy. They will be disappointed, possibly angry and most likely wanting to exchange the chicken burger for the beef burger that will meet their expectations. The chicken burger may taste great, but they will be thinking about how they really wanted a beef burger and are less likely to enjoy eating the chicken burger.

A customer who orders a Big Mac is not likely to be happy if the burger contains beetroot. Even if they like beetroot on their burgers, they didn’t request it on their Big Mac and it won’t meet their expectations.

Under the Australian Consumer Credit Code, the customer is entitled to ask for an exchange or refund in these situations because the product does not meet the advertised specifications.

In the same way fast food outlets want to provide burgers that meet their customer’s expectations, publishers and authors want to provide books that meet reader expectations. I’ve asked Jenny Blake, a reader friend who contributes to our blog, a few questions to see how this works in real life.

Narelle: Jenny, thanks for joining us today. I know you are a fan of the Love Inspired and Heartsong Presents range of inspirational romance books from my publisher, Harlequin. What are your reader expectations of these books?

Jenny: A clean, light read with an inspirational content. I love that I know I can read these books and know there will be no bad language or sexual content in them. The books are easy to read but still have a message. The books have grown over the years to have stronger storylines and do deal with real issues. Having the three lines for Love Inspired (Historical, Contemporary and Suspense) gives a good range of books to choose from.

Narelle: I’ve included the link to the Love Inspired and Heartsong Presents Writing Guidelines so you can see if Jenny’s reader expectations in any way reflect the writing guidelines for these books. 
http://www.harlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=538&chapter=0 

My next question: What is your favourite genre? Has the style or content of books in this genre changed over time?

Jenny: My favourite is historical but not all historical. I am not a regency fan but love how there is a range of historical eras. Yes I can see the books have evolved over time. The books now are more realistic and often much better researched. I have noticed it more so in the Heartsong Presents range as these are the ones I started reading first. The style has change and it’s hard to say how but the stories are stronger and the characters are not as perfect and unrealistic as before. Also before Historical was mainly American Prairie stories now there is so much more variety.

Narelle: Thinking of the books you read in your favourite genre, can you think of anything that would deter you from buying a book in this genre and could possibly be compared to my analogy of adding beetroot to a Big Mac? Would these story elements turn you off buying future books from that particular author or publisher?

Jenny: Yes one of my favourite Historical times is the Civil War. Last year I was so excited to get a book set in the era but when I started the book the language was so bad. They used one word to excess and I had to stop reading because of this. It was so disappointing and I would never buy another book by the author and I would wonder at the publisher also. I also enjoy inspirational romance but have been frustrated when I have bought the book marketed as this only to find it’s got a high amount of suspense in it. I do not read heavy suspense books and this is a big turn of and yes it will make me wary of the author or publisher.

Narelle: Have you come across any books that don’t seem to fit into a genre category? For example, the marketing or back cover information might be vague in regards to signaling the type of story. In your opinion, is this a positive or negative factor in determining whether or not you will buy the book?

Jenny: Yes, it doesn’t happen a lot but when it does it can be frustrating. When I am looking for a book I normally look at the genre and read the blurb. There have been a few from reading the back I thought it was a romance only to find it was chick lit or women’s fiction which I do not really like or have found the story to be totally different from what the blurb indicated. For example I thought it would be an inspirational romance only to find it deals with the heroines demon’s and there is very little romance in the book.

Narelle: You’ve read Jenny’s responses, the opinions of one reader. I’d love to hear your thoughts on any or all of the questions I posed to Jenny. Please be respectful in your comments and acknowledge that Jenny was brave to sit in my ‘hot seat’. Any inappropriate comments will be deleted. 

NARELLE ATKINS writes contemporary inspirational romance and lives in Canberra, Australia. She sold her debut novel, set in Australia, to Harlequin's Love Inspired Heartsong Presents line in a 6-book contract. Her first book, Falling for the Farmer, will be a February 2014 release.

Narelle is a co-founder with Jenny Blake of the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance (ACRBA). http://acrba.blogspot.com

Website: http://www.narelleatkins.com
Blog: http://narelleatkins.wordpress.com 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NarelleAtkinsAuthor
Twitter: @NarelleAtkins https://twitter.com/NarelleAtkins