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Saturday, December 31, 2011

Stand Out Novels of 2011

I hesitated to do a post like this, afraid I'd miss a great book or that my qualifications would be too hazy. But on the other hand, it's good to give honor where honor is due, and I've gotten a big kick out of the favorites lists I've made it onto this year. So here are some of my top novels I read, or reread, or read earlier but were actually released in 2011.

In my sidebar I say, "I want a book that will make me weep at the beauty of the words or stab me in the gut with its spiritual depth. Preferably both." That is basically my qualification for choosing these books. The ones near the top of the list definitely did both. But all of them really affected me in a lasting sort of way. Unlike some of my author friends, who are fast readers and avid reviewers, I probably only read about 50 books this year, so I no doubt have missed some great ones. Nonetheless, here is my 2011 list of standouts.

A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander

This one deserves a special place of honor for being such a wonderful surprise for me this year. Despite Tamera's multiple awards, I didn't connect with the one book of hers I tried in the past. With A Lasting Impression, I had the complete opposite experience. I loved everything about it: characters, setting, voice, subject, theme, and if I missed any element, then yep, that one too. This book completely engrossed me. I was mesmerized by this foray into the world of art and one of the great mansions of the South. And the spiritual message was so beautifully and delicately wrought, it made me weep. I adored the mix of spiritual and emotional depth with other light, fun, and flirty moments. Just perfect.

Jewel of Persia by Roseanna White

Speaking of perfect. Roseanna has been one of my favorite authors ever since I discovered her. And on top of that, I had the pleasure of critiquing this novel last year. Wonderful. Amazing. A trip into the fascinating world of the Persian courts along with Kasia, another Jewish wife in King Xerxes harem. The psychology of the harem fascinated me. In addition, wonderful Greek, Jewish, and Persian history. And to push it over the top, a spiritual thread of light and darkness reminiscent of Frank Peretti, yet based in historical fact. Beautiful. Loved every minute of it.


 
The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen

I've been a huge fan of Julie's ever since I discovered her as well. I've read all her books, but this one had it's own special delights. I loved the twists and turns and comedy of errors sort of feel, along with the allusions to a number of Jane Austen novels. This is certainly the funnest of Julie's books to date, with multiple romances and a peek into the world of literature and drama of the time. I will say, though, that this book piqued my editors eye. I would have loved to see more point of views, for reasons I won't mention since they might give away the ending.

She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell

And yet another of my favorite authors. Siri's books are always beautifully written with lovely language and a literary touch. This one specifically stood out to me because of the theme of body image and the lengths young women will go to in order to be beautiful. It proved both haunting and mesmerizing. The spiritual message was light, but at the same time powerful. The ending turned out precisely as I hoped. If you've been turned away by sad Siri novels in the past, give her another try with this one.

Shadowed in Silk by Christine Lindsay

Christine is an amazing debut author and another critique partner of mine, although she wrote this novel before we met. I've learned so much from her, I can't begin to tell you. If you loved my Dance of the Dandelion, Christine certainly gets much credit for teaching me how to craft powerful scenes. This book takes place in Ghandi's India. The stand out element in this one is no doubt setting. It truly sweeps you away to that time and place. I love her Christian Indian characters. They present the love of Christ in a very real and vibrant sort of way.

Deliver Me from Evil by Kathi Macias

I went back and forth on this one. It is well-written, yet I also saw room for improvements. But overall, it effected me more than any other single book I've read this year and needed to make the list. It's an incredibly powerful tale about the world of human trafficking, and a book every Christian should read. Kathi manages to leave you with a feeling of hope despite the horrifying subject matter, and that alone is deserving of a very special sort of award.

Yahshua's Bridge by Sandi Rog

This book holds a unique place in my heart because it is the first book I personally endorsed as an author. It's a beautiful journey through the world of ancient Rome and the early Christians. Sandi is a lovely writer with a compelling voice. The settings are incredible. Her historical novels, though deep and sometimes dark, provide ample romance and adventure. The stand out quality of this book for me was compelling glimpse into the world of Christan martyrs and a deep understanding that sometimes God has purposes for our lives that we won't understand until the other side of the grave.

Book of Days by James Rubart

Jim writes incredibly unique books with amazing premises that I could never come up with. That alone fascinates me. And his books are powerful with spiritual messages that I find vital and timely. This book remains sharp in my memory because while reading I had a number of those goose bump God moments. I loved the concept of the Book of Days, but even more so how he concluded everything so stunningly in a way that truly impacted my life. It also had great romance and adventure. An all-around wonderful read for anyone.

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So, will any of these make their way onto my top 20 of all time list? I think I need to make room for A Lasting Impression and will probably remove one of my multiple Lisa Samson books to do it, although she remains my favorite author. And I think She Walks in Beauty will replace Love's Pursuit as my favorite serious Siri Mitchell novel. Must work on that soon.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Crank up the Tension

Almost any writing expert will tell you that one of the most important elements of fiction is tension. But in usual Dina fashion, I had issues with this. I don’t like tension. It’s, well—tense! Stressful. Upsetting. I grew up in a think positive, look on the bright side kind of home. I didn’t get the need for all this tension in my stories. If I wanted tension in my life, I could have been a lawyer, and I could be making hundreds of thousands of dollars right now instead of a pittance as a writer.

Then one day, I finally got it. The tension is the reason the reader keeps turning the page. Without the tension, they have no need to know what’s going to happen next. You mean my stunning imagery and characterization aren’t enough to keep them reading? Uh, duh, no they're not. Not against the screaming demands of everyday life. Readers need a darn good reason to keep them from putting that book down. In other words, when we say you need more tension, what we’re really saying is that you need to make your reader care more.

Oh! I can do that.

So I learned how to crank up that tension baby. And really, it was there all along, I just wasn’t bringing enough notice to it. You needed a minor in psychology to find my tension.

Here are a few tips for cranking up the tension in your story. (I know a lot of people say ratchet up, but that sounds like tools, which make me even more tense.)

1)      Make the goal and obstacles crystal clear. I know as writers our big mantra is show don’t tell. And I think that’s what I used to do concerning goal and motivation. I would have Dandelion the peasant girl smelling meat wafting from the castle and brushing her fingers along the stone wall, and you were supposed to know that she longed for that life and would do anything to attain it. Maybe in literary fiction that would work. But generally speaking, it’s an author’s job to make it clear through dialogue or internal monologue what the character wants, why they want it, and what’s keeping them from getting it. This is how we let our reader know what they should care about enough to keep reading that book. Some authors will go as far as to reiterate this every scene. To me, that’s overkill. But do give your readers reminders throughout. Preferably worded in new ways and reflecting the growth of the character as the story progresses.

2)      Make us care about the stakes. In order to keep the reader interested, something has to be at stake. Not only does the character need a goal and an obstacle to reaching that goal, but something bad has to happen if they don’t reach it. Again, this helps our reader care and become invested in the story. And truthfully, the stakes don’t have to be huge. They can be life or death in a suspense or an adventure book. But maybe the stake is as simple as the heroine being lonely or unfulfilled or never living out her dream. In a comedy, the stakes could be completely ridiculous. Think Seinfeld and the soup Nazi. Who cares! Except that we did care. The characters cared. In their minds it was life or death, and we loved the characters, so we cared too.

3)      Let us know what the character is worrying about. Now here’s another place I used to make a big mistake in my writing. I was never allowed to worry or complain growing up. I was supposed to stay in faith, and if I did worry, I kept it to myself. At some point I realized my characters made the same mistake. You don’t want your character to be whiny and bringing up their problems over and over again in dialogue. Maybe they don’t even want to admit it to themselves. But at some point, they need to. Because your readers need to know what they’re worrying about so they can worry along with them, and again, so they can care. If you character isn’t fazed by their own problems, why would the reader be? And why would they turn to the next page if your character is doing just fine, thank you very much.

4)      Let us feel the character's emotions. Related to letting the reader know what the character is worried about, you need to let them actually feel what the character is sensing in a visceral sort of way. You need to let them experience the character’s emotions first hand as though they are living the story in a sort of fictional dream world. Is your character angry? What does that feel like in the body? Heat? Pressure? Head about to explode? If they’re sad or in pain, how can you as the author express that to allow your reader to enter the scene and loose themselves in it?

5)      End each scene with tension. I’m sure not every author will agree with this, but I’ve found it to be a very simple trick that really works. In other words, end each scene with a hook to remind us what we’re wondering or worrying about, and why we simply can’t put the book down. Often scenes end in a tense place naturally, but other scenes are resolutions to smaller complications in the book and end on a light or happy note. When I finish a scene, I look to see if there’s any good tension on the last page. If there’s not, I add some in the ending hook. For example, we just had a wonderful kissing scene and things are going great, and I end it with, “but how long could the illusion last.” Ta da! It’s a romance novel. There’s 150 pages to go. The reader knows something's got to go wrong, but without the reminder, they might just lose interest.

So those are my techniques for cranking up the tension. Authors, what tricks do you use to keep your reader's interest? Readers, what makes you really care about a book? What makes it impossible to put a book down?

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Do I Write Everyday???

For those of you who aren’t authors, November is in known in the writing community as “Nanowrimo,” or National Novel Writing Month. Writers traditionally use this time to focus purely on writing and try to finish a book in a month. This was my first year to participate. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it, but it worked great with my writing style.

You see, there’s another tradition in the writer’s world. Writers must write everyday. No matter what. Many instructors will tell you this is the only way to be successful. I say—hogwash!

While I do spend time everyday working on something writing related: editing, critiques, reviews, blogs, marketing, promotion, networking, (don’t worry, there’s plenty to keep me busy) I never just sit around staring at an empty, white computer screen. It would be a complete waste of time for me to write 200 or even 500 words a day as many insist that you should, because it usually takes me an hour or two to get in the right frame of mind to write.

In my definition, writer’s block is what happens when you try to write without inspiration, which I won’t even attempt. I love it when a story is boiling inside of me until it erupts like a volcano and comes flowing out. When I write in that magical flow, I can easily pound out 10,000 in a day given no distractions. And speaking of distractions, I don’t even notice them in that marvelous zone. Hours later I’ll realize it’s dark outside and check to see if all my kids are alive and the house still standing.

Probably the best thing about writing in big, inspired spurts is that the book comes out with a tight sense of unity. You’re less likely to mess up characterization or motivation if you stay in the flow of the story. The voice, rhythms, and details will remain consistent.

When I wrote my first novel, I was still homeschooling my kids. I wrote in big spurts on weekends or getaways until it was done a year later. For my second novel my kids were in public school. I wrote about 30,000 words in the fall, then the other 60,000 in a big spurt in the spring. Since then, I’ve found I have about three sprees a year. Fall, early winter, and late spring. I've utilized these spurts for major rewrites and the beginning of sequels during the last year.

Between the spurts I relax, catch up, spend time with the family, and refill. During those spaces I do the normal living required to find new inspiration. I’m sure I at least write an email everyday. Maybe a blog post, but I don’t worry about new novels.

In fact, I haven’t worked on entirely new project in a while. And I hadn’t written a book in 2011. So with NaNoWriMo approaching, I decided to pray for a new idea. God sent one in the form of a title in late October. That was all the inspiration it took to spark my creative juices. This is my first time writing an entire novel in one spurt, but I’m enjoying the ride for sure.

In addition to the unity I expected, I’ve also found this method saves a lot of time. I don’t have to go back and check things that I’ve forgotten. And while I’ve started plotting ahead of time with most of my books, for this experience I’ve been able to let the characters tell me the story and just write it down as it unfolds in my mind without worrying if the plot will come back to me at a later date.

I’m sure there must be some merit to writing everyday (although I can’t say I really understand what it is). Maybe it works better for more methodical left brain type thinkers. But for me it would be like Chinese water torture. And I submit for the record that I think writing in big spurts with breaks in between to refresh and relax is much more productive.

At least for some of us.

By the end of the month (and head start week in October) I had 70,000 words written. Not bad. I'm now up to 83,000. Need to make some time for Christmas preparations after all, but I hope to have it all finished by the new year. And what is it, you might ask. Well, for now that's a secret. But I'm going in a more marketable historical romance with American setting direction with this one. Soon I'll let you know how it turned out.

How do you write? If you're not a writer, have you ever stopped to wonder how authors create?