The Writer's Connection

By H. David Blalock

I have been writing since I was a child. I wrote my first short story, about a little leaguer hitting a home run, at the age of seven. My parents encouraged me to write, even helping by paying out of their meager income to let me take a correspondence course on writing. That was in the late '60s, and I have never lost the love of the written word. Perhaps that is why I prefer the pen and paper – the connection to my youth. I'm sure a psychologist would have a field day with that.

I find it more satisfying to write longhand than directly on the keyboard. I thought for a long time that I was the odd man out when it came to this, but recently discovered that many writers also prefer the immediacy and intimate connection of longhand to the relatively impersonal feeling of the machine.

Beside a love of the written word, I have a deep respect for those who mastered its use. My writing is influenced heavily by writers of the first half of the twentieth century: men and women who conveyed ideas of the fantastic and wonderful through a well-turned phrase or picturesque description. In a time when only books, and perhaps radio, titillated the imagination, the written word was the vehicle for transmission of ideas. Writers were artisans, masters, and marketeers of mankind's past, present, and future. They reached directly into the human psyche and tickled it into invention and innovation in ways television cannot, because the images and sounds and stories it shows are fleeting, ephemeral phantasms that pass from consciousness with the next commercial break.

Willfully and with purpose, I try to continue that tradition. In my writing I try to evoke emotion from the reader. I attempt to make my characters likable or hateful, deeply conflicted or heroic, beings of what some might call stereotype simply because those are the iconic images that prick our subconscious into reaction. As a result, I have received reviews that range from pan to rave, all of which are valid and which I welcome as judgments as to the effectiveness of my intent. My fiction I write in longhand so I might more closely connect to its spirit. All writers put something of themselves in their work, but if I cannot feel the flow of the pen, the resistance of the paper to the nib, see the curve of the letters as they appear, I don't identify with it as mine. And if I can't identify with it, I feel my reader will have the same problem.

I fervently hope that tie between writer and work will never be lost. 

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H. David Blalock was born in San Antonio, Texas, David spent the majority of his formative years in Jacksonville, Florida. At the age of 16, his family moved to the Panama Canal Zone where David finished school and entered employment with the Department of Defense as a Powerhouse Electrician. Hiring into the FAA, he returned with his wife and two daughters to the States and settled briefly in Gulfport, MS. A few years later, he moved to Memphis, TN, as an Air Traffic Controller for the Memphis ARTCC. There he remained until his retirement. David's writing has appeared in numerous anthologies, magazines, webzines, and writer's sites. His work continues to appear on a regular basis through multiple publishing houses, including Doom Angel, Traitor Angel, and Angelkiller. He can be contacted via Personal Blog -- http://hdavidblalock.blogspot.com Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/Writer.HDavidBlalock Twitter -- @HDavidBlalock

Determination Writing

By Stephen Brayton

This is along the lines of perseverance but I think where perseverance tends to lean toward trying and not giving up, comes before.

If you persevere for something, you are going to try and try, overcome whatever obstacle in your path. Tagging along with this can be a determination-al mindset that you are determined-dedicated-to reach your goal.

However, I view determination as riding higher than perseverance. It sits above and is the constant factor after the achievement is committed to. You have said, “I'm going to achieve this.” This stays with you throughout the journey. You may have problems. You have setbacks or delays, but you've already made up your mind that you are going to succeed.

At the time of this writing, I had made a determination, at the end of 2013, to finish the edits/rewrites/revisions for three stories and to be ready to submit them within the calendar year of 2014. That's a hefty goal. However, I already had all three manuscripts completed and much already edited.

Night of Wine and Ghosts – I finally was able to create a catalyst for the events in the story. The plot had been missing this vital factor for years. I had one, but not one strong enough to enjoy and on which to expand.

Delta – I need to add a few more scenes, change the time line a bit, and then hit it hard for basic editing.

New Year Gone – My dream would be to add about 20-30,000 more words but I'm not sure where. I don't want to add obvious filler. The story is basically complete as is but I'm not sure if it's lengthy enough to be accepted.

I made the above determination because I felt I had been fooling around, jumping from story to story and not accomplishing anything. Of course, one of my setbacks was a five-month stint in a camper trailer and a screwy work schedule. Since October of 2013, I've been back among friends and familiar territory and even though I'm still busy at work, I will find time to write.

I will. I've made that determination. Even with online courses, which will take up evenings, I will write. I'm back with my cool writers group and have brought along a friend who also enjoys the quality of the group. This group, as much as anything, will keep me persevering. But I made the determination of my goal.

Yes, I know it will be tough but I'm going to give it my best shot.

What have you determined are your goals? How are they progressing?

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Stephen L. Brayton owns and operates Brayton’s Black Belt Academy in Oskaloosa, Iowa. He is a Fifth Degree Black Belt and certified instructor in The American Taekwondo Association. He began writing as a child; his first short story concerned a true incident about his reactions to discipline. During high school, he wrote for the school newspaper and was a photographer for the yearbook. For a Mass Media class, he wrote and edited a video project. In college, he began a personal journal for a writing class; said journal is ongoing. He was also a reporter for the college newspaper. His first novel, Night Shadows (Feb. 2011), concerns a Des Moines homicide investigator teaming up with a federal agent to battle creatures from another dimension. His second book, Beta (Oct. 2011) was the debut of Mallory Petersen and her search for a kidnapped girl. In August 2012, the second Mallory Petersen book, Alpha, was published. This time she investigates the murder of her boyfriend.

Step Away From Your Writing and Explore Writing Settings

By Annette Cole Mastron, Communications Director for Southern Writers Magazine

Sunday, I was enjoying a cup of coffee, while reading the Real Estate section and saw an auction notice for a southern plantation with an open house. My current work in progress is a period piece set in the South just after the Civil War. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a plantation as it is being dissected for sale. 

Seizing this opportunity, a Sunday drive to Holly Springs, MS took me to historical Walter Place Estate, Cottages and Gardens. I captured details with my smart phone camera. Broken herringbone brick pathway with unevenness created from tree roots under the pathway led from the street to the plantation. The exterior was in need of resurfacing, and green broken shutters graced the 20 foot windows. The 1859 grand dame is a beauty with 10,000 square feet. Looking from the front porch, you could imagine the history of the property. It's easy to understand why General Ulysses Grant housed his family in the home while planning the battle of Vicksburg, but I also wonder where the plantation owners were housed while their home was occupied.

Entering the front door, a brochure of the property and the auction company representative provided information on the auction. The exploration of the plantation ensued. Each room provided a glimpse of how a family would live in this home. The antiques were authentic to the Civil War era, blended with 20th century contents. Most everything on display was up for auction. As a perspective buyer you could actually touch the items up for sale. There were 6 different china, 12-place settings and silver services. Countless items were arranged to be sold in lots. 

Using this as research trip, I photographed, touched, and imagined a plantation family trying to hang onto their home by selling off their prized possessions. Essentially, that's what happened to many families following the Civil War. Today, the strain of maintaining a plantation on 15 acres of gardens with a pool and two other historic cottages has forced this auction by the aging owner. I found the breaking up of the plantation's contents to be sold as a very sad event. It left me with no desire to bid on any of the beautiful items. These items seemed to belong to this plantation. 

The emotional response from my Sunday road trip surprised me. It gave me a better understanding of how a family would feel having to sell off everything within the walls of their home. Not only did I get a real sense of the setting outside of normal writing research methods, like period reference books or Internet search, but I was able to touch contents in the plantation setting. Perhaps the silver scarred tray I picked and held up to the chandelier light had actually be used to serve food to General Grant. 

I highly recommend any writer to get out of your writing space and to experience your setting when an opportunity arises. It will give you the ability to truly imagine and dream your story with emotion that will give your reader a truer story.

If you live within driving distance of Holly Springs, you can visit this plantation and its grounds again prior to the auction. Another open house will be held today, Thursday, July 10, 2014.

Even if you're not writing a period piece, you can experience this via real estate open houses that are the period of your book setting. A contemporary, luxurious mansion named. The Grand Manor of Nashville,  is up for foreclosure and offers a glimpse into the lives of the truly rich. It has it's own casino, movie theatre and wine cellar within the home.

Get out of your office and walk into your book's setting. Like me, you may surprise yourself. What you thought you knew before your research trip isn't authentic to your story. After the field trip, you may have a better sense of the emotions of your characters in these settings. 

Formation of Character and Plot

By Peter Wells

Some years ago, I was at a friend’s fiftieth birthday party and I said to someone there, “If you asks anyone, in the right way, who is over fifty, Where did it all go wrong?”  They will often smile, because on some level somewhere their life has gone off track or been derailed in some way.

That is my starting point for all book and characters. I take an aspect of someone I meet or see and from that sliver of personality I construct a character. Then I place that character in a situation, which either asks it uncomfortable questions, or changes its situation in a way that allows it to discover something unknown about him or her.  They might be physically braver than they realized, but only find that out when their family are threatened. They may be an honorable person, as far as they know, but then are exposed to an apparently cost free temptation which tests them to their limits and beyond. Their transgression may lie undiscovered for years until someone stumbles on a fact they thought was hidden.

Once I get that first sliver of a character, and place him or her in the first situation I can think of, they starts to develop before my eyes and on the page until they gain a life full of subtleties and undercurrents that might find echoes with the reader:  that, at least, is the plan.

I am not personally moved by meeting men or machines from another planet or creatures with strange habits and appetites, for which dental hygiene forms an engrossing subject. I am interested in the presence of the extraordinary within us all and in situations which at first sight seem unremarkable. I like to look at life through a microscope, and marvel at the wealth of detail thus revealed and normally hidden from the naked eye. That is my motivation and the source of all my stories and characters.

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Peter Wells, who has lived by the maxim,” If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same” has had a life, work...more Peter Wells, who has lived by the maxim,” If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same” has had a life, working in the corporate, financial and self-employed worlds, and in his spare time has enjoyed adventures on a number of continents and sailing over several seas. His writing is inspired by his working and travelling life, and the people he has met through them. He now lives just south of London and is the proud father of three daughters. His first novel, "Living Life Backwards" is published by PDMI and is available now on Amazon. His website is http://countingducks.wordpress.com

  

Excuses or Not, Just Write

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine

“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.” William Faulkner.

Sometimes someone will say to me, “I’ve often thought about being a writer. I have many stories in my head but I just can’t find the time to sit down and put them to paper.”

I imagine you have heard that too, when people find out you are a writer. When I hear this, I can’t help it; I always want to say, “Well, not everyone can write. It is only for those people that decide not to make excuses. It’s just for the people who truly want to write. The ones who make time to sit down and put their words to paper. You know, only for the ones who truly want to put to paper the stories that are in their head.”

I don’t say it because it would make them feel terrible. Instead, I tell them the important thing is just to put the story on paper, and then after it is all on paper begin working with it, editing and rewriting until it says what they want the story to say. Hire a good editor. I go on to tell them there are some great books that will help learn about character building, creating dialogue, plots, scenes etc.

Then I hear, “Oh, honey, I don’t have time to read and learn all that.”

Yes, it does take time to work on our craft of writing. We’re not going to learn everything overnight. But little by little, we will learn as long as we think it is worth pursuing.

So, if you catch yourself saying, I don’t have time…rework your priorities…your schedule. Get up thirty minutes earlier or go to bed thirty minutes later. Set aside time. Begin. Even when the words aren’t making sense continue, don’t stop.

William Faulkner said, “I’ve heard people say, “Well, if I were not married and had children, I would be a writer.” I’ve heard people say, “If I could just stop doing this, I would be a writer.” I don’t believe that. I think if you’re going to write you’re going to write, and nothing will stop you.”

Outlining Versus Freestyle?

By D.J. Williams

The biggest question I ask myself when I begin to write a novel is whether I am going to spend the time outlining or if I am going to go freestyle. 

When I started The Disillusioned I spent days outlining to be sure that everything was mapped out before I wrote the first page. I thought this was the best way for me to work. What I discovered was that it slowed my creativity down. Spending all of my time outlining meant that I wasn’t writing. Sure, I was planning out the chapters but I wasn’t allowing the story to be my guide. My progress slowed to a snail’s pace and I grew frustrated that whenever I had a new idea or plot point I had to spend more time reworking my outline. Twenty chapters into the book and I decided to toss my outline in the trash. It didn’t work for me. I made a conscious choice to write towards zones, turning points in the story, and once I reached each zone I would then write to the next one. I stopped worrying about all the details and found myself lost in the story as I wrote late into the night. I gained momentum, spent more time writing, and finished my first draft.

As a writer, I’m still refining my process. What I have learned is that sometimes you have to break the rules to discover the excitement of telling your story. You’ll unlock pieces of that never would have made it into an outline because you had not lived with the characters. Of course, you need to have a beginning and an end before you start, but if you can discipline yourself to write to the zones in your plot then you may discover a more exciting, page turning, and story than you ever imagined. You have to ask yourself if writing freestyle is the best way to keep your readers engaged. For me, it seems to be the best way.

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D.J. Williams for the past sixteen years has worked in the non-profit and entertainment industry. He has produced media projects that have raised awareness to help those in need. With the DNA of a world traveler, Williams was born in Hong Kong, has ventured into the jungles of the Amazon, the bush of Africa, and the slums of the Far East, to share stories of those who are overcoming incredible odds. His first novel, The Disillusioned, released in May 2013. As an Executive Producer, Producer, and Director, Williams is part of a production team that have collectively produced and/or written over 400 episodes of broadcast television for SONY, The F/X Network, The Game Show Network, FOX Family, FOX Television Studios, Spike TV, NBC, ABC, and various cable networks worldwide. Currently they are the Creators and Executive Producers for shows in development with VIMBY (A Mark Burnett Company), Michael Maloy, Executive Producer of Extreme Home Makeover, and Australian Food and Entertainment celebrity, Nerida Conway. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djwilliamsbooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/djwilliams316

Website: http://www.djwilliamsbooks.com/

The End – Now What?

By Leeann Betts

Great, you’ve been able to write two of the sweetest words ever an author dreamt of writing, “The End”, which means the story is done.

Well, not actually done, done. Just done with getting the story down.

Now, the work begins. I have a process I put each manuscript through to tighten the writing and make sure this is the best I can do on my own.

I like to set aside the manuscript for a month at least. This gives you a chance to step away from the characters, to focus on another project. Make the next step easier.

Because what you’re going to do next is edit, cut, revise, and change.

I have a list of “weasel” words I like to check for. Included on my list are it, almost, just, slight, all –ly adverbs, that, But, And. Be merciless and get rid of them, reword the sentences, do something to make the writing tighter.

Then I read through for things like, “nodded her head”, “shrugged his shoulders”, “sat down”, “stood up” – unnecessary words that slow the reader and irritate fellow authors who will read your book.

I like to print out the book and read through it, writing a one-sentence summary of each scene, combining each chapter into a paragraph, to produce my long synopsis. This process helps me see errors I didn’t catch on the computer screen, and developing the synopsis at this point shows me if there are unresolved threads, holes in my plots, and chapters that are the wrong length. I also make a cheat sheet of physical characteristics as I go to ensure my heroine’s eyes that were blue in the first chapter are still blue ten chapters later.

Once all of this is done, you’re ready to send the manuscript to your critique group, if you have time, or to a publisher or your agent. While you might not have caught everything, this list will pick up many common errors and make the book much better.

Question: What is your technique for revisions?

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Leeann writes contemporary romantic suspense from Denver as the alter ego of Donna Schlachter. She writes historical suspense under Donna Schlachter, and contemporary suspense under Leeann Betts. Donna describes Leeann as “cute, and perky, and all the things I’m not”. Leeann describes Donna as “too intense for her own good”. J Donna also describes Leeann as “her alter-ego.”She is an accountant by training and loves to “juggle the books”. Donna has two devotionals published, which are promoted on her blog and website.
Donna: www.HiStoryThruTheAges.com and www.HiStoryThruTheAges.wordpress.com

Leeann: www.LeeannBetts.com and www.AllBettsAreOff.wordpress.com

The Value of the Written Word

By Doyne Phillips, Managing Editor for Southern Writers Magazine

Bob Dylan’s manuscript for his 1965 song ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ was reported on June 24^th to have sold at Sotheby’s for $2,045,000.  Dylan, an icon in the world of Rock and Roll, was only 24 years old when he penned one of the most popular songs of all time. The song about a high society debutante was from his Highway 61 Revisited album has endured 50 years.

Dylan had written the song in pencil and on 4 sheets of stationery from the Roger Smith Hotel in Washington DC. The $2,045,000 set a world record for the price paid for a popular music manuscript beating out John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics for ‘A Day in the Life’ which brought $1,200,000 in 2010. It is amazing what these manuscripts brought at auction but there is a legitimate reason why.

These manuscripts were written by icons of the music industry. They were written at a historical time when the world was rapidly changing and reflected some of the thoughts of that day. They had the personal touch of the writer in several ways. It was their hand writing, it was their doodling on the pages and it was their editing.

In the case of Dylan, his thoughts concerning the use of different words when rhyming the lyrics was written in the margins and used or scratched out. His doodling was of various things like animals, people and just doodles. His lyrics from beginning to end are shown as written with his thought process and apparently his method of writing. It was a document that revealed a lot of the writers inter most thoughts on writing. But there may be another answer to this extreme amount of money paid for these documents.

Let's say Dylan were to write today as most of us write. He may be on a laptop or some other devise as most of us are. There would be no stationery, no doodles, no thought process revealed. There would be only neat, clean pages spellchecked and edited with easy to read Times New Roman font at a size we feel most comfortable with. As a matter of fact with this manner of writing, the actual process could have been over with long ago and it is being transferred by anyone anywhere. Any changes made when rhyming words would not be hand written in the margins. They were denied us by the use of either the backspace or delete button.

We would end up with song lyrics which we can find on Google. Go to 'Like a Rolling Stone' lyrics, it's all there but without the revelation of the written word. Dylan also said, 'These Times They Are A-Changin'. One of the changes, we have gotten away from the written word, meaning handwriting. We digitally connect and write so there is not that personal touch or revealing process we see. There is great value in seeing the process and method and there is little insight to either without that personal touch. We try to make up for it with another digitally produced document which explains the process and method but that is not the same.

So what do we do? I suggest that from time to time, according to the piece we are writing, the importance of it and our personal preference we complete a handwritten manuscript. Leave all the doodles, rewrites and the like. Expose the process and method for all to see. We may learn something about ourselves. We may also want to share that with others. The value of the written word could be valued by more than the dollar.  

              

                                                                                                   

FBI - Firearms Day...Writing Research

By DiAnn Mills

As part of the FBI Houston Citizens Academy, I spent four hours at the shooting range for Firearms Day. This wasn’t a restricted area so we could bring our cell phones, laptops, cameras, and a guest for a series of events. I chose my husband. I was sooooo excited.

The morning of the event brimmed cool and crisp, fueling my enthusiasm. Coffee was brewed when we arrived, warming my insides and dripping adrenaline to my already hyper body. I posed for hubby in front of this daunting hummer, and then I stepped inside to take a look. I closed my eyes and that’s when a scene for Firewall dumped into my brain.

A tour of FBI Mobile Command Center reminded me of a movie scene. All the buttons, gadgets, and screens reminded me of Christmas lights. Wow ... modern technology showed me the bad guys don’t have a chance when the FBI is on the move.

We wore earmuffs during a live SWAT demonstration. The team didn’t look like anyone I’d want to tackle! In a powerful countdown, a team blew up a mock house (training facility) and apprehended the bad guys. We watched it all on a huge screen. Once the smoke cleared, and it was thick, we toured the area. The SWAT teams’ helpfulness and explanations of the how and why of their procedures added more story ideas.

The shooting range was next. I trembled like a “little girl,” I’d never fired a weapon before and everyone in my group would see how inept this suspense writer. I drew in a deep breath and realized I’d now be able to write authentically about firearms. The weapons are heavy but the instructors were fabulous. My personal instructor seemed to know the challenges of a small person like me. But I did it and didn’t embarrass myself too badly. Husband, however, showed me up big time ... I’m finally over it.

One of the most exciting events of the day was FBI simulation training. Yep, exactly like recruits in training. A wall-sized screen showed a crime in progress. Each one of us was given an opportunity to assume the role of an agent and respond accordingly with our weapons. That event was my favorite, especially when my response and shooting skills brought me out of humiliation mode from the shooting range. And the experience for future novels fueled my determination.

I already had tremendous respect and admiration for the FBI and others committed to law enforcement, and the experience at Firearm’s Day reinforced the danger.

If I had a life do-over, I’d definitely be an FBI Special Agent! What about you? What profession excites you? I want to hear your dreams - and goals. Leave a comment and you’ll be entered in a drawing for a personalized copy of Firewall. 

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Award-winning author DiAnn Mills is a fiction writer who combines an adventuresome spirit with unforgettable characters to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels. DiAnn's first book was published in 1998. She currently has more than fifty books published. Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists and have won placements through the American Christian Fiction Writer's Carol Awards and Inspirational Reader's Choice awards. DiAnn won the Christy Award in 2010 and 2011. DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of Inspirational Writers Alive, Romance Writers of America, and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas. Her books include Firewall, her latest in the series The Survivor (crime scene Houston) and The Chase: A Novel (crime scene Houston). www.diannmills.com   

www.facebook.com/diannmills twitter.com/diannmills

          

Three Years and 655 Authors

by Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief, Southern Writers Magazine


HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Yes, Southern Writers is celebrating the start of our fourth year. Thank you to all the wonderful writers and readers for supporting the magazine that promotes authors and their books. It has been our pleasure to help authors bring attention to their books through our magazine, through our writer’s platform Suite T, and through our promotional venues Mic Nite, Take Five and Must Read TV.

We are committed to continue promoting authors and their books in the coming year. So far, we have promoted over 600 authors. The old saying “It takes a village” is right on so many levels. It is just as true for authors. It takes all of us, not just Southern Writers, helping to get the word out about authors and the books they are releasing.

Today, more than ever, authors need all of us in their corner, helping to spread the word about their books. Anyone who writes knows it takes a lot of work to bring about the finished product for publication.

Yet, it doesn’t stop there. Getting it published is only the second leg of the road authors have to walk. Then comes the pivotal path of selling the book. That takes promotion, in many different forms. The competition is strong. This is why we designed our promotional packages for authors. These venues are a way for authors to boost attention to their books. We give you a promotional package free when you join Southern Writers as a subscriber.

We’re not just a magazine bringing you interviews from successful authors who share their secrets of writing, instructional articles on writing techniques, and inspirational nuggets. We’re also an author’s right arm, working with you to promote you and your books. Let us help you promote your books.

Join our family now. Let us walk with you on this road. Make this your best year yet.

Happy Anniversary and Happy Writing!

A Perfectly Flawed Character

By Amanda Kyle Williams

What connects us to a character? What makes us fall so hard we will track down every book in a series and worry about our hero’s safety, state of mind, finances, family, job, or marriage? We want to put our hands around his or her neck and squeeze when they veer off-course. We want to see them victorious, but we want them real.

When I read a review that refers to my protagonist, Keye Street, as flawed, realistic, damaged, vulnerable, gutsy, and a character you can empathize with, I know I’ve done my job. Crime fiction has a rich tradition of scarred and complicated detectives. I want her to be the person we’ve all been at times—imperfect, damaged, fumbling, aching, trying, failing—and the person we aspire to be—courageous, funny, quick-thinking, loyal. I want to pack the heart of a lion in my five foot, three inch detective even as she wrestles her own demons—addiction, self esteem, an inappropriate sense of humor, and a tendency to set fire to the things she loves most. This balance is a tightrope. If a character has too many flaws and continues on with their same behavior without giving the reader a sense that they’re growing and learning, it can frustrate and drive the reader away just as quickly as a too-polished, too-perfect character who delivers too many clever remarks. Readers want to know that everything we’ve put our characters through has meant something, changed them in some way, and made its mark on them.

Many years ago, a friend read one of my early manuscripts and told me it didn’t feel genuine. She said, “If you’d just write like you talk, that would feel real. That’s something I’d want to read.”

So I took this piece of advice the way most writers take advice, even when we’ve asked for it—I politely thanked her and walked away thinking she had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. It took me a couple of days of stewing and obsessing to realize not only was it great advice, but some of the most difficult to execute. What we’re really talking about is how to write with honesty. As a new writer, I was self-conscious. I wanted to impress. Writing without restraint, stripping a character down to their bones—to all their selfishness and self-indulgence, to their lust and demons and jealousy, and to all the petty and heroic deeds we all commit every day—means showing the world something vulnerable, raw, and something close to home.

Keye Street tries to be a decent human. Sometimes she makes it. Sometimes she falls short. But we care about our flawed characters because their struggles remind us of our own. We root for them because they’re trying to find their footing just like we are.

I try to let the world inspire me. We, writers, use everything from how we’ve felt to every experience and person we’ve encountered, especially when it comes to our family. Lord knows there is gold to be mined in one’s family for a writer. These are the most complicated, comfortable, uncomfortable, wonderful, and sometimes scarring relationships we will have in our lives. Use them. There’s validity to that age-old advice of writing what you know. That doesn’t mean you can’t write about Berlin from your Charlotte living room, or write a detective without having been a detective. It means write what you know in your heart, deep down in your bones—what love feels like; what grief feels like; what excitement and adrenaline feel like; that fear that can rock up at you like a big black wave; the gray areas we have all traveled in from time-to-time; the ethical struggles. Give that to your characters, and their hearts will begin to beat.

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Amanda Kyle Williams has contributed to short story collections, written small press novels and worked as a freelance writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She was a house painter, a property manager, a sales rep, a commercial embroiderer, a courier, a VP of manufacturing at a North Georgia textile mill, and owned Latch Key Pets, a pet sitting and dog walking business. She also worked with a PI firm in Atlanta on surveillance operations, and became a court-appointed process server. The job was wonderful preparation for developing the Keye Street character. The Stranger You Seek is Amanda’s first mainstream crime novel and the first in the Keye Street series. Her second, Stranger In The Room. She lives in Decatur, Georgia, which produces unending fodder for her fiction. Her 3^rd, Keye Street Thriller, Don’t Talk To Strangers releases July 1, 2014. Her website can be found at http://amandakylewilliams.com/biography/

How Theme and Worldview Drive Fiction

 By Elva Cobb Martin

As a beginning novelist I had to research theme and worldview to start planning my first inspirational novel.

Maybe something I’ve discovered will help you, too. A story’s theme is its most basic element. 

Author and award-winning blogger C.S. Lakin recently wrote on her blog, Live Write Thrive, “Think about theme as some essential take-away thought you want to leave with your reader.” She also said theme speaks to your plot, but more to the heart of your story and one way to get to it is to ask yourself just why you are writing the book.

Ron Benrey, in his Complete Idiot’s guide to Writing Christian Fiction, says theme “is the unifying idea of the story—the concept that ties its various insights and values together.”

The Script Lab blog lists 10 central themes in film that are constantly repeated and which describe an opinion about society, human nature, or life in general.  

1) Good vs. Evil   - Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia

2) Love Conquers All   - The Notebook, the Love Comes Softly series

3) Triumph over Adversity – The Blind Side, Facing the Giants

4) Individual vs. Society – Schindler’s List, The Elephant Man

5) The Battle – Braveheart, The Patriot, Attila

6) Death as a Part of Life – The Shack, Driving Miss Daisy

7) Revenge – Cape Fear, Revenge of the Nerds

8) Loss of Innocence – Sixteen Candles, Toy Story 3

9) Man vs. Himself – The Godfather, Wall Street

10) Man vs. Nature – Jaws, Armageddon, Jack London stories, Survivor shows

A quick check of stories in the Bible will reveal many universal themes. In fact, the Bible hasn’t left out any nitty-gritty issues mankind faces.

■ Husband and wife join in wrongdoing (Adam/Eve, Ahab/Jezebel, Ananias/Sapphira)

■ Jealousy/sibling conflict (Cain/Able, Rachel/Leah, Joseph/brothers)

■ Love/hate triangle (Abraham/Sarah/Hagar; Jacob/Leah/Rachel)

■ Arranged marriages (Isaac/Rebecca, Jacob/Leah/Rachel, Christ and His Bride

■ Rape (Dinah and Shechem; Tamar and Ammon)

■ War and its mighty men (Joshua, David, Gideon, Samson)

■ Women’s rights (the daughters of Zelophehad)

■ Adoption vs. Infanticide (Moses)     

■ Adultery/Murder (David/Bathsheba)

■ Redemption and Forgiveness – (the Prodigal Son and numerous other stories)

But what, exactly, determines how any of the above themes will most likely be played out in novels, movies, television? I believe it’s the author’s worldview in a book, and a director’s in a film.

Worldview, the core values that determine a person’s, or an author’s outlook on life, drives theme. In my case I wanted my novel to reflect a Christian worldview versus a secular or naturalist worldview. Someone has said worldview can be determined by the answers to three questions: 

► How did we get here and who are we?

► What went wrong?

► What can fix it?

The Christian worldview short answers would be:

♥ God created the world and made us in His image.

♥ Adam and Eve sinned and brought condemnation upon all mankind.     

♥ Sin must be punished but God loved mankind so much He sent Jesus Christ as our substitute to take our punishment so we could be forgiven.

A naturalist worldview would have different answers to these questions and secular novels, movies, television reflect this.

As a writer, what themes and worldview do you want to aim toward your readers?

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Elva Cobb Martin is president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a former school teacher and a graduate of Anderson University and Erskine College. Decision, Charisma, and Home Life have published her articles. She has completed two inspirational romances. In a Pirate’s Debt is being considered by a literary agency for representation. Summer of Deception is being considered by a publisher. A mother finally promoted to grandmother, Elva lives with her husband Dwayne and a mini-dachshund writing helper (Lucy) in Anderson, South Carolina. She and her husband are retired ministers. Connect with her on her web site www.elvamartin.com, her blog http://carolinaromancewithelvamartin.blogspot.com and

on Twitter @Elvacobbmartin and on Face book.