Hit and Run Emotions by DiAnn Mills

by DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

While driving back from the grocery store, I was hit by a truck and the driver took off. The emotions I experienced were shock, anger, and a twinge of fear. The latter one was probably because I write suspense, and my mind always goes into story mode. But the truth is, fear often results from the unpredictable and suspicions from those who harm us.

Are you guilty of hit and run emotions?

The same applies to the characters in our stories. What happens when a writer has a character encounter a traumatic incident and there’s no reaction? Or what happens when a character responds to a minor incident with drama-queen emotion?

Both scenarios can destroy a reader’s reality check and toss the reader out of the story. Future purchases from that writer are nil. Sad, but true. Not much opportunity for a second chance when there are so many writers competing for our attention.

To avoid hit and run emotion in our stories, we can take steps to ensure our characters’ reactions to events are met with responses that are in character, realistic, and slide into genre.

In Character
For credible emotion, we writers must thoroughly understand our POV characters. This means taking time to develop their personality, unique traits, and backstory. A character who handles anger by stuffing it may logically end up with an ulcer. A character who deals with anger by breaking noses may need anger management classes. The first key to overcoming inappropriate reactions lies in characterization.

Realistic
Many writers keep a journal of the happenings in their lives and how they reacted. It’s been said that if a writer is unwilling to seek resolution to life’s explosions, then the writer will never be able to write about those same emotions effectively.

Dramatic reactions to small incidents initiates skepticism in the reader, unless the writer is gifted in humor. Even those stories must be crafted with care. When a hero or heroine appears callused to tragedy, displays an absence of wit or logic, or is over-the-top in dialogue, readers no longer care about the character or the story.

Don't hit the reader with a drama queen!

Genre 
The many genres provide us an opportunity to show our stories through a variety of techniques. The criterion dictates the story world’s dialogue, culture, goals, setting, and symbolism. The seven universal emotions stated in Tonya Reiman’s,The Power of Body Language are surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, happiness, and contempt. Every POV character experiences these emotions according to genre guidelines. Here are a few examples:

Contemporary: Today’s world is filled with instant information from various communication devices. Problems arise from dealing in a world where change is the norm. A character is continuously assaulted with situations that involve coping devices according to traits and backstory. Contemporary characters filter a whirl of happenings through their personal data bank of their past.

Historical: The past is known for its slower pace of living. Communication from local,
national, and worldwide events shape the future many times before the character learns about them. Culture and gender often dictate how a character receives and processes emotion.

Romance: Romance is an emotional adventure. This aspect of novel writing can be woven into any genre. A thread of romance invites a reader into a dreamlike world of fresh and breathless love.

Create emotions for your fantasy world.

Speculative:This genre has a broad range of categories from fantasy to sci-fi. Here the setting and culture blends with character to show how emotion is received and processed. Because the story world is unusual, how a character views emotion is according to the writer’s discretion.


Suspense: Suspense can be written into any genre, much like romance, but the character’s reaction to a state of anxiousness or uncertainty with a blanket of fear leads the character down a path of uneasiness and often apprehension. Heroes and heroines walking through suspense are survivors who have learned to manage and compartmentalize their emotions in a way that is healthy and believable.

Hit and run emotions. We writers don’t have to be labeled with this criticism because we understand the power of character, reality, and genre.

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure.
She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels.

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers; the 2015 president of the Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope, & Love chapter; a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and International Thriller Writers. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.

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Michelle's Fairy Tale ~ My Nightmare. . . . Or Not

Dina Sleiman writes lyrical stories that dance with light. In addition to being an award-winning novelist, she serves as an acquisitions and content editor for WhiteFire Publishing. Join her as she explores the unforced rhythms of grace.

Recently I read Michelle Griep's Novel Rocket post about her fairy tale publishing journey with David C. Cook's digital first line (A True Fairy Tale). A year ago I was living out a similar fairy tale. With one small press historical under my belt, I was encouraged to write a historical romance. Less than twelve months after I even had the idea for this book, Love in Three-Quarter Time released through a brand new digital first line with a very well-respected company. 

But as so often happens in the publishing industry, my experience did not turn out to be a fairy tale. It turned into something more along the lines of a nightmare.

After releasing my lone little book, the new line shut down. I understood this, really I did. I took a risk along with them, and this time around, the risk didn't pay off. But the short version is that my lone little book for the most part fizzled along with the line.

At this point in my career, I turned to God with a lot of tears and anguish. What should I have done differently? Honestly, I couldn't think of a single thing. All that came to mind was an article Gina Holmes wrote in 2011 about God damming up our writing careers (Dam Isn't a Four-Letter Word). The basic idea was that sometimes, even though we are ready as writers, due to other issues in our personal or professional lives, the timing just isn't right.

Now here's the part of the story I didn't mention. Love in Three-Quarter Time was my second published novel, but it was actually the THIRD novel I'd written. In between my first historical and this one, God had laid on my heart the story of a contemporary Muslim woman living in America and her interactions with a blond ballerina wounded by church and a bi-racial hippie chick of the New Age persuasion. A story full of humor, drama, and romance, but much more issue-driven than my other novels. My husband is from the Middle East, and he works in ministry to Muslims, so this story was very special to me.

This is the book that caught my current agent's attention, even though she wasn't sure she could sell it. Evidently the publishers felt the same way, because it had a habit of sitting in committee for lengthy periods of time. Meanwhile, a part of me wasn't sure I even wanted it to sell. I didn't want to be branded as a contemporary “women's fiction” writer. Not to mention that my cross-cultural marriage seemed to be perpetually in crisis, and I wasn't sure if it would be a good career move to highlight that area of my life. Most importantly, though, I was concerned that I might draw negative attention from Muslim readers, and I just wasn't sure how safe that would be.

Around the same time that Love in Three-Quarter time released, due to my husband's involvement with Muslims, we received some threats against our family. At first we were panic-stricken, but before long we adjusted to this new reality. Consequently, my contemporary novel (which is in fact very respectful and loving towards Muslims) now seemed like the least of our problems.

Another thing changed over that year. Suddenly, “New Adult” fiction became the hot thing everyone was talking about. With my twenty something characters searching for meaning and identity, I no longer had to pigeonhole my book as women's fiction just to find a genre that fit.

So back to my publishing story. When spring of 2013 rolled around and I realized that I might not have a 2013 release, I decided to just go for it. I also work as an acquisitions editor for WhiteFire Publishing, so I asked the owners if they'd like to publish my contemporary novel, Dance from Deep Within. Since Roseanna White had been my critique partner on this project and loved it from the beginning, it was a no-brainer.

Another year has past, and Dance from Deep Within released in November. I can't help but think this must have been God's plan all along. If my historical romance had been wildly successful, it would have been a bad career move for me to switch to contemporary so soon. And now I can even announce, my new contemporary novel is going to be a trilogy. I might not make tens of thousands of dollars on this project. And I still want to write historicals too. However, this was the book of my heart. 

Now, like Gina, I look back and see that God “dammed up” my career for a purpose. And is it any good? I'll leave you with Novel Rocket's own James Rubart's thoughts on the subject:

“This is not my kind of book. So when I say it went deep into my heart, you’ll know it’s a story that will impact you no matter what genre you typically read. This novel will open your eyes. You’ll start seeing the people around you in a vastly different way than you do right now. And you can’t help but be changed by the three young women who Sleiman portrays with authenticity, penetrating insight, and well crafted prose.” 

~James L. Rubart Bestselling author of Soul’s Gate, and Memory’s Door.

Dance From Deep Within

Despite her conservative Muslim heritage, Layla Al-Rai longs for a chance to earn her degree in engineering and perhaps even...dare she dream...to choose her own husband. But young women from her background rarely enjoy such freedoms. When she finally talks her parents into letting her attend college, she is drawn to fellow twenty-something students, Allie and Rain, over a class project. Allie, the blonde ballerina, faces her own struggles as she deals with an ex-fiancé and a church she had hoped to leave behind. Rain, the bi-racial hippie chick, longs for something to believe in, but her questioning could cost her the love of her life. When Layla s childhood sweetheart reenters her world, it seems her dreams might become real. Until everything falls apart. When she meets truth face to face, will she find the courage to accept it even if it requires the ultimate sacrifice? 

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