Quirky Sources to Make Your Story a Winner by DiAnn Mills

Quirky Sources to Make Your Story a Winner

DiAnn Mills

I live and breathe story—most writers do. And we’re always looking for ways to ensure our characters and their predicaments are exciting and unique. Some of the places we look can be a bit . . . different. But the exploration is worth it.

Here are a few areas that I’ve delved into to add idiosyncrasies to character, plot, dialogue, setting, emotion, body language, and symbolism. You might find your next plot twist there too.


Zoo
Who doesn’t love a devoted dog, cat, or horse? Those animals are typical. What about a character who has a snake, parrot, iguana, or potbelly pig for a pet? Tour your zoo. Take pics. A few of the animals might resemble your character.

Ok, so you got the tall genes. Big deal.

Habits
Observe what is going on the next time you’re at a hair or nail salon. Women can have some crazy habits regarding their hair, fingers, and toes, everything from color to style. What about a woman at a hardware store searching for nails or plumbing supplies? Study those people at a family reunion. Who resembles whom and what mannerisms make them distinct?



 

Mall Walkers
I used to think the only mall walkers were of the seasoned citizen variety, but not so. I see women pushing strollers and men joining them. Some of the walkers window-shop, sip coffee, chat on the phone, make sure they don’t work up a sweat, and (my personal favorite) pump their arms and legs as though heading for the Olympic gold.

Water Park
Preferably in the summer because the writer will want to participate in the fun.

Scream if you're a girl!

This is another place to snap a ton of pics. Who zooms down a water slide? Who’s the man who doesn’t want to get wet? Who’s there to show off his/her body? Who could care less how he/she looks—those enthusiasts are there just to have fun.

 

Grocery Store
Everyone needs to buy food, and most of us develop habits that stick throughout life. Does your character smell the pineapple? Squeeze a head of lettuce? Always buy two of each kind of fruit. Only selects organic products? Despise vegetables and replace them with green apples? What about your character’s choice of candy—from gummy worms to dark chocolate? Does your character save the dairy and bakery department until last, or does the ice cream always melt by the time she gets to the checkout line?

Coffee, Tea, or Milk?
I admit my characters drink coffee. Usually black. But what about a tea drinker? What brand? Sugar or cream? Use a tea bag or steep the leaves? Visit a shop that carries tea and check out the buyers. You’ll find all sizes and ages. What if your character is a milk drinker? Whole milk or two percent? Your character could despise coffee, tea, is lactose intolerant and drinks only lemonade.

Workout Facility
Sometimes this can be compared to a zoo. Need I say more?

I can think so much better in this position.

Distinct details about our stories are everywhere. Leave the movie stars in Hollywood and go for real people in real situations. You never know what you might find.





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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The Story Is In the Details

The story gems are in the details.

By Rachel Hauck

I started a new novel last week, The Wedding Chapel.

I don't have a lot of time on this particular deadline, so after a few weeks of dreaming and planning, I jumped in with chapter one, scene one.

My protagonists in one story line are married, but thing aren't going well. But for their anniversary, the hero buys the heroine the engagement ring she never had and a brand new wedding band.

Remember, their marriage is strained, so he's not entirely clued in... ;)

As I ended the scene, the heroine swaps her plain ole gold wedding band for the new set from Tiffany's.

I had all this great symbolism in mind for taking off her old, beat up wedding band and starting fresh... the turmoil she felt in her marriage "a thing of the past." She was starting new. That night.

I thought it worked great.

Then I took a step back. Did it work for the whole story? How would putting on those rings now impact the ending? What will she be able to do in regards to her marriage in the end that she couldn't do in the beginning?

I considered all the angles. All of my options. Because this ring scenario—taking up no more than a few lines—was actually a huge factor to the rest of the story.

I had to choose the right scenario.

So I mused over it. Talked my options out with my writing partner, Susan May Warren, and in the end decided the heroine would NOT put on the new ring set.

And it would impact the whole story with different symbolism than I thought of in the beginning.

Why does she not wear the rings? Because she doesn't feel worthy. She thinks she might love someone else. Because while the rings are new and exciting, her marriage is already old and boring.

Not wearing the rings will cause conflict. The hero will wonder why she's not wearing the rings he so carefully picked out. Not to mention the money spent.

Now, the protagonist WILL NOT argue or lament for 300 pages on why she didn't put on the rings.

It's not so much the rings you see as what they stand for, and the issues they bring up—a failing marriage.

As writers we have to learn to recognize how the small things can be huge plot points or symbolism in our stories.

Don't brush aside a line of dialog, situation or gift that could symbolize the whole dilemma of your characters.

We have to stop and contemplate the importance of the smallest thing.

It's how we deepen our writing, and layer texture into our stories that tug at the soul.

But how can we know we've hit on a giant "small" detail?

Well, for me, it's a ping. That's what I call the feeling I get when I type a line that speaks back to me.

Sometimes I feel it in my gut. Sometimes the line gives me pause to go "Hmmm."

Sometimes I get a new idea from the line, and I have to rethink where I've been with the story and where I was planning to take it.

Because I'm a planter—plotter combined with pantser—I usually have an idea of the beginning, middle and end. I have a goal in mind. An idea of what I want to accomplish.

So when the story pings me, I have to pause and listen.

Maybe you don't have the ping, but you have that something that tells you there's more to the story than you imagined. It's calling you to find the deeper meaning.

The heart and soul of a story is often in the most minute details.

I recently read a book set in the 1930s and dealt with the Great Hurricane of 1938. It took the whole eastern seaboard by surprise.

The author, Beatriz Williams, so caught me by surprise because she only mentioned the hurricane twice, rather casually, through the dialog of the protagonist's aunt. It was almost throw away dialog.

But dialog is never throw away. Or it shouldn't be.

When the storm crashed ashore at the end of the book, wiping out the heroine's family beach home, taking away her mother in the storm surge, about four story points converged in that one moment.

All the little details finally painted the picture.

That's what you're looking for—the details—the simple threads that when we step back and observe the whole story in the end, we go, "Ah, now I see."

Don't ignore those layers. If you don't know how to recognize them, learn. Think about symbolism and metaphor. Purposefully find a way to add it to your story. It might be awkward at first, but you'll get the hang of it.

The story is in the details.

***

Rachel lives in sunny central Florida.

A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, she worked in the corporate software world before planting her backside in uncomfortable chair to write full time eight years ago.

She’s the author of EPCA and CBA best sellers, RITA and Christy nominated books. She also co-authored the critically acclaimed Songbird Novels with platinum selling country music artist Sara Evans. Their novel Softly and Tenderly, was one of Booklists 2011 Top Ten Inspirationals.

Rachel serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a mentor and book therapist at My Book Therapy, a conference speaker and worship leader.

Rachel writes from her two-story tower in an exceedingly more comfy chair. She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.

Her novel, Once Upon A Prince, was a 2014 Christy Award Finalist.

Here latest novel, Princess Ever After and novella A March Bride, released in February 2014.

Visit her web site: www.rachelhauck.com.

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