Writer’s Math: How to Prep a Scene with 5+5+1

by Beth K. Vogt @bethvogt

I thought I'd escaped all things numerical by becoming a novelist. Fine with me, as the mention of numbers cues white noise in my brain.

Through the years, I've learned that even wordsmiths enjoy devising equations to help with the writing process. Author Susan May Warren has developed writers equations benefiting thousands of writers as they plot their stories. One day I surprised myself and formulated my own writers equation.

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On Writing Christmas Novels

by Dan Walsh

As the 2016 holiday season began, I released my 5th Christmas novel, called Finding Riley. I’m not sure how many NR writers have ever considered or even attempted to write a Christmas novel before, but for those who have, I thought you might benefit if I shared some of the things I’ve learned along the way. I’m by no means an expert, but I’ve definitely had some real success with my Christmas books over the years.

The fact that this newest one is my 5th Christmas novel should be a clue (would I keep doing something over and over again if it flopped?). The truth is, my Christmas novels have been some of my biggest bestsellers. Which may seem odd, considering the window for selling them is only about 3 months out of the year.

I don’t know about you, but come January 1st, something strange happens (apparently not just to me but to almost everyone in the country). During the holidays, most of us love all-things-Christmas. Christmas music, Christmas movies, Christmas cookies, Christmas decorations (in the stores and all over town). And Christmas books. Millions of people love to read Christmas books; stories set during "the most wonderful time of the year.”

But right after New Year’s Day, we’re all done with Christmas. Totally and completely done.

In retail bookstores, Christmas books come off the shelves. There are no shelves in online stores like Amazon, but sales of Christmas novels plummet in early January. No one is in the mood to read them anymore. This sales slump on Christmas novels generally continues for the next 9 months.

But guess what happens after that? That’s right, it’s Christmas time again. And suddenly, millions of people are in the mood to read Christmas books once again. This pattern repeats itself over and over  every year. My first novel, The Unfinished Gift, was a Christmas novel. It came out during the holiday season of 2009, and it sold extremely well (even won 2 Carol Awards). It’s fair to say, this book launched my writing career. But in January 2010, it came off the shelves. It sold poorly from January and all through the spring and summer months. Then it came back again the following October and for the next 2 months sold even more copies than it had the year before.

It has continued to sell very well every holiday season since. As have all my other Christmas novels. Which is why, this year, I’ve written and published another – Finding Riley. Already it is selling very well and getting great reviews.

So if you’ve been thinking about writing a Christmas novel, you can see I think it’s a worthwhile pursuit. Here are a few things to consider before you jump in:

• If you aren’t someone who already loves the Christmas season, you might want to skip this idea. I think the best Christmas stories are written by people who absolutely love Christmas. Their stories become the overflow of the joy and excitement they feel when Christmastime is here.

• As with any good novel, a Christmas story needs to have all kinds of conflict and struggle woven into the plot. The characters must be people the reader will care about from the very first chapter. But it’s imperative, no matter how much tension and peril you put into the story, the climax should lead to a happy and hopeful ending (preferably on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning).

• One nice thing about Christmas novels is they can typically be shorter in length. My 5 average between 50,000 to 65,000 words, whereas my other novels are more like 80,000 words or more. But usually, you can still charge the same price.

• Writing Christmas novels, I think, takes an extra measure of creativity and imagination. Mainly because, you will likely have to be writing it during the late spring and summer when you’re not in a Christmas mood (and neither is anyone or anything else around you). I’m not sure why it works out this way, but every one of my Christmas novels was written in the hot summer months (for me, in Florida).

As you can see, I’m a fan. A big fan of Christmas and Christmas novels. If you’ve written any, I’d love to hear your story. If you’re thinking about writing one and have any questions, feel free to ask. And…if you’re looking for a brand new Christmas story to read this year by an old Christmas storytelling veteran, may I recommend…Finding Riley!

TWEETABLES

Writing Christmas Novels by Dan Walsh (Click to Tweet)

Millions of people love to read Christmas books~ Dan Walsh (Click to Tweet)

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Dan Walsh is the bestselling author of 17 novels, including The Unfinished Gift, The Reunion and When Night Comes. He has won 3 Carol Awards (finalist 6 times) and 3 Selah Awards. Three of his books were finalists for Inspirational Book of the Year (RT Book Reviews). Dan is a member of ACFW and Word Weavers. He lives with his wife, Cindi, in the Daytona Beach area where they love to take walks and spend time with their grandkids. Click here to connect with Dan or check out his books.

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Revealed! The Secret to Publishing ~ Ruth Logan Herne

The Secret Revealed

Ruth Logan Herne

There is no big secret to writing. There is no easy path for 99% of us, there are no short-cuts, and there really isn’t a lot of money that needs to be spent because the secret to becoming a published author isn’t much of a secret at all: Write, write, write.

Hi, I’m Ruthy, and I’m a pull-yourselves-up-by-your-bootstraps woman who has raised six amazing kids, all college educated with multiple Ivy League degrees among them. Between the six, they’ve attained myriads of awards and accolades and all the pomp and circumstance their waitress mother and grocery store worker father could give them. We might not match them in education, but we taught them three important things. To love God, to reach for the stars, and to never quit.

I have no fancy degrees after my name. I have no capital letters or sheets of parchment, but what I do have is a God-given talent and the tenacity to stick to the long-range plan. And that plan, once my kids were fairly well launched, was to become a multi-published author with books that boost women with faith, hope and love. With over ¾ million books sold, I am living my dream, but there were no secrets in this amazing and wonderful success… think milk-the-cows-daily hard work, and a true love for what I’m doing!

1. Believe in yourself: Embrace your desire, your goals and your talent. Read what you love, and then write the kind of books you love to read! Often there’s a direct relationship between the kind of author style that ‘speaks’ to you, and your untapped talent. I realized I gravitate to storytellers. English veterinarian/author James Herriot, LaVyrle Spencer, James Michener, Karen White and many others.

2. Study craft books if that’s your style of learning. It is not mine. I don’t read craft books, I don’t open them, and when well-meaning people send them to me, I donate them to others. Trust your own personal learning style, but you can only do this if you’re not afraid to listen to criticism and adjust as needed.

3. Write, write, write. I write 1000 words/day, every day. I’ve done this for years, and did it long before I got “The Call”. Now that I’m semi-retired, I write more than that, but while working a full-time job I wrote 1000 words/day, every day. That is 365,000 words/year. If you take out Sundays, that’s 313,000 words/year. That’s over three full-length novels and five of my Love Inspireds. That’s a lot of books!

4. Envision your success. Visualize your work ethic. Stay focused and turn off the negative voices of doubt. Command your own ship and chart your own course. Do you know how many folks told me that farm kids don’t end up in Ivy League schools? I didn’t listen. Do you know how many people told me that poor kids from hovels can’t succeed? I didn’t listen. Do you know how many folks thought I was crazy, a waitress with a dream to be a published author? (shakes her head, laughing) I did not listen to any of that. Instead, focus on the positive people who share your dream and support your goals. They may not be the closest people to you (and often aren’t!) but that doesn’t matter. They will cheer each minor step of your journey and that’s a huge blessing.

5. From Good Will Hunting: (Matt Damon as Will, talking to a Harvard guy): “And two, you dropped a hundred and fifty grand on an bleepin’ education you coulda got for a dollah fifty in late chahges at the public library.”

I had no money when I started this gig. I had two jobs and six kids—four in college and two still in high school. I babysat for a lovely group of cute kids every day, eleven hour days, and then went to the restaurant (and then a bridal store eleven years later) to work at night. I took every romance out of the library that I could get my hands on, and they didn’t stock a lot. I read and studied timing, pacing, plot and began writing at four AM every day. And I learned. Now that might not work for everyone, because here’s the biggest and best advice I can give you, re-stated.

6. There are no short-cuts. There are no gimmes. There are no hand-outs, and the best habit you can develop is the self-discipline to write, write, write. And then edit and write some more. But here’s the thing…(leans closer)… if you love this gig? If you love it the way I do, because you’ve waited all your life to do it and now you are? Then you’ll do it because on the very worst day, I still have the very best job on earth. And I couldn’t be happier!

About Ruth Logan Herne

Multi-published, bestselling author Ruth Logan Herne is living her dream with over ¾ million books in print. A mother and grandmother, she lives on a small upstate New York farm with her husband, dogs, cats, chickens and a revolving door of small children and their parents in and out of the house. She can often be found hiding in a nook or cranny, scribbling away.

Keep up with Ruth Logan Herne at ruthloganherne.com, on Facebook (ruthloganherne), on Twitter (@ruthloganherne), or on Pinterest (ruthyloganherne).

About Back in the Saddle

The Prodigal Is Coming Home 

It’s been a long time since Colt Stafford shrugged off his cowboy legacy for shiny Manhattan loafers and a promising career on Wall Street. But when stock market manipulations leave him financially strapped, the oldest son of legendary rancher Sam Stafford decides to return to the sprawling Double S ranch in Gray’s Glen, Washington. He’s broke, but not broken, and it’s time to check in with his ailing father, and get his legs back under him by climbing into the saddle again.
 
He doesn’t expect to come home to a stranger pointing a loaded gun at his chest— a tough yet beautiful woman that Sam hired as the house manager. Colt senses there’s more to Angelina Morales than meets the eye and he’s determined to find out what she’s hiding...and why. 
 
Colt’s return brings new challenges. Younger brother Nick has been Sam’s right-hand man at the ranch for years and isn’t thrilled at having Colt insert himself into Double S affairs. And the ranch’s contentious relationship with the citizens of Gray’s Glen asks all the Stafford men to examine their hearts about what it truly means to be a neighbor.  And as Wall Street recovers, will Colt succumb to the call of the financial district’s wealth and power—or finally the courage to stay in the saddle for good?

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Don’t Let Research Run off with Your Story ~ Suzanne Woods Fisher

Don't Let Research Run off with Your Story

by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Research is powerful for a writer of fiction. The right amount can set your story apart, give it a realistic tone, convince your readers to have confidence in your due diligence. But too much detail can bog down your novel (just ask my editor). The goal is to provide just enough information to reveal your expertise on the subject…and stop there. Never forget you’re writing a story. 

Here’s an example: As I was starting to construct the plot and theme of Anna’s Crossing, I studied the 1737 ocean crossing of the first Amish to the New World on the Charming Nancy ship. I discovered horrific, stomach turning facts. Out of 312 passengers, twenty-four died on the journey. Mostly children—four from one family. Before it reached Port Philadelphia, the Charming Nancy ship lost one out of every nine passengers. 

The condition of passenger life in the lower decks of an 18^th century ship was truly pitiful. It was a miracle they survived at all. A child of seven years stood only a 50 percent chance of surviving the ocean journey, while those under a year of age rarely survived. How could I possibly write a novel that included the death of twenty-four children? Frankly, I wouldn’t want to read such a story. 

So next I considered the 1738 ocean crossing of the Charming Nancy ship, captained by Charles Stedman, the same ship’s officer who had led the 1737 crossing. That year brought the largest year of German immigration…and the highest ship mortality. It became known as “The Year of the Destroying Angels.” To increase their profits, greedy captains and shipping agents allowed serious overcrowding in the ships. The Charming Nancy was among the most seriously overcrowded, with at least thirty-three more passengers than the previous year. It was thought that the ship might have been contaminated with disease from the previous year’s crossing. In 1738, the Charming Nancy lost half of its passengers before reaching Port Philadelphia. 

Back I went to the 1737 crossing. Instead of wiping out a large amount of passengers, I concentrated on two significant deaths—one of a sailor, one of a young Amish woman—that were carefully paced so the reader wouldn’t get overloaded with tragedy. 

My end goal was to create a story that didn’t hide the dangers my characters faced, but to celebrate the determination of these courageous pioneers. There was a bigger story to write about than the perils of an 18th century ocean crossing: Why the Amish left Europe, what they were hoping to find in the New World, and what gave these brave believers the inner steel to endure the journey. 

But I’ll let you decide if I delivered a satisfying, credible novel, without letting the research run off with the story.

Giveaway:

Comment before 11:59 p.m. on March 31st for a chance to win a free copy of Anna's Crossing. We will randomly choose on April 1st. (Open to United States residents only) Make sure you leave contact information so we can get in touch with you.    

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Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of 'The Stoney Ridge Seasons' and ‘The Lancaster County Secrets’ series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. She is a Christy award finalist and a Carol award winner. Her interest in the Anabaptist culture can be directly traced to her grandfather, who was raised in the Old German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne hosts the blog Amish Wisdom, and has a free downloadable app, Amish Wisdom, that delivers a daily Penn Dutch proverb to your smart phone. She lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can find Suzanne on-line at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com. She loves to hear from readers!  

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