To Follow or Not to Follow the Yellow Brick Road of Writing Rules

by Ane Mulligan, @AneMulligan

When I added novels to my writing, I quickly learned I knew nothing else about writing fiction—other than dialogue. I picked up a couple of mentors and bought a few books on the craft. I absorbed and followed those “rules” of good writing until I had a good handle on them.

I remember hearing new writers complaining about published authors breaking the rules, so why couldn’t they? There’s a very good reason: an experienced author has mastered those rules learned how to break them. We can’t stop on the first broken rule and camp there, saying, “If they did it,so can I.” If you keep reading, you will discover most of the time they don’t break them.

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10 Tips for a 1st-Time Conferee

by Ane Mulligan, @AneMulligan

Someone recently said they were about to go to their first ACFW conference and they asked for advice. As a conference veteran—I've attended close to two dozen—I offer the following:

1. Don't be terrified. I promise you'll love it. Look for names you recognize. Don't be embarrassed to look at name tags. ACFW gives you Zone (regional) stickers to add to your name tag to help recognize other zone members. If you've been active on their e-loop, you'll likely recognize names. Look for your favorite authors.

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Recalculating

by +AneMulligan @AneMulligan

Have y’all see the Jeep Compass commercial about recalculating? The voiceover says things like “Go straight to a steady job.” The girl looks up at the building and turns. The voiceover says, “Recalculating.” Another voiceover announces, “Stay single till you’re thirty-four.” Then we see a male hand holding out an engagement ring, and the voice over exclaims, “Recalculating.”

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Lies! Lies! Lies!

by Ane Mulligan, @AneMulligan

Susie and Rachel are fabulous at characterization. It was Rachel who started my passion for character motivation when staying with me one weekend. She was here in Atlanta to speak to our ACFW chapter. Being one to take advantage of all opportunities—hey, my mama didn't raise a dummy—I told her how I was stuck in what would turn out to be my first published novel.

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Building a Fictional Town

by +AneMulligan @AneMulligan

Building a fictional town in a historical novel isn't the easiest of tasks I've taken on, but it is fun. I prefer fictional towns to real ones, because nobody can tell me there was never a grocery store at the corner of Main and Peachtree. In face I've only written one novella set in a real town (a favor to the mayor of Sugar Hill).

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Writing Southern

by +AneMulligan @AneMulligan

I write Southern-fried fiction. But how is writing Southern different to writing fiction set elsewhere? It's a lot more than throwing a few “y’alls” into the story. Southern is a way of life, a set of priorities intrinsic to the South. It’s a sixty-year-old, former pro football player calling his parents “mama” and "daddy."

Like cowboys have the Code of the West, Southern women have their Code of the South. That mind set digs its heels in and won’t let go. Just try to wear white shoes or pants after Labor Day. You’ll see. I've tried to break that rule ,but I get as far as the bedroom door and run back to the closet to change.

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Write a Novella? Easy Peasy …

by +AneMulligan @AneMulligan

Or so I thought.

Why didn't someone tell me? Sure, a novella contains fewer words—about one quarter of a full novel to be exact. And I thought that meant less work. Ha! I mistakenly figured I wouldn't need all that goal and motivation stuff. After all, this was short and a romance.

Boy, did I have a lot to learn.

It took a weeklong binge of Hallmark Christmas movies to open my mind to an ugly fact: It takes the same amount of time to work up the character interviews, learn their goals, motivations, lies, wounds, etc. And that list doesn't even include the plot. Yikes.

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More Layers to This Cake, Part III ~ Adding Subtext

by Ane Mulligan @AneMulligan

Subtext is more than just a layer. It's more like the filling between the layers. And it's not the easiest of concepts to understand. By definition, it's an underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing. It can be woven throughout the story, or the theme can merely decorate the work. I'd rather have it woven through, but how the heck do you do that without beating the reader over the head?

I searched some more, because, frankly, I didn't know. Here's what I've found.

Subtext or undertone is any content of a creative work that isn't announced explicitly by the characters or the author, but becomes something understood by the reader as the story unfolds. 

Well, what do you know. I did that in Chapel Springs Revival. Claire is a fairly new Christian. I don't say that directly but her knowledge and understanding show it. They're in the subtext, shown through action instead of dialogue.

Any unspoken thoughts, motives, and emotions of characters—what they really think and believe—can play out in action or reaction to something and be subtext.

Subtext can also be used to imply controversial subjects without alienating the reader, often through use of metaphor or humor.

Subtext serves to add complexity to a premise that on the surface may appeal to younger viewers, but also attract older fans, as is often the case with cartoons, science fiction and fantasy. It can serve to aid in suspension of disbelief.

In historical novels, authors often use social customs, details, and/or dialogue as subtext to impart information about the period and culture.

So there you have it. A quick definition of subtext, in which I don't think I used any. Now that you know the definition, have you used subtext in your work? Purposely or by accident? I know any I used was there because I like to show instead of tell. But if you had me sit down to an exercise of writing subtext, I'd sit there scratching my head. For me, it's only when I'm deep into my story world those things seem to happen. Go figure.

So share with me examples of subtext you've either used or read. And if it's used, did you discover it later or purposely insert it? I need to learn this stuff.

TWEETABLES

More Layers to This Cake, Part III ~ Adding Subtext by Ane Mulligan (Click to Tweet)

The filling between the layers.~ Ane Mulligan (Click to Tweet)

Something understood by the reader as the story unfolds.~ Ane Mulligan (Click to Tweet)

Ane Mulligan writes Southern-fried fiction served with a tall, sweet iced tea. She's a novelist, a humor columnist, and playwright. She believes chocolate and coffee are two of the four major food groups and resides in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a dog of Biblical proportion. You can find Ane at anemulligan.com or her Amazon author page.

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Critiques or Consequences, Part II ~ When Is a Novel Like a Layer Cake?

by +AneMulligan @AneMulligan

When you add layers, of course!

To draw your readers into your story, you want to create an experience for them. But that experience is filtered through your POV character. You know that already? Good.

But are you layering the senses into your fiction so the reader hears, sees, smells, tastes, and feels it? It's actually a matter of "showing vs. telling" gone wild.

If you're telling them what the character is experiencing, it's like this:

I can say: "Joan heard a siren in the distance."

Showing them is like this: A siren wailed in the distance.

Then you take it one step more: A silence wailed in the distance. Joan glanced in her rearview mirror. The blue flashing lights of an emergency vehicle drew closer. Her heartbeat accelerated as slowed her car and pulled over.

In the second one, you experience it with her. We've all heard a siren. I don't know about you, but the first thing I do is check my rearview mirror. I don't want to get in their way.

So avoid the word "heard" which immediately makes it telling. The same with "saw". I could have said: Joan glanced in her rearview morrow and saw a flashing blue light.

But by showing you what she saw through her eyes makes for a better read. And readers can relate to it better than saying she saw.

Another one that is often forgotten is the sense of smell. I love to incorporate that one into my writing. If your character is taking a walk through the woods, you want your reader to smell the pines. If it's after a rain shower, the forest floor is damp and the scent of leaf mold rises as the character walks the path.

When Claire enters Dee's 'n' Doughs in any of my Chapel Springs series books, you join her as the aroma of vanilla, yeast, and sugar waft around her. From Chapel Springs Revival, the introduction to the bakery went like this:

Claire paused on the threshold for a moment, closed her eyes, and let the heavenly aroma of yeast, vanilla and almonds entice her. That indulgence alone would probably add another inch to her waistline.

Most everyone has stepped inside a bakery and smelled what I just described. Aromas trigger memories and that makes your fiction relatable.

TWEETABLE

Critique or Consequences, part 2~When is a layer cake like novel #writing? (Click to tweet)

Ane Mulligan writes Southern-fried fiction served with a tall, sweet iced tea. She's a novelist, a humor columnist, and playwright. She believes chocolate and coffee are two of the four major food groups and resides in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a dog of Biblical proportion. You can find Ane at anemulligan.com or her 

Amazon author page.

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Critiques or Consequences

by Ane Mulligan

+AneMulligan  @AneMulligan

I just taught a class at the ACFW conference called Critiques or Consequences. Yes, I borrowed from an old TV show, but I think it's worth looking at, because if we don't receive critiques, our work may suffer the consequences.

I was a founding member of a crit group called Penwrights. We were a dozen unpublished and un-agented writers. We all worked hard and got published. Some have become bestsellers. Gina Holmes posted a photo on Facebook of our early days. It was at an ACFW conference where a few of our Penwrights received awards in the Genesis contest.

One common misconception about critique groups is they strip away your individual style and voice. That can be circumvented, if you know how. We were all fairly new writers when we started out as critique partners. First of all, most of us didn't even have a voice ... yet. Or if we did, we didn't know it. 

We built trust in one another because we were all serious about getting published. And we all felt we owed God our best, not leftovers. We applied what we learned in writing craft books, went to conferences and took the workshops, and took online classes. We studied under people like Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck of My Book Therapy, taking advantage of their knowledge and mentoring.

Soon ... okay, not that first year but within a couple of years, we were winning awards and contracts. Some of us, me in particular, took longer. We have to factor God's timing into our writing journey. 

Our large group of Penwrights grew to about 20 members. We began to form small critique groups within our larger one. So, how can YOU become a great critique partner?

• Be honest. 
• Critique the work, not the author.
• Give kudos where due, so they know what they're doing right.
• Tell your CP what needs changing, but don't change it for them. 
• Offer examples if your CP is struggling with a concept like showing vs telling.

I'll post some more on this in the future and write a bit on the basics for you newer writers. Leave a comment on what area you struggle with and I'll be sure to address it.

TWEETABLE : There are consequences to not having your #writing critiqued? (Click to tweet)

Ane Mulligan writes Southern-fried fiction served with a tall, sweet iced tea. She's a novelist, a humor columnist, and playwright. She resides in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a dog of Biblical proportion. You can find Ane at her website, Amazon Author page, Novel Rocket, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+.

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