Elaine Faber

 

 

 

Where does an author get ideas for a fiction novel?

Some authors include personal experiences. Some writers base their characters on friends, relatives or next-door neighbors. An idea for a novel can be gleaned from a newspaper article or a gossip column. Some authors come up with a rough idea for a plot and characters, and then let the characters tell their own story.

Years ago, my parents told me I used to bury my toys in the sand and then my dad had to dig them up. Aha! What if someone dug up something a toddler buried years ago and it became the clue to solving a murder?

With that concept, I started writing my first novel, Black Cat’s Legacy. Before I knew it, Black Cat (Thumper) jumped into the tale, took over and became the catalyst of the story. Having his ancestors’ memories, he tries to help Kimberlee solve her father’s murder. Something buried by the toddler years before played into the plot, but only in a very minor way. Who knew? From little acorns, mighty oaks grow.

So, a whole novel can begin with the kernel of an idea. When I begin to write, the characters often highjack the story. I follow their lead until the scene plays out. When this happens, they can take it in surprising and unplanned directions. This can be good or bad depending on the temperament of my characters. Most unnerving is when one of them makes an unpredictable move and I have to ask, “What the heck just happened? How do I get him out of this?”

That’s usually when the mischievous character decides to take a vacation and leaves me trying to resolve the muddle they just created. And my mind is blank, and I’ve got nothin’.

What does an author do when they get writer’s block? Again, there are as many answers as there are authors. But here is the best one I’ve ever heard.

What’s the worst thing that can happen? Using that concept, I conjure up several alternatives, pick one and run with it.

Here’s an example: My character is frying bacon and the skillet catches fire. What’s the worst thing that can happen?

She pulls the fire extinguisher off the wall. It’s empty!  What’s the worst thing that can happen?

She grabs her cellphone to call the fire department. Dead battery. What’s the worst thing that can happen?

She yanks open the front door, screaming, “Fire, fire.” A religious zealot on the doorstep, says, “You tell it, sister. Hell fire is for eternity!”

You get the idea. See how easily my imagined skillet fire scene just got away from me? I had planned she would grab a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. I hadn’t planned anyone at the door... But, as usual, my 30-second example character took control and finished the scene better than I had planned. With my characters, I’m used to them being in control. I’m sort of just along for the ride.

You can find my novels at Amazon in paperback and e-book. For a fun read, I recommend any of my 13 novels. Check them all at Amazon.

 

Readers love to read a novel full of dialogue. Often they have no idea that, as writers, we have rules we must follow to keep the dialogue interesting. Every sentence in a novel must move the story forward. This keeps reader's interest whether it is a fiction story, a devotional, or an article about keeping aphids off rose bushes.

Let’s pull back the curtain on an author as she creates her compelling story.

Don’t repeat the question or person’s name when giving an answer. Example:

George: "Lucy? Do you want to go to the movies with me?"

Lucy "Yes, George, I’d love to go to the movies with you." (Sounds like the utterances of a robot.)

Readers may not even notice when a skilled writer gives an oblique reply.

George: "Do you want to go to the movies with me?"

Lucy: "It depends. What’s playing and when did you have in mind? I have a very busy social life, you know. (Aha! We’ve moved the goalpost on the story. Lucy may have another suitor.)

We don’t use conversation to impart information. (Example)

George: “So? You’ll go with me if you aren’t too busy?”

Lucy: I have a date with Tom next Saturday night. You know, Tom–my mother’s second cousin’s nephew by marriage? He’s a troubled guy, votes Democrat, but he has a charming personality.”

We don't use meaningless chit-chat in dialogue. Every conversation should have a purpose, give a clue to something yet to come in the story, or suggest a potential conflict. Example:

George: "You’re going out with Tom? I thought he was in jail for murder."

Lucy: "He’s out now. He was falsely accused. Now he’s receiving death threats against him or anyone associated with him.”

George: “Really, Lucy?” George raises his eyebrow. “Is it wise to date a guy like that?”

Don’t use conversation to impart lengthy bits of back story. Example:

George: "You should be dating me, not Tom. Don’t you realize that I was the one who saved your mother from a burning building that she had purposely set that night when she was despondent over her divorce, and then she learned that she was my father’s long-lost twin sister, separated at birth by their evil stepmother?"

Lucy: Gasp! “I’ve been away at college way too long. Good grief. Does that make us cousins?”

George: “Maybe kissing-cousins. So is it a date?”

Lucy: "As long as they haven’t arrested me yet for killing my college roommate, who recently died under questionable circumstances when she was smothered in her sleep.”

Review: Each sentence delivers new information.

Give oblique answers to a question.

Don’t use the person’s name in your response.

Don’t use conversation to impart lengthy back story.

Don’t repeat the question just asked. The goal is to keep the reader turning pages!

Wow! Writing a book isn’t as easy as you thought, right? I had to keep all these things straight while writing a compelling event that hooks the reader on page one, an exciting middle, and a satisfying and thrilling conclusion. But, it was easy for Mrs. Odboddy to be the prime suspect in a burglary, involved with a counterfeit ring, lose the war bond money, meet a tiger and still win at the end. Mrs. Odboddy – And Then There was a Tiger will keep the reader turning pages and looking backward to the previous Mrs. O books, or forward to Mrs. Odboddy's Desperate Doings. Join Mrs. Odboddy on this rollicking adventure as she tackles adversity in this hysterical romp at the Newbury Harvest Fair, even as she fights the war from the home front during WWII.