Writing My Novels by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

Writing My Novels

I have never worked with a solid outline or arc for my novels whether they be mystery, historical or young adult. And this is mainly because I find that my characters seldom end up the way I first pictured them and the plot never takes the route I thought it would. I do start the story with a character in his/her everyday life so the reader can get to know them then I put in the trigger that is out of the control of my main character or starts the mystery. This puts the main character on his/her quest for a solution.

I do have scenes pictured where characters are going to have a certain conversation or be at a certain place but unexpected conversations or character twists surface as I am writing the story. Some of these are surprises or mishaps or problems that get in the way of my character’s quest. I strive not to make these predictable nor so far out that they don’t make sense to the story. They should leave the reader with the thought that (s)he should have figured that would happen. I find that it is no fun to read a book where you can foresee where the story line is headed and what is going to happen before it does.

For the climax my character goes through the actions of resolving the problem or solving the mystery. This has to be fast paced and sometimes at a risk to the character. By this time the reader should be rooting for my main character and wanting him/her to succeed without injury. Hopefully, too, this is where the surprise comes in, where the reader goes. “Wow, I didn’t see that coming." or "I never thought it would be that person.”

 

I have even been surprised or saddened or happy by the ending of my novels and have said that. I believe that if my emotions are rocked by the ending, so, too, should the readers.

The Politest of Battles

There is an island that has been in dispute since the 1930s.  Two countries claim it, and a continuous thirty-year battle has been fought over it.  Yet no blood has been shed, no lives lost, and no feelings hurts.

It has to be the politest of battles I have ever heard of.

Where is this miraculous place, that causes such feelings of peace and brotherhood, even in the heat of contested ownership?

Now don't start thinking of lust landscapes and plentiful resources.  The island in questions is called Hans Island, and it is found in the Arctic North.

Spanning approximately 1/2 mile, this tiny island has been claimed by both Canada and Denmark.

"Hans Island is located in the middle of the 22-mile wide Nares Strait, which separates Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, from Canada. Due to international law, all countries have the right to claim territory within 12 miles of their shore. As such, Hans Island is technically located in both Danish and Canadian waters."

In the 1930s, the island was determined to belong to the Danish, by the League of Nations.  When the League fell apart, and was replaced by the United Nations, that ruling held little standing.

Over the years since, wars happened, and the tiny island in the middle of Nares Strait slipped from our consciousness.

Until 1984.

That year, Canadian troops visited the island and planted the Canadian flag. They left a bottle of whiskey to greet visitors.

Soon after, Denmark's Mister of Greenland affairs visited the island, and reportedly planned the Danish flag, left a note that said "Welcome to the Danish island" and included a bottle of Danish Schnapps as a welcome gift.

Every so often, over the last few decades, either side would visit the island, change out the flags, and leave a bottle of spirits (whiskey or schnapps).

And thus - the whiskey war has been faithfully fought for years.  Without one loss of life.  Although, there surely have been a few drinks raised in honor of, if not fallen comrades, then claiming Hans Island for the mother country.

 In 2005, both countries agreed to work to come to an agreement on the disputed land, although as of 2015 no resolution had been reached.  In 2016, they started working on some kind of a plan to share the island ...


Sources:

http://www.businessinsider.com/canada-and-denmark-whiskey-war-over-hans-island-2016-1

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/08/world/what-in-the-world/canada-denmark-hans-island-whisky-schnapps.html

The Story Arc

When I started writing, as with most authors of my acquaintance, any conversation with either agents or publishers always included the phrase, ‘What is your story arc?’

Most authors, especially novice ones, have only a general idea in their head when they begin a story. A character, a place, and in the case of historical authors, an event on which the story pivots.

I tend to follow the craft rules more closely these days, and have to pay attention to the rule that ‘If it doesn’t move the story forward’ or is ‘an info dump’ it must go, although there is always a fascinating snippet or a piece of history which is difficult to ignore. 

Specifically, my story arc for Envy The Wind began with the era. I am writing a series of cosy mysteries set in the early years of the 20^th Century and have become fascinated with the time period so it was logical to set my Canadian story in 1905. This was a time of progress in all aspects of life from transportation, information gathering, telecoms, politics and a changing social time, especially women.

I wanted my character, Grace, to have determination and a sense of self who has to manage alone in a very different country. I won’t call it strange, as the population at this time was made up of third and fourth generation English, Scots, Irish etc, so for my character the country wouldn’t have seemed quite so alien.

However as a woman, Grace will face obstacles and local prejudice, to being firstly a woman alone, and then a businesswoman trying to make a living. These aspects will form the main conflict in her search for an independent life. Then there are factors like the extreme weather, the attitudes of society of the time and how she establishes friendships and handles opposition.

The main goal, which is synonymous of everyone in history, is to establish a happy life where Grace can make her own choices without having to make major compromises.

There will, of course, be unexpected bumps in the road. For example, a romantic element, unwanted attention from someone, maybe, a jealous rival, a close friendship, a misunderstanding which threatens that friendship, or a natural tragedy. All these things add to the character’s growth and keeps the reader turning pages to see what happens next. 

The last 30% of the story is where all misunderstandings are resolved, apologies are made, true feelings are revealed and the final solution is satisfactory to all parties.

Envy The Wind – will be released in Spring 2018, and isn’t a romance per se, rather the journey of a young woman determined to go her own way in a different society to the one we are in today. The main question is will she find what she is looking for by the end, or was she searching for the wrong things in the wrong place all along?

I am an inveterate plotter, partly because I am easily distracted and can go off on a tangent very easily, resulting in a disorganized plot which at times appears not to go anywhere.  Thus I set out every scene with a starting point and a goal so I know what my character will achieve by the end of the scene. This is not necessarily definitive, maybe the outcome is a misunderstanding, misplaced loyalty, confusion, even fear.

I cannot summarize my story arc without over simplifying or making it too detailed – also the novel isn’t finished yet, so maybe the story arc will change?  

SS Parisian

What is Your Story Arc by Victoria Chatham

The topic for our blog post for July is the story arc and how does each author decide what the arc of their story will be.

For non-writers who may be reading this blog, and maybe new writers, you may wonder what a story arc is. Don't worry, when I started writing seriously I had no idea either.

As that Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle (367 - 347 BC), wrote in his Poetics: 'A whole should

Aristotle

have a beginning, a middle and an end.'  And that, in a nutshell, is what a story arc is.

In the beginning, the author introduces the main characters and the world they inhabit. If it is a romance novel the hero and heroine frequently meet on Page 1, or at least by the end of the first chapter. The middle of the book is where all the fun stuff happens. This is where secondary characters and sub-plots come into play. The heroine might have a BFF who may be her biggest help or worst hindrance. The hero might have a buddy who fills the same help or hinder role. That is up to the author. The end of the book is where all the red herrings and misconceptions are resolved and everything is wrapped up in a satisfactory conclusion.

In a romance, that would be the Happy Ever After, cunningly referred to as the HEA. In a murder mystery, the killer is discovered and brought to justice. In a thriller, you'll likely be on the edge of your seat as you turn each page until the problem, whatever it was, is solved. You may even know who the killer or bad guy is, but you still keep reading to the end to make sure.

In helping to determine a story arc, an author may work with the five W's: Who, What, Why, Where and When. These five W's were immortalized by Rudyard Kipling's poem:

I keep six honest serving-men

(They taught me all I knew)

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who.

You will notice Kipling includes an H - the How, but this can be covered by 'What', 'When', or 'Where'.  However, these five W's have been incorrectly attributed to Kipling. Cicero, another Ancient dude and considered Rome's greatest orator and prose stylist, is known to have referred to this concept of what creates a whole. In the 16th Century Thomas Wilson (1524 - 1581), a diplomat and judge, wrote in English verse:

Who, What and Where, by what help and by whose:

Why, How, and When, doe many things disclose.

Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut used the Cinderella fairy story to illustrate all these elements as you can see in this YouTube clip at http://tinyurl.com/l4qy5nq. A writer will often use the same method to create smaller arcs for the secondary characters within a larger story. 

All writers are different and have their own way of working. Some plot meticulously. Others sit down and just write, hence the term plotters and pantsers. Several writers I know are a combination of the two. For myself, I start with the characters, then work everything else around them. I write historical novels, so once my characters are set I'll then decide in which year my story takes place and then search the internet for interesting events from that year.

I'll pull all this information together in bullet form, probably swap it around a few times to make sure I have a logical and accurate progression of events, and then let rip with the writing.   

Some interesting facts about Canada ...

Did you know ...

* Approximately 30% of Canada's land mass is forest

* It is the garter snake capital of the world

"Narcisse Snake Dens is 130 km north of Winnipeg. Mid-April to early May you can see tens of thousands of garter snakes slithering from their dens. Viewing platforms are available for people to watch them from a distance."

If you are scared of snakes ... do NOT go to the National Geographic website link HERE

"Every year, thousands of snakes gather at the Narcisse Snake Dens in Manitoba, Canada. It's billed as the largest gathering of snakes anywhere in the world. Manitoba’s climate and geology make it the perfect place for red-sided garter snakes to live and mate. It has become a tourist attraction, but it’s not for the faint of heart." National Geographic

* There are overpasses for wildlife

"In Banff National Park in Alberta, highways are designed to create the perfect marriage between passing vehicles and overpasses for the wildlife including; grizzly, black bears, wolves, coyotes, cougars, moose, elk, deer, bighorn sheep, wolverine, and lynx."

* Canada has more lakes than any other country (unless you listen to Finland - although many of what they consider lakes are far smaller than what Canada considers a lake - it is all in the definition of what is a lake).  Approximately 60% of the world's lakes are in Canada.

* Canada has one of the richest fossil beds of dinosaurs in the world (which is not surprising if you know how fossils form, how the continents have shifted in the last 65 millions years since the dinosaurs went extinct, and all that sciency stuff)

"Dinosaur Provincial Park [Alberta Canada], a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the richest dinosaur fossil sites in the world. Over 40 dinosaur species have been found and over 500 specimens extracted."

* The polar bear population is approximately only 25,000 individuals in the wild.  Of those, 60% of  live in Canada.  In Churchill, Manitoba you can even go polar bear watching - get more information HERE.

* Icebergs Ahead!

"Every spring, icebergs from Greenland float to Newfoundland and Labrador's coast. They are harvested to make wine, beer, vodka, and skin care products."

Unless otherwise stated, quotes are from http://www.lifebuzz.com/canada/

I Remember When...I didn't have a clue about gardening! by A.M.Westerling

When I first scanned the list of topics for my monthly Brides blog post, the only thing I zeroed in on for June was that the topic could be whatever the author wanted to blog about. It wasn’t until after I wrote my piece and checked the topic again that I realized I was supposed to share some of my favorite memories! Sorry about that, but I’m sticking with my original post on gardening. *wink*

Anyway, I’m going to share the things I’ve learned over the years:

A garden is a never ending project. You can’t finish it in one season. Tackle it bed by bed. Then you can go back to the earlier beds and do them over, particularly as your gardening savvy improves. And so on and so on. See what I mean? Never ending. Kind of like infinity.

This is a big one – Find the plants that like the spot you have!!  Or, do not try and force a round peg into a square hole. A fern will not survive in a hot, dry sunny spot, no matter how much you baby it. Sun loving annuals will not thrive in the shade regardless of how much water and fertilizer you give them. So, don’t be afraid to try something – if it fails, try again. If it grows, jackpot! This is a picture of my side yard which is mostly dappled shade. I’ve always wanted a hydrangea so I’ve planted that this year (it's the little shrub with purple flowers over by the fence) and I will wait with bated breath to see if it reappears in the spring. The hostas were also an experiment and obviously, I got that right. (Below, lining the walkway.)

Birds like water. Hares too, apparently. Anyway, a bird bath is just as good for attracting birds as a feeder. Plus a lot less messy.

 

Try native plants. If they can grow without your help, imagine what a little water and TLC will do for them. This is a patch of Snowberry in our back yard. I’ve never seen it grow taller than knee height in the wild but in my back yard it makes me look like a gardening super star!

 Gardening can be a challenge here in the Chinook belt of Alberta, so I plant all my annuals in pots. At the first sign of early frost, late frost and that scourge of the prairies, hail, I move the pots into shelter. That way I can participate in Calgary’s favorite summer pastime – The Running of the Pots.

Mulch is your friend. Nothing smartens up an untidy bed more than a layer of gravel, or bark chips, or whatever snags your fancy. The odd garden ornament here and there is pretty cute too.

Enjoy all the seasons. Spring is great for the planning and anticipation, for those first few days outside after a long winter, for hauling out the shovels and ending up with dirt under your finger nails. Summer is when your dreams and plans start to take root (ha, no pun intended) and the display of flowers and foliage ramps up. Autumn is lovely for the colors and crisp air and the final clean up, and jotting down notes and ideas for next year. And winter for the respite. Good for both your garden and you and we won’t even discuss shoveling snow. Which is also good for you, by the way, as long as you don’t overdo it.

Finally, most important, make sure to regularly take the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor! And remember, a bad day in the garden is better than a good day at work. Oh wait, there is no bad day in the garden! 

Grandpa's Backyard by Juliet Waldron

My mother’s parents had a beautiful backyard in the small Ohio town of Yellow Springs. Their house and backyard are the very first I remember. I was a war-time baby, and because of the housing shortage, my mother lived with her folks for some years while my father was serving over-seas.

Grandpa had made his yard special by that time, but when they first came to town, in 1927, the “yard” was barren. The only tree was a young sugar maple which provided afternoon shade.  

Grandpa Liddle was an English Professor, but he’d been raised on a farm, so he knew how to grow things. By the time I’d reached consciousness—say, 1947—his backyard had become a lovely place, now hidden from the neighbors by a living wall of cedars.

Inside this, twenty years on, was a flower garden, where colorful Dutch bulbs bloomed in spring—daffodils, tulips, anemones, narcissus—followed by all kinds of lilies and roses in summer, as well as Canterbury bells, bachelor buttons and a host of other familiar plants. There was also a pear tree, a stand of raspberries, a grape arbor and rhubarb. All the surplus was either turned into jelly or canned for winter use. In summer fresh fruit was always on the menu—my cornflakes always had raspberries; our lunches were accompanied by pears or grapes.  In the shadiest part of the yard, by a small stable which sheltered the ponies that belonged to his daughters, he had a wildwood area. This contained a variety of ferns, trillium, phlox, wild violets, and bleeding heart. Dutchman’s Breeches  and Dutchman’s Pipe were two of the oddest denizens of this garden.

Under the big maple, on the brick patio—another home improvement --in good spring weather, he’d occasionally host a small senior literature class in Milton, Chaucer, or Shakespeare. This was not a problem for the students generally, as the house was only two blocks from the college and bicycles, in those days, were part of campus life. If I arrived in the middle of one of these classes, I knew to quietly head into the house. Here, I’d find Grandma in the kitchen, getting a proper English tea ready to serve. Of course, there was always some for me.

Grandpa also had a little pond for goldfish. Nearby, he planted two sweet cherry trees, one for me and one for my cousin, Michael. Pies made from the fruit are another happily remembered treat, fresh ones in summer, followed by winter’s, made with Grandpa’s canned cherries. The pond was my favorite spot to sit, where I waited to glimpse furtive tail-flicks of orange. I usually fed the fish when I visited. As soon as they spied me, peering down at them from my dimension of air, they would obligingly rise to the surface to take whatever I’d brought. ( I suppose, however, that, ordinarily, the resident mosquito larva kept them quite well.) In the autumn, Grandpa would dip out the pond and put the fish into a tank on a side table in the sunlit breakfast room. Mostly, the goldies survived to return to the pond again in the spring. Some of these wintered-over fish grew quite large.

There were two weddings held in this garden, first that of my parents, and later, post-war,  of my Aunt Juliet, where I was the flower girl and my Cousin Michael, still in diapers, was the ring bearer. Later on, I nursed my first son sitting in that same utterly private backyard, while my grandparents told my husband and me stories about their 1927 arrival in this small middle-western town.