Monday, December 30, 2013

Favorite books of 2013

For my last post of 2013, I thought it fitting that I offer a list of my Top 10 Favorite Books for 2013. They weren't necessary published in 2013, but that's when I read them. 
(Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net)

Here are my Top 10 picks, in no particular order:

10. Six Years by Harlan Coben.
9. Thankless in Death by J.D. Robb (and the two previous In Death novels that came before this one--loved them all!)
8. Kiss and Spell by Shanna Swendson (and No Quest for the Wicked, which came right before Kiss and Spell in the series.)
7. Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger (the second one in this series wasn't quite as good, but I did enjoy it.)
6. The Weird Girls by Cecy Robson (this one's a novella, but it goes with Sealed with a Curse and A Cursed Embrace, both of which were really great books)
5. Cold Days by Jim Butcher
4. The First Prophet by Kay Hooper
3. Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich (and Notorious Nineteen)
2. The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane (and the two Forensic Instinct books that came before this one)
1. Royal Airs by Sharon Shinn

It was rough choosing just 10 (I know, there are more than 10 in that list, don't get technical with me). Some other really good books I read in 2013 include most of The FBI Thriller novels by Catherine Coulter, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, Deadly Forecast by Victoria Laurie, Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb, Words by Ginny Yttrup, In the Presence of the Enemy by Elizabeth George, What a Ghoul Wants by Victoria Laurie, The Witness by Nora Roberts, and Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book by Terry Jones.

I think I read over 120 book in 2013 (thank you, Goodreads, for keeping such good track of them all for me). I discovered some new authors I enjoy, relaxed with old favorites, and found inspiration in nearly everything I read--even the bad ones. I thought about listing the books I hated (or didn't finish), but that seems a great way to offend a bunch of authors who don't deserve that kind of treatment. Thankfully, there weren't that many. Most of the books I chose this year were pretty good.

Are there any on the above list you would also put in your Top 10? Care to share some or all of your Top 10 in the comment's section? My stack of library books is down to five. That'll take me through next week, but then I'll need more. Give me some awesome recommendations, please. 

-Sonja

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Resolution? or Wishful Thinking?

Kat Heckenbach posted "Goals and Wishes for 2014" on her blog a couple of days ago, but I just came across it today (I'm behind in blogging AND blog-reading). I thought these things were done in January, but Kat did hers now, and that reminded me that it's time for those lovely dreaded resolutions. January 2013 was so long ago, and I'm not all that excited about looking up my last resolutions list (and all the guilt that will go along with realizing I met NONE of my goals for the year), so I won't bother to look them up. Feel free, if you're that curious. I'm more interested in looking forward.


For 2014, here are the things I'd like to accomplish in my writing life:

  • Finish the three novels I started this year (two romantic suspense and one urban fantasy).
  • Sign a contract with a book publisher (seeing an actual book in print will be for 2015).
  • Attend at least one writer's conference and meet new people. It'd be fun to meet more famous authors while I'm at it.
  • Build my blog readership. That includes more discipline in posting three per week, preferably on the same three days of every week.
  • Study at least two new books on the craft of writing. (I hope James Scott Bell puts a new one out next year.)
  • Continue in my habit of reading 2 novels per week. I'd like to branch out into a new genre that I haven't read widely in before--but it won't be romance or Amish. Although I do have a werewolf romance someone gave me that hasn't hit the give-away bin yet. Maybe I'll try that one. I'd love to find a romantic suspense with a parapsychological element. Can anyone recommend something along the lines of Kay Hooper?
  • Begin my new blog that caters to fans of my Cassie stories (and thus counts as marketing): a recipe blog featuring a lot of the Greek food that appears in my novels.

That looks like a respectable list. Does it make you want to write your own list? Or would you rather stick a fork in your eye? Share with me some of your goals for the coming year (if you can still see the keyboard through your one good eye).

-Sonja

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

The Inner Journey of Scrooge

I've been dwelling a lot on inner journeys (inner arcs, character change, etc) recently. It's a fascinating part of story telling, and I've got a work-in-progress that features a character with an interesting inner journey that I'm not sure I can pull off. So I've been studying again, and sharing what I've studied.

Kristen Lamb has an awesome post today called "What Ebenezer Scrooge Can Teach Us About Great Writing." I love how she incorporates the Christian message of redemption in her post. By far, it's one of the most powerful posts I've read in a long time. Hop over and read what she's got to say, then pull out your WIP and see if your protagonist has an inner journey worth exploring.


-Sonja

Monday, December 9, 2013

Character Motivations

Sechin Tower is one of my favorite bloggers over at Adr3nalin3. His post from last Friday is entitled "Bidding $100 to Win $20." Don't be put off by the title--it's an interesting post about game theory that ends up a lesson in writing. As Kurt Vonnegut said, "Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water."

What are your character's motivations? Why does he do what he does to get what he wants? If your character wants nothing, you have no story. If he wants that glass of water but no one stands in his way, you have no story.

Hop over to Ad3renalin3 and read what Sechin wrote. Then pull up your WIP and look at your first scene. If you can't identify your character's objective, it might be time for some re-writing.

-Sonja

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Character Change Part III

My last two posts have included excerpts from an article in this month's Writer's Digest by David Corbett called "The Science of Character Change."  I've always been interested in the inner journey, or character arc, or character change, whatever you want to call it. It's the meat of every story, the element that creates a powerful emotional experience for the reader and makes the story memorable. Great plots, word choice, grammar, and voice are important, but without character change, the story doesn't have enough impact to be truly great. 

Corbett says, "Even in stories where the outer goal is totally justified--find the murderer, save the child, cure the disease--that goal is usually pursued on relatively superficial terms. In these cases, as the conflict intensifies and failure, disaster or destruction looms, the character has to ask: Why am I doing this? Why continue? Why not give up? The answer to this question reveals the true longing at the heart of the character's quest. That longing defines the stakes and points the way toward fulfillment of her state of lack--if she has the courage to decide to act on this insight."

I've written several mysteries where "catch the bad guy" was the main goal of the story. There's plenty of opportunity for conflict and suspense in this plot device, but to have a truly great mystery, the protagonist must face his fears, his demons, his conflicted psyche before he can outwit the bad guy and provide justice. Throughout the story, the protagonist has tried things "the old way," using his tried-and-true methods and procedures, all those things that have, in the past, helped him pursue justice. But in THIS story, there's something more. That something more is what the reader needs. 

"The character has exhausted his original idea of how to proceed (and perhaps several others); his skills and insights have proved wanting; he's despondent, destitute, out of options and out of luck. This is where the character recognizes he must 'change or die'--and death can take the form of losing the loved one, failing to rescue the hostage, defeat at the hands of the enemy, disgrace before his peers." This leads to the Point of Crisis, or the Crisis of Insight, or the Breaking Point (whatever you want to call it), when the character recognizes what has gone wrong and what must be done. It's an attitude adjustment, a facing of major fears, maybe even an entire personality shift. 

When that moment comes, it's not enough for the protagonist to admit what he's done wrong and what he needs to do to make everything right. His behavior must be modified. He will act on his new insight with a deeper understanding and sense of purpose.

Corbett finishes with this: "To craft a great Change-or-Die Moment, you have to understand the competing forces vying for the character's soul--safety versus wholeness--and push the character down a path of 'success through failure,' where by acting in accordance with his original ignorance, cowardice or deceit, and by harming those who care most about him, no matter how harmless or gentile that lifestyle may seem on the outside, he's on a collision course with a failure so devastating, so shocking, that he's forced to reevaluate the course of his life. That insight will prompt a decision." And then the book ends.

In Casablanca, Rick realizes that his reaction to heartache has pulled him too far out of the world, too far into apathy and cynicism, and he's no longer an honorable man. He must sacrifice his love for Ilsa and get her AND her husband to safety for the greater good. 

For a handy checklist to craft a Crisis of Insight moment, visit writersdigest.com.

-Sonja

Monday, December 2, 2013

Character Change Part II

This month's Writer's Digest contains an article by David Corbett called "The Science of Character Change."  I shared some of the goodness from the article in my last post, and I want to continue the discussion here. In summary, every character should begin (in the novel) in a state of ignorance or deceit, a place that he's devised for himself that helps him avoid pain and gain happiness. Think of Rick in Casablanca, surrounded by beautiful women, plentiful drinks, and an attitude that keeps him from getting hurt--he has every reason to be happy, yet he's not.

Corbett says, "By recognizing his true longing, he will realize the impoverished state of his prior life, to which he can never contentedly return. This defines the stakes, and they are ultimate. He's been wrapped in a lie... once he recognizes this, there is no turning back that doesn't include one form of self-destruction or another."

It's not enough for your character to realize that something must change. That revelation must be so powerful that returning to normal life as it was before is impossible. Again, think of Rick in Casablanca. He can't go back to the apathetic, cynical guy he was before. He's been confronted with true love, honor, patriotism, all the things he should have embraced before but let them slide because of a past hurt. 

Another important part of this journey is that the character, while living in his delusion, was hurting people around him. He might be totally unaware of the pain he'd caused others, but once he recognizes the consequences, he can't go back. It's another layer of motivation for not returning to the previous way of life. 

The journey from the "deceptive" normal life to the epiphany at the end is the true meat of the novel. Yes, there will be an external plot, but it's the character's inner journey that will grab a reader's heart strings and make the story powerful and memorable. During this journey, the character will struggle to maintain the status quo, to continue living the lie he's so carefully constructed, but time and again it will fail. And the cost of each failure will increase each time. 

"When exploring how your character is hiding from her true longing, ask yourself: Who is she hurting? The most compelling answer lies in characters who care deeply about her, and who therefore have the insight, power and desire to help the character change. It's the fraying, deterioration or destruction of those relationships that will force the character to recognize the error in her thinking and its disastrous consequences."


Try this exercise: Who is your protagonist hurting by the most by living the lie? How can that character help the protagonist see that change is necessary? For Rick in Casablanca, only Ilsa could make him see reality for what it was and feel remorse for his attitude and life-style. Sam the piano player didn't mean enough to Rick to facilitate those changes. Nor did the nazis, or Lazlo, Renault, or the bar patrons. 

Questions? Comments? Frustrations? Leave them in the comments section.

-Sonja