Monthly Archives: October 2011

Writing Tips – Hiding in Plain Sight

A couple summers ago, we went blackberry picking. Er, well I should say I was the “camera toter” and “bug spray applier”, not the “blackberry picker” in this adventure.

Along the way, we had to pass a few uninterested bystanders. They were a bit white-faced that we had the audacity to invade their territory, but hey, I was a bit white-faced, too.

Ah, the fresh smell of cow patties… Phew!

Much fun was had and tons of blackberries were picked, despite the prickles! Before an ominous thunderstorm rolled in, I snapped some fun photos. And of course, being the one behind the camera, I never seem to be in any photos.

Well, unless they turn out like this. :roll:

There really is a writing lesson buried in this text, promise.

Many writer friends and I have talked about the unconscious muse phenom. What we’re talking about is when we’re working on a current book and down the road we discover that some innocuous item we’d added much earlier in the story–just to give some authenticity or because we wanted to further flesh out a setting–turned out to be pivotal in the storyline later. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN!?! And even though it has happened often enough to lead me to believe my own muse sometimes runs in the background in my subconscious, there is a lesson to be picked up here. One that I can consciously implement into my stories and so can you!

There’s an expression in the screenwriting world called “Laying the Pipe” (er, I believe I have the correct expression (someone correct me if I’m misquoting it), and NO, it’s not that meaning. Git yer minds outta the gutter :lol: ). The basic gist behind this idea is that as the story unfolds you want to plant items early in the storyline that will have an impact on your story later, but you do this by integrating those items in such a way that the viewer/reader doesn’t KNOW you’re planting them. It’s done this way so that later on in the storyline when it’s important that your audience “recalls” the small item they missed before and how it relates to the big reveal now, then they’ll nod their heads and say, Oh, yeah, I get it now. 

So, what does blackberry picking have to do with this fun writing tip above? Check out that first photo again. What do you see?

Do you see the praying mantis? If you saw it the first time, good for you! This insect’s body is MADE for camouflage. He was there all along, hiding in plain sight. That’s what you’re doing with your story. When you layer little items in so that they are a seamless part of the story, give them more of a reason for being there than just to support a reveal later. How do you do that? One way is to make them a true integral part of the character or storyline. Like Nara teaching herself Latin in BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS. Um, if you don’t know how that ties into this writing tip, hopefully it’ll click with you if you read Nara and Ethan’s story.  8)

 

An Interview (in English and Romanian)

I have to say, Andreea (from the Romanian blog Love For Books) sent me some of the toughest interview questions I’ve had to date. LOL! But I’m always up for a challenge, so without further ado, here’s my interview below. If you’d like to read it in Romanian on her Love for Books blog, click here.

Q:  If you could be born into history as any famous person who would it be and why?

A:  I would be one of the famous ancient Irish Druids. I would’ve actually written the “forbidden information” down so that a big piece of Celtic history wasn’t lost.

Q:  You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

A: The first time my husband and I realized we were going to have a baby. That giddy excited feeling is one you can’t relive “for the very first time” ever again.

Q: Do you have a secret talent and what is it?

A:  I can tie a cherry stem with my tongue. 😉

Q:  You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?

A:  You must FOLLOW my rules. 🙂

Q: Rufus appears out of nowhere with a time-traveling phone booth. You can go anytime in the PAST. What time are you traveling to and what are you going to do when you get there?

A: I’d go back to when I was ten and ask my uncle more about his clairvoyant abilities (I was too young to fully appreciate or understand them when he was alive).

Q: Your house is on fire! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno?

A: With the understanding my family and pets are safe, I’d grab my laptop. Not only does it have a decade worth of work, but it also has tons of family photos!

Q: If you could be any character in fiction, whom would you be?

A: Cinderella. I love a good rags-to-riches story. Plus there’s a handsome prince, a kingdom, and a happily-ever-after. What’s not to love about that?

Q:  If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?

A:  Loved, Missed & Irreplaceable
(P.T.’s Note: I read this question as “epitaph” (don’t ask me why…must’ve had mayhem and death on the brain. LOL!), but I answered accordingly.)

Q:  If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpowers to be?

A:  I’d want to have super human strength and speed. Kind of like a vampire, but without the fangs, the blood drinking & the sunlight aversion. *g*

Q: You’re going on a desert island and you can take only one book with you. Which book would you choose (except from yours)?

A: Haha, I’d take a survival guide book. Otherwise, I’d be dead within a day on a deserted island. If I wanted to be entertained, I’d just make stories up in my head. 😉

Q: You’re a ghost and you can visit any person of the world. Which is this person and why?

A: It’s not a person I’d want to visit, it’s a place. I’d love to go inside Buckingham Palace…to visit all the off-limit rooms too. 🙂 I’d want to do this because of the rich history behind the Palace.