Guest blogger, Carole Gift Page, continues to share her Ten Steps in Writing a Novel.

STEP FIVE: WRITE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE MAIN LOCATIONS TO BE USED IN YOUR NOVEL. Your descriptions may include foreign locales or your own hometown, historical sites, imaginary or futuristic cities, or your own living room. The point is, do your homework. Be accurate and vivid in setting the scene, drawing from all five senses to capture your characters in their natural environment. Small but insightful details will hit home with readers, providing that ring of truth that makes your story live and breathe.

Don’t trust your memory for such details. Whenever possible, go to the location where your story takes place and write out your descriptions on the spot. You may even wish to videotape or take photographs for future reference.

When Doris Elaine Fell and I co-authored the “Mist Over Morro Bay” series of mystery-romance novels, we selected a cruise ship to Alaska as the setting for our last novel, Beyond the Windswept Sea. We both had the opportunity to take separate Alaskan cruises for our research. I personally interviewed officers and staff, toured the ship, took pictures, and even videotaped a man-overboard drill in the icy waters of Glacier Bay. Did such research make the novel more authentic? I think so. After reading our book, a woman who had also been on an Alaskan cruise told me, “I enjoyed your cruise more than mine!”

Next blog we will take a look at a few descriptive passages from Beyond the Windswept Sea.

Guest blogger, Carole Gift Page, continues to share her Ten Steps in Writing a Novel.

STEP FOUR: BREAK YOUR SYNOPSIS INTO CHAPTERS. You may want to keep a separate file folder for each chapter, containing your rough drafts and any pertinent information or research. Usually I go through my synopsis and draw lines where I think the material can naturally divide into chapters. I also underline in red all material I want to use in my edited or abridged synopsis accompanying my proposal to a publisher.

As you divide your work into chapters, be sure something significant happens in each chapter to forward the action. Always include conflict and emotion. In a sense, each chapter has its own beginning, middle and end, although the “end” serves more as a springboard to the next chapter. Remember, your novel should have a number of intensely dramatic moments building like stair steps toward the highest point or climax of your story. Be sure all chapters point toward your central theme, developing and enhancing it.

Guest blogger, Carole Gift Page, continues to share her Ten Steps in Writing a Novel.
(End of Step 3)

When I want to explore a character’s feelings in depth, I mentally step into his skin and write spontaneously in first person for 10-15 minutes without stopping. Sometimes, what appears on the page surprises me. I marvel, wondering where the material came from. Until that moment, even I—the author—wasn’t consciously aware of how that character felt. Such revelations are part of the joy and wonder of writing novels.

This instinctive, freewheeling exercise was used to “discover” Justin’s memories of his brother and father in my book, Family Reunion. By tapping into my own subconscious, I was able to trace raw undercurrents of emotion and unexpected complexities in Justin’s relationship with his father and brother. Here’s a sample, adapted into third person in the actual novel:

“He remembered his boyhood in shimmering shades of burnt orange twilights—he and Chris playing kickball out in the weed-torn field down the road, running breathless and shouting into the thin cold night air, all the boys from the neighborhood gathering around shouting back and forth, exchanging catcalls and dirty words and slapping one another around, showing off, pretending to be bold and brave and invincible…

“Chris was more frail than the others, … a frightened doe-like look in his eyes, like a startled deer Justin and his dad had seen once while hunting in the woods up north—Chris’s expression was like that, and it was a look that irritated Justin; sometimes he wanted to slap his brother, startle him out of that look, take away the odd, half-terrified glint that made other boys take advantage of him, made them chase him and tease him, even when he was just a string-bean eight-year-old….

“But perhaps there was no reason for Justin to pity Chris after all. Chris had ultimately won their father’s approval, had slipped right into the mold Victor Cahill had created for his sons. Justin had refused to fit the mold, had refused to be twisted into his father’s image; but Chris had been as compliant as wet clay, had slipped without protest into the role their father had created at first for Justin, and then given to Chris by default…

“Justin had feared his father in those days, those callow, fleeting, bumptious days of childhood—days that struck him now as not quite real, improbable, preposterous, pages from a comic book, reels from an old-time movie. Surely not his own life, not something he had actually lived.”

Try this imagination-probing technique yourself. You’ll be surprised by what your characters will tell you!

Guest blogger, Carole Gift Page, continues to share her Ten Steps in Writing a Novel.

(Step 3 cont.) Last blog I shared 4-8 of the11 things I include in case histories. Here are 9-11:
9. The character’s strengths and weaknesses: Every human personality has both a light and dark side. A balanced mixture of these lights and darks creates a three-dimensional character. But keep in mind that some traits can be both a strength and weakness. For example, the strong, silent type who refuses to open up and communicate with his mate.

10. His idiosyncrasies: What gestures or mannerisms are peculiar to this character? Does he pull on his ear, clear his throat, tap his fingers, fidget with his collar, lick his lips, fiddle with his glasses, twist his ring, or shrug his shoulders? (Of course, if he does all these at once, he has a real problem!)

11. His voice: Avoid the trap of letting all your characters sound alike—like you, the author! Readers “hear” a character’s voice in their heads, and they’ll cringe if he doesn’t sound authentic. Worse, they’ll stop reading if characters don’t have distinctive voices. Determine what rhythm of speech your character has—smooth, flowing sentences or short and choppy? What tone of voice—soft and mellow, deep, nasal, singsong, melodic, breathy, gravelly, or monotone? Does he mumble? Have an accent? Use big words to impress people? Stutter? Speak too loud? Too fast? Does he speak with an affectation that puts distance between himself and others or with a warmth that puts others at ease? Whatever the case, make him a one and only original!

By the time I’ve finished exploring the personalities of all my characters, I have a clear mental picture of how they relate to and impact one another. I also usually select five or six key words that characterize each person in my book; then I look up those words in my thesaurus or Rodale’s Synonym Finder and list the synonyms for each word. These lists remind me of my characters’ essential traits and help me keep my characters consistent throughout the story.

Guest blogger, Carole Gift Page, continues to share her Ten Steps in Writing a Novel.

(Step 3 cont.) Last blog I shared 1-3 of the11 things I include in case histories. Here are 4-8:

4. His background and family history: History tends to repeat itself in generation after generation, as evidenced in the biblical concept of “the sins of the fathers.” Beliefs and actions are deeply rooted in the past.

5. His general attitude toward others and himself: Does he accept himself and others? Does he have identity and self-esteem problems to work through? Or does he have a healthy self-concept?

6. His outlook on life: Is it positive? Negative? Fearful? Reckless? Practical? Romantic?

7. His habits, both good and bad: Habits define him as a character. Does he eat a leisurely breakfast of bacon and eggs or grab a cup of black coffee on the run? Is his desk cluttered or spotless? Does he keep appointments on time or always arrive ten minutes late?

8. His education, profession, and station in life: What does a character’s career tell about him, his abilities, interests, and long-range goals? A diplomat or university professor will likely have different concerns and ways of expressing them than a taxi driver or steelworker. At the same time, be wary of stereotypes. Perhaps that diplomat got his start as a taxi driver.

Guest blogger, Carole Gift Page, continues to share her Ten Steps in Writing a Novel.

STEP THREE: WRITE CHARACTER SKETCHES FOR ALL PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CHARACTERS.

How do I create fictional characters? I begin with feelings and impressions—hazy, shadowy figures in my imagination, without substance or form. I let them germinate in my mind until they take on identities and motivations. When they are ready to be named, I make lists of first and last names from phone books, baby books, or school yearbooks. When I find the right name for my character, I go through my extensive picture file looking for his or her face—a photo that matches my mental image of my character. Then, armed with name and photo, I go to my computer and, using a free-style, right-brain approach, I write an extensive character sketch, probing my character’s attitudes, needs, motivations, and background.

There are 11 things I include in these case histories. Here are the first three:

1. A character’s physical appearance: Not just whether he’s tall, dark and handsome or short, fat and ugly. Rather, what separates him from the masses and makes him unique, one in a million?

2. His personality and temperament: Is he cool and laid back, hot and fiery, aggressive, passive, impulsive or cautious?

3. His motivations: What makes him act the way he does? What are his felt, or perceived, needs? What are his real needs? What does he desire more than anything else in the world?

Guest blogger, Carole Gift Page, continues to share her Ten Steps in Writing a Novel.

As you write your synopsis, you might wonder at what point you can be sure you have a well-developed plot. You have a solid, cohesive plot (whether you’re writing a novel or short story) when you can answer these 11 questions:

1. Who is the main character in your story?
2. What is he like as a person—strengths and weaknesses?
3. Who are the key people who will affect his life?
4. What is your main character’s major conflict? (What is he trying to accomplish or resolve, or what important lesson must he learn about himself?)
5. How does he attempt to resolve the conflict?
6. What obstacles does he encounter in his efforts to reach his goal?
7. How does he overcome each obstacle or complication?
8. What is the climax/dramatic turning point of your story?
9. What is the final resolution of your story?
10. What change will occur in your main character?
11. Why is this story worth telling? (Have a worthy theme!)

Most of Carole’s synopses run about ten pages, double-spaced, for teen novels and from 15-20 pages for adult novels, although one synopsis ended up 33 pages, single-spaced! Remember, a well- done synopsis will guide and reassure you through the long, lonely labor of birthing a book. [Note: Today, many publishers prefer a 4-6-page synopsis.]

Guest blogger, Carole Gift Page, continues to share her Ten Steps in Writing a Novel.

Step 2 (Con’t.) Let’s compare the synopsis in the last post with the opening of the actual novel itself:

Going home.

Two days on the road now.

Justin Cahill was traveling east on Interstate 90 with his wife Robyn and their son Eric, heading for America’s heartland in their silver-blue Toyota Corolla. It was mid-December. Nearly Christmas.

Heat, dry and oppressive, belched from the dashboard heater, parching Justin’s throat. Too much heat, giving off a hot electric smell, repugnant, a stark, ironic contrast to the icy swirls on the windshield, belying the bitter, bone-numbing cold outside, the endless stretches of barren, ice-swept landscape.

“Going home.” The phrase summoned images of familiar, aging faces, comfortable old rooms, crackling fires, child voices singing, “Over the river and through the woods . . .” Long dormant feelings blended with faint, moldering sensations—tricks of the mind. Memories sprang from shadowed crevices, from nowhere, sharp and surreal, with a stinging, swift reality, and then rebounded with the sudden snap of a slingshot.

Going home.

The radio blared, static-scratchy, not quite tuned in.

Willie Nelson was singing, his voice low and gravelly, throbbing with a husky passion . . .

See the difference between the synopsis and the novel itself? While the synopsis summarizes or tells, the novel shows, immediately drawing the reader into an actual scene filled with lots of sensory details and description.

Guest blogger, Carole Gift Page, continues to share her Ten Steps in Writing a Novel.

STEP 2: WRITE A SYNOPSIS (SUMMARY) OF THE STORY TO THE DEGREE THAT IT HAS ALREADY OCCURRED TO YOU. In a synopsis, the principle is, “Tell, don’t show,” whereas in the novel itself the rule is, “Show, don’t tell!”

To begin your synopsis you don’t need a finished plot in mind. Just putting down what you know so far will take you to the point where new material can flow into your mind. Using a right-brain, free-writing approach, I write my novel synopses in narrative style, third person, present tense, sometimes even adding bits of dialogue, description, or notes for future research as they occur to me.

Later, I edit a polished, shortened version of the synopsis for my publisher, but my original, unedited copy becomes my “road map” to guide me in my writing. Here’s the beginning of the 7-page synopsis of my novel, Family Reunion (Crossway Books):

“After a three-year absence, Justin Cahill returns to his family homestead for the death-watch of his father, who has only days to live. Justin, associate pastor of a large California church, faces his parents and younger brother Chris with a heavy heart: A burden for their salvation; guilt over choosing the ministry instead of the family furniture business; and a nagging sense of failure and self-doubt after being passed over for the position of senior pastor of his church. Even Justin’s relationship with his wife and son is strained. He is too self-absorbed to be the lover and companion his wife Robyn needs, and his son Eric is intent on a career in contemporary Christian music rather than fulfilling Justin’s dream of a son in the ministry.”

Do you see how the synopsis tells? “Just the facts, ma’am,” to quote a vintage detective.

Guest blogger, Carole Gift Page, shares her Ten Steps in Writing a Novel, a technique she has taught as well as used in her own writing for over 30 years.

Step One: Begin with an Idea—for a particular THEME, a particular PLOT, or a particular CHARACTER. We covered theme in the last blog, so now we will cover plot and character.

PLOT: The action of your novel. Your main character encounters a series of complications in his effort to reach a specific goal or resolve a seemingly overwhelming problem. The plot must evolve out of the needs and motivations of your main characters and must in some way be crucial to their well-being. Remember, conflict is essential to plot! A story without conflict is merely a series of incidents that will not likely hold your readers’ interest.

If you begin with plot, ask yourself what type of characters would be most likely to be involved in such a plot and what theme might be conveyed?

CHARACTER: The person or persons who are central to the plot and through whom the theme of the story is revealed. They must be depicted realistically and evoke the reader’s empathy and emotion. Your main or viewpoint character should change in some recognizable way through the course of your story.

If you begin with character, consider what type of plot and theme would best demonstrate your character’s traits and inner qualities.