Into the Fire

Sometimes in writing a story we either end up making premeditated decisions or writing those decisions into being as we go. Our styles develop in the course of composing stories, and they might change along the way as we either tighten or expand our writing.

Plots determined beforehand with careful precision by writers who are highly organized and usually don’t resort to seat-of-the-pants creations can have concise unvarying elements. Usually a reader will experience this in thrillers, mysteries, suspense, or anything that requires a lot of succinct plot devices and conclusions.

When you get into more character-driven novels with lighter—and I don’t mean “fluff” here—less busy plots, the decisions as to what might be included through the pages have a potentially higher variance. This is only because character-driven novels tend to delve more into the psychological, the emotional, the spiritual, and even the mundane of day-to-day or year-to-year existence.

Please don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not saying there can’t be or isn’t necessarily good and meaningful character development in the genres I named in the second paragraph. What I’m saying is the focus on the characters themselves can be very different in other genres that aren’t plot-driven. If it is, chances are the reader will see certain character facts, elements, quirks, tendencies repeated throughout the novel.

In my first novel Hope Of Glory (and, yes, I capitalized the O in of for reasons which no one cares about and everyone wonders how I could make such an amateurish mistake—but, hey, what can one expect from a self-published novel/author, right? Mercy. I wish I hadn’t done it now.) . . . Anyway, as I was saying, that first novel was really a comprehensive picture of life on the racetrack during a race meet. It was filled with characters of all kinds, races and horses, events of many kinds relating to racing, and the supernatural occurrences which took place during one spring and summer of American horse racing at a middle echelon northwestern racetrack. In fact it was loosely based on my husband’s and my experience that first year back to the track after we got saved.

The histories and legends of many of the characters and horses filled its 744 pages, and, yes, it was a true saga. I refer to it as an editor’s nightmare, and, yes, if I were to write it today, of course it would be different. That said, I did not consciously make the decision to write it as a day-to-day account of life on the track, but as I wrote it, the objective was to give the racing community a novel they could truly relate to: the stamina, the fatigue, the escapes, the routine, the repetition, the hardness, the beauty and the horror of all that is horse racing. By the end of the novel the reader knows he’s been through the grueling schedule of a race meet.

In The Famous One as Jessica noted in her review, Joey repeats over and over the same stories and often uses the same words to describe them which I have found is common to celebrities when consenting to interviews and appearances. This was a conscious decision. Was it necessary? Maybe not. The point is that it was a decision I chose to do to make the character similar to the real life versions of film stars and particularly to the one who inspired this story.

The style of a reader will affect how much the style of a writer will appeal to him/her. Different writers attract different kinds of readers. Patient and multi-genre readers seem to enjoy all kinds of author styles and voices. I would put myself somewhat in that category. Impatient readers want crisp and quick, and the subject of a story would really have to appeal to these readers to get them to slow down and take in a lesser plot/more character novel.

Again, a writer needs to know his audience. Wide open marketing doesn’t do much for those novels which tend to attract specific audiences. I would much rather have my books in the hands of those who are inclined to enjoy them than to have someone who has no interest in my voice or style get a copy and not like the novels. Don’t ya think?

Father, you know where these stories belong. Your plan for them is really the only one that matters. Please help me to make the decisions you want—in all things. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.