Just recently, a fellow author asked me to contribute to a book she's writing for beginner writers. She wanted one tip I believe newbie writers should keep in mind when they sit down to write. A small paragraph, no more.
Wow.
Never mind the ‘short paragraph’, I could write an entire
book.
So, what would I tell her?
The question got me thinking, and reflecting back to the
beginning of my writing journey. And I asked myself what is the one thing I
know now that I’d have liked to know back then. One thing to have made my
journey more expedient, more fruitful. My writing more meaningful.
O-kay.
Ideas bombarded me from left, right and center.
Yet another book I could write.
So many things I’ve learned through trial and error, through
more experienced writers sharing their expertise and knowledge; words of wisdom
around finding like-minded writers, joining writing groups, forming critique circles;
learning and practicing craft, and in those spare moments in between, reading to
continually fill the well of creativity.
Then there’s the actual sitting down and writing part.
I wish I’d realized the importance of voice. From those
first few moments when I began to write, I thought my story – and the tone of
my story – should sound like other successful authors. After all, the way they
wrote was what made them successful, right?
So, instead of writing in a way that was natural and
reflective of me, I tempered my tone and tried to write like someone else. Tried
to sound like someone else.
Big mistake.
HUGE.
Not only did my stories sound stilted and unnatural, but
they lacked the edge and special something that would make them unique – the
voice that would make them stand out and scream ‘Michelle Somers wrote this’ to
anyone who read them.
Through a gradual progression, and five complete novels, I slowly
found my voice, and I’m happy to say, I love it! Imagine how different those
five – unpublished, unpublishable – stories would have been had I written and,
dare I say, embraced my voice back when I first started writing?
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
There are other lessons I wish I’d known – the ‘show don’t
tell’ doctrine, how to thread in backstory, how to layer characters and give
them depth, how to construct GMC (goal, motivation, conflict) and make those
very same characters 3-dimensional and believable.
But above all these tips that I would have found
exceptionally useful back in the beginning, there is one that stands out in my
mind, one that I’ve found a lot of authors tend to overlook or forget to do…
Write from within your
characters.
Okay, I can see you squinting and shooting me a wary ‘what is she on about?’ sideways stare. What do
you mean ‘write from within your characters’? you ask.
It’s simply this: when you write a scene, put yourself in
the place of your characters. Don their skin, their mind, their thoughts, their
experiences.
Walk the journey that is their story in their shoes.
If your character is trekking through blistering heat, their
body dusty and sweat-slicked, their brand new, unbroken-in hiking boots rubbing
their heels raw, step right inside and write from within their experience. And
write from within yours.
In a situation just like theirs, what would you think? Feel?
Say? Do?
Write as if their experience is your experience. If they
hate trekking, fear it even, ask why? Maybe it’s because the last time they
slipped into their hiking boots their best friend died after falling into a
crevice. Feel what they would feel. Find a parallel in your life.
Then ask more questions. Why are they out there now? Why
would they put themselves through that trauma? That pain? Maybe it’s because
their child is lost and they must find them before they meet the same fate as
their friend?
Now feel those emotions.
Find more parallels. When did you last feel scared? Stressed?
Panicked even?
What thoughts battered through your mind at the time? What
visceral reactions racked your body?
Write from a place of experience and understanding. Write
from your character’s point of view but draw from your own life to give the writing
depth.
If your character laughs, think of the last time you laughed.
If they cry, think about the last time you cried.
For my debut, Lethal
in Love, my central character lost someone they loved. Someone who meant
the world to them. Those moments when they felt that loss were some of the most
challenging I’ve had to write. There was one scene in particular, just moments
after the death. I have to admit, I struggled over this scene. I wrote draft
after draft, until finally one made me cry.
And how?
I drew from experience. I remembered the day my father died.
Remembered the shock, the pain, the utter and unbearable loss, and then I
wrote.
Writing can be a painful business. It can dredge up memories
and emotions that we’d rather leave buried deep beneath the surface of
normalcy. But those memories, those emotions, are what makes a great writer.
They allow us to write from a place of understanding, a place of empathy, a
place so deep inside our characters, the line between us and them blurs.
They become real. Three-dimensional. They take us to a place
where fact and fiction collide. And they make us feel with every fiber of our
being.
So, what advice would I give to a budding writer above all
other advice?
Write from within your
characters.
Make your characters feel. Make them hurt, laugh and love.
Make them grab the attention and heart of the reader and
never let go.
What about you?
For the writers out there, I’d love to know the one tip you
know now that you wish you’d known when you first started writing.
And for readers, what is it about characters and an author’s
style that drags you into their story so you don’t want to stop until the
very last page. I’d love to know!
Thanks so much for reading and commenting and general
awesomeness! I look forward to seeing you all back here again the first
Thursday of next month 😄
Until then, have a fabulous month, and MAY THE FORTH BE WITH YOU 😊
Michelle
Somers is a bookworm from way back. An ex-Kiwi who now calls Australia home,
she’s a professional killer and matchmaker, a storyteller and a romantic. Words
are her power and her passion. Her heroes and heroines always get their happy
ever after, but she’ll put them through one hell of a journey to get there.
Michelle
lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her real life hero and three little heroes
in the making. And a cheeky, furry feline called Emerald. Her debut novel, Lethal in Love won the Romance Writers
of Australia’s 2016 Romantic Book of the Year (RuBY) and the 2013 Valerie Parv
Award. Her second book, Murder Most Unusual was released February this year.
I love
hearing from readers, and I’d love you to visit my website
www.michelle-somers.com, but it’s currently under construction, soon to be
filled with awesomeness 😊 So, if you’d like to stay in touch, find and
follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, or email me at michelle-somers@bigpond.com to sign up for my newsletter and a FREE copy of my novelette, Cold Case, Warm Heart.
Three
deaths, one clue, and twenty-four hours before it's too late...
Homicide detective Calamity Dresden has
twenty-four hours to catch a killer before he kills and disappears underground.
Estranged lover Sebastian Rourke wants justice for his father and every other
victim of Melbourne’s sadistic Trifecta Terror.
But can the pair overcome past hurts and
catch the killer before he catches them?
