Keeping Up With Your Story World - Examples

 

Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here. On April 25^th Her Amish Patchwork Family, the third book in my Hope’s Haven series, will release. This book will feature the final and oldest of the Eicher sisters, Martha.

When writing a multi-book series there are a lot of parts and pieces to keep track of – today I thought I’d share a little bit about my personal method of doing this. First let me say that I’m a spreadsheet nerd. If I need to track anything I usually put it in a spreadsheet. So of course that’s what I use to track all the details of my story world. And let me add that I’ll keep up with a lot of this same info even if it is a standalone book – it saves a lot of time trying to remember what the name of a particular restaurant is or the street name my hero’s house is on.  SO here goes:

The first thing I start tracking is backstory. Here is a view of my tracking chart for backstory:

As you can see, I built on this from book to book - necessary because the books are so interlaced through family. So when I created this for the first book, it just had event columns for the Eicher and Stoll families, the age columns for Micah and Asher didn't exist, and the rows ended where it says Greta's story opens.  The other information was added as I began work on each book.

Next comes my character tracking which also includes pets/work animals. Here's my sheet for that. Hopefully it's pretty self-explanatory.

The next sheet in my workbook is reserved for location info

Next I have my story calendar, a day by day chart of what happens when. Having this picture helps me keep up with certain things that are fixed (holidays, church services, standing civic/committee/business meetings, etc.)  It also helps me make sure I don't have two Wednesdays in one week or a nine day week or any of the other weird things that can happen if I don't keep up with things. I have one of these for each book

I also will create sheets that are specific for each book/series.  For instance, in this serries I have children show up in each book and even some that are born between books. As these children will interact with each other, I needed a quick reference on how old they were at particulars points in time. So I created this sheet

So there you have it. my personal Storyworld Tracking method. Leave a comment letting me know what you think to get your name in the drawing for an advanced copy of Her Amish Patchwork Family.

And here is a little more info about my upcoming release

HER AMISH PATCHWORK FAMILY

In this heartwarming Amish romance, a former schoolteacher and a single father discover a second chance at friendship, family, and love

Former Hope’s Haven schoolteacher, Martha Eicher, has always been the responsible one, putting her family first and caring for her widowed father and two younger sisters. But now they’re all happily married, and Martha isn’t sure where she fits in anymore . . . until she hears that Asher Lantz needs a nanny. Even though her childhood friendship with Asher ended abruptly years ago, when a misunderstanding drove a wedge between them, Martha offers her assistance.

Asher is also feeling adrift. As a single father to his niece and nephews, he struggles to balance his new family responsibilities with those on the farm and in his workshop. He’s grateful for Martha’s help, but worries things will always feel awkward with her. Yet before long, Asher realizes Martha is exactly what his family needs, and he can’t imagine his home without her. Martha and Asher thought they were lost, but could they be right where they belong . . . together?

PURCHASE LINK

 

Fun New Series

 

Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here. I’m very excited to report that I’m participating in a fun new multi-author project. As most of you know, in addition to Seekerville, I’m also the member of another author blog, Petticoats & Pistols. The authors on that blog specialize in Western and Americana romance novels.

Late last summer we started kicking around the idea of doing a group of connected stories. But there's a lot of work that goes into setting up a project like this, especially when there are so many authors involved.

After some discussion to determine interest and availability a few of the members took the lead in developing a suitable premise. There were several iterations of this as the development team came back to the group with ideas and continued to refine them until in the end I think we landed on a very fun and exciting concept.

The series is called The Pink Pistol Sisterhood and is about - wait for it - a matchmaking pistol! 

Here's the setup for the series: A one-of-a-kind pink-handled pistol is gifted to Annie Oakley. The pistol comes with a legend, one promising that whoever possesses it will find true love. Annie passes the gun on to one of her students and sets the whimsical journey in motion as it passes from one heroine to another. 

Once the concept was decided there were many other parts and pieces to take care of. One of the members took the lead on the artwork, including the series logo, cover concept and the development of most of the covers themselves. Another member volunteered to help with the book formatting so that we had consistency throughout. A release schedule was determined and then we all had to figure out where we plugged into that. And then there was brainstorming around promo and marketing, release venue and pricing as well as wordcount targets. But in the end it all came together, thanks in big part to our fabulous core team: Pam Crooks, Karen Witemeyer, Shanna Hatfield, Jessie Gussman and Kari Trumbo. 

All told 11 of us were able to participate. All the books are sweet western romances, and they span the time period from 1893 to the current day. Some of the stories are historical, some are set mid-century, and some are contemporary, but the thread that binds them all together is the journey of the pink pistol and the loves and lives of the women it touches.

The books will release every ten days, starting on March 30th with Karen Witemeyer’s story In Her Sights and wrapping up on July 10th with Jessie Gussman’s book Pistol Perfect.

As a gift to our readers we've created set of magazines to go along with the series. There will be four in total and each will contain excerpts, puzzles, author interviews and lots of other fun content. Two of the magazines are already available and can be acquired via the links below. And note, these are free and  you can absolutely rest assured that you are NOT signing up for anyone’s list.

Pink Pistol Magazine 1 Link

Pink Pistol Magazine 2 Link

There is also a facebook reader group where we post behind the scenes info, celebrate good news, host release parties and just generally have fun. If you’re interested in joining here’s the link: Pink Pistol Sisterhood Reader Group

The participating authors, in order of release date, are: Karen Witemeyer, Shanna Hatfield, Cheryl Pierson, Kit Morgan, Kari Trumbo, yours truly, Linda Broday, Pam Crooks, Jeannie Watt, Julie Benson and Jessie Gussman

Mine is the sixth book in the series, the exact middle. Here is a little bit about it:

DISARMING HIS HEART

A sharpshooter hiding her identity. A preacher with a guilty past. Will secrets ruin their shot at love?

Violet, who performs in a traveling show as the mysterious Masked Marvel sharpshooter, has an accident that puts her arm in a sling. To maintain the mystery of her identity she secretly swaps places with her identical twin, a “townie” dressmaker, until it heals. Of course that means Violet also has to take on her sister's role as director of a children's church program. Before slipping out of town, her sister informs Violet that she’s sweet on Carson, the pastor and co-director of the children's program, so she’d appreciate it if Violet doesn’t mess anything up with him.

Carson became guardian to an orphaned eight-year-old six months ago and to his frustration he hasn’t been able to make any progress in building a relationship with the boy. It’s to the point where he’s begun to wonder if he’s even fit to be a pastor.

As Violet and Carson work together on the children’s program the attraction between them grows. But the knowledge of her sister’s feelings and guilt over her deception hold Violet back.

Little does she know that Carson is harboring guilty secrets of his own…

 My book isn’t yet available but I’ll be sure to let you know when it is 😊

This series uses a unique object as a connecting thread - a pistol with a pink mother-of-pearl handle - that is passed on from one person to the next. Do you have a special keepsake that was passed on to you? Tell us about it in the comments along with a note about what meaning it holds for you and you'll be entered in a drawing for one of my books. I'd also welcome any thoughts you might have on the Pink Pistol series itself.

New Release, Sort Of

 

Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here.  I’ve recently gotten the rights back to two of the books previously published by Love Inspired Historicals and have been doing my best to figure out the ins and outs of converting them and reissuing them as self-published works.  I think I finally have things ALMOST figured out – just one or two more things I need to figure out and I’ll be done. 

One of the things I never realized before now was that it’s much more difficult to format for a print copy than an eBook copy. Amazon makes it really easy to upload your eBook from your manuscript but print is, as they say, a whole ‘nother ballgame. For the few other books I’ve self-pubbed before now I actually hired a professional to take care of it. But besides being a bit pricey it also means you need to go back to that person every time you want to make a change.

So I decided it was time to roll up my sleeves and learn to do it myself., and that’s where the learning curve came in. I purchased Atticus and it’s a really nice package for formatting print, except I had some custom things I wanted to do (naturally!)  so I had to check out helpful videos and join an author group to draw on their experience. As I said, a couple of tweaks and I’m there.  The next one should go much faster.

Since Harlequin holds the rights to the cover art and blurb I had to replace these elements. Because I’m not as good at design as Pam and some of the others here, I hired a cover designer I'd worked with before to make my new cover for me. These two books were part of the original Texas Grooms series set in Turnabout, Texas.  I was never very fond of that series title so now I’m rebranding it as Turnabout Hearts. I also have plans to retitle some of the books to give them a more cohesive feel as a series. And I asked my cover designer to create a series logo and give the covers within the series a cohesive feel.  

This first one was originally titled The Holiday Courtship and it will be reissued on Dec 1st as His Christmas Matchmaker.

Below is the original cover and blurb followed by the new cover and blurb.

THE HOLIDAY COURTSHIP

He Wanted A Wife by Christmas... 

As Christmas approaches, Hank Chandler is determined to find a wife to mother his sister's orphaned children. When schoolteacher Janell Whitman offers to help him with his niece and nephew, she seems to be the perfect match—but she won't accept his proposal. Instead, she insists she'll find him another bride before the holidays.

Janell moved to Turnabout, Texas, to put her past behind her and focus on her future—one that doesn't include marriage. But while she plays matchmaker and cares for Hank's children, she loses her heart to the two youngsters…and their adoptive father. If Janell reveals her secrets to Hank, will he still want her to be his Christmas bride?

 

 

HIS CHRISTMAS MATCHMAKER

A guilty secret…

Vowing to put her past behind her, schoolteacher Janell Whitman has resigned herself to spinsterhood and she's erected walls to guard her heart from all but her pupils. 

A solitary heart…
Hank Chandler is quite comfortable with his uncomplicated bachelor life. But when he suddenly finds himself the guardian of his orphaned niece and nephew he knows all that that will have to change. Not only do the children need a mother’s love, but he’s not fit to be a single parent. So he’ll need to marry quickly, whether he wants to or not. 

A Christmas bargain…
Seeing their need, Janell impulsively reaches out to help the hurting Chandler family. But when Hank proposes a businesslike marriage she draws the line at becoming his wife. She softens her refusal, however, with a counteroffer – she’ll take care of the children after school and help him find an appropriate wife in time for Christmas. After all, how hard can it be? 

But as the holiday grows closer, it seems increasingly difficult to find a suitable candidate––not to mention even harder to deny their growing feelings for each other. It might take a miracle for these two hearts to become one, but Christmas is the season of miracles––and love.

          Preorder HERE

So what do you think about the new package for my book?  I still have several copies of this book with the LIH cover so I'll be giving some of those copies away - leave a comment for your chance to be one of the winners.

Listening for the Quiet Voice Instead of the Loud Noise

 by Chris Fabry

His voice was caustic, overmodulated, and scratchy-sounding through his phone. He had called the program I was hosting to criticize me and my work. At the end of the call, before he abruptly hung up, he said these words:

“You’re plastic, Fabry.”

That phone call came more than thirty years ago. Why do I still remember it? Why do I so easily hang on to the criticism and let go of the encouragement?

It also happened with my writing a few years ago. A reviewer online had said something cutting and biting about one of my novels. He referred to what brings me joy as “silly little stories.” 

If you write, you have to grow a thick skin. Same with doing any kind of public speaking or revealing your thoughts and personality through radio. Not everyone is going to get what you’re saying. 

The truth I keep coming back to is that if God has placed a creative desire inside you—and since he’s wildly creative, why wouldn’t he?—then allow the process to do its work in you as well as on the page. I do not control the outcome of my stories. I don’t dictate how they will be received. I don’t know if what I’m doing will be a bestseller or a bomb. But I do know that my job is to be faithful to tell the story with everything in me and allow that process to change me.

As I was writing the novelization of Lifemark, a story crafted and filmed by the Kendrick Brothers, I had two competing voices inside. One was loud and brash and angry, like a heavy metal rendition of “My Way.” That voice said something like this: Readers are going to see through your agenda. You just want people to believe the way you do and to control women’s bodies. The accusation and vitriol continued as I fleshed out the story of Melissa, a teenager with an unwanted pregnancy.

The other voice was a lot quieter. It was almost a whisper that said, Speak up for those who have no voice. At one point near the end of the writing process, I sat back and stared at the screen. I imagined an anonymous email appearing that said, “I read Lifemark and the story saved my baby’s life.” And then I fast-forwarded a few years—maybe twenty—and imagined a college student coming up to me. “My mom and dad saw that movie. They decided to give me a chance at life.”

I don’t have those kinds of hopes and dreams for every story. But I really had the feeling that this one could literally be used to save someone’s life.

So how do you quell the noise and listen for the quiet voice? It’s not easy. I still hear the grating sound of the man from thirty years ago calling me plastic. I still see the words silly little stories in my head—partly because of the alliteration, to be honest. 

One way to stop the noise is to surround yourself with people who believe in you. A few birthdays back, after I wrote about the bad review, one of my brothers sent a card and inside it said, “Keep telling your silly little stories.” So find people who will value what you’ve been called to do.

I also find it helpful to think of the process rather than the outcome of my endeavors. For me, writing is internal work that has great value. I don’t base my worth on a review or awards or bestseller status. I hope many people read my stories and I hope my time investment helps provide for my family. But ultimately I have to come to my desk each day and work with all my heart for an audience of One.

I’ve also discovered that I allow more noise in my life through social media, news sites, and the daily barrage of people saying, “Be angry about this!” As a human, I am not meant to know every opinion or every event in the world. Because of our information age, we are trying to drink from a fire hydrant. Our souls are poorer for it.

What about you? What is the noise you hear today that discourages your soul? The first step is to recognize that noise for what it is. Then, when things get quiet, you can listen closely for the gentle whisper that is urging you to trust, believe, and take a step forward. 

The whisper that means the most is found in Ephesians chapters 1 and 2. Those passages tell us who we really are in Christ and that because of what he did for us, we are accepted and adopted and lavishly loved by the One who gave everything to draw us to himself.

Don’t give up.

Keep telling your stories.

The criticism is meant to stop you because you’re doing something that counts.

Don’t give up.

I’d love to hear of a moment when you listened to the whisper rather than the noise.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris Fabry is an award-winning author and radio personality who hosts the daily program Chris Fabry Live on Moody Radio. He has written more than 80 books for children and adults.

Author's Website , Chris Fabry Live - Moody

ABOUT LIFEMARK

For eighteen years, she tried to believe she had made the right decision—for him.

But if she never saw him again, how could she ever be sure?

Melissa had clung to the thin thread of hope given by the adoption agency that someday her newborn son might want to connect with her. When his eighteenth birthday arrived, she called the agency to simply update her contact information, not expecting a response.

Susan and Jimmy Colton had raised their boy with openness about his adoption. After the heartbreaking loss of two infant sons that marked their early years of marriage, they promised themselves they would try not to hold too tightly to David or hold back any information he wanted about his birth. And so they waited on him.

David was hesitant to talk about the questions and curiosities about his birth story that often haunted him. But as he neared adulthood, his need to know the full story of his life became something he couldn’t shake. Until the call came to the Coltons from the adoption agency, and the first tentative bits of communication and connection set in motion a story that would change all their lives forever.

From the team that brought you the movies Courageous and War Room comes Lifemark, the novelization of the new film inspired by a true story of adoption, redemption, and hope.

Giveaway

Leave a comment for Chris, and be enter for a chance to win a copy of his latest release, Lifemark.

*giveaway prize courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers. Giveaway subject to Tyndale House Publishers and Seekerville giveaway terms and conditions. US mailing addresses only.

From HS Creative Writing Assignment to Debut Novel: The Evolution of Matty Redd

 by Ryan Steck

Back when I was in tenth grade, there was a young teaching intern who, in an attempt to excite a less-than-enthused group of teenagers, tasked us with a creative writing assignment unlike any other. Our homework, she explained, was to write a short story about anything we wanted, but here’s where it got fun—nothing was off-limits content-wise, including language, action, violence, you name it.

Back then (though my wife might argue this is true today as well), I was very much the type of fifteen-year-old who, if you gave me an inch, I would take ten miles. Always one to push the boundaries in high school, I went home ready to dive into my assignment, knowing full well that I was going to indeed pack my story full of action, language, and plenty of violence. So I started writing. And soon, a fully fleshed-out character came to me. His name was Matty Redd.

*image from Pixabay

My short story, which I cranked out over the weekend, featured Redd, a young vigilante on a comic book–like quest to rid his school of injustice. There was a lot of language and even more action, which, if I’m honest, was all unnecessary and only added, well, simply because we could. Or so I thought.

Supremely proud of my short story, I turned it in, excited for feedback and to see our teacher’s reaction. She had, after all, given us free rein, and though I was fully aware I pushed the envelope a tad (okay, a lot), there was also a side of me that knew I started the project almost as a joke and ended up writing with conviction and excitement. The class clown back then, I didn’t necessarily want people to know that I tried so hard to produce a complete story, as that wasn’t the “cool” thing to do. And yet, I couldn’t help but wonder what our intern would think of Matty Redd.

As fate would have it, there were a couple things about that assignment I wasn’t aware of when I first sat down to write it. For starters, it came as a big surprise to me when, the next day in class, it was announced that in order to receive peer-to-peer feedback, everyone would randomly be assigned someone else’s paper to read out loud in the class. I can still remember the face of the poor kid who had to read my paper, Matty Redd, in front of everyone. His cheeks turned a deep shade of red, and on several occasions, he stopped to ask our intern if he should keep reading. She let him, but I’m telling you, that moment had all the makings of a Southwest Airlines commercial. You know, the ones that always show someone in an awkward moment which ends with “Wanna get away?” Well, he did. It was brutal.

The second thing I didn’t realize about that assignment was that it had to be reviewed by the teacher. Not the young, cool, hip intern. No. By the actual teacher, and let me tell you something, he did not share his intern’s taste for boundary-pushing teenage crime fiction. The following day, I was called down to the office, where I promptly found my parents, the superintendent, and the principal waiting for me. I wasn’t sure what was going on at first, but the situation went from bad to worse when my principal whipped out a copy of Matty Redd and had my parents read it. That moment, by the way, would have made a great follow-up commercial—as it most certainly had a “Wanna get away?” vibe to it, and not only for me. My parents were embarrassed too, and though I knew I would be in trouble, something funny happened. Of all the times I had gotten in trouble in school, for once, my parents were on my side. Their main point was that, yeah, maybe I took things too far, but after all, that was the assignment, and therefore, because I did what was asked, there shouldn’t be a punishment. The school disagreed and suspended me for a week. It was, for the record, the only suspension where I wasn’t in trouble at home and basically served as a weeklong vacation. Still, I learned my lesson.

Flash forward more than fifteen years later, and something else happened . . .

I thought, back then, as an immature fifteen-year-old, that Matty Redd had come to me as a fully fleshed-out character. I was wrong, though, and in my adult life, armed with a new mindset and more life experiences shaped by getting older, marriage, and even fatherhood, I realized there was a lot about Matthew Redd that I didn’t know. And one day, I started wondering what, all these years later, he might be up to. I knew I wanted to be a storyteller, and as I researched and began shaping plot ideas, it was clear to me that the perfect character to anchor my story was Matty Redd.

Turns out, Matthew Redd was the same guy I always knew, albeit much older and similarly armed with a plethora of new life experiences himself. Over the course of about a year and more than 100,000 words later, I explored who he is but also what message he might want to send. That, coupled with a story idea I had in mind about a mystery set in Montana that would lead to a global conspiracy, turned into Fields of Fire, my debut novel—and the first book in my Matty Redd thriller series—set to hit bookstores on September 6.

I’ve met a lot of people over the years who tell me there’s a story they always wanted to tell or maybe a plot concept they had come up with but never explored because they never got around to it for one reason or another. My message is always the same and one that I truly believe in: Do it! It’s never too late, by the way, so what’s stopping you? There was nothing out of the ordinary about me that led to me being an author. At the end of the day, I’m just an adult version of the same kid who took a creative writing assignment way too far in high school, only now I do it for a living. You can too. Start one page at a time. One chapter a time. Write and don’t give up. First drafts don’t need to be good; that’s what editing and second drafts are for. Just keep at it, and don’t ever give up.

By the way, that same principal—who I greatly admire—who suspended me is now my kids’ principal. And it turns out, Matthew Redd is the gift that keeps giving. Not only did I get a week off school, but I also got a book deal out of him. Who would have thought, right? Moving forward, I can’t wait to see what trouble he gets into next and to finally be able to introduce him to readers.

About Ryan

Ryan Steck is an editor, an author, and the founder and editor in chief of The Real Book Spy. Ryan has been named an "Online Influencer" by Amazon and is a regular columnist at CrimeReads. TheRealBookSpy.com has been endorsed by #1 New York Times bestsellers Mark Greaney, Lisa Scottoline, Brad Thor, and many others. A resident of Michigan, along with his wife and their six kids, Steck cheers on his beloved Detroit Tigers and Lions during the rare moments when he's not reading or talking about books on social media. He can be reached via email at Ryan@TheRealBookSpy.com.

About Fields of Fire

“You know Ryan Steck as the Real Book Spy. Now, get to know him as the author of Fields of Fire, his debut thriller featuring Marine Raider Matthew Redd in a battle that will leave you speechless and begging for more. Lock and load!” —Jack Carr, Navy SEAL Sniper and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Devil’s Hand

Waiting to be deployed on a critical mission, elite Marine Raider Matthew Redd stops to help a stranger and wakes up hours later to learn his team was wiped out in an ambush. Unable to remember anything, Redd can’t deny the possibility that he’s somehow responsible for the information leak that led to the massacre. He’s given a deal to avoid a charge of treason, but it means walking away from the Corps and the life he loved.

As he faces his loss, Matty gets a cryptic message from his adoptive father, J. B.: “Trouble’s come knocking. . . . Might need your help.” He points his truck home to rural Montana, only to discover that J. B. is dead and the explanation for his death is far from satisfying. Determined to dig up the truth, Redd uncovers a dark global conspiracy with his hometown at the center and no team at his back—except one he might find among past friends, old enemies, and new allies, if he can figure out who to trust.

Releases on September 6, 2022.

Giveaway*

Please leave a comment for Ryan for a chance to win a copy of Fields of Fire.

*Giveaway courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers and is subject to giveaway terms and conditions of Seekerville and Tyndale House Publishers. US Mailing addresses only.

Giving Distinctive Voices to the People in your Head with guest Sandra Orchard

 

 

Hi everyone, Sandra Orchard here. After a long hiatus from blogging, I’m delighted to be back celebrating the release of my 25th novel with a post about voice.

Boughs of Folly is my tenth cozy mystery written as part of multi-author sets. In such cases, maintaining authentic voices for characters, that are simultaneously being written about by other authors, carries unique challenges.

When my first novel released, a family member said she felt distracted while first reading it, because she heard my voice in her head. Thankfully, after a few scenes, my characters took on lives of their own for her, and she forgot about me. But her comment made me ever cognizant of the importance of ensuring the “voices” of my stories are true to the story being told.

So, how do we do that?

First let me clarify what I mean by “voice.” Voice can refer to:

1) An author’s unique style of storytelling that characterizes much of his or her work.
2) A particular story’s narrative voice—i.e. the voice in which the story is told. Or…
3) The characters’ actual voices spoken in dialogue.

The best advice I’ve heard with regards to developing #1 is to not try. Some say your distinctive voice will emerge the more you write. But be cautious about imitating others who you presume know more than you. I’ve observed, especially with newbies, that in our efforts to incorporate all the seemingly wonderful advice we receive from critiquers, we can quickly dilute or lose the fresh voice of our original piece. I suspect this is because when you’re passionate about a story and write with abandon, oblivious to ‘the rules’, your unique voice is given full rein. Editing, on the other hand, uses the left side of your brain and can alter it drastically.

So, instead of searching for your voice (as per #1), I recommend mastering the art of point of view, to help you develop strong narrator and character voices.

Honing this skill has proven invaluable to me in writing multi-author continuities featuring the same main character, including for Boughs of Folly. Now in theory, the first lucky author of a continuity gets to set the tone the rest of us must mirror for each continuing character. And Boughs of Folly is book one in the Jingle Bells Mysteries set. However, the three-book bundle, features long-established characters from the realm of the Chocolate Shoppe Mysteries.

So, I acquainted myself with all the wonderful quirky characters by immersing myself in the original series. The stories are set in Georgia, but the series editor advised me that authors were urged to use a light touch when it came to “Southernisms.” My goal while reading was to know the characters so well, that I’d hear their voices in my head. To that end, I focused on the distinctive nuances of each continuing characters’ voice. These are the same sorts of nuances you can use to create characters that stand apart from each other.

Tip: Sitting in a crowded place, such as an airport or shopping mall, and listening to the conversations going on around you is a great way to discover fresh voices for your characters.

Ready to assess the voices in your stories?

Let’s evaluate your characters’ dialogue first:

Does it vary in sentence structure? Some people talk in long run-on sentences. Some talk in short, disjointed blips. How about vocabulary? Does one character use few words, while another exhibits verbal diarrhea? Do some characters use big words or technical jargon, while others use slang? Does your English professor use perfect diction? Or do you characterize your jock by having him be well read and speak with perfect diction? How about each character’s grammar? Does it vary?

Do characters share the same pet words? They shouldn’t. But this might be the chance for you to use all those adjectives and adverbs, you’ve been trained to replace with strong nouns and verbs. Because in dialogue, your flowery character can be as flowery in her language as you want. Just ensure she’s the only one who speaks that way. Unless of course your sarcastic character chooses to imitate her.

If you choose to give a character a unique dialect, avoid tricky spellings. Instead, show the dialect through word choice, word order and sentence construction etc.

Finally, notice what isn’t in the dialogue. What’s not being said, or the subtext of what’s said or done, often characterizes the reader far more than his or her actual dialogue. In other words, what counts isn’t what your character says, but the effect of what he meant.

If you’re writing a continuity, your editor’s input is invaluable in keeping characters’ voices consistent from one author to the next, and the continuity guidelines will likely determine who the narrator’s voice or voices will be.

Quick tips for Choosing your Narrator

Whether writing in first or third person, the character you choose to narrate the story (or scene) has a huge impact on your story’s tone. In my romantic suspense, where my hero and heroine take turns narrating scenes, I choose the character with the most to lose.

In addition to all the elements of voice discussed above, other elements also come into play in your narrator’s voice. For example, can the reader trust the narrator? Do his thoughts correspond with his speech and actions? Does she have a secret? Is he hiding a sin or regret or deep-seated fear? The more you flesh out your characters with flaws, fears, secrets etc., the more you can layer their emotions into the narrative, so the reader experiences them, too.

Most importantly, have fun getting into character!

Speaking of having fun…

Giveaway:

I’m giving away 25 books as part of my 25th book celebration. Leave a comment or question about “voice” to throw your name into the hat for tomorrow’s draw for a copy of one of my earlier titles.

And…enter the rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win one of 10 copies of Boughs of Folly.

And…stop by my blog to see the free E books and special price promos my publishers are offering as part of my celebration. (current limited time offers—Deadly Devotion is free & Identity Withheld, a Love Inspired Suspense, is $1.99 )

~*~*~*~*~

Sandra Orchard writes fast-paced, keep-you-guessing stories with a generous dash of sweet romance. Touted by Midwest Book Reviews as “a true master of the [mystery] genre,” Sandra celebrates the publication of her 25th novel in 2022. She writes for Love Inspired Suspense, Revell and Annie’s Fiction. And her novels have garnered numerous awards. From Niagara Canada, when not dreaming up fictional characters, Sandra spends most of her time playing with the characters in her real life—aka her little grandchildren.

Connect with Sandra at: website | Facebook | Amazon

About Boughs of Folly:

Jillian Green’s holiday cheer nosedives when her great aunt’s friend, Herbert, is killed while helping them decorate for a fundraiser. But the case is more tangled than a strand of twinkle lights, and if Jillian can’t uncover the killer, Herbert’s night might not be the only one silenced this Christmas.

Boughs of Folly is part of a three-book Jingle Bells Mysteries bundle, releasing June 25, 2022, and sold exclusively by Annie’s Fiction

 

Don't forget to enter to win a copy of one of Sandra's earlier titles by leaving a comment or question about 'voice' below!