Storyteller & Author

character development

Was it worth it?

Characters, Creative writing, Imagination

Have you ever done something you shouldn’t because you wanted to do something special for someone? Was it worth it? Like ditched school so you could go meet a friend? Or just to make a point? Or have you volunteered for something because it was the “right” thing to do even though your heart wasn’t in it? Have you ever kept a secret that no one should keep? We’ve all done it. Was it worth it?

So many ponderables – was it worth it?

Angelina, Katie, and Trek all made that decision in Jewels of Kidron. In the end, they all suffered from their lack of honesty and authenticity. Now, there’s a word. Authenticity. That word has been tossed around so much that it’s lost most of its stuffing. Most of the time, I have to look it up to be sure I’m using it correctly. I looked it up. Eventually, I got to words like genuine and sincere. I bet I’d get down to “real” if I dug deep enough.

The point is – as you read their story, I’m asking you to determine whether each of them did the right thing and whether it was for the right reason or the wrong reason. And does it really make a difference? Was it worth it? For instance, if you found out that someone stole something because they wanted to give you something special, do you really think it’s that special, or has it been spoiled knowing that it was stolen? In that case, was it really the thought that counts? It can be hard to navigate the line between someone’s poor judgment and the thoughtfulness behind their action. And what do you do when a friend falls off the wagon and does something pretty stupid? Something really wrong. What do you do then?

Answers or just more questions?

I can’t answer that for you. You might find the answer in Jewels of Kidron https://satiamapublishing.com/product/jewels-of-kidron/. Like every author, I hope the story I have written will cause you to pause, think, and become aware of choices and consequences you might not have considered. I do know making good choices can be painful.

I’m anxious to find out if your conclusions are different than mine. Let me know what you come up with in the comments.

Things I’m reading and watching to prepare for my next two books:

The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes https://www.amazon.com/Librarian-Burned-Books-Novel- is very thought provoking in regards to how people had to weigh their own safety against the evil done to their friends and neighbors in Nazi occupied Europe. This makes me think about how my characters deal with right and wrong.

Wings by Aprilynne Pike https://www.amazon.com/Wings-Aprilynne-Pike/dp/0061668052 It is important to read how other authors have melded the real world with the world of fantasy making it a good read for young adults.

Netflix – The Dragon Prince https://www.netflix.com/watch/80212353? This is a wonderful example of reflecting the diversity of today’s society in a way that is natural and without a lecture or sermon.

When The Window Has Flung Open

Creative writing, Imagination, Writers Block

The window has flung open, and characters have arrived en mass. The downside to overcoming writer’s block is that all the ideas wandering around in my head leap out at once and want to play. They are so compelling. Each one offered to help with the story.

     Yesterday, walking to the chicken house, I met a unicorn. I didn’t recognize it at first because its horn was missing. It went on to ‘tell’ me it had shed its horn when the trouble in the Enchanted Woods started in book two. It’s essential to hide one’s identity now and then. It offered to help rescue Angelina and Katie when they got into trouble. Notice it is when, not if. How well my characters know each other. Noting that it had kept its wings intact, it offered a few scenarios that would be good for the story. Then, the unicorn disappeared.

     Sometimes this goes on all day. Various creatures pop into my head and out again. My imagination key has opened the lock, and the window has flung open for any fantasy critter to barge into my head. This can be very confusing! I’m sure you’ve experienced what a friend called the monkey in my brain. Putting that monkey back in its jungle is hard. Those little critters are so engaging and very hard to catch. But it must be done.

     Now that the window has been flung open, I must take charge. This is not the time to play with every little critter and storyline that has rushed in. They all must go. There is a time and a place for all of them, but not necessarily in this story. This sounds like a call back for an audition; as I think about it, that is precisely what it is. Every one of them has auditioned for this book. I must stay focused on the story as I know it today, but it was fun to play with all those characters, even if it was just for a moment.

Things I am reading or watching to prepare for my next two books:

Jewels of Kidron by Susan Miner – https://satiamapublishing.com/product/jewels-of-kidron/ Why would I read my own book? You, dear reader, are going to expect to find continuity from one book to the next, and I must not disappoint. Even though they take place three years apart, there must be a flawless flow from one to another.

AI artwork – I was curious about how it works and what it could do in this context. I have since found out that in my grandson’s teenage group of friends, AI artwork is frowned upon since, in their opinions, it takes work away from live artists. I will be making the switch to photos, paying for most of them that I post.

Weaving A Tangled Web

Creative writing, Imagination

A challenge for writers is getting caught up in weaving a web of storytelling and losing sight of the story which results in weaving a tangled web. We use charts, sticky notes, notebooks, and vision boards. Then there are the characters that just show up. Mine show up most often when I’m walking to the barn or driving. I hear entire conversations between characters in the car. And they are excellent! But, of course, I can’t write them down, so I hope it all comes back to me when I’m at my computer.

I met a new character a few weeks ago. She’s a wizard living in a cave in the Forbidden Woods. Or, at least, I thought that’s who she is. I pondered why she lived in a cave, not a village like everyone else. Was she the one who was creating the Forbidden Woods? Yes! That was it. She’d been bullied by some other women and decided to show them what evil looked like. She was making the Enchanted Woods die and changing all the critters of the soil into oversized creepy crawlies. That would be fun to write and so cool, but in this story, my gut told me it would be weaving a tangled web if I followed her for too long.

Last night, in that twilight where many authors dream of stories, just before sleep, I wondered why all that mattered to Angelina, Katie, and the others living in the Enchanted Woods. I know it matters to her – her name is Carlina, by the way – but does she belong in this story? And, now that I know her better, I don’t think she is the type to stoop to revenge. I think she is wise enough to dismiss the bullies for who they are and get on with her role in the woods. She’s a conduit to nature. Right now, she has more important things to think about than worrying about what a couple of old biddies are saying about her behind her back. My gut was right.

A good story should be like a perfect spider web, all the strands of the story weaving from one to the other until they all converge at the center. The center is when you, the reader, close the book and sigh with satisfaction. I had created something messy instead of weaving a tighter story web.

Even though rewrites are sometimes challenging, there is nothing a writer loves more than writing!

Susan

Storytelling Of Safe Places

Characters, Imagination, Magic

Finding A Safe Place

As writers, we often practice storytelling of safe places. Often, reality intrudes on the world of my magical storytelling, where I envision a safe place for raising farm animals. My friend called me sobbing, something had gotten into her pole barn and killed most of her chickens and ducks. Turkey, her turkey, had done her best to protect everyone, evidenced by the amount of feathers on the ground. However, not every critter died immediately, and she needed help putting them out of their misery. I grabbed a shovel and a live trap and ran to help.

These things happen when you live on the edge of wildlife territory. Rightfully so, they want it back. And they’re hungry. Two ducks, a male and a female, survived along with this chicken, Cora. The ducks went to live in the garage, where a pool and a pen were set up for them. Cora came to our chicken house under a Poultry Witness Protection Program. Immediately, my friend retrofitted the pole barn with security measures to prevent another attack. A mink was caught in the live trap the next day and rehomed many miles away.

Even Chickens Get PTSD And Need To Find Safe Places

Cora joined my chickens in their house, and they accepted her without fuss. My concerns developed at dusk when I went to the barn to put everyone up for the night when I could not find Cora anywhere. I checked all the corners behind the plywood stacked against the wall. I pulled the metal nesting box away from the wall, thinking she might be behind it. Nothing. Next, I searched the outside chicken yard for breaches under the fence. Where could that chicken be? My chicken yard is supposed to be a safe place.

Fear Often Drives Creativity

Finally, I gave up putting my hope in her coming back in the morning. That’s when I reached down to get the feeder to hang it up for the night. I found Cora. Deep in the feeder she had curled up in a ball on the scratch. She had found a place where she felt safe. I left her there, where she slept for two nights, only coming out to join the flock during the day. And thus began more magical storytelling of safe places.https://www.facebook.com/susanminer.twinpine/videos/631597869690493

Characters Show Signs Of Creative Self-Care

As an author of fantasy books with elements of realism, I can’t gloss over the lingering effects of the abuse Angelina and Katie experienced in book one, The Jewels of Kidron. They survived, and their abusers got what was coming to them. But regaining a sense of control and self-confidence takes time. No magic will make that fear and need for caution disappear. In book two, working title – Caves Of The Forbidden Woods, the girls must work through their healing, finding their own safe places, mostly in their minds. These two girls are very courageous. How creative will they be? I can’t wait to see how they do it, and I, once again, get to do more magical storytelling of safe places!

A One-sided Conversation

Characters

We’ve all done it. Had a one-sided conversation with an unseen someone, most often a rehash of an argument or a replay of the things we wish we’d said but didn’t think of at the time. For some of us, it’s in the shower where we can sob without anyone interfering. For others, it’s in the car or the classic – during a phone call with a trusted friend we know will take our side no matter what.

     I eavesdrop. Not on people but on my characters. Not too long ago, I was thinking about the trail Angelina and Katie would be taking when I “saw” them start up the hill. The voice in my head said, “They’re leaving. I’d better catch up.” I “tagged” along and overheard an entire conversation. They were arguing. It was more like exchanging points of view. Angelina was groaning about the task she’d been given, and Katie was expressing her exhaustion at listening to Angelina whine all the time. It was the perfect one-sided conversation, listening to them without stepping in to resolve the argument.

This method is kind of like wearing those 3-D Oculus goggles. I “turned” to see who was with them and met a group of young people, a couple of teenagers, and a few younger children. I wonder what they think of this trek they are on. So I eavesdropped on them, too.

     As a practicing interior designer, I hesitated to tell clients, especially their husbands, that I “hear” musical instruments in a room. A big, overstuffed chair might “sound” like a tuba, while a pair of delicate French tables might “sound” like piccolos. My first language of art emerged when I was about eight, and my mother got us season tickets to the symphony. I was bored to tears, so I would sit in the dark with my eyes closed and try to identify the instruments as the orchestra warmed up before the performance. As a designer, I started with an art I knew and translated sounds into furniture. Now, as an author, I eavesdrop. I don’t talk about it much. I don’t want my readers to think I’m crazy.

     If I write words as they come to me in my head, they sound like me. For instance, I type in whole words but talk in contractions. If I listen to my characters speak to each other, I hear their voices. I hope you do, too. The fascinating result is that the voice I hear isn’t going to be the same as the voice you hear. You become a party to a one-sided conversation. The surroundings I describe will give you a glimpse, but you will fill in the details as you see them. That is what makes reading so amazing. And I have to tell you, as a writer, I am thrilled when you see something I didn’t see.

There is a scene in Jewels Of Kidron that calls for water. I “turned around” and saw something that would be a solution. One of my readers said she saw using that same solution as a brave act of defiance. When I thought about it, she was right. She showed me an element in my story, the one I wrote, that I wasn’t aware of. I’d love to hear what you think when you get to it.

     The best stories are ones where the writer and the reader are each a party in the conversation. I listen to hear your version while I write.

Susan

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