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Subplots and Storylines – August 2015

Tracey Dyck 12 Comments
Well, it appears that I am two days late getting this post up. But you patient questers don’t mind too much, right?
August. How shall I begin to describe thee? Thou art fleeting as the wind, capricious as the sea . . . Ahem. Now that I’ve got that Shakespearean hooey out of my system, I believe I can articulate myself in a more contemporary manner.
This month began on a relaxing note, what with family holidays (which I documented HERE). It was lovely to take some time off from life’s busyness together. One thing I forgot to mention in that vacation post was the night we had a campfire–complete with s’mores, naturally–and took turns telling each family member something we loved/appreciated about them. It brought on tears for some of us, and remains one of my favorite memories of the vacation.
And then it was back home–back to work! writing! movies! corn on the cob! Don’t laugh. Fresh corn on the cob, salted and slathered with butter, is one of the very best things on God’s green earth.
But I know you all have much more pressing questions than “what did you eat?” Unless you are Cait of Paper Fury. Because that is probably her primary question for everyone. (Pst, go check out her new blog design–gorgeous!) But the rest of you folk may be wondering . . .
What did you watch?
Too much.
  • A bunch of rewatches, which I mentioned in that vacation post.
  • The last three Indiana Jones movies. As with many things, I was late getting on that particular train. Those iconic adventure movies are pretty great, though, even when they make me howl with laughter over the leaps in logic and unintentional bits of hilarity. Indy, please explain to me how you and your crew managed to float down not one, not two, but THREE successive waterfalls without losing each other in the current or, excuse me, killing yourselves. While I’m asking questions, here’s one for Spielberg and Lucas: what possessed you to mix aliens into the fourth movie? But I digress. I did quite enjoy the Indiana Jones films. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is probably my favorite.
  • Rewatched Mockingjay: Part 1 with my brother, and remembered exactly why I can’t wait for the final Hunger Games installment.
  • Rewatched Teen Beach Movie with my sisters, Mom, and honorary aunt. It was a girly night, okay?
  • Because my littlest sis went off to camp for a week, us three oldest had the leisure of watching a number of older-audience movies. (Who am I kidding, we needed a diversion from all the tears cried over Kitty’s absence.) So we watched The Amazing Spiderman, Thor: The Dark World, and then we gals watched Pride and Prejudice.
  • Finished the first season of Once Upon a Time. I can’t say anything more here, otherwise it might swallow up this entire post, and it’s supposed to be a balanced summary, not a TV show review. (But my poor heart . . .)
What did you read?
Paige Torn by Erynn Mangum. A fun little bundle of chick-lit, and for all you gals who don’t prefer that sort of thing, you might find enough depth here to make this worth your while. I really identified with the main character Paige. Plus, Erynn Mangum’s writing is just hilarious.
 
The Spirit Well by Stephen R. Lawhead (Book 3 in the Bright Empires series). Another brilliant piece of the Bright Empire series! Things are building toward an epic climax, I tell ya.
 
Golden Daughter by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. Words cannot express how amazing this novel is. But I shall try to employ those feeble tools in effort to do so anyway. This book, with its pseudo-eastern culture (I’m not learned enough in that sort of thing to pinpoint its exact inspiration–probably Japanese or something), definitely had a different feel to it than the previous installments. Yet it was so distinctly Goldstone Wood, and it shed light on some very important elements of the series. I just might have to write up a book review . . . or more like a reaction post, because a review implies that there may be some negative opinions. And I have zero of those.
 
Mindwar by Andrew Klavan. I’m excited that this is the first of a trilogy, since his last few books have been standalones. Sci-fi-ish videogame stuff allows for a fantasy feel in some portions of the story, and the villains are wonderfully creepy. I started off wanting to hit Rick Dial (main character) upside the head, but he straightened out by the end. There were some nice allegorical elements worked in, encouraging readers not to live by their feelings, and demonstrating the power to be found within us because of Christ.
 
Above by Leah Bobet. *le sigh* I wanted to like this book. I did. I stuck it out to the end, hoping that the unique writing voice and cool elements would make it worthwhile. But poetically off-kilter sentences and people with crab claw hands, lightning powers, or transforming-into-a-bee abilities were not enough. Or I should say, they might have been, had the book not veered into hot-button-topic territory. (Talking to ghosts. A weird, almost-séance scene. Mental disorders, which isn’t a bad thing to address, but just didn’t quite click here. Gender issues. That one jumped out of nowhere and totally messed up the ending. I couldn’t even figure out exactly what the author wanted to say on that topic.) Also, the cover implies the book is about the girl with bee’s wings. It’s not. She’s the love interest of the main, a lovesick, melodramatic boy named Matthew.
 
What did you write?
Glad you asked! (Er, glad I . . . asked . . . myself?) I didn’t write anything the first half of the month (holidays, y’know), but afterward I got a good bit done in my Sleeping Beauty novella. And guess what? I FINISHED THE FIRST DRAFT. Yay! But guess what else? IT’S EXACTLY 9,934 WORDS OVER THE CONTEST LIMIT. Oh no.
So it’s obvious I didn’t reach my goal of 20k by July 29th. But 30k by August 29th isn’t too bad if you remember I didn’t write a word for ten days. And that I worked a number of the other days. But boy oh boy, do I ever have my work cut out for me. I’ll have to chop off almost a third of the story. Can it be done? We shall see. I suspect my blood, sweat, and tears will stain this blog in the coming month or two.
Oh, and I still do not have a title. This is not good. But I do have a few possibilities I’m toying with, and I hope to settle on a keeper in time to participate in the Show and Tell being hosted this month.
I can’t leave the topic of Sleeping Beauty without sending a big shoutout to my lovely beta readers! Their responses have made drafting this story twice as much fun, and their input on various things has been so valuable. Thank you, gals!
Good heavens, you’ve been watching, reading, and writing so much–have you had time for anything else?
Yes, but the only noteworthy thing was the walk I took with an old friend the other day. We had a great time getting some exercise and catching up on each other’s lives!
So now I must ask you, questers, what your epic quests are for September. How was your summer? Do you have plans for the fall? And if you’re participating in the Five Magic Spindles contest, how’s your entry coming along? I, for one, will be attempting to trim down my inbox and catch up on some beta reading before jumping into edits (ahem, lumberjack practice).

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Subplots and Storylines – July 2015

Tracey Dyck 17 Comments

July has been a string of hot, humid days punctuated by rainstorms. Stepping outside was like hitting a wall of muggy air most afternoons–the temperature has hovered around 30 degrees Celsius (that’s close to 90 Fahrenheit, for all you Americans).

Pea season and strawberry season have come and gone. Fresh sugarsnaps just taste of summer, and a slice of pie stuffed with just-picked strawberries confirms that yes indeed, we are in the midst of summertime. And we can’t forget those few meals that were strictly composed of watermelon and rohl kuchen. (That’s a Mennonite/German dish . . . a deep-fried doughnut-y thing that looks like braided/twisted bread. It’s absolutely delicious with watermelon.)

You’d think these hot days would ooze by slowly, but noooo. July galloped by nearly as fast as May and June. I won’t inundate you with all the details, seeing as much of what filled my month was the same as last time (and the time before that): work, family time, gardening, general life activities, etc.

However, a few new things did happen this month.

My family and I celebrated Canada Day with friends. Snacks, fireworks, more glow sticks than I knew what to do with, and all-around fun times.

I wrote like crazy for my Sleeping Beauty novella–have I mentioned how desperately that thing is trying to grow into a novel??–and am currently at 17k. I hope to reach 20k in the next day or two, if I push hard. Not like that will signify the end of the story . . . The prince is just now on the cusp of going off to rescue the princess. Sound like a problem? It is. Even so, I’ve been having a delightful time unspooling this story, untangling threads and plaiting them into a design that will need some tweaking later not. Plus, Luci and Hadrian and Aleida and all the rest have completely captured my heart.

Recently, one of my dearest friends spent two and a half days at my place, during which time we enjoyed catching up, goofing off, watching both Captain America movies (her first time seeing them!), and bike riding out to a park to do a fun photo-shoot in the heavy July heat. Yes, we made sure to guzzle lots of water.

My two sisters took care of a friend’s little dog for a week, so we saw lots of that adorable pooch here during that time. (Do you know how hard it is to put her in her kennel for night and have to leave her whimpering there? Do you? She’s like a bratty child at bedtime, but how can you say no to that sad little whimper? My sisters had to drag me away.)

It was quiet on the reading front this month–only two novels. Now I know all you bookworms are gasping in horror right now, but in my defense, I was busy and one of the books was Pride and Prejudice.

This is my exact copy, picked up in perfect
condition at a book fair. For $3, that’s a win,
wouldn’t you say?

It took me almost three weeks to read, and every chapter felt like an accomplishment. Not that it was a bad book–not at all! I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s just not the style I normally read, what with long sentences and heavy narration. But the cast of characters is a delight. Spunky Lizzie, kindhearted Jane, enigmatic Mr. Darcy (oh, my dear Mr. Darcy), indolent Mr. Bennet, frantically flighty Mrs. Bennet, adorable Mr. Bingley . . . Plus, the book is surprisingly witty. Can’t go wrong with formal, wordy insults.

The second book is Plain Kate by Erin Bow.

On a whim, I picked it up at the library because the cover was pretty and the blurb interesting. The simple narrative style is deceiving, though. I was expecting the story to sit comfortably on the younger YA level, but the darker themes and sparsely poetic prose nudge it up a bit. Seriously, Ms. Bow knows how to paint a stunning picture. I’m in love with her style. And with Kate herself, an orphaned carpenter thought by the townsfolk to be a witch. Simultaneously gutsy and fearful, this plain-featured girl possesses remarkable skill with a knife. Her cat, Taggle, winds up talking (don’t worry, that’s not a spoiler), and very quickly chose a spot in my heart as well. He’s just . . . very catty. If you’ve met Eanrin from Tales of Goldstone Wood, you’ll understand what I mean; yet Taggle is still his own unique self. Just hear him speak:

“Hello,” he said, then rolled over and peered up at her appealingly. “I am fond of you and present my throat for scratching.”

Besides, he offers to kill things to make Kate feel better. HE IS SUCH A CAT. Anyway, I’m nearly finished. This last quarter is raising all sorts of questions about the “villain.” Such as, should I remove the quotations and consider him an actual villain, or is he merely a sympathetic antagonist?

Well, that about sums up July. Not as much to detail here this time around, which is why I went on and on about books. But that’s a topic we all love, right? (And if you don’t, I must question why you read blogs in the first place, especially the blog of a writer. Stick around and I’ll convert you.)

How was your July? Do you have plans for August? I’ve got a few, one of them being to actually finish Sleeping Beauty’s first draft, title it, and start editing it (a.k.a. chopping it into pieces with my Big Editing Axe). Do tell! I’m interested to hear how your summer’s going. And since we were talking about food–quick, what’s your favorite summer dish?

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5 Reasons Language in Fiction Should Be Wiped Out

Tracey Dyck 22 Comments

When I look over the vast sea of fiction, I find language polluting the waters. Over and over again, it fouls what otherwise might have been a great book. And every clean secular novel I discover is cause for celebration, because they’re so very rare. I don’t know about you, but if there was a machine that could erase every obscenity out of books, I’d press that Big Red Button so fast, nobody would know what hit them.

Whether you’re nodding along right now, or quirking your brow and thinking, ‘Come on, Tracey, stop being a prude,’ I hereby present my case—five reasons language should be scooped out of the fiction ocean like so much overgrown seaweed.


1. It can be a sign of unintelligence.
One doesn’t require much of an IQ to string together a bunch of obscenities. In fact, it shows a much higher level of intelligence to be able to express anger, frustration, surprise, pleasure, etc. with a clean vocabulary. And I’m sorry, but the moment you start cussing, you’ve just slapped a label across your own forehead. You make it harder for me—or anyone—to respect you. This goes for real life, and it goes for books. Every time a character cusses, my respect for that character and for its author begins to drop.


2. It’s uncreative, and it’s lazy.
(Closely tied to the above reason.) It doesn’t take much creativity to let loose a blue streak. “I can’t believe that bleeping bleepity-bleep!” takes way less effort than, “I can’t believe that backstabbing cad! Has he no sense of decency?” Not that one has to be quite so wordy or cheesy about it . . .


3. It’s not that gritty.
Meaning, it takes a lot more than an arsenal of swear words to achieve a sense of gritty realism, if that’s what the author is going for. A strong sense of setting, mood, and character goes a lot further than dialogue full of bleeps.


4. Readership.
Segment A of the population doesn’t bat an eye at R-rated language. Segment B is generally repelled by it. So wouldn’t it make sense to tone down (or eliminate!) the element that’s chasing some of your readers away? Couldn’t you appeal to a wider audience by mopping up your verbiage? I have a boundary when it comes to the swearing in books: cross that line, either in volume or severity, and I shut the book and leave it on the shelf. Most likely never to pick it up again. Mr./Mrs. Author, you just lost yourself a few dollars.


5. In fantasy, it’s often unrealistic.
This one applies mainly to the fantasy genre. I was watching the movie Seventh Son with my dad the other night. It’s high fantasy, okay, with dragons and monsters and a (ahem) typical beast-slaying plot. So when the characters started cussing using modern Earth words, that threw me for a loop! And this isn’t the only movie or book I’ve encountered that’s guilty of this believability-weakening flaw.

But there is a kind of language that I relish in a good fantasy tale–fictional profanity. Disclaimer: please don’t give me cuss words that rhyme with the real ones. I skimmed through the first quarter of a book about little people living in a tree, and characters were dropping thinly disguised swears left, right, and center. Sure, a handful of them had to do with twigs, leaves, and other tree-related things, but the majority of the profanity was so close to the real thing, my brain translated it instantly. This is how NOT to write fictional oaths.

One of my favorite examples of well done fantasy swearing is found in the Tales of Goldstone Wood series by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. Dragons are highly feared and despised in her world, so naturally, they feature in the language. “Dragon’s teeth,” or “Dragon’s eat you, ___!” appear often. So do references to powerful beings: “Lumè love me,” “lights above,” and “Iubdan’s beard,” just to name a few. This sort of language is just so fun to exclaim. The polite characters frown upon such usage, but we as readers don’t. It accomplishes the purpose without even coming near real world equivalents.

So what are your opinions on bookish profanity? Does it bother you? Does it matter? Whether you’re still nodding along at this point, or don’t agree with me in the slightest, I’m interested to hear your thoughts!

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Author Spotlight – Ted Dekker

Tracey Dyck 29 Comments

Ted Dekker, Christian  mystery/thriller/fantasy author, has published over 40 books in the last 15 years. (I’ve read 27 of them so far!) With 10 million copies sold worldwide, methinks this guy knows what he’s doing.

First off, I can’t tell you how much his novels have impacted me as a writer and as a person. Every single book is not one story, but two. First he arrests your attention with a gripping plot and fascinating characters–that’s the surface story, and it’s always strong enough to stand on its own.

But then partway through, you realize that a second story is unfolding beneath the first. I can’t remember reading a Dekker book that didn’t give me at least one “aha” moment. This underlying tale is the one that pulls you to a different vantage point, where you can rediscover something you’ve always known and find refreshment in the new angle. Or, more often than not, it’s the tale that hits your heart like a train, blasting apart some piece of your world and leaving you to sort through the fragments and put them back together the way they were meant to be.

Yes. His books have been that life-changing. Some have even gone so far as to impact how I think, and I find myself using some of his images and terms in the way I relate to God, myself, and the world.

See, Dekker is anything but conventional. If you’re expecting one of his books to fit a certain mold, he simply walks right past it and shows you something else. At times, that ‘something else’ is downright strange, I’ll admit. Boneman’s Daughters kept me up at night. When my dad and I went through a bedtime stories kick a few years back–for old time’s sake, you understand–House, coauthored with Frank Peretti, had a similar effect on me. Showdown, among others, left me looking a bit like this.

And shall we just say that I occasionally wonder about Dekker’s sanity, because of the disconcerting depth of his psychotic characters. Just kidding . . . sort of. 😉

If you’re wondering at this point if the strangeness is worth picking up a Dekker book, I say “yes” and “maybe” at the same time. They’re not for the faint of heart; many of them contain dark portions. But if you’re willing to step into a vivid, wild adventure, do. Because the darkness serves a purpose. In this interview*, Ted says, “All of my stories take someone through a dark valley . . . to discover the light beyond.” All of his characters come to the end of themselves, to a place of surrender. And it is there they find truth.

Redemption.

Freedom.

There is always light at the end, and it shines far more gloriously than it would have without the valley journey.

*I only watched the first half of this interview, because the second half dealt with books I haven’t read yet. Supposedly there are no spoilers, but I’m not risking it! Anyway, the first half was really good.

So. Recommendations? I’m glad you asked! I first read the Circle Series (Black, Red, White, and Green, which is Book 0 and can actually be read first or last). I think it’s a great starting point. Fantasy/real world crossover, beautiful allegory, thrilling plot, devious bad guys. If you enjoy those four books, there are other series connected to this one, mainly: The Paradise Novels (Showdown, Sinner, and Saint); and the YA series called The Lost Books (Chosen, Infidel, Renegade, Chaos, Lunatic, and Elyon–you’ll notice the beginning letters spell circle). I’ve found some hidden connections to this storyworld in other novels as well, but these are the main books.

Another series I highly recommend is one he coauthored with Tosca Lee: the Books of Mortals trilogy. Dystopian with a medieval fantasy flavor, more stunning allegory, and a flat-out amazing premise. Basically, no one feels any emotion except for fear, which is deemed the only emotion necessary to survival. Of course there’s a tantalizing “until . . .” tacked onto that, because certain characters stumble upon a means to reawaken themselves and–that’s all I’ll say for now. Seriously. Go read them now.

If an entire series is too daunting to get into, he’s written a number of excellent standalones. Thr3e is mind-blowing.

I’d say his books are normally upper YA to adult, so if you’re younger than 16, tread with caution. (If I remember correctly, I read Black when I was 14 or 15, which seems quite young to me now.)

Tell me, questers: have you read any Dekker? What did you think? Any favorites, or is his style just not for you? If you haven’t read anything of his yet, feel free to ask questions! There’s nothing a bookworm likes better than to share the wealth of yummy tomes with her fellow bookworms.

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