Chris Rogers's Blog, page 25

Treachery that Lurks Within Beauty

Yesterday, on leaving Casper Wyoming, I drove alongside the North Platte River. It truly is beautiful, especially where the shallows wind around rocks and boulders. If you caught the news report, you know it was in those shallows that children were playing when a young boy became caught in an undertow and drowned.

While I rarely take stories of fiction from actual events – and I certainly wouldn’t exploit a family who has suffered such terrible loss – the storyteller within in me can’t help responding to the notion of danger lurking beneath beauty. Not that it hasn’t been written before, many times. The beautiful woman who turns out to be a black widow. The lovely, talented, perfect family that, behind closed doors, is bullied by a domineering patriarch. The snowy mountain drive that ends in a treacherous cliff. Such dichotomy continues to be intriguing.

So my next story will likely include some sort of danger lurking with beauty. Can I pull it off?

Maybe. Maybe not.

5 Possible Steps

1. Show the result of a terrible situation, perhaps an “accidental” injury.

2. Introduce a trio of characters, perhaps, all equally innocent on the surface.

3. Reveal secrets that point to one or more of these “innocents.”

4. Lead the story narrator, detective, or other focal character – and thus the reader – to suspect one individual over the others, then show this person to be somehow incapable of such an act.

5. Twist the ending so that the person least suspected is revealed to be the culprit – OR – the person suspected first and proved innocent is actually guilty – OR – all three have somehow conspired to get away with this treacherous deed and place blame on someone else.

Creating a mysterious knot then unraveling it is what makes writing so much fun. With novel-writing, I always have a plan. In writing short stories, I’m often as surprised as my readers by the ending. I’m eager to see where this one leads me.  

 

 

Book and Art Lovers Make First Private Show a Big Success

Thank you to everyone who attended yesterday. You made a private art show and book pre-launch into an event to remember.

The only “oh-no” moment occurred when I had to tell readers there was only one Advance Reader Copy of Emissary and the book would not be released until December, when they can get it from Wyoming bookstores.

“Just in time for you to give it to me for Christmas,” a guest told her husband.

The Barricks’ neighbors began arriving at 4 pm on the dot, then friends stopped in after work – hungry, of course. Fortunately, Connie Barrick is more of an artist with food than I am with paint, so the fare was not only gorgeous and scrumptious but also inexhaustible – despite several big appetites.

“A good time was had by all,” as the saying goes, and after the last guest departed, one-third of the art show had sold out.

This is where you get a confession: It’s hard to let go of pieces you’ve created and lived with for several months. Some of my favorites received the little red dots during the night that marked them “sold.” Is it possible to be sad and happily ecstatic at the same time?

In the end, it feels good knowing they’ll be gracing the walls of art lovers here in Wyoming, where I can visit them each year when I travel north from Texas.

Again, thank you – until next time.

    

Hanging in There Often Pays Off

I’ve found that some stories or paintings start out great but hit a wall along the way. At those times,

It’s easy to bail out, hang it up, lose momentum – in other words, quit.

Finishing has its rewards, even when the outcome isn’t perfect. What we learn from our mistakes – as a good friend and great writer recently reminded me – is usually more profound than what we learn from successes.

The painting I struggled with yesterday is coming along nicely now – not finished but past the “quit” mark. I have a couple of stories knocking around that reached similar stages. Unfinished but … I know there’s something good lurking and waiting to emerge.

After I finish this commission, I’m ready to tackle those stories and discover whether they’re ready for print. The deadline for publishing Death Edge 3: 7 Teeth-Chattering Stories of Suspense is coming up fast.

 

Testing a Theory: Experimentation is the Mother of Knowledge

Away from home with a need to paint, I found myself scrambling for supplies, specifically watercolor paper 18”x24” minimum. My usual choices (Arches or Strathmore) weren’t available in this size, so I decided to experiment with a brand I’d never heard of. Not a great experience.

Working in acrylic paint thinned to mimic water, I tried applying washes in various tried-and-true ways. No good. Even when pre-dampened, it absorbed the color in dull splotches.

Okay. I’ve worked in many styles, so I decided to coat the paper with acrylic gel before applying the color. Suddenly the vibrancy I wanted was there, and I liked the textures created by a decidedly uneven gel application.

Until I started painting the face . 

Because the gel prevented the color from absorbing but didn’t completely obliterate the paper’s natural texture, my musician’s face appeared pock-marked.

Phooey! Back to the easel with fresh knowledge and a greater appreciation for excellent paper.