Jessica Greyson's Blog, page 7

Author's Alphabet K

K

Kings & Kingdoms
Today I am going to talk about kings and kingdoms. Most of my stories are set in and around kingdom's and sometimes the very throne room itself.

Maybe there isn't a king in your story, however, it is important to remember what kind of role your government plays in any story. Though it might directly play into the story, there is always the underlying heartbeat that government plays in your characters lives. Keep in mind what kind of government is in your country. Republic, Democracy, Communist, Dictatorship....and many other there are to choose from.

Kings, there are some typical stereotypes.
Charitable.
Cheater.
Tyrant.

King's as characters are easy to simply just sketch out a basic king and puppet him around, but if they are closely related to any character in the story it's important to add at least a second dimension of purpose and motivation for what is important to the country.

If your character is a loyal hero, they should carry what the king's purpose is for his nation close to his heart.

Meanwhile, a rebel should want to tear it limb from limb.

Tips for adding depth: Find flaws in what they believe, and truth in what the other side believes and cause them to question who they are and what they are doing.

Author's Alphabet J

J
Justice Systems

Everyone has a just system. You do, I do, your character should too. Understanding how justice systems work in yourself and other people is important in creating strong and moving characters as well as creating action in their hearts.

Your internal justice system is more your personal weights and balances of right and wrong in the world. We all have different scales, and there are points we allow people to cross because they know it's okay in their system...even if it's not right in our own. However, sometimes people will cross your justice system and you will be prompted to action.

People act when their system of justice is violated. You see it all over the world, riots, parades...but also in a much smaller way, it can be why someone loses their temper, makes choices, and pushes people to do things out of their comfort zones.

The other week, I lost my temper...I was surprised that I lost my temper...and then I cried over losing my temper because it felt stupid and immature...and I wondered why. When I knew I shouldn't have...and I should have been able to just talk with the person. It was because they crossed the line of my personal justice system.
They disrespected a mutual authority and made it their excuse for their bad behavior...and I was in shock and the amount of anger that thudded through my body shocked me. Then they called me disrespectful and I kinda lost it...

Needless to say it was a lesson for me a person, as well as with writing...the way I acted didn't feel normal to me...but my system of justice had been violated and I wanted the world to go back to the right place and so it moved me to action...it wasn't the right action but I moved.

What about you? What is a justice system trigger in your characters lives or even your own that prompt them to action?

Author's Alphabet I

I

Info Dumps
Evil info dumps are sometimes necessary in writing.

So how do we write them without making our beloved readers feel like they've been dumped on?

If possible weave it into a conversation, this makes it more interesting, this always works especially well if you happen to have a nosey neighborly character who wants to share all of the news.

Another way to make them not feel so dumped on, is to make sure there is specific background in the story for there to be something at stake for the upcoming information, give the reader those little butterflies fluttering in their stomachs as they read the information realizing this could mean good or bad things for the character who they care for. It's not just an info dump...it's a climatic stepping stone edging your story forward towards the pinnacle of what you've been building up. Try to create info dumps that make readers hold their breath instead of sorting through information trying to figure out how or why it is relevant to them and the story.

Author's Alphabet H

H
Heart
The most important piece of advice I could ever give an author is...heart. Write with your heart, because if you are writing only with your mind, your emotions, your reasoning, your intelect....but if you write with your heart. You will touch a heart.

Heart to heart writing is one of the most powerful and moving things that can be created in the world,

So write with your heart...write with the deepest depths of your being and you will do your best work with no regrets.

Author's Alphabet G

G

Graphics
Graphics are an excellent way to catch people's eyes and getting your book off the shelf or the amazon store and into people's hands.

While it might be meaningful or cute do your own cover...it can bring less than wanted results. I love to design. However when it came to designing my own covers I really struggled with what I wanted and finding it, so I decided to take that control out of my hands and hand it to someone else. That was one of the best choices I made as an author.

I love graphic design and create beautiful covers for other people but for myself all I did was drive myself up walls and into corners. Only recently have I started doing covers for my own work for short stories, because I've been better able to grasp my feelings and control the outcome.

But as an author do yourself a favor and get the best graphics you can afford. It gives you a professional clean and wonderful look that helps you sell your book with confidence.

Music Muse

This is one of the voices that really grabbed me. I heard Anthony's Neely's voice one day and the quality of it gripped me, and since I am living here in Taiwan, I'll take the opportunity to introduce you to a talented American Taiwanese singer.

His voice...I love more ballad sounding songs, and he has a beautiful range, mostly simple music, and some good outright heartbreaking lyrics that make you pause and think. (I also might be a hardcore sad song sap but you know...)

Today, I am going to throw a few songs out there, one of my favorites and one sung in Chinese, where the MV is totally worth watching...it made me wish it was a Taiwanese drama...but it's not it's just a lovely song.

This first song is the one he grabbed Taiwan's attention by winning a national talent contest.





This was the first song I heard him sing.


And this is the Chinese song.

我看見你 I see you

Psalm 32:8

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go;
 I will guide thee with mine eye.

I'll be honest this verse has always puzzled me a little. And the other day I was reading again and I was like. "God, what does this even mean? How can you guide me with Your eyes? Because, God, I can't see where you are looking."
And then it struck me.
I do this all the time with my students.
I guide them with my eyes.
If they are misbehaving, I don't yell at them, I get really quiet and just look at them gently until I know I have their attention and then shake my head, if needed I will say something but often this communication is completely silent.
My students also communicate this way, a questioning look, and I answer with a nod...but they know the answer because they are looking at me.
So it's the same with God. If my focus on him, I'll have the answers I am searching for, I don't need to be looking towards the future and trying to figure out, I don't have to figure out what God is doing I just have to move forward keeping my eyes on Christ. No looking around, no turning this way and that trying to figure out what everyone else is doing. Just focusing on Christ and following his lead...and life will be siimpler...maybe, not easier but simpler because all I need to worry about is focusing on Christ and what He sees for my future.

Author's Alphabet F

FFaith. It's one the hardest things to include in a book well. It's easy to squeeze in namby-pamby prayer and toss in a few scriptures and label it CHRISTIAN FICTION! I know, a lot of authors have worked very hard to create good books...but when they try to add faith to their books it feels so robotic and dead and makes me as a reader want to gag, throw things, and just put the book down.

So how do create a book where fiction and faith meet and mesh.

I think the difference is easy to find. It is this: is the story testimony...or your pulpit?

Testimony stories tend to be rich with refreshing and renewing.
Pulpit stories tend to make one feel frustrated and preached at, they are dry with material but no deep content just words that ring with hollowness.

So how do we make our books rich volumes and not hollow tombs?

First, are you living it yourself? Is this something you've learned? Is this something you've struggled through? Then you certainly have a premise and personal experience where the faith you want to bring across the realness of the subject.

I remember discovering one of my favorite authors. My mom asked me if I wanted to read a certain author's books....I refused. I was sure they were going to be another wishy-washy preachy teen book that I was going to barely gag down, needless to say, my mother followed her intuition, and they were excellent books. The author really challenged me in my faith, and that book helped me to grow. They still have a powerful impact on me today...years later. The difference? She had lived, she is an amazingly sweet, faithful Christian, who didn't use her book as her pulpit but rather as a testimony.

What are you writing? Are you writing things that are challenging you and your readers, or are you using your book as a pulpit?

Found on Pinterest I do not own.
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Music Muse

There is nothing like Josh Groban's voice. I think his was one of the very first voices I fell in love with. It's so beautiful and he can carry so much...

This is one of the more simple songs that JG sings, but I like the message in the lyrics mixed with the slow and cheerful melody. I love the theme of hope that keeps peeking through the lyrics...

It's just so delightful to listen to...it's so optimistic.

Wording Workshop

Hello!
I am going to try and add this mini wording "workshop" on my blog.
I am using the term workshop loosely here. It's not too intense, just a little something I want to improve on in my writing and challenge my fellow writers.

You see, I sometimes struggle with writing description, so often the settings are so vivid in my head that I forget to add any embellishment for the reader.

Sorry for the blurry photo, I am trying to use things I come across in my everyday.So, this is something I've written a description for, but I am curious how you would describe this dish....
Foreign? Traditional? Familiar?

What does it smell like?
Strong? Soft? Is there something distinct or signature about it?

How does it taste?
Savory? Salty? Bitter? Sweet? Spicy? Mild? Rich?Simple? Complex? Home-like?

What ingredients can you identify?

Are you intrigued...repulsed?

What is the environment like?

If you were to put this on a plate in front of your character how would they react?

As a foreigner, my reaction to this dish is always...
Yes, you eat part of this dish with chopsticks