5 Things I Learned About Writing Reading Contemporary
Contemporary is my jam. Obviously. I’ve written and published 7 contemporary titles. Love them. That also means I read a lot of them. Who am I kidding? I read a lot of everything. But if you were to look at my bookshelves, contemporary takes up a lot of the shelf space.
Not Pictured: The Letters She Left Behind
To avoid redundancy from previous blogs, I tried to keep the points salient and fresh. And while there is some overlap, I’ll explore the topic as it relates to contemporary even though the hope is to examine how the tools work across categories.
Contemporary writers have dialogue down. The whip-snap of witty repartee between characters, the one liners that have me laughing out loud, and the pacing of oral language is often the bread and butter of this genre. For example, Mhairi McFarlane, contemporary romance writer, does this so well. Her ability to showcase not only the words that capture the dialogue, but also showcase characters in their language and interaction with one another is clever and wonderful.
Dialogue is important in any story and can either be a major selling point or a horrific drawback. Dialogue that lags, like excessive passive voice, adverbs, and underdeveloped elements, can break a story. It’s crucial to get it right.
Tip: Reread your favorite author and pay attention to dialogue. Study the “sound”, the rhythm, the dialogue tags.
I haven’t mentioned secondary characters in any of my previous posts in this series, though I should have. Here’s the thing, they are SO FREAKING IMPORTANT! Sometimes I wonder if writer’s just set up cardboard pieces to stand up in scenes for the protagonist to bounce off of (because this is how they are written sometimes: flat and static).
A secondary character that is developed as much as a main character with their own motivations and desires adds layers to the story. Why? Because when the protagonist or villain or love interest is interacting with the character, their motivations are at stake in the interaction even if the reader isn’t focused there. The author has the ability to add this nuance for added depth. And that’s the difference between a good secondary character and a great one!
Want an example? Frederick Backman. Need I say more? Go read Anxious People. With a cast of characters, each one is developed to add depth and layers to the overall tapestry of the whole story. Read A Man Called Ove. Ove is the main character, but in the secondary characters we find the threads of a story. Another master at this, and one of my favorite storytellers, Markus Zusak. Bridge of Clay is spectacular.
Fantasy, science fiction and dystopian writers often talk about their world building bibles. Here’s the thing, contemporary stories require some level of world building, though not in the same way. If I choose to set a story in London, I better know what’s happening in that city and get that representation right, or Londoners are going to wreak havoc in my reviews. Likewise, if I make up a small town, I better flesh that world out so it’s clear. Authors have to know where and when and how, but without dropping the information bomb. So it’s important to have these details clear. One of my favorite recent reads that did this well was If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio. This dark academia, atmospheric piece developed a very clear world that contributed to the overall structure of the contemporary work.
A step beyond the world building is the situational awareness that defines movement within the scene. Being clear on the definitions of time, space, attitudes, environmental constructs in relationship to the character must remain believable in the contemporary setting, but this is a great lesson for other kinds of categorical writing as well. With contemporary specifically, readers will know when something doesn’t fit or work. Their suspended disbelief will come to a screeching halt.
Psychology, like situation awareness, is one of those areas in writing that adds layers to the story. In contemporary stories, characters behave due to motives and interactions. Their reactions and responses are informed not by plot needs alone (hopefully, because if they are, then the reader will see through the author insertions), but by characterization which is often informed by the psychology of the character.
One of my favorite writers, Jeff Zentner, does this really well as does Jennifer Niven along with Mary H.K. Choi. The development and movement of their characters through the prose is guided by the underlying wants/needs/fears/struggles of their character which develop that realism and relatability of a character. This doesn’t mean you need a psychology degree, of course, but doing some research might help, which brings me to my final point.
Look, all authors research and this will come up again when I touch nonfiction and historical stories in upcoming posts. Rather than the nuts and bolts of deep dive research with historical or topic driven constructs, contemporary writers must take time to understand contemporary issues that will run interference against and impact their characters. If I’m tackling September 2001 in my book, I better understand the nuance of 9/11 and its impacts on various groups. If I’m tackling the #metoo and subsequent movements, I need to dive into the issue to understand the context, the intersectionality, and the impact on various characters within the narrative. Failing to do the research and offer perspective is a failure in due diligence as an author to tell the truth.
Here’s a personal example. I have a new contemporary novel coming out later this year called The Messy Truth About Love. I’ve had to research several topics, two of which were childhood abuse and trauma and its effects on children as adults and narcissism and its impact on relationships. These topics reflect real people’s experiences (as will your fantasy hero or your dystopian villain), and it’s important to get them as right and accurately reflected as I can.
Got a favorite contemporary title you think I should check out?
