Since 18 years of age, Mike Davis knew he wanted to be a writer. But it wasn’t until retirement that he began to fulfill his dream.
“With crises at work or emergencies at home, I just never got the time,” he says.
Davis worked various jobs in the intelligence sector before officially retiring five years ago. He remained active – hunting, taking care of his farm and lake home and babysitting his granddaughter – but also wanted to try his hand at the passion he had been putting off. The journey to where he is now certainly had its share of ups and downs.
“The success rate (for getting published) is very slim,” he says. “I gave myself two years; 22 months in, I finally got ‘the call.’”
His first book, “Tainted Heroes” was published in 2007, receiving great reviews. And his second, “Forgotten Children,” earned second place for Best Romantic Thriller of 2008 from Predators & Editors. Now, Davis has 20 books under his belt, ranging in genres from political thrillers and sci-fi to mystery and romantic suspense, and has won numerous awards for his work.
If he’s sitting at home, he’s most likely writing. His favorite spot to write?
“My man cave while listening to new age or light jazz music,” he says.Davis’ storylines most often come to him in dreams. Others stem from things he sees or hears on the news. For him, understanding the human condition is key to being a good writer.
“I think you have to have life under your belt and to have seen things like pain, suffering, sorrow,” he says.
To start a book, he doesn’t begin with creating characters. Instead, he comes up with a theme, then molds the characters around that idea. Thanks to his career, Davis has a knack for patterns and connecting dots, which he is able to do in his books.
If he could only write one genre for the rest of his life, Davis says he would choose romantic suspense. This may sound strange coming from a man, he says, but he’s a sucker for the bond between a man and woman, and isn’t afraid to share his feelings.
“I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to write,” he says. “I’m not one that makes $8 million a year on my books; it’s become clear that I write for the writing, not the money.”
He enjoys reading reviews and meeting fans as well.“I put a lot of heart and soul into my stories, so it’s nice to see people excited about reading my books,” he says.
Davis says that after a while, he goes back and reads his own books. Why?
“The characters, they aren’t just creations in my head; they become my friends,” he says. “And that’s my way to go back and revisit my friends.”For more information on Davis’ books and where to purchase them, visit davisstories.com.
I was having a cup a coffee the other day when a female friend ventured by, tapped me on the shoulder, and continued to the counter to get her own mug of brew. For simplicity, let’s call her Joy. On her return passage by my table, Joy seat down across from me, and began to chat. I love it when my local friends and acquaintances offer idle chit chat. Joy is a sweet but mysterious young lady. She coveys a unique reflection about life and all its complexities. Behind those green eyes resides a spark and compassion that is missing in many of today’s lost souls. Finally she came to a topic we often discuss, my books. You see, she loves to read my stories. I’m not sure whether it’s because she really likes them or because I’m the only author she knows.
Anyway, she began to ask about a character in a particular story (TAINTED HERO) and discuss how touched she was at what happened to this particular person. Then she caught me off guard with the question, “Isn’t it hard to do that?” I smiled with pride, “A little.” Joy continued. “I thought so. I’m not sure I could do that. I thing I’d be crying over the keyboard.” Then I realized the insight of this young women’s inquiry. She wasn’t asking about the creativity process; she was probing into the nature of people to empathize with the plight of others, even if they were some fictional character that was conjured from their own mind. And she was right. I remembered back to when I struggled with that particular scene. I was moved, not to tears, but my throat actually tightened and I wanted to reach through the screen and help the character, and especially to strangle the villain. I was so moved, I actually changed the outcome. In my original outline the female character died, but I was so struck by her and all she had gone through, I couldn’t deal with losing her. She still suffered, but she survived.
Then I realized I had experienced this same heartstring relationship with fictional characters in all my stories. I guess they became so real I empathized with their plight. I know it sounds weird to be moved by a scene evolving out of your own head, but I really do. Some stories more then others, but always to some degree. Maybe that’s why I enjoy that first breath of the story when I initially create the scenes, and see it happening for the first time. I remember in one story (Shadow of Guilt) I was moved to such a degree, I literally had to stop and go outside to split some wood and relieve my anguish. The character was suffering so deeply, her path in life so sad, I couldn’t stand it.
I know that’s strange, especially for a big guy, and I’m not a wussy, but don’t most of us choke up when we see another human suffering. In this case I hated the outcome of the story, but I couldn’t change it. It was what the novel was all about. Without her history, what this poor girl experienced, you had no Shadow of Guilt.
I’m curious if other authors encounter this same heartstring response when their fictional characters undergo pain and sorrow. Or maybe it’s just me. Perhaps I need to get some testosterone injections to reaffirm my guyhood. My wife always did say I was too emotional (g).
For must humans, there’s a place they go to relax, exchange some good words, or just because they feel comfortable there. For example, there’s a little hardware store near my house were all the local males come, like moths to a light. When I was six, it was Charlie’s Shack. My aunts and cousins would take me there to get a moon pie and an RC cola, and a can of snuff for my grandmother. I think most people have a comfort zone that makes them feel welcome and cozy inside.
The other day, I had an epiphany that all my romantic suspense novels possess one common property – they have a comfort zone where the characters return. For example, in FORGOTTEN CHILDREN, it’s a Bar and Grill named Tally’s. The hero and heroine spend a lot of time socializing there, especially on Goobers night every Thursday. In BLIND CONSENT, the hero focused on May’s Emporium, an old country store where the heroine worked. In TAINTED HERO, the hero spent a lot of time in ice cream parlors because he loved to watch the women in his life enjoy sweets. In VEIL OF DECEPTION, it was Ruth’s Place; a convenience store out in the middle of nowhere. In this case, it was an actual place where all the local’s hang out for coffee and a cathead biscuit.
I didn’t notice this pattern in my stories until a reader asked me, “Is there any common theme in the way you create scenes.” Then I realized there is; it’s the use of a comfort zone for the characters. Is that wrong? I don’t think so. As I mentioned earlier, most people have some comfort zone or zones in their lives where they go to get away. Come to think about it, those are the scenes I like writing the most. Maybe it’s just a “me” thing. Perhaps because I relate to gathering holes in my world, it’s just my comfort zone. I’ll have to see if the trend continues in my future stories.
Until I became published, in my novice mind, the process was simple: get accepted, turn the manuscript over and that’s that’s. Yeah, right. Like the iceberg, there’s a massive hulk under the surface that the reader never sees. Forget the promotional activities, forget dealing with the rewrites to satisfy the submission reviewers, forget the Errata reviews, etc. There’s an invisible multiplier to the quality of a finished novel that few would ever understand, unless they’ve had a great Content Editor (CE). I’m one of those lucky authors. I’m smart enough to recognize the quality of a story when I submit it now, and honest enough to admit the contribution made by my CE. It’s not the theme or sub plots. That’s there. It’s the molding, polishing, refining where the true talent of a CE shines through. I will admit; I’ve always had the same editor, Cindy Davis, primarily because I get down on my knees each time and beg my publisher. But I don’t have to work with a dozen different editors to recognize the contribution (and enjoyment) I experience with Cindy. So what does she do? What she does appears simple on the surface, so simple in my first novel I kept hitting myself saying, “Why didn’t you see that, moron.” Then I realized, as an author, seeing the things a CE sees is not a talent I possess. I take pride in the realism of my stories, yet she is able to bring out the hidden possibility that lies beneath the surface. Here are a few examples.
1.Consistency – As an author creating fiction across 300 pages, sometimes you forget that you gave the heroine a black jeep on page 23 and changed it to a red Elantra on page 125, or the hero was born in Maine, then strangely admits he’s never set foot in New England. Yet the CE enforces that consistency across the story.
2.Perspective – What is a story without internal monologue, it’s boring. My CE can ask a simple question, “Did he really forget his wife that fast?” or “Doesn’t she think it’s suspicious that he just happened to have that in his pocket?” Your first response is, “Well sure, the reader knows that,” but when you think about it, no the reader doesn’t. As the author, the images in your mind tell the whole story, but you forget they’re not inside your head. I remember a particular scene in one on my recent novels where the hero is franticly searching for his wife, concerned that some really bad guys have taken her to get to him. In his search, he discovers a possible source by solving a rather obvious puzzle. Well, my CE asked, “Doesn’t he think it’s strange that after everything that’s happened, he was able to stumble upon this answer?” Well of course he does, dah.” Then I realized, she was right. The thoughts, twists, confusion, reluctance, fear that would be going on in his mind were not there and they were damn important to the story. In fact, it lead to an entire new scene I created to convey the hero consciously allowing himself to be trapped because it was the only way to get to the woman he loved. Afterward, both of us stood back and admitted, “damn that’s good” and it was, but it wouldn’t have been without her probing question.
3.Five senses/environment – A simple question to an author - “What was she smelling, what color was it, was there nothing on the walls, did the animal make a sound, etc.” Yes, indeed, such a straight forward question, yet so profound in the reflection of realism in the story. And again you fill like an idiot for not recognizing the void in the first place. Fact is, when your creating the entwined storyline, you forget those special fine brush strokes that really make the story come to life and made the reader become absorbed in the story.
4.POV – Now, this is the killer for me. It’s my mega button above all others and Cindy knows it. She loves to hammer on that button. Out of respect from her insight, I do everything I can to conform to her strict “No POV switches, Mikey” posture. Except in the bedroom. That’s where we fight and argue. You see, I want to be in both the hero and heroine’s head because I am into the sensual elements (I’m a guy, if I’m going to reflect romance, got to be an intimacy side, cause that’s how us guys demonstrate love in our minds). I want to know what’s going on in both their minds, (after all, we boys and girls are such different creatures).. So that’s were our battles occur, over and over again.
5.Fun factor – In 98% of the cases, I truly enjoy the interaction with my CE. She’s witty, smart, has a neat sense of humor, and can take my loving male jests with a fleer. Except for POV. Then I just sigh, shake my head, and attempt to comply in all but a few cases.
All and all, I really feel we work on a project as a team, and I consider myself lucky to have hit the jackpot on the first roll of the dice. I know the stories came out of my warped mind, but by the time we’re done, it’s our story, and I think she feels that way too, otherwise, how could she read it over and over so many times. I also sense that exposure to sure a talented person has allowed me to expand my horizons as an author. I find myself asking, “Given they just tried to kill him, wouldn’t the hero be seeing dragons behind even turn of the road?” Or, “no Mike, you started in Ryan’s head and he wouldn’t be thinking of himself as the young man.” But I also recognize, I have to be careful. Swell a woman’s head too much, and you’ll pay for it in the end.
So this round of brew is to you, Cindy, girl. And remember, you still own me lunch, although I honestly forgot what the bet was, but I didn’t forget I won.
Deception Michael Davis Davisstories.com Author of the Year, 2008
Sometimes, the story behind how a novel came about can be interesting as well. Here's an explanation for how our new release VEIL OF DECEPTION was born and its connection between myself and co-author Candace Morehouse. Hope you enjoy it.
It was a gorgeous day in early spring and I was seating on my porch watching a brood of freshly hatched ducklings trail behind a pair of mallards in front of my dock. There were two mourning doves cooing in my cinder tree, the bass were spawning at the back of my cove, and I was sipping on a Killian’s Red in a frosty mug. Live was looking good.
On my radio, I heard a reminder of a horrifying unsolved mystery still haunting the county adjacent to where I lived. It reminded me of the evil that waits on the borders of our civilized world for the opportunity to reach out and destroy innocent lives. At that instant, there was a splash in my cove. When I turned back, where there had been a line of five sets of small paddling feet, now there were only four. Nature, with all her exacting reality had taken a life from an unsuspecting family to feed the blind hunger of another of her beasts.
The parallel between what I had heard on the radio and what was unfolding in my small cove as two parent mallards searched for an offspring they would never find, was quite moving. The juices began to flow for a new story, one based on the hidden dangers all around us, but it had to be anchored in truth and blended with a romantic core, otherwise, why write it. Then it hit me. In many relationships, deception can be the match that burns love to a cinder. Whether it’s an attempt to deceive our mate, or a lie to fool ourselves, deception can only foster pain. In the same way, evil deeds are generally carried out through a veil of deception, and the plot for a gut wrenching romantic suspense was born.
I had previously discussed the opportunity to collaborate on a novel with an author friend. The concept was that I would write from the male POV and she from the female POV. Both of us recognized the difficulty to realistically reflect what was in the mind of the opposite gender. So I offered we attack the VEIL OF DECEPTION as our first project. Problem was, she thought it was too sweet from my verbal explanation. So, I prepared a detailed outline with the finality chapter, sent it to Candace and it knocked her socks off, and we began.
We both recognized the pitfalls of two authors, especially a man and woman, hammering at the others work. Fortunately, we were professional enough to accept constructive offerings, plus didn’t hurt to establish a few rules. Bottom line was, two separate minds were more capable of spotting flaws in a script and we had a ball. We were no longer isolated in a cave visualizing some fiction world, we were there together, and it was better than writing alone. No, it was actually fun. I would write a chapter, she would read it and laugh her butt off, write a response, and I’d wet my pants reading her characters reaction to my character. And the bedroom scene, oh boy did that get hot.
Was the collaboration effective? We thought so, until the publisher submission reviewers read the script and they literally raved about the story. That was a first and validated that the experiment had worked. The romantic suspense VEIL OF DECEPTION will be released in Jan/2010. For a preview, check out the excerpts provided at Davisstories.com or CandaceMorehouse.com, and remember: Sometimes truth cuts deeper than a lie.
There’s something suspicious going on at Spenser Lake. People are disappearing and their bodies are never found. The fear and uncertainty of who will be next is affecting every resident of the tranquil community, but especially Kurt Hawkins. Two years after his wife goes missing, there are no clues, only the nightmares of what happened in her last moments. The constant guilt that somehow he was responsible precludes any thought of a normal life until he meets Danielle Gillette, a reclusive author with a rather large skeleton in her own closet. When the secret is finally revealed, they both discover that sometimes the truth cuts deeper than a lie.
EXCERPT 1
He walked past the lat machine to the open doorway and scanned the empty hallway beyond. Muffled sounds, like distorted voices, emanated from the end of the corridor. He inched along the wall, pausing at each step, until he recognized the noise as a television blaring in the distant room. His shoulder brushed a framed poem on the wall. It jarred loose and leapt for the solid oak floor, but his skillful fingers darted out and intercepted the unintended alarm before it could signal his approach. He examined the cross-stitched writing, To my Beloved Wife, Crystal, and grinned. He placed the frame on the floor against the wall and continued his journey quietly, deliberately, toward his objective ten feet away. Finally, he peered cautiously through the crack provided by the partially opened door, but quickly pulled back when he saw a shapely female tying the reflective laces on a pair of pink tennis shoes. He watched her pull long, silky, blonde hair back into a ponytail, then start a series of stretching exercises while she paid partial attention to the local news report on the wide screen television.
The mysterious disappearance of twenty-one-year-old Amber Campbell from the Brandon College campus four months ago still baffles the Piedmont County Sheriff’s Department. Yesterday, I interviewed Sheriff Lundgren regarding leads as to the whereabouts of Ms. Campbell.
“Sheriff, is there anything you can share about this case with our viewers?”
“Nothing substantive. We’ve investigated dozens of phone calls and potential sightings, but they all resulted in dead ends.”
“Can you speculate on the cause of her disappearance or give us some idea as to what might have happened?”
“Nothing solid. It’s possible Ms. Campbell was suffering from some emotional stress, perhaps the tension of her heavy course load, a fight with her boyfriend – who knows. We’ve seen it before where a young girl runs offs and reappears months later in some other state.”
“Is that what you think happened: that she ran away?”
“We just don’t know at this time.”
“What about her boyfriend, is he a suspect?”
“We’re not ruling anything out at the moment.”
“No leads, only dead ends; just more sad words for the waiting parents of a beautiful young girl with a promising future. This is Jamie Davis, local reporter for WSDY, channel 12.”
His eyes locked on the swaying motion of her rear taunting him to reach out and stroke those feminine curves. Then something penetrated his nose. Even from this distance, he sensed a sweet fragrance; a faint blend of tangerine and lime: her shampoo.
The lure of her tiny waist and firm buttocks contorting with each bending motion worked their magic. He could no longer deny his thoughts, or his fantasies. She would resist at first, wrestle against his superior strength. Finally she would accept his offering and they would merge as one. The vision of her smooth, shaved legs entangled around his waist flooded his brain along with the sensation of her muscles tightening while she squeezed and surged in rhythm with each thrust, further, deeper. The thought of it was too much.
He wanted her. No, he needed her. Beneath him. He needed to take her completely and resolve the urge racing through his loins. The buzzing in his ears and the blood throbbing in his temples drummed out all reason.
Without a sound, he edged forward. As she started to turn, he reached out and locked her tightly around the waist from behind, his massive arms gripping like a vise. She gasped and tried to escape, but it was useless. His warm hand slid down inside the elastic band of her jogging shorts, and the sensation of her cool, smooth flesh drove more blood straight into his groin.
Strange thing happened the other day. I picked up one of my novels that I hadn’t touched since it came out in paperback. For some reason, I had a yearning to visit the words and lines again. It was like there was something missing and for some weird reason, I just wanted to re-read the story. I know, after proofing and editing the thing three dozen times, you’d think I’d never go near it again, but as I got about a quarter way through, that empty feeling started to diminish. Then it hit me. I actually missed the characters. It was if I had been away from best friends and missed the comfort they brought me whenever they were around.
Yeah, I know, very particular, but in my head the characters exist; they’re not just fictional images I conjured up in my head, they are flesh and blood, and I miss them.
I wonder if other authors ever sense that absence of the friends that came to life in their stories and go back to revisit the words and lines again. Nah, probably just the weirdo big guy (g).
Like most readers, I want to be taken away from my everyday world when I dive between the pages. The words and images must grab me and not let go. Few authors can do that for me anymore with the thousands of books I’ve read. That’s one of two reasons I don’t read as much fiction as I did twenty years ago (the other is a lack of time given I’ve become consumed by my own demanding muse). So what is it that envelops my mind and encourages me to escape from my life until I reach the last word of a story? Three things:
1. The Voice – The cadence and rhythm of the words must sing in resonance with my inner self so that I am comforted by reading vs. seeing.
2. Realism – Whether its SF, thriller, romantic suspense, doesn’t matter; the descriptions, the characters, the scenes must appear realistic and complete enough that I can form vivid flowing visions in my head.
3. Struggle – The characters most be flawed, if not they’re unreal and incapable of creating empathy with their plight
All three are important to me as a reader, and I would assume the same could be said of many readers. Now, voice is very important, but I don’t find that to be the most difficult in creating my stories. That just seems to come natural, maybe because the voice that goes on paper is actually the voice running in head (I know, I’m a weird dude). However, as a writer item 2 and 3 above require the author to walk two tight ropes, and accordingly are the most difficult to achieve without going to far.
The first tightrope requires balance between too much or too little realism. If we go to far in realism or in the character’s struggles the reader can be insulted, revolted, or overwhelmed with the imaginary. Go to little and the reader becomes uninterested, bored, or remains outside the story. The second tightrope deals with balancing the story with our own belief system or morality, which may not be in tune with the latest fad or the PC police. Need an example? I’ll give you two:
1. My first novel, TAINTED HERO, was about an officer in the special forces conflicted between the modern dilemma imposed by social norms of right and wrong. The story was very real, given the hero and heroine were based on actual people I know, and the struggle was close to what often runs through my spirit. The novel did quite well in that it received six 5 star reviews and the realism of the story and characters was cited very positively by all reviewers, except one. She was horrified. Her contention was that it reflected too positively on our military especially given that they were fighting a war and killing people in Iraq (I kid you not). Now, in creating this story, I recognized the tightrope dealing with the parts of the novel going against some of the more extreme elements of our society that do not respect the military the way I do. You see, for 25 years of my career I worked side by side with men and women that gave everything of themselves, including their lives, for the country they love. I knew that reflecting the truth, the way they really are, their lives, their sacrifice, might anger some but one has to be true to their own belief structure or how can you look in the mirror. In all my stories I do walk the PC tightrope, but sometimes I fall into the pit of telling it like it is, and I do hear about it, but I can live with that.
2. In my novel FORGOTTEN CHILDREN, one powerful scene near the end of the story focused on two characters dealing with their imperfect nature. The female had stayed with a player male even thought she knew his nature was not to commit, and the male exhibited a roaming personality (no, this one was not derived from me, I’ve been hook to the same woman all my life). Now, both these characters are real. I have a sweetheart of a female friend that “Sandra” was modeled after, and ‘Jim’ was a real life womanizer that I once knew. Just before this scene, Jim was offered a bitter taste of what his behavior was doing in terms of the women he used by none other than his best friend (wonder who that was). The reader learns there is a reason for his callus behavior; not an excuse but demons of his own that have blinded him to the pain he’s caused in others and himself. Jim has an epiphany about his live, what he’s become, and what he’s done to so many caring hearts. The scene is very powerful because his eyes are opened and he realizes Sandra is what he wants and, well you’ll have to read the story. Point is, although the book was received well by reviewers (gave me 5 stars) and readers, a couple readers did not relate to that particular scene. Their reasoning was they didn’t like a woman allowing herself to be used like that. Truth is, I struggled with that very issue when I wrote the book, but Sandra’s flaws and Jim’s blindness are real life and made the final surprise outcome extremely moving. I did walk the tightrope, but felt the realism was important to that scene and left it in the story.
Why would anyone selectively leap off the tightrope? Like I said, those elements are difficult to a writer in trying to achieve an acceptable balance for the reader. But sometimes you have to take a risk for your own sanity, say the hell with it, and jump one way or the other, and accept you may hear about it later. After all, you can’t please everyone all the time (g).
I’ve read on many of the author forums of people seeking advice on how to overcome the inevitable condition know as writers block. I’m very fortunate in that, after six novels and three short stories, I have yet to encounter that roadblock. The stories seem to just float around in my head like fluttering butterflies.
Still, until I get the first three or four chapters under my belt, I’m becoming more and more resistant to lock myself away in the back room and bury my brain in the fictional world. That’s to be expected given how isolated authors become once they’re in the zone. There’s one area where the pressure required to force my big butt to stay glued to that chair is more than just simply twisting my own ear; its an all out war.
This battle between me wanting to get the story in my head down on paper and yet pushing away from the keyboard on selected scenes has happened on each novel I’ve written, but it was only after my third story that I realized why I was pushing back. You see, as a rule, I’m a gentle teddy bear, hard on the outside but mushy on the inside. Sure, I get anger and fight back verbally when some politically blind cranial vacuum tries to shove their lies and rhetoric down my throat, but in most of the difficult situations we encounter each day, for my size, I am very laid back. That characteristic of my personality goes along with the fact that I have great difficulty dealing with the suffering of others. Whether it be abuse, conditions of poverty, or physical pain; it truly screws up my mind to deal with such human suffering.
What’s my point? I’m sure that many people experience such difficulty. Problem is, as a writer of suspense, intrigue, and romance; human suffering is part of the draw that envelops the reader. We become entwined in what the character is going through and remain locked on every word till we can see how the world is made bright and sunny again. I confess, I’m a sucker for such stories. Yet as a writer, I hate dealing with the hard scenes where I have to “make” someone experience pain or emotional torment. Each time I come to those scenes, it is a confrontation with my own inner voices to force myself to sit down and do the scene.
After writing six novels, I recognize this weakness, and I accept it without frustration at myself for being such a wussy. Case in point, I can usually rough out a chapter every couple days. On a novel I just finished but have not yet submitted, I had to work piece meal on the story across three other novels I was writing. I just couldn’t bear to deal with the emotional suffering going on in the story. Then why not just change the scene? Doesn’t work that way, at least not for me. The story has a life of its own as the muse whispers in my ear. Take out a scene, and the whole story changes.
I’m currently at that stage in another story I’m working with my co author budette Candace Morehouse and I’m still struggling with chapter three. Why? You guessed it. Something really really bad happens in Chapter one and three and I just got over the stress of the first chapter. Now I have to go through it again. Geez. But I will get it done, I just have to take a deep breath, tie myself to the chair and DO it.
If you’re an author associated with the big eight (Random house, Penguin, etc) chances are writing is more of a monetary endeavor than the 99.8% of published writers (like myself and many on this blog) who are driven because of the mental return offered by the writing experience. There’s another side of the “return” equation I had not explicitly considered until last week when a reader asked me about several scenes in my first novel TAINTED HERO that moved him in an emotional or humorous fashion. He asked where those particular scenes came from and as I often do, I explained that many things I write about are derived from my personal memories, friends and family. As I went on and on and on, I began to realize that there was an element to becoming a published writer that I had never before considered, namely: sharing my world with others in a form that will extend beyond my time.
You see, the vignettes based on the pain my grandmother suffered for being native American, or the humor from when my cousin whacked her husband in the head with a frying pan for going to a strip joint, or the moment I watched my dad give his lunch money for a month to a single mom out on her luck; they're all real. In these and other elements of my personal life that have flowed into my stories, writing has provided an outlet to share my memories with others, and in so doing broaden the awareness of the wonderful people that mean so much to me.
I also now realize the tremendous opportunity I’ve had as an author to convey to my grand daughter the degree to which she is loved by her Pa Pa. In two of my novels, the activities and scenes blended into the story for the little girl in BLIND CONSENT and SHADOW OF GUILT were based on things my GD was doing at the time or activities she and I were sharing together. At my stage of life I’m clever enough to grasp that each passing year reduces my changes of seeing her into adulthood. What better way to let a young woman know how important she is, that she was loved so much to always be in the thoughts of her father and Pa Pa, and what a gift she is to bring comfort into the lives of so many.
I never considered these intangible benefits when I starting writing, but now when I think about it, what more could you what?
Bear with me on this post and read to the end because it’s not what you first expect.
When my boys hit their teen years I wanted to help them establish proper perspective with the true nature of life. I explained that our journey from birth to dead was a series of hills and valleys. It’s easy when you’re at the top of a mountain to gaze out and feel positive about things. The trick is to remember when you’re down in a valley it’s just part of the journey and shortly you’ll climb up again and see the sunshine. Hopefully each of us has more mountain tops then valleys in our path but if we keep perspective about those days up on the peaks then the pits wouldn’t seem so bad. I know they listened because I’ve heard them reflect such thoughts in conversations with friends and other family members.
I find lately that, for some reason, I’ve lost that perspective. There are more dark days then light, which is odd seeing I’ve arrived in that stage referred to as the golden years. Being analytical by nature, I’ve tried to assess the cause, and I’ve come up with many possibilities:
Could be the nature of retired life. I don’t have the accomplishments and challenges when I struggled with complex problems in my job to support the military. I’ve talked to other retired men and many sense that lose of challenge they used to have in their work.
Could be the change in hormones. As men advance in years our testosterone levels decrease. Besides the obvious change in drives and strength, I’ve always felt clarity of purpose and zest for my existences being a man.
Maybe it’s all the aches and pains I seem to have now. I remember when I was a teenager hearing my dad moan and groan each morning as he got out of bed to go to work. Now I sound just like him. Takes two Ibuprofen to kick in before I can move without pain. And I get sore so quickly now. Ten years ago I could perform hard physical labor for 10 hours and just fell fatigue. Now it’s like someone ripping a rake through the muscles in my body. I just finished rebuilding the deck on my house by myself and had to stop every 2 hours for a rest. Man I’m getting old.
Or it could just be the state of affairs in America today. The country I struggled for and worked to help evolve and progress has changed so drastically, I don’t recognize it anymore. I’m sure our forefathers are shaking their heads in disbelieve for where we’re headed. No, I’m not worried about myself. I don’t have that long to watch things decline. But the nation, and the life of my children and granddaughter, will not offer the reward and happiness I experienced in my journey. The boobs in DC are doing everything to drag us over the waterfall socially, economically and in terms of the security of our populace. And the media just covers it up. Problem is I’ve always been one to attack problems, solve them, do everything in my power to protect and help my family and friends, but not this time. The mistakes of the past few years are beyond anything the real people in the country can fix. Our leaders are lost or just care about politics and not the true course of our nation. So many in this country are suffering because of the selfish blind ambitions of Washington, so many more will suffer in five years, and yet no one wants to see what’s coming over the horizon. I race to the tip of the mountain and there is no sunlight. Everything in the distance is bleak for the nation that once stood so proud, for the people that mean so much to me, and I can do nothing but watch. I am powerless to stop the insane path we’re on.
Perhaps the state of our existence is the true wound that plaques my thoughts, causes nightmares, washes away the smile and humor that once accompanied my spirits everywhere I went, no matter how windy and dark the storm outside. Or maybe I should just fake it, like so many. Maybe that is the new perspective I seek, a return to the matrix and ensuing fantasy world where things make sense and we imagine control over our destiny. That’s it. I’ll just have them plug me back into the machine. Yes, yes, that is much easier, much less painful. It’s not real, but who cares. The truth is so ugly, why deal with it. Ah, I feel better now. Forgive my excursion into the reality outside the matrix. Thanks for listening. I don’t know what got into me. Must have been something I ate last night. Oh, one more thing. If a bald black guy wearing dark glasses and a leather jacket offers you two pills, be sure to take the red one so you can stay in here with me where all is well.
OMG, what just happened in the post above? Has the big guy gone off the deep end? No, relax, I’m not going postal. I just shared the process I use to evolve the flaws and reality in the main characters in my stories. I’ve been fortunate in many of my 5 star reviews to be cited for the realism and relationship readers develop with my characters. The way I do it is to select an internal conflict or defect for the main characters that relates somehow to the premise or theme of the story.
For example in TAINTED HERO the premise was sometimes good people do bad things. The struggle for Eric (the hero) was his ability to deconflict between good and bad from a social and a personal level. In FORGOTTEN CHILDREN the premise was Greed is blind to human suffering. The defect in the hero Mark, an investigative reporter, was his willingness to ignore the slippery slope. When Mark discovers a crime, he doesn’t share with the authorities because he sees them as a bureaucracy that will only encumber solving the case. The ends justify his means because he will solve the crime sooner, at least that’s the self induced motive he uses to justify his actions. In the end he comes to grip with the repercussions of the villain’s willingness to do what Mark did under the guise of the greater good of mankind, and the fact that his flawed judgment may have cost lives. I know, seems complicated to create a story to accomplish linkage between the story premise and the characters personality, and it is, but I enjoy doing it.
In the illustration above with my discussion of “perspective” I was actually evolving the conflict within the hero for a new story I’m currently working on with my coauthor budette, Candace Morehouse, called WHISPERS OF INNOCENCES. Over the past few years the hero, Drake Elliot, has lost perspective on his life, who he is as a man, his relationship with his family; and that detachment from the true relevance of what’s important has cost him dearly. Now, how do I create that struggle and realism with Drake and all my other characters? I use myself as a guinea pig. With most of us, to varying degrees at some point in our existence, we have been confused or struggled with specters and demons of all kinds. Well so have I, a lot of them. So, I select the conflict (in this case perspective) and evolve what it would be like for me on a personal level, and I do it completely, like it is real. I take my struggles with that condition from memory and expound on it, then I mold and convert it to my character. If I haven’t experienced that particular conflict I become absorbed in how I would react and struggle to such conditions.
Like I said, it is involved, but I thing it helps to derive realistic characters, and there’s a little of me in each hero or heroine. If you want to see how things work out for Drake and the heroine in WHISPERS OF INNOCENCES, come back in about a year and a half, that’s how long the writing/publishing process takes for the story to be released.
Tell next time.
Michael Davis (Davisstories.com)
Author of the year, 2008
What pulls a man to the ladies, latches onto his heart and makes him lose all control over his logical mind? What specifically attracts us to the opposite gender and why is it relevant to writing fiction with a romantic slate? Would it be a surprise that much of the romantic elements in a fiction deal with attraction between the male and female? No, we all know that’s important, so let’s discuss the differences. I know as a man what attracts me to a woman, but as far as women’s attraction to men, the ladies will have to reflect on that one.
Physically, men are clearly attracted to the area women focus a lot of their concerns, that’s right, boobs and butt, but there is more. I melt when I see a woman with perfectly shaped legs, no knee, and nylons, love the nylons. I also adore well formed fingers and hands with polished tapered nails. Doesn’t have to be red polish, clear or French nails make my heart stop. I become mesmerized in a woman’s eyes, their elongated shape, arced eyebrows, OMG. And without being a fetish, I enjoy a woman’s tiny feet. In terms of dimensions, I know a lot of time is spent discussing big breasts and large butts, but I think that’s Hollywood fantasy, not mine. I’ve seen women with small breasts and a tiny rear still drive men nuts, including me. It’s the shape of a woman, both in profile and straight on. The curves at her waist, the way they walk, even the way they twist side ways when they bend. Then there’s the dimples above her butt cheeks, the faint line running down from her chest to her naval and below, oh man. Now this may come as a shock, and I’ll try not to be too explicit, but we all love the visual appeal of the nether region; ladies it is the ultimate turn on. Of course the natural scent of a female, especially when making love, can drive our hunger over the edge. Sends a charge down my spine every time. And I don’t mean the shampoos, body washes, and colognes; I mean her natural aroma. It is what turns the fire from a small flame to an inferno.
As for the other elements of attraction, I enjoy intelligence, humor, an eternal smile that lights my crazy day when ever I’m around, her attention to appearance, the way they fill the air with talk, and especially when I know they like men. I don’t just mean for sexual purposes, I mean when they broadcast an attraction and appreciation for what men are, what they bring to their world. The way women can rush around in the kitchen cooking or the bathroom fixing their makeup, chat with their girl friends, worry about pillows stacked up three feet high on the bed, put all sorts of things I don’t even understand in the bathroom to spruce it up. And that just scratches the surface. I know there are “Player” males out there that are only into the B&B components, but most of my buds reflect the same attraction that I do.
In terms of why women are attracted to men, I’m not sure I even have a clue, so I’ll leave that to one of the ladies.
Scotoma Michael Davis Davisstories.com Author of the Year, 2008
I know, the word looks like it’s misspelled, but its not. It has a very specific meaning in the medical professional, but it also relates to how humans approach life sometimes. Scotoma pertains to a blind spot, either because you can’t or wouldn’t see something that’s right there. I thing as authors, we too can suffer from a scotoma about our own writing. You see, just like with our children, it’s difficult to see faults and areas that need refinement in our stories. When you sculpt and mold a piece of work for months in a cave in your back room, the story takes on its own life and convinces you it’s perfect, and it may be, in your eyes. Problem is, as its creator you may be blind to gaps and yuck portions in the story.
Maybe there are gifted and rare authors out there able to peer through their self induced filters. I’m not one of them. Oh, I am proud of my stories and I do get five star ratings, but it’s not because I’m one of those rare writers I just mentioned. It’s because I accept my unintentional willingness to glance over the rough spots and I use a crutch when I write. I call it my Hit squad. I have a small group of reviewers that evaluate my stories before I submit them to the publisher. And I listen. Boy do I listen.
There are three prerequisites for the hit squad to work effectively. First, they have to love to read and read a lot. Second, it must be someone with the fortitude to tell you the truth. That is a very hard thing to find. No one wants to hurt another’s feelings. It takes time to evolve a relationship with a person so that they are comfortable enough to say the truth, to tell you a page or chapter stinks and not feel there will be reprisals. That brings us to point three. Keep your mouth shut and listen. Do not try to explain how they didn’t get it, or interpreted the passage wrong, because they didn’t. Accept that if they had a problem, there is a real change someone us will.
I’ll admit it was hard with my first two novels. Inside I reflected, “They just didn’t get it.” Then when I considered that the hit squad wouldn’t say “I don’t like this” if it wasn’t true because even when I demand, “Be brutal”, they don’t want to criticize my work. Now that I’m on my eighth story, I’ve developed an effective interactive relationship with my hit squad and they are comfortable with sharing flaws honestly.
I do appreciate their insight, and I do accept it. In my novel, BLIND CONSENT, my wife (the first stage of my hit squad) loved the story but hated the ending. Now I really liked it but I have faith in her judgment. I asked another female friend just to read the last chapter and she agreed. I listened and I changed the entire ending. On my current project, one of my hit squad informed me, “Loved the plot, but the first four chapters stink.” Funny thing is when I was writing those chapters I did hear a whisper warning me this doesn’t feel right, but I ignored it. Next week, I will be rewriting those four damn chapters.
A good hit squad is hard to establish, but they are definitely worth the effort to find, and I do appreciate them and pay them will: hugs and kisses for the wife and signed copies of each paperback for the others. Not much, I know, but it’s what I can afford. Thanks guys.
Perspective Michael Davis Davisstories.com Author of the Year, 2008
Bear with me on this post and read to the end because it’s not what you first expect.
When my boys hit their teen years I wanted to help them establish proper perspective with the true nature of life. I explained that our journey from birth to dead was a series of hills and valleys. It’s easy when you’re at the top of a mountain to gaze out and feel positive about things. The trick is to remember when you’re down in a valley it’s just part of the journey and shortly you’ll climb up again and see the sunshine. Hopefully each of us has more mountain tops then valleys in our path but if we keep perspective about those days up on the peaks then the pits wouldn’t seem so bad. I know they listened because I’ve heard them reflect such thoughts in conversations with friends and other family members.
I find lately that, for some reason, I’ve lost that perspective. There are more dark days then light, which is odd seeing I’ve arrived in that stage referred to as the golden years. Being analytical by nature, I’ve tried to assess the cause, and I’ve come up with many possibilities:
1. Could be the nature of retired life. I don’t have the accomplishments and challenges when I struggled with complex problems in my job to support the military. I’ve talked to other retired men and many sense that lose of challenge they used to have in their work.
2. Could be the change in hormones. As men advance in years our testosterone levels decrease. Besides the obvious change in drives and strength, I’ve always felt clarity of purpose and zest for my existences being a man.
3. Maybe it’s all the aches and pains I seem to have now. I remember when I was a teenager hearing my dad moan and groan each morning as he got out of bed to go to work. Now I sound just like him. Takes two Ibuprofen to kick in before I can move without pain. And I get sore so quickly now. Ten years ago I could perform hard physical labor for 10 hours and just fell fatigue. Now it’s like someone ripping a rake through the muscles in my body. I just finished rebuilding the deck on my house by myself and had to stop every 2 hours for a rest. Man I’m getting old.
4. Or it could just be the state of affairs in America today. The country I struggled for and worked to help evolve and progress has changed so drastically, I don’t recognize it anymore. I’m sure our forefathers are shaking their heads in disbelieve for where we’re headed. No, I’m not worried about myself. I don’t have that long to watch things decline. But the nation, and the life of my children and granddaughter, will not offer the reward and happiness I experienced in my journey. The boobs in DC are doing everything to drag us over the waterfall socially, economically and in terms of the security of our populace. And the media just covers it up. Problem is I’ve always been one to attack problems, solve them, do everything in my power to protect and help my family and friends, but not this time. The mistakes of the past few years are beyond anything the real people in the country can fix. Our leaders are lost or just care about politics and not the true course of our nation. So many in this country are suffering because of the selfish blind ambitions of Washington, so many more will suffer in five years, and yet no one wants to see what’s coming over the horizon. I race to the tip of the mountain and there is no sunlight. Everything in the distance is bleak for the nation that once stood so proud, for the people that mean so much to me, and I can do nothing but watch. I am powerless to stop the insane path we’re on.
Perhaps the state of our existence is the true wound that plaques my thoughts, causes nightmares, washes away the smile and humor that once accompanied my spirits everywhere I went, no matter how windy and dark the storm outside. Or maybe I should just fake it, like so many. Maybe that is the new perspective I seek, a return to the matrix and ensuing fantasy world where things make sense and we imagine control over our destiny. That’s it. I’ll just have them plug me back into the machine. Yes, yes, that is much easier, much less painful. It’s not real, but who cares. The truth is so ugly, why deal with it. Ah, I feel better now. Forgive my excursion into the reality outside the matrix. Thanks for listening. I don’t know what got into me. Must have been something I ate last night. Oh, one more thing. If a bald black guy wearing dark glasses and a leather jacket offers you two pills, be sure to take the red one so you can stay in here with me where all is well.
OMG, what just happened in the post above? Has the big guy gone off the deep end? No, relax, I’m not going postal. I just shared the process I use to evolve the flaws and reality in the main characters in my stories. I’ve been fortunate in many of my 5 star reviews to be cited for the realism and relationship readers develop with my characters. The way I do it is to select an internal conflict or defect for the main characters that relates somehow to the premise or theme of the story.
For example in TAINTED HERO the premise was sometimes good people do bad things. The struggle for Eric (the hero) was his ability to deconflict between good and bad from a social and a personal level. In FORGOTTEN CHILDREN the premise was Greed is blind to human suffering. The defect in the hero Mark, an investigative reporter, was his willingness to ignore the slippery slope. When Mark discovers a crime, he doesn’t share with the authorities because he sees them as a bureaucracy that will only encumber solving the case. The ends justify his means because he will solve the crime sooner, at least that’s the self induced motive he uses to justify his actions. In the end he comes to grip with the repercussions of the villain’s willingness to do what Mark did under the guise of the greater good of mankind, and the fact that his flawed judgment may have cost lives. I know, seems complicated to create a story to accomplish linkage between the story premise and the characters personality, and it is, but I enjoy doing it.
In the illustration above with my discussion of “perspective” I was actually evolving the conflict within the hero for a new story I’m currently working on with my coauthor budette, Candace Morehouse, called WHISPERS OF INNOCENCES. Over the past few years the hero, Drake Elliot, has lost perspective on his life, who he is as a man, his relationship with his family; and that detachment from the true relevance of what’s important has cost him dearly. Now, how do I create that struggle and realism with Drake and all my other characters? I use myself as a guinea pig. With most of us, to varying degrees at some point in our existence, we have been confused or struggled with specters and demons of all kinds. Well so have I, a lot of them. So, I select the conflict (in this case perspective) and evolve what it would be like for me on a personal level, and I do it completely, like it is real. I take my struggles with that condition from memory and expound on it, then I mold and convert it to my character. If I haven’t experienced that particular conflict I become absorbed in how I would react and struggle to such conditions.
Like I said, it is involved, but I thing it helps to derive realistic characters, and there’s a little of me in each hero or heroine. If you want to see how things work out for Drake and the heroine in WHISPERS OF INNOCENCES, come back in about a year and a half, that’s how long the writing/publishing process takes for the story to be released.
Tightrope Michael Davis Davisstories.com Author of the Year, 2008
Like most readers, I want to be taken away from my everyday world when I dive between the pages. The words and images must grab me and not let go. Few authors can do that for me anymore with the thousands of books I’ve read. That’s one of two reasons I don’t read as much fiction as I did twenty years ago (the other is a lack of time given I’ve become consumed by my own demanding muse). So what is it that envelops my mind and encourages me to escape from my life until I reach the last word of a story? Three things:
1. The Voice – The cadence and rhythm of the words must sing in resonance with my inner self so that I am comforted by reading vs. seeing.
2. Realism – Whether its SF, thriller, romantic suspense, doesn’t matter; the descriptions, the characters, the scenes must appear realistic and complete enough I can form vivid flowing visions in my head.
3. Struggle – The characters most be flawed, if not they’re unreal and incapable of creating empathy with their plight
All three are important to me as a reader, and I would assume the same could be said of many readers. Now, voice is very important, but I don’t find that to be the most difficult in creating my stories. That just seems to come natural, maybe because the voice that goes on paper is actually the voice running in head (I know, I’m a weird dude). However, as a writer item 2 and 3 above require the author to walk two tight ropes, and accordingly are the most difficult to achieve without going to far.
The first tightrope requires balance between too much or too little realism. If we go to far in realism or in the character’s struggles the reader can be insulted, revolted, or overwhelmed with the imaginary. Go to little and the reader becomes uninterested, bored, or remains outside the story. The second tightrope deals with balancing the story with our own belief system or morality, which may not be in tune with the latest fad or the PC police. Need an example? I’ll give you two:
1. My first novel, TAINTED HERO, was about an officer in the special forces conflicted between the modern dilemma imposed by social norms of right and wrong. The story was very real, given the hero and heroine were based on actual people I know, and the struggle was close to what often runs through my spirit. The novel did quite well in that it received six 5 star reviews and the realism of the story and characters was cited very positively by all reviewers, except one. She was horrified. Her contention was that it reflected too positively on our military especially given that they were fighting a war and killing people in Iraq (I kid you not). Now, in creating this story, I recognized the tightrope dealing with the parts of the story going against some of the more extreme progressive elements of our society that do not respect the military the way I do. You see, for 25 years of my career I worked side by side with men and women that gave everything of themselves, including their lives, for the country they love. I knew that reflecting the truth, the way they really are, their lives, their sacrifice might anger some but one has to be true to their own belief structure or how can you look in the mirror. In all my stories I do walk the PC tightrope, but sometimes I fall into the pit of telling it like it is, and I do hear about it, but I can live with that.
2. In my novel FORGOTTEN CHILDREN, one powerful scene near the end of the story focused on two characters dealing with their imperfect nature. The female had stayed with a player male even thought she knew his nature was not to commit, and the male exhibited a roaming personality (no, this one was not derived from me, I’ve been hook to the same woman all my life). Now, both these characters are real. I have a sweetheart of a female friend that “Sandra” was modeled after, and ‘Jim’ was a real life womanizer that I once knew. Just before this scene, Jim was offered a bitter taste of what his behavior was doing in terms of the women he used by none other than his friend (wonder who that was). The reader learns there is a reason for his callus behavior and Jim has an epiphany about his live, what he’s become, and what he’s done to so many caring hearts. The scene is powerful because his eyes are opened and he realizes Sandra is what he wants and, well you’ll have to read the story. Point is, a couple reviews that loved the book (gave me 5 stars) didn’t care for that scene. Their reasoning was they didn’t like a woman allowing herself to be used like that. Truth is, I struggled with that very issue when I wrote the book, but her flaws and his blindness are real life and made the final surprise outcome extremely moving. I did walk the tightrope, but said the hell with it and left that one in the story.
What is the point if you selectively leap off the tightrope? Like I said, those elements are difficult to a writer in trying to achieve an acceptable balance for the reader. But sometimes you have to take a risk for your own sanity, say the hell with it, and jump one way or the other, and accept you may hear about it later. After all, you can’t please everyone (g).
Other Novels and stories by author at Davisstories.com
BLURB Dr. Jonathan Emery searches for an answer to his wife's unexplained death, but what he finds rocks the foundations of what we accept as the human condition. Then he makes a costly mistake by sharing the truth with the wrong people.
EXCERPT
The IV monitor crept into the hallway, guided by a vein-traced hand covered in wrinkled skin. With half his face protruding beyond the edge of the door, he waited. He had one chance, one opportunity to end his imprisonment. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to fight back, resist the pain. They would win and he would be nothing but a shell. His white gown jittered with nervous tension. The opened back exposed sagging flesh and drawn butt muscles. Then it came again, the terrible drilling in his head. He pushed crooked fingers deep into his temples, until the uncut nails crusted the skin. “Not now, please, just a few more minutes, and I’ll be free.” He pressed against the wall and inched along the passageway. He ignored the cold metal bumper guard chilling his bare rump; all his energy focused on escape. He pushed away the hammering in his skull, fought back against the rush of burning needles charging down his spine. He whispered to no one he could see. “No more. I wouldn’t let you use me anymore.” In answer to his rebellion, the dull pain exploded, like a hot steel rod penetrating his forehead. The old man grimaced in pain and moaned, “Oh God, please make it stop. Please, I beg you.” His plea alerted the orderly fifteen feet to his right. “Christ, Mr. Cunningham, not again.” The man in the green uniform hurried down the hallway. “I’m sorry but you have to return to your room. I promise; I’ll up your dosage to kill the pain.” The old man summoned what strength was left in his worn out body. “No. I wouldn’t go back. You don’t care what they do, the gnawing in my head. No one wants to believe the truth.” The orderly reached out to grab the skinny arm, but Cunningham was ready and slammed his weapon down hard on the young man’s hand. The orderly screamed and fell back across the chair seated against the wall. He removed the plastic fork and stretched upward toward the old man, but it was too late. With the last spark of life, the emaciated figure bent down, picked up the steel frame, and ran toward the hall window. Like a charging knight with his lance pointing toward his opponent, the base of the frame shattered the window’s glass and wooden partitions, again and again, until the frame was clear of glass. He climbed up the escape route, and did something he hadn’t done for many years. With his eyes quivering uncontrollably, he smiled and reclaimed his freedom. “It’s over, you lose, I win. You ugly bastards, go to hell.” The orderly pressed on the wound as blood dripped on the linoleum tiles. He leaned out the window, peered down at the body sprawled across the fountain at the entrance of the hospital, and shook his head. “Crazy old man. Hope you got what you wanted.”
What defines a Good Scheme? Michael Davis Davisstories.com Author of the Year, 2008
What are the attributes that differentiate an Okay scheme from a Good one? Notice that I didn’t say, “Things that make a perfect scheme.” Truth is, you can always do better.
On average, I review/self edit my un-submitted scripts twenty times or more. I’m not kidding. And because reading 90000 words over that many times can make them blur in you mind, I use a separation strategy. The first ten or so times, I immediately go back and look for different faults (lack of suspense, not enough detail, typos, invoking the six senses, etc). After that, I set it aside and do something else; some promotion activities, outline a new script, go fishing, spend time with my sweetie, anything to try and purge the script from my brain (boy, can that be hard to do). When I come back, I get a whole different perspective on the integrity of the story.
But what is it that makes a script really good? I’m not talking the storyline itself. Let's assume it’s a great one. I’m referring to what elements different a so so script from a “mighty fine” piece of work. Here are some things you should strive for:
Typos – Lord is this my Achilles heel. I have no difficulty envisioning good storylines, interesting scenes, but I’m horrible at catching typos. And it’s not intentional. The same thing that helps me to unfetter my mind and imagination restricts me from seeing typos. I thing that’s true for a lot of people. You would think that typos are no big deal, but they are. Editors, publishers, agents are appalled at these tiny little blemishes. They hate em, and they will hold it against you. So what do you do? Beats the heck out of me. If I knew I would share it and not get yelled at so much. Here are a few things that can help: Read the script out loud (don’t know why, but that really helps), find three people that love to find mistakes that others make and give them a dozen red pens each, or a dime for each typo they find (this got too expense for me), use an independent professional editor (try to charge them a dime for every one they miss, haven’t got anyone to do that yet).
Suspense –Everyone knows that the phase “page turner” is the goal of a good fiction story. Make sure the reader learns something new on each page, a new character, a flaw in an existing character, a diabolic part of a more complex plan, something that is hinted about or linked to something latter in the story. The reader should always has a question hovering like, ”what does that mean” or “what’s he going to do about that” or “are they finally going to get down to it,” anything that makes the reader want to know what’s next. Note that in a good script, all these loose ends must be weaved together in a beautiful clear and concise tapestry to achieve, “Ah, that’s how it all comes together.”
Five senses – A story does not envelope the reader if it is just words about events. If must invoke the five senses to truly make the viewer feel he/she is there. What does it taste like, look like, sound like, colors, textures, touches, tingles. It’s hard, but it’s important. Too much and it slows the reader down, too little and it’s just a white page.
Factual – You must make sure that you’ve done your research and when you’ve described an event, a place, a machine, a technology, its plausible and realistic. Case in point, I read a few pages for someone that wanted to write and they referred to a character shooting someone two hundred yards away with a slug shotgun. What’s wrong with that? At 100 yards a shotgun slug will drop two feet, by 200 yards it drops ten feet. See the problem now? I suggested they use a 30-06 rifle with a 150 grain bullet (only drops eight inches at 200 yards). Point is, you must make sure what you write is realistic. If in doubt, ask your question on one of the many writer sites (like the Water Cooler) and you will get help.
Characters – Many readers focus on the plot, but more become wrapped up in the characters (in my opinion). They must be believable, interesting, flawed (like real humans), and evolving over the story.
Point of View – POV is my arch enemy. I fight it in every single story. Why? Because I like to be in everyone’s head, knowing what they feel, their emotions. Helps me visualize what they’re thinking, why they did what they did. Sadly, this is not acceptable in modern fiction writing. Per chapter or scene, you must stay in one persons head. I hate it, I think it's awkward, but it’s a bitter pill I swallow to get my stories out to the readers.
Introspective – If you don't venture into the thoughts, the conflicts, the memories of characters, how can a reader feel their sorrow, pain, fears, and the reasons why they respond in some illogical manner? You can't relate to characters if you feel no empathy, and it’s difficult to feel for someone if you don't understand what they’re thinking.
Once you get all those facets of the story in line, you’re on the right track. In future articles, I’ll discuss each of these areas in more detail, but these highlights should help in the interim.
