White Stone Series Special Free Giveaway 4th Day. Last day tomorrow. 

Light That Fractures

Meet Geena as she begins a new year faced with a choice. Pursue justice for her twin sister’s death regardless of consequences, or release her anger and allow healing to begin.

            Still struggling with months of grief, Geena Morisi resolves to begin the New Year with hope instead of holding onto her anger. When an unexpected windfall arrives, she has to choose whether relinquishing her desire for justice betrays her twin sister’s memory or honors her life. Geena wavers back and forth between past and present trying to decide which path to take. Can she return to her art studies, manage her day care job, and raise her orphaned niece only on her own terms? Her decision will have repercussions to change not just her life, but Ana’s too.

Book One in the White Stones Series: Hope, Faith, Heart

Six young women face life transitions that create tense relationships and struggles of faith. Will they have the courage to challenge their personal fears and experience new beginnings that stretch their hearts into hope?

Click on the cover and go straight to Amazon. Hope you enjoy her story. If so, please take a few minutes to post a review, or a star rating, or both. Thanks!

Read Deep

                                                           Marcy

Overview Setting: Language: Tone

Workshop: An Introduction to Writing for Children and Young Adults

Tone overlaps with voice as we discussed earlier. To be a background influence that impacts setting, the word choices need to be precise giving a clear visual. Strong verbs that can stand on their own without punctuation, such as exclamation marks, help give a solid atmosphere.

Another way that tone can have an insightful influence is when what one character is saying or acting outwardly while at the same time is internally having an opposite or other emotional reaction. It turns the setting upside down.

Take into consideration the age you’re writing for as well. Five year-olds and under can rarely hide their feelings from family members or even want to try. Unless? Perhaps they are in on a surprise for a family member. And trying to keep a secret. There are opportunities for all kinds of humorous misunderstandings all around.

The older the character, and the more intense a situation, though the tone can become a shadow for a mystery, or a personal grief, or a difficult moral decision. The tone needs to be authentic to the character’s perception of the situation even if he is in error.

If the reader is in the dark as well they will connect to the character’s struggle. If the reader knows the facts are different they will still empathize with the heroine’s dilemma and be rooting for her.

Action Steps:

1.     Do an internal dialogue of feelings with a character who is interacting the opposite way externally.

2.     Now do the same with the person to whom they are speaking.

Share: Who would be able to tell what either character is really thinking based on her body language?

Read deep, marcy

Light That Fractures Free for Five Days

White Stone Series Special Free Giveaway May 10^th to May 15^th.

Light That Fractures

Meet Geena as she begins a new year faced with a choice. Pursue justice for her twin sister’s death regardless of consequences, or release her anger and allow healing to begin.

            Still struggling with months of grief, Geena Morisi resolves to begin the New Year with hope instead of holding onto her anger. When an unexpected windfall arrives, she has to choose whether relinquishing her desire for justice betrays her twin sister’s memory or honors her life. Geena wavers back and forth between past and present trying to decide which path to take. Can she return to her art studies, manage her day care job, and raise her orphaned niece only on her own terms? Her decision will have repercussions to change not just her life, but Ana’s too.

Book One in the White Stones Series: Hope, Faith, Heart

Six young women face life transitions that create tense relationships and struggles of faith. Will they have the courage to challenge their personal fears and experience new beginnings that stretch their hearts into hope?

Click on the cover and go straight to Amazon. Hope you enjoy her story. If so, please take a few minutes to post a review, or a star rating, or both. Thanks!

Read Deep

                                                           Marcy

Overview Setting: Language: Time

Workshop: An Introduction to Writing for Children and Young Adults

Language choices can strengthen settings by giving a flavor of time, whether between generations or geographically. Even within a small local setting there may be different dialects or inflections that indicate both historical and personal history.

In the mystery TV series, Death in Paradise, the island population is a mix of British and French on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint-Marie. Their words, phrases, and accents clearly introduce viewers to their background without giving a detailed explanation.

Within families the language can also mirror cultural decades and/or education. In The Adventures of Pearley Monroe, by Marci Seither, the fictional adaptation of a real pioneer family, the language shows the difference between the uneducated adults and the present school opportunities for the children. What do you notice about the language in the following two excerpts?

“I hate those miners,” Pearley blurted out with anger. “I hate Mr. Yates and Gold Bug Mine. It wasn’t Rose’s fault she came into the world too early, it is theirs. No one can bring her back.”

“Pearley,” said Pa. “We have to let this thing go into God’s hands, cuz our hands is jist too small for this load of grief. You hear what I’m sayin’?”

Jack Hodgins suggests when listening in on conversations take notice of the rhythms, favorite expressions, and sentence lengths. This is important for us as writers for the younger age group because their style and vocabulary is different from what we grew up with.

He also suggests when listening study:

             “ a) level, type, and breadth of the person’s vocabulary (education)

  b) diction level (slang? colloquial? precisely scientific?)

  c) implied emotional states; present circumstances.”

Regional, ethnic, educational, and socioeconomic will be a factor in what kind of vocabulary you use. And also for speech patterns such as: you know, eh, bien, por favor.

Action Steps:

1.    Write a dialogue between two or three different characters of different ages without saying their age difference.

2.    Make a list of sayings or slang phrases that are familiar to you. Can you match the decade they came from and why?

Share: Which saying is the funniest?

Read deep, marcy

Overview Setting: Language: Talk

Workshop: An Introduction to Writing for Children and Young Adults

“Attention to language is essential in making scenes vibrant.” Laurie Alberts

Language is a quiet tool in setting that can have impact whether used subtly or overtly. Think of a recurring family gathering for example. You’re late arriving and as you come in the hallway you can hear the voices in the next room. One by one you can identify who’s speaking by their word choices, speech patterns, and sound of their voice. If you hear someone you don’t recognize, you hesitate and try to think who it might be.

Do you smile because you recognize the words from family stories being retold or cringe because you hear a subject that means someone is getting grilled. And you might be next.

Regardless of subject matter, each person has a “tell” to their style. Does Uncle Frank have a raspy voice from years of smoking, or from a job where he needs to shout? Does he use short, fast words? What about Aunt Fiona? Does she use long words in slow motion?  Does this contrast between them invite humor, or a deep sigh knowing extreme patience is now necessary?

Or you arrive at a gathering as a newcomer. How do you recognize possible ages of the characters from the dialogue you overhear? Young children, teenagers, elderly? Slang or polished speech—and the reason why?

Whatever combination of subject, word choices, and delivery you choose influences the scene and its purpose. And as the author you should be able to recognize each character’s language style without even saying their name.

Action Steps:

1.     Take 4-6 characters. Have a conversation with minimal description. For example, one girl is chewing on her ponytail.

2.     Write out a few words for each of the characters without identifying who they are. For example: Give to each five words or phrases that only they would use. Ex. rad i cal, oh dear.

3.     Can you tell them apart? How?

Share: Which character was the most difficult to identify without saying their name?

Read deep, marcy

Overview Setting: Cultural

Workshop: An Introduction to Writing for Children and Young Adults

Cultural observations provide a third strong category when appropriate to your overall story. Meals, holidays, dress, attitudes and language can highlight themes and communication, interactions and confusion, and build bridges of understanding.

Many years ago an associate and I decided to make our weekly lunch meetings an adventure by trying out a different ethnic restaurant each week. We took turns choosing and we focused on local small family run establishments. One time we tried a place that served buffet style. Unfortunately their words for each dish were in their own language, and the dishes were such that they were almost impossible to identify. And there was no one to translate. We started out with tiny tablespoons of several options and then, when we thought we had some identification we went back for a regular serving.

The food was delicious and it became one of our favorite spots.

Sharing stories across cultures helps to strengthen empathy and expand our horizons.

Reading and studying stories across cultures also help develop solid foundations for historical settings and characters as well. Remember too that each culture has socio-economic diversity as well that needs to be recognized, and also regional and geographic diversity.

Another way to incorporate culture honestly is to follow a particular theme. “what have you lost?” by Naomi Shihab Nye is a compilation of YA poems written about losses. It is a wonderful introduction to different voices across cultures and ages that all begin with a common thread.

Action Steps:

1.     Character. Take a teen-ager from one ethnic background and send her to dinner at a friend’s of a different ethnic background for a holiday celebration.

2.     Describe everything in detail. Overwrite specifics.

3.     Which concepts can be applied to your story?

Share: Which parts were the most fun? Which were difficult?

Read deep, marcy

Overview Setting: Interior

Workshop: An Introduction to Writing for Children and Young Adults

A second strong category to influence your setting with authenticity is the Interior. Even when your interior details are backdrop only, they can be used to boost your main atmosphere in your settings. The set-up can be used to affect different characters as well.

Is the location spacious or crowded? Is it a private room or public? How could that impact your character if she is an introvert or an extravert? Or possibly create a stress for a character short on time that has to navigate a busy grocery store or post-office?

What does the floor plan look like and how will that affect your characters’ actions? Is she facing a long flight of stairs, or a crisscross of corridors in a hospital?

How does the color of walls or the lighting affect moods? Are they dull or bright? Could something in the room be a silent symbol? One author I know discovered at the end of her first draft that an ordinary flower plant had become a symbol for her heroine’s story. It only showed up a few times—at the beginning as part of the décor, in the middle with leaves falling, a little later when she watered it while doing chores, and at the epilogue when it fully bloomed again.

In a more intense situation an interior setting can take on a heavier weight as in a normal school bus that has been hijacked and buried. Now a normally spacious space has become claustrophobic.

After a first draft take a close look at all your physical settings and see where a small detail here or there can enhance one of your story threads.

           

Action Steps:

1.     Choose one room that has an emotional attachment to your character and draw a rough outline of it re space. Make a few copies.

2.     In one copy make the contents few and in another make it a very cluttered room.

3.     Have one version be light colors and another dark.

4.     Now right a brief scene where your character goes into that room emotionally distraught.

Share: How did she emotionally deal with her situation in relationship to the atmosphere of that room?

Read deep, marcy