values

By Barbara Fleming

Whatever genre a writer works in, his or her values underlie every single word. Mystery writers weave tales of good and evil; much of fantasy is taken up with the same struggle (witness Harry Potter, for example), and classic literature deals with the nature of humans, the meaning of life--all the deep philosophical questions that we resolve (or don't resolve) within ourselves by crafting a value system.

Wherever that system comes from--religion, culture, philosophy or somewhere else--it will permeate the author's writing. To take one example, one of my highest values is respect. I treat everyone I encounter with respect, unless I am given reason to do otherwise, and I expect to be treated similarly. I treat everyone as an individual, not part of a group or class. In my historical novel, Journeying, the principals are an interracial couple who encounter prejudice and ill treatment but always respond, as far as they can, as one individual to another, and respectfully instead of with anger and a desire for revenge. When one character does aim to seek revenge, he does not complete the act; he cannot.

Of course, the essence of fiction is conflict. I wonder if readers notice how frequently those conflicts have to do with differing values--Hamlet's inner war with his conscience, to take a classic example. I could fill this piece with other examples of contemporary or classic fiction that illustrate this point, but that is not the direction I am going.

Rather, I am going to briefly consider how the values reveal themselves.

If an underlying value is love, can the protagonist forgive transgressions by those he loves? Can she take a risk, perhaps a life-threatening one, in the name of love?

If the value is family, do the members of the family support and uphold each other as long and as richly as they can? When circumstances seem to tear them apart, does the family as a value still hold up through how the characters act, speak and interact?

Whatever the value, if it is a positive one, is the reader disposed to like the characters that live by it and dislike those who don't? Through their words and actions, do they reveal the value, or their struggle with it?

It is never, of course, that simple. Fictional families, like real ones, are dysfunctional, sometimes unforgiving, sometimes disconnected. And there are many kinds of families. Still, there is a thread in the story that ties some members of the family together, regardless. People who love each other often hurt each other dreadfully, and sometimes they do not recover from that damage. Still, there is a thread in the story that affirms the priceless treasure that is love. People who treat others with respect are not always treated in kind; indeed, sometimes they suffer for their values. Still, there is a thread in the story that affirms the positive nature of continuing to try, despite the odds.

No good writer tells the reader directly what her values are. The characters do that; events and their outcomes support those values, however subtly. Moralistic tales seldom get published these days. Nonetheless, what we value is the foundation of waht we write. Great writers create memorable characters who exemplify their values, and the characters that live on in our hearts and minds are those that share the values we hold dear.

Why Read Fiction?

Why Read Fiction?
by Jacqueline Seewald

I like many different kinds of fiction but enjoy most a novel or short story with a happy ending. I hope that doesn’t make me sound shallow or anti-literary. I suppose part of the reason I read is to escape the hum-drum and sadness of real life and everyday existence. I want to read a great love story with characters I can care about. For instance, I love a good Regency because the novels are often clever and humorous as well as romantic. TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS could be called my tribute to that genre.

I want to solve an exciting mystery along with the fictional detectives. I also want to read a book with an interesting, clever plot. I appreciate an intelligently written novel. The three novels in my Kim Reynolds series: THE INFERNO COLLECTION, THE DROWNING POOL, as well as THE TRUTH SLEUTH (due for publication May 18th) are my tribute to mystery fiction. Of course, they are romantic mysteries with a paranormal edge, the kind of fiction I most enjoy reading.

Reading novels and short stories gives me added perspective on life, while reality provides me with inspiration to write fiction. I believe a good book is one the reader can enjoy. I want to finish reading and feel good, satisfied, mentally enriched but not depressed.

What sort of novels do you prefer to read? What constitutes a good book in your opinion? Who are some of your favorite authors?

Willing suspension of disbelief by Barbara Fleming

Willing suspension of disbelief is a contract between the writer and the reader, in a way. The writer takes you somewhere else, into other lives and other places, and the reader agrees to go along for the ride, to accept the reality that I and other writers create for you on the pages of a book.
Both of us know the characters we offer you are not real-life individuals. For me, as for most writers, I expect, they are an amalgam of people I have known, have observed, probably have admired or disliked. Part of these characters is of course the author herself, stemming from the subconscious and from life experiences, but part of them is imaginary, born of the creative impulse. Writer and reader both understand that.
Yet the reader who becomes absorbed in the book finds the characters and the events real enough to set aside the little voice in the head that says, "This is just a story," and accept what the book has to give, be it romance, adventure, drama or mystery, or maybe a combination thereof. Good books create a world that the reader enters eagerly and leaves reluctantly. Over my lifetime I've read thousands of books, and from among them emerge characters whose words or deeds have stayed with me and who become part of my frame of reference. To me they are real because they resonate so profoundly with life as I have known and observed it. Surely that happens with most devoted readers of fiction.
What is it that allows this suspension of disbelief, this agreement between writer and reader that makes a story work? It must be, to some extent, an earnest desire on the reader's part to be taken into those lives, that other place. It must be, also, the writer's craft, her ability to fashion a believable world. It must be, too, something mysterious and indefinable that has been at work in fiction for centuries. Perhaps we cannot fully understand or define it.
But we know that it has to happen if fiction is to work. Books that I abandon, having begun them hopefully, are ones that fail to pull me in so that I do not suspend disbelief. Books that I stay with are ones that allow me to put my real world aside and enter this fictional one, eager to find out what happens next, meeting people I come to care about.
Whatever this phenomenon is, however we characterize it, it is the magic of which fiction is made. Profound thanks to all those readers who enter the world of books time and time again and willingly suspend their disbelief.

Top Ten Ways Writer's Conferences Inspire

Inspiration is a wonderful thing. It can pick you up when you have fallen. Jump-start your engine when it’s been stalled with plot problems. Shock you to life when you’ve been paralyzed from a rejection that dashed your hopes.

Writers and readers alike seek inspiration to get over life’s speed bumps, so it’s hardly surprising that there are 120 thousand inspirational books listed on Amazon.

For writers, there’s Dare to Dream, Cup of Comfort, Bird by Bird, The Writer’s Life, Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul, Dare to Dance, and hundreds more.

For me, nothing fluffs my creative feathers better than a writer’s conference. Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ annual conference starts in four days. As a matter of fact, Pamela Nowak, one of our Author Expressions contributors, is the conference chair and she has terrific speakers and workshops planned. I’ll be presenting a workshop on writing strong scenes and my workshop and the conference couldn’t come at a better time. I broke my collar bone and dislocated my shoulder on August 4th and am still mired in the pain and challenges of recovery. I need a jump-start, tune-up, new transmission, overhaul, and fresh paint all around.

Here are Top Ten Reasons why writer’s conferences inspire:

10. Break free from the house. Writing is a solitary profession.
9. Learn that you’re not alone. It’s encouraging to learn that other writers have problems similar to yours, that you’re not the only one who has problems plotting or developing characters, for example.
8. Find new writer friends. Friends who write in the same genre as you do, friends who are also interested in critique, friends who have experiences and stories to share.
7. Find exciting new books to read, both fiction and nonfiction craft books.
6. Discover new technologies and processes. New software and products are being introduced at warp speed. Which best serve needs of the writer? Just ask at a conference, and you’ll receive instant feedback.
5. Hear success stories from writers like you. I’ve heard about writers who received ghastly rejection letters that made mine look tame. I’ve heard of writers who struggled so much that they had to live in their car, then went on to success. Learning of hardships overcome is wonderfully inspiring.
4. Sharpen your craft. Conferences offer instruction and workshops that address the challenges of plotting, writing and marketing your fiction novel.
3. Meet editors and agents. It’s exciting to meet the gatekeepers, to talk with the people who buy the books. They share market insights and explain their daily needs and challenges.
2. Connect and laugh with your writer friends. Life is richer with friends. They support us when we’re down, celebrate with us when we’re up, and they remind us that life is good.
1. Network/share information. Knowledge is power. Conferences offer intellectual stimulation and insight into the publishing industry.

Do you enjoy conferences? Please share your best memory of a writer’s conference, and how it inspired you.