Pen Pals, A Door to Characterization

Step outside the box to stimulate story ideas.

The advent of electronic media (email) has drastically decreased original letter writing in content and frequency. Techonology has contributed to the demise of this form of art, but this need not be so. I suggest you hone your writing skills by developing pen pal relationships.

There are several benefits to this exercise. It helps to develop characterization in many ways. For example, when communicating with someone you don't know, you are compelled to ask leading questions leading to characterization and vicarious experiences. For example, I write to several inmates (using my p.o. box address, of course). I find it interesting to discover a new world of people with a variety of different experiences. These are people I would not likely meet in my world, however, there is a tremendous mutual benefit involved. Many inmates are lonely and communicative.

I chose to write to first time offenders who were convicted for petty theft because - at the time I began - I was working on a story about a group of thieves. I honestly shared my research interest as to not take advantage of them. Obviously, I do not use their names and personal information in my writing, however, I do capitalize on their experiences. Consequently, I also correspond with their counselors which opens up a brand new window of creative opportunities. For example, a good corrections counselor became an invaluable resource to me in terms of providing background to the frame of mind of people who commit particular types of crimes. This relationship further helped me to create a profile realistic to particular criminal behavior dynamics. For example, a thief must first judge its prospective victim, criticize the victim and find fault before s/he can move forward with a plan to steal.

Here is one way a writer might develop psychological characterization of a thief, taken from a story I am writing:

He felt the lady totally ignored him. He walked by her in the grocery store. He spoke to her, twice. You'd think she would have the decency to nod her head, half-smile or in some way acknowledge him. She did not. That's why he made his play; after all, he knew where she lived. He had a plan for her.


Notice how this passive creates suspense and characterization in a single paragraph. You'll need to step outside of yourself to effectuate the psychological profile. In other words, you do not want to think like normal, law abiding citizens. Get inside the character's head. Great writers like James Patterson, Thurber, and Dickinson are masters of this technique. Read them. They tend to pull us so deeply inside the character's thoughts that it becomes frightening.

I will add more examples and ideas in future post. Until then, write.

Completing the Novel

Hello Everyone,

I have been happily swamped with the completion of The Doctor's Vice, lately. I'm fudging here a little, because it is not yet complete. I am working on the final draft, however and it will be done by the end of the year.

I was busy bouncing between two incomplete books. You know how it is when you need to put the manuscript aside for a while to gain a new perspective, right? Well, I sat it aside for two months and now I'm banging away.

I would like to hear from those of you who enjoy thrillers. I would like your feedback on a couple of chapters. I should warn you however, some chapters are quite graphic.

Hooray for me......I'm getting it done.

What does your Antagonist/Protagonist Believe, Philosophically

The philosophy of my antagonist Smitty is as described below. He, Smitty, may very well believe he is not philosophical, but everyone is...to some extent. If you believe or disbelieve in something then you are philosophical to the exact extent.

Here's how Smitty thinks: Life is about pain. Every experience is based on our need to eliminate pain, to make pain more bearable or to escape pain altogether. The thought appears pessimistic on the surface, because vanity demands that all is well with us. The reality is that there is a price to pay for whatever we want. If we make choices based on the concept that the end is more important than the means, we sacrifice integrity and through this act of vanity, we sometimes sacrifice our soul.

The price we pay based on immoral choices is much greater than that which we bargained for. The price we end up paying is much greater, because vanity like evil is a most demanding master. This thought does not irritate Smitty in the least. It should. The thing is, due to his background of struggle and poverty, he is willing to pay almost any price for a few years of luxury, even if it means sacrificing his soul. It's a natural conclusion for Smitty because he does not believe in the hereafter, nor does he care.

Say What You Mean

Choose your words carefully. Not any word will do. Keep it simple (K.I.S.S.) but effective.

Words are like medicine or bullets, depending on your perspective. The point is few words are absolutely synonymous. Meaningful connotations rest in the root of words and its significance is not always hidden. Meaning is more apparent to people who speak the language from which the root word originated. Whether we use words in a narrative or from spoken dialog of a character, it is important to choose words commensurate with the speaker's personality and equally relevant to the subject.

For example, You can say you like something, someone or an event, or you can say you were enchanted by it. Can you feel the difference? The impact you feel derives from the latin root of word encantador which means charming or delightful.

Encantar (latin) means to cast a spell on or to bewitch. In light of this explanation, would you rather you spouse confess he likes you, or that he is enchanted by your presence?

The above example reflects emotion and subjectivity, however, words convey practical significance, also. Words are important in business communication. For example, consider the word "authentic." This word will imply a hybrid thought. The writer should be cognitive of the presented duality: authentic and artificial. Let's say you were to invite a business personality to an event. If you are competitive you will want to point out precisely why you are inviting this person, beyond consideration of her/his general professional credentials. For instance, if you needed a doctor, why this particular doctor? Well, he specialize in surgery and surgery is the nature of your interest. Not good enough. There are many surgeons.

If you want to genuinely flatter this person and provide a real service to your audience, then bring the topic to a personal level and use words that describe your insight. For example, I invited another published writer to crit my work, not simply because she was published. The fact that she wrote thrillers, also, is important but that was not good enough. I invited her (begged her) to help me because she was particularly strong in areas where I am weak. I pointed that out to her as we spoke. "You provide a genuine benefit to me particular to my weakness."

Can you see how this word "genuine" implies an open end question and provide intelligent exchange?"

The Top 20 Opening Chapters/thrillers

Here is a list of the top 20 opening chapters I have discovered. If you find more challenging openings, please let me know. I would love to see them. Obviously, there are many good books with interesting and well written first chapters. We are looking for the most compelling opening chapters in thrillers for this exercise, however a couple books are selected from a different genre. Go to amazon.com and read those first chapters.

Here they are:

The Water's Edge by Karin Fossum
Hardball by Sara Paretsky
The Unquiet by John Connally
The Listener by Shira Nayman (no killing, just great suspense)
The Watchlist by Jeffrey Deaver



The 5th Victim by Jeffrey Deaver
Last Girl Dancing by Holly Lisle
Tonight You're Mine by Carlene Thompson
Homicidal Intent by Vivian Churn
Hit & Run by Casey Moreton
The Confessor by Daniel Silva
The Guesser by John Connally
The Hard Way by Lee Child
The 9th Judgment by James Patterson
Double Take by Catherine Coutler
The Inquisitor by Peter Clement
The Escape by Dr. Marcel Crespil
Jar City by Arnadul Indridson
Skinny Dip by Carl Hiassen
The Shack by William P. Young

How to Write Extremely Colorful Dialog

I challenge you to complete an exercise in dialog, only. No tags or blocking (that means no 'he said,' she said" etc.)

Try to evoke character, conflict and plot.
Create a conflict using only two individuals.
Do not use narrative or exposition, dialog only.

Run it from one to 5 pages. The idea is to see how well you can create fast moving dialog without exposition. Use no description of the surroundings unless it is done through relevant dialog.

This can be a short story, the beginning of a novel or, perhaps the start of a novel.
Terry Bisson did a great job with this in his short story, "They're Made of Meat." http://www.Terrybisson.com/page6/page6.html

Here is an exercise I completed which I will use in an upcoming novel called Bank's Vice. (Let me know if you accept the challenge).






“Why are you looking at me that way?”
“You know more than you’re telling us, don’t you?”
“Like what for example?”
“You know who did it.”
“I don’t know anything. “
“Then tell us, why did you run?”
“You came down the alley driving like crazy. You didn’t have any sirens on. How was I supposed to know you were cops?”
“You could have jumped out of the way if you thought you were in danger, but you didn’t. We chased you damn near two miles on feet, all the while screaming, police stop. But you didn’t stop did you?”
“What do you want from me?”
“Names. Addresses.”
“Like I said, two guys were running from the building when I got there. I didn’t see their faces.”
“And you didn’t have a conversation with them?”
“No. I don’t usually stop armed men and make friends with them.”
“Then why would someone testify that you did?”
“Who said that?”
“Did you?”
“Did I what?”
“Did you talk to the killers?”
“No.”
“Someone saw you talking to those men in front of the library, yesterday.”
“Yesterday? Yes, I …I talked with two strangers ….at the….library, yesterday.”
“Why did you deny it?”
“I didn’t deny anything. Are you trying to tell me those strangers are the same men who killed those people tonight?”
“Who said someone was killed?”
“I heard gunshots. People often die from that you know?”
“How many shots did you hear?”
“Five. Six or more. No more than ten.”
“But probably more than five?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you said the men were fleeing the building when you arrived.”
“They were.”
“But you heard shots. How much time exhausted between the time you heard the shots and the time you saw the fleeing men?”
“Seconds.”
“Where were you when you heard the shots?”
“Just around the corner. About ten feet away.”
“And then you approached the building?”
“Yes.”
“You put yourself in harms way after you heard the gunshots?”
“I work there.”
“So, because you work there you decided to walk in the directions where you heard the shots.”
“Yes.”
“You weren’t afraid.”
“I guess not.”
“You weren’t afraid of the bad guys, but you ran from us…the cops? Do you own a gun?"
"Yes."
"Let me guess. A nine milimeter. Silverplated?"
"Yes."
"Where is it?"
"It was stolen."
"Did you file a police report?"
"No. What are you getting at?"
"I'm getting at two men. Men you know. Men who killed tonight."
"You're not planting this on me. I don't know anything about it. I was simply going to work when the killing started."
“What time do you normally report to work?”
“Seven forty five.”
“Seven forty five sharp over the past three years isn’t that right?”
“Yes.”
“But you were late today. Why?”
“I stopped for donuts.”
"Any reason why we would find a 9 milimeter silver plated pistol ten feet from where we stopped you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Any reason why your fingerprints should be on it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
“ Donuts. Where?”
"Where what?"
"Where did you stop for donuts?"
“Krispy Crème.”
“Which one?”
“The one on Peachtree and tenth.”
“Will anyone remember you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you often stop there?”
“No.”
“Why stop by this morning?”
“I was hungry.”
“Those men, the suspects stopped by Krispy Crème this morning, also. The clerk said there was a third man. Know who that might be?”
“I wanna see my lawyer.”
“You’ll need him. Stand up and turn around. Put your hands behind your back.”

Next Saturday, I will demonstrate how to make the reader remember you forever, based on the machinations of this type of dialog. See post February 19, 2011

Succeed In Writing Because You Love It

Your gifts will make room for you and bring you before great people - Proverbs 18:16

This post is just a kind reminder of what you already know.

Don't worry about agents, publishers, genres nor question who will read your book. That is stinking thinking and ultimately counterproductive to success.

Just write it. Make your story the best it can be and don't worry about the results. After all, we can't control results. To think so is a grand illusion. We do have control over the chapters we write, the characters we create and the overall input we invest in the written product.

The only secret to success is to do what we love. We must do what we were born to do. God did not give us talent to waste. He gave us this gift so that we can positively impact the lives of others. The above subtitle bears repeating. Your gifts will make room for you and bring you before great people.

There is a space reserved at the top for each of us who live out those most viable principles of success. A study of extremely successful people share those principles in common. Here they are.

* Do what you love.
* Do your very best.
* Reach out to others with an open mind and pleasing personality.
* Give of your talents freely to help others.

Many successful entrepreneurs tend to give the above advice in many ways. Stanley Marcus, founder of Neiman Marcus stores will tell you "Take care of the product and it won't come back. Take care of the customer and she will."

He's simply giving us his perspective on the above formula: love what you do and create the best product possible. The customer, in this case, our readers will come back because we have loved our work and made it the best it can be.

On the contrary, do not write anything you don't believe in. Here's a case in point. Last year I was asked to ghostwrite a book for a handsome amount of money. I needed the money but I rejected the offer because the nature of the book was opposed to everything I believe in. It would have been a poor use of time and spiritually unproductive to entertain the thought beyond the time it took to thank the gentleman for the opportunity and dismiss the idea. I am not bragging, as it was emotionally taxing to have been exposed to an offer to which I am so opposed, especially because it involved a good deal of money. Here's my point. If we compromise on principle, we block out that space in which our gifts are creating room for us.

There is a new book entitled, "Do You," by Russell Simmons. Mr. Simmons is a man who was born broke, surrounded by shady characters in business, yet he became a billionaire at a relative young age. I plant to read this book, thoroughly during my next trip to the library and I will probably purchase it for my collection.

see http://www.globalgrind.com