Fascinating info from ALK3R about the colonial church that emerged from a reservoir. Excellent setting for a story. To see more unusual churches and temples, click here.
As water levels dropped from a Mexican reservoir, something rather surprising occurred. A 400-year-old colonial church emerged, as if it was a ghost attempting to come back to life.
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“In this documentary, the presenter and art critic Matthew Collings explores how Turner, the artist of light, makes light the vehicle of feeling in his work, and how he found inspiration for that feeling in the waters of the river Thames.”
Joseph Mallord William Turner was an English Romanticist landscape painter.
Perhaps this video would help writers understand how to describe light and feelings in their WIPs.
Julaina Kleist-Corwin
Editor of Written Across the Genres
Author of Hada’s Fog
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Gene Wolfe said, “You never learn how to write a novel. You only learn to write the novel you’re on.”
“The protagonist is the character whose fate matters most to the story.” Stephen Koch
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In both of my creative writing classes today, we discussed Imaginary friends in childhood and characters in novels we write. About half of the members in each class said they had had imaginary friends when they were young. Some of these friends changed with the situations the child experienced or they were the main characters of whatever book they read or had read to them. Some of the friends were animals, a rabbit, a tiger, and mine, which was a black dog that accompanied me to school and sat next to me at my desk. We had a real Collie but the imaginary black dog was all mine. I told my parents about him and they humored me. I still can see that dog as if he is real today. 
The handouts I gave the class members talked about how writers’ characters can be compared to childhood imaginary friends. Andrea Lochen, author of Imaginary Things, wrote an article called “Four Surprising Benefits to Letting Characters Take the Reins.” She mentioned that Marjorie Taylor’ book, Imaginary Companions and the Children who Create Them, said that “authors sometimes report feeling like their characters are real people with their own independent agendas, often surprising authors with their unexpected declarations and actions.”
http://www.amazon.com/Imaginary-Companions-Children-Create-Them-ebook/dp/B00WBN5B8A/ref=sr_1
I have experienced what Lochen and Taylor describe in every novel I’ve written. If you have too, I’d like to hear about it. You can post in comments.
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On my way home from a Fortune School of Education (teacher credentialing program) meeting today, the car ahead of me had a large decal on the right back fender:
Then I looked for a picture of a dog wagging and found this decal:
Good advice for all of us.
This one would work with writers’ block substituting writing for wagging.
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My present project, Norman in the Painting, needs a specific genre. I called it a suspense with paranormal elements but someone said that category didn’t fit. A suspense novel involves imminent danger, high stakes, and threats. Usually the readers and characters know the perpetrator, but the problem is to avoid the impending doom. Waves of frightening peril increase in intensity and lead to the crushing climax, and then at the end all is resolved.
Multiple threats and murders happen in Norman in the Painting, but the focus is not the arc described above.
Mystery seems like a generic description since mysterious elements are in many books in other genres as well. Specific mystery novels have a puzzle to solve, The protagonist has to find out whodunit in a crime that readers do not see happening. Clues are sprinkled throughout the story and the main character’s clever investigative skills unravel the complicated case.
Norman nor Jill have to track clues to know who did what. They have a problem surrounding their relationship that is not under their control. They have to figure out what to do about it.
A romance novel has a hero and heroine who meet, have conflict at first, develop into a romantic relationship, and then live happily every after. Norman in the Painting ends with a slim possibility of Jill and Norman being happy ever after because of the dangerous situation they agree to embrace. It’s less than a 50/50 chance they will be able to remain together. The required expectation that they will, eliminates my novel from the traditional romance genre.
After exploring all the possibilities, I’m back to my original category: a paranormal romance, which gives the novel a freer ending.
What genre is your novel?
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Research isn’t only for writers of historical fiction or non-fiction. All writing can benefit from research. Non-fiction writers usually rely on finding facts, but if one thinks that fiction stories don’t need research since the story is made up, misses an opportunity to enhance the story. Doing the research earlier than later in the writing process is recommended to prevent rewriting sections that might prove to be inaccurate.
The writer who embeds researched details leads the story into deepened characterization, setting, and plot points. The authenticity hooks the reader and expands the reader’s experience. The internet makes research quick and easy, but additional methods create more true-to-life feelings. When possible travel to the sites where the story takes place. Interview people who know more about the subject and locations than you do. Talk to a librarian who can help you find additional interesting information. 
Elaine Schmitz, author of Recipes & Recollections of My Greek-American Family, is writing a novel that takes place in San Francisco. Last weekend she and her friend, Lani Longshore, author of When Chenille is Not Enough, had an entertaining day looking for sites where the protagonist, Sarah, goes in San Francisco. This photo is Lani in Sarah’s favorite church, St. Francis of Assisi, in North Beach.
Sarah’s apartment: 2nd floor studio, over Tom’s Grocery, corner of Greenwich and Powell, North Beach. 
Front Street: the model for InterCorp Headquarters, the company building where the protagonist, Sarah Korsky, works and where the murder takes place. 
To find suspects: Sarah plies them with Happy Donuts: give me your name and contact info and grab one.
How do you research for your stories and novels?
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Do you listen to music as you write? Read this post by Jordan Bernal, author of The Keepers of Eire, to see whose music inspires her. I don’t usually listen to music when I write, but if I do, it’s by Patrick Von Wiegandt. https://www.patrickvon.com
As I watch the Library of Congress Gershwin Award for Best American Song presented to Billy Joel (one of my all-time favorites) on PBS tonight, I am drawn into the story of each song. Billy Joel definitely is a rebel-he doesn’t sing what is comfortable in public opinion, but he always tells a story.
It’s not surprising that I write while listening to music (Billy Joel, among others tops my playlist). The cadence, the beat, the rhythm of songs filters into my brain and draws me into my story.
I’ve been privileged to attend two concerts with Billy Joel. And while I can’t sing for all the money in California, I don’t sit meekly at Billy’s concerts. You’ll find me dancing in the aisles and singing my heart out.
Congratulations, Billy Joel. This humble fan absolutely loves you, your songs, and your storytelling!
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Diastema could be a distinguishing feature in a character for a short story or novel. Diastema is the space between the upper front teeth.
Some celebrities have diastema, Madonna, Woody Harrelson, Jack Black, Elton John, Brigitte Bardot, Michael Strahan, Condoleezza Rice, LeAnn Rimes, Ron Howard, Eddie Murphy, Samuel L. Jackson, Rhea Perlman, Seal, Ernest Borgnine, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rob Reiner, 
David Letterman, among others.
I’d like to use diastema for one of my characters. I’ll think about which one.
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Image via Flikr Creative Commons Hakan Dalstrom
I didn’t even consider becoming a writer until 1999 after my father passed away suddenly. Funny how death can make us take a hard look at life, right? Anyway, I recall feeling soooo overwhelmed. I mean my odds of even getting published were about as good as winning the lottery. And the odds of becoming a best-selling author? Well, mathematically speaking, I had a slightly greater chance of being mauled by a black bear and polar bear on the same day.
It was all I could do not to give up before I began.
But, after over 14 years doing this “writer thing,” I have a new perspective. Often it feels like we are the victims of fate, at the mercy of the universe, when actually it is pretty shocking how much of our own destiny we control. The good news is that…
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Julaina Kleist-Corwin 