Fiction

The Story with a Heartbeat

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Jonathan Livingston Seagull

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Some stories are alive; others are dead.  A story has a heartbeat when it manages to touch the reader and evoke feelings and emotions.  This is how I know that a story has touched me deeply – I cry, I pause for a long time, I get goosebumps, or I can’t stop thinking about it, for days, weeks, or years.

The first book to touch my soul was Jonathan Livingston Seagull from Richard Bach.  A few years ago, I managed to find an autographed copy on Ebay, and I reread the story.  I loved it again, maybe more so.  It is still my favorite book.

This morning, I read a story on a blog – The Jittery Goat – and the story made me cry.  It was sweet, had a great pace, and it touched my heart.  The short story is called “A Sunset for Claire.”  You never know when a story is going to touch your soul; you can’t predict it, it just happens.

Why it happens?  Who knows; it is one of those things.  Maybe we connect with it at a deep and personal level, maybe it reminds us of something, it gives us hope, it talks to us at the right time, we get its genius … the reasons vary from reader to reader.  However, I consider this a treat when it happens.  I like many stories,poems … however, just because I like them and think they are great, that does not mean that they reached my soul – some do, some don’t – this is how it is for me.  This is why I always approach a story with a sense of respect, because I don’t know how much I will get from it and how it will touch my heart.

What is the story or poem that has touch your soul?

Steampunk Inspired

/ inkspeare

I love the Steampunk theme; it is a mix of Victorian Gothic with futuristic elements, which I find so appealing to the senses and imagination.  I love it in stories, movies, art. and even some apparel and jewelry (yes I do own some).  Steampunk screams adventure and romance, but also the darkest side – the fallen of humanity.

Thinking about this, it occurred to me that writing Steampunk is not easy; I’m not sure I could do it, although I have never tried.  The creation and elaboration of that kind of world requires a lot from the imagination.  Unlike writing in the present or writing from a historical perspective, Steampunk presents a different challenge to the writer.  The writer must create a world that has elements of the past, present and the future, and at the same time mesh in the characters, but doing all that while being true to the characters.  In a way, it is similar to writing fantasy, but in my opinion more challenging, since you can just take off with your fantasy world, but in Steampunk, you still have to abide by some “past-world rules.”

If you are a Steampunk writer I invite you to comment about the challenges that you have faced as a writer while creating that world.

The Rebellion of Characters

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A public domain image of Frank Thomas' Golden ...

Image via Wikipedia

When I set out to write my first novel,one of my main characters rebelled.  I had planned for this character to be and behave a certain way – geeky, fun, and second to the female of the story.  I began to write the story, and immediately I felt resistance from this character.  Since it was my first novel, I found this amusing, interesting, and thought to myself, “what the heck, it is just one of the characters.”  Little did I know, you should never treat a character as “just one of the characters,” and he showed me that.

My character took the lead, presented himself strong, and the total opposite to what I had planned – a hottie, smart, with a soft side and a dangerous side as well.  I let him be, and I am glad that I did that.  The result was amazing to me, he shaped the story, but did not in any way opaque the main female character.

I could have gone with my original intention and fight this character all the way to the end of the story; however, I was at the perfect stage of experimentation.  I learned a lot, and I have to thank in part this character.  My point to this post is to let yourself experiment, and don’t be afraid of letting go of a preset order of chapters, characters, and outline.  Write with love, enjoy it, have fun.