Contagious

Read Leviticus 13-15

Leviticus 13:46 "All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be."

History is full of plagues that wiped out families, communities, and swept through countries. If we want to write a historical novel, we can pick either the period or the epidemic and follow the narration to flesh out the plot.

We don’t have to restrict ourselves to history. If we want to write a contemporary story, we can make up a disease. We could even use a known disease and imagine what would happen if it suddenly got out of control.

 

Another way to go could be to imagine what might happen if a cure was found for a disease, but the side effects took on a life of their own. Writing a contagion-related story can combine fact with fantasy.

No Mourning

Read Leviticus 10-12

Leviticus 10:19 "And Aaron said unto Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?"

What is a character is not allowed to grieve? A mother who can’t stop to grieve the loss of her husband and has to keep going because of her children. A man who can’t stop to mourn the loss of his job because he has to find a way to provide for his family. A daughter not allowed to mourn over the loss of a boyfriend her father didn’t approve of.

What kinds of problems might that cause for the character? Maybe she becomes unpredictable because of all the suppressed anguish. Maybe it spells trouble for the future like an explosion when the reason for keeping the grief inside no longer exists.

 

What kinds of problems might it cause for the other characters? Would that father ever feel guilty for forcing his daughter to stop mourning? It’s an interesting “what if” to think through to see if something like this might flesh out the plot.

Atonement

Read Leviticus 7-9

Leviticus 8:34 "As he hath done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you."

Atonement is a good theme for a story. Whether it’s making amends to someone they’ve wronged or punishing themselves, an atonement story can go in a lot of directions.

A protagonist might feel a great burden of guilt because of actions of herself or her family. A villain could be driven to heinous crimes because of a wrong he feels he can only set right by his actions.

 

Even minor characters trying to make amends could have a big impact in driving the plot forward—or preventing other characters’ actions. An atonement tale has a lot of possibilities.

Heedless

Read Leviticus 4-6

Leviticus 4:2 "Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:"

Having a heedless character in the story requires plot issues. If the character is a child he must be cared for, protected from the consequences of his actions, and taught to behave more carefully.

If the character is an adult with limitations, she can’t be treated exactly like a child because she would have more freedom. The characters who either are or feel responsible for her will be challenged as they try to balance the freedoms with caring, protection, and trying to prevent repeats of her behavior.

 

A heedless but fully functioning adult will cause conflicts in the story. He might hurt someone’s feelings and have to apologize. He might cause damage and have to make amends. But unless he’s comic relief, even a minor heedless character should show some growth by the story’s end.

Rituals

Read Leviticus 1-3

Leviticus 3:3 "And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire unto the Lord; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,"

We encounter rituals so often, we may no longer notice them. Rituals might be seasonal, spiritual, or personal. Traditions often involve rituals.

We can use rituals to paint a scene, for instance if a town has certain rituals that our characters are part of. We can use rituals to establish conflict, for instance if a character is trying to avoid becoming a part of a community’s ritual. The story’s climax could be a showdown between those insisting on the rituals and the individuals resisting taking part.

We can use it when introducing a character, for instance if a character has certain rituals he must follow to function. Character growth could be showing he no longer needs his rituals.

Buddies

Read Exodus 37-40

Exodus 38:23 "And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen."

A buddy plot involves two protagonists who have a common goal and common enemy, but who are also in conflict with each other. It’s most often seen in movies and television shows.

Screen and theater plays use a different format, but still need a beginning, middle, and end, and are visual mediums.

 

But it’s not impossible to write a buddy story or novel. Think of it as a protagonist and sidekick where the sidekick has a bigger role than usual.

Pariah

Read Exodus 33-36

Exodus 34:30 “And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.”

Some story worlds' populations include a pariah—someone the other characters avoid or someone who has isolated himself. It could be someone the other characters are afraid of or someone who is afraid of the other characters.

It could be someone with unusual talents or someone who acts strangely. It could also be a misunderstanding—someone shunned in error, or someone who is trying to heal from trauma before mixing with others.

 

Not every story benefits from having such a character, but when looking to enrich the plot, it’s worth thinking about. As long as the character plays an important role at some point in the story, a pariah could make for an interesting addition.

Scent

Read Exodus 29-32

Exodus 30:35 "And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:"

When setting a scene, use all the senses. Vision is the easiest and most common sense used, but if we can figure out a way to work the sense of smell into a scene, it will put our writing ahead of others’.

Scent triggers memories and triggers emotions based on those memories: cinnamon baking in the warm, cozy homes from childhood, for instance or our grandfather’s aftershave lotion.

 

It doesn’t have to be past memories or pleasant ones: the stench of rotting garbage or an ex-wife’s perfume. When writing a scene just take an extra few minutes to see if any scents will help make the reader feel she is there.

Patterns

Read Exodus 25-28

Exodus 25:9 "According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it."

We don’t want to become hacks by writing to a pattern, but both fiction and nonfiction have discernable patterns. Ignoring them will cause our writing to sound more like stream-of-consciousness. It’s interesting to write, but very confusing to a reader.

Nonfiction patterns, such as the inverted triangle, keep our articles focused. Even the paragraphs can be broken into patterns. Fiction writing has several patterns--the three act structure, the journey, etc. Each genre also has its own pattern like romance—boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl.

 

Patterned writing meets reader’s expectations and keeps their interest. It also keeps the writing from wandering.

Slice of Life

Read Exodus 21-24

Exodus 23:25 "And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee."

When we keep journals about what is happening in our lives, we are writing about a slice of life. Many of the Facebook entries we read also could be considered a slice of life.

When writing profiles we are trying to give readers a slice of the subject’s life. The subject may not consider her life very exciting because it’s familiar to her, but our readers will find it interesting.

 

Some short story markets are open to a slice of life story. It’s not as easy as it sounds to write because even though it doesn’t need to be dramatic, something must happen to the character and it still needs a beginning, middle, and end.

Fanfare

Read Exodus 17-20

Exodus 19:16 "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled."

A fanfare plays when a king or president of a country arrives at a gathering. It even happens in movies or on television—who doesn’t recognize Darth Vader’s theme music?

Writing a fanfare in a story is a little trickier. We’re unlikely to need as dramatic an appearance as the Lord’s in today’s passage.

It doesn’t have to be music or thunder. We can use other things, like a perfume scent that precedes a character into a room, or a stomping walk other characters can hear that tells them a certain character is coming. Used sparingly, it can be a fun way to add to a character’s traits.

Motivation

Read Exodus 13-16

Exodus 13:14 "And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:"

Every actor wants to know, “what’s my motivation?” when rehearsing a scene. It helps her know which words to emphasize, which facial expressions to use, and what emotions her character should be feeling.

When writing a scene every action needs a motivation. The reader wants to know why the character is doing something so he can feel right along with her.

 

Whether it’s as obvious as an organ chord sounded in a soap opera or as subtle as a lighter shade of black, action is better when driven by a tangible motivation.

Acquired Riches

Read Exodus 9-12

Exodus 12:35 "And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:"

When your character is rich, the money has to have come from somewhere. She may be a young genius who is paid well for her expertise, or he may be an incredibly talented salesman who could sell anything to anybody—and did.

Even family money had to come from somewhere. Sometimes it’s a history to be proud of and sometimes it’s a family’s darkest secret.

 

The writer needs to know where the money came from. A quick mention in passing is all that's necessary if it isn’t important to the plot. Or it could have a huge effect on the story and be a rich source of plot points. It’s all up to the writer.

Proof

Read Exodus 5-8

Exodus 6:27 "These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron."

We do a lot of research when we write articles. Some of it we can document and some comes from our life experience.

However, editors want proof of all our content. Interviewing ourselves probably won’t impress them.

 

We just have to dig a little deeper. Our experiences are based on facts and events we’ve lived through, All we need to do is find them and provide the evidence.

Cruelty

Read Exodus 1-4

Exodus 1:16 "And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live."

Cruelty is a hard thing to witness, even from afar. Whether reading a newspaper article, watching a movie or television show, or especially writing a scene involving cruelty, it makes us cringe.

But a story needs a compelling catastrophe for a believable motivation. Both the protagonist and the reader are catapulted to action when faced with cruelty.

 

A convincing villain is cruel. The degree of heartlessness will depend on how much the story’s target audience can take.

Soft Spot

Read Genesis 47-50

Genesis 47:22 "Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands."

One way to make characters unique is to give them a soft spot—something beyond a weakness that guides their actions and decisions. It’s not only villains, other characters can benefit.

The soft spot can be a fondness for a pet, a certain kind of car, a person, or anything that can be used to deepen the character and further the plot.

 

It doesn’t have to come from within the person—a line the character won’t cross or a law the character won’t break. Give the character a soft spot, put her in a situation where the soft spot subject is in jeopardy, and strengthen your story by writing what happens next.

Showing Emotion

Read Genesis 43-46

Genesis 43:30 "And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there."

When we’re writing a scene, we are so caught up in our work, we are seeing what the characters are seeing and feeling what the characters are feeling. It makes sense to write that the protagonist felt sad.

The reader needs a little more help before he becomes involved in the story. We need to find ways to show the characters’ emotions.

 

Pair actions with the emotions, even unconventional pairings, and the reader will become as attached to the story as the writer is.

Premonition

Read Genesis 40-42

Genesis 41:8 "And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh."

Your character doesn’t have to be a psychic to have premonitions. Call it intuition or a sixth sense, most of us have experienced an eerie peek into the future.

Your character might be someone who is known for his uncanny hunches and predictions of what will happen to the people around him. Another character might be superstitious and the scoffers around her find she’s right way too often for comfort. Maybe it’s someone who is close to nature, like someone who grew up on a farm and learned to predict hurricanes based on animals’ and plants’ behavior without even realizing that’s the source of the information.

 

Having a character who has premonitions is an engaging way to foreshadow plot events and keep the other characters uneasy and the reader’s eyes glued to your story.

Escalating Complications

Read Genesis 37-39

Genesis 39:20 "And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison."

When faced with a problem, we gather our data, make a decision, and take action. Then the problem is solved.

When plotting a story, our characters need to go through the same steps. But instead of solving the problem, the solution should lead to more complications—otherwise the story is over.

 

Just when your reader relaxes after your character gets out of one jam, the next issue arises. Keep escalating those consequences and your reader will stay with you until your story’s end.

Deceit

Read Genesis 34-36

Genesis 34:23 "Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of their's be our's? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us."

Deceit will be an important ingredient in our plot. We want to raise story questions to keep the action going and the readers engaged and deceit can help.

It can be deliberate and two sided like Israel’s sons vs. Hamor and Shechem. It can be one sided—the villain against the protagonist or the protagonist against the villain. It can be done with good intentions, for instance one character deceiving another for protection.

 

It can even be done by the writer—trying to trick the reader into not noticing certain clues to a mystery or hiding foreshadowing before a surprise ending. But writer vs. reader deceit needs to be done carefully, skillfully, and purely to enhance the reader’s enjoyment of the story.

Inciting Incident

Read Genesis 31-33

Genesis 31:2 "And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before."

As we are setting up our story world and introducing our characters to our readers, we’re going to need an inciting incident. We’re going to need some reason why our characters can’t go happily about their businesses. The reader needs an answer to the question, “Why am I reading this?”

It can be an intrusive event that happens to our characters. It can be something like what Jacob experienced—the people around our characters force a change. It could even be something small that causes a character to realize he is in a rut and must change—putting pressure on himself.

The inciting incident is what sets our story rolling and our characters reeling.

Rivalry

Read Genesis 28-30

Genesis 30:15 "And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son's mandrakes."

Whether the clash is between siblings or sworn enemies, rivalry is a good way to show conflict. One object and two people who want it.

Subplots might include the rivals joining forces against another enemy or negotiating like Rachel and Leah did. Stir in some mirroring situations, maybe a dash of comedy.

 

Add dire consequences to each party not getting the item, determination to win at all costs, and mistakes made because of increasing desperation and the rivalry plot nearly outlines itself.

Opposites

Read Genesis 25-27

Genesis 25:27 "And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents."

Our characters need to be a study of opposites. The protagonist is short, the villain is tall. The love interest is muscular, the sidekick is puny.

Opposites carry built-in conflict. Even the best of friends might envy one another for instance, if one is married and one is single.

The big conflict is whether or not the protagonist will meet the story goal, but the smaller conflicts of opposites will keep readers’ interest during the story journey.

Treat Characters as if They Were Real

Read Genesis 22-24

Genesis 24:32 "And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him."

When we’re plotting our stories, we have to remember to treat our story world as if it was real. People have to eat and sleep. They change clothes and dress for the weather.

Animals and pets have to be cared for. Vulnerable member’s needs must be provided for.

We don’t have to write pages of details or emphasize anything that isn’t important in moving our story forward, but if we don’t at least mention a babysitter once for parents who are called suddenly away, or mention feeding or walking the dog, our readers might begin to focus on these particulars we’ve neglected and be thrown out of the pleasant dream we’ve so carefully weaved for them.

All it requires is a brief mention to take care of the issues and keep our reader’s attention where the action is.

High Stakes

Read Genesis 19-21

Genesis 19:13 "For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it."

The consequences of our characters failing to reach their goals need to be big. Stories about nothing in particular lose readers’ interest pretty quickly.

The cost doesn’t need to be earth altering, like Lot’s was, but needs to be vitally important to the characters. It needs to be something the reader can see could shatter the character’s world.

 

Making the story stakes high enough will keep readers invested in whether or not the characters will succeed and can even help in the writer’s plotting process.

Plot Ideas

Read Genesis 16-18

Genesis 16:2 "And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai."

Whether you outline before writing or plot as you go, you have to figure out what comes next in your story. Some points are easy to figure out—they follow logically from what has gone before. Your character has tried something and now must deal with the consequences.

Other plot points will elude us and tax our imaginations. Your story has come to a dead end and nothing plausible comes next.

Try asking yourself what is the worst thing my character can do. Even a bad idea like the one Sarai had is better than no idea. Sometimes thinking about the story consequences of your character giving up or blowing something up or whatever horror you can think of will spark a less devastating decision for your story and jump-start the rest of your plot.

Giving yourself permission to wreck your story might get you past that dead end.

Keeping Track

Read Genesis 13-15

Genesis 13:16 "And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered."

I can’t think of anyone who would be interested in trying to count the dust particles on the earth.

But we need to figure out a useful way to keep track of our manuscripts. We don’t want to lose track of which piece we sent to whom, which have been rejected, by whom, and where it was sent next, who has paid us and who still owes us, which markets have new editors who might now be interested in a previously rejected piece, and so on.

Probably the most popular method for keeping track is a computer spreadsheet, but you need to find out what works for you and keep the information current.

Otherwise, it won’t be long before we’re as overwhelmed as that fool trying to “number the dust of the earth.”

Communication

Read Genesis 10-12

Genesis 11:7 "Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."

Writing is communication. Even if we’re writing fiction, we want our readers to understand what we’re trying to say.

The ideas in our heads seem so clear. We know exactly what we want to say.

Something happens as those ideas make their way from our brains to the page. They become jumbled and messy. They don’t make any sense, even to us who just wrote them.

 

Fortunately, we have a chance to fix them and make them right. Then our readers will know what we meant for them to know.

Using Rain

Genesis 7:12 "And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights."

Rain is used a lot when trying to set a mood. It’s wet and uncomfortable.  The clouds make the day dark and the downpour makes it dreary. It’s depressing. It’s inconvenient and even destructive.

But it is also cleansing and refreshing. It can be fun splashing around. Maybe your character loves a good storm. If your characters are experiencing a drought, it can bring welcome relief.

You get to decide. Is the rain a positive or negative in your story?

Rejection

Read Genesis 4-6

Genesis 4:5 "But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell."

We understand how Cain felt. Rejections make our countenances fall, too. Also taking vengeance on those who rejected us sounds like a good idea.

We grieve, mourn, get angry, get depressed, get discouraged.

That's understandable. Take some time to process the rejection. Then get that rejected piece out to another market.

The way to do that is first to put a limit on the amount of time we wallow in despair. Then take another quick look at the piece to see if anything needs improving. Take a look at the next market on the list to see if we need to make any changes to re-target that particular market. Make sure we’re submitting the piece according to the market’s requirements and to a market that takes this kind of piece.

Then get that piece back out there! Vengeance and wallowing won’t get us published, but hard work and persistence eventually will.

Begin

Read Genesis 1-3

Genesis 1:2 "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."

Creation was easy for God. He started with nothing and created the universe.

But when we face the blank page or empty screen—our ideas “without form and void”—we have a tough time making progress.

The trick is to begin. Don’t let the blank page intimidate! We don’t have to write well. We don’t have to write coherently. We can even throw out everything we write.

Just write something. Start the novel with, “It was a dark and stormy night.” Start the article with the definition of article. Write a sentence about how we don’t know what to write about. Write a list of things we ought to be doing since our writing obviously isn’t going well.

 

Write something, anything. Don’t let the canvas remain “without form and void.” Just begin.