Making Sense of it all

When planning your stories, consider what sort of emotion you are trying to get your readers to feel. For example, in a thriller or crime story you might want to generate a foreboding mood through your writing. This might be achieved by dropping in little hints of troubles to come; or creating darker scenes through your narrative. Dialogue could include a character's worries and concerns; you might pile on the layers of difficulties to add to that overall sense of foreboding through your description, narrative and dialogue.

The same applies if you're trying to create a sense of intrigue and mystery. Let everything you write go towards that mood and atmosphere. Or perhaps you're writing about the grandeur of something, a royal palace, a sumptuous banquet, so you want to create a sense of occasion. Again, build up the atmosphere through description, using all the senses.

Maybe you're trying to write something humorous. You'll definitely be hoping your readers will have a sense of humour and will see the funny side of what your characters are saying and doing. You'll no doubt find that the characters themselves aren't deliberately trying to be funny. The humour often happens through their tragic circumstances, as things go wrong for them. 

So, think carefully about the mood and atmosphere in your scenes, know what sort of 'sense' you're trying to get across to readers. Keep that in focus as you write your stories.

Common sense

Unless you're writing about a Frank Spencer or Homer Simpson type of character, then your characters should be blessed with a bit of common sense. So that in any given situation, they would use their common sense. And this is worth remembering if you're not going to irritate your reader. For example, your character might be facing some sort of emotional or physical conflict that could be easily sorted if they just used their common sense.

Try not to let your plot become contrived – if a character's difficulties could all be overcome if they'd just used their common sense. For example, all would have been sorted if they’d spoken to Uncle George, or opened the letter, or said they were sorry etc. It’s so annoying for the reader when the character doesn’t do the obvious.

If it would ruin your plot for them not to act in the most obvious way, then be sure you have a very good reason for them not to have acted as any normal person would.  Otherwise readers and editors with be groaning with frustration. Look at your plot and make sure your characters do the obvious. It might mean you thinking a lot harder about the conflict facing them, and their situation.

Sensing when it’s right

As writers, we have to use our senses too, especially when trying to work out whether we've got a piece of writing right, or whether there's something wrong with it.  Far better to sense that it's not right and then to work on improving it, rather than thinking it's great – when it's not.

So how do you do that?  I can only say that it comes with practice and with learning. Writing is a craft that you can learn. If you don't bother learning the rules of grammar, punctuation, viewpoint, the tenses, adverbs, dialogue etc., then you won't be able to see your mistakes. Additionally, it’s so important to read. You learn by reading and seeing how other writers create their magic.

But even if you've done all that, you still need to develop a sense of knowing whether your work is finally as good as you can get it – or not. This comes with edits. You need to go over and over your work, tweaking, re-arranging, re-phrasing, reading it aloud, listening to the euphony of every sentence, listening for repetitions. Look out for bad writing habits. Know when something jars. Have a keen ear and listen to anything that doesn't sit quite right.

If you're looking to create a tear-jerking scene, it should bring tears to your eyes. If you're creating a dramatic scene, then you should feel anxious as you read it. If you're creating a humorous scene, it should at least bring a smile to your face, no matter how many times you go over it.

Be critical of your own work, but not to the extent that you're never happy with it, or you lose confidence in your abilities as a writer. Develop that sense of knowing when something isn't right, but also develop the sense to know when it's well written. Learn to trust your own senses.

Narrative in brief

• Always aim to keep the reader reading. Don’t make it easy for them to put your book down, or to put your short story aside before finishing it.

• Don’t let there be a let up from the action. When one trouble is over another one is just beginning.

• When the action isn’t so dramatic or intense, consider using a transition to move the story forward. Also, feed the reader with tasty little morsels or hints of the drama to come.

• Plot and plan your story scene-by-scene, or by chapters so action and/or emotion rises to a crescendo at the end of that scene/chapter. Stop at a point where the reader is desperate to know what’s coming next.

• Don’t be afraid to use cliff-hangers. Let your protagonist be in some sort of predicament – emotionally, physically or both.

• If you have more than one viewpoint character, make them as interesting as each other.

• If a section is feeling even slightly long winded or tedious to you, shorten it, either in content or in the sentence structure. Or consider whether it’s even necessary. Make every word count.

• When describing people and places and things, pick out the most poignant aspects. Always tell the reader something they didn’t know.  

• Create characters that the reader will be interested in.

• Use good dialogue to move the story forward. Let characters say how they are feeling.

• Hint at troubles to come though the narrative and the dialogue.

• Adjust punctuation. You can create tension through your punctuation. Add a more breathless feel to a section by deliberately shortening the sentences.

• Occasionally highlight poignant words, phrases or thoughts in italics.

• Always use the senses. Let the reader see, hear, feel, smell, touch and taste everything the character experiences.

• When you want to ‘up’ the tempo of your story, let there be a deliberate switch, something happening in the story that changes everything.

• Plan scenes to give a ‘calm before the storm’ type of feel.

• Make good use of the weather and environment to add drama and atmosphere.

• Show don’t tell: Don’t say a character is afraid/happy/excited etc, show it by how they behave and what they say, do and think.

• Read aloud. You may find that adjusting the punctuation and re-phrasing may turn something mundane into something dramatic.

  

Exercise 1

As an exercise think of an object. Now describe it using the relevant senses i.e. what you might see when looking at it; what sounds it might make; what it tastes like; what it feels like; what it smells like. Ask a friend or relative to try and guess what you have described. Repeat the exercise until you are bored (or your friend is).

Tomorrow:  Editing your work.

Thank you Rob Tysall, Tysall's Photography for the image. This was taken at the Nuneaton & Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary.

Improving your narrative

Show don’t tell. You’ll have heard that phrase many times, so be sure you are acting upon it. Your story needs to engage the emotions. It’s no use simply saying that a character was feeling this way or that way; it’s no good saying they were feeling angry or feeling sad. It’s through the character’s actions, reactions, words and thoughts that you need to show them being angry or being sad – or any one of the many emotions people feel: misery, jealousy, grief, joy, sympathy, love, hate and so on.

There’s a fine line between showing and telling. You show what’s going on through the story narrative. It ends up as ‘telling’ when the narrative takes it a step too far; when the author chips in and blatantly tells the reader something they feel they need to know. It’s when you’re offering too much information.

If it’s that important, find some way of letting the characters impart this to the reader. The author should have the confidence in their characters to do so, and not feel the reader won’t understand unless they add their two-pennyworth. Words to watch out for that might indicate you’re about to tell, could include: because, for and as.

Use the senses

To bring a scene to life and allow the reader to experience the events in all their glory, write using all your senses  – taste, touch, smell, sound, sight – and not forgetting your sixth sense, that ability to just ‘know’ something.

Sight

Readers know what everyday objects look like, so pick out the unusual aspect or angle, or focus on something that has specific meaning to the character, perhaps something that brings back memories or affects their emotions in some way. To increase suspense, why not have normal everyday things suddenly appearing wrong. If you’ve seen the film ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’ you’ll remember the chilling effect those neatly stacked tins and folded towels created.

Little things associated with an unpleasant character can increase tension. Perhaps your villain smoked cigarettes, so the stub of one left on the heroine’s doorstep might heighten her fear. The sight of a footprint or a large paw print in the soft earth might add tension; or the sight of something just disappearing out of sight; or the glimpse of a shadow; or the glare of car headlights. Whatever you choose to mention in your narrative, let it be there for a reason.

Sound

Bring a scene to life by allowing your reader to hear the sounds that your character can hear. Think of the background noises whether your characters are in a factory, a supermarket, on a beach, in an aircraft or wherever. If there is a sound that is out of place in that situation, be sure to let the reader hear that. Let us hear the tone of someone’s voice when they speak and the way that is modulated depending who they are talking to.

When increasing tension, emotion and atmosphere, draw attention to sounds that may not have been noticed before. A quiet room can become even quieter if you can hear the ticking of a clock, or the soft popping of a gas fire, or the sound of their own breathing. You can heighten the suspense in a story by writing in the softest sounds – a whisper, a creak. The softest sounds are often the most effective.

Smell

We have all experienced how certain smells conjure up different memories and feelings. A certain smell can whisk you back decades.  Freshly baked bread, a particular perfume or aftershave, a fish and chip shop, a sea breeze, an oily garage, bacon and eggs cooking, lilies, roses, newly mown grass, freshly ground coffee. Use your sense of smell in your writing to bring a scene to life. And when you want to emphasise the mood even more strongly, focus your character’s attention on the smell of something specific and meaningful.

Taste

Your characters may taste lots of good and bad things throughout your story, but again use the ploy cleverly when you really want to arouse the emotions. Let them taste things other than food. How about the taste of their lover’s lips against theirs? Or taste rain on their tongue; or snowflakes or fog. At the other end of the scale, let them taste fear, let it be so tangible that they can taste it. Perhaps they are so sickened that they taste the bile burning in their throats. What if they are so wracked with misery that their favourite food tastes like wood shavings and sticks in their throat? As people know what certain things taste like, be selective in what you choose to write about – pick out the more unusual things to taste, or when things taste wrong for some reason.

Touch

This sense can portray so much. People in love want to touch each other constantly, to be close, holding hands, caressing, cuddling. Parents hug their children; people stroke their pets; strangers do not touch and if they do, there is embarrassment and apologies for invading the other person’s space. Acquaintances might shake hands. We touch and feel so many things, the silky fabric of a ball gown; the smooth surface of an expensive piece of furniture or ornament; we might touch a leather coat to feel its softness and suppleness. Let your reader feel your character’s world through the sensation of touch.       

                                                                                         

The sixth sense

Sense is all about awareness, of perception and recognition. That sixth sense is our extra sensory perception, which some people have more than others. It's a feeling of knowing something when really there's no evidence to support it. I'm a big believer in allowing my character to have that sixth sense – not in a constant mystical way, but just occasionally it can work wonders, when your character just senses that something is going to happen. Something bad was coming their way… Often it works a treat if you're aiming to send a shiver down the reader's spine.

Today’s Exercise:

Take your protagonist to a setting that’s new to them, narrate and describe through their emotions and senses, and really bring the scene to life.

Tomorrow:  When and how to use transitions and flashbacks.

Thank you Rob Tysall, Tysall's Photography for the image. This is of Coventry's ancient Charterhouse.

Writing the narrative

The narrative is the voice through which you tell your story. Narrative is what leads the reader smoothly through the story with all its ups and downs, high and low spots, emotions and drama. The narrative is what tells the reader what is going on. For example, it lets the reader know that a Highland warrior is marching down the valley, kilt swinging, his beret tilted to one side. The narrative is what tells the reader that thunderous black clouds are rolling in over the rooftops and that the wind is whipping the leaves into a frenzy.

Your story is a balance of narrative and dialogue. However, there is no set formula to see if you are getting the balance right, this all comes down to your ability to write a story – and that comes with practice.

You might start with narrative, setting the scene and drawing the reader into this new world. Or you might start with dialogue and then narrate the next few paragraphs to define who and where your characters are and what is going on. Narrative, like dialogue, advances your story. Narration works hand in hand with viewpoint, so that the writer can merge a descriptive passage smoothly into the key character’s thoughts and actions.

The setting for your story is obviously very important. And the settings will change from scene to scene. The narrative voice will portray these settings, letting the reader in on this world, which so far is a product of your imagination. Your narration as you tell the story must engage and interest the reader. It must describe scenes and characters and stir the emotions of the reader.

Through narrative you set the scene, you describe what is going on, and you move the story forward. You show the reader what you can see in your mind. You have to paint the picture and open up this imaginary world where these imaginary people are battling with the many obstacles littering their path. But be careful not to sit back in your typist’s chair as you, the author, describe this imaginary scene through your eyes. Stick closely to your viewpoint character and let the narrative go hand in hand with their emotions.

Your own style of writing narrative will reveal itself the more you write. It is down to you to polish that style until you create scenes which are vivid, yet not too flowery. Too much and you will be writing ‘purple passages’ which are gushing with sentiment. Too little and your story could be dull.

There is a very fine line however in the narration of the story and the author talking – giving the reader that extra bit of information that suddenly jars them from the world of make believe and allows them to hear the author’s voice. You as author, should stay well hidden – have faith and trust in your characters. If the author goes beyond the narration and pops in their own thoughts, opinions, or additional information, it instantly jolts the reader from this fictional world and reminds them that the author is still there, pulling the strings. The reader does not want that. This story is between them and the characters, the author must remain out of sight.

Find your narrative voice and let that voice speak throughout the story, linking the passages of dialogue, keeping the whole thing flowing smoothly. If you are tempted to add in some piece of random information for good measure, or to start preaching or stating an opinion, then hit the delete key and find some natural way for your characters to pass this information on, either through their actions, their thoughts or through their dialogue.

When writing description avoid writing the obvious. Pick on the most poignant aspect of a person, place or thing. Tell the reader something they didn’t know. Find your own unique ways of showing and describing. Don’t let descriptions slow the story down.

You might want to get across what your hero or heroine looks like. You may have spent hours researching the outfits they are wearing. But to write paragraphs of description can have the reader impatient to know what these two characters are actually going to say to one another. So, blend your descriptions with movement of the characters so the story is continually moving forward, and at the same time supplying the reader with all the necessary imagery in their mind’s eye.

Location

Be imaginative when setting the scene. Avoid the obvious or find something different or unusual about a normal setting. There’s no point in wasting words to describe something everyone knows about. Pick out an element that makes it different and describe that instead.

 Look for contrasts to the ‘norm’ for the locations in your stories. For example, the setting for a ghost story might well be in a ramshackle old house in the middle of nowhere, but it could be equally as atmospheric if the ghost haunts somewhere as ordinary as an office, a library, a hospital ward, a school sports hall.

Why not make your location in acute contrast to the emotional theme, for example love blossoming amidst the hostilities of a war or a riot; or murder at a joyful family celebration.

As you narrate and describe a place, remember it’s not just what can be seen, but the sounds and smells of that place too. Keep your viewpoint character close as you describe a setting. Wherever possible, let it be how the character perceives it – and that will be governed by their mood at that moment.

Today’s Exercise:

Using just narrative write a paragraph or two of a particular setting when the weather is good and your protagonist is happy.

Then write the same setting when the weather is far from good and your protagonist is struggling to cope with the situation and their mood is far from good. Try and portray how their mood can affect the outlook on the same setting.  

Tomorrow: Looking at atmosphere and mood.

Thank you Rob Tysall, Tysall's Photography for the image, taken originally from our trip to Switzerland to write about Search and Rescue.