A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

October 29, 2014 was a beautiful, sunny day. Shortly after lunch, my husband, Tom donned his gear, including his helmet, and set out for his daily bicycle ride. He rode fifteen to twenty-two miles every day. He was dedicated. I’m a writer, so I sat down at my computer to continue work on the novel I was drafting. Tom had not been gone but a few minutes when my cell phone rang. It was 1:13. “Mrs. Waters?” “Yes.” The caller told me Tom had been in an accident on his bike. Someone had already called 9-1-1. Apparently Tom’s front tire dropped off the pavement. He was thrown into a tree. I was out the door and headed to the site before hanging up with the unidentified man on the other end of the line. I arrived on the scene as the paramedics were beginning to assess his injuries. “Can’t breathe,” Tom whispered. The paramedics offered to help him to a sitting position to see if that would help. He nodded. But as they raised him up, he passed out. The only visible injurie...

I’ve heard it suggested that novelists fall into one of two categories: PLOTTERS and PANTSTERS. PLOTTERS supposedly carefully outline their storyline before they begin writing. PANTSTERS jump in and, as the name would suggest, they write by the seat of their pants. I’m more of a hybrid kind of girl. I plan my plot to a point, but I sometimes don’t know the direction the book will go until I start writing and get to know my characters better. What I thought would be the outcome differs from what I actually write. For example, in Breathing on Her Own , I thought the story was going to be about Laney. After all, it was Laney driving under the influence of alcohol. Laney caused the accident. Laney needed to learn her lesson. At least that’s where I started. Maybe I had it in the back of my mind that the book would serve as a warning for others who drink and drive. Not to be. As I moved through the story line I had mapped out on paper, I came to realize the story was less abou...

My daughter and I recently presented at a conference for the Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA). My daughter is in the field of market research. I know. You’re wondering what I might bring to that conversation. It was a team effort. Our topic? Using storytelling tips and techniques to write compelling research reports. We titled it Getting Beyond “Once Upon a Time.” It’s what happens when you bring a qualitative researcher and a novelist together around a dinner table. One of the areas we discussed was that of organizing the essential elements of the report, or for me, the pivotal scenes. We also talked about rhythm and weight. It occurs to me these foundational components are similar to learning to dance. Learning the steps or figures in sequence, moving to the rhythm of the music, and being aware of the weighted foot to know where to begin the next movement. Today I want to talk a bit about these pieces as we craft our novels. You see, preparing for th...

Rick Aker is the author of   Dead Man’s Rule , a suspense legal thriller likened to John Grisham’s work. The opportunity to attend a workshop on suspense writing lead by Aker at the ACFW conference in Dallas was a treat. I want to share with you a few essentials gleaned from that workshop. One of the lessons I learned from Rick is that “ all novels need an element of suspense.” Actually, I think I knew that, tough I’ve never stated it explicitly. Rick’s definition of suspense? “Uncertainty that matters to the reader.” I call them page-turners. Those moments we as writers create to make our readers need to know what happens next. Will she say yes? Will he escape? Will so-and-so return? Uncertainty. “Suspense should be tightening throughout the novel.” I agree. The stakes get higher and we need our readers pulling for our protagonist. I think often though of a story as an ocean. We create those wave-crashing, knock-us-off-our-feet scenarios, but we also have to ...