Happy Easter! Holiday Scenes in Books - fun & easy!

Happy Easter!

My books almost always feature holidays.  In my first romance novel, A Guy's Best Friend, it all kicks off at a New Year's Eve party and by the 4th of July, my main character knows things are not where they should be.  My readers do get their Happy Ending by the following New Year's Eve!

In my second book, A Guy's Worst Nightmare, the main holidays featured are the 4th of July and Halloween.  I even wrote a scene about the famous playboy bunny Halloween party!

So far, in book 3, I'm once again looking at the 4th of July and I just realized since this book, A Guy's Dream Come True, is about starting over and renewal, I'd be a fool not to write about Easter on Revere beach!

We Hansens have an Easter tradition:  we walk Revere Beach!  The sand is cold and there's usually a little coldness in the wind (except for the year it was almost 80 degrees on Easter Sunday and then we had a snowstorm with 2 feet of snow on Easter Monday!)  Warm winds greeted our bare arms and legs that Easter Sunday!

That combination of ultra-hot and ultra-cold sounds completely unbelievable.  If I wrote that scene, my readers would never believe it!

Yes, life is stranger than fiction.  Holidays are always stranger than an average day.  For readers, a holiday scene signals something important is about to happen.

What an easy way for writers to draw readers down the path and deeper into the story.  Let me know some of your favorite books with holiday scenes or about holiday scenes you are currently writing in your own books.

Stuck in the middle of a story? To toss or to tell it through to the end?

“It's important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go. Otherwise you are left with words you should have said but never did, and your heart is heavy with remorse.” 

― Yann Martel, Life of Pi

A completely minor and unimportant moment in the book and movie, "Life of Pi," was fascinating to me:  the fictional author interviewing Pi shares his own life-changing experience with Pi:  he had worked on a book for over two years and had finally given up and thrown the book away.  

I, personally, would never give a "writer" who had abandoned a story MY story.  Never. 

Why would anyone bother to finish a book if they have to work through it?  Shouldn't the story flow perfectly from Once Upon a Time to The End?  

All writers start with a dream:  a captured moment of pure inspiration. (Zap! Writing)   

Here's where writers separate from dreamers in the pack:  the personal, internalized "moment" of inspiration has to be expressed externally as a story.  The writer chooses how to express the story she wants to tell.  Will it be a poem?  A book?  A song?  A play? 

A dreamer can fake it through step one and start expressing an internal moment as a story, but the thrill for the dreamer is reliving the moment of inspiration; not the creation of the external story.  The dreamer wants to keep the inspiration for herself.  The dreamer will never write out the dream to its conclusion.  Concluding the moment of inspiration would kill the dream.

The dreamer gives up the writing and clings to the dream.  It's MY Moment.  I'm not risking it. I'm tossing the story.  It will never equal my dream.

Now comes the moment of truth.  The writer faces the biggest question of all:  can I tell this story?  Do I have what it takes to push the dream I experienced out of my mind and into the world?  Can I let it go?     

The writer plunges on; putting words on paper until the link between inspiration and external expression of the dream are woven together into a story.  Writers pour dream after dream into each scene of the story to draw the reader into a shared flash of inspiration.

A friend of mine, a talented painter, finishes a painting, shows it and sells it. She's kept a few paintings over the years, but for the most part, if a painting doesn't sell and she needs the space in her studio to work, she re-uses the canvas.  She paints over canvases she didn't sell and isn't planning to show in the future.    

In E-publishing, writers can rewrite over their canvases.  I've received a ton of notices from Amazon that writers have updated their Kindle books with significant edits.  I love that writers are re-painting stories that they want to sell or show.  

Middles are the toughest to write.  There's no doubt about that, but to bring the story out, you have to write out the whole dream.  Don't be afraid you'll sell the dream short.  You dreamed it perfectly and flawlessly.  The dream will always be yours.  Savor your dreams.  Inspire yourself to make your story better as you push through the middle.  Give the middle a chance to bungee back and forth from the moment of inspiration to the conclusion.  Complete the dream.  Move on to repaint the next dream. Push your dreams onto paper. 

HOW to "Write Happy"

What makes you happy writing?

Whatever makes you happy writing, NO ONE can tell you how to write, what to write, when to write, and especially, WHY you write.

Being happy writing, for me, means I write what, when and how I want to write.  I don't care what anyone else thinks about my writing with the exception of my friends/fans.  I care about them.  I write for their enjoyment.

How to "Write Happy"

1)  Shut out the noise.  Noise = TV, music, book reviews, books you're reading, thoughts you have about everything except the story.  You need a break from the noise to write happy.  Mentally push the volume "off" button and write.

2)  Say thank you.  Thank you for being alive.  Thank you for letting me have so much fun writing!  Thank you for the joy my writing brings to others.  Thank you for allowing me to put my thoughts into words.  Thank you for all the noise (when I'm not writing!)

3)  Be selfish.  Take time to write what you want to write.  If you write for a living and have a contract, finish the work so you can WRITE!  Find fun ways to write for yourself.  Use Dragon dictation and write in the car.  Squirrel away ideas you want to write about.  Find pleasure in your own secret writing plans.

4) Expect the unexpected.  It's OK to imagine your book becoming a bestseller or being read and loved by a big movie producer and made into a movie.  Magic happens.  Find joy in all the nice things people say to you after reading your book or for just writing a book.  Revel in it.  You're cool!  You wrote a book!  A friend of mine I hadn't heard from in a few years called me out of the blue yesterday and told me how brave I am to write a book.  It felt really good to hear.  Thank you!

5)  Stop when you're bored or you're done for the day.  I wish YOU all the best and I want you to stop reading about how to be happy writing and go do it!  I would rather discuss this with you in the comments below than try to pull a #6 out of a hat.  My coffee is getting cold and my story is waiting for me.

HAPPY WRITING!
Shawna

shawnasbooks@hansenonline.net
Check out my books on Amazon, BN & Smashwords :)

Be Happy Writing

Hello blog readers,  I'm catching up on my correspondence today and wanted to write you a quick note.

I am so happy that you are writing!  Whenever you tell me about your book ideas, I always think of other books that have similar themes and want to recommend them to you, but I also think that your voice is unique.  My followup thought is always to tell you to keep doing whatever it is you’re doing – dreamweaving and coming up with a story.  You are on to something. 

Taking writing classes is a great way to connect with writers/teachers, but you may find it tedious.  There are a lot of writing groups in every cafe and library across the world, and (whisper) they may get tedious, too.

What I’ve learned over the years as a writer is that I like a little of this and a little of that.  I can only take the classes and the other writers in small doses. Other people's views on writing are helpful, don't get me wrong, but in the end you're alone with your thoughts.  

 I have a few close friends that I share my writing with. It's a big deal to me.  Opening up my art/story/dreams to my friends is one of the best social interactions of all time.  I highly prefer it to social media!

One thing I have overcome is my fear of failure as a writer.  I will never make a living writing.  I will never win any big awards (ok, I have won a couple early on and that was an honor).  My books are imperfect and need a good editor, but I’m happy!  Isn't that funny?  I publish my imperfect books on amazon, bn.com and Smashwords and for the first time as a writer, I’m happy!  

I don’t even care about bad reviews.  Who cares?  It’s the writing and the sharing that are what I want as a writer. 

I love/crave getting emails from my friends that they love my writing and want to read more. I’ve written three books now and am working on #4.  Some of my friends loved them.  (Another thing you learn quickly as a writer is that only your fans/friends love your books.  Stay with your fans/friends.  Write for yourself and for them!)  Some are happy that I'm happy, which also makes me happy!

So long message short - Be Happy Writing!  Not many people care about your writing, but there will be readers who do.  Have fun, be yourself and write your heart out.  You have nothing to lose if you are happy writing!

Don't wallpaper your bathroom with rejection letters.  Don't print out bad reviews.  Don't be unhappy writing!  There are plenty of unhappy writers out there; miserable no matter how many awards they get.  

Remember the secret to a balanced life:  the more you take for yourself, the less you have in the end; the more you give of yourself; the more you get back in the end.

Be happy writing!  

P.S. and don't forget to eat your greens.  :)