How Do You Handle the Nasties?

This month our Round Robin blog topic is: How do you handle/use violence, or any type of danger, in your stories?

For me, being a non-violent person (read mile-wide yellow streak down my spine) I find it very difficult to write villains and villainy into my stories. Murder mysteries and thrillers with graphic content tend to make me squirm or give up reading or watching them. That’s not to say that I can’t appreciate good writing or great acting, just that I’d rather not have my sleep disturbed by bad dreams after experiencing it. Case in point – I had to stop watching Criminal Minds because of the nightmares it gave me. Yes, folks, that’s just how much it upset me.

However, conflict is a must-have to write a good story. Without conflict there really is no story. I think of the example I have given to writing classes in the past of a couple cleaning their teeth. They go into the bathroom. He takes the cap off the tube of toothpaste, squeezes the tube in the middle to get the required amount of paste on his brush, gives her the tube. She squeezes the tube in the same place and as soon as her toothbrush is loaded, she screws the cap back on. It's routine. It’s boring. Nothing happens. It does not move the story forward. Heck, it isn’t even a story.

BUT – what if they don’t go into the bathroom together? What if he goes in first, showers, shaves, cleans his teeth?

What if he squeezes the tube in the middle and she squeezed the tube from the bottom, rolling it up as each part of it becomes flattened? What if he always throws the tube on the side of the basin and leaves the cap off, allowing just a bit of toothpaste to escape and make a mess on the porcelain which causes her to yell at him? And he yells right back “it’s only frigging toothpaste!” What if this happens morning after morning until she could just shoot him? Oh, oh. Did I say, ‘shoot him’? This is not routine. It’s not boring. We have conflict. We have a story.  

When I write my own stories, I write the ‘nice’ bits first – the characters and things that come easily to me. Then I have to weave in the nefarious stuff. The nasty cousin, the thief in the night, or the blackmailer. But I work out their character lines as much as I do for my hero or heroine. I want to know what has made my characters the way they are, nice, naughty or just plain nasty. The results may never grace a page, but at least I know what makes them tick and can convey as much as is necessary through introspection or dialogue. I have to have some measure of empathy for my villains and hope my readers understand that. 

Two books that I have read a couple of times each for spine-tingling, edge-of-my-seat suspense and examples of how to build tension are Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot and Dean Koontz’s Innocence. Neither has the kind of graphic, visual hit that makes me want to peer through my fingers. Rather, it is a slow build-up of little details that draw me in. If it’s an out and out fight scene, I don’t think anyone sets that up as well as Lee Child does in his Jack Reacher books. I mostly write Regency romance, but the basics apply to any era. In my second Regency I needed to set up a sword-fight scene so went to my local sword fencing club and got so much more information than if I had just read about it or watched YouTube clips – although I have to admit I find YouTube an enormously useful tool.  

Writers are a resourceful lot and what works for one may not work for another. Let’s visit the authors listed her and see what works for them.

Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1i2
Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com
Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Anne de Gruchy https://annedegruchy.co.uk/category/blog/
Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com

Meet Stuart R. West, My First Guest of 2018.

My guest today is Stuart R. West, an author whose work I enjoy very much. I've read several of his books and the Zach and Zora series tickled my funny bone to the extent of laugh-out-loud, OMG humor while Peculiar County and Dread and Breakfast both gave me the chills a la Stephen King. Dread and Breakfast, in particular, reeled me in with its seemingly innocuous premise but quickly turned into something quite dark and disturbing. I didn't see the all too believable twist in the tale coming which made the book all the more satisfying. I hope you enjoy Stuart's wit as much as I do and don't forget to visit tomorrow Friday, 16th February 2018, for a showcase of some of his books.

Q: When and why did you start writing? What is it about writing that satisfies you the most?
A: Hey there, Victoria, thanks so much for having me on your blog. I started writing about six
years ago when the company I’d worked at as a graphic designer for 27 years closed up shop.
At the time I was devastated, not wanting to start over in the corporate world. That was when I
realized I absolutely abhorred the corporate world. So I took up writing (along with cooking
which my wife greatly appreciates) to run away from Big Business. To me, the most satisfying
thing about writing is typing “The End.”

Q: What is one subject or genre you would never write about and why?
A: That’s easy! Erotica! (You’re very welcome, everyone!). To me, sex in books or movies is
interesting for about the first minute, then it’s *yawn* “isn’t this something I’d rather be doing
myself?” Honestly, I don’t know how erotica writers do it. There’re only so many different ways
to describe body parts.

Q: What type of scene do you find the hardest to write? Funny, romantic, scary, or sad?
A: Outside of erotica (see above), action is the hardest for me to write. Which is kinda dumb, I
realize, since I usually include lots of action in my books. It’s challenging. Car chases are
particularly tough to write as I think they lean more toward visual entertainment. Doesn’t mean I
don’t write a lot of ‘em, though. Call me a writing masochist.

Q: What advice about writing do you wish you had given yourself early in your writing
career?
A: Don’t write 18 novels in six years! Just don’t do it, Stuart! Don’t make me cover over there!

Q: Do you read your reviews? If so, how do you celebrate the good and get over the bad?
A: Of course I read my reviews! Any writer who says they don’t is pulling your leg. I celebrate the
good notices with a smarmy grin, a haughty attitude, and walk around like the la-de- da King of
Writers. To the naysayers, I say, “clearly they don’t know what they’re talking about. Hmph.”
(Then I go curl up in a ball and cry myself to sleep.)

Q: If you weren’t a writer, what would you be and why?
A: That’s another easy one! Why, I’d be the President of the United States, of course! After
all...anyone can do it, right?

FUN QUESTIONS: 

Q: What is the best or most memorable compliment you ever received?
A: Eight years or so ago, I bought a six-pack of beer at the local convenience store. The clerk said,
“Can I see some I.D?” With a grin, I happily whipped my driver’s license out. Of course, when
she started laughing at my age, the preceding compliment lost a bit of its luster. Note...this hasn’t
happened EVER again.

Q: What is the most memorable class you’ve ever taken?
A: In college, I took something called “The Psychology of Satisfaction.” During the first lecture, the
professor (a giggling mad-man) told us the nature of the course is that we didn’t have to stay for
lectures, didn’t have to take any tests, and we were free to do whatever we wanted (although
there were five mandatory parties I had to attend). Still wondering how I managed a “B.”

Q: Are you a glass half full or half empty kind of person? Or is the glass just malformed?
A: I’m more a “Quick! Keep the glass filled to the rim!” kinda’ neurotic.

Q: Which of the four seasons do you like/dislike the most and why?
A: Winter! Ugh! People weren’t designed to negotiate snow and ice and freezing temperatures. I
mean, honestly, we’re not walruses.

SPEED QUESTIONS: Straight YES/NO answers, unless you want to add a few
words to qualify the answer.

Have you ever:
Lied about your age? Yep! And dang proud of it, too!
Called in sick to work when you weren’t sick? Hmm...does a hang-over count as being sick?
Eaten ice cream straight from the carton? You mean there’s a different way to eat it?
Worn odd socks? Pretty much daily. Doing my best to keep the romance alive!