Hi
In this issue:
- Beth Bear Shields - the Healing of Words
- How to Use the FFF Factor
A Sequel - Growth for Characters and Readers
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Congratulations to Beth Bear Shields whose second book has just been published through BookBaby, All Sewn Up? This is a follow-up to her first book, Seamless in which
a foursome of friends share their lives with each other and readers.
Beth takes her characters on a fun but trying journey of healing and, in the process, shares the troublesome road to love and health with readers, benefiting author and reader (and editor!) alike.
Life can be wonderful, but the protagonist Becca also discovers that ...
"One loose string, one tiny pull, can make things come apart, she thought. If a seam opens, that's it. It is no longer smooth, it is no longer continuous, and all it takes is one tiny pull on one loose thread…
"Isn't that always the formula? Just when you think you have things all sewn up, the monsters and bumps, crooks and lumps appear. Maybe things weren't so seamless after all…."
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Beth writes: "I wanted to thank you again for all of your help and support through this adventure. I will always look back at the last couple years as being life changing and renewing."
Life changing ... that is what readers look for in their reading, seeing the lives of characters who face problems and how they are changed in the process of dealing with them. And writing is a life changing journey for authors as well.
Beth will do a book signing is at Barbara’s Book Store in Vernon Hills, Illinois, on February 15 from 2-4.
“Through writing, we walk out of the darkness
into the light together, one small step at a time.”
― C.J. Heck
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Each of Beth's characters faces their specific issues in their own way: denying, fighting, caving into, or evading their problems. Each of these is some form of the "fight or flight" mechanism first explored nearly 100 years ago to refer to human reactions. Recently the term “freeze” has been added, creating the term FFF Factor, and these are essential elements you can use to stimulate your plots and activate your
characters.
Start with a trigger. Force your character into a situation, problem, surprise or conflict. At this point the character seems forced to do something, but what?
- Fight: Typically we expect our protagonist to get into the fray and to be willing to fight for their desires and to be willing to sacrifice in order to fulfill their goals. This is certainly the most active of the responses. And at some point, especially in your book's crucial final conflict, that is likely just what you
need your protagonist to do. However, sometimes there can be alternative or even better responses, like ...
- Flight: At other times the wise and prudent choice is just simply hightail it away from the conflict! Run, hide, find an alternative. Sometimes it happens to be the perfect decision. At other times, it could complicate your character's issues (a bad thing for them) which can propel the plot (a good thing for you)!
- Freeze: Don't forget that there are times in life when we all freeze up. Rather than make a decision to duke it out or flee for the hills, we quite simply do nothing at all. In that case events can crumble around us causing even more problems (and some great plot complications!). Or ... it just might perplex the heck out of the antagonist and
end up a great choice.
- Mix it up: The best approach for character reactions is to mix up the responses: fight at the first challenge, flight or freeze at the next, etc. It not only makes for a more realistic character, but can keep readers guessing at what point the character will react in which way.
- Combine them: And, even more exciting at times, is when your character starts with one response and then decides (or is forced) to take a different route all together in the same situation.
How the Body Reacts
Whichever decision and action you use, SHOW the physical and emotional impact it inflicts on your character. Check out this 3-minute video that details exactly what happens internally when this FFF factor is triggered. Use those physical details as you write, providing a heart-thumping experience for your character and reader alike!
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My Best,
Sandra
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