Chopping Down Trees without Getting Arrested

Welcome back! Happy New Year!

I pray that you had a very Merry Christmas and a blessed holiday season.

Speaking of the holidays, did you happen to watch any of the Christmas movies that saturated television this year?

I rarely sit for hours on end camped in front of the T.V., but this holiday season, I did manage to squeeze in a few more movies than usual.

My family and I watched the usual classics like It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, and White Christmas.

I’m particularly fond of the older movies because of the wide range of talent and the nostalgia factor. I believe the classics continue to resonate with people because of the one thing that’s all too often compromised today: the actual story.

In a mad dash to win ratings, some television networks seem to churn out the quick, easy, and sub par with material that sometimes leaves us scratching our heads.

Was that really a Christmas movie? I asked myself more than once this year. Why couldn’t they have chopped down a few trees and gotten to the heart of the matter?

Out of the dozen or so offerings that played over and over, I have to be honest. There were only a handful that I would ever want to watch again. Why?  It still goes back to the story. Be it drama, comedy, inspirational, or romance (or all of those elements combined), if I’m not hooked in the first five or ten minutes, I likely won’t watch any further. The writing and the plot have to reel me in and keep me dangling if I’m to invest two hours or more of my valuable time.

Since I craft stories, I’m always aware of the reader’s investment. I write the stories, but the people who read the stories want to live them. If my words don’t breathe, neither will the plot. Readers want to spend their time wisely.

Attention spans are short and a boring “hook” is a guaranteed death knell. In a world of fast paced everything, writers’ words have to grab and grip immediately. If they don’t, our readers move on to something else that does.

“Slow” and “steady” are rarely positive terms when describing a great book. Have you ever watched a movie or television program only to become frustrated with a particular character? Frustrated that he or she can’t seem to see what’s so glaringly obvious to us, the viewers, as well as the other actors/actresses on the show? Well, just as in “real life” my fictional characters can’t always see the forest for the trees. It’s up to me, as a writer, to help them.

How, then, do we chop down a few trees without getting arrested?

• Cut through the underbrush, minimizing harm. Sometimes, this is done through flashbacks from other characters’ perspectives, but this method must be used sparingly.

• Keep the momentum flowing. Prune a little here. Chop a little there. Flowery language is oh, so lovely, but it’s a poor substitute for the meat and potatoes–the story. Introduce dialogue and action verbs to keep the story moving.

• Remember, when plotting, tension and conflict rule the day. If everything is always sunshine and roses, boredom sets up camp. I, personally, like sunshine and roses, but characters shouldn’t appear ignorant or blind to the most obvious details either. Frequent peaks and valleys are integral to a satisfying conclusion. Readers want that “it was all worth it in the end” kind of feeling.

• Maintain a healthy balance between “keeping it real” and “too much information.” Though the Christian fiction market addresses a myriad of issues, tact and sensitivity are key. Some topics I may address and I’ll do so quite candidly. Still, I won’t portray graphic violence, foul language, or voyeuristic views into the bedroom, as I think that there are already enough venues that glorify these things. As a Christian, I want to glorify God and not be a slave to sensationalism.

Sometimes, it’s necessary that our characters chop down a few trees so they can delve deeply into the beauty of the forest. In fact, they may tend to get a callous or two from swinging that old ax. Like us, it helps my fictional characters to learn and become better people for it. They have to whittle away at the bark occasionally to see the magnificent wood beneath.

And, as writers, if we take a little, but leave a little when chopping down our fictional trees, the forest police shouldn’t have cause to arrest us.

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 What are your favorite elements in a good movie or great book?

Do you have any tips for culling through our fictional forests?