Setting Cast as Character in Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides

Lengthy passages of description are not in vogue with modern readers. HOWEVER, without a doubt, setting is still character. Case in point -- Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides -- the movie I was excited to see on Friday night.

Where would Blackbeard and his mutinous crew be without the Queen Anne's Revenge on which to dangle from bewitched rigging? Or where would those heinously beautiful mermaids live out their revenge but in the eerie, mist-covered Whitecap Bay? And especially, how would we be lured into the unique appeal of Captain Jack Sparrow's quest without the backdrop of jeweled waters lapping against a sparkling white shore, craggy green cliffs being beaten by dark blue waves, or -- the setting that really got me thinking in terms of its character -- the deep, mysterious jungle gorge where we perch intrepidly, wondering if we are truly about to discover the long lost Fountain of Youth?

When the camera shoots the angle from the descent inside the cave to the adventurers standing in its wide mouth, I realize quite forcefully that the setting has become another character in the story, and I'm wondering what it might do to imperil the other characters I've come to care about.

That's the thing with setting. We need not belabor it in our story-telling, but we do need to offer a snapshot or, on occasion, a panoramic moment reminding our reader of the role it has to play.We need to include it to heighten peril, deliver romance, impend doom, or simply make readers feel sunny inside.

I love the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. As a sequel -- number four in the series, no less -- it suffers slightly from the "been there, done that," type of forced heroics that are typical in such a genre, especially for a series that was never intended to be more than a single, stand-alone motion picture. But it was such a frolicking, fun, escapist film, that none of that mattered.

The introduction of mermaids into the tale, and even the inclusion of real life figure Edward Teach (Black Beard) so well cast, made the story sing for me, as did a host of well-played one-liners. And the various settings made for an additional cast of intriguing characters. For a little under two hours, I was swept away on the tide.

How to Choose an Excerpt

Time is ticking away against me as I struggle to select some scene excerpts for use in promoting my upcoming historical novel on my publisher's website.

Why is it so hard? Don't I love my story? Aren't there plenty of scenes that made my fingers rattle on the keyboard as I wrote them? Absolutely! But without context, they might not mean a great deal to the reader who is casually scanning excerpts for their next read.

To aid me in my decision, I'm enlisting some advice (written for teens, actually) from the nanowrimo.org site. They have a nice little worksheet for selecting an excerpt, but I'll just consider each of their reminders telling what I should be looking for.

To choose the best excerpt I'll give regard to:

Character - I need to find a scene that gives the audience a good clear picture of my main character. To me this means that I want to be able to draw a reader into a deep POV with that character in just a short section of the story. I want an excerpt that'll make my reader already feel invested -- at least a little.

Action -- Whether it's done in a big way or only subtly, a scene infused with action pulls the reader along. This also means that it should show conflict (because a scene without conflict is dead). I think the scene should reveal that something is definitely at stake.

Language -- I hadn't given a lot of thought to this, but you know, it's right. I can usually decide within the first few pages of a book whether I want to hang around, because the language is compelling. It might be lyrical, simple, or outrageous. It uses imagery and metaphors that help me visualize the scene without an overabundance of telling description.

Dialogue --This one wasn't part of the nanowritmo site, but I feel it needs to be included. At the least, there should be some internal dialogue. I've read some good excerpts that don't include dialogue, but I feel that if a reader is only getting a glimpse into a story, a little bit of dialogue sprinkled into the excerpt will help attach them to the characters and get a better feel for the conflict.

Length -- There are different lengths to consider depending on what the excerpt is being used for. If I was giving a reading before a room full of people, I could choose a longer excerpt, maybe as long as 5000 words (about ten pages). But for publisher's web site, it needs to be something much shorter. I personally don't like reading more than about 500 words in a clip when I'm looking at excerpts of this nature. That should be enough to makea reader long for more. You can always put a longer clip or sample chapter on your personal web site and direct curious readers there for more if they're interested.

Stand Alone -- Yes, this is a biggy. A scene is really a mini story in itself. It's got a beginning, a middle, and an end. It needs to provide a bit of its own context or readers won't really care about it. You may know what's going to happen and why the scene is important, but if readers can't get at least a taste of that, they won't buy.

So now I'm ready to hunt for an outstanding excerpt representing my novel The Red Fury. It releases from Desert Breeze Publishing in October as Book 2 in the Empire in Pine series. I hope you'll drop by later and read my little scene -- see if I chose well.

Write on!

Please Pass the Niche (Does Your Writing Ministry Have One?)

For good or for questionable, we live out our World View. What we enjoy doing, how we live our lives, raise our children, treat our spouse, and attend our jobs, ventures, or dreams all point to what we believe and hold to as our center.

For those of us who are Christian writers seeking to walk with God and asking Him, "What do You want me to do today", it means that we, like Christian plumbers, Christian musicians, or Christian businessmen view our work as both an occupation and a ministry.

So what's yours about?

Last week, the editor, publisher, and publisher's assistant of Living Stones News, a Midwestern Christian newspaper, made the trek to Chicago for the Evangelical Press Association's annual convention. MaryBeth Frost, LSN's publisher's assistant said, "We thought we were going to be the mutts at the dog show." But, contrary to her and the rest of the staff's modest opinion of their upstart paper, LSN took home some pretty prestigious awards (listed at the end of the post).

I'm honored to serve as a staff writer for this entirely volunteer-run paper. LSN is published out of Duluth Minnesota, reaching Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and worldwide on the web. http://www.livingstonesnews.com

Not only have I been privileged to minister through writing for the paper, but God has blessed me by stretching my journalistic skills in about a gazillion directions. And somehow, in the process of me trying to write to minister to readers, He turns it around to minister to me!

According to Rick Lubbers, senior editor for LSN, bumping shoulders with other media professionals at the convention impressed him with just how wide a range of ministry is represented by writing.

It is eye-opening to think about. Writers find ministry in a host of styles and venues:

• Broadcasting
• Journalism
• Devotional
• Fiction
• Non-fiction
• Bible Study
• How-To
• Sunday School Curriculum
• Speaking material
• Poetry
• Movies & Screenplays
  
• Niches in many of the above categories that further reach specific audiences including pastors, teachers, women's groups, parents, homeschoolers, business groups, men's groups, outdoor enthusiasts, support groups, children, teens, young adults, married, unmarried, and the list goes on.

The LSN staff were able to have a look at many other well-published Christian newspapers from around the country, but in our board meeting following the event, we were happy to realize that we'd stuck true to our own niche -- telling the life-changing stories of everyday people who'd come to know Jesus Christ, and are now living to demonstrate His presence in their lives.

Congratulations, Living Stones News! Job well-done.

Let's continue to raise the bar.

"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 3:14

LIVING STONES NEWS AWARDS AND HONORS:

• Overall Excellence: Living Stones News (Second Place[tie])
• Best General Article (long) “Faithlessons learned while captive in a closet” - Corinne Scott, December 2010 (First Place )
• Best Personality Feature: “’Blank Check’ yields Heavenly returns” - Kent Wigg, March 2010 (First Place)
• General Article (short):“Make a joyful noise - Rick Lubbers (Third Place )
• Best Column: Holy Goose Bumps - Corinne Scott (First Place [tie])
• Best Candid Photo: Pirate Jack Sparrow impersonator visits young boy with leukemia in hospital - Paul Walsh (First Place)
  

All the above are available for reading & viewing online at Living Stones News (dot) com.