Tag: connections

What I miss the most

waiting for the rain to end.

The weather where I live has been grey and gloomy for weeks. The Covid-19 restrictions from Public Health get tighter and tighter and our case numbers hover in the dangerously high numbers. The vaccine supply is shorted.  I’m at home nearly all of the time. I have my husband and my cats for company. They have already heard all of my opinions and complaints and tend to wander off when I start preaching.

While staring out the window and pining for the day when life returns to “normal” I recalled something I posted here, some time ago about a book called The Book that Matters Most. It was a fun read and sparked great discussion among my book reading friends. Thinking of that book, I started a list of What I Miss Most. Sounds dreary, I know, but sometimes it helps to “define the problem.” So here’s my list.

  1. Casual friendships. Seems like an odd item to put in the number one position but there it is. I keep in touch with my close friends via e-mail or telephone or zoom. But the lady who sits beside me at Bible Study, or the woman with the hair appointment just before mine, or the vet, or the letter carrier–these are people I know only in one specific instance but I miss them. I like to hear their views on events of the day because they are outside my close circle of friends. They connect me with the world in different ways. They make me part of something bigger. I need these casual acquaintances to give perspectives that may not align with my own.
  2. The library. At present my library is available for pick-up and very limited browsing. I miss the freedom to peruse the shelves in my own time. To pick up a volume and read a few pages before deciding whether to check it out. I miss seeing the community notice board in the lobby. I really miss inspecting the “returns” trolley. I am convinced that all the best books have been checked out by someone else and I’m eager to scan those favourites. It’s a way to connect with other library patrons.
  3. Line-ups. What?  I can hear you all shouting that we line-up all the time. Yes we do. Outside stores to get in and inside stores to get out, we’re all in line six feet apart. Not many casual conversations at that distance. No playing peek-a-boo with a baby when parents are terrified of exposing their children to disease. No tips from a smart shopper on a bargain I overlooked. No connection!
  4. Exercise class. I know, there are endless exercise videos on the internet and I’ve got enough room to work out with one of them by myself. But that’s the point. Exercise by myself is a drag. Exercise with a bunch of other reluctant trainees keeps me at it and usually provides a laugh or two. We connect over a mutual dislike of exercise.
  5. Choirs –– both as a singer and a listener. There is something soul refreshing about making music in a group. Again, I can participate in on-line versions of rehearsals and concerts but they lack that vital element — connection. And with music, the connection is heart to heart without any interference from the mind.

I could make a longer list, but it seems I have defined the problem — lack of connection. On Sunday our minister preached a virtual sermon warning of the consequences of an  “us vs them” mentality. Without the kind of connections I mentioned, that us/them attitude flourishes. Such a mindset makes for an unhealthy society. 

As a writer, how can I use this insight to my advantage? 

In a dystopian novel, us-and-them makes a perfect excuse for war.  In a tragedy us/them is the driver behind the Romeo and Juliet story. In a comedy personal quirks, e.g. neatnik vs slob, can lead to funny situations. I write historical romance so feuds, immigrant vs native, rancher vs farmer provide plenty of scope for conflict. What’s needed is ways and means for connections if I want to lead my characters to a happily ever after ending. How to make those connections?

  1. Proximity. That’s probably the easiest one. Make the feuding families share a fence line, or a water source. No matter how much the clans dislike each other, they cannot avoid meeting.
  2. Common goals. In my present wip the two lead characters work in a frontier hospital. Despite their differences, they work together to cure disease and ease pain.
  3. Children. In a frontier town children all attend the same school. The grandfathers may hate each other, but the children play together. As time goes by they may fall in love with the “enemy.”
  4. Outside agency. Again, sticking with historical, feuding families may have to pull together against fire or drought or flood. Who is to say the patriarch’s won’t see the good in one another then?
  5. Mutual friend. Make them both friends with a third party. If A spends time with the librarian and B is a book lover, chances are A and B will run into each other frequently. This device even lets the librarian act as cupid when she sees two people who would be perfect together, feuding.

Most philosophies hold that hardship is opportunity. It is up to the individual to find that opportunity and make something of it. The disconnect between all of us during this pandemic is not fun. I don’t like it. I wish it would go away. But, if I look for opportunity, perhaps this time of physical distance can lead me to better insights into my characters and their journey to HEA.

What about you? What do you miss most? Will you use it in your writing?

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Book Bites

There’s a new kid on the block when it comes to connecting readers and writers, Book+ Main Bites. With the proliferation of self-publishing and e-books, there are now more than a million books published every year. The challenge for authors and readers is to discover each other in that tidal wave.

Amazon and other e-publishers use a limited number of categories to help readers find the books that appeal to them, but “romance” is a very broad category, even if you break it down to contemporary and historical. Is your historical a Victorian era novel set in London, UK, or a Victorian era novel set in India, or Africa or Canada? Is your “western” contemporary or historical? Is it about wagon trains or gold prospectors? Is it Little House on the Prairie or a cattle drive?

Personally, I know I’m overwhelmed when I search e-book sites. There is so much to choose from and so much that does not appeal to me. As a recourse, I generally stick to authors I already know—and that means I miss out on some great new writers and they miss out on a new reader.

Book Bites + Main attempts to address this problem by having a very long “tag” list. It is the only place where I’ve seen “Canadian” as a search word.

Most book sellers allow browsers to read a sample of the book before purchase. On the Book Bites site, samples from inside the book are posted by authors so readers see that first.

Each “bite” an author publishes must have a photo attached, but not the book cover. That seems like an odd rule to me, but it does give me an opportunity to find other images that reflect the tone and time of my book.  There are no “teasers” allowed, so I must find a portion of text that I think will intrigue the reader and make her want to read more.  I’ve decided not to use the first page of my books, since that is available at retailers.  Instead, I’ve chosen some “bites” from well inside the book.

I’ve signed up for a trial period to see how it goes.  It’s all an experiment for now.  I’ll try posting other kinds of “bites” and use other tags.  Hope I get some “likes” and a few comments.  Then I’ll know if I’m connecting to readers.

The site is free for readers, so go check it out.  You never know — you may find a new favourite, or connect with other readers and form an on-line book club.  May page is here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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