Category: Writing life (Page 1 of 19)

Love is Love

April 9, 2025 /

T.S. Eliot called April “the cruellist month.” Here, in Canada, that has certainly proven true with the weather. One day we are basking in sunshine and summer temperatures, the next an ice storm, or snow, or rain comes barrelling down, flattening flowers, breaking tree limbs, knocking out power lines and damaging roofs. 

Added to the cruelty of the weather is the uncertainty swirling over financial markets and world affairs. A ceasefire is announced and then broken. Medical workers and journalists in a war zone are killed. In Canada, we are in the midst of an election.

In the publishing world copyright issues, Artificial Intelligence, tariffs, and book banning create an unprofitable and frightening world for authors. Many wonder if they should continue to pour love and effort into fiction — especially romantic fiction.

Writers must each answer that question for themselves. 

But, for encouragement, I offer this bit of philosophy. I just finished reading a book with a very tangled and convoluted plot. People fell in love, or out of love. Parents and children and siblings had difficult relationships and unhappy lives. What seemed good often ended badly. What seemed wrong turned out to be uplifting. When I finished the book I had to reread it to find all the dropped threads and tie them together. But — the “moral” of the story was “love is love.”

As we struggle to find our footing in this shifting cultural landscape, I think it is worth remembering that “love is love.” When we ask “what’s the point?” Love is often the answer. Sometimes that is “boy-meets-girl” kind of love. Sometimes it is “the -lost-is-found” kind of love. Sometimes it is finding self-love in a damaged life.  For some, it is finding, and receiving, the love of God. For writers it may mean finding or rediscovering the love of craft. 

It seems to me, that the heart, in the end, is what drives our living. If the turmoil of our world is overwhelming, look deeply into your heart. There you will find an essence that offers solace. There, behind the baggage and disappointments of the mind, is peace. 

If you are a writer, write stories from that place — offer your understanding and your love to the world. Love is love and can heal even the most flawed of human beings. 

P.S. The cat pictures in this post are just to make you smile, and maybe remind you that pets offer their own form of love.

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6 Ways to beat the Sophomore Slump

March 26, 2025 /

The sophomore slump refers to the sense of letdown experienced by second year college students. After the excitement and high dedication of their freshman year, second year looms as a bit of a grind — and their marks reflect that attitude. 

A similar phenomenon sometimes occurs with a writer’s second novel. The first story may have taken years, and too many re-writes to count. The author poured all of her heart and soul, skill and talent into that first work, determined to bring her best work to the publisher. But, having secured that first success, the second novel is sometimes a disappointment. The writing may be rushed, the plot trite and the characters a little flat. It’s still a good book, but it doesn’t live up to the promise of the first one.

I’ve been doing more reading than writing these past few weeks, and I think I’ve been reading those “less than” efforts. Perhaps that accounts for my disappointment with a couple of new books written by authors I hugely admire and enjoy. 

The first ho-hum response came from the latest in a very long series. This author is an auto-buy for me. I love her characters, her setting, her use of language, and her voice. But this latest offering felt a bit — stodgy. Hard to put my finger on exactly why I felt let down, but I suspect that “world famous author” is not getting a good hard edit. Some of the beautiful prose seemed to be there because it was beautiful prose, not because it advanced the plot. 

The second book in question was a new offering from an author with many fewer credits to her name. I have read them all and enjoyed them all, but none seems to live up to the promise of the first. The latest work, to my mind, is her weakest. Again, I ask why? In this case, it seemed to me that I was reading a late draft of the story, and not the polished final manuscript. This can happen when publisher and reader expectations push a writer into producing at a quicker pace than is comfortable for her. Or it could just be that this author is running out of ideas. Her characters were so similar to those in previous books they could almost be the same person but with the names changed. The romance threads seemed facile and shallow. The ending had a “they-came-home-tired-but-happy” feel about it. I got marked down for that in grade three.  I expect better from a multi-published author.

I didn’t set out to disparage these authors in this post. Rather, I was seeking to share lessons I’d learned about keeping my writing fresh. Here are my thoughts.

  • Refresh the characters. Even if they are returning characters used in a series, they need to grow and change — in exciting ways. Just making them older doesn’t heighten the tension. If an athlete is older, make the loss of physical prowess have an impact on his life and the story. Then his aging is germaine to the story.
  • Introduce a new element. If you write small town with the same characters in the same roles over a number of books, bring in a stranger. She can be like a stone thrown into the calm waters of your little town. Let the ripples impact all those stock characters. Unsettle your familiar, cozy small town. It’ll make a better story
  • Cut, cut, cut.  I’ve heard editors reject work for being “self-indulgent.” I think the books I referred to earlier fell into that trap. The author was indulging her love of language to create long, prose passages that read beautifully, but did not advance the story.
  • Take a break. When the words are hot off your pen, or keyboard, they sound like perfection itself. Enjoy that feeling. Walk around for a week or so, buoyed with the sense of accomplishment. Imagine yourself accepting awards for this marvellous book. Then re-read it with a cold eye.  Your masterpiece probably needs another edit.
  • If you have a trusted beta reader (not your mother) send the ms to her/him.
  • Listen to what s/he says. 

Sophomores and second books are not predestined to disappoint, but knowing the hazards should make students and writers alert to them. I look forward to the next offerings from my favourite authors, but if they continue to fall short, I’ll rethink my purchases. There is a saying in the writing world, “you are only as good as your last book.” Let’s make sure our last book is our best book.

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New Look at Morning Pages

February 19, 2025 /
VIRA

Last week my romance writers group, VIRA, held our Valentine’s brunch. It was a great time. Since COVID we’ve met mostly on-line so it was a real treat to meet up in person with my “tribe.” The room was loud, the laughter plentiful, encouraging words filled the air.  And that brings me to morning pages.

Writing Workshop

When I first began this writing journey, I diligently wrote morning pages because Julia Cameron said to, and so did Bobbi Hutchinson, the presenter at the very first romance writing workshop I attended. She said, “if you don’t know what to write, start with I remember . . .”  I revelled in those pages, enjoying the flow of words from my brain to my pen, playing with story ideas, creating characters who might or might not show up in a story. I practiced being a writer.

Menopause

But time passed, my writing time got shorter and my career stalled. Menopause gave me the gift of brain fog and stole half my vocabulary. Morning pages seemed a waste of time. It was so hard to drag words from my brain that I elected to use them only in my stories. And writing became all work and no play. As the years passed, I wrote less and less. My “career” died. 

Joy Cometh in the Morning

That brings me back to the VIRA party. I’d been keeping my “shameful” secret — the one about not writing — hidden from my writing colleagues. But, at the party, I told the truth. No one scorned me or pointed fingers. Instead, an old mentor suggested I write about something that I have held dear all my life. “I see passion there,” she said.  She was right. I’ve gone back to writing pages– sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon — in order to tell a story about myself that makes me smile, or weep, and sometimes elicits a wry chuckle.  The words are coming easier — not elequent, but serviceable. I look forward to time at my desk rather than avoiding it. I don’t even think about publishing or having a career. For now, I am thrilled to pick up my pen and write two hundred words that bring me joy.

Society’s greatest loss during COVID lockdowns was companionship. We all huddled in our corners. We did our best to substitute technology for human interaction. We wore masks, got vaccinated and did our level best to stay healthy. But that was then. This is now. For myself, and many others, the time has come to engage with human beings, friends or strangers. Ordering on-line is quick and easy, but grumbling about the weather with a store clerk is much more satifying to the psyche. And, having real, live-person chats with other writers is one of the best things an author can do for herself.

What about you, dear readers. Have you found your way back into the company of fellow humans? Do you avoid crowds or do you seek out like-minded enthusiasts and spend time together? How is your choice working out for you? I hope that whatever path you choose, you find joy in your days.

International Women's Day

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Name that Word

February 5, 2025 /

As a writer, I’m fascinated with words. I love the way they sound. I love the weird spellings of the English language. I even have a list of “beautiful words” that includes lilac, haze, mauve, sigh, lullaby, lily, sly. . .   Notice how many soft consonants are in my list. Maybe it is that melodic (another favourite word) sound tht marks them as beautiful in my mind.

Among my favourite books are Simon Winchester’s The Professor and the Madman, and Pip Williams’ The Dictionary of Lost Words. Both tell of the development of an English dictionary, how words were discovered and researched and used and, eventually, added to our word list. 

The study of words, and particularly their origin is called “etyology,” not to be confused with “entomology” which is the study of insects.  Notice the “ology” in both words. It means study of. Hence theology, astrology, geology, biology . . . etc.

Obviously, I could go on forever about words, but what caught my attention recently was the number of words (usually nouns) in our language that are actually the name of a person.  Did you know the word “Hansom” as used in a “Hansom Cab” is named for James Hansom (handsome), an English engineer who designed the vehicle?

Nathaniel Bigot (1575 -1660) was a Puritan preacher born in Ipswich. His intolerance and zeal were such that none of the sects of the Puritan religion would admit him to membership. He frequently stood up and began preaching at the Globe theatre during Shakespeare’s plays, railing against the vanity and depravity he perceived on the stage. For his pains, he was ejected from the theatre. A supporter of Cromwell, even that dour dogmatic found Bigot a nuisance and had him arrested. He was a staunch Parliamentarian who called for the execution of Charles I. He died of apoplexy when he saw Charles II entering London at the time of the Restoration. It is questionable whether his name was given to our word, “bigot” but he certainly embodied its meaning!

I’ve always considered gingham a very homey, wholesome pattern, but  one source tells me that  Martha Gingham (1580-1648) was a bawdy-house keeper who dressed her “girls” in clean petticoats and neat frocks of striped or checked cloth. So much for my preconceived notion!

Don’t forget the fourth Earl of Sandwich who bestowed his name on the snack we eat between slices of bread. There are several stories about him. In one, he is credited with sponsoring Captain James Cook’s voyages. In gratitude, Cook named the Sandwich Islands in his honour. In a less flattering story, the earl, who was an inveterate gambler,  didn’t want to interupt his play to eat. He created the sandwich so he could eat without getting his fingers greasy, and thus remain at the card table.

There are endless examples of men and women giving their names to the language. The examples I’ve  cited are historical, but just think of how we use “Google” as a verb. A Shirley Temple is a non-alcoholic drink, Reaganomics, an economic theory named after a former president of the United States, or Scrooge to describe a miser.

The study of words provides endless fascination for a wordsmith. I’d love to hear your favourite words, just add them to the comments section of this post.

 

 

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5 Body Language Surprises

January 22, 2025 /

I had a very strange start to the year — I lost my voice. I don’t mean I lost my ability to sing or declaim from the stage. I mean I lost the ability to make any sound using my vocal cords. (Aphonia)  Never happened to me before and was, frankly, scary. Here’s how.

  • I couldn’t call for help. If I fell in a ditch, I couldn’t cry out. I had to attract attention by banging things, or throwing things, or physically assaulting my hearers. Not an efficient way to get help quickly. 
  • By the same token, I couldn’t sound a warning. When I saw danger approaching someone else, I could not call out an alarm. It made me feel helpless and culpable in another’s misfortune.
  • My sense of identity suffered. I am a singer, my voice has always been an important part of my make-up. To suddenly be silenced struck at the core of my self-confidence.
  • I was isolated. I could not carry on a conversation. Meeting with friends left me feeling left out since I could not participate in the exchange of news and ideas.
  • I couldn’t use the telephone. When my brother called from 2000 miles away, I couldn’t even say hello. How disappointing is that?

Writers often study body language as a means of making their words on the page more powerful. Well, being mute for three days, I had lots of time to practice body language! I got a stiff neck from all the nodding and head-shaking. My eyeballs rolled up and down so often they needed a massage. My mother told me it was impolite to point, but I pointed at everything, big, stabbing, forefinger pointing. How else could I tell my husband to feed the cat?

Surprises

I referenced surprises in the title of this post.

  1. Here is the first one. As a writer I’m familiar with the importance of body language in our fiction.   On the page, we use things like “pursed lips” or “clenched fists” or “narrowed eyes” to convey mood or emotion.    In real life, those cues are too small to make up for the lack of words. If no one is looking, pulling your lips into a prune shape accomplishes nothing but to create  facial lines.   Maggie Lawson talks about “amplifying” important moments in a novel.  She adds metaphor and cadence to amplify those pursed lips. i.e. “She pursed her lips so tightly I thought she might choke.”                                                                                                                                                 
  2. Voice is elusive. We are born able to make sound, even if it is just a wail. Every day of my life, I have had a voice — until I didn’t. In writing, the author’s “voice” is just as necessary and just as hard to define. It is that indefinable something that marks a passage as unique to that particular writer. Stephen Sondheim and Oscar Hammerstein II used the same notes of the scale, but the music – voice – they produced was entirely different. It is that distinction that marks an author’s voice.                                              
  3. Characters have voice. Here the possibilities for a writer are endless. We can speak of specific characteristics like a “gravelly voice” or a “breathless whisper” or “as shrill as nails on a chalkboard.” But once we have decided on a defining trait for our character’s voice, we need to stick to it.  Just as a baby can recognize his mother’s voice, we want our readers to recognize the voice of a character without having to use dialogue tags. What a protagonist says and how he says it, should identify him. If the hero and the villain sound the same, the story needs a rewrite.                                                                                                 
  4. Authors can use speech, or lack of it, to advance the plot. When I was mute, I was easily overlooked in group settings. Just like the servants in a Regency novel, I was invisible, discounted. If you write a story about a woman who struggles with self-confidence, make her silent in a crowd. She’ll have plenty of time to observe and won’t be seen as a threat to anyone. Think Miss Marple.                                                                                     
  5. Life experience is a marvellous teacher.  Until I lost my voice I’d never considered the implications of being mute. I expect life experiences used in fiction to be huge–earth-shattering, monumental –things like life and death and love. But small things have consequences. Those small things just might be the trigger to lift your writing to the next level.

Life is full of lessons. As authors we can use every experience to enhance our writing. We need to train ourselves to be aware and take note of all the moments, big or small, that make up our own backstory. That is the well from which we draw when creating compelling characters.

Please share in the comments any surprising discoveries from small events in your own life.

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7 Priorities for Writers

December 4, 2024 /

Welcome to December and all the hustle, bustle and delight of the Christms season. In Canada our usual frenzy of shopping, wrapping and shipping has been upended by the strike at Canada Post. All the little tokens I had assembled to send to my faraway family, now sit in a box, waiting. The absolutely best Christmas present I ordered for my godson, sits in a post office 3000 miles away, waiting. The special baking I do for my brother sits in the freezer, waiting.

All that waiting is getting me down, especially as the two sides in the strike aren’t even talking to each other. Then again, Advent, is a season of waiting, so maybe I should take advantage of that “waiting” time to plan the rest of the month.

As I’ve written about before, I’m a great advocate for making lists. I make lists for the grocery store. I make lists for Christms presents and Christmas cards. I make lists for writing tasks. I even make lists for coffee with friends. Sadly, my list-making has fallen by the wayside as I’ve been overwhelmed by too many items to put on the lists. But today I read about an “Advent Jar” which seems a wonderful visual for setting priorities on my list.

The idea is to take a pint jar and fill it with sunflower seeds and seven walnuts.(The example at right uses rocks and sand but the principle is the same.) It won’t take more than one try to realize that if you put in the sunflower seeds first, there is no room for the walnuts. But, if you put in the walnuts — your top priorities–first, then the sunflower seeds can find space around them.

My desk already has too much clutter, so I’m not rushing out to find a pint jar and sunflower seeds, but I’m using that visual to think about my priorities and hone my lists into managable order.

  1. As a writer, one of the walnuts in my jar must be time at the keyboard. 
  2. Another walunt is my obligation to others. If I took on a task, I must show up and finish it. 
  3. Walnut three would be reading. I’ve just finished a large tome that my book club chose for discussion. It was not a work I enjoyed and it was very long. I set myself a goal of 40 pages a day in order to finish it in time. While I didn’t enjoy the story, the writing was beautiful. Reading the work of talented authors is like taking a writing class.
  4. Relationships. For writers, readers and everyone else, our relationships are central to life and writers need a life. It is important to prioritize time with the people who nurture our spirits.
  5. Giving. As much as we gain from relationships, we must also give to those relationships. Call a friend who is hurting. Have coffee with a colleague who struggles. At this time of year especially, take a gift to someone who is lonely.
  6. Social media. Not my favourite way to spend time, but posting regularly on social media will raise an author’s profile. If we want to sell books, we must engage on at least one social media platform.
  7. Write a blog.  My blog makes me adhere to a schedule, encourages me to research a number of topics and connects me to readers. Not all authors maintain a blog but I do, so I must make it one of my walnuts.

Now that the big items, walnuts, are in the jar, I can pour in the seeds of less importance. Things like tidying my desk, organizing research notes, doing laundry, buying groceries, playing with the cat, singing in the choir, caring for my health . . . All activities that bring me joy, and there is room to fit them around the big things.

Just like lists, life events will impact my priorities, but the idea of starting with the big ones first can reduce the sense of overwhelm that listing every single item that needs doing in a day may generate.

I’ve given you my seven “walnuts” but each of us is different. What are the important things in your jar of neverending tasks?

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Optimism

October 9, 2024 /

It has been a while since I posted anything on this blog, three months, to be exact. One reason is that it was summer and I spent more time gardening and less time writing. In fact, I took a sabbatical from writing while I waged war on the weeds, the slugs, the deer and the rabbits. This year’s garden took more work for less reward than I have ever experienced before.

Weather was the major culprit. The days were unseasonably warm early in the spring, then, after we’d seeded, the mercury dropped and anything that had sprouted stopped growing or died altogether. In mid-June I replanted most of my vegetables, gave up on various flower beds and tried to salvage something in the berry patch. 

Scientists have been warning us for years that climate change will have a drastic effect on our agriculture, not to mention the forests, the oceans and the fresh water lakes. This summer I had practical experience of their dire predictions. 

But, I’m a farmer’s daughter so the mantra of “next year” runs through my thinking. As I dig out stunted carrots, I plan that “next year” I’ll plump up my soil. Next year I’ll put floating covers over the seeds. Next year I’ll get a better deer fence. 

Thank goodness for the optimism of farmers. Our newscasts have been filled with images of drought-stricken fields, smoke damaged fruit, and flooded barns. Farmers have every reason to give up, to sell their land to developers and look for an easier life. Fortunately for the rest of us, they hang in there, with plans and promises for “next year.”

As I return to my neglected stories, I seek to carry that optimism forward. This time, the scene that just wouldn’t come together last spring, will, somehow, write itself. This time the flat, cardboard character I created in the early drafts, will come to life with personality quirks, secrets, and dreams. This time, I’ll find the joy of telling a story.

How was your summer? What are your plans for “next year?”

 

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Generation Gap

June 19, 2024 /

doing homeworkI didn’t post to this blog last week because I had out-of-town company. In fact, I had out-of-province company. It was wonderful to have family come for a visit — a reminder of the special bond of kinship. I was thrilled to discover my great niece is a reader. A visit to my local book store was a highlight of the trip for her. Her brother was more intrigued by the toy store next door. 🙂 Her choices were all unknown to me. In fact, we didn’t have any book references in common. 

 

Co-incidentally I read an interesting paper at Writer Unboxed on the need to “explain” our use of language. The question was whether the reader would “get” the author’s references. I was astonished to learn that a seasoned author presented draft ms to young critique partner only to find the reader didn’t understand the allusion to women in the 1950’s attending university in order to obtain an MRS. degree.  That was such a common conception in my day I simply assumed it was part of our collective conscience.  Now I question all the idioms I thought were universal. How many people who hear “David and Goliath” know the Biblical story? If a rogue “meets his Waterloo,” does the average reader understand Napoleon’s defeat at that place?

My aforementioned great-niece is a “tween” and very specific about the books she reads. The Baby-Sitters Club is top of the wish list. She’s also keen on mysteries, however, despite high praise from her mother, grandmother and great-aunt, she refuses to read Nancy Drew! 

How will our generations talk to each other if we don’t have the same reference points?  If coming generations don’t read the classics like Little Women, or Anne of Green Gables, where will we find common ground for conversation let alone for reading? To be fair, I haven’t rushed off to the YA section of my library in search of Dog Man either. 

My book club meets today. The book under discussion involves a different culture and contains many culturally specific words. The author made no attempt to explain these terms to the reader, leaving us with the choice of putting the book down while we hunted up a dictionary, or skipping the unknown word and carrying on with the story. The approach did not resonate with me. I would have preferred that the author make some attempt to describe a piece of clothing rather than merely assign a foreign word and put the reader to the trouble of researching the vocabulary. Again, I must review my own writing for references that may be meaningless to some readers.

It seems authors must always be prepared for new challenges. And we must seek the balance between assuming our readers share our background and education and treating them like preschoolers who must have every word explained.

What do you think? Do you want plentiful explanation in  your fiction reading or do you just want to get on with the story?

 

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History Matters

May 29, 2024 /

Canadians landing at June Beach June 6 1944

June 6, 2024 will mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Already, around the world countries, armed forces, and ordinary citizens are preparing to commemorate this historical milestone. We are talking about our history.

Earlier this week, Americans marked Memorial Day with tributes to men and women who fell while serving in the armed forces. They are talking about history.

“. . . the most important thing I learned from Dr. Sloan and Ancient History 101 was that there is more to history than facts, more to truth than reality. . . . once upon a time, I thought that history was carved in stone.” Diane Schoemperlen in Our Lady of the Lost and Found. 

The above quote was an eye-opener for me. I, too, am of the generation who believed that history was carved in stone. Events happened. Facts are facts. If the textbook records it, it must be true. So, it is not surprising that the revisionism of our modern age disturbs me. But if there is more to history than facts, it is equally true that we must consider the facts when studying history.

As a lover of history I have been unsettled by the “cancel culture” rampant in my world. Men and women I considered heroes are being villified as racists. Accomplishments of past generations are rewritten as disasters. Values, once honoured, are mocked as Imperialist propoganda. 

As a writer of historical fiction, my dilemma grows. Do I portray the past by the standards of the time or through the lens of modern sensibilities?

Do I throw up my hands in despair and retire from public discussion altogether? Given the amount of venom spewed on social media, that last option seems wise. 

But, did men die on the beaches on D-Day in order for me to play the coward? Is their heroism to be crushed into the sands of time and forgotten?  To bury my head in the sand while the voices of tyrants and aggressors grow louder, is unconscionable.  As one who has benefited from the vision and courage and sacrifice of previous generations, I am honour-bound to “remember them.”

Sir John A. MacDonald, the founding father of Canada, is one historical figure who has been recast as a villain, given his record on residential schools. But that reading of his character disregards the time he lived in, the society he was born into, and the many other facets of his characters. This article has its own bias, but is at least a scholarly approach to the man and his times. 

A recent essay at Writer Unboxed also touched on our understanding of history and our response to war. What lifted my spirits on reading this article was the author’s desire to commemorate hope.

Finally, a story in my local newspaper, the Times-Colonist filled me with optimism. It is the story of a piano teacher who has assigned her students to write musical compositions in memory of a fallen soldier from World War II. The program, called “Music for Veterans Project,” connects students and veterans in a unique way. The young musicians are given a package with information about a fallen soldier. They are told to research the life of the solider, find his family if possible, learn about his likes and dislikes. What was his favourite food? Did he play in instrument?

Armed with this detailed knowledge, the young musician composes a piano piece in honour of the man who died. They then play their composition at a Veteran’s Lodge.

Through the life of someone who may not have lived beyond his twenty-first birthday, old soldiers and young students are brought together in a very meaningful way. I still believe that those who do not remember their history are doomed to repeat it. So, knowing that these dedicated piano students are remembering and connecting with the past gives me hope.

I am of a generation who has only known peace, but I have studied history. The parallels between today and the 1930’s is frightening. I pray to God that enough of us will remember history and work to avert the forces of hatred and greed, that we will subdue the desire for power, and recognize the “other” as a fellow human being. 

History has shown us the disaster that will follow if we fail.

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6 Nostalgia Tips for Writers

April 3, 2024 /

Browsing through a box of old family photos and scrapbooks, I found myself weeping, while remembering happy events. Why such contradictory emotions? Nostalgia. 

The dictionary defines nostalgia as : a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

That seems like a dry definition for such an emotional state.  

A further exploration of nostalgia determines it is a truly meaningful emotional experience, usually fleeting and fragile, that underlines a sense of something lost and finding it again, for one brief moment.  As one paper put it In that moment, you are connected; you have placed a phone call directly into the past and heard an answering voice .

Longing and Loss

In preparing this post I read several papers on nostalgia and they consistently pinpointed longing and loss as critical to feelings of nostalgia. That is why I cried over photos of happy times. They are gone now, the people passed away or scattered, the places changed almost beyond recognition. The happy memories are edged with loss. 

Beyond the dictionary definition, nostalgia evokes powerful emotions and thus, is useful to a writer of romance. In this genre, perhaps more than any other, the emotional reponse of the reader is paramount. We want our readers to fall in love with the hero, to weep with the disappointed, to despise the villain.

Nostalgia for Writers

    So, how can we, as writers, use the power of nostalgia to add impact to our stories?

    1. We can use it to put ourselves in an emotional state. Look at an old photo or call up an incident in your memory, that evokes nostalgia in you. Now that the writer is feeling fragile, vulnerable and maybe a little weepy, she can transfer that state to the character on the page.                                                                                                                                                             
    2. Use nostalgia triggers to hook the reader. The town of Mayberry never existed, yet millions of viewers identify with the place and the time, when they watch the Andy Griffith show. Why?  Because they long for the security and friendship and sense of belonging that attach to Aunt Bea, Opie and the rest. I’m not suggesting you set your book in Mayberry, but use a word or two to tap into that longing that resides in your reader and you’ll have them hookedon your story.                                        
    3.  Find triggers for your characters that will call forth a response from readers as well. Perhaps your heroine catches the scent of apple blossom and is swept back to a happy time in her own life. Even if your reader doesn’t like apple blossom, the sense of smell is a strong trigger for memory and they may recall their own favourite blossom or scent.  I just read an article citing red roses as a touchstone and my mind flashed to my Dad. To him, the only real flower was a red rose. In an instant, I was down the rabbit hole of memory, and the blog post that mentioned a red rose became memorable to me.                                                                                                                      
    4. We all share a longing to belong, to be part of a continum, to have roots. Help your  characters to find their HEA, by giving them that place, literal or figurative, that is “home.” The place they belong.  Call upon your own nostalgic moments to define the emotions that surround that place.    
    5.   In historical fiction, incorporating nostalgic elements can enhance the tone and setting to draw the reader into your imaginary world. Who can resist the image of a team of draft horses pulling a plough across the wide prairie? You can even mention the smell of leather harness, the dust in the nostrils of the ploughman, and the heat of the sun beating down from a cloudless sky.                                                                                                                                           
    6. Use nostalgic writing for reflection. Let your character muse on the passage of time since she was the prom queen at her high school, and all the changes and growth she has experienced since then. She may look back fondly or sadly on the girl she was then. That’s a decision for the author. Whichever it is, the reader will be drawn in — she’ll reflect on her own teen years, she’ll be emotional, maybe even shed a tear– and she’ll love your book.

    There are many ways a writer can tap into the powerful emotions that nostalgia elicits, these are only a few. Don’t pound your reader with all of them at once, but sprinkle a few bits here and there. Your story will have that little bit extra emotional writing that readers crave.

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