Holidays as Characters in Your Stories

Yesterday was Family Day in Alberta. Basically, it is a government mental health holiday. Spend some time with your family. Forget it is miserable February. Be happy. Don’t off yourself.

Today is Shrove Tuesday. For those who are a little less religious, it’s Pancake Day. I don’t know the meaning behind the day–I was raised by somewhat agnostic be-as-you-are hippies–but I do know something…

And that is…

Holidays can act as fabulous characters and influencers in our stories and yet, so rarely do we utilize them.

I have Christmas in two of my stories, both to illustrate how the gal the girl is dating is the wrong guy. What’s up with that? (Peeks into own pysche.)

But what about Groundhog’s day? Or St. Patrick’s Day? Remembrance Day? Or a long weekend even? They so rarely make it into stories but they could really be great in terms of affecting events, characters, and in generally, creating so much conflict for them!

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Think of this: Busy working mom of young kids. Easter sneaks up. For Heaven’s sake, it’s NEVER ON THE SAME DAY!!! (How unfair is that?) Crap, crap, crap! Talk about barrier to the character if she’s unprepared.

A long weekend? Oh, look! Your character has an extra day off. What do they do? How can this change the story and get them into more trouble? Or help them resolve a conflict they are already experiencing.

How about a holiday they forgot about (maybe they are nonreligious or a religion of a very different mouse all together), and they go to the stores only to find them closed and they *need* something desperately and now have to go back home empty-handed. How are they going to bury that dead body when the hardware store is closed and they don’t have a shovel!!!!

Anyway, that’s what I’m thinking about today. That and those lovely Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal pancakes I had this morning. (Shrove Tuesday is a GREAT excuse to have pancakes for supper. If you are looking for a nummy, yummy recipe, I’ve shared my pancake recipe here. Enjoy!)

Happy writing my friends!

And if you’ve ever used a holiday in your story to create conflict or to bring characters together, tell me about it. I love hearing what other writers are doing.

NaNoWriMo Anyone?

Next month is NaNoWriMo time!

That means National Novel Writing Month. That means, in November, try and write a novel (50,000 words) minimum during that month. It’s a challenge with its own reward–a 50,000(+) word novel!

Anyway, I am thinking of doing this. Otherwise, I may stay in this editing loop that has got me mired. (Not a wholly unpleasant place to be. I’m learning lots and I like to learn.) I’ve written new scenes for the works that are supposed to ‘complete’ and I keep tinkering with. That means I keep ignoring the new story idea that’s been pestering me for over six months. Now given, I have learned a lot in the past while and it has been important for me to focus on fixing and improving and not just writing more junk with the same old errors and distracting myself from honing the new skills I’ve been learning. But now, it’s back-on-the-horse time with a great excuse to keep me focused and motivated and goal-oriented.

Let’s see…November has 30 days. If I wrote every day, that would be how many words a day? 1666 words per day. Wow, that’s quite a few. I know I can do it though. And you are allowed to do character profiling beforehand and have an outline (if say, you were the type of writer interested in that)–just no story words down on that screen! Which means that I might need this:

This and a whole lot of take-out.

In fact, the book I am reading for my book club, Water For Elephants, was written as a NaNoWriMo challenge. Cool, eh?

Interesting stats: In 2007 there were over 100,000 participants, with over 15,000 of those folks finishing with a 50,000 word or more novel. This year, I will be one of them. Oh yes, I shall! Want to join me? I promise to email you motivational pep talks!