Adding a twist to a storyโs setting gives it a psychological zip. Holidays are
no
exception.
As your characters enter the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, place them
in
scenes where they are caught off guardโwhere they believe their mental,
emotional,
and physical world is safe until they are hit with conflict from unexpected
places.
What about a holiday is unpleasant for your character? What does the character
appreciate about the holiday that hits him/ her blindside?
No matter what genre, depth of story satisfies the reader. Here are a few
examples of
how you can weave the fall seasons into your plot with obstacles that create
problems
for your characters.
Thanksgiving
- Romance - Your hero invites the heroine to his parentsโ farm for a
traditional dinner, but he fails to inform his mother that the heroine is
gluten-free
and vegan. What he believes is the perfect setting for his parents to fall in
love
with the heroine ends up being a catastrophe when the menu includes all the
items she
canโt eat.
- Historical - A family looks forward to enjoying a harvest festival
when several
members of the family become ill with smallpox.
- Suspense - Your heroine and hero take a walk through the woods on
Thanksgiving
when a bad guy opens fire and wounds the hero. The heroine chases the bad guy
through
the woods, but when she trips on a felled tree, the bad guy opens fire on her.
- Speculative - Perhaps holidays arenโt celebrated in your story world, but
feasts
are always in style. While the characters in your story are enjoying a grand
festival, they are attacked by enemies, who only want the children.
Christmas
- Romance - A hero plans to propose to the woman of his dreams on Christmas,
but
he finds her in the arms of another man and suspects the worst.
- Historical - A father struggles with his health and lack of money to give
his
four children a gift for Christmas. When he fails, he learns the best gift he
can
give is love.
- Suspense - A woman criminal celebrates the season with her family and
friends,
providing an opportunity for law enforcement to make an arrest. Only the
criminalโs
boyfriend happens to be one of the arresting officers.
- Speculative - All celebrations are forbidden in a world ruled by those who
seek
to control its people through oppression and persecution. But one person defies
the
mandate to bring happiness to others.
Consider your story. Is it set during an upcoming holiday? Instead of using a
celebration to add a break to your characterโs life, weave an unpredictable
twist.
Does snow and ice interfere with a life and death situation? Does last minute
shopping for a dinner cause an unexpected encounter with fate? Take the holiday
challenge and deepen your story. Youโll be amazed at the results.
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should
expect an
adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to
create
action-packed, suspense-filled novels.
Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy
Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational
Readersโ
Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best
Books
2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.
DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers; the
2015
president of the Romance Writers of Americaโs Faith, Hope, & Love chapter; a
member
of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and International Thriller
Writers. She
speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. She
and
her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.
DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of
the
social media platforms listed at her website.
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Blog
Two murders have rocked the city of Houston. Are they the work of a
serial
killer, or is a copycat trying to get away with murder?
That is the question facing Special Agent Bethany Sanchez, who is eager for her
new
assignment in violent crimes but anxious about meeting her new partner. Special
Agent
Thatcher Graves once arrested her brother, and he has a reputation for being a
maverick. Plus, their investigative styles couldnโt be more opposite: he
operates on
instinct, while she goes by the book.
When hot leads soon fizzle out, their differences threaten to leave them
deadlocked.
But an attempt on their lives turns up the heat and brings them closer
together, and
a third victim might yield the clue that will help them zero in on a killer.
This
could be the case of their careers . . . if they can survive long enough to
solve it.
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