in the shelter of the covered bridge – drip line
clear and amber water of the South Oromocto River
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Drip line
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slices river into upstream
and down, opaque and transparent,
dead calm and riffle, dark and light.
As water and air are cut
by meniscus, erratic in rain,
as her voice slips past present tense,
concentric rings expand. Three trout
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and gravels, perpendicular
rocks, embedded in amber. Rain
disconnects today from yesterday,
slips from the roof of the covered
bridge, slides from edge, corrugated
steel, sheet of rain, crosses river
linear, liminal, shore to shore.
~
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Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
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Bell Bridge, South Branch Oromocto River
in the shelter of the covered bridge – through a spider’s web
April 4, 2015 ‘web’ Jane Tims
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web
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after the rain,
says the spider,
I am purveyor of worlds
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peer through my web
800 raindrops
inverse images
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each a replica
of roof, walls and passageway
joists and beams
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loops of lenses
strands of crossing
binocular bracelets
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built a web to catch
the rain? I don’t think so
but insects never came to call
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so I am content
with captured
covered bridges
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swimmers, girls gone fishing
and the occasional
Chevrolet
~
~
Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
writing a novel – getting to know your characters
The Whisper Wind Writers’ Retreat – the setting for my novel
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Working on the drafts of a novel is like combing hair. You start at the top/beginning and comb through the words and sentences, paragraphs and chapters, over and over. Eventually the tangles comb out and the hair becomes smooth and shiny.
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I find the best way to do the ‘combing’ is to work at specific components of the story. Developing symbols within the story is one. Developing characters in the story is another.
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I have a lot of characters in my books. In ‘Open to the Skies’ there are 44 characters, major, minor and dead. This is probably too many, but it is a book about a community.
So far, in ‘Crossing at a Walk’, I have 33 characters. These include Sadie and Tom, members of the community, and the six ‘retreaters’ (the writers enjoying a weekend at the Writers’ Retreat).
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A difficulty with writing a sequel, I feel responsible for all these characters. Leaving one of them out of book #2 seems wrong to me. But by book # 25 (!) I’ll have a whole planet to contend with. So I have to make choices.
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Each of my characters has a character sketch, a background story and a story arc. As I’ve said before, I try to include three ‘bumps’ in each story line.
One of the ‘combings’ I do is to look at each character as he or she appears in the book. I want to make sure the character is consistent with respect to appearance, back story, way of speaking, relationships, and so on.
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1. Character sketch and background
As an example, let me introduce you to Ruby Milton. She is the fourth character from the left in the sketches above. She is a minor character, a constant companion to one of the major characters. Ruby is 64 and married (she was a Brunelle before she was married). She is a retired librarian and now runs a U-Pick with her husband Lars. Ruby, as a result of her name, loves all things red. She wears red and she bids on a lamp at an auction because it has a red glass finial. A quilter, she works a red patch into every quilt she makes. She was also one of the characters who opposed the sale and relocation of the Landing Church in ‘Open to the Skies’. Ruby snubs Sadie at every opportunity.
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Ruby would love my lamp with the red finial – it once belonged to my mother-in-law Mary
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It’s hard to have to keep checking on a character sketch as I write, so I prepare a chart of my characters. I keep the chart file open so I can check on it as often as I want.
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| Name | Occupation | Characteristics | Age | Vocabulary |
| Ruby Milton | Librarian; runs a U-Pick | Wears red; thin; a quilter; maiden name Brunelle; lived in community all her life | 62 | Cemetery; uses lots of contractions |
| Lars Milton | Retired Teacher; runs a U-Pick | Tall; Full head of snowy hair | 65 | Graveyard |
| Marjory Alworth | Shop owner | Nicknamed Margie; Ruby Milton’s daughter | 41 | |
| Betsy Alworth | Waitress | Ruby Milton’s grand-daughter | 24 |
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2. Story arc
Ruby occurs three times in ‘Crossing at a Walk’. She occurs because she is a friend to Pat, a major character; she runs a local U-Pick and food from the U-Pick is used at the Retreat; she represents the community’s continued interest in its landmarks. She wants to continue to use the Landing Church for her quilting group and she participates in celebrations of the history of the covered bridge. Ruby also represents the part of the community that Sadie hasn’t quite won over in her efforts to fit in.
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As I read my draft so far, I realise Ruby needs to change in some small way during the book. So, in keeping with her importance as a representative of community, I add some elements to Ruby’s story. At the auction, she won’t even acknowledge Sadie. But during the book, Sadie allows Ruby’s quilters to use the church and treats Ruby as knowledgeable about community history. By the end of the book, Ruby greets Sadie as a friend and contributes a story about her memories of the covered bridge.
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inside a covered bridge
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I keep a table of story arcs for each of my characters, to help me build the story, be consistent and make sure that I find the story for each character.
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| Name | First occurrence | Second occurrence | Third occurrence | Story |
| Ruby Milton | Ignores Sadie at auction (page 35) | Asks to use hall for quilting group (page 146) | Greets Sadie as a friend at a community gathering; tells a story about bridge (page 232) | Pat’s friend; represents community; changes her attitude about Sadie |
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Ruby is a relatively minor character in the book. However, I treat her with the same respect I give my major characters. And she gives back to me. She suggests turnings for the story. And she helps make the community I have created for these characters more realistic.
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Ruby puts a bit of red in every quilt she makes
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Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
writing a novel – searching out the symbols
When I wrote ‘Open to the Skies’, I used various ways to examine and tighten the plot. One of these was to list the various objects in the book and consider them as symbols.
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For my book ‘Crossing at a Walk’, I will use this process to help my eventual readers understand the progress of the story.
Mentioned once, an object, such as a candle, is just a candle. Mentioned twice, it becomes a symbol, and the reader remembers the first mention of the object and draws understanding from the symbolism. So a candle may be remembered for its light. If, in a subsequent mention, someone blows out the candle, this may make a comment on the idea of communication. Passing a candle from person to person suggests the passing of stories between people. The use of symbols deepens meanings and helps the plot reverberate throughout the writing.
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Symbols operate like mini sub-plots throughout the story. These mini-plots echo the main plot, and the objects change in a way that illuminates the main plot. The mini-plots also tend to occur in three ‘beats’, providing a beginning, middle and end. For example, an unlit candle becomes a useful source of light and is passed between people at a wake.
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In this round of edits, I have tried to examine the use of symbols in my novel. To do this, I built a list of the objects I have used as symbols. Then I looked for their occurrence in the novel to see if I could identify three ‘beats’ and a mini sub-plot. In some cases, I identified gaps – fixing these has helped me to solidify my overall plot.
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This is a short version of my list of some of the objects/symbols in my book. When I assembled the list, the items in red were missing and I had to fill out the story accordingly. Perhaps you can use this method to help strengthen the narrative in your own fiction.
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| Object | Symbol | Occurrence (page numbers) | Mini-plot | ||
| coyote | fear | 87 | 104 | 120 | coyotes howl in woods; they rattle some of the retreaters; Sadie considers it a failing of the retreat |
| church tower | refuge | 15 | 104 | 181 | tower is off-limits to retreaters; becomes a place to sleep in safety; a place to write a poem |
| paper maché ball and chain | servitude | 39 | 58 | 180 | Sadie is asked to provide a community service placement for Minnie, a trouble-maker; Minnie stores the ball and chain, a theatrical prop, on a library shelf during her stay; when the time is up, she destroys the ball and chain |
| rain | a barrier | 6 | 133 | 186 | rain interferes with the retreat at every turn and ends up being the source of the flood that threatens the covered bridge |
| scale model of a covered bridge | remembering | 35 | 132 | 150 | a scale model of the covered bridge is purchased at an auction; helps tell the story of a character in the novel; could become the only memento of the bridge |
| burning candles | passing stories from person to person | 58 | 140 | 188 | candles are not allowed in the old church but later become a practical source of light during a storm and a way of passing stories about the covered bridge from person to person |
| loon | communication | 21 | 169 | 182 | loon calls at retreat encourage people to talk to one another |
| stars, shooting stars | hope | 12 | 109 | 185 | stars become inspiration for an artist, encouragement for a love-interest, and an inspirational setting for a wake |
Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
writing a novel – expressing the story in a single sentence
Title: unknown
Working Title: ‘Crossing at a Walk’
Setting: a writers’ retreat – the renovated Landing Church, the hall and the rectory now used as a Learning Center, a Sleeping Hall and a home and base of operations for Sadie and Tom
Characters: main character Sadie, a writer; her husband Tom, a retired welder; Alexandra, a young woman who works at the retreat; other people from the community; writers participating in the first weekend of the writers’ retreat
Plot: The ongoing history of an old covered bridge keeps getting in the way of discovering the story of a woman who once lived in the community.
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one of the 59 covered bridges remaining in New Brunswick
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When I think about the story I want to tell in my book, I quickly get in a tangle of characters and subplots and action. All of this can be quite confusing to the writer and end up befuddling the story and taking the writing in the wrong direction.
To avoid this tangle, it is a good idea to try to express the plot and story in single sentences as soon as possible in the writing process.
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The plot is the cause-and-effect relationship between events in a story.
A story is a series of events, related in their chronological order.
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I am currently taking a course from Deborah Carr, an excellent writing coach (her website ‘Nature of Words’ is at http://www.natureofwords.com/). She puts it this way: a story follows the pattern of Desire, Struggle, and Resolution. Every good story is about someone who wants something, how the someone sets about achieving the goal, and the consequences of achieving the goal.
The earlier in the process I can write my story in a single sentence that includes these three elements, the less ‘wheel-spinning’ I will do.
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My novel will be the story of how a young staff member at a writers’ retreat discovers the name of a woman carved on the beams of a covered bridge, sets out to discover the woman’s story by asking questions and learning the history of the bridge, and reveals truths about love and loss.
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names and initials are often carved on the wood beams within a covered bridge
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The story is different from the plot in that it expresses a series of actions in time. A plot expresses the logical relationship between elements of the story. The story and plot complement one another.
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Before you get much further in your novel, try writing the story as a simple sentence describing Desire, Struggle, and Resolution.
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Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
writing a novel – sub-plots
In every story, sub-plots help with the story telling and contribute their own dynamic to the action, characters, and the relationships between characters.
sub-plot : a smaller, separate story strand that provides support for and adds complexity to the main plot
The courses I have taken have taught me that often subplots contain a minimum of three re-occurrences or ‘beats’ in a story. A sub-plot is introduced, more is learned and the sub-plot is resolved.
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To help me identify the subplots, I have used my ‘story board.’ I identified some key subplots and put stickers on the scenes on my ‘story board’. Here you can see the subplots ‘A’ and ‘P’.
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This mapping of subplots can help me decide if some of the story is missing. In the ‘story board’ below, sub-plot ‘P’ could be improved by a mention on Day 3 and 4 (the vertical rows of green trees indicate a day in the action). Major inclusions of the subplot P on Days 1, 5, and 8 will be my three subplot ‘beats’.
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Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
writing a novel – character arcs
Title: unknown
Working Title: ‘Crossing at a Walk’
Setting: a writers’ retreat – the renovated Landing Church, the hall and the rectory now used as a Learning Center, a Sleeping Hall and a home/base of operations for Sadie and Tom
Characters: main character Sadie, a writer; her husband Tom, a retired welder; people from the community; writers participating in the first weekend of the writers’ retreat
Plot: Sadie wants the first writers’ retreat to go smoothly, but the history of an old covered bridge keeps getting in the way
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I have finished the first draft of my novel. Still lots of holes to fill and editing to do. But I am now certain of the basic story-line.
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For the next while I will be spending some time with each of my characters. I know a bit about them, because I have a character sketch and a drawing for each character. Now I want to make sure each person has their own story arc. I would like each character to grow in some way during the novel.
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some of the characters in my novel
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My first step is to print a copy of the draft ‘Table of Contents’ for my book.
On a separate page, I also list the events (or scenes) in each chapter and the characters involved in each event.
Then I use the initial of the character’s first name to show on the ‘Table of Contents’ where the character occurs in the story. For example, my characters include Patricia and her brother Rob … marked P/R on the extreme right hand side of the ‘Table of Contents’.
Right away, I can see if a character falls off the radar. I can also make certain the characters are distributed through the action so my reader doesn’t forget they exist. For example, one of my main characters, Alexandra (marked A) doesn’t occur in four chapters … this may be OK but I want to think it through.
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Once I have completed this step, I have a list of additions to make to the manuscript (written up and down along the bottom of the page).
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I also write, in a simple sentence, the story arc of each character. I write the arc in the format of: what the character wants, the obstacles he or she encounters, and the resolution.
Patricia (the rather sour-looking woman on the far left of my drawing above) wants to feel connected with her brother who left home and died years before – she reconnects with him by learning some of the details of his story.
Tom (below) retired from his career as a welder due to ill health. He is surrounded by writers attending the writer’s retreat. He is at loose ends and tries to find his purpose, discovering it embedded in his daily routine.
Matt (third from the left in the drawing above) is a theatre student who wants to attract a fellow writer. In spite of repeated rebuffs, they find a common interest, the basis of a friendship.
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Tom, Sadie’s husband, doesn’t always feel comfortable around writers.
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I have learned from various courses that story arcs are often expressed as sub-plots. The story arcs often occur in three ‘bumps’ in the action. Although most of my characters occur several times in the book, this is a good minimum guide to follow for the significant events in their stories.
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Back to work …
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Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
writing a novel – writing and plotting
I often see questions from writers about plotting the story in a novel. Some advocate just writing, letting the plot write itself. Others say the best approach is to carefully plot the action beginning with an outline.
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My approach is a mix of these two. I began to write some of my novel early last year – just jotting down ideas and doing sections of writing. Now, I have reached about 32,000 words, and I have a very good idea about my plot and where the action takes the reader. It is time to make sure I am going in a particular direction.
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I have always wanted to use a plot board in the writing of my book, but I don’t have the wall space to use a proper ‘story board’ or one of those ‘white boards’ you see in detective shows on TV. I do have an empty canvas or two, so I am using one (20 X 24) as a story board to arrange the elements of my book. The canvas is a good size to store easily, or work with on my knee!
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First I used a block of post-it notes (mine look like evergreen trees) to jot down the various scenes I have written to date (looks like a forest).
Scene – a sequence of related actions and conversation occurring in a particular place. For example: Sadie and Tom sit at their kitchen table and discuss where to take the writers for a tour of the community.
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I put these scenes in order and posted them on the canvas in vertical lines, each line representing roughly a day (or a group of related days) in the action. Below is my canvas story board with scenes arranged in eight ‘days’ worth of action.
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To show a little more of the arrangement, I have drawn some circles to show you where I put different scenes. Some (lower left) don’t seem to fit anywhere – perhaps they will just become bits of orphan writing. The ‘aftermath’ will include a return to the writing retreat by the first group of ‘retreaters’ – the weekend went so badly, Sadie offered them a free weekend at the retreat!!!
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Now, I can continue to write and fill in parts of the plot I have not completed. I can move the post-it notes around and rearrange the action. I can add new scenes. And I can look at where ideas, sub-plots, symbols and people occur and reoccur. And I can add any information if needed.
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Lots of work to do!
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Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
writing a novel – next in the series !
Having sent my first novel ‘Open to the Skies’ (aka ‘Saving the Landing Church’) out to three publishers, I have begun my next novel in the series. I intend for the series to focus on the adventures of running a writers’ retreat. Same characters, same setting, same struggle to be a part of the community.
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Title: unknown
Working Title: ‘Crossing at a Walk’
Setting: a writers’ retreat – the renovated Landing Church, the hall and the rectory now used as a Learning Center, a Sleeping Hall and a home and base of operations for Sadie and Tom
Characters: main character Sadie, a writer; her husband Tom, a retired welder; people from the community; writers participating in the first weekend of the writers’ retreat
Plot: Sadie wants the first writers’ retreat to go smoothly, but the history of an old covered bridge keeps getting in the way
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My first novel was about an abandoned church. The subject of this book will be yet another feature of our built landscape, one also having a difficult time … the covered bridge. In the 1940s there were 340 covered bridges in New Brunswick. Today there are only 60.
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I chuckle all the time about my ‘Saving The …’ series. Lots of buildings to save out there! However, I have no intention of sinking into the formulaic (Sadie falls in love with the … and takes steps to save the …). Instead, each story will take a unique approach to honoring the bit of built landscape it portrays!
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As I have said, in New Brunswick, we have 60 remaining covered bridges. Their numbers are dwindling, the losses due to flooding, fire and vandalism. For a look at the covered bridges in New Brunswick, see the map and photos at http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/dti/bridges_ferries/content/covered_bridges.html
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So how does a covered bridge get in the way of a well planned writers’ retreat?
- Sadie includes a local tour during the retreat, to introduce the writers to the community and give them new experiences to write about. The covered bridge is outside the tour loop, but a couple of the writers would love to go there.
- the covered bridge is part of the community’s history. Inside the bridge are the carved initials of some of the many people who have lingered there. The writers want to know ‘who was Phoebe?’ a girl whose name is carved in the bridge and imprinted on the memories of some of the members of the community.
- after the retreat is over, heavy rains and flooding threaten the bridge to its very foundations. Can the bridge be saved and will Sadie be willing to take on the cause of another community icon?
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Sadie … my main character … a writer and weaver … she wants the first weekend of the writers’ retreat to go smoothly … I still think she needs an afternoon at the hairdressers
Sadie’s husband Tom … a welder with a fatal case of welder’s lung … a likeable fellow, he refused to die in the first novel … I wonder what will happen to him in ‘Crossing at a Walk’?
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Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
writing a novel … next (brave) step
For the past two years, I have been working on a novel. The working title of the book is ‘Saving the Landing Church’ – the actual title is ‘Open to the Skies’. For more information about the process of writing ‘Open to the Skies’, have a look at the category ‘writing a novel’. https://nichepoetryandprose.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/writing-a-novel-telling-a-story/
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The book is about a woman who falls in love with an old church and decides to save it from demolition, in spite of active resistance from members of the community.
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the setting for my novel … an old church and its hall and rectory are moved to a new location along the St. John River to create a writers’ retreat …
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After taking my book through nine drafts, numerous readings of bits with my writing groups, and a third-party edit, I have taken the next (brave) step. I am sending my novel to three publishing companies. I chose the publishers based on their dedication to Canadian authors and subjects, their willingness to read unsolicited manuscripts, and their current book lists.
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It will be a long wait. I know from past experience that I may not hear from them for six to eight months, and then it will likely be ‘no’. This is not lack of confidence or uncertainty about my skill. It is reality – most book publishers get up to a thousand submissions per year and, of course, can only choose a few of these to publish. However, on my side is the characteristic of doggedness.
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I will be sure and let you know what happens next with ‘Open to the Skies’. Meanwhile, I’ll be busy working on a sequel to the first book and, of course, on my poetry.
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Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
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