Karyn Good

About Karyn Good

I grew up on a farm in the middle of Canada's breadbasket. Under the canopy of crisp blue prairie skies I read books. Lots and lots of books. Occasionally, I picked up a pen and paper or tapped out a few meagre pages of a story on a keyboard and dreamed of becoming a writer when I grew up. One day the inevitable happened and I knew without question the time was right. What to write was never the issue - romance and the gut wrenching journey towards forever.

Social Media: Can’t Live With It, Can’t Live Without It

How did it get to be Thursday already? I don’t know, either. I do know it’s time to take our Travelling Blog Show on the road to Janet Corcoran‘s blog. This week’s topic? Social Media: Can’t live with it, can’t live without it. There’s a lot of different ‘conversations’ going on out there in cyberspace and a lot of places to have them. This one is happening on Janet’s blog. So come join Janet Corcoran, Hayley Lavik, Jana RichardsJoanne Brothwell and myself as we discuss the pros and cons of social media. We love to hear your opinions so drop by and leave your two cents.

Imagine That

Imagery takes a person, place, or thing and puts them in context for the reader. It aids us in getting to know an unfamiliar character by giving us, the reader, the sense of walking around in someone else’s shoes.  Not only through sight and sound, but what she tastes, touches, and smells. By using the senses you can create a clear and specific image, a certain tone or mood. It’s in the use of strong verbs and specific nouns and enhancing the right, not every, detail.

When I think of imagery, I think of this passage. I can picture that mass herd of caribou as a living entity as it swarms and moves over the land. I can feel the tiredness of the couple as they try to keep up day after day. It speaks to me and it paints that picture we writers strive to create for our readers.

 “And they came in waves. Streams of animals pouring like some liquid over the hilltops, expanding, contracting, spreading across ridge crests and passes. We followed for as long as we could each day, were overtaken when we camped for the night, and dragged our leaden limbs out of frosted sleeping bags in the mornings, to start a day of trying to keep up, all over again.” -Karsten Heuer from first weeks “Being Caribou”

So, I’m reminded that as I revise it’s not simply a tree but a specific kind of tree. Perhaps it’s a ripped Grateful Dead t-shirt instead of a shirt. It’s the corner of East Hastings Street and Gore Avenue not down the street. It may be a gun, but it’s also a specific make and model. That guy is not simply homeless. He’s called Chain Man for the ropes of chains looped around his neck. It’s his job to carry those chains, day in and day out, on the streets of Eastside Vancouver. Rain or shine, like a mail carrier with his bag of mail.

Be the image ugly or beautiful, the trick is to have it appear natural and in character. Not simply a niffy sounding descriptor, but true to my voice and style as a writer. There is no need to bedazzle the reader with my genius and clever hand with literary devices. They are useful only in their ability to help enhance the reality of the situation. Kind of like how we use salt and pepper to season a plate of food. We don’t need to pour them over every morsel. We taste first and see where it can be used to improve the favor using a delicate shake or one twist of the grinder.

The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,

The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,

The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,

And the highwayman came riding–

Riding–riding–

The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door

 Do you have a favorite author with a talent for imagery? A movie you’re willing to watch over and over again for the scenery? (Mine’s Pride and Prejudice) What’s your best loves literary device?

Six Sentence Sunday

It’s Six Sentence Sunday. Where writers share a mere six sentences from their works. It’s like passing around a book of chocolates. Only you don’t have to stop at just one. Tour around and read as many six sentence offerings as you want without feeling guilty.

I’m sharing snippets from my debut romantic suspense novel, Backlash, which will be available as of June 1st.

My Heroine, Lily, and my hero, Chase, are having a…discussion.

For once, she didn’t want to do the right thing. The sensible thing. The good girl thing.

“As for Tessier…I’m going to feast on every second of payback that bastard has coming for putting his hands on you.”

Rebel thoughts whispered through her mind, like a breeze swirling up the fallen autumn leaves.

Want it.

Go here to see the list of other links with snippets for you to enjoy!

If Life Were Like That…

If life were like that…I’d be reading instead of cleaning. A cleaning service would come in every week to shovel out Camp Good and help keep it sparkly clean. Not in twenty-two years of marriage, eighteen of those being a mother, have I figured out how it can get so damn disorganized around here  in a space of hours. Suffice it to say we like the ‘lived-in’ look.

Now I’ve heard it said that some people enjoy cleaning, I’ve even met a few who’ve confessed to such disturbing traits. Nightmarish stories of getting up before the sun rises to vacuum, excitement over certain brands of cleaning products. I’m not sure I believe them. But if it’s true, I want to know what they put in their morning tea that causes this strange desires. Or maybe I’m missing a gene.

Interesting fact: One writer Ava Gardner did know quite well was Ernest Hemingway, with whom she was good friends. She starred in three movies based on his writing – The Sun Also RisesThe Snows of Kilimanjaro andThe Killers.

If life were like that what would you be doing right now?

Carnivalesque: Creepy Occurances

It’s Thursday and we’re taking our Travelling Blog Show on the road to Joanne Brothwell‘s blog. This week’s topic? What is the creepiest thing that ever happened to you that you couldn’t explain? I kid you not, that’s what we’re dishing on this week. Come join Janet Corcoran, Hayley Lavik, Jana Richards, Joanne Brothwell and myself as we confess to the creepy. We love to hear your about your experiences and hear your opinions!

 

 

 

Appearances

This Saturday, April 21st, at 1:30 pm I’m at Chapters (in my home city of Regina, SK) reading from my writing group’s anthology: Love, Loss and Other Oddities: Tales from Saskatchewan. I’ll be sharing my time with four other lovely Saskatchewan authors: Annette Bower, Jana Richards, Anita Mae Draper, and Jessica Eissfeldt. Join us for an afternoon of reading.

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday, April 26th, at 7:00 pm I’ll be at the Regina Beach Library reading from my upcoming release, Backlash. I’ll be joining Annette Bower as she reads from her new release: Moving On: A Prairie Romance. 

What he’s sworn to protect, she’s willing to sacrifice to save those she loves…

 

Why They Can’t Be Together

 

Internal conflict and Character Growth

We all know falling in love involves drama. I don’t think there’s been a romance in all of history that did not involve some kind of conflict. There is no romance without it. In the romance genre it’s about how the characters overcome conflict to end up together. The real life relationship of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson come to mind. Though their relationship was mired in controversy they certainly encountered some pretty large obstacles. The fictional couples of Jamie and Claire and Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. Abdication, time travel, and social standing make great conflict. Dealing with these issues makes for lots of internal angst.

All but the most minor of characters need goals, motivation and conflict. Goal is the future. Motivation is the past. Conflict is the present. It’s what characters want, why they want it and why they can’t have it. It’s the backbone of the romance novel. Creating it takes skill, planning and careful thought.

Conflict (Why They Can’t Have It)

Conflict, of course, should exist on two levels: external and internal. I’m going to stick to internal conflict because as always I’m working through revisions and trying to amp up the emotional stakes. The tricky part is creating an emotional (internal) conflict strong enough to carry an entire book. For readers of the romance genre, emotional conflict is the point. It’s why we pick up a book. It needs to be strong and not easily overcome. We want to see them suffer first.

Conflict is the clash between wants and needs. Ask yourself: What stops a character from doing what he/she must versus what he/she wants? Another important question to ask is this: Why is loving this person the worst thing this character can do at this moment? Your hero and heroine want to be together but there are obstacles in their way. These obstacles need to be HUGE. They need to evoke fear and dread. They must expose vulnerability and escalate emotional risk. They must repudiate strongly held beliefs. Conflict is the reason the hero cannot have what he wants. Conflict or obstacles force an emotional confrontation and lead to achieving goals.

Things to think about when upping the emotional conflict:

Choosing both positive and negative beliefs and values. A strict code of honor. You know, something along the lines of “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Deciding which of these beliefs or values will undergo a change in order for the character to grow and commit to a long standing relationship.

An honest-to-God inner torment that is so close to second nature it’s next to impossible to expunge.

Having to act against those long standing values. Forced to run instead of staying to fight.

Picking a weakness. Deciding what makes the character vulnerable and rubbing their faces in it.

We shy away from huge drama in our own lives, at least I do, but we do want to see in books, in the movies, and on TV. What fictional struggles appeal to you? Reunion stories, revenge stories, fairy tales, myths and legends? What famous romance in history is your favorite?

Six Sentence Sunday

It’s Sunday and that means it’s time for Six Sentence Sunday. Different authors offering up little snapshots of their work. It’s a lot of fun, I hope you check out as many as you can.

These six sentences come from Backlash, my romantic suspense releasing on June 1st. In this scene my hero, Constable Chase Porter, has received a visitor, his mentor from childhood, Stan Knight.

Stan tipped his head, and Chase got that bug under glass feeling. “You’d probably find you had a lot in common.”

“So everyone keeps saying.” But he wasn’t looking to trade war stories with a thirteen-year-old. He didn’t want to acknowledge a connection of any kind. He didn’t want to feel anything.

That’s it. Six little sentences to tempt and tease. Remember to check out the other offering here.

Carnivalesque: Geeky Pleasures

Join us today for another stop on Carnivalesque: The Travelling Blog Show. Today we’re at Hayley Lavik’s wonderful blog confessing our geeky pleasures! Those hobbies no one else gets but you. That doesn’t stop you from talking about it. Come join Hayley Lavik, Janet Corcoran, Jana Richards, Joanne Brothwell and I as we dish on each other’s geeky pleasures.

Tense Moments

This blog post turned into more about links I’ve visited while revisiting the concept of creating tension in my writing. Something that’s on my mind as I revise my novella. I thought I’d share some of them with you. You know, just in case you’re interested.

This the second time I’ve posted this advice from an former blog post I found at Writer Unboxed. It’s the second part of an interview with Donald Maass that you can find here. It’s about creating tension on every page.

Donald Maass: The absolutely essential exercise that everyone should do, with every novel, is to toss the manuscript pages in the air and collect them again in random order. (The pages must be randomized or this won’t work.) Next, go through the manuscript page-by-page and on each page find one way to add tension. Now, that sounds easy enough but most people are quickly stymied. That is because they do not truly understand what tension means. In dialogue, it means disagreement. In action, it means not physical business but the inner anxiety of the point-of-view character. In exposition, it means ideas in conflict and emotions at war. Study your favourite novelists. If they make you read every word, even while turning pages rapidly, it is because they are deploying tension in a thousand ways to keep you constantly wondering what’s going to happen. Tension all the time is the secret of best selling fiction, regardless of style, genre or category. If it sells big, it’s got tension on every page.

I’ve been on a reading binge for the last week and I’m on my third book. Nothing goes with a sinus/cold/cough thingy better than a book, especially in the middle of the night. As a rule, I have no serious shut-eye issues and I think I panic a bit when I can’t sleep. Or breathe. Reading calms me and passes the time until the over-the-counter drugs take affect.

All three books are paranormals. I don’t like to read romantic suspense while I’m knee-deep in writing it. Okay, so it’s supernatural suspense but, like, I’m going to read something I don’t love when I feel like crap. Anyway, three books, three different stories, two that made me read every word and one that did not.

Another great blog post about tension of every page from The Sharp Angle. I love how she talks about worry for the moment keeping readers turning the page.

Even in the not-so-action-filled scenes, there is still tension as we absorb everything that’s happened or is going to happen. Tension does not always equal action. It always equals worry, whether the current pace is high or low.

(The Hunger Games come to mind as a good example of tension on every page.)

Yet, another great article on creating tension at the Flogging the Quill blog.

You don’t have to create overt conflict on every page—a story with strong stakes and consequences makes it possible to use impending conflict to keep building tension in a reader. There will be tension on every page even without direct conflict. Have those happy moments, but create “when-will-the-trouble-I-know-is-coming-strike?” story questions that foreshadow trouble which will damage or diminish the protagonist.

Oh look, time for more cough medicine. Got any great book recommendations showcasing great tension? I’m almost finished with book three. And I hope this cold is finished with me.