Tackle Big Events While Writing by Beth Carter

It’s easy to write about boy meets girl or girl meets boy. Insert a villain, some scenery, conflict, the use of senses, a bit of backstory and foreshadowing, and you’re done, right? Wrong. It’s much more interesting when you throw in big (or even small, intimate) events. Whether they are a fact of life (like a birth or death), a crazy family reunion or a tragic occurrence, your writing will be enriched and become much more realistic by adding these details.

Here are examples of big events I tackled in my writing:

[Imagine my cover for SLEEPING WITH ELVIS here. I’ll probably receive the cover art immediately after writing this post]. My new contemporary romance releases in August!

• My heroine, Pepper, has a fear of flying and boating. She has to do both in order to go on her dream vacation.
• Pepper has a cheating boyfriend
• Someone becomes stranded on my fictional Key Lime Island. (No spoilers)
• A boat capsizes
• People drown (No spoilers)
• My hero, Ty, an Elvis impersonator (swoon) doesn’t want to get back on stage after haters attack him on social media.
• Rumors hit the newspaper
• There’s a huge Elvis-themed show at a Branson theater

In my award-winning debut novel, THURSDAYS AT COCONUTS, there are three main characters–Suzy, a wedding planner; Alex, a bank marketer; and Hope, a high school counselor. The three BFFs overcome several issues:

• Family betrayals
• Weddings
• Tragedy
• Funeral
• Stalking
• High School Reunion
• OCD
• Homosexuality

My novelette, SANTA BABY, is published in the SMP eight-author holiday collection, SIZZLE IN THE SNOW. My single mother, Brooke, is all alone at Christmastime and must endure:

• Childbirth
• Being a single mom
• A break-up text
• A one-night stand
• Estrangement from her own mother
• Feelings for a sexy OB/GYN

So, you see. You can have huge events like a high school reunion or a wedding in your novel or you may decide to handle medical topics like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or childbirth like I did. Then again, you may touch decide to touch upon social issues. Your imagination is the limit!

Best of luck with your writing and have no fear.

http://amazon.com/author/bethcarter

2015 RONE WINNER  “Women’s Fiction/Chick Lit” by InD’Tale Magazine

First Place “Best Debut Author 2015” by BTS Books

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