Anne McDonald: Okies, let's get started. I'll open up in prayer, go over protocol and then introduce tonight's professor. Lord, thank You so much for meeting each of us at our needs. Please be with us tonight. Bless our guest and help us to apply the lessons she teaches tonight.

Please bless each of our participants and put a hedge of protection around our friends and family who are in the path of the severe storms tonight. Let our conversation tonight be a blessing to you and to others. In Jesus name, Amen.

Protocol reminder: when the floor is open to questions, please raise your hand by typing ? for questions, ! for comments and wait to be called on in turn to keep us from stepping on each others' toes, when you have finished typing a question or response, please type ga  ga= go ahead.

Tonight, I'm thrilled to introduce author Lena Nelson Dooley. She's been an advocate for Christian fiction for a long time and has published several novels along the way. Tonight she's going to teach us how to develop settings for our fiction. Please give Lena a warm welcome. Glad to have you, Lena. 

*Annie leads the applause 

Anne McDonald: Could you give us a bit about your background before you begin to teach? 

Lena Nelson Dooley: I was born in. . . No, I won't start that long ago. I've been writing professionally since 1984, when God told me to. You can read my testimony on www.lenanelsondooley.com .  My 18th book release will be in September. I also mentor the authors God sends to me. In addition, I interview other authors with their releases on my blog. 

Settings B Beyond Talking Heads, Bare Stage 

I host a critique group in my home and have for over 20 years. You=d be surprised to see how many people bring a very good story, filled with emotion and conflict, but completely bare of setting. That=s what I call Atalking heads, bare stage.@ 

What is setting? It=s the description of the place surrounding characters. Many elements make up setting. Time is part of the setting. In a contemporary novel, the time is present day, and in a historical novel, it denotes the time period. In the book, it could be winter, summer, autumn, or spring, or the book could span all the seasons. Each of these elements adds to the fabric of the story. 

Place should be revealed early in each scene. Does the scene take place indoors or out? If inside, what kind of building, with what kind of furnishings? If outside, is it rural or urban? There are a lot of varying settings that paint your book. 

Another important element is the weather. And weather can add to the tone of the book. We all know that stormy weather increases the darkness of a brooding mystery or gothic novel. Sunshine can add to the feeling of well-being.  

Some authors use the setting almost as another character in the book. One that comes to mind immediately is my friend Colleen Coble. Study her work to see how she uses these elements. 

Why do we need setting? It anchors the reader in a time and place. It enhances the story whether a dark mystery, a tender love story, a family tragedy, or a myriad of other scenarios. 

How should you use setting? When I first started writing, I dumped large sections of description of setting into one place. Tracie Peterson, my editor at the time, told me that she didn=t want a laundry list description of the setting. Her words really revealed to me what I was doing. Thank you, Tracie. 

Don=t overload the reader with unnecessary information. It=s best to include setting in snippets woven throughout the story. And reveal the snippets from the viewpoint of the POV character. How that person responds to the particular part of the setting will add to the overall feel of the story. 

Setting should always be tied to the POV character=s perceptions. And that character will be affected by what is going on emotionally in his or her life. Depicting these emotions in a graphic way draws the readers deeper into the story and keeps them turning pages. 

Another place to include elements of setting is in conversation beats. I hardly ever use a conversation tag (he said, she said). Instead I utilize the beats to describe setting and other characters in the scene as well as depict the emotions of the Point of View character. 

If you=re an author, you should read multi-published authors and see how they include setting in their books. I will add this caveat. Many authors who write suspense don=t use as much setting, because it can slow down the pace of certain scenes B those edge-of-your-seat scenes. But they use setting snippets in other places.

This gives you an overview of settings. Now we can have comments or questions. 

Anne McDonald: Do you keep a list of the senses you want to cover in any given scene?  

Lena Nelson Dooley: I keep a mental list, not necessarily a written list. It's more of part of the character development. I should add: I write the scene and then go back to layer in some of the setting. 

Anne McDonald: For new writers, what is the best way for them to know if their setting engages the reader? 

Lena Nelson Dooley: That's sometimes a hard thing to learn. I highly recommend that they connect, and even critique, with authors who have a handle on it. Not only will this help them do their own work, but they can learn from what the other people are doing.

Undercoverangel: How or when do you find time to write? That’s something I have a problem with. 

Lena Nelson Dooley: My first two books were written while I worked full-time elsewhere, but before the third one, the Lord opened the way for me to stay home and write fulltime. So writing novels is my fulltime job. 

Barbara: How soon into the story do you introduce setting? 

Lena Nelson Dooley: Usually within the first paragraph. Snippets of setting. I believe the reader needs that foundation to get into the story. If you don't, many readers will lose momentum while they're wondering where the story is taking place. Now, I have a feel for it, but earlier, I had to look for places to add things. In the book we critiqued last night, I had said "bounced around the room." When I went back, I said bounced against the walls of the snug log house. Not too many more words, but painted a picture. 

Avi: Would you elaborate on (conversation beats) give an example.

Lena Nelson Dooley: "So what are you doing right now?" Charles took restless steps across the polished hardwood floor while he waited for her answer. This is a quick off the top of my head answer, but I used the sentence to give a sense of the setting and Charles's feelings instead of just saying Charles asked. 

Lena Nelson Dooley: Conversation beats can add lots of depth to your story without adding too many words. 

Anne McDonald: Lena, when there is a time lapse in a story, what is the best way to handle it. Some people say never to use "An hour later..." or anything similar?

Lena Nelson Dooley: I believe it's according to your story. I have used "An hour later. . ." before. That is a transition phrase that works when the story is really moving along. You can do much more elaborate transitions if the story needs it. "While she waited, she watched the sun make its final descent behind the horizon, but still he hadn't arrived." Something like that.  

Anne McDonald: Regarding talking heads, what are some techniques for painting physical pictures of the characters, and should details be saved only for main characters?  

Lena Nelson Dooley: You should only give physical things that the POV character can see. To get the physical characteristics of the POV person, it needs to be in someone else's POV

You could do something like this if it's on the phone. "John could hear Steve's pen tapping against his polished rosewood desk. A nervous habit that had often gotten on John's nerves." With this type of thing, the POV character isn't seeing it, but he knows what's happens by history between the two people.

Anne McDonald: Many publishers are no longer accepting italics for thoughts. Could you tell us how we can incorporate what would have been thoughts, into the main text of the story?  

Lena Nelson Dooley: Now for this one. I wouldn't say that many of them are no longer doing it. What most of them are doing is using much less of that. Only with direct quotes in the persons thoughts. Since most of the time we're in deeper POV than we used to be. Most of the books I read and review do use some italics for thoughts, but it's like seasoning. Just a little sprinkled through, not long passages, and not a lot. 

Limey: Do you use these beats all the while - or only occasionally? 

Lena Nelson Dooley: Actually, I use beats most of the time. Once in a while I have to use a conversation tag, Or no tag or beat at all. 

Undercoverangel: I have hit writer’s block and have been there for what seems forever. More than 6 months. How do you get over that?  

Lena Nelson Dooley: Write anyway, even if it isn't good. Maybe free write. Or play the “What If. . .” game. Anything that can get you out of the rut you're in. When you get your mind working with writing, but in a different way from what you have been doing, it will often jog you into new creativity. 

Anne McDonald: What writing books do you recommend for aspiring writers?

Lena Nelson Dooley: What a question, Annie. I have a large library of writing related books. James Scott Bell has a good one on conflict. Brandilyn Collins has a good one on character development. But there are lots of others.

Here are some other How to books I have in my library:

How to Write Irresistible Query Letters - Cool - Writers Digest Books

Query Letters/Cover Letters - Gordon Burgett - Communications Unlimited;

Show Don't Tell - William Noble – Eriksson

The Portable Writer=s Conference - Metteo - Quill Driver Books

Writer's Encyclopedia - Polking - Writers Digest Books

Writing A-Z - Polking - Writers Digest Books

Beginnings, Middles, and Ends, Kress, Writers Digest Books

Descriptionary, McCutcheon, Facts on File

Scene and Structure, Bickham, Writers Digest Book

The 29 Most Common Writing Mistakes & How to Avoid Them, Delton, Writers Digest Books

Word Menu - Glazier - Random House

Words on Target, Nichols, John Knox Press 

I could list a lot more, but I won't. 

Dragon Riding Mouse: About getting stuck...adding to your comment: Stephen Bly always says that if you get stuck, shoot someone. 

Lena Nelson Dooley: Sounds like a good idea to me. 

Undercoverangel: I like it. Thanks for the tip DRM. 

Lena Nelson Dooley: Decide what the worst thing that could happen to your characters would be, then do it.

Anne McDonald: (throw someone under a bus) 

graceful: Could you explain the "What if" game, and free writing? 

Lena Nelson Dooley: If you have a character in a situation, say "What if he were to _____?" It could be something like "get lost" or "lose his memory" or anything that would change that character's life. This is the “What If” game. 

Free writing is to just sit down and start writing whatever comes into your thoughts and follow any rabbit trails or any paths that these thoughts take. 

Anne McDonald: To address angel's earlier question about getting stuck....usually we get stuck because we don't understand the character or the plotline well enough. I normally sit down and interview my characters as if writing for a newspaper. I get some surprising answers and usually get back on track with the plotline. 

Undercoverangel: That’s a good idea. Thanks, Annie.  

Lena Nelson Dooley: That's a very good thing to do. Also the plot hasn't been thought out well enough.  

Anne McDonald: Also, you can find a character development sheet on www.dancingword.net They're in the file cabinet 

Lena, do you have particular hours that you write? 

Lena Nelson Dooley: I turned one of the bedrooms into an office when my daughters left home. I get dressed and go into my office. I spend at least 6 hours a day--4, 5, or 6 days a week, according to whether I have a book deadline or not. 

Lena Nelson Dooley: If I'm not on contract, I'm doing research and writing proposals. And of course, I have to keep up with my Internet presence. 

Undercoverangel: Do you have like a quota. Like, do you say to yourself when you sit down to write..."I will write this many pages today"? 

Lena Nelson Dooley: I always try to write at least a chapter each day. Of course, my chapters are different lengths, so sometimes I write more or less. 

Limey: To answer Angel, I keep several opuses on the go at the same time.  If I get stuck with one, there's always another which I can take up and work on. 

Lena Nelson Dooley: That's a good idea, Limey. 

Anne McDonald: Lena, I have to know...do your characters talk to you (as in you can hear their voices), or are they more remote?  And do you ever argue with them?

Lena Nelson Dooley: There are often conversations going on in my head. One day while we were eating, I said something to a character, and my husband said, "You know, writers are weird." He was teasing. He loves me.

Anne McDonald: My husband says the same thing, but he means it. He loves me, but he thinks Jason and I are completely bonkers. Of course, he is a "normal" heh.

Lena Nelson Dooley: Who's to say what is really normal? We went on a cruise. I got on the elevator, and there was a man with a T-shirt that said, “You're just jealous, because I'm the one who hears the voices.” I laughed out loud and told him that I really did hear voices. He stayed out of my way after that. 

Anne McDonald: It is now time for our drawing. Lena has generously donated an autographed copy of Minnesota Brothers. DRM, please select a name out of the hat. 

* Annie rolls the drum across the stage 

Lena Nelson Dooley: Catch it before it falls off. 

Undercoverangel: There it goes. 

Anne McDonald: Tonight's winner is....... 

Undercoverangel: COME ON! 

Dragon Riding Mouse: Limey wins! 

Anne McDonald: Congrats, Limey. Please email me your mailing addy and I will get it to Lena.

Undercoverangel: Yay, Limey! 

Barbara: Hey, congrats, Limey. 

graceful: Congrats! 

* Annie does her infamous Snoopy dance and lands in a vat of caramel sauce 

Undercoverangel: Enjoy it, Limey! 

Limey: Oh, thanks very much.  I'll look forward to seeing how you do your beats. 

Avi: Congrats. 

Lena Nelson Dooley: Let's give undercoverangel one, too. 

Undercoverangel: Seriously? 

Lena Nelson Dooley: Yes.  

robert: WOW! Way to go, Lena. 

Barbara: That's neat, Lena. 

Undercoverangel: yay 

Anne McDonald: Wow, Angel!! 

Dragon Riding Mouse: Woah!!!! Awesome! 

Anne McDonald: Angel, I'll send Lena your addy since I still have it. 

PacJac: YAY, Lena. 

Anne McDonald: Lena, thanks so much for teaching tonight, and for the books. We sure appreciate it. 

Barbara: Lena, I really enjoyed it, but now Charlie needs the phone. Thanks for all the good information. 

Anne McDonald: Thanks so much, Lena. 

Limey: Lena, I have appreciated all the info you gave us this evening. 

Lena Nelson Dooley: I've really enjoyed our time together.