Meaningful Moments: The Rich Landscape of Story

by Ocieanna Fleiss

For me, plotting begins with the mountaintops, the big events that form my story’s structure. But like a young Amy Grant once said, “You have to come down from the mountaintop to the people in the valley below…”

The valleys—the soft spots between crises where I can relish prose and befriend a character. Even though they don’t make me breathe in awe like the jagged peaks, the wildflower-strewn valleys are often the most comfortable sections of a story. I relish sinking my toes into those grassy pages budding with meaningful moments and lush descriptions.

How to make the valleys inviting? Here are some ideas.

Not for Nothing
Non-peak scenes need a purpose too. In the classic, The Scarlet Pimpernel, the heroine Marguerite finally realizes her fervent, eternal love for her husband Percy as they engage in a tense, emotion-ridden confrontation. Not receiving the response she craves, Marguerite flies up the marble staircase, leaving engrossed readers in frantic anticipation. Does Percy love her? Surely he must, but why doesn’t he tell her? Why!

Instead of rushing off to the next plot point, the author gifts us Percy’s reaction. And when, “in the very madness of his love,” strong Percy Blakeney bends down and kisses each step where her “small foot had trodden,” it’s enough to make a romantic heart swoon—even though it’s after the big plot point.

To Do: Find the climax of your book and evaluate the next scene. Is it compelling and memorable? Can it be heightened?

Reveal Her Heart
Remember filling out one of those character charts when you started your novel? Those traits you so painstakingly described may fit perfectly into the lowlands of your story. In one of my works in progress, my character Maggie’s grandmother dies early on. It’s a significant scene, but not one of the “biggies.”

I knew I wanted to create a Christian heroine my readers would admire, but I hadn’t had a chance to paint her in detail. So I decided to use this less-crucial scene to give the reader a better view of her heart. As Maggie sat at her grandmother’s bedside, rather than letting her weep (too obvious), I put a song on her lips. She lifted her voice in praise to the Lord, accepting His will even though it hurt. This extraordinary response helped build a connection between Maggie and the reader.

To Do: Pick a slow scene you’ve been trying to fix. Find a way to reveal one of your protagonist’s traits and thus enhance the scene.
The Fun Stuff
I recently taught a literature class to middle-schoolers. I sent them on a treasure hunt for literary devices. Y’know—similes, irony, foreshadowing, onomatopoeia, personification, repetition, alliteration. They loved it. When done properly (not too much), these little morsels make a book rich and yummy, and the valleys are a good time to sprinkle a few in.

In the early scenes of Only the River Runs Free, author Bodie Thoene first introduces an old prophetess who foretells that a miraculous savior will appear on Christmas Eve and free the village from the grasp of an evil lord. Even though the townspeople know she’s crazy, the idea catches on, and hope circles like the flickering candles of an advent wreath. But Christmas Eve comes and goes, and everyone writes the prophecy off as the yowls of a crazy woman. But the reader knows that a young man has come to town, a man in disguise, a man who has the heritage and ability to change everything.

This is dramatic irony. The audience knows something the characters don’t. And it makes what could be a mundane event—a guy coming to town—into something readers enjoy.

To Do: Try sprinkling in some literary devices. It’s fun, and your critique group will tell you if you’ve overdone it.

Here’s a Web site to spark ideas. http://mrbraiman.home.att.net/lit.htm
So you can see, the mountains are important, but don’t forget about the valleys. Both are needed for a lusciously landscaped novel.

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Ocieanna Fleiss (pronounced oh see anna) welcomes readers into a hope-filled world where courageous characters wrestle life’s obstacles with grace and humor. In Ocieanna’s books, the heart’s desire for love is fulfilled, not only by refreshing love stories, but by true romance with the faithful Savior. Married for eighteen years, she and her husband are raising four energetic kids in a home overflowing with laughter, love, and laundry.

Ocieanna's BLOG

About Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie
Julia Cavanaugh has never left New York City. But in 1890, the young woman must head west to ensure that the orphans under her care are settled into good families. After her final stop in Montana, she plans to head straight back east. But upon arriving in the remote town of Lonesome Prairie, Julia learns to her horror that she is also supposed to be delivered into the hands of an uncouth miner who carries a bill of purchase for his new bride. She turns to a respected circuit preacher to protect her from a forced marriage but with no return fare and few friends, Julias options are bleak. What is Gods plan for her in the middle of the vast Montana prairie?
Buy Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie HERE
What’s Next from Ocieanna?
Look for Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington to release in July! It’s another Summerside Press novel co-written with Tricia Goyer. Set in Seattle in World War II, it’s a story about the brave women who worked in the plants to build the fighter planes that helped win the war.

About the Free Book!

Are you craving a copy of Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie? Well, here’s how you can have one (cuz like I tell my kids, nothing worthwhile comes easy). Leave a comment giving me your greatest, goofiest, or growliest sentence—but it has to have a literary device. It can be any of the ones I listed (repetition, alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, or one you come up with yourself. But it must be as creative as an elephant with a paintbrush!