Monday, February 1, 2016

Using the Little Things in a Story - Part I






We’ve all taken trips and we all have stories. Here’s a brief overview of my trip from Arizona to Washington and how it might involve storytelling.

The trip started with me loading my two large dogs, Sugar and Murphy, into the back of my Jeep.  Neither one can jump that high, and Murphy hates to ride in cars. My Realtor took pity and sent her husband to help me. We had to put their front paws on the rear bumper and then lift their hindquarters the rest of the way. Needless to say, Murphy resisted this procedure. In the meantime I’m pretty sure my neighbors were quite entertained.

To put that scene in a book, I wouldn’t have to embellish the story, but I might go into a little more detail.

I drove to Las Vegas, just me and the dogs, to pick up my daughter, who’d flown in to travel with us. Another adventure. Let’s just say the dogs were wound up.

The trip took three days, so we had to stay at motels for two nights. I headed for the Jeep to load my suitcase the second morning, and a woman was leaving the building at the same time, with two very tiny Chihuahuas. Cute little dogs, right? Uh, one of the dogs took one look at me and leaped into the air, biting my leg. His teeth were like needles. I put my bag in the car and turned around, and the woman and her dogs had quickly disappeared.

In a book? There was one very large and particularly nasty looking dog who didn’t appear to like people in general. The protagonist tries to back away and manages to trip over her luggage. The owner was able to pull the big brute back before he did any damage, but by the time she pulled herself up, they were gone. She had the feeling the man had been watching her. She made a mental note to remember what he looked like, which wasn’t much better than his squirrely dog’s appearance.

As we closed in on Oregon, we ran into a snow storm. It’s been years since I’ve driven in snow, so I pulled behind a large truck and followed in his tracks. Easy peasy.

In a book? The protagonist is driving late at night on a lonely road, and a blizzard moves in. There’s no other traffic, with the exception of headlights she can see far behind her, and she’s on her own. Of course, in the book, she’s never driven in snow before. She slams on her brakes when she approaches a hairpin curve and slides right off the road and into a field. Heart pounding, she slowly pulls back onto the road.

Once we passed through the snow storm, it rained all the way to Washington. They were having almost record-breaking rain and it was an interesting ride. I think, if I remember correctly, they said on the news that the county I live in had over 20 inches of rain in December.

Back to my protagonist. She’s still driving late at night and she’s made it through the snow with her nerves on edge but intact. Can she now handle the rain? Probably, but there’s a sound like a gunshot and she has a flat tire. She pulls off to the side of the road, climbs out of the car, and guess who’s right behind her. You guessed it, the squirrely looking dog and his master. Before she can climb back into the car, the dog runs over, jumps up and licks her like a popsicle.

Take some of the little things that have happened to you while traveling and turn them into a scene in a book. The smallest thing (like a Chihuahua, she said laughing) can turn a humdrum scene into something spectacular.

Speaking of laughing, what if your character has a traveling companion and something strikes them funny. They might laugh themselves right into a ditch. You know the kind of laughter I’m talking about – the kind that makes tears run down your cheeks.

Until next week, don’t let life pass you by without paying attention to the little things, both the good and the not so good. They make for great stories.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website
CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

In the works: A Time Travel Mystery. It will be a standalone story, and hopefully it will be worth the wait.

20 comments:

  1. Great post, Marja! I had no idea you had so many "adventures" on your journey to your new home. But I love your sense of humor and the way you turned the things that happened to you into story ideas.

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  2. Thank you, Pat! Next week I'll share a little more. It was an interesting trip. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  3. Good information and well put, Marja. Those little things can make the scene real to the reader. They should be kept "little". But they are like grace notes in music: not noticed, but surely missed if not there. Thanks for reminding us.

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    1. What a great way to put it, Jim. Each note counts. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  4. Chihuahuas are the worst! (But not too bad in tacos..)

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    1. Too funny. My daughter and I are living in the same house now. I have two large yellow Labs, as you know, and she has a Chiwienie (half Chihuahua and half Dachshund) who seems to have inherited the best traits of both breeds. As a trio, they keep us laughing all the time. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  5. That's exactly what it takes to grab those little events and make them into critical turns in a book. Great examples.

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  6. Thank you, Lesley! A lot of fiction is about twists, turns and exaggerations. Makes the job kind of fun. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  7. Another great post, Marja. You've made my day.

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    1. Thank you, Evelyn! Are we having fun yet? : ) Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  8. I really enjoyed reading this, Marja (as I do all your posts) and love how you caught the moments during travel and turned them into such wonderful prose. Good luck in your new home and keep writing!

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    1. Thank you, Eileen! Pretty much anything can be turned into a scene in a book. Oh, and I started my new time travel mystery a few days ago. I think I'm going to enjoy this story. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  9. Great post, Marja. I once got a whole book idea from a road sign I saw from the car. Sandy Bottom Road just spoke to me. Norma




















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    1. Thank you, Norma! I came up with a name for a B&B based on a street sign. Are we creative or what? : ) Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  10. What a clever and imaginative post!

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    1. Thank you, Pat! You never know what will inspire a post. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  11. Marja, I enjoy reading your post, even though I may not respond all the time. There are so many stories waiting to be written, and you have given us another route. God Bless you.

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    1. Oh, thank you, Augie! You just made my day. : ) Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  12. Another great post, Marja. I agree that our own expeiences can be good fodder for our novels. I've used several of mine, especially travel and snowstorms.

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    1. You have, and you do them well, Jean. : ) As I recall, you've recently been through a number of storms. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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