The Symbol of Good Writing By Angela Ruth Strong

 

This year, since my novel Finding Love in Big Sky has been optioned for film, I started taking classes on screenwriting so I could better understand how my story might be changed. You know they always are. It’s disconcerting as a novelist, but in learning more about writing for the screen, I can appreciate the reason for this.

When writing a novel, I get into my character’s head and explain their thoughts and feelings. Without voiceovers, this isn’t possible on film. Instead, they use symbolism. Whenever he looks at the photograph, you know he’s thinking about his dead wife. Or whenever she clasps her necklace, you know she’s thinking of the grandmother who gave it to her. While this isn’t necessary for a book, it can definitely add to it. It can show how a character has grown or changed without spelling it out.

In my book Lighten Up, I have my character reach for M&Ms in the counselor’s office. They comfort her pain, and she gains weight from overindulging. In the wedding scene at the end, she looks at the pastel colored M&Ms then walks out of the wedding without taking one. She’s found health.

Now if you’re wanting to take symbols even deeper, you can connect them to scripture. I did this in my Resort to Love Series. It started with Finding Love in Sun Valley, where Emily Van Arsdale does a Bible study on water. I learned a lot and got so much good feedback that I continued with the rest of the books.

Finding Love in Big Sky is a Christmas story, so naturally I used scriptures about the star.

In Finding Love in Park City, my main character heads into the mountains for the Sundance Film Festival, so I gave her a mountain top experience.

Finding Love in Eureka took me the deepest. With an adopted character, I wanted to explore the idea of a family tree, which led me to Jesus dying on a tree so that we could be grafted into his family.

Writing symbols can be both powerful and fun. I like to try to pick them out too. When my husband and I went to see I Can Only Imagine, I asked him afterwards what he thought the symbol was. Without being a writer, he was able to guess, “Baseball bat.” That symbol was the perfect representation of how his father beat him and the exact moment when that anger was released.

Think about your own life and all the symbols that represent memories. There are probably many of them boxed in your garage or attic at this very moment. Ballet slippers. Art projects. Seashells. Trophies. This is real life, so adding a symbol to your story is going to make it also feel realistic.

While I do have the desire to write screenplays and have books adapted for film, that’s not the goal of symbolism. The goal is to help the reader connect with your story. The goal is to write truth.

What is one symbol that has stood out to you in literature?

Angela Ruth Strong published her debut novel, Love Finds You in Sun Valley, Idaho, in 2010, and has since had her books selected for TOP PICK by Romantic Times Magazine and in development for film. This Idaho Top Author and Cascade Award winner also started IDAhope Writers to encourage other aspiring authors. She currently lives in Meridian with her husband and teenagers where she teaches yoga and works as a ticket agent for an airline when not writing. She'd love to have you visit her at www.angelaruthstrong.com.  

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BCC: Solving a murder mystery is harder when you don't trust your partner...or their taste in beverages.

Sassy city girl Tandy Brandt moves to the small town of Grace Springs to start a coffee shop, never imagining she'll be competing with local beauty queen Marissa Alexander and her dream of running a tea house. Unfortunately, the current store owner dies before selling the location to either of them, and they both become murder suspects.

The unlikely pair team up in an attempt to discover the real killer, though with the secrets in Tandy's past and Marissa's infamous clumsiness, they could be their own worst enemies. Despite their differences, they follow clues to question a sweet, apple pie baking antique store owner, a GQ Santa in the retirement center, and a hipster millionaire with no social skills. Will they be able to figure out whodunit and prove their innocence before one of them goes to jail...or worse?

A Caffeine Conundrum: https://amzn.to/2PvOZWh

More than a Love Story by Angela Ruth Strong

There was a time when I quit writing romance. My happily-ever-after had ended, and I felt like love stories were nothing more than fairytales.

This was about ten years ago, right after my sister’s wedding. She got married, and I got divorced. It’s hard to be around happy couples when you’re all alone, so I went and bought myself a ring. It was a simple platinum band engraved with the words “Unconditionally Loved.”

Fast forward ten years. I’m now remarried, and my sister’s going through a divorce. She worked hard to try to save her marriage, and she’s devastated. Today is her birthday, and she doesn’t feel much like celebrating.

As a gift, I wrapped my “Unconditionally Loved” ring.

I never imagined anyone else would ever wear this band, but as I thought about what to get her and what I’d needed when I was in her shoes, I realized I already had the perfect gift. A symbol of God’s never-ending love.

This is the same reason I write love stories again—as a symbol of God’s never-ending love. There are a lot of romance novels out there, but they can’t be love stories without God because God is love. I don’t want to write fairytales, I want to write novels that help women make wise decisions and avoid the heartbreak both my sister and I have gone through.

Wherever you’re at this Valentine’s, I want you to know you are unconditionally loved. This love may not come from the person you want it to come from, and you may not even feel like you deserve it, but that doesn’t matter. You are loved, and accepting the fact will change your life.

This is the lesson my main character learns in my latest novel, Finding Love in Eureka, thanks to the powerful bond she has with her sister. Rosie supports Genevieve and helps her find her way back to her first love—Christ.

This is the love story my own sister needs right now. This is the love story we are all looking for. May it be your story this Valentine’s Day.

How has God shown you he loves you lately?

Raised in a family of six adopted siblings, Genevieve Wilson fights to keep her dysfunctional brothers and sisters together, but everyone still seems to leave. If she’s not good enough to prevent her birth parents from giving her up or her siblings from abandoning her, then there’s no way she would ever be enough to have a lasting relationship with the successful pilot from work—which is exactly what makes him a safe subject for her daydreams.

Matt Lake is dating the perfect woman and working a great job. Life is easy until he starts to enjoy hanging out with the airline employees more than with his girlfriend—one employee in particular. He tells himself he’s only intrigued by Gen’s quirkiness, but nobody else makes him smile the way she does.

Can Matt give up the flawless life he’d planned in exchange for the messiness of love? And if so, will Gen risk her heart on reality when it’s never paid off in the past? 
 

Angela Ruth Strong lives in Idaho with her hubby and teenagers. Besides writing, she works at an airline and teaches yoga because she'd rather get paid for her hobbies than actually work. That doesn't mean writing is easy, but her readers are worth it. Her books have won both Idaho Top Author and the Cascade Award, and she's had her novels selected as TOP PICK for Romantic Times. She also started IDAhope Writers to encourage other aspiring authors along their journey. She'd love to hear about your journey as well, so feel free to drop her a line at angelaruthstrong@gmail.com.

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10 Things I learned About Writing from Romancing the Stone by Angela Ruth Strong

1. It’s okay to cry when you write. Sure, my characters are imaginary and the only reason they are in trouble is because I put them in trouble, but their feelings are as real as it gets. Their story has to touch me if it’s ever going to touch anybody else. So I let myself bawl like Joan Wilder as she types “The End.”

2. Hero and heroine must have the same goal but for two very different reasons. Jack and Joan set off to find a telephone when she’s lost in Columbia, but while her goal is to save her kidnapped sister, Jack’s goal is to make some money to buy a boat. This difference will help create the conflict needed to make their adventure exciting and unpredictable.

3. Break stereotypes. When captured by Columbians with guns, Jack says, “Write us out of this one, Joan Wilder.” At which point the Columbians get excited because they are Joan Wilder’s biggest fans. Veering away from the expected makes this scene both memorable and humorous and changes the status quo, turning Joan into the hero rather than Jack. Not only does the viewer see the Columbians differently, but Jack sees Joan differently through this turn of events.

4. Don’t be afraid to take things over the top. I’ve never been afraid of this. I’m usually wondering if I’ve gone too far. But then I watch a movie like this one where nobody is ever simply talking over coffee in a coffee shop. Even the first kiss comes in the midst of dancing and lively music and colorful lanterns. And that’s one of the reasons it often gets voted as “best first kiss.”

5. Chemistry is everything. Chemistry is the other reason the kiss between Jack and Joan is memorable. But you don’t have to be writing romance for your characters to zing dialog back and forth and feed off each other’s energy and become more themselves around each other than around anyone else. Even Danny DeVito yelling at “Ira” brings the story to life.

6. Dialog should reveal character. For example, who could forget the time Jack chopped the heels off Joan’s shoes with a machete? She complains, “Those were Italian,” and he counters, “Now they’re practical.” Their values are displayed in a witty way.

7. Humor lightens up a dark story. Sure there are drugs and kidnapping and guns in Romancing the Stone, but it’s all in fun. Viewers aren’t on the edge of their seat with fear but with laughter. They get a break from reality with an adventure that includes awkward landings after sliding into muddy ravines and screaming as the heroine swings on a vine. It can help viewers learn to laugh at their own problems, as well.

8. Heroine finds her strength. While Joan thinks she needs the guy to save her, she’s really the one to save him, and through learning to work together, they not only obtain both their goals but become better people in the process. In contrast to the books Joan wrote where the hero rode to her rescue, she pretty much killed the bad guy single handedly. Her life becomes better than a romance novel.

9. Tie the ending to the beginning. If you never noticed, the boat Jack gets at the end of the story is named after the heroine of the story Joan is writing about in the beginning. I love doing this as an author. I tie it all up and also include what could be considered inside jokes with the reader—things they will only get if they were paying attention. Or things that will want to make them read it all over again.

10. There are no new ideas under the sun. Okay, King Solomon said this first, but Romancing the Stone is a good example of this. When it released, many claimed it was a knockoff of Indiana Jones, which had been produced first, but in fact, the script had been written five years before Raiders of the Lost Ark released. No matter what I write, it’s probably been done before, but I can still use my own voice to make it fresh and fun and memorable and relevant.

Bonus: Don’t let anyone stop you from believing in yourself. The author of the book Romancing the Stone quit writing when a college professor agreed to only pass her if she gave up her passion. The film’s director lost a job directing another film because the studio thought Romancing the Stone was going to be a flop. They were both considered failures for a time, but they did what they loved anyway and found an audience who loved it as well.

Raised in the West Indies, Jacqueline James is on the verge of becoming a modern day princess until the prince hires a P.I. to do a background check and discovers her father is a fugitive from the States. Determined not to let her fairy tale fall apart, Jacqueline hires the P.I. to help her prove her father's innocence. 

When former police officer Beau Ryan's wife's murderer was acquitted, he left Miami on what would have been their anniversary cruise, planning never to return. It's his unexpected soft spot for Jacqueline that has him swallowing down the pain to face his past.

Together they elude press, bounty hunters, and the Miami P.D., searching for the truth needed to free Jacqueline to marry a monarch. Will Beau be able to save the woman he loves this time around? And if so, how will being her knight in shining armor compare with a proposal from Prince Charming?  

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Angela Ruth Strong studied journalism at the University of Oregon and published her first novel, Love Finds You in Sun Valley, Idaho, in 2010. With movie producers interested in her book, she's rereleased it as part of a new series titled Resort to Love, and she's excited to be writing for Love Inspired Suspense, as well. Though if you like a little comedy with your adventure, you'll love her latest release, The Princess and the P.I. This Idaho Top Author and Cascade Award winner also started IDAhope Writers to encourage other aspiring authors. She currently lives in Idaho with her husband and three teenagers where she teaches yoga and works as a ticket agent for an airline when not writing. She'd love to have you visit her at www.angelaruthstrong.com.