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Terri Schaefer on Imagery

Terri also writes under the names TL Schaefer and Keira Ramsay. She has been published by Samhain and Liquid Silver Books. Please leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of The Summerland and The Brotherhood. Winner will be announced on Monday.

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The Hills are Alive…

…not so much with the sound of music, but with the beauty of imagery. Imagery plays a pivotal part in creating any book, though it is something often overlooked, especially early in an author’s career.

When Dionne asked me to guest blog, she just said it should be about “writing.” Hell. I’m not a “funny” person by nature (hence the reason I write romantic suspense and erotic romance), and not usually snarky… at least not online :) . So I pondered long and hard about what to write, and hopefully I got it down without sounding preachy or too didactic. And if it does, my only defense is that I work for the military in my day job! LOL. Sigh… So, with no further ado, a subject near and dear to my heart… using setting as a secondary “character”. I hope you enjoy, and that no cyber rotten tomatoes are thrown my way!!

Picture an erotic romance, rife with emotion and sexual tension. If that is all the author strives to create, it may leave the reader “floating” or disconnected. Why? Because establishing the scene, making setting a “character” is often what grounds us in the story, making it more real, more tactile.

But, as with everything, an author can completely go the other way, and give us so much that it bogs down the story, or makes the reader skip huge chunks of text to get to the “good” stuff.

Seriously, everyone has that “favorite” book or author, one who touches our heart and makes us want to gobble up everything they write. My first was Stephen King (and we all know that he can write setting like there’s no tomorrow), and when I started reading romance again in my thirties, it was Tami Hoag… specifically Dark Paradise. She kicked ass in describing everything about the setting, so much so that I’m sure I’d recognize some of the places she took me too if I ever visited. Two other authors who excel at this are Jennifer Crusie and Janet Evanovich. You not only know where the story takes place, but you feel it, and in doing so, learn something vital about the hero or heroine in the process.

Dark Paradise inspired me to sit my happy ass down at the keyboard and attempt my hand at storytelling. My first book (The Summerland) was okay, but probably a bit overboard, at least when it came to setting:

This portion of his county had always reminded him of a living, medieval cathedral, like something you would see paintings of in history books. Black oaks wore a stately velvety coat of emerald moss, their thick, sturdy arms reaching for everything and nothing at the same time. Warring with the oaks for supremacy were the rod-straight bodies of huge Ponderosa Pines, evergreen boughs clawing toward the searing beauty of the sun. Beneath the grandeur of these monarchs, a graceful carpet of purple-blue lupine bobbed playfully in the searing breeze, their feet firmly entrenched in a thick layer of pine straw and oak leaves and red mountain clay.

That living carpet now crackled and shifted beneath each deputy’s feet, concealing and revealing with each movement.

The one thing I will say about that book was that people who had been to Mariposa (where the book is set), told me the actually recognized some of the places I’d described, so at least I did that right!

My second try was a bit better (at least I think so):

It was boring, bland, a cookie-cutter residence in a neighborhood full of them. He could afford better, and had, in fact, only bought the place to appease Dena. He really took a look at it for the first time in a while, maybe ever. It was not a home, not like Josie’s. Not even like his parent’s house downtown. No, his place was exactly what it appeared to be. A wooden box that housed a single man. It even smelled sterile. The odor of a well-loved or even well lived in house was conspicuously absent.

There were no vibrant colors in his living room, no splashes of light or texture. Instead, he’d buried himself in a sea of sand-colored furniture, of Antique White walls and off-the-shelf doors with standard knobs.

The fireplace across the expanse of tan carpet was white, the mantle adorned with standard brass candleholders and never-burned candles. The fireplace itself had never been used, even on the coldest of nights. He knew what his house looked like. It was a showplace home, all shiny veneer and no real guts.


Using the above as an example… by giving the reader a slice of Doug’s home life, I hopefully revealed something about his character as well… that something was missing in his life. If you compare the two blurbs, the first is simply a “thing”…a “tell”, if you will, rather than a “show”.

Maybe it’s just me, but when I read, I want to lose myself in the sweeping saga of a book, even if only for my allotted reading time. If I don’t have a good grasp of where I “am”, then I’m never pulled fully under. If I read about London, I want to feel the cobblestone streets under my feet, feel the fog as it licks my skin, smell the Thames as it sweeps by.

 As a writer, I’m totally guilty of only writing about the places I’ve been to. Why? Because I want the description, the feel of the locations, to be as accurate as possible, but also to have that extra something that pulls the reader in so totally that they forget about what time it is, that they put laundry in the washer, or that they wish the damned day job was over so they could enter my world again.

Sheesh, I could go on for days about this, and probably do it much better in person than in the cyber world, but I hope this at least entertained.

Thanks Dionne, for letting me play!!!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 26th, 2007 at 8:53 am and is filed under Guest Author. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

15 Responses to “Terri Schaefer on Imagery”

  1. Darragha
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 11:04 am
    1

    Love ya, Terri!

    I, too, am guilty of writing about places I know, and also of forcing my dear husband to the wilds of the Hebrides and Iceland to get some “hands on experience.”

    Darr

  2. Bettie
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 11:16 am
    2

    Good points!

    One thing I’ve noticed that all of my favorite “keeper” books have in common is a strong setting. I’ll read books where the author sketches in just enough detail on the setting to keep the story moving, but I usually don’t reread them. I always thought of rereading a favorite book as “visiting” a set of characters, or visiting the world of the book, so I guess it follows that the books I revisit are the ones in which the authors provide a detailed, intriguing setting.

  3. Kimberly
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 11:21 am
    3

    Thanks for the helpful and interesting read! I’ll admit, writing about setting is one of my weakest points as a writer. I think it’s because I don’t pay enough attention to my surroundings on a daily basis. Any tips?

  4. Bonnie Dee
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 11:51 am
    4

    Setting and imagery can be one of the most fun parts of writing! When I remember to describe a place, I think I do it well, trying to make sure the description of the location reveals something about the character observing it as you said. But sometimes I get so caught up in dialogue and stage direction–someone toying with her spoon or shredding a napkin to illustrate nervousness, for example–that I may forget to describe the tatty diner with duct tape on the vinyl seats and faded window curtains and how that rundown place influences the main character’s mood.

  5. Cherie J
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
    5

    Great post! As a reader, I understand the importance of setting because I am a visual person. I want tobe able to picture in my mind the world of the hero and heroine, whether it be Earth or some new world.

  6. Terri/Keira
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
    6

    Hey all! D — gee, I’da never guessed it *g*!!

    Bettie — yeah, those always resonate with me the most strongly as well…and almost always end up on my keeper shelf. Nora’s Chesapeake Bay series is one of those…

    Kimberly — yikes! I guess my trick is to step back, close my eyes, and really “see/feel” the scene. A freakin’ awesome setting doesn’t need to be loooong (as you can tell, I suffer from that myself *g*), but to have the most punch, match it up with the character’s emotions/state of opinion. i.e., lush and dreamy describing a beautiful bedroom suite, snappy and bracing during a pre-fight description. Damn..then that rolls right into pacing, which is a whole ‘nother story!

    Bonnie — LOL! I do the same thing, so I always make sure I go back in and layer it afterwards. Plus, since I’m a total pantser, by the time I reach the end, I understand the characters better, so can better match their background with them…

  7. Alyssa
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
    7

    I’ve just started the third draft of my novel (ugh, I can’t seem to get it right), and I’m really glad I read this. I know I need to pay more attention to setting, especially since the story takes place in my own fantasy world. Good article.

  8. Ann(ie)
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
    8

    As a writer, I’m totally guilty of only writing about the places I’ve been to.

    I cannot join this club. I’m writing a sci-fi series where I invented almost everything. When I’m writing less speculative stuff, though, I do tend to stay with locales that I’ve visited at least once.

  9. Jaime
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
    9

    I read mostly dark fantasy, sci-fi fantasy and the like…I am working a dark fantasy novel..for me I want enough detail to get me there and interest me, but I don’t want to be killed by it - you know? I can see the difference between the two examples you gave. One gives you more than the other. Yep, don’t tell me about it, make me feel it. Thanks. Peace.

  10. Jaime
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
    10

    P.S. I just purchased The Brotherhood..sounds like it is really good.

  11. Lorelie
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
    11

    As a writer, I’m totally guilty of only writing about the places I’ve been to.

    I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Correct me if I’m wrong (’cause it’s been like 10 years since I took an English Lit course) but didn’t Faulkner write solely about the South? I don’t think it matters where you write about, as long as you do it well.

    And btw, I work for the military too!

  12. Bettie
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
    12

    I’m writing a sci-fi series where I invented almost everything.

    The places I’ve visited bleed into my writing, even when I’m writing sci-fi or fantasy. I had family in New Orleans, and since Katrina, the city of the future I’ve been writing stories about has become a city that once flooded, a city built on a river, a city with a wide gap between rich and poor.

    Strange as this may seem, it took me months to notice what I was doing. But one day I looked at the page, and there was New Orleans and West Philly, and Detroit, and every other dying city or neighborhood I’ve been to, channeled in spirit, if not in detail.

    Maybe it’s cause I’m a history geek, but I can’t begin to imagine the future without first dredging up the past.

  13. Roslyn
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
    13

    I too will only write about cities I’ve been to. The city I created in my book is a fictionalized version of my home town. Most of my stories take place in north Alabama. Fortunately, I’ve traveled a bit so I’m able to add that as well, but I just don’t think I can adequately describe a place without having been there.

  14. Ann(ie)
    Posted: Jul 26th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
    14

    But one day I looked at the page, and there was New Orleans and West Philly, and Detroit, and every other dying city or neighborhood I’ve been to, channeled in spirit, if not in detail.

    I do that too, Bettie. I’ll be interested to see if people can tell what cities inspired the new places. I might run a contest along those lines once the first book is out.

  15. Terri Schaefer
    Posted: Jul 29th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
    15

    Grrrr…I hate freakin’ technology sometimes! Poor Bam had to wait for me to get my ass to work to get the *original* post, and this weekend I spent most of it fixing the freakin’ thing here at home.

    Whew, all better now, and back to our regularly scheduled programming *g*!!!

    Cherie J — thanks so much! I was going through some revisions on my latest book (because I thought my head was gonna explode over the ‘puter) and actually found myself popping stuff in *g*.

    Alyssa — hang in there, baby! Sometimes those damned words and characters are out to get us, aren’t they???

    Ann(ie) — LOL! I would HOPE you haven’t been there…unless there’s something you wanna tell me over drinks next year in San Fran??

    Jaime — Cool beans! PLEASE let me know what you thought of it! I always want to know what folks think (pros and cons), because this is a learning game, baby!

    Lorelei — I dunno, it just comforts me more to write about places I’ve been, probly because I wanna have that “authority” going, at least in my head! OOOH, and what branch of the military do you work for??

    Bettie — wow! Isn’t it amazing how our subconscious works these things out? Right after my Pop passed on, I wrote the exact opposite of what you would think…light, funny. I think it was because I refused to dwell on the darkness, even tho I was depressed as hell. Does that make *any* sense?

    Roslyn — yeah, there’s something about being able to visualize something long before you ever put pen to paper. The one “place” I’ve never been that I wrote about is an astral plane of sorts…but it was *so* in my head, that it was pretty easy to get the feel across.

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