Symbols Add Texture to Your Story

Abi's gold heart-shaped locket.
She never takes it off, even for P.E.

By Linda Wilson   @LinWilsonauthor

Symbols add layers to deepen your story. Symbols can provide a break in the action. Your reader can take a brief respite from the action, then plunge right back in to find out what happens.

What is a symbol? I tested examples of the symbols in my latest work-in-progress, Secret in the Mist, Book Two in my Abi Wunder mystery series, with the Wikipedia definition of “symbol:”

“A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different concepts and experiences.”

Ideas in Mist

Perfect temperature and a full moon: The ghost in the story doesn’t show herself any old time. She waits till the temperature is just right and there’s a full moon. Ah-whooooooo!

Change in time: Abi’s perception of time and space change whenever the ghost is near—Abi's present world halts, and she instantly travels back to the time when the ghost was alive. Spooooooky!

Relationships in Mist

There are many different types of relationships in Mist. Here are the most prominent:

The two main characters, Abi and Jess: Abi and Jess’s friendship is very important to each of them. When a bump comes along—a disagreement—they part ways. Yet, Abi continues their quest even though Jess is mad at her. But they reconcile and their friendship is stronger than ever. My intent in showing various parts of this best-friend relationship is to show how real relationships can be mended even when there is a problem.

Abi and Jess vs Angel: Angel and Jess had been best friends until Abi came along. Angel is rude to Abi and does everything she can to discourage Abi from being Jess’s friend—a symbol typical of a jealous relationship. Angel must learn to accept Abi and not try to keep Jess to herself. Both Jess and Angel must change to make their relationship work. Abi must be friends with both of them.

Abi and Grandma: Abi’s Grandma died a year ago last summer. Abi misses her. She accepts Jess’s invitation to visit to help find the ghost that has been haunting Jess's neighborhood for 100 years. Abi accepts the invitation, of course, for the obvious reason, she wants to see a ghost. But also, she’s hoping that if  ghosts truly exists, then ghosts are real. And if ghosts are real, she will  see her grandma again.

Objects in Mist

Riding boots: In Book 1 Abi ignored physical activity in favor of creating art. She was attached to her flip flops and didn’t want to wear any other type of shoe. Her single-minded purpose was to create art and grow up to be an artist. She meets Jess, who thrives on athletics, and by the end of the book, Abi can run as fast and as far as Jess. 

In Book 2, Abi has given up the notion of wearing flip flops all the time. Jess has invited her to go horseback riding in addition to going ghost hunting. Even though long pants and a long-sleeve shirt are required to ride, and are hot clothes to wear at the end of summer, Abi appreciates the extra layers of clothing needed for the sport, including wearing riding boots.

Unicorn-Cat and Rainbow: In Book 1, Abi named her sketchbook Unicorn Cat and her backpack Rainbow. These names are carried through in Book 2. In Book 3, the last in the series Abi will have grown out of this stage. But in the first two books, my intent has been to show how much Abi values some of her most important possessions. 

Hearts: I’ve saved my favorite symbol for last. A locket that Abi’s grandma gave her before she died, which has her photo inside, is a gold heart. It's Abi's most prized possession. She never takes it off, even in P.E.

If the locket warms to the touch, it means that Grandma’s ghost is near, come to help Abi as she so often did in life. 

Faith, a ghost horse, has a white marking on its forehead in the shape of a heart. My intent is to bind these hearts, the gold heart locket, and Faith’s heart marking, together with Abi’s heart—forever. Having hearts so prominent in this book segues into Book 3, the last book in the series, Secrets of the Heart: An Abi Wunder Mystery.

Also, the locket is mentioned quite a few times in the story, which serves as a thread that binds the story together. Abi held up her hand. “Give me a sec.” It was her locket. It felt warm. She grasped it, and a familiar voice whispered in her ear, "Follow that still voice inside, child. It will tell you what to do." 

“Abi glanced around. The only person standing in Jess’s yard—was Jess. And she hadn’t said a word. That’s something Grandma would say, Abi thought. But it couldn’t be her. Could it?

A chill ran down Abi’s spine. Grandma died a year ago right before school started, this time last year. She remembered because she missed the first few days of fifth grade. She fingered her locket, cool now, straining to hear more. But the voice had fallen silent. 

Those hushed words gave Abi faith that her grandma was still with her. As she was in life, and now in death. Abi let the locket fall back in place. Deep inside she said, Thanks, Grandma.”

Symbols not only add texture to your story, but they're a lot of fun to create. Look over your story. Make a list of symbols you have found. Make sure your symbols offer deep meaning to your story.

Illustration: By Danika Corrall. I was so happy with Danika's work in creating my website, bit.ly/3DtEXiV, I asked her to illustrate Mist. Her illustrations are terrific. If you are interested in learning more about Danika, she can be reached at hello@danikacorrall.com. hello@danikacorrall.com.  

For other editing tips, please visit my article: "Keep Your Self-Editing on Track," January 2024; https://www.writersonthemove.com/2024/01/keep-your-self-editing-on-track.html

Thistletoe Q. Packrat points out
information from his book,
A Packrat's Holiday during
a school visit.

Linda Wilson is the author of the Abi Wunder Mystery series and other books for children. Her two new releases are Waddles the Duck: Hey, Wait for Me! (2022) and Cradle in the Wild: A Book for Nature Lovers Everywhere (2023). You’ll find Linda on her Amazon author page, on her website at LindaWilsonAuthor.com, and on Facebook.

Build A Body of Work

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Have you had golden moments of conversation which stick with you and your writing life for years? These may happen late at night during a writer’s conference or maybe in the car with someone on the way to a conference? During my decades in this business, I’ve had amazing opportunities and had numerous special conversations. 

Years ago, I was on the faculty of an East Coast writer’s conference and had several hours in a van to meet and get acquainted with a literary agent. It was early in my writing career, and he asked me, “What are you doing to build a body of work?” I’d never heard the term “body of work.” As we talked, I understood this agent was probing me for a long-term game plan in the writing world. At that time, I didn’t have a long-term plan and had written for a few magazines and published a couple of books. 

As writers, I find most of us are focused on publishing (or promoting) a single book or writing for a magazine. We are not thinking about building a body of work. This agent and I discussed our mutual friend, Jerry B. Jenkins who has written a variety of types of books but also published in print magazines. To build a body of work, it is important to intentionally be diverse. For example, I’ve written adult books but also children’s books. I’ve written for adult print magazines, but I also wrote a cover story for Clubhouse, a children’s magazine with Focus on the Family.

Early in my writing life, I began writing profiles of different bestselling authors. Some of my close writer friends questioned me about why I was doing this type of writing. I ignored the questions and continued writing these types of articles. I’ve interviewed over 150 bestselling authors and learned much more from each interview than I could possibly include in a 1200-to-1500-word article. I’m one of the few journalists who has interviewed Chuck Swindoll. Chuck told me, “There are no heroes in the Body of Christ. We are all like a bunch of guys in the back of a pick-up truck trying to get our stuff together.” Each one of these interviews brought great opportunity and helped me build my body of work. On another occasion, I was on the back lot of Disney Animation interviewing Glen Keane when he was drawing Beast in the film, Beauty and the Beast. 

For you to build a body of work, you will have to learn some key skills like how to write a query letter and how to write a book proposal.  When you learn the skill of writing these specialized tools, you can use them many times to pitch the editor, get an assignment then complete the writing on their deadline. When you are building a body of work as you are published more frequently, your reputation among the editors will increase which opens more doors and opportunities for your writing. 

The process of building a body of work doesn’t happen overnight but it is something every writer can do with their writing. What steps are you going to take to build a body of work?

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Are you building a body of work? This prolific writer and editor encourages authors to take a long view in their writing life. Learn the details here. (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s recent book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Every Writer Needs A Safety Net

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Every summer, Peru, Indiana has a local circus to celebrate the history of the town. Students train all year for these performances. That summer one student walked the high wire on stilts. Each time the crowd gasped because he performed without a safety net. As an intern at the Peru Daily Tribune, I wrote most of the material in the annual circus edition.

As writers, I know the importance of having a safety net and in this article, I want to give you several reasons for this added protection. Because of my role as an editor, I’ve met numerous writers at conferences. I recall one writer boldly telling me that she had quit her day job and was writing her novel full-time. Yes, she was all-in for the publishing world—and I only listened but recognized her potential danger and folly.

Publishing Is Unpredictable

This week a New York Times bestselling novelist was telling me about how several of her publishers have gone out of business. No one could have predicted the challenges to the supply chain or a worldwide pandemic or many other factors inside publishing. There are many decision points where despite your best intentions, the projections for book sales do not happen.

Life Is Unpredictable

While it happened decades ago, I clearly recall the details. I had been out to lunch with a major Christian magazine editor and was telling her that my publishing company was “part of a revolution.” A few hours later, I sat at a conference table with my editorial director, and he began, “I’ve got to let you go.”  I’ve faced unexpected job changes, divorce, illness, death of a family member and even a costly lawsuit. No one has a crystal ball to forecast the events in our future. As a Christian, I understand God has numbered our days and knows the shortness of our lives.

How to Keep Moving Forward

While publishing and life can be unpredictable, I want to give you several action steps to take to help your writing life to continue to move ahead.

1.  Don’t quit your day job. Many well-known authors have written in their off times and kept their day jobs. Several years ago, the New York Public Library published an article about 10 Famous Writers who kept their day jobs. I encourage you to read this article and learn about authors like Kurt Vonnegut and Margaret Atwood. These authors show us the value of their day jobs and how they continued publishing and writing.  

2. Diversify Your Writing. There are many ways to get published and when one aspect slows or folds, you can tackle another type of writing. In the first chapter of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. I have a fairly extensive list of various types of writing. Follow this link to download the chapter.

3. Keep working to expand your personal network and relationships and look for the open doors. Who you know is almost as important in publishing as what you know. I continue to expand my connections with editors, agents and others. As you help them, they will help you. You never know when a relationship from the past can become an important one. 

While publishing has challenges there are also many opportunities—if you are actively looking for the right one. Make your plans and get knocking on those doors to see which one will open for your writing. It’s the active role I’m taking for my own safety net.   

Tweetable

Do you have a writer’s safety net? This prolific writer and editor details the reasons every writer needs a safety net. (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s recent book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

The Writing Life Details Are Important

By W. Terry Whalin

Let me begin with good news. Every writer can learn the skill of handling the details. Some of us are only focused on the big picture with our writing. We are determined to complete a particular book or magazine article and writing on it every day to meet this goal. Yet the craft of your words and storytelling is important. Are you sending it to the right editor? Are you using the correct spelling of that editor's name? The details matter.

A while ago, I purchased all of the remaining copies of Book Proposals That Sell. With over 130 Five Star reviews and great feedback about this book over the years, I know it has helped many writers to succeed in the world of publishing—no matter what type of book you write. I wrote this book from my passion as a frustrated acquisitions editor to help writers send better submissions. If you don't have a copy, it has never been so inexpensive and available only from me. Follow the link to learn more details.

As a part of this effort, I purchased a website, wrote the words for that website, created special bonuses and have been telling others about this effort through emails, articles and twitter. In the process of setting up this launch, I created five emails on autoresponders. These autoresponders contained the bonus items for those who purchased the book.

During this creation process, I received an email from one of these people who purchased Book Proposals That Sell. He had not received these bonus item emails. The email clued me that something was wrong some place in the process. I investigated my shopping cart and learned that I neglected to click one button in one place. From working with computers for years, I've learned one simple truth: the computer only does what you tell it to do.  I had skipped one important detail and no one got their bonus items. Talk about embarrassing! To straighten it out, one by one, I sent all five bonus items via email to each individual. Now that my shopping cart is fixed, the process of sending these bonuses is automated.

There are several lessons for you from my experience:

1. The details are essential. As writers, you ignore them at your own peril. Your submissions will not hit the target nor get results if you do not work at the details.

2. Listen to your audience. When they tell you something, spring into action or make adjustments.

3. Deliver on your promises. Your word and integrity are important. And if something goes wrong, apologize (everyone is human) and then fix it as soon as possible.

4. Work hard to maintain and keep your relationships. Years ago, I heard John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Book say, “Selling books is all about building relationships.” See the truth in this statement?

Whatever you are writing or promoting, the relationship is critical and the details of your writing life are important.

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W. Terry Whalin is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing and the author of more than 60 books including Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success (available exclusively through this website with bonuses even though this book has over 130 Five Star Amazon reviews). He blogs about The Writing Life and lives in Colorado and has over 200,000 twitter followers.

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Why are the details of your writing life important? Here's four practical lessons. (ClickToTweet)