'The Witcheye Gene' - Thrillers and Auras

 Writing Thrillers and using Auras

When I was writing my second book ( The Witcheye Gene) I thought it would be interesting to use the paranormal-type phenomenon of auras. I was quite surprised when my research turned up the fact that it was not strictly true that it is entirely a paranormal/supernatural occurrence. My dictionary defines an aura as “an atmosphere or quality of air considered as indicative of a person or thing” but I think that meaning is not quite the same thing. After all, I think we can all recognise that an angry person can exude a certain aggressive-kind of vibe. This person could be said to have an aura about them.

The other meaning of auras is to forewarn of impending epileptic attacks or migraines etc. They indicate the brain is signalling to the sufferer that it is about to happen. These auras can take different forms such as certain smells, sounds or tastes that are experienced by the individual. So an aura in this case can be an important early warning system.

But the kind of aura I am talking about in supernatural thriller writing is the kind of aura where a person is said to have a luminous radiation of light or energy around them that can actually be seen by people who have special powers. There is lots of controversy about this phenomenon but in the land of the paranormal it is exactly the kind of thing that adds flavour and mysticism to a story. And allows a great deal of license in designing credible plot line… I think I used it to good effect when my character – who had a measure of supernatural power – could seea very dark aura around a character.

There are said to be 7 layers to an aura with each layer relating to different human characteristics, and each layer has different colours and different frequencies. So the light wavers and changes colour. Attributing characteristics or using the aura to highlight true motivation is also a useful plot device. For instance an aura could be red signifying suppressed anger or blue signalling calm and rationality. It could be orange for health and vitality or yellow for inspiration and intelligence. Black, of course, would be about evil intention or death… These are simply suggestions but I’m sure you can see how it could be used for good effect. Or maybe not…

In real terms, it seems that we all have an aura – even worms and insects have them – for they are simply magnetic energy fields. It’s just that most people cannot see these fields with the naked eye. Makes for juicy story lines, though… Don’t you think?

 

how to write thrillers that stay forever in the memory...

Write thrillers with bags of emotion...

When out with friends for a chat and catch up, we often talk about the books we have read (or not read as the case may be).  My friends sometimes think I’m a bit ‘nuts’ as I tell them I often don’t finish novels.

I am a person who hates to waste time so I will only carry on reading a book if the writer has caught me up in a story (involved me emotionally). If I am not enjoying a book I will cast it aside and not waste further time on it. It doesn’t even have to be a really bad book for that to happen – it may simply be that it is boring me a bit. I know that sometimes if I continue it will get better but why should I bother when there are so many other juicy books to get stuck into. On the other hand I know people who will persevere with a book – provided it is not that bad! The engine that turns so-so fiction into well-loved and remembered books? Emotion!

When I ask friends what a book is actually about and they cannot remember I know it wasn’t that good. For me the plot has to hang together well and the story must engage some kind of strong emotion in me. Whether that is horror, happiness, sadness or sorrow an emotion of some kind must be there. When I think back to books I read as a child/young woman I find it is the emotion I remember most clearly about the story.

 I generally judge a good book by how well I can remember it weeks later. If it truly stays with me, I know it was a great book. One such novel in recent months was “The Incredible Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”. That book almost brought me to tears at the end and I can remember most of it even though I read it a while ago! Whereas the one I read last week was fairly good but I can’t remember it without a prompt! Another great recent read was Jo jo Moyes " Me Before You"

No, I know they were not really thrillers but there ARE plenty of thrillers who are awash with emotion (both love and heart warming terror to name but two). In fact I would say thrillers cannot be good stories (no matter how much of a roller coaster ride) without that all important connection to the reader.  Take for example the stories of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Tess Gerritsen, and even Jodi Picoult.  They are all chock full of supense but they also look at our very human frailties and our relatinships with each other. Great reads every one of them!!!

Of course Charles Dickens may have been the best ever for injecting masses of emotion into his stories as well as suspense... Who could ever forget the image of a small thin boy holding out a bowl and asking meekly for more?

 Do certain stories have a big impact for you?

ISWG newby!

Hi everyone!
This is my first posting for INSECURE WRITERS GROUP ! I am so excited to be joining this forum and look forward to lot's of new blogs and new voices on my own posts!
 I guess most of us are insecure at some time or another but my moods tend to change with the amount of time I have to spend on certain things. For instance when I feel I am on top of things I feel positive and full of energy but when I am juggling time to write and plan with other things in y life, I feel a bit negative and wonder if it is all worth it...
For me time is the enemy!
Anyway, I will do my best to keep with you all.  Go to it folks...

The Devil of it is...

"Beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and devil are fighting there, and the battlefield is the heart of man."

Fyodor Dostoevsky

In the Manichean struggle the Devil is the ultimate villain. No small wonder then that many supernatural stories feature this deity as a consummate character. Whether you believe in the existence of a god or his opposite, most people are fascinated by the idea of a being who has all the most undesirable characteristics of human frailty. In many cultures that being is the Devil.

The Devil (or Satan), in Christian culture is always supposedly the fallen angel, Lucifer. But according to the bible the devil has many names (including Amadeus and Mephistopheles) and all associated with much evil doing. “What is thy name? My name is Legion, for we are many.” Mark 5:9

‘The Satan’ first appears in the bible as a messenger sent by God. He was used as a catalyst in the story of Job where he acted as a tempter and accuser. In the story of Adam and Eve he is described as a ‘powerful wicked angel’ who led the plot against humankind by tempting Eve. For this act God threw him and his henchmen out of heaven and thus he became known as 'the Devil who rules the kingdom of darkness and subsumes all evil powers'. He tempts people to evil doings and is also known as ‘The Great Deceptor’ for appearing disguised as an angel of light.

 Despite the murky origins of this so-called fallen angel we do also find the devil appearing in other religions too (in Islam he is known as Shaitan). Whatever the truth (or your own beliefs), everyone understands the significance of good versus evil and the Devil (Satan or whatever) has come to be known as the personification of evil in this world.

So, what a fabulous plot device to use in a story? The ultimate antagonist. And because none of the origins or the stories around the entity can be verified you can use him howsoever you wish! Such brilliant fodder for creating conflict and suspense… And a great adversary for the hero/heroine of a supernatural thriller story…

Have you used the Devil in your stories? Do you think it is still acceptable in this day and age of technology to use an ancient deity?

 

Premonitions - To See or Not To See?

Premonitions may be quite useful in thriller writing – they can and do indicate future events (often going horribly wrong) and they can be arbiters of death, dying or even some cataclysmic world-wide happenings.

Premonitions fascinate us because our understanding of how things can be foretold (or foreseen) without the aid of the usual human senses does not lie within the normal limits of our innate abilities. How can a person look into the future and – some would say - why would a person want to look into the future?

Through the ages, from time immemorial, there are countless instances and stories about premonitions and seeing future events that could not possibly have been foreseen. Or so it seems…I think most of us would agree that there are stories where we are stumped for answers and a quick straw poll of any largish group of people would, I am sure, come up with one or two stories that defy the laws of existence. And it all adds to the mystery…

One of the most famous people who claimed to foresee the future was, of course, Nostradamus. His writings and prophecies are with us still today – 500 years later. When I looked up his work and his life I found the following:

“Recent research suggests that much of Nostradamus’ prophetic work paraphrases collections of ancient ‘end of the world’ prophecies (mainly Bible-based), supplemented with references to historical events and anthologies of omen reports. He then projects those into the future in part with the aid of comparative horoscopy. Hence the many predictions involving ancient figures such as Sulla, Gaius Marius, and Nero, as well as his descriptions of "battles in the clouds" and "frogs falling from the sky."

But even when all the charlatans are taken out of the equations we still remain fascinated with the idea that some people can predict the future and some ordinary people can have ‘once in a lifetime’ premonitions ( especially about a loved one).

In my own writing (The Witcheye Gene) I used the concept for one of my characters but the visions only came about because of a particular familial characteristic of different colored eyes. And it was quite limited otherwise it can seem contrived and in the worst way seem like a ‘deus ex machina’ . But I did find it quite fascinating to research and include it in my plot. It actually ratcheted up the tension when one person could foresee something but no one else believed them.

 

Do you beleive some people can 'see' the future in some form or another? Have you ever used the idea in your own writing?

 



Vile Villains with Redeemable Flaws!

To say a villain in a thriller story is flawed is like saying coal is black!

Of course a villain is flawed, I hear you say, otherwise he would make a pretty poor antagonist. A “good” villain has a personality that most of us would not aspire to as he may be capable of the most dastardly (I just love that word!) acts. I am, however, talking about a villain who may be flawed because he/she has some decent human traits that show us he isn’t totally bad. The only villain who could be said to be totally bad is the devil himself, I guess. Most others started out as innocent babies and children but maybe something happened to make them bad. Or maybe not – maybe they simply have more of the undesirable human traits in their genetic make-up. Nasty traits do exist to some extent in all of us, but hopefully most people have control of those urges and anyway have more humanity and caring for fellow humans. 

How villainous a character is depends mostly on the type of story you are writing. If the villain is a love rival or a corporate executive he may not be so nasty in all areas of his life… But on the other hand, if he/she is a horror/supernatural villain, he may have no redeeming features at all. For example a bad character may be wicked and malicious to people but may love animals! In this way he is a flawed character and not true to the caricature of through and through evil which we may assume him to be. 

 Always, when using villains, a suitable adversary/hero is necessary and it is the juxtaposition of their characters that allow the most conflict and tension in a story.  The hero who has faults is a much more interesting character than the perfect boring type of individual. I think we can relate better to him because he is flawed – as we all are too. Similarly, we all know people who we consider to be horrible individuals but we know (maybe deep down) they will have some redeeming characteristics too.  

For me, giving my villains one redeeming human trait, amongst all the vicious, nasty ones, makes them much more interesting ( and indeed fun) and if their malevolent ways came about because of something that happened to them – well, it just makes them all the more intriguing. Not nice and not worth rooting for but maybe a little more human. And more importantly more believable…

Do you give your villains a small touch of the nice-ies?

 

Viva La Blog!

Viva La Blog!

 

I have been blogging for quite a while now and I absolutely love doing it – even though I am sometimes pushed for time. It’s a busy busy world, I fear…

I have relished reading many folks’ blogs (although actually wished I hadn’t visited with just a few) and I love the chit chat with commenting and reciprocating. I feel as if I have made many new friends, whom I will probably never meet, but I feel I know them reasonably well anyway. Their lives, I have learnt are just as full on as my own and I realise I am not the only one who sometimes struggles to keep all the balls in the air. Linking to other people’s blogs and joining in blog hops, tours etc. is also great fun.

One of the other great things about blogging, I have found, is that it sharpens my writing up and gets me to practise being brief and concise without losing any of the essence of what I am trying to say.  In fact, I would say I am probably a better writer because of blogging. I am constantly stimulated and enriched by reading other blogs – I never realised there were so many interesting and innovative bloggers out there. .. Fine fodder for inspiration and good story ideas!!

 I used to worry about the time it takes up but nowadays I am much more chilled out about it as I realise it is actually helping me become a better writer.  It is teaching me something else too – perseverance! When I started I had no followers or readers and rarely did anyone say anything useful to me. Now I get so much from my comments and loads of advice and tips about writing generally, that I sometimes feel a little swamped. But it all comes directly from blogs. Viva La Blog!!!

BUT I do have one or two small gripes… (Please bear with me as I’m sure other people might agree with me.)

Why do people use the captcha? I know it is supposedly more secure but it makes me want to scream.  I have sometimes spent more of my precious time trying to get it right than I did reading and writing a comment! I refuse to do it anymore. If I cannot get it right the first time now I am inclined to leave it! Which is a shame when I have read a post and have something to say… It also makes me wonder if those bloggers really want comments when they are making their readers jump through hoops.  The reader should always come first in our thoughts and plans – I say!

The second gripe is about the length of some blog posts! I do not have time to scroll and read through great long excerpts or ‘all around the garden’ opinions. Please, please be brief-ish! I for one will be much more likely to return and read future posts.

There! Gripe done! I feel so much better…

 Do you have blogging gripes? or am I on my own?