by Crystal Caudill | Jul 20, 2016 | Writing Craft
“So God created man in His own image;
He created him in the image of God;
He created them male and female.”
– Genesis 1:27
And boy did he create the differently. Ever heard of the boo
k Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus? I personally have never read the book, but I can relate to the feeling that men seem to be from a different planet. (And I am sure there are probably at least a few men who feel the same about women.)
One of my favorite things about reading and writing romantic fiction is the perspective of the story from both sexes. Reading it is easy. Writing it? Not so much.
In fact, in my first draft of my work in progress, my critique partners gently revealed to me that my hero was a whiny, wimpy, girly-man (my words, not theirs). I may be married to a man, but I certainly couldn’t write or think like a man. Boy, was I thankful to discover that early into my writing!
So I set my manuscript aside and decided to dive into the world of male point of view. I looked at suggested articles and sought more out on my own. What I discovered, from both the male and female writers of these articles, was a pattern.
Men are pretty straightforward creatures with specific tendencies in their speech, inner thoughts, and behavior.
Over the next couple weeks, I will give a bulleted list of what I have learned. Keep in mind that these bullets are just patterns that I found. There are always exceptions.
Male Dialogue
- They rarely end sentences with questions or say things like “I’m not sure.”
- They do not use expressive adjectives (wonderful, gorgeous, etc. unless being sarcastic). Usually, “it’s okay” or “it looks good” are about what you get.
- They are rarely heard saying “May I? Could I? Should I?”
- They rarely use words like darling, honey, or sweetheart except during times of intimacy or moment of extreme stress.
- Make dialogue to the point.
Male Conversation
- Conversations are a means to relay information not build relationships.
- Conversations are typically on a non-important topic until everything dies away
- Guy conversations generally involve the least amount of words possible.
- Generally, guys only have two or three things in common with other – sports, work, music, games, food. Gossip is off the table.
- If two guys disagree on something, expect some flaring tensions and arguments.
- Talking with girls varies. Some are very shy, some of full of confidence and swagger. Some try to be amicable and get a laugh out of you whether you’re guy or a girl.
- If men are embarrassed they usually try to laugh it off.
- If men are hurt they get quiet and try not to get mad.
Men…
- Prefer direct action to talk.
- Are problem solvers. They rarely listen without giving advice.
- Rarely ask for advice.
- Rarely admit to being wrong and their apologies tend to be gruff and unpolished.
- Rarely respond to a direct command unless they are outranked.
- Say what they think. They don’t use euphemisms.
- Use very black-and-white talk – it is what it is; a spade is a spade.
- Don’t do small talk.
- Rarely punctuate speakers with agreeing noises.
- Mostly repress emotions except anger.
- Are a lot less likely to share their feelings. Feelings are private, which are none of your business.
What do you think? Is anything off base? Is there anything you would add? Share it in the comments below and then come back next week when I tackle male thought patterns and behaviors.
by Crystal Caudill | Jun 16, 2016 | Counterfeit Love, History Facts
What is better than a wedding in a cemetery? How about a night in a cemetery jail?
A jail in a cemetery? Absolutely!
Last week, I described a chapel in the cemetery so beautiful, people are dying to get married there. (Terrible pun, I know, but I couldn’t resist!) This week dare to journey with me to a dark corner in this beautiful place.
In the basement of Norman Chapel is a jail cell. During the late 1800s, persons caught driving too fast through the cemetery were arrested and kept there overnight.
Yes, overnight.
I have found no stories of anyone’s experiences to share, but I can easily imagine how the night would go.
Can you imagine it?
The night watchman pushes you into a dark little room, maybe with a cot or maybe just a stone floor. Keys jingle against the iron bars as the lock clangs into place.
The one-eyed guard splits his scraggly beard with a black grin.
“Sleep tight. Don’t let the ghosts bite.”
His hearty laugh echoes off the walls as he leaves you to huddle alone in a corner.
Hours pass. The sun sets.
An eerie fog sinks through the barred window.
Howling wind prowls past the headstones. The screech of a night owl pierces your soul. The striking of midnight announces the witching hour.
Ghosts are not real. Mere superstition and bluff.
Then you hear it. Chains dragging, rattling. The strangled whispers of the undead clawing in their caskets, “Help me! I am still alive!” (For the Victorians were very afraid of this really happening.)
Terror claims you and you shrink into the darkest corner, hoping… no praying the ghosts will move on and not inhabit your body. (We are talking the age of superstition here…)
Whispers and moans. Death bells ringing frantically.
Bone chilling dampness creeping over you like the spiders seeking refuge on your coat.
The night marches on slowly. Eventually, the sounds ebb away.
Gritty eyes blur your vision when at last the night watchman comes, keys jangling. Slowly it turns and the barred door swings open on screaming hinges.
“Are ye possessed?” He walks toward you lifting a crucifix. When you do not cower from it, he grins that wretched smile. “Good, now be gone with ye, and dunna rush. A second night ye might not be so lucky…”
As you force yourself to walk a hasty retreat from your haunted prison he cackles, skittering shivers up your spine. Casting one glance back, he is gone, but the key remains in the barred door as it swings shut.
I do not know about you, but a night in a cemetery prison might make for some interesting stories. Unfortunately, they will have to remain in your head. If you speed through Spring Grove Cemetery now, other consequences await. That spooky jail is now just a storage room. What a pity.
by Crystal Caudill | Jun 9, 2016 | Counterfeit Love, History Facts
Image from SpringGrove.org
Have you ever been to a wedding in a cemetery? Well, that is a fairly normal occurrence at the Spring Grove Cemetery. Why? Because the Norman Chapel is a magnificent piece of architecture set in the picturesque beauty of a cemetery meant to look like a park.
Last Throwback Thursday I talked about the Spring Grove Cemetery where my main character’s grandfather is interned. This week I want to explore the gorgeous Norman Chapel.
The History & Design
The magnificent Romanesque-style chapel was designed by famous Cincinnatian architect, Samuel Hannaford, in 1879. The chapel itself was constructed in 1880 and the first service, a funeral, was held on February 7, 1881.
The Exterior
The exterior is made of rough-hewn limestone and has areas of intricately carved stonework. Beautiful archways and a covered drive are something to be admired. If you do a search of “Wedding Photos at Norman Chapel”, you will find several pictures where the arches are clearly seen. As of this moment, I have not made it back to the Spring Grove Cemetery for pictures, and I do not have permission to share the ones I have saved for research purposes.
The Interior
The interior of Norman Chapel is breath-taking.
Pictures and Collage created by SpringGrove.org.
The arches of the exterior are mirrored on the interior. Carved wooden beams support the chapel’s ceiling and marble graces the floor. The focal point is a magnificent stained glass window at the front of the sanctuary that depicts the Ascension of Christ, although at the time of my story the stained glass had not yet arrived from Europe.
Black Belgium marble floor paves the chapel floor and Bedford limestone is prominent in the vestibule. There are bronze doors on each side of the altar with bas-relief panels of Biblical scenes of the resurrection of Lazarus and of Jesus Christ, the Ascension, the revival of the widow’s son and Jabirus’ daughter, and the healing of the paralytic man.
The stained glass window shows not only the Ascension of Christ but also Jesus healing the paralytic man. The window is inscribed with Luke 51:24, “And it came to pass while He blessed them, He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.”
The chapel is in use today, although more for weddings than funerals now. Its beauty is lost to the dead, and often to the grieving as well. Norman Chapel is definitely one better suited for the rose colored lens of new love, eager to soak in every detail of the day.
So if you are looking for a unique venue you may want to consider the Norman Chapel. Just be aware, your guest list may be well over several thousand… but no worries, most of them are permanent residents.
by Crystal Caudill | May 26, 2016 | Counterfeit Love, History Facts
Spring Grove Cemetery is one of Cincinnati’s beautiful attractions, which has drawn visitors for over 150 years. The inciting incident of my current work in progress is the death of the heroine’s grandfather, and what better location for his funeral and burial than this park like cemetery.
Should you ever get the chance to come to Cincinnati, I highly recommend walking through this beautiful cemetery. In fact it is so beautiful, wedding are often held at the Norman Chapel, which will be discussed in next week’s Throwback Thursday.
The Birth of a Cemetery
Cholera epidemics swept through Cicinnati throughout the 1830s and 1840s, filling small church cemeteries to the brim. Little comfort could be found in these places of crowded interment for the bereaved families and leaders of the Cincinnati community voiced their concerns.
Members of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society formed a cemetery association in 1844 and endeavored to find a suitable location for a cemetery they envisioned as being a picturesque park undisturbed by expansion.
They sought to acquire a large enough area to support funerals for an indefinite future, along with the embellishments of shrubbery, flowers, trees, walks, and rural ornaments. It was so important to them that they create not just a a funeral location, but also an area of great beauty, respite, and leisure, members of the cemetery association traveled the United States and Europe for examples of superior design.
When a farm of 160 acres was secured (and later added 434 acres), a consecration ceremony was provided for the community. These founders publicly proclaimed their hope that the natural setting would be a contemplative atmosphere conductive to consolation, commemoration, and education.
A Tourist Attraction
Given its popularity, today as much as then, I believe the founders achieved their goal. The
1875 issue of Cincinnati Illustrated described it as “a peaceful resting place for the dead and a beautiful park for the living.” Indeed, more than 150,000 people visited the cemetery in 1874 alone, not including those who were attending actual funerals!
Those who had family members interred in Spring Grove had tickets and were able to introduce strangers and come and go as they pleased. However, those who did not have family members interred there, were required to obtain tickets from the Secretary’s office in Pike’s Opera House.
Can you imagine walking through the Spring Grove entrance and someone saying, “Ticket, please?”
The broad and beautiful Avenue, with its magnificent trees, brings the living and the dead alike to the final abode of rest and release from strife and contention where there are laurels and roses for the blue, lilies and myrtles for the gray. After generations have passed away, the massy granite, embedded in green turf, shaded by trees then venerable with age, and embosomed in flowers may look down upon the graves of many whose lives have been as romantic, if not so sad, as Eloise’s – as deeply loved as Fatima’s. Then some poet like Pope or some noble romancer like Scott will arise and in another Epistle or another “Old Mortality” tell the tale of those who are gone.
– Cincinnati Illustrated, 1875, p 319
As a kid I would walk through our local cemetery. It was always so peaceful and quiet. As an adult, I attended a funeral at Spring Grove Cemetery and it was beyond beautiful. Almost two centuries later, it is still the contemplative atmosphere the founders hoped for.
What about you? Do you enjoy walking through cemeteries or do they give you the heeby geebies? Would you purchase a ticket to walk through one? Have you actually done it?
Resources:
http://www.springgrove.org/history.aspx
Kenny, Daniel J. Illustrated Cincinnati; a Pictorial Hand-book of the Queen City, Comprising Its Architecture, Manufacture, Trade. Cincinnati: R. Clarke, 1875. Print.
Want to see more pictures? Visit Spring Groves Photo Gallery.
by Crystal Caudill | May 18, 2016 | Writing Craft
Do you remember those days in school where your teacher made you come up with all these ridiculous synonyms for said? As a fifth grade teacher, I taught my students that said was a boring word. We even had a funeral for said.
“Said is dead!” he cried.
“He is no more,” she whispered.
We had a whole funeral script written, and we did this for all the overused words, like asked, went, good, and nice. Our classroom ceiling was littered with the tombstones of forbidden words.
When I first began writing my novels, I was the queen of synonyms. Never could you claim to find one of those dead words in my books! No way! No, sir! My characters screamed, interrogated, and cheered. I was proud of my vast use of dialogue tags.
Imagine my surprise and shock when I discovered this was the mark of an amateur. Let me tell you, friends, everything we have been taught and graded on in elementary through high school is wrong! (And it isn’t your teachers’ fault, they were taught this is correct, too!)
Said is a Zombie
Writing fiction- whether a short story, novella, or novel – is a completely different beast than the works we were forced to draft in school. The truth for authors is this. Dialogue tags should be kept to a minimum, and when they must be used, simple words like said and asked are best. Why? Because they create the least amount of author intrusion.
Therefore, it is time to resurrect said and asked from the dead. But beware! You want as few of these zombies as possible roaming through your stories.
Controlling Your New Zombie Friends 
The more zombies you have in your story, the more danger you are in. So how do you keep their numbers to a minimum?
Use descriptive beats. You know? Those statements around the dialogue which let you know what the speaker is doing?
Examine the two examples below. Which one draws you in and helps you understand the characters emotions?
“I understand, Father. I will abide by your wishes,” Amelia said.
or
Amelia twisted the napkin in her lap as she stared at the tablecloth. “I understand, Father. I will abide by your wishes.”
In both examples, Amelia is saying the exact same thing. Not a word of the dialogue has changed, but notice how the depth of understanding changes with the dialogue beat. I don’t know about you, but I for one can hear Amelia’s tone of voice and see her reserved submission.
Check out your favorite contemporary author, I bet you will find even more examples of how the author pulled you deeper into the story with the simple use of dialogue beats.
Now It’s Your Turn
Are you up for a little zombie slaying? Here is a conversation below where the zombies have taken over. Use your imagination and change the dialogue tags into dialogue beats. Share your results in the comments section.
“I don’t think this is a good idea, Jamie,” Henry said.
“Why not? What could go wrong?” Jamie asked.
“I can think of about a dozen things,” he said.
“If you are chicken, you can always head back to the car. I can do this by myself and probably quieter, too,” she said.
“But what if you get caught?” he asked.
“Me? Get caught? I don’t think you have to worry about that. Old Man Pinkerton is deaf as a bat,” she said.
“Bats aren’t deaf. They actually have amazing hearing,” he said.
“Whatever,” she said.
Happy writing! I look forward to reading your zombie slaying skills,
