Saturday, November 7, 2020

WRITING A (VERY) NON-TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS STORY

 

Only three weeks ago, I decided I wanted to write a Christmas novella and have it finished and published by the first week of November. I felt certain it would have to be a warm, touching, family-oriented story if I wanted it to appeal to readers, but just to be sure, I checked several sites online to see what types of Christmas stories currently were all the rage.

The answer surprised me…Science-fiction Christmas stories.

The first thing that came to mind was that corny 1960s movie, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, where Santa is kidnapped by Martians because the kids on Mars also want to reap the benefits of his generosity, just like the kids on Earth do.

So I figured okay, I’ll write a science-fiction Christmas story, but I’ll make it a romance. The only problem was, I had no ideas whatsoever for a plot…and I’d never written anything science-fictional before (although some of my regular readers of this blog might dispute that claim!).

When I told one of my friends that I was thinking about writing a Christmas novella, she said, "Does that mean people will have to read it for nine consecutive days?"

I had no idea what she was talking about. But before I could ask, she said, “Oh, sorry - that's a novena, not a novella."

“A novella is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel,” I told her.

“And you intend to write it in two weeks? What’s it about?”

“I have no idea yet.”

“Well, good luck with that!”

For the next two days, I did nothing but think about possible plots. They ranged from an alien Christmas invasion to zombie elves. Finally, while taking my daily 45-minute walk one morning, I decided I was going to write about a woman who becomes disenchanted with Christmas, especially after her boyfriend (a.k.a. her boss) ends their relationship. So she rents a log cabin in the wilderness where she intends to work, undisturbed, on writing her first novel. Once there, however, she begins to discover that the cabin and the surrounding area are not what they appear to be…and neither is the charismatic, handsome stranger who shows up on her doorstep one morning.

After that, I had no idea where to take the plot, so I called my friend Bobby, who’s in his 80s and has the wildest imagination of anyone I know, and picked his brain. I tossed several different possibilities at him. Some he liked, some he didn’t – and then he offered a few ideas of his own. A couple were so absurd, we both laughed at them, but then I thought at least one of his suggestions did have some merit. So I ended up with a pretty good idea where to take the story.

I might add here that I’m a fan of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan because he’s become known for his surprise endings that no one saw coming – with the exception of my husband, that is. I remember sitting down to watch The Sixth Sense with him, and the minute the kid in the movie said, “I see dead people," to Bruce Willis, my husband shrugged and said, "Oh, then Bruce Willis must be dead." 

I never forgave him for ruining the movie for me.

Anyway, my Christmas story, I decided, was going to lead the readers into thinking they had the plot all figured out, but then in the last chapter I was going to throw in a twist that would make them realize they were entirely wrong. I set to work feverishly writing to meet my self-imposed deadline.

“How’s it going?” my friend Bobby called to ask me.

“More slowly than I intended.”

“That’s because you don’t write the sensible way. You should write the way I keep telling you to write.”

He was referring to my habit of writing a few pages, then going back and editing them before continuing. Ever since I’ve known him, he's nagged me to get everything written down first –to just "go with the flow" – and then do the editing all at once, after I’ve finished.

So I finally tried his method and even though it felt like torture not to go back over everything as I wrote it, I was able to get a lot more accomplished by not pausing. Finally, I managed to get the entire novella written - nearly 18,000 words. I stored it in my computer and also on a flash drive. 

The next night, I spent five hours editing. And at the very end of the fifth hour, when I went to save my work, my laptop’s screen suddenly went black. I tried everything – rebooting, pulling out the battery and power source and reconnecting them, pressing various combinations of keys that were supposed to help the problem – yet the screen still remained black.  I dug out my old laptop, the one that my rottweiler once attacked and tore off the lid, which ended up hanging on by only a few wires (yet that screen still works) and researched the problem. It didn’t make me feel very optimistic when I discovered the trouble with my screen was referred to as the “black death.” Still, I followed every suggestion that was offered...and nothing worked.

So, using my relic of a laptop, I shoved my flash drive into it and pulled up the rough draft of my Christmas story…and then I worked another five hours editing it all over again. After I finished, I emailed the manuscript to my friend, Nancy, who proofreads all of my books for me and not only picks up on typos or inconsistencies, she lets me know exactly what she thinks about the plot.

She wrote back later that night and said she’d found only one typo, which surprised me, considering I’d been less than wide awake when I’d edited it for the second time. Then she said exactly what I’d wanted her to say: “I thought I had the plot all figured out and who the stranger was, but then the last chapter came as a total shock!  In fact, when I first started reading it, I wondered if there was a mix-up and it had come from a different book or you’d skipped a chapter. But as I kept reading, everything came together and fell into place. I loved it!" 

So all I had to do after that was design a cover and think of a title that wouldn’t divulge much about the plot. I know writers who have spent hundreds, even thousands, for professional cover-designers, but considering my budget, which was about a dollar, I figured I’d have to do it myself. I searched online and found a site called Canva that offered free stock-photos, templates and designs for creating book covers, and set to work.

The first problem I encountered was Canva’s lack of rustic-looking log cabins to choose from in the “free” category.  I also needed one in the snow, not one surrounded by wild daisies or colorful fall foliage. And I wanted wilderness, the wilder the better.  I found a great winter wilderness scene, then I also found a small, rustic cabin, which I inserted into the middle of it. But curiously, the cabin had no doors or windows, which made me wonder how people got into it – down the chimney like Santa? So I then searched for photos of old doors and windows, and inserted them into the cabin. After I finished that, I also did an alternative cover with a different scene and a more modern-looking cabin.


I posted both covers on Facebook and asked my friends to let me know which one they liked better – or if they thought neither one was eye-catching. I didn’t tell them I’d designed them myself, however, because I wanted honest opinions. The majority chose the cover on the right.

My first plan was to publish the novella only as an e-book, for 99 cents, but then the aforementioned Facebook friends said they might like to buy the paperback version for stocking stuffers.  That meant I had to design a back cover with a blurb on it.

I worked another few hours on that, along with a blurb, and finally went to Amazon to publish everything. Amazon allowed me to use the front cover I’d designed, but not the back one. No, for the back cover I was informed I had to use one of their templates. The selections they offered not only were very limited, they also were pretty drab and boring. So the paperback version of my novella ended up with a back cover in plain gray with white lettering and a photo of me on it instead of the frosty image of snow-covered trees I’d wanted. 

But I’m pleased to say the novella, Christmas, a Cabin and a Stranger, officially was published on November 2.

And now I’m waiting for the reviews…and for my friends to tell me they’re convinced I’ve finally gone off the deep end.

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 CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE NOVELLA OR TO SEE MORE AT AMAZON.COM

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Sally Breslin is an award-winning humor columnist and the author of “There’s a Tick in my Underwear!” “Heed the Predictor” and “The Common-Sense Approach to Dream Interpretation." Contact her at: sillysally@att.net.

 












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