Act 1, Scene 1 - Living in the Setting by Diane Bator

    

Settings are a huge part of any novel, no matter what genre. As a writer, I’m always on the lookout for a good place for my stories to play out that can sometimes give them both the tools and challenges to help drive the plot along.

I’ve been lucky to find ideal locations in the small town I currently live in. I’ve used a local coffee shop, Mochaberry, and turned it into Java Jo’s in my Wild Blue Mystery series as well as a local bookstore, BookLore, which transformed into Tales and Retales for Katie Mullins to manage in the same series. Using a coffee shop and a bookstore for backdrops for novels has been done many times before, and so has one other setting.

I’m blessed to work in a great old building I plan to use in a book one day. Many mysteries have been set in theatres and have encompassed community theatre right up to professional theatre. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham, Maskerade by Terry Pratchett, and The Jumbee by Pamela Keyes (a modern take on Phantom) are but a few in a long list. Television series are ripe with episodes that take place in theatres as well. Murder She Wrote had several. Even Riverdale focused on a murder in a theatre in once season.

In working with actors, musicians, administrators, staff and crew behind the scenes, I keep thinking one day I’ll write a play or a mystery set in our theatre. What’s so great about our theatre?

The original portions of our building were erected in 1875 and had multiple purposes. Out back were military buildings where ammunitions were stored. The main building housed a slaughter house, stables, town hall, and a community room used for meetings of all sorts and for local theatre. The chairs were foldable so the “stage” could be relocated from one end of the room to the other and the room could suit any purpose. As the years passed, big business decided the old building was of little use so they would demolish it to build a grocery store. That was nearly 30 years ago.  I’m happy to report the townsfolk fought back.

Our theatre is in its 26^th season. The once frowned upon building has been restored and town offices added in back. The theatre has been through a couple renovations to add a large, built in stage, seats bolted into place, and a sound/tech booth. We have gone from being a community summer theatre to an incredible professional theatre that offers shows all year round. We also have put on shows like A Midsummer Night’s Dream that included both equity and non-equity performers, our summer students, and members of the community who are challenged in various ways.

In the middle of all of that progress and innovation, there is a ghost. Our ghost has been the subject of ghost hunters yet, as many times as I’ve been in the building alone, I’ve never seen her, which is probably a good thing.

That ghost is what has prompted my fascination with writing about a murder in our theatre. While I create the novel, I'll be looking for more evidence and stories about out ghost. Well, that and unruly patrons or performers…

One of the things that makes a theatre so attractive to mystery writers is that there are so many ways for a murder to happen. A “fight scene” gone wrong, props that turn out to be real weapons, costume malfunctions, falling lights, trap doors with faulty latches, poisoned “alcohol” in a bottle on stage, characters who are stand-ins who were once slighted in awful ways by the lead actor…

All it takes is a little creativity and anything can lead to murder in a theatre. 

Diane Bator

 Author of Wild Blue Mysteries, Gilda Wright Mysteries, Glitter Bay Mysteries

Show, Don't Tell Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Session 2 -  Actions Speak Louder than Words

Body language and facial expressions play a large part in our conversation, they are natural reactions to what we speak and hear. Our characters should react the same way. If we forget these important elements, our dialogue will appear flat, boring, and our characters dull. Even setting plays a part in every day conversation. 

 Did you ever avoid someone’s eyes – focus on a picture or a lamp - maybe even lowered your eyes or stared at the ceiling? We tend to focus on things other than the person speaking to us if we are uncomfortable with either the situation or the person.

We wave our hand, cross our arms, tap our foot, or raise our eyebrows to show impatience. Maybe we wrinkle our brow, scrunch up our nose, and let out a deep sigh when we're doubtful. We cross our leg, wiggle our foot, or tap our fingers when we're nervous.  All of these actions show something about our moods, our reactions to conversation and even about us. We react differently when we're nervous, upset, irritated, happy, sad, or doubtful. These actions show what dialogue, alone, cannot. Our characters need to do the same.

Teamed up with dialogue these expressive actions say more about our character, their setting, and their dialogue then the typical he said, she said and their counterparts -replied, asked, responded. These are unnecessary words. Also, other than said, they put the author into the story – something we never want. Said, on the other hand, disappears into the story and most readers don’t notice it. Although, overusing said puts the author in the story, too. Most times we can avoid using it.

 Think of a strong dialogue scene as having three elements:  words, visuals, and thoughts.” Let’s see how it works.

How often have we created dialogue like this?

“I can’t believe you said that,” he said.

“Why not, it’s true,” she replied.

     “But, you didn’t have to say it,” he answered.

“No, I guess I didn’t,” she said.

We tag the dialogue with he said, she said so our readers do not get confused about who is speaking. We vary said with replied, answered, snapped or other like words. The dialogue is boring. We know nothing about the characters. We can change the he/she to Tom and Laura, but it won’t change the dialogue. All we have are words. We can add adverbs to the tag lines to tell us what they’re feeling as in the following example.

“I can’t believe you said that,” he said angrily.

Now we know he is angry, but you, the author, told us that, not the character and we still have he said. Our characters are not showing us anything. And we already learned about the misuse of adverbs in lesson one. We know that doesn’t work. It’s telling, not showing.

 Next step adding visuals. We add visuals by setting a scene - Tom and Laura sat in a restaurant. Sure, we can do that, but then the author’s voice is back in the story. Remember, we want to stay out of the story as much as possible. We want our characters to show us the scene.

Think about a conversation with your spouses or good friends. While they were speaking, you formed your answers in your mind. And you watched their face, noticed their body language at the same time. Maybe their body tensed, their jaw set, their brow furrowed or they frowned. Through their body language you knew they were upset or angry, happy, or sad. Other thoughts flowed through your mind. Maybe you were angry too or thought they were wrong. The interchange included words, body language and your thoughts. Many things happened during that conversation.

Now, let’s add some visuals and body language to our earlier conversation and see how it plays out.

“I can’t believe you said that.” Tom stared at her.

Laura looked at the waiter, avoiding the hurt look on Tom’s face. “Why not, it’s true.” She watched him out of the corner of her eye.

Tom’s jaw tightened. He picked up his cup, took a sip. “But you didn’t have to say it.”

“No, I guess I didn’t.”

Notice how we eliminated the he said, she said completely. Yet, we still know who is speaking. We can see and hear their emotion. Examine what the above exchange shows us, based on the criteria. We had the conversation in the first dialogue session but it showed us nothing but the speakers. In the example above, we added a visual and a scene, the restaurant.

We know this because she stared at a waiter and he picked up the cup.  We've added tension with body language - His jaw tightened. We know she is our POV, because she sees the hurt. We see the scene and hear the words through her. We see her visually ignoring him, yet watching his reaction. We vary the length and pace of the sentences to keep the reader’s attention. Sometimes, as in the case of his last comment, it is more powerful not to add a visual or tag line. If we add visuals or tag lines to all dialogue, it becomes monotonous and boring and can even disrupt our story.

We now have two elements, words and visuals. Let’s add the third, thoughts.

“I can’t believe you said that.” Tom stared at her.

Laura looked at the waiter, avoiding the hurt look on his face. “Why not, it’s true.” She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He’s angry.

His jaw tightened. He played with his cup. “But you didn’t have to say it.”

“No, I guess I didn’t.” She stood up. She had enough. Glaring at him, she pulled some change from her purse and threw it on the table. It’s always about him. Time to leave before she said something she'd regret.

We have completed the elements. We hear the characters voices and see their emotions. They have showed us the scene and their reaction to the words and we have her thoughts, paraphrased - we don't have to say she thought, we know she's thinking. Our characters have brought the scene to life, and you, the author did not tell us anything.

Next time: The Senses

BWL Publishing New Release and Free Read for October 2019

October New Releases
Click cover for Purchase Information
A Park Service backpacking trip turns deadly when hikers are caught in a steep canyon during a flash flood. Three hikers are swept away, but a rescue team recovers four bodies. Park Service Investigator Doug Fletcher teams up with rangers Jill Rickowski and Liz Carpenter, and Navajo Nation Policeman Jamie Ballard. They hike river bottoms and arroyos searching for the origin of the fourth body, leaning on each other to overcome their fears, cultural differences, and emotional baggage. In the process they forge bonds that will last past the end of the investigation.
“A grueling wilderness manhunt, relentless suspense, and a deadly climax. Washed Away delivers.” Brian Lutterman award-winning author of the Penn Wilkinson mysteries
 “Washed Away combines the excitement of wilderness adventure with the suspense and action of a crime thriller.” James O’Neal author of The Devils Came in from the Country and the Riley series of historical novels

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 Daisy’s War is a historical romance set on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent during World War One. Daisy is too young to join the WAAFs like her glamorous sister Sylvia and opts instead to work in the NAAFI which serves the sailors and soldiers stationed in the dockyard and garrison with snacks, cigarettes and toiletries. She has vowed to stay true to Bob, her childhood sweetheart. But Bob is serving overseas and she fears he will not return. Enter tall handsome soldier Christopher, known to his friends as Lofty.

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Seventeen-year-old Will and his four friends escaped from a tropical island fortress then fought for freedom on a monstrous prison ship.  Now they reach the mainland and dock their small cruiser in the harbour of a large city, hoping at last to find answers to their origins.
At first the city is deserted, but soon drones attack them from above.  At night, sicko adults, diseased, angry and hungry, hunt them down relentlessly.  Will, Quentin, Fiona, Rose and Kevin are on the run again, knowing that capture can’t be long from coming.
When it does – what awaits the teens behind the high walls and barbed wire of the sinister research hospital, in which robots prowl the wards and sicko humans are processed like cattle?  And what lies deep inside the mysterious mountain known as the Citadel?
 Reviews
‘A thrilling and satisfying end to a terrific trilogy’ – Bruce McBay
  ‘One of the most exciting YA thrillers I’ve ever read’ – Susan Trapp
  ‘Post-apocalypse suspense done right’ – Joanne Lindau

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Protecting his hometown was easy, but Sheriff Brad Davidson had learned the hard way the price of personal involvement. Risking his life, no problem, risking his heart, that was another issue. Love was a complication he had no desire to take again…ever. Until he came across a woman unconscious in a back alley. Without warning his life got complicated.

Dana Barrett, a young widow with four young children, looks for a fresh start in a small town. Malicious gossip ruined her life once and she swears to never let it happen again. While Dana struggles to keep a professional relationship with the attentive sheriff who’s stealing her heart, her painful past raises an unswayable wall between them.

The entire town is convinced Sheriff Davidson is the answer to Dana’s family and the town’s future.  But can they convince her that not all gossip is meant to be destructive? Sometimes you need to risk it all.

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October Free Read from BWL Publishing Inc.is a historical mystery from
Diane Scott Lewis.  Click the cover to visit Diane's page and download your PDF copy.

Who murdered Lady Pentreath? The year is 1781, and the war with the American colonies rages across the sea. In Truro, England Branek Pentreath, a local squire, has suffered for years in a miserable marriage. Now his wife has been poisoned with arsenic. Is this unhappy husband responsible? Or was it out of revenge? Branek owns the apothecary shop where Jenna Rosedew, two years a widow, delights in serving her clients. Branek might sell her building to absolve his debts caused by the war—and put her out on the street. Jenna prepared the tinctures for Lady Pentreath, which were later found to contain arsenic. The town’s corrupt constable has a grudge against Branek and Jenna. He threatens to send them both to the gallows.

Can this feisty widow and brooding squire come together, believe in each other’s innocence— fight the attraction that grows between them—as they struggle to solve the crime before it’s too late?

Five Star Review from Historical Novels Reviews
Set in 18th century Cornwall, all Jenna Rosedew’s husband left her was an adolescent apprentice and a struggling apothecary shop. When Lady Pentreath’s death is deemed murder, Jenna is the first person to come under suspicion as she prepared all the dead woman’s medicine. But why would Jenna poison someone at the risk of her own livelihood? When Branek Pentreath has reason to call on Jenna, he informs her is he is putting up the rent of her shop, or does he too think she killed his wife? Jenna finds herself attracted to the man, but any connection between them could be construed as motive for murder.

Ms Scott Lewis’ portrayal of a couple trying to come to terms with conflicting emotions in an unsympathetic setting is thoroughly enjoyable. Jenna is no simpering female with no clue as to where to turn, she has her own methods of protecting her livelihood, and being accused of killing one of her clients isn’t something she is going to accept without a fight.

Branek Pentreath is also gravely misunderstood. He is not simply a heartless, ruthless mine owner, but a man of principal struggling with a failing business, suspicion from his neighbours and a growing attraction to a woman he shouldn’t even have noticed.

Ms Scott brings all the threads of this heart-warming story together into a satisfactory ending. I hope to hear more about Branek and Jenna.
HNR