Layers Make All the Difference

Layers Make All the Difference

It's nearly out! Strands of Truth releases from Christianbook.com next week, and they have a special edition that has an extra chapter so check it out from there!

Okay, so let's talk about something other than my new book. :)

When I wrote my first mystery, my agent kicked it to the curb for a solid YEAR. Not enough layers, she said. Layers? What are layers? I'd been writing smaller books that were straight romance, but I always wanted. . . to kill people. :) I've loved murder mysteries all my life, and I wanted to try my hand at it. But before I could start down that path, I had to have a good grasp on layers.

Here's what I've learned.

Good layers are often the key to making an editor sit up and take notice. So much of the time, stories that hit the editor’s desk are so similar. Romance especially can be tough to make fresh. But it’s all in the layers.

Here are the layers I work on with every story:

1. Setting is huge for me. A character who lives in Boston is very different from one who lives in Indiana. The culture that shaped him/her is different too. Think about where your characters are. Read newspapers from that area and see if you can find a plot layer in what is going on currently there. Is there a culture group that’s strong there? In my Rock Harbor books, the Finnish culture had a huge role and was fun to layer in. The Lonestar series is set on a ranch in Texas that rescues abused horses and matches them with abused children. That idea gripped me by the throat, and that’s what you want your idea to do.

2. Character types. Take a look at character types and pit different types against one another to play off weaknesses and pet peeves. This can add a really great layer of conflict that’s ongoing. Maybe your female lead loves the wilderness and the hero’s idea of a great vacation is a cruise where everything is served to him. Maybe your heroine makes gourmet chocolates and the hero breaks out in hives from the aroma on her clothing. You get the picture!

3. Can you give your protagonist an obsession? That can really springboard you to plot ideas as she pursues it. This is often where to layer in your theme. In my new novel, Strands of Truth, Harper is obsessed with finding out who her father was. That obsession leads her into major danger.

4. Interesting occupation. This leads me to story ideas all the time. I’ve written about a SAR dog team, a dolphin researcher, a smokejumper, an antique quilt expert, and an old time telephone operator at the turn of the century. Harper in Strands of Truth researches pen shells and sea silk.

5. Think of plot layers that are problems for your main characters. Try to come up with at least three. For example, in Strands of Truth, Harper has found a half sister she didn't know she had, but a killer starts coming after them both. She is being forced to work with a man she's always considered an enemy, and a local politician wants to shut down her pen shell beds. The problem with many manuscripts I see is that there isn’t enough conflict and it isn’t varied enough. It’s not enough to have just ONE conflict.

Layers will life your book out of the rejected pile. They will add depth and interest to your characters and your plot. If you’ve already written the book, it’s still not too late to tear into it and make it something special. Don’t be afraid to start from scratch and add the things that need to be there.