We made it to the end of another week and here in Texas, we are expecting some severe winter weather to roll in later today. For all you northerners, this would be nothing, but for us southerners, it’s huge. We have no experience driving on snow or ice and people are panicking. The shelves in the grocery stores are empty. Gas lines are long. In general, it’s pretty crazy. But let’s focus on something else.
On Wednesday, I highlighted the word, ‘will.’
So, today, I’d like to talk about how we can incorporate different aspects of the word into our writing.
The first example that comes to mind is in regards to ‘willpower,’ or pushing through a fearful or hard situation. I’m going to go back to Ghostly Interference and share a snippet from a scene. Jag Peters was a computer nerd, not a risk-taker and certainly not one to push any boundaries. Yet, he had to dig deep to find some willpower for this scene despite his fear.
Rena reached for his hand and they walked back to the motorcycle. “Remember what I told you about Sam teaching me to ride Candy Kicker?”
Jag hesitated. “Yeah. So?”
She tossed him his helmet. “So, you’re gonna learn to drive today.”
“Rena, I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”
“Get your helmet on.”
One reason these characters worked so well together was that Rena would push Jag out of his comfort zone and he would push her into one.
My sister gave some good examples in her comment on Wednesday’s post, i.e., “He took her against her will.” And “She willed the man to look up.”
Then, we can have a powerful ‘reading of the will scene,’ where the outcome can change a character’s life.
There are so many ways to incorporate this little word into our stories. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share how you’ve used it. We can all get new ideas and learn from each other.
As always, thank you for indulging me and have a great weekend! I will be bundled up and hoping the electricity stays on. 🙂
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Thanks so much for stopping by, Isla. I am doing good down here. I’ve been hibernating and working on my next book release. I’m so thankful that the electricity has stayed on. Willpower can definitely be challenging, yet we push through.
I hope you’re doing okay down there. That Focus image is brilliant. Willpower is quite challenging sometimes. Often it’s getting up to do something or help a child when I’m tired. 😛
Yeah, this winter is quite a tale! I live in the northeast, New York state, and it’s been unusually cold. I feel like we’re living in Maine. Great post today, Jan.
Oh my, Paula. You are where it gets seriously cold. In the south, it’s at least temporary. Thank you for stopping in!
I hope the weather doesn’t affect your will, Jan. I know that kind of weather affects things in the southern states. When I was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky some winter weather shut everything down for 5 days.
Lol, Tim. Yep. I also hope the weather doesn’t affect my ‘will.’ 🙂 My grandson in Grand Rapids showed me the view outside his dorm window where there is over three feet of snow and still snowing. The tree looked short. 🙂 Thanks for giving me a chuckle.
Yes, we’ve had quite a bit of snow, giving me some exercise, shoveling snow. It was -9 degrees Fahrenheit here this morning.
Brrr!
I hope you’re ready for the storm, Jan and I hope you get through it safe and warm.
Thanks, Dan. I wish the same for everyone else affected everywhere!
An interesting read, Jan. My mother says I kept Michael alive through sheer will power and determination.
Wow! That is a strong testament, Robbie. But a mother will do anything to keep her child alive. Thank you for your lovely comment.
Interesting! Will of action, will of fortitude, will to write…so very much, “will” must be a part of our writing. x
So true, Jean. Thank you so much for your comment!
I struggle a touch with the concept of ‘will’–future–because I’m not sure my prehistoric people consider that. The Piraha on the Amazon (a primitive present-day tribe of hunter gatherers) don’t consider future. Interesting stuff.
That is a very interesting thought, Jacqui. I have no idea if they had that thought process to look into the future and think, ‘I will.’ Thanks for chiming in.
The goal for writers is to get readers to use the word “will” repeatedly as they guess what will happen next.
Good luck with the winter storm. Our son lives in South Dakota. It was -19 degrees last night. Needless to say, we won’t be visiting for a bit.
That is so true, Pete. I love that. Hope everyone stays safe and warm as winter bears down on us all over.
Incorporating “will” into our writing, hmm… In my WiP, I’ve got a man who is concerned about a little girl. The two of them were kidnapped by a disturbed villainess, and the girl is sickly and weak. What WILL happen to the girl? WILL the villainess ever reach her (unrealistic) destination?
Oh, that’s good, Priscilla!! What will happen? I’m intrigued. And this sounds like a great plot for a movie. Thank you so much for chiming in!!! Hope you guys stay warm and safe through this cold snap.