Yesterday, in order to “relax” I decided to watch a movie. I had the house pretty much to myself, so I decided to watch something I normally wouldn’t choose….a chick flick. I watch crime shows and military documentaries and most of the movies I like involve some kind of autopsy or explosion. But, I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and channel that inner Girlie Side.

Okay, those of you who know me and are gigging, stop it.

I decided to watch “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” I think that it is good for writers to stretch, to read books and watch movies we normally wouldn’t choose. I believe we see with new eyes. This movie actually had a tremendous lesson about the power of symbols that I get to share with you guys today.

Rebecca Bloomwood (protag) is a shopaholic who has been funding her addiction with plastic. She has managed to keep afloat by juggling cards and paying the minimums giving just enough wiggle room to keep shopping. Her phone rings off the hook; dozens of collection agencies all trying to nail down Rebecca to settle her debt. She manages okay, until the inciting incident. She loses her job and must find a new one so she can still scrape by enough to fund her obsession…shopping.

On her way to interview for her dream job, Rebecca is distracted by a sale. She finds a beautiful designer green scarf. Various debacles ensue and Rebecca does find a job, but instead of landing the job writing for the fashion magazine as she’d intended, irony steps in and this young woman who is running from debt collectors lands a job as a columnist giving financial advice. She knows she shouldn’t have this job (that she is a fraud), but she needs it to pay her credit cards and finance her shopping (more irony). Out of guilt, she asks that she be able to have a mystery identity and her by-line be The Girl in the Green Scarf. The movie is really cute and fun mind candy with an adorable and likable flawed protagonist.

But, what caught my attention was the green scarf. To me, it was a fantastic representation of Rebecca’s journey…her connection with money. In the beginning the green scarf was a symbol of her problem–MONEY, or rather her mishandling of money. She is obsessed with shopping and buying more stuff and is in a very dysfunctional relationship with money. When she buys the scarf she has to use nine different credit cards, putting $20 on one $10 on another $5 on another. The scene where she purchases the scarf is hysterical.

Yet, when she lands the job at Successful Saving Magazine she has to hide behind her green scarf. Ahhhhh. Another use of symbol. She was bankrupting herself trying to look rich instead of facing her fears. By living in her fear, she looked rich, but was desperately poor. When hired to work at a financial magazine, Rebecca is forced into a position to have to understand and face her fears…her relationship with money. Why was shopping such an emotional experience? To her, expensive things held an almost magical power. This “power” was an artificial feeling she was seeking at the expense of what was real—love, family, friends. There was an artificial attachment to “things,” and thus it never lasted and therefore had to be fed and fed and fed. Rebecca owned stuff she didn’t even remember buying. Why? Because her relationship with money was a superficial fix trying to patch a much deeper problem that needed to be resolved.

By the end of her journey, Rebecca now has healed. She is no longer afraid and hiding in stores when she should be living life. She is no longer using shopping and using “things” as paltry substitutions for the deeper relationships in life—with her parents, her friends, and the love interest. She now has perspective and the attachment to the green scarf has changed. It is a symbol of love and good fortune and holds genuine sentimental attachment.

I thought the scarf was a brilliant use of symbol. Scarves are beautiful, wonderful, stylish. They can make us look fabulous. So can money. Scarves also are functional. They can keep us warm. Money is practical as well.

But, if we aren’t careful, a scarf can strangle us and be our undoing. So can money.

What are some great symbols in books or movies that you can think of? Maybe we will get to see an old movie with new eyes.

I want to hear your comments, and to prove it…

Leave a comment and I will put your name in for a drawing, and you can win an autographed copy of my book We Are Not Alone—The Writer’s Guide to Social Media. I’m going to gather all comments until Halloween and then the winner will be announced November 1^st. Trackbacks count as an entry, so you can double your chances to win by leaving a comment and then linking to any of my blogs.

Happy writing!

Until next time…

The post Lessons from a Shopaholic—The Power of Symbol appeared first on Kristen Lamb.

For those who follow this blog regularly, first of all—THANKS! Today I will be blogging on the craft side of things. I am making it a goal to write about social media regularly, especially now that my book We Are Not Alone—The Writer’s Guide to Social Media is now available in eBook. The print version should be ready for purchase in a week or so. Social media is an amazing tool and it is a wonderful time to be a writer, but, I am going to point out the pink elephant in the room. We still have to write a darn good book. If we don’t write a darn good book, then no amount of promotion can help us. Sorry. That’s like putting lipstick on a pig. So we will talk about craft as well.

Today is an interesting topic. A Twitter pal of mine, Heather Harris (@heatheharris) actually made a request. I didn’t know I took requests, but apparently I do, and I gotta say that it made coming up with a topic MUCH easier. So if any of you wonderful readers would like to pick my editor brain, send in a request.

Anyway, Heather wanted to know if I had any blogs about setting. The funny thing is that, after over a year of blogs (56 posts) I have never addressed setting. Setting is extraordinarily complex, so I encourage your comments if you would like to add something helpful. I try to keep these blogs relatively short, and setting is worthy of volumes. But we will give it some needed attention. Thanks, Heather, for the suggestion. This blog is purely my opinion and based off my years of experience editing hundreds of stories.

Setting is a magnificent tool when used properly.

Setting can help your characterization.

Setting can actually serve a dual role in that it can be not only the backdrop for your story, but it can also serve characterization through symbol. We editors love to say, “Show. Don’t tell.” Well, here is where setting can help you do just that.

Say you have a character, Mitzy, who is depressed. You could go on and on telling us she is blue and how she cannot believe her husband left her for the Avon lady, or you can show us through setting. Mitzy’s once beautiful garden is overgrown with weeds and piles of unopened mail are tossed carelessly on the floor. Her house smells of almost-empty tubs of chocolate ice cream left to sour. Piles of dirty clothes litter the rooms, and her cat is eating out of the bag of Meow Mix tipped on its side.

Now you have shown me that Mitzy is not herself. I know this because the garden was “once beautiful.” This cues me that something has changed. And you managed to tell me she was depressed without dragging me through narrative in Mitzy’s head.

She couldn’t believe Biff was gone. Grief surged over her like a surging tidal surge that surged.

Writing is therapeutic, not therapy. Some of that introspection is great, but after a while you will wear out your readers. Setting can help alleviate this problem and keep the momentum of your story moving forward. We will get that Mitzy is depressed by getting this glimpse of her house. You have shown that Mitzy is having a rough time instead of being lazy and telling me.

We judge people by their environment. Characters are no different. If you want to portray a cold, unfeeling schmuck, then when we go to his apartment it might be minimalist design. No color. No plants or signs of life. Someone who is scatter-brained? Their house is full of half-finished projects. An egomaniac? Walls of plaques and pictures of this character posing with important people. Trophies, awards, and heads of dead animals. You can show the reader a lot about your character just by showing us surroundings.

Trust me, if a character gets out of her car and two empty Diet Coke bottles fall out from under her feet into her yard that is littered with toys, we will have an impression.

Setting can set or amplify the mood.

Either you can use setting to mirror outwardly what is happening with a character, or you can use it as a stark contrast. For instance, I once edited a medieval fantasy. In the beginning the bad guys were burning villagers alive. Originally the writer used a rainy, dreary day, which was fine. Nothing wrong with that. I, however, suggested she push the envelope and go for something more unsettling. I recommended that she change the setting to sunny and perfect weather. In the heart of the village the ribbons and trappings of the spring festival blew in the gentle breeze, the same breeze that now carried the smell of her family’s burning flesh.

Sometimes it is this odd juxtaposition in setting that can evoke tremendous emotion. This is especially useful in horror. Dead bodies are upsetting. Dead bodies on a children’s playground are an entirely new level of disturbing.

Setting is a matter of style and preference.  Different writers use setting in different ways and a lot of it goes to your own unique voice. Some writers use a lot of description, which is good in that there are readers who like a lot of description. But there are readers who want you to get to the point, and that’s why they generally like to read works by writers who also like to get to the point. Everyone wins.

Whether you use a lot or a little setting will ultimately be up to you. I would recommend some pointers.

Can your setting symbolize something deeper?

I challenge you to challenge yourself. Don’t just pick stormy weather because it is the first image that pops in your mind. Can you employ setting to add greater dimension to your work?

In Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane’s story is set on an island at a prison for the criminally insane. What the reader finds out is the prison is far more than the literal setting; it is a representation for a state of mind. The protagonist, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is imprisoned by his own guilt and need for justice. Like the island, he too is cut off from the outside world emotionally and psychologically. Now an island is more than an island, a prison is more than a prison, bars are more than bars, cliffs are more than cliffs, storms are more than storms, etc. Shutter Island is an amazing book to read, but I recommend studying the movie for use of setting as symbol.

So dig deeper. Can you get more out of your setting than just a backdrop?

Blend setting into your story.

When I teach, I liken setting to garlic in garlic mashed potatoes. Blend. Garlic is awesome and enhances many dishes, but few people want a whole mouthful of it. Make sure you are keeping momentum in your story. Yes, we generally like to be grounded in where we are and the weather and the time of year, but not at the expense of why we picked up your book in the first place…someone has a problem that needs solving. Unless you are writing a non-fiction travel book, we didn’t buy your book for lovely description of the Rocky Mountains. We bought it to discover if Ella May will ever make it to California to meet her new husband before winter comes and traps her wagon train in a frozen world of death.

Keep perspective and blend. Keep conflict and character center stage and the backdrop in its place…behind the characters. Can you break this rule? Sure all rules can be broken. But we must understand the rules before we can break them. Breaking rules in ignorance is just, well, ignorant.

In the end, setting will be a huge reflection of your style and voice, but I hope this blog has given some insight that might make you see more to your use of setting and help you grow to be a stronger writer.

Happy writing!

Until next time…

For some good books on this subject, I recommend Bob Mayer’s Novel Writer’s Toolkit. Jack Bickham’s Setting (Elements of Fiction Writing) is another valuable resource.

The post Setting–More than a Backdrop appeared first on Kristen Lamb.