by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan

Go back twenty years 2002. It was my first writers conference. On January 1, 2002, I had started writing a novel. New century—new career. I was a published playwright but got God’s call to write novels. I worked alone until I found an online Christian critique group. That was good, and I was learning what I didn’t know (or remember from school) about writing novels.

While I was registering for Music & Drama Week at Ridgecrest, I noticed something new … The Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference. A writers’ conference? Wow! I immediately signed up. And with the click of the SUBMIT button, my life changed.

I didn’t know anyone at that first conference but quickly made friends. I took classes from Eva Marie Everson and Deb Raney. Most important, I came back the next year. Besides meeting my soon-to-be critique partner, Gina Holmes, I met her friend Cindy Sproles. Both were first time attendees. Being my second year, I helped them navigate where I could. Isn’t it fun to look back and see how God directs our steps?

The point of this post though, is about a class I took there. It was taught by the late Ron Benrey and called The Magic Paragraph. This little gadget wasn’t a formula per se, but a guide to showing what’s in your character’s head. It helps you take your reader on the journey making them privy to your POV character’s innermost thoughts.

The Magic Paragraph had 4 steps and they elevated my writing dramatically. Since I love to share what helped me, here are those steps, and we will follow two examples: Jane & Claire.

Step 1. Signal which head to enter:

This is self-explanatory. Begin by letting the reader know whose POV they are reading. Breaking that down, the first one is fairly self-explanatory. Begin by letting the reader know whose POV.

For Jane: Jane plopped her backside down on the curb. We know we’re in Jane’s head.

For Claire, I started it this way, breaking from the “rule” slightly: The morning fog was about as thick as the pea soup Great-aunt Lola used to make. I didn’t name the POV character immediately. You don’t have to start with the name, but give it fairly soon, so the reader knows who it is.

For Claire, I did that in the next sentence. See that under point #2.

Step 2. Write an appropriate sense, emotion or mental faculty:

For Jane: She pulled a crumpled tissue from her pocket and blew her nose. If only she could blow away her problems as easily. In the second sentence, I recorded an appropriate sense, emotion or mental faculty for the character. She blew her nose. I also added a inner thought.

For Claire: Claire hated that soup then and she didn’t much like this fog now. So the opening two sentences give you both Step 1 and Step 2: The morning fog was about as thick as the pea soup Great-aunt Lola used to make. Claire hated that soup then and she didn’t much like this fog now.

I put Claire’s name in the second sentence. Besides, in this example you wouldn’t confuse the POV character with Great-aunt Lola because her aunt wouldn’t think of herself or her soup in that way.

Step 3. Show appropriate action or response:

For Jane: Her spirit was so low she could probably dangle her feet and not touch the water trickling in the gutter.

For Claire: She swished her hand back and forth in an impotent attempt to dispel it.

Full opening for Jane: Jane plopped her backside down on the curb. She pulled a crumpled tissue from her pocket and blew her nose. If only she could blow away her problems as easily. Her spirit was so low she could probably dangle her feet and not touch the water trickling in the gutter.

Full opening for Claire: The morning fog was about as thick as the pea soup Great-aunt Lola used to make. Claire hated that soup then and she didn’t much like this fog now. She swished her hand back and forth in an impotent attempt to dispel it.

Step 4: Repeat if necessary:

You need to keep the reader grounded in your POV character’s head. So repeat Steps 1-3 whenever necessary, but always at a scene change. Even if you write in first person, you can give the second and third steps. Without steps 2 and 3, the reader will miss the essence of the character.

So there you have it, The Magic Paragraph. Use it to help keep your story and your reader grounded in your character’s POV. Ron published a book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Writing Christian Fiction. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1592576818/

Ane Mulligan has been a voracious reader ever since her mom instilled within her a love of reading at age three, escaping into worlds otherwise unknown. But when Ane saw PETER PAN on stage, she was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. And so, by night, she’s CEO of a community theatre company and by day, a bestselling, award-winning novelist. She lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler. Find Ane on her website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, The Write Conversation, and Blue Ridge Conference Blog.