Writer's Craft Article by Karen S.
Wiesner
Writing Holiday Stories:
Tricks (and Treats)
Who doesn't love to read
chilling tales at Halloween that embed inside readers deeply enough for them to
bite their nails, shiver, or even scream out loud?
Holiday stories have always
been popular. Scrooge and those life-altering ghosts of goodwill in A Christmas Carol have been giving
readers pause for reflection in the 179 years since it was first published; An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa
May Alcott is all about family and gathering together grateful hearts; Emma, with its matchmaking namesake, is
an unexpected tale custom-made for Valentine's Day; not to mention Ichabod
Crane and the Headless Horseman thundering through the chill autumn countryside
in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Whole
hosts of fiction give us reading adventures that embody the spirit of the
holidays they're set around. But what distinguishes a holiday story from all
others? In this article, we'll talk about three tricks writers can use to craft
authentic holiday fiction that will give readers a treat year in and year out.
1 1) Prominently Feature the Holiday Itself
Just because there's a
romance alluded to somewhere in the story doesn't necessarily mean it's a
Valentine's Day story any more than any old garden variety of frightening tale
is specifically a Halloween one. Before embarking on a specific type of holiday
story, write down what defines the particular festivity you're writing about
and what you want to highlight in your unique take on it. While countless
stories have become holiday favorites unintentionally, if you want to write
something that could become seasonally beloved, starting with a plan is wise.
Be specific about you want to accomplish using this season in your story
elements because in some ways you're actually making the holiday a character
that needs to be developed fully and consistently throughout the tale. The more
preparation you do in advance, the more your readers will exult in how you've
captured the essence of the holiday.
Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has become
an annual All Hallows' favorite since it was first published in 1820, although the
author may not have specifically intended it to become such a Halloween haunt.
Based on a 1790 Dutch settlement, the secluded glen of Sleepy Holly depicts a
quaint, autumnal countryside in which the community is fascinated by tales of
the supernatural. His vivid descriptions are the driving force behind this
treasured yuletide yarn:
"From
the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its
inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this
sequestered glen has long been known by the name of Sleepy Hollow, and its
rustic lads are called the Sleepy Hollow Boys throughout all the neighboring
country. A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade
the very atmosphere... Certain it is, the place still continues under the sway
of some witching power, that holds a spell over the minds of the good people,
causing them to walk in a continual reverie. They are given to all kinds of
marvellous beliefs; are subject to trances and visions; and frequently see
strange sights, and hear music and voices in the air. The whole neighborhood
abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions: stars
shoot and meteors glare oftener across the valley than in any other part of the
country, and the nightmare, with her whole nine fold, seems to make it the
favorite scene of her gambols...
"On
all sides he beheld vast store of apples; some hanging in oppressive opulence
on the trees; some gathered into baskets and barrels for the market; others heaped
up in rich piles for the cider-press. Farther on he beheld great fields of
Indian corn, with its golden ears peeping from their leafy coverts, and holding
out the promise of cakes and hasty-pudding; and the yellow pumpkins lying
beneath them, turning up their fair round bellies to the sun..."
2) Set the Mood for a Seasonal Tale
The second thing that
distinguishes any holiday story is mood (or tone). Mood is a carefully
constructed means of building layers of tension and suspense, and the tone
almost always fits the genre. Romance stories capture the tender feelings of
swoon-worthy, appealing main characters that readers will root through
obstacles to see share a happily ever after. Mystery stories tend to have an
escalating sense of drama and the certainty that something is just not right;
only by unraveling the confounding threads and clues can peace and order once
again prevail. Gothic leans toward a suffocating feel of atmospheric
foreboding. Horror should have the hairs at the back of your neck standing on
end and you have to fight the constant need to look back over your shoulder to
see if there's something unnatural lurking there.
In the same way, Christmas stories
tend to be merry, festive, nostalgic, filled with hope and cheer and
benevolence. Valentine's Day stories are frequently romantic, passionate, and rife
with promise for the future. Easter tales usually personify grace, redemption, and
joy. Thanksgiving yarns are overflowing with the gathering of loved ones,
images of feasts and bounty, the good things to be grateful for in our
otherwise mundane lives. Each holiday has evocative sentiments that tend to be
universal.
Sensory descriptions that
evoke the individual seasons should be used in holiday stories at their most
potent times. Vivid descriptions bring the reader directly into this kind of story.
Using these, you give something tangible in your vision. Your reader moves and
uses his senses right along with your characters. The most effective way to
capture mood is by using all the senses, as Washington Irving did so effectively
in his Gothic tale that contains the epitome of all things spooky:
"It
was the very witching time of night that Ichabod, heavyhearted and
crest-fallen, pursued his travel homewards, along the sides of the lofty hills
which rise above Tarry Town, and which he had traversed so cheerily in the
afternoon. The hour was as dismal as himself. Far below him, the Tappan Zee
spread its dusky and indistinct waste of waters, with here and there the tall
mast of a sloop, riding quietly at anchor under the land. In the dead hush of
midnight, he could even hear the barking of the watch-dog from the opposite
shore of the Hudson; but it was so vague and faint as only to give an idea of
his distance from this faithful companion of man. Now and then, too, the
long-drawn crowing of a cock, accidentally awakened, would sound far, far off,
from some farm-house away among the hills—but it was like a dreaming sound in
his ear. No signs of life occurred near him, but occasionally the melancholy
chirp of a cricket, or perhaps the guttural twang of a bull-frog, from a
neighboring marsh, as if sleeping uncomfortably, and turning suddenly in his
bed."
3) Immerse the Story in the Setting
Setting
is a critical foundation to immersing characters in a world that's directly
tied to the holiday you're depicting in the story. In A Writer’s Guide to Active Setting: How to Enhance Your Fiction With
More Descriptive, Dynamic Settings, Mary
Buckham says, "Setting can create the world of your story,
show characterization, add conflict, slow or speed up your pacing, add or
decrease tension, relate a character's backstory, thread in emotion, and more…
Setting can add so much to your story world or it can add nothing." If
you're writing a Christmas story, for example, you're literally at the mercy of
your imagination when it comes to crafting prose that floods the senses with
Christmas songs, scents, tastes, sights, sensations, and the sheer multitude
and range of emotions that can accompany each.
In fiction,
settings should be less about objective reality (impersonal) and all about
subjective experience (highly personal), especially when you're writing a
holiday-specific story. Settings may provide the backdrop for festivity events
to unfold, but they do much more than that by creating the context of each
scene. Settings can suggest conflicts, personality, memories, goals, and
motivations. The connotations are endless. What does the setting reveal about
the character’s state of mind, preferences, desires this holiday season? What
does the setting reveal about relationships? What in the setting means the most
to the main character and/or brings the most regrets? What internal conflicts
and motivations can be drawn to describe holidays more tangibly as a result?
Are there ways in which the current holiday setting has been influenced by
something that happened in the past, and what associations can be made with
past events to deepen the present? How can this setting be used to establish
the foundation for escalating conflict and suspense in the course of the
holiday unfolding?
When you
relate all of these things to the specific festivity you're highlighting in
your story, amazing prose can homogenously emerge, as it did in Irving's haunting
language that screams and embodies Halloween:
"All
the stories of ghosts and goblins that he had heard in the afternoon, now came
crowding upon his recollection. The night grew darker and darker; the stars
seemed to sink deeper in the sky, and driving clouds occasionally hid them from
his sight. He had never felt so lonely and dismal. He was, moreover,
approaching the very place where many of the scenes of the ghost stories had
been laid. In the centre of the road stood an enormous tulip-tree, which towered
like a giant above all the other trees of the neighborhood, and formed a kind
of landmark. Its limbs were gnarled and fantastic, large enough to form trunks
for ordinary trees, twisting down almost to the earth, and rising again into
the air... The common people regarded it with a mixture of respect and
superstition...
As Ichabod
approached this fearful tree, he began to whistle: he thought his whistle was
answered—it was but a blast sweeping sharply through the dry branches. As he
approached a little nearer, he thought he saw something white, hanging in the
midst of the tree—he paused and ceased whistling; but on looking more narrowly,
perceived that it was a place where the tree had been scathed by lightning, and
the white wood laid bare. Suddenly he heard a groan—his teeth chattered and his
knees smote against the saddle; it was but the rubbing of one huge bough
upon another, as they were swayed about by the breeze. He passed the tree in
safety, but new perils lay before him.
About two
hundred yards from the tree a small brook crossed the road, and ran into a
marshy and thickly-wooded glen, known by the name of Wiley's swamp. A few rough
logs, laid side by side, served for a bridge over this stream. On that side of
the road where the brook entered the wood, a group of oaks and chestnuts,
matted thick with wild grapevines, threw a cavernous gloom over it. To pass
this bridge was the severest trial. This has ever...been considered a haunted
stream, and fearful are the feelings of the schoolboy who has to pass it alone
after dark.
As he
approached the stream his heart began to thump... Just at this moment a plashy
tramp by the side of the bridge caught the sensitive ear of Ichabod. In
the dark shadow of the grove, on the margin of the brook, he beheld something
huge, misshapen, black, and towering. It stirred not, but seemed gathered up in
the gloom, like some gigantic monster ready to spring upon the traveller.
The hair of
the affrighted pedagogue rose upon his head with terror. What was to be done?
To turn and fly was now too late; and besides, what chance was there of
escaping ghost or goblin, if such it was, which could ride upon the wings of
the wind?"
Readers
love holiday stories for good reason. Using these tips, you can help your
readers get in the mood for the season with a timeless favorite they can look
forward to returning to each year.
What are some of your favorite holiday stories? What elements make
them timeless reading on those special days of the year?
Happy writing!
Just in time for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and
Christmas!
Adventures in Amethyst Trio of Holiday Romances by Karen Wiesner
Three holiday novels in one volume including:
Halloween: NEVER A BRIDE, Book 11: When
Charlize met Ben, he was in a committed relationship--the last thing she
wanted. She returns at Halloween to find that Ben and Layla have broken up, but
his ex- is having a change of heart. Despite the complications, the solution could be
as simple as a kiss.
Thanksgiving: UNLUCKY IN LOVE, Book 12:
Layla and Adam
find themselves jilted at Thanksgiving. Heartbroken and wondering if there's
anything left to redeem, they re-evaluate life…and love.
Christmas: SHOTGUN WEDDING, Book 13:
Right out high school, Trevor and Eden married for the baby on the way. Years later at
Christmas time, she finds herself competing with the other woman he'd been
interested in back then, and their shotgun wedding is called into question.
Find out more here:
http://www.writers-exchange.com/trio-of-holiday-romances/
http://mybook.to/AdventuresAmethystTrio
https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/adventures-in-amethyst-series.html
Karen S. Wiesner is the
author of the 3D
Fiction Fundamentals Collection
http://www.writers-exchange.com/3d-fiction-fundamentals-series/
https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/writing-reference-titles.html
She's also an award-winning,
multi-genre author of over 150+ titles and 16 series. Visit her here:
https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/
https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog
http://www.facebook.com/KarenWiesnerAuthor
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