August 10, 2012
August 8, 2012
Writing Structure: The Power of Three
By Kimota (Jonathan Crossfield)
http://www.jonathancrossfield.com/blog/2...
Brought to you via Marsha Ward
http://marshaward.blogspot.com/
* An Englishman, Scotsman and Irishman go into a bar
* Ready, steady, go
* The three act structure
* The popularity of trilogies in fiction
The number three recurs again and again throughout writing. Whether it is in the choice of words to create a pleasing sentence or the wider structure beneath a script, the number three seems inescapable as a stylistic and structural choice.
How often, when writing, have you found yourself desperately trying to find another word or phrase to create a triumvirate of ideas?
There are a number of reasons why three is so stylistically satisfying when creating stories or putting words together. Here are, naturally, three of them.
1. Rhythm. Rhythm is important in good writing. Shakespeare wrote every line with a strong rhythmic beat and most writers have a sense of the rhythm of their words. Rhythm can turn a dull phrase into one that lilts and sings. Three is the smallest number that can have a rhythm. Think about it. Tap the table twice - that's not a rhythm. Tap it three times. Bingo. Rhythm isn't just the beats but also the spaces in between - you need at least two spaces, and therefore three beats, to create a distinct rhythm. How many different rhythms can you create with three taps of the table? This rhythm can help bind concepts and words together and add an additional element - timing. Think about the example I gave you in the opening paragraph: 'ready, steady, go'.
There are a number of reasons why this phrasing works and therefore became so widely used. One of those reasons is rhythm. The goal of the phrase is not just to impart information, but to do so with pinpoint timing and synchronize multiple listeners to the same moment. To do so, the listener needs to be able to anticipate and be ready for the word 'go'. The way the listener does this is by assuming the length of time between the first two words - 'ready' and 'steady' - will be the same between the second two words - 'steady' and 'go'. They are listening for the rhythm.
This is the same reason why we sometimes, playfully, stretch out that second space or change the expected rhythm, to throw them off. "Reeeeeady... steeeeady... ... ... ... ... GO!" Even if you choose the other more formal "On your marks... Get set... Go!" form, you are still using a group of three to indicate a set rhythm and help the listener prepare for the split second timing of the start of the race.
The speaking clock phone service works in exactly the same way with three beats. "On the third stroke, the time will be..." We can synchronize our clocks and watches because we can anticipate the third beat within the rhythm.
But rhythm isn't just about functionality and precision in sports. It is also about aesthetics and style. 'Ready, steady, go' is a popular recurring phrase because it also creates a pleasing rhythm within the syllables and the rhyming of 'ready' and 'steady'. You most likely choose words and phrases over others all the time based on rhythm without even realizing it. They just sound better to you. And they are - because of the power of three.
2. Beginning, middle and end
Whether talking about the three act structure or the three books in a trilogy, three instinctively feels like the right number when plotting a story. Each of the three pieces - acts or books/films - contribute to the whole by providing that beginning, middle or end. The third Bourne film is quite clearly a final end to a story, wrapping up the last threads that were set in motion in the first film and were explored and aggravated in the second. Although each film can stand alone reasonably well, they are inextricably linked in that structure of three, forming a bigger, more impressive story overall.
Bourne, The Matrix, The two Star Wars Trilogies, the Godfather movies, the X-Men trilogy and many more - all seem to fall naturally into three. No one ever suggested making The Godfather a quartet of films. In fact, such things are extremely rare. The recent fourth Indiana Jones film was in development hell for twenty years and when it came, didn't really fit stylistically or narratively with the other three in the eyes of many viewers. The fourth Alien film, Alien Resurrection, felt superfluous after the third film had taken the series full circle and ended with Ripley's death. The fourth film therefore had to find an (unconvincing) way to bring Ripley back in a story that fails to resonate with anything that had gone before. It feels out of place and is easily the weakest of all the Alien films.
You can't break the rule of three.
The recent Terminator: Salvation film isn't really the fourth film in the series, but the first of a second trilogy, quite distinct from the first three films. This is, of course, deliberate.
When plotting out a story, you wouldn't put two middles into it, would you? The second, or middle, act of a film is where the runaround happens, the overcoming of obstacles, the exploration of the problems and possible solutions. Once this is done, you can't then add in another act of obstacles and runaround because the audience is now primed for the climax and resolution. Another middle act would be surplus to requirements and would merely delay the story from reaching its destination. This is why the three act structure works - beginning, middle and end. It is also why the trilogy works. Once the second is done, the audience has read two books or seen two films creating and tangling the various plot threads. Patience would begin to wear thin should a third film or book not tie up those threads and provide a sense of completeness.
3. The pattern of three
Just as three is the smallest number needed to create a rhythm, it's also the smallest number needed for a pattern to emerge. To determine a pattern or sequence between different concepts or words, the relationship between the first and second needs to be reflected a second time between the second and third. They don't need to be the same relationship, but that variation is what creates the specific pattern. For example; in a sequence of numbers - eg; 2,4,8 - the difference between the numbers is not the same. Yet, a similarity is that each is double the previous number. That is the pattern in the sequence. You would not be able to determine a specific pattern from only seeing two of those numbers.
Let's apply that to writing. In copywriting, a popular and persuasive technique is the Socratic method, named after Socrates. This method uses three - and always three - questions that are related to each other.
* Do you feel tired, even after a good night's sleep?
* Are you not eating as well as maybe you should?
* Do you need more energy to achieve the things you need to do each day?
You need CopyWrite Multi vitamins!
Why three? Because that is the minimum required to create a list and therefore a pattern of agreement in the reader if they belong to the target audience. When he or she reads your conclusion - that you should buy my multivitamins - they are more likely to agree, having been preconditioned to do so by the previous pattern.
The pattern of three works in other ways too - particularly when the third statement or response differs from the previous two, as it needs to in creating a joke. The Englishman, Scotsman and Irishman jokes that were so common when I was growing up work because of the power of three. Yet so many joke forms revolve around three protagonists or three concepts. Typically, the first protagonist will do or say something, usually quite normal or expected. The second will also do something - not necessarily the same but equally normal or expected. The third - and this used to be the Irishman, so I apologize to any Irish reading this - would break the pattern by doing something unexpected or ridiculous - thereby creating a laugh.
The following joke is reproduced from Wikipedia's page exploring the origins of the "Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman" form.
An Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman are all builders working on a bridge. The Englishman opens his lunch-box and says, "If I get one more tuna sandwich, I'm going to jump off this bridge." The Scotsman opens his lunch box and says, "If I get one more ham sandwich, I'm going to jump off this bridge." The Irishman then says, "If I get one more egg sandwich, I'm going to jump off this bridge." The next day, all three get the same lunch, all three jump off the bridge, and all three die. At their funeral, the Englishman's wife says, "If only I'd known he didn't like tuna." The Scotsman's wife says, "If only I'd known he didn't like ham." The Irishman's wife says, "I don't understand it. He made his own sandwiches."
The joke creates the expectation of a pattern with the first two elements (the first two wives say the same thing about their husband's sandwiches) but then surprisingly overturns that pattern in the last element (the third wife reveals the Irishman made his own). The power of three.
Four breaks the spell. So if three is the minimum number required for rhythm and for pattern, why not four, or five? Brevity. Additional elements, just like additional acts, or 'middles', are unnecessary. Your writing is out to achieve a goal. If three is the minimum number required to achieve that goal, then any other numbers aren't even worth contemplating. We instinctively know much of the above without ever thinking about it. We know a sentence feels right or a story flows well or a joke will make people laugh. Yet, I bet, when you revise your work, you'll find groups and patterns of three. I am sure there are many other examples of three in writing as well as many more reasons why three is so powerfully wired into our brains.
How many triumvirates can you come up with?
http://www.jonathancrossfield.com/blog/2...
Brought to you via Marsha Ward
http://marshaward.blogspot.com/
* An Englishman, Scotsman and Irishman go into a bar
* Ready, steady, go
* The three act structure
* The popularity of trilogies in fiction
The number three recurs again and again throughout writing. Whether it is in the choice of words to create a pleasing sentence or the wider structure beneath a script, the number three seems inescapable as a stylistic and structural choice.
How often, when writing, have you found yourself desperately trying to find another word or phrase to create a triumvirate of ideas?
There are a number of reasons why three is so stylistically satisfying when creating stories or putting words together. Here are, naturally, three of them.
1. Rhythm. Rhythm is important in good writing. Shakespeare wrote every line with a strong rhythmic beat and most writers have a sense of the rhythm of their words. Rhythm can turn a dull phrase into one that lilts and sings. Three is the smallest number that can have a rhythm. Think about it. Tap the table twice - that's not a rhythm. Tap it three times. Bingo. Rhythm isn't just the beats but also the spaces in between - you need at least two spaces, and therefore three beats, to create a distinct rhythm. How many different rhythms can you create with three taps of the table? This rhythm can help bind concepts and words together and add an additional element - timing. Think about the example I gave you in the opening paragraph: 'ready, steady, go'.
There are a number of reasons why this phrasing works and therefore became so widely used. One of those reasons is rhythm. The goal of the phrase is not just to impart information, but to do so with pinpoint timing and synchronize multiple listeners to the same moment. To do so, the listener needs to be able to anticipate and be ready for the word 'go'. The way the listener does this is by assuming the length of time between the first two words - 'ready' and 'steady' - will be the same between the second two words - 'steady' and 'go'. They are listening for the rhythm.
This is the same reason why we sometimes, playfully, stretch out that second space or change the expected rhythm, to throw them off. "Reeeeeady... steeeeady... ... ... ... ... GO!" Even if you choose the other more formal "On your marks... Get set... Go!" form, you are still using a group of three to indicate a set rhythm and help the listener prepare for the split second timing of the start of the race.
The speaking clock phone service works in exactly the same way with three beats. "On the third stroke, the time will be..." We can synchronize our clocks and watches because we can anticipate the third beat within the rhythm.
But rhythm isn't just about functionality and precision in sports. It is also about aesthetics and style. 'Ready, steady, go' is a popular recurring phrase because it also creates a pleasing rhythm within the syllables and the rhyming of 'ready' and 'steady'. You most likely choose words and phrases over others all the time based on rhythm without even realizing it. They just sound better to you. And they are - because of the power of three.
2. Beginning, middle and end
Whether talking about the three act structure or the three books in a trilogy, three instinctively feels like the right number when plotting a story. Each of the three pieces - acts or books/films - contribute to the whole by providing that beginning, middle or end. The third Bourne film is quite clearly a final end to a story, wrapping up the last threads that were set in motion in the first film and were explored and aggravated in the second. Although each film can stand alone reasonably well, they are inextricably linked in that structure of three, forming a bigger, more impressive story overall.
Bourne, The Matrix, The two Star Wars Trilogies, the Godfather movies, the X-Men trilogy and many more - all seem to fall naturally into three. No one ever suggested making The Godfather a quartet of films. In fact, such things are extremely rare. The recent fourth Indiana Jones film was in development hell for twenty years and when it came, didn't really fit stylistically or narratively with the other three in the eyes of many viewers. The fourth Alien film, Alien Resurrection, felt superfluous after the third film had taken the series full circle and ended with Ripley's death. The fourth film therefore had to find an (unconvincing) way to bring Ripley back in a story that fails to resonate with anything that had gone before. It feels out of place and is easily the weakest of all the Alien films.
You can't break the rule of three.
The recent Terminator: Salvation film isn't really the fourth film in the series, but the first of a second trilogy, quite distinct from the first three films. This is, of course, deliberate.
When plotting out a story, you wouldn't put two middles into it, would you? The second, or middle, act of a film is where the runaround happens, the overcoming of obstacles, the exploration of the problems and possible solutions. Once this is done, you can't then add in another act of obstacles and runaround because the audience is now primed for the climax and resolution. Another middle act would be surplus to requirements and would merely delay the story from reaching its destination. This is why the three act structure works - beginning, middle and end. It is also why the trilogy works. Once the second is done, the audience has read two books or seen two films creating and tangling the various plot threads. Patience would begin to wear thin should a third film or book not tie up those threads and provide a sense of completeness.
3. The pattern of three
Just as three is the smallest number needed to create a rhythm, it's also the smallest number needed for a pattern to emerge. To determine a pattern or sequence between different concepts or words, the relationship between the first and second needs to be reflected a second time between the second and third. They don't need to be the same relationship, but that variation is what creates the specific pattern. For example; in a sequence of numbers - eg; 2,4,8 - the difference between the numbers is not the same. Yet, a similarity is that each is double the previous number. That is the pattern in the sequence. You would not be able to determine a specific pattern from only seeing two of those numbers.
Let's apply that to writing. In copywriting, a popular and persuasive technique is the Socratic method, named after Socrates. This method uses three - and always three - questions that are related to each other.
* Do you feel tired, even after a good night's sleep?
* Are you not eating as well as maybe you should?
* Do you need more energy to achieve the things you need to do each day?
You need CopyWrite Multi vitamins!
Why three? Because that is the minimum required to create a list and therefore a pattern of agreement in the reader if they belong to the target audience. When he or she reads your conclusion - that you should buy my multivitamins - they are more likely to agree, having been preconditioned to do so by the previous pattern.
The pattern of three works in other ways too - particularly when the third statement or response differs from the previous two, as it needs to in creating a joke. The Englishman, Scotsman and Irishman jokes that were so common when I was growing up work because of the power of three. Yet so many joke forms revolve around three protagonists or three concepts. Typically, the first protagonist will do or say something, usually quite normal or expected. The second will also do something - not necessarily the same but equally normal or expected. The third - and this used to be the Irishman, so I apologize to any Irish reading this - would break the pattern by doing something unexpected or ridiculous - thereby creating a laugh.
The following joke is reproduced from Wikipedia's page exploring the origins of the "Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman" form.
An Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman are all builders working on a bridge. The Englishman opens his lunch-box and says, "If I get one more tuna sandwich, I'm going to jump off this bridge." The Scotsman opens his lunch box and says, "If I get one more ham sandwich, I'm going to jump off this bridge." The Irishman then says, "If I get one more egg sandwich, I'm going to jump off this bridge." The next day, all three get the same lunch, all three jump off the bridge, and all three die. At their funeral, the Englishman's wife says, "If only I'd known he didn't like tuna." The Scotsman's wife says, "If only I'd known he didn't like ham." The Irishman's wife says, "I don't understand it. He made his own sandwiches."
The joke creates the expectation of a pattern with the first two elements (the first two wives say the same thing about their husband's sandwiches) but then surprisingly overturns that pattern in the last element (the third wife reveals the Irishman made his own). The power of three.
Four breaks the spell. So if three is the minimum number required for rhythm and for pattern, why not four, or five? Brevity. Additional elements, just like additional acts, or 'middles', are unnecessary. Your writing is out to achieve a goal. If three is the minimum number required to achieve that goal, then any other numbers aren't even worth contemplating. We instinctively know much of the above without ever thinking about it. We know a sentence feels right or a story flows well or a joke will make people laugh. Yet, I bet, when you revise your work, you'll find groups and patterns of three. I am sure there are many other examples of three in writing as well as many more reasons why three is so powerfully wired into our brains.
How many triumvirates can you come up with?
August 7, 2012
Two Amazing Announcements from MMW
Mormon Mommy Writers' Blog is hosting our second annual writing contest. Last year's contest resulted in the wonderful anthology, Totally Cliche. This year's contest promises to be even more exciting since there won't be three winners, but NINE winners since we have three categories in our contest this year. Your mission is to submit a short story, non-fiction essay, or a poem that falls under the theme of Mormon or Mommy or Writer. You do not have to be a Mormon or a mommy to enter this amazing contest. The top three stories in each category will be in MMW's next anthology book. In addition to being published, the authors of the top three winning stories in each category will recieve a free e-copy of the anthology and the following prizes:
First Place: $10 Barnes and Noble gift card
Second Place: $5 Barnes and Noble gift card
Third Place: Free Print copy of the anthology featuring their story
The deadline for the contest has been extended to August 31st. Don't delay! Go to this link for the rules and to find out more
MormonMommyWriters.com
We believe in good, clean books that uphold Christian values. To accomplish this goal, we will be providing two different services to our readers. First, we will have a list of author websites listed by genres so readers can have access to many books of their favorite genre. Second, we will have a list of books that will be rated for content. We understand this is subjective and our readers will not always agree with our rating. With that in mind we will also list if the book contains violence, sex, drugs, or offensive language. Eventually there will be a way for our readers to vote on what they believe the content rating to be as well. This will allow our audience to make informed decisions about books. Please come by and check us out.
Opportunity for Authors:
The purpose of our website is to bring readers to clean authors' websites and to create back links for each writer to up their chances of online virility. To do this, we encourage authors to do a few things. First, agree to the commitment below and add your website to our list of authors. By agreeing to this commitment, you agree to link to MormonMommyWriters.com somewhere on your website. We also encourage you to link to other author websites that are within your same genres. This will help support writers that are committed to writing books that don't glorify or make light of evil activities or things.
Next, we would like authors to put their books up on our review page under their genre. We would also like writers to give their books a rating based on our rating system. We will have an area for readers vote on the rating they think the book should have.
Getting Started:
To get started, send an email to nikki@mormonmommywriters.com with your name and pen name, email address, author website, title and summary of your books, which rating below that you would give the content of your books, and an image of the cover of each of your books. If you do so, you are agreeing to the following statement:
To be linked on MormonMommyWriters.com I agree to link to their website on my website. I also agree that any books on my website do not glorify immoral or sinful practices. Meaning that any immoral or sinful things depicted in my books are shown with the natural consequences and are not explicit in their depiction. If there is a book I feel may be questionable in that area, I will address it on my website so my readers can make informed decisions.
Ratings:
G – General Audiences
PG – Parental Guidance
PG-13 – Not suggested for children under the age of 13
PG-16 – Not suggested for children under the age of 16
AC- Adult Content better understood by ages 18 and up
R – For 18 and up containing graphic violence, language, or sexual content
X-rated – Contains excessively graphic sexual content, language, or violence
First Place: $10 Barnes and Noble gift card
Second Place: $5 Barnes and Noble gift card
Third Place: Free Print copy of the anthology featuring their story
The deadline for the contest has been extended to August 31st. Don't delay! Go to this link for the rules and to find out more
MormonMommyWriters.com
We believe in good, clean books that uphold Christian values. To accomplish this goal, we will be providing two different services to our readers. First, we will have a list of author websites listed by genres so readers can have access to many books of their favorite genre. Second, we will have a list of books that will be rated for content. We understand this is subjective and our readers will not always agree with our rating. With that in mind we will also list if the book contains violence, sex, drugs, or offensive language. Eventually there will be a way for our readers to vote on what they believe the content rating to be as well. This will allow our audience to make informed decisions about books. Please come by and check us out.
Opportunity for Authors:
The purpose of our website is to bring readers to clean authors' websites and to create back links for each writer to up their chances of online virility. To do this, we encourage authors to do a few things. First, agree to the commitment below and add your website to our list of authors. By agreeing to this commitment, you agree to link to MormonMommyWriters.com somewhere on your website. We also encourage you to link to other author websites that are within your same genres. This will help support writers that are committed to writing books that don't glorify or make light of evil activities or things.
Next, we would like authors to put their books up on our review page under their genre. We would also like writers to give their books a rating based on our rating system. We will have an area for readers vote on the rating they think the book should have.
Getting Started:
To get started, send an email to nikki@mormonmommywriters.com with your name and pen name, email address, author website, title and summary of your books, which rating below that you would give the content of your books, and an image of the cover of each of your books. If you do so, you are agreeing to the following statement:
To be linked on MormonMommyWriters.com I agree to link to their website on my website. I also agree that any books on my website do not glorify immoral or sinful practices. Meaning that any immoral or sinful things depicted in my books are shown with the natural consequences and are not explicit in their depiction. If there is a book I feel may be questionable in that area, I will address it on my website so my readers can make informed decisions.
Ratings:
G – General Audiences
PG – Parental Guidance
PG-13 – Not suggested for children under the age of 13
PG-16 – Not suggested for children under the age of 16
AC- Adult Content better understood by ages 18 and up
R – For 18 and up containing graphic violence, language, or sexual content
X-rated – Contains excessively graphic sexual content, language, or violence
August 6, 2012
Looking for Winners!
Congratulations winners! Britney and Tiffany please email me at shassidy@comcst.net with your mailing addys so that I can get your your prizes!
August 5, 2012
Nurtured In Purple
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Used by permission of author, Jude Urbanski
Elizabeth had come to this planning meeting simply because her mother harped she never did anything at church. She didn’t want to be here at all. Planning a boxed supper auction wasn’t her idea of fun even if the proceeds did go to an orphanage mission project. Orphanage.No doubt the brainchild of one of the elder Orbins.
There sits Kate with her adorable new son. Her adorable son. Not mine.
Besides Kate, Winnie Orbin, Margie Craig, Myrt Rich, Nan Holden, Ermon Upchurch and a few other ladies Elizabeth didn't know at all clustered around the table in the church basement. Of course, Mama was there. She had insisted Elizabeth come.
These ladies were the doers of Chanute Community Church. Most had attended all their lives, as their parents before them.
Well, maybe not Kate. She hadn't been here all her life. She was a foreigner. A foreigner melded to the most aristocratic of families. How had that happened? How? It shouldn't have happened.
Elizabeth took in the women, all well dressed, but she couldn’t help notice how her own Mama’s dress surpassed them all and how her rings glittered on her fingers. Mama still looked pretty good for her age.
Elizabeth absently twisted the large diamond on her own ring finger. The date was creeping closer and soon she’d be Mrs. Willard Wittenberg. Not what she had wanted, but she guessed it would do. Willard wasn’t all bad.
"Oh, Elizabeth, we’re glad Adeline brought you. We can sure use your help," Winnie Orbin said. "We’ll need several cakes and pies to auction and I wonder if you and your mother would bring your famous lemon pound cake for the auction?" She looked toward Adeline.
Adeline answered, "Winnie, we’d be glad to bring a lemon pound cake, won’t we, Elizabeth?" Her hand strayed to her silver hair, tucking in what didn’t need tucking. "It’ll be practice for us. We’re having lemon pound cake at Elizabeth’s wedding shower next week." She smiled.
Elizabeth did not feel the need to say anything.
Mama, why do you always tell everything you know?
"That’s exciting. When is the wedding, Elizabeth?" Ermon Upchurch sat beside her.
"It’s in five weeks, during Fall Break at school. I have nearly everything done, just last minute things left, you know."
"Good for you, Elizabeth," Margie said, "I’ll soon be the only unmarried one in Chanute Crossing!" She laughed.
"Margie Craig, you’re single by choice, so let’s not hear any more about it, okay? Remember Bob was single a long time before I came from St. Louis to marry him."
"Nan, we all remember your arrival and how happy it made Bob," Winnie said, "but, ladies, right now, we’d best get back to planning. Our event is less than two weeks away."
Elizabeth watched Winnie quietly, yet efficiently organize and delegate until every detail was completed. Though she hadn’t wanted to, Elizabeth said yes to working behind the boxed supper booth at the social.
Willard wouldn’t be too happy. He was hanging in there with the Men’s Bible Study, but she felt his frustration and sometimes anger with the group. Especially toward Seth, whose kindness Willard found hard to understand or accept. It made him suspicious. He wasn’t used to kindness. Never had been.
"Well, ladies, thanks for coming tonight. We got a lot accomplished, didn’t we? Call if you’ve any questions. Otherwise, I’ll see you in just over a week." Winnie folded her papers.
As Elizabeth and her mother left the church and walked toward their car, they noticed Kate struggling to get her car door opened and keep hold on her purse and her baby. She had dropped her keys.
"Hey, Kate, I’ll get those keys. Let me." Elizabeth moved toward Kate and picked up the keys that had slid almost under the car.
"Why thank you, Elizabeth. I was having trouble juggling everything. Don’t quite have all my energy back yet it seems." Kate flashed a smile. "Appreciate it."
"Oh, it’s nothing. Your little baby is nice." Elizabeth gingerly touched the baby blanket and turned to walk away.
"Yes, he is sweet, Kate. Well, good night," Adeline said, following Elizabeth.
"Well, thank you both. Tommy is a special baby."
Elizabeth set her mouth in a firm line, attempting to forget the beautiful, dark-haired little baby snuggled in the blue blanket.
So, Kate is not as well as it appears?Umm.
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-305/Chanuke-Chronicles-Book-Two-cln-/Detail.bok
http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Chanute-Crossing-Book-ebook/dp/B008AE9T7S/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1339428113&sr=1-2
Review
Nurtured in Purple, Jude Urbanski's second installment of her wonderful series brings the reader back to charming Chanute Crossing. Her writing style is unique and draws you right into the storyworld. It's the skill of a gifted author who can take two rather despicable characters from the first book, Willard Wittenberg and Elizabeth Koger, and make them likable to the point of understandable-and even more surprising-lovable. She makes them relatable because of their respective backgrounds, and explores their vulnerabilities and insecurities. In spite of their personal vendettas and need for revenge, you'll find yourself still rooting for this couple because they want to do better and need one another. Theirs is a sweet and touching love story. This book is also a sentimental reunion with Seth and Kate Orbin from the first book, Joy Restored, and Ms. Urbanski's terrific "cast" of supporting characters return as well. Seth and Kate endure trials of their own, but overcome the odds and model Christian faith and forgiveness in action to a skeptical and resistant Willard and Elizabeth. Grace, redemption and love abound, and this book will leave you smiling. A bonus "romance" is also included, and oh, how sweet it is! All-around, this is a terrific read and I very highly recommend it.
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