I’m forbidden from bringing any more rocks into the house.
It’s a difficult promise to keep. Living on the Maine coast, surrounded by 400-500 million-year-old metamorphic rock, I am constantly coming across a beautiful loose stone on the beach, at the lighthouse park, or in a preserve.
The metamorphic rock at Pemaquid Lighthouse.
My love for the landscape led me to take a geology course specific to the Pemaquid area. Mistake. My obsession with rocks has grown, and now I know that some are actually minerals, making them even more enticing.
Metamorphic rock is known for its layers formed under extreme heat or pressure. The result is a beautiful, interesting mix of colors, textures, and rock varieties.
Pemaquid Beach. Metamorphic Rock.
That is what the layers within your writing deliver to the reader.
Layers in writing come in many forms:
Character Depth. Who doesn’t love a character-driven story where both the protagonist and the antagonist have multiple sides to their personalities, showing both their strengths and their vulnerabilities? Sometimes we might even feel bad for, or root for, the antagonist. We relate emotionally to well-rounded characters by seeing ourselves in them.
Theme. Gabi Stiteler wrote a wonderful piece on Theme last year that I encourage you to re-read. Find it here: https://mainecrimewriters.com/2025/11/12/writing-tip-wednesday-its-all-about-theme/ A book’s theme, or overall meaning, is interwoven throughout the surface-level plot. Even a light-hearted cozy mystery, like the kind I love to write, explores deeper human conditions. Don’t sell your work short, believing it is too “simple” to have a theme.
Symbolism. Sometimes, a repeated symbol or motif enriches the story beyond the plot, such as a bird of prey foreshadowing a danger or a key signaling a secret. The subtle repetitions will build.
Plot Enrichments. We all started on Dick and Jane or similar simple stories. See Jane Run. Well, if Jane actually ran away, hid, or was tripped, that would have added a more interesting layer to the simple plot. Readers stay engaged when there is suspense or intrigue, as they piece together a mystery, wait for an outcome, or hold their breath in a chase scene.
Relatable Work. Layers will hit readers in different ways. You may touch a reader, or make a reader nostalgic or laugh, or cause a reader to put the book down due to a painful memory. However it affects the reader, the work will be remembered.
Re-reading. Often, layered stories are valued and re-read, and a new thought or feeling resonates. Two of my favorite books are The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald and The Hours by Cunningham. Yes, I’ve re-read them, and yes, they stay with me.
It’s one thing to say that layering is important, and it’s another thing to do it. I’m not implying it is easy, but that is why you have first drafts, tenth drafts, writers’ groups, beta readers, and time to put the manuscript away to let it marinate.
Our dogs, Kelton and Roger, along the rocks of the Pemaquid River.
Regarding my rock promise, I’ve left many intact where they are and where they belong, now taking only a few for the edges of my herb garden. The exceptions are the heart-shaped ones. Too tempting not to bring inside. Shhh, don’t give me away.
Found Hearts, both rock and mineral.
Happy Writing!
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Allison Keeton writes the Midcoast Maine Mystery series. Arctic Green, Book Two, is now available. She can be reached at http://www.akeetonbooks.com
Arctic Green, Book Two, Midcoast Maine Mystery series
Great reminders, great read. Thanks!
Thanks, Jule!
Well said.
I collect heart shaped rocks (and some simply pretty ones) as well. Lots of books and lots of rocks on shelves throughout our house!
This post explains so well why deft layering is key to our stories. My favorite line was about the importance of layering in suspense/intrigue: “Well, if Jane actually ran away, hid, or was tripped, that would have added a more interesting layer to the simple plot.” Perfect example!
Thanks, Brenda, and enjoy your rock collection!
You had me at the first line. I’ve been gathering rocks from all over for years — Ireland, Greece, Australia, the Canadian Rockies, the Sierras; I have a 50-pound rounded quartz stone from the Great Smokies that lies on my hearth. I have stones from New Mexico mixed with Maine stones that encircled the backyard fire pit. I carry five small stones in my pocket, each from favorite places. The oldest I picked up on the banks of the Columbia River in 1982. I re-home them with gratitude. Your thread about metaphoric rock shifted my perspective on my passion for rocket. Stone-faced muses. Thank you for a wonderful piece.
Thank you for your lovely comments, and I wish you many more rocks and minerals for your amazing collection.
Great post on writing and on rocks. I have to look for my Pemaquid rocks now. Granite with white feldspar and black mica. I’ve walked that coastline many times, and even sent my protagonist there from New Mexico in the last book. (Of course, we have good rocks here in NM, too.)
Thank you. I’m loving all this shared rock love. Too often we don’t appreciate what is holding us up.