Here's a Nice Profile on Me and My Writing

I'm featured on Page 27 of this month's issue of PA Bridges magazine.  Click https://issuu.com/pabridges/docs/pabridges_june2019_web

Have You Ever Met a "Discourager?"

Here's My Latest Post from the Catholic Writer's Guild Blog

What Was Intended for Harm . . .

Several years ago, my family and I were seated in lawn chairs in a shopping center parking lot that overlooked Pittsburgh's skyline. As darkness descended, we gazed at the sky awaiting the city's Fourth of July fireworks when my soon-to-be son-in-law bolted from his chair and made a beeline to a store.

"Where's he going?" I asked my daughter, wondering why her fiancé suddenly had a need to go to the dollar store, which was about to close.

"Remember when he was in high school and he worked for that mean store owner? How that guy was always calling him an idiot and telling him that he would never amount to anything?" I nodded. "The guy in that dollar store is that mean owner. He's going to go tell him that he was wrong, that he'd graduated with an engineering degree, and that he was now working for defense contractor designing technology that would keep his miserable butt safe."

My son-in-law is a quiet, gentle, hard-working person, and since this was now eight years after he had spent a summer unpacking boxes at this man's dollar store, I knew that the store owner's unfair and demoralizing criticism of my son-in-law must have really lodged in his psyche.

Each year when my daughter was in grade school, the school participated in a reading competition sponsored by Pizza Hut. Students were required to read a certain number of books to get a free pan pizza. When she was in fourth grade, she was required to read ten books. One of my favorite books as a young girl was Louisa Mae Alcott's Little Women, and I couldn't wait for her to be able to read it and discover what a delight it was. A good reader, she asked her teacher if instead of reading ten smaller books, could she read Little Women.

Her teacher vehemently refused to even consider it. "No. You cannot read it. That book is too advanced for a fourth-grader. You'll never be able to read that large of a book by the deadline. Read Ramona or Babysitters Club books," said the teacher. My daughter relayed that conversation to me, and then set her jaw. "I'll show her," she said. "I'll read Little Women and the ten stupid Babysitters Club books!" And she did, much to her teacher's dismay.

I'm sure you've had an experience like those of my daughter and son-in-law sometime in your life. I have. More than twenty years ago, I began writing, and after having had several articles published (for pay!) and writing a column for a local newspaper, I was encouraged to join a writing organization. This statewide organization billed itself as a group that encouraged writers and worked on their behalf. I had to submit proof that I was a professional writer to be considered for membership. Imagine my surprise when I received this message from the person in charge of recruiting members: "I congratulate you on your moderate success and welcome you to the organization." Moderate success? I had no illusions that I was Nora Roberts or James Patterson, but who purports to encourage by diminishing? I shook my head and laughed. I'll fix you, I thought. I'll keep on writing.

We all know the value of encouragement. It warms the soul to dish it out, and it is even more palatable to consume. Humanity gravitates to the negative, and ironically, it's often the "discouragers" that make an even bigger impression on our hopes and dreams than the encouragers. When faced with this kind of slap in the face, you have two options: You can either let the discouragers crush you or you can hitch your pants higher and get to work disproving them. Sometimes, I think God allows these negative Nancy's into our lives because they are exceptionally powerful motivators.

How do you rise above your detractors whether in regard to your writing, your goals, or any other aspect of your life? Here are some things to keep in mind. First, know God. If God has put this dream on your heart or endowed you with a certain talent, remember, there is nothing that will stop His will. Only you can thwart it by using your own free will and resisting it. Second, know yourself. Had I been wobbly in my confidence of my dream or my abilities, I would have been devastated by that backhanded compliment from that writing organization. Deep down, I knew writing was for me, and there was nothing he or anyone could have said to discourage me from pursuing it.

One of the most wonderful aspects of God is his power to transform the negative into a positive. We see it in the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. He takes a boy sold into slavery and transforms him into a leader who will come to rescue his people. We see a young carpenter nailed to a cross transform that suffering into salvation. Through grace, He gives that power to us too.

In conclusion, if you are in God's will for you, whenever you come up against a discourager, remember, this: With God's help, you have the power to change what was intended for harm into something for good.

Lessons Learned from the Ancestry DNA Test & Geneaological Research

My latest post from the Catholic Writers Guild.

Who Do You Say That I Am?

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Janice Lane Palko

By Janice Lane Palko

You’ve seen those Ancestry commercials about people who believe they are one race or nationality and then take a DNA test and find out they are not who they thought they were. My husband could be featured in one of those commercials.

This past Christmas, I bought him a DNA test because my parents had had their DNA tested as a gift for me and my siblings. Hence, I thought testing my husband would give our children a clearer picture of their genetic heritage.

My parents’ tests confirmed what my great-grandparents and grandparents had always told me—that I was predominantly Irish, with a splash of English, Welsh, and German. My hubby has always believed that he is half Italian and half Slovak. Imagine our surprise then when I opened the Ancestry email two days after Christmas and learned that he was 29 percent Italian, 25 percent Slovak, and, faith and begorrah, 19 percent Irish! Where did his green roots come from? We still have no idea.
My mother, whose maiden name is Hughes, registered 11 percent Irish and 50 percent Great Britain. Technically, my husband was more Irish than my Irish mother. The target of good-natured jokes from my family over the decades for not being Irish, my hubby now is one of the clan. He has taken great delight in his newly found heritage, lording it over my family, prompting him to don his “Who’s Your Paddy?” T-shirt reserved only for St. Patrick’s Day wear. The axis of our world has shifted a bit, and now I will have to throw away the “Honorary Irishman” button I gave him 36 years ago when we were first dating.

Accompanying the DNA test came a free month’s subscription to the Ancestry website, and I took full advantage of it. I discovered some things along the way. I learned that one paternal great-grandfather, James Lane, had a mother named Mary, a sister named Mary, two wives named Mary as well as a daughter named Mary, which made keeping all the Marys straight very difficult. I learned that a maternal great-great grandfather, who the family had been told had died when my great-grandmother was very young, most likely skipped town to take up with another woman in Colorado. I also learned that my English great-great grandmother who owned a bar, smoked a pipe, had a tattoo, and a pet parrot (I must have descended from sea captains.) and had 13 children was not widowed as had been reported by my late grandfather. She had divorced her husband as her marriage license to her second husband, my great-great-grandfather, stated because of “cruelty and barbaric abuse.” She went on to have a set of twins, one of whom was my great-grandmother. While Catholics dominated my heritage (hence the myriad Marys), I did find some Welsh Baptists and Cornish Methodists among the lot.

My Paternal Grandmother Agnes Moran Lane circa 1915

However, the most stunning discovery was that I had a fifth great-grandfather, Martin Short, (not to be confused with the comedian and actor), who came from Dublin in 1750 to the U.S. and fought at the battles of Bunker Hill and Yorktown and crossed the Delaware with General George Washington.
In addition, I learned some other, more important things. First, life matters. Although in this day and age, we treat it rather cavalierly, why, if life were not so important, would our ancestors have taken such pains to record births and deaths and chronicle who we have descended from?

Are you there, Martin Short?

Second, as writers, we provide a link to the past. I taught memoir writing for a number of years, and I always urge everyone to write their life story. What we put on paper today may one day offer clues, insights, or inspiration to someone yet to be born.

Third, you are dead for a very long time. My searches revealed a few relatives who died days after birth or as young children and one centenarian. However, no matter how long any of them lived, most have now been dead longer than they were alive, and with each passing day, they are even “deader.”
We will all eventually be dead longer than we have been alive. Therefore, plan accordingly. Make the most of your time on stage. Dream big, write beautifully, love with passion, leave a legacy. And all the while, prepare for your eternity. What you do now will determine where you will be later.

Finally, whether you think you are one nationality or ethnicity and you find out that you are not, or whether you find heroes or scoundrels or just common housekeepers, coal miners, railroad laborers, or shopkeepers in your background or not, it really doesn’t matter. Jesus posed this question of his disciples: Who do you say that I am? We should also ponder the converse. Who does He say that we are? What is our real identity? What He tells us is that we are His fallen creation, who He reclaimed for Himself on the cross so that we could become His beloved children and live with Him in eternity.

While it is interesting to know where you’ve come from, it’s more important to know where you’re going. That supersedes any knowledge of our earthly identity. Cling to your heavenly heritage because it’s the only one that truly lasts.

Here's January's Post for the CWG Blog

Pick up the Orange

By Janice Lane Palko

Some people receive profound promptings from the Holy Spirit. Me? I get messages like “pick up the orange.”

A few weeks ago, I walked into my local grocery store and saw a woman select some oranges and put them in a plastic bag. As she walked away out of the corner of my eye, I saw an orange fall from the display and roll across the floor.

You should pick up the orange, said that still small voice.

Instantly, I began rationalizing. I didn’t dislodge the orange. Why should I pick it up? They have stock boys to do that. I’ll look stupid, like I have OCD or something, if I pick it up and put it back where it belongs. Let somebody else do it.

Then my better nature joined the debate. Will it kill you to pick up an orange? Geez, Mother Teresa picked up dying people from the streets, and you’re freaking out over an orange. How shallow are you? Who cares what people think? Someone may trip over it. You will be doing a good deed, no matter how insignificant.

So, I pushed my grocery cart over, picked up the orange, and put it back in the display. But then something else happened.

As I was about to press on with my grocery shopping, I caught a glimpse of a woman to my side bend and pick up another orange, one that I hadn’t even noticed had escaped with the other orange, and replace it in the display.

I was astounded. This woman was following my example.

That little interlude set me to thinking about life, and for those of us who write, about what our toils to turn a phrase may mean in the big scheme of things.

Several months ago, fellow CWG member Cathy Gilmore posted an article from the Catholic News Agency titled The Catholic Church Desperately Needs Artists by Mary Rezac. It detailed how the world so sorely needs creative people who can bring beauty and truth to the culture.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been writing for more than twenty years, and the monetary return on my artistic endeavors has yet to land me a summer home at the beach, a six-figure deal, or a stint on Oprah.

I attend a weekly Bible study, and shortly after the orange incident, our leader asked us to share our all-time favorite inspirational books. One woman recommended He and I by Gabrielle Bossis, a French, Catholic woman who lived from 1874-1950. He and I chronicles the interior conversation she and God shared. When she was putting these conversations on paper, Bossis didn’t know that after her death, they would be published, translated into many languages, and cherished by so many readers.

At times, it may be frustrating when we think of how much time and effort we put into our literary endeavors compared to the remuneration we receive in turn. However, I don’t, and I’m sure many of you don’t, write solely for financial gain. Then, take heart, fellow creatives. Though we may never know the extent of our influence, like Bossis, our work may do good long after we are gone.
I don’t know if God intends for me to be a best-selling author or not. But what I do know is that I’ll be fine with whatever magnitude of success I achieve. I’ll continue to write and strive to bring beauty and truth to the world through my work with the hope of glorifying God.

I may be only a stepping stone for someone who comes after me, a toehold for another writer on their climb to achieving loftier success in reviving what has been a hallmark of the Catholic Church throughout its existence: excellence in artistic expression for the glory of God.
Therefore, as this new year begins, I’m going to pick up that orange and keep on writing. I urge you to do the same. You never know who is watching us or reading works or being inspired by our example. We don’t know who may decide to follow us, who may bend down to pick up that orange we didn’t even realize had also rolled away.

Welcome RG2E Readers!

Hi Faithful Readers and New Friends from RG2E,

For those who haven't figured it out yet, I'm guest posting (sounds like something Ed McMahon would do online) at RG2E.

Here is a link to the blog to save your fingers some clicking.

http://thereadersguidetoepublishing.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/rg2e-featured-author-janice-lane-palko-steals-people-from-her-life-for-her-characters/#comment-5098

For those who have dropped by after reading my post, a big WELCOME to you.  Feel free to make yourself at home, leave a comment, sign up for my newsletter, but please don't open any closets--an avalanche of junk may cascade out!

I'm very happy to have you here.

Thanks,

Janice  

Beach Book Blast -- Day 3

Wow, Beach Book Blaster, that was some party last night!

I had so much fun, and I'm still trying to get that confetti out of my hair.

Writers are a crazy bunch of people.  We sit at the computer all day listening to the imaginary people in our heads speak to us while never really knowing if what we are creating will touch our readers, REAL PEOPLE.  It was great to finally get to meet REAL PEOPLE! 

When I conducted my VIP launch for my Anne Fans (those who have signed up for my email and newsletters and who have helped me along the way) on July 26, the actual St. Anne's Day, we played some Anne trivia.  Click here if you'd like to try your hand at it.  

While Anne Lyons, the main character of St. Anne's Day is my new favorite Anne of all times, I was wondering who your favorite Anne of all times is?  And why?

We know Henry VIII lost his head over a pair of Annes--or I should say they lost their heads. Is it Anne of Green Gables, Raggedy Anne, Annie Lennox or maybe someone named Anne like a friend or grandmother who meant a lot to you.  Please tell us about your favorite Anne.

Don't forget to register for the raffles at the main BBB site and here on my blog.  Also, don't forget to stock up on the books offered by all the amazing authors participating in the BBB.  You can get mine by clicking at the right.

Remember, When it's St. Anne's Day, it's your day too!

The Emotion Post Game Show

I don't know what your family is like, but after every event, my husband says my mom, my sister, and I give what he calls "the wrap-up."  It usually is a phone call to discuss what we think the other people at the event we just attended were thinking or feeling. The purpose of the wrap-up is not to be gossipy or catty, but to assess the emotional temperature of the others to make sure everything is OK.

Years of post-game emotional analysis have trained me well for being a writer.  To engage the reader, you must engage their emotions.  When I wrote St. Anne's Day, I was conscious of trying suck my readers into the story by appealing to their emotions. 

While my family and I are good at emotional analysis, Becca Puglisi is the master.  She and Angela Ackerman have written the book on emotions--literally.  Their book, The Emotion Thesaurus, explores emotions and their implications and is an indisensible aid for writers.

Today, I'm delighted to welcome Becca to The Writing Lane as a guest blogger.  Take it away, Becca.

Must-Have Emotions in a Story 

We all know that emotion is key in keeping the reader engaged. And for your readers to be emotionally engaged, they’ve got to empathize with the main character and feel what he’s feeling. When it comes to drawing readers in, all emotions aren’t created equal. I’ve found that certain emotions tug harder at my heart strings. These are the ones I want to make sure I include in every story.

1. Desire. Everybody wants something: love, wealth, an Olympic medal, a Red Ryder BB gun. Some people call these goals, but I prefer to call them desires. Goals are fleeting, easily set aside, and lacking in emotion. But desires are different. They’re emotion-driven. When we desire something, we crave it. We will go to great links to get the object of our desire, and when we’re thwarted--oh, the drama! Give your hero a desire so great that he pursues it the length of your novel, in every scene, with every decision, and I’ll be right there with him, hoping that he gets what he’s after.

2. Frustration (Desire’s Seriously Ticked-Off Cousin). If the hero achieves his desire by page 25, the story’s over because he’s gotten what he wanted, and so has the reader. Frustration creates tension, which creates serious reader angst. It’s one of the emotions that keep readers reading. Of course, nobody wants to be frustrated all the time. By all means, throw us a bone once in awhile. Make it seem like everything’s working out, then yank out the rug again. Utilize desire and frustration in tandem to suck your readers in to a story they will read to the very last word.

3. Doubt. Doubt works really well because it’s universal. Everyone doubts him or herself. Everyone struggles with insecurity. To see the main character experiencing self-doubt is just real. It changes him from the hero on the page to Regular Joe Who’s Just Like Me. And it’s another possible roadblock to him achieving his desire, which is always good.

4. Fear. I like fear in a novel because it’s primal. We all know that blood-pumping, heart-jumping, hyper-aware state where we’re not sure whether to run away or hit somebody really hard. Fear involves danger. No one wants to be in danger or to watch someone else encounter it. When your character expresses true fear, it registers with readers. It motivates them to keep reading to make sure he’s going to be okay.

5. Hope. If I invest in a character for 500 pages only to find a sad, depressing, or demoralizing ending, I am not a happy camper. Oh no, I am not. This doesn’t mean that I want rainbows and sunshine. I like realistic stories. I like unpredictable and gritty and oh-my-gosh-how-is-he--going-to-recover-from-this? But for me to be satisfied with a read, it has to, at some level, be hopeful. Some good has to come from the suffering. Some growth has to occur. Then, the frustration and doubt and fear are worthwhile. I have muscled through them to get to what motivates and speaks to all of us: hope.

When it comes to emotions that suck me into novels, this list doesn’t begin to scratch the surface. What about you? What emotions are must-haves in the stories you read?

 Becca Puglisi is one half of The Bookshelf Muse blogging duo, and co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression. Listing the body language, visceral reactions and thoughts associated with 75 different emotions, this brainstorming guide is a valuable tool for showing, not telling, emotion. The Emotion Thesaurus is available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Smashwords, and the PDF can be purchased directly from her blog.

You Know Talent When You See It!

I'm no Simon Cowell, but there are times in your life when you come across real talent, and even the untrained recognize it.  Several years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing Jackie Evancho sing before she became famous at the local Kean Idol talent contest.  When this pint-sized Pavarotti got up (I believe she was 8 at the time) and belted out Con te Partiro, goosebumps rose all over my body and tears came to my eyes.  Her talent was so extraordinary, I thought to myself, the hand of God is on her--she has been Divinely endowed. 

That is me in the black dress after handing Jackie Evancho (in yellow)  an award at the Kean Idol contest.  I stood in for my publisher that night who couldn't make it.

Much earlier in life, I also ran across another amazing talent.  My friend Marianne Krostyne made me a felt Christmas ornament in my junior year of high school that served as a gift tag for a present she had given me in a grab bag.  I don't remember what the gift was, but I remember that tag because I hang it on my Christmas tree every year.  It was painstakingly intricate and precisely beautiful.  It was apparent then that she was blessed with a special talent. 

This month as a writer and editor for Northern Connection magazine, I had the pleasure of interviewing her about her career as a theatrical costume creator.  Her work is exquisite.

I once told someone that I love to write because when I'm doing it, it feels like I'm tapping into the live wire of creation, which is God.  It is so energizing and profound. 

There are things that I have written and gone back and read years later that have amazed me that those words came from me they were so good. Clearly, they weren't from me.  They were Divinely inspired.  (The crappy passages were my work.)  Rush Limbaugh's tagline is "Talent on loan from God." That's what I feel about my writing.  Michelangelo's Creation of Adam springs to mind.  I feel like Adam reaching out and touching God.  It is the ultimate jolt.

Marianne and Jackie's work are awe-inspiring, and like all great works theirs resonate because of its beauty.  I don't know Jackie, but I do know Marianne and I'm sure she would agree that her talent is a gift from God. 

Read about Marianne in this month's edition on page 28 of the download.

http://www.swansonpublishing.com/northernconnectionmag/images/April12/Northern-Connection-april2012.pdf

It's Hard to Act Like Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali was a great self-promoter.  Most of us know his little ditty that described his boxing style as "I float like a butterfly; sting like a bee."  Unfortunately, most of us don't take to self-promotion so artfully and entertainingly.

As writers, one of the greatest challenges we face is how to promote our writing.  Most of the writers I know would much rather concentrate on the creative side and leave the business side of marketing and promoting our work alone. 

My friend and fellow writer, Julie Long, has written a funny and insightful take on why it's so difficult for her to self-promote. 

It will give you a good laugh.

Here is the link:

Why I Suck at Self-Promoting

Size Does Matter—At Least, When It Comes to Writing 

As I was making pancakes over the weekend, I remembered something from when I was a kid. Many years ago, while my mom was making me pancakes, a drop of batter fell into the skillet, making a teeny pancake the size of a fingernail. My mom put it on my plate as a joke. I thought that miniscule flapjack was adorable. (OK I admit I’m weird, but I remember playing with the pancake all day.) We really weren’t too poor for toys that I had to play with food, but the size of the pancake entranced me!

Who says size doesn't matter?

The With the holidays in full swing, that little pancake got me to thinking about how just the size of something can make it appealing. (Cue the off-color jokes.) Ever been to Las Vegas during the holidays or seen the decorations in Rockefeller Center? They decorate with enormous ornaments. They take common Christmas objects and explode them in size. How about a life-size Nativity scene?

Another technique for enchanting is to take an item and shrink it. My kids, when they were little, loved playing with Micro-Machines and Quints (teeny quintuplet baby dolls). You may remember Liddle Kiddles if you grew up in the 60s and 70s—another set of micro dolls.

Honey, I shrunk the focus

Shrinking or enlarging something can also aid your writing. One effective technique is to dramatize a large, pivotal scene by focusing on a small part. In my writing classes, I often cited Wally Lamb’s hit novel of the 90s, She’s Come Undone. In the book, there is a rape scene of the main character, Dolores Price, which is a key turning point in the book. Instead of relating every gory detail, Lamb drives home Dolores’s distress by describing how she just keeps digging her nails into the dirt while being assaulted.

Anybody see my strawberries?

Enlarging something very small is also a great device—especially for revealing a character’s nature. Who can ever forget Captain Queeg’s outsized concern for the quart of strawberries in the classic The Caine Mutiny?

So if you have a scene which seems a bit sickly or weak perhaps, a dose of Viagra or that Miracle Reducing Pill might just be the prescription for what ails your writing.

Writing a Novel is a Bit Like Stripping

Hi Readers,

I've written before how I've become a Maddict--someone addicted to the TV show Mad Men.  As a latecomer to the program, I've been trying to catch up on the back episodes before the new season, the fifth one, commences.  I'm about half way through the fourth season and something that happened in the last episode I watched struck me as to why this show is so acclaimed.  It illustrated something that all aspiring writers need to keep in mind.  And that is how to handle back story.


Most fledgling writers fall into the trap of using the "information dump," when in the first chapter they give us everything they know about the character, leaving nothing for the reader to wonder about and compel them to continue reading the book.

For example, the Mad Men episode I watched showed how two of the show's major characters, Don and Roger, initially met and how Don came to work for the advertising firm.  We only learned this bit of back story in the fourth season.  A novice writer, had he or she been writing the the program, might have told us this part of the story at the beginning, when it would have been more effective to reveal it later.

I love John Truby's book Anatomy of Story, where Trudy discusses how key revealing information is to plotting and pacing.  The biggest reveals are saved for last.  You don't find out Darth Vader is Luke's father in the beginning of Star Wars.  (Sorry if you were living under a rock and I spoiled that for you.)  You don't find out that Dorothy has been knocked unconscious until the end of The Wizard of Oz.  You don't find out the meaning of "rosebud" until the end of Citizen Kane.

Whether consciously or subconsciously, when a reader picks up your novel, hopefully questions are raised in your reader's mind--questions that will spur the reader to continue on with your book to get an answer. (Don't forget to answer them.)

Writing a novel is a bit like being a stripper.  What stripper takes to the stage already naked?  No, she peels off the layers, seductively, one at a time--until THE BIG REVEAL.

As writers we must do the same to generate interest and money (hopefully more than a wad of $1 bills stuffed in your G-string!).

WWJD--What Would Janice Do?

You probably remember the WWJD trend a few years ago, which begged the question:  What would Jesus do?  We all know he'd do the right thing, but sometimes figuring just exactly what that is when faced with a moral or ethical dilemma is not easy--especially when your baser instincts start asserting themselves.

I faced my own WWJD moment yesterday while at the gym.  As I bent to adjust the weights on the ab machine, I noticed something shiny near the weights.  I picked it up and lo and behold it was a Tiffany bracelet.  Do you remember I Dream of Jeannie, when Jeannie's evil brunette cousin would show up?  Now I'm dark haired so my evil alter-ego must be a blonde vixen because as soon as I examined the bracelet, her golden tongue whispered in my brain:  Finder's Keepers . . . Tiffany bracelets are expensive.  Keep it.  It's your lucky day.  

Then that other little voice whispered:  Do unto others.  What if you lost the bracelet?  Can your integrity be bought with a mere piece of jewelry?  

I knew what Jesus would do, but what would Janice do?


I looked at the bracelet and it had a charm affixed to it--a ring.  Then my writer's imagination took over.  What if it belonged to a girl whose boyfriend gave it to her before leaving for Afghanistan?  What if it was a gift to a daughter from a dying father?  What if it was a remembrance from a special birthday?

I decided I would turn it into the desk with the hope that they would have a lost and found department and someone would claim it.  A second later, a young girl came near looking pale and worried, scouring the ground around the weight machine.  "Are you looking for this?" I asked.  "I just found it."

She looked so relieved and thanked me profusely.

Now, I'm not telling you this to toot my own virtuous nature, but it got me to thinking about my favorite kind of stories to write (and read for that matter).  I like to present moral and ethical challenges to the characters.  Most of my characters want to do the right thing, but for whatever reason sometimes they don't--that is where the conflict begins.   

Jodi Picoult does that in her novels; she puts her characters in a moral bind, which prompts the reader to the question:  What would I do? 

Can you recall any other novels that pose moral conundrums for the characters? And for you?