Getting to The End - That First Draft

WRITING WEDNESDAY

Wow!  What happened to Monday and Tuesday?  LIFE

One of the easiest things about writing is the ability to give up.  I've done it.  Everyone has done it.  But what does giving up get you?  Not a whole lot.

This time--THIS TIME--and every time after, giving up will not be accepted.  Why?  Because you can do it!  With a little help and some tips and tricks, you, too can finish that book!

What does it take to write that first draft?  Writing it!

Whether you're a panster or a plotter, the writing must happen.  We all obsess about our every word.  Why?  Because we want our writing to be perfect.  But nothing and no one are perfect.  Still, we strive to do our best.

One of the biggest things most successful writers will tell you is to Just Write.  Sounds simple, doesn't it?  It isn't, but we can make it easier.

Many successful writers will say that the key is to write a fast first draft.  I agree with that.  But what, exactly, does that mean?  It means No Editing.  That's right.  You don't write a few pages, then go back to pick it apart and polish it to what will probably be changed later.

If panic sets in at the mere mention of No Editing, take a deep breath.  There are ways to make that first draft with no editing easier.

1. Have a fairly solid idea of where your story is going.  Does this mean you have to plot the entire story?  Not necessarily.  It depends on what works best for you.  Simply put, have an idea of your opening, an inciting incident that shows the conflict of the two characters (hero and heroine in a romance), the mid-point aka main turning point, the black moment (when all seems lost), and the resolution aka the happily ever after in a romance.  Cooking Up a Story
2. Know your characters' GMCs.  If you don't know what GMC (Goal, Motivation, Conflict), you can do a search on the Internet.  There's an abundance of information out there to help you.  A quick explanation is Goal (what the character wants), Motivation (why the character wants the goal), and Conflict (what's keeping the character from reaching his/her goal).  Each main character should have his or her own GMC.  Check out my blog on Building Characters and blogs and articles by others.
3. Do as much research as you can pre-writing.  Whether contemporary, historical, or even futuristic/dystopian/other, they all take some research.  You want to write a cowboy book, a doctor book, or even a setting you're unfamiliar with?  Research.  Again, the Internet is a wonderful tool for this and many other things.  Use it.  Talk to people who can help.  You'll find more than you need, but that's okay.  What you don't need you may need with another book.
4. Plan and use your writing schedule.  Set aside time to write every day and also set a daily goal for pages or words to be written.  And stick to it!  Check out my 4-part blog series on Goal Setting for some ideas.
5. Think about what you're going to write before your fingers touch the keyboard.  In whose POV will the scene be?  What is going to happen in a scene? If it helps, instead of writing one scene and stopping for the day, stop in the middle of a scene--especially an exciting or tense point--and start there the next day.  Once you're in the scene, writing it, let the moment and the characters carry you along.
6. If you find yourself stuck...  Don't panic.  It's amazing what our subconscious does for us.  Try sleeping on the problem.  Brainstorm with a writer friend or group of writer friends.  We often get too close to our story and characters that we can't think "out of the box" or beyond our preconceived ideas.  If those things don't produce results, write whatever comes to mind. Don't worry that it isn't quite right, just get down the idea.  But don't edit now!  Remember, we're on the No Editing plan.  Write a note (sticky notes work well), along with the page # and chapter/scene if needed, and refer to it later, after the first draft is finished. Or highlight that section and go back when you've finished the first draft.
7. Write it down!  Ideas come to us at the strangest times.  Have a notebook where you can write them down.  Put a notebook in your car, your purse, or wherever you can grab it.  While driving, DO NOT write notes.  This is where a small voice recorder can really come in handy!

Once you have that first draft written, it's time to put it away.  Let it sit for a while, if possible, and work on something new or whatever it takes to get you away from the story.  Once you've had some distance, go back and start editing.  That's the time to refer to those notes and make changes.

Celebrate!

Now that your first draft is finished, feel proud of your accomplishment.  Many people want and hope to write a book, but a large percentage of those people never do.  You have!

Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

♪♫ Let's Get Together, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah ♫♪

Yes, I'm old enough to remember the original Parent Trap movie.  I loved anything with Hayley Mills in it.  But this blog post isn't about Hayley or her movies or the cute song, Let's Get Together, that Hayley and, uh, Hayley sang in the movie, although it keeps running through my brain.  I decided to share about this past Saturday, when my writers group got together for our Fall Mini-Retreat.

Nothing can be beat a group of females talking about writing and stories and characters and cake--  Oops!  We ate the cake, baked and decorated by one of our members.  (Thanks T!)

Ten of us gathered in the large, comfy and peaceful clubhouse of a large apartment complex at ten in the morning, ready to kick back, relax, and talk writing.  And, boy, did we talk!  We shared information about our current WIPs (Works In Progress), then really got down to the best part:  Brainstorming.

I. Love. Brainstorming.  When I'm stuck or not sure of something in my WIP, I have a couple of friends who I can turn to, and they put me on the right track.  But I love brainstorming other writers "stuff" just as much.  Maybe even more!  It gets the brain working and puts it in creative mode.  After a brainstorming session, I often have lightbulb moments about my own story and characters.

If you've never had the chance to brainstorm with other writers, you've missed one of the best things about writing.  Each of us at the retreat took a turn presenting what our story is about, while everyone else asked questions and gave suggestions, especially if the author had hit a bump in the road of her story.  When that bump happens, there are ways to smooth out the road.  It takes asking questions, whether asked by you or by a fellow writer.  What kind of questions? Why questions.

Why

One of the biggest things that writers need to learn along the way is understanding and using character motivation.  If a character isn't motivated by something or someone, that character will fall flat, leading readers to close the book and toss it aside.  Motivation is what drives a character to think what he thinks and do what she does.  When first deciding on a character, ask yourself a few questions.  What does your character fear and why?  What happened in the character's past made him/her way?  What kind of family did your character come from?  What was the character's childhood like?  Without knowing these things, it's difficult to motivate a character's reason for doing whatever it is she or he is doing throughout the story.  Without motivation, there's no strong goal, and the stronger, the better.  Why does the hero want to be a police officer?  Why is the heroine so negative about marriage and relationships?  Why can't these two people, who are obviously made for each other, get together for a happily-ever-after?  (Aha!  Conflict!)

If you can't answer the why questions, dig a little deeper. Motivation is in the character's backstory.  It's the character's life history.  What would make someone do or not do something?  Want or not want something?  Was the hero's father a police officer?  Had the hero, as a child, run away, faced danger, and was rescued by a police officer?  Did the heroine grow up in a broken home, never getting the chance to get to know her father?  What about her mother?  What kind of person raised this girl?  Or maybe it's something more recent.  Was the heroine dumped at the altar at her wedding?  What was it that makes your character who he or she is at the beginning of the book?

Creating a character that will tug at the hearts of readers or make them laugh, isn't easy.  Knowing your characters is the key to writing a great book.  Do whatever it takes to make your characters come alive.  Getting to know them is the first step.

People don't suddenly appear at the age of twenty-four or thirty-two or whatever age in real life.  Neither should your character, even in the beginning of a book.  A character, just like each of us, is the sum of his life.  You need to know that character and what's happened to him, up to the point of where you begin to tell the story.  That motivation or backstory will help drive your character and your plot.

There are as many ways to "flesh out" a character--get to know them--as there are writers.  Some writers choose to create a character profile of each of the main characters, right down to what books they read and the color of their socks.  Some writers start by writing some dialogue between characters.  Or they might let the characters, one at a time, tell the writer about themselves.  (Yes, we're a crazy bunch, who hear voices in our heads.)  Some writers do a character interview, asking the character simple questions that can become more complex as the interview goes on.  This can often lead to surprises for the writer!  He had a sister who disappeared?!

I've used each of those methods at one time or another, but usually by the time I'm ready to start plotting or writing, those characters have spent enough time in my head that I know them pretty well.  There are lots of times when I wish they'd be quiet!  Practicing some of the techniques above will eventually lead you to what works best for you...and your characters.  But whatever method you use, it never hurts to try something new, when your usual way doesn't work.

That's where brainstorming with a group or even one writer friend can help.  Be sure to keep an open mind, while brainstorm.  Others don't see your characters as you do.  They haven't experienced the same things that you have--or your characters have.  Sometimes we might think the ideas of others don't "fit" our idea of our character, but if we listen, something suggested might turn us down another road in the life of a character and lead to the perfect answer to why.  And that's what makes brainstorming so great.

GMC.  Goal.  Motivation.  Conflict.  (Thanks, Deb Dixon!)  There's no required order to think of it at the beginning of an idea.  Maybe you know your character's conflict first.  Maybe it will be the character's goal.  And maybe you'll have an idea of the character's motivation.  Just keep in mind that it takes all three to make well-rounded, interesting, and believable character that readers will love.  Or hate, because, yes, even the villain should have all three.

Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. ~ Mark Twain

Do Opposites Attract?

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Spring Break came two days early for us, and yesterday involved keeping five children from driving us over the cliff of insanity.  Writing anything--even my name--was nearly impossible with an interruption every five or less minutes.  This morning they're keeping themselves busy with other things.  Yes, I'm grateful. ☺

 My writing group has been discussing plotting on our email loop, which brought us around to GMC (Goal, Motivation and Conflict), a method offered by author Debra Dixon.  For me, it's a starting place.

GMC is a quick telling of what the character wants, why the character wants it, and what is getting in the way of not getting it.

Does that mean that the two main characters need to be opposites?  No.  But they must have opposing goals, somewhere along the line.

A few weeks ago I posted the following opposite traits.

Disciplined/Free Spirit
Homebody/Nomad
Driven & Determined/Lives for the Moment
Cheerful/Angry
Courageous/Fearful
Rigid/Adaptable  

In the above, any could be negative traits or positive traits.  And, yes, they are a bit cut and dried.  We, as well as our characters, don't have only one trait.  We're a mixture of many, both positive and negative, weak and strong.  Our characters should be this way, too.

If you've chosen to have one character  who is disciplined, follows a strict path in life and never waivers from it, while the other is a free spirit, spontaneous and loves to do things on the spur of the moment, you've already set up a conflict, simply in personality types.

But what if you have two characters who are both Driven & Determined?  Where's the conflict?

Within a relationship, whether it's family, romantic, or even business, no two people will be exactly alike, even if they share the same major traits.  Two driven or even rigid people can have conflict with the other character, especially where their goals are concerned.  Neither is willing to give an inch, when it comes to what they want and what they'll do to get it.  Two cheerful people won't always agree.  Somewhere they will differ.  That's where knowing your characters comes in.

And that's when GMC steps up to the plate.  On the surface, these two seem perfectly compatible, but somewhere they'll differ.

• Two sisters are close to each other, they share a room, they share their life, they share secrets.  But one sister loves red, while the other loves green.  It's never been a problem between them, until they have an opportunity to make changes in their personal environments.  Their goal is to paint their room.  Suddenly, this goal is going to raise some conflict.
• A woman and a man are driven to be successful in business.  But what if they're vying for the same job?  Or have competing businesses?
• A couple planning their future together want to buy a home, expecting a happily ever after.  They share many of the same likes and dislikes, whether it's music, movies, dancing or no dancing, TV and reading, and things to do in their spare time.  Her dream is to live in the city, while his is to live in the country.

These are simple, basic things that set each of us apart.  A courageous person can become fearful, while a fearful person can be forced to become courageous.  Rigid people can adapt, when needed.  A homebody may find that he/she enjoys a bit of traveling.  Those sisters above may find a perfect way to mix their favorite colors.

As people, we learn to compromise, and that's what our characters will also learn to do.  Even if they share basic traits, each will have something that is different than the other.  If they don't, if there is no conflict, we'll become bored with them.  Each character is different in some way.  Find it and run with it.  Create memorable characters and you'll end up with a memorable story.

If you're writing about a character, if he's a powerful character, unless you give him vulnerability I don't think he'll be as interesting to the reader. - Stan Lee

Make Your Characters Real

 THE CREATIVE PROCESS

It's easy to fall into the trap of not fully "fleshing out" our characters.  Even with strong GMCs, our characters can still be flat and uninteresting.  And boring characters will have readers closing the book.

What does "fleshing out" mean?

Fleshing out means to expand or become more substantial.  For writers it means making characters more human.  There's nothing worse than a perfect person...or a perfect character.  And that's as if there really was a perfect person.  We do try, but we're human...and that's what the characters in our stories should be.

Each character must have, well, character.  After all, that's why they're called characters. ;)  Character is made up of different things.  Because no one (especially our characters!) is perfect, there are both positive and negative traits within our personalities, just as we have strengths and weaknesses.

• Human Traits
• Strengths
• Weaknesses

When thinking of main characters in a romance (hero and heroine), having different and sometime opposing traits, strengths and weaknesses, is ideal.  Here's a short list for some ideas:

Disciplined/Free Spirit
Homebody/Nomad
Driven & Determined/Lives for the Moment
Cheerful/Angry
Courageous/Fearful
Rigid/Adaptable

Don't shy away from putting them at odds from the very beginning.  Do be sure each trait is motivated (think backstory of character).  What has happened to the character in the past?  Or is happening now that will keep them apart?  (Remember that Push/Pull thing.)  For some reason, these characters should not come together and have a happily ever after.  Read the back covers of your favorite books for ideas, but mix them up, don't steal. ;)  It doesn't matter if the hero and heroine have a past together or not.  Don't always stay in the safe zone.  Mix it up.  The only thing to keep in mind is that motivation.

Give your characters weaknesses.  That's what makes them interesting and real.  Fear works well as a conflict.  It builds conflict.  Connect that fear to the the character's backstory and well-motivated goal that are counter to the other character's, and you're building the conflict between them.

Make them human.  Give your characters a personal habit or small mannerism that sets him/her apart.  I recently turned in a book with a hero who answers "Right," instead of "Yes" or "Okay."  I didn't intend it to happen, but that was a part of him.  Does the heroine cross her legs and nervously wave one foot when seated?  Does she slap her hands on her hips and jut out her chin when angry?  Be a people-watcher for mannerisms to use.

Make them different, even when it's different from the "real" them.
I'm a huge Susan Elizabeth Phillips fan.  Her books are funny and wildly emotional.  I have three that are my favorites.  The first is IT HAD TO BE YOU (Chicago Stars Series).  The heroine, Phoebe Sommerville, is my all-time favorite heroine, so when I had the good fortune to attend a writers' workshop given by SEP, I was thrilled when she talked about building characters using Phoebe as a example.  If you haven't read IT HAD TO BE YOU, Phoebe is a buxom, curvaceous woman and always dresses to show it off, who happens to wear pristine, white underclothing.  Nope, no thongs or bikini undies for her.  She uses her seemingly sexual appearance (through clothing, swiveling hips and pouty lips) as a shield to hide the real her.  There are reasons, meaning she is well-motivated.  What I remember most of that workshop was SEP sharing that she started with a very private heroine, who wore white, common-sense undies and bras.  That was the skeleton of the character.  As SEP built the rest of the character from the inside out,  Phoebe became a "sexpot" on the outside.  People saw one type of woman, but inside there was an insecure girl.  So even within one character, there was conflict, and that's what it's all about. Of course there's always Push/Pull within a character.  It's the I want but I can't have conundrum.  Let's face it, we all have a secret self.

The above is a reminder that our characters should reveal their true selves to the reader, long before revealing it to the other character.  Do it slow and easy.  Don't dump it immediately.  And when you do bring it out, little by little, show it, don't tell it.

Make your characters three-dimensional by using:

• Internal thoughts
• Emotions
• Actions

While your character may say and act one way, what that character is thinking (internal thoughts) and feeling may be quite the opposite.  Be certain you don't forget that or leave it out.  A character may be hard and unforgiving, but when it's shown that it isn't so by using internal thoughts along with clear motivation, that character has dimension.  As for actions, we all know the old saying that actions speak louder than words. Tears welling in the eyes, tone of voice, teeth or hand clenching, and more can be felt by the character and seen by the other.

Make them unforgettable.

When readers close your book at the end, you want them to feel an emotion.  A good emotion.  A smile, a happy sigh or even a tear will endear a reader to your characters and your book.  Make those characters touch the heart by becoming "real."

“I will go to my grave in a state of abject endless fascination that we all have the capacity to become emotionally involved with a personality that doesn't exist.” 

― Berkeley Breathed

Building the Story: Characters

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

As I work on making changes on a proposal, I'm given pause to think about how important characters are to the plot of a book.  It's characters and our love of them that make a great story.  And, yes, even a mountain or a whale can become characters that change another character.

In romance, our characters are sometimes both two protagonists, while also being the antagonists.  If the two solve their differences--of which there should be one tough one and other smaller ones--and the conflict is resolved too early, the story dies.  While it's nice to see two people get together, it's even better when there are problems to deal with and eventually solve to get to that happily ever after.

I'll freely admit that I'm constantly learning, and I appreciate that I have an editor who is willing to teach me, in a asking-the-right-questions way.  I truly appreciate that she makes me dig deeper to build better characters, GMC and, in the end, stories.  If that means reworking a project, so be it.  One more lesson learned by redoing.

Making mistakes (by not fleshing out the character and their emotional conflict, as was my recent case) does teach us, if we let them.  Throwing up our hands and giving up is the stuff of people who refuse to try, to learn, and to redo, if necessary.  And we all make mistakes, whether in our writing or our lives.  It's making the most of them--learning from them--that makes us better writers and people.

So how do characters help build our story?  Much of it comes back to good, ol' GMC, but if the Conflict isn't strong enough, the story is weakened.  That's what I was facing last week.  Yes, there was conflict between my H/H, but as my editor pointed out, it wasn't strong enough.  It needed to be something other than their conflict in the past.  It could stem from the past, but it had to be an emotional NOW not THEN.

Once I gave some thought to what she said--and added the brainstorming genius of a writer friend (Thanks, Kristi! And Kathie for the ranching info!)--I was on the road to a better, more emotional story.  The basis was there, but the push-pull of the romance and the conflict needed to be pumped up.

The characters themselves was the answer, and it had been there from the beginning.  I just hadn't dug deep enough to reach it.  Once it was pointed out to me that the two characters were a lot alike, that their biggest strength was also their greatest weakness, that push-pull emerged.  Two people, who had always insisted on having complete control of their lives and everything involved, would always be at odds, often about nearly everything.  Add in the past they shared that had often found them not only at loggerheads, but as adversaries, in spite of their secret attraction to each other, and that conflict is going to grow larger when they meet again.  Not to mention that night, fifteen years ago...

Just what is push-pull and how does a writer use it?  Take two people who might not normally be even friends, much less lovers, throw them into something that will push them together and make them grow.  But don't forget to throw in something that will pull them apart, not once, but several times.  Think turning points.  Yes, those things that change the course of the characters and/or their journey to their goal, and sometimes even their goal.  Keep their motivation in mind, too, since it's the reason for those goals.

Turning points can be both negative and positive.  Growing closer is a positive (push), whether it's a first kiss or a realization or acknowledgement of love that brings them emotionally closer.  But it's those negative ones (pull)--the overheard conversation, the words or actions of one, the knowledge of something previously unknown and not particularly welcome--that keep the story rolling and the reader reading.  When it comes to characters, bring them up, then smack them down.  Torture them, but don't forget to reward them.

Digging deeper isn't always easy, but it's well worth the time and effort.  In the end, it will make for a better, emotional book.

Shameless Promotion
The story that spawned this blog post is still in the submission stage, but it's the story of the sister of two brothers who are the heroes in two books coming out this year.  This new sister/heroine does make an appearance in both, so it's become close to my heart.  Only time will tell if Erin's story will hit the stands. Until then, I hope you'll give her brothers' books a read.

Especially for fans of cowboy heroes...singing ones...

Don't miss Kristi Gold's THE CLOSER YOU GET, available NOW!

A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success. ~ Elbert Hubbard 

Mapping Your Story

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Last week was the pits.  Whatever the current respiratory flu is that's going around in my part of the country, it decided to visit me.  Last Wednesday and Thursday were spent sleeping most of the day away.  Friday was better---until I started to chill...and not in a good way.  My temperature hit 103.5.  I couldn't get warm.  Some ibuprofen, OTC cough medicine, and echinacea (my go-to whenever I feel something coming on) finally did the trick after three hours of shivering in bed.  I spent the weekend being a slug, and finally felt about 75% human by Tuesday.  I'm still tired, still would like to crawl between the covers, but I might begin to like that.  Now it's back to the business of writing and the creative process we go through with each story.

The word "plotting" strikes fear in the heart of many writers.  It did me for many years.  For some of those writers, not plotting can lead to stalling or writing in fits and starts or, even worse, coming to a complete stop with a story that is never finished. Or many stories that are never finished.

But plotting doesn't have to be the terror that many believe it is.  Plotting doesn't mean knowing every little detail of every scene.  It's basically nothing more than a road map of where your characters and their story are going.  Each writer has the option of how detailed that road map will be.

One caution:  Trying to plot before knowing your characters can lead to insanity.

Back in the olden days when I first decided to try my hand at crafting a story, I never plotted.  That's right, I said never.  There were a couple of reasons for that, the first being that I feared it would spoil the journey for me, and I'd lose interest.  I've learned since then that the more I know about my story, the easier the journey is.  I'm able to enjoy the process, instead of wasting time wondering what to do with my characters next.  The second reason had a lot to do with not having a clue HOW to plot.  And this is the first time I've ever admitted that. ☺

There are as many ways to plot as there are people who do it.  My fellow authors and good friends, Kristi Gold and Kathie DeNosky, both plot in their own, special way.  My way isn't their way, anymore than each of their ways is mine, but there are aspects we all share.

Kristi isn't a put-it-on-paper plotter, but once she starts going, it's solidly in her mind.  She knows what's going to happen, although only certain things seem to be detailed to her.  Still, her plotting has led to book #32 (THE CLOSER YOU GET, Harlequin Superromance, February 2013) hitting shelves in a matter of days.  She's obviously doing something right!

Kathie long ago shared her plotting method with me, and she also shares it on her website for others.  She taught me that each scene needs its own GMC, just as the characters do at the beginning of the story.  To keep her on track and able to have written over 30 books, with her newest, IN THE RANCHER'S ARMS, Harlequin Desire, coming out in April 2013.

While I can't take a photo of Kristi's brain, complete with plots and characters, I can share Kathie's index card method.

A closer view of  two cards used for one scene.

See More

Kathie based her scene card method on Jack M. Bickham's SCENE AND STRUCTURE, but added her own little twist.  She shared it with me, and although I no longer use the actual cards in the same way, it's (luckily!) stuck in my head.  Plus, I always know that I can go back to it, if the need arises.

~  ~  ~  ~  

Next week I'll go into more detail about beginning the plotting process, but for now, check out Kathie's scene cards and Kristi's upcoming book!  Oh, yes, and in March, the 7th Hearts of Desperation series book will hit shelves!

Don't fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have. ~ Louis E. Boone 

Summertime...and the Living Isn't So Easy

WRITING WEDNESDAYS

While some enjoy what's popularly called the lazy days of summer, it's becoming more and more not my favorite season.  Not that it has been for a long time.  As time has gone by, I've grown to think of it as the crazy days of summer.

This week we've been cursed with 100+ temperatures.  Yesterday was 106, and my AC had trouble keeping up.  The temp inside was 80, and I don't find that exactly conducive to being able to concentrate.  I should have managed to write more than 7 pages, but I was grousing about the heat most of the day.  And those 7 pages?  They were decent for a rough draft...but they were in the wrong place in the story line and in the wrong POV.

Silly me, I forgot to take a look at my storyboard.  The question now is whether I leave them and adjust my plot, changing around a couple of scenes, or do I rewrite 2 that were not what I intended.  They aren't bad, they just aren't what I'd expected from my characters at this point in the story.

(Note to self:  Check storyboard and synopsis for plot before taking off on morning walk and letting scenes run wild in my head.)

 Yes, I'm a plotter.  I know a lot of writers aren't, and that's okay.  I also know writers who say they aren't plotters, yet they are.  Most experienced writers go into writing a story with some idea of what the story is about, who the main characters are and their GMCs, and a few turning points.  Add the Black Moment and the Resolution, and they have a plot.  It may not be written down, but it's there, and they know basically where the story and the characters are going.

Let me state that I haven't always been a plotter.  My earliest attempts at writing were done on the wings of nothingness.  I sat down, I introduced a hero and heroine, and then I let them and the story take me away.  Looking back, those first attempts weren't horrible, but they definitely were...different.  Back then, I could write a 50-60,000 word book in 10 days.  Now I allow myself 2-3 months, depending on what's going on with my life at the time.  Take my word for it.  FAST IS NOT NECESSARILY BETTER.

How did I got from total pantster to a crazed OCD plotter?  I honestly don't remember.  What I do remember is that my critique buddy, aka Kathie DeNosky, insisted that I learn how to plot, if only enough to know where my story was headed.  Once I sold my first book, she told me, I'd want to sell on proposal, and to do that, I'd better have half a clue who those characters are and what their story is.

Guess what?  She was right.  There's also a bonus to this.  My story goes from point to point, without wandering, and I rarely have to go back and rewrite complete scenes.    When I start to write, I know who the characters are and why they're doing what they're doing.  I know their GMCs and base their story on that.

If you're to the point where you believe you need to learn how to plot or at least want to have an idea of where your story is going and how your characters are going to grow, it's time to get serious about this plotting thing.  I'm here to tell you that it isn't as difficult as it sounds.  Once I learned what I needed to do, the doing became much easier.

Each person creates a story in her own way, but there are some basics that can help make it easier.  If you're ready to start learning those basics or if you feel you need a refresher or something to give you a shove, check back next week.  Let's talk plotting.  :)

Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. - Stephen King

Digging Deeper - Part 2

WRITING WEDNESDAYS

Motivation

Synonyms: motive, inspiration, inducement, cause, impetus. 

In GMC (Goal, Motivation & Conflict) MOTIVATION is the WHY.  It's the reason for the character's Goal. The more intense (emotional) the motivation, the better.

If a character has no goal, there's no reason for the reader to care.  No one cares about a character who doesn't want something.  The stronger and more emotional the goal, the more involved the reader will become.  But don't stop there, because it's the Conflict--what keeps the character from reaching the goal--that really keeps the story going and the reader hooked.  There won't be much of a story if the character gets what he/she wants in the beginning, no matter what the reason.  Therefore, we have conflict. 

Motivation is the Key to Conflict

Say it again.  Say it out loud.  Say it each time you sit down to plot or write a story.  Motivation is the key to conflict.  If you want deeper emotional conflict for the character--so deep that the reader can't put down the book--character motivation is imperative.

But where do we find motivation for our character?
IN THE BACKSTORY.  

What is backstory?
It's everything that happens before the story opens.

Anyone who has taken a basic psychology class knows that the person we are to become is formed as we grow.  Our personality is shaped from birth and beyond.  Good, bad, mediocre, it's all a part of who we are.  Those things that happen along the way--people and events--are our backstory.  Simply stated, it's our deepest, truest biography.  The same holds true for our characters.

Make your characters come alive.  Make them real.  Start working on the WHY of your characters before you start writing.  Know everything you can about them, their family and how they fit or didn't fit, their childhood, their friends and emotional experiences as they grew up.  When you work out the backstory first, it can reveal the motivation and conflict for your characters.

Remember, motivation is the key to make everything work.  The deeper and more intense and emotional the motivation, the stronger the conflict.  Find your character's conflict in their motivation through their backstory.

Goal, Motivation & Conflict.  It all works together.  Without each of those points, a character is incomplete.  When all three work together, a character can be unforgettable.

More next week on how to dig even deeper into your character's motivation and backstory.

Action, reaction, motivation, emotion, all have to come from the characters. Writing a love scene requires the same elements from the writer as any other. ~ Nora Roberts

Then Along Came Conflict

WRITING WEDNESDAYS


I'm still playing blog catch-up and hope to be back on schedule by the end of the week.  It's been a blogging frenzy, over the past few days!  Well, not really, but I'll have a nice word count to add to this month's total. ;)

For the past week, I've been sharing my thoughts on and blogging about what's often referred to as Debra Dixon's GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict.  It's the perfect basis for any writer, whether just starting out or a publishing wiz with tons of books written and sold.

To keep a reader interested in the story, whether it's romance or any genre of fiction, the characters need to want something (GOAL), a reason for wanting it (MOTIVATION), and something that's keeping them from getting it (CONFLICT). Goal-Motivation-Conflict.

It goes like this:

• Character wants (goal), because (motivation), but (conflict) is keeping character from reaching it.

Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it?  Until the discovery that lack of conflict is one of the biggest reasons a story is rejected by an editor.

So what is conflict?  It's the struggle between opposing forces in the story.  There are two basic types of conflict: internal and external.  Internal conflict is what affects the character personally, such as changing (or needing to change) the way he/she thinks or the kind of person he/she is.  External conflict is the character changing his/her environment.  When it comes to external and internal conflict in a story, the external is always solved first.

Conflict is the heart of the story.  Without it, even if the character is fun and entertaining, the story has no substance.  Something or someone needs to be keeping the character from reaching that goal.  The more difficult or deep the conflict, the better the story.  The character must either solve the conflict or find away around it.

All major characters in the story will each have a GMC, even if it's short term for a minor character, such as the main character's best friend, family member, or any other reappearing minor character.

Reread some of your favorite books and see if you can spot the main character(s) GMC(s).  Make notes in the beginning and watch what happens over the course of the book.

Once you learn to use GMC, writing will be easier and your stories will be better for it.  Remember that characters' goals can change throughout the story during the process of character growth.  But until The End aka the Resolution, the emotional conflict needs to remain strong.  Give your character a goal that's important, a solid and emotional reason for that goal, and a conflict that will keep the character fighting to reach the goal.

More about conflict next week.  Until then...

The greatest rules of dramatic writing are conflict, conflict, conflict. - James Frey

A Little March Madness for Writers

WRITING WEDNESDAYS

March is in full force and the madness has begun, so it seems like the perfect time to talk about goals.  No, not the kind of goals that we set for ourselves or the goals of sporting games (basketball, football, hockey and the rest), but character goals.

Why do characters need goals?  Because without them, there's either no conflict or the conflict is weak and easily overcome or resolved.  Lack of conflict is often the biggest reason writers get rejections.

Just as in real life, a character's goal is as simple as what the character wants.  It could be a long-term want, such as something he or she has wanted since childhood, or it could be an immediate want that stems from a new circumstance.  There can be times when it's a need.  Whichever, in a good story, the character must be focused on getting it.

The goal should have strong emotional elements for the character.  This could be something she/he has looked forward to doing or having or being.  For instance, Kate Clayborne, the heroine in Bachelor Cowboy,  had vowed to remain unmarried, while keeping her culinary skills a secret from everyone in town.  Or the goal could be from something that has very recently happened or happens when the book opens.  In Bachelor Dad, Garrett Miles learns he has a four-year-old daughter and is suddenly expected to be a daddy, something he's completely unprepared to do.

In a romance, the goals of the two main characters (hero & heroine) should oppose each other.  If she wants a home and family, he should want a career or to build on a career he already has, without the encumbrance of a family.  That's pretty standard fair.  To make it a little more interesting, you could switch the roles.  Either way, each main character--aka the protagonists--have a goal.

A character's goal may change over the course of the book, so don't panic if you discover this has happened.  It can often show character growth.  For instance, the hero in The Maverick's Reward, Tucker O'Brien realized that he wanted to be able to do things with his son, things he hadn't been there to do while the boy was growing up.  That meant he had to take the physical therapy he had avoided for his badly injured leg.

In the end, the characters are able to achieve their goals...or what their goals have become.  Those goals may not resemble the original ones and might even be the opposite of what the character had wanted in the beginning, but that's character growth and very important.  Otherwise, in a romance, how would the at-odds hero and heroine ever get together?

Character goals are often formed by something that has happened to them.  It's the why of the goal. We'll take a look at character motivation--the why--next week.

First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him! - Ray Bradbury