tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post712969930438248538..comments2024-02-21T03:32:15.577-05:00Comments on Jill Kemerer: Why Our Characters Must FailJill Kemererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07865493609868329393noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-348094126983867922011-11-29T18:43:47.768-05:002011-11-29T18:43:47.768-05:00Jill - what an AWESOME post! I LOVE this! And I...Jill - what an AWESOME post! I LOVE this! And I'm going to use it as I go through my Nano novel.Lisa Gail Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03648323153868702165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-41444786117209835732011-11-29T15:57:11.161-05:002011-11-29T15:57:11.161-05:00Failing is realistic, right? We can't all win ...Failing is realistic, right? We can't all win all the time. And nobody can relate to a character who wins all the time. <br /><br />Love this post--nice reminder of the point of goals in scenes, and not making them overly-predictable.Jennifer K. Halehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10593855135749285028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-74190461074676403932011-11-29T09:46:50.080-05:002011-11-29T09:46:50.080-05:00Heather: I agree. We usually know when something i...Heather: I agree. We usually know when something isn't working and, as readers, don't care why!<br /><br />Terri: Thanks, Terri, what a nice compliment! I feel the same about you. :)<br /><br />Thanks so much for stopping by!Jill Kemererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865493609868329393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-43966506858048124842011-11-29T07:56:48.070-05:002011-11-29T07:56:48.070-05:00You are so good at explaining things like this! Th...You are so good at explaining things like this! That's why I love you to critique my work--you make it clear what I need and what is lacking.Terri Tiffanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07771622379178654235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-35416135068801094532011-11-28T16:13:53.174-05:002011-11-28T16:13:53.174-05:00Oh, I definitely have to be worried about my chara...Oh, I definitely have to be worried about my characters. And although non-writer type readers might not realize they've put down a book for the reasons you mention, but I'm willing to bet if there's not enough conflict coming out of every scene and leading the reader into the next, the reader is bored and will head off to bed and forget what they were reading when they turned the lights out.Heather Sunserihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12552506888985553471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-88284199955742705782011-11-28T15:56:25.455-05:002011-11-28T15:56:25.455-05:00Julie: Don't we all? :)
Ayda: Ha! I love the ...Julie: Don't we all? :)<br /><br />Ayda: Ha! I love the idea of sticking our feet out to trip them!<br /><br />Katie: Oh, it makes total sense. We aren't writing serial cliffhangers, after all! I really think time and experience clue us in to the subtleties of writing effective scenes. We get an innate sense of how much conflict, how often, and when to push and when to back away. I simply didn't have enough experience with this when I wrote my early books. :)<br /><br />Jaime: I agree. And part of that goes back to writing likable, relatable characters. It's a balance. If our heroine is failing at everything she tries, we probably aren't going to like her! <br /><br />Thanks so much for stopping by!Jill Kemererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865493609868329393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-36497710230471108632011-11-28T14:07:01.576-05:002011-11-28T14:07:01.576-05:00Yo Jill! Good stuff here, girl.
I find it particu...Yo Jill! Good stuff here, girl.<br /><br />I find it particularly interesting because something weird happened to me recently and I can't decide if I want to blog about it or not. <br /><br />I recently reread/edited one of my novels and as I was reading, I was not liking it. Not because I didn't write via scene and not because I didn't have my characters failing. But because I did.....too much. Is that even possible? I had a scene, establish the stakes, set up the conflict, end in disaster. Scene after scene after scene. And it just felt so....formulaic.<br /><br />It also could've been that I was reading it when I was in a weird mood, and it's never good to edit when I'm feeling weird (not funny weird, but "I hate my writing" weird.)Katie Gansherthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09150375338556869812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-84935533341848219632011-11-28T10:53:47.183-05:002011-11-28T10:53:47.183-05:00Once I've lost interest in a book, who cares w...Once I've lost interest in a book, who cares why?! :) More power to you for soldiering through and sharing what you found with us! <br /><br />I used to have a terrible time letting my characters fall down. Now that I've been writing awhile, I've gotten over it. It's kind of fun to stick my foot out and trip them up on purpose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-69730219425281028912011-11-28T10:47:51.437-05:002011-11-28T10:47:51.437-05:00Excellent point, Jill! This is something I must re...Excellent point, Jill! This is something I must remember when I write each scene. Thanks.Julie Musilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02150454913885915017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-3190680434610670272011-11-28T10:30:19.183-05:002011-11-28T10:30:19.183-05:00Francesca: I do too. I go through phases. I've...Francesca: I do too. I go through phases. I've been on a "Paris Writers" kick w/F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway lately. :)<br /><br />Laura: Tell me about it! It's really hard to find that balance between conflict and likable characters. Ugh!<br /><br />Talli: It is! And some scenes don't need to be as intense as others. :)<br /><br />Olivia: So true. I have more patience for slower plots in certain genres, like historical, but for the most part I want a quickly paced plot!<br /><br />Jessica P: Exactly. Our readers are intelligent--we don't have to spell every last detail out!<br /><br />Delisa: Why, thank you! I still work hard to not give away too much in the beginning. We need to make the reader care enough to continue but not bore them. :)<br /><br />Kristina: Ha! Think of it as giving them a "time-out." Painful, but necessary!<br /><br />Keli: I agree. It's more fun to write problems than smooth sailing!<br /><br />Wendy: Donald Maass is awesome. :) And I don't mind inflicting pain on my characters either!<br /><br />Thanks so much for stopping by!Jill Kemererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865493609868329393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-69485760854278188872011-11-28T10:04:01.445-05:002011-11-28T10:04:01.445-05:00I happen to like making things hard for my charact...I happen to like making things hard for my characters. They've been hard enough for me. Like to pass that love around. :D<br /><br />This reminds me of a lot that I read in The Fire in Fiction.<br />~ WendyWendy Paine Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15136235074351188350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-8181389678627005922011-11-28T10:02:04.855-05:002011-11-28T10:02:04.855-05:00I've been guilty of being too easy on my chara...I've been guilty of being too easy on my characters. When I began writing I wanted to create stories where the characters actually liked each other and got together instead of fighting their attraction for hundreds of pages. I succeeded, but my stories were boring.<br /><br />What I didn't understand was that the tension authors create is the very reason I race to reach the end of their stories. Once I learned that my characters <i>want</i> to get together and that my job is to keep them apart and make them earn their happy ever after, my stories became more interesting and, to my surprise, more fun to write.Keli Gwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13236868298400593688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-25232466041913173132011-11-28T09:49:57.792-05:002011-11-28T09:49:57.792-05:00This is one of the areas I struggle - because I *l...This is one of the areas I struggle - because I *like* my characters. I want them to succeed...it's the pre-school mom in me, I think. When I make them fail, I feel like a bad-writer-mommy.Kristina Knighthttp://www.kristinaknightauthor.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-9397096332849670912011-11-28T09:42:52.858-05:002011-11-28T09:42:52.858-05:00Hi Jill, your post today was fascinating. I have ...Hi Jill, your post today was fascinating. I have often thought this too when I read my own writing and the work of others, and couldn't really pin point the problem. I like the point about having a sense of urgency. Sometimes writers, myself included will paint too fine a picture, with too much information. I remember someone telling me once that half the fun for a reader is to be able to use their imagination. So a writer doesn't haven't to control every single detail of the story. It can be overwhelming and weigh it down. You have a wonderful and informative blog and I enjoy reading it very much! Have a lovely day ahead. Delisa :)Delisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00793953725620270977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-1575196899832076502011-11-28T09:29:18.885-05:002011-11-28T09:29:18.885-05:00I finished a book recently and while things happen...I finished a book recently and while things happened logically and the characters were likable, I didn't care for the story. I think it's because the author gave everything away too soon and I had nothing to figure out on my own. I don't like knowing everything, and of course that's a reader preference. I know some readers like that.Jessica R. Patchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13614501794157211301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-4044968383834208292011-11-28T08:21:38.073-05:002011-11-28T08:21:38.073-05:00I have also done this--kept reading a novel in whi...I have also done this--kept reading a novel in which I have lost interest in order to figure out why. For a writer, it's a great learning exercise. I generally lose interest for two reasons: I don't care encounter a character I care about, and even after I can see how plot threads are headed together, they take too long to get there.Olivia Newporthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17898775895246676862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-33791743122896528862011-11-28T08:09:16.350-05:002011-11-28T08:09:16.350-05:00I'm with Laura! Intellectually, we know this, ...I'm with Laura! Intellectually, we know this, but it's so hard to pull off in every scene. <br /><br />A great post - thank you!Talli Rolandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04780882465745107715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-74040150722439563092011-11-28T07:41:41.412-05:002011-11-28T07:41:41.412-05:00When I stop reading a book it usually has to do wi...When I stop reading a book it usually has to do with goal and conflict. I'm just not caring enough about the story. as writers we know this too. Everything is so much harder to apply!Laura Paulinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06503090226508079501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8911314544674287828.post-85876465019036007252011-11-28T07:32:55.551-05:002011-11-28T07:32:55.551-05:00I also often can't continue reading a book, it...I also often can't continue reading a book, it's difficult these days to find good ones. I like the classics, the English and American ones mostly.Saucy Sicilianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10044337117600868975noreply@blogger.com