Why Our Characters Must Fail

I recently read a novel but struggled to get into the story. Each time I put it down, I had no desire to pick it back up. Tempted to stop reading, I decided to forge ahead and figure out why it wasn't grabbing me. I made a list of its strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:

- Excellent writing. The author balances dialogue, thoughts, action, and narrative with ease.
- Modern, relatable characters. The hero and heroine (it's a contemporary romance) are realistic and have believable conflicts and goals. Plus, I liked both of them.
- Logical progression of plot. The story arc made sense and proceeded in a way I would expect.

Weaknesses:

- Too many characters introduced in first chapters. This book is the second or third in a series, so extra characters should be involved, but too many too soon only confuses the reader.
- Sunday drive pacing. While the plot progresses logically, it does not progress quickly. There doesn't seem to be any urgency.
- The hero and heroine do not share enough scenes in the first half. They are in scenes together, but they rarely interact. How are they supposed to fall in love if they don't talk to each other?

Not every book is perfect, and the strengths in this one more than offset the weaknesses. However, I pinpointed one major area that needed work.

Each scene had a point, but the stakes were never high enough for me to want to read the next scene. 

Jack M. Bickham discusses what an effective scene accomplishes in his excellent book, Scene & Structure. I'm paraphrasing here, but basically each scene should be told from one character's viewpoint, and the character must have a clear goal, which is obvious from the beginning of the scene. The character will then experience conflict in reaching that goal until the scene ends with the character failing to meet the goal.

Summary of Scene Essentials:
1. Introduction of the viewpoint character's scene goal.
2. Conflict threatening the character's ability to reach goal.
3. Failure of character to meet goal.

But...the character has to win sometimes, right? Yes. This is why it's important to be clear about the character's scene goal. If the book requires your heroine to convince her coworker to attend a wedding with her, you might choose to split the section into two scenes. The first scene will be told from her viewpoint. She gets the courage to ask him, he puts up a fight, and the scene ends with him refusing.

1. She asks coworker to be her date for wedding. (Goal)
2. He gives lame excuses. (Conflict)
3. He refuses. (Failure)

But...he has to agree. It's a vital plot point. Okay, no problem. The next scene will be in his point of view, and his scene goal will be to get out of the wedding invitation. But the heroine is very convincing, and he finds himself saying yes when he wants to say no.

1. He must not agree to this wedding invitation. (Goal)
2. She has lawyer-like convincing skills. (Conflict)
3. He accepts. (Failure)
If we ignore the scene essential of the character failing, we waste an opportunity to keep the reader on edge. We could have written the previous scene in the heroine's point of view and had her ask the hero to the wedding. He could still put up a fight, but in the end he agrees. The problem with this is that the heroine wins.

As readers, we like to watch our heroes and heroines suffer. We love that gnawing feeling in our gut when things go wrong. We need the hero and heroine to fail repeatedly for us to keep turning the pages. If they only win, what's the point of reading more? Our goal as writers should be to provide a sense of urgency--regardless what genre we write--and have the reader constantly ask, what comes next? How is the main character going to handle this? I've got to find out more!

Let's talk about this. Anything to add? Any questions? 

Have a terrific day!

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The Yin and Yang of Genres

Something strange happened this summer. Something unexpected. Something that has grown stronger with the cooler weather.

I've become a fan of scary television shows.

What's odd about this? Well, for one, I write sweet romances for the inspirational market. My books never feature zombies, I couldn't write a gruesome horror scene without vomiting, and there's always a happily-ever-after at the end of my stories. So why am I willing to turn off Sunday Night Football to catch the latest installment of The Walking Dead? 

I don't have a scientific answer, but I have a few theories. 

1. I'm drawn to good writing.

2. I'm impressed with the pace, level of acting, and the special effects.

3. My husband controls the remote.

4. Watching scary shows accelerates my heart rate without having to exercise.

5. There is some romance in the shows I like.

Maybe the most likely cause is that when it comes to television I'm drawn to the polar opposite of my genre because I spend so much time with sweet romance every day. It's like chocolate and peanut butter. You know. Yin. Yang.

Somehow it works.

Do you have opposing tastes in books, movies, and television? Or do you like to stick with one genre?

I'm blogging over at MVRWA today about one of my song obsessions--"Dear John" by Ryan Adams featuring Norah Jones. I'd love it if you stopped by!

Have a fantastic weekend!

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Nah, Nah, Nah, NaNo!

It's that time of year again. No, I don't mean Halloween. I mean the time where eager writers from all over the world frantically prepare for November 1, the official kick-off of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

Goals will be made, caffeine will be consumed, and many, many words will be written. Loved ones will roll their eyes, and later in the month, they will hide in fear. Laundry will pile up. Fists will pound keyboards in frustration. Sleep will be lost, and new friends will be made.

NaNoWriMo is an exhilarating time of year!

While I'm not participating this year, I am writing a first draft. I love this phase of a book. I'm most creative when I'm writing a first draft. So for all you NaNo-ers out there, I will be cheering you on.

If I can encourage you to do one thing, it's to log the time you spend writing, the number of pages you've written, and your word count. Don't be afraid to break your writing sessions up. You will be amazed at what you can accomplish in thirty minutes. The log will boost your spirits when you feel as if you're not moving forward quickly enough.

Other advice? 
- Lower your expectations for all other aspects of your life.
- Plan a few takeout meals if you normally cook every night.
- Take two minutes to deep breathe if you're getting tired.
- Stuck on a plot point? Have no idea what to write next? Jot the scene basics on notebook paper and explain the goal of the scene to yourself. It should unblock you. If you're still stuck, go back and read the last chapter. I'll bet something triggers your muse.

Are you NaNo-ing this year? What advice do you have?

Enjoy your Monday!

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Why a First Draft is Like a Day at the Farm

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of chaperoning my son's field trip to a farm. Since I grew up in the country, I knew what I was getting into and wore old jeans and hiking boots. We clearly had two groups of parents--those comfortable with a farm's unique qualities and those who wished they could dip themselves in a vat of Purell. It made for a fun time!

Several things on the farm reminded me of my first drafts.

1. Barn cats, like secondary characters, weave in and out throughout the day, stopping for a quick pet or a nap in a patch of sunlight. They aren't the main attraction, but they enhance the overall setting.

2. The draft, like the grounds, will be mucky in some places, hard in others, and extra words (and straw) will be everywhere.

3. Subplots will need to be tended to even if they, like the penned animals, aren't in our direct path.

4. Sometimes a fantastic twist will be added for fun, much like the peacock strutting its way along a barn roof.

5. Sections of the draft will bring the warm fuzzies, and you'll feel as if you're sitting on a bale of hay with a baby bunny in your arms.

6. The draft will stink. The scent of manure, decaying crops, and wet dog will permeate the area. That's okay. First drafts can smell.

7. By the end of the draft, the chaos will have order. Farmers move through their day in a logical progression, just as first drafts do by the time we've finished them. They still carry a stinky aroma, still have mucky areas, and still have a stray cat unaccounted for, but revisions will polish all of that up.

How are your first drafts like a day at the farm?

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Preparing For Success Part 2: Writing

Preparing for Success is a three-part series targeted to aspiring writers. Any writer who decides to pursue publication, whether through self-publishing, e-publishing, or traditional publishing enters a crowded, competitive field. For most of us it will be a long, bumpy, confusing ride. If we use our unpublished time wisely, we will stand out from the crowd and our hard work will pay off.

Writing

The shift from writing for our personal pleasure to writing for publication requires a different approach to our work. The time we put in may not change, but the consistency does. We spend more time studying how to make our writing stronger, and we recognize that outside eyes are imperative to polishing our work. We also start hearing terms like marketability, hot genres, likable characters, queries, agents, and proposals. What seemed so easy—if writing is ever easy!—quickly grows complicated and overwhelming.

By chatting with published writers and reading publishing news, I’ve pinpointed key components to master in our writing that will prepare us for success.

1. Put in the hours.

Sporadic writing doesn’t cut it. Writing for publication is a job, an amazing, exciting, fun job, but still a job. It’s no longer a hobby to pick up or set down at our whim. We must schedule time to write consistently. Whether it’s five hours on Saturday mornings, fifteen minutes every evening, or eight hours a day, five days a week, we must treat our time with respect. The obvious reason for this is to make progress on our projects, but eventually, we will be given deadlines by our publishers. Most of us will not have two years to write a book when we are contracted. We must nurture our discipline now.

2. Practice doesn’t always make perfect.

The old advice, if you want to be a good writer, keep writing is true to a certain extent. The more we do something, the better we usually become. But if a child doesn’t have a good teacher or coach to show him the proper techniques, he will grow physically stronger, but he still won’t get the ball in the basket or learn how to play his position. The same is true with writing. If we don’t study the craft, whether through classes, books on writing, or by talking to published writers, we will continue to make the same mistakes, and these mistakes will hold us back.

3. Study. Learn. Repeat.

Writers are always learning. We never “know it all.” And even when we’ve mastered one aspect of writing, we realize we need to freshen up our understanding of a different aspect. For instance, I have a few books on basic grammar that I read once or twice a year. I also enjoy reading blog posts with short reminders about conflict, pace, and characterization, because they refresh the concepts and spur me to improve my scenes.

4. Read.

This one will make many writers groan, and it’s just my opinion, but I urge writers to read. Read in your genre. Read non-fiction. Read magazines, newspapers, blogs. Read classics. Read comics. Read for fun. Read for work. Just keep filling your mind with other authors’ take on life, and it will hone your own. Reading forces me to question my beliefs, tighten my writing style, and nourish my dreams.

5. Critique and be critiqued.

It’s no secret we are often blind to problems in our manuscripts. We don’t realize the brilliant chapter that clears up our hero’s past is really a big info dump, or that our heroine is coming across as a shrill psycho until a kind reader points it out. Finding a trustworthy critique partner and having the maturity to accept her assessment propels our writing forward. Obviously, we need to use our own judgment about the advice given, but regardless, we have to be able to take criticism in order for our writing to improve.

On the other hand, critiquing other writers’ work forces us to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in their manuscripts. We can't help but absorb skills.

6. Study the Market

So you love your historical paranormal romantic suspense set in the twelfth century told from eight points of view. Who wouldn’t? Well, before you send queries out for your masterpiece, it’s a good idea to study agent and editor blogs and learn about marketability. No one is saying you can’t write the story of your heart, but wouldn’t you rather know now if it’s going to be a near-impossible sell?

Marketability isn’t only about hot genres, it’s about what story elements are popular in your genre, what topics haven’t been selling well, the ideal book length, if multiple points-of-view are desirable, if first person or third person works best, if the setting is appropriate, and which publishers will be the best fit for your book.

The days of sitting down and just writing aren’t over, but expect to devote extra time to studying the writing craft and the publishing industry. And try not to get overwhelmed and feel like you have to fix everything at once. It takes time to put new skills in practice, and slowly they become natural to us.

Most of all, celebrate each small success. In many ways, making the transition from aspiring writer to published writer is like earning a master’s degree. We won’t learn everything overnight, but we’ll pave the new information on top of our general knowledge to build a foundation that will last.

What did I miss? What is essential in writing?

Have a terrific Wednesday!

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