Monday, February 29, 2016

Who Is the Main Character?

Figuring out who the main character is in your novel is often hard for the romance writer when both the hero and heroine are strong personalities.  The same is true for fantasy novels with large casts.

The simplest way to find out is to ask yourself who has to change the most in very important ways to reach her/his goal.  That person is the main character.

The main character should act to reach that goal, not have it happen to him/her as a matter of events.  

Why do you need to know? If you know, you can make the novel stronger by emphasizing that character’s changes. 

And when it comes time to market that novel to a publisher or the reader, you’ll know who to emphasize when you describe your novel.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Links of Interest

SOCIAL MEDIA FORMAT CHEAT SHEETS:


FIVE COMMON PROBLEMS WITH THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK:


GRAMMAR, APOSTROPHE ERRORS:


WRITER BEWARE, AN OLD SCAMMER WITH A NEW NAME:


MASTERING THE USE OF THE FIVE SENSES IN WRITING:


SELF-PUBS, SHOULD YOU HIRE OR DO IT YOURSELF IN PREPARING AN EBOOK FOR SALE:


READ YOUR DANG CONTRACT, READ IT!


WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER’S DRIVING FORCE?


TRACKING TRACK CHANGES USING APPLE PAGES:


SIX STEPS FOR BUILDING CHARACTERS:


BACKSTORY BASICS, HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?


BOOK MARKETING IDEAS:


WRITING SUBPLOTS:


CHOOSING YOUR VIEWPOINT CHARACTER:


AUTHOR PHOTO MISTAKES TO AVOID:


CREATING AUTHENTIC VILLAINS:


WHY YOU MAY NOT BE GETTING A KINDLE REVIEW:


EFFECTIVE CHARACTER DEATHS:


CREATING AN AUTHOR BRAND:


THE RIGHT TIME TO DISCOUNT YOUR BOOK PRICE:


FINDING YOUR CHARACTER’S HEART:


WHAT THE HERO GETS IN THE END:


CREATING GUN-WRENCHING DEEP POV:


WHAT DOES YOUR HERO SACRIFICE?


HOW TO SET UP AN AUTHOR WEBSITE:


WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE A READER EMAIL LIST:


THE AUTHOR WEBSITE IS FOR PROMO, NOT DISTRIBUTION:


PINTEREST 101 FOR WRITERS:


TRICKS TO KNOW WHEN CHASING DOWN YOUR BOOKS ON PIRATE SITES:


HOW TO PICK A PEN NAME:


PROMO IDEAS FOR THE TRADITIONALLY PUBLISHED:


MARKETING/PROMO RESOURCES:




Monday, February 22, 2016

The Moral Core of Genre

One of the primary hallmarks of genre fiction is its moral core. The characters and their choices may be morally gray rather than the white and black of good and evil, but the reader expects that good will eventually triumph. The good guys will gain some victory, and the darkness will be banished. 

If the author fails to deliver on this promise of light over darkness, she fails a fundamental promise to the reader.

In the same way, the major character or characters must have a moral core that helps them recognize the right choices and gives them the strength to follow through, whatever the cost, to reach that triumph over darkness. 

Happiness can never be gained without a struggle against the forces of darkness. The darkness may be a black-hearted villain, but its most important manifestation is within the main character who must fight her inner darkness with that moral core. 

Sometimes, if the main character is an antihero or shallow chick-lit heroine, the struggle will involve a great deal of protests, whining, and foot-dragging to reach that point, but that point is reached. 

Betsy, the Queen of the Vampires, in the MaryJanice Davidson series, is a perfect example of this kind of character. Shallow, shoe-absorbed, and selfish, she whines her way through each book, but her inner moral core always leads her to do the right thing in the end.

If Betsy never did the right thing, this series wouldn't be the success it is because shallowness won't hold a reader's attention or their emotions for very long. 

Sometimes, in a series, a character will change from evil to good, or good to evil, but that change must be foreshadowed in earlier choices and decisions. Bart the Bad may be up to no good through the early novels, but the reader should see that he chooses not to ambush the hero because a child is nearby. This not only adds moral complexity to Bart, but also makes his move toward the light more believable. 

In the same way, a good guy's pragmatic or selfish choices will foreshadow the coming darkness.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Links of Interest

NEW TRENDS FOR AUTHOR WEBSITES:


THE OPENING HOOK:


WHERE REAL DRAMA COMES FROM:


SELLING YOUR BOOK INTERNATIONALLY:


USING A MONTAGE TO HANDLE TIME PASSAGE:


MAKING YOUR CHARACTERS DISTINCTIVE:


SELF-PUBLISHING, THINGS YOU MUST DO TO PUBLISH YOUR BOOK:


POINT OF VIEW, WHAT THE CHARACTER KNOWS:


CONTRACTS, WHAT RIGHTS DOES THE PUBLISHER REALLY NEED?


WORKING WITH A CRITIQUE PARTNER:


CONTRACT CLAUSES, THE TERMINATION FEE:


DID YOU LEAVE AN IMPORTANT SCENE OUT?


USING GOOGLE +:


WRITING ABOUT OTHER CULTURES:


THE TWO POSSIBLE STRUCTURES FOR YOUR WRITING BUSINESS:


SETTING UP YOUR AUTHOR GOODREADS DASHBOARD:


CREATING A PRESS KIT:


USING SENSORY DETAILS FOR EMOTIONAL IMPACT:


SMALL PRESS, PRO AND CON:


THE QUESTION YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF AS YOU PLOT:


SEVEN MISTAKES IN SEQUELS:


APPLE MAKES IT EASIER TO BE AN AFFILIATE:


HOW TO SPOT AND FIX PLOT HOLES:


WRITING A BELIEVABLE CHARACTER ARC:


SELF PUBS, CREATING A BUSINESS PLAN:


GOODREADS GIVEAWAY TUTORIAL:


FINDING AND WORKING WITH A PUBLICIST:


DEEP POV MISTAKES:


THREE NEW WAYS TO USE BOOKBUB FOR PROMO:


A TO-DO LIST FOR AFTER YOUR BOOK IS RELEASED:




Monday, February 15, 2016

Flashbacks, Yes or No?

QUESTION:  Is it okay to use flashbacks to explain a character’s past and to give information?

The first thing you must consider is the kind of book you're writing.  Flashbacks are quite common in literary fiction, not very common in genre (popular fiction).

Literary fiction and some mainstream fiction aren't concerned with plot and linear time (one event followed by another event).  In fact, plot suspense is often tossed away by having the end of the book revealed at the beginning of the book.

Popular fiction, however, depends on plot and linear time, and the reader wants to see what happens next.  

Flashbacks are a major speed bump which slows or stops the reader's forward movement through the story.  The reader must pause and readjust at the beginning of the flashback and then again at the resumption of the regular plot.  That pause can be fatal to the reader's immersion into the story.

Most flashbacks are poorly done, even in published writing, and the inexperienced writer would be wise to avoid them entirely because they give too much information which can be deleted without a loss to the story.  Instead, the important bits can be sprinkled judiciously through the story with dialogue and interiors.  

Readers are surprisingly smart about picking up scattered bits of emotional information about a character and piecing them together to figure out the past.  Most readers find that fun and engaging.  


Many novelists also give the main character a close friend or a romantic partner in a non-romance for a very good reason.  They not only humanize the main character; they are dang handy for exposition and backstory.  

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Links of Interest

FREE STOCK PHOTOS FOR YOUR BLOG:


WHAT SCENES BELONG IN YOUR FIRST ACT:


CREATING THE PERFECT ANTIHERO:


CHOOSING BETWEEN FIRST AND THIRD PERSON:


HOW TO DEEPEN YOUR WORLDBUILDING:


SCENE STRUCTURE, BEGINNINGS:


SELF PUBS, WHAT IS YOUR PRICING PLAN (FREEBIES):


CREATING A GREAT AUDIOBOOK:


FINDING AND WORKING WITH AN EDITOR:


PROMO TIPS FROM BOOKBUB:


WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO DISCOUNT YOUR BOOK:


USING GOODREADS GIVEAWAYS:


CREATING A COMPELLING ABOUT PAGE:


A REVISION CHECKLIST:


CHARACTERS, TENSION VERSUS ENERGY:


IMPROVING YOUR TWITTER PROFILE:


IF BLOGS DON’T SELL BOOKS, WHAT DOES?


THE BENEFITS OF OUTLINING SCENES:


ARE PAID REVIEWS WORTH IT?


USING GOODREADS TO THE BEST ADVANTAGE:


REPORT OF AUTHOR EARNINGS, BOTH TRADITIONALLY AND SELF-PUBBED AND WHAT IT MEANS TO THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY:


WHY IT’S GOOD TO HAVE NON-WRITERS TO BETA READ YOUR BOOK:


CREATING AND USING A WRITER CONSORTIUM OR CO-OP:


FINDING NEMO SHOWS HOW TO CREATE GREAT CHARACTERS:


SHORT STORY CONTRACTS AND BOOK RIGHTS 101:


USING SEARCH AND REPLACE WHEN EDITING:


WRITING THE BOOK BLURB:


EMOTIONAL FIGHTING THAT WORKS ON PAGE:


FIVE COMMON PROBLEMS WITH BEGINNINGS:



Monday, February 8, 2016

Getting into Your Character's Head

Creating a character is a bit like emotional detective work. You need to deduce what has happened to this person over the years because of the situations they've gone through then decide how that has affected them and how they react to different things because of those situations.

Let's say that your main character is a woman in her late twenties who has had a relentless stalker after her for eight years. Every time the stalker finds her, he will hurt anyone close to her, he will destroy her reputation and her job, and he will generally make her life hell. The police have been unable to stop him, when they actually try, so her only recourse is to change her name and run.

Imagine yourself as this character on an average day doing average things like meeting new people. What are her thoughts?

You and I would probably be thinking very different thoughts meeting a new person as opposed to your heroine.

You and I probably don't have an escape plan if someone threatens us. Would your heroine? How would she live her life knowing she might have to flee at any moment? Would her apartment be filled with memory items? Or would it be fairly empty of personal stuff? Would it make her messy or neat?

If something unusual happens, would she immediately expect a threat?

In your plot, what characteristics will your heroine need to survive? What characteristics would make it harder to survive to add to the tension of the story?

These are just a few questions you should ask yourself.


If this is hard for you, try to think of a character similar to your major character in a book, TV show, or movie you've seen that really grabbed you. That may give you some ideas, too.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Links of Interest

CONTRACTS, THE DANGER OF NON-COMPETITIVE CLAUSES:


SCENES, THE TRUTH OF CHARACTER ARCS:


USING KINDLE SCOUT AS A BOOK LAUNCH TOOL:


MANAGING THE PASSAGE OF TIME IN FICTION:


WRITING MULTIPLE POINTS OF VIEW:


USING ‘WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?’ TO PLOT:


HOW TO FIX A PROBLEM WITH BACKSTORY:


CONTRACTS, THE AUTHOR GUILD FAIR CONTRACT INITIATIVE:


DRAFTING IN LAYERS:


BASICS OF WORLDBUILDING:


USING A SCENE TEMPLATE:


LETTING YOUR NOVEL IDEAS SIMMER:


THE PROBLEM WITH NO CONFLICT BETWEEN CHARACTERS:


USING TWITTER TO CONTACT RESEARCH SOURCES:


BOOK GIVEAWAYS:


BOOK MARKETING TRENDS:


ADDING CONFLICT TO YOUR SCENE: