Tuesday's Writer's Tip - The Action Plot #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #writing #plot #action

The Action Plot in the beginning scenes often shows the character who will leave and explore the land to fail as many as three times before he's pushed out the door. There should be a reason for this character ti try these semi-leavings, The reason usually isn't understood until the end. Make sure not to make these tasks unrelated.   Remember cause and effect when showing these scenes 

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Tuesday's Writer's Tip - Plot and Character #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #writing #plot #Character

 Plot and character are twined together like a vine around a tree. You can't have one without the other.  In stories plot is the guideline and characters are the actors. When an event happens characters react and this reaction brings change, There are stories that are more plot centered and others that are character centered. As the writer, you have to decide on the balance but forgetting or slighting one or the other can make the story fall flat.

So plot out your story and develop your characters. The events in the plot will cause your characters to react and for changes to happen.

 

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Tuesday's Writer's Tip - Character Sketch #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #writing #Character #sketch

 While similar to Mood Pieces, Character Sketches depend on one character rather than an emotion. Various scenes revolving around a particular character show facest of his or her life.  Each of the scenes shows part of the character's personality and actions and reactions to situations. Any relationships are shwon only to further develop the personality. Many times they are shown from the outside and moving inward. The story teller is developing a picture of a person from what is seen to what is interior.

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Thursday Meet the Characters from Searches Affinities Book 3 #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #Fantasy #affinities #earth #air #diew #water

In Searches, the characters we;ve met in the other books are active. Those with affinities split into groups. They search for the rest of the young people to fill their ranks making four in each affinity group. Among the new characters are Sydli, Kirlon, Rogier, Tamlia and Mikel. 

A second search is for the symbols of their affinity, a sword, a cup, a flute and a staff.

The third group searches for a source of the gems that enhance their powers.

Another evil opponent enters the picture He Who Walks With Evil who unites with Senet.

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Viviana MacKade is visiting and talking about being a Panster or a Plotter #MFRWAuthor #Plotter #Panster

 

1.       Are you a panster or a plotter or perhaps a bit of both?

A bit of both. I plot the story in general, what will happen and when. But then I’ll let the characters move withing it freely.

 

2.       Which comes first - characters or plot for you?

Could be one or the other. Or a third thing that passed in front of my eyes while I was chasing my girl, who was chasing my son, who was chasing the dog…. Really, it’s never the same.

 

3.       What are you working on now? Is this a book in a current series or something totally new?

Nothing. I think I’ll go back to a romantic suspense I have almost finished, but I need a moment to decompress.

 

4.       Do you have some kind of object or place that figures in most of your books? I use gems a lot, hospitals and caves.

I’ve been thinking a lot about it, and I don’t think I do…

 

5.       Do you write everyday or just when the spirit hits?

I write when I can. Baby’s naps, late at night, on my phone while the kids are playing. Crazy times.

 

6.       Where can we find you?

Mostly, on my blog. I hate *hate* social media, so the only thing I do (and absolutely love) is my blog. All my info are there.

 

 

7.       Who are your favorite authors? What about a book you’ve enjoyed?

Nora Roberts. No need to say more.

I’m reading Charming by Elliott James. It’s so much fun and there’s another Valkyrie , although she’s very different from mine.

Tuesday's Writer's Tip - Character Cliches #MFRWAuthor #BWLPublishing #Cliches #Character #Writing

How does one keep their characters from becoming cliches. We've all read about the tart with a big heart, the stony faced doctor, the brash cop. In the hands of some writers, these characters become cliches. A reader will start to read a book and think I've read about these characters before. They really haven't but the writer has shown the character in the same way other authors have.

One way to look at this is to understand a character's role in the story. Are they just a walk on or do they play a role. One thing is don't just use the character's career choice make the reason for them to be there. Give them a reason for their appearance. Have them give a clue to the quest or show a sinister note to their appearance. So make sure you know their purpose for being there. You'll be adding interest to the story.

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Tuesday's Writer's Tip The Character's Dilemma #MFRWAuthor #BWLPublishing #Dilemmas #Opening of a book

The opening of a book needs to either give the character's problems or at least hint to what they are. A character without some kind of dilemma to solve or some goal to reach is flat and lacks interest. This dilemma must be one that can't be solved immediately. The problem must stretch forward in time.

Perhaps the character is lonely and wants someone to share their life with. They may have homed in on one particular person but this can't be an easy fix. There have to be reasons on either side as to why this won't work. The character in the course of the book has to work the levels to gain their goal.

Take the detective who has a good idea as to who the criminal is but there are also reasons their idea could be false. The immediate problem can be spelled out or hinted at but the solving of the problem is the story.

If you fail to at least hint to what the character faces, there's no reason for the story. In the book I'm working on right now the hint to his problem comes as the scene ends. He wants to connect with a woman he's hurt by neglect. At the end of her scene, she wants to find closure with the man who abandoned her. They both have a problem and the reader will want to read on to see who will win, who will lose or if there is a chance of a compromise.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Writing ABCs - Character - Traits

Having given the character a name, one needs to look at their traits. What are their pluses and minuses. Every writer has a way of making this discovery. I happen to use Astrology to find mine.

What I really think about this is there are three ways a character comes alive. There is the face he or she shows the world. We've all known people who appear to be one way and yet are really perhaps not the opposite but they are different from what they let people see. What you see may not be what you get. These differences are what makes a character different from every other character in fiction and there are thousands of characters. So I list several traits each of my characters may portray.

There is the character's true nature. This includes the little secrets they keep inside, the things they don't want anyone to know. Or the things another character needs to dig to fine and give the character a second dimension. This comes to a character's heart. I once wrote about a character who seemed on the outside to be a decent and helpful person but inside he was someone quite different. And his inner self wasn't one you wanted to know.

All characters even the coolest ones have emotions and these emotions cause them to act. Maybe they respond to situations in a way different from their inner or outer natures. So I try to assign a few emotional traits that may or may not be in conflict with the character's natures. Reactions and actions are emotional responses.

So look at your characters and take them from the one or two dimensional creatures and make them three dimensional. Readers will see this and respond to your stories.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Writing ABCs - Plot or Characters #MFRWauthor #amwriting

Which comes first, plot or characters is much discussed by authors. There are some who find characters looking for a story and by using these chracters wants and needs a story evolves. Other writers have a whole plot down and are looking for characters. At least that's what they say. My truth is that plot and characters go hand in hand. Sometimes a character will take a turn that throws the story off balance and sometimes a plot wants to force the characters into actions they don't want to perform.

I've read some books that acually bore me. They show the characters in many scenes, incidents where they perform actions but these stories have no goal. There's no roadmap showing where they are going and what they want to achieve. They become chracter studies but not books.

Then there are stories that are all plot and the characters mean nothing to the road to the end. The characters could by anyone and often change their natures as the writer needs them to become.

So as you sit to write your story remember to keep your characters consistent and to have a roadmap they will follow to reach the end. This will make a satisfying story.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Plot or Character #MFWRauthor #BooksWeLove

There are two basic kind of story lines. One is plot centered and the other is character centered'

When writing a Plot centered story - the main character changes little from the beginning to the end of the story. Sort of what you see is what you get. This kind of story line focuses on the events. Think of mystery stories. The main character is often the detective who solves the case. The events are what moves the story forward. Other kind of stories can use this as the main story line. Yes, the character may change but not a great deal. One often sees this in a series where the main character grows slowly for the events are what moves the character and the story forward.

A Character centered story  where the emphasis is on a focus character and the reader sees the character become different than he was in the beginning of the story. This character either develops or he or she falls apart. Among the other characters in the story, they may or may not change and that can depend on their importance in the story.

In both types of story lines, there is a moment when the reader realizes the main motivating force will either succeed or fail. The character either will or will not reach this goal

When the plot is the story line, this moment comes as near to the end as possible. When character is the story line, this recognition can occur at any point in the story. To do this the reader must understand the major complications. The one thing here is the focus character may not recognize the truth or see the reality of the situation.

Many thanks to Structuring Your Novel from Basic Idea to Finished manuscript. I have learned so much that keeps me on point as I write.

Tuesday's Inspiration based on a quote from Lajos Egri #MFRWauthor

"What is a character? A factor whose virtues have not yet been discovered." Interesting quote with a lot of meaning in a few words.

When I or any other writer sets out to start a story, much may be known about this character. Reams of material have been jotted down, a character sheet may have been written, characteristics taken from life, psychology, or even Astrology. But the character is still unknown.

Until the character acts and interacts with other characters, with the environment, with his inner fears, the character is unknown. Those characteristics, those lists written down may no longer be what the character is. These traits may have changed as the character changes during the writing of the story.

So to know the character he must be presented with a problem and shown acting and reacting to the character. I never know my characters until I've gone through a story in a rough draft and perhaps even a second re-writing of the story. Suddenly the character develops into a person I know. He is no longer a factor. I have discovered his virtues. He becomes the same and yet different that the man or woman who first leaped onto the page.

Tuesday's Inspiration - quote from Susan Howatch

This quote is from an essay by Susan Howatch. "Don't ramble. Never write a scene unless it's absolutely necessary, and if it is necessary, then write it concisely." When I thought of the times when I knew a scene was needed in a story and I sat down to write. Then an odd thing happened. I started to wander around the scene pulling pieces of what I wanted to write and throwing them in. When I finished I would have a scene of thousands of words and they never reached the core of what the scene was to say.

Of course, there are other times when I avoid the scene and write a sentence that covers the whole scene. There is a fight. They make love. Now this is concise but it sure isn't going to draw a reader into the story any more than the scene that wanders all over the landscape. I will still use the single sentence method but when I start to ramble, I will stop and put in a sentence. Each scene in the story has to do one of three things. Two is good and three is brilliant.

What are these things. Develop the character. Advance the plot. Give the reader necessary information so they aren't in the dark.

How about you. Do you ramble? Are you concise? Keeping the goal of the story in mind can help make the story shine.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip ala Orson Scott Card

Once again I'm digging through Orson Scott Card's How To Write Science Fiction and Fantasy for my hint of today. How does one know which of the patterns of construction spoken about in this book? "You must end the story the way you begin." is one word of advice that's helpful. Starting out with a Mileau story and ending in a Character story will confuse the reader. Reader confusion is to be avoided. But the development of the story type follows throughout the writing of the story.

Have you ever begun a story and partway through have found you can go no further? You may have chosen the wrong pattern. You need to sit back and look at how you've decided to tell the story and perhaps make a change. All stories could emerge using one of the four types Orson Scott Card mentions but one is right for the story, or perhaps right for the author.

To keep the reader reading there has to be suspense. Is suspense created by withholding information? Sort of but it doesn't mean hiding every scrap of information but in keeping a small secret and letting the reader know most of the facts. "There is no tension without information." This struck home, especially when I'm writing. What happens next? How is the character reaching the end? Knowing how the story will end keeps the writer moving forward. Step by step the reader should follow the characters and learn what they have discovered making them wonder what will happen next as the story builds to the climax.

So when you're deciding how to tell your story decide if it's a Mileau, an Idea, a Character or an Idea story structure you're telling. If you're wrong, don't toss the story aside, look at it again and change the focus or pattern and try again.