Tangled Up in Conflict!

Let’s talk about conflict—those tangly, knotty plot threads that screw up your main character’s life and give us a story instead of a straight line. We don’t want to make things easy for your characters—that would be boring. But spending the whole book focused on just one conflict? That’s letting them off too easy, if you ask me. We want them to suffer for your art, despair and wail and feel hopeless before slowly, things start to fall into place, one by one.

I believe for a richly layered story, you can balance three types of conflict for maximum heartache: internal conflict, interpersonal conflict, and global conflict. Regardless of your story’s genre, if you can slot at least one conflict into each of these categories, I think you’ll be pleased with the results, and never tire of ways to torment your character on their journey to the end.

Internal Conflict. This is where you really dig into who your main character is and who he or she wants to be. Whether they are consciously pushing toward these goals or not, that doubt and determination will add interest to your character’s internal life (especially if you’re writing in first person). Does your psychic feel guilt over the harmful nature of her superpower? Does your star quarterback regret that he never made time for his secret love of painting? Does your princess question whether finding a wealthy husband is really all she wants from life? Make them question their identity, or yearn to reconcile their internal wants with the way they’ve constructed their life.

Interpersonal Conflict. Here we learn how your main character ties into the people around him or her. These people can, in turns, help or hinder your character’s other conflicts, or this conflict can be the crux of the story. She could be really close to her dad, and be devastated when he’s diagnosed with cancer. Maybe he is trying to win the eye of the talented sorceress, but she rebukes him at every turn. Whether these interpersonal conflicts form the crux of your story (like in a contemporary romance) or add depth to another conflict, the question of who is or isn’t an ally adds a great sense of tension and drama.

Global Conflict. Now the fate of the universe hangs in the balance! …Or even just the outcome of the Prom Queen vote. The “global” conflict doesn’t have to be a matter of life or death, but it should be something hanging over most if not all of your main players. College entrance exams, a war summit, an impending space shuttle crash, or the beach party to end all beach parties—everyone stands to lose or gain something, and often no one does so more than your main character.

You can weight these three levels of conflict however you like, depending on the sort of story you want to tell. Generally, I would expect different genres to emphasize different levels—an introspective and emotional contemporary may focus on internal conflicts while a high-concept sci-fi might focus on a global conflict—but a strong story will incorporate all three.

What conflicts on each level occur in your favorite books? How do you incorporate all three levels into your writing?

Where Do Characters/Ideas Come From?

 

Where do you get your story ideas? Do you wake up with them in the middle of the night, trying to pull them out of your dream before it dissolves? Does a character walk up to you and slap you in the face (perhaps literally)? What about situations? Does something poignant in a local news story or celebrity scandal resonate with you, or even a global event, a historical watershed?

I get way more ideas than I ought to admit from trashy television. It’ll be late at night and I’ll be sifting through the channels, quite possibly with an adult beverage in hand, Hoovering up all the crazy I can stomach. Alien abductions, serial killer documentaries, hunts for Templar treasure, reality TV catfights, you name it.

But something always leaps out from the madness—a fundamental truth about life, or human beings, or how people relate to one another. (Even if that fundamental truth is: we are all flippin’ nuts.) And I keep turning that idea over and over in my mind.

What if my dad really did run a moonshine still out of our backyard? How would that feel? What would my life be like? If I actually survived an alien abduction, would anyone believe me? Would I believe myself? What happens after the bodies are recovered and the case files are sealed? How do the detectives move on? Or even, how would that familiar story go if I wrote it? How would I make it stand out?

The story I’m outlining right now is a Cuisinart mixing of about three such tales: an ancient retelling, a medieval mystery, a near-modern wartime saga. Characters and places and props may change, but the humanness of our stories remain. Whatever dressings of genre, setting, and technology you put on your characters, I suspect you’d know them anywhere.

So what have you learned about the way they choose to meet you?

 

When Your WIP Isn't Working (A Very Sad & True Tale of Ignoring the Clues)

I've been writing Hotboyalicious (not real title) for a few months now. One chilly weekend in February I only had 10k--and now on this chilly day in May I have 50k. But for months now (seriously, months) I've been stuck. (That should have been a clue.) I would write a chapter or half a chapter and be so completely stuck. The idea that was so warm and loud in my head, suddenly chilled. That's not to say this doesn't happen--because it does--but when it does you have to ask why. (This is a clue also.) But I didn't ask why. I didn't stop to figure out what was going on beneath the surface of my story. I kept writing. 

I would write until I got stuck, then complain about being stuck for days, then take action (which usually consisted of brainstorming my problem with my roommate, Derrick) and then I'd have a miraculous breakthrough and bust out 3k and then another chapter and then...I'd be stuck again. And repeat the cycle. I knew, I knew, something was wrong with the story--but I had NO IDEA what it was.  (Sidenote: I think sometimes I did know the problem, but I didn't want to admit it. This should've also been a clue.)

It wasn't until this weekend I got an objective party (not one of my CPs) to read the story. She gave me some feedback and asked some really hard questions. Questions that I should've been able to answer--and couldn't. So after spending hours redrawing my plot with markers and paper--and then a whole day of thinking--I figured out three basic questions. Three questions that I asked my CPs. Three questions that I couldn't answer. And after a couple hours of phone calls, gchats and text messages--I had the answer to those three questions. Unfortunately for me, the answers (which all deal with my MC's motivation) aren't ones that I can fix. They can only be fixed by re-writing the story.

Now, of course, I can see how her motivation is the problem. I think I knew was her all along, even if I didn't know what to call it. There was something wrong. And, in hindsight, I look at the last three months and see all the ways my WIP felt off. All the clues were there, I just ignored them. I plead with you now: do not ignore them.

(Some) Clues that your WIP may not be working: 

• When you are constantly getting stuck
• When you don't want to write it (which is different than being lazy because not wanting to write is literally dreading it)
• When the story gets quiet/cold/feels distant
• When you can't answer simple questions about your MC 
• When the MC's voice changes dramatically from the beginning to the end (which is different than character growth)
• When someone asks what the main conflict is you don't know the answer
• When you don't know the MC's motivation
• When you have no idea where your story is set and you're halfway finished
• When you dislike your MC or a love interest 
• When you feel like you have to write this chapter in order to get to the next chapter where things don't suck as bad
• When your reader doesn't understand how something is working/why something is happening
• When you don't know how your character would respond to a situation
• When you are bored
• When it feels wrong

Now that last one pretty much summarizes everything on the list. When something is wrong with your WIP you know it. You can tell yourself it's okay, that it's all in your head, that it's not as bad as you think, that if you just pour out the words you can fix them later. And sometimes, all those thoughts are valid. 

Sometimes the problem is merely pouring the story out on the page and then seeing where it's wrong. Or it really is all in your head because you're scared or too close to the story or stressed. And other times you know, for a fact, that you are going the wrong way--but maybe you don't know how to fix it. But it's important to look at your story. 

If you are in your WIP and you're stuck, and you can answer or agree with any of the things on our short list, then maybe you should step away and take a good look at what's really going on in your WIP. Don't be afraid of admitting that's something not working. As much as it sucks to write 50k and have to start over, it sucks more to write 150k and then spend two years revising. (Trust me. I did that once. Blerg.) 

We've ALL been there. So much of writing is re-writing.  That said, I am not very excited about having to start over. BUT I know that this is what the story needs. It feels right where nothing has ever felt right. So, tonight, I start over with a new motivation, and a new direction. Hopefully this time, if something isn't working, I won't ignore the clues.

The Difference a Master Love Triangulator Makes

Any writer (and most thoughtful readers) will tell you that characterization plays a huge role in drawing the reader into a story. Finding characters that you can picture clearly in your mind and feel like you know can transport you into the world of a story more deeply than any other element of the story (in my opinion!). 

Today I want to talk about the role that great characterization plays in crafting a love triangle. Now, this is not going to change the opinions of those who do not like love triangles in general (trust me, I get it, I'm the same way with cliffhanger endings!) but I think we can all agree that an incredibly deep characterization of all the parties involved in our triangle enhances the story they star in. One of my favorite examples of a love triangle that brought the characters to life for me is Jenny Han's Summer series. 

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 For me the biggest turn off in a love triangle is an uneven level of characterization. You know the type*: 

Source: Pinterest

 1. Well characterized girl MC

2. Almost-as-well characterized, and obvious meant-to-be love interest, boy #1

3. Poorly characterized, doesn't-stand-a-chance-but-might-get-a-kiss-or-two boy #2

*Not naming any names here or talking about one particular example, this happens in a number of books.

The thing I love most about Jenny Han's Summer series is that each and every character in the book is well crafted. Everyone from the main characters that make up the love triangle to their supporting family members to the random old man that lives down the way feels real to the reader. Reading these books feels like taking a summer vacation with these families and by the end of the series you feel as though you've been vacationing with them for years.

Source: TUMBLR

How does this enhance the love triangulation? Simple. Because the boys are so realistic, each with his own strengths and weaknesses, there is honestly no clear winner in the war for Belly's heart. In their own ways, BOTH boys are her perfect match which makes the experience of watching their relationship grow and change that much more intense. And for the reader, the many reasons to both love AND hate both of the Fisher boys makes the series that much richer, because as we can truly feel the pull that Belly feels in both directions and the bittersweetness of having to make a choice.


This experience is enhanced further by the amazing job Han does of bringing Belly to life. This is a girl who is at THAT POINT in her life. That point where everything changes and those boys she's been crushing on for what feels like FOREVER finally realize that she is, in fact, a girl. And over the course of the trilogy, you get to watch the Belly you got to know so well in Book #1 grow and change and make mistakes that bring back that feeling of being a teenager again. And because you feel like you know her, you feel all of those moments right along with her.

Source: TUMBLR

So the moral(s) of the story are:

A. Go and read (or re-read) Jenny Han's Summer series immediately. You're welcome. :)

B. To create a truly heart-wrenching love triangle, get to know all of the players and what they want individually. Give the reader reasons to love both of the love interest choices. And most of all, breathe as much life into all of the characters in your story as you can, because the characters people remember most are the ones that feel like old friends, long after they've closed the book.

Character Prompt

Here's something really random for you. You know how writing prompts give you a line and then you write something from that point? Today, I'm giving you a character prompt. It may totally fail. It's an experiment--but all good experiments need to be tried. (or something like that). We're testing creativity today. There are a lot of things that can be discovered in random moments. Maybe this will prompt a new idea for you, a new aspect of your own character or even get you writing again. 

In this post, there are pictures of random people/characters. Tell a story about them. Write a line about what they are doing. You can be creative, straightforward, random. Doesn't matter. Use these pictures and think of a story. Write something and then leave it in the comments.

Is this character the protagonist? The antagonist? Supporting? A random stranger? You can choose.

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 Did you write a story?? Leave us a piece (or all of it) in the comments with the number you used. 

Character Love

There are characters out there that you simply love and then there are characters that you love to hate too, right? Well, I want to tell you all about a character that I both love and hate.

Cole from Everneath by Brodi Ashton (Jan.2012)


Meet Cole:
'I had been in his arms, but I hadn't seen his face for a century. It was the same. His blond hair framed dark eyes--eyes that were wide open in surprise. His gaze roved over my face, my body.'

And here's why I 'hate' him:
'"Why? YOu wanted to know what happens at the Shop-N-Go. Let's find out, shall we?" He forced me closer to the window.'

And here's why I love him:
"Sometimes..." He pauses and squeezes his eyes shut. "Sometimes our hearts...crack a little."

Yes, I love and hate Cole. I think he's an amazing character for this too. He's layered so well that throughout the book I rooted for him, I couldn't stand him, and then all of a sudden I liked him again. He shows so much about himself piece by stubborn piece throughout the book. All of his faults and his little endearing bits kept me going and wanting more of him! I think it takes an excellent, well-written character (and amazing author, of course) to do that.

So what about you guys? Any characters out there that you love to hate?

Guess Who?: The Game of Characters

Getting to know your character is like playing Guess Who?

You have this image of what your character looks like in your head, but figuring out exactly what the character looks like on paper is another game all together. You have to know exactly who your character is before you can start throwing her into situations. I'm a pantser. I don't know the plot before I write--but always know my main character. Or I try.

If you don't know your character then you won't be able to tell his or her story. I don't think you have to know EVERY detail of your character, but you have to know enough to get a good picture of him or her. That's how it's like Guess Who?

In the game, you have a pictures of all the characters and you have to figure out which one your opponent has. To do that, you have to ask yes or no questions. "Is your character a boy?" "Does he have glasses?" "Does he have a mustache?" "Does he have red hair?" You have to know the basic fundamentals before you can jump into the deeper layers of figuring out who the character. That's where Guess Who? analogy falls apart--because there is no chance to delve deeper into your character. It's a game. But when you're writing, asking the questions is only the first step.

I have this method. I believe that a character--real or fictional--can be summarized in five words or less.

That's pretty crazy to think about when you start thinking about a character being a person and a person being so complex and individual. When you think about someone's life, about the essence of who they are, you could probably make a list of all the aspects of that person's character. In five words or less you can sum up their character. It may not be EVERY aspect of who that person is, but it's the things that are most recognized by you when you think of them.

I did this for my grandma just to prove it. My list for her is about sixty-seven items BUT when I started to look at these things and narrow them down, I ended with four words: passionate, loving, strong, generous. My grandma's character can be summed up in four words because underneath everything she did in her life, these were her driving forces. They were the things that powered all the other things.

I took this method and applied to some of my favorite characters from television and books.  (If you know me, you'll probably wonder why Doctor Who isn't here. Simple: I couldn't decide who I wanted to use. So, I have some goodies with DW coming up later. Promise.)

Merlin from MERLIN

Merlin is a great character. From the first episode, he's this strong force of a boy struggling with who he is. Even as his character grows and faces new challenges he remains constant while learning from it. His words: Loyal. Determined. Genuine. Courageous. Honest.

Eric Northman from TRUE BLOOD

I haven't read the books, so I can only base this off the show. But Eric Northman can definitely be summed up in five words or less. His words were challenging because there are so many layers and so much growth as a character. Each season he's a new person because a new side is revealed, but he's still the same Eric underneath. And the beautiful man is overflowing in swagger and super sexiness. These are the five I picked for him: Dangerous. Unyielding. Arrogant. Haughty. Wealthy. Depraved. Super sexy.... (Oh. That's more than five. Sorry. He's just so fantastic. He's the GOD of Hot Boys and hot boys=WIN. Fine. I'll underline the five I pick most.)

Mrs. Weasley from HARRY POTTER

Mrs. Weasley is the mama everyone wants to have. I mean, I don't really have to explain her to anyone do I? Her words: Compassionate. Smart. Generous. Protective.

Sawyer from LOST

Sawyer is another challenging character to summarize in five words or less. Each season we learned so much more about James "Sawyer" Ford aka James LaFleur. (He even had multiple names!) He starts off rough around the edges and then he evolves into something so incredible. His words: Tormented. Driven. Committed. Surprising.

Katniss Everdeen from THE HUNGER GAMES

Is it any surprise that I included Katniss Everdeen? I mean, how do you talk about characters and not include her? Suzanne Collins built a fantastic character. I'm re-reading this book right now and I read this line today: "My father knew he taught me right before he was blown into bits in a mine explosion. There was nothing even to bury. I was eleven then. Five years later I still wake up screaming for him to run." My five words for her:  Ardent. Perseverant. Jaded. Intense. Survivor.

Emerson from HOURGLASS

I really wanted to include a YA book with a strong female protagonist who was so different than Katniss. Emerson Cole is that person. She's a kick-butt character and I love her completely. Her words: Delightful. Fire-y. Sarcastic. Honest. Gentle.

The people we bring to life on the pages, the characters we read, the ones we watch on television--each one can be summed up in five words or less. Like I said, it's not going to be every quality of that person, but they are going to be the most important ones. These five (or less) words--qualities of character--are the things we must portray on the pages. It's not something we can leave out or we'll leave readers (and ourselves!) playing Guess Who? It won't be a deep relationship and it won't tell anyone anything important.

Something I've learned about my main character--she has her own opinions. She didn't tell me her name until I was 10K into the first draft. She's always a surprise and I really had to get to know her and adjust the image I had of her in my head. The best way to do that was by figuring out her five words: Conflicted. Stubborn. Affectionate. Hopeful. Sacrificial. 

Do you know what words you would use to describe your character? If so, chime in below and tell us. If not, how can you figure it out?