L. L. PETERS

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Day 2 – Analyzing Character Arcs

Posted on March 3, 2015 by L.L.PetersMarch 5, 2015

This is the continued saga of my foray into Janice Hardy’s Revise Your Novel in 31 Days at-home workshop. (blog.janicehardy.com)

This is one assignment that was actually a pleasure for me, because my characters told me who they were before I even conceived of them. I am an outliner by default, but this story was written by the little men in the basement, as Stephen King calls them. The initial idea came from a flash-fiction contest, but the rest of the story took root in my mind and screamed to get out.

So, on to the arc. The questions I was asked to answer included: what does the protagonist learn over the course of the novel, how does her internal conflict affect that growth, what lies does she tell herself and when does she realize they aren’t true, what does she want more than anything, how does the plot help her achieve this desire, what is she most afraid of and when does she face this fear? Also, what was her flaw and her first mistake? Her major screw up? When does she realize growth?

Here is what I wrote about my protagonist:

Great starts out sure of her plan to rescue a small village of humans. She quickly learns things are not black and white on Earth and emotions affect everyone and everything. She nearly gives up on her mission when major roadblocks force her to make decisions she is not familiar or comfortable with.

Her internal conflict hampers her growth as she denies the changes happening to her physically and emotionally. She knows if she embraces these changes it will mean she is not who or what she thought.

Her greatest desire is to be the successful, fully-realized air-traveler she was born to be, and who Leader will be proud of. Failure is unacceptable and her greatest fear.

The external plot allows her to save the humans from a certain death, renewing her belief in herself and her abilities.

Flaw – she thinks her plan cannot fail.

First Mistake – she realizes the enemy cannot be defeated and makes the humans run away instead of fight.

Major Screw Up – When she receives a new, unwanted mission, she cannot bring herself to accept it. She is faced with failure.

Realization of Growth – It is only when she escapes the chaos of Earth and finds a place high in the mountains, nearer to her home, that she reconnects with her heritage and remembers why she was sent to Earth in the first place.

How about you? Was it easy to understand your characters and where they needed to go or did they fight you and try to go in a different direction? How did this affect your story?

Results: This exercise helped me understand my protagonist better and why she thought the way she did. Because I had done a similar exercise earlier, she was already a part of me and I have come to understand her oft-twisted path from immaturity to fully-realized.

Take-Away Value:

It is important to know your protagonist well. His or her beliefs, abilities, experience, fears, and desires affect everything he or she does in your story. It is even better if you equally understand your antagonist and any other major players. Interaction between two very different people can lead to a lot of conflict and story.

See you on the next page.

Day 1 – Analyze the Story Structure

Posted on March 2, 2015 by L.L.PetersMarch 5, 2015

In my previous post I announced that I was going to follow Janice Hardy’s Revise Your Novel in 31 Days at-home workshop. (blog.janicehardy.com)

Today’s assignment was to make notes, with no actual revisions, to discover places I may want or need to rewrite. I could use a simple structure, such as the 3-act play (Beginning, Middle and End) or a more detailed one such as Janice Hardy’s Editorial Map that looks at every scene individually (blog.janicehardy.com).

I used Scrivener to write my first draft, so I reviewed my digital index cards for each scene. If you aren’t familiar with this highly-recommended writing program, you can go to YouTube and see a lot of videos explaining how it works. Following Janice’s suggestions, I asked myself pertinent questions, such as what is my protagonist’s goal in this scene, the conflict, the stakes?

It didn’t take me long to see an unspoken question in Chapter 3 that went unanswered, which led to my protagonist’s realization that her plan wouldn’t work and needed to change. I also noted a possible inconsistency in capitalization of a word used throughout the book.

Results: I am encouraged that I can do this. I survived this first foray into editing and consider it a success. What about you? Was your experience similar or did you have difficulty?

Take-away value:

It helps to have an outline before you begin editing. I didn’t have my last chapters outlined, so it took time for me to pull it all together. If you are a pantser, someone who doesn’t like to outline but prefers to write as the muse strikes, keep the 3-Act Structure in mind. The recommended breakdown is 25% of your story devoted to the Beginning (introduction), 50% to the middle (action), and 25% to the end (resolution).

See you on the next page!

Revise Your Novel in 31 Days

Posted on March 2, 2015 by L.L.PetersMarch 5, 2015

There is a wonderful blog for writers called Fiction University by Janice Hardy. (blog.janicehardy.com) Her current project is an at-home workshop for the month of March titled Revise Your Novel in 31 Days.

My inner critic cries Hallelujah! Since I am writing the final chapter for my novel, Birthright, I have been excited, yet overwhelmed, by the thought of sloughing through my story for what already feels like the hundredth time to check plotline, hooks, flow, conflict, etc.

I have latched onto this month-long journey like a starving baby in hopes it will give me the guidance I need and crave. 31 days to get this done seems like nothing compared to the dreaded months I projected ahead of me.

So I invite you to join me on my journey. At the end of each day I will post my progress as I attempt to complete that day’s assignment, and I will be embarrassingly honest.

I should note here that there is no requirement that you MUST complete each day as it comes. Flexibility is a key virtue of any writer. Without it you will go insane and the men in white coats will not allow you to have any sharp instruments.

So I am taking a deep breath and diving in. Hopefully, you will find encouragement or at least a kindred soul as you attempt your own journey. If you join me in this exercise, I would love to compare notes.

As the recently departed Leonard Nimoy is known for saying in his portrayal of Dr. Spock on Star Trek, “Live Long and Prosper.”

See you on the next page.

REJECTION

Posted on August 18, 2014 by L.L.PetersAugust 18, 2014

Nathan comes home from his first day at school. Mother asks, “What did you learn today?”
He replies, “Not enough. I have to go back tomorrow.”

As writers, we have to have realistic and attainable goals.

Writing is something that comes easy for most aspiring writers. Writing well is not. Have you experienced any of the following?

A trusted friend read your story and picked it apart.

An editor bled red ink all over it and suggested at least two more drafts.

A beta-reader lost interest half-way through the story.

One of the most difficult things about being a writer is handling rejection. Many of us have already pushed ourselves way beyond our comfort zone just to allow someone to see what we wrote. Rejection could easily send us into a tailspin.

So what’s a writer to do? Quit? Rail against the unfairness of it all? Throw a pity party?

Okay, I admit to the occasional pity party, but I try to put a time limit on it. I feel sorry for myself for thirty minutes, then I pick myself up and get back to work.

Just as a first grader doesn’t learn it all in one day, most of us will not become world-famous writers overnight. Brilliance requires practice!

Discouraged? Don’t be. Keep writing. Every time you write you grow. Rejections are just “pop quizzes” that show you where you need to improve. When your writing has matured and become salable, you will be amazed how far you’ve come.

Are You a Pantser or an Outliner?

Posted on August 4, 2014 by L.L.PetersAugust 4, 2014

Extreme Pantser – Someone who writes a story with no preconceived idea as to where the story is going or how it will end.

Extreme Outliner- Someone who plans out the entire story, scene by scene, before the first line is written.

Most of us fall somewhere between the two, but many writers will claim to be one or the other.

Every story needs three parts—a beginning, a middle, and an end.

If you are a pantser, you may have a vague idea where you want to go, but no specifics on how you will get there. For example:

Beginning: John meets Mary. After a period of mishaps, they fall in love.

Middle: Life gets in the way and they lose hope of ever getting married.

End: Something happens to bring them together again and they live happily ever after.

If you are an outliner, you will not only know these three key parts of your story, but you will have most of the scenes laid out so you know how the story will move from point A, to point B, to point C. For example:

Beginning: John meets Mary

Scene. Mary stumbles into John on the subway and spills coffee on his new suit.

Scene. John takes Mary to a restaurant and discovers his wallet is missing. Mary has to pay for the meal.

Scene. John gets appendicitis just before they go to a concert and Mary stays with him in the hospital and takes him home afterward for some TLC.

Scene. While recuperating John realizes he loves Mary. She admits she loves him too.

Middle:

Scene: John and Mary decide to get married in two months on their mutual birthday (mention earlier in story).

Scene: Shopping for wedding. Several outings with friends as they celebrate. John’s friends arrange bachelor party.

Scene: Two weeks before wedding, John gets the promotion he has dreamed of, but he must move across country. Mary’s mother becomes severely ill and Mary cannot leave her and must care for her younger sister. There is no solution and John and Mary have to sacrifice their love for each other.

End:

A year goes by. Mary’s mother dies. John’s company decides to open a new division closer to home. Mary’s sister has grown and matured and wants Mary to pursue her love of John. The sister insists she wants to live with her aunt, who has always been like a mother to her. At last Mary and John can wed.

So, are you a pantser or an outliner? Do you think one approach is better than the other?

Gooey Donuts

Posted on July 2, 2014 by L.L.PetersJuly 2, 2014

The gooey donuts, fresh from the oven, smelled like heaven in a bag and made my mouth water. I quickly downed the first one in the car, then sighed with satisfaction as I licked the warm glaze from my fingers like a sugar-starved dog.

Can you picture the donuts? Taste them? Smell them? Feel the glaze oozing over the still-warm dough onto your fingers?

The six senses pull your reader into your story. The reader doesn’t want to know what the protagonist feels, she wants to feel what the protagonist feels. You could read “He ate a donut,” and it wouldn’t mean much to you, but to taste it, feel it, savor it—that’s you enjoying the donut.

Remember to include taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing and feeling to draw your readers in.

“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader – not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.”

E. L. Doctorow

If you write ‘just the facts’ in fiction, you may as well be writing an essay, but if you invoke the senses in the reader, she becomes involved in the story in a real way. Once she is invested, she will continue turning pages.

Do you use the six senses in your writing? Do you see how they could draw the reader into the story on a personal level? What other senses have you used besides the ones I mentioned?

Head-Hopping

Posted on June 2, 2014 by L.L.PetersJuly 2, 2014

Head-hopping is when a writer jumps from one character’s point-of-view (POV) to another’s without a clear break. New writers may do this without even realizing it. Their intent is to pass on enough information to the reader to make the story clear.

Here we have the inner thoughts of three people:

John looked at Tom and wondered what was wrong. “What’s up, Tom?”

“Nothing,” Tom said, turning away, not wanting John to know he got the promotion.

“You sure?” John asked. He knew Tom was keeping something from him, but what?

Mary listened to their banter, wondering why people thought it was just women who acted this way.

Can you tell which character is the protagonist? As a writer, you need to put yourself in one character’s POV at a time. Readers love to get inside a character’s head and live there. Head-hopping creates a lack of close, personal connection with the main characters.

Here is the same conversation with one point of view:

John looked at Tom and wondered what was wrong. “What’s up, Tom?”

“Nothing,” Tom replied, looking away.

“You sure?” John asked. He could tell Tom was keeping something from him, but what? He frowned. Could it have something to do with the promotion he had been promised?

He looked at Mary, who just sighed and shook her head.

The second version creates an element of mystery, even conflict. The reader identifies with the character. As the writer, put yourself in the character’s head. While in his POV, you can only determine other characters’ attitudes through their actions, reactions and speech. You can’t read their minds.

So how do you manage multiple POVs?

It’s called the “handoff.” Sort of like a relay race where a baton is passed. The focus shifts to the new runner. This can be done with a scene change, but an even better method is to stay in a single POV per chapter, shifting only when the new chapter starts.

Shifting POV should be for a specific purpose, not random. Remember an important rule of writing: never confuse the reader.

Who’s the Fool Now?

Posted on May 25, 2014 by L.L.PetersMay 25, 2014

Do I have the talent to write or am I just fooling myself? I ask that question almost daily.

Talent is great, wonderful, and a powerful step in the right direction, but many workshop leaders and published authors agree it is not as important as perseverance.

I enjoy words. My first job was as a secretary and I was a fast and accurate typist. What I did not enjoy was typing numbers. I had no talent for it. I hated it. When I left the alphabet rows of the keyboard, my fingers wanted to cross over each other and I always had errors to correct. I thought it was hopeless. Incredibly, I landed a job in an administrative office responsible for budget reports. I thought my career was over before it even started! But it paid well and I had to make a living, so I stayed. My next job was at an accounting office. More numbers! But now I used a 10-key pad, and soon I could crunch numbers as well as the next guy. During those years, my abilities grew and I soon enjoyed what I was doing.

Writing is not an unchangeable talent, rather it is an ability that grows with effort and practice. Many award winners and “New York Bestseller” authors have told of their first efforts and how poorly they were written. It took years for most of them to produce anything worth publishing.

So, if you want to write, consider the following: Persevere, Practice, Learn.

Join a critique group. Embrace constructive criticism—it will only make you better. Read voraciously. Write regularly. Visit the many online sites that give writing advice.

Persevere—the only sure way to fail is to give up.

When you look back on what you have written, you will be amazed at your growth. And somewhere along the way, you may have done some surprisingly good writing!

What is your story? Have you become frustrated and thought you would never make it as a writer? Have you received rejections and thought it proved your theory? How did you pull yourself out of that depressing black void?

The Writing Gene – Do You Have It?

Posted on May 20, 2014 by L.L.PetersMay 20, 2014

The Writing Gene – Do You Have It?

William Shakespeare had it, Edgar Allan Poe had it, even Dr. Seuss had it.

So what is it?

It’s what drives you—compels you to write. It’s a desire to leave something of yourself behind, something worthwhile, useful to others, to explain why you are on this planet in the first place. It works in tandem with emotions that consume you, like love, sorrow, regret, joy. You can, nay must, write to capture the overflow of that emotion, or self-combust.

It is knowledge; a certainty that we can be so much more than the sum of our parts—or our past. No one person can be everything, but a person can live everything in his/her mind.

Some will try to deny it. Hide behind their computers. Lock their office doors. Passcode their files. Only to surrender in the end. The writing gene does not fade with time, but grows stronger with the realization of things unsaid.

Putting thoughts on paper is like leaving DNA for the future. Maybe my DNA will not be the same as those who leave behind genius, contribute mightily to the advance of their generation, or live life large and to the fullest. I accept that. My DNA includes introspection, wonder and a strong desire to express myself. The ability to do so is my sacred trust. After all, it’s in my genes.

Do you have the writing gene? Does it call to you? How will you respond?

Is That What You Wrote? That’s Not What I Read.

Posted on May 11, 2014 by L.L.PetersMay 13, 2014

I once critiqued part of a story for an English professor. I told her I could really “see” the character as a scornful, snobby woman. She was shocked. That was not who her character was.

One of the goals of a writer is to pull the reader into the story; to become the character, to feel what that character feels. In other words, to empathize. The truth of the matter is, however, that the reader will never read your story the same way you wrote it. Why? Because we all pull our understanding from our own life experiences.

I had a classmate in school named Norman. Norman was mean to me and thought it was great fun. I will never know why, but today it would be called bullying. Have you ever had someone in your life like that?

You may write a wonderful love story with a guy named Norman who has a PhD in love and a body like Adonnis, but as soon as I see his name is Norman, guess what I picture?

Your character has just been colored by my own emotions and experiences.

Does this mean it is a waste of time to carefully craft your characters so the reader can get to know them? Of course not. A good writer has a single goal: to share a good story. You do the best you can to help your reader know and identify with your characters. What they bring to the table may add shades of gray, but that is beyond your control.

This helps explain why pleasing everyone is not a feasible goal. Please yourself and one other person, and you will please your target group. What about you? Have you ever read a book and realized partway through that you have misunderstood a character?