Are you a sadist or a sweetie?

I vividly remember the moment when J.K. Rowling killed off Dumbledore. I thought, “She’s capable of ANYTHING!” It was the perfect set up for book 7 because I honestly didn’t know if she would kill Harry or not. I really believed Rowling might—which I guess she did :)

That is the kind of writer I want to be—the kind capable of anything. I don't want to write the kind of story where nothing bad happens and all of the characters are perfectly safe. If this is something you want too...I have tips.

Don’t pull your punches. If you write your characters into a bad situation DON’T bail them out at the last second. Let them show you what they are made of. They may surprise you.

Fears. Find what your MC’s greatest fear is and MAKE them confront it. Is it death, betrayal, abandonment? When confronted with our worst there is nowhere to go but up.

Consequences. Don’t skip the consequences, they are the unbreakable rules. If you do X than Y happens. If you do X and A happens you might lose readers. I know we love our characters and don’t want to hurt them, but if they don’t have to own their consequences the story can feel unjust. And injustice can alienate readers fast.

Write terrible things. If bad things happen to good people, it will keep your readers unsettled. They will never know what you are going to do. They won’t be able to trust your happy ending—and that will keep them reading.

Insert maniacal laughter here :)

Now just in case you think I’m a serial sadist, I want to say—I’m a fan of happy endings, with one huge caveat. HAPPY ENDINGS MUST BE EARNED!

If everything is all butterflies, unicorns, and rainbows, the happy ending is much less satisfying. But if your MC struggles, fights, and makes hard decisions—then the happy ending moves us.

How did you feel when Harry and Ginny put their kids on the train to Hogwarts? I’m not ashamed to admit I cried—see I’m not heartless.

-Angie

What do you need?

Two weeks ago I hit a snag in my NaNo WIP. I didn’t have enough conflict—and when I mean conflict I don’t mean fighting. I mean the kind of conflict that makes your stomach churn as you read.

The problem was that my MC had two needs that ran parallel throughout the story, and it was getting boring. So I got to thinking…what can I do to crank up the conflict?

Then…epiphany!

Take my MC's two needs and make them in direct conflict to each other.  Make him choose between two things he wants—but he can’t have both. The physical and emotional toll these kinds of conflict have on our MC’s can be visceral.

My one warning with this type of conflict is that you MUST follow through. If you force your MC to make a choice only to suspend the consequences of that choice than you become a liar, and readers will start to see your conflict as false. I think everyone has read a book or seen a movie and you don’t believe for one second that the MC will really have to make a choice.

So if your MS is a little flat, try giving your MC competing needs. It can really spice up a dull story.

-Angie


Pop on over to Afterglow Book Reviews and check out my review of The Next Door Boys by Jolene Perry :)

Story Problem

Sometimes I feel like I'm in the middle of a story problem. You know the one where you have a snake, a cheeseburger and a baby. You can't leave any of them alone, and you must take them all across a river without any of them getting wet (or eaten!), or something like that. There's no bridge and no rope. How are you going to make it across safely?

This morning I raced to get two of my kids to the doctor, fed them breakfast in the car, prayed that my two year old at home wouldn't go 'play' in my office where I'd left an unsaved document open on the computer, and jotted down a great idea for my antagonist on my i-phone while I waited for our appointment. Oh, and somewhere in the middle of all that, I took a breath or two.

I'm trying to fit in writing a query and a summary, and finish my final edits in between appointments, nap times, episodes of Backyardagains and all the general demands of life. I'm not willing to put any of these down while I traverse the river.

I can't leave my writing alone...it's like my life blood. But I also have four kids, four and under, who are my life and I love their guts. They need me and I need them. So, how do I divide my time and give my attention where I need to, when I need to, in order to make it across the river?

Will we arrive on the other side of the river unscathed and alive? Some days I wonder. :)

But here's how I've solved my story problem:

1. I schedule time to write. It is sacred and untouchable. I write for at least an hour during my children's nap time, and again after they go to sleep. This gives me about two to three hours at night. Then I go to bed early (unless I'm on a roll and in the middle of a deluxe scene). I'm a morning person but instead of my usual 6:00 am routine, however, I now get up at 4:00. Not all days...but most. All in all, I get at least five hours of 'kid-free' and hopefully distraction-free writing every day.

2. I also schedule untouchable time for my kids. I do not even crack the lap top open during these times (though I've been known to scribble on the palm of my hand so I don't forget something amazing). Most, if not all of my frustration with my story problem, happens when I blur my lines and try to write and be a mom of young children at the same time.

3. There is one moment where my two worlds collide and I love it. Story time. We have a LONG story time each night where we read a few books and then tell a few of our own. I cannot tell you how many plot holes I've solved, or how many characters I've fleshed out while putting my MC in the place of the handsome prince in the story that I tell for my daughters. It's awesome and this is the moment where my life comes full circle and the tricky merge of author and mom totally works. It's like peanut butter and jelly, or chocolate and peanut butter (I love peanut butter, can you tell?)

My story problem solution isn't perfect. Occasionally we might get a bit wet or in a water fight of sorts. But I can say that at the end of the day, I make it across with out any snake bites and usually a cheeseburger to rejuvenate me. That's not to say that I don't want to change and improve how I juggle the demands of my life. And so I'm putting this out there for my blog partners, Angie and Amy, as well as all of you - how do you solve your story problems? Any tricks to the trade? Any secrets to success? Does it get more doable as the kids get older? PLEASE share! :)

--Sara Bulla

False Choices

I’m currently reading a book by a well known author (Newbery Honor Award Winner) and—I don’t like it.

Gasp. I know. It feels like blasphemy saying that.

So I started to analyze what it is about the book that isn’t getting me excited, and I’ve figured it out—false choices.

Every choice the heroine makes isn’t really a choice. Die or fight—of course she will fight. Save her family or save herself—unless she's totally selfish the choice is obvious. I could go on and on.

I can see every twist and turn and I know every choice the heroine will make—it is so boring.

So what I take away from reading this is that the choices we give our characters need to be real choices. I think instead of a choice between good and bad, how about a choice between good and good or even better—bad and bad!

I’m going to look at my story and see if I have crafted real choices.

-Angie