What a Heroine Wants

Remember way back when I asked if you guys had anything you wanted me to blog about? Well, someone finally played along and asked me this:

I'm doing the NaNoWriMo challenge for the first time and I'm finding it difficult to commit to a plot. I've got great settings and I love my characters but now I've rambled on long enough without a villain or any real challenge and it's getting difficult to write without getting bored. Did you have similar experiences when you started writing?

Yes, I get bored sometimes when I'm writing. Still. And I've written more books than I care to mention (unless you're an editor—call me and we'll chat). I just went through a bout. I start to ramble too and, before you know it, I've spent a whole day writing a scene involving a poodle—a scene I'll need to cut later because the poodle neither helps nor impedes my heroine from getting what she wants.

The problem? Usually it's main character and her goal. Specifically that her goal peters out or I lose sight of it. From there, it's all downhill—if your character doesn't want anything, there's nothing to stand in her way. Translation: no conflict. Without strong conflict, you don't have a story.

So when I get stuck or bored, I ask myself what does my character really want? and then I work on her trying to get it. She needs to be focused on her goal. That action drives the story forward.

And there can be layers of goals and conflicts too. Maybe the character has an overarching goal, but there are smaller goals that lead up to the big one. For example, let's say your character's goal is to get a job. The conflict: she's homeless and without proper clothes. So her more immediate goals would be to get clothes and an address she can give to a potential employer. In each scene (or chapter), that's what she'd try to do, but she'd suffer setbacks (more conflict) that keep her struggling.

Note: a character's goals can change or refine through a story.

The thing is, if you're doing NaNoWriMo, you can't stop and go back to fix things. Start where you are and keep going. Ask the question and get your character moving again. There's always time to edit later. If you have to, skip ahead to a different point in the story and get going again. I do this a lot because after you have most of the story done, it becomes apparent what was missing in the spot that gave you trouble.

Another note: I simplified things. Shocker, I know. There's more to telling a story than just a goal and conflict. I didn't even touch internal goals (long-term goals—in the example above it'd be the heroine's need for self-respect and/or independence). Or about all the specific stages a heroine has to experience before reaching the resolution. But giving your character a solid goal is a good place to start.

Got questions? Ask away.

Deep Blue Nothing

When I think of blue, the first thing that comes to mind is the phrase I've got the blues.

In French, if you have the blues you say j'ai le cafard. Translated very literally, it means I have the cockroach. Why is it in French you have cockroaches when you're sad but in English you're feeling blue? Wouldn't having cockroaches be infinitely more depressing than just having blues?

So why blue? There must be something blue that is the essence of sadness.

Just something to think about as you gorge yourselves on turkey. Which is the least appetizing bird there is, by the way.

Chicks with Guns

Last night I went out for wine with my friends Suzie, Shawn, and John. While Suzie and Shawn were trying to outdo each other with their Zoolander impressions, John turned to me and said, "I'm going to have to give back one of my gonads."

I spewed wine on the table. "Excuse me?"

"I bought Project Daddy. It's so girly. You should have seen the way the cashier in the bookstore looked at me." He wiped my mess with a napkin before pouring more wine into our glasses. "Anyway, I'm reading your book now."

Usually when someone says this to me, I cringe because it's followed by why don't you write something meaningful? or some other equally irritating question. However, John's delight was evident in his voice, so I smiled and showed off my impressive vocabulary. "Cool."

He nodded enthusiastically. "I wasn't sure what to expect but I love it. There's one thing though—"

I mentally groaned but, to my credit, managed to keep the smile on my face. I think.

"—and it's not your fault but your publisher's fault."

"Oh." I perked right up. "What was it?"

"I was on the third chapter, really into the story, when I made the mistake of reading the back blurb." His face scrunched like he'd tasted curdled milk. "They gave away the whole story. I didn't know Kat and Luc were going to get together. You set it up so well that I didn't see it coming. But once I knew, it took some of the fun away."

"Interesting," I said, tapping a finger to my chin so I looked like I was deep in thought. Really, all I was wondering was how he could not know Kat and Luc would have an attraction. A romance, by definition, needs two people and a happy ever after, doesn't it?

"But I love Kat's quirks." He shook his head. "I can't believe I'm reading a romance and enjoying it so much."

I pictured him—a top real estate agent in his mid forties—curled up with my little purple book. Grin. "You're a great friend for compromising your he-man image for me."

"I know." John pointed a finger at me. "Next time, have your publisher put machine guns or something on the cover, okay?"

"Um. Yeah." Wince. "I'll work on that."

The Next Color...

... is chalkboard green. Have at it.