Vanquish Cartoon Villains – The Crux of a Crucial Story Relationship by Alice Orr @AliceOrrBooks #MFRWauthor #AmWriting

I love a good villain. He does so much for a story. He gives the reader someone to hate, which engenders emotional involvement, commitment to the story, pages turning. He gives your hero someone to struggle against. He personifies the conflict that electrifies your narrative.

With so much weight to carry, your villain must be formidable. Otherwise, your intelligent, active, resourceful hero would make short shrift of this adversary and be on her way. The story is over then, because, when the conflict resolves, reader interest wanes, your tale is done.

Introduce your adversary situation early. Get the conflict started straight off. If this is a mystery, don't reveal his identity till almost the end to keep the tension hook set deep in the reader. If this is suspense, unmask the villain earlier on, at least in part, to establish how formidable he is.

We see this evil force on a collision course with the protagonist. The character we have come to care most about and with whom we identify. She doesn't share our insight and has no idea who her adversary might be. She only knows she's in serious trouble, maybe physical danger too.

Our hero may know this person, may even trust him. Our apprehension for her mounts as she unwittingly exposes herself to peril. The story hook digs deeper into us with every page. Meanwhile, we must be just as deeply captured by the villain's motivation.

For this reason, a wise storyteller avoids the Devils-Made-Him-Do-It Villain. He's a psychopath or a sociopath, or on whichever path his sick psyche compels him to take. He's propelled along that path by his demons. He does evil because it is in his nature to do evil, and that's that.

He's scary for sure, but his motivation lacks complexity. What further fascinating depths does a head case provide for your writerly imagination to explore? And, we have seen him too often. There are far too many like him in the real world, and in the work of aspiring novelists.

The prevalence of human monsters in contemporary life encourages authors to portray them. But this villain has become fictionally boring. We've read so many like him that he's dejà vu. Your twist on his twistedness must be truly original to stand out from such a crowd.

Plus, I repeat for emphasis, he behaves the way he does because he has no real choice. No nuanced confession is legitimately required. He's a nut job, end of story, which makes him two-dimensional. He does evil because he gets an insane kick out of it. He is a cartoon.

What distinguishes a cartoon from a credible villain who shivers along our nerve endings? The difference is that we understand, on a mentally engaging level, the reasons for the credible villain's behavior. We don't have to sympathize with him, but we need to comprehend him.

You must conjure for us the genesis of this character's twistedness. You make him real, and, consequently, scarier than ever. Then, you must present him objectively. Your role is not to judge your adversary but to give him life on the page, which means you tell his story as he would tell it.

Here is my secret for imagining your way into the evil soul. Every villain is the hero of his own story. He is convinced his actions are justified because, in the world as he perceives it, they are. He has motivations that are clear, strong and believable, but warped.

The specific nature of that warp is yours to create. Brainstorm the possibilities. Choose the most original option. Think as your villain thinks. Dare to go there. Such characters are illuminated in dark places. The result is the opposite of a cartoon. He lives with chilling authenticity. Your reader longs to turn away, but cannot. There is no more riveting story hook than that.

For more insights into writing and publishing – Visit my blog at www.aliceorrbooks.com

ALICE ORR is the author of 16 novels, 3 novellas, a memoir and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. A former book editor and literary agent, Alice now lives her dream as a full-time writer. Her latest novel is A Time of Fear and Loving: Riverton Road Romantic Suspense - Book 5. Alice has two grown children and two perfect grandchildren and resides with her husband Jonathan in New York City.
Author Website: www.aliceorrbooks.com
Author Blog: www.aliceorrbooks.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aliceorrwriter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aliceorrbooks
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Orr/e/B000APC22E

How to Write Characters Inside Out: The Exercise by Alice Orr @AliceOrrBooks #AmWriting #MFRWauthor #AmEditing

My Holiday Gift for You is an Alice Orr How-To! Write in the first person, using "I." Answer as your character. Speak with her voice from her experience. Record the ways you feel (as her) about how each exercise item relates to you. Answer from your gut, not your head. Be specific.

My Full Name is….

I was born in (place name)…. My heritage is (racial, ethnic),,,,

My birth (or adoptive) family's financial situation was…. Their community status was….

The family I grew up with consisted of (member names and relationships)….

The family member I am closest to is…. because….

The family member of my family I am most distant from is…. because….

As a Child.

I would describe myself as…. My most memorable childhood experience was….

As an adolescent, I was…. My most memorable adolescent experience was….

My first sexual experience was…. My attitude toward sex then was…. And now is….

My Appearance.

What I like about the way I look is…. What I hate about the way I look is….

I believe that other people think I look like…. My style of dress is…. because….

If you ask me what I am like as a person, I would say I am…. because….

My religious or spiritual beliefs are…. My political beliefs are….

My overall attitude toward life is….

My Self.

The most significant thing I have ever discovered about myself is….

I feel that my greatest talent is…. The thing I believe in most strongly is…. because….

The thing I have enjoyed most in my life is…. The thing I disliked most is…. because….

My most important goal in life is to…. because….

My Emotional Life.

My biggest inhibition is…. because…. My superstition is…. because….

My greatest disappointment in life is…. because…. I was most joyful when…. because….

My greatest frustration in life is…. because…. My biggest regret in life is…. because….

I was most enraged in my life when…. because…. I was most terrified when…. because….

I was most humiliated when…. because…. I was most heartbroken when…. because….

My deepest fear is…. because…. My darkest secret is…. because….

The biggest lie I ever told was…. I told it because…. I yearn most for…., because….

More Areas to Explore.

Friendships. Sexual history. Romantic history. Professional history. Educational history. Hobbies and leisure time activities. Health issues. Plus, anything else you should know to get inside your character and write her from that very intimate place.

Use the Above to Dig Deep into Each of Your Big Three characters.

Protagonist (hero), secondary protagonist (mate, sidekick, foil), antagonist (villain) – and any other character you need to know Inside Out. Do this and you will create the most compelling characters who have ever flowed from your imagination onto the very powerful pages of your best stories ever.

For more insights into writing and publishing, visit my blog at www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Alice Orr is author of 16 novels, 3 novellas, a memoir and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. A former book editor and literary agent, Alice now writes full-time. Her latest novel is A Time of Fear and Loving – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5. Find all of Alice Orr’s books at amazon.com and other online retailers. Alice has two grown children and two perfect grandchildren and lives with her beloved husband Jonathan in New York City.
Author Website www.aliceorrbooks.com
Author Blog www.aliceorrbooks.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aliceorrwriter
Twitter https://twitter.com/aliceorrbooks
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Orr/e/B000APC22E

The Wrong Idea about Story Ideas by Alice Orr @AliceOrrBooks #MFRWauthor #AmEditing

The major misconception about story ideas has to do with what they can and cannot accomplish. Let me illustrate with a cocktail party – or family barbecue or writers' event – scenario. The Author, maybe you or me, stands at edge of the crowd to maximize observation potential. We're eavesdroppers and surveillance experts after all. We know, as Nora Ephron said, that everything is copy, so we're always on the lookout for glimpses of story fodder.

Story Fodder

Since we are also savvy Authors, our glasses contain sparkling water, diet cola, tonic with lime or something equally nonalcoholic. We know that keeping the head clear is essential to keeping the perception sharp and the memory intact for later notetaking. We are further aware that every foray into the world holds the possibility for sighting a publishing pro, and we must be ever ready to do some sober impressing. Like I said, we're savvy.

Meanwhile, a fellow partier sidles over to you, but is unfortunately anything but a publishing professional. In fact, this guy or gal is a civilian, as in not a publishing person at all, and especially not an Author. Soon he or she discovers that you however are the real thing, an actual bona fide Author in the flesh. At which point, your new-found companion from the non-pub world suggests some variation on the following.

"I've got a terrific idea for a novel. Bestseller for sure. How's about I tell you my idea, you write the story, then we split the take fifty-fifty?"

More than one misconception is in play here. First off, this non-practitioner of the writing arts completely underestimates the writing process. Legendary sportswriter Red Smith once famously said, "There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter and open a vein." Of course, your sidekick with the bestseller idea, who has now glommed onto you like an overboard sailor in search of port in a storm, knows nothing about the bloodletting aspect of a writer's work. Worse yet, he does not understand that an idea is not a story.

An idea is only a kernel. That kernel may possess the potential to grow into the next Nora King Mary Higgins Grisham opus, or it may not. Either way, tons of nurture, strain, frustration, doubt and, ah yes, bloodletting must be applied between the planting of that seed kernel and its sometimes quite long-distant future harvest. A clever idea may be a jumping off place, but, without the sweat equity required, the storyteller is in for a hard fall and a lean crop.

Let me make very clear that not only non-writers are susceptible here. I have myself experienced the exhilaration of a Technicolor idea strike. Here's how that phenomenon generally goes. A story concept, or maybe just the flash of a scene, appears unexpectedly out of the blue, like lightning in the mind. And, in that instant, I am immediately certain something entirely new and previously unimagined has been revealed.

"This is it," I cry out in creative ecstasy between heart palpitations. "This is the story I have to write."

The problem is that I don't really have a story. I only have an idea, and an idea is only a beginning. A story, particularly in the commercial publishing arena where so many of us practice our craft, requires a plot with a beginning, a middle and an end. At best, my dazzling epiphany of inspiration will get me through the opening scene, maybe even the first chapter. Sadly, on the other hand, without a lot more work, the story tumbles downhill from there.

Any editor worth her blue pencil will see straight through the Technicolor bit to the lackluster follow-up. Even if she is impressed by the story's start, she'll have figured out the truth long before the probably nonexistent finish. Which did, in fact, happen to me with the proposal for a suspense novel tentatively titled Live Burial. I must admit I was as blindingly dazzled by that title inspiration as I had been by the initial idea strike. Until my then-agent leveled her critique straight at me.

"Sorry, Alice," she said, and she actually did look sorrowful. "You've got no second act."

My own twenty-twenty hindsight eventually leveled its critique as well. I had no subsequent acts at all, only a wham-bam opening scene. What had been buried alive, by me, was my story, along with my chances of making that all-important boffo first-read impression on my agent. The object lesson here is this. Follow my advice, not my example. Tell your partytime buddy, "Thanks, but no thanks," and never let The Wrong Idea about Ideas enter your storyteller's mind ever again.

For more insights into writing and publishing, visit my blog at www.aliceorrbooks.com.

Alice Orr is author of 16 novels, 3 novellas, a memoir and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. A former book editor and literary agent, Alice now writes full-time. Her latest novel is A Time of Fear and Loving – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5. Find all of Alice Orr's books at amazon.com and other online retailers. Alice has two grown children and two perfect grandchildren and lives with her beloved husband Jonathan in New York City.
Author Website www.aliceorrbooks.com
Author Blog www.aliceorrbooks.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aliceorrwriter
Twitter https://twitter.com/aliceorrbooks
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Orr/e/B000APC22E

Building a Hero with Stature and What Not to Do by Alice Orr #MFRWauthor #amwriting

Thriller author and former editor Alice Orr shares tips for writing heroes.

Building a Hero with Stature – What Not to Do

If your storytelling goal is wide audience appeal, build an admirable hero. A hero the reader will look up to, and remember that when I use the term hero, I'm referring to main characters of all genders.

I base my admirable hero assertion on two things. First, the bestseller lists. Most fiction titles you find there tell stories of admirable protagonists confronting great obstacles in admirable ways. Second, my experience as editor and literary agent, which too often illustrated what an admirable hero is not. Here are some examples, with names changed for discretion's sake.

Caroline is the hero of a Regency romance set in early nineteenth century England. We're told she's a woman of spotless character, which would be an appropriate portrayal. Most readers of this genre prefer their heroines intelligent, wise and, above all, dignified. An author seeking wide reader appeal would be wise herself to honor these preferences.

Unfortunately, Caroline is not the highly principled woman we are told she is. Instead, she shows herself to be of low moral character. Specifically, she joins a traveling theatrical company where her performance specialty is as a procurer or, in more forthright terms, a pimp. 

To make matters worse, Caroline lacks acceptable motivation for her choices. She's an unhappily married woman to be sure, but she is also from the landed gentry with ample financial means. She doesn't need to disgrace herself and her family to escape her husband, nor allow herself to be degraded as she does in this author's story.

A Regency era main character may find herself in dire straits. She may act to overcome her trials in many ways, but not at the expense of dignity and self-respect. Otherwise, she becomes too tawdry to qualify as a hero of this genre, and maybe as an admirable hero of any genre, at least for a non-established author. Bestsellers can afford to take chances, sometimes.

As for Sebastian, I wonder if even his author liked him very much. Sebastian is cold, distant and uncaring. His lack of compassion must be counteracted by noble qualities to make him an admirable hero. He could be written as remote on the surface with endearing depths beneath, but, in this portrayal, under his craggy surface beats a heart of unappealing stone.

Kendra has heroic qualities but is never called upon to use them. Her story is meant to be suspenseful. She should be in danger, real danger that, to maximize appeal, threatens her life. She is strong, resourceful and brave. We're eager to see those qualities tested by extreme circumstance. When no truly thrilling challenges arise, our reader expectations are dashed.

Kendra's author could have made stronger storytelling choices. A perilous situation, which Kendra only narrowly escapes. Better still, another character, vulnerable, like a child, faces serious threat, and Kendra risks her life to defy that threat. These scenarios would reveal her heroism in action and intensify the suspense. Instead, Kendra is a heroine waiting to happen, and the author squanders the dramatic potential of her story.

Shattered reader expectations, heartless main characters, dramatic potential squandered. Avoid these like the storytelling plagues they are, unless you're a bestselling author with maybe some room for risk. Build instead a hero with stature we can admire.

For more insights into writing and publishing – Visit my blog at www.aliceorrbooks.com.

About Alice Orr

Alice Orr is the author of 16 novels, 3 novellas, a memoir and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. A former book editor and literary agent, Alice now lives her dream as a full-time writer. Her latest novel is A Time of Fear and Loving: Riverton Road Romantic Suspense - Book 5. Alice has two grown children and two perfect grandchildren and resides with her husband Jonathan in New York City. 

Author Website www.aliceorrbooks.com
Author Blog www.aliceorrbooks.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aliceorrwriter
Twitter https://twitter.com/aliceorrbooks
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Orr/e/B000APC22E

 

All's Well that Ends Well: Endings that Satisfy by Alice Orr @aliceorrbooks #AmWriting #MFRWauthor

How to Write the Ending that Satisfies

How do I make my story ending sell my book? Good question, just not the right question. Why not? Because the ending of your story doesn't sell this book as much as it sells your next one.

Have you ever finished a book and wanted to throw it across the room, or maybe actually did throw it across the room? Very often the book's ending made you do that, and also made certain you wouldn't buy that author's next book.

Your goal as a storyteller is to avoid being thrown across the room, to avoid losing a reader for your next book and the ones after it. To reach that goal, you must create a story ending that does not frustrate. You must create an ending that satisfies.

The end game of your story is a danger zone, partly because you are likely to be tired of these people and their situation by now. In fact, if you are a committed storyteller, your head and heart may already be deep into your next book. Because of that, you must be careful not to write the ending in this rhythm. Gallop, Gallop, Gallop, The End. That ending does not satisfy. That ending lacks the essential Big Bang.

In earlier articles, I used the film classic Casablanca to illustrate the Dramatic Opening and the Middle that Moves. Casablanca is an example of the Ending that Satisfies, too. Rick and Ilsa's story is especially rich in this respect because it has two narrative threads, an action suspense thread and an emotional suspense thread, and both are tied up with a Big Bang at the end.

The action climax is an actual, audible bang when arch villain German Major Strasser is shot dead. The emotional climax is more drawn out, and that slightly slowed down pace is part of what gives it impact. Rick, played by Humphrey Bogart, tells Ilsa, played by Ingrid Bergman, why she must take the plane to Lisbon and safety, not with him, but with her husband, Nazi hunter Victor Laszlo.

The plane engine rumbles to life in the background. A single tear trembles on Ilsa's perfect cheek. And Bogie says some of the most memorable lines of his career.

Rick: Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You're part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.

Ilsa: But what about us?

Rick: We'll always have Paris.

Rick walks off then with Vichy Captain Louis Renault, who has finally discovered his inner good guy. But the Big Bang really happens in that moment with Ilsa, when brooding cynic Rick finds his own true heroic nature and sacrifices his heart for the good of the world and his soul.

We could hardly be more satisfied, and it all looks smooth and easy. But don't be fooled. To carry off an ending that works this well, there has to be a plan. To create a Big Bang Ending for your story, you must also have a plan. You must plan your climactic scene in detail. Don't write a word until that plan is perfect. Here are some specific suggestions for planning your Big Bang Ending.

Plan:

·         ...mostly action and dialogue, very little narrative.

·         ...keep all of this action on stage, in the immediate present.

·         ...dialogue that is spare, to the point and memorable.

·         ...on intensifying the pace, faster than what has gone before.

·         ...lots of physical movement in the scene.

·         ...lots of intense sensation – sight, sound, smell, texture and more.

·         ...plunge your protagonist into peril.

·         ...one more obstacle to arise for your protagonist. Make it formidable.

·         ...a confrontation between your protagonist and antagonist.

·         ...on milking that confrontation, while keeping up the intense pace.

·         ...for your protagonist to cause action, not merely be overtaken by it.

·         ...communicate your protagonist's feelings, with impact, to the reader.

·         ...on incorporating fear, even terror, among those emotions.

·         ...the presence of real danger to your protagonist in this scene.

·         ...an outcome in the balance.

·         ...that outcome as crucial to your protagonist.

·         ...for your protagonist to be nearly vanquished in this scene.

·         ...for your protagonist to be racing against time.

·         ...for your protagonist to triumph in the last possible moment.

·         ...for your protagonist to triumph by the narrowest of margins.

·         ...for this triumph to be uplifting and inspiring.

The purpose of a Big Bang Ending is to reverberate after the last page is turned, to lodge in the psyche of the reader and be remembered, all the way to the bookstore, or the Buy Now button, and the purchase of your next title. Stage your final scene the way a choreographer stages a dance. The result will be a powerful Dramatic Ending at full circle from your Dramatic Opening, and equally or even more thrilling.

Now you must recognize that your story is over. You and your protagonist have exploded out of the explosive situation you exploded into on page one. You must resist the temptation to hang around a while longer. You have taken your reader on an unforgettable ride. Leave before she has a chance to catch her breath. Leave before he has had enough. Leave them wanting more. No Epilogues, Please.

When you have accomplished all of that – Here's looking at you, kid.

ALICE ORR is the author of 16 novels, 3 novellas, a memoir and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. A former book editor and literary agent, Alice now lives her dream as a full-time writer. Her latest novel is A Time of Fear and Loving: Riverton Road Romantic Suspense - Book 5. Alice has two grown children and two perfect grandchildren and resides with her husband Jonathan in New York City.
Alice Orr – www.aliceorrbooks.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aliceorrbooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aliceorrwriter
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Orr/e/B000APC22E

Building a Hero with Stature and What Not to Do by Alice Orr @AliceOrrBooks #MFRWauthor #amwriting

Building a Hero with Stature – What Not to Do

If your storytelling goal is wide audience appeal, build an admirable hero. A hero the reader will look up to, and remember that when I use the term hero, I'm referring to main characters of all genders.

I base my admirable hero assertion on two things. First, the bestseller lists. Most fiction titles you find there tell stories of admirable protagonists confronting great obstacles in admirable ways. Second, my experience as editor and literary agent, which too often illustrated what an admirable hero is not. Here are some examples, with names changed for discretion's sake.

Caroline is the hero of a Regency romance set in early nineteenth century England. We're told she's a woman of spotless character, which would be an appropriate portrayal. Most readers of this genre prefer their heroines intelligent, wise and, above all, dignified. An author seeking wide reader appeal would be wise herself to honor these preferences.

Unfortunately, Caroline is not the highly principled woman we are told she is. Instead, she shows herself to be of low moral character. Specifically, she joins a traveling theatrical company where her performance specialty is as a procurer or, in more forthright terms, a pimp. 

To make matters worse, Caroline lacks acceptable motivation for her choices. She's an unhappily married woman to be sure, but she is also from the landed gentry with ample financial means. She doesn't need to disgrace herself and her family to escape her husband, nor allow herself to be degraded as she does in this author's story.

A Regency era main character may find herself in dire straits. She may act to overcome her trials in many ways, but not at the expense of dignity and self-respect. Otherwise, she becomes too tawdry to qualify as a hero of this genre, and maybe as an admirable hero of any genre, at least for a non-established author. Bestsellers can afford to take chances, sometimes.

As for Sebastian, I wonder if even his author liked him very much. Sebastian is cold, distant and uncaring. His lack of compassion must be counteracted by noble qualities to make him an admirable hero. He could be written as remote on the surface with endearing depths beneath, but, in this portrayal, under his craggy surface beats a heart of unappealing stone.

Kendra has heroic qualities but is never called upon to use them. Her story is meant to be suspenseful. She should be in danger, real danger that, to maximize appeal, threatens her life. She is strong, resourceful and brave. We're eager to see those qualities tested by extreme circumstance. When no truly thrilling challenges arise, our reader expectations are dashed.

Kendra's author could have made stronger storytelling choices. A perilous situation, which Kendra only narrowly escapes. Better still, another character, vulnerable, like a child, faces serious threat, and Kendra risks her life to defy that threat. These scenarios would reveal her heroism in action and intensify the suspense. Instead, Kendra is a heroine waiting to happen, and the author squanders the dramatic potential of her story.

Shattered reader expectations, heartless main characters, dramatic potential squandered. Avoid these like the storytelling plagues they are, unless you're a bestselling author with maybe some room for risk. Build instead a hero with stature we can admire.

For more insights into writing and publishing – Visit my blog at www.aliceorrbooks.com.

About Alice Orr

Alice Orr is the author of 16 novels, 3 novellas, a memoir and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. A former book editor and literary agent, Alice now lives her dream as a full-time writer. Her latest novel is A Time of Fear and Loving: Riverton Road Romantic Suspense - Book 5. Alice has two grown children and two perfect grandchildren and resides with her husband Jonathan in New York City.
Author Website www.aliceorrbooks.com
Author Blog www.aliceorrbooks.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aliceorrwriter
Twitter https://twitter.com/aliceorrbooks
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Orr/e/B000APC22E

Character Triage: Kick Out Your Characters by Alice Orr @AliceOrrBooks #MFRWauthor #amwriting

Join former literary agent and editor Alice Orr, author of No More Rejections, as she offers advice for character triage, kicking out characters who do not work in your story.

Character Triage

Who's In? Who's Out? Every character you start out with in your story may not carry enough storytelling weight to be allowed to stick around. Some will most likely have to go. Which characters do and do not belong in your story? How do you decide? First, let's make a couple of general lists. Then we'll move on to my personal specifics.

Character Triage –Characters Who Should Stay in Your Story

They sparkle with contradiction and controversy.

They enhance the main characters in the story, make them more intriguing.

They aggravate the main characters in the story, make them more conflicted.

They have often dark secrets the main characters would like to know, or should know, but don't.

They have hidden dreams the main characters would like to know, or should know, but don't.

In other words, they generate plot by adding more complications to the story.

Character Triage – Who's Out? Characters Who Should Leave Your Story

They don't make anything happen.

They get along with everyone, neither creating nor enhancing conflict.

We aren't interested in knowing more about them.

They are not connected with either the main characters or their stories.

In other words, they don't generate plot by adding more complications to the story.

Here are some specific character types I especially want to boot out the door.

#1 Exit Candidate: The Lackluster Character

Especially when you are creating the main characters of a series who must be extra unique and compelling. In fact, any continuing character must stand out in order to hold a reader's interest through several stories. Be careful not to focus on thrilling plot at the expense of thrilling characters. This can be fatal to storytelling success.

The Character Who Cloys

Especially as your romance heroine. She's cute enough to kill, and the alleged hero scampers along in her wake for far too long. At first, she may be lovable for the reader as well. Then, we become exasperated with her and, eventually, out and out irritated. She's a distraction from the story and undermines your hero's portrayal too.

The Character Who Fails at His Story Mission

Especially as your mystery-suspense hero. He's the detective who doesn't detect. A murder is committed, and he should be intent on finding the murderer but does too little to further that quest. He avoids real investigative questioning. He lets others to do the legwork. He slows the pace instead of enlivening it. He must thrust himself into danger and battle his way out again.

The Interchangeables

Especially as your secondary characters. For example, three sisters or friends or whoever that would be better as two. The extra sidekick clutters the story. She isn't distinctive enough and her lack of substance drains story vitality. She should be folded into one of the other characters to streamline plot and pacing or rewritten to reveal her individuality.

Character Triage: This is Only the Beginning

I've shared my personal sampling of characters who need to go if you want to write a strong story, and of course you do. Now, you must make your own list, from your own work, but don't be discouraged when you do. There are ways to save these characters from the no-hope heap. Every character, like every human being, has a story. Your job as storyteller is to dig deep, discover that story and give your creation life on the page. In other words, perform character triage. When you do that, all your characters will not just belong in your story, they will be embedded in your reader's heart.

For more insights into writing and publishing,visit my blog at www.aliceorrbooks.com

About Alice Orr

Alice Orr is author of 16 novels, 3 novellas, a memoir and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. Hero in the Mirror: How to Write Your Best Story of You is in progress. A former book editor and literary agent, Alice now writes full-time. Her latest novel is A Time of Fear and Loving – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5. Find all of Alice Orr's books on Amazon. Alice has two grown children and two perfect grandchildren and lives with her beloved husband Jonathan in New York City.
Author Website www.aliceorrbooks.com
Author Blog www.aliceorrbooks.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aliceorrwriter
Twitter https://twitter.com/aliceorrbooks
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Orr/e/B000APC22E

Who's Driving Your Story? Make Sure the Proper Protagonist is at the Wheel by Alice Orr @aliceorrbooks #MFRWauthor #AmWriting

You have gifted yourself with an Idea from Heaven. You've learned to create a story idea that is potentially strong enough to hook your readers as a captive audience for the length of your entire book. Your idea engine is tuned up and ready to roll. Now, you must designate your driver very carefully...

The Proper Protagonist

A protagonist, main character, strong enough to set the hook deeper still. She is the center of your story around which all the rest revolves, from the first page to the last. She must be a person of substance, complex enough to command and hold reader attention from your dramatic opening to your satisfying ending.

She is your hero and the most fascinating person in your story. A passive reactor will not fit this bill. Your hero must decide to act, and do exactly that, thus setting the action of the story in motion. She is the driving principal that keeps the action moving.

Your main character is the person with the most at stake in your story situation. She has the most to lose if things go badly. Often, in a truly gripping story, other people could lose big time to. She must commit herself to preventing that, and this generosity of spirit makes her even more heroic, burying the story hook deeper into your reader's heart.

Your character needs a happy ending more desperately than she's ever needed anything. The crucial intensity of this desire, for others as well as herself, ties the reader more and more inextricably to your character's fate, sinking the story hook deeper yet again.

This is a heavy burden for any character to support. Is your main character equal to the challenge? Can she carry the weight? As this burden mounts with every chapter, bending her nearly to breaking point, will she soldier on? If she does, will your reader believe she is capable of such strength and endurance?

Could someone else in your story carry its burden more convincingly? Is your story most riveting with the main character you have chosen at its center? Or not? The success of your story depends on your honest, accurate answer to this question. No matter how attached you may be to your character, you must strive relentlessly toward this crucial truth.

Is Scarlett O'Hara the proper protagonist for Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind? She escapes burning Atlanta, struggles home, finds her mother dead, her father deranged, Tara in shambles, and not a scrap of food anywhere. Scarlett staggers to the garden, scratches a root from the ground, attempts to eat it and vomits.

This is a black story moment if there ever was one. She might have collapsed into the dust and given up. Instead, she makes this black moment a turning point of her story. Despite exhaustion and despair, she pushes herself up from the dirt, lifts a grimy fist to heaven and cries, "As God is my witness, they're not going to lick me. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again."

Do we believe this behavior from this character? She's shown herself to be shallow, uncaring, vain, and selfish. Such traits are not considered character strengths, but she is also stubborn, relentless, and afire with determination. I, for one, don't doubt for an instant she has the grit to drag herself upright and vow to God that nothing will ever deter her again.

Is your hero's heroism equally believable? Would another major character, maybe a Melanie Hamilton, make a better central figure for your story? Critics have been debating that about GWTW for decades. Now, you must debate yourself about your characters. And, whatever Rhett Butler might say, frankly, dear author, for your story's sake, I encourage you to give a damn.

For more insights into writing and publishing – Visit my blog at www.aliceorrbooks.com.

About Alice Orr

Alice Orr is author of 16 novels, 3 novellas, a memoir and No More Rejections: 50 Secrets to Writing a Manuscript that Sells. Hero in the Mirror: How to Write Your Best Story of You is in progress. A former book editor and literary agent, Alice now writes full-time. Her latest novel is A Time of Fear and Loving – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 5. Find all of Alice Orr's books on Amazon. Alice has two grown children and two perfect grandchildren and lives with her beloved husband Jonathan in New York City.

Author Website www.aliceorrbooks.com

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5 Aspects for Creating Strong Character Arcs -- Kayelle Allen @KayelleAllen #amwriting #MFRWauthor

I try to create complex heroes, and one thing that helps is creating strong character arcs. For deeper understanding, I recommend reading Character Arcs by KM Weiland. That book gave me great insights into my characters. This post uses he/she. Feel free to apply your preferred gender pronouns.

Creating a Strong Character Arc

The main character must face conflict, deal with emotions, and experience change. All those things arise out of the following five aspects.

What does your hero want?

If your hero lives a great life, with all he or she wants and no real needs, then there is no conflict. You must have conflict in order to move the story forward. Your hero should want something badly enough to change in order to get it. That want will be a major driver of your story.

What are your hero's personal preconceptions?

When your hero looks in the mirror, who is looking back? Chances are, he/she is already a hero to someone. But how does he feel about himself? When he looks in the mirror, does he see his failures? Or perhaps he sees himself as a hero when others see him in an entirely different light.

What does your hero do wrong?

Sure, no one's perfect, but the personal flaws facing your hero must provide a reason for your character to change and must be a lynchpin in driving that change. Example: a young woman with reasons in her past that make her distrust people in general, and men in particular meets a man who makes her long to trust. But because of her flaws, her misconceptions and inhibitions, she can't. She must overcome those flaws in order to find love -- to reach her goal.

What abilities does your hero possess?

The hero in any story will need to accomplish certain tasks. It might be anything from scaling a wall to performing before a crowd, but he needs to complete them in order to overcome the conflict and reach his goal. When the story opens, he can't do them, but by the end, he can. Not only has he changed the story, the story has changed him.

What scares your hero?

I have an immortal king in multiple stories. Pietas can come back from almost any death. He's nearly 2000 years old and is as big and brave as they come. But because he's isolated himself by virtue of his position as well as personal choice, he's never needed friends and never wanted one. The problem is, he's made one who's the target of assassins--and mortal. Now that he's had a friend, how can he face eternity alone? For the first time in his long, barren existence, Pietas fears the very isolation he has spent his life cultivating, and he will do absolutely anything to prevent it.
The point of scaring your hero is that if your hero is afraid, it means the stakes are high enough to make him change. If you create a hero who undergoes change, you create a complex character.

Ask yourself if you have developed a hero who has tangible wants and needs, preconceptions that don't necessarily match his reality, faults that make him relatable, and the ability to adapt and learn new skills. Don't forget to give him one or more fears that he must overcome or remove. A layered approach to creating your hero will hook your readers and bring them back for more.
 

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Bringer of Chaos: Origin of Pietas
An immortal king must doom his people to exile or place his faith in that which he most hates: a human.
Bringer of Chaos: Forged in Fire
An exiled, immortal king, a ginormous panther "kitty" and the most dysfunctional family since forever.

Kayelle Allen writes Sci Fi with misbehaving robots, mythic heroes, role playing immortal gamers, and warriors who purr. She's also a US Navy veteran and has been married so long she's tenured.
https://kayelleallen.com

Have you asked your character these questions? Kayelle Allen @kayelleallen #amwriting #MFRWauthor

Marketing for Romance Writers was created for a group of romance writers, but quickly gained members in every sort of genre. As writers, one thing we all have in common is the need to create strong characters. To that end, here is a questionnaire you can use to get to know the people in your story.

Questions for the Character to Answer

How do you dress?

If we could only hear your voice (but not see you) what characteristic would identify you?

Please tell us about your education.

Are you book-smart, self-taught, widely-experienced?

Do you get by, live comfortably, live extravagantly?

What is your viewpoint on wealth?

On what special skills do you rely?

Are any of your skills a source of pride or embarrassment, and if so, which ones and why?

What kinds of things do you always carry (in pockets or purse)?

What is your family like?

Are you close to family?

Do you have children?

Are you involved in your community?

How well do you know your neighbors?

Do you see morality as black-and-white, or with shades of gray?

How do others perceive you based upon looks, and is this assumption accurate?

Do you care about what others assume about you?

If someone from your past showed up, who would you most want it to be, and why?

If someone from your past showed up, who would you most NOT want it to be, and why?

Can you keep a secret? Why or why not?

What secrets do you know about people around you that you do NOT share?

What inner doubt causes you the most difficulty?

What past event causes you the most fear?

What is your biggest need?

What are your biggest hopes and dreams?

What would help you face hardship and meet any challenge?

If you could make any one thing happen, what would it be?

What is your biggest personal flaw?

When there is a setback, what doubt or flaw surfaces?

How do you handle challenges?

What is your breaking point?

How do you express disappointment?

How emotionally expressive are you to others?

When (if) you lie or are upset, what gives you away?

Who in your life has the power to hurt you the most and why?

What would you like to tell your writer?

What would you like people who hear your story to know?

Questions for the Writer to Answer

(Change gender to fit your character)

Your character is at a party. Considering his story, describe the party.

How does the character feel about being this particular party, and what body language is he displaying that gives it away?

Is he more likely to mingle or remain aloof?

If he drinks, what is his drink of choice at this party?

How much drink is his usual?

The character figures out where the hiding places are and then goes there. Is it to hide, to avoid someone, or to go drag a friend back to the party?

Is he likely to latch onto a friend and stay with him/her and ignore others, or is he the friend that others latch onto?

If someone picked a fight at this party, how is the character going to handle it?

Is the character the one most likely to get tossed out of the party, or the one who does the tossing?

Will he know when to leave, or stay late and make a nuisance of himself?

This is not an exhaustive list of questions, but it should give you some insight into creating a unique and memorable character.

Come share your character on my book blog, Romance Lives Forever. Readers find something new every day on RLF. www.rlfblog.com Look for Signup in the menu. You can set your own date and even get automated reminders.

Kayelle Allen
author of Bro, the Antonello Brothers series prequel
https://kayelleallen.com/bro/

10 Reasons Why Not to Read Romance @kayelleallen #humor #romance #MFRWauthor

After careful consideration, and much placing of tongue in cheek -- no, not French kissing, get your mind out of the gutter -- I have decided that Romance books are not good for me and have decided to give them up. (yeah, right!) Here are ten reasons why.

1. Reading Romance might lead women to believe men can be more sensitive and caring, and this unrealistic expectation could lead to unhappiness. I might think that I could find a perfect love and have a happily ever after, and that isn't realistic. Just ask a psychiatrist.
2. In fact, living happily ever after probably isn't good for the economy. You wouldn't need anti-anxiety medication or drugs for depression, and since this is a huge market in the United States, living happily ever after could actually cause a loss of jobs in the pharmaceutical industry.
3. Realism is better for the world. The sooner we face the fact that life is tough, the better we can deal with it. Best not to get your hopes up.
4. Women are in danger when reading these books. I read that "...marriage therapists caution that women can become as dangerously unbalanced by these books’ entrancing but distorted messages as men can be by the distorted messages of pornography." (Shaunti Feldhahn quoting another source)
5. If I read Romance novels I might end up being dumb. According to at least one blogger, these kinds of novels are children's stories with adult themes, and don't deserve any real attention anyway. They are not "true literature." (referenced tongue in cheek by Leia Shaw, on Susan Hanniford Crowley's blog)
6. Romance books about ménage partners, same sex partners, and other non-one woman/one man Romances might destroy the fabric of America. I mean gee, aren't those kinds of stories somehow wrong? (don't look at the books I write, by the way. Just go with it. *cough*)
7. Women have better things to do than sit around reading Romance books. There are kitchens to clean, floors to scrub, and there is laundry to be done. In fact, reading anything other than cookbooks or articles about child-rearing and being a good wife is probably just a waste of a woman's time.
8. Taking a Romance novel to the beach to read might lead me to make bad choices. (Eryn Brown, LA Times quoting Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care)
9. Hunky male models on the cover of Romance novels might make me less than satisfied with my own husband. I might be unable to differentiate between a photo of a man on the cover of a novel and a real man who's sitting beside me.
10. While we're talking about hunky male models, looking at the covers of Romance books with hot models on them might cause me to engage in lust. *crickets chirping* Okay, you got me. That one's true!

I hope no one has taken any of this seriously. Please do not write letters, folks. This is humor, okay? Thank you. :) So... do YOU think Romance is bad for you? Please tell me about it in the comments.

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Kayelle Allen is a a best-selling American author. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary every day folk, role-playing immortal gamers, futuristic covert agents, and warriors who purr. When you're immortal, Romance Lives Forever.
https://kayelleallen.com
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Why We Read (and Write) Romance @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor #amwriting

Writing is not simply an act. It's a passion. For writers of Romance, it's even more than that. Romance an escapist story and a momentary thrill - yes. But it's also structure for plot and character development, theme, setting, and social commentary.

Here's my personal list of reasons to read (and write) Romance.

• Falling in love is a wonderful feeling, and watching someone fall in love is the next best thing.
• Seeing a hero and heroine overcome conflict and end up together at the end of a story makes me feel good.
• The world is full of sad stories and disappointments, but the happy ending of a Romance book is something I can count on.
• There is a subgenre within Romance for any kind of book I want to read, from Science Fiction to historical, paranormal to suspense, and everything in between.
• I like reading about wounded alpha heroes whose heroines help them get back on the horse and get going again.
• Tough and sassy heroines who kick ass and take names make my day, and my favorite Romances always feature them.
• What could be finer than a Romance set in the Highlands of Scotland?
• I grew up reading Science Fiction, and never understood why the book stopped just when the story got to the sexy part -- SciFi Romance is one of my favorite genres.
• Romances are often part of a bigger story -- battling a monster, saving the world, defeating prejudice, healing a family -- and they make the bigger picture worth more because they showcase true love.
• A romantic heroine who realizes her own worth, power, and strength, and who finds herself working side by side with a man she trusts are priceless.
• One of the most intriguing subgenres of Romance is called M/M, or male male, and features two heroes. I think if a little testosterone is good, a lot must be awesome.
• Is there anything sexier than a vampire who falls in love, and must overcome his clawing, innate hungers in order to woo the mortal he loves?
• The heat level of a Romance can be whatever I want it to be, because within all those varying subgenres is a level of sensuality that is right for me. They can be as sweet -- or as hot -- as I want to read. 

Why do you read and/or write Romance? Please share in the comments.

About the Author
Kayelle Allen is a best-selling American author. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary every day folk, role-playing immortal gamers, futuristic covert agents, and warriors who purr. She is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers.
Homeworld/Blog https://kayelleallen.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook https://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author

Creating Conflict in Novels @kayelleallen #amediting #MFRWauthor

According to Wordweb, conflict has many shades of meaning, including a disagreement or argument about something important; opposition between two simultaneous but incompatible feelings; a state of opposition between persons, ideas, or interests; and opposition in a work of drama or fiction between characters or forces (especially one that motivates the development of the plot). The point being that conflict involves problems. No problems, no conflict.

No conflict, no story.

But what type of conflict works best for a solid story? Let's look at three major types: internal, external, and romantic.

Internal Conflict

An internal conflict often revolves around an emotional struggle. Generally, an internal conflict arises from a character's backstory. Something has occurred that threatens their ideal mental/emotional state. What they believe does not go along with their physical reality. Suppose your story was a romance set in a time when marriages were arranged. Your hero has no intention of being "married off" to a rich woman who does not respect him, or that he could not respect. However, his family fortune has been lost (not through his fault) and if he doesn't solve his immediate problem of finances in order to care for his younger siblings, they will all end up on the street. He must marry a woman of means, and fast. While he does have an external conflict (the threat of homelessness) his major conflict is internal (marrying someone he does not love and respect). How he behaves in this situation is driven by how he overcomes or resolves his internal conflict. It is not necessarily a direct solution to his inner conflict that ends the problem. He might find another way around the issue. In a gay romance, the internal conflict might be fear of rejection, facing reality as a gay person, or being ostracized from family. Overcoming the internal problem drives the resolution of the conflict. Therefore, it drives the plot.

External Conflict

For an external conflict, a force or problem exists outside the character. In the example above, the hero faced homelessness. A heroine might be in a situation where she must rescue someone. External conflicts mean that situations and/or physical threats or needs cause a problem. To solve it, the character must find a physical solution. A thriller or suspense might involve a race against the clock before a killer strikes again. A scifi might include an alien invasion threatening to decimate the planet. A medical thriller involves doctors racing to find a cure for a horrific virus, and so on. All these conflicts erupt due to an external cause. External conflict requires a threat from outside the main character(s). In a well written, multi-layered story, internal conflict exists as well, but the external problem drives the action.

Romantic Conflict

A romantic conflict involves struggle between the main characters. A strong external (physical) conflict collides with an equally strong internal conflict. The immovable object meets the irresistible force. Something must give or there will be no end of the conflict (and no romance).

Solving one conflict often still leaves the other, keeping the couple apart. Finding a reason to let down inner walls and trust the other person requires character growth and change. This leads to a resolution of the conflict.

Plot Forces Conflict

Plot is a scheme or plan. In a story, plot escalates the problems between the characters' internal and external conflicts. The situation of the hero needing a rich wife to provide for his siblings is made worse by the requirements of society. He must court the bride-to-be and appear to enjoy it. He must tread the tricky waters of a society ball and not allow his family's name to be sullied. He must hold up his head when hints of his lost fortune surface. The plot escalates when the youngest sister falls ill and needs medical attention, or the bank demands money, or the landlord begins showing the house before the family has moved out. Things are getting worse. The plot is what forces the hero into an external action despite his internal conflict. He must handle the situation and take care of the problem.

In a romance, finding an equitable end of the conflicts, internal and external, results in a love match that solves the problems brought up during the story.

When I wrote Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas, I had a huge challenge on my hands. I wasn't writing my usual genre, which is romance. This story is pure science fiction. Using a strong conflict helped me create a platform on which to layer the characterization and thereby create the conflict. Here's the plot:

Pietas is an Ultra, an all-but-immortal warrior who leads the fight against the oppressive human race that created his people. But when he's captured and exiled to an alien world, his only ally is Six, a human who's been as betrayed as he was. To cross the continent and rejoin the other Ultras, Pietas must overcome his distrust of humans, and rely on the mortal.

Simple, right? One would think. But I had to get two enemy warriors to depend on each other to cross half a planet on foot. To do that, I had to put them on an equal basis. When one character is a human (albeit a six-feet tall special ops soldier) and the other a seven-feet tall immortal best-of-the-best warrior, that's not easy. I had to amp up Six's abilities, and somehow reduce those of Pietas. How does one trap an immortal with unmeasurable strength, an eidetic memory, and a sixth sense for trouble? Solving that enabled me to spring the plot into action.

Conflict is Muscle

Plot is the spine, the various settings are its bones, characters are its flesh and beauty, and conflict is its muscle. When you end the conflict, you end the story. And your readers will live happily ever after.

About Kayelle Allen

Kayelle Allen is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers, and author of the conflict-driven military scifi Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas.
Homeworld/Blog https://kayelleallen.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
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