Articles in the Fiction Writing Category

Reader Question: “Is there a way to kill off the main character early or in the middle of a story? If so, does that kill the story or can it still work?”

There are a few instances where killing off the main character at any point in the story can work, but, generally, the Hero shouldn’t die. At The Hero’s Journey Seminar, Karel Seger’s covered this with very good reasoning. He explained that when the Hero dies the viewer is confused because he or she is no longer tied to the character. When death happens to other characters we feel the emotions through the Hero but if you do funky stuff to the Hero you create a detachment that brings the reader/viewer out of the story. I add however, that while it is rare for the death of the Hero to play well in a story it can be done, if it is done well.

Life After Death

For example, if the main character continues through the story after he is dead then it can work. Paranormal stories are becoming more common. Modern readers are open to the idea that there may be an afterlife or life after death. So, a character may die and return to the story as a ghost or other ethereal being. I can think of at least one fantastic example where the character was dead all along and you didn’t know it until the end of the movie. The body may physically die and then be magically or metaphysically reanimated, such as with vampires and zombies. I remember one such biblical death that has been remembered evangelically for centuries. An immortal might experience “death” several times and survive those experiences.

But, life after death isn’t necessary paranormal either. A Hero could experience what has come to be called a “near death experience”. The body may physically die, it may even be pronounced dead, and then spontaneously revive. The science-fictional aspect of cryogenics and other stasis are states where the body would be declared clinically dead. There is no longer a measurable heartbeat or brainwave. The body’s metabolism is slowed down to such a deep “sleep” state that it no longer dreams. Yet, from this “death” the character can revive, exactly as they were before or, as poor Han Solo could attest, with one hell of a hangover.

What is significant about these deaths is that the death experience itself is profound for the character. Experiencing death, and then living in some way beyond that experience leaves a mark on the character. They often experience fundamental change. In a way, they do die because after that experience it is impossible to be exactly who they were before. If you write a scene where the main character dies it needs to have that profundity.

Another aspect of life after death that is becoming more commonly accepted as possible is the survival of the soul after the body dies. In some religions, the soul resides in the heavens after death, but in others the soul is reborn into the world of the living. In this way a character could live again after dying. It could be interesting telling a story from the point-of-view of the eternal soul. What if your character remembers living a former life?

Death, And Then Dying

Sometimes a story can open on a death scene and then flash back. It’s not a popular method because, lets face it, how much is a reader going to be willing to invest in a story if she knows that the character is going to die at the end? But flashbacks can work, especially if the opening scene leaves the death uncertain. If the character is dying when the scene flashes back then your reader is given a strong hook to find out if the character is going to live or die. Again, however, the experience must be a profound one and if that character does ultimately die at the end then you should definitely remember the points I make next.

A Heroic Death

One movie I remember did it brilliantly. The character development through the movie was profound and in the final few minutes the main character makes a heroic choice. One life, for many, but the real choice he made was his life, for his daughter’s. And that’s where it was a real and just choice and where his death made him truly a hero. It did work. But I also remember leaving the cinema at the end out of that movie feeling betrayed and heartbroken. We’re used to great stories having the traditional “happy ending”. The good guys win and go home and live to fight another day. And, technically they did, the good guys did win, but at a terrible price.

I think if most stories did this we’d go into movies with fewer expectations about how things should unfold. This movie is proof that it can be done, and done well. But while a moment like this is memorable, is it truly being fair to your reader/viewer? When we give ourselves into the hands of the writer there is a bond of trust. We open ourselves up to care about these characters. Death is a part of life, it is painful, and killing of that main character can abruptly rip us away from the story. Grief creates disconnection. And we grieve for a well written character who dies. When it’s the main character, it’s almost like we die ourselves because we’ve been seeing the world through that characters eyes. It’s their life we’ve lived while reading the story. It’s very hard to remain invested in a story when our heart has been ripped out.

Not Always A Hero

Sometimes you have to be aware that the Hero may not be who you think he is. If you kill off a character early and the story continues with someone else then that initial character was not the Hero. Beware of this trap because it’s a dangerous one. You can invest a lot of time writing the story in the point of view of one character and making such a dramatic shift to another disjoints the story. If you’ve got this happening in a draft, seriously consider if you could tell the story from the second character’s point of view from the very beginning. Examine your reasoning, why does this shift take place and is it fully justified?

My Advice On Killing The Hero

If you must do it, if the story needs to have this character die, do it well. Make the death memorable and completely justifiable. Never kill a main character carelessly. Don’t have him hit by a bus. Senseless death is waste and a reader needs to feel a sense of purpose behind such a great loss. Fiction, unlike life, has to have meaning. Every action has a motive and a purpose. Even the death of your character, any character at all, needs to mean something. But if that death is of your main character, your Hero, it must be vital, and life-altering. Weigh the loss the reader feels, the grief, and the sense of disconnection with what character’s death gives back to the reader and make sure there is a fair trade there. Sometimes the Hero does have to die, and when he does, he should be remembered for the remarkable contribution he made to through his life.

Which stories, books, or movies do you know of that killed off the main character? How did you feel when it happened?

Do you have a question about writing fiction? Ask me via email, Facebook, Twitter, or Plurk.

A few months ago, a friend and fellow writer came to me with questions about action, plot, and how to tell a unique story. His questions were fantastic and I wanted to share our conversation for those of you who might be asking yourselves the same thing; “How can I write a story that is fresh and new if I’m following the ‘rules’ and ‘formula’ set out by tried-and-true authors?”

Oh, good question. Action, particularly in the action movie genre, tends to refer more specifically to motion and movements that are being taken. Action movies involve a great deal of momentum. The pace is usually quite fast and a lot of exciting events tend to occur.
Plot is more collective; it’s about WHY those actions happen, and when and how. The plot involves the motivations of the characters and the causal affect, why one action leads into, or causes, a reaction.

An action movie SHOULD have a plot, but some don’t. If stuff is blowing up and people are running about everywhere but there isn’t some underlying sense of motivation and purpose there is no plot.

A lot of ‘real life’ is fairly plotless. We do stuff, because it’s a new day; that’s action. But without goals and dreams there is no plot and we tend to wander from action to action aimlessly.

Like I said, a lot of real life IS plotless, but during the writing process it’s best to have a plot because in a story things are supposed to happen for a reason. If you factor in an action or event that appears to be plotless it is because within your plot that ‘natural’ or ‘light-hearted’ event is important to the story.

This is Chekov’s Gun Theory, which states, “One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it.”

What this comes down to is plot devices. Everything in the story should serve the purpose of the plot. If it isn’t related then it doesn’t belong in the story. The plotless stuff should get taken OUT of a story.

Guy gets up, has coffee, blows his nose, has a shower… The reader doesn’t CARE! So it gets cut. Unless something significant happens in the event, such as his coffee is poisoned or he blows his brains out of his nose, it is noise that will bore and frustrate a reader. If an object, scene, or an action doesn’t serve the plot then it’s superfluous padding which can slow down and even dumb down a story.

Some stories are considered to be plot-driven while others are considered to be character-driven. If the scene develops the reader’s connection with the character it’s considered to be a character-driven scene and doesn’t necessarily ‘need’ a plot. But it’s better if the characters are driving the plot with all of their actions. That is how the two weave together.
Ideally, plot and character go together.

It’s the kind of thing worth considering when reading books. Look at them with your writer’s eye; pay attention to what feels connected to the greater theme of the story. Does anything happen that doesn’t, ultimately, lead into what happens next?
Life does that. If anything in my past had happened differently I wouldn’t be who I am in the present. And books are the same; the action serves the purpose of the plot, or at least it should.

You need both. Or rather, I should say, the best stories have both. There are plenty of stories that are “ok” which cater to one or the other predominantly but the stories readers come to love, the ones they become immersed in and won’t put down, are those which keep a balance between character and plot. Those stories build character enough to make us care that these things happen to this person, and plot enough to make what happens interesting.

Unique writing usually comes from voice. The same basic plot, even very similar characters have been written about hundreds of times before. (This is the basis of The Hero’s Journey.) But YOU haven’t written them. The way YOU tell the story will differ from the story someone else told.

If you talk to twenty people at a birthday party, every one of those twenty people would describe the party in a different and unique way. It would be like there were twenty parties instead of one. Each of us brings our own experiences and unique perspective to our storytelling.
Your storytelling can do things in a unique way based on your voice and the ideas that are uniquely yours.

It is better to balance the expected with the unexpected. Prepare and don’t prepare. Readers love twists, they love surprises, but they don’t like being mislead or sent off on tangents.

So, even if you do something unexpected, when the reader looks back it should be eye-opening for them. On reflection, they should be able to see the things that pointed to the twist before the twist happened.

For example, the second time you watch the movie, “Sixth Sense”, you realise there are lots of things that pointed to the twist from the very first scene. Natural human assumption about the way the world works creates a belief that causes viewers to miss those crucial hints the first time we see the movie, the twist makes us go “Shock, WOW!” and then ohhh, there, and there, oh yes, I remember that happening, etc.

Hints are good. Intelligent readers especially love the thrill of getting hints and trying to guess the ending. But be careful not to make those hints too obvious or the reader will guess and be right.

Well, you can write things completely opposite to that which is tried-and-true. It might work, but it might also become the biggest flop in this history of big flops. That’s what innovation is about; taking a chance that it won’t suck it big time.

If you want to write a book you can sell, you do it the way that has proven to work. Publishers don’t like taking risks so particularly for those of us writing for traditional publishers it can be important to follow the ‘rules’ and do what has proven to work.

If you want to do something fantastically unique and new, then don’t follow the ‘rules’. You have to be willing to break all the rules. It might pay off, but it might not. You have to weigh up if the risk is worth it to you. If you love the process of writing without following the tried-and-true, if it’s fun to be wild like that, then go for it. Forge the path for other writers to follow the new rules you create.

The only real ‘rule’ in writing is to write what you love. Because, odds are, if you love it there will be readers out there who love it as much as you do.

Original conversation took place on the 14th of September, 2010.

You lost your momentum. Your once exciting story feels like it’s gone off the rails somehow. The great beginning gave way to a floundering middle and you don’t know why. It’s frustrating and worrisome but don’t despair. This is a common, fixable problem.

So you’ve written a novel, but something is not quite right. You have a spectacular beginning to your story; a compelling hook, riveting main characters, and a worrisome conflict. Great!  Your ending is excellent with a twist, with a killer resolution – the satisfying all is well or isn’t this ironic last few words.

The problem, you decide, is the stuff in between. The middle of your book is lacking something. There’s no spark, no oomph.

Here are 5 tell-tale signs that your plot is losing steam.

1. Your main characters spend too much time apart.

This little tid-bit actually made a light go on in my head when I realized that the subplot was keeping my main characters apart for a large portion of the book. Doesn’t matter if they’re romantically involved or resolving a different type of relationship. They have to be together to get together.  You need time to build tension and your characters need time to resolve their conflict.

2. Your main character isn’t stressed out.

Conflict is the key to a good story. It creates tension and drama. If your main character is happy and comfortable they are also boring. Whether it’s an arch nemesis sabotaging them at every turn or a love interest that is out of reach, your main character has to suffer. Throwing conflicts in front of them also shows what they’re made of, how deep their desire goes for a given outcome, and what the stakes are. These revelations not only drive a story, they push your character along their arc of development.

3. Random, pointless details.

Do you write about the morning routine? Driving places? How about a few paragraphs describing boring stuff like what they do at work?  Busy work that doesn’t push the plot loses the reader and makes your characters too ordinary. Remember that your book is an escape for your readers. Only use the day to day if it’s significant. For example; if they don’t do something that later on proves a mistake. Then it’s a plot point.

4. Recapping and redundant conversations.

Your reader isn’t dumb. Don’t treat them like they are. If you already showed something in a scene, you don’t need to spend time talking about it, unless it’s a really convoluted storyline in which case sagging probably isn’t the only problem.

5. Second Fiddle becomes more interesting.

If secondary characters, supporting staff, and scenery become the focus of your book you’re in trouble. Quirky side-kicks, sassy best friends, the Beta-Male/friend are all essential, but be aware of those characters taking over. Avoid this by limiting their backstory to only what is relevant to the plot.

But wait. There is hope. Here are some steps to take BEFORE your plot starts to slow that will allow you to side-step the whole horrifying ordeal.  I know that some SEAT OF YOUR PANTS writers out there will hate me for this, but OUTLINING, is the best way to check for signs of trouble. An outline of your plot will help you see some essential components you might be missing.

Make sure you have a book-length plot. The number one reason for losing steam halfway through a story is that you don’t have enough of a plot to support a book-length manuscript.  The subplot doesn’t have enough emotional twists and turns or the main plot is too linear.  An outline can help you see if you need more of one or the other or if your novel should really be a novella or short story.

Make sure you limit the action. This may sound backwards, but too much action and your book becomes frenetic and hard to follow. Doling out the tension systematically, piece by piece, ramping up the stakes just a bit each time is a more effective way to keep your story exciting.

The middle matters in matters of the heart. Use the middle to focus on the romance or the relationship issues between characters. Make sure they contribute to major turning points in the plot.  Don’t go off on tangents like side character issues, or backstory. If you know the middle of novels tends to sag fill it with juicy stuff and it won’t.

Now it’s always a good idea to do check for these problems before your WIP needs a major overhaul. Sometimes going back in and adding subplots or adjusting the pace can fix your novel, but that can be frustrating. Bypass lengthy revisions by simply planning ahead and employing these strategies to avoid a plot that runs out of steam.

Wow! Have you ever been to a workshop or seminar that just BLEW YOUR MIND? That was what the two-day seminar, “The Hero’s Journey“, put on in the Art Gallery of Western Australia Theatrette this weekend, did for me. It BLEW MY MIND! It truly was, as the presenter described, “The be all and end all, the mother of all story-telling theories.”

The seminar, hosted by WAnimate in conjunction with ScreenWest was presented by talented producer, consultant, teacher, blogger, and “student of story”, Karel Segers. Over the course of two days, Karel covered a great deal of ground, from The Monomyth and Mythical Structure, to Hero’s Journey Archetypes, and from the Three-Act Structure to the twelve stages of The Hero’s Journey. He managed to give us an overview of all this while interspersing compelling examples in dozens of clips and sequences from some of the most popular movies in the history of modern cinema. We had a blast. It truly was a lot of fun and I learned a great deal.

Although targeted at animators the seminar was a boon for producers, directors, and writers of all kinds. “The Hero’s Journey” has a particular slant toward screenwriting but I honestly feel that having an understanding of the journey can help fiction writers add depth and dynamic to their stories. By understanding “The Hero’s Journey” you begin to see that stories aren’t just about a beginning, middle, and end. There are stages of evolution and learning built into the character arc that extend throughout the plot. Seeing how this works in the majority of successful books and movies is pretty phenomenal. I’ll never watch a movie or read a book in the same way again.

So, I’m mind-blown. And, over the next few weeks I’ll share with you some of what I’ve learned through the seminar and some of what I’m continuing to learn. I’ll cover:

• The Monomyth and Mythical Structure
• Character Archetypes in The Hero’s Journey
  (and possibly break this down in detail by each individual archetype and that archetypes impact on the journey)
• What exactly is Three-Act and Four-Act Structure?
• Why Three-Acts and Four-Acts aren’t enough
• The Twelve Stages of The Hero’s Journey
  (and probably break it down by each stage and possibly share a series of movie analyses and clips that give examples of these stages)

While I get all these posts written, I’ll leave you with some references that were recommended by Karel and which I’ve already hunted down for my own further research:

• “The Hero With A Thousand Faces” by Joseph Campbell (1949)
• “The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers” by Chris Vogler (1998)
• “The Power of Myth” by Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers (1991)
• “The Key: How to write damn good fiction using the power of myth” by James N. Frey (2002)
• “Myth And The Movies: Discovering the Mythic Structure of 50 Unforgettable Films” by Stuart Voytilla (1999)

And some I’m still trying to get my hands on:

• “Psychology of the Unconscious” by Carl Jung (1912) translation by Beatrice M. Hinkle (1916)
• “Owning Your Own Shadow” by Robert A. Johnson (1993)

There is a lot to cover and so much more I’ve yet to learn. But you know what was most inspiring about this weekend? I had a breakthrough with my current novel. Some of you might remember that I’ve been “stuck” with my current WIP for months now. My muse is holding my draft hostage at the seventy percent (70%) mark and, until this weekend, I was unable to figure out how to bring the strings of plot together to get to those magic words, “the end”. Thanks to what I’ve learned this weekend I’m moving forward again and it feels fantastic!

I want to give a huge shout out and thank you to Karel Segers and The Story Department, WAnimate, ScreenWest, The Art Gallery of Western Australia, and Writing WA for giving me the opportunity to attend The Hero’s Journey Seminar. I had an incredible time and I’d love to have more of these opportunities coming to Perth.

The term “short fiction” includes many different types of writing. The most popular among these types are short stories and flash fiction. A short story can range anywhere from about 500 words to 10,000 words, depending on the source of the information. Many publishing companies, especially the ones specializing in anthologies, look for works that range from 1,000 words to 5,000 words. Flash fiction usually ranges from 100 words to 1,000 words.

So, what is the difference between short stories and flash fiction? There are many differences, though they are often difficult to discern. The main difference between the two is the concept of structure.

Short stories should have a basic structure including introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution. Many believe that a short story is just a flash into the lives of the characters, when in reality, a short story contains the same essential elements as a novel. The difference between a novel and a short story is the depth at which the characters and plot line are explored. In a basic form, a short story needs a beginning, middle, and end, with a healthy dose of character development. 0t should tell a complete story, whether the topic is how a relationship between two people begins, the testing process of a wizard, a car accident, or perhaps even a character’s struggle to find a job. The possibilities are endless. What needs to remain constant is that there is an introduction, character development, a conflict, and a resolution for that conflict. It does not have to be a positive resolution, or a happily-ever-after, but it does need to be a conclusion which the reader finds satisfactory.

Flash fiction, on the other hand, is a “flash” into a situation. It should include one character, conflict, and resolution. The difference here is that the plot can be quite simple. For example, an evening in the life of a character in which realization is achieved. There does not have to be an external conflict in flash fiction, and the resolution can be as simple as the character making a decision they were previously having trouble resolving. There are many forms of flash fiction. Some of the most popular are stories with a word count restriction. There are those that specialize in using exactly 55 words to tell a story, all the way down to 3. These kinds of flash fiction concentrate more on hinting at the plot line, and may not even contain a solid character.

In the end, the main identifiable difference between a short story and flash fiction is the depth of which the character(s) development, plot line, and resolution strive towards. Both forms have great merit, and there are many published authors who have made a name for themselves strictly by writing flash fiction and short stories.

Joy Campbell specializes in article writing, research, short fiction, and creating helpful information for new and emerging writers.

I hate it. You hate it. Everyone hates it.

What am I talking about? He said, she said.

Using ‘said’ occasionally is fine. I’m not going to reach through the screen and slap and author if I see that used in a manuscript. If the author uses it in every conversation their characters are involved in, I just might find a way to do that. I’m pretty sure that Google is working for an option for that in Google Labs. Just wait.

I have seen other references to using said when a writer wants to let readers know who is speaking. The general consensus is that these writers are lazy. While that may be true for some, that is not always what is going on. Most of the time the author is just unaware that there are better ways to reach their reader. They have no idea how boring it looks, only that they are trying to keep the conversation clear – who is saying what.

The thing is, readers are an intelligent bunch. They can follow a conversation in a novel. Yes they can. Even if you leave out every said, if you are careful to keep the conversation in perspective, your reader will know who is talking.

For example:

Bad- “I can’t believe you dropped the ball on this project.” Diana said.

“I’m sorry, Diana. I lost track of time.” Steven said.

Um, ew? Can you imagine the rest of that? Forty saids later, we’ll be chucking the Kindle across the room.

We could get even worse, if you like. Watch this:

“I can’t believe you dropped the ball on this project.” Diana murmured.

“I’m sorry, Diana! I lost track of time!” Steven ejaculated.

I’m trying hard to contain my laughter at this point. Steven ejaculated? The only place I ever want to read ejaculated is in an erotica. Scratch that…if any one of you writes the word ejaculated in an erotica, I will slap you. For real.

The authors using this method are still trying to convey who is speaking. They’re using their thesaurus, which is commendable, but in essence we’re reading ‘said’. No matter how descriptive you get with the word – it’s SAID.

Keep your quotes in focus. Use your description in the delivery and in the scene. If you write a conversation, keep the tone and delivery in tune with the character speaking. Describe the emotions, the position of your character, and for crying out loud – don’t use said!

Try something like this:

Diana leaned forward and covered her face with her hands after placing the phone on the desk. “I can’t believe you dropped the ball on this project.”

Shifting in his seat, Steven felt as if the world was caving in on him. He had wanted to impress Diana. “I’m sorry. I lost track of time and screwed up.”

Here we see that Diana is disappointed and Steven feels awful for the situation. Instead of being told what the characters are saying, we are drawn into the scene and can watch what is going on. As with all fiction, creating conversation is a matter of showing, not telling our readers what is going on.

Your homework now is to go back through your manuscript and strike all of those saids. Even the prettied up ones. Show your reader the scene, leave off the explanation of who is talking, and let your conversation flow.

How do you handle dialogue tags in your writing?

At some point everyone aspires to write a novel. Then the hypothetical writer sits down to write, Grand Idea in tow, and can’t find a way to realize it. Then the hypothetical writer gets depressed, closes the window, and quits working for six months, though they continue to tell everyone they know that they’re either writing or “getting ready to write” a novel.

You don’t want to be one of those people who talks about getting things done more than they get things done. Instead, if you want to be writing a novel, you should be writing a novel. Here are some creative ways to get that novel started.

1. Cut to the chase.

Don’t think in terms of establishing everything right away, especially if your grand masterwork hasn’t been outlined and will be more made up as you go along (as if things aren’t made up as you go along). If there’s a single event, or a character, or some other factor that’s making you feel forced to write, write about that right away. It doesn’t even necessarily need a place in your novel
right away; you’ll find a place for it as you go, and establishing that will help make everything else come naturally.

2. Don’t begin at the beginning.

Beginnings and endings are brutally, painfully difficult. They require a whole lot of revision and a great deal of planning to make them successful, effective and not bogged down in cliché. Start from just about anywhere else and your chances of getting frustrated go down considerably; your beginning and end will come when they come. Don’t assume that you’re writing a beginning
when you start writing, and that you’ll find a place for the first pieces you write as you get further along in your writing project.

3. Power through your first draft.

Don’t assume that you’re going to craft something truly great as you simply start writing. Instead of reading and rereading when you only have a few pages, keep moving; when a cohesive whole, or the seed of a cohesive whole, starts to take shape, begin revising then. You’ll feel a thousand times less prone to abandoning the entire project if you’re trying to support more than only a few hours’ worth of work, and your increased investment in the project will help you in the long term as you seriously approach the revision process later on.

4. Experiment with narration. (point-of-view)

If you find it difficult to write in the third-person, try writing from the first-person. Or consider even trying an epistolary format or another version of second-person address. In doing so, you might find yourself suddenly more invested in a character, or a concept, or discovering things that do and don’t work for you as a writer or the long-form work that you’re attempting to complete.

5. Read fiction that inspires you. Poach a good idea if you find one.

Supposedly at some point Pablo Picasso said that “Talent borrows, genius steals.” Don’t steal someone else’s work and don’t plagiarize, but if something moves you enough to start writing, ask yourself why it affects you so much and why it works, and twist that concept or idea until it begins to feel like yours. The best writers are also voracious readers of fiction; they know tropes and the rules of language well enough to be able to subvert and play with them, and how to make something that stands out in a world in which thousands of books are published yearly and there aren’t that many readers. Bringing up your consumption can only help you in the long run.

Andrew Hall is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on call center management for Guide to Career Education.

A good friend of mine asked if I could help her with a novel. Instead of writing a long, detailed email that could be deleted on accident, it made sense to share some ideas with all fiction writers. Now she will have something to refer to at any time and so will you.

Believable dialogue in any story is a bane to writers. Maybe not all writers. I do know that on forums and other online areas I see authors struggling to get their characters talking to each other. They are not quite sure how to get a conversation going, keep it moving, and end it with finesse.

That’s okay, folks. Those are hard concepts in day to day speech, too. I think everyone has dealt with those awkward moments of silence in a conversation. We are not sure what to say and I don’t know about you…but at those times I begin to wonder if the other person thinks I am socially challenged. (I am, but that’s a whole ‘nother can o’ beans.)

So, we sit and we struggled. A million ideas run through our minds. What to say? Will they think we sound stressed? That we’re pushing too hard? What if we say the wrong thing?

Your character thinks the same things that you do. Your characters are only extensions of yourself. Even that nasty villain running about kicking puppies is a dark bit of your soul. He’s worried that when he (or she) laughs maniacally then delivers his evil lines, the hero is going to snort in total derision and ask where he took his villain lessons. Gap sales school?

He does. He worries a lot. It’s hard being evil. Darn heroes make it that much harder.

The key to creating this dialogue is to think about what you would do in the same situation. You or your darker half. If you insist that these characters would not react as you would, then think of someone you know. Put your mother in law in the villain suit. That shouldn’t be too hard, right?

Now that you have the tools to get the conversation started and move it along, (really, that’s it – responding how you or someone you know well would), we need to talk about flow. Everyone hates reading stilted conversations. It makes you painfully aware of how hard the author is trying to sound ‘real’.

My best tip for creating and then polishing a written conversation? Read it out loud. How does it sound? If it sounds fake, try recording one character’s half of the conversation and reply back to it. Don’t force it to sound grammatically correct. How many people do you know in real life conversations that speak proper English 100% of the time? Write down your replies and then add to your document. Wash, rinse, and repeat. If you have a willing friend or a spouse you can bribe into helping you with the speaking parts, do it! You will have a superior end product.

Ending a conversation is just as hard as opening, moving, and polishing. There is no real key to this lock. Again, you need to refer to real life conversations. How do you end one? Do you make an excuse to get off of an instant message or phone call? Your characters can do this, too. Get into the mind of your character. Know what she would do. BE your character! Is she feeling uncomfortable or bored? Have her lie to the other character. “I have to walk the dog” or “Oops, doorbell” is going to work for her in the same way it will for you. In a face to face conversation, have her think up something that she needs to go and do.

And now, excuse me, but I really have to go walk the dog.

To develop a compelling character that readers will relate to we need to give him a few flaws. There are lists of traits and imperfections we could introduce and some of their problems can affect our characters, and the plot of their story, in radical ways. Our characters need to be flawed, especially our main characters, we know that. We work to give them challenges. Goodness knows I do. But have you ever written a character who is going through rehab?

I considering developing a character for a future story who is sent to rehab. As soon as my historical romances reach relatively modern times I want to give them modern flaws. What kind of rehab should they go to, though? I’ve taken a look at three different kinds of rehab to evaluate my options. Physical Injury, Sex Addiction, and Substance Abuse. What other types of rehabilitation could our characters face?

1. Physical Injury

Perhaps the most common type of rehab is physical rehabilitation. If someone has a serious injury, they attend physical therapy to restore normal movement and function to their bodies. Broken bones, back problems, weak ankles, strokes, and head injuries often get this treatment. If they had rehab in the early Middle Ages, Kiernan (the protagonist from my historical romance novel KIERNAN’S CURSE) would have been sent to physical therapy after his head injury and again after his knee was badly injured during a duel. Benen (from BENEN’S BURDEN, set 200 years after KIERNAN) undergoes a primitive type of physical rehabilitation by the woman he eventually marries, Nerys, who is determined to prove the healer’s assumption, that the duke will die from injuries received in a fire, wrong.

2. Sex Addiction

Before the Tiger Woods’ scandal broke, did you really give much thought to sex addiction or the need for sex therapy or rehabilitation? The whole idea made me think of Dr. Ruth. In the back of our minds, though, we all know about someone who can’t keep their pants zipped or their legs together. (Yes, I went there.) We tend to call them sluts, whores, gigolos, etc. In looking at my characters, Trevor (in TREVOR’S TRIUMPH, 300 years after KIERNAN) might have been a candidate for some sort of sex rehab. That is, he would have before he met and married Shae.

3. Substance Abuse

We can probably name at least three celebrities who have gone through rehab for drugs or alcohol abuse, whether voluntary or court-ordered. For a recent example, look to Lindsay Lohan. Because of all the complexities involved and the potential for underlying mental or physical disorders, I don’t know that I’ll have a primary character go through this type of rehabilitation. But there are many stories where overcoming addiction can be a powerful catalyst in the life of fictional characters.

One thing to remember is that there are many other things to consider when you decide to put your fictional characters in rehab, regardless of what type. There are layers of complexities, ranging from other physical limitations, illnesses, or disorders to additional psychological issues that underlie the problem for which they are treated. Do your homework. Talk to doctors, physical therapists, psychiatrist, psychologists, or counselors. Failing to consider additional factors can blow your credibility when you’re questioned on your research by one of those professionals.

What other types of rehab are there? Have you ever written about a character who had been through or was going through rehab? How do you think rehabilitation could add dimension to the character development of your protagonist?

“There are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the cold, hard truth.” ~ Don Henley

Choosing your point of view (POV) is one of the most critical aspects of your novel writing. Yet it is also one of the most automatic. Most writers leap into a story, and start writing from their main character’s perspective, in either the first or third person. This early decision can cause issues later on, if the point of view isn’t the ideal one for your story.

POV is also one of the main tools that establishes the narrative mode of your story. It dictates how involved your readers become, by limiting how much information your characters are able to reveal. It brings a unique perspective to the story, which can drastically change if you rewrite a passage with a different point of view. Take a look at some of the most commonly used points of view in literature, and see if your writing could benefit from a perspective face lift.

First Person POV

Your main character speaks directly to your audience, using “I, me, mine”. When using the first person, you are restricted to revealing only one character’s inner thoughts. Your readers see the world through your protagonist’s eyes only, learning new facts only when they are discovered by your hero. Descriptions of your setting, other characters, and obstacles are all filtered through the POV character’s perspective.

This technique is particularly effective when you are writing a character driven story. Your theme will often depend on the character’s personal growth, inner transformation, and the struggles she faces. It is less effective when you need to be able to switch your perspective from character to character, as readers may struggle when presented with another first person point of view within a story. You may try switching characters at chapter breaks, but readers will greatly identify with the character whose head they’ve been in from the beginning, and may resist the unusual break in perspective.

Third Person Limited POV

Your narrator or narrative voice speaks about your characters, using “he, she, them” while focusing primarily on one or two characters. You still retain some of your authority as a writer, and can describe the rest of the story’s world without the need to take your protagonist’s perspective into consideration. Usually, the story will focus on only one character within a chapter, and perspective switches occur at chapter breaks.

Romances are a great example of when two characters share the protagonist role, and when third person limited is split between two characters. However, be on the lookout for when your point of view slides into another person’s perspective without you realizing it. This can cause confusion for your readers, who may not understand why your story is being seen through another person’s eyes all of a sudden. Also, make sure that you don’t unintentionally reveal facts and thoughts that your protagonist cannot know, or else your story’s continuity can be undermined.

Third Person Omniscient POV

Your narrator speaks in a similar way to third person limited, except that they can reveal anything and everything about your characters. The sky’s the limit here, as you can begin with a grand overview of your book’s world, and then zoom in to the perspective of a bumblebee. This perspective is excellent for plot driven stories, where you need to jump from scene to scene taking place in various areas of the world.

However, third person omniscient is also one of the most difficult perspectives to do well. If you jar your readers too much by jumping around, they may lose interest and set your story down. While you can do anything you want, you probably shouldn’t. Guide your readers through your story with grace and skill, and they will be blown away by the expansiveness and complexity of your tale.

Choose a passage from your latest story, and determine what POV you have used. Try rewriting it another point of view, and see how your story changes! What is your favorite point of view?

Photo Credit: Dreamglow Pumpkincat210