Angela Ackerman's Blog: Writers Helping Writers, page 17

How to Strengthen Our Story with Tropes

Every genre and medium of storytelling uses tropes���common themes or story devices. However, the frequency of certain storytelling ideas, such as ���the chosen one,��� makes them so common that readers get sick of them, and every type of trope can seem clich�� or predictable.

Yet tropes are so common that we can���t avoid using them, so it���s better if we can learn how to benefit from them. How can we avoid the problems of tropes and instead use them to help strengthen our story?

Wait, Why Can���t We Just Avoid Tropes?

Think of story tropes as a storytelling pattern. Some patterns are big and can encompass the entire story (coming of age), and some patterns are smaller and play out over a scene or two (a double cross).

These storytelling patterns, or tropes, can focus on:

characters (hero���s journey, unlikely allies, unreliable narrator, reluctant hero, etc.)settings (going into a dark basement, vaguely European medieval surroundings, etc.)plot elements (road trip, love triangle, blackmail, trapped in an elevator, etc.)and so on���

Any storytelling idea that���s been used more than once becomes part of a pattern, from ���secret admirer��� to ���cellphone battery is dead.��� Virtually every idea, twist, obstacle, etc. falls into a pattern, which means it���s part of a trope.

At this point, even the many ways that authors attempt to subvert a trope have themselves become tropes. Think of a ���damsel in distress��� trope where the damsel isn���t really in danger at all.

Countless numbers of tropes exist, to the point that a whole website is dedicated to them. In other words, tropes are unavoidable.

How Can We Avoid the Weaknesses of Tropes?

The pattern aspect of tropes is part of what makes a trope a trope. Audiences can fill in the details of a trope without the story having to spell everything out because they recognize the pattern.

Not surprisingly, that pattern recognition can also create the sense of predictability, clich��, and other weaknesses. However, the worst negative effects of tropes occur when we rely on them to carry the work of the story.

Taking some of the bullet points above, here���s what it means to rely on tropes to carry the story:

For characters, we set up an ���unlikely allies��� trope, but we don���t develop why these characters are working together despite the unlikeliness.For setting, we set up a ���vaguely European medieval surroundings��� trope, but we don���t develop any unique storytelling or worldbuilding details.For plot, we set up a ���blackmail��� trope, but we don���t develop the stakes and motivations of the parties involved.

In all those cases, the tropes would weaken the story, regardless of the strength of our other story elements, because we���d be relying on the trope formula to do the work. Our lazy writing would expect readers to recognize the trope to the point that we merely kick off the pattern and wait for the formula to do the rest. The story itself is just going through the motions.

How Can Tropes Strengthen Our Story?

Given that inherent pattern recognition and predictability, how can we possibly make tropes strengthen our story?

Tropes and their patterns tap into universal experiences and emotions. Readers recognize and are familiar with the patterns of those experiences and emotions from other stories they���ve been exposed to, even if they���ve never come across them in real life. With that common background, tropes can help readers instantly grasp complex relationships, emotional flips, and storytelling turns.

So while tropes can be shortcuts to lazy writing, their patterns and expectations can also be shortcuts to relatability and understanding for readers. As long as we���re then building on those shortcuts rather than expecting them to do all the work, our story will be stronger. In other words, rather than relying on tropes to the extent of shortchanging unique details or character/story development, we can use tropes to improve readers��� connection and provide opportunities for deeper development.

Example: How Tropes Can Strengthen Our Story

Let���s say we want readers to feel more connected to a minor character. Here���s one way we can use tropes to shortcut a starting point for the character���s development (which we then build on) and strengthen the character���s connection to readers:

Recognize what tropes/patterns the character represents: The character is an intelligent precocious child, and thus readers will expect a know-it-all who���s always a step ahead of everyone else.Lean into the trope in a way that adds relatability: Make the child more relatable by showing them as an outsider or dismissed in some respects.Recognize the trope���s expectations (and common subversions): Readers will believe that when cornered by the bad guy, the child will come out on top.Subvert the trope in a way that adds opportunities for depth: Instead, the child doesn���t realize the bad guy is manipulating them, because���they are still a child. (Note: Sometimes this step isn���t even on the page because the opportunity is what���s important, not the subversion.)Use the opportunity to add character and/or story development: In the reveal of the child being manipulated instead, use the opportunity to deepen their character development, such as by exploring their feelings of outsider-ness or being dismissed, or maybe their precociousness is a result of feeling like they���re not allowed to make mistakes, and this was a big mistake.

In this example, between the child being a victim of the bad guy���s manipulation and deepening their character development on the page, readers will feel doubly sorry for them and thus more emotionally connected to them. As a result, the story will feel deeper and stronger.

Focus on the Opportunity for More, Not the Subversion

There are plenty of advice articles out there about how to twist or subvert a trope:

Change the contextGender/role reversalLayer tropes to come up with something unique, etc.

That advice can be great and good to know, and in fact, I���ve written one of those posts. But like mentioned above, many subversions have now become new tropes.

So if we can���t avoid using tropes, and if there���s a limit to how much we can subvert tropes, how can we make them benefit our story? Strengthening our story with ��� or despite ��� tropes is less about the specifics of subverting them and more about how we can take something potentially clich�� and use it to add depth and development to our story.

We can use the shortcuts that tropes provide to give us a quick starting point to build on for more depth in our story. We can use the shorthand of trope relatability to give us room to focus on development beyond or outside of the trope.

In other words, rather than spending our time trying to think of a never-before-thought-of twist for our story���s tropes, we may be better off to accept that tropes aren���t bad���but they are just a starting point. If we instead spend our time using our story���s tropes as a launchpad for adding uniqueness and depth, our story will be stronger. *smile*

Have you struggled to understand tropes before or been stumped for how to twist the tropes in your story? Does this post help you see how embracing them as shortcuts might allow us to add more depth in other ways? Do you have any questions about tropes or their weakness and how to use them?

Check out the Character Type and Trope Thesaurus.

Use this resource to familiarize yourself with the commonalities for a certain kind of character while also exploring ways to elevate them and make them memorable, more interesting, and perfectly suited for the story you want to tell.

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Authors Are Assets, Not Competition

Most industries are competitive. Athletes go head-to-head for the medal or trophy. Car companies vie for market share as do grocery stores, restaurants, and delivery services. Reality TV show contestants duke it out for prize money, prestige, and in some cases (ugh) roses. And our favorite retail Godzilla, Amazon? They compete with everybody.

Know who isn���t your competition? Authors.

Sure, on the surface, it appears a competition is taking place. After all, look at the sea of books on the market, the sky-high submission piles. Think about how we need to list comparable titles when we pitch our work to agents and how past book sales and current platform numbers carry weight acquisitions decides which author will receive a contract offer.

Is it true that agents only take on certain clients and publishers only publish certain books? Yes. But the ���I���m competing against other authors��� idea is a sacred cow leftover from a time when keeping authors divided suited a publishing monopoly (that has thankfully been broken).

Other Authors Aren���t Competition, They���re ASSETS.
Here���s Why.Of the bazillion books out there, only a small fraction are ones your exact audience may be interested in.

So, skip any hand-wringing over how flooded the market is — it doesn���t matter. You only need to consider books like yours. And even then, far from being your competition, these books and the authors attached to them can HELP YOU SELL MORE BOOKS. Which brings us to���

2. Your goal is to find your audience. Other authors are a gateway to them.

What now, Batman? Yes, that���s right���your so-called competition has been there, done that and has the t-shirt. They���ve found their readers. In fact, every day they reach more. So, if you do your research and find authors who write books a lot like yours, their readers can become your readers.

In today���s world, authors have online platforms to reach readers no matter where they live, giving you a starting point for finding and connecting with your potential audience. Pay attention to where comparable authors spend their time and you���ll find potential readers. It might be a Facebook group, Instagram, special interest forums, blogs, etc.��� Wherever you see authors who write similar books to you spend their time with readers, this is also a good place for you. Start spending time getting to know people in this space.

Don���t jab promotion at people, just join the conversation, enjoy common ground, and build relationships. If this truly is your audience, there will be topics that tie into your books that will be a subject of conversation and because that���s what you write about and are interested in, you���ll have lots to contribute. Eventually it will come out you ALSO write books about X and sooner or later, folks will check you out. And hey, while we���re talking about how established authors in our niche can help us���

3. Each author is a megaphone to their audience, meaning marketing collaborations with certain authors can help you build your readership more quickly.

When you research other authors to find ones in your niche, read their novels. Is the genre, style, and content a match to yours? Is the book well-written? Can you see yourself recommending this book to people?

If the answer is yes, this author may be someone you wish to collaborate with. If your values align, cross promotion will be a win-win. They encourage their readers to check you out and you do the same for them and you both gain new readers. So, find a good author match and think how you can help THEM sell books and gain visibility.

But wait���that doesn���t sound right. Shouldn���t I be trying to sell my own books, not someone else���s?

Glad you asked, because this ties into a truth we all have to bend our heads around:

4. No matter how fast you write, readers read faster.

One dangerous mistake we can make with our readers is to only think about US, not THEM. It���s ALWAYS about them, which means we need to take care of our audience even after they���ve finished reading all our books.

It takes time to release the next book, and in the meantime, our readers need good books to read. If we do nothing to stay in touch, they might forget about us and the next book, but if we make it a priority to give them more of what they love, we stay on their radar. Recommending books we know our readers will love shows we want them to have a great reading experience over and over again, whether it���s our book or not.

So rather than fearing losing our readers to someone else, we should encourage readers to seek out specific authors. Not only does this encourage reader loyalty, it���s also a great way to gain new readers ourselves. How? Because other comparable authors are in the same boat, and they will be looking to recommend books to their readers, too. Reciprocity is something that���s hardwired into us, so if they see us openly pushing people to their books, they will want to do the same in return.  This brings us to a final point:

5. Other authors have a wealth of knowledge we may need.

There���s a lot to publishing and marketing well, and we���re all constantly running into new situations that exposes a gap in our knowledge. Maybe we���ve never tried for a Bookbub and so don���t know the tips and tricks. Or we���re just starting out with newsletters or Amazon ads and have no idea how to do either right. What���s better in these cases ��� spending a bunch of time and money on research, courses, and trial and error, or talking to another author who is successful in that space and asking them to point us to the right information?

And just as others can use their experiences to help us, we can do the same for them. A rising tide lifts all boats!

Honestly, this is just the tip of the ice cream scoop as far as why authors are assets, so I urge you to think about your own genre and who fits your niche. Reach out to your not-competition. Consider ways you can help them, and how you can collaborate to gain bigger readerships!

What was the best advice another writer shared with you?

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The Missing Link in Three-Act Structure

In any discussion of story structure, the three-act model inevitably dominates the conversation. Even as plotting methods such as Save the Cat, the Hero���s Journey, and the Snowflake Method gain popularity, the classic beginning-middle-end form reaching back to the dramatic theories of Aristotle remains the essential core.

But here’s the rub: Three-act structure produces a disproportionately large act in the middle of a novel���the double-stuff cream in the three-act Oreo���leaving writers with a puffy, gooey act notoriously recognized as the most difficult section to write. Act 2 of a three-act story is twice the length of the other acts, forcing writers to combat the infamous “saggy middle” effect using a hodge-podge of plot tangents and pacing tricks.

But it���s not the writing that makes the double-stuffed Act 2 feel like such a slog; it���s the structure itself. The loss of momentum is a symptom of a missing component that flattens plot and character development: the midpoint complication.

The Frog in the Boiling Pot

A well-paced story thrives on rising action, tugging readers into a web of progressively escalating complications. This stream of gains and setbacks turns up the heat on the protagonist, like a frog in the proverbial soon-to-boil pot of hot water.

But when complications occur solely at the scene level, readers may not feel as though their hand has been thrust against the blistering heat of the pot. Their experience is more likely to resemble that of our oblivious friend the frog���they may never notice the relentlessly mounting heat. They may lose interest and hop out of the story pot long before it comes to a boil and the frog finally takes action.

While fans of slow-burn stories do exist, most readers prefer regular injections of momentum. And the exciting change they���re looking for���the stuff that sends plots skittering in new directions and forces protagonists to grapple with impossible choices���is driven not by incremental temperature increases but by large-scale structural movement: story turning points.

What Do Turning Points Do?

Turning points are a structural element of storytelling. A turning point is a pivot point between two acts, forming a joint between one limb of the narrative and the next.

It���s not that a turning point is simply a dramatic, landmark event. That���s missing the point. A turning point fills a specific role in the story: It turns the story in a new direction. It keeps the story living, breathing, evolving ��� changing.

Turning points work on the basis of stimulus���response. The first element is a stimulus: a significant action, event, or revelation in the plot. The second element is the protagonist���s response to that stimulus. Their reaction determines the tenor and direction of the entire next act.

Recurring, well-paced turning points keep the story from deteriorating into a dull, predictable march toward an inevitable climax.

And this brings us back to the downfall of three-act structure.

The Midpoint Complication

Without a fundamental opportunity for narrative and character change during the second act of a three-act story, readers and writers are likely to flounder. But dividing the second act to create four acts instead of three creates an additional turning point���and another opportunity for the protagonist���s choices to determine the story���s direction.

The midpoint complication, which falls between the two middle acts, offers the perfect story shakeup. It sends the plot in a new direction or complicates the protagonist���s choices with significant new information.

Four-act structure eliminates the long, sagging middle act of three-act structure, prolonging the initial strategy the protagonist chooses at the end of Act 1. The midpoint complication injects new energy into the quest. Readers can visibly see the tides begin to turn. The protagonist���s initial attempts may not be paying off yet, but the hard knocks they���re taking are building determination and resourcefulness.

The midpoint complication serves as a crucial pivot, channeling the story���s energy from reactive response to proactive progress, from the easy way to the hard way, from deconstruction to reconstruction. This form helps writers avoid the common pitfall of the sagging middle act, buoying readers from the first act through the last.

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Does Your Character���s Behavior Make Sense?

Have you been in a situation where someone acts erratically, and not in a good way? It takes you by surprise, doesn���t it? Imagine this scenario: you���re sitting around the lunch table with coworkers and pop out a joke. Instead of a wave of laughter, one of your tablemates begins to sob. Or they jump up, shove the table, and walk out.

Your emotional response? Befuddlement (What just happened?) Guilt (What did I say?) Judgement (Wow, she���s unstable.)

It���s always a bit uncomfortable when we can���t follow the logic of cause and effect. A joke should prompt laughter, head shaking and a grin, or maybe if poorly delivered, an awkward beat of silence. These are reactions we expect.

Cause-and-effect is very important in the real world.

*This sequence helps us navigate life. When we know what to expect, we know what to do.
*Study for a test to pass it.
*Pay the mortgage to have a safe place to live.

It also helps us know what not to do.

*Drinking too much causes a hangover.
*People who leave a paper trail get caught.
*If I tell the boss what I really think, I���ll be fired.

Cause-and-effect helps us plan and gives us a sense of control over our lives.

Guess who else is hardwired to notice cause-and-effect? Readers.

What helps us navigate life also helps readers navigate the story. In fiction, this means paying attention to your character���s behavior. How they react to situations in the story is EVERYTHING. Their decisions, actions, and choices will tell readers what���s really important, what the character wants and needs, who to root for, and what outcome is ideal.

As authors, we want to make it easy for our audience to ���read��� our character���s behavior. If a reader is confused about why a character does or says something it might pull them out of the story, or they could grow frustrated or even lose interest.

So how can we always ���know��� how our characters will behave? By understanding them down to their bones: what they care about, who they are. What they want and fear. What they believe in. By exploring a character���s deeper layers, we learn everything we need to know to determine what they will logically do in any situation. (And knowing this?  WRITER���S GOLD. Your story will practically write itself!)

So, whether you like to plan up front or prefer discovery drafts where characters start out as more mystery than flesh, here are important factors that greatly influence how your character will behave.

Emotional Range

Every person has a baseline when it comes to emotions: reserved or expressive, share feelings openly or keep them to themselves, things like that. Characters are the same. Understanding what this looks like helps us know the difference between ���typical reactions��� and ���escalations.��� After all, conflict and friction will push the needle, causing your character to be more emotionally reactive. It���s great for the story too; emotional extremes push them out of their comfort zone, lead to missteps and mistakes, and create MORE tension and conflict.

To figure out your character���s baseline, imagine everyday situations. How do they express emotion when they feel safe and when they do not? What do everyday emotions (contentment, nervousness, joy, worry, and fear) look like for them?

Once you get a feel for how they show typical emotional responses, this serves as a baseline, and when you add a nice dose of pressure or raise the stakes, you will know what more extreme behaviors and reactions should look like. (More on Determining Emotional Range.)

Personality

Traits that make up your character���s personality steer their behavior. Take Paul Graham, a character I built using the Character Builder at One Stop for Writers. After choosing his personality traits I went through the lists of behaviors and attitudes associated with each to choose ones that fit my vision of him.

Personality traits reveal a character���s moral code, impact how they interact with other characters, how they view the world, and how they go about achieving goals. Here���s a partial screenshot of some of behaviors associated with Paul���s personality traits (via the Character Builder):

Planning Paul���s positive traits helps me see what behaviors will help him solve problems in the story, and his negative traits (especially his primary flaw) shows what behaviors and attitudes hold him back and keep him from his goal. I can also see what he must change about himself (character arc) if he is to achieve his goal. (More on Planning Personality Traits)

Backstory

We are all products of our past, and characters are too, meaning a character���s history is a huge factor when it comes to their behavior. The people in their lives before the story began acted as either positive influencers (people who taught the character to be self-sufficient, imparted knowledge, and boosted their self-esteem) or negative influencers (people who made your character doubt themselves and their worth, manipulated them, or hurt them in some way).

Both groups have taught your character how to solve problems, in good ways and bad, which will carry forward to your story.

Another huge aspect of backstory are the character���s past experiences. Good ones give them a positive outlook and worldview, and negative ones create emotional wounds. These painful negative events are transformative: who the character is before a wounding event and who they are afterward are very different. Paul���s wound was finding out his wife was not who she thought she was, and this was the fallout:

Because an emotional wound makes a person afraid that they could be hurt the same way again, they protect themselves by changing their behavior, often in negative ways that we call Emotional Shielding. These dysfunctional behaviors and attitudes are meant to keep people and situations at a distance so they cannot hurt the character. Unfortunately, emotional shielding also keeps a character chained to fear and ultimately gets in the way of what they want most. Here���s a partial list of Paul���s dysfunctional behaviors and attitudes: ��

Reading through these, you can see how they are dysfunctional and will cause problems for Paul. Past hurts always reveal emotional sensitivities and fears, which influence a character���s actions.

Character Motivation

While a character enters the story with a lot of baggage and ���set��� behaviors, one factor can change everything: their motivation. What they want most in the story is powerful. Their goal, if achieved, can fill the hollowness inside them and erase the unmet need that keeps them from feeling happy and complete.

No matter how many hurts your character has endured, what they fear most, or how jaded they are at the world, they can and will change if it means getting what they want most. Here is a sampling of common character motivations:

A strong story goal should not be easy to obtain, and will require the character to transform their mindset and behavior to achieve it. So knowing the goal will also help you know how they will behave, especially as they grow and evolve.

Bottom line, readers want books written by authors who show authority. This authority comes from knowing a character so intimately that every action, choice, and decision rings true. Readers should have no trouble following cause-and-effect.

If you need help seeing how all the character pieces fit together, try the Character Builder.

It contains the largest character-centric database of information available anywhere and prompts you to go deeper step by step, making character building much easier.�� ��

As a reader, does it bother you when characters behave in a way that isn���t explained? Let me know in the comments!

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How to Fix a Boring Main Character and Save Your Story

Are you struggling with a boring main character? Are you afraid that he or she is limiting your story���s potential?

This happened to me with my most recent release, “The Curse of King Midas.” Here’s how I not only fixed the problem but created a character powerful enough to spawn a whole series of historical fantasy books.

I Was Stuck with a Boring Main Character

I wrote ���The Curse of King Midas��� because a friend asked me to.

Usually, my main character is already there when I write a story. But this time, it was different.

My friend was thinking of creating a musical on the well-known Midas myth. But he knew that the best musicals were based on books. Having read some of my previous novels, he asked if I might like to write it.

I told him I���d give it a try. I was concerned, though. I didn’t care for King Midas. In the myth, he’s not a very likable character. Driven by greed, he wishes for the touch of gold, but soon discovers it���s more of a curse than a gift. Ultimately, he begs for the curse to be lifted. The god Dionysus agrees, and all is well.

Ho-hum. Who wants to write about him? Not me.

Looking for inspiration, I researched the myth. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that King Midas was a real person who ruled the Kingdom of Phrygia in the 700s B.C. That blew my mind! Suddenly my main character had a lot more to him.

I uncovered many more historical treasures about this real king and dove confidently into the story.

Unfortunately, my troubles with Midas weren���t over.

My Main Character Was a Ghost

In the beginning, I loved writing the story. The characters came to life: King Midas��� two children, his three advisors, his sworn enemy, and the wandering rogue with a secret connection to both kings.

It was all happening on the page in a fun and exciting way, with King Midas at the forefront.

Except he wasn���t. He was like a paper doll, thin and faceless. He was fashioned after Sean Connery. Then Ed Harris. Then Daniel Craig. Then Christian Bale. Nothing worked.

I kept writing scene after scene, but Midas only went through the motions, as hollow as a bamboo tree.

By the end of the first draft, I was getting worried. Despite my best efforts, Midas wasn���t coming through. He was the main character, but the only one who felt soulless on the page. I didn���t care about him, which meant the reader wasn’t going to care about him either.

What Finally Brought King Midas Out

Here���s what helped me���three steps that brought King Midas into the light.

Observe him interacting with other characters.

I don���t outline my stories. I discover the plot and the characters as I go. So despite my troubles with Midas, I just kept writing.

That meant that Midas was regularly interacting with these other characters, even though I wasn���t sure who he was. The other characters, meanwhile, were delightfully clear. They came through like people I���d known all my life, fully fleshed out and real.

Writing and editing the scenes where Midas appeared with these other characters helped to gradually woo him out of the shadows. It was as if their authenticity was forcing him to be more authentic, too.

Figure out what he really cared about.

In the myth, Midas cares about wealth. But I couldn���t relate to that, and we all know that we can���t write convincingly about things we can���t relate to���particularly not for an entire novel.

That left me to figure out what my Midas cared about. The first thing had to be his daughter. He cares about her even in the original myth, so I started with that.

As king, he provides for his daughter and wants to keep her safe. I built a few convincing scenes showing his real feelings for her, but it wasn’t enough to fully understand him. His relationship with his daughter was only a small part of him.

I turned to his interactions with his son. That helped too, because I learned how much Midas cared about his son and wanted to see him prosper.

But it still wasn���t enough. When not interacting with his son or daughter, King Midas still appeared on the page as a stand-in rather than the main act.

Determine what I really cared about.

The author Willa Cather is quoted as saying, ���The creative writer can do his best only with what lies within the range and character of his deepest sympathies.���

In other words, we can only write convincingly about those things that touch us deeply. Greed isn���t one of those things for me. Neither is the desire to provide for family or grow an empire.

But personal loss does.

I don’t remember quite how it happened���the idea for the prologue. But one day, somewhere in the middle of draft 3, it was just there���a slice of King Midas��� history when as a child. In a tragic attack, he lost everything he cared about.

Suddenly my flat and boring King Midas was a wounded, angry man who despite having risen to great heights, was consumed with the desire for revenge against the man who had stolen everything from him.

Finally, he became real. This man, I could care about, which meant that finally, I had created a character that readers could care about too.

Bring Your Boring Main Character Out of the Shadows

If you outline your story before you start, you may be able to create a character based on a set of characteristics and run with that. As a discovery writer, though, I lose interest in that approach and struggle to achieve the originality I desire. I have to write my way through to figure out who my characters are.

Usually, they come through fairly easily. This time was different because I was assigned a character to work with���a character I normally would not have chosen. I’m so glad, though, because by using the three methods listed above, I found my way to a new and original King Midas that I���m proud of.

Don���t give up on your boring main character. Give her time, watch her interact with the other characters, and dig deep into her emotions���and yours���and gradually, she���ll come out of the shadows as a much more authentic and interesting person.

Note: August is Colleen���s birthday month, so in celebration, she���s offering The Curse of King Midas ebook for only 99 cents! Get your copy here at that price for a limited time.

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What Characterization Detail Gives Your Protagonist More Depth?

Every writer wants to write a character who stands out, drives the story to interesting places, and captures the reader’s heart. Why?

Because characters with depth sell books.

And of course, the key to creating someone who readers connect to comes down to knowing them inside and out, and carefully choosing each detail about them so each piece of characterization – their personality, experiences, emotional wounds, motivations, beliefs, struggles, fears, needs, and all the rest – weaves together into a meaningful tapestry.

One area of characterization that is often underutilized, yet oh-so-powerful, is the choice of job they do. Whether the work is so suited to them, it feels like their calling in life, or they chose it only because it pays the bills, their choice reveals their inner layers in an ultimate display of show, don’t tell.

In the case of a job they love and find fulfilling, readers will immediately gain insight about their core values, what gets them excited and motivated, and the skills that make them good at what they do. Let’s try a few:

An Animal Rescue Worker will love animals, have a lot of compassion, and be the type of person to step in and help others in need. They abhor cruelty and unfairness, and seek to stand against it. They will be the giving sort, ready to step in, stay at work late, go in early. They will have incredible patience, and be fixers, motivated by the chance to transform an animal’s life so they go on to find the love and happiness they deserve.

A Funeral Director will be someone who is empathetic, respectful, and carry the belief that all people, regardless of who they are, deserve a dignified end to their journey in this world. They are obviously comfortable with death, have a strong work ethic, handing long hours and an unfixed schedule, because a person’s passing is unpredictable. They will be detailed-oriented, and take great care, knowing the families they serve are placing trust in them to serve in this final way.

A Reporter is someone who pays attention, always searching for the story and how to convey information in a way that makes it accessible and interesting to their audience. They will seek to report in a niche they are passionate about, providing clues as to what they believe in, care about, or have deep interests in. They are investigative, detail-oriented, and good at putting together pieces that others may miss. They will be good at connecting with people, getting them to open up and share, but their focus and dedication to the work may mean the job comes first, and their real-world relationships are not as strong as the effort they put into them is unpredictable.

What about a job that the character may not love, but it fits their life circumstances?

The possibilities are endless.

A character doing a job they don’t enjoy (maybe a personal shopper or taxi driver tells readers that paying the bills comes before personal satisfaction because they are responsible.

A character working a manual job as a janitor may do so to avoid the stress of the career they trained for (an emergency dispatcher).

And what about a character that chooses a job no one wants to do (pest control technician)? Maybe it’s the perfect fit for someone in a witness protection program who values privacy and anonymity above prestige or a hefty paycheck.

Bottom line?
A character’s job isn’t a
throwaway detail.

It’s worth the time to pick a job that reflects the exact story you want readers to know about your character, personality, background, and life circumstances. If you need help brainstorming the right career, we have a giant list of occupations HERE.

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Creating Suspense in any Genre

When we think about suspense in writing, we naturally leap to thrillers and mysteries, genres that are known for suspense and rely on it. But that doesn���t mean the rest of us are off the hook. Suspense is an essential element in any story. Whenever we create a feeling of anticipation (or dread) that something dangerous or terrible is about to happen, we increase the odds that our reader will keep turning pages.

There���s suspense in romance: will the boy win over his crush?

There���s suspense in humor: will the joke land?

There���s even suspense in picture books: what will happen the third time little Johnny looks under the bed?

But suspense alone isn���t enough to keep your reader engaged.

Suspense Depends on Connection

The reader has to care about the character to care about what happens to them. If some stranger down the road is in danger of losing their job, it���s objectively sad but it probably won���t keep you awake at night. If it���s your partner, however, that���s a different story. You have a connection to that person. You care about what happens to them. You���re invested in the outcome of that problem. What will happen tomorrow at that big meeting? You can barely sleep thinking about it.

Just so in fiction. As an author, your primary job in the opening of a novel or story is to create connection. You want your reader to bond with the protagonist so that they���re invested in the character���s wellbeing. They care about what happens to them. Once you���ve done that, your job is to make the worst things either happen or threaten to happen so that your reader is on the edge of their seat hoping their beloved character will survive.

This is why it���s never particularly effective to start a novel with a car chase or a fight scene. If we don���t yet care about who these things are happening to, we won���t care how they turn out.

Suspense Depends on Future

Suspense involves the creation of anxiety in the reader over what will happen���not about what���s happening now. What���s happening in the moment involves (or should involve) either tension or conflict. Things are going wrong. Something is off. The character is uneasy. People aren���t getting along.

This is why foreshadowing and suspense go hand in hand. Foreshadowing prepares the ground for future disaster. If you don���t use foreshadowing, either your reader will feel cheated or the plot twists will seem too coincidental. But if you do foreshadow and your reader is paying attention, they���ll see the breadcrumbs and sense where they���re leading and think, No. Not that. Please not that. And voil��, you have created suspense.

Literary agent Donald Maass suggests including tension on every page. That means you should be giving your reader something to worry about on a regular basis. You should especially be doing this at the end of every chapter so that your poor reader cannot shut off the lamp and go to bed (yes, we authors are sadists).

I���m not necessarily talking about cliffhangers. While sometimes these might be appropriate, too many in a row will feel gimmicky. What I���m talking about is the creation of anxiety. The last thing you want at the end of a chapter is resolution. There is only one appropriate place for that: at the end of your novel.

Suspense Depends on Rhythm

Pacing and suspense are soulmates. You want to draw things out just enough to keep your reader hooked. If you take too long to get the job done, they���ll drop off to sleep. If you move too quickly, they might stop caring because you���re not taking the time to develop internal conflict. And internal conflict is what makes readers care.

Suspense Depends on Playing Fair

I can���t count the number of manuscripts I���ve edited where an author decides to create suspense by purposely withholding information from the reader, even though it doesn���t make sense and in fact breaks POV.

Example: someone asks your protagonist to do them a rather sketchy favor. But you, the author, decide to manufacture false suspense by not revealing what the favor is. This is an example of not playing fair and it breaks POV rules. If we���re in the protagonist���s head and he was present during the conversation with the other person, we should have access to what���s going on.

The suspense should not be in the favor itself; it should be in the fallout. What will happen now that this person has asked your protagonist to do something shady? Will they do it? Should they do it? What will happen if they don���t do it? There���s the real suspense. Simply withholding the dialogue makes the reader feel manipulated.

Suspense Depends on Stakes

What will happen if Tina loses her job? Again, we���re talking about future: anxiety, giving the reader something to worry about. There must be something at stake���consequences if things go wrong. The reader needs to be reminded regularly of what they are. And the consequences have to matter���both to the protagonist and to us.

This means all parties involved must care about how this terrible situation might turn out. Which means, for your protagonist, whatever is going on needs to be personal. Again, not Joe Schmoe down the road but Tina sitting across from you at the breakfast table. Your protagonist should have skin in the game.

Dramatic Irony Can Heighten Suspense

Dramatic irony involves putting your reader in the privileged position of knowing more than the protagonist. We know the businessperson they���re getting involved with is actually a con artist. Danger hurtles toward the protagonist and we see it coming���but they don���t. Dramatic irony can be a sharp tool to heighten suspense.

In Conclusion

Suspense belongs in every genre. Create connection. Make your reader care about what happens to the protagonist���and then give them things to worry about.

The future is unstable. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

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Phenomenal First Pages Contest – Guest Editor Edition

Hey, wonderful
writerly people!

It���s time for Phenomenal First Pages, our monthly critique contest. So, if you need help with the beginning of your novel, today’s the day to enter for a chance to win professional feedback.

One winner will receive feedback on their first 20 pages!

Entering is easy. All you need to do is leave your contact information on this entry form (or click the graphic below). If you are a winner, we’ll notify you and explain how to send us your pages.

Contest DetailsThis is a 24-hour contest, so enter ASAP.Make sure your contact information on the entry form is correct. One winner will be drawn. We will email you if you win and let you know how to submit.Please have your first 20 pages ready in case your name is selected. Format it with 1-inch margins, double-spaced, and 12pt Times New Roman font. You���ll need to supply a synopsis (a rough one is fine) so Stuart has context for his feedback.The editor you’ll be working with:Stuart Wakefield

With 26 years in theatre, broadcast media, and coaching under my belt, I have a visceral understanding of what makes stories work, and I���d like to share it with you because writing a novel doesn���t always have to be difficult and daunting, especially if it���s your first time. Understanding the process, getting started, and seeing it all come together can seem like an impossible mountain to climb.

As an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach, I���m passionate about helping new writers craft stories with passion and purpose, momentum and meaning. I have an MA (Distinction) in Professional Writing, and my debut novel, Body of Water, was one of ten books long-listed for the Polari First Book Prize. My latest novel, Behind the Seams, was a 2021 BookLife Fiction Prize Contest semifinalist.

My first TV show aired on the UK���s Channel 4 in 2023.

So, if you have a story in your heart, just waiting to be shared with the world, I���m here to offer you guidance and support from developing your story right through to pursuing publication. You can find my website, blog, and free self-editing cheat sheet right here: https://linktr.ee/thebookcoach

Sign Up for Notifications!

If you���d like to be notified about our monthly Phenomenal First Pages contest, subscribe to blog notifications in this sidebar. 

Good luck, everyone. We can’t wait to see who wins!

PS: To amp up your first page, grab our  First Pages checklist from One Stop for Writers. For more help with story opening elements, visit this Mother Lode of First Page Resources.

The post Phenomenal First Pages Contest – Guest Editor Edition appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS��.

Use Your Story’s Takeaway (Theme) to Trim Extraneous Content

Writing an entire book is an immensely complex undertaking. Even if you���ve outlined meticulously, you’ll need more ideas than you can possibly imagine to fill the pages of an entire book (50,000 to 100,000 words or beyond, depending on your genre). And what you���ve mapped out in detail in an outline will only fill a portion of this.

Whether you���re writing fiction or pulling from real events for a nonfiction book, as you write, your brain will make decisions about what to include. What comes easily might depend on your mood or what you got up to that day.

When I read about characters making spaghetti while I���m editing draft pages of a writer���s fantasy novel, or a character cleaning their house in detail in a romance, I know instantly that the writer is bringing snippets of their own lives into their pages. Sometimes, these scenes are brilliant writing. Occasionally, the scenes are on point and tie into the rest of the book. But many times, scenes like these have nothing to do with the character���s journey, and they slow the pace of the book to the point a reader might stop reading.

As you���re coming up with ideas and exploring how they fit into your book, it���s easy to lose sight of what you wanted to say to readers in the first place. Instead, while you���re scrambling to fill your pages, you might veer off course, creating a book full of cool things that isn���t what you meant to write at all and will leave readers confused.

I have conversations with writers weekly who want to discuss whether they should add a new idea they just came up with to their book. What they really want is a compass that will tell them if the scene they���re adding is improving or taking away from their reader���s experience. To figure this out, they need to choose a Takeaway.

What Is a Takeaway?

The Takeaway you decide on for your book is closely related to what some might call your theme, or the point of your story. As with everything I teach about writing, I like to flip the script, thinking about the reader at every turn, because they���re the ones that you hope will find, read, love, and share your book with others. They���re the ones you���re starting a conversation with when you publish your book, and choosing a Takeaway can help you decide which scenes belong and which ones you should kick to the curb.

To choose a Takeaway for your book, take a step back and ask yourself a simple question: What message do you want readers to take away from your book?

Choosing Your Book���s Takeaway

You don���t have to get too fancy with this. A simple sentence, clich��, tried-and-true saying, or a mantra will do, as long as it resonates with you and it���s what you hope your readers will think about when they���re done. Your Takeaway won���t be shared with the world, it���s just a reference point for you. So don���t sweat making every word in it perfect.

Some examples of Takeaways in books:

Blood is thicker than waterYou can���t accept love until you love yourselfYou get out of life what you put into it

You can choose your Takeaway when you���re planning your book or during your revision stage, whenever you need guidance. To get started, spend 20 minutes brainstorming a list of 5-7 possible Takeaways for the book you���re writing now, then narrow it down to one you���re excited about.

PRO TIPS:
* Choose only one Takeaway per book
* Books in a series may have the same Takeaway for each book, or they may be different

Simple, right? Now here���s the fun part. Once you���ve chosen your Takeaway, you have a way to test every idea or scene that you want to include in your book, to see if it fits.

Note: Choosing a Takeaway doesn���t mean everything in your book will feel the same, or that every character in your book will view the world the same way, which is pushback I often hear from writers who don���t want to be restricted. In fact, your Takeaway will open up multiple directions for your scenes to go while delivering an experience to your reader that feels cohesive and incredibly satisfying (even if they have no idea how you did it ��� that���s the magic and the behind-the-scenes of writing).

With your Takeaway handy, take a look at each scene, event, action, or character���s reaction you want to include in your book. Does it somehow compare, contrast, mirror, challenge, or support your Takeaway? If it does one of these things, it belongs in your book. If it doesn���t? It���s off-topic and will feel out of place to your reader. Cut it.

A Takeaway Example

Let’s imagine that Blood is Thicker than Water is your Takeaway. Scenes that support this Takeaway will obviously show family bonds that are stronger than anything else in a character���s life.

But��� don���t forget to include ideas and scenes that will compare, contrast, mirror, or challenge this Takeaway, such as:

A subplot showing a dysfunctional family with no loyalty among them, and the resultA character who has no family trying to find their place in the worldA storyline where supporting one���s blood relatives results in disasterA character who feels burdened by their family, even if the relationships benefit them

PRO TIP: The Theme & Symbolism Thesaurus at One Stop for Writers explores many popular story themes and thematic statements like the ones above that might work for your story.

You can include any number of ideas that revolve around your Takeaway. Remember, if you have a scene that doesn���t fit this bill, take it out, even if you love it (in writing we call this killing your darlings!). If you dig in your heels and leave it in, your readers will miss out on the incredibly satisfying experience of having everything in your book pointing in the same direction as your plot unfolds, leading readers to love and share your book with others.

Once your Takeaway is woven into every scene, you���ll start to see possibilities and connections you didn���t see before, and readers will be pulled deep into your story. With your Takeaway as a guide to what belongs in your book, your message will come through without you having to hit readers over the head with it, and it will linger long after they reach The End.

And those deleted scenes? You can always release them later as bonus material for your loyal readers, or you can include them in a future book that revolves around a different Takeaway. So they���re never really lost.

Defining your Takeaway and ensuring everything you���ve included in your book aligns or evokes it in some way is the secret sauce that will hold your reader���s attention and push their experience over the top. So keep your Takeaway top of mind while you plan and revise your book to make it as impactful as it can be.

Want more practical tips on writing that you can apply to your book today? Take a listen to my brand new podcast, Show, Don���t Tell Writing .

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Story Structure as a Fractal

Structure is critical to every story. And it’s highly likely that if you are reading this article, you are familiar with the most basic shape of story structure. This one:

Rising Action:��A character starts with a goal, runs into an antagonist, and struggles through conflict.����

Climax: Eventually that conflict hits a peak, where the protagonist will succeed or fail definitively.

Falling Action: With the conflict resolved, the tension dissipates into falling action, and a new normal is usually established.

This is story’s foundational, basic structure. Nearly every satisfying story follows this structure. But this is still rather simplistic, and you can get more complex and detailed than this.

For one, it’s helpful to know that the climax is also what’s called a “turning point”–it��turns��the direction of the plot. Notice how the story’s “line” in the diagram quite literally, visually turns, from rising action, to falling action at the climax. The plot was going one direction and then��wham–it’s now going a different direction.��

A turning point is also known as a “plot point” or a “plot turn.” So we have three different terms for more or less the same thing. One of the quickest ways to gauge if a turning point has happened, is to ask if the character’s current goal or plan has shifted in some way. If the answer is yes, you likely hit a turning point.

The climax is the biggest, most recognizable turning point in a story, and it most definitely shifts the protagonist’s goal–because he will either definitively achieve (or fail to get) that goal. You can learn more about turning points here.

The climax, however, isn’t the only turning point in a story.

In reality, this basic structural shape works as a fractal or a Russian nesting doll.  There are smaller versions of it that exist within the big one.

Just below the narrative arc as a whole, we have another structural unit: acts.

Most commonly, we see stories with three acts. We may view these as beginning, middle, and end.

Frequently, Act II (the middle) will be split in half, because it’s the longest–often taking up 50% of the story. So we have Act II, Part I, and Act II, Part II.

This means, generally speaking, we can divide most stories into quarters.
Act I (Beginning) takes up ~1 – 25% of the story.
Act II, Part I (Middle) takes up ~ 26 – 50%
Act II, Part II (Middle) takes up ~ 51 – 75%
Act III (End) takes up ~76 – 100%

I’m well aware that some writers dislike percentages, but percentages are the quickest way to explain when something should typically happen in a story, and they are just guidelines. Not all stories break down like this, and there is certainly room for variation.

Still, generally speaking, each of these quarters, follows this same shape–it’s just smaller and less pronounced than that of the whole narrative arc.

Each quarter should have a climb, hit a peak, and then have some falling action (which is usually made up of the character’s reaction to what happened at the peak). That peak is a turning point.

For example, in Act I of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the rising action is Harry dealing with the Dursleys and then trying to get the mysterious letter. It hits its peak when Hagrid arrives and reveals “Yer a wizard, Harry.” That’s the major turning point the beginning has been building toward. Notice it shifts Harry’s goal: Now he wants to go to Hogwarts to learn magic (which will take us into Act II).

Commonly, act-level turning points are called “plot points,” so you may have heard of them referred to as “Plot Point 1,” “Plot Point 2,” or the “Midpoint.” 

However, in other approaches, they may go by different names. For example, Save the Cat! breaks down like this:

Each one is the major “climactic” plot turn of that quarter.

But this shape goes even smaller.

Inside of acts, we have scenes.

Most scenes should also have the rising action of conflict, the peak of a turning point, and the falling action of the character’s reaction.

Most scenes should also have an antagonist and goal.

The difference is that these things will be even smaller and less pronounced–because they fit inside acts.

For example, in Harry Potter, we have the scene where Harry is trying to find Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross–that’s his goal. But he’s met with obstacles: he can’t find the platform, he can’t find anyone to help him, he has to run at a barrier. The turn is Harry successfully getting through that barrier; notice it shifts his goal–because he achieved his scene-level desire. The falling action is him reacting to and taking in the platform.

This basic shape can go even smaller, fitting within passages of scenes, or it can be expanded into something bigger, creating a nice structure for a book series.

This basic shape permeates just about everything. 

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