Laura Heffernan's Blog, page 10
June 2, 2017
Query Kombat Round 1: MOTHER OF ALL CUSTODY BATTLES vs. MUSLIM GIRL TO THE RESCUE
Title: FINDING SETHEntry Nickname: Mother of All Custody BattlesWord count: 73K
Genre: Women’s FictionRead more »
Genre: Women’s FictionRead more »
Query Kombat Round 1: BOY BAND NINJA ASSASSINS vs. GIRL TAKES BACK THE WHITE HOUSE
Title: LETH5L: DEEP CUTSEntry Nickname: Boy Band Ninja AssassinsWord Count: 80KGenre: YA Adventure Comedy
Read more »
Read more »
Query Kombat Round 1: THERE IS STARDUST IN MY EYES vs. HERO BY DEFAULT
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Title: Stars and ReedsEntry Nickname: There is Stardust in My EyesWord count: 81KGenre: YA FantasyRead more »
Title: Stars and ReedsEntry Nickname: There is Stardust in My EyesWord count: 81KGenre: YA FantasyRead more »
Query Kombat Rond 1: GIRLS CAN BE PRINCES, TOO v. KAZA
Title: PRINCESS AND THE PEACENickname: Girls Can Be Princes TooGenre: YA FantasyWord Count: 60k Own Voices because of black/brown and queer characters, and of course, the being raised by fairies part. Read more »
Query Kombat Round 1: WHEN BUGBOTS ATTACK vs. ALABAMA WITCH HUNTERS
Title: Children of MarsNickname: When Bugbots AttackWork count: 51KGenre: Middle Grade Science Fiction
Read more »
Read more »
May 29, 2017
Query Kombat Round 1 Match-ups
The big reveal is done as to who was on our Query Kombat teams - now it's time to find out who the Kombatants will be going up against in the first round! The first round will start on Friday at 8:00 am and the match-ups will span all our blogs.
On Laura's blog:
Child and Family Services vs Stands By Until He Doesn't
The Nose Knows vs. The Lake of Haunted Memories
Bounty and the Beast vs. The Marizpan Pizza
Men Aren't Dying vs. Super Powers and Problems
Mother of All Custody Battles vs. Muslim Girl to the Rescue
Boy Band Ninja Assassins vs. Girl Takes Back the White House
There is Stardust in My Eyes vs. Hero By Default
Girls Can Be Princes, Too vs. Kaza
When Bugbots Attack vs. Alabama Witch Hunters
Fibs Taste Cruddy vs. Super Space Nerd
On Mike's blog
TB Ruined My Day vs. The Barringer Museum
The Half-Orphan's Handbook vs. Quaker Rain Forest
She's Fast, He's Furious vs. Beards
Cheshire
On Laura's blog:
Child and Family Services vs Stands By Until He Doesn't
The Nose Knows vs. The Lake of Haunted Memories
Bounty and the Beast vs. The Marizpan Pizza
Men Aren't Dying vs. Super Powers and Problems
Mother of All Custody Battles vs. Muslim Girl to the Rescue
Boy Band Ninja Assassins vs. Girl Takes Back the White House
There is Stardust in My Eyes vs. Hero By Default
Girls Can Be Princes, Too vs. Kaza
When Bugbots Attack vs. Alabama Witch Hunters
Fibs Taste Cruddy vs. Super Space Nerd
On Mike's blog
TB Ruined My Day vs. The Barringer Museum
The Half-Orphan's Handbook vs. Quaker Rain Forest
She's Fast, He's Furious vs. Beards
Cheshire
May 26, 2017
Meet the 2017 Query Kombatants!
The time is finally here! Time to release my Kombatants onto the unsuspecting public!
The choice was excruciating. The hosts agonized, weighing this query against that 250. We received hundreds of amazing entries. Of course, making it into a contest is no indication of the quality of your query. Many people who don't make it into contests find agents the tried-and-true way, by querying. (Ahem, me!) Thanks to everyone who entered and everyone who made the Twitter party so fun!
To those who didn't make it into the tournament, you donned your armor and dared to dreamed of victory. You boldly walked into an arena filled with gladiators, and you didn't so much as flinch or break a sweat. There are none braver than those who try, fail, and try again. I'm begging you to be brave, because all you need is talent and drive. Luck and success will follow. Don't give up. Don't doubt yourself. And...if you do, tweet me. I'll find an army to come and lift your spirits if I have to.
You will succeed. All you have to do is believe in yourself. We hope to see you on the #QKCrit tag next week.
To those who made it--CONGRATULATIONS! Out of 367 entries, you made it into the top 64. You bit, you clawed, you bled, and you MADE IT! I want you to take to Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Instagram, Wikipedia, Dictionary.com...I don't care. Celebrate! Do it loud. And in the midst of your celebration, I want you to help me lift the spirits of those who didn't make it. Use the #QueryKombat hashtag to connect with and celebrate your fellow slushies. Tweet your sagest query advice, or that quote that kept you going when you were down and out, or your grandmother's secret chocolate chip cookie recipe ('cause mmmm.....!). We're more than a community; we're a family. Spread the love.
To see Mike's and Michelle's picks, check out their blogs. Kombatants don't miss the rules on judging and commenting included at the bottom of this post. Without further adieu, meet TEAM WRITEY MCWRITERFACE!
Adult/New Adult:
Three Men and an Actuary
Moving On is Never Easy
Beards
From Gutters to Galleries
Switcher
Talking Swords FTW
Asteroid Snacks
Young Adult:
Delicious Vicious Cycles
Alternative Facts
The Half-Orphan's Handbook
Cheshire
The choice was excruciating. The hosts agonized, weighing this query against that 250. We received hundreds of amazing entries. Of course, making it into a contest is no indication of the quality of your query. Many people who don't make it into contests find agents the tried-and-true way, by querying. (Ahem, me!) Thanks to everyone who entered and everyone who made the Twitter party so fun!To those who didn't make it into the tournament, you donned your armor and dared to dreamed of victory. You boldly walked into an arena filled with gladiators, and you didn't so much as flinch or break a sweat. There are none braver than those who try, fail, and try again. I'm begging you to be brave, because all you need is talent and drive. Luck and success will follow. Don't give up. Don't doubt yourself. And...if you do, tweet me. I'll find an army to come and lift your spirits if I have to.
You will succeed. All you have to do is believe in yourself. We hope to see you on the #QKCrit tag next week.
To those who made it--CONGRATULATIONS! Out of 367 entries, you made it into the top 64. You bit, you clawed, you bled, and you MADE IT! I want you to take to Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Instagram, Wikipedia, Dictionary.com...I don't care. Celebrate! Do it loud. And in the midst of your celebration, I want you to help me lift the spirits of those who didn't make it. Use the #QueryKombat hashtag to connect with and celebrate your fellow slushies. Tweet your sagest query advice, or that quote that kept you going when you were down and out, or your grandmother's secret chocolate chip cookie recipe ('cause mmmm.....!). We're more than a community; we're a family. Spread the love.
To see Mike's and Michelle's picks, check out their blogs. Kombatants don't miss the rules on judging and commenting included at the bottom of this post. Without further adieu, meet TEAM WRITEY MCWRITERFACE!
Adult/New Adult:
Three Men and an Actuary
Moving On is Never Easy
Beards
From Gutters to Galleries
Switcher
Talking Swords FTW
Asteroid Snacks
Young Adult:
Delicious Vicious Cycles
Alternative Facts
The Half-Orphan's Handbook
Cheshire
May 16, 2017
Query Kombat 2017 is HERE!!!
The submission window is NOW OPEN until May 19 at noon EDT. There is no cap on entries.
If you don't receive email confirmation within an hour of submitting your entry, contact us via Twitter and let us know. Kontestants will be revealed on May 26, and the tournament will kick off on June 2.
IMPORTANT: The Query Kombat team reserves the right to disqualify any entrant at any time for any reason. If an entrant is disqualified before the agent round, an alternate will take its place. If an entrant is disqualified after the agent round, the opposing entry will automatically advance to the next round. The only time we will ever disqualify an applicant is if you say or do something to blemish the spirit of query contests. Query Kombat is supposed to be fun…
So none of this!
In order to enter the contest you MUST follow formatting guidelines, and submit during the contest window. All entries that follow said guidelines will be considered.
In the event that we receive more than the available 64 spots (this is highly expected), Michelle, Mike, and I will savagely attack the slush pile in attempts to build the best team. We will pick (and announce) three alternates in case a submission is disqualified.
Entries should be sent to: QueryKombat (at) gmail (dot) com.
We're asking for a $5 - $10 donation with each entry so we don't have to start charging a fee for the contest. Donations may be sent via the Query Kombat icon in the sidebar.Formatting Guidelines:Font: Times New Roman (or an equivalent), 12pt font, single-spaced with spaces between each paragraph. No (I repeat: NO!) indentations.Subject line of the Email: A short, unique nickname for your entry [colon] your genre (audience included). Do not skip this step or your entry will be deleted. (ex. I Fell in Love with a Ken Doll: Adult Erotica). Nicknames should be 25 characters or less. Make it as unique as possible so there are no duplicates. These will be the names used in the tournament, so keep it PG-13 and make it relate to your story.
In the body of the email (with examples):
Name: Michael AnthonyEmail address: myboyfriendwasbittenbyashark (at) gmail (dot) com.
Twitter Handle: @BarbforSenate36
Title: Eunuchs and PoliticsEntry Nickname: I Fell in Love with a Ken DollWord count: 68KGenre: Adult Erotica
(Note Ownvoices here if applicable only)
Query:
Barbara B. Doll seemed like a woman who had it all, from the perfect body to her own dream house, McDonald's, and a variety of vehicles. She even managed to become a U.S. Senator and go to the moon! However, something seemed missing. She didn't have any idea what it was until she met Ken.
Ken Dahl is funny, good-looking, and may have ties to the Illuminati. Barbara is immediately drawn to his shiny, perfect hair and teeth. When he offers to teach her surfing, they hit it off instantly. Everything seems to be going perfectly until Barbara discovers Ken has no genitalia. She must search within herself to determine whether love can overcome plastic, non-removable underwear.
EUNUCHS AND POLITICS is adult erotica, complete at 68,000 words.
First 250:
Words, words, words. 250 of them, in fact.
Don't include the chapter title and please, don't stop in the middle of a middle of a sentence. If the 250th word puts you in the middle of a sentence, you may go up to 258 to finish that sentence. Do not abuse this rule. Both Pages and Google Docs will return incorrect word counts if you have hyphens, em-dashes, and ellipses. Microsoft Word counts correctly.
Please use this site to give you an accurate word count if you are concerned about your standard word counter: https://wordcounter.net/. If you must, count by hand. A properly hyphenated word is one word. Words separated by an em-dash or ellipse are two words.
Do not include a bio or comp title in the query.
All entries submitted are FINAL. We will not edit them in any way, shape, or form. Please read, reread, and rereread your submission before you hit send. Competition will be fierce.
Best of luck in the tournament!
TWITTER PARTY!
Contests need to be fun. To help keep you from worrying as the hosts read through the emails, we're having a party! These are the daily topics, but feel free to start your own as well.
May 16th Before the big day arrives tweet your category and genre. Ask questions about genre if you’re unsure where your manuscript fits.
May 17th After 8:30AM tweet when you’ve submitted your entry to our QK email. Nerves and jitters can be calmed by sharing with others. All day long tweet out what your entry Nickname is and why you chose it.
May 18th Day 2 of submissions! Judges get fun secret names. Entrants get to create nicknames. Your poor hosts are left out. Create nicknames for Laura, Michael and Michelle! (Keep it clean. We blush easily.) And tweet your favorite comp title.
May 19th Last day to submit. We close at noon. Tweet your main character’s name and a special tidbit about them. See what sorts of names are popular and if anyone else shares MC’s names with you.
May 20th Tweet what you find the hardest about writing. Is it keeping out telling? Writing action scenes? What’s hard for you? Anyone have tips for making them easier?
May 21st Say hi to an entrant you’ve never talked to. Wish them luck in the slush round. If you need to let out some nerves, see if your new friend will lend an ear.
May 22nd Tweet something about how you write. Do you use music or prefer silence? Morning or late at night? We celebrate our differences.
May 23rd Tweet us your villain’s name and something evil about them.
May 24th If you’re looking for some beta readers or CP, now is the time to tweet about it.
May 25th Tweet us your favorite line from your novel. If you read any you like, favorite it. Have any favorite lines from a novel that’s not yours? Tweet those too!
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May 26th Tweet your thanks to the agents, editors, and judges of Query Kombat 2016. They’re dedicating a lot of time to help out. The least we can do is take a day to celebrate them! The big reveal is today! (We'll be running around like crazy gerbils getting everything ready.)
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
If you don't receive email confirmation within an hour of submitting your entry, contact us via Twitter and let us know. Kontestants will be revealed on May 26, and the tournament will kick off on June 2.
IMPORTANT: The Query Kombat team reserves the right to disqualify any entrant at any time for any reason. If an entrant is disqualified before the agent round, an alternate will take its place. If an entrant is disqualified after the agent round, the opposing entry will automatically advance to the next round. The only time we will ever disqualify an applicant is if you say or do something to blemish the spirit of query contests. Query Kombat is supposed to be fun…
So none of this!
In order to enter the contest you MUST follow formatting guidelines, and submit during the contest window. All entries that follow said guidelines will be considered.
In the event that we receive more than the available 64 spots (this is highly expected), Michelle, Mike, and I will savagely attack the slush pile in attempts to build the best team. We will pick (and announce) three alternates in case a submission is disqualified.
Entries should be sent to: QueryKombat (at) gmail (dot) com.
We're asking for a $5 - $10 donation with each entry so we don't have to start charging a fee for the contest. Donations may be sent via the Query Kombat icon in the sidebar.Formatting Guidelines:Font: Times New Roman (or an equivalent), 12pt font, single-spaced with spaces between each paragraph. No (I repeat: NO!) indentations.Subject line of the Email: A short, unique nickname for your entry [colon] your genre (audience included). Do not skip this step or your entry will be deleted. (ex. I Fell in Love with a Ken Doll: Adult Erotica). Nicknames should be 25 characters or less. Make it as unique as possible so there are no duplicates. These will be the names used in the tournament, so keep it PG-13 and make it relate to your story.
In the body of the email (with examples):
Name: Michael AnthonyEmail address: myboyfriendwasbittenbyashark (at) gmail (dot) com.
Twitter Handle: @BarbforSenate36
Title: Eunuchs and PoliticsEntry Nickname: I Fell in Love with a Ken DollWord count: 68KGenre: Adult Erotica
(Note Ownvoices here if applicable only)
Query:
Barbara B. Doll seemed like a woman who had it all, from the perfect body to her own dream house, McDonald's, and a variety of vehicles. She even managed to become a U.S. Senator and go to the moon! However, something seemed missing. She didn't have any idea what it was until she met Ken.
Ken Dahl is funny, good-looking, and may have ties to the Illuminati. Barbara is immediately drawn to his shiny, perfect hair and teeth. When he offers to teach her surfing, they hit it off instantly. Everything seems to be going perfectly until Barbara discovers Ken has no genitalia. She must search within herself to determine whether love can overcome plastic, non-removable underwear.
EUNUCHS AND POLITICS is adult erotica, complete at 68,000 words.
First 250:
Words, words, words. 250 of them, in fact.
Don't include the chapter title and please, don't stop in the middle of a middle of a sentence. If the 250th word puts you in the middle of a sentence, you may go up to 258 to finish that sentence. Do not abuse this rule. Both Pages and Google Docs will return incorrect word counts if you have hyphens, em-dashes, and ellipses. Microsoft Word counts correctly.
Please use this site to give you an accurate word count if you are concerned about your standard word counter: https://wordcounter.net/. If you must, count by hand. A properly hyphenated word is one word. Words separated by an em-dash or ellipse are two words.
Do not include a bio or comp title in the query.
All entries submitted are FINAL. We will not edit them in any way, shape, or form. Please read, reread, and rereread your submission before you hit send. Competition will be fierce.
Best of luck in the tournament!
TWITTER PARTY!
Contests need to be fun. To help keep you from worrying as the hosts read through the emails, we're having a party! These are the daily topics, but feel free to start your own as well.
May 16th Before the big day arrives tweet your category and genre. Ask questions about genre if you’re unsure where your manuscript fits.
May 17th After 8:30AM tweet when you’ve submitted your entry to our QK email. Nerves and jitters can be calmed by sharing with others. All day long tweet out what your entry Nickname is and why you chose it.
May 18th Day 2 of submissions! Judges get fun secret names. Entrants get to create nicknames. Your poor hosts are left out. Create nicknames for Laura, Michael and Michelle! (Keep it clean. We blush easily.) And tweet your favorite comp title.
May 19th Last day to submit. We close at noon. Tweet your main character’s name and a special tidbit about them. See what sorts of names are popular and if anyone else shares MC’s names with you.
May 20th Tweet what you find the hardest about writing. Is it keeping out telling? Writing action scenes? What’s hard for you? Anyone have tips for making them easier?
May 21st Say hi to an entrant you’ve never talked to. Wish them luck in the slush round. If you need to let out some nerves, see if your new friend will lend an ear.
May 22nd Tweet something about how you write. Do you use music or prefer silence? Morning or late at night? We celebrate our differences.
May 23rd Tweet us your villain’s name and something evil about them.
May 24th If you’re looking for some beta readers or CP, now is the time to tweet about it.
May 25th Tweet us your favorite line from your novel. If you read any you like, favorite it. Have any favorite lines from a novel that’s not yours? Tweet those too!
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color: #444444; -webkit-text-stroke: #444444} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; color: #444444; -webkit-text-stroke: #444444; min-height: 11.0px} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} span.s2 {font: 8.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; font-kerning: none}
May 26th Tweet your thanks to the agents, editors, and judges of Query Kombat 2016. They’re dedicating a lot of time to help out. The least we can do is take a day to celebrate them! The big reveal is today! (We'll be running around like crazy gerbils getting everything ready.)
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Trebuchet MS'; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
May 15, 2017
Guest Blog: Writing Diversity by Nia Davenport
In the days leading up to Query Kombat, I'll be featuring guest posts from the judges on a variety of writing topics, from ways to polish your writing to common openings. Check back and follow me on Twitter to stay updated. Today's post is from Nia Davenport.
WRITING DIVERSITY
Diversity is important because we don't live in a homogeneous world. We live in a world that's rich with differences. Those differences should be more than recognized and depicted. They should be celebrated, uplifted, and positively portrayed. When you don't promote and encourage and believe in diversity, you get the unfortunate result of story after story being produced that only features one kind of individual out of the multitudes that comprise our world. Deciding against or simply not caring to make your fictional world diverse is both toxic and harmful to readers.
Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye explores and engages in a literary conversation with this issue in a much more poignant and heart-wrenching way than I ever could. If you have never read it, I urge you to do so—especially as a writer who is creating characters and content for people to absorb. The story’s protagonist is a young Black girl named Pecola. Pecola loves Shirley Temple, believing that whiteness is beautiful and that she is ugly. Her belief comes from the very real-life fact that whiteness is what every form of media, including books, bombards consumers with as the gold standard of beauty. Pecola lives a very difficult life. Her father is an alcoholic, her mother is distant, and she often sees domestic violence between her parents. Pecola believes that if she had blue eyes, like Shirley Temple, she would be loved and her life would be transformed. Pecola is a fictional character but her experience represents the experience of too many people of color. Non-diverse stories tell any reader other than the standard white, able-bodied, cishet individual that they are unwanted. They are ignored. They don’t matter. They are not beautiful and the world does not see them as so either.
In addition to the toxicity and harm non-diverse stories commit against readers in regards to standards in beauty, they also do readers a disservice in regards to the roles and positions any reader other than the white, able-bodied, cishet reader see themselves as being able to fulfill. Growing up, the heroes, the princesses, the saviors, the queens, the kings, the explorers, and the adventurers of 99% of the stories I read were white. I never saw myself reflected as the hero in the pages of the stories I read or the movies I watched. This lack of diversity basically says to any diverse reader, YOU CANNOT FULFILL THE ROLE OF THE PRINCESS OR ADVENTURER, OR EXPLORER, OR HERO, OR SAVIOR. YOU ARE NOT WORTHY. Over time, it makes readers, especially young readers, start to hate the skin they live in. It makes them begin to reject who they are in favor for looking like or being like the protagonists in the stories they read.
Equally as toxic is the fact that non-diverse stories reinforce to the entire would that there is only one type of good guy. One type of hero. One type of protagonist. Non-diverse stories set up a psychological construct where white, able-bodied, individuals are the heroes, the good guys, and the saviors. Furthermore, when you only think to include diversity when it comes time for a villain, you do even more harm by reinforcing bigoted notions that vilify diverse individuals.
The only way to combat the negative stereotypes in the world is to tear them down by bombarding the world with images that speak counter to them. One step towards doing that is with the heroes in our stories. Let them be diverse. Let them reflect the uniquely rich world we live in.
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WRITING DIVERSITY
Diversity is important because we don't live in a homogeneous world. We live in a world that's rich with differences. Those differences should be more than recognized and depicted. They should be celebrated, uplifted, and positively portrayed. When you don't promote and encourage and believe in diversity, you get the unfortunate result of story after story being produced that only features one kind of individual out of the multitudes that comprise our world. Deciding against or simply not caring to make your fictional world diverse is both toxic and harmful to readers.
Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye explores and engages in a literary conversation with this issue in a much more poignant and heart-wrenching way than I ever could. If you have never read it, I urge you to do so—especially as a writer who is creating characters and content for people to absorb. The story’s protagonist is a young Black girl named Pecola. Pecola loves Shirley Temple, believing that whiteness is beautiful and that she is ugly. Her belief comes from the very real-life fact that whiteness is what every form of media, including books, bombards consumers with as the gold standard of beauty. Pecola lives a very difficult life. Her father is an alcoholic, her mother is distant, and she often sees domestic violence between her parents. Pecola believes that if she had blue eyes, like Shirley Temple, she would be loved and her life would be transformed. Pecola is a fictional character but her experience represents the experience of too many people of color. Non-diverse stories tell any reader other than the standard white, able-bodied, cishet individual that they are unwanted. They are ignored. They don’t matter. They are not beautiful and the world does not see them as so either.
In addition to the toxicity and harm non-diverse stories commit against readers in regards to standards in beauty, they also do readers a disservice in regards to the roles and positions any reader other than the white, able-bodied, cishet reader see themselves as being able to fulfill. Growing up, the heroes, the princesses, the saviors, the queens, the kings, the explorers, and the adventurers of 99% of the stories I read were white. I never saw myself reflected as the hero in the pages of the stories I read or the movies I watched. This lack of diversity basically says to any diverse reader, YOU CANNOT FULFILL THE ROLE OF THE PRINCESS OR ADVENTURER, OR EXPLORER, OR HERO, OR SAVIOR. YOU ARE NOT WORTHY. Over time, it makes readers, especially young readers, start to hate the skin they live in. It makes them begin to reject who they are in favor for looking like or being like the protagonists in the stories they read.
Equally as toxic is the fact that non-diverse stories reinforce to the entire would that there is only one type of good guy. One type of hero. One type of protagonist. Non-diverse stories set up a psychological construct where white, able-bodied, individuals are the heroes, the good guys, and the saviors. Furthermore, when you only think to include diversity when it comes time for a villain, you do even more harm by reinforcing bigoted notions that vilify diverse individuals.
The only way to combat the negative stereotypes in the world is to tear them down by bombarding the world with images that speak counter to them. One step towards doing that is with the heroes in our stories. Let them be diverse. Let them reflect the uniquely rich world we live in.
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May 14, 2017
Guest Post: Motivation/Reaction Units
In the days leading up to Query Kombat, I'll be featuring guest posts from the judges on a variety of writing topics, from ways to polish your writing to common openings. Check back and follow me on Twitter to stay updated. Today's post is from Teresa Richards.
MOTIVATION-REACTION UNITS
Hello lovely writers! I’m here today to talk about motivation-reaction units.
“What the what?” You say. “I’ve heard about plot and pacing and world building and character development, but what is this motivation-reaction witchcraft you speak of?”
Well. I’m so glad you asked.
Have you ever had a scene with a big reveal or shock or scare, but once your big bang happened, things just felt sort-of off? If so, there’s a good chance your motivation-reaction units need looking at.
At it’s core, a motivation-reaction unit, or MRU, just means that when something happens, there’s a motivation (a stimulus) and a reaction (how the characters react to the stimulus). We have Dwight V. Swain, author of Techniques of the Selling Writer to thank for identifying this little nugget of knowledge we call the MRU.
The motivation part is pretty easy. Something crazy happens. Done.
Problems often arise, however, in the reaction part of the MRU. When something crazy/scary/shocking happens, humans react in several ways. These feelings happen in such quick succession, that it’s often hard to separate them out, but they are all different parts of a reaction. And they happen in this order:
1: There’s an unconscious internal reaction—a feelingNervous. Happy. Terrified.
2: There’s an unconscious physical reaction—a reflex in response to how we are feelingWe gasp. Our palms start to sweat. Our blood rushes to our face. We freeze in place.
3: Then there are conscious physical reactions—what we say (if anything) and what we do.“I can’t believe you forgot my birthday,” and the character starts to cry.“I can’t believe she wore socks with her Chacos,” and then the mean girls blast a picture out on Instagram.Or, if the motivation is a rabid werewolf apparition, a la ghostbusters, the physical reaction will just be to run.
Now, all of these things happen in our reactions, but you don’t need to list every single thing in a character’s reaction every time there’s a motivation in your book. Actually, please don’t. If you do, it will clog up the flow and slow the pacing way down. It’s okay to let the reader imagine one of more parts of the character’s reaction when something happens in your story. But in pivotal scenes, when the tension is high, the reaction you include on the page should contain more than one of the three parts above.
And—here’s where many beginner writers go wrong—THE REACTIONS MUST BE IN THE RIGHT ORDER, and THEY MUST COME AFTER THE MOTIVATION!
We never react to a stimulus before feeling that initial burst of fear or anger or whatever, and when our characters do this, something feels off.
As an example, let’s take our undead werewolf monster from above.
Lucy heard a noise.She crept around a corner and when she rounded it, the sight made her scream.She ran, her blood racing through her body, as an angry werewolf apparition jumped out at her.It roared, its yellow eyes hungry for a kill.
Something about this passage seems off, yes? The first problem is that Lucy’s reaction comes before the werewolf actually jumps out at her. As a writer, it’s really tempting to keep our readers in suspense, so we make our characters react first, and then reveal the horrible motivator behind their reaction in hopes of getting a bigger reaction out of our reader. But this doesn’t work for a reader, because if we do this, they are no longer experiencing the story along with the main character. It starts to feel inauthentic, and will pull the reader out of the story.
So. Always put the motivator first.
Then, in the reaction part of this example, Lucy reacts physically (screaming and running) before she reacts internally (her blood racing through her body). In other words, she reacts on purpose before she reacts automatically. And this never rings true. The first thing that should happen when Lucy sees the apparition is her blood racing through her body. This is an immediate reaction that she doesn’t control and takes no thought for. She hasn’t really even processed what she’s seeing yet. After that visceral reaction, then she starts to think. Her brain kicks into gear, and she can then scream and run away.
Here’s a better version of the above example:
The undead werewolf jumped out at her, roaring, its yellow eyes hungry for a kill.Lucy’s blood turned to ice. Her lower lip trembled, the only part of her that seemed able to move.The monster roared.She screamed, and her limbs unfroze. She ran.
Can you see the difference? First the motivation happens (the werewolf jumping out at her). Then her response is 1: a feeling of fear, which manifests by her blood turning to ice, 2: an immediate physical reaction in response to the fear—her lip trembling, 3: conscious action—screaming and running away.
This example was one of fear, but MRU’s come into play all the time, whether your motivation is something sad like losing a pet, something embarrassing like a bad Instagram post going viral, or something climactic like when the romantic tension peaks and they finally kiss already. Anytime something happens—especially when it’s something big—make sure your characters’ reactions happen in the right order so that they ring true.
If you really want to have some fun, pay attention to what happens inside you the next time someone surprises you or scares you or ticks you off. Break down your reactions in order (after you’ve cooled off) and study them. It will make you a better writer.
For some more reading on MRU’s, see the following two articles:http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/writing-the-perfect-scene/http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/motivation-reaction-units/#
Teresa Richards writes speculative and contemporary YA. She is the author of Emerald Bound, a dark twist on the fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. She found her agent through Query Kombat 2016, and her manuscript (nicknamed My Boyfriend Rigged the Lottery) is now on submission. When Teresa's not writing, she can be found chasing after one of her kids, driving one of her teens around, or hiding in the house with a treat she'd not planning to share. She is represented by the amazing Mallory Brown of Triada Literary Agency. You can connect with Teresa on twitter @byutm33 or visit her website www.authorteresarichards.com.
To buy: Amazon I BN
MOTIVATION-REACTION UNITS
Hello lovely writers! I’m here today to talk about motivation-reaction units.
“What the what?” You say. “I’ve heard about plot and pacing and world building and character development, but what is this motivation-reaction witchcraft you speak of?”
Well. I’m so glad you asked.
Have you ever had a scene with a big reveal or shock or scare, but once your big bang happened, things just felt sort-of off? If so, there’s a good chance your motivation-reaction units need looking at.
At it’s core, a motivation-reaction unit, or MRU, just means that when something happens, there’s a motivation (a stimulus) and a reaction (how the characters react to the stimulus). We have Dwight V. Swain, author of Techniques of the Selling Writer to thank for identifying this little nugget of knowledge we call the MRU.
The motivation part is pretty easy. Something crazy happens. Done.
Problems often arise, however, in the reaction part of the MRU. When something crazy/scary/shocking happens, humans react in several ways. These feelings happen in such quick succession, that it’s often hard to separate them out, but they are all different parts of a reaction. And they happen in this order:
1: There’s an unconscious internal reaction—a feelingNervous. Happy. Terrified.
2: There’s an unconscious physical reaction—a reflex in response to how we are feelingWe gasp. Our palms start to sweat. Our blood rushes to our face. We freeze in place.
3: Then there are conscious physical reactions—what we say (if anything) and what we do.“I can’t believe you forgot my birthday,” and the character starts to cry.“I can’t believe she wore socks with her Chacos,” and then the mean girls blast a picture out on Instagram.Or, if the motivation is a rabid werewolf apparition, a la ghostbusters, the physical reaction will just be to run.
Now, all of these things happen in our reactions, but you don’t need to list every single thing in a character’s reaction every time there’s a motivation in your book. Actually, please don’t. If you do, it will clog up the flow and slow the pacing way down. It’s okay to let the reader imagine one of more parts of the character’s reaction when something happens in your story. But in pivotal scenes, when the tension is high, the reaction you include on the page should contain more than one of the three parts above.
And—here’s where many beginner writers go wrong—THE REACTIONS MUST BE IN THE RIGHT ORDER, and THEY MUST COME AFTER THE MOTIVATION!
We never react to a stimulus before feeling that initial burst of fear or anger or whatever, and when our characters do this, something feels off.
As an example, let’s take our undead werewolf monster from above.
Lucy heard a noise.She crept around a corner and when she rounded it, the sight made her scream.She ran, her blood racing through her body, as an angry werewolf apparition jumped out at her.It roared, its yellow eyes hungry for a kill.
Something about this passage seems off, yes? The first problem is that Lucy’s reaction comes before the werewolf actually jumps out at her. As a writer, it’s really tempting to keep our readers in suspense, so we make our characters react first, and then reveal the horrible motivator behind their reaction in hopes of getting a bigger reaction out of our reader. But this doesn’t work for a reader, because if we do this, they are no longer experiencing the story along with the main character. It starts to feel inauthentic, and will pull the reader out of the story.
So. Always put the motivator first.
Then, in the reaction part of this example, Lucy reacts physically (screaming and running) before she reacts internally (her blood racing through her body). In other words, she reacts on purpose before she reacts automatically. And this never rings true. The first thing that should happen when Lucy sees the apparition is her blood racing through her body. This is an immediate reaction that she doesn’t control and takes no thought for. She hasn’t really even processed what she’s seeing yet. After that visceral reaction, then she starts to think. Her brain kicks into gear, and she can then scream and run away.
Here’s a better version of the above example:
The undead werewolf jumped out at her, roaring, its yellow eyes hungry for a kill.Lucy’s blood turned to ice. Her lower lip trembled, the only part of her that seemed able to move.The monster roared.She screamed, and her limbs unfroze. She ran.
Can you see the difference? First the motivation happens (the werewolf jumping out at her). Then her response is 1: a feeling of fear, which manifests by her blood turning to ice, 2: an immediate physical reaction in response to the fear—her lip trembling, 3: conscious action—screaming and running away.
This example was one of fear, but MRU’s come into play all the time, whether your motivation is something sad like losing a pet, something embarrassing like a bad Instagram post going viral, or something climactic like when the romantic tension peaks and they finally kiss already. Anytime something happens—especially when it’s something big—make sure your characters’ reactions happen in the right order so that they ring true.
If you really want to have some fun, pay attention to what happens inside you the next time someone surprises you or scares you or ticks you off. Break down your reactions in order (after you’ve cooled off) and study them. It will make you a better writer.
For some more reading on MRU’s, see the following two articles:http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/writing-the-perfect-scene/http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/motivation-reaction-units/#
Teresa Richards writes speculative and contemporary YA. She is the author of Emerald Bound, a dark twist on the fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. She found her agent through Query Kombat 2016, and her manuscript (nicknamed My Boyfriend Rigged the Lottery) is now on submission. When Teresa's not writing, she can be found chasing after one of her kids, driving one of her teens around, or hiding in the house with a treat she'd not planning to share. She is represented by the amazing Mallory Brown of Triada Literary Agency. You can connect with Teresa on twitter @byutm33 or visit her website www.authorteresarichards.com.To buy: Amazon I BN
