Birthright by Nora Roberts
Birthright by Nora Roberts 2003 A Jove Book
[image error]Writers can learn to write better by studying good authors. In this book, Roberts shows how to layer plots from simple to complex. The story begins with a woman, Suzanne, at the mall with 3-year-old Doug and baby Jessica to visit Santa. She only turns her back for a minute when Doug falls from Santa’s lap and cries, but Jessica is gone.
This is a one line plot – baby kidnapped. The baby could be killed and police seek the killer or the baby returns home years later, but in this story, Callie is an archaeologist called to a dig when a developer discovers a four-thousand-year-old bone. Her face appears on television and Suzanne recognizes her as Jessica.
After Suzanne confronts her with her suspicions, Callie goes home and discovers her parents privately adopted her. This is the basic first level.
Roberts chose Callie’s occupation to show her personality and give her motivation that she needed to dig into her own past the same way she dug into the past through the bones and artifacts in her work. This is a good way to explain why someone pursues a goal even when people start getting murdered in the story. It’s why mysteries have a detective or nosy reporter. The hero needs motivation to risk life and limb.
Callie also wants to know who sold her and if they did the same to other families. Each confrontation with parents, is written to show the pain of fractured relationships. Roberts shows both families and their struggle with trying to redefine family.
In addition Roberts adds other relationship problems. Callie fell in love and married Jake Graystone, who is also working on the dig. When she thought he cheated on her, she divorced him. They fight constantly, but Jake is determined to win her back by offering friendship. Roberts is an expert at slowly taking the relationship from heated first encounter and showing both sides as they begin to reconcile.
Roberts also adds a new relationship between Doug and Callie’s lawyer, Lana. The reader watches as Doug, who was damaged by Callie’s kidnapping, grows out of his painful past and reconciles with his now divorced parents and new love.
Roberts builds dangerous tension by killing the developer, blowing up a trailer, burning down Lana’s law office, killing a digger, and nearly poisoning Callie to up the stakes as Callie and her friends/family come closer to the truth.
Some writers stop too early with a simple plot and one or two obstacles in the path of the hero reaching the goal. Roberts layers one thing on top of another but ties it all together so that nothing feels frivolous. If your stories seem too simple, this is a good example of how to add complexity.
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