Writers in the Storm

by Ellen Buikema

A character's impact on the plot involves all their traits. It's important to understand how their background, personality, flaws, and strengths influence the plot and move the story forward.

Character arc

A character arc is the journey of transformation that a character takes over the course of a story. They grow as individuals through their experiences.

Elements of a character arc

1. The Goal: What the character wants. The Goal gives direction and sets the story (and their arc) in motion. It is their motivation.
2. The Lie: A misbelief they have about themselves or their world that thwarts their ability to reach their Goal.
3. The Truth: An understanding the character needs. A truthful view of their own self or the world. If the character can find and accept The Truth, then they often reach their Goal.

The three main types of character arc are:

• Positive character arc, a hero’s journey. The character changes for the better, resulting in an improved situation.

In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins wants a simple life in the Shire but after joining a quest he feels terrified, regretful, and inept. He is transformed along the journey.

• Flat character arc – The character does not evolve. Instead, their mission is to enlighten others. Mystery, thriller, and adventure series that follow one unchanging investigator or hero.

In Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, detective Hercules Poirot, on a train to London, takes on a murder case because there are no police on board. That’s his Goal. He resists the lies of deceitful passengers and exposes the culprits, finding the Truth.

• Negative character arc, the anti-hero. The character changes for the worse, taking a toll on their world and those around them. The truth is right in front of them but they can’t see it.

In the series, Breaking Bad, happy, honest science teacher, Walter White, is diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Unable to afford his treatment and care for his family he tosses aside his morals and spirals downward. He sees the Truth but believes the Lie (acting in his family’s best interest). Immorality for morality’s sake.

A well-developed character arc affects a character's impact on the plot, while readers become invested in the character.

Relationships between characters

A character's impact on the plot may be influenced by their relationships with other characters. Family, friends, neighbors, enemies, pets and sometimes objects—for example the volleyball named Wilson in Chuck Noland’s Cast Away.

Interactions with other characters creates tension, conflict, and provide support for the character's journey. These interactions are the mortar that holds the building-story together.

Relationships are important. No one lives in a vacuum.

Here are some positive and negative dynamics you might see in relationships:

Positive relational traits

• Friendly
• Motivating
• Nurturing
• Romantic
• Supportive
• Trusting

Negative Relational traits

• Controlling
• Dysfunctional
• Neglectful
• One-sided
• Unable to love
• Volatile

Any combination of these relationship dynamics can shape behaviors and impact the plot.

Relationships are complicated because people are complicated. They view the world from a different doorway, each feeling that they are the hero of their own story.

Conflict between characters

Friction between characters keeps the readers turning those pages.

Conflict

• is necessary for plot development and creates feelings of uncertainty.
• reveals character traits and motivations, shaping character development.
• pushes characters to their last nerves, revealing their true selves.
• shapes characters’ actions and decisions.

By understanding how characters relate to each other, writers can create more complex and interesting plotlines.

Decisions a character makes

Decisions made by characters during conflict situations impact the plot, moving it forward.

• Look at the main events in the story. How many of them are caused by the character's actions? A character who tends to makes things happen will likely have a big influence on the plot.
• Ponder the character's choices. How do they affect the story's twists and turns? Decisions aren’t always about doing something—doing nothing can have an impact!
• Even passive characters can influence the plot through their reactions. How do other characters and events in the story change because of this character's responses? This can give you clues about their indirect influence on the plot.

Think about the decisions your character makes in your story. Are there consequences for those choices? Does your protagonist always make the right one? Brainstorm ways to make those decisions have higher stakes and see how it could change the story.

Don’t waste opportunities to cause trouble for your protagonist. Take advantage of each choice your characters make.

Character’s perspective

No two individuals will perceive an event in the same way—a perception gap.

In Wendy Corsi Staub’s The Final Victim, two women interact with the same man, but their perceptions are very different—generous or self-centered.

• Who’s right?
• Is one untruthful? If so, why?
• Is one of them misjudging him? If so, might she misjudge something else?

Perception gaps encourage readers to think about characters’ motivations, be more involved in the story, and to try to figure out what makes the characters to act the way they do.

A perception gap presents an opportunity. If writers know how characters perceive things, they can predict characters’ behaviors, then create plots specific to the characters. Because no two characters have the same background or personality, each has a unique perspective. The story varies depending on who is telling it.

How do your characters impact the plot of your stories? What character arcs do you prefer to write? Read? How do you use conflict?

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About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents, and The Adventures of Charlie Chameleon chapter book series with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Works in Progress are The Hobo Code, YA historical fiction and The Crystal Key, MG Magical Realism/ Sci-Fi, a glaze of time travel.

Find her at https://ellenbuikema.com or on Amazon.

Top Image by Sammy-Sander from Pixabay

by Sandy Vaile

You are in the right place if you are preparing to write a novel and want to set yourself up for success. Whether you're a seasoned writer or taking your first steps into the world of fiction, one truth remains constant: successful storytelling begins long before the first words grace the page.

Beneath the romanticized notion of dreaming up an idea and penning a best seller, lies the reality that the path to a compelling story is paved with careful planning, deliberate choices and meticulous attention to detail.

But, forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes.

If you are aware of what to expect from the writing process, you can focus on the exhilaration of creation instead of getting bogged down in uncertainty.

When preparing to write, here are four planning strategies to consider:

• Solidifying a vague idea into a compelling concept.
• Understanding the boundaries of the project.
• Make a realistic plan to write the book.
• Understanding essential concepts so you don’t fall into common traps.

Vague Idea to Compelling Concept

Picture yourself in a cozy writing nook, bathed in the soft glow of a desk lamp, the faint scent of well-worn books in the air. Your fingers dance across the keyboard to the soothing backdrop of rain tapping against the windowpane. This is the joy of bringing imaginary worlds to life, but there are a few vital questions we need to ask ourselves before diving headfirst into writing.

Sculpting a vague idea into a compelling novel requires digging beneath that first spark of an idea to uncover the underlying themes, conflicts, and characters that lie dormant.

To give all of the shiny ideas swirling through your mind a purpose, it helps to understand the following.

Why you want to tell this story?

Recognising what is driving you to tell a particular story helps clarify what you aim to achieve. Entertainment is rarely the only reason to write a story. Our beliefs and interests shine through the themes we choose to explore. Some authors want to open minds to a new way of thinking, others like to expose social inadequacies, make a statement about corruption or unethical behavior, inspire others, or challenge commonly held assumptions.

Other reasons your "why" is important:

• When we have something to say about a topic, it influences the decisions we make as we write. Your underlying message can tether everything in the story.
• Being passionate about topics gets us fired up to keep writing even when the going gets tough.
• Aligning our story with our values and passions enhances our sense of purpose and satisfaction, making it easier to imbue our unique voice into the book.
• We write for like-minded readers, so these motivations can help us connect what we want to say to our audience, compelling them to invest time between the pages we create.

Whose story it will be?

In my opinion, it’s vital to determine the focal point of a story. The ONE character whose story you’re telling.

There might be other main characters with imporant roles, their own goals and motivations, but it’s that one character who determines what belongs in the story and what doesn’t. Everything serves to help or hinder their journey towards their goal.

This clarity creates a cohesive plot.

What story are you telling?

There are infinite possibilities for the direction of each idea, so knowing what aspects are important to you will help narrow the direction of the narrative. Without a clear purpose, stories may meander aimlessly, lacking the resonance and depth needed to captivate readers.

Articulate the essence of the story through one or all of these:

• A story concept states central themes explored in the story. For example, The Three Little Pigs premise might be that foolishness leads to death and wisdom leads to happiness.
• A dramatic question is a query that centers around the main character’s central conflict, which your story will answer by the end. (Ex: Will Romeo and Juliet ever be together?)
• A story premise is a high-level paragraph of what the story is about at its core. It highlights details that are unique to this story, including who (main characters), what (conflict), where (location), when (if the era is important), and why (motivation, which also hints at the stakes).

Example: When Harry Potter discovers he’s a wizard and the chosen child, he not only has to learn magic but defeat the all-powerful "he who must not be named."

Example from my own work

Below, I take the initial idea for my book Inheriting Fear and create a premise to guide the direction of the story.

• Idea – A tough, independent woman who rides a motorbike and is in danger from some bad people.
• Dramatic question - What if a fiercely independent woman had to rely on others to survive?
• Premise - A reclusive motorbike-riding chef is stalked by an enemy from her past and forced to rely on a cocky detective who thinks she’s his best suspect, to avoid becoming the next victim.

Understand Your Project's Boundaries

Once you've unearthed the essence of your story idea, it's time to breathe life into it by fleshing out its key elements.

If you are a plotter, there are lots of decisions to make and brainstorming to be undertaken before you start writing. (If you are a pantser, most of this gets done in the second draft.)

Things like:

• Genre: Your genre helps you understand reader expectations and any specific conventions for that genre (e.g. structure, word count, and world-building).
• Point of View and tense, which can be influenced by genre norms and personal preference.
• Central character goals. Their external goals and internal desires will motivate them to keep striving for their goal even when it seems impossible to reach.
• Worldbuilding. This is especially vital if the story is set on a different planet or era, so it’s clear what the physical, magical, psychological, cultural, flora and fauna look like.
• What rules guide characters, what myths and legends are important to them, what governing and commerce structures are in place?
• An outline of the plot, though no essential, can provide a foundation upon which to build the narrative. Some authors like to know exactly where their story is going. Others prefer to discover as they write. Many are a blend of the two methods.
• Knowing the starting point of the story. There are a variety of methods for choosing the opening scene, but the main goal is to immediately hook readers by showing the characters in action.

It’s important to note that you shouldn’t stress too much at this point. Revisit this decision after writing the manuscript, because you’ll have a better idea of will draw readers into the story by then.

Make a Plan.

Making a plan to write the book might include the following:

1. Tools or resources you need
2. Learning about story craft
3. Determining how much time you realistically have to dedicate to writing each week around work and family commitments. If you have a deadline in mind, calculate how many words you need to aim for each week.

A good formula for this: Total word count divided by weeks = word count goal per week.

• 80,000 ÷ 13 weeks (3 months) = 6,150 words per week
• 80,000 ÷ 25 weeks (6 months) = 3,200 words per week
• 80,000 ÷ 52 weeks (12 months) = 1,540 words per week

Essential Novel Survival Concepts

Writing a novel is a challenging endeavor that requires dedication, persistence, and resilience. Understanding what to expect and having realistic expectations certainly helps.

Here are a few things to set your mind at ease.  

1. You are writing a 'first draft' and they are as messy and unruly as a teenager finding their way in the world.

• You won’t always know what comes next.
• You may write yourself into dead-ends and spend weeks pondering a particularly gnarly plot problem.
• It’s all part of the process.

The only goal of a first draft is to get to ‘the end,’ so push through until you have a whole, gloriously imperfect manuscript.

2. Finishing a first draft is only part of the writing process.

• Revising is likely to take just as long because there will be plenty of problems to solve, research to be done, scenes to be moved or (God forbid) cut, and feedback to seek.
• Don’t underestimate how long it will take you to do countless rounds of edits.

3. DO NOT give up your day job with the belief that it’s easy to pen a best-seller and you’ll be able to replace your income with one book.

4. Gathering a community of like-minded authors around you can be invaluable when it comes to maintaining momentum.

• Whether you prefer to join a face-to-face or online group, or have a few author friends to supplement the support of friends and family, having people to bounce around ideas and enthuse about your wonderful characters with, is priceless.
• Seek out accountability buddies, support groups, critique partners and uplifting communities. And always come back to your purpose for writing this story.

Final Thoughts

Immersing yourself in the purpose, characters, and world of a story provides a solid foundation to craft a compelling novel. Making a realistic plan to write the first draft will enable you to reach for tangible goals that suit your lifestyle. And by understanding key concepts surrounding the process, you can be better prepared to keep the joy or writing alive and make it to the next stage, which is revising.

Opportunity:

If you are stuck in a rut of writing novels you never finish, never submit or aren’t sure how to fix, then it’s your lucky day. Sandy runs a nurturing community for female authors of contemporary fiction, which is packed full of tips, resources and free events to keep you motivated and writing quality books. Join Sandy’s community here.

What strategies do you use to plan your books? Do you just start writing, or do you have other structures you employ before you begin? Are you a "plotter" or a "pantser?" Please share with us down in the comments!

About Sandy

Sandy Vaile is a motorbike-riding daredevil who isn’t content with a story unless there’s a courageous heroine and a dead body.

Her romantic suspense is published by Simon & Schuster US, but most of her time is spent supporting female fiction writers to finish contemporary novels traditional publishers can’t resist. She shares her decades of experience with others through fiction coaching, courses and developmental editing.

Connect with Sandy Vaile on her website or social media.

Top photo purchased from Depositphotos.

by Sarah (Sally) Hamer

Yes, there are right ways and wrong ways to kill a character in a fiction story. And, even if we're working with non-fiction and telling a true story, we might still need to determine how to tell how a character will die.

We often have characters who, for one reason or another, need to be left behind. Maybe it's a mentor, like Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. We know from the beginning of Charlotte's Web (at least, some of us know!) that the spider, Charlotte, will die, because few small critters like her live very long. But there's a time and place to help make the story more real, to create the most impact.

3 Considerations for deciding to kill a character

1. Why do you think the character should die?

Part and parcel of that, why did you invent the character in the first place? What role does the character play? Characters aren't just there for the fun of it. They each play a very specific part in a story.

We can use the archetypes for examples:

• A Hero/ine is who the story is about. We rarely see them die because the story wraps around them. Maximus in Gladiator is one of the rare exceptions.
• A Mentor like Obi-Wan teaches the lesson, then goes away. Dying is common for this archetype. After all, would Luke have been able to grow into the man he becomes if he’d had Obi-Wan to tell him what to do all the time?
• Goose plays Maverick’s Best Friend archetype in Top Gun. He dies to propel Maverick into facing his past and the loss of his father.
• The Villain archetype dies all the time, since we have to slay the dragon. But once this archetype is dead, the story often is over. So, normally, the Villain dies near the end of the story.

2. When does a character need to die?

Every story is different. For instance, a mystery often needs to have a dead body early on and we only get to know that character through other peoples' eyes. There can be other bodies along the way, but each death needs to be carefully planned and HAS to make sense.

In a heart-rending true story about a loved one's death, the protagonist is usually someone who is deeply involved with the dying person, so the decision about when comes down to where it will impact the reader the most. In Ray, the story about Ray Charles, the death of his younger brother impacted his entire life. So, does it work best at the very beginning? Or in the middle? Or at the very end?

My personal preference is usually smack dab in the middle in a story like this, since I like to get to know my character before I find out what drives him or her. But you may like it somewhere else and, as long as it makes sense and impacts the reader, it will work.

3. Are you using it as a shortcut?

Carefully consider whether killing off a character is really a too-easy way out of a story conflict. Maybe that character can stir up extra trouble in the story, leading to a stronger plot, if he or she sticks around for a while.

I read a story several years ago where the fiancé of the heroine was the captain of an ocean-going ship and was gone when she really needed him. Another man came to her rescue and she fell in love with him instead. So, when the captain died at sea, the path to her new relationship was very simple.

Should it have been? Would it have been better for the fiancé to come home and for her to make a hard choice between the two men? (Of course, the romance writer in me would have liked to see that choice. But that's just me.)

Final Thoughts

So, kill any character you choose. It can be a very cathartic and enjoyable process, especially if you don't like a character. But do it for the right reasons.

Impacting the reader with a death, even of a villain, can make a book immensely better.

Do you have a favorite book or movie where a character is killed off ? Why is it your favorite? Please share with us down in the comments!

About Sally

Sarah (Sally) Hamer, B.S., MLA, is a lover of books, a teacher of writers, and a believer in a good story. Most of all, she is eternally fascinated by people and how they 'tick'. She’s passionate about helping people tell their own stories, whether through fiction or through memoir. Writing in many genres - mystery, science fiction, fantasy, romance, medieval history, non-fiction – she has won awards at both local and national levels, including two Golden Heart finals.

A teacher of memoir, beginning and advanced creative fiction writing, and screenwriting at Louisiana State University in Shreveport for over twenty years, she also teaches online for Margie Lawson at www.margielawson.com and hosts symposiums at www.mindpotential.org. Find her at info@mindpotential.org

Top photo from NewAfrica at Depositphotos.