Writers in the Storm

by Fae Rowen

We all make hundreds of decisions every day, whether it’s to go one more day without washing our hair or deciding what we're going to read. Most of those decisions are routine and unremarkable. But I bet you can remember a seemingly unremarkable decision that had a big impact on your life.

This is true of your characters as well. There are important decisions that can affect the entirety of your character's life. Four particular areas carry a lot of power in guiding your main character through the story: motivation, backstory, conflict and character arc.

Decisions that show motivation

What if... In the beginning of your book your character makes an unpopular decision. We'll say it’s to quit school. Your reader may not agree. It's even better if your reader doesn't agree. You can get them to change their minds and their hearts.

If you show the why of how much, how long your character has wanted to do this very important thing, you build the motivation that will guide your story.

Maybe your character wants to join the military because of her brother’s service and questions around his death, or start a business, or volunteer with elders. Perhaps you show how much she loves art and working with artists. Maybe she paints “on the side” but it is a secret she’s never revealed. Perhaps you show how her love of her grandmother and listening to her grandmother’s stories has filled her heart with her family.

Whatever you choose, pick something that speaks to your characters overall motivation.

Decisions that reveal backstory

What if your character’s parents’ marriage was bad? As in a society father who flagrantly cheated on the character's mother? Backstory like this explains his reticence to become engaged. And if he finds out about a pre-nup that was very negative for his mother, won't it make sense for him to resist when his father pressures him to get a pre-nup of his own?

I bet you can think of lots of possibilities for a short backstory scene that will reveal a character’s reticence or determination about something.

Decisions that cause conflict

Your female lead comes downstairs for a family dinner, wearing green. Not her favorite color, but why are her parents livid? Because the dinner is in honor of a knight whom they are hoping will ask for her hand. His coat of arms is red. His enemy’s is green.

You got it. She doesn’t want to marry the man her parents want her to. She may or may not have feelings for the “green knight.” Whatever the reasons, conflict is sure to ensue.

Decisions that show character arc

In PRISM 2: Rebellion (available for pre-order July 1), the hero, Jericho, is the son of the wealthiest and most powerful man on Earth. Over the course of the two books you see his perception change from wanting to make his first billion by the time he’s twenty-five to recognizing his father’s deceit and disregard for planet Earth and the people under his care.

Jericho has fallen for O’Neill, his pilot and bodyguard on Prism. His decision to marry her is problematic because she cannot leave the prison world. He considered travelling back and forth from Earth, but it is a six-month round trip that he’s already made once.

When Jericho decides he can't bear not seeing O'Neill every day, his inheritance, his privilege, his way of life no longer matter. His entire character arc changes with that decision. Now he is more concerned that he has no skills suited to surviving on a planet that's awaiting a mercenary invasion financed by his father. And no matter what, he isn’t leaving O’Neill.

Are you struggling to show motivation, backstory, backstory, or character arc? Are you trying to come up with a decision your character needs to make to move your story forward? Share it down in the comments so our WITS readers can help you get writing again!

About Fae

Fae Rowen discovered the romance genre after years as a science fiction freak. Writing futuristics and medieval paranormals, she jokes that she can live anywhere but the present. As a mathematician, she knows life’s a lot more fun when you get to define your world and its rules.

P.R.I.S.M., Fae's debut book, a young adult science fiction romance story of survival, betrayal, resolve, deceit, and love is now available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Fae's second book in the series will be available for pre-order on July 1, 2020.

by Justine Bylo

When New Jersey went into lockdown on March 21^st, I foolishly thought that I would get infinite amounts of writing done. During the day, I am the author acquisitions manager at IngramSpark and by night I like to write humorous personal non-fiction and romance novels. In my mind, I thought that the pandemic would give me a small reprieve from business as usual that included a very busy travel schedule.

I didn’t expect that business as usual would take on a whole new meaning.

As the publishing world began to screech to a halt with independent bookstores closing, publishers furloughing staff, Amazon focusing on essential items, and other printing plants closing, all of a sudden Ingram and IngramSpark felt the burden, more than ever, to uphold our commitment to the publishing industry to keep it all humming. Needless to say, the writing really hasn’t happened.

The Publishing Lessons of Covid

I am privileged to work with self-published authors all day. I have always been awestruck by their ingenuity and resilience. In the past six weeks those qualities have quadrupled, because the indie publishing world is uniquely suited to adapt to abrupt changes.

My clients have taught me several valuable publishing lessons recently that I would like to share.

#1- Authors Have More Power Than Ever

I keep finding myself saying, “The author has more power than ever!” Before the pandemic hit, I still found this to be resoundingly true. Now, in the time of Covid, I believe that the shift in power has become even more apparent.

When I first started at IngramSpark, self-publishing was still the “red-headed stepchild” of the publishing industry. In the years that followed, self-publishing started to become a legitimate route to getting published. I believe that the pandemic has shifted the landscape even more.

While large businesses were slowed down or forced to close, indie authors kept plugging away. In fact, they took the opportunity to grow their burgeoning businesses. Being nimble is a hidden superpower of the indie author.

When this all shakes out, no one can predict what the publishing landscape will look like. Sadly, there will likely be some casualties when it comes to publishing businesses. This will allow indie authors with small publishing enterprises to emerge as serious players in the game.

#2- Direct to Reader Sales are the Future

Early on in the pandemic, both indie authors and publishers saw the benefit in direct-to-reader sales. Larger retailers became overtaxed with the influx of orders and shipping has been taking longer than the two days Amazon has spoiled us to expect. Why not sell directly to your fans?

There are plenty of great ways to sell directly to readers.

• Shopify and other services can plug into your social media.
• Ingram has a great direct to consumer tool called Aer.io that is very easy to use.
• There has been a lot of buzz around Bookshop.org, an online bookshop run by the American Booksellers Association.

Why the buzz about Bookshop.org?

10% of all proceeds from Bookshop.org sales are put in a pot and given to independent bookstores. With those stores closed now, this is a wonderful way to support your indie bookstore. They have raised $1.1 million dollars already! The real perk about Bookshop.org is that you can set up your own affiliate shop.

Early adoption of these tools has given indie authors and publishers personal relationships with their readerships and a whole new sales vertical to explore. That brings me to #3…

#3- Direct Engagement with Readers is Powerful

Selling directly to readers is the perfect way for indie authors and publisher to engage directly with their readers and create personal, lasting relationships with them. These relationships create super fans which in turn create an army of evangelists for their books.

Authors and publishers have also found that direct sales are an opportunity to capture valuable information about your reader like their email address. If a reader opts to give their email address, this provides the huge bonus opportunity for long term engagement in the form of email blasts and personal, targeted communication.

The more an author engages with their fans, the more lifelong readers they will capture.

#4- Reading is Becoming Interactive

More than ever, during this pandemic many forms of entertainment are vying for our time. Are we going to listen to music? Are we going to Netflix and chill? Are we going to read a book? Our options are actually limitless.

The lines between the different forms of media are starting to blur. The invention of Wattpad made reading interactive, but other apps and blogs have immersed fans in their content and built communities that bring readers beyond the pages.

When these boundaries begin to cross, magic happens. It’s a multimedia experience that can capture new readers and current ones alike. It also a whole new way to be active in content. Many indie authors have seen the benefit in the new technology and taken advantage of it- especially now. 

Final Thoughts

None of us know for certain how this will all end. For all we know, things will go back to business as usual and I’ll finally get to finish my book. But for the time being, it seems as if the world is a bit topsy-turvy and indie authors and publishers alike should take advantage of that. Out of chaos comes invention and change. Why not change it in your favor?

What do you think publishing in general, particularly indie publishing, will be like after the pandemic? Are you taking steps to bring your book direct to market?

About Justine

Justine Bylo manages the author acquisition program at IngramSpark. She works with authors and independent publishers to expand their flourishing literary platforms through smart sales and marketing strategies.

Justine has worked with Ingram Content Group for 7 years. During her tenure, she’s launched several author focused programs, been the host of the IngramSpark podcast, Go Publish Yourself, helped get print books into Rwanda for a literacy initiative, and even taught many co-workers to love romance novels.

Justine started her career in the unlikely place of television. She was a writing intern for The Colbert Report, where her snappy one-liners landed her jokes on the air. She later worked in reality TV development and production at Oxygen and Bravo before making the leap to publishing. Justine was a graduate of NYU Tisch in Dramatic Writing. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and their Corvette and continues to work on her own novels during her free time. 

by Ellen Buikema

The antagonist is a character that many readers love and many writers hate. In fact, one of my author friends told me that writing her antagonist was a painful experience. “It was a really hard book to write. I had nightmares when I was writing about this character. It was one of the best feelings in the world when I finished writing this.”

In writing my current book, The Hobo Code, I learned what she meant. The book’s main antagonist is a psychopath. To capture the essence of the character, I picked the brain of a retired forensic psychologist and her suggestions surprised me. For example, she recommended I not write chapters from that antagonist’s perspective. “You don’t want to go there,” she said vehemently. “It will give you nightmares.”

I wonder how many forensic psychologists have PTSD by the time they retire.

The Delicate Balance Between Hero and Antagonist

As in all life, there must be balance. Your protagonist needs someone or something, to push against, overcome, or to come to terms with. Some examples:

• Nature:  Sebastian
  Junger’s The Perfect Storm
• An institution: Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger
  Games
• Disease: Stephen King’s The Stand
• The supernatural: Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight
  

Note: Twilight is an interesting case as Bella’s humanity might be considered one of the story’s antagonists. Her humanity conflicts with her desire to become a vampire.

Observation and various discussions have led me to the conclusion that most people feel they are the heroes of their own life story. People in power who we believe are in the wrong likely feel that their reasons are good and just—merely not understood by the average person. Antagonists feel the same.

No matter how horrific the means are to the ends, the antagonist believes his or her actions are justifiable.

Give Your Antagonist Some Depth

The antagonist needs a story arc. This character must grow and change, even if it’s only into a more heinous monster. At the same time, he should have qualities the reader can empathize with, such as liking dogs, enjoying cake baking, or taking time to teach children how to make a homemade fishing rod.

House-sit your evil one.
Spend time with him.
Learn his motivation.

Flesh out his backstory to know why he acts as he does. The more you know, the easier it will be to determine what makes him tick. How does he react to triggers? People are truly  the sum of their experiences. What life choices or chance encounters have helped make your antagonist what he is?

Different types of antagonists create different kinds of conflict.

Psychopaths have an inherited condition, often related to under-developed impulse control centers of the brain. They can make interesting antagonists. In Jeff Lindsay’s Darkly Dreaming Dexter, the Dexter character is a psychopathic protagonist with charm—an anti-hero. Dexter’s main antagonist is a copycat serial killer. Both have strong anti-social tendencies but we find ourselves rooting for one and detesting the other.

The antagonist doesn’t have to be evil. He may cause conflict by acting in opposition to the protagonist, erecting barriers against the protagonist’s goals. Samuel Gerard, in D.J. Manly’s The Fugitive: A Novel is an antagonist. He stands in opposition to Richard Kimble and is definitely not evil. In this case, the protagonist understands this antagonist is just doing his job.

An antagonist may be a good person who has become corrupt due to life circumstances. Something pushed him over the edge. Most of the royal characters in George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Fire and Ice” are corrupt. Did the position of power cause corruption? Perhaps there was childhood trauma? The Cersei Lannister character is ruthless, yet still has love for her children. She has some softness in her character to put a dent in her emotional armor. Lord Voldemort of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series was once Tom Riddle. He wasn’t always someone to be feared.

Your protagonist may have an internal antagonist in the form of character flaw, like Bella’s humanity (according to Bella) in Twilight. Sometimes desires are in the way of needs. There might be fear or regret to overcome before tackling the primary antagonist.

What if you have more than one antagonist?

Some stories have secondary antagonists to give your protagonist trouble, a warm-up of sorts. Here are some ideas for handling multiple antagonists:

• Deal with something small before taking on the
  major issues.
• Give your protagonist plenty to work on to reach
  his goal.
• Your secondary antagonist stirs up trouble for
  your primary antagonist and your protagonist.

Digging deep into the dark, dredging up fearful situations, pains the mind. I don’t know anyone who enjoys revisiting demons from the past, but getting to know your antagonist well will make for a better, more balanced story.

Have you delved into your antagonist’s backstory? What motivates your antagonist?

About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents and a series of chapter books for children with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Work In Progress, The Hobo Code, is YA historical fiction.

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

Image by Comfreak from Pixabay