Writers in the Storm

Two days ago, in Part One of this three-part series, I began sharing how to use The Five Thieves of Happiness by John Izzo in our writing to provide inner conflict for our characters. I only had "time" in the first post to share one "thief." In this post I'll share two more. (Why do I always think I can accomplish more with fewer words? The same thing happens in my books. One book turns into two...)

Now that one of your characters has learned to surrender to what is happening, accept the hard truths in life, accept that only the present moment is real, and can practice notice, stop, and replace when necessary, we’re ready to move on with two other ways for your characters to create their own internal conflict.

Conceit

This “thief” allows the ego to run free, making your character believe that she must distinguish herself to be happy. Status and importance rule her daily life. You can see this played out on social media, with the obsession to get likes and shares and comments. I and me rule every thought, every action, in the search for happiness—which always seems just around the next corner.

When your character's “story” doesn’t match the one in his head, there’s a problem. Mortality and death can become an issue. Your character separates from others, whether family, friends, co-workers or society because of the need to be great, from an ego standpoint.

What to do for resolution

At first it will be difficult, but your character must banish the illusion that separation, by putting oneself on a pedestal, will lead to happiness. This isn’t something you’ll be able to wrap up in the last few pages of the book. It will take your character time, struggle, trying again. Along the way, feelings of hate and anger may have to be addressed in someone who is wedded to the “story” of his life.

Here are some possibilities for a character resolving conceit:

• Remind herself that she is a part of a larger story: a cause, one’s life’s work, service to others or the planet.
• Become part of something bigger than himself, thereby focusing on giving of himself.
• Build relevant and important connections with other people, not for advancement.
• Begin building an equitable world, even if it’s only within a household.

Coveting

As an author, I know this one, particularly as it relates to my writing career, considering those moments of envy when I didn’t win that contest or get the agent I wanted—but someone I knew did.

When this desire for something you don’t have is strong, it can become the focus of your life.

Now let’s transfer my brief recollections to a character. If you’re writing a mystery or thriller, your villain would be willing to lie, cheat, steal, or even murder to get what s/he wants.

But coveting isn’t reserved for villains. Your main character can be driven by the desire for something s/he doesn’t have. We’re not talking about in a harmless or ambitious, productive way to get ahead. The discontentment of envy brings resentment of others and their situation. You’ll want to handle coveting with a delicate hand so your character remains likeable.

How many times have you wanted someone’s “good” hair, eye color, fingernails, height, car, or job? That’s natural, even motivational. But when a character’s sense of self hinges on comparing herself with the “outside world,” remember the story of the evil stepmother queen in Snow White.

For your characters, coveting takes away the ability to be grateful—for themselves and for other characters. Your character will resent the happiness and success of others.

How does your character begin throwing off this thief? Gratitude. Gratitude can be expressed by being more supportive, kind, and helpful of those around them. Instead of cruising by a broken-down car on the side of the road, your hero can stop and offer help or take the person somewhere safe to order repairs.

Gratitude won’t squash coveting, but it is a great beginning (think notice-stop-replace from Part 1) to keep your characters from focusing on the wrong things. They must focus on their own lives without comparing them to others. It’s okay for them to have a momentary “wish” for something, as long as it doesn’t progress into envy, which creates conflict.

What to do for resolution

• Have your character ask the questions: What do I value? What matters to me? What is the best use of my life?
• Use the notice-stop-replace technique.
• Your characters may realize that there will never be equality in all things. They are responsible for their own happiness, which means creating less conflict in their lives! By taming their envy when it arises, they can be grateful and kind to others, leading to the banishment of the thief of coveting.
• At some point, they could realize that life is not a contest.

We’ve now explored three of John Izzo’s Five Thieves of Happiness. Any one of these can pump up the internal conflict in a book. If you have two lead characters, they can deal with the same thief, or they might be dealing with different ones. I don’t have the heart to inflict my characters with all five thieves, although in real life, we deal with them all every day—to different degrees.

During the next four weeks, try adding conflict to your story with one or more "thief" from our list so far: control, conceit, coveting. In August we’ll look at the final two thieves: consumption and comfort, then talk about the circumstances when one thief can be more powerful in a character arc than another.

Of the three thieves we’ve talked about so far, which one will be the hardest for you to apply to a character in your WIP? Why do you think that is?

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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.

Punished, oh-no, that’s published as a co-author of a math textbook, she yearns to hear personal stories about finding love from those who read her books, rather than the horrors of calculus lessons gone wrong.  She is grateful for good friends who remind her to do the practical things in life like grocery shop, show up at the airport for a flight and pay bills.

A “hard” scientist who avoided writing classes like the plague, she now shares her brain with characters who demand that their stories be told.  Amazing, gifted critique partners keep her on the straight and narrow. Feedback from readers keeps her fingers on the keyboard, putting the finishing touches on P.R.I.S.M. Book Two.

P.R.I.S.M., a young adult science fiction romance story of survival, betrayal, resolve, deceit, lies, and love.

When she’s not hanging out at Writers in the Storm, you can visit Fae at http://faerowen.com  or www.facebook.com/fae.rowen

Fae also shares personal stories at YA Outside the Lines on the fifth of every month.

 

If you’ve been reading Writers in the Storm for any length of time, you know that I’m a proponent of using what you do—what happens to you, what you think and believe—in your writing. A year ago, I wrote about using your summer memories in your writing. Today I'm sharing one of my first summer experiences with you.

Last month I attended my first Book Club meeting. No, not that Book Club! I’d been invited for, literally, years, but after another invitation from my friend, I decided it was time. There was no time for me to read the book, since the meeting was the next day.

They discussed The Five Thieves of Happiness by John Izzo. Comments and questions zinged around the table. Even though I hadn’t read the book, I was invited to share my views on their takeaways on the message. Someone loaned me their book so I could read it.

About halfway through the book I thought These are great ideas to bring more conflict to my WIP. I went back to take some notes and finished the book, pad of paper beside me. Like many writers, I now intend to use an experience—the Book Club and the reading of the book—as a tool in my writing.

Today, and Friday, because there is such a wealth of information to be mined, I’m sharing five ways that your characters can allow their happiness to be stolen.

How can I “fix” the large and the small things in my life that make me unhappy? This is the grist of conflict. Why doesn’t my life go the way I want it to? How did I end up like this? What can I do to change? Here’s my book report, slanted for writers, along with ways to resolve your character’s arc.

1. The need for control

When a character believes s/he can control life, they do not accept that “things happen” that are out of our control. This craving for control can lead people—real or characters in your WIP—to do things that make them unhappy. Maybe they become overbearing because they know their way is the only right way to accomplish a task. Maybe they grab onto something and hang on for dear life, even though that something is unnecessary or bad for them.

We can control our actions and even our responses to external stimuli, but we cannot control the results of our actions. Someone takes what a character said the wrong way, another character is attached to the outcome of some action. How often have you been attached to an outcome, only to suffer because you can’t control it?

What if you allow your character to believe s/he is in control? Their plans and actions appear to be working toward some end. But when we believe we’re in control, we are probably looking at the future. Or the past. Let’s say your hero is trying to impress someone he’s picked as his future mate. He repeats the successful “moves” he made when he courted the love of his life, who was killed by a drunk driver before they got married. Instead of being in the present and enjoying the process of falling in love, he’s using his controlling intention for a specific outcome, not recognizing that his method isn’t going to work because his new love interest is a different person.

He may think that his feelings of regret, once he realizes—or is told—that his attention is unwanted, are the source of his unhappiness. In reality, he was trying to control his past as well as his future.

Resolution:

• Release the desire to control others. An apology can be an attempt to control someone’s reaction. If I want your forgiveness and you withhold it, I’m unhappy because I can’t control your reaction to my apology. Instead, your character should focus on making a sincere apology. Period.
• When in a relationship, your character can release the notion of controlling when and how the love interest acts. In other words, s/he gives up the need to make them be something they aren’t.

• 

• Surrender to what cannot be controlled. We may grouse about it, but we all know we can’t control the weather. Surrender does not mean inaction, though I must admit that when I first was introduced to the idea of surrender years ago, it felt more like give up to me. Surrender means releasing the desire to control the future. This is not about building a wall to keep future pain out. It is about actively living life without the need to control a situation based on a desired outcome. It isn’t easy. Great news for you, the author! Your character can struggle with this one for the entire book.
• Nonjudgment and mindfulness. Though a little control is useful in some circumstances, but if the desire for control rules us, we are miserable. Judgmental thinking brings more misery. My characters must learn to be nonjudgmental not only about others, but with themselves. Beating up yourself is never helpful. Non-judgmental self-talk or advice from a friend, on the other hand, can go far to releasing the need for close-fisted control.
• Izzo suggests three steps: notice, stop, replace. Simple to remember, but I can see the zillionaire heir character in my WIP taking the first third of the book to notice what he’s doing, the second third to stop doing it, and finally, in the final third of the book replacing his old ways with healthier, more “user friendly” ways of interacting with others. As a writer, I’ll know what I’m doing, but my readers won’t. They’ll just start seeing him as a better, more likeable person, one who fulfills his character arc to bring about a satisfying ending.

Here are the next “thieves”:

2. Conceit
3. Coveting
4. Consumption
5. Comfort

On Friday, July 6, I’ll continue this post. In the meantime, if you’d like to grab a copy of The Five Thieves of Happiness by John Izzo, here’s the link. It’s a quick read at only one hundred twenty-three pages.

How can you use a character’s desire for control to create conflict in your WIP? How will you use the “stop-notice-replace” strategy to show the change in your character’s motivational arc?

 *     *     *     *     *

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.

Punished, oh-no, that’s published as a co-author of a math textbook, she yearns to hear personal stories about finding love from those who read her books, rather than the horrors of calculus lessons gone wrong.  She is grateful for good friends who remind her to do the practical things in life like grocery shop, show up at the airport for a flight and pay bills.

A “hard” scientist who avoided writing classes like the plague, she now shares her brain with characters who demand that their stories be told.  Amazing, gifted critique partners keep her on the straight and narrow. Feedback from readers keeps her fingers on the keyboard, putting the finishing touches on P.R.I.S.M. Book Two.

P.R.I.S.M., a young adult science fiction romance story of survival, betrayal, resolve, deceit, lies, and love.

When she’s not hanging out at Writers in the Storm, you can visit Fae at http://faerowen.com  or www.facebook.com/fae.rowen

Fae also shares personal stories at YA Outside the Lines on the fifth of every month.

I thought of the title for this Pimp & Promote, then wondered where the term came from. So I looked it up. Here you go:

The dog days or dog days of summer are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star Sirius, which Greek and Roman astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. They are now taken to be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

I don't know about you, but it's HOT where I am!

How does this work?

To quote the genie in Aladdin, “There are a few provisos, a couple of quid-pro-quos…"

• Pimp out somebody else’s work – this can be a favorite author, blogger, post or book you’ve read, a wonderful teacher or just someone who had profound influence on you as a writer or a person. Please limit your comments to one work.
  AND
• Promote one of your projects that you’re excited about – a hobby, a blog, a book, or a new direction your writing is taking you. You decide. Just tell us about it in the comments! (Please restrain your enthusiasm to just one of your WIPs.) The rest of us will jump in and “ooooh and ahh” at you, and likely promote your project even further because we’re just so darn excited today.

We'll start things off by doing some P&P with the gals here at WITS...

Fae Rowen launched her amazing PRISM series into the world and she's hard at work readying her Keep Sphere series. Two words: Space Battles! Find out more at her website, http://faerowen.com.

Jenny Hansen just got her world rocked by Jennie Nash's class at CreativeLive: Write Your Book - Start Strong and Get It Done. If you watch the class, you'll see Jenny in the front row of the audience!  Currently, Jenny is hard at work on a memoir she describes as "Like WILD, but with pregnancy...and funny." You can enjoy her silly fun at her personal blog, More Cowbell, or read her latest post here at WITS, Top 10 Success Tips from Cheryl Strayed.

Julie Glover recently finished draft one of a novella co-written with award-winning author Christina Delay. She's also writing a cozy mystery, and although she doubts she'll finish 50k words in July, she's throwing in with Camp NaNoWriMo for inspiration, encouragement, and accountability.

Laura Drake wants everyone to know about a fantastic retreat and coaching by the incredible wordsmith, Susan Donovan. She has a sweet little Casitas in New Mexico, and amazing coaching to whip your WIP into shape!

Laura's next novel is due out in December, but available for preorder NOW!

See? Easy-peasy. Only one of us wrote this, but all of us are represented - that's the spirit of P&P.

Don't be shy -- tell your pals! 

We are open for as many entries as you want, and you're welcome to send anyone who reads great stuff our way. We want to hear about it! Be sure to peruse the comments. You might find a few things you like in the plethora of pimping that’s about to ensue.

Thanks again for making WITS one of the top writer’s blogs. We appreciate you!

~  Fae, Jenny, Julie and Laura