Writers in the Storm

I was fortunate enough to go to the RWA Conference in New York in July (thank you, Alpha Dog). Between meetings, chatting with friends, and parties, I got to exactly 3 workshops (beat last year, when I got to zero!). But luckily I attended what I'm sure was the BEST of all workshops.

I've heard others sing the praises of Michael Hauge, and every year, have intended to make his presentation. This year, I committed to get there no matter what, and am I glad I did! I'm here to pass some of his wisdom on to you.

In case you don't know who he is, this is from his website:

MICHAEL HAUGE is a story expert, author and lecturer who works
with writers, filmmakers, marketers, attorneys and public speakers,
both in Hollywood and around the world.

If you do know of him, or have attended his lectures in the past - hang in with me, because some of this is new.

These are my notes from his awesome 2 hour lecture. He's talking about romance, but this works for all relationships - it's the explanation of why they work.

A good story is manipulation - you're trying to create an emotional experience for the reader.

All stories are based on 3 elements:

1. Character
2. Desire
3. Conflict

There are 12 components of a good story:

1. Hero - Protagonist is not necessarily heroic, but he has potential to be. The story is him realizing that potential or failing (tragedy)

2. Set-up - Glimpse you give of the hero's life before the story.

     a. Every good story is a reflection, of the before and after story. Reveal what the hero longs for, somewhat unrealistically. Ex: Heroine in Titanic                longs for adventure.

     b. How is the hero stuck? He's in a state of inertia - he's settling

3. Create empathy for the hero - for emotional engagement, the reader must become the hero

     a. Make the hero the victim of undeserved misforture

     b. Put a character in jeopardy

     c. Make the hero likable

4. Hero has a catalyst - an opportunity or event that pushes him forward. Could be good or bad

     If it looks good, it goes bad / If it looks bad, it goes good

5. New situation - the hero's goal is to decide, where am I, what are the rules? Involves exploration and questioning

6. Outer motivation - the hero creates a new goal

7. Other characters - Here's the new stuff 

     a. Reflection character - best friend, mentor, helper. They hold the hero's feet to the fire. Point out the problem.

     b. Nemesis - Villain, bad guy. Embodies the character has of himself.

     c. Romance character - outer motivation for the hero.

The biggest weakness of romance is that there's no logical reason for these two people to be together.

Wrong answers:

          1. Chemistry - Nope, that burns out. We're talking about love here.

          2. Love is not explainable - yes, it is.

The right answer:

The right hero for the heroine  is the only person who connects with her ESSENCE, not her IDENTITY.

Identity is the face we wear for the world - He sees what she really is, not the face she puts on for the world. We may even believe our identity is who we are.

Essence is who we truly are, deep inside.

Lovers are in conflict because one or both of them is in identity – not essence. This is great before sex, and it helps in a love triangle:

Whoever she dumps embodies identity

Whoever she chooses embodies essence

Laura - butting in here. This was an epiphany for me.  Think about Twilight, or Hunger Games. Something always bothered me about those love triangles, but I couldn't put my finger on why. This is it! There's no reason for them to be together; neither sees the girl's essence - or if they do, they see only a part. That's why you can't decide who the heroine should be with! And that bugs me - on a subliminal level. And if they're getting to me on a subliminal level, this is powerful stuff, no? Back to Michael....

8. Pursuit – More visible and persistent the goal, the more the reader is engaged. Goal must be within the power of the hero to achieve. Avoid something he needs another to achieve. Has to be big enough to carry us to the climax.

9. Conflict – Emotion grows from conflict NOT from desire. There 2 levels:

     a. Outer conflict – forces of nature, conflict with another character. Must get worse as story moves forward. Obstacle comes closer – faster – bigger

     b. Inner conflict – invisible, inside heroine.

                   What is the heroine’s wound? Mostly in adolescence.

                  What is the heroine’s belief? It's a misunderstanding about the world.

This belief is NEVER true, but ALWAYS logical

                  What is the heroine’s fear?

                  What is the heroine’s identity? Persona – the mask we wear to protect us from fears that grow out of the belief, created by the old wound. Identity is who we believe we really are.

                  What is the heroine’s essence? If you strip away the armor, what is left? They have the potential to become it, but only if the strip down to the essence and face their biggest fear. They can be safe and unfulfilled or fulfilled and scared to death.

10. Transformation – Begins in identity, ends in essence. Character arc

Steps:

     Identity

     Glimpse new way

     Vacillate

     Move steadily

     Disaster – major setback, all is lost

     Retreat – Doesn’t work. Reflection character may help here. Am I willing to be afraid?

     Essence

Bigger stake – if the hero’s courage also helps the outside world. Or, if he doesn’t find the courage=tragedy like Brokeback Mountain.

11. Climax – Complete the arc and the goal is achieved.

12. Aftermath – the ‘after picture’ in his new life.

That's it. Michael Hauge is officially my hero. If you ever have a chance to catch him live, don't miss it. By the way, he has videos, and books available on his website, and he also does individual coaching. Check him out at: http://www.storymastery.com/

 So, WITS followers, what what your biggest takeaway from the notes? Can you see a way to use this in your WIP?

About Laura

Laura Drake is a city girl who never grew out of her tomboy ways, or a serious cowboy crush. She writes both Women's Fiction and Romance.

She sold her Sweet on a Cowboy series, romances set in the world of professional bull riding, to Grand Central.  The Sweet Spot won the 2014 Romance Writers of America^®   RITA^® award in the Best First Book category.

Her 'biker-chick' novel, Her Road Home, sold to Harlequin's Superomance line (August, 2013) and has expanded to three more stories set in the same small town. The latest, Twice in a Blue Moon , released July 1.

In 2014, Laura realized a lifelong dream of becoming a Texan and is currently working on her accent. She gave up the corporate CFO gig to write full time. She's a wife, grandmother, and motorcycle chick in the remaining waking hours.

Twitter  Facebook

Christopher Lentz

Unless you’re trapped in a 1953 Zenith television, your world is full of color. Whether you know it or not, you’re reacting to the hues that bombard you every second you’re awake. And, if you dream in color, the rainbow never ends for you. It beats me, but there are claims that we can discern 7-10 million colors. Now wouldn’t that spectrum make an incredible box of Crayola Crayons?

Did you know that colors have hidden meanings and not-so-hidden meanings? They do. Color actually has its own language. It’s a form of non-verbal communication, one that’s not entirely universal, however. There are regional dialects. For instance, black is the color most associated with mourning, but not in China where the color white signals death.

The information in following discussion isn’t hard and fast. And it won't be specific to book covers. But when we’re smarter about the psychology behind colors and the common associations humans have with certain colors, perhaps we can engineer our covers to tap into the key emotions or reactions we want to trigger. Sound intriguing? Let’s get started.

Speaking with color

We’re masters of words. We paint pictures for our readers with just the right descriptions to add dimension without dynamiting the flow and pace. Using an economy of words that most people have common associations with, we can deliver a message efficiently and effectively. Consider this: a coral and tangerine sunset versus a grey and steely storm cloud. Got the point? Good.

Selecting and visually applying colors can tell stories too. For instance, red and yellow are stimulating and active colors, while green and blue are considered calming and relaxing. Review the list below to see if you agree with U.S. researchers.

Black—The color of authority and power. Death and mystery. Think villains. Stylish and timeless.

Blue—The color of serenity and trust. Peaceful and calming. Think sky and sea. Can be cold. And while it’s one of the most favored colors, it’s one of the least appetizing.

Brown—The color of earth, as in dirt. Stable and reliable. Though favored by men, it can be sad.

Green—The color of nature. Relaxing and refreshing. Think growth and wealth. Brides in the Middle Ages wore it to symbolize young love and fertility.

Purple—The color of royalty. Abundance and dignity. Think luxury, spirituality and romance. Because it’s rare in nature, it can appear artificial. Purple dye was extremely hard to create, so it was a highly prized pigment.

Red—The color of love, fire and blood. Stimulating and dangerous. Think fast cars and lipstick. It’s an appetite stimulant. That’s why so many fast food restaurants decorate with red and orange.

White—The color of innocence and purity. Hope and openness. Think doctors and a clean sheet of paper. It’s the non-color that can indicate the beginning or perfection.

Yellow—The color of cheerfulness. Sunshine and attention-getting. Think taxi cabs and daffodils. Can be overpowering if overused.

What’s this mean for book covers?

Covers are our story’s calling cards and billboards. Much thought goes into the fonts and images, but how much consideration goes into the selection of colors? Now that you’ve been exposed to the natural associations humans have with colors, shouldn’t book covers leverage what attracts and communicates? Absolutely.

My recent novel, Blossom, features a cover that was strategically constructed. From the images, the potential reader can deduce that there’s sex (the seductive woman’s eyes), mystery (the fan) and adventure (the inferno).

Let’s look at how color selections further deliver the key elements of the heroine’s story. The eye is lavender, a pastel version of purple which can evoke romantic and nostalgic feelings. The hair and fan are black to reinforce style and mystery. The cherry blossoms on the fan add a dash of the color of passion. And the inferno is yellow and orange to indicate heat, energy and danger.

How does this language of color work on widely known book covers like Fifty Shades of Grey, The Hunger Games, The Help, The Great Gatsby and Twilight? Do you have an accurate sense of what you’re getting into if you turned those covers or clicked through to the story?

It’s something to consider when shopping for your next book to read. And it’s definitely something to consider when the time comes to wrap a cover around your soon-to-be-published next book!

    

To learn more about designing a book cover that tells and sells, be sure to read my June 3, 2015 Writers in the Storm blog.

 

What do you think about the covers shown in this blog? Or, go look at the cover of your favorite book and see if the dominant color that’s used triggers the correct response for the story it promotes. Would a different color or color combination do a better job?

 

About Christopher Lentz

Christopher Lentz is a matchmaker, midwife and murderer … when he’s writing books, that is. He’s a man who writes romances, a self-starter who self-publishes and a dreamer who thought growing old would take longer. He truly believes love changes everything. As a journalist, a corporate marketer and now a romance writer, his career has been all about storytelling. His first romance novel, Blossom, is now available and it’s the first book of the Blossom Trilogy. For more information, visit christopherlentz.org and blossomtrilogy.com.

Before we jump into Kathryn's wisdom, I wanted to let you know - the winner of Laurie Schnebly Campbell's class is....Olderwriter! We'll be in touch, Eveyln!

Turning Whine Into Gold

By Kathryn Craft

On the first page of her book Wired for Story, Lisa Cron says:

"Opposable thumbs let us hang on; story told us what to hang on to."

I was thinking about this provocative sentence last week, when I was summoned from worlds born of my imagination—the writing I was doing at my summer home in northern New York—back to the realm of cold, hard fact in Pennsylvania.

My 84-year-old mother, who has dementia and for whom I serve as power of attorney, had fallen and hit her head. While in the ER getting checked out for her head—which was just as hard and intact as ever—she complained of belly pain and so they did a full body scan.

They found two lung masses, inflamed colon, rectal bleeding, enlarged liver, elevated white blood count, low red count—she hadn’t fallen, she had passed out. Dementia had protected her from accumulating the story her body had to share; my mother just kept acclimating to her symptoms until they dropped her.

Within 24 hours my sisters and I converged. How had this happened? In June her physician had given her a clean bill of health. In July we spent a week with her up at the lake.

We’d know soon enough. No better place than a modern hospital to get the facts.

• How did she get colitis?
• What is the nature of these masses?
• Are they related to the cough that the assisted living nurses said was of no travel concern?
• Should I reschedule the removal of the skin cancer lesion on her knee?

But facts require invasive biopsies. And once we brought hospice into the picture, the nurse pulled out the IV and the doctor released her. What? We don’t want her dying from something curable while battling lung cancer! The lack of facts left us dizzy.

Story: truer than fact?

After discharge, back at assisted living, I asked the hospice intake nurse, Chris, for some sense of how this might go down. Doing so wasn’t fair. Chris only had the same facts the doctor had. But she trusted her observations, experience, creative language, and the intuition derived from all of the above to tell us this:

Your mother’s body has provided a playground for metastatic disease. It probably started in the lining of her lungs. From there cancer cells sloughed off and went to her colon, where they can hide for some time within the organ’s numerous folds. The rectal bleeding caused the loss of red blood cells that she needs to deliver oxygen to her body. Can she still make those? Probably not. And her breathing is severely compromised; I can find no evidence of air entering or leaving her lower left lobe. Your mother will not rebound from this hospital visit; she will get weaker. The enlarged liver suggests the cancer has already taken up residence within it, and since it is the only organ that can regenerate its cells, cancer will have a heyday there and things will progress quickly. There is no point in fighting the skin cancer since more and more research is linking skin cancers to those of internal organs. She has a full system disease and it is shutting her down. We will order her a wheelchair—if she ever walks to the dining room again, we’ll want to make sure she can get back. Ignore the discharge nurse’s advice on low-fiber diet. If your mother will eat at all, let her eat what she wants. If she won’t eat, that’s fine. At this point her body is not absorbing the nutrients; she is feeding the cancer. We’ll order oxygen because she is winded from just brushing her teeth. If she can still get enough air into her lungs to do so, she may start coughing up—

My sister, who had been in the bathroom getting my mother ready for bed, rushed into the room and begged us to excuse the interruption. “My mother just coughed something up for the first time. Gray, with black flecks.”

“That’s old blood,” Chris said, her prognosis already coming true.

What my sisters and I thought we’d needed to orient us to my mother’s new reality wasn’t facts, after all. Even if we’d had them, we’d struggle to string them together in a meaningful way.

What we now had was something that’s even better than a happy ending. Thanks to a hospice nurse and her story, we live again in a world that makes sense.

So how important is story? Let me go back to Lisa Cron, and attach the lines that preceded and followed my initial quote:

"Story, as it turns out, was crucial to our evolution—more so than opposable thumbs. Opposable thumbs let us hang on; story told us what to hang on to. Story is what enabled us to imagine what might happen in the future, and so prepare for it—a feat no other species can lay claim to, opposable thumbs or not."

 So, dear WITS followers, how important is story? Do you have one to share that influenced you, as a writer?

About Kathryn

Kathryn Craft is the author of two novels from Sourcebooks: The Art of Falling, and The Far End of Happy.

Her work as a developmental editor at Writing-Partner.com, specializing in storytelling structure and writing craft, follows a nineteen-year career as a dance critic. Long a leader in the southeastern Pennsylvania writing scene, she hosts lakeside writing retreats for women in northern New York State, leads workshops, and speaks often about writing.

Kathryn lives with her husband in Bucks County, PA.

Twitter: @kcraftwriter
FB: KathrynCraftAuthor