Category: Writing FUNdamentals

Characters · gay romance · lgbt · mogai · writing · Writing FUNdamentals

Going Over the Rainbow: Moving Beyond the LG in LGBT.

Bran Lindy Ayres3 Comments

Growing up in small towns in the middle of the Midwest, I didn’t get much exposure to people of other races.  There was not a single African American at the school I went to and only one person of mixed race.  I also had no exposure to people who identified as different sexual orientations or gender identities. This meant I felt horribly out of place growing up. I was just weird. It’s taken twenty years, but I’ve finally found where I fit and understand myself. I’ve also learned a lot about others along the way.

Last month Jami Gold brought up the subject of diversity on her blog.  Diversity is a huge topic right now, and it should be. We need more diversity in every genre.  And by diversity I don’t just mean racially, but sexual orientation, gender identity, neurodivergence, physical ability, all of it. However, we need to when and how to add it so it fits and doesn’t feel tacked on. There is no quota, only authenticity.

This is a good thing when it comes to our characters, especially for characters with diverse elements, as there’s no definitive black, gay, disabled, whatever experience, and therefore there’s no “one right way” to portray those characters. There are, however, wrong ways to portray diversity.—Jami Gold, Writing Diversity: How Can We Avoid Issues?

In a follow up post, Jami also touched on research and being aware of the source of our information. There are plenty of resources on the internet but we need to be aware of who is supplying them and if they are actually part of the segment of the population they are writing about. This can make all the difference in whether or not our portrayal is authentic or othering.

Some stories simply are not ours to write.

Obviously, the most helpful thing we can do to support diversity within the publishing industry is to buy and help promote books from diverse authors. As I mentioned last time, there might be some stories that aren’t ours to tell, so we also need to encourage the success of those authors who can tell those stories.—Jami Gold, Digging into Research: Consider the Source

I write stories with queer* characters and yes many of them are not white, but their race and queerness is part of who they are and the stories are not about either. As a white person it is not my place to write a story about race or racism. It might happen in my stories, but it won’t be the focus because I have never had to deal with it the way so many others do. I cannot and will not write something when I know it is a subject that does not belong to me. No amount of creativity can replace experience with something like this.

And that leads me to the point of this post.  As a queer person I have noticed a lot of authors struggling to write authentically queer characters. The gay romance genre is stuck in the m/m cis white male, coming out trope (not that there is anything wrong with the trope, but … diversity would be nice ^^). That is only one small part of the entire spectrum. The rainbow flag is not the only flag out there. Whether you write romance or not, adding other orientations can only enrich your writing. When done properly.

Pride Flag Collage

Over the next several months I will be exploring each of the various sexual orientations and gender identities in an effort to help my fellow authors write with more diversity. I will be inviting people of other orientations and gender identities to offer their advice and experiences as well. I sincerely hope you find this of value and please feel free to ask questions.

If you enjoyed this and would like access to additional content, please consider supporting me on Patreon. 

As always your comments and questions are welcomed below. 

*As someone who identifies as nonbinary and panromantic demisxual, I am comfortable using the term queer when describing myself or my characters. I am aware that many in the community still feel this is an insult. If you do not identify as part of the spectrum, please refrain from using the term.

Characters · Writing FUNdamentals

Non-Traditional Hero Part 3: Character Flaws and One Stop for Writers

Bran Lindy AyresLeave a comment

Eeesh, it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to write a post. Sorry about that. Having a chronic illness and being a single parent can really flatten you sometimes.  So, on with the post!

Last time we talked about developing a non-traditional hero.  We discussed how archetypes are useful as a basis for creating a character and how to add traits and goals to make them truly unique and non-stereotypical. We looked at the waif archetype and discussed how to make them atypical including switching the gender typically associated with waifs.

I promised to show you how to fill out the lovely Character Pyramid available on Writers Helping Writers.  So we will focus on that today. If you have the Negative Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi you can find the pyramid in Appendix B, if not please click through to the link above where you can print out one for yourself. I like to do this so I can fill them out.

As a bonus I’m going to introduce you to One Stop for Writers. If you have followed my blog for long you’ll know I don’t really endorse writing software, but One Stop for Writers is completely different. Instead of just writing a review I thought I’d show you why I am so completely thrilled with this website and how incredibly helpful it is. So, we are going to use it to help us fill out the pyramid. You can access a lot of helpful information for free, but a subscription is only $9 a month.

So first, the pyramid. I’ve decided to use one of the characters from my upcoming novel to fill this out since I know him best. You’ll see on the page a place to put the character name and under that, a defining event. This is their backstory wound that results in the lie they believe about themselves.

But what if you don’t know what your character’s defining event was?  One Stop for Writers has an idea generator and no it’s not random phrases strung together. At the top of the page you’ll see a drawer marked Wounds. Open and close it until something sparks an idea. That can be your defining event (just beware of getting sidetracked with all the other amazing generators as I tend to do, seriously it’s very tempting).Onestop1

Now, we are ready for the pyramid itself. So depending on your character’s defining event what lie do they believe about themselves? Lafayette believes he is not worthy of love or close relationships because of being betrayed by someone he was in love with and trusted.

pyramid lie

So what core flaws might result from that lie? Let’s head over to the Negative Trait Thesaurus and find some.Onestop2

One Stop for Writers makes it easy as they have the entire Negative Trait Thesaurus readily available.onestop3

So looking at our pyramid what core flaws might arise from our character’s wound and lie? To illustrate let’s look at Lafayette’s wound and lie and see what traits he could display. Having been the victim of a cruel betrayal he’s become antisocial, withdrawn, cynical, and uncooperative.

pyramid core flaws

If you are on the website you’ll find that clicking each trait gives you the entire thesaurus entry for that trait.  This should give you some ideas on how to fill the next step of the pyramid with their lesser flaws that grow from the core flaws.

Pyramid lesser flaws

For Lafayette I’ve gone with; disrespectful, jealous, suspicious, hostile and ungrateful. He’s starting to sound like a bit of a jerk. Well he is. These are your character’s bad traits, the grounding for their flaws and where they came from.

The last tier of the pyramid are the ways you will actually show these traits in your narrative. By how they think, what they think about, how they behave and act and what quirks they have, you’ll be able to show your reader your character’s flaws. So how are you going to fill this tier out?

Go through each entry and find associated behaviors that you feel fit your character. No one has all the associated behaviors and some traits might only have one main behavior to contend with. You might find that there is some overlap within the behaviors, this is just fine. This is mostly to give you a basis for ideas of how your character behaves because of their backstory wound.

Pyramid behaviors

Lafayette avoids intimacy and pushes people away. He is brutally sarcastic and will play pranks to get back at people he feels slighted by. He hordes pillows.

So now you have, or hopefully have, a completed pyramid. It should look something like this (with your character’s detail of course):

pyramid completed lafe

Now you have something to refer back to when you’re not certain how your character might react to a situation and you’ve given them new depth and realism. This will help take your hero from a nice cake with pretty icing to something truly worthy of a place at your table and something your readers will devour.

I also hope you’ve enjoyed this very short tour of One Stop for Writers and can see why I think it is an incredible tool. I’ve barely even skimmed the surface of all the wonderful features they’ve included. I am very grateful to Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman, authors of The Emotion Thesaurus, and Lee Powell, creator of Scrivener for Windows for putting so much thought and effort into this resource.

I hope this helps you build your wonderfully non-traditional hero! If you enjoyed this, please consider supporting me on Patreon. 

As always your comments and questions are welcomed below. Do you find it difficult to incorporate a character’s flaws, especially if they are the hero? Do you find yourself worried the character might come across as unlikeable or unsympathetic? How do you handle this? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments.

 

archetypes · Characters · Writing FUNdamentals

Non-Traditional Hero Part 2: Whipping Up an Atypical Hero in Five Easy Steps

Bran Lindy Ayres4 Comments

Building a character is a lot like making a cake. Except you don’t want just a basic yellow cake, you want layers and frosting and all the fun stuff that makes cake great. Or maybe it’s sushi you like, you aren’t just going to eat rice and be satisfied when you want sushi. Archetypes are like your basic yellow cake batter. They form the basis to start from, but it’s up to you to add all the stuff that will make an epic cake. What kinds of things do you like in a layer cake? Fruit, nuts, chocolate something a bit more exotic? Then we need the icing, or maybe you like frosting or fondant and lots of it. Good.

The point is we start with a base, but we don’t stay there. That’s boring. Spice it up. Experiment, see what flavors work well together and which ones don’t.

So, let’s get cooking.

Step 1: Start with an Archetype.

The ones I listed a couple of weeks ago are just one set of archetypes. Schmidt’s book A Writer’s Guide to Creating Characters contains more lists. I’m going to stick with my list and pick the Waif because it’s so well known. Plus I have a fun idea to play with.

Step 2: Determine the Flavor

So who is the Waif?

Tami Cowden defines the Waif:

This is the original damsel in distress. She was the star of many a Grimm’s fairy tales. Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel, all required rescue, and so does she. Her child-like innocence evokes a protective urge in the beastliest of heroes.

But don’t be fooled, because the Waif has tremendous strength of will. She won’t fight back; she’ll endure. Audrey Hepburn often played this heroine – think of Sabrina. Marilyn Monroe in The Misfits was a classic waif. And an updated version is found in Peta Wilson’s La Femme Nikita. A classic Waif is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. She overcame mistreatment, and her innocence and purity won her Mr. Rochester. Another good example – Kathleen E. Woodiwiss’s heroine in The Flame & the Flower.

These women are pure at heart, at times a little too trusting, and also insecure. They seem to be untouched by the world, patient and adaptable to any situation. They carry on, looking for the day when they are free of their travails, but taking little action to bring that day closer.

In a bar fight, the Waif is most likely to turn to the hero to get her out of this situation. If that fails, she’ll be found pressed against a wall, well out of the fray. But let an unwary fighter venture too close to her little island of safety, and he’s likely to have a bottle smashed over his head. When cornered, the Waif will take desperate measures, but only when she has no other option.

(http://www.likesbooks.com/78.html )

This is when you decide just what kind of cake you want to work with; is it chocolate, red velvet, angel food, or lemon? This is what we will build on so pick something that feels right for your character.

What core moral value do we see that might fit the Waif? Looking at The Positive Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi in Appendix C on page 236 there is a list of moral traits. A couple that jump out at me as potentially fitting the Waif archetype are Innocent and Patient. I can hear you wondering why I’m not trying to stay as far away as possible from the whole definition of the Waif archetype. We still need a basis, a starting point. So let’s look at these two moral values.

http://cdn.writershelpingwriters.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Target-Tool.pdf

Innocent is defined at being of pure intent and motive with possible causes being a sheltered upbringing or seeing only the good in people. Some associated behaviors I’m going to pick for my Waif are:

  • honesty
  • curiosity
  • being exceptionally trusting
  • friendliness
  • seeing things in a practical light
  • being willing to help others
  • being excitable

Patient is defined as exhibiting self-control and composure under trial or strain with possible causes being believing everything will work out, maturity, or being focused on others rather than self.  Some associated behaviors could include:

  • calmly waiting
  • not complaining when things take too long
  • enjoying the moment rather than always thinking about what’s coming next
  • bouncing back quickly from setbacks
  • not being surprised by the unexpected
  • managing one’s time wisely
  • delaying gratification

Personally I think patient fits my vision for my Waif a little better than innocent so I’m going with that. We have the core trait, the thing that gives them their sense of right and wrong. Now lets look at the next set of traits.

Step 3: Add the Extras and Bake

So I have my batter and am ready to add some fun flavors. This is the what the Positive Trait Thesaurus describes in Appendix B on page 233 as the achievement tier and while being aligned with their morals, is focused on what traits they’ve developed to help them achieve their life goals.

What might fit the Patient Waif? When creating my characters I like to pick at least three complementary achievement traits. For my Waif I’m going to pick adaptable, cooperative and persuasive. I generally like to pick a fourth that doesn’t seem to quite fit with the others. I’ve decided on meticulous. So to go along with the analogy I’ve got a few complimentary flavors and then something to add a little texture like fresh fruit or nuts. Now we bake and assemble the tiers.

Step 4: Frosting

Now, I’m going to move from personality traits to external elements because the interactive and identity traits deal more with how the Patient Waif reacts to their surroundings. They need a goal, motivation and conflict for me to understand them better and flesh them out a bit more. We have our cake tiers ready to go, and now we need to layer on the frosting and decorations. But to do that I have to understand their environment, the frosting needs to compliment the cake itself.

I know that my Patient Waif has endured something that gave them that core trait. So now I brainstorm. You’ll probably come up with something entirely different given your interests and life experiences, and that’s perfect. Every character needs a sliver of yourself within them to make them feel alive and real to the reader.

So what goals, motivations and conflicts might my Patient Waif have? That depends on the story, the setting, their history and such. As an example I’m going to pick a character from a current WIP of mine. It’s just now in the planning stages so this will be a good exercise. It’s a high fantasy setting but more technologically advanced, think pre-industrial revolution instead of medieval. Magic is a science all to itself.

The interactive traits are described in The Positive Trait Thesaurus Appendix B page 233: “Strengths form through interaction with people and the environment. These traits help the character work with others, handle conflict, convey ideas and forge healthy relationships.” This layer is our frosting, icing or fondant before you start adding any other decorations.

For my Waif I’ve picked; Diplomatic, Observant, Perceptive and Tolerant. These are things they’ve learned from their life experiences and reflect how they interact with other people. These traits compliment their core morality of being patient while enhancing the overall flavor.

Step 5: Decorate

Now for the decoration, the identity traits. These are the traits that the thesaurus describes as being tied to a personal sense of identity. This is what makes your character, your cake, stand out as unique. It’s the surface qualities that draw the reader in so they are tempted to take that first bite.

For my Waif I picked some fun things; Intelligent, Philosophical, Sensual,  and Witty.  Typically now I would get a notebook and start going through the thesaurus jotting down the various attributes of each trait I feel fit the character and getting an idea of who they are.

It’s helpful to go through the Positive Trait Thesaurus, Appendix A on page 229 at this point and start going through the topics. I also like to fill out character profile sheets so I have the information in one spot to refer back to. Just remember that this is your test kitchen. Once you start writing you might discover whole new things about your character and who they really are. Be willing to listen to them and see how the new direction fits.

The main thing to remember when creating a character, give them foibles, faults and quirks. Pick one trait and take it to its extreme and see what happens.  This is when you pick up the Negative Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi and go to Appendix B. This pyramid is very helpful: http://cdn.writershelpingwriters.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Character-Pyramid.pdf

We need to understand what their goal is, why they are striving for it, and what is keeping them from it.

Sometimes I actually find it more helpful to figure out the goal and then work backwards figuring out who this person is. I’ll go more indepth about this next week and we’ll fill out the pyramid together.

So who is my Waif and what makes them an atypical hero? Let’s find out.

Cirbus is tall even for his race, the Daoine Sith. As a knight of the Unseelie he is supposed to be working for the Winter Queen in her never ending struggled against the Summer Queen. Except after several hundred years he’s a bit fed up. Maintaining the gates between the realms he’s had to witness much cruelty and heartbreak and nothing bothers him more than seeing intelligent beings suffering.

One day he witnesses the capture and vivisection of a young mage who is then left to die on the side of the road once the butchers are done. Leaving his post he heals the now normal young woman and sends her on her way. The incident leaves him questioning his duty but he remains until word is sent that his actions have not gone unnoticed and he’s subsequently banished.

For the first time in his life he’s alone. He has no idea about human culture or how anything works. He’s never been out of the glade where his portal lay.  He doesn’t wander far, only making it as far as the crossroads where he runs into a group of magic hunters. Daoine Sith aren’t just rare, they are a myth and the hunters are prepared for the vicious evil creatures the myth calls them. Cirbus is understandably unprepared for their assault and is captured and taken to the nearest principality to be sold. Instead of trying to escape he waits patiently for the next several decades until the principality is no more.

What happens after that? That’s a spoiler. Point is I have my cake—er my atypical hero. Cirbus eschews the stereotype by being a male waif for starters and also by choosing not to react and to instead be patient.  We’ve taken the archetype and built something entirely new in just a few steps. It does take some work and experimenting but in the end you’ll have an awesome cake that readers will devour.

If you enjoyed this and would like to see more, please consider supporting me on Patreon.  

As always your comments and questions are welcomed below. Do you have a favorite ‘flavor’ you like to write? How do you go about creating your characters? Do you like to start from a different approach? If so what is it?

archetypes · Characters · writing · Writing FUNdamentals

The Non-Traditional Hero: Part One

Bran Lindy AyresLeave a comment
Art by Drew Melton

Last week I discussed the alpha character role and the trap of stereotypical heroes. So what is a traditional hero? Often in fiction, especially romance, the hero is what is termed an alpha male, which I discussed in last week’s post. The often hypermasculine and overly sexualized characters (male and female) in media, while popular, are becoming cliche.

So what makes a non-traditional hero?

First let’s break down what a hero is and what makes them a hero.

hero

[heer-oh]

noun, plural heroes;

  1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
  2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.
  3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.
  4. Classical Mythology.
  1. a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity.
  2. (in the Homeric period) a warrior-chieftain of special strength,courage, or ability.
  3. (in later antiquity) an immortal being; demigod.

 

hero. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hero (accessed: May 29, 2015).

 

One who acts in consciiousness of heart and soul. modern: one who acts on what he/she was tought to do or perform. as in Doctors, astronauts, firefighters, paramedics, etc.. the modern kind of takes away from the true meaning of the word “HERO”.Answer A traditional hero plays by the book, he doesn’t bend or break the law, doesn’t smoke, drink or cuss, will not lie and helps little old ladies across the street. Like Atticus Finch, Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger, Superman etc… A modern hero may be on either side of the law, will bend or break the rules to his benefit, he may steal, will certainly lie, smokes, drinks, cusses and helps little old ladies across the street. Like Dirty Harry, Lazarus Long, and others. Of course this is only the general differences, both types of heros have the same focal point, the common good of the people.

A hero is a man that is admired for his achievments; that has strength and shows courage to others.

http://www.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_differences_between_a_traditional_hero_and_a_modern_hero

Last week I covered the various character archetypes and how Mad Max doesn’t fit the typical alpha male role. What I want to do this week is discuss the typical hero. The definition of a traditional hero is someone who follows the rules and is courteous and polite. A gentleman, basically. The modern idea of a hero is an anti-hero who only follows rules when it suits them and is more coarse and crude, but still a ‘good’ person. Both the traditional and modern types of hero work for the common good of the people. The alpha male is simply a hyper-masculinized version of either a traditional or a modern hero. This is something that I find unfortunate, because it does a disservice to both men and women in the portrayal of that kind of behavior being the norm. There is nothing wrong with having an alpha male character, provided they’re not the only kind of hero we get to see.

There is more than one way to be a hero, and anyone with enough guts can be a hero if the moment calls for it. Some characters never even think of themselves as acting heroically; they just act. To quote my character Jasper Stanton from The Jeweled Dagger, ‘Heroes act. They don’t wait for things to happen.’

Even a so-called coward can become a hero given the right set of circumstances. Even if they act out of cowardice or self-interest, if the action benefits others it can be deemed heroic. The character’s actual motivation for the act is immaterial because it’s the results that matter.

This is where the concepts of the anti-villain and the anti-hero come in. The anti-hero is almost always motivated primarily by selfishness. An anti-villain is a villain with a conscience: they know they must make the hard decisions and aren’t afraid to make the necessary sacrifice in order to fulfill their goal as long as they themselves are not the sacrifice. It is that difference which makes them a villain. Villains and heroes are just two sides of the same coin. A character who believes themselves to be the hero is really the villain if the results of their actions are harmful, though they are often considered to be a hero by some.

An example of this is Rozzen Barbeaux, an original character in my Thief fan fiction series which can be found on Archive of Our Own. She is powerful, driven, in control and incredibly intelligent. She is publically working to better the City, to bring order to the chaos created by the events of the game. She was previously an altruistic corsair who toppled tyrants and oppressive regimes. Many of the wealthy citizens of the City see her as a hero, and their last hope to stem the chaos and bring order. To Garrett and the common people of the City she has become another oppressive tyrant like those she used to fight, and is the main villain of the series.

There are always two stories in every conflict, and which side is which is often a matter of perspective. The same would still apply even if the harmful results were accidental instead of deliberate.

Each archetype I listed last week possesses a core moral value, that inner decency that drives all their choices and decisions. These archetypes are a good starting point for creating a character but, like a core moral value, they must be expanded upon to fully develop a character that is not a stereotype.

Mad Max from the movie Mad Max: Fury Road is a good example of a non-traditional hero, as is his counterpart Furiosa. Neither fits the commonly defined hero role. Stevesbootyshorts on Tumblr made an excellent observation:

Hardy’s Max is traumatized, he is twitchy, non-verbal, and is haunted by hallucinations/flashbacks. Despite this, he listens to the other characters; when the women decide to trust Nux, he trusts their judgement. He’s very obviously afraid. He is far more viscerally traumatized than anything you typically see out of male action stars.

The film completely undermines the male action hero, both by having the women be the true propelling force behind the film’s action, and by having a traumatized action hero who is actually traumatized. http://stevesbootyshorts.tumblr.com/post/119879908308/i-think-one-of-the-things-i-loved-the-most-about

When I began planning The Jeweled Dagger I knew I didn’t want either of my main characters to be stereotypical or to even fit neatly into an archetype. I knew it was going to be a non-traditional romance as well, featuring characters from the orientation and gender identity spectrum who you don’t see often in fiction.

Jasper Stanton at first glance might seem like your typical dashing hero and he strives to be what he thinks of as the ideal. It’s actually one of his flaws. He’s distinctly uncomfortable in a leadership role and when he’s promoted to Captain he thinks it’s a prank. He’s out of place at the Royal Court and is desperate to fit in and gain the approval of those around him. He’s a flirt but doesn’t actively pursue a sexual relationship and even rebuffs those who seek one with him. He asks for help when he knows he’s in over his head. He is terrible with a sword and pukes if he has to deal with bloody wounds. He endures abuse because he thinks he deserves it.

Not exactly your typical hero.

Then we have Lafayette Goddard, who is more of an anti-hero, but still not typical. Living a dual life at Court, they are highly skilled as both a spy and an assassin. As Genevieve they are just as assertive and capable of violence as when they are Lafayette. They are also very focused on maintaining appearances at Court, especially as Genevieve, and they will go to great lengths to protect their reputation. As Lafayette they work to remain in the background but they don’t mince words or insults. They prefer to work alone and refuse help even when it’s offered and needed. Relationships are merely tools to them and they actively use others’ interest in Genevieve to acquire information.

Also not your typical hero, anti or otherwise.

For comparison there is Adrian Barbeaux, from the Thief fan fiction I mentioned previously. He is a Warrior. Literally. Adrian is a Captain of the City Watch and the quintessential hero. He’s courageous, protective, patient and kind to a fault. He risks everything to save Garrett, at first simply because he feels Garrett’s treatment is unjust, even for a known thief. Later he stays with Garrett because he’s come to respect and admire him. Even when events ultimately lead him to a horrifying decision he decides against putting his tormenter to death.

What saves him from being a stereotype is the way he goes beyond the archetype. Here is it defined according to Tami Cowden at All About Romance:

The Warrior

This man is the reluctant rescuer or the knight in shining armor. He’s noble, tenacious, relentless, and he always sticks up for the underdog. If you need a protector, he’s your guy. He doesn’t buckle under to rules, or and he doesn’t go along just to get along.

Examples of Warriors? Dirty Harry, and most any Steven Seagal character. Check the Die Hard movies too. For a lighter version, try TV’s Hercules. Most superheroes are Warriors .

In romance, Suzanne Brockmann and Linda Howard write Warriors. Rosemary Rogers favors this type, too. Trap this man in a basement and his reaction is going to be pure outrage.

He’s a protector, so his focus will be getting her out. But once they’re out, the villain better start running. The Warrior will hunt him to the ends of the earth.

Forget about rescue. This man is the cavalry.

 

So how did I make sure Adrian didn’t fall into the stereotypical hero trap? I gave him flaws and quirks that help round him out. He takes charge when he needs to but always considers Garrett’s best interest first, including not trying to take Garrett out of his comfort zone or trying to change him. Though this has led to him assuming he knows what is in Garrett’s best interest even when Garrett disagrees. I even took some of his ‘good’ qualities and amped them up until they became flaws. Like his kindness. How can kindness ever be a flaw? When it gets to the point Adrian allows himself to be manipulated and/or abused because he’s too nice. Even his protective instincts can be taken to the point they become not just overprotective but obsessive.

As I mentioned earlier, every hero has the potential to become a villain if any one trait is taken too far. We can use this duality and potential for mistakes to make our heroes more relatable and less stereotypical. Archetypes are a great starting place to build characters, but can become limiting if our characters never go beyond their original archetypes.

These are some examples of both typical and atypical heroes, but how do you go about creating an non-traditional hero? I’ll take you step by step through the process next week.

Have questions or comments about the examples? Please let me know in the comments. Is your character creation process different? Do you like to mix and match archetypes? Do you have a favorite go-to archetype you prefer writing? Have you recognized some archetypes among your favorite characters? Who are they?

Writing FUNdamentals

The Alpha Character Role and Mad Max

Bran Lindy Ayres3 Comments

The Alpha Character Archetype gets a lot of hype. Especially in romance, er well in most genres. I personally find it very cliche and it is something I avoid. But why, you ask? Let me explain.

The Alpha Character Archetype

Most of the time when you mention an alpha male people immediately think of wolves. This is both unfortunate and scientifically incorrect. Wolves do not have a pack dynamic that includes the concept of an alpha. (http://io9.com/why-everything-you-know-about-wolf-packs-is-wrong-502754629)

The quintessential alpha male is often portrayed as the ultimate hero, the man every male should strive to be (http://princesswithapen.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-be-an-alpha-male-Typical-characteristics-personality-traits-and-behavior-of-an-alpha-male). Tami Cowden broke down the eight types of heroes aka alpha males in her post  We Need a Hero: A Look at the Eight Hero Archetypes (http://www.likesbooks.com/eight.html).

  • The Chief
  • The Bad Boy
  • The Best Friend
  • The Charmer
  • The Lost Soul
  • The Professor
  • The Swashbuckler
  • The Warrior

But what about the women? What types of character roles to women generally get?

Again Tami Cowden breaks down the most popular types for us in her post The Women We Want to Be: The Eight Female Archetypes (http://www.likesbooks.com/78.html)

  • The Boss
  • The Survivor
  • The Spunky Kid
  • The Free Spirit
  • The Waif
  • The Librarian
  • The Crusader
  • The Nurturer

Most of these types share certain traits that make them an alpha character (The Best Friend and Waif excluded). Jami Gold in a recent post (http://jamigold.com/2015/05/what-is-an-alpha-heroine/) outlined these traits as follows:

  • Won’t Fight just to Fight
  • Doesn’t Wait to Be Led
  • Has Strong Communication Skills
  • Has a Strong Presence
  • Makes Decisions
  • Is Less Emotional
  • Looks Out for Others and Solves Problems
  • Commands Respect
  • Doesn’t Panic
  • Is Focused
  • Isn’t a Doormat
  • Might Struggle with Asking for Help
  • Is Less Inhibited in Her Sexuality
  • Doesn’t Need the Approval of Others
  • Isn’t a Slave to Fashion
  • Isn’t a Social Butterfly
  • Has a Good Sense of Humor
  • Takes Care of Herself

 

Reading through those lists, do you see an issue? Yes, these are all stereotypes. Which is basically what archetypes are: stereotypes we can use as starting points to creating whole characters. However, some of these are so overused they are becoming cliche. Like the Waif or the Chief, we’ve seen them so often as soon as we realize that’s what a particular character is we already know what’s going to happen. While the traits are desirable in and of themselves no character is going to have all of them and it’s not even necessary to have any of them to have a heroic character.

The Archetypal Rut

So what can we do to break out of the archetypal rut? Let’s look at the recently released Mad Max: Fury Road for some good examples of how to mix it up. Both Max and Imperator Furiosa at first seem to be alpha characters, gender aside.

At two points in the movie Mad Max: Fury Road both Max and Imperator Furiosa claim to be seeking redemption. They are both haunted by their past, Max is being driven insane with guilt and suffers from what appears to be PTSD, flashbacks and hallucinations. Furiosa’s past is left to our imagination but her drive to return to the Green Place and recover what she lost is all we need to know.

They neither one find their redemption by the end of the movie. Not redemption as we might think of it. Their character arcs are static in that they remain who they are from start to finish. It’s the world that changes around them. They both transform everything they touch for better or for worse. As expected sparks fly when these two encounter each other. And not the sexy kind.

Max and Furiosa at first glance seem to fit the alpha character archetype. Strong, determined, unapologetic, take charge and unswayed by emotion. Then we quickly see the archetype for both males and females subverted in a number of ways.

‘Mad’ Max is mentally ill. Furiosa is disabled. Max is routinely beaten to a pulp and is never at any point in charge of the situation. Furiosa is the de facto leader as the driver of the war rig and makes the decisions but when it becomes apparent that things are not going well she lets the others have a say. She’s not afraid to seek help from those she knows she can trust. Max seeks help, at first by trying to demand it and then accepting it when it’s offered. Max spends the first third of the movie muzzled and mostly speechless. Furiosa’s words are few and carefully chosen. They both have moments of panic driven by fear and the chaotic situation happening around them. Through it all they both react to each other as two people who have found kindred spirits, hardened by what the world has made them and determined to survive at all costs. There is no male/female dichotomy here. Simply people struggling to exist in a world ruined by greed and save what matters to them.

In short they are wholly human and utterly believable in a situation that seems unbelievable.

The one character who gets a redemption arc that isn’t being talked about is Nux. He starts out as a sickly war boy, dying and reliant on a blood transfusion from his ‘blood bag’ to keep functioning. I won’t spoil his arc but it’s beautiful and very poignant.

Even Immortan Joe is given humanity when we get to see him grieving the loss of a child and how he keeps a piano and other ‘unnecessary’ items locked in a vault. For his depravity he knows what makes us human.

Archetypes, like tropes exist for a reason, but like tropes they can fall into cliche and should never be used solely on their own to create a character. When looking at the traits for a hero don’t be afraid to go against the grain and let them have their flaws, lots of them. Let them show their suffering but not be conquered by it. Let them be humble and relinquish leadership but never relent on doing what is right. Don’t be afraid to make them human and don’t be afraid to go against the archetype.

Next week I’ll discuss the issues with the alpha male/female dynamic and why I think it’s something to be avoided especially in romance.

Characters · Uncategorized · Writing FUNdamentals

Complex Plotting: It’s Complicated

Bran Lindy Ayres3 Comments

I recently stumbled across a post on Tumblr claiming that it is possible to write up a complex plot in a single day.

So can you?

Short answer. No.

A truly complex and layered plot is not something you can whip up in a day of brainstorming. What you can come up with is a premise and basic plot arc. Notice I said basic.

So what makes a plot complex? Adding more characters? Adding more events? More conflict? More themes?

Yes. All of the above. You cannot just throw one element at a plot in multitudes and expect the plot to suddenly seem complex. More than likely it will just be confusing. A truly complex plot is a careful balance of theme, character, subplot, subtext, narrative arc and premise. A truly complex plot has layers and those layers can’t just lay on top of each other, they have to connect and be intertwined and relate back to each other in every way relevant to the main story arc.

Does it sound hard? Good. It is. Writing is work. Get used to it.

What is your premise and basic plot? Pick your plot. I recommend just pulling one from this list. No plots are “original” so making yours interesting and complicated will easily distract from that fact, that and interesting characters. Characters will be something for you to work on another day, because this is plotting day. You’ll want the main plot to be fairly straight forward, because a confusing main plot will doom you if you want subplots.

Plot is something happening to someone. Without the someone to react to the something there is no plot. You need to know today who this stuff is happening to or you don’t have a plot. The 36 Dramatic Situations is a nice jumping off point. Having a complicated main plot isn’t going to hurt anything as long as you can sum it up in one sentence. More importantly in order to pull off a complicated main plot you need to know intimately WHO this happens to and why. Don’t be afraid to mix and match the 36 Dramatic Situations to come up with something unique.

Decide who the characters will be. They don’t have to have names at this point. You don’t even need to know who they are other than why they have to be in the story. The more characters there are the more complicated the plot will be. If you intend to have more than one subplot, then you’ll want more characters. Multiple interconnected subplots will give the illusion that the story is very complicated and will give the reader a lot of different things to look at at all times. It also gives you the chance to develop many side characters. The plot I worked out yesterday had 13 characters, all were necessary. Decide their “roles” don’t bother with much else. This seems shallow, but this is plot. Plot is shallow.

Now, decide what drives each character. Why specifically are they in this story? You can make this up. You don’t even know these characters yet. Just so long as everyone has their own motivations, you’re in the clear.

More characters doesn’t always equal a more complex plot. You can have as few as two named characters and have a complex plot. It depends on who they are and what they are doing. It is crucial to know why the character is doing what they are doing in the story. Having multiple interconnecting subplots is one way to create depth to the story, but if they are there just to give the illusion of substance then they are superfluous and should be cut. Deciding a character’s role in the plot is crucial as is their personality and how they are going to act and react to the events of the plot. They are what drives the plot forward so you have to know them and what is going to motivate them beyond their perceived ‘role’ in the narrative.

Shallow plots are boring plots. Dig deeper. Find that core. Find the true motivation for your character and why they are in this situation. True complexity will flow from how well you’ve crafted your character and how three dimensional you have made them.

What aren’t these characters giving away right off the bat? Give them a secret! It doesn’t have to be something that they are actively lying about or trying to hide, just find something that perhaps ties them into the plot or subplot. This is a moment to dig into subplot. This does not need to be at all connected to their drive to be present in the story.  Decide who is in love with who, what did this person do in the 70’s that’s coming back to bite them today, and what continues to haunt what-his-face to this very day. This is where you start to see the characters take shape. Don’t worry much about who they are or what they look like, just focus on what they’re doing to the story.

Backstory and character motivation are as inseparable as character and plot. Their actions, reactions and motivations are going to decide where the plot goes. Their ‘secret’ might work better as a backstory wound that affects how they deal with the events of the story. It must absolutely tie into the plot and maybe even a couple of sub plots. Otherwise it’s going to seem cheap and tacked on and your reader will feel cheated.

If a subplot doesn’t directly relate to the main characters or the main plot arc in some way, cut it. It should either emphasize the theme, help with characterization, mirror the main arc or in some other way enhance the narrative. Anything else is useless drivel. Don’t just throw in a random sub plot because you think it makes the plot more complicated. It doesn’t.

What is going to change these characters? Now this will take some thinking. Everyone wants at least a few of the characters to come out changed by the end of the story, so think, how will they be different as a result of the plot/subplot? It might not be plot that changes them, but if you have a lot of characters, a few changes that are worked into the bones of the plot might help you.

If this happens to one of the main characters it is known as the character arc and is often a sub plot of the main narrative. It will be important to fully understand your character’s motivation and backstory to fully realize what changes about them and why and how it relates to the main or sub plots.

Now list out the major events of the novel with subplot in chronological order. This will be your timeline. Especially list the historical things that you want to exist in backstory. List everything you can think of. Think about where the story is going. At this point, you likely haven’t focused too much on the main plot, yeah, it’s there, but now really focus on the rising actions, how this main plot builds its conflict, then the climactic moment. Make sure you get all of that in there. This might take a few hours.

A synopsis is worth having with a complex plot and multiple subplots. It will be crucial to have the outline to know if you have hit all the major plot points. I highly recommend using Jami Gold’s Beat Sheets to help with this. This part of planning a novel will likely take a few days if you put any real effort into it and things will probably need to be reworked multiple times.

Decide where to start writing. This part will take a LOT of thinking. It’s hard! But now that you’ve got the timeline, pick an interesting point to begin at. Something with action. Something relevant. Preferably not at the beginning of your timeline – you want to have huge reveals later on where these important things that happened prior are exposed. This is the point where you think about what information should come out when. This will be a revision of your last list, except instead of being chronological, it exists to build tension.

The opening scene of the novel must grab the reader and throw them into the middle of the action. If you are using the beat sheets you will see where you need to start, somewhere just before everything changes for the main character.

Once you’ve gotten the second list done, you’ve got a plot. Does it need work? Probably. But with that said, at this point you probably have no idea who half your characters are. Save that for tomorrow, that too will be a lot of work.

If you don’t have a very, very good idea who your characters are by now you need to go back and fix that.  Ideally take a day to figure out your premise and theme or themes, then spend another few days figuring who your characters should be and ways to make them unique, then spend a week or four figuring out what all happens when and why.

I highly recommend using the Positive and Negative Character Trait Thesauri  by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi to begin crafting your characters.

PA Framed1NT

A basic straightforward plot can be easily done in a day. However do not expect to plan a complex novel with multiple characters, themes and subplots in a day. You’ll end up with a tangled mess that will be a chore to write and even worse to read.

More recommended reading:

write from the middlec&S  outlining your novel self-editing savethecat 1ET

Writing FUNdamentals

The Importance of Coffee and Air

Bran Lindy AyresLeave a comment

It’s not far off to say that for the most part a writer’s blood is 90% coffee or some caffeinated beverage. Even Dunkin’ Donuts noticed that writers are among the heaviest coffee drinkers in the industrialized world ranking #4 in their survey.  I don’t think that surprises anyone.

You know what else fuels writers? Reviews.  Coffee might be our life’s blood but reviews are the air we breathe. Sometimes the air stinks and then we know we’ve either done something wrong, made an enemy somewhere or a troll has claimed our bridge. Other times its all roses and fresh linen. Either way reviews let us know how we are doing and what is or isn’t working in our prose.

So how do you, gracious giver of air, go about crafting a review that keeps us writers breathing? It’s really quite simple. Remember that time you read that one book and got really excited about it and decided your best friend just HAD to read it? Yeah, do that. But write it down and put it on Amazon or Goodreads or where ever you like.  If you want to get technical and look all fancy you can do as Amanda Patterson suggested in a recent blog post about how to write a great book review.  It’s still pretty simple.

Now great doesn’t always mean positive, sometimes you don’t like the book. That’s fine. You are entitled to your opinion and this doesn’t lessen the validity of your review one iota. I don’t expect everyone to love every word I write. Art is wholly subjective after all and some art is meant to evoke negative emotions.

So, this writer would love to know what you think of her works. Good or bad. Air is still air after all.  Now, where is my coffee.

Books · Characters · Sorrow's Fall · Writing FUNdamentals

Let’s Get Complicated Part Two: The Positives of Being a Villain

Bran Lindy Ayres3 Comments

So last time we talked about creating multi-dimensional characters and focused on the protagonist of my novel Sorrow’s Fall.  This week I’d like to help you look for ways to make your antagonist just as compelling and multi-faceted.  After reading my post about Sorrow you are probably wondering what kind of person could possibly be an impediment to him and his goals.  That’s a very good question. It’s also one you need to consider in your own story. For now we are going to assume that your antagonist is another person and not that your character is struggling against nature or something. Nature doesn’t really have a personality, though it might seem like it at times.

In Sorrow’s Fall we are quickly introduced to Qadira Fall. She is the daughter of Lady Zulyekha Fall and the Queen-In-Waiting. She is nearly as powerful as the Barendi Queen herself. She has been raised and groomed to be consummate royalty. She is gorgeous, highly-intelligent and disgustingly wealthy. She also hates Sorrow with a passion. In the book he has no idea why she detests him. All he knows is that she tries to kill him every chance she gets.

She is his antagonist. But outside of her hatred for Sorrow, what is she like?  We know she’s royalty, that she inspires great loyalty among her coterie and that she is driven by the need to save her race. But what core qualities does she possess that take her from just being the person who hates Sorrow to a force all her own?

Last time we started with a negative trait, since most heroes have issues with them. This time lets look at the positive qualities a villain could have.  Yes, even villains have positive traits.  Serious. I’ll prove it.

First I need to figure out her core moral value. The Postitive Trait Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi offers some amazing insight as to why this is so necessary. Not just for villains, but for our heroes as well. In The Positive Trait Thesaurus Appendix B has a method for finding your character’s core moral value. This is the core belief that affects all their other traits.  After making my lovely list of her positive traits I went to Appendix A to see which of them were moral values.  The main one was professional.  I’ll be honest. That confused me. Until I went to the entry for it.  There they list the definition as: exhibiting specialized knowledge and applying it with courtesy and good judgement.

Whoa. Wait-a-minute.  Now I’m more confused. My villain is courteous and has good judgement?  Well, let’s think about this for a moment. She is extremely well educated by the best instructors money can buy. She’s talented, smart, career and success focused, she’s ambitious and mature for her age. She is confident with high self-esteem and is highly ethical.

She’s not sounding very vile.  And if you are not a threat to her, she’s won’t be.  So what associated behaviors might she display where Sorrow can see them?  Lets look at the list.

  • Having the education and knowledge required to be proficient at one’s job
  • Being experienced in a specific field of work
  • Reliability, trustworthiness and honesty
  • Having strong people skills
  • Objectivity
  • Working well under pressure
  • Having a strong command of language and being able to articulate oneself well
  • Adaptability
  • Keeping one’s promises
  • Maintaining control over one’s emotions
  • Being proactive
  • Thinking before acting
  • Treating others with respect and courtesy
  • Being proactive
  • Being a strong listener
  • Assessing the politics of a situation and acting accordingly
  • Using good hygiene
  • Being well dressed
  • Acting appropriately for the situation

I could go on but you get the idea. A couple of the ones I highlighted as far as things Sorrow sees are; being experienced, adaptability, keeping promises, using good hygiene and being well dressed. Each of these things on their own seems pretty neutral or at least positive. So how do we grow her character beyond just being professional?  Well according to Appendix B the next layer beyond the moral core is achievement traits. This was a new thought for me and it took me a little getting used to, but now I see how invaluable it is. So let’s look further into Qadira’s personality and see what achievement traits she’s might posses that build on her core trait of professionalism.

The first one that pops out for me is ambitious but decisive actually wins out as the dominant trait here. Mostly because you can’t get much more successful than she already is, though she does have ambitions. Her decisiveness on the other hand is partly her and partly her upbringing. She’s had to bear a lot of responsibility since she was very young and much is expected of her. Her core value also influences her decisiveness since she is driven by a strong sense of responsibility and has the desire to lead.

Cool, we are on a roll here. Can you see how working from the inmost core trait outward is helping us build her personality and keep her well rounded? Let’s move on to the next layer: interactive.

These traits develop through interaction with others and the world in which the character lives. These traits help her work with her subordinates, handle conflicts, convey ideas and create healthy relationships. So building on our core trait of professionalism and our achievement trait of decisiveness what might be her dominant interactive trait? Here I run across several that are worth noting such as bold, flirtatious, inspirational, patriotic, persuasive, sophisticated and traditional. She is all these traits to varying degrees, but which one is dominant and why? Looking through the book both patriotic and sophistication are good choices, but sophisticated wins.  This is mostly due to her upbringing and the culture in which she was raised. She was brought up to be royalty so sophistication is not only needed, it’s demanded.

Now we come to the out most layer, the identity layer. The book describes this layer as “attributes [that] are tied to a personal sense of identity, leading to satisfaction and contentment with who one is. Traits emerge to allow the character to explore and better understand what makes them unique.” (The Positive Trait Thesaurus 2013, Ackerman & Puglisi, Appendix B page 233). It’s in this layer that I would put patriotic along with traditional. Here traditional actually compliments patriotic. She is very concerned with keeping her native culture untainted by outside influences which is directly tied to politics. She even went so far as to disown her mother who went against the established tradition and is willing to start a war to keep things as they have been.

You’ll notice we’ve not once considered the negative side of any of these traits, yet we already have a very good basis for her character. And she doesn’t seem all that evil does she? 

All of this just from a core value of professionalism.

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Books · Characters · Fandoms · Loki · Movies · Transformers · Writing FUNdamentals

The Owl and the Raven

Bran Lindy AyresLeave a comment

“The great destroyers of nations and men are comfort, plenty and security. A coward gets scared and quits. A hero gets scared, but still goes on. ”     – unknown

by Leyla Akdogan

“We make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars: as if we were villains by necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion.” – William Shakespeare

The Owl

Heroes rarely surprise us.  They do what we expect them to.  What is right, what is just, what is honorable.  They may struggle getting there but there is never any real question as to the outcome of their fight.  They may die trying but it will be a heroic death.  But what makes them heroic?  Is it strength, intelligence, wit, loyalty, perseverance, morality, sheer bull headedness?  Is it the fact that they do what is right, not for any benefit or personal gain but simply because it is the right thing to do?

Heroes are rarely seen as such by their peers.  Their actions are often regarded as too avant guard, consider Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird or Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games.  While a hero’s actions might be altruistic, their motives rarely are.    I personally have always been skeptical of the typical hero.  Why would someone go to such lengths for others with no thought of any gain of any kind?  We all want to be at least recognized for our good deeds if not compensated.

The Raven

Villains rarely surprise us anymore.  They are a necessary evil to thwart the hero.  They are crafty, greed, capricious and cruel.  They seem to appear out of the ether, hate already fully born and festering for revenge on the hero.  They will die before they let the hero succeed.  But what makes them a villain?  Is it strength, intelligence, lack of morality, snark, perseverance, sheer bloody mindedness?  Is it the fact that they do whatever they damn well please just for the hell of it, or at least for some principal gain?

Villains rarely see themselves as such.  They are fully justified within their own minds and see their actions as not only right but necessary.  Darth Vader, Shere Khan of The Jungle Book, Moriarty from any incarnation of Sherlock, Sauron of Lord of the Rings. Shall I go on?  You get the idea.  I personally have always hated the one dimensional evil for the sake of being evil villain.  Everyone has a motive and motive implies will and will implies thought and reason.

The Quandary

So who is the Owl and who is the Raven?  Sometimes it’s surprisingly difficult to determine.  This has given rise to the terms anti-hero and anti-villain.  Theses characters are neither strictly one or the other.  They are the vagabond hero and the dubious ally, the thief with a heart of gold and the benevolent overlord.

To illustrate this point I will be drawing on several characters.  Most I’ve discussed before and a couple will be newcomers.  If you are not familiar with my fandoms then beware of spoilers here on out.

First, Megatron.  Yes that Megatron.  By the time we meet him in the franchise he’s a despotic overlord with the mantra ‘Peace through Tyranny.’  A villain’s villain if you will.  Yet we learn that he and his archrival Optimus Prime were once friends and depending on which backstory you prefer, co-collaborators in the rebellion on their homeworld.  In the most recent iteration their friendship fell apart over method.  Megatron, a former slave and gladiator only knew how to achieve his means through violence.  Optimus saw a more peaceful, albeit slower, method through diplomacy.  Neither was wrong in wanting change in their society.  So what made one the hero and the other the villain?  Motive and execution.

Then we have Loki.  In the original works he is not the scene stealing villain from Marvel, but a crafty, cunning and beloved brother.  He’s as mischievous as he is helpful and often his schemes benefit himself more than anyone.  When they do go awry he still manages to find a way to make the outcome work for him.  Yet he allows his jealousy to get the better of him and resorts to murder and extortion.  This doesn’t stop him from helping when a situation calls for it.  He simple will only do it if it in some way benefits himself.  He’s an opportunist.  Again motive and execution come into play.

Now let’s look at Deadpool.  He’s the ‘Merc with a Mouth’ who fancies himself a hero yet can never quite live up to the hype.  When he’s trying his hardest to be the hero is when he fails the most spectacularly.  Its those moments when he stops trying and just does that the hero emerges.  Yet he’s too bogged down by his own demons to ever fully transcend his penchant for indiscriminate violence. He at times both hinders and helps the other super heroes depending on how the situation strikes him and if he can make money off of it.  Much like Loki, he’s an opportunist and will stab a hero in the back as soon as offer a helping hand.  Motive. Execution.

So how do you write a convincing non villain?

Keep them consistent.  Know their motivations, even if they don’t. Make sure their actions are supported by their motives, that they execute their plans accordingly.  Loki and Deadpool are both consistent in that you know at some point they are going to betray you sometimes just for the hell of it.

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Books · Writing FUNdamentals

Guest Post by Clare Davidson: Four books for authors (and why I love them)

Bran Lindy Ayres4 Comments

This week I am very happy to have author Clare Davidson as my guest.  Clare is the author of Reaper’s Rhythm.

When everyone thinks your sister committed suicide, it’s hard to prove she was murdered.

Kim is unable to accept Charley’s sudden death. Crippled by an unnatural amnesia, her questions are met with wall after wall. As she doubts her sanity, she realises her investigation is putting those around her in danger.

The only person who seems to know anything is Matthew, an elusive stranger who would rather vanish than talk. Despite his friendly smile, Kim isn’t sure she can trust him. But if she wants to protect her family from further danger, Kim must work with Matthew to discover how Charley died – before it’s too late.

blogtoursmall

 

Clare has been kind enough to give me a list of books she considers valuable resources for a writer.  Without further ado, Clare:

 

Four books for authors (and why I love them)

There are many good reference books out there for authors, but these are a few of the ones I’ve used (lots), in no particular order.

The Definitive Guide to Writing On Your Terms Using Your Own Honest-To-God Gut-Wrenching Voice, by Rebecca T. Dickson.

Full disclosure here, Rebecca was the editor for Reaper’s Rhythm. However, I paid for my copy of this book.

The focus of this book (as the title suggests) is on writing with your own voice. Rebecca offers a series of tools and exercises that help you switch off the internal editor and trust in your own voice as a writer. It’s a book that helps to free you up to just write. It’s written in a very honest way and includes real examples from real authors. If you’re struggling with self doubt, or even just how to get the ideas from your head onto paper, you’ll find this book really useful.

And yes, I’d absolutely recommend Rebecca as an editor too.

Let’s Get Digital: How to self publish and why you should, by David Gaughran.

This book is really useful for anyone thinking about self-publishing. As the title suggests, it gives some really compelling reasons for why you should take the leap and become an Indie author. After that, David goes through the steps of how to self publish. On top of that, he gives 33 success stories, which are inspiring if nothing else. I loved David’s no nonsense approach and his instructions helped me no end when I was publishing my first book, Trinity.

I’d also recommend David’s latest book: Let’s Get Visible: How to get noticed and sell more books.

Writing Fight Scenes, by Rayne Hall

I bought this book after taking a class with Rayne on writing fight scenes. I never had much confidence with fight scenes, but I kept writing fantasy stories with, you’ve guessed it, fight scenes in. I took the class to help me polish up a fight scene at the end of Trinity and didn’t regret it at all. The book has everything we covered in class, without the critiques. It covers different fighting styles and weapons and the types of vocabulary you should use accordingly. If you write fight scenes, this book is an absolute must.

The Emotion Thesaurus, by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi

This is exactly what you think it is. The book contains a list of emotions, in alphabetical order. For each one, it gives you a definition and lists of physical signals, internal sensations, mental responses, long-term responses, suppressed responses and a tips section at the end.

Obviously, some of the responses are repeated for different emotions – there’s only so many reactions, or gestures we can do. However, used in the context of your own writing, this is a fantastic resource, which can really help you show rather than tell.

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