#adminnv

#adminNV here, I just wanted to pop in and say, me and my manuscript have been selected for #pitchwars 2017 This means I'll be learning A LOT about craft/writing/publishing industry, and sharing it all with you: our amazing followers (really some of the best and brightest people of #amwriting Tumblr) I've already learned more these past few weeks than years before (just in the prep stuff) I have some nuggets about character and some book recommendations on craft that I'll post today. If you have any specific questions about me, my mentor, or my book-let's keep that OFF of #TWH (pretty please-my amazing lead admins H and K who created this blog and work hard to help keep it about writing and messages about writerly questions) You can message me on my own tumblr. I'll be sharing my query that caught the judges eyes, my first chapter-WHY it worked plus other things more specific to my personal journey my mentor and the other authors involved there @writingal Stay tuned for the best writing craft books list and podcasts! Cheers,

Hello puzzlepeacenotart,

A villain switching sides can be a very satisfying character arc when done well. In movies and books the ways in which this is presented can vary, but the two ones that seem to be the most effective are:

A) The slow change, after a series of events

This is the classic “redemption plot” (a while back I talked about the different standard plots when asked about there being “no new plot-lines” to write. This was one of them I spoke about). Think stories like: Scrooge, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (apparently xmas is a good old time to change), and one of my all time favourites: Mean Girls.

In these stories the Villains: Scrooge, The Grinch, Regina George, all start out “evil” their motives are selfish, and they want to hurt others. It’s not but for a slow series of events: A visit from three ghosts, the realisation that xmas is in people’s hearts, or the loss of ones “Hot Body”, “Hot Boyfriend”, and “Army of Skanks” that one can the see true change in their hearts.

I get the feeling this is more the way you want to go with your villain character. I understand you don’t want it to be abrupt, which means you will have to give the villain “small loses” throughout the story. Think of what your villain values the most and take that away from them. Think of what your villain would dislike as an outcome to a scene, and have their lowest desire come to be. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. For this to work well, you should do a thorough character profile. Knowing them inside and out would be the best way to know how to change them.

B) The villain was always a secret “goody” we just never got to see and evidence of that.

This plot twist always makes me smile for a while when done well. Think Snape, or Darth Vader.

In Harry Potter, there is so much evidence against Snape being good. I mean, the guy killed Dumbledore FFS. Though, we know the acts to be evil, the reason behind them wasn’t always evil. Their true stories are often revealed through subplots and with revelation lines: “Luke, I am your father.” or “After all this time?” “Always.”

I think these are satisfying because they make everything change, including the past as we know it, when revealed.

Happy Writing :)

Hello eli-with-the-questions,

Great question.

Some general things to keep in mind before you write the fight scene:

Every fight should advance the plot: This means that the fight should be both necessary in the story and the aftermath should show a difference from before the fight (a shift in power or values between two characters, a resolution of tension)

Not all fights are physical: Verbal fights can pack a powerful punch (I’m punny) in upping the tension and stakes. Just because these are mostly dialogue driven, doesn’t mean we can ignore actions. Body language is an essential component in a scene like this. 

Reveal your characters through their actions: Ya know the whole “Show Don’t Tell” rule? Well, when it comes to how a character fights, this is what they are talking about. You can show me that your character is a peacemaker if you have them try and break up a fight, a lot more effectively than if you wrote “Danny is a peacemaker”. Just saying.

Now for “Stage Direction” this question actually touches on a fight scene rule: Basically don’t worry about it too much. Let the reader fill in the blanks of where someone is standing etc. This will make the pace work best and made the reader feel respected. Honestly, you don’t need to describe very much about the physical scene. It’s amazing how much our heads fill in those blanks. Books are like a road map to our imagination, so we readers love to use minimal direction so we can choreograph the action ourselves.

I’ll lay it out for you:

Ken barreled towards Adam, his eyes screaming that Adam was going to get it.  SMACK! One giant yelp. Adam’s eye was red, it was going to be a shiner. Ken, rubbing his fist, exhaled.

Vs.

Ken ran towards Adam, his face was angry. Adam was standing in the corner of the room. Ken lifted his left arm and punched Adam in the eye. Adam yelped. Adam’s eye was red. Ken backed up, rubbed his left fist, and exhaled.

Both very similar but the first one has less description yet seems the most vivid scene.

Happy Writing :)

Hello Chemistreat,

There are a lot of bonuses to writing a book with two character perspectives. It can be tricky if they are in a lot of scenes together, but you can use it to your advantage.

The big thing to consider is “Who’s perspective is more important right now?”

It might be prudent to map out all the key scenes that you already know of before you get to writing. This map would be useful in deciding from who’s POV you will be writing in.

Even though they are both in a lot of scenes together, changing up the perspective based on who’s POV is more relevant in that moment could be a nice way to move the story along in a more colourful way.

If you come across a scene where you’d like to portray both POVs there are a few options. You can either have one character in the scene as the present day perspective, then later on, have your second character recall the events to the reader.

Eg: Jack: “Jane and I are on our first run down the slopes. I feel myself slipping, oh the pain! My ankle!”

  Jane:“Jack and I had so much fun skiing until he fell and broke his ankle”

Another option would be to have both character POVs bouncing back and fourth.

Eg: Jack: Jane and I are on the chair-lift. I want to kiss her.

 Jane: Jack is looking at me like he wants to kiss me. The problem: we are almost at the top of the hill and I need to keep my eyes out.

When pulled off well, the experience for the reader can be pretty great. One of my favourite books (Eleanor and Park) uses this device so smoothly that I can’t imagine ever reading it any other way (though I’d happily read the entire thing again with flipped POVs)

Happy Writing :)

Hello Kingoftheregime,

I have this problem often after my first draft is complete. In an effort to get all the info down for plot I have the characters appear/dissappear in some pretty random ways. 

One way I find that helps to fix this (as well as makes the whole story more colourful) is to give them roles as “extras” throughout the book prior/after them being needed for the plot. I could have them be associates of the key characters in a scene: On the same team/club/coworker/classmate/on the bus with etc.

They could work in the background of the scene: Waiter at a restaurant, cashier that helps out a key character in the scene, etc. 

If you have a random “non-character” do something like fight with a character or tell them a joke–why not make it the character that you need later on?–this can also lend to thickening the plot

I don’t tend to worry too much about incorporating the characters more until after the first draft is down. I then go in and mark scenes where we could use someone we know to fit the role (my macro edit). This technique works well for me because I’m not bogged down forcing characters to fit into scenes I may not need and I can make a smoother second draft. This is only what works for me–of course :) 

Happy Writing :)

Hello Anon,

Some of my most beloved characters in recent history also happen to be on the spectrum. Who comes to mind: Don Tillman of The Rosie Project/Effect, Christopher Boone of The Curious incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and Marcelo Sandoval of Marcelo in the Real World.

One thing I noticed right off the bat about all three is the books are written in the first person POV of these characters. This POV is always the most effective way of gaining insight and understanding to your protagonist. No matter what, this intimacy between a reader and the protagonist will take away having to explain “why someone does what they do" and fills it in with how they feel about a matter.

If you are considering writing a protagonist on the spectrum this POV is worth considering. I have no further knowledge on the topic but there are wonderful articles listed below, that do a much better job of advising:

This is a thoughtful article to start with:

http://nitzthebloody.blogspot.ca/2010/03/how-to-write-autistic-characters-with.html

This article does a wonderful job of comparing behaviourizing vs. Humanizing approaches:

http://disabilityinkidlit.com/2015/04/14/writing-autistic-characters-behaviorizing-vs-humanizing-approaches/

This one has a good analogy for a neurotypical person to gain insight:

http://clevergirlhelps.tumblr.com/post/103027186242/so-you-want-to-write-an-autistic-character-part-i

Here is a list of characters on the spectrum to take a further look at:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_characters_on_the_autism_spectrum

Please note. This is an incredibly brief overview of sources to get you started. I strongly suggest you do further research. Just like with any character you would want them to be unique, compelling and relatable first. If you approach this by attempting to create a relatable character, who happens to be on the spectrum, you are on a good track.

Happy Writing :)

Hello thediffernetgirlontheblock,

This is something every freaking writer on the planet, from King to Rowling has gone through. The only difference is they did it anyway. They got their butt in their chair and wrote despite themselves. I know self doubt can be overwhelming, and the entire writing process can feel big, but this is where it’s best to take a step back and just focus on the step in front of you. That’s all.

Two things popped out to me off the bat: You started as a reader, and you can write.

You started as a reader: This is great. The best kind of writers do it for the love of reading or their love of the written word. Your passion for reading will directly feed your passion for writing, but reading can fuel self doubt at times. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Don’t compare yourself to other writers. Nobody writes like you, so it’s really a moot point. The only person you are in competition with is yourself and you always want to beat yourself at your best.

If you think your writing sucks, you have good taste: Honestly that’s all it is. You know there is a better way of saying what you meant and you WILL get there with practice. Bad writers don’t think their writing sucks, they don’t know any better. You already are winning half the battle when you doubt yourself.

Give your work some air…some room to breath: I just last week looked at my nano project from last year. At the end of November I would have probably deleted the whole thing right there. It was shaky and full of rambling and had a ton of embarrassing things that made me want to punch my couch when I read it fresh. Since I gave it time, things look more redeemable and now I at least have a crap first draft to work with. It’s much better than staring at a blank page.

Don’t erase anything: I mean that. You can hide it so it never sees the light of day again but don’t erase it. It doesn’t do you any harm being there. It’s still progress. Just remember that nobody has to see it until you’re ready and that is the truth. I can’t remember where I heard this, but some of the best advice I’ve used: Write drunk, edit sober. Who cares how your writing is a first. You can edit it as much as you need to to get it there.

Remember traditionally published books weren’t written alone: Every book has gone through several editing processed before making it’s way to a shelf. An agent and several different types of very experienced editors have given it the hacking. Don’t compare your work to pub novels it’s simply unfair.

You can write: I mean that. I’ve only read this question and as a short as it is, it’s still enough to know you can form a sentence and structure a paragraph (very well). You should continue to write. If you are having trouble with the execution you can maybe try plotting more. Another option: try writing your idea out like a synopsis/jacket cover way from start to finish. You can then worry about the line by line writing, the sub-plot and the character depth et. al. One you have a solid foundation story down. This will help you stay encouraged and continue writing. I hope you do.

Happy Writing :)

Hello Anon,

This can be a little tricky depending how your story starts. If your main is alone this is a tad more difficult. I find when I start with my main alone, it’s much harder to anchor the reader in the scene without coming off too info dumpy anyway. Also, just to keep in mind, even the main character’s name isn’t vital information right at the beginning. The most important thing a reader needs to know about their main in first person POV is the voice/attitude of the character. You could write the story how you would, and find that their name will come up pretty organically at one point without it being a big deal for the reader to know ASAP.

If you want a bit of a shortcut, here are some options that aren’t too cliche I hope:

-Have the main open a letter/text/email addressed to them.-Have the main be facing away from someone that needs their attention.-Have another character insult your main or talk about your main where they overhear.-Have someone new in the scene that requires the main introduce the self/have the main be new and need introduction-If your main has a unique/hard to pronounce/hates their name, have them mention their issues with their name

Our lovely followers will likely have more suggestions to share :)

Happy Writing :)