On Opposing Values

An easy way to complicate a character is to give her conflicting values.

How do we accomplish this?

Think in terms of opposites.

If your character prides herself on her honesty, put her in a situation where she is forced to lie for the greater good (or even self-preservation).

If she's something of a slacker, give her an interest or hobby that she is passionate about. For instance, maybe she couldn't care less that she's failing biology, but she's desperate to get the hem just right on the homecoming dress she designed.

Or perhaps she's clever--she always has the answers. Put her in a situation where her intelligence or quick-wittedness won't help her at all (and may even hinder her).

Your Assignment

1. Brainstorm a list of key values or traits your character possesses, and then, beside each, write its opposite. For example:

Fear ---> Bravery

Candor --> Speechlessness

Uncaring --> Compassionate

Humility --> Arrogance

Tolerance --> Narrow-mindedness

2. Think of a way you can weave the opposing value into your story. (Bonus points if you can pinpoint which characters bring out the best and worst in her.) 

In Cross My Heart, Jaden, for instance, would be classified as tolerant and compassionate, but Parker seems to bring out the worst in her, leaving her narrow-minded and arrogant during their first encounters. 

So . . . if your characters seem flat and uninteresting, highlighting places where they act in opposition to their core values will quickly add some depth to your story.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Rules Are . . . There Ain't No Rules

I've offered A LOT of writing tips and tricks on this blog over the years. Some of these I've picked up through the classes I've taken or taught, the books I've read, the books I've written. . . . 

I tweet and retweet advice from authors All. The. Time. 

It's easy to sit back and think of these as "the rules."

But the truth is, in writing, there are no rules.

For every tweet I've sent out into the world, I've tweeted something in direct opposition. 

Write about what you know. 

No, write about what you want to know.

Avoid one-sentence paragraphs.

Write a one-word paragraph if you want to.

Enlist the help of beta readers.

Keep your writing close to you.

Readers want the happy ending.

No, readers want an ending they'll remember.

As much as we like to think we can turn writing into a science, there are no hard, fast rules, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.

For every "rule" of writing, there is a successful writer who has broken it.

So whether you follow the rules or break them, give us the best of what you have to offer.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~ 

 

On Likeability

I've talked about likeability on the blog before. In fact, one of the first rejections I received from a publisher (more than 15 years ago) was a pass because my heroine wasn't "likeable" enough. 

(Thank goodness they didn't meet Summer from All I Never Wanted).

But I wondered then and I've wondered since: when did we decide that we have to like the characters we read about?

In fact, Literature is strewn with the wreckage of wholly unlikeable characters. We know them, we remember them, and yes: the good writer actually made us feel for them.

The only rule of page turning is that readers are interested in the character and curious about what will happen next. 

That's it.

I don't want to go so far as to say it's easy to write a likeable character because creating a believable character in itself is difficult, but to entice a reader to want to get to know someone with few redeeming qualities?

Challenge Accepted.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~ 

On Paragraphs

Every paragraph will have its own points of emphasis, and writers should know that, subconsciously, the reader is going to pay closest attention to both the first and the last sentences. 

Ergo, these two sentences should pack the most punch/make the highest impact possible (as everything in between serves to support these two points of emphasis).

One sentence paragraphs are also possible, but there's a special kind of attention drawn to these, and so they should be used sparingly and carry enough weight to stand on their own.

Though you have some creative license when it comes to structuring paragraphs in fiction, the overall idea that a paragraph should develop a single concept remains. A shift in thought, topic, or conversation should result in a shift in paragraph. 

Otherwise, a paragraph is going to reflect your writing style, and while it may be tempting to lean toward a longer, more involved collection of sentences, readers today like their white space, and the more compact your paragraph is visually, the less tempted they will be to pass it over.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~