On Flaws and Wounds

A quick way to add depth to your story is to give your character a "flaw."

A more compelling way to define this, I think, is a "wound."

Because it's not really enough for a character to have this negative trait--there needs to be a reason for it. A good reason creates empathy, which is why we sometimes find ourselves relating to and understanding the villain of a story. 

So if your character's "flaw" is that he has trust issues and closes himself off from relationships, the reason why is the wound from which this trait stems.

Maybe his girlfriend cheated on him. Or his fiancee left him at the altar. Or his wife packed her bags and walked out one day in search of a new life. 

That event wounded him in some serious way, he hasn't dealt with it properly, and now a big part of his personality hinges on the idea that he's not going to open himself up to anyone for any reason whatsoever. 

He's going to do whatever it takes to protect himself from being hurt again. 

Enter a cute, spunky heroine and now we have a problem. 

As your two characters circle one another, that flaw/wound is going to rear its ugly head at the most inopportune times. 

But this is also going to open a pathway for growth and change. If, by the end of your story, the hero can move past his wound and open up his heart to love, he not only gets the girl, but your reader gets a satisfying resolution to his character arc. 

This kind of internal arc is the foundation of all great romance novels, but even if you don't write in the genre, give your character a flaw that stems from a serious past wound, have them deal with it while they're dealing with whatever other obstacles you're throwing their way, and you have a nice recipe for a page-turning read.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Plot Twist!

A plot twist is "a literary technique that introduces a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction." 

(Thanks, Wikipedia!) 

A plot twist disrupts a story, sending the readers in an entirely new direction.

Perhaps they thought they had your story figured out--the mystery solved--but some surprising new information has just been revealed and now the reader must reconsider everything they thought they knew about what is taking (or has taken) place.  

M. Night Shyamalan has provided pop culture with some pretty epic twists. 

I see dead people and guess what? You're one of them.

Also--

We are living in this 17th-century village, but now I must go on this quest and surprise! It's actually the 21st century. I do not have to churn butter. I could get in my car and drive to the grocery store if I had access to either.

A plot twist is one of the best ways to surprise your readers, so when you're plotting, look for ways to go against their expectations. 

Once you have a twist in mind, make sure it's appropriately set up. A small amount of foreshadowing can go a long way in making a twist believable.

And finally, don't fall into the trap of thinking a plot twist must be this massive event or transformative revelation.

The most believable twists are the ones that are significant to our main character or storyline. They should operate as a natural progression of the story we're telling, and the reader should walk away thinking there was no other way for this plot to unfold.

When a reader opens the cover of your novel, they want to be taken for a ride. 

Make it a memorable one.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

On Rejection

Rejection is the universe's way of saying there's something better out there for us--that we're worth more than whatever this thing we are pursuing has to offer right now.

For writers, a rejection could mean there's a better publishing house, a better agent, a better journal, or even a better path than the one we're currently working toward.

Maybe we didn't place in that anthology contest, but there's a literary magazine we can submit to that will showcase our writing in a more effective way. Maybe we're not right for that agent's current list, but there's an agent we haven't submitted to yet who is going to champion us 100%. Maybe the book hasn't found a home because it's too niche, but we can reach our market more effectively by self-publishing. 

On the other hand....

Sometimes the rejection happens because the writing isn't ready or the story isn't as strong as it could be or the novel is missing that extra something that will make it stand out. Maybe the rejection is telling us that this obstacle will be one that helps us grow--it's going to turn us into better writers and storytellers.  

When it comes to rejection, though, we just need to trust the universe (that LIFE!) is supporting us. 

Photo by Monstera

Soren Kierkegaard said: "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."

We're not going to fully understand the path that we're on as we experience it, and, when we're in the middle of it all, it's so easy to lose hope. 

But the universe WANTS us to succeed. 

It's working for us and it's working with us. And whether it's for our growth or because something better is headed our way, that rejection is going to be what sends us down the right path: exactly where we're meant to be. 

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~  

Story Circles, Part IV: Gail Carriger's Heroine's Journey

Previously on my Story Circles series, I introduced Maureen Murdock and her theory that character fulfillment isn't just about bringing home the prize, but wholeness. 

Gail Carriger has a similar arc to her interpretation of the heroine's journey, and while I haven't taken one of her courses or read her book (yet!) I know writers who have, and they both come highly recommended. So if you're looking for a deeper dive into this kind of storytelling, the resources are available.

copyright Gail Carriger

So, like many journeys, Carriger's circle begins with The Descent. 

In Act I, we have a main character with a broken familial network. Her pleas are ignored, she gives up power, and withdraws from her community. Her family tries to help but to no avail. She doesn't have a choice in this. She is broken in some way and is desperate to reconnect (with something).

At this point, she steps into Isolation and Danger within The Search. 

In Act II, the heroine is now at risk. She is operating in disguise or pretending to be someone or something she isn't. She gathers a surrogate family around her and takes a visit to the "underworld," which looks more like a deep low point or depression.

One of the key differences between the hero's journey and the heroine's journey is that the heroine is building her network (rather than losing it) and is more likely to compromise to get where she needs to be, while the hero is isolating himself in order to succeed on his own. 

When the heroine asks for help, she's going to get it, and she's going to get it from a group of sidekicks who will remain faithful to her.

The compromise begins The Ascent, and in Act III she's built a new network, found a new family, and/or reconnected with her old family. She has reached her goal and is whole/complete. As an aside, her success in reaching her goal is typically beneficial to others in some way (i.e. she is not the only one who walks away a winner in this journey). 

So again we have this wholeness or completeness at play. This certainly pushes past the hero's journey, which ends after the successful completion of the quest.

Interestingly enough, many YA novels are heroine's journeys, and, if you write romance (which is ultimately about connection), your characters are definitely on a heroine's journey arc.

Like I mentioned previously, don't think you're limited in your gender construction with these arcs. A heroine in a story can go on a hero's journey and vice versa. 

So if something is going wrong in your YA or romance novel (or whatever story you're writing that's not on a hero's journey spectrum), try breaking the plot down to its skeleton and plugging in the key points onto this circle to see if you missed a step or pulled a character in a direction they aren't logically meant to go.

(Because these arcs are so psychologically ingrained that readers *will* pick up on deviations, whether they're aware of it or not.)

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Why You Need An Inspiration Board

If you've followed me for a while, you know how I feel about Scrivener as a writing tool. 

(If you haven't and don't know how I feel about it: I love it. There is no comparison. It's like it was made for my ADHD brain. If you're in the market for a new word processing program and ask my advice, I will proselytize--Scrivener--and thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.)

So one of the things I love most about Scrivener is that I can keep everything related to a project I'm working on in a single file. I have my chapter sections organized in Draft, sure, but Research is where I have the most fun. 

This is where I keep my brainstorming pages, links to any web pages I might need, my project Bible, and my...

INSPIRATION PAGE.

What's an inspiration page, you ask?

An inspiration page (also inspiration "board" or "folder" or "box," depending on the method of collection) is exactly what it sounds like: a page where I keep the items that inspire me most as they relate to the particular project on which I'm working.

What's on my inspiration page?

-Pictures of my main characters.

-Pictures of their houses or the key places they go (if they're described in the book). 

-Pictures of important articles of clothing--like a prom dress--or a hairstyle or piece of jewelry that plays a prominent role.

-Seasonal images (spring, Christmas, etc.) for world-building purposes.

-Links to songs that I associate with certain scenes.

I do have playlists for most of my books, but the inspiration page tells me exactly where the song fits into the book because I often put the song on a loop when I'm working on that particular scene. For instance, the Library Gala in The Guardian when Seth appears and dances with Genesis is linked to "So Close" by Jon McLaughlin.

 

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Here, we have an inspiration "wall." ;)

The inspiration pages vary from project to project, but what they help with most is grounding me in my story and the world in which it takes place. I keep pictures of my characters so I don't have to remember if I've written them with blue eyes or green. If I can't remember if the guy's hair is brown or black, it's easy to click over to my inspiration page to look at the image I've based him on. 

As an example: Luke Castellani (Revelation) was my young Gerard Butler. ;)

Thank you, Inspiration Page! 

Every now and again I'll toss in a YouTube link to a movie scene or trailer that elicits some kind of emotional response--anything that triggers the mood I need to capture for a certain scene.

The Bridgerton trailers are great at triggering, FYI, but I also love the scene from My Best Friend's Wedding when Jules confesses she's in love with Michael, and when Miles shows up for Arthur's big night, plops down beside Iris, and tells her she looks beautiful in The Holiday.  

I can't always trust myself to remember the color of my character's hair or the dress she wore or the song to which the love interest confesses his adoration, but if I upload an image or paste a link on my Inspiration Page in my project file, the information is always at my fingertips.

But Katie, you've just described Pinterest! Novel boards! Links! Images!

My dear Reader, do you even know what would happen to my ADHD-addled brain if I left my story to access a Pinterest board?

Nothing.

As in NOTHING would get accomplished for the rest of the day.

(My Pinterest board, however, would look lovely.)

Ergo, the Inspiration Page is built in Scrivener, and it stays in Scrivener.

Why an Inspiration Page? 

Because I believe if we sit down and get to work expecting the Muse will show up, she will. I also believe we can hurry her along--get her moving a little faster--if we can tap into the mood of our story, and that becomes possible once we've collected audio and visual material representative of what we're trying to create.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Where Do Writers Get Their Inspiration From?

The Insecure Writer's Support Group Romance Anthology Authors are talking Inspiration over at the blog this week! 

Find out where we get our ideas from. 💖 

"I’m not entirely sure, but I’ve come to believe that writers co-create with the universe—that it offers us bits and pieces of information/inspiration because it wants us to do something with them. It’s happened when listening to music, while watching movies, when a character’s name fell right into my lap…. It’s never just 'thinking' about something; it always feels like more, somehow. So I take these bits and pieces and ruminate on them, adding and subtracting in the best interest of the story, and draw on whatever additional insights the universe is willing to toss my way with gratitude as I work toward 'The End.'" 

-- Katie Klein, "How to Save a Princess"

Story Circles, Part III: Maureen Murdock

Last week, I introduced the idea of the Heroine's Journey on the blog, so this week I want to talk about the first encapsulation of this type of journey, which is more about going deep inside, healing and reclaiming one's spirit, rather than heading out into the world and seeking that "magic elixir" (or whatever goal the hero is pursuing).

This first iteration hails from research performed by Maureen Murdock and was rooted more in the psychology of women and an understanding of their healing journeys rather than as a structure for storytelling (though this would come later).

Here is the journey circle she established:

Image Source: maureenmurdock.com

Shift from Feminine to Masculine

The journey begins with a separation from the feminine, most likely a mother figure or some kind of mentor, but mostly from the rules that one is governed by (which is why this circle works so well with minority populations).

Identification with the Masculine

In separating from the feminine, a new way of life appears--one outside traditional societal roles, as this structure now feels too limiting for our heroine.

Road of Trials

The heroine faces antagonists who will try to persuade her to return to what is comfortable, to turn her from this new path.

Illusory Boon of Success

The heroine overcomes the trials presented, but the new way of life isn't fulfilling, either. 

The Descent/The Meeting with the Goddess

Her new path is a problem, and the heroine falls into despair. This becomes a crisis moment. The dominant group strategies that she has adopted (i.e. the masculine) won't fully work for her.

Yearning for the Reconnect

As hard as she tries, she can't return to the feminine, either. No path seems to work, anymore.

Reconciliation with the Masculine

The heroine makes peace with both the feminine and masculine traits, pulling knowledge and skills from both sides in order to form a new perspective and way of life.

The Union 

Both perspectives are fully integrated, and the heroine can now face her world.

~:|:~

What's so nice about this type of growth arc is that there are no binaries. It's not about male or female, success or failure, good or bad--it's about wholeness.  

Hero's Journeys often end with the "Boon of Success," but we know (and so did Murdock) that life goes on, and Heroine's journeys tend to focus on growth after the success, or "the rest of the story."

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~