Novel Boot Camp – Lecture #17: Dialogue Tags

July 29, 20147 Comments

Dialogue tags – they’re such a tiny little thing and yet they have a huge impact on the quality, flow, and professionalism of your novel. Dialogue tags are the little bits of text that attribute the dialogue to the speaker. The most common dialogue tag is “he said.” But they can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes (many of them worse than others).

Not convinced of their importance? Think about how many of them grace the pages of your novel. All of those little buggers really add up, and they can give the impression that you’re a seasoned pro or an amateur without their sea legs.

Here’s how to master the use of dialogue tags:

Stick with the Basics

As tempting as it can be to veer off into the land of bizarre-o dialogue tags, it’s best to stick to the basics – the tried and true tags that readers don’t even notice. If you take nothing else away from this article, remember this:

Dialogue tags should be invisible.

Not like invisible ink invisible, but like seen-it-ten-thousand-times-and-don’t-even-care invisible. Dialogue tags are functional. They’re not intended to be fun or expressive or artistic. They’re like punctuation marks. Sometimes a semicolon makes more sense than a period, but you can’t just start throwing ampersands and asterisks around.

So what are the basic, invisible dialogue tags? For 95% of cases, stick to either “she said” or “he asked.” If you really absolutely have to convey the volume of the voice, an occasional “he whispered” or “she shouted” is okay.

Any other dialogue tags in your novel should be necessary for clarity. For example, you may wish to use “he lied” if the reader truly doesn’t know that a character was lying. Likewise, “he joked” might be used if it’s not clear that a character is joking. But the goal should be to make these things clear within the dialogue itself.

The dialogue tags should not be doing the heavy lifting.

Indicate Volume or Tone Upfront

If you do decide that you need to use a dialogue tag to convey volume or tone, put the dialogue tag before the text whenever possible. This allows the reader to read the dialogue with the correct tone or volume level the first time.

There is nothing more jarring than reading dialogue in a normal tone only to find out at the end of the text that the character was supposed to be screaming or whispering.

The longer the dialogue, the more important it is to indicate the volume or tone prior to the dialogue.

Dialogue Tags Only Describe the Dialogue

This is more of a punctuation mistake than anything else, but it can look unprofessional, especially when the issue is repeated throughout the manuscript.

Remember that dialogue tags only describe the dialogue. They cannot be used to describe actions. For example:

“Let’s go,” he ran down the road. < Wrong!

“Let’s go.” He ran down the road. < Right!

Dialogue tags should also never be used to describe sounds other than dialogue. For example:

“You’re so funny,” he laughed. < Wrong!

“You’re so funny.” He laughed. < Right!

“You’re so funny,” he said, laughing. < Right!

Dialogue Tags Should Not Have Adverbs

I will admit that as far as editors go, I’m a bit more on the lenient side with adverbs than most. I might allow for one or two in a chapter if I feel that it’s the best way to convey a concept. And certain adverbs that fly below the radar I won’t necessarily mess with at all. But still, when it comes to dialogue tags, it’s best to forget about the adverbs.

Here are some examples of unneeded adverbs:

“We’re leaving,” she said decidedly. < It’s pretty clear that she’s made a decision. The adverb isn’t adding anything that isn’t already clear.

“Well why don’t I just kill myself then!” she said dramatically. < It’s pretty clear she’s being dramatic here. I don’t think anyone will question it.

“What exactly are you doing?” he said suspiciously. < Especially with context clues, no one is going to be confused about the fact that he’s suspicious.

Note that certain styles of omniscient POV might get away with using some adverbs in dialogue tags.

Use Dialogue Tags Sparingly

This is an element of dialogue tags that many aspiring writers don’t realize – you don’t have to use them. In fact, if you play your cards right, you can avoid them much of the time.

Remember that they serve a functional purpose. That purpose is to indicate to the reader who is speaking. If there is no doubt about who is speaking, then a dialogue tag isn’t needed.

For example, in a conversation with two people, after the pattern is established with the first two lines of dialogue, subsequent dialogue tags may not be necessary for a number of lines. You don’t want to go for pages without reminders of who is who, but you should be able to easily go several lines without dialogue tags.

Use Action in Place of Dialogue Tags

Another way to skip dialogue tags is to use actions, movements, gestures, facial expressions, etc. to convey who is speaking. For example:

Ash wiped sweat from his brow. “I don’t know, Amanda.”

She scrunched her mouth. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I mean I don’t know.”

She huffed. “Whatever.”

“Why do you always have to be that way.” Ash turned to go.

Amanda paused, bit her lip. “I’m sorry, okay?”

The scene above doesn’t have a single dialogue tag. Using action in place of dialogue tags reads quick and punchy and can add a professional touch to your writing.

Homework: Reduce and Simplify Your Dialogue Tags

Choose a chunk of your text to analyze or start at the beginning and go through as much of your novel as you have time to work through. Find your dialogue tags and work on improving them by:

Cutting unneeded tags.

Using action in place of dialogue tags where possible.

Cutting adverbs from dialogue tags.

Replacing “fancy” dialogue tags with the more standard invisible ones.

Read a few scenes with this new approach to dialogue tags and enjoy the smooth, professional feel of your novel.

Not sure you’ve got this punctuation thing down? Check out my Ultimate Guide on Punctuating Dialogue.

Connect with Other Novel Boot Camp Participants

Need a writing friend? Got a question? Need a shoulder to cry on? We’re there for you!

I will be answering writing and editing questions on our Twitter hashtag as time allows. Due to the insane volume of emails I’m receiving, I cannot provide free advice or assistance via email. Thank you!

What is Novel Boot Camp?

Novel Boot Camp is a free online novel writing course focused on identifying and correcting problems in your novel. Learn more about Novel Boot Camp and find past (and future) posts here.

Novel Boot Camp – Workshop #5: Query Letter & Blurb Critique

July 28, 2014150 Comments

The very last week of Novel Boot Camp is upon us! I can hardly believe it!

I’ve been enjoying your questions on the previous workshop, so I will leave it open in case you have any more questions you want to ask the editor (me).

I also want to let everyone know that the contest results and winners will be posted this Friday. This means that this workshop will be open for two days after the winner has been selected.

Now that your novels are starting to look shinier, let’s look towards the future – a future in which you all seek publication! Let’s focus on our query letters and blurbs. If you aren’t quite to the querying stage yet, don’t worry. Writing out a practice query can be a great way to solidify the plot and catch structural errors.

Want to get a leg up? Here are my best tips for a successful query (they work on most blurbs too):

How to Write a Query Letter

There are six important elements of a query letter. When all six are present, you know you’re getting close to a winner!

Character

What is your character like? What are her good and bad personality traits? The query letter should lightly incorporate this information, but should nestle the info in active, interesting sentences.

Motivation

What does your character want? What motivates her? The query letter should clearly define what it is your character hopes to achieve.

Obstacles

What stands in the character’s way? Why can’t he get what he wants? The query letter should make the obstacle(s) in the path of the character clear.

Proaction

What does the character have to do to solve the problem? What is required of him or her? The query letter should explain how the character is proactive.

Stakes

What happens if the character fails? What will they lose? The query letter should use the story’s stakes to suck the reader into the tension of the conflict.

Tone

What is the tone of your novel? The query letter should mirror this tone so that the reader gets from the novel exactly what they would anticipate after reading the query.

Workshop #5: Query Letter & Blurb Critique

July 28 – August 3

(Winners chosen on August 1st)

How to Submit Your Query Letter or Blurb

*Please read all of the rules before posting.*

Your submission should be posted in the comments section below and should include nothing but your genre and the first 250 words. Do not begin or end your post (or reply to your own post) with any additional information. The goal is to get unbiased, authentic critiques.

The critique is open to both query letters and back cover blurbs (for those who are self publishing).

Each writer may post up to two times. This may be two versions of your query letter or blurb, two different query letters or blurbs, or one blurb and one query letter.

What to Do After Receiving a Critique

You are welcome to reply to critiques on your work to thank the critiquer or to seek clarification.

Please do not post updated versions of your query letter or blurb. This will prevent any individual writer from dominating the workshop. Asking for subsequent critiques is also asking a lot from your fellow writers who already took time to help you out.

Absolutely do not, under any circumstances, reply to a critique in an aggressive, insulting, or demeaning manor. It’s okay to disagree, but please do so respectfully.

I want this to be a positive and empowering experience for the Novel Boot Campers! If I feel that someone is disrupting that experience, I reserve the right to remove their posts and/or ban them as necessary.

How to Leave a Critique

Please post your critiques as a reply to the query letter or blurb, not as a general reply in the comments section.

Please do not post one sentence critiques, such as, “I liked it.” Why did you like it? Be specific.

Do not mention your writing “status.” For example, do not mention that you’re a published author, an editor, a bestseller, an award-winner, etc. I do not have time to validate these statements and do not want writers being misled into believing they are being given professional advice.

Prize – Free Query Letter or Blurb Critique

Due to the volume of participants, it is unlikely that I will be able to select a winner based entirely on merit. Unless there is one critiquer who really stands out from the rest, the winner will be selected randomly.

That said, I will check through the posts of the random winner to ensure that they participated to the best of their ability. This means that the winner must have made a minimum of 5 critiques, all of which must be 3 sentences or longer in length.

My Participation

I will be offering critiques as I am willing and able. I’m editing novels 50 hours per week (not including the time spent on Novel Boot Camp) so it is unlikely that I will be able to offer critiques for most writers. 😦

Please do not take it personally! The ones I comment on will be more or less random.

And who knows? Novel Boot Camp will be over someday and maybe I’ll have time then to offer some critiques.

Connect with Other Novel Boot Camp Participants

Need a writing friend? Got a question? Need a shoulder to cry on? We’re there for you!

What is Novel Boot Camp?

Novel Boot Camp is a free online novel writing course focused on identifying and correcting problems in your novel. Learn more about Novel Boot Camp and find past (and future) posts here.

Novel Boot Camp – Lecture #16: Nailing the Denouement

July 25, 20143 Comments

Happily ever after….or is it?

The catalyst and climax get a lot of attention, and most writers are pretty knowledgeable about what those terms mean, but whenever I talk about the denouement, I rarely get reactions much better than, “Doesn’t that have something to do with the ending?” The poor denouement doesn’t get nearly enough attention (*wipes away a tear*), but today the denouement gets its whole own lecture.

So what is the denouement? (I know you’re dying to know). The denouement is the very last structural element of a novel. It comes after the climax and may be anywhere from a few paragraphs to a few thousand words long (depending on the story).

Its role is to stitch a pretty little button on the end of your story so that everything gets tied up in a tidy little package. Not a perfect package. But a tidy one. One that leaves the reader feeling as if they know everything they need to know.

Note that everything the reader needs to know is not the same thing as everything you want them to know. Writing an effective denouement means knowing when to say goodbye, when to step away from the keyboard, when to leave the reader wanting more.

This is probably the most important aspect of the denouement:

Leave the Reader with Longing

As the reader turns the last page, you want to create a bit of sadness in their heart, a feeling that they aren’t quite ready to say goodbye, to let the characters go, a feeling that there is still a bit more to say, that the characters still have story, still have potential.

This is not the same thing as leaving loose ends. A loose end is something you promise to resolve but do not. Leaving the reader with longing simply means that you end the story with the sense that it isn’t the end, that everything is not tied up with a perfect ribbon, but one that is a bit crumply and fraying at the edges.

Resist the temptation to explain everything, to outline the trajectory of your characters’ lives, to give them a great big “Happily Ever After” sign to wave around like Disney characters. When you tell the reader too much, you destroy that sense of longing, which comes from the feeling that there are still conflicts and mysteries and adventures in the character’s future.

What is the Denouement Used For?

What you include in your novel’s denouement will depend entirely on the plot of your story, how much was resolved during the climax, and how many loose ends are left to be tied up. Denouements are commonly used to:

Revisit Themes

The denouement is the perfect time to conclude a theme or explain the “moral” of the story. Characters might state the theme outright or it may be explained in the narration. Just don’t be too heavy handed. People don’t read novels to be preached at.

Mourn Losses

Did a character die while fighting the antagonistic force? The denouement is a good place to let the surviving characters mourn the loss and perhaps discuss that character’s contributions to what has been achieved.

Reveal Secrets

For characters that have been lying or hiding something throughout the novel, the denouement is a good point for them to come clean. This provides a last “ah ha” moment for the reader that makes all the pieces fall into place.

Heal Wounds

If your character was injured in the final showdown (physically or emotionally), the denouement offers you the chance to show them beginning to heal their wounds. This tells the reader that everything will be okay someday, even if things aren’t perfect just now.

Profess Love

If romance is an element of your novel, the denouement supplies a last chance at professing love. The characters could be exploring their true feelings for the first time or could just be reenforcing a love that they have already expressed.

Accept Rewards

If your character won some sort of award during the climax, the denouement is the perfect time for him or her to receive it. This provides the reader with a final sense of achievement and success. It also indicates that the character’s efforts paid off with recognition.

Tie Up Loose Ends

And of course, the denouement is a good place to tie up any loose ends that just didn’t fit (or couldn’t be revealed) earlier in the novel. Just make sure it doesn’t take up too much space. The reader only needs enough wrapped up to feel satisfied.

Homework: Improving the Denouement

Ask yourself the following questions to strengthen any weak aspects of your denouement:

Is the denouement long enough to be satisfying without being so long that it starts to drag or meander? Does it provide a sort of button on the end of the story (such as by wrapping up a theme, moral, or long-standing issue/mystery)?

Does the denouement hint at future successes or failures without laying everything right out in the open? Does it leave room for the reader to imagine the future for the characters? Remember that a denouement that explains too much actually prevents the characters from living on in the reader’s mind. It is the mystery that keeps your characters alive.

When in doubt about whether to include something in your denouement, ask yourself if you’re leaving the reader with a sense of longing. There is beauty in yearning for more. It both leaves a favorable impression of your book and prompts the reader to look out for your next one.

Connect with Other Novel Boot Camp Participants

Need a writing friend? Got a question? Need a shoulder to cry on? We’re there for you!

What is Novel Boot Camp?

Novel Boot Camp is a free online novel writing course focused on identifying and correcting problems in your novel. Learn more about Novel Boot Camp and find past (and future) posts here.

Novel Boot Camp – Lecture #15: The Climax

July 24, 20144 Comments

The climax! It’s exciting! It’s suspenseful! It’s time to learn all about it!

For the readers, the climax will be the most important moment in the novel. It leaves a lasting impression (good or bad) of your novel and of your writing. So a stinky climax can be bad news, not just for this one book, but for your whole career.

No pressure or anything…

So what makes for a great climax? It’s pretty simple:

The Climax Must End the Conflict in a Satisfying Way

This is the backbone of what makes a climax rise to the occasion of fall flat. The climax is the moment the reader has been waiting for! It must prove to the reader that this book was worth the time and energy they invested in it.

A bad climax feels like a major ripoff (“Why did I waste my time on this book?”). Readers may feel like you strung them along for hundreds of pages just to give up and drop the ball in the end.

What you’re looking for is a climax that has readers on the edge of their seats, frantically turning pages, unable to wait to discover how everything unfolds. This is the satisfaction the reader has waited for from page one.

There are a lot of things that go into a satisfying climax, so let’s break it down into smaller parts:

The Obstacle Must be Big

There is no satisfaction in a climax with a teeny tiny obstacle that takes little effort for the protagonist to knock aside. The climax needs to involve an obstacle that is so big that the reader isn’t even quite sure that it’s possible for the protagonist to win.

It’s not enough to put your character at the edge of a cliff if all they have to do is take a couple steps towards solid ground. You’ve got to throw sticks at them, and spears, and stones, and their girlfriend.

It Can’t be Contrived

There’s no faster way to kill the excitement of a climax than by coming up with a contrived way for the character to win. The character needs to succeed (or fail) on account of their own merit. An example of a contrived climax is when another character suddenly decides (for no apparent reason) to tell the protagonist something that allows her to defeat the antagonist, such as his location, weakness, etc. Why did this character just now suddenly decide to be helpful?

One of the worst contrived climaxes is when the villain suddenly decides not to be evil anymore. Well isn’t that convenient? Even if there is some foreshadowing to the villain’s decision and the protagonist was integral to the villain’s change of heart, it is very unlikely that this won’t seem incredibly contrived.

The key to avoiding a contrived climax is to only allow conditions to improve for the protagonist when he or she personally earns it.

The Protagonist Must Defeat the Antagonistic Force

The protagonist is the hero of your story, so don’t let someone else swoop in and take the glory of the climax. The main character must be the one who ultimately defeats the antagonistic force. Any assistance from secondary characters shouldn’t extend much beyond backup. This is the time for the protagonist to shine, to show the reader what she’s made of! Never take that moment away and hand it to someone else.

If you’re writing YA or MG, beware mommy, daddy, the neighbor, or teacher showing up to save the day. This is the kid’s fight, let him end it.

The Conclusion Must Feel Final

The climax of your novel needs to feel final to the reader. The bad guy should either win or lose. The character either gets what she wants or fails to achieve her goals. There is not a lot of wiggle room here. If the climactic showdown doesn’t feel final, then the novel isn’t going to feel satisfying.

Note that if you are writing a series, there will be loose ends that haven’t been tied up and of course it may turn out that the conflict isn’t over at all come book two, but the main conflict of the book should be clearly resolved.

The Solution Should be an Obvious Surprise

“An obvious surprise? You’re not making any sense!” Yes, you heard me correctly, the climax should contain an obvious surprise, something that the reader never saw coming but that seems so super obvious once it happens.

Why do you want this obvious surprise? Because if the climax is too predictable, it’s boring, but if it comes out of left field, it will feel contrived. What you need to strike is a balance in between – an obvious surprise.

This requires that you use foreshadowing, sprinkling some easy to overlook clues throughout the novel. Reading the climax should seem like an “oh duh!” moment for the reader, where they feel like they should have predicted the outcome and yet didn’t.

The Character Arc Must End

During or immediately following the climax of the novel, the character arc should come to its end. Often this is because the hero’s “climactic act” requires him to do something that was previously difficult for him or against his character.

The climax may also cause the character to have a realization about how he could or should have acted differently.

The Climax Must Fulfill the Promise

Not just the first page’s promise, but the entire promise of the novel needs to be fulfilled in the climax. If your novel is about a horde of angry ghosts, then the final showdown sure better feature an epic fight with the giant horde! If it instead focuses on saving the protagonist’s child from a kidnapper, readers will feel majorly let down.

The climax should deliver to the reader what they have been waiting two or three or four hundred pages to get to. Anything less will fall short.

To think of it slightly differently: everything in the novel has led to this point. Everything. If that’s not the sense the reader gets while reading the climax, then you haven’t done your job.

Homework: Crafting (or re-crafting) Your Climax

Spend some time assessing the climax of your novel, ask yourself:

Does the climax fulfill the novel’s promise?

Does it logically build from the rest of the novel or does it feel unrelated or episodic?

Does the character arc end during the climax? Does the protagonist’s growth solidify?

Is the obstacle faced during the climax bigger than all the other obstacles in the novel?

Is defeating the obstacle sufficiently difficult? Does it seem nearly impossible for the protagonist to succeed?

Does the protagonist win (or lose) on his own merit or does something contrived happen that allows the protagonist to win?

Is the protagonist the one who defeats the antagonistic force (not side or secondary characters)?

Does the climax feel final? Does it make the story feel complete?

Note that in order to have a satisfying climax, you may need to rewrite earlier portions of the novel. Don’t shy away from these major changes. In the end, a spectacular climax will be more than worth the effort to get there.

Connect with Other Novel Boot Camp Participants

Need a writing friend? Got a question? Need a shoulder to cry on? We’re there for you!

What is Novel Boot Camp?

Novel Boot Camp is a free online novel writing course focused on identifying and correcting problems in your novel. Learn more about Novel Boot Camp and find past (and future) posts here.

Novel Boot Camp – Lecture #14: Strengthening the Setting

July 23, 2014July 23, 20144 Comments

Setting is an element of fiction that many aspiring novelists overlook. This is especially true if their setting is a modern day city or town rather than an elaborate science fiction creation. But the setting is actually a vital part of the story no matter what sort of novel you’re writing. It can do everything from build atmosphere to create conflicts.

If you haven’t put any time or thought into your setting, you’re missing out on a major element of your novel.

The Setting Should Feel Purposeful

Wherever your novel is set, there needs to be a reason it’s set there. It should feel important (vital even) to the plot of the novel.

Why set a novel in the arctic if cold weather never affects the plot? Why set your YA in a high school if the conflict is irrelevant to the character’s school? And why set your novel in a bland/blank city when there are so many more interesting possibilities?

The sections below will help get you thinking about why you might choose a particular setting and/or how you can best utilize the setting you’ve already got.

Use the Setting to Create Conflict

Setting is so much more than just a location, it can cause or intensify all sorts of conflicts. Remember that “man vs. nature” thing you learned about in high school? Nature can be quite a compelling antagonistic force.

Floods, tornadoes, tidal waves, thunder storms, earthquakes, drought, thorn bushes, quicksand, raging rivers, poison berries, wild animals, freezing conditions – the setting can really kick the bajeezus out of your characters.

When inventing challenges for your characters to overcome, don’t overlook those that come from the natural world around them.

Use the Setting to Reflect or Intensify Internal Conflict

One way to make setting feel purposeful and integrated into the story is to use it to reflect or intensify the character’s internal emotional state.

If your character is thrown into a frightening situation with a bunch of characters she doesn’t know, you can amp up the volume by stuffing them into close quarters, like an underground bunker. The cramped space forces them to be in close contact and prevents the protagonist from being able to get away.

If your character has been forced to leave the comforts of home for the first time, sticking him in a dilapidated old house full of bugs and bats (okay, I kind of have a bat thing right now because of the bat that was in my office), will emphasis how unpleasant it is to be away from home.

Even something as simple as the claustrophobia created by a heavy snow storm or long winter can help amplify the character’s internal conflict.

Use the Setting to Say Something About Your Characters

Where the characters live and the places they visit can provide the reader with a strong impression of who they. For example, a character whose house is filthy will be very different from a character whose house is so clean you can eat off the floor. Likewise, a character who lives in an upscale neighborhood is going to be very different from the one who lives in a crummy apartment.

The setting can say a lot about your character’s lifestyle without you having to lift a finger. See, setting can even save you from too much telling!

Describe the Setting with Purpose

Anytime you describe the setting, it needs to be with a purpose. Sometimes writers feel that long descriptions of the setting are a requirement, but this is far from the truth. Long irrelevant descriptions (of anything) will slow your novel down!

Describe the setting with purpose. Whenever you include a description, think critically about why you’re including it – what is it conveying about the character? Why is the information important?

Don’t describe the layout of a city just because you can see it in your mind. And don’t spend a page describing the weather if your character never goes outside. Be strategic.

Engage the Five Senses

Creating an environment that is rich and interesting requires that you engage the reader’s senses. It’s easy to stop at what the setting looks like, but what about what it smells like? Do the city streets smell like wild flowers from the urban gardens or like the sewage the neighbors are throwing in the street?

What about sounds? Is the countryside silent or loud with wild animals and insects? Do the dry reeds crackle in the breeze? Can the sound of waves be heard crashing in the distance?

And don’t forget the little tactile details. Are the handrails smooth chrome or gritty and rusted? Is there gum stuck under them? And what about inside the house, does sand blow under the doors? Is it so humid that the walls sweat and the furniture feels damp? What does it feel like to live in this world?

Homework: Strengthening Your Setting

Here are some questions and activities to give your setting the push it needs:

Did you choose your novel’s setting for a reason? If not, brainstorm ways that your setting could create or enhance the conflict of your novel and/or tie in with your character’s internal conflict OR brainstorm an alternative setting that creates more depth for your novel.

If you’re happy with your current setting, brainstorm new ways the setting can affect the events of the novel. These don’t have to be big. They can be tiny moments that add richness to the story.

Write an essay about your setting and how it appeals (or doesn’t appeal) to each of the five senses. You could easily write an essay on each sense if you really let your imagination run wild.

These activities will help you enrich your setting so that it becomes a memorable and significant part of your novel.

Connect with Other Novel Boot Camp Participants

Need a writing friend? Got a question? Need a shoulder to cry on? We’re there for you!

What is Novel Boot Camp?

Novel Boot Camp is a free online novel writing course focused on identifying and correcting problems in your novel. Learn more about Novel Boot Camp and find past (and future) posts here.

Novel Boot Camp – Lecture #13: Handling Romance

July 22, 20146 Comments

Full disclosure: I am not much of a romance lover. In fact, I rarely enjoy romance even as a side plot. This is mostly because it is typically done in a way that is so shallow, predictable, and annoying that I want to throw the book (or throw up). That said, I have edited a few romances over the years that I truly enjoyed because they had fantastically lovable characters and conflicts that were different and unique.

So here is my best advice on writing a romance that even I (and my fellow non-romance-lovers) will enjoy.

Don’t be Disgusting

No, not that kind of disgusting… I’m talking about the really disgusting part of romance – the mushy-gushy lovey-dovey, OMG I love you sooooooo much kind of disgusting.

You don’t want your readers’ eyes to roll back in their heads with exasperation, nor do you want them gagging into their e-readers. So use the mushy stuff sparingly. Here are some tips:

Show don’t tell (“Wow, everything comes back to that with you, doesn’t it?”). Rather than constantly telling the reader that they love, love, love each other, show it instead. Use actions, gestures, complex thoughts, and dialogue to convey their love. A great romance doesn’t even need to say the word “love” to be utterly and completely satisfying.

If you do use the L-word, don’t do it in every single gosh darn scene. Let it mean something. Use it sparingly.

Sparingly is a good guide to all elements of a romance. Unless you’re writing erotica, go easy on the smooching, sexing, ogling, and the compliments. We don’t need to hear how steamy hot the protagonist is in every single scene.

Avoid scenes that revolve around characters staring into each other’s eyes and endlessly professing their undying love. This seems weird to me, and also boring.

Don’t be Creepy

There are certain expressions of “love” that can be downright creepy. Some of these are used in published novels with varying degrees of success, but most should be avoided.

Here are some notable creep factors:

One or both characters are finally “complete” now that they’ve found the other person. The implication being that they needed a partner in order to become a real person.

Similarly: one character (usually the female) has no personality, goals, or interests until she meets the man, then suddenly the man brings meaning to her life. I’m not saying they can’t help each other grow, but they shouldn’t be empty shells before meeting.

The man (though it could be a woman) acts aggressively – grabbing or restraining the woman to prevent her from leaving because he just has to have a conversation with her about their relationship. This isn’t passion, it’s abuse, and it’s creepy.

One of the partners shows their love by being crazy jealous, perhaps even going as far as to attack another person or their property for expressing interest in their partner.

One or both characters are incapable of going any period of time without their partner. Missing each other is normal, but if life isn’t worth living because her bf went out to play golf, things start getting creepy.

The man is a total womanizer until he meets the female lead and then wham-bam he’s a gentle, amazing guy. “Yeah, but what about the whole womanizing thing?” said me, unable to forgive and forget.

Avoid Misunderstandings as Prolonged Conflict

A common issue with many romance plots and subplots is the primary conflict being based on a misunderstanding. This is a problem because it’s been done a million times and because it’s unrealistic.

The woman accidentally walks in on her man with his arms wrapped around another woman, but it’s not like that, she just tumbled into his arms while he was buying his love interest a wedding ring.

This is not a conflict that can be sustained for very long. In real life, normal people would just have a conversation immediately and then move on with their lives. Refusing to communicate over a misunderstanding can be maddeningly annoying to readers.

Weight the Romance According to its Plot Value

How much weight you give the romance should be balanced with its value to the plot. If the novel is primarily about the romance, then obviously there needs to be a lot of it! But if romance is a subplot, it can be helpful (and ideal) to consider how much it is enhancing the main plot and how much value it’s adding to your story.

There is no sense in lingering on a romance in every scene of your novel if it doesn’t tie in with or improve upon the main plot. If the romance doesn’t offer a stepping stone in the character arc or create interesting and complex conflicts that get in the way of the main plot, it probably shouldn’t have much “screen time” in the novel.

Take the genre into consideration as well. You do not want your horror novel turning into a paranormal romance. If the romance starts to push out the genre elements, you’ve gone too far.

What Makes a Romance Work

Now that I’ve told you all the things not to do, let’s talk about some of the things to do:

Show don’t tell (“Wait, didn’t she already say that…?”). I cannot emphasize this enough. You can tell readers all day long that your characters are in love, but if you don’t show it, it’s just a bunch of empty words. Readers need to feel that the characters are in love based on the way they interact.

The reader needs to perceive value in both characters. They need to have personality traits that are interesting and positive. Traits that offer something to their love interest. Traits that are likeable, loveable, or endearing.

But the characters also need to be flawed. Like big time. They need to have traits that the love interest identifies as negative. Nobody wants to read about two people who are totally amazing and perfect and love everything about each other. Have them accept each other despite their flaws and you will create something much more endearing.

Avoid insta-love. This is when characters become madly in love with each other all of a sudden out of nowhere. This sucks at the beginning of the book and it sucks just as much at the end. Romance should have a build up that should be clear but relatively slow.

Go for meaningful tiny gestures over big superficial ones. Juno filling Bleeker’s mailbox with Tic Tacs is a whole lot cuter and more meaningful than a fancy man in a suit taking a woman out to a candlelit dinner with a ring in the champagne glass. Characters that demonstrate that they know each other for real, deep down, in a special way are far more likely to be perceived as genuinely in love.

Develop love at moments that feel natural. Don’t try to stuff romance into scenes where it makes no sense, such as stopping in the middle of a burning building for a love-professing monologue. This reduces the tension of the burning building and also pulls the reader in too many directions to fully appreciate the romantic moment.

Differences don’t have to be about growth. Some of the best romances are those between mismatched couples where one is super crazy and eccentric and the other is rigid and orderly, or where one is super cowardly and the other is super brave and gets them into all sorts of trouble. These differences don’t need to result in changing the personality of the other partner. Sometimes relationships work because they balance each other. And that can be a beautiful thing.

Love your characters. If you don’t love them, they won’t love each other. Not really. If you don’t feel your characters’ souls as if they’re real, they can’t truly fall in love, and the reader can’t truly fall in love with their love. It just can’t happen.

Homework: Strengthening Your Romance

Whether your novel is a straight up romance or has the teeniest of romantic subplots, here are some questions to strengthen it:

If you took out all of the telling (whether it be narration or character thoughts) and all of the sexy/smoochy stuff, would the reader still be able to tell that the characters are in love? Do they demonstrate love without it having to be said? Do they have a clear connection?

Are both characters full and complete human beings before they meet each other? Do they each have value without being in a relationship? Do they each offer traits of value to each other?

Are both characters flawed? Both physically and emotionally/psychologically/mentally?

Does the relationship develop over time rather than the characters falling in insta-love?

Be honest: is a misunderstanding the backbone of most of their conflicts or do they have legitimate, realistic issues?

Is the romance weighted in the novel in accordance to its value to the plot?

These questions should get you moving on assessing and improving the quality of your romantic subplot.

Connect with Other Novel Boot Camp Participants

Need a writing friend? Got a question? Need a shoulder to cry on? We’re there for you!

What is Novel Boot Camp?

Novel Boot Camp is a free online novel writing course focused on identifying and correcting problems in your novel. Learn more about Novel Boot Camp and find past (and future) posts here.

Novel Boot Camp – Workshop #4: Ask the Editor

July 21, 2014July 21, 201451 Comments

Week four of Novel Boot Camp is upon us! It’s going faster than I ever expected. It’s been a whirlwind, but it’s been great fun. And of course, it has sparked a lot of questions from all of you wonderful participants.

So this week I want to give everyone the opportunity to ask me your most burning questions! Since there’s no way I can answer a couple hundred questions this week, I am not going to be responding in this workshop. Instead, I will be compiling the questions that I feel will best serve the Novel Boot Camp community, and I will post the answers to these questions in a future blog post.

When will the post go live? This depends a bit on how many questions are asked, the types of questions asked, and how easy it is to pick the best ones to answer. I may use the questions to write full lectures or I may compile them into several blog posts to go up after Boot Camp.

The Rules

Please follow these rules when posting your questions:

Each writer may post up to two original questions.

You may request a lecture or blog post addressing an issue or aspect of writing or editing if you prefer.

If you see that someone has already posted your question, please reply to their comment with “me too,” “ditto,” or an explanation of why you too are interested in the answer. Please try your best not to start a new comment thread for a question that has already been asked.

Please do not answer the questions in the comments. This will prevent things from getting cluttered and will also protect writers from getting potentially inaccurate advice.

Questions may be directly related to your book, but please do not post any excerpts.

Questions may be general in nature and not directly related to your novel.

Please keep questions related to writing, editing, or publishing.

All questions should be posted in the comments below.

Please post your questions before July 27th.

Unless there is a crazy huge amount of questions, I would like to answer all of them eventually. This will most likely not be possible during Novel Boot Camp, so be sure to follow the blog in case I answer your question after camp is over.

Connect with Other Novel Boot Camp Participants

Need a writing friend? Got a question? Need a shoulder to cry on? We’re there for you!

What is Novel Boot Camp?

Novel Boot Camp is a free online novel writing course focused on identifying and correcting problems in your novel. Learn more about Novel Boot Camp and find past (and future) posts here.

Novel Boot Camp – Lecture #12: Writing a Series

July 18, 201410 Comments

Writing a series or trilogy of novels is all the rage right now. The dream of publishing a novel, for many writers, has turned into the dream of a successful series of novels with a mega-blockbuster movie deal. Writing a book series is very appealing to aspiring writers. But what makes a series successful?

It’s a lot more than simply writing a bunch of books about the same characters. Writing a great book series is like writing a great novel except three times bigger (for a trilogy) or four, five, ten, twenty times bigger (for a series), because not only does each novel have an arc, but so does the series as a whole.

If you’re writing or considering writing a novel trilogy or series, here are some things to keep in mind:

Plan Ahead

If I could only give you one single piece of advice, this would be it: plan ahead! The more plotting, outlining, and time-lining you do, the better your series will turn out. This prep work will save you from major headaches down the line. It will also enable you to provide details about the rest of the series to a prospective publisher, who’s going to want to know what the series has in store.

Create a Time Line

There is nothing worse than realizing halfway through book two that your super-amazing, carefully crafted plot doesn’t make sense because Pirate Pierre is supposed to take over the world two years before he was born. Time line issues can create major nightmares for a series writer, but can be easily avoided by maintaining a time line of your story. Creating one early will help you plan an error-free series.

Viewing your world’s history and your characters’ histories in a time line may also spark new ideas and interesting connections.

Create a Series Bible

Every time you introduce a concept, rule, or description, put it in a series bible (a big ol’ document full of information about your series). Then refer to this bible often as you write the books to ensure that you are following your own rules and maintaining consistency.

Some things you may want to include in your series bible:

Character profiles, including their arc across each book and the entire series.
Family trees or other charts of how characters are connected.
Maps of locations or detailed written descriptions of the layout of the land.
Any rules or laws established in the series.
An explanation of how abilities or powers work and a list of their limitations.

Introducing Concepts that Become Relevant Later

Possibly the most challenging aspect of writing a series is introducing concepts that become relevant in later books. While not an absolute requirement, establishing concepts in early books can help create a consistant and “real” feel to the series.

Whenever you’re introducing a concept/character/ability/location/etc that will become relevant later, the key is to also make it relevant now, in book one. That doesn’t mean it needs to be central to the plot or even relevant to a major conflict, but it needs to feel like it’s being included for a purpose and/or its inclusion needs to be invisible to the reader.

If a minor character’s stinginess becomes the major conflict of book three, perhaps their stinginess causes a minor conflict in book one and a slightly larger one in book two. This way you establish their stinginess in a way that is relevant to the first two books rather than throwing it in as an extraneous detail.

“Hiding” the introductory of information is also an option. For example, you can use flippant comments from characters, jokes, warnings, etc. to introduce an idea in an unobtrusive way.

Consistency

Keep in mind as you write or revise the first book in your series that anything you set up in the first book (no matter how insignificant) must be carried through the rest of the series. This is where planning the full series in advance can save you a lot of headache. If a law is mentioned in passing in book one, you are locked into following it, even if it prevents you from exploring a really cool plot line for book two.

Even if all you want to do is just make a teeny-tiny alteration to the character’s magical powers, readers will call your bluff. Your series will no longer feel realistic. Inconsistency shatters the illusion of the story.

Keep Loose Ends Strategic

It can be tempting to leave a variety of loose ends in the first novel in the series so that when writing subsequent books you can pick up whichever loose end seems most interesting or exciting. But a ton of loose ends can make a novel feel unfocused and cluttered. Plus leaving unanswered questions isn’t satisfying for readers.

If you leave a loose end, it needs to get tied up at some point in the series. So don’t leave a bunch of stuff dangling if you don’t intend to address it later.

Each Book Stands Alone

It is never okay to end a novel without a resolution. The first (or second or tenth) novel in a series is no exception. Every novel must stand alone on its own two feet with its own central conflict that gets resolved over the course of the novel.

Yes, there may be a bigger picture conflict that has not been resolved or you might imply a new conflict to tempt the reader to read the second book, but overall, the book should have some serious stand-alone appeal.

The most important thing to ask is: Does this book have value outside the context of a series? Would it sell if there were no sequels?

If you answer no, you’ve got some major reworking to do.

The Character Arc

Writing a character arc throughout a series of novels can be a challenge for some writers. While a character arc needs to be present in every novel, it does not necessarily need to be a different arc for every story. The character can have one arc that is broken into several stages.

For example, say you have a character who grows from being a spoiled rich girl to a worldly and generous heroine across the course of a series. Her character arc in book one may simply be accepting the fact that members of her society are impoverished. Perhaps she struggles to accept this because she was told it isn’t true. Maybe she blames the impoverished people for their plight for most of the novel, but her eyes are opened by the end.

In the second book in the series, perhaps she learns to accept life among the impoverished people, while in book three she learns to be willing to fight for them. The character arc can be broken into smaller chunks (or arcs) just like the plot of the series can be broken into smaller plot chunks (arcs) for each book.

The character arc can also be caused by the previous novel in the series. If a character makes a decision that results in the death of a friend, she may spend all of book two learning to accept herself and let go of the guilt.

Consider the “Connecting” Factor

What is the concept or element that will connect the books in the series? Is it the character’s ability? The world? A villain?

Whatever element of the series is the connecting factor, that element needs to be extremely strong. This is your series’ “hook.” Without one, there isn’t much reason for a series.

The thing is, publishers don’t want writers to create series just for the hell of it. There needs to be something that makes the series cohesive. It should not feel tangentially related, nor should it feel like an average character is followed through a series of unrelated obstacles across the series. There needs to be something exciting and consistent for the reader to latch onto.

Identifying and strengthening the appeal of this connecting factor can help you sell the idea to agents, publishers, or readers.

Avoid Being Stingy with Ideas

One common obstacle with writing a series is the temptation to “save” ideas for later books. You think up a cool concept but then hesitate to add it to book one. Wouldn’t it spice up book three a little more? you think.

The problem with saving ideas for later is that there won’t necessarily be a later. Even if the first book gets published, there is no guarantee any sequels will ever hit the shelves. If you’re stingy with your ideas, you’ll end up with a half-baked novel sitting on your hard drive rather than a fantastic standalone novel on book shelves.

Don’t Write a Series Because it’s Popular

A lot of big books recently have been a part of a series, and I think this has led a lot of writers to get dollar signs in their eyes when they think about landing a huge-o gigantic multi-book deal. But don’t just jump on the series bandwagon because you want to be more marketable.

In truth, many publishers are actively seeking out standalone novels because of the insurgence of writers selling series. There is a great market for both standalone and series novels. So don’t try to iron your plot as flat as a pancake to spread it over a trilogy. If a series develops, that’s great. If it doesn’t, that’s equally as great.

Homework: To Series or Not to Series

If you’re writing a series, consider whether your story is truly big enough to fill multiple books. Will each of these books have a full plot arc that would be satisfying outside the context of a series? Have you done a significant amount of prep work on your series? If not, spend some time today organizing your time line, outline, and series bible.

If you’re not writing a series, consider if the story you’re telling has series potential or is getting too big for its one-book britches. A good sign is a word count creeping up over 100,000.

Connect with Other Novel Boot Camp Participants

Need a writing friend? Got a question? Need a shoulder to cry on? We’re there for you!

What is Novel Boot Camp?

Novel Boot Camp is a free online novel writing course focused on identifying and correcting problems in your novel. Learn more about Novel Boot Camp and find past (and future) posts here.

Novel Boot Camp – Lecture #11: Developing Your Voice

July 17, 20145 Comments

Some novels seem to have everything right – cool characters, an exciting plot, and a fast pace – yet they are boring, boring, boring! How can this be?

In performers, this missing element is often referred to as the “it” factor. It’s difficult to define or explain, but when you see it, you know it! As writers, our “it” factor is our voice. It’s the way we describe things and turn phrases. It’s our word choices, our ability to convey emotion, and our unique yet clarifying metaphors.

But many amateur writers struggle to find their voice. It feels so illusive, so impossible, yet voice seems to come so naturally to everyone else!

Sit back, relax, and have some coffee. I’m going to do my best to help you find your voice.

But first:

Why is Voice Important?

In a world where everyone and their dog has written a novel, the competition is fierce. I believe very strongly that the internet has created an insurgence of unskilled writers (and editors, don’t get me started…) who read a few articles online and think they’ve got this writing thing in the bag.

This means your manuscript must drip with potential in order to stand out from the pack. Unfortunately, a novel without a unique voice (unless the concept is knock-your-socks-off awesome) is going to struggle to get noticed.

Plus, voice is probably the very first thing an agent, editor, or reader is going to take note of. It will also likely be the deciding factor as to whether they like or dislike your writing.

How to Tell if Your Voice is Weak

There are lots of signs of a weak voice. Here are some of the most common:

Nobody will read your novel. You’ve given it to friends, family, and beta readers yet none of them ever got around to reading past the first few pages.

You get bored reading your own work. If you find yourself yawning while reading or skimming over sections of your book, that’s a good sign your voice is MIA.

You wish you could write like (Stephen King, Chuck Palahniuk, John Grisham, [insert favorite author here]). Sure, a certain level of talent envy is normal, but if you aren’t a fan of your own voice, there’s a good chance it isn’t quite there yet.

You get rejected a lot. Rejection is a normal part of the writing process and can be the result of a lot of issues (both inside and outside your control), so I hesitate a bit to include this. But if you get rejected on project after project after project, especially if you never get any requests for partials or fulls, there’s a good chance you’re lacking in the voice department.

Reasons for a Weak Voice

Now that we’ve gone over some signs that your voice is not as strong as it could be, let’s explore some possible causes of a weak voice:

This is your first novel. Developing a strong voice takes time. Every writer wants to believe that he is a prodigy with a naturally fascinating voice, but writing doesn’t work that way. It’s a skill, and one that takes quite a while to learn and perfect.

You’re immitating someone else. An immitation is always second rate. So long as you’re trying to write like your favorite author, you’re never going to find a voice that is truly and authentically yours.

You have boxed yourself into a point of view. Experimenting with third-person limited, third-person omniscient, and first person can help you hit on a style that suits your voice and plays to your strengths. Sometimes switching the point of view is all it takes to find your voice.

You’re thinking too hard. Sometimes writers think too hard while they’re writing (or they revise as they go) and this inhibits their ability to just let loose and allow the words t0 flow.

What to do if Your Voice is Weak

There is really only one way to strengthen a weak voice, and that is to experiment. Here are some great exercises to get you started:

Experiment. Go wild. Take a scene from your book and paste it into a fresh document. Rewrite it in a style completely different from how you wrote it initially. Do this over and over, fiddling with the word choices, the descriptions, the length of the sentences. Get a feel for what it’s like to write in different styles.

Experiment with point of view. Do the same exercise above except write your scene in third limited, omniscient, and first person. Get a feel for what each of the POVs has to offer. Read through the samples to get a sense of which POV is best suited to your voice and style.

Spend time on unstructured writing. It’s easy to get bogged down in writing and rewriting and re-rewriting your novels. Sometimes this can get writers stuck in a writing rut where they can’t see issues with their style. Spend some time (each day if you can) writing something that has nothing to do with your novel. It doesn’t have to have anything to do with anything. Just write for the joy of writing and see what style emerges.

Write from a different character’s perspective. Sometimes a problem with voice can actually be a problem with the POV character. If your protagonist is a whiner, is superficial, or is bland or boring, it can have a devastating effect on your prose. Try writing from the perspective of a different character in your novel (you don’t have to keep the scene when you’re done) and see if your voice seems stronger.

Homework: Experiment!

Choose one of the exercises above and experiment with a totally different style or perspective. It might be just the thing you need to hit on a voice that you can be proud of.

But more than anything else, remember that developing a great voice takes a long time. It’s not going to happen over night. It’s probably not going to happen within your first few years of writing. It’s tough and it’s time consuming.

But hey, if it was easy, everyone would publish a novel!

Connect with Other Novel Boot Camp Participants

Need a writing friend? Got a question? Need a shoulder to cry on? We’re there for you!

What is Novel Boot Camp?

Novel Boot Camp is a free online novel writing course focused on identifying and correcting problems in your novel. Learn more about Novel Boot Camp and find past (and future) posts here.

Novel Boot Camp – Lecture #10: The Character Arc

July 16, 20149 Comments

We’ve talked a lot about plot and obstacles and even villains, but we haven’t talked very much about the protagonist. Today, let’s spend some time on the most important element of our protagonists: their character arcs.

“But what about their hobbies? What about their romance? What about their likable and well-crafted character traits?”

Yes, yes, those things matter too, but the arc (by far) is the most important. In fact, the character arc is arguably the most important element in your entire novel.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, now you’ve gone too far!”

It’s true, I value the character arc above all else. Above the obstacles. Above the goals. Above the setting and narrative style and plot twists. The truth is, a novel is about the character. It’s about his or her transformation from crippled little caterpillar to spectacular butterfly (or the other way around).

The character’s growth is what makes reading a novel satisfying.

“But what if my novel is plot driven?”

It is the rare writer who can craft an interesting and satisfying story without a character arc. In fact, novels without character arcs are pretty hard to come by (yet character arcs are still one of the most overlooked aspects of novel writing).

A connection to a main character is vital for a novel to be successful in the vast majority of cases. A novel that is plot driven still needs a character arc.

How to Tell if Your Character Has an Arc

You can determine whether a character arc is present in your novel by looking at your protagonist’s behavior and personality in the first chapter and then in the novel’s climax. Has he or she changed or grown? Does the climax involve an act the protagonist never would have been capable of before the start of the novel?

If your character has grown, can you identify exactly what type of growth took place? For example, did your character grow from being cowardly to brave? Weak to strong? Jealous to giving?

If you can identify a character arc, awesome! It may not be strong enough just yet (more on that later), but you’ve got the core of the arc and are ready to make improvements.

If you don’t have a character arc, you need to get one. Pronto.

How to Develop a Character Arc

If you don’t have a character arc, there are lots of ways you can go about finding one. Here are some good options.

Option One: Go with your character’s weakest trait. Make sure that it’s something the character will have some resistance to changing. Choose the opposite trait as their personality’s final destination. Now you just have to string a journey between those two traits.

Option Two: Go with the trait that hurts the character the most. If your character must lead a rebellion, give them a character flaw that involves being incapable of leadership. This will put pressure on their character arc and push them more forcefully toward changing.

Option Three: Go with who you want your character to become and have them start as the opposite. Are they a self-sacrificing hero at the end? Make them a greedy prick in the beginning.

How to Improve a Character Arc

If your character arc is kinda sorta present but could use a little beefing up, there are some simple ways to create a stronger arc:

The character or environment must resist the change. The character could resist the change because they’re scared or in denial. Or the environment could resist the change because girls aren’t supposed to fight dragons or become surgeons. The key is that there must be an obstacle in the way of the character arc. If all they have to do is just be different, it’s not very satisfying.

The character arc should get the character into trouble near the beginning of the book (preferably in the first chapter). In order to understand the importance of the character arc, readers need to see the character fault in action. It needs to be clear why the arc is necessary and why the bad trait is causing problems.

The character arc should complete at the climax of the novel. This means that the final showdown should require that the character make a decision that plummets him or her fully into their new, improved personality trait. Perhaps a character who was jealous in the beginning must sacrifice himself in order to save the girl. This one big selfless act solidifies and completes his character arc.

Identifying a Bad Character Arc

A clear sign of a bad or nonexistent character arc is a paragraph included at the end of the novel that attempts to sum up a character arc that was not apparent throughout the story. This often comes from writers who can tell that something is missing (dissatisfying) in their ending.

For some writers, this attempt at squeezing in a character arc is apparent throughout the novel. The writer seems to realize every few scenes that they need to add a bit more depth to their character. This is often done by having the character reflect on scenes that already occurred and how if only they were such-and-such way, they could have done better.

Remember that the character flaw that is central to the character arc should be identifiable throughout the events of the novel, not just in character reflection.

The last sign of a bad character arc is one that changes. One minute your character needs to be more accepting and the next she needs to learn to trust and then later she needs to be more assertive. When this happens, the writer usually senses the missing character arc and is attempting to fix it by adding moments of depth. The problem arises when these moments do not create a cohesive whole.

Homework: Identify and Strengthen Your Character’s Arc

Spend some time now working on fleshing out this vital piece of your novel. Answer the following questions:

Does your protagonist have a character arc? Does something change about their personality from beginning to end? If not, follow one of the methods above to develop an arc.

Is your protagonist’s character arc clearly defined? Would another writer be able to pick it out without you explaining it?

Is your protagonist’s negative trait clear in the beginning of the novel? Does it cause a conflict or prevent the solving of a conflict? If not, find a way to add this element to your novel. Without it, the character arc has not been sufficiently set up in the reader’s mind.

Is your protagonist’s positive trait required during the climax of the novel? If not, find a way to add this element to your novel. Without it, you’ll be missing the final moment of transformation that makes a character arc satisfying.

Are there other reminders of your character arc throughout the novel? Does your character clearly demonstrate how the arc affects them emotionally?

These questions should help you develop a character arc that is strong and dynamic.

Note that sometimes character arcs go the opposite direction and good characters turn into bad characters. This is okay, you simply need to demonstrate the opposite of everything listed above. How does the positive trait hurt the character in the beginning and help them in the end?

Note also that the character arc does not have to be a transformation from a universally “bad” trait to a universally “good” one. The trait at the beginning just has to be a problem in your character’s specific circumstances (at least from the character’s perspective) and the final trait has to be “good” for the circumstances (even if it’s not truly a good trait). So, for example, a character can transform from a “good girl” rule follower to a “bad girl” who stands up for herself (but neither trait was truly, objectively “bad.”).

Connect with Other Novel Boot Camp Participants

Need a writing friend? Got a question? Need a shoulder to cry on? We’re there for you!

What is Novel Boot Camp?

Novel Boot Camp is a free online novel writing course focused on identifying and correcting problems in your novel. Learn more about Novel Boot Camp and find past (and future) posts here.