This blog is written by Linda Style, co-founder of Bootcamp for Novelists Online, for Bootcamp students and anyone interested in writing and would like to to talk (mostly) about writing related topics. I can't guarantee I won't talk about other things, but I can always relate it to writing in some way. If you'd like to post something yourself, email me at bootcamp4novelists2@yahoo.com or through our website - BootcampforNovelists.com. I love to have guest bloggers as well.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Linda's Corner: When the Bad Guy is the Good Guy...

Linda's Corner: When the Bad Guy is the Good Guy...: "I recently saw a movie in which the bad guy was the good guy, and I wondered how well they were going to make it work. Aside from a few writ..."

Sunday, September 26, 2010

When the Bad Guy is the Good Guy...

I recently saw a movie in which the bad guy was the good guy, and I wondered how well they were going to make it work. Aside from a few writerly nits, I thought it worked beautifully. “The Town” co-scripted, directed by, and starring Ben Affleck, worked in every way. Going back to my last blog for just an instant, I could easily feel the authenticity in the story and that’s because Affleck created a story about a place he obviously knows and loves. Everything about the setting, dialogue, and characters rang true.

Okay, back to making the bad guy the good guy. The story involves a bank heist and the kidnapping of one victim. Instantly, in the first scene at the bank where the bad guy touches the victim’s trembling hand as she tries to open the safe and tells her they’re not going to hurt her, he becomes a tad more interesting. Not sympathetic yet, but my interest is sparked. As the story progresses, little by little, small, sympathetic actions are woven in, and with each piece of information, the bad guy becomes more sympathetic. In the end, we know he’s absolutely the bad guy, but we’re rooting for him anyway.

Later, I couldn’t help thinking how we’re called upon to do this all the time in our stories, but many times we miss the mark because we “try” to make the character sympathetic. What I mean is…the character shows no authentic emotion or sympathetic character traits until we decide to toss some in. In order to make our characters real, their emotions must be reflected in all parts of the character’s life, not just when he’s with the heroine…or when the heroine can see him doing something good. We must show the protagonists' relationships, in his emotions, in dialogue, narrative, action and in all points of view.

In the movie, the BG/GG hero had a push/pull relationship with a friend/partner in crime, a guy so tightly wound you could almost hear his nerve endings snap, crackle and pop. This dude was clearly not in control of his anger issues, and when the story showed the protagonist in conflict after his friend killed a guy, my immediate response was to question whether BG/GG really "was" a decent guy underneath in all. I would’ve ratted the bad friend out in a heartbeat. But as the dialogue between the two went on, more and more about their relationship was woven in…until I could easily understand...and empathize with the conflict the BG/GG was going through.

The movie confirmed for me the importance of weaving emotion into all parts of our protagonists' life. When we do that, the emotions feel real and natural. It isn’t only bad good guys that need sympathetic qualities, either. The good guys need them, too. No protagonist is sympathetic just because he/she is the hero of the story. And a great story without a sympathetic protagonist only goes so far. Readers are interested in interesting (sympathetic) people doing interesting things. Whether the protagonist is the good guy or the bad good guy, creating a sympathetic character allows the reader to relate emotionally, which creates empathy for the character and compells the reader turn the next page to see what happens to him. And that's what we as writers should always strive to do.

Interestingly enough.... “Infusing Emotion in Your Story” just happens to be the next class I’m teaching at Bootcamp for Novelists. Yeah, funny how that works, isn't it. :-) Some of the things we’re touching on in this class are:

Infusing your story with emotion
*Purpose
*Necessary Elements
*Know your character’s crucible
*The emotional journey – the character arc
*Emotions – Natural vs Forced.
*Different strokes for different folks.
*Emotion in scene & sequel
Techniques to infuse emotion
*Affective Memory
*Emotion in Dialogue
*Emotion in Narrative & Internal Monologue
*Emotion in Action
Emotional Checklist

I love teaching this class, so come join me and learn how to infuse your story with emotion! Classes begin October 3rd, so check them all out at http://www.bootcampfornovelists.com/.


Connie will be teaching the well-received "Punch Up Your Prose" as well as her exciting new clinic "Surviving Rewrites and Revisions" later in the month. These are classes everyone can benefit from, no matter what stage of your writing career.


And…last but not least, our Author Spotlight features the wonderful and talented guest author, Denise Domning, who will be giving you gobs of information on premise and theme in "How Socrates Can Help You Write a Romance.

Monday, September 20, 2010

In the Zone...

Wow, it's hard to believe this is my first blog. And to make it even more wow, it’s my first Bootcamp blog, which gives it a specialness all of its own. In fact, I kinda, sorta feel obligated to write something pithy and incredibly astounding...but since I’m writing this after midnight, the pithy neurons in my brain cells have ceased to fire. Part of that problem has to do with the fact that I’ve been writing a pivotal scene in a new story and I can’t get the plot developments out of my head. So, pithy Bootcamp stuff is definitely at risk.

Actually, I’d still be writing on my story if I didn’t have to sleep. It was amazing...the words just kept coming and coming. How good they are is another story, but tonight, they’re the best words I’ve ever written. I’m sure of it!

I’m always amazed at how that writer’s passion in me can still exist after years and years of writing. When I’m in the zone, nothing else exists. If you’re a writer, you know what I mean.

That passion, that fire in the belly, is at the very heart of what we do. It’s what made me get up at 4 a.m. to write just a few paragraphs before work when I was desperate to finish a book and send it out to an editor, who would, of course, snap it up and make me the next Nora. That passion is what had me hurridly stuffing hard copy of my manuscript into my briefcase so I could edit even a few lines on my lunch hour at work. It’s what gave me the perseverence to write five books over five years in the few spare minutes I had while raising four sons...and it gave me the cojones to spit in the face of rejection upon rejection. Passion is not only an essential part of a successful author’s makeup, it’s a necessary ingredient. It's part of who we are.
http://bootcampfornovelists.com
As writers, our passion has few boundaries. We’re passionate about the process of writing. Some of us love some parts more than others, but we looove the act of writing...the sitting at the computer and keeping our butts in the chair. It doesn’t matter if we get rejections, we still write. We have to write. We can’t quit. We write...even if what we write sucks pond water. (okay, that’s cliché, but it’s now 1 am.) We write even when it feels like drawing blood from a stone. We write because we can't not write!

As writers, we love the art of putting together scintilating words and colorful phrases to create a story that is not only structurally and grammatically correct, but one that is also evocative. Some writers literally feel the words as they flow perfectly from their brain through their fingers and leak onto the page. (lucky them.) Others (most of us) struggle mightily with the execution, but in the end, we looove how our words come together.

And lastly, but not leastly, we looove the story we’re writing. And that passion for your story is by far the most important writing passion you can own. When you’re passionate about your story, you bring your emotions to the page. When you write about something that touches and excites you, it's going to excite someone else. When you write stories that are emotionally significant for you, you’re writing from your heart and your voice rings true. Writing from a place of passion allows your voice and style to shine. It gives your voice and story authenticity. When you write authentically, your emotions are conveyed to the reader and your story will feel deep and personal. When that happens, the reader is compelled to read on.

Infusing a story with emotion isn’t just about how your characters think and feel, it’s also about what you, the author, think and feel. Passion for your story means owning it…giving it your all, no holds barred. Release your passion when you write and it will reverberate in the conviction in your voice...and, as we all know, in commercial fiction, voice is king. To use another cliched phrase, "No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader."

And that’s an awful lot of words for someone who started out with nothing to say. But, hey, it's my blog...and I looove writing!

Ciao for now,
Linda

PS - Check out my blog on Tuesdays, and on Thursdays, Connie, my partner in crime, will be blogging in her corner. That does not mean we won't be blogging otherwise, but for sure, we will on those two days.

And do let me know your thoughts on writing with passion...or passionate writing...or anything else, because I know you looove to write, too.