New Summer Classes at BOOTCAMP FOR NOVELISTS

Don't miss out on these exciting summer clinics at Bootcamp for Novelists!

July 22 to September 2
C1 Applying the Hero's Journey
Mythology was made famous by Joseph Campbell and later applied to screenwriting andstorytelling by Hollywood, yet the principles of this powerful tool to readers'subconscious common links are still only vaguely understood. Learn how the archetypes areactually placeholders and that the journey itself takes many forms. This course is sixweeks long and features considerable discussion as well as exercises for employing the"Journey" method.
Fee: $48


August 5 to September 16
LS1 Secrets To Writing a Killer Synopsis
Plus: Query Letter and First Three Chapters
The best story in the world won't sell if the editor can't get past the query letter and the synopsis. Most publishers give very specific guidelines on what they want in a submission, but they don't tell you how to make your submission stand out among the hundreds they receive daily. In this class, you'll learn the secret to do just that. This is a 6-week class in which you'll get direct feedback on your work. It is recommended that you have completed at least half of your manuscript in order to get the most from the class.

In this class we'll cover:
The Rules
Basic Presentation
Query Letter format --how to show individuality, style and a compelling story in one page.
The cover letter
The Synopsis - what's the secret?
Showing individuality, voice, style and a compelling story in a short synopsis.
Overview on the first three chapters of your novel

Register now! Get the tools that will help bring your proposal to the editor's attention...and make her want to read more!
Fee: $48

Enroll Now! http://bootcampfornovelists.com/ls-courses/l-course-ls-clinic-1-perfect-prop.html


AND THERE'S MORE. THE BOOTCAMP PACKAGES ARE BACK!
Each of these packages include the four fundamental courses of each Bootcamp track (basicand polish) and cover the same material as the individual Bootcamps. There will be a one-week break between each course, and you still have the option of registering for each Bootcamp individually, just without the package discount

PILLARS OF STRUCTURE PACKAGE
Begins September 30
1B - Creating Characters
2B - Dynamic Plotting
3B - Sculpting Scenes
4B - Conflict That Sizzles
These four courses develop your basic writing skills and give you the foundation for writing your book. You'll go through step-by-step exercises that can sometimes befrustrating but are designed to help you identify how to create the memorable characters,can't-put-it-down plotting, and tense, crackling scenes that are found in all the bestbooks. Plus, knowledge at a bargain.

Individual courses are $28 each. You'll save $20 by enrolling in the combined package. PACKAGE FEE: $92

TECHNIQUES OF THE PROS PACKAGE
Begins November 11
1P - The First Three Chapters
2P - Deepening Character
3P - Escalating Consequences
4P - Creating Strong Subplots
The advanced techniques in these four classes are designed to expand and build on your basic foundation skills to take your writing to another level. The lessons and exercises,using your own work, will give you hands on experience as you learn the concepts and practice the techniques that make a bestseller...complex stories with memorable characters that readers will remember long after they've turned the last page.

Individual courses are $28. You'll save $20 by enrolling in the four-class package.
PACKAGE FEE: $92
For more information or to enroll, go to http://bootcampfornovelists.com/

THE ART OF SEDUCTION...

He grasped me firmly but gently, just above my elbow, and guided me into a room, his room. Then he quietly shut the door and we were alone.

Soundlessly, he approached from behind and spoke in a low, reassuring voice close to my ear.

“Just relax.”

Without warning, he reached down and I felt his strong, calloused hands start at my ankles, gently probing, and moving upward along my calves slowly but steadily. My breath caught in my throat. I knew I should be afraid, but somehow I didn’t care. His touch was so experienced, so sure.

When his hands moved up onto my thighs, I gave a slight shudder, and partly closed my eyes. My pulse was pounding. I felt his knowing fingers caress my abdomen, my ribcage. And then, as he cupped my firm, full breasts in his hands, I inhaled sharply. Probing, searching, knowing what he wanted, he brought his hands to my shoulders, slid them down my tingling spine to my panties.

Although I knew nothing about this man, I felt oddly trusting and expectant. This is a man, I thought. A man used to taking charge. A man not used to taking ‘no’ for an answer. A man who would tell me what he wanted. A man who would look into my soul and say …

“Okay, ma’am,” said a voice. “All done.”

My eyes snapped open and he was standing in front of me, smiling, holding out my purse. “You can board your flight now.”

Okay, you’ve probably all read that story before, and now you’re thinking it's a really weird thing for me to post and wondering what possessed me to do it. And... because you’ve read this far, I’m going to tell you.

You read this far because something in the title, or perhaps that first line...or even the photo...promised you something. You read even further because what you were reading was interesting in some way. Maybe it was titillating, or you thought it was funny…or maybe you know me and thought it was a bizarre thing for me to post. Or…maybe you really wanted to know what was going to happen next?

The excerpt is fiction…it’s a joke…a scene some think could be taken straight from a bad romance novel (or good depending on your point of view). But, for purposes of this blog, it’s an example of how to engage the reader and keep him reading. It's a very simple example in the art of verbal seduction.

The story started big and kept on going. You knew there was more to it, but you didn’t know what, so you kept reading. You kept reading because the beginning promised you something and you wanted to know if the story was going to fulfill its promise.

And it did with the punchline. But that’s not all…

You’re still reading because you know that story wasn’t all I was going to say. Why? Because with my blog title, I made a promise that I’m going to tell you something about the art of seduction. And…because this is a writer’s blog, I've made an unspoken promise to say something about writing.

So, I will.

Novelists must be experts in the art of seduction.

Whether you’re writing a romance novel or straight fiction, writers must persuade the reader to keep flipping pages. We do it by seducing him, trifling with his emotions. We toss out the emotional hook and draw him in. Whether we make the reader laugh, cry, or feel he needs to know more, we are engaging him emotionally.

Think about it. If we read something that makes us angry, or makes us rail at injustice, we are emotionally engaged. When we’re emotionally engaged, when we care about something…or the person we are reading about, we want to know what’s going to happen next and we keep reading.

We anticipate.

Anticipation causes tension and suspense. Tension and suspense, wondering what happens next is what compels us to keep flipping pages.

The relationship between your most wonderful character and the reader must be an emotional experience, one you tap into from page one. If we make a promise to the reader at the beginning of our story that something interesting is going to happen, he’ll keep reading.

Just like you did here.

Hey…if I got you to read this far, you know it works. Think about it. Why do you keep reading? What is it that pulls you into a story and keeps you reading?

----------------

I'll be talking a lot more about this in my next online class “Infusing Your Story With Emotion” beginning May 27th. For more information about the class, go to http://www.bootcampfornovelists.com/ls-courses/l-course-5p-emotion.html

For more information about all classes, and about me, go to http://www.bootcampfornovelists.com/

LAST CHANCE THIS YEAR...

If you've been wanting to take Escalating Consequences and Scene Sculpting, do it now! These two classes won't be offered again until 2012.

Late registration for March 18 classes closes on March 25.

March 18 to April 15
3B Scene Sculpting
a Basic Track Course taught by Connie Flynn
Structuring scenes for maximum impact is the third pillar of story
structure. You'll leave this course knowing where and when to place a scene
and how to connect it with other scene for ease of flow and maximum impact.

3P Escalating Consequences
a Polish Track Course taught by Linda Style
Have you ever been so excited about a story that it almost seems to write
itself...and then somewhere after the third chapter it stops dead? If so
it's probably because your conflict is static. This workshop examines Dynamic Conflict...what it is and how to use it with escalating consequences to make your story move along naturally...with high drama.

Fee: $28 each course
To enroll go to http://www.bootcampfornovelists.com/index.html

What people are saying about Bootcamp for Novelists

Connie I feel like I've learned a ton. You are a great teacher and it's
rare you learn a skill that's so tangible and practical. Very much looking
forward to Plot.

Just had a great experience taking Linda Style's Bootcamp for Novelists
course on Emotion. I thought it was an excellent course! After taking many
courses at the RWA conference and reading a lot of writing books ,I have to
say this is one of the most valuable experiences I've had thus far. The
material was detailed and provided lots of new insight I haven't come across
before. Highly recommend taking one of Linda's courses.

Thank you so much for this course Connie. I'm looking forward to moving
ahead with the Plotting course. I've gotten so much insight into
characterization from your teaching. I can't wait to learn more!!

I'm pleased to see that a friend of mine took my advice and signed up for
Linda's "Infusing your Story with Emotion". Slowly and surely, I hope to
get all my friends from the Ottawa Romance Writers of America to know all
about "Bootcamp for Novelists". By the way, I really enjoyed Denise
Domning's course.

Enroll now at www.bootcampfornovelists.com

LOVE SMART...

Find the One you Want--Fix the One You've Got.

No, I'm not going to tell you how to do that, but Dr. Phil will if you win the 6 CD audio book I'm giving away next Friday, March 4th, as part of our second anniversary celebration. Or, if you'd rather learn how to create a phenomenal family, Dr. Phil can tell you how to do that, too, in Family First--Your Step-by-Step Plan for Creating a Phenomenal Family. If you're the winner, you can choose which audio book you'd rather have.

Dr. Phil is an expert in human behavior and reading the back cover blurbs on the two CDs, I was reminded that we, as writers, have to be an expert in human behavior, too. In fact, I sometimes think Psychology 101 should be a prerequesite when learning the craft of writing. How can you write realistic characters if you know nothing about human behavior?

Like each of us, our characters' behavior is based on multiple factors stemming from genetics and life experience. No one is the same and two people striving for the same external goal will have different internal motivation that drives him toward it. Failure to delve deeply into a character's past is a common mistake new writers make. It's why characters seem wooden and sound alike. It's only when you dig deep enough to find your character's driving force that you can create characters with depth and breadth.

So, how do we do this, and how deep do we need to go? Some of us create charts or make long lists of traits--and we do need to do that--but charts alone will not get us where we need to be to make our characters come alive. We have to dig deeper and deeper, until we get down to the level of a character's values and beliefs about life...and, most importantly, about himself. When the reader understands a character's deep motivation, he can identify and will want to read more.

Do you go that far? Do you know what your character values the most? Do you know what your hero believes about himself? Do you know why he believes it? Do you know what happened in his childhood to cement this belief? Those are questions I have to ask if I want my characters to have deep internal motivation for whatever goal I give them. If you're not asking those kinds of questions, try it and see what happens.

If you'd like to be in the drawing to win one of the audio books by Dr. Phil, simply leave a comment and it's done.

And don't forget, there's still time to save on classes at Bootcamp for Novelists. The special discounted prices are good through 2/28 at midnight, but time is getting short. Check out our new Face-to-Face Clinic as well, at www.bootcampfornovelists.com.

Ciao for now,
Linda

Cheers! Salute! A votre sante! Slainte! Prost! Ysas!

Salud! Mazel Tov! Oogy Wawa!

Come join the fun! We're celebrating Bootcamp for Novelists’ second Anniversary on February 15th, and because we’re in a celebratory mood, we want to give you an anniversary present!

During the entire month of February, all classes will be $25. Check it out at www.bootcampfornovelists.com.

It's hard to believe Bootcamp for Novelists is two years old already. And like anyone with a birthday, we’re wondering where all the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday that we were brainstorming how to share our love of writing--and our knowledge and experience in publishing--with other writers.

We started with a germ of an idea...and a shared belief that anyone can learn to write a novel if given the correct tools to do so. We wanted to share what we know through a format we wished had been around when we were beginning novelists. That format was one that would take students from the beginning idea and story structure, all the way through the advanced techniques, to the end of the novel. That was our dream. In the beginning, putting together a program that hit all the right notes was a bit daunting, but the concept was so exciting, we forged ahead. And, thus, Bootcamp for Novelists Online classes began on February 15, 2009.

During the past two years, we've been delighted to get to know many of you who've been taking our classes, and we’ve had the pleasure of reading some very excellent work. We've learned a lot, both as writers and as teachers. We learned how to work more efficiently with Yahoo online groups. We learned what to do and what not to do when posting lessons and giving feedback. We learned what classes work well and which need to be restructured. We learned from each other...and, yes, we learned from you. And that is exactly as we had envisioned it.

We were lucky. So many times in life, the greatest efforts don’t turn out as envisioned, and when that happens, it requires another look to see what needs changing. This part wasn’t too hard for us because we’re writers. Writers are constantly revising. The harder part is looking at our strengths. How often do we look at what we’re doing right? How often do we capitalize on our strengths? Not very often is my guess.

As writers, we should continue to learn and grow as artists, and part of that growing is recognizing what we’re doing right. We need to find our strengths, capitalize on them ... and then make changes. I’ve seen far too many manuscripts with a fresh, exciting voice end up sounding as if it could've been written by anyone. There’s no distinction. No personality. The magic is gone.

Don’t let that happen. It's important to know and understand the methods...and then decide how to make them work for you. Protect who you are, because the magic in any work of art is what the creator brings to it. The magic is you!

I'm curious. What are your thoughts when you’re revising or looking at feedback on a story? Do you go directly to what isn’t working...or do you look for your strengths and try to capitalize on them? Do you know what your strengths are?

Leave a comment and you’ll be in the drawing to win the beautiful turquoise bracelet in the photo. We'll be celebrating all month long, so be sure to stop by and chat both here and at Connie's bootcamp blog. Prizes will be involved. :-)


UPCOMING BOOTCAMP CLASSES:
February 11 to March 11
2B - Dynamic Plotting
2P - Deepening Characterization

March 18 to April 15
3B - Scene Sculpting
3P - Escalating Consequences

April 22 to May 20
4B - Conflicts That Sizzle
4P - Strong Plots and Subplots

We're now on Facebook! Come join us and be part of the Bootcamp for Novelists Community page. Start a discussion with other writers...or just let us know what you're up to. We'd love to see you!

Get Out of My Way: Guest Blogger Tara Taylor Quinn

I’m delighted and honored to welcome my friend and fellow Harlequin author Tara Taylor Quinn to my blog today. Direct on the heels of her new series from MIRA Books, The Chapman Files, Tara is the author of her own story, the first reality-based romance from HCI Books. Rather than say any more, I'll let her tell you all about it...and how to get out of the way and let your characters tell their story.

Get Out of My Way

I’m not sure when in my writing career I learned the lesson that too much of me was not a good thing – but it’s a lesson I’ve had to learn and re-learn through out the writing of my fifty-five books to date. So many times in life we learn lessons that will serve us later, and I think that was supposed to the be the case here.

Unfortunately I’m not that great of a student and the lesson didn’t stick well enough. So, here I am, just coming off from finishing a book (mailed it to my editor at 7:00pm Friday, December 10, 2010.) And on Friday, December 17, 2010 I have revisions due to another editor, another publisher, on another book. An April release that is due to production. Revisions in and of themselves are not a problem for me. I’m pretty good at them. I actually like them because the pressure is off in terms of making a book happen and I get to just take what I’ve done and make it better. A seven day turn around for me with revisions is comfortable enough.

Not this time. I know, technically, what I need to do to make this book better. To clean it and make it pop in every place not just some places. What I can’t seem to do is find the wheres and hows. I’m in the way. I’m not letting the story flow from that deep place inside me to the page. I’m not even getting to the deep place. Half way down, there I am, all over the place, blocking the path.

This is the one time I really needed to be good at getting out of the way. Because this time, I’m not just the writer who has to put my butt in the chair and type until the words start to flow. This time I am also the heroine, who has to tell me her story.

A few months ago I was asked by HCI books (the original publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books among hundreds of other non-fiction bestsellers) to write my own true life love story. Like all of my books, this story has deep life issues, the healing power of true love, and real happiness. The book, It Happened on Maple Street, is out in April, 2011. And while that sounds to me like a long time away, it’s only three and a half months from now!

So here I am, heroine and writer all in one. We have four and a half days to do revisions on an entire manuscript. One of us is in the way. And this time, instead of it being the writer, I think it’s the heroine.

I’m not panicked, though. I’m a seasoned writer. I’ve been at this long enough to know that panic is not going help. I also know there’s no reason to panic. Writing is an art, it’s a spiritual experience. It involves the deepest connection, the deepest communication, and the deepest trust. As a writer, I have to find out what is preventing the deep communication and tend to the problem. In this case, I already know the problem. The heroine isn’t communicating because she doesn’t trust the writer to tell her story.

Parts of this book are hard. Painful. Not the kind of stuff the flows easily. Not the kind of story you trust anyone to tell.

But I have to trust me to tell it. So I have to find a way to tend to my own mistrust. I’m finding it, oddly enough, in the revision letter that started the current stand off.

This is from the beginning of the revision letter: “This is truly a groundbreaking piece of literary work that is shocking in its raw honesty and starkly poignant in its message. What you have created out of the fabric of your life is sexy and sad, unsettling and moving, inspiring and infinitely compelling.”

So, to my heroine self, I say, I’ve only got four days to make this better. Get Out of My Way!

To pre-order a copy of It Happened On Maple Street and receive 20% off the cover price, one of the first editions off the press, a collector, autographed glossy It Happened On Maple Street poster in time for Christmas, click here: http://vows.hcibooks.com/2010/11/21/romance-author-tara-taylor-quinn-true-story-domestic-abuse-write-true-vows-reality-based-romance/.

Or enter to win a Kindle: http://vows.hcibooks.com/vows-giveways/win-a-kindle-reality-romance-giveaway/.

And to have a chance to win an e-copy of The First Wife, Book One in The Chapman File series that is out now, please leave a comment!

BOOT UP YOUR WRITING CAREER ESSAY CONTEST!

In conjunction with the Scottsdale Fall Library Conference, New York Times bestselling author Christina Skye is sponsoring a contest where the lucky winner will win a 4-course writing package of choice at Bootcamp for Novelists. (see http://bootcampfornovelists.com for details)

To enter, participants must submit a 100 word essay on the question: What will it take to Boot my writing career to the next level? Send entries to ckflynn@cox.net by November 17th. The winner will be announced during Christina Skye's keynote address at the conference and you must be present to win.


THE DESERT ROSE FIFTH ANNUAL FREE FALL WORKSHOP SCOTTSDALE CIVIC CENTER LIBRARY
NOVEMBER 20, 2010 FROM 9:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.

Come see what the buzz is all about and learn from industry professionals.

The stellar line-up includes:
Keynote by New York Times bestselling author Christina Skye
Laurie Schnebly Campbell
Denise Domning
Donna Hatch
Gini Koch
Annette Mahon
Cathy McDavid
Erin Quinn
Vijaya Schartz
Amber Scott
Pamela Tracy
Kris Tualla
Carrie Weaver

Hope to see you there!
* Don't forget to enter the essay contest by November 17th!

Ann Voss Peterson on Pacing...

Guest blogging today is my good friend, award-winning author Ann Voss Peterson, who pens intense, emotional suspense and thrillers for Harlequin Intrigue. With her 23rd nail-biting Intrigue, A COP IN HER STOCKING, now on bookstore shelves, I think it’s safe to say Ann has mastered the art of suspense – and I’m delighted to have her here to chat about one of the most important writing techniques in a writer’s tool kit. Welcome Ann!

Thanks for inviting me, Linda!

Today I’m going to tackle a bit of a thorny topic but one that’s near and dear to my heart. Pacing. It’s one of the last things you master before you can write a book of publishable quality, and for good reason. Pacing can be tough. Is the story too slow? Too fast? What is just right?

There are a lot of articles out there featuring lists of tips and tricks for speeding up novel’s pace. If the story slows, kill someone. Add a ticking clock. Keep a secret. But I believe it’s more important to understand the WHY behind something than to just stick in a trick here and there. So in trying to understand pacing, I wanted to know why some prose feels fast and some feels slow. And this is what I came up with.

Pacing isn’t about speed.

That’s right. Pacing doesn’t have ANYTHING to do with how fast the action unfolds on the page. Think about it. We’ve all slogged through novels that felt either slow or sketchy and undeveloped. And it has little to do with genre. There are plenty of frantic thriller novels that feel as if they’re moving as fast as a glacier, just as there are literary novels or family dramas which don’t have a lot of exterior “stuff” happening, yet leave us breathless. So if a novel’s pace isn’t about speed, what IS it about?

The secret to pacing your novel is making the reader NEED to turn the page.

Well, I just happen to be a reader. I’ll bet you are, too. So in my quest to understand pacing, I asked myself what makes ME want to turn the page, and here are the four things I found.

1. Sequence: I turn the page to uncover what happens next. Stimulus and response.

2. Conflict: I turn the page to discover who wins.

3. Delayed Gratification: I turn the page to learn the answers to my questions.

4. Escalation: I turn the page to see how on earth the protagonist gets out of this mess!

That’s it. The secret to pacing. Those four concepts. Don’t believe it could be that simple? Think about the tips and tricks I mentioned above. If done right, killing someone is going to provide conflict. It’s also going to give those story stakes a boost (escalation). That’s why it can make a slow area feel faster paced. But it only works if the murder does those two things. If it doesn’t effect the stakes or if it doesn’t increase the conflict, it’s going to muddy your story instead of making the reader need to turn that page.

How about the other two tricks? The ticking clock is an example of escalation. The characters had to do something in your story (right?), and now they have to do it in a very short time span. Keeping a secret is an example of delayed gratification. The reader has to race through those pages to find out what the secret is or to see it revealed to another character. And of course, the character’s reaction to that secret is her response to a stimulus...sequence!

I give a workshop on how to use each of these things to improve the pace of your story in everything from the construction of sentences to the structure of the entire novel. Obviously that would make for an overly long blog post. :) So instead of me telling you ways to use these concepts to make your prose and your story FEEL fast, you tell me.

What makes you NEED to turn the page in books you read? Are any of these tips and tricks examples of sequence, conflict, delayed gratification or escalation?

To catch an example of the way Ann paces her novels, pick up her 23rd published novel, A COP IN HER STOCKING, a Harlequin Intrigue in stores this October. Also check out Ann's website at www.annvosspeterson.com

The Five "Ps" of a Successful Writer

As a young girl growing up in Minnesota, none of my childhood friends shared my dream to someday write a book. They thought I was silly and told me "real people" don't get to be writers. The adults in my life offered great advice, too. Writing wasn't practical, they said. Very few people can actually write a book. Instead, I should learn to be a secretary...or get married and have a family. That's what women did back then. Although I did see the merits of gainful employment and did do some of that over the years, as well as getting married--I never lost my dream. I persevered until I finally made the dream come true.

Now it seems almost everyone I talk to has a dream to someday write a book...and why not? Just living gives us all a lot to write about, and these days, there are more venues than ever to learn how to do it...and to get a book published. So, listen to your inner writer and go for it!

Start with an idea. Start with a goal. Decide what you want to write and then just do it. When I first started writing, I saw a list somewhere called “The Three Ps for Writers. I thought the list was great, but it missed a couple of important points, so I made a P list of my own. The Five Ps of a Successful Writer. I tacked it up by my computer screen and over the years have found it a helpful reminder, not only for writing, but for most things in life.

Since then, I’ve written 17 novels, had 13 published, and another is in the works... and I still keep the list nearby. If you’re thinking about writing, maybe the list can help you.

1. Purpose – successful writers need a purpose. It doesn’t make sense to spend hours and hours of your time writing something that has no purpose. Each of us will have a purpose that’s unique and personal. It might be that you simply want to see your name in print, or maybe you believe you have an important story to tell or, perhaps, you want to share some advice or make a social comment. Maybe your goal is to make the New York Times Bestseller list or, conversely, you simply like to string words together? For most writers, it’s a combination of the above. Whatever your purpose, I firmly believe that defining it can set you on a path to make it happen.

2. Passion – do you know of any successful creative writer out there who isn’t passionate about what they do? Passion is the driving force behind the words we put on paper. A writer’s passion shows in his voice and the authenticity of his prose. Passion is the reason one writer helps another, even though, in essence, we’re training our competition. Passion keeps us going when the words don’t come and the mountain seems insurmountable.

3. Persistence – not one author that I know was born published. And very few published writers I know have ever popped out a book in a weekend and then saw instant publication. Statistics show that in the traditional publishing world, it takes most writers an average of five years of writing and four-to-five completed books before getting “the call.” Persistence is related to more than time, however. To hone your craft, you need to keep writing. You need to persist in all areas whether it’s going to workshops on writing techniques or learning about the industry.

4. Patience - rejection from editors and agents is the norm, and taking it in stride is part of the road to publication. For some, the road is longer and more difficult than others, but few will deny the exhilaration when you reach your destination. And then, of course, it’s only the beginning and more patience than ever is necessary.

5. Pleasure – never forget why you write. You can’t have passion without pleasure and for most writers that pleasure comes from the beauty of the words and phrases we put together to create the story we want to tell. Writing is fun when you’re playing with words and looking for new ways to say the obvious. It’s fun to see our thoughts, ideas, characters and full blown stories come to life…and then give someone else a few moments of pleasure.

Whether you’re writing a story, memoir or non-fiction, it’s putting the words on paper that’s important. When someone else reads it and smiles, that’s the proverbial frosting on the cake.

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.