How do you build a powerful Noble Quest for your character, launching him off into his Second Act Journey with enough motivation, yet enough reward waiting at the end? This section of your story is pivotal because you must have built enough Want for your character to propel him through all the obstacles and disappointments of Act 2, all the way to the Black Moment. Often, when we don’t believe in a character, if they seem “too stupid to live,” it’s because we haven’t built enough WANT. This can be solved by using the Push-Pull Technique. I’ve heard them called MRU – Motivation, Reaction Units. This technique is more about building a solid motivation to convince us of the Reaction and can easily be added to the MRU technique. Again, […]
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How do you build strong motivation for your character? Chapter 3: The Start of the Noble Quest
How do you structure your novel? How many words in a scene, or pages in a chapter? I get that question a lot, because the truth is there is no “rule” and the answer seems to vary with author. Here’s my formula, and why. I write many different length books for different genres: Contemporary Romance, Long Historical, Short Romantic Suspense, Novellas… but they all have the same story structure. (Or, if you follow MBT teaching the same LINDYHOP. Life, Inciting Incident, Noble Quest, Disappointments, Help!, Overhaul, Perfect Ending). This means, on average, the First Act (LIN) is 15% of the story, and the Third Act (HOP) is 15-20% of the story. Poor D, or the Second Act takes up 60-70% of the story. Which is why, of course, you want […]
Read the RestNoble Cause: Examples and Exercises!
Today, we’re going to put together everything we talked about this week, and boil it all down to something we can put in our synopsis, and keep us focused as we write. Let’s review: Question 1: What is the defining moment in your life that has made you the person you are today? Question 2: What lessons did you learn that you are spending your life confirming or denying? Question 3: How will you know when you’ve achieved that goal? And the secrets: What two values are expressed by this noble cause? And then we’ll put it all tighter in a statement: Because of ***, my noble cause is to *** by doing ****. (I sorta switched it around to streamline it – oh the thoughts I have AFTER I […]
Read the RestThe Big Secret of a Noble Cause
Okay, here it is, the BIG SECRET. The entire reason why I make you all go through this Noble Cause scrutiny… Ready? It’s to get to your characters DEEPEST VALUES…. See, it’s VALUES that drive our actions, make our choices for us, point us in the right direction. Whether it’s a value we have, or want to have, it’s what we hold in our heart as qualities most dear that compels us to face obstacles and muscle through the darkest night. It’s our values that the stories personal, to our character, but also the reader, because we can how they affect our lives, also. And, the thing is, your characters values are all bound up in his Noble Cause. Quick! Get your hero back on that sofa before he gets […]
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