Every story starts with an Inciting Incident catapulting the hero and heroine into a journey. They’re either scrambling to get their lives back to normal or hoping to settle into their new life after some amazing “I never knew this could happen to me” experience. Each scene you write is either an Action or re-Action scene. Your characters are doing something or responding to what happened. But the challenge is to write more than just he-said-she-said or he-did-she-did scenes. You want to layer in emotional depth – and one way to do that is to know your character’s Noble Cause. What: The Noble Cause answers the question why? It’s the motivation that moves your character from chapter 1 to “The End.” Think of your protagonist saying something like this: BeCAUSE […]
Read the RestTag Archives | character development
The What and Why of Writing: Noble Quest
When we read a novel, we want to go on a journey with the hero and heroine – not watch them wander through scene after scene, chapter after chapter. How do we develop a strong plot that doesn’t veer off-course by mid-book, leaving our characters lost and our readers frustrated? We need to know the protagonist’s Noble Quest. What: The Noble Quest is the protagonist’s goal – what they want to accomplish. When you see the term “Noble Quest,” think What? Think quest, as in quest for the Holy Grail. (Now doesn’t that example make you want to go watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?) Why: Discovering your protagonist’s Noble Quest is a key part of your novel. The Noble Quest is more than your hero deciding “I want […]
Read the RestThe What and Why of Writing: Bookends
If I asked you why you used bookends, what would you say? Envision that long line of books and how those first six books are staying in place … but then the last few stragglers won’t line up. Bookends create order – helping a row of books stand up straight. While we sometimes need a pair of bookends tucked around the outside of a collection of books, have you ever utilized bookends between the book covers your story? What: Bookends are the “mirror elements” of a novel’s 1st and 3rd acts that brings a character back to face the same issue, situation or conflict and reveals the character’s growth Why: The hero and heroine readers meet in chapter one of a novel is not the same (imaginary) person by the […]
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