Villains - my notes from Jeff Savage and Gregg Luke

I really can't rank the awesomeness of each LDStorymakers Conference break-out session last month. It was all so amazing and mind-blowing. That said, this class on villains definitely would rank in the top three. It was team taught by...

Jeffrey S. Savage, also writes as J. Scott Savage

Gregg Luke

As always, my notes are a combination of direct Power Point dictation and my own insights during the note-taking process. If only you could see the animated villains decorating each page of the presentation!

I'll see what I can do about that...

Ah, there we go. Much better. Now we can begin. 

What makes a great villain?

Goals?

Motives?

Background?

Traits?

A great villain sets in motion the very things they fear most. Darth Vader's fear becomes anger and hatred that destroy everything he feared he would lose. 

Gray villain: someone who does bad things, but isn't really evil. Like Bowler-hat guy on Meet the Robinsons.

Motives: must have a back story

Goals: always at odds with the hero's goal

Traits: need to feel genuine. Be careful about cliches. Have them do something a villain wouldn't normally do.

Why do we like heroes?

• Distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, and strength
• Everday man who accomplishes something extraordinary
• They make mistakes
• They learn something
• They're in it for others
• Often reluctant
• Coolness factor (a la Batman)
• Special powers (not necessarily Super)
• We want to be the hero

The Villain is Often the Hero Gone Wrong

• Everyday man who desires extraordinary things, who wants control of everything
• Won't admit mistakes
• Is sure she knows everything
• In it for himself
• No reluctance
• Coolness factor (a la Magneto)
• Special powers (doesn't have to be Super)
• We empathize but disagree with decisions

Shame is an enormous transformative factor. Shame can turn a bad guy into a good guy, or it can change a good guy into a bad guy, depending on how it's processed.

Your villain might think she's the hero.

-villains rarely hate themselves

Inserting a camera into your story:

How do the movies make us believe? 

-Actions tell all. If we see the man on screen kick a kitten into the road, we know for sure he's the bad guy. Or maybe he stands by and let's the kitten get hit (sins of omission). 

-Motives change actions, like a different color lens. Maybe the kitten was infected and heading straight for an orphanage for handouts. If the man hadn't kicked it into the road in front of that Mack truck, it would have killed all the children in the orphanage.

Consider the differences between three villains in one story: Voldemort, Snape, and Wormtail. Different goals and motives, different character traits, different levels of evil.

-Motives separate heroes from villains. Show motives in a subtle way.


What happens in the background?
What is it that makes the psychopath so frightening? Cool calmness, or glee in hurting others.

Looks and Dialogue 


Looks:

• How do looks act as a guide to the reader? Ursula is fat, Cruella Deville is skeleton-skinny. Evil witches have warts and big noses while wicked queens are often beautiful but with cold eyes. 
• Not going with the stereotype. Always stretch the stereotype until it's unique to your story, like Kiersten White playing on the dramatic flair of literary vampires to make her own vampires something to laugh at. Exaggerating stereotypes or going the other way (a pimply jock rather than a handsome quarterback- even more motivated to stay popular) keeps the story fresh.
• Deceiving looks. Nice guys finish last, so we never expect the bad guy to look like a nice guy. Make your villain ordinary until the crucial plot point that forces him to reveal himself. 

Dialogue:

• What is he saying? Truth or lies? Some villains always tell the truth and that's what's creepy about them. Others lie with finesse. 
• How is he saying it? What is the tone and mood of his dialogue? Is he funny or frightening?
• Assumptions he makes. How clever or thick is he? You can reveal much about your villain character through what he assumes.
• To swear or not to swear. A villain who's in control will be more dignified and eloquent. One who is having a nervous breakdown will say all kinds of things without decorum.

The likable villain

• a hero who took the wrong path
• gray villains
• they make people believe their goal is worthy
• they have struggled with their decision
• they care about something that's good

Choose your camera angle:

• First person villain
• From the POV of a victim (dark alley or shower horror scene)
• From the POV of the hero
• From the POV of a minion

Not the most cohesive notes ever, sorry! At a conference, much of the meat is what's said between the lines on the Power Point, but I hope these points have at least provoked thought. I know after attending this class, I came out with all kinds of ideas for making my villains deeper and closer to someone you might meet on the street. 

Happy writing! Buwahahaha!

p.s. If you haven't yet, enter my 1,000 followers twitter giveaway to win Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros!

Story Analysis Time: Pride, Prejudice, and Romance (my notes from Sarah Eden)

If you remember from my notes on Sarah Eden's All You Need is Love... and some other stuff presentation at LDStorymakers 2011, she names Three Things You Need in a Great Romance. Today I'll pass along my notes on how this actually applies to a famous and classic story: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

1) Emotional Connection

a) Between the characters -1st sight, intrigued but slightly turned off. Darcy watches her, getting to know Elizabeth, trying to figure out why he's so intrigued by her. Elizabeth reads THE LETTER, and realizes she's misjudged him. They both help out each other's loved ones.

b) Emotional connection to the reader -we see Elizabeth's love for her sister, her wit and resilience, her intelligence. She struggles with her difficult relations. We see her rally after emotional upheaval. The reader connects to her because she's real and we like her.

Darcy is harder because we don't get his perspective. Austen has other characters give insight into Darcy.

• Bingley likes him, and trusts him implicitly
• Georgiana's story tells us Darcy is kind and loyal
• Generosity to Lydia and Wickham

2) Need Fulfillment

a) What Elizabeth needs in a soul mate:

• Someone she can respect
• Someone who is intelligent
• Someone with money (very practical need)
• Someone who is responsible and serious because she often is not
• Someone loyal, unselfish, and good

b) What Darcy needs in a soul mate:

• Someone who lightens him up, yet takes his responsibility seriously
• Someone strong to challenge him
• Someone who loves his sister
• Someone who sees the real him

3) Uniquely Suited to Each Other

Darcy and Elizabeth are the only ones for each other because:

• Everyone's intimidated by Darcy except Elizabeth. 
• No one is as smart as Elizabeth except for Darcy.
• Everyone is afraid of Lady Catherine but Elizabeth.
• No one likes Elizabeth's wild family, but Darcy still takes care of them.

What do you think? Other things that make Darcy's and Elizabeth's relationship unique in literature or life? 

This discussion opened my eyes about my own characters, since my main guy is a bit Darcy-ish on some level. I hope it reaches you in the same way and helps you to define what's unique and special and necessary about the romance in your story, whether it's the entire plot line or just a blip in your epic fantasy. Enjoy writing the kissing scenes. :)

P.S.es

• I'm over at Operation Awesome today talking about The Lonely Hero a la Dr. Who and passing along three giveaway links you won't want to miss (free books and critiques).

• Afterglow has had a lot of seriously booklove going on recently. Skip over there to see which books are leaving our reviewers with a delicious afterglow.

All you need is love... and some other stuff (notes on Sarah M. Eden's epic romance class)

First of all, if you're not already a fan of Sarah M. Eden, run--do not walk--to www.sarahmeden.com where you can get to know this charming lady and find out about her regency romances, like The Kiss of a Stranger, and one now firmly on my TBR list: Courting Miss Lancaster.

Her presentation was incredible! Funny, relevant, detailed, and eye-opening. I left with all kinds of ideas for making my contemporary fantasy's romantic plot line more real and intense.

So here are my notes, mostly taken directly from her Powerpoint presentation at LDStorymakers 2011 with a few of my thoughts or interpretations added in (you know how notes are).

Love is a universal human experience and emotion.
Love is a basic human need.
Love adds depth to any story.

In a Romance:

• the story question is ALWAYS will the couple end up together?
• the story question answer is ALWAYS YES!
• the love story is what drives the plot; it's never secondary to any other plot line.
• the romance is the POINT to the story

Common Romance Pitfalls:

• Love in a vacuum: no existence outside of the couple OR so much else going on that you lose the romance, like they're never actually together.
• Romantic tension relies too much (or entirely) on the physical (i.e. too spicy on the Sweet N Spicy Spectrum)
• Little or no romantic tension: either they're not together enough or they come together too fast, too soon and the rest of the story is saccharine. OR they're unlikable characters and we don't care if they get together. 
• Weak sources of conflict: what's keeping them apart is something a simple conversation could solve
• The love has no foundation: it's purely physical or they don't spend enough time getting to know each other.
• Reader doesn't care: Since romance is character driven, the reader must care about them.

Three Things Every Great Romance (or romantic plot line) Needs:

1. An emotional connection

• Between your characters: being hot isn't enough. Emotional connections require interaction/time.
• With the reader: strengths and weaknesses in characters, "realness." We need to feel like the heroine could be us or our best friend. And we need a reason to cheer for the couple (as individuals and together)
• Pitfalls this resolves: the love in a vacuum problem, readers not caring, cliché plot.

2. Need fulfillment

• needs can range from shallow to deep: a need to have an equal partner, a need to be loved, a need for companionship, a need for vitality and excitement
• the needs should complement each other so they aren't dependent but inter-dependent
• the deeper the need, the deeper the connection. Figure out what your hero and heroine need in a significant other.
• Pitfalls this resolves: the love in a vacuum problem, weak sources of conflict, cliché plot and characters, plot has no foundation
• what if their needs are in conflict with each other? Can they ever be together?

3. The couple is something to each other that no one else is (or can be)

• If their connection is not unique, it will lack impact and will not be satisfying for your reader.
• this is the reason their connection must go beyond love at first sight, infatuation, or physical pleasure.
• Pitfalls this resolves: romantic tension relies too much (or entirely) on the physical, cliché plot and characters, love has no foundation

I know these notes are never the same as actually attending the conference and hearing the connections our presenters make between each bullet and number, but I hope you found it at least half as helpful as I did. Next week, I'll bring you my notes from Story Analysis Time, which was a Pride and Prejudice chat at the end of Sarah's class--possibly the highlight of the whole conference for me. I love talking about Darcy and Elizabeth!

Until then, happy romance writing! And have a fabulous weekend!

What is a Hook (Notes on Jeff Savage and James Dashner)

James Dashner

Jeff Savage

These are my notes on the team taught Jeff Savage and James Dashner class called Hooks that Get You Published:

The hook. The part of your fishing tackle that catches the fish. In your query letter, the hook is the part that--hopefully--catches an agent's attention. James Dashner and Jeff Savage discuss how to create a hook, possibly the most important paragraph (or maybe two) in the process of selling your novel.

First off, if you ever have occasion to see either of these men, I highly recommend it! If they get to present together, all the better! Jeffrey Savage is the author of A TIME TO DIE, and James Dashner is the author of THE MAZE RUNNER. Their presentation was entertaining and informative. I only wish I'd been there for the whole thing! I only have one blog post worth of notes for these guys because I'd just returned from my lovely pitch session. 


Without further ado, What is a hook?

• Tells enough of your story to "hook" an agent or editor.
• Doesn't try to tell the whole story.
• Captures the voice of your story (for instance, in MG, you might say, "Brett's mom isn't even looking for work anymore, which totally sucks.")
• Shorter is better (typically one or two paragraphs).
• Don't start with a hypothetical question.
• Make it clear what is unique about your story.

Parts of a Hook


The Protagonist:
What makes a strong protagonist? Are they likable? Intense? Funny?


The Goal:
Why must they have a goal? It's not the circumstances, but the action. It must be born of need. Main characters can (and often should) have conflicting goals.
(e.g. You've Got Mail: She's trying to save her business; he's trying to put her out of business, yet they fall in love.)


Obstacles:
The higher and bigger the obstacles, the better!


Consequences:
Each action has consequences. Don't forget to note these in your arc and take every opportunity to ratchet up the tension.


Obviously, their presentation was way better than this, but somehow in my post-pitching euphoria, I forgot to write all the brilliance down. Hopefully this was a nice refresher for those of you about to write query letters or pitches for your own upcoming conference. 


Good luck!! 

P.S.es


Afterglow is launching an epic BEGINNING OF SUMMER GIVEAWAY next week with TEN AWESOME PRIZES including a couple ARCs and one personally signed book. Details to follow if you're following Afterglow Book Reviews.


You've probably heard of All 4 Alabama, disaster relief literary auctions. Bidding is going on all week, but ends on a few items tonight. You still have time to bid on my favorite item, Michelle McLean's debut picture book, A Magical World, published under the name Michelle Raynor. There are plenty of other amazing items for bidding, too! 

Theme and Structure (Part 4 Larry Brooks notes)

You've read 

Part 1: Developing Story Concept
Part 2: Continuity in Story
Part 3: Never Rescue Your Character


Finally, I can give you Part 4 of my Larry Brooks notes, the final part. 


Part 4: Theme and Structure

Ring Lock Scaffolding picture from this site

Theme: How a reader relates the story you've told to their world view


This includes lessons or morals in children's books, and also universal truths in all books. 


Themes naturally appear with the consequences to your characters' choices.


I think that's all that needs to be said about theme. It's something we inherently understand, and the best advice I've heard about it is not to put a spotlight on it. Readers don't want to be hit over the head with the lesson, but if it happens naturally (like Dumbledore asking Harry not to go looking again for the Mirror of Erised, for "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.") well then, that's just perfect. But themes don't need to be stated in witty adages, either. They can be implied by what is not said. 


Story Structure:


(Happy/sad story: I had to leave the 2-hour presentation at this point to go to my pitch session with the phenomenal Kirk Shaw, an editor at Covenant Communications. Larry had been nice enough to help me with my pitch a bit during the snack break so he knew when I stood up to leave that I wasn't ditching his class for fun. He called out, "Good luck!" and told everyone I was going to pitch. I walked out of the room to the applause of my peers. It was a very nice send off and I was appropriately pumped for my pitch session [which went AWESOME, by the way. If you ever have the chance to talk to Kirk Shaw, I highly recommend it]. I tell this story to point out that these are not my notes, but borrowed notes taken by my lovely friends, Angie and Beckie. Here I go...)


Know Your Story's Core Essence

That's the little plan I copied down from their notes and below is a more detailed explanation for what it means. 400 pages/60 scenes is just something to shoot for, to help you break things up. In between the parts are plot points also described below. 


Part I- Set up: introduce your hero, state what's at stake, evoke empathy from your reader. Why should they keep reading?


Plot Point 1: inciting incident, first exposure to the stakes. The true nature of the journey unfolds.


Part II- Response to Plot Point 1: after the inciting incident and first exposure to the stakes, what does the character want or need? This response shouldn't be heroic yet because the character hasn't had a chance to grow past her initial flaws. About midway through this response, add even more conflict. 


Midpoint: changes the context of the story. Reader or hero learns something (maybe makes a decision) that changes the stakes.


Part III- Attack the problem: by implementing whatever decision was made during the midpoint. 


Plot Point 2: final piece of the puzzle falls into place. Your hero has learned everything she needs to know. Don't introduce new characters past this point. Internal conflict may be resolved around this time.


Part IV- Resolution: External conflict is conquered or resolved. Wrap up loose ends.


***
Scene Execution


Every scene must be mission driven, must move along the story in at least three ways (i.e. move plot, character development, reveal something, conflict or resolution).


Enter a scene at the last possible moment and leave as early as you can. No going to the bathroom, picking up the floss play-by-play.

That's it for Part 4 of my notes! If the little chart I made doesn't do it for you, you can always go straight to the source and check out Larry Brooks' blog, storyfix.com. I highly recommend it. 


He also has a new book out called Story Engineering which I'm told is story plotting GOLD. 


P.S.es


Funny and delightful interview with Lindsey Leavitt on Operation Awesome today. It's a group interview, which are my favorites because we each got a chance to ask her our itching questions about Princess for Hire and Sean Griswold's Head. She's a phenomenal author who writes in a voice teens understand about topics of import, like how to have an impact on your world. Check out that interview here.


Anne Riley reviews Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini! I love the idea of a girl getting the bizarre urge to kill someone she's just met only to find out they're children of feuding gods. Awesome!


Afterglow contributors Angie Cothran and Beckie Caverhill have a new writing blog with their critique group called Live to Write... Edit When Necessary! They're brand new and already we've got some riveting conversation about adverbs and -ing verbs going on. :) Come join.


Blogger has been haywire, as I'm sure you've noticed. I hope being able to publish this blog is a good sign and that things that appear to be lost will return someday. :) 


If you're able to comment, let me know: what did Blogger eat at your place?

Continuity in Story (more Larry Brooks notes)

Core Competencies

Yesterday I introduced my notes from Larry Brooks' 2-hour presentation on Storytelling and Concept. Today I've got a brush-through of what he's coined as the Six Core Competencies of Storytelling and more about story continuity. 

1) Concept: an evolution of your initial book idea. Concept is richer than an idea and interwoven with theme.


2) Character(ization): this refers to the character arc, the development of the hero through the story. Your character should evoke empathy in the reader.


3) Theme: what in your story points to the human experience, some universal, philosophical truth?


4) Story Structure: the linear, expository unfolding of story. Screen writers are awesome at this because the structure is rigid: 3 acts of story.


5) Scene Execution: is each scene written in context to the big vision of the whole story? Do you know the ending so you can allude all along to it with tight character and plot arcs?


6) Voice: this is the elegant writing we love to read and write. It is poignancy and metaphor and art, even if it's snarky and blunt. Voice usually determines your audience.


You know those books I was talking about yesterday with beautiful writing that made up for the loosely woven plot? They lacked story continuity. In other words, it's obvious when you read them that the authors didn't know the ending for the first half of the book. The ending suddenly came to them and they made it work, usually going back to add in foreshadowing and depth later. 


Writing this way can be difficult because Number 5, Scene Execution, requires a total vision. Otherwise you get scenes where the hero is wandering around looking for some way to solve his problem, or some side character stepping in and wasting the reader's time with something that has zero ramifications for the climax. 


Make the whole novel work with the ending so the reader doesn't get to the end and feel like she's just read two different books. Everything should point to the end: foreshadowing, character fears, symbolism, even the setting. Write every page in context to where the story is going and what it's really about (concept).


One more note about CONCEPT for those of you who read yesterday and felt my notes didn't really tell you how to do this:


Concept begs a question that people are dying to have answered. 
Frame your concept with a question that begins with "What if?"


I played around with this one-line-pitch style and had a heck of a time of it. It takes you a little bit out of plot (all the things that happen) and puts you squarely in the main conflict. 


What if a futuristic society split between a flourishing Capitol and thirteen emaciated Districts conscripts poor children to fight to the death gladiator-style for the entertainment of Capitol residents? What if your little sister was chosen to compete?


More on this two-hour class tomorrow. There was just SO MUCH good stuff! If you haven't already, follow his website, storyfix.com.

P.S.es


On Operation Awesome, Lindsay talks about too many great options in e-readers and compares it to the agent hunt with helpful links for agent research.


Afterglow contributor Kristine Asselin wrote her first review! You've heard of the movie Beastly, but have you read the book yet? Kristine makes a convincing case for why you should read BEASTLY by Alex Flinn.


And a tribute to the SHORT STORY on The Best Damn Creative Writing Blog called Why Write Short Stories?

Sarah M. Eden was one of the most golden finds at the LDStorymakers conference. I have notes from her class (All you need is love... and some other stuff) to be posted sometime in the next few weeks. But for now, I wholeheartedly recommend her website: http://www.sarahmeden.com/ She's posted the hilariously adorable videos she shared of her kids when she was MC-ing the conference. And Afterglow's Angie Cothran raved about Sarah's most recent book (The Kiss of a Stranger) on Monday.