Motivation the Engine That Drives Your Characters

Have I ever mentioned that writing is a challenge?  Okay, perhaps not for everyone.  Writing is a challenge for me.  It’s an intricate dance.  One false move, and…splat.  You’ve slammed into a wall.  

I am a member of the local chapter of Romance Writers of America.  Our chapter meetings are the first Saturday of the month.  We have had some outstanding speakers.  Patty Berg spoke to the chapter this May.

Ms. Berg spoke about character motivation.  What could she have said that I haven’t already heard before?  I’ve completed several novels.  I’m not a novice, exactly.

While I have completed manuscripts, had “good rejections,” and grown as a writer, there are things that don’t hurt hearing again.

When it comes to character motivation, Ms. Berg’s message was to dig deeper.  Keep asking why.

In my current WIP I have a relationship shy hero.  Why?  Why is he really hesitant to get into a serious relationship?

Let’s play.

What happened to create this barrier he erected?

After you answer that question, tell me why?

After you answer the why, I have another question.  Why?

Guess what?  Ask yourself another why question.

I don’t know how many times you’ll need to do this to get the the core problem.

Give it a try with your current WIP and see where it takes you.

You don’t stop with your first answer; you need to go deeper, and still deeper, until you actually get to the heart of your character.

 

 

Creating S-M-U-R-F-A-B-L-E Characters

I am a member of Romance Writers of America.  Every month they send out the Romance Writers Report.  It’s a magazine filled with information about the industry. There is a section on first sales, contests, online classes, conferences, you get the idea. There are also articles.

I am going to be honest with you. There are times I set The RWR aside with the best intentions of getting back to it. You know how that goes.

I needed to organize my office. I spent several days last week doing just that. I came across several RWR magazines. If I hadn’t read them, I knew they should be tossed.  Except…there were some interesting articles I wanted to read first. I found gold in the April 2012 edition.

I am shamelessly stealing this from Virna Depaul’s article, Characters That Call to Us.

You know I have this “Chart issue.” What I’m doing is taking Ms. Depaul’s information and placing it in a chart.

Ms. Depaul talks about creating S-M-U-R-F-A-B-L-E characters.

S-M-U-R-F-A-B-L-E	Hero	Heroine
Sympathetic: This is the likable factor. Ex.She quit college, got a job, and takes care of her sick mother.
Motivated: This is what gives them to reason to act. Ex.They were scammed and are about to lose the family home (Are you getting the idea?)
Unique: What makes them interesting/what sets them apart
Redeemable: This is them being restored. It’s their arc.
Flawed: They aren’t perfect. This is part of their arc as well.At least, that’s how I took it. If you have a different spin, let me know.
Active: We want our h/h to be active, not someone who just drifts along.
Believable: Credible.
Layered: All is not as it appears. There is a lot going on beneath the surface.
Experienced: The experiences of their past have created this person. It’s their dreams, fears, shadows.

Take a look at your WIP.

Have you created S-M-U-R-F-A-B-L-E characters?

 

Lessons From the Academy Awards

It happened on Sunday night, the Academy Awards aired.  I could say that I watched with breathless anticipation, but I won’t.  I was averaging grades and the show was background noise.

I did give my complete attention to the musical numbers.  I’m a Jennifer Hudson fan.  There was no way, I’m tell-ing you, no way, no-no-no-no way, she didn’t hold my complete attention.

By the time the show was winding down, I was done with my grades, therefore, able to attend to the program.

I saw the grace Jennifer Lawrence showed after her stumble.  I fell in my classroom last week.  There is the sensation of falling through space.  You struggle to regain your balance, but to no avail.  My face plant was done in front of sixty-four eyes.  My fall didn’t play to millions of viewers.  Miss Lawrence got up, and made her acceptance speech.  She even acknowledged her fall, making a joke of it.  That’s grace under pressure.

I saw Grant Heslov, George Clooney, and Ben Affleck accept the Oscar for Best Motion picture.  Affleck’s emotional speech touched me.  He spoke of working harder than you think possible.  When you get knocked down, you gotta get up.

“Making it” in Hollywood takes work.  You have to have a thick skin.  You need to believe in yourself, in your talent.

These are the same tools of our trade.

Work harder than you believe is possible.

When you get knocked down, dust yourself off, and get up.

 

2013, Really

Can you believe it?  It’s 2013.  Where did 2012 go?  With the beginning of a new year comes the traditional New Year Resolutions.  In 2012, I spent several blogs listing my resolutions, and how and why I hoped to achieve my goal.

Sigh.

Don’t get me wrong.  I did okay, but I think I may be going about this resolution business…get ready…here it comes…wrong.

I am another year older and I like to think I’m getting a bit smarter with each passing year.  I could be deluding myself.

This is what I resolve to do in 2013.

1. Finish my WIP.
2. Enjoy each day.

That’s it.  What are your 2013 resolutions?

 

It’s a Wonderful Life

I was going to talk about how this movie touches an emotional chord, but perhaps I’ll share those thoughts in another blog.  Instead, I got snared by the story behind the movie.

It’s a Wonderful Life is based on the short story, “The Greatest Gift,” written by Philip Van Doren.  Van Doren wrote the story in 1939, but was unable to sell it.  I think many of us can relate to this.

Mr. Van Doren ended up sending his story out as a Christmas card.  For those who hate the Christmas newsletters, think about opening that card?  The story came to the attention of RKO producer, David Hempstead, who showed it to Cary Grant’s agent.  They hoped to use this as a vehicle for Grant.  RKO paid $10,000 for the rights.  After three rewrites, the project was shelved.  Grant made another Christmas movie, The Bishop’s Wife.

Frank Capra read “The Greatest Gift” and saw the potential of the story.  RKO saw the chance of unloading the script.  They sold the rights to Capra’s production company, Liberty Films, for $10,000.  RKO also threw in three free scripts.

The four writers are listed in the credits, which lets us know that more work was done to the screenplay.

The critics included the FBI.  The agency issued a memo stating the film was an obvious attempt to discredit bankers.  Casting Mr. Potter, the banker, as a villain was a common trick used by Communists.

The movie wasn’t a box office bomb, but…there were reports it was a loss for the studio.

It wasn’t made as a Christmas movie.  It had a December release date so it would be considered for the 1946 Academy Awards.

It’s a Wonderful Life received five Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture                         Frank Capra

Best Director                       Frank Capra

Best Actor                            James Stewart

Best Editing                          William Hombeck

Best Sound Recording      John Aalberg

While the movie didn’t win, it has the distinction of being one of the most beloved films of all time.