From the Call to the Bookstore
February 25th-26th at Romance Divas
Featuring:
KRISTAN HIGGINS
Want to know what it takes to get from “the call” to the bookstore in New York publishing? Romance Divas is hosting a 2-day workshop with RITA award winning author Kristan Higgins, who can answer that question and many more! It will take place at the Romance Diva Forum. All are welcome. To get access to the forum you will need to register.
I’ve been reading instead of writing for the last week or so…too many things going on in Real Life to give my fantasies space to breathe. Anyway, the reading time has been good because my muse identified a few shortcomings in my own work. (Yeah, I know…big surprise! I mean seriously, if we’re not learning, WE’RE DEAD!)
In response, I did a 15 minute timed stream-of-consciousness write and discovered the project I want to work on while I’m avoiding the pediatric hospital scenes in my urban fantasy. I then went through a different stream-of-consciousness exercise to discover the character, world, and arc for not one book, but an entire series! (Hey, when I’m on a roll, I’m on a ROLL!)
Next task? Narrow my vision and plot the first book.
Possible opening:
My designation is G2815. I don’t have a name. Names are for people, and I’m not a person. I’m a freak.
But I remember another time, another place. I remember being Lolly. At night, when I close my eyes, I cling to the memory of a boy not much bigger than me holding my hands and jumping around a room filled with cushy chairs and plush blue carpet. The boy smiles at me and chants, “Lolly, Lolly, she’s my dolly. Lolly, Lolly, we all love Lolly.” I treasure that memory. It proves that once, when I was very young, someone cared for me.
GAWD it feels good to be excited about a project again!
Need a smile today? This one ought to hold you…
‘Nuff said!
Who doesn’t love a Valentine story? Well, be sure to check out Romance Divas E-Book Challenge for links to free stories from Diva writers.
Look for this cover and…Enjoy!
Seen any great movies recently? Did you recognize major story elements in the unfolding tale?
My husband and I watched Reign of Fire the other night. (Yeah, I know…big surprise: Debbie owns dragon movies!) Anyhow, as we watched the opening scenes, my husband nodded at me and said with the wisdom of a man married to a writer, “They woke the dragon. Inciting incident.”
I smiled and nodded my agreement, until a few minutes later when I recognized my mistake. We paused the movie (a definite benefit to watching a favorite film at home via DVD) and I explained my epiphany.
Actually, the scenes of Quinn as a child act as a prologue, then the movie takes us forward 15 or 20 years and we establish the “ordinary world” as a bleak, hopeless place where the few surviving humans struggle to avoid dragons and find enough to eat. In reality, the inciting incident is the arrival of the dragon slayers. At that point, Quinn (as our hero and protagonist) has a choice: he can believe in the possibility of killing his deadly foe, or he can turn the slayers away.
As I pointed out to my husband, the discovery of the dragon can’t be the “inciting incident” or “call to action,” because there’s no possibility of refusing the call. The dragon is awake. Deal or die. A true “call” requires that the hero have a choice: believe and hope that a better future can exist, or continue to scrape by hording the few available resources.
This may be the key to plots that seem exciting, but go nowhere. I’ve got this great idea, a grand event that will threaten the world…but do I give my hero a choice? Do I set my story up so that refusing the call is a viable and believable option? If not, I’m making a huge mistake. Characters can’t be forced to grow; they must make the hard choices on their own. Otherwise, I’m writing martyrs. And while they may be admirable, I don’t think martyrs make particularly good heroes.
So…the next time you settle in to watch a good movie, put your muse on duty. Learn a few points of story technique from that visual banquet.
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