Donald Maass Talks About How To Make Your Readers CARE About Your Characters On The First Page

I was mulling over what to write about for this post when I realized I haven't told you about the workshop I took from Donald Maass on creating standout characters.

Donald Maass is head of the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York which sells more than 150 novels per year to major publishers in the U.S. and overseas. His latest book is Writing 21st Century Fiction: High Impact Techniques for Exceptional Storytelling in Modern Fiction. Much of the material Donald Maass talked about in his workshop was taken from Writing 21st Century Fiction.

By the way, if something I've written looks wrong it's my mistake, not Donnald Maass'.

How To Make Your Characters Pop Off The Page

What makes a character 'pop' off the page? How can you construct a character your reader will immediately care about? That's our goal.

As head of a New York literary agency, Donald Maass reads many manuscripts. He said there is something missing from almost every protagonist. One thing.

But let's step back for a moment. Before we talk about what's missing, let's go over the three basic types of protagonists:

1) Everyman/Everywoman

This kind of protagonist is like you and me. They are ordinary, at least to begin with.

Write down your favorite thing about your protagonist. Why do you love them?

Now, ask yourself: How can readers immediately experience this quality I love?

2) Hero

This kind of protagonist is already strong. Brave. Important.

Perhaps their job puts them in danger. They are responsible.

If your protagonist is a hero type, write down one way in which they are human, ordinary and regular, just like everyone else. Perhaps they are superstitious. Perhaps they have self-depreciating humor. Perhaps their car won't start.

3) Dark protagonist. Anti-hero

This protagonist has self-loathing. Many paranormal characters fall into this category. Perhaps they are a werewolf, a shapeshifter or a vampire.

If your protagonist is like this, write down one way your character want to change. One way they wish to be less tormented. What would that look like? What could the end of suffering look like for this character? How can they be more human?

Let your reader feel, let them see, your character yearning for change.

The one thing that's missing

Let's go back to what DM said, above, about one thing being missing from practically every manuscript he reads. It's this: he didn't care about the protagonists after reading the first page.

You NEED to find a way to make your readers care about your protagonist ON THE VERY FIRST PAGE.

DM suggests that if there's no way you can make your reader care about your protagonist in the first page that you might want to rethink your opening.

Our goal: to create a sympathetic character

The goal is to create a sympathetic character your readers care about. Some people say you want to create a protagonist readers can IDENTIFY with but not necessarily CARE for. DM disagrees. The reader needs to care about your protagonist, not simply identify with them. (See also: How To Get Your Readers To Identify With Your Main Character.)

So, how do you get your readers to care about your characters?

What makes you care about people?

Probably a number of things. We like people who are strong, who are good, who are principled and who are brave.

Readers want something to cheer for.

So, how do you accomplish this?

Creating a sympathetic HEROIC character: what DOESN'T work

Here's what NOT to do: use an action opening that makes your protagonist seem perfect. DM says that action openings leave readers ice cold. They don't care. The protagonist is too perfect.

Your reader needs to see your protagonist as a real person. They need to see they're human. Your protagonist, especially if they're a hero type, needs an ordinary thing (for instance, a car that won't start, a superstition, and so on).

Creating a sympathetic DARK character: what doesn't work

These protagonists are sexy, haunted, alluring, they look great in leather. They're tormented, depressed, miserable. Who wants to be around that?

Your readers back away from suffering. What we don't back away from is HOPE.

How to get readers to care about your character:

You need to find a way to make your character STRONG, REAL and give them HOPE.

As you write your characters ask yourself: What engages your heart? What makes you feel connected? Drawn in?

After the opening

So far we've talked about how to get your readers to care about your protagonist on the first page, certainly in the first couple of pages. Now let's talk about how to KEEP your readers caring about them.

Give your main character a FOUNDATIONAL ATTRIBUTE

Even ordinary characters (type one, above) have one thing they are exceptional at. Something they know a lot about in which they're an expert.

- Are they analytical?
- Are they faithful?
- Are they curious?
- Are they determined?

Now give your protagonist a habit or tick that suggests they're the opposite of whatever foundational attribute you've given them.

For instance, let's say your protagonist is highly focused, that's his foundational attribute. Have a scene where he's in an ice cream parlor. He's so highly focused he can't do a simple thing like decide what kind of ice cream to get.

Your character needs weaknesses as well as strengths. Make sure that in at least three places in your manuscript you show your character's weakness, his quirk.

I want to stress that DM thought we needed to be specific when we show how our character's foundational attribute benefits them as well as how it hurts them.

Ask yourself, what can your main character DO that no one else can? Now write a scene where this ability is a benefit and another where it's a hindrance.

Your Character & Self-Awareness

What does your character know about herself that is true?

There is something about them that is even MORE true, but they don't know it yet. What is it?

When and through which character are you going to clobber your protagonist with a recognition about him or herself? When would be a good time to do this?

What is one thing your protagonist knows about people that no one else does?

Why does he know this? Is it because of who he is?

In your story include a character on whom your protagonist cannot get a read.

Who does your protagonist love the best? What is one thing that is bad or unflattering about this character? What is one thing they do wrong, something that the protagonist sees through? The protagonist knows this character well enough to see something negative about them.

Pick any small thing in your story, something trivial, a little piece of friction between two characters. Make this illustrative of a larger principle at work in the world. Here is where you can give your protagonist an exposition. they can feel some anger, some sense of injustice, about what happened even though it is small.

What is the most selfless thing your protagonist does? confession, humility, forgiveness. Something they do for someone else. They sacrifice themselves.

Pick another of your characters. How will this character be changed by the selfless act of your protagonist? SHOW how they are changed by what your protagonist has done.

What makes a character interesting

Quirks are interesting, it's probably why we have so many quirky detectives.

Characters that are special, gifted, are interesting. Characters who see more, who care more than WE DO are interesting.

Did you ever have a slog day? Sure you have, we all have. Those days we just want to go back to bed. We've also had days when we're alive, our brains are on fire. We feel in command of ourselves and our world. Those days we want to be alive. THESE ARE THE KIND OF CHARACTERS READERS CARE ABOUT.

Make your characters real.

Your protagonist can, in a way, always be ON.

Antagonist

In a romance, the hero is often the heroines antagonist and vice versa. The hero and heroine need to be together but something is keeping them apart. What does the heroine want? Love? Security? Respect? The hero is getting in her way, he is slowing her down.

What does your antagonist believe in? What is their ONE TRUTH?

In what way is the antagonist's one truth actually right and true? What do they think is wrong with the world? What is REALLY wrong with the world?

Write a scene about the moment when your protagonist understands and accepts that the antagonist is right (perhaps not globally, but about some one thing), that their one truth is really true. Do they humble themselves and say, "You're right. I see it"?

What is the moment when your protagonist realizes that the antagonist is right? It's sometimes said that those who hate us know us the best. In a sense, your protagonist and antagonist will know each other very well.

What does your antagonist most want to bring about? What is their perfect world?

What is the WORST thing your antagonist does?

There is a thing your antagonist has sworn never to do, they think it's wrong. They say to themselves, "I'll do anything, anything at all, but never THAT" What is the thing they've sworn never to do?

At some point your antagonist will do the thing they've sworn never to do. Why do they do it? They do it even though they abhor it, they do it reluctantly and against their principles. For what good purpose was it done?

Remember: the antagonist is the hero of their own story.

Secondary Characters

Pick a secondary character, a friend of the protagonist. What is the single biggest way these characters are different?

Find one way to use what you've just written down in a scene. At what point in your story does this secondary character most understand and love your protagonist? At what point do they hate the protagonist?

What is their most important piece of shared history? What have they done together? What can this secondary character trust your protagonist for? What will the protagonist always do for them? Bail them out at 3 in the morning? Change their tire in the middle of a snowstorm?

Find a moment in your story where trust is broken, when the protagonist doesn't do what the secondary character trusted them to do.

What does the secondary character know about your protagonist that your protagonist denies? Is there a moment in your story when the secondary character calls your protagonist out?

What is the greatest gift the secondary character can give to the protagonist? The protagonist may not know they need this gift even though they do.

Underutilized secondary characters weaken a story.

That's it! If you ever have an opportunity to take a workshop from Donald Maass, do it! I've never met anyone who was disappointed.

Do you have any advice to add? Any questions you ask about your characters that helps them come alive?

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NaNoWriMo update: Alas, I didn't get my 2,000 words done last night! I did 1,000 though, so I'm up to 25,081. Hopefully I'll be able to do 2,000 words tonight which will bring me up to 27,000.

Other articles you might like:
- 8 Do's And Don'ts Of Writing Fiction From Neil Gaiman
- Using Technology To Sell Books: Quick Response Codes (QR codes)
- Is Serial Fiction Profitable? Hugh Howey Says: Yes! Even With Absolutely No Promotion

Photo credit: "Black & White Flower Pattern" by VinothChandar under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

8 Do's And Don'ts Of Writing Fiction From Neil Gaiman

It's the middle of NaNoWriMo and I need an infusion of writing wisdom. So I've turned to Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, PD James and Ian Rankin for their personal do's and don'ts of writing fiction.

Neil Gaiman

1 Write.

2 Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.

3 Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.

4 Put it aside. Read it pretending you've never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.

5 Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.

6 Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.

7 Laugh at your own jokes.

8 The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you're allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it's definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it ­honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matte

"Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it." I need to hang that above my desk.

Margaret Atwood

1 Take a pencil to write with on aeroplanes. Pens leak. But if the pencil breaks, you can't sharpen it on the plane, because you can't take knives with you. Therefore: take two pencils.

2 If both pencils break, you can do a rough sharpening job with a nail file of the metal or glass type.

3 Take something to write on. Paper is good. In a pinch, pieces of wood or your arm will do.

4 If you're using a computer, always safeguard new text with a ­memory stick.

5 Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.

6 Hold the reader's attention. (This is likely to work better if you can hold your own.) But you don't know who the reader is, so it's like shooting fish with a slingshot in the dark. What ­fascinates A will bore the pants off B.

7 You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there's no free lunch. Writing is work. It's also gambling. You don't get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but ­essentially you're on your own. ­Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don't whine.

8 You can never read your own book with the innocent anticipation that comes with that first delicious page of a new book, because you wrote the thing. You've been backstage. You've seen how the rabbits were smuggled into the hat. Therefore ask a reading friend or two to look at it before you give it to anyone in the publishing business. This friend should not be someone with whom you have a ­romantic relationship, unless you want to break up.

9 Don't sit down in the middle of the woods. If you're lost in the plot or blocked, retrace your steps to where you went wrong. Then take the other road. And/or change the person. Change the tense. Change the opening page.

10 Prayer might work. Or reading ­something else. Or a constant visual­isation of the holy grail that is the finished, published version of your resplendent book.

"Don't sit down in the middle of the woods." Yes, I can see that could be dangerous! And in more ways than one. Though it can be painful to delete words, especially during NaNoWriMo.

PD James

1 Increase your word power. Words are the raw material of our craft. The greater your vocabulary the more ­effective your writing. We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.

2 Read widely and with discrimination. Bad writing is contagious.

3 Don't just plan to write – write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.

4 Write what you need to write, not what is currently popular or what you think will sell.

5 Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other ­people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted.

"Read widely and with discrimination. Bad writing is contagious." I've always thought this might be so. Especially when I was a kid, I had the habit of mimicking the style of the last author I'd read.  But Ms. James' advice flies in the face of the often given admonition to read both good and bad writing. Why read bad writing? I think the idea is that one can learn a great deal about story structure from seeing it go wrong.

Ian Rankin

1 Read lots.

2 Write lots.

3 Learn to be self-critical.

4 Learn what criticism to accept.

5 Be persistent.

6 Have a story worth telling.

7 Don't give up.

8 Know the market.

9 Get lucky.

10 Stay lucky.

"Learn what criticism to accept." Readers tastes differ, what one person likes, another will despise. I've found it helps to send my work to several readers. I pay attention to a criticism if it rings true to me or if a few of my readers complain about the same thing. I've found that being part of a writers' circle helps enormously.

For more writing advice, read Ten rules of writing fiction as well as Ten rules for writing fiction (part two) and find out what advice Elmore Leonard, Diana Athill, Roddy Doyle, Helen Dunmore, Geoff Dyer, Anne Enright, Richard Ford, Esther Freud, David Hare and AL Kennedy, among others, give.

Photo credit: "liquid fire" by paul bica under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Amazon Lists: The New Slush Pile?

Today I read a provocative article in The Miami Herald: Self-publishing industry explodes, brings rewards, challenges.

According to Chris Kenneally publishers as well as agents are looking at self-published books on Amazon as the new slush pile.

As self-publishing took off, a funny thing happened. The big publishers began watching the sales of self-published work on Amazon, and started offering successful writers traditional contracts.

“Publishers have always had places that they’ve gone to find the next crop of big bestsellers,” Kenneally said. “And frankly I’ve had literary agents tell me that Amazon Lists is the new slush pile. That this is a terrific way to find out if they have an audience, if they work, if people are willing to pick it up and love it.”

The most noteworthy may be fantasy writer Amanda Hocking, who put the first of her 10 novels featuring trolls, vampires and zombies online in 2010, made an estimated $2 million over the next year, and signed a four-book contract with St. Martin’s Press by the summer of 2011 for another $2 million.

Oh how times have changed. It used to be that if a writer self-published no publisher or agent would represent her. Now that's where publishers and agents look for new and upcoming writers.

I don't want to sound like a mother hen, but keep in mind that not all agents are equal and if an agent thinks they can make money off your writing chances are you can too, and all on your own.

That's another thing that's changed. Today, more than ever before, writers can do it all themselves.

It's a weird but wonderful time to be writing in. Cheers!

(Thanks to Passive Guy for posting a link to The Miami Herald articles.)

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Okay, NaNoWriMo! My word count is 24,013 words and I'm hoping to pass the midpoint and get to 26,000 today. It's starting to hurt, I'm feeling the grind. But we'll do it, we'll finish! :)

Other articles you might like:
- Serial Fiction: Is It Profitable?
- What's The Difference Between Paranormal Romance And Urban Fantasy?
- How To Earn A Living As A Self-Published Writer

Photo credit: "Fruity Happy Apple Breakfast Cereal" by Pink Sherbet Photography under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Using Technology To Sell Books: Quick Response Codes (QR codes)

There are a few blogs that consistently amaze me with the quality of their content and Joanna Penn's blog, The Creative Penn, is one of them. Today, quest poster Emily Craven explained how writers can use QR codes to 1) get more of your content in front of readers and 2) to enrich your readers experience of that content.

In this article I first talk about QR codes, what they are, and then discuss ways you can use them to put more of your content in front of readers and how to make that content as rich and interesting as possible.

Then, when (hopefully!) you've decided this is something you'd like to explore, I'll step you though how to generate your own QR codes and how to use them.

Ready? Let's go!

What The Heck Are QR Codes?

QR codes are those boxlike images which look like the misbegotten love-child of a Rorschach ink-blog and a bar code (see above). Their full name is Quick Response Code and it has been used extensively in recent years for advertising.

Formerly only for industrial uses, they have in recent years become common in consumer advertising and packaging, because the popularity of smartphones has put a barcode reader in everyone's pocket for the first time. As a result, the QR Code has become a focus of advertising strategy, since it provides quick and effortless access to the brand's website. (QR Code, Wikipedia)

We're Writers, Why Should We Care About QR Codes?

You might be wondering what, exactly, a QR code does. It's simple. It takes a surfer from one part of the internet to another part.

To your part.

For fans of Star Trek, it's like transporting people into your virtual gallery.

But what should you put on this webpage? It is, after all, a bit like your own virtual gallery.

Emily writes that one of the best ways to gain the trust of a prospective reader is to offer them audio or video content of yourself.

Not your cute-as-a-button dog, not a tasteful cartoon and NOT (you know who you are) your hand. You.

Emily writes:

It puts a face to the words, a personality to the letters, and while by its nature the video is generic, it seems personal and creates a deeper connection for the reader. They KNOW who you are, they’ve SEEN your face, you’ve reached out to them. ...

This type of interaction between an author and a reader has never been done. Ever. Hardly anyone in the industry is taking advantage of this free technology and the digital space to connect on a deeper level. We have a chance to experiment while the publishers are frozen, a way to allow indies to come into their own and lead the field.

I feel this is something of a confession, but I haven't yet created audio or visual content. So what I said, above, is a do-as-I-humbly-suggest kind of thing; it's not (alas) do-as-I-do. And, of course, everyone has different boundaries. If you'd rather traverse hot coals than make a video, then don't. In my opinion it's not worth that kind of stress.

That said, for those of you considering such a step, here are a few articles on how to make audio files and videos.

Article on making an audiobook:
- How To Record Your Own Audiobook: Setting Up A Home Studio

Articles on making a video:
- How to Make a YouTube video
- YouTube: Creators' Corner
- YouTube: Create Videos

QR Codes: How Writers Can Use Them To Grow Their Audience

The problem with electronic books is that while you can download them you can't give them to a person you just met as a conference and sign the cover. Or sell them in bookstores.

Yes, you could generate a Smashwords coupon for the book and email it to your new friend, but you'd loose the intimacy of handing someone your book. Also, you can't sign an electronic file.

The solution: Book Cards!

This isn't my idea, Dean Wesley Smith blogged about it last year. The idea is that you do up a card (or bookmark) so it looks like your book, include the url of your book on Smashwords (or wherever) and print a coupon code on the card for getting the book free. You can even sign it!

I think that using QR Codes on the book cards, in addition to a printed URL, would be fantastic. No more tying a long URL into a browser.

But that's just the beginning. Embed a QR code at the end of a chapter and give readers the opportunity to visit a page on your website where you narrate new content (perhaps a 'lost' chapter), or give them a sample chapter from your latest book. You could even offer them a discount coupon for your next book.

Also, you could compile playlists for one or more of your characters and let your readers download them. See: Writing To Music: Knowing Your Characters.

QR Codes versus URLs

Let me play devil's advocate for a moment. What makes a QR code better than a good old-fashioned (heh) URL? After all, a reader, simply by clicking a hyperlink, can go to any page on the web, they don't need to download yet ANOTHER program and then take a picture.

Here's the gist of what Emily says:

1)  When a reader clicks a hyperlink your story disappears and the new content replaces it. Since your using another devise, such as a smart phone, to access the bonus/new content, your story doesn't go anywhere and your reader doesn't lose their place in your book. Something that might just make them forget to come back!

2) Some e-readers can't access the internet. Without using QR codes the only way people would have of using the links you embedded would be to try and load your book file onto their computer, and how many busy folks are going to take that extra step?

Hopefully by this point you're convinced that QR codes are useful, or at least something you could experiment with. Now the question is: How do we make one?

How To Generate A QR Code

This part is as easy as falling off a greased log. Emily recommends delivr. Just take the URL of your choice and paste it in the the textbox, press go, and voila! You can download the image in the format of your choice (png, jpg, eps, or svg).

Here's the one I did

Figure 1

The URL I used was from Neil Gaiman's fabulous commencement speech at the University of the Arts this year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikAb-NYkseI

I pasted that into the textbox at delivr and got the jpg that I've labeled Figure 1 (see above). Easy, right?

How To Read A QR Code

Emily Craven recommends a fabulous article: Desktop QR Code Reader. That's where most of the following information comes from.

Android

If you're using android the author recommends zxing, a open-source app.

Apple

If you're using apple technology the article suggests the free QR Reader or (this is the one I use) you can use Qrafter (also free).

Desktop

If you're using Chrome as your browser you can use a program called QR-Code Tag Extension and this will let you generate a QR code for the site you're viewing. Cool! By the way, if you're using Firefox for your browser, you can use an add-in called Mobile Barcode to do the same thing. (Update: I've been having trouble viewing the QR code for the page with Mobile Barcode. Just FYI.)

Just go to whichever app store is relevant to your technology and download. I'll wait.

Back? Good. Open the app and use it to read the QR Code of your choice.

If you're using Qrafter on your iPhone or iPad just choose "Scan with Camera". If you like, you can use the QR code, just above, as a test. When the QR code is within view of the camera the app will automatically detect it and asks you if you'd like to go to the associated URL. Select "Go to URL" and you'll be looking at Neil Gaiman's speech on YouTube. (If you haven't listened to Mr. Gaiman's speech you might enjoy it, it is one of the more inspirational speeches I've heard.)

Conclusion: Are QR Codes The Best Things Since Sliced Bread?

Time will tell. It's a great technology. The next time I print my business cards I think I'm going to include a QR Code to my website on the back and I will make a book card for my next novel so I can give it out to folks in person.

What do you think of QR codes? Do you use them? If not, do you think you'll start?

Other articles you might like:
- Is Serial Fiction Profitable? Hugh Howey Says: Yes! Even With Absolutely No Promotion
- The MacGuffin: A Plot Device From Screenwriting
- Serial Fiction: Is It Profitable?

Is Serial Fiction Profitable? Hugh Howey Says: Yes! Even With Absolutely No Promotion

Hugh Howey's Wool: An Overnight Success

Yesterday I wrote an article in which I asked the question: Is Serial Fiction Profitable? Just today Erica Jackson Curran published an article about Hugh Howey which added a few very interesting tidbits to the already fascinating story of his rise to glory and monetary solvency:

"It feels like it happened overnight," says Howey, a Florida resident who attended the College of Charleston in the early 2000s. Wool started out as a novella. He posted it online in July 2011 and forgot about it, deciding to focus instead on promoting his full-length novels.[1]

"I didn't promote this story, because it's a very dark story, and I didn't know that that's what was catching on " (Hugh Howey)

So the first novella of what would become Wool was a story he posted and forgot about. He did no promotion. No marketing. No advertising. In fact, he was intending to focus on full-length novels. Erica Curran continues:

Howey admits to being almost frustrated with how Wool took off, because he'd worked so hard to promote his previously published novels, and they got little attention. "You like to think you have some control over what succeeds and what doesn't, but for me it just highlighted that the reader is totally in charge of what succeeds and what fails," he says. "I didn't promote this story, because it's a very dark story, and I didn't know that that's what was catching on, but if you look at The Hunger Games and some of the stuff that even young adults are reading now, it's very dark themes, a lot of themes with class structure and class warfare with the downtrodden kind of rising up, and I guess it was just good timing that I happened to write that kind of story while that's what readers were after." [1]

It's a marvelous indie success story.
Hugh Howey has, of course, continued writing and this last August published I, Zombie, a full length novel. I find it interesting that he is going back to writing full length novels rather than novellas since it was a novella that sparked his rocket-ride to the top. But, then, Wool continues to sell fabulously well and I, Zombie is fairing very respectably.

It's no surprise, then, that Hugh Howey has decided to continue to independently publish.

"You do so well self-published, it's hard for publishers to compete with what you can do on your own," he [Hugh Howey] says. "I make 70 percent royalty rates on sales here in the U.S., and if I went with a publisher, that would be cut to almost one-sixth. And so, you know, we sat down with them, and they had some nice offers, but I'm handing them a bestseller with a film contract attached and all of these other things attached and what they're offering is just not as good as what I'm doing currently. I showed them what I'm earning now, and they kind of said, I don't know if we can compete with that." [1]

References
1) Hugh Howey doesn't need a publisher, thank you very much, by Erica Jackson Curran at Charleston City Paper.

Other articles you might like:

- The MacGuffin: A Plot Device From Screenwriting
- Serial Fiction: Is It Profitable?
- What's The Difference Between Paranormal Romance And Urban Fantasy?

Photo credit: "Edgy Pink" by Pink Sherbet Photography under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

The MacGuffin: A Plot Device From Screenwriting

I thought I'd do something different today and talk about a term from screenwriting: The MacGuffin. I find that once I put a name to an idea that I can more easily understand it, talk about it, and--perhaps--use it in my own work.

Did you know that the falcon in The Maltese Falcon was a MacGuffin? You probably did. I had no idea. Let me explain. (No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Couldn't resist! I re-watched The Princess Bride last night.)

A MacGuffin is a "plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist (and sometimes the antagonist) is willing to ... sacrifice almost anything to pursue, often with little or no narrative explanation as to why it is considered so desirable. (MacGuffin, Wikipedia)"

Alfred Hitchcock & The MacGuffin

Alfred Hitchcock is thought to have come up with the idea, or at least the term "MacGuffin". Apparently Pearl White, a silent film actress, used the term "weenie" in much the same way. (MacGuffin, tvtropes.org)

Here's how the incomparable Mr. Hitchcock explained the MacGuffin. The year was 1939 and he was giving a lecture at Columbia University:

[We] have a name in the studio, and we call it the 'MacGuffin'. It is the mechanical element that usually crops up in any story. In crook stories it is almost always the necklace and in spy stories it is most always the papers. (MacGuffin, Wikipedia)

Hitchcock went on to remark that although a MacGuffin is an object the plot revolves around that--and this crucial--the "audience don't care" what it is specifically. Or, rather, even if they are curious, the true nature of the object is immaterial to the plot (MacGuffin, Wikipedia). A classic example of this is the suitcase in Pulp Fiction.

The MacGuffin Test

TvTropes.org has a wonderful discussion of the MacGuffin. For instance, here is the test to see if something is functioning as one:

[C]heck to see if it is interchangeable. For example, in a caper story the MacGuffin could be either the Mona Lisa or the Hope diamond, it makes no difference which. The rest of the story (i.e. it being stolen) would be exactly the same. It doesn't matter which it is, it is only necessary for the characters to want it.

A common MacGuffin story setup can be summarized as "Quickly! We must find X before they do!". (MacGuffin, tvtropes.org)

R2-D2: An Example Of A MacGuffin

R2-D2 is an example of a MacGuffin. George Lucas describes R2-D2 as the driving force of Star Wars. The droid that was the object of everybody's search. Lucas differed from Hitchcock in that he thought the MacGuffin should be powerful, that the audience should care about it.

For instance, while we were curious what was inside the briefcase in pulp fiction, it wasn't important to us as a character. R2-D2, on the other hand, was a character most movie goers genuinely cared about every bit as much as Luke Skywalker or Han Solo. (MacGuffin, Wikipedia).

Other examples of MacGuffins: the Maltese Falcon, the briefcase in Pulp Fiction, the mineral Unobtainium in Avatar.

The Mock Guffin

Sometimes I suspect screenwriters are joking when they come up with all these names, but apparently, there's also a Mock Guffin; that is, an object thought to be of great value that turns out to be junk. For instance, bank bonds that are at first thought to be extremely valuable then turn out to be worthless.

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This may be the only article I post today so I'll give my NaNoWriMo update now. As of last night my word count was 22,031 and today I'm hoping to get it up to 24,000. Thanks for being my writing buddies, go us! :-)

Other articles you might like:

- Serial Fiction: Is It Profitable?
- What's The Difference Between Paranormal Romance And Urban Fantasy?
- A NaNoWriMo Pep Talk From Neil Gaiman

Other (off site) articles:

- MacGuffin (tvtropes.org)
- Mock Guffin (tvtropes.org)
- Top Ten Movie MacGuffins (ign.com)

Photo credit: "The Death Star plans are not in the main computer" by JD Hancock under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Serial Fiction: Is It Profitable?

For the past few months I've been thinking of experimenting with serial fiction. One thing I'm wondering is whether it's financially profitable.

You've heard, no doubt, that Charles Dickens was one of the first to serialize a story, The Pickwick Papers, in 1836 and that it was a great financial success, but the form seems to have fallen out of favor with readers ... although perhaps less so with listeners. (Serial, Wikipedia)

When I was a kid I spent summers at my parents' cabin, a ramshackle three bedroom tucked deep in the Dead Wood, listening to serializations over the radio. That was great fun. Years later a public broadcasting station re-broadcast episodes of The Shadow (The Shadow knows) along with the original commercials (Roma wine, that's R-O-M-A) from the 40s. The show broadcast every Saturday at 11:00 pm; I'd make popcorn and hunker down for an hour of campy goodness.

Serial Literature Today

Jane Friedman has written a fabulous article about serials for Publishing Perspectives called Experimenting With Serials for Fun and Profit. I would encourage anyone at all curious about the state of serial literature today to read her article.

Is Serial Fiction Profitable?

Here's what I think: It can be. I say that because for certain authors, authors like Hugh Howey and Sean Platt it has been. For other folks, not so much. As you can see from reading Jane's article, many people produce serial fiction simply for the love of it.

Since my question is whether serial fiction can be profitable and, if so, how to go about doing that, I'll concentrate on folks who seem like they've been able to make a nice go of it. Although please keep in mind that this is guess work on my part, I haven't seen their financials!

Hugh Howey - Wool

Jane wrote her article before the phenomenal success of Hugh Howey's Wool. Here's what Hugh Howey says about his ride to the top:

The first WOOL story came out in July of last year. At just over 12,000 words, it qualified as a novelette, and not much more. I forgot about the story until it began garnering a slew of positive reviews that could muster only a single complaint among them: Where was the rest? They wanted more.

So I began writing more. I released the rest of the story in installments, something I'd always wanted to try, and I enjoyed the quick turnaround and the immediate feedback from readers. The entries grew as the series went along, until the fifth and final WOOL story was the length of a short novel. Once the tale was complete, I collected the five books into an Omnibus, which was when it began to really take off.

The WOOL OMNIBUS is now roaring up the charts, and I like to think of the work as much as a collaboration as a singular effort. It was borne out of the call from reviewers for more and forged almost as it was being read. (How My Self-Published Book 'Wool' Became A Hot Movie Property)

Hugh Howey seems to have discontinued selling the first five serials and now just offers the omnibus version, but since that's currently at number 151 in the paid kindle store he's clearly made the right decision. Wow! That is very good, and the book was published in January 2012.

The question is: Would Wool have been such a great hit if Hugh Howey written it as a novel from the start? We'll never know, but clearly the serial form can be lucrative.

Roz Morris - Author, Editor and Ghostwriter

This is from Roz's site:

I’m a professional writer, editor and writing blogger living in London. You’ll have seen my books on the bestseller lists but not under my name because I ghostwrote them for other people. (Roz Morris)

Roz has come out into the daylight, as she puts it, with a 100,000 word literary novel she released in four parts. She published in September 2011 and appears to have done fairly well. One thing I find fascinating is that her first episode--the first serial--seems to be doing about as well as the completed book! Here, take a look for yourselves (keep in mind that I'm writing this on Nov 11th and things will likely change over time).

My Memories of a Future Life - Episode 1 of 4: The Red Season (Aug 23, 2011)
My Memories of a Future Life - Episode 2 of 4: Rachmaninov and Ruin (Sept 1, 2011)
My Memories of a Future Life - Episode 3 of 4: Like Ruby (Sept 9, 2011)
My Memories of a Future Life - Episode 4 of 4: The Storm (Sept 16, 2011)
My Memories of a Future Life - the complete novel (Sept 19, 2011)

Roz also has a great blog about writing: Nail Your Novel.

Sean Platt - The King of Serial Fiction

Together with co-author, David Wright, Sean has quickly become “King of the Serial,” as the father of the five series: Yesterday’s Gone, WhiteSpace, ForNevermore, Available Darkness, and Dark Crossings. Inspired as much by Stephen King’s serialized story, “The Green Mile,” as well as superbly scripted TV shows, such as LOST, Fringe, and The Walking Dead. Their first series, Yesterday’s Gone has received over 200 5-Star reviews, and has spent time on Amazon’s list of the Top 100 Best Reviewed Fiction Books of All Time. (Sean Platt)

Sean calls his omnibus works "seasons" and each contains six episodes. He models his serials after Lost and uses cliffhanger endings to keep his audience coming back for more. Jane wrote that the first episode was free and each after that each is $1.99 with the full season selling for $4.99. Apparently things have changed.

I just looked up Yesterday's Gone: Season One on Amazon and it's selling for $5.99 (#2038 in the Kindle store), the first episode is 99 cents and all other episodes are $2.99. Even though the first season is up on Amazon the first episode is still selling reasonably well (#29,490 in the Kindle store).

Keep in mind, too, that Yesterday's Gone is just one of the serials Sean and David are writing.  As I mention, above, they are also working on: WhiteSpace, ForNevermore, Available Darkness and Dark Crossings, all of which seem to be doing very well.

Don't Use Serial Fiction As A Gimmick

Jane warns against using serial fiction as a marketing gimmick. If it just so happens that each chapter of your novel stands on its own as a self-contained unit, then fine, but if it it doesn't you may find yourself with disgruntled readers--or, worse, board ones--rather than fans.

Serial Fiction: Try It!

It seems the most successful attempts at serial fiction have been when novel length works are serialized in 5 or 6 novelette sized chunks and released about a week, or a month, apart.

In the end, the only way you'll know if serial fiction would be right for you is to jump into the deep end and try it. Write some serial fiction, publish it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, WattPad, or what have you.

If you're a bit shy you can use a pen name so if no one buys it you don't have to worry about anyone knowing. I think that's unlikely though, especially if you give your first serial away for free. :)

Whatever you decide to do, best of luck!

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My NaNoWriMo update: Yesterday was a good day for me, I'm at 19,921 words, I'm hoping to reach 22,000 today. Coming up to the midpoint.

Other articles you might like:

- What's The Difference Between Paranormal Romance And Urban Fantasy?
- A NaNoWriMo Pep Talk From Neil Gaiman
- David Mamet On How To Write A Great Story

Photo credit: "My forest dream is still a dream..." by Vinoth Chandar under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

What's The Difference Between Paranormal Romance And Urban Fantasy?

The question is inevitable. You're at a get-together and someone asks you, "So, what do you do?"

Fair question, right? Then why do I feel so sheepish?

Here's me: Um, well, I guess ... I write.

Usually my interlocutor is interested. "Oh, how fascinating! What do you write?"

Ah, there it is. THE QUESTION. I used to say I was a genre writer but, inevitably, people looked at me blankly and asked, "What's that mean?".

So I thought, well, just pick a genre, something most folks are familiar with, something which more or less describes what you write. If they're interested you can refine the description later. So here's what I said.

"I write fantasy"

My questioner flushed and took half a step toward me. "You mean, like, dirty books?" they whispered.

Back to the drawing board.

Here's my current response: Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer without vampires.

So far it's worked, everyone I've spoken with has either watched Buffy or at least knows what I'm talking about. If they don't--this only happened once--I wave my hand in front of me and say, "Oh, you know, Joss Whedon's stuff". They understand that, or at least feel they should, and so change the subject.

Paranormal Romance Versus Urban Fantasy

If my experience at parties is any guide, most non-writers aren't familiar with the names of the genres they enjoy. And that's just fine. But we're writers and names can make a huge difference.

If you've written a horror novel and it's mistakenly categorized as paranormal romance chances are many readers who buy it won't be happy and may even leave disgruntled reviews.

Not good.

Here's how I think of the difference between these two genre:

Paranormal romance

A paranormal romance is fundamentally a romance. In the beginning of the story the lovers-to-be meet each other, are powerfully attracted to each other, but there is a reason, a very good and perhaps tragic reason, why they can't be together.

This reason, whatever it is, complicates their lives in various ways until the midpoint of the story when either things change slightly or they throw caution to the winds and, er, connect.  It turns out that being together was a bad idea, but perhaps for an all new set of reasons, and the would-be lovers are separated until the 3/4 point when our couple finally admits to themselves and each other that they are hopelessly in love.

Unfortunately, though, for 'a very good reason' (tm)--often something to do with a greater good--they must now say goodbye. Forever. Fortunately, just before all hope is lost and the two are irretrivably severed from each other and all hope of happiness fades the problem is solved and our lovers fall into each others arms and, probably, beds, and live together happily ever after (HEA). The End.

What do you mean, I must have read a lot of paranormal romances? ;) Of course I have, they're great! I especially like Katie MacAlister.

My description, above, was tongue-in-cheek, but I tried to hit some of the plot points a romance story needs to cover. A much better description can be found here: Xtranormal: How To Write A Romance Novel. That's the structure. That's the skeleton of every romance novel, paranormal or otherwise, ever written.

What's paranormal about paranormal romance?

Generally what makes a romance a paranormal romance is the addition of paranormal abilities. One or more of the characters have abilities that are considered "beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding" (Google Dictionary).

According to Wikipedia, a paranormal romance blends together, "themes from the genres of traditional fantasy, science fiction, or horror". That seems about right. No category these days is rigidly defined, but that seems to capture the expectations of readers when they pick up a book they've been told is a paranormal romance.

Urban Fantasy

Urban fantasy is the gritty bulked-up cousin of paranormal romance. Where a paranormal romance is fundamentally a romance, an urban fantasies is fundamentally a fantasy. There is a LOT of variation within the fantasy genre and so there is a lot of variation in urban fantasy. That said, it does have some unique aspects.

1) An urban fantasy must be ... well, urban

The bulk of the story has to take place in a city. The urban fantasies I've read generally take place in the cities of today, but in a world where we've realized that vampires and witches and werewolves (oh my!) exist.

That said, the city could be one from the past or the future, or it could be on another planet entirely.

2) An urban fantasy must have paranormal elements

Like a paranormal romance, an urban fantasy will have one or more characters who have abilities that are considered beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Being such as witches and werewolves, demons and vampires.

3) In an urban fantasy the outer goal of the protagonist IS NOT the love interest

In a romance the outer goal of the protagonist is the love interest; it is their bond, their eventual union.

Recall the structure of a romance I discussed, above. If this is the structure of a book that has been shelved in the urban fantasy section then the book has been misshelved. That book is NOT an urban fantasy, it's a paranormal romance.

In an urban fantasy something OTHER than the love interest is the protagonist's main goal.

Example: Jim Butcher's book Changes (The Dresden Files series)

In Changes Harry Dresden's outer goal is to save his daughter's life. I chose this book because the protagonist's goal is clear cut (and because it's a great book!). The red court vampires are going to ritually sacrifice his daughter unless Harry does something about it. The rest of the book is Harry doing something about it.

Changes is also the book where ... okay, no spoilers. But, as in most of the Dresden File books, there is a romantic element, a romantic subplot, but this romantic element is decidedly secondary (as one would expect) to saving his daughter's life. So it's usually there, but it's never the main thing.

Clear as mud? :-)

Okay, I've rambled on enough for today, talk to you again tomorrow. I studiously worked away on my NaNoWriMo manuscript and am now at 16,036 words and ever single word I typed was painful! lol Yesterday was NOT a fun writing day, hopefully today will be better. I want to reach 18,000 words by the time I go to bed.

Keep the NaNoWriMo faith! WE WILL FINISH!!

Other articles you might like:
- A NaNoWriMo Pep Talk From Neil Gaiman
- David Mamet On How To Write A Great Story
- How To Earn A Living As A Self-Published Writer

Photo credit: "Nosferatu (1922)" by twm1340 under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0.

A NaNoWriMo Pep Talk From Neil Gaiman

The Great Swampy Middle

Well, we're into the second week of NaNoWriMo. That first blush of exuberant confidence is gone and we're into the long uphill slog.

That's how I feel at least. The bright-shiny is wearing off and I'm finding it difficult to finish my daytime work and THEN sit and write for another two or three hours for NaNoWriMo.

But I'm going to.

Because I'm a writer.

And writers write.

Neil Gaiman's NaNoWriMo Pep Talk: Find the next word. Write it down. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Just reading Neil Gaiman's prose is an inspiration.

By now you’re probably ready to give up. You’re past that first fine furious rapture when every character and idea is new and entertaining. You’re not yet at the momentous downhill slide to the end, when words and images tumble out of your head sometimes faster than you can get them down on paper. You’re in the middle, a little past the half-way point. The glamour has faded, the magic has gone, your back hurts from all the typing, your family, friends and random email acquaintances have gone from being encouraging or at least accepting to now complaining that they never see you any more—and that even when they do you’re preoccupied and no fun. You don’t know why you started your novel, you no longer remember why you imagined that anyone would want to read it, and you’re pretty sure that even if you finish it it won’t have been worth the time or energy and every time you stop long enough to compare it to the thing that you had in your head when you began—a glittering, brilliant, wonderful novel, in which every word spits fire and burns, a book as good or better than the best book you ever read—it falls so painfully short that you’re pretty sure that it would be a mercy simply to delete the whole thing.

Welcome to the club.

That’s how novels get written.

I would encourage you to read Neil Gaiman's entire article, I've just quoted from the beginning. You can find it here: Neil Gaiman’s Pep Talk.

Neil Gaiman is just one of dozens of authors who have written pep talks for NaNoWriMo. You can find them in the NaNoWriMo Pep Talk Archive.

My word count right now is 13,952 and I plan to bring that up to 16,000 by the end of the day. We can do this!! :-)

Other articles you might like:

- How To Earn A Living As A Self-Published Writer
- How To Write 10,000 Words A Day
- NaNoWriMo: A Survival Guide

Photo credit: "Contemplation - Dartmoor, Devon" by Janicskovsky under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

An Indie Success Story: Donna Fasano

Donna Fasano And Her Publishing Journey

Donna Fasano wrote for a traditional publisher for nearly 20 years and published 32 romance novels that sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide.

3.5 million!

Do you know how much her royalty was? 2% to 6%! Still, Donna was able to put her kids through college and do nifty things like take vacations. And, besides, when Donna started writing there was no alternative to traditional publishing. Now, of course, there is.

Once Donna realized what self-publishing could do for her she wrote to her publisher and got the rights back to 10 of her books.

Since then Donna has sold ... wait for it ... 120,000 copies of those previously out-of-print books! I hope Donna doesn't mind but I did some quick calculations. If she sold each book for, say, $3.00 and received a royalty of around 70% she would receive well over $200,000!

No wonder publishers don't want to give authors their rights back!

Reversion Of Rights: How To Get Your Rights Back

It can be brutally difficult to get your rights back. Often the publishing contract is unclear regarding what needs to be done and publishers drag their feet at every step of the process hoping you'll give up. (see: Doing What's Right: How To Get The Rights To Your Books Reverted)

Donna Fasano went to a lawyer for help, David P. Vandagriff of The Passive Voice Blog. In her superlative blog post Donna steps you through what she did and sings David's praises. Her article is well worth reading, even if you've never traditionally published: Going Indie: from OOP to self-pub bestseller.

Thanks to Passive Guy for posting a link to Donna's article.

Other articles you might like:

- David Mamet On How To Write A Great Story
- How To Earn A Living As A Self-Published Writer
- Third Person Omniscient, Third Person Limited or First Person. Which Point of View Is Right For You?

Photo credit: "Mystical station" by Jsome1 under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.