Meta-Conflicts by Randy Ingermanson: Part One

This Manuscript Monday, let's go beyond the basics of fiction writing to something a little meatier with renown writing guru Randy Ingermanson. You've heard of including conflict in your story, but what about meta-conflicts? Let's dig a little deeper today as Randy discusses the Games People Don't Play, part one.

The Games People Don't Play: Part One*

by Randy Ingermanson

Fiction is about characters in conflict. In this column, I've talked about many different kinds of conflict over the years, but there's one kind that I don't recall ever discussing.

It's the conflict that comes when one character changes the rules of the game. Changes them so radically that it's suddenly a completely different game.

To understand this kind of conflict, let's look at an extreme example. Imagine that you challenge your buddy to a match at the tennis courts. Whoever loses has to buy the pizza for dinner.

You show up at the courts with your tennis racket and all your other gear.

Your buddy shows up with a chessboard, sets it up on the sidelines, and sits down behind the white pieces. He hasn't got a racket. He's not dressed for tennis. He isn't even on the court.

You wait for him to get his act together, but he's paying no attention to you, so finally you serve an ace to an empty court.

Your buddy moves his king's pawn forward.

You serve another ace.

Your buddy moves his queen out to the fifth rank.

You ace him again.

He moves his king-side bishop out.

You miss on your next serve, but you aren't worried, because he still isn't on the court. One more serve, and you'll have him nailed for this game.

He moves his queen down to the seventh rank, takes your king's bishop pawn, shouts, "Checkmate!" and leaps out of his chair, doing a victory dance.

What just happened there? You were winning, weren't you? But he thinks he's winning, because you've been playing different games.

This is an extremely weird kind of conflict. A meta-conflict. A conflict over what the nature of the conflict is supposed to be.

~~~~~~~~

*Article first appeared in Randy Ingermanson's Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, April 2011. See his website for more information.

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 25,000 readers, every month. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit
http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.

Ten Beats of a Romance: Part One by Susan May Warren

Happy Manuscript Monday, everyone! It's February, the month of Valentine's Day and what better way to celebrate than with a series on writing romance? Susan May Warren is here all month to share her series on the Ten Beats of Romance. This series is helpful for writers of romance, or if you include a secondary romantic thread in your novel, or if you just want to better understand this genre. Read on!

Ten Beats of a Romance Novel: Part One*
Susan May Warren

Every genre (including romance) has key elements—things that we expect from that type of story. Because of this, people might say a romance is predictable. But the author has license to change up these elements, putting them in a different order.

And of course, they are bringing their own voice to the romance—telling it in a way only they know how. That is why we enjoy remakes of old films—because even though it is the same story, it has a different take, and we love that—and frankly, we love seeing the new voice applied to the old structure!

Every romance, regardless of the order these components fall in, has the same ten components. For our series, we’ll call them beats.

Let’s start with the first component:

Beat 1: Boy Meets Girl: In this component, there is an event, goal or circumstance that occurs to bring our hero and heroine together. Usually this happens in the first chapter, but it definitely needs to happen by chapter three. In Titanic, the ship brings the hero and heroine together.

As you sketch out your novel, start by defining that Boy Meets Girl moment. Once you have your Boy meets Girl moment, you can move on to the next beat:

Beat 2: Interest/Need: Something about their own situation makes their heart vulnerable to romance.

In Titanic, Rose hates her life, feels suffocated and longs for freedom and adventure. Jack is a vagabond, and when he sees this beautiful woman who loves him, he is affirmed. She believes in him!

It’s very important for you to figure out what it is about your characters that make them ready or vulnerable to romance. Often this element is revealed though a conversation they have with their friends. Or is a part of inciting incident.

Remember, right now, you’re just building the components—you can move them around to fit the story.

Which brings us to the next beat…

Beat 3: Why Not: These are the obstacles between the hero and heroine that conspire to separate them.

I break these down into two different structures—why/why not, and why not/why.
The why not/why is when the obstacles appear first, and the why (they need to be together, which we’ll get to in a moment) appears second.

Or, you may have a why/why not book where they fall in love first…and then realize why they can’t be together.

Again, these are just components you need to have—they can occur in different orders.

Here’s an example of a Why Not: Sleepless in Seattle: She lives in Baltimore, he lives in Seattle!

The key is, you MUST have why nots in a romance. Because without the WHY NOT, there is no conflict and the story is…boring. Or not a story.

So—as you’re building your story think about the WHY NOT that you will keep them apart.

We’re going to skip over the WHY right now (but we’ll be coming back to it) and move onto the next component:

Beat 4: Wooing: Events or situations that allow the hero and heroine to fall in love. This is the fun stuff—all those “dates” or events they have that make them fall for each other. As we get deeper into building our romance, we’ll talk about the nature and purpose of each of these wooing dates, but for now, let’s just identify them.

One of my favorite is in While you Were Sleeping—moving the sofa!

It’s important to create scenes that will engage the reader—something sweet, and things the reader would like to do. You can be creative about the wooing moment—I’ve had motorcycle rides, hockey, a trip to the library, a snowmobile ride…think outside the box. Where would you like to go?

For every romance, I try and plot at least ONE great date scene, and a couple smaller scenes.

Ask: Do you have any wooing scenes?

These are the first four beats of a great romance. But they are just the beginning. Next week, we’ll talk about the element that makes a romance great: SPARKS!

*Article series first appeared on Book Therapy Voices blog in October, 2010. Used by permission.

~~~~~

To learn more about Susan, visit her website. Her latest release, Point of No Return, is a romantic suspense. Here's the blurb:

An American boy and a warlord's engaged daughter have disappeared—together—in an Eastern European border country. Only one man can find them in time to prevent an international meltdown—Chet Stryker. But Chet is taken aback when he realizes the boy is the nephew of Mae Lund, Chet's former flame. When Mae insists on rescuing her relative herself, Chet knows he has to protect her from the enemy on their trail. Yet can he protect himself from falling for Mae again?

Threads of God's Grace Series by Louise M. Gouge

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

What a pleasure it's been to host author Louise M. Gouge this month on Seriously Write. Please welcome her back this Manuscript Monday.

Threads of God's Grace
Woven Through Time: Part IV
by Louise M. Gouge

This is the last installment in my four-part series on Manuscript Monday, in which I describe my tagline: “Threads of God’s grace woven through time.” In Part 1, I discussed the Plot thread that forms the “warp” for the tapestry of our story. In Part 2, I talked about first “weft” thread, Emotion, in which the hero and heroine overcome some inner emotional difficulty and let love triumph. In Part 3, I addressed the Romance thread that ends in Happily Ever After (HEA). The remaining thread concerns the Spiritual “weft” that we weave through the plot to bring our story to life. This is the golden thread that makes everything else worthwhile as the hero and heroine comprehend the Grace of God and grow in their respective relationships with Him.

So how does an author weave this thread into the story in a natural (organic) way? What are the do’s and don’ts? Best-selling author DiAnn Mills says, “Good writing is not about preaching. No souls were ever saved by beating a person over the head with a Bible.” So “don’t be preachy” is a good watchword for the Christian writer who wants to add a spiritual dimension to her story.

What does it mean to be preachy? Steeple Hill author Cheryl St. John says, “Anything that suggests my way is better than your way sounds preachy. It's not my job to tell someone how they should believe or behave. But I feel it is my place to set an example and let people see my Jesus through me. So for me, the whole faith element comes completely through my characters' viewpoints, behaviors, their beliefs and faith, and their trust in God.”

Working with these principles, writers with a Christian worldview discover ways to show the deeper spiritual life in the way their characters respond to the events in the story, without being heavy-handed. The heroine may be a strong Christian, yet she falls in love with a man who never found any value in religion. Throughout the story’s conflicts, the heroine turns to God for strength and hope, even in the darkest hour. Her faith and her natural reactions to the conflict set an example the hero admires, and he wants to know more about her God. This gives her the opportunity to point out the difference between religion and her relationship with Jesus Christ. Or the hero may be the strong Christian, but the heroine, while believing in God, feels that He has let her down too often. She has decided that God is too remote to be interested in her. The hero’s life hasn’t been much better, but he’s determined to trust God in spite of the way people disappoint or hurt him. As the story proceeds, both hero and heroine choose to base their faith on God’s promises rather than external circumstances. It is this inner faith that frees them from the past (including emotional pain) and prepares them to give and receive love (romance), with God’s love providing the spiritual dimension to their lives.

With Plot as the warp and Emotional, Romantic, and Spiritual threads as the weft, the writer can weave the fabric of a heartwarming love story that readers will long remember. For my historical romance novels, these are my Threads of God’s Grace Woven through Time.

~~~~~

Torn between love and duty, American Patriot James Templeton must deny his heart to help win his country's freedom. Templeton's orders from General Washington are clear. His target: Lord Bennington, a member of George III's Privy Council. The assignment: find Bennington's war plans. The risks: the future of the East Florida Colony, Jamie's life...and his heart. In spite of the dangers of their hopeless situation, he's fallen in love with Lady Marianne Moberly, Lord Bennington's daughter. Desperate to protect his country, Jamie carries out his orders with a heavy heart. But Marianne's persistence is a challenge he never expected. With love and faith, they must navigate troubled waters to win their future together.
Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical, March 2010, ISBN: 13-978-0-373-82832-6
Available at cbd.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com

~~~~~

Award-winning Florida author Louise M. Gouge has been married to David Gouge for 45 years. They have four grown children and six grandchildren. Louise earned her BA in English/Creative Writing at the University of Central Florida in Orlando and her Master of Liberal Studies degree at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. The author of nine books, Louise is also an adjunct professor of English and Humanities at Valencia Community College in Kissimmee, Florida. Her favorite Bible verse is “He shall choose our inheritance for us” (Psalm 47:4), a testimony to her belief that God has chosen a path for each believer. To seek that path and to trust His wisdom is to find the greatest happiness in life. Web site and blog: http://Louisemgouge.com

Threads of God's Grace Series by Louise M. Gouge

Hi readers, Annette here. Hope you've had a good weekend and your writing is going well. Please welcome back Louise M. Gouge for her next installment. She does such a great job of introducing her topic, I'll leave that for her. *grin*

Threads of God's Grace
Woven Through Time: Part III
by Louise M. Gouge

This is the third installment in my four-part series on Manuscript Monday, in which I describe my tagline: “Threads of God’s grace woven through time.” In Part 1, I discussed the Plot thread that forms the “warp” for the tapestry of our story. In Part 2, I talked about first thread of “weft,” Emotions, in which the hero and heroine overcome some inner emotional difficulty and let love triumph. The remaining two threads, romantic and spiritual, make up the final “weft” that we weave through the plot to bring our story to life.

Obviously, a romance novel involves a hero and heroine falling in love at some point in the story, facing conflicts, overcoming adversities, and at last living Happily Ever After (HEA). From their meeting near the beginning of the story (some editors prefer the very first paragraph of Chapter One) until the end of the tale, the hero and heroine move closer and closer to each other until they admit their undying devotion to one another. The point at which they make this admission and how they get there varies from one story to the next.

When I was growing up, John Wayne was an iconic movie hero. My favorite Wayne films were those in which he and Maureen O’Hara sparred with each other for nearly the whole movie before admitting their love for each other. In much romantic fiction, that seems to be the favorite set-up. Woman meets man; man meets woman. Woman hates man; man hates woman. Each is out to destroy the other’s chance to reach a goal. Over time, the romantic and emotional threads weave in and out of the plot until their previously opposing goals are resolved, changed, or set aside, and the couple falls in love.

But that’s not the only way to write a romance. Sometimes the hero and heroine hit it off right from the start. They both rush into traffic to save a kitten, thereby meeting another animal lover. They both picket in front of a business with unfair labor practices and find someone else who loves to champion the underdog. This might make it tricky for the author to find opposing goals for her characters, but it can be done. Perhaps the conflict must come from another source. Or the characters discover another part of their lives (maybe in the past) that makes a romance between them impossible. The world is wide open to possibilities if a writer gives herself permission to try something new. The only thing that must happen is this: In the end, the hero and heroine have overcome impossible odds, both internal and external, they are openly in love, and they are committed to each other forever. Many readers are especially happy if the couple has a wedding in the last chapter or the Epilogue.

With the threads of emotions and romance woven into the plot, what else could possibly be necessary to make up a compelling story? For the Christian author, there is always the option to add a spiritual thread. Next Monday, I’ll address this topic.

~~~~~

Torn between love and duty, American Patriot James Templeton must deny his heart to help win his country's freedom. Templeton's orders from General Washington are clear. His target: Lord Bennington, a member of George III's Privy Council. The assignment: find Bennington's war plans. The risks: the future of the East Florida Colony, Jamie's life...and his heart. In spite of the dangers of their hopeless situation, he's fallen in love with Lady Marianne Moberly, Lord Bennington's daughter. Desperate to protect his country, Jamie carries out his orders with a heavy heart. But Marianne's persistence is a challenge he never expected. With love and faith, they must navigate troubled waters to win their future together.
Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical, March 2010, ISBN: 13-978-0-373-82832-6
Available at cbd.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com

~~~~~
Award-winning Florida author Louise M. Gouge has been married to David Gouge for 45 years. They have four grown children and six grandchildren. Louise earned her BA in English/Creative Writing at the University of Central Florida in Orlando and her Master of Liberal Studies degree at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. The author of nine books, Louise is also an adjunct professor of English and Humanities at Valencia Community College in Kissimmee, Florida. Her favorite Bible verse is “He shall choose our inheritance for us” (Psalm 47:4), a testimony to her belief that God has chosen a path for each believer. To seek that path and to trust His wisdom is to find the greatest happiness in life. Web site and blog: http://Louisemgouge.com

Threads of God's Grace Series by Louise M. Gouge

Hey readers (Annette here), it's Manuscript Monday, and we're welcoming back Louise Gouge to continue her series on weaving together our stories. Happy writing!

Threads of God's Grace Woven Through Time,
Part II by Louise Gouge

This is the second installment in my four-part series on Manuscript Monday, in which I describe my tagline: “Threads of God’s grace woven through time.” In Part 1, I discussed the Plot thread that forms the “warp” for the tapestry of our story. The remaining three threads: emotional, romantic, and spiritual, make up the “weft” that we weave through the plot to bring our story to life.

A story can’t take place without characters, and in the most compelling stories, the protagonist matures in some way and ends up a better person by the last page. This is called the character arc. For my historical romances, a heroine and hero usually share the stage. But for me, it is not enough just to have two people meet, fall in love, overcome conflict, and live happily ever after. Each of my characters must grow in several ways, beginning with the emotional facet of their personalities. In this thread, the protagonists deal with issues common to humankind: External difficulties such as cheating spouses, rebellious children, threats to home, job, family, or life; or Internal problems such as self-control, honesty, anger, fear, distrust, forgiveness, and a host of other problems. The way the characters react to these issues reflects their degree of emotional maturity. Throughout the plot journey, each character must grow and mature, learning something about himself/herself along the way, usually as each one reaches for a personal goal.

In romance novels, we know the accepted format is to have the hero’s and heroine’s personal goals be in opposition to each other, which throws back to the plot and some of that internal conflict required for an interesting story. For instance, if the heroine’s goal is never to marry a seafaring man because her father was always gone and finally died at sea, of course she must fall in love with a naval captain. She knows this man will be gone much of the time. Perhaps he will die, as her father did, and she will be left alone to raise any children they may have. In this scenario, she must deal with the emotional issues of fear, distrust, and loneliness, and her struggle should take the reader on an interesting journey. Likewise, if the hero, a captain in the royal navy, desires to marry a wellborn lady who can entertain admirals and advance his career, of course he must fall in love with a commoner whose social graces require some work. He must overcome his arrogance and snobbery and gently show the way for his lady to find acceptance among his peers. OR, even better, he can resign that life and live happily in a country cottage with the woman he loves. Each character has overcome an inborn emotional difficulty and let love triumph. Love, of course, takes us to the romance thread I’ll be discussing next Monday.

~~~~~

Torn between love and duty, American Patriot James Templeton must deny his heart to help win his country's freedom. Templeton's orders from General Washington are clear. His target: Lord Bennington, a member of George III's Privy Council. The assignment: find Bennington's war plans. The risks: the future of the East Florida Colony, Jamie's life...and his heart. In spite of the dangers of their hopeless situation, he's fallen in love with Lady Marianne Moberly, Lord Bennington's daughter. Desperate to protect his country, Jamie carries out his orders with a heavy heart. But Marianne's persistence is a challenge he never expected. With love and faith, they must navigate troubled waters to win their future together.
Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical, March 2010, ISBN: 13-978-0-373-82832-6
Available at cbd.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com

~~~~~

Award-winning Florida author Louise M. Gouge has been married to David Gouge for 45 years. They have four grown children and six grandchildren. Louise earned her BA in English/Creative Writing at the University of Central Florida in Orlando and her Master of Liberal Studies degree at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. The author of nine books, Louise is also an adjunct professor of English and Humanities at Valencia Community College in Kissimmee, Florida. Her favorite Bible verse is “He shall choose our inheritance for us” (Psalm 47:4), a testimony to her belief that God has chosen a path for each believer. To seek that path and to trust His wisdom is to find the greatest happiness in life. Web site and blog: http://Louisemgouge.com

Threads of God's Grace Woven Through Time by Louise M. Gouge

Hey everyone, Annette here. Manuscript Mondays are all about writing craft. For the remainder of Mondays in May, Louise Gouge will share her series on threads in our writing. I met Louise at Mt. Hermon Writers' Conference five years ago, and I'm thrilled she's visiting this month. Enjoy her first installment on plotting threads.

Threads of God's Grace Woven Through Time:
Part One
by Louise M. Gouge

A few years ago I noticed that many authors have “taglines.” Merriam-Webster says a tagline is a reiterated phrase identified with an individual, group, or product: a slogan. So I decided to come up with a phrase to identify my writing. Because I write both historical fiction and historical romance, I didn’t want to use the word “romance” to label it all. But one element is threaded through every story I write: the grace of God. I’ve done a considerable amount of sewing in my life, so I know about thread. But I’ve never woven anything (unless you count those potholders at Girl Scout camp), so I can’t take the analogy too far beyond what we all know about weaving: the warp (yarn or thread) is placed lengthwise on a loom and crossed by the weft (yarn or thread) to make fabric (Merriam-Webster). Therefore, if my plot is the warp, then one of the main strands of weft will be God’s grace applied in the lives of my protagonists. Because my fiction is not confined to a particular era, I wanted to include a reference to its historical nature. Hence: Threads of God’s grace woven through time.

Many Christian authors weave the story of God’s amazing grace through their plots. The other threads woven through the story will vary, depending on genre. The author writing a compelling romance novel will include three threads: plot, emotion, and romance. The Christian author has the option to weave in the spiritual thread as well. In the next few weeks, on Manuscript Monday, I will address each of these threads in the hope that it will help budding authors to clarify some of their own story objectives. In today’s article, our subject is plot, along with setting, symbols, and themes. In the three following Monday articles, I will elaborate on the emotional, romantic, and spiritual threads.

Plot
We all know that the plot is the storyline. It is what happens, a sequence of connected events.
In any book, regardless of genre, the plot must be strong and interesting with plenty of conflict, or readers will quickly put the book aside. I can’t think of anything new to say to experienced writers that hasn’t already been written about or taught at writers’ conferences. But for newbie writers, I will guide you along the well-worn (and tried and true) path. First of all, somewhere in the first chapter, first page, first paragraph, or first sentence, we must have a hook, an interesting or exciting (and inciting) event or circumstance that makes the reader want more. Then, as the story unfolds, the writer should throw in all the action and conflict the story will allow, whether internal or external. Don’t rely on gimmicks (“God” words, sex scenes, explosions, silly misunderstandings, etc.) to keep the reader’s interest. If the writer keeps moving the story forward with meaningful conflicts, this prevents the “sagging middle” that sometimes occurs when there is a need to impart information but nothing interesting is happening. The writer must make it happen!

Further, be realistic without being graphic. Keep your reader involved and on the edge of her/his seat. Research is essential. Don’t jerk your reader out of the story by failing to check details of setting, which I define as time, place, and social environment. (That’s a whole other study.) These are important elements. But you can also use some of the more literary fiction devices such as symbols (a visible sign of something invisible, i.e., a flag represents patriotism) and themes (addressing an issue innate to being human, i.e., taking vengeance can destroy the avenger) to enhance your story. All of these can be a part of your plot and will so thoroughly enrich it that people will rush out to buy your latest release. Well, we can hope, can’t we? What we do know is that “Story” in inherent in all of us. That’s why children love being read to. That’s why people still buy books in this age of television and movies. And readers know what they like and don’t like. As writers, we need to write the best, most original story we can to entertain them.

Next week, I’ll talk about the emotional thread that is a must for any compelling story.

~~~~~

In March, Louise's latest historical romance released, The Captain's Lady.

Torn between love and duty, American Patriot James Templeton must deny his heart to help win his country's freedom. Templeton's orders from General Washington are clear. His target: Lord Bennington, a member of George III's Privy Council. The assignment: find Bennington's war plans. The risks: the future of the East Florida Colony, Jamie's life...and his heart. In spite of the dangers of their hopeless situation, he's fallen in love with Lady Marianne Moberly, Lord Bennington's daughter. Desperate to protect his country, Jamie carries out his orders with a heavy heart. But Marianne's persistence is a challenge he never expected. With love and faith, they must navigate troubled waters to win their future together.
Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical, March 2010, ISBN: 13-978-0-373-82832-6
Available at cbd.com, amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com

Award-winning Florida author Louise M. Gouge has been married to David Gouge for 45 years. They have four grown children and six grandchildren. Louise earned her BA in English/Creative Writing at the University of Central Florida in Orlando and her Master of Liberal Studies degree at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. The author of nine books, Louise is also an adjunct professor of English and Humanities at Valencia Community College in Kissimmee, Florida. Her favorite Bible verse is “He shall choose our inheritance for us” (Psalm 47:4), a testimony to her belief that God has chosen a path for each believer. To seek that path and to trust His wisdom is to find the greatest happiness in life. Web site and blog: http://Louisemgouge.com