Rock the Boat by Rachel Allord

Rachel Allord

Please join me in welcoming Rachel Allord as she reveals how to ramp up the conflict in your story. Rock the Boat! Welcome, Rachel. 
~Dora

I recently had a reader tell me he felt his pulse rate increase while reading a relationally intense scene I’d written. Highest compliment ever. He seemed to be waiting for me to say something like, “Oh I’m sorry to put you through that” but what flew out of mouth was, “Awesome!” If I can turn a reader into a hyperventilating, finger twitching, nervous Nellie, I’ve done my job.

Our task, writers, is to make it worse. Not better, worse. Yes, we’ll need to come to some resolution at the end, cause our readers to breathe a deep, satisfied sigh of relief when they close our book, but until then, make it bad. Really, really bad.

Stories thrive on tension. Tension—the thing we try to avoid in reality—is what keeps us turning the pages late at night. We want to smooth things over in real life, keep the boat floating calmly, but in fiction you must rock the boat. I’m certainly not the first to say this but you must ask yourself, what could be the worst thing that could happen to this character at this moment?

There is a catch: The Badness has to be plausible. It has to fit the context of the story and jive with the spirit of your characters. For instance, you can’t suddenly have a plane crash through the roof of your main characters house just to add some sparks, unless of course you’ve somehow set it up where that it makes sense. (And if you’ve managed to do that, good grief, hats off to you.) Your protagonist can’t contract a rare virus halfway through the book simply to avoid a literary sagging middle… unless, of course, you’ve written way back in chapter three that he or she happened to get stung by some creepy-crawly in the Brazilian rainforest. If The Badness isn’t credible your reader will see right through your shenanigans and throw your book across the room. For the reader, The Badness has to be unanticipated but believable. If we don’t believe a character, we don’t give a hoot as to what happens to them, rare disease ridden or not.

So make it bad and plausible.

One more thing: The Badness has to be tempered with periods of calm, increased character development, and maybe even doses of humor. If the story is just one horrible thing after another—car crash, coma, divorce papers, murder—it feels contrived and, ironically, gets a little tedious and brings us back to the whole plausibility factor. No one can have that bad of luck. Unless your character is trapped in a daytime soap.

To summarize, make it bad and plausible and balanced.

So rock the boat. Ruin that imaginary friend’s life. Don’t worry; you’ll get to make it all better in the end. 

Purchase Link

College student Amber Swansen gives birth alone. In desperation, she abandons the newborn, buries her secret, and attempts to get on with her life. No matter how far she runs, she can’t escape the guilt. Years later and still haunted by her past, Amber meets Beth Dilinger. Friendship blossoms between the two women, but Beth’s son is a constant, painful reminder to Amber of the child she abandoned. 

When heartache hits, causing Amber to grapple with the answers to life’s deeper questions, Beth stands by her side. Yet just when peace seems to be within Amber’s grasp, the truth of her past and the parentage of Beth’s son comes to light and threatens to shatter not only their worlds, but the life of the teenager they both love.

Rachel Allord’s debut novel, Mother of My Son, released in May of 2013. Both an adoptive and biological mother, Rachel grew up as a pastor’s kid, vowed never to marry a pastor, and has been happily married to her pastor husband for eighteen years. She resides in Wisconsin where she avidly consumes novels, coffee, and sushi— preferably at the same time.

Merry Mayhem by Anita Higman

Anita Higman

Novels set during the Christmas season are becoming more popular than ever. People love reading cozy stories during the coziest time of the year. But the stories can’t be all about Santa’s rosy cheeks and merry dimples. If I don’t have St. Nick ripping his pants on the way down the chimney, or landing on some burning coals, or facing a gun-toting homeowner, then readers might want to settle in for a long winter’s nap—but only after opening the shutters to toss my novel out onto the new-fallen snow!

Okay then, let’s brainstorm a snuggly Christmas scene that can be tweaked enough to turn tranquility into turmoil.

Our heroine and hero, Lucy and Harold, are in love—oh, how sweet—and Lucy knows that Harold has created a perfect evening so he can pop the question. The tree is decorated, Josh Groban’s Noel CD is playing, and Harold and Lucy are nestled in front of a crackling fire sipping hot wassail. That’s a nice Christmassy proposal scene, but we can only take cozy so far. Ray Bradbury said, “First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!” Good advice, but what if my heroine, Lucy, wants to marry Harold and is about to yes? It’s the end of my happily-ever-after story. Something ugly will need to happen soon. Some sort of struggle, internal or external.

Here’s one scenario. Hours before their romantic interlude, Lucy discovers that one of her beloved friends, Alice, is also in love with Harold. This could cause some struggle, but Lucy may say yes to the proposal anyway, since she could convince herself that she is the only woman on earth who could make Harold happy. Okay, so after a chapter or two, the conflict fizzles.

Maybe a moral dilemma would turn up the heat. What if Lucy’s friend, Alice, was a widow, and the reason her husband is dead and her children are fatherless is because of an accident—an accident that was Lucy’s fault? And what if Alice had a problem with depression because of her loss and grief? Okay, that’s a twist that will make readers squirm. Lucy is now going to say no to Harold’s proposal—that is, if she has any moral marbles in her bag—and she’ll want to give Harold a chance to fall in love with Alice.

Good, but maybe the conflict needs another layer. Perhaps since the accident—which was years ago—Alice has used the incident as leverage, and she has forced Lucy into a subservient mode that has turned into oppression. Lucy will not only need to love Alice as Christ would, but she’ll also need discernment and wisdom and courage to break free of Alice’s control. Hopefully this additional dimension will help keep Lucy tripping toward the altar until she finally gets to say, “I do.”

If you have trouble creating conflict in your story, then find a brainstorming buddy who can help you flesh it out. This simple but effective idea has worked well for me.

I think one of the best books out there on plot development and conflict is The Plot Thickens by Noah Lukeman. I highly recommend it. Hope this helps.

Merry mayhem to all and to all a goodnight!

Dora here. How do you layer the conflict 

in your stories?

Do you brainstorm with your buddies?

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Charlotte Rose Hill, who loves serving up country delicacies and uniquely blended teas, discovers that while she's been faithfully caring for her tearoom customers, she'd also been quietly turning into an old maid. Charlotte did fall in love with a young man, Sam Wilder, when she was 18, but his family forced her to walk away from their relationship. Now, more than a decade later, Charlotte finds that she still has feelings for her first love. Initially thrilled to learn that Sam has come home to Middlebury, Texas, Charlotte is then devastated to learn that he's brought someone with him: his fiancée. But all is not lost when one of the loveable but meddlesome townsfolk decides to get involved. Will the next marriage in Middlebury be for Sam and Charlotte?

Best-selling and award-winning author, Anita Higman, has thirty-six books published. She’s been a Barnes & Noble “Author of the Month” for Houston and has a BA in the combined fields of speech communication, psychology, and art. Anita loves good movies, exotic teas, and brunch with her friends. 

Please visit her website at www.anitahigman.com and drop her a note by clicking the “Contact Me” button.

Tension Robbers!

Annette M. Irby

Happy Monday, friends. Annette here. I’m working on rewrites on one of my own projects and finding some tension robbers. Are you familiar with them? A good book will keep you hooked throughout the entire story. If the tension and/or conflict dies out, so does the story. Below are some tension robbers and the means to battle them:

Homeostasis

In life, both our minds and bodies prefer the security of remaining in a comfortable place—not too hot or too cold, not too stressed or too dull, not too hungry or too full. And we don’t like to be in pain. If we get out of those comfort zones, we aim for the nearest means of getting right back in. We like to keep things even. That’s homeostasis. It’s also deadly to your story's plot.

TIP: Don’t let things go calm and remain there for long. Always have another layer of conflict brewing when one is tied up. Let there be conflict! Let there be tension! For then, there is story.

Hook-outs

The most satisfying song endings are those that resolve. They come “down” and don’t leave you feeling as if the conclusion of the song hasn’t happened. Resolution is great in music and in arguments, for that matter, but not in story.

TIP: Keep the reader hooked by avoiding resolution at scene and chapter endings. Bring up new questions for the reader at these key spots. Let there be another layer of conflict building beneath the surface.

No Early Rescues

Let your characters suffer and let them face conflicts and trials without rescuing them too early. Challenge yourself as a writer to come up with a solution to situations you’ve never faced. Don’t take the easy way out, or necessarily the first solution. Be careful of letting angels or God rescue your characters all (or, some would say, any of) the time. Be careful of writing contrived rescues. Let them happen naturally. Use foreshadowing. For example, perhaps your hero and heroine are out rock climbing and he has no idea what he’s doing. But earlier in the story you mentioned that your heroine used to teach rock climbing or that she’s spent ten years perfecting her rescue techniques. Then, have her rescue him, after a harrowing scene. This will feel believable. When he’s rescued, though, let tension arise over something else. Now, she’ll have to share her secret, or now he’ll have to give her a job—whatever works for your story.

TIP: Let your characters use their own ingenuity to get out jams, but let them suffer first.

Rationalization

My heroine just talked herself right out of the scene’s inherent tension. Snore! As writers, we want to:

1) Find the inherent conflict or tension of a scene. If none exists, invent something fitting.

2) Milk that tension or conflict.

3) Draw out the scene to a fitting length without going too long, as that will feel contrived.

Just because we prefer homeostasis in life, or we rationalize our worries away, or God does rescue us, doesn’t mean our stories will benefit from this. And feel free to throw some twists in here. Perhaps your character doesn’t know all the things the reader does, so she rationalizes away her fears, then the sociopath attacks. That’s great tension!

Recognize and Neutralize

The overall key is to recognize when we, as writers, are attempting to bring the plot back under control so we’re comfortable. Maybe the story’s gotten too emotional, so we’d rather avoid the pain, or maybe we’d rather not be in that dark house during a thunderstorm. But good story isn’t about comfort. It’s about tension and conflict. 

Seek out the tension robbers and eliminate them before they take away the story’s value. Your readers will love you for it!

Your turn: What are some other tension robbers you’ve noticed? As a writer, how do you ensure you have enough tension?

~~~~~

Annette M. Irby is a published author who runs her own editing business, AMI Editing. She is also an acquisitions editor for Pelican Book Group. See her page here on Seriously Write for more information.

Components of a Great Romance

Reading in bed

Immersed in your latest romance, you stayed up hours past your bedtime to make sure the hero and heroine arrived at their happily-ever-after. A sigh erupts from deep in your chest. Your lips curve. You put the book down and turn off the light, satisfied that all is well with your fictional world.

A sigh and a smile. What every romance writer hopes to achieve, right? What is it that makes a love story sigh-worthy? I’ll share my top five necessary components, but I want to hear from you, too.

Strong, genuine characters. Don’t you love heroes and heroines who struggle with decisions and don’t always make the best choices? Men and women who may have messed up in the past but want to make things right? If I’m going to invest my time, give me real-to-life characters with authentic emotions.

Natural romantic tension oozes from the pages. Yes, I believe the bedroom door should stay firmly closed, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy ramped up tension. Something like this:

          Did she want Hunter to kiss her? An ache, a need, started in her sock-covered toes and  zapped all the way to her lips. Yeah. She did. Her free palm cupped his whisker-roughened cheek and slid down to his jawline, ending with a caress around his lips. “But I’m not laughing, now.”

       His eyes darkened, his nostrils flared. His jaw tensed under her hand. “No. I see that. But are you sure this is what you want, Teal? I don’t play games where matters of the heart are concerned. Yours, or mine.”

That little goodie is from When Truth Whispers, my novella releasing with White Rose Publishing on 3/15. For me, romance isn’t about the bedroom. It’s all about the journey.

Appropriate conflict. Do you enjoy books where the hero and heroine constantly argue? Aren’t they supposed to be falling in love? Not to be confused with teasing, a somewhat electrified banter between the hero and heroine, which I adore and where the reader can tell they like each other. Arguing, not so much. Conflict should arise internally from the characters’ dreams, ambitions, insecurities, and beliefs; and externally, what stands in the way of reaching their happily-ever-after.

A message that wraps around your heart. Such as forgiveness, that it’s never too late. Or that with God all things are possible and you can overcome your fears. When you read a story with faith and romance seamlessly woven together, it’s like savoring a cup of hot chocolate, dark and sweet, and dolloped with just the right amount of whipped cream. So rich with flavor, so satisfying, so comforting on a cold winter day.

Closure. Wrap it up. Unless I know up front that it’s a continuation (and I probably won't buy it until the series concludes), don’t leave me hanging on whether the hero and heroine get together or not. Nothing makes me want to fling a book (or my kindle) across the room more than when the hero and heroine aren’t even together at the end. How can that even be considered a romance? 

Now it’s your turn. What elements make a great romance for you? 
Happy Valentine's Day!

Coming 3/15
with Pelican Book Group

After a humiliating breakup, best-selling romance author Teal Benning flees to Promise Lake to complete her current novel, minus paparazzi and flashing cameras. Suffering from writer's block and a broken heart, Teal accepts the offer of help from neighbor, Hunter Miciver.

Hunter longs to be more than the friend who picks up the shattered pieces of Teal's heart, but when Teal finds out his secret, will she see him for the man he is—a man of faith and devotion, a man who would cherish her for the rest of her days—or will she lump him into the same category as all the other men in her life, including her father?

Will Teal recognize when truth whispers her name?

Do Violence to Your Reader, Part III: The Trough and the Wave by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

Happy Monday, dear readers. Annette here. We writers always hear about tension and conflict, but what about letting up on that tension? Jill Elizabeth Nelson is back with part three of her series on keeping those readers hooked. Read on! 

 Do Violence to Your Reader, Part III: 

The Trough and the Wave

by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

The most effective storytellers have a highly developed sense of rhythm and balance. Every wave on the ocean is followed by a trough, and every trough is followed by a wave. The variety is found in the depth of the trough and the height of the wave. This sense of rhythm and balance requires both instinct and planned design. Developing the knack takes practice, but is well worth the bother.

In writing circles, we talk often about heightening the tension and escalating the conflict, but a subtle and necessary aspect of tightening the screws on your characters, and thereby, on your readers is to know when to back off. Let your characters—and your readers—take a deep breath before plunging them once more beneath the stormy waves of tension and emotion.

These short-lived lulls serve not toward dullness in the story, but actually emphasize and highlight the tension, just as the trough of a wave emphasizes the crest of the next wave sweeping in. Our object as writers is not to wear our readers out with perpetual motion, but to draw them ever onward, eager to experience the next emotionally resonant moment.

For instance, in a romance the hero and heroine might savor a sweet and gentle idyll together, but then something occurs to throw them once again into emotional turmoil or physical danger or both. The rapport between the characters is rendered the more poignant and precious by its loss, thus raising the stakes in the reader’s mind for the characters to regain both their safety and intimacy.

In a suspense novel, the heroine might enjoy a brief respite from danger in a return to ordinary daily activities. However, safety proves to be an illusion as the next and more horrific moment of danger overtakes her. Briefly experiencing the false security of the ordinary raises the terror bar on the next eruption of evil both for the character and for the reader.

Perhaps you have never consciously noticed these rhythms in your reading, but you may be using them at some level by instinct in your writing. Becoming aware of the rhythms will enable you to consciously and strategically employ them in your stories.

Here’s your assignment:

Pick up a novel that made a profound impact on you, and evaluate it for the trough and wave rhythms that gripped and fascinated you. How might you apply those rhythms to your current WIP (work in progress)?

~~~~~

Award-winning author and writing teacher, Jill Elizabeth Nelson, writes what she likes to read—tales of adventure seasoned with romance, humor, and faith. Jill is a popular speaker for conferences, writers groups, library associations, and civic and church groups. She delights to bring the “Ah-ah! Moment” to her students as they make new skills their own. Her handbook for writers, Rivet Your Readers with Deep Point of View, is now available at Amazon (see links below).

Connect with Jill:

Website: www.jillelizabethnelson.com  

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/JillElizabethNelson.Author 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/JillElizNelson.

(print version)      (e-book version)

Tools for Writing: Scenes & Sequels

Did you know that if you do an Internet search of “scene and sequel,” you’d find 51,800,000 results? (No, I’m not exaggerating.) It's one of those catch phrases that you hear floating around writers' conferences along with "motivation-reaction unit" and "point of view." But, it is an important tool for your writer's toolbox because it keeps your novel moving forward. 

What is "Scene and Sequel?"

A scene gives the point of view character a goal, presents some type of conflict and ends with a disaster that moves the action forward into either another scene or a different type of scene called a sequel. A sequel is just a reaction scene that shows the point of view character’s emotion, presents them with another quandary that demands a decision and leads into more action.

The Warrior, the Wise Woman and the Fool

To explain this concept a little, let’s look at the biblical account of David, Abigail and Nabal. (I'm speaking on this Bible story tonight to my women's group at church so prayers would be greatly appreciated.) In 1 Samuel 25, David has just spared Saul’s life and is enjoying an uneasy ceasefire in the wilderness where he and his men are protecting area shepherds.

Scene: Goal, Conflict, and Disaster

David sends ten men to town with the goal of asking the owner of the largest flock, Nabal, for food. But here’s the conflict. Nabal is known for being ill-mannered and boorish. In fact, his name means, “fool.” In his answer, he compares David to a runaway slave and sends the messengers back empty-handed. Disaster strikes. David, in his anger, orders his men to suit up and prepare for battle, intending to kill every man in Nabal’s camp.

Sequel: Emotion, Quandary, Decision, and Action

In the sequel to this scene, a young servant runs to Nabal’s beautiful and wise wife, Abigail, with an emotional account of what has happened. She has a quandary: what can she do to stop the slaughter that her churlish husband has put into motion? She decides to order her servants to take the requested provisions to David’s army. Then she goes into action herself. She meets David on his way to her home and falls at his feet, apologizing for her husband’s words and pronouncing a blessing on him and his men. David graciously accepts her apology and spares her family.

How Many Scenes? How many Sequels?

Scenes and sequels can follow one another or you can have a series of scenes followed by a sequel or even series of sequels. 

In 1 Samuel 25:36, a scene follows. Abigail is relieved and returns home to tell her husband what she's done. But when she arrives, she finds Nabal drunk after a huge feast. She wisely decides to wait until he sobers up to tell him that she took food to David. The next morning, she breaks the news and Nabal's "heart dies within him." Disaster strikes when he dies a week later and Abigail is left a widow. 

But the story doesn't end there -- a sequel is next. David hears of Nabal's death and asks Abigail to marry him. The new widow considers his request and accepts, eventually becoming a queen.

Scenes, Sequels and Genre

Jack M. Bickham, in his book Writing Novels That Sell, says genre may determine the structure of a novel. Plot driven, fast-paced thrillers or action adventure may skip sequels. Character-driven contemporary or women’s fiction works may skip scenes. Either way, notice that both scenes and sequel end with disaster or action, driving your story on to its climax and conclusion. 

What about you? Have you used scenes and sequels in your writing?

~ Angie

Meta-Conflicts by Randy Ingermanson: Part Two

Happy Manuscript Monday, dear readers. Annette here to welcome Randy Ingermanson back as he continues his series on meta-conflicts in fiction writing. I don't know about you, but this topic has really changed the way I see conflict, both when I'm watching movies and when I'm writing/reading (not to mention in life). Thanks, Randy! Let's dive into Part Two. (If you missed it, please see Part One last week for the beginning of this article.)

The Games People Don't Play: Part Two*

by Randy Ingermanson

You might think meta-conflict (the idea that the two characters in a scene are playing by a different set of rules) can never happen in real life. But in fact, it happens all the time. Here's an example that's a little less extreme:

Bossbert walks into Wally's cubicle. "Wally, have you got the report done for the Gooberheimer project?"

Wally blows his nose loudly and tosses the Kleenex at Bossbert. "Wow, I've got the worst cold you ever heard of."

Bossbert leaps back from the germy tissue. "I asked you a yes or no question. That means I need a yes or no answer. Are you planning to give me one or not?"

Wally coughs into his hand, then wipes it on his pants. "I should probably go home, if I didn't have so much work to do."

Bossbert's hands are curling into fists. "Would you like me to fire you?"

Wally puts his hand to his forehead. "I think I've got a fever. Maybe it's the flu."


What's going on here? Why is Bossbert getting madder and madder?

What's going on is that Bossbert is playing one game and Wally is playing another. Bossbert needs
information, so he's asking simple yes-or-no questions.

Wally has no intention of giving an answer because he hasn't done his work. Instead of playing Bossbert's game (which he would lose), he plays a different game -- "feel sorry for me because I'm sick."

Only an unfeeling brute would fire a worker who has the flu. Bossbert can't win at Wally's game, and Wally refuses to play Bossbert's game. So Bossbert loses.

Next week, we'll tie up our series on meta-conflict. 

~~~~~

*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.

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.