Things You Didn't Know About Your Books Part 2

                                                                         

                                 Where Almost Every Villain Comes From

 

We've dealt with the making of your main protagonist, so let's move on to the character who puts you on the edge of your seat...the villain. Similar to how our protagonists evolve sometimes (especially if you are a novice writer) your villain can unintentionally be formed in two ways - both of them being ones you should avoid.

 

First, your villain might accidentally be composed of your actual nemesis, it could be someone who has dealt harshly with you in your past or it can be a villain who shares attributes with your "inner struggles". For example, you may struggle with identity, fear, self-confidence, etc. so you concoct a villain that exercises those negative voices on your protagonist.

 

The second pitfall when crafting a villain mostly occurs with writers who love to compose thrillers - or love reading them. If you love adventure, mystery, thriller, drama, etc. then your villain might just be composed as the most evil person on earth with dark secrets, a hidden path, and so on and so forth. You create your villain to the most mysterious, evil, juiciest person that you can. 

 

Well, the problem with Type 1 is that when your villain represents either your conflicting inner voices or a personal nemesis in real life, the plot is affected. You might accidentally get so caught up expressing the person who has wronged you and how terrible they are or how stressful it is to fight against darkness, that you don't pay attention to the real plot of your manuscript. Also, when you are writing about a nemesis in your personal life, you become biased, possibly leaving no room for reconciliation or a change in the villain's personality. When you write, your book's content must be devoid of personal feelings about or towards the characters as much as possible so that your personal preference doesn't override the plot or the authenticity of the story. 

 

What might prevent you from letting your own nemesis work his/her way into your writing is to force yourself to look over the attributes of your villain and compare them to any people who you might have had a conflict with - because sometimes we aren't aware of our bias perspective. You might also want to confront a mentor or even your personal journal so you can get out all the bad juices about your adversaries before you begin crafting your villain.

The second pitfall is one of the hardest to overcome once you get into it - or if you simply love a good villain, thriller, and gothic appeal. When constructing your villain it is easy to put all the worst-best things the antagonist could have - all the way down to the super-sonic hearing, a closet full of skeletons, a secret half-sister, and a tendancy to murder. Can you see the issue? If you're writing fantasy, the super-sonic hearing might be acceptable, but let's push that aside. Not only are you using all the possible traits a villain could have, making he/she out to be the worst, relentless person on earth with a million secret connections, but it also makes it difficult to follow plots. By doing this, the villain also appears unrealistic and far too dark. By making your antagonist to be the "juiciest of all time" you might loose focus on other things like inner conflicts, motives, true self, etc.

 

So how can you remedy the tenancy to make your villain a little too...villainous? Sit down and write a chart. Make up categories like "motives", "past", and "evil tenancies", this will make sure that you cover every aspect of your villain so that they will be balanced. And make a rule not to favor one category over the other, as that defeats the entire purpose of the chart. You also might want to consider having someone look at the chart to hold you accountable and give you an unbiased opinion of how realistic your villain appears. 

 

Hopefully this was helpful! Look back at your past work and read about the villains you have created in your past writing - were they the result of a personal nemesis or maybe just your overzealous imagination? You might be surprised. 

 

 ~Lydia Sherren

Quote For The Week

                                                     

“If you wait for inspiration to write you’re not a writer, you’re a waiter.”                        

                           ~ Dan Poynter.

Things You Didn't Know About Your Books Pt. 1

 Where Almost Every Main Protagonist Comes From

     Have you ever wondered where you're main protagonist comes from? Just how did he/she evolve? What was the basis for their traits, likes, dislikes, flaws, etc.? Maybe you have never taken the time to answer this question...but you should. Because it's incredibly easy for writers to fall into a trap that they aren't even aware of. Let me explain. 

     

    This is probably more geared to those who are just starting their writing career so please keep that in mind. Though I find the alleged "trap" I have referred to is also one that professional writers can fall into themselves. 

 

     When you are making your main protagonist it usually goes one of two ways (especially if you're a novice writer). The first way, is that you build your main character to possess the attributes that you wish you had. You might be timid and easily frightened so you make your female lead a sanguine, fearless, independent young woman. Or you might try and craft your main character so that they resemble you. Your flaws are their flaws, you're thoughts their thoughts.

    While this might seem like a harmless happenstance for some writers it can cause more harm than good. When we try and make characters like Type 1 (the ones that represent who you wish you were), it is so easy for the writer to get caught up in - you guessed it - hero worship. Since your protagonist has molded into the epitome of perfection you can easily make your writing unrealistic. Instead of the main character having struggles they are a role model that came from an alternate universe. Because as we know, no one is perfect. So in a simple sentence, never make your character into the person you wished you were, because before you know it your writing will be entirely centered upon making that hero stand out - and nothing else. 

    

    Let's move on to Type 2. This is probably the most common of downfalls when it comes to writing - and also the trickiest to detect. Let's say (and this is entirely fictitious) you just had a breakup. You are feeling dejected, unlovable, and like no body in the world understands. Without even being aware of it, the next day when you go to start plotting out your main protagonist, you make him/her a person going through depression, someone who's had numerous relationships that fail every time. Congratulations! You just turned yourself into the leading lady/man of your new book. At first, this may seem fine. After all, it isn't hurting anyone and it's a great way to express your emotions right? Wrong. If you make your problems the protagonist's problems the reader is probably going to put the book down after the first chapter. Why? Because they might as well be reading your diary. The reader wants to read, not take on all your emotional baggage.

 

    Now, how can you make sure you avoid making these slips with your writing? Type 1 takes a bit of discipline - like anything worth doing - and might take some time to get used to. In order to overcome the hero-worship issue, I suggest forcing yourself to write out a chart with an equal list of pros and cons in the character. It might be hard at first, but it's worth it.  Type 2 isn't as hard as you might think. If you have a lot of emotional baggage weighting you down there are a few things you can do. You can try listening to relaxing music to get your mind into a more objective view, or perhaps you might want to journal all your thoughts out in your diary before you sit down to write and get all the negativity out. Maybe, if you're feeling creative, write a separate story just for that particular purpose so that you can pour all your emotions into that protagonist. 

    Why not take a look at some of your first work? You might be surprised to discover just how much your main protagonist is like - or totally unlike - your own character. 😉

~Lydia Sherren

 

     

 

                                                                        

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”            

                                                                          ~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Setting Your Word Limit

                                                                              

Just How Much Is Enough?

    

    There are a variety of ideas of how many words a writer should contribute to their book daily. It's crucial to set aside a certain amount of time each day to writing your novel, and it isn't always easy. Keeping a schedule requires discipline and perseverance. But it's also important to figure out how many words per day on average you want to commit to writing. 

 

   This varies from writer to writer. Some writing forums suggest two hundred words per day while I have seen some writers put themselves down for as many as four thousand words every day. My advice is this: don't pay attention to any of those suggestions. In order to decide how many words you should write daily in your novel, you need to take into consideration several things that rely on you personally. How much time do you have to write in your novel? What number of words do you find is easy to type down? At what word number does your mind blank out?

 

    If you go with a word number someone suggests, you could either be writing below your capacity or you could end up pushing yourself so hard that at the end of the day your four thousand words don't make a lick of sense. That's why I suggest you do the following. 

 

    Sit down and start writing. It might take a few days to find the word number that works best for you but don't worry. Just sit down and write. Over the period of three to seven days (don't worry if it takes longer) gauge what number of words you can wright easily and then push yourself a few hundred words. You don't want to write a number that is a breeze, you want to write an amount that will push you a little bit out of your comfort zone. 

 

    For example, I write one thousand words a day on average. The first seven or eight hundred words go by fairly quickly, but then the well starts to run a little dry. I don't give up though, I push myself out of my comfort zone a little bit to complete my one thousand words. This stretches my mind to think beyond my regular capacity and I believe helps me grow as a writer.

 

    Don't rush this process. You might believe you have found your average writing pace but then, weeks later, you review the material to edit it only to find out your plots are contradictory and your wording is jumbled. Take the time to see just how much is enough, it's worth it in the long run!

 

~Lydia Sherren   

Quote For The Week

                                                                            

                                                                              

 “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.”

                                                                                          ~ Richard Bach

 

 

Why You SHOULDN'T Make A Habit Of Reading E-Books

                                                                                   

Away With The Digital Books!

    

     Now it might seem a little harsh to say, especially in a culture where e-books and Kindle are the popular ways to easily view books at your convenience. But did you ever consider that digital books might be doing you more harm than good? No? Well it's 100% true!

 

    It has been scientifically proven that digital media has the unintended effect of causing people to think less deeply. By staring at a screen, whether it be on a tablet, i-pad, cell phone, or any of the other digital devices, we are actually harming ourselves. When you think about it even makes sense, after all, it doesn't take much intelligence to scroll down on your tablet to the next page of your e-book.  

    In this modern society where Kindle is the number one way to read a book when you're on the move - and is the most affordable - it might seem a little much to do away with your online books. But it's more important than you might think. By picking up a book from a store or library, turning those pages, reading those words off the paper, it's all causing your brain to actually see the words, process them, and then relay their meaning to you. 

    Digital books don't do that. While they seem more efficient, they are also slowly draining your brain of it's intelligence. Like I said previously, anyone can stare at a screen and scroll to the next "page". Not only will reading an actual book in your hand keep your mind working full time, it will also naturally cause you to extract the most from the text.

    It's okay to spend the odd time buying an e-book, but don't try to make a habit of it. A digital device screen may make things easier - but going the easy ways has it's consequences. So go to your library or bookstore, and pick up a good, printed, novel...even if you feel like's it's a little old-fashioned. 😉

    Happy reading!

~Lydia Sherren