BREAKOUT Notes - Part 3

For those of you just joining us, here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2 of my notes from the The Breakout Novel Intensive V2.0 put on by Free Expressions and literary agent Donald Maass. Now, on to Part 3 . . .


PROTAGONISTS
There are basically three kinds of protagonists - The Everyman/Everywoman, The Genuine Hero/Heroine, and The Dark Protagonist.

The Everyman/Everywoman is ordinary, likable, principled. Watch that this protagonist is not boring or too identifiable. Make this protagonist like the people you care about - what makes them strong, kind, caring?

The Genuine Hero/Heroine is someone who already does heroic things, like a Navy Seal, a police officer, a firefighter, a superhero etc. Watch that this protagonist is not stereotypical. Show how he or she is ordinary and human like everyone else.

The Dark Protagonist is the outsider, a self-loather, tragic, sometimes non-human. Watch that this protagonist is not too whiny. Show he or she as someone who longs for change, who wants to change, who still has hope.

Your protagonist can be a mix, like a "dark everyman" kind of thing. But no matter what type of protagonist yours is, make sure you show the reader within the first five pages.  

ANTAGONISTS
As I mentioned in Part 2, Maass has us ask questions to find the depths of our stories and characters. Here's some of what he brought up regarding antagonists:

What's the worst thing the antagonist does in the story? 
What is the antagonist's goal? 
What are some things the antagonist can do to get in the protagonist's way?
What is the protagonist's weak spot and how can the antagonist exploit it?
What is one way the antagonist is just like me? Where in the story can I show it? 


Just so you know, Maass and his books and the conference are way better than my choppy summaries. I do hope though, that this series of posts gave you a taste of what's offered in the books and at the conference. It's an investment of time and money, yes, but it's also an investment in ourselves and in our writing careers.

BREAKOUT Notes - Part 2

For those of you just joining us, here's the link to Part 1 of my notes from the The Breakout Novel Intensive V2.0 put on by Free Expressions and literary agent Donald Maass. And now, on to Part 2 . . .

Maass gets his students to go deeper into the story by having us ask questions of ourselves and our characters and our stories. Here are a few examples:

What is your protagonist's bad habit, weakness, vulnerability, blind spot, etc? When does this embarrass your protagonist? Who notices? How does your protagonist react?

What is something your protagonist never told anyone? What was your protagonist's worst mistake? Who would your protagonist most not want to let down? Who would be most disappointed in your protagonist? Would knowing the truth be a devastating blow or a revelation?

*****

EMOTIONS

Immerse the reader in characters' feelings. Try doing an "emotion draft" and ask what is the strongest emotion of the POV character in this scene, in the next one, etc. What's right about this feeling? What's wrong? What are the secondary emotions? What feeling is the POV character avoiding? All of this creates a fresh emotional experience for the reader. 

How can we approach feelings in a way that feels FRESH? Obvious emotions are not needed on the page. It's the secondary ones that bring something different to the page. 

But it's not enough to just put emotions on the page. Use them to create conflict inside the character. Counter expectations, push the reader off balance just a little. We can create uncertainty and move the story forward just as much with emotions as we can with high action. 

BREAKOUT Notes - Part 1

I recently returned from the most amazing workshop - The Breakout Novel Intensive V2.0. It's put on by Free Expressions and literary agent Donald Maass. If you aren't familiar with his books on craft get your hands on at least one of them pronto! My autographed copy of his newest, Writing 21st Century Fiction, is sitting on my desk as I write this post. 

It was an overwhelming, exhilarating, roller coaster of a week and more than a few meltdowns were had - and not just by me, thank you very much. My only regret is that I didn't attend one of these conferences earlier in my career.

I'm drowning in notes and critiques and recorded one-on-one sessions with Donald Maass and the editors from Free Expressions, and I don't really know where to begin regarding sharing some of what I learned. So, I think I'll start with the part that really made the whole conference experience worth it for me . . . 

How to write more fearlessly, more boldly.

Now, I know some of you don't have this problem. But I do. I tone down scenes, I tame moments. I'm afraid - for some reason - to let the story go where it wants to go. I rein it in, hold it back. I've known it for awhile but I didn't know exactly how to fix it. Until now.

Imagine there's a more fearless writer than you and he/she becomes your mentor. He/She says "This is what I'd do in your story . . . " What is it? Do that thing!

What's a line you won't cross in your novel? A word you won't use? A feeling that's too ugly or too sweet?

What's one ironclad rule of the genre you're writing in? Write it down. Now do this - BREAK IT. Readers bring expectations to every story so if we want to shake them up a bit, then we need to find a way to break a rule or two. Do the rules really need to be rules?

* SET YOUR READERS' EXPECTATIONS FOR AMAZEMENT. * 

Favorite Writing Books

In my office, I have two shelves of books about writing. One holds books I've read and consider keepers. The other contains books I haven't read yet. (Guess which one is crammed full?) The subject matters range from inspiration to technique to writing exercises.

I've already talked here and here about Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way but some of my other favorites are On Writing by Stephen King (big surprise, I know) and Writing the Breakout Novel  by Donald Maass (which, obviously, I haven't done yet.) I've also got books by Natalie Goldberg and Heather Sellers and Maeve Binchy, to name a few more.

I know, I know - I should spend more time writing than reading about writing but I think having a handful of go-to books is kind of like having your own little private cheering/inspiring/consoling section. So, how about you? What are your favorite books about writing? (Maybe I have some of them on my to-be-read shelf.) What about those books keeps them on your shelf? And what about other writing resources or writing magazines - any favorites there?