A while back Kathy Steffen and I taught a great group of writers from the Romance Writers of New Zealand what I consider to be the very first step in writing any book—nailing the Goal, Motivation, and Conflict of your main characters. (Also known as GMC: Goal Motivation Conflict) If you follow this blog, you may … [Read more…]
A lot of writers hear that romance is the number one selling genre and with that in mind decide they want to write a romance novel. Let me start by saying I think that is a horrible reason to want to write a romance novel and one that is laden with possibilities for failure. Romance … [Read more…]
Writing a page-turning novel is so much more than planning plot twists and fast-moving action. A page-turning novel begins with an idea that is so compelling it draws a reader in from the first word and never lets go. So where do you start when thinking about writing your page-turning novel?
Character motivation gives your character the power to drive his story, but a properly motivated character will also take your writing far beyond plot. Character Motivation, the Why Do you ever watch a movie and scream in frustration at the screen, thinking why are you doing that? You idiotic character, that makes no sense! The … [Read more…]
The hero’s journey is a classic story structure that seems to be embedded in all of us. This video gives examples of the narrative quest from movies, myths, and literature. It’s worth a view, especially if the hero’s journey and narrative quest structure is new to you as a writer.