How do you write a book most people would find entertaining and enjoyable?

Question for readers:

What books do you like to read? What do you expect to find in those books?

Question for Writers:

Who is your target audience? What can a reader expect when they pick up your stories?

Oh my! I must admit I fall very solidly in this category. After the ACFW Conference, I realized just how much of a beginner I am. It feels like I have scrapped my story for the umpteenth time, but this time I have a solid plan.

One of the many benefits of attending the conference was connecting with Susan May Warren, a wonderful author and teacher. She has created this wonderful online community that is lesson based. It does require a membership, but the investment has been definitely worth the cost so far.

Due to the fact I do pay a membership, I have been hesitant to share what I have learned. I would not wish to break any copyright laws nor infringe on what Susie has spent so much time creating.

But lucky for you, one of the most helpful sets of lessons has recently been transcribed into a book that, even with access to the courses, I have added to my library of resources.

The Story Equation: How to Plot & Write a Brilliant Story From One Powerful Question by Susan May Warren

Susie’s wonderful method is based on developing your POV characters from the inside out. I will not steal her thunder, for the information is not mine to share, but I will say this has become my new favorite method to work my story.

It is organic and naturally encourages great depth. The plot, theme, and premise developed around my characters with surprising results. My story already feels stronger with the use of the Story Equation (SEQ).

I will not lie.  As a beginner, I have spent many hours doing the courses, redoing them, and reading the book over and over again, working my characters as I did so. My characters are finally (mostly) solid and I am working on developing my major plot points.

The Kindle Edition of the book costs only $6.99. Let me tell you, this is an AMAZING price for an invaluable book. It is a quick and easy read, and easy to apply. If you can afford a monthly membership to her community, The Novel Academy, I would HIGHLY recommend that as well.

Below is the book blurb from Amazon. If you have any questions or experiences with the SEQ or Novel Academy, please comment below. I am so excited to share this resource with you!

“Discover The Story Equation!

One question can unlock your entire story! Are you struggling to build a riveting plot? Layered characters? How about fortify that saggy middle? Create that powerful ending?

You can build an entire book by asking one powerful question, and then plugging it into an “equation” that makes your plot and characters come to life. You’ll learn how to build the external and internal journey of your characters, create a theme, build story and scene tension, create the character change journey and even pitch and market your story. All with one amazing question.

Learn:

• The amazing trick to creating unforgettable, compelling characters that epic movies use!

• How to create riveting tension to keep the story driving from chapter to chapter

• The easy solution to plotting the middle of your novel

• The one element every story needs to keep a reader up all night

• How to craft an ending that makes your reader say to their friends, “Oh, you have to read this book!”

Using the powerful technique that has created over fifty RITA, Christy and Carol award-winning, best-selling novels, Susan May Warren will show novelists how to utilize The Story Equation to create the best story they’ve ever written.”

– Blurb from Amazon

Mr. Hauge’s structure is centered around script writing and is very formulaic. Although the percentages are more a reference to script writing, they can be loosely used for novel writing.

Stage 1  – Setup or “Everyday Life”    (0%-10%)

Outer Journey

• Introduce your hero in their everyday world
• Create identification with 2 or more of the following: 
  • sympathy
  • put them in jeopardy
  • make them likable
  • make the hero funny
  • make them powerful

Inner Journey

• The hero exists completely in their identity.
  • Their identity may be centered on what they do, their religion, or how they want others to see them.
  • Their identity is what protects their core essence. (People pleaser vs “I am fine the way I am.”)

Turning Point 1 – Presented with an Opportunity (10% marker)

Outer Journey 

• Creates in the hero a desire to move into a new situation, something new
• This is not the desire for the true endpoint.

Inner Journey

• Hero gets a glimpse of what it would be like to live in their essence
• They refuse the call to change

Stage 2 – New Situation   (10% – 25%)

Outer Journey

• The adjustment
  • What are the new rules?
  • How can I get along?
• Usually, hero believes it will be easy.

Inner Journey

• Hero gets a glimpse of what it would be like to live in their essence.
• Reject living in their essence.

Turning Point 2 – Change of Plans (25% marker)

Outer Journey

• The visible end goal is established.
• The character realizes, “No, I have to do this.”

Inner Journey

• A foot in who their initial identity is and a foot in who they really are – their essence. 
  • They struggle back and forth with who they are and what they were.

Stage 3 – Progress  (25% – 50%)

Outer Journey

• The plan seems to be working.
• There must be conflict, but the obstacles are avoided, overcome, delayed, or by-passed.

Inner Journey

• They are still straddling the fence of their essence and identity. 

Turning Point 3 – The Point of No Return (50%)

Outer Journey

• When the hero is closer to the goal than the start, and they have become so committed they burn their bridges, making it impossible to turn back.
• The hero’s life as he knew it is over.

Inner Journey

• Their identity is stripped away.
• They realize their essence and begin pursuing it.

Stage 4 – Complications and Higher Stakes (50% – 75%)

Outer Journey

• It is more difficult to accomplish the goal, but also more important to accomplish.
• They have more to lose.

Inner Journey

• They continue pursuing who they really are.

Turning Point 4 – The Major Setback (75%)

Outer Journey

• The reader has the sense that all is lost.
• The plan they had is out the window but they can’t turn back.
• They must make one last push or die while trying.

Inner journey

• The hero has fully committed to living in their essence but now the outside world starts coming in and frightening them. 
• The hero retreats back into their identity. They run away from who they are.

Stage 5 -The Last Push (75% to ?)

Outer Journey

• Do it or die while trying.
• Everything is put on the line.

Inner Journey

• They realize they don’t like who they were anymore. They have had a taste of who they truly are and they have to go after it.
• They have to find their destiny, even if it means risking everything to get what they want.

Turning Point 5 – Climax (% Depends)

Outer Journey

• All the problems are resolved.
  • The hero can fail, succeed, or change their mind.
• The length of the climax depends on how many problems you have to resolve.

Inner Journey

• The moment they fully realize who they are.

Stage 6 – The Aftermath

Outer Journey

• Responding the climax emotionally.
• The wedding, reconciliation, etc.

Inner Journey

• The hero is going to live their new life as they truly are.

Interested in examples and learning more about either Mr. Hauge’s structure or the hero’s journey? I highly recommend buying the audible recording of his and Chris Vogular’s presentations. It is worth every penny. I have listened to it half a dozen times already and plan on listening again as I drive to Nashville for the ACFW Conference next week.

Michael Hauge’s website also does a great job showing examples.

Tell me what you think about this plotting format? Does it make sense to you? Are there any movies or books you can identify with this plot structure?

“Said is dead!” he cried.

“He is no more,”  she whispered.

We had a whole funeral script written, and we did this for all the overused words, like asked, went, good, and nice. Our classroom ceiling was littered with the tombstones of forbidden words.

When I first began writing my novels, I was the queen of synonyms. Never could you claim to find one of those dead words in my books! No way! No, sir! My characters screamed, interrogated, and cheered. I was proud of my vast use of dialogue tags.

Imagine my surprise and shock when I discovered this was the mark of an amateur. Let me tell you, friends, everything we have been taught and graded on in elementary through high school is wrong! (And it isn’t your teachers’ fault, they were taught this is correct, too!)

Said is a Zombie

Writing fiction- whether a short story, novella, or novel – is a completely different beast than the works we were forced to draft in school. The truth for authors is this. Dialogue tags should be kept to a minimum, and when they must be used, simple words like said and asked are best. Why? Because they create the least amount of author intrusion.

Therefore, it is time to resurrect said and asked from the dead. But beware! You want as few of these zombies as possible roaming through your stories.

Controlling Your New Zombie Friends  

The more zombies you have in your story, the more danger you are in. So how do you keep their numbers to a minimum?

Use descriptive beats. You know? Those statements around the dialogue which let you know what the speaker is doing?

Examine the two examples below. Which one draws you in and helps you understand the characters emotions?

“I understand, Father. I will abide by your wishes,” Amelia said.

or

Amelia twisted the napkin in her lap as she stared at the tablecloth. “I understand, Father. I will abide by your wishes.”

In both examples, Amelia is saying the exact same thing. Not a word of the dialogue has changed, but notice how the depth of understanding changes with the dialogue beat. I don’t know about you, but I for one can hear Amelia’s tone of voice and see her reserved submission.

Check out your favorite contemporary author, I bet you will find even more examples of how the author pulled you deeper into the story with the simple use of dialogue beats.

Now It’s Your Turn

Are you up for a little zombie slaying? Here is a conversation below where the zombies have taken over. Use your imagination and change the dialogue tags into dialogue beats. Share your results in the comments section.

“I don’t think this is a good idea, Jamie,” Henry said.

“Why not? What could go wrong?” Jamie asked.

“I can think of about a dozen things,” he said.

“If you are chicken, you can always head back to the car. I can do this by myself and probably quieter, too,” she said.

“But what if you get caught?” he asked.

“Me? Get caught? I don’t think you have to worry about that. Old Man Pinkerton is deaf as a bat,” she said.

“Bats aren’t deaf. They actually have amazing hearing,” he said.

“Whatever,” she said.

Happy writing! I look forward to reading your zombie slaying skills,

Today I am going to finish up our look at GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. Here is a list of the previous GMC posts:

• What is GMC?
• An In-depth Look at Character Goals
• Character Motivation – Answering Why

Conflict: The Heat of the Story

So what is conflict? If goal is the “what” and motivation is the “why,” then conflict is the “why not.” Conflict is what your character must face in order to achieve their goal.

External conflict often comes in the form of a physical being, usually the villain. The villain causes problem after problem for the hero or heroine. All five senses are engaged when dealing with this maniacal menace. You can smell them, see them, feel them, hear them, and depending one what is going on… taste the blood they draw.

Internal conflict is more subtle. Whatever keeps the hero or heroine from learning their life lesson, that is your internal conflict. Just like anything else internal, it is emotional. Perhaps it is the self-conscious voice which keeps them from seeing their worth. Perhaps it is the guilt of not being there for a loved one when they were needed most. Whatever it is, it evades the five senses.

Why include conflict?

Readers like to see characters tested, run through the wringer, and facing their worst fears. Anticipating an explosion of conflict is what keeps the reader turning the pages.

Besides the excitement conflict brings to a story, it also brings depth and complexity to the characters. It is through conflict characters learn to dig withing themselves, grow and rise to the challenge. Through conflict they become a hero.

Think something is bad? Make it worse.

So how do you make the conflict engaging and page turning? Strife, tension, dissension, and opposition are key elements in creating conflict. Start with making a list of bad things which could stand in your character’s way.

Found one? Good. Now make it worse. Worse? YES! WORSE!

For one of my characters she is potentially losing her house. Initially, I started with the loan belonging to the bank, but then I applied the above principle. How did I make it worse? The loan belonged to a vicious loan shark who will get his money one way or another. Does that create more problems and stronger conflict? You betcha!

The stronger your conflict, the stronger your book.

Think your character has it bad?

Make it worse.

What is Motivation?

Goal and motivation co-exist. You cannot have one without the other. In fact, when defining our goal, motivation is taken into consideration. Motivation is the reason why they take action. It is what drives them.

The character wants his goal because of the motivation. It is the why.

Make It Compelling. Make It Urgent.

Motivation is important. It is a major element which helps us to empathize or connect with the character. My motto with motivation is “Make it worse.” This adds to the urgency of the goal.

The great thing about the fiction world is you can do what ever you want as long as the reader understands the why.

Your character has a loan they cannot repay? Make it worse. A bank will repossess your house and the items you own, but what a merciless loan shark would do can be far worse. Imagine how the plot would be different for each of those scenarios. Which story line will be more compelling to read?

Taking Motivation a Step Further

Motivation shouldn’t only drive your overarching goal, it should drive your character’s every decision and action.

• Why did honest Joe steal from the bank? Because his family was being held captive and would be killed if he didn’t.

• Why did the rich heiress choose the even richer rogue instead of the man she loved? Because her family was in financial ruin and her little sister would not be able to receive treatment without his infuse of money.

Give a reason which will make your characters willing to risk anything and everything to achieve their goal. Give them no other choice. A weak motivation leads to a weak story.

One Last Tip

Character motivation needs to match your actual character. Make it possible. Your story can be wildly crazy and believable as long as you have the right motivation.

Would a Union woman cut off her hair, pretend to be a mute boy in a Confederate prisoner camp, and secretly help Confederate men to escape? (If you are a history buff at all, you can imagine the risks that woman is taking. Doing so is completely against her best interest.)

If you give her the right motivation, it could be a completely believable story.

Application Questions:

• What is your character’s goal?
• What is their motivation?
• How can you make it worse?
• Is your motivation believable for the character? Would they really make that choice?
• Do your characters have a purpose that moves them toward their goal for the scene you have created?

Share some of your answers in the comments below. I would love to hear your thoughts. Are there any other guiding questions you would add?

May God bless your journey to follow “The Write Call”,

Last week we defined a goal as answering two questions.  What does the character want? What is compelling them to take action?

Everyone has goals in life. Today my personal goal is to overcome this sinus infection, however, I do not believe you would want to read a story centered around that goal. Why not? For one, it is gross. Secondly, it is not a compelling story that grips at your heart and soul to keep you turning pages.

So what makes a compelling goal?

Think about the stories you love to watch and read. I can guarantee you the main character’s goal is one that is life altering. The consequence of not reaching their goal will negatively affect them in a serious manner. It is for this reason they take action.

For example, in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Belle’s goal is to save her father from dying in the Beast’s tower room. If she does not save him, her only remaining family member will be lost to her forever. She would be left to live alone and possibly accept Gaston’s proposal. Horror of horrors. These consequences compel her to action. Achieving her goal is worth any sacrifice.

A novel example would be from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth Bennet has the goal of marrying for nothing less than love. When the very rich and arrogant Mr. Darcy first proposes, she is compelled to refuse him. Why? Because money would not be worth the life of misery.

External Goals:

The previous examples were external goals. (An external goal is something tangible.) According to Debra Dixon, author of Goal, Motivation, & Conflict, you characters should not want something they already have or want more of it.

To develop a strong character, you must create a goal in which they desperately need what they do not have. Mrs. Dixon describes it best:

Dangle a carrot just out of their reach and make sure they haven’t had a bite in weeks.

– from Goal, Motivation, & Conflict by Debra Dixon

Not only should they desperately want it, they should also urgently need it. The more urgent, the better.

In the interest of achieving their goal in time, they will make choices they would not have previously considered. Urgency will push them to make choices that go against their own best interest.

Internal Goals:

Internal goals reach down into the emotional soul of the main character. It is what they feel. I find that usually the character arc, or what the character learns, goes hand in hand with the internal goals.

One of my characters will learn that real love is not based on what she does, but who she is. Therefore, I have made her internal goal to be feel worthy of love and attention. In the beginning she feels she must earn the love of her inattentive caregiver and subsequently the love of the man she hopes to marry.

This, combined with her external goal, forces her to make decisions which she would never had made before. Some of the choices she makes will have dire consequences. You want to keep the reader wondering if they will ever learn their lesson and achieve their goal, all the way to the black moment a the end.

Application Questions:

• What is your main character’s goal?
• What is the consequence of not achieving their goal?
• How can you make them more dire?
• How can you make the goal more urgent?
• What choices would your character have to make that go against their best interest?
• What do you want your character to learn throughout the story?
• What could be their internal goal?
• What makes them desperate for this feeling?
• What will be the consequences if they do not achieve this internal goal?

Share some of your answers in the comments below. I would love to hear your thoughts. Are there any other guiding questions you would add?

What is GMC?

GMC stands for Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. These three concepts are developed around your individual characters.

• Goal – What does your character want? What is the reason they take action?
• Motivation – What is driving them to achieve their goal?
• Conflict – Why can’t they have what they want? What is preventing them from learning their life lesson?

Each character you develop will have their own external and internal GMCs. Just in case those old Literature & Language classes are fuzzy in your memory, external means you can touch it or achieve it without emotion, while internal revolves around the emotional.

Here is an example of Little Red Riding Hood’s external and internal GMC:

Debra Dixon does a fantastic job of explaining each aspect in her book Goal, Motivation, & Conflict. In fact her book was so useful, I have included it and links to purchase it on The Write Resources page.

Over the next few weeks I will be using what I have learned from her book to explore more about GMC, but for now, why don’t you try your hand at GMC?

Today’s Challenge:

Take your favorite fairy tale character or even your own made up character and share their GMC. You can copy and paste the following into the comments if need be:

Character:

• External Goal – 
• External Motivation –
• External Conflict –
• Internal  Goal –
• Internal Motivation –
• Internal Conflict –