Day four Nano challenges
#1
Butterfly Ripples / The Butterfly Tsunami
"I'm just really not in the mood to date," Wendy said to her friend Mary. "After my last boyfriend Peter kidnapped and isolated me from my family, getting me hooked on pixie dust and turning me into some mother figure for dozens of kidnapped children like he had some oedipus complex, I'm pretty sure I've sworn off men for an eternity."
Like Wendy in the above statement, we all know or have been through something rather traumatic before, so we're usually well aware of the psychological damages that may occur after an event. Unfortunately, as writers, sometimes its easier to avoid the drama and pretend things didn't happen. You see it in TV shows all the time: someone dies, but everything is hunky dory in the next episode. But people aren't that simple in reality. Think about your character's past, present, and future. Where has she been, where is she now, and what is she doing later? Has she suffered the loss of a loved one, and every time she sees crayons begins to weep? You're writing a story, but every story has back-story. Give your character some history that will shape her future. Or his, if you have a male character... I'd best not go eliminating the hairy-er sex.
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#2
Cupid’s First Kill
Romance is a complication in books, but you know we all love and desire the inclusion of it. Sometimes our happily ever after ends not so happily. Things can go wrong. One or both get into an accident. Someone gets murdered. Someone gets cancer. Romance is not just for the happy ever after book about the shut-in princess who wears a glass slipper and just happens to have tiny feet and a fairy godmother. It’s a mood setter, too. Romance can make the entire book comical, or heart-rending. Decide whether you want romance in your book, and if you do, what type of mood it should set.
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#3
The Therapist
“Something crazy this way comes.” Edward told his friend Jacob as Bella approached.
There comes a time in every book when you have to decide whether you want to keep going down the path of destruction your characters are insisting upon, or install a mega rewrite that would give a character more personality than cringe-worthy neediness and lip-biting. Whichever option you choose, it’s up to you to make it work. However, I want to recommend a few reasons to introduce some kind of therapist character to your story.
-One of your characters is a drug addict and they’re dating crack
-Your main character is a damsel in distress
-A character decides to throw herself off a cliff because her boyfriend broke up with her
The first one isn’t quite so bad. You’ve got a vampire and a human. Okay. The second one is starting to rock the foundations a bit. I’m the sort of reader who likes strong female protagonists and even stronger evil villainesses. The third one gets me wondering what book burning is like. Seek help for your characters if necessary...
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#4
Cupid Traded the Bow for a Gun
Romance… ah, the spice of life. Now consider who you want to romance your main character. Great, you have an idea… Now cut that character out. Does the story still stand on its feet? Unless the story is a romance genre novel, the main character should still be able to solve the murder of the last king AND take over the throne without that pesky lover. That being said, romance is fun and we like it. So put the lover back in. I know, I’m a pain. Do this, no wait, undo that.
Why am I getting all crazed about romance, you ask? Because as a reader, I don’t want safe. I want a romance complete with all the crazy. Plus, the titles I came up with for the romance series of nano things make me giggle so I’m writing it. Anyway, you’ve got two characters. Stryker likes Nimberly, and Nimberly likes Stryker. Fantastic. Write a short story and I’ll read it. I don’t want to read such a safe relationship in a novel. I want drama and difficulty. That’s not to say I want teen drama (that’s for a future post) where everyone is in love with everyone. I just want complications. You’ve got like 450 pages to fill, so if you’re going to fill them with references to how everything is perfect, you won’t get many people past page one.
So for your novel, think about your characters. Think about Nimberly and what annoys her. I’m sure Stryker is all good and well. He’s the epitome of happily ever after Prince Charmings. But instead, try crafting a character for Nimberly that creates friction and tension in her life. You want sparks to fly, right?
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