Mastering Motivation for your Characters

This is one of our most popular workshops and it's available for download. Mastering Motivation is an intermediate workshop focused on creating strong, believable motivation for the characters in your novel.  

Motivation is one of the key elements of any novel. This workshop is designed to give you the tools you need to create strong, believable motivation that will drive your story from beginning to end. We'll discuss how to avoid cliched and contrived motivations, how to build on your basic characterization to create characters that actively push your story forward. We'll also tackle that dreaded nemesis of so many writers -- author intrusion.

This is the full version of the workshop presented at the RWA Conference in Washington, DC. It's a great follow-up to our workshop on characterization, but can also stand alone, especially if you've already some preliminary work with your characters. -- $25.00

For more information about this, or any of our workshop booklets, come to our website and click on the tab for the booklet(s) that interests you. 


Please note that our PayPal buttons have been experiencing technical difficulty that we can't seem to fix. If you want to purchase a booklet, e-mail classes@dancingoncoals.com and we'll send you an invoice from PayPal for the booklets you want. 

Also available:

Spinning Straw into Gold:  The Art and Craft of Revisions
Creating Characters with Character
Plotting the Organic Way
Riding the Emotional Roller-Coaster
Mastering Scene and Sequel
In and Out: Putting Characters in Conflict
There's Not Room for Both of Us: Avoiding Author Intrusion

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Dancing on Coals Online Workshops
http://www.dancingoncoals.com

Creating Characters with Character

For the next 4 days, pick up a copy of CREATING CHARACTERS WITH CHARACTER (an intermediate level craft workshop) for only $20. That's a 20% discount off the regular retail price. Just send an e-mail requesting a copy of the booklet to: classes@dancingoncoals.com and we'll send you an invoice payable through PayPal. (For some reason our PayPal buttons are experiencing technical difficulty.) Your e-book will be delivered to your e-mail inbox when your purchase is complete.

Why should you grab your copy?

From hero and heroine to protagonist and antagonist, main characters to sidekicks and walk-ons, you'll learn the art and craft of breathing life into the characters in your story. Learn how to uncover what drives your characters, what they want and what they value. Explore the best uses of point-of-view and perspective, and learn how to find your characters' unique voices. Learn successful techniques for conducting character interviews and getting your characters' emotions out of your head and onto the page.

You'll walk away from this workshop knowing how to add those special touches that will take your characters from ordinary to extraordinary in every book you write.

Please adjust your spam filter to accept e-mail from dancingoncoals.com. If you experience any trouble with your purchase, please e-mail us!

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Dancing on Coals Online Workshops
http://www.dancingoncoals.com

On Creativity ...

“Sometimes you've got to let everything go - purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything . . . whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you'll find that when you're free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.” ~ Tina Turner

This one seems especially appropriate for me today. Are you the kind of writer who writes to escape what's going on in the real world? Or does everyday life interfere with your creative efforts? Try purging every morning, whether through prayer or morning pages or meditation. Take a few minutes to let go of what's worrying you before you sit down to write and see if that makes a difference. 




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Dancing on Coals Online Workshops
http://www.dancingoncoals.com

"There is always room at the top." 

-- Daniel Webster

Persistence

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."
-- Robert Collier

art courtesy Florida Center for Instructional Technology

Attitude is Everything

I'm nose-to-the-grindstone on my book due next week, so blogging has to fall by the wayside until it's off my desk and onto my editor's. In the meantime, I'll be posting a few of my favorite quotes....

art by Jeff Bucchino, "The Wizard of Draws"

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." 
 
Thomas Jefferson----------

Pacing the Page

Let’s talk now about pacing the page.

The biggest culprits that slow down the pacing on a page are unnecessary wordiness and repetition. Avoid repetition of information already provided to the reader unless it’s absolutely necessary for clarity.

For example:

She crossed to the table and sat. She linked her hands together on the table and met his gaze. His hands rested on the table, so close to hers they could have touched easily, but he made no move toward her.

feels slower to the reader than:

She crossed to the table and sat, linking her hands together and meeting his gaze steadily. His hands were so close to hers they could have touched easily, but he made no move toward her.

or

She crossed the room and sat, linking her hands together on the table and meeting his gaze steadily. His hands rested just inches from hers, so close they could have easily touched if only he’d made a move toward her.

Can you feel the difference between the first example and the second? The first and third? The first example is okay, but when you compare it to the third you begin to recognize a kind of “sludgy” feeling that comes from using the word repeatedly. Using it once enhances the picture while keeping the pacing tight.

She tucked her notebook under one arm and slung her purse over the other arm.

Now remove just one word:

She tucked her notebook under one arm and slung her purse over the other.

Can you feel the difference there?

Using too many adverbs and adjectives can leave your work feeling cluttered:

Slowly, she descended the steps. Her hands trembled violently, and her breathing was ragged. She watched, scarcely breathing, as shadows of the two men danced on the wall. Suddenly, a shot rang out. She screamed shrilly and realized that she’d given herself away. She turned back as quickly as she could and raced rapidly up the stairs, praying that neither of the men had seen her.

That’s okay, right? Okay, but not great. In fact, -ly words can often be a signal that you’re telling more than showing. Check out this substitute:

One by one, she crept down the steps. Her hands trembled and her breath caught in her throat. She watched in horror as shadows of the two men danced on the wall in front of her. Just as she reached the landing, a shot rang out. A shrill scream tore from her throat before she could stop it and she knew she’d given herself away. Frantic now, she turned back and raced up the stairs two at a time, praying the whole time that neither of the men had seen her.

It’s rare to find any sentence in a first draft that can’t be restructured and made tighter.

The mood you want to evoke will have a lot to do with which words you choose and the pacing you use on a particular page, or paragraph. 

Action scenes, scenes filled with suspense, will often need shorter words and sentences to create the right mood.

Romantic scenes might need longer words and more fluid sentences to create the right mood.

Movie makers can use various senses for invoking mood and atmosphere. They have script, they have visual action on the screen, and they have a sound track. When we write, we’re creating both the movie and the soundtrack for our stories, but the only tools available to us are words.

Use them wisely. Be lavish when that’s called for to create the right mood and tone. Be sparing when necessary. Remember that it’s the journey you create for your readers that matters.

Listen to the whispers of instinct that warn you when you’ve become repetitive or tell you that you’re moving too fast. Your own fiction instinct will be your most valuable tool when it comes to pacing if you’ll just pay attention to it. It’s the paying attention part that creates problems for most of us. We tend to shrug off those nearly silent whispers and talk ourselves out of our instinctive responses.

Learning not to do that just because you’re reading your own work is a vital step in learning to control the pace of your stories.

photo credit: Oh Winter, let's get married via photopin (license)
photo credit: SPECIAL SET – 16x hi-res Neourban Hipster Office: via photopin (license)