Writing fiction—don’t forget the Goal, Motivation, and Conflict

The GMC or Goal, Motivation, and Conflict are the most important ingredients in storytelling, and somehow, I started a story and forgot all about the GMC. I had my basic idea and characters, but when I started working on the story, I forgot to pin down the three main points. It didn’t take me long to realize that my story had nowhere to go because my characters had no specific desires or wanted to gain anything and nothing was holding them back. No GMC = no story.

Here is something I came up with to help me know my characters and define their goals, motivation, and conflict.

First off, the goal is the one thing the main characters want. The goal needs to be something that they want so badly they will do anything to get to that goal. The goal should be important enough for characters to act against.

The motivation is why the characters want what they want—the drive and back-story. Anything is possible for character as long as the writer explains why to give the reader enough motivation to give the story credibility. The writer needs to know their characters well so that the actions stay in character to justify and make the reasons for actions clear to readers. When a character wants something bad enough, the reader will, too.

The last piece is conflict, which is why the characters can’t get what they want, the trouble, tension and roadblocks that are preventing the characters from achieving their goals. Conflict drives the plot and motivates the characters. There are two types of conflict—external and internal. External conflict can be a person, an intolerable situation, or an act of God. Internal conflict is inner struggles within the characters.

I find it helpful to have character charts for my main characters. Here is an example of a character chart that I use to help me get to know my characters:

Character Name:

Sun Sign:

Race:

Age:

Height:

Hair Color:

Eye Color:

Skin Color:

Weapons:

Religion or Beliefs:

Dilemma:

Goal:

Motivation:

Conflict:

His secret:

What would destroy him:

What would help him survive and be better:

Bad Trait:

Good Trait:


Happy Writing!

Kelley Heckart
Historical fantasy and Paranormal romance
Otherworldly tales steeped in myth & magic

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Monday Musings: Too many rules can kill a good story

Don’t have a prologue, don’t use ‘ing’ words, don’t use adverbs, don’t use ‘was’ or ‘were,’ don’t use that, when, once or as—don’t, don’t don’t… Grr. How many writers out there have heard one or more of these? Just about every writing group I’ve been involved with has said all of the above, especially about never having a prologue. I have stories with prologues—published ones. Breaking that rule didn’t seem to hurt me. With all the restrictions, how is a writer supposed to be creative?

It can be stifling to have to follow a bunch of rigid rules. It can also take the feeling out of your story. These words are around for a reason. The key is knowing when to use them and not to overuse. Some stories need a prologue. You do what is right for your story.

Here’s my advice:

Learn the rules but write what feels right and use balance—don’t do too much of one thing. Balance is the key to a well-written story.

I’ve discovered that worrying about the rules too much can take the feeling out of my writing. This is especially true while writing the first draft. In fact, I think some of my earlier writing is better because I wrote more from the heart and worried less about rules. Let it go and let the words flow. Worry about revisions later.

But letting go can be the hardest part. Just take a deep breath and go for it. And don’t ever let anyone tell you that it’s wrong to use any of the above taboo words or techniques.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Monday Musings: Don’t rush to self-publish your book

I’ve been doing some spring cleaning, well, more like a 15-year cleaning, and found my collection of rejection letters from 2000-2004. I forgot I saved them. Curious, I read a couple. Of course, at the time I received the rejections I thought they (magazine editors) didn’t possibly know what they were talking about—there was nothing wrong with my stories. Uh huh. Now I understand why they were rejected—they weren’t very good. Sure, the grammar was good, but there is much more to writing a story than good grammar. So much more. Plus, I was missing something even more important—a professional edit.

This made me think about all the changes that have been made in the book publishing world, how easy it is to slap together a story and self-publish. On one hand, it is a great opportunity for writers. On the other hand, it might cause newbie writers to rush to publish before they have perfected their craft.

If I could give one bit of advice to new writers it would be: don’t rush to get that first book published. Take the time to learn the craft of writing and take the editing process seriously—hire a good editor. If I had done that with my old stories, they just might have been accepted. Or maybe not.

Think twice before publishing that first book. That one is for practice. Write the next one. And work with a good editor. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my first stories were practice for better things to come.

Think of it this way—does an artist sell that first painting? It’s probably not going to be as good as the next one. Or the one after that. Honing your craft, whether it’s creating a painting or a story, takes time. Having a good grasp of grammar isn’t enough. It took years for me to understand all aspects of writing a novel. The important thing is to not give up.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Monday Musings: Writing fiction--Can there ever be too much action?

I’ve been pondering this lately after agonizing over my own stories, rewriting and deciding what kind of scenes I want in my books. And after hearing different opinions about writing and adding more action, I started thinking about what I like in a book. I like to write the kind of books I like to read, so it makes sense to me to look deeper into how much action I like in a book.

Action can improve the pacing, but too much action can also overshadow the growing relationships in a story, especially in a romance novel where the relationship is very important. I like those interactive scenes between characters, witty dialogue and moments pondering those raging emotions. I realize some readers and editors like the pacing to move quickly, but others like slower moments in a story as long as these scenes still move the story forward.

I’ve read books with more action than interaction between the two main characters, and I didn’t feel like I was able to know the characters, to feel what they were feeling. Too much action gave the book a fast pace, but I was left disappointed, like I missed something. I think maybe I like character driven novels and that’s what I like to write, too. Pacing is important in a story. You don’t want to bore the reader, but you don’t want to set the pacing so high, you leave the reader wondering what happened. I like to think of pacing in a book like a roller coaster. You have your wild turns and gut clenching drops, but you also have those moments where the roller coast just glides along the rails.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

The importance of well-developed characters

I love to read. I’ve been an avid reader since age 4. I enjoy reading different genres, but one element I require in the books I like is lifelike characters, the kind that jump off the page and either make you love them or hate them. The important thing is the characters have to make me feel something for them. If not, I don’t enjoy the book. I like a good plot, but it’s more important to me to have interesting, convincing characters.

How does an author create credible, three-dimensional characters? By showing the characters’ feelings through actions and natural dialogue. By creating real, flawed fictional people, not cookie-cutter, perfect ones. I want the people I read about to laugh, cry, bleed—to act like real people. In real life, people aren’t perfect. They do stupid things. They hurt each other. I want to believe the characters are real and suffering as well as celebrating.

Making character charts and creating backgrounds for characters can help shape them into real people with believable motivations. Authors need to know their characters well so they can bring them to life. I’ve even assigned Sun signs to characters to get an idea of their personalities. Sometimes I create characters based on people I have known. Stories are so much better when the characters stand out. For me, character development is the most important part of a story.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Balance is the key to a great story

Balance is the key to life and it is also the key to writing a great story. When I refer to balance in a story, I’m referring to things like varying sentences—long sentences followed by short ones, not starting every sentence with the same words. I’m also referring to not repeating words and phrases, creating descriptions that add to the story without overpowering it and adding body language tags to sections of dialog so you don’t have “talking heads syndrome.”
To help me remember to balance out my stories, I compare writing stories to writing songs. A song has different parts and instruments; all the layers have to be balanced to work. Writing is also like baking. When baking something, you have to have all the right balance of ingredients—too much of an ingredient or not enough ingredients will have an effect on whatever you are baking. Some writers also compare writing to weaving.
The easy way to remember to balance out your story is to remind yourself that too much of anything in a story will throw the story out of balance.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Why I don’t like to have teenage girl heroines in my stories

I can say this because I was one—a teenage girl. They are borderline psycho, overly dramatic and make terrible decisions. This is why I don’t like to have teenage girls as heroines in my novels and why I probably won’t write YA.

I couldn’t write a teenage girl heroine without rolling my eyes and wanting to kill her off. A heroine is supposed to be liked by readers. Now maybe if the heroine grew up in a different environment from the spoiled kind of life most teenagers have in the U.S., she might make a good heroine. I’m thinking of Katnis from Hunger Games. She grew up in a dangerous environment where survival was more important than the latest fashion. She had to be levelheaded in order to make sure she survived and to take care of her family.

I wonder if it’s the role models teenagers have that makes most of them so stupid. Especially today with reality shows like the Kardashians and pop stars that flaunt their bodies and their dramatic love lives. And it’s even worse with Facebook and Twitter where people try to out do each other and post every little thought and deed.

Growing up I didn’t have the Internet to tempt me into doing stupid things, but I still did them. I don’t know if it’s just a part of growing up and learning life’s lessons or if I was just rebellious. I’m sure not all teenage girls act crazy like I did, but those memories are stuck in my head and whenever I try to write about teenage heroine, I can’t get past how stupid I was.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

The power of an emotional scene

Emotional scenes can add special moments that resonate with readers, drawing the readers further into the story. Emotional scenes are especially effective in romance novels where emotions are a huge part of the plot.

Before using an emotional scene to grab the audience, it’s best to make the audience care about the characters first. Otherwise, an emotional scene can fall flat. It’s also important to time the emotional scene correctly. Some scenes don’t have the same power to move an audience if the scene happens at the wrong time in the story.

For example, I saw the latest Star Trek movie, Into the Darkness. I loved the first one with the young cast and how the timeline was altered. I thought this was a great way to write some new storylines. Into the Darkness altered the first meeting with Khan, the genetically engineered human that became an enemy of Captain Kirk in the original TV

show and movies. I thought this was okay until the scene where the young Captain Kirk dies the same way Spock died in Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan. When Spock died in The Wrath of Khan, it was a very emotional, powerful scene between Captain Kirk and Spock, two characters that had known each other and had been close friends for about forty years. But when the young Kirk dies in Into the Darkness, the scene didn’t have the same emotional power because these younger characters hardly knew each other and didn’t really like each other. The characters didn’t have time to grow into the close friends they became later. The scene made me uncomfortable because I felt it was forced on the audience.

An emotional scene can do a lot for a story, but it shouldn’t be rushed or forced.

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Using weather in a story

Ominous. This was the first word that came to mind when I saw these thunderheads gathering in the distance from my backyard. I had to take a picture of the scene with tiny houses being overshadowed by the enormous storm clouds.

This sight made me think of how I use weather in some of my stories, of how the storm clouds looming on the horizon are a metaphor for impending danger.

In my Arthurian romance, White Rose of Avalon, a gentle rainstorm reminds Lancelot how the rain cleanses the earth and washes away the bloodstains on the battlefield. In Beltaine’s Song, a thunderstorm creates different scenarios for the main characters. While seeking shelter from the storm, they encounter people they wouldn’t normally be caught hanging out with. For one character this unlikely encounter leads to his downfall. And in my soon-to-be released Daughter of Night, a sudden thunderstorm sends the heroine into the stables and she comes face to face with the hero. What happens in the stables is a key turning point in the story for them. 

Weather can create different types of scenes. A gentle rainstorm can be soothing, even romantic, while a vicious storm with heavy rain and wind can create tension. Weather can be a useful tool to add an extra ingredient to the story.

I’m working on a story right now and considering a scene where, in the aftermath of a rainstorm, the river crossing rises. This river is the only way the hero can get back to the heroine who is in danger. One of the challenges I have with this hero is that due to a curse, he is immortal. I have to create dangers for him that don’t involve dying. He wouldn’t die trying to cross the raging water, but he could be swept away and pushed even further from the heroine. This type of scene also adds some tension to my story.

As with any writing tool, using weather to enhance a scene should move the story forward in some way or work with character motivations or conflicts.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Writing difficult scenes

Being a writer means I can make up stories and the fates of my characters are in my hands, but it also means writing those scenes that are hard the write. I’m talking about the scenes that go against my own beliefs or the scenes that make me squeamish. As a writer, I have to put aside my own feelings and do what is right for the story and the characters.

This is different for each writer. For me it’s difficult to write scenes that involve an animal death. I hate to see animals die. I won’t even watch a movie if I know an animal will die. But sometimes these types of scenes are important to the plot. That still doesn’t make them any easier to write. I would never kill an animal or even a person for no reason. The plot has to be moved forward in some way by the death.

I’ve had to write a couple of these scenes. In one book, a dog’s death brought the hero and heroine closer. In another soon-to-be released book, the animal death was symbolic and also true to the time period in regards to sacrifices made to the gods. This scene was really difficult to write and I almost deleted it, but then decided I had to stay true to the time period and to the story. It was a necessary scene. My editor agreed. This type of scene may upset some readers, but that’s a chance I had to take.
Writing that difficult scene isn’t always easy to do, but a writer needs to put aside his or her own feelings and stay true to the story. After all, it’s our job as writers to move the story forward, not to write what we want or to coddle the reader. Sometimes those difficult to write, heartbreaking scenes are the ones that resonate most with readers.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…

All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in Dark Age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html

Book lengths—short or long?

I grew up reading books that were long—at least 500 pages. Stephen King’s books were double that length. I loved to make my book last at least a week or more. Finishing a book in a day or two disappointed me because the experience of that fictional world had ended. But that was then and things have changed.

With the rise of ebooks, I’ve noticed that readers prefer shorter novels or short stories to the long novels I grew up reading. I don’t think this is only because of ebooks, but also because of the competition for time with other forms of media like numerous television programs, video games and social media sites. I’m an avid reader and find it difficult to make time to read.

This has me thinking about my future book projects. I’m working on a new book and I’m trying to decide if I should keep it at about 60,000 words or keep going to 100,000 words. If I keep the story as a short novel, then it probably won’t be released in print due to the shorter length. I have to decide if I’m satisfied with having the story only in ebook formats. I also need to decide if the story is complete at 60,000 words without sacrificing the story quality just so I can keep it short. Staying true to my story is always my main goal.

With that being said, I would still like to know if readers like longer novels or is this the era of the short novel?

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…
All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.
http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html

Out of touch with modern times

A question I often ask myself is why do I prefer to write historical novels over contemporary ones? Most of the popular books are contemporary so I could probably make more money writing in modern settings. It also seems like it would be easier to write a story in a contemporary setting rather than having to research a historical time period. For most writers that’s probably true, but for me with the weird brain it seems more natural for me to write historical novels.

I can relate to certain time periods—from ancient to about the ninth century. I have a special fascination for Dark Age Scotland and Britain. I think it’s because that was a mysterious time in history. Most people think ‘Dark Age’ means that everything turned into chaos and that people were complete savages. Well, some of that may be true, but the true reason the term ‘Dark Age’ is used is because it was a time when nothing was put in writing or at least no written texts have been found during that time period.

Historians and scholars can speculate what happened and piece together some of the information through archaeology, but the truth is we don’t know what happened. That is a great opportunity for a writer to use his/her imagination.

For me it’s easier to research an earlier time period than it is to try and write a novel set in modern times with all the changing technology. All the technology confuses me for some reason. I can’t relate to texting all the time. I have the cheapest, text unfriendly cell phone and rarely send a text. In a romance novel the hero and heroine need to connect. To me that means that they need to actually talk to each other and spend time together. Modern technology pulls people apart, at least in my mind. What better way to connect to a lover than to sit by a fire and gaze into each other’s eyes?

I’ve come to the conclusion that my body is here in the modern world, but my brain is stuck back in time.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://kelleyheckart.com/BookShelf.html

http://kelleyheckart.com/TheEnchantedMeadow.html

Romance—Writing those dreaded sex scenes

I must be weird because I write romance, but I dread having to write sex scenes. I’m not a prude. The time I spent in an all girl hard rock band taught me more than I needed to know about, well, sexually related stuff and made it all seem so normal. I think what I dislike about writing sex scenes is I want to avoid making them too stiff (no, I didn’t mean this as a pun) or too laughable (as in purple prose). No matter what I end up writing in the sex scenes, I can’t read them without giggling.
So, what is the best way to write a sex scene? I try to bring the characters’ personalities into the bedroom scenes and sometimes humor. Real life sex isn’t always perfect so I want to add that bit of realism, but not too much realism that it will turn a romance reader off. The key to a good romance is to have some fantasy for the reader to enjoy because that’s why people read romances—to escape reality.

By revealing a character’s personality in a sex scene, a writer can show how a character would act or react. For example, a Pict king in my Dark Goddess trilogy is shown enjoying being bitten by my blood drinker heroine, which reveals his wild side. For some humor, I have an ongoing joke with my hero and heroine in my Dark Goddess trilogy—their enthusiasm in the bedchamber breaks many beds.
My biggest challenge is naming all those pesky body parts without sounding too graphic (who knew that cock was a vulgar term for a penis?) or too flowery (her ‘rose petals of love’ won’t do). I also have to keep my terms relevant to the time period I am writing so I can’t use modern slang.

I don’t want all of my sex scenes to sound the same either. Too much caressing, stroking, entwining, writhing and thrusting can get tedious. A change in scenery can help break up the monotony. Or some honey instead of whipped cream. That just gave me an idea. Maybe this isn’t as hard as I thought. All I needed to do was to experiment a bit.

Kelley Heckart

'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Three different women, one ancient curse…
http://kelleyheckart.com/winters_requiem.html

Writing fiction—don’t forget the Goal, Motivation and Conflict

The GMC or Goal, Motivation and Conflict are the most important ingredients in storytelling and somehow I started a story and forgot all about the GMC. I had my basic idea and characters, but when I started working on the story, I forgot to pin down the three main points. It didn’t take me long to realize that my story had no where to go because my characters had no specific desires or wanted to gain anything and nothing was holding them back. No GMC = no story.

First, the goal is the one thing the main characters want. The goal needs to be something that they want so badly they will do anything to get to that goal. The goal should be important enough for characters to act against.
The motivation is why the characters want what they want—the drive and back-story. Anything is possible for a character as long as the writer explains why to give the reader enough motivation to give the story credibility. The writer needs to know their characters well so that the actions stay in character and are justified and clear to readers. When a character wants something bad enough, the reader will too.
The last piece is conflict—why the characters can’t get what they want, the trouble, tension and roadblocks that are preventing the characters from achieving their goals. Conflict drives the plot and motivates the characters. There are two types of conflict—external and internal. External conflict can be a person, an intolerable situation or an act of God. Internal conflict is inner struggles within the characters.
I find it helpful to have character charts for my main characters. Here is an example of a character chart that I use to help me get to know my characters so I can define their goals, motivation and conflict:
Character Name:
Sun Sign:
Race:
Age:
Height:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Skin Color:
Weapons:
Religion or Beliefs:
Dilemma:
Goal:
Motivation:
Conflict:
His secret:
What would destroy him:
What would help him survive and be better:
Bad Trait:
Good Trait:

Happy Writing!

Kelley Heckart

'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://twitter.com/CelticChick
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Three different women, one ancient curse…
http://kelleyheckart.com/winters_requiem.html

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