On May 25, 2016, Christie V Powell wrote, I’m thinking about writing a prequel, but a lot of the information already came up in backstory. Do you have any advice for putting a new spin on a story where the basic plot is already known?
In this case, my book begins several months after an evil group took over the kingdoms. I’ve included enough backstory that most of the original takeover is understood but I thought it might be fun to write out the prequel if I can find a way to make it unique enough.
First off, if the original isn’t published, we can move the backstory out and put it in the prequel. In Christie V Powell’s instance, this would be the history of the takeover, and then–hooray!–we can end the prequel on a cliffhanger. Our reader, panting for what comes next, can rush to her bookstore to be saved from her agony. The example of this that I know best is The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I pity the readers who had to wait for the next book while J. R. R. Tolkien was writing them.
I’ve never managed to do this. Maybe someday, because it sure would be neat.
A nice aspect of the immediate prequel is that we can write a tragic or seemingly tragic ending even if we intend for everything to work out well eventually.
However, an immediate prequel isn’t the only option. I googled the word and read the Wikipedia entry. Here’s a little of it: “Like sequels, prequels may or may not concern the same plot as the work from which they are derived. Often, they explain the background which led to the events in the original, but sometimes the connections are not as explicit. Sometimes, prequels play on the fact that the audience knows what will happen next…” You can look up the rest, which I found interesting.
An important and encouraging word in Christie V Powell’s question is fun, which suggests that there are elements in this world she wants to explore more. That’s great!
I’ve now written a prequel and am in the middle of a second, and there’s Fairest, which is in Ella’s world, just a little earlier than the events in Ella, so loosely another prequel. I approached each one differently, and I have ideas about where to look for inspiration.
Lucinda has been invaluable for generating new ideas in the universe of Ella Enchanted. In Fairest, she’s behind the creature in Queen Ivy’s mirror–the magic mirror in “Snow White.” In my WIP, Ogre Enchanted, she casts the ogre spell. I never know what she’ll get into next. Thank you, Lucinda!
We can ask ourselves if we, too, have a character in our original book who can set a new plot spinning. Lucinda, who means well or thinks she does, makes trouble almost every time she intervenes. In a way, she’s the villain, so a villain may be the right place to start our inquiry. Do we have a villain who can create new conflict?
That Lucinda is a fairy with a lot of power is helpful, too, but not necessary. Any character with bad intentions can be terrific for prequel purposes. For example, a gossip can set an entire world spinning if word spreads. A bumbler, who means no harm, may still cause major damage.
We can look at our other characters, too, not necessarily for their power to change a universe, just for story. Which ones fascinate us? Is there a corner of their backstories we can expand? We may discover more than one character and more than one prequel. I find myself thinking about Anne of Green Gables and Anne’s friend Diana. L. M. Montgomery isn’t very kind to Diana, who’s painted as beloved by Anne but dull. Is Diana aware of the way she’s perceived? Does she suffer? What about Josie Pye, who’s painted in an unflattering light. What’s her story? Is she misunderstood?
We can also add characters who don’t appear in our original but exist in the world. When I started writing Fairest, I thought Ella’s friend Areida would be my MC, but I describe her in Ella as dark-skinned, and my MC had to have a snow-white complexion, so I gave Areida an older, adopted sister. Anyone can do that. We can add siblings, uncles, long-lost friends who, we think, will slot right into our world.
The world itself can suggest prequel ideas, as is the case with me and The Two Princesses of Bamarre. The novel begins with lines from an ancient epic poem, “Out of a land laid waste,” which got me going. And now, because of elements of the world I set up in the forthcoming prequel, I have an idea for a sequel to it, although the idea is still vague.
My favorite example of a fascinating world, as I’ve mentioned here a zillion times, is Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, which he exploits beautifully. Within the world, he sets books in the Watch (the constabulary of the city of Ankh-Morpork), the witches in the hinterlands, the guilds, and the character of DEATH himself. So that’s another source: groups in our world.
An aspect of Christie V Powell’s project that especially interests me is the genesis of evil. I’ve read or heard on the radio that many criminals start with small missteps. Recently, I listened to a podcast interview with a former police officer who had become corrupt. His badness began with a small rule-breaking to help a friend, which didn’t benefit him at all. Getting away with it, however, led to trouble.
A prequel that explores the roots of the takeover sounds fascinating.
Just one more thing: worry about uniqueness. I think this may be a waste of good anxiety, which might be more usefully applied to obsessing over what favorite earring is going to fall out of my ear next and be lost forever. From everything I’ve read, there aren’t many possible plots, so repetition rather than uniqueness is inevitable. What’s guaranteed to be unique, however, is the way we pursue our plots, the way the narration unfolds, the words we–because no one else can–put in our character’s mouths.
Here are four prompts:
• Let’s borrow from Christie V Powell. Imagine a kingdom. Write the development of a coup. Consider the conditions that might lead up to it. Think about the people–possibly villains, possibly idealists, possibly some of each–who might start conspiring. Historical research and/or reading about current events may be useful. I’m remembering the recent failed coup in Turkey. Write the first meeting of the cabal. If you like, write the whole saga.
• If you’re a fan of Anne of Green Gables, as I am, or if you know it well, write a story about a secondary character. Could be Diana or Josie, as I’ve already suggested, but the childhoods of siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert might be interesting, too. They turn out to be just what Anne needs, but they have limited lives. What stunted them? Write a crucial backstory scene for any of them. If you don’t know Anne of Green Gables well enough to do this, pick a minor character in a book or movie you love and write a backstory scene.
• There are helper characters in many fairy tales. In particular, I’ve always wondered about the cat in “Puss In Boots” and the genies in “Aladdin.” Pick one of them and write a prequel to the fairy tale.
• This is a sequel idea. In my opinion, Hansel and Gretel are abused by their parents. Sure, the father was remorseful, but if he felt so bad, why didn’t he go after his children? The fairy tale ends long before their story is over. How do they recover from the treatment they received from the witch and their own parents? Write a scene or the whole saga.
Have fun, and save what you write!
Christie V Powell says:
Ooh, I haven’t seen very many Hansel and Gretel retellings. I will have to think about that…
Thanks for the ideas. My main problem has been trying to narrow down. Since this is a prequel to a six book series, I have lots and lots of characters to choose from (including five villains!), plus several major events that are alluded to in the backstory of my first two books (arranged marriages, the takeover, three very different settings…) I’ve been trying to cram it all into one book, but looking at it right now I am definitely going to have to cut back.
Chicory says:
I am very much looking forward to your `Two Princesses of Bamarrie’ prequel, and `Ogre Enchantments’. I cried the first time I read the ending of `Two Princesses’. It was shortly after my sister got married. I was very happy for her, but sad for me because she was moving out, and reading another farewell between sisters caught me right in the heart. (In a good way.)
As for being unique, so much of that is how a person sees the world and what they bring into the story. Probably the best way to write a unique story is to not limit your daydreams until you’re actually threading things together. I mean, eventually everything has to make sense, but just at first if you let your mind go where it wants, you can come up with some pretty interesting stuff. 🙂
MisplacedPoetry says:
This is something I’ve thought quite a bit about. Of course I have to write the main story yet (Silly slow me!)
I’ve also considered it simply for my own enjoyment. I’ve really wanted to get deeper into one of my character’s head and past. Only, the part that makes it so interesting is that he spent years alone in silence. Which is rather difficult to write without going all dull and I don’t want to skip huge portions of the time. So I may just stick to keeping it personal.
Christie V Powell says:
Maybe not a whole story, but writing about someone alone in silence sounds like a great writing exercise. I imagine there’d be flashbacks or memories here and there with dialogue and other characters. I read a book in middle school about a teenager trapped in a basement with a typewriter, so some of the story is her explaining how she got there, some how she survives, and then some of it she writes stories and poems and her hopes about getting rescued. In the whole thing she has no other human contact. I kind of went the other way around for my first book–the first chapter and a half take place in pitch darkness, so the scenery depends on other senses besides sight. I couldn’t add gestures with the dialogue unless it was the mc doing it, and even then she stops and realizes it doesn’t do any good. I definitely wouldn’t want to write the whole story that way, but for a chapter or two it really helped.
Martina says:
I am looking forward to your Two Princesses sequel, Gail!!
Random question: does anyone have tips fro writing an interactive story? Like a choose-your-own adventure story? I’ve always loved them and have a good idea for one, but have no idea how to proceed. For example, how are you supposed to plan an interactive story? Any tips? Thanks 🙂
Christie V Powell says:
I have read some choose-your-own adventures where they wrote just one story and then planted some dead-ends all along the way. I do not recommend that method!
It seems like you would need some serious planning/organizing to keep the different storylines straight. Maybe on a piece of drawing paper or Paint on your computer? It would be fun to look at the what-ifs. Maybe write the whole story, and then backtrack and ask “what if they made a different choice?” and come up with something different but equally compelling. It sounds fun! My brother-in-law was talking about this kind of thing, but I think he decided it would make a better video game (how an amatuer makes a video game I have no idea).
Christie V Powell says:
You know what would be really interesting? A love triangle in a choose-your-own adventure. I feel like most love triangles focus on the superficial. I would love to see, not only each match take place, but the consequences of each. And what would the main character be like in the end? If you could write it skillfully enough that the main character was actually a different person at the end of different branches because of his/her choices, that would be really awesome.
Martina says:
Thank you so much! (Christie V Powell, I think I foresee a love triangle in my interactive story now…) And I’m going to try planning out my story on Paint.
Christie V Powell says:
http://blog.karenwoodward.org/2014/06/how-to-write-choose-your-own-adventure.html
I found this blog post that was really handy. Apparently there are all kinds of apps and software to help you write one.
Daughter Of Merlin says:
I have a question that’s been brought up but not fully answered. Character flaws. I feel like all my characters are too perfect, their flaws make them too likable, and they just have basic flaws. Its driving me CRAZY! How do come up with varied unique major an minor character flaws, while keeping my character likable and intact? My characters are both male and female, but my MC is female. The book is a fantasy novel called Daughter Of Merlin. Please Help!
Christie V Powell says:
Sometimes when I watch my teenaged sisters argue with my mom, it’s all I can do not to laugh. For my mom and for them, it’s super hard, but because I’m a step removed I can see it in a different light. I found the same thing happening with one of my characters. I was worried that my love interest was too “perfect”, so I gave him a super competitive streak, especially with his brother. He gets sullen when he loses face, he demands culturally inappropriate things to keep ahead of his brother… it’s definitely a flaw, but since I’m a step removed I also find it funny. Or maybe I just have a weird sense of humor… actually, a dark creepy sense of humor is another possible flaw.
Emma says:
Good question. My first advice is to read a copy of “The Negative Trait Thesaurus” by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. It is an absolutely outstanding and completely understandable guide to different possible character flaws, but it doesn’t just list different flaws. It instructs you how to show them, gives you examples of the same flaws in popular characters from film and literature, gives you positive and negative side affects of the particular flaw, and so much more. I’ve found it super helpful to use when building characters.
Another thing to create an interesting and flawed character is to make his major flaw and major strength work together. If his major flaw is arrogance, perhaps his greatest strength is outstanding courage and confidence. Confidence and arrogance can go hand in hand, so it would make sense why a character would have both. In this case, his greatest strength leads to his greatest weakness. If another character happens to be extremely sweet, kind, giving, and helpful, maybe her flaw is that she wants to be kind to and please everyone, which can lead to trouble. Basically, if you can find out your character’s strength, it’s most likely going to lead to his weakness.
Flaws also can be related to backstory. If your character watched his family being murdered by an evil king when he was just eight years old, maybe his flaw is a thirst for revenge and his greatest trait is unwavering determination. These traits make sense for him because of his past. He’s revengeful because of the awful thing that was done to him, and he’s extremely determined because he is driven by his revenge to get back what was taken from him. They can also be related to relationships. Maybe a character doesn’t value himself and thinks very lowly of himself because his older brother put him down throughout their childhood. If a character was over sheltered and was locked up in a tower when she was young, perhaps she has a rebellious streak and rails against the authorities or her guardians.
The possibility for flaws are endless. Good luck, and one more thing– the title of your book already makes me want to read it!
Lady Laisa says:
Okay this is something I used to have trouble with. I had really perfect characters. I needed flaws, and I heard that their perfection can be their flaw by causing them harm, and I tried it…but that made them even more obnoxious. I tried throwing in a penchant to murder or theft, but that just made them cliche.
So I took a step back and looked at my characters. What was wrong with them? No flaws. Then I looked at myself. What’s wrong with me. Ohhhhhhhh, so much. Let’s take a look. I am petty, oh so petty. I am argumentative. Put those two together, add a generous helping of stubbornness and shake it up. I will start an argument and keep it going for HOURS.
I hold a grudge. I nurse it and mull over it and make sure I stay good and angry for a long time. I used to be extremely vengeful. Oh dear me, when I was younger I was terrible. I would hold a grudge for something one of my siblings did and wait (sometimes for weeks) until the incident was forgotten and then retaliate. I don’t do that anymore, but I still hold grudges waaaaaaay longer than I should.
That’s bad enough, but what else? I have very little tact. I don’t think before I speak. I am super opinionated. I hurt people’s feelings. And then I talk more and get myself into worse and worse trouble.
I am not particularly self disciplined. I’ll make a resolution and break it, and while I break it my mind will be screaming “No! You said you wouldn’t eat that taffy!” And I think, “okay, I’ll stop at three…four…six, I’ll stop at six.” Nope. Nopety nopety nope. And once it’s done, and I have a bellyache I chew myself out, only to do the same thing the very next day. I don’t learn from my mistakes until I’ve repeated the same mistake several times over. Or until I run out of taffy.
And that’s only scratching the surface. So look at yourself and examine your flaws. Even the flaws you wouldn’t admit to anyone, flaws you barely admit to yourself, perhaps even flaws you’re proud of. (I’m still kinda proud of how sneaky I can be. Not something I’m proud of being proud of, but I still like the fact that I can do something and get away with it.) Give some of these flaws to your characters.
Another I do is think on my characters when I’m in a bad mood. I am a bitterly sarcastic person when I’m angry or in pain, so I when I have a migraine I just think about why I hate my dear, innocent little goodie-two-shoes and if she’s too sunny, I make her instead gloomy. If she’s too sweet I make her caustically sarcastic. If she’s too naive I make her cynical. Then I write her thinking her gloomy or sarcastic or cynical thoughts–pages and pages of them. Then, when my migraine has worn off and I’m in a better mood I edit these thoughts until their more balanced. Not too much sun, not too much rain. Not to sweet, not too sour.
Hope I helped.
Emma says:
This is very good advice– to examine yourself like you would examine a character and then use that to influence your characters’ flaws. I’m going to go try this right now. 🙂
Christie V Powell says:
Here’s a question: do you name your chapters? (I do, because it helps me unify the chapter, if that makes sense). If so, do you worry about giving anything away? For instance, in my second book I gave one chapter the full name of the villain–but if anyone read the chapter titles first it would be a major spoiler, because they learn the villain’s last name and first name separately and think they are two different people. So I changed the title to just the first name.
Right now I have my WIP with two parts labelled. I named Part II after the kingdom that it takes place in. However, which kingdom that will be is a surprise until right until Part II starts. If anyone read the table of contents, it would be a major spoiler. Should I just not name them? Or think of a different name for Part II?
Emma says:
I do name my chapters, but I don’t give them names that give away too much. If the chapter name has something important in it that would give away an aspect of the story, I make sure that it will be important *later on in the chapter* so that readers don’t already associate the chapter name with something they already know to be important. Does that make sense? If it doesn’t just ask and I’ll clarify.
The reason I give my chapters names is because I absolutely love getting a book and looking at the chapter names straight away. I used to love doing that more than I do now, but it just gets me excited and curious about what’s in the book. If you want to give a hint as to what important something is in a chapter, make sure to give a hint and not a synopsis of what’s going to happen. I’m sure I don’t need to say that, but the chapter names that don’t reveal too much are the ones that make me curious.
I’m not sure about Part II of your book because I’ve never split a book in that way before. Maybe instead of outright saying the name of the kingdom, you give a hint as to which kingdom it takes place in. If this kingdom has a special crest, maybe you could reference something on the crest in the Part II title. Or if something significant but not too obvious (like a battle, a certain ruler, something in your world’s history) happened in that kingdom in the past, perhaps you could reference it. If you do this, you’ll ensure your readers won’t figure out the surprise in just one glance.
Hope this helped, and good luck!
Christie V Powell says:
They do have a flag with a griffin on it (a minor character is named Griffin after the symbol so titling it ‘Griffin’ wouldn’t work). I was thinking of putting an image of the flag on the Part II divider page. I guess I could just put the image without the name, except I’m not sure what the Part I image would be. It takes place at a meeting where all six kingdoms are present, but I don’t think sticking all six on there would look good unless I had some additional image in the center of them… hmm, I can work with this idea. Thanks.
Song4myKing says:
While I tie myself in knots trying to name my book, I love naming chapters! And I love when books I read have chapter names. I try not to have anything too spoiler-ish in chapter names, but I do have a chapter named “Caught” and one named “Plans Askew” (following “Plans Anew”). I’ve been debating those a little. When I pick up a book with chapter titles, I don’t usually read all the titles first, because I don’t want to risk spoilers. To a certain extent, readers have some control over how much they learn ahead of time. With parts, you could skip listing them in the front. That way, if someone is looking for spoilers, sure, they’ll find the title of Part II, but if they’re not looking, they probably won’t bump into it by accident and wish they hadn’t.
Christie V Powell says:
Ooh, I like that idea. Thanks!
Poppie says:
For whatever reason, I don’t name my chapters, but as a reader, if I’m not familiar with the book and want to know if there’s romance or a death in the future, I look for chapter names.
If you’re worried about spoilers, I would probably change the names of the chapters.
Hope I helped! : )
Chicory says:
I love books with chapter names, and I love naming chapters myself! I especially love chapters with double meanings, like in my currant story I have one chapter called `The Prisoner’ that could be talking about either one of two different people (or both) and one called `Games’ where the characters are playing a game, but the villain is also playing a mind game with the hero, and I plan to ironically name future chapter `Home’ because the character is captured and taken back to a place that used to be his home but isn’t anymore. Not all my chapter names have more than one meaning, but I’m always so pleased with myself when I think of one that does. 😉
Kitty says:
Ogre enchanted? That sounds awesome! I can’t wait to read it when it’s published.
This post is actually really relevant to what I’m writing right now. I’ve decided I want to write several prequels to my current WIP (a YA fantasy zombie Snow White retelling), since it’s so hard to get the whole story from just 1 person’s POV. However, I’m trying to find the balance between explaining side characters’ motivations/backstory enough that there aren’t any gaping plot holes in the story, while still leaving enough material to put in the prequel. It’s hard. >.<
Grace (The Girl Upstairs) says:
Hi there! I found Gail’s blog through Writer to Writer: From Think to Ink and I am having fun exploring!
I’m struggling with a dystopian novel right now. I hurried to plot it before Camp NaNoWriMo, but I didn’t get it plotted well enough. The plot has unraveled and I’m having trouble figuring out what to do. My MC is going to lead a rebellion and restore prosperity. My problem is, I’m clueless as to how exactly they are going to do that.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Christie V Powell says:
What’s in her way? You might want to brainstorm what can go wrong, and then what she can do about it. How could her characteristics make a difference? Is she the sort to inspire others, or does she have some skill she could apply (pickpocketing, eavesdropping, anything really)?
Grace (The Girl Upstairs) says:
Ooh, great ideas! Thank you!
Emma says:
About your plot: What is your MC’s motivation? Is she leading the rebellion because the villain kidnapped her little sister, wronged her family or her people in the past, or because she’s the extremely noble type and knows that if she doesn’t stop this villain, no one will? What’s the villain’s motivation to stop the rebellion? If your villain is truly a villain, they’re going to want to stop the rebellion somehow. They’re going to have to have a motivation strong enough to make them fight back against the rebellion. Motivation is key, and a character’s motivation ties in with his goals. If a character’s goal is to defeat the villain and restore peace to the galaxy, then what drives him, out of all possible people, to be the one to do this? What makes him want to defeat the villain? Say the villain killed his father. That offers motivation to defeat him. Motivation offers depth, as well as obstacles for the character. What happens if your MC’s motivation is dashed? Say her little sister (heaven forbid) was killed before she could save her. Does she continue leading the rebellion, or does she hand the leadership to someone else because she feels like she failed? In order for a rebellion to become a rebellion, the people in the rebellion have to be motivated to rebel.
On a completely different note, in order for a rebellion to be successful, your MC and his merry men have to have a good, solid plan to overthrow the villain. Use your characters’ strengths when coming up with their plan. If one of your characters is particularly good at climbing things, then have him be the only one of the group who could possibly scale the wall that protects your villain’s castle. Using character abilities adds depth to the plan, especially if you mention something early on about them having a certain ability (i.e. your expert climber could have grown up in a forrest where he and his brothers hosted tree climbing contests, therefore he became the expert climber). Because you’re a writer you have to torture your characters at *some* point, so Christie V Powell’s idea of having something go wrong with the rebellion is a good idea. Like she said, list all the ways it could go wrong, and if you’re having trouble coming up with a decent plan for them, maybe even list all the ways it could go right. Good luck & have fun!
Poppie says:
Zombie Snow White retelling? That sounds pretty cool, Kitty! It makes sense that you chose Snow White, because she kind of looks like an un-dead person with that pale skin and blood-red lips!
Kitty says:
Thanks Poppie! You’re right, Snow White does seem kinda creepy, especially since I think she’s one of the few fairytale characters who actually die and come back to life. I just kept thinking about what would happen if she somehow came back wrong.
The Florid Sword says:
I had a question. I have a lot of WIPs, and my problem is that all my MCs are almost exactly the same. I find it easy to diversify minor characters, but having my MCs be different and unique is really hard for me. Does anyone have any advice?
Christie V Powell says:
I’m going to guess that your MCs are all similar to you? Perhaps you could look at yourself and find aspects that you haven’t used before. My MC is like me in a lot of ways. She is introverted and thoughtful, empathetic almost to a fault (which makes her too trusting), loyal/protective, and somewhat stoic. But for a short story, I chose a girl who is very angry and willing to show it–I sometimes have a temper, so I had experience to draw from. She’s still an aspect of me, but a very different one.
The Florid Sword says:
I like that idea. I usually have my MCs be somewhat angsty, rather naïve, a little arrogant, and very brainy. So yes, very much like me. I should try that.
Lady Laisa says:
Give them different “main” interests. Each person has many interests, but often they have one really all consuming obsession. Mine happens to be reading. They also have sub-genres of that obsession (for me, writing and calligraphy, history, spelling and cartography). Then they have unrelated interests. I like weaponry. Shotguns, bows and slings. I also enjoy fancywork and jewelry making. I do a lot of knitting.
However, if I were to be a book character, you would focus almost exclusively on my “main” interests. The ones based around my reading. So I would probably be a scribe, in a fantasy. I think and talk about my interests, and in many ways they shape who I am. My main interest makes me a writer. It has made me more opinionated, it has made me more analytical. It has made me more imaginative. It has made me more detail oriented. It has made me good at untangling plot threads. I notice the handwriting on a note before I read the words. I pay attention to a signature’s loops and spirals. I know reams of obscure historical facts. I have the dates of certain historic events memorized. I study maps for fun.
One of your characters could be obsessed with reading. And it could affect them in the ways reading affected me.
One could be obsessed with martial arts. The branch offs would be running, flexibility training, and weaponry. That would effect them in many ways. They would be looking at the movements they make. They could pay attention to their breathing. They could be ultra aware of their surroundings and what terrain there is and what weapons are at hand. They would train. They would break down motions. They would watch for threatening behaviors and motions in other people.
One could have the “main” obsession of sewing. The branch off interests could be embroidery, knitting and even weaving. The effects of this are noticing clothing, whether it fits well, and what tailoring would be necessary. Color coordination would be important to this person. Fibers and textures would catch their eye. A shawl would pull their attention before the illumination on a title page will.
Yet another person likes to cook and bake. This may splinter off into gardening or farming or animal husbandry, being obsessed with the food market, how to compose an elegant looking dish. Even cleaning. This person would notice smells and flavors. They would know the difference between quality grown herbs and spices, and cheep ones. They make sure the kitchen is clean, and the items are where they belong. They notice whether a dish compliments another. They know where the best fish is to be found in the markets. Which food vendors to trust, and which ones will give you food poisoning. They can probably tell which plants are edible and which ones aren’t. They might even be able to tell what animals are healthy and which are not, which goat to milk, and which one to let alone.
The interests of a person strongly influeces their life, their abilities, and even personalities. Interests are important. Keep them varied.
The Florid Sword says:
Thanks so much, Lady Laisa! I hadn’t even thought about that. I have an MC who is an obsessive reader, so I will try some of this advice on her!
Emma says:
This is some fantastic advice, that I may end up using as well. Sort of branching off what Lady Laisa said, perhaps you could give a character a few characteristics that sort of contradict their main interest. Here’s an example. One of my characters in my WIP can turn into a viscous cougar, but she just so happens to be about the most amiable girl on the planet. And guess what she’s training to become? A fearsome, sword-weilding maiden who cannot be defeated because of her animal changing abilities, right? Nope. She’s actually training to become a healer. She has a certain affinity for the color blush, is the best big sister in the country, but she also isn’t afraid to tear someone apart if they hurt anyone she loves. I love her because two of her main attributes contradict in a way that makes her a well-rounded character. So maybe if you have a character who loves to read and write and can’t get enough of good stories, perhaps she also dislikes school, even though she’s good at it. That’s me. I also happen to pour over maps in my free time (Lady Laisa, we should start a map reading club!) and whenever I come upon an event in history that has loose ends or a mystery historians have yet to solve, my curiosity gets the better of me and I start fantasizing about what the key to the historical mystery could be. But then again, I happen to be terrible at memorizing historical dates, and putting dates with names of important people.
Another thing is backstory. If you give your characters completely different backstories, you have more freedom to make them act differently. After all, if one character’s brother betrayed him and gave him over to the bad guy, he’s probably going to have trust issues, while another character whose brother died to save him from the bad guy will not. Backstory shapes what we believe in, what our faults are, what our strengths — both physical and personality-wise — are, and so much more. One of my characters in my WIP grew up with a mom and a dad. His dad wasn’t the most warm or caring type, and treated him rather coldly, but he knew he loved him. In short, even though his childhood wasn’t perfect, it was very good. Another of my characters never knew her mother because she died during childbirth. She was really close to her father, but one day he mysteriously vanished, leaving her with her uncle when she was only 7 years old. Her uncle, incapable of taking care of a little girl, took her to her mother’s people, where she was raised by the lord of their people. When she looks back on her childhood, it is not with fondness. As a result of their very different childhoods, they each have a different outlook on life, trust people differently, etc.
A genius thing to do would be to tie these points together. Have a few of their interests be based on their backstory. The character I mentioned who had a good childhood grew up learning how to use a sword, because his father thought it was important. Secretly, he also wanted to learn to be as good with a sword as his father. One of his interests is fencing. He also happens to help teach kids how to use a sword properly because he practiced for most of his childhood. Maybe your character loves tea because his grandmother, who was his primary caretaker growing up, always fixed the most delicious kinds of tea. Maybe your character’s grandfather was a wizard. Is she interested in magic because of him, or is she sick of seeing him use it all the time?
One last thing. As Christie V Powell suggested, it’s a great idea to use different aspects of yourself when building characters. I happen to be a big sister, so when I’m writing about my healer big sister who can turn into a cougar, I use some of my own feelings toward my younger siblings to enhance her feelings toward *her* younger siblings. I have another character who’s really fiery. Though it doesn’t come out all the time, I have a fiery side that I use to make her more real. I remember what makes me fiery and what I’m passionate about when I’m writing one of her more outgoing scenes.
The Florid Sword says:
This is SO AWESOME. Thank you so much!
Emma says:
My pleasure! So glad I could help! 🙂
Lady Laisa says:
I have a question. How do you stay in love with your current story? I’ve got one that I’m working on right now, and I’ve been working pretty steady (for me). I write about a page (double sided, by hand) everyday. But I hate it. I hate it soooooo much. I loved the story before I started it, and I know I don’t hate it because it doesn’t work–it does work! The story has a structure that is easy to follow, and the plot points work and such. But I still hate it. How do I get excited about my poor burned out story before I give up and toss it? I go through this all the time. I get super excited about a story, but it’s REALLY hard to get into it, because I hate plotting. Then once I DO get past the plotting and write for a while I start to despise the story with all my heart. How do I keep my love for a story?
Erica Eliza says:
Change things up. Play “what if” and let a character get new magical powers or fall in love with someone you wouldn’t have considered before. Give interesting side characters more of the spotlight. Let characters with more bland personalities grow into something else-hotheaded, funny, whiny, caring, etc. Skip over the boring scenes that don’t appeal to you. Let fun twists and upcoming new characters arrive sooner.
Emma says:
What if you just go with the best, craziest idea that pops into your head? I’ve done this before. I’ll be writing in my WIP, and I’ll just slouch back in my desk chair, exhausted, because I absolutely don’t like what I’m putting on the page. What I do is take a deep breath, hit return a few times on my document, and start writing random thoughts that just pop into my head. Here’s an excerpt of what I wrote one time:
“My brain is shot. I have a headache. I am forcing myself to keep typing right now. My backside is starting to tell me I’ve been sitting for too long. My dog just sighed from behind me. He’s laying on my bed, on top of my new shirt, just chillin’. I am starting to think that’s what I should be doing right now. I don’t know why I’m typing this. Actually, I do. Gail Carson Levine told me to in her book, Writing Magic. She, along with many authors, says to write junk when you can’t think of what comes next in your story. They say to not stop writing just because you’re stuck. So that’s what I’m doing.”
I continue on writing “junk”, and then usually follow the junk with a couple of lists with various answers to my pending problems. I usually sprinkle in random ideas that turn out to be flakes of gold later on. So just go crazy. Just write. If you find more joy in writing about your sidekick’s pet, write about it. If your MC’s grandpa has an intriguing history, write about it. If you want to write about something crazy and totally unrelated to your main plot, do it. Come up with a crazy new species that could play a part in your world. Interview your MC. Even read about writing. Search on different writing blogs about how to re-spark the interest in your story. Just keep writing, or reading about writing. If you truly want to continue with this story, keep at it. Do these things so you won’t give it up. Here’s a list of blog posts you should read that I’ve found helpful:
-‘6 Tips to Help You Finish Your Book’ on helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com
-‘Not Feeling Creative? 4 Ways to Reignite the “Wonder” in Your Writing’ on helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com
-‘The Secret of Getting Your Writing Unstuck’ on helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com
-‘6 Tips to Come Up With Great Ideas for Writing’ on helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com
-‘Use Your Passion to Fuel Your Writing’ on helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com
-‘3 Ways to Ignite Passion in Your Writing’ on livewritethrive.com
-‘3 More Ways to Spark Passion in Your Writing’ on livewritethrive.com
And on Mrs. Levine’s blog, check out the categories ‘finishing stories’, ‘not finishing stories’, ‘ideas’, ‘quitting’, and ‘staying with stories’.
Martina says:
Personally, I like to put that story onto different online writing resources (Wattpad, Write the World, NaNo, etc.) and have other people look at it. If you have a few (or a lot!) of followers who are waiting to see what happens next in your story, it gives you more of an incentive to write and gets you excited about your story.
If it’s the story itself that’s making you hate it, then try to skip a few chapters ahead. Write the ending, re-write the beginning, add some random “Extra” scenes into there where your characters do something random and bizarre. It’s fun! Hope this helps
Enchanted says:
Hi,
I’ve been having trouble with categorizing my latest story. I’m not sure whether it should be called teen or adult. The main character is 18 years old, and there’s nothing in it that would be inappropriate for teenagers, but I’m not sure if it really has all the coming-of-age themes of a teen novel.
Could I pitch it to both teen and adult publishers?
By the way, thank you Gail + bloggers for making such a creative, helpful website where everyone is friendly and encouraging. The world needs more sites like this.
Christie V Powell says:
Have you done any research on the genre in between, New Adult?
Wikipedia’s got a good article and it seems like it might fit what you’re doing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New-adult_fiction
Enchanted says:
New Adult? I’ll take a peek. Thank you.
Enchanted says:
Oh, and I have another question. It’s about writing parents in a story. In my contemporary novel (set in Canada), my main character’s father abandons her family, and that forms much of the plot. But everyone else seems to have dead/missing parents as well, and I’m not sure if that’s getting overused. All my characters seem to need their parents out of the way for the story, but it’s getting tough to come up with all the reasons why they’re dead or gone.
Any tips? Thank you!
Christie V Powell says:
I’ve been listening to the lectures that Brandon Sanderson has posted online. He talks about tropes in his first lecture. He’s talking mainly about sci-fi and fantasy but I think it carries over to other genres. The whole lecture is pretty long but the part about tropes is near the beginning. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4ZDBOc2tX8
Basically he says that tropes, commonly used book elements such as missing parents, are a tool. You don’t have to use them, or avoid them, just be aware of how you use them.
Enchanted says:
Okay, I’ll try. Thanks again!
Emma says:
I used to have the same problem. All of the main characters in my WIP are kids, which meant I had to create parents for them, of course. Unknowingly, I ended up killing off most of the parents, and when I realized what I’d done, I had to ask myself why. Why did I kill the parents? Why do they need to be out of the way? In several cases, I didn’t have a good enough answer to those questions. The answer was either something like I didn’t need another character in my already large cast, or I didn’t want to have to deal with a parent interfering in any of my kids’ plans. That wasn’t good enough, so I brought back the parents of every character except for the MCs, who had to have their parents die for the story to function like I want it to. So maybe you should ask yourself why you need your characters’ parents to be dead. If you need them out of the way, make one of the dads be a busy business owner. Make one of the kids have divorced parents. If a character had lots of siblings, maybe the mom doesn’t pay attention to him enough to notice he and his friends are scheming something.
I don’t know if your problem is that you don’t want your kids’ parents to interfere in their plans, but if it is, remember that it brings interesting elements to a story if you have a character who’s on the hero’s side but is seen as antagonistic because he keeps interfering. This is seen in several spy movies. The good spy is trying to track down the bad guy but the police keep getting in his way. The police are just doing their job, but they always end up accidentally hindering the good guy in some way. Parents are good characters to do this with. They’re on their kid’s side, but because the kid is doing a, b, or c, they try to stop him because they want him safe, they don’t think he should be messing in the situation, or they don’t even know what’s really going on so they don’t know they’re hindering him. Don’t be afraid to have meddlesome parents in your story. It makes the story that much more interesting by adding conflict between kid and parent because they both want to do what’s right. Plus, if you pull it off, your readers will wonder the whole time “how’s he going to get *that* past his mom?”.
If this isn’t the case, try making a list of the reasons why a parent wouldn’t be on the scene other than death. Maybe the mom was an astronaut, and her spaceship was lost in outer space. She could still be alive. Maybe the dad joined a gang of infamous pirates. Maybe the mom was a witch and all witches were exiled from the land, so she was forced to leave. Go crazy. There are so many options.
Enchanted says:
Thanks! This is very helpful.
Christie V Powell says:
Similar question to my earlier one:
I have my WIP (the prequel I asked about) divided into two parts. The first eight-ish chapters take place in one setting with a certain set of characters (at a meeting between six kingdoms, with all six rulers plus one heir for each). The second ten-ish take place in one of the kingdoms, with a very different cast: the MC, romantic interest, and one king remain. It takes out the rest of the heirs and adds in three brothers. I’ve tried to make it more unified by having the characters from one part mentioned in another. The antagonists make small appearances here and there, especially in the climax (when at least one of the Part I characters comes back).
So, would you suggest keeping the story in two separate parts or putting them back together? And do you have any other tips for unifying the two halves? Thanks.
Yulia says:
Maybe you should read/watch LES MISERABLES (high school and above for some content). It is a two-part story in my mind. The first part happens 9 years before the second if I remember right. But there is a fairly good transition.
Christie V Powell says:
Thanks. I listened to parts of the audiobook, and as I recall the book takes place over many decades. I’m not sure how it used dividers since we didn’t have the physical copy. I do remember the movies/play being split into two because of the time change, and I know I’ve read a couple other books that do that (The Chosen Prince by Diane Stanley comes to mind). Mine doesn’t have a time jump though, it’s a setting/character jump. Now that I think on it, I have read some that are divided in parts because of major plot points (Hunger Games?). I will have to research that. Thanks.
Emma says:
I’m sorry, this is off topic – but does anyone have advice for describing people? Specifically, describing characters’ physical characteristics? I know how to describe surroundings, but I’m stuck with people, especially their faces. It’s not that I don’t know what they look like; in fact, I have a perfect mental image of all of my characters (I’m an artist, so I’ve even done detailed portraits of some of them!) but I don’t know how to describe their characteristics in a way that will make sense. I know there are names for diferent face shapes. Are there names for different noses? Chins? Eyes?
Melissa Mead says:
I think it’s so neat that you’ve done portraits of your characters!
First, I’d ask myself if I really NEED a physical description of the character. Maybe it doesn’t matter what they look like. If it does, I’d try to work it into the story, like have a short character ask a tall one to get something down from a high shelf, or have the character concoct freckle-remover, or wish that people didn’t make fun of their big nose/double chin/whatever, or lament that their new glasses make their eyes look too big, etc.
Christie V Powell says:
I agree with Melissa. You want to limit your descriptions to maybe a couple of details, and preferably unique ones (chins, noses, or eye shape would be better than your typical eye color/hair color/height). Usually you want the descriptions to reveal something about their character as well as how they look.
“Wild Magic” by Tamora Pierce has some great examples of unique descriptions. Here’s her introduction to the main character:
“She waited as Onua looked her over: a girl in a green wool dress, skirts short enough to show leggings and boots. Brown curls tamed by a head-scarf fell to thin shoulders. A soft, full mouth said she was vulnerable; her chin was entirely stubborn. A quiver filled with long arrows hung on her back. A bow rested in her hand, unstrung.”
On the other hand, her character Onua gets no description at all, and I don’t think the book is worse for it. People like to imagine what the characters look like: haven’t you ever gone to the movie of a book and complained that they didn’t look like your imagination, even if the description technically fit? Look at the pics of Hermione from the Harry Potter movies vs the Cursed Child screenplay: completely different races, yet technically they both fit.
I think it also helps to split up the descriptions a bit. In my last book, “The Spectra United”, here’s the first description of the MC’s best friend:
“Sienna Agate, Keita’s best friend, stood beside the log. She had just removed a black cap, letting stringy auburn hair fall around her shoulders. A messenger boy’s uniform hid her scrawny form.”
A few paragraphs later we learn about her clan: “Her wiry form and reddish hair often led people to guess she came from the Cole clan, like Griffin. Nomes were usually sturdy and dark, but anyone who’d seen her shape rock would know immediately what she was.”
She disappears for a couple chapters, and when she comes back we learn more about her treatment of clothes: “Sienna’s gray messenger shirt was so streaked with mud that Keita doubted her friend had changed it during the past two days. She wriggled out of it without bothering with the buttons.”
And then in the next chapter her height comes out (Avie is particularly short): “Sienna straightened to her full height. She was a few inches taller than Avie, but she slumped so often that she seemed shorter.”
Christie V Powell says:
Check your library for “Word Painting” by Rebecca McClanahan. It’s really well written and has a whole chapter on character description.
Emma says:
Thanks, Melissa and Christi, those are some good suggestions to keep in mind! I guess I’m having an unusual time of it in this case because the particular characters I need to describe are siblings that look a lot alike (mandatory to the plot); the reader knows they are the same height and have the same color hair and eyes; I feel like it’s important to point out the notable differences in their facial features (as well as their mannerisms and personalities of course, but those are easy!) but I don’t know how! Is that strange? I mean, I don’t know how to describe the kind of nose that my one character has, although it’s very important, believe it or not! And one has a receding chin, according to a google definition, but then I wonder, will people know what I mean if I say that? Looking through other books I’ve read, I realize now that they often only describe hair, height and/or clothes; they tend to leave out the little details, so maybe that’s why this is so hard. Maybe it just isn’t done. Or maybe I’m over-thinking this! I don’t know.
Christie V Powell says:
What about metaphors: perhaps one has large eyes like a deer, or a pointed face like a fox (especially if it matches their characters). I don’t know about specific terms like receding chin, but more general descriptions might work if not too cliche: pointed nose, oval face, cleft chin, lots of forehead. Depending on your voice, you could make up descriptions: my mom says she has a “ski-lift” nose because it turns up at the end.
Also, if you’re comparing them, you could work with subtle shade differences. My kids have light brown hair, but one is lighter than the others–and side by side, it would be pretty obvious.
For what it’s worth, I did something similar recently: I had seven kids in the family, all blond and blue-eyed. We meet them one at a time, not next to the others (except the last two, who only get one sentence each in the epilogue). Here’s the descriptions I used (in the order they appear in the book):
kid #7: “A pair of bright blue eyes ducked under an open window…Sunny ran a hand through her short blonde hair.”
kid #5: “The black uniform made him look even paler, and his expression still carried that dazed, horrified look that everyone had worn soon after the takeover…A yellow-haired boy, tall and skinny even for a Lectran, followed behind her. He had traded his black uniform for a beige one, and he might not have looked so out of place if his gaze did not dart about like a frightened animal’s.”
kid #3: “At first MC thought that #5 had beaten them down here. Then she saw the confidence in this man’s gait, the determination in his jaw. His face was rounder, the hair a little darker, but the resemblance was unmistakable.”
kid #1: “After seeing #3, MC had assumed that the remaining siblings would look alike, but she had to look twice to see the resemblance in this woman. Helena was not fat, but she didn’t have the underfed, could-hide-behind-a-lamppost look of her brothers. Her hair was still blonde, but it had quite a bit of orange in it.”
kid #6: “A girl stood barefoot in the sand behind them. Her blue-gray eyes sparkled, framed by a spattering of old scars.”
kid #4: “Poppy, the farmlands sister, came with her husband. They had brought their dog, a great slobbery beast that took instant dislike to MC and herded her away if she came too close.”
kid #2: “Leon, who looked like a darker version of #3, lounged in a chair in the corner.”
Emma says:
Christie,
Thanks you! That helps so much!
Yulia says:
I usually try to give hair color, age, and build. Like, “She was a short, slender girl of sixteen with hair blacker than a raven’s beak.” That covers it in most cases.
I also love describing my viewpoint character through another character. Like if Tonya is narrating about her sister Sara: “Sara was tiny, even smaller than Tonya, and had the same blue eyes and hair the color of dry hay.”
Just a few tips but I hope it helps!
Daughter Of Merlin says:
Hey! You should try having that character be described by other characters in the book. For example, the characters mom will describe him differently then a someone with a crush on your character. Also have your character look in a mirror, and have describe them in different situations. for example; If your were in a battle, I’d imagine you would look different from when your eating some Pringles in the kitchen. Hope I helped!
Enchanted says:
Oh, I’ve done that before. In my story, there’s a girl who’s totally drop-dead gorgeous. Her brother-in-law can’t stand her because she’s got a wicked sharp tongue. The boy who has a crush on her describes her as “the finest thing his eyes ever did see”, while the brother-in-law says she’s a “dangerous-looking girl, not to be trusted, the kind who would trap your heart with a snake and suffocate you with her dark eyes.” Very different descriptions of a character.
Emma G. C. says:
Just wanted to clear this up, (I’m not really sure how, actually) but the Emma who posted on Sept. 11th about describing people is not the same Emma as I am. I’m the Emma who posted on Sept. 10th about killing off parents, reacting to @Enchanted’s question. I’m the one who has been commenting on Mrs. Levine’s blog for the past few months, and just so my ideas/opinions, advice, and questions don’t get mixed up with the other Emma’s, I’m going to go by Emma G. C. now. Not sure why I felt the need to tell you guys this, but anyway, I guess it’s a good idea to clarify incase it looks like the same person is giving different advice or ideas about the same topic and contradicting themselves. 🙂
Gail Carson Levine says:
Thank you for clarifying!
Emma G. C. says:
You’re welcome!
Bethany says:
ATTENTION!!! PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK!!! Thank you.
Anyone, but specifically Gail: I am writing my research paper on the purpose of fiction. Please tell me your opinions. What is the purpose of fiction? Is it to entertain? Is educating important? Do you think reading about fictional characters can change us and make us better people?
Thanks so much!
Gail Carson Levine says:
ATTENTION BACK! When is your paper due?
Bethany says:
I need to start writing it at the beginning of October. I am currently in the researching stage.
Christie V Powell says:
How much time do you have? You might consider reading “The Seven Basic Plots” by Christopher Booker, which addresses these questions. However, it’s huge. It took me weeks to read, and I rarely take more than a day to read a book.
Short answers: Yes, it entertains. Education can be important, but can’t be too blatant. Novels ask questions, especially big moral/theme questions, but leave the reader to answer them on their own. Yes, I think there are scientific studies that say that reading makes people more empathetic because it helps us see the world through someone else’s eyes.
Bethany says:
Thanks! I will read that! And thanks for your feedback!
Emma G. C. says:
What a coincidence! I just wrote a 5 paragraph persuasive essay on the purpose of fantasy and how it can be more important than acquired knowledge. I’ll give you some tips I learned from writing it. First, I used this quote by Albert Einstein to support my beliefs about fantasy (I argued in the favor of the importance of fantasy, by the way):
“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come close to the conclusions that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.” -Albert Einstein
Now, since you’re writing about fiction and not fantasy, and since you’re not arguing the value of fantasy as opposed to acquired knowledge, it may not be necessary to use a quote to back up your beliefs. If you are writing a persuasive essay, however, then using a quote to back up the importance of fiction is a great idea! Moving along, I brainstormed and came up with 3 topics/places in society where fantasy has shown its importance. While brainstorming, I asked myself “how can I show my readers the value of fantasy?”. Try asking yourself the same question about fiction. How can you show your readers the value and purpose of fiction? After asking myself that question, I decided that the best way to prove the value of fantasy was to pick 3 topics/places in society that are very different and diverse, so my readers could see that fantasy isn’t just important in one area. It’s important in all areas. So I decided to argue for fantasy in the areas of literature and the arts, inventions, and business. Three very different categories that, in my opinion, require some degree of fantasy and imagination. So after you ask yourself “how”, maybe ask yourself “where”. Where is fiction important? Where does it help? Where does it stand out? In my paragraph about literature and the arts, I wrote that literary fantasy inspires people to use their imaginations, and makes reading and learning fun. I wrote that fictional stories have been proven to inspire people, either in a positive or negative light. I also included that without literary fantasy, the movie industry, song writers and composers, and other writers, whether fiction writers or not, would all lose quite a bit of creativity and imagination. This applies to fiction as well. Fantasy is a form of fiction, after all. So where does fiction show its purpose to you? Give real life examples. Give quotes to support your reasons. Ask yourself the questions “how” and “where”. While researching, ask your friends, siblings, parents, and grandparents what fiction means to them. Don’t forget to record their answers. Have fun, and I hope it turns out well!