Writing What You Want

I've repeatedly said in posts that "You are the author. The decisions are up to you. It's your book, do whatever you want..."
But sometime you have to sacrifice what you want for what makes sense.

I've developing another rough draft on the side. In it, I want the main character to fall in love with this girl. But that messes up my plot and destroys the personality I've created for my character. As much as I'd love a love story, I can't do it while retaining the character's true form (and the girl doesn't deserve him anyway.)

R.L. LaFevers, when writing Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, created a character that she didn't want. On her blog, she said;

While I was writing the first book I ran into the problem of Nate and Aunt Phil having to travel all over the world...and how to make it interesting rather than episodic or a simple tour guide recounting. Drama, I thought! I need to increase the tension! Make Nate proactive!

So I had Aunt Phil send Nate out on the wing to go up to the propeller and see what was gumming up the prop...
And much to everyone's surprise (not the least of which mine) it was a gremlin who was gumming up the works and out she popped into the story.
B-but . . . I didn't want a gremlin in the book! It didn't work! It mucked up the world I was building and mixed mythologies and . . . and . . . No, I wailed!
But try as hard as I might, I simply could not write the book without her. And if you know how life works, it is probably not surprising to learn that for many readers she is one of the most popular parts of the book.

Sometimes, no matter how badly you want something, your book must come first.
Hey, no one ever said writing a novel was easy.

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Elements of Fiction: Conflict

Conflict is what drives the plot.
One has to keep in mind though, that while problems create tension and drive, the conflicts are a result of your character's actions. Problems should never be inflicted for the sake of problems. Your character is not a leaf being blown from action scene to action scene. The situation must result from their own actions.
There are several ways to torture your character.

Man vs. Self
This is the internal struggle your character faces. I believe this should be prevalent in all stories. All of us have felt confusion, guilt, or hesitation. Your characters should too. However, conflict of this nature usually stems from other sources.

Man vs. Others
Most stories involve a human antagonist. They dislike/hate each other for various reasons. Usually, it comes from one trying to control the other. This is the frequent conflict found in books and can lead to other tension.

Man vs. Society
One of the toughest problems to face is the world's idea of what's right. Society and government try to force characters to conform to set standards. This includes, but isn't limited to, racism and sexism.

Man vs. Nature
Characters in this situation fight against animals, natural disasters, or the weather. This can include becoming stranded, lost, or a victim of a natural disaster. It can be anything as small as a simple inconvenience, such as getting caught it the rain.

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Writing Dialogue: Brackets

Brackets are adverbs that describe how a character said something. They have a tendency to be over-used. Brackets should only be used when the tone is not completely evident.

"I love you," she whispered quietly.

'Quietly' is unnecessary. We already know that she's speaking softly because she 'whispered.'
 Let's take a couple more examples.

"It's a book," she stated.

It's obvious that she's making a statement. We don't need to use 'stated'.

Back in fourth grade, your teacher probably told you that 'said' is boring and you need to replace it.
This isn't true.
The word 'said' blends into the background. This is a good thing. If characters are in the middle of a heated argument, you don't want to break the pace.

"I don't need your help," he hissed.
"Oh, I think you do," she remarked.
"I can take care of it on my own. I don't need you to look after me," he countered.
"Look, I'm coming with you," she snarled. "You be dead within ten minutes by yourself."
"Fine," he conceded. "But don't slow me down."
"I won't," she spat.

While some of these verbs are good, the argument itself is choppy because of all the words.  Brackets themselves should only be used when the verb is contrary to the tone.
"'I hate you,' she said angrily" has an unecessary bracket. However, "'I hate you', she said teasingly" tells us that she doesn't really mean what she's saying.
Let's try the argument again, and add some brackets;

"I don't need your help," he hissed.
"Oh, I think you do," she said.
"I can take care of it on my own. I don't need you to look after me."
"Look, I 'm coming with you," she snarled. "You'll be dead within ten minutes by yourself."
"Fine, but don't slow me down."
"I won't," she said smugly.

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Elements of Fiction: Mood

Mood creates a tone for a particular scene. Mood is usually created to foreshadow events that will soon occur. Without mood, the story fails to excite emotion. There's a couple ways to create mood.

Actions and Thoughts
No matter how dark the alley, if your character is whistling cheerfully, completely unnerved, the scene will end up far from sinister. To create mood, use a character's actions and thoughts to reflect future events. Example;

Jack glanced up furtively, drawing his coat closer. Why did I come? He asked himself silently. He stamped his feet against the cold and peered down the darkening street. Jack fingered his knife's bone handle. If Michael doesn't arrive soon...
The sound of voices made him start. Jack pressed himself against the worn wall, gripping his blade tighter. Kill first, ask questions later.

We can tell that the character is wary, even desperate. This sets the stage for suspense.


Details
The setting itself can add to a scene's atmosphere. By highlighting aspects of a character's surroundings, you can manipulate the mood.
"A cold wind nipped at his coat like a stray dog" conveys a different emotion than "A cool breeze playfully tugged at  his coat."
Let's try the same paragraph, but focus on the character's surroundings.

A cold wind blew back his coat, revealing the knife tucked in his belt. His footsteps echoed down the darkening street. The noise startled two ravens, which leapt to the skies, cawing. A tattered flag writhed atop a roof, declaring the building below to be the inn he was searching for.

The way you describe a setting greatly influences the mood.


Now let's try combining the two methods and see the effect.

Jack glanced up furtively. A cold wind blew back his coat, revealing the knife tucked in his belt.He quickly drew his coat closer, fingering the knife's bone handle.
His footsteps echoed down the darkening street. The noise startled two ravens, which leapt to the skies, cawing. He glanced up, pausing. A tattered flag writhed atop a roof, declaring the building below to be the inn he was searching for. Jack ducked onto the doorstep.
Why did I come? He asked himself silently. He stamped his feet against the cold. If Michael doesn't arrive soon...
The sound of voices made him start. Jack pressed himself against the worn wall, gripping his blade tighter. Kill first, ask questions later.

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Showing Not Telling: Action

Sometimes we all get so caught up in the showing not telling rule that we become obsessed with it and reject anything that doesn't hold true.
There are exceptions. Action scenes are one of them.

Several aspiring writers I've talked to all claim they're terrible at writing an interesting action scene. When I ask why, most shrug and say that they just don't "have the knack for it."
What I've discovered is that most fear telling too much.

When writing an action scene, feel free to tell. It's dastardly difficult to show all the time; impossible in some cases.
Let's examine an action scene;

Max yelped. The bullet had hit him. He stumbled. He clutched his shoulder and ran. More shots echoed from behind. One narrowly missed his heel and sent sparks flying from the concrete. Max dove to the side and under an overturned car. He fumbled with his own gun and tried to take of the safety with one hand. Another shot slammed into the vehicle above his head. Max ducked.

Now let's try to add some showing to the scene;

Max yelped as hot lead seared his flesh. He stumbled, using the hand not clutching his shoulder to stop his fall. More shots echoed from behind, forcing him into a run. Sparks flew up from the concrete as a bullet narrowly missed his heel. Max dove to the side and under an overturned car. His free hand fumbled to take his own gun off safety. Max ducked as another shot slammed into the vehicle.

If you'll notice, not every sentence is showing. But there's enough sprinkling of it to make it interesting while maintaining the pace.

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