(Sorry Blogger was down yesterday. We'll add a Maintain Day at the end.)
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| "M60 Gunner" by SFC Golden |
So it's Saturday and you think you're gonna get off easy? Get your butt in LINE, Private. Grab your gear and pay ATTENTION.
Today you're going to EQUIP, INSPIRE and ACTIVATE your characters. Yes, if yours is a mystery, that means providing Means, Motive and Opportunity ... but it doesn't stop there. Whether you're writing a suspense novel or a comic chick-lit teaser, each of your characters has a mission to fulfill in your book.
Have you EQUIPPED them with the tools they need for success? Do they know how to operate that equipment?
Take out a sheet of paper--yes, that white stuff--and make a chart of your four central characters. What is each of their missions in Act 2? Your Lead's mission might be to decipher a puzzle or to choose between several alternatives in a turning point of their life. The mission might be to find a terrorist--so we can face him in Act 3. Or maybe we're on a journey--we just need to get somewhere.
Most authors can tell you their Lead's mission in Act 2, but what about your next three major characters? What do they need to accomplish before that final showdown? Think of each one on a separate path that converges with your Lead somewhere. Is that character ready? Is he prepared to do what he needs to do?
What's your villain's motivation? What really INSPIRES him? Does he have the ability to thwart that Lead until Act 3--why? What specific literary devices is he going to use? Is he capable of being innocent? What do you LIKE about him?
Your Number One Red Herring is that character that seems to be a bad guy, but might not turn out to be in the end--or is he? What makes him tick? Is he the same person as your villain? --your Lead's best friend?
Before you go any further, you'll need to completely understand the means and motives of each of the major characters. When you have that down, you get to CREATE their opportunities. That's the fun part.
For example. what situation would allow THIS character to get into THAT character's apartment for the required amount of time so he can remain a plausible suspect? If your chick-lit Lead is already dating someone else, but this hunk caught her eye last week, what situation could you create to put them alone in a closed room for twenty minutes? Just long enough to cement their attraction and make her boyfriend jealous.
This is where I've been known to pick up a poster board and make a "Clue" gameboard of my book. I'll make paper characters, rooms, weapons, etc. Figure out who was where and WHY they could have "done it." Doesn't matter if the book's a drama instead of a mystery, plausibility is still a major aspect of your work. So at 10:42 p.m. on the day of the dirty deed, where were each of your characters? Were they each capable of doing what you need them to do? How did they learn the skills they need to perform the task? Yep, that's some backstory.
Consider yourself a combination supply-shed and drill sergeant. ACTIVATE your characters in a way that provides each of them with the means, motive and opportunity to accomplish their mission.
Get on it, Private.
