Notes from Writing the First Three ChaptersAn Editor wants to see if you can
A love story is a character story because like we've already discussed we know the plot
Conflict and character must be emotionally charged and in close proximity if the conflict with the hero/heroine is periphery it's not interesting. For category romance if she doesn't believe in ghosts he is the leading authority. If he is a media shy recluse she has to be a journalist looking for her big story. THEY NEED TO BE IN DIRECT CONTRAST -- or the opposite character needs to represent the protagonist's deepest fear in some way.
i.e. - Nobody's Baby But Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips -- she wants a baby by herself and she wants the father to be stupid in fear of her child being too smart because she was too smart -- she never felt a part of anything she was alienated from everything her whole life and a baby represents family and belonging and a baby that's not a genius represents her having a second chance.
NOW what kind of character would stand in direct opposition to that ? The man she tricked into getting her pregnant wants to have the baby with her insists they get married and what's worse he thinks terrible things about her for tricking him and what's really worse HE'S SMART! But you can't just have a character who is the polar opposite of your protagonist -- they need to be fleshed out. "No one pays to see Muhammad Ali fight a crippled midget." They need to be equals both want the same amount, fight the same amount so that the compromise is rewarding and so that they believe the black moment. One of the biggest mistakes I see in contest entries is this lopsided characterization -- both characters need to be fleshed out. DEFINITION OF CONFLICT - Conflict needs to come from a hole in their character caused by something that happened in their past which, through story events, the characters will struggle and fill. This depicts character growth. The external and internal conflicts should interrelate conflict exists on many levels begins deep and wells up into conflicts between characters. i.e. -- Good Will Hunting -- Will never trusts anyone he learned that the hard way and so he creates a thousand walls between him and the Minnie driver character. All of their small arguments are about when will she meet his brothers and see where he lives etc¼-- which he lied about so she would never really know him. CONSTRUCTING THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS -- it's sort of a variation on the scene and sequel set up if you are familiar. Since this is the first draft I think you just need to cruise through this -- try to make it all dialogue and action watch the back-story. DON'T LOOK BACK JUST KEEP GOING. Writing is all about walking fine lines -- you want to give enough information but not too much. CREATE THE QUESTION THAT IS GOING TO KEEP THE PAGES TURNING. Who are these people? What do they want? Why? Your first chapter should be a scene or maybe two scenes -- best if you can keep it at one I think that's even better. Where to begin? I say you start the book on the day that is different -- moments or minutes before the event that changes the status quo -- you can't have a whole book of status quo particularly in category romance so you start just before the big everything changes moment. So I say a little ordinary world and then the moment that you think changes things. --- GOAL -- You have to set up their FIRST goal -- lose virginity, marry the duke, never marry the duke, keep her job, get the promotion, keep the old folks home from going under all things that are representative of her DRIVING PASSION. STRUGGLE -- Set up the struggle she's been working on this for a long time -- oh the blood sweat and tears that is still going on. REVEAL CHARACTER THROUGH ACTION AND DIALOGUE. You want to drop ONE MAYBE TWO HINTS about the past here fleeting quick hints and then WHAMMO DISASTER - the hook the new info new problem that changes everything. Usually the hero enters and is the problem or comes bearing the problem. This should put you at the end of the first chapter. CREATE ANCHORS FOR -- Establish time place circumstance and viewpoint little anchors. Knowing exactly where they are is a little anchor for your reader the more of the little anchors the more likely they are to follow you anywhere in a lot of the manuscripts I judge I spend the first four pages wondering where people are. You don't want that. My editor constantly reminds me that last names and job titles are important to readers and it's true -- you want to know. As a writer you could care less CHAPTER 2 - this a sequel to the first chapter. You've got the fall out from the disaster the end of that scene if you didn't end it at chapter one. New scene REACTION to the disaster they have to work through whatever initial emotion they've got -- shock, anger etc¼ and when they cool off they realize there is a DILEMMA -- they have to live with this new information that radically gets in the way of the heroine/hero's goal that was set up in the first chapter. This dilemma usually places them at a cross roads give up the goal in order to not have to deal with the new information or work with the new information and still go after the goal. There needs to be some pro and conning going on. We all know they won't give up the goal but it's your job to make that decision believable and here is a place to put in why this goal REALLY is important to them -- reveal some of the driving passion. So they make a - DECISION - the decision usually comes with a lot of kidding of themselves and telling themselves that they can keep their mind on the goal and not get distracted by the hero's eyes etc¼. Chapter 3 I usually change POVs here so we can see where the other character is emotionally and you've got to sum that up without retelling the whole last scene. You need his perspective on the heroine. You need his goal and why it is just as worthy as her goal and how long he has fought for it. He too has to come to a decision. This chapter can not be exposition SOME IDEAS 1. Introduce a confidant character you see that a lot in category fiction Third chapter in category romance and in most others ends in a shaky truce that opens up the doors for your other external conflicts and the internal conflict. FIRST REWRITE -- after you finish the book Let's review the things that your editor and reader are going to be looking for Write -- can you put together a coherent and interesting sentence, paragraph, chapter Start cleaning up some of your mistakes look for the words that you repeat all the time get rid of weak words and use much stronger ones Show vs. Tell - an adjective tells a verb shows i.e. A man who is cruel or a man who whips his dog The man was handsome or women turned to look at him when he walked down the street A woman who was nervous or a woman who was sweating through her shirt. Excellent example of showing and not telling Alice Hoffman -- turtle Moon. Get rid of weak verbs i.e., she moved to the door. She went through the hallway. Adverbs don't really bother me but chances are they are a clue to use a better verb. Specific -- In the specific things become universal Bette Midler thing -- replace words don't modify them. Dog with poodle. Cereal with cornflakes etc¼ WHICH LEADS ME TO ¼. Character -- are your characters fully developed, conflicted and interesting people Chances are not really -- you should know your characters at this point far better than when you wrote those first three chapters -- let's make sure that you are using what you know. Are you missing chances to fully introduce your characters? When they go to a restaurant where do they sit? Booth, counter, table? What do they order to drink? These kind of details the say to day life and decisions are what's important¼ Are they flawed -- real flaws like what you and I have not just that they are too proud. Some talk about DEEP POV and character and wasted chances It's magic when you are reading a book and the characters show up fully formed with their own voices in your head and I used to think that you did that by describing exactly what they were doing and how they were doing it. But that's wrong. The secret is deep POV -- think about Jennifer Cruise. You are not just describing the scene you are describing the character by the way she sees the scene. It's not just details it's the right details. Every word is an opportunity to reveal character -- two great books with deep POV -- Stress in the City Flipside, Jennifer Cruise and Anne Tyler's Breathing Lessons. Exercise -- Two people looking at a pond - one an older man who buried his wife the other a girl who just learned to ride her bike. How they see the world reveals who they are -- Setting -- do we know who and where people - titles last names? Etc¼ Tone -- if this is a comedy your first three chapters have to be funny. If this is a suspense novel your first three chapters have to be tense / Okay now the killers Situations - External Conflict and Pacing-- are you killing your book with exposition? And is what you are writing interesting? Have you started in the right spot? Probably not -- too much back-story -- GET WHAT YOU WANT I thought the moment of change was when her boyfriend broke up with her but the moment of change was when she got drunk and decided enough was enough. BACK-STORY - you don't have to tell us too much back-story if it's already fundamentally built into the characters actions and motivations! IE GOOD WILL HUNTING -- we don't know anything about his back story really until the end -- but we can tell he has not had an easy life Story is about the resolution of the internal conflict not the creation. Back-story is ammunition -- reveal it when the reader is asking for it and at the moment of greatest impact not before reader has a chance to care or ask the question -- the reveal of back-story I always think of like a mystery. It's part of what will keep the reader reading. SCENES and pacing¼ Are your scenes moving? Is there action and dialogue? Cut the thinking! Scenes need to build emotionally the characters should not feel the same at the end of the scene as they do at the beginning. Scenes must do three things Further the plot Reveal character Foreshadow or reveal back-story The PTA scene from Field of dreams -- it furthers the plot because he realizes he needs to ease Terrence Mann's pain. It reveals his wife's character and the character of their marriage this is the kind of woman who would support her husband at all costs and it reveals back-story -- their 60's life and it foreshadows the involvement of Mann -- Brilliant What do you need the scene to do? You have to know this. Where do the characters need to end up? If at the end of the scene your character has to make a decision to have sex with the hero Start from there and work backwards. Walk us through that decision. In each scene the character need to end in a different emotional place then at the beginning. SECOND REWRITE 5. Opening line -- creating the question - some great opening lines The Hemingway one -- Laura Kinsale It's Hell Being a Hero. All of these create a mood and a question -- they hook the reader. 6. Closing line Every scene should be rushing to one sentence or idea. The whole book should be rushing to one sentence of line that resolves the inner conflict. Examples Some final questions - Are you using every chance to reveal character? Are you keeping the questions coming so the reader is gripped? Are you answering the questions too soon -- every Are you using active language -- dialogue? Are you showing rather than telling? Does the reader know where and who the characters are?
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