The Subplot Trap

Having discussed essential moments in a plot, we can move on to subplots. Subplots are great for adding depth, buffer, and realism to any story. But often enough, this neat little device is abused and ends up disappointing the reader. So what exactly is a good subplot?

Subplot Essentials

Subplot should not be confused with a separate story thread. Sometimes a book will have two separate stories that may end up intertwining at the end. Jacobean plays like The Changeling always have a second story that goes its own way until the end.

A subplot is different. It’s a little tangent that related to the main plot and will end up having some effect or getting effected by the main story.

Subplots without Relevance

The worst thing you can do is have a subplot that ends up having no relevance for the main plot. Jeffery Archer’s Only Time Will Tell surprised me with this because he’s usually such a great author. So, it starts with this poor boy, Harry, getting admitted into a posh school. His best friend, Giles, starts stealing things all of a sudden. Why does he steal? To pin the blame on Harry? Because he’s got some deep psychological need to steal? What will be the consequences for Harry and his friendship with Giles? The answer to all this?

Nothing.  

Giles gets caught, his father pays the school some money, and he comes back to school. That’s the end of that. Did it do anything to affect the course of the protagonist, Harry’s, story? No.

"...of the foul German spectre:
the Vampyre" 

Frustrating. Not only did it waste my time but it built up so many questions in me and then flipped on its head by seeming to be the most intriguing part of the story to the stupidest. What I call- the punctured tire effect.

Subplots with Relevance

This is just about any subplot of a good story. Jane Eyre has the subplot of Bertha Mason. Had she just been a mad woman that roams around the house, it would’ve created some initial suspense but eventually seemed pointless. Her subplot comes into a direct clash with Jane’s because her existence prevents Jane’s marriage to Rochester.

Wuthering Heights’ subplot of Isabella and Heathcliff’s marriage sets the scene for the second generation of drama. Had it not happened, Linton Heathcliff would’ve never been born and Heathcliff would’ve had no means to gain Linton’s property though young Cathy.

 

"Your hair don't smell of the heather."

Regardless of how you insert them in a story, your subplots should always have some effect on the main plot. It can be in a large way or a small one, but relevance is key. 

7 Essential Plot Moments

Your plot should be interspersed with certain tear-jerking or awe inspiring moments. Some of these are so powerful, they can determine the course of your entire book while others are the highlight of your work. Here are 7 plot moments so that you can write a plot that packs a punch.

1. Depravity

Dorian’s murder of Basil stood out to me as the single most depraved act in the book. It’s also the part I remember best- the senseless murder of the person who adores you. Evoking strong emotions like shock, disgust from the reader makes for a powerful read.

I Am Evil

2. Love at First Sight

Any Edith Wharton novel milks this moment for all its worth. These days, this moment has become so overused, even using the word “love” feels tricky. I would say love at first sight that comes at a great cost would make for a great story. Man falls in love with a woman who turns out to be a terrorist (I didn’t make that up, I saw it in a movie).

3. Reversal

"For his ambition, I killed him"

This can be a bad person deciding to become good or vice versa. Personally, I think when a good person decides to become bad, it’s more interesting. Readers are expecting the villain to have some humanity deep down in their corrupt little souls, but when a character you’ve trusted all along turns on you, the element of surprise is greater. “Et Tu Brute” is iconic for a reason, he was Caesar’s beloved friend, so his stab hurt more than the others ever could.

4. Fate Worse Than Death

People rely on death way too much when there’s a whole variety of worse fates you can pick from. Back to Edith Wharton, her protagonist tries to kill himself, but only gets injured badly and is paralyzed for the rest of his life. Living in poverty, living with guilt, living in disgrace are as powerful as death. In some ways, they are worse because at least suffering ends with death.

5. Standing Up For a Cause

"Because as long as I was in,
and in for good,
I might as well go the whole hog"

The more difficult the cause the better and best yet if it’s a lost cause. It always reflects the moral strength of the character. Huck Finn deciding to save Jim from the slave owners- many people feel the book should’ve ended at this moment because the book couldn’t get more heart-wrenching than that moment. Moreover, if your character fails the first time he stands up for a cause and succeeds the next time, it will make him seem more real. Only Tintin succeeds in first attempt at…life.

6. To Forgive, Divine

To forgive someone who stole your pencil is ridiculous, to forgive someone after they burnt down your house is beautiful. A compassion that is greater than what we find in this cruel world of ours is always satisfying. When the priest forgives Jean Val Jean in Les Miserables, it makes an equal impact on both the convict and the readers- he becomes an honest man, we rent the Les Miserables DVD.

7. Loss of Moral Code

The opposite of the point above, when a person knowingly ignores his conscience. Amir’s abandonment of Hassan in the Kite Runner is so powerful, the entire novel is spun around it. Even the cover of my copy has the scene of Amir glancing around the corner and watching the evil guy have his way with Hassan. 

Making the Plot That Grabs You

Reading Jane Austen or  Somerset Maugham, I can reach one conclusion: people must’ve had a lot more time on their hands. But think about it, it was the rich who could afford books and were literate. They didn’t have to worry about most things us nine to fivers do. Considering that readers give modern day writers very little time to establish why they should read our book, making a plot that catches their attention and refuses to let go is a must. So how exactly do you do that?

1. Withhold Information

Any Charles Dickens novel you read will have a last minute surprise, giving it a twist that keeps you glued to the book. In Great Expectations, how many of us ever guessed that the convict was Pip’s benefactor? At times misleading the reader can work too. Through most of the novel, Dickens makes us belief Mrs. Havisham is funding Pip which makes the truth even more shocking.

2. Make the Readers Guilty

Conflicting feelings are a good way to keep the readers glued.

Clockwork Orange makes you side with a sociopath murderer and in doing so, you feel torn apart. If something makes us happy, we are content and forget about it soon enough. But something that makes us squirm will stay in our heads and force us to turn the pages.

3. Sense of Helplessness

Run, Forrest, run!

This tactic never fails. I can’t think of an appropriate literary example, so I’m switching to movies. In Scream, remember the scene where Sydney's friend doesn't realize that the Ghostface standing in front of her is the actual killer and she keeps taunting him? Didn’t it make you want to jump out your seat, rush into the television and scream, “Haul ass, you friggin' moron!” If your villain reveals that he’ll kill the hero by tampering with his car brakes and in the next chapter, your hero decides to take a drive, the readers will hate you for making them miss their favorite show and love you for writing such a great book.

4. Don’t Overdo It

Alternate between subtle tension and outright tension. Not everyone has to be screaming, jumping out of windows, and getting stabbed for the reader to be interested. Sometimes the best tension can be two people sitting in the room, refusing to talk. Alternating between different types of tension keeps the reader guessing what will happen next. Will the lovers have a violent outburst or will they simply freeze each other out? 

5. Downtime

Apologies to fans. It was a good film. 

I just watched Star Trek: Into the Darkness, so this one comes straight from the heart. Gives the reader (or in my case, viewer), a chance to relax. With Stark Trek, every second was epic, every minute something crucial was happening. After the first twenty minutes, my reptilian brain went numb and by the time Chris Pine was dying, I turned to my sister, baffled, and asked, “Why’s he talking so slowly?” After something dynamic has happened, let the tension settle down, let the gravity of the situation sink in. Or you’ll leave your readers jaded and wondering why Chris Pine was talking so slow.

So that’s it for today. On a side note, I was disappointed that Benedict Cumberbatch’s entry in the movie was so plain. I thought they’d make it a lot more grand. I guess there’s always the sequel, but I think it’s too much for this reptile to handle.

Establishing The Backstory

We’re anxious to tell our readers all the facts and figures of our story beforehand so that they’re able to get a real grasp of what’s happening. Except that often enough, we ending up listing all the facts- who’s related to who, who hates who, why is it that particular time of the year. The problem is that by the time we get to the juicy part of the story, the readers are worn out. Here are a few mistakes and how you can avoid them:

1. The Documentary Feel

Please don’t get paragraphs of National Geographic narratives. Nothing tires out the reader more than, “Harry was Sam’s brother and worked as a bartender. His wife had divorced him last summer and now he got to see his three kids on the weekends only…”

At the start, there’ll be only one or two facts about Harry that the reader has to know. If you have to list them out, then do so as briefly as possible.

Solution:

The golden rule of writing is “show, don’t tell.” If your protagonist has anger issues, don’t go for a sentence stating the same. Why not get him into a small fight? Shameful that I always take movie references for advice on writing, but here it is. In Supernatural, they never make Sam state, “Dean you’re so aggressive. You are clearly the dominant personality.” But how do we know he is? He always drives the car, he chooses the songs during the car drive, he tends to whack Sam on the head if he’s annoyed.

2. Explanatory Dialogue

If you find your characters explaining your plot, it is a sign for a thorough rewrite. Dorian Gray is my favorite book and some of Sir Henry's speeches put me to sleep. So avoid at all costs as there are more subtle ways to convey your plot essentials than through dialogue. Moreover, dialogue will just sound stilted if it goes like, “Harry, my older brother, I have not you see since you took off in a rage five years ago.”

Solution:

Listen to how people talk. They give away clues of their personality through everyday speech. For example, I had a story where a girl is talking to her stepbrother and at first I resorted to explanatory dialogue. Except is slowed down my story. Then, I thought about the two characters and how they would perceive their parents. So I made the girl call her mother “mum,” while the stepbrother referred to her as “your mother.”

I would say think of your story as a bit of a mystery. You should give enough clues which the reader can piece together to finish the puzzle. Nothing is worse than making a reader feel like they’re in a college lecture with all the facts written out for them. Then again, The Alchemist does nothing but state facts, so I’m not sure if backstory rules hold true anymore.

Well, for those of us who aren’t Paulo Coelho, I guess we can travel the more conventional route. 

Framing Your Main Characters

Create a compelling protagonist and villain and half the battle is already won. That doesn’t mean you make the good guy absolutely good and the bad guy the worst creature to walk the planet. Characters are like people and they grow over the course of your story into well rounded beings. Conversely, not putting too much thought into them, bleeds through the page, and readers will dismiss the book even if the plot is amazing.

How do you frame your characters?

1. Keep Their Bio Data

A Snippet of My List

Before I create a character, I make a list of everything that I feel can frame a great character. Name, nickname, place of birth, favorite catchphrase, interests. You can modify the list depending on your tastes and don’t forget that this list keeps changing as your character evolves.

This list is also a good reference point if you ever feel like your character is getting away from you. Plus, this list is great because every fact feeds the other. If your character has a serious demeanor it will affect the choice of his music, which in turn will affect whether his idea of a good time is a rock concert or a symphony.

2. Decide Their Flaws

This can be part of your list in the point above but it is so important that I needed to give it a separate heading. The type of flaw, perceived or real, your character has makes a world of difference.

Dorian Gray's flaw is creates one of
the most beloved protagonists ever 

Please, don’t create a character who is too perfect to live. The reason I say is this because your readers aren’t stupid. Just because you’re telling them the protagonist has no flaws doesn’t mean they won’t be able to spot any.

I’m not too familiar with the Twilight Series, but from what I hear its protagonist is supposed to close to perfect. Yet you see enough people who rant about its stupidity. That’s what I mean. You can’t fool your audience. Then again, considering the success of the Twilight Series, I might be wrong on that.

In the same way, give your villain a redeeming feature. No one except comic book villains are purely evil and as a well developed person, your antagonist will have a soft side to him as well. Plus, contrast always heightens the thrill. If your villain wants to destroy out of retarded evilness, it won’t be as powerful as if he knows that he’s doing wrong, but sees no other alternative.

3. Times of Adversity

Death Note is all about adversity and its interesting

to see how different characters react to it. Some 

choose self sacrifice, others develop a peculiar habit 

of making their eyes glow red. Plus as far as flaws 

goes, this series does a great job of making flawed 

yet lovable characters.

It’s well known that you get to know a person’s real character in a time of adversity and a book character is no different. Look at the tense parts in your book or make up a situation and consider how your characters would react to it. Who would be the person they help? Who would they leave behind? Would they roll over and weep or would they fight the situation even if they knew they would die?

The situation doesn’t have to be life or death. It could be financial ruin or a break up, but the manner in which the character handles adversity can tell you a lot about him. 

Don’t Lose Sight of the Gold

This post is a slightly personal one, but it might be useful nonetheless. From my personal experience, I give this one piece of advice: write for yourself.

In the world of publishing, commercialization, and best sellers list, it’s easy to forget the reason why you’re writing. You.

You are primarily writing for yourself and you must never forget that. When I was thirteen, one experience single handedly ruined my joy of writing. My father noticed my eagerness in writing and told me that I should hone my skills till I could write books worthy of the Booker Prize (European equivalent of the Pulitzer you could say). He kept marking my progress, forced me to show my work to him, told everyone I liked to write, who in turn pestered me about when I would get my work published.

Don't confuse the icing for the cake! 

It took me a good seven years before I realized that my writing had not progressed in this time and it was because I wasn’t writing for myself. I was writing for my family, friends, and for a target audience.

As serious writers, yes, we should keep in mind that a publisher won’t accept some nonsense work that only makes sense to you. But if you find your fear of acceptance getting in the way of your flow, please assess your priorities.

Now when I write, I remind myself that regardless of what anyone thinks of my work, it will first and foremost be my own personal tribute to myself. That may sound a little arrogant, but it’s not. A book is your creation, and let’s face it, if you didn’t think highly of your own work, you’d let the idea stay in your head rather than sending it off to a publisher.

Here are a few tips of how I keep my work MINE:

I never need a reason to add a
photo of a hot guy

1. I often build my characters around my personal heroes and if I’m getting really fan girly, even my favorite actors. You don’t have to go so far as to name your character Jensen Ackles, but yeah, why not add the green eyes? No one else needs to know your choice

2. Don’t forget to have fun with your writing. I insert jokes in my work that only make sense to me. It helps me keep perspective. No matter how much work I put in my book, I need to remember that I am just a spec in the universe and what I work on for my entire life, might be forgotten the minute I die. So I remember to laugh a little and keep a sense of humor when I write.

3. Publishing is Not the Benchmark

At the end of the day, the only person whose
approval you should be looking for is you.

Publishing does not equal quality writing. History is littered with examples of good writing that was ignored, even despised. My favorite poet Keats died a failure. So, remember, that just because your work isn’t published doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Conversely, think of some book did get published, but was absolute rubbish. So yes, in a world where cleverly disguised pornography can become a bestseller, we can go a little easy on ourselves when our book gets passed over for something more raunchy.

Remember above all else: If you’re happy with your work, the toughest battle is won. 

Know When to Get Brutal

I wish the makers of Supernatural had been brutal when it came to the show. It would have saved a lot of people pain. Love is a tricky thing and as a dedicated writer, you love your book. However, sometimes it’s best to know when to give it the axe. Not to slash out the entire thing, I mean certain parts that drag on. Most readers aren’t sipping on a cocktail on some beach. They’ve got busy schedules and manage to fit in a few minutes in their day to read your book. So you have to make sure you don’t have any unneeded details that cause your book to move at a snail’s pace. Always remember: your audience is impatient.

Of course, as with anything you’ve created, you might be a bit too attached to realize which parts of your book should be cut.

How to spot the tricky parts:

1. It’s Getting in the Way of Your Plot

This is the easiest way to spot something unneeded. Some characters or scenes just won’t fit in your main story because they’re redundant. In my story, I had added a rather humorous character but at the end when I wanted to wrap up his story thread, it was getting the way of my climax. I had more important things to take care off and giving him a proper ending was ruining the flow of events, that’s when I realized, I had to bid farewell to him.

2. Take an Honest Look

Ask yourself for each scene “Does it give the reader some insight about my character or plot?” If not, pick up the axe. For lack of a better example, I’ll take the movie DrillBit Taylor. He’s a conman who’s hired by three boys who are bullied by a psycho kid in school. Although he’s initially out to get their money, he realizes that his friendship with them is more important and gives the bully an ass whooping (I’ve never used that word before and I now I feel like a poser.) I felt like his love interest seemed rather forced on the plot and was there for no other reason than “because all protagonists end up with a girl.” Could the plot have gone on without her? Yes. Would it have prevented people from taking bathroom breaks when the actress comes on screen? Yep.

No one’s going to take a bathroom break during a boring chapter of your book. They’ll simply put it down and never pick it up again, so learn to get cruel.

3. The Objective Outsider

Sometimes it’s best to get someone elseto read your work. They won’t have the emotional investment in your characters that you do. I realized the value of the outsider when I wrote one of my earliest stories and made my sister read it. When she finished my favorite part of the story, the one that I absolutely adored, she went, “I loved everything but what the hell was the point of that scene?”

The outsider will see boring scenes for what they are. When I ask someone to read my work now, I always beg them to mark the parts that get them bored. It hurts my feelings and improves my work.

Adding flavor and details to your plot is essential and it can hurt when you have to throttle your own creation. I, personally, save my additional details in a separate Word document and keep them for my eyes only. It makes the pain a little less.

So, grit your teeth and pick up your scalpels. 

Coincidences in Your Plot

A short one for today.

What’s wrong with this picture?

“…the girl leaped out of the window and it just so happened that a mattress lay on the street so she was saved. As she got up, it just so happened that a gorgeous man was standing in front of her who helped her up. He’d just broken up with his wife and was looking for love. The two got married and lived happily ever after.”

 

Give your plot a better reason than:
"Why did this happen?"
"Because it just did, okay."

Yes, enough coincidences to make a bad romantic comedy or perhaps that movie The Ugly Truth started out as a sarcastic exercise like the paragraph above (my apologies to anyone who likes the movie).

So, how many coincidences are you allowed to have in your story?

ZERO…or perhaps one if you do it smartly.

A coincidence is just a warning sign that you were too lazy to come up with an actual reason for an incident. Yet you need your plot events to conspire in a way so that the resolution is a good one. Here’s how to handle those tricky coincidences:

Prepare the Audience

Problem: Mr. Evil Villain is strangulating Helpless Heroine when Estranged Brother just happens to walk into her house at that minute and is able to save her.

Fix: Have Estranged Brother look through old photos in a previous chapter and yearn to see Helpless Heroine once again.

Nothing in the outcome changes, but the events don’t sound so random now.

Follow Up

If you don’t want to prepare the foreground, then another good way to counter a coincidence is to follow it up with a plausible story.

Problem: After saving Helpless Heroine, Estranged Brother decides he needs to leave and isn’t seen in the plot ever again.

Fix: Estranged Brother saves her and Helpless Heroine and him patch up their relationship. Estranged Brother sticks around and helps her put Evil Villain behind bars at the climax.

 

This way even though it is a coincidence, it is well disguised. You prove that events in your book have consequences and don’t occur randomly.

Read or Watch Some Murder Mysteries

This genre is all about a murder planned right down to the last detail and one mistake bringing the whole thing tumbling down. I personally recommend Agatha Christie (ABC Murders and After the Funeral) because she deals with coincidences so deftly that often they’re too difficult to recognize.

A small side note: Watch Serendipity, a movie based entirely on coincidences, but doesn’t rely on lack of reasoning.

Learning from these can help you hide your coincidences and let your plot run smoothly as possible.

Friends & Family as Proofreaders

I took a hiatus for deciding on a permanent career. And as always, I found nothing. Well, back to business. 

Until you become Dan Brown and have a hundred critics raving about you, chances are the only people who are enthusiastic about your work are the people who are interested in you. If you show your friends and family, do so with caution. Here are some things that you should consider:

1. They Love You

This is my biggest qualm. Your friends adore you. That’s why they’re your friends, but that’s also why they might be blind to your faults. In friendship that’s a good thing, but readers and publishers who have never met you, don’t know the brilliant person you are. They are going to see your work for what it is, so don’t always go by what your loved ones say. When asking a friend for an opinion, make sure it’s a friend who can keep a degree of objectivity with your work.

2. They Aren’t Qualified

My father’s always asking me to show him my work. He’s anxious that I should do my best with my writing and he’d be a bad father if he didn’t make a demand like that. The problem is that my father is just about as lyrical as an (trying to think of a cool simile and I got nothing)…he’s just not very artistically bent. His mind works like a machine, so his internal editor will be looking for ways to make my work worthy of a scientific journal and completely miss the point of my work. Just because people have good intentions, they don’t make good editors.

3. They Might Be Too Qualified

My best friend knows me like a book. It's gotten to the point that even if I don't finish my sentences, she'll know what I'm talking about. So in my stories, even if I haven't described the plot effectively, she understands what I'm talking about. I'm happily convinced that my work is a masterpiece and then find other readers baffled about the plot. 

4. They Aren’t Your Intended Readers

If you’re writing about a teenager’s turmoil in high school and you show it to your mum, she might not give you the advice you need. Reason being that she is not your targeted audience. How about giving it your younger sister? As someone who is actively trying to rise up in the school hierarchy, she might be able to give you better insights. When picking someone to read it, make sure it’s someone who can give you valuable feedback.

5. They Don’t Want To Read It

This is a rehash of something I wrote in an earlier post, but it’s true, so I’m bringing it up again. When a library goer picks up your book and doesn’t like what she sees in the synopsis, she will put it back on the shelf. Loved ones don’t get that option. So instead of saying they don’t want to read your book, they will simply pretend that they’ve read it and tell you it’s the best thing they’ve ever read. If they’re more crafty like me, they will skim into a particular line and criticize it just to make their opinion seem more truthful. My advice is that unless you have gone through at least two revisions of your work and are happy with it, don’t push it onto your friends.

If Not Family, Then Who…?

So you might be wondering you will give you that helping hand and the simple answer is you. Writing is like any other task and no matter how much advice you get about riding the damned bicycle at some point you will have to put your butt on the seat and start pedaling.

1. Practice

You’ll only learn to ride a bike if you practice every day and writing is no different. Some people say you must write a page every day, I think each person should go according to his own schedule as long as they are making some progress. Reread your old works to see what elements you like best and what you want to develop further.

2. Learn From the Best

Fortunately for you, the topic you’re probably writing on is well exhausted. Millions of brilliant writers have already churned out their magnum opus on love or hate or whatever else. Should this discourage you? Hardly. Learn from them. Learn from their mistakes, their success and then add your own unique take on the topic.

3. Take a Risk

No matter how much your parents tell you to keep a steady grip on the handle, at some point you will lose your nerve, the bike will topple, and you’re going to fall. With writing, you have to be willing to take the risk of taking that fall. Keats took that risk and today he’s in every good anthology of poetry (granted, the risk eventually killed him, but that’s another story). Take the fall, patch the bruises, and get back up.

And this reminds me of a Golden Girls moment:

Blanche: Honey it’s as easy as riding a bicycle.

Rose: I never learnt how to do that either.

Dorothy: It’s as easy as falling off a bicycle.

Rose: Well, that is easy! Thanks, Dorothy.

Keep writing!

Developing Side Characters

I won’t take the name of the book, but its side characters were so undeveloped, I couldn’t make it till the end. Eight siblings live together but since the author was only concerned with the protagonist, she got married and had children. As for the rest? Two died, while the other five decided to live like hermits with no family. Really? The author couldn’t have spared two lines about how at least one of them finds a spouse?

Within the story, your protagonist is the most important character. But as a writer, you get an aerial view of the story and by now you must know just how important side characters are. If you start them off with a side story and don’t finish it, it’s a loose end. A loose end that your story will eventually trip on and fall. At the same time, you can’t give each person their own saga, so here are a few suggestions about how to make your side characters seem like a fully developed persons existing in their own right.

1. A Strong Relationship

Arthur & Eames' bad relationship was
one of the best things about Inception.
It was not necessary to the plot, but gave
them additional personality.

My current project deals with seven rather important side characters. Two of them were brothers who help out the protagonist. When they seemed too stilted, I made them fiercely competitive. Whenever they’re in a scene, they’ll pass snide remarks about each other. Suddenly from being one dimensional people related to my protagonist, they also have their own life. It tells the reader that although we’re concerned with the heroine, when these brothers leave the pages of the book, they’ll continue living their lives, probably undercutting each other. If your characters connect to each other in ways other than the protagonist, it’ll make them more realistic.

2. Specificity

Sometimes all you can afford is giving a character two lines worth of description. If you pin down one specific trait, it’ll be enough to give them a personality. I read a story the other day where a man goes to his seventy year old mother for advice. The mother gave advice (her role within the book), but it was interspersed with her packing posters of Brad Pitt for a trip (separate personality). Not just that, she has Backstreet Boys CDs, and I think accessories of the Twilight men. She features in the entire novel for half a page, but I remember her because of the quirky personality- “the old ogling lady.”

3. Know Your Side Characters

In the film"Stand By Me" the cast & crew said they knew what 

happened to Gordie's cap. Did the audience ever find out? Nope. 

But it helped Keifer Sutherland get into the head of the 

evil "Ace."

Know the life of your characters before and after the book starts even if the information isn’t relevant to the plot. You don’t have to add any of their biography in the book, but if you know your character’s life, he will automatically develop his own unique personality.

For example, if you decide that Tracy loved to ride horses as a kid (a detail that’s never going to find its way into the book), it’ll influence the course of your story meaningfully. Instead of the protagonist meeting Tracy at a café, the friends could meet at Tracy’s ranch. Or when Tracy is ending her phone call with the protagonist, she might say, “Take care, sweetheart. I gotta go feed the horses.”

Sure, it’s just a few sentences, but your audience will form a distinct image of Tracy- the girl who likes horses, she’s probably an animal lover, and in good shape because she works at a ranch.

4. Protagonist

Side characters have a life of their own.
Separate from the protagonist.

As mentioned above, the hero is the center of the story, but not necessarily the center of your side character’s lives. Please don’t forget that. My friend wrote a story a while back where the heroine’s husband cheats on her. Sure, the audience is outraged. But then, the husband’s brother is so disgusted, that he disowns his own blood due to the infidelity. I’m not saying that family members can’t scold each other, but my friend forgot that the heroine was not as important to her brother in law as she was to the story.

Hamlet is a good example of this. The man is withering away because of grief, but the kingdom (particularly his mother and uncle) seem to be moving on. We are concerned with him because we are readers, but the other characters have to live their lives.

Think of fairytales, how much do we know about Rapunzel’s parents or even the prince? Now think of who fairytales are intended for. If you want to a story with depth and layers, be sure to make memorable, well developed side characters.

Staying Motivated While Writing Your Story

When I was taking a sociology class during freshman year, my professor asked each of us what had drawn us to sociology. Most of us said it was mandatory, some were interested in the subject, one kid said his friends had raved about how hot my professor was. She smiled and replied, “Whatever gets you here.” I think a similar logic applies when you’re writing a story. Writing consistently is a hard thing to do and sometimes I find myself avoiding even a work I adore. So here are some ideas to stay motivated:

1. Decide a Limit

Decide the amount of words you’ll write every day and stick to it. This is the best type of motivator because it gives a concrete record of your efforts. Avoid a vague parameter like “I will complete a chapter a day” because your chapter could be two pages long or two hundred. Take something definite like “I will write five pages per day.”

The biggest mistake you can do is make an unrealistic goal. Don’t be bothered if people recommend writing 5,000 words a day and you’re comfortable with 500. You are your own unique person and no one else’s style is going to work for you.

2. Mark Down Your Achievements

I have a little word chart which I fill out at the end of every day:

Date	Targeted Word Count	Targeted Total Words	Accomplished Count	Total Story Words
19. March	3,000	3,000	2,579	2,579
20. March	3,000	6,000	3,098	5,677
21. March	3,000	9,000	3,423	9,100

The best part of this chart is that I can see where I slacked off and then make up for it later. Plus, you can even set up a little reward system if that helps.

*Remember that such a word limit is really just to show you how you’re doing, if you go a little above or below the limit, don’t worry about it.

3. Music

Some people prefer to work in silence and that’s fine, but let me share my experience about the importance of music. When I’m working on a story, sometimes I find that a song in my library fits a particular scene or character perfectly. This helps trigger the mood that needs to go in writing that scene. For example, when I write sad scenes, I’m usually in a good mood. So I switch on “Hamlet Walks the Plane,” and let the music work its magic. Try it.

This is a personal quirk, but it might work for you. Sometimes when I’m listening to songs, I start playing out scenes of my story against the song like a music video. Seeing a visual reinforcement of your story can really help you out. Then, again, I’ve never heard of anyone else using this method, so I won’t swear by it. But who knows? Maybe it’ll work for you, maybe I’m starting a revolution!

4. Adore Your Characters

While I don't "adore" Claudia,

I do think she's very pretty, 

and I needed a pretty visual in 

my head for the heroine of my 

story.

You and your characters are sharing the same space, so if you don’t get along, it’s going to be like sworn enemies trapped in a cave. Here’s silly trick that I used for my last story. I was rewriting a classic so the characters had already been defined by the real author. This made me feel rather distant from them and for a while, I didn’t have any internal enthusiasm towards them because I hadn’t created them. So, I started imagining my favorite actors as those characters. Naturally, my enthusiasm skyrocketed. As long as you aren’t actually “soul plagiarizing” some real life person, it’s acceptable to have a vested interest in your character. As my sociology professor said, “Whatever gets you here.”

5. Daydream A Little

I’m guessing that you have dreams of making the NY Bestsellers list. Use that. A great way to pick yourself up after a slump is to imagine your book being a success. Heck, in dream world, it can get turned into a movie and your favorite actor/singer/football player will be so impressed by it that they will track you down, tell you how much your book impacted their life, and eventually ask you to marry them (and no, I’ve never actually dreamt that far).

As long as your dreams aren’t clouding your actual achievement, it’s fine to encourage yourself with a promise of the future.

6. Force Someone to Encourage You

I suggest this point as a last resort, I’ll explain why later.

If you’re desperate, pick the passage or page (not more) that you’re most proud of and show it to a friend who you know won’t trash it. Sometimes a hearty praise is what you need to hear. After all, you wouldn’t be writing this book if you didn’t want others to read and like it.

Warning: It is my sincere request not to dump your stories on some friend/relative every day and punish them because they are tolerant. The reason I say this is because I’ve been that friend/relative often enough. Unless you’re T.S. Elliot, chances are the draft you are working on right now isn’t your magnum opus. Our sense of accomplishment can blind us to the crap our work actually is, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world is blind. I know that sounds harsh but if you want to keep your friends (and their respect), you’ll take my advice.

7. Know When to Quit

There are enough quotes, clichés, movies about winners and quitters, but the truth is you should know when to quit. I’m not saying quit forever, but take heed of warnings when your mind is saying it just can’t go any further.

After I finished my first draft of my story, I felt like I was okay with abandoning it forever. I knew this wasn’t an option so I continued for one tortured week before I had burnout. Now, a month later, after not having looked at it, thought about it, talked about it, I’ve rediscovered its charm and am ready to take it up again.

If you start to associate your story with fatigue and hatred, what’s the point? Yes, writing is hard, but it’s also supposed to be fun. So when it stops becoming fun, put down your pen and throw your plot completely out of your mind.