A Writer Hits a Brick Wall

One day our writing flows. The next day we open the exact same manuscript and freeze.

A writer under contract has an advantage in this situation over a writer who is not under contract is that the writer who is being paid to write the book cannot surrender to the doubt. She must find a way to push forward or lose the money, her dreams, the contract.

Take for instance a writer who has two wildly successful novels out with a third on its way and a three-book deal awaiting his attention. Usually a robust writer, on his third book, nothing seems to be working. Even after input from his agent, each time he opens the manuscript, he freezes.

He knows the history and timeline inside and out. He knows the protagonist inside and out, the same character he spent time with in the previous two books. He knows the dramatic action front story goal and has written the story from beginning to end. Something is missing.

Two things come out in the plot consultation:
1) The protagonist is too passive and does not transform
2) A femme fatale is a minor secondary character

A passive protagonist usually translates on the page to mean the character has no passion.

To get the protagonist moving pair him with an equal or better antagonist. Who better than the femme fatale? Readers love relationships. Relationships involve emotion. Chemistry, energy, excitement, passion all come alive through people interacting in real and meaningful ways for a higher good, something the characters and the readers believe in.

The writer finishes the consultation relieved to have plan though he believes there is so much work left to reshape the manuscript. Me? I believe that when he introduces the femme fatale earlier, he'll likely find everything the story needs is all right there. The story is ready to wrap itself around the relationship. The relationship forces the protagonist into action, will make him stumble and fall from grace, and ultimately be transformed.

For immediate tips about the Universal Story and writing a novel, memoir or screenplay, visit Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? on YouTube. A directory of all the steps to the series is to the right of this post. Enjoy!

Order The Plot Whisperer: Secrets of the Universal Story Structure Any Writer Can Master NOW and receive it in time to pre-plot for NaNoWriMo in November!

What's Stopping You?

I am always fascinated when one writer curls up in a ball and gives up and, when faced with the exact same problem, another writer is empowered to persevere. 

Discovery that everything you've written sounds trite and infantile, frustration over how to get across what you are truly trying to say, a negative critique, a rejection from a query, poor reviews... we all experience a crisis, a dark night of the soul . Yet for some writers, these beliefs, limitations, judgments strip her of all her power whereas another writer listens and learns and moves on. 

You can spend all your time wallowing in your backstory -- that moment when you first lost your way and relinquished a bit or all of your own personal power to an antagonist(s), be it internal or external, or you can stay in your front story of putting one foot in front of the other or one word after another on the page toward completion of your goal and hold tight to your own power -- not in resentment and revenge but in the loving embrace that all antagonists are simply in your life to challenge you to grow and stretch.

Shrivel and die

Seize your power and move forward

You decide...

Click on green highlighted plot concepts for further explanations via vlog. Each time a concept is referenced you are directed to new information.

To watch the entire Plot Series: How Do I Plot a Novel, Memoir, Screenplay? go to my YouTube channel. A directory of all the steps to the series is to the right of this post. Enjoy!

Character Flaw

Every protagonist has a number of challenges to overcome in a story. Each of the core challenges can be seen as a separate plot line and plotted out over the course of the story. 

A major core plot line revolves around the protagonist's inner story. To satisfy the inner plot line, the protagonist must undergo a deep and fulfilling transformation. Often this is accomplished by introducing the character at the Beginning of the story with a flaw that must be eventually overcome to achieve her ultimate story goal. 

Following are a few examples of character flaws:

1. Always the victim and unable to take responsibility for actions

2. Control freak

3. Argumentative and short-tempered

4. Liar and a cheat

5. Stubborn

6. Always have to be right

7. Perfectionist and procrastinator

Character flaws in otherwise function individuals are often created in response to the character's back story. The back story is the moment when the protagonist loses her innocence. Because of what happens to the character in the back story, she now (in the front story) holds beliefs or exhibits actions that reflect a deep psychological issue that sabotages her from achieving her overall story goal.

The character flaw is introduced in the Beginning (1/4) of the story, deepened in the Middle (1/2) as the stakes rise and her internal flaw trips her up more and more often until she can no longer deny her part in her failure, an awareness which triggers her ultimate transformation at the End (1/4) of the story.