I woke in the middle of the night with a migraine.  This isn’t as common as it used to be because I know my triggers, two of which are not drinking enough water and Chinese food.  Both combined yesterday to send white hot drill bits jackhammering into my skull.  Thank God for Excederin Migraine, which works immediately with the side effect of caffeine overload.

Which, in my suddenly 100 m.p.h. brain, made me think of character flaws.  Not like the hero with a dashing scar on his face or bitterness against women because he’d been jilted when he was young.  Nor like the heroine who’s too smart or fat and builds up a thick skin against love.

I’m talking about a character who has migraines.  Or low blood sugar, or a dozen other physical manifestations.  I once had a character with asthma.  Of course, I had her running a lot and traipsing through the forest at harvest time.  A friend with asthma provided details I couldn’t.

Details are important when adding depth to your characters.  Their flaws won’t ring true without the minute realism someone suffering from the same ailment can sniff out in a New York minute.  You want your reader to look for those details, to be drawn into the story and identify with the character so they can follow him to the end of the story.

The next time you have a killer headache, or the flu or the shakes because you haven’t eaten all day, think about transferring some of those traits to your character.  It will make him more human, more relatable and more readable.

Take care,

Cheryl

Something has been bothering me about my first draft of the steampunk romance I’ve been working on.  The characters aren’t meshing, and yes, I know I-hate-you, I-love-you is a common plot device, but neither of these characters seemed interested, or even aware of each other.  So I lost interest in their story, as well.

Like most steampunk novels, it’s set in Victorian times.  Proprieties are set, and certain rules apply.  But, the genre allows a certain amount of leeway.  Belief has to be suspended in order to swallow steam powered airships, mechanical men and transporting vortexes.

A writer never knows when inspiration will strike.  A book review mentioned a characteristic of a similar era heroine that threw light on what was wrong with my story.  The heroine is too passive.  Without her taking charge of the relationship, nothing will be resolved.

Now the real writing challenge begins.  Without emasculating my hero, the heroine needs to call the shots, at least as far as the romance is concerned (he’ll get to fight the villain.)  I’m sure there were Victorian misses who set their sites on a husband and arranged matters to their satisfaction.

This isn’t the first time one of my characters has raised a hand and said, “Wait a minute,” or revealed a secret into the middle of a story.  It’s always a surprise, sometimes unpleasant, but the story is richer for it.

What about your story?  What stopped you and forced you to rewrite your unfinished first draft?

Take care,

Cheryl

The Importance of Writing an Emotional Hook

What is your emotional hook?

What is the emotional hook of your story?  It’s almost as important as the opening lines in keeping your reader’s interest.

What is an emotional hook?  Some might call it theme or concept, but I disagree.  In my mind, theme is the one word or phrase that binds the story together.  Poverty vs. noble acts in any Dickens novel.  Judgment and self-isolation in Hawthorne ’s.  (Thanks, Mary for the examples) Lofty, high-level concepts, but not what I’m talking about.

An emotional hook is something visceral, a deep-seeded need in your character that not only drives his choices but connects with your reader and keeps him turning pages.

Switching genres, in the movie Independence Day, myriad emotions were touched upon.  Fear, helplessness and, in the end, determination to fight.  The one emotion that resonated with me was the overwhelming desire of the characters to make sure their families were safe.  Husband and wife, significant others, father and child, when the aliens came knocking, everyone’s main concern was ensuring their loved one’s safety.

We can all relate to that feeling.  After 9/11, Katrina or any other major disaster, our first thoughts are to make sure our families are okay.

Buy tying a strong emotional response to your character’s situation, you draw your reader deeper into the story.

In my next story, a dark paranormal, the emotional hook the story demands is betrayal.  Each major character has been betrayed by someone they’ve loved.  The trust they’ve given to someone important has been discarded, stomped underfoot and soiled.  Have you experienced betrayal?  It’s an emotion we can recall easily and, in doing so, our connection to the characters is intensified.

What emotional hook have you used?

I’ll be back later in the week.  Until then, stay safe.

Cheryl