Part 2: Things Are Not Fine

January 6, 2006 by in category Archives tagged as with 1 and 0
Home > Writing > Archives > Part 2: Things Are Not Fine



A Slice of Orange Blog is pleased to bring you part-two of Susan Squires Blog! For part-one, please scroll down to the preceding blog.

By Susan Squires

I had a great time during the holidays. I connected with friends and relatives, and I got pretty much just what I wanted for Christmas. Which started me thinking. That would not be a great situation for a novel. We want life to be nice to us, but we can’t be nice to our characters.

Because I’ve been knee-deep in contest entries recently as judging season rolls around, I wanted to talk just a bit about conflict. You may remember recently that I advised taking time to think about what each character wants out of a scene. It’s also important in constructing both your book and your scene to have the reader clear on why that character can’t have what they want.

Yep! Your main character can’t get what they want most, or even whatever they want out of a particular scene, for most of the book. If the scene looks like they do get what they want, there has to be an unforeseen outcome or some kind of a mistake which puts that character right back in conflict. Maybe they got what they thought they wanted, but the reader knows better. If they don’t get what they want, take that opportunity to make not getting it have an even worse consequence. Let’s look at an example. Sally wants to have John ask her to take a ride in his new car. He does. But they get in an accident and are stranded miles from town. Or he does, but the reader knows that he’s secretly a rat who will take advantage of her, and she shouldn’t be going anywhere alone with him. Make it worse—he’s a serial killer! Or he’s a great guy but he doesn’t ask her and worse yet, he asks her arch-rival Ann, instead. And they run over her bicycle which is her only transportation to school. And they laugh at her! You get the idea.

So the question you are asking yourself in each scene is “Does my character get what she wants?” The answer is either, “ Yes, but……” or, “No, and furthermore….” It’s hardly ever just “yes.” Until the last scene! Okay, I only put in “hardly ever” because I’m not a believer in rules. But I do believe that if the main character gets exactly what she wants without her having reservations or without the reader feeling that it was a big mistake, you are letting the story tension seriously lapse. If you do that at the end of the chapter, the reader may close the book and never pick it up again. You leave the reader feeling, “Nice, but so what?” instead of being on pins and needles to see what happens next.

Now let’s talk a little bit about the beginning of a book (remember, I’ve been reading a lot of contest entries, and they’re always about the beginning.) Here, setting the conflict has to come as early as you can manage it. I’ve seen lots of entries where the first pages set the stage, and things are just fine. Uh, oh. Setting the stage can work, but the character has got to have some problem. Okay, she may not have been transported to another universe where she will have to save earth from certain destruction by aliens yet, but she’s got issues! They can be internal conflicts, relationship problems, character flaws, something…. but “things are just fine” doesn’t capture a reader’s interest. Start things off in the middle of “not fine,” and go from there.

Going back to the example I gave of character motivation, what the hero and heroine want is, ideally, in conflict. I used The Companion as an example in my last blog, where Ian and Beth both want to return to the life they once knew. He can’t because he’s a vampire and a normal life is denied him, and her father died, forcing her to abandon her life as an itinerant archeologist. Okay, that means each has conflict between what they want and what they can have. But when we find he wants to return to England where she has always been wildly unhappy and she wants to return to North Africa where he suffered as a slave and has vowed never to return, their goals are in conflict with each other as well. Of course, we know that they are more the same than different. It’s what draws them together. And we suspect that during the course of the story, what they want will change, but the idea is to start them off with things, “not being fine.”

So, let’s consciously separate ourselves from our characters. I hope the holidays were everything you wanted and expected, and I hope in 2006 you make your characters suffer until the last possible moment!

Susan Squires
THE COMPANION, May, 2005–St. Martin’s Press
THE HUNGER, October, 2005–St. Martin’s Press
THE BURNING, April, 2006–St. Martin’s Press
Author Details
Author Details
A Slice of Orange started in 2004 as a group of authors from Orange County, California. We have expanded to include authors from around the globe–from the UK, all across the US to New Zealand. Our authors include the multi-published and writers at the beginning of their publishing career. In addition to authors, we feature blog posts from editors, PR professionals, and cover designers. The bright segments of the writing and reading community that make up one perfect entity—A Slice of Orange.
On Sale

Books on sale or free

Redheaded Ruminations

Buy now!
Redheaded Ruminations

STOLEN KISSES FROM THE VISCOUNT

Buy now!
STOLEN KISSES FROM THE VISCOUNT
INTIMATE RELATIONS
THIEVES: Book One of the Obscurité de Floride Trilogy
FUR, FEATHERS AND SCALES: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales

SAVAGED SURRENDER

Buy now!
SAVAGED SURRENDER
WHO’S THE FAIREST? A Sisters Grimm Anthology
SNOW IN LOVE: Sweet Romance Holiday Collection

THE LIFE OF RILEY

Buy now!
THE LIFE OF RILEY
FATHOMS: A NOVEL OF THE PARANORMAL

GIRL IN THE MIST

Buy now!
GIRL IN THE MIST

THE FIX UP

Buy now!
THE FIX UP

GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

Buy now!
GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

#Me Too

Buy now!
#Me Too

HAGAR’S LAST DANCE

Buy now!
HAGAR’S LAST DANCE

FREYA Viking Glory Book Two

Buy now!
FREYA Viking Glory Book Two

LEIF Viking Glory Book One

Buy now!
LEIF Viking Glory Book One

THE GHOST OF DEPFORD HALL

Buy now!
THE GHOST OF DEPFORD HALL

DANGER MUSIC

Buy now!
DANGER MUSIC

THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR

Buy now!
THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR

THE WOULD BE MOMMY

Buy now!
THE WOULD BE MOMMY

A LADY’S POINT OF VIEW

Buy now!
A LADY’S POINT OF VIEW

COWBOY KARMA

Buy now!
COWBOY KARMA
BECKONED, PART 1: FROM LONDON WITH LOVE

A SOLDIER’S ITALIAN CHRISTMAS

Buy now!
A SOLDIER’S ITALIAN CHRISTMAS

CITY OF BLAZE

Buy now!
CITY OF BLAZE

LET IT SNOW

Buy now!
LET IT SNOW

ILONA’S WOLF

Buy now!
ILONA’S WOLF

COME FLY WITH ME

Buy now!
COME FLY WITH ME
THE DAY BAILEY DEVLIN’S HOROSCOPE CAME TRUE

WELCOME TO LOON LAKE

Buy now!
WELCOME TO LOON LAKE

SUPERHERO IN DISGUISE

Buy now!
SUPERHERO IN DISGUISE

HOSTILE WITNESS

Buy now!
HOSTILE WITNESS

LOVE NOTES

Buy now!
LOVE NOTES

THE ROGUE’S LAST SCANDAL

Buy now!
THE ROGUE’S LAST SCANDAL
2019

HER COWBOY KING

Buy now!
HER COWBOY KING
CHRISTMAS ON NANTUCKET AND OTHER STORIES
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIDGE, NEW YORK, 1930

THE MASK OF MIDNIGHT

Buy now!
THE MASK OF MIDNIGHT

THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Buy now!
THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT
SERIOUSLY, MOM, YOU DIDN’T KNOW?
OFF THE RAILS: A Collection of Weird, Wicked, & Wacky Stories

THE WORTH OF A VISCOUNT

Buy now!
THE WORTH OF A VISCOUNT

SHADOWS AT DAWN

Buy now!
SHADOWS AT DAWN

DEAD BLOW

Buy now!
DEAD BLOW
WINTER WISHES: A REGENCY HOLIDAY ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY

HAUNTING MISS FENWICK

Buy now!
HAUNTING MISS FENWICK
LOST WITNESS: A Josie Bates Thriller

REWRITING THE PAST

Buy now!
REWRITING THE PAST

CLEAR INTENT

Buy now!
CLEAR INTENT

HIDDEN BETRAYAL

Buy now!
HIDDEN BETRAYAL

HER LOST LOVE

Buy now!
HER LOST LOVE

TWO BITES TOO MANY

Buy now!
TWO BITES TOO MANY

ONCE UPON AN ENCHANTED FOREST

Buy now!
ONCE UPON AN ENCHANTED FOREST
COLTON 911: CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
#PLEASE SAY YES (#HermosafortheHolidays Book 1)

TRACKING SHADOWS

Buy now!
TRACKING SHADOWS

THE DECEPTION

Buy now!
THE DECEPTION

THEIR HIGHLAND BEGINNING

Buy now!
THEIR HIGHLAND BEGINNING

HIS HIGHLAND SURPRISE

Buy now!
HIS HIGHLAND SURPRISE

FREYA Viking Glory Book Two

Buy now!
FREYA Viking Glory Book Two

LEIF Viking Glory Book One

Buy now!
LEIF Viking Glory Book One

DARK WINE AT DUSK

Buy now!
DARK WINE AT DUSK
SHORT and SWEET’S FAMILY ALBUM

THE DEVIL’S CARESS

Buy now!
THE DEVIL’S CARESS

GAME TOWN

Buy now!
GAME TOWN

THE WITCH OF BERGEN

Buy now!
THE WITCH OF BERGEN

THE CONSPIRACY

Buy now!
THE CONSPIRACY
THE WITCHES OF NEW MOON BEACH BOXED SET

FOR A GOOD PAWS

Buy now!
FOR A GOOD PAWS

THE OBLIVIOUS BILLIONAIRE

Buy now!
THE OBLIVIOUS BILLIONAIRE

ONE TASTE TOO MANY

Buy now!
ONE TASTE TOO MANY

    ×
    A Slice of Orange started in 2004 as a group of authors from Orange County, California. We have expanded to include authors from around the globe–from the UK, all across the US to New Zealand. Our authors include the multi-published and writers at the beginning of their publishing career. In addition to authors, we feature blog posts from editors, PR professionals, and cover designers. The bright segments of the writing and reading community that make up one perfect entity—A Slice of Orange.
  • Anonymous says:

    Orange County SEO Companies fall short of, Atomic SEO, with their world class staff, the firm seems to keep a client priveledge like no other seo firm.

  • Copyright ©2017 A Slice of Orange. All Rights Reserved. ~PROUDLY POWERED BY WORDPRESS ~ CREATED BY ISHYOBOY.COM

    >