Ready for More GMC? (Penny Rader)

I found so much information for my July 21st post, which you can find here, that I split it into two parts. I hope you find something in this post useful.

Need a blank GMC chart?

Want to take a GMC workshop? This just popped into my inbox: “Goal, Motivation and Conflict: Character is Key,” presented by Stacey Kade. You’ll need to hurry though! It begins tomorrow, August 1.

Goal, Motivation and Conflict (Karyn Good)

Conflict is the clash between wants and needs. Ask yourself: What stops a character from doing what he/she must versus what he/she wants? Another important question to ask is this: Why is loving this person the worst thing this character can do at this moment?

Goals, Motivation and Conflict (Mary Timmer) pp 13-16

There is a tricky balance between conflict and motivation. If a character’s goals aren’t important enough to him or her, a tough conflict could easily thwart them from pursuing the goal. The motivation behind the goal has to be strong enough to withstand the challenge of the conflicts you put in the character’s path. Does your character want to save the kitten in the tree? Really? Why? If the tree is covered in poison ivy, will he still be willing to climb up and save the kitten? What if there are killer hornets nesting in the tree and the hero can’t withstand a common bee sting? What would make him climb that tree then? He might climb that tree if a large reward was being offered for that kitten’s safe return. He might be even more likely if he needed the money to pay for his son’s medication – especially if the son might die without the medication. But if the hero’s goal is to buy a 1968 Corvette Stingray and he can get the money in other ways, he might decide that death by hornet isn’t worth the reward.

Goals, Motivation and Conflict (Shelley Munro)

If I can answer the following five questions about my characters, then I know my story is workable, and I’m ready to start.

1. What do my characters want?

2. Why do they want it?

3. How do they plan to get it?

4. What’s standing in their way?

5. What will happen if they don’t get it?

Goals, Motivation & Conflict: Giving Life to Characters (Hamish Grayson)

Strong motivating factors:

1. Guilt: his/her carelessness/neglect/absence/ presence/mistake/etc. caused something bad to happen that the character carries around with them (emotional baggage)

2. Need: his/her survival, or the survival of someone they love or are responsible for depends on character acting in certain ways

3. Protection: someone else will be affected by their actions

4. Defense: they must hide behind an exterior persona, act in certain ways, to keep from being hurt

5. Danger: consequences of action may be disastrous if the character makes the slightest mistake

6. Revenge: character must get even for wrongs done in the past (revenge is good against either primary or secondary characters)

7. Any other emotionally strong factor that can be used dramatically

Got Character Goals? (Laurin Witting)
What your character needs and wants drives what happens in the story — aka, your plot. If your character needs to learn to trust in order to be happy again (an internal goal), then your story better put that character in positions where she has to learn how to trust, and that trust must be tested, hard, so the character learns the lesson deep in her bones.

Increase Character Conflict (Camy Tang)
Once you’ve determined the character’s fear, then hit him/her with it with all the strength you’ve got in your pen. Be ruthless. This is not the time to be squeamish. This will guarantee an exciting movement to your story, and your readers will be anxious to find out how the character handles the stress.”

Low Fat Goal, Motivation and Conflict (Debra Twardowski)

Start conflict at the beginning. There is a reason they will be called to adventure. They have to go themselves.

Scene Conflicts (Alicia Rasley)

Think of the motivation and conflict as pullers and pushers. The motivation pulls her towards the goal, but the conflict is shoving her from behind or shoving her back or shoving her in another direction. How is that going to play out in this scene?

Sharing My GMC Chart. Have You Done Yours? (Missy Tippens)

Missy shares her GMC chart for her Love Inspired book, His Forever Love.

Understanding Goal, Motivation and Conflict (our own Starla Kaye)

All main characters in a story must have a definite long-term goal, must be strongly motivated to obtain the goal, and face numerous obstacles trying to reach the goal. Villains also need these things. And to make the story most enjoyable for the reader, make the characters have opposing goals.

What Do You Mean My Hero Needed More Conflict? (Mary Beth Lee)

Conflicts are important to the story. Not FIGHTS. Fights are external. They serve a purpose to a point, but the romance reader needs and wants more than one squabble after another. They want to know and love the characters in a book. They want to root for the man and woman involved in the story. They want to laugh and cry with them. And even though it might seem like it, they DO NOT want the road to everlasting love to be easy.

What Is Conflict? (Caro Clarke)

Conflict can be more subtle, more complex, more interesting than "she says tomayto, he says tomahto." Conflict is opposing desires, mismatches, uncertainty, deadlines, pressures, incompatible goals, uneasiness, tension. We are all caught up in some of these conflicts every day. And so should your characters. A convincing story has many conflicts built into it, layered and connected. The first layer is inside your characters. Once you know what these are, you can use them to make the conflicts between the characters more convincing and interesting.

~~~

Did you find any of these links helpful? Can you recommend additional resources? If you’d like to share GMCs from your own work, I’d love to see them.

By Hook or by...Hook? (Rox Delaney)

Fishermen and writers have something in common:  They both use more than one kind of hook, whether it's fishermen hooking fish or writers hooking readers.

STORY HOOKS
As writers, we want to write the type of stories readers will immediately recognize as their kind of story.  Besides the obvious genres of romance (historical, contemporary, paranormal, inspirational, etc.) and sub-genres, readers often look for even more specifics. 

A partial list of popular hooks include:

Cowboys & Western Settings
Marriage of Convenience
Amnesia
Babies/Kids
Reunions
Pirates
Boss/Secretary
Highlanders
...and more...

But story hooks aren't the only kind of hooks writers use.  Once we've "hooked" the reader into picking up or buying a book, thanks to a story hook, we want to keep them reading.  We need a different type of hook for that.

SCENE AND CHAPTER HOOKS
As readers, we all know that the easiest time to put a book down is when there's a break in the action or romance or conflict that usually comes at the end of a scene and especially at the end of a chapter.  The clock is creeping closer to midnight (or later!) and we need our beauty sleep!  Or we have kids to get up, jobs to go to, appointments to meet.  As writers, we deal with those, too, in real life, but we want our readers to ignore them and not close our book until the story has reached its ending.  We need to keep up the readers' interest, and we do that by adding scene and chapter hooks.

What are scene and chapter hooks and how to write them?  One of the first "rules" I remember hearing when I started writing was to never end a scene or chapter with the character, be it hero or heroine, going to sleep.  What better time for a reader to do the same!  So here are a few ways to keep the reader from sticking in a bookmark or putting the book on the bedside table.

1.  Leave the POV character in a questionable position, whether it's physical or emotional.  That first kiss between the Hero and Heroine is a terrific hook and can result in several different reactions from the POV character.  Or the kiss itself can be the end of the scene or chapter, with the reaction of the same or opposite character beginning the next scene.

2. Put the character in danger.  Of course the first thing that comes to mind when the word "danger" is used physical danger.  But what about a character who's in danger of losing his or her heart?  How will she/he handle something that has just happened?

3.  End with an unanswered question.  Whether the question is asked or is only in the character's mind, the reader will be wanting to know the answer.

But even when you use any of the above hooks or any others, a writer is not required to solve those questions, smooth those emotions or answer those questions immediately in the next scene or chapter.  Of course they must be answered in the course of the story, but the reader will most likely keep reading, until the question/emotion/danger is answered or solved...or until the next hook.

What are you favorite hooks (either kind!) to use?  Are there any memorable hooks you remember from books you've read?

Is it boy's or is it boys'?

On my Be Romantic blog I am currently going over some of the basic elements in editing. My latest post concerns the proper usage of nouns and pronouns. One of my personal biggest problems is remembering how to punctuate possessive nouns correctly. For example: Is it boy's? Or is it boys'? Actually it can be both, depending on what you mean. The first (boy's) is singular possessive. The second (boys') is plural possessive.

The following is some other basic information on using Nouns and Pronouns: (English teachers, please be patient with me. I may have missed some other important things to remember.)

Usage of Nouns
• They can refer to a person, place, or thing.
• As the subject: The doorman greeted everyone.
• As a direct object: She sold her house.
• As an indirect object of a verb: Sam gave the cat a ball of string.
• As an object of a preposition: He called for directions over the phone.
• As an adverb: School starts today.
• As an adjective: The red car left the parking lot.

Possessive Nouns
• Singular Possessive: Add ‘s (boy—boy’s)
• Plural Possessive, plural noun that ends in s or es: Add an apostrophe to the end of the word (candles—candles’ OR ships—ships’)
• Plural Possessive, for plural nouns any other way: Add ‘s to the end of the word (children—children’s OR women—women’s)
• Individual Ownership: To show individual ownership, make both nouns in the sentence possessive. (Tom’s and Greg’s cars were stolen.)
• Joint Ownership: To show joint ownership, make only the final noun possessive. (Tom and Greg’s car was stolen.)

Pronouns
• Pronouns replace one or more nouns or a group of words in a sentence. They can be used to refer to a person, place, or thing.
• First Person Singular: I, my, mine, me, myself
• First Person Plural: we, our, ours, us, ourselves
• Second Person Singular: you, your, yours, you, yourself
• Second Person Plural: you, your, yours, you, yourselves
• Third Person Singular: he, she, it, his, her, hers, its, him, himself, herself, itself
• Third Person Plural: they, their, theirs, them, themselves

Capitalization of Proper Nouns and Adjectives
• Personal names: Thomas Edison
• Personal titles used as part of a person’s name: Dr. Sarah Stone, Greg Elderly, Ph.D., Pop John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth
• Business firm: Best Buy
• Business products: Kleenex, Pepsi
• Institutions: Hutchinson Omnisphere, Kansas State University
• Government bodies and agencies: Internal Revenue Service, United States Post Office
• Public organizations: Chamber of Commerce, Girl Scouts
• Private organizations: Midwest Authors Guild
• Family relationships when the word is substituted for a proper noun or used with the person’s name: I told Mother that my sister would be late. OR Grandma Ivy loves children. OR We went to stay with Aunt Lizzie and Uncle Otto.
• Nationalities and races: Australian, Chinese, Black (racial group)
• Languages: English, Korean
• Religious names and denominations: Christianity, Islam, Methodism
• Names of deities and revered persons: the Almighty, Allah, Child of God, Holy Ghost, the Word
• Names of sacred works: the Bible, the Koran, Genesis, the Beatitudes
• Religious holidays: Christmas, Easter, High Mass, Lent
• Historic events, special events, and holidays: Battle of Midway, Columbus Day, Han Dynasty, Hundred Year War, Midwest Book Fair, World War II
• Historical monuments, places, and buildings: Arlington National Cemetery, the Latin Quarter, Times Square, Washington Monument
• Geographic names and regions: Capitalize all geographic names and regions of a country, continent, or hemisphere. California, Niles Township, Western Hemisphere, Baja Peninsula, Strait of Magellan, Myrtle Beach, Lake Tahoe, the Andes, Aswan Dam, Red Wood Forest
• Geological terms: Capitalize the names of eras, periods, epochs, and episodes. Ice Age, Lower Jurassic period, Paleozoic era, Pliocene epoch
• Titles of Publications: Capitalize the first word and all other words except articles and prepositions under five letters in the titles of books, chapters, magazines, articles, newspapers, musical compositions, and other publications. Swan Lake (opera), The Tale of Two Cities (book), “The Midwest’s Blue-collar Blues” (article), “Essentials of Punctuation” (chapter), Kansas City Star (newspaper)

Give Me a G! Give Me an M! Give Me a C! (Penny Rader)

Put them all together and what do you have?

Goal, Motivation, and Conflict.

This is a follow up to my earlier post What Is GMC? I thought I’d share links (with snippets from each article to whet your appetite!) that can help explain these building blocks far better than I ever could. I found so much great stuff to share that I’m dividing it into two parts. The second half will be posted on July 31st.

Character Conflict: Creating Romantic Tension in Christian Love Stories (Laura Briggs)

A tried and true method that often makes an old story concept seem fresh is to reverse the hero and heroine’s roles. Usually this involves swapping the character’s jobs or lifestyles in order to create a more interesting and unlikely match. … If the writer stereotypes a character based on their career or social status, than the effect of the role reversal will certainly be canceled out. Instead, the writer needs to present the character’s differences in a positive light. As the story progresses, the hero and heroine can learn to appreciate each other for their unique qualities. And by the end of the book, they should both come to realize that they are not complete without each other’s distinct traits and abilities.

Character Motivation (Mindy Hardwick)

Finding character motivation can be a bit like a treasure hunt. Some stories are lucky and it pops right out. But most of the time…finding character motive takes a lot of digging around in a character’s back story and drafting and drafting and drafting!

Character Motivation (Alicia Rasley)

Motivation is the past.
Goal is the future.
Conflict is the present.

Characters in Conflict (Lisa Tuttle)

If your characters all share the same goals, then you can probably begin and end your story on the same page because without conflict, there is no story—at least not one that will keep readers turning pages. When one character’s goals and ambitions conflict with another character’s agenda, the story becomes interesting. Examine the goals and motivations you’ve established for each character and find ways to make them clash with one another.

Conflict Grid, Tool for Success (Lyn Cote)

If you don’t have conflict, you don’t have a story. With Kathy Jacobson’s CONFLICT GRID,* you can uncover every possible conflict inherent that keep your hero and heroine apart.

Conflict of Values (Melinda Evaul)

Examine the internal goals of a character you’re creating. Insert something that will challenge their core value. Choose something that forces him or her to make a hard choice. Some people don’t change when the conflicts come. They remain the same and never grow. And there could be a time when their core value is correct and the conflicts they face confirm this.

Creating Emotional Conflict and Tension in a Romance Novel (Leslie Wainger)

You can't build every plot completely around the emotional conflict, but every plot needs to highlight that conflict whenever possible. The more complicated your plot is, the more threads you have going on at once; however, emotional tension should underlie everything that's happening. The emotional conflict should always be in the characters' and the readers' minds.

Deeper Character Motivation: Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs for Character Development (Jennifer Jensen)

It is important to note, however, that just because a writer knows the character’s deepest needs does not mean that the character realizes it. A woman who was shoved to the background for years while her sister dealt with cancer won’t connect that experience with her need for belonging and her desire to be the life of the party now. But you as a writer know that, and you can let that understanding come out in other ways.

Developing Conflict…Before You Write (Sherry Davis)

So ask yourself, what is your character afraid of? What gives him/her the cold sweats? What makes them hide in the closet? Make sure you've chosen an opposing character who forces the character to face their internal conflict, either overtly or covertly.

Digging for Goals (Melinda Evaul)

Dig deeper and discover the ‘internal goals’ in your characters. What is she honestly seeking in life? What is her greatest fear? Are there things in her life she needs to change? What keeps her from reaching the external goal? Is her goal what is best for her and those she loves? Is she hiding secrets? Do these affect her or her loved ones? Example: Tracy may say she wants to sell her paintings. What she truly wants is acceptance, because she believes she isn’t worthy of love.

Dissecting the G, M and C (Robyn DeHart)

…motivation gives the reader a reason to care for the characters. It is one of the greatest tools we have as writers to make our imperfect characters, that we love, loveable to our readers. Developing strong motivation forces you to think, to dig deep into your characters, and in the end it can be the difference between someone finishing your book, or putting it back on the shelves.

Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Writing (Emily McKay)

You don’t need to be subtle about GMC. You don’t need to be sparing either. The audience needs to know what’s at stake for your characters. They need to know what your characters want and why they want it. If you don’t let your audience know what’s at stake, the audience won’t get to enjoy anticipating everything that could go wrong.

~~

Do you have any tips about developing your characters’ goals, motivations, and/or conflicts? Or specific examples from your own work that you’d like to share with us?

I hope you'll check back on the 31st for more GMC links.

Summer night lights.

From Pat Davids,

The evening, silky warm and sultry, is made bearable by the breeze that bends the branches to and fro and rustles through the restless leaves. Cicadas whirr while lighting bugs flit and flash across the lawn.

For a moment my heart is drawn back to the days when I chased those little lamps across the soft green grass and gathered them together in a jelly jar glass. My hand cupped the top and kept them in. They tickled my palm in search of freedom.

Tonight my worries and pain are far away...for a little while. Tonight my granddaughter's laughter floats in the air as she catches fairies. For a tiny, magic moment on this summer’s eve, I am young again, too. Laughing, I peer at the memories of other happy summer nights, captured like this one, forever in the jelly jar glass of my mind.

Share with us some of your favorite summer nights, real or imaginary.

Education: How much is enough?

Many people think writers have more education than other people. Well, yes, they do. But the real question is what and where did they receive their education? The 'what' comes in handy to craft the stories. The 'where'? It is everywhere.

When writing begins, the crafting starts.

Crafting a story begins with an idea. Then we put the words on the page. The words may be planned and tidy or messy and sloppy. The parts of a sentence may be all neat and orderly or slapdashedly placed with fragments and words misspelled. It doesn't make any difference. The important part is the story. The education with words will come, either in the beginning or by the end.

If one is educated in words prior to writing, then one might be able to craft phrases that are lilting and heartfelt, colorful and imaginative, maybe even correct in their grammer. That is the eyes, skin, and hair of a story. There is also the way a story moves, breathes, and sighs to contend with. Quite often those with minor word educations can toss the characters around like smitten beauty queens languishing in a pirate's berth or men of action throwing the reigns to the ground as they dismount with sword at side, never realizing that throwing yourself off a horse with a sword on your belt might cause a little difficulty as it gets caught in the saddle or jabs a horse's parts. See, now that poor writer has to figure out how to get their hero to the ground on his feet and not jab a portion of their horse's anatomy while dodging their steeds sidestepping hooves. Education strikes again. This time about horses, swords, and getting on or off a horse. Do you know why horses are mounted from the left side? To avoid the issue just described. A left-handed swordsman would need to give it go from the right side. A writer of such a story would need to familiarize (another word for educate) himself about horses, riding, swords, and how to use them.

How about education in fire arms? There was once an entry for a writing contest that had a huge hole blown in a door because someone inside the store was shooting at a raccoon that had mysteriously managed to be in the store. A huge hole blown in a wooden door might look great in a movie, but it can't really happen. Any door strong enough to be on hinges isn't delicate enough to have a huge hole blown in it by a shot gun. Shot guns shoot shot. Shot is usually pellets. The largest pellets are usually the size around as a little finger. There might be nine of those in a shotgun shell. How could you make a hole in a door large enough to step through with only that? So what is the real lesson--veracity. The stories have to have believability.

How about education in reading theory? One is the suspended disbelief theory. That theory teaches us that when a reader picks up a piece of fiction to read that they are ready to suspend disbelief (not toss the book down) long enough to have a false belief in a story. This suspension of disbelief happens most notably in fantasy, science fiction, and historicals. Those types of books have to make enough logical sense for the reader to maintain their fiction as believable. A writer will need to be educated about logic.

A writer will need to be educated on how to do research. Most of us didn't wake up one morning knowing how to do it.

If a writer didn't know about grammar, spelling, and punctuation in the beginning of their writing careers, they will certainly need that education by the end. They are the blueprint markings that make sense of a story.

It is possible to be overly formally educated with words. Often the problem is that words that come to the paper are too stilted to make fine reading. This kind of thing happens because writing a novel is messier. They are not like essays or instructions for how to put hair dye on your hair. The writing has to make entertaining sense or pack emotional impact for the reader. A novel that reads like an essay might put a novel reader to sleep. An ad for hair dye might be exciting, might have a little mystery, it might even have a satisfactory ending, but the length--ah, too short.

Quite often those of higher schooling get a little snobbish about who can write and who cannot. Quite often those of little formal schooling get caught in a tailspin of despair thinking they don't have what it takes to write. Everyone and anyone may write a fantastic, well loved story. The education, which can come from anywhere at anytime, combined with desire, and drive is that which is needed to craft a fantastic, well loved story.

Struggling with backstory?

One of the hardest parts of writing for me is deciding what to do with character backstory. What do the readers really need to know? Am I dumping in too much? Did I give them enough? I'm in the process of working up the basics for a new cozy mystery series that I'm co-authoring with my daughter. We're at the point where we need to fluff out the characters we've come up with and determining backstory. So I decided this would be a good time to share one of the articles from my Be Romantic blog, which is focused only on Writing Tips.

BACKSTORY: PURPOSES & PROBLEMS


Defining Backstory: Backstory is a device for writers to reveal to the readers some of the character’s history or history underlying the situation for the storyline. It is also known as back-story or background. It explains how the character became who he is and why he thinks or acts in a certain way. Characters, like real people, are influenced by what happens in their lives: their family life, friends, enemies, era grew up in, education, experiences, tragedies, phobias, and more.

Purposes of Backstory:
• To reveal important information about the main characters
• To depict a story world
• To give depth to characters and understand who they are, why they think or act in certain ways
• To supports the character’s motivation
• To reveals the character’s fears
• To explain the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist

Problems with Backstory:
• The author has a wealth of knowledge about the character’s background and struggles with wanting to immediately reveal all of it to the reader, over-kill through knowledge dumping.
• Too little backstory can make a story appear to thin, with no “meat” to the characters.
• Too much backstory can bog a story’s progress down.
• Giving the reader more backstory than they need to know and confusing them.

Ways to Reveal Backstory:
• Flashbacks: Interjecting a scene from the past by using inner dialogue.
• Dialogue: Using a conversation, especially an argument, to reveal backstory and conflict.
• Narration: The author using an omniscient point of view to reveal backstory; best used in plays.
• Recollection: Using a character’s memory of something, introspection, to reveal backstory.
• Inner Dialogue: Providing backstory in a character’s thoughts.

Tips for Using Backstory:
• Insert backstory in small pieces that don’t slow the forward movement down.
• Decide what you are trying to do within a scene and insert only what backstory might be necessary for the reader to know in that particular moment.
• Avoid using author narration as it takes the reader away from the story.
• Keep flashbacks to a minimum and use only to reveal a specific character or event that is necessary for the reader to know.
• Reveal tidbits of background throughout the story’s action.
• Reveal details to evoke specific images and feelings that the reader needs to “see” at that time.


© 2010 Starla Kaye

The Story of the Dresses

Penny is a writer with WARA. While answering one of her comments on our blog, I wanted to share the story of the dresses. I decided the story of the dresses is so important that it would be my next blog. I hope you all enjoy them.

Here’s what Penny had to say:

Penny Rader has left a new comment on your post "Where'd THAT come from?":

"...writing talent, ability, and desire are not the stuff of knowing, it is the stuff of exploration."

Wow. Thanks for this, Nina. I'm not one of those people who knew from birth that she wanted to write. I am one of those people who freaks herself out and lets fear get in her way because most of the time I just don't know what to write, or I'm afraid it will be stupid and no one will like it or "get" it. I do get an excited thrill when a scene, or at least part of a scene, pops into my head. I just wish it would happen more often, with more regularity.

Penny and all of us who have fears concerning what people think about what we do and how we do it. You may have a few fears. I have gobs of them. But let me share two stories that give me confidence. (Both are true.)

My dress: It was really long, belted, with a rounded neckline and rounded bodice and had rounded poofie three-quarter sleeves. It was a two-piece dress. The skirt’s fullness was quarter circle to my knees with two more extremely full flounces below that—extending to the bottom hem near my feet. Each flounce made it even larger in circumference at the bottom. It was light in weight made from sheery cotton gauze with muted blue flowers and gray-green leaves. I had to make a slip that went under it (not quite as full as the skirt) or face indecent exposure charges.

I also made the dress. When I moved, it flared. I was chunky to put it lightly--in today's world, Size 20. One memorable night I wore it square dancing at a singles dance club in Denver. I was on top of the world, I loved that dress, so much, but I wasn’t asked to dance every dance. Then, intermission came. The band put on a recorded western swing tune that still plays in my head. It was some sort of waltzy thing, but FAST! The bandleader/caller asked me for a dance--right then. I took the challenge and swept onto the floor--empty except for him and me. He danced me in wide, fast, sweeping circles that took up most of the room. Following his commanding lead, I somehow never missed a step. The other people, dancers and band, clapped when we finished the last dress-flaring turn as the music stopped. He bowed, thanked me for the dance, and I never saw him again. That was one of the best three minutes of my life. My mom, sister, and friends had insisted the dress made me look like a barrel. Didn't matter. I loved the way it moved. If I had not made that dress and had been too afraid of what other's thought to wear it, I would have missed one of the most exciting dances of my life--I'm sure I was asked to dance because of that dress. He wanted to dance with IT! But, if I'd not have been a good enough dancer, we would both have cratered and our mutual enjoyment would have been much less. The dress finally got a couple of tears in it and I had to burn it to keep myself from wearing it. I ended up dancing quite a lot in that dress….

Dress Number 2: (A friend’s)

Black velvet sheath, short length, spaghetti straps. My friend had no business in that dress! It accentuated some not-so-positive portions of her chunky self. However, in that dress, that she made, she felt ever sooooo sexy. With one little twitch, a strap fell. You can't believe how much conversation she encountered because of a fallen strap. It did not look cheap, believe it or not. I think it was because she glowed in that dress, It became, not a dress, but a part of her woman's mystery. That's what the guy's responded to.

So, you see, Penny and everyone, whenever I get to listening too much to whatever someone else says about something I'm passionate about, I remember the dresses.

What you do should please YOU! Then opportunity will arise. Ya gotta be pleased with the dress before you can dance.

SCORE! (Roxann Delaney)

Considering how far behind I am on my writing goals right now, I really shouldn't be giving advice on how to make and reach goals. I should be well into chapter 5, when I barely squeezed by finishing chapter 4 tonight. Late. And it took forcing myself to pull up the file, which resulted in cringing as I typed words that will probably need to be changed. Or cut. Or... who knows? But I finished that chapter.

Behind or not, I know what my goal is, and I also know that if I stick with it--which I will because I have to--I'll reach it, hopefully sooner than planned.

The key to making goals and reaching them is to break a larger or more long term goal into several (or even many) smaller goals. Daily goals are good. For instance, to reach my September 1 deadline, I know I have to write at least one chapter (there are 8) each week. That requires writing three pages per day, each of those eight weeks. If I can write more, great! In that case, I can take a day or two off for something I want (or need) to do. Or, even better, I'll beat that deadline by days or maybe even a week or two. But one way or another, I must write that one chapter per week. How do I know that's the pacing I'll need? Trial and error.

Don't make a goal too difficult to reach, but don't make it too easy, either. Also keep in mind that none of has complete control over our lives. Things happen, but when they do, adjustments can be made. If weekends with family or simply enjoying yourself is a priority for you or the one thing that keeps you sane, don't plan them as writing days...or whatever your goal involves.

Don't beat yourself up if you don't reach your goal with flying colors. Give yourself some time for a small pity party, then sit down and try to determine why you didn't reach that goal. Did you over-book yourself? Adjust for the next time. It may take a while to determine what pace suits you, what's not too much and what's too little.

Use rewards. I wanted to play hidden object games this evening, so I gave myself the go-ahead to do that...for an hour. Then it was nose-to-the-grindstone time. When I finished the chapter (YEA, ME!), I put my work away and played my game. A bigger reward is allowing myself to read my favorite author's latest book when that big goal is met. Choose a reward that works for you.

Goals aren't just for writing, they can be for anything in your life that you want or need to do. So here are a couple of Rah-rahs to help you along:

Just Do It (apologies to Nike)
BIC-HOK (Butt In Chair - Hands On Keyboard. Thank you, Cataromance)
Today I work, tomorrow I get to play!

POV Part 2 by Joan Vincent

Yesterday I asked you to highlight each switch in point of view. Below I have done just that. Below I’ll have some information about how to fix POV.

Red is for Eldridge, Green for Omniscient, Blue for Richard

Eldridge Blanchard blocked his cousin’s way when Richard turned from greeting his last guest.

First cousins and the same age, Dremore and Eldridge were at times mistaken for one another by those not familiar with the pair. They were tall and well formed with faces more square than long, with chiselled features. Both were blond though Richard’s thick mane curled at neck and forehead while Eldridge wore his swept back.

The old pile is in fine fettle this eve. Does you proud,” Eldridge drawled even though he knew as well as Richard that the ancient house, a dozen furlongs from the newer family mansion, was kept in good repair because of a codicil in the original baron’s will. “Still cowtowing to your mother’s whims I see,” he continued, certain the dowager had insisted the week of activities be held here. Having been raised with Richard after the death of his parents Eldridge had diligently ferreted out all of the family foibles and skeletons.

Richard, accustomed to his cousin’s cutting jabs, and eager to be on his way, merely nodded.

“I do hope she isn’t taking guests to visit the portrait. Could prove--well you know,” Eldridge finished with a smirk.

Hackles rising, Richard took a steadying breath. “’Haps you should have remained in London,” he said shortly and made to pass his cousin.

“Never think I meant to offend,” Eldridge drawled as he manoeuvred the baron so that his cousin’s back was to the chamber. “My apologies,” he offered. “The Haven and its grounds are truly beautiful this time of year.

“Do you recall my first summer here? Lud, what a time we had we had exploring this heap. Remember that day we removed the panel in the library?”

Those long ago days were better forgotten as far as Richard was concerned. The consequences of his cousin’s “little pranks” had usually fallen on him. Why has Eldridge trapped me in “conversation” this eve only to prattle nonsense? Dremore wondered. What does he want? He always wants something.

As Eldridge nattered on Dremore’s thoughts went on the guest he most wanted to see. Despite knowing Miss Stratton but a few days he missed the young woman’s company. Everything in his life brightened for having met her, even Heart Haven.

Miss Stratton. He unknowingly half smiled as he pictured her delicate oval face and extraordinary blue eyes. This eve I shall gain permission to use your given name. Dremore’s smile broadened. Daphne.

Would she wear her neat braid of rich brunette neatly coiled at the nape of her neck or adopt a more frivolous still for the party? A feathering of wayward curls about her face, golden highlights shimmering amidst the coffee brown tresses would prove irresistible. Such beautiful hair, Richard mentally mused not noticing Eldridge smirk at his inattention. Such kissable lips. I cannot regret that I dared more than kissing her hand when we strolled alone in the gardens yester day. Richard sighed.

POV affects the mood and the voice of the story. Each character’s POV brings its own freedom and limitations. You have to decide which POV makes it easier to develop your characters, which reveals the information you need to make known and which makes the story stronger or weaker. It often takes strategy and maneuvering to figure this out. The paramount point is to always be certain you are totally IN the POV you have chosen. Take the switch from Richard to Omniscient and then back to Richard in the last paragraph of the scene. The Omniscient POV is intrusive and totally out of line. Perhaps Richard SHOULD notice Eldridge’s smirk. Would the story be stronger if he did?

Below is my attempt to put the scene completely in Richard’s point of view. Print it out and compare it side by side with the original to see how I did it. A site that has useful information and examples on fixing head hopping is WritingWorld.com. Do you have any “tricks” that make POV easier? Please share!

Dremore started to turn as they headed toward the footman only to be halted by a gentleman who blocked his way.

Tonight not even Eldridge can mar the evening, Richard thought as he took in the square face of his first cousin with its chiseled features so like his own. He knew this and their similar build and blond hair caused casual acquaintances and strangers to mistake them for each other. But Eldridge’s frosty grey eyes, thankfully different from his dark blue, as usual had a gleam Richard could not like. He banked his impatience to find the lady with whom he longed to share the evening.

“The old pile is in fine fettle this eve. Does you proud,” Eldridge drawled with his usual touch of sarcasm.

You never change, Richard thought. He quashed unwelcome memories of their childhood together. His parents had raised Eldridge with him when his cousin was orphaned. Eldridge knew perfectly well that the ancient house, a dozen furlongs from the newer family mansion, was kept in good repair because of a codicil in the first baron’s will. It unpleasantly dawned on Richard that Eldridge would also deduce his mother had demanded the soiree be held here despite his objections.

“Still cowtowing to your mother’s whims.”

The purr in his cousin’s voice confirmed Richard’s thought.

“I do hope she isn’t taking guests to visit the portrait,” Eldridge said. “Could prove . . . well, you know, embar--”

“’Haps you should have remained in London,” Richard snapped. If only he could slam a fist into the man’s face and wipe off that smirk.

“Never think I meant to offend.”

Richard took a step to pass Eldridge. He arched a brow in surprise when his cousin laid a hand on his arm.

“My apologies,” Eldridge offered. “I did not mean to offend. The Haven and its grounds are truly beautiful this time of year.

Do you recall my first summer here? Lud, what a time we had exploring this heap. Remember that day we removed the panel in the library?”

Those long ago days are better forgotten, Richard thought. The consequences of his cousin’s “little pranks” had usually fallen on him.

Why has Eldridge trapped me in “conversation” this eve only to prattle nonsense? Richard wondered. What does he want? He always wants something.

As Eldridge nattered on Dremore’s thoughts went to the guest he most wanted to see. Despite an acquaintance of only a scant week with Miss Stratton, he was beyond fond of the young woman. Everything in his life brightened for having met her, even Heart Haven.

Miss Stratton. He unknowingly half smiled as he pictured her delicate oval face and extraordinary blue eyes. This eve I shall gain permission to use your given name. Richard’s smile broadened. Daphne.

Would she wear her neat braid of rich brunette neatly coiled at the nape of her neck or adopt a more frivolous style for the party? A feathering of wayward curls about her face, golden highlights shimmering amidst the coffee brown tresses would prove irresistible. Such beautiful hair, Richard mentally mused. Such kissable lips. I cannot regret that I dared more than kissing her hand when we strolled alone in the gardens yester day. Richard sighed.

POV Part 1 by Joan Vincent

Point of View (POV) – the perspective or viewpoint from which the story is told.
The POV choices are: Omniscient narrator, limited omniscient narrator, objective point of view. For a review of these terms go to the Literary Terms website (scroll down to POV—the site is alphabetically arranged and quite interesting) To see an example of a brief story written in each follow Sleeping Beauty link, available beneath the POV list on this site.
POV involves, at the very basic, level two things:
1. Deciding which POV to use
2. STAYING with the POV of the character you’ve selected. Switching POVs abruptly and often in a scene is called Head Hopping. That’s because in one character’s POV you can only write what THAT character would do or know or see or think. Any other character’s thoughts, knowledge, etc is a hop to a different head. This is Verboten in most instances. Scenes are to be from one point of view but that can be tricky to achieve.

Below is part of a scene that I wrote that has frequent switches in points of view. See if you can recognize where they occur—the first step in fixing such a faux pas. I suggest you print it out and highlight the first part of each switch in viewpoint using different colors for different POVs.

Eldridge Blanchard blocked his cousin’s way when Richard turned from greeting his last guest.

First cousins and the same age, Dremore and Eldridge were at times mistaken for one another by those not familiar with the pair. They were tall and well formed with faces more square than long, with chiselled features. Both were blond though Richard’s thick mane curled at neck and forehead while Eldridge wore his swept back.

“The old pile is in fine fettle this eve. Does you proud,” Eldridge drawled even though he knew as well as Richard that the ancient house, a dozen furlongs from the newer family mansion, was kept in good repair because of a codicil in the original baron’s will. “Still cowtowing to your mother’s whims I see,” he continued, certain the dowager had insisted the week of activities be held here. Having been raised with Richard after the death of his parents Eldridge had diligently ferreted out all of the family foibles and skeletons.

Richard, accustomed to his cousin’s cutting jabs, and eager to be on his way, merely nodded.

“I do hope she isn’t taking guests to visit the portrait. Could prove--well you know,” Eldridge finished with a smirk.

Hackles rising, Richard took a steadying breath. “’Haps you should have remained in London,” he said shortly and made to pass his cousin.

“Never think I meant to offend,” Eldridge drawled as he manoeuvred the baron so that his cousin’s back was to the chamber. “My apologies,” he offered. “The Haven and its grounds are truly beautiful this time of year.

“Do you recall my first summer here? Lud, what a time we had we had exploring this heap. Remember that day we removed the panel in the library?”

Those long ago days were better forgotten as far as Richard was concerned. The consequences of his cousin’s “little pranks” had usually fallen on him. Why has Eldridge trapped me in “conversation” this eve only to prattle nonsense? Dremore wondered. What does he want? He always wants something.

As Eldridge nattered on Dremore’s thoughts went on the guest he most wanted to see. Despite knowing Miss Stratton but a few days he missed the young woman’s company. Everything in his life brightened for having met her, even Heart Haven.

Miss Stratton. He unknowingly half smiled as he pictured her delicate oval face and extraordinary blue eyes. This eve I shall gain permission to use your given name. Dremore’s smile broadened. Daphne.

Would she wear her neat braid of rich brunette neatly coiled at the nape of her neck or adopt a more frivolous still for the party? A feathering of wayward curls about her face, golden highlights shimmering amidst the coffee brown tresses would prove irresistible. Such beautiful hair, Richard mentally mused not noticing Eldridge smirk at his inattention. Such kissable lips. I cannot regret that I dared more than kissing her hand when we strolled alone in the gardens yester day. Richard sighed.

Tomorrow I will post a copy of the above paragraphs with each POV in a different color. You will see that it is far too colorful! I will also include my “Fix.” If you’re feeling energetic you can write your own fix and compare it to mine

Sparklers, black cats and rockets galore

Pat Davids here.
I don't know about you, but my family is into Independence Day fireworks in a big, big way.
Not the ones you see on T.V. or even the ones that the city puts on. Nope. The Stroda family (my maiden name) puts on a private show that rivals the pros.
Now we weren't always crazy about fireworks.

When I was growing up it was the usual Black Cats, sparklers and Roman candles. My dad would light one of those stinky old cigars and it would burn forever with my brothers sneaking an occasional puff. It's glowing red tip was perfect for lighting our firecrackers. I shudder to think of all the hazards my four brothers and I skimmed by without a single accident. God was watching out for us.

As we got older, the fun died away. We went to see the big city displays and didn't bother to light our own little sparklers. Somehow, the whole event became too noisy and crowded to really enjoy. Until...

Enter my soon to be son-in-law. When Tony joined the family we got a really nice guy, a professional clown with his own magic show and unicycle (talk about cool parties) and a guy who loves fireworks. I mean loves fireworks. He's a bit of a pyromaniac. The only thing holding Tony back from putting on a dazzling 4th of July celebration of his own was the fact that he lived in a city that didn't allow fireworks within the city limits.

But my daughter has grandparents who live on a farm. In the middle of nowhere--where almost any type of fireworks is allowed or at least ignored as long as there isn't a burn ban in effect. Over the years Tony's celebration of all things that go bang has grown to include all my brothers and their families, even neighbors have opted out of the town fireworks to come out to Dad's farm for the big show. The kids have traveled two hundred miles to get the "big stuff" over the state line and bring it back. Everyone in the family contributes to the staggering pile of gunpower filled canisters waiting to illuminate the night sky for our delight. Golly we have fun.

The whole things doesn't always go off without a hitch, mind you. Twice we've been rained out. Once, because of a custody battle with my daughter's ex, my grandson couldn't be there for the 4th. No problem. We moved the whole celebration to Labor Day so Josh could enjoy it with us. I think that was my favorite Independence Day. He felt so special because we saved everything so that he could be there.

Now, the whole thing is noisy and crowded and I love every minute of it because it's become a family affair. Cross your fingers and pray it doesn't rain us out this year. I've got a trunk full of firecrackers in my car.

Tell us about your Independence Day celebrations. What will you and your family be doing this holiday weekend?