Character Arc and How it Ties into Your Story Plot By Connie Vines. #RR, #Round Robin Blog Hop, The Call to Adventure

The topic for July is the significance of Character Arcs in stories and their connection to the plot or story arc. Do you allow some time and narrative to character arcs for secondary characters?

One of the first writing classes I attended was a screenwriting class based on Chris Vogler's The 12 Stages Of The Hero's Journey. 

Since I was already acquainted with Joseph Campbell's work in comparative mythology and comparative religion (the power of the Myth), I discovered this was comfortable for me to plot my novels.

The 12 Stages of the Hero's Journey

The Ordinary World (Where the Hero/Heroine exists before the present story begins.

Call to Adventure

Refusal to the Call

Meeting the Mentor

Crossing the Threshold

Tests, Alles, Enemies...

Approach to the Innermost Cave

Ordeal

The above can be if you analyze the original Star Wars movie. 

This boils down to A protagonist embarking on an adventure into the unknown. They learn lessons, overcome adversity, defeat evil, and return home transformed.

If you are writing a romance, YA/MG novel, or historical, the plot and character arcs' development remains the same.

Romance: they start with one perspective, confront challenges that force them to face their fears and weaknesses, and ultimately change for the better.

SciFi: Here, you may be writing a negative arc where the character changes for the worst.

I develop character arcs for all of my characters. The main characters have the most detailed character arc. However, each character in the story must come across as a person. Different rules apply to the 'bad guy,' of course. 

Both plot and character arc are equally important in my stories.

The plot is the device that moves the story forward, and the character emparks on their journey through these plot points--experiencing challenges (both external and internal) and obstacles along the way.

These novels have the most intense character arcs and plot arcs.

Character and plot are inseparable because a person is what happens to them. Without a clear sense of who a character is, what they value, and what they're afraid of, the reader will be unable to appreciate the significance of your events, and your story will have no impact. 

Please visit the talented writers participating in this month's Round Robin Blog Hop.

See you next month 😎,

Connie

Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com

Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/

Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/

Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog

Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/

Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com

A.J. Maguire http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea

Developing Characters in Your Stories by Connie Vines

How do you go about developing your characters for a story?  

How much time do you spend or does it just happen in the writing process ?  What inspires you?

Thank you Rhobin, once again, for a great writing topic.

I believe development of my characters has a great deal to do with the type of novel/story that I am writing at the time.  Obviously, my novellas, for lack of work count, are not superficial by any means, but my information is given via dialogue or internal thoughts with visual clues.  My romantic suspense will have a lesser degree of character development, unless it relates to  the 'suspense element' that say, my traditional romance novels.

However, I do write character sketches for all of my 'people'.  I may sprinkle the info in the story, or simply keep in in the back of my mind for character motivation.

• I often use astrological signs to help develop my characters and create conflict.  Rodeo Romance, Book 1, (LYNX).  Lynx Maddox is a Leo and Rachel Scott is an Aquarius.  Opposites attract but they also create great romantic conflict.
• Birth Order is another way to develop your character(s) actions and outlook on life. Pairing a 1st born woman with the 'baby' of the family or vise-a-versa, will create writing inspiration.  
• Ethnic background is also to be considered.  If one character is from a large immigrate family is dating a person who is an only child (4th generation) with have all types of expected things popping into picture.
• If I am writing a historical novel, I often make a composite of historical people/clues in diaries and letters (WHISPER UPON THE WATER)
• At other times, with all of my careful planning, the writing process flips my character into a secondary character or he/she evolves and I go back and edit/change several scenes.
• Also physical attributes/challenges.  We all have them.  Did those dimples work in her favor?  

What inspires me?  Life.  People's hopes and dream.  Honor. Justice.  And sometimes, just the need for a good laugh.

Happy Reading!

Connie Vines

Stop by and see what the rest of this months' Round Robin writers have to say.

 Skye Taylor

Margaret Fieland

AJ Maguire

Victoria Chatham

Marci Baun

Judith copek

Rachael Kosinski

Diane Bator

Dr. Bob Rich

Beverly Bateman

Anne Stenhouse

Helena Fairfax

Marie Laval

Rhobin Courtright

Fiona McGier

Round Robin Blog with Ginger - #RndRbn0414

Art Work Courtesy of Ray Arcadio

April's Round Robin topic:
You loved the blurb. First page sounded interesting. You bought the book. What makes you throw the book you're reading against the wall, stomp on it and go find another?



Hi, and welcome to Rhobin Courtright's brilliant idea of blogging on a shared topic each month.  I really had to stop and think about the questions posed this time.  Number one...if I threw a book, I'd break my Kindle and that could get expensive.  *lol*  Since I purchased my e-reader, I haven't invested money in a real "paperback."  I find reading on my Kindle so much more convenient, and I love the ease of carrying reading material wherever I go.  I must have over 400 novels and stories downloaded right now.

What usually grabs my attention is cover art.  Then I read the blurb to see if the cover matches the story.  I guess because I'm a visual person, I do judge books by their covers, and it's very important to me, at least in my own publications, that the artwork portray what the reader will find in the content.  Nothing disturbs me more than seeing a redhead on the cover and discovering the heroine is blonde.  May be petty, but it does bug me.

I must admit, I've started lots of book I haven't finished, but I chalk my disinterest up to the author not yet having learned to hook the reader and draw them in.  I discovered early on, the importance of having a good hook at the end of each chapter to keep the reader turning pages, but a lot of time passed before I realized if you bore a reader with tons of unnecessary  information or descriptions, you lose their  interest...at least in most cases. Most people want to jump right into the tension. In other n words, if you don't have a great opening that connects me with the characters and story, that when I surrender, and probably others do to.  

A great example would be my start to First Degree Innocence.  In my first draft of the manuscript, I started the story with lots of description of the dreariness of prison the smells, the drab color of the walls...the entire atmosphere.  While I want my readers to experience  those descriptions, they work best  if you pepper them in around the character...make her smell them, notice them them...compare them. So, when I redid the manuscript, my opening became:

 "Ok, Lang, strip!"  The guard's bark made Carrie's stomach roil.  

I think it was a vast improvement, and judging by sales, so did readers.  *smile*

Still, the blurb is the part of a book that most readers rely on to judge a promising read by putting a lot of emphasis on the descriptive strength, I believe the same emphasis needs to be placed on the first chapter opening.  I want  the first sentence of the book to be the key to make me want to read on...something that grabs and keeps my interest...puts me in the character's shoes.  The books that are my favorite are ones where I've actually lived the story through the character and sensed every emotion.

Yet, even if the author has mastered a strong first page, if I get to a place where there are far more descriptions that have no impact on moving the story or plot forward, too many unnecessary tags identifying who is speaking, or word duplications over and over, I'm no longer interested.  I don't throw the book for reasons mentioned earlier, but I do click onto something else and start over.

One thing I never do  is hurry to Amazon and assault the author's integrity.  I was a new author once and I've learned a lot of things that maybe others haven't.  I recognize that every book is someone's baby, and a lot of work went into the writing. One day, every author will learn to read with an editorial eye, and I hope they reflect back on when they first started.  I only wish readers could experience the same emotions and recognize the process is a journey of learning. That may never happen, as it's much easier to just pick a book apart than show compassion and understanding  How sad is that?

Now...hop on over to the following blogs and see what they have share with you:

* Heidi M. Thomas  http://heidiwriter.wordpress.com
* Anne Graham writing as Anne Stenhouse at http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com
* Diane Bator at http://dbator.blogspot.ca
* Fiona McGier at http://www.fionamcgier.com
* Margaret Fieland at http://margaretfieland.com/my_blog
* Ginger Simpson at http://mizging.blogspot.com
* Geeta Kakade at http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/ 
* Connie Vines at http://connievines.blogspot.com/
* Beverley Bateman - http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
* Rhobin Courtright - http://rhobinleecourtright.com

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In case you would like to check out my own work, you can find everything on my Amazon author's page..