10 Top Novel Writing Mistakes

by C. Patrick Schulze

Listen to a PODCAST of this article.

I don't know about you, but I learned to write, and am still learning to write, the hard way. I made the novel writing mistakes and then figured out what I should have done. I'm certain it's the same for many, if not most, novel writers.

Regardless of how you learn, if you keep your eyes open for these top ten novel writing mistakes, your novel will have a stronger chance of acceptance.

Beyond the common errors in spelling, word use and punctuation, I feel the top ten novel writing mistakes are:

1. Weak Characterization

2. Ineffective Dialogue

3. Poor Plotting

4. Point of View Errors

5. Flat Writing

6. Too Much Backstory

7. Summarizing

8. Failing to Target Your Writing to Your Audience

9. Lists

10. Too Much Description

Let's look at each of these in a bit more detail, shall we?

Weak Characterization: It is imperative you serve your readers a healthy diet of characters with believable motivations, realistic actions and fully formed relationships. You reader needs to know why your major characters do what they do and why they feel the way they do. Read more about CHARACTERIZATION.

Ineffective Dialogue: Dialogue is one of the trickiest aspects to a novel. It must sound like people speaking to each other when, in fact, character conversations are nothing like conversations between people. Your novel's dialogue must be much more compact and plot focused, yet, you must retain the personal aspect of it. Read more about DIALOGUE.

Poor Plotting: Plot is the bread and butter of your novel, and a well structured plot is a blend of art, psychology and the craft of writing. An effective plot requires, pace, motivations, a believable storyline, character arcs and so much more. Read more about PLOT.

Point of View Errors: POV relates to which character sees the action that transpires within your plot. Irregular shifts in POV proves difficult to the reader, and maybe even worse, POV errors can creep into your novel with little trouble. The secret is to reserve each character's POV to a single chapter. Here's more on POV.

Flat Writing: Flat writing occurs when you input narrative or dialogue that has no meaning to the plot. It shows you've lost control over your story due to lack of a plan, lost interest or maybe something as simple as you're tired. When you find narrative or dialogue that doesn't move your story forward, it's time to edit it out.

Too Much Backstory: Backstory is anything that came before chapter one. It's history. The problem is backstory tends to stop the novel's momentum. More often than not, it's not necessary to the story and should be eliminated. If backstory is necessary, work it into your story in small nibbles rather than large bites of information and only after the major plot is developed. There's more on BACKSTORY here.

Summarization: This harkens back to the classic saw of "Show. Don't tell." In lieu of simply stating a fact in your narrative, develop this information by way of character actions and dialogue. For example, don't simply say your character is good at math. Have a scene where his math skills are put to the test and he excels. There's more on "SHOW, DON'T TELL," in this article.

Failing to Target Your Novel to Your Audience: Most writers, especially those new among us, often fail to come to grips with the fact your writing is a business venture. As a consequence, novels are often written without a focus on those who will eventually purchase your product. For example, if your story lends itself to the male market, you don't want too much emotional action. In contrast, if your market is the adult female, you'll not want too much in the way of blood and guts. Save that for your teenage male audience.

Lists: A common sign of a novice writer is his use of lists within their novel. A classic example of this is with the description of a meadow. The new writer will name all the flowers in the field. It's usually better to paint a verbal picture with only a few details and allow the reader's mind to fill in the blanks. In the example of a meadow, you might mention the wavering patches of red and violet as the wind sweeps over the ground in lieu of the list of flowers.

Too Much Description: In the same light as lists, the readers imagination is what makes your novel come to life. Too much description imposes your imagination upon the reader. With this in mind, don't tell him the cloud formation looks like an elephant, unless the elephant is necessary to the story. Instead, tell them the clouds created formations in the sky and allow them to "see" whatever they formations they wish. This will make the story much more personal, and thus enjoyable, to your reader.

Are there more common errors in novel writing? You bet. However, if you focus on these ten early in your writing career, you'll be well on your way to that elusive well-received novel.

Now, which of these errors do you commit and what have you done to fix them?

Until we meet again, know I wish for you only best-sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze

Author of the emerging novel, "Born to be Brothers"

Why is Passive Voice Considered Taboo?

by C. Patrick Schulze

Listen to a PODCAST of this article.

The answer to the title of this article is, it's not. Surprised? Passive voice is not evil, nor is it an error in WRITING. In fact, it's a legitimate and normal way to write. For example, did you know it's widely used in scientific writing?

Then why do "they" say we need to eliminate passive voice from our novel writing? It's because it's more difficult to read as it shifts verb and subject position within a sentence. It, therefore, reduces the clarity of your writing. That is, it's more difficult to tell who's doing what. Other reasons include people tend to remember active voice better and some have trouble with even understanding the sentence formation.

So, if we accept we should eliminate passive voice from our novel writing, let's first define passive voice so we can locate and eradicate it. Passive voice is a form of the verb, "to be" conjoined with a past participle. That's not much help, is it?

To break down that definition, let's review the forms of the verb, "to be." They are: are, was, am, been, has been, have been, had been, will be, will have been, being. Simple enough.

The past participle, well, that's more difficult. One definition I found said it's a form of a verb that can function as an adjective, and is used with an auxiliary verb to indicate tense, aspect, or voice. Again, that's not much help.

Think of it like this. In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action. The secret here is to look for verbs that end in "-ed." If these verbs are preceded by a form of the verb, "to be," you often have passive voice. Exceptions exist to this "-ed" concept, but if you understand the "-ed" aspect to this, those exceptions will become easy to spot. Here are some examples of passive voice:

The shoes had been polished by John.

The problem was explained by Mary.

How do you fix passive voice?

To fix passive voice, just reword the sentence by eradicating the offensive words. Here are a couple examples.

Passive: The shoes had been polished by John

Active: John polished the shoes.

Passive: The problem was explained by Mary.

Active: Mary explained the problem.

In these simple examples, you see not only how to reword, but how changing the passive voice to active makes your writing more concise and easier to understand.

Is there ever a time when you do use Passive voice in fiction?

Sure. You use passive voice when you want to highlight the subject, if it's central to the story. Your example follows.

The murder weapon was stolen by John.

First, in this case, we have an exception to the "-ed" rule as this verb ends in "-en." No problem, the concept is the same.

However, in this example, I ask you to assume the theft by John is central to the story. Now, the passive voice, if used this once, would stand out to a reader and give the sentence more impact. Yes, it's a subtle technique, but under the pen of an accomplished writer, it works well to add emphasis.

You can also use the passive voice when you don't want people to know who did what. For example, in a detective story someone might say:

It's gone! The knife was stolen!

Remember passive voice is not the great evil it's portrayed. It's simply not the ideal use of the written word in most fiction, though it does have its place.

Are there times when you've employed passive voice on purpose? Why?

Until we speak again, know I wish for you only best-sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze

Author of the emerging novel, "Born to be Brothers"

The Recipe for Writing a Successful Novel

by C. Patrick Schulze

Listen to a PODCAST of this article.

Before I wrote my first manuscript, I picked up a book titled, "You Can Write a Novel" by James Smith. After I read it, I came to the conclusion WRITING a successful NOVEL would be a piece of the proverbial cake. I admit it, that assumption turned into my first of many mistakes relative to novel writing. Regardless, the major concept I picked up from the book is there exists a recipe for writing a successful novel. I likened writing a successful novel to cooking one of my favorite meals when I was a single guy - crock-pot stew. Maybe I should've called this article my recipe for a crock-pot novel?

The recipe for a crock-pot novel, like that of anything that's pleasing to the palate, contains various elements that must be incorporated in the correct doses, and even at the correct times, for the dish to please your readers' visual palate.

The recipe for our crock-pot novel includes these basic ingredients:

Theme

CHARACTERIZATION

PLOT

CONFLICT

POINT OF VIEW

SETTING

DIALOGUE

Let's take a quick look at each of these recipe components, shall we?

Theme is the message or meaning within your crock-pot novel. It's what you wish your readers to learn. Your message comes to life in the way your main characters overcome the conflict they face. In effect, it is the fundamental ingredient of your crock-pot novel recipe. Think of it as the beef stock, if you will.

Characterization is the most important part of your novel as it relates to your reader. Your reader must, without exception, care about at least one character and what happens to them. You should, therefore, create fleshed out characters with whom your readers can identify. This is the beef in your stew.

Plot is what moves the story forward. It fleshes out your storyline and gives it depth. It is that series of events that your characters must face and the obstacles they must overcome. It is what moves your story toward the final chapter in logical order. I relate it to those chopped ingredients in our stew; carrots, potatoes, onions and the like.

Conflict is what encourages a reader to continue to read your novel. Many aspiring authors envision conflict as the action that takes place in their stories, the explosions, the chases and the like. If truth be told, conflict is found in your characters' emotional responses to the action that takes place. Your conflict will rise and fall like the peaks of a mountain range until you reach the crescendo of your story. It's what holds your stew gravy together, the thickener, if you will.

Point of View, or POV, is who tells your story. It's the perspective of your story's narrator. This is where many aspiring authors fail in their novel writing endeavors. Without effective POV, a reader may become confused and their enjoyment of your work decreases. This is your recipe's spices.

Setting is the time and place where your characters exist. It comes to life by way of your characters' senses. It's the time it takes for your ingredients to turn into a meal.

Dialogue is the words your characters use. It offers your reader background information, highlights their personalities and advances your story. Consider dialogue as the heat that transforms your ingredients into a tasty meal.

Now, do other recipes for novel writing exist? Of course. Every cook/author has their own recipe, yet each will incorporate these basic ingredients. Should an author omit any of these basic ingredients, his crock-pot novel will lack something and won't taste as pleasing to the reader as the author had hoped.

Best of luck with your recipe and let me know how it turns out, will you?

Until we speak again, know I wish for you only best-sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze

Author of the now-at-the-editors novel "Born to be Brothers"

The Monkey IS on Your Back!

If you’re an author, it’s true. We, as writers, have had more than just a monkey jump on our backs. The proverbial eight-hundred pound gorilla has landed with both feet. I’m talking, of course, about how writers are now their own publicity agents, in contrast to the “good ol’ days.”

The antiquated model of an author being picked up by an agent who pitches his book to a publishing house, who in turn gives the author a nice fat check are just about gone. These days, even if the publisher offered an advance, these days a writer can almost be guaranteed less than minimum wage for his efforts. Further, even if you are among the flattered few who sign a contract with a publisher, the odds of him putting some money into marketing your work is nil. What are the net result of these changes in the publishing world? If you want to sell your book, whether represented or not, YOU are your marketing agent.

Many authors can write a wonderful book or novel, but simply don’t have the (M)oney, (T)ime or (P)ersonality, the MTP, to market their work. Those who do have the MTP are fortunate and few, but what are the rest of us writers to do?

Let’s take a quick look at the problems of MTP, money, time and personality. First we’ll touch on the problem of money.

Why is it so many of us write? Of course, the reasons are innumerable, but to those who wish to earn a few bucks the old adage that you must spend money to make money holds true. But, how many of us have the cash lying around to purchase that full-page ad in the Times? We, therefore, must look to other, less expensive, avenues with which to market our books.

And what might those be? The classic and inexpensive method is a web site. Even today it’s necessary, but for writers it has evolved into a static position on the Web from which to sell your books. Sounds okay, but how do we get readers to even find our site? It’s called, “SEO,” search engine optimization. SEO is basically managing your website so others will find it on the web. It does and will work for you, but therein lies another full-time job. Entire companies do nothing but SEO. Now you’re facing both money and time issues. Your answer can be found within other, virtually free, methodologies. I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to learn how to leverage the Internet and effectively use Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn, WordPress and the like. The Internet is your answer, at least early on.

These days you must, and please note the word, “must”, delve into these new technologies to succeed as an author. Even if you have a publisher, he’ll insist you develop what is called a platform and reach out to touch people with these 21st century tools. So, get used to it, face the music and bite that bullet. Pick your cliché, but just do it, jump in with both feet and learn how to reach your buying public with your platform. During later posts, we’ll talk more about how to do this.

Let’s look at Time as a writer’s issue.

Let’s assume you, as a blossoming author, want to try and sell your own books. How would you go about doing so, especially, if you are a working schlep holding down the classic nine-to-fiver? There’s the time-tested and proven method of knocking on the doors of every book store in town to convince them to place your book. Statistically, you’ll find placement in one store of ten. Then there are book signing. Let’s hope you get some, but each one takes hours out of your day. You can join every organization in town even remotely related to the writing industry to see if they open any leads for you. And though joining a writers’ group and a critique group are a good ideas, each organization takes three to five hours a month. Add it all up. It gets to be time consuming. I think you can see where this is going. Even if you’re an experienced or natural salesperson, this route is difficult, trying and time consuming. I’m not saying don’t do these things, for they do work, but again, time is your enemy.

How might you overcome this time obstacle? I recommend you use the Web as your starting point. It’s amazing how many people you can touch with that technique alone. In my case, including writing the articles for my blogs and Twitter and Facebook, it takes a couple of hours a day or ten to twelve hours a week.

Now, let’s take the concept of personality.

The writing business is a lonely one where authors sit at their desk, by themselves, and clatter away on a keyboard for hours on end. Two years later when your novel is complete, you suddenly have to get out of your PJ’s and pound the pavement looking for buyers. Have you ever been a salesperson and faced all that kneejerk rejection? Not a fun thing! The two functions, writing and selling, often take two different personality types. Few of us are both.

How many of us truly have the personality to sell? As a business coach, I keep records and have found less than ten percent are good at sales. The odds are ten to one, therefore, you don’t have that personality, either. However, if you do, you can stop right now and though we’re not supposed to use clichés in our writing, you should hit the bricks ‘cause the ducks are flying as we speak.

If you don’t have the personality to sell, and I suspect most writers do not, how do you overcome that obstacle? You have few options available to you, and they will most assuredly involve time or money and that takes us back to where we started. However, one idea is to hire someone to sell for you. Be careful as to whom this person or organization might be, but if you find the good ones, they’ll earn every penny you pay them. Try to find someone to work on commission, but if you’re unproven as a writer, I wouldn’t bet too many of my hard-earned dollars on that idea. One author I know started her own publishing company. She associated herself with a number of self-published authors who paid her a fee and she hired a sales person. Personally, I think this is a soon-to-crest wave of the future. If you’re looking for a business to start, the timing, I believe, is perfect for a self-published authors’ sales and marketing organization.

If you are the typical author trying to break out from the masses of the unpublished, my recommendation is to learn how to use the Internet and get to work. Learn to leverage Twitter. Learn how to take advantage of Facebook, LinkedIn, the blogosphere and all the other web-based marketing tools. They are not as difficult as you might think, and they are almost no-cost as options. Devote a couple of hours a day to this and regardless the size of your wallet or the time you have available, you’ll be amazed at the huge audience you can develop with the personality you already have.

I’ll follow up soon with more postings to flesh out these ideas, so keep in touch.

Until then, good writing and thanks for your time.

Patrick
Author of "Born to be Brothers"

Twitter.com/CPatrickSchulze

New, Interesting Site for Writers

I ran across a new site for writers this afternoon called Publetariat.com.

Once I clicked on the link, however, I had this flashback to my days in Catholic Schools! I thought I was reading one of those newspapers the good nuns warned us about! This place has the whole "Mother Russia" thing going on, but boy it did look like fun.

At first blush, it appears I've found a winner.

Writers should check it out at http://www.publetariat.com/.

Let me know what you think.

Patrick

Should Authors Be Political?

Good question brought up by Alice Tasman on Twitter.

My personal thought are you'll distance yourself from 50% of your market with a few words in this politically charged time.

Try this out for size... "Hey, I think everything you stand for is silly. Wanna' buy my book?"

Keep to writing.

My marketing advice? Save your politics for behind closed doors.

Return with the Elixir

Hello, writers.

We’ve finally come to the end of The Hero’s Journey, The Return with the Elixir. Our hero is on his way home to his now not so Ordinary World, having defeated every imaginary bad guy in creation. There will be no more conflicts to resolve, no more challenges to face and no more evil-doers with which to contend. In this portion of your manuscript he is the acknowledged hero in both his Ordinary World and the world from which he is emerging. This is where your reader shouts, “Wow! That was great!” and talks to all his friends about your book. (We hope they do anyway, for if they don’t this book is DIW - dead in the water.)

Considering our now familiar Luke Skywalker, think about the celebration after the destruction of the Death Star. He and Han Solo walk up to Princess Leia to receive their medals amidst the adulation of all the rebellion. Everybody smiles and the guy in the white hat rides off into the sunset to great fanfare. Yipee!

We know what happens here, but why does it need to happen this way? Some say it is to wrap things up, finish the circle of your story. (Blah…) Others say it is the representation of life where one must learn to lick their wounds, if you will, and carry on with life. (Give me a break! This is a story!) Some have even said it is to show us how to live our own lives with a sense of responsibility. (Not my fiction…)

We’re writing fiction, right? In my mind, the Return with the Elixir is all about entertaining our reader. Nothing more. It is a reward to your readers for their time spent in reading your story. They deserve to sit back, close the book and feel good. Everything is right with the world and your reader feels the satisfaction of a book well written and enjoyed.

What is this elixir, by the way? It can be anything you wish it to be. Your protagonist may return home with a physical treasure, or knowledge, or love, or wisdom, or whatever he needed to succeed in his quest. It can be anything, as long as it is necessary for your hero to become what he needs to become.

Without doubt, however, what is necessary is for the reader to sit back having enjoyed your work. That is what it’s all about anyway, isn’t it?

Okay, boys and girls, in these twelve postings, we seen how your hero traverses from his Ordinary World into the depths and back. I hope you see how this will make for a good story every time. (Which is what fiction is all about anyway - a good story.)

If you’ll take the time to learn how to use The Hero’s Journey in your fiction, you’ll become a good storyteller and have the primary step under your belt in having people want to read your work.

In subsequent postings I plan to do two things: one is to show how The Hero’s Journey will apply to any type of fiction and, two, to show you how you can ignore large parts of The Hero’s Journey in your writing. (Bet you weren’t expecting that!)

Until my next posting, good writing.

Patrick
Author of “Born to be Brothers”
Twitter.com/CPatrickSchulze

The Secrets of Book Marketing

If you're a writer and have written a novel, and would like those lessons necessary to get your book published, check out the great marketing tips for authors by clicking the title above. Bookgal seems to have this thing under control.

Bet you'll find useful information even if you're not a writer.

The Resurrection

Good day, Writers,

We’re almost home with our study of The Hero’s Journey and find ourselves facing The Resurrection, which many think is the uplifting section of a story. Of course, that isn’t true. The Resurrection is one last another opportunity for action and suspense within your story. This part of your novel is the last life-or-death struggle for your hero, yet another confrontation with the evil ones. In fact, it is often the protagonists’ most dangerous meeting with death, or whatever it is he faces.

In many stories, this section takes place just before he returns home. It’s often considered a cleansing or purification to which your hero must submit before returning to his Ordinary World. However, the hero now has an additional arrow in his quiver, so to speak, for he is now armed with the hard-won knowledge gained from earlier encounters. It is here your hero pulls out that new arrow and smites this final aggressor, thus proving his acceptance of The Reward and his worthiness of ownership.

Sometimes the hero is pushed toward The Resurrection or even pulled, but regardless, the enemy has one last attempt to undo your hero, a final exam, if you will. One in which he proves he has learned and can apply the lessons of The Supreme Ordeal.

It is similar to The Supreme Ordeal faced earlier. Often more than just the hero is involved in this ordeal. Maybe his entire village is in danger, for one final challenger arises and he is forced to use the knowledge he gained during his trial to save more than just himself.

To me as a writer, it is one last opportunity to excite your readers when they least expect it.

Although we are using Luke and The Last Hope of the Star Wars saga as our model, I’ve always liked The Resurrection in Under the Tuscan Sun. The heroine does not hear from THE man in her life for a while so she travels to see him. It is in this part of that story where she finds she is not THE woman in his life, but merely A woman. (Talk about a trial!) So what does she do? She marshals all she has learned and falls in love with another man. Great Resurrection, don’t you think?

In Luke’s case, he’s already accomplished his mission of saving Princess Leia, but his final test is defeating the Death Star. In this scene, Luke is attacking in his X-Wing fighter and Obi Wan speaks to him from the afterlife. He tells Luke to, “Trust the Force.” Luke does, thus employing all his learning and experience, and destroys the Death Star and the Emperor to boot.

You see in this scene, Luke has garnered all he has learned, proved himself worthy of The Reward, destroys the REALLY BIG enemy and saves untold thousands in the process. (Explosions of a planetary scale! Now that is a dramatic Resurrection!)

In doing my research for this posting, one person said this was a time of peace and tranquility before he returns to his doorstep. Don’t believe it! This is a time of great, often ultimate, challenges. It’s a wonderful opportunity to again engage your readers and prove your hero worthy. Take advantage of this. You want your readers to be surprised by this and so entwined in your hero’s trial they almost lose heart for him. Use this time to ramp up the intensity of your work and have your readers sweat one last time.

Okay, we again have the bad guys’ defeat and our hero rises even higher in status and proves he is worthy of The Reward. Now, after your reader has caught his breath, you let them relax and feel good about everything. This is accomplished by way of The Return. We’ll get into that next week.

My plan is to finish with these lessons of The Hero’s Journey then outline a couple quick stories showing how to put this entire concept in use. (Wish me luck on that one…)
Until then, my friends, good writing.

C. Patrick Schulze
Author of Born to be Brothers

CPatrickSchulze.blogspot.com
Twitter.com/CPatrickSchulze

Top Ten Writing Tips

Clink the title to reach the web site.

You'll note this post actually tells you what it means to eliminate all forms of "to be"...

Thanks to Examiner.com for this information.

Interesting New Trend in Hardbacks

Want to see what the future holds for book readers? Follow the link!

Thanks to http://twitter.com/mariaschneider for the info.

The Supreme Ordeal

Good day, Writers,

We are continuing with our explanation of The Hero’s Journey as a method of storytelling.

Today we’ll discuss The Supreme Ordeal, which should be the most exciting part of your story for your hero and your reader. It is where the hero faces that most difficult of tasks around which your story revolves. Here he meets the great beast and slays it. Your readers should not be able to set your book aside until this section of your novel is complete, after which they should sit back, take a deep breath and scream, “Wow!” (And then tell everyone they know!)

This beast need not be a creature with horns and blood-soaked fur. Neither need it be an alien with thrashing tentacles and/or menacing, retractable teeth. (Although we all know those creatures work quite well.) The beast can be anything that causes your hero extreme fear.

Could an honorable man who loves his family be the beast? You bet! He can be If he dies leaving his family penniless and hungry. (And as long that situation has the same fear for your readers!) Can a loving daughter who goes away to university be the beast? Sure, if her mother is left alone in the world. So, don’t think of your hero only as a muscle bound warrior that crushes some mythological creature from the underworld. The beast is anything that is supremely fearsome to your hero and, more importantly, your readers.

Now that we know what The Supreme Ordeal needs to be, what is its purpose? First and foremost in my mind, The Supreme Ordeal changes your hero. It takes the flawed person he was and transforms him to the person he needs to be.

For example, we’ll again call on Luke of Star Wars to enlighten us. Where in that story did Luke experience his supreme ordeal? It is when he rescues Princess Leia.

How did all the excitement involved with rescuing her change Luke? He went from an orphaned farmer to a masterful Jedi. Pretty serious change, don’t you think?

Why else might you, as a storyteller, need an effective ordeal for your hero? One of the most important aspects is to engage your reader. Have you ever stopped watching a movie or set down a book and never finished it? Why would you do that? Because, for whatever reason, you were not engaged with the story or the hero. The instant your reader decides not to continue with your novel, you’ll lose your word of mouth advertising - your buzz. Your novel will almost never go viral with poor buzz.

Are there other goals to accomplish with The Supreme Ordeal? Of course. It can’t be that simple, now can it?

As a writer, you need to give your audience a feeling of exhilaration upon conclusion of The Supreme Ordeal. They’ve come accustomed to that feeling and are expectant of it. They want to think he will not succeed, in fact, may even die! They want your hero to slip and fall. They want him to get up, too, but first, they need to be convinced he will fail. That emotion is what they want, and you must give it to them. If you do not engage your audience emotionally, your buzz, and your book, are dead in the water. An old maxim in business, (and you are in the business of writing), is to give them what they want to buy. I recommend you do just that.

In my next post, we’ll discuss what happens after your hero survives. That part of the story is called, “The Reward.” Until then, good writing.

Patrick
Author of Born to be Brothers
CPatrickSchulze.blogspot.com
Twitter.com/CPatrickSchulze

The Approach

Good day, Writers,

We’ve traveled quite a way toward our goal of learning how to utilize The Hero’s Journey to craft your manuscript. In this posting, we’re going to see how The Approach plays into your story.

The Approach is the part of your manuscript where your hero prepares whatever it is he must do to come to the entrance of the greatest danger he will face. It is here your hero must ready himself to face his primeval fear. He is about to “disappear” into the Belly of the Beast and must be ready or he will surely die. During The Approach is when he defeats the lesser villains and readies himself for the Big Enchilada!

It ends when he stands on the precipice into which he must descend to locate and take hold of the item of his quest. Classical representations of the end of The Approach, as you might imagine, are the mouth of caves, dungeon doors, and the like. Wherever it is, it’s ominous!

Keep in mind your hero need not approach a place. It can be a mental state or even something as innocuous as a party. It’s simply anything that causes ultimate anguish for your hero. However, your reader must be convinced your hero will surely die. (At least figuratively.) Without this ultimate danger, the next step in your story won’t fly.

The Approach is another interesting part of your novel and may be approached, if you will, from a number of different prospective. Here you can work in some appropriate humor, for example. Have you ever heard of people laughing before battle? It’s just another way to handle one’s nervousness. You might even work in some romance, if you’d like. We’ve all heard the line, “We may not survive!” This is usually spoken by the man as he readies for battle or in another form by a character before the meteor strikes. Regardless, it’s a fun part of writing with endless possibilities.

In our example of Luke in Star Wars, A New Hope, can you envision a scene where Luke was on the precipice of some unholy situation? How about when he and his compatriots fret as the trash masher’s walls close in on them? (Being crushed into goo is, by law, a primeval fear which causes ultimate anguish.) Of course, your hero needs to escape and rescue the princess, as literally happens in A New Hope.

Okay, Writers, if you’ve been following along, your novel is at the point where the world is about to explode. Getting exciting, isn’t it?

My next posting will cover the following step your hero obviously must take – The Supreme Ordeal! (This is gonna’ be fun!)

Till then, good writing.

Patrick

C. Patrick Schulze

Twitter.com/CPatrickSchulze

Author of “Born to be Brothers”

Crossing the Threshold

Good day, Writers,

We’re learning how to write a novel by way of The Hero’s Journey, a classic “formula” for storytelling. We are using the original Stars Wars as our model and have seen Luke’s Ordinary World, watched him receive his Call to Adventure, saw him Refuse the Call and then he met, Obi Wan, his Mentor. Now Luke must face Crossing the Threshold.

Crossing the Threshold is an exciting time in your novel for it is here your hero leaves the world he has known and begins his epic quest. In the case of Star Wars, when does Luke cross his threshold? It’s when he returns after meeting with Obi Wan and finds his Aunt and Uncle killed by Federation troopers. In this scene, his very way of life is no more and choices must be made. He decides to become a Jedi. Why does he do that? Because it must happen to move the story foward.

Let’s evaluate this scene, shall we? Three things have happened here. The character is placed in a position where he must make some sort of decision, his only real option is to answer the earlier Call to Adventure and, finally, he made the correct choice by becoming a Jedi.

Looking at each of these stages of Crossing the Threshold, we find Luke’s entire life is gone and is given no choice but to decide something. Did he have other options? Sure. He could have simply gone to a friend’s home and taken a nap. He could have committed suicide. He could have become a hermit and spent his life fighting off sand people. There was any number of decisions available to him. However, had he not taken the choice he did, what would have happened to the story?

Next, Luke had to have not only a reason, but the reason, to take this very specific route. (Ah, motivation!) Why didn’t he take that nap? Why did Luke decide upon the Jedi route? Basically, the authors insured he had no other option. They forced this decision by developing the character to desire military training, having him meet Obi Wan and so on. The author’s made sure the right decision was the logical step to take.

Finally, Luke saw no other option than to make the very specific decision to become a Jedi.

So, how do we apply this to your novel?

You follow the same outline. You should put your hero in a position where he must make a decision. How do you do that? By destroying, metaphorically speaking, his Ordinary World. In A New Hope, that literally happens. It is not required you be quite so destructive, but in some way, your hero must face this traumatic crossroads. If he never faces this juncture, why would he ever leave on his journey?

Your hero must have motivation to take the route you wish him to take. In The New Hope Luke decides he must punish those responsible. Imagine if, instead of becoming a Jedi, Luke becomes an alcoholic. You can see how without the correct motivation, the story falls apart. So, too, your hero must receive the motivation to take the very specific action you want him to take.

Finally, your hero must take the correct action or, again, the story fails. What if your hero’s family is killed by a murderer and the hero decides to kill his aunts and uncles in retaliation? This decision makes no sense. His motivations must logically presage his actions.

He must face the problem, have the correct motivations for the particular action you wish him to take, and he must formally take the proper action. Without these three aspects, properly presented, you’ve cheated your readers and probably doomed your novel.

There you have it, Crossing the Threshold.

Until my next post, good writing.

Patrick

Twitter.com/CPatrickSchulze

Author of Born to be Brother

Meeting the Mentor

Okay, guys, here we are again with a new post on how to tell your story by way of a novel. Today we’re discussing the next step in your literary journey, Meeting the Mentor. If you recall in my last posting on this subject, I asked you to try and determine when it was that Luke Skywalker met this character.

I think it is obvious Luke’s mentor is Obi Wan Kanobi, his uncle if memory serves. Luke meets Obi Wan when he saves the young boy from an attack by the sand people. Soon after Obi Wan reviews the message from Princess Leia, he starts talking to Luke about “The Force.”

Okay, again the question rises, “So what?” Why does our hero need to connect with a mentor? Can’t he just go on his journey and get things done? He could, but how much of your novel will be needed to “teach” your hero what he needs to know? The Mentor speeds this process by offering your hero information he cannot get on his own. The Mentor provides knowledge, motivation and training.

One of the first things Obi Wan gives Luke is knowledge of The Force. (How important is this bit of information to the story?) You simply don’t have the word count available to give your hero all the knowledge he requires if he is forced to learn it on his own. It must come in quick bursts. Thus the need for a mentor arises.

How about training for Luke? It was Obi Wan who introduces Yoda to Luke. Although your story does not need formal training as we see in this story, but some sort of enlightenment for your hero is required. If you remember, our hero has already refused the Call to Adventure and needs someone to move his along his path. He needs inspiration and this, too, is the job of your mentor.

In general, your mentor arrives early but can arrive later if it fits your storyline. Can your hero have more than one mentor? Sure, Like had Obi Wan and Yoda, for example. We’ll discuss more about additional mentors, called “allies” in a later posting.

So, here we are. We’ve our hero in his Ordinary World which is disrupted by the Call to Adventure. His normal response is a Refusal of the Call, but then he Meets The Mentor and everything is about to change.

What do you think must happen next in your story? He must take the first step on his adventure by Crossing the Threshold!

When does Luke Cross his Threshold?

Until my next posting, good writing.

Patrick