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Writing Secondary Characters in Novels

by C. Patrick Schulze

Listen to a PODCAST of this article.

When writing your novel, have you ever cut back or cut out a character you liked? How about one you didn’t like? Have you ever promoted a secondary character into a larger role within your novel? These events happen all the time in novel writing and, in fact, should happen. Secondary characters are as common as leaves on a tree but have the power to kill both your writing and your novel. Despite this, they are as necessary to a good novel as your major characters.

How do they kill a novel? They can take over roles that belong to other characters. It is most onerous if they take over a major character like the hero. In this case, the protagonist diminishes in stature which, in turn, makes readers less empathetic toward the him. And we all know an unlikable hero is the kiss of death to a novel. Further, if you incorporate too many secondary characters in your novel, they can confuse and overpower the reader, with the same result as the unsympathetic hero.

To keep the number and roles of your secondary characters in check, you can assign your characters to one of three levels of importance.

Primary Character: Hero, Villain, Sidekick
Secondary Character: Any necessary support character to provide needed color
Fringe Character: There for setting or imagery - walk-ons, if you will.

How do you decide which characters to include? Remember, your story is about your hero, not the secondary characters, so only include those who might affect the core beliefs or attitudes of your major characters. Not counting your fringe characters, a rule of thumb for a four hundred page novel suggests you might have three main characters and four to six secondary characters.

So, once you’ve decided upon your secondary characters, how might you bring those guys to life so they enhance your novel?


You might give them a “story” of their own. By this I mean have them in some sort of crisis of their own when they enter your novel. For example, they might be “in a mood” when your hero meets them. Of course your reader will never learn what the secondary character’s story is or why he’s in the mood he’s in. Your reader might simply find them more interesting and memorable if you have the secondary character come into the novel with something going on in their lives. Though he’s not a minor character, think the White Rabbit in “Alice in Wonderland.” From the first moment you see him, he’s in a hurry and is, therefore, more interesting.

You can also use props to make them more memorable. Just introduce their prop before they come into the novel. Does your secondary character use a cane? Have the hero comment on it’s interesting carvings before we meet the guy who uses it. The use of props is a proven technique to enhance your secondary characters.

Another option is to give them a frailty, but make it something normal. If we revert to our guy with the cane, maybe he suffers from arthritis. This gives your reader a hook on which to hang their impressions of this character.

One last tip on how to make a secondary character interesting to your readers. Make him an eccentric. This always latches on to readers’ imaginations. Just be sure you have only one eccentric per novel, okay?

The secret to secondary characters is, of course, to insure they do not upstage your major characters. Always keep in mind they are there to enhance and not overshadow your lead characters and you’ll do all right.

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

C. Patrick Schulze

Author of the emerging novel, “Born to be Brothers.”

How to Clarify Your Novel Writing

by C. Patrick Schulze

Listen to the PODCAST of this article.

The essence of good writing is found not in the elegance of the writing but rather in the clarity of the writing. And clarity may have a purpose which you’ve not considered. Not only does it influence how those who read your novel understand and enjoy it, but clarity in writing can even have an effect upon your search engine rank. If your context and spelling are inadequate, your SEO may suffer. Who knew our seventh grade English teachers understood more than we realized?

Allow me to identify some of more onerous of the many clarity in writing issues.

The Dangling Particle: Remember that one from middle school English class? Until I began my research for this article, I could not remember what that thing was. A dp, as it’s known, occurs when an verb and noun are linked together in an incorrect manner. As you can see from the following example, there is no noun for the verb “run,” so it sounds as if that verb is associated with the rain.

     Trying to run the race, the rain began to fall in heavy sheets.

Incorrect Pronoun Reference: This can happen when a writer uses a pronoun to refer to another word but does make clear to which word, or antecedent, it relates. The example that follows is unclear as to whether the teenagers resented the store or loiters.

     The store prohibited loiters, which many teenagers resented.

A Comma Splice: This is when a writer connects two separate clauses with a comma. To fix this, you should insert a period or connect the clauses with a word such as “and” or “because.” You may also have to restructure both sentences. Your example of an incorrect splice follows.

     I fell in love with her, she carries herself with such grace.

Comma Usage in a Series: When you have three or more items in a series, you should use a comma between each one, even before the “and.” You may wish to note this differs in journalistic writing where they use one less comma. Your correct example:

     Bring the lantern, tent, and sleeping bag.

Tense Errors: This occurs when you do not indicate with clarity when an action took place. The example below is nebulous as to when the event actually happened, for we cannot tell if John left before Susanne arrived or when she arrived or even afterwards. To correct this you’d rewrite the sentence or insert the word, “had,” after, “John.”

     Susanne arrived, but John left.

Homonyms: Homonyms are words that sound alike but mean different things. The problem, of course, is your spellchecker won’t catch them. You have to read each word of your novel, aloud, to insure you catch these things. Here are your examples:

     Read vs. reed

     Write vs. right

     To vs. too

     Hear vs. here

Missing Words: As before, there’s not much you can do about this except read your novel aloud, word by word. Is this example correct or incorrect?

     Why do you say we to the moves this evening?

Alright vs All Right. There is no, “alright,” in formal writing, all right? Over time, the word “alright” has become acceptable in informal writing, but it is still considered incorrect in novel writing.

The Ellipsis: The ellipsis is that symbol made up of three periods in a row. In writing, it means words are missing and it’s most common usage is in quotes. It also represents a thought that is incomplete, a pause in speech, or a sentence that fades into silence. You should be cautious when you use it in your novel, however. Should you use this punctuation mark too often it soon overpowers the page and makes for difficult reading. Consider using character actions to indicate incomplete thoughts and statements, rather than the ellipse.


Today I’ll end with the famous “ie” vs “ei” issue. The rule we all learned in grammar class still holds true today. “I” before “e” except after “c.” Works every time, guys.

The clarity of your writing can be of utmost consequence to your writing success. The acceptance of your novel and even your search engine optimization may well hinge upon it. Do you need to spend some time and study your grammar once again?

So, what common writing errors do you find and how have you learned to overcome them?

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

C. Patrick Schulze

Author of the emerging novel, “Born to be Brothers”

Writing a Novel’s Plot

by C. Patrick Schulze

Listen to a PODCAST of this article.

As an author learns how to write a novel, he must develop the skill to pen an effective plot, or that string of events through which your major characters move.

The first concept to understand about plot is the recipe. Gather your two needed ingredients, story and conflict, then blend them together and bake it up. You must have both ingredients, story and conflict, for it to taste just right.

Another way to look at this concept is a story asks the questions of what and how, whereas the plot asks the why.

Your plot is not just a jumble of unrelated events. It’s comprised of a series of events that follow naturally from one to the next.

Read this for more on PLOT.

A secret to plot is that it is directly related to your major characters’ personalities, especially your hero’s. As one event occurs, the character’s persona encourages him to make a decision as to how to respond to this occurrence. This, in turn, forces the next event. This relationship between characterization and plot is why there are so few plot lines but so many stories.

Of course the main rationale for plot is to entertain your readers, but other than that, what does it do? It’s primary purposes include:

1. Move your story forward and toward its conclusion

2. Give life to your characters

3. Foreshadow coming events.

4. Propel your hero toward his goal and past his many obstacles

Though some disagree with the number of elements in a plot, I see seven major components to plot. They are:

1. Your hero or protagonist: You need someone, or something, to move through your story.

2. The setting in which your hero finds himself: Everything happens somewhere and at some time.

3. The goal your hero must achieve: Every protagonist needs a great quest of some sort.

4. The conflict he faces: During his quest, your hero will come upon difficulties that hamper his forward movement toward his goals.

5. The turning point of your story: At some place in your story, the major character must make a decision that alters everything.

6. The near disaster your hero must endure: Every hero must face an ultimate challenge that can, at least metaphorically, kill him.

7. The resolution of the story. Your story needs an ending, don’t you think and shouldn’t it all come out for the best?

Once you grasp these basic fundamentals, you’re well on your way to an effective storyline.

Now, here are some general tips as to how to develop your plot.

Plot develops by way of the adversity your characters face. Their physical and emotional responses to this adversity is what develops your plot. Imagine “Lord of the Rings” if none of those characters faced problems. Wouldn’t quite have the punch, would it?

You plot should foreshadow all major conflict points. Though mysteries may have a bye in this regard, your plot should identify all troubling events that are yet to transpire. To reword this, what happens early in your story sets up what is to happen later.

Your hero must at some point, take things in hand. He’s the good guy in your narrative and he needs to possess the strength and fortitude to do what his challenge requires of him.

Nothing happens at random. Every part of your plot should have a reason for being in your story.

The plot is not only about your hero. Each of your major characters, of which there should be no more than three, has their own agenda. And these agendas most often conflict with those of the other primary characters.

Your plot should show the personalities of your major characters. That is, the way they react to what happens to them should give your reader a better understanding of who these people really are.

If you’ll insure your plot drives your story and not the other way around, you’ll find your writing life will have a better chance to thrive.

Now, what else might you wish to know about plot?

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

C. Patrick Schulze

Author of the emerging novel, “Born to be Brothers.”

How to Increase the Pace of Your Writing

As you learn how to write a novel, you’ll find conflict is the key tool used to develop the readers’ interest. Today, I’ll talk about how to accelerate the pace of your words thus increasing the tension within your novel.

The first writing technique to consider is the amount of white space on the page. Imagine a sheet of paper filled with text, one line after the other without breaks.  You can visualize how this would overpower to the reader. Think instead of a page loaded with choppy sentences. This creates a great deal of white space to the right and makes the page read faster. Your reader will feel the faster rhythm if for no reason other than the speed they flip the pages.

I alluded to the next tip in the last paragraph. Write in short, choppy sentences. These should be meaningful, of course, but quick lines make for quick reading. Quick reading makes for a fast tempo. Don’t try to break up long paragraphs with short sentences as it’ll come off as just that, poor paragraph structure. Each line, short or otherwise, must stand on its own.

Fragmentary sentences also work well to increase the speed of reading. The judicious use of them can be quite effective. In those nail-biting situations you create, fragments will increase the excitement. Always. Every time. As here. I urge caution, however, for overuse of fragments can get out of control if you’re not careful. 

Use shorter words to increase the tempo of your story. Anything that slows your reader will slow the pace of your scene. For example, must you use the word, “unsympathetically?” These six syllables read slower than its synonym, “cruelly,” which has only two.

Be cautious of argot your middling might not twig. That is to say don’t use terminology your average reader might not understand. When you force them to take their mind off the story and focus on individual words, their reading slows in dramatic fashion.

Use strong, specific verbs and nouns. (How many times have we heard this one?) Consider someone who dreams in nightmares in contrast to someone who is haunted by nightmares. I think you can see the power in the word, “haunted” when compared to, “dreams.” As to verbs, consider the difference between someone who “falls” to someone who “collapses”. “Collapse” is a much stronger verb, assuming it fits the scene, as it implies a more precise action. This precision with your words is what you seek.

Don’t retell information. Just get to it. Your reader already knows what happened in prior chapters. To loop back to an earlier point in your story will simply slow things.

Use active voice. “He was going to fight it out,” reads slower and with less strength than, “He determined to fight it out.” You may wish to read my earlier post on the verb, “to be.”

Look to the pace of your novel and your audience will find it a more interesting read.

Might you have any tips to share?

As always, I wish you best-sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze

12 Ways an Agents Considers Your Query

I am not an agent, I’ve never had an agent, nor have I ever personally known an agent. Why then, am I the one to write this article? Well, I’m probably not. Still, I’ve been walking this path for a while now and I have learned to use those senses located around my face. This article is what I’ve learned as I’ve traversed my chosen trail.

An agent is in the business of selling books to publishers. They are business people like every other business person out there. They contend with P&L’s, customers, contacts, inventory control, and all the rest. They are looking for authors, even aspiring authors, for without us they are unemployed.

We, the authors clacking away at our keyboards until the dawn lights the morning sky, are their inventory. It is their job and profession to see their inventory put into the hands of their clients, the publishers. The secret, as with any business, is to choose the correct inventory to sell to the correct client. The query letter is one method they use to locate that inventory.

Though not necessarily presented in the order of their thought processes, this is my understanding of when they receive your query, how they look at it.

Is the story within one they can sell? If their contacts weigh heavily toward romance publishers, sending a query touting a nonfiction book on the weaknesses in the Theory of Relativity is wasted on them. They may have no background in selling this type of book and they’ll most likely pass.

If they’ve just sold a similar book, they’ll probably not try to do it again as they’ve already pitched their contacts on the storyline.

If the story within is not interesting, they’ll pass. If this is your storyline is dull, overused, out of date, etc., the agent knows none of their contacts will buy the book from them.

If the story within is not unique, they'll probably pass. If your hero is named Luke and he’s an orphan living on a farm in some far, far away galaxy and he will soon discover he has the power to summon the forces of nature to his aid and… Well, it’s been done. You may have a slight chance if your work has a unique aspect to it, but save yourself the trouble and write a new story.

If your query is not professional in nature, it tells them you are not a professional. These guys are pros, and they want to surround themselves with like-minded individuals. Learn what each agents wishes to receive and give them that.

Their time is valuable and limited. Assuming your query even reaches their desk, you have maybe twenty seconds of their time available to you. If your query starts with, “I am so important to you,” or some such nonsense, you don’t even get the twenty. However, if you start with a good hook that catches their interest, you’ll get the extra ten seconds that previous blowhard squandered.

They look to the quality of your writing. They consider your query a sample of your writing skills and seek those who are well versed in the craft. Why would they try to sell inferior inventory? That is what you are if you have yet to learn how to write.

They do consider your provenance, if you will. Why are you the one to write this work? If you’ve not stepped into a classroom since you quit school in the seventh grade, they will not consider you the best source for recommending how to alter the educational landscape. If you write spy novels but have never seen the thin end of a pair of binoculars, you’ve probably chosen an incorrect genre. Write what you know. No, you need not have a writer’s pedigree, but you do need to exhibit knowledge of your subject matter, be it fiction or nonfiction.

They want to know why you chose them. If you’re querying every agent in the known universe, that’s fine from your perspective, but to them it’s a sure sign of your lack of professionalism. Query them for a reason and tell them why you did.

They do respect the recommendations from within their sphere. Wouldn’t you? They have clients and contacts they trust to know their desires and markets, and a confidant is their most efficient method of finding a new author. Try to get a recommendation. As difficult as that may be, it is your truest path to publication.

They want to know you’re in this as a career. They don’t earn as much money off a single book as they do a number of books. If they have your book published and twenty thousand copies are sold, how man dollars get into their pocket? How much do they earn if they sell twenty of your books at twenty thousand copies per? This is a business for them, even if it is not for you.

This is a subjective business and they will often pass on a manuscript for a reason as simple as it does not “call” to them. Sorry, guys, but life is unfair and so is the publishing world. That is why you query multiple agents.

If your query does not exemplify these qualities, I recommend you keep trying to improve your writing and querying skills.

I’d love for an agent to comment on this as to any errors in my thinking or omission in the list.

Until my next posting, kind readers, may all your books be best-sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze

A Dozen Ways to Create an Opening Scene

We’ve all heard readers must be caught up in your novel from the very first page if you wish them to finish this book and purchase your next. But how does one go about creating that initial burst of excitement?

There is any number of options open to us as authors, but here’s your list of a dozen that’ll work well, if crafted correctly. (Ah, the ever-present caveat!) See if any of these will work for you.

1. The proverbial Great Line. I once read and still remember this one. “When I was little, I would think of ways to kill my daddy.” How’s that for grabbing the imagination. To develop this Great Line, compress your novel’s major conflict into a single sentence, then polish.

2. Have the bad guy show up early and in a big way. Your opening might be something like, “The assassins bullet…”

3. The likeable hero can be introduced right away, but be certain to include his worthy goal. Think along the line of, “His mother understood early in Johnnie’s life he would need unique attention.”

4. Introduce humor in the opening paragraph. Make sure it fits your audience. Toilet humor might work in VYA, (Very Young Adult), but the church elders will probably, uh, “pass.”

5. Introduce a feeling of danger right away. “…he saw men on horseback, riding hard, their horses kicking up a swirl behind them.”

6. Write a scene that’s easy on the senses in a conversational tone. Make it natural but lyrical. Paint a picture with which your audience will identify. “The landscape looked as if an artist had brushed his fondest vision of nature on his canvas.”

7. Introduce an ominous foreshadowing. “Carrion birds floated in a languid circle off to the south. Something was about to die.”

8. Begin with formidable obstacles your hero must face and overcome. “Exhausted, he crested what he thought was his final obstacle but saw a snowcapped mountain range still to his fore.” (Hey, I’m working on the fly here, cut me some slack, huh?) They need not be physical barriers, of course, but you get the idea.

9. Use immediate action. Stuff blowing up is always fun, but it can just as readily be an argument, a personal conflict or even one having to face humility. Just make is pop right away.

10. Open with high level of tension. Use a heavy dose of emotion mixed with high drama. Think of the last argument you had before you demanded a divorce. That’ll get ‘em worked up.

11. A clear representation of an appealing setting might work for you. Consider your “safe place” in all its glory and invite your reader to join you.

12. An effective joining of humor and tension. “When the bullet ripped into his flesh, he knew the day was not going well.” Trite, I know, but use that as your example and get off my back.

So there ya go. A dozen easy openings to hook your reader and sell more books. Good luck.

So long for now and may all your books be best-sellers.

Patrick

Believable Characters

I’ve heard there are only a dozen or so stories to write and believe it’s true. You know what I mean, boy meets girl, boy wins girl, boy looses girl, that sort of thing. The ability to retell this limited number of storylines is derived by creating imaginative setting and characters.

So, how is it we create these elusive, yet all-important, characters?

As authors, we’ve all heard the old saw our reader must “identify” with our characters for our stories to fly and our books to fly off the shelves. Yet, despite this sage advice, all this identifying is so very difficult to achieve.

Or is it? Not so much as you might think.

Consider those you appreciate in life. What is it about them that calls to you, makes them interesting or likeable? Now, armed with those thoughts, can you guess what traits your characters require? Yep, those very same characteristic that resonate with you will probably do so with your readers. Personally, I’ve often gravitated to those who color outside the lines, just enough, and my best characters always seem to be those who are a tad irreverent.

Do your friends have a dark side, a weakness, a hidden strength, a freakish mannerism? What is their failing in life? What type of emotions do they possess and what brings those to the fore? What challenges them or excites them?

Once you’ve determined what makes your friends tick, by translating their idiosyncrasies to the page, you’ve got credible characters. They’re believable because they are real.

A cute trick I often use is to mix personalities to create a whole new person. In my newest manuscript, I’ve created a single character with the cross-pollinated personalities of all my siblings. He sort of the priest-who-murders-for-fun type. (Yeah, I did have an interesting childhood…)

You now have all the fundamental tools needed for effective characterization. However, there are a few tricks you can use to enhance your readers’ enjoyment.

Find that universal human experience and put them in it. For example, how do people feel when they lose a love? How about losing a child? (God forbid!) Use this sort of situation to bring their true inner being to life.

Face them with a timeless truth. Is every boss kind and generous? Not a chance! Have them face this type of conflict.

Give him a life-sustaining mantra and kick him in the teeth with it. “Always say something nice or don’t say nothing at all,” is an easy one. Put your character in a situation where there is nothing nice to say. It’s the old fish-out-of-water trick and it’s real effective.

Let your character become a better person. Personal growth is always accepted by your audience and, in fact, necessary for a good story. Let your protagonists learn and people will identify.

Read my previous post for more clues to effective characters.

There are a thousand ways to improve your characterizations, but this is a good start. Take it to heart and you’ll be a better writer for it.

Until my next post, may all your books be best sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze

A New Editing Method?

Good day, Writers,

As many of you know, I’m in the process of sending my manuscript Born to be Brothers to agents for representation. What this means is there have been three people editing this thing a total of ten times from first word to last – my agent twice, my wife twice and me six times. Further, six others did a beta review! (Whew…) That’s sixteen edits!

My wife Kate has supported my writing without hesitation from the first minute and is by far my best cheerleader. (I’ve ordered pom-poms but they’ve yet to arrive.). As I began sending “Born to be Brothers” to agents for representation, Kate made a suggestion. She asked if she shouldn’t read it aloud to me to see if that might improve it even more. After so much editing, even reading it aloud to myself three times, (complete with character accents), I assumed her idea would be of little value. Still, it might be interesting to hear it, after reading it so many times. But edit it again? Nah… It’s been edited to death! Right?

Wrong!

Well, we’re at page forty-two, of four hundred plus, and I’ve already altered the ms thirty seven times! Some alterations were simple synonym insertions while with others entire paragraphs were rewritten.

My point, of course, is Kate enlightened me to an entirely new methodology of editing which is proving invaluable. The upshot in my case was to immediately cease sending Born to be Brothers for agenting. You can bet I’ll be working on it another week or two before I start that oppressive undertaking again.

I do, have a question, though. How among of you knew this and why didn’t anyone tell me?

I do hope my experience has given you yet another tool to improve your writing.

Until my next posting, good writing.

Patrick

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

Strange Dream

I dreamed the first scene of my next manuscript last night.

That is either the start of a disturbing trend or the beginning of a new level of writing in my life.

Personally, I hope the latter...

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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

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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.

In Need of a Good Agent

Started looking for a new agent today. Way lot of things to consider! Do they accept your type of work? Do they have a track record of substance? If not, what sort of promise do they hold? Are they looking for new authors? What type of books have they sold and do those sales represent your work? Seems like more time on this than the manuscript. I will forge ahead, however, and slay this beast!

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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”

Tests, Allies and Enemies

Good day, All,

We’re working toward telling our novel’s storyline by way of The Hero’s Journey, a formula for storytelling that has survived the millennia. In our case, we’re following Luke of Star Wars fame. We’ve followed him through his Ordinary World, watched as he receives his Call to Adventure and shook our heads when he made excuses to Refuse the Call. After that, he Met his Mentor then Crossed the Threshold to his new adventure.

The next section, Tests, Allies and Enemies, is one of the most intricate to develop and one of the most critical to your story. It can also be the longest. Here is where you flesh out your character and where he transforms to the true hero he needs to become. It shows your reader his true inner strength. However, it must be done in a way that keeps your reader connected with him. If your hero shows personality traits your readers dislike, they close the book. Here we also give the reader the exciting part of the story, those things that test your hero. This part of your novel also introduces more of those people, creatures and situations that assist your hero in completing his quest.

Okay, here are a few tips for writing this part of your story. First, consider the Rule of Threes. (“Huh?” You say.) As in so many things in life, threes work well with readers. By this I mean the story will do well to have the hero face three major tests, find three important allies and encounter three premier enemies. The Rule of Threes need not be followed, but it is a great concept if you’re new to storytelling. I don’t know why, but threes do seem to work.

Another hint is to have your hero encounter a simple test or two early on so he can grow into his new, more dramatic self in realistic fashion. You don’t want someone with a fear of heights to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel in chapter two. He has yet to build the necessary courage and knowledge. Instead, maybe he climbs a tree and freezes half way to the top. He falls and survives, thus learning a valuable lesson he needs to go over the falls. That’s the sort of thing I mean for your readers will not believe he goes over on purpose without first accumulating a bit of knowledge. Your reader also needs to know who your hero will react to various situations. If he fell over Niagara Falls right away, he’s going down screaming like a little girl, yet maybe only a yelp escapes him as he falls out of the tree. By the time he goes over Niagara, he’s able to hold his tongue and only moan a bit. Smaller tests help him to learn how to grow into the larger, more sinister tests.

A third tip, and a classic tip, is to use the seedy bar or nightclub as the setting. Of course, you can use any setting, but like the Rule of Threes, this seems to work. In my second book, “Pretty Boy and the Bugler” I used a saloon and it worked out quite well.

My fourth and final tip is to consider having the hero falter as he faces his initial tests. Again, this isn’t necessary but can lead to more excitement. If he does waver, how might he overcome? Ah, it’s good to have allies!

Okay, let’s take our regular look at Luke as he meets his Tests, Allies and Enemies.

Review the third tip above and you’ll see a seedy bar is a good place to begin. Well, remember the famous bar scene in Star Wars, A New Hope? What happened there? Luke confronted enemies, (the storm troopers, the creature who wanted to fight him), was tested, (he didn’t step down from the fight even though he would’ve lost), and he met two major allies, (Han and Chewbacca).

So, there you have it, Tests, Allies and Enemies. It was an interesting scene, wasn’t it? In fact, it was so interesting, it’s now classic of its own right. That is how important Tests, Allies and Enemies can be.

Keep in mind there may be more, many more, of these people and events in your story. For example, does Luke meet other allies? Sure he does. How about Yoda and the guy in charge of the cloud mining operation, (I don’t remember his name.). Does he meet other enemies? You betcha! He even meets someone who presents himself as an ally, (the cloud city guy), turns out to be an enemy, (he turns the band over to the Darth Vader), and an ally again. This guy even ends up a Rebellion general! Whew… what a roller coaster ride he is! By the way, this type of character is called a Shape-Shifter – something we’ll get into later.

Don’t think of this part of your story as done with a single scene for there should be many to build the excitement for your readers. Does Luke face other tests? How about the fight with Vader? He had a million tests as the story progresses. Does he meet other allies? Yoda is a perfect example. And talk about learning and growing! Yoda makes the guy hump around the planet with the Jedi on his back! It goes on and on.

So there you have it, Tests, Allies and Enemies. Make ‘em real, make ‘em scary and make a lot of ‘em.

Until we get together again, good writing.

Patrick

Twitter.com/CPatrickSchulze

Author of: Born to be Brothers