Tag: Writing Wednesday

How Writing is Like Planning a Trip

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Writing a novel can feel like a journey, and in many ways, it is. It takes a good deal of planning, the right itinerary, and getting over a few bumps in the road. In fact, you might just need a vacation from your vacation by the time you’re done with it all!

Here’s a different way to approach writing a novel- think of it like planning a trip:

  • Figure out where you want to go

Whether you’re a plotter or a panster, it’s still important to know your destination, to know where you want your story to end up or be like. Know if it’ll be fantasy or contemporary, MG or YA. Having this general direction will set you up from the start.

  • Who’s going with you?

Knowing who’s going with you, aka who your characters are, is just as important as where you’re going. Can these characters exist in the setting you’re thinking of? Do you have enough of them? Who’s the villain, the one no one will get along with- the one that always claims the front seat on the road trip or insist on taking the room with the better view?

  • Figure out the sites to see

Just as with a trip where you’ll want to do some research ahead of time to know what you’ll want to see, it’s the same with a plot. Make sure there’s enough going on so you know it’s worth making the trip. You don’t want your readers to get bored half way through.

  • Plan for what could go wrong

Just as you need to know whether or not you’ll need to pack malaria pills or bring seasickness medication, it’s best to know what your characters might encounter to bring conflict to the story. However, unlike with real travel where you try to avoid those complications, in your writing, you’re going to want your characters to walk right into them.

  • Be open to new experiences/people

While it’s great to know some major landmarks along your plot, it’s also amazing to be open to new opportunities as they arise in your manuscript. Just as that unplanned side trip down a small winding path might turn out to be the highlight of your vacation, so too might be the unexpected idea that pops into your head part way through your draft.

  • Pack and head out

Once you’ve done your research, pack everything you need in your suitcase and head out and start writing. Don’t let fear hold you back. Go out there and get as much as you can from this journey, I mean draft. It’s okay if you’re an overpacker like me. You can always take something out later. And who knows, you might just need that extra parka when you get caught in a freak rainstorm at Dracula’s castle- trust me, I know from experience.

  • Unpack

Once you return home, unpack everything. Go through bit by bit and see what stinks and needs to go straight to the laundry room and what still looks really great. Also, find out what you didn’t need so you’ll know better next time, too.

  • Share those photos on social media

Once you get back, it’s time to share your experience, or in this case, send your novel off to some great critique partners!

 

After you’ve got that first trip under your belt, then it’s time to start planning your next one. And who knows, maybe all those places you went in the first one sparked the idea for what’s next.

So get out there and starting planning and writing!

Does your villain suffer from Stupid Villain Syndrome (SVS)?

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Everybody loves a good villain, right? So the reverse must also be true: everyone hates a bad villain. Worse, they’ll stop reading if your villain suffers from Stupid Villain Syndrome (SVS).

SVS is when your villain meets one or more of the following criteria:

  • They’re not scary enough for the reading level of the book. They’ll come across as comical and mustache-twirling if they’re not sinister enough.
  • They’re not strong enough to physically pose a true risk to your protagonist’s goals. Readers won’t be invested if they feel no one is truly opposing your protagonist. Nothing will feel at stake for the protagonist.
  • They choose incompetent sidekicks. Ruthless villains want sidekicks who can carry out their orders successfully. While protagonists might be able to get away once or maybe twice, they shouldn’t be continually able to outsmart sidekicks. It makes the villain appear weaker by association.
  • The villain over-explains his or her plan in the end, resulting in giving the protagonist time to escape or think of a plan. While a plot should be twisting and keep readers guessing and some explanation might be necessary to clear up certain earlier plot points, don’t use this method to give your protagonist time to come up with a brilliant plan. Your villain can gloat and revel in the moment, but just not too long.

If your hero needs time to untie the ropes that bind their hands or to get off the railroad tracks like in old cartoons, try instead to perhaps have your hero’s sidekick or another character cause the needed distraction to give the protagonist time to escape. Try to have your villain give as little explanation as possible and give your protagonist the smarts she needs to piece the rest together on her own. Or maybe, split the dialogue so that half the reason why the villain committed the murder is given while the protagonist is danger, and the other half comes when the villain lies dying or realizes they’re trapped. At the very least, have your protagonist escape while the villain is giving their speech to show how foolish they were not to kill them right away.

A good thing to keep in mind to avoid SVS is actually a quote from actor Tom Hiddleston:

“Every villain is a hero in his own mind.”

The villain is often the one that took the path the hero could’ve taken but chose not to. Yet, the villain probably had very legitimate reasons for taking that path. Something drove them to it just as something made the hero pick a different way. We spend enough time with the hero to get their reasoning, so make sure we have enough time with the villain to get their reasoning before the final few scenes when they have to over explain. (However, I will point out that SVS doesn’t apply as fully to mystery and twist endings since it’s not always obvious who the villain is. But, there better be enough breadcrumbs that readers believe the credibility of the villain after the big reveal.)

Overall, your villain deserves, nay, needs to be just as complex as your hero in order to avoid the pitfalls that come with SVS, and avoiding SVS will go a long way in strengthening your villain, which by proxy strengthens your protagonist and probably gives you a stronger, more intriguing plot!