by Henry McLaughlin @RiverBendSagas
As writers, we’re constantly
making promises to our readers. Often they start with our title and cover. A
cover of a couple looking longingly at each other promises romance. How
disconcerting it would be to discover a horror story on the pages. Even though
some romances can end up horrible.
We also make promises within
our story. When we receive a criticism that our story didn’t make any sense or
was unbelievable, it’s probably because we didn’t deliver on a promise we made.
For example, suppose we
establish early in the story that our heroine is a martial arts expert. Towards
the climax she is attacked by the villain and she tries to run away or just
cowers and whimpers. She never uses the skills we said she had. We broke a
promise to the reader.
In my first book, Journey
to Riverbend, I established that my hero, Michael Archer, had two core
values. One was he always kept his word. The other is he didn’t want to kill
anybody. These actually were promises that something would happen to Michael to
challenge these values. They needed to be fulfilled or resolved by the end. At
the climax, I put Michael in a situation where he had to choose. He could keep
one, but not both.
In his book, Troubleshooting Your Novel, Steven James writes that stories are more than what’s happening
on the page. They’re also about promises, anticipation, fulfillment, and
satisfaction. In the story, usually in the first 50 pages, our characters
reveal what Steven calls their PLAN:
- Purpose: What are they hoping to do?
- Longing: What do they desire?
- Apprehension: What are they afraid of?
- Needs: What do they require?
Now the reader knows what to
look for and what to worry about.
But we don’t want to make
the story predictable. Predictable books are boring. We need to add twists and
revelations, setbacks and subtext to throw our characters off stride, to make
them almost want to give up, or go over the edge of desperation and do
something that makes the situation worse. Through it all, we don’t want to lose
sight of those promises.
While I’m working on my
first draft, revising as I go, I keep a file of promises I’m making to my
readers. When it comes time to start the second draft, I consult this folder
and make sure every promise is resolved somehow. Sometimes, I’ll cut it. In
some cases, I may have to go back to early in the story to plant or refine the
promise so it will make sense at the end. Either way, I make sure I don’t short
change my characters or disappoint the reader.
TWEETABLES
An author's promise to his readers - thoughts from Henry McLaughlin, @RiverBendSagas on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
As authors we make promises to our readers - tips from Henry McLaughlin, @RiverBendSagas on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
He serves as Associate Director of North Texas Christian Writers.
Henry edits novels, leads critique groups, and teaches at conferences and workshops. He enjoys mentoring and coaching individual writers.
Connect with Henry on his blog, Twitter and Facebook.
Henry, I'm working on my first novel. Your article is a great tool. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found it helpful, Cherrilynn. Let me know how your novel writing goes.
DeleteGreat counsel sir. Well said. I walk away with the idea that my characters should exhibit many of my own traits. Can't wait to try that on some fiction writing one day. Thank you...
ReplyDeleteHi Jim,
DeleteWhen you start to write fiction, I would suggest making your characters uniquely themselves. Our own traits will influence our character development but this should be an almost unconscious part of the process. After all, we don't want all our characters to be like us.
You just hit the nail on why some books don't hit the nail for me.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice, Henry.
Thank you, Ingmar.
DeleteAs a reader, I get so frustrated when an author doesn't fulfill promises. I feel cheated, duped...and a little angry that I wasted money on a book that didn't meet the expectations it set up for readers. Your article is a good reminder that I don't want to do the same to my own readers. I think I was intuitively aware of fulfilling the promises I make, but now I can be intentional, and intentional is always better. Thanks, Henry!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a timely piece for me. My 2nd novel was just beta reviewed - and I am struggling with an edit - which now occurs to me - was a broken promise. I will make the revision. Thanks so much for this post. Excellent!
ReplyDelete