Relationships Rule!

What would life be like without relationships? Relationships, good and bad, are the cause and effect of our lives, and, not surprisingly, the relationships we create between characters creates a majority of our book's plot. Consider these typical character relationships:
1) The main character (M.C. from now on) and the love interest. Who does the M.C. love? Our choices in love are revealing. We choose someone who embodies a part of ourselves that we want or need to explore. However enchanting the beloved is, we are also falling in love with our future selves. Sometimes we attract others who sense parts of us that we thought we had left behind. Not all love is good for us. How can we complicate our M.C.'s life with love?

2) The M.C. and the best friend. Who do we relate to the most? Usually our friends have common values and different skills. We agree on deep levels but complement each other on the surface. In plots, the best friend or side-kick makes up for whatever weakness the M.C. lacks. Is your M.C. always getting lost? Then maybe his sidekick has innate GPS. Sometimes our friends complement our love interest by fulfilling needs that he or she cannot.

3) The M.C. and the antagonist. What do you have in common with the person you most dislike? Probably more than you'd like to think. Our enemies often have the very faults we fear having ourselves. Sometimes our enemies remind us of mistakes we've made, losses we've suffered or childhood figures. Consider why the M.C. hates the antagonist. Play up the that dark mirror. Think of Luke and Darth Vader.

4) Mix and match relationships. You know it's never simple in real-life. Some of our best enemies were once friends, and sometimes the reverse is true. Write your characters' relationships as they develop and change.

One of the great perks of writing a book is that you get to decide how things turn out. So, dig into the archives of your heart and let your characters say those unspoken words.

Is Your Antagonist a Bore?

Okay, so we've unleashed him to thwart the main character at every turn; he's clever, cunning and he'll make the good guys really suffer. But is he interesting? Imagine being trapped in a corner at a party by a dull sociopath. (Wait, didn't that just happen to you a few months ago?) Don't make your reader experience that.
1) Give him a past. Lavish some thought on how he became who he is.

2) Give him a pet. Or a potted plant. Or a penchant for picking up litter. Give him one nice quality to add dimension.

3)Give him a quirk. This will make him seem more real and you can use the detail to build suspense. He likes to eat Skittles? By the end of the book, the reader should break into a cold sweat whenever a Skittles wrapper is seen on the ground.

Assumptions:
1)You know that I don't mean that only guys can be bad guys, right? Women make terrific villains.
2) You know that "bad guy" stands for "romantic rival" if you're writing a romance.
3) You know that the "bad guy" can be a shark, a virus, the government, an addiction, a mental illness or even a concept like greed or pride.
4) It's okay to eat Skittles while typing.

Is Your Antagonist a Dog?

I was reviewing my plot today when something dawned on me. It was a musty, drooly thought. My antagonist was dragging my plot off into the backyard and burying it! Indeed, my antagonist had gone to the dogs. Here's how to tell:

1) Your antagonist chases cars for no reason. If your main character is always on the run, make sure your antagonist has a good reason to be in pursuit, other than the fact he's the bad guy. Give us some plausible and understandable motivation.

2) Your antagonist barks and barks, but you've chained him to a tree. My antagonist makes lots of threats, but he doesn't actually do much of anything other than stand around looking terrifying. Why? Because I am overly fond of my main character and I hate to have him suffer more than a hang-nail. Bad idea. Let the conflict loose.

3) Your antagonist is easily fooled. Fake throwing a stick and a dog will chase after thin air. Repeatedly. We love dogs for their gullibility. But an antagonist needs to be complex and at least as smart as the main character or there will be no satisfaction when the hero prevails.

In short: Give your antagonist good reasons for doing wrong, make them clever and let them do some damage.

Casting a "Star " Main Character

Whose eyes will the reader see through? When you choose a character to be the point-of-view character or the main character in your book, that's exactly what you must decide. The point-of-view character's eyes will become the reader's eyes; his/her hands will become the reader's hands. The point-of-view character will lead the reader into the world you have created. Your reader will also walk hand in hand with the "main" character. The main character is the one that the story revolves around. Let's work with a main character who is also the point-of-view character for our first book. This is the most exciting option for the reader because it places him or her right in the center of all the action. (Like a first-person shooter for you game buffs). If you have an idea for your book already, you probably have a sense of who your main character will be. As you dream up your story, try to make your main character active rather than passive. In other words, if your character is hit by a bus, be sure that it is because he or she ran into the street, rather than that the bus swerved onto the sidewalk. Why? Because your character needs to act with passion, be motivated by strong ideals, face up to harrowing fears and live every moment of your plot as if it were his or her last. Then the reader will happily follow your character anywhere.

The players are the game

Characters. You need some. But how many? And who? To decide what characters your story needs, keep in mind that your characters are your plot. They make it happen. Imagine a football game. Your main character is the star player. He's on the field (the setting) holding the ball (the action). The field posts are his goal. His motivation is to score and achieve his goal. The main character carries the action toward the goal. Naturally, it wouldn't be much of a game if he were alone on the field. Let's give him a team-mate to help him. (In your book, this will be a side-kick or romantic interest). This team-mate should complement the main character; he should have strengths and weaknesses that are different, to keep things interesting. But don't look now! Here comes the rival team's best player! (This is your villain in a suspense or mystery novel or the competition in a romance novel.) Be sure that the rival has as strong desire to keep your hero from achieving his goal as your hero does to reach it. These characters are all you need. Any other characters should be added only if they serve to advance the plot. Remember, a close game is more nail-biting than a rout. Keep your sides evenly matched. Victory is sweeter when snatched from defeat. Consider this: the player has no function outside of the game. The game cannot exist without the players. Your characters and your plot are inseparable in the finished book, even if we tend to work on them one at a time in the planning stages.