Jeanmarie Hamilton
Romancing the West
Romancing the West
For Writers
What I Did Before Entering The American Title II Contest
by Jeanmarie Hamilton
Some writers spend lots of time developing their story-people before writing the story. Other writers spend a little time on their characters before putting pen to paper. I've been the latter sort of writer. I've never liked to spend much time rounding out my characters before starting to write, although I have spent long periods of time on a synopsis of the plot for each story. Recently, I've been forced to re-evaluate my creative process.
Just as with SEDUCTION, my western historical selected for the American Title II Contest, I realized in re-reading another manuscript, that I hadn't developed my characters fully. In what way? The answer: I hadn't paid close enough attention to their back stories, giving shape to their present life, fears, hopes and beliefs.
For example, I'll present Zack, from the third western historical I thought I'd finished. Zack is a Texas Ranger. His back story: he joined the Rangers at a very young age to support his mother and sisters after his father died in the Civil War. Badly wounded in a shoot-out in which his fiancee died, he remained bedridden for a year, recovering from his wounds. The burden of supporting him and his sisters fell on his mother's shoulders.
The plot: his main goal is to find and capture the men responsible for his fiancee's death. He must not fail to protect those he loves either. He's determined to shield others from danger as well. But the heroine, Kate, becomes a big problem. She's determined to protect her father from men who have threatened him. Without going into detail, the plot involves the hero keeping the heroine out of trouble while he discovers and captures the outlaws responsible for his fiancee's death.
The hero and heroine share some harrowing adventures as they endeavor to identify the gang's leader, but both survive without a scratch. Although he fails to protect the heroine's father from being wounded in a shootout, Zack saves the heroine from the villain at the end. Can you see how I failed to make the most of my hero's backstory in this plot? I failed to address the hero's determination to never be a burden to anyone again.
If I do address that in the plot, it adds to the hero's characterization as well as complicating the plot. In revising the story, I must force the hero to confront his worst fears. Being a burden is one of those fears. I will add events to the story which cause the hero to face being a burden. Time for more brainstorming. I need to consider why he's threatened with being a burden once again and how he overcomes the problem. This obstacle also affects the romance thread.
How will the hero handle this threat/fear? Zack and Kate still must save each other so they can live happily ever after.
Think about your story and question if you've made the most of your characters' backstories. What you discover may be just what your story needs to final in that contest you're considering.
by Jeanmarie Hamilton
Some writers spend lots of time developing their story-people before writing the story. Other writers spend a little time on their characters before putting pen to paper. I've been the latter sort of writer. I've never liked to spend much time rounding out my characters before starting to write, although I have spent long periods of time on a synopsis of the plot for each story. Recently, I've been forced to re-evaluate my creative process.
Just as with SEDUCTION, my western historical selected for the American Title II Contest, I realized in re-reading another manuscript, that I hadn't developed my characters fully. In what way? The answer: I hadn't paid close enough attention to their back stories, giving shape to their present life, fears, hopes and beliefs.
For example, I'll present Zack, from the third western historical I thought I'd finished. Zack is a Texas Ranger. His back story: he joined the Rangers at a very young age to support his mother and sisters after his father died in the Civil War. Badly wounded in a shoot-out in which his fiancee died, he remained bedridden for a year, recovering from his wounds. The burden of supporting him and his sisters fell on his mother's shoulders.
The plot: his main goal is to find and capture the men responsible for his fiancee's death. He must not fail to protect those he loves either. He's determined to shield others from danger as well. But the heroine, Kate, becomes a big problem. She's determined to protect her father from men who have threatened him. Without going into detail, the plot involves the hero keeping the heroine out of trouble while he discovers and captures the outlaws responsible for his fiancee's death.
The hero and heroine share some harrowing adventures as they endeavor to identify the gang's leader, but both survive without a scratch. Although he fails to protect the heroine's father from being wounded in a shootout, Zack saves the heroine from the villain at the end. Can you see how I failed to make the most of my hero's backstory in this plot? I failed to address the hero's determination to never be a burden to anyone again.
If I do address that in the plot, it adds to the hero's characterization as well as complicating the plot. In revising the story, I must force the hero to confront his worst fears. Being a burden is one of those fears. I will add events to the story which cause the hero to face being a burden. Time for more brainstorming. I need to consider why he's threatened with being a burden once again and how he overcomes the problem. This obstacle also affects the romance thread.
How will the hero handle this threat/fear? Zack and Kate still must save each other so they can live happily ever after.
Think about your story and question if you've made the most of your characters' backstories. What you discover may be just what your story needs to final in that contest you're considering.