Fear.

Everyone at one point or another has tasted fear. Authors know fear and speak of it. Most authors fear the fear but even more have learned one vital lesson – fear is good.

Fear is a motivator, an instigater, a castigator, an illuminator, a paralyzer and an energizer. Fear is what makes us feel alive and makes us worry that we’re going to die. Fear is under so much of who we are as people, as writers, as stories. Fear is important. And you should be afraid! Fear comes from what we know and it comes from what we don’t know. It’s insidious and sneaky and delicious. Fear is important. We learn from our fears and we adapt because of them. When you can accept fear into your heart, then you may benefit from it. Yes, I’m saying it is important give in and be afraid.

First, let’s look at why I believe all those adjectives. When we are small, we develop fear of the unknown. This is where we put the things we don’t understand, into the shadow beyond the darkness. Such fear can motivate us to run or to fight. Fight or Flight syndrome comes from this basic fear. The fear of the unknown is challenging and can be paralyzing if we don’t learn to fight through it. Simply turning a corner on a dark road meets this fear. Keep turning the wheel, despite your fear. Delicious things come from pressing forward (safely please, unless you are a character).

Second, there is the kind of fear that instigates reactions. We fear getting surprised so we set up booby-traps. We fear being “taken” by a criminal so we trap them instead. We fear getting into a fight so we avoid that person. We fear what is around the bend, the corner, or off the road.This fear is more about what will happen to us and isn’t always good. But it is a wonderful tool for your traitors, your villains, your contagonists. Channel it.

Next there is the fear that illuminates. Studying for a test out of fear of failure can illuminate us to knowledge and behaviors (ours and our fellow students and teachers!). This kind of fear shines a light on our weaknesses and our needs. This fear can be used to aid others, provide that ah-ha moment, lead to discovery of clues or the ultimate takedown of the antagonist.

Castigation often follows fear. When we have been frightened and we don’t wish to be frightened again, we often castigate the perpetrators. Most often we find it riding on relief. It causes a plethora of negative emotions including vitriol, anger, hatred, childish jealousy, envy and back talk. This is when our mouths often overtake good sense. This fear is damaging. It is what parents often do their children. It is what heroes often do in frustration or a lover to a beloved. Use it wisely because it hurts.

Finally, there is the fear that energizes. I could write on and on about fear but let’s concentrate on this positive aspect. This fear makes us feel alive. The fear of not meeting a deadline (work, school, curfew). This fear motives, illuminates, castigates, paralyzes, frustrates, and – the best part – separates the determined from the unsure. THIS is the fear which often guides an author to guide the conflict in the stories. This energizing fear is the substance of good stories. It combines all the elements of fear into one positive stroke, using all the elements to culminate into a great ending (doesn’t have to be a happy one!).

Sure, authors are afraid of failure. We all fear not being accepted. We all fear bad reviews. But when the fear energizes, it can be channeled into producing action. And that action makes us feel excited and alive. Latch onto that feeling and ride it. Let it become you. Never give up or let fear of failure win. You can benefit if you try, and keep trying.

Fear can be good for you. A little stress gets the blood pumping, colors your cheeks, makes you feel giddy and goofy and tingly all over. Fear about the first time you had sex. Fear about going to that first scary movie. Fear about Halloween and the haunted house. Fear about that last manuscript, the one you had nightmares over and the one the beta readers ripped you apart over. (You know the one that turned out good in the end but kept you up for a month in frightful worry!).

As long as you use your fear productively, as long as you don’t let fear overtake your good sense or your ability to produce/function, fear is your friend. That’s why I say, let fear in. Let fear enliven you. Let fear spark your characters, bring reality to your stories, breathe tension to your novels and excitement to your publishing. Fear, used well, is good!

So go ahead. Be afraid. I’ll meet you in the shadows.

Thanks for coming by.
I remain, Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry

If you are participating in National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo, then as of yesterday you should have broken the 20K mark. That is, provided you’ve met or exceeded your word goals ever day. I had to skip Veterans’ Day on Saturday but by last night I stopped with 25,838 words. I’m ahead of the program thanks to working hard early on to be sure I had a buffer. And I learned there is a very good reason for doing so and it has nothing to do with being able to skip a day (because I don’t usually skip). The reason is because by mid month you have entered into what author Jim Butcher calls. . . . 

THE GREAT SWAMPY MIDDLE.

You can read Jim Butcher’s take on the Swampy Middle but let me paraphrase. It is the moment in the book when you’ve charged along and suddenly you’ve met your goals and you are in the middle, rambling along, maybe worry-free and suddenly it dawns on you that you really are working in circles, that you lost the goal somewhere and now, You. Are. Lost. The page is blank. The ideas are floating away and you are afraid to admit to anyone that YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT TO DO.

It’s okay. I’ve been there. I took a big swim in the Swamp once and I lost my entire month because I couldn’t save myself. Since that time I’ve given myself an outline with several out clauses. That’s right, I built in escape holes so I could go play (if I got lost or bored) and still be able to get back to the main story. Clever, right?

Jim Butcher says you get yourself out of being lost by planning for a HUGE event in the middle of the book! That’s right, do something big and give yourself time to plan for it and then when the swampy middle arrives you have a way to get through it by blowing it up with something wild or wowie or amazing. And then you get back on track and you’ve never really left the main story.

He’s so clever. I bow to the master.

I do something like that but not as great or dramatic. I get my characters to stop and tell a story. I get them to recount something that happened before or after the book, as if to explain something to one of the other characters. It works well because it allows me to explore a new idea, keep working with the characters I already have in play and I challenge my muse to find the way back with the same characters.

Works every time. I also plan for this by leaving myself a side outline of possible tales to recount. These are the fun or funny things that I may not use in the book but will keep my heart delighted (and you never know, you might use these stories for freebies later – I intend to do just that!).

So now it’s time to push forward with that oar in your boat of uncertainty and guide yourself through that swampy bog middle of your story. It may take you another 15K or so (which is about right) and you’ll be sitting around Nov 20, but that gives you plenty of time to finish the last 15K with the best climax and ending you’ve ever done. 

Meanwhile, get some snacks, your music, your candle or your favorite blanket. Reconnect with your inner self and then wade confidently into the darkness. You are about to enter the dank, the most terrifyingly best, creepiest, coolest, part of your NaNo. And the next week will be very challenging.

From here on out, never fear the Great Swampy Middle, the Foggy Bog. Look forward to it. It will always come and you can prepare and even be excited at the challenge. After that, NaNo is always a breeze. People will wonder how you managed. Just tell them, you have a secret path through the bayou.

You can do it. I can’t wait to hear your stories. Just don’t look back. You don’t want to know what’s chasing you.

I’ll be back before Thanksgiving and we’ll talk about gratitude. Until then, keep writing. Stay focused and get some sleep.

OH! And remember, DURING NaNo – THERE IS NO DELETE BUTTON! (we need words!)

I remain, Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry

 BE A HERO AT VILLAINY

Lately I’ve been writing about characters, what makes them work and how to do them better. I’ve looked at the hero and anti-hero and we’ve examined how to write more depth and give our characters the real touch.

But what about the villains, the real antagonists, the truly bad guys (and gals)? (For our purposes here, I will refer to the bad guys as “he” or “they” and that is NOT meant to exclude the most terrific evil villainesses!).

What makes the reader love a villain? Is it the clothes? The style of your writing? The weapon he uses? Is it the POV or the struggle of his character? What’s the secret to a writing your best?

We writers are told to make characters relateable but how do we do that and make a villain seem true?  Some suggest that it’s good to use shame or guilt to inspire turning to the “dark side.” Using the character’s foibles against him makes a good backstory but doesn’t endear the character per say. Their personal journey into darkness is interesting but that alone will not keep me with him.

It’s the STORY and the one issue that motivates and drives the story that makes me go with an author to the dark side. What I can relate to is a problem and how the bad guy intends to solve it. The hero and the villain will tackle the problem differently and independently (most likely) and I am going along with each because I NEED to know how it works out and who does the best job.

Yes, I want to feel their pain but I don’t want to know why the pain matters. I want to be where they are, when they are. Then I will have empathy or sympathy, or even delicious hatred (as the author molds me). Why the pain exists isn’t as important as what the villain intends to do about it.

I’ve written about making characters real by using dialogue that feels authentic. You do that in character mistakes. Yes, your villain’s limitations are interesting but so are their screw-ups and their obstacles. When they mess up, they are suddenly human, and we FEEL for them, even when we know they are the bad guy.

We cheer for a villain who won’t go down. We love to hate the clever, the sneaky, the witty, the nice ones who can also be very mean. Most of all, we love their stories because they mirror the struggles and mistakes of the protagonist. They share the same goals. Different purpose. Different reason. Same desire. Different use of it. Think of when a bad guy and a good guy have a bonding moment (or a m/f relationship). They may share the same outlook or same desire, but the reason for their want is what makes the story hum. 

As American author Chuck Clousterman said, “The villain is the person who knows the most but who cares the least.”

Remember that most coaches and teachers will tell you that the villain IS the story:

• A murder isn’t about death. It’s about the mystery of it, the whodunit and why the villain hid it.
• A theft isn’t about the stealing. It’s about the reason, the need to steal. Whodunnit certainly but how. We need to know why yes, but more important is what happens next because of the theft?
• Do we always need a happily ever after? No, because real life doesn’t work that way and villains can keep us coming back because we’ll HOPE to find it and we’ll be nodding our heads when it doesn’t happen. 

We hear a great deal about the villains “moral dilemma” and this is the choice the villain made and why he must continue doing what he does or has planned. THIS is what separates the villain from the protagonist and why the villain is the most important character.

Most of all, I think most villains don’t see themselves as the “bad” guy. They are only doing what they think they are forced to do for personal, professional, or moral reasons. This is their whole reason for being.

Villains then are the most necessary, the most dynamic, and the whole reason for the story.

Look for darkness around the corner. Turn out the lights and create the drama. Make the reader – and me – believe in the darkness and we will become your villains “frenemy,” fall in love when the lights go out and, though I hope the good guys win, I can be convinced to be content when they do not.

Villains forever! Make yours work and you will be a reader’s hero of villainy.

Thanks for stopping by.
I remain, Yours Between the Lines,
Sherry