The Lord of the Rings

I love this trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Yes, yes, and yes. And I feel like I’m cheating a little because these movies were of course created based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s books.

Even so, I couldn’t resist. These movies pulse with all of the classic elements worthy of an epic. Even if you’re not drafting an epic right now, there’s something to glean from the well-structured plot and the hobbit-sized characters with enormous hearts (and feet…and ears…).

Grab the popcorn, folks. We’re dimming the lights with the hope some bulbs will click on with our own WIPs.

(Turn off all cell phones and please shhh, no talking.)

A Protagonist with Promising Potential for Growth
Who do we have in Frodo Baggins? Someone unexpected and small to root for, that’s who. He demonstrates moments of weakness and great strength. He’s determined, motivated, and faces innumerable obstacles on his adventure.

An Antagonist We Love to Hate (and then some)
Saruman and Sauron—tag team of tongue twisting terrors.

Saruman, a wizard believed to be on our side. Nope. Isn’t that the kind we fear most, one who we believe is good, but has intentions to destroy? Accompanying Saruman is that evil eye thing that scans Middle-earth, Sauron. Can you get freakier than an enormous black eye surrounded by fire on the hunt for more power?

Strong and Likeable Secondary Characters
I’m pretty sure I have a crush on Samwise. My husband and I like to joke with each other when one of us seems a little exhausted, “Share the load.”

This is what Samwise says to Frodo, always willing to help, the ever-loyal sidekick. I also like how he has his own story and drive in each scene. As he pines for a girl in the Shire (Rosie Cotton), he longs to see Frodo succeed for the sake of Middle-earth.

And for laughs we have Pippin and Merry.

And how about that Aragorn? Can I get a whistle or two? Or are you more of a Legolas fan?

Location, Location, Location
The Shire. Rivendell. Isengard. The names alone make me want to study a map and locate the hobbit’s journey to save Middle-earth. Heck, the name Middle-earth alone makes me want to study a map…

Layered History
Gollum… ‘nough said.

Surmounting Obstacles
The two Ss. Gollum. Slashed by a Ringwraith. Frodo’s own internal battle. This story is woven intricately with complications.

Even a Love Story
Aragorn and Arwen sitting in a tree. Doesn’t exactly roll right off your tongue, but still. Their elfin/middle-earth man love story worked for me.

Victorious Ending
After great battles and great internal conflict we are given a great ending (and if we’re talking about The Return of the King, we’re given about thirteen great endings). Readers love to feel like they’ve survived when they come to the end of a book. We can give them that and more. We can give them a great end (or thirteen).

I haven’t even touched on the fantastic symbolism (wish I had time for it), but no matter how you watch it, this movie rings epically true. ;)

Have a favorite scene from the trilogy you’d like to share?

*photos from Flickr

No Reservations: Four Techniques to Create a Likeable Character

One of my favorite chick flicks is No Reservations. It's one of those movies that makes me laugh, cry, and swoon over the on-screen chemistry between Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart.

The thing that jumped out to me the first time I watched it was how unlikeable Zeta-Jones's character, Kate, was in the beginning. The movie begins with her talking to her therapist, and we quickly learn she's a focused, hard-lined person who could be described as prickly (and that's putting it mildly). The only thing she seems to care about is the food she creates at her high-end restaurant.

But despite those traits, I still found myself hanging on for the ride, waiting to see how she would redeem herself later on. And as I analyzed the movie further, I noticed specific techniques the screenwriters used to evoke empathy from the viewer early on.

In fact, those techniques come straight from a book on my shelf called Writing for Emotional Impact by Karl Iglesias. This book is written for screenwriters, but there are some excellent takeaways for the novelist as well.

Karl devotes an entire chapter to characters and has a section titled "Techniques for Instant Character Appeal and Empathy." As I analyzed Kate's character in the movie, I pinpointed four specific techniques from Karl's book.

1) Physical, Mental, Health, or Financial Handicaps: Remember how I mentioned that the movie starts with Kate talking to her therapist? We immediately recognize that she's got some sort of mental or emotional hang-up, and that keeps us engaged to find out what it is and whether it can be fixed.

2) Exclusion and Rejection: After a hard night at work, Kate comes home to her apartment and presses the button on her answering machine. It beeps and says, "You have no new messages." This short scene shows us that she's excluded from life and doesn't have many friends, making us empathize with her and long to see her connect with someone.

3) Showing Humanity in Private Moments: There's a scene toward the beginning of the movie where Kate goes to the docks to hand-pick fish at a fish market. Even though it's not technically a "private moment", she's away from her usual circle of people, and she's very open and genuine with the fishermen, showing that she has a rapport with them and visits them often.

4) Loving Other People: We quickly discover that Kate has a good relationship with her sister. It appears to be the only good relationship she has, but that little window gives us hope that she has the capacity to love other people.

As the movie progresses, the writers use other techniques to further enhance Kate's likeability, but these are the specific ones used within the first ten or fifteen minutes of the movie. And this list barely brushes the surface of the techniques listed in Karl's book. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend adding it to your library!

Can you think of a book or movie where the main character wasn't entirely likeable in the beginning? What kept you reading or watching?

Making the Old New: A Family Film Favorite ~ Loving Leah

It’s my mom and dad’s favorite Sunday night movie. It’s such a tradition to the end of their Sunday, my sister has finally quit groaning when she hears Loving Leah is the film of choice.

But aside from just being a really good story, there is masterful characterization and a twist on a tried and true cliché.

I figured many of you would not have heard or seen this movie (it’s a Hallmark Hall of Fame film), but I couldn’t resist hitting a few of the high points that makes this film a favorite.

Breaking a Cliché:

There are many books and movies of convenient marriage. We have most likely become sick of the tried and true Love Comes Softly formula. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with those stories (they are some of my favorite kind), but HOW you write those stories is what will make you stand out.

Leah Lever is married and then widowed by an Orthodox Jewish rabbi. And now her deceased husband’s brother must marry Leah or his brother’s name will die along with him.

You would EXPECT Jake to forgo his responsibility to his sister-in-law. But his brother was everything to him when he was young. His only option is to marry Leah (aside from the fact he has a serious girlfriend) and they will live like “roommates” until other arrangements can be made.

Already, the screenwriter has changed the normal story of a forced marriage around. By using a religious requirement/restriction we have a different take.

What can be learned? Look for the odd, for the new to make your story unique and different. You can have an old story idea. We all are writing a story that has been written before, it’s depending on how you write it. You’ll probably have to dig, like this writer did with an Orthodox and not so Orthodox Jewish family coming together in marriage, but your story will stick with your reader because it.

Make it complicated

What I love about this movie, is how complicated the emotions become in the story. I’m going to bullet point a few of them.

·         Jake has a steady girlfriend who is just waiting for THE question to be popped.

·         Umm…then he brings home a wife. Not so good for the girlfriend

·         Leah is an Orthodox Jew. Her new husband is not. And Mama does not like this.

·         With pressure from Leah’s mother, Leah and Jake must hold up the façade of their marriage. And that isn’t easy when she comes to visit.

·         Leah is falling in love. With her husband. But Jake is still stuck on the girlfriend.

·         So while we see Leah changing and adapting to Jake’s world, Jake is planning a trip to Jamaica with the girlfriend.

Life isn’t easy for either Jake or Leah at this point. But as the other grows closer together and can no longer deny their feelings, new complications arise.

They are now living as husband and wife, but when the news roles around that Leah’s first husband’s headstone is ready to be unveiled, Jake and Leah are faced with new complications. Which ultimately lead to the black moment and the point of seemingly no return.

The many subplots and layers that run through the story all add depth to the overall plot, which is Leah and Jake falling in love within the bounds of holy matrimony.

What can we learn? When we write our stories, we need to look for complications that will not only add depth to our story, but in some way add tension and drama to our overall plot. If you have a secondary layer in your story that never feeds into the main plot, I would strongly suggest cutting it out and finding something different.

What makes this movie such a favorite in my home is I believe this one fact: the triumph of love over any obstacle.

Which if you look closely, is the basis of a lot of plots today. But the triumph has to be equal to the struggles. We have to have a reason to want that love to fight through the battle to reach the other side. And we have to have struggles that will push our characters, that will leave the reader/viewer cheering or groaning and we have to have an ending that completely satisfies every obstacle.

We have to have the promise that none of those obstacles are going to arise again.

We promise a happy ending in fiction when we start writing or reading a book. That no matter what, these characters are going to come out the other side and be completely changed and new.

But you can’t have a satisfying ending unless your obstacles are challenging, resolved and promised that the characters have grown and changed enough that these challenges can never harm them again.

It’s a promise we have to keep and one we expect. Don’t disappoint your reader, especially in this regard!

Do you have a film that you love, that breaks an old cliché or has a challenging obstacle/ satisfying ending? 

It's Movie Time! A Look At Return To Me

We are diving into movies this week, and the movie that I just had to use was Return to Me, starring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver. This movie is about a man who falls in love with the woman who received his wife's heart and must decide which woman it is who holds his heart.

This movie has it all...drama, humor, romance, and fun! As I watched it again with a discerning eye, I narrowed down to two areas where I thought this movie really shined. These two areas are crucial for writers when working toward getting their manuscript in top form.

Sympathetic Characters:  In the beginning of the movie, we see Bob (Duchovny) and his wife getting ready for her big speech at a fund raiser. They are clearly happy and in love. We feel it; it is tangible. And then the wife is tragically killed in a car crash on the way home.. He is devastated, and after he gets home to an empty house, we see him crumple to the floor, sobbing. We feel his pain, and we are brought inside his loss. As the months go by we see him frustrated and angry at work. He avoids dating and wants no part of blind dates. He becomes a slob at home. He just doesn't have his act together. We feel sorry for him, and we want to wrap our arms around him and help him move on.

We also fall in love with Grace (Driver), who is in the hospital, struggling for life while waiting for a heart transplant. She ends up receiving a heart...Bob's wife's heart. After a year of recovery, she finds herself hiding the fact that she had surgery, not wanting people to think of her as broken. She works as a waitress in her grandfather's restaurant and puts up with her friends and family trying to set her up with some men who happen to have issues themselves (hilarious!). We immediately root for Grace, wanting her to get a heart, feeling relieved that she becomes healthy and happy, yet hoping that she can find someone to share her new life with.

These characters are sympathetic characters. They make us dig deep and feel for them. We want to be their cheerleaders, rooting for their happiness. We are in tune with them and are invested in their lives. Sound a bit far fetched? Well, if done well, that is exactly what happens.

Great Secondary Characters: Oh my goodness, this movie is packed full of the funniest characters.  We have Marty O'Reily (Carroll O'Connor), who is Grace's Irish grandfather who owns an Irish/Italian restaurant. He is surrounded by his three friends, Angelo, Emmett and Wally, who constantly debate over who is the best big band crooner, and play poker on a regular basis. We have Sophie, a middle aged waitress who has a thing for Wally. And then we have Grace's friend, Megan (Bonnie Hunt), who is very supportive of Grace. She is married to Joe (James Belushi) and has five children (think chaos). This family makes me laugh, and while they all have potty mouths, they are very entertaining.

These characters are unique, somewhat quirky. What is so great about this group of characters is that they have a blast together, and they envelope Bob and Grace into their fold, giving them a safe and fun place to get to know one another. They create an electric dynamic that brings life to a sweet romance and gets us through a heart-wrenching "black moment" near the end of the movie. They make the movie great, in my humble opinion.

So does your WIP have interesting secondary characters? Have you developed them to where they shine and move the story forward? How about your hero and heroine? Have you made them sympathetic, giving us a reason to root for them and cheer them on? 

For your watching pleasure, a trailer for Return To Me, that has some of my favorite clips!

Meet Me at the Movies: Plotting with Indiana Jones

Welcome to the Movies!!!!

Put on your brown Fedora, pick up your whip, don your best sarcasm, and watch out for snakes, because we’re going to look at Plotting Tips from Indiana Jones.

Not your typical movie for plot points, but I like being unique - and I'm a big Indie-fan. I particularly want to focus on movies 1 and 3 (the other two weren’t all that great IMO) – but Indie’s premiere movie and especially The Last Crusade have some great plotpoints to teach.

So why do we like Indiana Jones? (besides the obvious ;-) or at least, why do we find Indiana memorable?

I think there are lots of reasons: Indy is a strong character. He has a sense of humor, is confident, an expert in something, and he’s quick to risk himself to save others – he’s also vulnerable and flawed. Which make this ‘larger than life’ character more believable. But another reason why I LOVE the Indiana Jones movies is because of the plot - (the action, adventure, suspense, and world travel ;-)

Let's start from the beginning - How do we meet him? In the opening scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark, our whip wielding hero is walking through a jungle in search of a cave with a golden idol, a historical artifact. There is a feeling of danger. Uncertainty. Forboding.

 Within the first 10 minutes of the movie, Indy is nearly shot with a pistol, jabbed with a poisonous dart, dropped into a deep cavern, flattened by a rock wall, and squashed by a giant boulder. He’s had to use his expertise in archeology to get through booby traps, save treacherous guide’s life twice, outwit his nemesis, while sporting his sense of humor. Whew...what a beginning!

Most stories don’t start off with this much action – except maybe Mary Connealy, Brandilyn Collins or Steven James’ stories. Many novels begin with proposing a sense of uncertainty to the reader - whether it is by peril, attraction, or change.

But action alone doesn’t make a great story. Or perhaps I should rephrase this statement-
meaningful action makes a great story (and action can take both external and internal forms)

Most people will say that fabulous characters drive a plot line. Yes – that’s true. Fabulous characters are the heartbeat to a good story, but plot is the pathways by which the characters give life to the story.

In fact, I like to refer to plot as the character of the story.

Is your plot an aggressive character? Furious? Serious? Funny? Suspenseful?

Does it grow and expand like any good character should?

So how do we string meaningful action together to make a lingering plot?

1.       Begin with a BANG. HOOK the reader.

Indie movies have no trouble offering a beginning ‘hook’. All stories need to be 'caught' by the story from the very beginning. Sherrinda had a great post on this recently that you can read here. I also wrote one a while back that you can read here.

2.       Don’t just keep the reader on his/her toes, but give the characters a purpose that drives the story.

A plot is usually built around a bigger story. In Indiana Jones, the overarching problem is that Adolph Hitler wants to rule the world and one of the ways in which he’s seeking world domination is through the collection of religious artifacts. His hunt is the catalyst that initiates Raiders of the Lost Ark.

It's true for most stories. There is an overarching event driving the plotline.
In Ruth Logan Herne's newest novel, Small Town Hearts, the overarching external goal was establish a candy store - but this goal drove the plotline throughout the story.

The reason I like Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade more than any other Indie movie is because (along with the hooks, cliffhangers, plot turns and such) there is a deeper character development. A deeper story of healing between Indie and his father, as well as a deeper growth inside Indiana. It's almost like a discovery of what true 'worth' really is.

3.       Enhance your characters through a perfectly placed plot

Plots usually bring out a characters past wounds for them to battle or reconcile. For Indie, it’s either his past with Marion or his hurt with his father.

Plots initially ask questions that we answer throughout the story. First questions: Who is this guy?

 What’s he doing? Why is he doing it?

Then the questions become more complex – how will he solve this external goal? The internal one?

A good plot keeps the viewer/reader constantly asking new questions.

How will he get out of this? Will Marion and Indie survive, let alone be together? How will he save his father’s life? Who is the traitor? What will Indy choose, the grail or his life?

As long as the questions keep popping in the reader/viewer’s brain – they’ll stay engaged in the story.

Plots stretch our characters into someone new and better.

Good plots put your characters in places that challenge who they are, what they believe, and maybe even their physical stamina. There are lots of life-threatening situations that take place in Indiana Jones movies such as gunfights, fistfights, boat fights, car fights, burning Scottish castles…you know, the regular stuff ;-) But even if you don’t use such action-packed situations in your novel, you can still place your characters in plot situations that stretch them.

When our characters are challenged, we watch them grow.

Plotpoints to remember:

1.       Frame your scenes (or chapters) with hooks. Catch your reader with a hook at the beginning and then leave them wanting more at the end. (I love trying to do this for EVERY chapter. So much fun)

2.       Shove your characters out of their nice, predictable lives into a new adventure, discovery, opportunity, or trial. (in the Last Crusade it’s when Indie finds out his father has ‘disappeared’ and he’s forced to make a decision to rescue him)

3.       Build the conflict as the story grows. The best stories have both internal and external conflict building at the same time and meet at the climax of the novel. In the Last Crusade, it’s when Indy’s father is shot and Indie must test himself and his faith to save him.

4.       Embrace the unexpected – unexpected turns in the story increase interest and tension. Most authors will tell you to send your characters in places they would never choose to go – or to make choices they would never make on their own.

5.      Character is built through trial - Your plotline has to place your characters in situations where their personalities go deeper than the superficial. Remember, most times we’re only shooting for a happy ENDING – the rest of the story needs to stretch those characters to their limits and beyond. The most memorable characters were forced into change and self-reflection due to circumstances.

And for fun - I found a great blog post called The Indiana Jones Guild to Achieving Your Goals.

And you can purchase your very own Indiana Jones hat at www.shoebuy.com or

Share a part of your plots in your WIP to let us know how you’re doing one of the above things in your story

I just finished reading Mary Connealy’s newest book, Out of Control, and it sets the stage for some wild action (both internally and externally). What is one of your favorite page turners?

Popcorn, a soda of your choice, plus a fruit salad are out. Enjoy the show! J

pictures courtesy of http://movie-wallpapers.org

What's Up The Street For Next Week?

The Writer's Alley is taking you to the movies!

So many great plots, characters and dialogue can be found in a movie. So often in writer's classes you will hear movies referenced as a good example. So settle in with your popcorn and keep the remote (er mouse) close at hand, because we are going to be covering some of our favorite of all time films!

For your viewing pleasure...

Pepper takes us through the twists and turns of Indiana Jones on Monday.

Sherrinda on Tuesday will go through the moving film Return to Me. Such a great movie, sure to be a great post!

We watched it when we were young and now we watch it for character structure. Mary brings Beauty and the Beast to the blog on Wednesday


Casey takes a family favorite down from the shelves on Thursday: Loving Leah


Friday Krista swings by the Alley to talk about how writing movies are not like writing books. ;-)


NewsStand...

How to write a killer book proposal

Stop by Casey's blog to read DiAnn Mills "Cold Call" interview and enter to win her Christy award winning novel.

Sarah is giving away her monthly $10 Amazon gift card on Monday on her blog!

What's Up The Street For Next Week?

Photo courtesy of allwelike.com

The Writer's Alley is taking you to the movies!

Starting in August, we will be doing a series on our favorite movies and what makes them work.

From character to plot to dialogue to motivation, be "watching" for more details on what movies we will be discussing!

Popcorn is oppotional. :-))

Up next week...

Angie will be posting with us on Monday on another segment from the Shelly Beach's workshop

Julia hosts guest Mary DeMuth here on Tuesday! Stop by to read Mary's thoughts on the industry and enter to win her latest book, Muir House.

Sarah continues her Self-Editing Check List on Wednesday

Image courtesy of Yolasite.com

Stop by on Thursday for Wendy's post on waiting in our writing.

Cindy is blogging on Friday about what it takes to be original in our stories and Following the Leader

News Stand:

The winner of Surrender the Dawn is... Lgm52!!

Read Casey's interview with Keli Gwyn and don't forget to leave a comment to win a book and bracelet! You have until Monday, July 25th to stop by.

Need some One Sheet help for the coming conference season?? Check out some of these examples Here, Here and Here

Rachelle Gardner has also been busy all week talking about pitches. Including the elevator pitch. Fabulous information!