So, How'd You Two Meet?

In any love story, great and even those not so great, the romance is set in motion by an inciting incident.

       Boy meets girl. 

We all have those stories. Whether it is something dramatic like "I started falling down the stairs, and he caught me. And never let go." Said in the right tone that one might induce some nausea.

Maybe your story was something simpler like "We met at work when he spilled burning hot coffee on my silk blouse. I thought he was a total idiot. But well, I fell in love with the big lug anyway." :)

In storyworld this is what we refer to as a "meet-cute."

And because we dream in a world of fiction, we get to create these moments and sprinkle them with some magic.

So, lets talk about how to make a "meet-cute" extraordinary!

-Write outside the box

Ever feeling like the story you are reading was cookie cut from dozens of others? I don't know about you but the idea of shocking the reader is often my goal when I am piecing a story together. No matter what genre you prefer, whether it be romance, historical, speculative or suspense, the last thing you want to be is predictable. 

Why would anyone want to read my story if they know not only how it ends, but how the characters get there? Boring.

We don't want to recycle ideas. We want to present something fresh, something unexpected. So when you are thinking about your character's first meeting on the page, make of list of all the "meet-cute's" you can remember. As our brains are often at capacity, this should not be an exhaustive list. This can be your point of reference. See what's been done, and do something different. Spice things up.

-Sparks or friction? Or both!

Ooo, this is the fun stuff! When those characters meet on the page there should be a different dynamic between the two than say, the heroine and her teenage brother, or the hero and the Barista at the coffee shop. (And let me just say that when your characters meet on paper they might already be otherwise acquainted, but the same principles apply.)

Whether you start things off with a spark... 

As in—Holy cow, her skin was about to melt off because he was seriously THAT hot. She could do nothing but gape at him, nearly incinerated into a brainless, wordless ditz with one smoldering glance.

or

With some friction. 

But then he opened his mouth, and it didn't matter one bit that he was tall, dark, and devastating when he said, "Listen up, Blondie. I don't care who sent you, you're interfering with my crime scene. If you don't remove yourself from the premises in five seconds, I'll charge you with obstruction of justice and haul you off to jail."

(Sorry, that was seat-of-my-pants so it might not make a whole lotta sense)

May I just point out that both spark and friction produce what? ... Heat.

It's all about the chemistry here. It doesn't have to be love at first sight. They might hate each other. But there is a very fine line between love and hate. Those who get under our skin the most are often the ones that wiggle their way into our hearts.

Crank up the tension here. Start off with a bang. Rile their emotions.

A sure-fire way to create a memorable "meet-cute."

-Establish some mystery

Intrigue will hook your reader fast and pull them along for the ride. Plan how you want to stir the pot here. Do you drop subtle hints at backstory through their thoughts or their actions? Use body language to expose their greatest fear, or their greatest dream? Splice in some double entendre into their dialogue that peaks the reader's interest but also the interacting character's.

And in doing this, go back to those first two points. Go for the unexpected. Make them aware of or agitated by each other. Ignite the spark and the conflict and draw the reader in from the get-go. You sure don't want them closing your book before it gets good. So start it strong.

Most importantly…

 

-Wet the reader’s appetite for more!

Get them curious about these characters. How the next interaction might play out. Keep them guessing. Make them crave the next time they are thrown together on the page. You can do it! Get creative!

Your turn: What is your favorite “meet-cute” you've written? Do you have a favorite from a book or movie? Or, what is your very own, real life “meet-cute” with your sweetheart? 

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Amy Leigh Simpson writes Romantic Suspense that is heavy on the romance, unapologetically honest, laced with sass and humor, and full of the unfathomable Grace of God. She is the completely sleep deprived mama to two little mischief makers and would challenge anyone to a cutest family contest. Represented by Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary Inc.

Traveling Tips for Writers: Part II

A couple weeks ago I started explaining what tools I make sure I have in my writing suitcase as I launch on a new writing adventure. Those included a killer what if, a lead character I can build a story around, and a setting that can become a character in the book. Since it's still vacation season, I want to share the next items I want before I begin writing. 

4) Commitment. Writing a book is a long-term project. It's not something that can be done in the span of a few days. Instead it's a project I will return to over and over again. That means I have to be willing to sacrifice some activities and plant my fanny in the chair time after time until I read the end of 20,000, 60,000, or 90,000 words. Stopping before then will lead to an incomplete book. And I firmly believe a book isn't really finished until readers have interacted with it. So commitment is an absolute must!

5) Conflict. The next item that is absolutely critical to my book journey is conflict. Have I created sufficient conflict to propel my characters through 300 pages? Is it enough conflict matched with goals and motivation to keep readers engaged. If not, I need to keep working on the plot. A book that can be really helpful when you're trying to wrap your writing muscles around conflict is GMC: Goals, Motivation & Conflict. It's a helpful explanation of the roles these three internal and external motivators play in driving characters through a plot.

6) Twists. No vacation or journey would be complete without a few unexpected detours and twists. This is a key part of any novel. Something unexpected needs to happen to kick the hero or heroine away from their goals. And then it needs to happen again. And then again. They need to feel so low, they think there is no way they can recover from the twists and danger.  You have to be mean to the characters through the twists. We don't necessarily want to be mean on vacation, but if you don't do it in your book, it will lead to a put-downable book. 

What would you add to the writer's suitcase?  
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Cara Putman

An award-winning author of more than twenty-two books, Cara is a lecturer on business and employment law to graduate students at Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management. Putman also practices law and is a second-generation homeschooling mom. She lives with her husband and four children in Indiana.

How to Make Conflict the Engine That Drives Your Story

There are two primary types of conflict. External and Internal.

External conflict pushes characters together
Internal conflict pushes characters apart.

Let's start the story. We open the cover to the first page and meet MC (main character). In the first page or so, something terrible happens to MC. We call this the inciting incident. This is NOT a conflict. This is the curtain that opens the reader to the story where the conflict takes place.

Once upon a time everything went well for MC, and then the inciting incident happened. Now MC has been tossed into a horrible EXTERNAL conflict. 

Inciting incident: The house is on fire.
EXTERNAL Conflict: MC must wake up, find her way out of the house. She can't see. She is groggy. She can't breathe.

All of the conflicts listed above are dramatic, powerful, imposing on what MC once could do but struggles with at this moment. 
*She never had trouble waking up before. 
*She'd always known the way out of the house. 
*She could see fine before going to bed last night. 
*She never had problems being alert in the past
*She never thought about needing to breathe. It was second nature.

The house fire is the opening to this scene, perhaps the novel. The impact on MC's life forevermore will be powerful. At the most unexpected moment, a memory from the fire and the external conflicts could alter a dream, a conversation, driving, a meal (burnt toast), and etc. This does not go away. It and other external conflicts will become the engine that drives the story to the last page.


What we didn't know in MC's once upon a time was her INTERNAL conflict. She'd worked so hard to bury it--until the day of the fire. Now it has oozed out of her being. It shows on her face, is heard in her words and the tone, is prevalent in her body language and choices. 

It's true!! No matter how hard she'd tried, she'd never been accepted by the popular kids at school. She looked in the mirror every morning, convinced her clothes, hair, and makeup would fit in--but when she saw those kids, the flick of their eyes, and the twist of their heads to keep from seeing her ... confirmed she'd failed again.

INTERNAL Conflict: Poor MC. Her Dad let her know--years ago--that she was a failure. No matter what she did, it was wrong in his eyes and he felt the importance of communicating it with her. Most importantly, when MC managed to succeed, Dad felt it his duty to keep her from having a "big head." Long after his untimely death his harsh comments plagued her...like when she became convinced she could have saved the house or got out of the house before emergency crew's lives were put on the line for her. Yeah. This was her fault. Dad was right.

This internal conflict ebbs and flows inside MC depending on what happens in a given moment. She needs help to overcome or at least cope, and even with the helper, she will occasionally backslide. In the end though, MC will know this helper is dependable and present.


Even though the conflicts will pop to the surface, MC and the one who has helped her will live happily ever after.

The end ;)

*Research for today's post came from Elizabeth Mazer's class at Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference. 
AND FROM Amy Leigh Simpson (one of our Alley Cats) soon to be released: From Winter's Ashes

I can't wait to read your comment(s)!

Help others--tweet or FB share this post

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Rock climbing, white-water rafting, zip lining, and hiking top Mary's list of great ways to enjoy a day. Such adventures can be found in her stories as well.

Mary writes young adult mystery/suspense, is honing marketing and writing skills, and loves to pen missionary and tell Bible event stories on her ministry blog, God Loves Kids. She has finaled in several writing contests.

Visit Mary at her website, blog, and her ministry blog to families: God Loves Kids. Or chat on Facebook or Twitter

All subscribers to Mary's newsletter will receive her new short story an intriguing suspense/mystery. Come, read a good story. To get your free gift, sign up for the newsletter at Mary's website or:  Join the adventure!

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When to Kill the Character...

And when NOT to kill the character ;-)
(btw, Amy Leigh Simpson would probably have some different comments to say about this :-)

I'm on deadline for my second book in the Penned in Time Series so my mental abilities, time management skills, and patience are being tested to the brink.

So before you think I created this title because of the pressures of deadline, I'll put your mind at ease...I didn't, mostly.

As tempting as it might be, in all actuality this blog post evolved from a very real experience while writing a few weeks ago. I needed to decide whether someone in my WIP needed to die or not.

For some writers, it's a no brainer.
If you write books where no one ever dies, this blog post might not pertain to you.
For other writers, lots of people die in their books so the answer to this question might always be 'yes, kill 'em off."

But for those of us who write somewhere in between, there might be a real time when you have a dilemma about whether to kill off somebody or not. Which is what happened to me.

When creating stories we are constantly bombarded with the idea that we need to increase tension and conflict.

Make your hero bleed! Make your heroine weep! Break them until the black moment reduces them to a puddle of emotional puddy on the floor!

And though it's true that conflict increases tension and therefore may also increase the power of your story, there are times when killing off that person or causing that tragedy or increasing the suffering, might be too much.

Here are two ways we can make too much tension...too much!

Playing the Job Card (I struggle with this one so I put it first)

There's something to be said for solid, organic tension. Conflict that arises from your story and makes sense in the overall growth of your characters, is a beautiful sight to behold, but when bad things happen just because bad things happen, or just because you feel like tension is low, it doesn't necessarily mean it's the right time...or the right tension.

The best conflict comes from the natural storyline. In other words if killing off that person grows your character in the direction you want, or moves the story along as it should, then maybe you should kill off that person.

Otherwise, should murder really be in your future?

Bloodbath Analogy

Unless you're writing the next horror bestseller, Game of Thrones remake, Zombie apocalypse 10000000, or sparkly teen vampire romance, then there is a point where too much tension is too much tension.

I found myself at this place a few weeks ago.

I was planning on one of my secondary characters dying in a house fire. To me it would have given my heroine another way to deal with suffering and trust God, deepening her character development. Good reason, right?

The choice would have been an organic one from for her character arc, however I knew the future too. I knew my heroine had just finished dealing with the death of someone she loved and I also knew she was getting ready to face one of the most heart-wrenching battles of her life, so I begin to second-guess killing off another character. Why? Because it was just too much.

No, it wasn't conflict for conflict's sake. It would have given added depth to her growth, but it somehow felt a little contrived because of the intensity of consistent pain (and I'm not a pansy about killing characters or causing fictional pain, btw)

Some people may disagree with me on this choice, because they think any tension must be good tension, but I disagree. Maybe it's just my reading preference but when I get to the point where all I feel is loss, loss, loss in a story, then it's too much for me. Besides, sometimes killing off a person isn't what will cause the best tension. Sometimes, there something much worse that will have great impact to the overall story.

So, how's that for a happy Monday post! :-)

 I'd love to hear some of your opinions about tension, killing characters, and went to much is too much.
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Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor. She’s a native of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a mom of five, a speech-language pathologist, and a lover of chocolate. She enjoys sprinkling her native Appalachian culture into her fiction whenever she can and loves annoying her wonderful friends at her writing blog, The Writer’s Alley. She is represented by Julie Gwinn and her debut novel, The Thorn Bearer, released in April 2015. Her first contemporary romance novel, A Twist of Faith, released in December. You can connect with Pepper on her website at www.pepperdbasham.com, Facebook-  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pepper-D-Basham or Twitter at https://twitter.com/pepperbasham

Conflict Vs. Tension - A Guest Post by Melissa Tagg!

Friends, I am SO excited to be hosting the fabulous Melissa Tagg on the Alley today! She is a dear friend of mine and such a talented writer. If you haven't already read her new book, From the Start, be sure to pick up a copy... I know you'll love her writing as much as you'll love her! -- Ashley

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Hi, guys! It’s so fun to be back at the Writer’s Alley. Thanks bunches for having me.

So, recently a couple writer friends played superhero to my damsel in writing-distress. I’m in the final stretch of rewrites before my late-June deadline. And for weeks, I’ve had this pit in my stomach that something was wrong with my story. I thought it was just the meet-cute—you know, that point where the hero and heroine meet. It wasn’t, well, cute enough, I guess.

So I sent out a SOS to some of the coolest writers I know and had the immense blessing of spending some valuable Google Hangout time with Rachel Hauck and Beth Vogt. They asked all the right questions…got me to the point of admitting the problem with my story wasn’t just the meet-cute but, ahem, kinda the whole story. And by then end of the Hangout, I’d decided to remove one rather massive thread from my story.

I’m hopeful my editor has fully recovered from the shock of the news…but perhaps only time will tell. J (Actually, honestly, both my editors were hugely gracious about my “plot schizophrenia” and even helped me dig to make sure all the story pieces are in place as I make the change. So it’s all good. And I’ll still make the deadline!)

But I bring up all this as a looong way of introducing what I’d like to talk about in this post: Conflict vs. Tension

If you’d asked me a few years ago to describe conflict or tension in a story, I might’ve given the same definition for both. They feel similar on a surface level.

But they’re actually two very different things. At least in my head. I’ve come to define them this way:

Conflict: The stuff that happens in the story. The obstacles. The disappointments. The problems.

Tension: The taut feelings that happen in the story. The push and pull, the strain, that sense of being torn.

In the original version of the story I’m currently working on, I made the mistake—as I think we novelists often do—of thinking my hero needed more conflict. More to do. More in his way. Because the story felt a little too light. So I threw an extra story thread at him.

And it backfired. You know why? Because in filling the pages with one more conflict, I robbed myself of space for tension. Internal tension. Romantic tension. Spiritual tension.

In removing that thread and replacing it with something a little more logical and a little less complicated, I’m giving my guy—Logan Walker is his name and I love him!—more time on the page to develop and deepen as a character.

Don’t get me wrong. We NEED conflict in our books. We need obstacles and challenges and disappointments. We need to throw crappy stuff at our characters and see how they deal with it all.

But the best stories aren’t just rife with outward conflict…they’re hefty with a depth that comes from internal tension. The tension that forms from a fear of failure. Or a romance that can’t possibly work. Or the push and pull of conflicting values or goals. Tension is a little harder to pinpoint, it takes a little more finesse to craft…but when it’s there, it’s THERE.

I think of conflict as something that widens a story…and tension as the thing that deepens the story. And I think the best story tension grows where a character’s greatest dream collides with his greatest fear.

And here’s where I take a turn for the spiritual. I think sometimes I approach my life as a series of goals to meet and conflicts to work through and chapters to complete and story threads to add. I let life get wide—possibly wider than it should be—and my faith becomes like a subplot that hobbles along, not fully developed, trying to exist alongside everything else…  

And what I really want? What I really crave? A life that’s deep. A life where I’ve got space to develop into the person I want to be…instead of a character who just hurries from one chapter to the next, juggling too many story threads.

I want to recognize the threads that aren’t working and take the time to get untangled.

I want to find that tension-filled place where my dreams and fears meet up…and see what God will do when I let him deepen the story of my life.

Melissa Tagg is a former reporter, current nonprofit grant writer and total Iowa girl. She writes romantic comedy for Bethany House, and is also the marketing/events coordinator for My Book Therapy, a craft and coaching community for writers. When she’s not writing, she can be found hanging out with the coolest family ever, watching old movies, and daydreaming about her next book. Her latest book is From the Start, the first in her new Walker family series. Check out the FREE enovella prequel, Three Little Words. Connect with Melissa at www.melissatagg.com, Facebook, Twitter (@Melissa_Tagg) or Instagram (melissatagg).

The Story in the Detour

**Naptime hasn't gone well for the past few days--and I'm more than a little delirious at this point--but this old post hit me just right! Please forgive the re-post.**

Has life ever thrown you a curve ball? Ever felt like you were thrust off course?

The detours God puts in our path don’t usually take us on a road that is wide and paved and easy. Most often those detours not only intrude on our plans, very often they derail us down to the core and challenge who we really are. What we believe. Where our strength really comes from.

Often times when I am writing a story there comes a point (okay, sometimes more than once) when I feel like the characters or the plot starts to veer in a dangerous direction. Someplace uncertain. Scary. Not what I had planned at all. How will I find my way out of that mess? How will the characters navigate the challenges without completely falling apart.

Whether in real life or in fiction, this is where we test our mettle and see what we’re made of. THIS is where the story really lies. 

I’ve shared recently about an unexpected twist in our family plan. Life plan. Survival plan. Now, it’s hard to see a baby as anything but a blessing. Especially when the circumstances are so miraculous (God is quite the storyteller, is He not?) But what could be seen as a life-threatening detour, is really an incredible adventure. An amazing story of God’s work in my life. A challenge that is testing me in so many ways and proving that my story isn’t yet over. That God’s plans, however different from my own, are ALWAYS for my good, even when the road is rocky and uncertain.

I'd love your perspective: What adventures in your own life have been birthed from an unexpected detour? Or when you write, whether you're a plotter or a pantster, do you venture into those unknown fissures of uncertainty, or do you stick to the roadmap you’ve meticulously planned? And in which instance did you find the beating heart of your story?

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Amy Leigh Simpson is the completely exhausted stay-at-home mama to the two wild-child, tow-headed toddler boys, one pretty little princess baby, and the incredibly blessed wife of her hunky hubby.

She writes Romantic Suspense chalked full of grace that is equally inspiring, nail-biting, and hilarious. And a little saucy! Okay fine, a lot saucy. :) She is an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers, and now uses her Sports Medicine degree to patch up daily boo-boos. Her greatest ambitions are to create stories that inspire hope, raise up her children to be mighty warriors for Christ, invent an all-dessert diet that works, and make up for years of sleep deprivation. 

She is represented by Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary, Inc.

 

Creating Conflict in Romance

A novelist's body of work is an evolution. I've never heard of anyone who's gotten it perfect the first time, but you can correct me if I'm wrong in the comments.

The only two novels I've written so far were a hot. mess. in their first draft forms, probably aided by the fact that I wrote extremely out of order and then had to backtrack when I learned important things 75% of the way through. :) 

But 100% of the time, these major changes were due to conflict issues. I've learned that much. As I'm getting into my third manuscript, I've been doing a little research up front to see if the process will be different for me this time. Maybe a little, um, faster. 

A really sweet writer friend whose work I adore sent me the book On Writing Romance by Leigh Michaels (Writer's Digest Books). Here's what I've learned---because friends don't let friends' romance novels suffer where conflict is concerned.

Let's start from the very basics. There are two kinds of conflict: long-term + short-term. 

• The short-term conflict (external conflict) usually occurs at the beginning of the story. It's the initial disagreement or problem between the hero and the heroine. This can be shared between the characters or two separate problems that are somehow related. 

• The long-term conflict (internal conflict) relates to issues in the hero/heroine's personality or past that make it seem like they could never end up together at the end of the story. It's best to have specific, concrete reasons these internal issues exist. (The bigger the irony, the more delicious the clash!)

So how can you create conflict that doesn't feel weak or contrived? 

• According to Leigh Michaels' list, legitimate conflict ISN'T solely about fighting, a delay in progress toward the characters' goal, a simple communication fail that could be solved with a decent conversation, interference by someone else, or unwillingness to admit attraction. 

• The short-term conflict should highlight or exacerbate the long-term conflict, contribute to character complexity, and entangle the hero and heroine together while showing why they don't belong together. It's not a series of separate calamities or problematic events. What happens to the characters should always have some significance in revealing something about them and advancing the plot. 

• In reality, when there's strong conflict between two individuals, more than likely they will avoid each other at all costs. So there must be legitimate reasons the hero and heroine have to interact in proximity with one another; the strength of their reason to stick together must correspond to the strength of the conflict.

• It's important for the conflict to be strong enough to persist throughout the duration of the story, but to still be salvageable in time for a believable conclusion. If one character's long-term problem is really difficult, the other's may need to be more easily resolved. 

As I sat down to learn more about conflict, I realized there's no way to cover every base and include examples in a succinct blog post. It's kind of a complex subject, ironically. So this is just a basic introduction to conflict with more posts likely to follow as I explore. But I'll leave you with one practical recommendation, the first place I started when evaluating how to amp up the conflict between my hero and heroine: 

What are your best tips for brainstorming compelling conflict? What are some examples of long-term vs. short-term conflict you've found in your favorite novels? If you're having an issue developing conflict in your current WIP, let's brainstorm in the comments.

PS: If you haven't entered the giveaway on my website yet, I'm giving away a $25 gift card + a copy of Katherine Reay's award-winning Dear Mr. Knightley, its anticipated follow-up, Lizzy & Jane, and other goodies! You can enter here, too! And when you're finished with the books, we can talk about their conflict 'til we're blue in the face :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Laurie Tomlinson is a wife and mom from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who enjoys stories of grace in the beautiful mess. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and received the Genesis Award in 2013 (Contemporary) and 2014 (Romance). Her work is represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary.

You can connect with Laurie here:

Facebook - AuthorLaurieTomlinson

Twitter - @LaurieTomlinson

Web - www.LaurieTomlinson.com

The Exhausting Heroine

As the new cat on the Alley I wanted my first post to be something deep and moving. I was praying about it and God gave me this. He sure has a great sense of humor.

So… we've all been there. You know, wishing you could stretch your hand through the pages of that open book to slap some sense into the heroine. I mean, I am a woman and I can admit that sometimes women can be exhausting! -Fictional and otherwise.

Of course there needs to be conflict in your story. I have yet to see anything worth reading take shape without a hearty helping. Often times, the conflict is the most vital ingredient to your plot. But does there have to be so much . . . drama?

Building conflict in your story is a lot like making a pizza. There is the bland, starchy foundation. We here in St. Louis go for thin crust in a big way, but for your story, the base can’t be flimsy so let’s go deep dish. Be careful not to tip your hand by revealing all the flavors and that one secret ingredient to come, but toss up something that says right off the bat why the cards are stacked against your characters. At this point, usually somewhere in the first 15-20 pages you are simply establishing that the conflict is there.

And can I just say, as a side note, I've never understood those people who think the crust is the best part of the pizza. I mean, it’s completely necessary (and delicious) but it's just one layer that begins the creation of the pizza—or the conflict. If the crust is the best part you might as well save yourself the extra calories and order breadsticks. Just sayin’!

Okay, so back to your story. Next, you make things a little saucy—throw in some spice to kick up the flavor and suddenly your conflict is more robust. Something is revealed that ups the ante and awakens the reader’s appetite. Be careful, not too much sauce because it can weaken the crust, but spoon over enough here to entice the reader to invest in how the hero and heroine are going to defy the odds.

Now you make things interesting when you start layering on the toppings. Maybe some danger, competition, doubts, betrayal. Bam! Yes, we get it. Falling in love isn't always rainbows and butterflies. Sometimes it’s a tough journey. A lesson in trust, forgiveness, or sacrifice. Or maybe even a throw-caution-to-the-wind-and-risk-it-all angle where a heart is even more exposed and vulnerable.

Things are looking pretty tasty at this point. But sometimes, an author decides to toss on a few anchovies here. This is when your main character becomes what I like to call The Exhausting Heroine. Oy, there are far too many of these! 

These are the kind of women who stand in their own way. They deny their happiness, run away, cry, lie, hide from their feelings when we, the reader, know that they will eventually put on their big girl pants and make the right decision. (The resolution is essentially the cheese—the glue that pulls all the pieces of the conflict together.)

And yes, I realize my pizza metaphor is totally out of control at this point, but let’s just go with it.

Drama can’t just be thrown in to lengthen the story, because, quite frankly, it aggravates the reader. It makes us lose sympathy for the heroine, and most often has us rolling our eyes and stifling the urge to yell at our book like a man watching a football game—berating the players who can’t hear him to let them know they are blowing the game (Or their Happily Ever After.)

You want to create a story that can pull off these self-deprecating moments and make them about something more substantial—meatier—than insecurity. We all have insecurities, don’t we? But if that hunky hero is on bended knee, handing over his devotion and his love and the girl runs off spouting “It just couldn’t work out” sob stories . . . well, sister needs a good slappin’!

Make your conflict big! Make me care, sympathize, and maybe even crave another slice of trouble before you wrap it up. Conflict doesn’t always have to be frustrating, it can be fun or suspenseful.

So, as much as I loathe a wimpy, self-sabotaging heroine, I got to thinking about how God might be able to say the same thing about me. Ouch!

You see, He is the ultimate hero. He’s offered up every part of himself, given his love, grace and forgiveness without question or pre-requisite, and yet . . . sometimes I run away. I question if I deserve a Happily Ever After. Sometimes I doubt that his plans are really for my good. Even when, like any great hero, he shows up and saves me time and again, I still have moments when I let my head commandeer a heart that knows better.

How do we get out of our own way and really live in our Happily Ever After?

Put your trust in the Hero that will never let you down. Oh, yeah, and when your prince gets down on one knee, for heaven’s sake, say YES!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this...What ingredients make conflict really work for you without trying your patience? And have you ever read, or maybe even felt like, an exhausting heroine?

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Amy Leigh Simpson writes Romantic Suspense that is heavy on the romance, unapologetically honest, laced with sass and humor, and full of the unfathomable Grace of God. She is the completely sleep deprived mama to two little mischief makers and would challenge anyone to a cutest family contest. Represented by Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary Inc.

It Really Is A Wonderful Life

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and have plenty of leftover Christmas cookies for the rest of the week! Last weekend, I had the incredible opportunity to see It's a Wonderful Life in a beautiful old theater. Wow, what an incredible experience! I always tear up at the end of the movie when Harry says, "To my brother George, the richest man in town," but I usually do that sneaky wipe-the-corner-of-your-eye-with-your-knuckle trick, hoping no one sees how emotional I'm getting. Well, let me tell you, after seeing it on the big screen, all bets were off! I and my best friend were setting there, all-out crying through the last scene.

What makes It's A Wonderful Life such a classic, and why does it pull on the heartstrings? In addition to brilliant acting, the story itself is so well-written. Today I'm going to break down several components of the movie that we can implement into our own writing to leave readers with that "feel good" effect we get after seeing this movie.

• George's motives are very clear, and they are conflicting. Conflicting motivations and values are always a recipe for good writing. On the one hand, George wants nothing more than to be an architect and to see the world. But on the other hand, he loves his family dearly. So what happens when loving his family means giving up his own dreams? Well, that's the magic of the movie. How can you shape the characters in your own story so that they have competing values they must choose between? How can you use that choice to affect the plot?

• The characters are relatable. George and his family represent universal values and struggles with which almost all viewers can identify. Maybe not on the specific level, but on the moral level. Perhaps you've never dreamed of being an architect, but I've bet you've had to make a choice between two things that both matter very much to you. If we train ourselves to be more conscious of these predicaments in everyday life, our writing will be come much more convincing and will have a stronger emotional pull over readers as they come to see themselves in our stories.

• The characters are likable. Even when George Bailey yells at his wife and kids just before his total meltdown, we like him. Why? Because we know what he's been through. We know who he is deep down. How does the movie show us these things? Not by telling, and not even by the words of other characters. Instead, it allows us to see George Bailey in action. We see when he saves Harry's life and refuses to deliver the poison capsules. We see the pain on his face when his father has the heart attack and he must leave Mary. We see the disappointment in his eyes when Harry gets married, taking away George's opportunity to go to college. So even whenever George melts down and considers suicide, we're with him 100% because we are feeling what he's feeling, and we're rooting from him on a very deep level. We're interested in the story because we're invested in the characters on an emotional level.

• The challenges are real. George's father dies. George has to give up his honeymoon money to save the bank. George can't go to college because Harry's getting married. Yet George overcomes each of these things. But when his uncle loses the money, it's just too much to handle. George's spirit is broken. And we get that. We believe it. We understand why George would feel like there's no other option in his life than to commit suicide, and we see why he would think this is ultimately a selfless act to preserve his family. So while we're saying to ourselves, "Don't do it, George!" we're also saying, "But we understand why you want to." This is key. Too often, we shortchange our characters by giving them weak obstacles to overcome. If the obstacles are weak, our characters' success over the obstacles will seem likewise. Worse yet are challenges that are unbelievable. Really work to make sure your stories play off the characters' struggles and fears, just as George's finds that even after giving up his dream to be an architect, his back-up plan also brings failure. What other options does he have left?

• A bigger-than-we-expect ending. I absolutely love the ending of this movie. As a storyteller, I expect George to get his happily-ever-after moment. I expect that he'll get to be an architect, that he'll finally go to college. Thing is, George does get a happily-ever-after moment, but in a different way than we expect. See, somewhere along the way, George's dreams change because his perspective changes. And that's really what makes this movie worth watching again and again. How easy would it have been for the writers to give George a chance to design a bridge, especially since it's a bridge he jumps off of during his black moment? But instead, the ending defies our expectations because it takes the story and puts it into an even greater context. George doesn't get to be an architect. No, what's much more powerful is the fact he no longer needs to. George's realization is that his life has been wonderful all along. Can you take a step back from your story to give it a bigger-picture framework? Instead of giving your characters all they want and seem to need, could you change their needs somewhere within the story, even as George's change in the movie?

I've heard that It's a Wonderful Life was created to restore morale after the war. It's easy to see why the movie accomplished this task. The moral is so much bigger than the typical "reach for the stars" theme we often see. Instead, this movie gives us something we can use in everyday life. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, you're alive. And that's a reason for rejoicing.

Do you have a favorite Christmas movie? Why does the story appeal to you?

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Ashley Clark writes romance with southern grace. She's dreamed of being a writer ever since the thumbprint-cookie-days of library story hour. Ashley has an M.A. in English and enjoys teaching literature courses at her local university. She's an active member of ACFW and runs their newcomer's loop. When she's not writing, Ashley's usually busy rescuing stray animals and finding charming new towns. You can find Ashley on her personal blog, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. She is represented by Karen Solem.