Can you think if an interesting first line for this picture? |
Ellen Y. Mueller writes about fiction, nonfiction, the writing process, and her life. She shares her best writing tips based on her experiences.
Monday, June 13, 2022
TIPS FOR WRITING THE FIRST SENTENCE OF YOUR NOVEL OR STORY
Monday, June 6, 2022
LET THE UNDERDOG STAR IN YOUR NEXT NOVEL
Relating to the Underdog
Photo from Pixabay |
Fear, shame, distress come to my mind. People are judging him, and he's in a bad situation. They're all ganging up on him. He represents an underdog. Though this photo was staged, I feel sorry for him. I want him to escape.
Readers Love the Underdog
The underdog is one of my favorite characters to
write. The plot is near and dear to reader's hearts because it represents strong
versus weak, rich versus poor, healthy versus sick, imprisoned versus free,
unloved versus loved, and the list goes on and on. That’s why this character works in any genre.
In my upcoming novel, Run Girl Run, my
protagonist Tracie is an underdog. She escapes her violent father only to find
herself swept into an invalidating world that owes her nothing. While on the
run, she must solve a family secret that comes at a cost.
Who
doesn’t love the disadvantaged? In his or her world, the scales tip in the
wrong direction, forcing the character to fight for justice. From the time we
were children we felt sympathy for Cinderella and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.
Later
we watched movies like Lord of the Flies, The Shawshank Redemption, Never Been Kissed,
Rudy, and The Blind Side. And we read books like The Girl with the Pearl
Earring, Red Queen, and Memoirs of a Geisha. Why? We liked to root for the main
character. It felt good when he or she finally got their just reward.
Tips
for writing the underdog character:
1. Make
sure the audience understands your character’s motivation. Why does he/she want
to succeed so bad? What happens along the way to make it harder? Why does it
matter on an emotional level? According to Alfred Hitchcock, emotion is an
essential ingredient to suspense. (Suspense is another topic I will cover in a
future blog.)
2. Let
your character take the action needed to reach his goal. Otherwise, he/she
becomes a punching bag for the plot. If someone else saves the character, your
protagonist fails to earn their reward.
3. Raise
the stakes during his/her journey. When he/she reaches the goal, the story
ends, so make winning difficult and interesting.
4. Don’t
make the disadvantage so lopsided that no one will believe your character can beat the odds.
5. Ronald
B. Tobias, the author of 20 Master Plots, has some excellent advice. He
said if you want your reader to feel empathy for the protagonist, make sure the
emotional/ intellectual plane is equal or lower than the reader’s. Readers want
someone they can relate to, not someone superior to them.
6. Reaching goals must come at a cost for the protagonist or someone else. This is the emotional
conflict that must accompany the external plot. Pit what your underdog wants
against what she needs and you’ll write a hell of a story.
Have you written a story
about an underdog? What is your favorite underdog story? Why is it your favorite? Do you have a writing tip I didn’t list? If so, leave a comment. I’d
love to hear from you.
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