A Quick Guide to Better Writing

Hi Wattpad, Alyssa Brandon, author of The Hard Mate - winner of 2013's Watty Award - speaking, or well, writing. I had several ideas about things I wanted to share with you when I decided I was going to do this; the importance of the beginning, middle and end, creating likable/ interesting characters, and story logic and motivation.

Then I figured why not touch a little on each. All three (and quite a few other things) are important when writing a story. Knowing about the different parts (and what happens in each) to keep the story on track, that the reader likes or at least cares enough about your characters to keep on reading and keeping thing logical and realistic so that the reader feels like your story makes sense are some of the most important though.

So I'm going to start off talking a little about story structure - the beginning, middle and end. I'll describe what they are, why we have them in the story and what should (and should not happen in them) then we'll talk characters. Characters are of course the most crucial bit to get right, and how they are introduce as well as how they grow is one of the things your readers will remember (if you've done your job right) long after we've forgotten exactly what your story was about. To wrap it up I'll talk logic and motivation both having to do with characters, conflict and structure.

The Beginning, Middle and End

Some of you might be familiar with the three act structure. Others might not.

I like working with three/ four act structures when I'm planning my story. But at the same time it's easier to think of the three acts as the beginning, middle and end (the middle is often longer than the other parts and where the "struggle" of the story is shown.) To just think; this will happen in my beginning, this in the middle and this the end. Because attempting to plan your story after some sort of Three Act Structure can often feel a little daunting and take the fun out of it. So instead we have the beginning, middle and end.

So what is the beginning?

The beginning is character introduction - we meet the main characters (MCs) - the problem / conflict is introduced - the thing everyone will be working to fix in the middle - as well as establishing your world. Beginnings can be short. In some stories what I'd call the beginning is no more than a paragraph or two. Other times you need 1 / 4 of the story. Genre may vary this, in a romance the two main characters will meet early and they might actually have the chance to fall in love before a problem presents itself. In a murder mystery the book might start with the detective showing up at the crime scene, throwing us right into the "active" attempts to figure out the problem.

So what is the middle?

The middle, in my humble opinion, starts when your characters have been introduced, a problem set before them and they begin dealing with it. The stuff before that is Beginning / Set up. So while you of course need to have characters and a problem, it seems most people forget these should be used to enable the writer to write...well, the middle, they're not just to be thrown haplessly in there. Because it's the middle we really want to get to, really want to read.

The middle might start with the character only having a vague idea of what they want to do, like rescue the princess. At first the things your characters attempt to do will fail or go wrong, since the MC needs to learn more things - about herself and the world - and gain friends and learn more about the "enemy" before he can solve the problem. In a love story the middle will either be about the lovers dealing with the world keeping them apart, one of them trying to win the other over, fighting attraction for one another while dealing with a subplot problem - while also often claiming to hate each other (there are countless variations of how all these are used of course). Your MC faces the bad guy and loses but learns from it. The middle is where all the characters are introduced (we don't want some random person showing up in the last act to save the day) information crucial to the plot is discovered and most important of all; there is build up towards the end.

What about the end?

The thing that defines the ending is; questions are answered and the problem(s) solved. The end is the place where everything makes sense for the reader. The end starts when things seems to have gone the most wrong for the hero; he's screwed up and lost his love, the treasure's been stolen by another treasure hunter, the killer has managed to escape justice or the world is ending. Things seem pretty bad. Now the hero gets the chance to rise up, drawing upon the things she discovered about herself and the world in the middle of the story, her allies rally and the mystery is solved, the bad guy defeated and the world saved.

The end is where you deliver on the promise you made to your readers in the beginning and middle. If you started with a murdered guy and a cop, we need to see the cop bringing the murder to justice. If you started with two troubled soul needing love but claiming not to want it they should in the end have realized they do need love and be less troubled when they are together. If there is a prophecy about the end of the world the hero should have somehow stopped that from happening. The Beginning is your promise, the middle where you attempt to fulfill it, and the end where you do fulfill it. Yet you can't jump straight to the end because your character or reader isn't ready for that yet. This is why the middle is there - to teach the lessons that the MC didn't understand in the Beginning but in the End must use to win.

These "lessons" can be subtle or very obvious.

In a fantasy story it might be using magic. In a love story it might be trusting in love. In an action story it might be about being able to focus or fight. In a murder mystery it might be an insight into human nature. All stories have some sort of theme or message, and it's in your best interest as a writer to make sure your story is actually about learning/ proving something you believe is right. Some books/ film end up with rather unfortunate themes / messages: It's romantic when a teen girls' marries an old bossy rich guy and becomes a teenage mother (Twilight), the "savage" nature people must be saved by the white man (Avatar), women are either helpless or bitches (or die) (Merlin) and abuse is a turn on (Fifty Shades of Gray). I'm sure you can think of a lot more. Most aren't super obvious messages, but once you start to look deeper you can sometimes realize a lot of stories have rather perplexing if not downright disturbing "themes". At the same time, don't write your whole story because you're trying to prove a point - that will make people feel like you're shoving something they might not want, down their throats. It's kind of a fine line. Be aware of what you're story is saying beyond what it is actually "saying" but don't focus on it.

Whoops, I think we got a little off track. Quick recap of what this section was about. Beginning; introducing characters, world and problem. Middle: working to solve the problem, learning more about it, but not succeeding. End: finally managing to figure out a way to fix things and implementing the plan, using what the MC learned in the middle.

In some ways complicated, in others very simple. But important. Because by not letting your story move too fast by solving the problem too soon or letting the beginning drag on without introducing a problem or having your character not develop or struggle with anything in the middle, you will keep your story on track and make it a more satisfying read.

Characters

A character is both a person and at the same time not. Characters all need interests and back stories; first loves, most terrible road trip ever taken and embarrassing stories from their childhood. But because they are part of your story, maybe the only part of what the readers will "need" to know is their interests because the rest of the stuff won't be relevant to the plot. Minor characters might never ever reveal anything about themselves, as they more often than not are just there to move the plot along or help the MC realize something. But at the same time you as the writer, the creator, should know the back story to the kid who finds the body, to the MC's jaded roommate or the reason why a kind elderly employer no longer has any contact with her family. Even if these characters are only in a few scenes you should have a reason they are the way they are. Simply put; each character needs both personality and purpose.

There are many ways to create characters. Write bios. Use people you know. Dream characters. Plot useful ones. Plot based ones. Characters with one purpose. No way is right or wrong, but I'd say some are slightly better than others.

Most stories are either character based or plot based. Character based stories are stories were what the character or characters do move the story along. It's about emotion, the changes or feelings inside. Change happens and it causes action. A plot based story something external is driving the story. Something happens that forces the MC(s) to act and they change as they act because things are happening rather than make things happen because they have changed.

I'd say genre fiction is mostly plot based. The MC deals with a problem put in front of him/ her and grow because of it. But parts of the story will also be character driven as it's hard to make readers care unless there is some emotional change or growth going on. So most stories have a bit of both, but even a story that is all about plot needs the right character for it to work. Like for an action flick you're going to make your character a badass gun wielding spy, not an elderly lady with too many cats. Sometimes putting characters in situations they aren't at all equipped for can make for a good story (Fish out of water style).

When you start a new story you probably either have an idea for a problem / conflict (a gigantic storm is going to destroy civilization) or a character(s) (a millionaire playboy comes home after five years on a deserted island). Then you have to work either with coming up with characters that fit into the story you want to tell or a story that fits the character you have.

Having the "problem" and thinking up the characters is about both finding characters that will be "useful" and able to tell the story and about what tone you want to set and what conflicts you want to deal with. A little old lady trapped with her cats in the huge storm or a weather scientist searching for his son? The later sure would let the reader (viewer) get background information but the story about the lady and her struggle to feed all those cats or digging her way out from a mountain of snow could be equally satisfying.

Mostly though you "know/ feel" what kind of characters will be your main characters - in a high fantasy adventure you'll have a sword wielding hero, a wizard and a runaway princess, in an urban fantasy a kick ass chick with some form a magic involved in a love triangle, a love story a rich man (or a hunky bad boy with tattoos) and a beautiful but aloof woman, a murder mystery a tough but fair cop with a lawyer ex wife. Sure these are just stereotypes, but then again, stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason. We know what kind of characters fit with a certain type of story because we've read them, seen them on TV and in the movies.

Having a character and giving him or her a plot is the same, it sets the tone of the work and what story you will be telling. If the billionaire playboy had come home with a sudden desire to create a marine-life charity instead of wanting to "save the city" by killing bad guys with arrows, the story of Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow, would have been very different.

A lot of the time though, when we think we have an idea of who a character is, we don't. At least not well enough to write a whole book about them. Because another crucial part about your MC is that they need to change; either externally or internally. If they start off living alone, despairing about growing old alone they should have changed either their external circumstances by finding friends, love (and starting a family maybe?) or their internal ones by somehow realizing maybe being alone won't be so terrible as long as they enjoy their work (or whatever.)

So either the world around your hero has changed (due to something she has done/ gone through) or the character's own world views has changed (due to something she has done/ gone through). Having a story start with a hero who is miserable and alone, going out to find love, losing it, and going back home to be miserable and alone doesn't really make for a satisfying story or realistic character now does it? Having the same character break up with the crazy person he/she is dating and going home thinking they're better off alone because all single people are nuts is fine, but not great. Having the character find love and fight for it when things get tough would be the most appreciated I think, as that shows the character is truly taking charge of his / her life and finding away to escape the situation.

Basically you can think up / draw inspiration from anything and everything when thinking up characters. Just make sure they have personality - even minor character should have some little character quirk - a goal, something that they want in the story as well as a goal as characters; a purpose. And for major characters make sure something changes. If several characters manage to change in meaningful ways that's great, especially if you have a large cast. Remember; not all change has to be positive. There just has to be a reason behind it. A perfectly nice guy might turn into a crazy killer if his wife and children are murdered. Same with a "bad guy"; he/ she could be redeemed by love, kittens or perhaps a random act of kindness.

Now on to something else, something some of you might say is even more important: the character's likability. There is no one way to do this, or any one character that everyone will like or love. Still by knowing your audience you can begin to understand what kind of character and his / her traits might be the kind a reader might identify with in your character. Because likeability is about the reader being able empathize with the character. It's about the character seeing the world in a similar way to the reader, acting in a way that is logical to the reader, about having wishes and making choices the reader can agree with. Even desires that the reader has.

My story The Hard Mate is on the surface about a werewolf girl trying to figure out her distant mate. But when you dig a little deeper, peel away the werewolves and magic, it's about a girl wanting to be loved (and in love) and coming to grips with the fact that the world is not the warm and fuzzy place she grew up thinking it was. This is something I think most young adults and people in their early 20's can relate too, which is perhaps why the story has been a success and my readers like Megan and Jace. From the first page the reader can relate to Megan wanting to meet her mate and then her desire to understand him and the big bad world he's taken her into.

Establishing a character by showing his or her goal and making the reader understand the reason the character wants it, is a good way to make us invest in a character. Because this is yet another way to make us like a character - make him/ her want something desperately, and make us want it for them by showing why things aren't working the way they are (J.K. Rowling used this method, placing Harry with the horrible Dursleys. This makes us want so badly for Harry to get to go to Hogwarts and it also on a deeper level makes us wish for a good family for him, which is kind of what he gets with his friends and the Weasleys in the end.)

And remember doing things that sound bad might be acceptable under the right circumstances. Just as beneath the surface a "good" character due to her motivation for doing something suddenly might seem "bad". I remembered this great example that demonstrated this.

It went something like this; Picture two single mothers, each working two jobs. One to pay for her kid's college. The other to pay for plastic surgery. The one trying to put her kid through college sounds like a real gem, right? Until I tell you she only needs the money because she already used the original college fund to have plastic surgery done. The one working so she can get plastic surgery? She only needs it because she was disfigured in an accident. Which character do you now find more sympathetic?

Both could make for an interesting read, but the question is which character would you most easily see yourself sympathizing and eventually empathizing with?

The reasons behind our actions, wishes and wants tell us important things about a character. Also about ourselves as readers. What kind of things we read is part of who we are.

Like the fact a lot of us like to read about people that do the right thing, about characters standing up for what is right and about "good" handsome rich characters that find their soul mate. Reading is about dreaming (and wish fulfillment) we like characters that have "everything" yet somehow are still lost. This makes us "normal" people feel less nervous about not having everything figured out ourselves.

Making a likable character is walking a thin line, because often you want to make your character beautiful, rich and competent. Only for the story to be good and the reader remain interested you need to give your character flaws, small and big. Usually the flaw will be part of what the character needs to overcome to finally win over the bad guy. It can be vanity, self-hatred, distrust or plain old greed. Anything you want. An extreme fear of peanuts. Trust issues. Social awkwardness. Arrogance. Independence. Too high IQ. The best flaws are flaws that can be seen both as "good" and "bad" like being Independent.

In conclusion I'd say the most important thing when writing is making sure your character has a goal, that she wants something, because until she or he does s/he's a) not really a character yet b) hard to identify with c) boring. Even if all your character wants is a glass of water, having your character wake up and be desperate for a drink is much better than having him be woken by the sun coming in through the curtains or by an alarm and just wanting to go back to sleep.

So remember; purpose, quirks and for major characters enough personality, flaws and potential for change to keep the reader turning the pages.

Logic and Reasons

Now for the last part. It's going to be a bit shorter as we've already touched a bit on this in both previous sections.

A story is about having a character face and overcome a problem. This is what all stories are about - some have clearer problems / goals like; find the killer, get the girl or outrun the zombies. Others are more complex or confusing. Some problems are emotional / internal, others completely external.

Whatever the goal is it has to make sense. Wanting to find a killer is what cops do, wanting to find someone to love makes sense (to most people anyway) and so does wanting to escape from zombies. The goal can't be; I'll just drift along and see what happens, it can't be illogical like "I was just kidnapped by One Direction and am falling in love with two of them". Because that makes no sense A) why would One Direction kidnap you? They can get plenty of girls without such drastic measures and B) why would you want to fall in love with two of them if they did in fact kidnap you? Kidnapping being defined as being taken and held against one's will. If you like being there and can leave whenever you are no longer kidnapped. Or like "a guy in my fancy private school just paid my parents 100 million dollars to marry me". A) Why would he want to force you to marry him? B) Why offer so much money? I think most people who were going to be okay with selling their kid would do it for one to ten millions, don't you? C) Why wouldn't he just try to seduce you with lots of swag instead of trying to buy you? That's not normal. At all.

These were just some random examples, but there are others that may not be so "extreme" in their illogical problem - like small stuff; how did you get from London to China in two hours? Why would you meet your ex girlfriend when you know she hates you and wants to ruin your new relationship? Why does the "evil" witch want to kill you, is it just because she's evil? Where did the money come from? And where was the life guard five minutes ago when your MC almost drowned and had to be rescued by a hot surfer dude? When did they get that car?

Some of the time stuff might happen for no reason in your story and you could get away with it, but the fact is sooner or later your readers are going to stop investing in your story if nothing makes sense. If the rules of time, space, society or just common sense are bent too much your story won't work, simple as that, because no one will believe it could have ever happened. And that's what reading is all about; willing suspension of disbelief. Meaning we are willing to accept that some things are true (despite the fact that we know it's not) in your book - like werewolves are real maybe - and believe that while we are reading the story. But if you ask your reader to one moment believe this is the "normal" contemporary world, the next have a rich guy trying to buy a child bride or One Direction suddenly be vampires and kidnappers or maybe just have a high school student who is a stripper, you are going to have to work very hard for people to actually accept that world. Especially if you change the "rules" as you go. Like first we have werewolves and it's England in the middle ages, then you suddenly have someone from America (which hadn't been discovered yet) show up and then they're on a train going to China eating pasta or drinking hot cocoa, people will be confused and annoyed and stop reading.

So make sure your setting makes sense; if you are in modern day New York have it be modern day New York, if it's the middle ages it's the middle ages and if there are werewolves and witches hiding among us make sure they are logical - the pack and coven are structured the way it is for a reason and magic has rules and regulations. If there is a war between vampire and werewolves, explain the reason why it started and why someone hasn't stopped it (seriously, I'm always wondering this; if you have been at war for thousands of years, haven't anyone tried to stop it? I mean being at war can't be that fun, now can it? Maybe someone should write a story about someone actually attempting to sit down and have a peace talk. I'm seeing a character like Caroline Forbes from the Vampire Diaries meets Felicity from Arrow trying to get a bunch of vampire lords and alphas to sit around in a board room talking while they all want to kill each other, and FYI; no one is eating the bagels. Now that's a book I would read.)

Logic is key; both in the way your characters act and in the way the you move your plot along. So while it may sound great to go crazy, make sure the craziness has an explanation of some sort and isn't just plain old crazy...

So to wrap it all up: make sure things happen at the right place (beginning, middle and end), that your characters have goals, personality and growth and that your world and your character's action actually make sense. Do those things and your story will be better than even some published books.

Best of luck with your writing,

Alyssa Brandon

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