Heroes and heroines. Main character and protagonists. They all mean the same thing. The story is about them. But what's the difference between sympathetic and compelling?

I, as a reader, don't want to feel sorry for a character. I want to understand their struggle. I want to see them rise above their challenges and face their demons.

I heard a great quote from the tv show "Leverage." It said something to the effect of "Surviving a tragedy doesn't make you a hero."

And it stuck, those words. They batted around in my head until I could finally grasp the truth. 

Slam your character with a tragedy. Write a Young Adult story and kill the parents. Write a romance and rip a loved one away. Those events alone won't make a hero (aka a read-worthy protagonist). 

No, it's not what happens to the character, but what they do with it.

In the show, the protagonist, Nate, lost his son to cancer. The insurance company he worked for refused to pay for the experimental treatment, so he quit and drank to dull the pain.

Nate's a good guy who's suffered an incalculable loss. But it's not the tragedy that propels the story. It's what he does with it.

He gathers a group of misfits--a hacker, thief, grifter and thug and organizes them into a team. Then they pull cons on bad people to help good people.

Now he's compelling. Now's he's heroic. 

So, today's tip- look at your protagonist. Are they sympathetic or compelling? The answer lies not in the tragedy they face, but in the actions they take.

Happy writing!
Sue

So, editing. Fun stuff, right?

No? Not always?

Me too. I've struggled with this beast for five long years. Five years of wanting perfection and struggling with the same issues over and over again. 

Writing tick? Repetitive words? Got it.
Plot drifts? Yup, in abundance.
Chapter break confusion? Maybe you're one of those incredible authors who instinctively knows where a chapter begins and ends. But that's not me. Call it payback for being a panster.

This round of edits on Fairless I determined to cut and be ruthless. I printed off a hard copy, took out a red pen and went to work... on the words. The small stuff. The tiny, inconsequential matters that affect nothing.

It didn't take long before I realized what was holding me up. And it had to do with chapter structure. As in, I didn't have a clue when one was done and when a new one should begin. You'd think this would be pretty straightforward, now wouldn't you?

I wish.

It was time for help, so I dug through my mountain of writing notes and re-discovered this little gem:

According to the Snowflake Method of Plotting, chapters are either Goal, Conflict, Setback or Reaction, Dilemma, Decision (and typically switch back and forth). Sounds simple enough, but when I applied it to my story, I discovered how little I really understand about writing.

Wow. Eureka moment!

Using this formula, I discovered I ended every chapter with resolution. Everything hunky-dory. No setback to entice a reader forward. No decision to show the character's development. 

Focusing on big-picture edits is not my first love. I'd rather play with words, not chapter breaks or character arcs. But once that red pen really got to work, things came into focus.

Let me give you an example. This is from the end of one of my chapters. Here is the first draft:

                                              **************

"And what of you?" Liam says.

"Trust me. I'll be fine." I have to stay and distract the Guard to buy Liam precious time to escape. He lies down, never taking his eyes from me. Does he feel the same connection? Does he know who I am? The young Smidgeons lift the corner of the blankets and shoot out the window, taking him to safety.

"Leave." James waits at my foot, ready to take me from this ghastly place.

A Guard appears in the distance, flying on the back of a giant black creature. The sound grows louder with each beat of its stubby wings.

"There's no time," I say. "Get back. Stay out of sight." I hurry into the shadows, willing my heart to stop pounding so loud. James sits on my shoulder and his eyes are wide saucers in the dark.

The Guard hovers outside the window. "Time for dinner Fitzpatrick," he says.

I swallow. James presses closer.

"Hey, wake up." When Liam doesn't answer, the Guard climbs off the creature and walks up to the empty cot. "What the hell?"

We're out of options. He only has to search the cell and find us. I set James on the floor, remove my cap and shake out my white hair. It’s time to test my Fairless skills.

"Liam's not here," I say. "But then you've already discovered that."

 The Guard whirls. His mouth gapes open. “Fairless, foul—“

“Oh, please.” I glide closer. “Do you really want to insult me?”

I catch and hold his arm, willing the color forward. Red-brown dust from his uniform floats in the air. He cries out, but I hold tighter. “Call off your ride. Send it away.”

“To hell I will.”

I urge more color to come forward. He grimaces in pain.

“Now,” I say.

“Go, Smudge. Leave me for a bit.”

The black thing hovers near the window. I tighten my grip, ready to drain more color. “Convince him. Tell him to return in the morning.”

“And spend the night in this place?”

“Your choice. One night in this wonderful, sweet smelling room, or a lifetime without feeling in your right arm.”

“Clear out,” he says. “I need to tend the prisoner. Come back in the morning. That’s an order.”

The creature leaves in a whirl of beating wings. I press the Guard back until he falls onto the disgusting cot. “Good decision.”

James flies down and lands by my foot. “Go,” he says.

I don’t need prompting. But I have one more thing to say. “Enjoy your evening.”


                                                            *************

And here's the edited version:

                                                            **************

"And what of you?" Liam says.

"Trust me. I'll be fine." I have to stay and distract the Guard to buy Liam precious time to escape. He lies down, never taking his eyes from me. Does he feel the same connection? Does he know who I am? The young Smidgeons lift the corner of the blankets and shoot out the window, flying him to safety.

"Leave." James waits at my foot, ready to take me out of the ghastly place.

But we're out of time. The sound's louder now. Something massive approaches the window.

"Get back," I whisper to him. "Stay out of sight."

We're trapped. A Guard fills the opening, cutting off our only avenue of escape and I shrink into the darkness, wishing my skin didn't glow.

                                              **************

I begin the next chapter where I left off- which is a stronger opening sequence as well.

I hope this helps. And please feel free to share your ideas, thoughts and comments. I'd love to hear from you! 

Happy writing!
Sue

Ah, the joy of editing (read: ripping those treasures apart until they barely resemble the original.) It's tempting to scroll back to page one and start fixing messy little phrases and tidying up word choice before a draft is complete. I know. I used to do this. 

So much wasted time and effort!

I thought I was a good enough author to edit as I wrote. It took an "aha" moment to finally smarten up and change my strategy. So, in hopes of saving you time, effort and aggravation, here is my (new) process. 

Step one: FINISH YOUR MANUSCRIPT BEFORE EDITING.

No way to say this in lower case letters. I blundered through too many stories, always swinging back to the first chapters, trying to get everything perfect before moving forward. 


Just call me "Tidy Sue." 

When I began Fairless, I had no outline, no idea where the plot was heading--nothing but an idea to chase. I have strong panster inclinations and have only recently learned my lesson. My next novel is already plotted. But, I digress. 

Having panstered my way through half the novel, I stumbled onto a strong plot line. Back to page one I went and oh, what a joy to finally know where this story needed to begin. If only I'd just jumped back to the middle and kept on drafting... Alas, the tidy freak in me decided to edit those rough chapters. 

Did I end up with a strong manuscript? I wish.
Maybe I did more harm than good editing as I went along. At the very least, I dragged out the first draft to an entire year!

Lesson for Sue: tidy is for after the story is complete.

Got some sage wisdom to share? I'd love to hear it!

Happy Writing!
Sue