Use These Tips in Your Writing

 I wrote a series of posts for a writers' group. I am rehashing some of them here.

Fantasy Plotting

There are tips to be gained about plotting. This month, we focus on fantasy genre. Here are some rules to keep in mind when writing fantasy.

1. Medieval Times -- Even though you create a new world or a fantasy world attached to our current world as in Harry Potter books, you usually set it in medieval times. That means clothes and weapons of that era. If you choose to use modern day, you can add medieval elements.

2. Swords, Wands, Magic -- Most fantasy novels involve sword play, wands and some magic. How much you use these things is up to you. Some books are full of them. Others put in a little here or there.

3. Relatable World -- Make sure the world you create is relatable to your audience and is understandable. If you create a language, make sure you define words. If you create laws and rules, make sure you tell the reader what those are. In every book, magic has certain rules that must be defined. For example, Harry Potter wizards and witches were not allowed to make magic visible to people without magic. However, Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series has everyone understanding that magic is a part of life. In Harry Potter, they could fly. In Sword of Truth, they couldn't unless they use dragons.

4. Dragons, Griffons, Creatures -- Almost all fantasy books have creatures. Most of the time, dragons are the creature of choice, but others are found in myths or are created by the author. I have created several in my first book.

5. Life or Death -- Fantasy novels usually have a life or death situation for the protagonist, but often, the plot involves the whole world. The protagonist is thrust into the situation and must save the world, whichever one you created. The big picture might not happen in the first novel. Fantasy novels tend to be at least three books.

We are continuing to talk about Fantasy plotting. The great part about writing fantasy is that you can create objects that characters can use as their tools of the trade. For example, Terry Goodkind used magical swords, special movements, magical journals, knives and rods to move his plot in the story. J.K. Rowling had potions, invisibility cloaks, port keys and creatures. I created a magical portal using a specific ritual in The 1776 Scroll of Secrets. Here are some common items authors use for tools in fantasy novels.

1. Invisibility -- Some authors have cloaks. Some have potions. Some have techniques. I used DNA that allowed a person to become invisible at will. This is similar to what superhero stories use. Almost all authors have something that will make a character invisible. When characters can be invisible, they can spy on others and learn things they wouldn't otherwise know.

2. Weapons -- Most authors have magical weapons. They could be swords, wands, knives, daggers, claws or a combination of all of those. Terry Goodkind uses the Sword of Truth (Richard's main weapon), the agile (the main weapon of his guards), magic (Zedd's weapon), an arm (Khalan's main weapon) and other tools. Harry Potter characters mostly use wands for weapons. My characters use both magical weapons and nonmagical weapons, such as guns.

3. Portals -- All characters need a way to get from one point to another. Some can use nonmagical ways, such as cars or public transportation. Others can use magical means, such as a portal. You also can have magical creatures, such as dragons or horses act as transportation. Most successful authors use a combination of different types of portals or transportation.

4. Limitations -- The tools should have limitations. For example, potions should not work in certain circumstances. Weapons could lose magic or get lost. Invisibility might not always work.

5. Potions -- Characters need to eat or drink something to help the plot. This could be magical potions, punches, special food or plants. Sometimes, these are used like drugs where they knock out the main character. Other times, they are used as a portal or weapon.

Thriller Plotting

 The key to writing plots for thrillers regardless of the type of thriller is the protagonist and his friends are put in danger. They are usually running for their lives. When they believe they are safe, they find out they are not.

Rules for writing thriller plots are:

1. Action rarely stops. You do need to give the reader a break to provide exposition periodically, but the action keeps you riveted.

2. Add in twists and turns. The reader should be saying, "I didn't see that coming." That keeps the reader guessing and helps to keep the action moving. Don't put in too many twists and turns because that can make the plot too convoluted or complicated, but adding in several is good.

3. There are traitors. Often, in thrillers, the people the main characters thinks they trust are not those who should be trusted. They could be traitors. These traitors are often part of the twists and turns. It also keeps the main character moving and the action going.

4. Explosions, gun battles, fist fights and other fighting are necessary. These are great to keep the main character from feeling complacent or safe. They add a surprising element to your story.

5. Give clues. Like mysteries, thrillers need you to put in clues throughout the book to determine who is the bad guy or guys and what their motivations are. The clues also give the main character answers on how to resolve the problems.

A few weeks ago, I saw Mission Impossible 7. The plot involves artificial intelligence. My computer was recently hacked and my banking information was stolen. Both of these things has sparked an idea to talk about cyber thrillers. These are thrillers that involve the digital world. This is a new type of thriller and is becoming more common in reality, so you might have a reference on how it could happen. Here are some tips on cyber thrillers.

1. The computer or computer world takes over the real world in some way. For example, in MI7, the A.I. made a submarine crew think it was being attacked so they sent a missile toward their own submarine.

2. Life and death situations still occur, but they might be in a virtual world. In Ready Player One, the whole store takes place online. In a thriller by Lee Goldberg, the main character has to get off the grid to be safe in certain scenes because the spies had tracked his movements using technology and back door openings.

3. Technology isn't the villain. It is the way technology is used that is the villain. Protagonists also use the computer and technology to their advantage.

4. It could not be historical fiction, but it could be science fiction. Because technology like we have today is not available even 30 years ago, you couldn't do a cyber thriller, but in the 1980s, War Games uses computers to almost start a war. However, you could set your story in the future. Technology would be even more advanced in just a few short years. Time travel or futuristic plots are found in science fiction.

Mystery/Suspense Plotting

Mystery and suspense are the umbrella for many subcategories with their own plotting rules. For this post, I will give general rules that apply to all of them.

Rule No. 1. You must have at least one person murdered even if the plot is kidnapping, a heist or identity theft.

Rule No. 2. The main detective (not necessarily from the police) must have skills that allow the person solve the murder, but at the same time, the detective should have vulnerabilities. For example, Kinsey Milhone is 118 pounds and is usually going up murders twice her size.

Rule No. 3. The main detective needs help from friends. The other main characters have skills he or she doesn't. For example, stories involving shop owners usually have a relationship with the police department.

Rule No. 4. All scenes lead up to revealing the killer and a big climax that puts the detective in mortal danger.

Rule No. 5. There must be clues along the way to help the reader figure out who is the killer. For example, in the picture below, the killer forgot to pick up her hat, towel and sunglasses. Also, the clues should be subtle and not DNA or fingerprints. If you use them, it is best to have the fingerprints or DNA samples not match anything in the system. It also depends on the era you write. If your books are set in the 1940s, you wouldn't have access to DNA technology.

Rule No. 6. The killer believes he or she is righteous and is doing something that needs to be done.

Rule No. 7. There are three main plots -- revenge, money and love. The killer wants revenge for a wrong done to him or her. The killer wants money, such as inheritance. The killer thinks he or she is love with the victim and the detective is getting in the way or the killer is upset the victim chooses someone else or is having an affair.

In The 1776 Musket, my bomber is getting revenge on a university employee and thinks she is in love with Sol Adams, my main male character.

In a recent workshop on editing, we were given a lot of information. I am borrowing something from one of the editors on plotting for this week. The purpose of any story is to draw people into the plot and keep them reading (hence the picture). Developmental Editor and Coach Sharon Hughson said that when you are plotting each scene, you want tension. Your characters need a stake in the outcome. This could be a small outcome, such as making it to the destination, or large one, such as life or death. In most mystery stories, the protagonist usually ends up in a life or death situation at the end. Along the way, things can happen that add tension or increase tension. These are things you need to keep in mind when you are figuring out your plots.

Romance Plotting

We are going to talk about romance genre because I am most familiar with that genre.

Rule No. 1 The male character should be strong, muscular, caring and a good father. The female character should have inner strength, confidence and intelligence. She should be a good mother. She should be beautiful in the male character's eyes if not in everyone's.

Rule No. 2 The typical plot for romance is boy meets girl; boy and girl begin as enemies but grow closer; boy and girl separate; boy and girl get together in the end with a happy ending.

This basic plot can be manipulated in a number of ways. For example, you could have the villain want the woman for himself or want revenge against the man. The villain could want to break up the people for whatever reason.

Rule No. 3 The main characters should not trust each other in the beginning. They also could each have a secret that prevents them from trust or getting together until the secrets are known.

Rule No. 4 The main story is about their growing love for each other. The plot, character development and settings should always move the book toward that end goal of them loving each other.

When you are plotting in romance, you have to have scenes that bring them into the same space. For example, in historical romance, authors often use dances to bring the two together. In modern romances, it could be circumstances. In 1776 Bed and Breakfast, my bed and breakfast owner ends up in the office of my tour guide manager often. In 1776 Soldier, my current book, not yet released, the HVAC technician has to fix something at the bed and breakfast where the chef works.

Because I mentioned Father's Day, I also want to say you could have scenes where the main male character interacts with children to show he is a good father.

Think of ways you can use these tips. I look forward to your comments. Have a great week and happy writing.