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Jessica Ferguson

Author, Writing Coach, Speaker

MEET SANDRA ORCHARD

August 9, 2013 By Jessica Ferguson Leave a Comment

When Sandra Orchard wrote this post, she had no idea she was writing to, and about, me. I’m one of those writers who has trouble determining my main character’s goal. If she’d asked me what Cory’s goal is, I’d have said, to get the girl. Or I may have asked … when? before he meets Bretta or after? Before he realizes his life is about to change, or after it changes? Okay, I tend to complicate things–as you see, so Sandra’s use of the word urgent really helps. To read an excerpt of her books Fatal Inheritance and Deadly Devotion just click the titles.

WHAT’S YOUR HERO’S GOAL?
by Sandra Orchard

Your novel’s main character needs a goal.

You know this, right?

But do you really understand what it means?

At a writer’s conference I recently attended, I asked every single writer who had an appointment with me this question: What is your hero’s goal for the story?

Only one out of eight gave me a satisfactory answer. Most had a lot to say about what the hero or heroine would learn through the story, especially spiritually, since we’re talking Christian fiction, but very few of the writers I talked to had nailed down a concrete, visible, urgent story goal for their main character.

If you’re writing commercial fiction, and want to be published, your hero needs a goal.

A concrete goal.

New writers often get confused by the lingo. Writing teachers talk about long-term and short-term goals, internal goals and external goals, needs and wants, not to mention scene goals.

I find that most Christian writers don’t have a problem with the character’s long-term goal, which often tends to be abstract. It’s what the character wants (or needs) out of life in general.

Where writers run into trouble is in identifying what is often called the “short-term goal”. I prefer to call it the character’s story goal, to differentiate it from the very short-term changing goals the character has in each scene.

The character’s story goal not only needs to be concrete, it needs to be achievable within the time constraints of the story. The story is over when your main character reaches his/her goal or fails to reach it.

Now, if you’re thinking, I write romance…the hero’s goal is to win the girl, think again.

Okay, occasionally, winning the girl is the singular story goal, but it’s not enough for the goal to simply be concrete and achievable.

It needs to be urgent.

If the hero could wait until next month or next year to pursue his goal or solve the problem then there’s no urgency to propel the story forward.

We suspense writers like to call this urgency the ticking bomb. If the hero doesn’t reach the goal by a certain time, boom.

In my newest release, Fatal Inheritance, my heroine’s goal is to hang onto the century farmhouse she’s inherited from her recently deceased grandparents.

Her sister and brother-in-law are fighting the will. Land developers are vying for the land. One of them, or maybe someone else, wants her out of the house so desperately, he or she goes to great lengths to scare Becki Graw into leaving.

As for urgency…

Since the house is in a rural community, that isn’t a commutable distance from where Becki worked, she quit her job. She planned to live on her savings until she found a job nearby. However, she hadn’t counted on necessary house repair expenses, nor on the suppressed economy in the area that makes finding a job near impossible.

Added to that, her sister’s threat to break the will cannot be ignored. She is determined to make it happen yesterday.

Then when Becki cannot be persuaded to go quietly into the night, the threats mount and her choices morph to give up the house or die. Which of course, adds urgency to the cop-next-door’s goal to catch the person behind the threats.

When choosing a goal for your main character, be sure his or her motivation is strong. He or she must have something significant enough at stake to keep pushing forward when it would be easier to just quit. But that’s a lesson for another day.

Any questions? 

 
Bio:

Sandra Orchard is a multi-award-winning Canadian author of inspirational romantic suspense/mysteries. Her summer releases include: Fatal Inheritance (Aug, Love Inspired Suspense) and Deadly Devotion (June, Revell). She is an active member in American Christian Fiction Writers, The Word Guild, and Romance Writers of America. To find out more about her novels, or read interesting bonus features, please visit www.sandraorchard.com or connect at www.Facebook.com/SandraOrchard

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: character goals, Deadly Devotion, Fatal Inheritance, fiction, Sandra Orchard, Uncategorized

Sweet Rewards for Writers

January 7, 2013 By Jessica Ferguson Leave a Comment

I’ve had a couple of very nice surprises in the past day or two. First, I ordered a book that was published in 2011 and found this acknowledgement:

“I wish to thank my critique partner extraordinaire, Jessica Ferguson, for all her wonderful suggestions …”

Several years ago through one of my on-line writing groups, another writer and I agreed to do a read-through of each other’s completed manuscripts. Hers was a historical and oh, how I dreaded reading it. I didn’t think I could help her at all because historical novels just aren’t my thing. I don’t know why. I used to read them all the time when I was young, and loved them, but these days it takes a special historical to capture my attention.

The author–we didn’t know each other–emailed it to me, I printed it out (yes, sorry, I kill trees) and WOW! It was wonderful.  I couldn’t quit reading. I flipped manuscript pages like crazy. The only real comment I had was regarding the ending. The characters and story were so good that the ending didn’t measure up, left me wanting. No way did Dulcie deserve such an ending! And we know what they say: The first page sells the book and the last page sells the next book. Right?

I want to introduce you to Dulcie Crowder Gets Her Man by Sarah Richmond.

After her father’s death, Dulcie Crowder leaves their El Dorado claim and travels to Hangtown. Her aim is matrimony, and she sets her hat for the handsome deputy, Tom Walker. But he wants a woman he can be proud to walk beside, so Dulcie tries to transform herself into a lady.

Tom has vowed above all else to bring law and order to this hardscrabble gold rush town, and knows Hangtown is no place to get married and start a family. Yet, he takes notice as Dulcie tries to turn his head and win his heart. So do all the other lonely men around.

When Dulcie discovers corruption in the judiciary during the trial of a friend, she naturally turns to Tom for help. The deputy looks for evidence, but Dulcie has other ideas on how to catch the varmint. As she works for justice, will she jeopardize her chances with Tom?

Learn more about author Sarah Richmond and the setting for Dulcie by visiting her website. And if you want to laugh and love a story and characters, GET THIS BOOK! I’m not exaggerating–I STILL have those printed manuscript pages because this love story is a KEEPER!

* * * * *

Now the next great surprise was when I downloaded the first of a new series of instructional articles by Charles A. Gramlich. At the end of this valuable little how-to, I found that Charles printed my review of his book Write with Fire, Thoughts on the Craft of Writing. I find that thrilling! You might check out this series. It provides a detailed examination of one critical aspect of the writing craft, and Fiction Techniques #1 is about Creating Suspense. I gained some valuable info that will, no doubt, improve my romantic suspense writing. And I promise you won’t be disappointed. Fiction Techniques #1 is FREE today and tomorrow, so grab it NOW!
 
I love reading the dedications and acknowledgements in books, and as you can tell, to the very last page. This is one of the nicest gifts you can give a crit partner or fellow writer. At least, I think so.


Thanks Charles and Sarah!

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: acknowledgments, Charles Gramlich, Dedications, fiction, Sarah Richmond, Uncategorized

Reality Faith.
Reality Fiction.

"As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:20

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