by Sharon Kendrick, author of Kat and the Dare-Devil Spaniard (part of the Balfour Brides miniseries — Harlequin Presents, September 2010)
In case you missed it, Mills & Boon are currently running a competition to find a new writer. The prize is a priceless opportunity to have your book published by the world’s biggest and most successful publisher of romantic fiction.
Wow.
I know that many of you are deep into your competition entries – burning the midnight oil/writing feverishly before getting your kids ready for school/snatching whatever spare moment you have to make your story unforgettable. And I know that some of our fabulous published authors are busy giving workshops and handing out advice on how to make your manuscript into the one which the commissioning editor reads with widening eyes and a fast-beating heart.
So what will make your story leap off the page?
Easy. Create two unforgettable characters who the reader will really care about – and be sad to leave when the time comes to say goodbye.
Every story I write will never “flow” until I get into the hearts and minds of my hero and heroine. Sometimes it’s a small detail which will make that character start breathing. In the book I’ve just completed (featuring a deliciously complicated Russian called Nikolai Komarov) – he sprang to life when I realised how hungry he was as a boy. He used to have to eat quickly – guarding every precious mouthful in case someone tried to steal it from his plate. The sentence: “It took a long time for him to learn how to eat slowly” showed me how far a journey he’d had to make from the starving boy he’d been – to the powerful oligarch he became.
So stop writing for a moment. Sit back and ask yourselves a couple of questions:
- If your heroine had to rescue one thing from a burning house, what would it be?
- Has your hero ever cried? Why? When? Where?
These are just examples of key questions which help you burrow deeper into the hearts of your protagonists, helping them to become three-dimensional people who will spark off each other.
Any other questions you could think of asking? Go on – tell us!
And good luck.
This is terrific writing advice, Sharon–and just what I needed to read today! Thanks!
Oh, Sharon, what fabulous advice.
I’m feeling massively inspired now.
Thanks!
Best,
Jemima.
P.S Nikolai sounds delicious!
XXX
Great post, Sharon, and I love those questions to ask your characters! I just asked them about mine and it helped me with the current wip–so thank you!
Brilliant way of finding out what’s most important to them, Sharon.
More questions?
Sophie Weston once told me some brilliant questions to ask – what do the hero and heroine THINK they want, and what do they REALLY want? They’re often not the same thing. And you have to dig quite deeply to find out the answers
I also want to know what makes them laugh – and what kind of music they listen to. (That’s probably because I “soundtrack” my books – being a music junkie, I find that makes it flow better. And I have a very diverse taste in music, so they could listen to just about anything except rap!)
The interesting thing is that we all need to think about these kind of questions, Caitlin – no matter how many books we have written. In fact, I always thing that the current book is the “only” book.
So glad to have been of assistance, Kate!
Yes, Sophie Weston’s questions are indeed brilliant, Kate (Hardy!). I shall think about them in future….
It doesn’t surprise me that your characters’ musical tastes are important to you since I know that music features heavily (man!) in your very entertaining blog.
Humour, yes – I agree – that’s important and I find it very sexy – though was once told to beware of using too much humour because it can dilute the sexual tension (and we can’t have THAT!)
Thanks Sharon – great advice as always. Caroline x
Thanks, Caroline – are you entering the competition?
Some food for thought there, Sharon. Also lots of other good questions to keep in mind as I read over my entry before submitting it.
Another questions. What matters to them most and why?
Looking forward to reading Nikolai’s story.
That’s a brilliant question, Rachael – and you could see how the hero and heroine’s conflicting desires could put them on a collision course…
Great post Sharon.
I do ask my hero and heroine questions, but with every book there is one question I always ask myself, and that is: Why is she the only woman for him?
Yes, Sarah – the “why is she the only woman for him” question can be tricky….especially when he’s so picky and she has to have qualities which transcend all the invisible hurdles he makes women jump – and yet she also has to madden the hell out of him.
And people say it’s easy…..!
Sharon, those two questions have really helped with my WIP. Thanks!
Aww, Christine – that’s a great compliment – thank you so much.
What matters most to them and why?
This is not a question I have come up with, but one given by Kate Walker during one of her writing courses.
It’s a question I’ve given thought to for my entry to New Voices.
Great questions, Sharon.
I always need to know my characters’ Safe Place – where they go and/or what they do to recharge their batteries, plan their next move or recover if necessary.
Looking forward to reading your oligarch hero.
Sharon, reading this post has made me feel a whole lot more energised about my current wip, which has been far too neglected over the summer. You’ve reminded me that these are people, not ‘characters’ and there’s so much I have yet to discover about them.
Before I was published I read Kate Walker’s excellent ’12 Point Guide’ and found her character questionnaires really useful. One question of my own that I added to the heroine’s questionnaire is ‘what does she sleep in?’ Sounds a bit daft, but thinking about that never fails to reveal a whole lot about what kind of girl I’m dealing with.
Good luck to all the ‘New Voices’!
Sharon,
What a terrific post! I’m already intrigued by your Nikolai. Isn’t it wonderful the way one small detail will give you an ‘in’ to understanding your characters? I’m so relieved and thrilled when that happens as suddenly the person I’d been thinking of comes alive and begins to talk to me.
Thanks for the character questions. I’m about to use them for my own new story. You’re a gem for sharing them with us!
India, that “what does she sleep in?” puzzle reminds me of Marilyn Monroe who apparently wore only Chanel No. 5 in bed!
Thanks, Annie – and I think it’s really encouraging for the entrants in the NEW VOICES competition to realise that we ALL angst and wrack our brains when we’re starting a new book.
As ever you have us all thinking hard Sharon! Thank you so much for pulling me back on course and reminding me (yet again!) that if you take the time to truly know your hero and heroine then the plot just flies naturally!
My favourites to think about are…
How and when does the boy show through in the man (I especially love the cheeky ones – it’s their boyish naughtiness I fall for!)
and
What is your heroine’s secret dream – the one she dallies in when her mind wanders and where she tries to snuggle back into when she settles down to sleep.
Please keep the advice coming – it’s inspiring.
Thanks so much Sharon! My current wip is little more than a germ of a premise and a few scattered ideas and snippets of dialogue. Lovely to give my random thoughts some direction with a few pertinent questions:-))
So important to work out who the characters are so that the story flows. Bravo!
Dear Sharon
What great advice! I’m desperate to now learn what the other questions you ask yourself of the characters are …
And I’ve only just found your blog – is it too late for me to enter your country-naming competition? I guess location is the next most important thing to ‘help the story leap of the page’ – is that your view?
Any help on this aspect?
Thank you
Vladima
Thanks, Sarah-Jane and yes, that man-boy thing is powerful.
And a secret dream for the heroine is also important – and I’m not just talking white lace or tulle!
Isn’t it wonderful to be at that stage of the novel, Trish? When you are in the first glorious flush of creation and your characters are just about to start dominating your thoughts for the next however-many weeks!
Am just about to begin mine…
Thank you Sharon, I’ve just used the 2 questions you posted. And I was instantly reminded of my current characters vulnerabilities, which gives them humanity.
And thank you to all the others who have posted the questions they ask themselves…I’m taking note of all of them.
The question I consider is what are my characters 3 core values. For example mine are honesty, trust and humour. Yours might be completely different, but they shape you and your personality.
I’m looking forward to reading the latest book Sharon, it should be here for the weekend x
Brilliant tips, Sharon. As a reader, it’s the depth of the characters that keep me reading. It’s the thin, two-dimensional characters that I have a hard time caring about. Some of my favorite books feature characters that I’ve come to deeply care about. When I re-read these treasured books it’s like visiting old friends.
Good luck to all who have entered the contest! And cheers to Mills & Boon for providing great opportunities for new authors!
Sophie – a “safe place” – yes!
(I”m trying to work out where mine would be!)
Vladima – no, it’s not too late to enter the Sheikh Kingdom competition – please do!
Another question might be to ask the characters what they (grudgingly!) LIKE about each other, even in the midst of all their conflict.
Thanks, Dan! And you are so right – well-rounded characters stay with you long after the book has ended.
?????? ??????????????
Vladima X
Dear Sharon
Sorry for the odd message above – the website did not recognise my Russian script!
I wrote “A thousand thanks”
I will try to write the phrase phonetically – this may help you with any further Russian heroes (who are the sexiest in the world) – Tysyacha blagodarnostyei!
Have been thinking of my new country for your blog competition…
Vladima x
Thanks, Vladima – I loved researching my (sexy!) Russian hero and it’s made me long to visit the country one day.