A to Z Challenge: K is for...Kidnapped

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!

This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,

depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.

Here’s the thing: I couldn’t figure out a topic for emotion or grammar that began with K,

so I thought I’d go a little off course.  But if that’s not good enough, you could always go to my

K post from last year.  Either way, I appreciate your indulgence. 

__________

K is for Kidnapped:  to steal, carry off, or abduct by force or fraud, especially for use as a hostage or to extract ransom.

I’m sure you’re wondering why I picked kidnapped.  Well, if you haven’t yet read my book, The Mistaken, then you might not know it’s a huge part of the story.  Funny thing is, the hard part of pulling that off was making the reader sympathize with a protagonist who commits such a heinous act, not to mention quite a few others.  But, I must have done a decent enough job because…

Not only is The Mistaken still loitering in Amazon’s Top Rated in Romantic Suspense, it’s also ranked fourth on Goodreads’ Kidnapped list, along with CJ Roberts’ Dark Duet Series and Lucy Christopher’s Stolen, all of which I enjoyed.

I’d love to have your support, too, so if you’re a Goodreads member, feel free to sign in and hit the "vote for this book" button.

Thank you!  Thank you verra much!

A to Z Challenge: K is for Key

Welcome to Day 11 of the A to Z Challenge

Many bloggers have chosen a theme for the A to Z.  My pledge since becoming a blogger is to post about writing, so for this event, I will being posting about what I've learned about writing a novel.

________

K is for Key:  something that affords the means of access. (Dictionary.com)

One of the best books I’ve ever read on the craft of writing is Writing the Breakout Novel by literary agent Donald Maass.  In it, he plots out an easy to follow roadmap with all the key ingredients.  So I’m going to use his words and knowledge and spell out the key ingredients for a breakout premise:

Plausibility:  When configuring the premise of your novel, you have to ask yourself, could this really happen?  Maass insists that the premise must seem like it could happen to us, the reader.  It should have a grain of truth, for it is this truth that persuades the reader to care.  A little known fact that is unfamiliar, surprising, or arouses curiosity draws the reader in deeper.

Inherent Conflict:  Another question to ask yourself is, does my world contain built-in conflict?  In other words, are there opposing forces, both strong, maybe even both right?  Stories should be set among cultural and social surroundings that are sophisticated and involve contentious groups or perspectives, somewhere it is NOT safe.  Even the most utopian setting should overflow with complications and unseen hazards.  Character relationships must also have conflict.

Originality:  There probably aren’t any new plots to be discovered out there.  The same tropes have been explored over and over.  So you need to find a fresh angle.  Even a story that’s been told a plethora of times and ways can be retold from a different perspective.  Maass suggests authors find originality by doing the exact opposite of what is expected or to combine two discrete story elements.

My own novel is about two very different brothers, revenge, and organized crime, all tried and true premises.  It’s also about mistaken identity, another popular trope.  But I combined the four concepts and wrapped them around a love story, adding my own experiences and telling it from a unique perspective.                     

Do you have a checklist for brainstorming a story premise?