How to Write a Brilliant Novel: The Easy Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Story (Go! Write Something Brilliant) Read Online Free PDF

character?
    For example, let’s say we have a character who has a goal to open a bookstore. She has invested every last cent into the bookstore, so if it doesn’t succeed, she’s a flop. Her external goal is to have a successful bookstore. Her internal goal is to fulfill her father’s dream, which was, ironically, to own a bookstore. But this deeper goal can’t be reached just by the act of opening the bookstore. Why? Because of her motivation. Her father died, and not just any death, but a death she caused. Her motivation is guilt. So her inner goal, driven by her motivation, is to atone for her role in her father’s death. So what’s the conflict?
    She buys a rundown house to turn into a bookstore, but it’s in serious need of repair. She isn’t a great handygal, nor does she have a lot of extra money. She needs cheap labor, so she hires a handyman/drifter to help her. However, mishaps keep occurring that push her further and further away from her goals. Which leads her to believe that the handyman she hired is to blame. The conflict is the house, the handyman, and her feelings of failure.
    Good conflict should push your character further and further from their goals, yet strengthen their motivation to push ahead .
    Many, many people develop characters based simply on GMC. And that’s okay. In the end, you should be able to succinctly say what your character’s GMC is. However, getting there should be a more introspective process, which I think, in the long run, will help you in developing plot.
     
     

Creating Characters from the Inside Out:
    Throw away the list!
     
    When I began writing, I did what seemed logical—I filled out character lists. Answered hundreds of questions. But my characters still felt flat, and more than that, their actions, dialogue, and conflicts didn’t seem to ring true. At the time, I was homeschooling, and as I looked at developing my children’s self-esteem, it hit me. People reveal themselves from the inside out, based on how they see themselves, on the five elements of self-esteem:
Identity
Purpose
Competence
Security
Belonging
     
    When we begin with these elements, we can create three-dimensional characters and even develop a plot driven by these nearly breathing people.
     
    Let’s keep dancing through discovery with a WALTZ
     
    Let’s start with a quick overview:
Who Am I? Identity: How do I define myself? Identity helps you define:
Your values
Your greatest fears
Your greatest dream
     
At All Costs? Purpose: What is my Noble Cause in life?
Let Me Do It! Competence: What am I good at? What do I rely on when I am overwhelmed?
Teddy Bear Security: Where do I go for safety? What do I do when life is falling apart?
Zone Belonging: Where do I fit in God’s world? Where do I believe I belong?
     
    All these components work together to make you a three-dimensional person. Let’s see how they fit together in creating your character.
     
     

WHO?
     
    Getting to the bottom of your character’s motivations, values, deepest fears, and greatest dreams!
     
    Who am I? How do I introduce myself? I have an identity—as a wife, a mother, an author By those three words, I’ve given you a glimpse into who I am, based on your understanding of what those words mean to you. Everyone has an identity, a way they describe themselves. Knowing how our character defines himself or herself will help us understand their motivations. This also helps us figure out what their greatest fears and dreams are, and gives us insight into crafting that Black Moment.
     
    Let’s take a character I mentioned before: author Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan—a CIA analyst rising in the ranks who hasn’t had much field action. He’s a family man who wants to keep the world safe and out of WW III. In the movie Hunt for Red October his greatest fear is misinterpreting the actions of a Russian sub commander, whose sub has gone AWOL, and accidentally igniting WWIII. His greatest dream is to be right—and gain