Weekly Roundup 10-10-18 Why Characters Must Struggle

Weekly Roundup is an update on what’s going on in my world. Welcome!

I hate to admit this, but in my early books the characters faced too few challenges. This fault was noticed by a number of reviewers, but I basically ignored them as negative trolls who were having a bad day. I was tired of reading books which reflected constant turmoil, struggle, pain and angst. There was already plenty of that in the news and everyday life, and I wanted to write about people and places where most everything goes right. (Note to self: this is called fantasy.)

It took a while for me to figure out that few people want to read such stories. Why not? Because it doesn’t reflect real life. I’m sure there is a complicated psychological explanation for the human need to face and overcome obstacles, and we all subscribe to it whether we want to or not. I have never met a single person who’s life was ALL sunshine and roses, and neither have you. This is why my characters, if I want them to be realistic, must be given struggles to overcome, problems to solve, and issues to face.

Matthew Trinetti wrote an interesting article entitled “Ten Reasons to Love the Obstacles in Your Life”. There were several which I consider particularly useful as an author:

1.Obstacles show us who we really are.

2.Obstacles instruct us on what to do next.

3.Obstacles help us focus on what’s important.

4.Obstacles help us find meaning in our lives.

5.Obstacles give us the opportunity to change our lives for the better.

So I guess I have to admit those “negative trolls” were right after all, and I deserved their criticism! My more recent books are more representative of reality, and truth be told, my readers and I are both happier with them. Still…I hate making my main characters suffer too much or for too long. A bit of realism is fine, but I will probably always prefer writing stories which are generally uplifting.

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Despite the upheaval of my recent move, I managed to finish chapter nine of Traitor’s Moon! Word count stands at 74,000+ (A full length novel contains 50,000-110,000 words). Now begins the gentle downhill slope towards the finish where I can spend more time on the romance, final resolution of the major conflict, and put the final touches on the sub-plot threads. There’s still a lot of story to write, but I’m feeling less pressure. It’s incredibly freeing to get the story out of my head and down on paper!

Part of the process for every new book is creating a new cover, and I am working on that too. Covers are extremely important, so it pays to do it right. Searching for images or photos can be fun but it eats up a lot of time. The next step involves all the back and forth with the designer; explaining what I want, looking at multiple mock-ups, color choices, last minute changes, etc. The reward comes when all the pieces fall into place and my new book is complete! I’ll keep you informed as things progress.