Writing Bad-Boys and Unhealthy Relationships

Today I want to look at the trope that the evil, yet handsome bad-boy can turn it all around when he meets the love of his life. Characters that argue and build sexual tension between them are interesting to read about, but often in an attempt to achieve this angst writers create a bad-boy character that pushes the romance in their book into unhealthy relationship territory. In response, many writers and bloggers have been posting about how unhealthy relationships in books aren't okay. Which is great! But, I think sometimes the message gets oversimplified, leading some to think that all bad-boys are just bad.

The reality is that real relationships are complicated and that even the best relationships have hard times. Any married person or anyone that's been in a long-term relationship will tell you that there's been moments, fights, events in their relationship where they said something they didn't mean, or did something they regret. Real relationships are messy at times. Sometimes people that love each other are mean to each other. But, there is a difference between complicated and messy and unhealthy.

There's a big push for authors to stop writing bad-boys and unhealthy relationships altogether in fiction. I disagree. I think authors need to start writing bad-boys and unhealthy relationships realistically and stop romanticizing them. For example, maybe the main character falls into an unhealthy relationship and finds the strength to get out of it. Or, maybe the main character works to inspire another character to be a better person without dating them. Or, maybe that bad-boy, tortured anti-hero, decides to be a better person and realistically puts in the work to change, being affected by realistic consequences for his bad behavior.

So, if you want to write a bad-boy, how do you make his redemption arc believable and stay away from that toxic relationship scenario?

1. The bad-boy's redemption should take time, and be about more than just getting the girl. If your character instantly decides to be good when he meets your lead, this is unrealistic. Don't teach your readers that "you can change him." Your bad-boy can be inspired to change by your lead character, but she shouldn't become his conscious. If your main character is your bad-boy's only reason for being good and she'll do anything to save him you're throwing them into a co-dependent relationship. Super-unhealthy. He's got to make changes because he truly understands why he should change and wants to do it for himself.

2. Your female lead should not be getting involved with your bad-boy or staying in a relationship with him if he's being abusive. If your YA bad-boy calls out your lead at school, completely embarrassing her, she should not be hooking up with him in the next chapter -- not even if he lamely says sorry. She should probably be really mad. If your vampire bad-boy murders a bunch of innocent people, your lead should not be hooking up with him in the next chapter. She should probably be utterly terrified, really angry, or both. In other words, if your bad-boy does something bad, there should be realistic consequences, which do NOT include getting the girl. And a truly strong female lead should acknowledge that her bad-boy might be bad for her. That's the thing about a bad-boy redemption arc that I think many writers miss. If the bad-boy needs redeeming then as he is, he's not good enough for their female lead, but said lead is often written to act as if he is.

3. Stay away from sexual assault and rape if you want your bad-boy to be redeemable. A bad-boy being sexist, rude, crude, a total jerk, or doing something to make your lead feel uncomfortable could possibly be redeemable if you include appropriate consequences and show your character understanding why what he did was wrong and learning to be a better person. BUT, rape is not something your main character should forgive. Rape is all about control and unless you truly understand the psychology of it, and include appropriate consequences such as going to jail and therapy, I'd avoid it. I have a BA in Psychology and work with both victims and perpetrators of sexual assault and I don't feel like I could realistically write a redemption arc for a rapist -- at least not in the context of a romance novel. That said, I do hope authors continue to write about tough issues like sexual assault and rape -- just not in a way that romanticizes them.


Books/TV that did it wrong:

Bella and Edward in Twilight by Stephanie Meyer: This series breaks rules #1 and #2. Bella and Edward and completely co-dependent, and Bella swoons over Edward regardless of how he acts.

Patch and Nora in Hush, Hush: Breaks all the rules, especially rule #3. From what I understand (I'll admit I haven't read this) there's way too much sexual assault happening in this book.

Chuck and Blair on Gossip Girl: This relationship started out really interesting, but when the writers broke rule #3 with Chuck's character, I felt this was unforgivable.

I could probably continue on with this list for miles. It'd probably consist of mostly YA PNR books. But, let's move on. Feel free to comment on other books that break the rules in the comments below.


Books/TV that did it right:

Willow and Tara on Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Willow and Tara's relationship starts out really healthy, but as Willow's addiction to magic grows she becomes abusive to Tara, using magic to erase Tara's memories of fights they've had. I love this example for a few reasons. One, bad-boys aren't always boys. Girls can be bad-boys. And while Willow's character certainly didn't start out very bad, she's pretty badass by the beginning of season 6. Also, girls can be abusive in relationships too. Two, Willow's abuse of Tara is mental and emotional. Abuse isn't always physical. Three, Willow convinced herself that what she was doing wasn't so bad. She just wanted her and Tara to be happy and not to fight. And finally, when Tara realized that Willow had again removed her memories, Tara LEFT HER! Tara still loved Willow, but she realized that what Willow had done was wrong, abusive and that Willow wasn't going to change if Tara stayed. This was an incredibly sad story arch for these two characters, but this unhealthy relationship was necessary for the writers to explore other things with Willow's character, like addiction. It was an unhealthy relationship done right, and if Willow had been able to get the help she needed for her addiction, I think these characters could have found their way back to one another in a healthy way.

Katy and Daemon in Obsidian - There are some parallels to be made with this book and Twilight. They both have quiet, new-to-town, female leads and mysterious, gorgeous male love interests who turn out to be supernatural creatures. And, they both involve said love interests being not so nice to the lead characters in the beginning of the books. However. Obsidian portrays a much healthier relationship between Katy and Daemon than Bella and Edward in a number of ways. One, when Daemon is mean to Katy, Katy does not turn around and swoon over him. She basically writes him off and only ends up giving him another chance when his behavior starts to change and Katy promises her best friend (Daemon's sister) that she'd try to be nice to him. Their relationship is really brought together by Daemon's sister. Unlike Twilight where the characters just sort of swoon over one another for no real reason. Two, Daemon is definitely a jerk and does push Katy away creating that tension that bad-boy book lovers love, but when it matters he proves himself as one of the good guys. Daemon is the guy that steps in when Katy's homecoming date doesn't accept "no" as an answer, instead of being the guy to push her to say "yes" like in a lot of YA PNR books. And, at the end of the book, despite having feelings for Daemon, Katy walks away from him because she doesn't think he'll be good for her.

“No. Sorry. You have spent months being the biggest jerk to me. You don’t get to decide to like me one day and think I will forget all of that. I want someone to care for me like my dad cared for my mom.” (p.357)

This is just the beginning of Daemon's redemption arc and part of the reason it's done right is that Daemon gets held accountable for his actions and doesn't straight up get the girl by being a jerk.

Juliette and Warren in Ignite Me - I think part of what makes this a great example is that Juliette and Warren don't get together until the THIRD book. I hated Warren in the first two books. He had to do a lot to win me over as a reader and in turn to win Juliette. One, I think what works for this book is that a lot of the reasons why you think Warren is the bad guy are misleads. The reader learns a lot about who he is by the third book and you realize that he's not exactly who he first appeared to be. Juliette doesn't like him, at all, until she sees his redeeming qualities. Two, I like that this book addressed that Juliette's relationship with Adam wasn't super healthy and showed her getting out of that. Adam appears to be good for her in the beginning, but as Juliette grows as a person she realizes that he's not exactly what she needs.


Who are your favorite book bad-boys?

If you liked this post, you may also like:
Unhealthy Relationships: A Twilight, Graceling Comparison
Review for Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout
Review for Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Tips for Writing Dual POVs with Distinctive Voices

When writing a novel that flips between two (or more) character's POVs one of the biggest mistakes writers make is having the characters sound too much alike. In Unearthed After Sunset, the story alternates between two POV's, Greg and Caroline. When I was writing the book it was really important to me to make sure that Greg's chapters sounded different from Caroline's. Below are five tips for giving your characters distinctive voices.

1. Think about your character's interests and passions: The things your character cares about will shape how they see and describe the world. For example, an artist will use different words to describe a sunset than an athlete. An artist might describe the colors and beauty of the sunset. An athlete may take more notice of how the world around them darkens rather than the sunset itself, or maybe they notice the drop in temperature that sunset brings. In Unearthed Greg is a fan of horror movies, and in his chapters, he makes a number of references and comparisons to different horror movies. Caroline, however, is not a fan of scary movies so in her references and comparisons are more likely to be related to music.

2. Think about HOW your characters think: Does your character find themselves deep in thought often, or is there more brevity to their thoughts? Are they full of wonder, do they question things, or are they accepting of the world around them? In both Greg and Caroline's chapters, there are some beautiful descriptions, but Caroline's chapters are definitely flowier while Greg's are more to the point. Caroline notices more details than Greg does.

3. Consider your character's word choice: Does your character say soda or pop? Water fountain or bubbler? Do they refer to that piece of furniture in their living room as a couch or a sofa? Caroline is far more likely to be more specific and detailed in her descriptions. For example, if she points out the color of something she's more likely to say maroon or burgundy, where Greg is more likely to just say red. They also each have specific words they use that the other doesn't. When writing Unearthed I actually made a chart to remind me of their different phrases.

4. Edit your chapters out of order: If your chapters for each character alternate, do a read through where you read only character #1's chapters, then do a read through where you read only character #2's chapters. This can help you pay attention to their voice and character growth. With Unearthed, I would edit all of Caroline's chapters, skipping over Greg's, then go back and edit all of Greg's, skipping over Caroline's. This way I could focus on the voice of that character across the span of the book.

5. Take your character's gender into consideration: This is only really useful if the two characters you're alternating between are different genders, and it's important not to make your characters stereotypical. But, some gender stereotypes hold true and can help you form your characters. Maybe your female character shows more emotion. Maybe she's more social. Your male character might notice the physical attributes of your female character more than she notices his. Like I said, be careful of getting swept up in stereotypes, but remembering that men and women do sometimes see the world differently may help you differentiate your character's voices.

3 Must Haves for Chapter One

Most writers know the basics about what should go in their first chapter. Obviously, you want to introduce your main character and give your readers a little background about your story. But, exactly what should happen in chapter one is something I think a lot of writer's struggle with. So, here are three tips to writing that first chapter.

Must Have's for Chapter One:

1. A hook or question to be answered later - You need some kind of mystery, something that puts a question in your reader's head to make them keep reading in search of the answer. Don't start your book with long exposition and backstory. Do, find an interesting moment for your opening scene and sprinkle in backstory as you go.

In the first chapter of Shatter Me we learn that Juliette has been locked away in a cell, but Tahereh Mafi leaves why as an open question for her readers to wonder about.

2. A moment that makes your main character like-able - Have your character do something that makes your readers want to root for them. This is sometimes called the "save the cat" moment. This moment, whatever it is, gives your reader a reason to care about your main character and want to go on a journey with them. This can be a small moment or something major, but it's an important moment. If your reader doesn't care about your characters they have to reason to keep reading.

Having a like-able moment is especially important if you have a character that is otherwise unlikable. If your main character does something sympathetic in chapter one, your reader will have an easier time forgiving them for things they may do later on or looking past other unlikable traits.

In Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout we quickly discover a number of reasons to feel sympathetic toward Katy. On page one its revealed that Katy's father has recently passed away and she's just moved to a nowhere town. But, the moment that really made me care for Katy was when she saw her mom making eggs (and not doing a great job at it). Despite the fact that she clearly didn't want to move, and that she thought the eggs looked gross, she ate them knowing it would make her mom feel better. It was a small moment that showed she cared about her mom and for that reason I wanted to root for her.

In Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, we're given a lot of reasons not to like the main character, Sam. But, the book opens with her death and Sam thinking back on some things that she seems to feel guilty about. This allowed Oliver to build some sympathy for Sam allowing for readers to be willing to watch her do some mean things throughout the book as she learned to be a better person. This isn't as great of a like-able moment as Katy's from Obsidian because dying is something that happened to Sam, where in Obsidian Katy chose to eat the eggs, but it still worked. Your like-able moment will be stronger if your character actively makes a choice to do something your reader will sympathize with.

3. Description to set the scene - Let your reader know when and where they are. Your reader is being introduced to your book's world in chapter one, so be sure to give them enough details to picture it. Poor descriptions can leave your reader feeling confused or irritated that something wasn't as they imagined it. This is especially important for books that aren't set in a conventional modern day world.

In The Selection, Kiera Cass does a good job setting the scene for America's dystopian world. You know by the fist paragraph that America's family has had a hard time, by the first page that she feels crowded in her own home, and by the end of the first chapter you have a basic understanding of the caste system and that while America's world looks a lot like our own there are some big differences in her society.

For me, the best first chapters have all three of these "must-have's". Only including one or two can leave you with a lack-luster first chapter. Big Little Lies, for example, opens with a flash-forward scene showing a glimpse of the book's dramatic conclusion. It meets "must-have" number one, by opening with an interesting scene that leaves the reader with a question to be answered, and it meets "must-have" number three with some nice scene building. But because the POV is not that of one of the main characters it's unable to meet "must-have" number two and leaves the reader unable to connect with any of the main characters. This was one of my least favorite first chapters.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also like: 5 Reasons Readers Put Books Down

What books do you think had the best or worst first chapters?

5 Tips from Buffy for Writing a Book that Resonates with Readers

Saturday marks the 14 year anniversary of the last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. With this anniversary coming up I've found myself thinking about that iconic, cult-classic show and wondering what about it captivated its audience. The same question could be asked of Star Trek, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and a dozen other stories that have held audiences captivated decades after their release.

After a movie, sevens seasons on TV, a spinoff, and comics that are still being published today Buffy has not only entertained it's viewers and readers for over twenty years but has also spawned academic courses and inspired philosophers to write books discussing it's characters and content.

Buffy found a way to resonate with its fans. So, how do you write a book that resonates with your readers? I think for most writers this is the goal. We all want to write something that creates lifelong fans. I'd love to create a book that inspired fan-art and fan-fiction.

So what makes Buffy so special that 20 years after it first aired on TV people are still watching it and talking about it?

5. It was scary and funny. Buffy explored all kinds of serious life issues from surviving high school to the loss of loved ones, along with the fear of being in real danger and averting the apocalypse, but it still managed to be funny. Life is a rainbow of emotions. If you're writing a horror story it doesn't need to be scary every second. And sometimes comedies need a serious moment. Buffy worked because it found a balance between serious and silly.

“Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke.” - Joss Whedon

4. There was always a secret you were waiting to be revealed: Whether it was finding out about the prophecy in season one, or why Jenny Calendar warned Buffy to stay away from Angel in season two, Buffy always had a question looming overhead that when revealed changed everything. Foreshadowing and secrets are super important, and so is having a big pay off when you hit the big reveal. If you're going to tease your reader with something, it better be good. The secrets on Buffy led to death, heartbreak, and sacrifice.

3. The monsters were metaphors: Buffy may have been about vampires and demons, but absolutely everything was a metaphor for something real that the audience could relate to. Everything had a purpose. Angel losing his soul was the ultimate metaphor for sleeping with a guy who turned out to be a jerk. The truth is real life can be more terrifying than monsters. So, if you're writing about monsters or characters with supernatural abilities think about what they can represent in your story.

2. Everything came back to the characters: Buffy, as amazing as it was, was also riddled with inconsistencies and plot holes. [Ex: How strong characters were would fluctuate depending on the situation, Sunnydale's geography was constantly changing, Spike knocked out Dru once by strangling her even though she was a vampire and didn't need to breathe,  Buffy got her butt kicked the first time she fought an uber-vamp then later her human friends easily took them out.] But it didn't matter because what the viewers craved was seeing these characters interact and overcome obstacles. Buffy was empowering. So, work on filling in all those plot holes, but make sure your focus is on your characters!

1. Joss never gave the characters what they wanted: Not giving your characters what they want is what drives them -- and your readers! Buffy wanted a normal life but she was chosen. Buffy wanted to be with Angel, but their relationship was star-crossed. Have your character want something then hold it just out of reach. And, if your character ever manages to get the thing they want it should backfire on them terribly [Ex: Buffy and Angel finally sleep together and he loses his soul and turns evil.]


If you liked this post, you might also like:

When to Ignore Your Outline

The Vampire Diaries just like Buffy?

Psychology Tips for Better Writing (Part 2: Characters Who do Bad Things)

In Part 1 of Psychology Tips for Better Writing I relied on my psychology degree to discuss five tips to help create well rounded characters. In Part 2, I'm going to specifically discuss psychological tips that will help with writing characters who do bad things. This includes writing villains and antagonists, who should be just as developed as your hero.

5 tips to writing more believable bad guys based on Psychology.

1. Authority figures are incredibly powerful: The Milgram Experiment (1963) set out to test whether or not "just following orders" and obedience to authority figures was a justifiable defense for Nazi soldiers who helped commit genocide. The experiment showed that people are likely to follow an authority figure's orders even to the point of killing another person simply because an authority figure told them to do it. The reason for this is because we expect the authority figure to take responsibility for whatever it is they've asked us to do. When people feel like they are responsible for their own actions they're far less likely to listen to other people's suggestions. So, if you have a character that's going to stand up to an authority figure, make sure you take the time to show why.

Example: In Legend by Marie Lu June is a soldier who follow's the Republic's orders without question. She believes that Day is the criminal that the Republic tells her he is and follows their orders to hunt him down. June remains obedient to the Republic for most of the book. It takes a number of events for her to start questioning her authority figures. Lu also sets the scene to show why June is later able to break away from these authority figures by portraying June as a girl willing to break the rules to prove her worth to the Republic. She gives her a fierce independent streak which makes it believable when she later disobeys the Republic. At the end of the book, June learns new information that sheds lights on the Republic and she's reminded that Day is going to die because she turned him in. Feeling responsible for his situation she sets out to rescue him.

2. What we think we're supposed to do plays a big role in how we act: The Stanford Prison Experiment (1971) sought to explore the cause of brutality against prisoners by their guards. It tested how quickly regular people would conform to the stereotypical roles of prisoner or guard. This experiment demonstrated that though regular people were randomly assigned the roles of either "prisoner" or "guard" they quickly adapted the characteristics of their roles. Guards for example, began treating the prisoner's as criminals though they had entered the experiment the same as the guards had. The guards became more aggressive and the prisoners more submissive. A clear divide formed between these two groups simply because they were given specific roles. The experiment showed that much of our behavior is a result of conforming to social expectations based on the roles we play in our lives.

Example: In The Hunger Games the people of Panem watch a group of twelve teenagers kill one  another as a source of entertainment. Though this act is barbaric, it's considered normal for the people of Panem. It's expected that these twelve children will participate in the Hunger Games and fight until death.

3. People generally seek instant gratification: When given the option of receiving a reward immediately or waiting to receive it in the future, our instincts push us toward instant gratification. Delayed gratification, or holding out for a better reward is something we learn over time as we gain more self-control. Authors often like to have their villains be a few steps ahead of their lead character. This is, after all, what keeps the plot moving forward. Be careful not to have your villain planning too far ahead or your reader will find them unbelievable.

Example: In Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Amy has a ridiculous amount of self-control and sets up an elaborate (spoiler) ruse to frame her husband for her own murder. Amy is a sociopath and capable of looking ahead and waiting for delayed gratification. Most villains are not true sociopaths, and most people are not capable of planning things out to this degree. And, even Amy changes her plans at the end of the book when she decides she no longer wants to see Nick end up in prison. If your character is motivated by vengeance it will be more believable if they act quickly. The more time it takes your character to get their reward (vengeance) the more likely they are to change their mind before they receive this pay off -- whether that means they give up, come to their senses, or find forgiveness.

4. Villains should have a reason for doing the bad things they do. They need to be motivated by something. People justify the things they do. Basically, we want our how we act to be in agreement with what we believe. If we act in a way that disagrees with our beliefs we deal with a type of mental stress called cognitive dissonance. People generally don't like mental stress so, when our action and our beliefs are not in agreement we seek justification to remedy the disagreement. This would be like someone who insists that cigarettes won't harm them because their "grandfather smoked until he was 90 and died of old age." A person who says this probably knows that cigarettes are bad for them, but because they smoke they feed the need to justify it.

Example: In the Lux novels by Jennifer Armentrout Blake betrays Katy, handing her over to Daedalus. Though Blake cares for Katy and knows he's putting her in a position to basically be tortured, he justifies betraying her by believing that it was the only way to rescue his friend, Chris, and later it's shown that he believes it was for the greater good.

5. Discrimination, racism and hate are learned behaviors: The Stanford Prison Experiment does a good job showing how the power that came with being a "guard" affected the actions of the participants and even how the "guards" felt about the "inmates". Jane Elliot's Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Exercise also does a good job of emphasizing this point. Her experiment, where children were told that certain kids in their class were superior to the others based on the color of their eyes, basically showed how discrimination and racism are viewpoints we are taught the believe.

Example: There are many books that explore discrimination, racism, sexism, and class and you can check some of them out here. One novel that particularly demonstrates Jane Elliot's experiment well is The Selection by Kiera Cass. In the Selection not only are people's worth determined by the caste they're born into, but so is their occupation. One's are royalty and eights are "untouchable." The book's main character, America Singer, is a five and as such must choose to work in a profession related to the arts. Like in Jane Elliot's experiment, people look at others differently based on what they're told to think of them.


If you liked this post, check out Psychology Tips for Better Writing (Part 1: Believable Characters)

Psychology Tips for Better Writing (Part 1: Believable Characters)

The best stories have well developed characters, and being able to write well developed characters involves being able to accurately describe human behavior. Characters need to make realistic decisions and react in ways that your reader can understand and relate to. A basic understanding of Psychology can go a long way to helping writers create believable characters.

There are a lot of things I blog about that are simply my opinion. I don't consider myself an expert in most things. However, I do have a BA in Psychology and currently work in Youth Services. So, this is one subject I'm excited to write about because I do have some knowledge and experience of it.

5 tips to writing more believable characters based on Psychology.

1. All characters need a backstory: Writing backstory for your character will help your reader understand why they make the choices they make. This may include deciding if your character has a skill that comes easy to them, like an artistic ability that runs in their family [Nature]. It might also include mentioning past experiences that affect how your character sees the world [Nurture]. Psychologists have been arguing for years whether Nature or Nurture affects a person more, but what's clear is that people (and characters) are a product of both their DNA and their environment. Your character's DNA, where they grew up, their family dynamics and things they've been through in their life all affect how your character behaves.

For example, look at Harry Potter. Harry grew into a humble young man who learned to live without under the Dursley's neglect and abuse. Once Harry enters the Wizzarding word he discover's he's basically a celebrity. There are people there who idolize him, and others who hate him, but because of his humble roots Harry remains a character the reader can relate to. Both who he is because of his DNA [the one person capable of defeating Voldemort] and who he became because of his childhood [a humble young man] are important to the story. Had Harry grown up in the Wizzarding world he may have turned into a very different person. Think about where your characters came from, and even if their backstory isn't discussed much in your book, it's important for you to know it as the author. [Keep in mind, however, that Harry Potter was a children's book and much of the Dursley's abuse comes across as comical allowing for Harry to become a humble young man. Had Harry Potter been written for an older audience the things the Dursley's did would have easily been considered child abuse and Harry should have turned out to be a far more traumatized young man.]

2. You must understand your character's wants and needs: Abraham Maslow theorized that people have a heirarchy of needs, suggesting that people need to have their most fundamental needs (like water, food, clothing and shelter) met before they will want to focus on higher level needs. So, how does this relate to writing? Well, your story should be fueled by your character's desires. If you're writing a murder mystery that may mean it's fueled by their want to find a killer. A romance is fueled by your character's want to find love. But, if your character is going to focus on say safety [finding a killer] they need to have their physiological [fundamental] needs met first. If your main character is living on the street they will probably be more concerned about where they're getting their next meal or finding shelter than finding a killer. Not to say they can't do both, but you can't ignore those physiological needs.

For Example, there's a reason why street rat, Aladdin is stealing bread in the beginning of the Disney movie. He's meeting his physiological needs, and later his safety needs with having the genie make him a prince, before seeking love and belonging from Princess Jasmine.

Source

3.  What characters think they're supposed to do plays a big role in how they act: Social norms set a huge precedent for how we act. There are things that are expected of people every day. If you have a job, you're expected to show up to work. There are rules of behavior for every area of life. Everything from what we wear, to our greetings, to how we interact with each other is based on a social norm. Do people break social norms? Yes, but not without reason. Your characters should behave in the way that is expected of them in their society, and if they act differently, you need to explain why.

For Example,  In Delirium by Lauren Oliver love is considered a disease and it's expected that at a certain age people have surgery to prevent them from feeling love. The main character, Lena, follows these social norms. She takes the tests she supposed to take. She believes the things everyone else believes. Over the course of the novel, she develops different beliefs about love than what society demands, but that only happens after a series of events that change her opinion. The Hunger Games is another example. Katniss accepted that the Hunger Games were a part of life in the beginning of the book, in fact throughout the story her main goal is to return to her life as it was. She accepted the social norms around her. She only became the face of the rebellion through circumstance.

4. Character's shouldn't always say what they mean: People keep secrets, they tell small lies, they keep things to themselves that they'd be better off sharing, and sometimes they just don't want to talk about things that are bothering them. We do this for different reasons. Sometimes, we hold on to things because of social norms. It's not always appropriate to share certain things. Sometimes, we keep things to ourselves because we fear being judged. Your characters should do the same. They may even display Transference, and take out their emotions on people or things that have nothing to do with how they feel. Secrets and inner thoughts can also add necessary tension to your story.

For Example, In Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout there's a scene where Katy comes up to Daemon at lunch and he's incredibly rude to her. Katy doesn't know this at the time, but Daemon doesn't actually mean the things he says and only does this to try and calm his ex-girlfriend, Ash, who's on the brink of lashing out at Katy. This secret also adds tension to the plot as Katy's feelings are hurt and she then dumps a bowl of spaghetti over Daemon's head.

5. Characters should justify the things they do: Basically, people want how they act to be in agreement with what they believe, and when our action and our beliefs are not in agreement we seek justification to remedy the disagreement. This is called cognitive dissonance. So, how does this relate to your characters? Well, there may be times that your character does something that disagrees with what they believe. Your hero may need to kill someone when they've fought to save lives, or your love interest may try to convince the person they care about most that they can't be together. In these situations it's important to show how your character justifies these decisions or your reader won't believe that they would make those choices.

For Example, In Sweet Evil (and Sweet Temptation) by Wendy Higgins Kaidan believes that he is damned to hell and has a certain life that he has to lead. As a lust Nephilim, he's been seducing women for so long he believes that he needs it and cannot choose to live another way. When Anna enters his life she suggests that he does have a choice. Kaidan finds himself acting differently because of Anna and deals with cognitive dissonance as his actions disagree with his long held beliefs. This comes to a point when he has the opportunity to have sex with Anna -- something he's been trying to do for basically the entire book -- and instead chooses not to. This causes Kaidan distress, resulting in him leaving Anna at the airport instead of continuing their road trip as he feels like removing her from his life will help him find agreement between his beliefs and actions.


Check out Psychology Tips for Better Writing (Part 2: Characters Who do Bad Things)

5 Reasons Readers Put Books Down

I've been posting book reviews for years, but I decided a long time ago that I'd never write a review for a book I didn't finish. That said, there's been plenty of books that I didn't finish. So, in this post I wanted to write about why I put those books down. Below are five reasons readers put books down with examples of books that I didn't finish for those reasons.

1. Your reader doesn't relate to your characters. Your main character isn't going to be like every  one of your readers, but there should be something about them they can relate to or root for. When reading Falling Under by Gwen Hayes I found  I just didn't connect with the characters. Theia is British, and moved to California with her very overprotective father. I liked her personality but I just didn't have much in common with her, and there wasn't anything about her that made me want to root for her. Her best friend was her polar opposite, loud, reckless, and the man from her dreams felt a little too proper compared to the first glance we get of him in one of Theia's dreams. Despite feeling like Gwen had an interesting concept for the book it just wasn't something I could relate to.

Another example is Poison Princess by Kresley Cole. I normally am a huge fan of paranormal as well as dystopian stories, but this book immediately sucks you into this extremely dark post-apocalyptic future. After reading the first few chapters I  found myself unable to keep reading. The main character Evie seemed well written, and this book certainly had a very unique style, but it was being told through the POV of a character named Arthur. Arthur was beyond creepy and I didn't like being in his head.

2. Your book reads like a first draft. Don't publish your book until it's really ready. Make sure you've taken the time to develop your characters, their relationship and tie up any plot holes. After that, edit, edit, edit. A great story will have a hard time keeping readers until the end if it's riddled with grammatical or spelling mistakes. A lack of editing is distracting, it's like watching a movie on your laptop with a poor wifi signal and every few minutes it cuts out to buffer. Make sure your novel's ideas are fully fleshed out and that you've gone through it with a fine tooth comb. After that hire an editor and a proofreader to do the same. When I read Miss Underworld by Racquel Kechagias I had a hard time getting sucked in to the story because it felt unfinished. The interesting combination of vampires and Greek mythology fell flat because I felt like I was reading an early draft of a novel that had yet to completely come together instead of a finished project. To be fair, I did finish this book (unlike the others on this list) but I didn't leave a review for the above reasons. This novel may have been updated since I read it years ago.

3. Your book opens with a scene that your reader has seen before. It's impossible to avoid all cliches. Everything has been done before, but if you can't show your reader something new in your opening chapters they'll wonder why they should continue. When I picked up Dark Lover by JR Ward I was really feeling like reading a vampire novel, but Dark Lover just wasn't what I was looking for. Ward seemed to be trying to create his own world, but there were just too many things about this book that had been done before. Ex: Main character, vampire, long black hair with a widow's peak. Ex: Main character, female, nearly gets raped in an alley. Ex: Vampire names like "Thorment" and "Wrath". I suppose for me the 'vampire' world of it was a little cheesy.

4. You don't have a good enough hook. You need to catch your reader's attention asap. Fill the beginning of your book with boring backstory or take too long to jump into the action and you risk losing your readers. When I started reading Existence by Abbi Glines I had high hopes that I would love this book. It sounded like it was right up my alley and had great reviews, but it just didn't pull me in. There wasn't anything in particular that bothered me, but also nothing that really hooked me either. After the first chapter or so I put it down and simply never picked it back up. It started out with a typical high school scene and a girl with an ability, but nothing stood out to me as different. Also, I hated the name "Dank," maybe a small thing, but it was a big turnoff. Your readers need to know from the beginning what makes your book worth reading.

5. Your story takes a left hand turn after a few chapters. Readers  go into a story with certain expectations based on your blurb and the first few chapters. Twists and turns are great, but change directions too radically and your readers will feel tricked. This is what happened when I started reading Seers of Light by Jennifer DeLucy. I loved the first chapter or so of this book. it had me hooked. It seemed different and, it was scary. I could tell that it was going to be a little darker of a read and that had me interested as well. But, what started out as a story that possibly revolved around ghosts or maybe demons and an eerie, mysterious forest radically shifted gears and went in a totally different direction. Suddenly, there were blue veined vampires and a handsome British character that was dragging my main character away from this wonderful world  Jennifer had created. Maybe it would have been a good read had I had a better idea of what it was about, but after having my hopes for what this book would be shatter I had to put it down.


It's important to keep in mind that what "makes a book good" will be different from one reader to the next. The books I listed above may not have been my cup of tea, but they could be someone else's favorites. That said, I think these suggestions to create relate-able characters, open with an exciting hook and set up your reader's expectations can help writer's keep their reader's reading.

Why did you stop reading the last book you put down?

Canceled TV Shows: What Writers can Learn from Them

Stories come in many different forms including, books, movies, and TV shows. And, while I may only work in one of those mediums I think all writers can learn from any kind of story, regardless of if it's written or watched. So, today I'm writing about TV shows and how we can be better writers from watching them.

TV shows get cancelled for many different reasons. Sometimes great shows get the axe simply for falling in a bad time slot. But, often there are mistakes the writers make regarding the show's plot. In this post, I'll discuss some shows I loved, where I think the writers lost their viewers, and how you can learn from their mistakes.

Terra Nova - Premise: A family living in a dystopian world travels "back in time" to the land of the dinosaurs to give humanity a second chance. It was a great mix of science fiction and family drama.

Where they went wrong: They waited too long to explain what the show was really about. The last episode revealed this show was less "Jurassic Park" and more "Land of the Lost." Knowing this, there were so many more places they could have gone with the plot, and had they reveled it sooner I think viewers may have been more interested in a second season.

What to take away from this: Twists are great and exciting, but if your twist reveals something important about what your book is about, revealing it too late may mean your readers never get to it because you've bored them for too long. Or, worse, you leave your readers feeling duped that your novel took a left hand turn and became something they weren't expecting. Terra Nova may have done better if they'd left more clues to their big twist along the way.

Resurrection - Premise: The dead return to be reunited with their families.

Where they went wrong: They went too big. I loved the first season of this show, and the beginning of the second, but the last few episodes of the second season took the story in a direction that I didn't like. What I loved about the show was that it was about people, their lives, their deaths, family, friends and love. I think I cried at some point watching nearly ever episode in season one. Seeing how the loss of a loved one affected these people struck a cord with me, and seeing them being reunited with lost loves was beautiful. At the end of the second season, it stopped being about the people. Instead, the resurrection phenomenon went global and so did the story. They also added a story line about a character's baby with religious undertones that suggested he may be the Antichrist. Suddenly, the story was about good and evil, God and the devil, overpopulation, and the apocalypse; gone were the heartwarming moments between families. The show just got too big.

What to take away from this: Your characters are what make your book great. Don't let your plot run away on you. Resurrection would have been better if they kept the phenomenon local. They lost a lot by making it global. What made the show work was that it felt close to your heart. When the phenomenon went global it became distant and I didn't feel connected to the plot anymore.

Beauty and the Beast: Premise: Soldier turned science experiment looks after local cop from the shadows and falls in love with her.

What went wrong: This show had so much promise and I loved the first season. But the show quickly diverted from all the things that made it great. The caring yet quiet male lead that hid away in the shadows became an arrogant asshole who reveals himself to the world. His relationship with Cat took strange and unrealistic turns and she became unlikeable as well. The writers went to the extremes to push them apart and then when they got back together everything felt too easy. Their relationship became boring.

What to take away from this: Know what your story is about. If your readers get angsty star-crossed love in book 1, don't give them an easy going couple living happily ever after in book 2. Pay attention to what's working in your story and bring back those feelings in different ways as the story progresses. Characters change and grow, and sometimes they do out of character things. But, if there isn't at least hope that what we love about them most is still there, your reader will stop caring about them. If you go to the extremes to push them apart, accept that you may not be able to force them back together. An example of writers doing this right can be seen in the SyFy show The 100. At the beginning of season 2 Finn goes too far trying to rescue Clarke. He kills a number of innocent people and it's clear things won't be the same between him and Clarke after this. Instead of trying to force these characters back together Finn's story progresses in a more logical way, ending with his death. Though sad, it felt far more satisfactory than the path Beauty and the Beast took.

Second Chance: Premise: A twist on the classic Frankenstein novel, a retired sheriff with a shady record dies, then is resurrected as a young man. He sought to do right in the world, fix his own mistakes and mend the broken relationship with his son.

What went wrong: I tuned in every week for this show. It was great, and still is. Where they went wrong is that they didn't have anywhere to go after Season 1, and though they tried setting up a new storyline in the last episode, it felt forced. Unlike Terra Nova, that had a lot to explore and just revealed it too late, this show wrapped up an entire concept then tried to introduce a new one too late. They wrapped up all their threads, leaving no mysteries to be reveled in a subsequent season. Viewers want to see a continuation from season 1 to season 2, something needs to carry over.

What to take away from this: If you're writing a series make sure you think about where your second book is going. Think about which characters you're killing off. Would keeping them around make your sequel better? Think about which characters you've introduced. You need to think about where your story is going and writing the elements you need to take it there. Some mysteries should be set up in book 1 to be revealed in book 2. Otherwise you should consider writing a solo book instead of a series. Maybe Second Chance would have been better as a mini-series?

Penny Dreadful: Premise: Classic monsters, including Dracula, the wolf man, Dr. Frankenstein, and Dorian Grey come together in one series that follows Vanessa Ives as she tries to escape the devil.

Where they went wrong: This series wasn't canceled, but instead ended after three seasons, and it shouldn't have. Unlike the other shows on this list whose mistakes may have led to their cancellation; this show's only mistake was ending. This show was well written with interesting characters and dark, twisted story lines. But, they ended the series with stories left to be told. I didn't feel like Vanessa and Ethan's story had been fleshed out as much as it could have. I wanted to know more about Dr. Jekyll, and what would Dorian do now that Lily was gone. Would Ethan ever find out that Dr. Frankenstein brought his former girlfriend back to life? Would John ever find happiness that didn't disappoint him? I expected another season and I was disappointed when this ended where it did.

What to take from this: Don't leave your reader's with lose ends. If you're coming to the end of your book or series make sure you wrap up all your story lines with satisfying ends. Not everyone needs a happy ending, but don't leave them with unfinished business. Otherwise, write another book or you risk your readers being very unhappy with you.

What shows did you love that disappointed you when the writing took a turn? Have you read any books that make any of these mistakes?

When to Ignore your Outline

Outlining for your novel is great, it can keep you on track and help you to have a well-paced novel with well-rounded characters. But, sometimes, the outline can get in the way.

I say all the time, stories write themselves. Sometimes as you're writing, characters or plot points develop in unexpected ways and you have to be ready to adapt and change your outline as you go. Otherwise, you risk having a storyline that feels forced. Or worse, you'll have regrets when it's all over.

For example, years after the final Harry Potter novel was published, J.K. Rowling announced that Hermione and Harry should have ended up together instead of Hermione and Ron. She explained that she wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as wish fulfillment. While many readers remained loyal to the book as it was written, there are some that felt the same as Rowling herself. As a writer, you can plot and plan for two characters to end up together, but sometimes when happily ever after comes around it just doesn't feel right. Trust your gut and listen to what your characters are saying.

Romantic parings in a novel can change much the same as when a TV show introduces a new character - planning to kill them off - then discovers they have great chemistry with the lead on screen. The writers can plan to kill someone off, but once the viewers love them they often stick around, and if the writers don't pay attention to their viewers and kill them off anyway, it often results in angry fans. You need to pay attention to the chemistry that develops between your characters as you write them - not just as you planned for them to be.

The 90's TV drama Dawson's Creek ended a love triangle in its final episode. Showrunners had planned for Joey to end up with Dawson, but when it came time to finally write the final episode they changed their minds and Joey ended up with Pacey instead. The point is, sometimes what we plan to do, doesn't end up being the right call in the end.

Regrets and wish fulfillment happen when authors stop listening to their characters.

And, this doesn't just apply to romance. You may plan for a story to have a happy ending only to discover that what fits best is for your main character to die. For example, many readers felt cheated that Harry didn't die at the end of the Harry Potter series. Others were disappointed that Prim did die at the end of Mockingjay. I was disappointed at the end of The One, by Kiera Cass when the King was killed (and off-screen!) and everything seemed to wrap up in a nice little bow for America. I felt like the author had enough material to write a fourth book and it ended too easily.

Read my review of The One by Kiera Cass

Your readers want your characters to overcome struggles and to earn what they have. And, sometimes, when your characters are up against a threat that should kill them, they want them to die. You have to be aware enough as a writer to see when your outline is going in the wrong direction and make a change.

So how can you avoid this? Here's five tips.

1. Don't over-plot. Keep your outline simple. That way it can guide you without dictating what you write.

2. Be open to change. Your outline isn't carved in stone. You can, and should adjust it as necessary.

3. Listen to your characters. How do they really feel about other characters and things going on around them?

4. Think about how your reader will feel about what they get to see and what they don't. Should you show or tell this scene? (Deaths and Romance off camera can be disappointing, but throwing them in for no reason can be equally troublesome).

5. Is there anything that feels "too easy?" Don't let anything wrap itself up into a nice little bow.

Why You Should KILL Your Word Count

Many writers, myself included, get hung up on the word count of their stories. A full length novel is described as being around 80,000 words. So, that becomes the goal - putting 80,000 words on a page. But if you don't write 80,000 words of QUALITY CONTENT, then what you've really got is 60,000 words with 20,000 words of filler.

No one wants filler. Filler is the mystery meat in a hot dog. Filler is episode 14 of your favorite TV show where nothing from episode 13 is even mentioned. Filler is the vanilla in a Neapolitan ice cream when all you want is the chocolate and strawberry. Filler is bad. All it does is take up space.

A novel that is 60,000 words, without the filler is better than one that's 80,000 and jam-packed with mystery meat and useless vanilla ice cream. So how can you cut the fat?


1. Cut Dead Words: Words like very, just, then, up, down, really, very, ect... - If the sentence makes sense without it, then it doesn't need to be there. Cutting out dead words makes your writing more concise and allows your sentences to be more powerful. Aim for short, meaningful sentences.

2. Don't Filter Actions through Your Characters: This is common in third person narratives, but happens in first person stories as well. Don't say "Anita heard the loud boom of the fireworks," Say "The fireworks boomed in the sky." Not only will you use less words, but your scenes will be more powerful. Filtering should only be used when the author wants to shift POV to another character.

3. Stay Away from Purple Prose: Don't over-describe things, and don't describe unnecessary things. Descriptions that get too detailed can pull a reader out of the story. I don't want to read ten lines describing your character's outfit. Unless Sally's red dress is important to the plot you don't need to describe it at all.

4. Cut Your First Chapter: Maybe even the second one as well. It's common when starting a novel to write a lot of backstory - even unintentionally, at the very beginning. Does your book start with something mundane, like your character walking down the street or driving to work? Do you spend a few chapters introducing characters? Then slice and dice. Kill your darlings, forget your word count and be honest with yourself about where your novel really begins. You can sprinkle any important information throughout your story later on.

5. Cut Unnecessary Scenes: When you read over your novel think about each scene as you read it. Is that scene necessary for the story? Does it progress the plot or reveal something about one of your characters? If your story makes sense without it, then it has to go. Some scenes may be able to be combined together, while others should just be cut completely.

The 7 Most Influential Books in My Life

This list may surprise you. It's not filled with the most philosophical of reads, or hard to swallow literary-works. It's simply a list of the books that changed my life. It's a personal list. What I find most interesting about it is that (most of) the following books are not actually my favorite books. But they are the books that changed the way I read, that changed what I read, and ultimately what and how I write as well.

Books can immerse us in brand new worlds, they can provide an escape, they can teach us about the world, and they can teach us about ourselves.

The following books helped me discover not only what I truly love to read, but who I am as a writer as well.


Salem's Lot by Stephen King- I owe much of my love of reading to Stephen King. I ate his books up when I was growing up and they both terrified and amazed me. But, it was reading Salem's Lot in particular that made me realize how much scarier the written word can be than any other form of media. It was reading this book that I realized how much power the written word had. It also sparked my interest in the paranormal, the love of which has only grown since.



The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare- This play showed me that the best stories are eternal. Even though The Merchant of Venice was written over 400 years ago, the story was just as relatable as the more modern books I'd been reading. The push and pull of mercy and justice, portrayed through a colorful array of characters showed me that the things that best fuel a novel are the most basic of human emotions - like love and greed, and if you can write a story and keep one of those basic emotions at the core of it, then it will last forever.



The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger- This is one of the few books I read in school that I read for pleasure as much as for the grade. This is the book that made me realize how much I appreciated reading a story through the perspective of a young adult, of someone trying to find their way in the world, someone like me. I was immersed in Holden's journey. After I was done reading this I went back to the horror novels I normally enjoyed in my spare time, but I found myself gravitating to ones with younger protagonists. I think the very next book I read was The Talisman by Stephen King, which managed to combine my love of monsters with this new interest of seeing the world through a young person's eyes.


Twilight by Stephanie Meyer- When Twilight first came out I refused to read it. Sparkling Vampires, I heard people say and I shook my head. Note the first book on this list. I didn't want to read about watered-down vampires. And, having read it, I will admit the writing isn't the greatest. But, this book opened my eyes to a genre I'd previously been ignoring- Romance. For all of Twilight's flaws it is a captivating love story that I hungrily consumed. From the moment I finished this book I craved love stories.



Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte-Yes, I did read this partly because Bella reads it in Twilight, I can admit that, and I'm glad I did because it quickly became one of my favorite books. What I loved about this story was the emotional drama. I'd read books with drama in the past, I'd read books that kept me on the edge of my seat, but Wuthering Height was different. The angst between Cathy and Heathcliff, the tension, the way their unhappiness was caused by their own stubbornness and vengeance. It showed that love can be beautiful and tragic at the same time; and that the most interesting thing about a love story is not the love but the journey it takes the characters to find it.



Smokeless Fire by Samantha Young- This is one of the first self-published novels I ever read, and though it had moments where it felt unpolished, it fascinated me. It was a story I easily fell into and it opened my eyes to a new world. This book taught me two things. First, there is a wealth of fabulous self-published stories out their waiting to be discovered. Second, publishing my stories was something that was entirely possible.



Into the Deep by Lauryn April- Yes, my book, and no this isn't shameless self-promotion. This is truly one of the most influential books in my life. Writing Into the Deep, creating that story and publishing it, changed my life. I love that story and being able to share it with people opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Reading the reviews on it helped me become a better writer, and every experience with it pushed me to do more, to write more, to pursue my passion.


Looking at this list I see books from various genre's, written in different styles, different time periods, and published in different ways. If writing this has taught me anything, it's that there's value in reading a variety of books. So, I urge you. Read something different. Go out of your comfort zone. You just might discover something new about yourself.

What books changed your life?

Labeling Books: Are YA and NA Genres or Reading Levels?

Some consider YA and NA a genres, while others call them reading levels. The latter often leads to criticism of adults who read YA. So what exactly do the labels YA and NA mean?

Genre: If YA and NA are genres then they are reading categories. Horror, romance, science fiction, fantasy, ect... are all genres. Many libraries and book stores have separate sections for YA and NA novels, which would seem to support the idea that YA and NA are genres.

Reading Level: A reading level is a scale used to give information on how old a person needs to be to either comprehend the writing in a particular book or how old a person needs to be for the content of a particular book to be appropriate. Reading levels are like movie ratings, they help direct a particular audience to a book based on their age. Considering many YA books are written with young adults as the intended reader, this idea makes some sense.

However, as an avid reader and writer of both YA and NA novels I wonder if the labels YA and NA are neither a genre nor a reading level.

So, if YA and NA aren't genres or a reading levels then what are they?

Point of View: I think the best answer is that YA and NA are simply points of view. The type of story will determine the genre. For example a YA Paranormal Romance is a story in the Paranormal Romance genre told through a young adult's point of view. As for reading level, the content of the story will determine that. Because YA stories are told through the eyes of a young adult character many of them will be appropriate for a group of readers the same age as the protagonist. But, that doesn't mean you can't write a story appropriate for a younger or older audience with a main character who's in their teens.

So if YA and NA are points of view, does that mean anyone can read them? YES, but they are written for a particular audience. YA books are written for people who want to see the world through a teenager's perspective. Anyone, of any age can enjoy reading about a character who is dealing with coming of age problems, like falling in love for the first time. The same can be said for NA books. These books are written for people who want to read about a character dealing with the types of things one deals with in their twenties, like becoming independent.

So there you have it, those are my thoughts on what the labels YA and NA mean. What do you think?

How NOT to Write a Strong Female Character: 5 Tips

There are a lot of posts out there on how to write a strong female character, but for some reason it still seems like a hard thing for writers to do as I continue to stumble across books and movies with women who either have no real place in the story, or who's only purpose is to be a damsel in distress. On the flip-side there are a number of books out there that take being a strong female character to the extreme, putting forth characters who are more focused on being strong than being real people.

So, instead of writing a list of "do's" when it comes to writing a strong female character, I've written a list of "don'ts" that I think could be more helpful.

Things that DON'T make a female character strong

1. Giving her a strong background story - then leaving it as background. Giving your female character a deep and well written background showing a history of strength and independence is great, but it's meaningless if you only reference her strengths in the past and don't show her being strong in the present. I don't care if your character was raised by wolves or single handedly defeated an entire army of marauding beasts; if she's acting helpless in the present your reader won't believe she's strong. I've heard this called the "Trinity Syndrome", where, like Trinity in the Matrix a female character will have an awesome introductory scene; they save the male main character, they kick but, then once the hero is on his feet their role in the story is to be nothing more than the male hero's love interest. Even Bella from Twilight suffers from this. Many might just consider Bella a weak character all around, but she has a moment where she's talking about how she used to look after her "hair-brained mother" and shows strength in supporting her mother's decision to follow her new boyfriend to Florida, but then for the rest of the book Bella becomes the damsel in distress, constantly being saved by Edward.

2. Not giving her weaknesses - Yes, you want to write a strong female character, but you want her to be human, not a robot. Writing a strong female character is not the same as writing a "Mary Sue". She should have faults, weaknesses, problems. She should make mistakes, and she doesn't always have to win. It's how she handles the issues in her life, and how she grows from them, that will show her strength. Any character, female or male, who is always strong and never loses, is boring. Nancy Drew may be a strong, smart woman, but being a goody-two-shoes who excels at everything she does makes her boring. I also think Katsa from "Graceling" suffers from this problematic strong female character trope, she's strong - stronger than Po, her love interest, and manages to beat the unbeatable evil king. Even the few weaknesses she does have, like being incredibly stubborn, manage to benefit her in some way. Read more on my thoughts of "Graceling" here.

3. Not giving her anything to do - You can create a great female character who is strong and independent, but she has no purpose in your story if she doesn't somehow advance your plot . Don't throw in a strong female character just to have one, you have to give her something to do. This is like letting Wonder Woman join the Justice League and making her the secretary. Or, remember the movie version of "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"? Lone female character Mina Harker, is an awesome reinterpretation of Bram Stoker's weak, victim Mina, however in the League book she was the leader of the gentlemen, but in the movie she felt like she'd been thrown in just to say "hey, we've got a girl!".

4. Letting her overshadow the lead - If your strong female character is your main character then no worries, but if she's a supporting character, don't forget that she's a supporting character. Supporting characters should help your main character resolve the plot's main problem, they shouldn't completely steal the spotlight. Rita Vrataski from "Edge of Tomorrow" is a great example of a strong female character who manages not to steal the spotlight. Also, Julie from Isaac Marion's "Warm Bodies" was an awesome character who moved the plot along and was a great counterpart to the lead R, but never stole the show herself. She worked with R to solve the book's problem.

5. Making her physically strong - and that's all she is. Having a female lead who's got muscles, or superpowers, or can make her way in a man's work is all well and good, unless that's all she is. A true strong female character does not have superficial strength. A woman who's tough as nails and can fight her way out of anything may be strong in some ways, but she's boring and paper-thin. Having a character with a deep backstory who's important to the plot is a stronger character than one who's got big muscles, but thinly written. Don't write a Lara Croft who comes off like a male main character with boobs and no real reason to explain why she doesn't feel like a real woman; write a Katniss Everdeen who's physical strength and skill are explained with backstory and any moments she lacks emotion are seen as a defense mechanism instead of her being a robot. Or, write a Hermione Granger who's strength is intellectual and rooted in her fierce loyalty to her friends.


All and all a strong female character is less about their strength and more about how they deal with their struggles.  

Maybe we should all stop focusing on writing a strong females and instead focus on writing a real female character who has both strengths and weaknesses. I don't want to see anymore characters who are completely weak like Bella Swan or Nora Grey from "Hush Hush", but I don't want to see characters that completely lack weakness like Katsa either. Lets focus on writing female characters who are important to and contribute to the story, and handle their problems in a believable way.

There are No New Plots

A while ago I did a post discussing the fact that there are only so many plots out there and that as readers we shouldn't be so quick to say that one story is copying another. (Check out Rif-offs, Inspiration, and Coincidences) Recently I saw a video that demonstrated this point well.

The video below compares the children's movie Toy Story, with the horrific AMC drama The Walking Dead. On the surface these two stories couldn't be more different. One is made for the entertainment of children, it's funny, and filled with bright colors and characters that will make you smile. The other is a terrifying drama depicting life after the zombie apocalypse. Yet, the video below will show that at their cores they have very similar plots.

Watch and enjoy.

 

This is just further proof that what makes a story original is not coming up with something that's never been done before (because it's all been done before), but instead by looking at what works, being inspired by something, and making it your own. 

What makes a story unique is the twist the author puts on it. 

Do you know of any other videos comparing the plots of two books, movies, or TV shows?