tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26401815.post3442115203685417545..comments2023-08-13T04:25:27.199-06:00Comments on Spoiled for the Ordinary: Potholes in the Writer's RoadJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18363518142334125056noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26401815.post-34609684822651931942011-03-17T20:23:59.134-06:002011-03-17T20:23:59.134-06:00Definitely don't wait too long. Putting an und...Definitely don't wait too long. Putting an undesirable protag out there can run off impatient readers. You've got to give us a peek at it pretty quickly because if she keeps up with that prickly conduct, readers will be cheering for her comeuppance.Nicolehttp://hopeofglory.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26401815.post-60701071360701448142011-03-17T10:06:44.428-06:002011-03-17T10:06:44.428-06:00Thanks Nicole. You called this a long time ago. So...Thanks Nicole. You called this a long time ago. So my question now is: how soon do you have to do this? How long do you have to show the humbling or vulnerability? I think she'll get there, but I don't want people to drop out before it happens.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18363518142334125056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26401815.post-88789423241998795782011-03-17T08:59:37.680-06:002011-03-17T08:59:37.680-06:00Jason, trust your wife's evaluation. If Jenna&...Jason, trust your wife's evaluation. If Jenna's acting like a "poop", no one's going to care what her circumstances are or what happens to her. Characters make or break a novel, and the protagonist will make your novel rock or sink like one. <br /><br />Bring out her vulnerability. Humble her in an ugly way. Bring out a character to expose her at her core. Do something to invite the reader to take her side, to understand her strong will. Break her. Or no one will care.<br /><br />You can do this, Jason.Nicolehttp://hopeofglory.typepad.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26401815.post-57307981940112972462011-03-15T20:28:15.524-06:002011-03-15T20:28:15.524-06:00Sally, thanks for commenting! That makes perfect s...Sally, thanks for commenting! That makes perfect sense. I know her whole background/biography. I know where her heart is, but I may not be showing it very well. I think your comments are spot on. I think she's very redeemable, but it is frustrating to work so long and think no one likes her (thus making it less likely they would read the whole book).<br /><br />I hear you on the plot thing. I routinely get bottled up there. I'm in between a plotter and pantser. I'm in a section I haven't fully plotted, and am trying to wing it through. It has helped me discover new things, but it isn't easy to do it that way.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18363518142334125056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26401815.post-71054213590820380912011-03-15T18:56:54.978-06:002011-03-15T18:56:54.978-06:00Oh and my pothole now? The reason I'm over com...Oh and my pothole now? The reason I'm over commenting after seeing this on facebook? I am stuck, stuck, stuck. My plot is the most confusing, nonsensical thing ever. I hate it.sally https://www.blogger.com/profile/11068670473065918371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26401815.post-32768654867363631082011-03-15T18:55:14.229-06:002011-03-15T18:55:14.229-06:00Oh I've had people tell me my main character w...Oh I've had people tell me my main character wasn't likable before. That was the main complaint I got from agents on one of my manuscripts. What I figured out was that she was completely likable to me because I knew her heart. They were looking on her outward appearance and I was looking on her heart. I knew where she had been--what had made her act this way--and I knew where she was going. I knew where she was going to end up after she'd grown from the pressure the plot was putting on her.<br /><br />So I had to take some of her heart and put it into dialogue. <br /><br />It also helps if you can do some of this:<br /><br />1) have her help someone who is weaker than she is<br />2) have someone who is stronger than she is pick on her<br />3) have her peers like her and weaker characters look up to her. <br /><br />Maybe. I'm really just guessing. I don't know if I fixed my character or not. It seems like I have. Several readers have said I have. But I won't be sure until I get a wider read, I think.sally https://www.blogger.com/profile/11068670473065918371noreply@blogger.com