Guest Blog: How Important is a Moral Premise with Jeannie Campbell

Today I'd like to welcome the lovely Jeannie Campbell to the blog today. I met Jeannie early on in the blog-hood because her job caught my eye--Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. For those of you who don't know, before I turned into a writer/stay at home mom, I was a licensed social worker who provided therapy to children and their families and did adoption work. So I was happy to meet another therapist/writer.

And I love how Jeannie incorporates her clinical background with writing. If you haven't visited her site The Character Therapist, you're missing out. Today, Jeannie's talking to us about stories having a moral premise AND she's giving away a copy of the Writer's Guide to Creating Rich Back Stories!  So be sure to comment and leave your email address if you'd like to be included in the contest.

Take it away Jeannie...

How Important is Moral Premise?

By

Jeannie Campbell, LMFT

I used to think characters were the most important aspect of fiction writing. (This from a character-driven novelist/therapist. Go figure.) But after doing some research, I’ve come to the conclusion that the moral premise might be the most important thing in a book outside of the actual story premise.

The moral premise of a story is a single sentence statement describing the lesson of the story as it reflects on real life. Filmmakers have gotten the hang of this quicker than fiction writers, but Aristotle knew way back when that there was a correlation between a play’s moral message and it’s popularity. (Read his Poetics.)

When the moral premise of a movie sits “right” with the audience, that movie does better in the box office. Word of mouth spreads like my white cat sheds hairs—prolifically. On the flip side, if the moral premise is deceitful, the movie doesn’t do so well and people don’t tell their friends to go see it.

The same can and should be said for fiction. 

There are three ways people learn: experience, observation, and lecture. Lecture has the least to recommend it, experience the most, or the reason that the learner is using more of their senses. The more senses engaged, the greater the emotional tension and physical/emotional risk, thus the deeper the learning.

But fiction is unique in that is puts the reader in the position of learning via vicarious experience. The reader is (hopefully) transported into a new world that should become real to them. The reader should put themselves into the protagonist’s shoes, feeling the butterflies before a first kiss or the building apprehension the longer the killer goes free.

Some authors are simply gifted storytellers, weaving a tale that enthralls us. Others utilize the moral premise as well as draw from their innate author skills, and these are the books that capture the nation and beyond.

I’ll draw upon the cult following of The Twilight Saga to make my point. This set of books took America by storm. Stephenie Meyer wrote a book that spoke to the hearts of women (and men who will admit it), both young and old. Why?

Twilight is about love conquering all and not being able to choose with whom you fall in love. It’s a modern-day fairytale. (Why do you think factories are still pumping out DVDs of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast? They know that little girls everywhere dream about a prince coming one day. It’s timeless.)

Meyer’s book is essentially about Bella finding her prince. True, he’s a vamp, which means they have a few obstacles to overcome, namely Edward’s lust for her blood. But what book wouldn’t be complete without obstacles? It’s the obstacles that become your story premise.

Hopefully this simplistic assessment of Twilight’s universal appeal through its moral premise will get the wheels turning in your head about your story’s premise. Can you narrow it down to one sentence? Is it something that people can relate to, that they will want to talk about on their commute into town?

If you need any assistance at all with deciphering the moral premise within your story premise, please visit me at my new website, The Character Therapist. I do free mini-assessments for characters and charge a moderate rate for full, detailed assessments.

You can also sign up for my newsletter, Case Notes, and receive a free Writer’s Guide to Character Motivation. I have several other Guides for sale at my Therapy Store, so check it out!

Thanks, Roni, for hosting me on your blog today. I’m grateful to you and your readers for your time. Hopefully I’ll see some of you again on my couch. 

Feel free to ask Jeannie any questions in the comments and be sure to leave your EMAIL ADDRESS if you want to be included in the contest! (Contest open until midnight tomorrow night. Jeannie will contact winner directly.)

Tweet All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren |Copyright Statement|

How to Dish Out Backstory in Digestible Bites

It's that time of the year again--contest judging. I've talked about it one here before, but I think volunteering to judge contests is (beyond being a nice thing to do) one of the greatest exercises a writer can go through. Looking for specific things in other works often helps us develop a more critical eye for our own work. I know it's definitely helped me.

Now when I'm judging, I usually see a little bit of everything--some spectacular things, some really beginner efforts, and everything in between. But as I go through the entries this year for my local RWA's chapter contest, one of the trends I'm seeing is the dreaded backstory dump.

We've probably all made this mistake at one time or another. This is why a lot of people suggest writing your book, then cutting the first three chapters because it's probably all backstory. Now, that's a little drastic, but I think there is a nugget of truth in that.

So today I'm going to cover how to share that history and backstory with the reader without choking them.  Think of backstory like a big steak--you can't swallow the whole thing at once, it must be cut up and devoured in small, juicy bites.  Ideally, these bites will blend so well with the rest of the story, that the reader will barely notice that you've slipped it in on them.

So first let's look at some choking hazards:

Prologue--These are notorious for being solely backstory, which is probably why they've developed a bit of a bad reputation.  Make sure what you have in your prologue (if you have one) can't be sprinkled in somewhere  else instead.

First Chapters--This is where it's most tempting to put in big blocks of backstory.  Resist!  Your story should start in the middle of things.  Readers don't have to know all the background yet, get them to the action so you can hook them.  Pay particular attention to chapters 1-3 in your first draft.  Many times it's where we as writers are working out the story for ourselves (which is fine as long as you go back and cut them during revision).

Alright, now for some ways to blend in that backstory...

Dialogue

This is an easy and obvious way to reveal information to your reader.  However, watch out for the traps with this.

--Make sure that the conversation is realistic and that there is a reason for it to be happening besides slipping in backstory to the reader.

   NOT "I can't believe you cheated on me six months ago with someone half my age." (the guy would already know that)

   INSTEAD "How's your new bimbo? Has she graduated high school yet?"

--Make sure the conversation comes up naturally and not out of the blue.  Something needs to trigger that discussion.

--Use action to break up the dialogue so it doesn't start sounding like an info dump.

Flashback

Where your character relives in their head a past event as it happened.  Unlike a memory, they don't filter the events through their current point of view.

--Be very careful with this one.  Many people advise against flashbacks.  But I think if used correctly and sparingly they can work.

--Something has to trigger the flashback. That memory needs to be brought to mind by some object, situation, person, etc.

--Make it clear that it is a flashback so your reader doesn't get confused.  Some people use italics to help with this.

Memory

Similar to flashback, but the memory is seen through the person's current POV.

--Sprinkle this in.  Like everything else, large chunks of prose on a memory will get tedious.

--Just like the others, the memory must be triggered by something.  Don't have your MC vacuuming and just suddenly think of how her father died (unless it was death by vacuum).

--Can build and foreshadow throughout the story, not revealing everything up front.  For instance, in my category romance, my MC goes to a concert and for a moment she's reminded of a tragic night years ago.  But all I show is that she has a sick feeling and that she remembers to the day how long it's been since she's seen a concert--which lets us know something important happened back then, but I don't say anything about what it is specifically, just foreshadow.

--Ex.) He smiled at her, and for a moment, she was reminded of the boy he used to be, the one she used to love.  (See, that tells us they had a previous relationship and that something changed along the way.  Just enough to whet the reader's appetite.)

Thoughts

Using direct thoughts instead of narrative.

--This doesn't have to be a specific memory, but can let us know that there is something there behind the thought.

--i.e. "Don't you just let go and have fun sometimes?" he asked.  She shook her head and averted her eyes.  "No." Not anymore.

Action

Sometimes you can use some event in your story to relay past events.

--i.e.  A news story comes on TV talking about a cold case murder that relates to your MC.

The easiest way for me to figure out how to put in backstory is to think like a screenwriter.  They cannot tell you things in a movie, they have to show it all.  So how would I convey this information if it were a movie?

Alright, so those are my tips, what are some of yours?  How do you sneak in your backstory?  And do you put down a book if it's pages and pages of backstory to start?

*This is an updated re-post from Dec. 2009

 

**Today's Theme Song**

"The Story" - 30 Seconds to Mars

 

(player in sidebar if you'd like a listen.  I ♥ this song.)

That Sneaky Backstory

Today, I have the privilege of having fellow romance writer Justine Dell with us. If you're not following Justine, go check her out.  She has a fantabulous blog right over here full on insightful and helpful posts. :)

Now, she's going to give us the dirt when it comes to backstory...

First I would like to say thank you to Roni for allowing me the opportunity to do a guest blog while she is away!

Now, let’s talk about dreaded backstory!

My Great and Powerful Beta of Oz gave me the following book for my birthday this past August:

 

If you don’t have this book—get it. It has helped me leaps and bounds in the short month I’ve had it.

In Chapter 23, Donald Maas discusses low tension: burdensome backstory. I know what you’re all thinking, “There’s no backstory in the beginning of my wip. I know this rule.”

I beg to differ. Politely of course ;-) I thought I had this rule down pat, too. I was wrong.

In the first chapter of your book do you have any setup? Are you bringing any “players” to the stage? Do you establish a setting? Set up a situation? I’ll bet the answer is yes.

Take the first part of my first ever finished wip: Broken Ties That Bind. The first scene introduces the heroine, her husband, and showcases the turmoil in their marriage—right before the heroine meets the hero.

Now, I thought this information was important because I wanted to show the heroine is a state of conflict before I dumped her on top of the hero (who adds another conflict to her marriage).

I was wrong. Here’s the exercise Donald tells us to do in order to fix this problem:

1. In the first fifty pages of your novel, find any scene that establishes the setting, brings the players to the stage, sets up a situation, or that is otherwise backstory.
2. Put brackets around the material, or highlight it in your electronic file.
3. Cut and paste this material into chapter fifteen. Yes, chapter fifteen.

He adds this as a follow up:

“Now, look at chapter fifteen. Does the backstory belong there? If not, can it be cut outright? If that is not possible, where is the best place for it to reside after the midpoint of your novel?”

Then he tells us this:

“Authors bog down their beginnings with setup. Why is that? While writing, the opening chapters, the novelist is getting to know his characters. Who are they? How did they get to be that way? The fact is, the author need to know these things, but the reader does not. The reader needs a story to begin.”

So, you know what I did? I did it! And while scary, it worked. Now my novel actually reads differently.

Instead of the reader knowing my heroine is married and in trouble, they wonder why she brushes of the advances of a guy whom she is obviously attracted to. She’s nervous for reasons the readers want to find out about.  It isn’t until later you discover she’s married and then it’s like “whoa” for the reader.

Try it. I’ll bet you’ll end up with something amazing. And remember why Donald wants us to do this:

“If you must include the backstory, place it so that is answers a long-standing question, illuminating some side of a character rather than just setting it up.”

You’ll get your own “whoa” moment. I promise. ;-)

~JD 

So have you caught backstory sneaking into your early chapters? What's your biggest challenge when it comes to backstory?

**Today's Theme Song**

"The Story" - 30 Seconds to Mars

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Put 'Em on the Couch: Character Therapy

Photo by Sean Davis

Characters are the hearts of our stories. We don't fall in love with plot (usually), we fall in love with the people. So when creating the characters for our stories, we need to pay careful attention to create three-dimensional believable ones. Our characters should have full, rich backstories of why they act the way they do. (Even if this backstory does not make it into the actual book, we need to know it.) If we treat them like real people in our head, then hopefully they will translate as authentic people on the page.

When I start crafting my characters, I often begin with a simple sketch. This usually involves a big circle with the characters name in it, then branching arms as I list their qualities. Very high tech, I know. However, once this is done, I'm only left with a two-dimensional person. Okay, the guy is pig-headed, impatient, paranoid, etc. But why? This is where the work comes in. What made him that way? None of us exist in a vacuum, we are the way we are because of our experiences. So how do you dig deeper and find out?

One day when I was struggling with this, I started rifling through my psyc books from college. Then, I stumbled upon a paperback I bought when I first started interning as a counselor at the college counseling center. I was in panic at the time because I didn't feel prepared to offer people therapy yet, so I started looking for books that would help explain things in layman's terms. A cheat sheet, if you will.

I still feel sorry for those who were subjected to my inexperience during that year. The students knew they were seeing a grad student, but still, I was terrible. My first marriage counseling session with two grad students ended with the guy throwing his wedding ring at his wife (after she admitted to cheating with their roommate) and storming out with a threat of suicide. (I stopped him from leaving with the help of my supervisor, he was alright--although, I wasn't.)

Anyway, I bought the book Think Like a Shrink

to help. (Insert snort at the name--I know.) However, this has now turned out to be an invaluable resource for character backstory building. The chapters are barely a page long and cover the reasons why people act like they do. Some of the chapter titles:

 

Those who don't remember their childhood may want to forget it

The ills of the mothers, or fathers, really are visited upon the children

Boundaries define people the way borders define countries

The way people feel about sex is critical to their psychology

Women do not suffer from penis envy nearly as much as men do

Needy people immediately create chaos in relationships

Don Juan had an absent father

An extramarital affair is less important than what led to it

Beware unsolicited denials

We can tell alot about people by the way they say goodbye

What is one the outside is often the exact opposite of what is one the inside

Vain people marry accessories

Those who can't get comfortable in their own skin may claw at others

People regress to earlier behaviors under stress

Doing nothing can be very pushy

I don't agree with everything this guy says. He can be a little Freudian at times, but a lot of it rings true. And anytime I pick it up it gives me great ideas for characters. I highly recommend it.

So what do you do to make your characters three-dimensional? Do you interview them? If so, how do you decide on the answers?

*This is a repost from August 2009.*

**Today's Theme Song**

"Underneath It All" - No Doubt

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Back To the Future: Stories with Dual Timelines

Lately, in an attempt to stretch my pantser self, I have been trying to outline my new WIP before writing it.  I made it to chapter six before getting itchy and starting to write a bit, but that's okay, right?  Right?  Alright, so I cheated a bit, but it's progress at least.  :)

So anyway, part of this process involved fleshing out the characters' backstories.  Backstory is one of my favorite things to come up with.  It may be because of my psychology background, but digging deep into what makes a character who he/she is fascinates me.  So I'm used to having a pretty extensive backstory and accept that only about 10% will make it into the actual story.

However, this time, the backstory started to take on a life of its own.  My story is going to have a major suspense/mystery thread, and I found that the crime that happened in the past ties to the crime that happens in the present.  My romance thread also has story in both times because my hero and heroine had a relationship ten years before and now are thrown back together in the present.  SO, I started to get this urge to write a story with a dual time line.

This means I would have "two nows" as author Charlotte Rains describes it.  I would have chapters take place in the year 2000 and then chapters that happen in the present.  All would be told in real time--meaning, the past chapters would not have that hindsight perspective coloring it.

I've read a few books that use this structure, including Deeper by Megan Hart, which I reviewed a while back, and I've enjoyed the style.  However, I have to say I'm a bit intimidated by it.  I'd basically have to have two complete stories that eventually weave together.

Each storyline has a distinct narrative arc, with its own conflicts, disasters, and troubles for the characters, and its own forward movement and mounting action.--Charlotte Rains

That seems like a lot to keep a handle on, especially when this is my virgin attempt at suspense.  But what good is being a pantser if you don't take a risk every now and again?  And I kinda love the idea of writing my character as an 18-year-old and then as a 28-year-old because I can play with the voice a bit.  So, as of right now, I'm going to give it a shot and see how it goes.

But I wanted to ask you guys.  What do you think of books with dual timelines/story lines?  Have you read any that used this structure?  Is it distracting?  Should I just suck it up and try to figure out how to slip in this vital backstory in flashbacks? Let me know your thoughts.

*Today's Theme Song**

"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" - Green Day

(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)

Dishing Out Backstory in Digestible Bites

 

Yesterday I discussed the importance of knowing your backstories to avoid flat characters.  Today I'm going to cover how to share that history with the reader without choking them.  Think of backstory like a big steak--you can't swallow the whole thing at once, it must be cut up and devoured in small, juicy bites.  Ideally, these bites will blend so well with the rest of the story, that the reader will barely notice that you've slipped it in on them.

So first let's look at some choking hazards:

Prologue--These are notorious for being solely backstory, which is probably why they've developed a bit of a bad reputation.  Make sure what you have in your prologue (if you have one) can't be sprinkled in somewhere  else instead.

First Chapters--This is where it's most tempting to put in big blocks of backstory.  Resist!  Your story should start in the middle of things.  Readers don't have to know all the background yet, get them to the action so you can hook them.  Pay particular attention to chapters 1-3 in your first draft.  Many times it's where we as writers are working out the story for ourselves (which is fine as long as you go back and cut them during revision).

Alright, now for some ways to blend in that backstory...

Dialogue

This is an easy and obvious way to reveal information to your reader.  However, watch out for the traps with this.

--Make sure that the conversation is realistic and that there is a reason for it to be happening besides slipping in backstory to the reader.

   NOT "I can't believe you cheated on me six months ago with someone half my age." (the guy would already know that)

   INSTEAD "How's your new bimbo? Has she graduated high school yet?"

--Make sure the conversation comes up naturally and not out of the blue.  Something needs to trigger that discussion.

--Use action to break up the dialogue so it doesn't start sounding like an info dump.

Flashback
Where your character relives in their head a past event as it happened.  Unlike a memory, they don't filter the events through their current point of view.

--Be very careful with this one.  Many people advise against flashbacks.  But I think if used correctly and sparingly they can work.

--Something has to trigger the flashback. That memory needs to be brought to mind by some object, situation, person, etc.

--Make it clear that it is a flashback so your reader doesn't get confused.  Some people use italics to help with this.

Memory
Similar to flashback, but the memory is seen through the person's current POV.

--Sprinkle this in.  Like everything else, large chunks of prose on a memory will get tedious.

--Just like the others, the memory must be triggered by something.  Don't have your MC vacuuming and just suddenly think of how her father died (unless it was death by vacuum).

--Can build and foreshadow throughout the story, not revealing everything up front.  For instance, in my romance, my MC goes to a concert and for a moment she's reminded of a tragic night many years ago.  But all I show is that she has a sick feeling and that she remembers to the day how long it's been since she's seen a concert--which lets us know something important happened back then, but I don't say anything about what it is specifically, just foreshadow.

--Ex.) He smiled at her, and for a moment, she was reminded of the boy he used to be, the one she used to love.  (See, that tells us they had a previous relationship and that something changed along the way.  Just enough to whet the reader's appetite.)

Thoughts
Using direct thoughts instead of narrative.

--This doesn't have to be a specific memory, but can let us know that there is something there behind the thought.

--i.e. "Don't you just let go and have fun sometimes?" he asked.  She shook her head and averted her eyes.  "No." Not anymore.

Action
Sometimes you can use some event in your story to relay past events.

--i.e.  A news story comes on TV talking about a cold case murder that relates to your MC.

The easiest way for me to figure out how to put in backstory is to think like a screenwriter.  They cannot tell you things in a movie, they have to show it all.  So how would I convey this information if it were a movie?

Alright, so those are my tips, what are some of yours?  How do you sneak in your backstory?  

Backstory: Avoiding Flat Characters

Photo by AForestFrolic (click pic for link)

In an effort to think positively, I have decided to start on the second romance in the Wanderlust series.  Initially, I had moved on to a different project because I have a fear of starting a sequel before Book one sells.  But in this case, the books are meant to be free-standing stories if necessary--i.e. a character is pulled from book one but it's a different band member's story.  (For those of you who have beta read for me, this would be Sean's story.)

Plus, the characters have been poking me in the ribs demanding I let them have their own story.  So I have started doing my haphazard outlining for book two and have the concepts sketched out for books three and four.  See, I told you, I'm in positive thinking mode.  There better be something to that whole "Secret" thing Oprah's always talking about.  :)

So as I get my thoughts together on the book, I realized that one of the most important components for me is backstory.  If I don't know the character's backstory, then I have trouble starting the book.  There are writers out there that say you shouldn't worry about backstory, just focus on what is going on with the character's right now, but I don't agree.  Yes, we should not bog the reader down with all aspects of the character's history.  However, I as the writer need to know even if it never makes it in the book.  This goes hand and hand with motivation for me.  Why does the character act this way?  Because of A, B, C.  If I don't know this then I'm just writing a paper doll--a flat caricature with no shadows or depth.

So along with plotting and such, I come up with the big events in the character's history.  Think of this like Dr. Phil's "defining moments" technique.  He often asks his guests to list the five or ten defining moments in their lives--things that happened that changed everything.  Now hopefully your story is starting one of these moments, but you also need to know the ones from their past.  And they don't all need to be smack-you-upside-the-head incidents.

Maybe when you character starred in a play at school, his parents decided to go to his brother's football game instead--showing him who they favored.  Maybe that has made him fiercely competitive.

Or take inspiration from your own history.  I hate when people are late--loathe it.  Why?  Because when my dad used to pick me up for my every other weekend visit he was notoriously late--sometimes half an hour, sometimes much longer.  Sitting on that front step waiting for him made me feel like whatever was keeping him from picking me up on time was more important than me.

It is especially vital to know the history when your character has some less than admirable qualities or takes some undesirable action.  For instance, my character is in a band and has been a bit of womanizer in the past.  So I need to motivate that properly to let the reader eventually forgive him for these past actions and be open to seeing him as the hero.

Now the key to all of this is to know your character inside and out, but to be able to convey that to your reader without telling them all that background.  So, tomorrow I am going to go through some techniques of how to work in your backstory without bogging down your story.

So what is your method?  Do you start writing and develop backstory as you go along or do you need to know the history before getting started?  Or, do you believe that backstory isn't that important and that you should only worry about the here and now of the character?

 

 

**Today's Theme Song**

 

"My Paper Heart" - All-American Rejects

(player in sidebar if you'd like a listen)

I'm Not Defensive! Psyc 101 for Character Development

Freud Exhibition Photo by Regine Debatty (click pic for link)

As many of you know, my background is in psychology and social work. Although I'm sure my writing could have benefited from an English degree, I'm happy that I chose the path I did because all those psyc classes provided loads of information on why people act the way they do. And this of course is invaluable when creating characters stories.

---

I love developing a character's backstory (even if most of it never makes it into the book). This makes the character "real" to me. It gives me a base so that I can answer those questions that come up later in the book: How would MC react to this situation? What emotions would she have?

---

One of the most basic things that you should know about your characters is what is their go to reaction to stress? In other words, what's their favorite defense mechanism?

---

Freud came up with many different defense mechanisms so I won't list them all, but I'll hit some of the highlights that could help you in character development.

---

Level 1 Defenses

These are normal in young childhood, but in adults indicate psychosis.

 

• Denial--Refusing to accept reality. This is a common joke-"you're in denial". But true denial means the person honestly doesn't believe the reality.
• Distortion--Recreating a new version of reality to meet their needs.

Level 2

These are normal in adolescence. In adults, this can indicate severe depression and personality disorders.

 

• Fantasy--Retreating into fantasy world to deal with conflicts.
• Projection--Taking your unacceptable feelings and impulses and assigning them to someone else. It's a version of paranoia. Think of the guy who is always accusing his wife of cheating, but in fact he's the one who's cheating.
• Somatization--Emotional hurt manifesting as physical symptoms. Common in depression--person complains of body aches and feeling tired. I saw this a lot when I worked with teens. If they had a bad night at home, the next day they were feeling sick at school.
• This also can be a cultural thing. Some cultures are not as accepting of people (particularly men) expressing depression/anxiety/etc. so often physical symptoms will pop up instead. Remember this is not a conscious decision on the person's part, this happens subconsciously.
• Passive Aggression--Expressing aggression through indirect means. You're mad at your boss, but instead of confronting her, you "forget" to give her a really important phone message.
• Acting Out--Expressing unconscious desire through action. Teen isn't getting attention at home, so acts out at school to get adults to care.

Level 3

These are commonly found in adults, although they are technically considered "neurotic" in Freud-land.

 

• Displacement--Taking your emotions about something or someone and directing it at a "safer" target. A mom has a bad day at work, but comes home and yells at the kids.
• Dissociation--Completely separating from yourself and the uncomfortable emotions. This is extreme. Can happen when someone is being abused, tortured, raped, etc.
• Intellectualization--Separating the idea/event from the emotions. A cop finds the body of someone he knows, but has to do his job, so he focuses on the forensics of the scene instead of letting himself feel the emotions.
• Reaction Formation--Flipping your feeling to the opposite. You hate your mother in law, but are overly nice when she's around.
• Repression--Pushing thoughts/events that you can't handle into your subconscious. This is what "repressed memories" mean.
• Regression--Reverting to an earlier stage of behavior or development rather than handling the emotions in an adult way. This can be seen in children as well.
• Rationalization--Convincing yourself that your initial impression of a situation was wrong. Someone who loves their job is fired and he starts thinking--I hated that job anyway, the hours sucked, etc.

Level 4

Defenses of the "healthy" adult

 

• Altruism--Finds comfort in helping others. People who were traumatized by Katrina, but went to the Red Cross and volunteered.
• Humor--Ah, my personal favorite. Taking a negative situation and disarming it by seeing the humor in the moment.
• Sublimation--Taking unacceptable impulses and channeling them into something positive. The idea of cutting someone open is fascinating? What do you do? Become a serial killer or a surgeon. Sublimation would be picking surgeon. (Not that all surgeons are sublimated serial killers, lol.)
• Compensation--Counterbalancing your weak points by emphasizing your strong points. This is my first thought when I see the five foot tall guy climbing into one of those monster trucks.
• Suppression--Tucking away unwanted emotions or impulses to deal with later. A woman is attracted to her married neighbor, but chooses to push down those thoughts since they are not productive.

Wiki source

Alright, hope that wasn't too dry and boring. I really do find knowing which of these my characters possess helps me a lot with story decisions. My romance MC is big on humor and suppression with a touch of repression, so I have a lot to use with her.

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So do any of your characters have any of these in their baggage? Do you have a personal favorite among these that you use in your stories? And, do the psyc posts make you want to poke your eyes out or do you find them helpful? Let me know so that I don't continue to go down a road if no one is interested. :)

**Today's Theme Song**

"I Don't Believe You" - Pink

(player in sidebar, go ahead and take a listen)

For Love of the Bad Boy

I just recently finished reading Motley Crue: The Dirt - Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band . Even though I usually stick to fiction, I picked up the book for a few reasons. One, I'm a big fan of the band. Two, my current WIP's male protagonist is a lead singer in a rock band, so this was helpful research. I'm not going to go into a detailed review. But I'll say that I really enjoyed the book. It was an unapologetic look into the proverbial world of "sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll." So, if you like rock music, don't mind an r-rated (nc-17?) book, and can handle the overuse of the word "dude" in the Tommy Lee chapters, then I would say go for it.

But in addition to being a fun read, this book also got me to thinking about bad boys. They show up all the time in fiction, especially in romance and YA. It's one of our favorite alpha male types both in books (and for some of us, real life). After reading this true life account of four seriously bad boys, I started to wonder why we're so drawn to them and why certain bad boys are appealing and others appalling.

The Motley members were drug addicts, womanizers, and, at times, criminals. Yet women flocked to them even before they were famous or rich. Therefore, something about them was inherently appealing.

Then there are guys like Wes on the current season of The Bachelorette. He's considered the bad boy of the show. And based on last night's reunion show, he was wildly unpopular with the female viewing audience (including me.)

So what's the difference? Where is the line between uber hot and uber jerk? What traits make a bad boy sexy instead of scary? When writing, how do we create that delicious bad boy that will make our reader not just swoon but fall in love in with the character?

I think the key probably lies in the character's motivation. Your bad boy can't just be bad for the hell of it, just because he thinks it's cool. (Yes, Wes, I'm looking at you.) You have to explore the reasons why he is the way he is with your back story. He also has to have some crack in the armor that the heroine can pry into and heal. Because, otherwise, why are we reading?

Since the Motley Crue guys maintained their appeal (in my mind) even after wildly egregious acts, I'll use them as an example of some appealing types of bad boys. (I'm leaving Mick out because he is not an alpha male.)

The "I've always been pretty" bad boy (Vince Neil, lead singer): This is the bad boy who knows he's hot. Girls have always liked him. Attention has come easily. He can get whomever he wants, which can make things boring for him. It can also lead to going through girls like they're disposable. He's not used to being told no.

Crack: He ain't that confident. Sure, he knows he looks good, but he's not convinced the person underneath the looks is all that great.

Other Examples: Eric in the Sookie Stackhouse books (a personal fave of mine), Keenan in Wicked Lovely, Jordan Catalano on My So-Called Life (to pull out an old 90s reference)

What he needs: A heroine that isn't afraid to knock him down off that pedestal and challenge him.

 

The "Up for anything" wild child (Tommy Lee): This guy appears to have no fear or impulse control. Seeks thrills and fun at all times. He's ruled by the Id. Doesn't take anything seriously including silly things like rules, laws, or social mores. Sees relationships as something that would hold him back from thrill-seeking.

Examples: Jules in Erica Orloff's Freudian Slip (who is basically a good-looking version of Howard Stern), Barney on How I Met Your Mother (although his thrill seeking is limited to women)

Crack: He's actually a sucker for long-term relationships. He's so passionate about everything in his life, that when he finds the right girl, he will give himself over completely to love. Tommy Lee turned lovesick both with Heather Locklear and Pamela Anderson.

What he needs: Someone that can keep up with him, but is also a calming force. A heroine who incites enough passion in him that he seeks thrills with her instead of separate from her.

 

The Wounded Soul (Nikki Sixx): This is my favorite to write and read about. This guy's motto is "get them before they get me". He's been hurt deeply somewhere along the way, and now has locked away all true feelings from others. He's easily angered and shuts down when anyone gets close. He can be the most formidable of bad boys because he doesn't care enough about himself to avoid danger.

Examples: Julian in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Fantasy Lover, Edward in Twilight, Jace in City of Bones, Wrath in J.R. Ward's Dark Lover, Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing

 

Crack: He feels unworthy of genuine love. Nikki Sixx was abandoned by both his parents early on. So later, when people in his life showed him love, he didn't believe them. He'd push them away before he had a chance to care.

What he needs: A super tough girl that can push through that seemingly impenetrable wall. A woman that will call him out on his crap and not be intimidated by his flashes of anger. A woman that will love him fiercely.

So there's my theory. The only bad boys worth writing are the ones that offer a challenge, but that can ultimately evolve. We don't just want to read about the bad boy being bad, we want to see his character heal and reform so that he can keep the good parts (fun, attitude, touch of danger, daring) while taming the undesirable parts (lying, cheating, illegal behavior, etc.).

So, what's your opinion? Do you like a bad boy character or do you think they're overused? What makes you like one better over the other? Who's your favorite bad boy?