Tips on How to Increase the Pace of Your Writing

As you learn how to write a novel, you’ll find conflict is the key tool used to develop the readers’ interest. Today, I’ll talk about how to accelerate the pace of your words thus increasing the tension within your novel.

The first writing technique to consider is the amount of white space on the page. Imagine a sheet of paper filled with text, one line after the other without breaks. You can visualize how this would overpower to the reader. Think instead of a page loaded with choppy sentences. This creates a great deal of white space to the right and makes the page read faster. Your reader will feel the faster rhythm if for no reason other than the speed they flip the pages.

I alluded to the next tip in the last paragraph. Write in short, choppy sentences. These should be meaningful, of course, but quick lines make for quick reading. Quick reading makes for a fast tempo. Don’t try to break up long paragraphs with short sentences as it’ll come off as just that, poor paragraph structure. Each line, short or otherwise, must stand on its own. Fragmentary sentences also work well to increase the speed of reading. The judicious use of them can be quite effective. In those nail-biting situations you create, fragments will increase the excitement. Always. Every time. As here. I urge caution, however, for overuse of fragments can get out of control if you’re not careful.

Use shorter words to increase the tempo of your story. Anything that slows your reader will slow the pace of your scene. For example, must you use the word, “unsympathetically?” These six syllables read slower than its synonym, “cruelly,” which has only two.

Be cautious of argot your middling might not twig. That is to say don’t use terminology your average reader might not understand. When you force them to take their mind off the story and focus on individual words, their reading slows in dramatic fashion.

Use strong, specific verbs and nouns. (How many times have we heard this one?) Consider someone who dreams in nightmares in contrast to someone who is haunted by nightmares. I think you can see the power in the word, “haunted” when compared to, “dreams.” As to verbs, consider the difference between someone who “falls” to someone who “collapses”. “Collapse” is a much stronger verb, assuming it fits the scene, as it implies a more precise action. This precision with your words is what you seek.

Don’t retell information. Just get to it. Your reader already knows what happened in prior chapters. To loop back to an earlier point in your story will simply slow things.

Use active voice. “He was going to fight it out,” reads slower and with less strength than, “He determined to fight it out.” You may wish to read my earlier post on the verb, “to be.”

Look to the pace of your novel and your audience will find it a more interesting read. Might you have any tips to share?

As always, I wish you best-sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze

Character Types in Fiction – Part 2

by C. Patrick Schulze

In my most recent post I introduced two types of characters, The Hero, (protagonist), and the Mentor, (Wizard, Wise Old Man / Wise Old Woman). Today, we’ll continue in the same vein and introduce additional character types for your novels.

Next in line of our universal characters is the Threshold Guardian.

As we know, our protagonist must traverse many obstacles while on his quest and in many instances some of those hurdles are watched over by Threshold Guardians. Its goal is to keep the unworthy from entering. The common placement of the Guardian, as you might expect, is as a gatekeeper, most often for the Big Enchilada. It is not necessary for these people to have an evil demeanor and attitude, but most authors seem to portray them in that light. In unusual circumstances they can even be secret helpers to your hero.

These sentinels can take most any form you wish. They can be fierce creatures ready to devour your hero or something as nonthreatening as a child who withholds a secret. When your hero encounters the various kinds of guardians, they can be overcome, bypassed or even turned into allies. They represent the hero’s inner demons or serve as training for more difficult tasks he has yet to face.

How is your hero supposed to deal with these impediments? The answer lies in the guardian’s unique nature or personality. Your protagonist must find a way to get under the beast’s skin. In some instances, they do so literally, as when Sam and Frodo dressed like the Eye’s warriors to traverse the badlands. With luck, your hero may simply ignore or bypass him. In most stories, however, the Threshold Guardian must be fought, bribed, educated, turned, appeased, convinced or killed.

Despite the looks of it, a Threshold Guardian is often a positive thing to your hero. After all, doesn’t he warn everyone the Big Bad Wolf is near? They can also help your hero in another fashion for as they test the good guy, your hero grows in strength and knowledge. The good guy might even pick up a weapon or two.

Our next key character is The Herald.

In studying how to write a book, you’ll find this guy brings two things to your hero. The first is an announcement of major change your hero is about to face. The other is motivation.

In the early telling of the typical story, the hero muddles through his life by way of current knowledge or dumb luck. All of a sudden, some new problem crops up that is beyond his skills and he can no longer get by on his own. This new imbalance, called The Call to Adventure, is delivered by none other than The Herald. This guy gets your hero’s great quest moving along.

Herald’s represent coming change. In “Star Wars – A New Hope,” who is The Herald? Who is it that brings Luke Skywalker an announcement of some great change that gets the story moving forward? It’s R2D2. He is the character that shows Luke the message from the princess, thus announcing the coming transformation in Luke’s life. Remember how Luke gets excited by the message? There’s his motivation.

What form does The Herald take? Like every character in your story, it takes whatever shape you wish. It can be a person, a note, a feeling, a telegraph, an animal. It matters not. Just know as you learn how to write a story, a herald is necessary.

As with every character in your story, The Herald may be good, evil or neutral. In most stories, The Herald is brought in early to get your hero moving toward his quest, but his appearance depends on when and how you decide to have your hero’s quest started.

Now for one of my favorite characters, The Shapeshifter.

This powerful archetype is shifty, two-faced. You see him for the first time and he’s helping. Yet, the next time you cross his path he’s trying to destroy you. (Every see this type in real life?) The classic example of The Shapeshifter is found in the opposite sex, though this in not necessary.

The function of this creature is to confuse the hero and the reader. It is the bringer of doubt and the propagator of confusion. In our earlier example of “Star Wars,” a Shapeshifter is Lando Calrissian. Remember him? The boos on the cloud mining operation, he first comes out to meet Han Solo with a grimace and a complaint. He then hugs him, betrays him, then saves Solo and finally joined the Rebellion and is given the rank of general for the climactic battle scene. Boy does this guy alter his appearance – four times. He kept you guessing throughout most of the movie.

Shapeshifters may change in any way imaginable. They may alter their personality, form, allegiance, or just their clothes. Regardless, all these changes bring uncertainty and apprehension to your hero and your readers. Consider if you will, the Wicked Witch in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” She shifted from a queen, to a witch, to a dragon to a pile of ash as we progressed through that story. Wow!

Next comes The Shadow.

This guy is often your villain, though he need not be so. The Shadow represents your hero’s doubt. This character might not be a character at all, but a force, of sorts, that rises and falls within any or all characters as needed in your novel. It can shift from character to character but always plays the same role – one of slipping out of normalcy and into doubt.

Remember in the hobbit story when Frodo is about to drop the ring into the eternal fires of Mount Doom? He hesitates. He considers the power his is relinquishing and doubts if he can or even should toss the ring into oblivion. In that same series, doubt rears its ugly head in the good guys at the time when the Eye’s multitudes surround the king and his meager band of warriors just prior to the Eye’s ultimate end. If you remember, as soon as those massive gates open and the good guys see the number of bad guys they face, the good guys shy back a step, brows high and eyes wide in doubt.

Can The Shadow also be a formal character? Sure, and in fact he often is. In the movie, “Independence Day,” the president fires one of his advisors, (can’t remember his name), and the other characters as well as the viewing crowd almost cheer. Doubt has been erased and the president has risen to the role of confident hero in that instant. (Fanfare here.)

Shadows need not be of absolute evil. In fact, a secret to creating Shadows is they often make better characters if they hold some element of goodness. Think of a villain who, just as the hero is about to slay him, exhibits some level of goodness as with “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” In this case, we see evil incarnate surrounded by a very real, and good person.

The Shadow may be internal or external. External Shadows are easy to spot, the Emperor in “Star Wars,” for example. Internal Shadows may be more difficult to visualize but you need only to look to Darth Vader to view internal shadow. After all, this once good, then evil creature turns against his puppet master to save Luke and transforms into something good again. (In this case, the Shadow is also a Shapeshifter.)

Our final character is The Trickster.

The typical Trickster is the comical sidekick. They are utilized to bring your hero down to earth, often by way of comic relief. They also like to stir up trouble for no reason other than to do so. They are what’s called “catalyst characters.” They that change others, but rarely change themselves.

Without them, the conflict in your story may lead to reader exhaustion. An old saw in drama tells us to “Make ‘em cry a lot; let ‘em laugh a little.” This “laugh a little” is the job of your Trickster. Tricksters can be cohorts of the hero, as with Giordano in “Sahara”, or may even be the villain. They also might not be related to either of them.

One of my favorites is the aforementioned Giordano. The hero is given a coin minted in limited quantity by the Confederate Government. He’s all excited about the implications of his find. Giordano’s response? “My father has a coin collection.” Giordano’s meaning, of course, is that coins travel the world all by themselves and the hero needs to get his head on straight as to the significance of this single coin he’s found.

A variation of the Trickster is the Trickster Hero. In fact, our very same Giordano is such a character. Not only does her provide the comic relief, but he is also a minor hero in his own right. He is, after all, the guy who finds and dismantles the bomb, is he not?

Well, there you have it, an outline of the various and interesting characters with which you may populate your novels. If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

In the mean time, I wish you all best-sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze

Author of the emerging novel, “Born to be Brothers”

Character Types in Fiction

by C. Patrick Schulze

As we travel together down the road of how to write a novel, I’ve talked about the steps your protagonist must take while on his journey through your novel. Today I’m going to introduce you to those various characters he’ll meet along the way.  In this post, we’ll meet the Hero and the Mentor. Soon, we’ll meet many more.

Before we meet these all-important and archetypal helpers, hinderers and others, let’s review who it is these many creatures represent. I like to think of them as the assorted types of people I meet in real life. When I populate my manuscripts with characters, I infuse them with human characteristics, typically from people I’ve met, know or know of. After all, the best stories are little more than metaphors for the human condition, are they not? This idea works for creatures, too. Regardless the species of your characters, they will assume human qualities.

Consider your novel’s champion, or protagonist, for example. He lives, struggles, overcomes, succumbs, grows, learns and maybe even dies. He loves, he hates, he suffers, he surpasses and so on. These are all aspects of the human condition, so it’s quite obvious your characters will exhibit the qualities of existent humans.

These guys to whom I’ll introduce you are universal. They can be employed in whatever genre you write. In a war story, is there a hero? Yep. How about a love story? It’s the same. What if you wish to write about talking birds? You’ll have the same characters in there somewhere.

Armed with that knowledge, let’s introduce the major character types in fiction.

First, and of most importance, is The Hero.

In my research for this article I learned the word, “hero” is Greek in origin and means “one who protects or one who serves.” Think of him as a shepherd of sorts, someone who will sacrifice for the good of his flock. This concept of sacrificing one’s self is at the heart of the hero’s meaning.

It is his fate to leave the comfortable confines of his world and venture into the place where he is, in effect, lost. He, like us, must learn to cope, to grow and to overcome. During his journey, he will face tests, meet teachers and guides, come across those who wish him harm and maybe even meet his love. Hum… sounds sort of like our own lives, doesn’t it? (Do you see a secret to writing a successful novel in that last sentence?)

His purpose in your story is to give your readers a window into not only the story, but life itself. You must find a way to make your protagonist relate to as many potential readers as possible. This is done by instilling in your hero those universal characteristics that your readers will appreciate. That is, qualities we find within ourselves.

Think about some of those universal aspects of the human animal and give those qualities to your hero. You can consider among others, fear, revenge, love, lust, patriotism, desperation, freedom, survival, understanding or idealism. If you can convey these qualities into your hero, the reader will have an easier time identifying with him. This is one of the many secrets to having your manuscript accepted. If you notice, I mention some unsavory qualities, too. Yes, give your hero some of those. Not too many, mind you, but an interesting flaw or two will humanize your hero. Are real life heroes perfect? Neither are your novel based ones.

Keep in mind your hero may be a willing accomplice to his fate or not. It’s unimportant as to his enthusiasm for his quest. Also remember these ideas apply regardless the form your hero takes, be it animal, alien, or even a vegetable.

Another aspect to his fate is action. This does not need be explosive in nature, but rather in the aspect the hero is in control of his personal fate.

The most terrifying scene for your hero is his coming face-to-face with Death. It can be in a metaphorical sense, but he must fact the greatest of losses in your climactic scene. In this part of your novel, your protagonist must present his truly heroic side by willingly sacrificing himself for the good of others if needs be.

Our next character is the ever-popular Mentor.

This character goes by many names and among them is the Wise Old Man or Wizard. He is usually a positive figure, though he need not be so. The archetype is of a lesser hero, if you will. In simple terms, he’s a guide for your premier character.

He represents the best person within us all. He insures the hero is made aware of right from wrong and is provided with all the necessary knowledge or skills to complete his quest. He is a gift-giver of sorts. Think of the Fairy-Godmother in “Cinderella” or Merlin in “King Arthur.”

His main purpose lies in teaching. Your hero comes into this new world of his without many, if not most, of the skills he’ll need to complete his quest. It matters not if he is to drive a silver stake into the heart of Dracula or if she is to find a new love. Regardless the journey, the hero lacks something and the Mentor is there to take care of that nasty little inconvenience.

There is typically a catch involved with these wonderful gifts the Mentor offers. And that is they should be earned by your hero. Think of Snow White in her fairy tale. Who later comes to her aid? All the creatures of the forest do. And why do they do this for her? It’s because Snow White showed them kindness earlier in the tale.

The Mentor can have other functions, too. He might act as conscience to your hero. Might your hero rebel against this conscience? Uh, do real people? The Mentor may also serve to motivate him or even introduce him to the physical pleasures of love. (Now we see why this guy is so popular!)

There are many types of Mentors. He may be what’s called a Dark Mentor, where the good qualities of the human being are turned inside out. Think Joan Wilder’s agent in “Romancing the Stone.” At some point, Joan’s agent turns against advising Joan to succeed and begins to plant doubts in Joan Wilder’s mind. This type of Mentor can be interesting as they typically change from a force of good to one of doubt. They can also be presented as first a bringer of doubt and later transform into a source of power.

There are Fallen Mentors like Tom Hanks in “A League of Their Own.” There are Continuing Mentors, those that carry over into sequels, such as “M” in the James Bond series. There can be Multiple Mentors. Think Obi Wan and Yoda in “Star Wars.” However, if you use Multiple Mentors, insure one is premier while the multiples are minor in comparison, bringing lesser gifts.

This list of Mentor types goes on and on, but they all serve the same purpose. They teach and are givers of gifts. These guys bring inspiration, guidance, training, weapons, hope and all the other tools your hero requires. Without them in your story, at least at an emotional or mental level, your story will be incomplete.

As to placement of Mentors in your manuscript, they show up when they are needed to insure your story moves forward.

In my next post about how to write a book, which may be tomorrow or Monday, I’ll introduce you to other characters such as the Shapeshifter, Threshold Guardians, Heralds, Tricksters and Shadows. Sounds exciting.

Hum… this may turn into a three part post. We’ll see.

Until we meet again, may all your books be best-sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze

Author of the emerging novel “Born to be Brothers”

How to Write Historical Dialogue in Novels

by C. Patrick Schulze

A recent post on this blog concerned the technique of bringing forth language from an earlier time and making it understandable and enjoyable for contemporary book lovers. I sat in the audience of a panel recently and the talented author Susann Cokal gave me the secret I’d been seeking. She said, and I paraphrase, to use modern terminology in your historical novels, but present it with the flow of the language from the time in which you write. Susann Cokal writes medieval historical fiction and her example was something of this nature; “Forsooth, verily I am smote!” (“Rats! I’m dying.”) Again, I rephrase, but I’m certain you understand the point. In the meantime, I’ve come to the personal conclusion if a writer also inserts the occasional word from his era of choice, his dialogue will ring true and be enjoyable to read.

As an aspiring author who writes historical fiction, I also read in that same genre. At this time, I’m reading “Shadows and Strongholds” by Elizabeth Chadwick. (@chadwickauthor on Twitter.com) As I read this interesting and entertaining novel, I’ve run across what I think are perfect examples of what Susann Cokal was trying to exemplify. In “Shadows and Strongholds,” a monk has just rescued a boy from other youthful evildoers. In this scene, Elizabeth Chadwick wrote the following dialogue from the monk to the rescued boy:

“If you are not a foundling, which I judge not by the cut of your tunic, someone will be looking for you.”

Let’s take a look at that sentence in a bit more detail. If you note the words Elizabeth Chadwick uses, each of them you might use today on a daily basis, save maybe, “tunic” or “foundling.” Who among us would ever use the word, “foundling?” (Not many, at least if you wish to survive junior high.) Yet, when Elizabeth Chadwick employs the word, it feels as though it’s a perfect utterance for the time. There’s that occasional word from the era inserted into her dialogue as I mentioned earlier.

Looking to the center phrase, would you ever say, “which I judge not by the cut of your tunic?” I suspect not. However, it melds well with your impression of medieval speech patterns, doesn’t it? It sounds like something one from that era might intend, if not formally articulate, which is the very point I’m trying to make.

Consider the final phrase in the sentence, “someone will be looking for you.” I can hear those words coming from the mouth of any modern adult with an child they don’t know in their presence. Can’t you? With ease, Elizabeth Chadwick has taken hold of the thoughts of any adult throughout history and made them work for her readers and her storytelling. You’ll also note there is neither a single apostrophe nor any of the wild contractions writers often use to simulate historical dialogue. Her writing is meaningful to the modern reader, but she’s not lost the story’s medieval tone.

Another example of dialogue I appreciated in “Shadows and Strongholds, follows. FitzWarin, the father of the aforementioned boy, is speaking to one his underlings.

“A moment is all it takes.” FitzWarin made a terse gesture with his clenched fist. “I have no time for this now; I’ll deal with you later. For the nonce, we had better find my son.”

Here, Elizabeth Chadwick speaks in the fashion any irate father today might speak when looking for a child he knows is not really lost, but only misplaced. The one exception is the word, “nonce,” though its meaning is clear by its use. Here again are modern words, punctuated by a single medieval term, with the lilt of a fourteenth century speaker. What she has done to bring her dialogue into our time was to alter the phraseology.

By studying how Elizabeth Chadwick incorporates past times into her historical conversations, we see how to give our dialogue life while still having it appeal to the contemporary reader.

So, kind readers, the task of creating captivating dialogue in your historical fiction novels is not as mysterious or onerous as you might think. It does take a bit of practice, but the mixing of a past parlance with a modern manner of speaking is not such a daunting task. Learn from the successful and you’ll do well.

I wish you all success and best-sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze
Author of the emerging novel, “Born to be Brothers”

The Hidden Secret to Dialogue

Dialogue may be one of the toughest lessons a successful writer must learn and is often the difference between a novel and a best-selling novel. How then, does one go about mastering written dialogue? This week, I’ll take an in-depth look at the subject.

Some say this skill called dialogue cannot be taught. It is an inane quality one has or has not. I disagree. In fact, I feel writing is one of the few arts most can master. Successful writing is another story, but writing, is limited only by ones perseverance.

Dialogue is nothing more than conversation. The trick is how to deliver that conversation within your novel’s setting to make it effective and interesting. Though the individual words an author chooses are of utmost importance, the music within the words makes the characters come alive. In fact, it is a large part of that nebulous “voice” each author must develop.

I’ve struggled with how to explain effective dialogue so I think I’ll simply say it’s the flow, the cadence, or better yet, the music within your words. Look for the lilt, the way the words “fit” together to create a natural flow.

Let’s consider two simple examples. Close your eyes and without rushing, recite these two sentences aloud, one after the other. Do that a few times but don’t listen to the words. Listen for your inflection. Listen to the way one syllable glides toward the next. Listen to the way the words tumble from your mouth and how they form on your lips. Listen to the flow of the words, the music within them.

“What time is it?’”

“What time of day is it?”

I think you’ll find the second sentence to have a much more formal lilting or cadence to it. Though I did not plan it this way, the second reads as if one’s butler might have asked the question.

If you “saw” the way the words in the two sentences worked together and how the sentences differed from each other, you already have the foundation of effective dialogue. Do that same exercise with every word, every sentence, every paragraph and every scene you write and soon it will become second nature.

If you cannot find your own sense of music, I suggest you read books written by authors you appreciate. Read their dialogue as outlined above to find their music. A cadence is in there and you will see it if you work at it. It may not come easily to you, but come it will. Once you’ve found it, read your own work aloud as you look for your own music. And as with all success, you must then practice until it becomes a natural part of the way you write.

This music, once you develop your own, is also  key to creating effective dialogue for different characters. We’ll use the same two sentences as our example with this.

As I mentioned, the second sentence sounded as if one’s butler might have used that terminology. This is a perfect example of how you use dialogue for characterizations. How might a bored teenager ask that same question? How would an engineer or a prostitute? Each character within your novel will have a different music of his own. Your music will be the basis for which to create characters, but the music within their dialogue will make them real to your readers.

Drop a line if you have any questions.

May all your books be best-sellers.

C. Patrick Schulze