Johnnie Alexander: Four Reasons to Give Your Villain a Voice

Should I give my antagonist his own point of view?

I pondered this question as I wrote the draft for what became my debut novel, Where Treasure Hides.

The antagonist is Theodor Scheidemann, a German count who espoused Nazism because he wanted to be among Hitler’s elite. However, he is repulsed and even sickened by the brutality he witnesses.

This leads to the first reason to give your villain a voice: to dispel stereotypes.

I gave Theodor his own POV to reveal his personal viewpoints to the reader. Though he is a despicable person, I wanted readers to see beyond the Nazi label and to understand that not all Nazis believed as Hitler.

The second reason, to provide dimension, is closely related to the first.

Theodor came from a Prussian military background, and these officers had nothing but contempt for Hitler’s thugs. He has to reconcile his personal beliefs with his ambitions. The only way to reveal his conflict is to allow the reader to share it with him.

Your antagonist’s worldview can be justified (at least in his eyes) by giving him his own POV.

A third reason is: to keep the antagonist’s identity a secret.

My friend, author Patricia Bradley, writes romantic suspense. She gives her villains their own point-of-view scenes but doesn’t identify them.

Not only does the reader learn the villain’s plans, she also gets clues to his identity.

The reader is engaged in the story because she knows things the protagonists don’t AND she’s trying to guess the villain’s identity.

Did she guess right? She’s not going to close that book until she finds out.

A final reason is: to transform your antagonist into a protagonist.

Sometimes an antagonist isn’t dastardly, reprehensible, a scumbag, or all that villainous. And he probably shouldn’t be if he’s going to be the hero in your next book.

The antagonist in my next novel, tentatively titled Into a Spacious Place, is selfish, conceited, and way too sure of himself.

But I knew he’d be taking the starring role in the following story so he couldn’t be TOO wicked.

As the antagonist, he has a POV so the reader learns about the deep scars he hides behind his charming smile. His initial steps toward heroism are revealed so that readers will readily accept him as the protagonist of his own story.

If you’re wondering whether your villain needs a voice, consider these potential reasons for giving him one:

· To dispel a stereotype

· To provide added dimension

· To keep his identity a secret

· To transform him into a protagonist

And as you write your villain’s POV, remember: everyone, even the villain, is the hero of his or her own story.

(Note: Patricia Bradley and I are presenting this information as part of a workshop called, “A Hero You Love . . . A Villain You Love to Hate,” at the MidSouth Christian Writers Conference on Saturday, March 7, 2015 in Collierville, Tennessee. Please visit the MSCWC website for more information. We’d love to see you there!)

About Where Treasure Hides:

Artist Alison Schuyler spends her time working in her family’s renowned art gallery, determined to avoid the curse that has followed the Schuyler clan from the Netherlands to America and back again. She’s certain that true love will only lead to tragedy—that is, until a chance meeting at Waterloo station brings Ian Devlin into her life.

Drawn to the bold and compassionate British Army captain, Alison begins to question her fear of love as World War II breaks out, separating the two and drawing each into their own battles. While Ian fights for freedom on the battlefield, Alison works with the Dutch Underground to find a safe haven for Jewish children and priceless pieces of art alike. But safety is a luxury war does not allow.

As time, war, and human will struggle to keep them apart, will Alison and Ian have the faith to fight for their love, or is it their fate to be separated forever?

Where Treasure Hides is currently available as an ebook. The print edition releases August 2015.

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About Johnnie Alexander:

Johnnie Alexander is the author of Where Treasure Hides which won the ACFW Genesis Contest (2011 Historical Fiction). The first of her three contemporary romances, tentatively titled Into a Spacious Place, releases from Revell in January 2016.

She also has won the Golden Leaf (Autumn in the Mountains Novelist Retreat), Best Novel and Best Writer awards (Florida Christian Writers Conferences), and Bronze Medalist (My Book Therapy Frasier Contest).

A graduate of Rollins College (Orlando) with a Master of Liberal Studies degree, Johnnie lives in the Memphis area with a small herd of alpacas, her dogs Rugby and Skye, and assorted other animals.

Pamela S. Thibodeaux: My Best Advice on Writing

Pamela S. Thibodeaux

Read. Read extensively in your genre and out. Take note of phrases and descriptions that capture your imagination or make your heart sing and mind race. I’ve yet to meet a writer who isn’t an avid reader!

Write. Doesn’t matter if it’s daily, weekly, or two to three days a month, just make time to write consistently. Don’t worry if it’s dribble to begin with, just write. Whether you’re at a desk, the kitchen table, the library, or a coffee shop, get in the habit of sitting in your writing space and putting words on paper (or computer, or notebook, or iPad…you get my drift). Forget the rules and write the book you want to read. You can always check for publisher guidelines and edit/revise your project to fit, but those first drafts can be whatever you want them to be.

Edit. Most projects need a minimum of three edits…. Initial edit is where you layer in descriptions, the five senses, etc. Second pass, where you check for plot holes and pacing. Third round, you’ll check for grammar, punctuation, etc. Make sure you take at least two weeks to a month between edits. If you don’t, chances are you’ll miss mistakes that could cost you a contract or precious time in edits after the contract. While you’re letting this one cool, start another. Keep several projects in the works at all times so you don’t worry this one to death.

Query/Submit. At some point you’ve got to turn that baby loose. Even if your initial submission is to a critique partner or group, don’t let fear stop you from getting the feedback necessary to help you grow as a writer and produce the best work you can. Read the last two sentences above—they apply here too. Keep writing while you wait to hear back from your submission.

Revise, Re-submit, Resell. This applies mostly to articles and essays but sometimes you can even revise/rewrite a story and sell it elsewhere. Make sure you abide by any current or previous contract limitations and if someone doesn’t normally take reprints, be sure to let them know the extent of changes you’ve made that add a whole new twist to the version you’re querying about or submitting to them.

Promote. Okay, you’ve sold a book or two or a dozen articles. There will be no (or very few) sales, reviews, or new opportunities, if you don’t let people know. Set up a website, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon Author Page. Spend a few hours a week building your fan base and readership. When you do a book signing or speaking engagement, ask for the name and address (email too) of everyone who buys a book. This is your readership. Ask if you may add them to your mailing/newsletter list. Don’t bombard them, but keep in touch on a regular basis, whether that is monthly, quarterly or even annually.

These tips and hints apply to the craft of writing but here are a few more:

Keep good records. Writing is a business and even unpublished authors can claim business expenses such as office supplies, ink, business cards, etc. Check with a CPA or tax preparer and don’t miss out on these valuable deductions—especially when you begin to make money.

Take Care of Yourself. Sometimes life throws us a curve ball or hand grenade and we have a hard time focusing on writing. Don’t worry about your career at this point. Take the time you need to recover and/or regroup and start over. Real writers never quit. We may take an extended leave of absence but at some point, we always return to our passion.

And last but certainly not least…

Don’t Quit! Writing is a gift and a talent given to you by God. Don’t hide your gift or bury your talent.

Bio: Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a Lifetime Member of Bayou Writers Group. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!”™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.”

Website; Pam’s Wild Rose Blog; Facebook; Twitter: @psthib

A visionary is someone who sees into the future. Taylor Forrestier sees into the past but only as it pertains to her work. Hailed by her peers as “a visionary with an instinct for beauty and an eye for the unique” Taylor is undoubtedly a brilliant architect and gifted designer. But she and twin brother Trevor, share more than a successful business. The two share a childhood wrought with lies and deceit and the kind of abuse that’s disgustingly prevalent in today’s society.

Can the love of God and the awesome healing power of His grace and mercy free the twins from their past and open their hearts to the good plan and the future He has for their lives?

Find out in…The Visionary ~ Where the awesome power of God's love heals the most wounded of souls.

Lynn Chandler Willis: Character Description

Lynn Chandler Willis

Above plot, dialogue, setting, style and anything else you want to add, the heart of a good story is the characters. There are many ways to make your characters leap off the page and into your readers’ hearts. One of my favorite ways is to add description. Not just “he had red hair” description but in-depth, down to the soul description. You're the creator of this character—their DNA is in your hands and it's up to you to show it to the reader.

How to add physical description without it looking like a grocery list:

He has red hair. How red was his hair? Candy-cane red or blaze orange? There’s a difference. Did he also have freckles? Many red-heads do, you know. Pale or tanned or sunburned? Many redheads easily sunburn. Perhaps he smells

like sunscreen. Does he like his red hair? Maybe he has a perpetual frown because he longs to be dark-headed?

How to add to the characterization without the reader knowing it:

What kind of clothing is he wearing? A business suit? Jeans and a t-shirt? Even the t-shirt can tell a reader something about your character. Does it have a logo?  Nike—he may be athletic. Duck Commander—he may be an outdoorsman and hunter. Grateful Dead—may be an aging hippie, music lover, art student, yard sale shopper. Does his shirt have a funny saying on it? Is it political? Sexy? Redneck humor? Any one of these shows the reader who the character is without telling them he is a business man.

How to bring a character to life:

So now the reader knows our character has orange hair, freckles and is wearing a Grateful Dead t-shirt. What else can we add to bring him to life? A limp? A stutter? A scar? Was he born with that limp or did his foot fall asleep from sitting cross legged while meditating? Is the limp a war injury? A football, basketball, or car-racing injury? A personal injury lawsuit in the works? Or maybe he’s not really injured…. All of the above helps bring a character to life. And, it can be done in a few short sentences.

Example: His hair looked like tiny orange spikes pushing through the top of his head. A Grateful Dead t-shirt stretched across his sagging belly. He shuffled over to the counter, a painful limp contorting his grizzled face. “‘Nam,” he said as if that explained it all.

This character has now become real, a three dimensional being rather than a stick figure. The reader now has a vivid image of what he looks like, how old he is, and a glimpse into his past without even realizing it. The description didn't need to drag on for paragraphs—everything the reader needed to know at the moment was shown to them in a few sentences.

So the next time you come to writing a character description, don't tell the reader the man was wearing a hat. Show us he was wearing a NY Yankees ball cap, backwards.

The Rising:

A little boy, beaten and left to die in an alley.  A cop with a personal life out of control. When their worlds collide, God intervenes. Detective Ellie Saunders's homicide investigation takes a dramatic turn when a young victim "wakes up" in the morgue. The child has no memory prior to his "rising" except walking with his father along a shiny road. Ellie likes dealing with facts. She'd rather leave all the God-talk to her father, a retired minister, and to her partner, Jesse, a former vice cop with an annoying habit of inserting himself into her life. But will the facts she follows puts Ellie's life in mortal danger? And will she finally allow God into her heart forever?

About the Author:

Lynn Chandler Willis is the author of the bestselling True Crime book Unholy Covenant (Addicus Books, 2000), Grace Award finalist The Rising (Pelican Book Group, 2013), and the forthcoming Wink of an Eye, winner of the 2013 St. Martin's Press/Private Eye Writers of America Best 1st PI Novel competition. It will be released by Minotaur Books Nov. 2014.

Tanya Stowe: Ten Time-Saving Tips for Writers

Tanya Stowe

Several years ago I gave a talk. Afterwards, a member of the audience suggested I speak on time management. I had to laugh. Time is a constant topic for me because I always have so little of it. It wasn’t until I started working a thirty-hour-a-week job that I learned how to manage my time.

I used to rise at 4:30 am, write for three hours, go to work for six hours, run errands, do household chores and chauffeur the kids. Between 5—8 p.m., I did dinner and homework and then fell into bed. It was a very tight schedule and many things went by the wayside, but in that time I completed two books—double what I’d accomplished in the previous two years.

No, I’m not Superwoman. There were frequent crash-and-burn sessions where I turned into Jell-O for days at a time. But I learned to prioritize, to write on demand and to make the best use of the time given to me.

Below are a few of the things I learned:

Start your day with prayer

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

Eat Well

Diet impacts everything—your energy level, your  mental acuity, even the texture of your skin and  hair. Eating a well-balanced diet and using  supplements keeps everything at peak performance.

Exercise

Writing is a mental drain. It’s as if you open your   brain and pour it onto the page. When you’re finished, there’s nothing left. A twenty-minute walk, a turn on the exercise bike or laps in the pool gets the blood pumping to the brain and clears out the cobwebs. Plain and simply, exercise is essential to keep up with today’s hectic pace.

Get Plenty of Rest

      Studies show that we are most susceptible to  
      viruses when we’re tired. Getting the rest your body
      requires will help you fend off the bugs constantly
      coming your way. 

Organize Whenever Possible

• Sort drawers so you can always find scissors, pens and pads, or recipes. Don’t waste time hunting.
• Use a carrier with a handle for all the cleaning supplies you’ll need and carry it from room to room as you work. Don’t waste time fetching.
• Create a 3-ring notebook with packet folders for all your research and notes for your latest book so it’s in one central, easy-to-find place.
• Create files for PR, characterization, plotting. If you receive a handout you want to keep, toss it in the appropriate file. If you see an article you want, tear it out, staple it and drop in the file for easy access.

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There’s Nothing to It but to Do It

• Don’t procrastinate. When you bring in the mail, take five minutes to sort it. Junk mail in the trash, bills in a file.
• Unload the dishwasher first thing in the morning so dishes don’t pile up in the sink during the day.
• Take a few extra minutes to put things away. Hang up your jacket, don’t throw it over the chair. Put your briefcase in the closet by the door. Things won’t pile up on you and once-a-week clean-up will be shorter.

Put that Smart Phone to Good Use

• Make sure your scheduler will coordinate between all your devices. You don’t want to hunt dates created on your phone to add to your computer.
• Listen to a seminar on the way to work, while on the exercise bike during lunch and ten minutes on the way home. That’s a half-hour’s worth of a seminar conference session in one day.
• I’ve pre-programmed birthdays and anniversaries into my scheduler so it will remind me in plenty of time to purchase presents or cards, and I have it when I’m out and about.
• I even have an app to plan menus and create my grocery lists…again, one that syncs between my devices. My personal favorite is Big Oven.
• There are also apps for prayers, Christian music and scripture…reminders throughout the day to rely on and turn to the Ultimate Organizer. 

Be Good to Yourself

Take time to smell the roses or watch the sunset. Surround yourself with the things you love.

• I love paintings. Every morning when I turn on my computer, my screensaver comes up with a painting and a quote. I savor the quote and the picture in the quiet moments before I begin my day.
• On my desk I have a flip calendar with daily quotes and lots of flowers. I try to take a few quiet moments every day to read and study the picture. It’s a beautiful, positive thing in a strung-out day.

Create an “I Love Me Book”

Get another 3-ring binder with pockets and plastic inserts. (There are apps for this, as well!) Inside the binder put letters, photos of friends at talks and conferences, awards, contest wins, book covers—anything positive. Then when you get that next rejection letter, you can pull out your book and flip through the pages. You’ll feel better. You’ll even remember how really good you are and that will remind you why you keep this insane schedule.

   About Tanya:

Tanya Stowe is an author of Christian Fiction with an unexpected edge. She fills her stories with the unusual…gifts of the spirit and miracles, mysteries and exotic travel, even an angel or two. No matter where Tanya takes you…on a journey to the Old West or to contemporary adventures in foreign lands…be prepared for the extraordinary. www.tanyastowe.com 

Tanya's latest release:

WOUNDED GRACE

(Heart's Haven Easter Collection, Book 2)

Madison Harper is glad to be alive after a devastating auto accident. She loves her new community, too. There's something peaceful about the Heart's Haven cottages. Madison wakes up every morning, praising the Lord and basking in constant sunshine--until the day Andrew Hart collapses from a massive heart attack and dies.

When widower Vance Mallory arrives to help his sister bury her husband, he and Madison agree to bury the hatchet from their turbulent past. But no matter how hard they try, they seem to bring out the worst in each other. Their verbal battles uncover too many old hurts, mistaken paths, and hidden feelings.

Can these two embittered souls ever hope to find peace and healing or has the healing peace of Heart's Haven died with Mr. Hart?


Want to tweet this article? Here's a ready-to-go tweet:

Not enough time to write? Get Time-Saving Tips for Writers at Write Right! hhttp://ow.ly/wgHSm  @DeliaLatham @TanyaStowe1

Heidi Glick - Six is a Crowd: Limiting the Number of POV Characters

Heidi Glick

Although a fictional story may contain multiple characters, generally, when writing using third person limited POV, you should limit the number of POV characters to a total of five. The reasons for the limitation are because of genre norms and publishing standards, and to allow readers to connect better with characters.

How is a POV character different from a regular character? Using third-person limited POV, authors focus on one POV character per scene, through whose consciousness, events are relayed. A scene includes whatever the POV character hears, smells, sees, etc. A scene may contain any number of regular characters but should only contain one POV character.

So what should you do if your current work in progress contains more than five POV characters?

·              Check out the norms for your genre. If you are unsure, read several books in your genre and see how many POV characters are used in those stories. For example, romance novels typically contain two POV characters: the hero and the heroine. Suspense novels or thrillers might contain three or more POV characters (the villain, the hero, and the heroine). Also, if you have a publisher in mind, check the publisher’s guidelines to see what they prefer or read several books released by the publisher to see how many POV characters are used.

·              Decide on the most important characters in the story (but no more than five). Tell the story through their eyes. When choosing POV characters, keep in mind that not all characters will be present in every scene. So if your hero and heroine are not in a scene, but your villain is, then you will need to include a scene with the villain or find another way to relay the information from that scene later in the story.

·              Make sure that the POV characters are connected. If you introduce a different character per chapter, readers will want to know how the characters are related. Failure to connect the dots might cause a reader to stop reading. Gone to Ground by Brandilyn Collins is a good example of how different POV characters can be introduced properly.

So are you still not convinced that you should use less than five POV characters?

·              Read a book with two POV characters and then a book with five or more POV characters to see what works best for your story and your writing style. I’ve found that if I read a book with more than five POV characters, I tend to lose interest. Even with five POV characters, you run the risk of readers becoming disinterested, which is why I lean toward using the fewest number of POV characters possible.

POV revisions can take time. I’ve done them myself. However, the end result is worth it.

Bio

Heidi Glick has a B.A. in biology, a minor in Bible from Cedarville University, and a passion for writing Christian fiction. Additionally, she is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and has written two articles for Intercom. Heidi’s debut suspense novel, Dog Tags, was released in June 2013. Readers can learn more about Heidi by visiting her Website and can connect with her via Facebook and Twitter.

 

Dog Tags Blurb

When disabled ex-Marine Mark Graham reconnects with his best friend’s sister, he finds himself falling in love. But Beth Martindale’s presence is a constant reminder of events he’d rather forget. Mark wants to move forward, but the secrets surrounding her brother’s death as well as his own confinement to a wheelchair threaten to tear them apart. 

When a psychopath who calls himself The Knight fixates on Beth, Mark is determined to give her the protection he failed to give her brother on the battlefield, yet he discovers that a wheelchair isn’t the only impediment he has to keeping Beth safe. Will terror win or can Mark find the strength of mind and body to rescue Beth and find his own redemption?

Ginger Solomon: Living the Dream - My Writing Journey

 

Ginger Solomon

Long before I began writing novel-length fiction, I wrote my thoughts in a journal—sometimes on paper, sometimes on the computer. I would pour out my soul to God in writing—a prayer, if you will.

Everything went into the journal—pain, joy, frustrations, prayer requests, and anything and everything in between. It helped me cope with my life surrounded by many young children. My oldest was thirteen when my seventh was born. Yes, I had seven children in thirteen years. No, none of them are multiples.

Many days I was at my wits end trying to keep everyone happy and schooled, but at naptime/reading time, I could sit in my room, or at the computer, and write out everything that was happening. It helped relieve stress. It also brought me closer to God. I could feel His comfort as I shed tears over some of those pages.

Over the years, the yearning to write intensified. I would sit with pen in hand over a blank journal page and wonder what it was I should write. Nothing came to mind, so I kept journaling.

Many times, over a period of two or three years starting around 2007, I sat staring at a blank page/screen. The desire to write bubbled up inside me, but I didn’t have a story to tell.

One day I woke with the most amazing dream stuck in my head. I went about the day’s business—breakfast, quiet time, school, etc. When afternoon quiet time rolled around, I found I had to write the dream down. That dream turned into my first novel.

I didn’t know anything about writing a novel, had never really considered doing such a thing. I wrote it and even had the nerve to send it to agents, who subsequently rejected it. It hurt, but I vowed to myself each time a rejection letter arrived that I would LEARN how to write, and I would write a novel that would glorify God. So I joined the American Christian Fiction Writers group and I read and listened. I went to their annual conference and I listened. I soaked it in day after day.

Meanwhile I was writing my second novel, One Choice. I applied everything I had learned up to that point. I took it to conference and pitched it. It was then that I learned large, traditional publishers did not like for the hero or heroine to be non-American. I sighed.

I loved the story, but I put it aside and began another novel—a Scottish historical romance. I pitched it and sent it to editors and agents. One editor was very kind in her rejection and gave me some great pointers. But it was still a rejection.

While that one had been out there in the hands of editors and agents, I began another novel—a second Scottish historical romance. I’m still in edits on this one, but it has been requested, and I am close to sending it to the agent and editor.

Sometime last year, I went back to One Choice. I still loved the story, so I decided that starting smaller was not a bad thing. I had heard good things from friends about Astraea Press. I submitted my story and held my breath (figuratively, of course). Then it came—not a rejection, but an acceptance.

I was finally going to become a published writer. And it all started with a desire to write, and a dream.

In One Choice, my heroine, Cahri, also journals. It became her substitute for prayer when she felt God had betrayed her trust. However, I would say that she was still praying, albeit in a different way and not consciously.

I still like to journal, though now that my kids are much older, I don’t do it as often as I used to. My prayers have changed as my children have grown. Today many of my prayers revolve around their safety and their future. I also pray that One Choice and any future book I write will bring glory to my heavenly Father.

About the Author:

Ginger Solomon is a Christian, a wife, a mother to seven, and a writer — in that order (mostly). When not homeschooling her youngest five, doing laundry or fixing dinner, she writes or reads romance of any genre, some sci-fi/fantasy, and some suspense. She’s a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, president of her local writing group, and writes regularly for three blogs. In addition to all that, she loves animals, horses especially, likes to do needlework (knitting, crocheting, and sometimes cross-stitch), and loves to sing in the choir at church.

A Bed of Roses…Thorns Included

Writing Prompts & Thoughts & Ideas…Oh My!

Inspy Romance Blog

Facebook Author Page

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About the Book:

Cahri Michaels is American by birth, but Belikarian by choice. Being selected to participate in the Bridal March forces her to give up the independent life she’s created for herself. She’s not ready to be anyone’s wife, much less to a man she doesn’t know.

Prince Josiah Vallis despises the centuries old tradition—the Bridal March—that is forcing him to choose a wife from fifty women. Why does it matter that he’s twenty-five and still single?

When Cahri and Josiah meet, sparks fly. Will it ignite a godly love that can see them through or will they be burned, never to be the same?

One Choice links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Astraea Press

Smashwords