Write On SC

We’ve had the last three weeks to do something other than this on Saturday mornings and I gotta say, this is a better use of my time (laughing emoji). 

November 4th was Storyfest and that was awesome.

November 11th was the SC Libertarian Party state convention and that was interesting.

November 18th Kasie went Clemsoning.

So we’re back here, live on November 25th and we’ve decided to challenge one another to read better books. Really we just want to have read some of the same books. Longtime listeners know we have a few go-tos: Gone With the Wind, The Great Gatsby, Star Wars. But other references are a little one-sided.

So we’ve decided in 2024 to get on the same page with at least 12 books. So I’ll challenge Rex to 6 and he’ll challenge me to 6. Today’s show we reveal what those books will be. Should be fun.

Read more on the blog

Apologies for last week’s aborted episode. We’ll be coming back together with Nick Roberts. He’s a cool dude and he took Kasie’s BIG mistake in stride. So thanks, Nick Roberts, let us know how we can support you and promote you. See you December 2nd!

So it’s Spooky Season and we’d normally dive head first into the ghoulish stuff but it’s also the two weeks leading up to NaNoWriMo and so we’re going to run a back-to-back prep sesh for the frenzy that is NaNo.

One plug for the ghoulish stuff: Halloween night (10/31) we’ll be at the British Bulldog Pub for a Noir at the Bar event brought to you by Raegan Teller and Chris Errol Maw of “Words and Wine” notoriety. The readers are Bonnie Stanard, Cathy Blake, Irene Stern, Kasie Whitener, AJ Brown, Paula Benson, Raegan Teller, and Phil Lenski. The program begins at 6 p.m. but Kasie should be there by about 5:30 if ya’ll wanna come have a pint.

So let’s break down this NaNoWriMo thing. What is it? National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Get their origin story here. They’re a non-profit of volunteers supporting writers and would-be authors and claim to have had a hand in books like Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and Marisa Meyer’s Cinder – both kick-ass novels. Highly recommend.

In any case, it requires that participants create a profile online and then climb into the driver’s seat and start pumping out the words. And in Rex’s opinion deliver a steaming hot pile of garbage in thirty days. I’m not going to disagree since my first NaNo project is the vampire novel I’m still re-writing six years later.

Last year 51,670 participants completed the challenge. So imagine all those authors working through revisions and eventually querying and publishing those books. That’s a LOT of books!

More importantly, the NaNo legacy is the eternal debate between the planners and the pantsers and that’s a topic we’ve taken on before in Episode 172 back in January 2022 and again earlier this year as we talked about Aging Into Plannerhood in Episode 226.

But today we’re going to compare and contrast the two as a way of delivering best practices and then next week, we’re going to share our plans for the NaNoWriMo challenge – new novels we plan to produce in November. Seriously.

If you think we’re exaggerating on how pervasive this debate is, check out this book written specifically on how to turn pantsers into planners.

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It’s week 2 of our NaNoWriMo boot camp and we’re just four days away from the kickoff of the frenzy of writing that is NaNo. So today we’re going to talk about what you should be doing, what you can expect from the month and whether this whole kerfuffle is worth it.

NaNoWriMo for anyone who missed last week is National Novel Writing Month and it’s facilitated by this website and the non-profit that supports it.

When did you first hear of NaNo? Have you ever done it?

The first step is to register, it’s free. The second step is to create the project. You’ll need a name (it’s a working title) and a word count goal. The site recommends 50,000 words. That’s how you “win.”

Why do it? Commit to a daily grind - write every day is advice frequently given by very prolific writers. Let’s unpack “Write Every Day” – what are the benefits? Certainly speed. When I was blogging everyday I could draft a 500 word blog in 15 minutes. 

Another reason for NaNo – find writers in your area or online (in your genre?) to connect with and share the experience. This is an online challenge but local write-ins are organized, too. Columbia WriMos have a Discord Server and schedule meet-ups around town. Here’s the Discord link but not it’ll expire in 7 days so if you click it and it doesn’t work, it’s old. You’ll want to join ColaWriMos on the NaNo website and the lead will send you an active Discord link.

They’re also using Facebook, so search ColaWriMos there and you should be able to find the full events listing. Write-ins are fun if for no other reason than to not write alone. I usually end up saying “hi” and then putting my earphones in because for real people use it as a chance to talk about the book they’re supposed to be writing.

Read more on the blog

In August we attempted a series on characters: Episode 240 was about the protagonist. Episode 241 was about the antagonist and Episode 242 was, too. Last week we were off to assist SCWA with their one-day Indie Author Camp and that was too much fun. We’d promised we’d do best friends and love interests and longtime listeners might think, “haven’t ya’ll done that?” and the answer is yes, kind of.

In Episode 100 (way back in June 2020 – COVID anyone?) we talked about Romantic Subplots and in Episode 159Catherine Peace made her first appearance and we talked about romance as a genre and in Episode 160, we added Ella Shawn to the mix and the three of us giggled through all the subgenres of romance.

And in Episode 98 (also way back in 2020) we talked about the role of the best friend and in Episode 131 just six months later we talked about why you have to kill the best friend character. We hit that topic again in Episode 214 earlier this year when we advised our friend Abby to kill one of her characters off.

So why do it again?

Because best friends and love interests are NOT the protagonist or the antagonist (except in romance working the friends-to-lovers trope). They are supporting characters who can do a variety of things:

• Complicate the plot - make it harder for the protagonist to choose to pursue his goal
• Offer encouragement to the protagonist – prop them up, cheer them on
• Serve as a foil – show what the protagonist is not i.e. impulsive, cowardly, or ruthless
• Prove the protagonist is likable – the thing about friends is, they teach strangers that we can be trusted, that we have redeeming qualities; in a story like After December, Brian’s friends tell the reader that people like him and if we don’t because we’re in his head, that’s less because he’s actually a jerk and more because he’s showing us who he really is.
• Give the protagonist something to lose – Raise the stakes! When the best friend disapproves or the love interest is in danger, the protagonist has to make a tough choice

Segment 2

Let’s talk through some frequently asked questions about best friends:

1. Do they / should they have their own character arc?
   1. Yes examples - Hermione Granger, Samwise Gamgee
   2. No examples - Melanie Hamilton, Goose, Sam in Casablanca
2. Should they support the protagonist?
   1. Yes examples - Ron Weasley (until he defects in the last book), Kit from Knight Rider, Nick Carraway (doesn’t question Gatsby)
   2. No examples - Watson to Holmes, Mercutio to Romeo
3. Should they challenge the protagonist?
   1. Yes - The Last Starfighter - Centauri challenges Alex to become a Starfighter, so does Grig, Cameron from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; Charlotte Lucas to Elizabeth Bennett in P&P; George Knightly to Emma Woodhouse in Emma
   2. No - Tin Man, Lion, Scarecrow to Dorothy
4. Should they betray the protagonist - especially if the protagonist is in the wrong?
   1. Yes - Neville Longbottom is a tattle tale; Benedick tricks Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing because Claudio humiliated Hero under false accusations
   2. No - Iago betrays Othello because he’s jealous and in that way becomes the enemy of the protagonist; Edmund betrays his siblings by going to the witch in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Fredo betrays Michael Corleone because he feels he’s not getting what he deserves.

Read more on the blog

Does the antagonist always have to lose? (link)

What about the mutual satisfaction ending?

Plot-by-role discussion of the antagonist at this link.

• Early (the hook) - the antagonist has their own thing, not really engaged with or concerned about the protagonist
• Inciting incident - the protagonist’s choice puts them in conflict with the antagonist’s goal; the antagonist may still be unaware of the protagonist’s goal, but their paths are converging rapidly now
• Plot Point 1 - if the two haven’t met (and they might not for a while) at the very least, there are proxies setting up challenges on behalf of the antagonist that interfere with the protagonist’s goal
• First Pinch Point - the protagonist should feel at this point the impact of the antagonist’s conflicting efforts; should feel the presence and power of the antagonist as a force working against the protagonist; the antagonist should make some sort of move against the protagonist here

Read more on the blog

Segment 1

First, Kasie finally got around to that whole cache of recordings and put them all up on Simplecast through June 30th. July to come. It starts here with “The Write Stuff” from last fall. (I know. I told you it had been a while).

In August, we’re doing a series. We haven’t done this for a few months. We’re focusing on Characters this month:

• Protagonist (8/5)
• Antagonist (8/12)
• Best friends & love interests (8/19)

To recap the protagonist, s/he’s one of these four types:

1. Hero / heroine – achieves things because of their own means
2. Antihero – lacks the qualities found in the hero, distinctly unlike the hero
3. Villain – unequivocally the bad guy – The Joker, Joe Exotic The Tiger King
4. Supporting protagonist – less common than other types, when the story is told from the minor role’s perspective – Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby

And has these 10 attributes:

1. Has a problem that needs solving
2. Has the ability to act
3. Has reasons to act
4. Has something to lose
5. Has something to gain
6. Has the capacity to change
7. Has a compelling quality
8. Has an interesting flaw
9. Has a secret
10. Has someone or something trying to stop them

If your protagonist doesn’t have all of those things figured out, better get revising.

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Welcome to special guest, Nick Roberts. Nick Roberts is a native West Virginian and a graduate of Marshall University. He is an active member of the Horror Writers Association and the Horror Authors Guild. His short works have been published in various magazines and anthologies. His novel, Anathema, won Debut Novel of the Year at the 2020-2021 Horror Authors Guild Awards. His second novel, The Exorcist’s House, was released in 2022, and his It Haunts the Mindcollection in 2023–both by Crystal Lake Publishing. Upcoming work includes the novels Mean Spirited and The Exorcist's House: Genesis. He currently resides in South Carolina with his wife and three children and is an advocate for people struggling with substance use disorders.

Importance of the Protagonist 

Something unique to horror stories is that there is an unusually large difference in power between the antagonist and protagonist, and this imbalance is present right from the very beginning.

Because the antagonist is so much more powerful than the protagonist, the protagonist's motivation needs to be clear, it needs to be compelling, and it needs to be readily understandable to your audience. It doesn’t matter if the protagonist’s motivation to pit herself against the monster is selfish (she doesn’t want to die) or selfless (she doesn’t want her daughter to die). 

What elements make the most compelling horror protagonist? Does weakness in a character allow the reader to become more immersed in the horror?

Is the protagonist in horror simply a vehicle for us to see the antagonist? To experience his horror from a safe distance? Is it okay not to be interested in the protagonist at all? 

Some have said the best horror protagonists have a downward spiral.

Read more on the blog

Segment 1

Last month we jumped around a bit – special guests, time travel, the mentor character. It was all pretty self-serving. Rex went on vacay so I brought my friends on.

In August, we’re going to try for a series. We haven’t done this for a few months. We’re focusing on Characters this month:

• Protagonist (8/5)
• Antagonist (8/12)
• Best friends & love interests (8/19)

The protagonist in the story is (link) the character who drives the action and whose outcome matters most. Emotional heart of the narrative and central to the conflict of the story.

Good protagonist examples:

• Luke Skywalker
• Scarlett O’Hara
• Officer Brodie (Jaws)
• Frodo
• Rocky Balboa
• Will Turner (Pirates of the Caribbean)
• Clarice Starling
• Elizabeth Bennett
• Sarah Connor (T2)

Is the protagonist also the hero? (link) not necessarily.

• Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver)
• Anakin Skywalker
• Micheal Corleone
• The Punisher
• Jack Reacher
• Wanda Maximoff (WandaVision Disney+) – has a heroic redemption
• Jack Torrance (The Shining)

Read more on the blog

Today’s special guest is Heather Harris-Bergevin, an author whose business, Barrow Editing, is based in Columbia, South Carolina. She, her three children, two cats, and a happy pitbull spend most of their time fighting entropy. Her own poetry books are published with By Common Consent Press, and she has an upcoming children's picture book with Lucky Rabbit Press, based in Columbia, SC.

It's been said that copy editors are the "first readers" as well as the “last line of defense” – they approach a text not from the point of view of the writer, but the reader. They are advocates for the readers; they are "quality control" for the publication.

• Agree, disagree, or both?
• Why should a new writer hire an editor?
• What misconceptions do most writers have about editors?
• How you define a draft? Many of our listeners think this means rewriting the entire manuscript from scratch.

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A debut novelist, Roger Jones, author of The Final Victory, joined Kasie and Rex in the studio on January 20, 2024. 

Welcome to the studio, Roger Jones. The Final Victory is set to be released April 30th and is available for pre-order now on Amazon.

The Final Victory follows Tripp Avery, a prominent businessman whose life gets disrupted by a cancer diagnosis. Tripp decides, during the peak of his battle with cancer to coach a mixed masters dragon boat on its way to the national championships. While the rowers work through their own cancer battles, personal lives, and identity crises, Tripp finds himself pushing himself and everyone else to overcompensate for being dealt a bad hand.