Mimi Barbour

Author

Part 6 – Facts from the RWA Convention

By 67 Comments

               ***
One of the most special
workshops I attended at the convention “Plotting by Motivation”
was presented by Laurie Schnebly Campbell http://booklaurie.com/
(Laurie offers wonderful workshops, many of which I’ve been fortunate
enough to have taken.)
In her classes, she lifts
you up and never lets you down – until you totally get her point. I could see a
lot of others in the room reacting the same way I did. OHHH!!! being
the most used expression. So many light bulbs lit up that the room glowed.
 
Her favorite saying is
“WHY?” And by the end of the class, we all knew the importance of
asking ourselves that particular question. 
Fact: Motivation is what
drives your story and makes your characters credible.
Fact: Goal is something a
person wants in the here and now. It drives a person with a time limit in the
end, and it’s something concrete – like having a baby!
Think of it this way…motivation
is behind the goal – a way of being – a long term reason for why they want
what they want.
For my example – I’ve used the characters from “Roll the Dice” my new release – September 2012 
My heroine, Aurora – is
motivated to overcome her horrible childhood. She needs to feel that she’s
worthy of a good man’s love, and until she finds him, she protects her soft core
by coming across as a hard-ass. Why? Because she’s never felt lovable.
Aurora’s goal – To capture
the man who raped her partner. Why? Because her partner loves her and she’ll go
to any lengths for someone who cares about her.
My hero, Kai – his motivation
stems from the adoration his sister and parents showered on him, which means he
needs to find this deep kind of affection, this same admiration from a woman he
cares about. Why? Because he needs to be admired to be happy.
Kai’s goal – he wants to
kill the man who raped his sister, which led to her hanging herself. Why?
Because the maniac took her out of his life. 
***Once I decided to delve
into my characters to the extent of fully understanding their goals and
motivations, I knew how to round them out even more. Bring them to life, shall
we say. And by doing this exercise, I’m hoping the reader will benefit by a
well-plotted story.
 

Romantic Suspense – Roll the Dice
To be released September 2012

 

For this Last Days of Freedom Giveaway Hop I will be happy to present one lucky winner with a $10 Amazon Gift certificate and five others with a free e-copy of My Cheeky Angel. All you need to do is leave a comment with your e-mail address.
And…I’ll be adding your names to my newsletter list, so I hope you won’t mind getting a periodic letter from me telling of new releases and special news!
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Comments

  61. Denise Z says

    Definitely looking forward to Roll the Dice and am so glad you got motivated ;=D Thank you for your generous participation in this fun hop.
    dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com

    Reply

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