Bad Advice

Read 2 Samuel 16-18

2 Samuel 17:14 "And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom."

Bad advice can be found in fiction and in nonfiction. An article could contain wrong information, hopefully by accident or as a parody.

A character could give bad advice to another character, not realizing it was bad advice. The reader could know the information was wrong and it could increase the tension of the story, while the reader waits for the inevitable disaster to happen.

Or the character could intentionally give bad advice to the hero. He might be in cahoots with the villain or have an agenda of his own.

Agents

Read 2 Samuel 13-15

2 Samuel 15:34 "But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father's servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel."

Agents help the writer-publisher relationship by being a go-between. They help writers get the best deal possible and handle the contract and business end so writers can concentrate on writing.

They help the editors by weeding out manuscripts so they are only presented with the best that is out there. Agents make sure whatever they submit is the type of manuscript the publishing house is looking for.

We may not be able to get an agent until we find an editor interested in our work, but it’s a good use of our time to try. We would treat submissions to potential agents as carefully as we submit to editors.

Noble Disobedience

Read 2 Samuel 10-12

2 Samuel 11:11 "And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing."

Disobedience usually leads to negative consequences. And if following orders leads to destruction, “I was only following orders” becomes a protection.

So when a character disobeys orders for a noble reason, the story follows what happens to her. Is she punished for her disobedience?

Or is she applauded for her actions? The plot does not need to depend on whether or not the end results of the noble disobedience were positive.

Recipes

Read 2 Samuel 7-9

2 Samuel 9:7 "And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually."

For writers who cook or bake, there is no limit to the markets that are looking for recipes. Women’s magazines, travel magazines, health magazines, kid’s magazines, men’s magazines, senior’s magazines, trade magazines, and certainly cooking magazines.

Even writers who are not known for their great cooking can write recipes like they would a how-to article. Start with the ingredients and tools needed and break the directions down step by step through to the finished product.

Newspapers and online markets—who hasn’t Googled for an easy recipe for the holidays or a special occasion? And don’t forget cookbooks!

Overreaction

Read 2 Samuel 4-6

2 Samuel 6:7 "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God."

When the punishment doesn’t fit the crime, it offends our sense of justice. An angry character who overreacts out of emotion escalates the conflict.

When a misdeed is done innocently, but the punishment is severe, the innocent is now the wronged person and likely to overreact out of her outrage. A story can only go on so long this way before it becomes ridiculous.

Ruthless editing will be called for, if this story is ever to find a publisher or readers. One character will have to call a halt to the vengeance.

Relentless Pursuit

Read 2 Samuel 1-3

2 Samuel 2:19 "And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner."

A story begins when a protagonist wants something and unfolds as we watch her pursue her goal. She has to overcome obstacles and complications on the way to success.

But most plots allow for the hero’s goals to change throughout the story as he changes. Someone who is in relentless pursuit is someone who becomes obsessed with the original goal.

Relentless pursuit does not allow for flexibility and can create more problems than it solves. A relentless character may reach her goal, but that doesn’t necessarily make for a happy ending.

Falling on the Sword

Read 1 Samuel 28-31

1 Samuel 31:5 "And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him."

When a doomed person kills himself rather than risk more suffering, he has fallen on his sword. Romeo and Juliet is one form this plot might take.

Usually it’s not associated with the protagonist, since the tale must end in tragedy. It would be challenging to keep a plot like this from melodrama.

We would most likely use this as a sub plot or as an action for the villain to take. The hope for the future that a sword faller passes up is the real tragedy of the story.

Intervention

Read 1 Samuel 25-27

1 Samuel 25:28 "I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days."

Readers won’t tolerate intervention on behalf of the protagonist. They don’t want to see the protagonist rescued; they want to see how the protagonist will get out of his own fix.

But there are other kinds of intervention readers might accept. A mentor character might advise a heroine she is about to make a grave mistake and she either listens or ignores the sage advice.

If intervention is foreshadowed correctly, it might be tolerated. The calvary could come to the rescue at the last minute, if the characters have been expecting them all along.

Gathering Forces

Read 1 Samuel 22-24

1 Samuel 22:2 "And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men."

Sometimes our protagonists have to go out and find allies. They might look to family, friends, or even the enemy of their enemies.

Sometimes, allies are just waiting for an opportunity to join forces with someone. People like the men David assembled are looking for a leader to gather their forces around.

Those allies could be unpredictable with agendas of their own and cause trouble later in the story. They might also be the most loyal and honorable of allies the protagonist might ever want.

Comedy

Read 1 Samuel 19-21

1 Samuel 19:21 "And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also."

If we want to write comedy, we have a lot of options to choose from. We could write humorous greeting cards.

We could write jokes for comedians. We could write sitcoms or movies, even plays.

We could write funny short stories or novels. Or we could inject some comedy into our work.

Misunderstood Motives

Read 1 Samuel 16-18

1 Samuel 17:28 "And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle."

All David was trying to do was challenge the men, remind them of Who they served, and rally the troops for battle. We may write scenes where our well-meaning characters’ motives are misunderstood, too.

The protagonist might be the out-going type who can’t help reaching out to her fellow characters. Too often that reaching out might be misunderstood as interference.

The character could be the introspective type, who is quiet and keeps to himself. Other characters might misunderstand his motives to ensure his peace and quiet and mistrust him because they don’t understand him.

Popular Rescue

1 Samuel 13-15

1 Samuel 14:45 "And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not."

In our stories, usually when a person is facing doom, they face it alone. It’s just the hero versus the villain.

That usually works and it’s what readers expect. But it’s not the only way to write a showdown.

Any group, family, or community could rise up and support the protagonist. If it is written carefully enough, we’ll cause our readers to cheer, rather than roll their eyes.

Ready to Give Up

1 Samuel 10-12

1 Samuel 12:2 "And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day."

A character may be ready to give up. Like Samuel, he might be discouraged by events and tired of fighting the inevitable.

The drama of the story begs to have the writer show not only why the protagonist wants to give up but why she should give up. The reader will understand and sympathize.

A story could also begin with a hero who has given up. The back-story will need to be filled in little by little to keep the reader’s interest, but the arc will be how the character finds new strength to overcome.

Like Everybody Else

Read 1 Samuel 7-9

1 Samuel 8:5 "And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."

Another type of story is a story about a person who wants to be like everybody else. The character is tired of being different and wants to fit in better.

It’s often a children’s or teenager’s story. Kids struggle with growing up and can always identify with a protagonist who doesn’t feel like he belongs.

But it can be an effective adult’s story, too. Our hero struggles to fit in to a new family or community she finds herself in.

Doomed

Read 1 Samuel 4-6

1 Samuel 4:9 "Be strong and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight."

There are three kinds of doomed situations to write about. One is a character who is doomed and knows he is and how it will affect what he does in the time he has left.

Another is a character who thinks she is doomed and is not necessarily. She plans to make the most of her last breath and fight her battle with her enemy, even if it kills her.

The third is a character or community who is doomed, but doesn’t know it. The reader knows and the tension builds while the reader keeps hoping for a different and triumphant ending, while watching the inevitable happen.

Special Child

Read 1 Samuel 1-3

1 Samuel 1:28 "Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there."

We can join the ranks of the writers who have written about a special child. There are the stories about orphans and how they make their way in the world.

There are stories about children who have special powers. The special powers can bring about good or evil to the other characters around the child.

The special child might be special simply because he is royalty. In other stories the child is caught in the middle of a fight over her.

Love Story

Read Ruth 1-4

Ruth 2:5 "Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?"

Love stories have a lot of markets available. Typically, they have three musts.

The first is a meet cute scene where the couple connects for the first time. Even if they clash, there is some instant attraction between them.

The second ingredient is something must keep them apart for the length of the story. The last ingredient is a happy ending, depending on your market.

Encourage Yourself

Read Judges 19-21

Judges 20:22 "And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day."

No matter how badly the writing is going, we can encourage ourselves that at least we are writing something and getting some words down on paper. The fix will come later.

No matter how many rejections letters we are getting, it is encouraging. At lease we are getting our work out there in the world.

Whether the writing is going badly or the rejections are overwhelming, all is not lost. We can encourage ourselves that, if we keep at it, we are going to succeed.

Roles

Read Judges 16-18

Judges 17:10 "And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in."

Certain characters will fulfill certain roles in our stories. We’ll need a hero and our protagonist will take that role.

We’ll need a villain and out antagonist will take that role. The rest of the cast will fill in the parts as needed.

Perhaps a sidekick might double as a romantic interest. One character can take one role, or one character can take on as many roles as the story needs.

Reaction Shots

Read Judges 13-15

Judges 13:19 "So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord: and the angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on."

We see them often in movies and television shows. Something is happening in the scene, but instead of keeping the camera on the action, we see shots of others in the room watching the action.

They’re called reaction shots. We’re seeing the other characters’ reactions to the plot point.

We can keep this in mind when writing stories. We need to give the other characters in the room something to do, even if it’s just to react.

Bewail

Read Judges 10-12

Judges 11:38 "And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains."

When we throw pain and heartache at our characters for the sake of a good story, it is expected that they will hurt. They will notice what has happened to them and react appropriately.

They might bewail over their lot in their thoughts or storm off. They might take their feelings out in hard work or become self destructive.

But the story becomes boring if the character doesn’t eventually put aside the grief and make a plan to fix what has gone wrong. Tragedy in a story can overwhelm a reader, if the character doesn’t eventually stop his bewailing and do something about his new challenge.

Too Many People

Read Judges 7-9

Judges 7:2 "And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me."

Readers don’t know our stories ahead of time and that’s why they read them. They aren’t familiar with our settings and don’t know our characters.

So we introduce both to then. We place our characters in the settings and circumstances and show what’s going on for the reader’s enjoyment.

Too many people will only confuse our readers and muddle the story. We will want to keep our characters to as few as will still serve the story we are trying to tell.

Upgrade

Read Judges 4-6

Judges 5:25 "He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish."

An upgrade involving our characters can take many forms. We can use it as a motivation for action—our character wants a nicer house or a better life.

We use it to escalate the problems facing our protagonist. Every time a problem is solved, it creates a bigger one.

We can also use it when outlining. Once we begin to list the adventures our heroes will face, we can imagine something even worse at each plot point.

Call to Action

Read Judges 1-3

Judges 1:1 "Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?"

The call to action or call to adventure is the second step of the hero’s journey. The ordinary world is in jeopardy and the protagonist is enticed to do something about it.

The call may come from others who are asking for the hero’s help or rescue. The hero might be retired from fighting those particular dragons, but the hero’s expertise is needed.

Or the call may come from the protagonist’s own circumstances. Her world has changed or is about to change and she needs to be convinced to do something about it.

New Normal

Read Joshua 22-24

Joshua 22:4 "And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side Jordan."

At the end of the story, our protagonist and helpers need to be at a new normal. We need to show what their lives are going to be like now that they have endured the adventure and triumphed over the obstacles.

It can be a reflection of how the story started. We can show the characters in a similar setting and highlight the differences.

Or it can be more of a riding-off-into-the–sunset ending. An ending that gives hints of the hope that is ahead of our heroes, rather than spelling it out.

All Came to Pass

Read Joshua 19-21

Joshua 21:45 "There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass."

Stories are promises made to the reader. Plots and subplots rouse a reader’s curiosity and cause her to trudge through to the end to see how everything turns out.

So it’s important for the writer to make sure to keep those promises. Each question raised in the tale deserves an answer.

The reader should leave satisfied that all has come to pass. Writers must go through one final polishing to make certain that all promises are fulfilled and all questions answered whether the answer is positive or negative.

Strong Women

Read Joshua 16-18

Joshua 17:6 "Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead."

Women characters, no matter the role they play in the story, will need to be strong. Even a victim character who needs rescuing will be spending the story time doing something and will need strength, even if it’s just the strength to endure.

Strong women can be the heroines of the story or the mentors of other characters. Whether they’re mothers, wives, bosses, employees, or on their own, their actions will show power.

Contemporary or historical, women characters will be a driving force no matter what role they play. Their actions may reflect the times they are in, but the results will be the same: a big impact on the plot.

Give Me the Mountain

Read Joshua 13-15

Joshua 14:12 "Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said."

Writers use different criteria to define ourselves as writers. Most of us don’t dare even to call ourselves writers.

Writers are people who earn money writing, but if we sell one or two articles, we still don’t believe we can be defined as writers. Writers, we say, must be people who earn their living by writing.

But a writer is a person who writes—those of us who can’t help themselves and write whether or not any money is ever involved. We can dare to claim that defining mountain—the title of writer—for ourselves.

The Zone

Read Joshua 10-12

Joshua 10:13 "And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day."

Writing is hard work. The blank page is intimidating, getting ideas unlikely, finding the right words nearly impossible.

But every once in a while, everything seems to come together. The words flow onto the page nearly effortlessly.

That state of mind is what some people refer to as the zone. When it happens, it is a gift.

Ambush

Read Joshua 7-9

Joshua 8:7 "Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand."

Protagonists are ambushed by the situation they find themselves in—that event that is the beginning of the whole story problem. It’s that something that interrupts their lives.

They may be ambushed throughout the story. Events may continue to take them by surprise.

They may also be ambushed by deliberate actions from the enemy. The antagonist will also be working hard on his own agenda to the story problem.

Unconventional Solution

Read Joshua 4-6

 

Joshua 6:20 "So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city."

 

Our plotting is cause and effect—one action leads to another. Our protagonist reacts in a certain way to the disaster that happened to him and that action leads to other consequences, which lead to more actions and consequences until the story’s end.

 

So we have to make our story stand out by having our characters choose unconventional solutions now and again. We don’t want to bore our reader with too much predictability.

 

We start with the first logical effect and then brainstorm other actions our characters might take. Or we could ask ourselves what is the worst thing our character could do and do another brainstorm, then look at our brainstorm lists and come up with what would be the opposite of each idea we came up with.