*shudder*
I just read a legal document shared on Facebook about Kate Walker, author of many many Harlequin novels and 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance being a defendant in an infringement case.
To think that she was accused of copying someone else's work, to me, is ludicrous!
What i got from the legal mumbo-jumbo was basically the accuser's unpublished work had a similar theme or trope as that of Kate Walker's work.
I recently read a fantastic new author's work and thought "hey that sounds a bit like my idea" - our characters are by no means the same, their struggles aren't the same, but my small 10,000 word first draft is about best friends turned lovers which shared the same trope - that's it!
So, similar ideas do not mean copyright infringement - using exact phrases and words as someone else is.
Have a read of the legal document here
And to Kate Walker - thank goodness the case was dismissed!
Showing posts with label Kate Walker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kate Walker. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Conflict or GMC
GMC?
I've heard this acronym a few times during my blog hopping.
Briefly it means Goal Motivation Conflict.
All our characters come to the story with their own backgrounds, battle scars and inner conflict.
Well, they should do anyway, to make your story and characters believable to your readers.
Kate Walker in her 12 point guide to Writing Romance (excellent book!) tells us that the most important element of conflict is internal, the stuff that goes on in the character's head, the stuff that gives reason to their thoughts and actions. As a writer we must use this internal conflict so show character growth, how they change in order to achieve their HEA.
Kate explains (p 43) that the emotions involved in the characters internal conflict, affect the character's thinking, but they are unaware of them.
The internal conflict comes out when the Hero and Heroine meet and clash, this forces them to each face their own fears or inner demons.
I realised after writing a good 5k of my Status Quo story that i didn't really have a good handle on my characters conflicts.
So using what i've picked up during my blog hopping i tried to break them down.
Goal: What the hero/ine wants
Motivation: Why they want it
Conflict: If the hero/ine wins the other loses.
For me (and i could be very, very wrong!), on examining my characters and some of the books i love, i've found two sets of GMC for each character. (I think this was brought about by the character questionnaire on Nicola Marsh's website!)
The first set is the clear goal and reason that we are given right at the beginning of the story - should be within the first few pages of meeting each of them.
Then as we read, we discover a deeper Goal and motivation - which to me is stemmed from the conflict of the first, but at a deeper layer.
Have i lost you?
Okay, a bit of behind the scenes look to hopefully help explain this!
So in my story Emma wants Matt. They have been best friends for ever and she has been in love with him for just about the same amount of time. But when they kissed on New Years, it was made plain to her that they were made for each other. He stirred her blood in a way no other man had come close to. And that's what she wants.
So Emma's initial GMC is
G: To have Matt,
M: She loves him and he stirs a passion in her she wants for life.
C: they are best friends and she could lose him by insisting on this.
Then as the story develops we learn that deep down Emma's goal is to love and be loved with a passion and foreverness otherwise missing in her life. Her motivation is from how she felt in Matt's arms, how they are together doing mundane things. Her conflict, is that she may just not be good enough for the type of love and passion she desperately craves, after all her parents seemed to forget about her once they started their separate lives.
So, tell me. Do you think i've completely missed the point, or overcomplicated it?
How do you work out your characters conflict and motivations?
I've heard this acronym a few times during my blog hopping.
Briefly it means Goal Motivation Conflict.
All our characters come to the story with their own backgrounds, battle scars and inner conflict.
Well, they should do anyway, to make your story and characters believable to your readers.
Kate Walker in her 12 point guide to Writing Romance (excellent book!) tells us that the most important element of conflict is internal, the stuff that goes on in the character's head, the stuff that gives reason to their thoughts and actions. As a writer we must use this internal conflict so show character growth, how they change in order to achieve their HEA.
Kate explains (p 43) that the emotions involved in the characters internal conflict, affect the character's thinking, but they are unaware of them.
The internal conflict comes out when the Hero and Heroine meet and clash, this forces them to each face their own fears or inner demons.
I realised after writing a good 5k of my Status Quo story that i didn't really have a good handle on my characters conflicts.
So using what i've picked up during my blog hopping i tried to break them down.
Goal: What the hero/ine wants
Motivation: Why they want it
Conflict: If the hero/ine wins the other loses.
For me (and i could be very, very wrong!), on examining my characters and some of the books i love, i've found two sets of GMC for each character. (I think this was brought about by the character questionnaire on Nicola Marsh's website!)
The first set is the clear goal and reason that we are given right at the beginning of the story - should be within the first few pages of meeting each of them.
Then as we read, we discover a deeper Goal and motivation - which to me is stemmed from the conflict of the first, but at a deeper layer.
Have i lost you?
Okay, a bit of behind the scenes look to hopefully help explain this!
So in my story Emma wants Matt. They have been best friends for ever and she has been in love with him for just about the same amount of time. But when they kissed on New Years, it was made plain to her that they were made for each other. He stirred her blood in a way no other man had come close to. And that's what she wants.
So Emma's initial GMC is
G: To have Matt,
M: She loves him and he stirs a passion in her she wants for life.
C: they are best friends and she could lose him by insisting on this.
Then as the story develops we learn that deep down Emma's goal is to love and be loved with a passion and foreverness otherwise missing in her life. Her motivation is from how she felt in Matt's arms, how they are together doing mundane things. Her conflict, is that she may just not be good enough for the type of love and passion she desperately craves, after all her parents seemed to forget about her once they started their separate lives.
So, tell me. Do you think i've completely missed the point, or overcomplicated it?
How do you work out your characters conflict and motivations?
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Authorial Voice
Do you get confused or totally bewildered when you read/hear the comment "voice"?
What is this "voice" other authors and those in the industry keep talking about?
How i understand it, it is the way you put sentences together, the emphasis you put on certain parts of writing, the total overview that is totally "you" whenever you write.
You know your writing is fake when you are trying to emulate someone else, but when you have it right, the words just flow and are all from you. This is your voice.
From Wordplay, K.M Weiland tells us:
"Sometimes an authorial voice is something we consciously produce, but usually it’s just a natural manifestation of our inner voices. Everything we write—whether we’re crafting a text message or trying to mimic a foreign dialect—naturally occurs in our own unique voice."
From her fabulous book 12 point guide to writing romance, Kate Walker says:
- it's your own particular style, the way you tell your story
For more tips visit her blog
How would you describe your "voice"?
Mine is quite intense, i seem to thrive on the characters deepest darkest fears/emotions and making them live/voice them. Yep, my writing it kind of intense but that is where the passion comes from!
What is this "voice" other authors and those in the industry keep talking about?
How i understand it, it is the way you put sentences together, the emphasis you put on certain parts of writing, the total overview that is totally "you" whenever you write.
You know your writing is fake when you are trying to emulate someone else, but when you have it right, the words just flow and are all from you. This is your voice.
From Wordplay, K.M Weiland tells us:
"Sometimes an authorial voice is something we consciously produce, but usually it’s just a natural manifestation of our inner voices. Everything we write—whether we’re crafting a text message or trying to mimic a foreign dialect—naturally occurs in our own unique voice."
From her fabulous book 12 point guide to writing romance, Kate Walker says:
- it's your own particular style, the way you tell your story
For more tips visit her blog
How would you describe your "voice"?
Mine is quite intense, i seem to thrive on the characters deepest darkest fears/emotions and making them live/voice them. Yep, my writing it kind of intense but that is where the passion comes from!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Voice and characters
Kate Walker has a fantastic post all about Voice on her blog. If you've ever wondered what it is and how to get it, she divulges the facts. It's hard but it will come to you if you are true to yourself as a writer!
I couldn't help but feel, maybe that was the main reason for my submission being "not strong enough"?!
I'll have to keep trying to get my true voice in my next ms's!
And, yes i'm still reading Kate Walker's fabulously helpful book 12 point guide to writing romance. I've just finished the chapters on Hero and Heroine, and it all comes down to, again, being true to character. Don't make your hero an arrogant pig that will suddenly realise he loves the heroine and all his horrid behaviour is suddenly forgiven. And don't make your heroine a wimpy virgin. Give her some spine, something to make your readers absolutely love and believe in her (and him for that matter!)
I'm absent this week, well for the next two weeks. I'm on my two week practicum for my early childhood degree - i get to play with the toddlers! I mean i am learning how to link theory to practice ;)
Good luck finding your voice, and creating true, believable and honourable characters!
I couldn't help but feel, maybe that was the main reason for my submission being "not strong enough"?!
I'll have to keep trying to get my true voice in my next ms's!
And, yes i'm still reading Kate Walker's fabulously helpful book 12 point guide to writing romance. I've just finished the chapters on Hero and Heroine, and it all comes down to, again, being true to character. Don't make your hero an arrogant pig that will suddenly realise he loves the heroine and all his horrid behaviour is suddenly forgiven. And don't make your heroine a wimpy virgin. Give her some spine, something to make your readers absolutely love and believe in her (and him for that matter!)
I'm absent this week, well for the next two weeks. I'm on my two week practicum for my early childhood degree - i get to play with the toddlers! I mean i am learning how to link theory to practice ;)
Good luck finding your voice, and creating true, believable and honourable characters!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Conflicted about Conflict?
Internal conflict, External conflict, conflict, conflict, conflict!
Are you confused about what to use when and how much is too much?
Kate Walker is doing a really fab short course on her blog and is giving some golden tips to help sort out your muddle! You can even ask her questions and she may address them for you on her blog!
Luckily the chapter i was up to in the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance coincided with her course - Conflict!
In the book - and on the blog - she talks about adding layers, like an onion, not more conflict, like a car crash, then a burglary or a secret love child, then a suscpicious other woman, but more like deeper conflict. Something that adds to the conflict you already have for your characters. SOmething that heightens the tension.
The story should move in a W, with the characters solving the first part of their conflict only to discover another layer, or deeper problem they hadn't realised, then resolving that or it builds to the ultimate conflict the Black Moment!
And, you have to combine both the internal and the external conflict for this to be a truly compelling story!
And a little recap or lesson, in case you needed it.
Internal Conflict is the conflict that is happening inside the character - their emotions and reactions to situations (the External conflict).
Are you confused about what to use when and how much is too much?
Kate Walker is doing a really fab short course on her blog and is giving some golden tips to help sort out your muddle! You can even ask her questions and she may address them for you on her blog!
Luckily the chapter i was up to in the 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance coincided with her course - Conflict!
In the book - and on the blog - she talks about adding layers, like an onion, not more conflict, like a car crash, then a burglary or a secret love child, then a suscpicious other woman, but more like deeper conflict. Something that adds to the conflict you already have for your characters. SOmething that heightens the tension.
The story should move in a W, with the characters solving the first part of their conflict only to discover another layer, or deeper problem they hadn't realised, then resolving that or it builds to the ultimate conflict the Black Moment!
And, you have to combine both the internal and the external conflict for this to be a truly compelling story!
And a little recap or lesson, in case you needed it.
Internal Conflict is the conflict that is happening inside the character - their emotions and reactions to situations (the External conflict).
Friday, July 23, 2010
Conflict workshop
Kate Walker is currently doing a mini Conflict workshop over on her blog
Some fantastic pointers to help us out! Check it out.
Today i learnt something i'd never considered before:
External conflict can bring your H and h together. I've always thought of it as driving them apart! Imagine that! It has opened up so many more possibilities....
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Attention class!
Ahem, now that i have your attention...
The iPad is releasing in NZ in 3 days!!
Okay my happy dance is now over and back to the real reason for my post today.
I've been reading Kate Walker's fabulous 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance.
Of course it covers the basics like what is romance?, and it is important to know your genre before you write it! Research people, research!
If you are writing about a sandy beach you must know first hand what it feels like between your toes if that is what your characters are feeling!
Kate really advises too, and we have probably all heard this before, but really we can't hear this often enough, study the line you are targetting. That is, that publishing house or agent or readership. You MUST know your target BEFORE you put pen (or fingers to keyboard) to paper. It will save heartache, time, and effort in the long run.
Another huge thing i picked up was that readers don't read your story to find out what happens. Generally they read to find out how it happens!
At least, this is certainly true for romance. We all know, that these characters are going to get their happily ever after, but how they get it is what the reader is reading for. And how you get the reader there is with EMOTION.
Kate Walker talks about using Page Turning Quality and emotional punch.
Make sure you have enough emotional punch in your story to keep your reader turning those pages to find out how the story develops!
But please also remember "getting to know you time". The poor reader can't be on a high the entire time just as the characters can't. They all need to get to know each other, so let them all have time to know their gentler sides, and connect with each other, to feel. Then when the emotion gets high, and we as writers are so mean and create that nasty conflict, the reader will flick those pages even faster.
Your task this week: Create some emotional punch, but remember to let the characters have some down time and get to know each other too!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Learning my Craft
I'm so excited! I was given some money for my birthday so i used it to invest in my writing and have bought some writing books.
The first one arrived today: Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance.
I can't wait to dive in and have already read the contents pages and the introduction (can you tell i'm a bit of a geek?!).
Right off Kate has said she wants this book to help with my writing so she has intended this book to be like a workshop, with mini questions at the end of each chapter. So i thought as i read and take the notes as she advises, i would post them here so you can track my progress!
Of course i won't be doing that until i have finished editing my friend's novel or i will so busy i won't be able to think straight!
What books have you read to help shape your writing career?
From Kate's website - (i have a link to her site on my sidebar!) i got the information that the book contains and have included it below :), which is also in the book. I am really looking forward to it!
The book explains:
- How to write emotion and create PTQ (page turning quality) in your novels
- How to create conflict amidst your characters and why it is a major essential component in your novel.
- Why dialogue is the lifeblood of your knowledge
- How to make dialogue sound realistic
- How to make your characters real
- How to create the required sharp focus on your hero and heroine
- How to develop supporting characters that work
- Why flashbacks are important in some stories and how to create them in your novel.
- Why sensuality is important and how you can develop sensuality between your hero and heroine
- How to pace the development of the romance that is occurring between your hero and heroine
- How to write the love scene between your hero and heroine and the importance of 'after'
- The importance of the hero and his essential ‘vital vulnerability’.
- The filter role of the heroine for the reader
- The heroine’s 21st Century response to conflict
- How to answer the question ‘why?’
Join me soon!
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