Does YOUR MC hold a principle as part of who they are?

MAY IS HOSTED BY WRITING TIPS BY WRITERS, DONALD MAASS'  TWEETS ON CREATING THE PERFECT NOVEL ;)  & SECTIONS INSPIRED BY THESE:

“The single worst piece of writing advice I ever got was to stay away from the Internet because it would only waste my time and wouldn't help my writing. This advice was wrong creatively, professionally, artistically, and personally, but I know where the writer who doled it out was coming from.” ~ Cory Doctorow

DONALD MAASS WRITE TIP 80

List your cast. Give each an allegorical role: mother, destroyer, wanderer, sacrificial lamb etc. Make each more obvious. Make each character stand for a different principle but don’t tell your readers. Show it strongly once for each.

Prefect and perfect are like the same. The trouble is, when you sign up, no one tells you that a Prefect Badge can’t guarantee that anyone will listen to you. Wet floors. Swinging doors. Corners on folders. Could there be anywhere more dangerous in the whole world? I set a good example because if don’t then what kind of Prefect would I be? Sadly, behaviour in the corridor stamps on my ideal of organised until it’s all chaos. That adds cracks on my heart. I think some things age you… even if that’s not chronologically possible.

Which principle does YOUR MC hold as part of their identity? 

Can YOUR MC communicate without words?

MAY IS HOSTED BY WRITING TIPS BY WRITERS, DONALD MAASS'  TWEETS ON CREATING THE PERFECT NOVEL ;)  & SECTIONS INSPIRED BY THESE:

“Write even when the world is chaotic. You don’t need a cigarette, silence, music, a comfortable chair, or inner peace to write. You just need ten minutes and a writing implement.”  ~ Cory Doctorow

DONALD MASS WRITE TIP 79

Pick a point when your MC is suffering or stuck.  Tape her mouth shut.  She has to act it out.  What does she do.

I squirm and turn my head. Shieldless, stripped of my gold cloak, I lie under the high sun. My cracked lips are melded and each movement hurts, unbearably. I shiver. Fever? My body shudders again. I still think Cold but I must be burning. I feel heavy. I want to turn: it will do until I can find the strength to crawl away. Too weak, I relax my head into the dust: an offering to the sun. How long would it take to crumble into dust? Too long. First, I roll my eyes and my head follows. If I focus on my arm, I can find the will to turn.

When could it be an advantage for your MC to not be able to speak? 

Does YOUR MC show counter-emotional reactions?

MAY IS HOSTED BY WRITING RULES BY WRITERS, DONALD MAASS'  TWEETS ON CREATING THE PERFECT NOVEL ;)  & SECTIONS INSPIRED BY THESE:

“Stop in the middle of a sentence, leaving a rough edge for you to start from the next day — that way, you can write three or five words without being “creative” and before you know it, you’re writing.” ~ Cory Doctorow

DONALD MAASS WRITE TIP 78

Find a scene that’s all action. Drop in an emotion that your protagonist doesn’t expect to feel.

An archer threw himself from a rocky outcrop and stabbed at her neck with a short sword. She blocked him with her shield and stunned him with the wild magic she harnessed from the powerful surge of fear that flooded the clearing. Mendia shrugged the man’s dead weight away her as she turned. From the red glow in the distance it seemed Ardac was channelling envy. Didn’t the magician who wielded his own emotion suffer recurring bile? She grinned. Then, forcing her wayward spell wider to enhance her protection, she slashed on towards Galan and the heart of the conflict.

How do you think a counter-emotional reaction from your protagonist would improve a scene?

Does YOUR MC turn reactive feelings into actions?

MAY IS HOSTED BY WRITING TIPS BY WRITERS, DONALD MAASS'  TWEETS ON CREATING THE PERFECT NOVEL ;)  & SECTIONS INSPIRED BY THESE:

“Write when the book sucks and it isn’t going anywhere. Just keep writing. It doesn’t suck. Your conscious is having a panic attack because it doesn’t believe your subconscious knows what it’s doing.” ~ Cory Doctorow

DONALD MAASS WRITE TIP 77

Find a point where your protagonist has reactive feelings. Turn them into a physical action.

Then he was no longer there. The dust and gravel coating the path had disguised the extent of the damage. Now, he, the stones and gravel, all rushed away as smoothly as grating mountains. I stopped. I stared at where he should be. I reached out as if I could still curl my hands into fists in his shirt. My mouth was dry. Too late. I could almost feel his arms moving around to pull me in close to his for shelter. “No!”

Does your MC tend towards extreme reactions to situations and interactions?

Can YOUR MC see what no one else has noticed?

MAY IS HOSTED BY WRITING TIPS BY WRITERS, DONALD MAASS'  TWEETS ON CREATING THE PERFECT NOVEL ;)  & SECTIONS INSPIRED BY THESE:

“Write even when the mood isn’t right. You can’t tell if what you’re writing is good or bad while you’re writing it.” ~ Cory Doctorow

DONALD MAASS WRITE TIP 76

Character-drive WIP? How can your MC’s family, friends, town, times or way of seeing become odd, unique, less ordinary?

“Yes, we butt our houses up together to cling on but while we shine up our windows – supposedly so we can see out – we hang our curtains facing in to give us something safer to look at. But the shadow of the mountain falls over us, tree roots break our best laid foundations, springs erupt, the roads crack, weeds push through wherever they please. Can’t you see what’s happening? It’s only a matter of time Earth claims back what we took.”

Are you writing character-driven fiction? How did your MC notice s/he notice his view of the norm was not in step with everyone around?

How does the Big Problem affect YOUR MC?

MAY IS HOSTED BY WRITING RULES BY WRITERS, DONALD MAASS'  TWEETS ON CREATING THE PERFECT NOVEL ;)  & SECTIONS INSPIRED BY THESE:

“Write every day. Anything you do every day gets easier. If you’re insanely busy, make the amount that you write every day small (100 words? 250 words?) but do it every day.” ~ Cory Doctorow

DONALD MAASS WRITE TIP 75

Plot-driven WIP? How does the Big Problem affect your MC in ways that it doesn’t affect others? What’s the ultimate cost?

“Thank you, I appreciate the not being unconscious part you pointed out. And, I can tell you think this Welcome to my Space ship speech is going well – truly, I’m prepared to listen if the alternative is terminal – but, for decades, people from my town have been going missing: of the never-seen-again variety – so, mostly it's a Thanks but No, thanks from me. I’d be happy if you just pointed me towards the door.”

Are you writing plot-driven fiction? How does the Big Problem affect your MC in ways that it doesn’t affect anyone else?