Crafting Characters: Stress Points Part 1

Deadlines and obstacles encourage some of your characters to push harder and some of them to fall apart. How your character reacts under stress is critical to any plot with tension.


Stress can be from a mild annoyance, such as delayed traffic. It can stem from a direct, perhaps mortal, threat.


Whether the stimulus is mild or monstrous, your characters react initially based on their natural tendency. Circumstances can force them to move past this innate response, but their initial reaction tends to be true to their nature.

SBB II introduced sixteen mannequins. Each character has a natural tendency to deal with things in a specific way. Natural tendencies can be shifted by life events from balanced to severely unbalanced.

Let's see how our character mannequins handle stress. Remember each mannequin has a male, female, androgynous, and transgender counterpart. I use he to avoid the plural they.

1. Wynn

Wynn is the responsible, practical type who thrives on order and plans. It doesn’t take much to upset his apple cart. His natural inclination is to withdraw and avoid conflict. He becomes rigid in the face of opposition or criticism. He shuts down and turns away. Getting him to face the threat will be a challenge. The motivation level needs to be high.

2. Francis

Francis is responsible, practical, and thrives on order and plans. He becomes controlling when anxious. He has no problem confronting other people and believes he is always right. He annoys some and infuriates others (ruining any chance he had of cooperation) when he takes over the efforts to solve the scene or overall story goal. However, less decisive characters might look up to Francis at a time of crisis, putting their faith in someone who at least has an idea.

3. Nevada

Nevada is responsible, practical, and thrives on order and plans. His natural inclination is to gather consensus and get people to cooperate. He becomes hypercritical and controlling when things don’t go his way and people refuse to work together. He irritates some of the people he attempts to corral while convincing them to do what he wants. The less they cooperate, the more livid Nevada grows. He’s trying to save you! Why won’t you listen? If the person doesn't want or need Nevada to save him, the conflict heats up.

4. Arden

Arden works hard and is a stand-up kind of guy. He likes being in control. He becomes hypercritical and controlling when stressed. The more he imposes his will, the harder others will resist him, which feeds the cycle. He will offer more criticism and impose more limitations. His method may be needed, but often is not appreciated.

5. Blair

Blair is responsible and practical, but highly emotional. His natural inclination is to become passive and withdrawn when anxious. Getting him out the door to take the necessary action requires a very seductive carrot, or a very large stick. He sneers and turns subversive in the face of opposition. His opponent may not know that Blair is actively working against him in the background.

6. Dallas

Dallas is fanciful and free-flowing. He hates being restricted and limited. His natural inclination is to become passive-aggressive when stressed. Rather than openly confront people, he hides in the shadows and conducts sneak attacks. He may present a very cooperative front while secretly undermining his foe.

7. Hadley 

Hadley is fun and freedom loving. He is practical but hates being limited in any way. He becomes excessively impulsive under pressure. His erratic nature makes him scatter when he needs to focus. He may get lucky and hit the target as he shoots up the room, or not.

8. Shelby 

Shelby is a live and let live kind of guy. He’s guarded. He becomes highly emotional and critical when stressed. He vents and rages. He finds it difficult to stay calm and work his way through the problem. He isn't looking for reassurance. He wants someone to agree with him. "Yes, it's awful. Now let's go do this." He may need someone to force him to focus on what needs to be done.

Next week, we will complete our exploration of how our mannequins react to stress.
For more about how to craft characters, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict, available in paperback and E-book and Story Building Blocks: Build A Cast Workbook, available in paperback and E-book.

Ten Tips for A Successful Critique Group

Last week, we discussed how to find your writing tribe. Once you find them, it is time to lay down the ground rules.

1.Decide what type of feedback/group you truly want and need.

Are you all at the same level of beginner, intermediate, or expert? Sometimes a mix is good, but sometimes it causes aggravation. If you need help growing your craft, find a mentoring group. If you just want to be encouraged, find a nurturing group. Are you able and prepared to exchange high-level analysis, editing, proofreading, etc.? Find a master class group.

2. You must be willing to commit to it as if it were a job.

Uneven groups foment resentment. It is bad for the group when some people submit and critique and others don't. Members who don't show up are disruptive. Everyone has "life" events that intrude, but you should try to schedule a time and place and hold it sacred.

3. Make rules and stick to them.

Decide how often you will meet, where or how you meet (in person, online groups, Skype, etc.), how many pages are submitted, the type of feedback you need for each submission, and the format of the feedback (written notes, verbal exchange, notations in Word for Windows, or a combination). Some may be at the final draft stage, others at the first draft.

4. Assign a "clock watcher." It is best to divide your time up evenly so no one gets left out or feels their work has not received equal attention. Make it someone's job to keep time.

5. Assign a "temperature taker." This person keeps everyone on topic and keeps the discussion from becoming heated. Hurt feelings can fester and destroy a group quickly. Make it someone's job to keep the flow positive. It is best to confront any negative interaction right away.

6. Check your ego at the door. If you can't handle constructive criticism, then this is not the venue for you. Everyone will have a different take on your work. They will catch different things. They will have opinions. You do not have to respond to or adapt to them. Say thank you and move on. But if more than one person says the the same thing, you should listen a little closer.

7. No gossiping about each other. Period. No trolling members you don't like.

8. Don't make assumptions. You are fiction writers. Don't assume anything is autobiographical.

9. What happens in the group stays in the group. You should not discuss the other members, their work, their critiques, etc. with other people unless you have their permission. To do so is a violation of trust.

10. If you have a problem member, address the topic openly amongst everyone. Give them a chance to fix things (i.e. not submitting, critiquing, attending) with a deadline. Enforce the rules. If you decide to make exceptions because of special circumstances, make sure everyone agrees.

For more information on writing craft, hang out with me at Story Building Blocks on Facebook, Pinterest, Linked-In, or Twitter and visit www.dianahurwitz.com for free downloads.

Ten Tips for Finding Your Writing Tribe

As writer, especially one just beginning the journey, it is important to find your tribe.

If you leave your writer cave and venture out, there are several places you can go to meet like minds.

1. Book events in your community such as literary festivals, book sales, and author's luncheons.

Printers Row Literary Festival in Chicago, Illinois.

The Augusta Literary Festival, Augusta, GA.

The Tucson Festival of Books, University of Arizona campus, Tucson, Arizona.

Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, Virginia,

North Texas Book Festival, Denton, Texas. 

Word of South Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee, Florida. 

SC Book Festival at theColumbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, South Carolina. 

2. Local books stores have author events and sometimes have notice boards for people looking for critique partners.

3. Local writing classes and workshops are great places to find your tribe.

4. If you have the means, don't be afraid to travel to workshops. You may even meet someone from your locale. I did.

Writers in Paradise conference in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Love Is Murder Mystery Conference, Chicago, Illinois.

MWA-U 2.0, Mystery Writers of America, Boston, Massachusettes.

The Writers' Police Academy is one of the best mystery and thriller writer hands-on workshops in the country.

 San Francisco Writers Conference, in San Francisco.

Midwest Writers Workshop in Muncie Indiana

Sleuthfest annual conference for mystery, suspense, and thriller writers, Deerfield Beach, Florida. 

Left Coast Crime's annual mystery convention in different locations each year.

Indie ReCon, online conference for independent authors & publishers. http://www.indierecon.org/

5. Libraries often have classes or community writing events. They may have a notice board where writers post ads looking for critique partners.

6. Check out local colleges. You don't have to take classes there, but they may have other budding authors looking for their tribe.

If you prefer to stay in your jammies, you can look for your tribe online.

7. Join social media groups for your genre or writing in general. Interact, don't just observe. There are pages for all of the main genres on Facebook. Many have their own websites you can follow.

On Facebook there are open and closed groups. You can ask to be added to a closed group. None of these sites like to be spammed with book promotions. Join the community, interact, and make connections. You can find hundreds of local, national, and subgenre groups using the Search function on Facebook. Your Facebook avatar should be a photo of you or your book, not blank.

Do not post your work in progress on groups that are not designed for critiquing. Unsolicited pleas for input are a huge turnoff in writing communities.

Build a reputation as someone who is helpful and supportive. Don't give in to the urge to criticize or deride other authors, no matter how much you dislike their work.

Romance Writers of America

Mystery Writers of America

International Thriller Writers

Horror Writers Association

Historical Novel Society

Fantasy Writers

8. Take online workshops. You are often assigned to a critique group.

Gotham Online Writing Workshops

Writer's Digest Online Writing Workshops (they often do local workshops as well).

Ten Universities offering online writing workshops such as MIT and Purdue.

Stanford University

The Crafty Writer

9. Post your work in online critique forums. You may meet other writers in your genre who are interested in finding critique partners.

10. Fan fiction sites are a place to meet other writers who share your passion.

Here are links to more resources on how to find your tribe:

The Write Life: 40 Places to Find a Critique Partner

Writer's Digest: Find the Right Online Critique Group

Inked Voices: a source for small, private writing groups

Jane Friedman: How to Find the Right Critique Group

Writing World: a critique and discussion group

Jodie Renner has complied a list of workshops and festivals for 2015 and 2016.

Whether virtual or in person, there is nothing more exciting than finding your tribe to keep you motivated, improve your skills, and grow your audience when you have a book to promote.

Join Story Building Blocks on Facebook  and Pinterest for more tips and tricks.

Five Kinds of Critique Group

For the past few weeks, we have looked at how temperaments affect writing styles. Let's take a tongue-in-cheek look at critique groups.

I’ve had the pleasure, at least the adventure, of participating in several writing groups throughout my career. Not all are what they should be. Of the ones I’ve experienced, I divide them up into five categories:

1. The “I Want To Be A Writer” group. This group of people has often considered writing a book. They meet to talk about their dream of writing like Stephen King. They can be very lovely social gatherings amidst witty, wordy people, but you won’t learn much about craft and probably won’t actually complete anything. The feedback is usually nonexistent because there is really nothing to critique yet.

2. The “I Want To Be Praised” group. This group contains people who are actively trying to write their magnum opus. They come together to egg each other on to write like Stephen King. They are typically light in the craft department and very full of the cheerleader-ish “you-go-girl” moments. You will leave eager to sit down and write, but will have no insight into what you are aiming for. The feedback is usually lacking in solid craft advice.

3. The “I’m A Writer and You’re Not” group. This group contains someone or “ones” who is/are an officially published author(s) who want/s to teach others what they have learned about writing from Stephen King. These can be very uplifting or very damaging depending on the egos at stake. You might walk away with some sound advice or with your manuscript in shreds. It depends on the level of nature versus nurture. The feedback is usually lopsided.

4. The “We All Write and Don’t Need Advice” group. This is where everyone in the group is convinced that he or she is the best thing since Stephen King and does not need your feedback but enjoys “sharing”. This can be a fun group. Doesn’t do much to grow your craft, but it can be hilarious. The feedback can be useful but is typically completely ignored.

5. Finally we come to my personal favorite, and one I subscribe to, “The Master Class Group.” Everyone is there to learn and grow their fiction into the best thing since Stephen King. All of the members can write and critique like professional editors. You leave feeling good about your work and with your manuscript polished and spit-shined like a pair of expensive leather shoes. The feedback is equal and honest without being catty or cruel. Egos are checked at the door and everyone makes sure to offer their advice in a palatable way.

I am lucky to have a group that not only challenges my plot, my characters, and my prose, they also help me fix it! 

Not everyone needs or wants the same kind of group. My needs changed with my experience. My advice is to avoid the ones that aren’t serving your needs and to seek out ones that do. And if you are very, very lucky, you find a Master Class.

If you are interested in serious conversations and information on craft, come and hang out with me at Story Building Blocks on Facebook.

Next week, we will take a serious look at how to find your "writing tribe."

What Type of Writer Are You? Part 3

Most writers are introverts. That’s just the nature of the beast. Writers spend a lot of time alone and palely loitering over their pads of paper or keyboards. 

Introversion is not shyness or social anxiety. Those are fear-based psychological conditions.

I suspect there are more introverted editors, because they are usually confined in a cubicle or freelancing at home. Editing is tedious, lonely work. 

It’s easy to tell whos's who at writing conferences. Introverted Jane tends to hang with the people she knows. She scans the crowd looking for familiar faces, or brings her buddies with her. She meets internal resistance when asked to pitch or take the microphone. That doesn’t mean she isn’t interesting or a witty conversationalist. 

Once the ice has been chipped, she is eager to talk about what she loves most: writing and reading. She isn’t there to compete. She is there to absorb. She is interested in what other people are writing. She enjoys the individual exercises and lectures but struggles to share in public. 

She attends the workshops to hone her craft. She enjoys meeting other introverted writers. It’s the self-promotion and exposing herself to public scrutiny that gives her ulcers. Jane may shun the bar after dinner, unless her friends go with her. Even then, she is likely to seek a table in a back corner. Jane leaves the conference drained and in need of a vacation. If she received negative feedback or criticism, she will ruminate in private or sound off to her trusted circle.

Extroverted writers are in the minority, mainly because they are not natively drawn to long periods of pondering and working in solitude. They tend to be sports or comedy writers, but can show up in any genre. 

Dick writes for the recognition or impact. He wants to be the next J. K. Rowling. There are extroverted agents and marketing professionals present too. 

Even if the agents, presenters, and editors are introverted, they are forced to schmooze and perform in an extroverted way. Extroverts thrive on it and are easy to spot. The introverted ones can be painfully awkward to watch.

Dick loves the limelight. He flits from table to table, introducing himself to perfect strangers. He hogs the microphone and loves publicly reading his work. He likes watching the other conference attendees. He likes talking about them as well as to them. He is more interested in who you know than what kind of writing you do. He is there to network and promote himself.

Dick finds it hard to focus on the individual exercises. He is easily bored and can be highly competitive. He likes the voting, the rah-rah, and the woo-woo. He likes winning. Dick is concerned about his image. He wants to fit in. He eagerly pitches his ideas to other people. He may never write them. 

He is found networking at the bar after dinner long after dinner. Dick leaves the conference humming with energy. If he received negative feedback or criticism, he leaves fuming and vents to everyone about it.

The Dicks at the conference struggle with all the Janes. Extroverts tend to think introverts are boring loners. He couldn’t be more wrong, but that is his general impression. He thinks they are an unfriendly bunch, especially if they don’t eagerly embrace his overtures. He flits until he finds the extrovert’s table.

The Janes at the conference are annoyed by the Dicks. They think the extrovert tables are too loud and rude. They may very well discourage Dick from landing at their table. They will cross the room to avoid his.

Every writer must shore up his weak side. Jane is forced by the very nature of a conference to step outside her comfort zone. She is put on public display and forced to interact with people outside her inner circle. She must sell herself as well as her work. It feels slightly dangerous, but she is in good company.

Dick finds the conference slightly confining. He may not find an audience for his bubbling repartee. He may feel silenced or marginalized for the first time in his career. It isn’t a comfortable sensation. He may be rebuffed, left to bounce around the room like a loosed helium balloon.

Each needs to take pity on the other. They should spend a little time getting to know one another. Opposites can help each other grow. Dick can help Jane learn to network and put her best foot forward. Jane can help Dick learn the pesky details of craft. Both have something worthwhile to offer and to say. Getting Dick to sit down and Jane to speak up is the challenge.

Next week, we will continue to explore writer temperaments.

For more tips on how to craft believable characters, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict available in paperback and E-book, and Story Building Blocks: Build A Cast Workbook, also available in paperback and E-book.

What Type of Writer Are You? Part 2

In addition to a writer's preferred method of approaching the task of writing, there is a spectrum they fall on when it comes to the types of feedback they prefer.

Dick belongs to the Sensing tribe. He wants the facts and only the facts. He isn’t interested in Jane’s theories or flights of fancy. He keeps it real. He bases his opinions on what he thinks he knows to be true and dismisses anything that counters it. Critiquing Dick's work is challenging because he has already made up his mind about it. He listens (or pretends to listen) then says, “Yes, but.” At the extreme end, Dick can be so fixed in his position, he isn’t willing to change things that aren’t working.

Dick is good at pointing out factual inconsistencies in your plot. His critique is practical. He may get lost in correcting grammar and lose sight of the heart of the piece. He isn’t open to experimentation and thinks writers should stick to what has already been done, whether it is poetry or novels. Sometimes his advice is relevant. Sometimes his advice wastes your time.

Jane belongs to the Intuitive tribe. She doesn’t care how you come up with the idea. She is only interested in whether the idea is intriguing. She loves stepping outside the box. She loves experimental work. Her critiques focus on the possibilities. She makes suggestions that ask you to expand or deepen your idea. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they don’t.

Jane isn't attached to her own opinion, so she is willing to change anything. She struggles when she receives conflicting advice. Asking her to revise her work can send her into a terminal loop of self-doubt or cause her to stall.  At the extreme end, she can get so lost in exploring possibilities she never finishes.

There are far more Dicks than Janes in the writing world. There is a 70/30 split in the general population. They face off in workshops, classrooms, and critique groups. Agents or editors paired with their opposites guarantees conflict, misunderstandings, and hurt feelings.

Dick thinks Jane is undisciplined, unorganized, and erratic. He dismisses her advice as unrealistic and impractical. He resents her creative suggestions for how he could fix his plot. Sometimes Jane has a point. He should open his mind a little and consider the merit of the advice before dismissing it. Jane can offer a global perspective when Dick gets too lost in the details. She can help him avoid major plausibility plot holes. She can explain the emotional context.

Jane thinks Dick is plodding, boring, and too rigid. She dismisses his advice as short-sighted and simplistic. She should listen occasionally because Dick can help her fix speed bumps and cause and effect plot holes. His nitpicking can force her to make her work tighter when she has strayed too far from the point or added too much filler.

These opposites can help each other shore up their weak side. They may wish to strangle each other at times, but by working together they encourage each other be the best they can be.

Next week, we will continue to explore writer temperaments.

For more tips on how to craft believable characters, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict available in paperback and E-book, and Story Building Blocks: Build A Cast Workbook, also available in paperback and E-book.

What Type of Writer Are You? Part 1

Every writer is as individual as a snowflake. Having said that, temperament plays a big part in the method to their madness. We will examine how writers can represent the extreme examples of their temperament. A writer's temperament can be a strength or a weakness. The more evenly balanced they are on the spectrum, the easier it is for them to be successful.

Both types can learn a lot from each other. So when choosing your writing tribe or attending classes or conferences, don't automatically dismiss someone completely different from you.

Jane is free form. Free form writers are affiliated with the Feeling tribe. She writes with an ear to the emotional content of the piece. Whether it is a poem or a novel, Jane goes for pleasing words and meandering flow. She sits down and lets whatever is in her heart pour onto the page. She doesn’t need to know where she is headed. In fact, she’d rather not know. She wants to explore and release the pent up longing in her soul. At worst, she can meander a really long time and go completely off track. At best, her approach results in something uniquely beautiful. She feels bludgeoned if her work is rejected because it is a piece of her heart.

Jane balks when asked to outline or learn structure, be it poetry or novel writing. She prefers free verse to sonnets. That doesn’t mean she can’t be taught how to construct a sonnet, or any of the other delicious sounding names for poem structure. It means her native preference is stream of consciousness. Oftentimes, when it comes to taming that stream or being asked to define it, she gets blocked or quits. She resists the idea of genre and category, though she wishes for the reader to be pleased by her words.

Jane grows as a writer by learning about story architecture. She may never sit down and come up with an outline. However, when she understands the crucial underpinnings of story, she is better able to channel it with her free-flowing approach. She can then bend and twist the structure in creative ways. Free form writers who refuse to embrace the concept of structure often struggle with the publishing game when it comes to story outlines, synopses, and marketing. At the extreme end, Jane may sit at her desk and scribble endlessly but no one ever sees her work. She may enjoy the process more than the outcome.

Dick is structured. Structured writers tend to belong to the Logical family. He likes knowing the plan before he begins. He is less anxious when he knows where the road ends and thinks through all the twists and turns along the way. He likes to consider all the contingencies. Dick can get so lost in the set up, he grows bored and never finishes the book.

Dick enthusiastically embraces structure. He likes having a road map to success. His work may be technically brilliant, but not entirely satisfying. It may lack depth. He is interested in writing well, not necessarily the emotional response of the reader. He struggles with impromptu writing prompts and thinks free verse is a bit suspect.

Dick balks when asked to reconsider a piece. It’s already done. He hit all the marks. What the heck is the agent’s or editor’s problem? They’re just too stupid to get it. Dick is good at handing in a logline, synopsis, and chapter outline. He falls apart when asked to change things. The idea of going back to the drawing board to start over gives him a migraine. He is irritated by the slow pace of the publishing process. He frets and waits anxiously by his in-box for news, especially when the process hit snags and delays.

There are slightly more Janes than Dicks in the writing world. They often bump heads in critique groups, workshops, and classrooms. Jane thinks Dick is too clinical, formal, and wastes too much time thinking and planning before writing. She is put off by his tactical approach. If Dick is her agent, she is frustrated by his demands to firm up her story structure and come up with a logline. Her feelings are hurt when she is asked to cut her darling bugaboos.

Dick thinks Jane is too wishy-washy, undisciplined, and stubbornly shortsighted when it comes to what the industry demands. He appreciates that her heart and soul went into the project, but that doesn’t move units. If Dick is her agent, he may find her work too artsy-fartsy for his taste. When he reads her work and gets to the end, he may state, “But what is the point? I don’t get it. There are lots of pages, but it doesn’t go anywhere.”

Both must push past his or her native inclination to grow and thrive in the business. If they understand their different approaches and are open to the critique, they can balance and aid each other. Dick can help Jane see where her structure is weak. Jane can help Dick see where his work is soulless.

Next week, we will continue to explore the writer's temperaments.

For more tips on how to craft believable characters, pick up a copy of Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict available in paperback and E-book, and Story Building Blocks: Build A Cast Workbook, also available in paperback and E-book.