What's your GMC for 2011?

GMC is so necessary in manuscripts, as in everyday life. Here's my New Year's Resolutions (GMC):

MY GOALS:
Be Better Organized
Lose Weight
Finish Writing My Book.

MOTIVATION:
It would be so nice to have everything where I want it when I need it.
It's healthy not to weigh a lot, plus easier to get into clothes.
I'm a writer, but I want something to show for my efforts, especially when people ask me when my next book's coming out.

CONFLICT:
I don't always have time to put things where they should be, or come up with plans on how to do what needs doing.
So much tempting food to ignore, not to mention food is usually part of socializing.
Day job, home life, marketing, online friends to keep up with, research, everyday life, inner editor, other distractions.

What's your GMC for 2011?

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/

Goal by Morgan Mandel

Today I'm throwing out a few ideas about the first third of the important GMC in novels - Goal. (The other two are motivation and conflict, which we can explore later)

What your character's goals are tell the reader a lot about that character. Make sure you offer realistic and worthy goals, not only for the heroes and heroines, but also for the disreputable characters.

You can set short term, intermediate and long term goals for them, and even change the goals as occasions warrant.

My short term goal today was to get to work before another storm hit. I succeeded in that goal, by the way.

My intermediate goal is to make enough money to live off of.  I'm managing, but it's not easy, with all the taxes and insurance to pay, plus all the incidentals I want, but don't really need.

My long term goal is to quit work and retire. That one is a very worthy goal, but so far I can't achieve it. Though my 62nd birthday is fast approaching, social security won't cover my expenses.

Some other goals of mine - short term - finish my my nano book which I'd put off finishing from 1 1/2 years ago about the country singer. Intermediate goal - finish my other two WIPS also, the Boomer book and the one about my dog Rascal. Intermediate - get them published either by myself, through an agent and/or a publisher. Long term goal - Best Seller. That one I may never achieve, but I can't help trying. (g)

What about you? What are some of your goals? or your character's?

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/
http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel

Get a Life by Morgan Mandel

When someone is too bossy or nosy, have you ever said, "Get a life?"

Why? Because that person is concentrating on yours, instead of his or her own?

As a writer, when crafting your characters, make sure they get a life. To keep them from being cardboard cutouts, they need to be stand out in their own right. How do you achieve this?

Here are some ways:

GMC - goal, motivation and conflict. Give your characters real wants and needs, reasons for wanting them, then throw in roadblocks to thwart them from achieving their goals.

Give your characters certain speech patterns. You might not expect a church-going old lady to swear, but you could expect that language from a teenager. That said, if that same little old lady gets boxed into a corner, to dramatize a situation, you could have her break down and let loose with a string of profanities she's never dreamed she'd ever use. Afterwards, she'd be just as shocked as the reader. You could also give characters favorite words they like to use.

Other ways to give your characters lives would be to emphasize unique ways of dressing, particular hobbies, or identifying habits. A character who enjoys black coffee seems more straightforward and down to earth than one who takes cream and sugar, or maybe a latte'.

Can you think of other ways to give life to characters? Or, examples of how you've achieved this in one of your novels? Or, maybe how someone else has done it? Please share.

If you liked this post, you may want to wander over to Double M at http://morganmandel.blogspot.com to learn how we follow the leader.