Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesday: Plot vs. Character (October 23, 2012)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 Plot vs. Character by Jeff Gerke

Plot Versus Character

I’ve actually already read this book, but I’m reading it again in preparation for NaNoWriMo.  I’m hoping it will help me with my plotting woes. I’ve got my characters, but what will they do? Who is the antagonist that will push the protagonist towards the change she needs?

The Holy Grail of fiction is to write the novel with the perfect balance of character and plot, of memorable people and a stirring story. The reader cares for these people and is desperately engaged in what they’ve been caught up in.

~ pg 17, Plot Versus Character by Jeff Gerke

 Summary from Goodreads

What’s more important to a story: a gripping plot or compelling characters? Literary-minded novelists argue in favor of character-based novels while commercial novelists argue in favor of plot-based stories, but the truth of the matter is this: The best fiction is rich in both.

Enter “Plot Versus Character.” This hands-on guide to creating a well-rounded novel embraces both of these crucial story components. You’ll learn to:

  • Create layered characters by considering personality traits, natural attributes, and backgrounds
  • Develop your character’s emotional journey and tie it to your plot’s inciting incident
  • Construct a three-act story structure that can complement and sustain your character arc
  • Expose character backstory in a manner that accentuates plot points
  • Seamlessly intertwine plot and character to create a compelling page-turner filled with characters to whom readers can’t help but relate
  • And much more

Filled with helpful examples and friendly instruction, “Plot Versus Character” takes the guesswork out of creating great fiction by giving you the tools you need to inject life into your characters and momentum into your plots.

christiespeich 1 Comment

Teaser Tuesday: The Plot Whisperer Workbook (October 16, 2012)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
The Plot Whisperer Workbook

Challenge yourself to shape your character to reflect unique feelings, ones perhaps that show life differently than those traditionally depicted in stories. Only she feels about her life the way she does.

~ pg 27, Plot Whisperer Workbook

I haven’t picked up a new fiction book since finishing Cinder and now I’m in frantic planning mode for NaNo, so I don’t think I’ll be starting one anytime soon.  Then comes NaNo itself, so I’m wondering if I’ll make my Fall Into Reading goal to read seven more books by December 21.

In preparing for NaNo, I’ve starting working through the Plot Whisperer Workbook. I’ve read The Plot Whisperer, and quite honestly was more confused than anything.  I watched the videos and that helped, but I’m hoping that working through the workbook along side The Plot Whisperer book will help me get at least the framework of a plot together for NaNo.  We’ll see.

 

Amazon links are affiliate links.

christiespeich 3 Comments

Teaser Tuesday: Cinder by Marissa Meyer (October 9, 2012)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Cinder by Marissa Meyer

She was usually able to ignore the jealousy she had toward her stepsisters — how Adri doted on them, how soft their hands were — especially when Peony was the only human friend she had. But she could not swallow the twitch of envy at seeing Peony in that dress.

~ pg 34-35, Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella set in futurist New Beijing. I don’t usually read science fiction, but I’m really enjoying this so far. The Cinderella aspects seem to be just the beginning, and I’m fascinated by the way Marissa Meyer has twisted the well-known fairy tale into something brand new.

Here’s the Goodreads summary:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

christiespeich 5 Comments

Teaser Tuesday: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (October 2, 2012)

Teaser Tuesdays with Should Be ReadingTeaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I was 14 years old when they finally got rid of me. When they stood back and watched as I was dragged away for a murder I didn’t know I could commit.

~ Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, pg 78

Here’s the summary from Goodreads:

“You can’t touch me,” I whisper.

I’m lying, is what I don’t tell him.

He can touch me, is what I’ll never tell him.

But things happen when people touch me.

Strange things.

Bad things.

No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon.

But Juliette has plans of her own.

After a lifetime without freedom, she’s finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she’d lost forever.

christiespeich 4 Comments