Thursday on how Donna Noble Can Improve Your Character Arc

I love Doctor Who's writing. Donna Noble in particular made the show notable.
Spoilers About Doctor Who Ahead:
One of the things that made Donna Noble losing her memory of the Doctor so tragic was that she forgot about who she was when she was with the Doctor. Throughout season 4, Donna grew as a person who learned to see how amazing she was and move passed her mother's harsh words. She lost that version of herself when she forgot about the Doctor.
I think her fate was worse than any of the Doctor's companions because she lost the most. She lost adventures. She lost the Doctor. She lost herself.
That is what should happen at the end of your novel.
It should be tragic for your hero to forget their adventure and lose their character growth.
Your character must grow. At the end of your novel, your character should not be able to return to who they were at the beginning.

Thursday has Issues

I would call my WIP an issues book. I'm tackling a lot of really powerful stuff, and I'm not sure I am handling everything correctly. One of the issues I'm writing about is how women treat each other (I guess this could be called female bullying).
I read a book by a beloved author that really upset me. The main character was arguing with her enemy who called her fat or something. The main character responded with something along the lines of "at least I'm not anorexic like you!" This caused everyone repressed by the enemy to cheer for the main character.
WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!
If you have any thought that someone (friend or foe) might have an eating disorder, you do NOT publicly humiliate them. You gently bring the topic to said person and/ or an adult that can assist the person in need.
The many point I am trying to make is that if you are going to reference something that is a MAJOR issue, you should handle the issue with care.
I'm sorry this post is not very helpful, but I have a ton of homework, which is a minor issue.

Thursday with Relationship Advice

When writing an early romance scene remember BOTH people are trying to attract the other person. I hate reading a book where the romance scenes focus on the guy showing he is worthy of the MC. What has the love interest seen in the MC to make her worth the effort? Show that. The answer should not be something like she gave money to a begger. That's great, but I wouldn't start a relationship with someone just because they are charitable. It's a nice trait, but that isn't a sign we are soul mates. Soul mates come from shared interests and a mutual understand of the other person. I want to fall in love with that.

Thursday on Realistic Occupations

Do proper research on your character's occupation.
If someone wanted to make a movie about a teenager who writes YA lit, they could easily look at the bestsellers list to see who teenagers must love reading about. Odds are they might choose an author like Stephanie Meyer (Not here to say hate about Twilight).
BOOM!
The main character in the movie is a writer who wants to be just like Stephanie Meyer.
While there are many people who are like that, I know many other YA authors who would shake their head and think that is stereotypical because it is.
That is the expectation of someone who reads YA lit.
A lot of writers would be upset over this movie, and the same can be said about other occupations and how we portray them.
I also hate the idea that all writers/ booklovers love the classics. I understand their importance, but personally, I hate most classic novels (probably because of how they are taught). Shakespeare sends me into fits of rage, yet I still consider myself a writer.
Not every person in a set group likes what is expected.
Not every artist likes Picasso.
Not every musician likes the Beatles.
Not every chef likes Paula Deen (I know the media with her right now, but I couldn't think of another big name chef that everyone would recognize)

One way to remedy this is by creating an idol like John Green did in The Fault in Our Stars.
Another remedy is too really research into what these groups like. Read blogs, youtube comments, forums, whatever.

Make characters more than what people THINK they like.

Thursday on Writing Unforgettable Antagonists

There is a photo that's been going around for a while with Professor Umbridge from harry Potter. The caption says something about how people hate her more than Voldemort. When I saw that, I responded as most people do: That is so true.
I didn't figure out why this was true until recently.
Professor Umbridge is an ACTIVE villain while Voldemort remained pretty inactive throughout the series.
Most of Voldemort's horrible deeds occurred before the novels even take place. Yes he killed and tortured thousands of wizards, but we never experienced that. We were just told "hey there's a scary guy who killed your parents, so you shouldn't say his name."
Even throughout the series, Voldemort didn't DO anything until the end of the books (not including Deadly Hallows).
Voldemort remained this constant threat that we never really had a chance to fear because we didn't see Harry tormented by him.
Professor Umbridge on the other hand constantly tormented the students which added to readers hating her.

My point is (in my tired state) the most powerful antagonists come from those who continuously antagonize the hero. Do not just wait until the last 20 pages to show how big band bad your antagonist is.

Thursday Attacks Endings

Lately, I've read a lot of books with amazing twist endings. I just sit there wondering how the author could have thought of something so ingenious. I love them. I just have one tinsy, tiny problem with them: how they are built up.
I hate the whole decide to attack, fade out, PUNCH.
It's really vague when something bad happens, the MC decides enough is enough and that they need to take action, but the scene ends before the big action sequences occurs.
Those really bother me.
I get that it adds suspense, so the reader can go "OMG what are they gonna do", but I just roll my eyes and close the book. The author has lost me in that moment.
For me, this is a trick to keep readers interested.
GREAT writing doesn't need tricks.
I would prefer the MC come up with the plan then plan go up in flames.
Why?
1. More realistic- NOTHING goes according to plan
2. Shows how the character reacts in a crisis- FORCE the characters to do the unexpected. They might surprise everyone
3. More dramatic- the readers need a bit of a shake up
Possible idea: Maybe there could be a GIANT plot whole that you character doesn't realize, and that plot hole ruins their plan. How does your character over come their mistake?
You can have that awesome trick ending, but make the character work for it not the reader.