Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter especially for our podcast listeners. Every month, you’ll get an email from our podcast producer with recaps of the most recent episodes, a curated Listening List of episodes on a particular theme, and other fun goodies we only share via email. Best of all, it’s free to join! The theme for February is romance, and you can become an insider by signing up with your email at diymfa.com/insiders.

In this episode Ryan Dalton and I discuss:

• Why he wrote This Last Adventure as a middle grade story, as opposed to YA.
• How he created a sense of hope when his amorphous antagonist was undefeatable. 
• Writing group scenes and what to include and what to leave out to make each character distinct.

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

About Ryan Dalton

Ryan Dalton spends his time thinking up stories when he’s not wearing a cape and fighting crime. He’s a singer, a voiceover artist, a pretty decent amateur chef, and a lover of all things geek. Ryan lives in an invisible spaceship that’s currently hovering over St. Louis, Missouri. Please don’t tell anyone he’s Batman–it’s a secret.

You can find him on his website or follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads.

This Last Adventure 

Archie’s grandpa has always been his hero. But after Grandpa is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the confident and adventurous man Archie’s known all his life starts disappearing. He’s not just losing his memory. He’s losing pieces of himself.

Archie desperately wants to slow the progression of Grandpa’s memory loss. Using Grandpa’s old journal entries as inspiration, he creates shared role-playing fantasies with epic quests for them to tackle together–helping Grandpa to live in the present while staying in touch with his fading memories.

But there’s a limit to the power of the fantasies. And not all the memories recorded in the journal entries are happy. When Archie learns a painful secret about Grandpa’s past, he questions everything he thought he knew about his hero.

As Grandpa’s condition worsens, Archie has to come to terms with the reality of what he’s losing and decide what it truly means to live a life worth remembering.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 396

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 396: When Fantasy and Reality Intersect: Writing Contemporary Middle Grade Fiction – Interview with Ryan Dalton appeared first on DIY MFA.

Sacha is an author, rebel podcaster, and professional speaker. She has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules.

Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing.

When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, sniffing musty old books, fangirling about film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules.

She lives in Cambridgeshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.

In this episode Sacha Black and I discuss:

• The main types of supporting characters and what you should do with each type.
• Why you need to create contrast between your supporting characters and your protagonist.
• How to balance giving supporting characters depth without letting them take over the story.

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About Sacha Black

Sacha Black is an author, rebel podcaster, and professional speaker. She has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules.

Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing.

When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, sniffing musty old books, fangirling film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules.

She lives in Cambridgeshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.

You can find Sacha on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Patreon. You can also join her Facebook group.

8 Steps to Side Characters

Do your characters fail to bring your story to life? Are they flat, boring or have no depth? Is your story lacking a little cohesion or sparkle?

In 8 Steps to Side Characters, you’ll discover: 

• A step-by-step guide for creating side characters that bring your story alive
• The main types of side characters and what you should do with them
• The key to crafting character depth that hooks readers
• How to harness your character’s voice to deepen your reader’s experience
• Tips and tricks for using details to enhance characterization 
• Methods for killing characters that will help deepen plot, theme and story
• Dozens of ideas for creating conflict with your side characters 
• Tactics for differentiating characters and making them feel real to your reader 
• Character archetypes and functions
• The most common pitfalls and mistakes to avoid 

8 Steps to Side Characters is a comprehensive writing guide that will help you create the side characters your story needs. This book is packed with tips and tricks for polishing characters for writers at any level.   If you want to power up your characters, eliminate dull and lifeless archetypes, and perfect your characterization, this is the book for you. By the end of this book, you’ll know how to strengthen your characters to give your story, prose and plot the extra something special it needs to capture readers and fans for life.

If you like dark humor, learning through examples and want to create better side characters, then you’ll love Sacha Black’s guide to crafting supporting roles with intention, purpose, and power. Read 8 Steps to Side Characters today and start creating kick-ass stories.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 388

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 388: How to Craft Your Supporting Characters – Interview with Sacha Black appeared first on DIY MFA.

Today I am thrilled (pun intended) to have Joseph Finder on the show!

Joseph Finder is the New York Times  bestselling author of thirteen previous novels, including the international bestseller Killer Instinct, which won ITW’s Thriller Award for Best Novel in 2006. Two novels—Paranoia and High Crimes—have also become major motion pictures. Today we’re talking about his new book, The Switch.

The Switch begins with a very relatable premise: a simple mix-up at airport security. This small event leads to a case of mistaken identity that throws an innocent man into the crosshairs of sinister government secrets. In this interview, Joseph and I discuss the craft elements behind creating a realistic suspense novel and how to create a likeable antagonist.

In this episode Joseph and I discuss:

• What to include when writing a mistaken identity story.
• How to craft an unlikeable character that is relatable to readers.
• How to keep a story gripping when the audience knows more than the character.
• How to use dual point of view to craft a sympathetic antagonist and protagonist.
• How to create a sense of reality in a suspense novel.

Plus, Joseph’s #1 tip for writers.

About Joseph Finder

Joseph Finder is the New York Times bestselling author of thirteen previous novels, including Guilty Minds, The Fixer, Suspicion, Vanished, and Buried Secrets. Finder’s international bestseller Killer Instinct won the International Thriller Writer’s Thriller Award for Best Novel of 2006. Other bestselling titles include Paranoia and High Crimes, which both became major motion pictures. His latest novel The Switch is available now. He lives in Boston.

To connect with Joseph check out his website at www.JosephFinder.com

The Switch

The last time you went through airport security, did you make sure the laptop you picked up was actually yours? If you’re like me, you probably scooped it up and ran to your gate without thinking twice. But what if you got home and discovered that you had the wrong computer—and that the one you grabbed contained classified government information?

In The Switch, Joseph Finder puts the reader squarely in the shoes of a man who finds himself in the crosshairs of government secrets and ruthless political ambition. The Switch seamlessly combines Finder’s suspenseful, whip-smart brand of thriller with an “everyman” protagonist—a man whose daily life probably resembles yours.

The Switch also taps into a timely, ongoing national conversation about the line between privacy and national security, when just earlier this year, Wikileaks released thousands of documents describing secret new hacking tools the CIA employs to break into users’ computers, cell phones, and even smart TVs. This is Joseph Finder at his best: a  ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that is just one mishap away from happening to you.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase DIY MFA makes a small commission at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 158

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio or Google Play and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 158: Exploring the Relatable Antagonist — Interview with Joseph Finder appeared first on DIY MFA.

Today, we’ll study the protagonist-antagonist relationship as part of our ongoing series Developing Themes In Your Stories. This post also features brainstorming and writing activities that can help you during any stage of the writing process.

Know Your Antagonist As Intimately As You Know Your Protagonist

Antagonists are no different from other characters in our stories. We should know them inside and out – even as well as we know our protagonists – so we can make them believable and (as crazy as it may sound) sympathetic. It’s sensible and fair, since both characters will oppose each other throughout the story.

Before you start writing your story, spend some quality time with your antagonist. What are his goals and desires? His strengths and weaknesses? His fears and vulnerabilities? How did his childhood or any traumatic experiences influence who he is now? The questions in this DIY MFA post by Becca Jordan and Activity #1 of Part 1 of Developing Themes in Your Stories (The Character Arc) can also help.

Activity #1: Free-write for 30 minutes about your WIP’s antagonist. Examine as much about this character as possible, from qualities and flaws to goals for the future and traumatic experiences from his/her past. If you’ve already explore your protagonist’s arc themes, use the questions you explored then for this exercise as well.

Pit the Antagonist’s Goals Against the Protagonist’s

If the protagonist and the antagonist are going to spend so much time at each other’s throats (both figuratively and literally), they should have conflicting goals. What those goals are will depend on which element acts as your story’s seed:

• If you think of plot / external conflict first… Consider what needs to be resolved by the end of the story. What will the protagonist need to do to achieve this resolution? How would the antagonist’s role conflict with this? Why?
• If you think of characters first… Consider what the protagonist needs or wants to accomplish. How could the antagonist prevent this from happening? Why?

In either case, remember to ask “why.” Why does the antagonist want what he wants? Why doesn’t he share the protagonist’s goal? Understanding the root of the antagonist’s desires will inform other aspects of the antagonist’s character, including the measures he’s willing to take to reach his goals and his potential reaction if his worst fears come true.

Don’t forget that different types of antagonists exist. Usually they come in the form of other characters. However, the environment, the government or an organization, or even the protagonist’s darker self can also play the role. In all cases, the antagonist’s goal or function should hinder the protagonist’s ability to reach her goal. Here are two examples:

• William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: Romeo and Juliet (protagonists) want to be together, but they come from rival families (antagonists) who won’t approve of their relationship. (Antagonist = other characters)
• Scott O’Dell’s Black Star, Bright Dawn: Bright Dawn (protagonist) takes her father’s place in the Iditarod sled race so she can win the prize money for her family. However, the wintry Alaskan wilderness and Bright Dawn’s fellow sledders (antagonists) stand in her way. (Antagonists = other characters, environment)

Activity #2: Using the antagonist from Activity #1, compare his goals with those of the protagonist from the same WIP. How and why do these goals conflict with one another? What is the antagonist willing to do in order to get what he wants? Once you have these answers, write an opposition statement for your WIP that’s similar to the sample statements above.

Ensure There’s a “Why” to Their Interactions

Not only should the antagonist and the protagonist have opposing goals, but their conflict needs to play out on the page. These scenes should also have a reason for occurring. In other words, why these characters interact is just as important as how those interactions unfold.

Consider the “how” first. What kinds of scenes do the antagonist and the protagonist share? What do they talk about? How do they behave toward one another? Then, determine the “why.” What do these characters want from each other right now? Why do they act toward one another the way they do? It’s also possible to start with the “why” and then determine the best way of portraying it through a scene.

This can be tricky if the antagonist is abstract (environment, the self) instead of human (other characters, an organization). In this case, you may want to look from the protagonist’s perspective and understand why she’s struggling. Take a look at the Black Star, Bright Dawn example below. Even though nature doesn’t “choose” to make the Iditarod treacherous, it still forces Bright Dawn to make difficult decisions.

• Romeo and Juliet: Romeo’s and Juliet’s relatives provoke each other to frequent public duels (action) because their families hate one another so strongly (reason).
• Black Star, Bright Dawn: The other racers quickly become the least of Bright Dawn’s worries. She and her dogs must constantly fight for survival (action) thanks to the countless natural obstacles – sub-zero temperatures, blizzards, and wild animals, for starters – along the way (reason).

Activity #3: Review any scenes in your WIP that feature the antagonist and the protagonist. What happens in these scenes? What dialogue do the characters share? What actions do they take? How do they act and react toward one another? Most importantly, why do their interactions play out in this manner?

Get to the Heart of Their Conflict

Why should we know the reasons for the antagonist’s and protagonist’s interactions and conflicting goals? Believe it or not, those reasons represent your story’s themes.

Our working definition of “theme” reminds us that themes a) are high-level concepts that recur throughout a story, and b) tie in with the protagonist’s “driving forces” (goals, fears, and desires). Since the protagonist’s goals impact the antagonist’s and vice versa, it makes sense that the antagonist’s “driving forces” would also influence theme. After all, the protagonist-antagonist relationship is part of the blood that fuels a story’s heart.

Once you’ve examined how the protagonist and antagonist affect one another, see what themes rise out of their relationship. Review each character’s motivations and the reasons for their actions and reactions. What are they individually fighting for? Do their fundamental values differ? Or, are they more similar than the characters – and you – had originally thought?

Which themes emerge from our two examples’ protagonist-antagonist relationships? Maybe you’ve already guessed some of these based on our previous exercises:

• Romeo and Juliet: Love, family, marriage, hate
• Black Star, Bright Dawn: Man versus nature, competition, family, perseverance

Activity #4: Revisit your answers to Activities #2 and #3. What high-level ideas or concepts emerge from the protagonist-antagonist conflict? How do they reveal themselves through the characters’ competing goals and their interactions?

If you like to use the three-act story structure, then our next installment of Developing Themes In Your Stories should pique your interest. Come back in August, when we’ll discuss the plot point at the end of Act I.

What are some topics you’d like to see featured at Theme: A Story’s Soul? Share your thoughts by commenting below or tweeting me at @SaraL_Writer with the hashtag #AStorysSoul

Sara Letourneau is a Massachusetts-based writer who practices joy and versatility in her work. In addition to writing for DIY MFA, she’s revising a YA fantasy novel and reviewing tea for A Bibliophile’s Reverie. Her poetry has appeared in The Curry Arts Journal, Soul-Lit, The Eunoia Review, Underground Voices, and two anthologies. Learn more about Sara at her personal blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

The post Developing Themes In Your Stories: Part 7 – The Antagonist-Protagonist Relationship appeared first on DIY MFA.

Example: Take the story The Wizard of Oz in which Dorothy is swept up by a tornado and goes on a magical journey through the land of Oz.  Sounds like the first of Gardner’s categories, right?  But wait, if we look at the story from the other side, Dorothy is like a stranger coming into Oz and shaking things up.  A stranger comes to town if I ever saw one.  So which is it?

This is why when I think of plot archetypes, I think of it in terms of power:

• The protagonist confronts a person or entity with more power.
• The protagonist confronts a person or entity of equal power.
• The protagonist confronts him or herself.

Wait, why don’t we look at stories where the protagonist confronts a person/entity of lesser power?  Seems like the odds are always stacked against our poor protagonist.  The answer is simple.  Think about it: if the protagonist confronts someone of lesser power then there’s no conflict, no tension, no reason to keep us reading the story.  Not to mention that the protagonist risks coming across as a bully and readers don’t usually like to root for bullies.

Notice also that when you’re looking at power dynamics between your protagonist and other characters/entities, you can have either a journey story or a stranger-comes-to-town story (also known as “fish out of water”).  The latter works especially well in terms of power dynamics because when you have a main character thrown into a strange environment, he or she is immediately vulnerable.  (Remember: vulnerable is good because it means conflict and tension.)

Protagonist confronts a character/entity with more power.

There are a few different ways of looking at underdog stories but in all of them, the core of the story’s conflict lies in the interaction or relationship between a powerful character/entity and an underdog protagonist.  Readers root for the underdog to end up achieving some sort of power.

• Cinderella Story:  In this “Rags-to-Riches” narrative, a character who is often overlooked or under-appreciated, suddenly does something to gain notice and respect from a more powerful character.
• David and Goliath:  Here, the underdog is faced with a character much more powerful than he, but because of his innate underdog-awesomeness, the protagonist manages to vanquish the more powerful character.
• Come-Back Story:  The protagonist suffers some set-back but turns around and is able to achieve a position of power.  Revenge stories fall under this category; in this case, the character achieves power by exacting revenge.
• “Golem” Story:  A powerful character “creates” a less-powerful one, intending to use him or her.  Eventually, the “creation” develops enough power to cause trouble.  Think Frankenstein or Pygmalion.
• Knight in Shining Armor Story:  There is an antagonist—a great force/opponent or a big problem—and the protagonist is determined to stop it.  Often the protagonist is not a powerful knight but develops the skills to save the world throughout the story.  Many dystopian stories fit this category.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Two characters fall in love but some huge external obstacle stands in the way of their being together.

Protagonist confronts another character/entity of equal power.

• Long-Lost Twin:  Two characters–can be friends or even enemies–discover a hidden kinship or likeness between them. The long-lost twin narrative also includes tropes like “switched at birth” or “switching places” stories where two opposite characters discover what they have in common when they’re forced to walk in each others’ shoes.
• Boy Hates Girl: We often see this formula in romance stories (boy meets girl; boy loses girl; boy gets girl).  Characters who start off hating each other eventually come to realize their similarities and end up together. Think: When Harry Met Sally.

Protagonist confronts self.

The protagonist has some great inner conflict that must be resolved.  Often this narrative is combined with one or more of the others.  Why?  Because a story that’s all in the protagonist’s head is often b-o-r-i-n-g.  Usually you have plot threads from all three categories working together, with the protagonist’s inner journey at the center of the story.

Ultimately the point of this exercise isn’t to box up plots into neat little categories. What you want to do is get to the heart of the conflict and how that power-play works in your story. Then think about how you can shape that conflict to ramp up the tension, because that’s what will keep the reader hooked. This isn’t about sorting and categorizing, it’s about gaining a deeper understanding of how stories work, so you can tell a great one.

The post Plot Archetypes and Power Plays: Where Does Your Story Fit? appeared first on DIY MFA.