Bookish Thoughts: 3rd Act Breakup

I read a lot of romance, and something that comes up often in the genre is the 3rd Act Breakup. It’s generally right at the 75% mark, that last push , the last obstacle, a bit of a hurdle to overcome before the Happily Ever After can be earned.

Too often, we (the reader) get the miscommunication  trope. The one where if someone had picked up the phone, it would all be resolved. Well, in Tessa Bailey’s Secretly Yours, the heroine does, in fact, pick up the phone. He just doesn’t answer. Why? Because of a monster of a panic attack, one the lasts weeks. But it is something the reader is prepared for because it has happened to him before. It’s part of his OCD, part of what makes him.. well, him. Just like her chaos makes her, her.  (Loved this book, how Hallie was working through both grief and self doubt. Came close to bawling a few times. Gave it 4 stars)

Then we have Mariana Zapata’s The Winnipeg Wall and Me, which I don’t think has a third act breakup. Vanessa knows she loves Aiden, and while married (convenience) they aren’t quite there yet. It has lots of tension and spunk and fights, but no breakup towards the end. Zapata makes us work for our HEA, but she does not dangler in front of our eyes and then snatch it back away from us. They are apart only because has to leave the state for training, and she’s got a marathon to run. (This book made me stay up til 1am, had me bawling and was not the book I was expecting. 5 stars all the way)

I love when books surprise me, and these two certainly did that. It wasn’t just about the 3rd Act Breakup, or lack thereof. It also had to do with the way the character’s mental health, past trauma and all, were handled through the stories. The fact that these felt like real people, with real wounds.. well, that’s what had me grabbing my Kleenex.

So, my lovelies, what have you been reading?

Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert is a romance novel that opened my eyes up in regards to writing in the characters viewpoint.

We all know about POV and perspective. At least I assume we do (if not, as with my last post, ask your question! Well get it answered! No fuss, no miss, no hate).

The male lead in the HEA is Red. Red has long, red hair, tattoos and relationship baggage. He also has an artistic talent that permeates his character. We know he’s an artist not just by the paint under his nails, but how he thinks of Chloe. He thinks of her in color and texture and warmth and light. It’s not just Chloe, either. Somehow Hibbert just slips us into an artists mind and it feels great.

But it also reminds us writers that there is more to writing in a charters perspective than just the nuts and bolts. We need to take the time to think through what a character’s passions will do to the way they think of the world. It’s both terrifying and liberating as a writer.

As one who isn’t that great as fleshing out details it’s scary. As one who loves a puzzle, it’s kind of intriguing and exciting.

Ta, my lovelies. I have a villainous hero who I need to flesh out.

It’s going to be so fun!

Character Letters

There are so many ways to get the creative juices flowing, and having your character write a letter is one of them. Yesterday, I woke at 3am with a heavy heart. I miss writing fiction, and my son wants me to try again at the real novel length…. so I wrote a letter to the character of the first novel I ever completed. Yes, I write my imaginary friends letters. Here it is:

Dear Alexandria Draconia, Mistress of the Dragons,

I miss you. I miss having you inside my head, living under my skin and behind my eyes. You were my first, and best, alter ego.

I am dreaming of riding dragons again.

I first “met” you while in college. You proved my instructor wrong, when he said not to even attempt genre, because most in the class couldn’t sustain it. He allowed me to write you, though. Mom loved your story, what was written before she died. And you were with me, grieving as well, when she died my senior year. Writing with you got me through the darkest days I had ever known at that point.

You’ve always been more than a character to me. More than an imaginary friend. It’s been 20 years and more, and still I miss you terribly. Hell, I’m writing a letter to my imaginary super hero.

Yes, super hero. You live in an Epic Fantasy setting, ride dragons and kick ass. But I’ve never been able to go all in for the super heroes. Super Girl is ok, and so is Wonder Woman. But as much as I want to love them, I just can’t.

I have my superhero. She wears trousers, not an ice-skating skirt– because trousers are more practical. She flies– on a dragon. And she carries a sword.

She’s not invulnerable. She kicks ass precisely because she does not commit to battle unless she is willing to die for it.

I need my super hero back.  I’m trying to raise my son the best way I can, but sometimes I get overwhelmed. (Although, I have raised him to believe in & love dragons) Pops is asking me to go through photos, and it’s a heart wrenching job because of why he wants to go through them now.

I was in over my head when I first wrote your story. I had no clue about world building, how to add depth and feeling. My writing style is still kind of sparse, but I’m getting better. I don’t know if I have the skills to do you justice this time around or not… But I do know that if I never try, it will never be written.

I also know a really great editor now, too.

I haven’t written a novel length work to completion in over a decade. I’ve been sprinting lately. But I think it’s time. Don’t you?

I want to ride a dragon, feel the wind in our hair.

I wrote nonfiction and poetry over the summer. I needed to deal with the situation with Dad and my own issues without the veil of fiction. It was very therapeutic– like writing in a journal, with more intent. But now, now I need my Super Hero back. Someone I can believe in, even if she happens to be fictional. When the chips are down, she always come through.

Sincerely,

Wynwords

Now, that would be so freeing, even if that’s the only thing that happened. But soon after, I received a (wrong number)  text that read “Congratulations Alex! Call me if you’re up!”  For some reason, I think the universe is telling me something….

Plotting it out

Through editing, and writing new words, I’m probably just about 2,500 – 3,000  words into the new story. I’m really enjoying writing it, even if last night I discovered to my chagrin that my bad guy is not a bad guy at all and may possibly even be one of the heroine’s greatest allies. SIGH.

My characters up and do this all the time. They don’t want to be purely good, or evil. It’s just a horrible situation made worse by the involvement of a child in it, and people are going to play the roles they are going to play.  Which is going to make it interesting…

THere will be no one villain to this story.

Don’t get me wrong, there will be bad guys, people who should be smacked down with a braodsword (btw- I write fantasy LOL).  But the main driving force of the WHOLE novel isn’t them. THey only factor into Part 1, not parts 2-4.

The rest is going to be pushed through by situation. By a mother’s feirce love for a child who isn’t quite where he should be… Well, you’ve read the blog. If not, go forth and explore. It’s something that I’m familiar with, and it is enough, more than enough, to sustain a story.

So. Old Lord Orlando is going to end up being a Stand Up kind of guy. I can deal with that. I think it will make the story even better, too. Even if I do have to scrap those words.

Because at least now I have a great lead in and know where I’m going.

YAY!