What You Want vs. What You Need

So I'm just sitting here, watching The Princess and the Frog for probably the 30th time, singing to myself and shopping for graduation gifts for my best friend. I keep eating, even though I didn't get to go on my walk today, but I just love peanuts and peanut butter and food in general so much. (You would never believe it, but I was a picky eater two years ago.) I'm also sitting and waiting for Daniel Vincent Gordh to respond to my tweet.

No activity so far. I'll keep you all posted.

In this wonderful movie, there is this spiffy little ditty called "Dig a Little Deeper". And right in the beginning, Naveen is all: "What we want, what we need, it is the same thing, yes?" And Mama Odie is all: "Is it the same thing!? NO!"

Back to that song. Here it is if you haven't had the pleasure of watching TP&TF.

Besides the fact that this is totally in true in life (desire of the flesh vs. desire of the spirit), this rule totally applies to characters. Every character has something they want, and something they need. The best cases are the ones where they aren't the same thing. Some examples...

The Princess and the Frog: Naveen wants his rich lifestyle, Tiana wants her restaraunt, and they both want to turn human. What they need is love --- which they find in each other! Naveen also needs to become less spoiled, and Tiana needs to see the big picture.

Tangled: Flynn Rider wants a life of luxury. Rapunzel just wants to see the lights that she sees every year on her birthday. What they need is love (it is a Disney movie, after all)! I would also say that Flynn has to learn how to think about someone other than himself (love) and Rapunzel needs to learn how to be independent.

See? They've all got dreams! Desires! Wants! Needs!

Emma: Emma doesn't want to get married. She wants to play a role in other people's love lives and flatter herself. What she needs is a dose of humility... and to see that Knightley is destined to be her man!

"She's right, you know. I'm your man!"

Ella Enchanted: SPOILER ALERT! The ending is such a perfect example of want vs. need. Ella wants to marry Char more than anything, but she knows she needs to keep him (and the country) safe, so she says no. Which, of course, breaks the curse so that she can have what she wants too. ;)

"I was almost as bad in this terrible adaptation of a great book as I was in Daniel Deronda!"

Not every story will have such an explicit contrast between wants and needs. Still, your character MUST have a goal of their own, however small. They may even have multiple goals, or conflicting goals! Either way, every character is after something. (Unless you're Holden Caulfield and would rather wander aimlessly about New York. But I believe he's after love, too.)

What might your character(s) be after? How might different characters' desires and needs conflict with others' desires and needs? Here are some suggestions:

• love
• pleasure
• money
• prestige
• notoriety
• reputation
• popularity
• favor from a particular person
• attention from the opposite gender
• attention, period
• peace and quiet
• change
• peace of heart/mind
• revenge

Expect the unexpected!

I am poised like a panther, ready to expect the unexpected!

Oh, well I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition!  That changes everything.

I've quit expecting bursts of inspiration any more. There was a time when I could count on sporadic writing sprees to hit at least once a month. That "time" was several years ago. Now I'm lucky for one inspired day out of every ten! Usually, this is a bad thing. Less inspiration = not good. But then, every so often, it hits me, like a train. And I like trains.

I get run over by inspiration going 100 miles per hour! Today's inspiration has been the equivalent of a single car, not a whole train, but you know what? I'll take it. Now please excuse me, I'm gonna go write some more.

Writer's Fight Club

Disclaimer: I've never seen Fight Club. But I have seen the trailer for Jane Austen's Fight Club.

Basically, I propose that we (you and every writer out there who is reading this) form our own Fight Club. We hit our readers as hard as we can... right in the feels. Kind of like Episode 4 of Season 3 of Downton Abbey. Right. In. The. Feels.

Since I'm still smarting from last night's episode - and by "smarting" I mean "trying to understand why my family and I just can't pick up and move on after a simple TV show" - I figured I would talk a little bit about emotion. Also, I found a way to tie in the awesome trailer above, which then proceeds to tie into the 200th Anniversary of Pride & Prejudice, which also shamelessly allows me to plug the 83rd episode of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I am aware I just wrote a run-on sentence. Please, ignore it.

Making sure your story has plot twists is essential. Making sure those plot twists resonate with your readers is a different story. Here are some examples (SPOILER ALERT):

- Pride and Prejudice: Finding out that Lydia ran away with George Wickham. Readers can't see this plot twist coming, as the two characters never seem to express any explicit interest in each other. Yet the twist isn't entirely improbable, as the reader knows that Lydia is silly and flirtatious, and George is a scumbag who has dabbled in such behavior before. Readers care because Lizzy and her family's reputation are at stake. The actual delivery of this plot twist is dramatic because Mr. Darcy is present when Lizzy gets the news.

- Downton Abbey: Sybil's death. (Yeah, I went there.) Viewers don't see it coming, because the baby is healthy and Sybil appears totally fine after giving birth. Yet when she starts having her seizure, it makes sense: Dr. Clarkson warned about eclampsia, and it can still kill after giving birth. Viewers care because Sybil is sweet and kind, and Tom and the baby need her. The actual plot twist is dramatic because her death could have been prevented, and because no one took Sybil to the hospital, everyone is entirely helpless when she dies.

- The Princess and the Frog: Tiana and Naveen turn human! (I needed to sneak a happy one in.) Viewers, or at least not this one, don't see it coming because they have been led to believe that the "happy ending" lies within Naveen and Tiana getting married. Yet it makes sense, because... Well... "Once you became my wife, that made you..." "... a princess! You just kissed yourself a princess!" And as we know from earlier, kissing a princess breaks the spell! The actual plot twist is dramatic, because OBVIOUSLY they're human and happy and it's a Disney movie. 

I picked at least two plot twists because they stick with the themes of my post, but obviously I could post hundreds more. There are twists in the beginning, the middle, and end, of big and small proportions, dealing with characters of every persuasion. The question is, do these twists mean anything? Do they make your reader feel something? Joy? Fear? Sorrow?

Just because I love lists, here are some tips on writing awesome plot twists:

1. Don't let your readers see it coming! Never underestimate the element of surprise. Sometimes authors make the mistake of eluding too often to a certain twist. A small hint here or there can't hurt... (Downton spoiler: Slipping in a nasty Lord Grantham comment about Catholics makes Branson's desire to have the baby baptized Catholic even more tense.) Just don't overdo it. Get feedback from someone you trust. Make sure you don't leave too many clues.
2. Don't be too cliche. Some cliches are unavoidable, or can have a fresh twist put on them. Yet others are so overused or classic that readers can't help but see them coming (see #1). If you're writing a Disney movie, you can get away with a few. But try and avoid heroes saving the day during a villain monlogue, the death that everyone saw coming, etc. Most cliches lie elsewhere, but beware cliched plot twists anyway!
3. Make it personal. Fear nothing. Kill off an unlikely major character. Permanently injure an unsuspecting victim. Give a happy ending when all the odds go against it. This third tip really boils down to how well written and constructed your story is, so this is another area where feedback can help. Ask your beloved critique partners if the twist made them feel anything, anything at all. If they complain that it's falling flat, do everything in your power to fix the twist... or ditch it if necessary. 

Chances are, I've taught you nothing. However, it can't hurt to keep all this in mind as we, the new members of the Writer's Fight Club, go out to pick a fight with readers everywhere... and lose. *

* Note: I honestly don't know what Fight Club is about, so why do you want to lose? I mean, all I know is that Rule One of Fight Club is don't talk about Fight Club. Why even fight? I don't get it.

Anyways, I think I'm gonna go get punched in the feels by Pride & Prejudice to celebrate the book's 200th. Read a few chapters. Watch a few clips. Ardently admire and love Darcy. The usual.