The Heroine's Journey of Discovery

Be authentic. Listen to your inner writer's voice!

I was doing some computer hard drive tidying-up last week. Not that I need the space but it does keep me from doing chores like cobweb-hunting and folding laundry. And I never mind the trip down memory lane of some of the tens of thousands of words I've written.

I revisited the notes I'd taken during a wonderful online writing workshop led by instructor, Laurie Schnebly Campbell. I'd struggled for years trying to shoehorn my novels about Kenora and Jake into the Hero's Journey formula but the writing and I resisted mightily. It wasn't until I heard Diana Cranstoun (https://dianacranstoun.com) speak about Kim Hudson's The Virgin's Promise  (https://kimhudsonauthor.com/the-virgins-promise) at the When Words Collide reading and writing festival that it became clear I had to rethink my writing path.

Laurie said in the course introduction:

“What happens when a character’s journey is more about relationships, with others and with herself, than about daredevil action? Joseph Campbell and Christopher Vogler have identified 12 popular steps for a hero who explores the outside world and returns with the elixir.”

But what about a character whose journey leads to flowering change instead of physical adventure? Her challenges, as described in Kim Hudson’s 13 steps, will sometimes contradict, sometimes parallel and sometimes compliment the traditional hero’s journey…and for writers whose heroine faces her own less-traveled road to discovery, this class offers a fascinating map.

Kim was SO RIGHT! Now that I'm nearing the final chapters of the second book in the Kenora & Jake series - The Fifth Man - this refresher was so timely.

My writing journey has certainly NOT been linear. On the advice of an agent, I switched to telling the story in third person omniscient point of view so that I could reflect Jake's inner journey as well as Kenora's as they embarked on deepening their relationship and she worked hard to make her mark as a private detective. That epic creative struggle took me away from being creative. It did not work. The writing felt forced and inauthentic.The unique personalities of my main characters got lost. But I persevered. What, did I think there'd be some sort of prize for me setting aside my vision for Kenora Reinvented?

After 18 months, I tossed the too-long wandering draft into the electronic trash heap of my For Later file directory and started over, this time with a clearer vision of Kenora as a person and the challenges she'd face. This was her story, not Jake's. He may have to wait until book three to have his say.

The tidbits below are from the panel presentation that jump-started my stalled creativity.

Heroines

(Panel -  Lori Whyte, Jessica L. Jackson, Victoria Curran, Melanie Stanford)

In contemporary novels, there is no Snidely Whiplash and Dudley Do-Right saving little Nell. Today’s characters (male and female) have evolved from the past to become more independent and complete in their own right.

Writing creates characters who are competent but not irrational – there is no long drawn out unsolved misery repeated over time.

• Readers want to fall in love with the hero (or at least like them) but have to be able to relate to the heroine. There are heroines today that were not popular in the past – they do not fit stereotypes (body, temperament) – there are now BBW (Big Beautiful Women as heroines), diverse cultures and races – people want to be able to relate with a character more like them

• Have to be intelligent and make decisions, take an active role in their outcomes (readers may be much harsher on a heroine than a hero – too stupid to live, naive)

• As long as the heroine is not single-dimensional, e.g., snarky. Readers want to see their vulnerabilities, active and not just reactive and going with the flow even if they are shy and not outgoing – we want to be able to root for them whether they do something dumb or brave

• Persuasion – second chance romance, he’s a jerk but she is so meek, a pushover. (Her journey is shifting from not making decisions to learning to make her own decisions and learn from her mistakes)

• Make sure her characteristics work in the book’s settings – time, culture, etc. GMC.

• Both characters have to be motivated. Every scene has to show that. Don’t just focus on beautiful writing and their attraction – focus on the motives that dictate who they were before they met the love interest. Stay away from clichés and don’t lose the energy of the story.

• How long before the First Meet should happen? There should be some introduction to one of the characters before the meeting – establish some of their motives. Also depends on the length of the book – if it is longer, the author can build up to a collision between them.

• Not every reaction or decision has to be over the top – depends on the character’s personality. Small decisions can have a huge impact.

• If the heroine is strong, the male has to be equally strong, but prepared to accept her. Each has to stand on their own. This is a key part of authorial voice – even when there is a wide range of characters, a series will be distinctive. Intrigue is built by some of the content of what writers present as situations – there is usually ‘something there’ from the author’s psyche.

• Allow yourself the flexibility to write the character as she wants to be written – don’t try to limit yourself. You are manipulating your characters – make them distinctive with idiosyncrasies. There are trends – what is it your readers expect? Will there be a common thread if you write more than 1 book?

• Open with a bang, but you don’t have to keep up the pace – do keep in mind the goals of the hero and heroine before they met. The love relationship should interfere with that goal – raises the stakes. Don’t lose the urgency of their original motives.

NOT WISE TO BUILD TIME AWAY FROM THE STORY – drags the tension down. But build up – when they go through the dark moment, they have to understand what’s at risk

• Getting to know each other scenes can’t just be about that – there has to be subtext and something to gain and something to be lost. Aside from the event, they have to be growing in awareness about each other through the interaction – keeps the story and relationships moving forward…

• Is there space for the heroine to rescue the hero – YES. Editors may enjoy flipping the tropes…Depends on how you develop your characters – are they saving one another, but in different ways? The male has to express his vulnerability – this allows the heroine to save him emotionally. Saving is more than that instant moment of danger.

• Has to be believable…. readers are modern – heroines have to work within their time frame.

There are so many workshops and experts out there but finding the right ones, the voices that resonate with your writing vision, isn't easy. But thanks to this fresh perspective, my writing mojo returned and I jumped into regularly again with renewed energy and purpose.