My Journey to a Book Contract - Part 4 Master GMC and MRU's

by Elva Cobb Martin

We continue "My Journey to a Book Contract" and honing your craft. This is Part 4. You can access Parts 1-3 in our archives.

Master “Goals, Motivation, and Conflict” 

(check out a great book with same title by Debra Dixon)

Your hero, heroine and even other characters should have a:

        Goal – What they want

        Motivation – Why they want it

        Conflict – The why not (what stands in their way)

   

   Internal and External Needs evolve into Goals, Motivation, Conflict which drive the story.

           Carolyn Greene says inner conflict is what gives characters’ something to think about.

           External conflict propels the plot and gives characters something to do.

           Inner needs can be universal and intangible: respect, acceptance, security, safety, love

           External needs should be tangible and resolvable:  justice, revenge, the truth, job promotion   

Example: Kirsten Arnold wrote on a Seekerville blog comment her idea at Internal and external GMC & logline.

Log Line/Pitch: A rugged Alaskan hunting guide must save the younger brother of the woman he loves while learning to accept the forgiveness that can set him free and open the door to love and life. 

    

Who: Cooper Maitland: Alaskan outfitter/hunting guide

External GMC: Cooper wants to help the FBI catch drug traffickers operating as Alaskan fishermen, and save Bryce Wallace the kid brother of McAye Wallace the woman Cooper loves.
Internal GMC: Cooper wants to forgive himself and accept God’s forgiveness for the terrible mistake he made that cost McAye’s sister her life. His love for McAye stands in the way, because it serves as a constant reminder of his past and keeps him mired in guilt.


Master MRU’s - Motivation Reaction Units

(Should be in this order but don’t have to include all 4)

  1) Physical or gut level

  2) Thought

  3) dialog (can be combined with action)

  4) action

Incorrect Order (example from my draft of Summer of Deception)

Rachel looked at him for a long moment. First the housekeeper, now this man. Wasn’t anyone expecting her? A sting shot through her empty stomach. But she shook off her uneasiness. Everything could be cleared up in two seconds. She dug in her handbag. “Mr. Barrett offered me a summer position. I have his note here.”

Corrected Order: 

A sting shot through Rachel’s empty stomach. Wasn’t anyone expecting her? First the housekeeper, now this man. She looked at him a long moment and cast off her uneasiness. Everything could be cleared up in two seconds. “Mr. Barrett offered me a summer position. I have his note here.”

She dug in her handbag.

What helped you master GMC or MRU's? Please leave a comment and share this blog on your social media by clicking on the icons below.

Elva Cobb Martin

Motivation-Reaction Units (MRUs)

by Susan Craft

Here’s an excerpt from the draft of my manuscript, Laurel, before I edited it: 
Her heart sank when she noticed John standing at a distance, his expression aloof as if a curious spectator.

What’s wrong with it? The motivation-reaction is wrong. In other words, the stimulus should come before the reaction.

Here’s how it should have read:
She noticed John standing at a distance, his expression aloof as if a curious spectator, and her heart sank.

Motivation-Reaction Units, a key to compelling fiction, are created by alternating between what your POV character sees, hears, smells, tastes, or touches (the motivation) and what he does (the reaction). Motivation is external and objective (presented as if by a video camera).

In one paragraph, write motivation so your reader experiences it.
Example: The tiger dropped out of the tree and sprang toward Jack.

In a separate paragraph, write your character’s reaction, exactly as he would experience it from the inside, giving your reader insight into your character.

According to writing instructor Dwight Swain, “The reaction is more complex than the motivation. The reason is that it is internal, and internal processes happen on different timescales.   When you see a tiger, in the first milliseconds, you only have time for one thing -- fear. Within a few tenths of a second, you have time to react on instinct, but that is all it will be -- instinct, reflex. But shortly after that first reflexive reaction, you will also have time to react rationally, to act, to think, to speak.

You must present the full complex of your character's reactions in this order, from fastest time-scale to slowest. If you put them out of order, then things just don't feel right. You destroy the illusion of reality. And your reader won't keep reading because your writing is "not realistic."
Example: A bolt of raw adrenaline shot through Jack's veins. He jerked his rifle to his shoulder, sighted on the tiger's heart, and squeezed the trigger. "Die!" he yelled.

There are three parts to the reaction: feeling, reflex, and rational action -- in that order.

In our example, feeling comes first because it happens almost instantly. Reflex is a result of the fear and requires no conscious thought. Lastly, come rational action and speech.

You can leave out one or two of these three parts, but whatever parts you keep in must be in the correct order.

Write each scene and sequel as a sequence of MRUs. Each motivation and reaction should be followed by another motivation an reaction. You can't afford to write one perfect MRU and then be happy. You've got to write another and another and another. Reaction will lead to a new motivation that is again external and objective and which you will write in its own paragraph.

Continuing the example we've created so far: The bullet grazed the tiger's left shoulder. Blood squirted out of the jagged wound. The tiger roared and staggered, then leaped in the air straight at Jack's throat.

When you run out of motivations or reactions, your scene or sequel is over. Don't run out too soon. Don't drag on too long.

Credits: Several years ago, I took a writing class led by Dwight Swain, and much of this post is from the notes I took while there. The drawing of the man aiming at a tiger was copied from the blog, Aussiehunter.

Susan F. Craft is the author of The Chamomile, a SIBA award-winning Revolutionary War inspirational romantic suspense.