Writer Peggy Bechko Discusses What's Coming Next

Seems like a Writer's work is never done!  But that's a good thing!  

Onward. 

This week I'm talking a bit about what's coming next for me -- 

There are a number of irons in the fire as usual. I have a romance novel that needs finishing - I'm about 3/4 of the way there. 

Work continues at a slow pace for the conversion of one of my movie scripts, Bloodlines, into a novel companion. It's a vampire western full of the paranormal. I hope to have that complete by late fall or early winter. No promises though!

Why is progress on Bloodlines script to novel slow? Because Planet Of The Eggs, the comic book series I partner in with Charlene Brash Sorensen, is taking priority - we have four books in the comic series out now with the fifth to be released later this summer.  The fifth is nearly finished in first draft form. Here's the first page from that new adventure - tentatively titled Saving Dot. We'll let you know of any changes in title and the release date. Check it out here or visit our Facebook page. 

And, in addition to the new book, the fifth of six in the first volume, there are big changes coming to our series as our characters evolve and mature. And Volume Two is already an evolving idea. 

But as to the next adventure, Saving Dot, what do you think?  Do we save Dot? She's hanging on to a dragon and the flight is bumpy.  Her egg friend, Sala is in the dragon's clutches and the rest of the gang, Cyrus, Nightfist, Twilight, Smudge and Skink along with Dot's human companions, Smith and Dave are laying plans to get them back! The girls are strong, it may not be them who need rescuing!

There's mayhem and tragedy ahead - stay tuned, keep reading, and let us know who's your favorite character and where you might like to see them go next in space and time.

Writers - Save Your Readers From Boring…

Throw your hero off a cliff. 

Yep, that’s the ticket. Think about it. Are you boring your reading audience with wonderful Mr. Nice Guy who may be a bit shy, but so darn good looking he’s irresistible?

Okay, he can be all that, but does he spend his days at the lake faithfully with his one true love and have nothing more exciting than crossing against a light to spice up his day?

Uh…. Boring.

Readers don’t want to follow a perfect hero or heroine as he or she goes about her day and everyone is subjected to every boring detail from tooth brushing to hailing a cab.

Really, if that’s your character you might sit down and have a talk with yourself about why that is. 

So how about this. Your hero remains your hero but you toss in the woman he meets and falls in love with, a kick-ass martial arts champ, crack shot markswoman with a questionable past and a sarcastic wit. Now we’re talkin’! How would they work out their differences? How would he react to her, aside from loving her? What about her past, is that about to come back and bite them both?  I don’t know, do you have a clue? A few elements like this and the reader doesn’t know from one page/moment to the next if the hero is going to have to jump off a cliff to save himself/her/ or out of total frustration.

Now that I’d like to read. Done well it would be a great page-turner or possibly the plot of a hit movie.

So, are you thinking like that, writing like that? No? Why not? We all have pasts and wounds we can draw on that we can present to our characters and really identify with.

If not, why not?

It’s scary out there for writers. They really need to plumb the depths and dig deep.

Unless…wait, there is no unless. It’s what a writer needs to do in order to hook readers. Sure, the fictional people are, well, fiction, but we put a little of ourselves into every character we create. Heroes, villains, it doesn’t matter.

Sinister? Painful? Dark? Yep, and we can throw in some sunshine and lollipops, but it originates within us. And we can’t make readers or movie goers feel if we can’t feel. Open up to yourself, admit your flaws and dark corners.

Dig deep, raise the bar for yourself and don’t stop exploring every emotion we all possess. Your readers will thank you and admire you for it.