I bought this book soon after I started writing and am currently re-reading it. Most of the info it contains can be found on Morgan's website in the form of freely-viewed blogs. http://www.darkerotica.net/While it's ostensibly aimed at those writing erotica, most of the content applies to any romance or action genre fiction.The guide contains very clear and concise rules which even if you don't follow them exactly are good methods to consider.A few guidelines are worth noting here: Firstly, the importance of chronological order:1— Something happened TO the character, starting a CHAIN of REACTIONS. 2— The Character knee-jerk reacts Physically. 3— AND the character feels the Physical Sensation of the Happening, and suffers a physical reaction. 4— AND THEN they have an Emotional Reaction reflected in their thoughts and/or comment about what had just happened. 5— AND THEN they DO something in retaliation. 1— This Retaliation Action incites the Other character to do something NEW— starting the whole Chain of Reactions again. This order is VERY specific. You may SKIP steps, but you may not change the order.Here's a great example of that in action in one of K.A.Mitchell's short stories with Aaron and Joey:Salty drops collected at Aaron's hairline and dripped into his eyes. He could barely lift his arm; his palm and fingers prickled and burned. Why couldn't he stop? It was like his body was waiting for something, driving him toward some kind of release, like coming, except not as good. But, just like the helpless power that took control of his hips as he fell over that edge and started to shoot, he couldn't stop his hand slamming into Joey's red and bruised flesh until they got there. Morgan shows how you can follow these rules to write action scenes with the added advice:Dialogue always happens AFTER Actions! People ACT faster than they THINK.The interesting thing is that sex scenes are actually action scenes and should be written as such (another reason K.A.Mitchell writes such good ones) I wonder whether she has read the book. Lol.Another thing that pressed my buttons was Morgan's take on the old adage of Goal, Motivation and Conflict. She sees the same factors but uses them in a different order - Motivation, Conflict, Goal. Her reason being:You need to know a character's Motivation to know what kind of Conflicts will force them to choose what Goals they are likely to chase.Then she gives concise explanations of what each term means followed by examples from well-known films and books.Writing is a craft as well as an art. Yeah, the first draft might be a stream of consciousness flow about a couple of characters thrust into conflict, but it doesn't hurt once that story is down on paper to check if there are problems caused by not heeding these rules. Eventually most will become second nature.For anyone starting out writing, checking her blog site or buying this book is a very cheap and effective way to start. Don't try to follow every rule. But be aware of what's here so when you're having trouble nailing who your character is or why your story feels boring, you can see the sorts of tricks or methods you can use to make it better.
