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Bad Decisions by Yvonne Erwin

A human being is a deciding human being – psychologist and philosopher Victor Frankl.

Not long ago, I was introduced to a new thought when someone said, “Without a Moment of Decision, this is just an anecdote.” In other words, the reader felt no real tension in the piece she was reading. This Moment of Decision idea seemed interesting to me so I decided to research it a little bit, and I want to share what I found with you.

As humans, we want to make the best decision on whatever it is we’re considering doing. However, our characters don’t get that luxury.  Our characters shouldn’t act as though they’ve had three weeks to consider their options in any given scene. The decision made in the heat of the moment isn’t the same as one made with weeks to consider. In fact, bad decisions often make the best stories.  Bad decisions will ratchet up the tension factor in your story, and keep your reader engrossed with the story line. How is he going to get out of THIS, THIS TIME?

How do we cause our characters to make bad decisions?

  1. Let them be impulsive. Let them jump in before thinking it through.
  2. Have them make decisions under pressure. A ticking clock is a reliable way to raise stakes and increase tension.
  3. Let he/she assume they know it all.  This can be particularly satisfying because the fall when reality trips them up will be particularly devastating.
  4. Don’t make a Plan B. An overconfident protagonist will get into more and more trouble as the world falls to pieces and starts snowballing. Make sure the worst can happen and make them dig their way out.

You want tension in your story, and you want the tension to mount. Otherwise, it is a slide show, like a resume. You want to keep your reader reading, so, blow it all up if you have to, but raise the stakes in your work and it will be more interesting and satisfying to your reader.


About Yvonne Erwin

Yvonne Erwin

Yvonne Erwin

Yvonne Erwin is a contemporary women's fiction writer, living in Springfield, Missouri. Her passions include reading, writing, gardening, cooking, traveling and experiencing new adventures. She seldom goes very far without her camera, which she's nicknamed her "mini-me."

Currently, Yvonne is serving as President of the Springfield Writers' Guild, a chapter of the Missouri Writers' Guild, and is a member of Ozarks Romance Authors. In 2012, Yvonne won second place in the prose-fiction category in the 19th Annual Springfield Writers' Contest Literacy Contest.

Yvonne's first novel, "The Discovery of Joy," was released February 2, 2015, in the women's fiction category. Her second novel, "The Sisters of Madelaine Street," was released September 27, 2016.

Jennifer Jakes discusses the Alpha Male on Rachel Leigh's blog

Jennifer JakesOzarks Romance Authors' very own Jennifer Jakes discussed the Alpha Male yesterday on Rachel Leigh's blog.

EXCERPT:

So what do you think, ladies? Do you find yourself drawn to Alpha or Beta males in movies or books? Action hero or Romantic Comedy? Rouge or guy next door?

Want to see what all of the fuss is about? Click HERE to visit Rachel Leigh's blog.

Rachel Leigh is a writer of erotic romance who loves mixing love with good sex and plenty of cheeky laughter. She says the aim of her stories is to turn readers on, as well as making them feel love may be just around the corner. She is basked in the United Kingdom.

Jennifer Jakes writes hot western romance novels. She is the author of "Rafe's Redemption." Click HERE to visit her web site.

Ozarks Romance Authors member Jennifer Jakes is the guest on Rachel Leigh's blog, discussing the Alpha Male.