We’re so happy to be back on the Write for Harlequin blog–and to celebrate the release of our newest Blackwell series for Heartwarming, THE BLACKWELL BELLES! The Blackwell family holds such a special place in our hearts and being able to share some behind the scenes information about how something like this comes together is a definite bonus.
In this brand new collection, Elias “Big E” Blackwell is working on repairing a broken branch of his sister Denny’s family tree. Denny and Big E have teamed up and are traveling around in Big E’s RV trying to reunite the Blackwell Belles, a former professional trick riding and performing group, and hopefully heal the siblings’ complicated relationship with their mother, Flora. These five sisters went their separate ways a while ago, but if you’re a fan of the series, you know their reasons really aren’t going to mean much to Big E or Denny. Not when the family is at stake!
In the past we’ve addressed various topics and complexities about creating interconnected stories, but this time we thought we’d go back to what drives every book each of us writes. GMC.
That’s right folks, over our next three posts, we are taking a deep Blackwell-focused dive into Goal, Motivation, and Conflict, three essential ingredients to an un-put-downable story. For those who might be new to this concept, or even those who need a refresher course, in quick terms: goals are what your characters want. Motivation is focused on WHY they want that, and conflict is what’s standing in their way. GMC focuses on both internal (emotional) and external (plot) issues, meaning solid GMC is what keeps your story moving forward as your characters grow and change into the people who earn their HEAs.
First up, we’re sharing some of our thoughts about the all-important GOAL, aka: the stakes of the story. Continue reading for our takes, questions to ask yourself as you’re discovering what your characters’ goals might be, and for some examples from each of our upcoming Blackwell Belles romances.
Melinda Curtis (A COWGIRL NEVER FORGETS, August 2024):
When writing, goals and the obstacles that stand between a character and goal achievement are what drive the story forward. Think about that for a minute. A character wants to marry his best friend, a woman he’s been in love with for years. Without obstacles, the story might be done on page one. “Maggie, I love you. I hope you feel the same.” “Oh, yes, Clem. I do.” End. Of. Story.
You probably noticed that’s a best friend to forever love trope. That happens to be the story goal of my hero Clem in A Cowgirl Never Forgets. Some of the obstacles I put between Clem and his goal of marrying his bestie Maggie were temporary amnesia (he gets tossed by a bull and for a few days believes they’ve been dating), fake dating (Clem’s family convinces Maggie to pretend they’ve been dating), and fake amnesia (when he gets his memory back and can’t find it in him to tell her he’s regained it because…well…kisses). In a perfect world, Clem would just declare his love for Maggie and be positively received. But reader satisfaction (and author page count) comes by a character overcoming obstacles to achieve their story goal.
Carol Ross (A COWGIRL FINDS HOME, September 2024):
A story is a journey; every journey has a purpose – or goal. Every purpose/goal has an explanation that fuels it, a reason for taking the journey in the first place – that’s motivation. And, of course, no journey worth talking about is without obstacles – conflict. That’s how I like to think about GMC.
A Cowgirl Finds Home is one of those cases where the title alludes to the heroine’s ultimate goal. After a childhood spent traveling and performing with her family’s trick-riding troupe, the Blackwell Belles, Violet Blackwell wants stability. For Violet, this means a home of her own and a steady job. Sounds like a simple enough goal, right? Unfortunately for Violet, Garrett McCoy is conflict wrapped in conflict – in her face and in her way at every turn! Since this post is about goals, we’ll leave the conflict right there for now.
Interestingly, Garrett’s goal is the same as Violet’s – he wants a ranch of his own. It should be so easy, seeing as how they want the same thing out of life. Not even. These two don’t see eye to eye on anything, and their respective journeys (goals) aren’t any different.
Anna J Stewart (A COWGIRL ON HIS DOORSTEP, October 2024)
GMC is my catnip. Honestly, I can’t write a book without a solid idea of what my characters want, why they want it, and what’s standing in their way. When I approach the idea of goals, I always keep in mind it needs to be something life changing. Something that matters. If the goal isn’t big enough to change a person’s life, whether they achieve it or not, then it isn’t big enough to sustain a full story, let alone a character’s arc.
In A Cowgirl on his Doorstep, Iris Blackwell has been building her reputation as a DIY influencer, remodeling trailers, RVs, and pretty much anything on wheels. She’s had great success, but she’s not satisfied yet. She knows she can do more and be better at her job. She has a few goals when this story opens: to complete her next job which could earn a sponsorship deal that will solidify her future in the custom design world. Her other goal? To stay utterly and completely free. She is determined to keep things going as they are, with only her dog Cosmo by her side. Considering this is a romance, you can already see where she might run into some conflict (shhhh…. That’s for later!): Rancher Shane Holloway, an instant father to his orphaned nephews and nieces. His goal? Well, he has a few of them. To survive and thrive in this new life he’s found himself thrown into, and to get his father’s ranch running in a way that it can compete better in the business world.
Amy Vastine (A COWGIRL’S THANKSGIVING KISS, November 2024)
If your characters don’t have something to work for, your story gets boring real fast. That’s where the G – Goal comes into play. The characters need a goal they are working towards. In romance, both the hero and heroine have goals. Sometimes the fact that they want two different things becomes the conflict … but I’m jumping ahead of myself!
In A Cowgirl’s Thanksgiving Kiss, J.R. Blackwell and Hunter Robbins work together at Bucking Wonders Ranch. They both help breeding bucking bulls. J.R.’s goal in the story is to earn the promotion that both she and Hunter are up for.
Hunter, on the other hand, has a different goal. He would like to win the heart of Ms. Blackwell. Easier said than done, considering falling for her competition might impede her ability to reach her goal … ohhhh, the hint of conflict! He also has a tiny goal of getting back on a bull after a major injury that sidelined him. It can’t only be about the girl, can it?
Cari Lynn Webb (A COWGIRL’S CHRISTMAS REUNION, December 2024)
GMC – Goal, Motivation, Conflict – is pretty much the cornerstone of every story and the stronger the GMC, the stronger the story. Leave one piece out and the story will inevitably falter. And a little insider info – I typically find that my stories falter in the middle when my GMC is lacking. It is usually around that point in the writing process that a series of SOS texts are sent to my writing tribe (aka the lovely ladies blogging with me today). These SOS texts pretty much always contain something along the lines of: my heroine has no stakes. My hero has no goal. I don’t care about these characters. And if I don’t care, a reader certainly won’t care either. Help. Then I insert a series of sad, panicked and stressed emojis and hit send. And thus begins a conversation on text, zoom or email where I break my story down and figure out where exactly it fell apart. Once I figure out the weak link in GMC, I can fix the story. Another insider tip – I can’t see weak GMC until I’ve written a draft. It’s only once I’ve gotten words on the page (at least a solid 25 to 30K words) that I can start to see those holes. It’s almost as if I’m putting my initial GMC to the test in my first draft. And what I have learned after writing almost 20 Heartwarming books is that I need to be flexible and willing to revise and edit and push to make every story as strong as it can be. And it always circles back to GMC.
In A Cowgirl’s Christmas Reunion, trick rider Willow Blackwell wants to be a star like her mother always promised her she would be. This has been Willow’s goal since she was a child performer. Nolan Elliot, a champion bull rider, returns home with only one goal: to decide whether he is going sell his family’s ranch or finally settle and build his late father’s legacy. Those are the goals. Nothing to it, right? But life is not linear, and the journey takes us in all sorts of directions. It’s the same for our stories. Welcome to the party motivation and conflict – now the story is going to get good.
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Looking forward to “seeing” you all back here for our next issue which will focus on our characters’ motivations, the WHY they want what they want (and why those answers hold the key to every story we write!)
Meet the Authors:
Melinda Curtis grew up on an isolated sheep ranch, where mountain lions had been seen and yet she roamed unaccompanied. Being a rather optimistic, clueless of danger, sort she took to playing “what if” games that led her to become an author. She spends days trying to figure out new ways to say “He made her heart pound.” That might sound boring, but the challenge keeps her mentally ahead of her 3 kids and college sweetheart husband. A Cowgirl Never Forgets is out now!
Carol Ross lives with her husband and two dogs (a perfect border collie and a perfectly loveable miscreant of a dachshund) in a small town in Washington near both the ocean and the mountains. She loves the Northwest because, when the temperamental weather cooperates, she enjoys hiking, running, skiing, and spending time outdoors. And when it doesn’t…she dons a raincoat, or gets lost in a book. She enjoys reading in many genres but writes about what she loves the most-romance. A Cowgirl Finds Home is out now!
USA Today and national bestselling author Anna J. Stewart can’t remember a time she didn’t have a book in her hands or a story in her head. Early obsessions with Star Wars, Star Trek, and Wonder Woman set her on the path to creating sweet to sexy pulse-pounding romances for her independent heroines. Anna lives in Northern California where she deals with a serious Supernatural addiction and two monstrous cats named Rosie and Sherlock. A Cowgirl on his Doorstep is out September 21st!
Amy Vastine has been plotting stories in her head for as long as she can remember. An eternal optimist, she studied social work, hoping to teach others how to find their silver lining. Now, she enjoys creating happily-ever-afters for all to read. Amy is an empty-nester living outside of Chicago with her high school sweetheart-turned-husband and their two sweet but mischievous pups. A Cowgirl’s Thanksgiving Kiss is out October 22nd!
Cari Lynn Webb lives in Florida with her husband. She’s been blessed to see the power of true love in her grandparent’s 70-year marriage and her parent’s marriage of over 50 years. She knows love isn’t always sweet and perfect, it can be challenging, complicated and risky. But she believes happily-ever-afters are worth fighting for. She loves to connect with readers. A Cowgirl’s Christmas Reunion is out November 26th!
