GMC Cycles

GMC Cycles

            This is an outlining style that I recently tried out, and it worked really well. I usually write by the seat of my pants, more of a Gardener than a Pantser, so standard outlines were the worst for me, but doing GMC Cycles made the process feel like writing a “First Draft” that needed to be revised and filled in rather than an outline. It made the whole process go really well.

            There are two things I need to address before moving on.

            First: what is a GMC? GMC stands for Goal, Motivation and Conflict. These are the keys to keeping your characters and story on track. The Goal is what CHARACTER wants. The Motivation is why CHARACTER wants it. The Conflict is what is stopping CHARACTER from getting it. It’s easy to write a simple GMC for a scene: CHARACTER wants THING because REASON, but PROBLEM.

            The other thing I needed to discuss: what is the cycle? Well, the cycle is a try/fail cycle. It’s what CHARACTER goes through to achieve that Goal by overcoming the Conflict. All a try/fail cycle really is though, is just answering the question, “Does CHARACTER get THING?” But the answer is not a simple yes or no. It’s, “Yes, but UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES,” or “No, and PROBLEM GETS WORSE.” With the second part of this, it gives the character a new Goal and a new Motivation, as well as sets up a new Conflict, thus cycling to your next GMC.

            So, where do we start?

            Well, we need to start with an opening image. What do you want to happen at the very beginning? Write one line of motion, one line of description and one thought by CHARACTER. CHARACTER doesn’t have to be named at his point. Use the tense you will write the story in for this.

            Example: CHARACTER rushed out of the subway. People congested the sidewalk, and clangs of construction clouded his senses. The thought of Big Bob’s Bakery, BBB, made his mouth water.

            Now we have a starting point.

            After writing your opening image, copy and paste the four topic points below. Paste it like a hundred times (or as many as you feel like since you can just paste more later):

GMC: X

Location: Y

Characters: Z

Try/fail: XYZ

Make sure there is at least one line between each of these sets (not between the topic points). From here, we will start to fill these out.

            Based on the initial image, what does CHARACTER want? Why? What is stopping CHARACTER? Replace X with a GMC sentence.

            Example: CHARACTER wants to make it to BBB before it closes, because he is hungry, but there are too many people in the way.

            Where does this GMC take place? Replace Y with the location, don’t be too detailed.

            Example: Just outside the subway, on the sidewalk, lots of traffic in the streets.

            Who is taking part in this GMC? Replace Z with the characters involved. They don’t need to be named, just categorized: Main, Enemy, Love, Sidekick, elder, etc.

            Example: CHARACTER. Faceless crowd. Enemy, but only described.

            The final part of the cycle is to answer the try/fail question.

            Example: Yes, CHARACTER makes it, but BBB is already closed, early, and it never closed early.

            This leads us to our next cycle. We have a new Goal (CHARACTER wants a sandwich), a new motivation (because CHARACTER is still hungry and now he’s also worried) and a new conflict (but the store is already closed).

            Now we just repeat the cycle, filling in the location, characters and answering the try/fail question. And again. And again. And again until we reach the ending. At the ending we need to write a final image, which is like the opening image, to show us the last thing the character is doing when the curtain closes. For this, also write three sentences: motion, description and thought.

            Example: CHARACTER stuffed a sandwich into his mouth from BBB as he leaped out of the window, running away from the police. The alley behind BBB was full of refuse and wasted meat that should have been thrown away weeks ago. This sandwich tasted so good, it was totally worth being framed for Big Bob’s murder.

            Finishing this feels like finishing a first draft in a way. You get a lot of the story out and it feels whole.

            The last three steps are pretty simple and standard. Write a GMC for the story as a whole, aka the plot.

            Example: CHARACTER wants to eat at BBB because it has the best sandwiches in the city, but Big Bob has been murdered, and the killer is trying to frame CHARACTER.

            The second to last step is to revise the GMC Cycles up to this point, then revise the overall GMC.

            Finally, put a page break after each GMC Cycle and start writing under each GMC Cycle. When you finish with a GMC Cycle, and are looking to stop for the time being, write at least the first line of the next GMC Cycle.

Long time no post. Sorry about that. Really been focused on writing. And recently, I went on the Writing Excuses Writing Retreat (WXR17). It was wonderful, and I learned so much. There, one of the things that really stuck with me was a character building exercise/lecture that Thomas Olde Heuvelt gave. It was amazing. So, I took notes and added a few things and tried to be as detailed as possible. It's long, but that's only because I go step by step through the process. I hope it helps out. (Sorry for any typos and grammar errors in advance, though I don't think there are any. I just don't have the time to comb through it.)

Also, if you love horror, please check out his book Hex. 

Character building

Brief outline: 14 steps

1. Basic character description

2. Background

3. Inciting incident

4. Consequences

5. Dilemmas

6. Greatest desires

7. Themes

8. Messages

9. Traits

10. Elements that lead to change

11. Immediate game changer

12. Character development

13. Outcome

14. Symbolism

1. Basic character description

First of all, you don’t want to be too detailed here or you can make writing a bit tedious and remove the reader’s imagination/bog you down when writing. You can always add more later and fix major points, depending on your writing process.

First, start with a name. Every character needs a name, and they should know their own name, or at least what they are called. (Amnesia stories still usually call a character something, right?)

Next, age. How old is the character? Is that adulthood? Near adulthood? A child? Depending on society, the age can be very important, or not at all, but it’s still a good starting point.

After that, five basic physical descriptions. Emotional stuff comes later, but this is the stuff that you would use via a mirror or another character to describe the character. (Please don’t use a mirror) Remember, these are minor, like hair color, height, clothing, etc.

Second to last, a major distinguishing feature. This is the first thing other characters (most of them) will notice about the character and describe it. Do they have a scar? A face tattoo? Pink hair in a black and white society? Abnormally tall in Japan? What is something that really just stands out.

Last (and this doesn’t really have to be the last thing, depending on your process), a major feature of the character that no one else (or very few people) know about that the character doesn’t advertise. Three nipples? Sixteen toes? Carries a locket of a secret lover/puppy? Give us something that really shows who the character is to themselves.

Example 1:

-Andy Paterson.

-27 years old.

-Brown hair and eyes, 5’8’’, goatee, wide shoulders and often wears black and green clothes.

-Always wears a flamboyant hat to draw attention.

-Has a tattoo of his original family name (Darwin) across his left breast.

2. Background

This is where we find out about the character (and a flash of the world) prior to the story starting, and even some things that might happen/be on page before the inciting incident. Don’t go into too much detail here, just a few to give you a basic idea.

First, start with a single line about the setting. Is it real world? Sci-Fi? Medieval? Horror fantasy?

Then, try to answer some of these questions (3-5 is good, more is okay based on your process):

-Who is the character in life?

-What does the character do?

-What is the character’s family situation?

-Does the character have any pets or special items?

-Are there any secret relationships or family ties, known or unknown to the character?

-Is there a defining incident that has shaped the character?

-Where does the character spend most of their time?

-Who is important to the character?

-When does the character do something important in their life?

-Why does the character value something? (This one is not so important, but just in case)

-What has the character done that is important/significant?

-Why is the character important to those around them?

-What kind of training does the character have?

-Does the character have any special skills/magic/tech?

-Are there any particular things that have caused the character to repeat mistakes?

Example 2:

-Real world with hidden fantasy elements, starts in Scotland, moves to South America

-YouTube channel where he whispers to different animals

-Descendant of Charles Darwin, but his family has long since changed his name

-Has a brother who is also his YouTube editor and a hedgehog named Milo

3. Inciting incident

This is the big moment that will change the character’s life and start to move them towards the main plot, whatever it may be. This is really important (and though it may be edited out, changed when the scene arrives or be reworked from a different angle, it’s worth the time to think about it).

What will drag the character out of their everyday life?

-Did they piss on a grave and get possessed by a ghost?

-Did someone discover their secret?

-Are they being blackmailed?

-Was there a dead body in the bed with them when they woke up?

Just spend a few moments to think about this and think about what kind of event would shake the character. What kind of event would move them towards the plot, whatever it may be. (I mostly pants, more of a gardener at least, so I don’t like outlines/knowing the ending, but this method has been really good for me to look at stories, and this part in particular helps story doctor it up.)

Everything that happens after this (well, almost everything) will be based on what the inciting incident is.

Example 3:

-The KGB shows up one day during filming, kidnaps his brother and gives him the secret diary of Charles Darwin that shows Dragons exist, and that it breaks the link of evolution.

4. Consequences

This is mostly a reaction to the inciting incident and how it changes the character’s life. Focusing on the character’s initial emotions and what has changed about them (inside and out sometimes) will help you get a picture of what the character is made of.

You don’t want to focus too much on how they physically react, sticking more to their emotional reactions to the inciting incident.

How do they feel?

Do they have newfound emotional issues or have old issues gotten worse?

Have they become attached to something?

What (if anything) in their belief system has changed?

Have their family/personal relationships changed?

Is something more/less important to them after the inciting incident?

Have they finally accepted/began denying something?

Do they want to do something they know they shouldn’t? (or feel like it’s not such a bad thing?)

These questions are just to give you an idea of what you could ask the character, but I’m sure there are many more.

Example 4:

-Becomes paranoid

-Emotionally attached to Milo the hedgehog

-resentful of Charles Darwin

-Believes in destiny now

5. Dilemmas:

This is where you have to think back to the inciting incident and come up with two problems the character will have to face before the end of the story. (Again, these are not set in stone, but they will give you a good idea of where the story could go before you write/detailed outline and some more tests for the character and how it will shape them.)

First, come up with a big dilemma. What is something that the character must face before then end? And not gumdrops or kittens (unless it’s choke his family with gumdrops or murder all the kittens in the world). It needs to be a tough option, where neither choice is really good. (This can go into the ‘Third option’ that I learned from Dave Farland, but that’s a different discussion).

For the second dilemma, depending on how long you are thinking the story will be, will determine how related to your first dilemma the second is. If your story is short, the two dilemmas should be interconnected. If it’s really long, they should be a world apart (at least on the outside/first glance).

Review these dilemmas and look back to the inciting incident as they will be important for shaping who the character is and what they will become.

Example 5:

-Train the dragons and give them to Russia or allow the KGB to kill his brother and protect the dragons

-Will he tell the world that his grandfather was wrong and that dragons exist

6 Greatest desires:

The character’s desires are very important, but focusing on the ones they want above all others is better for this part of the process. Though, adding in a minor desire does help round the character out, so it is important to not completely avoid it.

First, what does the character want most before the inciting incident? Come up with one or two things here to give the character initial motivation and make them more proactive at the start. You might also want to think about something character wants the least/is trying to avoid from happening. A negative desire is still a goal.

Second, what does the character want most after the inciting incident? Come up with at least two (no more than four) things here to add more layers to the character. You really want to dive into this and show that the plot, while important, isn’t the only driving factor here for the character. Think about the dilemmas and how they could tie into the character’s desires.

Finally, what is something small the character wants before and after the inciting incident? It could be a chocolate bar because they gave up chocolate and suddenly a super villain blew up the only store in their area that sold it. Try to stick to only one desire for before and one desire for after, as to not bog the character’s thought process down. (In the outline/writing, adding more is not a bad thing, in fact, it’s really awesome in most cases as small goals and desires help move the story along, but at this part, you don’t want to overthink it.)

Having the desires in mind at this point will help shape the character to the end.

Example 6:

-Wants to reach 1million YouTube subscribers

-Train unknown and great animals

-Train the dragons

-Save his brother

-Get revenge on the KGB

-Have people understand him without having to speak one word at a time or without subtitles

7. Theme:

Focusing too much on the theme can ruin the story, but not looking at it all can also have a negative impact on it. Here, you’re not really coming up with the final theme of the story, or even the final theme of what the character is doing. You just want to think of a theme or two (no more than four) that could really show off parts of the character, world and plot. In the end, this probably won’t survive the first draft (or detailed outline in some cases), and that’s a good thing. (You don’t want to take a ham-handed approach here.) But this will drive arguments and character interactions, so it is important to at least give it a bit of your time.

Thinking back to the inciting incident, why did it affect the character? This will give you the biggest connection to your theme. If you can answer this question with more than one theme, that’s fine, but you don’t want to have too many as that will make the character and their interactions seem scatterbrained.

Example 7:

-Family love

-Truth and lies

8. Message:

Like the theme, you don’t want to harp on this too much, and it often won’t survive the first draft/detailed outline. But this will give the character a good idea of how the character will look at their dilemmas and their thought process during dialogue/action/fun-bits. It will also show a bit of the character arc and something the character is wrestling with.

Usually this is related to one of the dilemmas, but it doesn’t have to be. Again, it will wash away with the later drafts/detailed outlines, and that is a good thing as it will keep it from being ham-handed.

For this, really think about what the dilemma (or dilemmas if you chose both of them) means to the character. What would making either choice mean? That will usually give you your message.

Example 8:

- The truth has consequences

9. Traits:

Traits are things that make the character special. They don’t have to be personal traits, but most of them will be. Sometimes, a trait can be an item or something that is special to the character. Negative traits are also important as they will help shape how the character reacts to certain situations.

First, let’s look at positive traits. What are two or three things that make the character stand out in a good way? You don’t want to give the character too many of these (though more will come up as the story progresses, and some of the negative traits can be turned into positive ones throughout the story), so try to stick to three at this point.

-Does the character have a magical power/special ability/item? Be detailed here.

-Why is this the character needed to be in this story?

Next, look at the character’s negative traits. What are two or three things that make the character a pain/stand out in a bad way? More is okay here, especially if you want to turn them into a character arc to correct them or add more conflict with them, but don’t just add them for no reason. These are as important, if not more important, than the positive traits, so be as detailed as you can here.

-You may even want to detail how the trait must be overcome for a happy ending.

Finally, go back over each of the traits and look at how they relate to the dilemmas, inciting incident and desires. Try to mold them a bit to have more synergy.

Example 9:

- Animal whisperer (magically)

-A loyal following on YouTube, getting about 500k views within the first day his videos are up

-A strong memory

-Doesn’t know how computers work

-Super Scottish accent to the point most Scottish people can’t understand him

-Dislikes smaller animals because they aren’t worth his time

-Never had a girlfriend

-Likes to hide in booze when things get tough

10. Elements that lead to change:

This is basically small bumps in the road that will alter where the character goes and how they may see the dilemmas differently. These are things that the character will have to overcome, maybe not move past or defeat, but things that must be dealt with before the story can progress to the conclusion.

Think about the things in the characters life:

-What are the other people in the story doing?

-What is something that jumps out of nowhere and tries to push the character off course?

-Any romance or other cross-genre elements?

-Any new/broken attachments?

-Anything surprising that makes the character thing differently?

These are important to give a bit of extra thought to since they will help shape how you’ll view the character arc.

Example 10:

- His Russian liaison and translator can understand him, and he falls in love with her

-Finds his dream when he sees the dragons and becomes attached to them at first sight

-Dragons are human whispers, but his power cancels it out, slowly overriding it

-Followers threatening to unsubscribe if he doesn’t release a new video soon

11. Immediate game changer:

This is something that changes everything for the character. If the dilemma seemed like an easy choice (even if awful) at first, this is something that makes it a much tougher decision. This is also something that throws everything the character knew, thought they knew or believed into the blender. This is also a hard stop for some of the character’s desires, and makes them question things.

Think of this as the brick wall that can’t be climbed over, and once the character got too close to it, the path behind them fell away. This is a major thing that will make them look at the world and themselves differently (in most cases), and it will (should) change how they look at the other characters, conflict and resolution.

-What will shake the character’s world?

Coming up with more than one of these is okay, but be careful not to overdo it, and the more there are, the longer the story will be.

Also, this doesn’t always make it to the first draft/detailed outline, (and often it is changed unless you are using this exercise like a story doctor) but it will give the character a second major moment (after the inciting incident) for change, and that is important for moving towards the end.

Example 11:

- The dragons whispered to Charles Darwin to make him keep them out of his studies, and they gave him the ideas for his Theory of Evolution

-Dragons manipulate evolution

12. Character development:

From the background to the inciting incident, to immediate game changer, the character will change. Their thoughts and ideas will change. Their plans and goals will change. Even some of their desires and relationships will change. For this section, you need to figure out how the character will be influenced by all this and come out after the immediate game changer?

-Will they be broken and ready to give up?

-Was that the hardening they needed to move forward?

-Does everything make sense?

Try to come up with at least one development to their plan and one emotional/relationship development for the character to go through, but try not to do more than four developments here. (More will come in the drafts and/or outlines, so it’s not all that important to harp on it here.)

Example 12:

- This revelation makes him want to train the dragons to take down Russia and save his brother

-Finds peace with Charles Darwin, moving from resentment to understanding

-Sees a blend between destiny and science

-So excited, starts dating his liaison and they have the fun-bits

13. Outcome:

This is where everything comes together. How will the character choose during the dilemmas? What will they use to reach the ‘happy’ third option where they make their own rules/choice?

A key here is to go back through this exercise and look for anything you hadn’t used/brought up after introducing it, and have it be a part of the conclusion/climax. This is another reason, while you may add more details in later on, you didn’t want to add too many here, as these are only the keys.

Often, this will not survive drafts/outlines, but it’s a good starting point for looking at the character.

Example 13:

- Once he gets the dragons trained for war, his liaison betrays him, taking the dragons with her back to the KGB. He stops himself from drowning himself in booze and hanks Milo for comforting him.

            He overcomes his disdain for smaller creatures and tells Milo he loves him and is sorry for not being able to save his brother. Milo transforms into a dragon, revealing that he’d been with the family since Charles Darwin, watching over them. But one dragon against hundreds isn’t enough, but this is when he, poorly, goes to his YouTube channel and calls out to his followers, bringing them down to South America.

            Milo transforms them into dragons (without the power to control evolution, but more the standard war type), and they fly on Russia, rescuing his brother and the dragons at the cost of Milo’s and the liaison’s lives. Despite her betrayal, he feels hurt by her loss and by the loss of Milo.

            In the end, the dragons return everyone to normal and transform themselves before (possibly) removing their ability to manipulate evolution. But his video calling out his followers exploded, pushing him over 10 million subscribers and the video going everywhere. The science community is devastated, and the world is not looking towards brighter days after the attack on Russia and this information.

14. Symbolism:

This is important to help tie your story down in reality. Think of things in our world that you can attach to your world to help create a hook for the reader that will help them suspend their disbelief. This doesn’t have to be anything major, just small things that will anchor your story.

-Answer the question: How will you add reality to this story?

Often, these will stick to the story, though they may not be apparent after several drafts/outlines, but they will be there to solidify your world and character.

Example 14:

- Truth hurts

-Accepting heritage and family

-Bonds of family will drive someone to do something awful

That is the basics of the character building exercise. It’s a good way to look at a new story, doctor an old story or go through a story you’re in the middle of to help shore things up.

I hope this helps and my explanations make sense.

Here are all the examples typed into one place to give you an idea of what it all looks like together. This was the group brainstormed character at WXR17, and I’m looking to write it soon, but if you feel the itch, go ahead and try it out.

1. Andy Paterson.

-27 years old.

-Brown hair and eyes, 5’8’’, goatee, wide shoulders and often wears black and green clothes.

-Always wears a flamboyant hat to draw attention.

-Has a tattoo of his original family name (Darwin) across his left breast.

2. Real world with hidden fantasy elements, starts in Scotland, moves to South America

-YouTube channel where he whispers to different animals

-Descendant of Charles Darwin, but his family has long since changed his name

-Has a brother who is also his YouTube editor and a hedgehog named Milo

3. The KGB shows up one day during filming, kidnaps his brother and gives him the secret diary of Charles Darwin that shows Dragons exist, and that it breaks the link of evolution.

4. Becomes paranoid

-Emotionally attached to Milo the hedgehog

-resentful of Charles Darwin

-Believes in destiny now

5. Train the dragons and give them to Russia or allow the KGB to kill his brother and protect the dragons

-Will he tell the world that his grandfather was wrong and that dragons exist

6. Wants to reach 1million YouTube subscribers

-Train unknown and great animals

-Train the dragons

-Save his brother

-Get revenge on the KGB

-Have people understand him without having to speak one word at a time or without subtitles

7. Family love

-Truth and lies

8. The truth has consequences

9. Animal whisperer (magically)

-A loyal following on YouTube, getting about 500k views within the first day his videos are up

-A strong memory

-Doesn’t know how computers work

-Super Scottish accent to the point most Scottish people can’t understand him

-Dislikes smaller animals because they aren’t worth his time

-Never had a girlfriend

-Likes to hide in booze when things get tough

10. His Russian liaison and translator can understand him, and he falls in love with her

-Finds his dream when he sees the dragons and becomes attached to them at first sight

-Dragons are human whispers, but his power cancels it out, slowly overriding it

-Followers threatening to unsubscribe if he doesn’t release a new video soon

11. The dragons whispered to Charles Darwin to make him keep them out of his studies, and they gave him the ideas for his Theory of Evolution

-Dragons manipulate evolution

12. This revelation makes him want to train the dragons to take down Russia and save his brother

-Finds peace with Charles Darwin, moving from resentment to understanding

-Sees a blend between destiny and science

-So excited, starts dating his liaison and they have the fun-bits

13. Once he gets the dragons trained for war, his liaison betrays him, taking the dragons with her back to the KGB. He stops himself from drowning himself in booze and hanks Milo for comforting him.

            He overcomes his disdain for smaller creatures and tells Milo he loves him and is sorry for not being able to save his brother. Milo transforms into a dragon, revealing that he’d been with the family since Charles Darwin, watching over them. But one dragon against hundreds isn’t enough, but this is when he, poorly, goes to his YouTube channel and calls out to his followers, bringing them down to South America.

            Milo transforms them into dragons (without the power to control evolution, but more the standard war type), and they fly on Russia, rescuing his brother and the dragons at the cost of Milo’s and the liaison’s lives. Despite her betrayal, he feels hurt by her loss and by the loss of Milo.

            In the end, the dragons return everyone to normal and transform themselves before (possibly) removing their ability to manipulate evolution. But his video calling out his followers exploded, pushing him over 10 million subscribers and the video going everywhere. The science community is devastated, and the world is not looking towards brighter days after the attack on Russia and this information.

14. Truth hurts

-Accepting heritage and family

-Bonds of family will drive someone to do something awful