March 2014: Goal, Motivation and Conflict with Madeline McBride


Are your characters’ goals and conflict strong enough to carry the story? This interactive craft workshop will help you describe what your characters want, the stakes, and what’s stopping them from reaching their goals.

In an exercise using a simple template, you’ll identify your hero and heroine’s internal and external goals, motivations, consequences/stakes, and conflict (GMCC). Those willing to share will have the opportunity to get feedback on their work-in-progress’ GMCCs. The resulting comprehensive GMCC sentences, one for each character, can be key elements of pitches.

Madelle has learned a few tricks since she last gave the workshop to ORWA. Advanced writers can use another, more complex template to link GMCC to theme and H/H wounds. An example using her current WIP will be provided.

This workshop is based on Debra Dixon’s fabulous book GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict, arguably an essential craft resource for genre fiction writers.

About Madeline McBride

Madeline McBride, current President of ORWA, writes as Madelle Morgan. She’s completed five books, although three were for practice as she honed her craft! Her debut romantic suspense, Diamond Lust, was published by Ellora’s Cave in 2010. After retiring from her job as an engineer and manager in 2012, she decided to write a series of hot contemporary romance novellas set in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada’s summer playground of the rich and famous. She’s currently writing the second with a view to self-publishing three novellas back-to-back in e-book and audio formats in 2014. She interviews authors and blogs on writing at RomancingtheGenres.blogspot.ca the second Tuesday of the month. Find out more about Madelle at MadelleMorgan.com.

Event Details

March 2, 2014 at 2:00 PM

Hall D, Mlacak Community Centre, Beaverbrook Kanata