Posted on October 25, 2011 - by Shannon Vannatter
GMC: The Engine Behind Your Characters & Plot
GMC. The first time I heard of it, I’d signed with an agent. Back in 2002 with my original version of White Roses. She told me I should read GMC. I thought car. She patiently explained that it’s a book—GMC: Goals, Motivation, & Conflict by Debra Dixon. It was out of print, but I found a copy for $19.95. I was a stay at home mom and it wasn’t in our budget to pay that much for a used book.
Shortly afterward, the agent downsized her list and I was one of her clients that got cut. Looking back, I don’t know why she signed me. She’s a good agent, still in the business, and has sold a lot of books. All I can figure is that she saw promise, but soon realized she didn’t have enough time to polish a diamond in the rough. And I don’t blame her. I know now that my writing wasn’t anywhere near publishable then.
Fast forward to 2008. I went to the ACFW conference in Minneapolis, where I had a paid critique for Rodeo Dust with Margaret Daley. In my original version, my heroine is at the State Fair of Texas, touring livestock barns with a co-worker/date. Even though, she hates farm animals and she has a rule about not dating co-workers.
Margaret: “Why would the heroine go to place she doesn’t enjoy with a co-worker on a date when she has a rule not to date co-workers?”
Me: “So she can meet the hero there.”
Margaret: “You need to read GMC.”
Okay. I gave in. You don’t have to beat me over the head with it. When I got home, I ordered the book. By then, Debra Dixon had gotten the rights back and I got a new copy for $19.95.
I read it from cover to cover and discovered a whole new world. A world that makes everything your characters do—make sense. I changed it to where my Rodeo Dust heroine went with her brother to the fair because she wanted him to date her best friend. So she accompanied them, so it wouldn’t seem like a date and they could realize how much in common they had. See how much better that is?
I also worked out the GMC for White Roses and every other book I’d been reworking for years. Now, I carefully chart out my GMC before I start a book.
Most of the time anyway. I jumped into a story not too long ago, just because it had been bugging me for a long time. I wrote the first three chapters in a hurry, then had an editor express interest when I showed her the One Sheet. I sent it to my critters, Brenda, Lorna, and Jerri.
Brenda: “I don’t understand her goal.”
Me: “Oops. I just dashed it off and forgot to do the GMC.”
I worked out the GMC and made changes. Brenda liked it. And so did I
So for a short lesson:
G – Goal: This is what your character wants.
M – Motivation: This is why your character wants the goal.
C – Conflict: This is why your character can’t reach their goal.
My heroine wanted her brother to date her best friend because she wants them both to be happy, but they wouldn’t agree to go out on a date.
Thus my Rodeo Dust heroine tours the livestock barns, hating every minute of it. But her brother and best friend love it, proving that they should live happily ever after, just like she knew they should. It makes perfect sense for her to be there. And while she’s there, she meets the hero.
This is only the GMC for the first scene. Your GMC for the entire plot needs to have much more at stake. Something like, if the heroine doesn’t get her brother and best friend together, her brother will accept that job offer in China.
I could get into a lot more detail, but I believe that’s called plagiarism. In short, your story should have an over-arcing internal and external GMC. But each scene should have GMC also. If you work out the GMC for every scene, everything your character does will make perfect sense.
Maybe if I’d have gotten the book back in 2002, I’d have sold White Roses in 2003 instead of 2009.
To get into all the intricacies of internal and external GMC, I highly recommend the book. This is one of the few craft books that doesn’t make my brain glaze over. It’s all laid out in a simple, easy to understand format. Debra Dixon is now an acquisitions editor at a publishing house. And since 2008, I’ve had editors actually ask me about my characters’ GMC during pitch sessions.
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White Pearls by Shannon Taylor Vannatter
Shell doesn't have a good reputation...But no matter what everyone in Rose Bud, Arkansas, thinks of her, she's back in town with a job to do. She'll stick it out and make the best of things. But why does Ryler have to be the landscaper on this project? She was just getting her heart under control. Ryler has his own reasons for being in Rose Bud, and they don't include Shell. Spying on his birth family was going to be hard enough. He doesn't have time to worry about a woman who dumped him...even if his heart says otherwise. McKenzie’s Branson Brainteaser by Shari Barr
McKenzie and Sydney meet in Branson, Missouri, where McKenzie has been recruited to help at the Dixie Stampede. While the girls take in the sights and sounds of Silver Dollar City, they become involved in a search to find a teen girl’s long lost uncle–who is rumored to have settled near the Branson area. With no clue other than a whittled necklace with an “SS” on the back, how will they ever reunite Shara with her uncle? The Camp Club girls are on the case, and they’re not about to give up until they close the gap and reconnect Shara’s family.
The Prodigal Daughter by Linda Fulkerson
Ruled by despair, remorse, and anger, the author’s life had become a classic rendition of the cliché “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” Desperate. Overwhelmed. Isolated. Trapped. She hit bottom.
On the elevator of life, those descending will all exit on different levels–some much lower than others. You don’t have to go all the way to the bottom. Stop now and push the “up” button. This book will show you how!
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October 25, 2011
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Brenda Anderson said:
Don’t you wish we’d learn to take the hint the first time around? Sometimes I have to hear something umpteen times before it sinks in. It only took you twice.
It’s no surprise that you’re now educating others on GMC. When we have to really study something to grasp the concept rather than doing it innately, it’s far easier to teach.
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October 25, 2011
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Lorna said:
Shannon, would you believe I haven’t read Dixon’s book? I’ve just read about a hundred articles about it.LOL
GMC is so important! I got to teach about it to a group of middle school students the other day. They could certainly relate to a character having a goal and a motivation to reach it. They especially understood that conflict represents the objects in the character’s path. When you think about it, the whole junior high experience screams GMC.
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October 25, 2011
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Shannon Taylor Vannatter said:
Brenda,
Trust me there are other things I had to hear umpteen times before it sank in. And with that last project, I forgot my GMC.
Lorna,
I’ve even reread it a few times and it’s one of those craft books I’ll always hold on to. Your class for the school sounded really fun. Ugh Junior high is GMC lived out loud.
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October 25, 2011
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Lori Benton said:
Great post, and very timely for me as I just started editing my current first draft yesterday, with strengthening these gmcs in mind. I find that even if I haven’t pulled these threads to the fore as much as possible in my first draft, they are there hidden in the weave and just need to be carefully plucked front and center.
And speaking of weaving… since I mentioned this topic in my blog post today, I linked to yours here, Shannon.
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October 25, 2011
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Stephanie Prichard said:
Oh dear! I bought the book but never got around to reading it. Like Lorna, I’ve been exposed to the teaching through other sources, but now I’m running to my book shelf and transferring GMC to my bedside table. Hoo–I’d forgotten I’d spent $19.95 for it!
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October 25, 2011
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JerriLynn said:
Ya know…this is the second time in as many months that that book has come up. GMC. Need to order it. Definitely need to read it.
But Lorna, you did a fantastic job of covering the basics of it. And I’m going to put what you’ve taught to work until I get the book in. I’m still working out all of the kinks in the Biloxi Blues book…but now I think I know why!
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October 25, 2011
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Shannon Taylor Vannatter said:
Lori,
That’s exactly what I do. I plan the over-arcing internal and external GMC pre-book. Then after I write each scene, I go back and check the GMC for each scene. It’s there, but sometimes I have to highlight it.
Stephanie,
It’s well worth the price!
Jerri,
The book goes so much more in depth. It’s one of those, I keep going back to when I get stuck.
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October 25, 2011
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Regina Merrick said:
I actually found GMC through inter-library loan. Fortunately, since it IS a non-fiction book, it’s fairly short, and since it’s a WRITING book, easy to read.
It definitely made me re-evaluate especially my opening scenes.
Thanks for the reminder – I really need to get my own copy …
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October 25, 2011
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Brenda Anderson said:
I just did a search for the book. Unfortunately it’s out of print again and the cheapest I found is over $50! Guess I’ll just have to learn from Shannon.
If someone can find it cheaper, let us know.
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October 25, 2011
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Shannon Taylor Vannatter said:
Regina,
It must be really cool to be a librarian and have so much access to so many books. Just not enough time.
Brenda,
Here’s the link: http://www.gryphonbooksforwriters.com/?page=shop/flypage&wt=1.00&product_id=23&CLSN_1737=1319571579173727f924cd3f59b79a9c. $19.95
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October 26, 2011
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Dawn Ford said:
I understand the concept but still struggle once in awhile. Since I also seem to collect how to write books, I’ll order this one as well and see what I’m still missing.
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October 26, 2011
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Stephanie Ludwig said:
Thanks for this post! I’ve never read GMC, but I like the ideas. I even applied a few to my editing last night, and ended up cutting a few pages of a scene that I determined didn’t really utilize these tools. It wasn’t even a great scene to leave “just for fun.” Thanks!
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October 27, 2011
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Kav said:
Lovely concise explanation, Shannon, even if I am reading it two days late! It’s been that kind of week? Where did the days go???? I’m glad you said you can have multiple GMCs because I was wondering about that. Do you do it only for your hero and heroine or do you do it for some of your secondary characters as well?
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October 27, 2011
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Shannon Taylor Vannatter said:
Dawn,
I get muddled sometimes and have to thumb through the book again.
Stephanie,
Glad it helped.
Kav,
I only do GMC on my main characters. But I know writers who do it for their secondary characters too. So whatever works for you is my advice.
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October 28, 2011
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Marianne said:
Thanks, i will read novels entirely different from here on in, Shannon. And hopefully it will show in my blog.
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October 28, 2011
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Shannon Taylor Vannatter said:
Marianne,
The only thing with learning about writing is that it changes your reading experience. I’m always editing as I read instead of just enjoying.