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Part One

1. Have an end goal for the surprise pregnancy scene. Who is the character trying to impress? Why? and be  sure you know where this will lead to. It will be a ripple effect for the character(s) life.

»A.Decide whether the pregnancy is already known and being revealed to others or just discovered.

I.       Ever noticed on Youtube Vlog channels where the youtuber reveals their pregnancy? It’s still a surprise to the viewers but not to the vlogger. This surprise pregnancy can be done in many ways. Whether it’s a vlogger announcing to their fans or someone who has been away from home for months. Either way, it will be a surprise but the key target is other characters/people or even the reader. Keep that in mind.

II.       If the pregnancy is just being discovered by the character themselves,  you might go for a more intimate reveal, maybe to their husband, parents, etc. And, especially if the character was not expecting to get pregnant or want to get pregnant.  Show the emotions of everyone involved. Are they conflicting emotions? Does everyone seem happy about the surprise?

Example 1:
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»B. How is the pregnancy discovered?

I.           Location, time and activity is what you should consider when writing this surprise. Where is the character when all is revealed? The time of day can greatly effect the scene. During the morning the character might call in for work sick, then ditch town and take a road trip thinking about their “out-of-the blue” pregnancy. If it’s during the evening the character probably won’t be able to sleep from excitement or fear. They would toss and turn at the least. And maybe, if they found out at 12:04 p.m. that they were pregnant, it correlates to the time their best friend died that same day. Depending on what book you are writing, maybe the friend’s soul can enter the baby.

II.          How about the symptoms? Morning sickness? How about weight gain or mood swings? But it’s not only just physical and emotional. There is spiritual aspects as well. Maybe the character is more aware or things or intuitive. The character could have weird dreams, especially if they are giving birth to a  superhero :-).

III.       What is going on in the character’s mind. Most likely you’ve already covered this from the previous questions, but now emphasis the emotions.

Example 2:
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Part Two

2. How will this change the story? Ultimately how will this change their life?

»A. Will the baby itself be an important factor in the story?

I.        Having a baby will be the surprise and a shock, however once that shock is over how will the newborn live up to the hype? Is he/she just there for shock-value? What role does the baby play? You can emphasis this before you even have the baby born. For example, let’s say the baby is “the one” to save the world from aliens destroying it. Well, while the baby is in the character’s stomach maybe it kicks on Wednesdays, strange noises are heard on Fridays and people are already worshiping and giving the baby gifts. Whatever the case may be, keep in mind what is the ultimate reason the baby is being born. Even if it’s a surprise you can surely find a reason. Here is a number of reasons you can choose from:

A. The baby is going into adoption to the character’s aunt who couldn’t have her own child. The surprise pregnancy scared the teenage girl who was far too young to have her own. She instead, gave it to a beloved family member who would cherish the little bundle.

B. The baby will be born disfigured or with a medical problem and is “experimented on” by a medical genius who soon discovers that this baby’s condition has a unique answer to how to cure a certain cancer.

C. The man died in a tragic way and the woman found out she was pregnant three days later. She vows to raise her son/daughter to the best of her ability to make her deceased husband proud.

D. The baby is the only heir left to reclaim the throne of the fallen kingdom. He or she will lead their country to victory.

Example 3:
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»B. What is the deciding factor how and where the baby is born?

I.     Depending on your story this can go anywhere. This is important because it lays down the foundation to whatever story you are going to tell. For example, Tarzan was born in the jungle and even though he was meant to go back to the human world, something happened to his parents which eventually led him to be the king of the jungle. Simba, the lion, was born on pride rock. Even though his journey through life is with Simon and Pumba, away from his kingdom, in the back of the audience’s mind they know Simba will return to rock because that is his home. Or you can have a regular hospital birth. It can go both ways. Here are some examples you can use:

A. Baby born in the USA while immigrant parents are trying to get in the country. The woman has the baby but both her and her husband has to return to their third-world country. They make a deciding factor to give the baby up so they he may stay in the USA in hopes that one day he would be successful. The baby boy 20 years later becomes a powerful man and ends of finding his long-lost parents, bringing them back to the USA and even helping his country out. If his parents didn’t attempt to get into the US when they did, none of this would have happened.

B. Only healthy baby born in a toxic environment gives hope to the people. The baby is examined by medical professionals and it is discovered that it wasn’t the actual environment  that was toxic but a chemical being released by a business 40 miles away. And because the baby’s mother never drank the water from the river due to feeling ill right after, this baby was born healthy. Everyone soon stopped drinking the water and the business that was purposely throwing toxic chemicals into the river was shut down.

C. A baby born as Queen to a powerful country was sent off during a horrific war for protection. Most everyone in the kingdom died, the rest where made slaves. An odd turn events has the now-grown-baby as an unlikely master over her own people. Eventually, after discovering all of the similarities such as names, skin color, etc, the queen learns what happened to her kingdom and parents several years ago. Older and now wiser, the queen makes a plot with her people to retake the throne. She isn’t doing it for herself because she is already in a proper position, however she wants revenge for her parents and her people.

Example 4:  
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Part Three

3. What precautions is the female and male doing to prevent premature birth or any defects?

»A.How far does you character go to protect her unborn child?

I.       One of the greatest things you can do to your story is show the love of a mother and father for a child. Even more so, their unborn child. What do they do to make sure their child is born “perfect” in their eyes. If anything at all. It could be as simple as eating prenatal vitamins to only eating fruits and vegetables for 9 months.

This is important because it shows the great length your character is willing to go to protect their young. It gives the audience an idea of how important the child will be throughout the rest of the story. For example: At 3 years old, the mother is at work and her child gets a cold. By knowing what the mother did before the baby was born in order to protect the baby, the reader could take an educated guess that the mother would take off from work to help her child. Probably even take the kid to the doctor. However, if the mother/father did not care about the baby’s health, protection before he/she was born then towards the middle of the story the reader might suspect the mother will say “tell my child to suck it up and stop acting like a baby”, once she finds out her child is sick.

Here are some examples of ways a mother will NOT protect her baby before birth:

smoke or be around smokers on purpose, not eat proper foods, injure herself in any way, not take vitamins if needed, not go to the doctor if there are concerns, not prepare a place for the baby to sleep or stay when born, stays in an abusive relationship.

Here are some examples of ways a mother WILL protect her baby before birth:

eat healthy, work out but not aggressively, stay in clean environments, kill (if needed)to protect her womb, talk to her unborn baby, make sure she has a loving family to support her and her baby. 

 
II.     To make the story interesting you can add drama or shock-value, but try to do it tastefully. When it comes to the innocent such as babies and animals, people will not hesitate to comment on something they do not agree with. But again, it’s your story. Just make sure there is a reason behind it. For example, let’s say the mother was always trying to take her own life, even after the surprise pregnancy. But finally, midway comes to her senses and has a beautiful baby girl that makes her changer her life around. Or how about a murderer wants to attack the woman in her home but she does whatever it takes to save herself and her unborn child. So much so that it causes an early labor or worse a miscarriage! Many of your readers do not want this and there really needs to be a darn good reason it happened.

 
III.    If your book isn’t all about the everyday world, try adding some spooky stuff like the woman’s child is supposed to be a demon child but there is no way she is having an abortion. Not in her lifetime! Or, the baby will be a reincarnation of her husband’s recently deceased grandfather.

Example 5:

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»B. Include the baby shower, the perfect name search, and the “I love you already” talk.

I.          Whether you are writing a horror story or a love story, including the three above mentions should never fail. Well, assuming the mother loves her unborn child. What is the name of the child and how does it represent the future? What is given at the baby shower and lastly, have the woman talk to her stomach? This talk is important because it can potentially reveal a lot of back story, foreshadowing and such. Really think about it when you write it and it can come at any time. When she first finds out she is pregnant or right before giving birth. It doesn’t have to be very long but make it count.

II.        How is the man playing a part of this whole situation? Is he still around or did he bail? Does he come back when the baby is born to  surprise the woman with a nice home and place to live? Does he give his own “I love you already” speech. What does he bring to the plate if at all? And, maybe he names his child. If so, what does he want him/her to be called? And why? If it’s the reincarnation of his grandfather and the man and woman know about it through a psychic,  then the man can name the baby ‘John’ after his grandfather.

Example 6:
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Part Four

4. It’s about that time, Delivery Time that is.

»A. Location, Location, Location….. And timing :-).

I.           Where is the baby going to be born, who is around and what time of the day or what day of the month? You can also refer to the Birth Scene I’ve written. But for this scene in particular we are still focusing on the pregnancy. Here is a comparison:

A. Instead of focusing on the baby’s arrival at the hospital which would be for a birth scene, focus instead on the pain leading up and contractions. This way, you are still writing about the pregnancy.

B. Instead of focusing on the view around the mother such as the doctors, the man/husband pacing around the room nervous, you can focus on the thoughts of the pregnant woman. What is she thinking and feeling at that moment about the baby, about her pregnancy? Does she regret anything, does she wish someone was there? Then, when you want to transition into a Birth Scene simply focus on everything that is going on around her and the process of pushing the baby out.  In other words pregnancy is about the emotions of the mom mainly and birth scene is about the emotions and physical act of everyone involved.

Example 7:

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»B. Last Minute Pregnancy Traits?

I.          With pregnancy there is a lot that goes on with not only the woman but the baby (of course). So does the mother get a last minute craving for toast with butter? Or how about rub her belly five times for good luck before delivery? Here are some examples you can use:

A. Superstitions, cravings, songs to sing to unborn child, last minute restroom trip, a phone call needs to be made to a relative, breathing techniques, one last ultrasound, etc. Be creative. What is something your character does in her last few hours of pregnancy and do they have any impact at all on the baby?

Example 8: 
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