You know what's great? That moment when you sit down at your computer (or maybe go old school with a pen and paper) and start writing that absolutely, perfect idea and the angels sing and chorus because perfection is spreading out from your fingers like-
Oh what's that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of my daydream.
The above is pretty much what my non-writer friends seem to think book writing is about. Ha, I tell them, hahahahahahahaha. Yeah right. Problem is, somewhere along the way I fell into the trap that there's actually a perfect idea out there and that until I find it I don't really have to finish novels or stay attached to any other idea. Because once my perfect idea comes along, well, then everything will be dandy. First ever novel completed? Done. Having absolutely no writer's block the whole time? Totally done. The words being so awesome I barely need to rewrite? Absolutely.
Back in the day I was just a bit...uninformed shall we say?
Because that's the thing. There is absolutely no perfect idea. It doesn't exist. Oh don't get me wrong, there are ideas that are way better than others and some that are going to seem beautiful to writers because they just give us giddy butterflies. But, none of them are perfect. Frankly, waiting around for that perfect idea is kind of worthless. What do you do in that time? How many projects are dropped for the seemingly perfect idea that came along and turned out not to be perfect?
As a matter of fact, that's what I'm going through right now. I've got the idea, but it's the first chapter that's deciding to kick my butt. Nothing seems "right". I must have rewritten it...five times at least, and it's only been a few weeks. In fact, I'm so caught up in the perfection aspect of the first chapter I haven't even made it to 1k yet.
In short, I kind of suck. But I'm also in a great position to give advice. *Claps hands* See, what an author needs to realize is even if they don't think their idea is perfect, even if they think an idea's lame and there's a shiny, better idea just waiting for them, well, the thing is, someone's going to find your story perfect.
Really.
There is at least one person out there who will find that story perfect. And I know, there's the whole "write for yourself" thing and that is important, but you know what else is? Knowing that out there, just like that soulmate some people think exist, there's a person who's eagerly awaiting a book like yours. So write that book, and smile at the rough edges and imperfections, because those are what make up the beauty of the book.
Keep on writing on,
Jen
Friday, January 24, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Oh...I've Been Impaled.
+1 if you get the Frozen reference. Anyone else see that movie, because the writer in me went absolutely gaga over it. Multi-dimsensional villains (who I was rooting for, dangit!) princesses/queens who are more like real eighteen- and twenty-one-year-old girls, and OLAF. So if you haven't seen it yet, it gets two thumbs up. It'd get more if I had more thumbs.
But segueing into my topic for today, I've chosen one of my favorite Olaf quotes. Yes, an adorable little snowman with no concept of melting while he chases summer talks about being run through with an icicle. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. Hannah can attest.
All things Disney aside, as there hasn't been too much violence since The Hunchback of Notre Dame (which still scares me even though I saw it yesterday), I feel like something about humankind's innate ability to destroy itself needs to be said:
Violence=/=strength.
Especially in the YA genre, it seems like for anyone to be considered a strong character they need to be able to slice a man's head off or kill a dozen men without blinking. The idea that violence makes a strong character just needs to go. It's almost as bad as the idea that wearing large, thick-framed glasses makes you a hipster.
Am I say no violence? Of course not. Violence, as I mentioned before, is part of our nature. Whether it's protecting those dear to us, fighting those who threaten us, or killing those who have taken things from us, humans are pretty good at figuring out how to make other humans hurt. And especially in some genres, like dystopian, fantasy, or science fiction, violence is necessary. The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones just wouldn't be the same without the constant death and dying.
But there are many different types of strength. I mean, I could probably knock you out, but physical strength isn't really my thing. But I will make you hurt in an intellectual smack down like no other. My strength lies in my brain. I'd be the fighter who would go for the solar plexus (muscle beneath the ribcage) instead of the face because I know some physiology and know that a jab to the solar plexus causes a body to automatically collapse, and the face generally just pisses the other guy off. Physical strength is the most predominant in YA literature, but there's intellectual, emotional, moral, and many more types of strength.
I mean, just look at Divergent. Tris needed to become a badass fighter and able to kill on sight just for anyone to take her seriously. Half of the popular female characters nowadays are either sleazy or badass, and I think we can all agree that girls are definitely more shades of human than that, as are men. Not to mention that considering violence strength is what causes gang violence and a lot of male aggression, as boys are taught to 'be a man' by being aggressive and 'strong'. But that's a psychology lesson I don't need to teach.
So if you're a writer, please do me this favor: make characters 'strong' without making them cutthroat. One or two is okay, but a whole cast of badasses is pretty unrealistic (usually) and not everyone is cut out to fight. Make them ruthless and cunning, make them scary smart, make them able to take any sort of obstacle and turn it right back around at their opponent. Violence should be used more like a garnish on a steak instead of serving violence with a side of blood and gore. Don't make it a crutch for your plot or a character, use it tastefully so you don't overwhelm the flavor of the book.
And if you're a reader, let the industry know that you expect more than some sweaty badasses swapping one-liners as they systematically murder dozens of people. You're the ones we're all listening to, the ones that make the cogs in the machine work. Use your business as your voice that you want strength in different forms. Because there's more to the world than violence and cruelty.
Live long and prosper,
Brie
But segueing into my topic for today, I've chosen one of my favorite Olaf quotes. Yes, an adorable little snowman with no concept of melting while he chases summer talks about being run through with an icicle. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. Hannah can attest.
All things Disney aside, as there hasn't been too much violence since The Hunchback of Notre Dame (which still scares me even though I saw it yesterday), I feel like something about humankind's innate ability to destroy itself needs to be said:
Violence=/=strength.
Especially in the YA genre, it seems like for anyone to be considered a strong character they need to be able to slice a man's head off or kill a dozen men without blinking. The idea that violence makes a strong character just needs to go. It's almost as bad as the idea that wearing large, thick-framed glasses makes you a hipster.
Am I say no violence? Of course not. Violence, as I mentioned before, is part of our nature. Whether it's protecting those dear to us, fighting those who threaten us, or killing those who have taken things from us, humans are pretty good at figuring out how to make other humans hurt. And especially in some genres, like dystopian, fantasy, or science fiction, violence is necessary. The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones just wouldn't be the same without the constant death and dying.
But there are many different types of strength. I mean, I could probably knock you out, but physical strength isn't really my thing. But I will make you hurt in an intellectual smack down like no other. My strength lies in my brain. I'd be the fighter who would go for the solar plexus (muscle beneath the ribcage) instead of the face because I know some physiology and know that a jab to the solar plexus causes a body to automatically collapse, and the face generally just pisses the other guy off. Physical strength is the most predominant in YA literature, but there's intellectual, emotional, moral, and many more types of strength.
I mean, just look at Divergent. Tris needed to become a badass fighter and able to kill on sight just for anyone to take her seriously. Half of the popular female characters nowadays are either sleazy or badass, and I think we can all agree that girls are definitely more shades of human than that, as are men. Not to mention that considering violence strength is what causes gang violence and a lot of male aggression, as boys are taught to 'be a man' by being aggressive and 'strong'. But that's a psychology lesson I don't need to teach.
So if you're a writer, please do me this favor: make characters 'strong' without making them cutthroat. One or two is okay, but a whole cast of badasses is pretty unrealistic (usually) and not everyone is cut out to fight. Make them ruthless and cunning, make them scary smart, make them able to take any sort of obstacle and turn it right back around at their opponent. Violence should be used more like a garnish on a steak instead of serving violence with a side of blood and gore. Don't make it a crutch for your plot or a character, use it tastefully so you don't overwhelm the flavor of the book.
And if you're a reader, let the industry know that you expect more than some sweaty badasses swapping one-liners as they systematically murder dozens of people. You're the ones we're all listening to, the ones that make the cogs in the machine work. Use your business as your voice that you want strength in different forms. Because there's more to the world than violence and cruelty.
Live long and prosper,
Brie
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Happy New Characters-I Mean Year!
"We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!"
I think I'm going to make it a thing that I'll start off my posts with song lyrics of some kind. Because there are some really cool songs out there with lyrics that just inspire me. Some will come from songs I listen to all the time and find relevant to the post. Some will be from songs I've just heard of. Some will be completely random and have nothing to do with the post, but they sound cool and I go with it.
Speaking of going with it, I figured I'd make my first post about how to go with your characters.
As the writer of your novel (or short story or poem or whatever you are writing) you have the power to create the characters and give them personality. You can make them look the way you want them to look, talk the way you want them to talk, and have the same little habits that you saw that person at the mall do. But, and I know this from experience, your characters will change while you write. Even if you try not to. You can say at the beginning that your antagonist (the villain of the story 99% of the time) is going to be heartless and cruel and that he will love no one and he'll kick puppies when he's not destroying villages. But over the course of the story (which is easier to say than novel/short story/poem), maybe he'll become more 'human'. Maybe he'll fall in love or you'll add that he has a daughter or granddaughter (Catching Fire movie, anyone?) or he'll decide that puppies are too cute to keep kicking. And then he'll still be your antagonist, but he won't be the same antagonist you started with. So you might have to change the outcome of the story. Or you might not, depending on how much he changes. So here are some tips for what to do when your characters start to change without your permission:
1. THEY ARE STILL YOUR CHARACTER. Sticking with the antagonist, even though they are definitely not the only type of character that can change, if your bad guy suddenly decides that he wants to get married, let him get married. It doesn't matter if everything about them changes, from how they look to their name, they are still that character you came up with and they always will be.
2. IF YOUR CHARACTER WANTS TO CHANGE, LET THEM. Say that your villain (let's call him Bob) wants to dye his hair from blonde to black so he looks creepier. Let him. See where the black hair takes you in the story. Maybe him having black hair will make your protagonist (the hero) think that maybe Bob is their father or brother or creepy uncle. Maybe this could lead to some little plot twist you wanted to add but never really thought about.
3. IF THEY TRY TO CHANGE AND YOU HONESTLY DON'T WANT THEM TO, YOU CAN CHANGE THEM BACK. Yes, it would be very hard to dye Bob's hair back to blonde after the black dye has sunk in, but it's still possible. Just get it bleached. I'll use the example of one of my main characters in Fabricate, Derrick. Without spoiling anything, he used to be this old-fashioned, country-lookin' guy with dark brown eyes who was an all around good guy. Then, he wanted to be the bad guy and turn against Risa halfway through the trilogy. Maybe he'd join the antagonist. But then I decided that I liked him better as the good guy, so I made him mostly good with a dark side he doesn't want anyone to know about.
4. THE ENDING OF THE STORY CAN STAY THE SAME. Just because something about Bob changed doesn't mean that the ending of the story has to change. Bob can still get shoved off a cliff into a tent of man-eating zombies.
5. OR IT COULD CHANGE DRAMATICALLY. Or Bob could end up winning, taking over the world, and killing your protagonist. Just because the character changes doesn't mean the whole story has to change. But maybe you want it to change.
You control the story. The characters could change up until the day you send the complete edited manuscript to the publishing company that will publish your story. But you can still control the outcome of your story.
Thanks for reading this! I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and that next year will be filled with awesomeness and plenty of writing around! Drink some champagne for me (if you're allowed to)!
Jessie
Saturday, December 28, 2013
The Elusive Pitch Writing Process
Ah pitch writing. It's a necessary evil. For some, it's the last thing they do when they decide to write; they'd rather be immersed in the story, knee deep in a fantasy of their own creation. For others, like me, it's the first thing they do when they get an idea. I absolutely need to write the pitch because that's my touchstone, my point of direction.
Over the years, I've tried really honing those skills and I like to think I've gone from incoherent chaos to something more streamlined. Anyway, it was a while ago I was asked by someone for pitch writing advice, and I detailed for her the steps I follow to write out a pitch. Today, with the new year nearly upon us and lots of new ideas that will need writing, I figured I'd share.
Note: These tips won't work for everyone but at the very least it's going to get you thinking which is always the goal.
Note Two: The idea I use for an example is a very old idea of mine, one that sadly never really did come to fruition. Still had a nice pitch though. Right, back to the actual post...
1. Start with a firm idea in your head.
2. Get a first sentence. This first sentence does not need to be part of the pitch. For my example, I had the sentence "Mina becomes a servant of Saint Rowan dealing in bones and spirits but longs to be free." This is a simple summary, a directional sentence for me to refer to.
3. Aim for around 3-4 short paragraphs for your pitch.
4. The first paragraph I write must do a few things.
And the second paragraph "Mina is something much more than human but much less than otherworldly. She is a girl that deals in shadows and spirits, that curses and heals. She may be a solider for Os Ari, but she serves only the Saints."
As you can see I introduce the MC and the background.
5. The second (or third paragraph if you've split up the first paragraph into two parts, which is what I did) must introduce the conflict of the novel. But be sure not to just give it all away. This is a delicate balance that can take time to figure out. There's a line between mysterious and being too vague and giving information and not info dumping. I wish I had magical advice on how to achieve this, but really it's all trial and error. Again using the same example:
"It is a deadly secret she harbours. Magic, Saint serving, is outlawed in the nation and when Mina is found out she is sure she'll be put to death and finally meet her maker. What she doesn't expect is the Prince of Os Ari saving her life and then striking his own deal with her."
The conflict has been introduced as you can see. Mina's magic has been found out but instead of being killed, she's suddenly got a deal on the table by none other than the Prince of the nation. This also gives the reader insight into where the real meat of the book is going to be.
6. Lastly the last paragraph (third or fourth) must wrap everything up in a tight little bow. Like an essay it needs to summarize the pitch and ask the questions that are cropping up based on your character's conflict and who you have made them out to be in that first paragraph.
"He thinks she can help save the nation. She thinks it's a longshot. But she owes him her freedom and for Mina, no debt is left unpaid. Even if that means becoming a monster herself."
I wouldn't use more than a max of five sentences for that final paragraph. Make it short and snappy. And absolutely make sure that last line grips readers in and makes them want to know what is going to happen.
My last line asks the question, will Mina truly give in to that darkness in her heart? Is there any hope of stopping her? You want the reader to ask those questions at the end of your pitch so they'll read it in search of those answers.
So that's really it. Hopefully this is a helpful guide and gets you in that pitch writing mood!
Happy Holidays,
Jen
Over the years, I've tried really honing those skills and I like to think I've gone from incoherent chaos to something more streamlined. Anyway, it was a while ago I was asked by someone for pitch writing advice, and I detailed for her the steps I follow to write out a pitch. Today, with the new year nearly upon us and lots of new ideas that will need writing, I figured I'd share.
Note: These tips won't work for everyone but at the very least it's going to get you thinking which is always the goal.
Note Two: The idea I use for an example is a very old idea of mine, one that sadly never really did come to fruition. Still had a nice pitch though. Right, back to the actual post...
1. Start with a firm idea in your head.
2. Get a first sentence. This first sentence does not need to be part of the pitch. For my example, I had the sentence "Mina becomes a servant of Saint Rowan dealing in bones and spirits but longs to be free." This is a simple summary, a directional sentence for me to refer to.
3. Aim for around 3-4 short paragraphs for your pitch.
4. The first paragraph I write must do a few things.
- Introduce the main character
- Introduce who they are/background on their character/plot depending.
- Get them to the present day of the story
And the second paragraph "Mina is something much more than human but much less than otherworldly. She is a girl that deals in shadows and spirits, that curses and heals. She may be a solider for Os Ari, but she serves only the Saints."
As you can see I introduce the MC and the background.
5. The second (or third paragraph if you've split up the first paragraph into two parts, which is what I did) must introduce the conflict of the novel. But be sure not to just give it all away. This is a delicate balance that can take time to figure out. There's a line between mysterious and being too vague and giving information and not info dumping. I wish I had magical advice on how to achieve this, but really it's all trial and error. Again using the same example:
"It is a deadly secret she harbours. Magic, Saint serving, is outlawed in the nation and when Mina is found out she is sure she'll be put to death and finally meet her maker. What she doesn't expect is the Prince of Os Ari saving her life and then striking his own deal with her."
The conflict has been introduced as you can see. Mina's magic has been found out but instead of being killed, she's suddenly got a deal on the table by none other than the Prince of the nation. This also gives the reader insight into where the real meat of the book is going to be.
6. Lastly the last paragraph (third or fourth) must wrap everything up in a tight little bow. Like an essay it needs to summarize the pitch and ask the questions that are cropping up based on your character's conflict and who you have made them out to be in that first paragraph.
"He thinks she can help save the nation. She thinks it's a longshot. But she owes him her freedom and for Mina, no debt is left unpaid. Even if that means becoming a monster herself."
I wouldn't use more than a max of five sentences for that final paragraph. Make it short and snappy. And absolutely make sure that last line grips readers in and makes them want to know what is going to happen.
My last line asks the question, will Mina truly give in to that darkness in her heart? Is there any hope of stopping her? You want the reader to ask those questions at the end of your pitch so they'll read it in search of those answers.
So that's really it. Hopefully this is a helpful guide and gets you in that pitch writing mood!
Happy Holidays,
Jen
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Writing Style: With Panache
One of the many things that I've noticed about the writing industry - and the conception of a writer's talent in general - is the critique of their style. But before I get too deep into this post, there's one question I have to answer first: What is 'style', exactly?
Technically speaking, a writer's style is kind of like their trademark. It's the specific way a novel, poem, or other piece of literature is written. It's very easy to spot in poetry, with the breaking up of lines and isolation of important words. It's harder in prose, but if you look, you can see how an author writes. Are their lines flowy, do they spend time describing their surroundings or talking about nature instead of the action, are they generally specific about what their characters or subjects look like, or do they leave that up to you?
And what seems to be a common misconception is that a writer is only good if their writing is almost poetry- flowing lines, deep meanings interwoven into vague passages that allude to several things at once and if it isn't just like one of the classics you read in high school or college, it's literary trash.
That's probably the most horrendously wrong and slanderous conception I've ever heard. Really, you're judging the quality of a piece on whether it's flowy or not? I've read prose so purple I'm surprised it's not part of a Baltimore Ravens jersey or something, it says nothing but it says it beautifully. The beauty of a piece isn't necessarily the value. Are those qualities nice? Absolutely. In fact, James Joyce is a champ at that kind of writing, as is Thoreau and a couple other staple authors you'd find in a high school or college curriculum. But it's not the only way to write. The author's style has to match the piece they're writing. I mean, can you imagine if The Hunger Games, Divergent, Harry Potter, or other bombshell literary pieces were written like that? No one would have read through the second book of Harry Potter because the audience would get bored (a seven-year-old reading about how beautiful the grounds were? Please.) and in the case of the others, the style doesn't match. Katniss wouldn't be marveling at how absolutely like the tragedy of Julius Caesar her story was, and Tris would most definitely not even bat an eyelash considering the grace with which her combat opponent moved. That's not how their stories work.
What should define a writer's worth, at least in my opinion, is how a writer's style enhances their story. It should complement it, make the reader jump right into the pages with the protagonist and take on the ride with them. That feeling, that 'oh my gosh, that just happened. Oh wait. It didn't, really' sensation is what marks a brilliant writer. J.K. Rowling's prose is by no means illustrious. But she wrote the Harry Potter series for children, for goodness sakes. It was meant to connect with the child, to take them on this magical adventure with the Golden Trio and teach them some things about life along the way. Most people I know still have that nostalgic love for the books well into their late teens and twenties. The books certainly aren't for us, anymore. But the mark of a good writer is the impact their style has on the reader.
Let me explain a little further.
Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games) and Veronica Roth (Divergent) have a similar style when they write their dystopians. Short. Punchy. Emotive. There aren't many passages describing the setting unless Tris is on a zipline zooming over Chicago or Katniss is looking for a place to sleep in the arena. They're far more concerned with their own safety, the actions of others, the implications those actions have on them. In their world, the setting doesn't matter so much as whether the guy next to them has a weapon or the people leading them have their heads in the right place. It may seem like low-level reading because the sentences are relatively simple and the words aren't high-powered SAT vocabulary, but so what?
When Peeta ran into the arena wall and his heart stopped, mine did. When Tris initially jumped from the roof into the Dauntless pit, I felt my own fear of heights spring up and paralyze my chest. I stopped breathing for a couple seconds. That is the mark of good writing.
And more than that, an author's style changes. There will always be similar elements to it, but with each new story, the style has to alter. Collins does it between her fantasy books and The Hunger Games. Rowling between Harry Potter and The Vacancy. In fact, that was my main challenge with my current work, because I'm actually more intelligent than my protagonist. I mean, don't get me wrong, she's cleverer than I'll ever be, but she went to a trade school, she barely had formal education like I've been privileged to have. So her style of thought and therefore my writing style can't be constantly perceiving all these settings that don't matter to her, or the fact that elements of her world come from the world I've studied. How would she know about these? She never learned. But what she does know is what's in front of her. She thinks in fragments, logically, and she highlights on important aspects of the world around her. I've never had a character like her before, the rest have all been educated to some degree and never in a world so dystopian or dangerous as hers. My style had to change from some flowing descriptions and tons of inner thought to more dialogue, more analysis of what others said. But I don't think she could be written another way. I can see it in the writing of the other lovely ladies here, they're all writing differently. But they tell their stories in the best style for the story. I've wanted to smack certain ones for killing off characters I love or for writing such a heartless dialogue exchange. They're not all writing Joyce-like run-ons with allusions enough to fill half a page with footnotes, but they make their stories come alive.
In short, don't judge a writer by his or her style. It could be short fragments all the way or long run-ons until the cows come home. Their writing does, however, need panache: lots of energy and style, their own style that works. Style isn't the indicator of good literature, it's part of what makes literature good. When different combinations of twenty-six letters make you cry, make you want to throw a book at a wall, that's good literature. That's good style.
Go forth and conquer,
Brie
Technically speaking, a writer's style is kind of like their trademark. It's the specific way a novel, poem, or other piece of literature is written. It's very easy to spot in poetry, with the breaking up of lines and isolation of important words. It's harder in prose, but if you look, you can see how an author writes. Are their lines flowy, do they spend time describing their surroundings or talking about nature instead of the action, are they generally specific about what their characters or subjects look like, or do they leave that up to you?
And what seems to be a common misconception is that a writer is only good if their writing is almost poetry- flowing lines, deep meanings interwoven into vague passages that allude to several things at once and if it isn't just like one of the classics you read in high school or college, it's literary trash.
That's probably the most horrendously wrong and slanderous conception I've ever heard. Really, you're judging the quality of a piece on whether it's flowy or not? I've read prose so purple I'm surprised it's not part of a Baltimore Ravens jersey or something, it says nothing but it says it beautifully. The beauty of a piece isn't necessarily the value. Are those qualities nice? Absolutely. In fact, James Joyce is a champ at that kind of writing, as is Thoreau and a couple other staple authors you'd find in a high school or college curriculum. But it's not the only way to write. The author's style has to match the piece they're writing. I mean, can you imagine if The Hunger Games, Divergent, Harry Potter, or other bombshell literary pieces were written like that? No one would have read through the second book of Harry Potter because the audience would get bored (a seven-year-old reading about how beautiful the grounds were? Please.) and in the case of the others, the style doesn't match. Katniss wouldn't be marveling at how absolutely like the tragedy of Julius Caesar her story was, and Tris would most definitely not even bat an eyelash considering the grace with which her combat opponent moved. That's not how their stories work.
What should define a writer's worth, at least in my opinion, is how a writer's style enhances their story. It should complement it, make the reader jump right into the pages with the protagonist and take on the ride with them. That feeling, that 'oh my gosh, that just happened. Oh wait. It didn't, really' sensation is what marks a brilliant writer. J.K. Rowling's prose is by no means illustrious. But she wrote the Harry Potter series for children, for goodness sakes. It was meant to connect with the child, to take them on this magical adventure with the Golden Trio and teach them some things about life along the way. Most people I know still have that nostalgic love for the books well into their late teens and twenties. The books certainly aren't for us, anymore. But the mark of a good writer is the impact their style has on the reader.
Let me explain a little further.
Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games) and Veronica Roth (Divergent) have a similar style when they write their dystopians. Short. Punchy. Emotive. There aren't many passages describing the setting unless Tris is on a zipline zooming over Chicago or Katniss is looking for a place to sleep in the arena. They're far more concerned with their own safety, the actions of others, the implications those actions have on them. In their world, the setting doesn't matter so much as whether the guy next to them has a weapon or the people leading them have their heads in the right place. It may seem like low-level reading because the sentences are relatively simple and the words aren't high-powered SAT vocabulary, but so what?
When Peeta ran into the arena wall and his heart stopped, mine did. When Tris initially jumped from the roof into the Dauntless pit, I felt my own fear of heights spring up and paralyze my chest. I stopped breathing for a couple seconds. That is the mark of good writing.
And more than that, an author's style changes. There will always be similar elements to it, but with each new story, the style has to alter. Collins does it between her fantasy books and The Hunger Games. Rowling between Harry Potter and The Vacancy. In fact, that was my main challenge with my current work, because I'm actually more intelligent than my protagonist. I mean, don't get me wrong, she's cleverer than I'll ever be, but she went to a trade school, she barely had formal education like I've been privileged to have. So her style of thought and therefore my writing style can't be constantly perceiving all these settings that don't matter to her, or the fact that elements of her world come from the world I've studied. How would she know about these? She never learned. But what she does know is what's in front of her. She thinks in fragments, logically, and she highlights on important aspects of the world around her. I've never had a character like her before, the rest have all been educated to some degree and never in a world so dystopian or dangerous as hers. My style had to change from some flowing descriptions and tons of inner thought to more dialogue, more analysis of what others said. But I don't think she could be written another way. I can see it in the writing of the other lovely ladies here, they're all writing differently. But they tell their stories in the best style for the story. I've wanted to smack certain ones for killing off characters I love or for writing such a heartless dialogue exchange. They're not all writing Joyce-like run-ons with allusions enough to fill half a page with footnotes, but they make their stories come alive.
In short, don't judge a writer by his or her style. It could be short fragments all the way or long run-ons until the cows come home. Their writing does, however, need panache: lots of energy and style, their own style that works. Style isn't the indicator of good literature, it's part of what makes literature good. When different combinations of twenty-six letters make you cry, make you want to throw a book at a wall, that's good literature. That's good style.
Go forth and conquer,
Brie
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
The Night Before . . .
Alas, we have finally reached the day commonly known as Christmas Eve - though, in some places, it already is Christmas. And Christmas Eve is just one of the many eves some people may celebrate during the year, with New Year's Eve being another common one. Technically, there could be an eve happening every day!
Now, what exactly IS an eve?
eve
ēv/
noun1.
the day or period of time immediately before an event or occasion.
"on the eve of her departure he gave her a little parcel"
"the eve of the election"| synonyms: | day before, evening before, night before; |
So there is the exact definition of 'eve'!
One eve less commonly known that I celebrate each year is NaNoWriMo Eve, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
It was the night before NaNoWriMo,
and all through the house,
CHAOS CHAOS CHAOS
as writers drove themselves to the edge of insanity
while trying to figure out their last minute plots.
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Saturday, December 21, 2013
Characters: Details, Details, Details
There's a lot of debate over what really makes a book what it is. Is it the plot? Setting? Narrative? Do the author's words just come alive and sound like poetry? It's all a possibility, and it's my own humble opinion that every writer--and even reader--has their own idea and preferences about what makes a good book.
In my opinion, it's the characters.
From their names down to their quirkiest little personality trait, I love characters. I love knowing what they look like, what they sound like. How do they talk? What's their personality like? Most of all, my favorite thing to do is look at a handful of characters put in the same situation, and figuring out not only how they react, but why they react differently.
I'll be getting into some of that in later posts (it's more than likely). Something that I think is probably the most important, though, is for a writer to be able to keep their characters straight. Some things are simple: hair color and eye color, for instance; and heaven knows you should be able to keep their names straight. But when you get down to things like: which leg do they limp on, which arm is their tattoo, what does their scar look like and at what age did they get it? These are the smaller things that you might mention once, and then not again in specific until later in the novel, when you sit at your computer with a completely stymied look on your face, and your roommate asks you what's wrong and they don't understand your problem when you explain it (okay, maybe this is just me).
So the million dollar question: what's the best way to keep your details straight?
There's lots of methods. I've heard of index cards and tried those once, and all you have to do is type "character sheet" into Google to get five pagers that you just have to fill in with the right information (and believe me, those things have EVERYTHING). None of those ever worked for me, though, so I designed my own process, and all you need is an excel spreadsheet.
So now you've got a completely blank spreadsheet, and let the fun begin. The first row will be your categories; each column with something different. Typically, having the first and last names, age, gender (it might be obvious to you, but I enjoy having it just because), hair color and style, eye color, other identifying physical traits. These are the basics that I suggest to everyone. After that, things get sketchy and awesome at the same time, because you can tailor it to your own book and genre. If you have a series of shapeshifters, you can have a column that tells you what they can shift into, and another for what they look like. Do they have scars? Add a column. Need to know who they're related to? Add a column. There's infinite things you can do, here, and it all depends on what you need to know about your characters.
You have your columns, and now all you have to do is fill them in. Each row is a new character, with different details than the ones before and after. Not every column has to be filled right away; start with what you know. Personally, there's things about certain characters that I don't know until the moment I'm writing it; once I write it, I go to my spreadsheet and fill it in. Sometimes you just have side characters; my advice here is to include them, but you don't have to have everything filled out.
So here's an example: my current WIP is called The Hollow Men. Currently, there's thirty-three characters I need to keep tabs on. About three-quarters of them are side characters, or maybe I want to keep an eye on them for a later date. Here are my categories:
Like I said, every writer and every novel is different; these categories are simply what fits my book at the current moment, for those little details that I want to remember.
Something else you can consider is color-coordinating things, or separating characters out. Currently, I tend to put black bars (just fill a row with black) between characters to distinguish them into different groups: antagonists, side characters, and Delta (a rebellion group). Some characters have red behind them to distinguish them as dead (but I still want to know things about them).
In the end, mine looks like this:
Yours will (hopefully) look different, once you figure out how you want to arrange things.
Like I said before, everybody's different. I know people who keep their information in notebooks, index cards, or who use those character sheets. The most important thing is to do what feels organized and right to you; it's right next to the importance of making sure a tattoo doesn't jump around your character's body because you think you remember where you put it, but you're not quite sure. This is my own way of keeping my details straight, so they're right at my fingertips every time I need them, and it's easy for me to navigate.
Good luck, and happy holidays!
Love Always,
Rae
In my opinion, it's the characters.
From their names down to their quirkiest little personality trait, I love characters. I love knowing what they look like, what they sound like. How do they talk? What's their personality like? Most of all, my favorite thing to do is look at a handful of characters put in the same situation, and figuring out not only how they react, but why they react differently.
I'll be getting into some of that in later posts (it's more than likely). Something that I think is probably the most important, though, is for a writer to be able to keep their characters straight. Some things are simple: hair color and eye color, for instance; and heaven knows you should be able to keep their names straight. But when you get down to things like: which leg do they limp on, which arm is their tattoo, what does their scar look like and at what age did they get it? These are the smaller things that you might mention once, and then not again in specific until later in the novel, when you sit at your computer with a completely stymied look on your face, and your roommate asks you what's wrong and they don't understand your problem when you explain it (okay, maybe this is just me).
So the million dollar question: what's the best way to keep your details straight?
There's lots of methods. I've heard of index cards and tried those once, and all you have to do is type "character sheet" into Google to get five pagers that you just have to fill in with the right information (and believe me, those things have EVERYTHING). None of those ever worked for me, though, so I designed my own process, and all you need is an excel spreadsheet.
So now you've got a completely blank spreadsheet, and let the fun begin. The first row will be your categories; each column with something different. Typically, having the first and last names, age, gender (it might be obvious to you, but I enjoy having it just because), hair color and style, eye color, other identifying physical traits. These are the basics that I suggest to everyone. After that, things get sketchy and awesome at the same time, because you can tailor it to your own book and genre. If you have a series of shapeshifters, you can have a column that tells you what they can shift into, and another for what they look like. Do they have scars? Add a column. Need to know who they're related to? Add a column. There's infinite things you can do, here, and it all depends on what you need to know about your characters.
You have your columns, and now all you have to do is fill them in. Each row is a new character, with different details than the ones before and after. Not every column has to be filled right away; start with what you know. Personally, there's things about certain characters that I don't know until the moment I'm writing it; once I write it, I go to my spreadsheet and fill it in. Sometimes you just have side characters; my advice here is to include them, but you don't have to have everything filled out.
So here's an example: my current WIP is called The Hollow Men. Currently, there's thirty-three characters I need to keep tabs on. About three-quarters of them are side characters, or maybe I want to keep an eye on them for a later date. Here are my categories:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Age
- Gender
- Hair
- Eye
- Other (physical)
- Current City
- Past City
- Special
- Family
- Other
Like I said, every writer and every novel is different; these categories are simply what fits my book at the current moment, for those little details that I want to remember.
Something else you can consider is color-coordinating things, or separating characters out. Currently, I tend to put black bars (just fill a row with black) between characters to distinguish them into different groups: antagonists, side characters, and Delta (a rebellion group). Some characters have red behind them to distinguish them as dead (but I still want to know things about them).
In the end, mine looks like this:
Yours will (hopefully) look different, once you figure out how you want to arrange things.
Like I said before, everybody's different. I know people who keep their information in notebooks, index cards, or who use those character sheets. The most important thing is to do what feels organized and right to you; it's right next to the importance of making sure a tattoo doesn't jump around your character's body because you think you remember where you put it, but you're not quite sure. This is my own way of keeping my details straight, so they're right at my fingertips every time I need them, and it's easy for me to navigate.
Good luck, and happy holidays!
Love Always,
Rae
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