Category Writing Life

Oct 17 2016

Three Truths and A Lie: Creating Characters that are Believable

Do you remember the game three truths and a lie? It is a group game often played to get to know one another. A person tells three truths and one lie, and the other people have to figure out what is the lie.

This game is a great example of creating believable characters. In the game people try to create truths that may appear out of character and a lie that is ordinary.

As authors we can often create truths for our characters that don’t align with the world we have created for them. I currently am struggling with one of my characters that is flat in my story. Here are a few tips that have helped me along the way.

*Character’s Journal: I have to go beyond the standard character questioner we often see, and write in their voice. Even if the story is not from their point of view, I write a scene or more in the character’s point of view.

*Motivation: Know your character’s motivation. Not only the motivation that drives them to accomplish their goals, but possible unconscious motivation that drives their personality, speech, and actions.

*Avoid Stereotypes: Most characters can be easily categorized-which is fine. Go beyond the stereotype though. Make yours unique and realistic by giving them a history, a motivation, and a voice all their own.

Delve into your inner Freud and create characters that are complex and interesting. And just for fun I added below my three truths and one lie. Feel free to join in.

  1. 3-truths-a-lieI am prepared for a zombie apocalypse.
  2. I find being underwater peaceful.
  3. I have eaten a cricket.
  4. My first pet was a five foot snake.
Oct 11 2016

Brainstorming: Finding Ideas That Work

At a recent write-in, a couple of us needed to work on world building. In my case, I was working on names for magic ceremonies, events in the past, that sort of thing. One technique that worked well for us was what I call idea dumping (aka brainstorming).

I’m not talking about the old style of brainstorming: grabbing a pen and staring at a blank page for an hour until the perfect idea comes. I’m talking about dumping all the ideas out of your mind−good, bad and ugly—until you find what fits. We pulled up a thesaurus, and I wrote down everything that was said. My paper was a mess, cramped and full of notes.

I can’t lie and say magic poured out of our mouths, but as we batted around ideas they morphed into something great. So when you’re searching for that perfect name for your next goblin or handsome hunk remember a couple of things:

*Write every idea that comes to mind, even the crappy ones.

*Write at least ten if not twenty. I find my first three ideas are generic, and middle five to ten suck. The other day, it was not until at least twenty or more names had floated around until I found one I loved.

*Keep the list for a little bit, percolation helps sometimes. One writer thought she had a name, but it wasn’t until we moved on and were talking about something else did she realize the perfect one hit.

Idea Dumping can be used for book names, magic systems, upcoming plot twists, and more. Sometimes our creativity is laying on the service and other times we have to dig a little for that golden nugget.

Oct 3 2016

Filling your writing toolbox with books

Many a handyman will say that without their toolbox, the work can’t be done. Writers are the same. We fill our toolbox with a variety of tools. We may pick these up at conferences, writing groups, or even blogs (wink, wink). Some of my favorite places to find those gems are books. Great writing books help me look at my writing in a whole different light.

emotion-thesaurus

 

The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. I use this book most frequently and keep it at my desk when writing. Definitely a must have. They also have several others that are worth purchasing.

 

James Scott Bell has so many great books on writing it was hard for me to pick only one, so I didn’t.dialogue-book

How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fasted Way to Improve Any Manuscript

 

conflict-book

 

Conflict and Suspense

 

 

save-the-cat

 

Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need by Black Synder. While about screenwriting, this book covers essential elements on storytelling that every author can use.

 

story-engineering

Story Engineering by Larry Brooks has a great comprehension books on the essential building blocks of a story.

 

 

I’m in the middle of another craft book, so this list may grow. Do you have any that I have missed? Please let me know.

Sep 18 2016
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Riding the High of a Writers Conference

I recently went to the 30th Annual Anwa Writers’ Conference this weekend, and though my body is exhausted, my mind is filled with ideas, fueled by motivation, and warmed with a slew of new friends in the publishing world.

It took me a several years to go to a writers’ conference. I thought for sure I could learn just as much through classes and books. This weekend I realized conferences are more than the new techniques we learn (though I found some invaluable). Conferences include growing friendships in the professional writing world, and being inspired to fulfill your potential.

Where else could I casually talk to a publishing manager about my book and the current trends in the market? Or learn from New York Times Best Selling authors about craft and get to chat over lunch with them?  With some of the bigger conferences you may not get this opportunity, but you need to find what conference fits your needs.

Now that I am back home and alone in front of my computer, I’m trying to decide what is the best way to keep riding this high and fulfilling my dream. Here are some tips I thought I’d share and feel free to add some of your own.

  1. Stay in Touch: When you make connections at the conference, keep them. Friend them on social media and keep that connection if it works for you. These writers, published or not, are serious about their careers. Support each other on your journey.
  2. Utilize the Connection: If you met an agent and plan on querying them next year, make sure to remind them where you met.  And with other authors, reach out to switch reviews or beta reads.
  3. Read those Notes: We all took notes over the weekend, but don’t let your conference notes get buried in that deep drawer we never venture too.
  4. “Success is in the doing”: Don’t let those negative thoughts most writers have, get to you. We can’t wait for happiness when we get our first book deal, or make a certain list, or win a certain award. Live in the journey. Live in the writing.

 

Jun 19 2016
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Digging for Characters

I recently read Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. I’m a fan of Steinbeck, but have to admit I struggled with the beginning of this book. It was full of description: describing places, houses, people and even a couple pages on the Model T truck. By page 34, I wasn’t sure what the plot was. Halfway through the novel, I realized how this Nobel Peace Prize Winning Author continues to draw me in—characters.

There are over two handfuls of unique, interesting characters in this book. While writing, I often want to reach for clique or average, especially in secondary characters. I want to challenge myself to dig deeper for those unique personalities that we love to read about.

Here’s an example of a secondary character, Gay, in Cannery Row that only participates for thirty five pages. While I don’t remember the color of his hair or body type, I won’t forget this story anytime soon.

 

Doc asked, “How are things going up at the Palace?”

Hazel ran his fingers through his dark hair and he peered into the clutter of his mind.          “Pretty good,” he said. “That fellow Gay is moving in with us I guess. His wife hits him        pretty bad. He don’t mind that when he’s awake but she waits ‘til he gets to sleep and          then hits him. He hates that. He has to wake up and beat her up and then when he goes      back to sleep she hits him again. He don’t get any rest so he’s moving in with us.”

“That’s a new one,” said Doc. “She used to swear out a warrant and put him in jail.”

“Yeah!” said Hazel. “But that was before they built the new jail in Salinas. Used to be           thirty days and Gay was pretty hot to get out, but this new jail—radio in the tank and             good bunks and the sheriff’s a nice fellow. Gay gets in there and he don’t want to come         out. He likes it so much his wife won’t get him arrested any more. So she figured out this     hitting him while he’s asleep.  It’s nerve racking, he says. And you know as good as me         —Gay never did take any pleasure beating her up. He only done it to keep his self-                respect. But he gets tired of it. I guess he’ll be with us now.”

 

Steinbeck paints gritty characters that stick with us. Two dimensional characters are easy, like neighbors that we wave to while our garage shuts. There is more out there, let’s tip over their trash and see who they really are. Let’s keep digging.

May 10 2016

Feed Your Muse

I love to write. I don’t know why anyone would pick this profession for any other reason. A month ago though, the dark monsters of the swamp came out to haunt me. You know the ones with those killer claws: stress, anxiety, and insecurity.  And with writing content articles and editing my current novel, writing had morphed into some twisted self-deprecating job.

I needed a break. I needed to close my computer for a few days and feed my muse.

It was difficult at first to shut down the nagging voices telling me to be productive. But I closed my laptop, packed my bags, and escape to the country.

I went for walks. Got caught in the rain. Read for enjoyment. Mother Nature calmed my soul and left my imagination free to play.

Not everyone is not able to run away, but we still need to make time for ourselves and, as ted talksElizabeth Gilbert referred to it, Our Elusive Creative Genius.  In this TED talks, she explains that when we see our muse, or creative genius, as something outside of us, then it is easier to maintain our sanity.  It is worth the time to watch.

I enjoy thinking of my muse as a separate identity or creative genius. One we must feed and nurture in the hope that it’s won’t torment us.

How do you feed your muse?