I realized that I never finished this series, so here's the last entry in my Character Ideas series of posts. I've already talked about where I get the ideas for protagonists, side characters, and love interests. Now it's time for the antagonists.
Typically my antagonists come from the needs of the story. Most of the time when I'm coming up with the story, the antagonist is one of the last big pieces I work on before writing. I've never had an idea that starts with the antagonist, but that could happen in the future.
I don't want to tell you too many specifics about the antagonists in my two novels because that might give too much away. Instead, I'll just talk in generalities. Both needed specific qualities to cause the plot events for both stories. The mean specific skills and back stories to make their motivations make sense. I actually probably spent more time on their motivations than my main characters. This could be because I have a tendency to write stories where the MCs get thrown into situations, whereas the antagonists are causing the issue so they need to have a specific plan and course of action and the motivations to make that plan take place. So I know exactly why both my bad guys did what they did, what drove them too it and why they didn't choose a nicer path.
I guess you could say that the plot is really what gives me the ideas for my antagonists. Again, this might not always be the case, but at the moment, it's what I have.
Next Firday, I'm going to be starting a new series, but it's not going to be about writing topics. I've decided that since this blog is called Writing through Life, I should probably talk a little about my life. So next week, I'll start doing just that.
Until then.
Showing posts with label characters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label characters. Show all posts
Friday, August 8, 2014
Friday, June 6, 2014
Character Ideas: Part III
I know I promised to post this last week, but as I mentioned Monday, I was having hand trouble. Still am, so this may be short.
Anyway, I'm sure you are all dying to know where I get the ideas for my male leads and non-MCs.
Most of my main male leads come to me as part of the idea process. Well, their personality does. They start out as a list of things that I feel like that character needs to be. In Mathan's case (that's the lead for Alana) he needed to be dark, mysterious, a bit older than her, and skilled in using the magic that Alana has to learn to use.
In Raelin's case, Keller needed to be a bit more hostile. He is kind of Raelin's opposite. That's pretty much all I knew other than he and Raelin didn't get along at first.
Other than that, I didn't have too much of a clear picture of who my male leads were. That didn't develop until I actually go into writing the stories. It was only then that I really got to know who they were as characters, more of what their personalities felt like.
As for my secondary characters, those ideas basically just come from what ever pops into my head when I need the character. Usually I think about what the character needs to do in relation to my main characters then go on from there. Either that or I think about what the character needs to accomplish. That's pretty much it. Everything else gets fleshed out as I write.
Next week, I'll conclude the series about character ideas by talking about where the ideas for my antagonists come from.
Anyway, I'm sure you are all dying to know where I get the ideas for my male leads and non-MCs.
Most of my main male leads come to me as part of the idea process. Well, their personality does. They start out as a list of things that I feel like that character needs to be. In Mathan's case (that's the lead for Alana) he needed to be dark, mysterious, a bit older than her, and skilled in using the magic that Alana has to learn to use.
In Raelin's case, Keller needed to be a bit more hostile. He is kind of Raelin's opposite. That's pretty much all I knew other than he and Raelin didn't get along at first.
Other than that, I didn't have too much of a clear picture of who my male leads were. That didn't develop until I actually go into writing the stories. It was only then that I really got to know who they were as characters, more of what their personalities felt like.
As for my secondary characters, those ideas basically just come from what ever pops into my head when I need the character. Usually I think about what the character needs to do in relation to my main characters then go on from there. Either that or I think about what the character needs to accomplish. That's pretty much it. Everything else gets fleshed out as I write.
Next week, I'll conclude the series about character ideas by talking about where the ideas for my antagonists come from.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Character Ideas: Part II
This week, I'll tell you where I got the idea for Raelin.
I actually kind of hate the story of where I got the idea for Raelin because it's a little similar to the story of another author of a rather well known set of books about sparkly undead creatures. (Yes. I'm being vague on purpose.) If that doesn't tell you where I got the idea, well. I don't know. Keep reading. Actually, keep reading anyway.
So the idea for Raelin came to me (cringe) in a dream. This is, in fact, the only time in my entire life this has ever happened. Which is a little odd since I have rather vivid and strange dreams that I remember long after I've had them (I still remember dreams I had when I was 10). Despite my propensity for strange dreams, I had never gotten a story idea from one. Until I dreamed about Raelin.
Since the dream was rather different than the ultimate story, I'll go ahead and tell you about it. In the dream there was a girl who kept having visions about another girl she was searching for. She was accompanied on this search by a guy that she was both annoyed with and attracted to. The majority of the dream took place in a tavern where the girl and her guy companion were being attacked by people who didn't want them to find the person they were seeking. There were green laser beams and over turned tables involved. After a while, I woke up.
I'm not sure, but I think I immediately knew that I could use this dream as a starting point for a story. It was obviously going to be from the searching girl's perspective. A lot of the details changed, and in the final story there are no green laser beams. But the bones of the story are there.
That is I got the idea for Raelin. She literally came to me in a dream.
Next week I'll talk about where I get ideas for non-MCs, like love interests and minor characters.
I actually kind of hate the story of where I got the idea for Raelin because it's a little similar to the story of another author of a rather well known set of books about sparkly undead creatures. (Yes. I'm being vague on purpose.) If that doesn't tell you where I got the idea, well. I don't know. Keep reading. Actually, keep reading anyway.
So the idea for Raelin came to me (cringe) in a dream. This is, in fact, the only time in my entire life this has ever happened. Which is a little odd since I have rather vivid and strange dreams that I remember long after I've had them (I still remember dreams I had when I was 10). Despite my propensity for strange dreams, I had never gotten a story idea from one. Until I dreamed about Raelin.
Since the dream was rather different than the ultimate story, I'll go ahead and tell you about it. In the dream there was a girl who kept having visions about another girl she was searching for. She was accompanied on this search by a guy that she was both annoyed with and attracted to. The majority of the dream took place in a tavern where the girl and her guy companion were being attacked by people who didn't want them to find the person they were seeking. There were green laser beams and over turned tables involved. After a while, I woke up.
I'm not sure, but I think I immediately knew that I could use this dream as a starting point for a story. It was obviously going to be from the searching girl's perspective. A lot of the details changed, and in the final story there are no green laser beams. But the bones of the story are there.
That is I got the idea for Raelin. She literally came to me in a dream.
Next week I'll talk about where I get ideas for non-MCs, like love interests and minor characters.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Character Ideas Part I
I'm not sure if I've written about this before or not, so I'm going to write about how I come up with ideas for my characters, both main and supporting. I think this is going to be a series of posts, so stay tuned for each week to see how I came up with various characters.
My MC ideas come from a variety of places, though usually it's from something having to do with the story idea itself. Every once in a while I'll get an idea for a character without a story attached, but most of the time the two are inexorably linked.
The idea for Alana actually came from her name. Well sort of. Back before I even had the idea for Alana, I was looking through a name book (something I do quite often. I have a thing about names). While I was browsing, I came across a name that meant "from a distant place," or something along those lines. I remember seeing that and thinking that that would be an interesting story. A story about a character who got taken to a distant land and their name meant "from a distant place."
This sparked idea after idea, and I eventually wound up with the original plot line for what would become Alana's story. Now, obviously Alana doesn't mean "from a distant place" and I'm not even sure how I got to that name, since I could have sworn at the time it was the name I saw. But that doesn't matter. The key was that this name's meaning got me thinking and then suddenly I had a character and the bones of a story to go with her.
Next week I'll post about how I came up with Raelin.
My MC ideas come from a variety of places, though usually it's from something having to do with the story idea itself. Every once in a while I'll get an idea for a character without a story attached, but most of the time the two are inexorably linked.
The idea for Alana actually came from her name. Well sort of. Back before I even had the idea for Alana, I was looking through a name book (something I do quite often. I have a thing about names). While I was browsing, I came across a name that meant "from a distant place," or something along those lines. I remember seeing that and thinking that that would be an interesting story. A story about a character who got taken to a distant land and their name meant "from a distant place."
This sparked idea after idea, and I eventually wound up with the original plot line for what would become Alana's story. Now, obviously Alana doesn't mean "from a distant place" and I'm not even sure how I got to that name, since I could have sworn at the time it was the name I saw. But that doesn't matter. The key was that this name's meaning got me thinking and then suddenly I had a character and the bones of a story to go with her.
Next week I'll post about how I came up with Raelin.
Friday, May 2, 2014
Emotional Writing
One of the biggest things I've struggled with as a writer is allowing my characters to show their emotions. It's something that I am continually working on. Probably because emotions aren't exactly my strong suite, in writing or in real life.
I've never been the best at expressing how I feel. I'm what some people call a stuffer and others call a bottler. Something happens and I take everything I'm feeling, good or bad, and I shove it down inside where people can't see it. I try very hard to make sure people don't see when I'm upset or mad or annoyed or anything. I also try very hard to simply not feel those things. I'm a bit weird like that. Showing or feeling emotion wasn't terribly highly encouraged in my family, so I just learned to not do it.
The problem is that this has made it hard for me to get emotional in my writing. I've been told that sometimes my writing comes off as too detached. This is particularly problematic since I tend to write in first person an that means you should be privy to all my character's thoughts and emotions.
I'm working on it though. Hopefully as I work with critique partners I can conquer this terrible detachment and get to the heart of my characters.
I've never been the best at expressing how I feel. I'm what some people call a stuffer and others call a bottler. Something happens and I take everything I'm feeling, good or bad, and I shove it down inside where people can't see it. I try very hard to make sure people don't see when I'm upset or mad or annoyed or anything. I also try very hard to simply not feel those things. I'm a bit weird like that. Showing or feeling emotion wasn't terribly highly encouraged in my family, so I just learned to not do it.
The problem is that this has made it hard for me to get emotional in my writing. I've been told that sometimes my writing comes off as too detached. This is particularly problematic since I tend to write in first person an that means you should be privy to all my character's thoughts and emotions.
I'm working on it though. Hopefully as I work with critique partners I can conquer this terrible detachment and get to the heart of my characters.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Interview with Raelin Tabra
One the of the things I've really been struggling with is finding the voice for First Sight. I think I've mentioned before how much of a love/hate relationship I have with this book. Well, I really want to get it in good shape, so I'm working on it again (as I mentioned here). As such, I decided I needed to try and find Raelin's voice. I felt like that was one of the biggest things missing from the other drafts of the book. So I looked up some character interview questions online and found some good ones that I liked at this blog.
I really liked the results of the interview. It turned our to work a lot better than I expected and I feel like I got a much better sense of what Raelin sounds like. Because of that, I thought it would be fun to post the interview in this blog post. Maybe someone will find it interesting.
Note: this interview takes place before the events of the book. I figured that would be best since the inciting incident kind of changes everything Raelin knows about herself. I wanted to get to know her before everything in her world changes.
Interview
Who are you?
I'm Raelin Tabra. How can I help you?
I was just hoping to ask you a few questions. Do you mind?
That's fine. I'm not sure why you'd want to talk to me. Most people would rather talk to my mother or father.
Why is that?
Surely you know who they are? Cassara and Lenton Tabra? She's the most famous Seer in Alyona. He was the Emperor's personal Healer until shortly after they married and moved to our family home outside the capitol. Everyone knows who they are.
And everyone doesn't know who you are?
They probably know me too. Usually they forget I exist, until they see me with one of my parents.
Why's that?
You really don't know anything do you? I'm their unGifted daughter. The fact that two of the most powerfully Gifted Alyonians have a daughter who never Presents, it gets talked about. Except, they don't realize who I am unless they see me with my parents. So most of the time I go unnoticed.
Does that bother you?
Going unnoticed? Not usually. It means I don't have to deal with all the scrutiny that Caedan deals with. Since I'm not Gifted, I don't have to worry about living up to my parents greatness. I'd prefer to be unnoticed than have everyone staring and whispering.
What do you care about most in the world?
My family.
You answered that pretty quickly. Any particular reason?
My family is all I have.
You don't have any friends?
There are a few people I talk to when I go with Papa to market days, but other than that, not really. I think it is a side effect of being so unnoticed. I have Caedan. He and I spend a lot of time helping Papa in the garden. Most of the other people I know find me . . . unsettling. It is very rare for an unGifted child to be born to Gifted parents, so many people don't know how to interact with me.
Do you think that if you were Gifted you would be treated differently?
Of course. It's the way of our country. Those with Gifts are far more respected and sought after than those without. But I told you, I'm used to this treatment.
You don't seem used to it.
*she glares at me now* Do you have any other questions? If not I have things to do.
No I do. What really ticks you off?
I'm not sure there are many things that make me really angry. Injustice does make me mad though. And people preying on those too weak to defend themselves.
Do you think the way people treat you is unjust?
No. I'm not discriminated against. Those without Gifts have all the same rights and privileges as those with Gifts.
But you just said that people treat you differently because you aren't Gifted. How is that not discrimination?
Because my treatment isn't just because I am unGifted. It is because I am the unGifted daughter of Cassara and Lenton Tabra. I am not saying that there are not Gifted Alyonians who discriminate against unGifted Alyonians. I'm just saying that it is not the normal practice among those groups. My parents have always made it very clear that I am no less of a person because I don't have a Gift.
It sounds like you are upset by the way others treat you. You clearly don't like talking about it.
Since you have figured as much out, don't you think it would be wise to move on to a different question?
All right. If you could do one thing and really succeed at it, what would it be?
I would be as great of a Healer as my father. I love being able to help others, and Papa does so much good with his Gift. I can only hope that despite being unGifted I will be able to help as many people as he does.
Is it hard to be a Healer without a Gift?
There are many things you can't do as an unGifted Healer. You are limited to using herbs and natural remedies. Papa's Gift allows him to Heal more serious illnesses and injuries faster and easier than someone without a Gift can. But it's not impossible to be an unGifted Healer.
What people do you most admire, and why?
My father, because he is such a great Healer. He helped developed some of the best cures that we have. He was the Emperor's personal Healer for years.
So just your father? Anyone else?
Should there be someone else?
Nope. Just checking. What was your childhood like?
*she takes a deep breath* It was interesting. I spent the early part of it wondering when I would Present. Caedan Presented by the time he was three. My parents tried to treat me as normally as possible, but even they seemed confused when I hadn't Presented by the time I was ten. During that time, I had discovered that I greatly enjoyed working in the garden and helping Papa, so at that age, I began to formally train as a Healer. It took my mother a little longer to accept my choice but eventually she too accepted it. As I grew older, the expectations for me to Present lessened and I finally settled into my life as an unGifted Alyonian. Most people who knew my family stopped asking about my Gift by then, so I didn't have to deal with questions much past that age. Since then, I've worked to master everything I can about herbal Healing and gardening.
What's the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?
It was a market day, so my whole family was at the market in the Merchant Quarter. There was a Gifted boy who often came around to buy herbal remedies for his sickly sister. I had become very fond of him and Caedan found out. That day, the boy came to our stall and he and I had struck up a conversation. Suddenly Caedan appeared and proceeded to tell the boy how much I loved him and that I wanted to marry him and have his children (I was twelve at the time). I was so embarrassed that I ran away and hid. I've never been able to speak to the boy again.
What do you look like?
I'm short. Most people believe I'm younger than I am because of how short I am. I have green eyes and long, dark, curly hair.
I really liked the results of the interview. It turned our to work a lot better than I expected and I feel like I got a much better sense of what Raelin sounds like. Because of that, I thought it would be fun to post the interview in this blog post. Maybe someone will find it interesting.
Note: this interview takes place before the events of the book. I figured that would be best since the inciting incident kind of changes everything Raelin knows about herself. I wanted to get to know her before everything in her world changes.
Interview
Who are you?
I'm Raelin Tabra. How can I help you?
I was just hoping to ask you a few questions. Do you mind?
That's fine. I'm not sure why you'd want to talk to me. Most people would rather talk to my mother or father.
Why is that?
Surely you know who they are? Cassara and Lenton Tabra? She's the most famous Seer in Alyona. He was the Emperor's personal Healer until shortly after they married and moved to our family home outside the capitol. Everyone knows who they are.
And everyone doesn't know who you are?
They probably know me too. Usually they forget I exist, until they see me with one of my parents.
Why's that?
You really don't know anything do you? I'm their unGifted daughter. The fact that two of the most powerfully Gifted Alyonians have a daughter who never Presents, it gets talked about. Except, they don't realize who I am unless they see me with my parents. So most of the time I go unnoticed.
Does that bother you?
Going unnoticed? Not usually. It means I don't have to deal with all the scrutiny that Caedan deals with. Since I'm not Gifted, I don't have to worry about living up to my parents greatness. I'd prefer to be unnoticed than have everyone staring and whispering.
What do you care about most in the world?
My family.
You answered that pretty quickly. Any particular reason?
My family is all I have.
You don't have any friends?
There are a few people I talk to when I go with Papa to market days, but other than that, not really. I think it is a side effect of being so unnoticed. I have Caedan. He and I spend a lot of time helping Papa in the garden. Most of the other people I know find me . . . unsettling. It is very rare for an unGifted child to be born to Gifted parents, so many people don't know how to interact with me.
Do you think that if you were Gifted you would be treated differently?
Of course. It's the way of our country. Those with Gifts are far more respected and sought after than those without. But I told you, I'm used to this treatment.
You don't seem used to it.
*she glares at me now* Do you have any other questions? If not I have things to do.
No I do. What really ticks you off?
I'm not sure there are many things that make me really angry. Injustice does make me mad though. And people preying on those too weak to defend themselves.
Do you think the way people treat you is unjust?
No. I'm not discriminated against. Those without Gifts have all the same rights and privileges as those with Gifts.
But you just said that people treat you differently because you aren't Gifted. How is that not discrimination?
Because my treatment isn't just because I am unGifted. It is because I am the unGifted daughter of Cassara and Lenton Tabra. I am not saying that there are not Gifted Alyonians who discriminate against unGifted Alyonians. I'm just saying that it is not the normal practice among those groups. My parents have always made it very clear that I am no less of a person because I don't have a Gift.
It sounds like you are upset by the way others treat you. You clearly don't like talking about it.
Since you have figured as much out, don't you think it would be wise to move on to a different question?
All right. If you could do one thing and really succeed at it, what would it be?
I would be as great of a Healer as my father. I love being able to help others, and Papa does so much good with his Gift. I can only hope that despite being unGifted I will be able to help as many people as he does.
Is it hard to be a Healer without a Gift?
There are many things you can't do as an unGifted Healer. You are limited to using herbs and natural remedies. Papa's Gift allows him to Heal more serious illnesses and injuries faster and easier than someone without a Gift can. But it's not impossible to be an unGifted Healer.
What people do you most admire, and why?
My father, because he is such a great Healer. He helped developed some of the best cures that we have. He was the Emperor's personal Healer for years.
So just your father? Anyone else?
Should there be someone else?
Nope. Just checking. What was your childhood like?
*she takes a deep breath* It was interesting. I spent the early part of it wondering when I would Present. Caedan Presented by the time he was three. My parents tried to treat me as normally as possible, but even they seemed confused when I hadn't Presented by the time I was ten. During that time, I had discovered that I greatly enjoyed working in the garden and helping Papa, so at that age, I began to formally train as a Healer. It took my mother a little longer to accept my choice but eventually she too accepted it. As I grew older, the expectations for me to Present lessened and I finally settled into my life as an unGifted Alyonian. Most people who knew my family stopped asking about my Gift by then, so I didn't have to deal with questions much past that age. Since then, I've worked to master everything I can about herbal Healing and gardening.
What's the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?
It was a market day, so my whole family was at the market in the Merchant Quarter. There was a Gifted boy who often came around to buy herbal remedies for his sickly sister. I had become very fond of him and Caedan found out. That day, the boy came to our stall and he and I had struck up a conversation. Suddenly Caedan appeared and proceeded to tell the boy how much I loved him and that I wanted to marry him and have his children (I was twelve at the time). I was so embarrassed that I ran away and hid. I've never been able to speak to the boy again.
What do you look like?
I'm short. Most people believe I'm younger than I am because of how short I am. I have green eyes and long, dark, curly hair.
Monday, August 20, 2012
My Obsession with TV Shows
Here's a secret that you might not know about me: I love television. Love it.
Okay so I don't love it as much as I love reading, and I totally freak out more about not having a book to read more than I do about nothing good being on TV, but still, I love TV.
Let me clear though, I do not like what passes as reality TV. In fact I loathe reality TV. The times I've gotten sucked into a reality TV show have been very few and very far between (it's been two or three years since the last time I watched a full new season of a reality show) and i plan to keep it that way. They are just annoying to me. I don't get reality shows. Now, this could be because they blatantly masquerade as being real when everyone knows they aren't and that rankles my (overly) honest tendencies. Or it could be that I just don't find them entertaining. Or it could be a combination of the two. But all that is beside the point.
To return from the rabbit trail, I love good non-reality TV. You know, the shows that have really good characters, great (or fairly good) writing, quick wit, engaging storylines. And I'm a sucker for a good romantic sub-plot (I've been pulled into more than one not-so-great shows by those). There is something about watching good acting, hearing great dialogue, and seeing intriguing stories unfold that just draws me in and makes me want to watch and rewatch episodes. Good storytelling gets me every time.
Example: recently I discovered Grimm. I didn't watch the first season when it aired last year because it just sounded weird to me, sort of gimmicky. And one thing I really dislike is a gimmick (which may be another reason I eschew reality shows. They're all just big gimmicks). Also I did not realize that it combined two of my favorite things. But I was at the store the other day and the DVD of season one had come out, so I decided, eh why not? My reaction: "Fairy tales and crime solving? Awesome!"
See, I'm a huge fan of fairy tales and of character driven crime solving shows. They are two of my favorite things as far as entertainment goes. I don't know how many re-done fairy tales I've read. Tons. If I find one, I gobble it up. And one of my writing dreams has been to write a re-done fairy tale series. It's one of my many projects in development. And don't get me started on procedurals. For a long time, the only type of TV I watched were procedurals of some kind or another (Now my viewing palate has expanded a bit, but I still love crime shows). So discovering a show that manages to creatively combine those two things was kind of mind blowing.
Overall the storytelling is what really pulled me into the show. It takes a base of fairy tales and twists it and spices it up in such an interesting way that I can't get enough. It doesn't hurt that the acting isn't horrible and the writers have a decent sense of humor. Still, it's the story and the characters that have really pulled me into this show. I can't wait to see what happens next.
So what shows have pulled you in recently (or not so recently)? What's your favorite part of the shows you watch?
Okay so I don't love it as much as I love reading, and I totally freak out more about not having a book to read more than I do about nothing good being on TV, but still, I love TV.
Let me clear though, I do not like what passes as reality TV. In fact I loathe reality TV. The times I've gotten sucked into a reality TV show have been very few and very far between (it's been two or three years since the last time I watched a full new season of a reality show) and i plan to keep it that way. They are just annoying to me. I don't get reality shows. Now, this could be because they blatantly masquerade as being real when everyone knows they aren't and that rankles my (overly) honest tendencies. Or it could be that I just don't find them entertaining. Or it could be a combination of the two. But all that is beside the point.
To return from the rabbit trail, I love good non-reality TV. You know, the shows that have really good characters, great (or fairly good) writing, quick wit, engaging storylines. And I'm a sucker for a good romantic sub-plot (I've been pulled into more than one not-so-great shows by those). There is something about watching good acting, hearing great dialogue, and seeing intriguing stories unfold that just draws me in and makes me want to watch and rewatch episodes. Good storytelling gets me every time.
Example: recently I discovered Grimm. I didn't watch the first season when it aired last year because it just sounded weird to me, sort of gimmicky. And one thing I really dislike is a gimmick (which may be another reason I eschew reality shows. They're all just big gimmicks). Also I did not realize that it combined two of my favorite things. But I was at the store the other day and the DVD of season one had come out, so I decided, eh why not? My reaction: "Fairy tales and crime solving? Awesome!"
See, I'm a huge fan of fairy tales and of character driven crime solving shows. They are two of my favorite things as far as entertainment goes. I don't know how many re-done fairy tales I've read. Tons. If I find one, I gobble it up. And one of my writing dreams has been to write a re-done fairy tale series. It's one of my many projects in development. And don't get me started on procedurals. For a long time, the only type of TV I watched were procedurals of some kind or another (Now my viewing palate has expanded a bit, but I still love crime shows). So discovering a show that manages to creatively combine those two things was kind of mind blowing.
Overall the storytelling is what really pulled me into the show. It takes a base of fairy tales and twists it and spices it up in such an interesting way that I can't get enough. It doesn't hurt that the acting isn't horrible and the writers have a decent sense of humor. Still, it's the story and the characters that have really pulled me into this show. I can't wait to see what happens next.
So what shows have pulled you in recently (or not so recently)? What's your favorite part of the shows you watch?
Monday, August 6, 2012
Working with a Large Cast
When I was younger, I read lots of books that had large casts of characters. We're talking so many characters that the author provided a list at the end of their books. I don't see as many of those any more, but I still read books with large casts, large enough that other people, or even the author, have devoted portions of websites, blogs, or other media to helping reader keep them all straight. I've also read numerous writing books that suggest keeping a file or binder or some filing system of all of the characters from a particular project. Until recently, I never thought I needed those tools. Oh how wrong I was.
Let me just say that until recently, I'd never worked on a story that had a large cast of characters. Almost all of my ideas involved casts of two or three characters and few supporting roles. The action happened in mostly isolated chunks, in places with only a few hastily sketched extras seen only from a distance. I never thought I'd have to come up with more than five, or seven, or okay maybe 15 character descriptions, personalities, backgrounds, and all that other stuff that you need for good characters (not the in depth stuff for MCs, but the general broad strokes for bit players and extras). Once more, was I ever wrong.
Until this week, I had no idea how hard it is to keep so many characters straight. Now, I'm learning fast that it is really hard. Or rather, it's hard to be original with each one. See, the book I'm working on now has cast that just doesn't stop growing. When I wrote the summaries for each scene, I had no idea that I was going to need so many character descriptions. It's crazy. Here, I'll prove it.
In the first 12 scenes, I've already had 17 characters appear (plus a group of children), 13 of which have names, and only three of which do not have some sort of physical description accompanying them So that's a total of 14 characters that have some sort of description that go with them.
Comparison time. In my other story, in the first 12 scenes, I have eight characters appear (two of which were animals) and two groups of guards/soldiers. All but one of those characters have names and all eight of them are described in some way (I'm excluding the guards cause they didn't get descriptions or names). So that's just over half the number of described characters as my current WIP. See, craziness!
Now let's add some more craziness, cause who doesn't love more insanity. In my other story, their is only really one ethnicity, though there is a kind of separate culture that has a sort of specific physical description that goes along with it. But overall, there isn't too much diversity as far as ethnicity is concerned.
In my current WIP the culture is much, much more diverse. The story is still set in a single country, but it's larger and more geographically and culturally diverse country than my other one. There are at least five distinct geographic regions, each with a distinct ethnicity. Oh yeah, and all of these different groups tend to mix in the city where the story is set, so there's a lot of diversity when it comes to physical traits. See, more craziness!
I don't want you to get the wrong idea though. I'm not complaining. Really, how could I? I mean this world is a product of my (hyperactive) imagination, so really, I did this to myself. And I'm actually really loving how much more diverse this new group of characters is. It's a lot of fun getting to know them and learning more about their world. It's just complicated.
I'm realizing that I need to use some sort of system to keep track of all of my characters and their descriptions. It's a new feeling for me.Not that I didn't keep track of my characters before. It's just that with so many more, I have to really pay attention to how I describe each one, because it's a lot easier to repeat myself with a bigger group of characters than it is with a smaller one. It's a new challenge, and one I'm learning to embrace.
As far as numbers go, I have 12 scenes typed. I don't have a word count today. Sorry. Maybe next time.
Let me just say that until recently, I'd never worked on a story that had a large cast of characters. Almost all of my ideas involved casts of two or three characters and few supporting roles. The action happened in mostly isolated chunks, in places with only a few hastily sketched extras seen only from a distance. I never thought I'd have to come up with more than five, or seven, or okay maybe 15 character descriptions, personalities, backgrounds, and all that other stuff that you need for good characters (not the in depth stuff for MCs, but the general broad strokes for bit players and extras). Once more, was I ever wrong.
Until this week, I had no idea how hard it is to keep so many characters straight. Now, I'm learning fast that it is really hard. Or rather, it's hard to be original with each one. See, the book I'm working on now has cast that just doesn't stop growing. When I wrote the summaries for each scene, I had no idea that I was going to need so many character descriptions. It's crazy. Here, I'll prove it.
In the first 12 scenes, I've already had 17 characters appear (plus a group of children), 13 of which have names, and only three of which do not have some sort of physical description accompanying them So that's a total of 14 characters that have some sort of description that go with them.
Comparison time. In my other story, in the first 12 scenes, I have eight characters appear (two of which were animals) and two groups of guards/soldiers. All but one of those characters have names and all eight of them are described in some way (I'm excluding the guards cause they didn't get descriptions or names). So that's just over half the number of described characters as my current WIP. See, craziness!
Now let's add some more craziness, cause who doesn't love more insanity. In my other story, their is only really one ethnicity, though there is a kind of separate culture that has a sort of specific physical description that goes along with it. But overall, there isn't too much diversity as far as ethnicity is concerned.
In my current WIP the culture is much, much more diverse. The story is still set in a single country, but it's larger and more geographically and culturally diverse country than my other one. There are at least five distinct geographic regions, each with a distinct ethnicity. Oh yeah, and all of these different groups tend to mix in the city where the story is set, so there's a lot of diversity when it comes to physical traits. See, more craziness!
I don't want you to get the wrong idea though. I'm not complaining. Really, how could I? I mean this world is a product of my (hyperactive) imagination, so really, I did this to myself. And I'm actually really loving how much more diverse this new group of characters is. It's a lot of fun getting to know them and learning more about their world. It's just complicated.
I'm realizing that I need to use some sort of system to keep track of all of my characters and their descriptions. It's a new feeling for me.Not that I didn't keep track of my characters before. It's just that with so many more, I have to really pay attention to how I describe each one, because it's a lot easier to repeat myself with a bigger group of characters than it is with a smaller one. It's a new challenge, and one I'm learning to embrace.
As far as numbers go, I have 12 scenes typed. I don't have a word count today. Sorry. Maybe next time.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Character First
This probably won't be surprising to anyone else, but it certainly shocked me. I recently discovered that I am, in fact, not a plot-first writer. Instead, I am a character-first writer. How could I possibly not know this? I really don't know.
I made the discovery a couple of months ago when I was revisiting a few of my story ideas. I was doing a kind of inventory while processing what type of writer I was and what theme seemed prevalent in all of my writing. As I flipped through my numerous notebooks and looked at my hastily typed notes of story ideas, I started to notice a trend. Almost every idea that I had done any kind of development on started with a character I couldn't get out of my head. As I did more digging and reminiscing, I realized that much of my notebook space was taken up by various stages of character sketches and character development projects. Almost nothing existed in the way of plot sketches. As I began reviewing how these story ideas had presented themselves to me, I started noticing that pretty much all of them had started with, yup, the main character. And suddenly, I came to the realization that I was a Character-first writer.
It was rather flabergasting actually. See, I've been under the mistaken impression that I was a plot-first writer for most of my life. I always thought I struggled with creating characters. Isn't that insane? I don't know how I missed it for so long.
Of course, once I realized this, some of my writing woes seemed to make a lot more sense. See I've always had a bit of trouble with middles. Okay most people have trouble with middles, but still, I have that. I would get into writing a great story idea with all these great people that I couldn't wait to get to know, and suddenly 10 or 30 or 100 pages in, I'd lose the thread. I had no idea what the point of my story was or how the MC was going to get there. Except that I didn't realize this. I just thought it was a bad idea, or that I was being distracted by an even better idea. Now I realize that it was because I never really had much of a plot. And without a plot, my characters had nothing to do and nowhere to go. Or if they did have somewhere to go, they had no idea what to do once the got there.
After I made this astounding discovery, I was, at first, rather depressed. I thought "All this time I've been worry about the wrong things. If I'd known all of this years ago I could have gotten so much more done." It was a bit disheartening. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that making this discovery was actually one of the best things that could have happened to me. Cause now I know how to fix my petering-out-in-the-middle problem, generally speaking. I've identified the thing that was holding me back; lack of tangible plot lines. Now I can really revisit those old story lines and find the plot that those characters are meant to live out. And that makes me really excited.
So yeah, I thought I was a completely different type of writer for a while, but now I've discovered the truth and I get to start working to develop truly rounded stories. That's exciting to me.
Now an update on how my writing is going.
So far, after seven days, my stats are as follow:
Words: 17,982
Scenes: 8
I made the discovery a couple of months ago when I was revisiting a few of my story ideas. I was doing a kind of inventory while processing what type of writer I was and what theme seemed prevalent in all of my writing. As I flipped through my numerous notebooks and looked at my hastily typed notes of story ideas, I started to notice a trend. Almost every idea that I had done any kind of development on started with a character I couldn't get out of my head. As I did more digging and reminiscing, I realized that much of my notebook space was taken up by various stages of character sketches and character development projects. Almost nothing existed in the way of plot sketches. As I began reviewing how these story ideas had presented themselves to me, I started noticing that pretty much all of them had started with, yup, the main character. And suddenly, I came to the realization that I was a Character-first writer.
It was rather flabergasting actually. See, I've been under the mistaken impression that I was a plot-first writer for most of my life. I always thought I struggled with creating characters. Isn't that insane? I don't know how I missed it for so long.
Of course, once I realized this, some of my writing woes seemed to make a lot more sense. See I've always had a bit of trouble with middles. Okay most people have trouble with middles, but still, I have that. I would get into writing a great story idea with all these great people that I couldn't wait to get to know, and suddenly 10 or 30 or 100 pages in, I'd lose the thread. I had no idea what the point of my story was or how the MC was going to get there. Except that I didn't realize this. I just thought it was a bad idea, or that I was being distracted by an even better idea. Now I realize that it was because I never really had much of a plot. And without a plot, my characters had nothing to do and nowhere to go. Or if they did have somewhere to go, they had no idea what to do once the got there.
After I made this astounding discovery, I was, at first, rather depressed. I thought "All this time I've been worry about the wrong things. If I'd known all of this years ago I could have gotten so much more done." It was a bit disheartening. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that making this discovery was actually one of the best things that could have happened to me. Cause now I know how to fix my petering-out-in-the-middle problem, generally speaking. I've identified the thing that was holding me back; lack of tangible plot lines. Now I can really revisit those old story lines and find the plot that those characters are meant to live out. And that makes me really excited.
So yeah, I thought I was a completely different type of writer for a while, but now I've discovered the truth and I get to start working to develop truly rounded stories. That's exciting to me.
Now an update on how my writing is going.
So far, after seven days, my stats are as follow:
Words: 17,982
Scenes: 8
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Book in a Month Redux: Day 2
It's finally starting to feel like fall here. Whether it stays feeling that way is anybody's guess, but today it was pleasantly chilly. Days like today make me wish I could simply take a good book and go sit in the sun all day, enjoying the lovely weather before things get cold and nasty again.
But enough of my musings on weather. How goes the writing, you ask. It goes well. Of course, it's only the second day, so it better be going well. :)
Today I introduced my male lead character. His name is Keller Brydon, and can I just say that he's amazing. At least I think so. I think you will too, but hey, that's just me.
So I guess i could actually tell you a little about this story, couldn't I? Okay, I will.
My new story takes place in world rather different from my last WIP. In this world, magic is pretty commonplace. About half the county's population has some kind of magic, including my two main characters. The magic in this world differs from my previous story as well, because it's not elemental magic. This magic is all mental. Those with magic have visions, can see when some one is lying, can find someone using their mind, can sense things about people, and more. Every bit of the magic is mental. So no manipulating the natural forces, unless you have telekinesis or something like that.
So what kind of magic do Raelin and Keller have? Well, Raelin is a Seer. Keller, he's a Truth-Sayer, or Truth-Seer.
And that's all you get for now. I'll be posting a brief discription of the story on my Projects page sometime later this week. I just have to actually write it first. :)
Now for the numbers.
But enough of my musings on weather. How goes the writing, you ask. It goes well. Of course, it's only the second day, so it better be going well. :)
Today I introduced my male lead character. His name is Keller Brydon, and can I just say that he's amazing. At least I think so. I think you will too, but hey, that's just me.
So I guess i could actually tell you a little about this story, couldn't I? Okay, I will.
My new story takes place in world rather different from my last WIP. In this world, magic is pretty commonplace. About half the county's population has some kind of magic, including my two main characters. The magic in this world differs from my previous story as well, because it's not elemental magic. This magic is all mental. Those with magic have visions, can see when some one is lying, can find someone using their mind, can sense things about people, and more. Every bit of the magic is mental. So no manipulating the natural forces, unless you have telekinesis or something like that.
So what kind of magic do Raelin and Keller have? Well, Raelin is a Seer. Keller, he's a Truth-Sayer, or Truth-Seer.
And that's all you get for now. I'll be posting a brief discription of the story on my Projects page sometime later this week. I just have to actually write it first. :)
Now for the numbers.
Pages: 6
Total Pages thus Far:12
Words: 1,517
Total Words thus Far: 3,263
Monday, March 14, 2011
Life and Creating New Characters
Who knew that writing could cause physical pain. Oh sure, I spend so much time trying to figure out the right thing to write next, how my characters work together, reworking plots, and everything else about writing, that I sometimes forget that writing can be kind of hard on me physically. I don't generally mention this to most people, though, because, like everything having to do with my health, I hate talking about it. But lately, it's really been getting in the way, which is part of why I don't update this blog as regularly as I'd like. I spend eight or more hours per day writing up reports at my day job, that I often have trouble typing more when I get home or finish my work for the day. Thus, I have not been writing as much as I'd like too. *sigh* But enough of my physical issues. How about some writing ones.
I am attempting to work on a new story idea that is unconnected to my current WIP. I've had the idea for a year or two now, but I've just started working on the characters and plot lines. It's kind of exciting because, though it's a fantasy, it's also another genre that I've never thought about working in before. It's kind of exciting, but a little stressful as well. It's difficult, but I'm very excited about what will hopefully come of this. As usual I have no title (I'm really terrible at those), but hopefully one will come to me as I go. I'm also excited because I'm thinking of setting the story in a culture similar to the Byzantium Empire. Of course, this means lots of research, but I like researching stuff.
So know I'm going to give my poor wrists a rest, and possibly do some more research on Byzantium and this other genre.
Later.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Names, Names, Names
So I know I talked about names in my previous post about characters. But I like them so much I wanted to do another post on them. Only I wasn't really sure what to write about them. Loving something and knowing how to write about it are two different things.
So names. Why do I think names are so important to a story? Well think about the effect a name has on your impression of a person. When you hear a name you automatically get an idea about how the owner of that name looks, acts, and even thinks sometimes. Things like your past experiences have a big influence on how you look at the owner of a name. For example, I have an (unfortunate) dislike of the name Angela because of a particular childhood acquaintance. There are other names that I dislike because of my past as well. In fact, there are whole name books dedicated to looking at how names are perceived. My favorite is The Baby Name Survey by Bruce Lansky. My friends became slightly obsessed with it when they started looking up what the book said about their names. If you're curious, you should check it out. It's pretty amusing, and sometimes, scarily close to accurate.
I talked about how I choose names in my last post. I always find that part of the naming process one of the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the whole character creation process. Sitting down with my pile of name books (one that has lots of unusual names and spelling variations, one that I can search for names by meaning, and one that I can just skim through for the more popular names), my laptop (babynamesworld.com has an excellent search function; babynamewizard.com has some amazing tools for checking popularity of names), and paper and pencil to jot down anything that strikes my fancy is my favorite way to spend some time. There are times I've spent an hour or more looking up names, comparing how they sound or feel, whether they fit with the idea of the character I have or if they make the character take an unexpected turn. Each part of this process is so fun to me.
Why do I spend so much time on the names? I mean besides being a little obsessed with names. Well I mentioned above how they change the way people see your character. To me, they help define the character. Until the character is named, it's almost like they don't really exist yet. Once they have that name, the name that says exactly the right thing about the character and their history and their place in the story, then they seem to be real to me. They come alive, ready to play their parts in the story.
So you see, names are one of the most important parts of creating a character, at least to me. It's also one of the most satisfying.
Short post, I know. But if I keep writing, I'll just start sounding crazier than I already do. :) See you on Thursday!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Characters and Why I Love Them
On Monday I talked about where my ideas come from. Today I'm going to talk about where my characters come from.
One of my favorite authors, Tamora Pierce, talks about her characters on her website. She takes portions of people around her and bases characters on them. Other times she bases her characters on pictures of random people she collects.
I take a similar approach to creating characters. Most of my MCs start out as some reflection of myself (something you might quickly notice if you get to read more than one of my stories). Actually Alana, the MC of my WIP was me when I started writing the story as a teenager. Writing was a chance to take myself of crazy adventures I would never actually get to do in real life. As I've worked on the piece, Alana has become her own person, but there are still distinct pieces of me in her. Aspects of her personality, likes and dislikes, and even how she looks are taken largely from my own life. How are we the same? We both like to read; we both love horses; we both have a sarcastic streak. How are we different? She has an easier time speaking her mind than I do; she goes to public school; she's an only child; her parents are divorced; and most importantly, she is a mage. There's lots of other similarities (our hair color) and differences (she took riding lessons as a kid).
What about my other characters? My male MCs or supporting characters. Where do they come from? Well, as far as MCs go, I usually find some way to (at least at first) base them on a guy I know. When I was a teen it would be the guy I had a crush on. As I got older, they transformed from a single guy I knew to a more general male figure. I have to say that my male MCs are somewhat more varied than they used to be.
As for supporting characters, those are usually just people who pop up when needed. I need a best friend for an MC and suddenly I see the perfect person. There are two best friends for Alana in my WIP (well actually three.) One of them is actually based on my brother to a point, but only slightly. The other, the girl, is completely made up. I realized Alana needed a female friend and she just presented herself to me, fully formed. The same with the third friend. I needed a character to perform a particular part and this character just stepped up, ready to be put into action. That's how most of my supporting characters are. They seem to show up where I need them in the exact form that I need them to take. It's like they're real people raising their hand and saying, "Over here. I'm the one you need." And surprisingly they are a pretty varied group.
Names are another thing altogether though. They are probably the hardest thing for me to come up with for a character. My MC was pretty easy. It was her name that gave me the idea for the story in the first place, but it took me quite a while to come up with names for the rest of the cast.
I have found that it seems a little easier to make up a name for a character in my fantasy world than it is to find the right name for characters in my "real life" stories. Making up names seems second nature to me, perhaps because I've been doing it for most of my life. My brother and I would make up whole worlds, and I came up with the various names for the races and people we created. So coming up with the perfect fantasy name is usually pretty straightforward. When I have to look up names for my non-fantasy characters (and some of the fantasy ones too) it gets harder.
See I'm a little obsessed with names. I own ten or more baby name books and have for years. My friends thought I was crazy. So did my family. The reason I have the name book is because I'm also obsessed with name meanings. If I'm going to use a name, it needs to really mean something and that meaning usually relates to my story somehow. I have used names for the way they sound before, but not often. One example of that rare occasion is when I needed names for five sisters. I chose names that went well together and fit the girls' personalities more than anything else.
So that's my character creation process. Sometimes it starts with a name. Other times it starts with a need. On occasion it starts with a physical description. But in the end, they all turn into the characters that are just right for their stories.
One of my favorite authors, Tamora Pierce, talks about her characters on her website. She takes portions of people around her and bases characters on them. Other times she bases her characters on pictures of random people she collects.
I take a similar approach to creating characters. Most of my MCs start out as some reflection of myself (something you might quickly notice if you get to read more than one of my stories). Actually Alana, the MC of my WIP was me when I started writing the story as a teenager. Writing was a chance to take myself of crazy adventures I would never actually get to do in real life. As I've worked on the piece, Alana has become her own person, but there are still distinct pieces of me in her. Aspects of her personality, likes and dislikes, and even how she looks are taken largely from my own life. How are we the same? We both like to read; we both love horses; we both have a sarcastic streak. How are we different? She has an easier time speaking her mind than I do; she goes to public school; she's an only child; her parents are divorced; and most importantly, she is a mage. There's lots of other similarities (our hair color) and differences (she took riding lessons as a kid).
What about my other characters? My male MCs or supporting characters. Where do they come from? Well, as far as MCs go, I usually find some way to (at least at first) base them on a guy I know. When I was a teen it would be the guy I had a crush on. As I got older, they transformed from a single guy I knew to a more general male figure. I have to say that my male MCs are somewhat more varied than they used to be.
As for supporting characters, those are usually just people who pop up when needed. I need a best friend for an MC and suddenly I see the perfect person. There are two best friends for Alana in my WIP (well actually three.) One of them is actually based on my brother to a point, but only slightly. The other, the girl, is completely made up. I realized Alana needed a female friend and she just presented herself to me, fully formed. The same with the third friend. I needed a character to perform a particular part and this character just stepped up, ready to be put into action. That's how most of my supporting characters are. They seem to show up where I need them in the exact form that I need them to take. It's like they're real people raising their hand and saying, "Over here. I'm the one you need." And surprisingly they are a pretty varied group.
Names are another thing altogether though. They are probably the hardest thing for me to come up with for a character. My MC was pretty easy. It was her name that gave me the idea for the story in the first place, but it took me quite a while to come up with names for the rest of the cast.
I have found that it seems a little easier to make up a name for a character in my fantasy world than it is to find the right name for characters in my "real life" stories. Making up names seems second nature to me, perhaps because I've been doing it for most of my life. My brother and I would make up whole worlds, and I came up with the various names for the races and people we created. So coming up with the perfect fantasy name is usually pretty straightforward. When I have to look up names for my non-fantasy characters (and some of the fantasy ones too) it gets harder.
See I'm a little obsessed with names. I own ten or more baby name books and have for years. My friends thought I was crazy. So did my family. The reason I have the name book is because I'm also obsessed with name meanings. If I'm going to use a name, it needs to really mean something and that meaning usually relates to my story somehow. I have used names for the way they sound before, but not often. One example of that rare occasion is when I needed names for five sisters. I chose names that went well together and fit the girls' personalities more than anything else.
So that's my character creation process. Sometimes it starts with a name. Other times it starts with a need. On occasion it starts with a physical description. But in the end, they all turn into the characters that are just right for their stories.
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