Tag: journal

About Writing

The Hopeless Romantic’s Guide to Writing Captivating Characters

Autumn

My Venus is in Pisces, which is the astrological way of saying that I’m the quintessential hopeless romantic. This was not a personality trait of mine that was ever supported during my formative years, and as a teenager I was frequently warned that I was setting myself up for disappointment; I was also told that I shouldn’t expect to get married.

When I talk about romance, I mean the earth-shattering, butterfly-inducing, dizzying, elevating, whirlwind of excitement sort. The kind that we’re constantly told doesn’t exist. That kind.

A major motivation behind reading is to enjoy stories that I can’t hear by simply talking to the neighbors (even if they are sordid and juicy). I like stories that are larger than life and inspirational; I just can’t find books like that.

Most romance novels are about an attractive, powerful, rich guy, and since I frequently indulge in that fantasy myself as a writer, I’m not going to knock it. It’s obvious why she would fall for him, but why does he fall for her? The heroines range from mediocre to psychotic harpies; with heavy heapings of selfishness on top.

That question, ‘Why does he fall for her?’ is often left unanswered, and that kills every chance of deeply capturing the spirit of romance. If I hate the heroine, I’m not going to empathize if she captures the attention of Mr. Mega Hunk. I usually declare, “This book is stupid!” and give it a bad review on Amazon. No vicarious butterflies, no point in reading.

When I write my female characters, I write them as someone that I could fall in love with myself, and I have zero interest in Anastasias or Bellas. Perhaps I relate to novels in the wrong sort of way, but I like to think that’s what differentiates me from the Mary-Sues.

My hope is that if I write a scene that gives me butterflies, others will experience that as well when they read it.

I am a hopeless romantic, after all.

About Me

Real Life

Autumn

It always feels a bit strange when I draw from my real life with my stories. I never include the Big Stuff; truth be told, I have a possessiveness over my experiences that lends itself towards secretiveness. Barriers, and all that.

Hey, if I was perfectly well-adjusted, I wouldn’t be a writer!

Often, I’ll be out and about, see some curtains that I think are beyond gorgeous, and make a mental note to use them the next time I ever need to describe curtains. Is it deep? Not remotely. At the very least, reading my books will give you a good idea of my tastes in fashion and home decor.

You will not, however, get any sort of autobiography about my life.

Barriers, and all that.

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About Writing

Music and Writing

Autumn

For the past several months, I’ve been working on the rough draft of a new novel, and for the past several months, I’ve been listening to Kamelot on repeat. Specifically, the song, “The Last Day of Sunlight” (which as far as I can tell has not been posted YouTube).

When my husband commented on it, I muttered vaguely about how that particular song “kept the channel open” for writing my novel.

Music is a powerful tool for putting one in a specific mindset for writing. Each story has a different “feeling” about it, and finding a song that suits that “feeling” is often a powerful way of tuning in to inspiration and creativity. I don’t know if this is something I can explain accurately, but I’m certain that those who have experienced it know exactly what I’m talking about.

Often, the earliest stages of a novel involve also finding the music that fits the story, to compose the playlist that will sustain the channel of creativity for the duration of writing. Then, I will listen to that playlist on repeat, to the exclusion of pretty much everything else.

Even if it does start to wear on everyone I live with.

Thankfully, my husband understands.

 

About Writing

Improving Story Progression Through Handwritten Drafts

Autumn

I’ve mentioned before that I write all of my rough drafts by hand. One of the benefits of doing this is that ink is permanent, thus effectively neutralizing the urge to edit as I go. My main focus with my rough drafts is getting the story down on paper with as little critical thinking as possible.

I’m a firm believer in the power of editing and let quite a lot slide through in my rough drafts, but every now and then I do write something that’s so bad, it grinds the story to a halt. Sometimes it’s necessary to rewrite as I go, just to keep the story progressing. I average rewriting about five pages out of a hundred, which is more a testament to how forgiving I am than anything else.

Since transcribing onto the computer is an eventual necessity, that’s where I do the bulk of my rewriting. That’s when I start to think, “How can this be better?” I usually end up rewriting about 90%.

Ever since I started cleanly separating the steps of writing and rewriting, I’ve been able to finish books, rather than collecting files of unfinished beginnings.

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About Me

The Man Who Invented Christmas and Characterization

Autumn

I have a thing for watching corny Christmas movies in December, which is how I came across The Man Who Invented Christmas. It’s about Charles Dickens during the time period in which he wrote A Christmas Carol.

Overall, it really wasn’t my cup of tea. I finished watching it anyway, despite interruptions breaking the movie up into multiple sittings, because I did like how it portrayed Dickens chatting with the fictional character of Scrooge whenever anyone else wasn’t around.

My favorite moment was when Dickens entered his study, stuffed full of fictional characters milling around, and one of them asked, “Who is that?”

Scrooge replied something like, “No one of any import — just the author.”

I’m going off of memory here, so forgive me if I got the line wrong. The spirit is there.

I busted out laughing, because that’s how I write.

My characters are as real to me as, well, real people. I talk to them and listen to the stories they tell me. Writers block happens when they refuse to answer my questions, and getting through it is a matter of finding out how to get them to open up again with better questions. Sometimes, I feel like I’m helplessly scribbling down as much as I can while they chatter away too fast for me to follow. Othertimes, they patiently work with me through the interruptions that come with being the mom. It’s often very sad when the story is done and we say our goodbyes.

I suppose that being crazy isn’t necessary for being a writer, but it certainly helps!

About Writing

Pinterest and formulas

Autumn

I look at Pinterest when I’m too tired to function, and the site is always eager to suggest infographics and articles about how I should be writing; everything from tips to make scenes more emotional to character questionnaires.

If there’s one thing I hate, it’s being told that I have to follow a formula.

Ages ago, I didn’t want to go to college, but everyone told me I had to if I wanted to have a future. Two years in, I was so badly burnt out that I cried every morning when I got out of bed. Then one day it hit me: I didn’t have to be there.

I dropped out, got a full time job, and rented my own apartment. Complete strangers had a meltdown over my actions. Didn’t I care about my fuuuuture????!!!

Meh. I was happier. I met my husband during that time period.

And yeah, so life did get crappy when the job market crashed. Having a college degree wouldn’t have saved me from that, however, and experience isn’t a bad thing. I didn’t cease to exist, and I learned how to really appreciate life. I like who I am now, scars and everything.

Unfortunately, formulas seem to make a lot of people happy. You know, guaranteed results in three easy steps! If you follow the formulas perfectly enough, you’ll be rich and famous. And my knee-jerk reaction is: you can’t tell me what to do! I make my own paths.

When I create characters, I don’t fill out worksheets. I give them names, ask them, ‘what makes you tick?” then listen — that’s the important part. It’s chaotic and unpredictable. It doesn’t follow any rules. It’s fun.

I can’t guarantee results. Heck, other than really enjoying myself as a writer, I haven’t seen any myself! But you know what I’ve learned? It’s the journey that counts.

Muse

Keep a notebook

Autumn

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It’s been one of *those* days, so I’m going to leave you with this.

About Writing

The Benefits of Using a Handwritten Binder for Writing

Autumn

I like to work on one novel at a time, as I have found that not only is my focus much better that way, it serves as good motivation to actually finish the story before moving on to the next — otherwise I’d have a million works-in-progress and no endings.

Inspiration, on the other hand, doesn’t follow my schedule. It strikes whenever it pleases. That’s one of the reasons why I prefer keeping a handwritten binder rather than typing on a laptop. My binder is indispensable, always nearby, and never low on battery.

Whenever a new idea hits me, I write a page or two like this:

It’s not beautiful or elegant. In and of itself, it’s too vague to be particularly enjoyable for reading, but it contains everything I need to remember the idea.

Sometimes I don’t know any names, so I write down variables instead, such as “B” or “Z”. Those pages tend to look really weird.

Then it goes into the back of my binder, and waits for its turn. The proximity ensures that I often see it and thus never forget its existence.

When it’s time to start a new novel, I pick the idea that has the loudest voice.

About Me

To photo or not to photo

Autumn

The book I’m currently reading (Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock) has a great big picture of the author on the back cover. I showed it to my husband and commented, “It would be absolutely mortifying to see a picture of my face displayed like that.”

One of the things that I really like about writing is the anonymity of it. I can hide behind characters, and reveal my innermost thoughts without revealing anything at all. I strive to be, as the author, completely invisible in my novels.

Of course, with setting up an author’s page on Amazon, they ask for a bio and photos.

I wonder, do readers really care what the author looks like?

Personally, I don’t.

Personally, sometimes I wish that I didn’t know what an author looked like.

I’m contemplating whether or not I ought to include that particular bit of info, and hide safely in my anonymity.