How I Write–Creating Characters

Now that I’ve submitted Book 2 to my editor, I’m left with two new projects. I don’t know about you, but I’m finding them incredibly daunting. Like…how will I ever write another 80k? One thing that a very wise friend said, was maybe I didn’t know my characters enough yet. Which, at first I thought I did know them, but now, I’m not so sure. Just because I’ve written them before, does NOT mean I know what makes them tick. Not completely at least.

Now, I’ve made no secret that Book 3 is planned to be Davan’s book. I know little facts about him.  For instance:

-he’s not Caucasian
-he loves to cook
-he manipulates the shadows
-he’s an assassin

But this doesn’t define him. Who is he? What are his likes and dislikes? What are his fears? Well, a fear could be that he could get stuck in shadow form forever and that’s definitely I plan to play around with a bit. Why does he like cooking? Is it just his way of escaping the ugliness of the world he lives in? Does it make him feel more like a family with the other members of his squad if he cooks? What else?

Now, at the Centre, my characters aren’t dictated by the customs or beliefs of other cultures. I don’t mix that in because they’ve been raised in isolation. They may have learned about it, but it doesn’t affect them. They are their own culture in their own right. A small fact, at the Centre, they don’t celebrate many of the holidays we do. They don’t have Thanksgiving or Christmas or Valentine’s Day…or even birthdays. It’s not their way of life. That doesn’t mean the characters don’t sneak each other presents, however.

Every character has a coping method, something they do to survive just one more day. It may be their ‘secret’ or their secret may be something else altogether that has helped shaped who they are. And there lies the difficulty of truly knowing what makes a character tick.

So what makes Davan tick?

He was trained to be an assassin. The man who does the dirty work for the Council. How does he feel about this? Is it just another part of his life that he barely thinks about it anymore or does he wonder about each target, who they are and what they may have done? Does he question the Council as much as J.C.?

When creating characters, I go through a lot of what ifs and Q&As. I know some people swear by character interviews but I can’t. How can I write Davan’s answers if I don’t even know them?! It doesn’t just jump out at me like this. Neither do I look at archetypes. Heck, I don’t even know an archetype. I’d rather not box my character into that kind of description.

How do you create your characters? Or…readers, what do you wish you knew more in regards to characters?

Want to see how other writers respond to these questions? Check out these sites: Danie Ford, Emma G. Delaney, Kimberly Farris, Kristen Koster

How I Write– What do you wish you’d known?

What do you wish you had known before you had even started to write? What would you have told your past self? Would you have discouraged yourself or encouraged? Would you have gone a different route?

The closer and closer I get to my release, the more I think about this. Would I have done anything different to get to this point? Mostly, I think, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is my time to publish. It wasn’t five or even ten years ago. I wasn’t ready yet. A person can think their book is ready to go out into public, but that isn’t always the case.  I always had small inklings when something didn’t work with my book, but even five years ago, those inklings were quieting down due to over-editing. I thought I was ready.

So what did I do? I got a website (a paid designer who did a great job), business cards and the whole shebang in preparation for my first RWA Nationals Conference. In hindsight, I would have taken steps slower. I can be very impulsive at times and the website was one of those. I didn’t do my research. I loved the designer, don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t realize what I really wanted back then. I didn’t know to ask the questions I needed to create the functionality I wanted out of a site. But, because I had read an article that stated all writers should have a website (like yesterday!), I jumped into action.

Yes, a website is always needed, BUT, and here’s the thing, when you’re just starting out, you don’t need one that is going to cost you $$$$, especially if you aren’t ready. I thought of it as an investment-as a ‘well, I have it set up now and it’s good to go for when I do get published’. Yeah, no. Don’t think like that. Because years from now, you may want to do something different with your site and if you have a set design (like I had), you may not be able to change things around. Or update as much as you want to. But, I didn’t know about thinking of my future site in terms of functionality. I would have told myself to have a website, but do it yourself. I know what I’m capable of and WordPress makes it easier. Hire someone for a header, but do the website itself yourself.  BUT, that said, I’m VERY anal about details and having control over some things. What bothers me may not bother you so it’s all different.

So yes, I would definitely tell my past self not to jump the gun. Yes, it’s all needed, but to a point. Don’t expect big things just because you have the items. Take your time and figure out what you’re doing,  especially before making large purchases.

I would also say that it’s all right to write other stuff. I was telling a friend earlier this week that I kind of regretted not focusing entirely on Hunting the Shadows all through university and then later. I wrote, but it wasn’t for my novel. She slapped that regret aside saying (and I’m paraphrasing) ”you were learning the craft”.

Yes, I was. I was learning character development and plot (I still struggle with this). But I remember thinking, from…the age of like 16 that “next year, I’ll get published” and when that didn’t happen, I got frustrated with myself for not being able to. I will say, though, that it did make me more stubborn. I think me jumping to get a website and everything ties in to this point. Being locked into “I’ll get published next year” I already felt left behind in what I needed to have so I was more impulsive to get those items.

What I didn’t realize was that I wasn’t ready to be published. My writing still needed work. It still does. I didn’t realize how much until my editor gave me back my edit notes and I looked at it. That book was NOT ready.

What advice would you tell your past self?

Want to see what advice other writers would tell themselves? Check out these sites: Danie Ford, Emma G. Delaney, Kimberly Farris, Kristen Koster

How I Write– Top 5 Ways to Get Writing Done

This week, we were asked what are our 5 top ways to be successful with our goals. Here are some of mine:

1. Oh a shiny!- Yeah, new story ideas are bad. The new characters like to chatter and complain. And oh the muse crack they dangle…I’m completely susceptible to those ideas for new stories. The crack, it’s everywhere, I tell ya and just when I think I’ve evaded one, another comes along.

Many people hear voices when no-one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing. -Margaret Chittenden

There’s no cure-all. Only a focus of steel. Writing all these ideas down in a WIP ideas file sometimes helps. But for the stubborn ideas…there are times when the only way it’ll leave me alone is to actually write out the scene in my head. Let me be clear on what sticks with me. Sometimes it’s the character or the plot, but most of the time, it’s a line. One measly sentence that stalks me and repeats over and over again. Usually, it’s the first line of a book, but not always. In those cases, I need to write out the scene. If I don’t, I can’t evade.

2. I want kick-ass fighting and awesome psychic moves and…oh what if I add a… (aka the grass is always greener on the other side)- This is the worse, to always want to do more. Sometimes the simplest scenes are the best. I write paranormal where your imagination is the limit and that can frustrate me because the laws of reality doesn’t always apply. I can waste time going back and re-writing because oh I can always add (insert awesomely cool thing). By doing this, I go in circles and it can take more time to complete. This can be one of the hardest procrastination devices for me. Sometimes, I can talk myself out of adding the new awesomely cool thing, other times, I can’t and I just have to write it and hope it doesn’t change the plot too badly.

3. I’ll write 120k in two weeks- Um yeah, not happening. Not that I even write past 80k, but still. The term here is keep your goals SMART. Who knows what will happen in two weeks. There’s so many variables you’re not in control of. Burn out is real and it can kill your motivation to write for awhile if you’re not careful. I won’t even get into carpal tunnel or the need for sleep and food. Know your limitiations. It’ll help you decide on a more reasonable goal.

4. I have to do the dishes and take (insert pet name) out for a walk and my show is on so I definitely want to watch that and…- Reality sucks. We have things to do. We get sick. When you have kids, it’s especially hard to put time aside for you when you have so many roles to play. Not to mention there’s those with a job outside of the home. Everyone’s situation is different. I get home and I have the intelligence of a slug. I don’t feel like writing. I just want to lie there. But then I wouldn’t get anything done. So I force myself. Even if it’s just for an hour. At least I’m making SOME kind of progress. Actually, first I nap. Yep…as soon as I get home and eat I zonk out for 30 mins- 1 hr. It re-energizes me enough to get through the rest of the evening. Otherwise, I’m a zombie. Writing is one of those things where you need to make time for it…scheduling it in if you need to. Harder to do if you have a life (I don’t), but sometimes it’s needed.

5. Twitter! Facebook!- The world will not stop if you don’t go on for an hour…or even a day. I’m bad at this. I love Twitter (not so much FB). I’m always on Twitter, BUT, I am a lurker. Especially when I’m writing or something. I have my chatty moments, but for the most part, I’m fairly quiet on there. A friend is trying out this internet nanny to block Twitter after a certain amount of time used… but still. Social media is great and all, but balance is important as well.

How I Write– The best and worst advice I’ve received

Last week, we discussed our 2011 in review. What we accomplished. What we would change. What our goals for 2012 are. Today, we’re discussing writing advice we’ve received or heard over the years.

Best writing advice

1. Every artist was first an amateur.

I like this saying because it reminds me that mistakes will be made. Mistakes that even the professionals have done at one point in time. What matters is that they stuck with it. Everyone starts as a beginner at some point.

2. The minute you think of giving up, think of the reason you held on for so long.

Something made you start that story. Whether it’s your characters or plot, the muse crack bit you hard enough to write that first word and then the next. If you give up, you’re going to sit on plenty of manuscripts that won’t go anywhere. Yes, they’ll be learning experiences, but there’s something about being stubborn enough to see it all through to the end.

3. Discipline is doing what you know needs to be done, even though you don’t want to.

Let’s face it, there are things we don’t want to do. Like plotting. Or some days we just don’t feel like writing. While it’s fine once and awhile to say that “today I’m not writing” it’s what writers do. We write. Yes, sometimes life gets away with us with kids and work and chores…etc, but you also have to find time to get your words.

4. There are no original ideas. What makes a story new is how you write it.

This is something I’ve always worried about. I’ve re-written my book so many times because another I’ve read had a similar idea. I had to get over this because otherwise I would have never finished. Your “voice” and how your characters interact, etc, makes your story different from the others.

5. Everyone has their own process of writing and plotting. There is no right or wrong way.

There are so many different methods of plotting out there. I don’t need to list all the various ways some people write. I have my own method. Find what works for you. People will always say that their way is best, but in reality, there is no right or wrong way. What matters is that you figure out how to get from point A to point B and then C.

Worst writing advice

1. Leave out all the parts readers skip.

Every reader is different. How do you know what they’ll skip? The only thing you can do is base it off what interests you. If you don’t like what you’re writing, most likely your readers are going to feel the same way.

2. Writer’s block is a sign that you did something wrong.

I’ve heard people say that if you’re stuck, it’s because you’re going in the wrong direction or something just isn’t right and once you figure out what that is you’ll be fine again. Yes, knowing your direction helps but blocks happen for a bunch of reasons. Even if something is wrong, will you necessarily know what that is? Or how to fix it?

3. Write to the market.

By the time you write to the market, it’s already moved on. There are some overarching themes that are more popular but for the most part, you should focus on genres rather than specific ideas.

4. If you aren’t traditionally published then you aren’t an author.

I’ve heard this quite a bit. I’ve even heard a published author say something similar on Twitter. These days there are many options. You don’t need to just have to go the traditional route. You can be epublished through a digital first. You can even self-publish. What matters is what works for you because everyone has different needs. What matters is that you know the pros and cons of each option.

5. You have to follow the rules in order to get published.

Yes, there are some general grammatical and spelling rules you should write by, but there are no rigid rules that you have to write by. There are usually exceptions to most anyway. It all depends on the execution of how you get it on paper.

What advice have you received? Check out my friends’ sites: Danie Ford Emma G. Delaney Kimberly Farris Kristen Koster