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Posts Tagged ‘characters’

Stories That Grab You by the Throat . . .

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , on November 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

 . . . And won’t let go.

At last count, I had about 25 books in my To-Read pile. But for some reason earlier this month I just couldn’t get into either of the ones I’d picked up. I’m likely to drop one and come back to the other later. What did I do? Did I pick up another book from that teetering stack? No, I didn’t.

I went back to a tried and true story I’ve read at least twice before. THE SHARING KNIFE series–BEGUILEMENT, LEGACY, PASSAGE, and HORIZON–by Lois McMaster Bujold. I know exactly how this story is going to go and how it’s going to end, and I am as caught up in it as if I were reading it for the first time. I can’t even think about picking up another book. I’m finding extra time to read.

That is the kind of story I aspire to write. So, I have to spend a little time trying to figure out exactly what it is that makes this story so enthralling.

In large part, it’s the characters. Lois McMaster Bujold does the redemption of damaged characters better than any other writer I can think of. Characters who start out half-dead inside, then find a reason to fight to live, and then nearly lose it again. That is a riveting story.

But it’s more than that, of course. It’s how alive those characters feel. With virtues and flaws and dark places they don’t want to probe too deeply.

It’s the way the setting is drawn on my imagination. It doesn’t hurt that THE SHARING KNIFE is in a non-standard fantasy setting. Not some parallel medieval setting for this one. This is much more like–very much like–the Mississipi River Valley during its early settlement.

It helps that in addition to the individual trials of the characters, there are also two cultures in conflict. And nasty monsters–some human, some definitely not–that have to be vanquished along the way.

And, of course, it’s all tied together with her writing style that just eases me into that world with no bumps or hitches along the way.

But really, I think it’s the characters.

There’ve been a few other stories that grabbed me this way. Stories that often made me keep thinking about those characters long after I’d finished the book(s).

Back to reading. And thinking.

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Escalation

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , on August 28, 2011| 11 Comments »

It’s not a secret. Things should get worse and worse for your characters until the climax, when, hopefully, the conflict is resolved, the protagonist having won, learned something, and grown or changed. In most, if not all, of my stories, that’s also going to put the protagonist in a position to finally get what he wants–which may or may not be what he thought he wanted at the beginning of the story.

I’m ashamed to say that in one of my current projects, I got that wrong. Not for the story as a whole. Just for the first try/fail cycle. Still, that’s bad enough.

How did that happen? Well, I was making revisions and I added some events to help make the central conflict clearer right from the beginning. So far so good. It’s just that I added them in the wrong order.

This is where a great critique group is the biggest help. It’s more than possible to be so close into the details yourself that you can’t see a screw up like this. But a critiquer will tell you that something is off.

So now I just have to go back and put things in the right order.

  1. Insignificant event that shows the problem, but doesn’t make it seem very bad.
  2. Public event that is largely benign, but upsets people.
  3. Overheard reaction of those people.
  4. Major event that scares the protagonist into taking more action.

Yeah, that’ll work much better than the other way around.

Edited to add:

Well, I thought that plan was going to work, but after playing with it all day, I’ve decided against it. Plan B is to just add some more tension and danger to the last incident. I need to see if I can make it as scary–or even scarier–than the first.

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Something Interesting

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , , on August 10, 2011| 2 Comments »

While researching agents to query, I came across this very interesting post. Very useful ideas for any kind of writing.

Meanwhile, I’m making good progress on my third draft of SEVEN STARS. Hopefully, I’ll find a way to incorporate at least some of these ideas as I go.

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Character Revelations.

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , on April 3, 2011| 2 Comments »

Well, after David Farland’s pep talk last week on “How to Sell Your Novel”, I’ve decided to give BLOOD WILL TELL another try through the traditional channels, after the revisions of course. E-publishing isn’t going away. It will still be there–maybe better and easier–when I’m ready.  (I probably will still stick a toe in those waters with a couple of short stories. We’ll see.)

Revisions on BLOOD WILL TELL continue roughly on schedule, if not as fast as I would really like. Still, all things considered. . .  Yesterday, I finished changing one transition into a scene and well, I don’t think the other quite comes up to the level of a scene, but I at least dug deeper. I wrote one whole new scene and added material to another. Not a bad day’s work.

Those additions are mostly for the purpose of showing earlier exactly what is driving my main character. Not only her main motivations, but her fears and the things that she believes (some of which will turn out not to be true). All good and necessary things.

And as I work on these scenes from the beginning, I’m working out some revelations about my characters. The critiques helped me see some things in a new light. I think I sufficiently tortured my main character, but I may have been a bit too easy on my side characters. The love interest gets tortured for a while, too. But his transformation may be just a bit too easy. And, darn it, it’s a source of conflict which I wasted. Can’t let that happen. They ought to have at least one good argument over it and let him think he’s losing her again, before he finally finds the way to change.

I’m still struggling a bit with the sidekick. I’ve tried to give her a little more rounding in the early chapters, but I don’t know if I’ve succeeded, yet. I’ve got a scene coming up later today (hopefully) that I’m going to recast into her point of view. I actually haven’t had a scene in her point of view yet. That’s something I may have to fix later. She seems weak and fragile, shy and naive to the other characters. So, of course, that’s how the reader sees her, too. To a degree, that’s what I want them to see. But to some readers she was just too useless to live. I have to fix that. This scene should give me a chance to show at least a little interior toughness and resolve.

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Revision Mode

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , on March 20, 2011| 2 Comments »

I’ve successfully gotten myself into revision mode and back into the story and characters of BLOOD WILL TELL.

I’ve even drafted the new first chapter. I tried to do two things with it:

  1. Start the story off more as the urban fantasy it is.
  2. Show some of my main character’s strong emotions earlier.

I don’t know how well I’ve succeeded, yet, but that’s what first drafts are for. I’ll get a few readers in a couple of weeks (after it’s had time to sit a little and I’ve gone back over it) and then decide whether this works or if I need to do more.

I think the strong emotions are key. My main character starts out sort of bottled up, very controlled. But that’s what’s shows on the outside, not what’s really going on on the inside. I need to dig deeper and show more of her inner turmoil early in the story. She has reasons for keeping her emotions on a tight leash, but there are still things she cares deeply about. That both builds conflict and should help readers to identify more with her.

Aside from that, my goals (for now, subject to change as I get going) are to:

  1. Enhance one of the side characters. She’s shy, but, like her cousin the main character, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a lot going on underneath. I need to show her strengths earlier and probably give her a little more time as the point of view character.
  2. Add more suspense to the climax. Right now, it doesn’t feel enough like the good guys could really fail. I have some ideas for that.
  3. Reduce or elimate certain other points of view in the story. I think the antagonist is getting too much point of view time. It’s making him seem a little bumbling and not a serious enough threat. (See the point above.) There are a couple of other minor characters who get point of view scenes, too. I’m going to give a hard look at what I need–and don’t need–in those scenes. Some will be cut.
  4. There’s a longish section near the beginning that leaves the urban fantasy and goes off into an alternate world. I need it. But I also may need to cut it back, some.

Those are my main goals for this revision. Of course, certain specific scenes or chapters have additional goals for the action that occurs there, as well.

On to revisions.

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Shifting Gears

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , , on March 13, 2011| 4 Comments »

Yesterday, I finished the first draft of SEVEN STARS. Now I’ve spent a little (very little) time savoring that feeling, it’s time to shift gears.

Today, and possibly the next few days, are going to be about putting myself in a different frame of mind. SEVEN STARS needs to rest so I can approach the second draft with fresher eyes. Now I’m going to start another round of revisions on BLOOD WILL TELL (which may also get a new title in the process).

I have to drag my mind away from one set of characters that I’ve gotten to like and back to another. I need to change my focus from new writing (altough BLOOD WILL TELL will almost certainly get a new beginning) and prepare to do revisions. I have to get myself out of a second-world young adult fantasy and get into the right frame of mind for an adult urban fantasy. Piece of cake, right?

But that’s exactly what I need to do–focus on something else for a while–so I can come back to SEVEN STARS and really see it.

I’ll probably start by reading through BLOOD WILL TELL one more time. I swear there are parts I could probably quote from memory.

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Powering Through

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , on March 9, 2011| 2 Comments »

I have three chapters left to go on SEVEN STARS. It’s been going slower than anticipated this last week or so. It’s not that I’ve lost enthusiasm for the story or don’t know where it goes from here. Maybe it’s spring fever. Or maybe I just don’t want to finish it. Sometimes, I think, like reading a good book, I just don’t want to get to THE END. I want to stay in the sandbox and keep playing with these characters.

Of course, on a first draft, THE END isn’t anywhere close to really being the end. There’ll be several revisions. I’ll only be saying goodbye to these characters for a little while. It’s just a brief vacation so I can come back to the story with fresh eyes for the second draft.

So, what I have to do now is just pull my (figurative) writer hat down firmly on my head and power through. I know what happens next. And the writing doesn’t have to be perfect or even close to it in the first draft. That, after all, is what revisions are for.

If you want to be a writer, you can’t be a wimp about it. Some days it’s just butt in chair and get the job done, like any other job.

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Pulling Characters Apart

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , on March 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Not too long ago I posted about bringing two of my characters together.  I’m now in the interesting part of SEVEN STARS where I have to pull those two characters apart–temporarily.

They’ve spent some time alone to learn to respect and trust each other. They’ve worked together for a common goal. Learned things from each other. Had their first kiss–okay a couple of kisses. And I’ve given them some obstacles, some arguably good reasons why they really shouldn’t choose each other.

Now, it’s time for me to separate them for a little while so they can realize just how much they really want to be together and build up enough motivation to take on those obstacles.

Well, one of them already has the motivation. He’s been a bit ahead of her at every step down this journey.

The separation won’t last too long. In fact, I’m about to put them back in the same place (physically at least) in this next chapter. Might take another couple of chapters to complete the process. She can be a little stubborn and he’s going to have to change her mind. Not that she’s happy about her decision, but she does think she’s made a decision. 

Poor Ti. It’s going to get a little rocky for him for a little while, but he’s up to the challenge, now.

You have to torture you’re characters.

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Walk-On Characters

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , on February 27, 2011| 1 Comment »

This is undoubtedly related to being a discovery writer. Sometimes, in the middle of a story, I get to meet a walk-on character.

Often, as with the current version of SEVEN STARS (possibly to be renamed CURSED), I know that there’s going to be a need for a character at a certain point in the story.  They’re in the plans. I’ve got two of those coming up in the next couple of chapters.

Sometimes, I reach a point in the plot and just need a character that hasn’t already been introduced to do something. I’ve had one of those in a recent chapter and there’s one coming up in the next chapter. These characters don’t have to do much as a rule. The one coming up just has to guide my characters to a secret entrance. I don’t expect he’ll do much besides that.

Then again, he could surprise me. The last character of that type has piqued my interest and just may end up with a bigger role.

But the real surprises are the complete walk-ons. The ones that were never planned at all, who just walk in and take on a part of the story. I’ve had one of those turn up in the last chapter. It wasn’t a role I felt I needed to fill. Maybe my subconscious did.

This character just showed up and told me he was an old friend of one of the main characters and that now that that character has begun to change, the old friend wants to hold him back and make him stay in his old roles. Cool! A new source of conflict. Can my character who’s just begun to believe in himself overcome the doubts of people who knew him before? How will the challenge affect him?

I also think that, probably unwittingly, this new character is going to have a role to play in moving my romance along. The main characters have been taking their jobs just a little too seriously. Someone needs to give them a little shove.  All work and no play . . .

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Bringing Characters Together

Posted in writing, tagged , , , , on February 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I have to say, I’m having a lot of fun with this new version of SEVEN STARS so far. Switching the gender roles just opens up a world of possibilities for these characters and a lot of fun things to explore.

I’m up to chapter eleven, more or less alternating viewpoints between the two main characters. Right now, I’m in that interesting stage of bringing the characters together.

These two characters are very different, have different backgrounds, different ways of looking at things, even different goals. But, of course, because this is a story, they’re going to end up working together, learning to like and respect each other, and, eventually, falling in love.  That’s even more fun now with the female character being the dominant member of the pair in the beginning.

While their paths have crossed a couple of times, I’ve just really brought them together where they have to interact when she rescued him from certain death. Now they’re going to be stuck alone together for a couple of days so they have a chance to learn a little about each other.

This is much better than that awful trope I had in the first version. (We just won’t talk about that, alright?)

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