The best advice from Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell is that since readers are more aware of potential plot developments and build up expectations based on the many repetitions of plot 'twists' they've seen before, you should fool them by refusing to do the expected. Basically, conceive of your plot, scene, twist, etc. and then put down the first thing that comes to your mind. The first thing is likely to be something done before. After all, you're also a reader and thus you anticipate of your own plot lines the same hackneyed tales that others do. So make a list of alternatives to your original idea. Brainstorm.
So, let's give this a go:
In the Medieval Era, a young woman who has always been an eccentric dreamer is told that she must marry a man twice her age. How does she react?
She secretly plots her way out of it through a mixture of cunning and wit.
She rails against it and stamps her pretty little feet.
She accepts it with a whimsical smile. Older men are less likely to be demanding of her time.
She has an affair to prove her independence and to cause him to break off the wedding date.
She joins a nunnery.
She pretends to be a boy and joins the army.
True, none of these are necessarily bad. They're all good reactions. However, you've got to admit that you saw 1. and 2. coming. 3. would be a surprise though it does mean there's no conflict in this piece of the plot. 4. is certainly unexpected but it'd be hard to respect such an act unless it was truly born of desperation as it would probably cause more trouble than it was worth. 5. is also unexpected and rarely used, fits the character concept (dreamy and quiet could make for a devoutly religious figure) and flouts societal expectations in what is still a socially acceptable manner. 6. would need a lot of build up and character development for that particular character but could be worked into the concept if her daydreams had a decidedly military bent.
And that's just what I get when I brainstorm 6 ideas. Imagine if I brainstormed 20. What do you guys think? Try the exercise yourself and tell me what you find.
Showing posts with label Writing exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing exercise. Show all posts
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
TIPS: Issues with Sparseness
In one of the published novels I've been reading, the plot zips along at a fairly rapid pace. I've only read the first 30 pages and in one scene there was a whole page and a half dedicated to a history lesson about this one minor character. Now, the history lesson was really cool. It delved into how he got this particular artefact, how a friend of his died, and why he was so desperate to get across town to give the artefact to someone else. The problem was that it read like a timeline and really would've been more interesting if the author had dramatised it. As it was, it got a bit dull.
Other sections of the book suffer from a similar problem although in those instances, it wasn't exposition to blame. It was a desperate desire to skip along to the next bit that led to whole paragraphs feeling like an exercise in ... and then ... and then ... and then....
Unpublished authors can also have trouble with this one, especially since they're encouraged to cut out every unnecessary word in the sentence. It doesn't help that most of the advice involves the Delete key. Throw out all of the POV slips, the adjectives, the 'was' and 'were', remove this, reduce that, and combine the other. It's rare to find an article that says: 'put more words in'.
Yet if you hear critters complaining about a 'lack of protagonist perspective', 'where are they, anyway?' or even that there's little sense of tension, it might be that you've written too sparsely. Perhaps you need to add words. Add a few choice adjectives, some internal dialogue, or some description. Perhaps you need to slow it down, pad it out, and keep it from sounding like a laundry list of activity interspersed with dialogue.
I know this used to be one of my problems. 'More POV' and 'More Description' they would clamor and I would be confused. Weren't my favorite authors known for their sparse writing and their snappy dialogue?
I went back to those authors and re-read them and I found that their pages weren't full of lines of dialogue and ultra-brief narrative elements. To make matters worse, I found that they could increase tension and add a sense of speed to a novel by adding block after block of well-written and meaty paragraphs. Counter-intuitive, I know, but they managed it.
So, as a writing exercise, I suggest you all go over to those legendary so-called 'sparse' and 'tight' writers you read and take a look to see how sparse they really are. If you're told about pacing difficulties, flat tension, confusion about locations, or a lack of character depth, consider whether you should add more words rather than take them all away.
Sometimes less isn't more. Sometimes, less is just less.
Other sections of the book suffer from a similar problem although in those instances, it wasn't exposition to blame. It was a desperate desire to skip along to the next bit that led to whole paragraphs feeling like an exercise in ... and then ... and then ... and then....
Unpublished authors can also have trouble with this one, especially since they're encouraged to cut out every unnecessary word in the sentence. It doesn't help that most of the advice involves the Delete key. Throw out all of the POV slips, the adjectives, the 'was' and 'were', remove this, reduce that, and combine the other. It's rare to find an article that says: 'put more words in'.
Yet if you hear critters complaining about a 'lack of protagonist perspective', 'where are they, anyway?' or even that there's little sense of tension, it might be that you've written too sparsely. Perhaps you need to add words. Add a few choice adjectives, some internal dialogue, or some description. Perhaps you need to slow it down, pad it out, and keep it from sounding like a laundry list of activity interspersed with dialogue.
I know this used to be one of my problems. 'More POV' and 'More Description' they would clamor and I would be confused. Weren't my favorite authors known for their sparse writing and their snappy dialogue?
I went back to those authors and re-read them and I found that their pages weren't full of lines of dialogue and ultra-brief narrative elements. To make matters worse, I found that they could increase tension and add a sense of speed to a novel by adding block after block of well-written and meaty paragraphs. Counter-intuitive, I know, but they managed it.
So, as a writing exercise, I suggest you all go over to those legendary so-called 'sparse' and 'tight' writers you read and take a look to see how sparse they really are. If you're told about pacing difficulties, flat tension, confusion about locations, or a lack of character depth, consider whether you should add more words rather than take them all away.
Sometimes less isn't more. Sometimes, less is just less.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
TIPS: 5 Methods To Build Emotional Realism
We've all been there. We're writing up our characters who we've said are enraged by a terrible injustice and yet (aside from a statement saying they're angry) their thoughts are all about how cute the secretary is, how much they liked the latte, and whenever they talk to someone, their word choices and sentence styles are the same as always. Or we've written a character who, despite signs around them that would make me crawl under the bed and hide, are just kind of chilling out and worrying about the hum drum issues that really wouldn't register in a fit of anxiety. I know I've done it. My first draft of Curse of the Rose / The Butterfly Lady involved a lot of critters telling me to give them 'more POV'.
What they meant when they said that was that they didn't know what the character was thinking / feeling. They were distant from the character. It also indicated that I hadn't fully set their emotional states on the page in any of the main forms. So, here are a few ways to realistically portray emotion.
1. Memory. Cast your mind back to the last time you were in pain, heartbroken, angry, scared, or what have you. What did you think about? What did you notice? I know, for example, that when I'm angry, my best friend's stroll can set my teeth on edge because an Angry Me is an Impatient Me. I know I'm not going to be thrilled about any queues, line ups, or anything else like that. Most people I know are the same way though they might express it differently (glares, passive aggressive increased walking speed, pushing in, snapping at someone, turning their anger directly at the victim).
2. Descriptions. Note how a queue can look differently depending on how you're feeling. If you're madly in love and have bumped into a friend in a queue, you might be happy to stand there and gush about your romance. If you've won the lottery (i.e. ecstatic), very little will wipe the smile off your face. If you're sad, you might not care where you are. What do you think those feelings will do to your perspective? How might you interpret the stimuli around you? Who would you notice? How would you describe it? Mood very much affects perspective so let your Point of View Character's mood affect what you describe and how you describe it.
3. Dialogue. The next time you're emotional (or someone else is) try to also pay attention to what you're saying and how you're saying it (a difficult feat in certain situations). Anger often makes sentences shorter and more abrupt. Excitement can create longer, flowing, muddled sentences. Happy people generally pay more attention to social niceties and are more interested in other people than sad people. These are all generalties, and there are other ways people express emotion through word choice and tone, so pay attention to them and then see how you might relay that through your dialogue.
4. Personality. Pay attention to how other people behave, on television and in real life, to certain stimuli. Television isn't always a good example as it's pre-packaged and fake, but if you pick scenes that resonated with you, odds are it had a believable element. I loved the fear responses in the movie REC. It felt very real to me. So, even though I have no way of watching terror in other people in real life, I can sit down and analyse the different personalities in that movie and how they displayed their fear. Some converted it into anger and targeted other people. Some panted and looked like they were going to throw up. Some just became very weak and helpless.
5. Brainstorm. Brainstorm reactions to those emotional events. This can really help you move away from stereotype. If you brainstorm 10 possible reactions per major event per character, you can then pick the most likely reaction rather than falling back on the old standbys such as Military Man converts fear to anger and wants to fight out his differences; Housewife falls down in a puddle of helplessness. It might be that this time, with this stimuli, Bob the Military Man falters as he expects to know what to do in a situation but this one is totally beyond his skills while Josie the Housewife is too busy keeping it together for her loved ones to fall apart and that focus helps keep her strong.
----
So there you have it, 5 methods of getting across the emotional reality of your story. Hope this helped! If you have any more, or have examples you want to put across (especially movies / television shows / books that demonstrated an emotion really well), feel free to mention them in the comments.
What they meant when they said that was that they didn't know what the character was thinking / feeling. They were distant from the character. It also indicated that I hadn't fully set their emotional states on the page in any of the main forms. So, here are a few ways to realistically portray emotion.
1. Memory. Cast your mind back to the last time you were in pain, heartbroken, angry, scared, or what have you. What did you think about? What did you notice? I know, for example, that when I'm angry, my best friend's stroll can set my teeth on edge because an Angry Me is an Impatient Me. I know I'm not going to be thrilled about any queues, line ups, or anything else like that. Most people I know are the same way though they might express it differently (glares, passive aggressive increased walking speed, pushing in, snapping at someone, turning their anger directly at the victim).
2. Descriptions. Note how a queue can look differently depending on how you're feeling. If you're madly in love and have bumped into a friend in a queue, you might be happy to stand there and gush about your romance. If you've won the lottery (i.e. ecstatic), very little will wipe the smile off your face. If you're sad, you might not care where you are. What do you think those feelings will do to your perspective? How might you interpret the stimuli around you? Who would you notice? How would you describe it? Mood very much affects perspective so let your Point of View Character's mood affect what you describe and how you describe it.
3. Dialogue. The next time you're emotional (or someone else is) try to also pay attention to what you're saying and how you're saying it (a difficult feat in certain situations). Anger often makes sentences shorter and more abrupt. Excitement can create longer, flowing, muddled sentences. Happy people generally pay more attention to social niceties and are more interested in other people than sad people. These are all generalties, and there are other ways people express emotion through word choice and tone, so pay attention to them and then see how you might relay that through your dialogue.
4. Personality. Pay attention to how other people behave, on television and in real life, to certain stimuli. Television isn't always a good example as it's pre-packaged and fake, but if you pick scenes that resonated with you, odds are it had a believable element. I loved the fear responses in the movie REC. It felt very real to me. So, even though I have no way of watching terror in other people in real life, I can sit down and analyse the different personalities in that movie and how they displayed their fear. Some converted it into anger and targeted other people. Some panted and looked like they were going to throw up. Some just became very weak and helpless.
5. Brainstorm. Brainstorm reactions to those emotional events. This can really help you move away from stereotype. If you brainstorm 10 possible reactions per major event per character, you can then pick the most likely reaction rather than falling back on the old standbys such as Military Man converts fear to anger and wants to fight out his differences; Housewife falls down in a puddle of helplessness. It might be that this time, with this stimuli, Bob the Military Man falters as he expects to know what to do in a situation but this one is totally beyond his skills while Josie the Housewife is too busy keeping it together for her loved ones to fall apart and that focus helps keep her strong.
----
So there you have it, 5 methods of getting across the emotional reality of your story. Hope this helped! If you have any more, or have examples you want to put across (especially movies / television shows / books that demonstrated an emotion really well), feel free to mention them in the comments.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
DIAGNOSTIC: Blood Relatives - Ed McBain
So, here's another time where we sit down an analyse just what made a particular book work for me. Well, Ed McBain is an interesting author because he does so many things that should be wrong and that we've all been told not to do and somehow does it in a way that is not only forgivable but actually add to the character of the novels. He writes procedural crime fiction, generally from the Point of View (POV) of the detectives who work out of the 87th precinct (he has other series of novels but Blood Relatives is an 87th precinct novel so that's where we'll focus).
So what does he do wrong/right?
He breaks the POV rules: He writes with multiple POVs (generally only one per scene, though) though sometimes he drifts into an omniscient POV with a distinct author voice. Somehow, it works for him. I think part of the charm is that the omniscient POV is really interesting. I mean, really interesting. He'll use it to describe people and places in a way that is generally humorous in a sometimes dark / sometimes light way and it just really adds to the setting. The characters are rich and full creatures and he'll frame the entire scene through some of the omniscient drift.
Like this:
The average garbage can on any city street got battered and bruised within the space of a week because these men loved their work so much. (Some people insisted these men also loved the smell of garbage, but that was pure conjecture).
This is part of a few paragraphs that introduce a few garbage men, their conversation, and their daily rounds. The garbage men have a very small part to play in this novel. In truth, their entire job is, well, their job. They move trash from the kerb to a garbage dump and, in so doing, allow another minor character to find the diary. The omniscient tone keeps the scene lively and interesting and makes it seem somewhat important. It also satisfies the voyeur in me as it describes things more interestingly than the obvious options for the POVs.
Part of how it works for him is because of its structure. He a) doesn't head hop; b) generally only does it much with the minor POVs or criminals; and c) tends to do it at the start of the scene and then start narrowing it down to a particular character's viewpoint.
List-like Descriptions: This works because the POV characters are generally cops and therefore actually think in a more orderly fashion, because he varies the sentence length / structure, and because he generally slips in unexpected information. For example, he might slip in a bit of evidence that stands out more because of the orderly description:
The man was wearing a dark suit and a white shirt, no tie. His hair was brown. There appeared to be bloodstains on the front of his white shirt.
Or because they give some interesting and additional information that tells you a lot about the person:
The fifth man who approached Kling's desk had black wavy hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a navy-blue jacket over a pale-blue sports suit. His trousers were a dark blue too, but they did not quite match the jacket. Jacket and trousers alike were crumpled, and there was a beard stubble on the man's face.
Where a less interesting author might write:
He had black wavy hair and blue eyes. He wore a navy-blue jacket over a pale-blue suit. His clothes were crumpled.
See the difference?
------
Well, hope you found that interesting. There's much more that Ed McBain does right but I'll leave it until I analyse another one of his books (which I will do). Does anyone have any suggestions for another book I should analyse?
So what does he do wrong/right?
He breaks the POV rules: He writes with multiple POVs (generally only one per scene, though) though sometimes he drifts into an omniscient POV with a distinct author voice. Somehow, it works for him. I think part of the charm is that the omniscient POV is really interesting. I mean, really interesting. He'll use it to describe people and places in a way that is generally humorous in a sometimes dark / sometimes light way and it just really adds to the setting. The characters are rich and full creatures and he'll frame the entire scene through some of the omniscient drift.
Like this:
The average garbage can on any city street got battered and bruised within the space of a week because these men loved their work so much. (Some people insisted these men also loved the smell of garbage, but that was pure conjecture).
This is part of a few paragraphs that introduce a few garbage men, their conversation, and their daily rounds. The garbage men have a very small part to play in this novel. In truth, their entire job is, well, their job. They move trash from the kerb to a garbage dump and, in so doing, allow another minor character to find the diary. The omniscient tone keeps the scene lively and interesting and makes it seem somewhat important. It also satisfies the voyeur in me as it describes things more interestingly than the obvious options for the POVs.
Part of how it works for him is because of its structure. He a) doesn't head hop; b) generally only does it much with the minor POVs or criminals; and c) tends to do it at the start of the scene and then start narrowing it down to a particular character's viewpoint.
List-like Descriptions: This works because the POV characters are generally cops and therefore actually think in a more orderly fashion, because he varies the sentence length / structure, and because he generally slips in unexpected information. For example, he might slip in a bit of evidence that stands out more because of the orderly description:
The man was wearing a dark suit and a white shirt, no tie. His hair was brown. There appeared to be bloodstains on the front of his white shirt.
Or because they give some interesting and additional information that tells you a lot about the person:
The fifth man who approached Kling's desk had black wavy hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a navy-blue jacket over a pale-blue sports suit. His trousers were a dark blue too, but they did not quite match the jacket. Jacket and trousers alike were crumpled, and there was a beard stubble on the man's face.
Where a less interesting author might write:
He had black wavy hair and blue eyes. He wore a navy-blue jacket over a pale-blue suit. His clothes were crumpled.
See the difference?
------
Well, hope you found that interesting. There's much more that Ed McBain does right but I'll leave it until I analyse another one of his books (which I will do). Does anyone have any suggestions for another book I should analyse?
Friday, March 4, 2011
WORTHY LINKS: Editing Tricks
Here is a really neat article from Terry Odell on how to edit your work with a fresh set of eyes. Who would've thought a change of formatting and some post-it notes could be so useful? I'm certainly going to try this.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Themes, Moods, and Examples
So as another exercise of the mind, I've generated a list of possible themes and moods (obviously not a complete list - that would be impossible) and I figured it might be worth doing an exercise which looks at bringing a theme and a mood to life. I'm going to use the Urban Fantasy sub-genre with a focus on Vampires as they're rather popular these days. I rolled some dice to figure out which theme and mood from the list I would be using.
The theme will be A Choice Between Two Evils and the mood will be Bittersweet. Yeah, yeah, I know. Not exactly a hard theme / mood for the subject matter but, in my defence, I settled on the subject well before I rolled the dice. The dice decided the rest. Go blame the dice.
Let's imagine the vampires are gathering, as they do, in typical vampire fashion to be all cold and callously political. I could run with some sort of kill 5 people to save 100 dilemma or perhaps have someone choose between two other creatures - perhaps a werewolf and a demon - but neither of them seem very bittersweet and moral dilemmas tend to fall a bit flat with blood-sucking creatures of the night. So, let's go with a trial.
The trial involves two vampire brothers murdering another vampire but claiming they are both innocent of the act. The vampires wish them both dead but for the prince, after weeks of deliberation, is prepared to make a settlement: If one of the brothers points the finger and tells the court who truly killed the vampire, the murderer will die and the other one be spared. After all, the prince can't have such a display of solidarity between vampires go unpunished.
The prince and all the other vampires expect the two to fall upon each other and claim the other did it. Instead, one simply stands shocked. The other brother steps forward and claims that he felled the final blow and that his colleague is innocent. That vampire is summarily executed and the other allowed to go free and continue his immortal existence. A bittersweet ending as the survivor gained what he wished for (freedom) but at a terrible price (his own loyal compatriot).
So that's the theme fully engaged through the plot itself. The choice between two evils is a choice between suicide and mutual destruction. Neither are good choices. So how about the mood?
The bittersweet mood can be reinforced through recollections of better nights, conversation between the two accused, and signs of nostalgia in the area such as grandfather clocks. The court room should be elegant and opulent, the vampires dressed in finery, with most vampires looking both beautiful and young to emphasise the benefits of the vampire race. Richness, opulent surrounds, power, and ever-lasting youth are so often wished for. Also underscore the subtle disconnects between alleged allies, discreet blood stains around the lips, deathly lack of movement in the older and more powerful vampires, glimpses of fangs and inhumanity, a layer of dust over parts of the court room that hasn't been updated since 1800 - each showing the unforseen consequences of being forever dead monsters. Thus the bittersweet mood of gaining something one wished for but with a terrible consequence is highlighted through the location alone.
Hmm, this exercise was a bit of fun. Is there any interest in me doing future ones of these or should I look to another writing exercise?
The theme will be A Choice Between Two Evils and the mood will be Bittersweet. Yeah, yeah, I know. Not exactly a hard theme / mood for the subject matter but, in my defence, I settled on the subject well before I rolled the dice. The dice decided the rest. Go blame the dice.
Let's imagine the vampires are gathering, as they do, in typical vampire fashion to be all cold and callously political. I could run with some sort of kill 5 people to save 100 dilemma or perhaps have someone choose between two other creatures - perhaps a werewolf and a demon - but neither of them seem very bittersweet and moral dilemmas tend to fall a bit flat with blood-sucking creatures of the night. So, let's go with a trial.
The trial involves two vampire brothers murdering another vampire but claiming they are both innocent of the act. The vampires wish them both dead but for the prince, after weeks of deliberation, is prepared to make a settlement: If one of the brothers points the finger and tells the court who truly killed the vampire, the murderer will die and the other one be spared. After all, the prince can't have such a display of solidarity between vampires go unpunished.
The prince and all the other vampires expect the two to fall upon each other and claim the other did it. Instead, one simply stands shocked. The other brother steps forward and claims that he felled the final blow and that his colleague is innocent. That vampire is summarily executed and the other allowed to go free and continue his immortal existence. A bittersweet ending as the survivor gained what he wished for (freedom) but at a terrible price (his own loyal compatriot).
So that's the theme fully engaged through the plot itself. The choice between two evils is a choice between suicide and mutual destruction. Neither are good choices. So how about the mood?
The bittersweet mood can be reinforced through recollections of better nights, conversation between the two accused, and signs of nostalgia in the area such as grandfather clocks. The court room should be elegant and opulent, the vampires dressed in finery, with most vampires looking both beautiful and young to emphasise the benefits of the vampire race. Richness, opulent surrounds, power, and ever-lasting youth are so often wished for. Also underscore the subtle disconnects between alleged allies, discreet blood stains around the lips, deathly lack of movement in the older and more powerful vampires, glimpses of fangs and inhumanity, a layer of dust over parts of the court room that hasn't been updated since 1800 - each showing the unforseen consequences of being forever dead monsters. Thus the bittersweet mood of gaining something one wished for but with a terrible consequence is highlighted through the location alone.
Hmm, this exercise was a bit of fun. Is there any interest in me doing future ones of these or should I look to another writing exercise?
Thursday, February 24, 2011
RANT: Inspiration from Raquel Byrne's M&Ms
So, I'm reading Raquel Byrne's neat blog and apparently she separates her M&Ms into piles of colour and then eats the smaller pile first. This may be a lie. On that post, she has a number of facts about herself and apparently one is false. That doesn't matter. What matters is that it's an interesting trait and it led me to realise what's missing in a lot of fictional characters - especially Fantasy characters. Kooky mannerisms.
I don't mean kooky mannerisms like a need to sniff every tree because you're an elf and tree pheromones tell you what they're feeling. I mean the kind of weird things that individuals happen to say or do. We all have them. It often makes it easier to identify with a character if they happen to have one as well and, sure, you don't want to put too much words towards something not strictly plot-relevant but these sorts of mannerisms don't need many words to detail them.
Some of them are gross: peeing in the shower, scratching one's crack, cupping our farts and shoving them under people's noses, wiping snot on our sleeves if we're crying and can't find a tissue, or making it rain dandruff by scratching our heads, letting a dog lick your face, always kissing with tongue no matter who's present, ripping off the edges of your finger/toe nails when they get too long and leaving them on the table, shaving your face and leaving the hairs behind.
Some of them are silly: crawling up the stairs to the first floor, throwing a pseudo-tantrum at bed time so your partner has to drag you across the tiled floor by your feet to get you to the stairs, getting really hyper when you're over-tired and talking a hundred miles an hour, or sudden giggle bursts where you just can't stop laughing, snorting when you laugh (I do all these things).
Some are just odd: separating M&Ms according to colour and eating the smaller pile first (sorry Raquel), ironing your socks, snuffing out candles with finger tips rather than blowing them out, changing your sheets every morning, using eating utensils like you're left-handed when you're actually right-handed, constantly fidgeting, jigging your foot constantly, flicking your fingers when you get bored, attempting 'puppy dog eyes' to convince people to do stuff for you when you really can't pull it off, never being able to get the tone right to pull off a joke.
These are all mannerisms I've seen in real life. I'm sure that even in a fantasy world some of these would transfer over with few, or even no, differences. Why does your character have to be squeaky clean and normal? Why can't they pop zits or threaten people with snotty rags or spend 20 minutes trying to make sure that painting is perfectly level? Making the characters feel that extra bit more real should be a priority.
So, give it a go, and please, tell me ... what are some of the strange mannerisms you've either used in a book or seen in real life?
I don't mean kooky mannerisms like a need to sniff every tree because you're an elf and tree pheromones tell you what they're feeling. I mean the kind of weird things that individuals happen to say or do. We all have them. It often makes it easier to identify with a character if they happen to have one as well and, sure, you don't want to put too much words towards something not strictly plot-relevant but these sorts of mannerisms don't need many words to detail them.
Some of them are gross: peeing in the shower, scratching one's crack, cupping our farts and shoving them under people's noses, wiping snot on our sleeves if we're crying and can't find a tissue, or making it rain dandruff by scratching our heads, letting a dog lick your face, always kissing with tongue no matter who's present, ripping off the edges of your finger/toe nails when they get too long and leaving them on the table, shaving your face and leaving the hairs behind.
Some of them are silly: crawling up the stairs to the first floor, throwing a pseudo-tantrum at bed time so your partner has to drag you across the tiled floor by your feet to get you to the stairs, getting really hyper when you're over-tired and talking a hundred miles an hour, or sudden giggle bursts where you just can't stop laughing, snorting when you laugh (I do all these things).
Some are just odd: separating M&Ms according to colour and eating the smaller pile first (sorry Raquel), ironing your socks, snuffing out candles with finger tips rather than blowing them out, changing your sheets every morning, using eating utensils like you're left-handed when you're actually right-handed, constantly fidgeting, jigging your foot constantly, flicking your fingers when you get bored, attempting 'puppy dog eyes' to convince people to do stuff for you when you really can't pull it off, never being able to get the tone right to pull off a joke.
These are all mannerisms I've seen in real life. I'm sure that even in a fantasy world some of these would transfer over with few, or even no, differences. Why does your character have to be squeaky clean and normal? Why can't they pop zits or threaten people with snotty rags or spend 20 minutes trying to make sure that painting is perfectly level? Making the characters feel that extra bit more real should be a priority.
So, give it a go, and please, tell me ... what are some of the strange mannerisms you've either used in a book or seen in real life?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
LISTS: Brainstorming Horror Themes
Since my fantasy world has a very strong emphasis, in one regard, on sin with a certain class of people being the embodiments of sin, I figured it might be worth-while to brainstorm a list of horror themes that could be used in the construction of such monsters. I'll begin by creating a list of villainous traits, horrific terms, and terrible possibilities that I'll later blend into the monster ideas.
First, the List:
Racism.
Homophobia.
Sexism.
Mysoginy.
Sociopathy.
Psychotic breaks with reality.
Cannibalism.
Contagion.
Disease.
Disability.
Insanity.
Rape.
Violation.
Forced pregnancy.
Implantation.
Physical Decay.
Moral Decay.
Voyeurism.
Strangulation.
Torture.
Drowning.
Pain beyond death.
Paralysis.
Darkness.
Shadows.
Transformation.
Loss of control.
Rage.
Hunger.
Thirst.
Ever-lasting grief.
Subverted innocence.
Multiple personalities.
Forced to commit a heinous act.
Paedophilia.
Incest.
Beastiality.
Necrophilia.
Ignored prophecy.
Forced invisibility.
Abandonment.
Hauntings.
Abandoned buildings.
Grisly medical experiments.
Death.
Loss of innocence.
Pain of growing up.
Evil children.
Webbing.
Alien geometries.
Shapeshifters.
Pretense at being human.
Betrayal.
Identity theft.
Animalistic.
Primeval.
Regression to childish cruelty.
Blood lust.
Paranoia.
Injured by light.
Injured by shadow.
Husk.
Burns.
Arson.
Corruption.
Desperation.
Buried alive.
Dismemberment.
Suffocation.
Nightmares.
Nymphomania.
Slavery.
Now the Monster Ideas:
Breathdrinker that leaves its victims paralysed. Nightmarish monster that can injure people through their own dreams. Oneiromancer who can drive people mad through their dreams. A madman whose insanity is contagious. A man who slowly dismembers and devours his victims. A monster who is perpetually burning alive. A creature who bruises the floor / ceiling it walks upon. A husband who is obsessed with the smell of his wife's blood. A creature that spits out paralytic webbing to capture its prey. A monster that buries its prey alive before returning to feed. A prophet who is doomed to never be believed and takes out her frustrations by foretelling fates that *must* be heeded.
A shapeshifter steals the identity of those whose lives it desires. A body swapper takes over your body and life and leaves you in an inferior form. A creature so desperate for love that mere skin contact ensorcels you. Contagious paranoia like a disease vector. Rage as a virus. Lust as a poison that is sold by a sorceror as a love potion and that forces nymphomania on the drinker. A creature whose body is composed entirely of angles that just don't add up. An ancient being injured by light / darkness that enslaves its victims by making them thirst for its bile / blood / urine.
P.S.
Hmm, and those are just a few off the top of my head. Anyone got any other words to add to the list? Any other thoughts on the process?
First, the List:
Racism.
Homophobia.
Sexism.
Mysoginy.
Sociopathy.
Psychotic breaks with reality.
Cannibalism.
Contagion.
Disease.
Disability.
Insanity.
Rape.
Violation.
Forced pregnancy.
Implantation.
Physical Decay.
Moral Decay.
Voyeurism.
Strangulation.
Torture.
Drowning.
Pain beyond death.
Paralysis.
Darkness.
Shadows.
Transformation.
Loss of control.
Rage.
Hunger.
Thirst.
Ever-lasting grief.
Subverted innocence.
Multiple personalities.
Forced to commit a heinous act.
Paedophilia.
Incest.
Beastiality.
Necrophilia.
Ignored prophecy.
Forced invisibility.
Abandonment.
Hauntings.
Abandoned buildings.
Grisly medical experiments.
Death.
Loss of innocence.
Pain of growing up.
Evil children.
Webbing.
Alien geometries.
Shapeshifters.
Pretense at being human.
Betrayal.
Identity theft.
Animalistic.
Primeval.
Regression to childish cruelty.
Blood lust.
Paranoia.
Injured by light.
Injured by shadow.
Husk.
Burns.
Arson.
Corruption.
Desperation.
Buried alive.
Dismemberment.
Suffocation.
Nightmares.
Nymphomania.
Slavery.
Now the Monster Ideas:
Breathdrinker that leaves its victims paralysed. Nightmarish monster that can injure people through their own dreams. Oneiromancer who can drive people mad through their dreams. A madman whose insanity is contagious. A man who slowly dismembers and devours his victims. A monster who is perpetually burning alive. A creature who bruises the floor / ceiling it walks upon. A husband who is obsessed with the smell of his wife's blood. A creature that spits out paralytic webbing to capture its prey. A monster that buries its prey alive before returning to feed. A prophet who is doomed to never be believed and takes out her frustrations by foretelling fates that *must* be heeded.
A shapeshifter steals the identity of those whose lives it desires. A body swapper takes over your body and life and leaves you in an inferior form. A creature so desperate for love that mere skin contact ensorcels you. Contagious paranoia like a disease vector. Rage as a virus. Lust as a poison that is sold by a sorceror as a love potion and that forces nymphomania on the drinker. A creature whose body is composed entirely of angles that just don't add up. An ancient being injured by light / darkness that enslaves its victims by making them thirst for its bile / blood / urine.
P.S.
Hmm, and those are just a few off the top of my head. Anyone got any other words to add to the list? Any other thoughts on the process?
Friday, February 11, 2011
Writing Exercise: Character Identifiers
A good article in Mystery Writers is Murder suggests figuring some identifiers to make it easier to recognise your secondary characters. It might be an eccentric piece of clothing, a remarkable feature, or some strange habit but it should be memorable enough to implant the character in the reader's mind and later help them remember that character
So, as my belated writing exercise, I will do just that. I'll do it with some characters from my novel for the brainxercise.
Lirrian is a fairly major secondary character so she more has a style of identifiers rather than a single one. She's bratty. She's the girl who might say hello by putting her hands over your eyes or giving you a pinch (at least while younger). She's surprisingly cocky with her friends and will say what she thinks (though isn't dumb enough to do that to authority figures). So the sort of identifiers I use with her are things that are high energy, sometimes abrupt speech, and teasing. Yeah, with her it's not as straight-forward but she's on so many pages in that book that I'd be really shocked if a reader didn't remember her.
Ongar is a bit of an enigma, even to me. He's a manly man so he attempts to be macho as much as he can but he also comes from a culture that's more effusive and romantic so he comes up with these terrible poems and likes to think he's a really dry wit. He's also a nay-sayer and doesn't like taking risks. So anything showing superficial machismo, lame attempts at being romantic or at least sexual (cor, look at her), and nay-saying anything risky would be identifiers for him.
Kyliam is a bit more straightforward. He doesn't say much as he can't speak their language but he can be quite expressive in smiles so it often ends up being adjective-smile or more specific synonym of smile like 'grin' or even the the opposite of a smile - wince. He's also the calm and forgiving one.
Gerran is high energy as well but that's because he's an anxious person. Funnily enough, as he starts coming out of his shell he becomes less risk averse. He speaks poshly, formally, and somewhat pompously and reads like a character from an Enyd Blyton novel. Really, its his speech mannerisms and his cocky-cowardice that are my identifiers for him.
Hmm, these aren't great examples because they're all the more important characters who get so much air-time that the quirks vanish. Let's try the three possible fathers.
Gelebourne is a large man and I emphasize his muscles, his size, and his predatory nature. I sort of see him as a big, dangerous animal and I emphasize the boom in his voice and the way his weight creaks the stage floor and things like that.
Carrius is showier. He's all languid movements and deceptive smiles / frowns / winces. Everything is for show. The whole world is a stage. I often have to spend more time describing his gestures and I think that's his main identifier. Writing them out also makes the gestures seem longer and slower ... which they are. So if I write about Carrius bursting into a room through the double doors, keeping his hands on the handles, and lowering his head so that his hair falls artfully across his face ... you know which brother it is.
Alberic has a military background and it shows. Everything he says is measured, though gentle, and he has a very straight back. Everything has to be just-so. There's certainly a degree of precision about his movements. He also dodges all talk with an emotional content. Funnily enough, his precise nature (and his glasses) make him come off as a bit geeky. I simplify matters to identify him. He sits with his knees tucked together. He stands straight with his hands clasped behind his back.
Hmm, writing this out has certainly assisted me in figuring out what makes each character so unique. Why don't you write up one of yours and share it with us in the comments section?
So, as my belated writing exercise, I will do just that. I'll do it with some characters from my novel for the brainxercise.
Lirrian is a fairly major secondary character so she more has a style of identifiers rather than a single one. She's bratty. She's the girl who might say hello by putting her hands over your eyes or giving you a pinch (at least while younger). She's surprisingly cocky with her friends and will say what she thinks (though isn't dumb enough to do that to authority figures). So the sort of identifiers I use with her are things that are high energy, sometimes abrupt speech, and teasing. Yeah, with her it's not as straight-forward but she's on so many pages in that book that I'd be really shocked if a reader didn't remember her.
Ongar is a bit of an enigma, even to me. He's a manly man so he attempts to be macho as much as he can but he also comes from a culture that's more effusive and romantic so he comes up with these terrible poems and likes to think he's a really dry wit. He's also a nay-sayer and doesn't like taking risks. So anything showing superficial machismo, lame attempts at being romantic or at least sexual (cor, look at her), and nay-saying anything risky would be identifiers for him.
Kyliam is a bit more straightforward. He doesn't say much as he can't speak their language but he can be quite expressive in smiles so it often ends up being adjective-smile or more specific synonym of smile like 'grin' or even the the opposite of a smile - wince. He's also the calm and forgiving one.
Gerran is high energy as well but that's because he's an anxious person. Funnily enough, as he starts coming out of his shell he becomes less risk averse. He speaks poshly, formally, and somewhat pompously and reads like a character from an Enyd Blyton novel. Really, its his speech mannerisms and his cocky-cowardice that are my identifiers for him.
Hmm, these aren't great examples because they're all the more important characters who get so much air-time that the quirks vanish. Let's try the three possible fathers.
Gelebourne is a large man and I emphasize his muscles, his size, and his predatory nature. I sort of see him as a big, dangerous animal and I emphasize the boom in his voice and the way his weight creaks the stage floor and things like that.
Carrius is showier. He's all languid movements and deceptive smiles / frowns / winces. Everything is for show. The whole world is a stage. I often have to spend more time describing his gestures and I think that's his main identifier. Writing them out also makes the gestures seem longer and slower ... which they are. So if I write about Carrius bursting into a room through the double doors, keeping his hands on the handles, and lowering his head so that his hair falls artfully across his face ... you know which brother it is.
Alberic has a military background and it shows. Everything he says is measured, though gentle, and he has a very straight back. Everything has to be just-so. There's certainly a degree of precision about his movements. He also dodges all talk with an emotional content. Funnily enough, his precise nature (and his glasses) make him come off as a bit geeky. I simplify matters to identify him. He sits with his knees tucked together. He stands straight with his hands clasped behind his back.
Hmm, writing this out has certainly assisted me in figuring out what makes each character so unique. Why don't you write up one of yours and share it with us in the comments section?
Thursday, February 3, 2011
DIAGNOSTIC: Examining Robin Hobb's 'Rain Wild Chronicles'
First, I'll tell you what this isn't. It's not a review of the book. I liked it. Don't get me wrong. I had to return it to the library half-read as someone else had booked it but I went and got it back in the end. Still, I don't really think you need yet another actual review of a book. I think what you want to know is about how a story does something really right or really wrong. In this instance, I want to talk about something Robin Hobb did really well (and generally does well - check out the Liveship Traders and Rain Wild Chronicles to see examples).
The Rain Wild Chronicles is an interesting exercise in writing a drama set in a fantasy setting without recourse to battles and frequent set-piece events. There's a group of very well-drawn individuals on a barge setting out to guide a group of disabled dragons to the legendary city of Kelsingra. There's a few set-piece events, such as gallators (poisonous alligators) and floods, but really they're just there to provide additional conflict to the group. Robin Hobb certainly doesn't rely on that sort of external conflict to keep the novel going. Instead, it's that internal and interpersonal conflict which can be enflamed by the odd external set-piece event that really drives the novel.
How does she do it?
Well-developed personalities ensure that certain clashes will be inevitable. Robin Hobb does her best to drive such characters together to ensure the clashes happen. Characters who can't get along are kept in close proximity by the claustrophobic environments of the barge and small boats and this environmental constraint heats things up. She's not timid about their reactions, either. Even if the reaction is unpleasant. Even if it's unkind and cruel and shows the bad side of a character, she will hold to it if it is something the character is likely to do. Part of the chronicle's charm is simply watching how the various characters tangle and untangle themselves. Its a character study and a sociological study rolled into one and the unpredictability of it all is what keeps reader interest. Who will react to that? How will they react to that? Where is this going? The actual destination, Kelsingra, falls into the background as a legendary McGuffin while the humans and dragons' personalities take center stage.
How do you do it?
It seems like she puts a lot of thought into the various ways a character might react, in order to find the reaction that rings true the most (and provides for an additional layer of conflict or resolution of conflict). Now, whether you're an outliner or a guess-writer (I'm the latter), odds are that you've found it difficult to create character reactions that really zing. I mean, normally the first reaction we grasp if the expected one and that can fall a little flat when the characters' quirks could take the reaction in a whole new and interesting way. I think I've said it somewhere on this blog before: When your character encounters something important, brainstorm a list of possible reactions and pick one of the least expected yet in character option that works for you. Just by brainstorming, you'll open your mind to unlimited possibilities.
Another technique is to create a web of personalities. Put a name in the middle of a page and then draw radiating spikes. At the end of each spike, put each other character. Then write along the spike the feelings one character has for the other. Or you could create a mind map of conflict, using multiple radiating spikes to really explore the various conflicts surrounding a character.
A third technique is to list each character's name and brainstorm a list of secrets, pet peeves, goals, and motivations. Just see what the list says and then prune a few of the options or take a look at what you've written to see if you could make it a little more complex. For example, if one character's goal is to be respected, then they'll probably get along more with someone who gives them compliments than someone who points out all their failings. However, what if it was the other way around? What if the character needs to know they're respected, and so appreciates someone who is so forthright and grudging with compliments that each compliment must be earned. Someone who compliments them often might be thought insincere - even if the complimenter is telling the truth. i.e. "Of course my father says I'm a good guy, he's a push over. My grandfather, on the other hand, always tells it like it is.... He's the one worth talking to."
Hope that's helpful!
Before you leave, do any of you have any additional ideas, tricks and methods to deepen the character interplay so that even their simple reactions to each other are enough to keep us interested?
The Rain Wild Chronicles is an interesting exercise in writing a drama set in a fantasy setting without recourse to battles and frequent set-piece events. There's a group of very well-drawn individuals on a barge setting out to guide a group of disabled dragons to the legendary city of Kelsingra. There's a few set-piece events, such as gallators (poisonous alligators) and floods, but really they're just there to provide additional conflict to the group. Robin Hobb certainly doesn't rely on that sort of external conflict to keep the novel going. Instead, it's that internal and interpersonal conflict which can be enflamed by the odd external set-piece event that really drives the novel.
How does she do it?
Well-developed personalities ensure that certain clashes will be inevitable. Robin Hobb does her best to drive such characters together to ensure the clashes happen. Characters who can't get along are kept in close proximity by the claustrophobic environments of the barge and small boats and this environmental constraint heats things up. She's not timid about their reactions, either. Even if the reaction is unpleasant. Even if it's unkind and cruel and shows the bad side of a character, she will hold to it if it is something the character is likely to do. Part of the chronicle's charm is simply watching how the various characters tangle and untangle themselves. Its a character study and a sociological study rolled into one and the unpredictability of it all is what keeps reader interest. Who will react to that? How will they react to that? Where is this going? The actual destination, Kelsingra, falls into the background as a legendary McGuffin while the humans and dragons' personalities take center stage.
How do you do it?
It seems like she puts a lot of thought into the various ways a character might react, in order to find the reaction that rings true the most (and provides for an additional layer of conflict or resolution of conflict). Now, whether you're an outliner or a guess-writer (I'm the latter), odds are that you've found it difficult to create character reactions that really zing. I mean, normally the first reaction we grasp if the expected one and that can fall a little flat when the characters' quirks could take the reaction in a whole new and interesting way. I think I've said it somewhere on this blog before: When your character encounters something important, brainstorm a list of possible reactions and pick one of the least expected yet in character option that works for you. Just by brainstorming, you'll open your mind to unlimited possibilities.
Another technique is to create a web of personalities. Put a name in the middle of a page and then draw radiating spikes. At the end of each spike, put each other character. Then write along the spike the feelings one character has for the other. Or you could create a mind map of conflict, using multiple radiating spikes to really explore the various conflicts surrounding a character.
A third technique is to list each character's name and brainstorm a list of secrets, pet peeves, goals, and motivations. Just see what the list says and then prune a few of the options or take a look at what you've written to see if you could make it a little more complex. For example, if one character's goal is to be respected, then they'll probably get along more with someone who gives them compliments than someone who points out all their failings. However, what if it was the other way around? What if the character needs to know they're respected, and so appreciates someone who is so forthright and grudging with compliments that each compliment must be earned. Someone who compliments them often might be thought insincere - even if the complimenter is telling the truth. i.e. "Of course my father says I'm a good guy, he's a push over. My grandfather, on the other hand, always tells it like it is.... He's the one worth talking to."
Hope that's helpful!
Before you leave, do any of you have any additional ideas, tricks and methods to deepen the character interplay so that even their simple reactions to each other are enough to keep us interested?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
WRITING EXERCISE: Brewing The Novel
So I'm still editing the Butterfly Lady and I'll doubtless start on its sequel at some point soon but as that's all nutted out, I'm thinking of preparing a stand-alone novel that I can write alongside the sequel in case the series sputters out at Book 1. The stand-alone has suggested itself in bits and pieces. By the way, stand-alone makes me think of some cool titles such as 'I stand alone' and 'Alone I stand' but I don't think either is appropriate for this particular novel as one of the themes will be a community coming together to battle some horror (which is rare in fantasy so this'll probably be more of a horror novel in a fantasy setting).
So, time to mention the basics and then brainstorm on what each 'basic' means.
Setting: A mining community in the Realms outback in my fantasy milieu.
Theme: Community versus a terrible calamity.
This will immediately make it a bit unique in fantasy novels. Most such novels involve one person, often with some form of super power, or a team of specialists, seeking out danger and making a difference. In this instance, several members of the mining community will be responsible for the salvation of the town ... or in the bid to stay alive. It'll depend on how bad the big, bad Thing will be.
Mood: Hope and Horror. Always. This is me we're talking about. Unlike with the Butterfly Lady series, it'll be more about the Enemy Without than the Enemy Within (though of course internal conflict will feature).
This means that the protagonists will be a little more vulnerable than in most fantasy novels. The few with magic will have an edge against the enemy but not the answer. Cuts can, and will, get infected. People will struggle and get tired. There is no Chosen One. No powerful soldier to save the day. No obvious hero. In fact, I have in mind a miner's wife / kitchen hand who is physically abused by her ailing husband as one character.
Technological Setting: Early-to-mid Victorian in certain places though technology has gone in a different direction.
Gunpowder (which is antithetical to life / spirits in my world) isn't used and this will make the mining technologies quite different to Victorian mines. The steam engine and telegraph have also not been invented so the place will be all the more distant and isolated although the mine itself will likely be closer to the cities. There will need to be greater self-sufficiency in this community.
Characters: There will be multiple POVs in this instance. I'm thinking five. One will be the aforementioned battered kitchen hand. Another will be a foreman (not sure if that's the right title, haven't researched it yet) in the mine who will be rather gruff and straightforward and take issue with the university graduate. The university graduate is a member of House Carrington (a noble house full of bankers, so to speak) but he's married into House Rosentia (a noble house renowned for its eccentric and malevolent people). So he'll also have to deal with a lot of social stigma despite his wealth and status. He's here to research his thesis on Improved Mining Technologies. There'll be a rather bored low-level Auditor (sort of a cop / judge / Homeland Security mish-mash) who keeps an eye on the community and deals with the Work Permits and who'll also clash a bit with the graduate and the foreman. I'm not sure who the fifth person will be. Perhaps a child in the community? Or one of the town elders?
So already, just from this small brainstorm, I have a wealth of ideas and I haven't even touched upon what foul contaminant or entity might be affecting this mining town. Originally I was just thinking a Mine Gone Bad but I've now decided to widen the lens and look at both the town and mine combined. It'll be more Horror than Fantasy but the setting will be strictly in a Fantastical World and that means there'll potentially be issues of sidhe (embodied spirits), spirits (ephemereal intelligences), an orc-troll hybrid (another animal race similar to humans), though I'll want to keep the mythology simple to emphasise whatever horror lies within this place.
Thus far, much of the brewing has focused around dialogue snippets that suggested characters. By doing this exercise, I now have a far greater understanding of the depth of the research I'll need to undertake alongside this novel. I also have a better understanding of where I'll need to branch out to or from. So while percolating the novel, I'd strongly suggest sitting down and starting to organise it. Simply through the act of organising your ideas, you'll start generating more.
So, time to mention the basics and then brainstorm on what each 'basic' means.
Setting: A mining community in the Realms outback in my fantasy milieu.
Theme: Community versus a terrible calamity.
This will immediately make it a bit unique in fantasy novels. Most such novels involve one person, often with some form of super power, or a team of specialists, seeking out danger and making a difference. In this instance, several members of the mining community will be responsible for the salvation of the town ... or in the bid to stay alive. It'll depend on how bad the big, bad Thing will be.
Mood: Hope and Horror. Always. This is me we're talking about. Unlike with the Butterfly Lady series, it'll be more about the Enemy Without than the Enemy Within (though of course internal conflict will feature).
This means that the protagonists will be a little more vulnerable than in most fantasy novels. The few with magic will have an edge against the enemy but not the answer. Cuts can, and will, get infected. People will struggle and get tired. There is no Chosen One. No powerful soldier to save the day. No obvious hero. In fact, I have in mind a miner's wife / kitchen hand who is physically abused by her ailing husband as one character.
Technological Setting: Early-to-mid Victorian in certain places though technology has gone in a different direction.
Gunpowder (which is antithetical to life / spirits in my world) isn't used and this will make the mining technologies quite different to Victorian mines. The steam engine and telegraph have also not been invented so the place will be all the more distant and isolated although the mine itself will likely be closer to the cities. There will need to be greater self-sufficiency in this community.
Characters: There will be multiple POVs in this instance. I'm thinking five. One will be the aforementioned battered kitchen hand. Another will be a foreman (not sure if that's the right title, haven't researched it yet) in the mine who will be rather gruff and straightforward and take issue with the university graduate. The university graduate is a member of House Carrington (a noble house full of bankers, so to speak) but he's married into House Rosentia (a noble house renowned for its eccentric and malevolent people). So he'll also have to deal with a lot of social stigma despite his wealth and status. He's here to research his thesis on Improved Mining Technologies. There'll be a rather bored low-level Auditor (sort of a cop / judge / Homeland Security mish-mash) who keeps an eye on the community and deals with the Work Permits and who'll also clash a bit with the graduate and the foreman. I'm not sure who the fifth person will be. Perhaps a child in the community? Or one of the town elders?
So already, just from this small brainstorm, I have a wealth of ideas and I haven't even touched upon what foul contaminant or entity might be affecting this mining town. Originally I was just thinking a Mine Gone Bad but I've now decided to widen the lens and look at both the town and mine combined. It'll be more Horror than Fantasy but the setting will be strictly in a Fantastical World and that means there'll potentially be issues of sidhe (embodied spirits), spirits (ephemereal intelligences), an orc-troll hybrid (another animal race similar to humans), though I'll want to keep the mythology simple to emphasise whatever horror lies within this place.
Thus far, much of the brewing has focused around dialogue snippets that suggested characters. By doing this exercise, I now have a far greater understanding of the depth of the research I'll need to undertake alongside this novel. I also have a better understanding of where I'll need to branch out to or from. So while percolating the novel, I'd strongly suggest sitting down and starting to organise it. Simply through the act of organising your ideas, you'll start generating more.
Monday, January 24, 2011
TIPS: Show the Unexpected
I'm wondering if that's what my personal favoritest Writer of Fiction, Ed McBain, did. All of his characters, including his minor characters - no, especially his minor characters - were rivetingly interesting because he'd take your expectations and play with them in some way. People had their eccentricities, their foibles, their strange ways of perceiving the world, and even when all those details weren't brought onto the page, you could just sense the hints behind the words of a deeper, crazier world of people who could have stepped onto the stage from Real Life.
So, go on everyone ... come up with 5 unknown facts about your characters, major or minor, and see if that can have an impact, even if it just means that the minor character you see for a page is a little gentler and better-educated than the stereotypical truck driver.
Of course, there are limits: no need to do this for characters that have a three-line entry and exit. They're just setting details!
Friday, January 21, 2011
WRITING EXERCISE: Sensory Maps
If we take a man from the rural outback, who grew up in a farm, and pop him down in the middle of a nineteenth floor block of cubicles that stretch out as far as they eye can see, you're going to get a significantly different reaction than if you take a man from Tokyo or one of the other mega-cities.
Small changes can also make an impact. Raising or lowering the temperature. Increasing or decreasing the noise level. Changing the type of noise (repetitive Christmas carols, the ocean, bird song, white noise, high-pitched humming) also has an impact. But what about light? Lighting quality can also affect things. Both the colour of the light and the type of light. If it's bright and glaring, we're more likely to feel awake, though it might make us feel more stressed. If it's 'warm', diffuse, and shadowy (like firelight), we're more likely to feel relaxed, if a bit more drowsy.
When we say we're aiming for a piece of description to evoke a mood, we're talking about these sorts of maps. True, the world around them won't conform to their expectations all the time or else it'll seem a bit ludicrous. However, there are often minor details that can be quite telling and can help readers who are trying to picture the location feel more connected to the mood itself.
So, here is my attempt to turn the humble office cubicle into a Force for Fear, Happiness, and Burn Out. I'm going to try to keep all the same words in place but change the feeling by simply changing the descriptive words.
Force for Fear.
One cubicle among many. That seemed to be the company mantra. Ninety cubicles on the 28th floor. Most were cast in darkness. The overhead lights were on a timer to go off unless there was enough motion in the area. It was one of the few modern renovations in a building constructed in 1886. My section still had lighting because I was working late. I had the elevator directly behind me and every so often it would ding as the elevator climbed past my floor along its creaking tracks. It still had its accordion door and every time it went past, I'd look back over my shoulder and see into the empty lift.
Force for Happiness.
One cubicle among many. That seemed to be the company mantra. Twelve cubicles on the 2nd floor. All were well-lit by the odd assortment of lamps we had brought in for the last show and tell. Mine was beaded. My desk was a mess of drawings, hand-written notes, post-its, and pot-plants. I had the window directly behind me, overlooking the park, and every so often I'd look back over my shoulder and gaze down into the main street at my home town.
Force for Burn Out.
One cubicle among many. That seemed to be the company mantra. Forty cubicles on the 28th floor. Too many fluorescent lights cast the floor in an all-too-severe light worsened by the bright white floors, walls, and ceilings. My desk was a maze of paperwork, all set out in neat little piles, all marked with little red lettering by my superviser. The lettering was so small I almost had to keep a magnifying glass on hand to read it. I had the window directly behind me, the window into my boss' office that is, and every so often I'd look back over my shoulder and see my boss looking back at me.
What do you think? And why don't you all have a go? Just set up the same location type (office, hospital ward, etc.) and give it three different descriptions.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
WRITING EXERCISE: POV Switches
***
Lirrian Verdan couldn't stand fishing. She didn't understand how so many men could sit or stand for hours and stare at a piece of glorified string dangling in the water. To make matters worse, even boys, who otherwise would be off in the trees, playing games, chasing each other, and doing other sensible things, could somehow turn into statues at the lure of a fish. Well, boys who weren't Jason. At least that was a kid you could count on. A bona fide, excitable, chit chatty kid. Unlike Ongar who was so happy to sit and stare at string that she was surprised a bird hadn't turned his hair into a nest. Lirrian wanted to throw the whole rod into the creek but that wouldn't be the nice thing to do so she sat and drew in the dirt and made only a few comments about how boring this was. How could Jason not see how dumb this was and how stupid Ongar was?
***
Compromise. That's all it took. Ongar wanted to fish and Lirrian wanted to play so maybe they could spend half their time fishing and the other half of their time playing. At least, that's what Jason wished would happen. Lirrian complained and stretched and yawned and fidgeted the whole time and tried to get him to side with her about a game they should play. Sure, she'd be quiet for a time but it was a hunter's calm ... quite and poised and waiting to strike. Of course, it didn't help that she was right and this was boring. Still, it was what Ongar wanted to do and as friends they should help him do it. So he tried to distract her and play with her quietly and all the while Ongar calmly ignored them like they weren't even there. It was so getting so frustrating he wanted to scream but that wouldn't help anything so he kept running back and forth and trying to keep his two friends from having another fit at each other.
***
It was a shame girls didn't have deep voices like men. That way Lirrian's voice could lull him to sleep rather than set him on edge. Constantly whining and changing her pitch to make sure he couldn't drown her out. How was a boy supposed to relax and unwind with that galah squawking in his ear? Fishing was peaceful and practical and meaningful. The Divine Son was a hunter, after all. A boy should be able to just sit and enjoy and not worry about irritating girls threatening to pull their stupid hair out. At least Jason seemed content to deal with her prattle. There was a boy you could rely on to never have his feathers ruffled.
***
Hmm, well, that was surprisingly fun considering the topic. Which one did you pity the most?
Oh yeah, and by the way, I'm actually figuring on Dark Fantasy, or Fantastical Horror, for this one so don't let the youthful protagonists fool you.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Changing Thursdays
Well, I've decided that my Thursday plan feels more a chore than something exciting so I'm going to change it up. Rather than it be Ethnography / Book Analysis on alternating Thursdays, I'm just going to go with Writing Exercise Thursday. This might be analysing a book, doing a comparative ethnography to flesh out my world, or something different. That gives me the variety I need and hopefully others might get inspired by some of the exercises. Tomorrow I'll do an exercise based around POV switches and descriptions.
I think this is also a good web-site for writing exercises, too, that I may use: http://www.web-writer.net/fantasy/days/days/01.html
I think this is also a good web-site for writing exercises, too, that I may use: http://www.web-writer.net/fantasy/days/days/01.html
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Comparative Ethnography: Conferences
By the way, an ethnography is an attempt to capture an outsider's perspective of an event and help other people feel like they're there, or at least, help them imagine what it would be like to be there. It's different from a story as there is generally no narrative. In fact, the role is to be evocative while trying to reduce bias - which is the complete opposite of a story which is meant to have quite a strong Point-of-View bias. So please don't judge my writing talents on the basis of my ethnography talents! It's more an exercise in converting modern life to my fantasy world.
*****Australia*****
People filled the cavernous lobby, milling about a table covered in name badges or queueing for the coffee machine and the juice taps. Then, as if by some unspoken agreement, people started trickling into the main room to take their seats. They sat in pairs or small groups, leaving polite gaps between strangers where possible. The loud mumble of four hundred people talking is stilled when the event coordinator steps up onto the black platform at the front of the room, and gives a welcoming speech.
One by one, the speakers come up to the lectern to showcase their wisdom, flanked by projection screens that show powerpoint slides, web-sites and YouTube videos. In the quiet moments between their speeches, chinking glassware can be heard from the kitchens and distant voices are carried through the gaps between the walls and the high ceilings.
The speakers vary in presentation talent. One woman’s head bobs like a nervous bird as she attempts to both read her speech and gaze out into the crowd. One man spends more time reading the speech than looking at the crowd and yet his speech reading is less obvious because his movements are slow and steady and so it feels like a conversation. Another woman manages to do her speech without recourse to any notes that aren't already up on her powerpoint slide. Yet each has some interesting fact or story to share with the audience.
*****The Realms*****
A wide variety of people clutter the narrow cobblestone streets beside one of the smaller amphitheatres in the city. Most wear representations of their Noble House membership, or allegiance, with badges, symbols on their clothing, with even a few guild members wearing full livery uniforms in the colours of the noble house. The sky is clear, with a few shreds of clouds, and the temperature is quite hot and dry. A few people complain about being under the sun on such a day, only to be refuted by an aging gentleman who states drily that the principles of open communication and visibility to the people demand that such congresses occur outside the walls of any building.
Finally, the gates are opened and people begin to shuffle in. First go the nobility, wearing a few proud but subtle tokens of their House Membership, and they assemble in the front rows of the auditorium. They do not all sit with members of their own House, instead, many of them go to sit with members of allied Houses. Then go the invitees who were expressly invited to attend and they are allowed to sit where they will but most go to sit just behind the nobles' row. Finally, the gatesmen, who have counted each who have entered, tally up the numbers and figure out how many seats remain. Then they allow the uninvited who, if they are lucky (or unlucky, depending upon one's view), might even find a vacant seat beside a nobleman if one of the nobles could not attend.
Conversation is loud and boisterous until a gong silences all. The speaker stands in a perfectly designed space, surrounded by stone designed to provide the acoustics necessary, and also with great skill projects his or her voice. A little magical aid goes a long way here and often a minor noble will add volume to the words of the more important speakers so that all can hear it.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Adding Structure to Chaos
Been awhile, huh? I've gone from posting super-frequently to rarely at all. A big part of this is that I took a holiday from all things writing (and, well, editing) but if I'm going to blog, I might as well do it seriously. So, since going to the Marketing Volunteering conference in Adelaide, and listening to their explanations and advice on the whole social media thing, I've done some thinking and defined a few things.
The purpose of this blog: To put all my research, revelations, lists, and links all in one place for later perusal AND helping out the writers of the world by giving them access to it all.
The Blog Me: I'm going for intellectual but easy for most to understand. So, basically, I'm hoping to come across as funny but smart. I also hope I can tackle some of the harder issues in a sensitive enough way because some of my research will be on some not so nice matters.
The Schedule: This is the bit I'm not a huge fan of but I might as well give it a go. I schedule everything else. Why not my blog? I'm not going to plan to do up a bunch of how-to-write toolkit articles (I will do them on occasion but I won't schedule them in) because there are other blogs that are better at it than me (The Other Side Of The Story) and there is no point retreading old ground.
So my schedule will include:
I may do other articles as well. Updates on my writing. Interesting musings. Sudden ephiphanies. But they're not going on the schedule. These two things are. What do you guys think? Would you tune in for that? And what other themes could I put on my schedule?
The purpose of this blog: To put all my research, revelations, lists, and links all in one place for later perusal AND helping out the writers of the world by giving them access to it all.
The Blog Me: I'm going for intellectual but easy for most to understand. So, basically, I'm hoping to come across as funny but smart. I also hope I can tackle some of the harder issues in a sensitive enough way because some of my research will be on some not so nice matters.
The Schedule: This is the bit I'm not a huge fan of but I might as well give it a go. I schedule everything else. Why not my blog? I'm not going to plan to do up a bunch of how-to-write toolkit articles (I will do them on occasion but I won't schedule them in) because there are other blogs that are better at it than me (The Other Side Of The Story) and there is no point retreading old ground.
So my schedule will include:
Tuesdays: A short research article on an emotion, issue, historical matter, or psychological problem that is both interesting and relevant to either my own work or writing in general.
Alternating Thursdays: One Thursday, I'll do a review. (Mostly novels but I may also review the storytelling techniques used by certain videogames and movies). The other Thursday, I'll do a brief ethnography (i.e. 200 - 250 words describing the feeling of working in a library) that I will then fantographise (my own random made-up word) to see what a similar setting would look like in my fantasy world. Consider it an exercise in stretching my fantasy brain and turning the mundane into something from another world.I may do other articles as well. Updates on my writing. Interesting musings. Sudden ephiphanies. But they're not going on the schedule. These two things are. What do you guys think? Would you tune in for that? And what other themes could I put on my schedule?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Knowing Places
I live in what would be to Americans (and most other countries), a large country town, but which is a capital city in Australia. I've always considered it just the same old few streets but, really, when I look at it now I see so much more. There is so much you can learn about your home town or city. So many places that you won't see if you just whizz by in a car.
I've walked through Rundle Mall and paid attention to what I heard or smelled rather than what I saw. I've travelled the O'Bahn and noted how the River Torrens grows more shallow or deeper depending on the season, temperature, and recent rainfall. I've even noticed how what was green grass and weeds in winter became clover in early spring and is now this yellow reed-weeds that just blankets everything. How even the grasses seem to have died and it's not even all that hot or dry just yet! I've noticed how dark it gets and how quickly in winter and how much better it is in spring when I can get home and its still daylight.
I've noticed all kinds of things. These all help me as a writer and as a person. We spend so much time trying to figure out the right adjective or metaphor to describe something we've never seen, that we don't bother looking around us to take inspiration from things we can experience.
So, as a writing exercise, learn to look around you. You can learn so much more that way.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Skilling Up Your Storytelling Skills
Well, we've all read up on how to improve your skills through reading how-to-write books and blogs, attending conferences, and interviewing writers. At least, odds are that if you're reading my blog, you have. I've also mentioned how you can improve your storytelling skills through general research, training and observation (such as going bush walking can improve your descriptive techniques as well as be inspirational).
Of course, there are other options. What about all those storytelling hobbies out there? What about sitting around a campfire and coming up with improvised horror stories? You can keep track of your skill by watching how a real live audience reacts to you. Doing theatre sports or acting classes can also assist by making you more aware of the role of body language amongst other things.
Also, why not try your hand at a pen-and-paper roleplaying game either as a player (where you create and control a single character complete with personality and goals) or as the Game Master / Storyteller / Dungeon Master (where you create and control the world, antagonists, and any character that isn't controlled by a player)? Sure, these games can be played as dice-rolling extravaganzas to the tune of 'lightning bolt' and 'magic missile' where the players simply use statistical number crunching to win against the enemy. Generally, however, they are played as excursions into other worlds, with players throwing themselves into the skins of their characters, and GMs developing story lines in an interactive universe. We all know what it's like when a protagonist in a novel has a mind of its own. What about having four that really do?
The benefits of doing this is that you can see first-hand which plot lines capture interest and which fall flat. A session of roleplay also generally covers more ground than a session of writing, which means that you can practice plotting on a faster level, and you certainly gain a lot of skills at description and dialogue. If your description is too long or your dialogue too unrealistic, you'll soon know about it. You can have games about solving crimes, exploring fantasy worlds (great to assist with your world building), dealing with horrible monsters, or hunting ghosts. Pretty much any type of genre has a market for it (except for Romance - that could just get plain weird between friends).
Also, it's a lot of fun and can give any budding writer the audience s/he craves. Just beware: No plot survives contact with players. A player's mind doesn't function the ways that ours does and they will always come up with some unexpected route to solve an obstacle.
Of course, there are other options. What about all those storytelling hobbies out there? What about sitting around a campfire and coming up with improvised horror stories? You can keep track of your skill by watching how a real live audience reacts to you. Doing theatre sports or acting classes can also assist by making you more aware of the role of body language amongst other things.
Also, why not try your hand at a pen-and-paper roleplaying game either as a player (where you create and control a single character complete with personality and goals) or as the Game Master / Storyteller / Dungeon Master (where you create and control the world, antagonists, and any character that isn't controlled by a player)? Sure, these games can be played as dice-rolling extravaganzas to the tune of 'lightning bolt' and 'magic missile' where the players simply use statistical number crunching to win against the enemy. Generally, however, they are played as excursions into other worlds, with players throwing themselves into the skins of their characters, and GMs developing story lines in an interactive universe. We all know what it's like when a protagonist in a novel has a mind of its own. What about having four that really do?
The benefits of doing this is that you can see first-hand which plot lines capture interest and which fall flat. A session of roleplay also generally covers more ground than a session of writing, which means that you can practice plotting on a faster level, and you certainly gain a lot of skills at description and dialogue. If your description is too long or your dialogue too unrealistic, you'll soon know about it. You can have games about solving crimes, exploring fantasy worlds (great to assist with your world building), dealing with horrible monsters, or hunting ghosts. Pretty much any type of genre has a market for it (except for Romance - that could just get plain weird between friends).
Also, it's a lot of fun and can give any budding writer the audience s/he craves. Just beware: No plot survives contact with players. A player's mind doesn't function the ways that ours does and they will always come up with some unexpected route to solve an obstacle.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Message From My Ideal Reader
As my targeted audience is, well, really it's me. Yep, I'm egotistical to write a novel based on me as the most marvellous audience of all! So I figured that I, as a reader, should write a message to me, as a writer, so that I can figure out just what I want in a novel. I'd suggest you all do the same (and if you do, link me to your blog post through the Comments section).
So that's me. Guess I haven't really simplified things for myself, have I?
Damned demanding Ideal Reader!
"What do I want? I want the world. Your world. I want to explore its strange lands and see places I've never visited before - whether that's a New York urinal or a mystical glen. I don't just want to read a word that says I'm there. I want to feel like I've been there, like a tourist who can recount the wonders they've seen, and that means I need to see, hear, and, hell, smell that urinal or mystical glen. I want you to make me think and feel.
I want you to stretch my understanding and help me see the world from a different perspective. Not constantly. That would make my brain hurt. But once or twice in ways that fit with the mentality of the host body I'm riding (also known as the protagonist).
I demand some dose of the strange in the books I read, whether this be an assumption turned on its head (a really cantankerous witness to a homicide telling off the police about how they trampled his hydrangeas rather than a timid or helpful witness) or bizarre sub-dimensions and hell-pockets that barely match our reality. I don't want too much strangeness, though, not outside of a short story. Hell-pockets are all well and good but they're better if they imitate the familiar but just don't quite make it.
Mostly, I want to play the voyeur in an unfamiliar place. I want to root about in someone else's dirty laundry (lots of neat gossipable secrets and issues between characters, please), see what their homes look like, find out what they think about people, and see what certain situations (natural disasters, wars, divorces) are like without having to go through them (and yet somehow feeling like I almost did). I also like seeing someone else being dragged through the mud of tragedy but ultimately I'd like some hope with my horror, thanks."
So that's me. Guess I haven't really simplified things for myself, have I?
Damned demanding Ideal Reader!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)