This happens to me quite a bit. I'll be writing, revising, whatever. Then I'll look at other people's work, read agents blogs - everything I should be doing to improve myself in my craft.
Then, out of the blue, I'll get this intense fear that I'll never be good enough. That no matter how hard I write, how hard I try to get something right, no one but me will ever like my work.
I reason with myself. I tell myself that I have a career planned out, a career I look forward to, wish to do, plan to revel in. Medicine is going to be my passion, writing my life. I can't live without stories - they visit me throughout the day, play themselves out in my head when I'm trying to sleep. If I write them down, they leave me alone. But I have more than one goal in life. If I'm not published, I can be a good surgeon (That isn't the least bit subjective. You can either do it, or you can't.)
The only problem is that after you've written something down, you have this intense need to show someone else. And it's then that you realise you first draft might not be as good as you first thought.
So you revise. You re-write. You edit. You pass your work onto good beta's, and they help you make it better. You find the right beginning for your story, the right middle, the right end.
And then you worry that it won't be the right beginning for anyone else. That they'll put it down thinking - this character is just reacting with grief at the moment - this is YA, there should be something exciting on the front page. Never mind if that something exciting confuses, it should be there.
Now, I know people don't think like this (Well, some people do, but I don't really want to know them when it comes to this book. Others - maybe. But they're not going to be the right person for this one.)
I consul myself. I tell myself that even if it never is published, it will be the best that I could make it at that time. That I will have achieved something extraordinary in my life.
It doesn't work. So often the bruising of the ego is so bad that I have to talk myself back into writing again, and then only so I don't go mad with lack of sleep.
So how to fix this? You can't. I can't, anyway. Maybe if I had the validation of being published, it would help, but I doubt it. The practical part of my mind talks of trying as hard as I can, failing, and then moving on to the next project, which may do better. This is why I set deadlines for myself, so I won't keep trying.
There is only one thing that ever helps. Creating something new.
So that's all the advice I can offer. If someone doesn't like what you've written, move on, create something else. Practise.
But above all, write.
A fitting start to Nanowrimo, I think :)
Sian
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Worldbuilding
Firstly, when I say worldbuiling, I do not mean it just in the creating worlds/societies/magic systems/technology way that it is often taken to mean. Work set in contemporary societies also requires world building - often via the characters. If you're writing a modern day romance, then the world and time is already a given, but you characters, their pasts, and how they deal with the world isn't.
But that fits more into the character building side of things. I, personally as a alternative fiction writer (which is what I'm turning out to be) want to talk about the more traditional forms of world building.
Depending on what you plan to write, you are going to approach worldbuilding in a different way. But regardless of whether you are writing urban fantasy or hard science fiction, there are a few points that I personally think should always be considered when building a world:
I also think that you must have rules and limitations in your world in order to promote conflict. Without some sort of conflict, there is no story. How many rules you have, and how easy it is for you MCs to get what they want and need is up to you and the genre you're writing in.
Which leads me to another point about developing rules in your world. consistancy. Make what can and can't be done consistant. Please. Otherwise things will start to feel incredible Deus ex Machina-ish.
Consequences must (IMHO anyway) also exist in order for the story to be interesting. If you have a character that can stop time, give them a consequence for using that power. Or they're going to use it all the time and things will be way to easy for them. Have it wear them down. Have evil spirits show up and attack them whenever they use it.
Life is not supposed to be easy for your characters. Make it hard by building consistant rules into your world, and giving your world consequences. whether it be a world of magic, science fiction or contemporary.
Enjoy creating,
Sian
But that fits more into the character building side of things. I, personally as a alternative fiction writer (which is what I'm turning out to be) want to talk about the more traditional forms of world building.
Depending on what you plan to write, you are going to approach worldbuilding in a different way. But regardless of whether you are writing urban fantasy or hard science fiction, there are a few points that I personally think should always be considered when building a world:
- Rules
- Consequences
I also think that you must have rules and limitations in your world in order to promote conflict. Without some sort of conflict, there is no story. How many rules you have, and how easy it is for you MCs to get what they want and need is up to you and the genre you're writing in.
Which leads me to another point about developing rules in your world. consistancy. Make what can and can't be done consistant. Please. Otherwise things will start to feel incredible Deus ex Machina-ish.
Consequences must (IMHO anyway) also exist in order for the story to be interesting. If you have a character that can stop time, give them a consequence for using that power. Or they're going to use it all the time and things will be way to easy for them. Have it wear them down. Have evil spirits show up and attack them whenever they use it.
Life is not supposed to be easy for your characters. Make it hard by building consistant rules into your world, and giving your world consequences. whether it be a world of magic, science fiction or contemporary.
Enjoy creating,
Sian
Monday, October 25, 2010
Characters - Nothing Without Decisions
Okay. You have an idea. You've either done a plan, or you haven't. Each to their own.
What next?
Now, this depends on what type of writer you are. In my limited experience, those that prefer discovery writing will pick up a pen, and start. Maybe not on their book. Maybe they will. Planners won't start yet. Or if they do, it will be character profiles.
But whatever type of writer you are, eventually you're going to come across your characters. You can't have a story without them. It's impossible. Maybe they're not human. Maybe their inanimate dining chairs that want to do ballet. But you will need something.
Of course, if you wish to experiment, be my guest. But generally speaking, a story needs characters.
Some writers will just start. I would recommend that if you're going to do this, start with a character doing something that forces him to react and make a choice. It will tell you, as a writer, about your character. It will give that character a distinct voice from others, as those others make different decisions.
In the end, your characters will be the decisions they make. That's it in a nutshell. If the chair decides to slide along to a ballet class and watch from a corner, this leads to questions. Why isn't he trying it outright? Why did he sneak out of the house? Why hasn't he told his family? If his family disapproves, then why is he still doing it? What inspired his decision?
Every decision has to have a reason behind it, a cause. And every decision will have consequences, will influence the development of your character, change/challange/affirm his moral values. Decision are every thing when it comes to thinking about characters.
After that, everything else is window dressing. What movies they like, what they read, what sports they play - if it matters to the decisions they make, then it is important information. Otherwise, it goes back to being window dressing. Sometimes window dressing becomes important information. The chair likes soccer, he makes a decision to go watch a soccer match, and finds another chair there who wants to do ballet.
Window dressing also differentiates the characters for the reader before the characters start making decisions. While decisions differentiate characters, you can't have major, life changing decisions that show your characters moral compass, religious and cultural identity ever five pages. They will do other things. These other things become important in forging a connection between character and reader.
If you don't start by diving in, you can start with character profiles. You can do a mock interview with your characters. You can chart their entire life history up to this point if that makes you comfortable. If you do plan out who they are before you write, make sure the character fits the type of story you wish to tell. Characters must have motivation for what they're doing - otherwise they become cardboard cutouts. And not many people wish to read about cardboard cutouts.
If you don't plan, my advice would be to start with conflict. It doesn't have to be explosions on the page, it just has to be something that shows us about your character. This start might not nessercarily be part of your book by the time you're finished. some writers start their books and discover their characters as the plot unfolds. There's nothing wrong with that (just be aware there will be editing later). Some writers have to know what their characters will have for breakfast before they can even start page one.
But above all, make your characters memorable. Don't make them perfect (more on this later). Don't make them evil without making them interesting. But make them memorable. I personally will put up with a plot full of holes, as long as I like the characters.
Enjoy creating,
Sian~
What next?
Now, this depends on what type of writer you are. In my limited experience, those that prefer discovery writing will pick up a pen, and start. Maybe not on their book. Maybe they will. Planners won't start yet. Or if they do, it will be character profiles.
But whatever type of writer you are, eventually you're going to come across your characters. You can't have a story without them. It's impossible. Maybe they're not human. Maybe their inanimate dining chairs that want to do ballet. But you will need something.
Of course, if you wish to experiment, be my guest. But generally speaking, a story needs characters.
Some writers will just start. I would recommend that if you're going to do this, start with a character doing something that forces him to react and make a choice. It will tell you, as a writer, about your character. It will give that character a distinct voice from others, as those others make different decisions.
In the end, your characters will be the decisions they make. That's it in a nutshell. If the chair decides to slide along to a ballet class and watch from a corner, this leads to questions. Why isn't he trying it outright? Why did he sneak out of the house? Why hasn't he told his family? If his family disapproves, then why is he still doing it? What inspired his decision?
Every decision has to have a reason behind it, a cause. And every decision will have consequences, will influence the development of your character, change/challange/affirm his moral values. Decision are every thing when it comes to thinking about characters.
After that, everything else is window dressing. What movies they like, what they read, what sports they play - if it matters to the decisions they make, then it is important information. Otherwise, it goes back to being window dressing. Sometimes window dressing becomes important information. The chair likes soccer, he makes a decision to go watch a soccer match, and finds another chair there who wants to do ballet.
Window dressing also differentiates the characters for the reader before the characters start making decisions. While decisions differentiate characters, you can't have major, life changing decisions that show your characters moral compass, religious and cultural identity ever five pages. They will do other things. These other things become important in forging a connection between character and reader.
If you don't start by diving in, you can start with character profiles. You can do a mock interview with your characters. You can chart their entire life history up to this point if that makes you comfortable. If you do plan out who they are before you write, make sure the character fits the type of story you wish to tell. Characters must have motivation for what they're doing - otherwise they become cardboard cutouts. And not many people wish to read about cardboard cutouts.
If you don't plan, my advice would be to start with conflict. It doesn't have to be explosions on the page, it just has to be something that shows us about your character. This start might not nessercarily be part of your book by the time you're finished. some writers start their books and discover their characters as the plot unfolds. There's nothing wrong with that (just be aware there will be editing later). Some writers have to know what their characters will have for breakfast before they can even start page one.
But above all, make your characters memorable. Don't make them perfect (more on this later). Don't make them evil without making them interesting. But make them memorable. I personally will put up with a plot full of holes, as long as I like the characters.
Enjoy creating,
Sian~
Friday, October 22, 2010
Character Profile : Dylan Amser
This is the protagonist of my new Nanowrimo novel: Dylan Amser. This was free-written, with no thought as to plot or anything else, just so I can get his voice in my head. Bits of it may make their way into the book, or they may not.
Here it is:
Here it is:
It starts with the watch. Always, the watch. Dylan has long come to realise that the watch means change, means doom, spells wonder and amazement.
The watch makes his father the most powerful man in the world. But once a year, it also makes him the most vulnerable. Dylan cannot understand why he does this to himself – each year, back to the same place. A little church in Wales. A trip back to the time that my mother lover the best – the end of the Norman period, the start of the Tudors. Dylan remembers his mother standing, half torn between revulsion and wonders, on the edge of the battlefield. He remembers clutching her skirt, peering around at the blood and misery. He remembers the three of them travelling to the small church, his father and mother disappearing into one of the side rooms. This happened only ever after they thought Dylan asleep, but still, he heard them, whispering to each other, snuggled together in the choir seats, talking about the events that were taking place, the societies that were being made.
Dylan never had any interest in societies, or how they were made. He didn’t see the point, didn’t recognise the significance. Now, he recognises it, but he’s not in awe of it. He’s seen Significant Points so many times that he now recognises them for what they are – a mere blip in what he assumes is a giant plan. There are no reversals, no harkening back – history and future is just a giant circle, with humans either trying to cling to the animals they originally were, or trying to find the spark that god made them to make them human.
It is the in-between bits that Dylan finds the most interesting – the relationships and events that are achingly important to those that have them, but have no effect on the world around. It’s why he likes soccer – a game filled with what feels to be significant moments, but is really just colour and flavour to the great scheme and no more.
When he told his father this, his father offered to take him back to the soccer games that spiked revolt in Ireland. Dylan remembers shouting no. It was the only time he ever really wished he had a door. Soon after that, he learnt how to deal without one.
Dylan has never had a proper home. He goes to school, and when that is finished he goes travelling with his father for half the night. He spends time in the great cities, on the outskirts of great laboratories, on the edge of the aftermath of great battles. Then he falls to sleep on his father’s lap.
Once a year, on the day his mother died, they go to the place where they scattered her ashes – that one church where his parents stayed up late murmuring to each other. Every time, Dylan’s father leaves him at that place in the present, and travels by himself, with the watch, to the age where they scattered her ashes. He comes back on the strike of six, drunk and reaching for his son. Dylan sleeps with him on those nights, his twelve year old body curled up beside his father’s; his heart-beat loud in his ears.
His father has never been violent, or done anything else when he is drunk. But he clutches that book to his chest. That book is unmovable – if you write something in it, the words will never change. Ever. If you change the timeline, you can still read about the previous timeline in that book, no matter how many times you change history. Dylan has never been able to read the book. He knows only that on the first page, written many times is one sentence.
I have a son. This must never change.
Some part of Dylan knows that his father does not stop his mother’s death, because doing so results in Dylan not existing. He does not know why. But he knows that every year, on that day, his father sits staring at the first page. And every year, he makes the decision not to wipe Dylan from existence.
On Heroines
I've been thinking about his quite a bit lately. What makes a good character? The reason I've been thinking on has to do with my own leading lady, Kira Hilta. Kira is withdrawn, she's lived most of her seventeen years out with only three people to deal with, (her mother, her grandfather, and her mother's fiancée.) She doesn't like outside interference. She's kind once you stop being an "outsider" to her. She's observant, smart, but she makes silly decisions sometimes and she is sometimes naive despite what her life's been like. At the same time, she's manipulative - once she decides on something, she will go to extraordinary lengths to do that thing. If you anger her enough, break the wall that she puts up around herself with violence, you will find that she has no moral line in her response.
I've had different responses to Kira. Some have liked her. I love her (for me, anyone who combines naivety with retribution is interesting.) Some haven't warmed to her at all.
I finally figured out the reason why. I don't show any of her good attributes until about a third of the way through the book. It's still all there, but she never gets a chance to show any of it.
But regardless, all this got me to thinking about what I like in a heroine. I'm a fan of complicated and morally ambiguous heroines, sure. Katniss, Lireal (garth Nix if you're wondering), Elspeth (Obwernyton by Isobelle Carmody). These characters have their complications, and their faults.
But the characters I love the most are those I wish I could be. Anything written by Tamora Pierce has these sort of characters. Powerful, smart, loved women who will flatten anything that comes in their path.
The thing that makes these books interesting is not the "will they/won't they" succeed, it's in watching how they do it. There is never any doubt in my mind on whether they have the competence to overcome their obstacles. Whether they can do it with everything they hold and love intact in another matter.
As always, unless you're trying to make a point, balance is key. But it makes me wonder if the rounded character does require big faults. Or just small ones.
Sian~
I've had different responses to Kira. Some have liked her. I love her (for me, anyone who combines naivety with retribution is interesting.) Some haven't warmed to her at all.
I finally figured out the reason why. I don't show any of her good attributes until about a third of the way through the book. It's still all there, but she never gets a chance to show any of it.
But regardless, all this got me to thinking about what I like in a heroine. I'm a fan of complicated and morally ambiguous heroines, sure. Katniss, Lireal (garth Nix if you're wondering), Elspeth (Obwernyton by Isobelle Carmody). These characters have their complications, and their faults.
But the characters I love the most are those I wish I could be. Anything written by Tamora Pierce has these sort of characters. Powerful, smart, loved women who will flatten anything that comes in their path.
The thing that makes these books interesting is not the "will they/won't they" succeed, it's in watching how they do it. There is never any doubt in my mind on whether they have the competence to overcome their obstacles. Whether they can do it with everything they hold and love intact in another matter.
As always, unless you're trying to make a point, balance is key. But it makes me wonder if the rounded character does require big faults. Or just small ones.
Sian~
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Slightly better on the Manda
This is going to be a rambling update. You Have Been Warned :p
Things are going slightly better with the "When the Mute Speak", my current WIP (YA Fantasy). For one, I figured out how to fix my start off without rewriting the entire thing. Always handy - because the beginning of the book supports the rest of it, and it has to be right. Getting it right is incredibly hard, and I may have managed to get halfway there. Good news is that I think I can get past "halfway there" without rewriting the entire thing.
Chapter two is a problem. Info dumps galore, and it doesn't feel... real. But I can do chapter two better. I figured it out. We're getting there.
My Beta's are awesome, as usual, and the second one is crazy fast. So things are going well.
A lesson I have learned when it comes to Beta's: always give out the same version. Get more than one perspective. Then re-write.
There is still the problem of my second act. My beta is getting confused at the climax, which is never good, so I need to set that up better. I also need to show the process that Kira goes through in coming to her conclusions. I never noticed before, but she often tends to make them on the spot, and with no evidence to back them up. I can see how she came up with it, but then I wrote the plot, so it's probably me taking shortcuts.
In other news, I'm going to start a new project for Nanowrimo. Hopefully it'll give me the break I need from Kira and her world, and get me into editing mode. Personally, I'm excited about the community aspect of Nanowrimo. I've never actually met proper (I mean people who are writing for publication) writers. I wonder what it'll be like?
The desicion on the which of the next two ideas to follow through on is a tricky one. Both require research, one requires damn good writing. (The other requires good writing, but only as a vechial of plot. The writing in NKFH has to be brilliant.)
The other one (no working title yet) requires research on the police. NHFH requires more life lived - I don't have the experience to do it justice. So it's probably going to be the other one first.
How do I find out about the police and their internal structure? A question for a rainy day.
Update completed. I wish you all a good weekend.
Sian~
Things are going slightly better with the "When the Mute Speak", my current WIP (YA Fantasy). For one, I figured out how to fix my start off without rewriting the entire thing. Always handy - because the beginning of the book supports the rest of it, and it has to be right. Getting it right is incredibly hard, and I may have managed to get halfway there. Good news is that I think I can get past "halfway there" without rewriting the entire thing.
Chapter two is a problem. Info dumps galore, and it doesn't feel... real. But I can do chapter two better. I figured it out. We're getting there.
My Beta's are awesome, as usual, and the second one is crazy fast. So things are going well.
A lesson I have learned when it comes to Beta's: always give out the same version. Get more than one perspective. Then re-write.
There is still the problem of my second act. My beta is getting confused at the climax, which is never good, so I need to set that up better. I also need to show the process that Kira goes through in coming to her conclusions. I never noticed before, but she often tends to make them on the spot, and with no evidence to back them up. I can see how she came up with it, but then I wrote the plot, so it's probably me taking shortcuts.
In other news, I'm going to start a new project for Nanowrimo. Hopefully it'll give me the break I need from Kira and her world, and get me into editing mode. Personally, I'm excited about the community aspect of Nanowrimo. I've never actually met proper (I mean people who are writing for publication) writers. I wonder what it'll be like?
The desicion on the which of the next two ideas to follow through on is a tricky one. Both require research, one requires damn good writing. (The other requires good writing, but only as a vechial of plot. The writing in NKFH has to be brilliant.)
The other one (no working title yet) requires research on the police. NHFH requires more life lived - I don't have the experience to do it justice. So it's probably going to be the other one first.
How do I find out about the police and their internal structure? A question for a rainy day.
Update completed. I wish you all a good weekend.
Sian~
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Plotting and Discovery Writing
Okay. So you've got an idea. You may/may not have characters or setting. But you've got an idea, and it's something that you're excited about.
Now what?
There are many, many different type of writer out there. How they deal with an idea is going to be different. But, generally speaking, there is this line:
Discovery Writer <-------------------------------------------------------------->Plotter.
Most writers will fit somewhere along that line. It's an important line to be aware of, because in my mind, everyone should try both ends of the scale at least once.
A discovery writer (or pantser - I prefer the term discovery writer) will get an idea in their head, sit down, and just write. They won't plan out character backgrounds, or plot points, or worldbuild. They'll come up with all that as they go along. They will almost definitely have to do re-writes, because many things will pop up in the first draft that they haven't considered before.
The first time I wrote anything it was discovery written. I came up with major world building information 3/4 of the way through the book. I put that in, and kept going. I came back to it in the next draft, and wrote it into the story.
The problem with discovery writing is that (in my mind at least) you eventually have to take stock of your story. You've got to sit back, look at the pages, and decide what version you want to keep to. And then you've got to revise what you have to fit that version. Which is where both the fun, and the frustration begins.
Plotters - extensive plotters anyway, seem to come up with less drafts. I say seem because I've never been an extensive plotter. I've never had to come up with the characters, the turning points, the tension and so on before I start. These days I sit more to the middle of the line. I like to know who my characters are, what motivates them, and the world that I'm writing in. I also like to know the end, and work towards that.
Extensive plotters have use for mine maps, for post it notes, for index cards. The ways that a person can plan out a book is about as varied as there are people. I can't tell you what they do, or really offer advice to plotters, because I don't write extensive outlines. The closest I get is thinking extensively about the characters in my mind.
But I can talk about discovery writing. It is a lot of fun to discovery write, to be surprised by your characters. But eventually, one of two things will happen. You'll reach a point where you just don't know what comes next, or you finish the book, and realise that while you understand all of your draft, no-one else does.
To fix the first problem, I recommend identifying the promises you've made so far. For example, there is an idea "checkov's gun". The idea being that if you have a gun in your first scene, you better use it later on. Discovery writers can often figure out where their next peice is going by identifying the "guns" or promises that they've made in their writing. When you write, every description and character sets something up. If you get stuck, it's sometimes because you're not sure of what you've set up and where it's going to leave. If so, go and figure that out.
The second problem is solved through good beta readers and revision. It will be painful. There will be a lot of swearing and "how the hell don't they understand this?!" going on. Some people leave their draft alone for a while, then come back to it with fresh eyes. That's fine for prose, but when it comes to story and characters, my eyes are never fresh. My mind just fills in the blanks, whether it be 6 weeks between reads, or two years. It just doesn't happen.
I have tried plotting. It murders a story for me. But pure discovery writing is too hard - I enjoy it, but there are way too many drafts involved. So these days I generally hover somewhere in the middle of that line. I would recommend trying both at least once, if only for a chapter or so. Just to check what works.
Sian~
Now what?
There are many, many different type of writer out there. How they deal with an idea is going to be different. But, generally speaking, there is this line:
Discovery Writer <-------------------------------------------------------------->Plotter.
Most writers will fit somewhere along that line. It's an important line to be aware of, because in my mind, everyone should try both ends of the scale at least once.
A discovery writer (or pantser - I prefer the term discovery writer) will get an idea in their head, sit down, and just write. They won't plan out character backgrounds, or plot points, or worldbuild. They'll come up with all that as they go along. They will almost definitely have to do re-writes, because many things will pop up in the first draft that they haven't considered before.
The first time I wrote anything it was discovery written. I came up with major world building information 3/4 of the way through the book. I put that in, and kept going. I came back to it in the next draft, and wrote it into the story.
The problem with discovery writing is that (in my mind at least) you eventually have to take stock of your story. You've got to sit back, look at the pages, and decide what version you want to keep to. And then you've got to revise what you have to fit that version. Which is where both the fun, and the frustration begins.
Plotters - extensive plotters anyway, seem to come up with less drafts. I say seem because I've never been an extensive plotter. I've never had to come up with the characters, the turning points, the tension and so on before I start. These days I sit more to the middle of the line. I like to know who my characters are, what motivates them, and the world that I'm writing in. I also like to know the end, and work towards that.
Extensive plotters have use for mine maps, for post it notes, for index cards. The ways that a person can plan out a book is about as varied as there are people. I can't tell you what they do, or really offer advice to plotters, because I don't write extensive outlines. The closest I get is thinking extensively about the characters in my mind.
But I can talk about discovery writing. It is a lot of fun to discovery write, to be surprised by your characters. But eventually, one of two things will happen. You'll reach a point where you just don't know what comes next, or you finish the book, and realise that while you understand all of your draft, no-one else does.
To fix the first problem, I recommend identifying the promises you've made so far. For example, there is an idea "checkov's gun". The idea being that if you have a gun in your first scene, you better use it later on. Discovery writers can often figure out where their next peice is going by identifying the "guns" or promises that they've made in their writing. When you write, every description and character sets something up. If you get stuck, it's sometimes because you're not sure of what you've set up and where it's going to leave. If so, go and figure that out.
The second problem is solved through good beta readers and revision. It will be painful. There will be a lot of swearing and "how the hell don't they understand this?!" going on. Some people leave their draft alone for a while, then come back to it with fresh eyes. That's fine for prose, but when it comes to story and characters, my eyes are never fresh. My mind just fills in the blanks, whether it be 6 weeks between reads, or two years. It just doesn't happen.
I have tried plotting. It murders a story for me. But pure discovery writing is too hard - I enjoy it, but there are way too many drafts involved. So these days I generally hover somewhere in the middle of that line. I would recommend trying both at least once, if only for a chapter or so. Just to check what works.
Sian~
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