Writing Comfort

I used to think that I did my best writing in controlled conditions: by myself, with my music, in my room. This was a gross misconception.

I write best in the middle of a crowded room; in a coffee shop; in the student center; in the family room. I write best with one ear bud in my left ear as my right ear listens in on the conversations around me. I write best with the television going in front of me as I listen to 80′s music during the commercials and my sister’s iTunes playing in the next room with the dogs barking and pans slamming in the kitchen.

I write best with a headache, with a stuffy nose and a cup of Earl Grey tea with two Splendas. I write best on my bed, curled up in my pink chair, sitting properly at a desk, balancing my laptop on my knees.

I write best in a dorm room with two computers, two laptops, and a video game system playing Guitar Hero.

I write best when internally I am inspired. When the writer in me decides that this is the final plot, when I can sit and just let the words out.

I write best when no one tells me what to write, in every situation, with all sounds and sights around me. So long as I have my imagination, I will be able to write.

Fantasy

If you look at my other posts, you’ll notice that I tend to deal in the realm of fantasy over anything else. Within fantasy I can deal with urban or obviously fantasic settings and characters, but everything I write is not likely to happen in reality.

If you look at my bookshelf, everything on it is fantasy. I love dealing with vampires, elves, mages, wizards, goblins, magic and everything else that shouldn’t be real. If it doesn’t exist, I want it to.

I think that I write fantasy because I live reality. I see it everyday, know what it’s like; I don’t need or want to write slice-of-life books when I’ve experienced it. I can’t experience fantasy in everyday life, so that’s what I want to write about.

However, in fantasy there are many subgenres and those are fun to explore. I prefer either modern/urban fantasy with modern settings and fantasic characters, like in Holly Black’s Tithe or what is called high fantasy, with the basic magic and sword-fighting. If I’m creating a magical world, chances are it’s a more medieval setting, with the fancy dresses and swords and everything.

What’s fun with fantasy is trying to find ways that other people haven’t done yet. There are only so many plots and most have already used; today’s writers are recycling the old ones established long ago. So I try to make it different. Tolkien’s elves were a dying race; mine are a dominant one that hunts humans for sport. Dragons are powerful, wise, and great lizards; mine perfer to function in their human form, thank you very much.

Fantasy opens up so many different paths that I don’t see in reality. Now, you’re welcome to disagree with me and challenge this, but reality and writing about doesn’t interest me. Fantasy… well, which path do I travel first?

Creating Characters

Everyone creates characters differently. Some ways work well for some people and fail for others. This is the way that I happen to create characters. After I go through my method, I’ll go through a sample character.

 

I make lists.

 

I start with physical characteristics, age and gender. I define hair and eye color, height, and sometimes weight. I don’t go into the physical too much because it is not what defines the characters. Just give them a few defining characteristics to recognize them by.

 

Since I usually write fantasy, the next thing I do is decide if a character is going to be elf, human, fairy, etc, and what magic he/she has, if any. Sometimes, I also assign them a title, King, Queen, etc.

 

Personality traits are next. Just a few major ones, such as is the character outgoing or reserved, commanding or a follower, calm or impulsive. A method I tend to use is Cattell’s Big Five: Openness to new experiences, Impulsiveness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. How much does each of these play a factor in the character’s personality?

 

Personality traits often bring into light likes and dislikes. I make lists of hobbies that they have, things that they like, what they would go to great lengths to avoid, including food. Although sometimes this doesn’t happen until much later.

 

Occasionally, defining the character’s personality also creates a trademark outfit that they wear. A female character that is more warrior-like might defy tradition and wear trousers instead of a skirt. A male who is very arrogant might wear a signet ring to try to boost his status. This doesn’t always happen though. Sometimes, the characters just wear regular clothing.

 

This is the stage where I give them a name, once the physical characteristics and personality traits are worked out. For me, once I give a character a name, he/she becomes more real. The name is not always meaningful, sometimes it is just pretty. Other times I search babynames.com to find a name that means something. And sometimes I find a name by accident and it just fits the character.

 

The name establishes the character. Once that happens, I develop the character beyond who he/she is and create relationships. Who is the character the child of? Any siblings? Other close family relations, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins? Who are the character’s closest friends? Is he/she in a romantic relationship?

 

On occasion, the relationships have caused the character to change a bit. Maybe his/her parents cause the character to become more introverted because they are so overbearing. Perhaps a younger sibling brings out a fierce protective streak. The character doesn’t have to be set in stone. Like people, characters adapt and change to the environment and people around them.

 

This is generally where I stop the preliminary character development. More the character will be developed as I write. But this gives me a good base to start with so that I know who I am writing about. And this method isn’t set in stone. I skip steps while I’m making my list.

 

Now, for a sample character.

 

This character will be female, with sandy-brown hair and hazel eyes. She is almost 18 and about 5 ft. 4 in. And no, she isn’t going to tell you how much she weighs. She is a normal human, but she is the daughter of the town executioner, so most people avoid her. Since she is avoided, she in somewhat introverted; she is also disagreeable when it comes to people outside her family and even in her family she is very secretive. She is seen wearing black accessories- head scarf, belt, and boots- and sometimes a black top.

 

 Darcy (Dark one) is the oldest child of the town executioner. There is a large gap between her and her younger brothers, almost ten years. And her younger brothers have a different mother from her; her mother left when Darcy was about six. Her father didn’t marry until she was nearly ten and that was because the woman was pregnant. She’s avoided her step-mother and brothers since then, nearly eight years.

 

From here, I can either jump right into the story or go through and create more characters, like the father and step-mother.

Stuck

I finished a story recently- finished being handwritten and typed in the computer and edited over once. I finished it. So, usually, I already have another story that I dive right into, so that I am always writing.

The problem is this: I have the story. I know the main characters, her motivation, the plot, the setting, all the little details, but I can’t sit and write. Well, I can. I sit down with a pen and notebook, but nothing comes to mind. I’m really having trouble writing this one.

And it’s starting to bother me.

For a while, I thought I didn’t have enough details. So, I got out my Blue Book (is a sketchbook), and I wrote out a character list, defined my main character a bit more, drew a map of the reality and created the path she travels. I took time to sketch out some outfits, define relationships and really try to build up the backstory. And I still have nothing on the bigger picture.

I also took out my Moleskien (tiny journal about the size of my palm. Very convenient for traveling) because it had little segments that will make their way into the story eventually. There are bits of the story here and there in it.

And still, nothing.

This wouldn’t frustrate me so badly if it weren’t for the fact that it’s the second or third time that I’ve tried to write this story in four years. It’s been brewing in my head since I finished Garnet, and it’s somewhat of a continuation of that story. And normally, I would be content to set it aside for a while and move onto something else, as I’ve done in the past, but I don’t have anything else. I don’t have a back-up story to work on. I’ve used them!

I think, what I may have to do, is sit down and put together another story, and once again, set this one aside. Which kind of disappoints me. I know most of this one and really want to write it. But something is blocking me, mentally.

I guess that I’ll move on to Vampires. I want to do something with them and I think I’m going to make them spies. I’ll have to find my Moleskien again, because I had an idea sketched out in there, and it might work…

Oh, and everyone should go to Barnes and Noble and buy a Moleskien of their own. They’re very handy.

Fanfiction

I have a fanfiction addiction. I figure it isn’t as bad as other addictions, so when I get a craving, I submit to it. It’s pretty harmless. Some people laugh at me and ask me why I spend all my time reading that stuff when I’ve read all the originals and whatnot. And I am tired of these people.

You know, some of these writers are really good. Some are better than the originals.

I have one story Harry Potter and the Manipulator of Destiny that I swear, is twice as good as the seventh Harry Potter book. Author PaisleyRose writes Labyrinth fanfiction that is just fantastic.

These are people that if they choose to use their own characters and write original stories could, and probably would be, best sellers. They are just amazing.

And you know what, fanfiction isn’t awful. I started out writing Lord of the Rings fanfiction (I have conveniently lost that story, so no, you can’t see it. Just because others are good at it, doesn’t mean I am). Fanfiction gave me a solid base to start with; I could use characters and settings that were already established and create my own plot. As I wrote, I learned about creating setting and characters. When I started working on my first original work, I felt more confident, much more than when I started my first fanfiction.

Literary agent, Colleen Lindsey says in her blog that “If you are a regular contributor to a fan-fic writing community online, say so! Oh, sure, you thought I was gonna say I hate the stuff, right? Wrong. A regular writing hobby is a regular writing hobby, no matter what you write, as long as you are consistent and working to improve your craft. And many fan-fic writers are already used to being critiqued, so they don’t bleed all over the keyboard when someone tells them how they could make something better. Fan-fic has also spawned a number of talented writers, such as Rachel Caine, Naomi Novik, and Sarah Rees Brennan.”

So, power to the fanfiction writers. I’ll continue to read and support you, probably even in my old age when I can’t write anymore (Pray that day never comes).

Character Names

So, I recently rediscovered the world of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, 50,000 words in 30 days. Ready, Set, Go). And they have all sorts of groups for chatting and support and such. It’s a really great community.

Anyway, in Fantasy there is a discussion on character names (to see it, copy and paste: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3005235) and how people create their names. I have two ways a) they come to me and b) I look them up on Babynames.com. I have some general rules for myself as well. The names should be memorable and fairly easy to pronounce. I can adjust the spelling a bit to make the name look more exotic, but all in all, those are the two basic rules that I use.

But in the thread, some of the authors have characters with three names and each name is 3-4 syllables. That really is too much. After a while, people don’t remember the name or the character. And while it’s all well and good to have fun, exotic names, if you need to give the pronounciation, it might be too much.

I do understand it, a bit. As a fantasy writer, several of my characters are fairy and elves and the like, and it’s tempting to give them outlandish names. I have a story where I used a Elf name generator and I have characters like Elrir (Ell-rear), Dryear (Dry-ear), Azadeth, Lysel (Lie-sell), and Angaro (An-gar-ro). But in the same story I also have Maddie, Jack, Marcus, Liana, and Leo.

Maybe it’s just me, but at this point (and I don’t mean to sound snobbish; I am not an expert) I think that long, hard to pronounce names are generally the sign of a new writer who wants their characters to sound cool. They can sound just as cool with easier names.

You can tell me if I’m being a snob. I wouldn’t be too offended.

Very Cool Stuff

Christine Feehan, author of the Dark Series, the Drake Sisters, the Ghost Walkers, and a few others, has a very cool members only section. For many of her books since about 2003, she has made Book Trailers, which are 30 seconds to about 2 minutes, live-action trailers. The actors I believe are her children’s friends and her friends.

In addition to the trailers, there are making of clips, interviews, wallpaper, games, preview chapters, songs for some of the series, chants, family trees, the research she’s done, language history and pronounciation guides, and recipes. Plus, there is a clothing store and the proceeds go towards a wolf preservation.

I want to learn how to do all this for my website and books.

Website: Chrstine Feehan: #1 New York Times Best Selling Author

Dark Curse Book Trailer

Rejection

About two and a half weeks ago, I sent a sample of my manuscript to LUNA Books, which is a subset of Harlequin Publishing. LUNA publishes fantasy and science fiction books about strong female characters, with the romance as a sub-plot, not the main one.

So, I sent the sample and recieved… a rejection letter. The rejection letter was generic, however the sample that I sent had coffee stains on it, meaning that someone took the time and read it. I’m so excited!

Besides, I believe that after the first 100 or so rejections, someone will eventually say yes. So, one down and 99 more to go, give or take.

And I’m framing this one.

Influences

Since I have been writing, I have sucked up influence from everything, from the movies I watch to the books that I read. Some of them are:

Movies

Labyrinth,
Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2, and 3
Lord of the Rings 1, 2, and 3
Dragonheart
Moulin Rouge

Books

Christine Feehan: The Dark Series
Tamora Pierce: Her Tortall Series
The Magic and the Healing
Crown Duel
Beauty

These are a few of the major influences on Draca Chronicles, which is my major work. From some of them, I got characters, from others just ideas and setting. for the most part, I absorbed nearly everything that I come across, at least fantasy-wise, as it is my favorite genre to write.

Another influence in my life is mythology in general, from the Greek Gods and further back to the Assyrian Goddesses. But I don’t draw a lot of influence from modern time.

Except for the modern influences of my favorite authors. I try to read articles by Nora Roberts, Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Cruise, Tamora Pierce and Christine Feehan. One of my favorite books on writing is by Janet Evanovich.

Overall, I try to take bits and pieces from everywhere, so that I can keep enriching myself and my writing.

Many from One

“The anonymity of MUDs gives people the chance to express multiple and often unexplored aspects of the self, to play with their identity and to try out new ones. MUDs make possible the creation of an identity so fluid and multiple that it strains the limits of the notion. Identity, after all, refers to the sameness between two qualities, in this case between a person and his or her persona. But in MUDs, one can be many.” (“Who Am We?, Sherry Turkle)

Having multiple personas is something that I have done for a while. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have several views running around in my head, each a bit like me and what I wanted to become. The Internet is one place where people can become someone they’re not and books and writing are the medium that I use.

On-line, I have this blog, which is a form of persona, my livejournal persona, who is self-centered and occassionally very vengeful and bitter, and for a while, my fanfiction account, who was a dreamer and rather flighty. Each one captured part of who I was.

Writing is the same thing. Chloe takes on my responsible and self-sacrificing nature (okay, so she’s a bit of a righteous martyr). Faith is my freedom and desire to be on my own, but also sheltered. Garnet is me when I feel stifled. Leslie has magic that I wish I had. Liana is mothering aspect.

And not only are each of my characters a persona, but so is each story. I have two tones that I write with, one significantly darker than the other. The darker one I intend to publish under a pseudonym.

I think that everyone creates personas, on-line and off, in order to express the parts of their personalities that others don’t always see. Personas are safe outlets for personalities that are buried beneath what we are expected to be or for personalities that we wish we had. They can also be extensions of ourselves.

So, sometimes I admit to answering the voices in my head and sometimes I answer “We are confused” for just myself, because everyone does have multiple personas. And some have multiple personalities, which makes life really interesting.

But, for the most part, there is no harm in expressing our personas, especially the ones that are more interesting than we really are.