#IWSG: More Challenging - Book Titles or Character Names?

Today is the first Wednesday of the month, which means it is time for The Insecure Writer's Support Group. If you've not heard of it before, check out the complete details by clicking here.

The purpose of the group is "to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!"

This month's question is: What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?

My answer: Book titles are MUCH harder for me to conjure, while playing with possible character names is a huge adventure for me. For example, my current project features rugby players. I researched various rosters of rugby teams around the world and compiled a large list of possible names for the story's characters. So. Much. Fun.

What about you? Which is more challenging, coming up with book titles or character names?

#IWSG: Writing Research - Emotional Flaws

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which means it's time for an Insecure Writers Support Group post!

http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/

IWSG Question of the Month: What is the weirdest / coolest thing you've ever had to research for your story.


Oh . . . I research SO MANY FABULOUS things! It's one of the best parts about being a writer.

Lately, I've been researching and studying emotional flaws, which is more interesting the more I learn about it.

Here are two great sites with more information about character flaws:

Fascinating discussion on the topic of flaws. "Every one of us has a fundamental flaw, an immaturity of character, a dark side or negative tendency." More:
http://personalityspirituality.net/articles/the-michael-teachings/chief-features/
(this is also the source for the image above)

List of over a hundred different flaws: http://darkworldrpg.com/character-flaws/




What would you consider your emotional flaw?

Or if that's too personal, what is the emotional flaw of the main character in the story you're currently working on?

Character Development Chart

When #writing - do you struggle to develop your #characters? Here's a simple chart to help you map out the arcs for each of the characters in your story.



For additional help developing your characters, check out these previous posts on the topic:
22 Character Questions
Cutting Secondary Characters
Character Development
Character Development Part II
Character Development Part III
Character Development Part IV

The Best #Bloggers = Kat, Kate, and Kim

... Featured for today's #AtoZChallenge -  @katrossauthor & @katejarvikbirch & @k_writes ...

Over the years I've learned so much, made so many friends, and been uplifted by so many great bloggers! As a result, I'm recognizing some of the best bloggers for this year's A to Z Challenge. These bloggers have shared knowledge, promotions, jokes, guidance, support, and more. Scroll on down to meet the next set of bloggers.

To the BEST BLOGGERS in the world - I say, "Thank you!"


K is for Kat Ross, Kate Jarvik Birch, and Kim Graff.



Kat Ross is a young adult author. Her debut, SOME FINE DAY, is available now, and she is an avid supporter of other writers. A recent post on her blog addressed the topic of cutting characters. She wrote, "When I had to revise Some Fine Day, there was much cold-blooded murdering of darlings—which actually turned out to be the easy part. My editor and I both agreed they were entertaining guests who were also dropping their dirty underwear on the bathroom floor, crashing on the couch, and not doing really doing much to move the plot anywhere.”

Kate Jarvik Birch had two young adult novels publish this last year, and she says about herself on her blog, "My life is full, overflowing. I'm a painter, a writer, a mother, a procrastinator and a daydreamer. Maybe there isn't time to fit it all into one life, but I'll keep trying. DELIVER ME (Spring 2014, Bloomsbury Spark), PERFECTED (Summer 2014, Entangled), Represented by Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg.” Kate regularly features other authors on her blog and tackles various writing topics, too.

 

Kim Graff is woman of many hats, including "a designer, a freelance editor, a book blogger, and a YA writer ... currently interning for Bree Ogden at D4EO. In the past, I've interned for P.S. Literary Agency, Astraea Press, and worked as a personal assistant for Best Selling author Gennifer Albin (Crewel). I offer critique services and create covers for authors. I am a member of the SCBWI, HWA, AWP, and HNS." Kim's blog offers fantastic writing tips and tips on traversing the publishing world. A recent post about common query mistakes, Kim wrote, "Wrong Pages: You don’t submit an “excerpt” — you submit the first five or ten pages. Not some random set of pages from chapter ten.”

Please take three minutes to stop by these three awesome blogs and thank them for all they contribute to the blogosphere!

Cutting Secondary Characters

Today's A to Z post is below, but I also wanted to let you know that I've got a great post (if I do say so myself, thank you very much) today over at: darklydeliciousya.blogspot.com ... It's all about cutting unnecessary characters from your manuscript. So check it out!

 

Profiling Your Character

I've decided I like revising more than writing the first draft. Now the fun stuff begins ... or was I supposed to figure this all out before writing the first draft? Hmm. Oh well.

While revising, I came across a great list of questions to ask your main character. From page 87 in Deborah Halverson's WRITING YOUNG ADULT FICTION FOR DUMMIES (btw: I still hate the title, but love the book):

1. What is her stance in the world?
2. Is she acquiescent? Challenging? Compromising?
3. Is she quick to anger or does she long for peace?
4. How does she act when confronted with a difficult decision or person?
5. How does she react to someone else's difficulty?
6. What does she think is important? True? Impossible?
7. What brings her joy? Gives her pain?
8.What does she really, really, want?
9. Are her desires and reactions consistent? If not--real people are not always consistent--what is the reason?

What do you think? Great list? Will you use the questions for your characters?

Funerals

My friend's brother died.

This morning I went to the funeral to support my friend, but I didn't know her brother at all. When I pulled into the parking lot, I realized just how much I did not know him. LOTS of people arrived in Antique Cars, Roadsters, Race Cars, Classics, and otherwise beautiful vehicles. They were painted amazing colors and clearly spit polished. The chrome shined. The drivers wore their racing t-shirts from various racing events. The men had really cool sideburns, and the women had big boobs.

I arrived in my filthy Ford Focus with a bug spattered cracked windshield. I wore black slacks and a nice modest blue shirt.

I was embarrassed about my car. ...

But it got me to thinking (because we-writerly-folk do that):
1. Who would show up at my funeral ... and would any of them have significant personas like this family of racers and car lovers?
2. Who would show up at my characters' funerals ... and would any of them have eclectic styles?

Do you associate with interesting people? Do you have interesting friends? What about the characters you create when you write? Are they all average and boring?

I really like interesting people ... but not enough to go out and race a car.

CRAFT: Character Development Pt IV

Great post on Darth Vader here: http://geoffreywebb.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/what-darth-vader-taught-me-about-people/

On Monday's post, Belle commented:
"I also think bad people changing is true in life and interesting in books. I will never forget the shock I felt when Darth Vader changed for the good in Star Wars. To see he had good feelings inside made his character more real."

Belle hit on a point that I absolutely LOVE: villains who have good traits.

"There's no villain so scary as one who is right." -- Donald Maass (THE FIRE IN FICTION, p.48)

YIKES!!

Have you worked on making your villain (or antagonist) likeable?

Think about the villain in your WIP and ask these questions:
1. What goodness does he have inside of him?
2. What does he say that is true?
3. Is your villain redeemable, like Darth Vader? Why or why not?

How about you?
Who is your favorite villain?

CRAFT: Character Development Pt III

And here's another great comment from Monday's post:

L.G. Smith over at Bards and Prophets blog wrote:
"A plot shouldn't just be a bunch of connected incidents and actions but a vehicle for the character's growth as a person."

Ah ... really? YES!!

David Baboulene over at Baboulene.com wrote (in THE STORY BOOK, p.120):
"Note that it is not the event which reveals a protagonist's character, but his reaction to the event. The action he takes defines his character. Similarly, it is not the event which drives the plot (as you might expect), but the action taken by the character that defines the event, and drives the plot."

Select a scene or chapter or event in your WIP and ask these questions:
1. What action does your character take to initiate this event?
2. How does your character react to the aftermath of this event?
3. How does your character change because of this event?

Do you agree with L.G. Smith that a plot is a vehicle for a character's growth?

CRAFT: Character Development Pt II

WOW. Really great comments on yesterday's post. I had intended to go a certain direction with the followup posts on character development, but because of the comments, I've decided to do something different.

Let's focus on some of the great things you had to say.

Jennifer Shirk over at Me, My Muse, and I blog said:
"Well, for me I usually outline and start with each main character and ask, "What "lie" does he/she believe about her/himself or life in general?"

This is awesome! Why? Read it again. By acknowledging a LIE your character believes, you have instant conflict and tension.

Donald Maass over at Writer Unboxed wrote:
"... What is it that you—yes, you—least want to accept, refuse to feel, fear is true, find unbearable, feel angriest about, or avoid at any cost? What do you see around you that makes you sick? What in yourself makes you terrified?

Go further: What’s the truth that underlies all things? What principle guides human behavior? What’s the greatest insight you’ve even had about yourself? Or even just this: What do you know about anything that nobody else does?

Give any of the above to your protagonist and share the rest around with your other characters. ... " (to read the entire post, click link above for Writer Unboxed)

Building extreme conflicting emotions into your characters provides a wonderful road for them to travel throughout your manuscript.
 
 

 
Take a look at the characters in your WIP, and ask these three specific questions:
1. What lie does your character believe?
2. What will your character avoid at any cost?
3. What does your character know that no one else does?
 
 
What other tips do you have for developing a character?

CRAFT: Character Development

I've been reading a lot of great books lately on the craft of writing, and I've been working hard revising two very different manuscripts. So ... ideas for improvements keep bouncing around in my head.

Today, I'm thinking about character development:

"Every single character ... must change in the course of your story. The only characters who don't change are the bad guys. But the hero and his friends change a lot" (Snyder, SAVE THE CAT, p.134).

"One of the top three factors in great stories is a clear progression of character growth across the course of the story. Someone, somewhere in your story must change and grow ..." (Baboulene, THE STORY BOOK, p.136).

How do you accomplish this? Do you simply write your story, give it to a beta reader, and ask if the mission has been achieved? Or do you need to map it out precisely and make sure that there is ENOUGH growth for each character? And, what constitutes "enough" growth? What tools and techniques can you utilize to accomplish this goal?

Well, instead of writing a huge long post today, I've decided to cover these questions in a series of posts over the coming week.

But for today, do you agree with Snyder above when he says, "EVERY SINGLE character ... must change ..." ??? Really ??? Every single one ???

Character Development: EVIL vs. GOOD

So ... I had a great conversation last night after a business meeting, discussing the bare bones of leadership.

I've continued to think about the conversation throughout the night ... do you ever do that? Ponder things WHILE you sleep? Anyway, I digress.

Leadership ... you can go about it many different ways ... including the nice way and the mean way.

A book I've previously read on the topic:

This was an excellent book, based on excellent principles. A great way to be a positive leader.

But, last night, the book that was recommended to me was:

Here's what one reviewer on goodreads.com wrote:

"i learned to be eviiiilll with this book....haha actually this book made me realize how shady people can be. Plus how smart you and ambitious you should be about succeeding in life. You got to stand out in this world. If you roll with the bunches you'll become lost. You always have to have a good reputation or if you have a certain reputation you better use it to your advantage (damn im evil hahaha). This book will expose and teach you alot about the real world. One of my first books i really read and enjoyed. it motivated me to keeping learning about myself and people. i highly recommend it."

... okay ...

Which made me think: what a great basis for character development in your writing. There's a big difference between authentic leadership and pursuit of power.

Furthermore, what a great research tool for your writing! Read these books on leadership and power, and decide which book your character would prefer.

What do you think?

Do you think there's a difference between leadership and power? Have you read either book? 

Williams-Sonoma OR Walmart?

When writing, do you ever pause to consider the accessories in your character's households? Do they shop at Williams-Sonoma or Walmart?

I'm not a coffee drinker, nor am I a big tea drinker; but I LOVE hot chocolate, and occassionaly, I enjoy a cup of herbal tea. I especially love the aroma of a fresh cup of tea.  Years ago, my husband bought me a gorgeous tea kettle. I know I could use the microwave to warm an infrequent cup of water, but something about the process of putting water in the kettle and waiting for it to whistle brings me joy.

Luckily for me, my husband bought me a wonderful gift (picture below very similar to mine):

Frankly, I would have been sad if he'd gotten me the cheaper version:

We do actually own the second one as well... but we only take it camping, and it's covered with soot.

So... where does your main character shop? How would your character react to receiving one tea kettle over the other?

And keeping with the week's theme of leaving you a link for the day... here are two:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/
http://www.walmart.com/

CRAFT: Characters

A few days ago, I listed my favorite books of 2010, but today I'm wondering... who are my favorite characters from the books I've read in 2010? Do the two lists match up? No.

Favorite Characters (just from my 2010 reading):
1. Lula (a secondary character from the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich)
2. Lucy Valentine (m.c. from Deeply, Desperately by Heather Webber)
3. Mercy Thompson (m.c. from Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs)

Why are they my favorites?
1. They're memorable.
2. They're all strong and yet insecure women. (...eh: strong & insecure = conflict!)

Readers need to bond with the characters in some way and become invested in them. Many agents say that a reader needs to know the main character's name on page one. Other agents say that the m.c. needs to "do" something within the first two pages.

Make a list of your favorite characters. And, then go back and look at the writing with the craft in mind. What did the author DO with the writing to make you love and remember that character?

1. Lula is always trying a new diet (and failing to lose weight). She wears clothes that are way to small for her. And yet, she's proud. There's conflict in those attributes, which helps me connect with her and remember her.

2. Lucy Valentine uses numbers and math to calm herself when she gets nervous. She has a "gift" that she doesn't want to use. Her quirky behavior makes me smile and gets me emotionally involved in her success.

3. Mercy Thompson is a very independant and strong woman, and yet she has occasional panic attacks that immobilize her. = Conflict!

Is your m.c. a hero? Are heros always perfect? Give your hero a flaw.

When your m.c. is involved in a conversation with another character, create conflict by having your m.c. say one thing aloud, but think the opposite in his/her head.

Characters become more memorable when we become emotionally involved in their success. Conflicts of varying degrees help achieve this goal.

Here are some more posts on great characters:
http://margokelly.blogspot.com/2010/07/ping-pong.html
http://margokelly.blogspot.com/2010/04/fire-in-fiction-by-donald-maass.html

Who are your favorite characters, and why?

Invest your time in people...??

Hey - blog silence the last several days. I was out of town, enjoying a fantastic retreat in McCall, Idaho.

I'm an observer of human nature (as previously mentioned). So, of course, all weekend I observed people's body language, word choice, and actions. I often wonder what makes people tick, but I also wonder what makes one person generous and another selfish.

Between these thoughts and thoughts about taking my mother in tomorrow for her bone marrow biopsy, are more thoughts (ha). I am pondering the people in my life. Here are the questions I'm asking:

1. Who are the people in my life that I'd miss and I'd be sad if they died tomorrow?
2. Who are the people that I give the most time/energy to in my life?
3. Does the second list match the first list?

So, today (as soon as I'm done with this post) I'm going to:
1. Make a list of the most important people in my life. (for example: Rachel Thompson)
2. Think of something kind I can do for each person. (for example: take Rachel a jar of salsa, maybe with a bag of tortilla chips)
3. Post this list in a visible place so that I can remember to acknowledge these people in my life.

Recently I heard a speaker comment, "Being grateful but not saying thanks is like wrapping a Christmas present but never giving it."  We need to let the important people in our lives know how we feel about them.

**stepping off soap box now**

Who is someone important in your life? What act of kindness can you do for them today?

Do you remember?

Whether you're writing YA or another genre, do you remember what *it* felt like? *IT* could be anything. So many great stories make us FEEL. They evoke emotions in the very core of us as a reader; emotions like fear, joy, love, anxiety, etc.  As writers, we need to remember (or imagine) how circumstances caused us to feel and then translate that into words. Can you do that?

For example, today my sixteen-year-old son drove me around for the first time EVER! Okay, now as an adult, that was a pretty interesting experience, but as an AUTHOR, it was an amazing experience. Why? Because it was his first time driving a stick-shift.

Do you remember what THAT felt like? We can laugh about it now, but put yourself back into the shoes of the teenager stalling the car in the middle of the intersection for the first time. Talk about emotional! Then, don't just feel the emotions, but go further. Same intersection, and you stalled again! And again! Panic? Fear? Anxiety?

Did your heart race? Throat tighten? Stomach sour? Teeth clench? Describe it. Show it. But, first, remember it.

What was your most emotional (or one of the top ten) moments of your teenage years? Can you still remember it vividly? Why?

Always Writing!

I'd really prefer to stay home in my pajamas today and write...but... I need to shower, get dressed, and head to work (selling Berninas today!).

However, I am always writing. In my head.

Right now, I'm considering the advice of two agents. One said my m.c. was "too babyish" and the other said the "tone was too adult." Okay. Let's take one at a time.

Main character too babyish: This feels like a whack upside the head (in a good? way, maybe?) because I *thought* I utilized techniques to show Thia as a strong character who makes bad (naive) choices. So, as I approach another revision, my eyes will be wide open to places where she came across "too babyish" because that was never my intent. I kept a notebook next to me while writing, and I used it to employ concepts from Donald Maass' book "The Fire in Fiction." But now, as I flip through the character pages, I have pages detailing Seth (the brother), Josh (one antagonist), Janie (the best friend), and Mike (the main antagonist); actually, there are several pages devoted to Mike.  Maybe I did let parts of Thia's character fall through the cracks. I'm going to go back through Maass' book and use his character building concepts solely on my m.c. during this revision.

So, while I'm at work today selling Bernina sewing machines, I'm going to be running through the ms in my head thinking of ways her character may have fallen short. I'm always writing!

I even dream about my characters and plot lines. ha.

How about you? Are you always writing? Where's the "strangest" place you've worked on your ms? What's the best character building tip you have to share?

Ping Pong

I was in a business class a few years ago where the instructor spoke of communicating with his son (using it to compare to employees and finding a way to motivate them). The instructor referred to his method of communication as ping pong.

He would ask his son a question. His son would give a general answer, and then the dad would ask, "And then what?" or "Why?" or "How come?" And the son would give another answer, and the dad would ask again, "And then what?" or "Why?" or "How come?" The dad would continue this method of ping-pong with his son until he really got to the meat of the situation.

I tried it in business with people I was attempting to motivate, to find the root of their "blocks" to success. It worked. It was weird, but cool.

So, then the other day, I read this great article in Writer's Digest (July/Aug 2010, page 70). The article was called "Upping the Ante" by Victoria Lynn Schmidt. The first sub-heading was "Identify Character Motivation."   The article goes on to discuss why your characters are doing what they're doing. And, it made me think of the ping-pong method.

So, I sat down with my main character, and I asked her, "What are you doing?" She answered. (I know, I'm a little crazy.) Then I asked her, "Why do you want to do that?" She answered. I asked, "So, why does that matter?" She answered. I asked, "How is that going to bring you pleasure?" "What difference is that going to make?" etc.

I learned some interesting things regarding my character's motivation.

Have a ping-pong conversation with your main character and see what happens.

Listening to teenagers

So... you think you want to write a book for young adults, huh?  Many agents say when they receive sample pages, they skip ahead to the first lines of dialogue. Many writers struggle with realistic dialogue - especially teenage dialogue.

To make things more challenging, teenage boys converse much differently than teenage girls. Truth! ha.

Girls are SO dramatic, in actions and in words.  Boys, on the other hand, can be very flat. Ah, yes... both are the stereotypes, but stereotypes exist for a reason.

Here's a conversation that occured between my son and another teenage boy yesterday. We were moving Mitchell into the dorms of a local university for a summer work program sponsored by the Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Mitchell leaned against the wall while he balanced a paper plate in one hand and a potato chip in the other.  He surveyed the group of boys and girls mingling and eating. Mitchell popped the potato chip into his mouth as a guy about his own age, maybe a year or two older, approached him and asked, "So what's your vision problem?"

Mitchell finished chewing and answered, "I can't see out of this eye." He used his thumb to indicate his right eye.

"Oh," the other boy nodded his head and squinted. "Cool." Then he shook his head and corrected, "I don't mean cool you're blind. I mean cool."

"Yah," Mitchell smiled. Both boys laughed. "How 'bout you?" Mitchell asked.  The other boy went on to explain how his right eye didn't work at all and he had no peripheal vision with his left eye.

... Could you imagine two bubbly outgoing girls having this same conversation? Maybe. Maybe not.

Lucky me, I get to spend this entire week observing and listening to girls aged twelve to eighteen. I'm in charge of thirty girls at girls' camp. YAY. (exclamation point intentionally left off... jk)  I plan to listen carefully and observe their interactions. I may even take a couple of notes. Then I plan to write lots when I get back into town.

I do have a book to finish.

Back to work!

Oh, by the way, have you heard any great dialogue between teens lately? Do share.

Day at the spa...

Mmm, Hmm. We all need one. If I could figure out how to get pictures off my new cell phone - I'd show you my pretty toes. Oh well... use your imagination (but imagine my feet skinnier than they actually are).

[Sidenote: did you know you can find pictures of anything via google? Crazy. These are not my toes. But totally how I picture my toes in my head. In fact, my toes are fatter.]

While at the spa getting a pedicure, I sat and thought about characters. The more I write the more I think about writing. I meet people, watch people, talk to people, and think to myself: you need to be a character in my book.

I've even stopped and typed notes into my cell phone (uh, oh! that reminds me... I need to get those notes off my old cell phone! I'd better write another note...). I write reminders of what these larger than life characters said and did. For example, one day I was driving down the road and a guy in an old beat up pickup truck swerved a bit. I thought, what the heck is he doing? And then, he spat out the window. Ew. He must be chewing tabacco and spitting. Ick. Mental note, stay out of his spit-zone. But then, we stopped at the stop light. He was next to me. I had to look. He was brushing his teeth! REALLY! He had a toothbrush in one hand and picked up a water bottle with the other. Rinsed and spat out the window again. Huh. Light turned green. He drove on, still brushing his teeth.

I could tell you about the red-neck dad in Cabella's (camping & hunting store) with two little toddlers in tow and a baby in the shopping cart and what he explained to them about his truck. (Lots of trucks in Idaho)

I could tell you about the optometrist who spoke so fast I could hardly keep up. He kept waving his hands and asking, "Do you know what I mean? Do you know what I mean?" I'm pretty sure he meant he had to much coffee to drink that day. HA.

Anyhow... I enjoyed my day at the spa... but I had trouble focusing. I had a physical need to write.