The WriteRunner

RIP Subaru Outback

2009-11-13T11:49:00.001-08:00

(based on a true story)

RIP Subaru Outback Legacy Wagon LL Bean Edition

I want to talk about our beloved friend that we lost last Tuesday.

We first adopted Sube in March of 2003, as healthy baby hatchback. I remember when we brought her home, so shiny and new, and her interior smelled like fresh lilacs in the summer. She loved her new garage, and proudly carried us around town. She made a new friend with “Baby Car,” the BMW in the next stall. Her engine roared with life, and she tackled every challenge we threw at her with joy and exuberance. Now we're left with only a sense of loss, without anything except a check from the insurance company to temper our grief.

Why?

That's the question on everyone's mind. Why did you end it all on that cold November night, throwing yourself off the freeway, spinning out of control, and tumbling to a stop against the guardrail? Haven't we always been good to you? Haven't we changed your oil, washed your windows, and rubbed soothing wax against your side panels? What changed? We've asked ourselves a million questions since then, and we only hear the empty chatter of the wind through your broken skylight. My heart almost stopped when I found you there, a broken heap bleeding transmission fluid. I couldn't believe you were gone in a blink of an eye, crumpled into a pile of twisted metal and broken glass.

I remember fighting with the tow men as he dragged your corpse onto his truck. “What are you doing? Please, she can be saved,” I cried. “Do not take her to that awful place, where cars are parted like organ donors and the remains crushed into scrap.” But he pushed me aside and performed his grisly duty.

What do we do wrong? Did I say some off-hand remark about the new Toyota FJ Cruiser that upset you so? Did I leave a moldy sandwich in the back? Had you tired of the daily routine, back and forth, without any excursions beyond work and the supermarket? We wanted to drive you more, but with the price of gas and the economy in general, we just were never able to.

A rage overcame me. How could you do this? Were we not good enough? Didn't we take you in, spending extra money for heated seats and a luggage rack? How could you be so ungrateful? And didn't she know she could have injured others in the process? What was she thinking? I wanted to walk away, not even stop to see her mangled corpse to the salvage yard, to say some last words to her.

I argued with the insurance people for days. “She can be saved. It's not that bad. It's just a door ding.” They responded with words like “total loss”, “unrepairable at any price”, “stop calling us”. They finally sent me a check—a complete insult. How do you put a price on a car's life? How can you know what a car has meant to a family, all the cherished memories of days at the beach, climbing mountains, and rollicking on the freeway?

I don't want another car. I don't know if I can endure this pain again. When I see other Subaru's out on the road, my hands shake and I have to look away. Buying a new Subaru would be insulting to her memory. I just have no interest in cars right now. I don't want to mock her memory. I'm not ready for another car, I don't care how shiny it is.

All I know is that I hope Sube is in a better place right now. Her body might be in a junkyard, but I want to think that her soul is somewhere in a showroom in the sky, restored to her original glory, with a glossy coat of paint, clear bright lights, and limitless gas, opening to endless freeways where she can roam free with others of her kind. I hope when I pass over into that good night, I might enjoy one last ride with her, ease her pain, and tell her that we loved her as much as anyone could love a car.

Goodbye Sube, you were a true friend, and you'll be missed.

NaNoWriMo Week Two Tips

2009-11-09T09:33:00.001-08:00

NaNoWriMo Week Two Tips

Tip Zero: DON’T GIVE UP!

You started out NaNoWriMo with the world’s greatest idea, wrote furiously for a week, and now you find yourself staring at a blank page, unable to fathom a single idea to propel your book forward. If you’ve outlined, that document is now thrown out the window, a hopelessly inane piece of unimaginative tripe. If you’re pantsing, the awful mess of spaghetti prose you’ve laid out has tempted you to throw out everything you’ve written and start anew, or give up entirely. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Week Two.

The other thing that should be happening is that you’ve made the turn into the Special World of Act II. In Act I (see Week One Tips), you introduced your characters, defined their specific issues and goals, and sent them on a fruitless quest to solve and/or avoid these issues. But now it’s time for your characters to stop reacting, and start acting. They must enter a new world of excitement and danger. This Special World is far different than where they started, full of opportunity and challenges. They are now in enemy territory, trying to negotiate their way through unfamiliar terrain. No more sitting around on their keisters, they must act.

Week Two is all about rising challenges. Your characters are now on a mission, and they need to accomplish three things over the next week or so:

Acquire the skills needed to tackle the mission.
Identify their friends and foes, and gather their friends close (and their enemies closer?). A handy way to achieve this is through the Bar Scene or it’s equivalent, where both allies and enemies gather for refreshment, and secret knowledge is shared.
Practice their skills against increasingly difficult opposition.

By the end of the week, they should be approaching the enemy’s hideout, and heading for the main crisis point of the story. Note that isn’t the Final Battle or Climax, this is just their first big encounter with the enemy which occurs about 1/2 to 2/3’s of the way into the book, depending on whose structure you follow. So by this coming weekend, they should be on their way if not actively engaged with the Enemy.

So now for my Tips for Week Two:

Keep Writing. Don’t stop. Ever. This is your goal, this is your mission. You must suffer for your craft, as your characters must suffer to achieve their goals. No matter what form of bilge appears in your manuscript, you must persevere.
Keep raising the stakes. Everything the character wins must be earned. The risk of failure is growing. The rewards of success are multiplying. We’re not at an extreme yet, but keep upping the tension.
Help the character grow by encouraging lesson-learning setbacks. Make sure that your characters are driving the plot, making things happen, and getting into loads of trouble on their quest.
Don’t place them in impossible situations. Provide them with the skills to succeed, give them mentors and allies. They will need a certain level of confidence for the Big Fight to come.
Goals, goals, goals. No matter how ridiculous the goal, your characters must pursue them with bulldog-like tenacity. Once you focus on goals, then add the obvious converse—Obstacles. Higher walls, deeper moats, darker storms, better enemies.
Remember, your Villains have goals and dreams too, and they pursue them with just as much, if not more tenacity than your Heroes. Who wants it more? What does your Hero learn from your Villain about life and desire? What does your Hero learn that the Villain doesn’t?

If you still get stuck, here are some helpful tricks to keep the narrative flowing:

What’s the Worst Thing that can happen right now? Flat tire? Roving gang of Zombies? Meteor strike? Swarm of locusts? Make it so.
What are your character’s worst fears? Afraid of heights? A failing report card? Snakes? (on a plane?) Getting fired? Make them happen.
Reversals. Every scene must contain a Reversal of Fortune, either something really good or really bad, just something unexpected. Hire a maid? She steals your cash. Go out to dinner? Credit card fails. Read the newspaper? Don’t read the obits…you won’t like what’s there.
Stop writing for a day and conduct an interview of your character. There are many templates of these online, but just pretend you’re conducting an interview for your blog. Heck, if it helps your word count, have your character answer a phone call from Mom and explain exactly what she’s doing in sub-Saharan Africa chasing infected monkeys while trying to avoid the looming insurrection against the local backwater dictator.
When all else fails, kill off a character. Yes, it sounds trite, but it’s a stark reminder to your characters of what the ultimate price of failure is: Death. It may make them reconsider their commitment to action, and rededicate them to the cause.

Good luck, and keep writing! This is definitely the hardest week to get through, but have faith, and keep it up!

Car Wreck, NaNo, Invasion Tips, Awards!

2009-11-06T09:31:00.001-08:00

Car Wreck, NaNo, Invasion Tips, Awards!

This post is just a catch-all of random things that have been going on lately. Treat it like a newsletter I suppose.

Wife Survives Highway Rollover!

She's doing fine, but the car is totaled. Apparently she hit some debris in the road, the car skidded off the road and up a steep hill, then rolled over down the hill. It's a complete loss. She only suffered some minor bruises from the whole thing, but it could have been a lot worse. Kudos to Subaru for building a car that can withstand this, but wag of the finger for losing control when a tire bursts. So now we're in the market for a brand new used car. We want a roomy AWD car with lowish miles and airbags.

NaNoWriMo Update!

I'm currently right on track for my goal of 90K. I know I'm taking at least one day off from writing, so I actually need to build up some margin. I'm finding several advantages of plotting vs pantsing, the main one being short-term goals. With pantsing, I know how the story starts, and I know about where it ends, but I have no idea how it happens. With Plotting, I know each major plot point, so I only need to focus on getting the characters to each point, which makes it a little easier to judge progress. However...the first week of NaNoWriMo always goes well so I'll be better able to judge this in a week. Look for my Week Two tips on Monday!

Blog Awards!

I received not one but two blog awards this week:
Erica from Laugh. Write. Play. gave me my second excellent Kreativ Blogger Award!

Thank you very much!

And quillfeather from W.M.MORRELL gave me the coveted Honest Scrap Blogger Award!

Thanks! I don't know what Honest Scrap is, but it sounds great!

Apparently there are some conditions with these awards which I will pretty much ignore, but I will tell you a few things you might not know about me:

My father was a professional synchronized swimmer.
My mother performed Burlesque shows on Navy ships.
I used to drive the NASCAR circuit before I was caught taking steroids.
My daughter breeds champion muskrats and competes all over the world.
My son has a rare genetic disorder which gives him superhuman strength and agility. We're discussing options with the CIA.
Our dog once foiled a terrorist plot by chasing the terrorists into a deep well.
None of these is true...so they're still things you don't know about me!

Disagree With Me!

Nobody disagreed with my post Crossing the Threshold. Turns out I made a big mistake. It’s Crossing the First Threshold. Oops. See anything you disagree with? You could win.

Tips for Knowing the Aliens have Bad Intent!

Did anyone catch the series premiere of V? No one seemed distressed by the aliens, but they should have been:

They came with no warning. And when they knocked down a few planes they said "oops."
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. 'Nuf said.
They were far too sexy. Disguise is the first clue of deceit.
They were using Mankind's Greatest Invention against us: Marketing. Have you ever met someone in Marketing you can trust?
Has ANYONE ever watched or read Independence Day (ID4), War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stood Still, or Star Trek: First Contact? When giant space ships hover over major cities, it's BAD, m'kay? Heck, they even mentioned ID4 in the episode! WAKE UP!

NaNoWriMo: Week One Tips

2009-11-02T10:55:00.001-08:00

NaNoWriMo: Week One Tips

For those of you doing NaNoWriMo, welcome! Here are some tips for working through Week One, especially for the pantsers among us (writing by the seat of our pants).

You’ve had a day or two with your new novel. You’ve created some characters, a scene or two, and maybe some plot. Week One is all about Character Development, more or less the “Act One” of your novel. You’re introducing your characters, your world, and it’s all interesting and new. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Show your character in some ordinary situations. Show their goals and dreams, and how they can’t immediately achieve them. Show how they’re miserable failures who really don’t deserve to star in a story. Everything they touch turns to crap. Even Superman blows it with Lois Lane. But don’t overload them right away. Act One is about showing them trying to solve their problems with the same old approaches, which of course doesn’t work. They’re essentially in a rut.
Conflict is essential at every stage of your novel. To create conflict, you might want to consider Plot Reversals. Nothing your character expects can occur. If they go for a coffee, they don’t have enough money, or the store is closed, or they don’t have the right brand, or the Evil Barista messes up their order. If they are walking the dog, then the dog runs away, or chases a squirrel, or bites another dog, or poops on the neighbor’s lawn right in front of him. Or something can go well, like a feared blind date where the guy or girl is actually nice and attractive. Reversals. Use them.
Set up the Adventure. Examples: A letter in the mail promising a prize if they do X, Y, and Z. A mysterious message on the answering machine talking about inheritances. A want ad in the paper for an exciting job. A random stranger on the bus who tells them how they lost 70 lbs in 3 days. Define your character’s problem, and then entice them to go out and find a solution.
What is the problem? Seriously. Why is your character single? Why can’t she excel at work? Why does his brother always outperform him? Why do the Aliens find her so interesting? Why are vampires always hanging around? Why are the Voices so irritating?
Who does your character listen to for advice? Who can they trust? Is there someone out there to help guide them, someone who may have BTDT in the past? Is there someone out there who will steer them wrong? What skills will they need on their Journey, and who will help them learn these skills?
What is your character afraid of? Why won’t he run for Congress? Why doesn’t she go out on dates? Why can’t he just assault the enemy’s fortress? Why can’t she just tell her mom the truth for once? What is keeping them trapped in their own miserable lives with their tired circle of friends, and what is it going to take to for them to get moving? They don’t have to get moving, not quite yet, but the more uncomfortable you make it, they more impetus they will have for change.

If you can cover all this in a week, and in 12-25K words, you’re doing great! Just keep putting your character through more and more situations until you find what they really need to get going. Then next week, your character will start actively working on their problems, start encounter resistance and Enemies, and will take the conflict to the next level.

And one last tip: STOP READING BLOGS AND GET WRITING!!

NaNoWriMo

2009-10-30T10:24:00.001-07:00

NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month.

The goal: write a 50,000+ word novel in 30 days.

Why do I do it? Why put myself through 30 days of hell? Well, let me tell you a little story. It was 1985. I had just graduated High School. I had already been accepted to college, but I had little to do that summer. I might have had some kind of job, but I don’t really remember. What I do remember is sitting out in the back yard and working on a grand post-apocalyptic story. In longhand (probably the last time I ever wrote a novel longhand).

I worked out mankind’s future history for the next 3000 years. At the time, the Cold War still raged, so I started with an East vs West World War set sometime around…I don’t know…2015 or so (gasp). I also predicted orbital colonies and colonies on the Moon and Mars. I did think that everyone would have these networked computers that would provide them news and information, so I wasn’t all wrong.

Anyways, by the time school arrived, my school work precluded any time for writing. Months passed, and at last I found myself at home on Winter Break with my shiny new Mac 512K. In those days, Macs were the modern equivalent of laptops…a whole computer in one box. Anyways, I decided to finish the story I had started during the summer. But unlike NaNoWriMo, I only had three weeks to write a complete novel. I literally wrote all day, from the time I got up ‘til the time I went to sleep. Then, on the final day before I had to head back, I would print the whole thing out. I repeated this the next two winters, not finding time to do writing during summer break.

I’ve looked back at that writing, and it’s crap in its purest form. But I’ve never forgotten the intense satisfaction I got from the pure creative process. Since that time, I’ve always planned to have a second career as a writer. NaNoWriMo answers the call I have to be a writer. I’ve always worked best under pressure, and watching the word counter move every day is great motivation. I want to recapture those days, except I want to produce writing that’s not pure crap.

NaNoWriMo 2009

So now on to this year’s project. The last two NaNoWriMo’s have been just for fun. I created a fictional blog and wrote the story in real time. It was a blast and I might pick it up again someday. But this year, I want NaNoWriMo to count. I’ve spent the last two months outlining a new book in a new genre (or two) that I think is totally marketable, if I can nail it. So I hereby present to you:

The Battle for New Britannia
a Steampunk Romance

New England a Monarchy? Pennsylvania populated by Germans? Armies composed of airships and mechanical horses?

All Prudencia Stratton wants is to restore her family’s name by finding a nobleman to marry. When she discovers that her country is on the brink of civil war, she sides with the devious Duke who knows no boundaries on his quest for power. However, when a handsome Sky Captain sweeps her off her feet, a new civil war begins—the battle over Prudencia’s heart.

Okay, I hope that blurb isn’t too sappy. That’s the core conflict of the story, your classic love triangle. But there’s a bajillion subplots and substories and a slew of characters all waiting to be fleshed out. I’ve created an entire new history of North America, where Steam Power is the norm and electricity hasn’t become popular. If you want a longer synopsis, check out my NaNoWriMo Profile (user Iapetus999). You may have already noticed the slow conversion of my blog over to a steam-powered motif.

My goal for November is of course to hit 50,000, but my target word count is 90,000 overall. I won’t be upset if I don’t hit that larger goal by Dec. 1. I know the purpose is to write with “reckless abandon,” but I think that woks best when you don’t really know what the story’s about. In this case, I have it plotted down to individual scenes, but I’m not committing to staying within the outline. We’ll see what happens.

So now a note to my loyal blog followers as to what to expect over the next 30+ days. I’m probably not going to read a lot of blogs. I’m not going to be posting much except NaNoWriMo updates. If your blog post doesn’t contain the word “NaNoWriMo” I probably won’t read it. But if you comment on this blog, I will take the time to check yours out. I’m going to spend my free time on the NaNoWriMo forums which only seem to have life October through November then everyone disappears.

Lastly, if you’re doing NaNoWriMo, comment here and I’ll add you to my NaNoRoll on the side of this blog when I get a chance, so we can compare progress and hopefully motivate each other.

Good luck everyone, Happy Halloween, Happy NaNoWriMo, and see you on Dec. 1st!

Check out my Guest Blog!

2009-10-28T08:35:00.001-07:00

Today I wrote a Guest Blog over at the Etiquette Bitch website!

In it, I confess to being a rude and inappropriate person.

Go check it out!

Story Structure Part V – Crossing the Threshold

2009-10-26T10:56:00.001-07:00

This is the fifth in a series of posts talking about the story structure known as “The Hero’s Journey.” I’m borrowing heavily from “The Writer’s Journey: A Mythical Structure for Writers 3rd Edition” by Christopher Vogler. This is my interpretation of it, and I’ve tried to highlight some pitfalls I see writers falling into.

Story Structure

Part One: The Ordinary World

Part Two: The Call To Adventure

Part Three: Refusal of the Call

Part Four: Meeting with the Mentor

Part Five: Crossing the Threshold

I’ll be updating this post with links as I write more sections. I expect a new post every week or two. See anything you disagree with? You could win!

Crossing the Threshold

There is one moment in the story when something irrevocably changes for the character. The High Point of Act One, this is also known as the Turning Point, or Answering the Call. It can be subtle or overt. A characters Crosses the Threshold when he finally accepts the fact that change is inevitable, and he begins to act. He is entering what’s known as the Special World. This is a new world, with new rules and customs. It is a world filled with danger and opportunity.

Once your character enters the Special World, he cannot return back to the Ordinary World without embarking on an adventure. I liken it to stepping off the skilift at a ski resort. You have entered the Special World of Skiing, whether you know how to ski or not. Your Ordinary World is the lodge, full of warmth and comfort, but somehow not satisfying. You’ve heard The Call of “skiing is awesome” but resisted up until now (Refusal). But your friend (Meeting with the Mentor) has convinced you to try it. Now you stand at the stop of a steep hill, completely clueless as how to proceed. You can’t get back on the lift, and there are only two ways down: skiing or crawling. Good luck, see you at the bottom!

A story may contain many thresholds that are blocked by Threshold Guardians who must be defeated or won over before the Hero can proceed. The Threshold is often a physical threshold, such as a door or change in light, such as sundown. In any case, once crossed, a hero can only return after a lengthy Ordeal, and not until he’s altered in some fundamental way by the experience. He must learn the rules of his new world, and use those lessons, to help him eventually return to his Ordinary World.

Returning to our benchwarming quarterback, his Threshold is clear. It is a white line that surrounds the football field. His turn has come. Coach puts him in the game; the starting QB is unable to continue. He has a choice: either enter the game, or run away in defeat, never to play football again. However, Heroes don’t really have a choice. They must cross the threshold, it’s what makes them Heroes. Even though it seems like Coach is forcing him to play, he’s simply answering a deep Call, not just to play, but to confront his fears, to find out once and for all what he’s made of. He’s going to soon have to cross two other Thresholds: where the heck are his parents, and what is going on with his girlfriend. A massive storm is raging, swamping the field, reminding him that he is now in unfamiliar territory.

Guess who’s waiting right on the the other side of the Threshold? The Enemy. Up until now, your character has avoided direct confrontation. What is the first thing our skier sees upon exiting the skilift? Trail signs such as “Bone Crusher Alley,” “Hell’s Canyon,” and “Perry’s Plunge.” What does our quarterback encounter? Teammates who don’t trust him or respect him, and the other team, giddy over knocking two opposing players out of the game, are thirsty for the blood of an untested newcomer to the Special World of full contact football. Also, the Story Question is becoming clear. His team is already down 14-0. Can our untested Hero survive his Journey to the Special World and wind up victorious?

Crossing the Threshold Goals

Start the “Story” part of the story. Your Hero starts acting, starts interacting with the world around him in order to achieve his goals.
Show that the Special World is different. Different feel, new characters, bigger obstacles. The rain is now pouring down on the football field, a clear change in atmosphere.
Raise the stakes. The cost of quitting now are huge and growing.
The Villain also starts to act, sensing a threat and/or opportunity entering his World.
Even if not obvious to your character, your readers should see what the Story Question is at this point. Ex. Can you make it down the Ski Slope? Can the QB help win the game?
Keep the Hero focused on his goals, even if new immediate goals emerge.

Non Goals

Do not start your story in the Special World. You can hint at it such as, “let me tell you how I wound up upside down in a tree” but it’s much better to show what made the Hero decide to act.
Don’t give the Hero a choice. (Feel free to disagree with this one, but I’m sticking to it). When the hatch closes, you’re taking the flight whether there are Snakes on the Plane or not. Whatever his reasons for entering the Special World, he now has to see it through. My point is that the Ordinary World problems have grown so big, that he has no other choice than to enter this new world. The alternative is essentially Death.
Even if he simply enters a room through a door, he cannot turn back and retreat. (Have I made this clear yet?) Heck, move the Villain in front of the doorway if you have to. The crossing is one-way only.
This is not a climactic event. Nothing is resolved, but it’s the first step towards some kind of ultimate resolution.

On a somewhat related note, I’m personally going to Cross a Threshold at 12AM Nov 1, 2009 when I start NaNoWriMo. I am going to start writing a new novel. I wonder what enemies I will encounter in my journey? Can I write 50,000 words before 12AM Dec. 1? Will I finish the first draft? Am I making a huge mistake tackling a genre of which I know very little?

When have you answered The Call, and how did you Cross the Threshold in your own life?

Seattle Steamcon 2009 Report

2009-10-25T15:28:00.001-07:00

Seattle Steamcon 2009 Report

This was my first convention in about 10 years. I don’t know why I don’t go to more, but I plan to remedy this situation. Scroll down for my pictostory from the event!

Steamcon was Seattle’s first Steampunk-specific convention. It featured panels, art, vendors, RPG and gaming, and musical/cultural events. I had a great time. Here are some of my takeaways.

Style: Victorian-era style is fabulous. This is the first convention I been to where the prevailing style was topcoats and evening dresses. I felt like I was at a retro formal event. And these clothes were not just costumes. These were professionally tailored outfits. And, of course, there were goggles. Lots of goggles. Although sometimes a monocle was substituted.
What is Steampunk: I attended more than a few panels that tried to define Steampunk. Here’s what I gathered: Steampunk is retro/future, predominately focused on the technology, style, and social attitudes of the Victorian era. There is no one book that defines the genre; in fact, many of the panelists seemed to be calling for that One Book or movie they could point to. The problem is that the genre is so broad and varied that it defies description. There’s an “anything goes” attitude to it.
First vs Second World: Steampunk can be divided into two general types. First World is alternative history, set in our past. Second World is Steampunk set an alternate universe of sorts, or in our future. Second World usually involves a heavier dose of Fantasy.
Characters: Steampunk does seem to entail a few interesting character types. To name a few:
- The Mad Scientist—The crazy fool who thinks electromagnetism could someday light cities.
- The Industrialist—The capitalistic magnate who orders the construction of giant telescoping cannons to shoot Aether-trapping nets.
- The Mechanic—The person with the knowhow to use gluenium to fasten the clockstrap to the cantilever.
- The Poet (or Prophet)—The person with social vision who imagines a world where ice is not just for winter, and kids no longer wear gas masks.
Nobody Knows Shit: I got this feeling that the panelists were begging for more Steampunk literature. The genre is still in it’s infancy, and there’s no right or wrong. The real question Steampunk asks is…why are we here today? What decisions led us to this point? And how would the world be different if these decisions had been made differently, or people like Edison or Tesla had never lived? It’s about what could have happened. What if there’s no electricity? What if computers came along 100 years earlier?
Conventioneers are Freakin’ Awesome: There is a reason many great books include a “bar scene.” It’s because that’s where all the kewl stuff happens. They oversold this event. They had expected 400, 1300+ showed up. Every room was packed to the gills and hotter than hell, so I made my way to the bar early and often for refreshment. Many a hearty laugh was shared over a soda or a double-bourbon and 7.

All in all, I thought it was a pretty good event. Great styles, good panels, lots of varied entertainment. Many first-convention glitches.

I’ve crafted a small picto-story from the event. I apologize for the deplorable condition of the photographs, but the iPhonium is a primitive contraption at best for pixilated imagography.

Welcome to World Airship Lines. We are expecting a small delay, so please enjoy your complimentary tea sandwiches and finger cakes.

That’s not our Captain, is it? He looks a tad…off.

The four hour wait for the airship was abominable. These fine ladies succumbed to fatigue.

“It’s here! To the Airship!”

“Sir, I believe your watch and my wrist sundial are not in full agreement.”

Marvelous day for an airship ride. Marvelous day indeed.

An Officer of World Airship Lines will escort you to your cabin.

“Welcome. I’m so glad they put you in my cabin. I’ve always wanted a cabin mate like you. Mwahahaha.”

Why aren’t we Published?

2009-10-23T08:56:00.001-07:00

NOTE: We have another winner of the Disagree with Me contest!
Sara ♥ wins a book of her choice by noting that Mentors do not prevent the hero from coming to harm. A Mentor is not a stand-in for the Hero’s mom (although she certainly can act as a mentor). Congrats for noting that right away! BTW I discovered that Sara won by a mere 5 seconds. Incredible.

Disagree with anything you see here? You could win! Although I haven’t added anything intentionally wrong in this post…it’s just a bit facetious overall.

Why aren’t we Published?

I actually don’t have much to say today. No nuggets of writerly advice are springing from my brain. I’ll probably continue my Hero’s Journey series on Monday. I’m about to head over to SteamCon, Seattle’s Steampunk convention so I don’t have time for a detailed post.

I will say that I have a new hope. Some of the books I’ve been reading lately are great, but some are simply atrocious. Talk about turning off your inner editor—it’s one thing to constantly hound yourself over bad writing, it’s simply another when you’re reading the utter tripe released from a major publisher. I literally want to mark up the book and send it back to the author with suggested revisions. I’m about 50 pages in and so far it’s been nothing but boring conversation about backstory. WTF?? This was billed as a romping adventure!But, like I said, this gives me a new hope. I know I write better than this person. In fact, I’ve read much of your writing too, and I know many of my blog readers are excellent writers. So what’s stopping us from being published?

I can tell you why I’m not published yet. Aside from the fact that I haven’t queried agents (except agent contests and the like), and I haven’t submitted anything to publishers. I’m not published because I don’t have a novel that’s ready to be published. I plan to remedy this over the next few months, starting with my NaNoWriMo novel, which I will talk about next week. I could go on and on about why my existing works are not worthy, but that would fill a book. Suffice it to say that my growth as a writer has far surpassed my ability to revise past material. So, I’m starting fresh.

So. Why aren’t you a published author?
(BTW if you are published, answer “what took so long?”)

So here are my Steps to Becoming a Published Author:

Write something good.
Throw it out and write it all over.
Get feedback.
Realized your stuff still stinks and throw it out again.
Finally hit on a winner. If you’re lucky.
Send to an agent/editor. Deal with rejection. Return to Step 1.
Sell and Publish!

See? How easy is that? Good luck!

Story Structure Part IV: Meeting with the Mentor

2009-10-19T11:19:00.001-07:00

This is the fourth in a series of posts talking about the story structure known as “The Hero’s Journey.” I’m borrowing heavily from “The Writer’s Journey: A Mythical Structure for Writers 3rd Edition” by Christopher Vogler. This is my interpretation of it, and I’ve tried to highlight some pitfalls I see writers falling into.

Story Structure

Part One: The Ordinary World

Part Two: The Call To Adventure

Part Three: Refusal of the Call

Part Four: Meeting with the Mentor

Part Five: Crossing the Threshold

I’ll be updating this post with links as I write more sections. I expect a new post every week or two.

NOTE: We have our first winner of the “Disagree with Me” Contest. Congrats to Jordan! She noted that my posit that “Men should write Heroes, women Heroines” in this post was complete mishegoss. Send me an email to claim your prize! A number of you made some valid arguments that I equated Hero with Main Character. I would like to point you to Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog for a perfect example. Dr. Horrible is clearly the main character, and clearly not the Hero…yet in the reader’s mind he is the hero of the story.

Now read this post carefully, I might strike again. Mwahaha.

Meeting with the Mentor

Along with Hero and Villain (the “Shade” Archtype), the Mentor is probably one of the best-understood character types. Mentors are everywhere. In fiction, they are the characters who instruct the Hero in the ways of the Special World he has or is about to enter. We see mentors all the time. Parents, teachers, older siblings, troop leaders, bosses, drill instructors, family friends, gang leaders, and anyone who provides a hero with critical information. Sometimes mentors are agnostic—either the Hero learns or he doesn’t. Mentors can be the Hero’s greatest asset and inspiration, or a Mentor can teach through pain and humiliation. It really depends on the particular lesson and the character of the Mentor. Some Mentors even become the Villain…and the Hero must defeat his own Mentor to prevail.

Mentors can appear throughout the novel, not just in the First Act. As a Hero grows along his Journey, his needs for information changes. Some Mentors start him along his journey, and some appear near the end, providing him with the final information needed to defeat the villain, perhaps through earning the respect of the Mentor. They may test the Hero, preventing him from progressing if he’s not ready. Generally, it’s good to establish a rapport with a Mentor early on, so as our Hero enters the Special World of Act II, he has at least some tools in hand and won’t be crushed immediately.

So let’s return to our Hero, our benchwarming quarterback. Who are his Mentors? First, there are the coaches on the sideline. One old coach tells him to warm up. Our Hero has a decent relation with this “old, wise” man who is an assistant coach. We don’t know much about him, except maybe that he used to be a head coach somewhere important, maybe years or decades ago. Now, he’s a rambling old man no one pays attention to, but our Hero likes to hear his stories. This man likes to talk about the “glory days” when helmets were optional and quarterbacks ran the ball. Mentors need an air of authority, otherwise the Hero won’t listen.

He pats our quarterback on the shoulder, and asks him if he’s ready. He tells him to relax, to play his best, and watch for the corners pinching in. Then the Head Coach comes over and yells and screams, and the old man slinks into the background. The Head Coach is not really a Mentor, his concerns are much higher than day-to-day training. Our quarterback may also have words from his Father in his head, disparaging remarks about how he never will succeed. Negative Mentors can be a huge source of frustration for a Hero, but there are valuable lessons in hearing negative advice too.

Meeting with Mentor Goals

Provide the Hero with critical information at critical junctures.
Explain the Special World the Hero is entering.
Provide a framework for the transformation the Hero must undergo.
Train the Hero in skills he will need to succeed.
Be an asset to the Hero, someone he can turn to.
~~Prevent the Hero from making mistakes that would cause the Hero suffering.~~

Non Goals

Don’t give the Hero everything he needs. A good mentor doesn’t just hand the Hero fish, he teaches him how to fish.
Don’t be an Ally to the Hero. He can be, but sometimes he’s providing the Hero with false information and has his own best interests at heart.
Don’t throw advice out there like candy. In many cases, a Mentor’s gifts must be earned.
He doesn’t solve the Hero’s problems. He simply points the Hero in the right direction, but the Hero must ultimately prevail on his own merits.
Your Hero doesn’t have to listen to the Mentor. But, he ignores the Mentor at your own peril.

Who are the Mentors in your writing? Who is your writing Mentor?

What Makes A Hero

2009-10-16T09:47:00.001-07:00

What Makes A Hero

Here is the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry on Hero:

A hero (heroine in female) (Ancient Greek: ἥρως, hērōs), in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion. Later, hero (male) and heroine (female) came to refer to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice – that is, heroism – for some greater good, originally of martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero)

So the question is, how does this definition fit with the “hero” archetype in The Hero’s Journey?

Most books on fiction writing will tell you that the Hero is the main character of the story, the character with the most to lose, and who must undergo the largest transformation of all. Let’s look at each of these.

Main Character: Most stories center around one main character. This character can be known as the viewpoint character, especially if the story is told in First Person POV. In Third Person, this character has the preponderance of the action and dialog throughout the book. Some writers may attempt to have several main characters (like a Band of Brothers type story). The problem is that you wind up with character starvation…where important parts of the story are left out so the reader winds up not caring about any character. It’s best to focus on one character’s story, and bring in the supporting characters as needed.

Biggest Loser: As the story progresses, a good author continuously raises the stakes. Maybe the story starts out with the main character seeking a donut. (Think Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle). More and more obstacles arise to thwart him on his quest for a simple donut. In almost every story, eventually the main character must risk death, in fact, they must die in order to pass through to the other side. Now this death may be metaphorical, and usually involves the character facing his biggest fear. He must use everything he has learned on his journey in order to succeed.

Transformation: People don’t change. That’s a fact. What makes you angry today will probably make you angry tomorrow. What people do is learn. The deepest, most profound knowledge a person can learn is knowledge about themselves. When it comes down to it, all we are is what we are. The hidden truth is that we can’t change the world, we can only change ourselves. But we can’t really change who we are. So what happens? I believe that it’s about letting a part of ourselves die, and letting another part grow. It’s a rebalancing of our internal structure. It’s figuring out what’s truly important. A hero has a latent ability to be a hero, he just needs to know how and have sufficient motivation.

Now, I’m going to disagree a bit with what I just wrote. The other day I had another epiphany about heroes. One line of thought is that heroes fight an opposing force. Good vs evil. Then I read this post by PurpleClover. I’ve been so focused on Heroes fighting Villains that I lost the true meaning of Hero. It’s all well and good that the Hero face death, and learn something meaningful, blah, blah, blah. This still has nothing to do with being a true Hero. What I’ve described so far doesn’t truly define a hero, it only talks about a couple of characteristics. Even that definition from Wikipedia falls a bit flat. So now I’m going to throw out a new definition:

A True Hero must, by risking death and everything he holds dear, defeat the villain or oppositional force that is threatening someone else.

Defeating your own demons is not good enough. That’s known as therapy. Yes, in the end, our hero gets the donut. It’s the reward for everything he’s gone through. But perhaps in the end, he gives the donut to someone else. He’s undergone some heroic struggle just to get a donut, but he’s learned that it’s not about getting the donut anymore.

In my new WIP I’m working on for NaNoWriMo, the villain has no ill wishes for the heroine. In fact, he loves her in his own way and wants to marry her, take care of her, all good things. She can’t defeat him just to get out of a sticky situation. She must defeat him because he’s threatening her friends and the whole country with destruction. She needs to realize that she’s been with him and supporting him for all the wrong reasons. Of course, once she breaks off the engagement, he really, really becomes an enemy. Yikes!

So here is my summary of What Makes A Hero:

The Hero is the Main Character of a novel.
The Hero must be willing to Risk Everything.
The Hero cannot succeed without Transformation.
Men should write about Heroes, women should write about Heroines. Go with what you know.
A true Hero defeats a villain who threatens others.

Did you spot any Bad Advice in here? Disagree with anything? You could win!

I Disagree. You Should Too. Contest!

2009-10-12T14:09:00.001-07:00

I Disagree. You Should Too. Contest!

Yes, I’m holding my first-ever WriteRunner blog contest!

I’ve noticed a disturbing trend lately. We’ve become a bloggy nation of yay-sayers. I subscribe to 200+ writing-related blogs, and every comment on these blogs is almost identical: “Way to go.” “Sounds great.” “You’re amazing.”

What every happened to good old-fashioned disagreement? Discussion? Conflicting points of view? Have we come to worship Bloggers as some kind of Deities? Nothing they say can be wrong because they write a blog or published something once? Or are we so afraid of disparaging anyone that we hold our tongues, not wanting to be known as “that commenter” who has a differing opinion? Then, when someone does speak out and counters the blogger’s views, they are summarily vilified by the other commenters. Seriously, is this what you want out of blogging? A bunch of sycophants who agree with and verify everything you write, no matter how ridiculous it is? (BTW none of this applies to my lovely blog readers. You are all awesome). I’m not saying that praise isn’t welcome and warranted (especially on this blog of course). I’m just saying sometimes it’s okay to disagree.

Here’s the thing. I’ve never read a perfect writing blog. Published, unpublished, editor, intern, publisher, etc, all offer various degrees of writing advice. Sometimes, this advice is wrong. I’m sure you’ve heard some if it: “Remove all adverbs and adjectives. Don’t use ‘was’. Start your book with the main conflict. Have a professional write your query letter.” If no one ever says anything, this advice just sits out there for the next unlucky aspiring writer to stumble over.

What ever happened to critical thinking? To sound judgment? To speaking one’s mind despite the prevailing notion of what’s “correct”? At least questioning the blogger to achieve a better understanding of the material.

Therefore, in order to help you practice your critical blog reading skills, I’m holding a contest on this blog. There are two ways to win. In some upcoming posts, I’m going to offer a blatantly wrong piece of advice. Here are some examples (that I won’t use):

“Crossing the Threshold” is when the protagonist defeats his arch-enemy.
The best writers only write 20 minutes a day.
When submitting a manuscript, instead of the Em Dash(—), use the Not Sign (¬).
The Yankees deserve to win the World Series.

The first person to comment with a corrected piece of advice wins! So if you replied, “no, the Mariners deserve to win the World Series,” you would win!

The second way to win is to find something you disagree with in one of my upcoming posts, and convince me that my version is incorrect and yours is better. This is completely at my discretion.

The prize will be a book from my recycle pile. You can view the current list here, but this isn’t everything I have available.

Here are the rules:

First person to find the incorrect advice and post a correction in the comment section will be the winner.
Not every blog post contains deliberate misinformation.
Typos and unintentional punctuation/grammar mistakes do not count.
You may only win one prize. If you have won before, don't "give away" the incorrect advice in future posts.
If no one notices the mistake, I’ll be sure to call it out on the next post.
Please find something unintentionally wrong with my upcoming posts if you can. I’m not perfect, I’m not published, and I’m doing my best, but at times I know I throw crap up here. Find it and you can win!
I make no guarantee of the condition of the books in the prize bin. They’re all used to some degree but should be intact. If you win, you can choose your prize.
You agree to not sell your prize and that you will find a way to pass it on or donate it.

The contest starts with my next blog post (probably Friday). If you disagree with anything in this post, sorry. Good luck, and good hunting!

Story Structure Part 3: Refusal of the Call

2009-10-09T09:27:00.001-07:00

This is the third in a series of posts talking about the story structure known as “The Hero’s Journey.” I’m borrowing heavily from “The Writer’s Journey: A Mythical Structure for Writers 3rd Edition” by Christopher Vogler. This is my interpretation of it, and I’ve tried to highlight some pitfalls I see writers falling into.

Story Structure

Part One: The Ordinary World

Part Two: The Call To Adventure

Part Three: Refusal of the Call

Part Four: Meeting with the Mentor

Part Five: Crossing the Threshold

I’ll be updating this post with links as I write more sections. I expect a new post every week or two.

Refusal of the Call

There’s one thing I want to point out before I talk about Part Three. Even though I describe these parts of the Hero’s Journey in a certain order, I don’t want to imply that either A) This is the exact order they must appear in, or B) Every part is required. Even though I will try to make a case that they are all required, I’m sure there are many successful counter-examples out there.

Refusal of the Call can be summarized in one word: Fear.

From the “Litany of Fear” by the Immortal Frank Herbert via Lady Jessica: “Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.”
(BTW does anyone know if by “little death” he’s referring to La Petite Mort? ‘Cause that would be weird.)

On the other hand, Fear is probably the #1 motivator in people’s lives. If your character is not living in a state of anxious excitement (the happy side of fear) or mortal dread (the fearful side of fear) then your character is not in a state of conflict and the stakes are not high enough. It’s been said that to truly achieve transformation and resurrection, a character must face his worst fears. The initial Refusal of the Call is a character’s first encounter with fear, the first challenge to his world view, the first time he considers the risks involved with the adventure.

We hear the Call to Adventure every day. Consider a Helicopter Ride.* Go ahead. Why aren’t you booking it? It’s fun, it’s beautiful, it’s exciting, it’s dangerous. You might have an experience that lasts a lifetime. Now what were your “excuses” for saying no?

“It’s too expensive.”
“I’m scared of heights.”
“Who has the time?”
“Those things crash all the time.”
“I don’t want to have to travel to Hawaii just for a helicopter ride.”
“I don’t have anyone to go with me :(.”

All those excuses are the Refusal of the Call. I just now issued you a Call to Adventure, but you refused. In your own writing you’re going to issue your character a Call to Adventure, and he might have a thousand reasons to refuse. And not just the Call. He may refuse to Cross the Threshold, to Approach the Inmost Cave, or even begin The Road Home. Or, he might hear the Call, and immediately Cross the Threshold with guns a’blazin. No matter where your character is in the Hero’s Journey, he will eventually have to face his fear, and at some point he may resist continuing upon this journey.

Let’s turn to our benchwarming quarterback. His refusal is fairly straightforward. When he sees how nasty conditions are becoming on the field, with the starting quarterback limping, another player out with a leg fracture, a storm approaching, his parents absent, and a cheerleader pleading for attention, it’s all he can do to not turn and run for the busses. Coach comes over and tells him to start warming up, and he does it half-heartedly, as if dragging his heels will prevent this adventure from occurring. He continues to blow off the cheerleader. He doesn’t want to hear it, whatever “it” is.

Underlying all these events is a strong undercurrent of fear. His primary fear is the Fear of Failure. Riding the bench has been safe. He can’t fail if he doesn’t try. He’s on the team but he doesn’t determine wins and losses. A secondary fear he’s experiencing is with the Cheerleader. Obviously they have a history. There might be events in this history that evoke fear. So right now, what are his Worst Fears? And as a writer, what do you think should happen?

Refusal of the Call Goals:

Raise the stakes. The Inciting Incident speaks to a character’s needs and desires. The Refusal speaks to his fears.
Illustrate character flaws. If our quarterback ran onto the field and saved the day, that would be nice but it wouldn’t be a story. If he was that kind of guy he’d already be starting.
Get down and dirty. Stick out that foot and start tripping your character. Don’t hold back.
Help the reader identify with the character. Make him more human.

Non Goals:

Don’t expose everything. Keep to the point. Don’t give your character a fear of snakes if he never encounters them again. This isn’t a character essay.
The temptation to Adventure will win out. Don’t paralyze your character or you’ll paralyze your reader. Keep it moving along.
Don’t make him face his fears, or even clearly identify them at this point. His refusal may sound logical and rational at this point. But as the writer…you know better. Keep the reader guessing.

How do you use fear in your writing? Do your characters jump into adventure or are they dragged in kicking and screaming?

* I actually rode this helicopter service during my Honeymoon in 1999 on Maui. Freakin’ awesome, highly recommend.

I Write A Letter to my Characters

2009-10-07T10:43:00.001-07:00

I Write a Letter to my Characters

Okay, this is probably the lamest post I’ve had in a while. Seriously, just skip it. You’ll thank me.

Still here? Here’s the letter I wrote to my characters on my Blogvel.

I needed to do this so I can approach this year’s NaNoWriMo with a clean slate.

Sorry about my random brain ramblings. I’d prefer comments on this post rather on the Blogvel since those comments are moderated and the notifications go to an account I don’t really check.

Now, on to this year’s NaNoWriMo!

Story Structure Part 2: The Call to Adventure

2009-10-05T11:07:00.001-07:00

This is the second in a series of posts talking about the story structure known as “The Hero’s Journey.” I’m borrowing heavily from “The Writer’s Journey: A Mythical Structure for Writers 3rd Edition” by Christopher Vogler. This is my interpretation of it, and I’ve tried to highlight some pitfalls I see writers falling into.

Story Structure

Part One: The Ordinary World

Part Two: The Call To Adventure

Part Three: Refusal of the Call

Part Four: Meeting with the Mentor

Part Five: Crossing the Threshold

I’ll be updating this post with links as I write more sections. I expect a new post every week or two.

The Call To Adventure

This is also known as “The Inciting Incident.”

Everybody hears “The Call.” The Call to Adventure happens every day, at any time. You read something online, you see something on TV, you get a phone call. This might cause you to act in a new way. Inciting Incidents happen all the time, but they don’t necessarily lead to some kind of marvelous and dangerous adventure. In fiction, heroes generally are facing some kind of intractable problem at the beginning of the book. They’ve done everything they know how to do. In many ways, heroes are primed for adventure. They are in need of change, they just don’t know it. So when they receive that tiny glimmer of hope, a glimpse of a world outside of what they’ve ever known, they can’t resist. Heroes have to go on the adventure; a good writer leaves them little choice.

Sometimes the Inciting Incident is a lot less subtle. A car wreck. A disease. A breakup. It doesn’t become a Call to Adventure unless this incident is something out of the ordinary. However, to move the story right along, you probably want to make this incident meaningful. In certain genres, the Inciting Incident has certain specific characteristics. In mysteries, it’s usually the crime, or the dame walking into the detective agency. In many adventures it’s the actual summoning of the hero. But in general fiction it can be anything. The death of a loved one. An impeding marriage. A job offer. An attack by the previously peace-offering Cylons. A midnight knock on the door. A snake on a plane. A blood-burping Zombie. A secret admirer.

Note that just because a hero hears The Call, doesn’t mean they immediately answer it. In fact, most heroes are fairly reluctant to change their ways, to experience danger, to finally do something they’ve been putting off forever. (We’ll talk about The Reluctant Hero in Part Three). Also, The Call does not have to be a single incident. It can be a series of (unfortunate?) events that drag the hero kicking and screaming into Adventure.

Let’s go back to our benchwarming quarterback from Part One. He’s always dreamed of being the star, but has never come close. Will he be ready when The Call To Adventure comes? When the starting quarterback goes down, coach tells him to get ready. Often The Call is brought by a Herald, in this case the Coach. However, the starter recovers on the sideline, so our hero’s adventure is thwarted again. The starter suffered a twisted ankle, but he says he can play. Even though our hero isn’t forced into the game, thoughts and emotions are put into play. This is where we can learn more background about him. Now that the possibility of adventure is nigh, we can witness the dynamics that have brought our hero to this point. We can see maybe why he’s where he is, and maybe why he deserves more. The starter is obviously struggling, and looks like he may not last long.

Other incidents are occurring as well, all foreboding signs that change is in the air. A cheerleader keeps approaching him on the sidelines, insisting they have to “talk”…during the game. He can’t find his parents in the stands. Another teammate goes down with a serious injury. The other team scores. Thunder is clearly audible. Change is coming, and if he doesn’t start to act, bad things might occur.

The Call to Adventure Goals:

Present the Hero with an opportunity.
Define the Hero’s current goals and obstacles.
Foreshadow the main conflict, bring some elements into play.
Increase the stakes a bit (but don’t overwhelm your Hero, he should feel uncomfortable but not panicked…yet).
The Hero may or may not make a choice here to proceed, but match the opportunity with his goals. Think about ads for the Military, how they make soldiering sound like the coolest job on the planet. This is the nature of the Inciting Incident, a hint of danger coupled with an opportunity to escape the Ordinary World.

Non Goals:

The Hero doesn’t have to answer The Call right away. It depends on his personality.
Avoid extensive backstory. Include enough to illuminate some motivations, but a wholesale litany of his life is probably too much. Keep the tempo up.
Don’t show that he’s a Hero. Only that he is a Potential Hero With Issues. Most Heroes don’t become Heroes until Act Three.

I’ve seen a lot of advice that suggest that you start your story with the Inciting Incident right off the bat to entice your readers. This can work, as long as you show how this Incident is out-of-the-ordinary. Sometimes this works as a Prologue where you show the Bad Guys committing heinous acts, then show the Hero in his Ordinary World, and then the Inciting Incident becomes the first interaction between the two. You want to draw the reader in, but also ground them in your world before introducing all the chaos that follows.

How do you like to draw the reader in? How soon should the Inciting Incident occur?

It’s NaNoWriMo Time!

2009-10-02T08:46:00.001-07:00

It’s NaNoWriMo Time!

To My Dear Readers:

Starting November 1, 2009, at precisely 12:00AM, NaNoWriMo begins. If you don’t want to hear endless posts about NaNoWriMo, unsubscribe now. (No, don’t! I promise I’ll try to be reasonable. But not really).

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to complete a 50,000+ word novel before the clock strikes midnight on December 1st. How you accomplish this is up to you. This requires an average of 1667 words a day for 30 days straight. Sound impossible?

The last two years, I’ve written a live “blogvel” which is a novel written as live blog posts, as if the characters were posting the story as it happens. In 2007, I wrote a story about a man caught up in corporate conspiracy and espionage. He must save his own office from demolition by a madwomen who used to be his boss who used to be a schoolmate that he accidently ran off the road back in high school. It’s extremely nutty. I never really intended this to be a story I’d eventually rewrite and publish, but it’s crazy (albeit poorly written) tale of adventure.

In 2008, I took the characters to the next level. This time they had to stop this madwoman from destroying London. Stuck on some kind of nuclear-powered boat, they travel around the world causing mayhem and destruction. I can’t really describe it except to say that however nutty 2007 was, 2008 definitely topped it.

This is the beauty of NaNoWriMo, the ultimate seat-of-the-pants journey into creating worlds of imagination. Whatever idea you have, you go with it. No time for reflection or character development. No editing the previous day’s work to make today’s plot functional. I wanted pirates and zombies and Chinese labor camps, and got them all. Doesn’t make sense. Doesn’t have to. It’s an imagination explosion.

This brings us to 2009. What should I do for NaNoWriMo? I really want to finish the “30 Days” Trilogy. They never accounted for the backers of the prison or the bizarre warship, the makers of the Singularity Matrix. The world is still in peril. Julia has some demons in her past. Alex is still farting his life away. Carrie is madder than ever. Elena is disgraced and on the lam. There’s been no real resolution.

Here’s the thing. I don’t know if I can afford to spend a month (or two if I do all the planning in October) working on something I don’t ever plan to market. As good as the “30 Days” concept is, I don’t think it’s professional quality fiction. It’s more of the quality of fan fiction for a show that doesn’t exist. I’ve been re-reading 2007 and it’s really poor. But if I don’t finish “30 Days” this year, I never will. It will never be done.

This is what I want to do. I want to take the month of October to completely plan out this project. Then I want to dedicate November to writing. I face a few choices:

Use NaNoWriMo to write the final edition of “30 Days”.
Use NaNoWriMo to write another story. I have one concept well-plotted at this point. I have 2 others that are in lesser stages of development, but could be plotted by Nov 1.
Write two stories at once. While this may be crazy talk, there’s a certain attraction to performing 2 NaNoWriMo’s simultaneously. I don’t think it would take me all day to write the blog posts for “30 Days”. It can just be whip-it-out fiction.

Decisions, decisions. I’ll let you know what I decide before the 1st.

The Wonderful World of Outlining

2009-09-29T10:42:00.001-07:00

The Wonderful World of Outlining

So I’ve been working on a whole new book concept. My new story might or might not have anything to do with the genre of this nice picture. It started as an exercise for this blog and it’s blossomed into something bigger. Much bigger. What began as a 3000 word outline is now an 9000 word (18 page) outline, including a couple new subplots and a new main crisis. I also have 1500 words in other documents as notes. Don’t get too excited about the 9K wordcount; it includes a lot of structural headings and many redundancies.

So far my outline mostly lists and lists of ideas. Concepts for secondary characters, backstories, details on the main characters. I feel like this pre-plotting work is akin to laying out rows of dominoes, where one misplaced domino can ruin the entire flow. Things don’t line up, the spacing’s wrong, and events aren’t evenly paced.

But, like dominoes, it’s amazing how one idea leads to another. Every piece I change affects every other part of the outline. It’s far easier editing an 9000 word outline than an 90,000 word document.

My next step after I’m somewhat content with the outline is to start creating scenes. I have a nice checklist of scene requirements that I intend to use to ensure that each scene moves the story forward. I may include a few “backstory” scenes that aren’t included in the book but might be referenced by the characters. My two main characters are starting new chapters in their lives, but that doesn’t mean I can’t keep a couple of their old chapters lying around.

The question is going to be, “when is my outline ready? When should I start writing?” Since I’ve never outlined to this degree before, it’s something I’m pondering. Another step on this long road to publication is writing out detailed character sheets. This means describing the story from each character’s point of view. Right now I have eight main characters (2 Heroes, 1 Villain, 2 Allies, and 3 Mentors). I have about ten other characters I’m working on as well, including some villainous henchmen (as seen in the picture).

I’ve heard people say that they lose interest in their work once they outline it, but personally, I’m dying to hear my characters’ voices. I want to see if how they interact “works” and how the plot flows. I don’t know how much more of this outlining I can take.

On an unrelated note, I’m supposed to get my Netbook back from the shop today. It’s my main blogging apparatus, which is partly why I haven’t been posting much lately. I never realized how truly crappy my old laptop was until I had to rely on it.

Story Structure, Part 1 of 12

2009-09-21T13:59:00.001-07:00

This is the first in a series of posts talking about the story structure known as “The Hero’s Journey.” I’m borrowing heavily from “The Writer’s Journey: A Mythical Structure for Writers 3rd Edition” by Christopher Vogler. This is my interpretation of it, and I’ve tried to highlight some pitfalls I see writers falling into.
I’ll be updating this post with links as I write more sections. I expect a new post every week or two.

The Ordinary World

First some definitions for the purposes of discussion:

Hero: The main character of the story. Usually the character with the largest stakes and the biggest transformation.
Journey: The complete story arc of one particular character.
Transformation: The hero makes a choice to change their life in a profound way.
Goals: There are two kinds: external and internal. An external goal is something tangible and quantifiable. “I want to win a medal at the track meet.” Internal is more like an emotional state. “I want to feel loved.”
Conflict: Not getting what you want when you want it. Obstacles to achieving one’s goals.

The Ordinary World is the place where the hero’s journey begins. It’s not what we think of as “backstory” but it can include some. For this series of posts, I’m going to use an American football game as the backdrop for a complete journey. Our story starts as the players line up for the opening kickoff. What is going through our hero’s mind? What are his immediate concerns? The Ordinary World shows us where the hero starts, what his current flaws and strengths are (mostly flaws), and why his life must change. It’s essentially the thesis statement of the book.

Our hero, a quarterback, is waiting on the sidelines. The coach tells him he’s starting someone else instead, so we introduce instant conflict. We don’t have to know the history between them. We don’t need to know the team’s records, the names of the players, or anything else. What’s important to establish right away, first page, first paragraph, first line if possible, is what hero’s goal is and what the obstacles are. He wants to play. Coach won’t let him. Conflict.

One of the major conundrums that writers struggle with is “where and when do I start my story?” We’ve heard advice like, “start the story as late as possible” but it’s also possible to start the story too late. Part Two of the Hero’s Journey is called “The Call to Adventure” or “The Inciting Incident”. It’s very tempting to start the story in Part Two. You want to get right into the story and the action. A shot rings out. A body is discovered. Part Two is the first glimpse into something known as “The Special World,” a magical place where the normal rules don’t apply. Our hero is a career benchwarmer. The incident that ignites his transformation could be that the starter goes down with an injury. We don’t want to start right with the injury and throw our hero into the mix. We don’t want to start the night before when our hero is doing his homework and contemplating how much his life sucks. I think the right moment to start a journey is when the hero’s overall goal is thwarted by a major obstacle. In this case, our hero’s Ordinary World is one of underachievement, low confidence, and frustration. This is nothing new to him, this is his life as he knows it. His current state summarizes his life up to this point. When the coach informs his once again that he’s not worthy to start, his life is now “on the clock.”

The second consideration to ask yourself is, “what must the hero learn by the end of the journey to achieve his goals?” What are the major lessons and transformations? What are his dreams? How does his goals change? This is another clue as to how to shape the Ordinary World. Note that just because he starts out with a goal, don’t assume he achieves these goals. Maybe our hero will never become a regular starter. Maybe the “lesson” he learns his to make the most of his one opportunity. The point is to make sure that he doesn’t have the skills or ability to achieve his goals in the Ordinary World. He must survive the journey through the “Special World.” So, in the Ordinary world, he’s a person who’s missed opportunities. He’s not paying attention to the game. He’s distracted by a demanding cheerleader on the sidelines. His mom has been nagging him. His dad mocks him. His brother had a scholarship to a major college but our player is about to be kicked off the team. He spends too much time playing XBox instead of working out. All you need to do is paint a picture of a character whose life is about to change forever…and for good reason.

Another good thing to put in your Ordinary World is some foreshadowing to the main conflict of the story. He’s always dreamed of throwing a winning touchdown. Or any touchdown for that matter. His cheerleader girlfriend insists she must talk to him right during the game. His father is conspicuously absent on the sidelines. His coach chews out some other player. The opposing team takes cheap shots and gets away with them while the refs look the other way. Give your readers some hints that “all is not well” with the world. Lightning flickers on a faraway hill. Your hero may be completely oblivious to these signs, completely preoccupied with his Ordinary World issues, but the reader begins thinking, “huh. Looks like a shitstorm’s coming and this guy’s clueless. I wonder what’s going to happen.” If you start with the lightning storm, the pregnant girlfriend, the injured player, the screaming coach, the vicious opponent, then he’s dumped into that “Special World” and it’s just waaay too soon. He has no tools, he has no options. He’ll just run away screaming (and so may the reader). You need to show the reader why all these things are going to impact the hero. Heroes need convincing to enter this Special World, they can’t just fall into it.

The Ordinary World could be the most important section of your novel. It contains the “hook,” the first few pages where you entice an agent or publisher to request a full manuscript review. It’s tempting to throw the reader right into the action. A quick teaser is fine, like a prologue or something off to the side, but I feel like the best thing is to establish the character in their normal world, a world where they are lacking in skills to continue their present course. If you create a “Special World” like a fantasy world, or a historical setting, or a Sci-Fi universe, it’s critical that you don’t focus on explaining this world. Or your character even. Just focus on showing that your character is about to embark on a journey that will change their life forever, but they have no idea that it’s about to happen. They could be a Starship Captain, a Vampire with a Soul, or a clerk at the 7-11. I don’t need to know the details of Hyperdrive or the mechanics of the Slushy machine at this juncture. Maybe these are details the hero needs to know to succeed.

The final thing to note is that the character should eventually return to the Ordinary World, but not as the person who left on this journey. Perhaps the story ends with our hero at the start of another football game, perhaps even at a college game the next year, this time with confidence and knowledge of how to succeed. The circle is complete. This is another reason why it’s important to have an Ordinary World, to illustrate how far the character has come since he started his journey.

Ordinary World Goals:

Show basic setting
Illuminate Hero’s Overriding Goal
Create immediate conflict and show obvious obstacles
Establish hero’s inability to reach goals
Provide “the hook”
Foreshadow the main conflict

Non-Goals:

Provide a complete description of everything that’s happened prior to the present.
Insight into a character’s motivation. His main motivation right now is to achieve his goals with little or no self-sacrifice, same as everyone.
A deep character study.
Provide Details. Let the reader fill in as much as possible. Only include details that are completely necessary.
Include “an incident”.

Now there is no absolute “right way” or “wrong way,” no concrete rules set in stone, and plenty of counter examples for everything I’ve stated. This is just an example for you to consider when you plot your story.

Let me know your thoughts on this. How do you like to start a novel?

I Try Outlining

2009-09-14T11:21:00.001-07:00

I Try Outlining

I’ve worked through a bunch of outlining and issue identification for Dawn’s Rise. At this point, it looks like I may be facing a complete rewrite. The plot can’t work as is, and I would basically be rewriting the whole thing. I don’t feel like doing that. I could write endless blogs on the specific issues, but let me summarize it by saying the whole emotional journey and transformations just aren’t right. I’m not saying that it can’t be salvaged, and that it wouldn’t be worth the effort. The problems are A) I feel really burned out and B) I don’t care that much anymore about the story. I’m beginning to hate my own characters. I know I can fix this into a publishable state. It’s just a cost/benefit/sanity issue at this point.*

So, I’m going to put Dawn’s Rise aside for the time being. I’m much more interested in creating new stories right now. I’ve been working on the same novel for 7 months. I have a partial ms, a couple of ideas, and this “new shiny idea” that I’m fleshing out. You may remember me posting a whimsical “Lover’s Journey” last week. I tried writing the same thing from the woman’s perspective (a would be “Part II”), and I wound up with a decent plot. I mean, a really decent plot. It’s a classic romance: a woman has to choose between a life of comfort and wealth or a life of uncertainty with the man she loves. (Don’t ask me why I keep getting engrossed with stories featuring heroines. But the MMC** in this outline is totally kick-ass, one of the best concepts I’ve had to date, very conflicted.). Romance writer? Me?? I already know my pen name: Andrea Rose. Would make book signings…awkward.

What’s interesting is that I wrote a whole story in under 3000 words. I don’t mean a short story, I mean a whole novel-scoped story. Obviously, it’s all telling with almost no dialog. Now, the story itself is laughably bad, and my wife couldn’t stop from laughing (at me) when I read it to her, but when I stepped back and retold it from a higher level, it worked. I started fleshing it out a bit, taking each paragraph and writing a page of details. Ideas began springing into my head: hmm, this would work as historical fiction. This would work as a Western. Heck, this would be awesome as Steampunk, which would require less research and more creativity. Is this the beauty of the outline method? I captured the essence of the story, the emotional journey, and now I can fill in the settings, the dialog, the subplots and characters to make this thing breathe. I think I may start a new blog category called “Epiphany.”

I’m probably going to work on this for a week or so, and see where it goes. I know that I will return to Dawn’s Rise, but I think I need some distance at this point. I hate doing this because I really want to be able to complete DR, but I also want to enjoy what I’m working on. My other hope is that maybe with this outline method, I can craft drafts that don’t require endless revisions and critiques—that I have the “story” part of the story worked out so I can focus on the details, instead of starting with details and working back to the story.

How has outlining helped you?

[Edit]

A couple bloggers pointed out their series on plotting. Here's a quick list:

If you know of more, add a comment and I'll put it here.

[/Edit]

Couple unrelated notes:

I changed up my blog feed so that if you use something like Reader, you should see some links at the bottom of the feed, including a link to tweet my post. If you don’t, you might need to re-subscribe to my feed using the link on the side of my blog. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry about it
Turns out that there’s a secret pinhole on the bottom of my Netbook that resets it. I couldn’t use it for a week because I thought the problem was with the charger. The battery would just not re-charge, and the Netbook would not run on AC power. When I finally found out about the pinhole, it fixed everything. Now I have 2 chargers, which isn’t so bad.

*I have no idea what outline plan this image relates to, so I neither endorse nor discourage it. It’s for decorative purposes only.
**Male Main Character

Sweet Home NaNoWriMo

2009-09-11T10:09:00.001-07:00

Sweet Home NaNoWriMo

Turn it up.

Gonna write a fifty thousand
Carry me home to see me win
Writing words about the Ross’s
I miss NaNoWriMo once again.

Well I heard some people bitch about it
Well I heard it’s no way to write
Well I hope that they’ll remember
There is no wrong and they ain’t right.

Sweet home NaNoWriMo
Where the writing’s purple-blue
Sweet home NaNoWriMo
Lord, I’m writing ‘til I through.

In Seattle we love our writing (ooh, ooh, ooh)
We always win, nothing you can do
Now we’re back and we are ready
To show the world we have writing flu (how ‘bout that?)

Sweet home NaNoWriMo
Fifty thousand words to go
Sweet home NaNoWriMo
Lord, I’m writing with the flow.

Sweet home NaNoWriMo
Another awesome writing spree
Sweet home NaNoWriMo
Lord, I’m writing happily.

The Lover’s Journey Part I

2009-09-07T10:47:00.001-07:00

The Lovers’ Journey Part I

I had another epiphany out on my run the other day. I was thinking about the romance part of Dawn’s Rise, and I realized that the “Hero’s Journey” is really the story of the sexual encounter. (Or is it the other way around? We’ll see).

So, I’ve taken a stab at describing the “Romantic Journey.” I don’t write romance, but I feel that I’ve come close. I’ve written this from a male main character’s perspective.

I call this version:

“The Mythical Lover’s Journey”

The Ordinary World

You’ve led a fairly successful life. You’ve conquered many a foe, defeating them in pissing contests and proven who has the most powerful orbs, but you feel that something has eluded you. Something is missing in your life. You’ve heard about this mythical creature known as “Woman”. People say that some of these Woman creatures possess a wonderful treasure, more valuable than anything else in the world, but this treasure can only be won* at a steep price. You’re intrigued, fascinated with the idea of winning such a treasure. You’ve perhaps interacted with these creatures, and found out the hard way that their gifts are not easily won.

The Call to Adventure (Inciting Incident)

One day, you come across the most exquisite Woman creature you’ve ever encountered. She’s beautiful beyond compare, alluring and mysterious. You feel that she must be hiding an invaluable treasure. When you first encounter this wondrous animal, she doesn’t immediately spear you through the heart. You decide you should pursue her, capture her, and win her treasure. Her pull on you is irresistible. You want to go on this adventure, but are you ready for it?

Refusal of the Call

You’ve heard many a time that Woman creatures are best left alone. You know of a brave knight who once tried to capture a Woman and she left him a bitter, angry loner. When hurt, they become the most deadly force in the universe. What would happen if a Woman creature captured you? She’d force you to impregnate her and raise her offspring. Not for you, no way. You would never be in that situation. No treasure is worth that. You’d rather just stay in the relative safety of the Man village.

Meeting with the Mentor

Still, you can’t stop thinking about this Woman creature. Something deep inside of you is calling. You ask your friends many questions: What’s with these Woman creatures? Is this so-called treasure really worth it? Is it really so awesome and magical? My King, how did you manage to wrangle one? How did Prince Joe? What are the secrets to capturing them? How can I tell the good ones from the bad ones? How do I avoid their traps? How can I escape from their clutches if I need to?

Crossing the First Threshold

Everyone tells you to go for it. You lay your first trap for the Woman creature. She falls for the bait! Now you must figure out what to do with her. You must keep reeling her in, because these creatures have a healthy distrust for Man. You must convince her that you’re “not that bad.” You move out of your comfort zone into a strange new world, a place you fear and dread, a place where you have limited or no experience. A place teeming with flowers and lipstick and white wine. You must interact with this strange animal and keep her “happy” and “interested.” Foreign concepts indeed.

Tests, Allies, and Enemies

The Woman creature is pretty tough, and no fool. She has others of her species ready to attack if you make the wrong move. She’s even turned some of your fellow Man onto her side (the traitors!). They are wary of your intentions. Compatriots of yours provide you with bad advice at times and you make some missteps, angering the woman creature. She’s hard to tame. You’ve thrown all your best moves at her, but she remains aloof. You must up your game. You must gather some allies for this assault. They run you through tests, letting you tackle woman dummies and practice courting mannequins before allowing you to approach the Real Thing.

Approach to the Inner Cave

At last, all your training has paid off. It turns out that this particular Woman creature has a weakness for Dark Chocolates and Red Roses, and you’ve used this to your advantage. You enter her lair, and even into her secret chamber. Danger lurks all around. One bad step here and things could get ugly. You stroke her, tell her how beautiful she is, anything to sooth her and keep her off her guard. You don’t want to reveal your true intentions.

The Ordeal

This Woman creature is defenseless before you. She has something you want, and you are going to get it no matter what. This is what you came for. This is what you’ve made all these sacrifices for. You are deep inside Enemy Territory, and she’s powerless against your onslaught. You are on your way to capturing this strange and wondrous creature!

Reward

She is yours! You have won her most precious treasure. You go home and brag to your friends. You display your victory like some scalp. You have been into the Lair of the Beast and survived. But, something doesn’t feel right. You go to show your comrades this Woman creature you thought you had captured, but she has escaped! Not only that, but you cannot find the source of all your power, your orbs. You are outraged! How can she have stolen them? Her treasure is no consolation. The victory rings hollow.

The Road Back

You must get your orbs back. You can’t stalk any other Woman creatures without them. You can’t work, you can’t hunt, you can’t fight your enemies. She taunts you with them, threatens to harm them, makes you do things you don’t want to do. She wants her treasure back, and you want your orbs back. Things seem to be at a stalemate and nobody is happy. All advice falls flat on your ears. You won’t give up the hard-won treasure, and she refuses to release your orbs. Something has to give, because you can’t live this way. You can’t capture her because she’s now fully on guard and won’t let you approach, even with chocolate and roses. This creature has become far more dangerous than anything you could have imagined.

The Resurrection (Climax)

You rail against the Woman creature, but she resists. You argue and beg. You try to enter her lair but you’re evicted. Even your own friends turn against you, not to mention your enemies who smell blood. At last, you realize you may never get your orbs back, so you head over to return the creature’s treasure, planning on begging for mercy. It’s not worth it any more. You realize you were wrong** to try to capture her, or win her treasure. But when you arrive, something has changed. You don’t see a frightening creature any more. You see a woman. A lonely, vulnerable, heartbroken woman. She doesn’t seem so scary anymore. She’s just a person, just like you. You meekly lay her treasure at her feet. She says goodbye. You grasp her hand. You tell her how much you love her. You kneel before her. You tell her everything you’ve been meaning to say to her. You tell her you can’t live another second without her, and you were wrong to act the way you did. You don’t even care about your orbs anymore. You place her dagger at your throat, and await the death blow. Instead, she picks up her treasure and hands it back to you, willingly. You ask, what about my orbs? She points. Turns out you had them all along, you just didn’t know the right way to use them.

Return with the Elixir (Dénouement)

The Woman creature is a creature no longer. She hasn’t changed; you have. She is not tamed, she is not captured, she’s not anything more than a willing companion on life’s journey. You both have survived a brutal adventure through the Land of Intimacy and learned many important lessons. You have bequeathed each other your most valuable gifts, and you want to share those gifts with the world. You both share her precious treasure called “love” and are ready to defend it at every turn. You’re finally home.

The End

Or is it just the start of a new adventure?

I’m not sure what I’m going to have in Part II. It’s either a more modernized version of Part I or I’ll try to write it from the female perspective. Stay tuned!

*In a previous version I used the word “steal” instead of “win” but DW thought it sounded too violent/rapey. I do think “steal” is the more accurate word for a man’s thought pattern but I don’t want to upset anyone. Go ahead and read it using “steal/stole/stolen” instead of “win/won” and you’ll see what I mean. You can also substitute “balls” for “orbs” :).

** See my previous post describing how Your Character is Wrong

Dawn’s Rise Title Analysis

2009-09-04T08:33:00.001-07:00

Dawn’s Rise Title Analysis

I finally put a whiteboard up in my office and here’s what I wrote today:

I didn’t come up with the title until I had finished the first draft. The name “Dawn” just came to me, possibly based on the character in Buffy:TVS. I thought of phrases that included the word “dawn” and came up with this one.

Right now I’m reanalyzing the entire story (and backstory), focusing on Dawn’s transformation throughout the story. I thought about the meaning of these words. I wrote down a bunch of related words on the whiteboard. (If you can’t read them, then you’ll understand why I don’t write drafts in longhand).

I want to narrow down to the central theme of the book. I like the metaphor of dawn, along with the concept of rising. Rebirth, resurrection, transition and transformation, the circle of life, and enlightenment. It just seems to work.

This is my current task. I’ve outlined the whole book, identified the major plot points, extracted the theme(s), and analyzed the problem areas. I’ve concluded that I’ve approached writing a bit backwards. I’ve written a story, then taken the above steps, instead of the other way around. I think it’s because I enjoy the act of sitting and writing most of all. It’s where I’m the most creative. Plotting and planning are a bit laborious. Even when I worked in software, I found it much easier to design code by writing bits and pieces of it. I’m discovering the drawbacks of this approach. I don’t know if there really is a “perfect” approach to writing, but I don’t see the harm in trying different things in the future.

How did you come up with your title? Does it have a deeper meaning or is it more of a marketing name?

Your Character is Wrong

2009-08-31T16:57:00.001-07:00

Your Character is Wrong

Let me paint a picture. We’ll discuss it, then I’ll show you how your character is wrong.

You wake up in the morning. What do you do? Brush your teeth? Take a shower? Make breakfast?

Why not brush your dog? Take a nap? Make dinner?

Sounds silly at first, but what happens is that you make choices. You decide what is important to you at every moment, weigh the alternatives, and make a choice. At every moment of life, we have an infinite number of choices. We think we know what the consequences are of each choice. If we brush our teeth, then we have clean breath and an unkempt dog. But if we brush the dog, then we have a nice puppy but bad breath. Choices.

Some choices are not so obvious, especially when emotions are involved. These are the decisions that people spend a lot of energy thinking about. Whom do we ask out and how? When do we break up or quit our job? Which college is the right one? Should I enlist? People agonize over these choices because the consequences of a bad choice can be painful if not outright deadly.

I read a snippet of someone’s WIP the other day. It included a line something to the effect of “She hated the way he made her feel.”

Here’s the thing. There are no wires attached to your brain and no strings attached to your arms and legs. Nobody is controlling your emotions through some external means. You have eyes, ears, a nose, a tongue, and skin. All these organs generate electro-chemical impulses that are fairly indistinguishable from each other. These signals enter your brain which then decides what those impulses mean. A bunch of neurons fire in your ear, which activates your brain, which interprets those impulses into words, which (according to your X years of life on Earth) you decide means someone is saying something, and that something is hurtful. You’ve wired your own brain to decide what something means. No one can make you feel anything. You’ve chosen the meaning based on your experience and your beliefs about that person and the words that are said.

Here’s the next thing. You decide how your brain is wired (mostly). Your brain is not a computer with X number of transistors. You decide how to decode external stimuli. You make choices based on these stimuli. At some point, you may suddenly make a new choice, given the same external input. How does this happen? You choose to interpret things differently. The process in which you choose new interpretations is called learning. It’s the process in which people change and grow. Inside your brain, the neurons are always changing, creating new connections and severing old ones. You decide which connections are important, and which ones you choose to drop.

This is the key to successful story writing. Your character starts out with a certain world view. They make the same choices given the same external stimuli. This view does not serve them, given an unbiased external analysis, and especially as the story moves forward and they face greater and greater obstacles. Characters are locked into their world view because it’s all they’ve known, and they’ve rejected anything outside this view. They fight to protect this world view, because what does the alternative mean? What would it mean to find out that their belief system is incomplete or flawed? What would they discover if those same hurtful words they hear became helpful or even a revelation?

It would mean that they were wrong. Nobody wants to admit they are wrong, or ignorant, or mistaken. More than that, they would have to see that they were wrong about their interpretation of the most important event of their lives, whether this event happens in the backstory or in the first act. Their conclusions were wrong, and every choice they made based on this conclusion was probably based on faulty logic. The best episode on the TV series “Happy Days” is when The Fonz(Henry Winkler) has to apologize to Richie Cunningham(Ron Howard). He’s established his entire world view on being “cool”, or being tough and unrepentant. He must learn that even the great Arthur Fonzarelli makes mistakes. He finally explains, “Cool is knowing the difference between right and wrong and doing what is right with guts.” He has a new interpretation of the word “cool”. He was wrong, and once he realizes this, his whole life changes and he now has the power to conquer his foes.

A good story should rip apart the character’s world view. But characters shouldn’t go down without a fight. The biggest and most important battle a character fights is not with the antagonist. The villain is simply there to point out the character’s weaknesses, to show them where they’ve been wrong. In fact, there’s no way to defeat the villain while clinging to their old world view. The villain uses this knowledge to their advantage. It’s not until the character learns a new interpretation of their defining event and beliefs that they can defeat the villain, and the old demons in their head. It’s the moment where they say, “I’m not this weak/boring/unlovable/unworthy/untalented/indecisive/fearful person. I’m a mighty/fascinating/cherished/deserving/inspired/assertive/brave man/woman and I’m kicking ass!”

So here are the questions you should ask yourself when reviewing your story:

What critical event occurred in your character’s life (usually in childhood) and what decision did they make about themselves based on that event? How does it affect their world view?
How does this negatively impact them in the present (the start of the novel)? How does it hold them back?
How does this world view impact their ability to work through the central crisis of the novel?
What do they learn about this critical event in their past? What new interpretation do they have? How does this affect their choices moving forward?
How does this help them confront the antagonist and prevail in the end?

I’m going to answer these questions for Dawn in Dawn’s Rise in the comment section. I’d love to hear how your characters change too.

The “Evil Twin” Meme Sucks

2009-08-28T10:42:00.001-07:00

The “Evil Twin” Meme Sucks

Meme: A postulated unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena.* (Wikipedia)

You’ve all seen it or read it. The main character is somehow “split” into a good and evil part. Or a long lost twin reappears for an episode or chapter, and is nothing like the original character. Ever since TV and movie directors discovered that they can overlay the same actor twice in the same frame, they’ve explored in nauseating repetition every possible angle and variation of the Evil Twin Meme. It all started full steam with the “Evil Kirk” ST:TOS episode “Mirror, Mirror”. This Wikipedia entry has more details.

The latest series to fall victim to this craptastically unoriginal concept is Warehouse 13. In the latest episode (stop reading if you haven’t seen it and want to), Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) is trapped in a mirror and an evil, possessed version of herself emerges. Our hero Pete Lattimer (Eddie McLintock) supposedly discovers the switcheroo when they kiss. “She would never kiss me, even if the fate of the world was at stake.” Hey, guess what Pete? Maybe your clue should have come from the stinky derivative writing! At least she didn’t have a goatee like Evil Obama over there. Ever notice that Evil Twins of women are sexier than the original? Why is that? At least they got this meme over with early in the series (Or have they??).

Are all the good ideas gone? Is there nothing new? I’ve complained about this before. I know that when you have to crank out a 13- or 26- week episodic series, you need to use whatever ideas are out there.

Moving right along, I have a confession to make. I have a concept for a novel or short story where a person lives in two universes inhabited with the same cast in different roles. One is a “light, happy” universe, the other is “dark, deadly”. You know, Utopia vs. Dystopia. So, like my concept with Dawn’s Rise where I include as many disasters as I can into a disaster novel, maybe in this case I’m going to do the Evil Twin meme to death, the ultimate Evil Twin novel to end all Evil Twin novels. Maybe the Evil Twins will have Evil Twins. Yes, that’s it! Evil Quadruplets! Start lining up the publishers!

Taking this even further, I can’t wait to come up with a Paranormal concept. I will find every repetitive and overused meme in the genre and overdo it completely. I’ll have vampires, ghosts, werewolves, zombies, skeletons, monsters, demons, witches, spirits, angels, devils, sprites, fairies, and haunted houses up the wazoo. It will be frickin’ Halloween on every page. And of course I’ll have to make it an urban romance as well, because apparently you can’t sell fiction unless it’s a romance nowadays. Another meme I’d like to kill. Well, you gotta write to the audience. Paranormal urban disaster evil twin romance market, here I come!

*Forgive me for using the LOLcat meme. And note the new category “Random Rants.”

Goals, Obstacles, and Epiphanies

2009-08-27T08:15:00.001-07:00

Goals, Obstacles, and Epiphanies

A couple weeks ago, I submitted some chapters from Dawn’s Rise to an online critique group. One person provided some sage advice:

I feel that the POV characters are lacking in well-defined
goals that drive them. This … made the story feel to me
like a sequence of events rather than a coherent story.

I’ve really been pondering this statement, and the more I think about it, the more I realized that it’s true.

I had one concept/premise when I created Dawn’s Rise: throw in every conceivable disaster into one novel. “The Disaster Novel to End All Disaster Novels.” Every bad thing I could think of. So, my characters are thrown about like clothes in a washing machine, unable to affect the outcomes of their lives to any meaningful degree. Things just happen to them, and they react. Usually with fear and profound amounts of sweat.

Then came my first epiphany: Crap happens to everyone. Most people don’t just sit there and go, “oh darn. More crap.” Well some do, but there’s no story unless the events affect the characters in some way. More than that, we need to know what the disasters mean to the characters. Everyone will agree that 9/11 and Katrina were disasters. No one was affected the same way. Some saw those events as failure of governments, some saw them as murderous incidents that stole their loved ones. My epiphany was that I need to focus on the inner state of my characters more than the outward events. My characters need to be the masters of their own destiny, and interpret events in their own unique way. Crap doesn’t happen to my characters. My characters are trying to do something and crap gets in the way.

I’m starting to look at each chapter differently. I now think about what the character wants to accomplish, and what obstacles are in the way. Without obstacles, the chapter is simply an expository narrative of events. Dawn saw a city fall. Dawn saw a tree fall. Dawn fell down and bumped her head. Nothing interesting in those compared to: Dawn figured her rent would not need to be paid since her apartment was rubble, but now where would she live? Dawn barely escaped with her life as the falling tree swung by, blocking her path. The last thing Dawn needed was a concussion, not with the fate of the world in her hands.

Still, something didn’t sit well with me. I mean, when I wrote the first draft, I knew the characters had goals. I knew Dawn wanted—well, I kinda wanted Dawn to be this big hero and save the world. I knew John wanted—well, I kinda wanted John to come up with the solution. Do you see where this is going? My second big epiphany was this: I’ve totally confused my personal goals with my characters’. Dawn doesn’t want to save the world. She just wants to pay rent, and maybe save up enough to co-own her own place outside of the city. She doesn’t want to fall in love with John. She wants a man who will accept her and love her for who she is. John doesn’t want to solve any problems. He doesn’t even want to do a good job at his current position. He just wants his life to mean something, to have a reason to get up in the morning, to get out of the dreary work he’s been performing for the last eight years.

In summary, I’ve imposed all my own goals onto my characters, and haven’t even let them breathe or be human. I wanted a novel with tons of disasters and that’s what I got. I wanted John and Dawn to just like each other right away and that’s what I got. I wanted everything to be resolved in a nice tidy fashion and that’s what I got. The overall problem is not that my characters have no goals in any specific chapter. It’s that they don’t have any goals at all outside I what I want them to do. They may have goals when it’s convenient, when danger is staring them straight in the face, but not all the time.

This is my conclusion: Every single event in the book has to become an obstacle or boon to a specific character’s specific goal. No random trees falling in the forest unless it either thwarts my character’s progress or helps them along. No achieving goals either. I mean, this is a disaster genre novel. Heck, even if Dawn goes to brush her hair, either the comb breaks or her hair is too tangled. Otherwise, no brushing of the hair. (And I know from personal experience that the simple inability to brush one’s own hair can lead to dramatic consequences). No goals may be fully achieved until the very end. And that’s my goal. I hope my characters are onboard.

The WriteRunner

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