Whew! This holiday letter almost did not happen. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but this year's letter fund went bankrupt. It has been a truly horrible experience. I applied for a loan from our local bank, but it was denied. Actually, it wasn't denied. My paperwork just got caught up in this series of mergers and takeovers. My bank was acquired by WaMu. WaMu was acquired by Chase. By the time my application was forwarded to my new bank, which I fondly refer to as Chase-High-Fees, they hardly had time to reject my application and bill me for the processing fee. Poor guys!
So, I decided to do the truly American thing. I asked the Government if I could have a 'Bridge Loan.' This sort of thing seems to be in vogue nowadays. Unfortunately, my request was misrouted to Illinois. The Governor's office called and left a message. It said, "Bleep that Bleep," and hung up. I assume this is Chicago-speak for "no." Anyway, they did let us know that bidding for Senator Obama's US Senate seat was about to close and that if I wanted to get in on the action to get back to them soon. Decisions... decisions.
Finally, my application for a holiday letter bailout was properly routed to my Congressman. His office was very polite. The Congressman's aide told me I could have the money, but only if I was willing to "restructure my holiday letter finances" and submit the missive to someone who would serve as our "Message Mogul." I guess this is similar to a Car Czar. Turns out the "Message Mogul" wanted me to take a major reduction of my already pitifully small allowance, so I nixed this idea.
Meanwhile, my wife blames me for the bankruptcy of our letter fund. You see, I ordered this statue of Governor Sarah Palin from the Alaskan Mint. (Bet you didn't even know Alaska had a mint, did you? You Betcha!) As it turns out, what the sent me wasn't really a statue. It was more of a doll. It is life-size, though – and inflatable. Now, for some reason, my wife won't even speak to me. Actually, she did speak to me once. She said, "Bleep … Bleep … Bleep ." Sigh. Life can be so unfair. I don't know what my wife's problem is. I truly do admire Sarah for her political skills and savvy. Right!
As you have no doubt concluded by now, I am presently living in the parking spot in the garage that was once reserved for my pick-up. I spend my days composing holiday letters and letters of apology to my wife -- all this under the watchful eyes of Ms Palin. Wife-mate won't let me keep my 'statue' in the house. (If you thought the feud between Mr. Obama and Hillary was bad, you ain't seen nuthin'.) Life can be so unfair.
Anyway, I think my only hope for saving my annual holiday letter is to solicit donations from friends, family and Blog readers to restore the holiday letter fund. I promise the money will only be spent for future holiday letters... except for this one tiny, tiny purchase. I do need to purchase a patch kit. It seems poor Sarah has sprung a small leak and looks somewhat deflated. So sad!
There you have it. I promise that most of the donated money will go to future holiday letters. So please get to donating and you too can help keep these holiday cards, letters and blog postings coming. Have a safe and happy holiday!
Bob
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Maybe You Should Just Scrap It!
No, I'm not suggesting what you think. The alternate title of this post could well be, "In Praise of the Three-Ring Binder." A three-ring binder with divider tabs is my favorite writing tool, outside of the handy-dandy computer, of course.
For my fiction books, I have sections for plot, themes, place (local color), background research, a section for characters, etc. I keep my character profiles in the character section. As you begin writing, you will find that your characters will further develop. Having all your profiles in an easy-to-access place makes it easy to add notes.
For our non-fiction books, my wife and I will use up to a dozen binders. Many of the binders contain our research materials, but we have other binders as well for: Marketing, Publicity, prior outlines and drafts.
If you are prone to writer's block, just flipping through your three-ring binder can disassemble the block, or point you along a path that perhaps you had overlooked or not previously thought of before. If I have been away from the novel for more than a week, the first thing I do is pull out the binder, re-read all of the character profiles, plot outline, "place" notes, and so on.
I also keep a scrap book to collect and organize random thoughts that I think might one day be useful. Sometimes I will find a photo of a person that is so unusual, or so striking that I clip it and post it to my scrap book. If I have an idea for a future novel, but do not have time to work on it, I will post it in my binder.
When I meet people in my travels, I often ask them what they do. My follow-up question is, "What is the most surprising or unexpected thing about your job?" For example, there is a friendly gentleman who performs maintenance for the apartment building I live in. He is very heavily tattooed.
I told him that I was a writer and asked him if I could ask questions about his tattoos, many of which are Korean language characters. He told me that the tattoos cause people to judge him and for others to be uncomfortable around him. Asians, he said, are prone to grabbing his arms and twisting them about so they can read the symbols and determine if he is a "good" guy or a "bad" guy. He said that when this happens, it is very disconcerting to him.
I asked if he had it to do all over again would he get the tattoos. He pondered for a moment and answered in the affirmative. He said that each of the tattoos symbolized a major turning point or important event in his life and that he would not go back and change anything – even though he realized that certain jobs would forever be "off limits" to him because of the tattoos.
People will generally open up to you if you are respectful – and not too pushy. I've had instances whereby people have declined to answer questions and then days or weeks come back and provide an answer.
So, what is so revealing about the responses provided my friend with the tattoos? A couple of things stand out. Rightly or wrongly, his tattoos now define him to others. They also set him apart and limit his movement within society. In other words, there were long-term consequences for his decision to apply tattoos to much of his body.
In a prior blog, I wrote about characters (and their actions) driving the story. When your characters take an action, there should always be a corresponding reaction. Think of it as the physics of story telling. For every action there is a reaction. This is not exactly Mr. Newton's law of motion, but it is close -- and your story must always remain in motion.
Your goal is to develop character actions that are reflective of the opening break shot in a game of pool. One action sets off other actions which in turn… Well, you get the idea.
Homework Assignment: Let's say your main character decides, after a night of heavy drinking, to get a string of tattoos in a language he or she does not fully understand. What chain of events could this action cause and how would these actions drive your story?
Happy Writing!
Bob
For my fiction books, I have sections for plot, themes, place (local color), background research, a section for characters, etc. I keep my character profiles in the character section. As you begin writing, you will find that your characters will further develop. Having all your profiles in an easy-to-access place makes it easy to add notes.
For our non-fiction books, my wife and I will use up to a dozen binders. Many of the binders contain our research materials, but we have other binders as well for: Marketing, Publicity, prior outlines and drafts.
If you are prone to writer's block, just flipping through your three-ring binder can disassemble the block, or point you along a path that perhaps you had overlooked or not previously thought of before. If I have been away from the novel for more than a week, the first thing I do is pull out the binder, re-read all of the character profiles, plot outline, "place" notes, and so on.
I also keep a scrap book to collect and organize random thoughts that I think might one day be useful. Sometimes I will find a photo of a person that is so unusual, or so striking that I clip it and post it to my scrap book. If I have an idea for a future novel, but do not have time to work on it, I will post it in my binder.
When I meet people in my travels, I often ask them what they do. My follow-up question is, "What is the most surprising or unexpected thing about your job?" For example, there is a friendly gentleman who performs maintenance for the apartment building I live in. He is very heavily tattooed.
I told him that I was a writer and asked him if I could ask questions about his tattoos, many of which are Korean language characters. He told me that the tattoos cause people to judge him and for others to be uncomfortable around him. Asians, he said, are prone to grabbing his arms and twisting them about so they can read the symbols and determine if he is a "good" guy or a "bad" guy. He said that when this happens, it is very disconcerting to him.
I asked if he had it to do all over again would he get the tattoos. He pondered for a moment and answered in the affirmative. He said that each of the tattoos symbolized a major turning point or important event in his life and that he would not go back and change anything – even though he realized that certain jobs would forever be "off limits" to him because of the tattoos.
People will generally open up to you if you are respectful – and not too pushy. I've had instances whereby people have declined to answer questions and then days or weeks come back and provide an answer.
So, what is so revealing about the responses provided my friend with the tattoos? A couple of things stand out. Rightly or wrongly, his tattoos now define him to others. They also set him apart and limit his movement within society. In other words, there were long-term consequences for his decision to apply tattoos to much of his body.
In a prior blog, I wrote about characters (and their actions) driving the story. When your characters take an action, there should always be a corresponding reaction. Think of it as the physics of story telling. For every action there is a reaction. This is not exactly Mr. Newton's law of motion, but it is close -- and your story must always remain in motion.
Your goal is to develop character actions that are reflective of the opening break shot in a game of pool. One action sets off other actions which in turn… Well, you get the idea.
Homework Assignment: Let's say your main character decides, after a night of heavy drinking, to get a string of tattoos in a language he or she does not fully understand. What chain of events could this action cause and how would these actions drive your story?
Happy Writing!
Bob
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Is Self Publishing For You?
OK, so you've got this manuscript hidden away on a shelf somewhere. Should you self-publish?
I have self-published three books and have a fourth on the way. Technology has radically changed the face of the publishing industry. Self-publishing has never been easier and it is more affordable than ever to publish your own work. And there are good / honest self-publishing houses out there such as ours, Dog Ear Publishing. All this is the good news.
The bad news is that self-published works still bear a heavy stigma. Many people consider the POD (Print On Demand) industry to be the same as Vanity Press. They are not the same, but honestly speaking, there is still a lot of "crap" out there that is self-published. Many newspapers and magazines will not even review a self-published book. We sent press releases to over 100 newspapers for our 1st wine book. Only three smaller and regional papers expressed an interest.
So, is self-publishing for you? If you are willing and able to edit your own book, or pay to have someone do it for you, then self-publishing may be for you. The biggest question you need to answer is whether you are willing to do your own marketing and order fulfillment. Marketing is hard – especially for fiction books. Order fulfillment means maintaining constant access to your books, shipping materials and your computer.
What many authors fail to realize is that publishing is a business – a tough, competitive business in an industry that increasingly faces competition from the internet and other less expensive mediums. Did you know that Borders Books may not survive the current economic crisis?
I was in a Borders book store recently and the store manager was perched on a ladder, scanning the top shelf and reading off book ISBNs to another clerk. The clerk would punch the ISBN into the register and tell him how many of the books had been sold. I watched as he raked the books off the shelf into a waiting trash can down below. Your "art" is, I'm sorry to say, someone else's product and if that product doesn't sell, well… you get the idea.
Here are some painful stats. There are 12,000 bookstores in the US. 3 out of 10 books will sell well. 4 books will break even. 3 will not make any money. Only 10% of major publishing house books will earn enough to recoup the author's advance. In today's economy some publishing houses are not even taking on new books. It is tough out there.
If, however, your goal is to have your book read, this is a much harder question. Many self-published authors find, after having gone through the process, is that what they really want is not so much to be published as to be READ. So, if you are not willing to invest a considerable amount of time marketing and publicizing your book, then think twice about self publishing.
Questions to ask yourself:
How much money / time you are willing to invest in the effort? (For a 200 to 250 page book, plan on spending $700 to $1200 with your publisher just to get the book into print.)
What are your strengths, weaknesses and limitations? (If you hate rejection, then marketing your own book is probably not going to work out too well for you. Best to figure this out ahead of time.)
Are you capable of editing your own book? (Can you spel and punktuate? That is the cwestion.)
What are your true objectives? (If you want to give copies of your favorite recipes to your grandkids, or record your family history, have a niche book that you intend to self-market, or merely want to see your name in print, by all means look into self-publishing. If, however, your plan is to be the next Tom Clancy or Dean Koontz, you better have a well developed marketing plan.)
More to follow on the ins and outs of self-publishing.
Happy Writing!
Bob
I have self-published three books and have a fourth on the way. Technology has radically changed the face of the publishing industry. Self-publishing has never been easier and it is more affordable than ever to publish your own work. And there are good / honest self-publishing houses out there such as ours, Dog Ear Publishing. All this is the good news.
The bad news is that self-published works still bear a heavy stigma. Many people consider the POD (Print On Demand) industry to be the same as Vanity Press. They are not the same, but honestly speaking, there is still a lot of "crap" out there that is self-published. Many newspapers and magazines will not even review a self-published book. We sent press releases to over 100 newspapers for our 1st wine book. Only three smaller and regional papers expressed an interest.
So, is self-publishing for you? If you are willing and able to edit your own book, or pay to have someone do it for you, then self-publishing may be for you. The biggest question you need to answer is whether you are willing to do your own marketing and order fulfillment. Marketing is hard – especially for fiction books. Order fulfillment means maintaining constant access to your books, shipping materials and your computer.
What many authors fail to realize is that publishing is a business – a tough, competitive business in an industry that increasingly faces competition from the internet and other less expensive mediums. Did you know that Borders Books may not survive the current economic crisis?
I was in a Borders book store recently and the store manager was perched on a ladder, scanning the top shelf and reading off book ISBNs to another clerk. The clerk would punch the ISBN into the register and tell him how many of the books had been sold. I watched as he raked the books off the shelf into a waiting trash can down below. Your "art" is, I'm sorry to say, someone else's product and if that product doesn't sell, well… you get the idea.
Here are some painful stats. There are 12,000 bookstores in the US. 3 out of 10 books will sell well. 4 books will break even. 3 will not make any money. Only 10% of major publishing house books will earn enough to recoup the author's advance. In today's economy some publishing houses are not even taking on new books. It is tough out there.
If, however, your goal is to have your book read, this is a much harder question. Many self-published authors find, after having gone through the process, is that what they really want is not so much to be published as to be READ. So, if you are not willing to invest a considerable amount of time marketing and publicizing your book, then think twice about self publishing.
Questions to ask yourself:
How much money / time you are willing to invest in the effort? (For a 200 to 250 page book, plan on spending $700 to $1200 with your publisher just to get the book into print.)
What are your strengths, weaknesses and limitations? (If you hate rejection, then marketing your own book is probably not going to work out too well for you. Best to figure this out ahead of time.)
Are you capable of editing your own book? (Can you spel and punktuate? That is the cwestion.)
What are your true objectives? (If you want to give copies of your favorite recipes to your grandkids, or record your family history, have a niche book that you intend to self-market, or merely want to see your name in print, by all means look into self-publishing. If, however, your plan is to be the next Tom Clancy or Dean Koontz, you better have a well developed marketing plan.)
More to follow on the ins and outs of self-publishing.
Happy Writing!
Bob
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Arriving Upon the Scene
The fun part of writing is the excitement you feel as your story unfolds, with all of its twists, turns and discoveries. Wouldn't it be great if we could just write and not have to worry about plot outlines, characterization, pace and the like?
The problem with free-form writing, I'm sorry to say, is that most of us are not very good at it. The story wanders, becomes trapped at a dead end and can suffer from a variety of flaws ranging from plot collapse, undue length, pacing problems, etc.
What is the solution, you ask? The answer: scene outline. Wait! I heard that groan. It takes all the fun out of writing. While I disagree, I understand the sentiment. But think about it. The best film directors story-board every scene sequence before shooting. There are those who may successfully 'wing it,' but with pressure to bring films in on budget, story-boarding the movie is the norm, rather than the exception.
The problem with free-form writing, I'm sorry to say, is that most of us are not very good at it. The story wanders, becomes trapped at a dead end and can suffer from a variety of flaws ranging from plot collapse, undue length, pacing problems, etc.
What is the solution, you ask? The answer: scene outline. Wait! I heard that groan. It takes all the fun out of writing. While I disagree, I understand the sentiment. But think about it. The best film directors story-board every scene sequence before shooting. There are those who may successfully 'wing it,' but with pressure to bring films in on budget, story-boarding the movie is the norm, rather than the exception.
As the author of your story, you are also the director. You have to deal with all of the same elements of story that a film director must manage, only without the cameras.
There are actually a number of advantages to crafting an outline of the major scenes of your novel before you begin. But before we get into these, let's review some basic operating rules of storytelling:
RULE #1: Put your character in danger.
RULE #2: Keep your character in danger.
RULE #3: Ensure that the danger gets steadily worse.
RULE #4: For each action, there is a reaction – or consequence.
Rule # 4 will drive your story. What do I mean by this? If you will recall when we last left Sergei, he was about to do some serious damage to our boorish director. Remember, Sergei's goal is to leave his homicidal past behind and become a 'good American' – and ultimately a citizen.
We open our novel in the darkened theater just as "The Director" discovers two things: (1) Sergei's daughter is relatively flat-chested and (2) Sergei has the capacity for rage and violence.
Scene 1: Sergei beats up "The Director" (Mr. Di).
Scene 2: Sergei gets fired by the studio, so no more catering business. He also gets arrested and is being sued for assault by Mr. Di. Newspapers publish Sergei's photo and his former mob associates locate him. (Sergei's life gets turned completely upside down.)
In these two scenes, we have action and reaction or action and consequence. The story from this point forward will be a series of unfortunate events all of which flow from his assault upon Mr. Di.
We've also initiated the story at the point where Sergei's life is about to be altered dramatically. At this point, we need to know how the story will resolve itself. Will Sergei be able to become anything he wants? Will he be forced back into a life of crime? Will he be able to earn his citizenship? These are the questions we must answer. Once we know these answers, we can then begin placing a series of obstacles in front of our character and basically make his life miserable.
Given Sergei's criminal history, we actually have a lot of obstacle material with which to work.
Scene 3: Sergei and his daughter flee with the Russian mob in hot pursuit. He and his daughter survive a harrowing chase and escape to a friend's house. Whew! Safe at last. Wrong! The mob anticipated this move and is waiting on him. They have one last job for Sergei. The mob takes his daughter. Sergei either takes the murder assignment or risks the mob killing his daughter.
Scene 4: Sergei considers taking the job, but finds out the target is both a moral man, but a man like himself, who has daughters.
At this point, we have set five difficult tasks for Sergei:
1. Avoid being arrested by the police and / or killed by the mob.
2. Avoid killing the target.
3. Rescuing the target.
4. Rescuing his daughter and preventing her from being killed, and
5. Doing all of the above without destroying his ultimate goal of becoming a good American.
Some possible scene sequences…
ACTION: Sergei approaches the target – tells him everything and asks for his help. The target appears supportive, but...
CONSEQUENCE: Target flees, contacts the police and now the police are looking for Sergei.
ACTION / SCENE: The mob finds out about Sergei's plan and prepare to take their revenge on both Sergei and his daughter.
CONSEQUENCE: The mob captures Sergei and finds someone else to eliminate the target.
ACTION / SCENE: Sergei and daughter escape.
CONSEQUENCE: The mob is looking for them. The police are looking for them and Sergei feels an obligation to try and rescue the target whom he was originally assigned to kill.
How does Sergei do this? Well, that's your job as the author to figure out. We want him to struggle, rest briefly, struggle harder, rest briefly, and then have the largest struggle near the end of the book. We will, however, probably pull the rug out from under Sergei in the form of a deportation hearing resulting from "Mr. Di's" assault charge – providing yet one more obstacle for our unlucky hero to overcome.
What action and consequence scenes would you develop that:
1. Provide ever-increasing suspense, tension and danger?
2. What other dangers (other than physical) will Sergei face? Will his daughter, upon learning of his criminal past, no longer love him?
3. Assuming Sergei is able to outwit the mob and avoid the police, how will he convince Mr. Di to drop the assault charge?
Have fun and Happy Writing!
Bob
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Warning, Will Robinson. Danger!
The classic 60's Science Fiction TV series Lost In Space consistently depicted a simple truth. Danger attracts. Danger to people we care about attracts even more. And who could not like Guy Williams, June Lockhart and Billy Mumy -- Mr. Mumy being the quintessential 'adorable kid.'
Lessons for aspiring authors:
(1) Develop interesting and likable (or at least intriguing) characters.
(2) Put them in danger and keep them there.
There are lots of types of danger our characters can face, the most obvious being physical danger. Staying in the 1960's TV show category, these shows had a number of standby 'danger' techniques. You know the ones I mean. There is the classic situation of failing brakes while traveling down a steep, curvy road. Exciting stuff. Oh, and there's my personal favorite, the cliff fight scene. This is where the hero battles impossible odds while being pushed inevitably backward towards a cliff edge. Will he prevail or fall to his death?
We can laugh about these danger moments now, but these simple danger techniques kept us glued to our old Black and White TV's back in the day. Warning! Old guy reminiscing. Danger!
So, when the Robot in Lost in Space shouted "Danger," we knew two things: (1) Will Robinson was about to be in trouble and (2) something exciting was about to happen. Audiences might be more sophisticated and demanding today, but the importance of danger in story telling is no less valid today than forty years ago.
It is important to note, however, that danger comes in many forms and need not be mortal – or even physical. A lot of early American literature concentrates heavily on the danger to a characters' immortal souls. As authors, we can put our characters in other types of danger as well. The danger can be 'a moral danger' if our character is being driven to commit a heinous act. Another type of danger is 'emotional danger.' In The Marked One, when Pella lashes out at Beryl, the reader knows he is making a terrible mistake and that he is endangering his relationship with his love interest.
Your homework assignment: What other types of danger can we expose our characters?
Lessons for aspiring authors:
(1) Develop interesting and likable (or at least intriguing) characters.
(2) Put them in danger and keep them there.
There are lots of types of danger our characters can face, the most obvious being physical danger. Staying in the 1960's TV show category, these shows had a number of standby 'danger' techniques. You know the ones I mean. There is the classic situation of failing brakes while traveling down a steep, curvy road. Exciting stuff. Oh, and there's my personal favorite, the cliff fight scene. This is where the hero battles impossible odds while being pushed inevitably backward towards a cliff edge. Will he prevail or fall to his death?
We can laugh about these danger moments now, but these simple danger techniques kept us glued to our old Black and White TV's back in the day. Warning! Old guy reminiscing. Danger!
So, when the Robot in Lost in Space shouted "Danger," we knew two things: (1) Will Robinson was about to be in trouble and (2) something exciting was about to happen. Audiences might be more sophisticated and demanding today, but the importance of danger in story telling is no less valid today than forty years ago.
It is important to note, however, that danger comes in many forms and need not be mortal – or even physical. A lot of early American literature concentrates heavily on the danger to a characters' immortal souls. As authors, we can put our characters in other types of danger as well. The danger can be 'a moral danger' if our character is being driven to commit a heinous act. Another type of danger is 'emotional danger.' In The Marked One, when Pella lashes out at Beryl, the reader knows he is making a terrible mistake and that he is endangering his relationship with his love interest.
Your homework assignment: What other types of danger can we expose our characters?
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Setting the Stage and… LIGHTS…CAMERA…ACTION!
Okay, here's a tip. When writing a scene you must think of yourself as a stage director. So let's start there, say at the end of row three in a semi-darkened theater. But we want to do this exercise "in character" since this what you must do when you are writing your story. You must manage (juggle) character, plot, scene, setting, tone, dialogue, pace, conflict, tension and action. A lot to deal with, huh?
Let's color you in as "the director." I'm thinking short and pudgy with a bit of Napoleonic complex. Loves power. So how do we "show" these character traits? I always start with a name. We haven't determined if the director is male or female, but let's call her "Lady Di" (short for Lady Director).
This won't work? Any ideas why?
"Lady Di" is a powerful name – a name that will evoke strong images – beautiful, graceful, elegant, and tragic – to name just a few. If we called the director "Lady Di," these existing images and associations will conflict with the character we are trying to create. So, if we want to stick with "Di" as the director's name, it must be male director. Let's call him "Mr. Di."
"Carla, where's my Bloody Mary? You know I can't begin a morning stage set-up without a Bloody Mary," Mr. Di says while slapping his riding crop repeatedly against the top of a knee-high riding boot.
Mr. Di's personal assistant presents Mr. Di his Bloody Mary, her hand shaking slightly.
Mr. Di takes a sip and frowns. "Not enough Tabasco, Carla. Can't you do anything right? "
So what does this little bit of dialogue tell us about Di?
1. Possible substance abuse issue (Bloody Mary)
2. Rude, offensive, critical, and intimidating (lots of one-word descriptors fit this guy with 'Jerk' being the kindest.)
3. Given to use of "power props." (What does carrying a riding crop to work say about Di – not to mention the riding boots?)
Okay, you get the idea. Let's return to the stage where your scene is about to unfold. What kind of backdrop do we want for our stage? Tropical island? Nope. Too upbeat. A New York street scene? No. Still not right. Hint. It was a bit of a trick question. We already have the perfect backdrop. It is the semi-darkened theater and empty stage. What better place to showcase our cranky, and perhaps power-mad, "director?"
At this point we have a setting, we have tone, we have some tension, but no real conflict. To introduce some conflict, let's assume that Sergei (see prior blog post) and his teenage daughter are at the theater. But why is a fast-food worker and sometimes reluctant hitman even at the theater? Fair question. So let's assume that Sergei has opened up a small catering business. After all, this is America, where Sergei can be whoever and whatever he wants to be, right?
"You there," Di says, pointing his riding crop at Sergei's daughter. "Give me a spot on the girl," Di commands. A glaring spot light suddenly illuminates Sergei's daughter, causing her to flinch. Mr. Di grabs the girl by the hand, pulls her near, and rips open the top of her blouse.
"Carla! She won't do. She has no tits." I told you. The part calls for girl with big tits. Can't you do anything right?"
"Get your hands off her," Sergei roars, dropping the box of sandwiches he was carrying, his hands balling into fists.
Clearly Mr. Di is not a very nice person and this particular case of mistaken identity with Sergei's daughter is likely to cost him dearly. Now the scene we've just viewed is not fully developed, and the characters are still sketchy, but the point is to get you to think about your scenes in a "stage setting" context with characters entering, acting their parts, and exiting. We also want to present them against a backdrop that enhances the scene. The nearly empty theater allows us to focus almost entirely upon the boorish behavior of Mr. Di.
Think first about what you want to accomplish in a particular scene – and what you wish to reveal about your characters. In this scene, I wanted to reveal a bullying director. Think this scene unrealistic? Think again. I have a friend who is a stage actress. Her director is just as abusive Mr. Di and thinks nothing of "manhandling" her and the other actresses. To be fair, however, he does not carry a riding crop or wear knee-high riding boots to the theater.
Based upon what you know about Di and Sergei, what is going to happen next? How will Sergei and Carla react to Di's terrible behavior? Will Carla quit? Will Sergei's daughter defend herself? From whose Point of View (POV) do you want to present the scene? Whose emotions do you want to showcase? Do you wish to go with an omniscient POV? Perhaps go with Carla's POV. Sergei wasn't there for the entire scene, so we probably should not use his POV.
It's an interesting exercise. Have fun with it. Happy writing!
Bob
Let's color you in as "the director." I'm thinking short and pudgy with a bit of Napoleonic complex. Loves power. So how do we "show" these character traits? I always start with a name. We haven't determined if the director is male or female, but let's call her "Lady Di" (short for Lady Director).
This won't work? Any ideas why?
"Lady Di" is a powerful name – a name that will evoke strong images – beautiful, graceful, elegant, and tragic – to name just a few. If we called the director "Lady Di," these existing images and associations will conflict with the character we are trying to create. So, if we want to stick with "Di" as the director's name, it must be male director. Let's call him "Mr. Di."
"Carla, where's my Bloody Mary? You know I can't begin a morning stage set-up without a Bloody Mary," Mr. Di says while slapping his riding crop repeatedly against the top of a knee-high riding boot.
Mr. Di's personal assistant presents Mr. Di his Bloody Mary, her hand shaking slightly.
Mr. Di takes a sip and frowns. "Not enough Tabasco, Carla. Can't you do anything right? "
So what does this little bit of dialogue tell us about Di?
1. Possible substance abuse issue (Bloody Mary)
2. Rude, offensive, critical, and intimidating (lots of one-word descriptors fit this guy with 'Jerk' being the kindest.)
3. Given to use of "power props." (What does carrying a riding crop to work say about Di – not to mention the riding boots?)
Okay, you get the idea. Let's return to the stage where your scene is about to unfold. What kind of backdrop do we want for our stage? Tropical island? Nope. Too upbeat. A New York street scene? No. Still not right. Hint. It was a bit of a trick question. We already have the perfect backdrop. It is the semi-darkened theater and empty stage. What better place to showcase our cranky, and perhaps power-mad, "director?"
At this point we have a setting, we have tone, we have some tension, but no real conflict. To introduce some conflict, let's assume that Sergei (see prior blog post) and his teenage daughter are at the theater. But why is a fast-food worker and sometimes reluctant hitman even at the theater? Fair question. So let's assume that Sergei has opened up a small catering business. After all, this is America, where Sergei can be whoever and whatever he wants to be, right?
"You there," Di says, pointing his riding crop at Sergei's daughter. "Give me a spot on the girl," Di commands. A glaring spot light suddenly illuminates Sergei's daughter, causing her to flinch. Mr. Di grabs the girl by the hand, pulls her near, and rips open the top of her blouse.
"Carla! She won't do. She has no tits." I told you. The part calls for girl with big tits. Can't you do anything right?"
"Get your hands off her," Sergei roars, dropping the box of sandwiches he was carrying, his hands balling into fists.
Clearly Mr. Di is not a very nice person and this particular case of mistaken identity with Sergei's daughter is likely to cost him dearly. Now the scene we've just viewed is not fully developed, and the characters are still sketchy, but the point is to get you to think about your scenes in a "stage setting" context with characters entering, acting their parts, and exiting. We also want to present them against a backdrop that enhances the scene. The nearly empty theater allows us to focus almost entirely upon the boorish behavior of Mr. Di.
Think first about what you want to accomplish in a particular scene – and what you wish to reveal about your characters. In this scene, I wanted to reveal a bullying director. Think this scene unrealistic? Think again. I have a friend who is a stage actress. Her director is just as abusive Mr. Di and thinks nothing of "manhandling" her and the other actresses. To be fair, however, he does not carry a riding crop or wear knee-high riding boots to the theater.
Based upon what you know about Di and Sergei, what is going to happen next? How will Sergei and Carla react to Di's terrible behavior? Will Carla quit? Will Sergei's daughter defend herself? From whose Point of View (POV) do you want to present the scene? Whose emotions do you want to showcase? Do you wish to go with an omniscient POV? Perhaps go with Carla's POV. Sergei wasn't there for the entire scene, so we probably should not use his POV.
It's an interesting exercise. Have fun with it. Happy writing!
Bob
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Building Character – Part II
Where do you find characters? Simple answer: Everywhere.
I met Sergei at a fast food restaurant in the Salt Lake City airport. If you spend as much time in airports as I do, you soon learn that here is where you will find the least friendly, least attentive service. The folks behind the counter generally could care less about you. After all, they will likely never see you again. Their only concern is how much time remains on their shift and how long it will take them to work through the twenty or so people behind you.
Not so with Sergei. Sergei made eye contact with me and assisted me with my order. He didn't act rushed or seem impatient with questions he must hear hundreds of times a day. I liked Sergei and took a seat across from his station so that I could observe him. Sure enough, Sergei's mission was to ensure each customer with whom he came in contact had the best possible dining experience.
Now, I'm sure Sergei recognized that he did not work at the top of the employment food chain – pun intended. But this clearly didn't matter. He was in America and in America you can be anything you want. And it appeared to me for the next half-hour while watching Sergei that what he wanted was to be the best fast-food worker he could be. He was attentive, courteous and a bit older than the average server and he took his job seriously.
Sergei was not a snappy dresser. His dark pants were worn and his shirt a bit faded, but he wore his white smock with pride as if he were the restaurant's executive chef. The only thing that stood out about Sergei's clothing was a pair of tricked-out sneakers that seemed out of place with the rest of his clothing. The shoes seemed to say, "Hi. Look at me. I belong to Sergei. I'm new to America and I'm going places."
Are you feeling a character coming on? Good. So, how to take this few minutes of observation of Sergei and build him into a full-fledged, I-want-to-spend-time-with-this-guy, character?
NAME: Okay, let's give Sergei his name. Let's call him. Sergei Pavlovich. But what does this name tell us about Sergei? Nothing, right? It's just a name for our character. Notice that Sergei does not have a middle name. Everyone he knew growing up had at least three names. Sergei always felt badly about this – that his parents didn't care enough to give him a decent Russian name.
OCCUPATION: What is Sergei's occupation? Fast-food worker. Got it. But what did he do before this? What if he used to be a hitman for the Russian mob? Let's work with this for a moment.
WHAT IS THIS CHARACTER'S MAJOR GOAL? He wants to escape the mob and he wants to be a 'good' American.
WHAT IS THIS CHARACTER'S MAJOR PROBLEM? He still has to support his family by acting as a freelance hitman. But, but, but… he only kills people who deserve it. He screens the assignments his anonymous clients give him. Remember… Sergei really wants to be a good American.
HOW WILL THIS CHARACTER'S PROBLEMS GET WORSE? Well, the mob could find him, but let's put that on hold for a moment. Let's say that Sergei has been set up and ends up killing an innocent man. How would Sergei react? Notice that we are moving into plot, but that's Okay. Let's say that Sergei decides to seek out his deceitful employer and take his revenge.
Now, what do we know about Sergei so far?
PERSONAL DATA:
Sex: Male
Age: 36
Birthplace: Russia – But where in Russia? Moscow? Nah, too easy. Let's say he is from Czernowitz in the Ukraine. Now this town is mostly Jewish, also poor. Let's say that Sergei is not Jewish, so he grew up as an outcast in this community. He hates religion. In fact, it was this hatred that led him into the "hitman business." Perhaps he took assignment to take out a problematic Rabbi who got in the way of mob business.
What else do we know? Well, we have lots of character contrast going on. Sergei is a killer, but he's likable. He is a killer coming from a religious community and has moved to one of the most religious parts of America. And he absolutely hates religion, but he cannot escape it in Salt Lake. This probably makes Sergei tense. Tense is good. We like tense. Maybe this is why Sergei took the job in the airport – to get away from the heavy Mormon influence in Salt Lake.
You will (hopefully) remember from the first posting on 'Building Character' that we said we want characters that react to each other, but it is also helpful to put your characters in situations in which they are uncomfortable and in environments in which they stand out.
Let's move on. Married? No. Children: One daughter, age 17. What other key relationships does Sergei have? Where is the mother of his child? Is his daughter with him? Does she know what he does? Is he a loving father? What are his plans for his daughter? (Fathers always have plans for their kids.)
What we are looking to develop is not just an understanding of Sergei, but a history that contributes to his motivations, desires, fears and dreams.
Would Sergei work as the main character of a novel? Possibly, but very difficult. While there is a lot to work with here, Sergei is, afterall, a bad guy. A conflicted bad guy, but a bad guy nonetheless. The challenge will be to make him sympathetic enough that a reader could past the fact that he kills people. Now, if Sergei were truly retired from the hitman business, this would be a lot easier, but then we have removed the major source of tension and conflict for this character.
Alright, party is over. Your homework assignment is to finish developing Sergei. Color him in. We have to know his hair color, body build, height, weight. He is far from fully developed. What are his likes, dislikes, favorite foods?
I met Sergei at a fast food restaurant in the Salt Lake City airport. If you spend as much time in airports as I do, you soon learn that here is where you will find the least friendly, least attentive service. The folks behind the counter generally could care less about you. After all, they will likely never see you again. Their only concern is how much time remains on their shift and how long it will take them to work through the twenty or so people behind you.
Not so with Sergei. Sergei made eye contact with me and assisted me with my order. He didn't act rushed or seem impatient with questions he must hear hundreds of times a day. I liked Sergei and took a seat across from his station so that I could observe him. Sure enough, Sergei's mission was to ensure each customer with whom he came in contact had the best possible dining experience.
Now, I'm sure Sergei recognized that he did not work at the top of the employment food chain – pun intended. But this clearly didn't matter. He was in America and in America you can be anything you want. And it appeared to me for the next half-hour while watching Sergei that what he wanted was to be the best fast-food worker he could be. He was attentive, courteous and a bit older than the average server and he took his job seriously.
Sergei was not a snappy dresser. His dark pants were worn and his shirt a bit faded, but he wore his white smock with pride as if he were the restaurant's executive chef. The only thing that stood out about Sergei's clothing was a pair of tricked-out sneakers that seemed out of place with the rest of his clothing. The shoes seemed to say, "Hi. Look at me. I belong to Sergei. I'm new to America and I'm going places."
Are you feeling a character coming on? Good. So, how to take this few minutes of observation of Sergei and build him into a full-fledged, I-want-to-spend-time-with-this-guy, character?
NAME: Okay, let's give Sergei his name. Let's call him. Sergei Pavlovich. But what does this name tell us about Sergei? Nothing, right? It's just a name for our character. Notice that Sergei does not have a middle name. Everyone he knew growing up had at least three names. Sergei always felt badly about this – that his parents didn't care enough to give him a decent Russian name.
OCCUPATION: What is Sergei's occupation? Fast-food worker. Got it. But what did he do before this? What if he used to be a hitman for the Russian mob? Let's work with this for a moment.
WHAT IS THIS CHARACTER'S MAJOR GOAL? He wants to escape the mob and he wants to be a 'good' American.
WHAT IS THIS CHARACTER'S MAJOR PROBLEM? He still has to support his family by acting as a freelance hitman. But, but, but… he only kills people who deserve it. He screens the assignments his anonymous clients give him. Remember… Sergei really wants to be a good American.
HOW WILL THIS CHARACTER'S PROBLEMS GET WORSE? Well, the mob could find him, but let's put that on hold for a moment. Let's say that Sergei has been set up and ends up killing an innocent man. How would Sergei react? Notice that we are moving into plot, but that's Okay. Let's say that Sergei decides to seek out his deceitful employer and take his revenge.
Now, what do we know about Sergei so far?
PERSONAL DATA:
Sex: Male
Age: 36
Birthplace: Russia – But where in Russia? Moscow? Nah, too easy. Let's say he is from Czernowitz in the Ukraine. Now this town is mostly Jewish, also poor. Let's say that Sergei is not Jewish, so he grew up as an outcast in this community. He hates religion. In fact, it was this hatred that led him into the "hitman business." Perhaps he took assignment to take out a problematic Rabbi who got in the way of mob business.
What else do we know? Well, we have lots of character contrast going on. Sergei is a killer, but he's likable. He is a killer coming from a religious community and has moved to one of the most religious parts of America. And he absolutely hates religion, but he cannot escape it in Salt Lake. This probably makes Sergei tense. Tense is good. We like tense. Maybe this is why Sergei took the job in the airport – to get away from the heavy Mormon influence in Salt Lake.
You will (hopefully) remember from the first posting on 'Building Character' that we said we want characters that react to each other, but it is also helpful to put your characters in situations in which they are uncomfortable and in environments in which they stand out.
Let's move on. Married? No. Children: One daughter, age 17. What other key relationships does Sergei have? Where is the mother of his child? Is his daughter with him? Does she know what he does? Is he a loving father? What are his plans for his daughter? (Fathers always have plans for their kids.)
What we are looking to develop is not just an understanding of Sergei, but a history that contributes to his motivations, desires, fears and dreams.
Would Sergei work as the main character of a novel? Possibly, but very difficult. While there is a lot to work with here, Sergei is, afterall, a bad guy. A conflicted bad guy, but a bad guy nonetheless. The challenge will be to make him sympathetic enough that a reader could past the fact that he kills people. Now, if Sergei were truly retired from the hitman business, this would be a lot easier, but then we have removed the major source of tension and conflict for this character.
Alright, party is over. Your homework assignment is to finish developing Sergei. Color him in. We have to know his hair color, body build, height, weight. He is far from fully developed. What are his likes, dislikes, favorite foods?
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Building Character
When asked why he robbed banks, the famous bank robber, Willie Sutton replied, "Because that's where the money is." If asked to explain why I read and write books, the answer would be equally simple. "Because that's where the characters are." I do not think I am unusual in my motivation. People read books to be with characters – to enjoy them, to admire them, but mostly just to share their experiences.
The natural evolution of this motivation is something referred to as character-driven fiction. But what does "character-driven fiction" really mean? It means that the characters drive the story.
I know, I know. About now you're saying, "Duh!" Okay, so how exactly do we create strong, driving, interesting, multi-dimensional characters? Answer: We build them from the ground up.
Once I have an idea for a storyline, I start with a one-inch 3-ring binder that I use build my characters. Each character has a section and a four or five page character profile. The character profiles take up only a portion of the binder. Behind each profile, I include articles, photos, clippings – things that I've read in newspapers, online or in magazines or collected from the library that might help me bring my characters life.
What do I mean by this? Well, let's say your protagonist's parents were alcoholics – or maybe he or she was an abused child. There is a tremendous amount of material in your local library an on the web that address the human condition. In the examples I mentioned, both children and adults who grew up in these circumstances react to life situations differently than other people. I have a friend who, as a child, was physically abused. One day I reached up quickly to swat a mosquito on my head and noticed that my friend flinched and recoiled. My unexpected action triggered this person's 'I'm gonna get hit' reaction. Even as an adult, this person was hard-wired to react to sudden gestures by others. It was a revealing moment.
Alright, so we build our characters physically. In our character profile, we record appearance, hair color, eye color, skin color, scars, tattoos, etc. This is the obvious and easy part. But we also have to build them in depth. To do this, we go back in time. All the way back to school days. What were their favorite subjects? Were they part of the "in" group or were they nerds or geeks? Were they "cool" or socially awkward? Who did they hang out with? Were they a cheerleader or a member of the band? What forces shaped them as they grew up? What are their habits, good and bad? This history helps shape and give depth to the emotional and personality traits you give your characters.
We will talk a lot more about character profiling, but I first want to discuss the juxtaposition of characters. Opposites attract. Tension attracts. Think about the quintessential "Odd Couple," Felix and Oscar. A sitcom about a compulsively organized character like Felix probably would not last past the pilot episode, but toss this person in with his natural opposite, Oscar, and you have tons of conflict, tension, and comedic opportunity. The thing I like most about the pairing of Felix and Oscar is how their interaction reveals as much about themselves as it does the other person.
As one of my former professors would say, "Teaching Point:" The contrast created by pairing opposing characters provides deeper contrast and will give you, the author, a lot more to material with which to work.
In The Marked One, my main character, Pella, stands in stark contrast to most of his fellow characters. He is shy, socially awkward, lacks confidence and is politically naïve. These traits stand out each time he interacts with other characters in the book. In other words, the cast of characters provides a backdrop against which Pella is illuminated. As each of the cast members step onto center stage, they too are illuminated against the same backdrop and this contrast makes for a richer, and hopefully, more interesting story.
Ebon Melanos is Pella's opposite. He is wealthy, powerful, handsome, tough and ruthless, but in many subtle ways he is like Pella. Both characters are vulnerable and both have their demons. Pella's gentleness is best seen when in contrast with Ebon. But as Pella's character develops and is molded by the events that unfold, he and Ebon appear to have more in common than one might think. As Pella hardens and becomes more like Ebon, this is a form of danger. A classic rule of novel writing is put your characters in danger and keep them there.
So where does this leave us? It is not just enough to build good, complex characters with solid motivations; the author must analyze and understand how the characters' chemistry reacts. As I built my story's cast, I carefully examined how each of the characters would react, not just to the main character, but to each of the other characters in the novel.
Think of your characters in terms of a chemistry set. When I was a kid, and after I tired of running traditional experiments, I would combine random chemicals just to see how they would react… always hoping for something exciting to happen. I do the same thing with my characters, only there is nothing random about them. Every character is there for reasons -- to reveal, to react, to contrast and, yes, to cause something explosive to happen. Characters that do not 'react' when placed in proximity with other members of the cast, do not make it into a story.
Another tip about character building: Hopefully your characters will not remain static. Each will grow and evolve as the story progresses. As the author, you obviously have to chart this path for each of your characters. So, as we move beyond blue eyes and bulging biceps of character development, we need to ask, "How does this character grow in the story? What life lessons does he or she learn as the story progresses? How are they molded by the forces the novel brings to bear? HAPPY WRITING!
The natural evolution of this motivation is something referred to as character-driven fiction. But what does "character-driven fiction" really mean? It means that the characters drive the story.
I know, I know. About now you're saying, "Duh!" Okay, so how exactly do we create strong, driving, interesting, multi-dimensional characters? Answer: We build them from the ground up.
Once I have an idea for a storyline, I start with a one-inch 3-ring binder that I use build my characters. Each character has a section and a four or five page character profile. The character profiles take up only a portion of the binder. Behind each profile, I include articles, photos, clippings – things that I've read in newspapers, online or in magazines or collected from the library that might help me bring my characters life.
What do I mean by this? Well, let's say your protagonist's parents were alcoholics – or maybe he or she was an abused child. There is a tremendous amount of material in your local library an on the web that address the human condition. In the examples I mentioned, both children and adults who grew up in these circumstances react to life situations differently than other people. I have a friend who, as a child, was physically abused. One day I reached up quickly to swat a mosquito on my head and noticed that my friend flinched and recoiled. My unexpected action triggered this person's 'I'm gonna get hit' reaction. Even as an adult, this person was hard-wired to react to sudden gestures by others. It was a revealing moment.
Alright, so we build our characters physically. In our character profile, we record appearance, hair color, eye color, skin color, scars, tattoos, etc. This is the obvious and easy part. But we also have to build them in depth. To do this, we go back in time. All the way back to school days. What were their favorite subjects? Were they part of the "in" group or were they nerds or geeks? Were they "cool" or socially awkward? Who did they hang out with? Were they a cheerleader or a member of the band? What forces shaped them as they grew up? What are their habits, good and bad? This history helps shape and give depth to the emotional and personality traits you give your characters.
We will talk a lot more about character profiling, but I first want to discuss the juxtaposition of characters. Opposites attract. Tension attracts. Think about the quintessential "Odd Couple," Felix and Oscar. A sitcom about a compulsively organized character like Felix probably would not last past the pilot episode, but toss this person in with his natural opposite, Oscar, and you have tons of conflict, tension, and comedic opportunity. The thing I like most about the pairing of Felix and Oscar is how their interaction reveals as much about themselves as it does the other person.
As one of my former professors would say, "Teaching Point:" The contrast created by pairing opposing characters provides deeper contrast and will give you, the author, a lot more to material with which to work.
In The Marked One, my main character, Pella, stands in stark contrast to most of his fellow characters. He is shy, socially awkward, lacks confidence and is politically naïve. These traits stand out each time he interacts with other characters in the book. In other words, the cast of characters provides a backdrop against which Pella is illuminated. As each of the cast members step onto center stage, they too are illuminated against the same backdrop and this contrast makes for a richer, and hopefully, more interesting story.
Ebon Melanos is Pella's opposite. He is wealthy, powerful, handsome, tough and ruthless, but in many subtle ways he is like Pella. Both characters are vulnerable and both have their demons. Pella's gentleness is best seen when in contrast with Ebon. But as Pella's character develops and is molded by the events that unfold, he and Ebon appear to have more in common than one might think. As Pella hardens and becomes more like Ebon, this is a form of danger. A classic rule of novel writing is put your characters in danger and keep them there.
So where does this leave us? It is not just enough to build good, complex characters with solid motivations; the author must analyze and understand how the characters' chemistry reacts. As I built my story's cast, I carefully examined how each of the characters would react, not just to the main character, but to each of the other characters in the novel.
Think of your characters in terms of a chemistry set. When I was a kid, and after I tired of running traditional experiments, I would combine random chemicals just to see how they would react… always hoping for something exciting to happen. I do the same thing with my characters, only there is nothing random about them. Every character is there for reasons -- to reveal, to react, to contrast and, yes, to cause something explosive to happen. Characters that do not 'react' when placed in proximity with other members of the cast, do not make it into a story.
Another tip about character building: Hopefully your characters will not remain static. Each will grow and evolve as the story progresses. As the author, you obviously have to chart this path for each of your characters. So, as we move beyond blue eyes and bulging biceps of character development, we need to ask, "How does this character grow in the story? What life lessons does he or she learn as the story progresses? How are they molded by the forces the novel brings to bear? HAPPY WRITING!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Welcome to Writers Passage Blog!
Hi - and welcome to our blog. It's here that we can discuss writing projects, offer input, and share ideas!
Let me know what you would like to see here - and we'll get started!
Bob Rhodes
Writers Passage
Email Me
Let me know what you would like to see here - and we'll get started!
Bob Rhodes
Writers Passage
Email Me
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