Is a Picture Worth 1000 Words?

Hi everyone,

Are you in the mood for something different and fun today? I sure hope so...lol

They say a picture is worth 1000 words and I thought it would be fun to see what "words" came to mind for you when you looked at the three images below. Could you fit this image into the current story you are telling? How would you fit it in and explain it to others?


Image One

Grace finds herself sitting in the warm sun on a quiet beach on this quiet but somewhat eventful day. She is watching others dance and play in the surf and part of her, even it just for a few minutes, envies their ability to be free to enjoy this moment in time. She can't remember the last time she could frolic with such abandon. 

She lets out a heavy sigh and says out load to nobody, "Grace, dear girl, how on earth did you get here and what are you going to do now?" Suddenly her ears are filled with laughter from a small child that is building a sand castle with their mother about six feet away from where she is sitting. She almost wants to cup her ears with her hands to block out the merry sound. Even the slight warm breeze is setting her jagged nerves on edge. She wants to scream out to the world and all that will listen, "There are such dangers in this world! Why do none of you seem aware of all the danger around you?"

Instead, she settles herself down as she knows if she went off someone may think she is crazy and may call the police. This is the last thing any off duty cop wants and she is no different. The department psych exams can be such a bitch and is the last thing her tired mind needs. She closes her eyes and lets the sound of the water carry her to a place of relaxation and focus. She needs to focus if her plan is going to play out the way she intends it to...

Image Two

Bobby and Mark couldn't believe their luck! They needed a good place to hide but this was just too good to be true? They've stumbled upon an abandoned trailer and although it has no heat, running water or amenities they can see for miles from every direction. Surely, nobody would even to think to look for them here but if they did they would see them coming. Bobby was fairly certain that eventually someone would come looking for them because nobody steals from Jimmy Dix!

Bobby and Mark were quite proud of themselves. In their eyes, they had done the impossible when they managed to slip by all of Jimmy's goons and managed to steal the Monnet painting back from him. 

The quiet was starting to get on Mark's nerves and he was anxious to settle on a plan that might lead to some sleep. "What do you think Bobby? We can lay low here until we can come up with a plan to get out of this God forsaken town. We could take turns keeping watch so we can get some rest. I think it's perfect."

Bobby was looking out through the windows, "I guess we could do that. We could go in 5 hour shifts and you could go first if you want. I'm still a little jazzed and don't think I could sleep."

Bobby didn't need convincing as he headed towards the small back room and found a half decently clean spot on the floor to lay down. Within minutes he was sleeping in a deep dreamless sleep. Mark figured he'd give him just a little while longer before he got in the car and left Mark for Jimmy Dix to find...

Image 3

Norm and Val had dreamed of owning their own little cottage in the woods for many, many years. They would have never guessed in their wildest dreams that they would inherit one through such unfortunate circumstances; yet here they were in one of Val's fathers favorite places.  

The absolute silence and serenity was what made this place so magical. Val had been here so many times that Norm sometimes wondered if she still felt the awe that he did for the beauty surrounding them. As he enjoyed his surroundings and reveled in the slow pace, he could hear Val's quiet sobs coming from the back room as she looked through her father's private things. He so wished he could offer her the comfort that she seemed to need but it just didn't seem like anything he said or did offered her any relief. This kind of hurt just took time to pass. As he was trying to come up with yet another distraction Val's wail cut off his thoughts and he ran to her.

"You bastard, you bastard!" Val screamed.

Norm reached her and pulled her close in a tight embrace, "Now, now...what has you so upset?"

"That bastard was keeping a mistress! A mistress...can you believe that?" Val responded, spittle flying from her lips and tears staining her cheeks. "According to this, I am not his only heir..."

Okay, maybe not a 1000 words but, for me, each picture made me feel something different and brought about different story ideas as a result. Next time you get stuck on a scene, try and find some pictures for inspiration! OR FOR FUN RIGHT NOW....Pick an image and tell me what you see and how it fits into your story!

Have a great day :-)

Becky

Character Development and Staying in Character

Hi everyone,

Ever find it difficult to stay in character when you're writing? I do...between all the thoughts that constantly run through my mind every day, life pressures, work / life balance, family pressures and all those voices trying to vie for my attention it's no wonder why I can find it hard to hold onto the persona of the character you are trying to write!

I've asked numerous published authors during interviews how they differentiate, develop and stay in character and I thought I would make a compilation of all the answers I've received in one place so it's easily accessible. Here are some of the responses received (these are in no particular order): 

Andy Holloman:  "I try to keep my head clear of all preconceptions that I have and, because I use a lot of dialogue, I “practice” my characters by reading the dialogue out loud to see things from their perspective." 

Allen Schatz: "I mostly let the writing take me where it wants to go. I had general ideas of what I wanted to do with the main characters, in outline form. As the plots evolved, so did the characters. The first book was a crap shoot mostly. I had no idea where I was headed. Having more structure is what changed the most in the second and third." 

Carolyn Arnold: "I write as if I were watching a movie unfold which provides me with body language in addition to an inside mental knowledge of how they’re feeling.  There have been times when I close my eyes and breathe in deeply to immerse myself completely into a certain scene." 

Claude Bouchard: "Since I create my characters, I guess we could say I am them to some degree. As I’m writing a scene, I can visualize it, I can hear the dialogue. I know these people so I know what they are going to say and how they are going to say it. Perhaps it’s because I worked in the field of human resources for many years and dealt with all types of characters. I got to know them and that kind of knowledge stayed with me so now, when I write, I become whatever character I choose to be and do my stuff." 

David Anderson: "I need quiet, and I need no interruptions. When I am writing, I am drawn into the world I have created and the real world disappears. It’s as if I am in a tunnel, being drawn further along. Until I get tired, that is, and I have to stop!" 

Derek Blass: "I develop characters through action, by how they react in situations.  The interesting thing is that oftentimes, the characters dictate the action.  In essence then, they are dictating their own development.  That has not changed at all from my first to second book."  

Donna Dawson: "I create each character through roughly 60 questions I answer about them.  That sheet of paper is posted nearby and I refer to it often when I am writing.  It keeps me from losing facts and personality traits about the character.  For example:  One of the questions is: What is one of this character’s pet peeves?" 

John W. Mefford: "When I initially create a character, I try to write from that POV as soon as possible, and include some dialogue. After I sleep and run off to do a million other things, I can go back and read through a few key paragraphs to put me back in the mindset of that character. Many times I read the dialogue out loud. I probably change my facial expression and utter a grunt here or there as I bang out the storyline. After a character makes the first cut, I describe him/her in more detail, which helps me further shape and distinguish each person. All of that is saved in my support document – my little black book. It has all my secrets, the scoop on all the characters, and every twist and turn I’ve ever considered."

Douglas Dorow: "I just try to put myself in the shoes of the character I'm writing. The Ninth District is basically told from two POV's; Jack's and The Governors. I try to picture the scene and circumstances at the point I'm telling the story and tell it from their perspective. If I'm not feeling it for one, I'll move to a scene from the other's perspective. I've sat down before, ready to write a Jack scene and found I was in The Governor's head and had to write one of his scenes. I guess I was more in touch with my dark side at that time." 

S.L. Pierce: "I have to have absolute quiet, first of all.  Then I just sit and think about what is supposed to happen in the scene.  Then I go through, like a movie in my head, how my character responds and what they would say."  

Maren Kaye: "Music plays an important part in my writing. I love to choose music that speaks to the era and personality of my characters." 

R.J. Grand: "I create characters around the plot. They are differentiated by the positions I need them to take to show the plot developing and unfolding. I have studied behavior intently to get inside people’s minds. Feeling emotionally what they have experienced, seeing what they are viewing and drawing upon their mindset, absorbs me into the character’s mind. For example, when writing the scene where a loved one dies and what the viewing character experiences, you would have seen tears in my eyes, if you were watching me write. The process has stayed the same from writing the first book to the next." 

Russell Blake: "I work 12 hour days when I'm writing, so I remain immersed in the story. I write first drafts fast, so I'll do a first draft in a couple to three weeks, during which time all I do is write. It's easy to stay in character when you're that focused on just the story a short burst. Or at least it is for me."

If you would like to read more from any of the above noted authors, you can find their entire interview by clicking on the name links.

In addition to all the great advice given here, I still thoroughly recommend that anyone who is serious about writing strong characters like Kramer from Seinfeld or Hannibal Lector from Silence of the Lambs, that they get a copy of 45 Master Characters - Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters, written by Victoria Lynn Schmidt.

Have a great day!!

Becky

 

The Importance of STRONG Characters!

Hi everyone,

Here is a question for you: What are most books centered around or written about?

ANSWER: PEOPLE!

That is why it is imperative that you create characters that are believable and “real” for your reader. Characters are the backbone of fiction and without them there would be nothing to drive the narrative along.

Bring your characters to life by getting to know them as well as you know yourself. What are they like? How would they react in a given set of circumstances? How old are they? Are they married? Do they have siblings? Do they still have the love and support of parents? What do they do for a living? What kinds of things do they like / dislike? How were they raised? How do they react in a stressful situation? What color hair/skin do they have? Do they have any scars? The list could go on and on and on!

Once you know your character, as well as you know yourself, avoid describing them all at once to your readers. Instead, offer your reader some details here and there and allow the reader to get to know the character over a period of time.  Also, avoid “telling” the reader about your character. The best way to make a character memorable is to “show” your reader who they are by what they do or how they react (e.g. if your character is someone that pinches every penny then portray them in a scene where they do just that).

When developing your character they will be more believable if they are not perfect because people are not perfect. A useful flaw to give your hero or heroin may be that they are not afraid to tell the occasional white lie. In contrast, a useful character flaw to give a villain is they are able to love something…someone.

Lastly, if you give your characters names which are distinctive, the reader is then less likely to confuse them. Using names with different initial letters is a help.

Two great resources for character development are: 45 Master Characters, which was reviewed on Mystery Writers Unite in a previous post entitled "Product Review 45 Master Characters" and The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook, which I also reviewed in a previous blog post entitled "Choosing Character Names".  Both of these wonderful tools can be found by either clicking the previous links, by visiting my MUST HAVE Writing Tools For Authors page or you can order them from the picture links below:

Have a great day!

Becky

The Long and the Short of It

Good morning :-)

I've been reading a lot of blogs since I started mine and I keep coming across the same message time and time again - NEW WRITERS SHOULD START WITH WRITING SHORT STORIES BEFORE THEY ATTEMPT A FULL NOVEL. Message received...lol

When I started writing my book I hadn't heard this before. All I knew was I had an idea for a book bouncing around in my head for awhile and that I had always wanted to attempt writing a book. When a good friend of mine read some of my poetry, she encouraged me to use my writing skills to do just that and I thought...why not.

Once I began writing, I wasn't thinking of the "long or the short" of the book. I just began to plan scene's and plot lines. I am now at 367 pages and over 40 chapters and still counting. There is still quite a bit of story to tell and I'm now worried that maybe I'm going about this all wrong. Now I'm wondering if I would be better off in the long run to turn the story from one big fat novel into a series of short stories or perhaps I should shelve the story I've been working on for awhile and write a few short stories first. I guess the latter option would get my writing out sooner and maybe I could build a bit of a readership prior to releasing the big story, which would be a good thing.

What did you do to start your writing career? What tips would you share with new writer? Do you think they should start small or just "go for the gusto" right out of the gate?

Have a great day all!

Becky

Location, Location, Location ~ Not Just a Business Decision

Happy Wednesday!!

Ottawa

Picture this - you've mapped out the main ideas of your story line, you have work diligently to develop believable characters, you know the type of venues (office setting, park, restaurant, etc.) that need to be included in your story - all that is left is to decide where this story will take place and the location you decide upon will either add to your story or detract from it depending on how accurately you can portray the location. This can be a difficult decision to make and for some reason the real life importance of "location, location, location" often described to face challenges in the business world comes to mind for me. I don't want to ruin the impact / effect of my story by placing it in the entirely wrong place.



There are so many things to consider, such as:

1. Should you choose a place that you are very familiar with (where you grew up or have visited frequently) or a place you've never been or experienced?



New York

2. If you choose a place you've never visited how will you be able to make it seem as if you have?
3. What can you do to become more familiar with the details of landmarks?
4. Does your story line demand a specific climate (e.g. if you have an Olympic skier in your story they wouldn't likely live in Florida)?
5. Can you utilize the location to add to your story line or is this place just going to serve as a backdrop?
6. Will readers be able to relate to this location? 
7. Does your story require that your main character travel to many different places?

Toronto

This list is by no means exhaustive and the good news for all writers is that the decision is completely up to you! In the book that I'm working on, my character travels from one location in Canada to another location and has to be constantly "on the move" for various reasons and, luckily, I have visited these places and can describe landmarks in detail and name streets; making the scene believable. So, for this novel I'm set. However, if this wasn't the case, and there have been times I've considered changing the location to more familiar places located in the United States, how would I prepare myself to be able to "sell" the location to readers? Some tools I could use are:

• Google Maps



Vegas

• Geographical Maps
• Wikipedia
• Internet Searches
• Family / Friends (if they have traveled to the destination)
• Other Authors
• Other Blog Authors

Again, not an exhaustive list but a start.

What tools would you utilize to explore a place you've never been?

Happy writing everyone :-)

Becky

What is Your Writing Process?

Good day to everyone :-)

I have a question about character and /or story development and want to know what other writers out there do to develop characters. I'm finding that my main character, which is based on a real person that I don't really like much, has evolved from someone the reader would hate to someone the reader may actually understand and sympathize with. I never intended for this to happen but through the creative process somehow it did. Would you leave it like that or would you go back and change the parts that started to mess up the scale between good and bad?

When I sit down to write, I don't tend to sensor my thoughts a lot and what comes out comes out. This is how I got to this stage. Being that this is my first book, I had a basic outline for the story and figured as the story evolved the rest would "fill in". Maybe this is not the best approach I don't know.

Anyhow, if you are a published writer or someone writing their first novel and you don't mind sharing your writing process, please leave a comment.

Hope everyone is having a great Sunday!

Becky