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Tag Archives: Characters

Diverging Plotlines

16 Nov

The scene that I just finished writing is from Book Two of my contemporary western fantasy series. The original purpose of the scene was to introduce a small group of characters who would play various roles in subplots during Book Two and become part of the major plotline in Book Three. Unfortunately, during the scene, the characters have attempted a coup of my book. It seems as though they feel that the major plotline I had planned for Book Three should run concurrently with the major plot currently running in Book Two.

Having the characters mutiny or attempt other subterfuge is not unusual. Well rounded characters often begin to do things that we writers weren’t suspecting. I normally look forward to that point in the writing process. That is where the story tends to really get interesting. The trouble with this particular hostile take-over attempt is logistical. My primary character cannot be in two places at the same time. And, for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to rationally have him deal with both plots at the same time. One occurs in California, the other in Arkansas. A secondary character could take the lead in one of the plots. however, that would take too much away from the PC’s overall role. Running the plots consecutively within the same book might be possible, though it might feel like two books within a book, and that’s not the style I’m after.

My characters are usually right when they begin to take me on a wild goose chase. But this time I think they may be handing me a burlap sack and a flashlight for a good old-fashioned snipe hunt. Been there. Done that. Oops. Sorry about that. I’ll wait here while some of you look up what a snipe hunt is…Right. Now doesn’t that sound like fun?

So, while I continue to ponder my options for dealing with my wayward characters, the existing plot will continue to “chase them up trees and into the swamp while throwing stones at them.” Perhaps, one of them will offer up and idea that we can agree upon. who knows? It has happened in the past.

Keep Writing!

 
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Posted by on November 16, 2021 in Thoughts on Writing

 

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Character’s Arc vs Writer’s Arc

30 Sep

A critical part of any story is the arc of the character’s life as it traverses the plotline. The character must grow and/or change in some way during the course of the story to generate interest and tension. The reader expects and demands that the character to change in response to actions and events that engage with the character.

Some writers carefully plan every aspect of this change for each member of their cast. They develop piles of notes which include every cause and effect, action and reaction, beginning personality profile and end-state profile. They meticulously control each character to ensure that the ending exactly what they imagined it would be when they began the story.

Other writers start off with their basic character idea and let the character develop as the story unfolds, growing and changing based on the environment as it is encountered. At times, the character may act in a way that is unexpected or seemingly irrational. These actions may take the story in a direction the writer did not mean for the story to go.

So, what happens if the character’s arc veers wildly from its original path? The writer may have to make a decision whether to let the character’s arc continue in this new direction, or use a heavy hand and bring the character back in line within the original intention. Allowing the new direction can be exciting and very rewarding. However, the writer must trust the character. This is not always an easy thing to do, especially for new writers or untested characters.

Choosing to use the heavy hand and make major edits can be even more daunting and has caused some writers to start over at the beginning or even scrap a project completely. Character arcs are that important!

What happens then, when a writer reflects on his or her own life arc and is unsatisfied with where it is at? Perhaps they have not reached the goals they set for themselves by the time they reached their current age. Or maybe, their personality has changed due to life experiences and they are no longer the happy go lucky person they once were. Or, an accident or illness has left them unable to live the life they had dreamed of. Does a writer have choices regarding their ability to respond to their own life arc? Of course they do.

Granted, going back and rewriting ones life is not something that is currently possible. At least as far as I am aware. However, a writer can choose to accept their arc as it is, or they can choose to make changes that will alter the course of that arc in the future. Just like any other character, I might add. The choices and possible alternatives may or may not have limits depending on what the change entails and the actions required to affect the change. But as every writer knows, lots of little changes can have a huge impact on a character by the end of a story.

I noticed recently, after watching my wife interacting with several individuals in the grocery store, that I am not as nice a person as I used to be. I rarely smile and say, “Hi” to people I meet on the street. Offering to help someone in need is not automatic like it once was. Cynicism is a major mode of communication for me. When I asked my wife about my observation, we came up with all sorts of great excuses for my “shift” in behavior. Things like: lines of work, work environment, media, politics, social media, toxic personal relationships with family and friends, and lack of adequate stress relievers were just a few. As I said, these are just excuses.

To me it appears that changing my arc is simple, but not easy. It is about making better choices. I choose to smile and say, “Hi” to the cashier when I pay for my gasoline and coffee. I choose to to not watch ABC or CNN news. I choose to adjust my schedule to ensure that I spend more time writing and less time listening to or reading comments from individuals who might push my buttons. In other words, I’m taking the small changes approach to altering my character arc. I’ll let you know how it goes.

 
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Posted by on September 30, 2021 in Musings and Odd Thoughts, Other Strangeness, Thoughts on Writing

 

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An interesting life

08 May

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What has made your life interesting?

Some people might say that they lead a boring life and nothing much happens to them. Yet, I have met very few people that after a few minutes of conversation, I would agree with them. Granted, some people’s lives are more “exciting” than others. But that doesn’t make one life less interesting. Everyone’s life is unique. Even identical twins grow up to be different people. So, what is it that is interesting?

Here’s a little exercise you might enjoy. Pick a famous person that you find interesting. Take some time and write down all of the things that you find interesting about them. Your list may include appearance, type of work, travels, political views, hobbies, events they participated in, etc.

Next, pick a family member, relative, friend, co-worker, or neighbor. Someone you know well and find interesting or admire. Make a list of interesting things about them. As before be as complete as you can.

Now the fun begins!

Write your name at the top of a piece of paper. Without judging whether you think it’s interesting or not, complete a list for yourself. Use the same criteria and categories you used for the other two lists. Include appearance, type of work, travels, political views, hobbies, events they participated in, etc. Don’t think about your answers, just write.

When you have finished, compare all three lists. Are there any similarities? What from list number three would someone else think is interesting? Are there any “mundane” things that jump out as interesting on any of the lists.

If you are really brave, ask a close friend or someone else that you trust to be truthful what they find interesting about you. Be prepared for a few surprises.

Now, for those of you who write, think about your characters. Are they a bit flat? What can you add to their back story to make them more interesting? Did they have a job repairing organs while they went to college? Did they travel to the Yucatan during spring break and got lost in the jungle? Do they carve bear figurines out of soapstone to relieve stress?

A few lines of your story mentioning one of these points can add depth to your character that makes them more real.

So, I ask again, “What makes your life interesting?”

 
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Posted by on May 8, 2017 in Musings and Odd Thoughts, Thoughts on Writing

 

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Revision, Revision, Revision

04 May

 

 

 

 

There! I’ve added the scenes that needed to be added to complete character arcs. I’ve included “showing” details and cleaned up the timeline. I’ve given the characters depth and conflict. Strong action verbs replaced adverbs and weak phrases. I even think a spell check happened somewhere!

Is it ready to go to beta readers for review? I want to say yes. But, a nagging feeling is telling me to go through it again. I know I could add a scene or two to help explain a few things. However, I’m afraid it might slow the pacing to a crawl and wouldn’t really add to the story. So, I set the draft aside for a month and worked on a different project.

After I had worked on the new story with a different setting and cast of characters for a few weeks, I found myself thinking about my draft in the drawer. From a high level, I asked myself, “Does the story flow well? Are the characters interesting? Are there any holes?”

The next time I opened the laptop (“Drawer”), the draft came up and, starting at the beginning, I read the whole story in one sitting. There were a couple spots where I felt jarred by the dialogue. A couple more where characters seemed a bit flat. I placed comments in the margins and kept going. When I finished reading, I realized I stilled liked the story. Not sure if that is good or bad!

The result of the reading is that I am going to take one more pass at it before I send it out for a real critique. I’ll be hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

 

 
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Posted by on May 4, 2017 in Journey into Fantasy, Musings and Odd Thoughts

 

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Devil in the Details

04 Oct

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Writing about a culture other than your own can provide more than a few complications. In a pure fantasy setting, the author has more control and, so long as he is consistent, can tweak things a bit and make it work. However, when we use a real culture to base our story on, and where a member of that culture may pick up and read your story, we had better get the details right. Unless…

My protagonist is half-Apache, a native american tribe that lives in the southwestern United States and into Mexico. His father was a tribal holy man and taught my protagonist the ways of spiritual medicine. During this instruction a ritual takes place to help my protagonist find a spiritual guide. The spirit guide helps an individual travel along life’s ever changing path. The spirit guide turns out to be “Snake”. This is where things get dicey.

I had written about three-quarters of the story before I found out how Snake is viewed in the Apache culture. The Apache see Snake as a very negative spirit. Often seen as evil, the Apache people will distance themselves from anything related to Snake. Whether it is the real creature, an image, a vision, or a story, Snake is Very bad medicine.

When I first made this discovery, I began to panic. Thinking I would need to rewrite whole sections to either change the spirit guide to something else, or change his tribe to something that looked favorably on the Snake. Instead of jumping off a cliff, I decided to go ahead and finish the first draft without making huge changes. I tried very hard to not let this knowledge guide the story in any way.

After the required cooling off period once the first draft was finished, I did a quick read through and a second read through where I jotted down the more glaring issues and holes. During the second time through, it hit me that the main character was still a little flat.Along with this I was leaning toward changing his tribal lineage.

Then while I was discussing a similar topic with my brother, it dawned on me that the answer to my flat character was right there. The fact that an Apache shaman has Snake as a spirit guide would add several layers of conflict for the character.

So not counting the major conflicts he faces throughout the plot line, he has to deal with being a half-breed, an Apache with Snake as a guide, and his job makes him walk the line between the normal world and those who use magic.

Now I have a character with more than a little color. Yes, I have to add a few sections to exacerbate and the situation, but it will definitely make for a more memorable character.

This turned out to be one of those details that worked out in the end. However, I am more careful about performing research on areas that I am not 100% sure of.

 
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Posted by on October 4, 2016 in Other Strangeness, Thoughts on Writing

 

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Story Plot Grist Mill

09 May

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As writers, we should see ideas everywhere. They can come out of the most surprising places or something mundane can trigger that creative spark.

Over the last 60 days, I have quit my job of 20 years, accepted the job of a lifetime, sold my house, bought a new house, started the new job and survived the first week of orientation. All without losing my mind or my temper. But, more important, there has been no fewer then eight ideas for story scenes pop into my head based on the situations I’ve been dealing with.

For example: I was sitting at a bar having a going away lunch with a dear friend. I ordered a glass of Macallan 12 year scotch with one cube. Except that instead of “cube” it came out of my mouth as “stone”. The young female bartender with the face of an angel smiled and asked, “Would ice be okay?” Realizing my poor choice of words, I apologized for confusing her.

Her eyes twinkled as she replied, “You’re going to make me cry.”

My friend quickly recommended, “You should go into the freezer to cry so that your tears make him some special ice cubes.”

At this point my overactive imagination took over and the next five minutes, I “think wrote” a scene for an upcoming short story involving a beautiful barkeep, a character ordering a drink with one stone and some ice made from the tear of a goddess. The scene will be the catalyst some unusual story lines.

My friend, who is also my alpha reader, laughed until she cried at the way the scene came together. She had never seen me do that before and has been wondering how I worked.

Every personal interaction can be tweaked a bit and used as the groundwork for your story. Maybe the arrogant moving company agent turns into the guild master who doesn’t realize he’s dealing with a master assassin. Perhaps the talkative real estate agent makes the perfect noble fop to obtain intelligence from on the royal court.

The bottom line is this: keep your eyes and other senses open because you never know where the next interesting idea will come from.

 
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Posted by on May 9, 2016 in Journey into Fantasy, Musings and Odd Thoughts

 

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More Ideas than time!

09 Apr

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Lately, it seems that new ideas for stories crash into my head on a daily basis. Each one new and different. Some with characters I know and some completely new. I scribble down the idea and sometimes fragments of scenes or dialog. Then, just when I start to feel comfortable with a new idea. a different one pops into my head. The process begins again. Never do I have time to complete the story. They just keep coming like waves in the ocean. It frightens me that I do not have time to write them all. Even if I was a fast typist, I doubt I could get them all finished. I keep the notes safe for some future date because, what frightens me more is when the ideas stop coming.

 
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Posted by on April 9, 2015 in Thoughts on Writing

 

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