Tag: How-To (page 6 of 7)

Building Character

Goofy

Eating vegetables is supposed to build one’s character, as is mowing the lawn. When we get older, we understand that when parents discuss building character, it’s short hand for long explanations of why it’s a good idea for us to eat something that’s nutritious but not as appealing as an ice cream sundae. Trying to establish a work ethic by doing chores before playing is a concept that might be lost on a child, hence the use of the phrase “it builds character.”

But when it comes to writing, how does one build a character that’s not going to fail?

I don’t mean failing in terms of succeeding in goal achievement within the story. Authors often set up their characters to fail in the course of the story, in order to generate drama or keep the plot interesting. What I mean, here, is making the character a success in terms of audience appeal and the ability of the reader to relate to the character.

I think in the past I have adequately covered what not to do when it comes to putting a character together. But just in case you’re unsure, here’s a couple resources that might help.

If after giving your character a name, appearance, occupation and motivation, you begin fleshing them out but start to wonder if you’re hitting too close to home or might be to derivative or overpowered, run them through these tests.

On a less flippant note, Orson Scott Card has a few things to say about characters that aren’t exclusive to science fiction. D.A. Houdek has written an essay on Heinlein’s Women and Jacqueline Carey talks a little about the characters in her Kushiel series in this interview. In fact, a few minutes’ searching on your favorite author in Google will probably find an article or interview discussing their characters and what makes them either believable or laughable.

What works best for me is starting with a character’s role. Are they a protagonist, the protagonist’s love interest, an antagonizing force or someone minor provided for background purposes? From there I think on motivations. What do they want to achieve and why? What do they care about? What makes them angry and what can’t they live without?

Having these things well established and working from there as a foundation is, I believe, far more important than how pretty a character is, the abilities they have or the trials they’re going to face. Anybody can put someone pretty in a story, give them cool powers or run them through a series of explosions. Making an audience care about them is something else again, and therein lies the true challenge for a storyteller.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Fan Fiction

Mary Sue

You don’t improve your skills in anything unless you practice. Baseball players go to batting cages, tennis players use automated ball machines, shooters go to gun ranges. Where do writers go? In recent years, a lot of fans of popular media have been writing short pieces of fiction based in the fictional worlds they enjoy. While fan fiction isn’t by any means a form of writing meant to generate any sort of revenue – most fan fiction writers go out of their way to ensure readers know they didn’t create these worlds – it can be seen as a viable means for a writer to hone their skills and weed out bad habits. Backstories for MMORPG characters fall into this category. Regardless of the inspiration, however, there are some very clear things that separate good fan fiction from bad fan fiction.

By the way, in case you’re new to this, works of fan fiction are referred to as ‘fics’, and an established fictional world and the characters within are referred to as ‘canon’.

The Good

Getting into the mind of a ‘canon’ character is an interesting exercise. Some of the best fics have very little action and are introspective, with a main character of the canon thinking about something that’s happened or might happen. Since no major events are taking place that might upset the canon, these exercises are ultimately harmless provided the thoughts and feelings of the character are consistent. For example, a short story on Harry Potter’s deepest thoughts and feelings in the wake of someone’s death can be a touching and powerful work, provided he doesn’t think about how he could have done the deed better or how he’s got the hots for Bellatrix LeStrange. More on inconsistencies later.

If you have an idea for an original character or group of characters in a canonical world, by all means bring the idea to life. Give them a personality, history and world view and set them lose in a playground defined by the rules of the world’s original creators. Take the time to flesh them out in your mind or in your notes before you begin the fic in earnest. Locations and situations of the established world provide the backdrop and drama for your character or characters. Role-playing guilds in a MMORPG fall into this category, and if you can work together to establish the rules and circumstances of the disparate characters gathering, the result can be a rewarding and satisfying one for everybody involved.

The more you write, the better your habits in writing become. Just as a slugger, tennis player or hunter grows more confident and more accurate they more they practice, so too does a writer develop more skill with the language and a unique voice to the more they write. Fan fiction’s a good way to get this practice, and if you have a means with which you’re comfortable for you to get feedback, so much the better.

The Bad

It’s fun to think of how a relationship between canon characters might turn out. But if you’re going to write about it, keep their behavior consistent with what’s been established. Don’t try to turn the hero into a psychopathic murderer or a loving husband into a wife-beater. Putting a villain in a sympathetic light can be tricky, but it can be done if the villain’s motivations are kept hidden from the audience and can be elaborated upon by the fic writer. However, if the canon character is a blatantly evil jerk who delights in putting cute things through wood chippers, you’re going to have a hard time getting an audience to side with them in the course of writing your fic.

When it comes to original characters, be very careful in how the interact with those established within the canon. Avoid it if you can, and if it’s absolutely necessary, keep the conversations short and the behavior of the canon character or characters consistent. If a canon character wouldn’t like the kind of person your original character is, for any number of reasons, be certain to show that, rather than the canon characters simply adoring your original one just because you’re writing the story. The more canon characters you bring into your story, the greater the risk of your original character becoming a Mary Sue.

The Ugly

New writers that haven’t developed good habits and go entirely with what comes out of their heads run the risk of creating main characters that are little more than Author Avatar for whom everything goes right in the end and can’t seem to stop getting attention from members of the opposite sex. Another bad habit that can come from undeveloped writing styles include not doing proper research even if they claim they have. However, if the author in question has gotten hold of a good agent and is establishing their own canon that abides by their own rules, not only can they get away with these atrocious habits, they can become insanely popular.

I can’t really understand it either, but I suppose in some cases, success can justify quite a bit.

How Not To Query

Yes, it's stolen from ZP.

One of the biggest challenges in writing a novel, other than writing it in the first place, is finding a way to get your masterpeice into the hands of a public eager for new stories. Provided you’d like to get paid for your hard work, frustration and original ideas, you’re going to need to get your novel to a publisher. You can try to contact a publishing company directly, or have an agent take a potential editor to the mat on your behalf, but either way, you’re going to need a query letter.

Query letters are odd things, in that as a writer a little two paragraph snapshot of a work you’ve slaved over should present no challenge. However, you don’t need to simply talk about your work. You need to sell it. The person reading the letter will be looking for evidence in the letter that both you and your work are marketable. With that in mind, here are two examples of how not to write your query.

Dear Publisher X:

Hi, my name is Josh and I’ve written a fantastic new novel called the Adventures of Captain Spanky. The Adventures of Captain Spanky is a great novel because it has this awesome main character and it’s set in outer space. There are space aliens and rockets and laser beams, which are all really cool. I hope you like it too, because if it gets published I’m sure it’ll sell really well considering all the cool stuff I’ve written about.

Let’s leave aside the atrocious grammar and run-on sentences. The main problem with this first example is that it talks way too much about the ‘cool stuff’ in the novel. It doesn’t go into detail as to why these are key selling points, it just claims they are. The author also comes across as a gushing fanboy of their own work. Both of these are turn-offs to potential agents, editors and publishers.

Dear Publisher Y:

I have recently completed a novel entitled the Adventures of Captain Spanky. It is approximately 100,000 words in length. It is written in a science fiction setting, which is one of the more popular genres of speculative fiction. There are characters from a diverse selection of both human and non-human races, all of which are explored in terms of biology and culture. Therefore, this novel should have appeal to a wide variety of readers.

Some interesting points are raised here, to be sure. But they’re presented in a very dry fashion. There might be marketable ideas, but the author comes across as stodgy, or perhaps even arrogant. Hopefully, this sort of thing is obvious to an author who’s written a novel with the idea of having other people read it.

A much better query for the above novel would probably look something like this.

Dear Agent Z:

Captain Gerald “Spanky” McSpankerson is not what you would call an exemplary astronaut. He’s disobeyed orders on a number of occasions, his long orbital assignments and tendency to womanize have ruined more than one relationship, and he doesn’t know as much as he thinks about the nuances of spacecraft maintenance. However, he’s a skilled pilot and reasonably intelligent, so his superiors have elected to ship him to the edge of space for exploratory duty rather than simply firing him. This is the situation Gerald finds himself in at the opening of “The Adventures of Captain Spanky,” a novel of 100,000 words.

Science fiction is by no means an unexplored genre. However, most trends lately have been towards gritty realism. The Adventures of Captain Spanky harkens back to an earlier time, foregoing hard science exposition or deep social or psychological themes for a feeling of retro camp and humorous asides. This atmosphere is delivered through Gerald’s perspective as the newest arrival on an intergalactic space station largely unexplored by humans. Populated with alien species ranging from nearly humanoid creatures with green skin to beings that amount to little more than ambulatory rocks, the station is the setting for Spanky’s first real trial by fire. Invaders from a distant galaxy have come to conquer, and Spanky must rally friend and foe alike in order to save trillions of innocent lives.

I look forward to sharing more of the Adventures of Captain Spanky with you. My writing has been featured in the online magazine Interstellar Dreams Limited and in Quarterly Sci-Fi Digest. I thank you for your time and interest and await your prompt reply.

That’s how I’d do it, anyway. More on querying in weeks to come!

The Fine Art of Selling Yourself

Mario selling IT on the Jersey Turnpike (Zero Punctuation)

So you’ve written the next great American novel, or at least a Twilight-killer. It sits pristinely on your desk or hard drive and you can’t wait to get it into the hands of the public who are hungry for something new and interesting to take them away from the dark soul-draining mire of everyday life, spinning your words into gold. But there’s something you need to do first.

You need to sell yourself.

Now I don’t mean that it’s time to pull on the fishnet stockings and hit the streets of the nearest slum. No, I mean you need to send the right queries to the right people.

Would You Buy This?

I might go into more detail and give examples on what not to do in a query letter in another Thursday post, but suffice it to say that the old adage of KISS applies – Keep It Simple, Stupid.

  • Open with a hook. Introduce a character or situation that you think will drive the work.
  • Give a synopsis of the plot. Let the reader of your query know what they’re in for in general, but don’t give away all of your twists & secrets.
  • Thank them for the time they’ve taken to read the query.
  • Offer them an outline and sample chapters if you’re pitching a book.
  • Let them know you’re looking forward to a prompt reply.

Again, I’ll elaborate on these points at another time. Let’s talk about where these queries are going.

The Knife Guy

I have an old edition of the Complete Guide to Novel Writing, and one of the authors describes agents as “knife guys.” Basically, the agent’s job is to cut through the slush piles and red tape of publishing houses, going right to the heart to someone they know on the inside who can help your work see print.

Finding an agent is the most expedient way to get your work published. And by most expedient, I mean that if you get your work accepted, an agent will be more prompt in responding to you than a publisher will be, in most cases. This is because an agent is part writing partner and part mercenary. They understand your need to express yourself and tell your story, and they’re willing to do your dirty work if you pay them enough, usually on commission from your advance & sales. If you win, they win. I’d advise going this route, even though I myself have had zero success in hooking one. Though it has occurred to me I might be fishing in the wrong pond.

Go to the Source

You can, if you prefer, send queries directly to the editors at publishing houses. While this means you don’t have to share your spoils with an agent, it also means it’s much harder for your work to stand out. An agent tends to work face-to-face with publishers, whereas your query letter is one of quite a few that flood into publishing houses on a regular basis.

However, a work that is unique enough or fills a void a publishing house is hungry for might survive the bucket of swamp run-off that is your typical slush pile. Your mileage will vary depending on your genre and the nature of your work. While nobody else on the planet can write exactly in your style on the subject you’ve decided to work with, there might be enough similarities between you and another author that the recipient might decide neither are worth an investment.

Don’t Give Up

Sending queries is a long, thankless, and depressing process. You’re facing entry into a field of entertainment that is crammed with both existing authors looking to continue their careers and new talent frothing at the mouth to get noticed. Know this: you are going to get rejected.

Maybe you’ll get lucky and get a letter of interest within the first wave of your queries. But it’s more likely that you’ll get a bunch of form letters saying that your work isn’t quite what they’re looking for and thanking you for your effort. Try not to think of it as a reflection on your work, but rather an increase in your chances of getting a positive response.

Another book I own, I believe it’s What Color Is Your Parachute? says something about the interview process that applies to sending queries. Your responses are going to look something like this:

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO YES

That “Yes” will make the mountain of rejections disappear so fast it will make your head spin.

Do It Yourself

You could always try to publish your book yourself, but this is an expensive and time-consuming process and you’re better off writing instead of going through it. Even if it’s just writing & sending more query letters.

Next week I think we’ll tackle the query letters themselves.

Breaking Writer’s Block: Use Your Anger

Palpatine

Let’s try an experiment, shall we?

Most people who swing by this place have at least a passing understanding of Star Wars. You know that prequels to the original classics exist. Maybe you believe they’re abominations. Maybe you think Lucas is a genius and the prequels are under-appreciated gems that outshine the originals. Maybe you think the entire debate is stupid and we should stop wasting our time. Bottom line is, it’s likely to get your irritated, if not angry.

Good. Write about it.

We’re taught by some that anger is a bad thing and should be tightly controlled, hidden away, what have you. Sometimes we’re told that our emotions are detrimental to others and we shouldn’t give voice to them. Being emotional can come off as whining or complaining or generally being shrill and attention-seeking. Better for the world at large, the argument could be made, if one simply clamps their mouth shut and goes on about their business like nothing’s wrong.

Tell that to the millions in the streets over in Iran right now.

Anger isn’t necessarily a good thing, but it’s not entirely bad, either. It’s inspiring. It moves people to action. What action that is determines if it’s right or wrong. Twittering “I’m angry about X” is, in the long run, healthier than going out and burning down the house of whomever you’re angry at. You don’t even have to do it in public. Find a piece of scrap paper, grab the nearest implement of writing destruction, and dash out a quick wrathful line or three. Tuck it in your wallet or destroy it, but at least it’s out now. Emotional constipation is a quick way to put yourself in a very bad spot, and possibly in need of professional intervention. Trust me on this.

If you do post your thoughts publicly, be prepared to endure some flak. You’re going to be told, and perhaps rightly so, that when life hands you lemons, you should “shut up and eat your goddamn lemons.” And while this is true, as is the more eloquent illegitimus non carborundum, you shouldn’t let dissenting opinions stop you from expressing yourself. Again, look at Iran. In the eyes of the conversatives that tightly grip the leadership of that nation, millions upon millions are letting their voices be heard and don’t give a damn of the threats made upon them by the opposition. If they were taking up arms or starting insurgencies they’d be soundly condemned, and rightly so. But they’re not. They’re mad as hell and they’re not going to take it anymore.

Neither should you.

Just remember what Abraham Lincoln Oliver Wendell Holmes said: “Your right to swing your fist ends where the other person’s chin begins.”

Use your anger, clean out the negative and the dark, and move on unfettered by those useless and detrimental feelings. Who knows? Maybe in the aftermath of the cleansing fire you’ll find something you can use for a piece that isn’t so emo you can almost hear the Depeche Mode soundtrack.

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