House keeping without walls.

So as you have probably noticed, I’ve changed my domain name. I guess I should add a bit of an explanation. Otherwise it just looks random. The thing is, I’m trying to do a bit of house keeping and figuring out how to narrow the focus of the blog a bit. The blog has gotten a bit ungainly, collecting and hoarding tags like used tea bags while unused categories molder in the corner. Maybe more importantly is what I’ve changed the name of the domain to and why. I suppose that with the novel I’m writing now and all the other novel ideas I have lined up for the future, I’ve thrown my lot in with something that may be fantasy or may be something else. Maybe what I’m doing is slip stream, maybe it’s New Weird. I’m not entirely sure to be honest, though I suspect that at least some of it could pass for Weird. But that’s the fun of just being out on the edge. As Kurt Vonnegut said

“Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center.”

 

Two books to help build character(s).

Creating believable characters can be a tough job but it’s one that needs to be done and done right. Without characters we can believe in and care about a story is just a bunch of scenes strung together like a trail of sea glass. It may be pretty but that’s about all that can be said for it. The empathy we feel for the characters, their troubles and failures and motivations, sink into us like barbs. Or the characters may be so reprehensible that we need to know what will happen next. How far will a character go? Developing such characters can be difficult for new writers of for those who have been writing for quite a while but are still learning. So, I’d like to propose two books that may be helpful. Just remember that when reading books on how to write, not every method will work for everyone. It’s important to stick with what feels right to you as going against your instincts certainly will be of no benefit to you. So hopefully these books will provide some useful information. However, there is a caveat attached to the second book which I’ll explain when I get to it. But now, I’d like to introduce the first book.

The first book is Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card. This is a fantastic resource with advice from a master story teller. The chapter about where characters come from is very interesting and provides very good tips on how to dig deep and get the most out of your characters. There are also several chapters detailing different types of characters such as the everyman or the hero and how to write them. If you find yourself unsure of how to proceed with a character or you want to become better at creating characters, then I’d highly recommend this book. This brings me to the second book.
The Writer’s Guide to Character Traits by Linda Edelstein is almost an almanac of different personality types. In it you’ll find descriptions of Flamboyant personality types, Passive-Aggressive personality types, Adventurous personality types and everything in between. There are descriptions of personality variations particular to adolescents as well. In addition to traits found within the normative range of the behavioral spectrum there are chapters discussing trauma and personality disorders. Overall I’d say this is a terrific book if you’d like to see how intricate human behavior can get and incorporate this into your writing. As I said, there is a caveat. Some people consider this book to be an easy way out. Just pick a character type you like and pretty much copy and paste. I’d say however that this book is best used as a way to either generate ideas for characters or as a place to trawl for traits to add to characters. It’s simply a compact collection if possible personality types you can play with and expand upon to create cohesive and interesting characters tat help to stimulate your creativity. This can be helpful and even interesting resource that will help you get a better handle on human behavior.

Hopefully these books will prove useful and help you develop characters that will draw your readers in and keep them hooked till the last word.

Sculpting the story.

So, since last weekend, I’ve been spending something like 99.99% of my time studying for my NREMT test which is tomorrow but in the back of my mind, coiling and uncoiling, is the idea. The story is a living thing even though it’s just in its embryonic state. It’s still evolving and changing. And lately it has been doing a lot of that. Like I said last time about discovering my particular tempo for stories, figuring out what I actually have to say, I’m finding my previous idea for an action packed pseudo-Western to be increasingly untenable. This doesn’t mean that the entire thing is scrapped. I’m keeping all the character from the original idea, introducing some new ones, adding new elements to all of them, and putting a much higher emphasis on intense dramatic beats instead of action. So the idea is going from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly to something that is going to play a lot with the characters and their psyche. One of the ways I like thinking about this is a dissection, or, considering how the characters are supposed to be convincing enough to pass for real people, a vivisection. The original idea would have had me going for the major arteries, making a mess with big arterial spurts of action. With the new direction, I’m more interested in layer by layer peeling back the tissue of these characters so that by the end, you’ll know them down to the very marrow. I’m also considering making three intertwining stories that may not seem immediately connected but that all intersect. I’ve actually two ideas on how they could do so though I’m going to have to wait for the characters to actually start making decisions to see which, if either, of the these two possibilities will come about. But before that, I’m still planning things out.

A possible character beat that really interests me is the person who turns on his ideals. This was done very well in Marc Laidlaw in The 37th Mandala and I’ve had the idea for a similar character bouncing around in my head ever since. I love the idea of a trauma turning a person 180 degrees in the other direction from what they originally believed in and were passionate about. Kind of like Pavlovian conditioning. If you pair pain with something pleasant, the originally pleasant stimulus gets polluted with negative overtones. Only this goes even further than that. I don’t know if I could make it work or if I’d be forcing such a character into the story but I’d love to be able work with that kind of pathos. One of the characters may actually lend himself very well to such a thing. The other two main characters I’m considering following are a bit more settled in who they are. Though, to be honest, nothing is really settled yet. It’s more like, the other two characters are farther along on the way to crystallizing in my mind. But that still leaves a lot of opportunity for change and surprises.

Luckily, the center, the main hub these spokes will revolve around is pretty much solidified in my mind. That was actually the first thing I really got. And I got it from a dream something like half a year ago. Thankfully I put it down in a dream journal and when I looked back on it, I realized it needed writing. It seemed like the time was right. It’s just a matter of figuring out what story wants to be told from this kernel of an idea. I am getting much closer to actually putting words to paper (or in my case word processor) and soon I’m going to finally get to see my planning and patience pay off.

 

A small experiment leads to important results.

As I’ve mentioned, writing is a compulsion. You don’t just write for fame, profit, or groupies (though those are good too), you write because you have to. But when it comes to writing with the aim of publication, it’s just so easy to forget about the actual unhindered joy of writing. Writing without purpose or aim. Just writing a story because it’s on your mind. The other day, I wrote some flash fiction. Okay, it was a little longer than flash which is usually under a thousand words. But it’s not quite long enough to even qualify as a proper short story. Anyways, I wrote it for no one but me really. No one else will read it and that’s how I like it and how it ought to be. This was simply the act of a brain throwing down the gauntlet and saying “Damn it, we’re putting words down and nothing’s going to stop us.” Because of that, it hit notes I still can’t hit with something I know will be seen and judged. In short, I found a streak of honesty and genuineness that I have trouble tapping into when it comes to something I’d eventually like to see read by others. Its simplicity just doesn’t quite jive with what I think I should be writing to get people’s attention. However, as is often the case, I found that, in its simplicity, it held one of the most essential elements of a story, one of the things that makes me pick up a book and keep reading.

What I’m talking about is the simple human aspect of the book. When I cut everything back, what I found was that the story I ended up with could take place in one room with two people and it would work and work better than many of the other things I’ve been trying. It literally took place in one room and revolved around interpersonal problems, not any threat to the world or anything large scale. It was what stories really hinge upon: characters. It’s for this reason I love these little stories. They focus my attention on things and remind me of what draws me to writing. It’s all about people really. It’s about how they react and what they go through. And I have to give it to Einstein here,

Making things simple is true genius. Anyone can complicate things. But it takes patience, probing questions and creative thinking to simplify. Whatever problem you are facing it’s probably not as complicated as you think – but we often make it so. If you want to solve more problems, simplify them. The real genius is turning complexity into simplicity.

So I think what I’m saying I’m figuring out is that complexity is not an aim in itself. I know that we like twists and turns. We have come to expect them but for their own sake, they are just plot devices. Turns, real turns that impact us, come from complex characters whose motivations we don’t fully understand. I think that part of what I’ve realized is that the type of story I need to write is one in which the characters, not the plot, determine the flow of things. Not only that, I think that this little experiment has told me a lot about the kinds of stories I want to write or that I genuinely enjoy writing. For me, the character comes first and foremost and plot second. So with this in mind, I can mold the novel I’m working on now into something fitting this description. It may mean that I’ll have to go back on its basic structure but in the end, I know I’ll be happier for it.

An adventure begins.

So here I am, watching Jim Henson’s Labyrinth and eating yogurt and it just seems appropriate to write this post now. Don’t ask me why but it makes a strange kind of sense. Maybe it’s the dreaminess of the movie or something. Maybe because I’m embarking on an adventure. Realistically, I’m still at the point at which I’m gathering supplies, maps, and fixing my rucksack but nevertheless these are the first steps of an adventure, no matter how preliminary. But the promise of twists and turns and unexpected discovery is beckoning and I can’t wait to start out. Of course, I’m talking about writing and the novel which I am developing.

So, what is this novel? First of all, what is the genre? In short, weird and I mean that in the official sense. Think along the lines of Lovecraft, Grabinski, VanderMeer, or Mieville. However, I’m aiming for something a bit whimsical as well. Essentially, it’s going to be dark, a lot of it is going to hopefully be off in that finger-down-your-spine way that weird fiction can be. But I don’t want to lose sight of that feeling of whimsy. So strange locations, strange goings-on, strange people and things. And behind it all the feeling that something massive and threatening is lurking and just waiting. Why? Because that’s the type of story I’d want to read. Though beyond weird fiction, it’s also something of a western. I love the action and drive of westerns and the characters it allows me to work with. They are people who are beyond the boundaries of the normal. They are characters of the extreme and they allow me to push the boundaries of what they can do both in terms of their abilities and in terms of their psychologies. As much as it’s exciting to be working in a framework that allows for plenty of action, one of the things I’m looking forward to most is the character study aspects of the novel. I find that taking the time to explore the depths of a character is one of the most rewarding things about writing  novel. And in this novel, almost no one is clean. Almost. Let’s face it, not everyone can be a murderer or lunatic or fallen monk for that matter. But no matter who they are, like any of us, they are not always so easy to read and often are contradictions within themselves which is part of why I’m really looking forward to getting to know them.

But before I can get to that, I need to get some things straight. By that, I mean I need to do outlines, character biographies, and maybe some research. So far, I’ve been glomming ideas, just writing them down as they come to me. Pretty much I’m just letting ideas come into my head without any censorship. Any idea will do. I’ll sort through them later and see what can be stitched together and what needs to be disposed of. As I do this, I get a sense of what is possible and can start to consider what the rules of the world are. The more I think about it, the clearer the world of the story becomes and the more this world seems like something I’m reporting on and less like something I’m making up, a sure sign that I’m getting to where I need to be.

Speaking of where I need to be, I feel like I’ve finally exorcised a demon. The story that I had been struggling to write based on the picture has actually come to play a pivotal role in this story. I really can’t express how much of a relief it is to have that out of my brain.  But it has also showed me not to panic or the lose hope. Everything has a use, even if you’re not sure what it is at the time. It’s just a matter of having everything at your fingertips so that when the time is right, you can just grab it.

I’ll update again next week, maybe with more on how the story is coming or on another topic. Until then, folks!

End of the hiatus.

Alright, it’s been a while since I updated this blog and I’d like to apologize to readers and those who have signed up to receive updates. Between being extremely busy with that nagging little thing called life and actually not being sure what to write (writer’s block on all fronts), I’ve taken some time away from the blog. But starting next week, there should be new updates.

Additionally, I’m going to try to discuss more immediate things such as what I’m working on and how it’s going so this blog will be getting a bit more personal. Don’t expect to learn all my deepest secrets though since this is still a blog for and about writing. So look forward to a brand new season of posts!

But, but, but — WHY does magic have to make sense? by N.K. Jemisin.

When we think of magic, usually we think of some kind of system, a tome of rules and principles. But is this the only way or even the best way to use magic in fiction? N.K. Jemisin doesn’t think so and in this well stated article explains why magic should be kept magical. What follows is an excerpt from the article, the link to which you can find at the end of the post.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. -Arthur C. Clarke

Any sufficiently analyzed magic is indistinguishable from science. -Agatha Heterodyne (Girl Genius) by way of Larry Niven by way of Clarke

La la la can’t hear you. -Me

This is a whine, not a rant. I rant when I’m angry; right now I’m just frustrated and annoyed. It’s hard out here for a fantasy writer, after all; there’s all these rules I’m supposed to follow, or the Fantasy Police might come and make me do hard labor in the Cold Iron Mines. For example: I keep hearing that magic has to have rules. It has to be logical. It has to have limitations, consequences, energy exchange, internal consistency, clear cause and effect, thoroughly-tested laws with repeatable results and –

Waitaminnit.

This is magic we’re talking about here, right? Force of nature, kinda woo-woo and froo-froo, things beyond our ken, and all that? And most of all, not science? Because sometimes I wonder. Sometimes, whenever I see fantasy readers laud a work for the rigor of its magic system — we’ll come back to this word “system” later — I wonder: why are these people reading fantasy? I mean, if they’re going to judge magic by its similarity to science, why not just go ahead and read science fiction? Science fiction has plenty of its own magicky stuff to enjoy (e.g., FTL, “psi” powers). Shouldn’t fantasy do something different, not just in its surface trappings but in its fundamental assumptions?

Because this is magic we’re talking about. It’s supposed to go places science can’t, defy logic, wink at technology, fill us all with the sensawunda that comes of gazing upon a fictional world and seeing something truly different from our own. In most cultures of the world, magic is intimately connected with beliefs regarding life and death — things no one understands, and few expect to. Magic is the motile force of God, or gods. It’s the breath of the earth, the non-meat by-product of existence, that thing that happens when a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around to hear it. Magic is the mysteries, into which not everyone is so lucky, or unlucky, as to be initiated. It can be affected by belief, the whims of the unseen, harsh language. And it is not. Supposed. To make. Sense. In fact, I think it’s coolest when it doesn’t.

And here’s the thing: fantasy — specifically English-language fantasy since that’s all I’ve been able to read — used to get this. When I read Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea again last year before the Center for Fiction’s Earthsea Big Read, I was struck by the fact that none of the stuff Ged learned at Roke made any sense. OK, it was all about names. To figure out the names of things, wizards basically had to experience enough to understand them, and disengage with their preexisting assumptions — and then, apparently, they had to cross their fingers and wish really hard. Because magic was an experiment whose results were never repeatable, never predictable, and even the most accomplished wizard could only make an educated guess about what would happen any time magic was used. And in fact, magic itself could change as its caster changed. It was an intuitive thing, not an empirical thing, and an intuitive wizard could build a spell out of guesses — or leaps of faith — based on nothing more than gut feelings. Also, feelings mattered. Bring the wrong feelings into a magic-working and it could all go pear-shaped. Le Guin rendered this beautifully, and I loved it, because it felt like magic should feel to me. So did Tolkien’s magic, which had the same all-over-the-place weirdness to it. In LotR, sometimes magic meant forging a ring with a chunk of soul melted into the alloy. Sometimes it meant learning obscure/dead languages, or talking to obscure/dead creatures. Sometimes it meant brandishing a particular kind of stick in a particular kind of way, and shouting really loudly. Sometimes it meant being born with pointy ears, and sometimes resisting magic meant being born with hairy feet. It was organic, embedded, a total crapshoot. And it was wonderful.

Be sure to read the rest of the article by visiting her blog and enjoying the rest of the fascinating articles she has posted there. 

Can you put a price on a story? Animated short embraces the joy of imagination and story telling.

I’ve got a soft spot for stories about stories and this short film combines interesting visuals, impressive subtlety, and genuine heart to tell a great story about story telling. I was very impressed with how the use of subtle cues pick up on the aspects of story telling that we don’t always think about like the fear of how the reader or listening is receiving our story. Are they paying attention? Do they like it? And the ending brings up a big question of who owns a story? Or is the story beyond all of us and thus open and free to all of us?

I dare you not to be charmed and captivated by this wonderful little short.

Pixar’s tips for writing.

I’ve posted writing tips before. But let’s face it, this is Pixar. I think we all have to bow before this amazing studio. When Pixar speaks, ya listen. These are the guys and gals behind some of my favorite films and they’ve only gotten better at doing what they do as they go along so these guidelines must be hitting on some truth. So, here are 22 tips from the story telling masters on how to create a story people will want to listen to.

The list is based off the tweets posted by Emma Coats and which were collected on The Pixar Touch website. The website is part blog and part promotional for the new book The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company. The link to the page this list came off of is at the bottom of the page.

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.

#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

http://www.pixartouchbook.com/blog/2011/5/15/pixar-story-rules-one-version.html

We lost an incredible writer and an incredible person. Ray Bradbury dies at 91.

On June 5th, in Los Angeles, Ray Bradbury ended an amazing 70 year writing career that has left us with over 300 hundred tales and one of the great modern cautionary parables, Fahrenheit 451.

His stories dealt with technology and what me might achieve with it or what terrible things we could put it towards. His advice was trenchant and reached to the heart of writing. “Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down.” His advice also posed as a good advice for any area of life.  “A life’s work should be based on love.”

Ray Bradbury has left behind an amazing legacy that will continue to be appreciated by anyone looking to by amazed and mystified by the power of story telling.