Lessons I’m learning – I really can’t write very well #3…You’re characters ain’t Gumby…

This one relates somewhat to a post I had a few months ago. In that, I asked folks whether they favored – or implemented – outlines while beginning a new work. The bag of answers was mixed on that, but that’s another lesson, coming soon.

Whether or not you use outlines, one thing DOES have to be fairly firm in your mind. Your characters. Unlike my previous lessons, I can’t put examples into this, as it’s a bit strung out. But – I can tell you I committed the gravest of sins for any writer. 

I let the plot drive the formation of my character. One of them, anyway. Beth, one of the central figures in my book, waffled a lot. She used to, that is, before my editor gave me a very polite, genteel (She’s a brit – that’s how they do it) butt-chewing for making Beth seem at times like she was on some kind of hallucenogenic drug – or perhaps just drunk. Initially, Beth was portrayed to be strong, willful, independent, and stubborn. Then came the love interest. And I had her giggling and acting like a 15-year-old school girl that just had the senior quarterback smile at her from the next table in the cafeteria. As my dear (I’m not kidding) editor would say – Ugh.

Oftentimes, we meet or interact with people who can influence us enough that we act a bit out of character. Make a phone call we wouldn’t normally make. Stay up late…eat less…what have you. But – and this is a biiiiiig but – if we do so, we do it a) with full realization, and wondering what the hell we’re doing? have we lost our mind? or b) willingly, but still staying true to ourselves. In other words, making concessions in order to jibe with our new acquaintance, but otherwise, keeping our other traits.

As I’ve heard so many times around the circles, the CHARACTERS drive the PLOT...not the other way around. If the plot doesn’t allow your people to act how you created them, you have to either change the character’s personality throughout the story (that probably won’t work, since you created them for a reason, to fit a certain role), or you have to change the plot to fit how they are supposed to act. 

Now. A caution. Having your principles firm in your mind doesn’t mean they CAN”T change at all. We all evolve throughout our lives, whether as a result of our environment, circumstance, or maturation. The people in your work can and will, too. Life isn’t something you can just plow through, full steam ahead and damn the torpedoes. I’m just saying that your shifts have to make sense. 

I will say that I think using an outline to sketch out your story line would likely make it easier to spot irregularities in your various protagonists – but it’s not a guarantee.

Now that I probably have everyone completely confused, I’ll just say that any way you cut it, your  story is a reflection of life – you gotta keep it real

I need a few more opinions about this….please, everyone…:)

 

First of all, thank you to all who have given their opinion for my cover. I have a fair number now, but I’d like a few more. To that end:

This is the book cover for The Clearing I got back from my cover artist, (click her name to go to her link) Ms. Karri Klawiter.

Personally, I love the picture, but I’m not sure on the font for both the title and my name. I need other opinions. You can comment on what you think of the picture too. Everyone fire away!

Thanks in advance

Thomas

Lessons I’m learning – I really can’t write very well #2..it’s CONVERSATION, dummy!

For anyone interested in seeing what I wrote in #1, it’s here.

Now.

Conversations. Don’t forget there are more than one…

I’ve been guilty (in real life too) of talking a lot. My stories are generally too long, and filled with too much detail in the telling. Unfortunately, I’ve on occasion shown that in my writing. Never forget there are two or more people talking, and one isn’t just sitting around picking his nose while the other blathers on about this and that. Lectures put folks to sleep, and they’ll do the same in your book.  Witty, concise, and believable dialogue adds color to your story, and allows you to add a huge amount of detail and background info while allowing you an opportunity to make your characters more likable.

NAH…

“Forget it. So, where do we go from here?”

Adam Cutlip eased his belt a bit and sat back. “Good question. Wolf packs don’t generally have any one place they stay. Their territory is usually less than 100 square miles, but it has a lot to do with how much food is around. Since these ones have apparently acquired a taste for domestic animals, they might not go too far. I’m going to scout around a bit, talk to some folks in the outlying areas. I know the game trails around here as well as anybody, and I have the use of some sophisticated cameras from the university. They’re rigged with motion detectors, so I have a fair chance of getting some shots of our unwanted visitors as they snoop around for more food. If I can figure out what area they are frequenting, we might have a shot at running them down.”

YAH…

“Forget it. So, these wolves. Where do we go from here?”

Adam Cutlip eased his belt a bit and sat back. “Good question. Wolf packs don’t generally have any one place they stay. Their territory is usually less than 100 square miles, but it has a lot to do with how much food is around.”

“Food isn’t a problem around here.”

“True enough. Also, since these ones have apparently acquired a taste for domestic animals, they might not go too far.”

“So you think they’re going to hit another herd.”

“It’s a good possibility. All the more reason to get a handle on it quickly. I know the game trails around here as well as anybody, and I have the use of some sophisticated cameras rigged with motion detectors. If I can get some shots of our unwanted visitors, we can figure out what area they are frequenting. Then we get busy running them down.”

Lessons I’m learning – I really can’t write very well #1…It’s not words, it’s pictures.

For those of you who didn’t read my previous post on receiving my manuscript back from the editor (If you’d like to read it now, this is the link https://thomasrydder.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=757&action=edit), I’m turning the whole experience into a posting category, and passing on what I’m learning from the whole thing.

Lesson one – paint the picture

It’s very easy (at least for me) to explain what’s happening in a scene to the reader. Something like a tour guide motoring down the middle of Hollywood and Vine with a bunch of retirees oohing and ahhing at all the pretty movie stars and their houses. And actually the tour guide is doing okay, because the Gin and Geritol crowd can SEE the stars and their abodes – my reader can’t. So he or she has to be shown. And “shown” is the key word here. An example from my book is below. First is my version, submitted. Second is what I’ve rewritten upon reading what my editor had to say:

Nah - “In due time, Flapjack had been absorbed seamlessly into his adoptive family. An enormous doggie bed now lay right below Elizabeth’s (although after Mommy-Jackie tucked her in, he always came up to sleep with her), and his food and water bowls were beside the kitchen table. Oversized chew toys and bones lay scattered about, and a doggy door was installed on the rear door, allowing him free reign to be inside or out.”

Yah - “In due time, Flapjack had been absorbed seamlessly into his adoptive family, and Elizabeth had been true to her word. It was she who ensured his bowls were full, called him to go outside for a walk, and (with Jackie’s help), gave him his bath. She said her prayers with Flapjack in his bed, and once Momma-Jackie left, she silently bade the big dog to lie beside her. It wasn’t long until Jackie caught on and snuck back into Lizzie’s room to peek, but the forlorn look in the dog’s droopy eyes was enough to convince her to exit again without protest.

They had also installed a doggie door on the rear door, to allow him free reign to move about. Even Barlow had been observed lying up against his bony head from time to time, while they all watched television in the evening.”

You can see the difference, of course. In the first version, I’m telling. And it’s as though the doggie bed, bowls, and toys just magically appeared out of nowhere, where in the corrected version, we see the actions taking place. Makes for a much more vivid experience. It’s all about pictures.

Ok, short but sweet. More posts on my corrections (a lot of them, trust me) coming soon.