October's Theme:
Characters
Contents
From the Executive Committee | Characters by Jennifer K. Clark
October Blogfest | Good News & Book News | Upcoming Classes
Darth Vader & Pickles by Rebecca Blevins | Member Spotlight: Angela Millsap
Writing tip by John Waverly | Tech Corner | Recipe
October Blogfest | Good News & Book News | Upcoming Classes
Darth Vader & Pickles by Rebecca Blevins | Member Spotlight: Angela Millsap
Writing tip by John Waverly | Tech Corner | Recipe
When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.
~Ernest Hemingway
Giving Life to Our Characters
Just in case you forgot, and haven't been in a store in the last three weeks, October means Halloween. It's our chance to dress up as some crazy characters and live out a fantasy for a few hours.
As writers, however, we spend a lot of time living in our fantasies (don't tell me you've never dressed up as something related to one of your stories!). As we polish those fantasies and make them gleam, we have to breathe life into our stories, and especially our characters. The more I write, and the more I read, the more I'm convinced that characters make or break a story. Lackluster characters stall a story faster than almost anything else.
This month, our newsletter and our upcoming classes focus on creating characters (and plots) that will keep our readers' interest, characters that will come alive in their imaginations, characters that could inspire someone other than you to dress up for Halloween.
Enjoy!
by Jennifer K. Clark
There are plenty of books out there on the subject so I’m just going to share two of my favorite techniques in developing a unique character. First I need to mention that I always start with the basics. This is like the store-bought costume. Character card, driving desire or goal, and character arch among other essentials are always applied.
Now for the fun part. How do you get your character to stand out from the rest? One way is to give them a marker. This is a character’s signature trait—something mentioned a few times which the reader associates with that character. It can be physical like Harry Potter’s scar or the Weasleys’ red hair. It can be a mannerism. Brandon Sanderson marked Vin in his Mistborn Series by the way she sat—always trying to look small and insignificant. The Count of Monte Cristo had a habit of twisting his hair. It can be an object like Sherlock Holmes’s pipe. In my novel, Mark of Royalty, Miranda is marked by her locket. She always rubs it when she thinks about her past life; something that her husband picks up on and resents. There is no limit on what a marker can be and they’re fun to come up with so pick something for your character: a clothing style, a certain smell, or even their driving style (Jennifer Aniston in Bounty Hunter).
Another fun thing I like to build into my characters is a contradiction. Can you have a bully that is supportive? Or can someone with cruel traits be really likeable? Contradictions can make readers curious drawing them into the story. Take Snape—his actions show his absolute loathing of Harry Potter, yet he will do anything to protect him. That’s interesting. Characters that violate their stereotype surprise us; they pique our interest, and make us want to follow them. I personally know a big burly coal miner that you wouldn’t want to cross paths with . . . unless it’s in his flower garden.
As writers we have hundreds of ways to accessorize our writing, so we shouldn’t settle for store-bought characters. Just remember that a little more effort can go a long way.
Jennifer K. Clark is a member of Authors Incognito. Her first novel, Mark of Royalty, co-written with her sister, debuted this year. Read more about her on her blog, The Enchanted Life of a Storyteller.
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The October AI Blogfest will be held on Halloween moved to October 28 with a theme of FEAR.
Stay tuned to JordanMcCollum.com for the full details later in the month!
Pumpkin photograph by William Warby.
(We heard it through the grape vine: A place to post warm-fuzzies on the cyber-fridge.)
~by Wendy Swore [on hiatus] & Jordan McCollum
Angela Millsap and her husband Dale welcomed a new daughter into the world on Tuesday, September 20, 2011! Five older brothers and one older sister also welcome baby Ingrid.
Book releases
Ronda Hinrichsen will release The Hidden Kingdom, Book 1 of the "Heroes of the Highest Order" Chapter Book series, will be out in early October under the name R.K. Hinrichsen. The website is under construction, but you can find it at heroesofthehighestorder.com.
Awards
The League of Utah Writers announced their awards, and a number of our members were honored:
- (dis)Abilities and the Gospel by Danyelle Ferguson & Lynn Parsons, M.S., won the 2011 Bronze Quill Religious Book Award!
- Tristi Pinkston's Secret Sisters won the Silver Quill for Adult Fiction!
Book signings
Cindy Hogan will be touring select Utah Costcos throughout November, usually from 12-5. Her first novel, Watched, is now on its third printing!
by Rebecca Blevins
What are you (or your children) going to dress up as for Halloween? My kids are planning on being Star Wars characters. (Even down to which Luke Skywalker from which episode. I’m glad they know, for I have no idea.)
We’ve had fun going to the thrift store and hunting down parts of their costumes. I enjoy how excited they get to be a favorite character for an evening. It’s amazing to see my children’s personalities change once they get into their costumes. (Should I have cause to worry about my two-year-old Yoda?)
What do children’s costumes have to do with writing? Good question!
When creating fictional characters, we usually give great thought to details like clothing and eye color, yet how much of this really defines who our characters are? Some of the most interesting details aren’t commonplace. Think of Harry Potter with his lightning-shaped scar, or Count Olaf’s beady, shiny eyes (Series of Unfortunate Events)—the evil count can’t fool the Baudelaire children no matter how many disguises he dreams up. Even in Michael Scott’s Nicholas Flamel series, Sophie and Josh’s magic powers smell of vanilla and oranges, respectively.
Once we have a character’s appearance in mind, there are other things we can weave in to flesh him/her/it out and bring them to life. Involving other senses adds depth to your character. For example, Edward in Twilight has a unique smell. In Peter Pan, you know when the crocodile draws near because of the ticking clock in his stomach. Perhaps a character has creaky knees or cracks his knuckles, or wears a trademark perfume, or walks with a cane, or wears a monocle, or smells like onions—the odd, the slightly different or unique, sets a character apart and makes him/her/it more interesting.
However, even with all these elements, there is something else that needs a great deal of attention when creating an authentic character:
Make your character imperfect.
A completely evil villain isn’t believable. Even the most obnoxious villain has a redeeming quality somewhere, whether it be a fondness for his/her pet porcupine or yearning for a lost love. The main villain in Hunger Games enjoys roses, and his breath smells of something-I-won’t-write-here-in-case-anyone’s-eating-dinner-right-now. The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera is pretty evil, but he has a weakness and longing for beauty and music that causes us to identify with him. Maybe your villain constantly craves chocolate brownies. Not that I’d call that a redeeming quality, but it humanizes and makes the villain more familiar to us.
Imperfectness and quirks bring life to characters.
Just as a completely evil villain isn’t believable, neither is a sickeningly perfect hero/heroine. Give your characters some bad habits and interesting traits. Maybe your heroine chews her fingernails and doesn’t like cats. Maybe your hero has to shower twice a day—no matter what—and always forgets to put away the milk. Little quirks of personality and habits make our characters seem more real. A wonderful example of a quirk is Detective Carl Hamilton in Tamara Hart Heiner’s novel Perilous. The detective has a fondness—read, addiction—to pickles. It’s that odd element that makes him feel familiar, real, and brings an unexpected note of freshness to his character.
So, I don’t know if Darth Vader hates all cheese except grated Parmesan or melted American, or has an aptitude for mathematics, but the Darth Vader who will be walking around with Luke, Leia, and Yoda on Halloween night does.
I think he’s far more interesting.
Rebecca Blevins is a member of Authors Incognito. You can read more about the characters in her life and writing at her blog, I Am a Pistachio.
Of all the technologies a person could use for their writing, the simplest of all is good old-fashioned pencil and paper. This technology has some tremendous advantages. It is the most cost-effective, portable way to write. You’ve already faced the learning curve years ago in elementary school. If the power goes out, as long as you have a light source, you can still put your words down on paper. It’s also dirt-cheap. For less than the cost of a meal at a fast food restaurant, you can equip yourself with enough pencils and paper to write a very long novel indeed.
But as with all technologies, there are tradeoffs that offset the advantages of writing by hand. For starters, it’s more difficult to edit your work if it’s written on paper. Also, it’s costly and time-consuming to make backup copies. When you’re ready to send your work off for critiquing or to land an agent, people don’t want handwritten manuscripts. That means you will either have to pay someone to transcribe it for you, or else you will have to do it yourself, which is not a quick process. And speaking of slow processes, unless you’re a hunt-and-peck typist, writing a novel by hand will take significantly longer than it would if you had simply typed it to begin with.
Despite all the cons inherent in writing a novel by hand, there is one benefit that could make doing so completely worthwhile. It all has to do with the function of our brain hemispheres.
As you may already know, the brain’s left hemisphere is the logical, linear, ordered hemisphere, and is responsible for language functions such as grammar and vocabulary. The right hemisphere is non-linear, creative, and processes audio and visual stimuli.
Once we have learned to type, typing on a keyboard becomes an activity that primarily engages our left hemisphere. When we write by hand, it engages both hemispheres. In particular, researchers have learned that cursive writing not only engages more of the right hemisphere than printing does, but that it engages much more of the brain overall.
If you think about the best books you’ve read, they possess two important characteristics. First, there is a definite story arc and a progression to the plot. It doesn’t meander all over the place and go nowhere. This logical progression and order comes from the left hemisphere.
The other quality of a really good book is that it’s fresh, unpredictable, and the characters come alive. It’s creative in some way that strikes our fancy. The creativity in a good story comes from the right hemisphere.
In other words, the best books are ones in which the author engaged both hemispheres of his or her brain while writing. If you type your stories, unless you find other ways to engage your right brain, you are more likely to end up with a book that is logical, ordered and . . . predictable. But if you write out your novel by hand in cursive, you are more likely to end up with a story that’s not only logical and ordered, but also creative and fresh.
Maybe you don’t want to write out an entire book by hand. That’s quite alright. Neither do I. But the next time you get to a point where the creative juices aren’t flowing, or you don’t quite know how you’re going to resolve some predicament you’ve put your characters in, you might want to consider putting the scene on paper in cursive. The results just might surprise you.
We’ve had fun going to the thrift store and hunting down parts of their costumes. I enjoy how excited they get to be a favorite character for an evening. It’s amazing to see my children’s personalities change once they get into their costumes. (Should I have cause to worry about my two-year-old Yoda?)
What do children’s costumes have to do with writing? Good question!
When creating fictional characters, we usually give great thought to details like clothing and eye color, yet how much of this really defines who our characters are? Some of the most interesting details aren’t commonplace. Think of Harry Potter with his lightning-shaped scar, or Count Olaf’s beady, shiny eyes (Series of Unfortunate Events)—the evil count can’t fool the Baudelaire children no matter how many disguises he dreams up. Even in Michael Scott’s Nicholas Flamel series, Sophie and Josh’s magic powers smell of vanilla and oranges, respectively.
Once we have a character’s appearance in mind, there are other things we can weave in to flesh him/her/it out and bring them to life. Involving other senses adds depth to your character. For example, Edward in Twilight has a unique smell. In Peter Pan, you know when the crocodile draws near because of the ticking clock in his stomach. Perhaps a character has creaky knees or cracks his knuckles, or wears a trademark perfume, or walks with a cane, or wears a monocle, or smells like onions—the odd, the slightly different or unique, sets a character apart and makes him/her/it more interesting.
However, even with all these elements, there is something else that needs a great deal of attention when creating an authentic character:
Make your character imperfect.
A completely evil villain isn’t believable. Even the most obnoxious villain has a redeeming quality somewhere, whether it be a fondness for his/her pet porcupine or yearning for a lost love. The main villain in Hunger Games enjoys roses, and his breath smells of something-I-won’t-write-here-in-case-anyone’s-eating-dinner-right-now. The Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera is pretty evil, but he has a weakness and longing for beauty and music that causes us to identify with him. Maybe your villain constantly craves chocolate brownies. Not that I’d call that a redeeming quality, but it humanizes and makes the villain more familiar to us.
Imperfectness and quirks bring life to characters.
Just as a completely evil villain isn’t believable, neither is a sickeningly perfect hero/heroine. Give your characters some bad habits and interesting traits. Maybe your heroine chews her fingernails and doesn’t like cats. Maybe your hero has to shower twice a day—no matter what—and always forgets to put away the milk. Little quirks of personality and habits make our characters seem more real. A wonderful example of a quirk is Detective Carl Hamilton in Tamara Hart Heiner’s novel Perilous. The detective has a fondness—read, addiction—to pickles. It’s that odd element that makes him feel familiar, real, and brings an unexpected note of freshness to his character.
So, I don’t know if Darth Vader hates all cheese except grated Parmesan or melted American, or has an aptitude for mathematics, but the Darth Vader who will be walking around with Luke, Leia, and Yoda on Halloween night does.
I think he’s far more interesting.
Rebecca Blevins is a member of Authors Incognito. You can read more about the characters in her life and writing at her blog, I Am a Pistachio.
Born in Virginia, before I was 12 years old I had lived in Singapore, England, and the Netherlands, and had travelled to many other interesting places. The broad cultural exposure I gained from my father’s employment gave me an open perspective on the world--as well as lots of books! Airport bookstores bestowed the works of such as Enid Blyton, Marguerite Henry, and Andrew Lang upon me from an early age. Books are still treasure to me and I’ve collected quite a dragon’s hoard!
I met my future husband at Utah State University--and reading Jane Eyre together while on a choir trip cemented our relationship. I received my BS and ME in Aerospace Engineering in 1999 and 2006 (probably fueled by my love for all things Star Wars and Star Trek.) My husband Dale and I are today parents of six seven homeschooled children (the latest model born 9/20/2011.)
I’ve been a writer as long as I’ve been a reader, striving to create the perfect story. I began writing in earnest in 2008 and am a three-time NaNoWriMo winner, completing to a rough draft stage a humorous middle-grade retelling of the frog prince, a YA dystopian tribute to Farenheit 451, and a memoir of my elementary school years overseas. I attended conferences for the first time this year and was amazed at how inspiring and helpful they were in motivating me to revise and grow stronger in my craft. Hooray for LTUE and LDStorymakers!
I reside with my family at Thousand Frogs Ranch in Northern Utah. When I’m not writing I raise goats, chickens, vegetables, and children. Read about my latest reading and writing adventures at www.angelamillsap.com.
~Tobyn DeGraw
Conferences, workshops & contests, as well as book signings & launches, have moved to Events page!
PLOTTING 101, OCTOBER 3-7, Taught by Jordan McCollum
Starting your story's engine—before it stalls out
Whether you're a plotter or a pantser, having some idea where you're going in your story is the best way to beat writers' block. You can use this class to fix a stalled WIP or plan out your NaNo novel. We'll cover the basics of plot and several plotting methods, and I'll be applying them to create an actual outline I hope to use for my next novel so you can see them in action!
CHARACTERS 101, OCTOBER 10-14, Taught by Karen E. Hoover
How to make your characters stand out in a crowd
Ever wondered why some characters are so memorable and others you can’t even remember their name? Well, this class will hopefully give you some of the tools you need to create those memorable characters that people actually miss when they shut the cover of your book. We will primarily use tools from the book “GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict” by Debra Dixon and discuss some of my personal methods to make my characters come to life for me. It should be lots of fun.
PLOT AND CHARACTER WORKSHOP, OCTOBER 17-24 (extendable by request)
Bring those rough outlines, sketchy characters, and blocked WIPs out to play! In a workshop format, this class gives us an opportunity to shore up weak plot lines and character motivations, and generate new ideas, by drawing on the power of collective brainstorming.
To enroll in a class, just join the WI list. For more instructions, ask on AI.
PLOTTING 101, OCTOBER 3-7, Taught by Jordan McCollum
Starting your story's engine—before it stalls out
Whether you're a plotter or a pantser, having some idea where you're going in your story is the best way to beat writers' block. You can use this class to fix a stalled WIP or plan out your NaNo novel. We'll cover the basics of plot and several plotting methods, and I'll be applying them to create an actual outline I hope to use for my next novel so you can see them in action!
CHARACTERS 101, OCTOBER 10-14, Taught by Karen E. Hoover
How to make your characters stand out in a crowd
Ever wondered why some characters are so memorable and others you can’t even remember their name? Well, this class will hopefully give you some of the tools you need to create those memorable characters that people actually miss when they shut the cover of your book. We will primarily use tools from the book “GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict” by Debra Dixon and discuss some of my personal methods to make my characters come to life for me. It should be lots of fun.
PLOT AND CHARACTER WORKSHOP, OCTOBER 17-24 (extendable by request)
Bring those rough outlines, sketchy characters, and blocked WIPs out to play! In a workshop format, this class gives us an opportunity to shore up weak plot lines and character motivations, and generate new ideas, by drawing on the power of collective brainstorming.
To enroll in a class, just join the WI list. For more instructions, ask on AI.
by John Waverly
When I first started writing I made my heroes too perfect. After all, they are the hero.
Most of us take up writing as an escape, and the main character becomes an extension of us—our dreams. We write about the somewhat awkward, but well liked, beautiful girl who has great friends and gets the dream-boat guy; or the super-powered, magic-using boy who is naturally talented.
These stories often turn into travel logs where the only thing stopping the hero is getting somewhere before it's too late. Or the bad guys who grow more powerful with each step like video game boss fights.
After attending a few conferences, I learned I needed a flawed protagonist. One who could grow through the story and overcome inner demons. I'd choose lowly characters: the orphan, the ostracized teen, or the recently divorced woman.
Most of us take up writing as an escape, and the main character becomes an extension of us—our dreams. We write about the somewhat awkward, but well liked, beautiful girl who has great friends and gets the dream-boat guy; or the super-powered, magic-using boy who is naturally talented.
These stories often turn into travel logs where the only thing stopping the hero is getting somewhere before it's too late. Or the bad guys who grow more powerful with each step like video game boss fights.
After attending a few conferences, I learned I needed a flawed protagonist. One who could grow through the story and overcome inner demons. I'd choose lowly characters: the orphan, the ostracized teen, or the recently divorced woman.
In other words, I swung the power pendulum too far. I felt my protagonists had to be weak and "normal", but this isn't the right principle either. There is a middle ground for strong but likable characters.
The other night I watched The King's Speech. (I liked it—crisp writing, great actors, strong cinematography.) The main character starts out as a handsome prince in one of the most powerful nations on the planet. He is born to wealth, respect, and power. He has a beautiful wife who supports him and two loving children. His father, the king, is tough but wants what's best for him. As protagonists go, he has it made.
Except for two weaknesses. I'm not going to delve into them for fear of spoiling the movie, but those two weaknesses play integral parts in the plot. The story doesn't focus on his power, his prestige, or his good looks. In fact, those become minor stumbling blocks. The story revolves around his weaknesses.
So, what is the correct principle?
Your hero can be as powerful as you want in every aspect except where the conflict of the story takes place. In other words, you can have an almost perfect character—the kind who makes everyone around them seem less than awesome (think Superman), but the story needs to be about their weaknesses. (Who should Superman save, his girlfriend or the world?)
This may involve some serious soul searching especially if your protagonist is subconsciously an extension of your hopes and dreams. You'll be a better writer for it, and maybe learn a bit more about yourself in the process.
How powerful are your protagonists? Do their weaknesses play into the story? Does the story play against their weaknesses? Or are they just tacked on to make the character more "believable"?
How powerful are your protagonists? Do their weaknesses play into the story? Does the story play against their weaknesses? Or are they just tacked on to make the character more "believable"?
John Waverly is a long-standing member of Authors Incognito. Read more of his thoughts on characters and writing at his blog, A Universe Behind Your Eyelids.
Of all the technologies a person could use for their writing, the simplest of all is good old-fashioned pencil and paper. This technology has some tremendous advantages. It is the most cost-effective, portable way to write. You’ve already faced the learning curve years ago in elementary school. If the power goes out, as long as you have a light source, you can still put your words down on paper. It’s also dirt-cheap. For less than the cost of a meal at a fast food restaurant, you can equip yourself with enough pencils and paper to write a very long novel indeed.But as with all technologies, there are tradeoffs that offset the advantages of writing by hand. For starters, it’s more difficult to edit your work if it’s written on paper. Also, it’s costly and time-consuming to make backup copies. When you’re ready to send your work off for critiquing or to land an agent, people don’t want handwritten manuscripts. That means you will either have to pay someone to transcribe it for you, or else you will have to do it yourself, which is not a quick process. And speaking of slow processes, unless you’re a hunt-and-peck typist, writing a novel by hand will take significantly longer than it would if you had simply typed it to begin with.
Despite all the cons inherent in writing a novel by hand, there is one benefit that could make doing so completely worthwhile. It all has to do with the function of our brain hemispheres.
As you may already know, the brain’s left hemisphere is the logical, linear, ordered hemisphere, and is responsible for language functions such as grammar and vocabulary. The right hemisphere is non-linear, creative, and processes audio and visual stimuli.
Once we have learned to type, typing on a keyboard becomes an activity that primarily engages our left hemisphere. When we write by hand, it engages both hemispheres. In particular, researchers have learned that cursive writing not only engages more of the right hemisphere than printing does, but that it engages much more of the brain overall.
If you think about the best books you’ve read, they possess two important characteristics. First, there is a definite story arc and a progression to the plot. It doesn’t meander all over the place and go nowhere. This logical progression and order comes from the left hemisphere.
The other quality of a really good book is that it’s fresh, unpredictable, and the characters come alive. It’s creative in some way that strikes our fancy. The creativity in a good story comes from the right hemisphere.
In other words, the best books are ones in which the author engaged both hemispheres of his or her brain while writing. If you type your stories, unless you find other ways to engage your right brain, you are more likely to end up with a book that is logical, ordered and . . . predictable. But if you write out your novel by hand in cursive, you are more likely to end up with a story that’s not only logical and ordered, but also creative and fresh.
Maybe you don’t want to write out an entire book by hand. That’s quite alright. Neither do I. But the next time you get to a point where the creative juices aren’t flowing, or you don’t quite know how you’re going to resolve some predicament you’ve put your characters in, you might want to consider putting the scene on paper in cursive. The results just might surprise you.
RECIPE
Pumpkin Squares
~ Karen Dupaix
Many thanks to our contributors this month! May your stories be filled with even more interesting character than your Halloween!
Pumpkin Squares
~ Karen Dupaix
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups pumpkin puree (16-oz. can)
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin together. Sift dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture. Stir until flour is moist. Stir in nuts and raisins.
Prepare 12" x 16" sheet cake pan with cooking spray or shortening. Pour batter into sheet cake pan. bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes. Frost when cool.
Frosting:
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 cube butter or margarine
1 8-oz. package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water
Soften butter and cream cheese. Beat together with powdered sugar and vanilla. Gradually add hot water, beating until frosting is smooth.
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups pumpkin puree (16-oz. can)
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin together. Sift dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture. Stir until flour is moist. Stir in nuts and raisins.
Prepare 12" x 16" sheet cake pan with cooking spray or shortening. Pour batter into sheet cake pan. bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes. Frost when cool.
Frosting:
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 cube butter or margarine
1 8-oz. package cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water
Soften butter and cream cheese. Beat together with powdered sugar and vanilla. Gradually add hot water, beating until frosting is smooth.
Many thanks to our contributors this month! May your stories be filled with even more interesting character than your Halloween!
Thanks to the newsletter staff: Wendy Swore, Tobyn DeGraw, James Blevins, Karen Dupaix and Jordan McCollum
Photo courtesy of SMJJP
