Becoming your Character

Sorry I missed you last week, I've been thinking about character a lot lately. To me, it's the core of a story; who someone is and what they are made of. It was Booker T. Washington who said that character, not circumstance make the person, and I won't argue much with that. But bring character and circumstance together and you have the makings of a real story.

It's one of the most exciting parts of writing. Often it takes time and sometimes a lot of coaxing (of kids, spouse, your subconscious, the muse) before you're in a physical and mental space where things fall in place and you're allowed to discover who your characters are. Sometimes it's like lightning and you suddenly know exactly what your protagonist would have done and maybe more importantly, why. But you have to be ready.

Last week I chaperoned my son's class to a performance by the Richard Alston Dance Company visiting from the UK. They were brilliant and engaging, not to mention understanding that this was likely the first modern dance performance most of these elementary age kids had ever seen. Richard Alston himself, took the time to point out how the pieces contrasted, as well as a guided pre-interpretation of the stories and movements within the dances. After their two pieces were finished there was a Q&A. The best question by far was when the male dancer who had the part of Petrushka was asked what his favorite thing about dancing was. He didn't hesitate to respond that it was the process of actually becoming his character and understanding how Petrushka would feel, move, think, and exist that made dancing so thrilling to him.

This process is exactly what makes writing such an adventure to me. I constantly ask myself, What would I do if I were him/her in that situation? Seemingly infinite possibilities may overwhelm you, but the more you know your character and see the world from their eyes, the better your story will be.

Oh, and coming soon, this blog at my own domain (they wouldn't give me a kingdom).

Bone crushing, back smashing, keyboard melting fun

Just back from the Western Washington SCBWI Fall retreat. Whew. Intensive is right, but with the stellar editors Cheryl Klein and Ruta Rimas headlining, we were well taken care of. Also, many thanks to the the amazing women who organized the weekend: Jolie, Laurie, Kim, & Joni. Hope I didn't miss anyone.

Now back at the keyboard, in my cold office, I'm scrambling to catch up in NaNoWriMo, but it's no big deal. I'm high on all the awesome information absorbed over the weekend. Cheryl and Ruta went over writing basics, then went deeper to really examine what makes an excellent novel. We studied the relationships between and components of PLOT, CHARACTER, and VOICE and how we as writers can use different techniques to make our stories successful.

Big compliments to Cheryl for her repeated encouragement to NOT listen if someone dictates HOW to write, because it is an intensely personal process, and to Ruta for challenging us to experiment with different writing techniques and structures until we find what works best for our story.

And now, back to NaNo.

Difficult scene

Ahh, don't you writers love the difficult scene? The one that stops you in your tracks because you're not sure where the heck it's going? Well, here are some of my favorite ways to put that dilemma aside for the moment and still be productive.
#1. REVISE! there are always revisions to do.
#2. RESEARCH: learn more about something in your novel. details are delicious, but remember not to go overboard, know more than you tell.
#3. CHARACTER PROFILES: go online and complete any number of personality profiles for one of your characters. Do an astrology chart.
#4. AVOID: I know this sounds like the wrong advice to give, but sometimes it's helpful to write the scenes that come after your problem scene.
#5. When you've procrastinated your pants off, had too many pots of tea and snacks, then maybe you just need to force your hand and write a lot of brainstorm drivel until something worthwhile comes out of your pen.