A Writer's Journey Part I: Do You Know Your Characters?

Characters matter; your audience will connect with them to a much greater degree than they will the most eloquently constructed descriptive passage of all time.  Certainly, descriptive scenes done well do a great deal in revealing more of our character's depth, particularly when we get the opportunity to witness the manner in which characters interact within the scene.  More often, descriptive passages become passive information in the back of the reader's mind.  It's a transportation tool.  

As a fantasy writer, for example, I love the descriptive work of Tolkien, but the world comes alive only because of Frodo's interactions in those environments.  Or Gandalf's.  Pick any character, really.  Helm's Deep (a place and an event) is emotional to us not for the gritty, dark descriptions of battle alone, but primarily because we sense the desperate hope of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli.  Without them, Helm's Deep, meticulously well written, matters little.  Subsequently, knowing characters well aids the author in constructing scenes to build the moment. And that moment is for one ultimate purpose: revealing character.  

As the author, this is difficult to do if we don't first understand who our character is.  This is a good place to be, and a good place to begin creating a story.  Here's the deal; you need to known your characters more than what will ever be revealed to the reader.  You need to know nuances that will never be published.

They need to breath real air.  

The process (for me anyways), goes something like this:

The world (environment) will be in a crisis.  (The idea here is knowing the main conflict of whatever world you intend to immerse your character in).  Details are not necessary at this moment.  Your protagonist will fill in a lot of your details as you get to know them.  

Is the protagonist male or female?

Who are the parents?  Grandparents?  (Yes, even if they never appear on published paper).  Is the relationship between them positive, or negative?  Likewise, the influence?

What non-familial relationships does the character have?

What relationships will suffer during the conflict?  Which will prosper/grow?

Who does your character like?  Dislike?  Why?  

Is the protagonist ultimately responsible for resolving said crisis? 

What do they do?  What is the everyday routine?  (Important, especially in writing a hero journey story as the character should be tossed out of the routine and into the new).  

What are the character's goals?  Are these goals affected by the current conflict?  Positively, or negatively? 

What does the protagonist stand to gain from a positive resolution?  What will they lose from a negative resolution?  Would they benefit from both?  Neither?  

I could go on.  But I think I've gotten the point across.  One aspect of the protagonist's life naturally guides you to another.  Once you have a general sketch of your character, start writing.  Think about the questions you've answered and let that have influence on how they might look, how they might speak, and how they might interact with other people.  Remember, you have to put the pen to the paper.  Chances are, you will not be satisfied with the first encounter of your protagonist.  And you won't be satisfied with your first encounter of the rest of your characters.  The idea is to begin to build your character and test them out in situations and different settings.  You may discover your character doesn't fit with where you want the story to go.  Maybe you'll find that your character has changed the direction your story will go that you hadn't considered.  The important thing is not to force a character into what you want them to be.  Understand that roles and personalities are very different here.  They won't be natural or believable if you do.

Before parting ways, here are two sources I'd recommend you spend some time reviewing.  The first is a very simplified diagram of Joseph Campbell's monomyth.  You can search Google for mountains of information on JC's work regarding the hero journey, but those interested (and you are interested) will want to pick up a copy of A Hero with a Thousand Faces. This is important story structure backbone that will help you fill in missing components to your characters and their experiences.  And you should apply it to every character, even if the audience never witnesses these events.  

The second tidbit here is to get you thinking about how important that first encounter is with your characters.  This is a fantastic article written I believe by Jason Black.  What Star Wars Teaches Us about Character Introductions

Check in next week for A Writer's Journey Part II: Character Favoritism    

  

  

    

Pen to Paper

You've thought about it for some time--the story, the characters, the possible titles, the potential sequel, your name in big letters across the cover--just like any other aspiring author.  Published authors (independent or commissioned) do to, but with one crucial difference; they pull out the pen and paper.  And yes, it should be a pen.  I'll explain the pen in just a moment.

Ever been asked the question, "so what do you do?" in which you promptly reply, "I'm an aspiring author," or something similar?  Maybe you've told them you work a nine to five job, but you've been "writing on the side," and plan to publish soon.  The same person inquires a few years later, curious about that great American novel you published and where they might pick up a copy, only to be informed you haven't finished it yet.  Well there's one book selling opportunity gone.  Harsh truth for the unpublished.

I started "writing" The Keeper's Chronicles as a senior in high school, in the late spring of 2006.  That's a long time ago, relatively.  No, it wasn't called The Keeper's Chronicles then, and it certainly wasn't planned to be nine titles long either.  In fact, it was a short story for entry in a creative writing contest in which the prize of one thousand dollars sounded very appealing.  I entered.  I lost.  Rejection notice number one.  Actually, it was far worse.  I received no recognition at all.

I'll go into more detail about The Keeper's Chronicles in a later post, but I mention the start date for very good reason here; The Knights of Abaddon, Book one of The Keeper's Chronicles was published on August 21, 2013.  You read that right.  Nearly seven years from the early days of a short story writing contest to the time of publication.

Completely unacceptable.

Not unacceptable that it took time for the story to get shape and substance, not unacceptable for the time spent writing, or the time spent planning the series.  Unacceptable, however, for the ratio of time spent writing/planning/story-boarding/editing to the time spent collecting dust.  In those seven years, I would be willing to estimate one year's worth of work.  One and a half at most.

So what happened with the other six years?

College.  A nine to five job.  An engagement.  A really good book or two, likely titled "how to write."

All excuses really, to cover up the real reason for such a long production time: fear.  Constantly pushing the manuscript away with self-convicted failure.  There where many reasons: the characters were not interesting, the readers might not like it, the great plot-flop, etc.  Fear keeps you from doing a lot of things, but particularly it keeps you from being successful.  Consider: a book cannot be a failure if no one has the opportunity to read it.  A musician will likely never perform on a big stage in a concert hall without having performed on the street corner (or the local bar).  The point is exposure.

You start by putting your pen to paper.  Yes, a pen.  A pen provides you the visceral satisfaction of crossing out lines and it's permanent.  No hesitation, then, when forging the first draft.  No careful consideration of your first words.  Everything gets written down, laid out on pristine white paper, completely raw.  You can edit later, just jot it down.  Drench the paper in ink.

Keep everything.  You'll use it later.  Maybe tomorrow, or the next day, or even the next decade.  But don't throw it away.  Type it up, save it, and store it digitally if you must, but don't waste.  Not. One. Single. Word.

If you're writing, you're moving forward.  That's the key.  Forward motion.

Next post: A Writer's Journey

In the meantime, check out Albert Jack's blog post "Want To Be a Writer?"