Your BIG idea

by Suzanne Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

Move over, Katniss. Step aside, Harry Potter. I’ve got an idea for the next great series complete with beloved characters and breath-holding action sure to spawn a trilogy of movies and scads of marketing paraphernalia—or do I? Is my idea BIG enough?

Many writers make New Years' resolutions to write more, so an efficient use of one's time would be to analyze an idea thoughtfully before committing months (and years) to writing it out in the first place. Here’s how to tell if an idea is series-worthy:

Passion for the Project

First and foremost, how passionate are you? A series of books takes a steady commitment of time and energy. At a conference, a series writer once expressed the fond desire to put her cast of characters on an island and blow it up; she was tired of writing the same characters, over and over!

Cast of Characters

Are your characters multi-dimensional? Is Villain purely bad—or have you given Villain a believable back story to explore the genesis of their evil actions? Is Hero reluctant at first? Have you given Hero the space and means in which to grow into the role? Have you populated your cast with interesting characters to interact with Hero and Villain in a variety of settings/plots?

Setting

Is your idea conducive to world-building? Where do your characters live and work? What do they eat? What do they do for fun? What animals/creatures exist in this world? Both fantasy and realistic stories require world-building for a believable backdrop that gives elbow room for Hero and Villain to explore.

Brainstorm 

Brainstorm story ideas quickly. Make a list. Include silly, random ideas:

•   Hero and Villain butt heads on a mountaintop, skiing Bond-style in a chase that has a steamy, wet end in a ski lodge Jacuzzi.
• Villain sneaks behind Hero onto a rocket headed for the international space station which must be diverted from an impending disaster before oxygen runs out. 
• Hero discovers his love interest is related to Villain in an unexpected way, complicating what Hero thought would make an easy demise for Villain.
• Villain finds and destroys the object Hero seeks.

Does your list stop cold? Could you go on and on? With a small list—or with a story focused more on a relationship between a limited cast—perhaps the idea is best served by a short story or novella. If your story ideas seem boundless at the brainstorm stage, perhaps you have the kernel of a good series.

How do you determine what form a new idea should take? Novel? Short story? Article? Series? 

Got Characters?

By Suzanne Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

Need someone new to fill out your cast of characters?

Attend your Summer Reunion!

If you are a writer holding an invitation to a reunion this summer, what are you waiting for? RSVP YES!

Not only will you reconnect with old friends or family, but your attendance will be rewarded with a surprising roster of characters to add to your writing power!

Not everyone enjoys a reunion, especially if the initial experience was one that took several years to forget let alone spend money for hotel and gas in order to remember. High school reunions usually elicit a "meh" from me, but this summer an invitation came to a reunion I couldn't refuse: a once-in-a-lifetime 30 year reunion of a camp staff I had worked with as a teenager. I had spent a few nearly idyllic summers on a lake in western NY working as a cabin counselor and waterfront/boating staffer at the most wonderful camp in the world. I had to go.

The promise of being 17 Again (i.e. sans the spouse and kids for an entire weekend) was enticing…It's the title of a fun Zac Efron movie and exactly the way I felt driving from Connecticut across New York state.

"You look exactly the same!" "Really? So do you!"

Teenage years are spent running along the brink of life, deciding the biggies: what to do with our lives, where to attend college, what values to stand for and who to love. Exciting summers filled with goofy, spontaneous fun and deep conversations. Endless days of lakeside fun and evening songs around the bonfire. It was a personal thrill to see beloved faces and hear voices that remained familiar after three decades of silence. 

The writer in me found a gold mine. 

"Gotta be some golden characters in them thar hills!"

Changes are not so obvious in people you see daily or even yearly. A reunion provides an opportunity to compare how people were “back then” with a snapshot of the “now.” 

Those yearbooks proclaiming some faces as “most likely to” probably actually really didn’t; in my reunion’s example, the “class clown” turned out to be one of the most successful as marketing director of a company that is a household name around the globe.With a collision of “what was” and “what is” in front of your eyes, your writer’s mind will easily be energized, like a magician conjuring many “in between” stories.

Try it for yourself! Have you met new characters this summer?

Crafting Characters

by: Stephanie Burkhart

Characters are the heart and soul of your story, but what makes them cross the line from two-dimensional to three-dimensional? What makes them compelling?

Author David Corbett offers four elements that you can add to your characterization and I think they're spot on.

To cross the line, keep your character's internal compass consistent, yet ensure they can still surprise you.

First, a character has to have a driving need, desire, or goal. What makes a character interesting is what that character wants, and the stronger the desire, the more compelling the drama. Desire helps to create conflict, and how your character manages conflict makes the story interesting.

Second, secrets make interesting characters. If there's a trait or an incident the character wants hidden, but is revealed, it might make that character lose standing with family and friends. What makes secrets delicious is that they tell readers what characters have to lose and why.

Third, contradictions bring to light what readers can't predict and thus shows surprise. For example: a character can be desperate, yet proud, and decide to take a job that might not be up their alley, just so they can earn a living.

Lastly, nothing draws a reader to a character than vulnerability. When people need help or are wounded, we're drawn to help or feel sympathetic to that character. Secrets play into this trait. If the character is afraid of the secret getting out, it gives the character a vulnerability they might not have had.

What can you do to help deepen characterization? Flesh your characters out. Cast the character. Write character bios. What do they like? Dislike? Write a flash fiction or short story to get to know them. Draw on real life inspiration such as friends, family members, and co-workers. You can also make a list of your emotional triggers. For example: What's your greatest fear? When did you show true courage? By drawing on your triggers, you can bring added dimension to your character's desires, wants, needs, secrets, contradictions, and vulnerabilities.

If you're new to writing, I suggest using a character bio sheet to help you fill in the basics about them. For me, it also helps to "cast" the character. For "Aly" in First Flag of New Hampshire I think of a young Claire Danes. A simple character bio can look like:

Name:

Born Where?

Lives Where?

Languages spoken:

Hair/Weight/Eyes/Height

Likes:

Dislikes:

Greatest Fear?

Wants to be what when they grow up?

You can modify the character bio to fit your writing/story. I usually spend about 2-3 weeks "prep" time before I even write researching the story, the setting, the time period, and compiling my character bios.  The time I take to prep and prepare character bios really helps when it's time to put paper to pen.

Question for you: What do you do to help you understand your characters?

Author Bio: Stephanie Burkhart is a 911 Dispatcher for LAPD. She's also an assistant den leader for his son's Cub Scout Wolf Den. She was born and raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, but went to live in California when she got out of the Army. She loves coffee and adores chocolate. You can find her at: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com

Reference: "Hooked on a Feeling," by David Corbett, page 32-36, Writer's Digest, Jan 2011. 

Buttoning Up Your Characters

by Ginger Nielson

Your ideas have come quickly and centered around a plot you have wanted to develop for some time. Your characters, however need to be more uniquely defined.


Have you ever noticed the unique quality and design of a particular button? In some cases a button can be so intricate or finely designed that one could create an entire outfit around just that one amazing button.

I have a box of buttons that have been collected and added to over the years. Many of them came from street vendor sales on Canal Street in NYC. But there are notions counters, flea markets, and even online sales of button collections that can contain many fascinating varieties. Using the buttons to develop a character can be more than a fun exercise. It can actually help to create an entire cast of characters.


Put a handful of buttons on your desk or work area. Take a look at them. Separate out some of the most unique. These are your main characters. Who are they? Let me explain.

Right over here is a velvet button. It is dark blue and so soft on the outside. If you squeeze it a bit, however, you will feel that it is only covering a very hard interior. Ah, this character may have all the smoothness of velvet but inside there is a heart of stone.

Next to that is a wooden button. It is very plain and worn on the outside edges, but here in the center a little brass piece has been added. The shine and sparkle draw your eye in at once. This character has seen pain and heartache, but keeps that glow no matter what has occurred in the past.






What about this button? It is a simple pearl. There is a decided pinkish tinge to this one. Maybe it is a character with great potential that has yet to be realized. This individual is beginning to become the person it was meant to be.

There is that silver button. A brushed metallic coating hides the glow that should be there. This character is struggling with some inner demons. The shine has been worn off, but it was there at some point before life intervened with problems.


Those problems were not nearly as bad as the character who was developed from the broken button. Made of cheap plastic, it cannot be stitched, glued, or taped back together.
It might be useless unless something intervenes. Perhaps your character is searching for a cure, or remedy for a problem so large it seems insurmountable.










The last two buttons are direct opposites.

The first one is large, black, and shiny. It was most likely used on someone’s coat long ago. This character has a mystery connected with it. What happened in its past to create such a dark yet dramatic appeal.

The second is a finely crafted crystal. It is one of a group that once belonged together as a family. Even if you take one away from the family it still glows brightly. The light shines through it, around it, on it, and can not be overshadowed. This character is your hero or heroine. Overcoming darkness with a light from within. No tragedy is too great for this character to handle. This character has the ability to shine light in the darkest places.
Perhaps the shiny black button and the finely crafted crystal are opposing personalities you will want to develop.

Who is living in your button collection?

Ginger *:)

Making Characters Breathe

by Vivian Zabel  

         Have you ever become interested in a story or novel to the extent you can "see" one or more of the characters but the others seem flat, or one dimensional? Perhaps you've read something and thought, "A real person wouldn't act like that or do that"?

         Characters who aren't "real," who don't breathe, don't live for the reader can destroy an otherwise good plot.

         Believable, living characters make a story, novel, article live and breathe, too. Several tips can help the writer create a “can’t put it down” manuscript that could catch the eye of an agent or publisher and finally readers.

* Know your characters. Create a life, likes, hates, etc. for each characters. Even if most of the information never makes its way into the plot/story. The more real a character is to you, the writer, the more believable he or she will be to others.
         Personally, I make charts for my characters, listing even unimportant aspects such as favorite color, food likes and dislikes, as well as major components of their personalities and physical appearances. I have each character on a separate file card with his/her name at the top.

* Characters needs strengths and weaknesses. Whether characters are likable or unlikable, they need good traits or strengths and bad traits or weaknesses. No living person is one dimensional, so neither should fictitious ones be. Even Superman had one weakness, even if an external one.

         One sub-point - characters can be unlikable, protagonists, or evil without being excessively vulgar or profane.

* Flaws and passions should be revealed in layers. This idea ties into “show, don’t tell.” A writer can write a paragraph or more explaining the personality traits, feelings, strengths, and/or weaknesses of a character, boring a reader to tears; or the author can reveal layer by layer of the character through the plot and storyline - showing the reader the character rather than telling about the character.

* Be able to “show” your characters’ intentions. Thomas Mullen, author of The Last Town on Earth, stated when interviewed for the January 2008 The Writer: “I wanted to create a novel in which all the characters are motivated by good intentions, so I could play with the conflicts that would nevertheless result.”
         Yes, some characters in some stories or novels have evil intentions; but sometimes bad things can happen even if a character has good intentions. Knowing your characters intentions and revealing them through the plot helps make living, breathing characters.
         If you, the writer, know the whys and hows of your characters actions, thoughts, and words, then you can help the reader know, too.

* Observe and listen to people around you, or use your memory. Watch how people act and react. Listen to how they talk. Remember people you knew and how they acted and reacted, their foibles. Use those ideas in developing characters.

         I have offered but a few tips for developing characters that breathe, that live for anyone who reads your work. 

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Write What I KNOW? Are you KIDDING?

by Holly Jahangiri

Somewhere after, "Show, don't tell!" comes the advice to "Write what you know." It's sensible advice, but like "Show, don't tell" it offers little guidance to a novice who doesn't already understand the concept. In fact, if your first reaction to hearing "Write what you know" was to throw up your hands and say, "But I don't know anything! I'm doomed!" you're not alone.

But you'd be wrong.

"Write what you know" is just shorthand for "Pull it from somewhere deep inside you. Somewhere real, even if what you're crafting is fiction. Because fiction must be a believable lie, no matter how far-fetched the scenario. Reach in and dig around in the chambers of your heart for real emotion. Wander the mental library stacks to rifle through the memories and pick up inspiration from real events that you've observed or experienced first-hand. Steal your friends' quirks and mannerisms and do the ultimate mash-up to create characters that are familiar - but new and not likely to get you sued. Remember all that reading you did when you were a kid? You know what you liked about it, what sucked you in and kept you reading all the way to the dinner table. Use it all."

Try this:

1. Grab a piece of paper and a pen.
2. Think back to when you were in 7th grade. Jot down three memories that stand out. They don’t have to be huge events in your life, just three that come to mind when you hear “7th grade.” List them on the paper.
3. Who was your best friend that year? Write down a list of traits, quirks, mannerisms, and actions they did that made you especially like them.
4. Who was your nemesis or rival that year? Write down the traits, quirks, mannerisms, and actions that angered or frustrated you.
5. Now, flash forward – in your adult life, who is the most difficult person you have to deal with on a daily basis? What makes them difficult or challenging? What do you LIKE about them?

Next, write a story:

The year is 7th grade. The protagonist, from whose point of view you’ll write the story, is the challenging adult you named above (5). Give this person a new name, and regress them to the age of twelve. What makes them tick? Strive to understand them and to see their hidden potential, but use it in the raw form it might have taken when they were twelve. Take the best friend you listed (3) and make them the “inspirational teacher” – the one adult who makes a difference in your protagonist’s life. The antagonists of your story are your nemesis’ and rivals (4) – but make a real effort to give them depth – don’t let them be “evil” caricatures of themselves. Give them credible motives and feelings drawn from what you NOW know of human nature – secrets your protagonist has yet to figure out. Use the events of your own 7th grade year (2) as plot points – how do your characters react? How do they grow and change (or not) as a result of these events and their outcomes? Flesh it out with details drawn from memory and imagination.

Do you see, now, that “Write what you know” doesn’t require a degree in physics, or a background in medieval history? You can research the details if you can read – and if you write, then you know how to read. So now, add a little challenge: Pick your worst subject in 7th grade and research it in sufficient detail to write and describe a simple 7th grade lecture on it. Make that a scene in your story, using either your “inspirational teacher” or another teacher character created just for this scene.

When you’re done, you should understand “Write what you know.” Maybe you could even write a story about an aspiring writer learning to draw from the inner well of what he or she knows.