Friday, September 24, 2010

The Great Blogging Experiment















All writers have their own formula to getting a story where they'd like it to be. In my book, characters are the most fun to calculate. Although I have never finished a novel (bear with me), each story I begin ends up including characters I wished to live like. I believe I'm creating characters that live inside me, who I can only be on paper. Which leads me to believe: Every character you've grown, or will grow, will have pieces of you that you may have not known existed. Though, how they are grown matters.


I believe it's good for a writer to have a writing method because: 1. You will learn your strong and weak points at approaching your character (or even setting)  and 2. After improving your writing style by using your method, you can develop more as a writer by trying different methods. Writing's all about exploring, isn't it?

Lets pretend we have a character in mind, with specific descriptions that affect our story. My first thought is what is known as the first step from my method:
  • Understand your character 
Basically, if you haven't felt a close connection to your character, how do you expect anyone else to? It's just like when a writer cries, the reader cries too. Understanding every aspect of your character is important because it makes the story real. And if I ain't buyin' it, I ain't buyin' it.

Through the years I have noticed a pattern in my characters. They are not who I am, but who I strive to be like, day by day. They are the Joan of Arcs: brave and forceful, the Martin Luther King Jr.'s: honest and hopeful, the Anne Frank's: witty and aware, and so fourth. I make these characters strong willed people because every single one of us has the choice to become that way and it's so easy to shrink to the level of fear and hesitation. But we all don't feel that powerful, do we? If I were to write about someone who lived like we do (on a non-perfect planet and human), I would imagine there being flaws in my character.

Regardless of the genre you've chosen, your characters must fit into the puzzle you're designing. It makes sense when your character's a loner in high school, who's considered the class "nerd" and gets picked on. It's convincing when you find out why he's a loner, where he comes from, and how 'life' is represented. So without further ado, step two:
  • Consider your reality 
This may seem like common sense, but I would guarantee this is the most forgetful concept while working out your ideas for your story. Lets make a notetoself because it would be such a stress invitation when you've concluded how you want your character to be yet it doesn't match your setting.

My third, and last step, to my method is more to help the writer with the character. So we've got our character mixed with an established setting and our story's unraveling, but we freeze. We're all searching for a great story to discover and evolve in but controlling the story isn't as easy as it looks. Maybe you're like my blogger friend Jolene, unsure how to end a relationship, or like my other blogger friend, whom I call Mask, wondering if chapter two should be split up to understand the characters and setting better. There's so many examples, as I'm sure you're nodding your head to decisions you're facing. Which leads my point to step three:
  • Let your conscious be free
The reason I've made this step last and not first is for it be a reminder. Even when you've got everything figured out, always be open to ideas that come your way and allow your characters to breathe. The whole purpose of writing is to release your thoughts so why not take advantage of it? Don't constantly think about it; manipulate it on paper, write different versions, and force your ideas to come out. That doesn't mean it has to make sense, but you become aware of what's possible and of what you're capable of doing. By then your conscious is no longer struggling with stress and uncertainty, but is dancing with freedom, ready to get back to living through your imagination.

Sincerely,

Lettuce Head

32 comments:

  1. Great post! Totally agree with each character having a piece of 'you'. How else would we be able to relate to them, and write them authentically, right? :o) Btw, nice to meet you!

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  2. Great reading; more thoughtful and wise words, thank you.

    In my case, I will be splitting Chapter 2 into two separate, shorter chapters. I want to establish the settings quickly, before the next part of the story, which is when the two main characters meet as babies. That’s actually the inspiration behind the whole thing: I used to be told a story of when I was a baby on a family holiday; we were n a restaurant, and I was sat opposite another baby apparently. I’m told that we just sat there staring at each other – we didn’t eat, or take any notice of anybody else. Over the years, that story has never left me, and I began wondering what the connection was. And, I started writing my story as a direct result.

    The other piece of writer’s advice, I once read, was from Ernest Hemmingway: Write drunk; edit sober
    The enigmatic, masked blogger strikes again

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  3. Great tips! Understanding your character makes it easier for the reader to understand and grasp the emotion that should be found behind the curtains!

    Thanks for participating!

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  4. I like your tips. I think the letting your conscience be free is an easy one to glaze over.

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  5. I dig how you draw such an intimate connection between the character and the writer, and include yourself in that. In my case, as I think about it, a lot of my characters begin with some part of me that I consider a flaw or a potential flaw, and then there's a personality wrapped around that. At the outset of the story, it's neutral. Then I throw hell at it, and it becomes clear that it's a flaw. And then there's the hope of redemption, or at least of coming out alright in the end -- which probably helps put me at ease with that aspect of myself.

    Geez, I hope there's more to writing than just therapy in public.

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  6. Understanding your characters is HUGE and vital.

    Happy weekend!
    Lola

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  7. Very nice! I especially like the let your conscious be free. Sometimes that's so hard, because we have things we want the character to be/do. But we really do just need to let them live on the page.

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  8. I also agree that freeing your conscious is integral to writing a compelling anything. Sometimes we became so aware of our desire to create a story that we're proud of and people love, that we end up trapped by our own intentions. There is a beautiful freedom inherent in writing -we can say and do whatever we please- that we mustn't forget to savor.

    Great post! I'm glad to have found your blog.

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  9. great post wholeheartedly agree that in every chracter there is a little bit of ourselves in there!

    have a great weekend

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  10. Very insightful. And - awwww - I was mentioned in your post. HAPPY HAPPY ME!

    I really liked your comments about considering your reality. What would THAT person do in THAT setting at THAT time and sometimes, they just have to break hearts. Sniff, sniff...

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  11. OH! And before you know it, you'll be like, "oh yeah, and on the second book I finished..." Cuz you'll totally get there.

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  12. @everyone

    AWESOME! You guys are awesome! Thanks for reading and giving your feedback. I've read all of your posts and each post has taught me something new. Wonderful experiment, so keep em' coming! :)

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  13. Hey - great info. It's good to put "you" in each of your characters. And a great book is a great puzzle. Each character is part of that puzzle and when those characters are great - it's magic. =D

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  14. Hi, I dropped in from Steph's blog. Nice to meet you. I especially liked that you mentioned the setting. The characters and the setting have to match. Too often they don't or are forced.

    Really enjoyed your blog. Am following you now. Have a great weekend!

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  15. Super points. I agree that you have to listen to your characters because they should evolve through your storyline, just like real people evolve through life's situations.
    Good luck on your writing and finishing that novel! :)

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  16. All my characters have pieces of me. It's just how it is. This is a really great post and coming from someone else who has yet to finish their MS....good luck!

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  17. Awesome! Lots of great ideas and tips. Thank you! Conscience. Yes! Free the conscience. I love when you said our characters have pieces of us. So true.

    Fantastic post ;o) Love the blog!

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  18. "allow your characters to breathe" -- So important! It's great to have our characters figured out, but then it's so cool when we let go enough so our characters can surprise us. :)

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  19. This is a really great post. If a writer does all that you say she should do, you can be sure the reader will fall in love with the characters.

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  20. Here Here and congratulations on a fantastic post :-)

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  21. Write what you know best...and as you point out, that pertains to characters as well. Very insightful and relatable!! Thank U!! :)

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  22. Nice post! I'm definitely looking into its application on my beast of an epic.

    :-)

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  23. Great advice, and so true. On the first part, about understanding your characters, a writer friend once suggested interviewing them as a great way to get inside their heads. I blogged about it here with an example of an interview I had with my MC.

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  24. I totally agree with you on characters being a part of you. I seem to love all my characters because I kind of want to be them in away, or just be more like them. Great post!

    (Sorry if this goes through half a million times, Blogger is NOT my friend this morning.)

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  25. Great points! Totally agree, you have to understand your character and have that connection in order to write. Readers want that connection too. ;)

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  26. I have to understand my characters completely before I can even begin to create a story.

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  27. Three superb points! Understanding is crucial and sometimes it's a matter of the character telling the writer rather than the writer ascribing to the character. I've often been wrong about my characters, and the longer I write the more comfortable I am with letting them tell me who they are.

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  28. When I began writing my second novel, I knew all of the characters intimately save one. I tried to get to know him, but he just wouldn't let me in. So what did I do? I made him the main character. This forced him to open up a bit, and over time, he did. Nice post.

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  29. I think letting your conscience be free is the most important part by far. Yes, make sure the important bits are there, but have fun with the story!

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  30. Understanding your character and their motivation is key. How else can you tell their story if you don't know them?

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  31. Characters do have to have a piece of you to be authentic; if you can make them better in some way, that makes them more interesting. I also agree characters need to be strong-willed to overcome all the obstacles we put in their way. ;)

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