Purple Hearts

Characters are a fundamental piece of the story. In my opinion, you can have a great plot, one that captures the reader’s attention and makes them stay up until 3am, cramped on a loveseat with a full bladder, just so they can get to the happily ever after or resolution of the killer. However, if you don’t have great characters to get the reader to care about what happens, then you may lose them before the black moment.

I’ve teased my good friend, Kristan Higgins relentlessly that her latest book, Catch of the Day, angered me because it caused me to lose sleep on a weeknight. However, as much as I loved her plot, it was my investment in the characters that made me burn the midnight oil. I wanted the heroine to find love, to get over her crush on the town’s priest and discover where her heart would find happiness. She was my new best friend and I needed to make sure she was taken care of before I went to bed.

Another example of great character development comes from my fantastic critique group (hello ladies!) when Sherry posted a chapter with a incredible cliffhanger. An explosion occurred that put two characters in jeopardy. Everyone immediately reacted to the possible losses, but more so for the dog than the man. Was her male character unimportant, no, but she had written the dog as such an integral part of the hero’s life. We all knew that the hero would never be the same without the four-legged mutt. He needed to survive and we didn’t want to deal with the emotions that would surface for us if we’d have to mourn his loss.

I struggle with character development in my own story. I love my characters, hang out with them often and worry that what I see in them translates correctly on paper. Am I capturing their sense of humor, their strengths, their funny quirks? Do I show enough of their weaknesses or losses so everyone else understands their motivations without making them whiny or pathetic? They are real people and I want everyone to love them as I do.

So how can we create characters that people cry out for and want with them at the next office party? I’ve tried the character worksheets to 3-D my hero and heroine, but find I can’t get in touch with them that way (Bria has many of them posted in yesterday’s entry). Instead, I have to develop my characters as I write and edit them. A flaw in my writing method, maybe. Something I’m trying to overcome.

I am also trying to figure out what I love about the characters that stay with me. What draws me in so that I pull out the book while waiting to pick up my kids at school? What qualities in the heroine causes me to miss my favorite show? Perhaps knowing what works in other books, I will figure out how to make mine as captivating.

So I challenge you- think of a favorite character and tell us what you loved about him/her. What drew you in? What capture your attention? What made you fall in love with him/her (or caused you to loathe them if it’s a villain)? Let us know so we can all learn how to develop characters that make the world lose sleep!

P.S. Check out my follow women’s fiction writersexchange’s blog: Lynn Romaine at Ecosuspense. Her latest entry poses the important question of character vs. story- which do you remember most clearly? Please leave a comment for her!

Meg

Writer’s block for a writer is like a broken leg for a marathoner. You can’t do the thing that brings you stress relief, releases endorphins (anyone who’s written that perfect scene knows the ‘writer’s high’) or fulfills a life long dream.

Yet a runner can go to a doctor who can put the leg in a cast, and after an indeterminate amount of time, the leg will heal. Maybe some rehab is necessary, but most likely the runner will be back on her feet in no time. Back to training and reaching that goal. For a writer, there is no literary doctor. No prescribed healing tasks that will set it right. Nothing to guarantee a complete restore to health. So what does one do? What did I do?

First, I tried to push through it, but then remembered my personal promise to not force myself to do anything in life that wasn’t fun. Then I took a vacation, otherwise known as giving up. And I enjoyed it. For a while. I read, I watched way too much TV and I walked around aimlessly without that one thing that I did for MYSELF and for personal enjoyment. And I realized I missed it. I MISSED WRITING.

So the cast is off and I’m ready to start my rehab. I surfed the web, looking for sites to overcome writer’s block and I came across this great one: http://grammar.about.com/od/yourwriting/a/wblockquotes.htm

Writers on Writing: Overcoming Writer’s Block from Richard Nordquist http://grammar.about.com/mbiopage.htm. On the site, he captures numerous points in a writer’s career where writer’s block may interfere with the process and uses quotes from successful authors to help jumpstart over the hurdles. These are the ones that caught my eye, but I recommend you refer to the site for full details:

GETTING STARTED:
§ “The easiest thing to do on earth is not write.”
(William Goldman)
§ “Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials. It’s a matter of doing everything you can to avoid writing, until it is about four in the morning and you reach the point where you have to write.”
(Paul Rudnick)

The easiest thing to do is not write- very true. There are all the things that Paul Rudnick itemized that you can do to not write. BUT, and this is a big but, if you are a writer, if composing sentences and scenes is in your blood, after a while, the hardest thing to do is not write. It shows in your attitude and behaviors. It hurts.

CAPTURING IDEAS:
§ “I carry a notebook with me everywhere. But that’s only the first step. Ideas are easy. It’s the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats.”
(Sue Grafton)

I started doing this. Jotting down ideas, moments, descriptions of setting and people. This helped me realize that I was back in my writer’s head- seeing the world as a resource and it excited me.

COPING WITH THE BADNESS:
§ “We can’t be as good as we’d want to, so the question then becomes, how do we cope with our own badness?”
(Nick Hornby)
§ “You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”
(Octavia Butler)
§ “People have writer’s block not because they can’t write, but because they despair of writing eloquently.”
(Anna Quindlen)
§ “I think writer’s block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if you sit down at the keys long enough, sooner or later something will come out.”
(Roy Blount, Jr.)
§ “Lower your standards and keep writing.”
(William Stafford)

WOW- this section is what made me see the light. What hit me over the head and said, “You idiot! You let your inner fears stop you from doing something you loved!” I did stop writing, even this blog, because I felt my writing was horrible. I had let people read my last novel without it being polished and the feedback was nonexistent. I should’ve held myself back until I knew it was ready and showed it to someone who would give me feedback on what was right and what still needed work.

ESTABLISING A ROUTINE”
§ I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately I am inspired at 9 o’clock every morning.”
(William Faulkner)
§ “I have to get into a sort of zone. It has something to do with an inability to concentrate, which is the absolute bottom line of writing.”
(Stephen Fry)
§ “Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.”
(Barbara Kingsolver)

With all life demands, I do find it hard to establish a daily routine when it comes to my writing. The idea of putting six pages together each day won’t work for me. Instead, I hope to carve out one day a week that I can concentrate on my latest work. Progress won’t be easy, but I can use other unstructured time to think, jot down notes and observe the world to further develop characters and scenes. That way, even though I only have a set number of hours each week to write, I am working on my story every day.

WRITING:
§ “My block was due to two overlapping factors: laziness and lack of discipline. If you really want to write, then shut yourself in a room, close the door, and WRITE. If you don’t want to write, do something else. It’s as simple as that.”
(Mary Garden
§ “If you want to write, write it. That’s the first rule.”
(Robert Parker)
§ “The writer’s duty is to keep on writing.”
(William Styron)
§ “Read a lot. Write a lot. Have fun.”
(Daniel Pinkwater)

It sounds so easy, go write, but when you’ve fallen into one of the above traps, it’s not just about putting words on the page. It’s finding your inner confidence to battle the critical demons or carving out the time to join coherent sentences into paragraphs. Or maybe it’s figuring out the conflict that will tear your hero and heroine apart or even developing your characters. No matter what the cause of your writer’s block, I empathize with you and feel your pain. I promise the cast will come off eventually and when you are ready, you will be able to run again. And maybe even fly!

-Meg

On Wednesday, Bria made an excellent point that sometimes you have to write through the pain- whether it’s writer’s block, personal issues or actual emotional pain, because once you get to the other side, it’s amazing. I agree with this one hundred percent. If you love something, inevitably there will be rough times and you need to stick with it to get to the joy again. However, sometimes you also need to know when to say when.

Maybe the when is after 50 rejection letters and you realize that maybe you should stop sending out queries until you analyze the feedback. Or maybe it’s after editing for six months straight and you have to accept that the manuscript is as polished as you can get it right now (and you need to start sending it out). Or maybe it’s when the words just won’t come anymore on your current ms and you know it’s time to try something new. Whatever the occasion, sometimes you have to stop pushing.

As you know from my last few months of blogs, I’m not writing. Stuck isn’t even the word for it anymore. Creatively tapped? Artistically blank? Devoid of all literary skill? Regardless of the fancy description, it’s just not working. So I’m saying ‘uncle’.

I don’t remember where this password originated, but growing up with two physically overpowering brothers, ‘uncle’ was the only pass to escape the pain. When they would twist my body into five different pretzels and yell ‘Say it, say it!’ into my ear, I would struggle as long as I could, but inevitably I’d have to yell ‘Uncle!’ Only then would tthey let me go.

Using ‘uncle’ was not giving up, but it was conceding to the fact that you weren’t in the position to fight anymore. Like being backed into the corner of the boxing ring and you need the bell to sound so you can take a rest, rinse out your mouth and start over again. I need that not only in my writing, but also in the blog.

In talking to Bria this week about it, I used a bad analogy to explain how I’ve been feeling about the blog. It’s like we’re talking about France- Jessica and Bria live in Paris and I’ve recently relocated to Rome. I can reminisce about chocolate crepes, but Jessica can actually smell them and tell you what street corner vendor has the best ones right now. Memories of the Eiffel Tower dance in my head, but Bria can dance under the lights tonight and share about the people enjoying it with her. They are living writing, I’m remembering.

That being said, I know I haven’t been putting 110 percent into my blog entries and I apologize greatly. My fellow heartlettes and our readers deserve that level of participation and commitment. I can’t give it right now and feel I need to take a hiatus to concentrate on figuring out how to adjust to my new living environment. After all, when in Rome…

So I hope to return from my hiatus soon and re-embark on this adventure with everyone. In the meantime, I won’t be gone far and look forward to the posts of my colleagues, maybe even post a comment a time or two. Until then…

Uncle.

-Meg

It’s been a week of sick kids and stressed out me, so I’m going to cheat this week and refer everyone to an old post I wrote months ago about agents and editors. It will probably be deja vu with some of the great information Bria and Jessica gave out this week, but I thought it would go in line with the theme this week. So here goes…

An Agent by any other name…

Last week I talked about hotties and this week, since yesterday was Valentine’s Day (and since I’m horrible at research), I thought I’d continue along this vein and focus on chemistry. You know, that elusive quality between two people that catches your breath, causes a lump in your throat, makes you smile or touches your heart. It’s invisible, but you see when it’s there, and know when it’s not.You see it in the movies. The two main characters’ eyes meet and the screen comes alive; the temperature in the theatre turns up a notch. You forget you’re surrounded by strangers and find yourself holding your breath. Some random examples are: Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Patrick Dempsey in Lucky Seven, Jude Law and Cameron Diaz in The Holiday, Ashton Kutcher and his love interest in The Guardian.

On television, I live for The Office. The first few seasons, when Jim would gaze longingly at Pam across the room or when they would joke around. Ahhh. A shit-eating grin always spread across my face. And I feared all summer that their chemistry would not continue if they started dating (yes, sometimes I exert too much emotional energy into my entertainment world) as often happens (cite the Dave and Maddie fiasco of Moonlighting), but never fear, Jim and Pam are hotter than ever. I also noticed it last night as I watched the Masterpiece theater’s version of Northanger Abbey (and yes, I know for true Jane Austen fans, these versions don’t measure up). When Mr. Tilney smirks at Catherine Morland, a silly flutter goes through me. The two actors have that special something that brings a sunny day to normally dismal London (or Bath in this case). Or what about Sydney Bristow and Vaughn. Or Pacey Witter and Joey? The list goes on and on.

And in books, I’ve had my heart skip a beat as I read many novels. Nora Roberts is the queen of chemistry. Rarely does she write a book not swimming in it. Others noteworthy to mention are: Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight (yeah, I know, I continue to rave), Mildred Lee’s The People Therein (my all time favorite book as an early teen) and…

Chemistry between the hero and heroine is hard to come by. Usually I’ll watch or read something and I’m left feeling empty, that something’s missing. I don’t feel the characters or the story. I’m probably the only one in the world who’s glad McDreamy has moved onto Rose in Grey’s Anatomy. I think they have that special something. That extra fizzle that I never felt between him and Dr. Grey—wow, I can’t even remember her first name right now. That’s how forgettable their interactions are for me. LOL

And that’s the ultimate goal with your characters. You want the reader to remember them long after they close the book. You want them to be so lifelike and full of energy together, that the reader begs for a sequel and dreams of the characters.

How do you create this chemistry in your writing? Well, research. You watch those movies and television shows with your thesaurus nearby to determine the words to capture what you see. Or you write down the responses of the hero or heroine in the books and see how you can regenerate them (without plagurizing). Or you people watch- one of the best ways to garner information on human interactions.

<>As for my own research, I might elaborate Jessica’s grand idea of bridal research (Jess- I love this idea and will go with you anytime!). Since I’m stuck on the YA, maybe I will pull a 21 Jump Street and go undercover in a high school (when I walked the halls of one a few years ago, I was asked for my hall pass, so maybe I could pull it off). Or hang out at the mall or local dining establishment. Maybe that’s what I need- immersion in the world I want to build. And the world of YA is much easier to visit than a sci-fi fantasy. Or is it?

-Meg

<>

Hottie. Cutie pie. Sweetheart. Sex personified.Whatever you call ‘em, we love ‘em. Men who make us smile, sigh, blush, catch our breath, quiver, melt, beg, laugh, flirt and want more. Men who inspire us to wake up early to shower and shave (our legs), put on makeup, wear sexy clothes, exercise and keep ourselves looking good. Men who cause us to toss our hair with that silly little giggle or bat our eyelashes. Men who might come between you and a good friend or break your heart into a million pieces.

Hollywood has an unrealistic percentage of them. There’s Patrick Dempsey on Grey’s Anatomy- he could cut open my brain anytime. Or Chad Michael Murray on One Tree Hill- how I’d get in trouble if I were his teacher! And let’s not forget Lost- I don’t think I’d be trying to get off the island if I were trapped with Jack, Sawyer and Locke (something about that man just melts my butter). And a few American Idol hopefuls have me actually tuning in this season. I love television!

And what about in my real world? There’s the teenager I met last week- the way he twirled his pencil mesmerized me. I couldn’t stop staring at his hands. Or the juvenile probation officer I worked with a decade ago whose humor and voice caressed my ears and made me crush on him before we even met. And an old childhood friend who always knows exactly what to say to elicit a blushing smile.

All of these hotties in my life (real and theatrical) get used in my writing. That adolescent’s hands will entice and tingle the virginal skin of my YA heroine. The PO inspired the hero in my first novel (one I just might drag out and dust off again). And the childhood friend’s comments made their way into the mouth of the hero in my second women’s fiction. And there’s no denying the resemblance between Patrick Dempsey and my last hero- the twinkling blue eyes and magnetizing smile.

Psychologist call this sublimation, or the act of transforming unwanted impulses into something less harmful. You see, I’ve been married over ten years to my own hottie. He’s sweet, smart, sexy, funny and lights my candle (lol- the clichés are getting thick aren’t they?). BUT, he’s nowhere in my writing. You’ll never find a hint of him in my characters. Why? My writing is fantasy. It’s the energy behind all those naughty thoughts I’ve ever had about other men put into something constructive and positive. I don’t think I need to explain my outlet for mischievous thoughts about my husband, do I?

So your assignment this weekend, if you choose to accept it, is to find a hottie. Maybe it’s a complete person, or some quality of someone (in your real life or theatrical) and figure out what makes that person a hottie. Then use that in your writing. Juice up your hero- his voice, his looks, his mannerisms and behavior. Make him HOT!

-Meg

It’s official. I’ve found the book I wished I had penned. The characters are memorable and leap off the page so much so that I could smell, hear and feel them long after the final page. The conflict is the ultimate tragic love story. You want to cry for the two main characters as they fall in love and struggle to resolve the issues that should keep them apart. And because it’s a romance, they do work it out, but not without pain and suffering and the knowledge that their love may not enough to keep them together. And finally the concept is so original that I feel I’ve never read a book like it before.

<!–[if !supportEmptyParas]–><!–[if !supportEmptyParas]–> I’ve been trying to figure out exactly what makes this book so great in terms of the writing (in addition to the above of course). And after a week of thought and analysis, the book works because there is not one useless word. Every scene moves the action forward; every sentence is simple and essential (even the dialogue and tag lines). Useless description or dialogue is trimmed and the unnecessary words are edited. I think there was only one paragraph that I glossed over (the description of teh hero’s home) when I have a horrible tendency to skim through multiple chapters of other novels. In contrast, I reread certain sentences often to drown myself in the emotion and sit in the scene. Now if only I could get my hands on the next in the trilogy.

So what is this fabulous book?

<!–[if !supportEmptyParas]–><!–[endif]–>Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight. <!–[if !supportEmptyParas]–> <!–[endif]–>

If you haven’t read it, get out to your local bookstore or library. If you have, let me know what you think made it so great.

<!–[if !supportEmptyParas]–><!–[endif]–> -Meg

When all is said and done, I think I’m an organized person. I color code my calendar to keep track of all my family’s appointments, my crazy work schedule (I currently have three part-time jobs) and social occasions. I have notebooks for each job and home to jot down things I can’t juggle in my head. Bills are kept in a separate file and junk mail is immediately discarded. I even maintain all the records at my main job- attendance, registrations, evaluations, etc.- all in a carefully constructed system. I can do this in most areas of my life, so why can’t I do it in my writing?I do have a notebook for all my literary pursuits. The front opens to conference issues; the back lists topics for the blog. Somewhere in the middle section, notes on writing ideas begin in a jumbled fashion depending on what I’m working on (the new YA or submitting the women’s fiction). Yet this is the extent of my organization. I wish I did more.

For example, I’ve always heard it’s best to research your genre and know what’s out there so I’ve been reading numerous YA authors. I know what I’ve liked about the books and what I didn’t like. Problem is, I haven’t been keeping track of the important aspects of the books to see if there is a general theme to them. Sort of like what our Heartlette Karen Foley did when she targeted the Blaze line.

Recently, I had the pleasure of hearing Karen share the research she did before jumping from historicals to Blaze. She read a large number of Blaze novels (maybe 60?) and kept a spreadsheet of important aspects- when the hero and heroine meet, first kiss, first sex scene, number of sex scenes, etc.- so she could learn the ‘rules’ of these typical novels before she wrote one to target the line. An impressive organized approach to writing. And I’m jealous of it.

I’m not a spreadsheet person (see Bria or Jessica for those) and the thought of designing one to monitor my YA reads gives me a headache. However, unless I start focusing on what may have made the books different enough to attract a publisher’s interest, all my reading may be a waste of time (and we know how I hate wasting time!). But the thought of dissecting each chapter and reading it as a ‘researcher’ instead of a reader makes me want to cry. I worry it will ruin the enjoyment of the book and will turn it into work instead of play.

Take my current read- Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight. I’ve fallen in love with her characters. Why? I don’t know. The heroine is a flawed, unpopular, sad fish in a zoo, if that makes sense, and I desperately want her to be happy. And the hero? He’s enigmatic, hot and cold, and a bit arrogant (aren’t they all- and note, I’ve only started the book so I haven’t gotten to the why he’s like this), but I think I’m falling for him. Every time he enters the scene, I catch my breath and wait, just wait to see what he’ll say or do. Why? What is so special about Stephanie’s writing that makes me want to crawl into the book or read them out of it a la Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart?

So if anyone has any ideas on how to organize my reading so it can be both enjoyable and useful, let me know. I would love to balance both!

Meg

I’ve been trying to figure out a post to coincide with our topic-of-the-week, but I haven’t found the time (no pun intended). I’m a time juggler and try to cram as much into one moment as I can. While my son is at gym class, I strategize how I can best use that forty-five minutes and cross things off my to-do list. Yet it never seems to work. Something always manages to screw up the plan. Even today, I have the whole afternoon to complete the tasks I needed to do all week, but I never factored in the residual effects of my morning eye appointment and how the dilation drops prevent me from focusing on anything. (Right now, I’m typing this with one eye closed and sunglasses over my regular glasses- not easy and man, the headache!)

So when I think about time management, I laugh. After all, time is the one elusive item that we can’t control. It never changes. You can’t stretch it out or slow it down. It’s never stops to let you take a breath or rewind for a do-over. So how can you manage it? All you can do is manage the activities you do and use the time to the best of your ability. When that comes to my writing, it usually means writing gets pushed aside. There’s never enough time for it.

I’ve heard all the advice about getting just a paragraph on the page each day and it will add up. Writing morning pages or setting a goal, none of that works for me. I never understood why until Jessica passed along a blog to me this week and it all made sense. On the Moody Muses blog, Barbara Tanner Wallace writes about honoring your process and knowing what you need to get the words on the page. Some people can ‘squeeze in’ writing among their daily to-dos. Like sitting in the parking lot waiting for school pick-ups or in between appointments. Productivity happens for every person in a different way.

For me, I need time to write. Yeah, you say, don’t we all. What I mean by that is I need a good block of time set aside to get revved up and ready. I need to reread the last pages I wrote to get back into the mindset of my character. I need uninterrupted quiet to immerse myself in my created world. I need a few moments at the end to return to reality. I can’t squeeze in quality writing in a twenty minute span (unless I have a scene that has to get out so I don’t forget it. And then it’s usually not quality work). I can’t write a paragraph here and another there. It’s not my process.

And in the end, like Barbara said, it’s important to honor your process. Yes, if I don’t find the time to write for weeks on end, that’s okay. I know I will eventually. I’d rather spend the time I do have writing well, then writing something I’ll have to work four times as much to fix. Because in the end, you can’t manage your time, you can only manage what you do with it.

-Meg

It’s official. I think the words have left me. I’ve been staring at the blank computer screen for five straight minutes trying to think of my opening line for this New Year’s writer’s resolutions blog. Now five minutes is not the black hole of time, but when your mind is empty and you’re a writer, (and you haven’t been writing for months) those precious three hundred seconds can feel like you’re trapped in space without oxygen.

This moment of frozen panic lead me to thinking about the beautiful email Jessica wrote last night in response to my quiet cry in the darkness…a tiny question hidden at the end of an irrelevant email…what if I never write again? Her response was perfect. She never allowed me to accept that I will NEVER write again, but gave me some avenues to pursue in my investigation of ‘why’ I’m not writing. And the one that stuck with me is her comment about having an inner three-year-old that stomps her feet, pouts and gives up. And having a real live three-year-old in my daily experience, I must admit there are some similarities to the standard tantrum and my recent behavior.

When I completed my last manuscript, I was so proud of it. I actually had a high concept plot (or what I think might be one), characters I wanted to have coffee with, some romance, some drama, even a conflict or two. I felt it was the best writing I had ever done. I let other people read it and got some great feedback and suggestions of areas needing work. Then I sent it out. And the rejections poured in and my heart sank. I started revisions and hated them. Every new word or chapter felt wrong so I stopped. And NaNo started and I struggled. Tremendously. So I threw myself on the floor, kicked my feet and screamed.

Okay, not really on that last part, but that is what I wanted to do. I admit I did pout, and I did growl a few suppressed primal screams. And I definitely whined (just read any blog in the last three months- hell reread this blog!). Therefore, summing it all up- I had an adulterized tantrum. And what happens to a whiny, tantrumming child? She goes in time out.

So here I am, still sitting in time out, literally facing the corner of the room (ironically that’s how my computer is set up). And I’m ready to get up. I want to. So I apologize to my creative process for forcing you into NaNo. It wasn’t the right outlet and did more harm than good. And I’m sorry, my sensitive soul, for rushing you into the world when you weren’t strong enough to deal with the rejections. The story needed polish and I shouldn’t have sent it out to agents when it wasn’t ready. And to my inner negativity, I need to put a leash on you and not let you roam free. Turn to the dark side again, I will not.

For 2008, I will follow my personal promise made last week. In my writing, I will remember that life is too short. I will write when I want to and how I want to. If the story is not working for me, I will find a new one. I will not waste my time and talent on something that weighs me down or does not excite me. I will write without thought of what others will think or how they will react. I will write in hopes of one day getting published, but not to get published. I will write for me.

-Meg