Monday, July 31, 2023
A Change in Location and Life Style
Saturday, October 22, 2022
Villainous Characters
This month's topic is about villainous characters who might have reached redemption and how did I go about making this happen?
In my first novel, the fantasy story of Magic Ageis, one man, Eldin, is a childhood friend of the character Ottillie. He is a royal guardsman, although his father is an aristo, his mother's family disavowed the pairing, making Eldin a bastard. It has rankled within him. He is guiding and guarding her on a trip to the southern province when a royal messenger arrives and gives Ottillie a message that the king and his family have been killed and Pertelon is invading the eastern coast along the river. Ottillie tells him he must go and inform the eastern garrisons to be on alert. He leaves but does not do as she asked, instead he goes back to court and works for the current regent who wants to become king.
Months later when Ottille goes back to the court she learns what he has done, but also accidentally overhears him talking in a circular staircase. She cannot recognize who he is talking with, telling Eldin he must kill the new king, Warrick. She learns he has been working for the Pertonalese. She waits until he comes down the staircase alone and asks him why he has committed treason. He replies, 'To improve my status!" He pulls a blade on her neck but knows he cannot kill her because of his love for her. Her feelings for him allow her to tell him to escape--to get out of Kaereya, their homeland. He does.
In the book Acceptance, Eldin is mired in the Pertelonese court but is not held in high regard even after doing some spying for the current King Clement. He is given the assignment of watching the previous king's son, a young man consider a dolt. Eldin knows the new king usurped the previous reigning family. But Eldin, still wallowing in his guilt over his actions in Kaereya, suddenly swears fealty to the dolt Prince Uilleam. Eldin goes on to prove his loyalty to Uilleam and even saves the idiot's life. It turns out Uilleam is not a dolt, but a smart young man playing an act to save his own life. Eldin thus, although forced to leave his home country and a ruined reputation, becomes an important supporter of King Uilleam.
It took two books, and although Eldin's reputation remains repugnant in Kaereya, he has proved his loyalty and worth in Pertelon.
Often, villains have a strong background of different types of abuse that makes them develop into an evil person. Depending on their mental background they can revert to descent people.
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Saturday, September 24, 2022
Character yes and nos.
This month's topic is how characters are defined in writing
and what do I leave to the reader’s intuition? Is there anything I never tell
about a character?
Well, writing is all about the story's purpose, and the
characters must work to carry out that purpose. So, of course, the reader needs
to understand the characters and think of them as real people, either good or
bad, for them to carry out that purpose. At the same time, readers pick
up hints about the character's personality from their own experiences. They
also get hints from what the character wears, does, and says. While some traits
of a character must be made, such as appearance, manner of speaking, and tone
of voice, often the reader has their own perspective on a character’s behaviors
that develop as they read which makes the reader part of the writing process.
Characters fall into categories. The main characters are
those the reader needs to know intimately as they are most important in the
story. Supporting characters help or hinder the main characters in some way the
reader can relate to, and placement characters, who often remain unnamed, just
help create the fictional world as a real place.
Is there anything I never tell about a character? Absolutely. The character doesn't need a biography. The reader doesn't need to know everything, only the pertinent information for developing the character as a real person and supporting the story's purpose
Please visit these authors' blogs for their views
on this topic:
Saturday, August 27, 2022
Developing Characters As Individuals
This month's topic is how do you create your characters--their quirks, habits, values, and what part they will play in the story, etc.? Do you have a process, or do they come to you instinctively?
Generally, ideas about my characters start when I'm just
thinking about a new story's plot. Once the story's idea is in place, then only
the main characters get established with backgrounds, although sometimes they
just appear. Being developed from my mind means my process may have an instinctive
basis. Yet, based on the plot, many of the problems they will face have already
evolved. Once this background is established, I start looking at the characters
and try to add the essences that make them different.
We all have different quirks, habits, and values. Some are
due to our genetics, and some come from how we were raised and the many
different experiences we have enjoyed or endured. With each of my characters, I
develop a background based on both the good and bad experiences in their past
and how these have affected them.
This doesn’t seem to be a set-in-stone process. Stories
change, and as they evolve this often changes the characters, too.
Most writers have a good understanding of people and how they differ, but creating a character also involves much imagination. However, keeping our knowledge of the real people in our lives out of our stories is an important principle in writing. So is borrowing characters from stories we’ve read
Of course, the pleasure of a series of novels is that the
characters are already somewhat developed, but that doesn't mean they can't
change somewhat in attitude, beliefs, and commitments. For me, they seem like
friends.
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Saturday, July 30, 2022
Where Do Characters Come From? What Happens to Them?
Ideas on Characters:
All stories have to have characters, human or not, or there can be no story as dialogue and action have to come from someone's viewpoint. Many books have had animals as characters, like the story of Bambi (not the 1942 movie versions, but the original 1928 translation of the Austrian version written by Felix Salten), or the story of Black Beauty. And, of course, many fantasy and science fiction novels have non-human, human-like characters.
But where do my characters come from? I'd have to say my imagination, although I will admit my mind sometimes works behind closed doors. I remember a long-time ago, before I started writing, I was having repeated dreams about someone I'd never met in real life. She inspired me to begin a story. During the writing, she changed and evolved into a somewhat different person-character than the dream one, who has never visited me again.
Sometimes ideas for stories occur first, either from imagination or occasional contemplation of problems. I might understand what I want a character to be like in a story, but before they can come into being, they have to have a name, which I imagine makes them individuals in my mind. So in those instances, I know a character's personality before I met them, but once I know them by name, they often change. I've written about character names before and where they come from, and why some names can never be used--which is part of the selection process. I've also written a post about evil characters and how I name them.
Character's death:
I've never had a major character die, but some minor ones have; mostly this shows the effect on the main character. The story often continues with how the main character moves on from this devastation. I've also read stories where the ghost of a previous character haunts the main character. That also can prove interesting. I will say that in one of my books a minor character who died is shown alive in another time warp of the story's universe.
Deleting Characters and Scenes:
Writing is time-consuming and sometimes arduous. Cutting a scene is difficult, but I've done it because the scene did nothing for the story. I cannot remember ever cutting a character from a story.
Visit the following sites for more perspectives on these topics.
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Do I use current issues in my writing?
This month’s topic is about using current social, political, or environmental problems in any of your stories or if you have ever thought about doing so? Why or why not? Such as:
- Do you ever include politics in your
stories (why and how?)
- Do you ever address topics like
discrimination or race relations?
- After your characters with or
against law enforcement and do you include the current climate of anti-law
enforcement in your writing
- have you incorporated gay/lesbian
characters?
- how does the current economic
climate feature in your books?
- Have you ever included current wars
in your books?
- Has terrorism ever appeared in any
of your stories?
- Do any of your characters address going green/global warming?
I thought I would say no to all of the above because most of my stories are fantasy or science fiction; but then, after some thought, I realized I did deal with some of these issues but in very minor ways. For instance, in Dragoons Journey the setting has humans living within enclosed habitats on a planet still developing an inhabitable climate. While starting their expanse into the outdoors world, it is mentioned that they should avoid the problems of human contamination of Earth and continue to live in habitats. From another perspective, future humans might have to adjust to living in constructed habitats if the projected dire consequences predicted for Earth’s changes come true. So perhaps I was forecasting changes to come?
Then I realized that both my Black Angel and Homeworld series are filled with politics. Yet these are not today’s politics. The Homeworld series also shows the female gender losing the equality they’ve worked so hard to gain in our cultures. The conflict between those who rule and those who must follow the rulers’ edicts seems to be prevalent in all societies.
Overcoming problems is one feature that makes writing and reading interesting. Readers have their concepts of what life is like in the contemporary world and what types of problems there are, so they can relate to almost any issue. (Which is probably a good thing.)
So yes, I’ve dealt with politics, global warming (future), and other current issues in an incidental manner, but not as a direct issue in any story.
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Saturday, May 28, 2022
Stalled Writing. What do I do?
Writing is enjoyable but can be difficult, and making each story and each character different can be challenging. I imagine all writers run into writing blocks where they can't decide which direction the story should take next. Sometimes I know that I have to take a break from my writing and clear my mind before I take a story further...or even start a new story. Matter of fact, I've been on a bit of a hiatus from writing for a while as other important projects have been interrupting my story imagination.
So lately, my projects have kept me from writing. I have a long list of books to work on but my enthusiasm has been missing.
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Saturday, April 23, 2022
How Much and What Do I Read?
This month's round-robin question is about how much reading I do, both for pleasure and for a work in progress.
I love to read and love my Kindle! My Kindle has more than 40 books on it, and I carry it with me all the time, along with a recharging cord and adaptor for electric outlets. I read during breaks at work, or while traveling (if not driving), and while in bed before sleeping. I've already worn out two Kindles.
I also read a lot of non-fiction, mostly in historical or science genres, but some are on various other topics like gardening, art, writing, psychology, and more. When I'm gone, I sometimes wonder what will happen to my 1000 or so books.
In the novel category, I love to read fantasy, contemporary romance, historical romance, or just historical stories, mysteries, and even general fiction. Becoming immersed in a story is satisfying as it generates all types of emotions, and becomes relaxing at the end when all (or most) problems are resolved. Stories I love I read multiple times.
I also read a lot of non-fiction. (Why do we call in non-fiction? Isn't there a better name, like factual or informative books? Something without the 'non' moniker.)
In history, I love reading about the earliest civilizations. In this category, I've read the Sumerians: A History From Begining to End, and I was fascinated by all the knowledge provided about a civilization existing from 5000 to 2000 BCE. I learned they came up with the concept of a 24 hour day, a 360-degree circle (a sexagesimal system which we still use today in our timekeeping), the year was split into 12 segments, they had a written language (cuneiform), they identified all the planets although the Greeks and Romans named them, and developed the zodiac. They had mathematical calculations to predict the future position of planets, multiplication and division tables, square roots, geometrical exercises, financial and loan contracts, and much more! I was so surprised to learn what humans knew over 4000 years ago and at the very beginning of humans living off the land in one location rather than roaming! Learning is one of the pleasures of reading!
I've read many non-fiction books for background information on stories I have had in progress. For instance, for my novel Constantine's Legacy, I read numerous books on the Roman Empire, the Carolingian dynasty, and the dark ages that are now known as the early middle ages. While the novel is fiction, many facts about the era were needed. Not much fiction is written about this era, but like the Sumeria, I think much more information is now available.
Because I like to write science fiction, I also need some groundwork for basic science in those novels. While some science can be fictional, it cannot be science from this age, or else the book turns into fantasy. Admittedly, I've written fantasy, but sci-fi is different (or should be—I've read a few that were based more on fantasy than science—but that's writing for you). So I've also read information for story background data on how to bioform a planet for future inhabitation, how different police departments work (for books in a contemporary setting—although policing has changed with time, too), and about various military ranks, and more on other various story topics.
I have to admit reading for me is more than a hobby—more like a passion.
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Saturday, March 19, 2022
Message Within the Story
The tension in all stories is achieved by the adversity the characters must overcome. This is what keeps the reader's attention and keeps them reading. This tension delivers messages about facing challenges, overcoming difficulties and differences, discovering love, and how to become an ethical and understanding person. The plot will also contain a message about how the characters reach a final resolution.