Welcome to my new page about writing. I plan to write a brief article each quarter about writing - from my own experience and point of view, plus add a continually evolving list of links on the left side of the page. If you have further ideas, let me know!

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Characters You Love -- And Love to Hate

(June, 2010)

~~For me, characters ARE story. Create strong characters and toss them into a tough situation – and if they’re true to the personalities you’ve given them, you’ve got yourself a book. Definitely, characters do intertwine with plot, location, and tight dialog. But characters are the kick-off - they bind your story and they make sense of your conclusion. If your characters are strong, you (and your readers) can trust them to lead you through a gripping tale.

~~But how do you create compelling characters? There are a lot of teachers and books out there to give you ideas. I can only share my method, reiterating again that there are a zillion ways to get from here to there, and you will no doubt find your own!
~~One of my favorite reminders, which hangs on my bulletin board and is my guide for every characterization, is “Every character has a life beyond the printed page.” I’m sorry but I don’t know if someone actually said that or if it’s been a slow realization from experience.
~~Some characters appear full-blown. For instance, Ms. May Apple Moon, the woo-woo director of the Bellehaven library, simply stepped onto the page, ready to irritate one and all. (I have honestly received letters asking, "Can't you DO something about her?")

~~ But usually, my method is to begin with a blank sheet of paper, on which I write a new character’s name in full, along with any nicknames. Creating names is worthy of an entire discussion – another time! I then describe this character physically and emotionally, their quirks and oddities, the fears and triumphs. I relate a childhood incident, and a secret that no one will ever know. Then, most importantly, I describe what this character WANTS, no matter how minor a role he or she plays. I spend a lot of time creating this profile, and when I begin to feel I'd recognize this player if I met him or her on the street, I set it aside. Parts of the profile will never appear in a book, they’re only to bring the character to life in my mind and on the page.

~~One caveat: be wary of basing a fictional character on an actual person. No matter how hard you try, you’re bound by that person’s personality. It can stifle your portrayal. Steal quirks and habits from real people, but save reality for a biography. Don’t be hampered by the truth!!

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Sticking To It

(March, 2010)
~~I won't begin with that cliché about applying the seat of one’s pants to the… Grinding it out when you’re not in the mood is every writer’s challenge, no matter what you write – well, maybe not everyone.
~~My favorite sight joke is of a man typing like a hurricane, then suddenly looking up at the ceiling for a brief second, and then going right back to his hurricane-typing. The punchline? “That’s Stephen King having writers’ block.”

~~When a writer sits down to write, it's common to be terrified that what you produce won’t live up to what you thought you could produce. The dialogue’s dead, the description’s dull, the plot went south twenty pages ago. The great temptation is to return to the beginning and fix it, then you discover the fixes aren't so hot, and so you fix it again, and pretty soon you’re in a frustrated knot and abandoning it to gather dust for the next forty years.
~~I learned long ago that when I began writing a new book, I had to start at the beginning and write to the end. Without looking any farther back than the page where I’d stopped the day before. Sound like a disaster? It can be. Characters’ names change, their children disappear, winter turns into summer, and the dead reappear. But for me, it works. A flow develops, and I learn to trust it. Not only that, a frustration develops because I’m sooooo eager to reach the end so I can go back and fix the mess I’ve made. For me, it’s getting that scary first draft out of the way so I can rewrite to my heart’s desire.

~~There are dozens of self-discipline tricks you’ve read about, I’m sure. Such as, always be at your desk or computer or pencil and paper at the same time every day, keep a notebook handy. Claim your time: tell the family to leave you alone. Turn off the phone. Leave home. Whatever works, do it.
~~Play at Pavlov’s dogs. I listened to Handel’s Water Music while I wrote Index to Murder, the 11th Miss Zukas mystery: every time, all the time. Continuously. If I heard it, I reached for my pencil. Don't you dare hum it in my presence!
~~Warm up: I have a small trick to get me started: I close my eyes and when I open them, I must write 500 words about whatever I’m looking at. Many short stories have evolved from those exercises.
~~Baby your superstitions: do you write better when spit on your heel and turn in a circle three times before you sit down? Do it. Need a photo of Aunt Jenny over your computer? Hang it up. (I have a photo of Dorothy Parker)
~~A few thoughts. More next time! jo

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