You've Known Interesting Characters all Your Life: Put Them to Work in Your Novel

Or how to not Bore your Reader into a Coma.

I'll bet everyone can do it. Pick out someone who is genuinely interesting, has led an inspiring life, has really funny things to say, and generally makes you glad to be around them. Strangely, I have even had a few positive phrases thrown my direction. A must have at a party, corny jokes, it must be the delivery, hey, whatever had that guy who used to whistle through his ears? Some people, the good ones are humble about it, seem to live large and project that to others.

This guy comes to mind...

Einstein wasn't just a brilliant, ahead of his time, paradigm breaking...he was interesting. How many other theoretical physicists can you name from the early 20th century? Or...ever?

I doubt that he ever put any thought into his appearance beyond being able to function in his world, that is until he realized the leverage it gave him. So likely without a whit of thought, he was so interesting that people who know nothing about physics (me) still talk about him a century after relativity.

In my book, the Time Fixers, the dual protagonists were physicists. With all the brilliant people in the field out there today (I like to read about it, even if I don't understand it) I mentioned only one person. Could he have changed the world as he did without being interesting? That is a subject for debate.

Pivotal Characters in Literature...and Their Impact.

So we know interesting when we see it. Now lets look at literary classics, particularly the ones that made a positive social impact. Let's start with Prince Hamlet, of course of Shakespeare's Hamlet. This is not someone you'd want to know personally, or at all. But even with having to wade through the archaic language, somehow you can't get enough. Why? Well....interesting. Nuts, but interesting.

Jane Eyre, of Bronte's novel of the same name, is described as 'poor, obscure, plain, and little.' She is also incredibly intelligent and steadfast in her principles. That makes a story which, on the surface, wouldn't hold much interest (for me at least), into an incredible find as she battles her circumstances. And other characters who are boorish and reprehensible.

Colloquially called, A Christmas Carrol, the novella by Dickens has enough interesting characters for a long saga. But what puts it over the top and drives the point home, is the little lame Tiny Tim Cratchit. We see the characters all going about their business in a really ugly (to me) historical period in which even the rich life doesn't look like much. But it's Tiny Tim, the innocent yet optimistic young lad with no chance at all who drives the point home. And although I didn't know it until recently, was the driving force in vastly increased social awareness and charitable giving when the work came out. Not bad for a novella.

That is impact anyone would love for their legacy.

Can anyone think of a more impactful book than Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin? Maybe, that's OK too, we're all creative types here. Of all the wonderful and despicable characters in the book, its Eliza Harris that drives the point home for me. She was out of this world courageous in escaping the hell hole world she knew when many of us might have knuckled under. She, to me, brings home the horrific and evil effects of slavery like no other. And she helped a generation see the light, and helped prepare them for the battle ahead.

That's great Mike, but I'm not writing a landmark classic filled with historical characters.

True enough for me as well. There is much to be said for slice of life, or incredible events erupting in the suburbs. But you get the idea. And I maintain that nearly everyone who sits at their computer has a point to make. And you see the impact interesting characters have. As I said earlier, nearly everyone can identify interesting people in their lives. What I've done, is take examples of those people I've known, change the identities, combine traits, and convert them into characters in my books. Strictly speaking, there is only coincidental resemblance to any person living or otherwise, as it says in the disclaimer. Because they never existed...but their traits did.

Maybe a good way to define the process is to think of uninteresting people you've known. I've always thought it curious that people can more easily identify negative characteristics in people than positive. Probably goes back to when we were coming out of the trees, and weren't supposed to look for the good in someone who may clunk us over the head and steal our meager food supply. So, compare and contrast. Go back to your tablet (electronic or paper, I recommend paper, so much more impressive with all the erasures and squiggles) and sketch it out. Interesting, uninteresting. By doing this, you'll begin to discover something that is right in front of us, but that we rarely recognize.

Now You're Developing Insight!

Previously, we'd talked about setting up a template for your story. If you'd ever done project management or organized on some level, that may come naturally to you. Characters are different. I was lucky. My muses came to me in dreams and told me stories about incredible adventurers who they urged me to write about. Its OK. I don't have enough money to make it worth my family's time to have me locked up.

Now on the one hand, you have your story outlined. On the other, you are creating a list of interesting attributes to load into characters. I should mention here, don't forget about the uninteresting ones. Overcoming legions of the dull makes a good fight for a protagonist. Here is your assignment. Play around with names, faces, images, and attributes. Its OK to have too many, in fact its a good thing at this point. You're going to pare it down, and you may just find that one of your characters would be a great fit...in your next book!

Its a different world folks, one that you are creating! You'll think differently, creatively. Be proud of that!

The invitation is still open folks. Come to my webpage, and let's talk about where you are, what questions you have, what works for you. My favorite classes to teach are those with open dialogue where I learn something too!

Next Week: Putting your characters to work.

*Sigh... That was my intention this week, but the subject is too big. A lot like me planning to do the landscaping, paint the deck, work on my writing, drink beer...etc, all in a weekend.

This blogging is a new chapter :o)> for me, I'll get better and we'll get there.

Come to think of it...the only thing I always accomplish is the drinking beer part.

Next week!

Mike's Writers Blog: How to Build a Book Post

Or, How to set up a routine and Framework without Sucking all the Joy out of Life....

We've been theorizing these past weeks, and we'll do it again. But for now, it's time to put substance into the post. First, we need put one of those big X's here (figuratively) that signifies where you are. And, although no where as cute as this pup, I'm here too...

You have an idea for a book. Likely, it rambles through your mind twisting and turning until you're sick of thinking about it. So pretend we're in a college level writing class with me as the droning professor (not quite literally) and I'll tell you how to shackle that beast!

First: YOU are the Master of your Writing.

Think about it. You have something others don't. You can visualize a scene, a person, or even an entire world that doesn't really exist. Unless you are writing a biography. More on that later... The tough part now is breaking your vision into a template and setting manageable goals to move the story toward conclusion. In essence, you are taking a wild horse and taming it. But not too much. Wild horses are intriguing and majestic, the domestic kind that gives kiddies and overweight tourists weekend rides aren't. Pretty, but not terribly interesting.

Step One: Define your Story.

Very few people geek out over academic papers as I did. Even so, I had to learn form and function to charm the professors. Brainstorming certainly has its place, but the real beauty of your creative process comes from giving it structure. As I tell my students, get passionate about a subject, define it, structure it, write it, defend it, summarize it. Writing a novel is much the same. Some people can do it in their minds (like algebra equations, but we won't talk about those people here...) others need a nice, clean tablet (or two) to work through their ideas.

This process came into full flower when I wrote Sagittarian Blue. I sat with my eldest daughter Sarah sketching out the details, to show her my method. (I hope you all have a rock of inspiration like Sarah in your life!) I usually didn't get so detailed, but did there for purposes of illustration. Wow. I found that by getting detailed, writing out the story from beginning to end, it made the process so simple that starting was a breeze once I got past the dreaded first paragraph. (more later).

I determined a starting point and an initial ending point. This will change as you free flow your first draft, and certainly in the much more extensive revisions. That's OK, you and the story are going to be lifelong friends if things work out, so just as in life, the relationship has to mature. For now, sketch it out from front to back. At this point, you should start to fall in love with the process, and be ready to devote all your free time (and then some) to it.

Step Two: Build the Staircase to the Floor You're Getting off on.

Now that you have your journey defined, add intermediate steps to get there. Steps have another name, chapters. Now some free range writers will argue that chapters are an antitquated concept that stifle the creative process. Good for them. For me, it helps to break the story into...well...bite sized chunks. I like to write mostly self-contained chapters, almost like a series of short stories in linear form. This way, if some lazy reader (like me) comes along and isn't really sold on the book concept and jumps into a middle chapter, they'll have a pretty good idea what that time-frame of the story is about.

The other benefit is that you can set your word count as a guide line (I like to grind out about 3,000 to 5,000 words per chapter) which I can do in a day. Sometimes less, sometimes a bit more depending on how many times the dogs have to go out. Oh, and if you shoot for 15 or so chapters, you'll come in at around 60k words, which is a good length for a light read. Someday I'm going to do a saga, probably about the time my readers demand one...

So, sketch out those chapters within the framework you've established. Essentially, you've just constructed a rubric and template. But remember, the droning professor is you, so make changes as you go. Admit it, you're starting to get excited! You should be, of all the people who've ever lived, YOU are the only one that is in charge of this unique creation!

Create a List of Potential Characters, and have them Audition...

Now that you have this great and exciting work of art in the construction phase, make sure the right people are acting out the parts. I like kids. Little varmints...they do get into your heart. I was actually one myself at one time. Relatives would tell you I never grew out of that. Going back to Sagittarian Blue, I had a huge list of kids that I wanted to be part of my fun story. But the last thing I wanted to do was diminish the journey. So I agonized, and pared the list.

I worried that I still had too many, and I'd love to do a continuation and further develop the characters I've come to know and appreciate. In fact, I'd like to splinter the cast (I think in movie terms) and have them go out on their own adventures.

So far, no one who has read the book has said it had too many. I'm sure someone will, and that's OK. I created a product I'm proud of, and that's the point. Well, so is selling books, but you get the idea...

Now that you are Vested in the Project...

You'll write with passion, because you own the process. None of this writer's block junk, you KNOW the journey. Don't misunderstand, you'll rewrite....and rewrite...and... But you are set to crank out that first draft. Wow, it has me ready to jump back in! (focusing on the blog and marketing presently, which is also fun) Oh, and save those initial notes, you'll refer back to them often. It will amaze you how far you've come!

So, how do I pass myself off as a Writing Coach?

Because I am one, on the collegiate level. I took brilliant but terrified students and by showing them the process we've just shared, turned them into voracious and great writers. People will disagree, but I think this is a great method for constructing a novel. That's the really neat part though, in creative writing, everyone is correct. The ultimate jury consists of readers. Remember what your goal is, which is up to you. Mine is create and inspirational world in my books, and share it.

I can't begin to describe the joy that gives me.

Time for a new Phase to Begin...Call to Action!

I invite any and all of you to share your journey on my website in the discussion. I really can't help it, I love teaching. I love writing. Mostly, I love people and their stories. Let's see if we can march forward together and discover even more!

Next Week: Develop those Characters and put them to Work!

That was the Sugar, now the Sulfur.

Similar to sticking your foot in quicksand, writing will suck you in.

That's the good part.

My wife Beth is very hard-working and practical. She believes that if there is a job to do, you dive in head first to the exclusion of all else. There is no point in sugar-coating, a job well-done is it's own reward. So, when I wrote my first two articles, she was at least somewhat disappointed in my tone. She thought I was cheating potential writers by making cheesy jokes about what is a very hard process. She was right.

And it was on purpose.

You have to appreciate the simple genius of Gary Larson. He looked at bizarre and everyday things from every conceivable angle, and came up with unique (hilarious) takes. The idea of someone with an attitude so positive that he could whistle while he worked in hell is breathtakingly funny. We'll skip the devils' equally hysterical analytical reaction for now. Though it is worth noting that if any of us can achieve this many layers of meaning in such a simple rendering in our writing, we'll be on to something.

Writing isn't exactly hell, though you're going to wonder what you did to deserve taking on such a harsh master. The writing process is going to be grueling, thankless, and it will devour your time. It's a bit like when I took on the doctoral journey. I committed to the time, the strain, the loneliness of a process that was so long it seemed it would never end.

But it did end one day. Your writing will not. Well, not while you're still able to prop yourself up in front of a computer anyway.

So that is why I incurred the wrath (a bit of hyperbole there) of my wife. If you're going commit to becoming a writer, you might as well have a few yocks on the way in. You're going to need to hang onto the memory that you were brave enough to sneer at the monster before you, and laugh while walking into the deep, dark forest...never to return.

So is it a frontal lobotomy, or...

That's up to you. But if you do it right, you'll find ways and reasons to sneak off and write. A few minutes on your only day off will become hours. Your family will forsake you (or at least come to accept you). There will always be just that one more chapter, that one more revision. An edit will pop into your head in the middle of the night, and you'll rush to write it down. Because if you don't it will disappear into the darkness. And you'll know you screwed up.

You'll observe others enjoying life, putzing around and having a fun, relaxing life. But that isn't for you. Once the bug bites and the creative virus enters the bloodstream, it is there to stay. You will not receive accolades from relatives and friends who will now start to more or less ignore you. No one will want to read you latest scene, no one will want to hear about your inspiration for the book's protagonist, or maybe especially the antagonist. But it will be OK. One day, you'll become stoic enough to just be the writer in the family who doesn't refer to his work. It will be there. And you'll be happy knowing that someday, someone will discover your writing and they will want to know. And by then, you won't gush anymore. And that may...just may cause people to give you another thought. You and your journey.

You'll be the smiling guy pushing a wheelbarrow in hell.

You've heard it before. Writing is hard work. Chisel that in granite.

So own it. Your journey, perhaps even your destination is different than every one else's. And that's alright. Think of it like this. Years ago, I knew a girl told the story of a neighbor growing up that loved baseball. He watched it all the time, with friends, family, during parties, it was his life. When she thought of the neighbor, she thought of baseball.

But when he passed away, even though his family and friends had warm memories, he left behind nothing of himself. And that's OK. There are billions of us. Not everyone can.

But you will. And if your writing never takes off in your lifetime, a distinct possibility, with today's self-publishing paradigm, you'll leave behind stories from your life, experience, and most importantly...heart. Someday, a distant descendant or maybe someone from a different culture on the other side of the world will pick up one of your books, and get what you meant. The story will resonate, and maybe best of all, inspire them.

Next Wednesday: the Nuts and Bolts.

We'll start into how to turn a vague idea into a framework, the framework to an outline, and so on. It's a step that throws many would-be authors, but it can also be the hook that ends with you finishing your book.

Be here friends, and we'll start together.