Character Definition

When I first began to write stories, back in elementary school, I would always make up character sketches. I would jot down how old the characters were, how they looked, what their basic personality was. Favorite color, favorite flavor of ice cream, favorite animal, what their parents did, if they had any pets, siblings, or hobbies. It was part of the fun of creating the story.


As I got older I didn't like to do that anymore. It was too confining. A character is more than a list of traits! A character is a living, breathing, organic thing! Instead of creating character sketches, I would get to know my characters as I wrote. I would let them walk onto the stage and then I'd watch them to see what they'd do rather than starting out by making all the choices for them.


That method created a few really wonderful characters, ones that surprised and delighted me, but most of the characters that sprung up that way were living, breathing, organic balls of mush. They had no definition. I have one book I wrote, in first person, that I still haven't decided what the main character's hair and eye color ought to be. I spent a whole book with him, and I don't know if he's ever had any pets. It just never came up. But maybe it should have, and it would have if I'd known from the start.



So now I want to find a way to blend these two methods of character development. I love the crisp, sharp detail I get from knowing a list of traits, but I also want the characters to feel natural and to be able to change and adapt.


How do you create your characters?

A Visit from the PianoGuys

I'm really excited about my guest post on Mormon Mommy Writers about a chat session we had at BYU-Hawaii with the PianoGuys. And be sure and watch this video which they filmed while they were here on Oahu!



Amazing! How does that cello guy get his cello to sound like a ukulele?

Redefining Your Identity

This past weekend I dusted off the ol' printed portfolio, donned my grey crochet cliche beret and headed to a day-long SCBWI workshop.  Gulping down my fish-out-of-water trepidation, I sat reverently and listened as three successful illustrator and author professionals taught us how to be astonishing.  I'm not sure I'm ready to be astonishing just yet, but my mom-sabbatical is nearing an end.  I will soon only have one remaining child not in school all day, and I am at least ready to start gearing up for astonishing...-ness.

Among many great words of advice, there are two main things I thought I would share here as they will apply to you writers as well.  First of all, the great Will Terry spent a lot of time talking about the ways to take advantage of the technology we have today.  In particular, he focused on using social media.  He emphasized the importance of networking.  I'm a little loath to sacrifice my personal use of Facebook to my career, but he recommended that we do just that, using it as a forum for announcements, networking, and generating interest in your past, current, and upcoming projects.  He also said you've got to blog and do it faithfully.  If you don't post in a long time, you will lose your audience.  He also recommended doing how-to videos or interviews and post them on youtube.  Make yourself highly visible and searchable.  And absolutely have a website dedicated to your work.  As an illustrator, it's imperative that you have an online portfolio.  And slap your web address on everything.  You can even get one of those nifty scan codes that allow people with smart phones to go directly to your site.  Not sure where, but somewhere...

But the advice I loved best, because it is something I have long felt, was that we need to redefine ourselves as creators.  Don't pigeonhole yourself as an illustrator or an author or whatever it may be.  Think broader and include all aspects of your life and interests.  This will enrich your work and broaden your possibilities.  It will also keep you a more well-rounded person.

I first realized I needed to think of myself this way the first time I showed my future husband my art portfolio.  Up until that time, one of the first things I wanted people to know about me was that I was an artist.  I'm a little embarrassed to say that I even flaunted it.  But when my husband-to-be saw my art the first time, he didn't seem that impressed.  He flipped through the pages with nary a comment, and soon afterward we said goodnight.  I didn't know whether to rant or cry.  I felt like the attractiveness rug had been pulled out from under my feet.  If he didn't like me for my talents, how would I ever be able to keep him interested in me??  After some thought, though, I realized I didn't want to be loved for my talents.  I wanted to be loved for ME.  Which meant I needed to work on me even more than my art.  A wise friend once counseled my husband (who is a musician) to make sure that along with developing his talents he also develops his soul and character.  Otherwise his work will always be hollow, and it will be hard to hide that.

We are all creators.  In the words of Deiter F. Uchtdorf, "We each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before."  We all want to create a work of art that is great and memorable, but don't discount the many other ways you can create.  Some days it may be a casserole for your sick neighbor, and some days it may be a well ordered flower bed in your yard.  Some days it may simply be a smile, but don't ever feel like you are unfulfilled as a creator.  Just broaden your definition of who you are and what you are here to do.

And write or draw whenever you can.

Someone Else's Fairytale is FREE in Kindle format today!

Hello fellow pirates! (Actually, that may not be the best way to begin a post about a free ebook...) Someone Else's Fairytale is free today, March 1, 2012, on Amazon. This is all legal and legit. It's a promotion I'm running to celebrate the book making it into the top 1,000 Kindle books on Amazon, a very exciting moment for me this Monday.

So head on over and get yourself a copy. Send your friends on over. Don't hold back! As I type this, the book has just disappeared from its subcategory rankings - it was in the top 100 childrens books on Amazon, that includes both ebooks and paper books, and it was in the top 30 YA romances on Kindle. These listings apply only to paid books, though, so mine won't be eligible for them again until tomorrow. So it's a lonely little book without a ranking at the moment. Go help boost it up!

Writing Time Pie

As I submit one manuscript and contemplate drafting another, I'm thinking about the way I spend my writing time. For this past year I've been entirely focused on revising a single project. That's good, in a way, but during that time I've let other aspects of writing fade. I want to be more balanced.

What I wish most is that I'd been drafting something new every day. I have a pile of ideas for novels, more than a dozen, all clamoring for attention in my brain. Even after I finish drafting the book I know I want to write next, I could continue to draft a scene or two of some other project each day, then still have time for revising. That way my drafting muscles will always stay well toned, and I think I'll be more productive. I'm going to give it a try.

I do my wool-gathering by keeping a notebook at hand while I do my housework and jotting down random ideas as they come. Outlining for me is like pulling teeth, but I want to learn to like it. I should be doing a little writing exercise ever day, but when I'm on fire to write a new scene or fix an old one I tend to forget. I am getting better at reading a little something every day.  But as for marketing and submitting? Sad to say, I do that as little as possible. Maybe that's why I haven't sold any books yet. Sigh.

In an ideal world I'd have eight hours a day for writing. Then I could make sure I get around to all the aspects of writing on a daily basis. But as it is, I'm going to have to juggle. Or prioritize. 

How do you divide up your writing time pie?

The Murky Middle

The story begins with excitement and promise. We stand on a high mountain peak, about to embark on a grand adventure. It will be a long journey, but there is the goal, shining straight ahead on the far side of the valley. All we have to do is get through that forest and we'll be there!

And then come the delays. The disappointments. The dangers. The devastation. The whole world changes overnight. That goal, so clear from the ridge behind us, can't be seen from here in the trees. We are lost in the woods and we know we may never escape.

Yeah, I do this to my characters every time I write a story. That doesn't mean I like it when it happens to me.

My writing career began with a lot of excitement. I sold a short story, I had a great time at my first writer's workshop, I met lots of wonderful aspiring authors and watched as a few of them broke into publishing. Surely soon it would happen to me too.

I'm still out here in the woods.

The message of every story I write, of almost every story I read, is that around some bend in the path, or through some swamp, or maybe on the other side of some trackless thicket, lies the road to where you want to be. But you'll never find it if you give up. And sometimes when you burst out of the woods, there in front of you isn't what you thought you wanted, but something even better.

My own life has told me that story over and over.

I want to hear it one more time.

#FREE #Darkspell all weekend. How? Read on!

 Growing up in an abusive home wasn't easy for me--I hated myself and wished for darker things. I found hope and became strong when I realized how loved I really am.

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