Thinkin’ on Thursday: Picture This!

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

At times in the past, I have modeled characters’ looks, fashion sense, even personality on unknown models in magazines. I’ve even cut them out and then built characteristics for that person on the same page or on a 4×6 card. Or I’ve envisioned an old time actor (or a current one, for that matter) as my “hero,” “villain,” “sidekick,” or whomever.

I’m going to suggest another way to utilize pictures of unknowns from magazines or books to help your writing (and the above paragraph has some good ideas too: if you’ve never tried it, give it a go and see what you think). Look through a magazine or illustrated book, preferably one you haven’t read already, or an old one you’ve forgotten all about. Find a picture with at least two main “characters” on it. THINK of these two as major characters in a story you haven’t yet thought through.

Just allow them to begin interacting with each other. Don’t “plan” ahead (this will be a good one for all of us ‘pantsers’), because this is designed to give us practice in a more “organic” method of plot construction. Just start “recording” the story’s events and let them spin out in front of you. Pay attention to other props or objects that appear in the ad or picture. If there are other people in the picture, ignore them for the moment. See how or why the two might interact with the props, objects, bits of scenery, in the picture with them. Record items and events as faithfully as possible without thinking about the “rules” of story plot structure.

Once you’ve recorded the scene, note whether your characters interacted with or used any of the props, etc., given them by the picture. What did they do with items there? Twiddle nervously with papers on a desk? Pick up a coffee cup and look for a refill? Grab a hammer or bucket of paint, intending to use it as a weapon?

How did your characters interact with each other? Were they friends or strangers at the start? What relationship was forged during the scene: adversarial? Conciliatory? Pleading? Helpful? and so on.

Go ahead. This is just a writer’s PLAY ground. Have FUN in it ! ! !

(And, at the end, is there anything salvageable there? Can it be incorporated in your current WIP? Is it the beginning of a short story? An article? An editorial? A children’s book? Even a brand‑new novel?)

See you next for Saturday’s Spellbinder!

Saturday’s Spellbinder: The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

My TBR (To Be Read) list is so long, that once I get around to some really great book, I often feel I’m the last one at the party! And I’ve just done it again!

I’ve had what I thought was the full set of Michael Scott’s epic set for a couple of years or so, and I’ve had them on my TBR list for even longer, but I’d only actually read the first 15 or so pages of the first book: The Alchemyst.

I was deep into the second book in another trilogy, when—not having it with me one day, I picked up The Alchemyst and started over. That was seven days ago. Within about three days I’d given up the trilogy, knowing I would go back to it. Just to let you know, I walk in the early mornings as often as I can (make myself do it). I walk within the smallish community I live in, one time around about a half mile. I’m finally up to 3 times many days. And I read. Try to avoid parked cars, so I don’t walk up the back of them when I’m not paying sufficient attention. I finished today and told my husband, “I still think T. H. White’s the Once and Future King (the whole tale of King Arthur) is my favorite of all time books. But Alchemyst has GOT to be in my Top Ten now!”

Can’t wait to dig into book two: The Magician (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel). But I have to finish the trilogy I was on, so I can pick up book two (for more than my short morning walk). And then book three. And four. And five. And even six. Yes, SIX! All published, starting from 2007, at about one a year.

Michael Scott lives and writes in Dublin, and is known as an authority on mythology and folklore. With the years and years of materials he’d gathered, thought about, found and written, my mind is boggled at the scholarly take on the mythology and folklore from many ethnic backgrounds in this tale. And that’s only the first of them. I loved how he wove together magicians, good and evil, with weird creatures from multiple backgrounds. Many I was familiar with, and greeted as if they were old friends when they were called on stage. Others were delightfully new to me, and I loved, feared, hated them equally with my “old friends.”

Some are “old friends” because they are historical characters or mythologies. Scott claims the only characters he “made up” are the teen twins, “normal” kids who get to explore times and historical characters we all might want to meet. And The Story! I cannot imagine what it would take to add this pair of twins, who learn what magic is, to the odd, interesting and international mix of characters, critters, and creatures from all times and backgrounds. Additionally, it has humor, spunk, mystery, tension, intrigue, magic and the lore of ages. Put this one high on your TBR list!!! I dare you to resist reading the rest of them . . . I’m starting Book 2, The Magician, on tomorrow morning’s walk!

See you next for Tips on Tuesday!

Thinkin’ on Thursday: Taxes and Other Tsunamis

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

Taxes are coming up, all too soon.  And I’m starting to look at old, filed papers.  Speaking of which, I have plenty of old copies of critiques from various classes or workshops.  Critiques I paid close attention to, made voluminous notes on, etc.

But, did I put them to actual use?  It seems, I’ve been far too lazy in that regard.  Let’s take an old story I worked on one year for NaNoWriMo but never got back to.  Or, at least didn’t get “back to” enough:  I have notes from a workshop I went to, with multiple copies of that particular chapter or two.  Then I filed them: you know, so they wouldn’t get lost.  I needed an example of critiques for a class I was teaching, so I ran a few more copies of a chapter or two.  And let them have it to “practice” critiquing.  At some point I took some of it to my usual critique group.  They gave me even more notes.  Later, I started a small, new critique group and — you’ve got it: gave them some pages.

Some of those times, I made some changes.  So page 4 for one group of critiques may or may not match up with page 4 of any other critiques.  And I personally wrote down notes from each of the sources. In different places.

Now I’m stuck with pages, and Pages, and PAGES of critiques, pages which don’t match, different versions of the same scene — and it’s mostly a frustrating mess!

The thing is, I believe in the story. Over time, I’ve put a lot of thought and effort into it. But not enough.

So here’s what I’m thinkin’:  IF you submit pages to any kind of critique — classmates, a teacher, a formal critique group, a workshop bunch, etc. — make one coherent copy of all your notes as soon as possible after receiving them. While it’s all still fresh on your mind, decide which comments and/or corrections need to be given credence, and which do not fit what you wanted for your story. Make the changes.

The final step is up to you: Do you want to keep those critiques and notes for posterity? If so, file them along with the current copy of you mss. (You may have older versions on file as well, but keep ONE copy of the ultimate version of your best work. Don’t let it get mixed up with all the other versions.

The other choice would be shredding all the old critiques and notes once you’ve put the useful ones into practice. You may want to wait on that just long enough to have it in the hands of your editor and/or agent.

In any case, why keep all copies of every comment if you made a carefully analyzed list of all the changes you agreed with, and then put them into practice?

OK. Back to “my” problem, now that I’ve given you methods to avoid doing the same: how would you deal with a pile of notes, critiques, various versions, etc., that might take up half a file drawer all by itself? Please suggest your ideas in the comments below . . . I’m drowning here in a paper tsunami!

See you next for Spellbinder Saturday!

Thursday’s Thoughts: Nothing so Constant as Change

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

As promised, after 14 months of existence, changes have come (and there may be yet more to come) to The ABC Writers Guild blog:

We’ve taken a good, long look at what you’ve seemed to read most (like best?) and we appreciate your interest. Please stay with us, hang in there, keep on keepin’ on! We’ll be keeping the best, re‑imagining the rest. We will now publish only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, but will do so every week.

Tuesday’s Tutor will now become TUESDAY’S TIPS, and essentially the same as before: tips and ideas on how to deal with writing problems: anything from how to get going to how to keep going; how to understand both the marvelous and malevolent English language in all its permutations and eccentricities, whether of spelling, punctuation marks, or nuances. Feel free to send questions which puzzle you about writing and we will send you answers, or at least suggestions on how to handle your writing puzzlements.

Thursday’s 13 will be called THURSDAY’S THOUGHTS. We will include our own thoughts, problems and puzzlements, but will also incorporate other writers on Thursdays in interviews and/or guest blogs, combining much of what used to happen with Friday’s Friends with some bits of what you used to find in Sunday’s Snippets, Monday Moans, or Thursday’s 13. When significant writing goals have been reached or break‑through moments have come to one or more of us, you may even get a whiff of the old Wednesday’s WIPs here.

Saturday’s Softcover will be transformed into SATURDAY’S SPELLBINDER, a blog covering books we’re reading and loving. We have always, and only, reviewed books which we loved, and will continue to do the same. No “hated this book” business here — why waste our time or yours? That said, each of us has his/her own taste in books. You, personally, may not love every book you read about here, but we’ll keep a wide variety of book types and hope to capture your heart with many of them. Please note: we are truly invested in showcasing books by Utah authors. Let us know when yours are available, and we’ll cover as many as possible.

Thanks for your patience and loyalty while we transition: Like the changes? Hate them? Want something else? Let us know through comments here, or send comments, questions, ideas to Benschmark Editing at benschmarkediting@yahoo.com

See you Saturday for Saturday’s Spellbinder!

Tuesday’s Tutor: Is Your MC Smarter than a Fifth Grader? Part III

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

In today’s final-of-a-series post, Nikki Trionfo will discuss how to make a smart character do all sorts of dumb things. (Parts I and II were published here on 10/15 and 10/25, or see her unabridged version at http://www.realwriterswrite.com/ 2013/08/is-your-mc-smarter-than-fifth-grader.html

Did I just label a character as smart? Sorry, to reiterate from Part II: no character (or human) is smart. Characters (and humans) merely do things that are smart (or not). And, obviously, they can never do things that are smart all the time and in every sphere, because smartness partially depends on viewpoint. Don’t believe me? Start with a basic Western view of intelligence using the following basic “smart” building blocks:

1.  Logic

2.  Abstract thought

3.  Self-awareness

4.  Communication

5.  Emotional knowledge

Endow your character with all of them. When this character bumps into a reader who values something else, you’ll find the character’s smart-factor starts to dip.

A.  Polynesians might mock the character’s lack of spatial awareness.

B.  Eastern thinkers might demand problem-solving using spirituality, meditation, mysticism, or tradition.

C.  Westerns might stab your character with their literary set of small knives. Who likes a know-it-all?

Even if you could make your MC do smart things all the time, why would you?

A general recommendation (for Western stories especially) is to invent an MC with plenty of smarts in their back pocket, but with an intelligence failure that can be defined clearly and early in the story. Some examples:

PRIDE: Couldn’t Rhett Butler have been nicer to Scarlett? You know, after he knew he loved her? Sure, but she would have used that weakness to mock and manipulate him. The price of love was humility. He wouldn’t cultivate that trait because Scarlett wouldn’t either, damn it.

PERFECTIONISM: Anne Shirley defined romance too narrowly and almost missed out on Gilbert Blithe.

PHYSICAL WEAKNESS: Um, can anyone say femme fatale? Hooking up with that long, cool tube-of-lipstick is asking for trouble. But plenty of characters are “asking,” if you catch my drift.

LOW SELF-ESTEEM: The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things features “larger-than-average” Virginia, who has a “plus-sized” inferiority complex. Virginia doesn’t under-stand why the guy who sometimes kisses her would want to hang out with her in public. She doesn’t get it because she sees herself from her point of view, not his. The reader can see she’s pushing away the very thing she needs most: someone who cares about her.

PASSION: If you want something so, so bad, but can’t have it without a terrible cost, it can drive you crazy (Captain Jack). You can make your character’s thoughts spin until they don’t make sense. Start the story while they’re still sane and let them spiral into madness. Or start the story after they’re loopy and give careful hints so that we see their madness is actually rational thought(?) about a desperate goal (Catch-22, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest). You can even have your character obsessed with catching a whale (Moby Dick). Reason doesn’t matter to these characters.

THE FATAL BLIND SPOT: Indulge me, because you’re about to read an excerpt from my own manuscript. In this scene, Salem is sitting in a high school class, processing the fact that her sister Carrie’s supposedly accidental death may have been a murder committed by gang members. The boy sitting behind her has just said her name:

       At the sound of my name, I snap around to look at the guy. He’s accessorized in gang paraphernalia, not caked with it. His only completely visible marking: an upside down V inked onto his cheekbone.

Expressionless, dark eyes stare at me . . .

Terrified, I whirl around to face forward.

A gang member.

And he knows my name.

Up to this point, Salem has narrated faithfully; the reader trusts her. She says the gang member Cordero is ominous—we believe. When we see evidence, later, we hate Cordero as much as Salem does. But what happens when Salem runs into Cordero’s positive qualities?

  “Cordero is dangerous,” I warn her. “He was trying to kill the guys in the car.”

  “No, no. He just chased them away,” AddyDay answers.

  “He was shooting at people,” I insist. “He wanted to kill them.”

  She cuts me off and I haven’t told her what she needs to hear. She needs to be afraid of Cordero—she needs to hate him. He took Carrie. He took everything.

  “He saved my life,” AddyDay repeats.

In this scene, Salem refuses to consider evidence—even from an eye witness —which redeems Cordero. MC-smartness flips off because the reader can see what Salem can’t: She’s got a blind spot. When it comes to Cordero, she’ll see what she emotionally needs to see.

MC’s all need to make mistakes like this occasionally. It makes them human, provides foreshadowing, and allows for personal development. In the example, it provides suspense as well. Salem trusts the wrong people. She’s the girl metaphorically walking down the lonely, dark alley and the music’s getting scarier the more the reader is able to see what she can’t.  Will Salem figure out her blind spot before it’s too late? Yes: happy ending. No: a tragedy.

This question about the MC figuring something out about his- or herself is so important it overshadows every other question—even the mystery of who killed Carrie. Attention, authors: no one cares who killed your characters, saved a dying world, whether there’s poison in the wells. Not until readers love or hate potential suspects, that world, or the drinkers at the wells. Which takes time—it can’t all be checked off in chapter one. But ten or fifteen pages is enough space to give us something we can love: a character. We love smart ones, dumb ones. Characters we know, see their potential, ache for them, put ourselves in their shoes. We love them when they make us laugh, hate them when they ruin everything. Like they’ve really hurt us. Like they’re dearer than family. Give us those characters, and we’ll stick with the story to the final page and beg for more.

Final Note: I said I’d address all the “exceptions” to my rules nixing clichés as a shortcut to establishing intelligence. There’s only one: Use clichés (dumb blond, fact-spouting nerd) to quickly introduce side characters who do nothing but advance plot.

Now I’ve addressed it.

Thanks again, Nikki!  You’ve presented us with some great ideas on creating characters who are smart, and not-so-smart, but three dimensional.

 See you day-after-tomorrow for Thursday’s 13!

Sunday’s Snippets: Journaling Through Our Journey

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

I’m really trying to pare down to simpler things in life, get myself out of the rat‑race, by following some of the good advice by Valorie Burton in her book How Did I Get So Busy?

If you’re like me, tired of being tired, ready for powerful change, she recommends starting with a “five‑minute journal” to explore some questions we need to ponder.  Such thinking is  supposed to help us decide the next steps to take to take or better understand what obstacles are keeping us from moving forward.

Secondly, try a one‑minute meditation or prayer to help create calm and an opportunity for reflection.  Read a meditation thought (you know, any good and motivational quote you have on hand that makes you think would work‑‑‑especially if it’s a quiet, pleasant thought).  Find a quiet spot that feels peaceful.  Read your thought for the day, close your eyes, breathe deeply, relax and focus on the thought.

Both of those seem ultimately do‑able for us writers and thinkers—give it a shot: what have we got to lose?

See you day‑after‑tomorrow for Tuesday’s Tutor!

FRIDAY FRIENDS: WHO WOULDN’T WANT A FRIEND LIKE MIKEY BROOKS?

EASY AS A, B, C . . . from BB

Mikey Brooks is a fun/funny/talented Utah artist and writer. Reading even his personal profile makes a person want to laugh and/or get to know this intriguing person, so here’s an introduction:

Since, by your own admission, you’re a “small child masquerading as [an] adult,” when did you first think you were “big” enough or “old” enough to write a book?

My first attempt came when I was about 14. I was dealing with some bad bullies at school and found that writing was an excellent way to deal with the problem. In my story, the character knew how to deal with the bullies in ways I didn’t. He was able to be himself regardless of what others thought or said. In the end I think it gave me strength to stand up for myself. I think that’s an important thing to learn in life: to be yourself. Even if that means you’re a 33-year-old guy who likes to play make believe and acts like a child.

I would assume you began your art work even before that . . . when did you get the “doodling” bug?

Oh, gosh—my parents said I was a doodler the minute I could hold a pen. I put my art up for everyone to admire on walls, floor, books, and television screen. In elementary school it was my dream to grow up and be an artist. I never thought I’d actually grow up to do it for a living.

What’s your favorite picture you’ve ever completed, and where can it be found?

My favorite painting is one of my wife. I am a romantic at heart and absolutely adore the film Ever After. In the film Leonardo Da Vinci paints a portrait of Danielle, the Cinderella in the story. There was something about the painting I loved. So I asked my wife to let me paint her portrait—it was something I had never done before and might not ever do again. The painting hangs over my table in my studio. My second favorite has got to be the cover for Bean’s Dragons. The story was inspired by my daughter and her imaginary dragons. I see her and the magic that lives inside her whenever I look at it.

The story of your wife’s portrait is so endearing! And I loved the first line of your teaser for The Dream Keeper too: “Dreams: Dorothy called it Oz, Alice called it Wonderland, but Nightmares call it HOME.” Aside from that line, give us an example of one of your favorite original sentences.

In the story, the dream keeper, Gladamyr, was born a nightmare. He was actually born to one of the worst nightmares. The problem is, after years of torturing and scaring children, he wants to be something more. He admires humans because of their ability to choose right and wrong. So these are my favorite lines he says to another dreamling who asks why he wants to be human: “Humans are neither one hundred percent good nor bad, they are both. Within them is the ability to do good or evil. It is their will that makes them human—their ability to choose to be one or the other.”

A good thought for all of us to keep in mind. You’ve mentioned that you spend “most” of your time playing with your daughters and working as a freelance illustrator. What is your favorite thing to do with your girls, and what would each of them say is her favorite thing to do with you?

We love to play make believe. When it’s just me and them anything can happen. We pull the pillows off the couch and turn it into a battle ship and we’ll have a war with pirates. Then it will transform into a submarine and we’ll go on a hunt to find the mermaid palace. Before we know it, the couch is a spaceship and we soar up to the stars. We moonwalk on Mars and have lunch with aliens. Oh, the things you can do with a couch and the imagination of children! Never once do they question the things we pretend to see aren’t there—for them it’s magic and reality all in one.

My girls love to help daddy with his work and I try to incorporate them as much as I can. When I’m writing it’s not so easy, but when I’m drawing or painting, there is no reason they can’t be right there by me making art too. I believe ever parent should encourage their kids to work beside them. They get an understanding of what you do and it’s fun to see what brilliant things they come up with too.

Please tell us what other books you’ve had a hand in and where they can be found.

I have three picture books that I author/illustrated, Bean’s Dragons, ABC Adventures: Magical Creatures, and Trouble with Bernie. I also have three more which I illustrated for other authors. I am working on 3 more picture books currently with various clients and I have a few middle-grade books in the works. I just finished the sequel to The Dream Keeper and another fantastic book called The Stone of Valhalla. I’m excited to keep writing, illustrating, and sharing my passion with the world. You can find all my books by visiting my website at: http://www.insidemikeysworld.com/ or you can find them on my Amazon page at: http://www.amazon.com/Mikey-Brooks/e/B00B8ICZ4W.  Thank you for the interview. It has been a pleasure to be able to share these things with you!

The pleasure was all ours, Mikey, and good luck with your books, your art, and your adorable girls!

See you day-after-tomorrow for Saturday’s Softcover!

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