The Key To Characterization

It's no secret that characters make the story. More then that, characters are the story. You can have the crappiest plot ever to exist in all recorded history of man, machine, and strange celestial celery, and it can still come out a half-way decent book if you have good characters. Likewise, you could have the most ingenious plot that creation ever beheld yet it could still turn to doo-doo should you have flat characters. Yes, characters will make or break a story, be sure of that.

But how does one create well-rounded characters?

I've got the answer, but we're going have to do a little exercise first. First, I'm going to need you, the reader, to stand up. You standing? Great. Now I'm going to start hopping on one foot while I throw these-Wait, this doesn't seem right. Give me a sec...

~*ruffles through some papers*`~

Sorry, notes for something else.

Like I was saying, I know what the key to characterization is. The starting point, the core if you will. Just sit down and think to yourself, what does my character care about? If this is done correctly, your character should start creating his/her self.

Example:

I'm in my forth draft for my main project right now, Scrapper The Connection Reborn, and for the past three drafts something's been off with the main character, Scrapper. See, the character came out loud and clear, make no mistake of that, but it didn't feel like her character. So when I was reading over the third draft I stripped down every little nuisance in her overall personality when I realized that the thing that was wrong was her motivation. For the first three drafts, the major decisions she made were centered around one factor, the leading man Zane. However, when looking at who she is I realized that she wouldn't fall so hard so fast for one guy, no matter how nice he was. So I had to adjust her motivation for her decisions accordingly, leading to an entirely different chain of events that brought her to the end of the book. Long story short I had to ask myself, what does Scrapper care about? And, much to my dismay, it wasn't Zane.

So what does your character care about? Here's a chain that might help show how a character can grow from that one little facet.

Notice how as we dive deeper and deeper into Billy's motivation we uncover not only elements of the plot but also little quirks in his personality. Yes, it really can be that easy. 

That's all I have for you Monkeys this week. I think it's about time I stop stalling and get back to that forth draft of mine. 

Stats Of The Week

Song:  Up and Up by Relient K

Book: Psych's Guide to Crime Fighting For The Totally Unqualified

Word: Celestial

Quote:  "It's a well known fact that people with mustaches can't be trusted."
―Shawn Spencer

Things I Will Take Away From High School

Seeing as I am a senior and soon ending the required level of education that I am called to do in this great country of ours, I feel it is important to write a reflection of what, in my opinion, all learn from the experience that is coming of age. It's a monumental point in life that is often covered in a thick fog of confusion and conflict, and in the end it shapes the adult that one would be one day. So upon entering the world I share universal truths, ones not necessarily learned in a classroom.

Either except the world as it is, or change it.

Love is not an emotion, it's principle.

True friendship has an open mind, and values more then just what you have to bring to the table.

Passion is found, not force.

In a world where kindness is weakness, kindness is more important then ever.

Happiness is just as important as pain.

If you're not taking care of yourself, you have no hope of taking care of others.

Perfection does not exist, so stop looking for it.

Remember that the Journey is just as important as the Result.

Never underestimate the power of sweater weather.

Never let your problems follow you too your dreams.

Peace in the home is worth more then gold.

Know yourself and life will follow likewise.

Just A Few Suggestions...

About life, in general. And maybe about writing.

-Words are empty

-Giving respect where respect is due is not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of wisdom

-Share faith freely, but do not look down on others for theirs

-Beware the words you say and the actions you take, they are liable to kill anyone (including yourself)

-Covet insanity, its only those who dare to think outside the box that escape it

-You best not sass your mother

-Peppermint tea can cure nearly everything

-Happiness is to sorrow as wakefulness is to sleep

-When downtown with friends, be ever vigilant of bikers

-Judgement is not humanities' job

-True forgiveness comes when you decide to let go

-Mondays are the worst

-Do not waste your life straying from the path

-Grammar is highly overrated

-So is culture

Stats Of The Week

Song: I'm For You by Tobymac

Book: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Word:  Splendorous
Quote:  "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned in life; It goes on."
~Robert Frost

It's High Time I Got My Butt Kicked

Yes, I realize that this post is coming a bit late. But, in my defense, you're not my Mother. Thusly, I present to you this week's post. 

Weird title, ain't it? Yep, took me all of three seconds to come up with it. You know why? This week has been a week of learning for me. I literally thought of five different life lessons I'd learned from this week to write about before I thought of this post. That's how busy I've been. Yep, busy busy busy. Seems like all I do now is work. And I could go into detail about why I am so very busy, therefore boring you, the  Monkey, to death and effectively wasting more of my time. I'm not going to, however, because there's a more important lesson to be learned here that requires the immediate attention of all us young people. (And maybe a few old people too. Hey, I don't claim to know you. I ain't your Ma.) Well, actually, it's more of a tip then a lesson. Ah, no. It's more a lesson-ception if you know what I mean. What do they call it when you're thinking about thinking about something? Meta... meta-cognition! Yeah, it's something like that. 

Getting to the point, the topic of the week is, learning how to learn a really hard lesson!

Or, if you prefer, learning how to take a good swift kick in the pants. 

As I mentioned before, this week has brought me a many lesson, too many really. It's painstakingly taught me patience, the value of up front work, the fact that teachers are not to busy to email your parents should they think you are in trouble in your class (when really the morons don't know how to collect a freaking homework assignment). And through and through I've moaned, and I've whined, and I've half heartedly prayed that the Lord give me patience when really all I wanted was to break some sophomore's jaw. And it feels like this week will never end. But these little lessons God has planted for me, whether bluntly or subtly, are lessons I intend to take seriously. Don't get me wrong, right now I hate them and think that they're total malarkey, but let me check back with you in the morning with that. 

And there in lies my first point. It's okay to get mad at first. 

Whoever said that being angry is wrong is stupid. Anger is an emotion. Emotions are not wrong and emotions are not right. They are inevitable and a fundamental part of the human experience. Like death, anger is widely misconceived and more importantly neutral. It's what we do with anger or what we get from anger that ultimately decides what is good or bad. (Or, in my case, what is Godly and what is Ungodly, which I'll get too in a later post.) In this particular situation, my anger sends up some red flags for me. Is this really a lesson, or is this just the Universe being a meanie? It's later when I think on this thought and decide what is right that calms me down. See? Productive anger! Who knew, right?

Don't worry, everything's according to plan. 

It is so easy to blame every little thing in your life on the forces that may be conspiring against you. Fate, God, The Universe, Bad Luck, you name it. These are distractions, ploys, devices created to steer you away from any experience that could craft you into a better you. Believe it or not, everyone indeed has problems. Problems that hinder their lives and suck away their happiness. There is not a person on God's green earth who will not have something they are struggling with. However, much like humans, no two struggles are alike. Problems are tailored specifically to everyone's lives so that they might be able to become the best person they can be starting from birth and ending with death. So while you are different, you are by no means more or less then the person standing next to you. Every situation you encounter slowly shapes who you are and you are the decider of whether you use that to your advantage or not. This is where anger can go wrong. You can use anger to say this is terrible, why would this happen to me, this is totally unfair and spend time meditating over such thoughts rather then looking for the silver-lining, the way this benefits you. I can say today that I would not trade a single struggle I've had in my life because my struggles, as much as my happiness, are who I am. I do not like the struggles I've faced, and if at all possible would not like to relive them. But that does not mean that I am not grateful for them. So, when something goes wrong, relax. You're life isn't broken, it's just getting an update. 

Find the lesson, and make sure it sticks! 

When we were young, we were taught through punishment and disciplined what is right and what is wrong. In any story, the hero needs to go through a great many struggles in order to make it to the ending. We are taught that anything in life of worth is worth working for. In order to continue surviving in life, we need to strike a balance between happiness and pain and own this. But in order to move forward in life, we need to know what the motivation is and how to achieve it. Believe it or not, that is the tricky part my friends. And, unfortunately, I do not have the answer. How you find your lesson to be learned is entirely dependent on the situation. Sometimes there are many lessons to be learned, sometimes there's only one. And the point of an experience, whether it be good or bad, may never be something so easily defined. More often or not you won't even notice it happening. However, every human being is innately able to see the point to whatever trial passes in their life, just so long as they may have their souls tuned in the right place and channel their anger or despair like wise. 

Wow, that was a pretty heavy post. Well, that was basically my week. 

What's your thoughts? Ever seen a trial of your life work to your benefit?

Stats Of The Week

Song: Spontaneous Me by Lindsey Stirling

Book: Ruby Holler By Sharon Creech

Word: Meta-Cognition

Quote: "The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has it's limits."

~Albert Einstein 

Repetition Can Kill

http://goldenscissors.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/repetition.jpg?w=590

Repetition can kill.

It comes in all shapes and forms, whether it's a repeated phrase or a word used too often. Repetition dulls your words and subconsciously causes a reader to glaze over your work as you read and easily bores them. It's the sign of an immature writer and it can be freaking annoying. It's that one friend that only has that one story to tell you when you get together, it's that song on the radio that they play over and over, it's that three hour movie that your just so sick of but you can't turn it off, it's...you get the idea.

And on that note, repetition can kill. 

And it's sneaky my friends. It's not just words themselves, but how you word things as well. Sure, when you use the phrase It was so unbelievable that I gave a origami frog to my squid over and over again, people will get sick of it. (Aka-the reason why the latest draft of Scrapper is thirty pages shorter.) But the ways you write things out, such as listing them in threes or always attaching an adverb to the start of a sentence in which an action takes place, is also monotonous and bland.

*Just a little added tip here guys, repetition can kill. 

Sometimes repetition, if cleverly used, can be an effective way to foreshadow and bring your manuscript. Enter the catch phrase, the nervous habit, the lovable little quirk. Repetition used in characterization makes your characters more familiar and also establishes that the absence of said repetition means something is not right. So do not despair, because repetition can be put to good use.

But, staying on the safe side, always remember that repetition can kill. 

Did I mention that repetition can kill?

Stats of the Week

Song : Hello Sunshine by BarlowGirl

Book: The Giver By Lois Lowry

Word: Ostentatous 

Quote: " It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool then to talk and remove all doubt." Maurice Switzer

Nasty Routines (A Way to Minimize Stress)

ponddoc.com

This is one for the masses Monkeys.

It's half way coming from my need to write this down to solidify my resolve, halfway just me pleading to you before it's too late. But I can see your minuscule mind is confused, so I'll back things up. Once again kiddies, it's story time.

I came home with a very weary heart on Sunday afternoon. I had spent the weekend at my friends and while it was fun it was spent mostly cleaning and with entirely too many people (introverted people problems). To add the cherry on top I had nursery duty that morning and was abandoned by the person who was supposed to be helping. It was a special service up in church, so not only did I desperately want to be up there but it was twice as long and there were a lot of visiting babies. Visiting baby=crying baby. And I had to brave that on my own. (At one point four different children were crying at once and I had to either hold them or rock them all at the same time. Don't ask me how I did it because I can't remember for the life of me.) Luckily the music pastor's wife and daughter took pity and helped me out, but it was still overly stressful. And too add another cherry, I found out afterwards that a friend of mine who I desperately wanted to see (for reasons I feel I should not disclose on the internet) was there and I totally missed her.

Like I said, weary heart. 

So I came home and was able to relax for all of two seconds before I jumped into business that I had to catch up on over the weekend, including writing enough blogs to last me for months to come should I ever be too busy. At some point I got a head-splitting migraine and crazed the soothing powers of mint tea. I went to the tea cabinet, all of the mugs were dirty. I grabbed a mug and went to the sink to wash it quickly, but all the rags were gone, presumably up in the laundry room. Not only that but at the bottom of my sink my drain was clogged and moldy water had pooling on the bottom. Much to my dismay I went upstairs to see if maybe a quick nap would help only to realize that my bedroom was a disastrous mess. I go to the bathroom, thinking a shower could clear my mind but it was clogged by my sister's impossibly thick hair. When I come back downstairs the smell of warm food wafted to my nose. What luck, I thought. Surely a meal could lift my spirits. But, again, I found myself disappointed again, because rather then a home cooked meal I was greeted with a greasy whopping baconator. (I swear, sometimes I feel myself getting fatter.)

I recognize that most of this is out of my control. As much as I help to keep the house clean, living with an 11 year old and a 15 year old, it's a pipe dream. But I did also dig my own grave to some extent. So, without further ado, I present some routines to help keep the little things little.

Never underestimate the power of a home cooked meal. 
Junk food is an illusion. Home cooked meals are where the true taste lies. Sometimes, and I'm not even kidding, you can taste the love.

Dedicate a day every other week or so just for cleaning. 
Clean your room, clean your kitchen, and above all, clean your bathroom. To me, nothing feels more relaxing then a clean bathroom. Bathrooms, in my opinion, are very nearly sacred. It's the one place were you are allowed private, quiet moments of meditation. And don't forget to do your laundry and dishes. Nasty little Monkeys like that have a tendency of piling up when we're not looking.

Even the details count. 
It sounds silly, I know, but make your bed in the morning. Keep your books in alphabetical order by author. Make sure everything has it's proper place. If it's useless, chuck it. Free space in your room equals free space in your mind.

If you live with others, try your best not to bring your anger home with you. 
Anger is an infectious emotion, it spreads like wild fire. When you come home with a chip on your shoulder, the next person will sense it and become angry by result. And so on and so forth until the entire house is yelling at each other for no reason at all. But come home with a smile on your face and it'll be returned, and even if it's fake, with the reactions you get from your fellow housemates it will become genuine before you know it.

It seems like a pain in the butt, but it goes a long way. So please, pretty please, take care of yourself.

(And for those of you with pets, I am currently developing ways to potty train them and will get back to you.)

NaNoWriMo 2012: Dare Me

Well, it's almost that magical time of year again. Time for NaNoWriMo! (For those of you who don't know what it is, go to this page to learn more.) This time I'm determined to finish it, especially since it's the official month. So many things happen during the official months that don't happen during the camp months. Write-ins, workshops, parties, online chat rooms. So. Much. Fun. And this year I'm going to dare myself to do a few things.

1) Use a Writing Software. Throughout this experience I will be using Yarny.me to write.

2) End off at 70000 words. 500 words more then my NaNoWriMo win, 500 words less then my first novel. Seems appropriate.

3) Create a story outside of my comfort zone. No, I'm not making the impossible leap to realistic fiction. But I am trying to write a full novel in third person (sort of) and doing it where there's not only one main character that the story revolves around.

And, on that note, here is the plot.

And a dreadful place it is indeed, as down-on-her-luck author Cierra Books discovers. But woven into this abysmal town is a remarkable story of salvation and news beginnings. Little is known about the adventurous tale of Dreadsville's rebirth save for few details. 

The grass began to grown again.

A Phantom was made free. 

An orphan found a home in the midst of riches. 

A curse was destroyed.

Destiny danced. 

Dare to dive into the heart of Dreadsville.

Lastly, there is the matter of the vlogs that will be done. 

This time around the vlogs that will replace the posts on this blog will be a short series, like the other two, called Writerlys vs. Non-Writerlys. More details to come. 

Happy NaNoWriMo Everyone!

The Five Stages of Post-Novel Completion

That dude looks like he just finished a novel, right?

The Dinner Stage: You've just pounded out your last sentence and YOU ARE THE FREAKING BOMB YO! You're bullet proof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away. Ricochet, you take your aim. Fire away, fire away. You still remember it, the very last sentence. You will never forget it as long as you live. And now that you've reported your successful endeavor on Facebook, why not celebrate with dinner?

The Honeymoon Stage: You're reading it, and it's pure gold. Easily the best piece of fiction to ever exist in the History of Man, Monkey, and Comquate. Seriously, you should be doing this for a living or something. Centuries from now historians will speculate as too just how it could it be possible to be as awesome as you? And you know what? THEY WILL FAIL! BECAUSE IT DON'T GET BETTER THEN YOU SO DEAL WITH IT YOU IGNORANT BARBARIANS! Now, just sit back and wait for the awards to start rolling in.

The Sharing Stage: The best things in life should be shared, don't you agree? So pass around the draft, let your friends shower you with praise over your sheer awesomeness. If they can handle it, that is.

The Dreading Stage: So you've gotten some feedback for your manuscript. All in good spirit, you know. As they say, no matter how awesome something is, it can only get better. Still, there's something in the pit of your stomach, and it's either dread or the intense need to pee. But you haven't drunk any fluids for the last few days, you've been so anxious about your baby-YOU MEAN BOOK-out in the world for the first time. Hmmmm....maybe its time to give your manuscript another work.

The Editing Stage: You can't remember what happiness is. How could you ever love this abomination? Look at it, it's disgusting. It's literally making you puke. THeir r jst SO MaNy, gramer, mitsakes,,,that. you dont no waht! tO do "wi"th ur self>/ And that kissing scene in the bathroom? Ew. So overdone. You know what? That whole romance is so over done. You should have just killed off those characters. Not only that, but this is so obviously based off of your life. Yeah, that's right. You hoped no one would notice but it's so glaringly in their faces that they'd have to be blind not to know. No, wait, even a blind person could tell. AND OHMYGOSH WHY DO YOU KEEP USING THE WORD PROBABLY? This is no novel. This is toilet paper, at best. You need Jesus.

~Sigh...Finished my fourth manuscript (third in the series) yesterday. Have a fantastic freaking day people.

Kryptonite

hollywoodhatesme.wordpress.com

Okay Monkeys, this blog is straight up. No add in with my life. (As much as you love to here about it.)

Kryptonite. It's Superman's weakness, right? (At least, according to his wikapedia page.) And people tend to use it when they talk about weakness, it's a term that's thrown around. And personally, I think that weakness is severely underrated. In life. In books. In comquates.

What most people don't realize about weakness is that we're drawn to it. There are whole books, TV shows, fields of study that go into weakness. And why is this? Seems sadistic, doesn't it. We love things that are smaller then us, we crave for some sort of control over someone.

But that's not exactly it. Not that I can see anyway.

I think, for the majority of us, it's about finding something to relate to in another. Humanity is judged by the difficulty of their pain. The most revered people in the world are ones who overcome adversity, who struggle through weakness. People who are too perfect, well, they're fine for the most part. But let's face it, you secretly hate that guy, am I right? Or maybe you feel over protective of them? It's because they have it easy. They are weak, because they don't grow. Makes them a bit unappealing.

And there in lies my point. Your characters need challenges. True challenges, ones that are skin deep. Ones that they can overcome only through blood sweat and tears. As authors, I figure our natural inclination is to make our characters invincible. I mean, on some sort of level, they are our babies. We want to coddle them, give them everything they want, hide their evil from the world. (Unless your like my neighbor, whom I'm relatively sure eats children. Doesn't really help that her house is made of gingerbread... I don't know. Food for thought I suppose.)

But in order for the reader to keep interest, they need to feel a connection to the character. They won't be able to put themselves in the character's place unless they been there themselves. And when you can't put yourself in a character's shoes, it's just not that great of a book. So you're not doing anything for your characters by shielding them. All your doing is making them boring. I mean, come on. Even fairy tale princesses have to live under the constant fear of getting kidnapped. Your has no excuse. Wuss.


REASON 52137688888888888 WHY SADISM SOMETIMES WORKS!

The Qualities of a Seasoned Writer

Hello once again Monkeys! DJ Bec-a-peck here, bringing you straight up beats! (I've still riding the vibe from my Intro to Radio and TV.)

Story Time: There is a woman I know, who shall remain nameless, who is the most energetic and dually the most obnoxious person I have ever had the displeasure of knowing. Ever since I finished my first novel she has been saying things along the lines of "Now your almost as smart as me" and  "Now write 100 more and you'll be me." (Side note-she's never written a book in her life.) And just to get under my skin, while I was querying agents and getting rejected, she would brag about the supposed "agent" she had.

~*Sigh*~

Excuse me for a moment.

Grabs pillow, stuffs face into it.

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'K. All good now.

Recently she extended an olive branch and proposed a truce so that I might help her with her first NaNoWriMo and subsequently her first book. While I've been more then generous and understanding, there are some things she's said that I worry about.

       "I barely ever read. I hate reading."

       "My game plan: finish book, send to editor, get published."

       "I've written five books, in my head. I just need to get them down on paper."

Can you spot what's wrong with this picture?

As a service to my poor, naive friend, I've dedicated this blog to what a writer looks like when he/she knows what he/she's doing.

A Writer Reads Constantly
There is no exception to this rule. No read=no write. Writers are made out of a true love for books, you can't write properly without it. How are you supposed to know what makes a decent book if you've never cracked one open? Do not take this lightly. Read. Read until you start hearing the voices, then read some more. And then maybe write. Maybe.

A Writer Writes Constantly
Equally as important, but with some exceptions. Writing is like exercising a muscle, leave it be and it turns to flab. And really, it's more then just writing constantly. It's wanting to write constantly. Are you happy? Write. Just land a top dollar promotion at work? Write. Feel like you could punch your hand through a dry wall? Write. Sick of writing? Write write write. (Get it, right? Awesome, write about it.)

A Writer Is Patient
Writing a book, it takes a while. Doesn't happen over night. And guess what? After you finish, it takes a while to get published. A long while. Like I'm-not-even-sure-I-entered-the-tunnel-yet-so-how-the-heck-am-I-suppose-to-see-a-light long. And no matter what stage your in, no matter how far away from the finish you are, no matter how great or terrible you feel about yourself, it will always seem impossible. Which leads me to my next point.

A Writer Is A Dreamer
Let's face it, no one really expects to ever be published. Especially if they know even a minuscule bit of the publishing industry right now. No one can actually imagine the gratifying taste of finishing a book until they have, or having it propped up on a shelf until it's there. You've got to stupidly hopelessly fall in love with  your book, you've got to never get to comfortable, and you've got to want it. Badly. Really badly. You've got to sacrifice society and sanity to be able to go all the way. And in order to let that go, you've got to be a dreamer.

And, lastly,

A Writer Is Willing to Sacrifice

Do you have friends? Family? Arch Enemies bent on destroying you down to the very core? Well, say good bye to them. Along with your free time, your money, your love life, and, above all, the hope of seeing sunlight or ever tasting fresh air again. You have no time for such trivial things anymore, you are an author. You live your book. You breathe your book. You love your book. You hate your book. You tuck it in at night with a bed time story and in the morning you tell it to go screw itself. And the cycle goes on and on until one day you wake up and realize you are your book. And when the foam starts frothing in the corners of your mouth your loved ones will take you to the happy farm with the men in white coats and while your sitting in the pleasant padded room you'll think to yourself I might have gone a bit overboard. And that, Monkeys, is when you can officially refer to yourself as a writer.

Well, that's all I've got for writers in general, whether they be professional aspiring or otherwise. Other little tips include being sure to remember to feed yourself (seriously, set an alarm on your phone or something. Time flies when your delusional) and that when you develop an addiction to something (and trust me when I say you will), please be sure it's something healthy like coffee or chocolate.

~*Real Quick*~

I'm on the downward slope for the third book in the Order of Vemberia series, and am really exicted, so here's a little teaser. 

Shana: It is my understanding that after you and Zane are finished with your business in earth, you will no longer be companions. What will you do then?

Scrapper: Find another planet, one without people, and live there.

Also, I have a new short story posted on my website. Ode to Running the Mile. (At the bottom of the page.)


OKAYDJBECAPECKPEACEOUT!