The Genre-Free Writer: Looking for the Common Thread

I've spent the last three days holed up in my writing studio, with strict instructions to all I know and love not to bother me unless the Horsemen of the Apocalypse are thundering down the street.

Much of my time I spent actually writing. However, some of my time I spent really looking at my career and my writing and deciding where I'm going to go from here. Some questions I considered were:

*  What elements connect all of my characters? 

*  What common threads run through all of my work?

*  What plots and themes most move me?

*  What one trait is vitally important to my characters?

The experience was an eye opener. One I highly recommend.

photo by mantasmagorical from MorgueFile.com

See, I've always known what I write didn't fit into an easily identified genre.

I write screenplays and poems, novels and short stories. I write science fiction, fantasy, women's fiction, children's stories, middle grade fiction, family fare, and darker, edgier stuff.  I happen to think some of the stuff I write is funny -- but realize that not everyone shares my rather warped sense of humor. It certainly wouldn't be classified as "comedy."

So I wracked my brain. Since all my writing comes from ME, I reasoned that there must be some common threads and recurring themes. And slowly -- painfully slowly -- they became clear.

I discovered several things about my writing. For instance:

*   I write quirky, unselfish characters with hidden strengths and highly individualized but uncompromising integrity.

*  I gravitate toward bittersweet stories, antiheroes, and tragic characters.

*  My characters are often trapped in situations from which they cannot safely escape, but which ultimately lead to glory.

*  Every major character of mine has almost pathological perseverance.

It literally took me hours to come up with these attributes. When I mentioned them to a writerly friend who is familiar with my work, she responded:

"It is so your writing down to a fine sharp point." 

And she's right. (Though maybe I could have saved a ton of time if I'd asked her to answer the questions for me in the first place.)

photo by andalusia via MorgueFile.com

I wish I had undertaken this exercise years ago. Though it took me awhile to find the answers, it gives me a sense of relief to have done so.

Since I don't specialize in a particular genre, it's easy to assume that my writing is fragmented; disconnected; that one work is completely dissociated from another, as if I just wander from project to project dumping word clumps on whatever happens to pique my fancy.

Ah, but it's not the genre that connects my works to each other. No. Instead, they are connected by characteristics, themes, and situations.

I now have a whole new feel for my material as a whole, rather than as a series of unconnected pieces. Better yet: I have a far greater understanding of who my ideal readers are.

*  My ideal readers like quirky characters with hidden strength and unwavering integrity.

*  My ideal readers appreciate antiheroes and the occasional bittersweet tragedy.

*  My ideal readers like to root for the underdog, knowing that sacrifice is often the key to success.

*  My ideal readers admire characters who refuse to give up, regardless of the odds.

I love being a genre-free writer. But I don't want to be a reader-free writer. Answering those four questions helped give me greater insight into my work. Now that I know what I have to offer my ideal readers, I am better equipped to find them.

Do you write genre-stuff or non-genre-stuff? What common threads connect your words? How do those threads then weave a pattern for your audience?

Unsung Heroes

True confession: I am a huge fan of Glee.

Writers could do a lot worse than learn a few craft tricks from the show.

• It isn't easy to create an entire population over-the-top characters that flirt with being melodramatic caricatures, but who, at the last moment, veer enough toward believability to become real.

• The writers consistently get navigating the minefield of high school right (though it must be a special kind of hell to be a writer perpetually trapped in revisiting one's high school experience). They remain absolutely faithful to the world they have created.

• I know many hate the cheesy PSA-themed episodes tackling such issues as underage drinking, bullying, body image, sexual orientation, and religious tolerance. But I think that they do a good job dealing with difficult subjects -- with no easy answers -- in interesting ways.

• I love how they get us to root for the the underdog, even when the underdog is actively being a grade-A jerk.

•  No character on the show is always "the Good Guy." Even the nicest characters have deep flaws and could benefit from significant personal growth. Better yet: no character is always "the Bad Guy." Even the characters you love to hate have qualities that make them human and evoke empathy if not outright sympathy.

• And of course, there are the musical numbers -- which are often very, very, very good.

In my opinion, the underlying message of Glee is that even the "losers" of an organization have merit. The beautiful irony is that people tune in, week after week, to willingly spend time with the least popular kids in school -- kids who, if we were in school with them, we would probably avoid. (Either that, or they would be our friends, in which case, we'd be outcasts right along with them.)

Glee is all about unsung heroes. And yet...

It has unsung heroes of its own.

Darren Criss & the Magic Drummer Boy

The real heroes of Glee are not the kids who get Slushie-d every week, or thrown into lockers, or forced to choose between cheerleading and singing. The real heroes aren't Rachel or Finn or Kurt or Quinn or Blaine. No: the students at William McKinley High actually know who these people are. They get recognition. They get to be in the spotlight. They get plaudits. They get to sing and dance and perform and be recognized. Among their peers -- even among the people who loathe them and everything they stand for -- they exist.

In my opinion, the real heroes of Glee are the unsung heroes: the musicians.

McKinley High School has the MOST AMAZING music department in the history of public schools. They also must have the most awesome music teacher on the planet (whom we never get to meet because he or she never hangs out with Will Schuester or does any of the cool stuff, like go to national competitions).

This teacher works with Magic Musicians: kids who can play any arrangement of any song upon sight-reading it. The McKinley Magic Musicians show up whenever and wherever they're needed so the Glee kids can perform and look good. The MMM's happily play in the background while the Glee club kids take center stage.

One could argue that no regular character on Glee is more unsung than Brad, the ubiquitous, omnipresent, practically mute pianist. If Rachel, or Puck, or Kurt, or Mercedes didn't show up, the club could still perform. If Brad was a no-show, they'd be screwed.

Matt Morrison & the Magic Mariachis

McKinley High School has a full string section, a brass section, a jazz ensemble, amazing guitarists, a mariachi band(?!) and (get this) a harpist! In addition, it has ready access to a full gospel choir. These people are in the background. They never play a wrong note. They never hold up a performance to tune their instruments. They absolutely never have personal issues that interfere with them being at their post, ready to play, when needed. The vast majority of them don't even have names.

Brad and the MM's are McKinley High's version of 99% of the Dalton Warblers, who exist only to accompany their leading man.

The Magic Musicians of McKinley High are never asked to join the Glee club. They never sing. They're never involved in fundraising. They never ride the bus to the performances. But they show up and kick ass anyway. We watch, accepting their existence and their insignificance without question. They exist as faceless support, in the background, doing their job -- and doing it well -- even though, at the end of the day, no one knows who they are.

Writers: take note.

The real trick to good unsung heroes is having them do their job so well that no one questions them. They have a single purpose: to make the Main Characters -- and, by extension, their creator (that's you) -- look good.

The Mystical Muse of Music. (Or: What's on Your End of Life Playlist?)

My grandfather died of Alzheimer's. (I know, technically, that's not true. Alzheimer's doesn't kill you, the medical pro's say. To which I respond: Of course it does. Slowly. Sucking away your existence one memory at a time...)

To lose the memories that one has spent a lifetime collecting is a callous, cruel joke one's brain plays on the body and soul. The process of losing oneself to Alzheimer's is slow... insidious... It's spread so thinly over such a long period of time that even the person losing his or her mind is aware of the impending disappearance, though powerless to stop it.

To this day, every time I find myself searching for a dropped word or a lost train of thought, a part of me wonders: Is this how it begins?

That's why I love the life and hope that shines through this video. (It's a little over 6 minutes. It's a wonderful 6 minutes...)


No, there is no cure for Alzheimer's. But imagine the joys of discovering a back door to reclaim lost memories! Wouldn't a reprieve, no matter how fleeting, be preferable to aimlessly wandering the uncharted caverns of your mind?

Music speaks so personally to us. There is a chemistry to music -- an elusive allure, much like the chemistry of pheromones that might spark feelings in one person I meet, but not in another. The music that moves me doesn't necessarily move my husband or my daughter in the same way.

The characters I create, if they are full, well-rounded, and complete also have their musical preferences. If music could literally bring my characters to life in much the same way as it affects the elderly patients in the above video clip, what would it take to play them awake? If I know the answer, I can infuse it in my writing, energizing and enervating the people therein.

I know some writers who have playlists of writing music. I rarely do this -- finding that music, especially music with words, distracts rather than inspires. But when in the getting-to-know-you phase of character-building, I find it very helpful to determine what each character's musical preferences are. That knowledge helps make the character "real" in a way few other exercises can compare with.



Music gives us knowledge of each other because it introduces us to ourselves. So -- I'm sort-of seriously beginning to compile my own End of Life Playlist. I know what songs would remind me of who I am. What songs would be on yours?

The Writer's Cardinal Sin Part II: A Case Study

Yesterday, I ranted mused about what I view as the Writer's Cardinal Sin: being false to one's characters and making them act in such uncharacteristic ways that they destroy the audience's sense of entrancement. When this happens, the audience is rudely reminded that the characters aren't real.

Oh, you are so brilliant a writer. Fang and I are entranced.

Nothing will lose a writer fans faster.

That's why I am so mad at Jeff Eastin I could spit. Eastin created White Collar, one of the few shows that made me wish I still had TV. I own seasons 1 & 2 on DVD. The way season 3 is going, however, putting it on my WishList remains doubtful. The reason is that the show's writers have (in my opinion) committed the aforementioned Cardinal Sin.

Let's take just one random episode, say Scott Free, fer instance (though every episode this season suffers from Cardinal Sin Syndrome. But I digress...):

In this episode's opening scene, Peter bursts into Neal's apartment early in the morning, surprising him as he's making breakfast for his girlfriend, Sara, who has spent the night. A ridiculous exchange takes place in which Sara and Neal react with all the dignity of a couple of bumbling teenagers caught fooling around in the parents' sedan.

Really? This is what we get from a female character who repossesses luxury goods and thwarts insurance fraud by whacking the bad guys with a stick?

"Yes," you may say, "making a strong female character act like a blathering Homecoming Queen borders on the criminal. But male writers do this so often it's hardly a cardinal sin. It's more like an indulgence." 

Your bungling irks me. And you made Fang's head explode.

I suppose ... But the whole "bursting into Neal's apartment at inopportune times" gag is played out with woeful predictability. The viewer knows it's going to happen. Wouldn't you think Neal would get a lock -- and use it? 

One of the tenets of the entire series has been that con man Neal Caffrey is the best of the best, and only FBI agent Peter Burke has the chops to beat him -- and then, only barely. The first two years were spent building the case for Neal's criminal genius.

Now, don't get me wrong, the first two seasons have plot holes you could pilot a Nazi U-boat through, if you were so inclined. But the characters were so convincing -- so consistent -- that the viewer willingly suspended disbelief and followed in their wake.

For inexplicable reasons, however, this third year has been all about finding ways to pull loose threads and unravel the mythos of Neal's character. The writers have committed the Cardinal Sin of taking someone they've spent two years building up as brilliant and making him insufferably, unforgivably stupid.

With a capital "STU." I present Exhibit A:

Neal and sidekick Mozzie meet up with the Plot Point of the Week; a 20-something kid who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, who the feds are calling "the next Neal Caffrey," much to Neal's dismay. Knowing this kid is trouble, they take him to Neal's apartment. Which is in a big ol' mansion filled with tons of expensive stuff. Because, evidently, that's where you go when you have someone you don't trust and are lacking a budget for another set.

If I close one eye, maybe I can see your motives for this travesty...

In Season 1, Neal called in a favor to a friend and was able to put on a kick-ass rooftop party for the glitterati within hours. Now, the writers want us to believe that the only place in the entire city uber-smart Neal can take the brat while they work out a plan is his own home?

An all-night writers' drinking party is the only explanation for how this move was justified as a reasonable thing the character would do.

"Sinful, maybe. One of the Writer's 7 Deadly Sins (Laziness), perhaps. But not a Cardinal Sin."

Oh, there are so many other examples I could point to in just this single episode.

What have you done to my favorite characters? It's a train wreck. I can't watch.

Here's one: Neal and Mozzie have been unable to move any of their ill-gotten gains because they don't know what is listed on a partial manifest which Peter keeps in an easily-picked-with-a-spork drawer in his office. In this same episode, Neal successfully cracks an "uncrackable" safe. But his handler, who doesn't trust him, keeps the One Thing he's searching for within easy reach, and he doesn't find it?

For shame, writers! For shame! Neal's new name should be "Stu." And Peter's could be "Pid."

But the capstone is in the final scene.

Neal has finally gotten a bona-fide, unbreakable alias. It's perfect. It's permanent. He's had it less than 24 hours.

So where does he put his new passport? Not in a safe. Not a lock box. He doesn't open, say, a safety deposit box in his new name and keep his ultra Top Secret Important document there. Nope. Not our criminal genius.

The writers expect us to believe that he takes his new passport to his home and hides it in a hole in the wall.

Aaaaauuugh! You have betrayed my trust! I shall never forgive you! Never!

He doesn't lock it up. He doesn't even close up the hole. So Sara, of course, finds the new alias about 15 seconds after he's received it.

Well, butter my behind and call me a biscuit. S-T-U-...

In a single episode (sadly, in nearly every single episode) of the third season, the main characters behave in ways that are woefully inconsistent with their own history. Which is all the more unforgivable because there are about 64,000 ways to have written a story that was equally, if not more, compelling while refusing to heap a ton of stupid on the characters' heads.

Now, thanks to these 43 minutes of screen time, Sara doesn't deserve a grown-up relationship. Peter deserves to lose the manifest. And Neal deserves to get caught.

More to the point, both actors and fans of the series don't deserve such sinfully sloppy writing.

Take care -- take GREAT care -- when writing that you treat your characters and your audience with respect. Because it's much easier to make a fan than it is to regain one...


All photos by Alvimann, courtesy of MorgueFile.com.

Walking a While in My World

A week ago, my family attended the Silver Leaf Renaissance Faire in Battle Creek, MI. The day we attended, the temperature was bake-a-biscuit-in-the-sun 100-something, and the humidity was the rough equivalent of God's left armpit.  What better weather to lace oneself into a leather corset and spend the day outside?

I went intending to spend a fun afternoon with my family and friend.  And it was, indeed, a lovely day.  However, since I'm currently working on a novel set in medieval England, I found it impossible not to do research.  Because a writer's brain never turns off.

Now, I know that ren faires are hardly authentic.  I know my family was nowhere near authentically clad.  And at no time did I ever seriously think that I was in the Middle Ages.  But that didn't stop me from finding out stuff about my characters that I might not have known otherwise.

I have been treading ancient roads in my mind for months.  However, after only 10 minutes of immersing myself in the "reality" of my characters' lives, I discovered several things.  Among them:

 *  In the absence of 21st century clothing and technology, dirt and sweat and dust and noise should be much more pervasive in my book than than they currently are.

* Shop keepers have probably not changed in 10 centuries.  Some went to great lengths to sell me stuff I didn't want or need.  Others bent my ear telling personal stories I'd rather not have heard.  Even if my characters inhabit the pages of history -- even if they shop in strange shops and eat odd things -- their interactions with others will likely mirror interpersonal actions of today. 

Note to self: don't allow characters to become two-dimensional drones that are defined only by their jobs and the role they must play within my story.  Breathe realistic life into them at every opportunity.

*  When two knights joust, the combined weight of 2 horses, men & armor is over 2 1/2 tons.  You can literally feel the ground shake as they run at each other. 

Furthermore, the actual match takes very little time at all.  Two horses rushing at each other at a gallop closes the gap between them much faster than you'd think.


*  Hand-to-hand combat involves a lot of grunting. Plus, metal hitting metal is really loud.

* A lack of sound amplification means the crowd has to be very quiet in order to hear what an announcer or performer has to say.  Missed words are quickly whispered to those standing behind one.  Much is lost in the translation.

*  Humanity does not change.  Lovers quarrel, babies cry, kids whine, old folks grumble.  Some crave the limelight; others shun it.  Some go for laughs; some for applause.  Some think quickly on their feet; others work to keep up.  Some people readily stop and listen to a trio of singers, enjoy the music, and throw the musicians a token of their appreciation.  Others dicker and dither trying to retain every cent they started with.  If I want to make my foreign world and time accessible to my readers, I must remember to make my reader as much a part of it as possible.

I returned home energized -- filled with ways to make my story more compelling.

Whatever you are writing, I encourage you to find a way to become a minor character for an hour or a day.  See the world through a fringe player's eyes.  Take notes as if you were traveling in a foreign country.  Then incorporate your new insight into your story.  And watch your writing come alive!

Character Confessions

Even though November is over, I have continued to work on my NaNo novel. As the work progresses, I have discovered (to my great surprise) that I have developed a rather poorly veiled crush on the character who is my principal Bad Guy.

This is quite unlike me. And though I like him -- a lot -- it doesn't stop me from writing down the horrible, despicable things that he has to do in order to move the story forward. It does, however, make me come up with a host of interesting ways to explain his bad behavior.

I must confess, this little obsession of mine has caused me to give the guy far more "screen time" than I had intended. It made me explore his motivations, define his drives, and flesh out his history more than I would have thought necessary had he been content to simply adhere to his original purpose in the story. My liking him has made him more real to me. Which, by necessity, forced me to make him more interesting in print.

It's been a good thing. I'm wondering how to make myself crush on all my major players...

This past week, I have been privy to several writers' "character confessions."

One lamented that the character she had intended for her protagonist ended up rubbing readers the wrong way. Without exception, all thought he was an "arrogant, manipulative, ass." This works well for House, but wasn't exactly what she was going for...

Several writers I've worked with lately have admitted that they don't know enough about their characters to know what they like, don't like, want, or work for. They know their characters' pasts and have plans for their futures -- but they don't know who these people are. Yet...

One writer identifies so strongly with her (fictitious) character, that she blurs pronouns when talks about her. "She" becomes "I," and then critique becomes dicey...

One male writer in the Writer's Practicum I facilitate consistently has difficulty creating real, believable females. He has a good grasp of plot and story, and a decent ear for dialogue -- as long as everyone involved has a "Y" chromosome. As soon as he introduces a female character, he abandons craft and clings to cliche. We're working on it...

Then there was the e-mail exchange with a young writer I coach, in which we discussed the importance of inhabiting the characters we create so they are well-rounded and real to us. He recognized his own shortcomings in being able to write from a female point of view:

"...actually, I always wonder about my female characters until a female reads them, and then I'm... relieved, but also a tiny bit worried about myself -- and what Dad would say if he saw the words "Well, he was really cute" typed by my hand as I was typing them. That sort of thing..."

I told him I was going to steal his confession for a post on the subject of characters.

We can get into trouble in a hundred different ways when we people our prose. Liking our creations too much can be as bad as not liking them.

One of the worst pitfalls is not knowing them. They become thinly veiled, poorly drawn caricatures of us (or people we think we know). Another, equally dangerous, pitfall is projecting ourselves onto them. This only results in our shielding them and not allowing them to grow into fully-realized characters.

The first step, I believe, is in recognizing our shortcomings. Sometimes identifying a fault or a weakness is all it takes to overcome it.

Useful Links to Stir the Creative Soul

All of these links relate in some way to a recent topic of discussion in the Writing Practicum -- a group of talented writers that I facilitate on Tuesday nights. Each of the first four is a sort of C.S. Lewis-like "Wood Between the Worlds" that serves as a jumping-off place to other, related sites that merit additional exploring...

For those who are outlining a story, organizing thoughts, brainstorming, or heavily involved in plot or character development, mind-mapping is a useful exercise. For highly rated and reviewed (free) mind-mapping software, try FreeMind.


If you are considering signing with a literary agent or manager to further your career, first read this excellent blog post on Questions to Ask before signing with an agent. The comments at the end are also enlightening.

If you are interested in finding ways to harness and direct your creative impulses, this blog post by the author of the bestselling "The 4-Hour Work Week" is a great introduction to the particulars of Lucid Dreaming.

And this blog post contains a very good primer on Personal Branding – important for authors interested in developing and establishing a platform. Pay special attention to the presentation embedded within the post. It's a whole mini-seminar in itself.

Writing Contests of Note

Writer’s Digest Poetry Awards (For poems less than 32 lines.) Deadline Dec. 1, 2009.

Genre Wars Short Story contest. For stories up to 2,000 words. Free to enter. Small cash prizes. Publication in anthology for winners.

And the Big One...

Writer’s Cruise with Cynthia Whitcomb

Depart April 10, 2010 for a 14 day cruise from Miami trans-Atlantic, to the Canary Islands, Barcelona, Spain; Villefranche, France; Florence or Pisa, Italy; ending in Rome on April 24 on the Royal Carribbean cruise line. Prices begin at less than $100 per day (not including airfare). Includes the Writer's Workshop, all meals, great networking, and being treated like royalty.

Find out about what happened during the 2009 cruise. Then, set your sights on the seas!

Decisions, Decisions...

"If you knew what happened last weekend, you'd jump in a car and come get me."

Less than a month ago a friend made a train wreck of a life decision so she could be with a man instead of having to be on her own. Everyone who knew her told her it was a colossally Bad Idea. She knew it, too. But that didn't stop her from going through with it.

Since then, she has accepted countless abuses of privacy -- any one of which I would consider an outright dealbreaker.

* She gave up a steady job in order to leave, only to have her Significant Other refuse to pay for her acute emergency medical treatment.

* She has had her phone use limited and monitored.

* Her e-mails and correspondence have been censored.

* She discovered that the Dream Job that was the Significant Other's reason for moving does not exist.

And still she stays. Not only that, but she can still find ways to make herself feel responsible for the Other's bad behavior.

"I moved out here to try to work it out," she said after the "My E-Mail Is Not Secure" incident. But I see that I have been in the wrong frame of mind... I have been hoping it would fail so I could come home. If I wasn't going to actually try, then why did I move?!"

Now, any person who is even moderately removed from the situation could tell her that an Epic Fail has already occurred in the relationship. And not only has she stayed with it -- but she has deliberately uprooted herself from friends, family, church, employment, a support system, and all that is familiar to follow that situation and remain in it.



So when she said the "If you knew what happened" line, she made me think... And I'm not sure that she's right.

If I thought for a MOMENT that my jumping in a car and driving several hundred miles to intervene would get her out of that situation, I'd stop typing and start driving. But until she comes to the conviction that being on her own is preferable to being with the Other, it wouldn't do any good. Like a horse that runs back inside a burning barn, she would find a way to rationalize returning to a relationship on life support.

I hold out hope that someday (soon!) she will decide that she's had enough tyranny in her life. If she needs help escaping, she has an entire battalion of friends, family, and supporters just waiting for the word to mobilize. But she has to want to be free as much as we want her to fly...

"What does this have to do with writing?" you may ask.

Nothing. It has to do with life. And it just goes to show that one person's decisions -- both good and bad -- have far reaching repercussions.

Learned Helplessness

or, Shockingly Sad Situations

Writing must reflect Real Life. And in Real Life, though we may not always have the relationships we want, we always have the relationships we expect. Characters (and Real People) who accept being victims must fundamentally expect to be told what they can and cannot do -- so they're OK with it when it happens. Otherwise, they would end the relationship.

The "why" that drives otherwise rational people to remain in intolerable situations is something that can give family, friends, and writers fits. But every so often, we discover a piece of the puzzle...

While working on the manuscript for Ryan Gingerich's book, I was introduced to the concept of learned helplessness.

In essence, researchers studying the origins of depression discovered that if a lab animal (the original study was conducted with dogs) was placed in a situation from which it could not escape, and repeatedly subjected to a "negative stimulus" (tech-speak for shocking the poor creature until it yelped), eventually the dog would stop trying to escape and would just cower in his cage and endure the pain.

Most interesting, however, was what happened after the restraints were removed. Even if the animal had previously demonstrated the ability to escape the cage, when the shocks were again administered, it would just lie there and take them.

This condition of enduring a torturous situation rather than taking a pro-active approach to saving oneself is termed learned helplessness.

I find this concept fascinating on several levels -- both as a writer and as someone who is always trying to understand the mysteries of Why People Do What They Do.

From a purely objective point of view, it provides insight into the psychology of victimhood:

* Why does a horse not buck an abusive rider off?
* Why does a dog not bite or run away from a violent owner?
* Why does one person allow another to manipulate and control his or her life?

They have all entered the state of "learned helplessness."

Interestingly, some of the subjects of this and related studies resisted just giving up. They were, essentially, the optimists. When given the opportunity and a little encouragement, they would escape their tormentors. Even more interesting, they showed little inclination toward depression.

Those who evidenced learned helplessness, however, quickly exhibited clinical signs of depression even after the shocks were no longer administered.

When I was growing up, a woman who went to our church was a study in learned helplessness. Her husband literally dictated everything she did. She was in her 50's before he allowed her to get a driver's license. THEN he would monitor how much gas she used in the car to keep tabs on whether or not she had actually gone where she'd said.

We've all seen some form of this movie play out in real life:

He: What's your password?

She: None of your business.

He: What are you hiding?

She: Nothing.

He: So, if you're not hiding anything, why can't I know your password? Don't you trust me?

She: Fine! Fine! You want it, here -- (insert password code here)!

ZZZzaaaap!

There are a thousand variations of this story, but the common thread is that it ALWAYS escalates. Monitoring correspondence like mail, e-mail, and phone calls may morph into dictating what one can wear. And what music one can listen to. And who one can see.

It's only a short jump then, to keeping tabs on how much gas is used in the car. Or hiring friends, family, or private eyes for surveillance. By that time, however, the culture of victimhood is firmly established. And, like the poor zapped dogs in the study, even when the cage is opened and an escape route is clearly visible, it becomes the road not taken.

Stop Making Sense!

For the past several weeks, I have been gamely trying to determine the unfathomable influences that caused one of my best friends to commit to a train wreck of a life choice. If I can just figure out what is motivating her, I reasoned,maybe her decision will somehow make more sense...

The fact that I couldn't come up with ANYTHING that would explain the inexplicable bothered me terribly.

Inexplicably poor decisions are the hallmark of bad writing. Watch any dodgy horror flick, and you'll see ample evidence of this.

"Scary bad things are happening... I think I'll go to the basement, unarmed and alone," some young thing thinks -- and you just know that character's about to meet a Bad End. It's the movie world's IQ tax for stupidity. Rarely does any person in the audience care about the Horrible End about to be visited on the actor-wannabe because -- let's face it -- everyone knows that no one in real life would be so dumb.

I spend a great deal of time thinking about a character's motivation. I want to make sure that, no matter how stupid a decision may seem, I can defend it in light of a character's core. Granted, sometimes I watch a movie or read a book and realize that I work way too hard on this issue... Still, I reason that everything has reason.

And then real life proves me wrong.

The always interesting and entertaining Alex Papadimoulis is a gallows-humor master when it comes to commenting on the wild and wacky underworld of computer programming, IT, and other geek-speak things.

In his latest article, Mr. Papadimoulis explores the Real Life scenario that presented itself when a company's CTO declared that technical support should never be necessary. If the client had a problem, this mental giant reasoned, that problem clearly arose from incomplete or improper documentation.

Among other things, the mandate resulted in the following report:


-------------------------------------------------
ISSUE #88274
-------------------------------------------------
Client Issue:
"Has ANY person in your company ever Looked at or tryed to READ any maniual man u all something like thet that it's funney even after 7 years I still LAUGH any way some people like Ta know I mean Ya know!"

Problem Point:
We failed to provide the client with a version of their manual in garbled, unpunctuated non-english.

Improvement Goal:
Many companies miss the garbled, unpunctuated non-english market segment completely, and we should not be one of them. It's important to remember that for every client that understands "Click the 'submit' button to save your changes", there's another that only understands "klik tHe summit butt on two SAVE yer changez ya know ya know".

-------------------------------------------------

Which just goes to prove, I suppose, that not only is Truth stranger than Fiction, but it is also stupider.

Now, I'm not suggesting that writers completely disregard the importance of realistic motivation when it comes to creating characters. I am, however, positing that perhaps a readily recognizable, connect-the-dots progression from decision to deed is not always available. Real life is messier than that. Sometimes it's ok if a character's motives are as murky as a Real Person's. Heaven knows it'll certainly keep the reader guessing...

Project Updates

The manuscript for Ryan's book, complete with suggested photo and illustration requirements, should be finished by this time tomorrow.

The Marathon Man screenplay goes out to two key interested parties this evening (very exciting).

The sample chapter for the Marathon Man book proposal awaits commentary from the subject of the book. He's currently out on a speaking engagement, but I expect to hear from him by Monday. With any luck, the proposal will wend its way to the agent who has expressed interest in it by the end of the month.

This will free me up to work on my own things, most notably the novel I've been picking away at in my free time. Perhaps I should re-examine my characters within it. I suspect they may all make too much sense...

In Praise of Bad Decisions

or, "The Taming of the Shrewd"

We all know them: good people, friends even, who seem hell-bent on living their lives from one train wreck to another. We look at the choices they make and shake our heads in disbelief, wondering Is it just the writer in me that sees this for the tragedy it really is?

I find it fascinating that some people willingly choose to put themselves in real-life situations that I would hesitate to inflict upon my characters. And every time I wonder why on earth a real person committed to some clearly ill-advised course of action, I realize that I do the characters that exist only in my imagination no favors if I allow them to lead stable, comfortable lives.

This thought struck me last night as I re-watched "The Taming of the Shrew," one of four solidly interesting re-imaginings of the Shakespearean cannon in the BBC's Shakespeare Retold. In real life, I tend to wish more people would make shrewd, solid, logical decisions that would enrich their lives and enhance their stability. However, in my reading and movie-watching, I prefer Those Who Choose Badly. They make far better entertainment.



Now, I am not suggesting for a moment that a writer should look to befriend the sorriest people imaginable in order to shamelessly plagiarize and then publicize their unfortunate decision-making. I am, however, advocating, taking a hard look at characters and imbuing them with complicated, complex, and -- at times -- downright contrary motivations.

Tonight, the Novel Writing Practicum is going to focus on Character Development. Participants are to bring a chapter or segment of writing no more than 10 pages long, and we will workshop it with regards to the characters involved.

Some of the questions I encourage my students to ask when analyzing a character include:

• What drives this character? How is it evidenced?
• What distinguishes this character from everyone else?
• What makes this character interesting? How can this be improved?
• What makes this character worthwhile? How can this be strengthened?
• What makes this character complex? How can this be made more interesting?
• What are this character’s flaws? How can they pose even more challenges?
• How can the character be more proactive?
• What is this character’s passion? How can this be better focused?
• Why does the character behave this way?

I then suggest a list of questions to apply to the character in action in a particular sequence, scene, or chapter. One of them is:

What else could happen here that would take this character further out of his or her comfort zone and make things even more interesting?

I have to admit, though I hate it when the real people that I love and care about make deplorable decisions, it's kind of fun to play God and see what sorts of situations I can inflict upon those who are at the whim of my words...

A Clean Well-Lighted Place

This Tuesday, July 14, beginning at 6:00, the newly formed Novel Writing Practicum will meet at Isabella's Tapas Bistro (formerly the "Hacienda") in Benton Harbor.

I thought I'd try this location before the Practicum became too entrenched in a way of doing things. If it works, it could be a good thing -- Isabella's has good food at reasonable prices, so people won't have to miss supper to attend the Practicum. Also, because Isabella's doesn't have the space issues that my writing loft does, there may be no need to limit the number of participants in the Practicum.

In any case, it will be worth a try.

This week, we'll be working on Character Creation. Participants are encouraged to bring 4 copies of one chapter (up to 10 pages) and workshop it with regard to the characters that people it. We'll explore different filters to apply to our writing, in order to bump the characters off the page and into our readers' minds.

It promises to be an interesting, challenging, and stimulating evening. (Writers who wish to join us should contact me for details.) Looking forward to it!

Plot Spots

Last Tuesday, in my Writer's Workshop, we discussed Plot. Now -- I'm not one of those who believes that a story is either plot-driven or character-driven. No: I happen to believe that all stories are inextricably tied to the characters within them (even if the only character is the narrator...).

However, I also believe in the Plot Spot. The Plot Spot, as I explained to my students, is the Thing that impacts a character's life and forces that character to make a choice. The resulting story, then, hinges upon the character's choice. For instance:

A major early Plot Spot in Wanted, is the Store Shootout. It establishes every major plot point that drives the next 30 minutes of the film, and it presents Wesley, the main character, with a choice that will impact the rest of his life.

A significant Plot Spot in Happy Feet occurs where Memphis loses the egg that has been entrusted to his care. Though he recovers it, he blames that incident for damaging his son and making him "different."

Some stories have many Plot Spots -- many crossroads that force their characters to make life-changing, long-term, significant decisions. The story line of such works eventually looks like a dot-to-dot of possible turning points, connected by a single line of choices.

Other stories have very few Plot Spots. One could argue that Twilight only has two. If Edward didn't save Bella in the high school parking lot, she wouldn't even know to ask about his special powers. And if James wasn't such a tracker, there would be no reason for Bella to run to Phoenix. (Of course, that's overly simplifying the story -- but the point is that some story lines are heavily reliant on Plot Spots. Others are not.)

After examining what constitutes a Plot Spot, I challenged my students to examine their current projects in the light of "What Happens?" One way to do that is to practice Playing God with a particular scene. For instance:

Underline, or otherwise identify key plot points in your scene. For each one, articulate:

• How will this point pay off later?
• Why is it important for the reader to remember this?
• How will this affect the character’s choices / life?

• (brainstorming option) Identify at least 5 reasonable, logical choices the character could make as a result of each plot point. Follow each choice a short distance to see where that “plot road” takes you.

o Look for ways to work in these “alternate paths” in other characters, to illustrate to the reader the validity of your lead character’s actions.

o KNOW, beyond any doubt, why the story unfolds the way it does. The lead CANNOT a passive victim of chance. Know the consequences your lead unleashes.

o Explore dark alleys. (This is especially effective in ascertaining that you, the writer, are not being Too Nice to your main character. Let him or her fall into some difficult places. Beware of treating your characters with kid gloves. Remember: how we handle hardship is what defines us.)

My students are to bring their re-worked scenes, complete with Plot Spots, to class this week. I'm always amazed and inspired at how a hard look at What Happens can make one's writing SOOoo much more interesting.

Update

My friend, Trudy Morgan-Cole, had a very successful online book launch for her latest work, By the Rivers of Brooklyn. In fact, she actually charted in the Top 10 of the Canadian online bookseller that she used to do the launch. I'm so proud of her! Yay, Trudy!

I donated a complete "Character Building Practicum" as a bonus prize to a lucky winning writer who participated in the online launch. I'm always happy to help my friends with their marketing efforts. And I'm looking forward to working with the writer who claimed the prize.

I've just finished a manuscript edit of an inspirational memoir written by an author I've been mentoring for the past year. It's quite good, I must say. She is attending the Grand Rapids Christian Writer's Workshop with me later this week. With luck, she'll be able to bring the project to the attention of a good agent or publisher who can get it in print in a timely manner.

The Marathon Man screenplay edit continues, and should (God willing) be finished this week. This is great, because Ryan has promised me that he will have his edits and additional content ready for me by the end of the month.

I hope to also finish the sample chapter for the Marathon Man book proposal by the end of this week. Not only will it be good to be able to send it off to the agent who has requested it, but it will free me up to work on two personal projects that are clamoring for attention.

Never a dull moment. If someone were to chart the Plot Points in my life, I wonder what sort of story would be taking shape...

Seven Deadly Writer's Sins: #2

or "Haven't I Heard That Somewhere Before?"

When I was in college, one of my English professors had a sign in his office that read: Avoid Cliches Like the Plague. It always made me laugh.

Now, I'm not suggesting that cliches per se are deadly to one's writing. I don't even try to weed them out in my first drafts (which, incidentally, explains why I let so many slip by in blog posts). I use them as glorified place holders: weak similes that while away the time until the pithier, meatier metaphors arrive.

No, cliches are merely indicators of weakness or laziness. They are rarely deadly.

Cliched dialogue, on the other hand, is another story. Few things will kill your readers' interest faster than throwing something common at them and asking them to pretend they've never read or heard anything like it before.

Overly Cliched Dialogue (OCD) can appear anywhere. How to recognize it when you see it? Easy: it's the dialogue that exists NOWHERE in the real world. It is cliched because it only occurs on screen or on the printed page. And it occurs there often. Some of the most common include:

* I'm your brother (sister/father/mother/blood relative)...

This is common OCD. If one character is actually imparting news to another, it's a cheap way to ratchet up the drama before the obligatory scene where the newly discovered relations are forced to part.

Sometimes this line is an even worse offender. It is said to a person who is completely cognizant of the familial relationship. It exists only to tell the audience information that everyone else in the story knows. Really -- how often does one say, "I'm your brother and I need your help?" Never. Only in Hollywood...

* What the--?

Only in PG and PG-13-land do people say this. In the real world, people tend to finish this particular sentiment.

* I'm cold. I'm so cold.

This OCD always makes me laugh. It's the obligatory line that a dying character says to his or her beloved. It's like: "Time is short. I'm about to die. Let me give you a final internal temperature reading."

* Not on my watch!

My friend Karen can spot this one coming with unerring accuracy. She has been known to add it as an audible aside during movies for instant comic relief. Variations include She's gonna blow! and Let's get out of here! Personal guarantee: if the situation arises where something is about to blow sky high and we must immediately vacate the premises, I'm going to just start running, instead of providing exposition for someone who may or may not be watching.

* Who else knows about this?

With the proliferation of this line of OCD, you would think that even the characters in books and movies would know that the correct answer is NOT "No one."

* What place is this?

An odd example of OCD that is completely out of place in the real world. "Where am I?" is another one, but at least it rings half true.

There are many, many other examples, but you get the point. Even movies and books that I like suffer from the malady of OCD. Wolverine, for instance, has "I'm your father," "I'm your brother," AND "I'm cold... I'm so cold." Yeesh!

Stories and scripts that suffer from OCD bump the audience out of the experience. They remind the readers or viewers that this is, after all, just a stupid book / movie / TV show... and they could be doing something better with their time. Excessive OCD makes the audience start trying to guess the lines before they come. When the audience is successful, then the characters have become ::gasp!:: predictable. And that IS a sin.

In Other News

The major two-year-long project for the USHJA is finished! It went out without a hiccup, and -- dare I hope? -- it appears that all is well. I expect to hear more from the client as the week progresses. But, for the most part, that project is done.

The rest of the month is dedicated to finishing up the first draft and first edit of Ryan Gingerich's book. I'm on track to make that deadline. We'll see how things pan out.

When I'm not working on Ryan's project, my new novel idea is occupying all of my free time. It keeps me up until far too early in the morning, and could easily become a wonderful obsession. Much of the project is in the research phase of it. Robert helps with that, too. But what I have begun I really like. It promises hours of fun for the summer...

And I'm gearing up for a Writer's Workshop I'll be conducting at the Coloma Library on Tuesdays in June. I love teaching writers, and am revamping the workshop so it's more hands-on and interactive. Further bulletins on that as events warrant.

And now, Ryan's book calls. I have a chapter near completion, and hope to finish it and get a solid start on another one today.

So... I'm off to write like the wind and avoid cliches like... you know.

Seven Deadly Writer's Sins: #1

or: Need More Ned!

I admit with a touch of embarrassment that I went to see 17 Again this weekend.

I went with low expectations, and for the first 15 minutes, I felt that perhaps even they had been too high. (Admittedly, however, I find it difficult to argue with any premise that stipulates that if divorce is imminent, the way to save your marriage is to have your husband suddenly turn into Zac Ephron and still have the hots for you.)

Often, I actually enjoy movies with scripts as full of holes as this one -- they give me great comfort, and bolster my hopes. Though they make me seriously question why I bother working so hard on things like character development and continuity.

But then I realized that I was enjoying some parts of the film far more than others. And I wasn't alone. Every time Thomas Lennon came on the screen, the audience perked up and the energy level in the theatre rose. Less than 30 minutes into the movie, I commented to my friend Chari that I could watch an entire film of just Ned (Lennon's character).

You see, in my humble opinion, the writers of "17 Again" committed one of the seven deadly sins of writing: they created a secondary character and made him more interesting and more engaging than the protagonist.

By the end of the first act, I was far more interested in what Ned would do next than in what Zac (oops, "Mark." Or was it "Mike?") would do. Ned got the best lines, the best scenes, got to wear the most interesting clothes, and had the most complete inner life. He may have been created only as comic relief, but his character assumed a life of his own and grew far beyond the meager bounds of the movie that he lived in.

Why is that a sin? Isn't it a good thing to create a memorable character that lives and breathes? Of course. But if your supporting characters are more well-rounded than your protagonists, or your antagonists, you have committed the writer's sin of Complacency. You thought you had a Good Idea, and figured it would take no more than bare-bones cardboard characters to execute that idea.

For shame!

One well-rounded character -- no matter how small -- shows the audience that the writer had it in him the whole time. But only one such character also lets the audience know that the writer didn't feel like working that hard on every person he created.

In Other News

My major client has sent more work my way. I hope to be able to make great inroads on it by the end of the day. I'm also putting the final touches on a chapter of Ryan's book.

Which means, if I play my cards right, I will carve out some free time to work on my Own Private Project. I have a portion of the first paragraph finished, the entire story mapped out, and a fairly good handle on all the major characters. With any luck (if I do my job right), the characters will all be interesting enough, flawed enough, and compelling enough to merit their position as major players on the story's stage. Time will tell if I'm guilty of the same sin I accuse others writers of...

Mastering Motivation

One of the trickiest challenges a writer faces is creating interesting, three-dimensional characters that are compelling and believable, while still retaining the capacity to surprise the audience.

If a character is predictable, he or she is, by default, boring. However, even if a character’s choices stun us, we should still be able to accept the motivation for those decisions and accept them as “something he would do.”

Mastering motivation becomes slightly easier if we take a page from reality and throw logic out the window. Once we insist that our characters have a logical basis for their actions, we have taken a step down the slippery slope that leads to clichéd, uninspired prose.

In real life, humans have an infinite capacity for illogical behavior. Often, our actions make sense only to us -- leaving those who know us, love us, and have a vested interest in our continued health, wealth, and well-being scratching their heads in wonder over our perceived stupidity. If we writers can apply this to our character development, we will have tapped into something deeply “human.” Besides, what can be infuriating in the real world can become a tool of vast entertainment potential in the world we create.

Consider, for instance, Indiana Jones' fear of snakes. Or Louise's refusal to set foot in Texas, in "Thelma and Louise." How about Hercule Poirot's fastidiousness? Or Sherlock Holmes' superiority complex balanced with his addiction issues? Illogical? Perhaps. But the lack of rational thought doesn't negate the powerful forces that motivate the characters and make them memorable.

If you find that your characters are as flat as the screen (or the paper) they're written on, consider taking a side road away from Logic. Explore the myriad possibilities of Motivation instead.

Maybe a character idolizes her marriage, but not her husband... Maybe one can't bear to be told "no..." Perhaps a character equates advice with control... Or perhaps a son is terrified of following in his father's footsteps...

Feel free to borrow heavily from real life. Choose an irrational behavior that perplexes you, saddle a character with it, and see where it takes him. You might discover that it opens up a whole new world of possibilities, gives a new dimension to that character's interactions with others, and makes that character come alive.

Enjoy discovering where Motivation leads!

It's Only Words

It's official: we don't mean what we say.

Do you take this woman...? I do.

I've never felt like this with anyone else...

I'm the president of the company -- I would never lie to our shareholders...

I'm very concerned about our part in global warming.

And, in Ohio: I'm a Democrat.

I find it fascinating that over 16 thousand self-described conservatives -- die-hard Republicans who champion Life (without choice), Liberty (with wiretaps but without immigration), and the Pursuit of Happiness (heterosexuals only, please), and who publicly stand firm on their beliefs in God and Country -- would commit a felony in order to champion those beliefs.

According to the article in the Plains Dealer, Ohio voters in last week's primary listened to the on-air exhortations of conservative talk show hosts ("It's like the voice of God," I can imagine them saying...) and participated in a "plot" to undermine the election process.

Mucking with elections. In Ohio. I, for one, am shocked.

So -- this time -- here's what happened. A Republican presented him- or herself at the polling center and declared that allegiances had changed. A card was signed to that effect, and the person could then cast a vote for the other party's candidate (read: the enemy) that he or she felt had the least chance of defeating the party's Official Choice.

One woman who "crossed over" is quoted as saying, "I don't mind being deceptive to politicians. They are deceptive to us."

Another said she "crossed over" to mess with the results because she "doesn't trust" the opposition's strongest candidate.

So she was willing to sign a statement pledging allegiance to a new ideology that she doesn't believe in, to commit a felony punishable by up to a year in jail, and incur a $2,500 fine.

So -- who's not trustworthy here?

It kinds of makes you go "hmmmm....."

It's only words, we're quick to point out. Actions speak louder, you know.

Is that so? I'm not so sure. The advice to "Let your 'yes' be 'yes,' and your 'no' be 'no'" has an alluring simplicity to it. Say what you mean. Do what you say.

Besides -- forming words is an action. So is signing a voter's pledge card.

Screenwriting guru Syd Field made the famous pronouncement that "Drama Is Conflict." When creating characters in a work of fiction, it is often useful to have them do something that flies in the face of their own dearly-held beliefs. However, in film, those actions generally have consequences that result.

Imagine the drama that would result if the "Ohio 16,000" were forced to live up to their pledge and only vote along their new party lines for the next election cycle. Now THAT would be worthy of more than a few choice words.

Language is the thing that separates us from the animals. It's what makes us human. It's also what makes us capable of prevarication, lies, and abuse of the truth.

What we say influences what we do. Saying one thing and doing another only cheapens what we originally claimed to stand for. It becomes "Conviction of Convenience," able to be dropped, edited, or manipulated at a moment's notice.

While it's true that saying something doesn't make it so, there is no escaping the fact that saying something untrue does make a person a liar.

Harsh language? Perhaps. But don't get offended. After all -- it's only words. Right?