Beautiful People - September

Ooh, my first Beautiful People post!
I've heard about this for a long time, but never really looked into it until a few days ago. And then, up comes the September prompt. So I figured I'd do it.

You can join the linkup here.

So, I'll do Alice today. She's the main character of Where the Music Ends. Maybe this will help to get back into writing it!

Shall we begin?

1. How did you come up with this character? Hmm, you know, I don't actually remember. I wrote the first drafts of Where the Music Ends several years ago. Alice just ... came. She was the first character, besides the witch.
2. Have they ever been starving? Why? And what did they eat to break the fast? Actually, yes she has! In the first part of the book, when she and Gilbert are trying to escape the enchantment, they run out of food and don't eat for several days. And, soup. She eats soup when she's finally able to get some food.
3. Do they have a talent or skill that they’re proud of? She's a very fast runner. 
4. List 3 things that would make them lose their temper. Heh, this is Alice we're talking about. She has lots of things that make her lose her temper. Cowardice is the big one (or what she might perceive as cowardice). Cruelty. And she will also get really angry if someone messes with her brother.
5. What is their favorite type of weather? Least favorite? Springtime would be her favorite, when all the weather is warming up and everything is fresh and blooming. She would like the fall weather, but it reminds her every year that she is getting closer to being called into the forest.
6. What is their Hogwarts house and/or MBTI personality? I don't know, and that's not really something I've thought about.
7. Are they more likely to worry about present problems, or freak out about the unknown future? A little of both.
8. What is their favourite thing to drink? Milk.
9. What is their favourite color? Least favorite? Blue is her favorite color. Black and red are her least favorite.
10. What is a book that changed their life? A book of tales that mentions the free words.

Well, that was fun! I think I'll do Gilbert next month. Who knows? I might make this a regular thing. I do need to get back to blogging.

Editing

So I've started editing Where the Music Ends. I'm a bit leery about getting to the part written during NaNo, just because I don't want to get there and hate what I wrote. But so far I'm enjoying the story. I rewrote the 'prologue' (it's very short; I really hate prologues that are twenty pages long, you get interested in the story it's telling, and then you're thrown a hundred years forward into chapter one which is way less interesting), but I'm not sure I'll even keep it.

This story has very few characters. I didn't set out to make it that way, but the fact is I find it difficult to handle large numbers of named characters. There is Alice, my main character; Gilbert, who is also a main character, though none of it is told from his POV; the witch (actually, she doesn't have a name; suggestions welcome!); and four others who have names.

The book I'm thinking about working on next will have a lot more characters; I think my main difficulty with that is that introducing anyone besides the ones who are present from the beginning always feels awkward. I need to work on my introductions, apparently.

Oh, and I would like to recommend Google Drive. I have two computers that I use for writing, and so lately I've either written it on a word processor and then pasted it into the Drive or written it directly on the Drive doc. It's really nice to be able to go between computers without having to email things to myself; everything is saved automatically and if my computer crashes I won't lose anything.

Now I'll leave you with an excerpt and then get back to editing!

“How did you keep from turning back after you were wounded?” asked Alice. “I had to run.”

“I climbed a tree and held on as tightly as I could, and … sang as loudly as I could.” He looked embarrassed. “You can be glad you weren't within hearing distance.”

Alice laughed. “Joseph and I are terrible singers. Our mother sings like a lark.” She stopped, refusing to let her thoughts of Joseph go any further. “I suppose we can start back, slowly. You need to have your leg looked at.”

Thinking and Writing

I do a lot of outlining in my head before it ever reaches solid form on paper. I'll mull ideas over, fitting them with what I've already got, sometimes replaying scenes over and over (don't tell anyone, but sometimes I act them out when no one is looking) until I know exactly how I want them to turn out ... and then when I try to write them down they end up smaller, less impressive than I imagined them.
I was sailing along, planning out The Perilous Forest (that's just a working title, by the way), when I realized that there was really very little suspense, tension, whatever you want to call it, and it was bogging down after a certain scene. I've been trying for a week to work it out, and I think I finally have. I must say that outlining is really helpful. I do a stream-of-consciousness kind of outlining, where I simply sit down and have a conversation with myself, writing it out as I'm thinking it.
It's been a long time since I did this, actually. I used to have what I called a writing journal; whenever I was writing, and came upon a difficulty, I'd write through it until a solution came to me. But I never used it to actually outline anything.
The nice thing about having an outline is that you don't realize something a hundred pages in that can't be fixed by simply going back and editing. Of course, before I started an outline for The Perilous Forest, I was already about eleven thousand words in; I'm fully aware that I may have to go back to the beginning and change some things, but so far I think I'm safe.
I'll be glad to get this story written; it's been rattling about in the back drawers of my head for long enough. And as nice as having everything planned out is, it's even nicer to be able to write it out.
I'm not sure what I'll do with it when I'm finished; I may release it as a serial, or I may try to get it published. We'll see.
I also have another story that I've been trying to write for two or so years that could do with some serious, serious outlining. I've got some good ideas for it, but every time I try to write it it just falls so flat; it's what I call a political fantasy (heavy on the politics, light on the magic), and gets into some convoluted schemes, counter-schemes, machinations and intrigue. It's a lot of fun to think about, but there's something about it that just doesn't click. It possibly has to do with my main character, who no matter how hard I try to define her, she seems like a one-dimensional person. Every scene I write with her turns insipid. Unlike Alice, of The Perilous Forest, who is beautifully alive and makes me happy whenever I write her, even when she's trying to slap someone.

There are, of course, other stories knocking on my mind, trying to get out: half formed ideas, snippets of tales, bits and pieces of conversations. For my part I put them in my little boiling pot and let them simmer.
Oh, and I'm working on a Chronicles of Narnia fanfiction. I've had it completely written for three or so years, but it had gotten shoved down deep in my email files and needs to be rewritten and polished up. I'll be sure to let you all know when I start posting it!

What are your methods of planning a story? Do you ever outline? 

Hero, Anti-Heroes, Villains!

St. George Slaying the Dragon, Hans von Aachen

The big push nowadays is for the anti-hero. Not just a flawed good guy, but someone who is actually a bad guy who is the focus of the story and whom we are supposed to sympathize with.

I honestly don't know why. As a reader, I hate reading about someone like that. I don't want to read about someone who just goes around doing bad things (murdering, for instance); that's not a person I want to get behind and cheer on. I certainly don't want to be manipulated into somehow liking this person that I would never like in real life.

I have no problem with a villain who has some sympathetic traits. A completely evil villain can get dull. Someone morally complex, but also recognizably bad so that we can cheer when he is defeated, is much better (though I don't write off all villainous villains who only have money, or power, or revenge, in mind).

So, going from that to a hero, what is a hero?

I think we often get sucked into the trap of believing that a hero can't be awesome unless he's flawed and conflicted. I definitely think we should work on our heroes, for the most part, being realistic. But then, sometimes I just get a craving for a good old fashioned hero who may make the wrong choices (or not), but who is unflinchingly good and virtuous, who defies evil just by existing.

I find myself writing more complex (I hope) heroes and villains, but I think I, and a lot of people, will always be drawn as well to the archetypal good guy, the one who may be unattainable in his goodness but who draws us to him just by virtue of the fact that he is the opposite of evil and can always be relied upon.

For a Christian, saying that a perfectly good, moral character is always boring and one dimensional obviously ignores the fact that Jesus himself was neither boring nor one dimensional.

And anyone who says that a villain can never be pure evil apparently forgets about the Devil.

So really, what I'm saying is that as usual you can't say, "Here's how to do it, and otherwise your story will not be awesome."

(I do, however, think that just about every superhero ever invented is boring. Your mileage may vary.)

And one more thing, re: anti-heroes, is that I don't have a problem with a character who starts off as a villain and then changes. I love seeing a bad guy wrestling with his conscience and slowly beginning to turn from villain to hero. I just don't want the main character to be the villain all the way through, especially if he's against a good guy.

What are your thoughts on heroes, villains, and anti-heroes? Are there exceptions?

Character Development

I have a hard time with characters; they've always seemed very vague in my mind. I could see what they looked like, sort of, but their characteristics, their inner selves eluded me aside from the general labels of 'noble' or 'heroic' or 'villainous'.
I am much more plot driven. Exciting events, epic battles, rousing speeches are my forte. But of course for a story to be interesting, you have to have an idea of who your characters are. Now we could get into successful and really great stories where the characters aren't fleshed out and the plot often takes precedence over the people in the plot; but that's not my point here.
I thought I'd take a few minutes to explain how I flesh my own characters out.

First, I take larger personal traits like honest or quick tempered and use them as the building blocks. These are the things that are most immediately apparent about the character.

Second, I find the complement to those traits. If their most obvious trait is positive, then it needs to be balanced with a negative one. So if your character is, say, straight-down-the-line honest, then you could balance that with a lack of tact and a willingness to hurt someone's feelings needlessly.
On the other hand, if you have a quick-tempered character he/she might also be quick to feel the hurts of others and protective of a certain person/persons perceived as needing protection. He/she might (and probably will) be of the act now, think later group.

Third, when I write my characters, I check back over their actions and reactions to make sure they are acting true to their characteristics.
In my work-in-progress, my character Alice refused to go to the witch the first time they met; the second time, however, she agreed to go with her. This might seem like a contradiction, and at first it seemed like it to me. But there are a few things to consider:
1. Alice is definitely impetuous. She acts without thinking things through. Her first opportunity to refuse the witch, she did so out of fear and defiance. The second time, the witch promises her something she desperately wants, and despite the fact she can't really trust the witch, Alice acts on her desires rather than using her head.
2. Even after refusing to go to the witch the first time, Alice was conflicted on that point, going back and forth in her mind about her decision. This means that the second time, she was more likely to do what she wouldn't do before.
3. Her goal is not to stay away from the witch, but to rescue her brother. Although she is afraid of the witch, if she has to rescue him by going to the witch then she is willing to do that. The witch's persuasive ways are much more effective on someone with this mindset.

Fourth, always show your character for who he/she is. Don't tell us, "Pete was impulsive." OK, job done, now we don't have to show Pete actually being impulsive. In the Hardy Boy books, the author always makes a point of telling us near the beginning that Joe is the impulsive one, Frank the more thoughtful one. In the long run, though, both boys end up pretty much acting exactly the same (and usually agreeing completely with each other).

Which brings us to the the fifth and final point: characters with strong personality differences should clash. The thoughtful character should try to hold the impulsive one back, while the impulsive one should try to get the thoughtful one moving. And your characters should have different personalities. Just as each character should have traits that balance each other out, so you should have characters whose larger personalities balance things out between them.

By the way, I've never found character interviews or those long lists of questions about the character's parent's favorite food, etc. to be helpful; they overwhelm me with what seems to me to be useless information that doesn't further character development.
Instead, I will write out a short paragraph or two initially, stating in plain terms what the character is like as I envision him/her. Here is how I first describe my character Gilbert: Gilbert is thoughtful and likes to take things slowly. He can also be very moody. He uses persuasion first, but is not against getting physical. He does not read much; he would rather spend his time alone, taking walks or working in the smithy.
Later on as you think it through, you can add more specifics. Once I've done this, I find that my characters are more settled in my mind and they are easier to write.


I hope this has been helpful, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you develop your characters. Does it come easily to you or do you really have to work at it? Do lists of questions help or overwhelm you?