I love to get to know my characters by asking random questions—and sometimes I even learn more about myself. If you’d like to join in, just choose one or the other and tell me why. You can either answer for yourself, for a character in your current WIP if you’re a writer, or both. Here’s this week’s choice:
Which super power?
Invisibility
or
flying?
My weekend started on Thursday, climbing a couple thousand feet to the 14,270 foot summit of Gray’s Peak. Beautiful. And wonderful inspiration for writing. On Friday, I wrote 5,000 words because I couldn’t help it. Then a sleepover that night (and me still hobbling around on sore legs) with four young girls, ages 3,4,6, and 8. And less than five hours of sleep. Saturday, they wreaked havoc on the house (yeah, a little embellishment—but I’m a writer, that’s what we do) while I cleaned, cleaned, cleaned, and prepared four courses for my daughter's birthday party. Broccoli dip in a sourdough bread bowl, pasta salad, shish kabobs with my own special marinade, and strawberry cake. And another 5 K because I couldn’t leave my characters in the misery I’d created for them. Sunday, church, more food prep and a party! Oh, yeah, and my hubby was out of town the whole weekend. Just little ‘ole me to manage it all. (I take that back, he was there for the birthday party :D).
And yes, I finished my WIP!
Does this sound familiar to any of you? Lots to do, lots to manage? I know there are many of you out there who work full-time jobs, or part-time jobs. Have kids and/or a husband. Other family. Who have other commitments and other things they enjoy. But you still write.
We still write.
Because as writers, writing is worth it. Because, even when it’s a struggle to get through an entire paragraph, it’s worth it. Because most of the time, writing is a magical, fulfilling, and worthwhile joy that we do because we love it. Because we need it.
Because we’re meant to.
Just a little acknowledgment to all you writers out there. You’re amazing people and I love that I’ve gotten the chance to know you through a mutual passion. Have a great day!
Rain
or
Sunshine?
I have a scene in my current WIP where the hero sees the heroine walking home in the late evening, head tilted to the sky to see dozens of lightning bugs. He experiences her wonder at something so simple and is reminded of the first time they met.
We hear so many times in our writing journey to write what we know. But what about writing what we don’t know? Even better, writing what we want to experience.
Sure, fireflies are something small but they set a certain tone for me. And I figure if I can’t experience them right now, my characters might as well.
What’s something simple you’ve always wanted to do or see? If you’re a writer, do you use this in your writing? Have you given your characters an experience you’ve always wanted to have?
***photo by pareeerica
There are two main kinds of goals for each scene and either or both will help propel a book toward an effective climax and resolution. They will also help keep your reader interested.
Character Goals
These are the kinds of goals you have for your characters in each scene. The kind that help you realize where the character is heading and why. What is urging them toward growth or keeping them from it. In each scene, having goals for your characters is a good idea.
You can accomplish this by asking yourself these questions:
What do you want your character to experience in this scene?
How do you want your character to grow or change in this scene?
What do you want your character to realize in this scene?
What decision does your character make in this scene?
Essentially you want your character to start off in one place at the beginning of the scene and end up somewhere else. Either emotionally or physically. When you know your character’s overall motivations or goals, breaking them down scene by scene to get there will help move the story along and progress it logically for the reader.
Plot Goals
These are goals you can set for individual scenes that help advance the plot. Basically, it comes down to events. Your entire story is made up of a series of events that get you from chapter to chapter or scene to scene until the books end. So, ask yourself:
What do I want to accomplish during this scene?
What event happens during this scene that causes external or internal conflict?
What should or could occur to help the story arrive at an effective or explosive climax?
Making a plot goal for each scene is an excellent way to progress the story and hold your reader's attention.
Do you set goals for each scene? Character goals or plot goals or both?
Last week we talked about hooks that begin and end scenes. This week we’ll switch gears a little and talk about setting. Not just the importance of the overall setting for a book, but what purpose setting can serve for each individual chapter or scene.
For me, setting is excellent for doing one or more of these three things in each scene.
1) Establishing general information for the reader
This is one of the basic reasons we use setting in a book. To reveal to the reader a time or place. To create a world for them based on a time period, geography (fictional or real), which also means everything from location in the world to location like a specific house or landmark in a town. This includes time of the day and the conditions of those days, such as weather.
2) Creating a mood or a feeling
Setting a story in a particular place is often an important decision and integral to the make-up of a book. This becomes even more important when you break it down into chapters. If your character is feeling worried or upset or scared, having them deal with these thoughts during a thunderstorm or in the dark of night helps enhance their feelings. Likewise, a walk or picnic in sunshine can either help display your characters feelings of buoyancy and happiness or work as an interesting contract to opposite feelings. Does the sun irritate them? Do they snatch down shades because it’s too bright or make faces at flowers and families picnicking in a park because it contrasts with their feelings? Using bits and pieces of a setting, even a particular place or time of year, can create a particular mood or enhance a character’s thoughts and bring more depth to a scene.
3) Grounding characters
This is one of my favorite uses of setting. Grounding my characters in the setting, which involves letting them engage in their surroundings. It’s a great way to SHOW the reader about the setting and SHOW them more about the character at the same time.
This might look like a character gripping tightly to a water glass or spinning it in circles on a table if they’re out to dinner. This allows them to interact with their surroundings, showing us more about where they are instead of them hovering in any random place, and also reveals more about the character. They’re nervous or worried or naturally fidgety.
It could also look like a character strolling through a forest and stopping to snatch up a twig and use it to knock against the trees as they walk. More information about where the character is. Or the character could be kicking with abrupt swipes at loose pebbles on the ground to show they’re angry.
Letting your characters interact with their surroundings is a great way to bring a setting to life and show instead of tell how they’re feeling. It also helps give your reader a sense of location instead of hovering in the character's head for too long, not knowing where they are or what they're doing while they're thinking or talking.
Setting can be a great asset to building a plot beyond events and characters beyond simple characteristics. What are some ways you enjoy using setting in your stories or what are some interesting ways you’ve seen settings used in stories you’ve read?
Music
or
Television?
