So is there a right way to write? A right tense? A right POV? A right 'person'? Who am I to say? I'm merely a writer, and there's probably as many 'right' ways to write as there are writers to do the writing.
(say that one fast - haha)
One thing I do know is, I am a very logical person, and I find it very frustrating when I try to read a book and I can find no logical progression of events. If I can't figure out who I'm supposed to 'attach' to is another frustration. One book I took a stab at shifted back and forth in time, while not a bad think in itself, it certainly can be if you have no way of connecting the scenes. Something as simple as a similar name is all that is necessary for a connection or the same location either earlier or later, linked by the name of a road, forest or hill.
Now there is a writer's folly I can look past. That is tense. I'm not so good at that myself, but I do know that you can't have the first part of a sentence in the past and the rest of it in the present. That's just a goof though and has nothing to do with a writing style.
One book I tried to read started out with a very well written scene, but then came chapter two and a whole new range of characters, a different location, and absolutely no mention of the events that occurred in the first chapter. Two more chapters of illogical character behavior and relatively dull daily life, and still nothing related to the first chapter, the exciting chapter. That was enough for me. I can take mood swings, but utterly illogical behavior is annoying. I don't care how outlandish your character is, there still needs to be reason, no matter how twisted the logic.
Another book read like a news paper, but not all of it. Pieces and parts here and there were well written scenes with dialog and purpose. About the time I got to know those people that piece was finished. One part was fine if you're interested in the doings of three or four generations of a family and how they evolved into the rich landholders they were. It was a chronology of who did what for whom and when they moved where and built what. Interesting, if you're interested in that sort of thing - totally pointless in a fictional writing that has nothing to do with these ancestors, nor do the ancestors have anything to do with the current events of the story. And then we get to another chapter different people doing things that might relate to the story, maybe, if you can figure out how.
Just so you know - I approached both of these authors with my concerns, and I will not mention their names or their books here or anywhere else. They are very happy with their books, and apparently they have a few fans. More power to them.
But back to my original question - is there a right way to write? I happen to believe there is.
There needs to be a minimum of one character the reader can follow. I've read books where there were several and they each ultimately ended up going in very different directions. As long as you remain familiar, even 'attached' to them, the number doesn't matter much. This character or characters can do most anything, to include going back and forth in time, whatever your story dictates. They can be anything you want, do anything you like, be evil or good or whatever, as long as we can understand.
Having multiple characters usually dictates different POVs, but not always. Third person removes the reader from closeness but opens up vistas.
Even tense can be flexible to a degree. A person can remember past events or even research or investigate things that happened in the past. Such things might be discussed, and they would be refereed to in the past. Ach, I'm not good at this, like I said before, so I hope you get where I'm trying to go.
All in all, confusion is a big no no. However you tell your story, there needs to be an easily found thread of logic, cleverly hidden however you like, but findable just the same.
Your characters need to be as human as they are (if they are human that is). In the case of paranormal characters, other traits might be fun to mix in. Like the werwolf might have some traits normally seen in only a wolf. A werbear might be rather ... well ... bearish. Vampires - well we've seen quite an evolution in the vampire character, and they all have their fans as well as their flamers. Make of them what you will, but I would caution against making them too 'human'. Characters who originated on another world, while very human-like, need to have other priorities, other habits, other customs.
Me, I like playing with traits and natural laws. One thing I experimented with was the laws of magic. Just like the laws of something as mundane as gravity, which is an accepted constant in most all of our writing (unless we take it away). Your world needs to have 'laws'. Like the rules of physics, things work in an acceptable, logical way, and magic needs to be the same. Create the 'laws' of your world and then stick to them. Sometimes these very laws will throw curve-balls into what your character can and cannot do, or how he goes about his normal life, let alone accomplish the deeds you've set for him.
So what do you think? Is there a right way to write, or is it all just style?
Showing posts with label characters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label characters. Show all posts
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Friday, July 6, 2012
The Toxic Character
Have you ever met someone who is just plain toxic. They huddle with one or more people in their environment and whisper and speculate about events that are what they are, the decisions made by the boss or some other authority. Ultimately, they succeed in working everyone up into being angry and dissatisfied, and pretty soon everyone in the group is feeding each others dissatisfaction.
Now here's the fun part - have you ever included such a person in one of your stories? I haven't. I never thought of it before, to be honest. Then again, I generally don't write using the right kind of environment for such a character. Such a person needs a group of people to work or socialize with. They also need an authority who dictates their basic day.
Such a character needs to be dissatisfied, but not so much so that he or she is willing to quit or move on. They don't want to quite. They don't want to move on, not really. They want to be unhappy and they want company. From there, they need something to complain about. Not enough pay. Too long hours. Not enough authority or responsibility. They could do the job better. Whatever the excuse.
Such a character might do some serious stirring in your story. Give it a thought and tell me what you think. I don't believe I've ever read a story where such a character was included, not even as a background character. Have you?
Now here's the fun part - have you ever included such a person in one of your stories? I haven't. I never thought of it before, to be honest. Then again, I generally don't write using the right kind of environment for such a character. Such a person needs a group of people to work or socialize with. They also need an authority who dictates their basic day.
Such a character needs to be dissatisfied, but not so much so that he or she is willing to quit or move on. They don't want to quite. They don't want to move on, not really. They want to be unhappy and they want company. From there, they need something to complain about. Not enough pay. Too long hours. Not enough authority or responsibility. They could do the job better. Whatever the excuse.
Such a character might do some serious stirring in your story. Give it a thought and tell me what you think. I don't believe I've ever read a story where such a character was included, not even as a background character. Have you?
Friday, April 1, 2011
Point of View - Where are you looking
Next time you watch a show or a movie on television, consider what the camera sees. Consider that view your POV (Point of View). There are many different ways to use POV in your story, or maybe I should say, there are different methods of writing and POV is vital to all of them.
Your 'camera' is your eyes, ears and mind. Of course you should also try to work in touch, taste and smell wherever possible. All of your readers are avidly watching your program, plugged into your movie and waiting for your next move.
Like film makers, you will ride around on the shoulder of one or another of your main characters. You can follow very close and know only what your character can know, or you can take a more distant stance and know what most everyone knows. The latter is probably the most common, but really you need to be careful, you don't want to clutter up the page with everyone's thoughts and feelings - a comment or two is more than enough. You want to keep your viewer's attention on your main character(s).
For those of you who go all out with your list of characters (like me), keeping focus centered on your main character is paramount. If you have more than one main character, juggling them all may get a little dicey. I prefer a single main and perhaps a handful of secondarys. Not that I know much about running an office, but it's not unlike an executive with a handful of secretaries. We get to know this secondary group of individuals, but I never really follow any of them. They are merely in the inner orbit around my main. And as we all know, life is cluttered with characters so don't be afraid to do the same in your book.
For those of you who have more than one main character, more than one 'executive', in your story, keeping your viewers up to date on all of them can be quite a juggling act indeed. You never want your reader to forget about any of your mains. One way of doing this is to make a list of the main characters you want to keep track of. For instance, let's say the backdrop of your story is a global war and there is the Middle East faction, the African faction, the European faction and the American faction. Did I miss someone? I didn't mean to, but you get the idea. In each faction you have a main to follow, they may or may not know of each other, but that isn't the issue. What you DON'T want to do is follow one for three chapters, another for two, and another for like six chapters, mention yet another one in one short chapter and then go back to dwell on the previous one. You should try to give equal time to each of your main characters, and enough time for us to get to know them rather well.
I haven't tackled something like this, but I've read several samples. One being 'The Wheel of Time Compendium'. This is an awesome series of books - I believe there are twelve of them now - and it follows a handful of friends through several years as they strive to save the world from the evil lord of the underworld. This series starts out with a group of friends who grew up together, but all too soon these friends go their own way for one reason or another in their effort to accomplish the same goal. Following them is like following the threads of a braid as some go this way and back while others go that way and back. Some interact at one point and others interact at other points.
Robert Jordon did a fantastic job with his characters. They were each full of life and very different from the other. As Robert takes them each on their own journey through the books, you are sorely tempted to stay with only one, but if you did that you would miss out on what the others were doing. Everyone I've talked to about it has told me that they had a favorite character. I think the thing Robert did that made this epic story work so well was he never allowed any of us to forget who any of his characters were. His chapters were enormous and his descriptions were tremendously detailed but his world lived. There were worries and plans and communications, successful or failed, to keep us fully involved with each of his main characters. This is something you need to try to imitate though I wouldn't advise such an epic undertaking the first time around.
If you're going to have more than one main character, you need to keep us up to date with all of them. In Robert Jordon's books he had a healthy dollop of magic and the initial attachment and loyalty of that friendship to build on. Without that, you need to devise some other way to keep us involved, and remember we will be looking for some connection from the very beginning, so don't keep us waiting too long.
Giving each player equal time in your book is vital, also giving us a fully rounded and involving character helps to make them our best friend or worst enemy as the case may be. Like I said before, I wouldn't recommend such a convoluted epic adventure for your first try. But don't wait until you're on your death bed either. I'm sure many of Robert Jordon's readers would like to strangle his ghost for not finishing the story.
POV allows us to get involved. With POV, especially close POV, we can use all five senses to familiarize the reader with your main character. There is rocking emotions, wrenching tears, explosive temper tantrums, or stolid determination. The more you can get your reader to like or hate your character, the less likely they will forget who he or she is later in the book. Myself, I prefer a single main. One character can get into plenty of trouble, juggling half a dozen of them, though a joy to read if well done, makes for a very long book.
So, allow the camera of your pen to see the movie of your story. Hear the cries of anguish, smell the baking bread, taste the blood of the enemy, touch her satiny skin, and watch the moon rise. Let it all be there. It's your point of view. Don't be afraid to share it.
Your 'camera' is your eyes, ears and mind. Of course you should also try to work in touch, taste and smell wherever possible. All of your readers are avidly watching your program, plugged into your movie and waiting for your next move.
Like film makers, you will ride around on the shoulder of one or another of your main characters. You can follow very close and know only what your character can know, or you can take a more distant stance and know what most everyone knows. The latter is probably the most common, but really you need to be careful, you don't want to clutter up the page with everyone's thoughts and feelings - a comment or two is more than enough. You want to keep your viewer's attention on your main character(s).
For those of you who go all out with your list of characters (like me), keeping focus centered on your main character is paramount. If you have more than one main character, juggling them all may get a little dicey. I prefer a single main and perhaps a handful of secondarys. Not that I know much about running an office, but it's not unlike an executive with a handful of secretaries. We get to know this secondary group of individuals, but I never really follow any of them. They are merely in the inner orbit around my main. And as we all know, life is cluttered with characters so don't be afraid to do the same in your book.
For those of you who have more than one main character, more than one 'executive', in your story, keeping your viewers up to date on all of them can be quite a juggling act indeed. You never want your reader to forget about any of your mains. One way of doing this is to make a list of the main characters you want to keep track of. For instance, let's say the backdrop of your story is a global war and there is the Middle East faction, the African faction, the European faction and the American faction. Did I miss someone? I didn't mean to, but you get the idea. In each faction you have a main to follow, they may or may not know of each other, but that isn't the issue. What you DON'T want to do is follow one for three chapters, another for two, and another for like six chapters, mention yet another one in one short chapter and then go back to dwell on the previous one. You should try to give equal time to each of your main characters, and enough time for us to get to know them rather well.
I haven't tackled something like this, but I've read several samples. One being 'The Wheel of Time Compendium'. This is an awesome series of books - I believe there are twelve of them now - and it follows a handful of friends through several years as they strive to save the world from the evil lord of the underworld. This series starts out with a group of friends who grew up together, but all too soon these friends go their own way for one reason or another in their effort to accomplish the same goal. Following them is like following the threads of a braid as some go this way and back while others go that way and back. Some interact at one point and others interact at other points.
Robert Jordon did a fantastic job with his characters. They were each full of life and very different from the other. As Robert takes them each on their own journey through the books, you are sorely tempted to stay with only one, but if you did that you would miss out on what the others were doing. Everyone I've talked to about it has told me that they had a favorite character. I think the thing Robert did that made this epic story work so well was he never allowed any of us to forget who any of his characters were. His chapters were enormous and his descriptions were tremendously detailed but his world lived. There were worries and plans and communications, successful or failed, to keep us fully involved with each of his main characters. This is something you need to try to imitate though I wouldn't advise such an epic undertaking the first time around.
If you're going to have more than one main character, you need to keep us up to date with all of them. In Robert Jordon's books he had a healthy dollop of magic and the initial attachment and loyalty of that friendship to build on. Without that, you need to devise some other way to keep us involved, and remember we will be looking for some connection from the very beginning, so don't keep us waiting too long.
Giving each player equal time in your book is vital, also giving us a fully rounded and involving character helps to make them our best friend or worst enemy as the case may be. Like I said before, I wouldn't recommend such a convoluted epic adventure for your first try. But don't wait until you're on your death bed either. I'm sure many of Robert Jordon's readers would like to strangle his ghost for not finishing the story.
POV allows us to get involved. With POV, especially close POV, we can use all five senses to familiarize the reader with your main character. There is rocking emotions, wrenching tears, explosive temper tantrums, or stolid determination. The more you can get your reader to like or hate your character, the less likely they will forget who he or she is later in the book. Myself, I prefer a single main. One character can get into plenty of trouble, juggling half a dozen of them, though a joy to read if well done, makes for a very long book.
So, allow the camera of your pen to see the movie of your story. Hear the cries of anguish, smell the baking bread, taste the blood of the enemy, touch her satiny skin, and watch the moon rise. Let it all be there. It's your point of view. Don't be afraid to share it.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Life in Your Writing
I had a discussion with a friend last night and it occurred to me that, in our effort to make our stories life-like, we endeavor to use all manner of tricks of the trade. 'Use all five senses to describe scenes', 'follow the order of notice in descriptions', 'not too many adjectives', 'avoid repetition'. Well, you know the list - it's a long one, but did you think to add bits and pieces of your life into your story? We all have different experiences, different opinions, different surroundings. Why not include some of that - in a way - into your story?
Lets say, you have a friend who is totally eccentric. Take a moment and analyze them. Hand movements, quirky habits, like what do they do when they get their mail, choice of wardrobe, speech habits. Now, I'm not saying you should put this person in your story, but you could pick one of those aspects and tack it to one of your characters, and since you already know the original, you are that much more attached to your character. It's that attachment that lends life to your character, and by association, to your story.
I happen to be watching the TV show, Monk, at the moment. I love that show, Monk is hilarious. I couldn't begin to have a character like Monk in one of my stories. I think a character such as Monk is unique. I don't care how many differences I put in, if I included his phobias, it would border on fan fiction, so you can't pick something easily attached to a well known someone, but there are so many little things you can use. Have you ever watched how someone uses their hands while they're talking? How about if they are really excited about something? How about if they're really worried about something?
In short, look at the people around you. Take note of what they do and use that information. Me, I am always including some kind of information on winter, anything from snowshoeing to cutting firewood, and if you've read any of my work, there may even be something about tracking or hunting, though not much will be modern day.
So tell me, what bits and pieces of your life have you dripped into your writing?
Lets say, you have a friend who is totally eccentric. Take a moment and analyze them. Hand movements, quirky habits, like what do they do when they get their mail, choice of wardrobe, speech habits. Now, I'm not saying you should put this person in your story, but you could pick one of those aspects and tack it to one of your characters, and since you already know the original, you are that much more attached to your character. It's that attachment that lends life to your character, and by association, to your story.
I happen to be watching the TV show, Monk, at the moment. I love that show, Monk is hilarious. I couldn't begin to have a character like Monk in one of my stories. I think a character such as Monk is unique. I don't care how many differences I put in, if I included his phobias, it would border on fan fiction, so you can't pick something easily attached to a well known someone, but there are so many little things you can use. Have you ever watched how someone uses their hands while they're talking? How about if they are really excited about something? How about if they're really worried about something?
In short, look at the people around you. Take note of what they do and use that information. Me, I am always including some kind of information on winter, anything from snowshoeing to cutting firewood, and if you've read any of my work, there may even be something about tracking or hunting, though not much will be modern day.
So tell me, what bits and pieces of your life have you dripped into your writing?
Friday, October 15, 2010
My Passion and My Obsession
To many people, I have mentioned the many different books I've written. I sometimes wonder if they believe me. Mostly because all the people I talk to, at most, have two or three. Even if those with more published books than I have, don't seem to have as many finished manuscripts. Am I bragging? I'm not trying to. I'm just trying to understand. What is it that I did different than these other writers? I know one big thing, I'm certain they all spent more time socializing - 'developing their platform', as I've been told needs to be done years in advance of publishing their work.
In contrast, all I did was write. I had stories to tell - tales to spin, and when I wasn't spinning a tale, I was reading through it, just to make sure it said what I wanted it to say. It was very important to me that actions and scenes were as clear as I could make them. As I've covered in an earlier post, I made many mistakes in the mechanics of writing, mistakes I'm now trying to iron out. I don't know that I'll ever iron all the kinks out - I'm thinking part of it is simply my way of telling my story - my voice, if you will.
Anyway, for those of you who might be curious, I thought I'd tell you a little about the books I've written. Many years ago, long before I even thought I'd be a writer, I decided to write a story in an open notebook. The job I had at the time required a fifteen minute break in the morning and afternoon and a half hour break for lunch. Not one to twiddle my thumbs during these breaks, I wrote in my notebook. During the course of various moves out here, that notebook got lost, but I tried to recreate it from memory, with slightly less magic. I'm not all that happy with the result, but TO RECLAIM THE THRONE is 212 pages long as of today (that's 58,728 words).
Many of my stories started with one of my rather vivid dreams. One such dream was a young man gazing across a wide valley. In the center of that valley was a dome, and littered all across the horizon was hundreds if not thousands of Star Wars-type ships of all sizes - he was taking pictures of it all - he was so happy - he wanted a beer, and then suddenly it all exploded into action and the young man that was me had to run for his own ship - a ship he spoke to as if it was another person, like you see in the movies sometimes. That was the dream - for the book, I had to come up with names and reasons for what he was seeing and why he was so happy. Then I had to figure out what might happen next. It was really an interesting journey, both for my character and for me. THE SPEED OF DREAMS ended up being 254 pages long (67,699 words).
THE MYSTERY OF PLANET WER also started with a dream, but this dream was an ending. The scene was a loving couple hugging each other tenderly while standing in front of a house-less fireplace and chimney. That was the picture, but along with it came some information. He was a werwolf and she was blind. She was also the only person on the planet who could end the quarantine. Now, I must confess, another influence for this book was a cartoon I used to enjoy. One of the crewmen was also a werwolf. As long as he was off planet he couldn't be anything but a werwolf, but as soon as he was home, he could be human and change at will. This werwolf, and mine, wasn't the monster from the movies, though that didn't mean that he couldn't be very dangerous in his wolf form. Well, now I had a main character. All I had to do was introduce him to the love of his life and figure out what the quarantine was and how to end it. I had so much fun with the wer-people as they worked their way through the mystery of their roots, which of course tied them to the native creatures of the planet. As you might guess, this story did not take place on Earth. It is 254 pages long (69,324 words)
WHAT FUTURE, SLAVE did not start with a dream. Instead I wanted to experiment with the concept of slavery as it should have been handled, not the way it was handled in our history. No, in my book slaves were every bit as important as livestock and treated much the same. As we all know, not all animals are treated well, and the same is true with slaves in my book, but that's not what the story is about. The story is about a girl, a slave, who's father was a free man, and though he acknowledged her as his daughter, he refused to free her. The story is wrapped around the reason for that action. Why couldn't her father free her? Why could none of the women in her bloodline be freed? Why did all the women in her bloodline die the moment they gave birth to a girl-child? All questions that get answered in the book, but I warn you, though it has a good ending, it doesn't have a happy ending. This book is 268 pages long (75,531 words)
THE TRIALS OF THE YOUNGEST PRINCESS was my first attempt at writing about a girl. I sculpted the girl after myself somewhat. I was shy when I was little and yet very independent, and interested in things most girls really weren't, like riding horses. When I was little, I dreamed of inheriting the family ranch and running a riding camp for city kids, where I could teach them to love horses and the country as much as I did. That concept, coupled with my liking of the medieval society of kings etc., I decided that my little girl would be the youngest of several children of a beloved royal family. Like me, she would be the black sheep of the family, though not overtly so. So, now I had a character, what to do with her? All powerful people, no matter how loved, have enemies, and of course, little girls doing things no self-respecting royal daughter would be caught dead doing, meant that she wasn't where she was expected to be when the royal family was brought low. Now, she was forced to become the best in the land at something she should never have been interested in in the first place in order to make the murderer of her family pay for his crimes. This one is 285 pages (81,581 words)
LORD OF THE LAND was another story that started with a dream. The scene was three young men dressed as soldiers coming into an inn. The innkeeper sees the king's men and as a retired soldier himself and loyal to the king, he'll feed and house them for a night. It was raining and miserable outside and the young soldiers looked much worse for the wear. One of them was wounded. Of course, it was the wounded one who became my main character. Who was he? Why was he here? Why were the three of them dressed in the uniform of soldiers they were too young to wear? All questions answered as he journeys through his life, trying to find peace and happiness only to have a past he can't escape rip his happiness away. Only then does he face the fact that he can't escape his past, he must face it head on and make things right. This story too has a less than happy ending, though a good one, I think. This book ended up being 316 pages long (88,790 words)
That's half of them. I'll continue telling you about my books next week. I hope you like the workings of my mind. Every story is a problem to be solved, a puzzle to be put together, or taken apart as the case may be. I'm always having these dreams and I have a folder full of scenes. Each one the seed of a new book or a scene in one started from another such dream.
In contrast, all I did was write. I had stories to tell - tales to spin, and when I wasn't spinning a tale, I was reading through it, just to make sure it said what I wanted it to say. It was very important to me that actions and scenes were as clear as I could make them. As I've covered in an earlier post, I made many mistakes in the mechanics of writing, mistakes I'm now trying to iron out. I don't know that I'll ever iron all the kinks out - I'm thinking part of it is simply my way of telling my story - my voice, if you will.
Anyway, for those of you who might be curious, I thought I'd tell you a little about the books I've written. Many years ago, long before I even thought I'd be a writer, I decided to write a story in an open notebook. The job I had at the time required a fifteen minute break in the morning and afternoon and a half hour break for lunch. Not one to twiddle my thumbs during these breaks, I wrote in my notebook. During the course of various moves out here, that notebook got lost, but I tried to recreate it from memory, with slightly less magic. I'm not all that happy with the result, but TO RECLAIM THE THRONE is 212 pages long as of today (that's 58,728 words).
Many of my stories started with one of my rather vivid dreams. One such dream was a young man gazing across a wide valley. In the center of that valley was a dome, and littered all across the horizon was hundreds if not thousands of Star Wars-type ships of all sizes - he was taking pictures of it all - he was so happy - he wanted a beer, and then suddenly it all exploded into action and the young man that was me had to run for his own ship - a ship he spoke to as if it was another person, like you see in the movies sometimes. That was the dream - for the book, I had to come up with names and reasons for what he was seeing and why he was so happy. Then I had to figure out what might happen next. It was really an interesting journey, both for my character and for me. THE SPEED OF DREAMS ended up being 254 pages long (67,699 words).
THE MYSTERY OF PLANET WER also started with a dream, but this dream was an ending. The scene was a loving couple hugging each other tenderly while standing in front of a house-less fireplace and chimney. That was the picture, but along with it came some information. He was a werwolf and she was blind. She was also the only person on the planet who could end the quarantine. Now, I must confess, another influence for this book was a cartoon I used to enjoy. One of the crewmen was also a werwolf. As long as he was off planet he couldn't be anything but a werwolf, but as soon as he was home, he could be human and change at will. This werwolf, and mine, wasn't the monster from the movies, though that didn't mean that he couldn't be very dangerous in his wolf form. Well, now I had a main character. All I had to do was introduce him to the love of his life and figure out what the quarantine was and how to end it. I had so much fun with the wer-people as they worked their way through the mystery of their roots, which of course tied them to the native creatures of the planet. As you might guess, this story did not take place on Earth. It is 254 pages long (69,324 words)
WHAT FUTURE, SLAVE did not start with a dream. Instead I wanted to experiment with the concept of slavery as it should have been handled, not the way it was handled in our history. No, in my book slaves were every bit as important as livestock and treated much the same. As we all know, not all animals are treated well, and the same is true with slaves in my book, but that's not what the story is about. The story is about a girl, a slave, who's father was a free man, and though he acknowledged her as his daughter, he refused to free her. The story is wrapped around the reason for that action. Why couldn't her father free her? Why could none of the women in her bloodline be freed? Why did all the women in her bloodline die the moment they gave birth to a girl-child? All questions that get answered in the book, but I warn you, though it has a good ending, it doesn't have a happy ending. This book is 268 pages long (75,531 words)
THE TRIALS OF THE YOUNGEST PRINCESS was my first attempt at writing about a girl. I sculpted the girl after myself somewhat. I was shy when I was little and yet very independent, and interested in things most girls really weren't, like riding horses. When I was little, I dreamed of inheriting the family ranch and running a riding camp for city kids, where I could teach them to love horses and the country as much as I did. That concept, coupled with my liking of the medieval society of kings etc., I decided that my little girl would be the youngest of several children of a beloved royal family. Like me, she would be the black sheep of the family, though not overtly so. So, now I had a character, what to do with her? All powerful people, no matter how loved, have enemies, and of course, little girls doing things no self-respecting royal daughter would be caught dead doing, meant that she wasn't where she was expected to be when the royal family was brought low. Now, she was forced to become the best in the land at something she should never have been interested in in the first place in order to make the murderer of her family pay for his crimes. This one is 285 pages (81,581 words)
LORD OF THE LAND was another story that started with a dream. The scene was three young men dressed as soldiers coming into an inn. The innkeeper sees the king's men and as a retired soldier himself and loyal to the king, he'll feed and house them for a night. It was raining and miserable outside and the young soldiers looked much worse for the wear. One of them was wounded. Of course, it was the wounded one who became my main character. Who was he? Why was he here? Why were the three of them dressed in the uniform of soldiers they were too young to wear? All questions answered as he journeys through his life, trying to find peace and happiness only to have a past he can't escape rip his happiness away. Only then does he face the fact that he can't escape his past, he must face it head on and make things right. This story too has a less than happy ending, though a good one, I think. This book ended up being 316 pages long (88,790 words)
That's half of them. I'll continue telling you about my books next week. I hope you like the workings of my mind. Every story is a problem to be solved, a puzzle to be put together, or taken apart as the case may be. I'm always having these dreams and I have a folder full of scenes. Each one the seed of a new book or a scene in one started from another such dream.
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