The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

30 Days of Writing

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

So, I found this over on Ralfast’s blog. It’s a pretty nifty little exercise. Write a post about each of these topics, one a day, for thirty days. These questions are pretty fun, I think.

So, I’ll be participating. I’m going to try my best to update daily, but if I don’t, well, I don’t. I don’t particularly follow rules that don’t have to do with my personal safety, and I doubt that Armageddon will occur if I don’t finish this exactly as I’m supposed to.

1. Tell us about your favorite writing project/universe that you’ve worked with and why.
2. How many characters do you have? Do you prefer males or females?
3. How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you’re writing about fictional places)?
4. Tell us about one of your first stories/characters!
5. By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about “youngest” and “oldest” in terms of when you created them?
6. Where are you most comfortable writing? At what time of day? Computer or good ol’ pen and paper?
7. Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?
8. What’s your favorite genre to write? To read?
9. How do you get ideas for your characters? Describe the process of creating them.
10. What are some really weird situations your characters have been in? Everything from serious canon scenes to meme questions counts!
11. Who is your favorite character to write? Least favorite?
12. In what story did you feel you did the best job of worldbuilding? Any side-notes on it you’d like to share?
13. What’s your favorite culture to write, fictional or not?
14. How do you map out locations, if needed? Do you have any to show us?
15. Midway question! Tell us about a writer you admire, whether professional or not!
16. Do you write romantic relationships? How do you do with those, and how “far” are you willing to go in your writing? 😉
17. Favorite protagonist and why!
18. Favorite antagonist and why!
19. Favorite minor that decided to shove himself into the spotlight and why!
20. What are your favorite character interactions to write?
21. Do any of your characters have children? How well do you write them?
22. Tell us about one scene between your characters that you’ve never written or told anyone about before! Serious or not.
23. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story—from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?
24. How willing are you to kill your characters if the plot so demands it? What’s the most interesting way you’ve killed someone?
25. Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
26. Let’s talk art! Do you draw your characters? Do others draw them? Pick one of your OCs and post your favorite picture of him!
27. Along similar lines, do appearances play a big role in your stories? Tell us about them, or if not, how you go about designing your characters.
28. Have you ever written a character with physical or mental disabilities? Describe them, and if there’s nothing major to speak of, tell us a few smaller ones.
29. How often do you think about writing? Ever come across something IRL that reminds you of your story/characters?
30. Final question! Tag someone! And tell us what you like about that person as a writer and/or about one of his/her characters!

Characterization Through Discovery

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One thing that stays consistent about my writing, no matter which genre or style I attempt, is that the characters are rarely created. They don’t leap full form from my head, miniature Athenas, constructed perfectly and as I want them to be.

No.

Instead, they exist, dare I say, completely, but I need to discover them. Their quirks, personalities, everything, I can’t really form it. I can only write, slip them into situations and see what happens. Amazingly, most of them succeed in this way. It isn’t just that one of my characters loves to cook; he makes risotto when stressed.

Most times, when I attempt to force characters, they rebel. One of them, a surgeon named Pryce who I came up with for some fantasy Victorian short stories, was supposed to be a real backstabber. He decided that he wasn’t, rather, he was a real sweetheart. And I came up with his counterpart, my version of HG Wells’ Griffin, the Invisible Man, who, despite his invisibility, allows his vanity to reign. Did I know that about either of them when I started writing? No, but I do now.

Writing these characters is discovery. I have to coax these details out them. Some have full fledged opinions that they spit and spew without a second thought. Others are quiet. All are enigmatic. Imagine my surprise when I realized that one character whom I thought was a confirmed bachelor was actually happily married with two daughters. It’s integral to his character.

Still breathing!

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I’m alive. Sorry I haven’t posted anything this entire month. I really have no excuse, apart from work and internships taking up a lot of time (but in the best way possible). Alas, my various fiction endeavors have taken a back seat to researching for my thesis (which is partially due in December, entirely due the end of April). Needless to say, I am thoroughly enjoying my supplemental research. I’ve nearly completed all of the hour-long episodes of Danger Man (sorry, Holmes).

I am, however, still working on my one short story a month goal, which is going pretty well. I haven’t finished July’s story yet, but it’s been started. I’m experimenting a bit. The entire story is told through dialogue. There aren’t any dialogue tags; there are no descriptions, no thoughts. It’s fun to write. I’ve found that its a good way to test individual voices, to ensure that the characters sound different.

Shameless plug to my other blog: Sheer Art Attack which I’ve been far better at updating.

Revisiting Old Favorites

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Over the last two weeks, I’ve been hit with a desire to reread books (actually, that’s a bit of a lie, as I’ve wanted to reread Howl’s Moving Castle since late March). While I love delving into new books, new stories and new plots, there’s something comforting about revisiting old friends. Through all change, if there is some consistency, even if it is merely a beloved story, things are a little easier (at least, that’s been my limited experience).

When I travel, I usually bring two books with me, one that I’ve read before (on my semester in Florence, I brought Roald Dahl’s Over to You and a couple of Patrick O’Brian’s works) and one that may be new to me. I figure, if the environment is too overwhelmingly unfamiliar, the least I can do to help the transition is find the comfort in the known.

Which brings me to the last two books I completed, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and The Prestige by Christopher Priest. The first book has been one of my favorites for years, since I first read it in fifth grade or early middle school. There’s something about the story that I’ve  always loved, be it the characters, the setting, the wonderful inclusion of Wales…okay, I just really like this book. I can’t pinpoint a reason why, but I continue to love it even more as time goes on.

As for The Prestige, I read it first nearly four years ago to the day. I hadn’t reread it since, as every time I would sit down to it, another book would come my way, be it for school or a trip to the library. Knowing that I would have some spare time over the last two weeks, I brought it with me for my brief stay in Boston. I finished, and enjoyed it the second time through. Knowing the ending made picking up on the little details easier, but part of it still came as a surprise. Priest does a good job giving each character a distinct voice, even in the Borden section (those familiar with the book will know what I mean).

I didn’t love The Prestige the second time through. I still enjoyed it immensely and will probably reread it at another time. I still want to read more of Priest’s work, as I could learn a lot through him.

And, of course, the book still remains better than the movie starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and David Bowie.

Excuses, Excuses

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I apologize for my absence from the blogosphere. I didn’t mean to vanish. It sort of just happened.

But I’m back now.

Well, sort of.

I’ve left Italy for the sunnier weather of the UK (yes, there was very little rain, only last Sunday when I tramped across London with my friend C). I went adventuring up to Scotland, where I’m hoping to attend graduate school.

I do love adventuring, and places like Edinburgh. There’s an underlying current to the city that inspires me. The wheels in my head start turning, creating scenarios and situations. Boston is like that. So is Florence.

My favorite Scottish adventure was our hike up (and down) Arthur’s Seat, the mountain (or hill) near Holyrood Palace at the base of the Royal Mile. Legend has it that King Arthur hung around up there. It’s the result of a volcano.

We sat and enjoyed a pleasant lunch on another peak, watching the world below us. We were so elevated that the birds flew below eye level. A truly unique experience.

I see myself returning there, notebook in hand, plopping down on the grass and writing a short story. Years ago I wrote one that was partially set on Arthur’s Seat; it’s funny how painfully off I was about the environment.

Here’s to new experiences and silly mistakes in previous works!

May, the start of the novella (?)…a different one

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Mondays. I hate Mondays. It’s Wednesday, but I still hate Mondays.

This Monday, while slightly more blech than usual, had a bit of a productive start. Waking up at 4.30 does wonders. I turned on my light and plotted out a short story (possibly novella). Now I just need to write it!

The main character, unlike the one in April’s failed temporarily scrapped novella, is one that I’ve been writing about for a few months. The universe, created by a few fellow NaNo-ers, is a fun one to write in. It’s a dystopian world (hence all of the dystopian books I want to read this summer), one that I really enjoy. I adore writing about this character. He’s snarky, over confident–but this story brings him down to a different, inquisitive level. It lets me explore the characters who interact with him in more depth, so not only do I get to make him more three-dimensional, but the secondary characters get their time to shine as well. It’s fun to write.

I have the first part written, but as the entire thing is plotted, it will only take some time for me to actually write out the entire thing. I’m hoping that May becomes a two-story month. I’ll have plenty of time on trains and airplanes, so this should actually happen!