Characters

30 Days of Writing: Day Seven

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Do you listen to music while you write? What kind? Are there any songs you like to relate/apply to your characters?

I don’t always listen to music when I write, but when I do, its largely instrumental. I like movie soundtracks and classical albums because I’m easily distracted by words, and works by Beethoven or John Williams can get me in the right sort of mood. That’s what I need, often, the right mood. If I’m writing something gut-wrenching, the theme from Schindler’s List does the trick. In a more triumphant frame of mind? Got to be Star Wars.

I am, however, inspired by music. To put me in the correct vibe, I’ll listen to some of my favorite rock music, like The Who’s Quadrophenia or a playlist I’ve made specifically for a story or character.

I find that there are songs that relate to my characters. Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” reminds me very much of one, The Who’s “Acid Queen” is perfect for another.

30 Days of Writing: Day Five

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

By age, who is your youngest character? Oldest? How about “youngest” and “oldest” in terms of when you created them?

Oldest by age, Geoffrey, my sadly neglected character. He’s immortal and has been around for a very long time. The official age is “older than dirt.” I like writing him. He’s seen the world, but just wants to be a normal guy. As normal as he can be. Plus it gives me an excuse to use the historical information I’ve found out through my life. He’s hung around with the Levites, the Romans, the Celts…great fun.

Youngest by age, I think is Beatrice, who makes her first appearance as a toddler. She’s the daughter of another character. The story she’s in now, she’s about six or seven. She’s boisterous, sweet, kind of adorable (if I do say so myself).

The character I’ve been writing the longest is Geoffrey. I created him in seventh grade, and I’ve been writing him ever since. Alas, he never gets a story of his own, poor guy. Mostly just short scenes that want to be part of a larger work.

The character I’ve been writing for the shortest period of time is a guy named Simon Drake. He’s got a fun history, and he’s got a lot of potential. But, like Geoff, he’s got a case of ‘good character sans plot’.

30 Days of Writing: Day Three

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

How do you come up with names, for characters (and for places if you’re writing about fictional places)?

Most of the time, I slap a name on a character and hope it works.

In my misguided youth, I thought I could create names like JRR Tolkien. After many pseudo-Tolkien names, I realized that I do not accurately create languages. I also realized that names reflect the culture, so I determined that rather than force awkward names on my characters, I should work on creating cultures and family traditions. My hero of The Continent has a Roman name (Livius) despite not being Italian because it’s something his family has done for generations.

My names are often allusions to other works or people–I have a current character named McGoohan for Patrick McGoohan, who played Number Six in The Prisoner. Another character is Bradbury, for Ray, author of Fahrenheit 451. Sometimes, as in the cases of McGoohan and Bradbury, these allusions work. Other times, they border on the ridiculous. I named a character Orlando for Shakespeare’s character (and also Orlando Bloom, because I was thirteen when I came up with this character). It didn’t fit, and the poor guy wandered around with an uncomfortable name until he happened on one that suited him. That name was Geoffrey (for Chaucer).

Some characters, like Geoffrey, ‘name themselves’. They stumble about with names that don’t fit until, somehow, they find one that fits. A more recent character (gasp, a female!) was stuck with Louisa until she asserted herself and said, “Listen Beth. My name is Penelope.” Which is just better for her.

My most commonly used name at the moment is Simon. My RAF story has a primary character named Simon Reed, another Simon (surname: Drake) is currently in search of a story, and a few more have Simons as secondary characters (and Simon is one of Geoffrey’s middle names).

For fictional places, I use allusions as well. In The Continent‘s original form, it took place in a solar system that had been populated, primarily, by Italians (why not), so the planets were all named for regions of Italy. The cities and towns were transferred onto the planets as well. Kind of weak, but I thought it would work. Of course, the names should change a bit, to reflect the changing language (as Haarlem became Harlem and so forth).

I’m trying to name an English country house right now. It’s not a terribly big house, a cottage, really. I’m kind of thinking Shangri-La, but that’s just cliche.

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

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

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.

Sospira.

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I haven’t a good reason for why I haven’t updated. Yes, I’ve been writing, but my story “Earthly Paradise” (the one that takes place somewhere in Italy and I so happily wrote about) is faltering. I dislike the main character. John is too…bland. Too sheepish. He just accepts things with a wide, dumb grin. At first, I thought that this would be interesting, a character who doesn’t question the strange things happening around him. It would be a refreshing change from some of my other characters who are too inquisitive for their own sakes.

“Earthly Paradise” is stalling. It feels too big to be a short story (well, it probably will be a short story, should I finish it). I usually write stories that fall below 2,500 words (gee, that’s short). But every time I set pen to paper, I find myself writing repetitive scenes. I don’t know how it’s going to end. In the past, I would laugh and say, “getting there is half the fun!” But in this case, it’s only frustrating.

I haven’t written enough varied material in this story to pick out a theme. There are different threads of a plot, featuring rivalries, experiments and the potential for double-crossing. I have an end that I would like to reach, but John isn’t gutsy enough to get to that ending.

I guess through it all, I must do one of the following:

  • Switch the main character
  • Struggle through with the gutless John (if his name was Jack, I’m sure the story would be different)
  • Ditch “Earthly Paradise” in favor of a story that hasn’t been thought of yet

I’m sure I’ll figure something out.