Writing

On character development (part III)

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

The Character’s Voice
1. Does your character speak in a high or low pitch?

His voice is tenor in pitch.
2. Are they a loud or soft talker?

He is a soft talker.
3. Is there a wide range in the voice in volume, pitch, quality, or is the voice consistent and even?

His voice is very consistent, except for when he gets very emotional. Then it gets higher in pitch.
4. Is there good resonance to the voice? Is the voice throaty, chesty, heady, or nasal?

His voice is very full.
5. Is there tension in the voice? Anxiety? Emotion?

He tries to speak tension free, but emotion often seeps into his voice.
6. Is there an accent? Anything unusual in pronunciation? Emphasis? Phrasing?

His voice definitely has an American accent, leaning towards New England. Not quite Boston. He sometimes mispronounces words, like “intestine” as “in-test-teen” or “epitome” as “epy-tome.”
7. Is it a trained voice or just natural? Does the character “try” to speak well or just “however it comes out”?

He tries to speak well.
8. Is the speech clear or muddy? Do they mumble? Are they distinct?

Despite his best efforts to speak clearly, he mumbles a lot.
9. Is the voice comforting or irritating? Reassuring or disturbing? Are they self-conscious when they speak to others? How large a group could they speak to before they become self-conscious?

He is very self-conscious and shy, but has no issue speaking in front of people he’s never met. Through him in front of his classmates and he stumbles over what he says. His voice is pleasant to listen to.
10. What is the first thought one might have after hearing your character speak?

That kid has a voice? He sounds nice, I guess.

Names, culture, and 42

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I enjoy poking about through the Yahoo!Answers Books and Authors section on occasion, and often find questions of people asking what to name their characters. One such question asked for names to be used in a science fiction novel. The inquierer only had that these characters were from a different planet and wanted the names to sound cool.

When writing fantasy or science fiction, I find its a good idea to come up with a culture/world before coming up with names (although sometimes I have a name for a character a build the culture around that…a little counter intuitive, but it works for the rough draft). I also try to ask myself these questions: What sort of world do your characters live in? What are their values? How are their names formed? Is there any particular reason as to why I’m naming him this?

As I said, sometimes I work counterintuitively. I had a name for a character and a setting, but his world didn’t have a true culture, or even a naming practice. So I took what I had for his name and based the world’s naming practice off of that. Roman first names, Dutch last names. It was simple enough, but from there I was able to think about the values and work ethic of his culture. Another character in the same story had a completely out-of-left-field name. It didn’t fit the world at all. So I changed it, and he better “meshed” with what I was trying to create.

Picking a name just because it looks cool isn’t a good idea. Be sure that there is at least a reason for it. In the world of typical medieval England fantasy, it does not make sense for an English serf to be named Reiko or Victoria. Names should reflect the culture, and vice versa.

On another note, this is post 42! The meaning of life, the universe and everything is no clearer to me now than before this.

Inspiration strikes at the weirdest hours

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Early yesterday morning (at about 1:30), I started to write. Its a compulsive habit. I need to before I go to sleep, otherwise I’m all thrown off.

Strangely enough, my mind was rather clear. I started to plan out my next novel. I should be working on See My Way (the current one), but instead I decided to write up a quick background on the political situation in The Other One. No, that’s not the working title. It has nothing to do with the story. I’m just rather guarded about the topic.

But it is futuristic speculative fiction.

I’ve never tried my hand at speculative fiction before. I don’t think I’ve read more than one or two stories in that genre.

But I’m trying something different with this one. I’m going to plot everything out to begin with. With an outline. And pre-created characters (with their own character sheets!).

Sometimes inspiration attacks at 2 am. I guess I have to listen to my muse.

On immortality

General Geekiness

I recently saw that Warner acquired Methuselah to be an action-adventure film. Apparently the protagonist ages at a very slow rate and uses all the extra time to gain survival skills. And they probably aren’t just rubbing two sticks together to make fire. My initial thought was the writers should just look at Highlander‘s Methos, but hey.

Immortality is an intriguing subject matter. How long does a person live before he loses sight of who he is? Does he simply become a combination of loosely connected ideas and opinions? What happens to him after his friends and family die? How can he die? Extreme old age? In my own writing, I like to contemplate these ideas.

I have high hopes for this movie. Hopefully it’ll be good and strive to answer at least one of my questions. Preferably the first.

So, dear readers, what are some of your favorite immortality themed books, movies, television shows, video games, etc, etc?

What’s on the Turntable? Vol. II

What's On the Turntable?

The other day I went on a trip to my local record shops, which was a welcome journey. While there, I picked up a new CD! Hurray! I’ve been dying for new music.
The CD I got is Burn the Maps by The Frames. It’s a strange, unpredictable little album by the Irish rockers. The album opens with “Happy,” a mostly instrumental tune with the vocals mixed to the background. Burn the Maps definitely takes at least two listens to get used to, but I’ve noticed that a lot of really good albums do (Tommy, Arthur, etc).

“Fake” is a poppy little number, perhaps disposable but its the most readily accessible to the usual pop fan.

There’s plenty to like about the album–soaring violins, Glen Hansard’s rough vocals, and the ability of the album to transport you to a completely different place.

The album is not one that I would recommend starting out with if you’ve never listened to The Frames before. Try Set List first.

A good, live version of their song “Keepsake.”

On character development (part II)

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

The Character’s Clothes
1. How many clothes does this character have?

Not many. He tends to wear the same outfits all the time.
2. What kinds of items are in their wardrobe?

Jeans, Oxford shirts, band tees, a suit
3. Do they have favorite articles of clothing?

His band tees–The Who and The Kinks
4. What colors are their clothes, is there a wide range? Bright or dull? What are their favorite colors to wear?

His clothes tend to be dull or dark, blues, greens, greys, browns.
5. Are their clothes old or new?

Newish for the most part. He doesn’t wear vintage.
6. Were they bought or homemade, hand-me-downs, expensive tailored-made?

He bought them in a store.
7. Is your character at home in their clothes or uncomfortable?

He feels very comfortable in his clothes.
8. Does your character care for their clothes, kept up and neat, do they worry about how they look?

He’s a neat freak. His Oxford shirts are always ironed.
9. Does your character have to dress a certain way because of his job or position? Is it a uniform? If so, do the clothes fit their real, basic character, or are the clothes worn as a symbol or mask?

When at work, he wears his uniform–polo shirt and khakis. He dresses the way he does because he was brought up being told to look neat, and also because he just likes to be comfortable.
10. Do they dress according to a self-image of themselves? Is this self-image conscious or unconscious? At what age was this self-image set, and what circumstances dictated the image?

He dresses for comfort, and wanting to look professional, which he decided upon entering college (at 18).
11. Discuss adornments, jewelry, or trophies that your character might wear. Are there tattoos, piercing, brandings, or ritualistic scarring, and what were the events, rituals, or circumstances that lead your character to having them.

He’s afraid of needles, so no tattoos, piercings, etc. He does have a scar on his wrist after shutting his hand in a car door, and a scar on his knee after falling off of his bike.


12. What kind of underwear does your character wear?

Boxers (with ducks on them).