January 9, 2010
Interesting Perspective
One choice every writer must make: should I write this novel from first or third person?
I used to write in first-person. My parents and teachers said I needed to branch out, try different perspectives. I tried third-person and never looked back.
I’m not saying that first-person is an inferior point of view. It has many advantages. The reader is firmly placed inside the main character’s head. It can work very well to mislead the reader, to keep them from solving the mystery of the plot too quickly. But sometimes, it simply can’t do what you need it to.
I’m a fan of third-person omniscient. You can bounce around (sparingly) to other characters, which is particularly useful when the good guys are separated and fulfilling their own crucial missions. You can see what the bad guy is up to without using ridiculously over-used dream sequences.
If you’re just not sure what to go with, try third-person limited. A good example of this is Harry Potter. The reader is privy to his thoughts, and no-one else’s, but we aren’t stuck inside his head either.
I’m not sure why people argue about this. You simply should choose the point of view that works best for the story you’re writing now. However, if you find yourself always sticking with one point of view, like I used to do, try to vary it up. Experiment with other viewpoints. You might find another point of view works better for your story than you had originally thought.
January 8, 2010
Plan B
Wouldn’t you know it, I changed my project Tuesday night. I still like everything in the list I’d made, but the plot it created was more epic than I wanted to write right now. So, after consulting some new ideas, I decided to pull out a project I’ve been trying and failing to write for the last three years. How, you ask, will this year be any different?
The reasons I had failed before was because the story’s core was a quest format, which I have never been good at or interested in writing. I much prefer one to a few locations, rather than a wide range across realms. So I threw out the quest.
I changed the time period from medieval-fantasy to regency-fantasy. The only regency-fantasy I’ve read is Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. That doesn’t mean it’s the only one, but it’s certainly a smaller genre. Also, I’ve been wanting to write a regency story for a while now, I just had too many options in my head to decide on one. (Big surprise.) I figured this would be a good time to do so.
I threw out some characters from the original outline and added in a few more to fit the new one. Right now the story is driven by the characters, but I’m not sure if I want to keep it that way or not. I guess I’ll write and see what happens.
While writing the introduction, it finally really hit me (which I’m sure most of you already know; and certainly what Jane Austen knew): the best regency stories have ridiculous characters. I just have to remember to use them. You wouldn’t think it would be difficult, but I have to find a nice balance between silly and boring, which I’ve never done before.
Challenges all around.
January 6, 2010
Hello, Main Character
Every writer I’ve ever met, including on the internet, absolutely swears by the character dossier or the character interview. I do not understand why.
If you’re unfamiliar with these, let me enlighten you.
The Dossier: For each main character, you invent everything you might ever possibly need to know about them. There are hundreds of lists out there you can use, which take you through basics like appearance and family and minutiae like favorite color and desserts.
The Interview: Instead of listing everything, you write a short scene with (or just list) a series of questions for your main characters to answer. It covers the same information as above.
Both of these techniques are designed to get you to know more about your character. I’ve tried both with little success. I’m sorry, but filling out an endless form is a completely useless way for me to know my characters.
In case you share my frustration, let me share what I use: my mind.
I run through scenes in my head, most of which will probably never see ink and paper. I talk to the characters in my head, hear their imaginary complaints of how the story is going, console them with new plot points. We never cover favorite colors or desserts. I learn about their family if they bring it up themselves. I don’t drill them on minutiae. It’s irrelevant for my purposes.
If the dossiers and interviews work for you, more power to ya. Otherwise, I invite you to try my technique. It just might help you learn about your characters.
January 1, 2010
Welcome to 2010 and A Single Bell
Good evening on this fine first of the year. Let me welcome you to A Single Bell, my experimental blog. I’m giving myself a year to write and perfect a novel, and hopefully, to find someone to publish it as well.
This is not going to be a simple tally of achievements, or a place to vent frustrations on character development and finding my voice (although I might not be able to help myself on the latter). Hopefully this blog will be a place of inspiration and enlightenment, both for me and the plethora of readers out there. (ha!) And if you do happen to feel inspired, I urge you to accept my challenge, and join in the writing spree that is 2010.
So here’s to New Year’s Resolutions, and the strong draft of determination it takes to write and finish. Hopefully, I’ll see you at the finish line.
A Single Bell 