Category Archives: Writing process
Character Maturity
I know I’m long overdue for some historical posts around here, but being in between books and not able to share what I’m currently researching makes it hard to keep up on all the types of topics I want to cover. I’ll do my best to throw some history your way soon. But today, we’re analyzing characters.
When He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not was off with my beta readers, I had a long discussion with one of them on character maturity. It was something I was thinking about subconsciously because some of the characters are obviously more mature than the others (as I’m sure we can all say about friends and family in real life). It got me to thinking about just how in-depth character maturity really is. It’s something that I think would do all writers (myself included) good to consider more closely. Analyzing character maturity may help readers understand character motives as well.
When we talk about maturity, we tend to say someone is or isn’t mature, as though it’s one thing. In reality, maturity is made up of several different overlapping aspects, the rules of which change by location and time period.
Physical maturity – This is probably the most obvious, especially in the formative years of childhood and adolescence, and again as one becomes elderly. A person either is or isn’t on par for what’s physically normal for a given age. But keep in mind that early or delayed physical maturity can be used to give the appearance of over- or under-emotional, mental or sexual maturity. This is an interesting thing to consider both within the character’s own mindset and how others react to him/her. Of course, there are also the extreme examples of dwarves and giants, both of whom have been the subject of curiosity – loved or reviled – throughout time.
Sexual maturity – If you make this its own category, it would overlap with physical, mental and emotional maturity, as all factor into the sexual experience. Some people grow up fast, as they say, and gain sexual experience early, but that doesn’t necessarily make them sexually mature – some people never are. Some societies and time periods are more open than others, but if you judge from 20th century standards, if a person is responsible and respectable with their sexual relationships, then they likely are sexually mature, while the opposite usually holds true for the immature.
Another kind of sexual immaturity is seen those who reach adulthood while still very innocent either due to lack of sexual experience (by choice or circumstance), being sheltered from sexual influences and information, or even through abuse. If one has been abused, it can leave scars that prevent that person from ever sexually maturing. As sexuality is an important part of human life, it doesn’t hurt to examine your characters’ sexual maturity and more importantly why they are the way they are, especially if sex is a tool they use to get what they want or something they overtly shy away from.
Mental maturity – This has to do with the intellect and processing of information, both the kind you learn in school and general social cues. As with physical maturity, there are certain standards by which this is measured, and these have changed over the centuries. It used to be that women were not taught biology because it was considered too taxing for the female mind, whereas botany was perfectly acceptable for a woman to learn. When someone is young and overly mentally mature, we tend to call them “precocious,” whereas when they are older, they might be labeled as “pedantic.” Those who are less mentally mature for their age (even if there is a biological reason for it, such as a disease or birth defect) tend to be considered slow, or called degrading terms that I shouldn’t repeat here. In many time periods, people who were highly mentally mature were considered touched by the gods or at least called geniuses (or sometimes mad), while those who were mentally immature were abused or at least taken advantage of.
Emotional maturity – Mental and emotional maturity are closely related, and some may even argue are one in the same. To me, there is a difference. How a person handles their emotions is important to understanding how they will react in a given situation and hence, how those around them will react. Does that person easily fly off the handle and throw a hissy fit? That might be acceptable for a modern toddler, but for a Renaissance child of the nobility or anyone who is considered an adult, it is unacceptable behavior. On the other hand, in today’s world where emotions are more openly accepted, someone who in other times would have been lauded as stoic, may seem emotionally stunted. Throughout time, women have been considered less emotionally mature than men, more likely to succumb to hysteria, the vapors, faint or cry too much. Even today, women who express emotion, especially in the workplace, are considered weak, less emotionally mature than those who hide their feelings as men have traditionally (maturely) been taught to do.
Spiritual maturity – The importance of this will vary depending on how vital religion is to your characters and their world. In an atheistic society, it may matter little, whereas in the Middle Ages, it could be the key to life and death. I look at it from the perspective of the person’s relationship with their religion. On one end of the continuum, we have where we are when we’re little, the time we tend to do as we’re told and follow blindly what’s considered right and wrong. On the opposite end, as we age, we develop a more independent understanding of our faith, regardless of how closely we adhere to it.
Again, this varies by time period and likely wouldn’t have been heavily questioned before the Age of Enlightenment, before which religion was pretty infallible in society. Religions have always recognized some level of spiritual maturity, as most have what they call the “age of reason,” the age at which someone is considered mature enough to be held responsible for their sins. In general, throughout history women were thought to have little or no capability for spiritual maturity, hence the need to have a man (a priest, father, husband or brother) to guide them and their lack of access to subjects such as theology. For many centuries, it was debated whether or not women even had souls.
To use a pop culture example, Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory is clearly physically and mentally mature, but given his inability to understand social cues and offer basic emotional responses like empathy, isn’t very emotionally or mentally mature. And given his relationship with Amy, we know he’s not very sexually mature, either.
He’s an extreme, of course, but he shows how tweaking the level of a character’s maturity in even one area can make him or her stand out from the crowd. As the author, you get to play God and decide which one(s). Knowing why can help you weave a strong back story for your character, and may even lead you to areas of tension between characters or in circumstance that can make your story exciting.
What are your thoughts on character maturity? Do you agree or disagree with my classifications? How closely do you consider it when writing or reading?
Lessons in Creative Writing from Deborah Harkness – Part 5
Source: Wikimedia Commons
This is the fifth and final in a series of posts sharing what I learned from author Deb Harkness during a week-long Master Class at Hedgebrook. Here are part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4 in case you missed them.
Our final class was an open forum for various topics, so if this looks disorganized, that’s because we were just asking whatever came to mind. We had Deb’s expertise and we were going to take advantage of it!
Point of View
We spent a fair amount of time talking about how to know which point of view to tell your story in, and along with that, whether to write in past or present tense.
Refresher: the three main points of view are first person, third person limited and third person omniscient (this really isn’t used much anymore, so we didn’t talk about it.) Past tense is the traditional verb choice, but present is gaining in popularity. From my experience as a reader, present tense has to be done well for it not to be annoying. I wish I could tell you what I mean by that, but I can’t; I just know it when I see it.
Deb seems to be a third person fan – in fact she said if she had it to do over again, she’d write the All Souls trilogy in third person. I on, the other hand, I write in first person (so far, who knows for the future). Deb said she believes we’re seeing first person fatigue among readers and editors. Personally, I like reading first-person accounts because they are more intimate, but that’s just my opinion.
Each point of view has its positives and negatives. First person has serious limitations because you can only write about what your main character sees or is present for. In order to show other things, you have to rely on reports, hearsay, letters, conversation or exposition. In addition, because you are writing from within one person’s mind, all other characters are at least somewhat opaque. However, there is a deep sense of living the events along with the main character. I find it very helpful if you specifically want to tell one person’s side of the story or if you are chronicling a life.
As Deb noted, in first person, you’re better off sticking with past tense. Even though it’s popular, especially in YA novels, first person present tense almost never works. It does convey immediacy and power, but is usually awkward and stilted. (In fact, one of the books I’m reading right now is guilty of that.)
What third person lacks in intimacy, it makes up for in versatility. Limited third person allows you to change point of view and weight it more toward one character when you need to. A small twist puts you in a different point of view. If you have a lot of locations or things that your character doesn’t have access to in your plot, use third person. You can get the same immediacy of a character seeing something first hand if you have another character ask something like “is that a pirate ship in the harbor?” and then give a description.
Deb is quick to remind writers that point of view isn’t written in stone. “It’s a tool and method of discovery, not a straightjacket or a contract.” You can switch back and forth in the drafting process, so long as you’re consistent by the time you’re ready to send your work to anyone else to read. For example, if you are writing in third person and are having trouble identifying with your character, she suggests writing a scene or chapter in first person. You can always change it later. (In fact, she wrote the opening of Book of Life from eight different characters’ points of view before she finally hit on the one that worked.) She says when you find the right point of view, you’ll know.
Empty Phrases in Writing
One thing eliminate from your writing (especially when writing in first person) is what Deb calls “neck and above sentence structure.” This includes phrases like “I noticed, I saw, I smelled, I tasted, etc.” When you do this, you are filtering the experience through the thoughts of the character rather than letting the reader see through their eyes.
Writing like this can almost always be changed around to be a more powerful sentence. For example, in book one of the Guinevere trilogy, I originally wrote “I could smell the heavy, choking fumes of the tar that turned the boat black.” When my editor got a hold of it, she taught me to change it around like this: “The air was thick with the heavy, choking fumes of the tar that turned the boat black.”
This is a tough habit to break, but it is possible. I still do it occasionally, but I’ve learned that writing the other way really does have more impact. Deb says that if you find yourself slipping into this habit repeatedly, you may want to consider switching to third person.
Other Writing Tips:
- If you’re using letters in your novel, make sure they do some work for your plot, preferably beyond just revealing information. Otherwise they are just a gimmick.
- If you have a sense of play, fun and discovery while you’re writing, that will come across to your readers in your writing
- Not all characters will be forthcoming with their emotions or motivations. With reserved characters, show there is more than meets the eye – show their inconsistencies, put their difficult roles in context to show their humanity. (I had to do this with Arthur; he wasn’t much of the sharing type.)
- Deb suggests writing a biography for your characters when you are starting to get to know them. She suggests striking through, rather than deleting, things when details change so that you can always see your changes if you need to.
- When researching, take a picture of the cover and table of contents of each book to help refresh your memory in case you are wondering where you got something from or need to reference it again later.
- Asking questions will help you get to know your characters. Let them answer you. Then probe them as to why.
Deb’s last piece of advice to us was, “Don’t go shingle shopping before you’ve bought the house.” By that she means, don’t get hung up on the details before you have the main structure of the characters and plot in place. I think that’s a great way to keep your priorities straight when writing, especially in historical fiction, where it’s tempting to keep researching forever.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this series and were able to take something away from Deb’s wisdom. I wish every single one of you could have been with me at Hedgebrook. Don’t forget that Deb will be on tour this summer promoting Book of Life, so you may just get the chance to meet her in person!
What do you think of Deb’s lesson on point of view, and her other tips? Do you agree or disagree? Why? What have your experiences been with different POVs in reading or writing?
Lessons in Creative Writing from Deborah Harkness – Part 4
This is the fourth in a series of posts sharing what I learned from author Deb Harkness during a week-long Master Class at Hedgebrook. Here are part 1, part 2 and part 3 in case you missed them.
The World card from the Visconti tarot deck
Worldview: What it is and Why it’s Important
Deb began our fourth class with a question: How do you put it all together so that the whole of your writing is better than the sum of it’s parts? Her short answer was that it’s about balance, pacing and narrative flow. But in addition to that, it’s about the worldview of the characters in the book. In short, worldview answers this question: Can you put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand their motivations?
Deb referenced a blog post she read that said something to effect of a novel is nothing but an expanded lie. You have to trust the author and characters to buy into that lie. (If you know the source of this, please tell me and I’ll gladly give credit.) This, she said, is integrity and authority, the context or drawing together of all the ingredients that allow you to see why a person did what they did.
Worldview is different for everyone. It is what makes up an individual person’s context. It consists of:
- Who you are
- Your parents
- Your faith (or lack thereof)
- Your education
- Your situation
Fleshing out this list is very important to plotting and making your story work.
Character is the vehicle through which you reveal context. In historical fiction, decisions have to be consistent within the time period and as a character. Deb gave as an example the tendency of writers to use the world “infinite” when a character is looking up at the stars in the night sky. That might be fine for a contemporary story, but historically, no one believed the sky was infinite until well after 1800. In their worldview, it was contained and finite, and this was as it should be.
As writers, Deb said we need to stay really close to our characters. This will help us make their context more accurate. She suggested that when you’re faced with a plot problem, ask your character, “how do you know what you know?” Go through the bulleted list above and write out how those things influence why your character believes/does what they do.
Also, when you add in or subtract one of these elements of worldview, you need to know why. Even if it isn’t stated in the story, your reader will be able to tell. If you don’t know, try diagramming your character’s decision making process.
When characters get too far out of alignment with their worldview, you start demolishing what you’ve build and you will run into a lack of plot.
Common Historical Fiction Worldview Misconceptions
As a historian, Deb says with certainty that there is no evidence that everyone in the past was filthy, uneducated, untraveled, and had a rough childhood, as Hollywood and many novels would have you believe. She said the stats were about the same then as today. So for a minority of people, that would be true. Maybe some of it would be true for others, and less and less as the social class of the person is higher.
Just because you find something novel and different from the way it would be today, doesn’t mean you need to describe it in your book. She used the example of novelists’ fascination with underwear from other time periods. “Unless your character was going to hide a letter in it, you don’t need to describe it to the reader.”
Another common thing is showing time period theories on the human body and how it works. Unless your character is the time period equivalent of a doctor, chances are good that’s not something they would think about.
For most of history, girls were not taught the classics, history or theology because those subjects where part of public life and public discussion, in which women did not participate. They were, however, taught astronomy, botany, sewing and drawing because these were considered adornments for private use. Things like this are important to consider when giving a female character an educational background.
Many things we take for granted wouldn’t have been known around the world at all times. For example, Plato’s works were not known in the west (at least in complete form) until the 15th century, so it would be incongruous to have a character refer to them earlier than that unless there was a specific reason he/she would have had access to that knowledge.
There was no such thing as Human Rights before the Enlightenment in the 18th century. People believed they were born where they were meant to be in society and they had a responsibility to their station (i.e. servants had a responsibility to serve). The presumption of equality of the classes (and sexes) didn’t happen until the 18th century.
In many times, women (excluding the elite) didn’t marry until they were in their 20s because their mates couldn’t afford it. Men needed to be in training/guilds until they were in their 20s. The nobility could, and usually did, marry younger.
Not everyone died young throughout history. If you survived infancy, pregnancy/childbirth if you were a woman or war/workplace accidents if you were a man, your chances for living to be 60 – 80 were good. If you did, people usually attributed it to strong blood or being blessed by the gods.
Things to Consider When Creating Worldview
- Beyond what they are personally exposed to, most people weren’t like to know history.
- Class, sex and location all influence what a character can know. (i.e. news travels slower to remote areas)
- Women were usually educated at home, so the education of their parents would determine how much they could learn unless a tutor was hired.
Remember that your readers are the audience for your characters actions, as are other characters. They each have their own worldview, which affects how they react in a scene or to a scene.
Plot tip: If you need characters to know something, remember that it’s hard to hide anything from servants or slaves. They actually have more power than you’d think because they have intimate access to those with authority.
This was for me, the most interesting of our discussions. I thought about some of this without realizing it, but never really made myself sit down and puzzle it all out. I will now!
Next week: Point of view and a lot of wrap up notes. This will be the last post in the series. I hope you’re enjoying it!
What do you think of Deb’s thoughts on worldview? What are your thoughts? Does knowing this information affect how you will read/write books in the future?
Lessons in Creative Writing from Deborah Harkness – Part 3
This is the third in a series of posts sharing what I learned from author Deb Harkness during a week-long Master Class at Hedgebrook. Here’s part 1 and part 2 in case you missed them.
All credit to cartoonist Charles Schulz
Day three at Hedgebrook was all about setting, plus Deb gave us some additional research tips, which I will share here.
Setting the Scene
Setting is actually my second favorite part of writing, next to character. I’ve been told by editors that I have a talent for writing beautiful descriptions of place (I’ll take that compliment), but as with anything else, it needs to be done carefully. Too much and you will bore your reader; too little and they won’t be immersed in your world.
Deb describes setting as “putting your story in fancy dress.” It not only includes the room, weather, time period and location, but also things like dialect and costuming. In historical fiction, you need to be deliberate in your deployment of historical details. Too much (especially with dialect) will distance the reader; less is more. Like every word in your book, your setting has to do some work. It shouldn’t just be there for its own sake.
You may need to write a bunch of detail before you learn what is really needed in a scene. To illustrate this, Deb gave us copies of three drafts of the same passage from Shadow of Night. The first was her really getting a feeling for the place. She called it a historical sketch based on generalities. The second was longer, as she flushed out details as they related to Matthew as a solider and a spy. The third (which was the published version) struck a nice balance between giving the reader a sense of location and helping the details show us something about the characters in the room. As she put it, “editing is what made it clear to the reader.” Deb’s advice:
- Write your description, then go back and look at all you’ve written. Pick out only three things that are important and think about why they are important. The “why” is just as important as the “what” in constructing a good setting.
- Think about this: if your historical story was set in present time, would you stop the action/dialogue to describe this? (She tells a story about how many people get caught up on describing a certain type of button, when just calling it a button would suffice.)
- If your description stands in for character development, plot or dialogue, delete it. These three things are much more important than description.
Deb compares writing to cooking. “History [and setting] are like cayenne pepper or tarragon; a little goes a long way. A really effective story is a balance between character, plot, dialogue, setting, action and reflection.”
Nine Historical Research Resources
I’m not sure how we got to talking about research (maybe from the question of how to recreate setting for a previous time period?), but we did. And I’m glad. These are the resources Deb recommends:
- Wikipedia – Yes, she really did recommend this. Using keywords or names, it’s a great place to look for books (fiction and non-fiction) that have been published in a given area/topic. It’s also great for “creating the scaffolding” of your story. But double check facts with other sources and don’t rely on it for interpretations of historical events.
- Abe Books – Great source for books written by antiquarians which will give you a lot of time period detail.
- Local historians – They can often give you detail you won’t even find in books because history is to them a living, breathing thing that they interact with regularly through their location.
- Amazon – (I wrote a blog post about it as a research tool a while back.) Deb suggests sorting your results by date, rather than relevance, and looking for new scholarship. If you are writing about/looking for information on women, family, household life, etc., look for books written after 1974, which is when the old male-dominated mindsets in research began to change. Also, don’t rely on conduct books from a given time period. They often reflect the ideal woman/child/family, rather than reality.
- Google Books – It gives you access to at least parts of thousands of books, including Harvard’s entire collection prior to 1890.
- Local library’s database collection – Your local public and/or college library should have a good database collection. If you need help with a specific topic or aren’t sure how to access the databases, talk to the reference librarian. That’s what he/she is there for.
- Church of Latter Day Saints – Their records include London’s register from the 16th century on and their libraries are gold mines. You can also find some of their information on ancestry.com if you do a family search.
- Primary sources – Always read first-hand accounts, if such a thing exists. Primary sources such as letters, journals, and novels written by women are ideal to get a feel for the time and the people.
- Newspapers – If they existed in your time, use them. Many are being digitized. Three months of issues will give you a lot to work from.
One More Tip from Deb
Writing isn’t the only thing a writer needs to do. Reading, watching a bird, staring at the fire (or anything else that lets you dream/imagine/use your brain) are part of your job.
Next week: Deb’s lecture on worldview.
What do you think of Deb’s advise on setting and research? How do your favorite authors handle setting? As a reader, what do you like/dislike? If you’re a writer, did you learn anything from Deb’s research tips?
Lessons in Creative Writing from Deborah Harkness – Part 2
Deb during one of our classes
This is the second in a series of posts sharing what I learned from author Deb Harkness during a week-long Master Class at Hedgebrook. Here’s part 1 in case you missed it.
Having learned our fill on character, our lesson for day 2 was on plot and history. A lot of people find plotting overwhelming, but as Deb said, “all we’re doing [with plot] is taking a person from point A to point B.”
How History and Plot Work Together
The elements of a historical narrative are the same as the story historians construct about the evidence they have found. We tend to think of history as what really happened, but a lot of times we just can’t know, even with a lot of evidence. Many times the evidence, even eyewitness testimony, is contradictory.
That’s why historians look at evidence and then go back later and construct a narrative to tell a particular story. Like historical fiction writers, they end up leaving 99% of what they’ve learned off the page. It may sound like they aren’t being true if that’s the case, but if they included it all the book would be overwhelmingly lengthy and boring. They, like fiction writers, have to stick to a central point or purpose and only radiate out so far from that, and only when doing so enriches the overall point they are trying to make.
Genre and Plot
There are tons of traditional plot models out there, but Deb told us none of her books follow any of them. She believes that is a perfectly valid choice for an author to make. (Honestly, my books don’t either.) We explored the traditional three act structure, the hero’s journey (often used in fantasy) and a basic plot structure and talked about how they are alike and how they differ. (By the way, the images I’m linking to here are the exact ones Deb gave us as handouts, so you can pretend like you were there with us.) It’s a good idea to at least familiarize yourself with the elements of these and other models so that you know the basics of what’s expected from a story, even if yours doesn’t fit neatly into one of them.
Deb doesn’t define herself as a genre author. This means she writes broader fiction that doesn’t fit into a category like mystery, paranormal, romance, etc. However, many writers, myself included, do choose to write within a given genre. It’s important to note that different genres have different expectations. As an author you have three choices:
- Work within your genre – All genres have expected conventions, word limits/page expectations. (For example, romance has very particular word counts and expectations of what has to happen by a certain page. Thrillers are also known for having strong pacing expectations.)
- Work outside of genre – This is what Deb does. It tends to give you more freedom in length and what you can and can’t do, but it can also be difficult for agents and publishers to classify when it comes time to sell it.
- Work against genre – In order to do this, you need to know the rules of the genre well. After all, you can’t break rules (well) you don’t know or understand. And if you break them badly, you won’t have a story people want to read.
History defines the outer limits of where you can go in historical fiction. Within in historical fiction, your sub-genre (fantasy, romance, mystery, thriller, etc.) constrains the genre. In other words, if you’re writing historical fantasy (as I do), you’re still subject to the general rules of fantasy writing; you just happen to be setting your fantasy in another time period.
Bringing History into Your Plot
Deb made the very interesting point that very few people are participants in historical events, but history still affects each one of us. There are three main ways we interact with history:
- History that is going on around you that shapes what you eat, wear, etc. – This affects everyone. For example, if I was setting a book in pre-Roman Britain, my Celts would likely not eat onions or celery because the Romans brought those to Britain. However, because my Arthur and Guinevere live after the Roman invasion, it’s logical they could eat those things.
- History you are a direct participant in – Fewer people will be part of a battle or other significant event. This could be due to their station in life, or they might just happen to live where something of import takes place and get caught up in it. For example, because they are rulers, both Arthur and Guinevere are active participants in the historical battle of Mount Badon.
- Doing historical things – Deb gave the examples of being a blacksmith, riding side saddle or teaching in a one room schoolhouse. These are things that you wouldn’t really know are historic while you are doing them. It’s only by looking back through history that we can define them as historic. For example, Guinevere is a Druid priestess. To her, that is a natural part of her religion. Only to us, 1,500 years later, is this considered historical.
This is a continuum. Characters can move on it and different characters can be in different categories at the same time as one another. So your main characters might be doing historic things or being directly involved in historic events, while your secondary characters are only doing historic things. Or your main character may always be doing historic things, but those historic things might change in the course of the book as the history that is going on around him or her affects his/her life.
We all know this, but it bears repeating, especially in the context of historical fiction: history for history’s sake is boring. You may be impressed by what you know, but you will lose the story and your readers if you include all of it. (This is why I started this blog, so that I had something to do with all that extra knowledge and didn’t feel like it was going to waste if it didn’t end up on the page.) Pick the historical things that allow your character to work within your plot. History is a pot of resources you can dip into to find something that makes your characters work i.e. show something about a relationship, help in character development. It shouldn’t be there just because you learned it.
Story Openings and Other Various Tips
As any writer will tell you, knowing where is the best place to begin your story is very difficult. As writers, we often have to “write our way” into the novel and so where we started writing isn’t necessarily the best place to actually begin the book. Deb’s suggestion for finding the elusive “inciting incident” is to find the moment where everything changes for your character and start there. As she said, “It’s like sinking an anchor for yourself and the reader.”
Deb’s tip: Look at your WIP and start reading at page 151. What before that is truly necessary and what is you writing to get to where you need to be? Delete anything that isn’t absolutely essential.
Trivia: Deb told us that A Discovery of Witches originally had a lot more of Diana at the library at the beginning, but she cut it because nothing was happening.
Other tips:
- Create a file or a book for yourself that is your “bible” with all the information about your characters, plot, and references so you can easily refer back while writing and editing.
- If you’re going to use something extraordinary like time travel, magic or reincarnation in your story it has to have a reason beyond you wanting to do it. It has to add something to the story.
- Letting information out slowly over time is always better than a dream, flashback or other contrived tool.
Next week: What Deb taught us about setting.
What do you think about Deb’s advice on plot and history? Writers, what tips do you have? What’s worked for you? Readers, what do you like the best in the plots of the books you read? What annoys you?
Lessons in Creative Writing from Deborah Harkness – Part 1
This was our last day of class. Yes, we had wine. (Deb is on the right.)
I received permission from Hedgebrook, Deb and my classmates to post a series of blogs about what we learned from Deb during our Master Class called Past Tense: History as Resource and Inspiration. Since she covered a different topic every day, that’s how I’m going to present them to you. She purposefully taught us different aspects of creative writing in the order she feels they are most important.
A Few Notes on Writing Historical Fiction
Before Deb got into the specifics of her first topic, she gave us a nice lecture about how we are perfectly qualified, as storytellers, to write historical fiction even though we’re not historians. I touched on that a little in my first post about the Master Class, but I’ll add a few details here.
Non-historians tend to think of history as right and wrong; historians know no such thing exists. History is an interpreted discipline in which they make an argument based on what they can back up with evidence. Circumstantial evidence doesn’t count for them, but it is a boon for historical fiction writers. It is our job to “write between the gaps,” as one of my follow writers said.
Novelists need to take authority over our story and characters and give up on the idea that historians have “the truth.” If it is not historically impossible, then for us, it is historically possible. It is our job to make it believable.
She emphasized that history should be a tool and not an obstacle. Our first job is to tell a great story. For that reason, any historical fiction story should be able to be set in contemporary times and still make sense. That is how we know the story itself is solid. The history simply places in another time.
Lesson #1: Character
Deb is a character-driven writer, meaning that for her, stories begin with and are propelled by the characters and their journey. The plot arises from what they do, rather than being thrust on them. (I’m a character-driven writer as well.) Her main point is that if your readers don’t care about the characters, all you’ve done is write history. The characters are what people relate to as they read your story.
In order for your characters to have integrity, they must be real, three-dimensional people who are consistent and make decisions that ring true, even if you don’t always agree with them. She believes that oftentimes readers are willing to trust historical fiction authors with history because they trust the characters. They are willing to forgive and forget a lot, but usually not a character that doesn’t speak to them.
History can give us the basis for creating characters, whether we pull them straight from history or use it as the context of the lives of fictional characters. Either way, when used correctly, historical details reveal things about the characters.
One character development tool Deb introduced us to is the Proust questionnaire. I’ve seen lots of lists of questions to interview your characters with, but this one was new to me. (Interestingly, this is what part of the interviews on Inside the Actor’s Studio are based on.) The idea is that by answering these questions, you begin to learn what makes your characters tick and see patterns in their lives. Most of what you answer won’t end up in your book, but knowing this information will help you start immersing yourself in their world. The better you can do that, the more believable and real your characters will be.
Another tool one of my fellow writers mentioned was the question Anne Lamott poses in Bird by Bird, “What does your character have in his/her pockets and why?” The “why” is the true purpose of any of these interview techniques because it starts to get at motivation, which is key to both a believable character and story. As Deb said, “History can be a crutch for us. Sometimes problems are better solved by asking ‘why?'”
She ended our first lecture by reiterating her belief that (at least in character driven fiction) the character’s journey transcends all the other stuff: the setting, the plot, the historical context. She taught us about each of those, but set the tone by teaching us their place: they are all secondary to character.
Next week: Plot and history.
Random bit of trivia: Deb doesn’t outline. She says her stories evolve as she goes and does lots of editing.
What do you think about Deb’s thoughts on historical fiction, history and character? Do you agree or disagree? Why? Did anything you read here strike you as important or unusual? Please tell me your reactions in the comments.
Blog Hop – My Work in Progress
This is a hint of the book title, without giving it away.
Lucky you! You’re getting two blog posts today since I’m part of a blog hop.
This one has been called by a few different names, including My Writing Process and the Faberge Blog Hop. I prefer to think about it as an opportunity to tell you about my latest Work in Progress (WIP). This is the contemporary story I’ve been hinting around about for a while now. Since it’s nearly ready to go to beta readers and then my agent, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to give you a little tease about it.
1) What are you working on?
I am finishing edits on my first contemporary story. I don’t know exactly what to call it in terms of book genre, so I refer to it as a romantic comedy. The closest comparison I can draw is Bridget Jones’ Diary. This is my first attempt at summarizing the story, so it’s not nearly as polished as a query or back-cover copy would be:
Annabeth Coe is a hopeless romantic who is still waiting for her soul mate to appear. When, on her 34th birthday, she meets a handsome professor named Alex, she thinks she may have finally met “the one.” But when he fails to ask her out, she determines she will do whatever it takes in the next year to find the guy she knows is out there somewhere. Hilarity ensues as Annabeth navigates the world of online dating, Meetup groups and being set up by well-meaning friends and family in her quest to find love.
When she’s finally happily dating an artist named Victor, fate throws her a curve ball by thrusting her and Alex together in a working relationship, where they get to know one another without being able to pursue one another. Then, just when Alex is in reach, a blast from Annabeth’s past shows up to stir up trouble, in the form of her ex-boyfriend, Nick, who broke her heart and ruined her ability to trust years before. While she’s dealing with the unresolved emotions his reappearance has brought to the surface, Alex is offered the opportunity of a lifetime to teach at Oxford, where he becomes embroiled in a scandal that threatens their relationship. Can Annabeth move beyond past hurts to trust Alex in his time of need? Is their love strong enough to survive what is either Alex’s greatest mistake or a pack of well-planned lies? Or will Nick’s meddling be enough for Annabeth to give up on love completely?
This summary doesn’t do the story justice – it’s even missing my favorite character, Mia – but it’s all I’ve got for now.
2) How does this story differ from others of its genre?
This is a tough question to answer because I don’t know exactly how this book will be classified. It’s not a traditional romance for a few reasons:
- While it’s clear the characters are having sex, there are no explicit love scenes. I did this on purpose because I didn’t want the sex to be the focus of the book. Rather, I wanted the characters’ story to be what keeps you reading.
- It’s written in first person. This is Annabeth’s story, so I wanted you in her head, experiencing things as she does. Traditional romance is written in third person, telling both sides of the story.
- While Annabeth’s quest for love and her relationship with Alex is certainly the focal point of the story, it also makes a strong statement about the value of education, specifically how important reading and writing are for young people. I never intended my book to have a “theme,” but it naturally occurred as a result of Alex’s passion for his students and a project he and Annabeth work on.
- Annabeth is older than the traditional romantic heroine. I made her my own age because I wanted to write a book for women like me who are older than the norm for those never married. I wanted a book that those of us who are still waiting for someone worth our time can relate to. I may end up having to make her younger to appease the market, but I’m hoping not.
3) Why do I write what I do?
I never thought I’d write something like this. I’m not normally a romance fan. But as I said above, this isn’t what most people think of as romance. I wrote this story because I had to. The plot came to me and would not be denied. I wrote the whole book in two months, which is only a fraction of the time it normally takes me to write my historical fiction books.
This book had it’s genesis when my best friend, Courtney, introduced me to the song “To Whom it May Concern” by The Civil Wars. I fell in love with it immediately because it’s basically a love letter to a soul mate you know is out there but have never met. I loved The Civil Wars’ music, so I listened to another album and found the song “Dust to Dust,” which was to me, a bookend to “To Whom it May Concern.” “Dust to Dust” is about two people realizing they’ve finally found one another after a long period of being lonely and trying to convince each other to let their guards down and finally love. I told Courtney that someday I was going to write a book that started with the words “To Whom it May Concern” and ends with the words “Dust to Dust.”
A few days later I was watching the British TV show Inspector Lewis and I saw actress Nadine Lewington. As soon as I saw her, I knew she’d be a character in one of my books someday. The next morning, Annabeth was in my head, and it was Nadine. Two weeks later I had a full plot. Two months later, the book was done, complete with the opening and closing lines I wanted. That’s not normally how it works for me.
4) How does my writing process work?
I pretty much chronicled the process for this book in my last answer, but I will say this: normally the whole thing takes a lot longer. But no matter if it’s contemporary or historical, every book starts with the characters. I usually know who they are and what they want before I even have a plot. When I write historical fiction, I go on from there with research into the time period/myth I’m writing. That usually helps me fill in the plot details. Then I outline and start writing, knowing full well that the characters will mess up my outline at least once during the first draft.
When I draft, I mostly write on weekends since my day job is also writing and there’s only so much my brain will do in a day. I don’t have any rituals or anything specific that I do every time. I just plop down on the couch and write. Sometimes when I need motivation, I will look at Twitter to see what the successful authors I follow have to say. Sometimes they spur me into action. Or I also watch things with the actors who play the characters in my head to get a feel for how they might move or sound. Since I’ve been to Hedgebrook, I also light incense that smells like the wood burning stoves in cabins to take me back to a time of peace and creativity. In the end, it’s the characters who write the book; I’m just their scribe.
Once I have a first draft, I set it aside for a month to get some distance and clarity. Then I go back and do a first pass, catching typos and noting major problems. I fix those and then read it again, making more changes. Then it’s time for the beat sheet, which is my last round of edits before anyone else sees it. Then my two alpha readers (one writer and one average reader) read it and I make their edits. Then a group of beta readers see it (again, a good mix of readers and writers, plus one amazing proofreader). After a few more edits, it’s off to my agent and we do some additional editing. Then it’s ready for submission.
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I was tagged for this blog hop by Elise Forier Edie. Make sure to go and check out her answers about her latest book. She’s a playwright and author based in Los Angeles. This month she is looking forward to the release of her paranormal romance novella “The Devil in Midwinter” by World Weaver Press and the opening of her one woman show “The Pink Unicorn” at Stage Left Studio in New York City. You can learn more about Elise’s work and writing at these links:
BLOG: http://www.eliseforieredie.com/blog.htm
TWITTER: @EliseForierEdie
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/EliseForierEdie?ref=hl
BIO: http://www.eliseforieredie.com/bio.htm
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7495615.Elise_Forier_Edie
AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Elise-Forier-Edie/e/B00HFEFOGE/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
And next week, look for these authors to answer the same questions about their WIP on their blogs:
Shauna Granger (she writes paranormal, post-apocalyptic and erotica), Jamie Krakover (she writes YA) and Courtney Marquez (she writes historical fiction – she’s a maybe for the hop).
What do you think about this book? Does it sound like something you’d want to read? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Learning from the Series Finale of HIMYM
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I was less than pleased with last night’s series finale of How I Met Your Mother. The show’s creators obviously wrote themselves into a corner in the first episode, but still decided to play out their vision for the show’s last episode nine years later character and plot evolution be damned. Here’s a great, very spoilery analysis of what went wrong.
But as my Twitter friend Emmie Mears noted, “Remember: if you’re a writer, you can always adjust a plan before it goes terribly awry.” And now upon reflection of HIMYM and Emmie’s comment, I know I need to do just that with Book 3 of the Guinevere trilogy. I’ve known for a while now something isn’t right with it. Now I know what it is.
I’ve known from Book 1 how the story was going to end – and I’m still going with that – but I realize now I need to rethink how I’m getting there. One character’s life does not currently have a satisfying ending. I need his death to mean something and feel like the sacrifice it really is. I also need to leave clues for my readers that make another big reveal make sense upon reflection, rather than totally coming out of the blue. This may mean that a whole lotta words get deleted and rewritten, but if that’s what’s best for the story, that’s what will happen.
But this is what drafting is for, right? And thanks to a change in plans, I have time to really think this through and do the rewrite it needs – after I write my next book. Why am I sharing this with you? 1) I want you to understand that I’m human and make mistakes, and 2) you are part of this process with me. I want you to see me learning as I go and maybe, just maybe, learn along with me.
Lesson learned: don’t stubbornly stick to your original idea if your story changes in such a way that it no longer makes sense. Sometimes as you evolve as a writer and your story takes on a life of its own, you have to be flexible as well. As writers, we owe our readers an ending that makes sense in the confines of the world they’ve invested in, even if they don’t agree with it. Whether or not you’ll agree with mine, only time will tell, but at least I can give you a lead up that makes the time you’ve invested in the journey worth it.
Readers, have you ever been disappointed by the ending of a series where it seemed like the author forced an ending? Writers, have you ever experienced the “oh crap, what I want to do isn’t going to work” situation? How did you handle it? Share your stories in the comments.