Self-Portraits on our MC's

People.

I love them. Truly I do. But when I want to get to know them better, how do I go about it? Talk to them? Interview them?

"Hi, my name's Karen. I have seven children. And a dog."

Okay, that works. But what does that really tell you about me? My name and that I either love children or merely enjoy gaining lots of weight every year or so and then trying to get it all off again. (Yeah, right.) You can see I have a dog, but does that mean I'm happy about it? (I am, btw. She's a beagle--hence my obsession with Snoopy)

But you can see that there's more telling than showing in my intro, and surely not enough information to get a true picture of who I am. How I would react to a given situation. What sort of things annoy me. Are our characters facing the same difficulty in our story? Are we merely telling people about them or are we painting an accurate picture of who they really are? If not, how do we go about doing so?

First off, we need to know our characters. Truly know them. There are many ways to go about doing this, but here is one technique I learned recently that you can use to understand them better.

We're going to make two lists.

List ten things that describe your character, that if you were to change or eliminate that one thing they would no longer be the same person.

• For example: "I am a mother with seven children." If you were to take away any one of those seven children, or all of them, I would no longer be a mother (in the same way). In fact, I would probably fall apart, but I digress.
• Another example: "I have faith in God." Now I guarantee that if you took away my faith I would totally change as a person. I wouldn't act the same, pray the same (or at all), and my goals in life would change dramatically. So my faith is an integral part of me.

Next:

List ten things that describe your character that if you were to take them away or change it wouldn't truly change them as a person.

• "I love popcorn." Okay, so maybe some of you would die or fall apart if you didn't get your daily or weekly fix. But can you honestly say that it would change your personality that much? Probably not.
• "I eat chocolate for breakfast." I must really be hungry this morning to be using food as my examples. But the fact remains that if I didn't have chocolate for breakfast, I would probably find something else to eat. And in this case that's probably a good idea. :) I don't think it would redefine me though. Not like one's faith, or status as a mother.

I really enjoyed this concept; understanding that there are distinct things that make up an individual. And that by listing them, sometimes you can get a better idea of who that person truly is. You may never understand them fully, but you can use their traits, likes, dislikes, to paint a vivid picture of them and then use your story to build around them. In fact, you may find that you can add more life to your plot because of this information.

I mean, hey. What if taking away someone's popcorn truly resulted in a mental breakdown. And why on earth would that happen? Hmmm...now that sort of thinking has the makings of a marvelous mystery. Maybe it's time to continue my list. :)

Top Ten

Top Five things I WON’T miss when school begins:

1. The deluge of cups and food all over the kitchen counters.
2. Tripping over endless toys throughout the day.
3. Excessive noise which prevents me from reading and writing effectively.
4. Endless video games which adds to the excessive noise.
5. Late night movies which yeah…adds to the excessive noise.

Top Five things I WILL miss when school begins:

1. Having everyone make their own food–even though it destroys the kitchen.
2. Watching my children play with each other and all the “new” toys they find buried within the toy closet.
3. All the noise that keeps me company during the day and reminds me of why I’m a mom.
4. Playing video games with my kids, and watching their smug faces when they beat me–fair and square.
5. The freedom of getting up when I want to after staying up with the kids all night to watch a late night movie.

*sigh* Six more days until all our roles change, and my kids are a little less like kids and a little more like tiny adults. And me right along with them. My kids are already rooting me on, so maybe we can all find a way to keep each other sane for the next 180+ days. Wish us luck!

***********************8

Shelli says:

August 17, 2010 at 6:50 pm

I’ve got the same kind of ambivalent feelings going on. I’m excited for the kids to be out for the summer…and then I’m excited to have them go back in the fall. Let’s just say that I might be ready for a little me time!
Good luck with the new school year, for all of you!

A post of EPIC proportion!

Okay, the last few days have been pretty epic with the WriteOnCon conference going on, but that's not the epic I'm talking about (yet). I'm talking about the book!

See, my son's a gamer. Well, so are my girls, but they're not the ones who gave me the book to read. "Epic?" I asked him. "I like the title, but what's it about?" He answered, "Think Guild Wars."

Ahhhh. That I've heard of. In fact, I have my own character. Does that make me cool? My family thinks so. It's pretty hot, actually. The character that is. The game...eh...I don't have time to both play and write (doesn't stop my husband from using my character--hmmm, should I be jealous?). Anyway, somehow Conor Kostick managed it. He's the author of the book Epic, which I had the privilege to just finish reading.

And what a read it was. Think Hunger Games. Haven't read it? Then think social climbing in a world where there's only one controlling entity that determines how, what and when you get things. Food, clothing, work, you name it. The whole society is run by Epic, a virtual game that determines your ranking in the real world based on what you do in the game. Earn a thousand bezant in the game? Spend it in real life.

The game was created to alleviate violence and allow people to work out their differences in the game. And for the most part it worked. Only a few random acts slipped through, and those people were thus exiled. Just like the main character's father. But he had a good reason, and it's one that compels our hero to join forces to end the game. Before it can end his own life.

Intrigued yet? I was, and I had long since stopped playing the game. But I love the cooperation it fosters in my children as they team up together and help each other out, because the death of one in the game usually results in the death of another. Just like in the book. So, as a mother I loved it. As a past gamer?

EPIC!

Why we need contests

I won.

4th place, that is, and you can bet that I've been flying high ever since I found out. I mean, I ran my heart out in high school and hardly won a race. This month alone I've won three different contests. And this one takes the cake!

Thank you Roni and Julie and all the wonderful sponsors who participated. You made a lot of people happy!

So what did I do to celebrate? Eat chocolate? Throw a party? No...I sat down to write. Before my luck ran out. Well...

Yes. You guessed it. *sigh* But at least it waited until bedtime. That way I could sleep off my disappointment and let night wash away my fears. Because, hey! I won a contest!

So what happened that burst my bubble so fast? I tried to write a query.

Yes, that's right. I was so excited about winning that I decided to do something hard. And then promptly failed. But that's okay. There's a reason they teach classes on these things, and why writers seem to dread them so much. I mean it's hard enough to write the book let alone shorten it down to a page. If I wanted to tell my story in so few of words I would have made it a short story instead. But alas, I wrote a book. A very LARGE book. Several in fact.

And one day I will see them in print. Other than in my own house, that is. And that is why I woke up this morning and started again. Just like I do everyday. I told myself I could do it. That it was worth it. That my only problem was that I was eager to share my story. My WHOLE story.

So I pulled out my pen. Pulled out my paper. And pulled out my pain, my protagonist's pain, and then asked...so what's the problem? Then smiled. I know her pain, and it's a lot like my own. And I know that just as I solved her dilemma so she'll help me solve mine. And together we'll see the light of day.

Just like I felt yesterday when I won. Ahhhh, the power of winning. So here's the deal. We need more contests. Me included. Only this time I'll be the one giving stuff away. Very soon. Because if there's one thing I learned is that we need hope. We need each other. And we need contests to help us remember that writing is fun! Exciting! And full of prizes...even if it's not full of good queries. But hey, maybe someday I'll have one of those too. You never know.

And neither will you unless...yes, you guessed it...unless you dair to try!

Contest alert!

Yes! It's a contest! Only, I'm not the one sponsoring it. This contest comes to you from Fiction Groupie! A fantastic resource for writers and aspiring authors. And just who is Fiction Groupie? What? You've never heard of them. That's okay, that's why I'm here.

Roni Griffin. She's the one you want. She's heading up a contest that proves to not only get you moving on the social network, but reward you with a chance to win one of many possible prizes. Check it out:

• Hannah Moskowitz's Break
• Lisa Desrocher's Personal Demons (ARC)
• A query or first five pages critique from Fine Print Lit's intern, Gemma Cooper
• A query or first five pages critique from Janet Reid's assistant, Meredith Barnes
• A query or first five pages critique from agent Suzie Townsend
• A query or first five pages critique from editor Brendan Deneen

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to http://www.fictiongroupie.blogspot.com/ to find out how to enter. Or click on the sidebar to follow the link.

Good luck to all of you!