Doldrums in the Great Blogging Sea

So I'm just going to keep with the whole sea thing I've got going here.

This is just a first general update and then a behind the scenes!

1.  I won Nanowrimo for the fourth time! Which was really awesome, and the LARGE reason no blogging happened last month.

2. I feel really bad about putting up that ahoy post and then not following it with anything. Normally I follow it with something! So I thought I would spend a second today explaining how I write this blog. To give you some idea how big gaps like this happen.

When I first came up the idea for this blog, I immediately wrote down nearly thirty ideas for blog posts. I still have that original list on a email draft and I delete ideas and add as I go along. I would guess 20 of them are still from the original list. Now just one of those ideas usually results in somewhere between 2 to 5 actual blog posts. However I write them all at once and I generally end up with a 4 to 8 page document (single spaced) by the time I'm ready to post the first one. Once I finish a series I'm generally interested in turning around and starting a new one as soon as I can. This, however, is where problems generally occur.

The new idea turns out to be far more complex then I originally thought. Because of this I end up stopping as I try to figure out the best way to organize, present, and divide my ideas into individual posts. And then it sits on my computer until I figure out how exactly to tackle it. The recently finished posts about heroes and villains got it's start  as a post on boring heroes the same day I finished the Write, Write, Write post. The new idea got tied in with the good vs evil concept back in August when I wrote the Ahoy post, but that's when I got stuck. In those intervening months I would open up the document, read it and still be stumped. Eventually, as usually happens, I'll get the motivation to really sit down and hammer out the problem. (This happened with a short story once - three whole years between the beginning and the end and the whole thing was only five pages long!)

That's why I end up having these huge blocks between posts. And because I'm only doing this for fun,  and not as a dedicated blogger (and I'm heading back to school this spring) this isn't likely to change. Don't worry I'm not planning on stopping, I enjoy it and it helps me grow as a writer to really examine these issues. Hopefully though there shouldn't be so sparse a year again. Let's shot for ten to twenty posts next year shall we?

As for this year - just blame those heroes and villains!

ps. Can anyone tell me why my most viewed posts are all just the update 'new real posts coming soon' stuff? Are you people just really into waiting?

Nano Pep Talk

For my region this year, I wrote a pep talk for Nanowrimo and I thought you guys might enjoy it. Some of it I wouldn't advice outside of the nanowrimo (or similar events), but there is some useful advice in here. I hope this makes up some for my disappearance this year!

-----

As I’m sure you all are very much aware week three is upon us. For many that is a fearful time at the start of the week. There are a few reasons for this. It might be that you’ve used up all of the ideas you had planned before Nano and now you’re desperately trying to figure out what happens next. Or maybe you have been pantsing it all this time and now you have no idea what do with the mess of plot points you’ve created and have no idea how to put them together.  Or maybe you’re just so far behind that giving up seems like the easiest option. And unfortunately the actual bulk of week three isn’t immune to unpleasant realization either. If you haven’t already you might come to the conclusion that you are writing total crap and you hate yourself for spending time and energy on it. Or maybe at some point this week you’ll realized that despite know your ending you have no idea how to get there.  Week three, it can be a tough thing.

But don’t give up. Here’s something to keep in mind. Even if you’re behind you are now entering the halfway point the month and after this week its all down hill. But I realize that isn’t a very practically piece of advice and hardly solves your possible myriad of problems. Luck for you I want this to be more then just a pep talk, it’s a practical talk too!

So lets address some of your potential problems. If you’re behind adjust your daily writing target. There should be a helpful number on your Nano stats graph. If you’re wildly behind consider adjusting your end target. It might be impossible for you to reach 50K, but 25K totally doable. Don’t let your need to “win” stop you from realizing what the real prize of Nano is – potentially thousand of words you would have never written otherwise. No one will judge for lowering your goal – we’ve all been there. And as generally advice come to write ins and join me on chat for word wars. I’m basically always on after 8pm.

As for plot related problems, here are a few helpful tips. If you’re stuck between a planned beginning and planned ending, look over what you’ve written before. Is there a plot thread you forgot about, is there a character you can bring back for added drama (maybe even from the dead?) or is there a story element left unexploited (what is in that attic? Why wouldn’t Jon ask Sally out?). Look over the adoptable threads and dare threads to see if it sparks any ideas.

You can also try to question method of plotting, which can work even if you don’t know your ending. Try writing what you need to know as a question. For example: “How do I get Sally to London?” Write out as many possible scenarios as you can think of. Choose one that works for you. If needed write a follow up question. “How does she pay for the dragon rental service she used to fly to London?” Again write up all the answers. Keep this up until you have the information you need to write the next scene or even to the end of the novel. This can even work when you have lots of plot thread and no idea how to link them together. Ask instead “What does Annie’s pet panda’s illness have to do with Sally moving to London?”

But then there is the hardest one of all. You hate your story. It’s okay. I’ve totally been there before. You’re not alone. But I would like to take a moment to remind everyone that most writers go through a period of disliking their story. It’s completely normal and if you keep writing it very well may pass. Lets say though that you genuinely can’t stand it, at this point you have a few options. Look at the story, see where you stopped liking the direction it went in, and ignore everything from that point onward. Don’t delete - italicize it and start again. This can also work if you feel you’ve written yourself into a corner. Another opinion is to skip ahead to a portion you are looking forward to writing, keep in mind this will make editing harder later.

But say there isn’t anything you like. Well here are a few last resort options. I say last resort mostly because you’ve gotten this far already (these are great for week one issues though). Basically they boil down to: Drop it like it’s hot. Take a side character you love and write their story instead or embrace a subplot as the main story. Drop storylines you don’t like anymore. Or if it comes down to it write a completely different story.

And at the bottom of the glorious barrel is just giving into the Nano madness. Use any dares you read, break the fourth wall, sex it up, forget contractions exist, write about the vase of flowers on the main characters table for three paragraphs. (Note: these are great for idea mining, but if you story hasn’t yet descended into Nano madness yet, I would suggest against these methods. You’ll thank yourself later when you edit.)

The point is, just keep writing, especially if this is your first year or if you haven’t won before because you gave up. If you keep writing you might find yourself with something better then you could have hoped at the end of the month. However if you’ve won before and are looking to improve your writing craft I would advise avoiding Nano madness. Just keep powering through, don’t jump head, don’t change major story elements and use the more sensible options suggested earlier – you’ll be surprised what you will learn.

And if you’re ahead and you love your story and know exactly what you want to write – well you just sit in your teacher’s pet over achieving corner while the rest of us shoot dirty looks at you.

p.s. – Don’t forget to sleep, eat, hang out with friends and go outside. And leave the guilt at home! You’ll be surprised at how much easier that makes writing and how much more you’ll enjoy the month.

Creating the Villain: What we do every night Pinkie…

… try and take over the world!

Everyone loves a good villain and hates a bad one. So how do you make your villain interesting, dynamic and memorable?

The easiest way to avoid writing bad villains is to avoid villainy for villainy sake. What real reason is there to have the villain kill puppies or rape random women, other than to show he is evil? Any act of villainy needs a primary purpose, namely helping the villain reach his goals. Showing that he is evil should be a secondary function of the event. Furthermore, any evil acts committed are far more effective if they are against someone the audience already cares about.

Because I ragged a little on Harry Potter in my last post, I’m going to use the series to provide a good example this time. Let's look at Cedric’s death to see what I mean. His death serviced three different functions, one in-universe and two for the narrative.

In-universe it eliminated a few potential problems for Voldemort. Had Harry died as plan it would have eliminate the only other witness to his return. Killing Cedric also ensured that no one would come to help Harry. For JK it showed Voldemort as being ruthless and provided Harry with the proof he would need later to back up his claim that Voldemort returned. His death had later narrative consequences, but these are just the immediate ones.

Now for a bad example, let’s look at the Sword of Truth. In the first book, there is a villain that has a ‘taste’ for little boys. Why? Because he is evil, that’s why. I remember no plot related reason it needed to be in there, it had no other purpose.

Which villain do you remember? Which one has become iconic? Exactly my point.

So what’s the next important piece? The motivation. Why is the character acting evilly? What is the purpose the ultimate goal driving his/her actions? As I mention earlier, it could be ultimately good in the long run or it could be selfish (generally they are). It could even be noble or understandable. But we are talking classic villains here, so let's look at their classic goal: taking over the world.

But here’s the thing, taking over the whole, just to take over the world – it’s a tired and nonsensical motivation. How does one even go about doing it? And if you were to succeed it would collapse pretty quickly like every large empire in the history of the world. And man, would it be a TON of work. So not really doing much for me.

Well then, you might ask, how am I supposed to tell my epic story without an epic scale? Don’t worry it just requires some creative thinking. Here is a list of potential alternatives. Instead, consider the more reasonable desire to take over a specific country. But they do need a good reason as that one could be just as nonsensical. Maybe the younger brother got the throne they were supposed to have or they think the current king is a tyrant? Another option large in scale is an empire expanding into the hero’s home country. Or maybe the bad guy has already been ruling or just got to the throne. Keep in mind most tyrants still manage to have decent people working for them willing. Things can’t be bad for everyone otherwise the tyrant’s rule wouldn’t last long.

And you could always go bigger – gods as villains. They definitely bring the scale level up. But try to go with specific gods, with specific motivation. Percy Jackson’s the Titans want revenge and to rule again, is a far more interesting take then general god of evilness that wants to take over just cause.

Lastly try and avoid Mary Sue villains, you don’t need to be so in love with your creation that they don’t have any weaknesses (another problems with general god of evilness). The heroes can be largely losing to the villains, but it shouldn’t feel hopeless, as if the universe is actively trying to stop them from succeeding. That doesn’t mean your villain can’t be ridiculously power, but you need a reasonable powering up of the main characters (which they should have to work for, it shouldn’t given to them cougheragoncough.)

With those three elements, you have a solid villain. A memorable villain requires just a touch of style. One way is to make the villain someone the audience likes, understands, is familiar with. You can make them dark and mysterious intriguing the reader as to who exactly this person is. You can make them hammy or over the top as long as they don’t start monologuing. Just remember what I said primary functions needing to first work towards the character in-universe goals. Monologuing generally serves narrative functions first making it if not bad writing, then obvious writing (plus scary villains cut straight to the killing.) You can even make the villain funny and charming. Have fun with it.

Hopefully you feel better prepared to attack that epic battle of good and evil waiting to be written.

Creating the Hero: BHS

Literary Disease Alert. BHS, or Boring Hero Syndrome, has struck again. Symptoms include: authors and readers who like side characters more then the protagonist, heroes that lack dimensionality or are underdeveloped stock characters and, in extreme cases, the author and readers may actively dislike the main hero. Fantasy novel heroes at high risk of infection. Treatment recommendation: unique personality injections. Blog readers, please – stay vigilant and protect your story.

In all seriousness, this is an easy one to fall into – very easy – especially if you are writing in a setting unfamiliar with the reader, being a world you made up or outside your native readership’s experience. In a fantastical or exotic setting a bland character functions in multiple ways. Mainly it allows the reader to experience the world afresh from the POV of the main character (partially why farm boys are classically famous heroes). By having an everyman character or using something like the farm boy stock character, it allows for a reasonable excuse to have other character explain the plot, setting and general rules to the reader – I mean main character. Second in a world surrounded by the strange the safe familiarity of the hero gives, in theory, the readers someone to connect to and imagine the world through. Lastly everyman main characters are more universally “relatable.” Unfortunately, relatable and everyman has just come to mean bland.

I get the appeal of the everyman. I really do. I get why authors use it. But here’s one thing to remember… no matter what type of character your protagonist is, some reader or other will not relate or like them. So you might as well have fun with your character. Write someone a little or a lot out there. Write a hothead, a dreamer, a stoic. The crazy gun welding ninja, the magic using chef, the violent princess. The main character doesn’t always have to be the straight man of the group. Have fun with your main character, you’ll be seeing a lot of them. And honestly if you don’t like them, don’t expected anyone else to either.

But say you want really want to write that everyman character. Unfortunately when people think of a relatable everyman heroic character, they think of the same stock character*. Heroic, noble, slightly awkward socially etc. So instead I would encourage you focus less on the everyman and more on the relatable. Lots of types of people are relatable. To see what I mean lets look at four main characters (that fit the classic hero) and examine how a relatable or straight man character can be many different things. But first a word of warning, everyman does not mean whatever the scene requires the character to be. That isn’t a character, that just a collection of railroad tracks. With that cleared up, let’s look at our heroes.

First let’s look at Harry from Harry Potter. He is decidedly much the straight man of his little party, and, in some ways, his character suffers for it. A significant number of people flat out dislike him as a character or are apathetic to him. This is partially because Harry is very much the classic hero character that can be boring to avid readers. He is noble, brave, hot headed at times, uncertain at times, that tends towards angst and has a huge hero complex. Others of this ilk include Rand Al’thor from the Wheel of Time or Richard from the Sword of Truth. Now this an opinion (I happen to like these characters) but this character rarely excites experienced readers, mostly because they know what he is going to do before he does it. **

Now lets look at three other characters. Two are Rick Riordan’s leads from the Percy Jackson Series. Percy is commonly sited as readers’ favorite character. Why? Because he manages to maintain those traits associated with a heroic protagonist, while gaining unique features. He is funny. He is more than just hot headed, he’s stubborn, rash and often thoughtless. He can be very unforgiving, but he is always openly kind and loyal to people. And he lacks the hero complex, always needing to go it alone. Jason, Riordan’s other hero, shows a different take. He is competent, tactical, cool headed and stoic. A nature leader that doesn’t shy away from his role. He also lacks the hero complex. Lastly there is Aang from The Last Airbender (TV show). He is a pacifist, a goofy ball, super opened, very friendly and actively tries to get out of his responsibilities.

Those last three characters are manage to be relatable even though they aren't the classic heroic character that everyone thinks is needed to write heroic fantasy. I mean, how about a farm boy that’s totally excited about getting to save the world – for once? Until someone actually dies, no one will think he’s insensitive if he thinks having this great adventure is total fun. Then you get to write the nice, juicy moment where he comes crashing back to reality.

Just be more creative, you’ll like writing your main character better that way.

*Note: The solution to avoiding BHS isn’t to make your character a super Mary Sue with mega awesome powers, but give them interesting personalities. Super awesome powers are a lot of fun, but make sure they develop naturally, out of hard work. Let it also be obvious from the beginning that the character has some abnormal abilities and there for any further development is expected and doesn’t read as Deus Ex Machina.

**Props to JK for one thing. Unlike lots of other fantasy novels, Harry doesn’t become a super mega awesome through the course of the story. He starts an everyman and stay that way. 

Heroes vs. Villains

What makes a hero: A matter of perspective

In my last (long ago) post, I discussed how to create well-rounded characters. In that post, I briefly wrote about the moral code of villains. Well now I am going to expand on this idea, in my newest series: Hero vs Villain. In this series, I will examine the nature of the roles and how to create memorable and engaging heroes and villains.

But first a little about heroes and villains in general. The protagonist is not necessarily the hero, nor the antagonist the villain. You might choose to reverse the roles or eliminate them completely. Many successful pieces lack the classic good vs. evil conflict. They play with the line of moral superiority, making the protagonist and antagonist much the same in tone and action just opposing in goals (general fiction commonly does this). Keep in mind, however, if these types of protagonists do not have some morally good characteristics or at least likability, many (not all) readers will be turned off the to the story. Look to the TV show Dexter for an extreme example of a morally reprehensible but likeable character (obviously you walk a line here, not everyone likes him).

Now with that defined, I will be discussing classic good heroes and evil villains from this point out. Anything I say in regards to these roles is specifically about how to write these archetypes. They are not hard and fast by ANY means and can easy be exploited, stretch, subvert or broken as desired, but be aware that you are doing so. Nothing is worse than wanting to create a heroic character, but the audience reads them like they are jerk.

But now to be on topic (finally), in this first post, I am going to be looking the role of villain and hero and what separates them. The key element in this separation is the matter of perspective. From the point of view of each character, they are the protagonist of their own story and, therefore, the “hero”. However, from the reader’s point of view the matter is clear-cut. It is their point of view that determines the characters' placement in these archetypes. To illustrate this, I will first examine the villain role and the actions which define it for the audience, and then the heroic role.

First then, the villain. Every villain has a goal. Their goal can be selfish, it can be something they think will help the greater good or it can be both. Look at Lex Luthor’s motives for trying to destroy superman for example. Heck maybe their ultimate destination would be for the benefit of mankind. So what then separates them from a hero, who can have the same motivations? Well sometimes it’s the goal itself. Other times, however, it is what the villain is willing to do to reach his goal. That means the villain doesn’t have to have some twisted moral code or be a psychopath that thinks killing puppies is fun. What that means is that sometimes they are willing to commit morally evil acts, even things they might know are wrong, because they think it will ultimately serve a greater purpose. In the end the villain thinks they goal must be reached, must be achieved. It doesn’t matter ultimately whether it’s the goal itself or the villain’s methods that are morally wrong. In the end what matters is that from the perspective of your reader and your hero it’s clear that the goal isn’t morally right and/or that the harm isn’t worth any of the possible good that might come.

At this point, you might ask me, hey Fireheart, does that men the hero can never make a mistake, that they can never make the wrong decision? Wouldn’t he then be perfect? Don’t worry, the hero can commit a morally wrong act, but there are a few crucial differences that will separate him from the villain. The hero’s goal must be morally right (for you and the audience) in the end. Their goal doesn’t have to start that way, but it should end that way. Second the hero must feel some repercussion from his action. He should feel bad about what he has done* and be held accountable by his companions. The readers need to know that he can still be held as the moral center for the story. They need to know that both you and the other characters recognized when the hero has crossed the line. And ultimately they need to finish the novel feeling that even with some slip ups (a couple major or a lot of minors one), they were rooting for the right guy. Obviously you can play with this and subvert the reader’s expectations, but be aware of this as I noted earlier. If you meant for your character be superman, but the reader’s sees him as Lex Luther, you clearly have a problem. For an example of a morally complex, but ultimately heroic character check out Steeljack from Astro City’s Tarnished Angel (which is really just an amazing comic overall btw).

In the end though the hero should most often (but not necessarily always) make the morally right choice. Note the more often he does, the more classically heroic he will read. Walk that line carefully, someone who never makes a mistake will read as a Mary Sue (and so will someone who NEVER gets called on bad decisions).

The next two posts I’ll be discussion what makes a good, compelling hero and what makes a memorable, complex villain.

*Note this doesn’t mean that the hero has to angst over a mistake. It just means he should feel some level of shame and regret and ultimately realize what he did was wrong.