Run Toward Weakness #IWSG

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This month I'd like to talk about weaknesses. All writers have them, yes? Whether it's plotting, characterization, time management, or finishing a project—we all struggle with something.

My Super Supportive Hubby, a firefighter—and the bravest man I know—recently graduated from a strenuous leadership class. He was totally inspired by a retired chief who spoke during the class. This chief is a man my hubby has known for maybe 20 years. He's a well-respected guy with a trail of successes during his time on the job.

This chief admitted his weaknesses to the class: spelling, writing, and reading. My hubby's ears perked up; he could relate. Hubby never had a clue that this successful chief had similar doubts and insecurities. Yes, the chief had struggled with spelling his whole life—still struggled with it—but he said, "I've learned to run toward my weaknesses, not away from them."

It reminded me that we should run toward our writing weaknesses—not shy away from them or fear them.

My writing weaknesses? How much time do you have? I'm thankful that I recognize these weaknesses, and focus my learning time toward improving my skills. For instance, I read "The Fire in Fiction," by Donald Maass. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth the price of the book.

Recognizing a weakness can sometimes be discouraging, especially after I've read a book with killer pacing and jump-off-the-page characters. But recognizing a weakness is a blessing. It's the first step to running toward it, and turning a weakness into a strength.

Some cool quotes to ponder:

"Our strength grows out of weaknesses." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The greatest weakness of all is the great fear of appearing weak." — Jacques Benigne Bossuel

"Growth begins when we begin to accept our own weakness." — Jean Vanier

What are your writing weaknesses? Do you turn from them or run toward them? Please share!

Audition Your Cast of Characters

Pride and Prejudice photo, from Amazon.com

(any excuse to post a picture of Mr. Darcy)

Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint, by Nancy Kress, is loaded with great advice about...well, characters, emotion, & viewpoint! One of the cool tips is to assemble the players we've thought of for the next book, and then make them work for their roles.

I learned the main character can't just waltz into a novel, assuming she's the best person to tell the story. What if her older sister captures more passion? (Jane's story instead of Elizabeth's? No!) What about the love interest? Would he be the best person to ignite the author's creativity? (Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy's point of view...deliciously different)

Kress's solution to the "whose line is it anyway" dilemma? Audition these players, and see whose viewpoint would provide the best story. She suggests we ask the following questions when choosing our star:

• "Am I genuinely interested in this character?"-- If we're constantly thinking about this person, inventing backstory, dialog, and character traits, there's a good chance this person would work well as the lead.
• "Is this character or situation fresh and interesting in some new way?" -- This is where we can add a twist to a structured mystery, or choose the unlikely hero of our story. If my idea surprises me, I'm hopeful it'll surprise readers.
• "Can I maintain enough objectivity about this character, combined with enough identification, to practice the triple mind-set--becoming author, character, and reader as I write?" -- This was another great lesson I learned from Kress's book, and I blogged about it here.
• "Do I want this character to be a stayer or a changer?" -- Kress points out that some of our favorite characters have "stayed," such as James Bond, meaning his basic character is unchanged throughout the story. Other favorite characters have "changed," and by the end of the story, they were completely different people (Mr. Darcy!). If we want our main character to be a "changer," which person in our cast has the greatest capacity for change?

This advice is great for me, because I normally think of plot first, and then character. This taught me to choose my main character wisely, because he or she will determine which story will be told. My next book is formulating in my head now, and the characters best be ready for a casting call.

How about you? How do you choose who will play your main character, and who will play supporting roles? Do you create plot first, or character?

10 things NOT to do when building characters

I'm obsessing over characters these days. Like, what can I do to make mine more likable? What can I do to make them leap off the page? What can I do to make them memorable? So I dug up some answers. This time, the tips are from Noah Lukeman, author of THE FIRST FIVE PAGES. Don't have it yet? It's amazing. Here are ten things Lukeman says we should avoid when building characters:

1. "Switching between first and last names." If we're going to call our main character Ryan, we should stick with that. Not Ryan in paragraph one, Mr. Reynolds in another, and Hunky Beefcake in another.
2. "The use of stock, cliche, or overly exotic names." John and Mary might be boring names (my husband John objects!), but we also want to avoid names that are so original that they're hard to read and distract from the story.
3. "Launching into the story without stopping to establish any of the characters." Readers want to meet our main character and care about him before Hunky Beefcake rescues the aging author from the train tracks (ahem).
4. "The presence of stock or cliche characters and/or character traits." The dumb bodybuilder, the smart nerd, etc. We can do better than that, can't we?
5. "The introduction of too many characters at once." If there are too many hunky beefcakes thrown in at the beginning, how will the reader know which one to follow? Add those beefcakes in slowly.
6. "Confusion over who the protagonist is." Whose story is it? Readers should know up front who they're investing their time in. (Hint: the hunky beefcake rescuing the writer)
7. "The presence of extraneous characters." Does the guy cleaning the bathrooms at the train station matter to the story? If not, don't add him and definitely don't give him a name.
8. "Generic character description." We want our characters to stand out, right? So let's give that aging writer who's tied to the train tracks a unique description. Maybe she wears 20's clothing, has a mole above her lip--Cindy Crawford style, and golden curls--Taylor Swift style (yes? yes.)
9. "Characters we don't care about." Why should we care about the hunky beefcake who tries to save the aging writer? Maybe his dad said he was a loser and wasn't worth anything. Now we hope he saves the writer because hey, we want him to prove his dad wrong.
10. "The unsympathetic protagonist." Even if he's a bad guy, he should be likable. Hunky Beefcake might be cocky, but he's willing to rumple his pristine clothes to save the writer. He can't be all bad, right?

Have I made these mistakes? Um, yes, which is why I'm reading up on the subject. How about you?

photo credit

Three ways to give your characters True Grit

So I've been thinking a lot about characters lately, and studying ways to strengthen them. I dove back in to Revision and Self-Editing by James Scott Bell, and was reminded of his summary of three characteristics that make great characters, the first one being grit.

He says the first unbreakable rule for major characters in fiction is No Wimps! Characters can start out as wimps, but early on they must develop grit and do something. Grit must be shown in action.

If our story is dragging, Bell suggests looking at the heart of our main character. Is she acting like a wimp? Is she "taking it" without doing anything about it? Courage bonds us with lead characters, so here are some ways Bell suggests we put some fight into the people we've created:

1. "Think up a scene early in your novel where your characters must show inner courage." One example is she could come to someone else's defense by confronting a bully at school. Stiffening her spine early on will foreshadow a greater display of courage later in the book.
2. "Or the above character can back down, setting up the necessity for growth." Maybe she sees a victim being bullied and wants to come to the rescue but backs down out of fear. Or perhaps she's pushed toward bullying herself, in order to fit in. She knows it's wrong but does it anyway.
3. "Play up your character's inner battle at the time of challenge." When our main characters struggle with inner fears it adds depth to our work. As Bell says, "No one except James Bond goes into battle without fear."

If you need help getting to know your characters better, Jody Hedlund's character worksheet is a great place to start.

Do your main characters have grit? Or do they start out wimpy and grow from there? I'd love to hear about them.

photo credit

Brilliant Character Development

I recently read two novels by John Green: An Abundance of Katherines and Looking for Alaska.

Here's one thing I learned about Green: when it comes to character development, he's brilliant. I mean seriously, he described several characters between the two books and I wasn't even a little bit confused. Each character had quirky habits, unique traits, and endearing vulnerabilities. Green's descriptions were not released in a flood of information. They were drip, drip, dripped as each story unfolded.

In my quest to improve character development, I've stumbled upon these helpful posts:

• Creating Compelling Characters
• Creating Memorable Characters
• The 3-2-5 Rule
• Sympathetic vs. Unsympathetic Characters
• 9 Questions to ask your main character
• How well do you know your characters?

And if, like me, you're feeling a little un-John Greenish (new word), check out this post and read "How do you deal with writer's block?" It'll make your rough draft seem less horrible. I promise.

Have you read any of John Green's books? And what's your favorite tip for developing characters? Please share!

photo credits: Barnes and Noble