Archive for the ‘novel progress’ Category
Article to Read: Character Development
September 15th, 2008 | 
Author: I read a great article, The Story Crucible, on character development in fiction writing. The author, Camy Tang, blogs here and here.
According to Camy, the crucible is that thing that keeps our main character in trouble. The crucible is the main reason why characters make certain choices throughout the story. In a sense, I guess it’s like the overall motivation behind the character, but it’s a motivation the character can’t control. (Bet that made a lot of sense, huh? Camy explains it a lot better with her examples!)
After reading the article, I realized I need to work on developing my characters’ “crucible” a little better and making sure they are clearly defined. I’ll post an update on my writing progress tomorrow!
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WIP: "Uncertain" Takes Shape
I was chatting with an old friend the other day and I was telling her about my story idea. She is nearing the completion of a manuscript and asked if I had thought of a title yet for my story. Um…not really. I remember having this really awesome title idea float through my mind at some point, but silly me didn’t write it down. Yep, you’re right, I don’t remember it.
So I admitted that I hadn’t thought of any titles. She’s trying to decide between three possibilities for her story. I would say that I’m jealous but she’s much more advanced with her story than I am so I guess she deserves to have three. 
Then I sat down to write an update and share what I’ve learned so far, and I realized that it would be so cool to have a working title, something better than WIP (work in progress).
What pops into my head? “Uncertain.” You know, like I can’t make up my mind or don’t have a clue? It sounds a little strange, but I kind of like it. As I think about it, I see my character as being uncertain – she’s leaving her home, coming to a new life, is faced with decisions etc. For now, I think “Uncertain” might work.
How much did I accomplish during the past week? Well, there’s the title that I just thought of so I guess that counts. =) Basically I’ve had my nose buried in books and online resources trying to learn as much as possible.
I did narrow down my time period considerably. I was having a horrible time deciding whether to work with the 1910s (pre World War I) or 1920s (post World War I). Without knowing which time frame to work with, it was difficult to focus my research. How did I narrow it down? While doing research to answer some basic questions, I discovered an event that happened on Ellis Island that I instantly knew my character had to be a part of. The event will add a useful twist to the storyline in addition to some historical detail.
In studying about immigrant ships and Ellis Island, I realized that in order for my character to travel 2nd class and still go through Ellis Island, I’ll have to develop a dilemma that will put her there. Second class travelers were screened on board the ship by immigration officials with the travelers only going through Ellis Island if a special inquiry or an illness required it. There’s also a few other details I need to figure out – for example, if a young child is sick, does the parent accompany them to the hospital at Ellis Island?
At this point, I’m happy with my progress. I’m thoroughly enjoying the research and having my story idea percolate in my mind. I think that by the time NaNoWriMo comes around this year, I’ll be prepared to participate!
Expounding on Family Tree Treasures
I mentioned before that I’ve been spending quite a bit of time studying my family tree and that the history I am learning has prompted story ideas. I promised to tell you a little about those ideas…
On both sides of my tree, I have relatives that immigrated to America. My father’s side came in the 1700s mainly from an area that is now part of Germany and they settled in Pennsylvania.
My mother’s side came much later in the early 1900s. Her father came over in the 1930s from Czechoslovakia, and her mother’s parents came sometime before 1918 (my grandmother was born in America). In the years preceding my grandfather’s arrival, various other relatives, mainly his aunts and uncles, immigrated too.
As I work on finding documents and other interesting facts about those who came from Slovakia, I’ve been wondering what it must have been like to leave everything you know and cross the ocean.
So, if you put all that together, one of my main characters will leave Slovakia to come to America. She is given the responsibility of caring for a young child and delivering that child to her father upon arrival in America. They’re able to travel 2nd class on the ship, but are detained during the immigration process. (To me, the idea of traveling 3rd class (steerage) is over done, probably because of the Titanic.)
Another idea includes a sparking romance between the child’s father and the main character. I’m also considering some type of suspense – theft, murder, mistaken identity – or something like that onboard the ship with the consequences following the main character once she leaves the boat.
As I’m developing my ideas, I have a few questions for you. You can leave your answer in the comments or send me an email (kara at skalacreative dot com – insert the appropriate symbols)
1. Have you read any novels about the life of an immigrant? If so, what were the titles? What did you think of the novels?
2. Besides homesickness, what other emotional struggles do you think the main character would have?
3. In your opinion, what would make for a good conflict onboard the ship?
Thanks for taking the time to help me out! =)
Do You Listen to Music?
I find that I do concentrate better when I listen to music and have that constant steady noise. Realize that I live on a farm so at any given moment a rooster will crow, a tractor drives by, a tiller runs in the garden, a guinea lets out a yell, a dog barks etc. All of which can startle me out of my concentration. However, when music is playing I tune part of my hearing to the music and tend to miss the every day noises.
My preference as far as music choice is definitely instrumental, either classical (orchestral) or sacred with classical stylings. I’m currently ripping some CDs onto my laptop as I write so that I can create my own playlists depending on my mood and work.
My three favorite artists to listen to are James Galway (flute), Eugene Albulescu (pianist), and Joshua Bell (violin). I have an abundance of Galway music, probably because I’m a flutist and when I study a piece of music I like to hear the piece performed. Plus hearing flute music releases a certain amount of tension in my body similar to what happens when I play. I only have one of Bell’s CDs although I want to find some more. His “Romance of the Violin” is unbelievably beautiful. I also have one CD of Albulescu – “Albulescu Plays Liszt” – and I could listen to it for hours. If you aren’t into classical or piano music, I don’t recommend the CD because it is what I call heavy piano music. At times I think he may be playing all 88 keys at once!
Another favorite CD is “Character Building Classics” that mixes old hymns with classical favorites. I also enjoy “With My Song I Will Praise Thee” and a couple of others that I can’t remember the title of and I’m too lazy to get up and find.
Writer’s Note: This whole post was prompted by my discovery tonight that the headphones I use for my digital piano also fit my laptop! All I had to do was take the adapter plug off. Now I can be in the same room as my DH while he’s watching TV, and I won’t be distracted by what’s happening on TV. I’ll be wrapped up in my world of blogging / writing / editing listening to my music! I love it!
Of course, my discovery made me wonder what others prefer.Do you listen to music while you write / edit? If so, what style of music is your preference? Do you believe music inspires you or aids in your concentration?
Plodding: An Editing Journey
If you are a writer, do you ever wonder what it would be like to be an editor or what it is like on the other side of the desk? While I would love to be a writer, I know I am an editor at heart. Editing is my God-given talent. I don’t say that to sound pompous, but it comes naturally to me just how playing a piano comes naturally to some. Writing takes effort for me, probably because I can’t simply write a sentence. I have to backspace, rewrite, delete, evaluate for grammar, write again before going to the next sentence. I’m one of those people that has to have everything close to perfection before moving on.
Somewhere, and I have no clue where, I came across “categories” for writers. Some writers are plodders, some writers are sprinters, and some writers are something in the middle that I can’t remember what it’s called. I’m a plodder. I take my time. Once I finish an article or whatever I’m working on, it rarely has to be overhauled. Everything is in its proper spot and a quick once-over to catch the minor problems makes everything good. A plodder is a writer who will take about an hour to write a 250 word article and spend about 5 minutes revising it. The sprinter is the complete opposite. They want to see the finished product. They don’t care if they make mistakes; they just want the story to get on the page. The sprinter will spend 5 minutes writing the 250 words and an hour revising. They are the people that go through multiple revisions before coming to a finished product. And the writer in the middle that I can’t remember is one who is the ideal writer. The one who writes a draft, revises it, all in equal sections of time. Anyway, all of that is to say that I am a plodder when it comes to writing.
Back to editing… At any given point while working with a manuscript, I have three things running through my head, often simultaneously. First, the actual words on the page. My husband thinks I’m nuts, but I often read the manuscript aloud. This, of course, gives him the right to say that his wife talks to herself. =) I read sentences, paragraphs, sometimes whole chapters this way so I can “hear” the grammar, the flow of words. Believe it or not, I pick up on quite a few word order problems and some other things by reading aloud. At the same time my brain is processing the words, my eyes are looking for punctuation errors, misspellings and the like. Some proofreaders will actually see a comma and say “comma” but I don’t go that far – my DH would send me off to the loony bin for sure! The third thing happening is a constant lookout for logic problems, repetition, inconsistencies, ways to improve, and anything else. Each issue that is found, whether minor like a missing comma or major like repetition, has to be marked, corrected or rewritten. A rewrite requires careful attention to the author’s voice and style so the correction doesn’t stand out as written by someone else. Then the process continues on. At no point do I simply read the manuscript; no matter what stage the manuscript is in, the process is always the same.
The other day I had what turned out to be an amusing thought. I really wanted to get through the final stage and finish with this project. (Who wouldn’t since it’s been lurking around in its various stages for about six months?) So, I thought to myself, “If I can read a 300-page novel in a couple of hours, why can’t I read a 250-page manuscript the same way? Surely, I can have this whole thing done in 3-4 hours if I’m not interrupted.” I sat down with my stack of pages and proceeded to think I would be done by dinnertime. HA! In the time frame of 3-4 hours with almost no interruptions, I completed about 50 pages.
Editing is a slow, tedious process. Perhaps slower than writing. Mentally, it is exhausting. But in the end, it is equally rewarding to writing when I get to hold that printed, bound manuscript that I shared in creating. =)