Writer Silliness

Do You Do Weird Things While You Write?

I do, especially when "burn out" starts to set in like it did a couple of days ago. And this time, the "weird" consisted of making mock-up covers/ banners for my WIP when I got blocked. I hit Google images and found some clip art and wasted a couple of (surprisingly fun) hours.

There's this one, which probably makes you thing the book is vampire related, even though it's not. It's not even a particularly "dark" book. Heavy in places, but not dark.




This one gets the tone of the character, but not really the story.



This one, my current favorite WIP and the one that's shocked me with how easy it is to write it kind of obvious for what it is. (And I promise, the "wolf" part doesn't involves\ weres. It's a gothic village setting where the wolves are the doggish variety and dangerous to livestock.)It's plain and not really what I had in mind, but was the closest I could get without dragging out the prisma colors and sketch pad:




Making these made me appreciate the complexity of what a cover designer must go through when building a cover for a new book. It's a matter of tone and character and a dozen other things that I didn't take the time to hash out while I was playing. (If you've never seen the YT video of the cover designer making a cover for "Soulless", I'd suggest looking it up. It's fascinating how many layers and steps he went through.

The exercise, worked, btw. It knocked loose the writer's block, and for a finale/celebration of sorts, I made a real effort to make something that resembled an actual bookcover for the WIP that I hope will be query ready by the end of this month -- Arclight.

WORDLE!

In an attempt to seem productive today, I've made some word clouds out of my WIP. These are rough drafts, so hopefully by the time they're smoothed out, the "like" problem will be like handled.

;-P

My main WIP: Arclight --



My current favorite WIP: Wolfkiller (which has zero werecritters) --



And the WIP with my favorite character to write: Adora Adair --

POV

One question I see over and over(and over and over and over and over and over....) on writers' boards is "Which POV should I use?"

It's not a stupid question by any means, and I'm not going to belittle anyone for asking it. It's one of the first questions you have to answer when you start writing a piece and the answer may even change before you're finished. The "wrong" part of the question (which is more inexperience than wrong) comes in believing that someone else can answer this for you.

You're the only one who knows your characters and their story. You know who's in what scene and who isn't. I'm going to *try* and demonstrate the difference between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, (and hopefully not make a total idiot out of myself in the process).

Let me start with 1st person and what it isn't. 1st person isn't an excuse to filter everything through the MC's eyes, ears, and fingers. Yes, they're loaning your their thoughts for the duration of the story, but as a writer you need to get out of their head.

Think of it like an announcer at a ballgame. They don't shout "I saw the ball caught at the last second!" No, they're busy watching balls and bats and bodies to filter anything. "He's running backward, toward the wall. It's gonna be close. Maybe... maybe... could it be.... He did it! He caught the ball right at the wall. What a play!"

What 1st is especially good for is an intimate look at a character from close up when you want the reader to tag along for the whole experience. You've given them a fixed camera and that's all they can use to see and hear what's going on.

2nd person is the "oddball" POV. It's a more distant voice, transferring feeling and responsibility to a 3rd party - stage direction where you pick up the reader and shoe horn them into the story. Voice is always key, but moreso with 2nd because if you screw it up here, you lose the reader faster. In 2nd person, the reader agrees to play a part and assume the identity of your character; they're now a method actor. You know that almost cliche of "What's my motivation?" Well, screw up the voice in 2nd person, and that's where your reader's mind will go. Done well, and most can accept playing along with a character, even if it's one different from their own appearance, goals, or morals. But the instant you breach the character's appearance, goals or morals, you're done. No one wants to be a bad actor, and they k-n-o-w know that the character wouldn't do/say/think what you wrote. If they character won't do it, then neither will they.

3rd person is the "safe" voice. That's not to say it's the easiest, but for those with difficult subject matter, it's the one that puts the most distance between the reader and characters. There's a definite line that tells the reader they're not in anyone's shoes, but rather learning about them. You can use 3rd close, which fixes the POV of one character, or 3rd omni, in which your narrator sees all and knows all, but neither of these gives you an excuse to head hop at will.

So, that's it. My contribution to the definitions of POV.

There's no magic formula that will make your choice "right"; it's determined by the needs of your story. Contrary to popular belief, YA can be written in 3rd person close; 3rd omni, or even 2nd person and still work. Adult lit can be in 1st. The story decides. It's as simple as that.

What Makes a Writer?

What makes a writer 'what', you might ask.

What makes a writer tick? Swallowing a watch will do it. But be warned, the battery acid's no friend to your taste buds... yes I know this from experience. And no, I won't give you details.

What makes a writer cringe? Usually the word "Oops" uttered with any proximity to their writer-nest (yes, writers nest. We're worse than birds for trenching in.)

What makes a writer tear their hair out? Usually "Oops" followed by the screen going black - just as they were about to hit "save" after 3 hours of brilliance wherein they didn't save once.

What makes a writer want to eviscerate someone with their pen? (And by "eviscerate", I -of course- mean literary evisceration where the offender lands a staring role in the writer's next tragedy.) Finishing a book only to read their blurb on the back of one already published or in the review column for a movie.


There's a lot of ways to answer "What makes a writer" depending on how you end the question. For the sake of this post, I'll stick to a broad interpretation of what characteristics make up a writer's personality.

Traditionally, writers fit into the "loner" category. Maybe not total recluses, but writing for any extended period of time requires moments of solitude. We need quiet so those voices no one else can hear have a chance to speak. If they can't speak, we can't hear them, and then we can't tell their stories.

Writers can be moody. We get angry or elated because we're creating experiences that no one else is a part of. They happen in our heads and hearts and spill out onto our pages, but explaining that can be awkward.

Writers are actors and directors. We control the action (the characters control it, but let's pretend we control them, okay?); we set the scene. We're every member of a production crew in front of and behind the camera. We're every character and every voice, and as much as we may not like it, all of their flaws come from us as much as their triumphs.

Writers are dreamers. The first stages of writing a shiny new WIP involving sitting and thinking. This is usually the point someone thinks we're not doing anything at all and wants to either take possession of the computer or start a conversation - neither of which makes step 1 any easier.

Writers are under-appreciated. There's a semi-famous story of Louis B. Meyer (from M-G-M), who had a horrible opinion of the writers who wrote his iconic films. He didn't see the need for paid writers because in his opinion, directors and actors made the films, not the writers. This was back during the contract player days when the studios were mini-empires and no one dared speak against the emperor. That comment was the last straw for one particular writer. When the time came to hand in his next piece, he delivered a stack of blank pages to Louis and (paraphrased to remove a few colorful adjectives/anatomically impossible suggestions) told him to knock himself out.

Writers exist in a state of optimistic pessimism. There's a strange mix of hope, confidence, and self-doubt that ebbs and flows during the writing process. I wonder if writing is what set Ben Franklin's opinion that one should "Hope for the best, but expect the worst. If it doesn't happen, you'll be pleasantly surprised."

Memorial Day

I come from a family where military service is common.

My paternal grandfather was in the Army; WWII - Africa, where he survived a sniper attack. He was shot at night by a sniper taught to aim for cigarettes. Papa was in a crouch with the cig. in his hand, so that's what got hit.

My maternal great uncle was a Marine; WWII; Okinawa - 18 years old and he lost his leg above the knee. Someone tossed a potato masher into the middle of him and his friends and he threw his body on top of it. It cost him a kidney and he came home full of shrapnel. He only made it home at all because a general in the area thought he was a dead man and gave up his seat on the chopper so he wouldn't die there. He had horror stories of Naha City of the most literal kind.

His brother was Army Corps. of Engineers; Korea - they built what needed to be built when and where it needed to built whether it was possible or not.

My father tried to join every branch, but the combination of color blindness and flat feet excluded him. His brother was Navy, but never had to go active.

My maternal grandfather was one that worked for the guys making the equipment at General Dynamics; Ft. Worth. (I have a piece of the original test model for the chimp capsule he helped design the insulation for. A insulation "space sandwich", which is cool.

My paternal grandmother was an Army WAC; WWII.

After High School I was offered a spot in the Navy's nuclear sub program.

And most recently, my cousin did 3 tours in Iraq with the Marines.

Thankfully they all survived their service. Others didn't, and this weekend makes the time we honor that as well as the reasons those who didn't make it back died. It's easy to say Freedom isn't Free, but their sacrifice deserve more than that. There are as many reasons as there are fallen soldiers, but I'll focus on the big 10.

1. It's thanks to the men and women who serve that you don't have to hold your church services or Seders in darkened basements. That whatever icons are important to your religion can be displayed with pride instead of hidden in fear or made a source of shame. Thanks to them, Christmas trees and menorahs can be lit bright in the window and those who participate in the Festival of Color can enjoy their day. No one's forced to eat during Ramadan for fear of being discovered. You can wear a head scarf, but can't be forced to sew a Star-of-David on your coat. That's freedom of religion.

It's thanks to the men and women who serve that our news comes from different outlets and different angles and isn't stamped "Approved Government News". We don't have someone looming over our shoulders to make sure we don't find out what's going on in another part of the world or cleaning up opinions of our leaders. We don't notices telling us not to worry about hurricane season because our leaders took care of that problem or warning us to ignore "propaganda" that exposes short comings that could impact the public. Things like the oil spill in the gulf don't suddenly disappear from the papers as though it never happened while it continues to poison the Gulf, and you don't have to register every moment on line so someone knows where you look and what you say. That's freedom of the press.

It's thanks to the men and women who serve that we can gather together in peaceful protest and shout with a louder voice than we'd able to use on our own. We can get attention directed to the people who have no voice of their own at all and keep the spotlight on those trying to hide things that shouldn't be covered up. That's freedom of assembly.

It's thanks to the men and women who serve that you know who represents you in government and that you know where they stand on what issue. You can get together with like minded individuals and bring your wants and needs to them and if they don't act the way they think you should you can tell them your vote's going elsewhere in the next election. That's your right to petition.

2. Even though most of us will never have to use a weapon to defend our home, family or person, the men and women who serve do so to make sure that the right is there if you need it. That's the right to bear arms.

3. Those who serve do so to ensure that your home is your home and not a convenient place to park the local reserves. You have a right to a locked door that can't be breached because a person in uniform wants to use or abuse your property, family or person. That's the right not to quarter.

4. Those who serve do so to ensure you have a right to what's yours and a right to tell others that what's yours is none of their business. You have a right to security and privacy in your own home and a right to keep what belongs to you in whatever legal manner you choose inside your own space. That's the right of no illegal search and seizure.

5. Those who serve do so to ensure your right to keep your mouth shut. Government officials can't force or coerce you to say you've done something wrong, nor can they put those words in your mouth. They don't have the right to write your confession and have you sign it or take what's yours just because they want it. They have to compensate you. That's the right not to self-incriminate.

6. Those who serve do so to ensure that you aren't shuffled off in the middle of the night never to be seen or heard from again. They make sure that you get a trial where your can be heard and your face can be seen, where friends or enemies can speak on your behalf and where your fate is decided by those of your own station rather than an arbitrary decision by someone in authority. That's your right to trial by jury.

7. Those who serve do so to ensure that rights to trial don't only apply to criminal cases. They make sure that your property and business gets a chance to make their case in court with facts to support your side being presented. That's your right to civil trial by jury.

8. Those who serve do so to make sure that no official body throws a child in jail for life for stealing a meal or beats someone to death in the street as punishment. They ensure that the perpetrator of a crime is the sole recipient of the punishment, and that his/her children and spouse aren't jailed as well. They ensure that torture isn't a penalty assigned by the court and that no force to engage in the practice has the right to operate. That's your right not to have cruel and unusual punishment.

9. Those who serve do so to ensure fancy words and regulations don't outsmart common sense. That's your right retain rights not specifically listed.

10. Those who serve do so to ensure the republic remembers that it's made of many parts and that those parts have rights, too. They ensure the states remember that they are made of many people and that those people have rights, too. No right of one entity can exclude another from its rights. That's the right of state and person.


Most people know about the Bill of Rights, few can tell you what they say beyond "Pleading the 5th" or freedom of press/religion. But every one of those rights was bought and paid for in blood because the men and women who died believed they were worth protecting for their families and children and friends and strangers. Every one you over look is a death in vain because you can't exercise rights you don't know you have.

Those red stripes aren't just representative of the colonies that started this country; they're a tribute to the blood spilled to birth it and used as the ink to write the contract with its citizens.

Remember those who gave more than their fair share to make sure your got yours, and remember the gift they gave you. They don't deserve to be forgotten.

Thursday

I was having a bit of trouble deciding what to post today.

You already know I had something of an obsession with Lost. So I could show you the "ultimate" alternate ending. (sadly, not my creation.)




You've seen me as an elf:


<--- I thought maybe I'd entertain you by standing on my head. (It's so dang hard to get the shoe prints off my skull.) What's that look for? You look like you've just spotted a crazy person on the bus.


I decided to use the first 250 words (241, whatever) that I've been trying to get into the first post slot on Nathan Bransford's blog the last few weeks. If you're not familiar with how that works, the 1st post on Monday gets a full redline crit of what does and doesn't work. Here's mine; the beginning of Arclight:

All I have to do is close my eyes.

I can sneak four... make that three... minutes before the bell signals next class. Mr. Pace won't care, he's in his own world of numbers and letters, and I lost track of what he was saying half an equation ago. A nap would be great. Four minutes where the pain stops.

But then that blue bulb starts blinking again.

Everyone sits straighter in their seats. There's a pause in the cadence of Mr. Pace's words, the chalk breaks under the pressure of his halt, and his eyes flick left to the silent alarm over the window. He takes a breath, erases his mistake, and starts over.

This time, everyone listens because the sound of his voice gives us something to think about other than the the light reflecting off our desks a half-beat out of time with our hearts. It doesn't matter that the words are artificially slow, or that his voice is higher than usual, or that Mr. Pace makes another mistake.

He never makes mistakes.

We don't look sideways, because no one wants to know that everyone else is as scared as they're trying not to be. Warnings aren't supposed to last this long.

Then the blue turns violet.

Chairs scrape across the floor as we move closer to our desks, then move our desks closer to each other. Someone in the back tries to cover a whimper with a cough.

(Copyright -- Josin L. McQuein; 2010)

Lost

Well, it's over. After 6 years of chopped up seasons to draw out the time to a snails pace, Lost ended its run last night with what, in my opinion, was one of the single best series finales ever done.

I know a lot of people are upset that they didn't get a "Lost for Dummies" kind of ending that explained every nuance in detail, and I'd have loved a few more answers myself, but the mysteries always took a back seat to the characters. The characters were what people tuned in to see; the mystery was just set dressing.

IMO, the surprise reunion between Sayid and Shannon was one of the single best moments ever. And Locke forgiving Ben was up there, too. I loved the exchange between Ben and Hurley where they complimented each other on being a great #1/#2.

Beautifully done, people. There was no better way to end it than for the whole thing to come full circle with Jack and Vincent in the bamboo forest.

My one real gripe was the "cast party" ending in the church. It was unnecessary and felt tacked on. Going full circle back to Jack's eye was perfect. We didn't need the saccharine. (Minor gripes include the omission of Michael, Walt, Eko, Ana Lucia, Miles and Lapidus from the round-up scene. And I know everyone loves Desmond, but what kind of lousy parent creates a "perfect" life and forgets to bring his kid along???)


All in all, it was terrific. Thanks for 6 great seasons that kept us guessing.