Setting can be a huge factor for some books and for others not so much. The way I like to think about setting is that it is the character’s habitat. Remember how in third grade we began learning about habitats? How habitat’s shaped organisms (and yes, for the purpose of this discussion people are organisms.) So while habitats in the animal kingdom might include desert, rainforest, savannah, and streams, human habitats are a little more diverse and subtle. Human habitats not only include the physical and geographical components of your characters’ world, but encompass mindset, religious tone, economic outlook, current social thought and mores, as well.
It’s important to keep in mind just how much habitat shapes organisms, from their diet to what they use for clothing, what they do for entertainment, how they interact.
Think how differently a society--and therefore its members--evolve when they live in a desert. Now compare that to a society that's developed on an island. Think how different their creation myths are, their diet, their feelings about rain, sun, what their pets are, the material they have available for building and making clothes. All of those details will stem from the world they live in.
And don’t make the mistake of assuming this only applies to historical or fantasy books. While more subtle, even the differences between urban and suburban and rural habitats in our own time can be significant and affect such things as:
• What kids do after school
• The sounds they’re used to
• How they might react to a stranger
• What they do for recreation
• Their attitude toward other kids
Other things to consider when dealing with a contemporary, realistic setting are, Is the world of your novel a dark and edgy place? Filled with hope and grace? Normalville, USA?
If your story IS set in Normalville USA, it is even MORE important that you make your town come alive by using specific, concrete details. Does your Normalville’s main street have two liquor stores, a billiard place and a bait and tackle shop or is it lined with antique stores with a strategically placed Starbucks or two? Both main streets conveys something different: poverty vs affluence, hope versus despair. What is the crime rate in the town? Do people feel safe there? How do the citizens feel about the weather? Is a bright sunny day cause for rejoicing (Pacific NW) or merely one more in a long string of drought filled days?
The point is to consider all the different ways a habitat (setting) affects people--helps form them--then incorporate select details that help bring your setting to life and make it feel absolutely real to your readers. As an added bonus, it will also add nice complex layers to your character.
Some of the first big decisions you’ll need to nail down are:
• Whether to use the real world versus a slightly altered world versus completely new and different world
• Set in current times, or in the past or future, or in another “age” altogether
• Within the world you choose, does the character live in a small town or city
Next up? Some important questions to ask yourself as you wrestle with these issues.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Random Thoughts on a Monday Morning
For the last week I have been pulled in about eight different directions, but with two revisions due soon, and presentations to plan for, I really need to get focused. This weekend I finished up the wretched FAFSA forms. Any parent with college age offspring will recognize that dreaded name. For the uninitiated, they are basically the financial equivalent of a proctology exam.
Now that I’ve got all that done, I plan to crawl into my writerly hidey hole for the net two weeks and really roll up my sleeves. That means minimal cooking, stop reading so much dang news, which is very distracting right now with all the forecasts of doom and gloom, cut back on blog reading, the works. I do still plan to come back here though, and talk about setting, so stay tuned for that.
And here’s something I’ve been pondering today. Why is it that even when you have a song on your iPod and can listen to it any time you want, it is such a cheerful little boost to hear it on the radio?
Now that I’ve got all that done, I plan to crawl into my writerly hidey hole for the net two weeks and really roll up my sleeves. That means minimal cooking, stop reading so much dang news, which is very distracting right now with all the forecasts of doom and gloom, cut back on blog reading, the works. I do still plan to come back here though, and talk about setting, so stay tuned for that.
And here’s something I’ve been pondering today. Why is it that even when you have a song on your iPod and can listen to it any time you want, it is such a cheerful little boost to hear it on the radio?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Evoking the Right Emotion
One thing that occurred to me about names, that may or may not have bearing for you is this - One of the first decisions I make about a book, when the very first sliver of an idea begins to form is:
What emotional reaction do I want my reader to walk away with?
For me, this is one of the most important questions I grapple with when trying to decide what I want the tone of the book to be, what themes I want to explore. Oftentimes, I don’t “decide” it at all, it comes part and parcel with the idea.
But the answer to that question will color everything, from the type of action you have, to the way your characters behave, to the details you choose to highlight throughout your book, most definitely including names.
What emotional reaction do I want my reader to walk away with?
For me, this is one of the most important questions I grapple with when trying to decide what I want the tone of the book to be, what themes I want to explore. Oftentimes, I don’t “decide” it at all, it comes part and parcel with the idea.
But the answer to that question will color everything, from the type of action you have, to the way your characters behave, to the details you choose to highlight throughout your book, most definitely including names.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Names Are Destiny
Of course, one of the most obvious things names do is convey shades of character. Clearly a person named Mandy gives off an entirely different feel than one named Cassandra.
Not only can you have a lot of fun with this, you can let the names do some of the heavy lifting in terms of setting the tone. I do this a lot in the Theodosia books. It was especially fun naming the three governesses who bedevil Theo in Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris. They were short, walk on roles, so I didn’t have much space to dedicate to describing them, so I turned to their names to help set the tone of their personalities. One was unbearably repressive, another a tippling nervous wreck, and the last was a lovely looking woman, but with a vicious edge to her. The names I assigned them were Miss Chittle, Miss Sneath, and Miss Sharpe.
There is also a pompous lord named Lord Chudleigh, the chu being very reminiscent of chump.
For the Beastologist books, I wanted a family name with the venerable weight of generations and tradition behind it. But I didn’t want it to take itself too seriously, almost like an inside joke. My first choice was Dinwiddie. I’d seen that name on a billboard somewhere and fell in love with it. However, the Beastologist books are chapter books, so I needed a shorter name. I finally came up with Fludd. (Note how many of my favorite letters it has in there!) It’s short, not too common, and carries a slight sense of ridiculousness about it—especially when paired with the concept of veneration.
That’s actually something I do a lot—go far back in family history to understand where the names came from. For example, a mother who has an unusual name and hates it, will often give her daughter a more popular name. Someone who felt their name was too bland, will be inclined to give their child a more unique, individual name. Ethnic roots come into play here too, many people trying to tap into those as they name their children. Names in the 1950s were wildly different than the names we give our children now. But also the interests and focus of the family can effect names. A family of classical scholars might name their children Persephone and Augustus.
If you feel that approaching names this way feels too contrived, let me tell you that you couldn’t possibly make up the following names of REAL PEOPLE I’ve run into:
Mr. Swindle – a bank manager—no lie (and he's very upright and responsible!)
Dr. Kwacko – a doctor (Now tell me name’s aren’t destiny!)
A name I used in the Theodosia books, Fagenbush came from a kid in one of my kid’s classes back in elementary school.
Here’s an exercise I do in workshops that can be a lot of fun. Name the four following people, trying to have their names convey the attributes assigned to them:
A firm-but-fair female principal
The old, musty smelling math teacher
The boy who plays the tuba in the high school band
The girl who has been home schooled and feels socially awkward on her first day of school
Don’t forget that names aren’t limited to people. You can bring the same wealth of texture to your setting with the place names that you choose. But I’ll talk about that next week when I talk about setting
Not only can you have a lot of fun with this, you can let the names do some of the heavy lifting in terms of setting the tone. I do this a lot in the Theodosia books. It was especially fun naming the three governesses who bedevil Theo in Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris. They were short, walk on roles, so I didn’t have much space to dedicate to describing them, so I turned to their names to help set the tone of their personalities. One was unbearably repressive, another a tippling nervous wreck, and the last was a lovely looking woman, but with a vicious edge to her. The names I assigned them were Miss Chittle, Miss Sneath, and Miss Sharpe.
There is also a pompous lord named Lord Chudleigh, the chu being very reminiscent of chump.
For the Beastologist books, I wanted a family name with the venerable weight of generations and tradition behind it. But I didn’t want it to take itself too seriously, almost like an inside joke. My first choice was Dinwiddie. I’d seen that name on a billboard somewhere and fell in love with it. However, the Beastologist books are chapter books, so I needed a shorter name. I finally came up with Fludd. (Note how many of my favorite letters it has in there!) It’s short, not too common, and carries a slight sense of ridiculousness about it—especially when paired with the concept of veneration.
That’s actually something I do a lot—go far back in family history to understand where the names came from. For example, a mother who has an unusual name and hates it, will often give her daughter a more popular name. Someone who felt their name was too bland, will be inclined to give their child a more unique, individual name. Ethnic roots come into play here too, many people trying to tap into those as they name their children. Names in the 1950s were wildly different than the names we give our children now. But also the interests and focus of the family can effect names. A family of classical scholars might name their children Persephone and Augustus.
If you feel that approaching names this way feels too contrived, let me tell you that you couldn’t possibly make up the following names of REAL PEOPLE I’ve run into:
Mr. Swindle – a bank manager—no lie (and he's very upright and responsible!)
Dr. Kwacko – a doctor (Now tell me name’s aren’t destiny!)
A name I used in the Theodosia books, Fagenbush came from a kid in one of my kid’s classes back in elementary school.
Here’s an exercise I do in workshops that can be a lot of fun. Name the four following people, trying to have their names convey the attributes assigned to them:
A firm-but-fair female principal
The old, musty smelling math teacher
The boy who plays the tuba in the high school band
The girl who has been home schooled and feels socially awkward on her first day of school
Don’t forget that names aren’t limited to people. You can bring the same wealth of texture to your setting with the place names that you choose. But I’ll talk about that next week when I talk about setting
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
What's In A Name? A lot!
Forgive me blogger, for I have sinned. I have been a very boring blogger lately, and I apologize!! Profusely, no less.
To make it up to you, I promise to talk about meaty subjects for the next few weeks. Of course, many of you will have wandered away, (and rightly so) bored to tears by the lack of anything new going on here. That’s okay. Someday, in the distant future, you may wander back here and be happily surprised.
I thought I’d spent this week talking about names. Names you say? How is that a meaty subject?
Well, I get a fair amount of email asking me how I come up with the names in my book. For me, naming is a huge part of character. In fact, I cannot get very far in a novel until I have the correct name. I can be brainstorming and jotting down plot notes and some basic character sketching but until the true name clicks, I’m rudderless. The character doesn’t become real to me until that name solidifies.
The truth is, names matter. A lot. Both in real life and in fiction. So much goes into a name; parental hopes, ancestry, gender, ethnicity, and social status.
Because names carry all that weight, they can also be a hugely valuable tool in terms of world-building, setting an emotional tone, creating an integrated setting, and of course, characterization. The right name can also help anchor us in the story world, whether it be historical or contemporary or Other. Think how different the name Araminta is from Jennifer, or Carradoc is from Justin.
Plus all words have connotations, even names. The way they sound, feel, roll around in our mouths as we say them. All those elements affect how we perceive a name as well. As writers, we can use that, make it work for us. The names can do a significant amount of “showing” so we don’t have to waste time “telling.”
And then some letters are just funnier than others. I think u is the funniest of the vowels. Perhaps it's something as juvenile as being reminiscent of certain forbidden words, or hearkens back to the ugh of the caveman. I don’t know, but it amuses me.
There are also certain consonants that are funny (b, f, d, g, k) and others that are stately (s, t, r, c) and others still whose sound brings a lot to the table, (b, g, s, l, z) Let those inherent qualities in letters work for you as you choose your names.
(Of course, now you all know how slightly whacked I am about letters, but that can’t be helped.)
Tomorrow we'll talk about the different way names help convey shades of character.
p.s. Also, Mary Hershey and I are guest blogging today over on Becky Levine's blog about marketing tips for when you're pre-published, in case that's something you're interested in.
To make it up to you, I promise to talk about meaty subjects for the next few weeks. Of course, many of you will have wandered away, (and rightly so) bored to tears by the lack of anything new going on here. That’s okay. Someday, in the distant future, you may wander back here and be happily surprised.
I thought I’d spent this week talking about names. Names you say? How is that a meaty subject?
Well, I get a fair amount of email asking me how I come up with the names in my book. For me, naming is a huge part of character. In fact, I cannot get very far in a novel until I have the correct name. I can be brainstorming and jotting down plot notes and some basic character sketching but until the true name clicks, I’m rudderless. The character doesn’t become real to me until that name solidifies.
The truth is, names matter. A lot. Both in real life and in fiction. So much goes into a name; parental hopes, ancestry, gender, ethnicity, and social status.
Because names carry all that weight, they can also be a hugely valuable tool in terms of world-building, setting an emotional tone, creating an integrated setting, and of course, characterization. The right name can also help anchor us in the story world, whether it be historical or contemporary or Other. Think how different the name Araminta is from Jennifer, or Carradoc is from Justin.
Plus all words have connotations, even names. The way they sound, feel, roll around in our mouths as we say them. All those elements affect how we perceive a name as well. As writers, we can use that, make it work for us. The names can do a significant amount of “showing” so we don’t have to waste time “telling.”
And then some letters are just funnier than others. I think u is the funniest of the vowels. Perhaps it's something as juvenile as being reminiscent of certain forbidden words, or hearkens back to the ugh of the caveman. I don’t know, but it amuses me.
There are also certain consonants that are funny (b, f, d, g, k) and others that are stately (s, t, r, c) and others still whose sound brings a lot to the table, (b, g, s, l, z) Let those inherent qualities in letters work for you as you choose your names.
(Of course, now you all know how slightly whacked I am about letters, but that can’t be helped.)
Tomorrow we'll talk about the different way names help convey shades of character.
p.s. Also, Mary Hershey and I are guest blogging today over on Becky Levine's blog about marketing tips for when you're pre-published, in case that's something you're interested in.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Of Plot Threads and Sub Plots
Now that I’m diving into revisions for Theo 3, I’ve been thinking a lot about subplots. I tend to have a lot of them in the Theodosia books. Actually, what I have in the Theodosia books aren’t so much subplots as they are plot threads, which may be a distinction only I get, but it’s important to me.
I think of subplots as plots that are totally separate from the protagonist—say a love story involving the best friend, or a sibling dealing with a bully at school.
A plot thread, on the other hand, is simply another area of the protagonist’s life that the main plot affects. So using Theo as an example, the main plot is her dealing with some horribly cursed artifact. However, her actions in dealing with that impact her relationship with her parents, the other curators, her brother, and her grandmother, ergo plot threads rather than subplots.
For a really specific example, in Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris, Theo’s dealings with the Arcane Order of the Black Sun is a plot thread because it is a consequence of Theo’s primary actions in dealing with the story problem. The governesses aren’t a subplot either because their appearance in her life is caused by Theo’s behavior as she tries to cope with the story problem. In fact, the only true subplot in that book is Will and the Grim Nipper, because that dynamic is entirely separate from Theo’s actions. However, like all subplots should, it does intersect the main plot at the end. This is probably a fairly fine distinction, but one that feels important to me.
In Werewolf Rising, the Luna and Ranger relationship is a subplot and truthfully, probably doesn’t intersect back with the main plot as solidly as it should. It was, however, an effective way to show the social constraints of living in a wolf pack, rather than just tell of the rules, so in that way I think it worked as an echo of the themes Luc was dealing with; would he submit to blind obedience like Luna, the most extreme example of what that total submission could cost an individual?
It seems to me that good subplots should foreshadow the protagonist’s struggle, act as an echo of the themes the protagonist is dealing with, set up a foil, or illustrate the road not taken.
In Theo 3 I have five (okay, five and a half) plot threads. However, because of the greater amount of character development in these books, one of the plot threads has almost turned into a subplot: Stilton and his relationship with the Black Sun. Initially, it was a plot thread because Theo came under their attention due to her curse-removing actions, but the more time we’ve spent with Stilton, the more he’s developed as a character in his own right, and now has his own arc which, again, echoes some of the themes Theo is dealing with, and intersects with the main plot at the end.
One of the reasons this distinction is important to me is because I don’t think all books need subplots—a second plot line separate from the protagonist’s—but I do think most books need plot threads. The story needs to show us how the main story problem affects the characters in all aspects of their lives. Because the truth is, if something happens in our life that is momentous enough to cause us to change, that change is going to reverberate throughout all facets of our lives. You know how it is. When something happens to you, an accident, you lose your job, you have a major fight with your best friend, it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You still have to relate to your parents or your spouse or your children, you still have to show up at work, do you chores, get to school every day. And because we’re human, the emotional tension and ripples caused by the main problem are felt in the other areas of our lives. And I think by pulling this into the story, it gives a more richly textured plot AND character—those plot threads SHOW the character in the act of changing and dealing with the main problem.
It also helps with causality. Often the characters own actions are what make her situation worse (because really, aren’t we all our own worst enemy?) So by making sure the plot affects all areas of a character’s life, you give yourself lots of opportunity for the character to make things worse for herself.
I think of subplots as plots that are totally separate from the protagonist—say a love story involving the best friend, or a sibling dealing with a bully at school.
A plot thread, on the other hand, is simply another area of the protagonist’s life that the main plot affects. So using Theo as an example, the main plot is her dealing with some horribly cursed artifact. However, her actions in dealing with that impact her relationship with her parents, the other curators, her brother, and her grandmother, ergo plot threads rather than subplots.
For a really specific example, in Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris, Theo’s dealings with the Arcane Order of the Black Sun is a plot thread because it is a consequence of Theo’s primary actions in dealing with the story problem. The governesses aren’t a subplot either because their appearance in her life is caused by Theo’s behavior as she tries to cope with the story problem. In fact, the only true subplot in that book is Will and the Grim Nipper, because that dynamic is entirely separate from Theo’s actions. However, like all subplots should, it does intersect the main plot at the end. This is probably a fairly fine distinction, but one that feels important to me.
In Werewolf Rising, the Luna and Ranger relationship is a subplot and truthfully, probably doesn’t intersect back with the main plot as solidly as it should. It was, however, an effective way to show the social constraints of living in a wolf pack, rather than just tell of the rules, so in that way I think it worked as an echo of the themes Luc was dealing with; would he submit to blind obedience like Luna, the most extreme example of what that total submission could cost an individual?
It seems to me that good subplots should foreshadow the protagonist’s struggle, act as an echo of the themes the protagonist is dealing with, set up a foil, or illustrate the road not taken.
In Theo 3 I have five (okay, five and a half) plot threads. However, because of the greater amount of character development in these books, one of the plot threads has almost turned into a subplot: Stilton and his relationship with the Black Sun. Initially, it was a plot thread because Theo came under their attention due to her curse-removing actions, but the more time we’ve spent with Stilton, the more he’s developed as a character in his own right, and now has his own arc which, again, echoes some of the themes Theo is dealing with, and intersects with the main plot at the end.
One of the reasons this distinction is important to me is because I don’t think all books need subplots—a second plot line separate from the protagonist’s—but I do think most books need plot threads. The story needs to show us how the main story problem affects the characters in all aspects of their lives. Because the truth is, if something happens in our life that is momentous enough to cause us to change, that change is going to reverberate throughout all facets of our lives. You know how it is. When something happens to you, an accident, you lose your job, you have a major fight with your best friend, it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You still have to relate to your parents or your spouse or your children, you still have to show up at work, do you chores, get to school every day. And because we’re human, the emotional tension and ripples caused by the main problem are felt in the other areas of our lives. And I think by pulling this into the story, it gives a more richly textured plot AND character—those plot threads SHOW the character in the act of changing and dealing with the main problem.
It also helps with causality. Often the characters own actions are what make her situation worse (because really, aren’t we all our own worst enemy?) So by making sure the plot affects all areas of a character’s life, you give yourself lots of opportunity for the character to make things worse for herself.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A Reading Fool
I haven't been on a reading bender like this in years. Love. It. It reminds me of summer vacation when I was a kid and the minute school's out you know there's nothing between you and all those lovely books you can't wait to read.
I've been reading a lot of YA, which isn't surprising since I have a YA in the mental hopper at the moment. And a lot of fae stories, which is a bit of a surprise. My guess is that I have one of those gestating down in my subconscious' depths.
Sadly, there have been a handful of books I've put down about 25% of the way in. I'm hoping once this initial reading frenzy has subsided, I'll be able to enjoy more leisurely reads. The problem I run into with each of these books that I've put down is that there is no escalation in tension, which is the third scenario I referred to in last week's post.
I have discovered that I read first for voice, then character, then plot, but really I need all three to keep going. Even if the voice is there and I love the characters, chances are if I don't get a sense of forward movement or tightening tension by about the quarter way mark, I'll put the book down. Not always, but often. Yes, I realize this reflects poorly on me as a reader. However, I'm trying to turn it into a lesson I can take back to my own writing. :-)
The thing is,it doesn't have to be bang up action, but some sort of tension, a sense that things are about to get worse for the characters, that forces are gathering just outside their vision, that they're about to walk into a trap, that something is going to happen and it's going to make things worse in some way--it can be either emotional or physical. Some forward momentum. The funny thing is, even if a book stars with a bang or tense action scene, it still has to escalate to keep my attention; it can't be a one note drum beat of the same level of tension throughout, even if you start out high, you need to leave yourself someplace to go.
So now that I've figured that out, I need to go see how it applies to my own works in progress.
And in very happy news, I finally heard back from one of my beta readers on Theo 3. It doesn't' suck! Yeay!
I've been reading a lot of YA, which isn't surprising since I have a YA in the mental hopper at the moment. And a lot of fae stories, which is a bit of a surprise. My guess is that I have one of those gestating down in my subconscious' depths.
Sadly, there have been a handful of books I've put down about 25% of the way in. I'm hoping once this initial reading frenzy has subsided, I'll be able to enjoy more leisurely reads. The problem I run into with each of these books that I've put down is that there is no escalation in tension, which is the third scenario I referred to in last week's post.
I have discovered that I read first for voice, then character, then plot, but really I need all three to keep going. Even if the voice is there and I love the characters, chances are if I don't get a sense of forward movement or tightening tension by about the quarter way mark, I'll put the book down. Not always, but often. Yes, I realize this reflects poorly on me as a reader. However, I'm trying to turn it into a lesson I can take back to my own writing. :-)
The thing is,it doesn't have to be bang up action, but some sort of tension, a sense that things are about to get worse for the characters, that forces are gathering just outside their vision, that they're about to walk into a trap, that something is going to happen and it's going to make things worse in some way--it can be either emotional or physical. Some forward momentum. The funny thing is, even if a book stars with a bang or tense action scene, it still has to escalate to keep my attention; it can't be a one note drum beat of the same level of tension throughout, even if you start out high, you need to leave yourself someplace to go.
So now that I've figured that out, I need to go see how it applies to my own works in progress.
And in very happy news, I finally heard back from one of my beta readers on Theo 3. It doesn't' suck! Yeay!
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