I hate it. I hate it but it's the right thing to do. I hate how the things I see in my brain are not the things I'm conveying on the page. I hate that I can't impose my particular point of view on all my readers. Yet, it wouldn't be a good work of fiction if I had to go around and explain to every single reader exactly what they had to see. That's the point of reading fiction: it's a story guided by your imagination, not mine.
So... two chapters at the very beginning of The Paladin are about to be compressed into one scene. I thought it over for quite some time and realized that, while I thought it was great and showed off Jonathan's personality, the important parts can be summed up quite succinctly without all the hijinks that ensure in those chapters. Writing is fun. I absolutely love it and I hope I can parlay this novel into a full time career. But sometimes, it's not so fun to have to cut away things you love. Still, it's the only way I know I'll grow as a writer. And, I suppose, if I cut away some of these parts, it'll open up room to write newer stuff. And you know what? Writing newer stuff is fun, too. Don't Forget to be Awesome
0 Comments
Thomas Wolfe once had a conversation with Ella Winter in which the latter told him, "Don't you know you can't go home again?" This then became the title for Thomas Wolfe's book You Can't Go Home Again. Everything changes. Nostalgia is simply a facade that will never manifest again. It's true in real life and, at least I feel, that it's key to a good character.
In my novel, The Paladin, Jonathan Sutter steps into the world of the paranormal. His mentor is taken by a demon. His old life is burned away, leaving him no path back to normality. It's pretty standard in most good stories, but I wonder how much we actually reflect on it. As I grow older, the idea of not going home becomes more poignant and personal. My old home town has nothing that was there when I was growing up. My old friends moved across the country. My parents have both passed away. I have no way to recover that feeling, to relive my youth. That's a feeling we'll all have to deal with, eventually, and it's a real, human experience that can enrich a novel. It's a real condition with consequences that will affect your characters. Failing to address it will only distance those characters from your reader. Jonathan will have to learn how to deal with this new world, he'll have to find a new normal, because the life he had when he didn't know about demons, when he was just a student attending the Seminary, is a life he can never return to. Be Excellent to Each Other. This kinda came out of nowhere, but... BAM! Bonus Artwork! My artist friend decided to do a little illustration of one of her characters with one of mine. I knew the perfect pairing was Val and Katie.
If you've been reading my blog, you'll know that the first short story I put up here was called Val's Blog, a short story about a vampire named Val who helps out newbie vampires by maintaining a blog about tips and advice for surviving as a a member of the living dead. It only made sense that the best character to have meet with her would be Katie. I showed off amazing artwork of Katie just a couple days ago, so I won't go too in depth on her character, but suffice it to say, she's so enamored with learning about the paranormal and if she stumbled onto Val's Blog, she'd be an immediate fan. I love this art! It's just so perfect in character and gorgeous to boot! And, I'll admit it, it's freakin' adorable. So, I hope you enjoy the art and I'll see you guys tomorrow! DFTBA Got a great email from one of my betas. Lots of stuff to work on, but plenty of good things, too. I'm happy to say that it looks like the back half of the novel seems to be universally enjoyed, meaning I can turn my attention more fully to the front half.
It also means, however, that the same section I've been talking about seems to be the stickler with all my betas. I think I'm getting my story too bogged down with world building and end up letting details overwhelm scenes that don't need to be as long or as detailed as they are. I definitely know that this next draft is going to have a drastically different few first chapters. What's going to change? Well... I can't really tell you that, can I? But I can say this. My last beta made a suggestion that was so far out of left field for me, that I would've never considered it on my own. The longer I think about it, the more the suggestion feels like it should be the logical flow. I'm actually a little upset with myself for A) not considering it on my own, and 2) being so resistant initially. I think I've started to set my characters and my plot in stone, at least in my mind. I really need to relax and focus on the readers and remember that until the ink dries, nothing is set in stone. That means the backstory for one of my characters, another character's name, and even the motivation behind the inciting incident. All of these, firm in my mind, need to be more fluid. You know, like Bruce Lee said. "Be water my friend." Not sure how I ended up moving from Beta Readers to Bruce Lee, but still... I suppose that's just an example of being fluid and going where things lead. Or I'm rambling and it's really time to end today's blog. Definitely the former, right? Right? Be Excellent to Each Other. I've been approached to write something new between edit sessions and have decided to take up the challenge. I'm excited to try writing something, but it's not attached to The Paladin, like my last two short stories were. It's certainly in my area, between my older stories that were high fantasy and my current urban fantasy novel, so I'm not terribly worried, but I've decided to pursue this story as a specific genre I've never touched: mystery.
I love me a good Sherlock Holmes short story (more Arsene Lupin when I have the options) but I've never actually written anything like this. I'm excited, but also anxious. I've been poring over resources online to learn the ins and outs of writing a mystery (pro tip: write backwards) and I've got, maybe 40% of the plot outlined in my head. It's a lot harder than what I've been doing, which is good. The major problem is this will take some time. It's a mystery with fantasy elements, which brings things into a more familiar area for me, but it also means I have a whole slew of extra things to consider. So far, the best advice I've found, which I'm following, is that I'll need two outlines: one for what the reader will know and one for what is actually happening. To quote the Dude, there will be a lot of ins and outs. I already have a bunch of visual aids to help me keep track of things and I haven't written a single word. So what about you guys? Ever try to write outside your comfort zone? How did you approach it? DFTBA Because I love to keep you guys scratching your heads, today’s Paladin Playlist is probably as far away from last week’s as you can get and still be music. Also, in a bucking of trends, I’m not listing the official video, because the song by itself is not what caught my attention. Today is a double whammy Paladin Playlist! I present to you Die Young by Kesha, with an amazing video done by VivziePop! When I first stumbled across this video, I was stunned by the professional quality. It reminded me of some of the older studio animations of the nineties. Furthermore, it tells a perfect little story along Kesha’s music that just opened a scene in my head. One of my upcoming side projects contains a scene that is an homage to this fantastic video. So, when I’m thinking about younger characters, specifically graduating Paladins, this song is perfect to capture that night when all their hard work comes to fruition. And what would a Paladin party be if a few monsters didn’t crash it? So, enjoys VivziePop’s video to the sounds of Kesha’s Die Young. I am so thrilled about this picture. Let me just gush. She's freakin' adorable! This, ladies and gentlemen, is one Mason Katie Hooper. You see, Paladins can't do everything on their own. Remember the Clerks discussion about Stormtroopers not being able to build and maintain the Death Star? Well, the Paladins are in the same boat. They're monster hunters. They need people who can do less extravagant, more mundane tasks while still being trusted to keep the secrets of the Order. This is where the Masons come in. Now, Masons in The Paladin come in a few flavors. Some exist out in the regular world as police officers, construction workers, EMTs, and other regular people who can assist the Paladins when it all hits the fan. People who can cordon off a block, choke the media flow, and attend to injured, without needing a four hour briefing on the fact that vampires are real, but it's totally okay because they're usually pretty chill. The other kind is where Katie comes in. At their big headquarters, referred to as Stewardships, the Paladins need a lot of people running the everyday functions. People to cook, people to clean, people to help research, people to catalog samples, people to fetch magical items. You name it, there's a job out there that a Paladin can't spare the time for and that's where people like Katie Hooper come in. Except... she takes it to an extreme. Katie is officially part of the Menagerie, the name for the section of the Stewardship that houses magical creatures and whatnot. But she also works in the Archives. And keeps track of items in the "museum." And fetches artifacts for Paladins. And does research on what kind of weaknesses monsters have. Why? Certainly the Stewardship has enough Masons to keep things running, but Katie can't help herself. She LOVES her job. She throws herself into anything and everything, volunteering to take over tasks for other Masons constantly. She's inquisitive. She's helpful to a fault. And she absolutely loves animals and cryptids. If you need something looked up, retrieved, contained, or investigated, Katie is your girl. Enjoy her totes adorbness in all it's Katie goodness. And... DFTBA. Artwork by ektetrolldom.tumblr.com/
So, in honor of yet another piece of magnificent artwork, I've decided to talk a little bit about one of my characters: Simon Trevor. If you read Wolves and Wild Roses, my short story (check the extras section on the front page or click here) the name Trevor might feel familiar. That particular character, Sonia Trevor, is a direct ancestor of the beloved hunter Simon Trevor from my main novel, The Paladin. Simon is a hunter, coming from a long line of hunters, or at least he claims so. He's extremely talented and doesn't let a moment go by without reminding those around him about it. He fancies himself something of a local rock star, as well, using his monster hunter hobby as a public persona, fully realizing that no one will think he's being truthful. In a strange way, this lets him live out his real self without having to worry about the consequences. He's light on brains, but heavy on talent and, strangely, his own, twisted form of empathy. He tends to give people the benefit of the doubt and assume that others are good, and most importantly, that they like him. Obviously. Who wouldn't? Let's hit the hot button though; he's a little... overwhelming? His personality is, of course, larger than life, but he's also a shameless flirt. For anyone. Man, woman, vampire, if it has a pulse (or not, in some cases) he's down to have a good time. And he's more than willing to let you know about that, too. Abrasive, but lovable in a strange way, Simon Trevor is a character that, for good or bad, will certainly leave a lasting impact on you. Now, check him out in his full glory... Artwork by ektetrolldom.tumblr.com/
For some reason, my writing tips entries seem to garner a larger audience than my other rants, so I'll give this one an intentional try. Ahem... Now, please understand, all the advice I'm sharing is based on what I've put together on my own as well as writing advice I've garnered from those that have already been there. Take what you can, use it, and learn more through doing. So the other day I touched on character flaws and how they can make a character more relatable. I think I touched on how Superman, for me, is a more boring character than, say, Batman. Sure, Superman's been defeated, but in the end, you always know he's going to win. I suppose, to a lesser extent, you generally know that protagonists are going to win, but at least with other characters, you feel like there's a sliver of a chance of failure. Flaws allow growth. Kevin Smith, of all people, had a great quote on the whole Batman / Superman thing. Paraphrased, not all of us can be born Superman, but if we try hard enough, we can all become Batman. I think that's great and it gets to the heart of what makes a character engaging. Growth. A perfect character with zero flaws isn't going to change over the course of a novel, and as a reader, isn't that what we're in this for? We want to see this person learn, make mistakes, grow, and become a better version of themself. That's the pretty philosophical aspect of it, but what about the practical aspect? I'd like to think I'm nothing if not practical, so here's where I come at the situation from. Tension in a story is created when your character wants something and something is stopping them from getting it. Of course you can have external factors like your antagonist or nature, or whatever, but the obstacles that really touch home are when your character is facing themselves. Maybe Reagan isn't getting the cooperation of other Paladins to help with his far-fetched schemes because he's been an ass to them. Perhaps Jonathan could've helped more during that last mission if he wasn't so scared. Maybe Giz could get others to cooperate more if she was more willing to open up. The point is, when it's Man vs Man, Man vs. Nature, or Man vs Self, the last one is easily the most moving and poignant. Now, how do you decide on a good flaw for your character? The same way you deal with coming up with any obstacle. Map out your plot (YES! You need to outline your plot!) and look for moments where you can insert obstacles. It might be a car wreck in one scene or a bank robbery in another. But perhaps, when you look at the scenario, look at the characters, maybe the person's own shortcomings are the best obstacle. You may go into this with the idea that completely finished characters are simply being dropped into your story, but you can't think like that. Until you type "The End" for the last time before shipping the manuscript off to your agent, your characters are as fluid and changeable as the story itself. Maybe after your first draft you realize the protagonist has a crippling fear of dogs. Maybe it works better with the story if they're a little self-centered. Perhaps they mean well, but they're easily swayed by others. The best way to get to know your characters is to write them. And rewrite them. Also, on a side note, I've got a little treat! Check back tomorrow to learn a little bit more about some of the characters in The Paladin, such as this handsome fellow right here. That's right, new art incoming! Check back tomorrow for the first one! 'Til then, don't forget to be awesome!
Art courtesy ektetrolldom.tumblr.com/ So I'm facing a grave decision. Okay, a moderate decision. Either way, it's one that will require some time and effort to effect. See, I'm being told by a couple of my betas that there's a slow section in the front end of the novel. That's not good. People will set down the book if it gets boring quickly. Ideally, you don't want any part of your work to be slow, but I suppose if you have to have one, having it later would be better. Then, at least, your reader's already committed to finishing things.
So looking over the sections in question, I'm left with two options. My first option was removing and/or condensing them. That certainly helps with my word count problem, but it doesn't address the underlying problem, does it? There's still a part of the book that's sub-optimal. I know what I need to do. If you can read titles, you know where I'm going with this: I need to rewrite these chapters. Now, setting aside the whole word count... thing... I think I really need to rework the opening. I'm told that the sections with action are really engaging, but there's a couple narrative heavy ones that drag. So... I think I need to show off something a bit more exciting. What do I do now? It's going to be weird since I'm adding in story that doesn't (or shouldn't) affect the rest of the plot. The rest of the story is pretty set, and while I can certainly change things up, I don't want to get stuck in a never-ending loop of adding something to the front end to pick up the pacing and then having to reconfigure stuff at the end to fall in line with the new story. Gah! I swear, this whole thing is going to give me migraines. Oh well. I couldn't ask for a better source of pain than actually seeing my dreams materialize. Don't Forget to be Awesome! |
Matias TautimezKeep your eyes open for my debut novel, The Paladin. Archives
January 2023
Categories |
About the Author |
Contact |
|