Writing Risky and Relevant Topics (and why you should, even in your non-modern settings)

Genocide? Substance abuse? Racism? Addiction? Mental illness? Yep! They're all here, in my very own medieval fantasy novel.

"WAIT," you're probably saying out loud to your empty bedroom. "SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL ILLNESS AND ADDICTION IN A MEDIEVAL FANTASY NOVEL??? IMPOSSIBLE!!! AND WHY???" That is a questions I have come to answer.

(Note: When I say "your story's theme", I am referring to the main point your novel is trying to get across. You know, like, "Love conquers all" or "Best friends are forever" or whatever. If you don't know your story's theme, that's okay. I don't know any of my stories' themes either.)



WHY YOU SHOULD INCLUDE RISKY TOPICS IN ALL (OR YOU KNOW, SOME) OF YOUR WRITING

So you may have noticed that some fantasy, sci-fi, historic-based, or what-have-you novels can sometimes be difficult to relate to. I think this is because of the lack of relevant themes within them. The setting is obviously alien, and sometimes the characters can be vastly different from the modern ideal, which makes it difficult for the reader to connect to the story. How does the author fix this problem?

The truth is that topics labeled "risky" (or just difficult to write), like racism, substance abuse, mental illness, and even gender and sexuality, are extremely relevant to today's readers. It's something that most people recognize and spend a lot of thought on--and some even relate to the issues brought up by these themes. Here's my case: topics like these have a place in EVERY genre of writing, not just modern or contemporary.

Imagine a young prince addicted to dark magic. He tried to get away from this power before, but in an attempt to heal his dying dragon, he was forced to come in contact with dark magic again. Just one touch threw him into withdrawals, and his addiction rose to the surface as he slipped further and further into dark magic's grips. Tada; you were just exposed to substance abuse and addiction in a medieval fantasy! (That may or may not have occurred in my novel The Cycle of Time, so don't steal my ideas.)

But why bother? What's the gain in including topics like these in your writing? And what will readers potentially learn from you writing about stuff like this?




BENEFITS: READER CONNECTION

By writing about risky, relevant, or controversial topics, you will be allowing your readers a point of access into the very heart of your novel. Risky and controversial topics provide something for your readers to open debates and discussions over, and depending on how you deal with such themes, could lead towards insights on how to resolve, accept, or deal with issues like addiction, racism, mental illness, etc. Writing about risky topics could also shed light on the topic itself, with the right viewpoint, and perhaps move a reader to do something to change either his own opinions/ideas or attempt to change someone else's opinions/ideas.

Depending on how you deal with your topic of choice (wether negatively, positively, or just neutrally), you will provide your reader with a point of view on the issue at hand. She will either learn how to love or how to hate what you're writing about. Don't be afraid to open up a new point of view on such themes. Maybe racism isn't just against African-American, Arabic, and Asian peoples. Do Europeans, Americans, Canadians, maybe even Peruvians experience it as well? And what about gender roles? What if a man is sensitive, sweet, and tends towards the emotional but is still confident in his masculinity? And what if the mentally ill feel just as deeply as we do? Not just soldiers and war vets get PTSD. And what if the addicted hate what they're addicted to?




BENEFITS: STORY THEME AND SUBJECT SUPPORT

Relevant themes like mental illness, gender roles, and racism provide a backbone for your story's theme. Even if it seems like the topic doesn't fit with your theme at first, you'd be surprised at how you can stretch and mold it to fill the gaps in your subject matter--which will provide you a richer and fuller story. Not only that, but the subject matter brought up by the presence of these risky topics could either support or defy your theme; both are constructive qualities of a good piece of writing.




BENEFITS: CONFLICT & SUBPLOT POSSIBILITIES

Maybe you're one of the (admittedly and regrettably rare) writers who include an Arabic or African-American character in your MC's posse, but none of your charries really acknowledge the character's race or ethnicity. However, imagine having just one--or maybe a few--characters who express racism towards that characters. Imagine the possibilities for conflict and character development that one little tweak would open up! YOU COULD HAVE ENTIRE HUGE FIGHT SCENES BETWEEN A CHARACTER AND HIS RACIST BEST FRIEND ONLY TO HAVE THE ETHNIC CHARACTER STAND UP AND SAY WHO CARES?!?!?! THEN THAT'S A WHOLE LIKE MESSAGE OF STANDING UP FOR YOURSELF, STANDING UP AGAINST RACISM, ETC. RIGHT THERE!!!

OOOORRR imagine having a character who simply likes to smoke, but his girlfriend doesn't like it and tries to get him to stop throughout the book. It could be a trivial and simple little subplot including cutesy scenes where the girlfriend tosses the boyfriend's cigarettes and he goes days without one and gets incredibly grumpy and uptight, but it would still be touching on addiction and, if shed in a negative light, could lightheartedly express the dangers and drawbacks of smoking.

These are tiny tweaks that could very well add that extra oomph to your novel, provide opportunities for character and story development, and offer a way to provide extra insight into your novel's theme.




BUUUUT...

In no way should you change your entire book's theme to fit one of these topics. Whatever message you choose (or your story chooses) for your book is special and entirely yours. What adding risky topics adds is a venue for reader relation, connection, and insight. Some books just don't call for this type of writing, and that's entirely okay. However, keep in mind that in order to say something with your writing, you may have to step out of your comfort zone (heck, look at me, a conservative Christian girl, who has a character who smoked, did drugs, abused alcohol, has tattoos, has a dirty mouth and mind, and is in no way a chaste Catholic boy [you probably know who I'm talkin' about {especially you, Kel. You know.}]). Don't be afraid to try new things; you may find you have something important to say.




AND I INCLUDE THESE IN NON-MODERN SETTINGS HOW...?

Good question, but not one I can explicitly answer. It all depends on your setting. Get creative! See how you can include these topics without compromising parts of your plot. Use a substance native to your fantasy setting to create addiction like I did with black magic, or create your own mental illness based on staying in space too long for your sci-fi. Maybe you created your own races for your setting; good for you! Use that to your advantage and create rifts between ethnicities! It's all up to your sense of creativity now. Go out and show the world what you're made of!




NON-EXTENSIVE LIST OF RISKY/CONTROVERSIAL/RELEVANT TOPICS (FOR INSPIRATION PURPOSES):

• racism
• genocide
• mental illness (autism, downs syndrome, aspergers)
• disease (AIDS, HIV, brain/heart disease, cancer, etc)
• addiction
• substance abuse
• mental abuse
• domestic violence/abuse
• sexuality
• gender roles
• eating disorders
• suicide/self harm
• domestic neglect
• abortion
• religious ideals
• religious oppression
• religion in general really
• gambling
• introversion (can someone please make it a positive/neutral trait and not negative)

New Look & News

I promised a post on writing "risky" topics like racism, genocide, substance abuse, etc. via Twitter, and I will not disappoint you, faithful readers. However, I thought it best to explain the new look (and why I haven't been present in the past month).

A new look was promised in October via Twitter, but I did not deliver...so now, I present to you the new and updated INKSPOT. Inkspot is now a fully functional artsy-looking blog with it's own hashtag (#inkspot) and even a fancy new FAQs and EDITING page set up on the top taps bar. I changed up the design of the blog in an attempt to make it look more clean-cut and professional without being too girly (ahem the pink of the last design) or too amateur (ahem the pink of the last design). It took a few hours to finish the look; I even tried downloading fancy blogger templates, but obviously that didn't work out too well. I was forced to design it based on my limited technical abilities and the extremely small gallery of blogger templates/fonts/colors/designs. I'm pretty happy with the result.

With a new look comes a new focus, and that focus is simply re-stating the previously developed purpose of this blog--to provide fun, insightful, unique, and quality informational posts on all things writing. Based on some of the comments I've received over the years, I've learned how to hone the strengths of this blog to create something my readers have referred to as "non-preachy" and "relatable"--which I think are awesome words to describe what I'm trying to do. My purpose is to provide thoughtful help and tips with a fun twist, not to preach to the masses and demand to be respected. We're all in this writing adventure together, and I'm positive I have as much to learn from you as you have to learn from me.

That being said, welcome to Inkspot. Thanks for hanging with me for these three years. I hope you plan to stay a little longer, because there are some fun things up ahead!

Sneak Peek into the Future:

• Post on including risky topics like racism, genocide, addiction, abuse, mental illness, etc. even in your fantasy/sci-fi/non-modern-based novels
• Post on appreciating movies separately from their books
• Writing contests, polls, prompt games, and more
• New editing offer--send your stuff to me to get edited! (see EDITING page)
• New FAQs page
• Posting more of my own writing--including poems and excerpts
• Posting more of YOUR writing--via contests and prompt games

It's gonna be a fun year, ya'll.

Until next time!

~Ana

Ana has Joined the Twitter

Behold, I have joined the Twitter. Yet another social networking platform has been invaded by my insanity.

But there's just one problem...

I CANT FIND ANYONE ON THERE!!!

Where are you guys?!?!??!

YOU HAVE TO COME FOLLOW ME SO I CAN HAVE FRIENDS!!!

My username is @anacrossbooks so come find me so I can find all you lovely peoples. Follow backs are promised, I just want some more awesome people I can follow. :)

I promise a real post will come very very soon. Until then...

SIANARA, SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG.

How to be a Writer

So we all know that there are many many different archetypes for writers. There is, of course, the elderly scholar, the hipster, the coffeeholic, the lazy man, the passionate grammar robot, and many more. Today (for utter lack of researching for good topic abilities due to my computer being a potato [see last post since my phone apparently can't link text]) we will be examining as a whole what exactly it takes to be a writer.

1. Drink Coffee

This is an absolute must if you are truly going to be a writer. Coffee is the soul food of book nerds everywhere. Food? Drink? Soul drink? Whatever, you know what I mean. Either way, the need for caffeine is real and dangerous.

On a side note: do not get inbetween a writer and his coffee. Ever.

2. Read a lot of random (and often bad) fiction.

You simply cannot skip this step. The writer feeds off the writing of others. It spurs those necessary explosions of inspiration that writers work off of. It's just necessary.

Not only that, but reading a lot helps improve your writing and style too. As a writer, reading is an act of imbibing information. Whether you're taking notes on word usage, praising sentence rhythms, or simply busy being horrified at a lack of character development, you're learning how to better your own writing. So, basically, reading is like teaching yourself how to write.

3. Watch Netflix a lot

Writers watch Netflix a lot. Because it helps us come up with cool scene ideas and stuff. Not because procrastination. Never. Writers never procrastinate.

4. Procrastinate

A writer's number one hobby is procrastination. Writers procrastinate more than any other type of person on the planet. Why? Well, trying to plumb the depths of human condition is a daunting job and some of us are a little overwhelmed by it.

5. Murder frequently

Murder is inevitable as a writer. If you don't murder someone (fictional or non) at some point during your writing process then surely you are doing something wrong.

6. Text friends freaky facts during the www hours of the morning

This is just one of the many downfalls of being a writer.

7. Crying over old writing

8. Crying over new writing

9. Crying over thinking about writing

10. Actually hating writing

The sad truth is most writers actually hate writing. We just have an innate inability to not write.

And last but not least:

6. Never actually writing ever

The number one popular mistake people make when referring to writers is that they actually write. Wrong! Writers are notorious for their complete lack of actual writing. The number of writers who don't write far outweigh the number of writers who do. It is a sad fact of life. There is no escaping this.

So, do you too do these things? Well then, my friend, you may actually be a writer! Don't be afraid to tell your parents; I'm sure they will accept you for who you are. :)))))))))))

LAST CALL!!! Beta-Readers Unite!!!

ATTENTION: THIS IS THE FINAL CALL FOR BETA READER PROFILES TO BE SENT TO ME FOR INCLUSION IN THE JOURNEY BETA READER PROGRAM!!!


IF YOU HAVE NOT SIGNED UP YET AND WISH TO, TODAY IS YOUR FINAL OPPORTUNITY.


THE PROGRAM BEGINS TOMORROW!!!!!


PLEASE REFER TO THIS POST FOR RULES AND PROFILE REQUIREMENTS.


THANK YOU!!!

Calling All Beta-Readers! Apply now for a chance to beta-read "The Cycle of Time: The Journey"

Hello, my peoples! I am hereby calling ALL THE BETA READERS!

With The Journey (link leads to info on book) finished and edited until my head hurts, I think it's time for some new perspectives. Thus, I am calling on the help of 20 beta readers to properly edit and give feedback on The Cycle of Time: The Journey (link leads to info on book). Participants are looking at an exclusive chance to read The Journey before the general public, as well as some other perks, such as:

• With consent, beta readers will be mentioned (by name or by email/internet name) in the published version of The Journey's "Acknowledgments" page
• A personalized blog to discuss the book with other beta readers
• A little badge of my own creation that will probably completely stink for internet awesomeness purposes
• My eternal love
• Chances to be first-choice to beta read upcoming novels/short stories/etc of mine as I finish them
• If you want, you can receive a print copy of the novel you are editing when the beta reading is over

If you are interested, here are the details:

The Journey Beta-Reading Program

The Cycle of Time: The Journey (Long) Synopsis

Darkness is nearer than the land of Janíza knows. Fire Eye, the ruthless ruler, is weakening the cities, and before the people will be able to react, everything they know will vanish.

Alli and Dirco, two orphans living in the slums of a secluded village, live in this time. Dirco barely makes enough money from his storytelling to feed them both. Just when Alli is beginning to wonder where their next meal will take place, a stranger appears and hires them to travel with him, claiming he is interested in Dirco's stories. Things only become darker and stranger from there, as both Alli and Dirco are thrown into the midst of a ongoing war that seems to revolve around Dan, the stranger.

Now neck-deep in a battle that began far before either of them were born, Alli and Dirco struggle to survive as Dan pulls them from one end of Janíza to the other. Questions arise, but he avoids them and insists they keep close. Alli knows Dan isn't who he says he is, but is too scared to ask herself who he could really be. When she is suddenly forced to question everything she has ever known, will she have the strength to fight or will she hide forever in the small village of Geggon?

The Cycle of Time has just begun. The tests have just started. Before she knows it, Alli will be thrust into a strange new world. If she and Dirco don't accept, all will be lost.

Qualifications:

1. You must be able to read and write fluently in English.
2. You must be at least 13 years of age for reasons.
3. You must have a Google account in order to reach Google Docs, which is where the beta reading will be taking place.
4. Applicants must have consistent access to the internet via laptop/computer.
5. All participants will be required to read and sign some official stuff that says you can't copy my work (because it IS officially copyrighted) and that you won't blab about my storyline to the whole internet. You will be allowed to discuss whatever you want on your given blog, but outside of that I will request you keep silent. You will be allowed to say that you are in the Beta Reader Program and such but no details leaked, please! Doing so will result in instant rejection from the program.
6. You must give consent to publish your name (in whatever form you like) in the published version of The Journey. If you don't want this, that's fine too.
7. Only one applicant per household. Literary agents, editors, or employees of ANY publishing company are not eligible to participate in the program. An false information will result in instant rejection.
8. You must, of course, have at least some history in writing/reading. I will be asking some pretty deep questions for you to answer, so you have to have some knowledge on how storylines and character arcs work in order to properly give good feedback.

The Beta Reader Program:

• The application window opens at the posting of this post (so now) and closes on April 24, 2015 at 11:59am Eastern Time. All those accepted will receive the Beta Reader Program Official Email of Awesomeness.

• Readers will be provided the url to their blog and their Beta Reader Program Packet if they are selected to participate.

• The Beta Reader Program will begin when I post the first installment on Google Docs, which will most likely be in early May. The book is over 22 chapters long, so I will be posting multiple chapters at a time for about 6-8 weeks during the summer.

• Beta readers will be provided several chapters of The Journey every Sunday night between the hours of 9-11:00pm. Reader assessments must be turned in by 11:59pm the following Sunday night. (Of course I'm a busy person too so if you miss this deadline it's cool. As long as you get them in sometime during the next week.) As long as readers continue to comment on the works and turn in their readers assessments, they will continue to be able to post on the blog.

• You will have continued access to the blog after the program is over. I'm not gonna take that away from you, don't worry.

• When I finish any other books, you will have first chance to continue your beta reading.

• While I will never edit content of any posts or comments submitted to your special blog, I will not tolerate hate speech, overtly political messages, or slanderous comments aimed at me, other authors, fans, Beta Readers, or individuals. Any such behavior which intentionally violates the spirit or function of the Beta Reader Program will result in the offender being removed from the Beta Reader Program. And I will also find you. And ruin your Netflix connection while you are trying to watch that one show. Yeah, that's right, I mean business.

Application Details:

Please send all applications to acrossbooks@gmail.com

To apply, please provide the following (star * indicates categories not required, but highly suggested for my own personal research. I promise I won't use any information you send to advertise to you, send to any third parties, or any such cruelties that the rest of the world does. I just like to know who my audience is and how they are responding.):

• Age (must be at least 13)
• Name (at least internet name/username/fake name/nickname. I need something to call you by if you don't want to give me your real name.)
• Whether you want your name mentioned in the acknowledgments in the published version of The Journey or not
• *Gender (male, female, unspecified)
• *Preferred reading genre (fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian, medieval, modern, etc. If you don't know, just list some of your favorite books!)
• Writing/editing background: Basically, I'm asking if you have any history in the general framework of understanding how a story works. If you don't, hey, I'm not expecting too many applications so go ahead and apply anyway. If I don't get over 20 applications then I will accept all applications that come in. All you really need is a willingness to be as honest as possible while reading through my novel. :)
• *How did you find out about The Journey Beta-Reading Program (Pinterest, this blog, etc.)
• What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
• On a scale of one to ten, how much do you like Lord of the Rings? (sorry guys, I need to know these things. No optionalness.)

If there are any questions, please comment below or email me at acrossbooks@gmail.com

I like emails.

I won't bite, I promise.

Good luck and may the Force be with you, Luke!

Writer's Block: Fear of Failure

Today, since I have done nothing but write essays, I present to you an essay about Writer's Block So, behold. Enjoy. Ignore documentation. It's necessary.

(Also ignore bit CITATION things. That's me being too lazy right now to figure out how to document websites with no author and no page number.)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I banged my head on my desk and groaned. It was midnight on a school night, and here I was, sitting alone, my workspace illuminated only by a silver desk lamp hovering over my laptop. A blank document blared white light on my face on my laptop screen, where I had just left an sentenced unfinished. A verb dangled like a rock climber without equipment, threatening to fall into the blank emptiness below if I didn’t block its exit with a period. What on earth did I think I was doing?  Did I actually think I could finish this novel before my eighteenth birthday? Sure, I was seven years into it, but I had over four hundred pages typed and I was far from finishing.

I’ve had writer’s block for nearly a year…and I’m not talking about the writer’s block some authors (including myself) have claimed when they’re really just lazy. I’m talking about full-on, physically painful writer’s block that begins to make you wonder if you’re really a writer at all. Writer’s block is defined as “a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece” (Merriam-Webster). All who have done any sort of writing—essays, emails, letters, stories, poems—have suffered from it. Some, like best-selling author Tom Clancy, claim writer’s block is “pure laziness,” because he can finish a novel in a year and a half and only get writer’s block for “11 minutes” (qtd. in Hiaasen 3E). For some, this may be true. For others, though, writer’s block is a much more real threat.

Writer’s block can be caused by an array of different things. Loss of interest in a piece is one of the main problems, in which there is only one solution: Write something else. When you are interested and excited about writing something, however, and freeze up whenever you sit down to actually write it, something besides laziness or disinterest is at work. Art correspondent for the South Florida Sun, Rob Hiassan, diagnoses writer’s block as such:

“Fear — that’s the rub. Writers often fear their writing isn’t any good. Writers are fearful that others won’t like their work. They fear their best work is behind them, waving at them in the rearview mirror and laughing. Behind the scenes of great literature have been writers battling great periods of creative dormancy. William Shakespeare suffered ‘the utter pain of blank . . .’” (3E).

Seems legitimate, right? I came to realize this painful truth while writing the end of my first novel. I poured my heart into four hundred pages of prose, and when it came time to tie it all together into one heart-rending conclusion, I was terrified that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations, or that if I didn’t write the absolute perfect ending, my entire novel would dwindle off into mediocrity.

Other fears are sure to cause writer’s block as well. Award-winning thriller writer William Deverell talks about his own experience with fear and writer’s block, explaining, “My fear was, my Can-Litish father would disapprove if I wrote in the genre which I eventually did” (qtd. in Ross C.7). J.K. Rowling, world-renown best-selling author of the hugely popular Harry Potter series, even suffered paralyzing writer’s block, explaining, “I’ve only suffered writer’s block badly once, and that was during the writing of Chamber of Secrets. I had my first burst of publicity about the first book and it paralyzed me. I was scared the second book wouldn’t measure up . . .” (CITATION)

This fear of failure paralyzes writers perhaps worst of all. Dancers can save a flawed performance with just a few perfectly executed moves. In art, nearly anything goes. In writing, a bad work can’t be saved by a few good lines. In writing, everything must be constructed perfectly to represent reasonable thought. Stories must have a sense of believability to them, and characters must be as realistic as possible (and people wonder why writer’s have issues).

Could there possibly be a cure for writer’s block, then? Is there a cure for a crippling fear of failure? Sure there is: Just write. Deverell mentioned his fear of his father disapproving of his writing; he continues the story by saying, “What finally happened was, I got a page out and the dam burst” (qtd. in Ross C.7). Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, famous french novelist and screenwriter during the late 1800s and early 1900s, claims, “Writing only leads to more writing” (CITATION). In my experience, it’s true; the more you write, the more you want to write. And when you push past the barriers of your fear and throw yourself recklessly into your writing, you are throwing kindling on the spark of your ardor. Passion drives good writing more than anything in the world. Rob Hiaasen writes, “Think harder about a singular passion. This story, too, must be about a passion for one simple thing. The passion for a story.”

Writing Boys and Girls: Conclusion

To conclude my discussion on writing the difference between boys and girls, I came across this infopic on Pinterest. It was EXTREMELY helpful to me, and summed up men's brains extremely well, it seems to me. Read it and be enlightened.

Writing Boys and Girls: What's the Difference?

So this is something I've been thinking about for a week or so, since watching a YouTube video about teenage girls writing guys. I've come to the conclusion that boys and girls are very different. (I know right? Who knew!)

Boys and girls are different. More different than, I think, most young writers (and even some older) realize. And they aren't just different in looks; our entire makeup is almost opposite.

(Disclaimer: This is just my thoughts on the difference between boys and girl's minds. I am no professional, nor do I claim to be. Actually I'm mostly coming up with this as I go along. But I have four brothers so I consider myself kinda knowledgeable on boy brain make-up...but boys, please, correct me if I'm wrong because goodness know we writers who mostly write in boy POV want to know what boys think!)





Boys and Girls: What's the difference?


Minds
Boys and girls's minds are quite different. Boys tend to have one-track minds; in other words, they tend to focus on one thing at a time. Instead of having one hundred tabs open in their brains at once, boys tend to strive to complete one goal after another. For example, I doubt a guy would be thinking about how beautiful his girlfriend is while escaping a burning building.

Girls, on the other hand, often over think things terribly. We could be writing an essay but thinking about whether or not your friend really likes you, and if you made your boyfriend mad by forgetting to text him. We also dramatize situations in our minds; things become much more dire when a girl explains it.

Boy: "Well, you know. This house blew up but we got out of it. No one got hurt."
Girl: "This house just exploded! Oh my word, is anyone hurt? I hope Jack made it out alright! Does anyone see him?"


Conversations
Boys talk differently than girls too. While girls blabber and talk about their feelings and otherwise just talk a lot, guys tend to be more quiet (with, of course, exceptions). But one thing can clearly be stated: guys hate to talk about their feelings. Instead, they like to trade stories about their lives, like how they battled the lion at the zoo, or something along those lines. They also tend to focus on the action instead of the emotions, which should be obvious but easy to forget (for girl writers).

Girls, on the other hand, are emotional creatures. We try to read between the lines and figure out what people are feeling through their tone and their choice of words. Oftentimes, we read far too closely in common conversation and end up confusing ourselves. Girls are also multi-tasking thinkers, while (as I stated before) boys' minds are one-track. So, girls usually tend to branch off into a ton of different little conversations, which we bounce between as we converse.


Emotions
In my experience, boys tend to push their emotions down until they want to deal with them (except maybe anger). It's a societal problem that boys that cry/feel tenderly are "sissy", so boys often do the whole conceal-don't-feel deal. When they do feel, they can beat themselves up about it, or just explode into a fit of feelings, depending on their personality.

Girls are feelers, and cry more easily than boys. They also tend to be more prone to mood swings. I know I can go from happy to overwhelmed in a mere seconds. It's pretty incredible. Oh, that's another thing to note: girls feel overwhelmed easily since their brains have branches on their branches.



Of course, there are exceptions to to all of these traits, in both boys and girls, but generally they all seem to be true. So, I know I have missed about forty thousand things, so please, enlighten me! I've been diddly-daddling with this blog post for weeks trying to get it together...it was tough. So please, help me out! :)



P.S.

And please, people, don't make a boy giggle. For pete's sake, just say chuckle.

Please.

Write from the Soul

Too many writers in today's market write for just that—the market. When wizards and magic were the hype back in the Harry Potter days, everyone wrote fantasy books. In the dark days of Twilight, it was all werewolves and vampires (I can still go to the YA section of my library and find nothing but werewolf and vampire books. That was a BIG fad.). Now, the new thing is post-apocalypse and dystopian genres, and I can't even count how many movies and books are following suit. (Think Hunger Games, Divergent, Walking Dead, Falling Skies, Godzilla...). And the rumors are true—if you write for the market, your work has a huge chance of getting published.

BUT, your work will be the forced product of something you may have no interest in.

While it's tempting to write for the market to have a better chance at getting published, writing for the market is just not the answer. The market changes; by the time you finish your vampire novel, pop culture could change to pirates. There's no point in it.

Don't write for the market. Write for you. Write what you want to read, and you'll enjoy it so much more than writing for other people. Sure, keep in mind your audience and readers, but you're the writer, not them. You make the ultimate decision. You're writing the book.

If you're not interested in vampires and werewolves, don't try to write a vampire book. If you're not interested in post-apocalyptic or dystopian genres, don't worry. The market will change, so there's no point in freaking out about publishing your book. Just keep trying.

Don't get caught up in the "write for the market, you'll get published" fad. Write from the soul, write what you want, write until you bleed words, write until you find what you want to say. Then, say it.

Wrandom Writing Tip #8: First Drafts

First drafts! YAY!!!!

Really, this is what you should be saying. First drafts should be the best part of writing a book (besides finishing it of course). Why do we have so many problems doing this simple task of writing until our eyeballs fall out?


First Draft Tremors of Fear
Sometimes, writers freeze. Let's face it. We all have. Dag-nabbit, I certainly do. About EVERY TIME I SIT DOWN TO WRITE. But starting the first draft is most definitely the hardest thing in the world to do.

So don't worry. We all feel that way, hun.

Something about sitting down to write the horrific story of three or more precious, innocent children you have birthed in your brain, to bring them pain and glory and love and loss, to kill their best friend and watch them suffer for their wrongdoings in the midst of Mordor and Hades all put together...something about that simple little task is scary, you know? Just me?

The first thing to know is that the entire world feels this way when starting a book. As far as my research goes. Which is a poll of one person. Which is me. I hate starting a book, because I feel like I have to get it right the first time.

You don't.

Of all things you should NOT strive for in a first draft, it is perfection and "rightness". The first draft is for literally letting your brain throw up on the page and watch what happens. It's like putting ideas down so you can whittle it down later. Scenes will come and go, and that's okay. I bet we'd be shocked at how many scenes were cut from Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings. And that's the beauty of writing...whatever doesn't work in one book will certainly work in another. >:)

So get over those first draft tremors. In fact, don't even think of this as a first draft. Think of it as preliminary writing, to get the feel of the book, explore the characters, and explore the world. Because, um, cough, basically you will have to rewrite the whole book when the first draft is finished. <:)


Planning
I've done a million things on planning, and I can't express to you how important it is. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE AT LEAST A NEWBORN BABY'S GRIP ON HOW YOUR STORY IS GONNA GO. Knowing the characters is NOT ENOUGH. You have to at least know where you story is going, a few big plot points, and how it's going to end. As the bare minimum. It's best to have a sketchy outline done on paper of the entire book, or go chapter at a time and write them as you plan them. Both work, as I've tried both.


So you're in the middle of writing a first draft?
While you're in the middle of writing your book, everything seems lame. I know. It isn't. It's not a book, remember. It's just exploration of what your book could be. Of what it will be. You are exploring your options, figuring out what works and what doesn't. Don't worry about randomness, long dialogue, chunks of description...it doesn't matter. It's your writing, you're just feeling the ground so that you can dive into the story in the next draft.


Just remember...
First drafts are CAKE. All you have to do is write! How easy is that? No extensive worry on plot, structure, or anything! You have freedom to write what you want, no matter how random and boring it is. So go crazy!

In which I planned out a whole novel in one afternoon on six pages.

novel planning...

Get this!

Today I spent all day mapping out a six-page story plan for last year's NaNoWriMo book!

I don't know how it happened...it just like...I sat down, and got my brain out, and said, "Ana, you are going to plan this book out if it's the last thing you do. Understand?"

"yes me."

"Good. Now. Go do it."

So I sat there and scribbled down a very basic storyline for my entire novel. In six pages. In one afternoon. Now it's over and I don't even have to worry about outlining anymore. :')

I think I'm gonna cry...

I wish I could say that I used some new planning/outlining technique, and tell you my masterful and genius way of planning books, but it just didn't happen that way. I sat down and wrote what came to my mind. But I do have a bit of a technique when it comes to planning novels...but rarely do I do it in an afternoon.

(This is all written assuming you have a basic story idea in mind.)

1. Character Profiles
The first thing I do when planning a novel is write out character profiles. At first, I usually don't get too deep, and only do the profiles of the people I'm either sure or pretty sure are going to stay. To make a character profile, I just make a form asking questions like

• Name (full name)
• Age
• Race
• Basic appearance
• Basic personality traits
• Some history, family members, or special skills
• Any weaknesses or fears that come to mind

This is my foolproof character profile. I always learn stuff about my character while filling these out for the first time.

2. Story Idea Scribble Page

This is where you take a page and throw up any idea that you find appealing on there. One of my post-apocalyptic story scribble pages reads as follows:

• apocalypse happens during book
• NO GOVERNMENT BADDIES I do that too much...
• Terrorists?
• some sort of dangerous "game" baddies put them through
• adopted kids in a family
• parents are captured
• travel the world
• maybe aliens?

As you can see this follows a slight pattern, keeping to my basic theme of post-apocalypse, but I am throwing random ideas out that don't really connect. That's okay. This is the time for creating, not planning. You just want to get some inspiration. If you have a scene in your head between two characters, write it on the list. It doesn't matter if it doesn't get in the book.

3. Plan Chapters/Plan Story

I let stuff simmer in my head a while before I start to plan my novels. Sometimes I like to free write a bit just to get a feel of what my story will be like. Either way, when I feel ready to start really planning, I do it chapter by chapter. Some people like to write one or two sentences describing basically what happens in that chapter, and some people like to write every little detail down. I like to think I'm somewhere in-between. My chapter plannings go something like this:

Bob goes to school / gets beat up by bully / bathroom / meets bf / convinces him to gang up on bully / runs into sandra instead and talks

etc.

You get the idea. I just scribble down whatever comes to my head. Think of it like making a skeleton of your story, and then filling in the flesh with the actual writing. This makes outlining mandatory for the structure of your novel.

Today, though, I admit I went a different route than my usual plan-by-chapter adventure (mainly because though effective, that tactic takes a REALLY LOOONG TIME). Today, I sat down and just wrote out my whole storyline a bit like I did with my chapter thing, except obviously not as detailed.

Bob goes to the store. Steals something. Gets arrested. Goes to jail; is bailed out by Jessie. Jessie takes him to her house and feeds him rotten stinky awful dinner. He gets food poisoning and goes to hospital where meets Gabby the nurse. etc.

Something like that. Just very fast and keeping it tight and only the big events on the page. The rest I will fill in with the actual writing.

So, I hope this little blurby post about outlining helps you in some way. If you have any questions, please comment and I will always reply.

Thanks for reading!

Characterization: Part II

So, if you've read the last Characterization post, you've got your character's appearance under your belt!
You know what he looks like, what he likes to wear, his quirks, and his bad habits. Now, it's time to tackle his personality.

Personality (obviously) plays an important part in your story. If you are creating your main character, you definitely want to think about some traits that you would find interesting to write about. i.e., if you find sarcastic, smart people intriguing, I would aim for that type of person. Or if you like writing funny things but you're going to try and tackle a bigger project like a serious novel, you might want to consider making your main character a bit of a goofball.

I made the mistake of creating characters that I didn't "connect" with back in the day. I always made my characters inhibit personalities that I found extremely boring, so that writing about them/in their point of view was extremely hard and uninteresting to me. DON'T MAKE THIS MISTAKE. It's so much easier when you love your character to death!


1. What is your character like?

This is the big question. What's your character like? What does he act like? How does he interact with others? Sometimes your character will sort of inhibit a personality of his own as you create him, which is great! Saves you some trouble. But other times after you decide what your character looks like, he sort of stays limp and hollow. That's when you really have to dig deep to figure out what you want your hero to be like. If you're the type to just "go with the flow" and see what kind of personality your hero takes on his own, try some of these characterization exercises:

• Have a short interview with your hero. Ask him open questions like, "What's your family like?" "What are you friends like?" "Do you like chocolate or vanilla ice cream?" and sort of prod him to go off on a rant. It'll really help develop speech style and personality.
• Read a magazine or newspaper article and put your character in the situation described. How would he react?
• Write some random scenes with your character, from first day of school to being mugged by thugs. Go crazy.

If you are more of a "figure it out myself" type, there are other options. There are so many personality types and character traits out there, you couldn't possibly sit and write them all down. Still, I've found several sheets of common character traits that are great reference and inspiration. Some common traits just to give you an idea:

• cheerful
• friendly
• quiet
• somber
• serious
• glum
• kind
• compassionate
• responsible
• fiery
• stubborn

Another note to take is that you want to make sure that your characters have both positive and negative qualities.

2. What motivates your character?

Now this could or could not apply directly to the story. Of course, you want at least one of your character's motivations to drive the story, but there can be other side notes to take into account, as well. For starters, choose one motivation that pushes the hero into the story. Example, say your character's family is kidnapped. Something that motivates your character could be his love for his family, or revenge. With this in mind, choose one big motivation to keep at the front of your head while planning your story out.

3. What does your character fear?

If you are creating your hero, I would suggest making his fear something that the villain embodies. This can be a little challenging to figure out, but I wouldn't freak out too badly. Sometimes stuff like this just falls into place while you're writing, and you never want to "overplan" anything. So, this being said, stop for a moment and think about your main character and your villain. Try to come up with something the villain symbolizes that the hero fears.

On the easy side, characters also have many different, often irrational, fears. I have a character who is claustrophobic, another who is afraid of hospitals, one who fears power, and one who fears death. These are all very believable fears, and easy to work into story lines (to ahem torture your characters ahem ahem). Here are some more common fears:

• needles
• the dark
• bugs
• the dentist
• himself/herself
• a particular person
• loneliness
• crowds
• knives

Small fears like these will help flesh out your character and put some meat on his bones. Plus, it's fun to make your character have these unique little quirks!

4. Flaws

This might be the most important part of a character. Every character must have flaws, or they will come across and un-relatable and everyone will hate them. Like, Disney princesses of old? Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White? I cannot think of a flaw that they have. And I don't like any one of them. Sure, they had bad situations, but they were always smiling, always perfect, always had a good attitude.

Don't be afraid to make your character imperfect. Imperfection is what makes humankind beautiful and sympathetic. We want to see characters with flaws like our own, and we want to see them overcome these flaws, so we have hope that perhaps we can overcome our own negativities. If you do nothing else, create some experimental flaws for your hero and see which ones stick.

I hope this series is helping you get a better grip on your characters. I'm actually discovering some things myself! If you have any questions on creating characters, I humbly consider myself somewhat of an expert. ;) Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, and I will always answer!

Disclaimer

OVER-CHARACTERIZING

While it's great to get to know your character before you start writing, don't get so wrapped up in him that you can't stop developing him and get bored prematurely. It's also good to discover some things about your character as you write; it's just part of the development of your hero. And keep in mind that come things about your character will end up just not working out. Sometimes my characters rebel against their given personalities altogether, and that's fine, as long as it doesn't interfere with your storyline. If it does, then they might need a little punishment. But beware of Character Limpage when forcing characters to do your will!

Characterization: Part I

This is part one of a who-knows-how-long blog post series (I'm gonna guess 2-4 posts) on characterization. What is characterization? Well, you can probably guess by the word that it involves characters in some way or another, right?

Characterization is defined in my computer's built-in-dictionary as describe the distinctive nature or features of something or someone, or (of a feature or quality) be typical or characteristic of. So, cutting all the fluff, characterization is creating characters or, in Anacabulary, "creating believable, lovable, unique characters that you and your readers will care for and root for from the very beginning to the dastardly end of your novel."

On that note, we begin.


Characterization: The Beginning

So you wanna write a book, but are uneasy at the daunting tasks before you? Fear not, dear one! The story-planning prospect is not much harder than using up some of that dormant Brain Power. The first steps to planning and writing a novel are some of the most fun steps of all!

My favorite part of writing a novel is creating characters. There's magic that goes on there. As you create your character(s), you will find that some characteristics and features just seem to pop out of your mind and onto the page. That's good! That's your character "coming to life".

To start off characterization, we are going to start off with the simplest (but sometimes challenging) part of creating your heroes and heroines.

Note: I strongly suggest you have at least an inkling of your story's setting, a very basic plot line, and an idea of where you want your story to go, it is not necessarily necessary. I've created random characters in my head for no reason, and sometimes stories "create themselves" around these characters. But I strongly suggest you have at least a small idea of a story for your characters, so you know how old and how many main characters you want.


1. How old is your character?

This is a very important question. How old you make your character will greatly impact his personality, character traits, and your story's tone.

• If you are a young writer say, around 10-13, I'd stick with characters around your age. Teenagers are a lot different from tweens, and you might have a little trouble creating characters who are believable; but if you feel like you can handle it, on the other hand, go for it!
• Teenagers, age 14-18, it's most fun, in my opinion, to write about teenagers our age! Teen fiction is popular right now anyways, so go crazy! Teens can be both immature and mature, so there's a lot of age differences to take into account. You can have a 20-year-old who acts like he's 16 and it be believable. Same way, you can get away with a 15-year-old who is matured enough to act about 18.

2. What does he look like?

So, what does your character look like? What color are his eyes? How skinny or fat or muscular is he? There's a lot to take into account when fleshing out your character. To get started, here's some fill-in-the-blanks to get your creative juices flowing:

• Where is he from, and does this affect his looks? (i.e. if he is from africa, does he have dark skin? Full lips? Black eyes?)
• What color hair does he have?
• What color are his eyes?
• What shape are his eyes? Almond? Round? Slanted?
• What color is his skin?
• What face shape does he have? Pointed chin? High cheekbones? Square jaw?
• Does he have freckles? Birthmarks? A mole on his neck?
• Does he have bushy eyebrows, or long eyelashes? A 13-year-old's mustache?
• How tall is he?
• How much does he weigh?
• What is his body like? Is he all curves or jagged lines? Straight or stooped?

And while it's lots of fun to make characters who are perfect and handsome and beautiful, it's often better to create characters with at least some physical flaw. Sure, your character can be handsome, but maybe he has acne on his forehead. She can be beautiful, but maybe she has a head of real frizzy hair that she barely keeps under control. I mean, it's no fun if you make them totally perfect. ;)

3. What are some of his quirks?

Everyone has quirks. Wether it's biting your nails, chewing your hair, twitching your left index finger when you talk, or licking your nose when thinking, you probably have something, most likely a few things, that make you unique. So, what are some of your characters? Here are some good questions to consider:

• How does he talk? Does he have an accent? Does his voice pitch up when he's scared? Or maybe he's monotone?
• Does he have any bad habits, like staying up late, picking his nails, or scratching scabs off?
• Does he have any quirks, like eating too much, being a morning person, driving fast, or reading when he's nervous?

There are an endless amount of things to make your character special; observe the people around you to get some good ideas.

For some references and good ideas for character development, visit my Character Reference board on my Pinterest page, www.pinterest.com/anastasiacross/

Disclaimer:

OVER-CHARACTERIZING

While it's great to get to know your character before you start writing, don't get so wrapped up in him that you can't stop thinking about him. It's also good to discover some things about your character as you write; it's part of the development of your hero. And keep in mind that some things about your character will end up just not working out. Sometimes my characters rebel against their given personalities altogether, and that's fine, as long as it doesn't interfere with your storyline. Then, they just might need a little punishment. But beware of Character Limpage when forcing characters to do your will!

Keep in touch for Part II of the Characterization post series!

Wrandom Writing Tip #7: Perfectionism and why it DOESN'T help a writer.

"Hey."

*ignore*

"Hey!"

*ignore harder*

"HEEEYYY!!!"

*finally look over* "WHAT?!"

"You spelled that wrong."

*look back* "OH, you're right, I did! Let me just change that." *flow of writing is totally broken as goes back to fix problem*

"Oh, but there's another problem!"

"Oh, and another!"

"Did you or your four year old brother write this?!"

"OH MAN, I AM A COMPLETE DUNCE FOR WRITING THIS TRASHY GRAMMAR!!"

Does this conversation sound familiar? You've probably had it with yourself over four hundred times, or so a new study says (study does not exist). Who am I, you're wondering? Oh, let me explain.

My name is perfectionism. I am the heart and soul of Anastasia Cross.

You see, Ana here is a severe perfectionist. She is all about grammar, spelling, right sentence structure, engaging prose, etc. You may be like, "So? I am too!" Then you are also one of my victims.

Perfectionism is a deadly disease to writers, up there with Writer's Block and Character Limpage. I cause people to be acutely aware of their faults as writers, and all of their annoying writing habits that have to be corrected eventually. And the worst part is...I DO IT ALL THE TIME. Even during the rough draft!

*spooky music*

Why am I such a problem? Well, you see, rough drafts are supposed to be rough, by definition. Unfortunately, I force writers to try and make their first draft perfect, thus causing Writer's Block, Character Limpage, Prose Dullogos, and Mybookstinkititus. So really, I could possibly be the cause behind EVERY WRITER PROBLEM IN THE WORLD (for some).

I know I am for Anastasia.

How do you get rid of me, you wonder? I don't think you can. I penetrate your very personality. And truthfully, I am not wholly bad. In some cases I can be good—but not for writing. I am a terrible companion for a writer.

But there are ways to suppress or even ignore me.

So, how do you do it? Well, it's a learned habit. You must push past me as you write, forcing yourself not to care if the beginning doesn't set the right 'aura' or if your grammar reeks or if your character is being naughty. You just have to write. That's all that matters right now is that you get words on the paper. As soon as you start ignoring me, I'll get less and less noticeable, until you manage to suppress me to the very back of your mind. As you do keep ignoring, I'll get smaller and smaller and less pushy until I seem to disappear completely. I will get easier and easier to ignore, but you have to start right now!

Sometimes I may come back. Don't let me. Just keep ignoring me, keep writing no matter what. I don't care if your bad guy becomes your good guy and everyone goes crazy in the end, that's what revisions are for. First drafts are for IDEAS and WRITING, not PERFECTION.

/\/\/\That is a very important fact.

So, have I given you something to do? Ignore me? Go ahead. I won't be around forever. Soon, you'll be able to snap your fingers and get rid of me just like that.

(Anastasia is still working on this. Isn't it funny how much she loves and hates me?)

So you're welcome. I just gave you my greatest weakness—ignoring. Ignore me and I'll be gone before you know it.

Sincerely,

Perfectionism

NaNoWriMo 2013; *me actually doing it* :D :D :D :D :D :( :D :D :D

Yeah. My post titles rock. People will go through my archives and cry from the coolness contained in one web page.

Onto the subject matter.

For the last going-on-three years, I've (*SCREECHY GASP* BATTERY POWER AT 3%?!?!?! AND BROTHER TOOK MY CHARGER TO COLLEGE?!?!?!? *ANGRY PIRATE GROWL*) participated in the phenomenon that is NaNoWriMo. But, miraculously, I've been booked for the past two Novembers. Amazing coincidence, isn't it? The first year I discovered NaNoWriMo, my little sister was born via C-section, thus resulting in me and my other sister housekeeping whilst my mother recovered. The second November, we were in the middle of packing up to move out of our old house. So, this November, I am totally dedicated to finishing a novel in one month.

Yes. Yes I am.

I am stunned at how much I have planned, being one of those non-planners. I usually like to go by the whim of things, to "fly by the seat of my pants," as my daddy would say. I usually make up the characters, get a grasp of the basic storyline, then start writing and see where it takes me. I've found that I usually get extremely bored and confused by the middle of my book, so this time I decided I would fully outline and plan this year's NaNoWriMo novel.

So, I sat down with my brain. Yes, I really did. I had it in my lap. Oh, I should probably clarify that. You see, I own a binder called "my brain". I actually put stickers on it called that and everything.

<<< That, my friends, is my brain. I suggest every writer in the world get one. It can be anything you want—whatever works for you. mine is a binder, which I write whatever I want in and regularly print random pictures of random people whom I believe in my small little head to look like my characters, and then I also have a whole wall of sticky notes over there too.

<<< Yes, that's my new house. Yes, that's my shoulder. Yes, that shirt is new. Yes, it's quite awesome. My little brother is hiding somewhere in this picture too. Mysterious, isn't it?

So anyways. I sat down with my brain to plan out my book and GASP!!! I actually did it!!! I wrote out detailed character bios, planned a very quick overview of the entire book, and now I'm currently going chapter by chapter and penning down detailed synopses of each one. I'm on chapter 11! YAY!!!

So that's my NaNoWriMo story of me actually doing NaNoWriMo this year. For real. And not cheating. ;)

All for now!! Check back for a sneak peek on what I'm writing.... >:}

(It just occurred to me that none of my typey smiley faces have noses...)

So, how's your NaNoWriMo adventure looking?

MY NANOWRIMO PAGE LINK: http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/user/588296

Unexpected Characteristics

Your hero is in a mood. He's snapping at everyone and storming around like Johnny Raincloud. His
best friend asks him if he's alright, and your hero suddenly screams at the top of his lungs, flings down his plate of food, and runs off before anyone can say "Um...".

You ask yourself (or your character in your head), "Where did that come from?"

He replies with a growl from the corner he's run off to while you wonder blankly how your hero, who's always so happy and go-lucky, actually managed to scream at his BFF.

These are the things I love about characters. When you get to know them enough, they like to surprise you. For instance, one of my characters, Eadën, was so sullen and serious and intense throughout my whole book, I knew at one point he was completely gonna break. He did. And when he did, it was really nasty. There were nightmares, screams of agony, and tears (TEARS! My somber macho elf, CRYING!). When the scene had passed I looked back and went, "Wow, man. You are deep."

I never planned it to go that way. I never planned the intricacies of Eadën's emotional map. I had a vague idea of what made him angry and what made him sad when I started out, but I had no idea he was capable of feeling the way he does.

That's the thing with characters; at some point, they come to life on you. They pull strings and make their own paths after a while. They write their own destinies if you let them.

Maybe it's because I spent eight years with Eadën that he's so complex. He's the longest character I've ever kept—longer, even, than my main character, whom I replaced six times before settling on the Alli-Dirco duo. Either way, Eadën has developed unexpected characteristics. Ones I have not approved of.

[ >:(  ]

[ ;)  ]

He is strong even when weak. He is not the pretty boy he looks like. He is tortured and tormented by his past and wants more than anything to get away from it...so he won't be tempted to go back. His worst fear is himself, because he knows that if he was given the choice to return to his old life, he would not be sure what he would choose.

Those are things you don't just plan out. They develop on their own.

So let your characters be themselves. If a character wants to be meek and quiet instead of bold, don't try to change him. See what becomes of it. You might like it better than what you planned.

Funniest Thing You Will Ever Read (if you are a writer)

So here I am, lonesome on my couch as I surf the internet. My family is at the beach, except for me and my sister because SOMEONE *eyeballing little siblings* used up all the 30 SPF suntan lotion and SOMEONE *eyeballing my cherry red face* had to use fifteen. So SOMEONE *eyeballing myself again* got burned to a crisp and is now un-allowed to go to said beach. Cruel world, isn't it?

To quote the post below:

To: my sunburn

From: me

Anywho. Offtrack. So, there I was, crying softly as I searched for some source of inspiration, when suddenly it hit me. I found this post, which brightened my entire day. I couldn't have asked for better inspiration.

Read it and weep, brothers and sisters in writing!!

http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/ten-things-never-to-say-to-a-writer/

I hope you enjoy as much as I did. I cried I was laughing so hard. I hope someone out there understands this.

If you totally get this post, holla at me! What was your favorite?

Puppets, Characters, and the Difference Between

During a writer meeting with the Young Writer's Program I am involved in, I was asked about don't do what you want them to and sort of take on their own identity, that's when they really come alive."
characters. I replied, without thought, "Well, I find that when a character does what I want it to, it isn't really a character, more like a puppet. When characters

One of the teachers sat in silence, then said, "That was really amazing, the way you put that. Write that down!"

Now that I've had time to think about it, I have gleaned the truth out of it as well (because I don't really think about what I say, it just sort of comes out without former thought). And it's true; my naughty character Dirco used to be the shining example of beautiful alive characterness. He made smart-aleck remarks when I wished he would be emotional, and he would write in his little notebook whenever I didn't want him to. So, in a sad, strange attempt to put a bridle on his personality problems, I said, "Now Dirco, in the next book, you're going to have some feeling and emotional problems and you're going to like it!"

It was a big mistake. Now, he's a slave to my foolishness, and completely lacks in original thought and motive. He's all me. And I hate it.

Now I wish I could say something really encouraging and give you my results in changing Dirco back, but sadly I haven't done so yet. I'm finding it a bit difficult to cut the puppet strings.

So the moral of this story is: NEVER TRY TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR CHARACTERS. When they do their own thing, cheer! You've made a great character! Hooray!!

Now go and pray I can get my real Dirco back. Really hard.

~Anastasia

Great Name Generators/Lists

Mostly, I come up with my own names by changing the spelling of a normal name (i.e. Jen to Jyn, Will
to Wyl, Eden to Eadën, etc.) but sometimes I get tired of my own name creations.

I am a strong believer in names. I think names create a character as much as you do. Sometimes, I hear a name and immediately think of some complex awesome character. (For example, one time I heard the name Luke Vinson and immediately thought of a Navy SEAL turned secret agent.)

This is a fantasy name list consisting of over 4,000 names. I found it really really helpful. Some names are really cool, others are sorta ew, but overall it's a really good resource, especially for just a random character you need a name for. http://www.creative-role-playing.com/fantasy-sounding-names/

Here is a fantasy name generator, where you can generate your own names specifically constructed to fit your criteria. (i.e. long names, short names, vowel-heavy names, consonant-heavy names, etc.) Really cool! http://rinkworks.com/namegen/

Thanks again!

~Anastasia