Tenses...say what?

I just recently blog posted a story in the present tense. I can hardly believe I did that, since I don't enjoy reading or writing in the present tense. But as I always say, writing is the ONE (and I think ONLY) activity where I occasionally say it's okay to "do what you feel like doing"... because when a writer has the urge to write something, in some way, it generally has to happen.

Anywaywhoo, it was quite interesting and I actually recommend it! Most books are written in the past tense (i.e. "I walked") and a few are written in the present tense ("I walk"). I don't know if "I will walk" (future tense) is ever used repeatedly for the entire book.

Obviously you can mix tense a bit...

"I ran to the store, breathing hard. I arrived in the doorway, stopping to catch my breath. I decide that I will walk home later..."

(That's only two tenses, sorry. :))

Anyway, it's an interesting exercise to write in the present tense if you don't do so normally. You can take a paragraph you've already written and re-write it. As I proof-read my blog post, I found several instances where I'd switched back to past tense! :)

I just thought I'd post about this before I became sidetracked and never posted about it before.

I think (Lordwilling) I'll put a poll on the side about this...

In the mean time...

Happy writing (or editing!?)!

-- Klara C.

A Hero's Not a Hero Unless...

I once read in a book about writing a novel that a hero's not a hero unless he's given a chance to turn back, or in other words, say, "No. I'm not going to do such-and-such. I'm not going to do to that place (fill in the blank)" etc.

Think about it.

I'll introduce you to some heroes from my favorite books / movies...

Frodo (Lord of the Rings) - chose to go take the ring to Mordor when he could've gone back to the Shire.

Peter Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia. Not my favorite guy, but the first one that worked really well for the analogy I'm making here) - chooses to help save Narnia at Aslan's request.

Can you think of one?

Okay, so those are pretty easy to figure out.  What about a book / movie like Pride and Prejudice? That's a little harder. It's not a fantasy or a book about a quest. It's a book where the characters build on themselves and you get to know Mr. Darcy's true character as Elizabeth discovers it, too.  Maybe the choice is when Elizabeth begins to realize that she has acted out of prejudice, and Mr. D realizes he has acted out or pride. Thoughts?

You see, if you force your character to do exactly what you want him to, and stick him (or her, but we'll stick with "him" so I don't have to keep saying "him or her") in circumstances where he has no choice in any matter or throw him in places where there's only one escape route, he won't exactly be a hero.

Sure, you can make it tough for him. You can make it seem like there's only a few choices.  You can make it seem like he's trapped and there's no way out.  But at some point in your novel, he has to choose to be a hero. He has to choose to do the right thing. Give him the choice: his answer determines whether or not he's a hero.

-- Klara C.

The Love of God

We sang this hymn in church yesterday...I just love verse 3!

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Refrain:
Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

It's so true - God's love is so measureless and amazing! We as mere authors cannot ever show the whole of God's wondrous love, but we can give our readers a glimpse of God's goodness and grace through our writing. 

-- Klara C.

"....I have loved you with an everlasting love; 
Therefore with lovingkindness I have dawn you." 
Jeremiah 31:3b, NKJV

Editing Services Now Available!

Hey everyone!

1. I love writing!
2. I love reading!
3. I have gradually grown to, er, enjoy editing!
4. I love reading my friends' books!
5. I enjoy editing my friends' books, too!

Therefore, if you are interested in an editor, check out my new page about my Editing Services. :)

-- Klara C.

Character Study: Personality

What about your character's personality?  For me, it's hard to imagine a personality different than my own.  It's hard for me to imagine someone who is unemotional, extremely introverted and self-focused.  But for someone who is shy, it might be hard for them to write about an extroverted, one-hundred-miles-an-hour talker, someone who is the life of the party.  

I've heard it said that the main characters will reflect at least some of the author's personality.  I agree, although I think if one spends a lot of time with a main character, the author might begin to act like the character!  :)  

Occasionally you might decide to write about someone of the opposite gender than yourself.  This can be challenging but interesting.

I think it's helpful to know your character's personality type because it will help you figure out what kind of choice they might make when faced with a certain decision.  Their choice might be different from yours.

One way to help you think of other personalities is to think about your friends.  Although my friends and I have much in common, we also have different personality traits.  One of my friends is very intellectual and smart, she likes to talk about important issues but isn't really "into" hugs and feelings.  Another friend comes in the room and people gravitate towards her, and everyone knows who she is.  She's fun and sweet and make sure everyone is included.  

God made us all with different personalities, so there's no reason your characters should have various personalities too.  I think it's helpful to make sure you have multiple personalities presented in your book, because that's realistically the way it is in our world.  Plus, many reader will be able to pick out a character that reminds them of themselves! 

One thing I really love to do, I actually enjoy it, is to take personality quizzes pretending I am the character.  You might want to take the quiz first for yourself, and then take it for one of the characters you know the best.  The Big 5 Personality Test can be a huge help although I noticed that many of the tests are used for scientific research, so I would recommend not using those for your characters!  Similar Minds has a good test, check out either the Short Test, Big 30 Test or the Big 45 Test for an in-depth look at your characters. 

You can also check out some personality books, I'm reading one from a Christian perspective at the moment called Understanding Your Child's Personality by Dr. David Stoop.  Yes I know, your characters are not your children...but it's still quite helpful!

What's YOUR character's personality?

-- Klara C. 

The Unliked Words

A lot of times, it's can be quite challenging to find some good ol' criticism.

People are terrified of offending each other, so they refuse to offer any advice at all.  If you share your story with someone, usually, the response will be...

"It's good!"

So, you thank them, and prompt them to say more.

"Well, I don't know..."  *shrug*

"...but I really liked it."

You may be able to eek a small criticism out of someone - they might point out a minor grammar mistake or a spelling error, but honestly, when everyone responds to you with a, "It's good" or "I really liked it", you begin wondering if your book really is good.  You begin wondering if these opinions are honest, or simply shallow words instead of real criticism.

Of course, if you ever do find that one person who tears your manuscript apart and tells you that you will never be a writer...  that might not be particularly helpful either.

So, let's flip the situation around.  Your friend asks if you'll read a portion of their story.  You say you will, and they send it to you.  How do you respond?  Surely you, as a fellow writer, will not respond with the hated words, "It's good!"  So what do you say?

How do give good advice / criticism 
I used to have a Writing Group.  We would hang out, eat snacks, read a chapter of our stories, and then comment on each other's stories.  I had a format that went something like this:

two compliments

one criticism 

I think I got the idea from somewhere else, but I can't quite remember where, so please forgive me.

At my writing group, I would often take notes while the author read her story out loud.  I would make notes about grammar, I would write down if something confused me, and make comments about what I liked.  When my friends send me their stories, I generally try to respond in a positive manner.  Their stories are usually well-written (I have never received a horrendous story from anyone) and I can find many things to compliment.

My advice might end up sounding something like...

"Hey, that was really good!  [Yes, I begin with the hated words, so immersed are they in society that I can't help but use them]  I really liked how you described so-and-so.  You used very vivid adjectives and I can see him perfectly in my mind.  I also love how you left us on a cliffhanger, I can't wait to find out what's going to happen to him next week!  One thing though, I got a little confused on the scene where he falls off the cliff and climbs his way back up...  maybe you could make that scene a little longer and describe it in more detail.  Anyway, good job!"

Okay, so I don't think I've actually ever read a friend's story where someone falls off a cliff, but that's beside the point.  :)

Obviously there are many ways to critique a novel; another method I use is to send the story back to the author, with my comments in bold.  A lot of editors do this, and when I asked people to edit my books, they would do this as well.  This also works well if the story is being sent over the email.

If I have a hard copy of the story, I make notes in the margins or on the paper, then return it.  I actually do this when editing my own stories - I will write notes to myself on the hard copy and then make the changes to the computer.

Conclusion
So the next time someone asks you to look at their story, you could ask them if they would like to receive advice.  Then perhaps you could try out the 2 nice things, 1 bad thing (that's what we ended up calling it at our Writing Group :)).  But about that "1 bad thing" - it's really not so bad, is it?  I'm actually quite appreciative when I receive a critiquing comment.  :)

So, if any of you would like to send me your stories, I would be happy to read them...and critique them!

Klara C.

What'shisface?

In Fine Detail

If someone asked you to describe your main character - or any character really - how well would you be able to accomplish this?  There are, of course, the major details - hair and eye color, height, weight, etc.  But what if you go deeper?  What about the shape of their nose (if your character does not have a bulbous nose then you may not have thought much about this), the length of their fingers, or the complexion of their face?

I used to worry that my readers would not imagine my characters the same way I did, so I would try to describe them in a very detailed manner.  I realized however that my readers will probably imagine my characters' exact minor features however they want.  No matter how hard I try, transferring my exact image from my brain to theirs is near to impossible...but, that's okay.

What does he look like again?

There are pros to NOT describing your character in minute narratives - your reader will be able to imagine her / him the way they want.  For example, if you want them to think that a character is extremely beautiful, they might put in their mind their version of an extremely beautiful person, which would be stronger and more meaningful to them than your version of the word.  "Beauty" is relative and it's a word whose meaning varies from person to person.

You yourself

Although our outside appearances are only the covering for our real selves, our inner thoughts, desires and dreams, it still might be important to really know what your character looks like.  I think it's important that an author knows every detail about their main character, even though the outward shell called appearance might end up being the least of their worries.  (Characters can be huge problems sometimes...  sometimes they just aren't working out.  In that case, appearance is generally not the issue).

When it is important

Becoming skilled in describing people might be helpful in your fiction writing, or even nonfiction writing - say, if you were going to write about George Washington's appearance, you'd better get it right, because people can access photos of him on the internet!  


Assignment: A little practice
Next time you watch a movie, pick out a couple characters you would like to describe.  If your main character is a brunette with short, straight hair, next time you see one on a movie, pause the movie (or find a picture online) and try and describe her.  Or, just pick anyone - a guy with a funny beard, a handsome gentleman, a little girl, an elderly person, a young woman, etc.

How to use your description
If you're introducing a character in a book, the reader may or may not be interested in a lengthy paragraph concerning them.  If the character is a side character or it is an inopportune moment to spend in depiction, you can try and intertwine their physical appearance in with the action.  For example, you could describe the way their ____ (color) eyes dart around the room in fear, or how they sweep a piece of ____ hair from their face in a moment of battle (cliche!  Cliche alert!).  Do they stand on their tiptoes when in the presence of tall people, because they are short?  Are they self-conscious of a physical fault on their face, or a wart on their hand?  These things can be revealed as the story continues on, adding quirks to the characters that might make them seem endearing.

Occasionally, a long description is acceptable, especially when the book is narrated in the first person.  When you see someone, you take in most of their physical characteristics in a couple seconds.  If the first person narrator has just met someone, she will most likely look them over - and in doing so, will describe him / her to the reader.  But in general, you shouldn't make them too long, or your reader will fall asleep and start drooling on your novel.  (And you're shouting, "TMI!" at me now, aren't you?)

Conclusion
So, the next time someone says, "Hey, what about that character...uhhh...what'shisface?" you can surprise them by offering a long description of your character...  just kidding!

Klara C.