Writing Down the Bones: When the Characters Take Over

I love it when my characters take over. I feel it makes the story more three dimensional because I'm in their head and see their world the way they do, but sometimes those characters take off on you, sending your story in a direction  you hadn't planned. Sometimes that is a good thing and you end up with some wonderful twists. Other times they go way off course and you have to reign them back in.

So how do you fix it?

I know this is going to sound crazy but I sit my wayward characters down and have a 'talk' with them. In my first book A Portrait in Time - which is a time travel romance - the heroine's ancestors were part of the story and they tried hard to take over the book. Once I promised them their own book they calmed down and allowed me to finish the book the way I wanted.

In my new series - The Vespian Way - SF/Futuristic Erotic romance - Heather and Storm keep taking over. When I 'talked' to them about it they reminded me that the series is their story and I realized they were right so I had to learn how to balance their ongoing story with the newer characters I was introducing. It's been interesting and fun.

Sometimes you can 'talk' to them. They are your creation you do have final control and the characters only want to be sure their story will be told. If you hadn't thought about a second or a third book and you create really strong characters as secondary characters you might find they will try to take over, but you can ease the problem by plotting out the next book while you're working on your current WIP.

My characters are very real to me. When they push me I listen to see what they want. It might be a little crazy but it works for me and I've gotten some wonderful stories out of it.

Shameless Promoting: What is going on in January! #rhacafe

Lots going on this month and trying to keep up is crazy.

1.) I am so exicted to say that it's that time of year again for the P&E Reders poll - I'm in two ca6tegories - I've never been this high on the tallies and would love your help - Just follow the link to vote

http://critters.org/predpoll/author.shtml
http://critters.org/predpoll/novelerot.shtml

2.) I'm proud to announce I am part of Red Hot Authors Cafe! Come join us on facebook! https://www.facebook.com/redhotauthorscafe

3.) I'm going to be at Savvy Authors on the 12th -  http://savvyauthors.com/blog/index.php/new-years-resolution-write-the-book-by-barbara-donlon-bradley/

4.) I am also going to be part of Melissa Snark's Snarkology: The Path to Publishing My blog date is Feb 1st but the blog is already done so I'm going to see if she want's to use it earlier. I'll update this with the proper link as well.  http://melissasnark.blogspot.com/2014/02/paths-to-publishing-barbara-donlon.html

5.) On Jan 21st I'll be promoting on SSLY - I do have their webpage - here's the direct link - http://wp.me/p38Iym-1RF

6.) on Jan 22 I'll be chatting with LR Cafe from 7-10 pm. You'll have to join the yahoo group to chat with me but I promise we'll have fun.  http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/LoveRomancesCafe/info

Random Thoughts: Setting Those New Year Goals

Are you setting those writing goals for next year?

I have turned into a list person. If I don't make a list I forget to do something and most of the time it is important so I find they help me but I have learned not to put one big goal on that list. It can seem insurmountable. I do it in small chunks. I recommend doing that with your writing goals.

Making the goal to make a million dollars off of the sale of one book is great idea but what about all the little goals that lead up to it? It's not like you're going to sit there and just expect it to happen.

Make your goals realistic for you. If you can write a book a month then do it. If that is more than you can handle then focus smaller. A chapter in a week, a scene in a day, whatever works for you.

What are my goals?

Finish editing Stolen Desire
Finish editing book 8
Come up with a title for book 8
Write book nine
finish the rough I started of book 10 - yes I'm writing them out of sequence but it's the way the muse is driving me
finish the rough draft I started to Melange Books
Post to my blog more - not going to commit how much more but will try to do better
promote, promote. promote

What are yours?

Random Thoughts: A Christmas Poem

Tis a month before Christmas

And John is in the attic

What is he doing?

Snarling and growling because I’m in a panic

There are trees to put up – I’ve now go three

And rooms to decorate

There’s shopping and cooking – will I ever be free?

There’s the writing and editing and blogging for sure

My brain is spinning

Is there a cure?

But somehow I do it

Year after year

How I don’t know

But I succeed – never fear

I take a deep breath and do what I must

I write, then I edit then work on my blog

I push and push until I could bust

Now the holiday is here

And everything is done

I’m happy for my family, friends and my fans who are dear

My crazy mind that comes up with the wild stories that I share

For my job and my passion to write

Sometime they make me pull out my hair

But I love each story

I wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Barbara Donlon Bradley

www.barbaradonlonbraldey.com

Random Thoughts: Sometimes a Glitch Can Work in Your Favor

I write everything on a computer. I find it easier than writing it out by hand then reentering it into a word document. Not all writers will agree with this but it's what works best for me right now. I try to make sure I save everything regularly, but I have to admit that I'm not that good at it.

I start writing and get into a grove and that is all I think of. I must finish the scene. If I'm editing my latest book I want to finish the chapter. Once I'm done I move onto the next thing. Unfortunately I don't always remember to save my document and I'm horrible about making copies of it for those just in case moments.

I have lost pages of work before. Back when I first started writing I lost whole chapters. I was working in WP and would hit two keys at the same time when I went to save so instead of saving what I had done was ask it to delete then gave the command yes at the same time. It was a horrible feeling because I wasn't the fastest typer. The only great thing was all I was doing was imputing scenes that had already been written.

Now when I make a mistake like that I want to cry. All that hard work down the drain. I have to rewrite everything. You know what I found? Sometimes the scene I had to rewrite was stronger.

I always recommend you save and save and save again. I save to my computer, to a thumbdrive, I send the document to myself in an e-mail - one of the accounts that doesn't download the e-mails into my computer and I upload to something like the cloud. My cable company offered that to members and I take advantage of it.

But...if it does happen you need to remember as you rant and rave at the horror of it but that sometimes it could be a blessing in disguise.

Writing Down the Bones: Different Points of View

I know I've talked about POV before, but as I have been going through my mother-in-laws collection of lectures and programs form different RWA meetings and I found another little gem.

The four different points of View:

First Person POV: This - to me - is a restrictive POV. Always the 'I' POV wavering from it can confuse the reader. You are the character as you read a novel in first person and no matter what is going on in the scene the only thoughts and deductions you learn is from that character you embody.

Third Person POV: I think of this as being a witness to a scene. It's like you're a voyeur watching everything. They can't see you, but you're there, learning what they learn. seeing that they see, smelling what they smell...you get the picture?

Objective POV: This is where the author (us) tells part of the story but doesn't delve into the character's thoughts or feelings. To me a lot of those descriptive scenes that were popular in the 80's fall into this category.

Omniscient POV: Someone once explained that this viewpoint was like being a god in your story. You (the author) gives away information that the characters can't. Describes things that the characters can't see. As a writer you're intruding into the story by relating info to the reader that they wouldn't get from the characters you've created.

Most romances are written in third person. In fact when I was learning my craft it was beaten into me that I had to write in third person, and now I'm not sure I could write in any other POV. It's the one I'm most comfortable doing.

Random Thoughts: Can I put my family in my books?

I went to visit relatives on my mother's side of the family last month. They're such wonderful people with rich, funny stories that I would love to use at times. Part of me wonders if that is a smart idea. It is my family after all and I don't want to insult them, but I would never write any funny story in a negative light. I know that.

All of my family has had goofy moments. And do are our friends. I think we're magnets for the goofy in the world. My sister and her friends had done some wild stuff that I want to put in a book I just need to have a plot or story that brings it all together - I've been thinking about using a funeral because it is the time when people reminisce. Then I can create the people I want.  A German aunt using the word yonder with a sturdy German accent. A cousin who lost a finger and bragged about it. Friends climbing into the wrong cars, walking into things. I fear after I write it my readers won't believe they were true stories, but as they say truth is stranger than fiction.

Writing Down the Bones: FUMBLERULES

I found this wonderful flyer that I received from my local RWA chapter years ago that talks about grammar and proper sentence structure. It's called Fumblerules a lighthearted guide to grammar and good usage by William Safire.

There are ten of them - now I don't know if I agree with all of them but a lot are things to avoid. Here's the list and my comments.

1. No sentence fragments - the english majors out there will say 'yes, yes. Must stick to that.' But I have learned in fiction you can break this rule - you just have to do it right. I use them from time to time but it always to make a point. I pick my moments carefully.

2. Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read - I do agree with this one - when I was in high school I was the queen of run-on sentences but learned to control it. Still every once in a while they creep back into my work. I'm so glad for my editor. She catches all those mistakes.

3. A writer must not shift your point of view - I love this one it is a perfect example of shifting from third person to first which can get totally confusing. If you are in third you need to stay there.

4. Do not put statements in the negative form - I do agree with this - double negatives are the worst. My sister had a boyfriend years ago who said this wonderful statement - 'I used to didn't be' - what? I know what he meant but what a way to say it.

5. Don't use contractions in formal writing - this is one I'm not sure of. When I was prepublished we were lucky enough to have an english teacher as part of our critique group. She said the exact opposite - at least when it came to dialog. Contractions are part of our speech and when you have your characters speaking without them it tends make the story read very formal and can pull your readers out of your story.

6. The adverb always follow the verb - no argument from me on this one.

7. Make an all out effort to hyphenate when necessary but not when un-necessary. This one is fun when you write SF or futuristic romances where sometimes you have to make up your own words. Then I have to remember if I hyphenated them from on book to another. To make my life easier I try not to use any hyphenated words.

8. Don't use Capital letters without good REASON.  Totally agree - I used to have a boss who used caps to show his anger - I saw them all the time in e-mails and hated it. He used them so much after a while they didn't mean anything. It was like watching someone yell through a closed window. Using too many caps can do the same thing.

9. It behooves us to avoid archaisms - What? Who talks like that anymore...which is the point. Don't use old archaic words unless you are writing a historical and even then you should keep your reader in mind when you use some of these words - same thing with cliches. It's like beating a dead horse.

10. Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use and omit it when its not needed. I love this one and most of the time author's get it right. Every once in a while I'll catch someone who forgets when to use its and it's, but it's okay.  We all make mistakes.

Hope this helps - I always love going through these handouts.

Random Thoughts: When my writing is bleah

Have you ever had those days when you hate every word you put on paper? I have. In fact this is the third post I have started because the other two are just awful. I hope to fix them, but just not in the mood right now.

What do you do when you don't like your own writing? Well, you could cry and curl into a little ball, but that won't get the story written. You could get mad and throw the proverbial pen at the wall. Or could could take a deep breath and power through.

Sometimes what you think is the worst piece of drivel to glow on a computer screen isn't so bad when you go back and look at. With a little rewriting you can salvage it. Maybe make it shine.

Don't give up on your writing. Ever. Keep going, keep pushing. In the long run it will make you a stronger writer.

Writing Done the Bones: How Many Times Do You Edit the Book?

Now that is a question isn't it. Once you have it written you start the editing process. You clean it, and polish it over and over. But it just doesn't feel finished. You're tired of looking at it. You just want to send it off but...you don't feel good about doing that.

When is enough enough? I remember being at a program given by my local RWA chapter. The person running it said we're done when we're so tired of editing it we want to throw the book against the wall.

I think that's a good time to stop.

Each book is going to be different. Some of my books only needed a little editing, but the one I'm working on now needs a lot. I think I'm going for my fourth or fifth run through. I tried many ways to cut down the process but have found that writing that rough draft then fleshing it out works the best for me - it just some books need more flesh than others.