I guess I'll start this off. I've had an idea for a while now to write a world-hopping story whose main character is an editor or something else to do with publishing. Generally, the idea is to poke affectionate fun at world-hopping stories, myself, and probably the publishing industry, but still make it an interesting and hopefully compelling narrative. Biggest thing for me now is RESEARCH. Augh. I'm actually looking forward to it but I dislike time limits.

Clarifying questions welcome and appreciated, because that's about as far as the story's gotten even though I've been chewing on it for a year or so now.

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A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket.
~Charles Peguy

I'm creatively drained from working on "War of Magic" for the past six months, so I want to do something simple that doesn't require too much world building or anything like that. Today I was filled with a desire to do a story with either some focus on Scottish or American folk dancing or to do something inspired by the Scots-Irish who settled the Appalachians.





A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people- Thomas Mann




My writing blog: [aspiringpen.blogspot.com]

sounds interesting kitti, do you have any characters rattling around in your head yet?

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Var is awesome!

Not as such. I have vague personality traits, and the MC is starting to get clearer, but they don't have names or faces or three dimensions yet.

Edit to add: MC is going to be loosely modeled on Query Quagmire. And when I say "modeled" I actually mean "influenced by".

Edited again to add: Yes, that question was from me. Don't worry, I'm not stealing someone else's idea. Also, if you're friends with me on Facebook please don't mention tumblr. Massive amounts of family awkwardness would ensue.

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A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket.
~Charles Peguy



Edited 2 times. Last edit at 09/28/11 11:10AM by ocean cat.

Have I posted this yet? This is my characters on the fly essay. Hopefully, it'll help you build your protag?

The first thing I do when I need a character is put out a Help Wanted sign and wait for a muse. If nobody shows up to fit the bill, then it’s time to get my hands dirty and make one.

The italicized text throughout is me making up a character as I go to serve as a demonstration.

1) What role is the character to fill?

By this, I don’t mean ‘sidekick’ or ‘hero’ or ‘villain’. What I mean is what kind of air does this person need to have about them? Do you need a carefree character to temper out your uptight bitch? Do you need someone with a specific skill?

This comes first so that you can eliminate unnecessary characters. While unneeded cast members can be fun to write, remember that the reader can’t always keep them straight. Smaller casts are, in my opinion, usually better.

I need a character with a level head and a loud voice that they only use when it’s important. This person has to have extensive knowledge of the law and its loopholes, and they have to be very persuasive.

2) How does the character act?

This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many authors don’t think this through. If the character is indecisive in one chapter and jumping to conclusions in the next, I’m going to get confused.

The easiest way to do this is to put your proto-muse into a variety of situations and see how they react. NOTE: This does NOT mean making them react in the way that you want them to. Their honest first reaction is what you’re looking for here.

This character hates seeing people bullied, but isn’t the save-the day type. Though apt to step in if someone is in trouble, they won’t put their own life or limb on the line for a stranger. It’s much more likely that they’d talk the bully down and then walk away without being thanked. Has a voice and a method of speaking that can rally people to their side, but won’t speak unless they feel passionately about the subject.

3) What personality flaws does the character have?

Another obvious one, but not many people know what it means. By personality flaws, I mean their fears, their obsessions, any little quirks they have that get them into trouble.

The character is quick to judge, but slow to act. They're not overly-concerned with perceived guilt or innocence, rather root compulsively for the underdog. They enjoy playing the Devil's advocate.

4) What sort of past would have made the character turn out this way?

I’m a firm believer in the notion that the past builds the person. You’ve already built the character for the most part; now you have to find out what makes them tick. A person who was starved as a child will feel very differently about wasted food than a person who grew up having every meal delivered on a silver platter.

The character’s dislike of bullies comes from being a bully—never physically, but with words. One of the people they picked on committed suicide on their front lawn. They’ve never forgotten it.

They didn’t have much growing up and they earned everything they got. Was brought up on trial once for thievery. Knew one of their rights and requested access to the law documents, which they read, looking for a loophole. They found a questionable opening and argued it until they were released.

They got a job, then, working for the government. Their main task was to read through the documents and eliminate most of the loopholes, but was also expected to make new ones for high-class officials.

5) Who are they?

Now we get to the typical character-building comes into place. This is where you add things like appearance, age, name, and build the skin to fit the musculature and skeleton you've already assembled.

Kerry Jamison is a 32-year old lawyer from Seattle, Washington. He stands 6'1, weighs 182 pounds, and is half Black and half Pueblo Native American. He worked through law school at the University of Washington School of Law as a male model, and has just signed on with the state's legal team. He also enjoys spicy food, is lactose intolerant, and can't cook. He has a scar on his left arm from a severe fall in his teens.

And you who seek to know me,
know that the seeking and yearning
will avail you not,
unless you know the Mystery:
for if that which you seek,
you find not within yourself,
you will never find it without.

Now I'm thinking of doing a Gothic/ Medieval fantasy-esque story with an orphan boy (nope, he doesn't have superpowers or a secret heritage... he's normal), gargoyles, demons, and... well, that's about it. All I need is some sort of a plot :P





A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people- Thomas Mann




My writing blog: [aspiringpen.blogspot.com]

As I said on the Nano thread, I'm writing a story about a young boy named Nikkiel--or Nik, for short--who is apprenticed to a phoenix, who is sort of an alchemist, named Tsamber.

Story plot-wise, I know very little. There is a disease which I am tentatively calling, simply enough, Ashes. This plague causes creatures such as Dragons, Phoenix's, Leviatans, and all other fire-breathing, fire-anything creatures to 'lose' their fire, and the result is, of course, that they become extremely ill. The disease is eventually fatal.

This disease sweeps across the country and Tsamber frantically looks for a cure. When he, too, succoms to the Ashes, Nik sets of on a quest across land and/or sea to find a cure and save, not only his master and friend, but all other creatures like him. What happens on this quest is what I'll find out sometime mid-November no doubt. XD

very helpful rian! i knew alot of this stuff alrede but it was nice putting it down on paper

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That which does not feel pain is dead.

speaking of brainstormign i was wondering if anyone else wrote their stories based on themes or if you guys thought it was a totally ridiculousely stpid idea? basically i coem up with like a few words or one word and write a story about it. this years nano is going to be centered on trust and how chars learn to trust eachother and how this affects the world. anyoen else do thigns like that?

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That which does not feel pain is dead.

@Shali

I've written themes in stories before, but they usually develop over time and weren't originally planned to be in the story.






A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people- Thomas Mann




My writing blog: [aspiringpen.blogspot.com]