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MAY 2009
23 May, 2009
Characters and Critiquing
Much of the character work stopped this week while I finished preparations for a workshop on Critiquing.
There's nothing more invigorating than presenting something to an enthusiastic group, and the ladies from the Waikato/ Bay of Plenty/King Country chapter of RWNZ are always fabulous fun.
Questions ranged from "How do you find Plot Holes, and how do you fix them?" through "When do I know that I'm wasting my time, and my work sucks?" to "How do I make a general 'I wasn't engaged by this story' into something specific and helpful?"
All excellent questions, and I think we provided each other with a workable set of answers and practical examples. Oh, and lots of laughter. :-)
This week my plan is to get back onto character building for the current Work In Progress. I really need to see some major headway.
Roll on this weekend's writing retreat and the chance to spend both quantity and quality writing time; with so many ideas tangling inside it, my head feels like a washing machine on its spin cycle.
I'll keep you posted.
16 May, 2009
Fleshing out Character
I've always enjoyed creating characters, probably because I find people--and the way they tick--interesting in real life. Being able to fashion a person with all her strengths and flaws from the ground up is a fascinating experience. It's even more fun when you also get to manufacture the situations that are going to completely screw up her life.
The difficulty is to make the plot and the character mesh in a realistic way. This is where I give kudos to Holly Lisle and her great little ebook Create A Character Clinic.
I'm working my way through her section 'Character Through Needs, Pursuit and Avoidance'.
The very first question "What is your character's compelling need?" opened up a wonderful can of worms for me to squish my way through...and that was only for my heroine. You ought to see what my poor old hero is facing.
I haven't even started exploring the ramifications of the other charts in the book, but I can already see a world of angst waiting to be revealed and challenged.
I'll keep you posted.
4 May, 2009
Life in the fast lane...
It's been such a hectic week that it's been almost impossible to make time to write. In the fiction arena, I mean. There's plenty of non-fiction happening!
Having said that, I spent almost ten hours on Thursday on a bus, Friday on and off several commuter trains while visiting friends, Saturday at RWNZ functions, Saturday evening with my critique partners, and Sunday bussing back home again.
It was really great.
What do I have to show for it?
Nothing concrete, I guess. But not everything has to be quantifiable. Sometimes you just have to do the next thing, see the next person, give the next hug. Sometimes life is more than work. More than sitting in front of a computer bashing out words. I'm glad I have people around me who care enough to remind me of that.
I'll keep you posted