Writing How-To: Taking Stock of Characters, Pt. 1

I'm currently reading "The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers" (3rd Ed.) by Christopher Vogler. I've heard of this book for years and just now finally got it so I could read it.

If you aren't familiar with it, he takes a lot of the work Joseph Campbell did on myth (such as in his book "The Hero With a Thousand Faces") and applied it to writing (fiction as well as movies).

If you consider yourself a serious, professional writer and don't have a clue who Joseph Campbell is, come here. *wiggling finger at you* No, closer.

Noooo, clooooser.

*smack!*

Okay, that's done. Now first thing, you need to familiarize yourself with Joseph Campbell's work. Long story short, he broke down storytelling throughout the ages into commonalities that make them applicable regardless of culture, etc. (That's a very simplistic overview. Go. Read. The. Book.)

Vogler's work takes Campbell's work to a new level, using real-life examples of popular movies to show his examples of the different archetypes of characters and their journeys.

What's cool is while I was familiar with Campbell, I hadn't done a lot of research into applying his approaches to my writing. And as I'm reading Vogler's book, I can see how I have, unconsciously, used the very same archetypes. (Thus proving Campbell's point of a sort of universal unconscious in regards to storytelling. Almost a Jungian theory as well, talking about the archetypes. Please don't tell me you don't know who Jung is. Go look him up.)

For example, in my book "Love and Brimstone," I have Taz as the hero (hero is used generically in Vogler's work regardless of gender), I have Rafe as both a shapeshifter and in some ways a trickster and ally, I have Robertson as mentor and ally, Albert as a herald, mentor, and threshold guardian, and even Matthias, the love interest, is more a mix of ally and shapeshifter.

(Note: shapeshifter, by definition in this use, refers to character qualities/actions, not werewolves. *LOL*)

And as I look at my writing, I see the books that seemed to pour onto the page, almost by themselves, are the ones that seem to closely follow the "hero journey" paths. (Which are extremely flexible, not rigid, fixed lines.)

In writing romance and erotica, a lot of emphasis is placed on the hero (or heroes, in case of a menage or GLBT writing) and heroine, and if there's an Alpha or Beta or Gamma hero, etc. Newbie writers ask about, "How much sex should they have by word count?" The truth is, that's irrelevant if you don't have a good, solid story and good, solid characters to build on.

I'm going to peck out a series of blog posts over the next couple of weeks talking about this topic, especially how to avoid "cardboard" characters.

Stay tuned, and Happy Writing.

Another note on e-piracy.

Okay, for those of you who see auctions where the sellers claim to have resell rights to my e-books, listen up:

THOSE ARE ILLEGAL AUCTIONS. Period.

In fact, most auctions of fiction e-books are ILLEGAL. It doesn't matter what their excuse is, unless it's all public domain works (meaning OLD stuff like Charles Dickens, at least 70+years old or older), it's most likely ILLEGAL.

The ONLY place to legally obtain my e-books (and most fiction e-books) are directly from publishers and from authorized e-book vendors such as Amazon.com, Sony, AllRomanceEbooks.com, Fictionwise, Mobi, B&N, and a few others who are authorized vendors. (If in doubt, email the author or publisher in question and ASK them if that's a legal vendor or not.)

If you see a batch lot of e-books, rest assured, regardless of what they CLAIM on the auction, it is almost assuredly an ILLEGAL auction. Do all authors a favor and click the "report this auction" button.

Authors need YOUR help as readers to keep putting out the books you want to read. Contrary to popular belief, most authors are NOT rich. (I know I'm not. *LOL*) Most have an "evil day job" to supplement their income because they'd starve if they had to rely on their writing for a living. Even authors you might consider well-known.

So support your favorite authors and only buy LEGAL, AUTHORIZED versions of their e-books, please!

Thank you!! :)

Releases Available on Kindle

For the most up-to-date listing of my Kindle releases, hit my Amazon author pages for my various pen names:

Tymber Dalton

Lesli Richardson

Macy Largo

Tessa Monroe

Writing How-To: Who's In Third? Omnipotent limitations.

The first "official" (meaning not a freebie, one I had to pay money for) purchase I made on our new Kindle was Stephen King's "Under the Dome." Now, I cut my writing teeth on SK in high school. He was my first "writing idol," the one I wanted to be "just like him" when my "career took off." I devoured everything he wrote back then with the voracity of Pennywise the Clown. The last SK book I read was "Cell," simply because I've been busy. I've read a lot of books since then, and we have other books of his I haven't read yet, but "Under the Dome" is the first I snagged to read.

As I sat down last night and started reading, several things immediately hit me squarely between the eyes. One, he tells "UtD" in third person omniscient point of view. Second, I'm finding it difficult to really "get into" the characters like I can with first or third person limited. Third, I see why poorly executed third-omni can lead to head-hopping and telling instead of showing (or worse, author intrusion). And fourth, while SK is a master of third-omni, he's one of few authors I've read lately who should try it, but even then (see point two) just because he can do it doesn't mean it should be done.

Now, I'm not saying I don't like the book, because so far, it's a page-turner for me. I'm loving it and reminded why I've always loved SK for a good, pulse-throbbing read. But all the while, I'm finding...something lacking. That connection I feel with characters in a limited third viewpoint, where we're inside someone's head, the ability to get to know them.

Yes, I see why "UtD" needs to be in third-omni. It would be damned hard--if not impossible--to pull it off otherwise. But I'm also seeing why in many cases, especially in romances, it should NOT be used. In a romance, you want the readers to get into the characters' heads, to feel what they feel, to be wrapped up inside the characters as much as they are the story.

In this book, I'm wrapped up in the story, yes, but...I'm just not feeling it.

And now with this knowledge in hand, I'm really interested to go back and revisit some of my favorites, like "The Shining" and "The Stand," one with a limited cast and crew, the other an epic of...epic proportions, to see if I get that same feeling NOW about his books.

What changed? Well, I've got over 20 books published or pending publication, for starters, with plenty more in my brain's queue and screaming to be written. I've read a lot of books in the romance genre which, I will admit, wasn't one of my focuses before I started writing romances.

This is why it is DESPERATELY important for a writer to READ. If you don't read, you don't learn and grow as a writer. You can't grow a vegetable garden without adding fertilizer and plant food. Reading is that fertilizer (and not just reading bullshit, either *LOL*).

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

It really did shock me last night when this realization hit me. One of those, "D'OH!" moments you have as a writer when you know you've just learned something of monumental importance for your career. I'd never really been able to vocalize the differences before, even though intellectually I KNOW the differences. I've seen LOTS of poorly executed third-omni in older romances that is nothing but head-hopping. SK doesn't head-hop in this book, it's properly executed third-omni. Something to think about.

Happy Writing!

"Fierce Radiance" Coming Monday, Feb. 15th!

Geez, you can tell I've been swamped, I totally brain farted and forgot to post my cover and info on "Fierce Radiance!" It's coming Monday, Feb. 15th from Siren-BookStrand, but it's already available for pre-order!

http://www.bookstrand.com/fierce-radiance

Blurb:

[Ménage Amour: Erotic Sci-Fi Ménage a Trois Romance, M/M/F, M/M, Dom/sub]

Being orphaned twice, tragedy defined starship captain Aine Lorcan’s early life. As a result, she buried herself in her work and earned her “Ice Queen” nickname. When she crash lands after a raider attack, it’s hunky Act’huran Commander Sammuel Jorvis who rescues her.

Sammuel and Ker have searched to find the perfect third to complete their triad. Aine first tries to fight the attraction she feels for Sammuel before giving in to his sinfully hot brand of persuasion. Meeting Ker only cements the love she has for the men and her feeling of belonging.

When duty calls and the Confederation wants her back, she wages a war of conscience. Stay with her men, or fulfill the legacy her two fathers died to help her achieve? Now with one of her men in danger, will Aine’s love burn out, or will she live up to her reputation of Fierce Radiance?

--

Now, don't assume it's a BDSM book just because you see Dom/sub. *LOL* Actually, it's not BDSM, although there are two haaaawwwttt Alpha guys who are so steamy the paint will peel off your walls. *LOL* There are D/s aspects to it though. So if you don't like BDSM, but you do like hunky, take-charge Alpha heroes, you might want to give it a shot.

This isn't part of my "Deep Space Mission Corps" series ("Love at First Bight"), it's a different "world" than those books, but it does lend itself to possible sequels.

What a great Valentine's Day gift to yourself! :)

Writing How-To: "And then, suddenly..."

Deus ex machina. Literally, "god from the machine."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina

You've seen it before. It's the object that turns up exactly at the perfect time the characters need it to get out of their life-threatening fix. It's the character who suddenly remembers they studied Morse code in Boy Scouts and translates the message that sends them in the right direction. It's the tornado that swoops out of the cornfield and kills off the bad guy just as he's about to kill the hero and heroine.

It's also weak storytelling and should be avoided at all costs.

If you paint (or in this case, write) yourself into a corner, you don't resort to magic wands to fix it. (Unless, of course, it's a story about wizards.) You might, however, be forced to send your story in a different direction than you wanted.

Your other option, of course, is to stop, examine your story from the beginning, and make course corrections to avoid the problem in the first place, or set it up better so it's not a, "And, SUDDENLY...!" kind of moment.

Not "Just" a Card.

Hubby's birthday is February 18th, so we usually manage to combine Valentine's Day and his birthday. (Hey, if I get screwed every year because my birthday is close to or ON Mother's Day, it's fair as far as I'm concerned.)

He gets off easy with me.

Um, I didn't mean like THAT. (Yes, I write hot stuff, but don't assume everything I say is dirty…just most of it.)

I'm not a jewelry or flowers or candy kind of girl. I do like gadgets (we're giving ourselves a Kindle this year to go with our Sony e-reader) but actually, I don't expect anything on V-day except a card.

My husband, unlike many men, is king of picking cards guaranteed to make me cry my eyes out (happy tears). He takes his time, spends a long time finding just the right one, and it's always great.

We're not rich, but we spent a LOT of our early years where all we could afford to give each other was a card. He's an eloquent man, but he always outdoes himself with the cards.

Frankly, I'll take that over any present any day of the week.

(Is it any wonder I call him "The World's Best Husband™" and get inspiration to write the stuff I do?)

Upgrades...

Sorry, I was too lazy to find my digital camera and take a picture of my actual computer. This is my new red Toshiba Satellite T135 I picked up yesterday. Yes, it's smaller than my regular Toshi, it's got a 13.3 screen, but I plan on using it for writing. I am getting far too distracted lately by other things, and I need something light and portable that I can focus on my writing with and not get Twitter-stracted. I needed something bigger than a netbook (with a full-sized keyboard). This works perfectly.

I'm going to upgrade my big Toshi to an even bigger Toshi fairly soon, and hubby will get my big Toshi because his laptop is over four years old and really needs an upgrade. I have plans for a 17.3" screen Toshi for powerhouse work when I need it. That one will be my "desktop replacement" one, while this one will take over the bulk of my writing load. I can use it easily in bed or on the couch or on the road, and it's fully functional as a computer and for browsing. Since I'm not a gamer, that's not an issue. And, when I want to read e-books, I can use it for that instead of the eeePC. The larger screen will be sweet for that.

So far, I love it. I transferred all my writing files, both finished and WIPs to it, activated Word, installed SuperNoteCard, and away I went. It's got Windows 7 home premium, which wasn't too hard to adapt to considering I'm used to Vista now anyway.

Now if I can figure out the new iPod I got to get myself out of the mp3 player Stone Ages, I'll be a happy girl...

(FTC asshats blog disclaimer: Yes, I paid for all my own stuff.)