This is the Name I Call You By

I've just finished the last edits before my new novel is sent out to publishers and there is just one task left to do. It's a seemingly simple one on the surface, but I'm finding it extremely difficult. 

At the suggestion of my agent, I'm attempting to rename one of my two main characters. There is nothing wrong with the name I've given her, except that it is the name of the main character in some upcoming "made-to-be-a-bestseller" trilogy, you know the kind that seem to come out every month these days. So to avoid being linked to something like that, it's just easier to change the name. Sounds easy, right? Well, not when you've come to know this character by one name for the past year.

It really shouldn't make any difference. Her name has no significance to the story and no one will ever know it wasn't always the character's given name. Yet, it still matters. Try to imagine Alice being called Emily and for whatever reason it doesn't work. However, if you never knew her as Alice, it wouldn't bother you at all. But since you do, it does. That's the situation I'm in. Every name I try out feels wrong somehow. 

Feeling is what I will go on in my search. When I stumble upon a name that feels right, I will confidently hit the "replace all" button. Until then, it's off to the baby name lists to find my character the name she never had. 

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

With all the Star Wars chatter these days about new movies, it seems people have forgotten that there is currently a phenomenal Star Wars product on the market. Of course I'm referring to The Clone Wars animated series, which during it's several season run on Cartoon Network has continued to excel not only in its storytelling and character development, but also in offering fans the most in depth glimpse at the expanded universe. 

The season finale aired this past week and it answered one of the pressing questions raised by the series. Given that it takes place between Episode II and Episode III, there was always the question of what would happen to Asoka. She is Anakin's teenage padawan, and seeing as how she isn't in Episode III, there was going to need to be some sort of explanation. Over the past two seasons, this is the question that has kept plaguing me. What was going to happen to Asoka?

I finally got the answer in this season's wonderful three part concluding episode. Viewers learned the fate of Asoka, and not only was it masterfully handled, it also raised serious questions about the state of the Jedi Council in wartime. These episodes were really a turning point in the greater Star Wars story. There is a line spoken by a Jedi named Barriss where she accuses the Jedi of being a weapon for the Dark Side. I thought this was a brilliant speech, and an accurate one. With the Jedi Council caving to the demands of the Senate, led by the Emperor, they are essentially working for the Dark Side. I'd never thought about it that way, but now the truth is so obvious.

Another thing this episode achieved was to further set up Anakin's fall. I always knew that Asoka's fate would play into this arc, and was very pleased with the subtle, yet pivotal, role it will play in his growing rift with the Jedi Council. 

It's strange that there is all this speculation about the new Star Wars movies when most so-called fans are completely ignoring one of the franchise's best offerings. If you haven't watched The Clone Wars, do yourself a favor and start tuning in. 

May the force be with you...and with you Asoka Tano.

Stepping Into Story

I spent this past week making revisions to my new manuscript. Stepping back into a story can be a tricky thing sometimes, especially one told in two voices. Sometimes though, it isn't hard at all. I was lucky this time. As soon as I dove in, I felt like I'd never left the world I'd put to paper.

I think part of that is due to the fact that the one main character is based more on me than any character I've written in eight years. There are differences between us, but for the most part, the character shares many of my traits and opinions. This wasn't an intentional decision, it just sort of happened as the writing progressed. Sometimes I purposely try to stay away from that, but for whatever reason, it just felt right for this book.

With my work done for now, there's nothing to do but wait for the story to find a home. Sometimes that's the hardest part...

Out of the Blue, Into the Black

All my stories seem to enter the woods at some point, attracted there by their own force of will. The woods are a place to be lost. A place where past and present mean less than they do on a crowded street and where the future seems to come at a slower pace. Time moves differently among the trees, just like it does between the pages. Perhaps there is a connection between the paper and the branches it used to be.

I've currently written my characters into the woods where fate awaits them with a cruel twist. Part of me feels guilty that I know what is about to befall them and not only do I not warn them, I am leading them straight to into the danger and rubbing my hands greedily together in anticipation. Because that's the thing about the woods...good and evil lurk in equal parts among the trees.

Fiction Friday (10)

So...wow! I haven't done a Fiction Friday since March and I'm not really sure how I let that happen. I've certainly been reading books in that time, I just haven't been reviewing them with any degree of frequency. I think a part of that is my natural tendency to grow weary of reviews in the period after I've released a book. Once subjected by reviews of your own work, one feels a little less motivated to subject others to the same. But as I've mentioned before, I think it's important for an author to discuss what he or she is reading from time. I think authors read books for different reasons than non-writers and that we see different things within the work. 

This week, I'm going to share three different chapter books that I've read over the past two months. I've been working on a chapter book project of my own for the past month or so, and have returned to reading the genre again after some time away. I believe that when writing in specific children's formats such as picture books, readers, or chapter books, it's important to continually refresh oneself to the parameters of the format before diving in. (By I'm the complete opposite when it comes to YA novels. I avoid reading any of them while working on something.) Enjoy.

Utterly Me, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child
(Candlewick 2002)

As Clarice's class prepares their utterly important book projects, mysterious things begin to happen. First there is a flood in the boys bathroom, then the winner's cup goes missing, and to top it all off, her best friend has completely vanished. In fact, things are beginning to resemble the events in her favorite book series about Ruby Redfort, a child secret agent. It's hard for Clarice to concentrate on book projects with so much going on around her.

I've always been a fan of Lauren Child's work, not only for her wonderful illustrations, but also for her unbelievable ability to capture the voice of a child. While her picture books have always displayed her artistic genius, this Chapter Book allows the author to showcase her wonderful writing talent.

Clarice is an exceptionally entertaining narrator, mostly because she is unexceptional in almost every way. By that I mean, Clarice is a normal kid and that's what makes the books so endearing. So often children encounter characters who find themselves in fantastical situations, or characters who are so quirky that they are unlike anyone the reader will meet in real life. It's refreshing to meet a character like Clarice who demonstrates that you don't have to be exceptional to be special. All you need is what every child instinctively has: an vivid imagination and a curious nature. 

Billy Bones by Christopher Lincoln

(Little Brown 2008)

A delightful, more middle grade read that has a Roald Dahl meets Beetljuice feel to it, Billy Bones follows a family of skeletons charged with keeping the secrets of the rotten human family dwelling within the house where they live in a secret closet. Of course, not everyone in the Biglam family is rotten, least of all Millicent, the recently orphaned little girl who has been in the care of her most rotten uncle. 

Millicent reminded me of Matilda (from the Dahl book of the same title). She's the kind of character you root for not only because of the unfairness of her condition, but also because of the positive nature of her spirit. She quickly befriends Billy, a young skeleton boy with secrets of his own. From there, the secrets of the house begin to surface in explosive fashion, literally. 

I really enjoyed spending time with this cast of characters and the wonderful illustrations added to the story's appeal. A perfect book for fans of Series of Unfortunate Events.

Little Fur #1: The Legend Begins by Isobelle Carmody
(Random House 2006)

This is one of those books that I was really torn about. On one hand, as an adult, I found it fascinating. I really enjoyed seeing our world through the eyes of Little Fur and her friends. To make the everyday world feel new and strange is a difficult task that Carmody was able to pull off. I also thought the mythical elements of the story were intriguing. I loved 'The Old Ones' and the idea of this innocent creature being their protector. Little Fur as a character is well-formed and the bravery she discovers within herself along her journey is wonderful to see.

Then there's the other half of me that kept shaking my head as I read the book. The environmental message in the book comes off incredibly heavy-handed. That in itself didn't bother me because it played into the character's view of the world. The part that left me shaking my head was the complete disgust presented in the book toward humans in general. Granted, by the end, there was a very slight concession that perhaps not every human in the world was terrible and evil, yet it still left the impression that most were, or at least our lifestyle is. Again, as an adult, I'm not sure I would object too much to that point of view, but as a book for children, it struck as incredibly odd. I really wonder what kind of message it would send to an impressionable child, especially given that most readers are going to be suburban children living in the very kind of place described in the book...not to mention what a dog owner would think (given the way dogs are depicted as willing slaves of human evil).

An odd story with charm whose message goes a little over the top.

Wherever You Go, I Will Follow...

I've been taking a different approach with my writing lately. With the new book I'm working on, I'm not obsessively planning and outlining the way I typically do. It's not because I've suddenly given up my belief that plans and outlines are extremely helpful tools...and I have to admit that I'm sneaking in a little of both...however, the story is about the freedom the two main characters experience during their day together. I wanted to give them the chance to find themselves in their own terms. 

Most writers will tell you that their characters are their children in a sense. You give life to them and are ultimately responsible for their well being. Of course there's the benefit of them not being able to scribble on your walls or break your most prized possessions, but that's a minor detail because they still demand the same amount of attention. With the two character in this story, I didn't want to force anything on them. I think of it more like the picture above...I offer them scenes to ether accept or reject. Though unlike them, I have the advantage of knowing where they will end up. But that will be my little secret.

This is the Place Where Something Happens...

I often find myself coming to the end of a sentence or a paragraph and saying that this is where something needs to happen. Something big. Something exciting. Sometimes something that even I never expected. 

I've always found this to be a good trick to get out of a rut. By giving myself a moment to open up the story to any possibility, I usually find a way to propel things forward in a manner much more interesting than any outline ever could. 

This morning when I opened my manuscript, I was at one of these moments. I decided to let the characters do what I would've wanted to do most in their position. It worked out much better than the course I had planned for them. A writer must always have faith in their characters to sometimes know better than he or she does.

I Like You, You Like Me

Lately I've been seeing a lot of book reviews that state the reader didn't like a certain title because he or she "didn't really like" a character. I wonder when it happened that we started to think we're supposed to like every main character or that every one of their actions is supposed to make us happy? Isn't an intriguing character supposed to challenge the reader...just as a book is supposed to (though that seems slightly out of favor as well).

Personally, I blame Harry Potter and other mega hits of our time for having an all too clearly defined sense of right and wrong, good and evil. In my experience the differences are often more blurred and characters, like people, are far more dynamic. 

If you're interested in hearing me discuss this and other such literary fluff, you'll have the chance tonight...provided you're in the L.A. area. 

TONIGHT ONLY: I'll be reading & signing @ Miss Nelson's Toy & Book Shop

1030 Bonita Ave.

LaVerne, CA 91750

No So Perfect

Part of the process for creating interesting characters requires the writer to face their own insecurities and bestow at least a portion of them onto the characters. I've never been a believer in perfect characters, or even perfect relationships between characters. Characters need flaws and need to make mistakes. It's through their failures and struggles that the reader grows closer to them.

I refuse to write novels where everything happens the way we might hope for them to happen. Life doesn't work like that and neither should fiction. A book shouldn't have to give the reader exactly what they want in order for it to be satisfying.

Lately I feel we live in a climate where fewer readers are willing to challenge themselves. They want characters who are veiled versions of themselves, only in a slightly wittier, smarter, or sexier model. There seems to be a need to reaffirm their own worth rather than examine their own possible misgivings as a way toward personal growth. That's find every once in a while, but sometimes entertainment should do more than entertain...it should also make you think.

Save Me a Seat at the Mad Hatter's Table Please

I haven't been posting much about my writing process lately. That's not because I haven't been writing...(I have, I swear I have). In fact, I've been writing quite a bit. The new manuscript has passed the 75 page mark and shows no sign of slowing down. What's fascinating for me is the way the book continues to shift away from the vision I had for it over a year ago when I first conceived of it.

With this book, I've followed the same process of letting my characters wander that was so successful for me during the writing of Afterworld. As a result, the cast is shaping up to be one of strange and intriguing individuals. Naturally, their oddness serves a purpose to the greater story and has contributed to a greater number of horror elements working their way into the book. It's as if the story is feeding off their madness, shaping their world into something more suitable to their personalities. In the end, I think this will be a darker book than I envisioned...but a more powerful one.

We're All In This Together

Characters have a way of developing their own relationships with each other. This is one of the most fascinating aspects of writing a novel. Interactions that you never anticipated begin to develop and start to shape a story in unexpected ways.

When planning a story, you think in terms of connections. These characters are siblings, or lovers, or enemies, etc. A story can be hatched in those terms, but what those terms inevitably mean become complicated. For me, the earliest chapters of a manuscript are a way of establishing these relationships.

It can be painfully complex and slow at first, but once I've figured out how two important characters relate to each other, it makes everything that comes after that much easier to write. Motivations for their actions become second nature and even their reaction to situations is easier to see. I'm happy to say the two main characters in my new manuscript have reached a level of comfort with each other that should allow me to move forward smoothly.

Putting a Leash on Your Characters

Allow your characters too much freedom and they will sprint away from the story. You want them to be adventurous, but within the confines of the page. Once they get out...well, things just get messy.

It's really in the early chapters that a writer must get a firm grip on the behavior of the main characters. Like the director of a play, you must give cues. Tell them where to enter. Set up the scene and let them know what they are expected to accomplish. Then sit back and let them act. They'll test you at first. Lizzie is currently trying to get the upper hand on me. But I think maybe today we'll come to some sort of understanding.

Two of My Favorite Girls

Last week I wrote a short piece of original fiction where CatKid met Alice in a Wonderland maze. I hadn't written in CatKid's voice in a few years, but she's always there in the back of my head yapping at me to pay attention to her. And Alice is one of the reasons I became a writer. So needless to say, it was a bit of a dream project and very fun to write.

You can read it here if you like...I promise you'll laugh (or at least chuckle).

Spitting Out Demons

The imagination is a thing all artists must open with care. You have to open the door just wide enough to allow a few monsters in. I firmly believe there has to be some darkness in there or the whole thing doesn't work. But too many demons can ruin the entire balance. They have to be restrained a bit. Put on a leash and given only so much room to roam.

For me, the main characters are always the guiding force of goodness that takes me through the bleak landscape, leaving a trail of color behind them as they walk. They are the mouthpiece spitting out demons on the pages.

It's time to inhale deeply and breathe fire into the world.

The Gender Switch

As one who often writes books from the point of view of the opposite gender, I'm particularly observant of criticism leveled at authors for using this device. Now in some cases, it's justified. If the story is attempting to tell a tale unique to a specific gender-related experience, then you're kind of setting yourself up for a gut punch. If not though, I believe the character should be based on the believability of their actions and voice regardless of the author's sex.

Often, I see reviews online that say such unintelligent things as obviously, the author has never been a 13 year old girl, because she would never do such and such a thing. Or even better, no teenage girl thinks like that. Really? None? Does being a member of a gender clue you in on what every other member of your tribe thinks? I know I certainly wouldn't presume to know what all boys think about. So let's refrain from such statements, please.

Just because a character's experience doesn't match your experience, doesn't make it invalid. If the character's motivations are flawed that's one thing. If their actions aren't justified or properly presented, that's something too. But if they are, then I don't see gender coming into play. There is no reason one can or cannot act a certain way simply because of their gender. Naturally some behavior is more likely, but unlikely behavior that is set up in the right manner is just as believable.

I have a suspicion that a lot of reviewers who write negatively about an author writing under a different gender are simply reacting to the seeing the author's name. Had the author's name not appeared, I surely doubt they would recognize the author as being other than the same gender of the main character. I don't think I'd see reviews online that read obviously this was written by a man.

I wonder why that is? I can only assume it comes from the perception of being threatened, that somehow your story is being corrupted. Whatever reason, it seems quite silly to me and not very enlightened.

Personally, I like to write from the point of view of opposite gender mostly because it forces me to find a unique voice for a character. My teenage boy characters tend to sound like me and think like me more often than not and writing in my own voice isn't nearly as interesting as writing in a voice that doesn't belong to me.

Gently Down the Stream...

Shifting from writing one story to the next is a lot like it is with reading one story to the next. There's a transition that has to take place, a resetting of the mind. One world needs pushed aside to make room for another. But I never like to let it drift too far. It's like a balloon on a string, floating and bouncing along, but always within reach because I enjoy letting the world of one influence the next. My characters, be it from a novel or a chapter book, are always talking to one another in some way.

Back to the Drawing Board...Literally

I woke from a dream late last week with a story burning a hole in me wanting to get out. As always, I took some notes but I really wanted to return to a project I'd already been working one. However, every time I opened that document and tried to work, this other story haunted me.

I tried to be disciplined and resist as long as I could, but the other night it wouldn't stay in any longer. I sat at my drawing table and the main character emerged effortlessly as if she was always there waiting to be seen. I hand-wrote the opening scene beside her at a pace my hand could barely keep up with. There are still many questions that I'm mulling over and still a lot to discover about this world I've trespassed into, but it's too late leave. I'm hooked.

There's one thing I've learned about publishing and that's to follow your imagination. You can't necessarily worry about who will publish your story. The only think you can be certain of is that if you don't love what your writing, it's pretty much guaranteed nobody else will either.

I, Me, Mine

A common theme that runs through most of my characters is a feeling of isolation. Though they may have friends or love interests that help them through it, there are moments where they are convinced they don't belong in the world. This isn't some glorification of the outsider (as I've been accused of in the past) but a manifestation of a way I've often felt. I think a good number of writers feel this way and felt this way since childhood. We are observers, watchers, and rarely participants. Stories and fictions are how we connect with the world. Books are a comfort for isolation and writing is a gift to others who share the feeling.

All in a Dream

A few months ago, I had a dream that really felt like a great Middle Grade novel. Of course, I wrote it down in as much detail as possible. This story has been brewing since then. I've been compiling notes and pictures and whatever else seemed to fit. All of these have been stuck in a folder and growing. It's really a story I want to tackle sooner rather than later.

Last night, the idea revisited my dreams at a later point in the story and really did a lot to develop the overall picture. The characters were more complete and vocal and there was a connection there. I knew them. Two dreams...now I'm onto something.

A Name is Everything

I'm working on hopefully what will be the final draft of my new novel which means it's time to settle on a title. I'm terrible at titles. Mostly because I know there is a lot of importance to what a book is called. Here's what I believe:

A title has to relate to the story. I hate when titles are misleading.

A title has to convey the mood of the story.

Those two criteria alone aren't so difficult. The trick is, the title also has to be appealing. I can think up a million creative titles that capture the mood and essence of the story, but they typically end up being what we in the biz term 'quiet titles' and quiet titles in a flooded market are deathly.

I currently have a list of several dozen possible titles for this book with none are jumping out at me at the moment. I still have faith that it will come to me in the end. Several of my novels have been titled only after I've finished the last draft and only after hours of exhaustive work. I just need to be drained to come up with them...otherwise, as this post makes obviously clear, I over think such a minor detail as the title.

Come to think of it, I have a hard time naming characters as well. I typically change their names at least once in the writing process. Perhaps this is why I've thought about names for a potential child since I was seventeen...and the by the way, still not settled on that either.