Guest Post: Let Setting Emerge From Character

The lovely and talented Laurel Garver is taking over the blog today!   She's going to talk about one of my favorite topics, setting, and how she worked with it in her novel Never Gone.  

Setting is a key element of my novel, Never Gone, about a teen who is grieving the death of her British father, and must somehow build a life with her workaholic American mother. Danielle’s trip from the US to England becomes a catalyst for her to get to the bottom of family secrets. Setting also undergirds the story flow, as one of my reviewers on Amazon picked up: "From the sky-scrapers of New York, to the hills of England, Garver brings you on a lyrical journey that rolls with highs and lows, full of valleys of tenderness."

Thanks, Melissa, for the opportunity to talk about how I chose some of my settings and used a mix of research and imagination to bring them to the page.

The opening of Never Gone is set in New York City. Why not Philadelphia, since you live there?

My story decisions usually develop out of the characters, rather than the other way around. As I got to know my protagonist Dani’s parents, Graham and Grace, it became clear that no other place would work for them. Grace is a driven advertising executive who would never settle for working outside Madison Avenue. Making a living as a professional photographer—which is Graham’s career—requires proximity to the most potential purchasers of this kind of service, like ad agencies.
Honestly, though, New York City is only two hours away, and we have friends there who’ve been a great help answering my questions about family life in the city. I did five trips (combined with family fun) to chose Dani’s neighborhoods and gather sensory details.

How much are your New York locations real, and how much a fabrication?

Dani’s homes in Park Slope Brooklyn and the Upper West Side are based on real buildings. I was able to find real estate listings for her UWS high rise, including floor plans, which I adapted slightly.
Dani’s school Rexford Academy is a fabrication based roughly on a private school on 91st, though I place it in the West 70s. Her church is riff on All Angels in the Upper West Side, mixed with several Anglican/Episcopal churches I’ve visited in the US and Britain.

I think it’s important to make your fabrications realistic by drawing details from real places.

A majority Never Gone takes place in a rural English village, Ashmede. How did you choose the location? How real are your British settings?

I wanted the time that Dani spent in her late father’s hometown to challenge her strong identification with him. The setting had to be a big contrast from her very American, very urban home, so her dad is not only foreign, but rural.

I’d originally planned to set the story in the Cotswolds in the southwest near Wales, where I lived for a semester in college. But while I was researching and drafting, friends invited us to visit them in Durham, which is up north. When I discovered that folks from northern Britain face deep prejudice in the south, it made Graham’s back story even more compelling. He’d have a hard time breaking into photography in London because of his accent, and would more easily find work in the US. Americans don’t understand or really even hear regional differences among British dialects.

So that visit turned into a major research trip. I invented Ashmede (a popular name for streets, but no village bears it) from places I visited then, and a North Yorkshire village I stayed in during spring break as a student. Durham Cathedral, a real location I fell in love with on my research trip, is the backdrop for several chapters. I also set a chapter at Kings Cross Station, where all the northbound trains leave London. It worked nicely on a couple of levels, including Dani’s love of Harry Potter.

What advice would you give other writers about setting?

Remember that where you come from shapes who you are. Start with your character and do your best to follow logically where such a person would come from and where he or she would naturally chose to go from there.

Second, there is no substitute for real, on-the-ground research. Even if you choose to invent a town like I did, you need authentic details from that geographic area. What is the weather like? What unique topographical features (mountains, forests, deserts, etc.) affect daily life? What is local cuisine and how does it taste? How does the area typically smell and sound? Is the culture informal and inviting or uptight and suspicious? What do the locals do for fun? What slang expressions are typical? You can’t get any of that information from Google street view.
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Laurel Garver is the author of the Never Gone, a young adult novel about a grieving teen who believes her dead father has returned as a ghost to help her reconcile with her estranged mother.

Add it on Goodreads. It is available at Amazon.com, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, CreateSpace.

New York Young- Photo Inspiration for Writers

It should be no secret (and it isn't now) that I discreetly photograph people I find interesting in order to inspire character. Look at her Converse boots!  Her hair!  I love her and I do not know her!  


I store these pictures in a folder labelled 'characters'.   Since I snap them quickly, half of them are blurred, most of them are faceless, and some of them are of a single boot (I have a thing for boots) or the perfect bracelet that I think a character might wear.

So, you can imagine, when I discovered this beautiful photo project from New York Photographer Amy Touchette which features outstanding portraits of New York City teenagers, I was like a kid in a candy store, devouring these professional portraits like I had just received a passport to character inspiration nation. 

I find these photographs incredibly inspiring and I wanted to share them here for anyone writing teen characters.

According to the Cara Buckley of the New York Times:

Ms. Touchette shot most of the photos in summer 2011, prowling the streets of Manhattan and Williamsburg looking for adolescents who were, in her words, "visually urban" -- colorful, slightly attitudinal, and the clear products of New York.

Since I don't have permission to share Touchette's New York Young project on the blog, please clickety click here if you're looking for a little character inspiration.

Where do you find character inspiration?

I'm Hearing Voices Blogfest- Characters On The Couch

Two wonderful bloggers, Angie Cothran and Cassie Mae, who always keep me smiling, came up with the I'm Hearing Voices Character Blogfest.

I immediately signed up to participate a few weeks ago.  Then I sat down to write the post, looked at the rules, and had a panic attack.  The truth is, I'm in such a weird place with my characters, the idea of bearing their souls on this blog gives me hives.

But I guess that's the point.  So here we go.

This is Anna.  She is the sister of my main character.

What is your biggest vulnerability?  Do others know this or is it a secret?

You've got to be kidding me, doc. I tell you my kryptonite while you nod and fake a scribble in that little notebook of yours?  No way.  We start on a level playing field.  

What do people believe about you that is false?

That I'm smarter than I look.  I'm just as smart as I look.

What would your best friend say is your fatal flaw?  Why?

You're really into this tragic hero thing aren't you?  I'm sorry. I'm not budging on this one. I mean, if you know how to take me down, we're just not going to have any fun here.

What would the same friend say is your one redeeming quality?  Why?

I'm loyal.  Running into burning buildings loyal.  Ya know, give my right arm kind of stuff.

What do you want most?  What will you do to get it?

There's this Bob Dylan lyric, 'Everybody will help you, discover what you set out to find.'  I want the 'what'.  Once I know that, I'll be there.  I'll take down a nun if I have to.  I'll be first one in line.  

Write It Wrong

I'm still struggling with this character I may have mentioned. She has me up late into the night and I can't seem to crack her, can't seem to get her right. I sit in front of a blank screen and dance around her, get to the end of a sentence just before she is about to appear, and the cursor blinks, and I freeze.

Yesterday, I heard her for the first time. And by heard, I mean, she spoke (from behind a closed door no less, still refusing to be seen.) There was dialogue. One measly line. And it stopped me. Is this right? Would she say this?

On our walk to the subway I told Tyler about my frustration: I can't get it right. I just don't know her well enough.

And he said: Well, what are you going to do? Take her out for lunch?

And I suppose that's what I need to do, take her out and see what happens. I think the only way to get through this is to forget everything and just...write it wrong.

Do you have any characters you need to get wrong before you get it right?

Flat. Down. Up.

I rode my bicycle through Prospect park on Saturday, thinking about my writing, about this blog. I can not tell you how many blog posts I have 'written' while I've pedalled, how many plot holes I have worked out while gripping my pink handlebars (It's almost time for new tape, what color do you suggest?)

On this particular ride, I was thinking a lot about my novel, with it's completed first draft, which sits until I can sit with it. I have designated Friday afternoon as the time to do that. To read it, in it's entirety and see what can be done. Since I began writing the book, I've struggled to define one of the most important characters. She is a catalyst for everything that happens to my main character and I have danced around her for 72,000 words. There are decisions that need to be made and there are literal blank pages waiting for me to make them. I have lost sleep over this woman. She has made me insane.

My ride through Prospect Park did not provide any breakthroughs but I am very, very close to figuring things out.

What I did realize is how cathartic it is to ride this particular loop. I begin on a flat road, then I dip down a long hill where I fly and feel free. At the end, there is a steep slope upwards and I sweat and curse to myself the entire time. While I'm climbing, I think, I'm going home. There is no way I can do this again. But then I come to that flat and I take off for another round.

As I tried to sort through this mess of a character, I thought about what I was doing. I thought about the loop. And it made me feel better. Not just about my book but about life in general. Flat. Down. Up. And how natural it is to start again. I realize it's cliche, these hills and valleys. But to feel it, really feel it, makes me know it's true. Because that's what it's really like...to move across the earth this way.

O is for Essence of Olivia

Oh Olivia. How I adore her. I like overly rambunctious, hyper-active characters who love life and always want to have fun. To me, that is the essence of Olivia and I've always enjoyed her books because of this joie de vivre.

In my current WIP, I have two secondary characters who have the essence of Olivia (should I try and make that into a scent?). And in previous projects, I usually have at least one. But they are always secondary characters.

It occurred to me that I tend to have very saracastic, brooding, sad main characters. Always the too-smart, quiet, melancholy wall-flowers. The girls who are on the brink or the edge of wanting something more. The ones who admire the Olivias but are not totally sure how to get to that place in life. They are never the loud, take-charge of the world kind of people.

To put it in the terms of one of my favorite television shows, My So Called Life, I've always got an Angela Chase and never a Rayanne Graff in the leading role.

I thought how interesting it would be to write a main character with such a passion for life, a la Olivia or Anne of Green Gables. I may try it out next time around.

Do you tend to write a certain type of main character?

C is for Character Day

When I was a little girl, my elementary school had an event called "Character Day". Everyone had to dress up in a costume depicting their favorite character from a book. We would choose a book from the library (but we were welcome to choose a book we read outside of school) and a week later we would dress up and present to the class why we picked this character. Each class would vote for their favorite character and that child would present in front of the entire school. So, at the end of the day, fourteen children would stand on stage, two from each grade, representing their individual classes.

What I remember most about that day was the excitement I felt when I saw the older kids present. These were characters I hadn't heard of yet. Books I couldn't even begin to imagine reading. These were hard books and someday I was going to read them and know their characters too.

When I think of "Character Day" now, I think how special my elementary school was, to honor books and characters the way they did. It was the smallest school in the district and, due to budget cuts, it closed a year before I graduated. I had to go to another school and I never got a chance to participate in Character Day as an 'older kid'.

But, my senior year of high school, at an awards banquet, they honored the top 10% of the graduating class. We were grouped by what elementary school we had went to. Since our original elementary school had closed, our school was not represented, but we petitioned (and won) to be grouped as: Willett Avenue students. Because out of 35 students in that top percent, 10 of them had originally went to Willett Avenue. We were one of the largest groups of students at the banquet and our group included the valedictorian. Considering that there were only about 30 students that had even gone to Willett Avenue in my entire graduating class, I consider that a major achievement. A testament to a place that held events like "Character Day" and honored learning in such a unique and fun way.

The photo above is a cement turtle that still stands outside of the school (I believe it is now a school for disabled children). The turtle was our mascot, proving that slow and steady does indeed win the race.

Death of A Character

My work in progress is progressing slowly. I feel I have to measure each word, even if it is first draft. There is a natural crawl through each paragraph as I feel my way through one moment and then the next. And I realize that the action is deliberate, even though I haven't plotted or outlined a thing. I have found myself stopping to think more than I normally would in a draft and I have willed myself to do things I have not wanted to do. I don't mean sitting in front of the blank screen (though I haven't wanted to do that.) I don't mean turning off the television and twitter and gmail, closing the door, and sinking into the old wooden chair at my little desk (though I haven't wanted to do that either.)

I mean that I am forcing myself to do things to my characters that I have not wanted to do. Just moments ago, I waded slowly through a murky scene. And I realized that I was going to have to do something really terrible. Really awful. I've been avoiding it for a long time. I have to send a character off to die. I've reached the point where I have no other choice.

I've never done this to a character I truly care about. This is brand new. How about you?

Bring It On

I'm back from my blogging hiatus, where I fell out of reality for a few days, eating my way through the holidays, reading two books for two new book clubs, sleeping well, and napping, which is something I haven't done in quite some time.

The New Year begins and so begins the idea that we can begin a-new. I have many resolutions swimming around inside a still sleepy mind. I make resolutions a lot, not just at the beginning of a new year. Time has a knack for beginnings and endings. It's very good at closing doors and opening windows. There are falling leaves and grey days and spring flowers and anniversaries and the reminder of all the tomorrows that allow you to put today and yesterday to rest.

This year, I plan to write a new novel and I'm very excited about it. I am entering a story I don't yet fully understand, a world I am fascinated by, and this book is bringing out things I have always wanted to write about: forgotten amusement parks and a network of underground canals. Musicals and singing and the beautiful stars of old films I once loved.

I'm excited to nestle inside of this world for a while but there is a little bit of trepidation. This is my 'second' novel and I realize how wonderful it was to go into the first one blindly. This time around, I am carrying a lot of fears with me and a lot of feelings of inadequacy. You would think it would be the opposite, now that I have one under my belt (ha!), but it's not shaping up that way. There was a bold arrogance when I began writing Spared that I am not experiencing this time around. But there is a lot of excitement about this new place, these characters. I am hanging on to that joy for now.

Obviously, I don't yet know what the year will bring. But there are things I can bring to it and I very much want to bring this new book into the 'world'. I don't expect it to fall into so many hands, but I'll be happy enough to just let it be.

What do you plan to bring to the new year?

Tuesday Books for Writers! Breaking Away

I am not following the rules of Tuesday Books for Writers! this week. Not that there are really that many hard and fast rules to this, but the label does suggest that I will be discussing a book. I'm not. I'm discussing a movie.

Because Tyler and I are obsessed cyclists, we rented Breaking Away, a film from 1979 about a young man from a working class family in Indiana who is obsessed with Italian cycling. It was a fantastic coming of age story. A story that would probably translate to Upper YA in the publishing world. Dave Stoller is not-quite college bound and believes he's destined for cycling greatness in Italy. But his friends believe they are more likely destined to stay in their small town working dead-end jobs, living in the shadow of the prepsters at the local University. And Dave's parents also question their son's inane ambition. By the end of the film, everything is turned on its head and none of the characters end up where they thought they would be.

The characterization in this film was near perfect. Within the first ten minutes I knew exactly who the main characters were and got an immediate hint of their struggle. That is quite a feat in ten minutes! It reminded me how important those early moments are in any story. That we must share what type of person each character is through specific dialogue and behaviors. It also reminded me something an old screenwriting professor told me. That the first five minutes of a character's time on screen shapes what viewers will believe about them for the next two hours. It's no different in a book.

Not only were the characters well developed, but their character arcs were also fantastic. Even secondary characters had major arcs throughout the story. The people they became made sense given their intentions from the beginning of the story, even when their goals changed as they faced obstacles and setbacks. The script was really a great example of the hero's journey and seems like it would be a pretty good format to follow in your own writing if you really dissected it.

So if you writing a coming of age story or if you're just interested in learning more about character development, I highly recommend watching this film. It's also quite funny, so you're in for a treat. And if you've seen it please let me know what you thought!

Tuesday Books for Writers! Olive Kitteridge

I officially finished Olive Kitteridge and was officially floored. Elizabeth Strout wrote a book made for Melissa. A series of straight-forward, non-sentimental tales about folks these days. A book completely rooted in realism (which I love). A book that takes all the ordinary conversations, moments, and situations of our lives, studies them with a wide-angle lens, makes the micro...macro. A book made for Melissa. I loved every excrutiating detail, every quiet conversation, every unspoken word... Loved. Loved. Loved.

If anyone is crafting a scene between two people and is struggling to say everything you want to say in a short period of time without it becoming too forced, too unnatural, go to this book. It can be your bible. The writing is so tight. There's not a word that doesn't belong. Every gesture a character makes, every word a character says is so subtle, so perfect, so clean. I know, this sounds simple. It almost sounds dumb. Yes, Strout makes it look so easy, you feel like a complete moron. But I want to feel like a complete moron when I read. I want to just be like, wow, wow, wow, this blows my mind, my brain is mush, mush, mush.

Okay, I realize this makes no sense. I clearly should take a few cues from Strout. Here's what I learned from this book. Things I've heard, but not always seen.

1. Say what you have to say.
2. Get in the scene and get out.
3. Pick the right word.
4. Know just how the character moves at that very moment.
5. Know exactly why the character moves that way.
6. Once you've said it, don't look back.

Easy peasy. Right? Right.

Mush, mush, mush.

I'm Going to Tell You A Story

I am meeting a new character right now. The main character of a new WIP. After reading this post about character sheets from Lydia Kang's "The Word Is My Oyster", I was reminded to tell you about an exercise I use for almost everything I write. I learned it back in a play writing class my sophomore year of college and I use it to this day at any given point while I'm writing a piece.

I call it the, "I'm going to tell you a story..." exercise. Basically you write or type these words on a page:

"I'm going to tell you a story. It's a story about: __________ "

In that blank space you can put anything. Anything at all. If you know nothing about the character, maybe you want to put in the word "yesterday". The key is to launch into a story from your character's POV (that's the important part) about what happened yesterday. This is a great way to find out how they feel the moment you start the story.

Maybe you need to get deep. Maybe you need to get into some serious psychological stuff. Maybe you need to know the story about the character's "childhood." Oh boy. That's an earload.

Maybe you don't want to be so plot heavy. Maybe you just want to get to know them or maybe they are getting too predictable. So maybe you want to just put in something completely random. My personal favorite is: "my shoes." I've discovered that everyone has a story about shoes. And what's great about this is you don't just hear some opinion about heels. It's not a rant. Because the purpose of setting up the exercise is that they are telling you a story. An experience. A memory. You get what we all need in our work: A SCENE.

If you're in the middle of your WIP and you're stuck somewhere or there's a plot hole, feel free to use it again. Fill in the blank with what's gnawing you. Make that character tell you the story about: "what happened when I found the key."

Once you fill in the blank, just go. Let that character ramble. It doesn't have to be good. It's an exercise. Let them talk and talk and talk for pages and pages and pages until you find the answer. Like a reporter, keep investigating until you have your story.

What's nice about this is often we use our first draft to discover things. We take a crazy route until we find our way. There's nothing wrong with this. We all do it. But sometimes it's nice to take it away from the manuscript before getting lost.

What I love about this exercise is it's simplicity and flexibility. You can use it to learn about any character or plot point from the most minor to the most major. I've learned so much about my characters and my work using this method.

I hope you'll try it out at some point. And if you have trouble filling in the blank, don't overthink it. Turn your head and fill it in with the first thing you see. Or send me an e-mail and I'll send you a topic! Because the thing is, once you get them going, your characters will have A LOT to say.

Tuesday Books for Writers! Purple Hibiscus

Tuesday Books for Writers! is a series that features books that are read with a writer's eye. It is written with the hope that the more you read the better you write. And the more you write, the quicker you become a more active reader. Please contact me if you'd like to contribute a Tuesday Books for Writers! post.

Purple Hibiscus
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Read this if you are writing:
Young Adult Fiction
With dialect in dialogue
About Nigerian Culture
About religion
About abuse
From the POV of an extremely quiet character
A coming of age story

I'm not going to give you a summary of this novel because I want you to go out and read it. It captures something that can't be expressed. And I'm glad I am only here to discuss craft because I'm not sure I can adequately express what this story is truly about.

To touch on some of the points above:

I was impressed with the use of dialect and language in this book. I understood the 'rules' for how it was used. I clearly do not speak Ibibio and, yet, I 'understood' it.

Maybe I'm not as well read as I should be, but I can't recall reading a book, especially for young people, that deals with religion in this manner. Kambili, the narrator of this incredible story, comes from a strict Christian family. It explores how faith can be exploited, but it does not, can not, take one side. Every extremist belief is counterbalanced with an opposite and equally compelling viewpoint. Every character represents the different ways that faith can change the course of a life. It shows us faith at its darkest and most severe, but also at its most powerful. For good and for bad.

I was also very impressed with the fact that the narrator of this story rarely participates in dialogue. She is still part of the action in every scene but remains a constant observer. And, it is her voice that grows with her, as it does for so many people. Such a simple way to capture how young people develop. And done so well. I'm not sure I could have imagined writing a book in which the narrator barely speaks, but now I know it can be done.

Last week, I spoke about issues. I took issue with too many issues or, at least, not adequately giving them the time and space they deserve in the course of a narrative. This story takes A LOT of issues and gives them appropriate billing. And I'm talking serious issues. Religion, child abuse, paganism, colonization, race, the list goes on. None of it is gratuitous. All of it is compelling.

If there's any word I want to use when I say why you should read this book if you write, it's balance. This novel strikes a near perfect balance in every possible way. With it's beautiful prose. Within each complex, multi-layered character. With every theme. Read it and you'll see what I mean.

As a writer, this is the kind of book where you want to put down your pen. After reading it, you want to say, there is no way I could tell a story so well. And yet, it burns a fire within you, it tells you that you have to pick up a pen and write it all down as quickly as you can, with the same humanity and beauty that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie does. There are a few books that I read and then say: I will follow this writer anywhere. Anywhere they want to take me. I can't wait to devour as many of her words as I can.

Don Draper

I was inspired by Carolina Valdez Miller at Carol's Prints after she posted about book boyfriends. For the longest time, I've been planning to do a post on Don Draper and her post was a perfect reminder.

It's been a while since I became involved with a character. Not since my high school days, when I ran wild with Fox Mulder from the X-Files, have I enjoyed the company of a fictional man. Not until Don Draper...dazzling, tall, dark, handsome, witty, womanizing, scotch-drinkin', cigarette-smokin', suit-wearin', secret-keepin', copy-writin', new york city man of mystery...Don Draper. Can I get a long Jane Austen female protagonist sigh? Thank you.

As I watch the 3rd season of this series, I find that my love goes beyond his charismatic smile, his intense gazes, and mysterious daydreams. I am also impressed with the hand that created him. I'm convinced that we haven't seen a character on television with such depth since Tony Soprano hit the tube and, lawsie me, at least this one looks damn good.

But seriously, the more I see of this show, the more I am impressed. If you want to witness an amazing character study, get thee to a netflix and watch away. Even secondary characters are full of nuance, full of tremendous complexity. I am simply in awe. I feel compassion for the most repulsive characters. Even slimy-haired Campbell begs to be loved.

If you write character-driven stories, I hope you'll check out this show. It's Characters 101 for writers.

The Artist Is Present

I went to the MoMA on Friday to see the Tim Burton exhibit. I thought I would write a blog post about it to share with all of you. But I quickly abandoned that idea. Because, while Burton's work was certainly inspiring, it was not the exhibit that I became obsessed with at the museum that day.

What I did become obsessed with surprised me.

I am not the right person to give you a history on Marina Abramovic's work. I know nothing about her. But on Friday she sat, cloaked in blue, in the middle of a huge open space on a wooden chair with a person directly opposite her. There was a wooden table in the middle. And that was all. When I first walked by, I assumed this was staged. I figured I was supposed to watch two people staring at one another all day and think, "Oh my, how clever these Slavic nations are with their very pale, tall people being all art-tastic."

But as I became transfixed upon their staring contest, I wanted to know more. I learned that the exhibit is called "The Artist is Present" and that it was not staged. In fact, anyone could walk up and sit in the chair opposite her and join in. Anyone. And this really intrigued me. A rotating cast of characters were going to join her at that table all day. For 3 months. And when they did. Anything at all could happen. Or nothing could happen.

Well. This just about blew my mind.

I found myself completely absorbed with what might happen. I waited for one participant to get up so a new one could rotate in. I watched every small movement each one of them made. She moved her hand to her knee! I saw it! I felt like exclaiming. My goodness, ANYTHING can happen. Did you know that? I felt like telling people. Anything! To be honest with you, in my time spent there (and as much as I hate to admit it, it was a significant amount of time) not much happened. But the possibility kept me there. The idea that something could.

I'm sure a lot of people asked, "Why?" I know I certainly did, at first. But it made me think about why I engage in any activity. Why I go to a museum in the first place. Why I travel to a new country. Why I talk to a person I don't know. Why I write. Why I read. Because two people can sit across the table from one another and anything in the world can happen. And that inspired me more than you can imagine.

For more information on Marina Abramovic's work:

Click here...

Here

Or here.

Tuesday Books for Writers! Marcello In the Real World

Marcello In The Real World

by Francisco Stork

Read this if you are writing:

From a young adult male POV

About people with developmental disabilities

About faith

About a difficult ethical decision

A quite/tame legal thriller

A coming of age story

It's been a while since I've done a Tuesday Books for Writers! post, not because I haven't wanted to, but because I haven't found anything I wanted to write about. I don't go into the archives of my reading past for these things, I'm all about living in the moment, writing and recommending as a read. I read a lot of books I think people will like, but to recommend it to a writer has a whole set of bizarro Melissa rules that, honestly, aren't worth getting into (and the head cold isn't making it any easier).

In any case, me oh my, love that country pie, this book makes the cut. And boy does it ever. This book delves into some of my favorite themes as a reader/writer: religion, ethics, faith, and self-discovery. It involves a narrator with a cognitive disorder (loosely labelled as Asperger Syndrome) and part of it takes place in Vermont (my favorite state).

I could gush all day. I finished with a sigh...an ache in my heart...hope in my soul! (Bear with the head cold, people, bear with it!) But that's of no use to you.

So I'm going to talk about character goals. And birth scenes.

I think it's Writing 101 that your novel needs to begin with something new. A new person walks in the door. Your character is charged with a new mission. He or she is dumped into a new place. And the character must cope. They must survive. The moment this is introduced is what somebody once told me is called the birth scene. And I rather liked it being called that. And it's always a birth scene, even if it means somebody died and left your character all alone. No matter what, they have to be born again into something new. And this novel does it well. Marcello is cast out, against his will, into what we all call the 'real world', to work at his father's law firm for the summer. And when you're a person with special needs who has been sheltered from the real world, as Marcello has, this is a rebirth of epic proportions. And, yet, it's done quietly and beautifully in this novel. So, read this book, and make sure your characters have a 'real world' too.

Then we've got goals. This is also pretty basic. Your character has to have a goal. Something that drives the novel forward. I know you're all thinking, yeah, duh, I know that already but I'm going to challenge you. Does your reader know? After I wrote the first 100 pages of my novel I realized, 'er, uh, Melissa, your peoples ain't ever specified a darn here goal'. It's amazing how the basics can slip away when you're in the trenches. The reason this novel is a good resource for goals is because it's very clearly spelled out. Marcello is someone who thrives on structure, order, and rules. Stork spells that out as soon as we're thrust into the novel. This is Marcello's on-the-surface-goal: If I follow the rules of the law firm, I will get to choose what school I get to go to next year. And I want to go to Patterson. Thank you Marcello. You know about goals. I think it's important to write out a character's goal for the reader. It doesn't have to be as blunt and plain as Marcello's (his character warrants a straight forward telling) but it should be there. Even if it's as subtle and quiet as your character shaking fists at the sky and shouting, "I'll never go hungry again!" Thank you Scarlett O'Hara. You know about goals too.

Anyways, there's that. I hope you'll read this book even if you don't care about birth scenes or goals. What a beautiful story. Just the right balance of plot and character drive. And Marcello. A character who will stay with me always.

Has anyone else read this book? Please share your thoughts if you will :-)

Surprise!

The best thing about writing is when you're sitting on the blank page, cursor blinking, not sure where you're going or what you're doing, words coming out one by one in neat little rows, pressing enter for a new little paragraph, when suddenly, BAM, your characters poke you on the shoulder and say with a sly little laugh, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore..."

And, suddenly, just like that, you're really not. Something changes. Somebody walks in, someone you never knew, and takes over the scene and they're wild and fresh and new and bold, and they come with all kinds of convictions and beliefs and abilities. So fast that you don't even have time to question: "Who are you and where did you come from?"

These moments happen a lot when I am writing. I have very vague outlines and they are usually based on emotional moments and beats that need to happen in a story. My outlines very often look like this:

M and E talk. E is upset.

Literally. That's it.

M is Mom by the way. E is my protaganist.

Personally, I firmly believe in this approach. It doesn't work for everyone but it's best for me. Because, in the back of my mind, I know the topic they are going to talk about. But, in real life, people don't usually set out to talk about a specific topic. A question may be burning inside of someone, but that person very rarely sits down for coffee and automatically asks: Why don't you love me anymore? If they do, well, I hope I'm not sitting at the other end of the table 'cause they mean business. (Although, that might make a very good scene. Reminds me of an Edward Albee play, Scene 1, Line 1: "Hi honey. I've decided I'm leaving you'" But I digress...)

So when I sit down to write about M and E, I have absolutely no clue what they are going to talk about. They could talk about anything. Anything at all. So when I press enter and start a new paragraph, what comes out of their mouths is always a surprise. I like working this way. I am fascinated by it. If it surprises me, it means it will surprise my readers.

The thing is, these surprises very often leave me completely baffled. My inner dialogue often goes a little something like this:

What the... what? You're a pitching a tent?

Crap. I have no idea how to pitch a tent.

What's that you say? You work at a brewery? You want to talk about what it's like to work at a brewery?

Ok...well...er...if that's what you want. Note to self...figure out how to make beer.

You want to get out of the car and swim? In Missouri?

All right, but uh, can you wait a few minutes? [Frantically googles 'swimming in Missouri']

I once tweeted with a writer who was a little concerned that she suddenly had a blacksmith in her story. Oh boy, can't help you there. Better go out and get an apprenticeship or something. Eeks.

The reason I am fascinated by this whole element of surprise is because, in actuality, I am surprising myself. As much as I often feel that my characters are running off with the story, taking me places I've never been, forcing me to learn how to pitch tents and make beers, it's really...well...me. I am making the decisions. Even if it seems they are completely out of my control.

The 3 examples above are true stories. And I am proud to say I now know how to pitch a tent, I can BS my way through a conversation about beermaking (I never knew the hops were flowers. Or about worts! And that's a fun word. Say it 3 times), and I know where you can find a swimming gorge in Southeast Missouri.

So how do you surprise yourself when you're writing? What things have your characters done that have left you a little shocked and dismayed?

Photo credit: ADoseofShipBoy

Blogs I Read: Day 3

I discovered Writing As Jo(e) after she responded to a question I had on twitter regarding the Indianna Dunes. She was kind enough to e-mail me her impressions of this landmark. In order to better describe a fictional location in my novel, I was trying to better understand this area that I'd never been to. How kind she was to respond and how happy I am that it allowed me to discover her blog.

I enjoy her observations of the world. She often shares lovely simple stories about her family, friends, and neighbors. And I particularly like her connection to the natural world. I feel a bit like a voyeur as I peek into her life (I guess that's what blogs are about), but as the people and places in her world become more familiar to me, they are like characters in a story, and her blog feels like a friendly place to stop by and say hi.

What blogs do you read that have a cast of 'characters' you like to hear about?