Jamie Provencher

Category: Writing Corner: How to Be a Better Writer

• #Preptober Day 2: Where to begin

  Posted at 3:08 am by Jamie Provencher, on October 22, 2018

  

  Do you have an idea for the insane and quite possibly one of the most masochistic experiences on the planet, NaNoWriMo.  Don’t get me wrong, I do my best writing during November.  When it comes to writing, I suck at sticking to a specific daily word count or a deadline, but for some reason, the thought of millions of other people suffering at the same time does it for me.

  We all have our kinks.

   

  Anyway, I digress.  To start NaNoWriMo, all you really have to do is make the commitment.  To complete it means at least you will have to write 50k in one month which comes out to 1667 words per day (unless you like to live dangerously like me and end up writing only 10 days but somehow overworking yourself to spit out the 50k.  For example, I had about 7800 needed on November 30th last year, and squeaked the words out roughly an hour before midnight).

  

  But, even as NaNo will tell you, most successful Nanoers have at least an idea of what their book will be about, come Nov 1.  That doesn’t mean you HAVE to, but it’s one of the first life hacks that I’ll share to get you through November.

  1.  Have an idea.  Maybe it’s just your MC (main character).  Maybe just a generic plot.  But have something.  This won’t take away your Pantser title either.  But it will allow you to at least have some idea of what to type on the first day.
  2. Remember that you don’t have to have everything fleshed out.  But as mentioned in my last post, having SOMETHING sure does make things a hell of a lot easier.  In the end though, only ONE THING gets these words on paper or the word processor: actually writing. It doesn’t matter what your idea is, how great your MC is, or how many notes or lack of notes you have.  What matters is that initial commitment.  What matters is that you sit down and type.

  There are some people out there who will tell you that NaNoWriMo is only for “real writers” but it isn’t true.  Not in the slightest.

  NaNoWriMo is for the dreamer, the person who is ready to at least try to make the commitment to the story that eats at their heart, mind, and soul.  Anyone can do it.

  Will you?

  Posted in #Preptober 18, Writing Corner: How to Be a Better Writer | 1 Comment

• #Preptober Day 1: Word Processors and Outlining

  Posted at 3:02 am by Jamie Provencher, on October 20, 2018

  

  There are hundreds of word processors out there and to be honest, I doubt there is a perfect one for every writer.  Each writer utilizes what works for them.  For me though, it’s Scrivener.

  Scrivener is a word processor that was created by the software company Literature and Latte and describes it as a word processor “created for writers by writers”.  It has a 30-day free trial (Weird… NaNoWriMo is 30 days long.. coincidence?) and supports Windows, macOS, and iOS.

  There are tons of different reasons to love this program, however, I’m going to hit on my top 3 favorite things about it (and pretty much the reason I use it for all my writing):

  1. Manuscript Targets: Holy crap – game changer!  Throw out all those calendars (Ok don’t cause we all know we need to have at least 4 different places that we chronicle how well we or how poor we are doing during Nano), Scrivener will keep track of it for you and will tell you how much you need to write each day to hit your goal, even if you fall behind.  Highly customizable, and probably one of my favorite parts of Scrivener.  It even dings when you hit your goal!
     
  2. Compiling – Scrivener really does everything for you.  You just focus on the writing and once complete (or if you need to share with your inner circle like I do) you can compile it into pretty much any format (PDF, Mobi, Word Doc, epub, etc).  Still highly customizable, you can set it up to spit out whatever you need it to be.
  3. Notes section: Sometimes when I am writing, I don’t have time to do specific research or I get an idea of a later scene and I don’t necessarily want to break from my word processor to squirrel it away in my notebook (see below under outlines).  The notes section is listed on every page you go on, whether it’s the individual project folder or the actual text document within the folder.  I personally love this for jotting down errant ideas that are blocking me from my scene, but I also tend to notate any previous ideas from my outline for that chapter to help keep me on track.

  Now there are several other things I love about this program (like listing what round of edits you are on and changing the color everytime you edit) but for NaNoWriMo, this is by far my favorite aspects of this word processor.

  OUTLINES

  So as I may have mentioned before, I love to hate outlines.  Outlines are awesome in the way that they are like a linear video game.  You always know the next place you are going to go – so typically, you aren’t sitting around thinking “What’s going to happen in the next chapter?” which then can lead to the dreaded writer’s block.

  But they aren’t perfect either.  As mentioned in the above article, a lot of times we don’t know the whole ending, and while we can plot or outline several of the chapters, there is a point where either 1) we finish our outline that was written to a certain point or 2) Our characters completely derail the plot and we end up needing an entirely new outline.  These scenarios can also lead to the aforementioned block.

  Damned if you do; Damned if you don’t.

  I personally try to always have the next few chapters outlined vs trying to have the entire WIP outlined.  Reason being, it allows me to be able to stay on track but if my characters go in another way, I don’t fall into the rabbit hole of having to throw out my entire outline.  The important step to this though is that your outline needs to be forever evolving.  Never let yourself get to the last outlined chapter without at least outlining the next.  I always try to stay about five chapters ahead of myself.

  And while I do use Scrivener for all my writing needs, I also typically keep my ideas (unless they are jotted down scenes) and outlines in a notebook.  Personally, I find it easier to see how the story evolves.  I need to see those crossed out, marked up paper.  As someone who began writing paper and pen, I love to pick out my fancy gel pens and buy a new notebook for each WIP.  It gets my excitement going, but also gives me something portable so when I’m in class, work, doctor’s office, etc., I can still jot down my ideas.

  And honestly, this process has gotten me out of NUMEROUS blocks.  It’s the perfect brainstorming technique when you find yourself staring at that white screen.

  Below is a few examples of my writing notebooks and how my process looks like. (Yes, I am a Happy Planner and a Bullet Journaler).

  

  So what word processor do you write in?  And do you outline/journal as you prep or when you are unable to actively write?

  Posted in #Preptober 18, Writing Corner: How to Be a Better Writer | 2 Comments

• #Preptober – And then my husband got sick

  Posted at 1:55 am by Jamie Provencher, on October 20, 2018

  

  Dudes, the title says it all.  Pretty much after I got my blog back up, my husband got really sick.  Based on his symptoms, there was some concern that it was kidney failure but as of Sunday, he was diagnosed with Mono.  Still sucks and he has a long road to recovery, but definitely better than mystery kidney failure.

  So truly, the last week I haven’t gotten any prepping or writing done – and this is where being part Pantser kinda helps..

  

  October is winding down and November 1 is steadily approaching.  Which only leaves us procrastinators 12 days until Nanowrimo.  So I present, the 12 days of #Preptober.

  Over the next 12 days, I will show you each day how I prepare for Preptober, with a few suggestions on things that might jog anyone who might be struggling with preparing.  Let me know if there is something you all would like to see! Below I will also create a tree so anyone who jumps in, no matter what day it is, can easily access each post for the 12 days of Preptober (and I stickied it ❤ )

  On the first day of #Preptober, Meri gave to me…

  Day 1: Word Processor and Outlining

  Day 2: Where to Begin

  Day 3: Survival Kit

  Day 4: Rewards time

  Day 5: The MC

  Day 6

  Day 7

  Day 8

  Day 9

  Day 10

  Day 11

  Day 12

  Posted in #Preptober 18, Writing Corner: How to Be a Better Writer | 0 Comments

• It’s beginning to look a lot like NaNoWriMo…

  Posted at 11:12 pm by Jamie Provencher, on October 9, 2018

  

  And with the arrival of October, the age-old question appears once again: Are you a Panster or Prepper?

  For those that are new to NaNo, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month and is this amazing organization that has created a movement that is getting novels out of every type of person.  The goal is to write 50k words in the month of November which equals about 1667 words per day.  Most finished novels, depending on genre or type, end up being anywhere between 70k and 125k, but getting 50k out in one month really does two things:

  1. It gets you into the HABIT of writing every single day with a goal to work towards, something many find they have success with and others find is just too stressful.
  2. Even if your book is going to be longer than 50k, you’ve already gotten a good chunk taken care of.  As discussed in a previous post from years ago, Stephen King said that you should write your first draft within 90 days of beginning it.  It allows for all that creative energy to be pushed out vs. stepping away then coming back and not knowing where to start.

  For those of us who are not pansters (people who just wing it when Nov 1. rolls around) #Preptober begins.

  

  So how do YOU prep for NaNo?  I will be going through the steps of how I prep because Lord knows if I don’t have a starting place, my anxiety will go into full swing and I’ll be staring at an empty screen come the second week of Nov.

  I’m currently trying to finish up a WIP before NaNoWriMo 18′ – which is why it’s the second week of #Preptober and I’m just now getting around to writing this.

  So for the first round, we will start light!

  Exercise: Choose a Genre

  Do you already have a basic idea of what you want to write?  A plot?  If you do, you are already ahead of the game!  But for those who just found out about NaNoWriMo and want to write but aren’t sure of what to write, I’m going to ask you to take a deep look inside yourself.

  Authors always suggest that you write something that you love and that you know about.  That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to have lived in the genre you are thinking about.  It could mean it’s the genre or story type you LOVE to read.

  For me, it’s Paranormal/Urban Fantasy.  I absolutely love taking the weird and spooky and writing it in a modern day world.  My favorite authors who definitely have inspired me are Kim Harrison, Laurel K. Hamilton, and Patricia Briggs.  Between the three, I’ve probably read about 30 books in that genre.

  Due to my comfortability in that area, I tend to lean towards it.

  This year I am going to try something a little different.  I have a huge love for Sarah J. Maas’ books and want to travel down the road of the Fae.  I haven’t decided if it’ll be New Adult or Adult – however, I have a basic idea that I’m gonna go with.

  So the question is: What genre are YOU most comfortable writing?

  If while going along you have anything you want me to touch on, let me know and I’ll see what I can dig up 🙂 There are also some exercises from past articles under the Writing Corner.

  Posted in #Preptober 18, Writing Corner: How to Be a Better Writer | 0 Comments

• Outline Failure

  Posted at 3:12 am by Jamie Provencher, on March 2, 2012

  In December, I made a decision to finish my book in 90 days. Why 90 days? Well during one of my many motivational hunts, I found a quote from Stephen King saying that first drafts should take no more than 90 days. Now, I had already mastered my 500 words a day. This was only taking about 10 to 20 minutes, so in order to write 150k in 90 days that would be around 1680 words a day. So like an hour of writing when you add in typing and thinking time. Easy. I can do this!

  So I started on my journey, following one of my carefully created outlines, yes I have many of these and yet no finished product. I started on December 16th and wrote without an issue for about a month. And then it happened. While writing, my book went one way. I hurriedly revised my outline and continued to push on. January got a little hairy with a few missed dates…and then the unthinkable happened again. With 75k of my book typed up, I found myself at the end of the revised outline. My outline had failed me, and fears, doubt, and the dreaded writer’s block engulfed me.

  As a writer, this is a moment that, if not treated well, we may not bounce back from. My writing had completely halted and instead I found myself face to face with trying to outline the ending of the book. Without knowing what came next, I didn’t know what to write. As I didn’t write, the guilt piled on, and the thought of even looking at the outline infuriated me.

  So what does one do when your outline fails you? When writer’s block has crept up on you, and you find it is impossible to continue forward? The answer came to a shock to me.

  A good friend of mine, Jeremiah, who has been helping coach me through this writing process, told me to take a week off. I had gone from barely writing, to writing constantly. I had done this almost flawlessly for over a month, something I wasn’t used to. My creative juices were on autopilot. I looked at my detailed outline like a cheat sheet and wrote the next scene that was listed. But taking a week off? Whenever I missed a day, I felt so guilty, found myself beating myself up. How was not writing for a week going to help? How was that going to make me feel less guilty?

  Jeremiah informed me that there is a difference between feeling guilty because I’m supposed to be writing versus taking time off to re-stimulate my creativity. So as alien as taking a week off sounded to me, I embraced it.

  I listened to my accountability partner and took the week off. I spent the week catching up on some of my reading, video games, and basic chores that had fallen to the side while I had been writing like a fiend.

  What I found was that Jeremiah was absolutely correct. I felt less stressed, the guilt removed from my block. After a week of no writing, I found myself looking at my outline with a fresh pair of eyes. Even though I hadn’t really been thinking about my book on my week off, I was able to think up the transition scenes needed to get my book through the end.

  Creativity needs to be recharged, but it’s important to still stay focused. Hopefully all of you who have shelved projects due to outline failures or writer’s block will find the next bullet points helpful in dusting off and finishing them.

  HAVE AN OUTLINE DAY

  When working on a long project, creativity sometimes tends to take you on a wild ride. Some writers are very well organized while some of us are more chaotic. Sometimes just having an outline isn’t enough. Choose a day each week where you spend your writing time on your outline. Review it. Think about what has happened; where your characters or plot are going. Are you still on track? You are? Great! Then it’s an easy day for you. Go back to writing if you want or grab a cookie and sit back. If not, what needs to change? Don’t wait till last minute when you no longer have an outline to help keep you going.

  WHEN WRITER’S BLOCK STRIKES, TAKE A BREAK

  Let your creativity have a chance to strike back. It will save you heartache and anger later in an editing stage. If you are trying to create a daily writing habit, write something else. Step away from the project. Spend the day reflecting even if it’s just writing a vignette about what you think is causing your writer’s block. These thoughtful moments will help you get back on track. But make a firm decision that you are going to take this many days off, then back to typing or else your project might find itself back on that dusty shelf.

  DON’T RELY ON YOUR OUTLINE

  I personally have very detailed outlines. Detailed down to the scene. As soon as I finish a scene, I know exactly what is next. Unfortunately, because I rely so heavily on my outline, I find myself in a sticky pickle when my main character decides to suddenly have a very close sister mid book. Or when she suddenly changes her love interest. Stephen King also is quoted saying just write. First drafts are first drafts. You will most likely always have to go back and do editing. If you have a looser outline, it allows for those changes in story. It also teaches you to not rely heavily an outline. I may know the major scenes, but not the little transition scenes. When you get into this situation, remember your subplots, your other characters. Focus on them and let them be your transitions.

  GET AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER

  I could not have pulled the cobwebs from this project and dusted it off without the help of my friend, Jeremiah. Find someone who has time for you. Someone who will make you meet your daily word count and email it to them daily. They will keep you on track but also be able to tell you when you need a break. Every writer should have one.

  Until next time!

  Posted in Writing Corner: How to Be a Better Writer | 1 Comment

• Pick a Genre and STICK with it

  Posted at 8:57 pm by Jamie Provencher, on April 22, 2011

  About the time characters begin rifling through your brain, there is usually some sort of story that is following them.  While it maybe something as simple as Character X is a low born who is going to go on an adventure, defeat a monster, fall in love, and become King/Queen, you should have some idea what is going to befall that character.  If you don’t, it’s definitely something you might want to start thinking about.  Either way, this advice and information will be good for you.

  There are several different types of genre’s that saturate today’s market.  There are pros and cons to this saturation.  Genre novels have a higher rate of getting published versus contemporary fiction.  Also, genre publication expects series where contemporary fiction expects single stories that can stand on their own.  So why does it matter so much to understand these genres before starting to write?  While there are several reasons that we will explore, the most important advice I can give is to choose a genre and stick with it!

  First lets go over a quick over view of a few popular genres:

  First you have high fantasy.

  This fantasy is what I call high quality fantasy.  It is also known as epic fantasy.  These would be your stories where fantastical worlds have been created and include original or  “re-imagined” races, creatures, etc.  In my opinion the father of this genre is J. R. R. Tolkien, so keep his great works in mind as a model when you think about this genre.  Some popular authors would be: Robert Jordan, Peter Rothfuss, Terry Goodkind, Robert Jordan etc.  They are your kings and queens, sorcerers and sorcery though they mainly focus on that deep fantasy vs just your run of the mill D&D campaign turned into a story.

  Then there is Science Fantasy.

  Ok everyone.   If you’ve ever saw a spaceship on or in a description of a book and say ugh I hate science fiction, put your hands up.  I’ve done this so many times.  But science fiction and science fantasy are really two different genres.  Unfortunately, everyone mashes them up.  Science Fantasy are your fantastical stories that are filled with science but are not accurate, nor are they things that could actually happen.  They are fantasy stories that want to seem scientific.  For example: Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is science fantasy.

  So what is Science Fiction then?

  Science Fiction are stories that are told many times in the future.  These stories are plausible and based on actual scientific facts.  If you look at a lot of these stories, specifically older stories, you will find that a lot of what they wrote about, in aspects and regards to technology, have come true.  Some true Science Fiction would be Philip K Dick and Arthur C Clark.

  You also have Urban Fantasy.

  Urban fantasy is basically taking fantastical things such as witches, being able to cast fire balls, demons, etc and putting them in an urban setting.  A modern time, with a similar world, and seems parallel to ours.  While the supernatural series can either follow under supernatural horror, romance, or fantasy, I think it is best defined as Urban Fantasy.  Kim Harrison and Kelly Armstrong fit into this series.

  So why do I have to choose a genre?  Many of the genres listed here are actually offshoots where people didn’t really choose a genre.  It does look like all these genres took a little from each and from there a new genre was born, doesn’t it?

  Well here are some of the faults trying to do this one.  There is a lot of work and research that needs to be done to properly pull it off.  Science fantasy is looked down upon by a lot of science fiction fans because it looks (and are) piggy backing on fantasy and science fiction and falling short.  Also a lot of supernatural stories are confusing to figure out.  Should it be in the fantasy, horror, or the romance section?

  Also many our favorite writers who are in these subgenres, decided from day one what genre they wanted to be in and made tweaks when they started the outline.  Changing midway through a book from fantasy to suddenly adding science can be confusing.  As stated in a previous review, I picked up a book that I definitely knew was fantasy, but the first fifty or so pages were contemporary fiction so when the element of fantasy began to seep in, it felt weird and uncomfortable.

  For my novice and first time writers, I suggest choosing a genre that really calls to you from the four I listed and STICK with it.   This will help you avoid falling into a rut where your story suddenly feels awkward because you delved into another genre mid way through the book.  Take a few minutes and think about your story and the little wisps of ideas and plot that have begun to build from the hell of your imagination.  They will plague your for the rest of your lives.  Now think hard about which genre you think your story will thrive in.   Once you find it, it’s time to research, research, research!  Now you must find a way to make YOUR STORY, YOUR PROTAGONIST, and YOUR WORLD stand out against all the other books in that genre.  The next several articles will explore fantasy-building exercises to make your story stand out from the rest.

  Posted in Writing Corner: How to Be a Better Writer | 0 Comments

• Additional exercises – Turning your Protagonist from 2D to 3D

  Posted at 6:00 pm by Jamie Provencher, on March 1, 2011

  Earlier this week I wrote an article for Fantasy Faction called “FLESHING OUT YOUR PROTAGONIST – WHO AM I?“

  Here are a few more exercises to help that Protagonist go from 2D to 3D –

  Exercise 4:

  So now that we have explored the values and morals of your protagonist, researched your character, and identified your protagonist’s unique quirks, it’s time to give your protagonist a voice.  The best way to do this is to find a sheet of questions and then “interview” your protagonist.  Pretend she/he is sitting across from you and as you ask each question, answer the questions as if you were her.

  For example:

  Who was your first boyfriend?   Amanda: Wow.. that’s a tad personal isn’t it.  How is this relevant to anything?  Well if I have to answer, hmm, I guess it was Todd Hobert, this sort of geeky ninja boy I went to school with at the ninja academy.. wait no.  Do you mean boyfriend boyfriend or the first guy I snogged?  Oh well it doesn’t matter.  Todd Hobert was my first boyfriend, though not my first kiss, that was Scott Fish.  He was such a great kisser (dreamy eyes – look of confusion as she realizes people are watching her) What was I saying? Oh yes Scott.. We weren’t dating.  We just liked to kiss every now and then..

  Etc.

  You can find these lists online by googling them.  My favorite is: http://www.writing4success.com/dl/character-interview.pdf

  Answer the questions being as true to your protagonist as possible.  Even if you feel like these questions can’t possible benefit you or your writing, it gets you into your protagonist’s head and you may learn something you didn’t know before.

  Exercise 5:

  Now that we have your protagonist’s voice, what is your protagonist’s backstory?  My suggestion here is to create a timeline.  This is also great if you have want to map out the history of your world.  Anyways, back to your protagonist: Create a timeline that starts at their birth.  Who are their parents?  Create 10 events that happened to your character before they were sixteen.  Continue creating the timeline up to where you begin your story.  If you know what’s going to happen in your story, keep going with the timeline.  Later you can have your protagonist reflect on these moments and give him/her some depth.  Your character wasn’t born the moment you started your story.  They had a whole life before you got a hold of them and began to subject them to your nefarious plots.  Listen to your character while you create your timeline and do these exercises.  They will speak up; let them guide you – don’t force something that your character wouldn’t want to do.

  Exercise 6:

  Lastly, it’s time to create a fact sheet for your protagonist’s binder: This is just basic information to keep at the front of you binder to review so you don’t forget important facts (like me: before I made this my protagonist’s hair color and eye color would change constantly throughout the story!)

  The fact sheet should list these things:

  Name, Gender, Ethnicity or Species, Education Level, Current Occupation, Income, Previous Occupation/s, Date of Birth, Birth Location, Current Age, Current Location, Housing (Rent, Own), Bad Habits, Redeeming Traits, Career Goals, Marital Status, Height, Hair Color/Style, Astrological Sign, Aspirations Fears, Illegal Activities, Skills/Training, Physical Ailments, Blood Type, Identifying Features/Scars Mental Conditions, Religious Beliefs.

  Character’s Past: Parental info – Name, Date of Birth, Date of Death, Occupation, Parent’s Religious Beliefs, Ethnicity/Species.  Answer the same for any Siblings, Former Spouse or Significant Other (For Spouse/Significant Other – add Date of Marriage, how long they’ve been together, Where and how did they meet.

  Character’s Present: Current Spouse or Significant Other (*Same info as above), What’s currently going on in the character’s life.

  There you go! Stay tuned for more articles and more exercises to help make you a better writer and increase your chances of getting published!

  Posted in Character Exercises, Writing Corner: How to Be a Better Writer | 0 Comments

• FLESHING OUT YOUR PROTAGONIST – WHO AM I?

  Posted at 5:33 pm by Jamie Provencher, on March 1, 2011

  Writing is not something someone wakes up and just decides to do one day.  Oh, writers will claim that, but when it comes down to it, writers are haunted by characters that just beg to have their stories told.  It’s our job to capture that character and share them to the world (and keep ourselves slightly sane)!   A couple month’s ago, a fellow employee approached me.  He had heard that I was a writer and felt that need to talk to someone who could understand the “crazy”.  “Do you ever feel so consumed by a character that you can’t focus?”  I chuckled, knowing that just that morning I had made the 1-hour trip to work without actually remembering the drive but during that time I had fleshed out another piece of Rally’s back-story.  I then asked him “Well who is this person?”  He began to tell me about his protagonist and the rough sketches of a story.  What he really had was a rough sketch of a promising protagonist and an interesting plot.  His first question to me, “Where do I start?”

  TURNING THAT PROTAGONIST FROM 2D TO 3D!

  For a moment, think about your favorite character.  Why do you like that character?   What makes you relate to them?  How much do you know about them?  Can you picture them?  Lets face it; characters are what make the book especially when it comes to genre.  You can have the most interesting story but if your readers can’t relate to your protagonist, your story is dead in the water.  On that same note, you can have a cliché story, with sub par writing, but it seems new and interesting because of a great characters.  As a writer, it’s your job to take those characters living in your noggin, and make them sing on paper.  Unfortunately, the number one issues writers face is that their character falls flat.

  Just because your protagonist is 2D on paper doesn’t mean he isn’t 3D.  What I mean is that many of our characters are 3D in our minds.  Unfortunately, without the proper research, tools, and preparation, they seem 2D on paper.  So how do you add flesh to your character?  Rest assured, I have a couple exercises to assist you with this!

  BEFORE DOING ANY EXERCISES!

  One of the things I suggest (and by suggest I mean strongly advise) my writing circle is to keep binders for their protagonist and supporting characters (as well as a binder for unused characters).  Why is this important?  Because all that information is now at your fingertips!  All your research, history, back story etc. , is localized in one place.  This will help you be more organized and consistent when writing about your character.

  EXERCISE 1:

  Who is your protagonist?  Many writers will tell you “Write what you know” but unfortunately in sci-fi and fantasy, sometimes we want to be someone we aren’t -isn’t that the whole point of writing?!  Unfortunately if your protagonist is a butcher, and I grew up in a family of butchers, I may not find your character believable if you have not done the proper research.  So for the first exercise, I always suggest that you write down important things to your character and then assess how much do you really know about those things.  For example: Amanda Tourney is a PI who hunts Chimeras.  She uses a samurai sword, a revolver, and her mad ninja skills to capture them.  Sounds interesting?  So the first items on my research list are:

  1. What kind of revolver?  What would be the best revolver for her size/type?  Is there are recoil?  Is said revolver going to do enough damage against a chimera?  What kind of bullets am I going to use?  Does she have a name for the revolver?
  2. Similarly, I may ask the same questions about the samurai sword.  What kind of cuts, slashes, jabs does she use?  Where did she learn to sword-fight?  What kind of samurai sword?
  3. What do I know about Chimeras?  Do I want to stick to known fantasy-lore or am I going to mix it up with my own ideas for the chimera?  Why does Amanda need to hunt Chimeras?  How important are Chimeras to my world?
  4. What type of ninja skills does Amanda have?  Is she an apprentice ninja?   Why would a ninja have a gun?

  And so on and so forth… After some research, not only have I made my protagonist more believable and relatable for all your Chimera-hunting ninjas out there but I also have come up with some back-story I didn’t have before.  Maybe I just learned a little more about my protagonist.

  EXERCISE 2:

  Take a few minutes and think about your protagonist.  What kind of behaviors, values, and beliefs does your protagonist have?  Would Amanda kill a baby chimera?  What happens if Amanda found out that chimeras are just misunderstood and no more dangerous than a dog?  Would she still do her job?  One great way I have found to get an idea of your characters personality and values is to take a look at character types.  Take a look at the traditional Astrology.  Ignore the date your character was born, and instead look at common traits of each sign.  Which fits your character the best?  Take a look at Chinese Astrology.  Ignore what year your protagonist was born in and figure out whether her/she fits more with the Year of the Rat or the Year of the Monkey.  You can also look at Japanese blood types, AD&D personality types, as well as the four temperaments.  Do at least three of these for your protagonist and get intimate with them.  Write a page on how your protagonist is Type A; a page on what Virgo attributes she has and how it effects her life.  This will help you be more consistent when it comes to how your protagonist reacts to situations as well as how intimately you know that character.

  EXERCISE 3:

  Does Amanda have any quirks that make her unique?  I sure hope so! No one wants to read about a super god like ninja girl who has no quirks, problems, setbacks, etc.  They want to read about someone they can relate to.  They want to have that strong female who kills chimeras but sleeps with a penguin.  Why?  Because that makes her human!  It makes her relatable and believable.  Having some trouble finding some quirks or weaknesses?  Take a look at a Gurps character sheet.  Gurps is a pen and paper (table-top) role-playing system and I like how they encourage players to create quirks and disadvantages.  For every quirk or disadvantage you take, the more points you get to sink into making them more powerful.  Take a few minutes and plug your protagonist into this Gurps Character Sheet and see how you can flesh out some quirks for your characters.

  So let’s do a quick revisit of Amanda Tourney?  Amanda is an apprentice ninja who couldn’t cut it as a ninja after a chimera nearly took off her leg.  She walks with a slight limp, but makes up for it with her lightening quick reflexes.  Because of her accident, Amanda carries a Browning Revolver just in case.  In her world, chimeras run rampant: eating small children, causing traffic jams, and destroying houses.   While Chimeras are a traditional mythological beast, Amanda’s chimeras have a slight twist.  If someone survives a chimera’s attack, they slowly begin to become one.  This can take many years.  Amanda struggles to keep her humanity and is searching for information about how to reverse the change.  She is a Virgo: creative, independent, but can become too absorbed in her work that she misses the obvious.

  Definitely we can go on and on but this gives you and idea of some of Amanda’s weaknesses, some of her baggage, a little more about her world, which is something we didn’t have before.  Remember, you don’t want to hit your readers’ over the head with all this information!  Give them just a little at a time and slowly work it into the story by showing NOT telling.  Keep them wanting to know more and more about your protagonist’s and his/her world.

  –

  Check back in with me next time where we’ll explore why choosing a genre and sticking to it is important to your character, world, and readers!

  Posted in Character Exercises, Writing Corner: How to Be a Better Writer | 0 Comments

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