 For Authors: June 24, 2009 Issue [#3119] |
  For Authors
This week: Edited by: Cubby  
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Hello, everyone! Welcome to this edition of the For Authors newsletter.  This week's topic is focused on unemployed characters, but first off, I'd like to share a few quotes with you. Enjoy!
Quotes:
*
Character is the foundation stone upon which one must build to win respect. Just as no worthy building can be erected on a weak foundation, so no lasting reputation worthy of respect can be built on a weak character.
~ - R. C. Samsel
*
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
~ -Helen Keller
*
"Keep them people, people, people, and don't let them get to be symbols. Remember the race is older than the economic system."
~ - Ernest Hemingway
*
"The moment when a character does or says something you hadn't thought about. At that moment he's alive and you leave him to it."
~ - Graham Greene
*
"Of course, that wonderful thing, a character running away with you—which happens to everyone—that's happened to me, I'm afraid."
~ - E.M. Forster
*
"I followed Caddy around and wrote down what she did."
~ - William Faulkner [when asked how he wrote The Sound and the Fury]
*
"A writer begins by breathing life into his characters. But if you are very lucky, they breathe life into you."
~ - Caryl Phillips
*
"It would be a great joke on the people in my book if I just left them high and dry, waiting for me. If they bully me and do what they choose I have them over a barrel. They can't move until I pick up a pencil. They are frozen, turned to ice standing one foot up and with the same smile they had yesterday when I stopped."
~ - John Steinbeck
*
"I can't remember setting off on my travels without having some picture of a character to take with me; I mean, really as a companion."
~ - John le Carre
*
"I can only tell you that if you see a character starting to breathe, you do not shut him up, you do not sit on him, and you do not ship him out. You stay with him."
~ - Martin Cruz Smith
*
"Start simply with a character or anything that you can make come alive. When you have a character he will create his own situation and his situation will suggest some kind of resolution as you get into it."
~ - Flannery O'Connor
*
"Work them until they breathe, or as Faulkner said, until 'they suddenly stand up and cast a shadow.'"
~ - Ulf Wolf |
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Character Applications
Creating characters is giving life to someone who never existed beforehand. Once you've breathed air into them, they wait patiently (or perhaps impatiently) for their part in your plan. It's almost like waiting in line for employment. I can visualize my characters right this minute, talking together:
"So what's your story?"
"I don't have one yet. You?"
"I'm laid off. I was a mother of two kids who ended up falling into a book. My daughter bought this old discarded unicorn book at the library and my son disappeared shortly afterwards. He's been in there a long time. I hope he's okay. Last I knew, my daughter was searching for him. I haven't given up hope though. But it's been three years since all that happened. That's why I'm still here. I'm hoping I can get back to my kids."
"At least you've got background experience. I've still got gender issues. Not quite sure if I'm a man or woman yet. It's aggravating, to say the least."
"But look at the bright side: At least we are still here. No one's trashed us yet."
There are characters everywhere you look. If you can't put them to work, create a file for them, a place for them to live until you find an opportunity for them in your writing. Start out with a simple character sketch for your character(s). Begin with basics such as physical and mental traits. Add layers as you feel compelled. Still stuck? Interview them. Set up a template of questions to help you know where to place them. Unlike real life interviews, you may ask them personal questions such as "Are you married? Do you have children? Do you have any physical or mental challenges?"
Creating characters can be the perfect antidote to Writer's Block. Even if you don't come up with a specific job for your character(s), at least you are writing and keeping those creative juices flowing.
Hang out with your character(s) for awhile. Take them with you wherever you go and get to know them. You may discover they have some real fears (rollercoasters? spiders? speaking in public?) and you also might learn their stronger points (great camping buddy? loves to garden? enjoys cooking?). If you're hangin' out in public, however, you probably want to think twice about talking out loud to your character. Rumors spread pretty easily. 
Have you ever heard of Flat Stanley? A few years ago my granddaughter, Devon, sent me a life-size paper cut-out of herself and asked me to take it with me wherever I went. It was a school project her class was involved in after reading the book Flat Stanley. She also asked me to take pictures of Flat Devon and collect a few souveniers from Michigan for her to show the class. Well, as a proud grandma, I went above and beyond what was expected of me. I had Flat Devon singing with a microphone, sitting on a woodpile, driving a backhoe, posing in front of a windmill, and taking part in Story Hour at the library, among other things. She even got her picture in the newspaper! I won't bore you with every single detail, but my point is, I kind of got attached to this inanimate cut-out.  So you see, taking your character(s) along can bring you closer to them. I'm certainly not recommending you do cutouts of your character (though you can if you want to!); I'm only saying, keep them with you in your mind, or carry their names in your pocket as a reminding. It doesn't matter how you do this, just don't leave them behind.
Before you worry about your readers liking your character(s), make sure you know your character(s) inside and out. Your characters should not be empty shells walking around with a head and limbs. Develop your characters into people your readers will care about, become attached to. Give them motivations, dreams, quirks, reactions, feelings. And if you can't use every character you come up with, don't kill them off in the trash. Keep them on file, just like a business keeps employment applications. But don't forget to review their resume`s once in a while. You never know; they might be the perfect person for an upcoming position.
Never allow your filed away character to become stale. Feed him or her by adding bits and pieces along the way. Remember in real life we each change, almost daily. So do our characters. We visit new places, meet interesting people who may or may not have a direct impact on us; we try new foods and experiment in activities for the first time. We, as real life people, grow continuously and so must your character.
A few interesting books to check out:
 Believable Characters: Creating with Enneagrams by Laurie Schnebly
45 Master Characters by Victoria Lynn Schmidt
And links...
http://character-development.suite101.com/article.cfm/interview_characters_to_di...
http://charactercreator.blogspot.com/
Now for a fun prompt... Write a character sketch about someone you have not created yet. Put this character's name on a file folder and add to it as more ideas come to you.
Happy Summer! and...
Keep on Writing!
Cubby ") |
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~~~ ~~~~~~
~FEEDBACK~
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THANKFUL SONALI Library Class! 
Are you a fan of Charles Schulz (Peanuts, Snoopy?) Then you've seen the 'rejection slips' Snoopy gets - one of them is: "Dear Contributor, Thank you for not sending us anything lately. It suits our present needs"! 
Snoopy gets so many rejection slips, his best friend Woodstock the bird finally makes a Quilt of all of them!
- Sonali
~  I forgot all about that!!! Thanks for reminding me!
Fyn 
Cubby, Great newsletter. Thinking back to when I was sending my first book out...the first rejection slip went up on my home-office wall, as did the second and third and so on. Eventually I started on wall number two. I was asked when I would finally get the clue no one wanted it. I figured when all the walls were filled. Halfway through wall number three, I got the letter I'd been waiting for. Never give up!
~ What an inspirational response! I'm sure you are sending out hope to many writers who are reading this. Thanks for sharing, Fyn! 
Annie 
Hi Cubby! Your NL about rejection letters came in the day after I submitted my first manuscript for the third time. You made me smile! I don't know if I'll be as tenacious as Madeleine L'Engle and collect 26 rejection letters, but hey, you never know!! Thanks for the encouragement.
~ You are right... you never know! And you'll never know... if you give up and don't keep trying! The best of luck to you! Let us know, okay?
DB Cooper
Cubby,
You did an outstanding newsletter. I have enough rejections to wallpaper the house.
~ Congratulations! At least you are trying and that is more than many writers can say.
Zeke 
You are absolutely right not to take rejection letters personally, but it is much easier said than done. Your work is like your baby, perfect. When you get a generic rejection, it sounds like they're rejecting everything about you.
It pays to remember that the authors of those letters are just human beings like yourself. They are filled with their own values, both good and bad.
Zeke
~ I'm sure it would be difficult to make the decisions those people have to make, especially if they have any idea all the hopes and dreams they are holding in their hands. 
Lauriemariepea
hi, cubby--
great message, and one easy to forget right when you've received that "no, thanks" from the latest editor. *sigh*
i'm so glad you mentioned noah lukeman! he's written a few books, and has great insights into the industry, being an insider. i highly recommend his books. 
thanks for an encouraging and motivational newsletter--i needed it!
~ You are very welcome!
Amyaurora 
I just wanted to say the timing on this was prefect. I had just gotten a rejection notice in the mail. I needed a "pick me up"
~ Glad to be on time for you!
Puppycat
Very well stated. I appreciate your willingness to share.
~ I enjoy it. Thanks!
AliceNgoreland
Each time I get a reply back from an editor, I hold my breath and tell myself they hated it. Most of the time I am rejected, but about 1 out of 15 say yes. Successful writers keep at it.
~ 1 out of 15 would't be so bad! I just sent out 11. Perhaps I'll get four more out this weekend!
sarahreed
It is very reassuring to know that everyone goes through rejection. I am anxiously waiting to hear back on my first submitted story to a publisher. I know it's not the end of the world if it is rejected, but my nerves have been soothed by reading about what others have gone through - what all writers will always go through. Thank you.
~ You are welcome. I have up to six months to wait for the eleven I just sent out. Ugh. I'm hoping to keep going with it so it will eventually become a year round circulation.
northernwrites
The First Five Pages is a very useful book indeed -- whether a writer is planning to try to get published or not. As the book points out, not meeting technical standards for good writing is almost always the reason a manuscript is rejected.
Thanks for featuring my item!
Northernwrites
~ You are very welcome! Thank you for the great response!
lotto
Cubby,
Thanks for an outstanding newsletter. As someone who is awaiting her first rejection letter to arrive any day, I appreciated the timliness and honesty of this newsletter.
Lotto
~ Don't give up! Good luck!
Jaye P. Marshall 
Hi, Cubby. Thanks for an excellent newsletter on rejection letters. You offer some very encouraging advice.
~ You are very welcome!
 Thank you, everyone, for all the wonderful feedback you send in!
As always...
Have a wonderful week!
AND KEEP ON WRITING!!!
Cubby ")
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