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Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. ~~Helen Keller
Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward. ~~Henry Ford
The willow which bends to the tempest, often escapes better than the oak which resists it; and so in great calamities, it sometimes happens that light and frivolous spirits recover their elasticity and presence of mind sooner than those of a loftier character. ~~Albert Schweitzer
We are like children building a sand castle. We embellish it with beautiful shells, bits of driftwood, and pieces of colored glass. The castle is ours, off limits to others. We’re willing to attack if others threaten to hurt it. Yet despite all our attachment, we know that the tide will inevitably come in and sweep the sand castle away. The trick is to enjoy it fully but without clinging, and when the time comes, let it dissolve back into the sea. ~~Pema Chödrön
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After a windstorm won the day against a sixty-foot pine, which then (in falling) took out half our maple tree ... and our screen room, we had to contemplate whether to rebuild the room or upgrade to a 3-season room. Thanks to a sister-in-law who has thought our abomination of a 'screen room' needed to go for a while now (as it had next to no screens left and a missing door) we are in the process of getting a room built which will be far more useable. But it isn't as if one can hire a builder and say to simply 'build it.' Would it be the same size as the prior room? What would be the best pitch for the roof? Should it match what we have or go a bit higher thus creating 'more' of a cathedral ceiling? How many windows and what kind? Do we opt for a sliding glass door or a typical door. Should we go further and make it an official addition (thus knowing higher permit costs and taxes?) or have a wood stove (the trees netted us several full cords of wood, after all) and be able to use the room all four seasons anyway? What kind of flooring? Who knew a 3-season room with its temperature fluctuations and dampness required certain kinds of flooring to avoid mold, warping or buckling? We discovered that our late 1960s electrical panel would need to be replaced because amperage settings were now different Should my hubby (who is totally qualified) do the rewiring or have a contractor accomplish this as my hubby's time constraints already have him going nonstop. So many decisions to make, so much research to do, it was a tad bit overwhelming. But now, the choices have been made, the bottom line was (GULP!) swallowed and the work starts next week.
Being as I was supposed to have spent the last six weeks spitting out the book that is fully-formed and clogging up my head and spent it instead pricing wood stoves, calculating various BTU outputs, balancing double or triple-paned windows against size/cost/shape and umpteen other 'little' details, the book is still bouncing off the wall of my mind. At odd moments, a thought would wander in, shoving and pushing against everything else and some nuance of one of my characters would be refined, changed or twisted off in some new direction. This, then, would require more research in that new direction. It dawned on me that building a character is not so very different from building anything else. You truly need a blueprint of where all the characters in a story will move and grow. There needs to be a cost analyses of what differing choices will 'cost' them and if said efforts/energies will be effective over time or if some are simply frivolous. If so, will it be more of something that looks better or serves a better function overall.
That said, personally, I've never been one to actually outline a story. Mostly because I become merely a conduit to my characters once I have let them out to do their thing. They look at me with squinty eyes and say I should just record their actions; it is their story. This does work for me, but not, (necessarily) for everyone. I balance them all in my head, along with grocery lists, client demands, the checkbook and our busy calendars. And yes, I get 'caught occasionally: remembering we are supposed to go to Cousin So-in-so's this or that at the last minute and have to reshuffle the 'to-do' deck on the fly. But many writers do need to plot out who does what when. Especially with new characters, the writer needs to get to know them.
Who ARE these people who have moved into your head as well as to on the page? What is their history, their back story? Even if it may never be a major focal point, what they've done in their lives, choices made, troubles experienced, types of upbringing, where they have lived, who and what they value are all intrinsic to who they are. Just as we are the summation of all we've lived through, so too, our characters need to have that prior life so that what they do in the 'here and now' of the story makes sense. it also helps you keep things strain in their history so that you don't make plot mistakes when you forget where they were born or have them be three years younger than their older brother! (I've seen BOTH while editing recently!)
Another reason for a character history is that in getting to know, see, feel, and recognize your characters, it give the writer that sense that they truly 'know' them and this will translate to your readers feeling the same and thus really connecting to them!
Similarly, Google Maps is your friend. Using street views, you can get to see/know neighborhoods and cities and be able to use real time descriptions, again offering real and true connections. Mitch Albom's book, "First Phone Call from Heaven" uses a town named "Coldwater" in Michigan that is ten minutes from the 'lake.' Except that Coldwater, MI is at least an hour from Lake Michigan. Except that he also refers to said 'lake' as Lake Huron later in the book. Big stopper because if you are in or know Michigan, you know where Coldwater is. Blew me right out of the story, and, truth be told, never really got back in to it because I was reminded every time he mentioned the town. Remember that old saying about building on sand? The foundation of a book needs to be built on rock. Just as there is a reason the builders need to put down footings a minimum of forty-two inches.
Every building requires a blueprint; the plan so that the final creation becomes what is desired. When building the story, it is necessary to have some form of write-print to help the author keep on track, keep info straight and, in the long run, make it easier on the writer! Who wants the dining room to be all the way across the house from the kitchen? Or come into the house from the garage right into a bathroom? Planning the work and working that plan will help stop your readers from tripping over walls in their read!
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Youth is lost forever as WWII trainees break their maidens as "Men o' War" on D-Day
#1553061 by DRSmith  |
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GaelicQueen  says: I turned 62 this past January. I'm feeling the weight of years since this is the age my Dad died (I'm the youngest and my older sibs have passed this landmark). So if 63 is the new 40, what is 90, the new 70? My mother-in-law with the slipping memory often tells me 'just wait until you're 90." I can wait mumsy, I can wait.
dbhonor writes: Speaking of heavenly clouds: In my younger days I remember the clouds combining in formation to produce a perfect likeness of Jesus in the sky. Oh! Talk about havoc and panic; maybe even some relief and gladness! I wonder: Am I the only dinosaur alive to recall that or are there others?
The creative mind, taking the time to look up, oft sees 'pictures' in the clouds! :)
hbk16 adds: I have appreciated this writing a lot. The more we get aged the more we want to realize all our dreams. Such dreams born from our childhood. There is a child inside our soul who is the someone's self and is still alive even years gone. It is philosophic and deep thought.
willwilcox laughs: I remember 63. I was that old ALL YEAR 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
Thank you!
maryccasey writes: Thank you for this wonderful newsletter. I enjoyed it at my 'young' age of 55!
Steev the Friction Wizurd  adds: Here is one way to slow down time: Take lots of naps!
I have sleep problems and so I sleep in short bursts several times a day. Each time I wake up, I have the feeling that some unknown amount of time has passed. Sleeping this way makes one day feel like three or four. In the evening I try to recall what I had for breakfast and it's like trying to remember what I ate two days ago!
My way of cramming extra days into the week is to get up at 5 AM, work til 2PM, take a nap, get up at 5 and start my day (and morning routine) all over again and work til 10pm.
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For Authors: May 31, 2017 Issue [#8314]
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