To writers: Finding your perfect character in imperfect places

How hard is it to create a person? I think being a writer really opens our eyes to just how diligent God was/is when he created man. There is so much complexity to a person, aside from the basics: what he likes, what he wants to do, and what makes him angry. I get so overwhelmed when trying to come up with even the little characters who make a one-time appearance in my work. When I close my eyes and try to imagine their eyes or the face they'd make if they saw something shocking, all I can see is a blank piece of paper. My challenge to whoever may be reading thing is to open your eyes to the world around you for inspiration rather than the romanticized, fictional recesses of your brain. 


I don't want you to think I'm a creep who looks at people obsessively or anything like that, but observing people it sort of a hobby of mine. Being an aspiring writer, I'm always looking for inspiration anywhere I can get it. There are some people who just strike a note with me, people who look like they belong in the pages of a book rather than the real world. I run into somebody like this almost on a daily basis. Yesterday it was the boy who was working at the bookstore. He looked like he might be eighteen or nineteen, he was wearing a navy and white stripped polo shirt. The hair on his arms and head was all gone, his face was jaundiced, and his eyes were bloodshot. It looked to me like he was getting off of chemotherapy, but I'm not sure. Despite the sickly look about him, he was very beautiful and his smile was nice. I went in to ask about a text book, but he said the book was out of stock. I was the only person in the store, and I wish I could have thought of an excuse to stay in the store a little longer. Again, not trying to be weird or anything, I promise. :) Just looking at the way he carried himself and the inflections in his voice are really good ways, for me personally, to scope out a person's characteristics. 


Anyways, I think writers, a lot of the time, spend so much time trying to create these elaborate characters with deep and realistic personalities. I think of my personal favorite book characters and try to make mine seem as real as them. I think the problem with trying to create a realistic character completely from our own minds, though it is completely possible, is that we're not basing this character off of anything, just what comes to our minds. I think it's important to open our eyes when we're out in the real world, away from our computers, to look for inspiration. The boy I saw in the bookstore was so real to me that I think he could make a great character. Though I don't know anything about him really, I can take what I saw and transform it into something believable. 


Imperfection is what makes characters real. I know for me at least, when I try to come up with characters in my mind, at the end of the sketch they come out 'half-baked.' Too typical or too perfect in this way. I say the best way to create a perfect character is to look at the imperfect people around you. It's people you see in the grocery store, the classroom, or the office that jump off the page, not the feigned 2-dimensional people we concoct in our brains. 

I went a little crazy :-)

Hello all :)


As the title says, I went a little crazy last night. I'm subscribed to get daily emails from Writerly Life (a wonderful creative writing newsletter by Blair Hurley--check it out here: it's great!) and one of the posts was talking about a book she recommended called Make A Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time by Jordan Rosenfeld. I myself have been having difficulty lately trying to put together individual scenes in the current idea I've been working on so I bit. :-) I went to Amazon and put it in my cart. The thing is, after you put something in your cart, Amazon brings up a million suggestions; sort of like 'People who bought this book also bought these titles.' I put three other books in my cart and checked out before I could think twice. I'm very excited to read these titles. 

• One Year to a Writing Life: Twelve Lessons to Deepen Every Writer's Art and Craft by Susan M. Tiberghein
• Writer's Guide to Character Traits by Dr. Linda Edelstein 
• Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood

On another note, I think I'm finally getting back into the swing of school. When classes started last week, I felt totally unprepared, physically and mentally. I had my tuition paid, books bought, and all that, but I was so comfortable staying up until 3AM watching reruns of 24 and Friends with my sister and sleeping in until 11AM. The thought of having assignments to do and material to read (I mean scholastic reading, not pleasure reading) was simply detestable! But now I'm doing a little better with the pace--though I've had to bid farewell to late-night Jack Bauer dates--and have gotten into the groove with most of my classes. I got so overwhelmed with assignments and deadlines this past Monday I decided to take a Facebook break for a week. I knew I wouldn't get anything done so I pledged not to log on until next Monday. These next few weeks are crucial to setting the mood for the rest of the semester, and I just know if I laze out early on, I will be lazy until May.

My English class is not at all what I thought it would be. I was under the impression that it was more geared towards composition and literature, but apparently the Department changed the core English courses to be more rhetoric-centric. The class itself is a little boring, but the professor has a dry sense of humor. My Spanish class is going very well; I'm enjoying it a lot. My professor is blind so almost everything we do in class is oral, which I think is good because practicing a foreign language out loud helps me learn it better than doing writing exercises. 

I'm also taking Political Science/American Government. There's plenty to read (and by plenty, I mean SO much) and it's pretty interesting. The professor is really interested in what he's talking about and that's always helpful in contributing to the relevance of a topic. My World Regions Geography professor is from Cork, Ireland and has a heavy accent. Being part Irish myself, it makes me happy to hear him talk. I feel like I'm going to learn a whole lot in Geography.

I have a feeling there are about to be some big changes in my life. I have been doing a lot of thinking about my major and what it is God wants me to do with my life. Right now, my major is English with a concentration of Creative Writing. I know that Creative Writing is not the most employable major out there, so I've been doing some careful thinking about possibly changing to a minor in Creative Writing and majoring in something a little more employable like Tech Writing or something of that ilk. I've considered teaching English. There are so many people out there who have not learned the basics of writing clearly. I think the best way to becoming a proficient writer is to start when you are young. If I was going to teach English, I would want to teach kids in the grade schools (Elementary or Secondary). I know teaching is no glamorous profession, but I believe in its utter significance. I am not married to any solid plans yet, but I am definitely giving the teaching field some serious thought. Honestly, all I want right now is to know what God wants me to do because what good could I possibly do if I am operating (or trying to operate) outside of His plan? Everything I touch will fall to pieces if what I'm doing isn't what He's told me to do. 


I'm unsure, I'm afraid, I'm insecure, I'm weary, I'm burned out. I will not give up. This world isn't my final destination. 


"...what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”" James 4:14b-15

To writers: The way you formulate a beginning

     I've been doing some thinking about the way we as writers think about the beginning of our stories. I don't know if the following statement applies to every writer, but it probably applies to a lot of writers--it certain does to me! :)
      When I think about the beginning of my story, I try to picture it in my head, sort of like a movie beginning. In the past, I ponder on this idea and the vision I see in my head of my characters or the scene of the beginning of a story. But as soon as I try to write it, I'm wordless. The chemistry of the characters don't make sense anymore or it's too simple or the whole idea just doesn't work on paper.
      I think the problem with trying to picture the beginning of a story like you would see it in a movie is unwise because a book is not the same thing as a movie. Yes, I know that's obvious but the way a movie begins is completely different in the way a book does. In a movie you have roughly an hour and a half to get to know a character (and for 99.9% of movies, you have multiples characters), figure out his problem, and solve it. That's a lot to accomplish is so short a time. The beginning of a movie has to be swiftly introductory and to the point (unless it a long 3-hour movie, a series, etc) so the viewer can learn as much about the character (s) as possible before the conflict is introduced (side note: conflict is an element essential to ALL forms of story-telling, whether it be a movie, a novel, or a stage play). There is not much time for the viewer to sympathize with the character and root for him, so the beginning is extremely important in the exposition of a movie.
     When you're writing a book, you have an exorbitant amount of time for the reader to get to know your character. Some books are wholly devoted to developing the character's thought process! The way your introduce a character in a book is just as important as when you do in a movie, but there is plenty of leg room for creativity. You can introduce a character any way you want, but it is recommended by most professionals to begin a story 'in medias res' which means 'in the middle of things.' Meaning, you should not introduce the character of a book in the same way you would in a movie! A movie's character-intro has to be brief and memorable, whereas a book's character-intro could be as inconspicuous as your description of a crack in the wall. 
     In conclusion, think about the way you think about a story beginning. ;) It's hard not to visualize it in your mind, but don't look through the lens of 'would this be a cool movie beginning?' because you're not trying to write a movie, you're trying to write a book! (tidbit: if you are really in love with the beginning of your story but it just not working as a story, make it a screenplay!) Let me know what you think of this post; whether you agree or disagree, or if you have something else to add. Thanks for reading!