100 Authors on Twitter

Admittedly, I stumbeld across this article today though it was posted on Mashable back in May, but I'm sure little has changed.

If you're an author and you're not on Twitter . . . why not?  I'm sure you've got something to say.

Character Description

Joe Blow is a big man. He stands 6 foot 6 inches tall. He has large hands, big enough to hold a basketball upside down in one palm. He has dark hair that is beginning to recede and a scar about an inch long just over his right eye. His eyes are brown.

We know all that stuff about Joe Blow being big is not characterization. It is how a stranger might describe him. Yet Joe's physical description can give some insight that would help the reader relate to him as a character.

The problem many writers have is they dump all the description into one or two paragraphs. They believe the reader has to know immediately everything about this guy or gal. They don't.

Take this paragraph from Elmore Leonard's Maximum Bob, for example:

Dale Crowe Junior was twenty, a tall, bony-looking kid in his dark-blue scrubs. Dark hair uncombed, dumb eyes wandering, worried, but trying to look bored.

In two compact sentences, Leonard has managed to tell us everything we need to know about how Dale Crowe Junior looks. We can easily picture him in the jail holding cell. But notice how it is lacking specifics: He's tall, but how tall? He's thin, but how thin? How long is his dark, uncombed hair? What color are his dumb eyes?

We're not told because Elmore Leonard, being the writer we wish we could be, knows we don't need to know those specifics to picture the character in our minds. I bet you had no problem forming an image of Dale Crowe Junior. Did you really need to know if Dale was 6' 2" or 6' 3"? If his eyes were brown or green? No -- because it doesn't matter to the plot.

In the short story "New Moon and Rattlesnakes" by Wendy Hornsby, a truck driver is described simply as a "paunchy, lonely old geek." As the reader continues, they'll discover this sums him up him pretty darn well.

Often, though, specifics are good. In fact, they may be necessary. In a murder mystery, one character may have witnessed a crime and needs to give the police a description. What if the suspect has long, wavy frizzy red hair? What if they were short and had a limp? These are specifics could be necessary to the plot.

But not every specific character trait or description is necessary to the plot, though they might be colorful and well worth the time.

When to provide specifics -- and which specifics to provide -- can be tricky. You may have been told by a creative writing teacher, or a book on writing fiction, that you need to be specific. The more specific, the better. Don't say Rhonda is in her mid-40's; make her 44 years old. Don't say Felix had a bad complexion; say he had scars from a million teenage zits.

And there's the paradox: Be specific only when you need to be specific. Otherwise, don't be specific.

A lot of it has to do with your "natural" writing style. Some use colorful language, and the specifics lend themselves more gracefully to their wording. In "Coyote Peyote" by Carole Nelson Douglas, the cat detective Midnight Louie (yes, he's really a cat) describes himself as having "tourmaline-green eyes," his coat "an impeccable sheen and my hidden shivs as sharp as the crease in Macho Mario Fontana's bodyguard's pants."

Now I have no idea what shade of green "tourmaline" is, but it sure sounds good. And who is Macho Mario? He's not mentioned again, so other than being a bodyguard, I don't know, but the important thing is that Douglas is giving us the information as Midnight Louie would give it -- as part of his character.

As a writer, your personal style may dictate whether our friend Felix has a bad complexion, or the scars from a million teenage zits -- both are specific, one is just more colorful.

The really tricky part is incorporating the description seamlessly into the story. If you're writing a scene and suddenly detour into an account of the protagonist's looks, the story will come to a screeching halt until you bring it back on the road.

Monica looked at Kyle with anger. Her steamy blue eyes were almost painful to look at, her long jet-black hair blowing effortlessly in the breeze, her svelte, athletic body poised in a stance of defiance and building fury.

What her long jet-black hair had to do with anything, and why her svelte, athletic body had to be described like that right then, I don't know. It is seriously out of place, as is the description of "steamy blue eyes." But that's just me. You might like it just fine.

The fun you can have with description is parceling it out in little bits -- a mention in a paragraph here, something else a couple of paragraphs later -- without dumping it all on the reader at the same time. For example, the line about the paunchy, lonely old geek in "New Moon and Rattlesnakes" is in the first paragraph. The next description, regarding his hairy paw, is in the third paragraph, and the one after that doesn't appear until the sixth:

Twice, to speed things up, she told him jokes that made his bald head blush flame red.

Monica's steamy blue eyes can be placed in one paragraph, her long, jet-black hair a few paragraphs later, and her svelte, athletic body in another page or two -- where it may fit more appropriately.

Sometimes, though, only the sparest description is needed. Lise, the main character in "New Moon," is not described at all until the fourth page, and then mainly by her clothing -- skimpy tank top, denim shorts, hand-tooled boots. Physically, only her muscular thighs and wind-blown hair are mentioned. This, remember, is the main character. Yet we are not deprived of who Lise is -- we get to know her character quite well. Hornsby, the writer, knows exactly how to give us the woman without needing to describe her in detail.

Next time: More on Characterization.

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Outlining & Organizing (Objects In The Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear)

Reading is very popular. Writing is very popular too.

While we might read the latest bestseller and think "Sheesh, a brain-dead monkey could put together a better story than that!" we know, deep down, that reading a story and giving our opinion of it is one thing. Writing a story is quite another. And once we decide that maybe we should try it anyway, we soon discover that neither we nor the brain-dead monkey will have a very easy go of it.

But writers love to write. Ask a writer why they write, and they come up with some pretty lame reasons. "I don't know, I just have to write. I've got all this stuff inside me that's just gotta come out!"

Whatever.

Now, I'm not making fun of writers who express such sentiments -- I pretty much feel the same way -- but it's still lame. Of course, ask anyone why they want to do anything, and the reason usually sounds silly at best. I think we should just admit to ourselves "I write because I like it" and leave it at that.

Maybe a basic reason is that writing is so popular is because it's a relatively cheap form of artistic expression -- all that's really needed is a pen, paper and a few thoughts. Computers make it all the more easier.

However, once pen is put to paper -- or words input into a word processor -- the writer quickly discovers this is not as easy as it looks.

Maybe you've seen messages posted on newsgroups or discussion boards: "I want to write -- I just don't know where to begin!" Or: "I have this great idea, but how do I get it on paper?" Or, maybe you're halfway through your novelistic masterpiece, only to discover you've lost your way.

Don't worry, there is an answer! It's called The Outline.

If you want to write, you have to know what you want to write about. That may seem pretty obvious on the surface, yet many, many, many writers fail to make clear (at least to themselves) what they are writing about.

Basically, it's very simple: If you're sitting at home and you want to go someplace, you have to know where you want to go. Then, once you decide that, you have to decide how you're going to get there. That's what outlining is about -- it is a map you make to help you get there.

Some folks don't know where they're going, and they don't care. They don't want a map. They just want to get in the car and drive. And there's nothing wrong with that. They just don't need to outline their writing. But I hope they don't call me when they get lost!

So, how do you start the map? Well, you want to take it in little pieces so it doesn't overwhelm you. How you fit the pieces together varies from person to person, but I can give you a general method and you can take what works for you, change it as you see fit, and dump the rest.

Take a general premise and start from that. For example, you might want to write a novel dealing with a movie star accused of a murder they say they didn't commit (shades of O.J.?). That is a starting point.

Then, ask yourself, "Who is this movie star?" Begin a character outline (which we'll get into in a minute). Name, age, accomplishments, marital status, children, pets, tattoos.

Then ask "Who was the murder victim?"

Then ask "Who is accusing him -- and why?"

The "why" relates to the evidence: What evidence is there that points to the movie star as the killer?

Then ask "Who really did kill the victim?"

You're building the essential skeleton for your plot. But before you get too far into your plot, you've got something more important to do: Get to know your characters.

Characters and plot go hand-in-hand. Without plot, you don't have a very interesting story, and without characters, you don't have a story at all. If what you write leans more heavily on characterization than plot, you're going to have a story that lacks purpose. If you emphasize plot over characterization, you'll end up with something that lacks meaning.

You should have interesting people (characters) doing interesting things (plot) -- or better yet, having interesting things happening to the interesting people. The main character (protagonist) should have something at stake -- fear of potential danger, loss, exposure, or trauma. And maybe something to gain as well -- vindication, love, peace, money. And the bad guy (antagonist) has to have something at stake. What might they gain . . . or lose?

In our example with the movie star, he could be faced with humiliation, a lack of freedom -- being thrown in prison -- and even death (as in death penalty). There are other elements involved, especially if Mr. Movie Star didn't really off who they are accused of offing.

Think about this for a moment: What would you face if you were accused of killing someone you didn't kill?

People would treat you differently. Some will believe you, some won't. You might lose your job, friendships, spouse. Your reputation is in question. Your life is examined by total strangers -- the police -- and you're questioned about every little thing you ever did. How would you react?

Now how would your character react?

Doesn't that help to bring the character into better focus? Doesn't it give some meaning to the events that are happening to him?

The character outline, on the surface, is easy: You write down everything you know about him or her. Everything from a physical description (gender, race, height, weight, eye and hair color) to mental state (down-to-earth? Wild and crazy? Manic? Happy-go-lucky?) to mannerisms (bites nails, plays with hair/beard, right eye twitches uncontrollably, laughs too loud) to favorite things (spaghetti and meat balls, prefers wine over beer, listens to country music, watches Oprah everyday, enjoys sex with blondes) to what they believe (Democrat, pro-gun, pro-abortion, believes in God but doesn't go to church).

Of course, this can get to be quite a list, and 90% of it might not even get in your story. So why do you need to know? Because it allows you to know the character, and knowing the character is going to be (for you, the writer) more important than anything else.

"Ah, but I just want to write. I don't want to do all this listing. What does it matter if my character is left-handed or right-handed, or that he has a tattoo of a snake on his butt?"

Maybe it doesn't matter. But I assure you that as you write, you're going to have to make choices for your character, and you're going to have to decide how your character will react. And if you don't know how your character will react and why they react that way, you're going to have a character without much character.

For example, let's say your movie star is a woman, and shortly after she's arrested for this murder she supposedly didn't do, she discovers she's pregnant. What will her reaction be?

You need to know!

You may be wondering "How many of these character outlines do I do? I might end up with dozens of major and minor characters!"

Yes, you might. So the rule is this: If the character, major or minor, has any bearing on the plot, a character outline is probably needed. Whether it's a detailed character outline, or a simple one is up to you. You can get into every little thing, or just write a brief paragraph about the character.

So now you may be asking "Wouldn't all characters have a bearing on the plot?" Frankly, no. Some might just be interesting figures you added for color. Others might pop into your story by chance -- the movie star's attorney's secretary, for example. We really don't need to know she likes snowboarding and plays chess over the Internet with a guy named Sven. It has nothing to do with your plot of the movie star -- the secretary's just there to answer the phone and greet visitors.

Basically, you're starting with character outlines of all your major characters. Minor character outlines can be done as they come along (unless, again, they have a direct bearing on the plot).

Speaking of the plot, what is going on with these characters? In other words: What happens?

You can start with a very general synopsis -- murder victim is found, movie star is arrested, police case gets shaky, movie star is released from jail, movie star receives threatening messages, police write threats off as something the movie star created, movie star is followed, new murder victim is found . . .

You get the idea. You just give yourself the headlines. It's like saying "From Miami, I'll go to Atlanta, then Memphis, then St. Louis, then Chicago . . . "

Once you connect those dots all the way to your final destination, you can work out the details of how you're going to travel to each place.

Next, you can plow into a more detailed scene description. There's the murder victim being found. This could be your opening, your first scene. Who finds the murder victim? Where was he found? How was he killed? What evidence is found?

Scene One: In Las Vegas, a maid finds the body of a man his hotel room, shot in the head. She screams and runs off.

Scene Two: Detective Vince DeMaggio arrives and looks over the scene. He plucks the dead man's wallet from the corpse's expensive suit and determines the victim is Maurice Bronk, an entertainment lawyer from New York. Several beer bottles are found in the room, and samples of fingerprints are taken.

Scene Three: DeMaggio is on the phone, talking to his 10 year old son, saying he is excited about attending that evening's soccer game in which his son plays forward. While on the phone, a file is placed on his desk. Fingerprint analysis of the Maurice Bronk hotel room links Stone Colorado, the famous movie actor, to two of the beer bottles.

Scene Four: Stone Colorado walks out of his trailer and onto the set of his new motion picture 'The Set-Up.' . . .

You can get even more detailed than that, if you want.

There are different methods for getting this stuff down. You can do so by writing each character and/or scene out on a 3" x 5" index card. Or, you can do so in your word processor, writing it out much like I just did. Some folks even use spreadsheets to list the characters, a timeline of events, where each character was during each event, and other related things.

You may think: "Do I really have to do all that?"

The answer is: No, you don't have to. But I can assure you that once you're deep into your story, you're going to start losing track of things. Clues. People. Alibis. Character relationships and their nuances will be lost. You'll start having to juggle all this in your head, and some of it will get dropped.

If you can keep track of all this in your head, more power to you. Some folks can. But if you're like everyone else who has trouble remembering where they left their car keys, much less the name of the movie star's attorney's secretary, then you may need help keeping track.

Writing is a lot of work, isn't it? It's not just "Once upon a time ..."

So here's a quick overview of outlining and organizing:

Write a General Premise -- A movie star is accused of murder.

Create a Character Outline -- Richly detailed, or a sketch to jog your memory.

Write a General Plot Synopsis -- Murder victim is found, movie star is arrested, police case gets shaky, movie star is released from jail . . .

Create a Detailed Scene Description -- A blow-by-blow account of the major plot points and twists, and the characters involved in them. Paint it as little or as much as you want. (I've heard of some detailed outlines that are longer than the actual finished product.)

Make a Clue and Alibi List -- What are the clues? What are the alibis?

Create a character / plot timeline -- Who was where when what happened?

And that's it in a nutshell. Like I said, outlines are not for everybody, but it certainly won't hurt if you try it -- especially if, for some reason, you have to stop writing for a period of time and might lose track of what you were trying to do.

So, Happy Outlining!

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Lazy Advice R Us

I just stumbled across this in a blog . . . it's from someone who sells their services to improve manuscripts. The author shall remain anonymous because I'll soon make fun of them and don't want to get sued . . .

"If you are writing a book that has fictional characters, the reader should be able to connect to the characters on a personal level. Make the characters real and interesting, made [sic] good descriptions of them, bring them to life. You want a reader to feel like he/she is right there in the story interacting with the characters."

Okay, that's real nice, but how does one "make the characters real and interesting"? I mean, seriously. HOW DO YOU DO IT? How can you write a character in such a way that the reader connects with them on a personal level? How do you bring the reader into the story so they are "interacting with the characters"? Whatever that means.

Gadzooks. It's nice double-talk, but really. HOW DO YOU DO IT? Tell me, because I WANT TO KNOW.

This is the problem with most writing advice -- blather that is bland enough to the point of uselessness. The writer may even feel MORE lost because they think they've missed something everyone else, apparently, knows.

I also like the typo -- a great advert for a so-called "expert."

But wait . . . it gets better . . . (not really) . . .

"To help make a character, you could model them after someone you know. That makes the characters seem more real because you know what that person would do in a certain situation."

Oh my gosh, that is BRILLIANT. No one has EVER thought of that before. Give this "expert" a Pulitzer or something.

The truth is, I could write about my wife all day long, and still make it as boring as oatmeal because I don't know how to transfer that person I know into a character that is "real and interesting." And my wife is both real and interesting.

This kind of lazy advice is like pouring water on a drowning man. Don't you think most writers intend on writing fictional characters that are real and interesting, bringing them to life, so that the reader could connect on a personal level? Of course they do . . . but . . . for Pete's sake -- HOW???

An open statement to this "Professional" courtesy of The Writing Freak: Be the expert you claim to be and actually help somebody for once. Stop patting people on the head and give them true, honest answers. And if you won't -- or can't -- then shut up.

Creating good, believable, "real" characters is one of the most difficult aspects of fiction writing. Transferring what you see, think, FEEL in your head onto a piece of paper is not a simple task. Some folks never get it. Others do it as easily as breathing -- which means it's like a lot of other things in life: Easy for some, not so easy for others.

I have written on the topic of Cardboard Characters and hopefully it offers some actual useful advice on breaking characters out of your head and into the hearts and minds of the reader. Will it make you the next toast of the town on Oprah? That's up to you, but it's certainly better than telling writers what to do . . . instead of showing them.

Show, don't tell. That's the first step in bringing characters to life.

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The Writer's Anonymous 12 Step Program

1. I admit I am powerless without writing -- my life has become unmanageable and intangible, and I get a little cranky.

2. I believe that a Power greater than myself can restore me to sanity.

3. I have made a decision to turn my will and my life over to the daily act of writing, knowing that if I can brush my teeth, put on some underwear and watch Dr. Phil every day, I can set aside a couple of hours to achieve my dream.

4. I will make a searching and fearless moral inventory of myself -- not only to come to terms with my failures and missteps, but also to use as material in my book.

5. I admit to God, to myself, and to another human being the exact nature of my addiction to writing, its power over me, and my commitment to accomplish my goals.

6. I am entirely ready to have God remove my defects of character, including, but not limited to, procrastination, self-doubt, and the Jerry Springer Show.

7. I humbly ask God to remove my shortcomings so they do not become impediments to my writing career, and are not discovered by The National Enquirer or People Magazine when I become famous.

8. I will make a list of all persons I have harmed in my life, and I am willing to make amends to them all -- even if it would have made a great screenplay.

9. I will not believe in the power of "Writers Block", understanding that it has a false control over me, allowing me to quit, give up, or otherwise forego my dream and goals.

10. I will listen to, accept and acknowledge criticism and other forms of constructive input, knowing there is always some truth to the suggestions, no matter how wrong I pretend they are.

11. I will not allow literary agents, editors, teachers, experts, consultants, friends, parents, spouses, or even other writers to dissuade me -- in any words, form, or manner -- from my dream, goal and commitment to become the successful writer I will be.

12. I will seek through prayer and meditation to improve my conscious contact with God, praying for knowledge of His will for me, and the power to carry that out. And to complete my manuscript, of course.

(With humble apologies to Alcoholics Anonymous)

Thanks to Scott for allowing me steal this.