When you know what you want to write... but don't know how to write what you want to write... or even if you should write what you want to write and in the end, just sit there like:
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I'm using The Red Lord for my first attempt. Following this structure, the playlist should tell the entire story.
(Implementing a rule from the other challenge: No repeat artists! Though repeating featured artists are fair game!) Though its a Dark Romantasy, I'm finding a lot of pop/R&B songs fit the general vibes of my characters in love... though it does give the since that the story is lighter than it really is. What did you find out duringt his process? Two aliens walk into a bar, drawn in by the music of the vintage jukebox and dance to Doris Day's "Dream a Little Dream of Me"This was the only concept I had for my first novel writing endeavor. No characters (other than two aliens). No world in which to build (though I had the vague idea of a retro Sci-Fi setting... hence the jukebox). Prior to this, I'd never had cause to "world build" since my longest projects have been short stories. (Note: I believe that any project, no matter the length, has to have some element of worldbuilding in order to stay consistent and have characters that interreact remain true to their environment... even if its a small town in the middle of nowhere Iowa). Primarily associated with (but not limited to) the Fantasy and Science Fiction genres, Worldbuilding is "the process of creating a fictional world within your novel that offers an entirely new and unique location with exotic creatures, societies, religions, and governments" (Self-Publishing School). In college, I followed the MFA tract while also getting my BA in English Literature (though I opted out due to schedule constraints with my BA). I took Writing Popular Fiction with paranormal fiction author, Nicole Peeler. Her class was my first introduction into worldbuilding, as well as my first introduction into Pinterest. The instruction was to create a Pinterest board for each character as well as setting elements, culture, and lore. While I only used Pinterest for that assignment, I've taken to create folders within Google Drives of all these worldbuilding elements. When to Worldbuild![]() According to the Self Publishing School, Worldbuilding should be the very first step an author should take. However, different writers write differently! I, for example, write as I go (aka. Discovery Writer/Pantser/Gardener), while others write from outlines of varying meticulosity (Outliner/Plotter/Architect) (see "Outlining/Plotting Vs Discovery Writing/Pantsing" for more details!). If you are the latter, worldbuilding expert, and director of the award-winning worldbuilding and novel writing software World Anvil, Janet Forbes instructs it should come in the plotting stage. You need to be aware of tour characters, traditions, systems, technology, etc. early. But if you don't outline? Forbes writes in "When Should You Worldbuild for Your Novel?" "Most pantsers I know love to craft characters, even if they don’t know what will happen to them over the course of the story! And characters are full to the brim with worldbuilding opportunities!" This is true enough! Though my "world" came slowly, my characters were already starting to develop-- and with it, their story. Though I kept the two "aliens" from my concept, they were not the aliens of "little green men" lore. They were inspired by the various myths of ancient being arriving on Earth. They look like us, and act like us, but were from civilizations light years away. How would these "ancient aliens" look? I envisioned them resembling the Tuaregs of the Sahara, the Dogon People of Mali, the Cushitic tribes of the Eastern horn of Africa (AKA, Kush people and Cushites). My Diadasi people were immaculately beautiful and well cultured despite being centuries behind in terms of space travel. My Diadasi people went through various changes (from being more alien in appearance to less; from having purple skin the color of their sand, to simply having rich black skin). Their appearance evolved over the years as I wrote their stories. Forbes recommends taking notes after each writing session, "Try spending 5 minutes documenting the people, places and things you came up with... mention a creature, a character, a location or a technology, scribble down a few notes about your ideas." I've learned a lot more about my characters and worlds after I've already written them (for example: my two Diadasi like Doris Day😁)! I wasn't allowed to play Sims growing up. There was something cool about creating a virtual person, dropping it in a world where I had control over where it lived, when/how it ate, the weather, its friends. Whether or not it lived or died. It was much different than a Tomogatchi or any of those similar pocket pets that came out during the early 2000s (toys which I was allowed to have, by the way). The reason I was given was that it was "too adult" for me, and "something you wont understand." (Either that or they don't want me to become a little megalomaniac, but hey, I'm an Ares). To this day, I've never played Sims. I never had a reason to because I could create my own worlds and characters to drop in them. I have control over everything. Especially when and how my characters die. Two of my published stories end in contentment, if not hopeful and happily. The others are somber. Melancholic and heavy on the feels. Three end in death while a forth, its implied. "Have you ever tried writing something... happier?" my dad asked me once after he'd read "The Hanging Tree." Its not that I can't, its just... I write the story that needs to be written. Even if it ends in death. I love watching Romances... but I can never be purely a "Romance" writer.I just finished watching the Chinese drama, Love Me If You Dare (2015). While it had its flaws, it was enjoyable. However, despite the plot being a Sherlock Holmes-esque murder mystery involving heinous crimes, it seemed like the series was afraid to let beloved characters suffer. For example, the female lead, Jian Yao, has a traumatic back story (the gruesome murder of her father and grandparents while she was a young child) that is only mentioned once by another character who found her file. This trauma was never explored. Not in her relationship with the male lead who she helps solves these murders, and not personally. She mentions it once more at toward the end of the series, but there is no emotional pull to it. Then Jian Yao's best friend gets "blown up".... but surprise! He's alive. Not even injured, just kidnapped. They find him, though, but while recovering in the hospital, he's involved in a shootout. Jian Yao sees her childhood best friend shot multiple times in the chest, we see him die, and Jian Yao kidnapped by a serial killer who likes to torture his victims to death. Neither Jan Yao nor her love interest bat and eye. (fear not-- the friend is seen lying in a hospital bed alive, and captive Jian Yao is never harmed by this supposed serial killer, even though we see all of his crimes throughout the series). The male lead, who is the love interest might I add, has no urgency in rescuing Jan Yao. He has no emotional reaction to her being taken by his arch nemesis. When he does finally rescue her, the two are unaffected by any of the events that have taken place, and happily prepare for Jian Yao's wedding. Romance always end in a Happily Ever After (or a "Happily For Now"). It skipped the emotional journey and jumped straight to HEA. There were no equal parts to the story and seemed like, halfway through the series, it wanted to be solely a Romance. I'm not a sadist; I don't want suffering and death just for the sake of it. But sometimes, character deaths just write themselves... ... and tragedies need to happen in order for the remaining characters to grow, (or to progress the plot in an emotional if not jarring way). There's no more compelling and engaging plot device than killing off a major lead or supporting character. In his article on Screen Craft, Ken Miyamoto explains in detail 10 reasons to kill your characters:
A character’s death, when done right, makes sense if viewed in light of the rest of the world you’ve created, even if the initial jolt of surprise and grief is hard to deal with for the reader. However, a character's death should not be trivial.
A year a go, George R.R. Martin weighed in on his heavy handedness in killing his characters, "In our entertainment, television, film, books, over the centuries as it’s evolved, death is often treated very cavalierly... If I’m going to write a death scene, particularly for major characters, I want to make the reader feel it " (The Independent). Death should be difficult-- not only for the writer to write, but for the reader to read. I guess this is why I've struggled to kill off a supporting character in The Path of the Cave Stars. I want to-- so badly! I've visualized the outcomes of the characters death and how it impacts my two MCs. But I don't do it. I cycle through these thoughts with a different character but still just as important to my MCs and their growth. I question myself: am I holding on to this character to be sentimental? Do I want to kill this character just because I can? What does this story need? I control the characters, but sometimes the story has more control than the hand(s) that write it. I think way too much....
....which is probably a good thing for a writer, but not so much for scheduling three posts a week, though I tried to keep my Friday ones light. A lot of thought, time, and effort goes in to blogging-- much more than I initially thought! Rather than bombard readers with 3 "essays" a week (and so as not to detract from my WIPS), I'm reducing it to once a week. |
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