How I get Myself Unstuck from a Scene…

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How I get Myself Unstuck from a Scene

Traci Kenworth

 

I’ve come up against walls more than a few times when it comes to scenes. There’s a recent one when I needed a character to have certain powers—I just couldn’t figure out what those would be, so I procrastinated about it for days until the answer worked itself out. This is not to say I avoided the scene all together for those days. I worked on this and that of it, chipping away at what I had, until finally a gem formed.

How did I figure it out? Well, I researched different powers. Well, not in the way I could say, “Hey, I’ll give her Supergirl’s powers.” No, I thought about the different elements, what related to her character, where I planned to go from here with her. And slowly, the answers came. And better than expected. Cryogencis. Lava. Avalanches. All these and more were investigated in the hope something would spark.

Another time, I had to introduce a character who has visions of certain events in my book. He was cursed with this by another character. I struggled with whether to write what he witnessed as first person or third. It didn’t quite work out with first as the story is told in first person to begin with and became too confusing for my cps, so I switched it to third and now it is sailing along. The reason behind this being, he has to “see” events through another character’s eyes. He can’t speak for them, he can only observe them.

So you see, there is a way to work through your difficulties. It just takes a new approach. Like I did with my latest book I’m editing. I totally changed the storyline for the female lead in the revisions from passive/sidelines to proactive, kickbutt heroine and it worked. She is now one of the most interesting characters I’ve written. All because I ran into a wall. Sometimes those blockages are good in terms of the story. They force you to work harder, to challenge yourself more.

Any tips you know on how to scale those walls? Doesn’t your story prove stronger/better for it? I think it’s really the Muse telling us to hold up, let’s look at thing from all angles, and then surprising us with its brilliance. So what has your Muse blocked for you lately?

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Get Ready for the Countdown to NanoWriMo!

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Get Ready for the Countdown to NanoWriMo!

Traci Kenworth

 

It’s here. That magical time of year when millions of fingers poise over the keyboards, press that pen or pencil to the paper, or whichever method you prefer to pursue NanoWriMo. Nano is a once a year writing challenge to help support those who choose to come up with a 50,000 word novel. I’ve done it once a couple years ago and won the challenge. I came away with an 85,000 count book which I’m readying to send off to agents now.

Yes, there must be rewrites for what we do during the challenge. We can’t just rush our work out there, hoping to find a home. SH has gone through several versions of rewrites. My female character needed strengthening, a lot of the backstory needed cut, the secondary characters needed brought to the forefront to complete their roles in the story instead of just popping up at the last minute to announce their deeds in it all. Yep, it’s come a long way; but now, it’s something to be proud of. Just as yours will be, if you put the time and effort into it.

I suggest going into the challenge with an outline, character charts, setting boards, any handy clippings or print-outs about characters/scenes etc. you feel might help you in the course of things. Adjust your time. Don’t sit and write the whole word count out at once, if you struggle doing so, do it in increments. A half-hour here, half-hour there. It’ll add up. If you do about 2,000 words a day, you’ll nail your goal.

My experience was that it was both easier and harder than I thought. Easier, because I managed double the word count, so I overshot my goals, harder in the wear-and-tear it puts on you but let me tell you, in the end when you hold that book in your hands, it will all be worth it. You will have accomplished something most people only dream about. Writing a book is hard. Anyone can say that they’re going to do it but to actually do it, and write one that sells? It takes skill and hard work. Nano can point you on the right path. Why not sign up today. And stop by my page and say, “Hi.” I’m always willing to welcome more friends along the way.

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Let Me Look in the Mirror Already!

How to Breathe Life into Your Characters

Part II: Let Me See in the Mirror Already!

 

 

A character’s looks. How important are they? Some say the less description the better,

but I’ve read in an agent’s recent blog(and I concur)that the readers wants to know what your character looks like, warts and all. I don’t say to browbeat him or her with endless descriptions of a character’s eyes or rosy cheeks etc. But there has to be a healthy balance between what your hero/heroine looks like and what the reader see’s in their minds.

Think of them as clues. Blond hair or dark brown? Green eyes or violet? All little details that drive home the character to us. I, for one, like to “cast” my characters. So on any given day before I start a book, I spend countless hours searching magazines, the internet, or television for that matter for the perfect match to what I see. Sometimes I don’t start with a clear image as to what I’m looking for but just scan until the right photo jumps out at me and claims the face of the character in question.

Sometimes I pick a popular actor/actress, oftentimes I go with an unknown. Because no matter whom they are to you, your reader is going to see someone different. We can only give visual tidbits to further the illusion. And the truth is, I’m going to describe an actor/actress in the way I see them. That means I might notice imperfections others don’t that bring the character alive. And I search for the flaws most of the time because who wants to read about a perfect person?

Really the picture is just a canvas that we need to enhance in our reader’s mind. Character traits play an important part of this. We can have a pretty heroine on the outside but inside she feels like a girl next door or plain Jane. A gorgeous guy can be the vilest person we know deep down. It’s all in how you want to layer them.

In my story, The Safe House, I take a well-known actress and give her body issues. To everyone else, she’s beautiful, to herself, she’s too thin, too little up top, too ordinary. I like to think this brings her down to our level. After all, who among us is comfortable in their own skin, especially at eighteen? The awkward, ugly duckling phase can be felt by all. And when we grow into that swan, it’s not because we suddenly became Julia Roberts, but we came to terms with ourselves inside. It lends a sort of confidence to who we are.

Likewise my hero finds a different sort of failing in himself. Outwardly, he is calm, resolute. Inside, he feels like a fake, an actor on a stage who someone is about to discover doesn’t belong as the lead. He is forced to take more and more responsibility onto his shoulders and yet, his doubts hinder his performance until at last, he breaks free of the insecurities and rises to the warrior he needs to be.

So, yes, as you see, there’s more to it than labeling someone with blond hair, blue eyes. And yet those looks help develop who a character is to our readers. Describing our characters too little can often leave them abstract, in need of an infusion of color, warmth. Balance is the key. Bring the emotions with the image. Reflect that back and you’ll create characters that are fully rounded and ready to spring from the page.

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