I won’t go into all of it. I’ve been lax in my writing. Period. Oh there are some GOOD excuses. The death of my Grandmaw. Her failing health before that. And general life issues. Blah blah blah. I’ve not written in so long, well not written on my book, that I’ve actually forgotten where I was. This could be good or it could be bad. What I’m going to do now is reread my notes and my book and see what I get. If I can’t get my characters to talk to me then I’ll simply as a friend of mine said, “Fire them.” I’ll open the forum for all characters and the loudest one will win and I’ll write. I’ll write daily at least an hour but hopefully more. (Except while I’m on vacation, which is coming up in May and will be for the better last half of May.) As I’ve hit a money issue I will no longer have internet access at home. So I’ll be able to focus more on writing and less playing on the net. I’ll also be doing away with cable so there’ll be less of that to distract me also. I’ll still have internet at work so I’ll be able to write my blogs during the week. Thankfully I work for someone who doesn’t mind if I play as long as I work and get my job done. So I’m back to writing with a new game plan. As William G Tapply says a Writer must write.” (see Write! page for full quote.) So I’m off to write. Wish me luck.
Well after some soul searching I’ve decided that I’m going to have to become a person with a schedule. I despise the notion of becoming one of those people who aren’t spontaneous though. I get that some people are rigid in their schedules and are planners. Some like me are when we have to be but otherwise we go with the flow.
It came down to the fact that if I’m going to be a writer I have to make the conscious choice to schedule my writing time. Schedule my life. But though I’m willing to compromise I am not willing to totally give up my spontaneous nature.
So here is the compromise. I must write at least 2 pages or 2 hours (whichever ends up being more) every day. Deciding that I do need a day off I can have one day to not write. As a general rule that day will be Friday. But I will let that be flexible as long as I don’t abuse it. I can write at any time as long as by 10pm I am writing on my book. Since I am usually in bed by about 1am that’ll give me the minium of two hours of writing and there should be less interruptions at that time. But if I have time to write earlier I can. I just have to make sure if I plan things I must schedule in my writing time. No excuses.
So I’m still able to go and do as long as I make sure that I’ve covered my writing before I go.
Not having blogged for the better part of a month I started to give up on the blog thing. But that would be admitting defeat and I’m afraid that if I gave up blogging I might give up writing.
My problem is I’m not disciplined. I’m a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl. I like being that girl. But that girl keeps me from following my dreams and goals. So what do I do? It’s time for me to do some soul searching on what is most important to me. Then change either my lifestyle or change my dreams.
Writing – a book or even a blog – takes discipline. I have to do what William G Tapply says. Write every day. Not just when I’ve got nothing better to do. Or when I’m inspired. Or when I’m in the mood. No I have to write. And I do write I just don’t write on publishable stuff.
I also know that though many authors tell you to read while you write. I can’t. I’m not disciplined enough. I will write or I will read but I won’t do both. I should’ve known that about myself. After all when I was in college I couldn’t read during the semester or my school work suffered. That rule still applies.
So I search for discipline without losing my carefree lifestyle. So far it isn’t working. Time to reevaluate.
So I’ve made federal laws, supernatural society laws, made preternatural power rules, revamped history, and so forth. Now let’s work on characters.
(A lot of this I’ve touched on in a previous blog forming characters.)
Character Building…In order for characters to be real in my head I have to have a feel for them, a feel for their personality. This means getting to know them. Getting to know their likes and dislikes. What makes them angry? What are their parents like? What is their sexual orientation? Fears? Pet Peeves? Prejudice? Have they ever had their heart broken? Are they in love? Is it reciprocated?
Are they good looking? Do they have high self-esteem? High confidence? Are they conceited? Do they make jokes to cover up their nervousness? Do they pretend to be snotty to keep people from getting too close?
Are they human? If not then what are they? Then I need to know how they were changed or if they were born into whatever supernatural being they are now. How has being that supernatural being affected their life? If they were turned, was it violent? Was it chosen or forced on them? Do they hate the person who turned them? Do they hate what they have become or do they embrace what they have become? What were their feelings about the supernatural before they were turned?
If they were born a supe then are they prejudice against those turned? Are they filled with hate because humans don’t understand them? Have they turned others? What do they think of other supernatural beings? Where do they rank in the hierarchy of their society? Where does their people rank in the hierarchy of supernatural societies? Do they aspire to reach higher? Are they happy in their lot?
Here, there will mingle the rules of the supernatural with the character. Society and its rules whether they are law or just what that society has deemed acceptable affects the way we think. Youth as a rule tends to be less prejudice, but a person who was raised in prejudice most often is also prejudice. If a character is raised to believe that all people of a certain race were inferior, then for that character to change its view something has to happen. Perhaps their life is saved by one of the “inferior” people or they get imprisoned together and work together to get free. This would change that character’s opinion. Change their character but that character’s best friend who wasn’t part of that life altering experience will still hold true to those ideals they were raised with.
All of this affects and helps form a character. All of these will affect their outlook on life, their reactions to certain situations. Just as each of us are different and respond different to different situations so do characters in books. Characters must have a real quality to them in order to make readers care about what happens to them.
Let’s make up a quick vampire for reference here VonBludd.
VonBludd was a farmer’s son and was turned violently against his will by his master who liked young blonde men. VonBludd was forced to live centuries under her not so tender care. When she was killed by vengeful towns folk he escaped and promised himself he would never be under anyone’s control again, especially a woman.
I can assume then that VonBludd would be a male chauvinist. Chances are he’s not going to be a real ladies man. He’s a bit of a control freak. If he were imprisoned by a group of mad scientists who were determined to find out the secret to eternal life he’d go ballistic. The loss of his freedom again would make him insane. If he were ever able to get free I don’t think there would be any survivors of those who imprisoned him, especially women.
Every aspect of a character from their look to their pasts is important in shaping the character. The more I know of a character the better I will be able to stay true to them. Characters are harder to analyze than supernatural societies as a hole. Most characters for me just sort of form and have their own voice without me delving too deep into their psyche. I’ve got characters that won’t tell me their past. This is just another part of their character. It tells me that their past is not pretty and they don’t want to discuss it.
But I want to be as detailed as I can about as many characters as I can. Even minor characters. Though a minor character isn’t as important as main characters and secondary characters. Sometimes a minor character can take a life of its own and become a secondary character later on. But the more I know about any character in my story the more real I can make them. So while I might not spend as much time as on a minor character if they want to tell me their story I listen just in case I need it later and just to help me write better reactions and dialogue for that character.
Character building is another phase of building my world…
Another part of my world I need or want to build is background on the different supernatural cultures, any history that will affect my world of supernatural, and the politics and power structures of each of my supernatural societies.
Each culture will have a history. Again mythology is a great help here, a great base for my preternatural. But poetic license will let me twist old myths and make new ones to mold the supernatural cultures to what I need to make my stories work. Some of these histories and cultures will play prominently in my series later if my plots all follow the path I have laid out for them.
Let’s continue to use the ever-convenient vampires for example:Okay so now I have vampires that have rules of what powers and weaknesses they have, I have given them life amongst the humans, now I have to figure out their history. Are all vampires bitten? Are there born vampires and turned vampires? If there are different types of vampires then there will definitely be a hierarchy of power. Wouldn’t pure bloods be more powerful? Wouldn’t they feel that bitten vampires are inferior? Possibly the pure bloods use the bitten vampires fore slaves? Perhaps there is a split, an uprising of the turned vampires against the pure bloods. If so then are they still warring quietly behind the humans’ backs? Or have the bitten vampires perhaps larger in numbers desecrated the pure bloods? If they did then what are the consequences? Did they grow weaker without the vampire heads? Do turned vampires turned by a turned vampire become weaker as the vampire “power” is diluted? Or did the purebloods win because they’re more powerful. Did they lay waste to all the bitten vampires? Is there a change in the laws where you have to go through a process, red tape before you are allowed to turn a human in to a vampire? Or perhaps a rule that stops bitten vampires from being made at all? All of this will shape the vampire culture. It will be important in how vampires react in my series.
Also there will be politics. Wherever there is power to be had there will be those who seek it. Supernatural beings would be no exception. There would those who would rise up and unite their kind. The strongest would rule over the weaker. Since they are handy let’s use vampires again. There would be vampires all over the world. If there are pure bloods and turned vampires – then the pure bloods would be the governing class and the bitten vampires working class. Would there be a single governing vampire body with smaller factions all over the world? Or would there be vampire “countries” each with their own ruling body? How are the vampire “countries” divided? If the area is wide enough, say they actually use human government boundaries, there would have to be smaller governing bodies with each “country” much like our states. And on it goes to counties and cities. And how do these governing bodies relate to each other. What are the rules for visiting another area? Even in the vampire “city” there would be politics and rules of behavior. How do vampires punish other vampires? What do the vampires call their leaders? Can anyone turn a vampire or do you have to get permission from your vampire leader? Is there a way that weaker vampires must greet the stronger vampires? What is the etiquette for a vampire that is turned? Does he always owe his allegiance to that vampire? Are there customs that vampires must follow?
So in trying to make my world stable and believable I have to set up the subcultures inside the supernatural societies. Make rules. These rules will affect how the supernatural react in different situations to different people. It’s another layer of building my world…
The next phase in building my world is making up rules pertaining to each individual supernatural type of being. We must give them strengths, weaknesses, and limits.
Thanks to folklore, each supernatural being comes with a set of premade rules. But those rules are subject to change as time and cultures change. Each culture around the world has their version of the supernatural…
Mythology rarely comes from only one area. It has mirrored itself all over the globe. Tales of the undead sucking the life from its victims, tales of merfolk saving or drowning those foolish enough to swim in their waters, tales of men who can shift into animals to name a few are supernatural creatures that exist in different folklore from all over the world. Virtually every culture in the world has dragon myths. Long before the east met the west the people were mirroring each other’s mythology. But with each culture each myth changes. Even modern times have affected folklore. The silver bullet is courtesy Hollywood. It didn’t come into play in werewolf legend until 1944 in the film House of Frankenstein.
So with the folklore I have a great foundation for my preternatural beings. Now to decide which of these various myths hold true in my world.
Thanks to vampire popularity they are the perfect example of what I need to do to create my world.
Okay so vampires exist. How do you become a vampire? Some legends say that you had to be bitten, some say that you had to be bitten thrice by the same vampire, some say you must drink the vampire’s blood, and the list goes on. Does sunlight hurt vampires? Modern day Hollywood makes vampires creatures that burn in the sunlight but Bram Stoker’s Dracula could walk in the sunlight, it just made him less powerful yet not powerless. Does a vampire have a reflection? Does garlic affect vampires? Can vampires mesmerize you? How do you kill a vampire? Do they have to sleep in coffins? Do they have to have soil from their burial site in their resting place? Do crosses affect them? Are they evil? Are they soulless?
Each question poses more questions. Let’s use the old myth that a vampire has to be invited into your home. Well first we have to decide if it’s true. If we say it’s not true then comes questions like okay if a vampire enters without an invitation does it make him less powerful? Or perhaps unable to use his powers on any that considers that place their home? Or does it not affect him at all? Okay say it is true they need an invite into your home. Can you rescind their invitation and cancel their ability to enter your home? If you do recant their invite while they are in your home what happens? Are they forced out of your home? Does some supernatural force drag them out pass your threshold? Or can you only retract their invitation when they aren’t in your home? Or is once invited in a vampire always able to reenter your home? And what about hotel rooms? If you are staying in a hotel room does a vampire still need an invitation? What about your car? Some people (and laws) state that a car is an extension of your home so does a vampire need an invite to get into your car?
You can see how a simple questions snowballs into many different scenarios. I’ve got to answer these kinds of questions. Not just about vampires but also about any type of supernatural creature I plan to put in my book. Since my world will have many different types then I’m going to have to spend time answering these types of questions and further building my world….
My book is one with an alternate history.
It is present day. Cars still run on gas, cell phones still a constant staple, we have electricity and we still don’t have robots. So basically technology is the same but things have happened in my world that aren’t possible in this world.
My world is where vampires, lycanthropes, trolls, and other things that go bump in the night exist. They not only exist but it is common knowledge that they exist. Magical events are a common occurrence, though not so common that people are desensitized. A world where a person having psychic powers is treated skeptically but not scoffed at.
Imagine this world. Imagine a world where vampires do exist and its common knowledge. Mankind has never doubted their existence. Same goes for lycanthropes, trolls, fairies, or even ghosts. They exist and we acknowledge their existence as a matter of fact.
And though these creatures are accepted as real it doesn’t mean that they would be tolerated. In the world we live in now there is prejudice against race, religion, sexual orientation. Add to that mix people who are vampires. You know there would be people who would feel strongly that the undead are evil. Lycanthropy would be a disease where the victims would be treated much like people with AIDs. Some of the more “acceptable” creatures such as fairies and mermaids would be revered.
In this politically correct world wouldn’t we try to stop the unfair treatment of the supernatural? Wouldn’t there be those who would fight as hard for the rights of the supernatural as would there be those who would fight against them? And if you gave supernatural creatures the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness what issues would that cause? Then you have issues on how to incarcerate them if they break the law. And you’ll have to make special laws concerning them because you wouldn’t want to give vampires rights but let them use their power indiscriminately against the powerless humans. And what about vampires, would their “allergy” to the sun make it mandatory for all businesses to have a sunless area much as they do handicap accessible bathrooms and so forth?
Another thing to think about … in this world of magical supernatural power existing right next to science and its logic would cause some issues. Scientists, the unethical ones, would try to find the source of the power, to explain it away. Would there not be a supernatural science in existence if it were accepted and proved that supernatural powers existed? Wouldn’t creatures with supernatural powers be exploited? Imagine a special op unit of lycanthropes, hell a whole unit of lycanthropes in the army.
All these things must be considered. In order to successfully write my book in this alternate world I have to consider and address many of these things. So when I say I am trying to build my world, I’m trying to make the rules of what I believe would happen if the supernatural existed in common knowledge. I’m asking myself these questions and many more.
I am building my world…
Made myself a time-line to finish my book. I’m going to work hard on the world building and second draft at the same time. Dedicate one hour each. World building first then second draft. I want the second draft finished by the end of the year. The Romantic Times convention is in April. Though my book isn’t a romance, that is a perfect place to network. Plus the RT isn’t just about romance anymore. They also offer appointments with agents and editors. I so need to get my foot in the door. So my time line is: Finish second draft and world by end of year. Finish third polished draft by April. I’m going to have to give up some things but I if i want to be a published author then I’m going to have to commit. The book isn’t going to write itself…
I’ve had some ideas. I’ve wrote a few down. Then I got sidetracked. In an effort to get my “life” in order I’ve begun downsizing my “junk” in my house and I got sidetracked doing that instead of writing. I wrote a little but not as I promised – everyday for at least two hours. I’ve got to find a way to make myself stick to a schedule. I’m a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl but in order to be a successful – hell any kind of – writer I’ve got to write and write as if I have a firm deadline. I’ve got to do something because what I’m doing now isn’t working. I’m blowing smoke… Falling off the wagon. I’ve got to practice what I preach. I need help coming up with a better plan than I have or a better frame of mind. Anyone got any ideas?
Oh the silence is gone and boy oh boy are the ideas flooding in. Only I’ve not been able to put most of them down. Today was a super busy day. Tomorrow promises to be just as busy. But I’ve got to stay up tonight and at least get some of this shtuff down. It’s some good shtuff. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll have some more free time than I think I am.
