Can You See It?

Recently, I saw a movie where I was all but screaming at one of the actors, "Oh for the love of God, get in the shot." His character belonged in that moment, but for some unknown reason, he was five feet away from everyone else. No one I asked could figure out why the actor did that, but we all noticed.

What does this have to do with books?

Well, when I'm reading a good book, I'm not seeing the words. Instead, I'm seeing pictures of the characters and the scenes play out behind my eyes like a movie. So, sometimes, I think of books like movies.

What is this character doing in that shot?

If someone is there, they should have a good reason for being there. If MC walks into the coffee shop and sees his girlfriend with another guy, then he can break up with her. But why did he go into the coffee shop? Maybe a sudden yen for cappuccino. And if a character isn't there, he should have a good reason not to be there. Maybe the MC's tag-along best friend won't go to the party, because her ex will be there. Sure, that might not be the reason the writer won't have her there (maybe if Best Friend is there, MC can't leave with Romantic Interest during the party), but if Best Friend would normally be there, there ought to be a reason she isn't.

What are they doing there?

An insecure character might follow a friend across the room so as not to stand alone. A nervous person might fiddle with, say, a ring. A gregarious person will smile at a newcomer. All in all, humans don't do nothing. I like to know what each character is doing while the moment is occurring. Every moment is a shot, and I like to know what's going on in all of it.

Where are the characters standing/sitting/doing yoga in that moment?

If one character can't stand cats, then he'll place himself farther from the cat than other characters would. If he secretly loves someone, he'd probably stand closer to that person or alter himself to be look more directly at that person.
Personal space would also be a matter. For the average American, personal space is 18-48 inches. Anyone inside those 18" qualifies as a close intimate. Spatial relations can have a lot of meanings. The actor I mentioned earlier played the best friend, so why couldn't he stand near the MC? A creepy person might stand a little too close. An uptight person or aggressive male might demand more space. In a visual, spacing can have deeper meaning; there as the writer, I need to know who looks like they're too far away and too close and why.

In some ways, a book is easier than a movie or a play. After all, a character can do a lot of things without the audience wondering why. All the writer has to do is not mention what that person is doing and the reader will never know. On the other hand, the reader can see anything you write down. And if you don't know the whole picture, how can they?

Do you like to visualize as you go? Do you see the picture before you write or after?

Are You There God? It's Me, [Insert Name of Character]

I am not religious. It's a pity, but that's the way of it.

In general, most of my stories don't involve religion. I delete judeo-christian blasphemy (which is generally something I favor in spoken discourse). It often has no place in the world of the story. On the other hand, my two current projects both involve religion in some way. In The Epic Book, a lot of the back story and cultural basis for the characters involves a Shinto-istic nature worship. In The Thief Book, most of the characters are Catholics.

Let me be frank (yes, you can be George). If I were religious, I wouldn't be Catholic.

But, it makes sense in the story. My favorite character is a thief and a very religious Catholic. It feeds her intense internal dichotomy. I decided to capitalize on that and make her not the only religious person. I break the cities down by parishes instead of counties or districts, and my MC wears a crucifix she got from her mother.

All in all, it's been an interesting learning experience. I didn't know much about the saints before I started, and I've been thinking more about the role of God in people's lives than I used to.

How much religion do you include, if any, in your stories? Are your characters often religious in the same way you are?

Soundtracks

Every now and then, I'll listen to a song and think, 'wow, there's a great story here.'

One thing I love is when I hear a song and think, 'Wow! This is just the emotion that I wanted for my character. This is exactly what I wanted to say.' I make note of the songs that make me think like this and form them into the soundtrack for that story. Then, whenever I feel like I'm running dry or I've lost the emotion of the story, I put on the music and let it flow back to me.

This is one place I know I'm not alone. One friend of mine actually has a slot in her notebook labeled Soundtrack with a list of all the music that's helped shape the story. Stephanie Meyer's acknowledgments include the names of bands who inspired her during her writing.

I think music can inspire whole scenes and dialogue. I heard one song -- an internal monologue -- that turned itself into a conversation between one character and her brother.

They will probably never sell the soundtracks of books in a store, but I think a lot of stories have them. For The Thief Book (placeholder title, I swear) I've found inspiration in "Stars" from Les Miserables, "Who Am I?" also Les Miserables, "Both Sides of a Coin" from The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan. (It occurs to as I think about this that a startling percentage of what I listen to is soundtracks and cast recordings.)

Do you use music in your writing? What songs or bands have you found particularly influential?

Midnight Movies

I find myself without a topic to blog about today. For lack of a better excuse, I'm going to blame going out to see Harry Potter 6 at midnight with my beset friend and my sister.

Having been seriously let down by these movies in the past (I don't tend to enjoy book-based movies that make a lot of changes), I didn't expect to get more out of this experience than a few good memories with friends and a few laughs at my sister's commentary (which should, by the way, be recorded and publicly distributed. She adds new layers of humor to the movie, and I feel bad for those who have to miss it.)

Instead, I LOVED it. I enjoyed the symbolism, the actors were still good -- Alan Rickman is wonderful -- and the treatment of the characters were good. They did wonderful things with Draco Malfoy's character, which made me very happy. The girl who plays Luna remains my favorite in terms of grasping the character from the book and bringing it to the screen, and she's in the movie a fair amount.

I was initially concerned about what they would have to cut to make it run a reasonable time (and let's admit it, it was a long book, so there were going to be things cut), but nothing they cut from the books was something that you missed during the film, which in my mind shows a sign of good editing. Actually, some of the places where they joined multiple book scenes into one movie scene reminded me of advice I've heard on the blogosphere about making more interesting and compelling scenes.

I'd give the movie a definite recommendation. Yes, you will likely be tragically deprived of sarcastic commentary, but you can supply your own, and even without it, it's awesome. Kids will enjoy this.

(Cleanness, because people are concerned about that, is a perfect 10 out of 10. No problems.)

Have you ever gone to see a movie at midnight? Did you have fun?

Logophile and Proud

I love weird words. Words like napiform, omphaloskepsis, and embolalia make me smile. And I can admit that these words don't make it into the average lexicon, because let's face it, they serve a very minute use.

But does that mean I shouldn't use them in books? A beta reader once circled a word in a draft and wrote, "You can't use that word. No one will know what it means." I frowned and pouted over that note. It was the right word! They just don't make other words for that sort of thing. (In case your wondering, the word was embolalia. If you know a good synonym for that, please share it.)

Some of my favorite books have sent me reaching for a dictionary more than once. Even books that I'd consider easy reading aren't free from unfamiliar words. Does that mean the writer should have avoided them? I think, as the reader, it was within my responsibilities to grab a dictionary and look it up if I didn't know the word.

I still remember Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events and the way the definitions were worked right into the text. "Count Olaf realized he could either come clean -- a phrase which here means admit he was really Count Olaf and desperately trying to steal the Baudelaire fortune -- or perpetuate his deception -- a phrase which here means lie, lie, lie." I laugh aloud the first time I read that. (Secretly, I give a little smile when I think of it. ^_^ )

I, personally, don't wish to ape Lemony Snicket's style, and I don't want my characters to sound like the are the illegitimate offspring of Roget's Thesaurus, but I like to be able to use the right word in the narration, no matter how syllables it is.

As Mark Twain once said, "Use the right word, not it's second cousin." As a devoted logophile, I know some weird ones, but when they're the right word, I think they should stay. Why settle for the dinky second cousin just because he's more recognizable?

Are you a word geek? Are you likely to drop a word because it is largely unknown? How unknown is too unknown, especially for younger readers?

Time Stamps

I am perfectly willing to acknowledge that I have unusual personality quirks that no one else shares and that sometimes I say, do, and believe things that no one else understands. This is one of those things: I don't like when people use dates in books and movies.

Now, I'm not talking about people saying, "It's Tuesday, Paolo," or "Isn't Canada so lovely in March?" because things like that are both unavoidable and necessary to establish setting or certain events. However, when I read, "the park will be completed in 2004" or "Happy 1996," I groan and worry about how dated this will be in the future.

(In my defense, this weirdness didn't develop on its own. Once, on the commentary for West Wing -- I miss that show! -- Aaron Sorkin mentioned that they tried never to mention any dates in the show, because they wanted it to remain timeless. That stuck.)

I like to think that someday my books will be published and in readers hands. And, hopefully, they'll still be in reader's hands five years later. And I'd really like it if the book didn't sound five years old when they read it.

While I can understand the importance of years in things like historical fiction, in anything contemporary, I prefer to drop the year. For me, it is no year in particular, and interesting things are happening.

Am I the only one who really thinks about this nonsense? How do you feel about dates and years in books and movies? Do you include them in your own writing?

Mythos

In my version of the universe, I can put all of the weird aspects of my made up world into the book and no reader will ever be bored by it. In the universe as it actually exists, I know that is not so. That is why at least 50% of the mythology and such that I created for my fictional world in Supposedly Epic Book will never make it onto the page, not even in draft one. Why? Because, in my heart of hearts, even I know that most readers won't care.

However, I could not resist including at least some of it into the book. And I'm trying to convince myself it is important. After all, since I am devoting around 500 words to a mythological story, it should probably be entertaining as well as informative.

My MC is traveling to reclaim a stolen item, and when asked why it was stolen, she replied, "Well, they don't like us very much." When asked to explain that, she tells the story she was told as a child -- a myth. I want her to question the real cause of the wars, which none of them know. If she doesn't question the war, then no one's motivations are going to have many levels.

Does including the myths slow the story down too much? Gosh, I hope not. Otherwise, I'm going to have to find a way to make it go faster and more interesting while keeping it in the story. It's basically back back story. Bad form, maybe, but I want to keep it in. I loved mythology as a kid, so I have no problem reading it in a book. Others, I know, are not the same.

Does brief storytelling make things too slow? Is it too obvious as back story?

How much myth do you use in your writing? Do you ever make up the mythology for your characters?