It’s Alive

It's Alive

Today I start one of the best phases of writing a novel: I open a blank document and type the first words. I’ve done my preliminary research and outlining, and I know my characters as well as I’m going to know them until we spend more time together in Omphalos.

I see the city, mapped out and sitting quietly on my desk, waiting for its citizens to fill its streets and consecrate their hands with its earth.

Time to flip that switch.

The birth of a novel

Shannon Messenger recently wrote about keeping our characters’ motivations in mind, which reminds me that I’ve been wanting to post about my process for developing a new story. I’ll attempt to boil it down into something coherent, but keep in mind this is an organized, sterilized version of what’s honestly a pretty messy creative process. But hey, if it works, it works.

1. What If?

What if there’s a school for witches and wizards, and it’s part of a magical world hidden from view? What if you could extract dinosaur DNA from mosquitos embedded in amber? What if a spaceship broke down over South Africa and the government had to house the extraterrestrials?

My stories all start with this kind of broad, high-concept question. I love learning; I love reading about bizarre theories and scientific breakthroughs. I like pondering ideas about sociology and culture and the extreme possibilities thereof, and that’s what I think about when I’m taking a shower or walking my dog. I’ve been this way since I was a child– I learn something new, and then I extrapolate a wild “what if?” question anchored in an extreme situation.

These questions alone aren’t stories, of course. They’re ideas, and ideas are a dime a dozen. So what next?

2. Who and Where?

Where can I place the idea? What time period? In other words, what’s the milieu? Place, socio-cultural context, political climate. These considerations bring me directly to the most important aspect of the new story: The character. From the “what if?” question come more specific questions about individuals who would be affected by the “what if?” Specifically, people who would be affected so much that they’re compelled to act. Or something happens to them that compels them to act.

Notice that the character acts. Their predicament doesn’t just toss them around from situation to situation as they passively react to the story. They create the story. Their actions shape the events to come. They have motivations. What are they trying to achieve? In my stories, this relates directly to the “what if?”

3.Why, How, and So What?

At this point I have at least a rough sketch of a character, but in order to flesh out a coherent plot, I need to answer three primary questions: Why, How, and So What? Why does the character want to achieve X? Their motivation, in other words. How are they going to achieve X? And most important of all, what happens if they fail to achieve X? What are the stakes? Cultivating both inner and outer stakes is, in my opinion, crucial to creating a character people will care about. This will create inner and outer conflict, and that’s what keeps readers turning the page.

Keep in mind, this isn’t just for the main character. Sure, I start there, but what about the antagonist? They too need a Why, How, and So What. As do any side characters. That is, if I want my readers to believe the story and care about the outcome. I want to create tension, so the antagonist’s Why, How, and So What should be at odds with the protagonist’s.

Answering “how” is often the most time-consuming for me, because it’s not just a matter of, “Character goes here, finds this, and takes it to so-and-so.” Refining the “how” is a matter of crafting the entire plot, because there should be pitfalls and failures and setbacks in addition to successes on the character’s path to achieving their ultimate goal. The conflicts should illuminate the characters’ strengths and weaknesses and ultimately transform them.

4. Outline and Query

Yes, I’m an outliner. This doesn’t necessarily mean I have to outline every last plot point down to the finest detail, but it does mean that I like to know the beginning, middle, and end of my novel before I write the first words, and I want to know how my characters are going to maneuver through the story. I want to know what the conflicts will be and all the major twists and turns. If I know where I’m going, in other words, I’ll have a better idea of how to get there.

As for the querying part– no, I don’t actually query agents at this stage, rest assured. However, I do write a query. This helps me hone the primary conflict and make sure I’ve adequately answered those three questions I mentioned above– Why, How, and So What? If there are plot holes or weaknesses, I’ll identify them by writing a query.

5. Character Development and Worldbuilding

I do develop my characters and setting as I’m answering the above questions, but I also set aside time to specifically address details. I want both my characters and setting to come alive. In fact, in most of my stories, the setting is one of the main characters. The psychology, background, beliefs, and values of the characters are part of their motivation, part of that Why, How, and So What. The milieu contributes to this.

6. Write!

Now it’s time to piece it all together, to use language to craft a novel that breathes, moves, and grows.

What’s your creative process? Do you just sit down and wing it, or do you outline? Do you have specific questions you want to answer before you’re ready to go, or do you hit the ground running?

Blog Awards

I’ve received two more blog awards: the Honest Scrap award from Regan Leigh and Jamie DeBree, and the Picasso Award from Kelly. Thank you, ladies!

The caveat to receiving these awards is that I must share ten random facts about myself. I’m sure these will be old news to close friends, but I’ll try to pick at least semi-interesting tidbits to share. Let’s see…

1. I’m fascinated by fringe science, the paranormal, and the supernatural. More than anything else, I’m intrigued by extraterrestrials, especially stories of close encounters. The result? Unidentified.

2. You can sort of see this in my author photos, but I’m tattooed. I have a chest piece, a full back piece, and tattoos on the back of my neck and behind both ears. I have plans for a small tattoo on my right wrist and a half-sleeve on my left arm.

3. When someone asks me where I’m from, I’m not sure how to answer until I know what they mean. I have a different answer for where I was born, where I attended high school, where I attended university, where my parents live (neither of whom now live in any city where I grew up, which frequently changed) and where I live now. Sometimes someone is asking about my ethnicity, which is yet a different answer– I’m from a mixed-ethnicity household. And no, I wasn’t a military kid.

4. I’m a bit of a neat freak. I find clean, organized spaces comfortable and soothing. Fortunately, my husband feels the same way.

5. I don’t like window shopping. I find it boring just to look at merchandise with no intention to buy. Unless we’re talking about books. I can browse the aisles of any bookstore for hours.

6. I’m a nut for unsweetened iced tea and espresso drinks. My drink of choice: soy or nonfat latte, extra hot. No sugar or fancy flavors, thanks!

7. I love anything macabre, strange, or dark. New Weird? Horror? Yes, please. Apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic fiction? Dystopian societies? Gimme. You wouldn’t necessarily know it by meeting me, either; I’m quite happy and optimistic.

8. I live and breathe storytelling. It’s almost all I think about. I’m always working to improve my craft, and I’m committed to success in this career. I won’t ever give up.

9. I’m a very spiritual person, but my views on the nature of reality don’t really fit into any one pre-existing religious or philosophical tradition. I derive many of my spiritual ideas from reading books on physics and cosmology.

10. I collect gemstones and minerals. I’ve loved them since I was a kid, and now my collection is huge. I have no idea how many I have, but I’d say a couple hundred at least.

If you’d like to share some interesting facts about yourself in the comments, I’d love to find out more about my readers!

I’m supposed to pass these awards on to other bloggers, so let’s see. I’ll list six people and you can choose which award you’d like to have. List ten facts about yourself when you post the award.

Books Read in January, 2010

I thought I’d make a post at the end of every month listing the books I’ve read. I already keep track of this on Goodreads, but I thought a month-by-month breakdown might be fun. Here’s the post for January.

Nonfiction
  • Writing Down The Bones, by Natalie Goldberg
  • Give ‘Em What They Want, by Blythe Camenson
  • The Case Against Perfection, by Michael J. Sandel
  • Speculations on Speculation, edited by James Gunn and Matthew Candelaria
  • Opium Culture, by Peter Lee
Fiction
  • Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
  • Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
  • Tales of H.P. Lovecraft
  • The Unincorporated Man, by Dani Kollin and Etyan Kollin
  • The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
  • Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters, by Kathleen Ragan
  • Biting The Sun, by Tanith Lee
  • Genesis, by Bernard Beckett
  • Everything That Rises Must Converge, by Flannery O’Connor