Crafting Dynamic Characters: Making Observations from Every Day Life

Disclaimer: No neighbors were actually spied on in the making of this blog entry.  

‘Cause, that would be creepy…

Okay, okay, let’s be clear: I’m not advocating that you go around spying into people’s windows or digging through their trash cans to dig up some inspirational dish.  No one wants to go to jail here, right?  However, I encourage all writers to take a tool out of an actor’s toolbox of tricks and simply OBSERVE people in everyday life and everyday situations without being intrusive.  You’re striving to glean what I call an “essence” of a character.  How does a corporate woman in a power suit hold herself, walk, talk, etc. compared to a nurse pulling an overnight shift in the ER –on the Fourth of July.  It’s all bout the nuances, and the more you can internally visualize a given character, the better you’ll be able to convey him or her to your audience.  Plus, adding personality quirks, physical tics, habits, that sort of thing will make all your characters much more interesting, dynamic, endearing, memorable, relatable, and genuine.

Here’s the short list of what I consider some of the best places to observe every day people in every day situations:

1.  The Post Office:  Hands down, the BEST conversations I’ve overheard have all occurred while waiting in post office lines.  You can find out A LOT about a person by what they just casually throw out to the postal clerk, family members, or (better yet) random strangers.  Want to know how much money you can make by artificially inseminating cows?  Ohohoh, buddy, just ask me, because I now know all…

2.  The Grocery Store:  If you want to see parent-child dynamics, in particular, the grocery store is a treasure trove of inspiration.  Also, observing what customers put on the check-out conveyor can be very telling of a person’s lifestyle.

3.  Hair/Nail Salons:  It’s pretty common knowledge that a good percentage of people become excessively chatty whenever they’re getting their hair or nails done.  They’ll talk about anything and everything –which can lean towards the over-share snore-fest if you’re just biding your time, but it can be a writer’s smorgasbord if you’ve got your wits about you.

4.  Restaurants:  Akin to the grocery store, parent-child relationships are in good quantity here especially if it’s a chain location.  How people interact with servers, handle any qualms they may have with their food, etc. is incredibly telling, as well.

5.  Airports:  Airports are chock full of anticipation, excitement, anxiety…  Think about all of the reunions and separations that occur in this place.  Some overwhelmingly joyful, some heart-breakingly sad.  Some are coming home to families from across the world, some are leaving families to journey across the world.  There’s so much emotion in this place, it’s almost palpable. 

6.  Performing Arts Lobbies:  Married couples, first-/early-daters, families, you name it and you’ll find them here.  Typically people are on their best behavior at these locales –or they’re just pretending to be, which is particularly fascinating.

7.  Specialty Events:  Think about the vast differences between those who attend a cutting-edge technology conference versus those who attend an agriculture equipment show.  If you’re writing about a particular occupation or way of life, attend one of these events yourself.  Become an insider.  Ask questions to experts.  Network.  No doubt you’ll come away much more knowledgeable and have some fuel for the creative fire.

Until next week, friends!  I hope everyone had a lovely Easter and is enjoying the Spring weather!  Happy Writing, y'all!

~Riley

How to Overcome First Draft Paralysis

Photo taken by me at the Kansas City Ballet 

Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity (interior)

First Draft Paralysis: from first-time amateur writer to published professional author, we've all dealt with this feeling in varying degrees at some point or another.  Sometimes while working on your first draft, you feel as if you're stuck at the bottom of a dark pit with no way out.  You nit-pick.  You second guess.  You rewrite a scene (again...and again...and AGAIN...)  You question why you ever thought this story was good enough to put on paper in the first place -let alone, be publishing worthy.  

Well, let's get you outta that head space, friends, and get you moving towards that creative light at the top of the tunnel!  Here are seven ways you can make First Draft Paralysis not only manageable, but conquerable:

#1:  TAKE A BREAK AND PERCOLATE

We're not talking coffee, here, though some people find that a Starbucks run can kick their creative juices into high gear -especially on those late-night writing binges.  Have you ever had the exact opposite of writer's block?  Where you feel like you have SO MANY ideas about your storyline, the characters, the plot twists, etc. that you honestly have no clue where to start?  Whenever I have this happen, I take a brief hiatus from writing (which may be a couple hours to a couple days, or longer if your story is particularly complex) and just THINK about how things could potentially work out in your plot.  I find that whenever I'm struggling with a given storyline element, I'll put in on hold, then mentally try to work it out while I running errands or exercising or driving to work or cat napping or whatever.  (I'm a big advocate of the nap, btw, so make that the secret #8 on this list!)  You'd be surprised how often things can work themselves out (and make total sense) when you just give the characters and the circumstances a little room to breathe on their own.  What once seemed perplexing now has a very obvious direction.  Think of it like pulling a Benedict Cumberbatch and going into your "Mind Palace"!  (Any Sherlock fans reading this?  Am I right am I right?!)  Okay, okay, so if you don't have a Mind Palace, then something that very closely relates to this Percolating Process is  #2 below...

#2:  DREAM 'N' SCHEME OUTLINE

If you haven't read through my post on outlining from last Monday, be sure to check it out for a more comprehensive look at the benefits and setbacks of this writing tool.  However, what I recommend here is to really take things to the "What if...then..." level of brainstorming.  If you're at a fork in the road, take both paths and see where each one leads you for awhile.  Create a visual map of a given chain of events.  Jot down in brief sentences or snippets of what would happen if this occurred.  And then what would logically happen next?  Almost always one direction will eventually expire out or become too convoluted to be relevant or believable, and you're left with a great new avenue to pursue.

#3:  DON'T FEAR SKIPPING AROUND -WRITE WHAT'S "HOT"

This happens to me alllllll the time: I'm doing my best to write things chronologically in my book, then BAM!  A conversation between two characters or the basis for a scene that I know will happen waaaaay out in the storyline pops into my head.  Do I fight the urge?  HECK NO, friends!  Whenever creativity strikes, you TAKE IT!  This is what I call writing what's "hot".  And the key about things that are hot is that they can cool and then totally plunge off your radar if you decide to mentally catalogue it away.  I keep a special Word document on file that collects all my moments of "hot" inspiration, which can range from a setting description to a screenplay-style dialogue between two characters, to anything in between.  It can be a few words, a few paragraphs, a few pages.  You don't need to worry about really flushing things out in the "hot stage" unless you really feel compelled to.  This is more or less to get a great idea out on paper now so you don't have to stress over trying to recall it later.  Also, don't worry that writing out of order will "get you confused" or "disturb your writing mojo" -that's what the Revision stage is for, so you can go back and knit things all together in a beautiful, engaging story with unquestionable continuity.  Which leads us to #4...

#4:  CHECK YOUR INNER PERFECTIONIST AT THE DOOR

No one's ever going to read your first draft.  That's right: NO ONE.  Wait.  Did I mention that NO ONE IS EVER GOING TO READ YOUR FIRST DRAFT?  So, what are you so scared about?  Take chances!  Make mistakes!  Get messy!  (Shout out to, Ms. Frizzle!)  Make grammatical errors!  Misuse their, they're, and there to you're (haha, catch that?) heart's content -just be sure to fix it later ;)  Don't sweat the details, because without question, you'll be dropping details all over the place.  Just don't worry about it.  You don't need to prove anything with the first draft.  You don't need to make your high school English teacher proud, or your grammatically correct great-aunt Gertrude proud, or the Pulitzer Prize Board proud.  The first draft is the clay with which you will craft your gorgeous story, so who cares if it's still got a few lumps in it?  Remember: Writing does not equal Revision in this stage.  Keep calm, write, and move on.  And by the way, if you are allowing others to read what you write right off the first draft presses, then I strongly recommend you pump your brakes on that one, friend.  Reference #7 on this list.  For now, though, #5 ties very closely...

#5:  TURN OFF YOUR INTERNAL REVISER

Coming from someone who is very Type A and has perfectionistic tendencies myself, I make a conscious effort every time I'm working on my first draft to keep consistently generating all new material -even if I know there's going to be alterations to it later.  That's totally fine.  Just acknowledge it and keep moving forward.  It's actually quite a freeing feeling!  One of my biggest temptations when I'm stuck is to start revising chapters that I have just written a few days before.  (It's my self-deluding way of making myself feel productive and I have to slap myself on the hand about it -_-)  Just think of it this way: the more you write and get the story flushed out, the more of a favor you'll be doing for yourself when the Revision stage comes around.  I find it much easier to make decisions about what to cut or to add when I already have an idea of the bigger picture.  Don't sell yourself short but chopping out details or chapters too early in the game (i.e. before your first draft manuscript is compiled).  Something may suddenly become relevant again or beg to be expanded upon in a second reading.

#6:  JUST.  WRITE.

Sometimes when I don't know what to write, I just go for it.  I always ask the question, "What's the next logical step?"  This essentially means what is the next part of the story that your reader needs to know.  What's going to propel the story forward?  Sometimes I'll start with an idea that goes nowhere, or leads to another idea that I prefer to pursue instead.  Other times, this idea becomes a full-fledged chapter or series of chapters.  Either way, my brain is being encouraged (or forced, haha!) to think creatively and to dredge me up and out of my rut.  I don't know how many times I've begun a chapter feeling like I had no idea where it was going to go, and it's these opportunities that often lead me to write some of my favorite passages in a story.  It's like being part of the surprise of your own book!

#7:  SEEK THE COUNSEL OF OTHERS  ***A WORD OF CAUTION***

The reason why I put a cautionary label here is that I feel that outside counsel- like outlining -can be very helpful or very harmful -and I say harmful particularly if advice or critique is received too early in the creative stage.  Personally, I don't recommend bringing anyone else into the first draft fold.  When I release my work to be reviewed by a select group of peers that I trust and respect, it is at least the second, if not the third, draft.  I've had my eyes on that piece with a revisionary eye at least once and have hopefully worked out any major trip-ups.  If you are someone who greatly benefits from speaking storyline difficulties out loud with another person or group, then I think that's fine, as long as you are the one directing the conversation and justifying any changes.  If people start throwing out ideas that you feel are being imposed upon you, your storyline, or your characters, then a red flag should go up.  Don't ever, ever, ever put your piece in a place for feedback if you or the piece are not in a place to handle these critiques constructively -and I have a bit of a hard time imagining any first draft being up to snuff to weather that sort of scrutiny.  At least, mine sure aren't! ;)  Beware of feedback disguised as personal preferences.  If someone starts suggesting you make substantial changes to your plot, then this is no longer your story.  It's theirs.  If someone starts saying how much stronger your protagonist would be if she only did X, Y, and Z, then she is no longer your protagonist.  She's theirs.  You must be able to discern what is constructive and what is personal preference.  You, as a writer, must possess the steel cojones to stand up for your voice and your writing style, as well as to justify your artistic choices.   

I hope everyone is having a great week so far -spring is definitely on its way here in KCMO!  If you haven't checked my Twitter @RileyD_Writes, you've been missing out on the exciting news about my upcoming summertime adventure!  This lil' MO writer will be heading east to attend her very first writers conference: the Midwest Writers Workshop!  I'm so incredibly stoked to be a part of this gathering, and I'll be sure to keep everyone updated as the big day approaches :)

Keep Calm and Write On!

~Riley