Shanna Swendson's Blog, page 158
April 6, 2015
My Easter Holiday
I had a wonderful long weekend, and now I'm actually looking forward to being back at work. On Friday, I went with a group of women from church to the Dallas Arboretum. This is a big garden that's what used to be a couple of estates on the shores of White Rock Lake, and in springtime they have a lot of tulips, wisteria and cherry blossoms. Tulips are very hard to grow here because we don't get the kind of cold you need during the winter (to get tulips to bloom here, you have to refrigerate the bulbs before planting), so this is one good place to see lots of tulips. This trip made me want a garden, and there were some great ideas with color schemes that I might be able to pull off with different flowers.
For instance, the combo of yellow and blue here is very cheery (I like this color scheme for a kitchen, too):
And the pink and purple here looks like a box of candy:
I can't believe I haven't been to this place before (other than once in the evening for a party) because it's the kind of place that makes my soul sing. It's rather expensive to go for a single visit, but a membership would pay for itself in three trips, so I'm contemplating doing that. I could even bring a notebook and work all day in that kind of setting. It would be very inspiring. The only down side is that getting there involves a tricky drive all the way across the city. Would I really drag myself out there more than three times a year?
Then there was a service Friday night with some wonderful music, and then a Saturday of mostly rest. I did replace some of the burnt-out lightbulbs in the bathroom vanity, and then I promptly remembered why I'd let them stay burnt-out because it's now really bright in there, and that required me to clean the mirror. Otherwise, I took a short walk and spent a lot of time sitting on the patio -- morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea. I may have a new favorite indulgence. A few years ago, my parents gave me one of those foot spa tubs for Christmas, but I haven't used it often because the only uncarpeted spot in my house is the kitchen. But I got the bright idea of bringing it to the patio, and it was rather blissful sitting outside with a book and a glass of wine while my feet soaked and were massaged. I will have to do that more often.
Then there were three services on Sunday morning, after which I pretty much collapsed.
I may have to get back on track with the getting the house clean enough to show project, as well as finishing my taxes so I can apply for a mortgage, because there's currently a house for sale on a street I really like. The one big concern is that it's a bit smaller than I would like -- only about 600 square feet bigger than my current house and with an additional bedroom and bathroom, plus a dining room. That means the rooms are probably really, really small. The online photos made the back yard look huge, and it wasn't that big when I walked by. That makes me wonder how big the rooms are, since the photos make them look small. I don't necessarily want a massive house, but I would rather not have tiny rooms. On the other hand, the yard configuration is exactly what I would want, very shaded from the west with almost no front yard, eastern exposure and lots of light in back, so I could have flowers.
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look at it, since it's very much in my price range.
For instance, the combo of yellow and blue here is very cheery (I like this color scheme for a kitchen, too):
And the pink and purple here looks like a box of candy:
I can't believe I haven't been to this place before (other than once in the evening for a party) because it's the kind of place that makes my soul sing. It's rather expensive to go for a single visit, but a membership would pay for itself in three trips, so I'm contemplating doing that. I could even bring a notebook and work all day in that kind of setting. It would be very inspiring. The only down side is that getting there involves a tricky drive all the way across the city. Would I really drag myself out there more than three times a year?
Then there was a service Friday night with some wonderful music, and then a Saturday of mostly rest. I did replace some of the burnt-out lightbulbs in the bathroom vanity, and then I promptly remembered why I'd let them stay burnt-out because it's now really bright in there, and that required me to clean the mirror. Otherwise, I took a short walk and spent a lot of time sitting on the patio -- morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea. I may have a new favorite indulgence. A few years ago, my parents gave me one of those foot spa tubs for Christmas, but I haven't used it often because the only uncarpeted spot in my house is the kitchen. But I got the bright idea of bringing it to the patio, and it was rather blissful sitting outside with a book and a glass of wine while my feet soaked and were massaged. I will have to do that more often.
Then there were three services on Sunday morning, after which I pretty much collapsed.
I may have to get back on track with the getting the house clean enough to show project, as well as finishing my taxes so I can apply for a mortgage, because there's currently a house for sale on a street I really like. The one big concern is that it's a bit smaller than I would like -- only about 600 square feet bigger than my current house and with an additional bedroom and bathroom, plus a dining room. That means the rooms are probably really, really small. The online photos made the back yard look huge, and it wasn't that big when I walked by. That makes me wonder how big the rooms are, since the photos make them look small. I don't necessarily want a massive house, but I would rather not have tiny rooms. On the other hand, the yard configuration is exactly what I would want, very shaded from the west with almost no front yard, eastern exposure and lots of light in back, so I could have flowers.
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look at it, since it's very much in my price range.
April 2, 2015
Easter Holiday
I think I'm going to consider tomorrow a holiday for Good Friday, since I have a big service to sing for that evening and I think I'll be going to the Arboretum during the day (assuming I ever hear back from the person organizing the excursion to find out specific details, like exactly when and where we're meeting).
Then I have a free Saturday that I think I'm going to spend working around the house and on the patio. When I was a kid, I liked to play outside and get really grubby the day before Easter. That made it even nicer to get all cleaned up with my hair washed before going to bed that night. So I may do something along those lines now -- spend the day working, then get all cleaned up and spend the evening relaxing before going to bed extra early.
And it's ridiculous how much I'm looking forward to this.
Today, though, I have to pretend to be an adult and take my car for its 30,000 mile service. Yes, this is a 7-year-old car. I don't drive a lot.
And then I have to continue fixing the book to fit the backstory I discovered. Yesterday I realized that there is a slight flaw to this backstory in that it might contradict something in a previous book, so I have to work out how that was a loophole or how that was a possibility then but the current thing is still supposed to be impossible.
I'm rather looking forward to finishing with this book and writing another steampunk book because that series is so nicely linear. It requires a lot of research, but the story flows pretty easily. I don't know why this one series goes against all my usual writing habits. I have to have music while I'm writing it, while everything else I write does best in total silence, and no matter how much I plot, I still end up doing that seat-of-the-pants thing where I never know what's going to happen next and it keeps morphing and shifting. That means there's a lot of going back and forth. With everything else I write, I have a solid outline and generally stick to it, writing straight through from beginning to end.
Then I have a free Saturday that I think I'm going to spend working around the house and on the patio. When I was a kid, I liked to play outside and get really grubby the day before Easter. That made it even nicer to get all cleaned up with my hair washed before going to bed that night. So I may do something along those lines now -- spend the day working, then get all cleaned up and spend the evening relaxing before going to bed extra early.
And it's ridiculous how much I'm looking forward to this.
Today, though, I have to pretend to be an adult and take my car for its 30,000 mile service. Yes, this is a 7-year-old car. I don't drive a lot.
And then I have to continue fixing the book to fit the backstory I discovered. Yesterday I realized that there is a slight flaw to this backstory in that it might contradict something in a previous book, so I have to work out how that was a loophole or how that was a possibility then but the current thing is still supposed to be impossible.
I'm rather looking forward to finishing with this book and writing another steampunk book because that series is so nicely linear. It requires a lot of research, but the story flows pretty easily. I don't know why this one series goes against all my usual writing habits. I have to have music while I'm writing it, while everything else I write does best in total silence, and no matter how much I plot, I still end up doing that seat-of-the-pants thing where I never know what's going to happen next and it keeps morphing and shifting. That means there's a lot of going back and forth. With everything else I write, I have a solid outline and generally stick to it, writing straight through from beginning to end.
April 1, 2015
When "Telling" Might Be Okay
The problem with making a huge mental shift in the background of a story is that it takes a while to let it permeate the way I think about the story. I did some of the tweaking yesterday, then realized I might need to write a new scene. I could just mention the events that would have happened in that scene in a later scene, but that would be "telling" not "showing." Then again, telling isn't always wrong if it conveys information in a quick and easy way rather than dragging it out when there isn't much drama in the actual scene. And it helps if the telling is going to be necessary anyway to not have to go through the actual scene and then talk about it.
And now I think I've talked myself out of writing the actual scene. I need to mentally go through it so I'll know exactly what happened, but I can adjust the next scene to show the character still dealing with the emotions as he tells others what happened. Yeah, that's it …
But I do think I'm back on track and hope to get some work done today. I have errands to run and music to practice, but I don't have to teach children's choir (yay!).
I'm still kind of exhausted from dance last night, but I realized at the end of the class that I could easily be the mother of the other people in the class -- without even being a particularly young mother. Just being there and more or less keeping up with it is something of a triumph. I may not be able to do all the things they do, but there aren't a lot of people my age who are still dancing regularly. At least, I keep telling myself that. I'm going to have to make a decision about dance this summer, since the class ends right as my book comes out (in fact, the last class is my release date) and my teacher is taking the summer off, so I get the "serious" dance teacher again. I liked him last summer and learned a lot, but it was stressful because I'm a perfectionist and a teacher's pet type, so I just about killed myself trying to be sure I could please him.
I can't believe I'm already thinking about summer plans. Where has this year gone?
And now I think I've talked myself out of writing the actual scene. I need to mentally go through it so I'll know exactly what happened, but I can adjust the next scene to show the character still dealing with the emotions as he tells others what happened. Yeah, that's it …
But I do think I'm back on track and hope to get some work done today. I have errands to run and music to practice, but I don't have to teach children's choir (yay!).
I'm still kind of exhausted from dance last night, but I realized at the end of the class that I could easily be the mother of the other people in the class -- without even being a particularly young mother. Just being there and more or less keeping up with it is something of a triumph. I may not be able to do all the things they do, but there aren't a lot of people my age who are still dancing regularly. At least, I keep telling myself that. I'm going to have to make a decision about dance this summer, since the class ends right as my book comes out (in fact, the last class is my release date) and my teacher is taking the summer off, so I get the "serious" dance teacher again. I liked him last summer and learned a lot, but it was stressful because I'm a perfectionist and a teacher's pet type, so I just about killed myself trying to be sure I could please him.
I can't believe I'm already thinking about summer plans. Where has this year gone?
March 31, 2015
Retconning
I didn't quite make it through the novelettes for the Nebula Awards, but I did manage to read the short stories and novellas. It seems like having Socially Conscious Content is key to a nomination -- sort of the literary equivalent of the Afterschool Special -- but the stories I found most compelling and best written cleverly hid any agenda they might have had within the plot and characters. I like being left to draw my own conclusions about what -- if anything -- someone is saying with a story rather than feeling like it was a reading assignment for school and I was going to get a worksheet with questions like "What was the message of this story?"
I still want to read the nominated novelettes because that's a length I might be able to play with for some of my failed attempts at short stories, where they end up too long to be short but don't have enough material to be a full novel.
After I finish writing the current project (and maybe a few others).
I spent yesterday retconning my own book. For those unfamiliar with the term, it's something that comes up in TV discussion and is short for "retroactive continuity." It's what happens when writers come up with something new later in a story that changes the perception of things that came beforehand, and there's usually a lot of debate as to whether it was planned all along or something the writers came up with later and then retroactively applied to the story. A hypothetical example would be if a character in a TV series turned out to have been a villain all along who'd infiltrated the good guys to spy on them. Was it a retcon where they only now decided that the character was a villain all along, or was the character written as a villain from the start and they just didn't reveal it? A retcon isn't necessarily bad as long as it doesn't contradict things that happened before. In fact, it can be a brilliant bit of writing if a clever writer looks at past events and sees enough of a pattern to create an alternative explanation. Then it feels like it's more of a revelation than writer whim. It is bad if it contradicts things that came before or makes characters act wildly out of character. The audience reaction should be more "Ohhh, of course, that explains everything" than "Seriously?"
In my case, it's more to do with worldbuilding and coming up with a new explanation for why things have been the way they are, which then allows me to change the status quo because that reason changes. It doesn't at all contradict the books in this series that have already been published, so I just need to fix the parts where it applies in this book, and I think it's just going to be a tweak or two. Where it matters is going forward when they have to fix it.
And all of this came from one scene I wanted to write that then made me realize what was really happening, then digging into why it was happening revealed all that stuff.
I still want to read the nominated novelettes because that's a length I might be able to play with for some of my failed attempts at short stories, where they end up too long to be short but don't have enough material to be a full novel.
After I finish writing the current project (and maybe a few others).
I spent yesterday retconning my own book. For those unfamiliar with the term, it's something that comes up in TV discussion and is short for "retroactive continuity." It's what happens when writers come up with something new later in a story that changes the perception of things that came beforehand, and there's usually a lot of debate as to whether it was planned all along or something the writers came up with later and then retroactively applied to the story. A hypothetical example would be if a character in a TV series turned out to have been a villain all along who'd infiltrated the good guys to spy on them. Was it a retcon where they only now decided that the character was a villain all along, or was the character written as a villain from the start and they just didn't reveal it? A retcon isn't necessarily bad as long as it doesn't contradict things that happened before. In fact, it can be a brilliant bit of writing if a clever writer looks at past events and sees enough of a pattern to create an alternative explanation. Then it feels like it's more of a revelation than writer whim. It is bad if it contradicts things that came before or makes characters act wildly out of character. The audience reaction should be more "Ohhh, of course, that explains everything" than "Seriously?"
In my case, it's more to do with worldbuilding and coming up with a new explanation for why things have been the way they are, which then allows me to change the status quo because that reason changes. It doesn't at all contradict the books in this series that have already been published, so I just need to fix the parts where it applies in this book, and I think it's just going to be a tweak or two. Where it matters is going forward when they have to fix it.
And all of this came from one scene I wanted to write that then made me realize what was really happening, then digging into why it was happening revealed all that stuff.
March 30, 2015
Weekend Recovery
I had a busy weekend, and it was all fun stuff rather than obligation stuff, but still, there's something about barely being home during waking hours all weekend that leaves me kind of needing a weekend to recover from the weekend. It's going to be a busy week, since it's Holy Week, and that means extra stuff going on at church. I've already decided that I'm not doing anything on Saturday, since I have a busy Friday and a busy Sunday, and I've been really busy on the past few Saturdays.
But on the up side, I don't have to teach children's choir this week, and we aren't having yoga next Monday morning, so I can sleep in on the day after Easter.
Today I want to get back into writing, but I also need to do some frantic reading, as today is the Nebula Awards voting deadline and I haven't finished reading the nominated short stories, novellas, etc.
The book I'm working on took a rather unexpected twist on Friday that may end up changing the plot, so a lot of today's work will involve figuring out how it applies. I like the twist, and it may be a case of me realizing that this is what's been going on all along. I'll need to figure out what the danger/urgency is and how it should be dealt with.
This series has been weird for me in that way. Normally I'm a plotter. I outline the story, and it follows pretty close to that outline. This series meanders, and I end up having to write half the book to figure out what it's about -- and that's after I've done all kinds of plotting and outlining. I keep discovering new things lurking just out of sight and then have to go back and rewrite to work them in. It's a frustrating process for someone who is usually rather linear.
Especially on a day when I kind of just want to nap.
But on the up side, I don't have to teach children's choir this week, and we aren't having yoga next Monday morning, so I can sleep in on the day after Easter.
Today I want to get back into writing, but I also need to do some frantic reading, as today is the Nebula Awards voting deadline and I haven't finished reading the nominated short stories, novellas, etc.
The book I'm working on took a rather unexpected twist on Friday that may end up changing the plot, so a lot of today's work will involve figuring out how it applies. I like the twist, and it may be a case of me realizing that this is what's been going on all along. I'll need to figure out what the danger/urgency is and how it should be dealt with.
This series has been weird for me in that way. Normally I'm a plotter. I outline the story, and it follows pretty close to that outline. This series meanders, and I end up having to write half the book to figure out what it's about -- and that's after I've done all kinds of plotting and outlining. I keep discovering new things lurking just out of sight and then have to go back and rewrite to work them in. It's a frustrating process for someone who is usually rather linear.
Especially on a day when I kind of just want to nap.
March 27, 2015
TV Nerd News
I wrote a very fun "battle" scene yesterday that was all in the subtext, and it was so much fun, but I found myself utterly drained at the end of it. I'm also starting to think that writing Sophie Drake and reading Granny Weatherwax at the same time might be kind of dangerous. They really are two of a kind, just separated by a world, a primary career and a few decades. If I keep this up, soon I'll be expecting the universe to reshape itself around me.
This week, the big nerd news was that they're bringing back The X-Files for a limited run. There was a day when I would have been overjoyed. I was a huge X-Files fan. I went to a convention. I have a coffee mug I won in a trivia contest. I have Cancer Man's autograph. But the show ended up fizzling and squandering a lot of the good feelings I had by really bungling the overall story line, and I've since moved on. I didn't get around to seeing the second movie. In my recent videotape purge, I got rid of the entire series that I'd taped because I haven't watched a single episode in more than ten years. I'm not sure I'll even watch the revival out of curiosity.
Then they announced that next season will be the end of Downton Abbey, and I'm okay with that. I enjoy the series, but it's never been as good as it was in the first season, and I think they're running out of plots because they're repeating themselves. They're also losing cast members left and right, which means some stories don't get developed or concluded. Poor Lady Mary, all her guys seem to want to move on to other things. Or maybe they've figured out that she's actually Susan, Death's granddaughter, in disguise and are fleeing in terror.
It's a lovely spring day so I think there will be writing on the patio this afternoon.
This week, the big nerd news was that they're bringing back The X-Files for a limited run. There was a day when I would have been overjoyed. I was a huge X-Files fan. I went to a convention. I have a coffee mug I won in a trivia contest. I have Cancer Man's autograph. But the show ended up fizzling and squandering a lot of the good feelings I had by really bungling the overall story line, and I've since moved on. I didn't get around to seeing the second movie. In my recent videotape purge, I got rid of the entire series that I'd taped because I haven't watched a single episode in more than ten years. I'm not sure I'll even watch the revival out of curiosity.
Then they announced that next season will be the end of Downton Abbey, and I'm okay with that. I enjoy the series, but it's never been as good as it was in the first season, and I think they're running out of plots because they're repeating themselves. They're also losing cast members left and right, which means some stories don't get developed or concluded. Poor Lady Mary, all her guys seem to want to move on to other things. Or maybe they've figured out that she's actually Susan, Death's granddaughter, in disguise and are fleeing in terror.
It's a lovely spring day so I think there will be writing on the patio this afternoon.
March 26, 2015
Torturing Small Children
I went through on my threat to make the kids sit in chairs at choir last night, and it sort of worked. There was less running around and hitting, though there were still a lot of behavior issues. The kids actually seemed to like sitting in the chairs. But there were still enough problems that stickers were withheld (to a kindergartener, that's practically capital punishment). There was the kid who was flailing around so much when we were rehearsing in the sanctuary that he hit another kid. There was the one who refused to sing and then sang the word "poop" over and over to the tune of the song. There was the kid who picked a giant scab off her elbow to make it bleed so she could get a Band-Aid. Apparently, little kids really, really like Band-Aids, so if there was no "you only get a bandage if it's bleeding" rule, they would basically all be mummies, wrapped entirely in bandages for all kinds of imagined owies. But then that leads to minor self-mutilation among the more devoted bandage fans who don't fear a little blood and pain in pursuit of the precious Band-Aid. Even one of our usually good kids got sent into the hall for a time out (I'm not sure what he did, but his mom is the other teacher, and she was the one who made him take a break). And when when we tried to do a circle game, it had to be cancelled when they were unable to form a circle. Our little diva inserted herself in the middle, refusing to be part of the circle itself, and then two other kids refused to join the circle because they couldn't hold one of the youth helper's hands (other kids were already there). That was when they were told that they could go sit on the chairs until their parents came (five minutes before the end of class) and there would be no stickers. There were a couple of kids actually behaving well, and I hated to essentially punish them, too, but I know from personal experience that it can be bad to single kids out for doing well, and maybe there will be some positive peer pressure if the kids are the ones telling the misbehavers to knock it off instead of giggling at their antics. They're singing in church Sunday morning, and I have no idea how that's going to go. They're usually pretty good when their parents are watching. And then I get a week off, and only four weeks after that. Not that I'm counting.
I'm totally counting.
Until then, I may have to give up on much writing productivity on Wednesdays. There's lesson planning and then practicing my own music, and then there's the dread looming over me all day. I'm hoping to get back on track today because I came up with what will happen in the next scene, and it should be delicious torture for poor Sophie, who will be forced to hold her tongue and play nice. My ability to write subtext will be stretched to the max because it should be one of those scenes where the surface conversation is relatively pleasant, while everything beneath it is along the lines of "DIE, BITCH."
And I have a whole day in which I don't have to leave the house and have zero obligations. Let's see how much I can get done. I'm about a third of the way through the book now, maybe a little more, depending on how long it ends up being.
I'm totally counting.
Until then, I may have to give up on much writing productivity on Wednesdays. There's lesson planning and then practicing my own music, and then there's the dread looming over me all day. I'm hoping to get back on track today because I came up with what will happen in the next scene, and it should be delicious torture for poor Sophie, who will be forced to hold her tongue and play nice. My ability to write subtext will be stretched to the max because it should be one of those scenes where the surface conversation is relatively pleasant, while everything beneath it is along the lines of "DIE, BITCH."
And I have a whole day in which I don't have to leave the house and have zero obligations. Let's see how much I can get done. I'm about a third of the way through the book now, maybe a little more, depending on how long it ends up being.
March 25, 2015
Naming Characters
I finally got my Once Upon a Time episode and got back on my forums, but I still managed to hit my writing quota of the day -- and while at my desk, connected to the Internet. I haven't written much at my desk in years. I usually disconnect and take the laptop elsewhere.
Now, for a writing post. This week, I have another reader question, about naming characters. I've seen some writers giving what they seem to believe are absolute rules about this, but I hesitate to be an absolute authority. Instead, I'll mention some things that work for me both as a writer and as a reader.
I do like names to have some meaning. I don't want to go overboard and have every single name be literally significant, but I do like the sense behind the name to fit the character. I have one of those "what to name your baby" books and will flip through it when I'm naming characters. The meaning and history of the names does play a role in my final decision. I often make a list of potential names for a character and try them out to see which one seems to fit best.
One thing that is important is that a name shouldn't be a stumbling block for a reader. If a major character's name is impossible to pronounce, even mentally, then it may be hard for readers to get into the book. It's difficult to develop any emotional connection to a character you have to think of as "that guy." And if readers are unsure how to say a character's name, they may be less likely to talk about the book, which means you get less word of mouth. If you really need to use a difficult name, you can help by providing a kind of pronunciation guide within the text, like another character mispronouncing it and getting corrected on the right way to say it. Be judicious about the use of alternate spellings or inserting things like apostrophes as a way to turn a common name into something more exotic.
You also don't want to get confusing. I've heard writers say that you shouldn't have two characters in the same book whose names begin with the same letter. I wouldn't take it that far, as long as there's some other variety. I know of too many families who go with naming schemes, naming every child something that begins with the same letter. Doing that is a good way to show who belongs to the same family. In my current series, I deliberately gave a set of sisters names starting with the same letter, but they're not the main characters and they usually function as a unit. I think most readers are smart enough not to get confused because there's one character named Jared and another named John, so there's no reason to avoid all names beginning with the same letter. You just probably don't want all your main characters to be named Jared, John, Julia, and James.
On a related note, you should probably limit the number of names a character is known by unless you have an actual plot reason for multiple identities and want to throw off the reader. Fantasy can be particularly bad about that, with some characters having titles that they're called by, while they're also known in some places by their last names and in other places by their first names, and then in still other places known by nicknames, and then their enemies call them derogatory names. You shouldn't need a chart to keep track of one character.
Names can be an important part of worldbuilding. People from the same race or culture may have particular naming conventions or types of names, while you might find more diversity of names in a melting pot kind of society. I like to look for names from a similar ethnic family in the real world when I'm naming people in a culture even in a made-up world. Names also go in and out of fashion in time. When I was writing my upcoming steampunk book set in an alternate version of the Victorian era, I looked up names that would have been in common use at that time. For instance, botanical names were very popular in that era, so you saw a lot of girls whose names came from flowers and other plants. As a result, I've got an Olive and a Flora. When writing something set in the past, it's worth checking to make sure that name even existed then, whether or not it was common. It's okay to use an odd or uncommon name, but probably best not to use one that hadn't even been recorded at that time.
I also like to Google potential first/last name combinations. I'm not too worried about there being one or two random people out there who might have the same name, as long as they're well outside my circle. I do worry about historical figures, minor celebrities and characters in other books/movies/TV shows. Sometimes there's a reason that name combination popped into your head, and it may be that you've heard it somewhere before.
Now, for a writing post. This week, I have another reader question, about naming characters. I've seen some writers giving what they seem to believe are absolute rules about this, but I hesitate to be an absolute authority. Instead, I'll mention some things that work for me both as a writer and as a reader.
I do like names to have some meaning. I don't want to go overboard and have every single name be literally significant, but I do like the sense behind the name to fit the character. I have one of those "what to name your baby" books and will flip through it when I'm naming characters. The meaning and history of the names does play a role in my final decision. I often make a list of potential names for a character and try them out to see which one seems to fit best.
One thing that is important is that a name shouldn't be a stumbling block for a reader. If a major character's name is impossible to pronounce, even mentally, then it may be hard for readers to get into the book. It's difficult to develop any emotional connection to a character you have to think of as "that guy." And if readers are unsure how to say a character's name, they may be less likely to talk about the book, which means you get less word of mouth. If you really need to use a difficult name, you can help by providing a kind of pronunciation guide within the text, like another character mispronouncing it and getting corrected on the right way to say it. Be judicious about the use of alternate spellings or inserting things like apostrophes as a way to turn a common name into something more exotic.
You also don't want to get confusing. I've heard writers say that you shouldn't have two characters in the same book whose names begin with the same letter. I wouldn't take it that far, as long as there's some other variety. I know of too many families who go with naming schemes, naming every child something that begins with the same letter. Doing that is a good way to show who belongs to the same family. In my current series, I deliberately gave a set of sisters names starting with the same letter, but they're not the main characters and they usually function as a unit. I think most readers are smart enough not to get confused because there's one character named Jared and another named John, so there's no reason to avoid all names beginning with the same letter. You just probably don't want all your main characters to be named Jared, John, Julia, and James.
On a related note, you should probably limit the number of names a character is known by unless you have an actual plot reason for multiple identities and want to throw off the reader. Fantasy can be particularly bad about that, with some characters having titles that they're called by, while they're also known in some places by their last names and in other places by their first names, and then in still other places known by nicknames, and then their enemies call them derogatory names. You shouldn't need a chart to keep track of one character.
Names can be an important part of worldbuilding. People from the same race or culture may have particular naming conventions or types of names, while you might find more diversity of names in a melting pot kind of society. I like to look for names from a similar ethnic family in the real world when I'm naming people in a culture even in a made-up world. Names also go in and out of fashion in time. When I was writing my upcoming steampunk book set in an alternate version of the Victorian era, I looked up names that would have been in common use at that time. For instance, botanical names were very popular in that era, so you saw a lot of girls whose names came from flowers and other plants. As a result, I've got an Olive and a Flora. When writing something set in the past, it's worth checking to make sure that name even existed then, whether or not it was common. It's okay to use an odd or uncommon name, but probably best not to use one that hadn't even been recorded at that time.
I also like to Google potential first/last name combinations. I'm not too worried about there being one or two random people out there who might have the same name, as long as they're well outside my circle. I do worry about historical figures, minor celebrities and characters in other books/movies/TV shows. Sometimes there's a reason that name combination popped into your head, and it may be that you've heard it somewhere before.
March 24, 2015
My Writing Themes
Either it's a temporary fluke or my summer body clock schedule has kicked in early because I was up earlier than normal again this morning, without setting an alarm. I don't know what I'll do with all this extra time. Because OnDemand remained on the fritz, I couldn't do my usual online TV analysis, so I got a lot of writing done yesterday. This morning I've already washed my sheets and towels and done my usual morning Internet stuff (minus TV discussion), so I guess I'll be ready to run errands when the sheets and towels come out of the dryer, and then I'll have the afternoon free to work. Or else I'll give in and get the episode via Amazon or iTunes and make up for lost time online.
A few days ago, an online writing group I'm part of got into a discussion about themes in our work. I don't consciously put any particular theme in my writing, but thinking about it made me notice a few patterns. It's possible that more objective people will notice even more that I'm not aware of, but here are a few I've identified:
1) One really odd one: The heroine of every novel I've had published has an -ie or -y name. Just in the last two series, there's been Katie, and then Sophie and Emily, and then in the upcoming steampunk book it's Verity. I forgot the names of the heroines of my romance novels, but it also applies to them. I don't do this on purpose (I don't have a name like that). I do write heroines with different names, but those books haven't sold. This is now making me a little superstitious. Part of me wants to break the pattern, but part of me is worried that I'd be jinxing myself.
2) I think if there is any kind of personal, overarching theme to my books, it's something to do with finding one's place in the world. Sometimes that's about being an outsider, sometimes it's about discovering gifts or talents and how they should be used, and sometimes it's about finding a niche. I do tend to write about people who don't quite fit perfectly anywhere, and that probably does come from me. I always seem to be a bit of an oddball, no matter where I go. I'm a little too "normal" in geeky crowds (I'm kind of a stealth geek), but too geeky in non-geek groups. I'm not quite as pious as a lot of people in church groups (as in, I prefer "secular" entertainment rather than anything falling into the "inspirational" category -- though this has become better since I switched from Baptist to Methodist), but I'm far more religious than anyone outside of church groups (probably the biggest reason I'm still single because finding that balance is difficult, and yet it's pretty critical for me in a person I could live with). Growing up, I was always the newcomer. Feeling out of place wherever I go is practically my comfort zone, so that's where I seem to stick my characters. There's also a lot of story potential there because the conflict is inherent.
3) I tend to write heroines who have difficult relationships with their mothers -- not abusive or dark, just a personality clash. This is something that doesn't come from me, as I have a great relationship with my mother. This has mostly been generated by the particular stories I've been telling. I'd established Katie as a very down-to-earth, practical person, so when I introduced her mother, I thought I'd get a lot more comedy out of making her mother be the total opposite and be somewhat flighty and histrionic. With Sophie, a key part of her personality is her feeling obligated to take care of people, and that was a huge part of the situation she found herself in, so I had to give her a very clingy, dependent mother who was willing to let her daughter take care of her. I wouldn't have had as much story if her mom had been more compatible with her. This has barely shown up in the books yet, but I have this whole mental backstory about Mari, Michael's police partner, who ended up moving in with her mother and paying rent so her mother could stay in her home in the very expensive New York real estate market, and we have the case of two very strong-willed women, one very traditional and one very much not, living under one roof and driving each other insane. I do break the pattern in the upcoming steampunk book, where my heroine had a good relationship with her mother. It's her father who's the problem, for plot reasons.
4) I tend to write nice, boy-next-door guys. I've never seen the appeal of the bad boy, either in real life or in fiction, so this isn't a character I'm drawn to writing. I get so tired of all the so-called "alpha" men who are basically jerks. Since I'm not writing genre romance where the conflict between hero and heroine is the core of the story and instead am doing the "you and me against the world" story where they're taking on some other conflict together, I think I can get away with having a more low-key guy. I did try to add a little more "alpha" to Michael in the Fairy Tale series by making him a cop, but then I turned around and made him so much a straight arrow that it's become something he's teased about as a cop. I think I've somewhat moved away from the "Best Friend" archetype in the steampunk book, but it's hard to say more there because these guys aren't quite exactly what they seem to be. I do have a story planned with a hero who's more of a charming rogue type, but we'll see how he shapes up once I actually start writing him.
5) I seem to write about New York a lot, and again, that's not something I actually set out to do. I've written books in other settings, but they haven't sold. I guess I think of New York as some kind of magical fantasy realm. You expect to see strange stuff just around the corner. I can't imagine the same thing about Dallas. I ended up setting the steampunk book there, too, because I was using an alternate version of the Gilded Age for a setting, so I needed those Fifth Avenue mansions and the whole social set, contrasted with the tenements. But after this series, I do have ideas for an alternate world "traditional" fantasy, an alternate world whose setting is more or less Not!London, and something set in the English countryside. I have an inkling for a paranormal mystery series set in central Texas, so that would be a switch.
A few days ago, an online writing group I'm part of got into a discussion about themes in our work. I don't consciously put any particular theme in my writing, but thinking about it made me notice a few patterns. It's possible that more objective people will notice even more that I'm not aware of, but here are a few I've identified:
1) One really odd one: The heroine of every novel I've had published has an -ie or -y name. Just in the last two series, there's been Katie, and then Sophie and Emily, and then in the upcoming steampunk book it's Verity. I forgot the names of the heroines of my romance novels, but it also applies to them. I don't do this on purpose (I don't have a name like that). I do write heroines with different names, but those books haven't sold. This is now making me a little superstitious. Part of me wants to break the pattern, but part of me is worried that I'd be jinxing myself.
2) I think if there is any kind of personal, overarching theme to my books, it's something to do with finding one's place in the world. Sometimes that's about being an outsider, sometimes it's about discovering gifts or talents and how they should be used, and sometimes it's about finding a niche. I do tend to write about people who don't quite fit perfectly anywhere, and that probably does come from me. I always seem to be a bit of an oddball, no matter where I go. I'm a little too "normal" in geeky crowds (I'm kind of a stealth geek), but too geeky in non-geek groups. I'm not quite as pious as a lot of people in church groups (as in, I prefer "secular" entertainment rather than anything falling into the "inspirational" category -- though this has become better since I switched from Baptist to Methodist), but I'm far more religious than anyone outside of church groups (probably the biggest reason I'm still single because finding that balance is difficult, and yet it's pretty critical for me in a person I could live with). Growing up, I was always the newcomer. Feeling out of place wherever I go is practically my comfort zone, so that's where I seem to stick my characters. There's also a lot of story potential there because the conflict is inherent.
3) I tend to write heroines who have difficult relationships with their mothers -- not abusive or dark, just a personality clash. This is something that doesn't come from me, as I have a great relationship with my mother. This has mostly been generated by the particular stories I've been telling. I'd established Katie as a very down-to-earth, practical person, so when I introduced her mother, I thought I'd get a lot more comedy out of making her mother be the total opposite and be somewhat flighty and histrionic. With Sophie, a key part of her personality is her feeling obligated to take care of people, and that was a huge part of the situation she found herself in, so I had to give her a very clingy, dependent mother who was willing to let her daughter take care of her. I wouldn't have had as much story if her mom had been more compatible with her. This has barely shown up in the books yet, but I have this whole mental backstory about Mari, Michael's police partner, who ended up moving in with her mother and paying rent so her mother could stay in her home in the very expensive New York real estate market, and we have the case of two very strong-willed women, one very traditional and one very much not, living under one roof and driving each other insane. I do break the pattern in the upcoming steampunk book, where my heroine had a good relationship with her mother. It's her father who's the problem, for plot reasons.
4) I tend to write nice, boy-next-door guys. I've never seen the appeal of the bad boy, either in real life or in fiction, so this isn't a character I'm drawn to writing. I get so tired of all the so-called "alpha" men who are basically jerks. Since I'm not writing genre romance where the conflict between hero and heroine is the core of the story and instead am doing the "you and me against the world" story where they're taking on some other conflict together, I think I can get away with having a more low-key guy. I did try to add a little more "alpha" to Michael in the Fairy Tale series by making him a cop, but then I turned around and made him so much a straight arrow that it's become something he's teased about as a cop. I think I've somewhat moved away from the "Best Friend" archetype in the steampunk book, but it's hard to say more there because these guys aren't quite exactly what they seem to be. I do have a story planned with a hero who's more of a charming rogue type, but we'll see how he shapes up once I actually start writing him.
5) I seem to write about New York a lot, and again, that's not something I actually set out to do. I've written books in other settings, but they haven't sold. I guess I think of New York as some kind of magical fantasy realm. You expect to see strange stuff just around the corner. I can't imagine the same thing about Dallas. I ended up setting the steampunk book there, too, because I was using an alternate version of the Gilded Age for a setting, so I needed those Fifth Avenue mansions and the whole social set, contrasted with the tenements. But after this series, I do have ideas for an alternate world "traditional" fantasy, an alternate world whose setting is more or less Not!London, and something set in the English countryside. I have an inkling for a paranormal mystery series set in central Texas, so that would be a switch.
March 23, 2015
Good-bye, Mary Poppins!
The show is now over, and I get my life (such as it is) back. At the Sunday evening performance, I got a chance to sort of actually watch the show. There are big gaps between chorus numbers, so I was able to sneak into the auditorium and stand at the back to watch a few of the other scenes, enough to get a sense of what it really looked like and sounded like, and then I was sitting in the front row of the chorus, so I could see the TV monitor for the rest of the show, and I knew the music well enough that I wasn't glued to my folder. The kids did a really good job, I think, and I was really impressed with some of the technical elements. I tend to get a bit weepy from live theater, probably feeding off all that emotion, and the end of the show when Mary Poppins leaves is a bit of a tearjerker, but last night I was sitting directly across from two of the little sixth-grade girls in the chorus, who were in their chimney sweep garb, ready for the final bows. They were watching the end of the show on the monitor and just bawling their eyes out -- probably a mix of crying about what was happening in the show and realizing that it was all coming to an end -- and watching little girls cry was making me cry worse. They've already decided that they'll be doing the Rodgers and Hammerstein Cinderella next year. In addition to singing, this was my first time to be a "patron of the arts," as I helped sponsor the show. I consider that sort of a business expense as a young adult novelist to be involved in teen activities.
But for now, I'm really looking forward to not going anywhere tonight. I really got on a roll with writing last week and passed the 1/4 mark on the book Friday night, so now I seem to be picking up steam. It's a lovely spring day, so I plan to work on the patio as much as possible. I originally typed "plan" as "play," so my brain may have other intentions. But my productivity will likely be vastly improved by the fact that my recording of last night's Once Upon a Time failed and it's not up yet OnDemand, so I will have to do something today other than bitch about it at length. I will confess I checked OnDemand when I got up this morning because the plan was to watch before yoga. It still wasn't up after yoga. If it's available at lunch I'll have to make a decision of whether to watch it then or make myself wait until the evening as a reward for working, but then all the quality bitching will already have been done. Except the 20 minutes I did get to see of the beginning was actually reasonably good. I'm sure they'll have managed to completely fail to pay off everything they set up and they will have spent large amounts of screen time on things that ended up being meaningless, but the opening of this episode showed promise.
Otherwise, I need to work on my taxes because I'll probably need my tax return for last year to qualify for a mortgage. Wheee!
But for now, I'm really looking forward to not going anywhere tonight. I really got on a roll with writing last week and passed the 1/4 mark on the book Friday night, so now I seem to be picking up steam. It's a lovely spring day, so I plan to work on the patio as much as possible. I originally typed "plan" as "play," so my brain may have other intentions. But my productivity will likely be vastly improved by the fact that my recording of last night's Once Upon a Time failed and it's not up yet OnDemand, so I will have to do something today other than bitch about it at length. I will confess I checked OnDemand when I got up this morning because the plan was to watch before yoga. It still wasn't up after yoga. If it's available at lunch I'll have to make a decision of whether to watch it then or make myself wait until the evening as a reward for working, but then all the quality bitching will already have been done. Except the 20 minutes I did get to see of the beginning was actually reasonably good. I'm sure they'll have managed to completely fail to pay off everything they set up and they will have spent large amounts of screen time on things that ended up being meaningless, but the opening of this episode showed promise.
Otherwise, I need to work on my taxes because I'll probably need my tax return for last year to qualify for a mortgage. Wheee!
