Stoney M. Setzer's Blog: Zero Hour: Christian Speculative Fiction , page 8

The Characteristics of Characterization, Part One

In writing fiction, there are three basic elements to consider: Plot, characterization, and setting.  In our discussions of how to build your story from your outline, we have essentially covered plot.  As you take your idea through each step of the construction process, you are in fact building your plot.  Now we turn our attention to characterization.

I'll admit that many of my stories tend to be "plot-driven" instead of "character-driven;" that is, my focus is more on the events of the story than the characters.  As a result, I have to be careful that I avoid the pitfall of creating "stick figure" characters whose sole reason for existence is to have the plot happen to them.  This is the difference between character and caricature.  The best solution I know is to try to present character as if they were real people.  When I speak of caricature, I'm thinking of:
One-dimensional figures, either all strength or all weakness, dependent upon their role in the story.  Usually this would be one strength or one weakness, focused upon to the exclusion of all else.
Figures who behave unnaturally (say/do things that "real" people wouldn't say/do under the same circumstances), just for the sake of keeping the plot moving.  You'd never see anyone act like these figures in real life.
Figures to whom the readers cannot relate because they are too disconnected from reality.
In contrast, characters are:
A combination of strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, products of their background and experiences...just like real people.  You probably can't delve into all of these things, but there should be a sense that these dimensions at least exist.
Figures who react to situations in a way that would be expected of real people.  They don't have to react the way that the majority of people would (we're all different, after all), but their actions have to at least be believable, something that at least would not be unheard-of.
Figures to whom the reader can relate in some way because they, while fictional, have some roots in reality.  The reader needs to be able to think, "Hey, I know people like that," or, better still, "Hey, I'm like that" or "I could be like that."
That's just sort of a quick breakdown to get us started.  As with plot-building, I will expand on this point over the course of the next post or two.  Until then, Philippians 4:13.--SMS

"When Morning Stars Sing"--Now Available!

Just wanted to let everyone know that "When Morning Stars Sing," an anthology of "spiritually infused speculative fiction" edited by Lyndon Perry, is now available.  It also features my short story, "Judgment Day."  I hope you'll check it out!  Just click the link below:

https://www.createspace.com/3652810

Thanks for your continued support!  Philippians 4:13.--SMS

New Short Story Up: "Fealty"

Hey, my most recently published short story, "Fealty," is now up on Crossed Genres.  Here's a link to take you directly to it:

http://crossedgenres.com/archives/032-sidekicks-minions/fealty-by-stoney-m-setzer/

Thanks for checking it out, and as always, your feedback is welcome.  Philippians 4:13.--SMS

Building an Outline from Your Foundation

Now you've got your one-sentence "teaser" for your story.  The next step is to use that to build an outline which in turn will be the "road map" for your story.

If you're writing a novel, you want to number your page (or the screen on your word processor) from one to ten.  If you're doing a short story, you might still go from one to ten, or your may do a smaller number, depending upon how long your story will be.  For each number, you want to write anywhere from a sentence or two to a full paragraph.  Obviously, Number One will be your beginning, and Number Ten (or whatever your last number is) will be your ending--remember that your teaser doesn't address this, so this will be your first time writing that down.  The numbers in between will of course be your progression from beginning to end.

Remember: This is just an outline.  You don't need to put in every single scene, event, or piece of dialogue here; just hit the high points.  If you think of something really good during the process, by all means put it in, but for the most part this is just a synopsis.  You're introducing the forest as a whole on this step, not necessarily individual trees.

If you're doing a novel, you have one additional step.  After this, you may want to start a new document and do a page synopsis of where you see each chapter going.  This gives your outline/road map a little more definition, and here you will be more likely to put in scenes, events, dialogue, etc., albeit in a shorter form.  If you're doing a short story, the outline itself should suffice.

When you have this done, you pretty much have the course for your story charted.  From here, it will be a matter of fleshing out the outline, adding detail as you go until you have a first draft.  Of course, there are more steps in between, which we will discuss in future posts.  Until then, Philippians 4:13.--SMS

The One-Sentence Foundation

Once you've figured out your heart and voice as a writer, you can move on to the work itself.  This is the part that looks so easy and often turns out to be so hard...maddeningly, discouragingly, heart-breakingly hard if you're not careful.  It doesn't take too long to figure out that there's more to it than just sitting down and writing.  You have to have a plan.  You wouldn't start building a house without a blueprint or hop in the car and drive somewhere unfamiliar without directions.  Jesus warns us in Luke 14:28-30 against building a tower without counting the cost.  While that passage refers to discipleship, the concept can apply here as well: If you try to start writing without a plan in mind, chances are you're going to have an unfinished tower of your own.  I know because I've been there, done that.

Fortunately, I've learned a good way to help plan my writing, and now I want to pass it on to you.  The first step is a one-sentence foundation.  Start out with one sentence that captures the main idea of your story, like a little blurb.  You probably should try for something longer than 5 words but shorter than 20, give or take.  Like a good blurb, it should not give away the ending.  It should be tantalizing, making you want to know more--and it's as much about tantalizing yourself as it is anyone else.  You have to make it something that you want to go back and build upon.  Here are a few examples:
A pro wrestler issues a challenge, only to have it accepted by an unexpected foe ("The Alabama Hammer").A street preacher learns that the end of the world is coming much sooner than he expects ("Doomsday Falls on a Tuesday This Year").A depressed young man develops a bizarre obsession with a flea market trinket ("Enamored").The next step, of course, will be to build off of that one-sentence foundation, which we will discuss next time.  Until then, Philippians 4:13.--SMS

Number One Rule for Writers, Part Three

In this edition, as promised, we talk about finding your voice as a writer.  I had stated that your voice is an extension of your heart.  This is because, in order to find your voice, you have to know "who you are" as a writer.  In order to know who you are, you have to know where your heart is.  In this particular case, it encompasses far more than merely being able to identify what you like to write and read.  It involves getting down to the nitty-gritty of knowing yourself and being able to express that in your writing.  It puts the unique stamp of your identity on your creation.

To illustrate my point, I'll give you a breakdown of who I am and how that influences my voice.  First off, as I'm sure you've noticed in my previous posts, I'm a Christian.  God is my Father in heaven, Jesus is my Savior, and the Bible is God's word.  That definitely influences my voice as a writer.  I want my work to glorify Him, which means that there are certain things that may be fine for other writers that I'm going to consider a personal taboo.  It also means that I will be more likely to address theological themes than what some writers may feel comfortable doing...sometimes overtly, sometimes more implicitly, dependent upon the individual story.

I'm a husband and a father.  I'm a small-town Southern man, and believe it or not, I'm perfectly happy with that.  I'm a schoolteacher.  For some reason, I find it easier to relate to blue-collars than white-collars.  My sense of humor leans toward smart-alecky one-liners (if you want an example of that, read "The Alabama Hammer" and check out Shawn's first impressions of Nopia in the parking deck).  All of those things, to one extent or another, come together to form my voice.

So, to come up with your own particular voice, figure out what makes you who you are.  Allow that to flow into your writing, but don't force it--let it fit into the story as it will.  As you practice this, you will find yourself developing a voice that, just like your physical voice, is uniquely yours.  Philippians 4:13.--SMS

Now on Goodreads.com....

Hey, just wanted to let you know that my author page is now up on Goodreads.com.  Here's the link:

http://www.goodreads.com/autho​r/show/3444605.Stoney_M_Setzer

Also, you can register to win a free copy of "Zero Hour."  My publisher is actually giving away two copies.  Click on the following link, scroll down to "Enter to Win," and then register.  Here's the link for the giveaway:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/​show/10381407-zero-hour

As promised, the third part of "Number One Rule for Writers" will be up soon.  Thanks for checking this out, and Philippians 4:13.--SMS

Number One Rule for Writers, Part Two

In Part One of this entry, we looked at the importance of having your heart in your writing.  However, there is a bit more to it than just that.  The next step is to figure out exactly what you have a heart for in your writing.  In other words, you know you want to be a writer, but exactly what sort of writer do you want to be?  How do you find that out?

Think about all the different kinds of writing that exist: Fiction and nonfiction.  Prose, poetry, and scripts (like for stage or movies).  Novels, short stories, and flash fiction.  Then there are more genres as you go along.  For instance, you decide to do fiction--great, but what genre?  Do you choose mystery/suspense, speculative fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, or horror), romance, historical fiction, etc.?  How do you choose?

The answer lies in turning the question around.  What do you like to read?  What sorts of movies and television shows do you enjoy the most?  What genre are you the most familiar with?  Whatever your answer to that is, that is the way you need to go.

I use myself as an example.  I'm most familiar with suspense, first in speculative fiction and second in mystery.  Because these are the genres that I know best, those are the ones with which I work and with which I feel mostly likely to be successful.  Because I don't read romance novels or Western stories, I wouldn't be as well served to make either or those my primary field.  Granted, I will occasionally incorporate a Western backdrop ("Darkest Before Dawn") or the relationship between a man and a woman ("Square Peg") as called for by a particular idea, but at that point they are included as a single thread rather than the tapestry itself.

So there you go.  Write what you like to read.  In Part Three, we're going to look at finding your own particular voice, which too will be an extension of where your heart is as a writer.  Until then, thanks for stopping  by.  Jesus loves you, I appreciate you, and remember, Philippians 4:13.--SMS

Number One Rule for Writers, Part One

By way of introduction: Lord willing, I am looking into the possibility of developing a creative writing course for the Community Education program at Gordon College in Barnesville, GA, about 20 miles from my home.  This may be 6-12 months down the road before it actually comes to fruition--if it does so at all--but it is something I would love to try.  The biggest step in that, of course, is designing a curriculum/agenda for the class.  To that end, I've decided to use some of my upcoming blog entries to get my ideas together.  This won't be the only thing on the blog, and the course may not necessarily follow the same pattern I set here, but I hope that it will be of use to you.

So, with all that said, what do I think is the Number One Rule for Writers?  Your heart has to be in it.

It's very easy for us to look at writing as a purely intellectual exercise, and your mind does play a big role in it.  You have to be able to think through a potential story (or poem, article, etc.) and develop it from beginning to end.  You have to be able to analyze what makes sense versus what doesn't.  Word choice and grammar are also things to consider.  All of that happens in the gray matter between your ears.

Here's the kicker: It's not always easy.  Sometimes it's quite frustrating.  That's where the heart comes in.  If your heart isn't in it, then it doesn't matter what you're writing.  A novel or short story will be no different than that research paper your high school history teacher made you write in 11th grade.  Unless you heart is in it, the writing process will be tedious to the point of torture.  A lot of smart people don't like writing because that's not where their heart is; they're "wired" for different things.  Nothing wrong with that; God makes us all different, and He does so for a reason.

So what's the difference?  If your heart is in it, then the desire to write comes in.  You find yourself watching movies and TV shows, only to think about how you would have done the story differently.  You dream of holding a book in your hand that lists you as the author, regardless of whether that book sells a million copies or none at all.  The ideas keep coming to you--sometimes in a flood, sometimes in a slow trickle, but always coming--and you can't imagine not writing them down.  In short, if your heart is in it, writing becomes more than just something you do--it becomes part of who you are.

Rather than make this one monstrously long post, I'm going to break this up into parts.  In Part Two, we'll look at knowing exactly where your heart is as a writer.  Philippians 4:13.--SMS

Praising God for the Opportunities!

Being a published author has always been a dream of mine.  It's something I've worked toward for a long time now.  With that said, 2011 has been an exciting year.  Zero Hour has been published, I've had other stories accepted for publication elsewhere, and some of my short stories are now available on Kindle in "single" format (i.e., a price of $0.99 for a single short story, comparable to what people pay on iTunes for a single song).

I don't say this in order for me to say, "Look what I've done!"  Instead, I want to say, "Look at the opportunities God has given me!"  If it weren't for God, I wouldn't have the ability to do this.  I wouldn't have the mental capacity to write a single sentence, much less entire stories.  If it weren't for God, nothing I've ever written would have been accepted anywhere.  If it weren't for God, this dream would have never become any more than just that--a dream.

Really, we can say that for everything with which we've been blessed.  In Job 1, even as his world is falling down around him, Job still has faith enough to say, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there.  The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the LORD."  James 1:17 teaches us that "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above."  Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

As you go through your day today, take time out and thank God for everything that He has given you.  Philippians 4:13.--SMS