Stuart Aken's Blog, page 335

Anthology Progressing Even More Slowly

Sorry, head full of cotton wool - I've got a head cold. So, this is all taking rather longer than intended. But it will be done. I thank you for your patience.

The Sci-Fi Anthology Progresses, Slowly.

Image via CrunchBaseSo far untitled, the collection of my science fiction stories I'm currently putting together is well under way. There's a need for some minor editing and formatting before I can transform the text into the style needed by the machinery at Smashwords that converts text into the formats suitable for the many available eReader platforms.
I'm also gathering images to use for a cover design for the project. I don't suppose any of you know of any good sites that allow free commercial use of images, by any chance?

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my Readers

Image via WikipediaI'd just like to take this opportunity to wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my Readers. And, for those of you who don't subscribe to the Christian rites, Happy Yuletide - a pagan ceremony far more ancient than the current one it preceded.

Website Still Suffering Problems

Image by stuartaken via FlickrI still can't get onto my website to update it. Sorry about this. Looks as though the problem won't be sorted now until after Xmas.
In the meantime, please take full advantage of all the stuff on the blog here, add your comments, follow the blog for updates etc.
I'm in the process of compiling some anthologies, so watch this space for news of that. Currently working on a sci-fi collection.
Oh, and the picture to the right? That's me, aged 11, as photographed by my father for the family Christmas card that year. By all means, send me your observations.

Is The Best Fiction Plot Or Character Driven?

Image via Wikipedia
Following on from yesterday's post, about character development, I'd like to explore how writers develop stories, and discover from readers whether they prefer plot or character driven tales.
All my fiction is character driven. I've tried writing from plot – I once wrote 80,000 words of a thriller in longhand and binned the whole thing because I didn't connect with any of the characters. If I couldn't connect, how could I expect my readers to empathise?
Although fiction is no more than a mirror to life, it deals with relationships more than any other aspect of living. Relationships are the lifeblood of social life and inherently dependent on the nature of the characters involved. It seems to me, therefore, that a book that pays little attention to character development is less a reflection on real life and more a narrative on imagined actions. There can be little depth in such fiction, surely? In order to create a work with any real meaning, isn't it essential for the writer to get into the skin of his characters?
There's a gender factor here, of course. And I understand I'll inevitably offend some people when I suggest that action novels are popular amongst the male readership because a lot of men are emotionally immature. Do you agree? The hugely successful genre of 'romance' is frequently vilified, mostly by men, for being too sentimental. Whilst I've read romance which falls into that category, I've read a great deal more that deals honestly and in depth with real emotion and depicts thoroughly imagined people travelling through events that test and question them. In fact, I'd say that the most satisfying reads I've enjoyed have been, in one sense or another, in the romance genre.
Plot driven fiction is generally action led; the Bond books, war stories, much science fiction, westerns, are all the sort of escapist fiction where little effort goes into the true natures of the characters. In these stories, stereotypes are often considered good enough to carry through the action. As long as movement is rapid and compelling enough, it takes the reader through the story without allowing time for the pause that might raise the questions; why is he doing this? What motivates this person? Does he have any finer feelings? But these questions are often of little interest to the readers of such books.
I realise, of course, that there are romances where action takes a front seat, in the same way as there are novels with intricate plots where character provides the momentum. But I've tried, here, to form the basis of a discussion by making a few suggestions.
Now it's your turn. Please comment and let me know your take on this topic. I'd be interested to know whether you're making your contribution as a reader or a writer, by the way.

Time to write

Image via WikipediaFor the past few months, I have been busy blogging, on a daily basis. This has slowly eroded my time available for writing. Also, changing the current post so often leaves little time for followers or casual visitors to respond. So, starting this week, I intend to make a scheduled post just once a week. I've chosen to make the changes on Thursdays at 16.00 GMT, simply because that best suits my work patterns.
From time to time, I'll insert an odd post, when something strikes me as interesting to my readers. And I might also start posting a work in progress piece, to keep readers informed of my current writing projects.
So, the current series of posts on aspects of writing and reading, which started with the question about character development, will now run as a weekly, rather than a daily event.
I look forward, as ever, to input from everybody who has an interest in reading and writing, and I welcome all comments. You can comment as a casual visitor or, more easily, as a follower of the blog. But you are all welcome here.

Website suffering problems

The host for my website has changed servers and I can no longer make changes to the site. This is a temporary situation and should soon be resolved. Please bear with me until I can bring the site back up to date.
Thanks.

Where Do Fictional Characters Come From?

Image by andyi via Flickr
Fiction writing is utterly dependent on the characters that carry the story, but where do they come from? Mine usually develop initially from gender, age, sexuality and physical type, according to the basic needs of the story outline I carry in my head. At this stage, I usually know only that I need x number of men and women to carry through the plot, such as it is.
The next stage, as the amorphous strands of the story start to cohere, is to find an image resembling the imagined character. I have a file of pictures, gathered during a lifetime of writing, holding a few thousand images of both genders. From this I can usually find a picture that fits my character well enough for the next part of the process.
For this, I use a preformed table in Word, which asks me various questions about the physical attributes of the character: eye, hair and skin colour, age, weight, height, etc. It also has open spaces for such aspects as political, religious, social and relational qualities. I write a short biography and ask some questions of the character and then name the file with the character's chosen moniker and place it in the folder that will eventually contain the story itself.
Because I generally write fiction driven by my characters, I tend to gather my participating people (and animals, where required) together first. Only when I have the cast assembled does the story start to properly develop.
My characters are never identifiable as individuals I know. But I do always use characteristics of associates, both close and distant. And all my characters, good, bad and neutral, contain something of myself, of course.
So, my question for you is this: How do you go about character development and selection? Please place a comment and we can open a discussion here to inform, educate and enlighten all.
Thank you.

Review of The Potter's House by Rosie Thomas

Image via Wikipedia
In The Potter's House, Rosie Thomas has constructed a story that demonstrates the complexities of the human spirit. The relationships between the various and disparate characters are drawn so convincingly that the reader is quickly drawn into the novel, wanting to know more about these complicated people. Her skill in creating such believable characters is matched by her ability to tell a fascinating tale in which all human emotions are explored. And her use of language is both subtle and startling, bringing events to life so that the reader feels present and involved.I don't generally summarise a novel when reviewing; my interest lies in the way a book is written and the mastery or otherwise of the language used by the author. In The Potter's House, the author proves her skill in all areas of writing and shows her readers how her characters feel, see and live. There is excitement, pathos, laughter, love, sadness and more in this fascinating story. I was unable to finish it at one sitting for purely practical reasons; but had I had the opportunity, I would have read it from cover to cover without pause, so engrossing was the interplay between the people of her imagination. The air of mystery surrounding Cary/Kitty is intriguing, allowing her slightly fey nature to surface in a way that is entirely believable. The strength of Olivia is cleverly contrasted with her doubts and fears as the other woman intrudes into her world and turns it upside down. The Greek islands are my favourite holiday destination and here the lives of the ordinary islanders are brought to life both convincingly and in affectionate detail.If you like your fiction to deal with real people facing real situations, affectionately but truthfully depicted, then this is a book you will enjoy. I have no hesitation in recommending it.

Wordle Image of the Blog

Thought it was time for another of these interesting illustrations for the blog. Try one for yourself by visiting the Wordle website.