Three Dirty Birds and Weiland’s Character Sketches
Our Dirty Birds discussion of K.M. Weiland���s Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success continues with the second chapter on character sketches.
Kate: I just…can���t…even. By the time I got through everything she does, I���d be so done with that story. Though I can see it being useful over a series.
Zoe: I can see notes of some kind being useful over a series. I���m still not liking her character worksheet for that. I can see now, though, why it takes her so long to get an outline done.
It feels like a waste of time to me to think up all this info that you may not use. It���s good to ponder your characters���but in most cases do you need to know their favorite color? You���re writing a novel, not a teen magazine interview.
Ana: I used my MC���s favorite color in Lab Rat���s Love. (But to be fair, when I needed it, I made it up on the spot. It���s not that hard.)
Kate: I can see using her character interview form as a place to record that info as you come to it, in case you need it in other stories, but I don���t see the point of coming up with info that isn���t important to the plot ahead of time. Yes, there are things you need to know or have in place, because the plot depends on them, but it seems a bit overkill to go into the detail she does.
Zoe: I did find the freehand interview section more useful���where you just interview your character about what���s going on in the story, what his problem is, etc. But I can see that for when you have a snag you���re trying to solve, not as homework before you even get started.
Kate: That���s a useful tool.
Ana: I���ll just keep whining about my problems to Kate. That always seems to help. I fear it���s not a tool most other people can use. though.
Zoe: Maybe Kate can start a service and make some money.
Kate: I could give up the dayjob and spend my time going ���Yeah���, ���Uh-huh��� and other non-committal words.
Ana: I���m sure that would fulfill you.
Kate: Lol. Probably not. I do like to solve problems, though.
Zoe: But she wouldn���t have to put pants on to do it!
Kate: That���s a real positive part to it.
So, most of this chapter was examples of questions she uses to get her character figured out before she starts writing. I didn���t find there was a lot in this part that was new to me, though I���m thinking the list of questions could be a jumping off point for brainstorming. (Can���t see me going through and answering all of them, though)
Ana: I���d have lost the will to write long before the end of it.
Zoe: Too much like homework. It might be fun to make our own custom worksheets, though. Mine would have questions like, ���Describe the monster that lives under your character���s bed.���
Ana: Mine would probably have sexual preferences and kinks.
Zoe: Ooh, yours could be like a Kinsey survey. ���When did your character first start masturbating���and to what?���
Ana: I think I���d try to stick to things I���ll actually use! (Though the second part of that question is good.)
Kate: I���m worried mine would be about food.
What did you guys think of the Enneagram?
Ana: Uh, yeah, I remember that from when I was into personality quizzes when I was 14. I can���t see myself using it. Actually, even if I did use it, I don���t see how it would help me.
Zoe: I thought the enneagram looked like a way to dither around with make-busy work so you don���t have to get any actual writing done.
Kate: It felt really simplistic to me, so I tried shoehorning a couple of characters into it, but they don���t fit. I don���t think it���s something I���ll use either.
Ana: Your characters must not be real people!
Kate: Uh oh. You mean those voices in my head are all my imagination?
Ana: Yeah, we can call it your ���imagination.���
Kate: All right. So, if we don���t sit down and fill out a massive worksheet with info about our characters, how do we get to know them?
Zoe: Well, they live right in my head, so if I need to know something, I just go knock on the door and ask. Usually I don���t even have to do that, because they���re prone to leaving their door wide open and doing their thing whether I care to watch or not.
Kate: Zoe���s characters are all exhibitionists.
Zoe: I think they just don���t realize they���re being watched.
Ana: I brainstorm about my characters, I just don���t write that info down. Often my brainstorming consists of brainstorming. It has the downside (or added benefit) of often turning into naps.
Kate: Ana naps her characters to life.
I generally have a couple of situations, then I start asking characters why. (Pretty darn uncomfortable to do with Glyn). I usually figure out my best stuff when I���m just writing along, aiming for the next signpost, and stuff seems to show up on my page. But it only happens when I���m not thinking too hard about the story while I write.
Zoe: I have a lot of brainstorming that I don���t write down too. It���s like real people���I don���t keep dossiers on my friends. I just remember stuff.
Kate: I think, by the time you���ve worked on the story in your head to the point where you���re ready to start putting it on paper, a lot of this is already figured out, even if you don���t remember it consciously.
Zoe: The great thing is that not a single reader is ever going to know if you interviewed your character to find out his favorite color or just made it up on the spot. THEY WON���T KNOW! So why waste your time?
Ana: I don���t know, what if I���m writing along at full speed and then everything crashes to a halt just because I don���t know my MC���s favorite color and then I have to go back to outlining to figure it out and–yeah I���m just kidding.
Kate: Lol. I use **** when I���m too lazy to go back and figure out what it is. I can fix that later.
Ana: My first drafts are full of underscores. I can���t do *** because those are scene breaks.
Kate: I use ### for scene breaks.
Ana: Too wild for me.
Filed under: Three Dirty Birds Talk Tagged: outlining, Outlining your Novel, Weiland, writing advice
