Character Development: Personality, Do you have it?

So last week, I talked about naming your characters. This week, I want to talk a little bit about personality. This is the second most important aspect of character development for me. Personality can make or break a character.

That villian that you love to hate might have a nasty personality, or a mask of kindness with ruthless intentions. The main character might distrust humanity because of a past situation. It's up to you to decide how you want your characters to be portrayed.

Something I learned along the way is to make sure your characters' personalities are motivated. Don't just say, "Marlon hates humans because." That's not good enough. Give them a reason! I don't use actual author for examples often, but here is one that I think makes sense. Stephenie Meyer's Jasper Whitlock avoids humans because of his grisly past of slaughtering them on command. Motivation for personality is key in character development. It fleshes them out.

Character Development: What's in a Name

One of my favorite parts of story construction is character creation and development. Characters are my favorite of a story. If I can feel for them, and get a scope of who they are, and what motivates them the story becomes even more riveting.

I spend a lot of time developing characters for my bigger projects. Sometimes, I'll even go to making full on profiles for them. (Which later are changed if they change due to story events.) This week, I'm going to share with you what I makes for a well-developed character.

The first thing that attracts me to a character is their name. A name often defines their personality. This isn't always the case, but I've found that more often than not I am attracted to easy to pronounce names, that are also unique. That's not to say I haven't been attracted to a Simon or Cameron, or Isabella before. Unique names, however are the ones that stand out to me. There are a lot of ways to go about character naming. Sometimes, I take the scapegoat, and name them after people I know, or other characters I've liked in a recent book. That doesn't make them unique, but if the names fit, the characters wear them with pride, I say.

Another method is a character name generator. There are several of these on the internet. I used to frequent them for my more exotic names, if I needed one. This is particularly useful for foreign names.

My current favorite method was introduced to me by a fellow Twitter writer. The Baby Name book. I had never considered using a Baby Name book for character naming. With these books, you can even see what each name means, and therefore make sure the name fits the personality your character is going for!

That being said, I don't believe EVERY name has to reflect the personality of the character. I know a lot of people that are the exact opposite of what their names mean. Characters are no different. In fact, some people might name their characters the exact opposite of what they're personality is supposed to be to make a point or be satirical.

When I am creating a character name, I try to put a twist on an old name that's been used a lot. For example, for my character Charlene Gilmore from my first novel, I wanted to call her Charlie. However, with the Twilight Saga being so popular, I didn't want my Charlie being confused with the male Charlie Swan in those books, so I decided to have her nickname spelled "Charley". I still have people confusing her with a male character, but at least her name spelling is unique.

Another example of this from my own work is the name Simon. I LOVE the name Simon even more now after reading The Mortal Instruments series. In my work in progress story, I have decided to spell the name Symon, to differentiate it just a bit.

Do you see how changing the spelling makes it more unique without it actually being a totally different name? It's a trick I picked up after seeing so many of the same names over and over. I loved the names, but seeing them spelled differently makes them fresh again!

So, how do you guys choose names?

Next week: Character Development: Personality!

"Tawny's Sacrifice"

(This is a rough scene written out for an assignment. Many people knew about this, and knew I was worried about it. I thought I would post the finish product, and get some feedback. If you can't comment here (THIS THING IS BEING ANNOYING AND NOT LETTING PEOPLE COMMENT!)

I will also have it posted on my Wordpress at:www.teamjalice1863.wordpress.com. )

Marlon's wings flapped frantically, as he tried one healing incantation after another. "Close, damn you, close!" He cursed the hole where the bullet had pierced Tawny's young skin, before he hopped off the girl's chest. Tawny was still, though he could faintly hear her gasping for breath. "Tawn..." He moved to take her finger in his small hands, before he turned to Felix. "What was that glamour you used to use? You know, the one that made you human sized..." Marlon very much wanted to comfort his friend more efficiently.

"It's not going to work." Felix told him, his voice sounding very weak. It was all the iron in the air. Without waiting for a reply, Marlon's friend went back to watching over the two younger faeries.

"Damn." Marlon swore silently, petting Tawny's hair. "You're going to be okay, Tawny."

"She's already dying, Marlon." Tracie's voice spoke up. Tawny's older sister came forward with cloth. Marlon saw that Tracie's face was smudged with dirt and tears, making her seem younger than she really was now. The older girl carefully moved Marlon out of the way, and began to bandage her.

"Then why are you bothering to bandage her?!" Marlon snapped. Tracie's actions were no different than him trying to close the bullet hole. "What's the point?" He muttered this last part, as he fought to keep himself steady. The combined smell of blood and iron together were making him a little bit nausiated. "The most we can do is make it so that she doesn't bleed everywhere when we move her."

"We're not going to move her." Tracie's monotone voice said. "She should stay where she is; as a reminder of how out of hand this has gotten. She died trying to protect you, didn't she? She died doing what was right."

"Tawny shouldn't have been in the middle of this!" Marlon argued then, glaring. "We told you to leave her at home." His eyes were misty despite his best effort to keep himself from crying. "She was an innocent child. There was no need to...." Marlon couldn't hold it anymore. Tears fell, as he landed as close to Tawny as he could manage. "Tawny, little one... I am so sorry...."

"D-don't... Marlon..." Tawny's raspy voice said, as she turned her hand palm up. "C-come...." Marlon climbed on to her palm, and held on as she weakly lifted him to her eye level. "It's not your fault." Her voice steady, though Marlon realized it must've been hard for her to manage it. "I... had to save you... because I failed Benny, and you still have Teri." Her eyes, once bright, were dim with her fading life. "I'll never forget you, Marlon..."

"Nor will I forget you...." Marlon reached out his hand, and brushed tears out of her eyes, just as she took her last breath. " Marlon broke down, curling himself around the dead child's palm, not ready to let go of her.

Argh...

this week's assignment for class is to write a scene from your story/novel that you haven't written yet. :( I only have one that I am dead set on writing for this class, and I am really sad about it! The scene would involve two characters I love in a very heartwrenching situation, and I'm not sure I want that pain when I start it. Thoughts?

Magic in Fiction: How to make yours stand out

I want to start right now by saying that I am not an expert in the subject of making magic your own. Everyone has their own way of doing it. This is just the way I've done it, and you are welcome to try it, and tweak to suit your needs in your stories.

So, this past Friday we had the first part of our discussion on Magic in Fiction, where we discussed for the most part, Types of Magic. We all had a great time.

Tomorrow night, I am running part 2 of the discussion, "How to Make Your Magic Stand Out". The first thing someone said to me on Friday was: Is there a such thing as original anymore? Probably not, but you can individualize it in many ways.

One of the ways I found that works for me is to mix it up! I'll give you an example from my vampire novel, Protected One.

This novel in no certain terms was inspired by Twilight Saga. That series jump started me in a way that I will never forget. What I wanted to be care of is that my vampires didn't come off being Twi-clones. So what I did was took SOME of what Meyer did, and twisted it just enough that it was mine. For example. All of my vampire can walk around in day light without consequence. I was worried about this because of the whole sunlight issue, until I met with Innana Arthen at ConBust, and found out that original vampires were able to do this. So I left it as an homage to old vampires everywhere.

Another thing I did with these guys is gave them all the ability to communicate by telepathy amongst each other, and read the minds of whomever they chose. Some of these guys even have mixed up talents such as strength, empathy and a few others that I won't divulge here.

The point I am making is that, are these original talents that my guys have? No. But they are individualize,d, and I think in writing, which most of the magic fiction we have out there, it is best to at least invidualize it in the best way possible.

Today's Lesson: Time Management

Yes. This is a subject that should be brought up the minute you decide you want to have writing as your career. I have learned over the last two weeks, depending on what you're doing, writing, the creative, and the business side, can quickly monopolize your time.

I started seeing the signs of overdoing it yesterday. I was exhausted, and feeling overwhelmed. We were in Barnes and Noble, and I started to down talk myself. I was actually feeling envious of Stephenie Meyer and Holly Black for actually BEING there already. Published, I mean. I was even feeling like my writing was useless, and why was anyone asking ME for my opinion?

Yeah, it got really bad. I had a break down when I got home. It eventually came out of my "Writer's Funk" as I dubbed it later. I still didn't realize what had caused it.

What does any of my personal mental break downs have to do with time management? Simply this. I was overwhelemed, and exhausted. Putting in hours and hours of work into my writing every day, plus running Twitter discussions,building my website, and researching the business was just taking it's toll on me.

I didn't realize Time management was the issue until I got to my appointment with my psychiatrist today. It was as I was describing my daily activities to her that I said a key word: Time. So we began to make a schedule that she wants me try and stick to. This is the advice I would give to those of you who are stay-at-home writers like I am. Make a schedule, and stick to it as closely as you can. Here's an example of mine:

8:30am: Wake up, shower, breakfast, litterboxes for the morning/dishes if need be. (Those two need not be in that order)

10am: Writing begins! (For me that could mean editing a piece that needs it, or working on my novels)

2pm:Lunch. (I usually have a granola bar up in my room to snack on midmorning)

Reading for one hour after

3pm-5pm- More writing if wc is not met (or in the middle of an editting scene) Can also be used to work on Blogging, or critiquing others' work.

5pm: Dinner

The rest of the schedule will most likely change from day to day. This is just an example of what I came up with. Don't worry. If you write normally better, kudos to you. I can't always. It depends on the day.

Once you have a schedule, post it on your door, fridge, in your Ipods, Palm Pilots, Cellphones...etc. Just keep it handy.

While we're on the subject of Organizers? Getting one is a great idea. If you're Tech Savvy like I am, your MP3 Player may have calendar. USE IT. It will keep you organized on the go. I also have a desk planner that stays at my desk for at-a-glance views at extra things during the day. If you're going to go that route, make sure your digital organizer and paper planner stay synched.

I will write a follow up entry about this after I've adjusted to my new set schedule. I am looking forward to sharing my results.

Next Blog Topic: Magic in Fiction: How to make yours stand out

As a Writer, think like a A Reader: How I began building a platform

On Sunday's #Writechat at Twitter, we started to discuss building of platforms. I'm fairly new to the business side of writing. I'm still working on the Creative side, you see. So, I didn't know what the heck a platform was, much less how to build one!

As it turns out, an Author platform is everything. Your writing, how you present yourself, and getting yourself out there. Also as it turns out, I had already begun to build said platfom via my fanfiction, and doing various things like Twitter, Facebook, and my Wordpress blogging of reviews and things of that nature.

As I continued to listen (read) the discussion, I began to see that I had naturally begun to do all of these things, and indeed, I knew what made me do it. Basically, this is what I did: I started thinking like the reader that I am. When I go looking for an author, I want them to be accessible, and know things about them. Simple things, not stalker-type stuff. So, I made a decision early on that I was going to make myself as acessible to my readers as possible.

This is my advice then. When building your platforms try and think about what your favorite authors have done. Think about what you would want to see from your favorite authors. What makes them so appealing to you? This is a part of building your platform. You're not just selling your writing. In a lot of ways, you're also selling yourself. Keep that in mind.

Session 3 is a Success, with Excellent comments to boot.

Wow. I never thought the story of Felix and his friends would mean anything to anyone besides myself and those few that helped me see that it could definitely be more than a fleeting idea. My SF/F Workshop classmates and my instructor really seem to want to know more! I'm still stunned.

Here's the assignment for this week's session, and some recent feedback on it.

Felix Lightfeather is no taller than a sewing needle. He has deep black eyes, and wavy black hair. His skin is a light green,and smooth. Felix's personality is exactly what you would expect of someone who has been tormented emotionally by tragedy. He's got a very tough emotional exterior, and he keeps many things bottled up and to himself. He developed this habit because of his little sister Gracie, whom he holds very dear, as she is his only living relative.

In reality, Felix is very kind hearted, and he will help those he feels worthy of his time. He has a deep hatred for most humans, due to the loss of both of his parents. His new goal in life is to take down the men responsible for the annihilation of his colony, and put an end to the war between the Faeries and Human kind. He has done everything possible to protect himself, his childhood friend Marlon, and their siblings. He is not prepared to give up anytime soon.

Some of Felix's interests are Garbage Diving in the Outworld (human world of the city), playing with his friend Marlon, and helping his mother with his sister Grace. His favorite food is actually a drink called Hinger, which is a mixture of Honey and Ginger root. When he's not with Marlon or Gracie, Felix is likely to be found in the Common Lobby, helping out with filing and things of that nature.

Malik Davenport, the well-built security guard hired to keep an eye on the faerie captives has blue eyes, and short wavy hair. He is simply called Davenport by his fellow employees. He is normally seen wearing a simply blue jeans and shirt combination, with an occasional flannel shirt over it. He wears wire rimmed glasses. He is also very clean shaven. He can't stand beards or mustaches on himself. He likes the clean look.

He is quick with a weapon, even though he more than likely would rather talk a prisoner into obedience, instead of hurting them. He has a general dislike for faeries, but he never quite agreed with the Faerie Extinguishing Project. The main reason he took the job at the faerie prison was to make a little extra money for his family's medical bills. His son has a very rare disease that requires the family to have him in and out of the hospital. And of course bills pile up.

Davenport's chief worry is that his daughter Melissa will find out what he's up to. Melissa has had two of her faerie friends taken away from her by the Exterminators, and while Davenport knew about it, he did nothing. It's pained him ever since. Melissa has joined a group of children to try and free the faeries, and he's been ordered to take care of it if they break into the prison. Davenport draws the line at harming human children.

Part 2: A scene between the two

Felix regarded Davenport with a certain amount of contempt. He knew it was him who had taken Tracie captive. "Where is she, Davenport? Where's Tracie?"

"She's unharmed." Davenport eyed the faerie warily. He knew how tricky they could be. He wouldn't have been surprised if this one tried to bite or scratch him. Felix Lightfeather. That's what this one's name was. "You, on the other hand, are lucky you're still alive. It won't be long now. We're just waiting for orders from the higher ups. Then you and your friends will be destroyed for good."

"There's no way you're going to get away with this! Someone will stop you." Felix replied bravely, trying hard to keep the wavering out his voice as thought of helpless little Gracie back in the pen. "How can you condone such hateful crimes against helpless children?! Would you like it if we did the same thing to your children? And believe me, there those of us who most certainly feel like it would be justice."

"But not you, hm? You don't think that's the way to go about it, do you?" Davenport steepled his fingers on the tabletop as he stared the little creature down. "What do you think would have been a good course of action, then?"

"Heck if I know, but I know that killing innocent faeries, especially children, isn't right." Felix folded his arms then. He wasn't going to say anymore on the subject if Davenport wasn't going to at least be willing to be open-minded.

"You know. They killed two of my daughter's faeries. Right in front of her. I knew about it.... and did nothing. She hates me."

"And she should. Anyone that would allow such cruelty doesn't deserve to be respected or loved." Felix spat then. "It soundsd to me like you've got some twisted priorities."

"H-how dare you! I need this job, pixie." Davenport's face was red now with rage. "Our house was going to get foreclosed on! This job saved us! So a couple of faeries are killed. At least my daughter will have a place to rest her head at night. I can live with that."

"Then you're not truly human." Felix told him. He did feel sorry for the plight that Davenport and his family had been in, but it didn't excuse the extinguishing of innocent faeries everywhere. "I'm sure others, the ones who oppose the Extermination have found ways around working jobs such as this. With a young daughter, you should have been thinking about it too." Felix turned then, and began to head back to the pen. He didn't want to leave Gracie there too long. She would worry.

"I can't get out of it now. Even if I wanted to, Felix." It was the first time Davenport had ever called the young faerie by his name. "They make you sign a contract, stating you'll remain active until the Extinguishig is done. And they don't just mean the States." He took Felix carefully back to his pen, and set him in it. "You're one brave faerie boy, Felix Lightfeather. I'll be sorry to see you go."

Feedback for this assignment from classmates Beth and Rick, and my instuctor. From Beth:

I can see Davenport and Felix as characters I think the bit about Davenport's conflict is good. One thing I wondered about is this. You mention Grace and Gracie which I realize is the same person. But then you refer to Tracie. Is Tracie another name for Gracie? Maybe everyone knows that? I am interested to know why the humans want to destroy the faeries? I can think of a couple of reasons. Interesting story.

From Rick:

I really enjoy your writing. Your character are well drawn, and you made your antagonist likeable. The exchange between Felix and Davenport is quite revealing about their motives and their feelings. I think this is well written.

I do have one question (there is always a question!). You mention that Felix's parents are dead, but in the third paragraph, you mention Felix helping his mother with Gracie. You might want to clarify that.

From John DeChancie (Instructor):

Very well worked out world of fairy and human, with conflict between the two. Some Nazi-like government is trying out the faeries, and this of course makes the central situation of the novel more than dramatic enough. You have knack for drawing real characters, even when they are supernatural in nature.

I am wondering when magic will come into the fore. Faeries have magic, and this seems to be the obvious way to salvation for the faerie folk. Maybe you can let us in on how magic will be employed to save the day. Or are these faeries only able to work beneficial magic, and not the defensive magic they need? I can't wait to find out.

The dialogue is especially fraught with conflict. The concentration camp guard here is probably no different from other examples of his ilk; willing to justify immoral actions with pleas that he had no other choice but to follow orders.

Writing Update Sunday: June 7, 2009

Wow. What a week I've experienced. I've gotten a lot of work done on many many projects at once. This is what is currently being worked on, and what will be posted in the near future:

1. part 2 of Chapter 2 of City Faeries: Flight to Freedom (go to www.teamjalice1863.wordpress.com for the previous bits)

2. Chapter Six of Matters of the Heart my Jane and Alec fanfic will be posted this week. Whoohoo!

3. Another chapter of A Home for Life is due to come out . (Fanfic again. Twilight Fanfic)

4. The first chapter of my Mortal Instruments fanfic will be up at the end of this coming week.

5. Chapter 9 of my novel Protected One shall be finished soon. Working slowly on it, so I don't lose the essence of Nickie and Jordan.

On the reading front, I finally started the third book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. City of Glass is promising to be as good as the previous 2. Go to www.teamjalice1863.wordpress.com for the review once I've finished it.

Special thanks to my #pseudowrimo, #writechat, and #writingmuses people who continually keep me motivated to bring out the best writing I can!

Who I am as a writer

Maybe this is a cliched beginning entry for any author. But I feel it is the best place to begin. I feel in order to really KNOW where I'm going, you have to know where I've been in my life.

My life began on January 7, 1981. I was born in a hospital in Frankfurt, Germany because my father was in the military, and they just happened to be stationed there. My life was a struggle from the very beginning. Mom found out almost immediately that I had two extremely large holes in my heart, and I had open heart surgery before I was even a year old! That's something, huh?

Then there was the issue of water on the brain. Mom and I were flown out to Denver, Colorado, where I was the first successful baby to recieve a shunt in my head. I made medical journals and everything! Apparently, this was a huge deal.

We found out when I was two that I had Cerebral Palsy, and Mom was even told that I wouldn't live to be five, and if I did, I would never walk. Boy were my doctors in for a shock. On the Easter of my third year, I walked to my mother for the first time.

You would think life was good after that. Not really. When I was seven, I had my first hip repair, to try and turn my legs out right. (Hard to explain, but basically, my legs were turned in a way that my knees were knocking. ) Along with that, they stretched my heel cords out.

I had to learn to walk all over again. And my mother did all of this on her own, while taking care of my much younger brother. My father had left her.

At the age of ten, I joined fifth grade, and it was there that the idea of becoming a published author first entered my head. My English teacher, Mrs. Turner often praised my imaginative short stories, and told me I Would be big someday. Not every student hears that from their teachers at FIFTH grade.

From then on, I was constantly with pen and paper, writing whatever nonsense came into my head. When computers entered my life, it got even more obsessive. (and I do NOT exxagerate.)

Life at home became nearly unbearable. Mom had remarried a man whom I had first loved, and then grew to loathe as I got older. He had me doing dishes and sweeping/mopping at the age of eight. If things weren't perfect, we were grounded. No ifs ands or buts. So I began to hide within my pretend world, and relish the time I got to spend, inventing adventures for me and my faeries to go on. (I still think I had Felix all along. Can't prove yes or no, however.)

I guess I never stopped creating after that. It became a coping mechanism for me. And in a way, I'm guessing it still is. Now that I'm 28, I can appreciate what my imagination did for me, and what other authors' imaginations did as well. I want to return the favor, and do that for someone else.