Hello, My Name Is... (NaNo Prep, Week 2)

Getting to know your characters is an essential part of writing; but also one of the hardest.

I've been working on Reincarnation for over four years. (FOUR YEARS. That's, like, high school.) Because I've been working on it for so long, I know the characters backwards, frontwards, sideways, and upside down. To use an overused analogy, I know them like the back of my hand. (Insert obligatory "Oh hey, that's new!" joke here.) I know them better than they know themselves, and working on the story always gets me excited--like I'm meeting up with an old friend.

The thing is that the only reason I know these characters so well is because I've been working on it for so long. To be honest, I thought I'd have finished this story a long time ago--but at the same time, I'm glad I didn't, because getting to know y characters this much has proven to be an incredible improvement to the story--to me, at least. 

The problem with this, though, is that now I don't know how to learn about my characters any other way. I can't spend 4+ years on every story I write--and where NaNoWriMo is concerned, I only have 30 days. So how am I supposed to get to know my characters on the same deep, personal level? 

This is the part I'm always scared about. I'm worried that my characters are inconsistent, unrealistic, or just plain boring. I'm constantly hoping that my characters will actually seem like real, relatable people. I try filling out form after form after form, filling out character biographies that ask about everything from their favourite colour to their biggest fear--even if they themselves don't know what that is. Even after all that work, though, it never quite seems to be enough.

It turns out that the best way to get to know your characters is to discover them through the story.

Whenever I start a new story, I tend to start with a vague idea of what the character's like in my head. It's more of a feeling or aura than a description--because as it turns out, I'm much better at showing, rather than telling. As I go through the story, from the first page to the last, I get to know my character a little better. And with each chapter and each rewrite, they become deeper, vibrant, and much, much more real.

NaNoWriMo is filled with such spontaneity, such on-the-fly excitement that it provides the perfect opportunity to get to know your characters in such a fashion. I mean, you'll have to rewrite it all, anyway. Let your characters change directions as many times as your plot does. That's the only way you'll find out what truly works.

Until later,

- Justyne

Introducing Snippet Sunday! (WFMAD Day 29)

Today I'm going to start something that I've been meaning to start all month, but kept forgetting about it until now. I call it "Snippet Sunday", because it's Sunday and they both start with S and it sounds cool.

Basically what will happen is every Sunday, I'll post a little snippet of writing--it will either be something taken from an ongoing project, or something completely new, inspired by a roll of my inspiration dice. This will continue after WFMAD is over, so every Sunday you'll get an extra blog post, in addition to the one on Fridays. :)

In spirit of WFMAD, I'll roll the inspiration dice this week, instead of posting an excerpt from an ongoing project.

Genre: Fantasy
Character: Female child
Action: Explore

~~

It was dusk. The sky glowed with varying hues of pink, orange, and black, as the sun dipped below the grassy fields surrounding my home. I lay on the ground, eyes open wide as I waited.

One single, lonely star appeared above me in the sky. Then another. And another.

The sun was completely gone soon; the sky littered with thousands of tiny, twinkling lights. I identified the dozens of constellations my father had shown me over the past few years, each star placement as familiar as the layout of my house.

Except for one; one little star, whose shine dimmed and brightened inconsistently, who seemed out of place among the others. It flew in quick circles, and it was then that I realized it wasn't a star at all; it was a firefly.

I giggled and sat up immediately. It buzzed around my hea excitedly, before flying away in a flash. I jumped up and chased after it, my hair whipping behind me as the distance between me and my home lengthened.

I was simply an innocent child back then. I couldn't have known what my fun little chase would lead to; nor could I have known that what I was following wasn't truly a firefly.

Before I knew it, I was traipsing through the forest, with only the light of the tiny creature to show me the way. I hopped around tree trunks and jumped over roots like it was a game, smiling and giggling all the way.

Before long, we arrived at a meadow. Thousands of fireflies lit up my surroundings, their lights twinkling and sparkling and shedding light on the beautiful flowers around them. Excited at my appearance, and quickly gathered around me, circling around my body so fast that their lights all blurred together in one massive tornado of light. I had never seen fireflies before that night, but as one flew past my face, I realized something.

They weren't fireflies at all. They were faeries.

~~

I hope you enjoyed it!

Until later,

- Justyne