Knowing Your Characters (BEDS #5)

How well do you know your characters?

I like to think I know mine pretty well--I will admit, though, I know some better than others. Some characters I know right off the bat, better than I know myself. I know how they would act in any given situation--what they would say, what they would do, what they'd be thinking. I can tell you about their entire growth as a person, from start to finish--how each event in the story affected them, for better or worse.

Other characters I don't know nearly as well. Other characters are harder to read--they take longer to look at, to figure out how their mind works. These are the characters I have to wrestle with--argue and fight and plead with until they give me just a glimmer of what they're like.

I mentioned, once, the problems I was having with a current WIP. It was causing me immense frustration, to the point that I just wanted to pull my hair out by the roots. (And I really really really love my hair.) I knew something was wrong with it--I just didn't know what. Even after changing the plot drastically from what it started as, I was still lost.

Why? Because I didn't know my main character.

Virtually every other character in this story was one I knew extremely well--it was just the protagonist, who was telling the story, that I was having trouble with. I didn't know who she was, really--I knew what she looked like, I knew what was supposed to happen to her, but nothing clicked as easily as it had with other characters.

Until I realized: I couldn't relate to her.

Relating to a character is extremely, extremely important--my characters have always been close to me, because in some small way, I've always been able to relate to them. I like to think that there's a part of me, of my life, in each of my stories, and most of it lies within my characters.

This character, this new protagonist, is one I've been visualizing since I was fourteen. I thought it'd be easy. I thought she's practically write the story herself.

She didn't.

It was like trying to converse with someone you have nothing in common with. It's not that I expected to relate to her situation exactly--I'm not exactly royalty--but no matter how hard I tried, no matter what angle I tilted it, I couldn't find the common ground. I couldn't find a way to relate to her, to parallel our lives.

Until suddenly, recently...I did. My life started to shift and change, my heart along with it...and, with one tiny nudge, everything clicked into place.

Having common ground with your character isn't always a necessary thing. I've written plenty of characters, at one time or another, that I had nothing in common with. But sometimes, when something isn't working...when, no matter how much you push or pull, it just won't budge...sometimes, finding common ground can help. Just starting from one simple emotion--one simple, familiar twinge of the heart--and building up around it can work wonders.


Until later,

- Justyne

19 University Rules (BEDS #4)

As you all know, I am a certified University Drop-Out. After attending UPEI for one year, I decided that it wasn't for me, and returned back home so I could focus as much of my time and energy as possible towards writing.

Well, while I was there I observed several things. Early in the year (the first half of my first semester, to be specific), I came up with the 19 Rules of University, which I posted via Facebook. (And occasionally Twitter.)

In celebration of my sisters' first day of school (HAHA), I have decided to share them all with you!

Some of them are helpful. Most of them are not. But I hope you enjoy them, anyway!

~~

1. Don't let your roommate go to the pet store to apply for a job. She'll end up forgetting the application and buying two fish, instead.
2. Coffee is your friend.
3. Don't let your roommate spend 850 dollars on a bike. Because then she'll keep it in the dorm, name it, and fantasize about going to the fair and riding the ferris wheel with it.
4. Your professors are totally allowed to e-mail you with extra homework. Don't be fooled.
5. If your roommate starts calling her bike her boyfriend, run. Fast.
6. Try not to drop your pencil sharpener on the floor. It'll break and spill pencil shavings EVERYWHERE.
7. Spending $40 on posters isn't a good idea.
8. Bookstores = doom. Enter one, and your entire budget is gone.
9. Walking to Dollarama in the rain isn't the best idea.
10. Your profs CAN and WILL assign homework on the first day of school. Be prepared.
11. Wanna annoy your roommate? Play Bop-It!
12. 10/10 times, your roommate is crazy.
13. Never listen to you roommate. Ever.
14. Take ALL of your stuffies with you. They're not safe with your family.
15. It's not necessary to know who you share a bathroom with in residence. Just knock before entering and everything will work out.
16. Don't drop your phone in the toilet. This should be self-explanatory.
17. It doesn't matter how many essays they make you write in high school; writing one for university will always be hard.
18. University profs seem to have an obsession with Times New Roman font. Because apparently, Calibri just isn't good enough for them.
19. Campus becomes a ghost town during Thanksgiving weekend.

Until later,

- Justyne

My 3 Productivity Tips (BEDS #3)

I'm not an expert at productivity. In fact, I still really suck at it most of the time. But in my quest to become a functioning member of society, I've discovered a few things that help me out along the way.

(Disclaimer: like most of the life lessons I share, this is best used by people pursuing creative endeavors, like myself. But that doesn't mean you law students and medical students can't benefit from them, too!)

TIP #1: Get your ass out of bed, already.

I'm not a morning person. I've never been a morning person. But if I wake up fairly early, eat breakfast and shower right off the bat, it makes a big difference. If I were to sleep until noon every day, and spend half of my day in pyjamas...well, I won't feel like being productive. The day quickly turns from "I'm-gonna-write-20-blog-posts-and-a-novel" into "I'm-gonna-watch-all-ten-seasons-of-Friends-in-one-sitting". I think we can all agree that the former is much better than the latter, yes?

TIP #2: Alternate.

Yes, we have our creative-worky things to do. But we also all have our fair share of real-life-worky things to do--things like going to the bank, cleaning, calling people about stuff, etc etc. I've tried putting the creative-worky things first, and the real-life-worky things first, but I get the most done with the best sense of balance if I alternate between the two. (That way I can be sure that I'm not neglecting one complete half of my life. This happens more often than you'd think.)

TIP #3: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T WRITE OFF THE REST OF YOUR DAY!

Do you know how many times I've looked at the clock, noticed that it's already 2 pm, and just shrugged it off and continued on with my Sims game? Do you realize how much I could have gotten done if I had said, "Huh, I should start being productive" instead of, "Eh I've wasted this much time, no sense in turning it around now"??

If you haven't gotten anything done and it's 2 pm, START WORKING. If you haven't gotten anything done and it's 5 pm, START WORKING. I don't care if it's 10 pm and you're going to bed in an hour--one hour or even just ten minutes of productivity is ten more minutes of progress that you didn't have yesterday.

DON'T BE LIKE ME. PLEASE, GOD, DON'T BE LIKE ME! I am a terrible role model.

BONUS TIP: Make time for you!

You don't have to be productive 24/7. For one, it's impossible. For two, it's exhausting.

Pick a day and schedule some time for you. Is there a new show on Netflix you want to check out? Watch it all in one sitting! Need to catch up on your reading for the year? Pick up that book and finish it today! Do it without fear or guilt of not having been productive--because that's the point. I like to call it a "Procrastination Day". It's like excusing yourself from working.

I mean, come on, what's better than doing nothing and not feeling guilty for it?


I hope these tips will help you make the most of your time! What are your BEST productivity tips? Share them down below!

Until later,

- Justyne

Blog Every Day in September! (BEDS #2)

Last year, I participated in WFMAD, or Write Fifteen Minutes a Day, which was a monthly challenge to write...well, y'know, fifteen minutes a day, every day in September. I modified it slightly, choosing to focus my daily fifteen minutes on this blog.

This year, I'm doing the same thing, except I'm giving it my own acronym: BEDS (Blog Every Day in September), which is exactly what I'll need by the time I'm done. (BEDS...bed...sleep...get it? Ok, right, that was lame.)

This month is going to be....interesting. For several reasons.

One: currently, I am in Disney World. Well, currently for you, anyway. As I'm writing this I'm sitting at home listening to the squeal of the dryer and procrastinating things that need to be done before this. But once you read this, I will be in Disney World. (Once you read this, it will also be my birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, FUTURE ME!)

Two: I'm moving this month. About a week after I return, I'll be moving out of my childhood home and into a new house in Winnipeg, with four friends. This didn't dawn on me until I had already committed myself to doing BEDS, so...yay for lack of planning?

Three: I barely got through last September and truly have no idea how I'll scrounge up enough ideas for this month BUT WHATEVER IT'S TOO LATE NOW! BEDS IS A GO.


Each new blog post will be going up at 4 PM CDT (that's 5 PM EDT and 2 PM PDT, for you peeps who can't do time zone math). At least, they will for the first week or two. Once my buffer runs out who knows what'll happen. (Ah, it's like NaNo all over again.)

So until tomorrow,

- Justyne

Laughter (Micro-Fiction Monday) (BEDS #1)

Her laughter broke the silence.

It came from a block away, maybe two. The neighbourhood was almost empty this early in the morning. At five am, the university students and young couples and single bachelors that inhabited the apartment buildings were normally still sleeping. Occasionally, he would see a jogger or two, or someone stumbling in from the graveyard shift at work. But that was rare.

That’s what made her laughter so interesting. It was unusual. Different.

It was nice.

He picked up his pace a little, hoping maybe he would catch a glimpse of her on the main street. Here, it was a little busier—but only just barely. A couple cars with early-morning commuters, on their way to work, or to the airport for whatever tropical destination awaited them. There was an older man across the street, walking a chubby beagle down the sidewalk.

But no girl.

He was about to shrug it off, continue on to his destination, but curiosity got the better of him. He walked a bit in the opposite direction, peering down the next street over. Finding it was just as sleepy as his own, he tried the next one. And the next. And the next.

No girl.

This was silly. He felt silly. He jogged back down the way he came, slowing back down to a walk as he headed past his street.

He heard it again—a laugh, bubbly and loud and echoing down the silent, sleepy buildings. As he passed the next block, he saw her—bedridden hair, dirty pajamas, face illuminated by the glow of her cell phone, smile stretching from ear to ear at a joke he couldn’t—and would probably never—see.

Beautiful.

~~

Until later,

- Justyne

Greetings from the Past!

Hello, my dear readers! Once again, I have abandoned you to go on vacation. This time, I'm in Disney World. Yes, Disney World. Be jealous.

The next few blog posts, will be pre-written and pre-uploaded before I leave for my trip. While there is wifi on the resort...well, I'll be in Disney World. I'll be too busy partying with Mickey to worry about blogging.

(I will, however, brag about it on Twitter. Should it happen.)

(I'll also upload pictures. Should it happen.)


I did this whole scheduling-blog-posts-ahead-of-time thing last time I went on vacation, and honestly, I really love this feature. I've actually been doing it for other blog posts, not just ones I've scheduled before a trip. (In case you didn't notice, the last few uploads have been going up at exactly 4 pm, every time. Not a coincidence. I'm not THAT consistent.) It's a great way to make sure that my blog posts go up on time, and that I don't miss any because of my stubborn, uncooperative brain. Or my procrastination and general laziness.

It's also nice to know that it's done, y'know? I don't have to worry about it, or scramble to come up with an idea at the last minute.

I might have to do this more often.


For today's question...ARE YOU ALL JEALOUS THAT I'M IN DISNEY WORLD? (Don't even lie, I know you are.)

Until later,

- Justyne

Hate (Micro-Fiction Monday)

I hate the colour black. Actually, that’s not true—he hated the colour black. But since he’s not here to complain about the atmosphere of the room, I’ll hate it on his behalf.

         

Nobody’s commented on my pink sundress yet. Maybe it’s because they don’t want to be rude.  It can’t be because they understand, or they know why I chose this outfit. Nobody knew him better than I did.

                

Maybe it’s because they’re too lost in their own grief to try and understand the thought process behind mine. Maybe they hate the colour black, too—but that’s unlikely. Nobody else has made an effort to break this tradition like I have.

                

It could be because they just don’t care. I don’t recognize half of the people here—to them, I’m just some girl. Why would they care how I dress? They’re hurting just as much as I am.

                

I think the real reason, though, is because they’re too preoccupied with their whispers, and the not-so-secret glances they steal at the ring on my left hand. The one that I showed to no one, the one that didn’t appear until after he was gone. The one I found tucked safely into his jacket pocket, too late to give him my answer.

                

He’d hate this, all of it. Not because of the atmosphere, or the whispers, or the way total strangers talk about him like they were his best friend. He’d hate it because I’m crying.

                

He wouldn’t want me to cry. But that’s something I can’t fix on his behalf.

~~

Until later,

- Justyne