Tag Archives: character

Creating a Fictional Killer…

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Who? What? When? Where? Why? These must be answered in creating a fictional killer.

Who… did they kill? Your killer is going to have to have to kill someone, no matter how much you like the victim.

What… happened? This is the main question your readers and characters will be trying to figure out most the book, hopefully at least you know… I mean really someone has to know ahead of time.

When… did the murder take place? Late into the night when only the crazy people are out? Or maybe the middle of the day while her husband was at work, or was it… “A dark and stormy night…”

Where… did it happen? Where did the murder occur? In a toy store, in a brothel or maybe in a shower, everyone loves a good shower scene.

And Why… Why did this person have to die? Was it for a lame reason like the killer wanted her pencil back, vengeance for a unforgiveable crime that had gone unpunished, or just pure madness.

With these questions answered, now rub your hands together maniacally and say “Mwah haa haa… Mwah hahaha”

Write What You Know…

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It is a popular belief that as an unpublished or new writer, you should “write what you know”.

But for some of us living the non-typical writer life of fun wholesome living (okay, wholesome is a stretch) this may not be as simple.

I can write about accounting (my day job), which as you can guess would interest absolutely nobody or maybe a small group of number nerds.

I could write about being a mom, but with kids like mine, it is rare to find some excitement other than a lose tooth or a disappointing “B” on a test (and believe me I’m not complaining).

But just as everyone does, I have secrets in my closet. So I open up the closet and push away the cobwebs.
It is filled with events in my life, that feel like a lifetime ago. It feels so distant, like it happened to someone else.

I climb in and dig around the junk looking for a nugget of something that could create an amazing novel. A novel that a reader wouldn’t be able to put down until the last page had been read.

There are a patchwork of things, I pull them out and lay them on the floor and then shuffle them around.

Maybe, just maybe I can weave them together like a quilt more fiction than not.

Genre Indecision

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So it is time to begin again. Time to get back on the horse and write, write, write…

So which genre should I try this time?

I had a lot of fun writing about a nine year old boy being flushed down a toilet into another world, but I want to try something new.

I could write a Mystery full of twists and turns and drag some poor unfortunate down a path of horrid events only to have him “save the day” at the last minute.

OR, write about an awkward teen distraught by love and social angst. Ooh…not sure I want to re-live my youth.

OR, write about a torrid love affair between two people, but they are torn apart due to dysfunction and stupidity. But love will conquer all and they will live happily ever after… Hahahaha, maybe I should write the story about what happens after the “happily ever after part”; kids, dogs, house, mortgage, chaos, etc.

OR, maybe a drama? Take an unsuspecting character and drag her through a bunch of horrible events until she has a mental breakdown and takes her revenge, but then emerges from the ashes a stronger better person despite being wanted by the FBI.

Decisions, decisions, decision…

Definition of a “Query Letter”

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A few short paragraphs to explain in perfect detail, the novel that you have put your heart and soul into for months, years and maybe even decades.

A one page letter in which all your hopes and dreams are crammed into just a few short paragraphs. 

A one page letter that you will spend countless hours creating and torturing yourself over every single word, in hopes of getting it absolutely perfect.

A letter that, odds are, you will receive a standard rejection letter for. 

A rejection letter that was probably written in under five minutes.

Psst…wanna hear a secret?

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Do you wanna know my biggest fear?  My biggest scariest fear?

It’s to find out that I’m not meant to be a writer., but instead,  meant to do my “day job”.

I’m meant to be…(gasp) an accountant.  NNNNOOOOOO!!!!!!

Dear John Letter

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Dear Nanowrimo (http://nanowrimo.org),

You came into my life and put a smile on my face at a time in my life when all I could see was blank pages.

You have given me a confidence I never thought I would have.

For the reasons above, I find it very difficult to do this.  I think we need to spend some time apart.

This does not mean that I do not care about you.  We have had a good run of it you and I.

The past eight years have not gone to waste.

It’s not you, it’s me.

I just don’t need you this year.

Love always,

The Failing Novelist

PS.  Maybe next year we can get together, if the timing is right.

If Only I Had…

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If only I had a pen with good smooth movement, I would write my novel faster.

If only I had a fancy notebook, I would create more novel ideas and scenes.

If only I have a one of those tiny laptops, I would carry it in my bag and work on my novel when ever the mood struck me.

If only I had a writing area, a creative space all my own , I would be inspired and the novel would just flow out with ease.

If only I had enough money to get rid of my day job, I would work on my novel non-stop and finish it at last.

If only I won the lottery…

Until then… I have a hotel pen, a half used notebook my kids didn’t need, a laptop that crashes, a kitchen table with sticky spots and a few minutes to write after the work day is done and the kids are in bed.

“If I only I had…”

But the truth is I already have everything I need, including the relentless drive to write.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll buy a lottery ticket…just for good measure.

Moving at the Speed of Snail

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Writing is easy once I get going.  I can sit down and spit out five pages of a rough draft scene in nothing flat…super sonic speed even…

And then it happens…I slam smack into the editing wall of death.

Tweak a little here, tweak a little there, fix a description here, correct a  character flaw there.  How much can you spend editing a scene or chapter?  Hours, days, lifetimes….it’s never finished. NEVER!

Spousal Abuse

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Carolyn See wrote a book on writing called, “Making the literary life”.

Chapter one…”Keep it to yourself”. She goes on to explain, as much as your friends and family love you, they really don’t want to hear all about the great American novel you intend to write, the plot of this book, the fascinating characters you have created and the torments of being a writer.

I would just like to say, “Where were you 10 years ago Ms. See, when I had the great idea to write a novel?”  It’s too late now!

I have been torturing my friends, family and especially my poor spouse for years and years now. I have drug my family through the tortures of 5 incomplete novel, several unenthusiastic attempts at article writing and countless attempts at writing different genres that crashed and burned in the early stages.

I can see the wear and tear on all the people that are exposed to my writing dreams day in and day out.  When I swear this is the year, I get a smile, a pat on the shoulders and a, “Yes, I bet you will finish this year for sure.”  But behind the weak smile I see it, the thought of, “Yes good gracious finish a novel already, because I can’t take another year of talking about a book I’ll never get to read and hearing all about the lives of made up characters that have nothing to do with me.

So yes Ms. See, your book is  a little late to the party, where were you when I had this hair brain scheme to be a writer..hmmm?