Writing and Reading

Computer viruses are fun. So is spyware. Especially when it infects the antivirus software . I literally couldn’t get onto any websites. At all.

So although late in this exciting blog exchange with Dellani Oakes, fabulous author and all-around superwoman, I have the second “day” of her feature on the blog posted now. She has written an article. Enjoy! And remember to flush. And brush your teeth.

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Like many of us, I have very limited time to write and most of that is interrupted by the needs of the family. They say time and tide wait for no man, well a hungry eight year old waits for no one either. I spend around ninety percent of my typing time saying the typical mom things: “Be quiet, quit hitting your brother, turn that down, will you please stop that!” In any case, a few things which help me are some really good cd’s and head phones.

Each of us starts a story in a different way. With me, I can waiting for the pharmacy to open, running errands, eating breakfast or going to sleep, and get a starting line which I simply must commit to paper as soon as possible or lose the thread of the story entirely. I keep promising myself I’ll invest in a little mini tape recorder, but have yet to do it. I don’t always have paper, but always have a pen. I have little bits of deposit slips, store receipts and paper napkins which have later to be transcribed.

I read recently something a famous author said, to the effect that the characters take on a life of their own and will guide a story regardless of what the author wants. I have found this to be true more often than not. If I do something which is not in keeping with the characters, they change the story on me, or refuse to cooperate, and then no matter what I do, the story just doesn’t go where it ought to.

My husband and I discuss the plots of my books, after I have given him the pages to read and critique. He will ask me, “So, where is this going?” I answer honestly, “I don’t know, it depends on what the characters do.” So far I have had the intended villain become the love interest, a new villain take his place and the intended love interest takes a back seat and becomes a support character. I am not sure how it happened, but the fellow refused to cooperate, he didn’t want to be bad or mistreat the heroine! She simply refused to love anyone else and it all went to hell in a hand basket. However, the plot resolved itself, and became a completely different story from what I intended. I’m not arguing, it’s probably better than what I set out to do.
Probably the worst thing I have had happen so far, however, is realizing, half way through a book, that I had no clearly defined conflict. I was an English teacher long enough to know that without conflict, you really haven’t got much of a story. After a moment or two (dozen) of panic, I managed to come up with a rather flimsy conflict, nebulous villain and a plausible, if improbable, outcome. But it works!

I no longer argue with the characters any more. I let them go their own way, recite their own dialogue, figure out their own problems. They do it better than I do. I sit here and try to keep up with them. It’s not easy! I no longer sweat the details of how the hero is going to rescue the heroine after she fell miles into the earth, but miraculously doesn’t die. (Yes, it’s plausible, they did it!) They work it out and let me write about it. Meanwhile, I will pop a CD in, put on my headphones, and wait for the next miracle.