How Do You Do Normal?

I'm in an online group (I'm in a LOT of online groups!) and there is currently a guest "instructor" who is giving us exercises in character building. It's been great fun. Once he just gave us a line..."Gary hated weddings" and we had to run with it using details to show Gary hating weddings as opposed to coming right out and saying it. Another time we had to develop a character in a couple of paragraphs starting with the line "Amy stared out at the sea of faces." This last one was great...create a character you hate...but show them having one redeeming feature.

The last exercise got me thinking. I had no trouble creating the character. She came alive on the page and in my mind in an instant. But she's not a "normal" character. She's obnoxious, opinionated, unkind, etc. Easy to bring her to life. What's hard is bringing a "normal" character to life without descending into quirkiness. My current protag for instance is a 30-something woman. I don't want to define her as someone who "doesn't eat he green M&Ms" or who "sings karaoke" once a week. But it's hard to get "normal" but "real" across on the page.

Here is my nasty old lady:

"We're good Christians you know," The woman reluctantly opened the screen door a little wider and let the police detective in.

"But when the boy came to the door, asking for help…?" The detective raised her hands questioningly as she looked around.

"Might as well have a seat." The woman pointed toward a stiff looking armchair that took up a large amount of space in the tiny room. Her lips thinned, and she raised her chin slightly as she took her own seat, a comfortably worn chaise with a knitting bag within easy reach. "The Bible tells us to shun that kind of lifestyle."

"But surely that doesn't mean you can't help…"

"He made his choice. Time these people learned they can't go bending the good word of the Lord to suit themselves." The woman's mouth snapped shut like a rubber band.

"But he was bleeding," the detective leaned forward in her seat. "Surely Christ preached compassion for our fellow man." She held her hands out in supplication.

The woman shook her head.

The sound of claws echoed on the polished wooden floor and a tiny, white terrier jumped into the woman's lap. Her face softened, and she stroked its nappy fur. "This is our Baby. Found him at the pound. Poor thing had been nearly starved to death. Who could do something like that to one of God's creatures?" She buried her face in the dog's worn fur.

Always a Student

I'm taking another writing course. I'm hoping it's not just a delaying tactic to keep from writing. I don't think so. It's a great class about empowering one's characters' emotions. I think it's just what I need. My writing is too "dry" and emotionless. A critiquer said my YA manuscript was very interesting, great characters, but she couldn't feel the characters' emotions and there weren't enough internalizations to bring the reader closer to the characters.

So revising that is on my to-do list. Another writer told me about a YA contest with an October deadline. That gives me plenty of time. But I'm still pushing forward on my mystery. I've rewritten the opening with some new characters and hopefully more oomph. I *think* I've found the right voice for it. That's been the hardest part. It's got to be just right for the story. At first I was aiming for a sort of chick lit type voice with a humorous edge. But that's not me. The humor part, yes, but with a little more grit and gristle to it!

Someone in one of my online writing groups mentioned having some things out on your desk that remind you of what you're writing and your characters. I'm going to print off some good roller derby pictures. I think it will prove immensely helpful. I find it hard to write at work on my lunch hour, and I think it's because of the atmosphere. It's work after all!

On another note, I've had another idea for another manuscript. Actually it's been rumbling around in my head in one form or another for quite a long time. Years. Maybe I should seriously consider it (AFTER I finish the current wip of course!) It would be a thriller which would be a first for me. Maybe even a sort of romantic suspense although more like suspense with a romance in it. Something that men might read as well. (Funny but I always think of myself as writing for women...) I'll add it to the long list of other ideas waiting to be hatched into life.

The Importance of Research

AAAARRRGH. That's me screaming. I had this whole post written--what a beauty too--and I accidentally hit something and it DISAPPEARED! Woe is me.

Anyway...I was rambling on about how I hadn't accomplished much this week other than mucho tinkering with the old plot thanks to some help from my online plotting group Plot Hatchers. Bless you, ladies! I also did a lot more research on roller derby. I concentrated on reading blogs related to roller derby and got lots of ideas for conflict, plot twists, etc. I would highly recommend it. If you are writing about a particular subject...horse racing, for instance...go to blogspot or your favorite and plug it into the search engine. All sorts of wonderful things will pop up.

I discovered one most amazing thing. According to a news report I unearthed, girls, desperate to get into a top college in this year when college applications have hit an all-time record, have turned away from the unbiquitous sports like soccer and lacrosse, to...you guessed it...roller derby!

Hmmmm, can I work an over-achieving coed into my manuscript?

Starting Over

Last week was something of a wash. My writing coach and I exchange our goals at the beginning of the week and then review them to see how we've done at the end of the week. Unfortunately I did not accomplish any of my goals.

On the other hand, I did stop to do some more background work--fixing plot problems, doing character sketches, etc. I think it is going to make for a stronger story. It means starting over, but there are bit and pieces I can keep.

I hope this isn't my internal editor's way to getting me to stop and smell the revisions! I started this determined to push forward without going back to edit.

Epiphany

Had to check the spelling of that!

Or maybe I should have entitled this "phoenix" for my novel rising from the ashes. Even though I am 50 pages in, I still haven't been satisfied with the plot. I'm in a wonderful, small plotting group, and they gave me some ideas and urged me to keep thinking. While walking the dog, I GOT IT. Or most of it. I'd been approaching this too analytically. I needed to concentrate on the backstory of my characters. Some of the answers were right there.

If I trust the process, the rest will come as I write/think/sleep/walk the dog (pray for good weather).

Sometimes I think this is the most fun you can have without involving large amounts of chocolate!

Blue Collar Broads

I saw my first roller derby game tonight! It was wild and great fun. The Blue Collar Broads beat the Roustabouts. All are incredible skaters. Wild costumes. Interesting crowd of people--everything from punk dyed hair and piercings to families with kids. Enormous potential for a story. I'm already rethinking my plot...

Went to a Thai restaurant with our friends afterwards, and they were all weighing in on my potential plot. Some good ideas there...

I think it's going to be fun. Of course no writing got done today. But I have soaked up lots of wonderful impressions...

Are We Having Fun Yet?

I've got 45 pages, and I'm darned proud of it. I've even had some fun with it. Did you know that my protag's brother-in-law would suddenly announce after 15 years of marriage and three kids that he's gay? Neither did I, but I'm going to have a lot of fun with it. (I'm working on a humorous cozy mystery meaning most violence is offstage).

I would have liked to have written more, but this has been the week of all weeks. I have to stop viewing writing as WORK which I never used to before I started writing so much on my day job. It helps to grab my Alphie (portable word processor) and get in bed early with it or sit in my great big chair with the ottoman.

Coming up on the weekend and that's the hardest time for me to write what with family all over the place expecting attention. Tomorrow I am doing research though--hubby and I are going to a roller derby game. My mystery is set in the world of roller derby, and I can't wait to see a game firsthand.