Character Profile Questions: Breakfast

Warning!  This post may cause hunger in, well, just about anyone with a stomach.  It may be hazardous to anyone currently on a diet.

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The way we start our day says a lot about who we are.  This is also true of our characters.  Their actions at this time of day betray their personality and, in part, their aspirations for the day.  Or it can simply say something about where they live or their personal economic circumstances.  This is why it helps to consider the answers to these questions as you write and develop your characters.

So here are the questions I want to look at. Following that, I'll list some of the different breakfast personality types, and say what I think those breakfast choices say about the person as a whole.

What, if anything, does your character, eat for breakfast?  How do they consume this first meal of the day?

Grab-N-Go Dining

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This is a general category that may be further broken down into subcategories. This broad categorization refers to the method in which a person consumes their breakfast.  By grabbing it and eating it on the go, the character lets us know that they are in a great hurry in the morning.  Perhaps this is a one time incident that shows they're running late.  Perhaps your character does this regularly because they have to be at work early, or maybe they simply put everything off until the last minute.  Whatever the reason, the fact that they grab-n-go potentially says a lot about this character.

Coffee and a Nibble
Lot's of people grab a coffee and a pastry these days. You get a quick jolt of energy that's easy to consume in the car.  The nibble may be a sweet roll, a bagel, or even a piece of fruit.  The exact choice of nibble indicates personal taste, or may simply say whether this person is making an effort to stay healthy or not.  Many may even forego the nibble altogether and simply have the coffee.  I have been guilty of this one plenty of times myself, though I know it isn't a healthy way to start the day.

Energy Drink/Sugary Beverages
Some people prefer to start out the day with an extra rush of energy.  They may or may not have a nibble with their energy drink.  I have seen a lot of people completely sub in an energy drink for a more traditional breakfast.  Similarly, I've seen people have only a sugary drink as a stimulant for the morning.  The main motivation for people who do this tends to be similar to those who are simply having a cup of coffee.  They are more focused on getting a boost of energy than with nutrition.

The Nutritional Dash
Some people grab a milk or a fruit smoothie and fresh fruits or bran muffins for a quick, on-the-go breakfast.  This says your character either enjoys these things, or is making a conscious effort to get some nutrition in to start the day.  Or both. There's no rule saying you can't enjoy these things.

Of course, there are other possibilities for the quick breakfast, and your character may behave differently from day to day depending on the circumstances.  It's your job as a writer to know how and why they start with a rush.


Sit Down Dining

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This category also says a great deal about someone's personality.  This means, for starters, that your character enjoys a leisurely morning.  The reasons for this say a lot, so the sitter can be lumped into a couple of different categories.  I'll enumerate those before proceeding to the actual food consumed.

2a. The Reader-Eater
This category shows your character as a solitary diner.  Maybe they like a quiet start and are grateful for the chance to catch up on reading.  Or perhaps they simply have no one to eat with and read or surf the internet to fill the time.  These are great details that could easily be used to your advantage.

2b. The Family Meal
If your hero/heroine is family-oriented, they may have a family breakfast.  Not only does this reveal a lot about who they are, the dialogue and general interactions here are a good opportunity for character development.

Now, on to the food!  These meals have more room for different kinds of foods, so the foods in this category allow more room to show cultural background along with personality.

The Simple Sitting Meal
Some people still only have a cup of coffee and maybe something small to eat, like a croissant or muffin.  Cereal and pop tarts could fit into this group.  In these cases, the meals are small, relatively fast, and can be ingested relatively quickly. People who do this have opted not to grab-n-go, but they still don't have a lot of time to dedicate to breakfast.  Maybe they simply need a couple of quiet minutes before going to work.  Or perhaps their tastes are more attuned to a simple meal so early in the day.  Who knows?  It's your job as a writer to figure that out.

The Elaborate Healthy Meal
This is a meal that takes some time to prepare, or has too many components to be eaten as quickly.  There may be a combination of fruits and vegetables, along with eggs and other breakfast items.  This is a more filling meal, and it still counts as a nutritious meal.

The Large Comfort Food Meal
A culture may be known for its comfort foods.  These are the heavier comfort foods that everyone enjoys from time to time.  They may not be the most healthy, but they're good for your mood.  When you sit your character down for such a meal, perhaps they are distressed, or perhaps they simply enjoy such foods.  You can show culture, personal preference, and reaction to events in the context of such a meal.  Food represents more than something you have to do only for survival.  It's part of where you come from and who you are.  Use that if you can!

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No Dining

I'll be quick with this last category as I feel I've gone on too long already.  I have that problem when it comes to food.

Some people skip breakfast altogether, and it's still valuable to at least ask why. Some simply don't feel like they have the time.  Some people may feel like they shouldn't eat breakfast due to concerns over diets and weight.  And some yet may be so financially strapped that they need to cut out meals when they can.  If you have a character who skips breakfast, it's worth your time to know why.

I know I've gone too long, and this is a lot to read through.  Thanks to anyone who had the patience to get this far.  I hope I gave you something to think about.

Character Profile Questions: Halloween

I'd like to start by saying Happy Halloween everyone!

We did our trick or treating last night.  My husband requested the night off work so we could take our kids out.  Jude dressed as a robot, and Lyle dressed as a dinosaur.  The robot costume was obviously homemade.  We initially made to decision to build the costume in our kitchen to save money, but it sure didn't work out that way.  Oh well!  He sure got lots of comments on it.

Dressed up and ready to go. It's too bright outside to see that
the robot costume lights up.

Here's a picture of what the costume looks like
in the dark.

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought I'd post something related to this most spooktacular of holidays.  After much thought, I decided to address the subject of holidays in fiction.  With that in mind, I thought I'd add a new character profile question and go over why said question might be an important one to ask.

As writers, we all need to ask ourselves certain questions about our characters. Some may seem simple yet fundamental, while others seem strange.  Yet these weird questions can be just as fundamental.  You only need ask them to see how valuable they are.  Here's a list of questions (with links) to some questions I've addressed in the past.

Question #1: Time Travel

In a time travel scenario, how would this character react if they met an older version themselves?  How would the older version react?

Question #2: Weapon

If your character is faced with a situation where they have to fight, what weapon would they choose?  (This can include any real or fictional weapon.)  And when they fight, do they fight to kill, or merely to wound or frighten?

Question #3: Ultimate Questions

If your character could ask any question, no matter how big, and get an answer, what would he/she/it ask?

Question #4: Organization

How does your character organize their personal space?  The space in question can be a desk, backpack, purse, or briefcase.  Are they meticulous, or are they sloppy?  Have they always been this way, and why?

Now for the question.  Are you ready for it?

Are you sure?

Okay.  I'm just kidding.

Question #5: Holidays
What holidays does your main character celebrate, if any?  How do they choose to celebrate them, and why is the holiday important to their lives?

Today's question may not be bizarre, but it might be essential, and some people may not think to ask it.  It's easy to assume that a character will have a similar cultural background to the writer that created them, but those assumptions aren't always correct.  And even if the background is similar, whether a character chooses to celebrate a particular holiday has everything to do with who they are as a person.  It can say a lot about a character's religious affiliation, family history, feelings regarding tradition, and many other things.

Holidays are an important part of who we are.  They celebrate our culture, and they give us a sense of tradition that both grounds us in who we are and lets us enjoy a day out of the ordinary routine.

Since we come from different backgrounds, we don't all celebrate the same holidays.  When you're creating an alien race, choosing holidays for them to celebrate can say a lot about their cultural values.  Klingons, for example have robust holidays focusing on honor.

Now, as it is Halloween, I figured I'd give some examples of questions we could ask about whether our characters celebrate Halloween, and how the different responses might reflect who they are.

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First off, if a character lives in the United States during modern day and chooses not to celebrate Halloween, we can ask why.  Perhaps religious beliefs dictate that they cannot participate in such a holiday.  If that's the case, it says a lot about what is most precious to them, and indicates what some of their other beliefs might be.  Or maybe it's something else altogether.  Maybe this character thinks that costumes and trick-or-treating are stupid.  It's possible (though I personally don't understand how) for a person to see such activities as a waste of time. This also gives valuable insight into who they are.

For the character who does celebrate Halloween, there are plenty more questions to ask.  How far do they go in their celebration?  Do they decorate their lawns, do they go to Halloween parties, do they host Halloween parties, do they like haunted houses? Do they play practical jokes for Halloween?  What kind of pumpkin would they carve?  Does your character prefer cute Halloween movies or terrifying ones?

Costumes are also invaluable.  Though we supposedly wear costumes to be someone else, I think we're more ourselves while in disguise than we might be on a normal day.  The costume choices say a lot about how creative we are, what kinds of movies we like, who we look up to, or how scary we like to make ourselves look.  Scientists may dress up as a favorite scientist or physical law (I've seen this happen), or someone may also dress up as an obscure historical figure, thus exposing their love of history to the world.  For those of us who choose to play along, Halloween is a great opportunity for self-expression.

So feel free to ask this question of your characters.  I've asked mine.  Even of my extraterrestrial characters.  In addition to creating holidays for them, I've also asked myself how they would react to Earthly holidays.  Trust me, the results are both fun and informative!

Character Profile Question: Organization

It's been ages since I've done a post like this.  Three times before, I posted an odd profile question I like to answer about the characters in my stories.  Looking back at those older posts, I can see I still had a little to learn about blogging. Hell, I still have plenty to learn, though I do feel I've learned quite a bit since May, when the last of my posts on this subject was written.

If you're curious about what I wrote before, you can click on the links below.

Question #1: Time Travel

In a time travel scenario, how would this character react if they met an older version themselves?  How would the older version react?

Question #2: Weapon

If your character is faced with a situation where they have to fight, what weapon would they choose?  (This can include any real or fictional weapon.)  And when they fight, do they fight to kill, or merely to wound or frighten?

Question #3: Ultimate Questions

If your character could ask any question, no matter how big, and get an answer, what would he/she/it ask?

Now I have a new question that I must answer about my characters before I can write them into a story.

Question #4: Organization

How does your character organize their personal space?  The space in question can be a desk, backpack, purse, or briefcase.  Are they meticulous, or are they sloppy?  Have they always been this way, and why?

You can tell a lot about a person by the way they organize certain spaces.  I'll share with you some of the categories of categorization (ha ha!), that I use to describe my characters and what they mean.

The Meticulous Planner 

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/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You know those people who have a personal planner to keep track of all their appointments, deadlines, assignments, and all of that.  In college I certainly tried to be that organized, though I frequently failed. More recently I am trying to adhere to a strict blogging schedule to make sure that I build my online presence and force myself to write and perfect my craft on a regular basis.

Meticulous planning says a lot about a person.  Many people use this method of planning as a way to work toward a larger goal they have for their lives.  They set incremental goals for themselves in the hope of holding themselves accountable.  Those who plan a lot may also fear a lack of control.  I know I often feel like I'll lose sight of my goals if I don't plan things out.  Without those plans in place, I won't hold myself accountable.

On the other hand, such planning may also be symptomatic of someone who is afraid of leaping into action.  Paying extreme attention to detail might show a desire to be in control of a situation without needing to actually get out there and risk failure.  Obsessively plotting your future ambitions may make you feel like they're taking action, but the plans never do a person any good if the plans aren't actually implemented.  One character who fits this description is Arnold Rimmer from the show Red Dwarf.  He took the time to make sure his study materials were color coded and kept neatly in a binder.  In fact, he spent so much time organizing his study materials that he didn't have time left to actually study.  Obviously, this is a problem.  There are times when I fear I fall into this trap, but that's why I need to keep working.

Minimal Organization, Maximum Ambition
Some people don't take the time to plot out how they're going to reach their goals.  These people don't need a calendar or personal planner to motivate them. They, being people of action, take bold leaps that others may not take. Due to this action centered approach, these people tend to either succeed or fail rather spectacularly.  Sometimes they cross a line that they may have avoided had they thought about their choices beforehand.

I've written this kind of character, the look before you leap personality, many times before.  This is the opposite of how I tend to be, because that kind of risk terrifies me.  Yet I find it fun to step into their shoes in the world of fiction, because it's an exciting place to visit.

Creator of Organized Chaos

A picture of my table.

This is the organizational scheme that perhaps best describes my work space.  I may have my blog posts planned in advance, and I have multiple notebooks dedicated to different projects.  To someone who doesn't know the chaotic way my brain works, the disjointed stories scribbled on those pages would make no sense.  After all, I can't even write a story straight through from start to finish.  I write scenes sporadically, then I piece them together afterwards. Only I know how the pieces fit.  Therefore what makes sense to me is utterly ridiculous to someone else.

I think this is common among creative people.  Our brains explode onto the world around us, and from those messy fragments, we have to create art. Plotting may help give our projects direction, but at the end of the day, when those plans don't work out, we can throw caution to the wind and just do what feels right.  It may not be a logical process, but it can work.

The Maximum Slob (or, as some might argue, The Satisfied Person)
Then there are the people who are disorganized and have no ambition to advance.  They don't leap into action and take risks.  They simply go about their lives and try to be happy with what they have.  They don't necessarily need to plan ahead too much, because they know what their path is.  They're already on it.  If these people have a personal planner, it's likely to be focused on remembering personal encounters and small appointments that we all have to make.  A character with this personality may be thrown into upheaval when external forces toss them off the path they're so accustomed to, and that certainly makes for a fascinating conflict.

Now, I don't want anyone to be offended by my use of the term "slob."  I only used this term in salute to another favorite character from Red Dwarf, Dave Lister.  Yes, he is a bit slobby, but his lack of ambition is what defines his character.  He may have said on many occasions that he planned to one day own a farm where he would live with the girl of his dreams and breed horses, but he certainly never actually went beyond the stage of naming what he wanted.  He was satisfied having the least authority of everyone else on the ship, and he spent his spare time drinking with his buddies.  While Rimmer spent all his time planning for the future he was never going to be bold enough to get, Lister at least managed to enjoy himself.


I'm sure there are plenty of other organizational types out there in the world, but I made this short list only to prove one point.  The way we organize our lives says a great deal about who we are.  It's the same for our fictional characters, and that's why it's valuable to analyze questions like this.

Express Yourself: Naming

Okay guys, I know I don't normally post on Thursdays, but I'm in the midst of revising my blogging schedule.  I plan to reveal my new schedule on Monday. As it is, since I'm changing things up some, I figured there was no harm in posting on an odd day.  For those who may be curious, I'm not changing things drastically by any means.  I'm just adjusting for memes that I've gotten involved with.

One of those new memes is the inspiration for today's post.  Maybe I was simply captivated by the badge because it reminded me of Wordle.  Or maybe I thought it sounded like a good way to get involved in something new.  Either way, here I am!

Thanks to Jackie @ Bouquet of Books and Dani @ Entertaining Interests for starting this.  Seriously guys, how do you come up with so many great ideas?  It baffles me.  I'm slightly jealous of your collective genius, but not too jealous to jump into the fun!

This is a weekly meme, and a monthly schedule of topics will be posted.  This week's topic piqued my interest immediately.  The task is to pick a name from my current WIP, and to then describe my process of acquiring it.

Naming has always been an important process for me.  The name you choose for a character can say a lot about them.  In the real world, names don't always mesh with someone's personality, though a bold name that stands out can certainly influence someone a lot.  However, in the realm of fiction where there's a crazy writer behind the wheel, a carefully chosen name can say everything about someone.

I chose the serial that I've been writing for my Friday posts.  It's called Memoirs From the End of the World.  One character in that story is named Alyx.  He's able to survive in a world where reproduction is forced upon people by alien overlords because he is naturally sterile.  He is therefore useless to the overlords that seek to control everyone else.

Just to be clear, the rest of what I'm about to say hasn't been addressed in my story yet, so if any of you have been reading it and don't want to risk reading any spoilers about the character, then you shouldn't read past this point.  However, I personally don't think I'm giving away anything too crucial to the overall story.

Though Alyx identifies as male, at birth it was obvious that his reproductive system hadn't fully developed inside or outside.  Growing up, he worried that no girl would be able to understand his condition or would be willing to deal with it. After all, he isn't what many would consider a "real man" given his condition. That's why I gave him a name that could be used either as male or female.  That is also the reason I used the unusual spelling.  Given that the sexes are defined by the chromosomal pairings of XX and XY, I couldn't resist the opportunity to play off of that.  Therefore, as Alyx identifies as male but doesn't possess the typical physical attributes that most males have, the X and the Y in his name are in reverse order to show that difference.

Fortunately for him, when the alien overlords came and realized this his infertility couldn't be easily rectified by noninvasive means, they decided it would be a waste of resources to try to do anything with him.  That which isolated him, making him the subject of ridicule among his peers, became an asset the day of the invasion.

That's something I like to do in my stories.  I enjoy taking characters who have been marginalized or simply feel isolated and putting them in a situation where their difference becomes an advantage.

Friday Fun Time!

May I share something funny?


Well, I can't promise it's funny, but I created a fun little illustrated poem to usher in the weekend.  I won't lie, I had Dr. Seuss in mind when I wrote it.  That's what happens when you write something after reading to your children.


So it's Friday again, and it's time for some fun!


Let's go and chill with some friends in the sun!

 

Get on your groove, forget your pride.


Let's hop on my bike and go for a ride!



Who knows where we'll go, or what we'll see?


Even our most brooding heroes have to get jiggy!



But please, don't let your fun get out of hand.


The hospital isn't the destination you might have planned.

 

Have a great holiday weekend everyone!

Meet Gretchen Taylor, Main Character WIP

Image: nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Welcome to Thursday's installment of Blog Me MAYbe!


May I tell you something about someone else?


I think today I will tell you about a character I have written in a novel that is technically already completed, but I still consider it a WIP because it needs some major editing before I'm happy enough with it to send it out into the world.  In the meantime, I've taken a break on that to work on my current novel.  I figured getting some distance from it would rejuvenate my creative gears and give me fresh eyes when I finally come back to it.

Anyway, Gretchen Natalya Taylor is the main character in this novel series from which I am on hiatus.  She lives on the colony world Terra Minor.  Terra Minor is inhabited by both humans and an alien race called the Kentari.  Tensions between the two species have been growing, and will ultimately lead to war.  At the beginning of the book, which is the first in a series of six (another reason why I needed a break-it's a MASSIVE project!) she is eighteen (about twenty in Earth years) and she is still in school.  She used to be a major athlete, but a near fatal accident led to her to give that up.  She feels aimless and restless.

When she, in spite of her parents claims that the Kentari are not to be trusted, she gets to know one of them.  His name is Quirin, and he teaches her how to use powers such as healing, telepathy, and telekinesis.  No one is supposed to know about these abilities save for a select few, so she has to hide what she's doing.  As she becomes more distant  from old friends and family, she discovers that her feelings for Quirin are complicating matters, and she learns of a prophecy that says that they are the only ones who can bring about peace.

Image: nuttakit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As a way to show how some of the understandably tense and difficult situations that follow impact her without divulging more spoilers than I have to, here is her near the end of the series writing a letter to her younger self.  I'm not sure whether I'll use it in the book, but it's a good character exercise.

Dear Younger Self,

I haven't seen you in a long time.  Sometimes I feel your youthful optimism inside of me, but the world has done a lot to drown you.  Strong as I try to be, I can't ever recapture all of what I once was.  I've decided it's pointless to try.  The person I am now, while flawed and loaded with haunting memories, isn't so bad.  All I can do is try to hold the nightmares in check.  If they take over my life, I lose.

Thinking about it is also dangerous, because every time I dwell on these things, Quirin knows it.  Telepathy, while a wonderful thing in many cases, has become a stumbling block for us in that respect.  At least he also knows that I don't blame him for the bad things that happened to me.  They used BOTH of us.

Had you known what was coming ahead of time, you may not have done it.  The hard part is understanding that the manipulation used against us both may well have been necessary.  With that said, I still can't forgive them for it.  I've come to accept who I am now, and I still love Quirin dearly, but I miss who he was.  In a way, I mourn the loss of us both.  Life would have been so much easier, so much brighter.

I didn't used to dwell on the dark side of things, and I still don't really.  But in writing this, I find those darker parts of my nature hemorrhaging out through my words.  Maybe this is what I need.

Younger self, please know this.  Even through all the pain that followed, I don't regret what I did, nor will you.   Some things are worth it, even when the price seems too high to pay.

Well, there's a little bit about someone other than me.  See you Friday!

View From the Top

As a kid, I had an obsessive relationship with tall things.  Any time I saw a tall parking garage or tower, I imagined myself at the top of it.  I wanted to go into space and view Earth from above.  I wanted to fly planes.  I dreamed of what my world would look like from that altered perspective.  Although I didn't get the chance to do some of these things, I relentlessly dreamed of them from the garage roof.  During the summer, my dad and I would climb onto the roof and stargaze.  During the day, when the ladder was still left leaning against the garage, I scaled it's wooden rungs and ascended to a new world, notebook in hand.  I loved watching cars go by.  I looked at the treetops, and watched my parents move about the yard.  I loved climbing trees and seeing what the world looked like when no one knew I was there.

Sounds a bit voyeuristic, I know, but I just loved seeing people like they were characters inside a story.  I was the narrator.  Walking through stores, I saw so many people, and though I didn't know them, I write their back story in my head.  Seeing emotion in their faces, I imagined reasons behind those feelings.  I decided what they would do next.  Though they were clearly people over whom I had no control, it was a good way to flex my creative muscles.  It's research into the way people behave.

I still do these things every day.  So if you ever see a stranger staring at you for no discernible reason, they may be creeps you should avoid, but they also may not be.  Perhaps they're just budding writers, trying to figure you out, trying to see how you and your coy smile or brooding temperament fit into the world.  I try not to stare, because it is rude, but people watching is by far one of the more fascinating hobbies a person can have.

I am the narrator, and this is my story.

Balancing Sex and Violence in Fiction

Right now, I am dealing with an issue that comes up frequently when it comes to my writing.  Sex and violence are an undeniable part of human existence, but I don’t want to use them gratuitously.   I use them a fair amount, don’t get me wrong, but only when I feel the narrative calls for them.  These are strong elements that, when used incorrectly, can really detract from the story you’re trying to tell.  But when used appropriately, the story can make a big impact.

I’ve learned that these two elements make for great character development, and they can often advance the plot in useful, engaging ways.  In the midst of a sexually charged moment, we can see how the characters feel about each other.  Are they open to the other person?  Are they defensive?  Can we see hints of impending changes in their relationship that might be important?  Their actions speak volumes about how they feel about the other person and how they feel about themselves.

Violence, which conveys much about the world the characters inhabit, can also be transformative.  When confronted with a violent scenario, we can see that character on the most fundamental level.  When things get tough, what kind of risks are they willing to take?  Do they turn and run, do they fight, or do they join in with the madness?  Can they be trusted?  Or perhaps violence is in the character’s past, and it forged them into the person they are in the present.

The language used must also be taken into consideration.  The words chosen during intimate moments greatly influence the overall feel of the scene and highlights the attitudes of the people involved.  Are the descriptions clinical, poetic, or verging on pornographic?  Any of these are acceptable as long as they are in line with the established characters and their situation.  The same goes with violence.  If a character is clinical in their analysis of a violent act, that can say a great many things about who they are.  They might be a sociopath, or a detective who is accustomed to approaching gruesome scenes in this way.

The trick is balancing the two, and making sure they always enhance the story.  If they don’t, then maybe it’s best that they aren’t there at all.  I can't pretend to be an expert at this yet, and I'm still learning, but I think this is an issue that most writers need to contend with, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

Questions

The more research I do, the more my goals in life scare me.  The odds of achieving success in this field seem more frightening than inspiring.  Yet I can’t let that scare me off, even knowing how much work lies ahead, because I want this so much I can’t imagine not doing this.

I keep asking myself why anyone would want to read anything I write.  I suppose this is a common self doubt that most authors experience at some point.  The main question I have has to be this:  How do I overcome that self doubt, or how might I use it as motivation to spur me forward rather than allowing it to drag me down?

In college I studied both writing and philosophy.  Both were writing intensive, and both required me to ask a lot of basic questions.  In philosophy, however, I think I adopted the wonderful, though sometimes terrifying habit, of asking so many questions that my brain temporarily overloads.  It can be great for the creative process that is storytelling, provided the seemingly endless list of questions can be managed.

I think a key thing that makes a story interesting to readers is raising provocative questions, or setting up a scenario that lends itself to speculation.  The plot should be unique, or the characters should at least be dynamic.  We need to care about the people in the story, we need to genuinely wonder what will happen to them.  And as I write, I continually ask myself how to get to that point.  If there’s anything I’m good at, it’s asking questions.

I just hope I’m asking the right ones.

The Fun and Functional Role of Science Fiction

I’m writing this because I’m having a difficult time getting through a scene in the story I’ve been working on.  Maybe the process of writing something else will keep my mind moving in the right direction.  And if it doesn’t, oh well.  At least I’ll have done something else I pledged to do in the meantime.

As I know I’ve mentioned before, I write mostly science fiction.  I do this because, as a genre, it offers the most exciting possibilities for me as a writer.  I can place my story wherever and whenever I want.  I have the freedom to create any world I want, and through character interactions with that world, the plot unfolds, entertaining me as well as my audience.  Granted, my audience is small at this point, but I can only take it one step at a time.

Now, many people aren’t willing to give science fiction a chance.  I’ve heard people say that it’s stupid because it doesn’t deal with real people or real problems.  That simply isn’t true.  The opportunity to use a fresh environment with characters developed in the context of that environment enables me to take problems I’ve seen in the world, which often inspire me to write in the first place, and get a new perspective on them.  When I analyze an issue through the eyes of a character I’ve co-created with the world I placed them in, I often find angles of the issue that I hadn’t previously considered.

And, I admit, science fiction is also fun for me.  I don’t see a point in writing something that I wouldn’t enjoy.  Life is too short for that.

Currently, my writing is inspired by the real-world environment of political extremism I’ve been seeing lately.  With the political arena heating up with angry rhetoric, it seems to me that politicians are spending half of their time painting themselves as the opposite of the other side.  I fear that we’re getting away, at least in some cases, from the real issues as we get more mired in the political blame game.  That extremism and anger is what inspired me to write this current story, which is set in a future where both political extremes have become so angry and powerful that they’ve literally destroyed America by splitting the country into halves, which are separated by a neutral buffer zone.

I’m not writing this because I believe such a thing will happen, but instead because I want to speculate about what each extreme would look like, and how that kind of world would adversely impact people.  It seems to me that unbridled extremism can be a very dangerous thing.  In a world like ours where everything is so uncertain, I think these kinds of speculations are a good thing.

A Story is a Puzzle

I swear, I cannot just sit down and write a story straight through from start to finish.  When I have an idea for a story I want to tell, I see it in segments.  Little moments in time play out in my head, and I learn about who my characters are by seeing how they react to a certain critical moment.  From there, with this knowledge, I wonder about who they are and how they came to be that person.  What life events shaped them?  Then more scenes spring up in my head like weeds, often growing out of control.  I have to prune them back, shape them so that I have a chance of managing them.

For me, writing is like putting together the disjointed pieces of a puzzle, but the pieces don’t quite fit when I put them on the table.  I have to arrange them in a way I think looks right, then sand the edges until I can get them to fit together.  And even then, characters and situations in the fragmented narrative resist alteration.  Somehow, from me they have gained an identity and momentum all their own, and though I strive for some kind of control, I soon realize that I have lost it and merely need to hold on for the ride.

Why can’t this be easy?  I have so many ideas I don’t know where to start, but it’s a long way from a mess of a rough draft scribbled in my notebook (and yes, weird as it is, I write my first drafts out by hand in a well-worn notebook)to a finished product.  And like most writers, no matter what I do and how much I revise, I always feel like it isn’t ever quite right.  I guess it's a reality I just need to get used to.