it’s a trip . . .
tips, quotes, insights, and lessons about writing and publishing learned the hard wayArchive for November, 2008
Quirks, anyone?
I like quirks in characters. In my favorite cozy mystery series written by the late Lawrence Sanders, Archie McNally has many of them–from unusual clothes items such as colorful berets to telling you what he eats at every meal to pet sayings such as, “One never knows, do one?”
Archie McNally is beloved for his quirks and not just by me.
I think quirks can elevate characters above stereotypes, too. Though I’ve met some unusual people, I can’t say most of the people I know are quirky. (But then I wouldn’t want to read about them either.) Whenever I’ve met someone in real life with a quirk, it’s always stuck with me, and some of my family members and friends have found themselves in my stories. For instance, my older brother is very anal retentive about his pepper. He has seven kinds of pepper, each in its own mill, clearly labeled, and arranged on his stove top from mild to hot. Well, I couldn’t let that juicy little item go by. Of course I gave my FBI agent some anal retentive qualities and used those pepper mills in his kitchen, causing the protagonist to say, “Seven mills? Sounds like a tax rate.”
Anyhoo, so if you don’t know particularly quirky folks whose habits you can infuse into your characters or if you suffering from brain drain and can’t think of any qualities particular different or downright strange with which to imbue your characters, then you need to hit some sites that role players use. Role players have identified tons of quirks on their websites and forums, more than you could ever think of if you sat down to come up with quirks and had an endless supply of paper, two free hours, and a Red Bull.
For example, I spent less than a minute on a Dungeons & Dragons forum called 1001 Character Quirks and found lists of tasty quirks such as:
- keeps a bag filled with little jars of dirt from each nation he’s been to
- insomniac
- contradicts everyone about absolutely anything even the pointless things
- constantly catches bugs and keeps them as pets in containers, isn’t aware of their need for sustenance and is deeply upset when they die
- always steals people’s stories and doesn’t keep track of which story came from who hence occasionally tells a stolen story to the person he stole it from.
- has an obsession with peoples ears or other body part
Then of course there’s a blog post called 100 Character Quirks You Can Steal From Me.
And many, many other rich sources you can find within minutes on the Web.
Now, of course, you can’t stuff all these quirks into your book characters. But if you carefully choose one or two, you may end up with a much more novel novel than you ever imagined.
By the way, pardon my infrequent posting. I’m doing NaNoWriMo this year and am going to try my very best to hit that 50,000 word count and be a winner this year.
Contests… for cash and prizes!
you can't win if you don't enter
Just wanted to share a few upcoming writing contests with readers.
Narrative is hosting its 2008 fiction contest entitled EVERYTHING IS TRUE . . . or becomes so later for short stories, short short stories, and novel excerpts. Deadline is November 30. For more details, click here. Narrative contests are very competitive. Recently Gina Ochsner won one of their contests. Her work is widely published. I have one of her short story collections.
Sonora Review is hosting a short-short fiction contest, with entries due December 1. More information is available at this link. They claim an interest in publish and emerging writers.
Finally the 9th Annual Writers Digest Short Short Story Competition is now accepting entries through December 1. More information is available by clicking this link.
At least two of those contests require an entry fee per piece–Sonora and Writer’s Digest. Some sites suggest never entering a contest that charges an entry fee; however, if you want your piece to be judged by someone whose time is valuable, I would argue that some contest fees are not only acceptable but reasonable. What person of any value and influence can afford to give away his/her time?
So, look at the prizes awarded in comparison to the entry fee before you pass judgment on a contest. If the entry fee is $15 but first price is a cool thousand, that seems like a reasonable fee to me whereas if the entry fee is $15 and the top prize is $100, I would say that contest is not worth your time.
I plan to shore up a few pieces to enter in these contests tomorrow when my mind is fresh. Not because I’m a glutton for punishment but because I feel as if I have a piece or two capable of winning. And winning improves your platform.
And you can’t win if you don’t play.
Lessons learned from friends . . . Ian Healy
Feel free to argue this point, but the thing that separates the successful from the unsuccessful, the published from the unpublished is sheer perseverance–to keep writing, writing, writing–through block, snow, sleet, hail or dark of mind.
Author, blogger, man about the Internet Ian Healy is on the fast-track to success
I can’t name another writer in my acquaintanceship who better exemplifies perseverance and gritty determination than Ian Healy.
I don’t know how he does it. He’s already written 15,000+ words on his novel during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I have 4,700 words, and I feel successful. He’s topped 15K and feels like he’s failing.
He’s also done NaNo numerous times, earning badges for completing his 50,000 words in several successive Novembers.
He’s got two blogs, he authors a web comic, and one of his books was named to the top 100 in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest last year. And when I blogged regularly, he always made it around to a lot of people’s blogs and made comments, mine included.
I was supposed to have posted this yesterday, but I ended up going to bed early. I was up way too late on election night.
But as soon as I put this post to bed, I intend to go add to my measly word count, inspired by writing mate Ian Healy.
Yes, Ian’s work deserves to be published. But make no mistake about it. When it is published, it will be because he’s earned it. He works harder than any other writer I know.
And I will always fall short, by comparison, but am nonetheless awed by his determination.
on winners and non-winners, also known as losers
from losers to winners in half an inning
I don’t have a lot to say in this post other than sharing an important personal observation I made and felt sink into my bones after the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series Wednesday. A local cable interviewer was talking to one of the players. (In case you don’t know, Philadelphia fans have died a thousand deaths over the last twenty-five years because our teams either never get to the championship rounds or have choked miserably the few times they did. Philadelphia is forever fighting the perception that it’s a city of losers).
Anyway, one player essentially said (I can’t remember which one), “Winning the World Series has given us so much cred. You’re just not a winner until you win.”
I know the same holds true for writers. Sure we can all tell each other we’re winners in God’s eyes, which is great when one is facing her eternal reward, but not so great, say, when one is going face-to-face with bullies and people who dismiss you because you haven’t made it.
It only takes one published book to change all that–to go from wannabe to winner, to earn that cred most writers richly desire and many deserve.
As someone new to writing and publishing (I’m a toddler in dog years), I know I don’t have the cachet of a published author. This week I presented my workshop for the Literary Festival on writing flash fiction at the university. All the important people at the university couldn’t attend–my boss didn’t show, the president took me off his calendar, and a close friend and supporter never showed up either (although some other “lesser” colleagues did, for which I am eternally grateful, which I say sarcastically, because I’m very happy and humbled that they came).
I got an email from a high school friend who had seen my workshop in the paper and said, “Oh, I really wanted to come but I don’t have my lesson planning done for the afternoon.”
Oh, well . . .
If I were a published author, I doubt she would have brushed off my workshop. What she and others don’t know is that I feel I’m on the cusp of being published, that sooner rather than later, some literary agent will snap me up, and one of my books will get published. I know it in my heart and my bones. Maybe not this year, but soon. Heck, I’ve only been at this creative writing stuff for three and a half years.
But until that time, I just have to accept that others have a dimm ed perception of my value as a writer, that I’m not a winner in their eyes until I’ve won.
And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Justice is wonderfully motivating.
It’s a reality of the times we live in, and perhaps each era before us. If the Philadelphia Phillies can endure all the injustices they have–I mean just last year, everyone was calling them “the losing-est franchise in the major leagues” after the Phillies franchise accumulated its 10,000th loss in franchise history–I guess I can suffer a few slings and arrows for a little longer, too.
You’re just not a winner until you’ve won.
it's a trip . . . 