Starting next month, and into August, I’m going to be taking part in Merrilee Faber’s Creativity Workshop, a workshop she has very generously made available to her loving public focused on spurring the creative juices.
I’ve heard a lot of writers say “I have too many ideas to write them all.” And to a point, I’m the same way. I have a text document that I occasionally replenish with a twenty-minute idea brainstorming session, whenever I’m feeling weary. But, at the same time, I never feel like I have enough. I am idea greedy, I suppose. I want a whole chamber full of ideas that titillate and excite me, that make me want to at least explore them a bit. More than I can ever have hope to write.
In addition to that basic motive, I have some more complicated, specialized problems I want to work on. Hence this post.
My issues:
1. No happy endings. I love happy endings. I want my characters to have happy endings, or at least not soul wrenching terrible endings, Othello style. I do think I have a good idea as to why I have unhappy endings, a realization I had just last week, If all my characters are assholes, then they don’t deserve happy endings. And so far, every single one of my characters (save for a couple very special stories [I'm looking at you Chocolate]) have been seriously, deeply flawed in a way that tramples over other people. And, verily, don’t deserve happiness, or even reconciliation.
2. Not enough otherworldly aspects. I love reading fantasy. I’m deeply intrigued by religion and magic. But I think it’s all hogwash, and therefore have a hard time putting it in my stories. What I know cognitively, is that I am writing fiction, a world where all the rules are made up by me. Of course, they have to make sense in the context of the world itself, but it’s still my ballgame. I’d like to beef up my paranorm abilities, so to speak.
3. Relationships. I don’t think any of my characters have developed really good romantic relationships. I don’t mean good as in healthy, but as in deep, believable. (With one possible exception, Chocolate again. And even that I’m not too sure.) I like reading a good love story, and I’d like to be able to write one, too.
4. My characters don’t have any friends! Another aspect that I am consciously working on. I think this stems from me having no real friends for most of my life, no one I could really trust. It’s only just recently that I’ve had true friends in my life, but after two decades without, it’s a little hard to internalize. But I want my characters to have people they can trust, people they feel comfortable around.
5. Endings. I suck at them. Or at least I think I do. I tend to get wild hairs and make crazy shit happen and ruin the whole story. Then I go back, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. This is because I have not been able to, at this point, follow an outline. Anymore than something rough at least. And that is because I always hate my outline endings. They seem too prescribed and unimaginative. Heh- uncreative even!
6. Last one. Villains. Antagonists. I have a difficult time making them. Even when I have an antagonist all set up, I tend to make the real battles between the good guys, or between my MC and his/herself. I don’t have a problem with this in and of itself, but, oh dear, another issue.
7. Emotions. I have a hard time portraying them. I think I externalize everything too much, and don’t give enough page space to my character’s thoughts, so they come off as wooden or motiveless.
Okay, there’s my dirty laundry.
Merrilee
April 29, 2010 at 1:37 pm
I can sympathise with a lot of these Eliza!
But as well as issues, don’t forget interests! You’ve got one – romance, but you’re still approaching it as a why can’t I do this?. Is there anything you’ve really wanted to explore, but never had the time or the courage to?
Eliza
April 30, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Ah, good point. I thought about this a bit. So, I really want to explore dystopian settings and the themes of freedom and censorship, which I think meld well with my idea of a dystopian setting. And also appear to me as really big, really important themes that make me quake a little while my stomach does fluttery things.
I think that’s a good sign.
Merrilee
April 30, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Excellent.
Davina Pearson
April 30, 2010 at 11:46 am
“4. My characters don’t have any friends!” – Wow, I never realised this before, but I’m exactly the same. They have acquaintances, in one instance they have family, but friends? Nope. Never. Thanks for bringing this up, as it’s definitely another one for my list!
Eliza
April 30, 2010 at 1:49 pm
I find it’s so easy to just focus on my protag and my antag, but it makes for such limited possibilities, in the scope of a novel in particular. Good luck!
Kerryn
May 2, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Your items on relationships and friends made me realise that most of my characters don’t really have families. Most of the time they only have on parent if they lucky, a distant sibling but none of them are ever very integral to the story. My characters don’t have strong friendships either. Gosh, I feel like there’s a whole realm of story and conflict that I’d forgotten about until now. Thanks, Eliza!
mew
May 2, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Oh, I do hope you get a happy ending for your lovable characters, Eliza, even if it’s in a dystopian setting (the juxtaposition sounds fascinating, frankly). Glad to “meet” you and come to your blog via the Creativity Workshop!
Eliza
May 4, 2010 at 4:39 pm
I’ve seen the happy ending/dystopian setting done well in Anthem, but other than that I can’t think of any. Good point.
Linda Cassidy Lewis
May 3, 2010 at 10:33 am
“My characters don’t have any friends! ” I’ve sat here for at least 15 minutes thinking about that one on your list. This is mostly true of my writing, except in the cases they do have a friend … who betrays them. But I’m wondering if the inclusion of friends is more applicable to certain genres of writing. I can’t image the protagonist in chick lit without friends, at least one. Hmmm, you’ve got me thinking. Thank you.
“See” you in Merrilee’s workshop.
Rosalind Adam
May 3, 2010 at 11:26 am
You’ve raised some interesting points here but I’m not sure you should be seeing them all as negatives. Some of the best characters in fiction have been loners. Surely it’s more important to make the character interesting and 3-dimensional than a social success. My problem seems to be quite the opposite. My main character invariably has a friend who becomes more exciting and interesting than the main character.
Eliza
May 4, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Funny. The book I’m writing right now, when I started it thought I had my MCs pretty much down. Then in walks the coffee shop girl and her awesome band, and I knew, almost immediately, that I would have to recast my book.
AuroraLee
May 3, 2010 at 4:20 pm
I love the idea of a brainstorming session! I’ve never tried that before!
Again, we have many of the same issues, except for your last one. I seem to be completely opposite and focus on thoughts and emotions a bit too much.
anna caro
May 3, 2010 at 8:41 pm
I’m the opposite with happy endings. Just once, I need to make everything not suck for my characters
janettedalgliesh
May 4, 2010 at 4:44 am
Hi Eliza, breezing through on the icebreaker circuit! Love your goals – may the ideas tumble from the sky in a torrent, and pour from your fingers to the page effortlessly.
darksculptures
May 4, 2010 at 10:58 am
Oh My Gosh! I can relate, relate, relate, to number four. We have a lot in common and although my goals will be basically organization and motivation, there are many you have listed that ring true to me as well.