(no subject)

[owlectomy]

I have figured out the end of the book.

That in itself is most of the battle--I had about half of it figured out, and then the rest of it came to me all in a very happy whoosh last night.

I think it'll only take 4000-6000 words to finish, and the idea that I might finish in a week is just a little astonishing after I've been working on it since May or so.

Also. I have realized that I can't do characterization, and I think this is a separate thing from the generalized "Augh, I suck at everything" that my writing sometimes gives me. Characters are defined, in my mind, primarily by their relationships to one another; alone their personalities don't tend to be all that distinct. So I am going to have to work on this.
(1) Hugely complicated love triangles are not a substitute for characterization.
(2) Long angsty internal monologues are not a substitute for characterization.
(3) Characters don't act like you would act in a situation; they act like they would act in a situation.

Also. "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate" is the best song ever because it has a pirate AND a mountie in it.

That sounds like the setup for bad slash fiction.

Comments

[meaghanchan.livejournal.com]

[i]That sounds like the setup for bad slash fiction.[/i]

And bad slash fanart ^_^
Must... Download... Song...

Seriously, though, on the topic of characterization: I know I've mentioned it to you before, but I find that one of the best ways to define characters, personality-wise, is to really define and know what their priorities are. I've been thinking a lot about this lately... It almost seems like an inability to choose what is important to us. Either something's important to you, or it's not, or it's slightly more important or slightly less important than something else. I mean, some of the best movie moments ('cause I watch movies a lot more than I read books) come from a character just making a choice that's solidly rooted in their character.

And congrats on figuring out the ending-- I know how awesome that feels. Good luck!

[takumashii.livejournal.com]

Hmm--I think I actually do pretty well at figuring out what a character's priorities are. In that sense I don't have a problem with characterization; and that's why I only realized I do have a problem with the other aspects just now.

(I don't know if I told you this, but a very good agent asked to see the first 3 chapters of Shattered Jade/Prayers to Broken Stone and then said that the characters felt too flat).

But personality, that's something I don't do all that well. And I think that's really important in making someone feel like they have existence beyond the walls of the book--to see what characters are like in ways that don't impact the plot at all, if they have some inconsequential hobby, some particular way of talking...

I don't know if you've read any of SJ/PBS yet, but Khathara was a very distinctly defined character in my mind because I knew her obsessions and I certainly knew her priorities. I knew her personality in a way: idealistic, courageous, and ruthless. But I really just had one or two moments where she was more than the sum of her obsessions.

But on the other hand, there aren't that many writers who can actually do that. I think this is maybe why so many romantic comedies are terrible. With a lot of movies, a character can afford to be just the sum of their priorities. But romantic comedies have to convince us that these two people would actually fall in love with each other, and that takes quirks, and oddities, and personality.