Writing Prompt #15

In Story by Robert McKee, he makes a distinction between characterization (the age, weight, gender, dress, lifestyle, friends, causes of a character) and character (the truest self of a character, illustrated by their choices under pressure). This got me thinking—and realizing—that I know very little about my main characters, and I have a lot of work to do in that area. Toward that end, here’s a prompt:

15) Describe the decision your character would make in the following situation:

Your character is in what they consider to be a permanent relationship. This might mean marriage, might not, depending on their views. They are in a relationship that they considered would probably last them the rest of their lives. They’re on a journey far, far away from their spouse/partner, when suddenly, they meet The One. There is no doubt in your character’s mind that this is their soul mate, the person they were meant to be with, and the other character knows it too. However, they have no idea how much time they’ll have together. What does your character do now?

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Here’s mine:

Hebrion:

Hebrion is considered to be my most honorable character in my current wip. He is loyal and honorable in all of his dealings, and represents his House well. In this instance, let’s assume he is married, and not only married, but married to the sister of the person whom he comes to find is his soul mate.

Ideally, if he were at home, he would go to his wife first and explain the situation. He can’t resist the desire to be with his soul mate, long-time marriage or no. Scandal in front of the entire House, honor bedamned, he has to be with Silmande.

However, a world away from his wife and his House, faced with the possibility of having to wait who knows how long before he can divorce his wife and be with Silmande, Hebrion decides the marriage doesn’t matter. The minute he found his soul mate, the marriage was void. He is already divorced in his heart, at that point, and the law is a formality. He would never want to hurt his wife, he loves her in a way and respects her, but to him, soul mate comes before all. He would be with Silmande as soon as possible, and while he wouldn’t make the decision lightly, he would not be tortured by his decision. In his mind, it is right.

Getting Started

Here I am, bright and early on a saturday morning, getting started on round 2 of the editing test armed with my essentials.

In my editing tool kit are:

-Colored pens (rocking the pink today)
-Lined paper for notes (which necessitates a blue pen)
-Strunk and White's Elements of Style
-Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (because I happened to have it on hand)
-A thesaurus
-Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (which I will be using in lieu of a house style sheet)
-and the most crucial: a huge coffee from dunkin donuts, extra-extra style

Hope you're enjoying your saturday morning as much as I already am enjoying mine!

Writing Prompt #14

A friend mentioned that he was pitching a short story to his editor and invited me to join in on the fun. Alas, I know nothing about the genre, so I had to pass, but it gave me an idea for my next writing prompt.

14) You’re in the elevator with your dream agent. Quick! You’ve got thirty seconds to pitch your novel. (which, in this case is going to be the story of you). Try more than one, in different tones. Or, if you prefer, pitch your current wip. Keep it short and hooky!

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Here’s mine:

14)

a) Little Red Riding Hood, wandering aimlessly through the wood, is suddenly beset by the Big Bad Wolf. She sprints for her life but he chases her relentlessly, forcing her to run without end. When she finally falls to exhaustion and no attack materializes, she realizes that she is the Big Bad Wolf, and she had long ago swallowed Little Red Riding Hood whole.

b) It’s The Breakfast Club meets Must Love Dogs. Lady Notorious is part of a disparate (and occasionally wacky) group of editors who start their day way too early at a newswire service, where they juggle angry Chinese clients, an ice machine that projectile vomits ice by the metric ton and really, REALLY big spiders. She’s given up hope of ever finding a nice, normal guy, and decides to marry the next guy her bulldog picks out for her.

(Note: The stuff about work is true, the part about the romance is not. I am definitely not on the market, and while I love Buri, he would pick out someone who would play tug with a Frisbee the longest. I’m not sure he’s qualified to be making those decisions…)

Books!

So, I have actually *gasp* started writing again on my current wip (work in progress)! It's a heady feeling. What I'm feeling overwhelmed with is the plotting. The writing I can always fix later, once I get the basic language down. But plotting....I hate to have to rewrite huge swaths of the ms because I didn't take the time to really sit down and plan the book.

Toward that end, I picked up (again) Story, by Robert McKee, which my crit partner claims is the quintessential book on plotting. I'd picked it up before, made it about 30 pgs in and drifted off. I hadn't really been into writing again at that point. This time I picked it up, and ignoring all his bemoaning the state of plotting these days, everything really resonated. I'm about a chapter in, but wow. I found myself nodding with it. It really inspired me to get serious about craft again. Not just writing, but studying writing again.

Toward that end I'm making a reading list.

Craft books on it so far are:

-Story by Robert McKee
-Beginnings, Middles and Ends by Nancy Kress (at least the section on middles for now)

Writing books are a separate list:

-Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty
-Getting the Words Right by Theodore A. Rees Cheney
-Write Tight by William Brohaugh

I am currently reading Story and Grammar Girl's tips. We'll see what others get added down the road!

A Gift!

A friend of mine, who is an extremely talented microhero artist, took the time to whip up a microhero of me! He might have been a little ... ah ... generous, in some areas, but he still did an amazing job. The best part is, of course, the addition of the Buribabes to the shot.



What do you think?

Writing Prompt #13

13) It's the 1950's and there you are, at the office, drinking your lunch. What are you drinking and who are you with?

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Here's mine:

13) She crossed the room in neat, tiny strides, her pencil skirt restricting her movement. There was a satisfying click as each heel landed, punctuating her determination to get this over with. She paused only long enough to fix them each a drink before advancing on his desk. No novice to the game, she perched on the end of his desk with an accented lift of her hip that sent the fabric of her skirt stretching tight across her bottom. The movement drew his eye.

He reclined in his chair as she went to hand his glass to him. The buttons she’d undone before slipping into his office gaped as she leaned over, giving him a view of delicate lace and flesh. His interest noticeably peaked. She felt nothing but the hardening of her resolve as she sipped at her sidecar, wondering how long she had to play coy before he would make his power play.

His lack of finesse was legendary in the office. Hopefully it wouldn’t take long; she had things to do, including tackling a pile of manuscripts. She resisted the urge to look at the clock. Another sip of her sidecar. A coy glance. A short trill of laughter after an inane remark of his, just the way her mother’d taught her. A pause in the banter—the moment presented itself. She didn’t hesitate before pressing her lips to his, tumbling into his lap. This was a working lunch, and she damn well deserved a raise.

Writing Prompt #12

12) Submission time! How do you handle the agonizing wait after you’ve sent something out?

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Here’s mine:

12) Everyone says the best cure to the waiting anxiety is to get started on the next book/story right away, but, come on! All I can think about is that email I just sent out. I’m checking my email every 5 minutes for a reply, even though I know better. Worse yet, I’m checking my spam folder, just in case.

And I didn’t even send in a work of fiction…we’re talking about a resume and editing sample.

Still, the pain is fairly acute.

I’ve been through the submission mill enough times to know that the farther away you get from the submission date the less you obsess over it, but I am still in the obsessed state. That, more than anything, drove me to send a follow-up email (something I rarely do).

Good news! I should hear back on Monday. Bad news! I have to wait til Monday….With it being Wednesday right now, that’s 5 days too long to wait.

My game plan for surviving the wait? Considering how much I want this opportunity, I think I just plan to obsess and sit by the phone, in case the managing editor makes a decision earlier. Don’t call me! I need the line free….