Friday, March 18th, 2011 I’ve been giving a lot of thought to world building these days, as I’m slated to teach a class at an upcoming convention. In simple terms, world building is all about setting the scene for your story or novel.
If you write contemporary literature, you may not need to do so much. If you write science fiction or fantasy, you’ll need to be aware of all the differences between the world you’re writing, and the world you live in, so you can make the fictional world believable when you write it.
Mainly, you have to make certain that things, “work.” If it rains blue raisins every night, you’ll need a plausible reason for this phenomena and write it convincingly into the story. And there needs to be balance. For every really cool item you place in the world, you’ve got to have an equally evil or devastating one.
Balance makes the story/world more believable: too much happiness and light and things get boring fast. Too much evil and darkness, and we’re left with no enjoyment, no hope.
Naomi Novik writes stories set in the Napoleonic era where dragons exist. Kim Harrison’s urban fantasies take place in current-day Ohio, where all kinds of supernatural beings exist and tomatoes are thought to be deadly.
What kind of stories could you tell about these kinds of worlds?
Here’s Your Prompt: Create a world, much like your own, with one significant difference. Like Novik’s world, it could be the existence of dragons (or some other mythical creature). Or, like Harrison’s world, it could be that a common plant is considered dangerous. Can you imagine a world without ketchup?
On the flip side, it could be a world without a particular animal or “luxury” item. For example, what if horses didn’t exist? What if airplanes or trains or automobiles had never been invented?
Or build a world where tomatoes (or another plant) are found to cure cancer, Alzheimer’s or some other disease. (This is where balance comes in: if you can cure cancer, there’d better be some other disease or illness or birth defect that people have to struggle with.)
One you’ve built this small piece of your world, think of ways the setting can be used to generate a story idea. What kind of people live in this world? What do they believe? How do they live? How does the setting affect them?
Friday, March 11th, 2011
High Rock Overlook is located just south of the Mason Dixon Line in Washington County, Maryland. It’s a special landmark for several reasons: it’s on the Appalachian Trail, a “landmark” in its own right; it overlooks the “Great Valley,” which spans parts of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania; and it’s near the divide where water on one side of the mountain flows into Antietam Creek (through the valley below) and into the Monocacy River on the other side.
But I just like it for the view.
Standing on the top of the rock, you can see 1400 feet below you. You have to look down to see the eagles flying. When I’m at the edge of the rock, feeling a bit of an updraft, I have an urge to take a running leap off the precipice and fly with them.
Great views will do that to you: inspire you, engender feelings you didn’t think you would have, offer comfort, scare you. Make you wonder: what if ?
Here’s Your Prompt: Dig though your vacation or your day-trip photos looking for pictures of scenic views, ocean storms, cityscapes, anything. Turn pages in albums or flip through directories until you see something that leaps out at you.
If you don’t have any personal albums, turn to google images and search for photos.
Choose a scene that makes you think something you’ve never thought before, or something that urges you to do something you’ve never done before.
Write down that idea before it escapes.
Make a list of all the things that could have led you to that thought, or culminated in the action that calls to you from that view. Write a scene which concludes with that thought, or results in the action you’re drawn to take.
Friday, March 4th, 2011 When you get hired at a newspaper, one of the first things you’re asked to do is write your own obituary.
This serves two purposes: while your co-workers are grieving, they’ve got a story in hand which should need little editing and can be run immediately. It also gives you something to do if there’s no immediate news to go chasing after.
Writing your own obituary also saves your family members the trouble…and you get to say the things you want to be remembered for, instead of what someone else thinks. (Mom’s proudest moment of you, might not jive with your own.)
Your obituary should be accurate, lively and memorable. It is, after all, the story of your life.
At a minimum, an obituary serves only as a death notice, containing the barest of facts: your full name and birth date, your age at death, where you lived and your place of death. It may or may not include how you died. It may or may not include information about a service.
A longer obituary (still, really, a death notice) will include service information. It may include the name of your spouse and children, your parents (noting if they predeceased you) and perhaps information about a memorial fund, scholarship or donation to a cause you support.
A true obituary will contain much more, and that’s what we’re striving for here. It will include all of the above information, as well as the details of your schooling; degrees, awards and other recognition; your marriage(s); military service; employment; and life note: stories, satisfactions, hobbies, interests, charity, fraternal/political/other affiliations, positions held, achievements, etc.
Here’s a good obituary template. Note the information included, but re-write it in a style that suits your life.
Tips for Writing Your Obituary:
- Make Sure the Document is Accurate – check your dates against official records, if possible. Make certain names (including those of schools attended and home towns) are spelled accurately.
- Celebrate the Life, Not the Death – even though an obituary is a death notice, focus on what you accomplished, rather than on how you died.
- An Obituary Can Be Humorous – Death is sad, but don’t let grief overshadow life, especially if you’re a funny person. Let us in on the joke.
- Show, Don’t Tell – (I’ll bet you weren’t expecting to see this on the list.) Were you a strong supporter of your community? Don’t tell us that. Show us by describing that you knitted hats for preemies for all the local hospitals, picked up trash on Main Street every summer weekend and still coached little league, even though your kids have moved away and have kids of their own.
- Avoid cliches and abbreviations.
- A Quick Note About Identity Theft – This is less of an issue for the deceased than it is the living, even though it’s possible to be scammed after death. If you’re writing your own obit (or that of someone else who is still alive) don’t publish it on the internet. Maiden names, birth dates, hometowns and team mascots are among the most often chosen for passwords. Be safe.
Here’s Your Prompt: Write your obit. If you’re uncomfortable seeing your own death notice, write the obit of a fictional character, but use your own life’s information. If you still can’t do it, write the obituary of a deceased relative or friend.
Friday, February 25th, 2011
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| Me, as my alter-ego teleporting self. |
I’ve done a few interviews in the last year where the interviewer asked me: “If you could have one super power, what would it be?”
That’s not something I ever gave much thought to. I’m always dreaming about my characters…not about me. So when I was asked, I had to give it a lot of thought:
Did I want a super power which was a lot of fun (like being able to fly) or one that could help people (like being able to heal instantly)?
If I were given a super power, did I have to use it for good? (Which doesn’t mean necessarily that I would use it for evil…) Did I even want to “use” it all? Maybe I could have a power so strong that it manifested randomly, sort of like luck.
What if I lived in a world where anyone “diagnosed” with having a super power, had to use it for the good of mankind, even if it meant that they couldn’t do what they wanted to do in life? What if in that same world I could be genetically enhanced to obtain a super power instead of being born with one….would I do it?
And would I do it still if it meant that having a power resulted in the loss of something else (like my sight or ability to hear)?
It’s a tough decision.
If given the opportunity, I want the power of teleportation: the ability to think myself anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye. No driving cross country if I need to get anywhere, no worrying about flights – or even accommodations: can you imagine vacationing in Italy, but spending every night in your own bed?
What would you choose, if you could have any power you wanted?
Here’s Your Prompt:
1. Choose a super power for yourself. (If you’re feeling feisty, head on over to Marvel Comics and use their Super Hero Generator and create an identity for yourself. Beware! You can waste a lot of time there!)
2. Write the rules for your super power: if you can teleport, can you take others with you when you go? If you’re invisible, can you still see? What’s the logic behind these rules?
3. What are the political and social ramifications in your world? Are you required to use your power for good? Do you have to give only a few years of your life, or all of it, in service to mankind? Are people with super powers shunned? Are they praised and emulated?
4. Finally, write the story of how you obtained your super power. Were you born with it, or were you mutated by something in the drinking water? Were you genetically enhanced? By choice? If so, why? What did it cost financially? What did it cost you socially? If not by choice, how did it happen? Were you kidnapped? Were you in the armed forces and it was required of you?
Friday, February 18th, 2011
Sandia Park Tramway, New Mexico |
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Some years ago I flew to Denver, Colorado with my soon-to-be Husband of Awesome™ and my in-laws. We were going to hike, see the sights, and take a train ride up to Pike’s Peak.
It was all planned.
The plane landed in cold, rainy fog.
We were up early the next morning, watching the national weather report, and saw this huge storm system stalled over Denver. It could take a week to clear, said the weatherman.
My soon-to-be father-in-law joked, “Well, there’s sunshine in Albuquerque!”
I joked back, “Roadtrip!” only to be met by dead silence, save for the drone of the TV, and then slow-appearing smiles.
We reached for our luggage, checked out, and drove six-and-a-half hours to New Mexico.
I have about a half a million photographs of mountains taken from inside the car on the road between Denver and Albuquerque. (Funny, each appeared different when I took it. Now all these mountain pictures look the same.)
I hiked in the Cibola National Forest in 80-degree weather, then rode the “double reversible jigback aerial tramway” at the top of the Sandia Peak where a squall dumped an inch of snow on us the same day.
And I still managed to do a few things in Colorado, like walk across the Royal Gorge Bridge and dip my feet in the Colorado River.
To this day, it remains one of my most favorite vacations.
Here’s Your Prompt: This prompt can go two ways:
1 – Write about towns and cities you’ve passed through or have stayed less than a week. Or, pick a specific moment from a longer vacation and focus on that. Write about a car trip, a train ride or a flight. (Choose one you really liked, or one that made you so miserable, you’re still angry about it to this day.) Write about a hotel you’ve stayed in or a campground or a motor home. Or, write about a vacation you’ve planned for later.
— or —
2 – Write about making a split-second decision to do something. Were you better off for it, or worse? Why? Are you still affected by the decision now? Or, is it all in the past? What did you think of the decision when you made it? How do you feel about it now, any regrets? Any ‘should have dones’?
Friday, February 11th, 2011  Monday is Valentine’s Day!
And while I can’t stand frilly stuff, and hearts-and-flowers as decor on anything usually make me barf, I LOVE Valentines Day and the celebration of love.
I can’t help it. I’m in love.
I met my Husband of Awesome® my second year of college, and we’ve been together ever since. Totally storybook romance. (I won’t bore your with the details.)
Below are both journaling prompts and story starters. Switch them around and use your romantic moments to write a fictional story, or, let the story starters jog your brain for events in your past to journal. Combine more than one to create a complex tale.
I’m sensitive to the fact that many people don’t have my rosy outlook on romance. For them, I’ve included some prompts about the flip-side of love.
All the way at the bottom are some prompts for school-age people.
Enjoy!
Rosy Prompts for Those In Love:
- Write the story of your most romantic encounter.
- Write the story of being reunited with “the one that got away.”
- Write your true love a letter. (Seriously, when was the last time you did this?)
- Write about your Best. Date. Ever.
- Complete this sentence: “I know ________ loves me because ….”
- Story Starter: When I looked up and saw Cupid with his bow, I knew we were both in trouble.
- Story Starter: Jake Kennedy used to think Valentine’s Day was for suckers until…
Not-so-Rosy Prompts for Those a Bit More Jaded about Love:
- Someone has betrayed you – though not necessarily in love. Tell a story about the moment of betrayal and/or when you discovered it.
- You come home and find your lover and your best friend in bed together.
- Turn betrayal around: write the story about when you betrayed someone. Why did you do it?
- Write a letter to the person in the world you despise the most.
- What if the person who broke your heart the most came crawling back. How would you handle the situation?
- Write about the most awkward, embarrassing moment you’ve experienced in love.
- Write about falling out of love.
School-Age Prompts
- Write an essay telling what makes someone a good friend.
- Write about your first crush.
- Story Starter: Janis woke up itching with red spots all over. Oh, no! She had chicken pox…and on the day of the school Valentine Party…
- You’re the World’s Greatest Candy Maker. Move over Willy Wonka! Design a fabulous new candy for Valentine’s Day.
- Make a list of all the people who love you…and then give one reason why you know they love you.
- Write an acrostic poem using the word “LOVE,” or “FRIEND.” If you’re feeling ambitious, make one using the word, “VALENTINE.”
- Write a love letter to anyone in your family, letting them know how much they mean to you.
Friday, February 4th, 2011  I’ve never studied art. You won’t find me going to museums to look at the artwork for fun.
Disclaimer: I have visited several museums in the US and Europe, including the Vatican, and have seen a great deal of traditional and modern art.
It’s just not my cup of tea.
That being said, I know what I like. There are certain pieces that “speak” to me in a way I can’t explain.
One of those pieces is Van Gogh’s Wheat Field with Cypresses, pictured here. I have a framed print of it on my desk.
When I bought it, I wasn’t shopping for art. (I was shopping for books, what else?) I passed it by several times. I returned to it several times, picked it up, put it back down again. Decided to buy it, then not. I really dithered.
But something in it talked to me. I can see the wheat blowing in the field, the motion of the clouds, and to me, it doesn’t look like it was painted in 1889. It could have been painted in any year.
It’s more than a wheat field and a few cypresses: Van Gogh has painted a fantasy land…and whenever I’m stumped for the right description of something in a world I’m building, I look to it.
The beauty of it is I never describe the golden field or blue and white sky. The picture takes me further, makes me think deeper about my fantasy world. It suggests in a way, under the surface, that it never can with its overt snapshot of the field. There’s more there than meets the eye, and I see a little glimpse of it each time I look at the picture.
Here’s Your Prompt: Go looking for art. Hit a local museum or the library for art books. Do a Google search for Van Gogh or Michelangelo, a modern artist, a performance artist. Anyone. For more variety, go to Google Images and search for “modern art” or “traditional art” or drill deeper for sculpture, carvings, weaving, etc.
Look for something that “speaks” to you: something that keeps you coming back for more. Find a piece of art that draws your eyes away from others over and over again.
Once you find your piece, write a scene. The scene could be dialogue, description, action — anything — that is inspired from the artwork.
Next: put your scene away for a while (a week, two, longer if you can) and let it rest. Then, revisit the artwork. Does it inspire something different? Does it inspire something additional? Add that to what you’ve written previously.
Friday, January 28th, 2011 Snow flurries danced in my headlights this morning on my way to work. After two days of sleet and snow (and more than a foot of the fluffy white stuff) I’m not anxious for more. But it got me to thinking about extreme weather conditions and how they can affect the characters in your book.
The “formula” for an exciting story suggests that the author torture his main character with all kinds of dilemma, and then kick him when he’s down. If it’s an action book, we put the character in a dangerous situation: chased by bad guys. If it’s a historical romance, we’ll take away the heroine’s support system.
Usually, the genre will dictate (or at least suggest) what the conflict of the story will be.
How can we make weather one of these tortuous dilemmas the protagonist must ride out?
Rarely will weather be the conflict around which the story is based, though one exception is Jack London’s famous story, To Build a Fire. Written in 1902, it tells the story of a man whose arrogance leads him to his death in the face of a blizzard.
More often, weather is is used to as a prop to propel the story:
On the way to his engagement party at his fiance’s parent’s house, a man has an accident on an icy icy highway. Broken and comatose, he spends weeks in the hospital. The story is about what happens to the man (and perhaps his fiance) after the accident.
Here’s Your Prompt: Bring weather into your story as more than an inciting incident (leading to a car accident, for example.) Instead, make the weather take the part of an antagonist: “someone” the hero or heroine is required to fight against or endure. Write a scene — or several — describing your character’s fight against the heat or pouring rain (or any other weather). Show how he or she got into the situation, and how he or she got out.
What thoughts did your character think as he or she fought the elements? How did he or she feel? (Angry, scared, sad, anxious? Perhaps your character puts the blame squarely on someone else for their predicament. ) Show all of this. Don’t forget to use the character’s senses to relate what he or she is experiencing (what they saw, smelled, touched, tasted, etc.)
Keep in mind the remainder of your story when you choose this weather situation: what drove her to be in this place at this time? How did he wind up there? Whatever you choose, it’s got to be plausible to your story set up: in a historical romance, you can’t make the heroine venture out into a deluge — in which she gets swept away by flash floods – without a really good reason. But you can send her out in a crowded shopping district on an overly hot day after the maid pulls her corset too tight and she’s already feint from skipping breakfast.
Friday, January 21st, 2011  I think I’ve mentioned before that I can get lost with a map in one hand and a GPS in the other. I absolutely despise driving somewhere new for the first time.
If it’s important that I make it there on time, I’ll often make a dry run: like in October when I had a reading at the Constellation Book Store in Reisterstown. The weekend before the reading, I drove to the bookstore to make certain I could find it when I had to.
Par for the course, I got lost, even though I had the GPS and the Yahoo Map with me in the car.
Once, when I was in college, I had to drive into Washington, DC for a late-night event. The evening ended at 11 p.m., and at 1:00 a.m. I was still driving around the city streets. I knew I was in trouble when I’d driven under the 7th street* bridge for the 3rd time. I needed gas and there was not an open station in sight.
I won’t ever forget the panicky feeling I had, driving around, alone, the seep of the cold in my little Ford Escort. Keeping silence in the car, rather than my usual blasting metal.
I thought I’d never get out of the city.
Here’s Your Prompt: Write about being lost. If you’re journaling, this could be a personal time when you were lost. If not, throw your character out into the wild.
Where is he lost? In the city or in the woods? During a gentle summer evening or a sleeting winder evening, darkness falling.
Make sure your character has no means to navigate: no compass, no GPS, no sewing needle and cork (look it up if you don’t know what I’m referring to). If you want to be really cruel, make certain your character has no sense of direction, too. Also: there’s no one around to ask directions of.
How does she feel? Is she panicked? Resigned? Pragmatic? Is her stomach upset? Is she shaking? Does she feel like she wants to throw up? How does he react? Swear? Cry? Kick something? When your character finally moves…tell us why he or she chose that direction. Did he see a light in the distance? Smoke? The sound of gunfire? Maybe they’re running away from one direction, rather than another. Why?
Make it as hard as possible for your character to find his way. And once he or she does, describe the relief, the ensuing anger, the rants, the promises (I’m never going there again!) they feel once they’re safe and sound.
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*I could be misremembering which street here. 7th? 11th? It was a long time ago. But I think you get the point.
Friday, January 14th, 2011  I got some terrible news this morning.
One of my good friends at work is in the hospital and his condition is “serious.”
My first reaction was physical pain: a heart-sick reaction which started in the chest and moved quickly to my stomach. My limbs felt leaden.
I’m still sad, and hopeful — very hopeful — that things will be all right. But I have this nervous energy thing going on and I really want to help.
But there’s nothing I can do. He’s got a good (family) support system, and I’d just be in the way. Besides, as close as we are at work…and as much as I know about his condition…I’m guessing he’d just want family around at such a time.
Still, there’s a frustration factor here. The questions is: how will I handle it? And what if the situation turns bleak?
Here’s Your Prompt: Your character has just received terrible news. What does he do? Is he a manly man who doesn’t cry? Does he punch the wall to let off steam? Does he hit his wife or kick the dog? Does he open a bottle of Jack Daniels?
(Each of these actions tell something different about your character.)
Perhaps he’s only received partially bad news (like me) – the condition is serious, but hopeful. What’s his immediate reaction? Does he swear like he’s angry that this has come to pass? Does he accept it with stoic pessimism (“It was bound to happen anyway.”)? How does your character react if the wost-case scenario comes to pass?
On the other hand, maybe the news isn’t such a bad thing…maybe your character is ecstatic to receive such bad news about someone she knows….and secretly, or maybe not so secretly, she is doing the Snoopy-brand happy dance. Instead of Jack Daniels, does she crack open some champagne?
Write a scene in which your character receives terrible news. Try to show his or her actions without dialogue. How can you use action to relay what your character feels?
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Writers - Maryland Writer's Assn.
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