Saturday, June 9, 2012

If my novel had a soundtrack...

I was inspired to do this by my friend Bridget.  Music is pretty important to both our writing processes.  For me it helps give me an image of the character, and sometimes is able to jolt me into productivity, to get the gears moving.  Here are a few of what are called "image songs" for several of the major characters.

Sullen Boy (Main Character) -- "Narcissistic Cannibal" by KoRn.  My MC is a rather angry sort of person, but has begun to realize that all the anger in the world doesn't help him.  He's still dancing to the tune of the object of his anger, letting it rule his life, and to a large extent the story is about him coming to terms with that and breaking free of it.

Angry Girl (Love Interest) -- "Love Is War" by Nico Nico Chorus.  "Love Is War" is an amazing song.  It has the feel of a rock anthem, a war song, and a ballad rolled together.  The lyrics don't exactly correspond to the Angry Girl's relationship with the Sullen Boy, but they very accurately express her feelings, and the inherently warlike nature of her relationship with him.

The Commander (Mentor) -- "Rise" by Origa.  I heard this song one night while developing the Commander.  The line "I am a soldier" jumped out at me, and I immediately knew I had found her image song.  The Commander is a soldier, from start to finish.  She has dedicated her life to fighting a war, and the thing that has kept her alive is the thought that if she lives one more day, she'll be able to strike one more blow against her foe.

Ten days left until the writing starts.  I'm into the back stretch now.  I've got to keep a cool head, keep the last minute panic at bay, and work like a madman.

Friday, June 1, 2012

June is upon me -- preparation 20%

So things are beginning to take shape, but at a much slower pace than I had wanted.  Work items for the remainder of the PlotMo:  big focus on self-discipline.  There are no deadlines in this business but those I give myself, I do not have a professor breathing down my neck to finish the manuscript on time.  It's just me, my Muse, my notebook, a box of pens, my story, and Scrivener.  That's all I've got.  Fortunately, motivation is kicking up.  Part of it is renewed desire, part of it is the realization that I have less than a month left, and that June, as I said, is upon me.  I begun on the Solstice, ready or not.  I had much rather be as ready as I can be.

My characters are finally starting to talk to me.  It helps that I have finally started asking them questions.  So far I have focused on the female lead mostly; in the coming week I will expand to the rest of the cast.  Focus for the week will be on characters and plot, with an eye towards really getting to know the characters, what kind of people they are, etc.

I think I know how I will work with my characters.  I will start talking to them.  Literally talking to them.  I will think of them as actual people, with their own history, feelings, and opinions on everything from the great issues of the day to how silly I look with bed head.  I will imagine that their world actually exists, and that I have merely stepped into it as an observer to chronicle their legend.  I will speak with them so much that they begin to come to life.  While this seems like an obvious sort of thing, to develop an empathy for your characters and a deep sense of who they are, I don't think that it is something I have really done before.  Character creation in the past was more of a mechanistic sort of thing, a filling in of character sheets or questionnaires.  Those sorts of things are useful, but only as an aide to getting a feel for the characters.  They must first and foremost be real people; if they aren't, how can I expect them to take part in the plot and carry the story?

Time to do something awesome.