Writing Multiple POVs: Separating Stories

As I've been trying to wade through the ginormous mess that is my WIP, I did a thing last week: I read through the entire 97 k thing so I could attempt to figure out where the heck I've been going wrong in every attempt at editing I've tries thus far.

And I learned something.

I wrote a blog post last December about Writing from Multiple Perspectives, in which I explicitly state that if you're going to have more than one (major) character narrator, then you need to make sure they each have a story to tell that's theirs and their own. There's also this quote from this awesome article, Tips When Writing Multiple POV Novels, in which the author points out that each perspective "compliments two or more story arcs."

What does this have to do with my re-reading adventure?

I'm writing from two points of views. I came to realize that one of the perspectives had a far stronger voice and journey than the other. I also came to realize that one of the perspectives was relying on the other heavily instead of telling its own story. I spent the weekend thinking about this epiphany and wondered if this happened because I wrote both POVs at the same time (basically: I'd write one scene/chapter in one POV, then write the next in the other, and progress the story that way).

If anything, this little adventure of mine has reminded me how important it is that each perspective - and each character - has their own distinct story to tell. While they might interact with the same environment as another, they have their own unique experience that exists at a distance, an experience that doesn't depend on another (or, at least, shouldn't).

In my experience, if one character's POV is too heavily dependent on another: then what's the point of having two POVs in the first place? Yet something I've been positive about from the very beginning is that both of these stories need to be told on their own.

So my next step has been to divide the POVs of my WIP into two different documents. I'm going to attempt to rewrite the narrators' stories from there, one at a time, from beginning to end. By writing their stories separately, I'm hoping to maybe capture their stories and their motivations without the frame of another POV on the next page. By focusing on one at a time, maybe I'll have better luck pinning them down and discovering what they're really after.

Because, to be honest, right now it feels like a competition between the two voices and stories, both of them trying to one-up the other with their adventures. That's not really conducive to my writerly mind, though.

If I'm being honest, I'm experimenting. I'm going back to an early draft of this WIP - the most recent, finished draft that I've actually been happy with - and I'm hoping that something comes out of it because, like I mentioned, it's kind of a mess right now. But these characters' stories need to be told.

So if I wind up needing stitches because I've banged my head into the wall a few too many times, you'll know the reason why.

If you're writing from multiple POVs, maybe you'll consider writing out each story separately, as well. What's your strategy?

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Blogger @Rae_Slater talks her biggest challenge in revising her WIP: ensuring her two narrators have their own story (Click to Tweet)

When writing multiple POVs, make sure the narratives aren't overly dependent on each other (Click to Tweet)

Cliches, and How to Fix Them

So we all write cliches; more specifically, we use cliched phrases. All of us. Sometimes, it just happens; I admit that I tend to rely on them during first drafts, since it allows me to focus more on the story that I'm slowly piecing together, rather than the language (which is what I focus on during later drafts).

So what are cliched phrases? They're tired phrases. They're the word combinations that have been used so often that they stop being sharp and witty and they eventually become contrived and simple.

What do you do when you find cliches in your writing? Simply rewrite them to make them different. Now, it's not as easy as it sounds, but it's by no means impossible. When you find them, just close your eyes and lean back and think about the phrase you used, and think about it in the context of your work. It's a brainstorming game of association.

Here are some examples of cliche phrases that my thesis adviser has found in my writing so far (cliches appear in italics):

• "Palace Square never failed to make her head spin."
• "Rousseau stopped short when she turned onto the bridge that led to the Woods."
• "Time was ticking away while she stood there on the bridge."
• "She pressed the heel of her palm to her socket and her skin slipped against the tears that poured down her face."
• "There wasn't a soul in [CITY] who hadn't heard the rumors."
• "He closed and locked the gate, and though he'd already turned around before she started on her way home, she felt his eyes on her until she reached the end of the street."

I mean, some of them aren't the worst things in the world, right? Yet if you get enough of these in your writing, it'll bog it down. Here's a look at the subsequent draft of these phrases (new phrases appear in italics):

• "Palace Square was a plethora of beautiful things."
• "Rousseau hesitated when she turned onto the bridge that led to the Woods."
• "The seconds sludged by while she stood there on the bridge."
• "She pressed the heel of her palm to her face and her skin slipped against the watery tears that dripped from her scalding eye socket."
• "Everyone in Palace Square had heard the rumors about the man who lived inside, and most people in the Village and the Woods, too, but the story was always a little different."
• "He closed and locked the gate, and before she even started on her way home he'd turned around and disappeared inside the tangles of his garden."

Okay, so some of those aren't completely better (none of these are final), but ya'll can see the way I changed the phrases, I hope? Sometimes I simply used a synonym (exchanging "hesitated" for "stopped short"), which doesn't always yield the best results, but it works. In the last example, I was lucky: the entire story had changed by the time I made it back to that phrase, so it was easier to change (which is why I mentioned that it's important to think about the cliches in the context of your work).

It helps to think in the vernacular of your story, and to really get into the head of your character. What kinds of phrases do they use that are unique to them? What about vocabulary? What are their favorite things, or their least favorite, and can those be used to describe things they they like/dislike?

To put it simply, cliches kind of suck. They bore the reader, and they're a challenge to change because we're so used to using them, intentionally or not. The challenge (and we all love challenges, right?) is in brainstorming those new ideas: twist a tired phrase and create something new for your readers to enjoy.

What are some common cliches that you see often? What about in your own writing? How do you go about finding them, and how do you fix them?

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Twist a tired phrase and create something new. Blogger @Rae_Slater talks cliche phrases, and how to fix them (Click to Tweet)

Trying to re-word a cliched phrase? Think about your brainstorming as a game of association (Click to Tweet)

The Research Chronicles: March 2015

How it works: On the last day (or week; I'll be doing Wednesdays) of each month, you do a post about what you researched in that past month for your novel or other writing project, sharing links to articles, blog posts, videos and more. It’s also a way that you can gather all your information you researched, tell your readers why you researched it and in the process you are leaving this information open for your readers and other writers to use.

This blog hop/link-up, of sorts, is free for anyone to join in and not only have fun sharing what you researched (whether it be actual research of writing tips) but also connecting with other writers and assisting them in the areas of research!

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I fail at life because I really didn't do that much research this month (may the writing and college gods smite me, I guess). I've been doing so much rewriting and edits that I haven't come across many holes in my WIP that need to be researched to fill in properly.

So...I'm sorry.

However, I'm always running across great articles about writing in general. As a writer who enjoys writing from multiple points of views, this article from Writers Helping Writers gives some Tips When Writing Multiple POV Novels, and while some of them I knew and always kept in mind, I learned a few more tidbits that are useful to keep in mind.

Here's also a fun fact that relates to my WIP: tungsten carbide is two times stiffer than steel and is denser than steel and titanium.

Another fun fact (relating to my WIP): the Riodinidae butterfly (commonly known as Metalmarks) are really pretty, and the pigment in their wings reflects light the same way as metal does.

(Pro-tip: when researching, it's okay to click on a Wikipedia article first. Skim it, then use the links under the 'references' section to get more reputable sources to double-check the facts in the article).

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Like I said, I've completely failed in terms of researching this month. Hopefully next month I'll have some more stuff for you, but until then: remember that researching is actually really fun (but only when looking up things that relate to your WIP and not when you're trying to write a research paper for something school related. I mean, depending on the subject, that could be fun, too, I guess. But this is self-assigned, which automatically makes it better).

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What did blogger @Rae_Slater research this month for her writing? It involves tungsten carbide: (Click to Tweet)

The Research Chronicles: a new feature (hosted by @ABookishFangurl) to showcase your monthly research (Click to Tweet)

Writer's Block: Roadblocks and Detours

So last Wednesday I woke up at my usual 5 a.m., sat down at my laptop with a nice, big mug of coffee...and then I stared at a page on Microsoft Word that only had the word "Eleven" at the top of it.

I did that for an hour.

The thing was, I was torn: half of me wanted to write one scene, and the other half kept calling the first half stupid. I was more inclined to listen to the second half, because the scene I kept thinking about was simple and contrived, and something that I definitely knew would not be in the best interests of my current WIP.

What I'm trying to say is: I had a dose of writer's block. It didn't last long (like I said, only an hour), but it was a rather difficult hour (given that I give up sleep to write in the mornings). Whether you believe in writer's block or not isn't the point of this post; instead, the point is that when you're stuck, try to think critically about why.

I have a theory that whenever I can't write, there's a reason. Maybe it has nothing to do with the writing, itself: it might be something happening in my personal/emotional life. In which case: hey, I can take a step back and go watch anime and Disney movies and lump around for a bit (until I'm feeling better).

All too often, though, I can't write because something in my WIP, itself, just isn't working. In which case I spend time staring at a blank page (like yesterday morning; I hope ya'll sort of see where I'm going?). But instead of doing nothing and waiting for inspiration for strike, I fully recommend being proactive about beating your writer's block (hence: take a detour).

The trick is to be very aware of your WIP and your own writing style. Look back to that third paragraph: my brain was telling me to take the easy way, but my gut instinct said that it was too simple, that it wouldn't work. No matter how much I was tempted to, I didn't write what I already knew was a bad idea.

So neither should you.

The problem, then, for me was that I had no clue what would be better to put in that contrived scene's place. So I skimmed through the previous 18 k and started thinking about plot points that haven't been introduced yet, and plot arcs that hadn't even been started. I thought: what could happen to this character that would have the most impact, and that wouldn't have the same impact if it happened to another (for those of you not up to speed: my WIP is told from two different POVs).

And then: ta-da! I figured something out, was eternally grateful my CP was awake, ran it by her, got the okay, then wrote.

If you're experiencing a block, try looking back over what you've written so far and ask yourself what might have gone wrong. Or brainstorm potential scenes that could go next, and think critically about whether they belong. A big part of this is understanding your own writing methodology and your own goals in writing your WIP: go back to the core of your story and find the basic theme or plot that you're trying to tell (something simple: family, friendship, loss, etc.). Then go back to your WIP and see if any ideas have been sparked.

Here's a reason why it's also a good thing to have CPs who are familiar with you and your writing: you can also talk to them and see if they can help you brainstorm. What you need to remember, though, is that nobody knows you and your writing better than you do, so if you find yourself stuck, try taking a look at your own writerly bad habits (as in: the things you do to just to make it "easy," such as lazy plot filler, a hacked-up backstory. We're all guilty of them, particularly in early drafts). Odds are slightly, sort of, almost pretty good that they might have something to do about it (one of my own bad habits is lazy plot filler, which is what that contrived scene would have been).

You'll be surprised how easy it is to find where you're going wrong if you look at your own weaknesses (again: we all have them, and they're nothing to be ashamed of. Just admit them to yourself, and you'll find that you can catch them before you even start).

So now I'm curious: this is my personal way of figuring out where and why I'm stuck in my writing. What kinds of detours do you take to get around writing roadblocks?

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Writer's block? Blogger @Rae_Slater shares her method of taking detours around those pesky writing roadblocks (Click to Tweet)

Nobody knows your writing method better than you, so if you're stuck try to think critically about why (Click to Tweet)

Writerly Bad Habits

My cuticles are a mess. My thumbs, in particular, are a bit scarred from the bad habit that I have of picking at the skin with my other fingernails. It's the way I deal with anxiety, a purely unconscious habit that I always tell myself I'm going to stop, but I haven't yet.

But this post isn't about those kinds of bad habits. This post is about something even better (or worse?): Writerly Bad Habits.

Just like we all have different writing processes, writing strengths, and writing weaknesses, we also all have different writerly bad habits. These are things that we might be conscious about or not, but they always show up (most likely in the first drafts of novels, or else if it's more of a hitch in the process, it's something that might slow you down).

The worst part is: your concerned friends in the writing community (and your CPs) tell you that it's a bad idea (in case you run it by them, first), and then you reason with both yourself and them in an effort to not feel bad about doing it.

Case-in-point: my worst writerly bad habit happens during revisions and rewrites. I'll get about 10-20k (sometimes more) into a revision of a WIP, then decide that something isn't working and that it needs to be fixed right this second...and then I start over. From the beginning.

I've done it about three or four times this year, alone. On a single project. Ask Hannah Hunt. She knows. And she's perfect and deals with me so often it's not even funny.

So that's my writerly bad habit. I simply cannot keep writing to the end if I think that a detail (or many) are so wrong in the beginning that it's leading my entire novel astray. Which means I start over a lot (I'm pretty sure I have about eight different versions of the first 20 k of my WIP. And only three full drafts).

I also have another one, and it has to do with being a lazy plot-filler person. But the whole restarting thing is my biggest one.

You've probably guessed it, but here I go: what's your writerly bad habit?

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Admit it: you've got a #writerlybadhabit. Blogger @Rae_Slater shares hers, and invites you to do the same (Click to Tweet)

The Villain as the Failed Hero: Humanizing Antagonists

So here's the thing: villains are not villains just so they can twirl their mustaches and say, "Ha! See? I'm evil!"

Just like your good guys, your bad guys have a history. Just like your good guys, they have reasons for doing things. The difference is, the reader tends to not see many of those reasons. Sure, they might get the Sparknotes version eventually, but even then it'll be watered-down; most of the roots of the villainry are trapped below the surface.

Which means they're doubly hard to write.

Villains and antagonists don't sit in the dark corners of their bedrooms plotting ways to be evil. In fact, the most convincing and realistic-and thus terrifying-villains are those who believe that they're the ones doing good; if you told your novel from their point of view, they'd be the good guys.

So when you're writing them, imagine they're the good guys.

What are they fighting for? What do they care about? What do they hope their actions will do? Who do they care about most, if anyone? If they're doing bad, and they know that it's bad, then why? What changed? Try writing a few hundred words of the most pivotal moment of their life. How are you looking at them differently, now?

Bad guys are only human (unless your bad guy is literally not of the human species, but still). They have flaws. They also have feelings. When you're writing your novel, make sure that you're doing them the respect they deserve and show them, and you'll be on your way to humanizing them, because every character exists on a blurred line: nothing's ever black or white.

Think of it this way: villains are the heroes who were never saved. While that's only one possible trope for characterizing your villains, antagonists, and overall baddies (of whatever caliber), it's a good place to start.

So I kind of already gave ya'll my own way of getting to know my villains: write something from their point of view. How do ya'll go about getting to know your bad guys?

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Crafting a believable bad guy? Try imagining they're the good guy. Blogger @Rae_Slater talks humanizing antagonists (Click to Tweet)

Writer Beware: Omniscience

I feel like I talk about point of view a lot, but it's fascinating, and today's subject is something that I feel is extremely important when choosing to write from an omniscient point of view.

Back in December, I wrote a post about writing from multiple perspectives, and based on a few books I've read recently (not naming names), there's something that I really want to reiterate, both as a reader who enjoys books told from multiple points of view and a writer who enjoys writing from multiple points of view:

If you choose to write from an omniscient point of view, make sure every character you choose as a perspective as a point of view that's pertinent to moving your story along.

Omniscience the the all-knowing. It's when you give yourself the freedom to jump into the head of any and every character in your book, even if it's just once. It gives you a lot of freedom as an author: you can tell the reader things that many of the other characters won't know until later. A really great example of this is what I've seen in Maureen Johnson's series, THE SHADES OF LONDON. There are small chapters told from an outside point of view of the main character, and these are points of view that we only see once: most of them tell the reader that there's a ghost involved in whatever crime is being investigated.

What's the effect of this? The world of the novel believes these crimes to be committed by a human, while the reader knows it was a ghost. It's dramatic irony in its finest.

It's a really compelling idea to occasionally jump into another mind and tell the story from there for a few pages; when done right, as I mentioned above, it can have a great effect in the reader's experience, upping the suspense.

However, it's also a really dangerous move if you're not paying careful attention to whose mind you're choosing to jump into, and what information they have to give.

Note that I bolded that. Because it's important.

If your narrative is going to occasionally dip into another, minor character, then you, as the author, have to be very certain that their perspective has something to offer the story. They need to have information, an observation, an action that relates directly to the plot; otherwise, when you're reader reads it, they're going to sit there and wonder why the heck you took a deviation from the main characters or the main plot line. If there isn't anything pertinent, you run the risk of losing a level of respect from the person who's spending a good few hours of their life devoted to your books.

Don't waste your reader's time by doing that. It's not fair to either of you.

What do you think? Do you like omniscience as a point of view choice? When do you like it more, and when do you like it less? Let's have a conversation, shall we?

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Writer Beware: if you choose to write with omniscience, make sure the character has info worth sharing (Click to Tweet)

Blogger @Rae_Slater thinks omniscience is a great way to build suspense, but be sure to not waste your reader's time (Click to Tweet)

Making Your Work Stand Out

So this is something I've come across in my Nonfiction workshop, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it can be applied to fiction, as well.

Anyone can write a story; what matters is how you make it yours.

Let me talk Nonfiction for a moment (I'm learning a lot, by the way; if ya'll ever get the chance to learn about writing different genres, do it). We've read many nonfiction articles (magazine essays, lyric essays, and magazine articles), and now we're at the point where we've turned in our own essays for workshop. I've been really nervous about critiquing since I've never studied nonfiction in-depth, but I've been doing my best. And I've realized that my most common comment has been: expand.

See, in Nonfiction, I'm not quite sure vagueness works. Here's why:

While everyone in the world might suffer the same kinds of thoughts/emotions/situations at one point or another, there's always a distinct something that makes it unique to the person telling the story. What's the reason that this story can't be told by anyone else but you? It's the author's job to make their piece stand out, to bring something new to those situations that most people are already familiar with.

Which brings me to how this applies to writing fiction: it's the author's job to bring something new to the kinds of plots and themes that most of us are already familiar with.

Some say there's only seven basic plots to fiction, constantly being told and retold. Whether you believe this or not, something else to think about is that there's only so many conflicts (man vs man, man vs self, man vs nature, man vs society, etc). There's also only one hero's journey.

There's thousands of books that get queried from hopeful new authors every year. It's a very small percentage that actually get accepted by an agent, and it's an even smaller percentage that get picked up by a publishing house. It's not good enough to simply write, especially if all you're doing is following (or copying) the trend that's making its rounds in the market.

You need to stand out and make your work different. To use a phrase from Big Hero 6 (which, psh, no, I have not been watching on repeat all weekend): "Find a different angle." You need to make your work so obviously you and so obviously dazzling that it stands out from all the rest of the books that are probably similar to yours in some way or another.

So how do you do that?

• Voice
• Characters
• Setting

Those are just to name a very small few. Why didn't I include plot up there? Because I've already mentioned that many plots are the same (star-crossed lovers, rags to riches, a quest, rebirth). And, besides, adding plot might even limit you.

A book is made up of many, many, many elements besides the huge ones that we tend to talk about (I tend to talk about plot and characters a lot, for instance), and it's how you approach them that makes all the difference. Capture the personalities of your characters; set your plot in a place nobody would expect (for example, many agents are looking for settings that aren't in the U.S. but rather somewhere exotic and just plain different). Think critically about what happens and which character is responsible. Take care with your narrative voice; whether you're writing in the first person or third (or second, because that's a POV, too), write it with flair (an example of some really good narrative voice is THE RAVEN BOYS books by Maggie Stiefvater; in fact, for any of those bullet points I'd recommend checking her out because of the life she breathes into small-town Virginia and the huge and very distinct cast of characters).

The thing you want to do is take a step back from your manuscript, cock your head to the side a little bit, and say, "What makes mine so different? What's the reason that nobody else could have written this?"

Something that I also do a lot (and if any of my CPs are reading, then, well, the truth is out): I look at what I'm writing and compare it to the kinds of things my CPs write; two of them write in almost the same genre (conspiracies and science fiction and thrillers, oh my), so I ask myself what I'm doing that they wouldn't.

**Note: it's a totally different process than sound-boarding ideas off them and asking them for help in fixing plot holes; they might help fix a problem you're having, but when you enact that fix, it's all yours in the way you sew it into your manuscript.**

So that's my little general rant-ish thing. In a nutshell: anyone can write a book, but it's up to you to make it stand out from the crowd, whether it's through excessive reading and research, nonstop practice, a keen eye for detail, the personality you put into it (or, preferably: all the the above).

Have anything to add? Thoughts or questions? I'd love to hear your take on how to make a book stand out. What do you do to add some sparkle to your pages?

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Blogger @Rae_Slater talks writing, and how it's up to you to make your novel just a little bit different. (Click to Tweet)

Characters and Interiority: Thought-Processes

So I was going to write a post on telling vs. showing and why telling is sometimes acceptable but only in small doses (never in large doses; I promise you the reader would roll their eyes). Then I was going to write a post about antagonists and how you have to humanize them in order to make them not only believable, but to allow to reader to sympathize them in some way.

Then I was sitting at my laptop going, "Um, I really have no clue how to talk about either of those right now." So those are coming, eventually; promise!

Instead I decided to write on something that I personally struggle with as a writer; it's something that's also been my thesis adviser's number one suggestion so far after reading the first two rough drafts of two short stories I'm writing for my senior project.

Interiority.

Technically it's not a word, but I'm ignoring that: in my world, it's totally a word. And it's fun to say. So what is interiority? Simply, it's the inner-workings of your character. As the title suggests: it's their thoughts and their thought-processes; it's their vision of the world and how that vision impacts what they do and what they say.

It's a large part of making your reader connect to your characters, and particularly the character whose perspective the reader is spending time in. Whether you're writing in first person or third, interiority is important.

It's also really hard to do without doing a whole lot of telling. In my opinion, at least (remember: I'm horrible at interiority and it's been my adviser's number one suggestion for improving my short stories; I am by no means an expert).

So if I'm not an expert, why am I explaining all this? Put simply: it helps me learn. I hope it helps you learn, too. (Also: I've never claimed to be an expert on anything involved in this writing thing, so there's that, too).

Despite that, I think there's one easy way to both understand your character's inner workings, as well as show the reader the character's inner workings; and it'll sound more natural.

Write your first draft. However you want. By this time, you should already have at least a little bit of an idea of what your character's motives are, so that'll help you write them and their actions. Once you've got the actions written, go back. Start again and add to the skeleton. You know what you're character's doing, now attempt to unravel the why. What makes them come to the conclusions that they do?

There's a lot of work that comes into this part. What's helped me is to consider a number of things:

• Consider your character's back story. Their history will help define their future; it determines the way they act on psychological scales. Memories are powerful things, so use them.
• Consider their relationship with others. Everyone's influenced by somebody else. Something somebody else did, something someone else said. Whether that somebody is a friend or an enemy also has an impact, and determines how far under the skin their influence can get. There's also peer pressure: does that somebody want your character to do something? How does that make them feel?
• Consider recent events. It's pretty common for people and characters to react and do things without thinking things through when they're in high-stress situations. Likewise, they're also going to react in strange ways when they have a longer time to think. Think about how much time they have to make a decision, and also what kinds of things have happened recently that might influence those decisions; odds are these events could be at the forefront of their minds.
• Consider your character's motivations. I kind of already mentioned this before I started this list, but a character's motivations are absolutely key. Whatever they're doing, and whatever decision they're making, the odds are that they'll be hoping that their actions bring them closer to their goals, whatever it is.

Like I said, I'm not an expert on this. Far from it. Yet the above list are some of the things I've been thinking about in order to explain my character's thoughts and actions in those short stories I'm writing; they all run in conjunction with many of the other comments my adviser has had to say: things about their goals and their relationships with other characters, in particular.

The key is that you don't have to have a detailed list of how one thought leads to another with a character. What you do have to do, however, is make the reader familiar enough with the character;s thoughts and life that, when they do make those leaps, the reader can follow them and use them to gain an opinion on the character.

If that makes sense. I hope? If ya'll have any suggestions or corrections or additions for me, let me have them; what kinds of things do you do or think about to really get your readers inside the mind of your character?

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Blogger @Rae_Slater talks interiority in characters: her biggest struggle, and how she's attempting to get around it (Click to Tweet)

Why It's Okay to Take a Step Back From Writing

No matter how stressful writing can be, I think most (if not all) writers can agree that it's a large, very happy part of our lives. It's fun, and in many cases it's the one place where we can really be ourselves, especially when we find The One.

You know what I'm talking about: you've written many other ideas, finished some books, but sometimes they just don't grab you as much as they could. You get bored of it. Yet every now and again you find The One, and you can spend as much time as you can imagine on it and never get bored. It's the manuscript you've been waiting for to hopefully publish one day because it's important to you.

Yet even The One can give you too much stress. It happens. You write, and you write, and you rewrite, and you edit, and you add some scenes, and you cut a character, and you fill in plot holes only to find there's now more plot holes. You're dedicating your life to make this thing perfect and sometimes it's just not working.

One of my biggest pieces of advice for new writers (and many who have been writing for years) is to put away your novel once you've finished it for the first time. Give yourself a week, two weeks is better. Don't look at it and, if you can help it, don't even think about it. That'll help you look at it with a fresh eye when you go back to start revising.

That's one reason to take a step back.

There's another reason: sometimes, the stress becomes too much. No matter how hard you work on it, maybe things just aren't coming together. You've lost yourself, and if it starts becoming more like a chore than an intriguing puzzle, then maybe it's a sign that you need to put it away for a few weeks.

Put simply: maybe you've been working on it for too long; the stress to make it live up to what you know it can be can burn you out.

And that's okay. You might need to just take a break and focus on other things, even if those other things are other ideas you've had floating around. It's okay to cheat on your manuscript, because oftentimes you need a way to stretch that creativity in directions that your manuscript won't allow you, maybe due to plot/genre restrictions, or even the format. Try writing a poem or short story instead of a novel; grab a coloring books and scribble outside the lines.

Getting burnt out happens. It's nothing to feel guilty about, either. Because you don't need to write every single day to be considered a writer, and often times you need to clear your mind and come back with that fresh eye I talked about, even if you're in the middle of a sentence when you need to stop.

It's all about mental health: sometimes we tend to stress ourselves out over things in our novel that are actually quite simple to figure out. Take some time away, and come back only when you feel like you're ready and eager to dive in again.

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Blogger @Rae_Slater says you have nothing to feel guilty about if you take a step back from your writing. Here's why (Click to Tweet)

If writing starts to feel more like a chore than an intriguing puzzle, consider taking a writing break (Click to Tweet)

Is That Character Really Necessary?

Quick apologies: my weekend was oddly stressful, which means my thoughts are muddled. I really hope this post makes sense.

For the entire month of December (and most of January) I was trying to get a start on rewriting my WIP. It was painfully hard. Ya'll might remember last month when I wrote my post on Conversations with a Character, and finally managed to figure out where I was going wrong (when my character called me out on being lazy).

Then I looked at one of my characters and realized his presence was a bit odd. I didn't know anything about him. Who are you, Connor? I asked. And then I nearly fell back in my chair when I had that thought, What do you even do?

What dawned on me, then, was that this character--a strapping young man named Connor--actually wasn't necessary. His presence wasn't vital to the plot. I could replace him. As in: I realized I could take him out and put another character (who already had a large part in the plot) in his place, and nothing changed.

Whoa, right?

When writing a novel, everything's important: every word, every sentence, every dialogue, every setting, every character. We all know this, right? One of the problems comes, in my opinion, when looking at characters in particular, especially if you're already done with draft one and you've moved on to rewrites and edits.

That problem? You love all your characters as if you gave birth to them. Then you're editing and you start to wonder why you have so many characters and are they all absolutely needed to make your novel's world go 'round?

It's hard, but that's why you actually should wait for editing to do this, since you're already in a heartless, kill-your-darlings state of mind, anyway.

To solve the dilemma of whether a character is actually really needed, ask yourself (and I did ask myself this) one question: What does that character have to offer?

It's a tough question, particularly when you look at books in a series. Take Harry Potter or even Maggier Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle into consideration: a large cast of characters, and some of them don't have much to do until book two/three/etc. In this case, you have to be willing to look to the future of your novel to determine whether the character in question has anything that might be useful to you or to the story line.

For the purposes of this post, simply look at your character and their purpose (every character has a purpose: protagonist, antagonist, foil, anti-hero, hero; they're the comic relief, they're the gatekeeper, they're the secret keeper. Get the point?) and ask yourself if there's any other character that can take on that exact role, or can carry out that character's duties in addition to their own without anything changing.

If the answer to that question is yes, then perhaps you might want to reconsider their presence.

To be honest, when looking at the necessity of a character it's usually the side and minor characters that go under the ax. Main characters are easy: of course nobody else can do their job (and if somebody else can do their job, then you should probably reconsider them, as well).

If one of those major characters can do the job of a minor, or if you can combine multiple minor characters, odds are that's what needs to be done. As I already said: in my WIP, I was able to replace Connor with another character with none of the consequences changing; the same ripple effects spread out among my other characters. Which meant that Connor wasn't really necessary. It tightened my plot more than you can imagine.

So that's my quick post on determining the necessity of a character. How do you deal with the realization that your cast might be too big?

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Blogger @Rae_Slater talks characters, and how to tell if they're all really as crucial to your plot as you might think. (Click to Tweet)

What does that character have to offer? How to tell if it's time to give that character the ax (Click to Tweet)

How Changing My Writing Schedule Changed My Writing Life

Today I want to issue a an extremely genuine and heart-felt thank you to miss Ava Jae, of Writability. See, a few weeks ago she wrote a blog post called How I Became a Morning Person, in which she talks about why she gets up so early in the morning to simply get things done.

At first, I thought, "Well, Miss Ava Jae, you are a much better woman than I will ever be."

Then I realized: my semester was about to start.

For all of 2014 (Spring and Fall semesters), I had to take a writing hiatus during classes. I was reading too much and writing too many analytic papers, which, if ya'll haven't tried it, yet, takes up a lot of time. It's a time-eater is what it is. Which meant that I would try to write in the afternoons/late nights after I got my most pressing homework done, but I was too tired. Therefore: writing breaks and hiatuses. Which I hated.

After reading Ava's post, I had a thought: What's the harm in trying this for a week and seeing what happens? So I set my alarm for 5 a.m. on the weekdays, which gives me roughly 1.5 hours to write on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and about 1.75 hours to write on Mondays and Wednesdays, before turning on the morning news and grabbing my breakfast (and putting on makeup, putting on pants, etc. But it's after I grab my coffee because, well, coffee).

That was one month ago, and since then quite a number of extremely positive things have happened:

• I've added about 25 k to my current project, THE HOLLOW MEN. 25 k in a month may not sound like a lot, but considering everything else I've done in this past month, this rocks (check out my word count in the sidebar; I update it almost daily).
• I no longer feel stressed/pressured to write during the day. If you're in college, or have been in college, you know how much of a stress it already is to get your homework done. So add the mental pressure of carving out time to write, and you're screwed. Now that I get all of my writing done in the morning, the entire rest of my day (roughly 8 30 a.m. thru 8 p.m) can be reserved for school work and other things (like reading and editing for friends and CPs) guilt-free.
• I can separate my "personal" writing from my school writing. Maybe this sounds like it should go in the category above, but let me explain: my "personal" writing is my WIP. My "school" writing, however, currently includes a fiction workshop, a nonfiction workshop, a poetry workshop, and my thesis (thesis will be roughly four short stories; everything else requires weekly creative writing assignments). This means that I can fully separate my novel from my creative assignments; it's simply a great way to compartmentalize.
• There's a solid 24 hours in which I can simply brainstorm. I'm the kind of writer who likes to jump in and write and just see what happens. By designating my mornings for writing, it forces me to slow down, take my time, and think about what, exactly, goes next. Which means if I get stuck in the morning--even after only an hour--I'm okay with stopping because, heck, I know for a fact I'll have time tomorrow.
• There are no distractions. Okay, only partial truth: I still have the internet, but the plus side is that many people aren't up, yet, so social media is about half dead. What I really mean is that my roommate is still asleep, so it basically feels like I'm home alone, which means there's less external distractions and talking breaks, and more writing.
• I realized that the sun doesn't come up until about 6 30 a.m. Yes, this is a strange thing to say. Part of the reason I always thought myself so productive at night (even though I never got anything done--homework or otherwise--after about 8 30 p.m.) was because I thought myself a night owl, when the truth is: I'm more of a dark owl? I just love the night, before the sun comes up. It gives me a very lonely and closed-in feeling, which is compatible with the atmosphere I need while writing. So since it's still dark when I wake up, I'm completely productive.

And, well, there you go: why changing my writing schedule has worked out for me really well. So, thank you, Ava, for bringing up why you switched to mornings, because it encouraged me to try it out, too. And if I hadn't, I probably wouldn't be so far into my current draft. It's taught me a lot about the ways scheduling a particular writing time can help the creative process.

Plus, these days, I actually get excited to wake up early. It's the funnest part of my day, now.

There is a negative: I'm slightly more tired as the day goes on, especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays (when I work from 8 30 to 11 30 and then I have class from 11 45 until 8 at night). But, it's not completely incapacitating, so long as I have a mid-afternoon coffee.

The moral of my story: always keep your mind open for trying new things with your writing process; you never know how it might help.

What about ya'll? When are you the most productive with your writing, and how'd you figure that out?

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In which @Rae_Slater thanks writer @Ava_Jae for inspiring her to change her writing schedule, and why it's worked (Click to Tweet)

How revamping your writing schedule might be just what you need to be productive (Click to Tweet)

Finding Your Theme, and Writing It

Quick Announcements/Shameless Plugs:

• I'm running a giveaway on Twitter that lasts until this Saturday. Check out this giveaway tweet for a chance to win some books from moi!
• I fell into the void that is tumblr. So, I plan on posting not only blog posts, but many photos/quotes/music videos and other things that inspire me when I write, as well as bookish news that comes from the webisphere. Interested? Check out the pink tumblr button on the sidebar, or go to http://raeoestreich.tumblr.com/

Alright, now let's get back to business (and if you sang that in Shang's voice, you get a cookie).

So I kind of feel like I'm cheating with today's writing post. The reason is because I had this idea, and then Hannah Hunt talked about this same exact idea on her blog. And she said it really well (as usual). However, she and I have already figured out that we're brain twins, so this is okay. So, before you continue, I recommend checking out Hannah's advice on Finding the Core of Your Story, because it's fantastic.

As my title suggests, what I find really important--before you begin writing a novel--is figuring out some sort of theme for your novel. Now, hear me out (and I apologize if I'm bringing up nightmares of English classes), but here's the thing:

Figuring out a theme will help you figure out what kind of story you want to tell; once you know what kind of story you want to tell, you'll be able to write with some kind of coherency. Your characters have motivation; once you figure out the theme, you'll know your motivation, as well. And the writer's motivation is very important.

Example:

When I started writing THE HOLLOW MEN, I knew one thing: I wanted to tell a story of friendship between two girls who weren't in the least bit the same, who were both battling their own demons. I wanted to create a family between characters who have lost everything. And I wanted to tell a story about the ugly side of war and rebellion.

Keeping these things in mind (and I listed them in the order of most important down, although they're all important) gives me a goal; keeping these things in mind, every scene and sentence I write will lead to the fulfillment of these goals. I think it gives my writing a coherency, and any time I get lost I simply have to remember these themes to help me get back on track, or help me figure out where I went wrong.

These aren't superficial ideas. These are the ideas that should exist right at your novel's core.

What are the themes in your novel that keep you on track?

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Before you write, "figuring out a theme will help you figure out what kind of story you want to tell" (Click to Tweet)

Your characters have a motivation, but what's yours? @Rae_Slater explains the importance of finding your novel's theme (Click to Tweet)

Creating Characters Using Pieces of You

(Real fast, let's just revel in the excitement that today is post number 200 on the blog! *throws confetti*)

When it comes to crafting characters, making them feel real is the goal. Giving them real dreams, motivations, ambitions, and relationships is what's going make the reader not only believe in them, but to care for them.

The way to do this is to consider one of the most basic pieces of writing advice: write what you know.

So how's this work? Look at the characters you already have, in whatever project you're working on. Break them down until you can identify their most basic personality traits. While it's true that you should have a diverse range (to make them unique from one another), you'll more than likely also find yourself in there, one piece per character. If you put each character into one, giant person: you'll have yourself.

The trouble is, this happens subconsciously. You can try, upon planning out an idea, to purposely plan each character to a certain trait of yours, but in that case you might find them forced. The trick is to let them evolve naturally, and then pick them apart once you've got them settled into their skins. This is going to really help you when it comes to figuring out their motivation.

Let me use an example:

In my current WIP, I have a lovely, purple-haired character named Wren. To put it simply, she's a bit of a bitch: she's obsessed with her work (hacking); she distrusts everybody she meets; and she's perfectly blunt in everything she says, often putting her own work above that of others and only telling them what she feels they need to know (or answering their questions in the most simplest of ways; one-word answers are kind of her favorite things). Now, let's compare this to me (and, hey, you're going to learn something about me):

Obsessed with my work? Yep. When I'm not doing homework, I'm doing writing or working on this blog. I don't have a social life. Or many friends.

Distrusts everybody I meet? Haha, yeah...there's a reason I don't have many friends, and that's because of past encounters and the fact that it takes a lot of time for me to really trust anyone with anything beyond normal, day-to-day, superficial interactions.

Blunt? Okay, this is only occasionally. What I say and what I think are two wildly different things (I'm a notorious people-pleaser); however, Wren says exactly what she thinks, whereas I keep my thoughts to myself. So here's a halfway point.

How does this help me figure out her motivation? Well, as it so happens, I know myself very well. I know that I work so hard because there's a part of me that's afraid of failing myself and failing my family; I know that I distrust everybody on first meeting because some of my closest friends have let me down (ex-close friends, I should mention; I've become much pickier in who I actually let in); lastly, I suppose I'm so blunt (in my thoughts) because I've always felt judged on some level, which means that when my verbal shortness does come out, it means I'm so stressed that I can't keep it in.

This is all extremely helpful when it comes to Wren: she's terrified of letting down her family (father dead, brother almost died, mother always worried out of her mind); her father's closest friends were the very people who killed him, and there's also the fact that everyone she works with keeps secrets, so she feels she has the right to keep secrets of her own; she's so rude to people because she feels as if she's on a deadline, which means she's given herself a mental ticking clock so she doesn't have time to waste if she wants to bring her father's killers to justice before they win everything.

*

I could do this with all of my characters; if you like, leave me a comment and I'll do another. Just notice how I go from one step to the next: identify the character's natural traits (after a bit of first-drafting and planning; make sure to pay attention with the pieces of them that are natural); then, I figure out where those traits are inside of me. Then, I examine myself and figure out why I sometimes act the same way, which naturally leads to the reasons why Wren is the way she is.

Build your characters like this, and I guarantee that you'll be able to write them a lot easier, and that they'll come across more naturally in the long run: remember, write what you know, and if you look closely you'll realize that you can identify with everything your characters are going through, which means it might be easier than you think to figure out what they're fighting for.

Well, what are your thoughts? What's your best way of developing your characters?

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Trying to craft realistic characters? Blogger @Rae_Slater recommends looking no further than your own personality (Click to Tweet)

Creating Characters Using Pieces of You: a trick to crafting real characters, with real motivation (Click to Tweet)

Outlining Your Novel by Looking at the Big Picture

Last week, while I was having difficulties figuring out what to blog about, a friend asked me to blog about my plotting process. We'd had a conversation sometime before that in which I told her that I plot out my novels using index cards, so I thought it might be a good idea to go ahead and write on that.

Then I realized: I'd already blogged about using index cards last year. So, if you're interested, please check out my post: Organizing Your Novel's Plot (a.k.a.: Creating a Murder Board is Extremely Helpful When Plotting (or Replotting) Your Novel). Long story short: use index cards to help outline the most basic plot points of your novel.

I've decided to expand on that post in a very basic way by simply explaining it. In that post, I talk about writing every basic plot point on an index card, and pinning them up on some kind of bulletin board in order: that way, you can easily move the scenes around to come up with the strongest skeleton for your novel.

So what comes next?

Easy. In my own experience, this method works best because my mental process tends to work from big picture, to small. So I imagine the basis of the plot (theme, main character arcs and motivations, etc). But when it comes to knowing what the characters are going to do between those scenes (smaller arcs, reactions, dialogue, etc), I tend not to know until I'm actually writing.

Think of your index cards as your outline. The most basic outline of your novel. Once you have those stepping stones in place, you can begin filling in the blanks with pebbles.

In this case, pebbles = details. Once you don't have to worry about the big picture (the main plot points), your brain might be more willing to focus on the smaller things. Think of it this way: you can't connect the dots before you have any dots to connect. Bob has to get to the store before he runs into his old flame, and odds are none of ya'll knew he was going to run into his flame until he actually got to the store.

I'm the kind of person who doesn't know what's going to happen until I actually write it, which is why this method works for me. All I need to know is where the character's going: they're walking from point A to point B, but anything can happen in between. It helps me keep an open mind, which allows my characters (in my opinion) to come off as more natural and individual beings.

So, that's my plotting process. If you're having difficulties with your novel, I invite you to try it out (check out that post I linked to for a more in-depth explanation on exactly how I use the index cards and bulletin board). Admittedly, though, if you're the kind of writer who has to have an extremely detailed outline of the entire novel before starting to write (which, honestly, I envy those of ya'll who can do that), then perhaps this method won't work so much.

In any case, there you have it: how to look at your novel from the big picture to the small and why I think it's useful.

Let me know what you think, and I'd love to hear other outlining processes if ya'll have 'em.

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Blogger @Rae_Slater explains her outlining process: index cards, and looking at the big picture before the details (Click to Tweet)

Sometimes, taking a look at the big picture of your novel now can help you figure the details later (Click to Tweet)

Conversations with a Character

I'm sending out a PSA to say that after reading this, you might be questioning my sanity a little more than you probably already do. So. Just warning ya'll.

If you're in the middle (or beginning, or end, or still plotting) of your novel, and you get stuck, there's a really fun exercise you can do to both get your own gears working in terms of how things inside your novel work, and how to get inside one of your character's heads.

Try talking to them.

I know what you're thinking, "Rae, I can't have an open conversation with them. People will think I'm crazy!"

News: if people don't already think you're crazy, you're probably doing this whole writerly thing wrong.

Here's where this is coming from: I've been working on my WIP for a little over a year, now; unfortunately, not consecutively. The last two semesters of college took a lot of writing time away from me, so it's mostly been during the summer/winter break. But still. I'm on my third draft (well, draft 3.5; don't have me get into why  have so many half-drafts. It just kind of happens), and I was working on beginning this most recent drat in December when I was completely stuck. I mean: something was so strangely wrong with my WIP that I couldn't figure out what in the world I was doing wrong. It was maddening, and no amount of talking with my CP was helping to fix it. The really scary thing was: it was the first time ever that I doubted myself with this idea.

So, finally, I said, "Rae, we're going to go have a conversation with Moe." (Moe's one of two main characters, and she's a doll when she isn't being mean to me).

And here's what some of that conversation looks like:

Me: Okay, Moe. Obviously I'm doing something wrong with the beginning of your story. Any ideas?

Moe: *snorts*I'm a thief. And Hadley and I don't work well together. You've got it right, there-

Me: Yeah, but...Come on, Moe, this doesn't feel at least a little fishy?

Moe: Well...I mean, if you really want to get technical: Jackson. don't get me wrong, I like him-

Me: You *like* him?

Moe: /blushes/ He's genuine, okay? But, still. I don't want anything to do with Hadley, *or* her life. How the hell do you expect us to meet? What makes you think I'd give him the time of day?

Me: Huh...I think you've actually got a point there.

Moe: And for that matter, Kara's *smart*. She's not stupid. How the hell do you think me or Hadley could keep Hadley's work from her for *three years*? I get that she was only eleven when Mom died and all, but seriously? Give her more credit than that. And Hadley's hangovers, really? If she's supposedly so good at hiding her inebriation then why the hell would she be mumbling shit to me when I'm dragging her ass home? It's lazy plot filling. Lazy hints. I can figure shit out on my own.

Me: ...Inebriation's a really big word....

*

And it went on like that for a total of 2200 words, most of which was Moe criticizing me and calling me an idiot. And I realize that a lot of the above conversation probably doesn't make sense to ya'll (it makes perfect sense to me, which is kind of the point), but what I really want to point out is the fact that my own character called me out on lazy plot filling. She called me a lazy plot filler. My own freaking character.

But you know what? She was right. I re-looked at a lot of things from my beginning, and a lot of things I was able to find through this conversation with my character were actually huge problems. Moe pointed out that one character was worthless and had no reason being in my plot whatsoever, and another was being treated as major when, in this point in time, he's actually pretty minor.

Here's the thing: as strange as it sounds, your characters know the world of your novel a heck of a lot better than you do. So sit down, have a conversation with them. See what happens when you're not busy making their life miserable. I recommend either writing it by hand, or (if you're like me and need to be typing it) use an incredibly simple word processing program like Notepad: you don't need fancy bells and whistles for this.

Chat with your character, ask them questions, let them call you out on the places you're being lazy and where you should reconsider things, or where you're getting a character completely wrong. Who knows? It might just help you in the end.

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When in doubt, talk to your characters. They know their novel better than you do via @Rae_Slater (Click to Tweet)

If your character calls you out on lazy plot-filling, consider listening. Talk with your characters via @Rae_Slater (Click to Tweet)

Avoiding the Info-Dump

It's a problem every single writer faces. Everyone. Really.

How much information should you divulge to the reader at once? Or: how much information is too much, and how little is too little? There's dangers to both: too much information at once can slow the reader down and become monotonous; too little will leave your reader utterly confused. You need to paint the picture of a world one color at a time, and even something like the genre can influence the amount of information you need to overall include in your narrative (for example, fantasy novels might require more information from the author to the reader than a gen fic/contemporary).

If you're still in the first draft of your novel, try not to worry about this too much; if anything, info-dumping in the first draft could just be your way of mentally sifting through (and then word-vomiting) anything you want to remember. No big deal.

But say you have all of your information, and now you're trying to figure out how to sprinkle it throughout instead of having a big lump of information in the middle of your novel. There's one simple question I like to ask when this happens: what does the reader need to know right at this very second?

Think about it. Is there anything that's pertinent to the reader right now? Maybe your character has a food allergy (to use a very simple example): does the reader really need to know that the character is allergic to peanuts while they're drinking their morning coffee? Wouldn't it be easier for everyone to have the character ask his/her best friend if there are peanuts in the brownies they baked for him/her instead? Or, to up the stakes: somebody purposely puts chopped peanuts in their pancakes to try and kill them. That's a good reason for the reader to know about the allergy. And those are the kinds of instances where that information becomes pertinent and important.

Did your character get a speeding ticket a few weeks back? Explain that only if your character/their parents/their friends are suddenly jabbing them about driving carefully. Not when they're sitting in math class.

Or, like many novels, say your character is just as new to a world as the reader is: consider keeping them on a need-to-know basis. Right now, I'm reading THE NAME OF THE STAR (Maureen Johnson), and it does a really great job at giving the main character, Rory, information about her new-found ghost-seeing abilities only as the information becomes pertinent. Which means she finds out about how one becomes a ghost-seeing person more than a few days before finding out how to get rid of ghosts. Granted, part of the plot is about the others like Rory trying to keep Rory out of the loop, but I highly recommend it as an excellent example of giving the reader the information they need, without overloading them.

If you keep that bolded question in mind when you're trying to spread your information about your novel, you should be in pretty cherry shape. Now, I'm not saying it'll help you solve all of your info-dumping problems, but it's a pretty good place to start. Look at your information, and ask: "Does the reader need to know this right now?" Because, sometimes, it might be able to wait.

Also consider something else: if you have a lot of information to be given to the reader at any particular moment, simply try to keep it natural. Bring it up in a conversation between multiple characters, or at least have it follow logical trains of thought (if you're revealing things through your narrative instead of dialogue).

And I'm leaving this at that before I let this post get too long. Just remember: don't drop all of your information all in one place; keep it out of your reader's reach for as long as you can without leaving them dazed and confused out in the rain.

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The best way to avoid an info-dump, as described by blogger @Rae_Slater: what does the reader need to know? (Click to Tweet)

Don't drop all of your information in one place, but don't confuse the reader. Avoiding the Info-Dump  via @Rae_Slater (Click to Tweet)

When Good Characters Make Bad Decisions

Ever had a moment where you're reading a book, and a character's about to do something really stupid, and you tell them over and over again not to do it...and then they do it anyway and consequences and repercussions and downright chaos ensue?

Yeah, that.

The thing is: sometimes a character isn't stupid, but they make stupid decisions. And while the reader is clear-headed and going, "Why would you do that?!" the character most likely isn't thinking that clear-headedly (is that a word?), which brings me to my point:

If your character is going to make a bad decision, at least give them a good reason for it. We've all done things that might not have been the smartest at the time, but think: to you it made perfect sense at the time, right?

Your characters are more than likely going through the ringer. Or the blender. Or something that chops them up into little pieces emotionally, physically, mentally, etc. Which means they're not thinking straight. So while the reader is sitting there going (again), "Why would you do that?!" you, the author, are in charge of knowing that "why" and making sure that it's not for a stupid reason (i.e.: they haven't thought of a smarter, easier, more obvious decision that everybody else can see clear as day for no better reason than, "Just because.").

What motivates bad decisions? Desperation, anger, grief, determination, fear. There's more, but those are the ones that I, personally, enjoy looking at. Basically: event A happens, it has some kind of effect on your character, and that leads them to performing actions that lead to event B (yes, no matter how much you yell at them).

Just make it natural. It's a good way of making well-rounded, three-dimensional characters if you know them well enough to be able to write out their decisions in ways that make sense. For them, it might be the only option; maybe they need to speed up the timeline of a previously-conceived plan; maybe they act on a plan that was previously shot down because of its bad-idea-ness; maybe they're simply emotionally distraught and they act without truly thinking based on why they're distraught. The list goes on, I promise. Whatever it is, you can bet they're thinking more emotionally than logically.

Which, while bad for the character, it's good for you: bad decisions make for great plot points. Things tend to go really bad, and it might, then, have some kind of profound effect on your character: it helps along their character arc in some way.

However, just make sure you're leading both the character and the reader into the bad decision in the right way: don't make the bad decision happen randomly just so you can keep the plot moving; you don't want your readers to think that your character's simply an idiot. Make the decision logical for your character and their development; have it play into their emotions and their motivations, and think about the events that lead up to the bad decision.

If I'm not making much sense, try these posts on the same subject from Helping Writers Become Authors and Ava Jae.

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Sometimes good characters make bad decisions. What to think about when characters don't think straight  via @Rae_Slater (Click to Tweet)

If your character makes a stupid decision, give them a good reason. @Rae_Slater gives you hints on what to think about (Click to Tweet)

Writing from Multiple Perspectives

More specifically: should your novel be written in two or more POVs?

(Apologies in advance: due to my possible overuse of examples, this is a bit of a long post...)

Back in July I wrote about choosing which POV to write in for your novel. Now, I want to tackle the fact that maybe you've figured out whether it should be first or third, and you've probably even known from the beginning which character to write from (this is a basic detail).

But then you realize: you think this book should be told from two perspectives. Or more. Not just one.

I'm not only a sucker for books told in multiple points of view, but much of my own works-in-progress tend to be told from the perspectives of two different characters. Some of my favorite published books are also told from multiple perspectives, including Beth Revis' ACROSS THE UNIVERSE series, Maggie Stiefvater's THE RAVEN BOYS, and Marissa Meyers' THE LUNAR CHRONICLES. It's not only extremely possible, but, personally, I think it makes a fantastic novel.

Yet there's two things that I think are vital to keep in mind when you decide to write multiple POVs:

-Each character should have a story to tell. Look at it critically: does each character have a story to tell that's crucial to the story? Do they each have a different perspective to offer, a different interaction with the setting and plot, access to important characters, and are their motivations unique?

For example: CINDER (Marissa Meyer) flips between the POV of Cinder and Prince Kai. For the purpose of this post, let's say that Cinder's role is arguably the more action-filled and plot-driving of the two; however Prince Kai gives the reader access to what's happening on a larger scale: he has access to the rest of the global leaders and government intelligence, as well as access to the antagonist and villain: Queen Levana. There is absolutely no way for Cinder to get this information, and, without it, the reader would lose a sense of urgency, as well as not quite see the larger scale of things. In her later books (SCARLET and CRESS), more perspectives are introduced, which is why I find these books so great to use as a resource: each perspective has their own unique story, skills, and information to offer.

In ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, the difference in POVs comes out more in terms of perspective: Amy is the "freak" of the Godspeed, and it's only through her 21st-century eyes that the reader sees how terribly wrong the social order on the ship is. Also: she's trying to figure out how to reunite herself with her parents. Elder, on the other hand, was born on the ship and is being bred for leadership, giving him access to different information (much like Prince Kai) and a different motivation (keeping the people on the ship safe).

However, if you have a second character whose only motivation is to help the first, and they cannot give you any extra information that the first cannot get: consider cutting it down to a single POV, because that kind of motivation is something that can be portrayed through somebody else's eyes.

-Each character needs their own voice. This is really important. Whether you're in first person POV or third, every character (perspective) has a voice. Think about AtU, again: Amy sees everything through the eyes of a girl born on Earth hundreds of years prior, and Elder sees everything through the eyes of a person who was born into his society. Their words are different, their descriptions are different, different things catch their eyes, and they have different priorities. Each of these show through the narrative.

If you need another example, try THE RAVEN BOYS: the perspectives shift from Blue, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, Blue's mother (occasionally), and any unnamed antagonist. Part of the reason I think Stiefvater handles so many perspectives so well is that they each have their own voices: Blue is sassy and sarcastic, Gansey is a bit childlike in his quest and naive, Ronan's violent and vulgar, Blue's mother is a bit spacey, and Adam has a struggle between his personal pride and his friendships. They have a unique way of speaking, so it's typically fairly easy to tell based on their different vocabularies and surroundings whose perspective the reader has shifted into. each of their unique problems also shimmy's its way into their narratives, since their problems give them each a different way of looking at what's happening around them.

Writing from different POVs can also be extremely dangerous when writing in the first person, because it's much easier for the characters' voices to blend together and sound exactly the same. If they sound the same, that's kind of a bad thing. Of course, that's not to say that multiple voices in the third POV can't sound the same, too, but I've always found that the first person is harder to change once you're into a particular character's head (although, it might just be my own personal struggle with writing the first person that's making me say that).

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Those are just two things I've come across recently when reading that I felt were important to bring up. They're also things that I question in regards to my own work every time I sit down to write: make each of my perspectives sound a little bit different (voice) and make sure (make really sure) that this novel cannot be told in only one perspective. Because, sometimes, I've come across novels told in multiple POVs, when it could have gone much better in only a single. It happens.

So ask yourself a few of those critical questions. It'll not only help you plan out your novel as a whole, but it'll help you make sure your narrative, itself, is doing its job in telling the story.

What's your opinion on writing/reading novels in multiple perspectives? What do you think about when considering POV?

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Should your novel be told from multiple perspectives? Blogger @Rae_Slater has a checklist of things to think about (Click to Tweet)

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"The One" Who Loves Your Work: They Really Do Exist

You've heard it said: "Not everyone is going to love your work." You've also heard it said that you need to find the one person who loves it, who really sees a bright future for it. And you've heard that, for some people, it just won't hit par and they're going to pass.

But no big deal, because you just need to find the right person.

I am here to tell you that this is all pretty much true. At least on a small level.

Talk to any published or soon-to-be published author: most likely they'll have gone through a number of queries until they found the right person to represent them. And while I haven't yet hit this stage, I have been in a Fiction Workshop all semester, and it's kind of (almost) the same thing on a smaller level.

The reason is simple: the entire class read a short story; the entire class got together to talk about it. Some people absolutely loved it, and some people thought it could use a lot of work.

Now, I realize that none of us are really in a position to actually get anything publishing-worthy at our stage, but I've noticed that the majority of us have some pretty interesting insight. And, the fact is, there's always one or two people who are in love with the same aspect of a short story that most of the others think isn't doing much.

Those one or two people are who you want to look for. Heck, those are the exact kind of people that you are looking for if you're querying. Odds are you're going to get (or have gotten) a number of rejections, because it just wasn't the right fit. This is okay: you want to find the agent or publisher that fits.

And if I haven't beat the dead horse* enough, join a workshop class (or think about workshop classes/groups that you've been in in the past) and you'll probably see where I'm coming from.

Don't give up; there's plenty of fish in the sea, but you're looking for a shark who won't eat you.

*No horses were harmed in the making of this blog post.

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There's plenty of fish in the sea, but you need a shark. @Rae_Slater explains: not everyone is going to love your work (Click to Tweet)

Workshops are the perfect example to prove how not everyone will love your work, but someone will via @Rae_Slater (Click to Tweet)