A quickie for Thursday

I do not like cranberry sauce, not freshly made or in a can, I do not like it Sam I am.

So my solution . . . Pineapple stuffing.  It gives that same sweet/tart but without the cranberries to yuck it up (though my sister adds cranberries to hers).

Here goes (easy as pie)

1 can crushed pineapple

8 slices of white bread cubed

1 stick of butter, softened

1 cup sugar

4 eggs beaten

Mix butter, sugar and eggs, fold in pineapple and bread cubes

Bake in a greased pan at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

This is also great with pork chops or really any part of a pig.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Real or fake?

Crafting a character is like giving birth, only without the pain and drugs.  Well, I guess it could include drugs.  Over my 20-year career I’ve seen hundreds of version of how to get to know your character.  The one thing I’ve learned is there is no right way.  Only you can determine what and how much you need to know in order to make your characters jump off the page.

I touched on this topic at a workshop I did for Florida Romance Writers this past weekend.  My approach has changed over the years and I now use WriteWayPro© exclusively.  It’s an organizational software program that has many helpful features. Among the most precious to me is the ability to upload a photograph.  I’m a visual learner, so being able to create a character info sheet with a picture there really speaks to me.  I get pictures from soap opera sites (they have cast members from birth to death, so good pickings), off facebook, off magazine sites – you name it, I’ll harvest it.

Once I have a photo, I do my general history.  Height, weight, hair and eye color and I even give them a date of birth.  Why?  You wonder.  If you’re doing a series you may need to have your character age, so giving them a birthday keeps you from going back into an earlier book for the answer.  I’m also hung up on birth order.  The oldest child in a family is often the most responsible one.  The middle child is the peacemaker.  And the baby craves attention and is more of a free spirit.  The baby of the family is also more suborned since he/she is accustomed to getting his/her own way.

I’ll admit, I used to go through a whole series of questions but I’ve slacked off.  Shame on me.  Only about 80% of what you know about your character should come out of his/her mouth.  Instead you want to convey their personality through action.  Remember that baby in the family?  If she flies off the handle over something insignificant, you’ve shown her flaw without telling me.  Show don’t tell applies to characterization too.

So now I ask three questions I learned from NYT best-seller Leanne Banks:

What is the characters secret wish?

What is the character’s greatest fear?

What is the character’s super power?

Those three little questions will help you build conflict almost instantly.  For the sake of this blog, let’s do one for a hero in a romance novel.

Name:  John Doe            35 6”4, Black hair, Blue eyes, 195 pounds

                                           DOB 7/29/97 – has tribal tattoo on left arm

                                           Only child, parents deceased

Secret wish:  To get married and have a family

Greatest fear: Intimacy, has been hurt in the past

Super power: Eidetic (photographic) memory – see, no tights and capes, just a trait unique to him that no other character has.

So from the wish, fear and power I know I have to pair him with a woman who loves intimacy but doesn’t think she’s ready to settle down yet.  Voila – instant conflict.  All I need to do is decide why she’s gun shy and then come up with a compromise position – if not one of your characters gives up everything for the other one and that’s just a bad idea.  When I read that I think those people might stay together for a year or two before the resentment builds and they either get divorced or have some intensive therapy.  And yes, I do know they aren’t real but I do get invested when I’m reading.

Most importantly, you have to come up with a system that gives you the knowledge you need to write a well-rounded character.  Trust me, they don’t come to you as you’re writing.  If you wait for that to happen, be prepared to do a lot of drafts.

Happy writing!

Boundaries

The biggest challenge as a self-employed person is time management.  And even the best of intentions can be derailed by a pace-stopping interruption.  As sad as it is to say it, mine usually comes in the form of a family obligation or requirement.  My husband and daughter are fairly well trained but every now and again a situation crops up that completely screws up my work schedule.

Driving is the biggest cause for interruption.  I’ll be on a roll and suddenly I have to stop mid-paragraph to drive my daughter to some class or function.  Number two on the list is my husband’s politeness.  Again I’ll be on a roll and he’ll stick his head in the office door to offer to make me dinner or some other kind but concentration-breaking nicety. 

My solution?  When I’m on a tight deadline I place crime scene tape over my office door as a warning.  The warning isn’t always respected.

I’ve also developed a bad habit.  When I’m interrupted, especially if it’s last minute, the first paragraph when I get going again is usually an info dump of the chapter to date.  I don’t realize I’m doing it but when I go back in to read, I can spot any instance where my butt has left the chair.

So what should you do?  Guard your time.  Let everyone know that you’ll be unavailable.  Don’t answer the phone unless it’s an emergency.  Know your pace and map out your schedule.  I work on a chapter schedule.  If I sit down at my computer my goal is to write one chapter that day.  I know that takes me roughly six hours, so I let everyone know I’m not to be disturbed.  I know others who work by word count.  Be realistic in your estimates and deadlines.  For example, I don’t schedule anything between Thanksgiving and the New Year.  Why?  I learned from experience that A- life is too chaotic then and B- publishing pretty much grinds to a halt in December.  If I set a winter deadline I always set January 31^st.  Turn away the moochers.  People often confuse being self-employed with not working.  When my son was young every time there was a snow day or a teacher conference my neighbors would call on me to watch their kids since “I didn’t work.”  It took me a very long time to explain that I was working and no, I am not a babysitting service.  Don’t feel guilty.  It’s no different than any other job, it’s just location.  Your friends and neighbors will understand eventually and you can be proud of yourself for setting boundaries.

Do you have any time management tricks?