Making Assumptions

A couple weeks ago, I was making breakfast. My 3-year old wanted to help, so I gave him two slices of bread to put in the toaster. I turned away, listening for the sound of the toast going down so I could move him away before it got hot.

But the toaster didn't turn on.

Curious, I turned to see what the problem was and discovered that he had taken the two slices of bread and jammed them into the same side of the toaster. Even worse, it was homemade bread and turned into a wonderful, crumbly mess.

And it was completely my fault for assuming that he would take two slices of bread and put one in each slot of the toaster. Sure, in my mind two slices and two slots = 1 slice per slot, but I'm not 3. I don't see the world in the same way he does and he certainly doesn't see it in the way I do. And I shouldn't assume that he would. He's coming from a different place and has a different perspective.

I'm really bad when it comes to making assumptions about things.

One of the things I love most about reading is the chance to experience life through someone else's eyes and to see that different perspective. Everyone has their own view on life and I think those small variations are part of what makes characters so interesting. But at the same time, it can also be frustrating as a reader when you can't understand why a character made the decision they did.

Right now I'm starting to revise a novel that I'd put away for several months and I'm realizing that part of the trouble I had was that I didn't justify the main character's decisions. I assumed that because her reasons were so clear to me, they'd be clear to the readers. Apparently, this wasn't the case, particularly when it came to which of the two guys she chose at the end. After exchanging manuscripts, a friend even told me, "If this had been an actual book, I would have thrown it."

Um, yeah. So the wrong guy then?

I guess I shouldn't assume that people will understand why my MC picked the guy she did and I should actually tell them why she made that decision. Because I promise there were reasons.

Also, while I'm giving myself advice about not making assumptions anymore, I should also mention that cutting out words in a query and assuming that the meaning will still be clear is probably not the best idea. Really. Sacrificing clarity for brevity is not a good idea.

And now I should probably go check on the loud thumping sounds coming from upstairs. I'm assuming that that isn't a good sound and that's probably one of the few assumptions I'm safe making.

Happy Tuesday!

Seeing What's Important

My 5 year old recently brought me this picture. Can you tell what it is?

It's a water bending scroll so she can be Katara from Avatar: the Last Airbender. See how it's been rolled up (and probably sat on, but that's beside the point.) If you follow those simple directions, you too can water bend.

The drawing bug has been going around our house. For the most part, the kids have been making "decorations," which means they cut small pieces of paper, draw on them, and then hide them somewhere in the house. (Is that what I do with decorations? Hide them? Well, if I made them, then, yeah, probably. But I don't make them, so where do they get this from?) Anyway, it makes it a lot harder to keep the house clean while we're trying to sell it when we find little decorations everywhere. In closets. Under the couch. In my bed...

I've also been drawing a lot. I know this will come as a shock to some of my relatives who know just how long it's been since I last spent much time sketching. And, no, I'm not very good, but I'm enjoying it and I'm seeing the world differently. Basically, I'm seeing it like a cartoon. I should insert a drawing of me grinning wildly here, but I'm not quite ready to display my artwork.

 And that's not really what I meant. In looking at the world and thinking how I would translate that to paper, I'm noticing what's important about what I'm seeing. Sometimes the setting is important, sometimes the action is important, and sometimes it's something else.

Description in writing is something I struggle with. My first drafts feel like heads talking in bare, empty rooms. And sometimes they even move to another bare, empty room. It's all very exciting.

One thing I've noticed with drawing and studying other's drawings is that they focus on what is important to the scene taking place. The same thing is important with writing. The setting--however amazing and beautifully described--isn't interesting unless it relates to the characters and what they are doing at that moment. At least that's my opinion. So take it for what it's worth. (There should be another drawing of me smiling here, but there's not. Maybe next time.)

Talent

I've been thinking about talents a lot lately, in part because I had to teach a lesson in church about talents a week ago. And, no, it didn't go well. Halfway through, my 3 year olds' teacher brought him in because he'd bonked his head. He was, uh, less than helpful with the teaching. Here's an example:

Me: So, everyone has different talents . . .
Him: MOM! I want to draw a picture for you! (And, no, he hasn't yet learned about volume control on his voice.)
Me (in a whisper): Okay, draw me a picture.
Him: But I can't draw! I can just scribble!
Me (in a whisper, starting to sound desperate): Okay, scribble me a picture then.
Me (in a normal voice): So, everyone has different talents . . .
Him: MOM! I scribbled you a picture!
(I take the picture from him)
Me: So, everyone has different talents . . .
Him: MOM! You didn't say "Thank you." Say "Thank you," Mom!
Me (muttering): Thank you . . .

Anyway, so, everyone has different talents . . .

I really believe that this is true. Everyone has different gifts and different things that they're good at. But I also believe that we can develop and improve if we want to. Very few people start out at a virtuoso level with anything. And, in fact, I don't think innate talent is necessarily a prediction of how good you can become at something.

I taught martial arts for several years. I don't talk about it a lot because I really don't look like a martial artist. At all. Trust me, though, I'm better than you think--especially at ground fighting. And I'm better than I look because I worked hard at it. I had absolutely no natural talent and was awful when I started. I had the flexibility of a brick and felt like a complete idiot most of the time.

I did have a few things going for me, though: I was determined and I learned forms easily. I worked my way through the ranks and, when I began teaching, I noticed a few things.

Mainly, the most obviously talented people (i.e., flexible) tend to drop out. A few of them stuck with it for a while, but most of the time when we had someone come in who could do a head-high front kick on their first day, they'd drop out before three months were up. (Also, usually the flexible people had the least amount of control and tended to hurt people.)


Basically, what I noticed was that talent didn't necessarily equate to success and just because someone was talented at controlling their kicks didn't mean that they were less talented than those people who could kick higher.

Just because someone else is talented doesn't mean that you are not.


I guess that's my point to this rambling--just because someone else is talented as a writer doesn't mean that you aren't. (And by "you," I'm really talking to me.) Just because someone else has a brilliant dystopia doesn't make my light-hearted novel any less worthy of merit. They're different, and neither is better than the other.

(And by "worthy of merit," I mean "not bad enough that I need to drop it--and my computer--off of an overpass onto the train tracks and watch the train smash everything into obliteration.")

Also, people can have different strengths within the same area. To go back to the martial arts thing, I was the forms expert in the studio, another person could teach power and stances, and someone else was talented at weapons--and the only one who could use a three section staff without killing himself and everyone else around him. We all had the basics down, but each of us had an area that we excelled in. If all I looked at was my lack of skills with a three section staff, I'd get pretty depressed.


So don't do that. Don't focus on the negative and the talents that you feel you lack. Celebrate your strengths--because we all have them--and work on your weaknesses and we'll all get better together.


Happy Monday-ing to you all!

Expectations

I'm in the middle of reading a series. I planned to go to the library today and check out the rest of it. There was a flaw with this plan, though: someone else checked the books out. Which promptly sent my mood spiraling down into the depths of despair.

It got me thinking, though, about how much our expectations affect the outcome. I expected to be able to check out the books. After all, I had all of the previous ones and people read series in order. Therefore no one else should have wanted those books when I wanted them. (Okay, yeah, there are a few issues with my logic, but it's been a long week.)

Most of the times when I've been upset, it hasn't been because something truly awful has happened, it's been because things didn't go according to my plans. Like kids throwing temper tantrums so we don't get out the door on time. Things like that.

A couple months ago, I picked up a book at the library. It was one I hadn't heard anything about, but I was completely amused by the premise and in the mood for something absurd and happy. The beginning perfectly matched that. The ending, though, was an overly emotional, slightly nauseating love story--the kind where their abusive childhoods are swallowed up in each other's love. Definitely not what I was expecting and it frustrated me. The premise of the story, as well as the beginning, promised me something lighthearted and funny. But the book did not deliver.

Okay, I'm probably a little harsh on the ending. But it was so far from my expectations that I ended up hating it. (Which is probably why it was pushed to the side and ended up with papers on top of it and so I didn't return it to the library and had to pay a fine. That didn't endear the book to me either.)

I guess what I'm saying is that we need to look at where we're going with our WIP and make sure that the beginning matches the end as far as expectations. Now I don't mean that everything should be predictable, but it should fall within the realm of possibility with the tone and set-up of the story. You never want your readers to say, "What? That doesn't make any sense!"

Well, I'm off to moan and mope away the weekend since I don't have my series to read. Is anyone else doing anything more exciting than that?

Some Advice

Dear Me,

I know that you like to read, but really, this is getting a bit ridiculous. Do you honestly think you can make the ending happier by staying up all night to finish? (And do you really think YOU are going to be happier without any sleep? I thought not.) Also, that black stuff on dinner last night? Yeah, no one likes it very much. In the future, try not to read and cook at the same time. And the reading while styling your hair? Yeah, let's do away with that too and maybe you'll be fit to go out into public. But only if you promise to talk about something other than that book.

Sincerely,
Yourself

What's in a Name?

A friend of mine is expecting her first baby and we've been talking lately about baby names. Mostly appalling combinations that no one would ever use, but it's got me thinking about names. Specifically, naming characters. And, even more specifically, an issue I'm having at the moment.

Naming characters is always an interesting experience. Some characters get their names immediately, others go through several iterations before I find a name that really fits that character. In the previous novel I wrote, I named the two boys temporarily after two of our martial arts students and those names stuck. I tried to change them, but nothing else worked. Like naming children, it seems that each character has names that fit and names that don't and the process of finding the right fit varies for each character.

I thought I did fairly well picking out names for my characters in my current manuscript. I even researched the meaning for each name and to make sure it fit my character concept.

I've run into a problem.

The hero of the story has a nice, dignified name. And then in waltzed his sister and gave him a nickname. And it stuck. So for most of the story, he's referred to by his nickname. However, there are times when I want him to refer to him by the full name--times when he's trying to be dignified and responsible and would see himself in that way.


But how do I do that?


I've read books before where the character has a nickname and I get confused. I have to stop and think, "Okay, who is this again? Oh, yeah, the main character." It's embarrassing, so I don't want to do that to anyone.


To me, nicknames are a very personal thing. If you are willing to respond to it, then part of you has to identify with that name. It has to mean something to them, even if it's the name that an obnoxious sibling gave to them. During high school, there was a period of time where I called my brothers "Stinky" and "Smelly." They knew which one they were and they actually answered to the name. My older brother said "Smelly" was okay because he did have a nose and he did use it to smell. I haven't figured out yet why my younger brother answered to "Stinky" or any of the other nicknames I gave to him.


But I digress.


So, what is your opinion of nicknames in books? Do they bother you? Do you even notice them? Would it bother you if a character viewed themselves with a different name in different situations?

Revising and Selling

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I know of no reason

Why the Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent

To blow up the King and Parli'ment.

Three-score barrels of powder below

To prove old England's overthrow;

By God's providence he was catch'd

With a dark lantern and burning match.

Holla boys, Holla boys, let the bells ring.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

And what should we do with him? Burn him!

 

So, we put our house up for sale last week and, being me, I've noticed a log of similarities between selling a house and revising a novel.

1. Both take work. I knew that when I started. However, in both cases I misjudged just how much work they would take.

2. You have to fix the big problems before fixing the little ones. It doesn't matter how sparkly clean the floorboards are if you can't actually see the floor. Similarly, it doesn't matter how amazing a scene is if the character's motivation to get them to that scene doesn't make any sense.

3. Sometimes you are too close to things to see them clearly. That's why writing groups and realtors are important. When our realtor did a walk through of our house, he told me to stop worrying about the closets and the state of the garage--no one notices them anyway. Instead, he recommended shampooing the carpet. I hadn't even noticed the carpet unless it had toys piled on top of it. It's the same with my manuscript. People point out things that I never noticed because I'm too close to them.

4. The more you work at it, the more you feel like you need to do.

5. Both projects are easier when broken down into small, manageable parts.

6. Both involve stress and sleepless nights and sometimes the strange suspicion that you are crazy for doing it at all.

Anyway, do you have any exciting plans for Guy Fawkes Night tonight? We've celebrated for the last few years, but it snuck up on us this year (probably because we were distracted by the fumes from all the cleansers or something). Alas. Perhaps next year. 

Obsession, Obsession, Obsession (or in other words, I might need help)

I admit it, I have a bit of an obsessive personality. When I find a book I love, I want to read it all and not have to do anything else until I have finished it. When I find a show that I love, I want to watch all the episodes at once. This is one of the reasons I don't watch T.V. that much--I get sucked in and stressed because of the lack of resolution.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it), last week we started watching a show on Netflix called Fruits Basket. It's an anime show that's been dubbed over in English--at least it is on Netflix. (You can also watch it here on Hulu in the original Japanese with English subtitles.) Anyway, I can't get enough of it and have started researching how to draw anime because I want to draw all of my characters now and that style is really speaking to me right now.

But first I have to finish the show. We only have five episodes left, I think. I love the characters. I love the relationships. I love that it makes me laugh and that it makes me hurt for the characters too. (I will admit, it does leave some rather important questions unanswered though . . .)

Okay. I just had to get that out of my system. Because I'm obsessed and can't finish watching it now--it's not a show for kids.

Moving on . . .

My sister, who is one of the staff members of Segullah, asked me to advertise these writing contests:  http://journal.segullah.org/contests/

There are some restrictions for who can enter (I, for one, am not eligible since my sister is staff), but there's a cash prize for the winners and the winners will be published in the Segullah journal.


(Just in case you were wondering if my obsessiveness is a new facet of my personality, the title of this blog post is almost a direct quote from my journal from when I was 16. And that was the sum total of the journal entry.)