Muse For Hire

Seventy-four.  That's how many ceiling tiles hang above the sofa in my muse's office--excluding the partials.  I know because I counted them.  Repeatedly.  Perhaps my time would have been better spent giving this creative spirit a name.

"And how does that make you feel?" she asked.

"Maybe you should ask Jake that question."

My muse thinks she's a psychiatrist!

"Why?"

"Because he's the one you killed."  I found her wry grin more than a little disconcerting.  "You're all heart, aren't you?"

"Jake wasn't real, Jeff.  You really need to get a better handle on differentiating these things."

"I'm getting better."  Of course.  She always answers my claims of progress with silence.  The woman really does think she's part psychiatrist.  "I didn't resurrect Brian, did I?"

"Brian never even spoke a line of dialog, Jeff."

"Your point?"

"The point, Jeff, is it wasn't much of a sacrifice to keep him dead."

I kept my eyes level and focused on hers.  "You know, I do have a real psychiatrist."

"And what did she say about Brian?"

"He," I corrected.  "Less than he had to say about you."

"I can imagine.  Did you tell him I'm attractive?"

"I'm married!"

"Doesn't mean I'm not attractive."

"It means I know better than notice."  That impish smile of hers always beckons trouble.

Can you trust a muse for hire?

"Well, I still say your story was better off with Jake dead."  The timer dinged.  "Already?  My, where does the time go?  You're always so much fun to work with, Jeff.  Same time next week?"

I rose from the couch and loosed a resigned sigh as I grabbed the door knob.  "Of course."

"Oh, tell your friends I'm running a special.  You get a free consultation for each new client you bring me."

My breath caught the moment I realized I'd called her a sadist aloud.  What on Earth did I just do?

"Maybe you are making progress," she said with her widest grin yet today.  Leaning forward, she dropped a few business cards into my hand.  "Here, make sure you give them these."

August is Awesome Because of Ken Rahmoeller

People are awesome for more reasons than I dare try to name here, but you can always count on awesome people to be awesome in their own unique way.  Ken Rahmoeller is no exception.

Ken is writing his first book with what I believe to be the healthiest approach I've seen.  He doesn't intend to rake in millions from it.  He intends to rake in something far more valuable: knowledge and wisdom.  

Ken goes into detail about what he's doing, how and why on his blog's About Ken and His Book page.  I believe that if he's not careful, he just might discover the formula for success!

Ken's a chemist and can do more than stupify you with his awesome wand!  Give Ken a big, awesome welcome!

Peanut butter or chocolate?
Chocolate, of course.

Paper or plastic?
Plastic. It works better when I’m emptying the litter box.

Plot or character?
Hmmmm...

Which is more important to the success of a story? Opinions vary, but many experts will tell you the character is more important. I tend to disagree. I understand their point, especially in certain genres such as romance, but for me personally, it’s always been about the plot. If I have a choice between a story with a great plot and average characters or a story with an okay plot but really great characters, I’ll pick the one with the great plot every time.

Now I’m not denying the benefits of creating good, interesting characters. The reader is going to spend a lot of time with these people (or aliens, or animals, or whatever) and it can be a boring ride if you don’t care what happens to them. I’m just of the opinion that a great plot can help you fall in love with otherwise boring characters as you watch them struggle their way through the story.

But even if you’re one of those writers who think plot is more important, you still want to create great characters to go along with that fantastic plot you spent all that time creating. So what’s the trick to creating great characters? There’s no one perfect answer. Some writers fill out questionnaires describing their MC’s likes and dislikes. Others interview their MC. Still others work out huge backstories for each and every person in the story.

None of these methods work for me. They all require an intimate knowledge of my characters at the beginning of the story and I simply don’t have that knowledge until I’ve finished writing the story. I let my characters start out as blank slates and their traits evolve over the course of the book. Perhaps this is a consequence of being a first time writer, but I’ve found this technique works well for me and I’ll continue to use it until something better comes along.

When I began writing my story, my characters were startlingly bland. I knew one of them was going to be the bad guy and one was going to be a jerk and another was going to be supportive of the main character, but that was about it. But as the story progressed, I would often realize a particular subplot could be strengthened by having one of the characters behave in a certain way, so I simply gave that character the necessary trait(s) and ran with it. Not only did my subplot become stronger, but I’d also learn something new about one of my characters. Cool.

After repeating this process ad infinitum, I soon found my story populated with characters who were far more interesting than any I could have created on my own. Best of all, I was giving them the best kind of quirks – ones which have an effect on the plot. After all, if the quirks and traits you give your characters can be removed without affecting the story, you need better quirks and traits.

Of course, this method is not without its drawbacks. Creating characters in this manner often necessitated that I go back and revise earlier chapters. And I'm not sure how I would go about writing a sequel using this technique, since the characters will have already had their traits locked in beforehand, but that's the chance I'll take for now.

So what method do you use to create your characters?

I'd like to thank Jeff for allowing me to participate in his August is Awesome series.

About Ken Rahmoeller

Ken Rahmoeller is awesome!

I'm a chemist living in Detroit, Michigan who accidentally discovered he loved to write stories while fooling around with Harry Potter fan fiction. I enjoy castles, alchemy, and making stuff blow up for the amusement of my children (and myself).

Connect with Ken at:

His Blog: A Hogwarts Sabbatical

On Twitter: @ChemistKen

August is Awesome Because of David Powers King

It would be my great pleasure to introduce David Powers King to everyone, but my guess is most people have already met David.  And those who know him already know how awesome he is.

This awesome gentleman joined my blog back in its earliest days, back when I was almost completely clueless about blogging.  (That's not to say that I'm significantly less clueless today, mind you.)  But much of what I have learned, I learned by watching this awesome dude in action and from reading his posts.

Break space-dock and plot a course at warp nine for David's Cosmic Laire of Science Fiction and Fantasy the moment that alien delegation disembarks.  It's a destination that almost rivals Risa!  And if you see David with a horga'hn, be sure to snap a photo!

Aspiring Advice: What’s In A Name? Much!

I pulled into a local graveyard the other day. Not to visit anyone in particular, but to look around and read some headstones (who does that?). Many of these people lived in the late 1800’s, early Utah settlers mostly, but as I read the surnames of these folks, I couldn’t help but notice how similar they all were. Come to find out, many of these people were of Scandinavian heritage.

That’s when I started to think (dangerous, I know). These people shared something in common: a culture. They shared a common worldview that other cultures would define differently, express differently, and speak differently. Language, after all, is a complex combination of sounds that carry meaning, and when those sounds combine, they define who and what is around us.

One of my favorite things about writing is coming up with character names, often of the high fantasy nature or the altered/modern names for science fiction. The most common feedback I receive from my writing is how much readers enjoyed my names, both characters and places. I wasn’t sure why. It was all fun for me, but it wasn’t until I took Anthropology of Language in college when I learned the way I create and use names has a psychological association to them.

Combining sounds to identify a person can define who and what they are.

David's awesome new banner on his blog!

Think of your name. Say it. Say it out loud (enough, Edward…)! Now enunciate each phoneme (letter) and syllable. What does it sound like? How does it make you feel? Calm? Empowered? Fun? Being called that name your whole life, does it have an affect on mood, decision making, and relationships? I’m under the persuasion that it plays a part, but it may not apply to everyone. In fiction, however, it certainly can, which may wholly define a personality by their name alone.

You know Shakespeare’s Othello? You know it’s a tragedy by the sound of his name.

Think of stories you know and pair the hero’s name with the villain’s. How common is it for heroes to have strong, easy-sounding names while the villains are rough and hard? Here’s my list: Wesley/Humperdinck. Luke/Vadar. Woody/Sid. Bilbo/Smaug. Marty/Biff.

Stark contrasts aren’t essential, but they are effective and often do the job.

Another thing to keep in mind is the impact a name has on the character’s culture. My biggest complaint with fantasy, sometimes, are the names. In an effort to be unique, they don’t blend with the environment (unheard-of names, narrative doesn’t match), made worse when they are outlandishly large and riddled with accent marks, making them near impossible to pronounce. That’s certainly worth thinking about. I think it best to watch for those and avoid if possible.

This is not the rule, just my thoughts on the matter. Names connect readers to characters. It is their first impression. The next time you create your next protagonist, look up what their name means. Does it sound like a good match? Does it conflict or compliment the world building?

What impression will it leave? How will it read on a headstone a hundred years later?

I’m David, and what’s in your name?

David Powers King is awesome!

About Davis Powers King:

Hello! It's good to meet you. I'm an aspiring author of MG and YA Science Fiction and Fantasy with a soft spot for zombies and the paranormal. For now, I live and write in Utah with my stellar wife and rambunctious kids! What do you write?

David blogs at:
The Cosmic Laire of Science Fiction and Fantasy
And moderates for inkPageant
You can also find him on Twitter

August is Awesome Because of Angela Ackerman

Now you must be careful around this awesome woman.  She can read you like a book.  In fact, if she's watching you closely then you--or at least what you're doing--might end up in her next one.

Her Emotion Thesaurus (and blog) is an invaluable tool for writers who want to show a character's emotion rather than simply name it for the reader.  And really, anyone who strives to help you improve your craft is awesome, right?

Please give Angela Ackerman an awesome welcome! 

Hidden Emotion: Telling What Characters Don’t Want To Show

One of the struggles that comes with writing is when a character feels  vulnerable  and so tries to hide their emotions as a result.  Fear of emotional pain, a lack of trust in others, instinct, or protecting a reputation are all reasons they might repress what’s going on inside them. After all, people do this in real life, and so it makes sense that our characters will too.  Protecting oneself from feeling exposed is as normal as it gets.

But where does that leave writers who STILL have to show these hidden emotions to the reader (and possibly other characters in the scene)?

The answer is a TELL-- a subtle, bodily response that the character has little or no control over.

No matter how hard we try, our bodies are emotional mirrors, and can give our true feelings away.  We can force hands to unknot, fake nonchalance, smile when we don’t mean it and lie as needed. However, to the trained eye, Tells will leak through: a rushed voice. An off-pitch laugh. Hands that fiddle and smooth.  Self touching gestures to comfort.  Sweating.

For a story to have emotional range, our characters will naturally hide what they feel at some point, and when they do, the writer must be ready. Readers will be primed for an emotional response by the scene’s build up, and will be on the lookout for a character’s body language cues and tells.

Here is a list of possible TELLS which convey that more is going on than it seems:

• A voice that breaks, drops or raises in pitch; a change in speech patterns
• Micro hesitations (delayed speech, throat clearing, slow reaction time) showing a lack of commitment
• A forced smile, laugh or verbally agreeing/disagreeing in a way that does not seem genuine
• Cancelling gestures (smiling but stepping back; saying No but reaching out, etc.)
• Hands that fiddle with items, clothing and jewellery
• Stiff posture and movements; remaining TOO still and composed
• Rushing (the flight instinct kicking in) or making excuses to leave or avoid a situation
• A lack of eye contact; purposefully ignoring someone or something
• Closed body posture (body shielding, arms crossing chest, using the hair to hide the face, etc.)
• Sweating or trembling, a tautness in the muscles or jaw line
• Smaller gestures of the emotion ‘leaking out’ (see The Emotion Thesaurus for ideas that match each emotion)
• Growing inanimate and contributing less to conversation
• Verbal responses that seem to have double meanings; sarcasm
• Attempting to intimidate others into dropping a subject
  Overreacting  to something said or done in jest
• Increasing one’s personal space ( withdrawing from a group, sitting alone, etc.)
• Tightness around the eyes or mouth (belying the strain of keeping emotion under wraps)
• Hiding one’s hands in some way

Sometimes a writer can let the character’s true thoughts leak out and this can help  show the reader what’s really being felt. But this only works if the character happens to be the Point Of View Character. The rest of the time, it comes down to micro body language and bodily tells that are hard if not impossible to control.

Have you used any of these tells to show the reader or other characters in the scene that something is wrong? What tells do you notice most in real life as you read the body language of those around you? (These real life interactions can be gold mines for fresh body language cues to apply to your characters!)

About Angela Ackerman:

Angela Ackerman is awesome!

Angela Ackerman is a Canadian who writes on the darker side of Middle Grade and Young Adult. A strong believer in writers helping writers, she blogs at the award winning resource, The Bookshelf Muse and is co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression. Angela is represented by Jill Corcoran of The Herman Agency.


The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression is a writer’s best friend, helping to navigate the challenging terrain of showing character emotion. This brainstorming tool explores seventy-five emotions and provides a large selection of body language, internal sensations, actions and thoughts associated with each. Written in an easy-to-navigate list format, readers can draw inspiration from character cues that range in intensity to match any emotional moment.

The Downside to Discovery Writing

Discovery writing can be such a joy.  I marvel at what my muse does, what she shows me and where she takes me.  I enjoy nothing better than discovering my story as I go.  But, I've learned there is a downside to writing this way.

March 17th, 2012, minutes before midnight, it happened.  I didn't mean for it to happen.  It just did.  It wasn't my intention. From out of the blue it came.  I stared at the monitor in shock, unable to accept that my fingers had typed the words.  I was horrified at how chapter 32 was ending.  I all but wept.  I had killed a character.

This is not a trivial matter.  Not to me.  This character was pivotal.  I liked him.  A lot!  It doesn't matter that his death was valiant and noble.  It doesn't matter that my protagonist is where he is because of him.  The deed is done.  And now I'm mourning the loss.  I was not prepared.

This was a wise character, a gentle soul.  His voice was uniquely his own.  I had plans for him.  He had a revelation to share with the protagonist.  Now that revelation will have to come from elsewhere.  He enriched the tale.  And he was a joy to write.

This wise character would tell me it was necessary and show me how and why things will be better because of it.  He'd point out to me the numerous avenues where this tale can go now, the many plot lines that will develop as the result.  He'd tell me these things and try to comfort me.  I know he'd be right, but it doesn't change anything.  Not really.  I saw the impossible unfolding before my eyes and kept on writing.

I knew he wasn't destined to last until the end of the series.  I've known for a very long time what his final words were supposed to be.  He never said them.  He never got the chance.

I'm rambling a bit.  I realize that.  But we do that sometimes when we lose someone we love.  We try to make sense of it.  Why him?  Why now?  Why did I keep going?  I wanted to turn off the computer and forget to click Save.  Never before have I loathed to click that toolbar button.  Never until now.

The upside to Discovery Writing is that it gives you wonderful, unexpected gifts: unplanned scenes, beautiful dialog, enticing settings and even enthralling plot.  The downside to Discovery Writing is that it can take away those very same gifts.

This was a sacrifice he was willing to make.  It seems he was more willing to make it than I was.

Rest in peace, beloved.  May your journey to Dreyhurst be swift.  
You will be remembered.  You will be missed.